When a student from Fillydelphia appears in Ponyville to continue his studies on the field of cutie marks there at the recommendation of Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle and her friends are in for another adventure.
When a student from Fillydelphia by the name of Frank Blanket appears in Ponyville upon recommendation of Princess Celestia to interview Twilight Sparkle and other citizens of Ponyville about matters related to cutie marks he soon turns out to be more complex or "quirky" than expected while his studies too touch upon subjects more significant than meets the eye.
Before his research can get really under way, he and the Mane6 end up in a whirl of events and suspicions caused by an elusive attacker of uncertain motives targeting the minds of citizens of Ponyville.
A chain of events is set in motion that may prove vital to all of Equestria in the end.
The story is set not long after Twilight's coronation and the events of the first three episodes of season 4.
Note: Since it is impossible to combine "Adventure" and "Slice of life" I ultimately decided for "Adventure", since the story will include stuff that goes beyond every day life, but it also has a lot of building up and character introduction that would run well under the "Slice of life" label.
I appreciate any feedback, constructive criticism, views or opinions a lot
A PDF version of the entire story (including different scripts not available in fimfiction) can be found here.
Dear Twilight, I hope that you are well and continue to accustom yourself to the new circumstances as well as you have done since the ceremony. I am well aware of the challenge these changes pose, but I do not doubt you will overcome these challenges same as you have overcome every challenge and test you faced so far. Perhaps you would be interested in a little task that may be less of a challenge but more of a delight for the inquisitive student as whom I have always known you and whose thirst for knowledge, I am sure, will never be limited through a title or a pair of wings. During a recent audience an aspiring postgraduate student from Fillydelphia by the name of Frank Blanket requested access to the Royal Library of Canterlot for a research project. I could not help feeling reminded of you by the enthusiasm he showed when talking about his multiple fields of interest and research. The main focus of his research is the study of cutie marks. It is not without a degree of surprise that I realized how little academic and scientific attention has so far been given to a subject so significant in the lives of ponies. Even the Royal Library seems to yield little new insights. Having taken interest in his studies and therefore visiting him a couple of times in the library I had to admit that even I, with more time than anypony else in this library since the days of Starswirl the Bearded, couldn't think of a single particularly insightful volume on the subject of cutie marks. Most of what has been put on paper on the subject are huge registers listing tens of thousands of cutie marks and their interpretation, but little beyond that. While Mr. Blanket seems too cautiously deferential to suggest so, I was under the impression that he was disappointed by the slim results which his intensive search in the library brought forth so far. I thought that perhaps Mr. Blanket would take interest in the experiences related to cutie marks which you and your friends made so recently. Ponyville may also be a good place for in the field studies more auspicious than the book based ones in the library turned out to be. Would you be interested and do you have the time to answer what questions Mr. Blanket may have? If so I would recommend him to visit you in Ponyville. Yours truly Princess Celestia
Dear Princess Celestia, of course I am interested. I don't recall having come across a lot on the subject of cutie marks in books so far and if this student is going to change that I will do what I can to help with his project. I also recall several other incidents, including a case of cutie pox, here in Ponyville that may be of interest to Mr. Blanket. I am going to ask my friends if they too could answer Mr. Blanket's questions in case he would like to interview them too. Your faithfu Yours truly Twilight Sparkle
Dear Twilight, I thought you would be interested. You will find Mr. Blanket to be a pleasant and eloquent student, if perhaps with some quirks often associated with scholarly ponies.
Twilight Sparkle looked up from the princess' letter raising her eyebrows and wondering if her former teacher had meant for the last sentence to be a little quip at her expense. Either way she smiled and continued to read.
Mr. Blanket was most delighted when I made the suggestion and told him that you agreed to answer questions for his cutie mark studies. He will arrive tomorrow morning. Yours truly Princess Celestia
Twilight looked up, blinked once and read the last sentence a second time to make sure she hadn't misread, slightly hoping that she had. Sure enough the letter announced the arrival of this Mr. Blanket for the very next morning.
Twilight whirled away from her desk and hurried upstairs. Of course she had meant her earlier invitation and her professed interest in the subject had been everything but a mere courtesy, but she hadn't expected for the visitor to arrive in a matter of hours! She hadn't even found the time to live up to her promise to ask her friends about whether or not they would want to answer the questions of this Mr. Blanket.
She had to ask everyone of them right now, she would have to make sure that the library was in perfect order to receive the visitor, she had to send a letter to the Princess confirming that everything would be fine or even... she shuddered at the thought ...ask for a little postponement of Mr. Blanket's arrival.
She hurried for the little cot in which Spike had fallen asleep again after he had been roused much to his chagrin by the arrival of Princess Celestia's second letter a few minutes before. Twilight was about to give him the second rude awakening of the night when she suddenly stopped in motion, took a deep breath, looked down on Spike and suddenly felt very silly. She smiled and wondered if this had been just the kind of 'quirks' which Celestia had been referring to in her letter, whether intentional or not. So what if she would have to ask her friends early in the morning or even in the company of Mr. Blanket? The worst that could happen would be some of them would not have the time or be in the mood to answer his questions, so what? By the sound of Celestia's reference to 'field studies' he was going to stay more than just a few hours anyway so... where was he going to stay?
Feeling the beginning of yet another quirky sense of panic Twilight sternly called herself to order reminding herself that this was not her problem and that she wouldn't help Mr. Blanket, or Celestia and least of all herself by getting all worked up now.
"Princesses are not to act quirky!" she told herself. She still felt a bit uneasy about thinking of herself as a princess, but getting a little more relaxed when there was no real need to worry would be a good thing, princess or not. With a deep sigh Twilight walked over to her bed to settle down for the night, deliberately trying to keep her mind from any quirkiness-inducing thoughts.
Few ponies were on board of the train arriving from Canterlot at this early hour of the day and less even were to board the train as the first glimpses of sunlight announced the early dawn of the upcoming summer day. Two drowsy looking unicorns trudged to board the train, two sizable trunks levitating after them the second of which hit the edge of the train door before passing through in the second attempt. Most of the passengers on board were fast asleep, heading for Applelosa or Dodge Junction, granting them sufficient time to get their rest before they would have to leave the train.
Only one colt left the train for the platform of Ponyville station. He was an earth pony of light brown color and even lighter blond color of mane and tail. Not much of his mane and fur were revealed to the dim light of the first dawn. He was wearing a blueish-gray turtlenecked shirt with some pockets. A kind of wrap-around that might have been black at some point, but had been washed-out to a dark-grayish tone was covering most of his body. The mild temperatures even of the nights during the warm summer didn't necessitate for any of this clothing. Strapped to both sides the colt was wearing two saddle-bags bulging out so much that there was little doubt about both of them being crammed. The worn out condition of the bags and the seam of a strap, testifying of a makeshift repair, suggested not only that these bags had been long in use but also that their current bulging was not an exception but the rule. Most uncomely of the entire attire however was the headgear of the colt that would have certainly gained him many raised eyebrows, puzzled looks or blank stares had anypony been around at this early hour to give them. It was a wide brimmed bowler hat which by itself would have looked out of time and out of place and out of fashion except perhaps in some of the arid southernmost regions of Equestria whose inhabitants tended to pay less attention to the fashion trends of Canterlot or Manehattan. This particular hat however might have attracted attention even down there. So twisted and bent was the brim as if it had been deliberately mistreated until parts of it looked like they had been rolled around the ears of the wearer. For all the worn or just plain odd state of the colt's attire however it appeared that he had made sure for it to be kept spotless and free of any tears or holes and the wearer himself too didn't match the shabby look of his hat.
With a quick, almost jerky motion the colt produced a paper from one of his shirts jackets and cast a look on what a bystander would have identified as a map of Ponyville and its surroundings. He straightened a pair of thinly-rimmed spectacles he was wearing, scanned the map and cast a look in every direction as he stuffed the map back into his pocket before he left the platform.
As he strode through Ponyville he was constantly casting looks in every direction much as if he feared he might miss something if he happened to keep his gaze in the same direction for too long. Other than the unlit buildings there was not much to be seen however; the streets were still empty.
After a few minutes the colt arrived at his destination, Golden Oak Library, where Princess Celestia had told him he would meet the recently crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle who had kindly offered to help with his studies. Since Princess Celestia had brought up the suggestion the previous day, he had done his best to gather what information he could find about Equestria's most recent Princess without pestering her highness Celestia herself with questions. Newspapers that had appeared around the time of her coronation had been stuffed with stories, articles, even interviews most of which however seemed to come from Ponies who happened to know somepony who happened to know an acquaintance of the princess to be. The colt didn't care about the bridle gossip that seemed to imply that the future of Equestria would depend on the color of the princess's to be attire during her coronation, but years of study had taught him to screen for the bits and pieces of helpful information among all the printed trash talk.
The colt stood a bit lost in front of the large oak tree that harbored Ponyville's library and was at the same time the home of the princess. He liked the idea of a princess living in a library, but he noticed that the library, same as every other building he had passed since he had left the train platform was still unlit.
He silently cursed his rash conclusions based on little evidence that had suggested for this early hour of the day to be best suited for his arrival.
One early morning a few days ago Princess Luna had entered the royal library where he had been sitting over a tome in a fruitless search for some kind of cutie mark lore. Princess Luna had reacted with more acceptance than her elder sister Princess Celestia when he had offered the bow and address with the full regal titles to her. During the audience, in which he had first requested access to the royal library, Princess Celestia had stopped the litany of titles bestowed upon her throughout the centuries with a friendly smile and a firm wave that left no doubt she wouldn't hear the titles to the end, but was more intent to get to the core of matters. He hadn't been sure if it was modesty on her part or lack of time with other applicants for audience queued up before the gates of the audience hall. Maybe both of this had played a role.
With no queue of waiting ponies in sight Princess Luna in any case had been listening to the regal titles to the end. In her case the list was somewhat shorter than her sister's would have been but when he had finished, he thought that for a short moment there had been something like the flicker of a smile on her stern face. Perhaps the show of courtly etiquette had reminded her of the time before her banishment when such formalities had been more closely observed than was the case these days. Having missed the long gradual development to the somewhat less strict contemporary etiquette had probably posed some challenges to her since her return little more than a year ago. When talking she sometimes resorted to archaic words and phrases which tempted him to ask more about a time of which hardly anyone could give eye-witness accounts. He hadn't mustered the courage to ask anything though. When the princess had asked about the subject of his studies however, he had burst into into an enthusiastic lecture and almost forgotten whom he was talking to. He had barely managed to come to a stop before facing the embarrassment of being cut short on his lecture as he had been by her sister during the litany of her titles.
Princess Luna had graced him with a little more small talk and throughout this exchange she had mentioned that Celestia had remarked being reminded of her former student Twilight Sparkle's habit of hardly getting any sleep during her times of intense study. It had been the first time either of the two Princesses had mentioned the new Princess to him. When yesterday Princess Celestia had made the suggestion of visiting and interviewing her, he had been wondering if perhaps the idea had been Luna's. He hadn't seen her again after the talk in the library.
Other than this remark of shared waking-time habits he had only speculated with Princess Celestia being associated with the days and the sun and Princess Luna being associated with the night and the moon that perhaps Princess Twilight might be associated with and be most active in the times of dusk and dawn. He had convinced himself that her cutie mark too might bear reference to the morning and the evening star most prominently visible during those times. In hindsight his conclusions seemed ridiculous to him. In his mind he scratched out a long passage on the correlation of cutie marks and sleeping- respectively waking-time habits that could have become part of his studies.
"Huu, huu." A hooting sound startled the colt from his thoughts. An owl had landed on a wooden sign of a book that stood beside the library door. The owl was glancing at the colt with piercing golden eyes. A broad smile spread over the face of the colt. With a swift motion he lifted his hat as a greeting and careful not to speak up too loud he said: "Good morning. You must be the Princess' owl. Pleased to meet you."
One of the old newspapers he had gotten his hooves on in Canterlot had sported a photo of Twilight Sparkle, her dragon assistant whose name he had learned was Spike and her owl. The photo had been from the time preceding the events that had resulted in Twilight Sparkle's transformation to an alicorn. The paper hadn't mentioned the name of the owl though.
"My name is Frank Blanket", the colt introduced himself. "Perhaps Princess Twillight told you that I was going to visit today?" "Huu."
"Yes, I'm afraid our conversation may be a little one-sided, seeing that I do not understand what you are saying, but you sure look like you were a very understanding owl. Unless you are not interested, in which case of course I wouldn't presume the right to take any offense I could tell you a bit about my studies that brought me here. You see, I am studying cutie marks..."
Early sunbeams woke Twilight after a short but restful sleep. Neither quirky worries nor any struggles with the wings she still hadn't quite grown accustomed to had kept her from some hours of deep and dreamless sleep. She walked over to the dresser with the round mirror on top of it to brush her mane. It was still quite early and since security considerations usually kept the pegasi-drawn royal carriages on the ground until after sunrise Twilight expected the visitor not to arrive for at least another hour or so. Hopefully this would be sufficient time for Spike to get up too and prepare a breakfast. Princess or not, she would be a kind host and if the example of Celestia taught her anything, then that princesses were to offer more than the normal degree of hospitality. With a somewhat guilty conscience she realized that Princess Celestia had a whole staff of courtly attendants at her disposal for such occasions. While Twillight was positively horrified at the looming prospect of having swarms of courtiers and servants around her all the time, the absence of the later also meant that over here poor Spike would have to bear the brunt of whatever additional work the visitor might make necessary. Twillight decided she would at a later time think of some way to make up for it to Spike as she stepped towards his cot to wake him up. But before she reached the cot she stopped in motion and turned her ears towards the window. There was an unusual sound and now that she was paying attention to it she realized that it had been there all the time since she had woken up. It sounded like somebody was talking, not far away but with a deliberately quiet voice yet in a constant flow of words less notable than it might have been with some intermissions. Twilight cast a look out of the window.
Somepony was standing in front of the library and sure enough this somepony was talking to... the wooden sign in front of the library? Rubbing her eyes and taking another look, Twilight spotted Owlowiscious seated on top of the sign and by the looks of it the unknown somepony was talking to him. Twilight couldn't see much of the talker most of whose head was concealed by... was that supposed to be a hat? And the wrap-around this pony was wearing didn't help the altogether quirky impression caused by the idea of somepony apparently holding speeches to an owl at the crack of dawn.
Quirky! Twilight whirled around. "Get up Spike! We need breakfast right now!" she shouted, giving Spike a much rougher waking call than she had meant to. As she passed by his cot she gave it a kick with one leg and later on she couldn't tell if it had been by accident or if it had been a deliberate attempt to startle Spike as much as she herself had been startled by the visitor being at her gates already. Spike sure was startled though not as much by the kicking of the cot as by the fact that the motion caused Twilight to trip, stagger past and ultimately topple over at the top of the stair. "Twilight!" screamed Spike jumping up from his sleep like no regular attempt at waking him up could have ever done and rushed towards the stairs. A combination of fiercely flapping wings and a levitation spell granted Twilight a save if ungraceful landing at the foot of the stairs.
"Are you alright?" called Spike from the top. "What—?" "Our guest is already there. We need breakfast." "Guest...?" "Now!" Spike knew Twilight well enough to know that there was no point in any further inquiries now, nor in taking any offense at the curt and rough attitude. The best thing to do in such a moment was to do exactly whatever she was saying and look forward to when she herself would grow aware of the erratic behavior and make up for it somehow. Heading for the kitchen, Spike couldn't help smirking to himself. "In some respects she has been a bit of a princess all along", he thought as he assembled the breakfast on a tray.
Twilight listened for the voice of the arrival in front of the door. It had fallen silent. Sure enough the commotion and shouting inside must have been audible outside and she felt quite stupid all of a sudden. Given the short notice of his coming and the arrival even earlier than could be expected, she would have had every right in the world not to be embarrassed about not receiving the unknown guest to a ready set breakfast table. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, then she opened the door.
The sun still stood very low, shining right into Twilight's face causing her to blink before her eyes accustomed to the light. "Your Highness! Princess Twilight Sparkle?" It was more of a declaration than a question. Caught somewhat off guard Twilight just nodded. "Yes. And you must be... Mr..." Celestia help, she just couldn't remember the name. "The postgraduate student..." "Frank Blanket, at your service, Your Highness", the colt said.
If he had noticed her uncertainty about his name or her embarrassment about it he didn't give any sign of it. Instead he drew the felt oddity from his head with a sweeping motion and at the same time bent his other foreleg and lowered his head. The display of courtly reverence came so naturally that Twilight was certain that it was not performed for the first time and Twilight remembered Celestia's reference to him as 'cautiously deferential'. The show of elegant motion however came to a sudden stop.
Mr. Blanket had somehow attached his headgear to one of his bulging saddle-bags apparently not intending to put it back on his head. At the same time he tried to get out of the bow having but only one of his forelegs, the one not occupied with his hat and the saddle-bags to support not just his own weight but also that of the crammed bags which had shifted a little forward, not helping the colt in his attempt to get back to his hooves again. To make matters worse, the hoof he had used to remove his hat had somehow been caught in one of the straps of the saddle-bags. Struggling to get his hoof free, all the while still struggling to manage the push-up with the other hoof only set him out of balance. The sight was hilarious, but Twilight wasn't going to embarrass her guest by bursting into laughter. With just a barely noticeable smirk, in memory of her own fall at the stairs just moments ago, she cast a levitation spell to help Mr. Blanket to his hooves. "Twilight Sparkle, at yours", she said smiling in response to the service offered at the beginning of his display of courtliness.
"Err... yes, thank you, Your Highness." His face had blushed not just from the struggle to get out of the bow, but he was trying to conceal his embarrassment. He was probably a few years older than Twilight and somewhat lean for an earth pony. An earth pony? Twilight couldn't help taking another look at his forehead and without really thinking she said: "Oh, you are—" before she cut of her own sentence not knowing how to continue. Mr. Blanket was looking at her with confusion before it dawned on him what she had been about to say.
"Well, yes", he nodded. "I am an earth pony." He said it lightly, but Twilight couldn't help the impression that there was a well hidden but not quite unnoticeable undertone in his voice and Twilight couldn't think of anything to say. Mr. Blanket broke into a slightly forced smile and said in a tone of cheer: "Earth ponies are not so frequently found in academies. Maybe you expected I would be a unicorn... Your Highness." "Please don't call me that. My name is Twilight."
It was out before she had thought about it. Twilight had not at all planned to offer the name without the title just like that. Ever since her coronation Rarity had pestered her to go with the title which had been given to her and bear it with dignity. Twilight didn't like the thought or the sound of it, but Rarity did have a point of course when trying to convince her that this would be part of her royal duties. While Twilight had left no doubt that she would not accept that kind of fawning from any of her friends she had somewhat resigned to the prospect of having to go with it when it came from strangers or newcomers like this postgraduate student she didn't know at all. But still her dislike of the whole princessesinging and highnessinging had gotten the better of her. Moreover it seemed like a good way to somewhat thaw what ice her unfinished statement on the fact that her guest was not the unicorn she had indeed expected him to be might have caused. "Your... err... Twilight?"
"Just Twilight", she said with a smile. Another thought boosted her confidence that not insisting on the title was the right thing to do. "This is a library, not a court and when we are to study cutie mark matters, princess business got nothing to do with it. Besides, same as earth ponies can be academics, shouldn't princesses be granted the same right and not be reduced to mere royalty?" The colt goggled at her flabbergasted for a moment, then he burst into wholehearted laughter, Twilight joined in and all tension was gone. Twilight's look fell onto Owlowiscious who was still sitting on top of the sign and had observed everything with the watchfulness so common for the owl.
"Were you talking to Owlowiscious?" "Oh, that's his name?" The colt made a little bow towards the bird. "Pleased to learn your name after having made your acquaintance already." "Do you understand him?" Twilight asked in utter surprise. "No. Not as much as I suppose you do. But I am quite certain that he understood everything I said." Owlowiscious hooted affirmatively. "Quirkiness?" Twilight wondered silently. "But Fluttershy would certainly like that".
Twilight had to think of Fluttershy once again just a little later. When she had invited her guest in, Spike was just descending the stairs carrying the tray with a hastily but meticulously prepared breakfast. Frank Blanket uttered a delighted almost triumphant call as he beheld the baby-dragon and ran to meet him, the bulging saddle-bags still on his back, blocking the way from the stairs. "You must be Spike! A pleasure to meet you! I was hoping to meet you too! My name is Frank Blanket." He put on a broad smile. Spike was taken aback at the outburst of enthusiasm. "Oh err... yes I am. The student Celestia wrote about? I mean... you are?" Twilight relieved Spike of the tray with the breakfast by levitating it past the colt and onto the table in the main room. "You were hoping to meet Spike?" she asked with a tone of surprise. "Why? I thought you were interested in cutie marks?"
Frank cast a look at her as if she had asked him why he was breathing so habitually. "Of course I am interested in cutie marks, but why would that keep me from hoping to get to know the only dragon ever known to be living among ponies? We know way too little about dragons and Spike..." he turned his look back to the dragon, "Excuse me, but you Spike are really most special and it is a privilege to meet you!" Spike was taken off guard by this degree of reverence bestowed upon him, much like Twilight had been by the address as highness and princess before. He was looking down at the most undragonish apron which he had put on when preparing the breakfast. But then he showed a brave, somewhat embarrassed but also proud smile. "Thank you! Nice to meet you too!"
Twilight gave a barely noticeable frown. She wasn't sure if she liked to see Spike being subjected to the same kind of fuss which she had become so weary about ever since her coronation. Moreover she remembered how in the past too flattering praise and recognition, much as she wanted to grant it to her number one assistant, had quickly gotten to Spike's head. But Frank's enthusiasm about meeting Spike seemed to be genuine rather than mere flattery. Come to think of it, he did have a point. Spike had been so integrated into Twilight's life for such a long time already that she hardly saw him as so unusual and spectacular anymore as the only ever dragon to live among ponies certainly appeared to other ponies who saw him for the first time.
Frank put down the saddle-bags stretching a little after being rid of the weight. Twilight, Spike and he settled down around the table and enjoyed the breakfast for which Frank made sure to express both gratitude and compliments to Spike for making it. Settling down a bit after the whole commotion of the ungentle waking call, Spike got a little drowsy and asked bluntly: "So why are you here so early already?" "Spike!" Twilight gave him a stern look. However, she did pick up the question herself. "We did not expect you to arrive for at least another hour." "Yeah, like I had even known he was to arrive today", Spike muttered to himself earning himself yet another stern look from Twilight. "Do the royal carriages set out before sunrise now?" Twilight asked. "I took the earliest train from Canterlot." "What? But why didn't Princess Celestia offer you to take a carriage? She usually—" "The generous Princess did offer me to take a carriage, but I didn't want to exploit her generosity any more than I had to. Also, I thought I would be here earlier by train and...", he blushed slightly and gave a sheepish smile, "...I hope I didn't inconvenience you by the early arrival." Another look from Twilight silenced Spike before he could say anything. Little sleep and rough waking calls had a tendency to bring forth his cranky side.
As the breakfast drew to a close, the talk turned towards Frank's research topics and Twilight had to admit that the zeal and enthusiasm he showed about the subject was quite contagious. Frank was talking about how a few ponies sported cutie marks almost from the moment of their births: "These few ponies have often been named after their cutie marks while a sizable number changed their names after their cutie marks appeared", while some remained blank flanks even to old age and often suffered from social stigma caused by this: "Many ponies think of elder ponies without a cutie mark as having no talents whatsoever; even though there are many different possible explanations". He brought up cases of cutie marks whose meanings of which remained unknown even to the ponies who sported them and which didn't seem to show any notable influence on the lives of these ponies: "A random number that didn't mean anything at all to this pony from Dodge Junction who was neither interested in nor talented with numbers or mathematics. A forty-two it was, if I recall correctly". He told of cutie marks that had caused their owners severe distress for being ambiguous or even seemed to indicate rather unseemly talents: "Some sixty years ago a young colt from Vanhoover was in fact repeatedly arrested under suspicion of horrible crimes or intentions for sporting a cracked skull as a cutie mark. At last it turned out that he was a highly gifted neurological surgeon." At last he told of cases where the tell tale sign of the cutie mark had in fact been a pain in the flank to ponies who would have rather kept their special talents secret. "Most masterful thief the highwaypony called Robing Hooves must have been, but a huge cutie mark displaying a wanted poster with his name on it sure didn't help whenever he was trying to stay undercover. Short of having his profession tattooed all over his face it was probably the worst that could have happened to him."
Twilight laughed at the image. As a kid she had sometimes heard tales of Robing Hooves. His cutie mark had never been referred to in those stories, but in this context the frequent mention of him wearing a long cloak all the time, no matter the weather, suddenly made a lot more sense to her. "All of these are interesting stories. Some of them cheerful, some of them tragic, some of them funny. It has taken a long time to gather them." "Where did you find all these stories?" Twilight asked since most of the examples Frank had provided had been unknown to her. "A few I found written down in books, but I learned most of these stories by asking ponies about them. I traveled a lot, interviewing many ponies about their cutie marks or about any interesting cutie mark stories they knew of. Some could tell stories about cutie marks of their ancestors, sometimes with old drawings or photographs documenting them. However, many of the ponies also react confused or even annoyed if asked about their cutie marks."
"Why is that?" Frank shrugged: "For many of those who are not entirely certain about the meaning of their cutie mark or whose cutie mark is ambiguous it may come across as a bit to personal to talk about whatever doesn't meet the eye. Also, many who are, usually for good reason, convinced they know what their cutie mark is about feel very uncomfortable to just think about any other possible interpretations." "An example?" The colt thought for a few moments: "Your cutie mark is a fine example." "What?" the mere suggestion that there was anything uncertain about her cutie mark appalled Twilight. "Explain!" It was an order brought forth in a tone that would have befitted Princess Luna in one of her angry moments and it startled Spike who had dozed off during the previous talk.
Frank seemed to shrink a little, made a soothing gesture and he sounded uneasy when he continued: "I am sorry Princess Twilight. I didn't mean to offend you." Twilight didn't miss he had addressed her as princess again and silently scolded herself for her lack of self-control. Being turned into an example herself after all the previous unusual examples for strange cases of cutie marks and the suggestion that her cutie mark could be seen as anything other than what she had always known it to be, had caught her on the wrong hoof. "Of course it is quite clear that your cutie mark relates to your extraordinary magic talents", Frank hurried to reassure her. "It is so certain for a number of reasons. The context in which it appeared during your entrance exam, as Princess Celestia told me, your devotion to magic, the Element of Magic taking on the shape of your cutie mark all leave hardly any doubt about that."
Twilight relaxed a little, but she couldn't help feeling a bit at a disadvantage towards somepony she hardly knew but who on the other hoof seemed to have done some research on her. This too was one of the things she apprehended she would have to get to terms with for her role as a princess.
"But think just of what you see when looking at your cutie mark and imagine it to be attached to somepony you don't know at all. It could indicate an interest for astronomy, maybe it could be a sign of a talented pyrotechnist, it could be the cutie mark of a successful acting star, depending on the nature of the unknown pony to sport the same sign even the interpretation of a reference to a habit of getting intoxicated to the point of seeing stars could not be ruled out with absolute certainty on the basis of scientific objectivity." Spike snorted with laughter at the last suggestion: "Told you that you were drinking too much tea, Twilight!" "Oh get to your cot or wherever else you want to go and let the grownups talk, Spike!" Spike shrugged and started to clear the table still quietly chuckling to himself. Twilight took a deep breath and said: "Well Mr. Blanket... Frank, I think I see your points about ambiguous cutie marks and ponies being not at ease to see the interpretations of their cutie marks called into question." "I'm sorry if this came out wrong. I didn't mean to..."
Twilight shook her head and smiled and jokingly imitating his voice she said: "Oh no, I think on the basis of scientific objectivity you have made those points with absolute certainty." Frank chuckled, but there was something uncertain about this chuckle and Twilight noticed that he was gnawing on his lower lip as if trying to keep something in he actually wanted to say. "Is there something else?" she inquired and Frank nodded hesitantly. "About my cutie mark?" "Well...", Frank rubbed his neck and avoided Twilight's look. "Maybe. But it probably isn't anything really and just a random theory. Moreover I think I accidentally disproved part of it through my untimely arrival here." Twilight was about to ask again, but before she could Frank continued so hastily that it was quite clear he was trying to stir away from the topic and Twilight decided to let him. She made a note to herself to get back to this later.
"As I was saying, I gathered all these cutie mark stories, but interesting and sometimes exemplary as they may be, they remain mostly just stories. I need to put them in some more organized context. I need to examine what studies have been made on cutie marks in the past and to check what theories have been brought up to confirm or to disprove and to establish my own theories. It was for that reason that I requested access to the Royal Library in Canterlot." Twilight nodded. This was the academic talking.
"But as Princess Celestia may have told you, there is very little of any substance to be found on the matter of cutie marks even in the largest and most profound library of Equestria." Frank's voice echoed his frustration about the lack of success in his search and Twilight could relate to that frustration very well. Remembering the time when Spike had been insecure about his identity as a dragon she said: "Once Spike and I tried to do some research about dragons and were surprised how very little there was to be found about them in our library." Frank nodded. "Yes, dragons are another subject treated with borderline criminal negligence in scientific context. But at least the high risks for anypony conducting field studies on the subject of dragons offer a bit of an excuse for this negligence. But cutie marks? I just don't understand how it is even possible that something that affects literally everypony and that has always played such an important role has been almost completely ignored."
Twilight noted that there was a little change in the way Frank was talking. It wasn't just the enthusiasm and zeal he had shown all along when talking about his studies, nor was it the frustration about the lack of previous interest in the matter. There was an air of urgency in his tone as if he was desperately trying to get a point across which he had seen discarded many times before.
"Just think of all that we don't know about cutie marks! What exactly are cutie marks and where are they coming from anyway? Ponies just aren't asking about this any more than they are wondering about why ponies happen to have hooves and heads. Why are some cutie marks so precise they leave little room for interpretation, while others are so undefined that they leave their owners the freedom to decide for themselves what to make of it? And speaking of freedom, how come that some cutie marks seem to control their owners to the point of determining their actions while in other cases the actions of the holder seem to determine the cutie marks? Think of the implications, Twilight! Could it be that we are controlled by our cutie marks rather than having a free will? And if so, whatever is it that is controlling cutie marks?"
Twilight stared at the colt who had half stood up, his forehooves set on the table. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times trying to think of what to say. She wanted to disprove this creepy implication, but raking her brain images of recent events popped up which supported rather than contradicted them. Rarity desperately trying to sort out the weather while being utterly clueless about what she was doing; Rainbow Dash more at a loss than she had ever seen her before or since while being overtaken by the animals in Fluttershy's home, whom she was trying to handle; timid Fluttershy struggling against all her basic instincts to act as Ponyville's entertainer; Pinkie Pie toiling and failing miserably on the Apple Farm and Applejack shedding bitter tears while utterly convinced that her desperate attempts to create fashion were her life's calling.
Not only had the cutie marks been in control of their actions, but even of their memories while not actually affecting their talents. "But that was different", Twilight told herself. "This was a special case of cutie marks being against all nature torn from and imposed upon ponies who had no link to them whatsoever." But further images popped up in Twilight's mind. Apple Bloom, same as her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo so desperate to get her cutie mark at last. When she had come down with cutie pox the resulting marks had not only given her random talents she didn't have any experience with at all but increasingly forced her to act out these talents against her will.
Twilight swallowed and shuddered a little. She felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped a little. Her mouth felt dry but it was also the need to bridge the uneasy silence after Frank had finished that made her reach for her still half-filled tea-cup which Spike had left standing on the table. She took a sip while she let the implications Frank had pointed out sink in and tried to decide what to make of them. Frank was clearly waiting for a response and she wasn't sure what kind of response he was expecting or what response she was going to give.
"The ends…", Twilight mumbled quietly before she looked up at Frank who had sat down again and asked: "To what ends are your studies to lead? Is it all about knowledge and your questions?" Frank smiled wryly: "You want to know if there is any practical purpose of my studies?" "Well, yes", Twilight admitted seeing no point in denying it. "I hope so", Frank said. "If we know more about cutie marks, if we even start learning anything more about them at all we may end up finding ways to help those ponies I mentioned. The ones who don't know what to make of their cutie marks, the ones who don't get a cutie mark, the ones who are totally at odds with their cutie marks. Maybe we can give them some answers. Maybe ends unforeseen at this time may help to allow for ponies to easier develop talents they hope to develop but which their cutie marks seem to deny them. And if the most sinister implication I mentioned should indeed... well, perhaps there may be ways to achieve a little more freedom of will."
Twilight hoped for this impression to pass, after all she had hardly ever heard any pony at all expressing any dissatisfaction with his or her cutie mark, but at the moment she felt that what she had expected to be thoroughly enjoyable study of academic interest spiced with anecdotes about cutie marks and their holders was to be something much more serious than she had expected and certainly not mere quirkiness.
"Very well", she said, not really knowing how to continue and decided to pass the ball to Frank. "You probably have a lot of questions and I may have a lot to tell you. What would you like to know?"
It had taken just a few probing questions from Frank to get Twilight to summarize the basic events around the switching of the cutie marks of her friends. He didn't interrupt Twilight's tale withe any questions, but observing his expressions Twilight had a feeling that later on he would ask for details or clarifications in some matters.
While she was careful to include everything of any significance in her tale, she was as cautious to avoid any details which wouldn't be of any interest to Frank's studies or would possibly embarrass her friends. If he wanted to know about their side of the story, he would have to ask them as Twilight was certain he was going to. Twilight had a feeling though that being tied up and put into a cooking pot by forest critters would not be a feature of Rainbow Dash's recollection of the events. It was with fondness however that Twilight recounted how her friends had been returned to their normal selfs again. "And from Rarity's Carousel Boutique we headed for Sweet Apple Acres to get Applejack back to normal and to help Pin—"
WHOMP! The library door burst open as if an explosion had been set right in front of the doorstep and a pink colored pony flew in as oblivious as an earth pony could possibly be to lacking wings and the consequentially presumable inability to fly. "TWILI—" Pinkie Pie stopped in midword and midair, goggled at Twilight and Frank. Gravity happened to remember that this pony was supposed to remain attached to the ground and Pinkie landed on her four hooves. Twilight wanted to say something before Pinkie could, but a tiny breath the alicorn had to take first gave Pinkie all the headstart she needed to burst into a flood of words like nopony but Pinkie Pie could utter: "I don't know him! Why don't I know him? Is he new? Who is he? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh gosh! Twilight has a new friend! Do her friends know about him? I am her friend and I don't know about him! So her friends don't know about him! But they must know about him! I must tell them! And he is a colt! And we must have a party! Another party to the one we will be having already! But why didn't you tell us, Twilight? And when did he get here? Nopony gets to Ponyville when I don't know about it! But I didn't know about it! But I know now about it! So I do know now! But was it a secret? Was it to be a surprise? I am surprised so it was a surprise! But what is his name?" "Breathe please!" shouted Twilight. Pinkie Pie spun around and rushed for the door at a speed that would have done Rainbow Dash proud. "Pinkie Pie, wait!" Twilight called after her. She cast a levitation spell, trying to stop Pinkie, but whether Twilight missed or something about Pinkie Pie made her as oblivious of having been subjected to Twilight's magic at the moment as to being subjected to laws of gravity, logic or probability, Pinkie was not stopped.
Twilight sighed. "Frank, meet Pinkie Pie." "Charmed", the colt said, looking at the door that was still swinging slightly from Pinkie's rushing out. "The representative of the Element of laughter I think? Was she... in a hurry?" "No", said Twilight with a weak smile. "She was just being Pinkie Pie. We might be able to figure out everything there is to be figured out about cutie marks, but trust me when I tell you, nopony will ever really figure out Pinkie Pie." "And she is the one you were helping at the farm?" Frank tried to pick up the thread of the interrupted story again. Twilight nodded but said: "You know, I think we should stop for the moment. I think it is better if we set out instead and I will introduce you to all my friends. You probably want to talk to them too and also..."
"And also?" Frank asked as Twilight didn't continue. Twilight sighed: "We may not want to wait too long. Celestia knows what Pinkie Pie is thinking and what kind of stories she is telling everypony she meets now." "Okay..." Frank said slightly bemused and got up as Twilight got up. He reached for his saddle-bags and put them on his back. "Do you want to take all of that along?" Twilight asked surprised. Frank nodded: "I rarely go anywhere without all my stuff." Twilight was looking out of the door that had ceased to swing but still stood open. By now the sun had completely risen into a clear summer sky. "It will be a hot day. Don't you want to at least put off your... coat?" "No." Frank walked past her out of the door.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. It hadn't escaped her notice that Frank had never put off the piece of cloth which she had flattered by referring to it as a coat. A vague suspicion which had come to Twilight's mind before grew more concrete and Twilight made a mental note to ask Frank about it when they got back in case the question would not have been answered by that time.
At this still early hour her friends were most likely to be found at their places doing their chores or whatever else they had to do. When the previous day Twilight had written to Celestia about asking her friends whether they would like to answer the student's questions she had pictured all of them sitting comfortably in the library or on a picnic-blanket somewhere on the meadows discussing cutie mark matters casually over a cup of tea and a piece of cake. The unexpectedly early arrival of Frank hadn't allowed for such preparations or for even asking her friends first.
Twilight was secretly wondering if Celestia hadn't been aware that the very short notice would put her under some pressure or if perhaps this might have even been her intention as a kind of practical lecture in some of the difficulties princesses might have to cope with in case of unforeseen events, assemblies or the like. Maybe the more leisure kind of get-together which Twilight had pictured could still be made up for later, but with Pinkie Pie out and probably sowing some confusion it would be best to clear things up as soon as possible. She regretted that for all this she would have to confront her friends with Frank right away rather than giving them the chance of not having to decide about whether or not to help him right into his face. She had little doubt that her friends would be happy to help the student who, for all quirks she had taken notice of, had been a pleasant conversationalist and gentle-colt. Then again, he had demonstrated quite clearly how delicate talk on cutie marks could turn out to be and Twilight hoped it would not put any of the others into an uneasy spot. She considered asking Frank not to come up with any possibly more delicate questions during the first introductions but then decided against it. On the one hoof agreeing with him on what to talk about and what to avoid seemed almost kind of conspiratorial to Twilight and on the other she was kind of curious herself about how Frank would make first acquaintance with her friends without any help or instructions from her. She was smiling to herself remembering her own first acquaintance with them little more than a year ago.
"Where are we going?" Frank inquired after the first few steps. "Sweet Apple Acres", Twilight said, "You'll meet my friend Applejack there." "Ah yes. She is the representative of the Element of Honesty isn't she? An earth pony like Pinkie Pie?" Twilight laughed at the final words: "She sure is an earth pony, but one really can't say Applejack was a lot like Pinkie Pie." Twilight had decided to introduce Frank to Applejack first of all her friends, since she was probably the most easygoing and in every respect most down to earth pony of the lot. "The least quirky of us all", Twilight thought to herself chuckling quietly. After Pinkie Pie's spectacular entrance Frank might appreciate the uncomplicated straightforwardness of Applejack and moreover Twilight was curious about the honest at all times opinion of Applejack on the student from Fillydelphia.
As they approached Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight spotted Applejack critically examining one of her trees and probing the soil at its roots by scraping it with a hoof. It would still take some two months before the beginning of Applebuck Season, but at this time of the year Applejack would continuously check on each of her trees, the soil, the leaves and a myriad of other things to make sure that the apples would get all they needed to grow up to the quality standard the Apple-family took so much rightful pride in.
"Good morning Applejack", Twilight called as she approached. "Apples growing well I hope?" The earth pony looked up from the patch of soil she had been scraping and a happy smile appeared on her face: "Trust me when I tell ya, Twilight, that we're in for a fine harvest this year. These here apples are gettin' so fine a share of sunlight they'll be sugar on your tongue! May have to ask Rainbow Dash for a little shower though. That sun's dryin' up the soil in no time." Applejack looked up at the cloudless sky, took off her Stetson hat to fan herself and added: "An' a little breeze sure wouldn't hurt either."
Twilight nodded in agreement. Beckoning to Frank she said: "Applejack, I'd like you to meet a guest from Fillydelphia who arrived this morning—" "Oh, so you're Mr. Breathe Please?" Applejack asked extending a hoof for a shake. "Say what now?" Twilight asked confused. "The name's Frank Blanked", the colt said giving no sign of sharing Twilight's confusion in case he did. He took the hoof offered, gave it a firm shake and, adding to Twilight's confusion he said in a perfect imitation of Applejack's dialect: "Pleased to meet ya." "Why would you think his name was Breathe Please?" Twilight asked. "That's what I think Pinkie says you said his name was."
Pinkie... of course. "Why would she think his name was Breathe Please?" Twilight was wondering aloud to herself. "I think she thinks you told her when she was asking you about my name", said Frank, no shred of Applejack dialect in his words now. "She asked about your name?" Twilight wondered. "Among other", Frank shrugged and added: "What she said was: 'I don't know him! Why don't I know him? Is he new? Who is he? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh gosh! Twilight has'—" "Wait!" Twilight interrupted him, "You mean you remember every word she said?" The colt nodded: "The last thing she asked was what my name was before you told her to breathe please. She must have taken that as an answer to her question."
The matter of course way in which Frank laid this out made it sound as if there hadn't been anything unusual at all about his short encounter with Pinkie Pie, which in itself was unusual for someone who didn't know her. "When was Pinkie here and what else did she say?" Twilight asked Applejack. "T'was just a few minutes ago an' she didn't stay long. Pinkie hurry, ya know. But she did say there was a colt at your place and that she didn't know him but that his name was Breathe Please. I think she also said somethin' about a party. I don't know why she was carryin' a barrel on her back, but gone again she was before Ah could even ask a thing. I was goin' to drop by your place to check things out once done checkin' the trees in this here patch." Turning to Frank she asked: "So you're from Fillydelphia? An' how do you know our little princess here?"
It was in playful banter that Applejack referred to Twilight as a princess, but still it made Twilight shift uncomfortably. "Ah didn't know her before getting here dis morning", Frank said, switching back to Applejack's dialect. "No more than anypony in all Equestria knows their newest princess." "What are you? Some kind of fanpony?" asked Applejack a slight frown appearing on her face and casting a look at Twilight as if looking for any signs indicating that this pony might not be as welcome as his appearing in the company of Twilight had indicated. "Oh no, no, no, absolutely not!" Frank hurried to assure with a vehemence which Twilight might have considered a little offensive had it been in a different context. "Princess Celestia sent him from Canterlot", Twilight came to Frank's aid. Applejack relaxed: "Did the Princess? But why? And I thought you were from Fillydelphia?" "It was on short notice", Twilight explained. "I meant to tell you all, but I learned only last night that he would arrive here this morning and when he arrived I wasn't even up." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...", Frank mumbled apparently still embarrassed about his untimely arrival.
"An early riser!" Applejack laughed. "Ah like that! Somepony givin' my sleepyhead friend here an early call!" "I'm not—", Twilight started to protest, but Applejack's smirking reassured her that the remark had been all in good jest. Given how often she put Spike on the receiving end of that kind of jest and the fact that, excepting Applejack, Twilight was probably the least sleepy of the friends it sure was unusual for her to be on the receiving end herself for a change. Knowing Applejack, Twilight didn't doubt that if Frank had appeared at Sweet Apple Acres rather than in front of the library he probably would have found Applejack up and at work by the time of his arrival rather than ending up talking to an owl.
"Fillydelphia is where I was born", Frank explained. "But I've been on the road for a while..." "On the road?" Twilight thought to herself. She realized not for the first time this morning that with all the talk about cutie marks and Frank's studies she had so far learned very little about the colt himself. "...and been to Canterlot for the libraries there. Princess Celestia suggested I should visit Twilight here and Ponyville to find somethin' more for mah studies." "Your studies?" Applejack looked positively puzzled now. "Frank is a postgraduate student Applejack", Twilight said. "He is mostly studying cutie marks." The look of surprise on Applejack's face even increased. "A student? Now if ya don't mind me sayin', y'all don't sound like them fancy learned Canterlot unicorns... no offense, Twilight." Applejack gave an appraising look to Frank her eyes wandering from his hooves past the shabby saddle-bags and up to the twisted headgear which Frank had put on again to protect his head from the sun. "And whether you mind me sayin' it or not, you sure as hay don't look like a fancy learned Canterlot pony either. No offense meant."
"None taken", said Frank. "However..." with a swift motion he removed the hat and stuck it to one of his saddle-bags, this time without getting caught in the straps. He straightened his spectacles and straightened his overall posture. He cast back his head. His eyes and entire face all of a sudden changed to an appearance of ridiculously over the top smugness. When he continued to speak there was not an inkling of the previous dialect in his voice anymore and instead a clear and imposing voice rang out that would have done a regal herald honor: "...it is my professional opinion, that too much regard is being paid by too many ponies towards outward appearances only, whether visual or auditory, when appraising fellow ponies abilities for what they have never seen them do. Therefore, impose not on me the need to express myself in manners unbeknownst to most of the fine ponyfolk in Equestria, so they might think of me as 'fancy'. Give fop-ponies their silks and let dandy-ponies talk in fancy tongues bathing in the shallow glory of setting themselves apart from most of their fellow ponies. But ask me not to share in that kind of vanity and think not lower of me because I will not think higher of myself for traveling the road of academics than of the simple ponies who paved that road!"
Twilight's jaw had dropped at this speech as had Applejack's. Frank chuckled as he broke the smug look, eased his posture and snatched for his hat and put it onto his head again. "I never claimed bein' a 'fancy pony' Applejack, but trust me when I tell y'all I reckon that somewhat learned I am. I can put up the show if I have too, but do I really have to put up that show now?"
Applejack burst into laughter to the point of rolling on the floor and literally laughing tears. Twilight joined in though not quite as enthusiastically and not feeling quite as much at ease. She was sure that Applejack had not understood everything Frank had said. Twilight too had to let the speech sink in for a moment to grasp the whole meaning. Much as the context and Frank's own laughter suggested it to have been nothing but an elaborate joke, Twilight had a harder time to see this one as nothing but, than had been the case with Applejack's jest about sleepiness. She couldn't help but feeling that she really wanted to get to know more about Frank than just about his studies.
Whatever else Twilight might think about Frank's speech, it had definitely broken the ice between Applejack and him. Frank laid out the questions of his studies much as he had laid them out to Twilight though using Applejack's own dialect. Applejack however didn't seem to be nearly as upset as Twilight had been about some of the implications Frank made. She confirmed she had felt controlled by what her cutie mark had been telling her during the incident of the switched cutie marks. She had been utterly convinced that dressmaking was her destiny in spite of having also been astutely aware that the dresses she had been trying to make had been "far from fancy".
Applejack also mentioned her younger sister Apple Bloom's case of cutie pox as well as the extreme craving of her and her friends to get their cutie marks at last. "She sure will be be interested in gettin' to know an expert on cutie marks", Applejack said. "And so may be the friends of hers. You know, they're calling themselves 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'." "I'd sure like to meet them", Frank said. "Ya know the Apple-family is really interesting for my studies. Do y'all have cutie marks of apples or foods based on apples?" "Most of us do, not all though", said Applejack after a few moments. "My great grandmother had a sewin' machine I think. There are the oranges who kind of belong to the family too, but whose cutie marks are more like oranges... obviously. I think one of Granny Smith's generation in the family album has a banjo and in case of cousin Peachy Sweet we may never know fer sure whether that pie of hers is to be an apple- or a peach-pie. None of us has ever bitten her to try." Applejack grinned. "But yeah, most Apples come with apple marks." "I met some of your folks before, ya know. While visiting different places in Equestria", Frank said. "It'd be hard not to", Applejack answered with some pride in her voice. "Don't think there are many places in Equestria without at least a few Apples in it. That includes Fillydelphia."
"Excuse me", Twilight intervened. She had been listening to the talk for a while with some interest but at the same time couldn't keep her mind from straying to some other matters on her mind. "I hate to interrupt you, but maybe it is better to continue another time? Maybe we should get going to introduce you to the others too. And..." Twilight winked, "...we may want to set the record straight before everyone in Ponyville gets introduced to you as 'Breathe Please'."
"Ah guess I should try to catch Rainbow Dash anyway about a little shower over this here patch", Applejack said, "I'll make sure to set that record straight in case I catch her first and if you do, be so kind to send her over, will ya?" "Of course", Twilight said. "See you, AJ." It was with a slight twinge of regret that she saw her walk off. Twilight would have liked to have a word just with her, but it would have come across as odd, even rude to ask Frank to stay put while she talked to Applejack. Maybe she'd get a chance for a talk in confidence later on. "So are we going to look for Rainbow Dash then?" Frank asked. Twilight shook her head: "Not much of a point looking for her. We may either find her by accident napping on some cloud or some tree or more likely she is going to find us first anyway. I suggest we head for Rarity's Boutique." "Ah, the Element of Generosity", Frank said with a smile. "I'm anxious to meet her." "Yeah", said Twilight looking at the colt and being unable to keep every mischievous thought about the impending meeting from her mind, "I'm sure it will be interesting." Her mischief didn't went so far as to let Frank rush headlong into disaster and so she added with a slightly sourish tone: "You do want to be discrete though about fop-ponies, silks and fancy when talking to her."
Rarity's reaction when she opened her door for Twilight and Frank was every bit the reaction Twilight had expected. The delighted expression that appeared on her face at the sight of Twilight froze the moment her look fell on Frank. Twilight doubted her words of introduction reached Rarity's mind as her look fell on the worn out, bulging saddle-bags undoubtedly registering every loose thread, crack and makeshift repair. As her look wandered past the spotless but threadbare wrap-around her eyes widened while her pupils and irides narrowed and by the time her look fell on Frank's headgear it turned into an expression of horror comparable to one Rarity had sported in paralyzing moments of mortal peril. Her lower jaw sagging a little. When Frank drew the felt oddity from his head in the same elegant motion he had performed in the morning, but taking no risk of entanglement this time by putting it back onto his head rather than attaching it to his saddle-bag, Rarity's eyes followed the hat as if in mesmerized trance. Her acceptance of the hoofshake offered came mechanical rather than by a deliberate decision.
Some moments of silence passed after Twilight and Frank had both completed their words of introduction. When Rarity snapped out of her state she confirmed both, Twilight's suspicion that Pinkie Pie had been here and that Rarity hadn't absorbed a word of the introduction at all by saying: "Pleased to make your acquaintance. If you will excuse us for a moment Mr. Please I got something I must show to Twilight." Before Twilight could say or do anything, Rarity grabbed her and dragged her to the opposite end of the Boutique and behind a movable screen set up there. No new fashion design, dress or anything at all that Rarity could have shown to Twilight was to be seen beyond the screen. "Darling dear, what happened?" Rarity asked in a hushed voice that would not be heard by somepony standing in front of the albeit open door of the boutique. Rarity grabbed Twilight's shoulders as if she either thought that Twilight was unable to stand on her own or as if she was about to either hug or shake her.
"When Pinkie told there was a colt at your place I already assumed some kind of pestering fan-pony had intruded into your home and I was going to come to your assistance. But Pinkie had not impressed upon me what kind of ruffian this Mr. Please was, or else I would have most assuredly rushed to your aid right away." "Blanket", Twilight said dryly, though hushing up her voice same as Rarity did to spare both her and Frank the embarrassment. "What?" "As I just said, his name is Frank Blanket." Twilight couldn't help feeling a stab of hurt pride because Rarity seemed convinced that she couldn't handle an importunate fan-pony on her own. She reminded herself that Rarity was talking out of honest concern, care and friendship, but if confronting an intruder Twilight had little doubt that with her magic she would be able to cope with it without any help. Luckily, the fear of such intruders which some of her friends, Rarity in particular, had expressed since Twilight's coronation had so far proven unnecessary.
Rarity seemed to be a little distracted by Twilight's correcting her about Frank's name. "What does this... pony, do here?" she put a stress on the word pony that made it sound like an insult. Twilight was getting annoyed. She had expected Rarity's reaction at the sight of Frank to be less than enthusiastic, but this was over the top even by Rarity's standards and Twilight felt uncomfortably reminded of the prejudiced attitude shown towards the zebra Zecora before the others had gotten to know her. Little as she knew about Frank herself, she was not going to let Rarity act like he was some kind of crook because he didn't meet her fashion standards.
"He was sent here from Canterlot by Princess Celestia herself and upon my personal invitation", Twilight said justifying this name-dropping to herself with the probability that Rarity would not question Princess Celestia as readily as Frank or herself. "But why?" Rarity asked with an air of desperation as if all the world was betraying her. "Not so loud" Twilight whispered since Rarity's last words had come out so loud they would probably be audible, if not intelligible, from the door. "He is a postgraduate student from Fillydelphia focusing on the study of cutie marks." "But these old... rags, these tattered stuffed bags and this... thing on his head. He does not look like a student, he looks like... a hobo."
"Ahem..." Twilight and Rarity twitched, whirled around and peeked past the opposite ends of the screen. Frank was standing where they had left him in front of the door. "By all definition I am, Miss Rarity. You are quite correct about that." "What?" Twilight called wondering at the same time how the hay Frank had apparently been able to follow their conversation from that distance as well as how many more odd or quirky surprises that colt was going to come up with. He removed the hat from his head and twisted it around one hoof while looking rather abashed. But looking directly at Rarity, he asked: "May I enter?" His tone was one of such irrefutable humility that it left Rarity, who seemed as embarrassed about her words as Frank appeared about having heard them, no other choice but to nod. He used the doormat even though his hooves had not been particularly soiled on the dry ground and stepped in.
"What do you mean you are?" Twilight snapped. "A hobo? You told everypony you were a postgraduate student!" "I am, I did and I am." Frank took a deep breath. "I studied and passed in Fillydelphia. I am a postgraduate student. I am studying cutie marks. For quite a while I have been wandering about, my home being wherever I happened to be at the time rather than at some fixed place. I guess one could say that this makes me a hobo." "Why didn't you tell me?" Twilight asked angrily. "You didn't ask. And what does it have to do with anything at all?" "You misled everypony." "But I didn't. I never told you or the other Princesses anything untrue."
Twilight was frowning and suddenly Frank returned the frown and while he kept his voice calm there was a very slight tremble in it suggesting that it was taking some effort for him. "Nor did I try to pretend anything! Has not Miss Rarity pointed out just now that I am looking like a hobo? Did I not say that I rarely go anywhere without all my stuff when I picked up my bags at your place? Did I not tell Applejack that I've been on the road for a while? Did I make any attempt to deny it just now? Had you asked I would not have claimed otherwise."
For the second time today Twilight took notice of the fact that Frank seemed to have a good memory for everything that had been said, but when he had said it the context sure enough had allowed for his statements to be interpreted differently. "What would you have me do? Introduce me as a hobo first and then as a student? Would it have earned me more of the surprise I got for being an earth pony? Would you have sent me away for not having a home unfoldable? Would you have me appear like a beggar rather than a student?"
Twilight was at a loss for words. Just how exactly had this pony managed to turn the tables the way he had? Rarity too appeared to be utterly at a loss, but looking at her face Twilight could tell that she, the very one whose harsh words had actually set off this whole argument, was sympathizing with the homeless colt whom she had debased just moments ago. And how else could the representative of the Element of Generosity possibly be expected to act? It was enough to drive a pony crazy.
Frank however seemed to deflate and suddenly looked tired as if the calm but irritated words had worn him out. "I beg your pardon. I never meant to impose myself." He took a little bow. "Miss Rarity, I'm sorry to..." Rarity stepped out from behind the screen. She looked positively overcharged and of course she didn't have any idea what Twilight and Frank had or hadn't talked about before, but the calmness in spite of an undertone of hurt pride in combination with Franks eloquence and display of manners were enough to make her feel sorry for her earlier words. "Oh please... I mean... Mr. Blanket, is it? I did not mean to... and uhm... why did you come here in the first place?" Rarity was looking back, seeking help from Twilight who too came forth from the cover of the screen.
She had calmed down and was determined to postpone any further sorting out of things until after they left the boutique. "As I was saying, Mr. Blanket... I mean Frank here is studying cutie marks. He would therefore like to talk to us about when you and the others had their cutie marks switched." "Oh my; of course I always want to help... it just comes so suddenly." Twilight had expected for Rarity to be least eager among her friends to discuss a matter she probably had experienced as degrading and the way this meeting had gotten off on the wrong hoof was certainly not helping matters.
It was Frank who answered and his tone was that of the perfect gentle-colt as whom Twilight had gotten to know him in the morning: "Miss Rarity, I apologize for barging in like this. I arrived here on way too short a notice and I am afraid my enthusiasm ever since Princess Celestia suggested I should visit Ponyville and contact Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony has made me officious. I didn't mean to be so inconsiderate. If you feel at ease about supporting my studies I would be most obliged to you. But I would not want to inconvenience you or pester you for any decision or any answers now. And if you do not want to talk about about cutie marks and the incident Princess Twilight named, I shall never bother you about it again."
Rarity was speechless. This had clearly not been the kind of speech she would have expected from the mouth of a hobo. The silence began to get uneasy and it was Twilight who turned to Frank: "I think we should go and visit Fluttershy." "Uhm... are you sure? I really shouldn't be barging in like this and—" "Just for introductions", Twilight said. "Since Pinkie Pie has spread word anyway and possibly some confusion I think it is for the best if the others get to know you."
The colt nodded, but Rarity contradicted: "Oh Twilight, I think you really shouldn't visit Fluttershy at this time." Twilight gave her a surprised look. "Why not?" "Fluttershy passed by here earlier this morning and she told me that her... special friend just arrived at her place for a visit." Twilight wasn't sure she had heard correctly, gaped at Rarity and wondered how many more surprises one single day could bring: "Come again?"
"Her antlered, goat horned, fanged, snake-tongued, goat-bearded, polymorphic friend", Rarity specified. "Discord", Twilight muttered flatly. She groaned silently. The draconequus and master of chaos was really all she needed to make her day. Frank however looked up with visible surprise and... was that delight? "Discord?" he asked. "Here?" Twilight nodded: "Reformed now... we think." "Princess Celestia mentioned this. I would be really interested to meet him." The colt seemed to be exhilarated and Twilight heard him mumbling to himself: "Princesses, a dragon, the representatives of the Elements of Harmony, a dragonequus... this must be the most interesting day ever!" Twilight suppressed a sigh, wondering how many more interesting things and quirks she could handle in one day.
When they had left Rarity's boutique far enough behind to be out of earshot Twilight turned to Frank. She wasn't really sure where to start. Frank had made some good points before and the question whether she might have reacted any different to him if she had known that he was a hobo had actually given her something to chew on. Moreover another thought had occurred to her. Frank had spent some time in Canterlot and had been talking to Princess Celestia. Maybe the Princess was not omniscient, but Twilight had always seen her as about as close to omniscience as possible. Her long experience and knowledge of pony nature had probably made it easy for her to see right through what Twilight hadn't seen in spite of it appearing so glaringly obvious once Frank had spelled it out. Twilight could not imagine that Celestia had been unaware and was almost certain that the visit of Frank was more than the mere "little task that may be less of a challenge but more of a delight for the inquisitive student as whom I have always known you" as which Celestia had described it in her first letter. Perhaps this was more like a lesson about being a Princess than a study about cutie marks; and maybe it was both of that. Perhaps the best thing to do now was to do what she should have done before.
"Frank, who exactly are you? Tell something about yourself." The colt looked a bit insecure. "Uhm yes, well... but what do you want to know?" "For starters, how could you possibly hear what Rarity was saying? She was talking quietly, there was the screen, you were so far away... you shouldn't have heard, let alone understood, anything." "Oh that, well I shouldn't have left my hat on when we got to Miss Rarity's place, but I hadn't expected—" "Don't switch the topic! I didn't ask you about fashion", Twilight interrupted sternly, not willing to let Frank off the hook. "No, you don't understand. It is because of this hat that I heard you talking and understood what you said. Please let me demonstrate." The colt took the twisted hat from his head and offered it to Twilight. She was looking at it with confusion but didn't accept it. "Take it", Frank said. "Put it on and you will see... or hear rather." Twilight took the ugly headgear but eyed it skeptically. "I don't see anypony around watching you and if somepony did, a hat is not enough to turn a princess into a hobo", he chuckled.
Twilight didn't like the joke, but reluctantly she put on the hat shifting it a little so it didn't slip over her horn. The effect was as immediate as it was impressive. The twisted brim around her ears had the effect of greatly enhanced pinnas even though her ears didn't fit quite exactly into the twists matching Frank's ears. Twilight could hear the twittering of birds, the chirping of some insects and other sounds from the direction of the forest that was still too far away for her to have taken any notice of the sounds without Frank's hat. Twilight was impressed, but as she put off the hat to hoove it back to Frank she gave him a critical look: "You made this hat yourself? To eavesdrop on other ponies?" "No I didn't", Frank said defensively. "I mean, I did make it, twist the brim and stiffen it the way it is. Auditoriums in Fillydelphia are large, often overcrowded and not all the lecturers understand the need to speak up to be heard in the rear rows. When traveling on your own it can sometimes be helping to hear what is lying ahead, saving even if one happened to travel through regions like the Everfree Forest." "You have been in Everfree Forest?" Twilight asked surprised. "Oh no, I have not. But if I ever did go there...", he shrugged. "In any case I have grown so used to this hat that perhaps I'm forgetting sometimes that it is not quite... in vogue?" This time Twilight couldn't help but laugh at the understatement.
"And why are you so interested in meeting Discord?" "I once saw him…", Frank began and seeing the look of surprise on Twilight's face, he hurried to add: "He was still all stone at the time. It was during a school field trip to Canterlot. I was quite young but I found this interesting and tried to read what I could find about him; which was not all too much. But I had been wondering about this... creature. It didn't seem to fit together at all." "Or fit to anything or anypony at all either", Twilight snorted. "Be careful about Discord, Frank." "You don't believe in his reformation?" It was Frank's turn to look surprised.
Twilight didn't respond right away, carefully pondering her answer. "Princess Celestia wanted to see him reformed and Fluttershy trusts him..." Twilight sighed. "I just don't really know. Discord is not a joke. He came closer to breaking our friendship than anyone or anything ever did…" Twilight's words sounded like she was talking to herself rather than Frank. Her look became a bit unfocused as if she was staring right at a faraway and very unpleasant memory. She shook her head as if to literally shake off the thought. "He is dangerous and so... manipulative." She stopped and cast a look at the colt who backed away from the big eyes looking at her. Not that Twilight had been looking angry or threatening, but it was a look as if she was trying to scan him for what eyes alone couldn't see. "Princess? Twilight?" Frank asked insecurely. "Never mind. Let us go and just not linger around Discord if we can help it."
They didn't talk for the rest of the way to Fluttershy's cottage. There had been more Twilight had been going to ask, but the memory of the first encounter with Discord had put Twilight in a taciturn mood. Frank was shy to interrupt her brooding silence. The sight of Fluttershy's home didn't help to lift Twilight's spirit. Rarity's warning would not have been necessary for Twilight to know who was guest in Fluttershy's house given the knot in the wooden pole of the mailbox, the puffs of differently colored smoke rising from the chimney forming rude grimaces and the bridge across the brook in front of Fluttershy's home being in a constant wavelike motion would have been sufficient to leave no doubt about Discord's presence. Moreover every single leaf on the tree closest to Fluttershy's home had taken on a different color and pattern of lines, circles and random shapes. Rather than staying the way they were, each leaf was in a state of constant change of color and pattern while the trunk of the tree stretched, contracted, bent and straightened in an almost dance like manner, but without any predictable sequence. The sheer overload of stimuli made it almost impossible to look at the tree for more than a few seconds without risk of a severe headache. "Artsy", Frank commented as they passed the bridge which Twilight forced into immobility with a slashing movement of her horn.
Maybe Twilight's use of magic had given away her presence to Discord, or he had noticed her approach by other means known to him alone and passed the information on to Fluttershy. In any case Twilight didn't have to knock but Fluttershy already opened the door when Twillight and Frank were still some steps away. The pegasus looked quite at ease and didn't seem to be in any way disconcerted about the nearby tree not acting in accordance with regular tree behavior or about anything else, until her look fell on Frank and her smile became a little insecure. "Hello Fluttershy", Twilight greeted her friend with the most reassuring smile she could muster. "I don't want to disturb you. I just want you to meet somepony and we'll be on our way again." "Oh, okay…", Fluttershy said taken aback, her shyness giving way not so much because of the reassurance but because of surprise about the barely concealed eagerness of Twilight to get away again as quickly as possible.
"Maybe Pinkie Pie has already told you about my guest." Twilight continued. "Oh, so that was what she was trying to do", a jeering voice said. Twilight abandoned all hope to get away without attracting the attention of the dragonequus. Discord was walking through the wall of Fluttershy's cottage, not bothering to take the door. In his lion-pawed right hand he held a cup upside down taking a sip by tilting the cup allowing some of its contents to pour up to his mouth in utter defiance of the laws of gravity. "What do you mean by 'was trying to', Discord?" Twilight growled.
Discord rolled the sip he had taken around in his mouth, making a show of enjoying it before at last he swallowed. "I am also most delighted to see you, Princess. And so honored that royal duties still allow you to come just to pay your respects to me." Discord snapped the talons of his left hand and a pretentious coronation mantle appeared around Twilight's torso. Twilight dissolved the mantle instantly with her magic and there was a dangerous sparkling in her eyes when, stressing every word, she snarled: "Discord! What did you do to Pinkie?" Discord hurled the cup over his shoulder. It passed through the grassy roof of Fluttershy's cottage leaving nothing behind but a venus flytrap which immediately started snapping at a butterfly passing by. Resigning to a stern look from Fluttershy, Discord rolled his eyes and the carnivorous plant turned into a daisy.
"Well, she just seemed so restless and noisy. I didn't want her to upset my dear Fluttershy here..." Fluttershy dissolved and instantaneously reappeared on Discord's left arm where he was holding her like a kitten. At the same time a shining halo appeared above Discord's head. "...so I just calmed her down a little until she left." "And that was not very kind of you", Fluttershy said as she fluttered away from Discord's arm. Looking at Twilight, Fluttershy added: "She was perhaps a tiny bit restless." "What did he do to her, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, giving up on trying to get a clear response from Discord. "Well... when she came in—" "Burst in!" Discord interjected. "...Discord made her talk all funny. I mean talk so one couldn't understand what she was saying. And when she continued he made a switch appear which he turned until Pinkie was silent."
Twilight glared at Discord angry at herself for having a tiny voice at the back of her mind telling her that occasionally a volume control for Pinkie Pie would not be the worst thing to have. "Did you turn her back to normal, Discord?" Twilight demanded to know. "Turn her into normal? I would never do such a cruel thing to poor Pink—" "DISCORD!" The dragonequus sighed. "Cross my heart..." A shining red cross glowed up on Discord's chest, "...hope to fly...", he was flapping with the batwing and the pegasus wing on his back, "...stick a cupcake in my eye." A cupcake appeared in Discord's lionpaw and he slapped it onto his left eye. "By the time she crossed the bridge she was not normal, but she was the way she had been before bursting in here."
Twilight decided to accept the Pinkie promise from Discord's mouth. Thinking that for the first time today she could introduce Frank without first correcting the notion of him being 'Mr. Breathe Please', Twilight turned to her pegasus friend: "I would like you to meet Frank Blanket. He is a... a wandering student from Fillydelphia." "Oh the pleasure is all mine!" shouted Discord. He plucked his taloned left hand from his arm and hurled it towards Frank where it remained hoovering in the air stretched out for a shake. Up to now Frank had observed and listened in silence, but when the talons were hoovering in the air in front of him he accepted the shake with his left hoof responding: "Oh certainly not all of it, Mr. Discord." Discord guffawed while his talons were zigzagging back to him to reattach to his harm. "An intellectual with manners! That's so uncommon!"
Twilight's look was all daggers and it was only consideration for Fluttershy, who was looking rather unhappy, that she denied herself a sharp response to Discord's taunt. "I'm very happy to meet you too, Miss Fluttershy", Frank said smiling and approaching slowly. "Hello...", Fluttershy breathed almost inaudible. Twilight thought she would never understand how Fluttershy of all ponies, Fluttershy who was scared into shivers at the mere prospect of having to talk to somepony she hadn't met before, happened to be the one pony to establish something like a friendship with one of the creepiest, most loathsome and certainly least shy creatures in all of Equestria.
"And what exactly is this wandering student studying I'm wondering?" said Discord. "What's it to you, Discord?" said Twilight. "Cutie marks", Frank said at the same time. "And err... other things..." he added, giving Twilight an apologetic look. "How very cute", Discord taunted. "Say... didn't I see you before somewhere?" "Maybe", Frank said, "But I'm surprised you even remember. You know, you looked all stoned at the time." For a moment Discord looked stunned. He had provoked all kind of reactions from ponies, but being on the receiving end of a jest rather than threats, curses or pleas was something he couldn't remember. "Oh you mean I looked like this?" Discord said snapping his talons while holding up a mirror he had produced out of nowhere into his lion-paw. A shudder ran through Frank's body and it turned all gray.
"Discord!" Twilight and Fluttershy shouted at the same time. Frank's eyes flickered nervously before they met the mirror Discord was holding and he seemed to calm down. "Distinguished looking", he commented. "Turn him back immediately Discord or I swear I will—" "...do what, Princess Twilight? Turn me back to stone with the Elements? Oh right you don't have them anymore. How very silly of me to forget about such a minor detail." "Discord, you promised!" Fluttershy said quietly looking very unhappy. "Oh don't look at me like that, Fluttershy, or else I'll turn back into stone, Elements or no Elements. Sometimes you are really not so different from that cockatrice you told me about, you know that?"
Dropping the mirror, which burst into a pile of dices as it hit the ground, Discord gave a wave with his paw and Frank's color turned first to green, earning Discord a stern look from Fluttershy, and then back to his original colors. Eager to be done with all this, Twilight said to Fluttershy: "Frank would really like to ask us some questions about cutie marks and the time when yours were switched. We already asked Applejack and Rarity..." "And why would he not want to ask questions of me?" Discord asked. "For starters Discord, you don't even have a cutie mark and—" "You would like me to ask you questions?" Frank asked eagerly and almost instantaneously he had produced a role of paper and a quill from his saddle-bag. Once again Discord looked at the student in disbelief.
"You... want to ask me questions?" "But of course! You are a living historical source and—" "Historical source!" snapped Discord. "I am the spirit of chaos..." The quill in Franks hand burst into a green flame and crumbled to ashes as Frank hastily dropped it. "I am—" "So predictable!" unlike Discord Frank did not raise his voice. "What?" "Always do what nopony expects. But that's exactly what ponies are expecting from you by now and you still call that chaos?" Frank's tone was that of an unimpressed art-critic. Not just Discord but also Twilight and Fluttershy were goggling at him now.
Frank took his spectacles from his nose one of whose lenses had turned amber while the other one had turned green all of a sudden and pocketed them. "Maybe you are getting old. I've seen Pinkie Pie today; do you really think your antics are still that surprising? You are doing all these random things at such a rate that ponies are getting used to it. I'm sorry for you and since you don't want to answer any questions after all, please excuse me. I think I got to head to Ponyville to get a new quill." At the last words he couldn't quite keep every trace of anger from his voice. Discord had gradually shrunk to the size of the ponies standing beside him. "Please excuse me, Miss Fluttershy. I didn't mean to cause any distress", Frank said with a slight bow. "Touché", the shrunk Discord said suddenly and held out the lion-paw in which he held a quill. A look of genuine surprise appeared on Frank's face. "Thank you", he said while accepting the quill. "That is something that really does surprise me." Twilight said goodbye to Fluttershy and she and Frank headed back over the bridge which began to rotate once they had passed it.
"I'm sorry if I got carried away", Frank said after a while. Twilight hadn't said anything since they had left Fluttershy and Discord. "It's just that one doesn't get a chance to ask questions from some... well not exactly somepony, like him. I was curious." Twilight was the last one to blame anypony for curiosity and actually the whole encounter between Frank and Discord had turned her musing rather than angry. "It's okay, but I'm not sure if you have done yourself a favor provoking his... attention like that. I don't know Discord much, I don't know if anypony knows him enough to figure him out. Probably not, or else he wouldn't be Discord. But I think with what you said you somehow got through to him one way or another. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not." Frank was looking rather uncomfortable.
"Uhm, Twilight, what did he mean when he said that you didn't have the Elements anymore?" Twilight shook her head. She had seen the question coming but didn't really want to answer it. The fact that her friends and she had had to give up on the Elements recently and return them to the little known and magically protected Tree of Harmony, so it could battle an evil unleashed by Discord more than a thousand years ago, was not common knowledge and Twilight was not eager to change that. It was bad enough that ever since she had been worrying herself about whether they would be able to keep the spirit of chaos in check should the unlikely relationship that Fluttershy had established with him ever fail to do so. Moreover it would be better if the Tree remained a secret. From what Celestia had told her, the magic of the Tree would keep anypony away from it who wasn't linked to the Elements of Harmony as a current, future or former wielder, or entrusted with the knowledge and led to the Tree by one of the wielders.
"That was just Discord trying to sow discord. Please let us not talk about him anymore. He sure can spoil a beautiful morning. With him around you didn't even get much of a chance to get to know Fluttershy." Frank nodded, but didn't seem very convinced. "So... where are we going now?" Twilight shrugged: "Back to the library?" she suggested. "Maybe you want to take some notes on what you heard so far."
"I might want to make a checklist on things to do about the studies in days to come", Frank said. Twilight looked at him surprised and tried to read from his mind if this idea might have been a joke at her expense. She couldn't think of anypony other than herself making check lists. It was a habit she had never given up on since her studying days at Canterlot and one that Spike was sometimes claiming her to be obsessed with. Obsessed or not, nothing in Frank's expression or voice suggested for him not to be serious when he continued: "I can also try out Discord's quill while I'm at it." "Hmm... you might want to be careful with that one. Beware of Discord bearing gifts." "Do you think I should get a new quill instead?" "If you want to be on the safe side you might want to." "I was going to take a little walk through the town anyway. I haven't ever been to Ponyville before and maybe I can get to know some other ponies too."
Twilight was thinking of her own first day in Ponyville. She had been here by royal order of Princess Celestia to supervise the preparations for the summer sun celebration and to make some friends. Today Twilight was a little embarrassed about her reluctance back then to get in contact with anypony who was not in charge of part of the preparations the supervision of which had been Celestia's first order. She was sometimes wondering what might have been had the others been similarly reserved about her. She shook off the thought. She and her friends had been... destined to meet. If there had ever been any doubt about it, it had actually been finding out how their earning of their cutie marks had been interlinked, long before most of them had even met each other, that had made Twilight certain that something beyond chance or even magic had been at work here. She was sure that the story of how they had all earned their cutie marks on the same day and linked to the same event would be of great interest to Frank. However, it was also a story which was so meaningful to herself and probably to the others as well that Twilight had decided not to mention it to Frank unless all of the others would agree to this. Frank was a student, similar in that respect to who she had been at the time of her arrival; a student who made checklists of things to do. And yet he seemed very different with regard to getting to know other ponies. "Perhaps...", Twilight thought to herself, "...Princess Celestia has seen this also and perhaps this too was a reason to sent him here." Maybe observing Frank could be as interesting to her for her own studies about friendship as what she could tell him could be interesting for his studies on cutie marks.
"Twilight...?" Twilight was startled from her thoughts. "Yes?" Frank's expression told Twilight that he must have said something requiring her response and that she had utterly missed it during her brooding. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" "I was just asking if you were going to head back for the library", Frank repeated his question. "Why?" "It's what you first suggested before I mentioned the quill. I am most obliged to you for having taken so much time for me already, but if you got anything else too do I certainly don't want to be a nuisance. I'm sure I can find my way in town."
"Don't worry Frank", Twilight said and gave him a smile, realizing suddenly that she hadn't been smiling since some time before their visit to Rarity. "There isn't an awful lot of royal business to attend to. Moreover we might catch Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie or both of them on the way. It's unusual we haven't even seen Rainbow Dash at all so far..." Twilight was scanning the sky with her eyes. "She does love her naps on clouds or trees, but I don't remember when last time I didn't see her perform some kind of awesomeness in the sky for an entire morning." "Awesomeness...?" Frank asked. "You'll know what I mean when you see her doing just that."
By now morning had long passed and when they reached the outskirts of Ponyville the sun had reached its highest point and the heat, already noticeable in the morning, had grown intense. Nopony was to be seen on the road. "Frank, maybe you want to pass by the library and put away your bags and your coat after all? It is getting really hot." "No." It was the second time today that Frank refused this offer and it reminded Twilight of the question that had formed in her mind in the morning already. She stopped. Frank walked on but Twilight was almost sure he was just pretending he hadn't noticed her stopping. She was not going to let him get away this time.
"Frank?" The colt stopped and looked back. Twilight caught up to him, blocked his way and looked right into his eyes. "Tell me, are you a blank flank?" "What?" "Are you a blank flank?" "What makes you think I was?" Twilight snorted. "Talking about cutie marks for hours without showing your own? Wearing all these clothes in this heat? Getting all tight-lipped at the mere suggestion of putting off your coat?" Frank didn't respond.
"Are you a blank flank?" "No. Sort of. Not really", Frank didn't seem eager for the topic. "Sort of? not really? What are you saying?" "Do you remember what I told you about ambiguous cutie marks?" "Of course", Twilight said. "You said mine could be interpreted as a reference to a habit of getting intoxicated to the point of seeing stars!" "What I said was that this interpretation could not be ruled out with absolute certainty on the basis of scientific objectivity if the mark was attached to somepony else you didn't know at all." "You are getting off topic, what is it with your cutie mark?" "Well, I guess I could have used that one as an example of an ambiguous cutie mark instead." "Why didn't you?" "I was hoping for you to get to know me a bit first, so you wouldn't... misinterpret the cutie mark." "What is it?" "A blank flank." "So you are a blank flank?" "No I'm not! My cutie mark is."
Some moments passed in silence as Twilight pictured what Frank had just said then suddenly she just couldn't help bursting with laughter and was literally laughing tears. Twilight was trying to stop it, but the excessively dignified look of hurt pride which Frank gave her send her right into another fit of laughter. She barely managed to exhale an apology between two fits of laughter. Ultimately her laughter turned out to be contagious causing Frank's somber expression to crumble first into a chuckle and finally into all out laughter as well.
When at long last Twilight regained her composure and Franks laughter too became a little forced before at last he stopped, Twilight apologized more decently than the previous laughing fits had permitted. "I'm sorry Frank it just sounds so... hilarious. A cutie mark of a blank flank?" "Yeah, I get that a lot. Been getting that a lot ever since it first appeared. At school the notion that my best talent was being a blank flank was about the kindest thing they told me. And my reactions to all the 'Blanky Franky' nicknames soon earned me 'Cranky Flanky' and whatnot as an alternative." Frank laughed again, but it didn't sound very authentic. His eyes had grown rather dull. "Cranky...?" Twilight muttered, but Frank didn't seem to hear her, just staring at some point behind her as he continued.
"When we all got older the interpretations obviously changed. It wasn't exactly fun to be the pony with the butt for a cutie mark. Some of the few who didn't make fun of it actually seemed to be creeped out by it for real, presuming I don't even want to know exactly what of me while others started speculating loudly whether it was a mare's or a colt's behind I was sporting. In the end I started wearing this all the time..." Frank plucked at the wrap-around covering his torso. "After a school change I made up some story linking this to my last name 'blanket' and most ponies were satisfied with that story so long I didn't get to know them any better."
Twilight gave him a compassionate look. It seemed so much less funny now. These were experiences far from anything she had ever made herself at the highly distinguished school for gifted unicorns at Canterlot. If her studiousness, extreme even among the elite that composed the pupils there, and her lack of interest in making friends had ever tempted any of her fellow students to mock or mob her, her status as Celestia's own protégé had likely protected her from any of this ever manifesting. Of course Twilight didn't regret having missed out on that kind of experiences, but there were moments when she was wondering if perhaps she had sometimes been shielded a little too much from the realities of life for many other ponies.
Rainbow Dash for example didn't usually speak about her time at the Cloudsdale Flight Academy and Fluttershy who had been there too referred to it even less frequently. But from what the two did allude to it had been far from a canter through the clouds for either of them. Frank continued his tale: "By that time I had started studying whatever I could find on cutie marks, finding that there was very little to be found about them. So in a sense the appearing of my cutie mark pushed me towards an interest that I might not have had without it. It also helped me to get doubts out of my mind about whether the others might be correct in interpreting it as me being the blankest of all blank flanks."
"Or a..." Twilight didn't know how to finish the sentence in an unoffensive manner. Frank gave her an indignant look. "No doubts there." "I'm sorry." "It is okay. But perhaps you understand why I'd rather keep my cutie mark covered, at least until ponies know me enough to know that I am not what random onlookers might make of my cutie mark. To be sure it doesn't help when talking to many ponies about their cutie marks." There was a moment of silence. "But still you did, didn't you?" Twilight asked. "Err... did what?" Frank was looking at her perplexed. "Talk to many ponies I mean. Talking to them about their cutie marks." Frank nodded.
Twilight waited for a moment. There was something else she wanted to address, but she was a little hesitant to and right after this self-revelation about his cutie mark and what reactions it provoked Twilight wasn't sure if she should give the colt a break. But then again it was a matter burning on her mind and perhaps this was the best time to clear the air altogether. "Is that how you came to pick up so many different... manners?" "What do you mean?" "Your different ways of acting, of talking, of... being?" Frank gave her a confused look.
"This morning...", Twilight began to explain what she meant, "...you were talking to Owlowiscious for a long time. When then I was at the door you were all courtly until I told you to stop it and you were all enthusiastic about seeing Spike. You appeared a little...", Twilight decided it was not too offensive to say it, "...a little quirky."
Frank was looking at her with the blank face of somebody trying to figure out the point of the talk. "You were then talking quite regularly. The moment you heard Applejack talking you switched all to her way of talking as if you had never spoken any differently. Next you did the over the top educated speech about... what did you say? Fop-ponies and dandy-ponies? Then we headed to Rarity where you revealed yourself to be a hobo—" "I had never claimed not to be!" "I know I know, but while saying you were a hobo your speech and attitude towards Rarity were that of a perfect gentlecolt—" "But should I not—", Frank tried to interject, but Twilight continued. "...almost like a fop- or dandy-pony."
Frank tried to protest, but Twilight was insistent on finishing before hearing Frank's response. "Then we went to Fluttershy and you didn't have much of a chance to talk to her. But you did banter with Discord teased him and actually somehow managed not to get bashed by him." "So?" Frank when it was clear that Twilight had finished her enumeration. "So totally different attitudes all the time. Which of it is no performance?" "Performance", Frank snorted. "I wasn't performing... except with the 'educated speech', but that was very obvious. I even said that I was putting up the show." "But putting on so different attitudes every time you talk to somepony else. Isn't that kind of... dishonest?"
Frank was frowning, but then his expression relaxed and he said: "A pony has more than one hoof. Is it so dishonest to show the one that looks best to somepony else? And if that is dishonesty, is it really so bad? Aren't you acting different towards different ponies?" "Not quite as different as you do", Twilight said after thinking about it for a moment. She shrugged. "But I think I see you point. I suppose it isn't really bad." At the same time however Twilight reminded herself to talk to Applejack about this. Who could answer that kind of question better then the representative of the Element of Honesty?
As they plodded on into Ponyville, Twilight got ever more confused about the absence of anypony else on the road. As they reached the quills and sofas shop it turned out the door was shut and the store was closed same as every place they had passed on the way. "What's going on?" she was wondering aloud. "Where is everypony?" Last time she had seen the streets of Ponyville so abandoned had been when Zecora had been in town and everpony had been thinking of her as some kind of evil enchantress. As she was turning towards Frank, she saw a movement from the corner of her eye and looking again she spotted a well known light blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail turning just around the next corner. Her face brightened up. "Hello Rainbow... Dash?"
As the pegasus spotted them she whirled around and dashed back around the corner from where she had just appeared. Twilight was staring at the corner utterly puzzled. "Is she shy?" Frank asked as he stepped beside her. Twilight snorted at the ridiculousness of this notion. "Shy? We are talking about Rainbow Dash here!"
She rushed towards the corner with Frank following right behind her. Beyond the corner was Ponyville town square with the large round town hall towering in its center. Just as Twilight turned round the corner she saw Rainbow Dash disappear through the door of the town hall. Twilight noticed a number of tables and benches set up around as she made for the town hall and suddenly she thought she had a good idea of what was going on. Smiling to herself she decided not to be a killjoy but be utterly surprised by what she was expecting to find in the town hall. She slowed down a little to allow for Frank to catch up and walk beside her as she opened the door and entered.
"Surprise!" a chorus of voices greeted them, Pinkie Pie's voice standing out among the voices of pretty much every pony Twilight had been missing on the street and who were assembled here in the large hall that had undergone decorations that had Pinkie Pie's name written all over them. Rainbow Dash was grinning satisfied with having accomplished her obvious job to lure Twilight and Frank on the last stretch. Applejack hadn't been able to join the chorus and just gave a wave with one hoof since she held a color-dripping brush between her teeth while clinging to the top of a ladder. The banner she had obviously just finished modifying now read:
"Welcome to Ponyville, Bbreathe Pplease! and join the party Frank Blanket!"
Though, knowing Pinkie Pie and remembering that she and Applejack had mentioned a party, Twilight had expected the surprise party before entering the town hall she had not been prepared for the presence of pretty much everypony. Applejack and Rarity whom she had visited not so much earlier had appeared to be oblivious of any details about any party.
Frank looked utterly overwhelmed and his jaw dropped. Pinkie however didn't permit him to remain stunned but hustled him in with her broadest smile. "Pinkie...", asked Twilight, "...how did you manage to organize all that in a few hours?" All her checklists, coordination and planning would not have enabled Twilight to do that in so short a time. "I did not!" said Pinkie happily. "I prepared one party before as I told you." "As you told me...?" Twilight asked. "And we must have a party! Another party to the one we will be having already!" Frank quoted from his memory to Pinkie's entrance in the morning. It seemed to come almost by instinct from him. His wide eyes were wandering around as if all the decorations and ponies and everything were a little more than they could take in.
"That's right" chirped Pinkie while bouncing up and down as she often did when she was happy, which meant almost all the time. "I had this one big party prepared. Then I invited you and I saw your new guest, Breathe Please..." "Frank Blanket", Twilight and several of the closest bystanders who hadn't missed the correction which Applejack had applied to the banner corrected.
"Yes, Frankie..." Pinkie continued happily. "So I had to throw a party, but I had a big party already. So it had to be another party. But it had to be now because Frankie is new here and tomorrow not so new here. So I made the big party biggerer and this is to be two parties in one! Best party ever!" She cheered and seemingly out of nowhere produced hooves full of confetti and streamers to hurl into the air. As if it had been a signal music was starting to play. "Thank you!" said Frank who still didn't seem to have gotten over the shock. Pinkie gave him a very broad toothy grin.
"But how did you tell every pony in Ponyville without anypony spilling the beans?" Twilight demanded to know. "Told them just now", Pinkie said all glee. "Invited them less than an hour ago." "How...?" "My number one assistant helped a lot", Pinkie said nodding towards a corner. "Spike!" Twilight called out in surprise and then started laughing. The little dragon was standing there on top of a little box beside a bistro table, a cup in one hand and a half-eaten gemstone in the other. He gave Twilight a sheepish smile. "Pinkie's number one assistant?" she asked with a tone of playful indignation. "Did she entice you away from me now?" "She can be very convincing", Spike quipped taking another nibble from the gemstone. "You are not angry, are you?" he asked a little unsure. "Of course not Spike. But just how many letters did you have to send out?" "So many that I was very much hoping they wouldn't be answered." He seemed to get a little nauseous at the mere idea of belching up such an amount of letters. Twilight let her gaze wander through the hall. It really seemed like Pinkie and Spike had managed to assemble most ponies of Ponyville on short notice and Pinkie seemed to have made it her first task to introduce 'Frankie' to each and everyone of them. The colt seemed to have recovered from his surprise and had put on his friendliest smile again as Pinkie introduced him to mint colored Lyra Heartstring and her beige colored and blue and pink maned friend Bon Bon.
"So who exactly is this colt-friend of yours Twilight?" asked Rainbow Dash as she was landing beside her. She had flown over so she could use her forehooves to hold a mug of cider she had obtained from a makeshift counter where Applejack's brother Big McIntosh was serving drinks from a barrel that was undoubtedly a long stored contribution of the Apple-family to this party. "Applejack and Rarity didn't seem to quite agree on that."
"He is not a colt-friend", Twilight set the record straight not willing to allow Rainbow Dash to mock her into any annoyance or embarrassment. "I only got a note from Celestia yesterday evening asking whether I would be okay if he came for a visit and I wrote that it was fine. I didn't expect him to be here on such short notice or else I would have told you all beforehoof." "And why does Princess Celestia send you colts?" Rainbow Dash asked with a smug grin. "She does not send me colts", Twilight said rolling her eyes feeling that there was no better way to get Rainbow Dash to stop than by remaining unimpressed thereby making her banters lame.
"Frank is a student studying cutie marks and Princess Celestia thought that he might be interested in asking us about the time when your cutie marks were switched..." Rainbow Dash's eyes widened a little. "When our cutie marks were switched? Applejack said something about him being into cutie marks, but not that it was ours he was after." "He is not after our cutie marks. He is just studying everything about cutie marks..." "So he actually is an egghead like you?" Rainbow Dash asked, her tone not suggesting that she meant for the term 'egghead' to come across as an insult. "Applejack and Rarity were a bit unclear about that too."
Twilight wasn't really in a mood to lay out the details about Frank to Rainbow Dash, the much the more as she was a bit uncertain about some things herself. "Why don't you go and talk to him yourself?" Rainbow Dash cast a look over to Frank who was still chatting with Pinkie, Lyra and Bon Bon. "Did you already tell him about how our cutie marks were switched?" Rainbow Dash asked sounding unusually cautious. Twilight nodded. "Yes. I think he is interested in the cutie marks' effect on—" "And did you tell him...", Rainbow Dash cast a look around to make sure that nobody else was listening but not minding Spike who was munching on his gemstone taking no notable interest in their talk, "...about... the pot and the critters?" Rainbow Dash had lowered her voice almost to a whisper.
Twilight smiled in a fair imitation of the smug grin that Rainbow had given her before. Seeing a look of horror forming on the pegasus' face Twilight quickly abandoned the petty payback. Apparently this bothered Rainbow more than she had expected it would. "Come on now, Rainbow. Would I?" The pegasus breathed a sigh of relief and took a large swig from her cider mug. "And what is he like?" Rainbow Dash asked after she put down the mug. "What did Applejack and Rarity tell you?" Twilight countered the question. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Applejack seemed fine with him while Rarity didn't really seem to know. She was kind of... cryptic." Rainbow Dash emptied the mug looking quite satisfied. Twilight was quite sure Rainbow had picked up the word 'cryptic' from the most recent Daring Do novel and enjoyed the chance to use such an 'egghead term'.
"Why don't you go and find out yourself, Rainbow?" Suddenly Twilight knew just how to make sure Rainbow Dash would overcome whatever kind of unusual shyness the idea of being asked about the switching of the cutie marks had given her. "What are you scared of?" "Scared? Me? I'll show you who's scared!" Dash whirled around and dashed towards Frank and Pinkie who was just introducing him to Derpy Hooves who gave her friendliest, unfocused smile. On her way Rainbow Dash almost ran into Applejack and Rarity who approached Twilight's table; Rarity levitating three mugs of cider.
"What's with her?" Applejack asked pointing with her head into Rainbow Dash's direction. "Just interested to get to know Frank, I suppose", Twilight said grinning causing Applejack and Rarity to exchange a confused look. Rarity placed the mugs on the table and Twilight picked up hers gratefully. She hadn't even noticed until now just how thirsty she had become through all the talking and the hot weather.
"So how have things gone so far, Twilight?" Applejack asked when Twilight put down the mug. "Rarity here has told some things about Frank being— what was it you said, Rarity? Precariously unclear status?" Rarity was looking a bit unhappy, but she didn't deny having said what would have sounded a lot more natural out of her mouth than out of Applejack's. "Now look Dear, I did not mean any harm", she said with an apologetic voice. "I am just a little confused about..."
Twilight silenced her by just shaking her head. She cast a look over to Frank who seemed to be almost a little intimidated by Rainbow Dash's making an introduction which Twilight was certain to be so emphatically not-scared that it might be a little scary for Frank. In any case Frank was distracted and moreover didn't wear his hat and the music was playing loud enough so there was not much of a chance of him hearing anything they were talking about over here. "It's okay Rarity", Twilight sighed. "To be honest I am a little confused myself." "Why is that, sugarcube?" Applejack asked surprised but caring. "Well... I am not really quite certain what to make of Frank. I mean he is totally friendly, amicable, smart..." "Are you havin' a crush?" Applejack asked bluntly.
Spike almost spat the swig he had just taken from his cup onto the table his interest in the pony talk suddenly ignited. "Do you?" Rarity immediately asked her expression the oddest mixture of fascination and shock imaginable. "What? No! I totally don't!" This at least Twilight was absolutely certain about, but the question had come so unexpected that it had gotten her on the wrong hoof so she had responded a little louder than she had meant to.
"Just wondering for all the nice things you're saying about him", Applejack shrugged. "What I was going to say...", Twilight continued, deciding not to pay any attention to the ridiculous notion, "...is that in spite of all this he appears a bit...", she hesitated before saying the word she had been worrying about before and that she hadn't dared to say into Frank's face, "...manipulative." Spike swallowed having apparently decided that nothing would be said worth spitting all over the table and Rarity's expression changed from one odd mixture to another, this time one of relief, disappointment and concern. "Darling, what makes you say so?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at her and turning to Applejack she asked: "Did Rarity tell you about what happened at her place?" "What she did say is that the poor fellow doesn't seem to have a home, but that he knows how to— what did you say? ...express himself elegantly?" Rarity blushed a little. "I did say that and he did express himself elegantly." "Did he?" Spike asked and with a slight sneer he added: "Maybe you are just worried because he is just as quirky as you, Twilight."
It was the first time anyone else was using the word that had been haunting her since she had read Celestia's comment about 'quirks often associated with scholarly ponies'. Maybe this was why the stern look she meant to give Spike turned out so insecure that the little dragon's look became sheepish, almost guiltily, as if he had said something much more offensive. He was mumbling an apology while Applejack and Rarity exchanged a confused look. "Let me explain." Twilight began.
She told the others about all the types of different attitude she had confronted Frank with earlier. In between she was making sure that Frank was not overhearing them, but the colt seemed to be totally preoccupied by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and occasionally other ponies he was getting introduced to. While she didn't mention the terms 'fop-ponies' and 'dandy-ponies', Twilight also referred to Frank's speech at Applejack's place and to his encounter with Discord. She also told about her asking Frank about all this and about his own response. She did not however mention his cutie mark. Twilight felt that telling about this rather than let Frank decide when to bring it up would have been a breach of trust. Moreover it didn't really have anything to do with what she was talking about, or did it?
When she had finished she was looking at Applejack expectantly. "What do you think, Applejack? You are the most honest pony I know. Is he being dishonest?" Applejack took a draft from the mug and pondered about what Twilight had told before she said: "Ah don't really think so, Twilight. I mean he doesn't speak to Rarity the way he speaks to me, but he doesn't say anything untrue. He did tell y'all himself 'bout being a hobo, didn't he?" Rarity nodded before Twilight could respond. "Ya don't hold that one against him, do you?"
Twilight shook her head a little more fiercely than necessary. "Of course not. I was just surprised." "Well, from what I've seen from him he seems like a nice fellow and what he said about showing the hoof that somepony else likes best also kind a' makes sense. Ah mean I'd talk different to Princess Celestia than to you two." "Sure you would", Rarity said with a tone of sarcasm. Applejack ignored her. "Mah point is, Twilight, what exactly are you worried about? He didn't lie, he is trying to be nice and you know him for just a few hours. He is perhaps a bit quirky, but you are too sometimes and that ain't nothing we hold against you, sugarcube." Twilight smiled. Hearing this out of Applejack's mouth was rather reassuring. AJ had a way to break down matters to raw facts in a way that Twilight sometimes didn't manage. "You're right, Applejack", Twilight said and Rarity nodded in silent agreement. "And besides...", Applejack laughed, "...Ah sure would have liked to see Frank lecture Discord. I wonder why Fluttershy didn't tell us about this." "Fluttershy?" Twilight looked up surprised. "Why, did you see her?" "Yes." Applejack nodded, looking surprised about Twilight's surprise. "She arrived here not long before you. But I do wonder, where is she now? Shy as she may be, it is not like her to just disappear like that." Rarity added scanning the room. "I was glad when she arrived here. I feared that Discord would make it all impossible for her to join us." "So did I", thought Twilight and her eyes narrowed a little as she scanned the room for any sign of Fluttershy. She and Frank had headed here right from Fluttershy's place and they would have certainly seen her had she come the same way. Even if she had flown, something Fluttershy rarely did, they would have seen her. Twilight had a suspicion which she wanted to verify. "Oh, there she is", Applejack pointed to a corner blocked from Twilight's field of vision by the podium from which some of Ponyville's musicians were providing the music for the party.
Twilight craned her neck and sure enough she spotted Fluttershy who seemed to retreat further back as she noticed that Twilight had seen her. If Fluttershy was trying not to attract her attention, she did so in a way to make absolutely sure Twilight would get attentive. "Wait a moment. I'll be right back", Twilight said and was gone before either Applejack or Rarity could stop or join her. The two exchanged confused looks before Applejack just shrugged and took another swig from her cider mug.
If Twilight had any doubts left about her suspicion, Fluttershy's reaction as she saw her approaching through the crowd dispelled these doubts. Fluttershy twitched, fell back and ultimately turned to one of the stairs leading to the upper levels of the town hall. Only just slowly enough not to make it look like a flight it still was far from being a subtle getaway. Same as Fluttershy Twilight didn't want to attract any attention and therefore kept herself from actually chasing her, but once she had reached the stairs and ascended far enough to be out of sight of the other party guests she quickened her pace.
"Fluttershy?" she called as she just saw her friends rose colored tail disappear at the top of the stairs leading further up. Twilight frowned and almost felt tempted to use her magic to teleport her here, but she decided against this rude method and instead hurried after her. As she ascended it occurred to her that she had never actually been to the upper floors of the town hall before. At the moment however she didn't have the leisure to take a look around in the circular room she now entered. There were a couple of doors which Twilight supposed to lead to the offices of Mayor Mare and her assistants, but in the middle of the room there was a spiral stair for which Twilight made now, certain that it was the way Fluttershy had taken moments before. The stairs led to an open hatch and into a kind of circular attic, dimly lit through some windows and obviously serving as a storeroom in which boxes, files, folders, some furniture and a couple of books were piling up. Twilight continued her pursuit up the final stair, knowing in spite of having never been up here before that this had to be the final stairs leading up to the cupola set on top of the town hall. Ascending through the hatch at the top of the spiral stair Twilight had to blink at the broad sunlight shining into her face after the dim light of the town hall's upper floor.
Fluttershy was standing at the railing of the cupola and for a weird moment Twilight thought that her pegasus friend was going to jump across the railing to fly away. Instead Fluttershy turned around and put on a smile so exaggerated and forced that it would have been sufficient to give away any pretense even if it hadn't been for the fact that Fluttershy's face had blushed so much it had almost taken on the color of her mane. "Oh, hello Twilight", she said with a high pitched voice. "Isn't the view from up here just lovely?" It certainly was and maybe Twilight would have enjoyed the splendid view over Ponyville even a lot more before her new wings had given her easier and more frequent opportunities to get a bird's eye view of Ponyville. At the moment the praising of the splendid view seemed rather bizarre.
"I just had to catch some fresh air. It was very stuffy down there. So many ponies in the small hall in such hot weather...", Fluttershy prattled on as if to make sure Twilight wouldn't ask or say anything if she just continued to talk. Twilight was feeling sorry for her, but she couldn't stop one of her eyebrows from sliding upwards to form an expression so doubtful that she didn't even have to say anything anymore to let Fluttershy's flood of word fade into an awkward silence. "Fluttershy…", Twilight said slowly trying to think of something to say without her friend getting even more nervous and uncomfortable, "...it is very nice to see you. I sure hadn't expected you here already. I mean with me and Frank getting right here from your house..." "Yes, Pinkie Pie's invitation appeared right after you two left and uhm—" "Oh stop it already, Fluttershy", a voice said out of her mane and the head of a Discord, shrunk to the size of a critter small enough to comfortably hide in Fluttershy's flowing mane popped out between two strands. "Our dear princess knows perfectly well that I am here and that you didn't master the art of teleportation magic to appear here before she did. Had I known her Highness was heading here right from your place I would of course have spared you the embarrassment and waited a little longer my dear, Fluttershy."
"Discord…", Twilight sighed not really knowing what else to say. Of course she had guessed he was there the moment she had been told about Fluttershy's presence, but during the chase she had never really given any thought about what to do after catching up with Fluttershy and her draconequus friend. "Just in case there are any doubts about this your Majesty...", Discord continued all of a sudden wearing striped inmate clothing, "...me being here was of course all my idea and poor Fluttershy couldn't do anything about it. I talked her into taking me along. So do not blame her your royal—" "That is not true."
It was Fluttershy who had spoken and her voice had lost all the high pitch and nervousness, but sounded as calm as she only did on the rare occasions when she was about to put her hoof down. "Discord did say he wanted to go to the party, but I suggested that he should come along with me Twilight. He then suggested to shrink and hide himself so others wouldn't... be inconvenienced." "So others won't freak out at the sight of me in all my glory, is what I said!" Discord interjected.
Twilight couldn't help but feeling almost a little a little affected by the whole scene. Apparently Discord tried to take the blame for his presence here to protect Fluttershy from her annoyance while Fluttershy, whose word Twilight considered a lot more trustworthy than Discord's, tried to prevent Discord from taking more of the responsibility than she felt he deserved. Maybe Discord himself considered this responsibility not so much as blame but rather as merit, but still it seemed much more likely that he was actually trying to take Fluttershy out of the line of fire of any possible anger. It seemed like an actual attempt at acting as a friend whatever dishonesty these attempts might include.
"What do you want here, Discord?" Twilight asked a little helpless, not sure what else to say. "There is a party downstairs your Highness, maybe it escaped your regal attention? And I, like everypony else, am getting to a party to get high to perhaps reach your Highness' highness and—" "Cut it out, Discord!" Twilight ordered more tired than annoyed. Cutting out the word 'it' from a sheet of paper which Discord produced along with a pair of scissors from midair, he continued: "Apart from aspirations for highness I also got an academic interest in all this." Discord was now wearing a square academic cap and a black gown.
"Academic interest?" Twilight echoed. "Interests in fact", Discord nodded. "Firstly is it not all about friendship and making friends to be at a party? And is not that exactly what is in the very best interest of my reformation and everypony interested in my reformation? And secondly, an academic suggested today that the antics of the organizer of this here party, our dear Pinkie Pie, were more surprising than mine. Of course that is something I got to see for myself."
"Don't you dare, Discord! Don't you dare messing this party up for anypony by turning this into some kind of weirdo competition!" Twilight growled. "Now that's so rude, Princess. Are you calling poor Pinkie a weirdo?" Discord gave Twilight a reproachful look suited to infuriate her, but before she could respond Fluttershy piped up: "He promised not to show himself to anyone or to annoy anypony, Twilight." "Pinkie promise!" Discord chirped. "Not living up to that promise right now, is he?" Twilight snorted. "Oh but you are hardly just 'anypony', Princess." Discord quibbled.
"Stop it, both of you!" Fluttershy shouted. "If you don't mind", she added timidly, audibly frightened about her own outburst. Neither Twilight nor Discord said anything until at last Fluttershy plucked up courage and spoke again with her calm and no-nonsense putting a hoof down voice: "If you ever want Discord to become a friend you must give him a chance and at least let him see how friends act while not united to fight against him! And if you, Discord, ever want for anypony to treat you as a friend you must stop turning everything into chaos and turn everything you are told into some kind of joke."
Discord's academician outfit disappeared and he flattened his ears like a beaten dog, but exaggerated as it looked Twilight was almost certain that this wasn't meant to be any kind of mocking overplay. Fluttershy was right of course. She didn't trust Discord and in turn he didn't gave her any reason to trust him. But if ever that circle was to be broken some kind of beginning had to be made. "No revealing to anyone but us, Discord? No annoying or attacking or in any way inconveniencing anypony during this party? No magic use on anypony or anything during the party? You won't ruin this party for anyone?" Twilight asked, resigning into having him around during the party but also trying to make it come across as a kind of peace offer.
Discord performed the gestures of a Pinkie promise, but suddenly hesitated. "Uhm... just one teeny-weeny bit of magic perhaps if I get a chance?" A deep furrow appeared on Twilight's forehead and she clenched her teeth. "The glasses", Discord hurried to say. "Unless I am very mistaken your intellectual friend's glasses are still of two different colors. If I get a chance, should I not change that?" "Oh, okay", Twilight nodded remembering the amber and green lenses of Frank's spectacles which he had pocketed and not put on again ever since they had left Fluttershy's place. Twilight could have easily fixed them herself, but she had just totally forgotten about them. Frank hadn't mentioned it at all and Twilight noticed that this was probably the best attempt of accepting her peace-offering that Discord could come up with.
"He promised", Fluttershy said with a solemn tone as if to record this fact for both Discord and Twilight. "Let's get down again", Twilight said. Some ponies were leaving the town hall, and assembled around the wooden tables and benches around that Twilight had noticed while chasing after Rainbow Dash before. Apparently Fluttershy was not the only one too feel that the crowded interior of the town hall was not the best place to celebrate on a sunny day such as this. Twilight turned to the stair, Discord drew Fluttershy's mane over his face like a curtain and Fluttershy followed her friend down the stairs she had been chased up a few minutes before.
The sound of the music had changed by the time Twilight an Fluttershy with the hidden Discord reached the great hall again. While some ponies had left the hall to continue the party outside, others had opened every door and every window in the hall so the air was a lot less close than it had been before and a number of those who remained had started to dance in the less crowded hall. Given the cheerful but somewhat erratic nature of the music Twilight was not really surprised to see that Pinkie Pie had taken the lead with an accordion while Fiddly Faddle accompanied her with her fiddle. The third player was a surprise for Twilight. Frank had taken off his saddle-bags and put on a holder with a harmonica. While his play was no match for the professional musicians of Ponyville who had played before, it was certainly good enough for the lighthearted dance and party music. Frank in any case seemed to be having a good time.
Twilight saw Applejack, Rarity and Spike at the table where she had left them. Rainbow Dash had joined them with another mug of cider she had managed to secure for herself. Moreover they had been joined by Applejack's and Rarity's younger sisters Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Most likely the kids had just arrived from school. For a moment Twilight was wondering if Spike had sent out the invitation to Pinkie's Party to every school foal in Ponyville. Then Twilight spotted Miss Cheerilee the teacher among the dancers and guessed that she would have passed on the invitation to her students at the end of her class. Avoiding the dance floor Twilight headed back to the table. Fluttershy stayed right behind her.
Applejack seemed to enjoy the music a lot, tapping the tact with one of her hooves and bopping her head slightly to the rhythm. "Ah sure like this tune", she said as she saw Twilight approach who hoped not to be questioned about her previous chase after Fluttershy. "It is... charmingly rustic", Rarity said diplomatically. "I do hope Octavia will do us the honor later on. Her handling of the cello is just masterful." "She sure is good", Applejack agreed, "But she an' cuz Fiddly Faddle are on the selfsame level there." Rarity seemed to consider this for a moment but then nodded. "They are evenly matched on their respective instruments I think." "Big surprise", Rainbow Dash blurted out over her mug of cider. "They do come with the same cutie mark, don't they? Hey Twilight, wouldn't that be interesting for Frankie's cutie mark thingy?" "So he is 'Frankie' now?" Twilight thought to herself. It sounded like the colt had figured out which hoof to show to Rainbow Dash to get along with her.
"Not quite the same Rainbow", Rarity pointed out. "Octavia's is a violet treble clef while Fiddly Faddle's is blue." "Close enough", Rainbow Dash shrugged. "They come with the same music thing, don't you think that might be interesting for him, Twilight?" She nodded. "You may be right, Rainbow." "Cutie Mark thingy?" Apple Bloom piped up. "What do you mean, Rainbow Dash?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Oh this may be interesting for you, sugarcubes", Applejack said before Rainbow could respond. "Y'all have seen that there new pony on the stage?" Applejack pointed with her head. "The one with with the harmonica?" Apple Bloom asked while nodding at the same time. "Yes, you see he is a learned pony from Canterlot—" "Fillydelphia", Twilight corrected. "...a learned pony from Fillydelphia who came here from Canterlot this morning."
Both fillies looked somewhat unimpressed though Sweetie Belle maintained a polite smile while Apple Bloom pulled a face, pointed at Frank on the stage and said: "He ain't look like a learned pony." Applejack raised an eyebrow in disapproval. "An' since when do you care about looks that much, lil sis?" Apple Bloom didn't respond but instead asked bluntly: "An' why would a learned Canterlot pony be so interesting to us... other than you, Twilight, Ah mean." Apple Bloom blushed and gave Twilight an apologetic look. Twilight chuckled at the guilty face of the filly: "He may be interesting for you and for Scootaloo too—" "Yes, where is she anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Just two of you? That's rare." "She had to get something", Sweetie Belle said, "But she said she would join us as soon as possible."
"Now what about that learned pony?" Apple Bloom asked impatiently. "Princess Celestia suggested he should come to Ponyville", Twilight explained. "You see, he is a student whose main field of research is cutie marks. He is quite an expert in cutie mark matters." "An expert about cutie marks!" Apple Blooms eyes seemed to sparkle. "Princess Celestia sent him to us?" Sweetie Belle asked, but there was a tone of dismay in her voice. "What's the matter, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked. "A cutie mark expert, that's awesome!" "But if even the princess is so concerned about us still not having our cutie marks that she is sending experts now to examine us we may never ever get our cutie marks!" "Now hold your horses!" Twilight intervened quickly. "The princess did not send him because of you and I am sure you are going to get your cutie marks. But Mr. Frank Blanket...", the eyes of both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle immediately turned to the banner which Applejack had corrected before, "...that's his name, is studying cutie marks and Princess Celestia thought that it would be interesting for him to talk to us about our experiences that had to with cutie marks. And I am quite sure that he would be interested in your stories as well."
"But we don't even have any cutie marks at all", Apple Bloom wailed. "Yes, but I don't think I know anypony here who has been taking so many efforts and given so much thought to cutie marks as you. In a sense you may be kind of experts in cutie mark matters yourselves." A look of delight appeared on the faces of both, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "And I think you too may have a couple of questions for him", Twilight added. "Like how we get our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom confirmed nodding eagerly.
Twilight sighed. "I'm afraid he won't be able to just tell you something that would make cutie marks appear on you, but I think he may well know some cutie mark stories that you will find interesting or that might help you." Rarity cleared her throat. "You know, I would prefer to talk to Mr. Blanket myself first before deciding whether or not I let him talk to my little sister!" "That is alright", Sweetie Belle said happily, "Then I will talk to him instead!" "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity called indignant about this insubordination while shooting an annoyed glance at Spike who chuckled at Sweetie Belle's wit. "Y'all know", Applejack said, "I think it's a shame to just let that music play and not dance a bit to it. Guess I'm gonna ask Big Mac—" "Leave our brother alone", Apple Bloom called sternly at Applejack. Applejack looked at her utterly taken aback. "Don't y'all see that he is dancing with Miss Cheerilee?"
Rainbow Dash burst into laughter, Rarity giggled and even Fluttershy who had stayed a little apart and kept silent during the whole time was chuckling at Apple Bloom's rebuke of her elder sister. Indeed Big McIntosh had given up his post at the cider barrel which had probably run dry by now and was dancing with the teacher to the tune that Applejack liked so much. "You didn't mix anything into their drinks again, did you?" Twilight asked jokingly. "No we didn't!" Sweetie Belle shouted who hadn't caught the humorous tone. "Point taken, sis", Applejack laughed and ruffled Apple Blooms mane. "I'll leave Big Mac alone." Applejack wouldn't have gotten much of a chance anyway, for at this moment the music slowed down until it faded into a silence that was quickly ended by applauding stomps on the hall's wooden floor.
"Where did he get that harmonica from anyway?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash. "Pinkie didn't pester him onto the stage, did she?" "No she didn't", Rainbow reassured her. "When Pinkie came up with that accordion Frankie himself asked if he could join her." "I bet Pinkie liked that." "You bet she did. Then he picked the harmonica out of his cargo containers." "Cargo containers?" Twilight grinned. "I mean just look at these things", Rainbow pointed at the bulging saddle-bags which Frank was just putting on again. "Whoever carries so much stuff around all the time? By the looks of those bags I wouldn't have been surprised had he stored a pipe organ inside!" Twilight nodded but she didn't laugh this time. "Whoever carries so much stuff around all the time?" she thought and uncomfortably remembered something Frank had said before. "I rarely go anywhere without all my stuff." She shook off the question that was forming in her mind.
As Pinkie approached the table with Frank in her wake, Apple Bloom went to meet them. Ignoring the disapproving look of her sister, Sweetie Belle followed right on Apple Bloom's heels. "You're Mr. Frank Blanket. You're a cutie mark expert?" Apple Bloom demanded to know. Frank looked a little taken aback, but as he looked the two little fillies who blocked his way to the table he broke into a smile of honest delight. "And you must be Applejack's sister? Apple Bloom? And y'all must be the Cutie Mark Crusaders! It's so great to meet you!" and he held out a hoof for a shake much like Applejack had earlier this morning.
There was nothing contrived about Frank's display of enthusiasm, but it was Apple Bloom's and Sweetie Belle's turn to look taken aback and it took Apple Bloom a few moments before she thought of accepting the hoofshake offered. "You know me?" Apple Bloom asked a little insecure. "You know of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Sweetie Belle added. "Same as you seem to know me or my name at least. Your sister mentioned the Cutie Mark Crusaders and I was very much looking forward to meet other ponies sharing the interest in cutie mark matters on which you are kindly credit me to be an expert and I do hope to live up to so much credit but also would very much hope for your sharing your own expertise."
Frank bowed his head slightly towards Sweetie Belle: "Towards you I am at a disadvantage however. We have not been introduced I think?" "Her name is Sweetie Belle, Mr. Blanket", Rarity approached Frank. "She is my little sister." "I'm not that little", Sweetie Belle grumbled. "Pleased to make your acquaintance", Frank said with another little bow towards her. "Likewise, Mr. Blanket", Sweetie Belle said giving a nonchalant wave with a hoof. It was probably a fair imitation of Rarity in an introduction at some other occasion.
"So what can you tell us about cutie marks?" Apple Bloom asked eagerly. "Well...", Frank said apparently trying to decide where to start answering such an all-encompassing question. "Please little fillies give Mr. Blanket a break", Twilight said. "Let him breathe please", Pinkie Pie chirped with a broad grin. The colt's voice had sounded somewhat hoarse and with a guilty memory to the relief provided to her by a mug of cider she recalled that Frank had not had the chance to enjoy a drink but instead had been introduced and had talked to a significant part of Ponyville followed by a harmonica concert. Not having had anything to drink since the tea in the morning Twilight was sure the colt had to be parched by now. "Would you like to drink something, Frank?" "That would be really good", Frank said with a grateful look. "Am afraid the barrel of cider is dry now though", Applejack said ruefully. "Should have offered you a taste of that one before, Frank."
For all her mixed sentiments about Frank, Rarity too shared Applejack's repentance. "Oh, dear just what kind of hosts we are!" "I got a lot of other drinks waiting outside", Pinkie Pie said quickly. Twilight however cast a meaningful look at the still filled mug in Rainbow Dash's hooves. For a moment Rainbow Dash seemed to shrink a little trying to ignore the look, but with a resigned glimpse at Twilight she shoved the mug towards Frank at the opposite end of the table: "Here Frankie, you can have mine. I have had enough anyway... I think." "Awesome!" Frank said accepting the mug. "Much obliged, Miss Dash." "Call me Rainbow Dash, or Rainbow, or Dash, but leave the missing to others." Frank nodded while taking a draft. "Awesome...", Rainbow Dash whispered to Rarity, "...now am I being generous or what?" "Remind me, Miss Dash...", Rarity whispered back, "...was this your third or your fourth mug?"
The hall had continued to empty out quickly after the ending of the music and by the time Frank had finished the mug of cider everypony not at the table had left. Pinkie Pie too had taken her leave to ensure that the party didn't fizzle out outside and Spike had accompanied her. By now so rapid and intense a question and answer talk had begun between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on the one side and Frank on the other that Twilight felt a bit like everypony else had become mere audience. Not that the mutual interviewing of the fillies and Frank would have been boring to follow. Rather than focusing on cutie marks only, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle asked Frank about himself while he in turn asked about the Cutie Mark Crusaders, learning about Scootaloo and about how the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been founded. The introduction Frank gave in response to the fillies' questions was more thorough than what Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had heard before. Frank made no secret of having no fixed home when the questions provided the context, but neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie Belle seemed to think of that as unusual or negative in any way.
"So what is your own cutie mark?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Yeah, we can't see it with you wearing that... blanket?" Apple Bloom added. Everypony at the table was looking at Frank expectantly and Twilight, as the only one who knew, too was interested in Frank's response. It appeared that he had seen the question coming and prepared an answer. "I must pass this question for now", he said. "You see, I am hoping I may ask all of you some questions concerning cutie marks." Frank gave everypony a short look to make clear that he wasn't talking to the two fillies only. "I would prefer if I could ask you before telling me about my cutie mark so your answers won't be influenced by your knowing about my cutie mark. It does relate to my studies though." "Astute", Twilight thought to herself. "It is probably true, but put like that nopony needs to think there was anything unusual about his cutie mark."
"What are you all doing in here with everypony else outside?" Pinkie Pie looked in through the door giving all of them a very disapproving look. "Pinkie's right. Let's get out!" Applejack said. "Yes, maybe Scootaloo is already there but looking for us outside with everypony else already there." Sweetie Belle agreed and she and Apple Bloom went for the door with everyone else following them.
As he reached the door, Frank snatched his hat from his saddle-bag and put it on his head. The moment he touched the hat Rarity's eyes began to follow the piece of headgear and mesmerized or more likely distraught by the sight she would have walked into the door frame if Rainbow Dash hadn't nudged her to the side and out of her abstraction. Rarity nodded a silent thanks to her.
"There's Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle called pointing to a spot, a little apart from the ponies crowding around the town hall, where a narrow alley met the town square. "And she is not alone!" added Apple Bloom with a very grim voice. Frank looked to the spot where Sweetie Belle had pointed. A gamboge pegasus filly with a cerise mane was standing there, a helmet on her head and one hoof on a kick scooter. This had to be Scootaloo, but from what Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had told before about the founding of the Cutie Mark Crusaders Frank could make a good guess about the other two fillies Apple Bloom was referring to. Both of them were earth ponies one rose the other gray colored with cutie marks that could have been name badges. They were blocking Scootaloo's way and taking turns in talking to the pegasus who had put on a stoic face and didn't take notice of her friends or anypony else.
"They are the ones who have been giving you such a hard time?" Frank asked. Sweetie Belle nodded. "Let's just get to her", Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle. The elder ponies looked a little uncertain as to whether or not to intervene into the looming wrangle of the fillies. Twilight cast a look to Frank whom she didn't really want to be confronted with the squabble of the fillies. The colt however didn't return her look but continued to eye the fillies. Suddenly Twilight realized that he had his hat on. He could probably hear every word the fillies were saying and judging by his deepening frown Frank didn't like what he heard.
"Did you get your mobility device at last?" Diamond Tiara asked spitefully. "With wings not working one would expect you could at least walk without wheels below your hooves. But it seems to have been a hard day for you, having forgotten your mobility scooter." "Yeah...", Silver Spoon took over, "...but it's so easy for somepony to forget after falling on her head so many times that she needs to wear a helmet all the time!" She made a motion to tauntingly knock against Scootaloo's helmet with a hoof, but the pegasus brushed away her hoof before she could touch the helmet. "Oh, don't Silver. She doesn't want anypony to hear the hollow sound if you knock her helmet. Like they say, blank flank – blank brain." "Nopony but you says such baloney!" Scootaloo snarled. "But I so understand she would feel lost without her mobility scooter. I mean she even seems to be named after it", Silver Spoon giggled. "Maybe her parents just didn't want to name her Crutches", Diamond Tiara said. "Maybe that's to be her special talent, being as unable to walk without wheels as she is unable to fly with wings!"
It was too much, Scootaloo wanted to wipe those vicious grins from Diamond Tiara's and Silver Spoon's faces, no matter what and no matter who was watching. But just when she was about to pounce upon Diamond Tiara there was a booming voice drawing the attention of all three fillies. "What then is your own talent filly marked with trinket?"
A colt was walking towards them whom none of them had seen before. Just behind him Scootaloo spotted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle catching up and further behind her friends' elder sisters along with Twilight, Fluttershy and... her heart made a little jump ...Rainbow Dash were approaching. The colt however was a daunting sight. A deep frown on his face and his blue-gray eyes so stern they gave all three fillies a shudder. The black twisted... thing he was wearing on his head shading part of his face added to the uncanny appearance. "Who are you to arrogate the right to spite one whose chance has not yet gone so much to waste as yours?" Frank's voice grew quieter as he approached, but deeper and sharper it sounded than it had during any of the casual and gentle talk Twilight or the others had heard from him so far.
"Gone to waste...?" whispered Silver Spoon to herself clearly overcharged with the sudden change of situation. Diamond Tiara however was not a filly to loose her sense of self-importance and haughtiness at the first confrontation with anything unexpected. Striking a pose of defiance and with a look of disdain she retorted: "I am Diamond Tiara, daughter to Filthy Rich, the richest pony in all of Ponyville and far beyond. And who are you?" "Frank Blanket, son to somepony whose name you wouldn't know but who by his own doings rather than that of others achieved his merit. Same as I do not need to hide behind his name or that of my mother or behind any wealth accumulated by others. Academician from Fillydelphia I am, wanderer to places where the wealth you presume from the work of your parents, rather than own qualities, would yield you little; professional in the study of cutie marks and their effects am I!"
Frank took a short break and then drew his spectacles from his pocket. The lenses where still green and amber respectively adding to the weird effect when he put them on but, bowing his head a little, looked at Diamond Tiara successively Silver Spoon above the upper rim of his spectacles rather than through the colored lenses. "And here I see two fine examples of cutie marks representing neither talent nor quality to those afflicted by them." "I beg your pardon?" Diamond Tiara shouted like it was an insult. Nopony talked to her like that! "Not my pardon is it you should beg for! But that of Scootaloo here, of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle of all other foals whose hooves you have been trampling on for a vain sensation of superiority which your cutie marks cannot provide."
"What's that rag on your head?" Diamond Tiara scoffed trying to change the subject, but she did sound somewhat insecure by now. "Let us go...", Silver Spoon whispered to her. "This rag has done me many a good service. A lot more useful it is than the tinsel on that head of yours or on your flank for that matter. Truly you deserved pity for being branded like that—" "Pity?" cried Diamond Tiara, loosing what composure she had thus far maintained. "...but for the fact that you are trying to make up for that by picking on those who so far lack a cutie mark. Blind you are and blank your brains for the fact that the longer time for them to get their marks, may but stand for such affluence in talents and qualities that whatever magic might may be framing our cutie marks may not yet be able to decide which one of that abundance to merit with the mark. Such abundance so far beyond your mere reliance on the affluence in bits and trinkets accumulated by the work of others that their abundance may not be so easily contained within one mark such as the image of some piece of frippery like yours! Your mark may limit you so much and make you the dweeb as which you act! Truly, your envy on those not so limited must be excruciating!"
"Envy for blank flanks...?" mumbled Diamond Tiara, but she didn't seem to be talking to Frank anymore. Her face had by now assumed an expression of consternation, almost horror. Scootaloo's face on the other hand had brightened up considerably. Same as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon she had not quite understood everything that Frank had said, but she had certainly gotten the gist of the part about affluence in talents and qualities not easy to be contained within one mark. "Let us go!" Silver Spoon said again a little louder this time and sounding almost imploring as she pushed Diamond Tiara to the side. Diamond Tiara set in motion walking through the gap between the corner of a house and the group behind Frank.
"My father will know about this!" she said in a final act of defiance. "I'll tell him!" "Pray do!" Frank said, not looking after her. "And don't you forget a word you said to Scootaloo. I remember every single one of them!" Suddenly however there was crack in the composure Frank had put on. He cast his head around and with a voice not as sharp or deep as he had used so far he called after the two fillies: "Prove me wrong! Prove yourselves better than my diagnosis!" But if Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon heard him, they gave no sign of it.
"That was amazing!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Stunning!" Sweetie Belle added. "Awesome!" Scootaloo confirmed. "Thank you... Mr. Blanket, is it?" Frank nodded but he didn't look very happy but somewhat absentminded. "Thank you", he said and, "You're welcome", with a look at Scootaloo. "If you'll excuse me for a moment I'll be right back." With that he rushed down the alley from where Scootaloo had come and round the next corner leaving three utterly confused fillies behind. "Was it something we said?" Sweetie Belle asked blankly.
The others were no less confused than the fillies. "What in tarnation was that?" Applejack asked no one in particular. "Leaving or what he said before that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Both I suppose", Rarity responded instead of Applejack. "Uhm, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked without being really sure what exactly she was asking. Twilight however didn't respond. Instead she set in motion down the alley towards the corner beyond which Frank had disappeared. "Wait, I'll look after him." "So what was all that?" Applejack asked again. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Beats me."
As Twilight turned round the corner, she saw Frank not far ahead. He had taken off his hat, was leaning against the wall of the next building and was looking rather miserable. His face had become a little pale, he seemed to struggle to remain standing, his legs were trembling and it seemed like he was struggling not to throw up. Twilight forgot whatever she had wanted to say. Instead she hurried for the last steps and asked: "Frank, are you alright?" The colt looked up gasping like he was struggling not to hyperventilate. "I'm sorry", he mumbled. Twilight didn't really know what to say so she just waited for him to continue. "I lost my temper", he swallowed. "I shouldn't have said the things I did." "Well...", Twilight was saying while trying to decide whether or not an anti-nausea spell was in place, but decided against it since Frank seemed to recover rapidly, "...they are still fillies so maybe you shouldn't have put on quite such a —" "No", Frank contradicted vehemently before Twilight had even finished. "It is not that! It is not that they are fillies! Sweet Celestia, if they act like that while they are still fillies I don't want to know what they will act like when they are adults if nopony ever puts down a hoof! It was not wrong to tell them off!" "Then what was?" Twilight asked frowning slightly at Frank's interrupting her like he had. "It's what I said. About their marks I mean. Not so much better than those who mocked me for mine or them mocking those who don't have their marks yet." "Hmm... well... they kind of had it coming. They have been about mocking others ever since I got to Ponyville and probably before. It was perhaps not best form for an adult to give them quite so harsh a telling off, but I cannot think of any filly I know that would have been more deserving of it. What exactly did they say to Scootaloo... in summary?" Twilight added as Frank seemed to be about to recite word by word what had been said. Frank summarized quoting only some of the actual lines. Twilight snorted angrily. "Making fun of Scootaloo for being unable to fly, not yet anyways... not sure how well I would have kept my temper if I had been wearing that hat of yours to hear all that for myself." "It still isn't what is really getting to me though...", Frank added sadly. Twilight cocked her head and gave Frank an inquisitive look. "What if I'm right with what I said? About them being made to act like dweebs by their cutie marks. Is it possible that they cannot act any different? Can it be that their cutie marks practically condemn and control them to be like that? Can it be that whatever magic might may be framing our cutie marks may also determine who we are and how we act?" Frank uttered a sound like a mixture between a sigh and a sob. "You know Twilight, these are the kind of questions where I am sometimes not sure if I will like the answers I am so much striving to get."
Twilight remembered Frank's earlier lecture on the implications of his research on cutie marks which he had given earlier this morning. Same as then she felt like the temperature was dropping a little and she was uncertain what to say. "What I told them as they left... me hoping for them to prove themselves better I mean... I really, really meant that. I'm not sure they even heard it though." Frank took a deep breath and ceased leaning against the wall. Whether it was the time or the talk to Twilight, he seemed to have overcome the apparent nausea. Frank reached for the differently colored spectacles which gave him a really weird look and pocketed them.
"Uhm, Twilight? Mr. Blanket? Would you like to come back to the others? If you don't mind?" "Fluttershy", Twilight called out in surprise. She hadn't noticed her friend and given his surprised look neither had Frank. But there she was hovering above them and Twilight was wondering how long she was there already and how much of her talk with Frank she had overheard... and how much of it the 'special friend' presumably still hiding in her mane had caught. Fluttershy landed beside Frank. It appeared like he wanted to say something perhaps feeling more embarrassed towards the Element of Kindness than towards anyone else about what had happened, but it appeared that he was just at a loss for words. Twilight saw a tiny motion in the mane of Fluttershy and something was telling her that next time Frank would put on his spectacles they would be of clear glass again. She nodded in response to Fluttershy's earlier question and turned around heading back towards the others. Frank followed her while Fluttershy hesitated for a moment before she too decided to walk rather than fly back. "Well...", a voice whispered in her mane, "...our new friend seems to be more interesting than I had thought. His studies might be quite intriguing, don't you think?" Fluttershy did not respond.
The others were waiting where Twilight had left them. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had taken turns in exposing what parts of the previous exchange they hadn't caught with their own ears. "There y'all are", Applejack called as she spotted Twilight, Frank and Fluttershy and turned to Frank she asked: "Why did you leave?" "I didn't feel very well", Frank admitted straight out. "I needed a moment. Didn't like what I said." "What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked with an air of enthusiasm. Ruffling Scootaloo's mane she added: "Scoot here told what you said and..." Rainbow Dash frowned, "...what they said. And Scoot says you were awesome! And when Scoot here calls something awesome it is awesome..." "She calls you awesome all the time", Apple Bloom threw in causing Scootaloo to blush a little. "There you see", Rainbow Dash said not the least bit abashed, "Proves my point!" "Well, with what Scootaloo said they said, while I don't wanna go sayin' they got what they deserved —" Applejack left the sentence unfinished as Rarity interrupted: "But did you hear what they were saying? We were still so far away." Frank nodded and made a gesture towards the hat now attached to one of his saddle-bags again. "My hat", he said. "It is shaped so its rim catches a lot more sound than our pinnas will. I heard every word they said." "Oh...", Rarity's face was that of somepony who had just figured out more than one thing that had kept her preoccupied so far. Twilight was certain that Rarity was thinking of Frank's overhearing their talk earlier this morning. Frank too remembered and he also remembered Twilight's critical questions about the intention of the hat, for without being asked he added: "Improving ones hearing a little can be a real benefit in Fillydelphia's auditoriums when sometimes everything but the lecturer is noisy. And when you are on your way on your own it may sometimes be helping to hear what is ahead before you see it or before it sees you." The awestruck look on the faces of the Cutie Mark Crusaders left little doubt that Frank's last words had evoked fanciful images in their mind of him sneaking past dragons, hydras or other monsters whom he had heard before they had spotted him. Rarity's face had taken on an impression of relieved understanding when she asked. "So your... hat is more of a tool rather than a fashion choice?" At this Frank burst into laughter and he appeared as relaxed as he hadn't since they left the town hall. "This colt has certainly not so much sense for fashion as he probably should", Frank quipped. "And he must admit to being astutely aware yet not sufficiently concerned about that appearance that meets the eye. This hat has done me many a good service and it has also stood the test by all kinds of weather. I guess this colt has somewhat grown attached to its benefits and may sometimes turn too much of a blind eye towards its appearance; but he is not that blind altogether as to think of it as fashionable." Rarity appeared genuinely relieved. Suddenly Frank struck a pose and with a theatrical air proclaimed: "The fashion wears out more apparel than the pony." Rarity's eyes narrowed a bit, but at the same time she was grinning when she in a similar air proclaimed: "The apparel oft proclaims the pony." "Touché, Miss Rarity. It appears that Pony Shakes was in a bit of a split mind about the significance of fashion or at least he made his characters so." "Er... what are ya two goin' on about?" Applejack asked one of her eyebrows raised so high it almost disappeared under her Stetson hat while her other eye was half closed. "Those were quotes from plays by Pony Shakes", Twilight murmured to Applejack. "A famous playwright of times long ago." "All that is gold does not glitter!" Frank called out after a moment. "Not all who wander are lost!" "That too?" asked Rainbow Dash who had overheard Twilight's explanation to Applejack. "No. I think that one is from a book by Coltkin an author not quite so long past." "You can never be overdressed or over educated!" called Rarity. Without having been asked Twilight commented: "I think that one is from Caros Wildhorse..." Twilight was growing somewhat fascinated by this battle of wits by quotes from authors whose works she had read before. "Oh come on!" cried Rainbow Dash flinging herself some meters up into the air. "What is this? The fancy quote fashion duel of the eggheads? Rarity for all I ever thought about your fashionmongering I never knew you to be an egghead! That's Twilight's thing!" "Of fashion I know my words as well as fashion itself!" Rarity proclaimed in a fair imitation of a stage quote though Twilight was certain that these had been her own words. Frank snatched his head from the saddle-bag and twirled it on one hoof, winked with one eye and with the most pompous air of staginess he rhymed: "So rare it is that hat of a colt That rarity it's too Though rare's not always same as fair In that it is not as you Not as comely to behold." "Please tell me that's from some of your fancy writers Twilight!" Applejack pleaded. "I'm afraid it is not", Twilight said laughing at Apple Bloom's and Sweetie Belle's expressions of disgust while she couldn't help noticing that Rarity herself had blushed a little. "Talk normal or I'm gonna crash!" Rainbow Dash howled. "Very well", chuckled Frank. He stopped twirling the hat and seemed a little uncertain about what to do next before he finally decided to reattach it to his saddle-bag rather than putting it on again. "Now let's get to the party", Twilight said. "Or else Pinkie is gonna get us!"
Pinkie Pie had really pulled all the stops for this party and everyone else assisting her in her efforts one way or another had certainly been caught by her enthusiasm. In best Pinkie manner it sometimes seemed like she was in more than one place at a time, a bundle of almost alarming energy. Rarity heard her earlier wish fulfilled when Octavia and other members of Ponyville's Musicians' Guild performed some classical tunes that would have been worthy of a ball in the Royal Gardens of Canterlot. Their performance sparked a little discussion about classical music between Frank and Rarity which further decreased the ice which Twilight felt had already gotten some deep crack through the earlier exchange of literature quotes. Apparently classics of both literature and music were part of the basic education at Fillydelphia's academy and more likely than not Frank's demonstrated memory for anything he had heard had been helping in memorizing long passages. For several semesters, he recounted, he had been active in the academy's drama club. "Perhaps one way...", Twilight mused to herself, "...to learn how to show the one hoof somepony else liked best like right now he does to Rarity."
After a while Frank took his leave to make some more acquaintances and possibly also to look after Applejack and Rainbow Dash who had withdrawn inconspicuously when the talk had turned towards 'egghead subjects'. The Cutie Mark Crusaders too had vanished among the crowd long ago. Frank had put off his saddle-bags and placed them next to the town hall's entrance since they would have been clumsy to wear while making his way through the crowd of celebrating ponies. "I do have to say he is a pony of some culture", Rarity admitted when he was out of earshot. "What do you think, Fluttershy?"
The pegasus was looking a bit helpless. She had been listening the whole time but never said anything herself. She was never outspoken with her opinions and being asked for her opinion about somepony else was probably particularly unpleasant for her. Twilight knew Fluttershy well enough however to understand that she would have been more ready to share her thoughts if they had been untarnished kindness only. "If you say so", was all Fluttershy said. She suddenly seemed to be so interested in a muffin she took from a nearby platter that further questions would have seemed like an unkind intrusion. Rarity shrugged and walked some steps towards the town hall. Out of the corner of her eyes Twilight saw that Rarity was surreptitiously taking measures of the saddle-bags which Frank had left there.
"You know, when Frank arrived at my place this morning while I wasn't even up, he just started talking to Owlowiscious", Twilight told to give Fluttershy something to like about the colt she seemed to be so uncertain about. Unlike in case of Rarity however Fluttershy's reserve could just as well be the result of her generally cautious nature rather than any actual misgivings. "How very interesting!" Discord's voice said from Fluttershy's mane. "Be quiet Discord!" Twilight whispered sharply. "You promised!" Discord snorted. "Alright, I will not be one to inconvenience you or anypony else on this party... Does that go for anypony who happens not to be a pony too?" "Of course!" Twilight whispered sharply wondering whether Zecora or any of the mules living in Ponyville were around, not to even think about what Discord might have in mind for any animals that might happen to be within range. Looking at Fluttershy's face again, rather than at her mane Twilight continued: "And when he first saw Spike, his reaction reminded me a lot of you Fluttershy. He was really enthusiastic to see him."
"Yeah, I do have that effect on some ponies." Twilight hadn't seen Spike approaching, but there he stood right behind her somehow managing to balance no less than four sundae's in his paws which he held up for offering. Twilight couldn't help noticing the half yearning half sarcastic glance he cast to Rarity who was returning from the hall entrance. Whatever mournful thoughts might have crossed Spike's mind, Rarity's reaction at the sight of the sundaes in his paws dispelled them. "Oh Spikey-wikey, you're such a darling to bring ice cream along for all of us!" Rarity levitated one of the sundaes on a nearby table and ruffled the scales on Spike's head with a hoof much like she would have ruffled the mane of a foal. It was only due to Twilight's quick reaction that the three other sundaes were caught in another levitation spell while Spike appeared perfectly oblivious to having dropped them at Rarity's caressing.
"Thank you Spike", Twilight said with a smile as she arranged the sundaes on a large empty barrel serving as a makeshift table and levitating a smaller keg alongside it for Spike to stand on, so he too could reach the barrel's top. Having just finished the muffin that had served as her excuse to dodge further questions from Rarity, Fluttershy gave her sundae a slightly desperate look as she too offered her thanks to Spike. Fluttershy was not a very hearty eater yet at the same time too polite to refuse anything offered to her. Looking closely, Twilight noticed the ice cream in her sundae was diminishing at a much faster rate than Fluttershy's intake warranted. But while technically Discord was probably violating his promise against the use of magic, Twilight decided to ignore it, seeing that it provided some relief for Fluttershy. She was wondering if this kind of sharing the sundae was more based on any greed of Discord for ice cream or if it was him being sensitive to help Fluttershy out of an unpleasant situation. Twilight shook off the question to which she wouldn't get any answer anyway and instead just enjoyed her own sundae.
Picking up her previous topic with Fluttershy, Twilight said: "I'm not sure how much you heard of it, but Frank didn't enjoy putting his hooves down on those fillies Fluttershy." "Uhm...", Spike hastily swallowed a mouthful of ice cream, "...so he actually did?" Twilight gave the little dragon a look of surprise. "What's that, Spike?" "Earlier I overheard Diamond Tiara talking to her father. It sounded like Frank attacked her and Silver Spoon or something to that effect." Twilight gave a sigh of frustration: "So Mr. Rich is here?" Spike nodded. "Only just arrived. I overheard Diamond Tiara as I was picking up the sundaes. I thought it was just silly filly talk." "Which is what it is!" Rarity said firmly. "He did not 'attack' the fillies." "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were giving Scootaloo a hard time and Frank intervened on her behalf. A bit harsh perhaps, but certainly not attacking them! I better go right away to set the record straight..."
"Relax Twilight", Spike said. "I don't think Filthy thought of it as anything more than silly filly talk either." "He did not?" Fluttershy asked surprised. "I think he prefers to be called Mr. Rich, Spikey", Rarity pointed out with a tone of mild admonishment. Spike shrugged. "Well, he just nodded when Diamond Tiara finished and walked on to talk to somepony else. He didn't seem to mind much. And he didn't seem to mind being called 'Filthy' either", Spike added with a look to Rarity. "He didn't say or do anything when Mr. Cake called him Filthy." "That's weird", Twilight said. "I don't know him much, but I think somepony mentioned he was a rather protective father." Rarity nodded firmly. "The Richs are customers of my boutique and for all I know Mr. Rich has always considered it a faux pas to address him by his first name." "Big surprise", Spike laughed. "But is it not a faux pas to call your kid 'Filthy'? I mean, who does that?" "Now, now Spike!" Rarity rebuked him without really contradicting his words. "I don't think Mr. Rich usually goes to public parties either", Fluttershy said. "Perhaps he is a bit shy." While Twilight doubted that shyness was the reason, Fluttershy did have a point. Mr. Rich did attend certain public events, but he had never struck out as mingling with the crowd. Not utterly aloof and sending his daughter to the local school, rather than to some elite private school, Mr. Rich still was the closest equivalent to Canterlot's detached elite that could be found in fairly provincial Ponyville.
"There he is", Spike pointed with his ice spoon to a place not far from the stage on which Octavia and the other musicians had by now switched to a somewhat more easier style of dancing music. Filthy Rich was talking to Mayor Mare. Twilight felt a little uneasy and for a moment she wished Frank's ugly hat onto her head, but even if she had had it right now, it might have been of little use to understand one conversation among dozens of others. The next moment Twilight became ashamed for even thinking about it. Had she not held the thought against Frank that he might use his hat to eavesdrop on others? And here she was, wishing to do just that! Annoyed at herself and having finished her sundae, Twilight mumbled a hasty apology to the others, turned around and headed for Mayor Mare. By the time she reached her, Mr. Rich had already left.
"Hello Mayor Mare", she called over the sound of the music. The already pleased expression on the face of Ponyville's main administrator further brightened as she beheld Twilight. She took a bow and with a funny mixture of formal etiquette and heartfelt familiarity she said: "Your Highness! It's great to see you! I hope you are well and royal business is all in good order?" Given her own official rank being part of Mayor Mare's name and aware of the importance she attributed to titles, Twilight accepted the address as 'Highness' from her. "Yes, thank you, Miss Mayor. And so I trust is all Ponyville business?" "Oh yes, indeed. We sure owe Miss Pie for all the work she always does to make delightful events such as this one possible on such short notice... though perhaps it would sometimes be good to know more than one or two hours in advance to which purpose my workplace is to be put."
She smiled a little helpless. Suddenly her face brightened up again. "Oh look there, Your Highness! It is the kid from the school's paper... Featherweight I think his name is... and he has his camera along. Let us give him something for the title page!" Before Twilight knew it, she had somehow been turned around and stood beside the mayor feeling a little like she was posing for an election campaign photo. Taken by surprise like that, Twilight couldn't help but feeling a little malicious joy over the fact that little Featherweight didn't heed Mayor Mare and herself at all, no matter how broad Mayor Mare's smile became. Featherweight seemed to take more interest in the other guests.
"Oh well…", Mayor Mare said sounding a little crestfallen. "Maybe we should have a little ceremony and a medal for Miss Pie for her continued services on behalf of public spirit of the citizens of Ponyville." Twilight was laughing. "Well deserved it would be Miss Mayor, but I don't think you want to plan for any ceremony in which dear Pinkie needs to stand still for more than a minute." The mayor nodded and looked like she was trying to figure out how to reconcile that necessity with the requirements for dignity of a public honoring ceremony. "Miss Mayor, I just saw Mr. Rich here…", Twilight began. "Oh yes", Mayor Mare confirmed cheerfully. "He doesn't often do such larger events the honor of his presence. A delight to see him join us, isn't it?"
Twilight nodded but asked carefully: "Did he have any grievances?" "What? Why? No. Why should he?" Mayor Mare looked so thoroughly perplexed at the mere idea that Twilight was certain Spike had been right and that Mr. Rich's talk to Mayor Mare hadn't had anything to do with Frank's lecturing of his daughter. "Never mind", Twilight said with a smile. "He just asked about how everything was going, if there were any difficulties in Ponyville or any other news worth of notice." Twilight tilted her head slightly and Mayor Mare shrugged. "Not much to tell him there, but of course a business colt like him would want to know of anything that might be important for his business." "Of course", Twilight nodded. "If you will excuse me, I'm going to take a look for Mr. Blanket, the guest whom Princess Celestia sent us." "Oh, she did?" Mayor Mare asked surprised. "Miss Pie introduced me to Mr. Blanket earlier. An eloquent gentle-colt I say, but he didn't mention being here by royal decree."
"Oh no, not by royal decree. Princess Celestia just suggested for him to come here. He is a student focused on the study of cutie marks and the princess thought that a visit of Ponyville might be illuminating for his studies." "I see. Well, let's make it so. Does that mean that he will be dwelling in Golden Oak Library for the time of his stay?" The question caught Twilight off guard. Somehow the thought had been at the back of her mind for a while already but not actually manifesting into the question. Moreover, there had never ever been any mention of how long Frank was going to stay in Ponyville at all. Simply not knowing the answer, Twilight just made a noncommittal gesture, a kind of a mixture between a shrug and the waving of a hoof that could be be interpreted as anything and quickly made off before Mayor Mare could ask anything more.
The next hours just spun away as Pinkie's party continued as a series of chats and activities. It was reassuring for Twilight that in spite of occasional addressing as Highness, Princess or even Majesty the attitudes of the citizens of Ponyville towards her really hadn't changed much because of her recent coronation. While Pinkie was the mind behind the event, it was clear that many ponies were contributing spontaneous ideas for activities or deliveries of foodstuff or beverage which they happened to have around or which they could prepare and provide on short notice. This allowed for a great variety of treats to pick from. However catching Pinkie's own party spirit and enthusiasm for it was, Twilight was still wondering if even Pinkie would have been able to inspire such an event at so short a notice at a place other than Ponyville. It was a thought that came with great affection for Ponyville and all its citizens. Just what would things be like if it hadn't been for Princess Celestia's order to oversee preparations for the summer sun celebration many moons ago?
Somepony had called out for a dancing competition. Twilight wasn't sure if Frank had been dragged into it by Applejack, somepony else, or if some quirky sense of daring had brought him into it. In any case the outcome reminded of Frank's blundered bow in the morning, only this time without any levitation spell to keep him up. No doubt, dances hadn't ever been on his curriculum, but he put on a brave face and shared in the laughter as he got back onto his hooves. Lyra Heartstring took the cake with a dance performance just on her rear hooves which Twilight would have considered impossible without the use of magic but for the fact that she saw it for herself.
Even though some ponies had left, the party still continued after the sun had set, giving way to a gloriously clear starry sky. At this point however, Twilight saw Frank trudging towards her. He had put on his saddle-bags and his hat rested slightly askew on his head, further adding to the odd picture which the hat constituted by itself. He looked rather exhausted and Twilight remembered he had been up much earlier. He probably hadn't had any sleep since he had left Canterlot hours before sunrise. Applejack had called him an 'early riser' in the morning, but by his looks he too needed his shut-eye. He took a little bow, a lot more casual than the one he had performed and blundered in the morning, and said:
"What a day it has been! Princesses, a dragon, Discord the spirit of chaos, the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, so many new cutie mark stories and so many ponies to get to know, this awesomest of parties, performances and slapstick moments, the music and..." he brushed over his face as if to sweep away a non-existing wisp of hair. "...I think I almost forgot it is even possible to see and hear and learn so much in a single day!"
Twilight smiled about his enthusiasm and at the same time it occurred to her that she hadn't gotten around to talk to him about his accommodation since Mayor Mare had brought up the question. The failure to have done so put Twilight in a somewhat uneasy spot. Princess Celestia had sent him to her which somehow made him her guest. At the same time she knew him for just a few hours and had absolutely no idea how long he intended to stay in Ponyville at all. Still, the way things looked she probably would have to offer him some improvised lair in the library hall and find a better solution tomorrow unless she wanted to shut the door into his face.
"So you want to head back for the library now?" she asked a little uncertain. "What? Oh no, excuse me Princess, but I'm really kind of tired and it wouldn't do any good to do any reading anymore today. Moreover with all I've seen and heard today I'm not sure how much more marvel my mind could take in from the books, even if I were more awake. I'm just taking my leave for today, but am looking forward to tomorrow." Twilight gave him a blank look. "Taking your leave...? I didn't mean to suggest for you to go reading in the library." Frank now gave her a blank look in turn but then it seemed to dawn on him.
"Oh, thank you very much. This is really very kind and hospitable of you, but I wouldn't want to inconvenience you any further." "I'm sure Spike can set up some bedding for you in the hall. It wouldn't be an inconvenience", Twilight lied. Frank gave her a smile that was thankful but at the same time looked like he had recognized the polite lie for what it was. "Thank you very much. You really are too kind. But I wouldn't want to exploit that kindness. Also...", he looked a little embarrassed, "...some ponies would probably start gossiping, more than already they do...", Frank tipped his hat slightly with one hoof suggesting to Twilight that he had caught some gossiping with his hat, "...if suddenly a hobo moved into a princess' palace." "It's a library, not a palace!" Twilight contradicted feeling almost a little offended. "A library...", Frank nodded, "...not an inn. Princess Celestia certainly didn't want to send you a stranger as a house guest. A palace is more fitted to accommodate unexpected guests." Obviously Frank was serious about declining the offer. Twilight was relieved but concerned at the same time.
"Then where are you going to sleep?" Frank made a motion with his head towards his saddle-bags. "Foldable home, remember? I'm going to set up my tent somewhere on the green at the outskirts." Without meaning to, Twilight's look had apparently turned rather pitying. Frank smiled as he assured:
"It is really not so bad at all. Least of all in such warm summer nights. And the star sky...", Frank's voice suddenly became as enthusiastic again as it had when he had listed all that he had seen during the day, "...one doesn't see much of it if one has to walk to a window to see it. But in nights such as this I can somewhat relate to the grief of a princess whose marvelous work was so rarely seen and so rarely appreciated by her subjects. Had more ponies given the night the credit that Pony Shakes gave her before Princess Luna was even in charge of the moon, she never might have fallen to Nightmare Moon's allurement."
Frank cleared his throat and putting on his theatric voice again he recited: "All the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun." He chuckled. "Thank you for the beauty of the night, Princess Luna, and I meant no disrespect or ingratitude towards you, Princess Celestia, when quoting one who wrote before he could see either of you two at work."
Twilight wasn't really sure what to make of this and just smiled at it. It sounded like Frank thought the princesses could actually hear him. Or was it some kind of joke? Or... some kind of prayer? "Good night to you, Twilight." "Good night to you too. See you tomorrow, Frank."
Frank walked past her for one of the alleys leading away from the town square. All of a sudden Twilight remembered one more question she had meant to ask Frank. It was in fact the first question of which she had taken a mental note today in order to ask Frank later. When in the morning they had been talking about her own cutie mark Frank had mentioned a 'random theory' about her mark which he had declared partly disproved by his untimely arrival. It had seemed to Twilight that he hadn't been eager for the topic at the time and therefore hadn't inquired any further. More likely than not, there would be time to ask him about it when he in turn would be asking her and the others, if they agreed, his questions about their cutie marks.
As Twilight was looking for the others, a rather drowsy looking Spike joined her and, giving the baby dragon a ride on her back, Twilight decided that she wouldn't stay much longer either. She found Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy standing together near the fountain on the town square. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were with them and as Twilight approached, she saw Pinkie Pie heading for them from the opposite direction. "Hi Twilight", Applejack called as she saw her. "Did ya see Frank? Ah think he was lookin' for ya." Twilight nodded. "Yes, he took his leave." "Took his leave?" Rarity asked surprised. "I mean he told he was going to leave and said goodbye to all of us..." "To me too!" Pinkie Pie interjected as she arrived. "...but I was under the impression that he would be your guest in the library?" Rarity finished her sentence.
Twilight shrugged. "To be honest, I hadn't thought much about it. But when I offered him to stay in the library hall for the night he refused." "How come?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Doesn't he like books? I thought he was an egghead too." "Well, it may have to do with somepony...", Twilight shot a glance at Rainbow Dash, "...spreading bridle gossip bringing up rumors calling him my colt-friend or something like that." Rainbow Dash chuckled not the least bit abashed. "Oh Rainbow, you're such a dweeb!" Applejack said frowning. "Hey it's not like I was the only one", Rainbow Dash said defensively, looking at Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack in turn.
"The difference bein' that unlike y'all Ah just asked Twilight, who told me it's nonsense an' I am takin' her word for it." Twilight facehooved and took a deep breath. She was really in no mood for that kind of nonsense. "Now look, to make that absolutely clear once again. I only heard of him in the letter I got yesterday evening from Celestia. I've never seen him before he was at my door this morning. I find his studies quite interesting and I'll say that he has been good for quite a couple of surprises today. I think he is a gentle-colt and I am going to help him with his studies. But he is not— and I want you to get this —he is not my colt-friend! Got it?"
There was a moment of silence. Rainbow Dash rubbed her neck. "You know, Twilight... you sounded almost like Princess Luna there. You really can do the princess thing if you want to make a point." Twilight was frowning, but it appeared that Rainbow wasn't taunting her as she quickly added. "And I got the point, Twilight." "I never thought he was your colt-friend", Fluttershy said, sounding very intimidated. "I know", Twilight gave her a reassuring smile. At the same time however she noticed a motion in Fluttershy's mane and remembered that Discord was probably still hidden there, presumably having hexed his mouth away to keep himself from bursting with laughter. This talk wasn't meant for his ears and she secretly wished the dragonequus to the darkest corner of Tartarus.
"In any case Frank didn't seem to want to fuel any such bridle gossip", Twilight said. "Acting like a true gentle-colt", Rarity said approvingly. "Better watch out so ya don't give Rainbow any fuel for other gossippin' oh Rarity comely to behold", Applejack said the last words being a fair imitation of Frank's voice that sent Rainbow Dash rolling on the floor with laughter. "Don't even think about it, Rainbow!" Rarity threatened. She had blushed a little. Twilight rolled her eyes. "You're such scandalmongers. Was there anything in your cider, AJ?" "Mah cider was just fine", Applejack said as if Twilight's last words had been serious. "But where did Frank go then, Twilight? Where will he sleep?" Applejack asked. "Tenting", Twilight said. "He told he was going to put up a tent." "Ya know, Ah could have offered him to sleep in our barn if Ah had known..." Twilight nodded. "That's very kind of you. But honestly I don't even know how long he is going to stay here in Ponyville. I don't even think that he knows himself. Also, he didn't seem to mind tenting much." Twilight shrugged. "He is a bit quirky." Nobody said anything for a moment.
"So what about all of you? Do you want to talk to him about cutie marks?" "Absolutely!" the response came from three voices as one, but not from the ones Twilight had in mind when she had said 'all of you'. During the whole talk Twilight had almost forgotten about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Oh, and you three, this whole talk here is not for the ears of anypony working for your school magazine. You don't want me to go Princess Luna on you, do you?" The last remark had been in jest, but all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders kept straight faces while silently performing the gestures of a Pinkie Promise, much to the approval of Pinkie Pie.
"I want to talk to him too", she proclaimed cheerfully. "Frankie has so many questions I can answer for him! And maybe he can answer me when I ask him why we call icing icing, I mean there is no ice in it and it is not even cold! And why would you put anything icy on a cake?" There was a moment of silence. Nopony had any response for Pinkie's randomness, but Twilight thought that it would be interesting to see her randomness pitted against Frank's quirks.
"Discord thinks that Frank's studies may be interesting", Fluttershy said after some moments. "And... that's a good thing?" Applejack asked sounding rather uncertain. Fluttershy didn't answer but said: "If all of you talk to Mr. Blanket about cutie marks, I may too... if he wants to ask me any questions." "I'm fine with him askin' me cutie mark questions. Quirky or not, he seems a fine fellow and if he asks anythin' I don't want him to ask me I can still say so", Applejack said. "Same goes for you of course, Apple Bloom." Apple Bloom was beaming at her elder sister.
"Well", said Rarity. "I did have my reservations against him. And as you say he is a bit... unusual at times. But he has also acted like a gentle-colt and seems to be well educated and—" "If you go on like that, nothing I may say is gossip anymore, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash taunted. "Well, I'm going to talk with him", Rarity snorted annoyed. "And if it all sounds okay to me, then you may too, Sweetie Belle." For a moment it looked like the filly meant to protest against the precondition, but then she just nodded. "I'm fine talking to Frankie about my cutie mark", said Rainbow Dash. "It's the coolest cutie mark there is after all and I'm sure he'll want to know all about it." "Like what happens to its wearer when the mark is switched?" Rarity asked casually. The color seemed to leave Rainbow Dash's face. "Oh no! Nopony say anything about—", she broke off glancing at the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Scootaloo in particular. "I mean. I mean it! Don't!"
While Rainbow Dash certainly couldn't do the 'princess thing' the way she credited Twilight with, the sense of urgency hadn't been any less. Even Rarity took pity on Rainbow's struggle to bring that point across while saving face in front of Scootaloo and the other fillies. Performing the gesture of a pinkie promise she said: "But you too be a little more considerate with what kind of stories you are spreading." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. "Very well", said Twilight smiling. "Looks like Frank won't have come to Ponyville in vain. You know, I think this may be really interesting." "So you're agreeing with Discord?" Applejack asked, but muttered an apology when Twilight gave her a rather irritated look. "Maybe we should all meet for a picnic on the green tomorrow?" Rarity suggested. "Frank could join us if he wants to and maybe we all get a chance then to ask him whatever questions we may have?" The suggestion was well received by everypony and made a plan.
"Well, I think I should head home to the library." Twilight said finally. She heard a loud snore from her back and with a grin she added: "Spike agrees, I think." With a goodbye to everypony Twilight turned away. She spotted Filthy Rich who was talking to Miss Cheerilee, the teacher. For a moment Twilight was wondering if maybe this talk had anything to do with Diamond Tiara's complaint to her father, but it didn't look like anything but a casual talk. She passed by them and made for the alley that lead towards the library.
"Good evening, Owlowiscious", Twilight greeted her owl quietly enough so as to not wake up Spike on her back as she opened the door of the library. Owlowiscious hooted a greeting in return and flapped after Twilight as she entered. Twilight carried Spike upstairs levitated him into his cot and covered him carefully. She then returned to the library hall, looking around a little uncertain. She finally picked up a piece of paper and a quill and began to write:
Dear Princess Celestia,
So far so good, but Twilight didn't really know how to continue. She started chewing on a strand of her mane and let her eyes wander. Seeing Owlowiscious perched on top of a little celestial globe she had acquired recently, Twilight continued:
Mr. Blanket arrived here early this morning and had a thorough conversation with Owlowiscious.
Twilight looked at the line and for a moment she felt tempted to cross it out again, remembering Celestia's reference to Frank's quirks and her own suspicion that perhaps Celestia had had a bit of a hidden agenda of sending him as a practical lecture of sorts as well as for his own studies. "What did he tell you there?" asked Twilight.
Given his intelligence Twilight would not have been as surprised as the occasion would have warranted if Owlowiscious had given an actual answer rather than just a hoot. "And what do you think of him?" Another hoot. "I wonder where he did set up his tent. The others and I are going to have a picnic with him in the morning", Twilight said, not sure if she was talking to Owlowiscious or to herself. The owl in any case considered himself addressed, flapped over to a table and started plucking at a map of Ponyville and its surrounding that was lying there, mostly covered by books resting on top of it. Twilight put down the quill and paper, walked over and levitated the books from the table, stacking them up on the ground beside it. Owlowiscious tapped a spot on the map between Sweet Apple Acres and Fluttershy's cottage beside a little pond.
"Really?" Twilight asked. "We won't have to head anywhere else for the picnic then. It is as good a spot for that as can be." Twilight thought for a moment and then headed upstairs to the library's viewing balcony with its telescope. Not that she doubted Owlowiscious' information, but since the spot was within sight from the balcony she could check out just as well. Sure enough she spotted the outlines of a small tent on the meadows just where her owl had indicated on the map. Returning to the escritoire on which she had left the letter to Celestia she picked up the quill again and continued...
He is posing many interesting questions, the pursuit of which seems quite worthwhile. Mr. Blanket decided to tent rather than staying at the library. You probably know he is more accustomed to this than
Twilight eyed the lines and then crossed them out with an annoyed snort. It sounded stupid. She just didn't really know what to write and it was probably pointless to just fudge a story. Besides she wasn't going to wake up Spike to send the letter. She rumbled the paper and levitated it into the dustbin, earning herself a surprised look from Owlowicious.
"I think I should just call it a day", she explained. "If I got something to tell I'll write the princess." She headed upstairs and laid down on her bed. Not for the first time since her transformation did she struggle with her wings. Lying on top of them felt as uncomfortable as it felt to lie face down against her pre-transformation habits and attempts at compromise by lying on her side weren't all too successful either. Though Twilight was getting used to her wings and sometimes didn't mind them anymore at all, there were still times when she wished for some kind of magic to just get rid of them in exchange for a more comfortable resting pose.
It was raining golden bits and each one of them turned into a horseshoe of different size, color, and material as it hit a floor of invisible ice that was not cold. Each bit gave a different tone as it hit and transformed creating a very odd music. Every time Twilight thought she had caught on to a melody the music continued entirely different from how she had expected it to. She tried to pick up a brazen horseshoe into which a bit had transformed that had landed right in front of her. But as she reached out for it the horseshoe sprouted wings and flapped away quickly. A horseshoe made of solid stone turned out to be too heavy to move. She tried to catch one of the bits raining around her, before it touched the ground but as if it had a mind of its own the bit changed directions and avoided being caught. Twilight cast a spell on one of the bits to teleport it to her stretched out hoof, but as the spell hit, the bit exploded into a whirl of densely written sheets of paper. She couldn't make out the words however.
"I always told you you were drinking too much tea, Twilight", Rainbow Dash said balancing six mugs of cider on her stretched out wings and another on her head. "No you didn't!" Twilight contradicted. "Spike did." "Darling dear, why did Robing Hooves not just die the patch of his flank that sported his cutie mark?" Rarity demanded to know as she was jumping from the cupola of the town hall that was drifting by. "I am certain they could have done so at a spa sparing him the need to always wear that filthy cloak over his wanted poster cutie mark."
"I am not filthy!" said Mr. Rich as he was passing by on a rolling barrel while playing a lyra. "But whoever would name a kid that?" asked Applejack as she emerged from one bit that hadn't transformed into a horseshoe as it hit the ground but instead remained a huge coin with Applejack's face on it. "Beats me", Twilight shrugged. "But why did you never ask them?" Pinkie Pie emerged from the ground wearing diving goggles and a snorkel. "I mean, they made it neither light nor dark. And besides, why is there no cake under the icing?"
"Pinkie, you are the only one here acting no different from how you would if this was not a dream, but honestly I still don't get what you are talking about." "And for all that you are still certain I am not to inconvenience anyone who is not a pony?" Discord asked as he walked out of a colorful tent with Fluttershy peeking out of his mane. "Get out of here, Discord! This dream is chaotic enough already without you messing it up further!" The dragonequus shrugged and evaporated leaving Fluttershy standing on top of a large harmonica dangling in thin air.
The rain of bits had ceased by now and same as the one from which Applejack had come the last few had not turned into horseshoes. Instead they had remained coins that bore depictions of various cutie marks to some of which Twilight could put a name. Among those which she hadn't seen was one coin bearing the sign of a large winged horseshoe with a unicorn's horn in the center. As Twilight approached to take a closer look the coin turned into stone however and the image on it faded away to leave but only a blank slice of stone. "Uhm, Twilight? If you don't mind, could you help me down from this harmonica please?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't think I can get away without the Elements of Harmonicy." "What are you talking about Fluttershy? You are a pegasus. You have wings. You can just fly down here."
"Oh yes", Fluttershy said. "This is funny. I had totally forgotten. Maybe it is just because the wings annoy you so much—" "Not your wings, Fluttershy. Just my own get on my nerves sometimes." "Yeah, we should really do something about that, Twilight", said Rainbow Dash who levitated the mugs of cider from her wings to everyone else. "But you hardly ever practice. You are a bit of a lazy student!" "No, I am not! And just because you can levitate things in this dream that doesn't mean that I was less of a student." Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Now what are you, Twilight? A student or a princess?" Applejack asked. "Both I think", Twilight answered. "Why would the one exclude the other?" "Exactly", Rarity agreed. "After all you can be a hobo and a student too." "But why don't you then have like a crown and a book as a cutie mark?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I don't want such trinket as a cutie mark!" Twilight said. All of the others were smiling at her. Suddenly Twilight remembered that she wanted to ask something but much as she tried to remember what exactly it was, the question became ever more elusive the harder she tried to remember it and suddenly everything popped like a soap-bubble and Twilight opened her eyes.
With a strange mixture of a sigh and a yawn Twilight sat up in her bed. After the eventful previous day she would have appreciated a somewhat calmer sleep than the odd dream had provided. Nevertheless she was rested enough to get up. Stretching her legs and wings she cast a look out of the window. At least she hadn't overslept. The sun had just risen so she didn't expect any of her friends, with the possible exception of Applejack, to be out on the green already. Spike was still snoring in his cot and Twilight decided to leave him be. After the rough waking call of the previous day and his help with Pinkie's party Twilight felt that her number one assistant deserved the rare chance to sleep in. She would leave him a note on where to find her and an invitation to join them if he wanted to. Twilight put an assortment of picnic-suited foodstuff into a basket, grabbed its handle with her teeth and was about to descend the stairs to leave the library through the main entrance when suddenly she hesitated.
She remembered a part of her dream that she couldn't quite deny to have made some sense. Rainbow Dash's admonishment about not practicing her wings could have come right from her real self and if she did say it, she would have a good point. Twilight sighed, but turned and instead of descending the stairs she walked up to the viewing balcony. The sun had risen completely by now and on the meadow Twilight could see a spot of color. A quick look through the telescope confirmed her suspicion that Applejack was already there, having spread out a blanket on the grass. She also saw Frank and Fluttershy too was already approaching to join them. Twilight climbed onto the railing of the balcony, still holding the basket with her teeth, spread her wings, jumped and started to flap.
Flying still was a mixed sensation for her. On the one hoof there was the sensation of being able to get just anywhere and the animating feeling of the head wind on her face and in her mane. On the other hoof Twilight still felt like she was only remotely in control of where she was heading and of whether or not she would actually stay airborne.
"Hey, Twilight! Nice to see you up here!" Twilight hadn't seen or heard Rainbow Dash approach, being utterly focused on staying up in the air. When she was so unexpectedly addressed she gave a startled cry, dropped the basket and started flapping frantically to avoid falling right after it. "Stay up!" Rainbow called, diving down, catching the basket and using it to catch what contents of it had fallen separately. "I'll take care of this", Rainbow said as she flew back up, flying backwards in front of Twilight and holding the basket with her forehooves. Neither flying backwards, nor holding anything in her hooves while flying was an art that Twilight had mastered yet. Once she had tried to levitate something along while she was flying, but this had distracted her so much that the result had been a painfully rough and utterly unintended crash landing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Twilight", Rainbow said, "And nice job on getting out of the fluttering fit again." "Good morning, Rainbow", Twilight panted, her heart still racing from the surge of adrenalin the near fall had given her. "You know, if you want to, we can train flying any time. When getting into a fluttering fit while you still have some room below the best thing to do is to just spread your wings and not to flap at all to stabilize. Though I think this time it wouldn't have helped for lack of height." "I really think I am going to get back to your offer, Rainbow. Thank you." Rainbow Dash was beaming at her.
Still flying backwards and holding the basket in her forehooves, she descended and took an elegant backwards landing right beside the blanket Applejack had spread out on the grass. Having known Rainbow Dash for quite a while now and seen many of her amazing flying feats, Twilight still didn't understand how this pegasus could perform such a precision landing without even looking where she was flying or how high she was. Her own regular landing was not nearly as elegant as Rainbow's but neither was it particularly rough.
After an exchange of good mornings with everypony, Twilight's look fell on Frank's saddle-bags which were standing beside the blanket which Applejack had put on the ground. The bags looked less bulgy now, probably because they no longer contained the tent which stood just a short walk away. The lid of one the bags had been opened revealing for it to be made of wood on the inside. The lid was folded open along several hinges to form a desktop which, propped up against and hooked to the opened lid of the second bag, made for a makeshift escritoire. At the upper and lower end of the desktop two hinged strips of wood fixed the sheet of paper on it so it would not be blown away by the wind or otherwise slip away.
Some lines were written on the paper but in a script so tiny it was difficult to read it. A quill, the very one which Discord had given Frank the previous day, was resting on the desktop weighed down by a flat stone. "I took down some notes this morning", Frank said who had noticed Twilight's look. "Yesterday evening I was too tired for it and there wasn't much light for it anyway." "Early riser as I said", Applejack laughed. "Already he was sittin' here scribbling away when Ah came over here." "So Ah was", Frank confirmed now with his Applejack accent. "And mighty surprised Ah was to see y'all, but pleasant surprise it was to be sure. Thank y'all for this here picnic."
Fluttershy gave Frank a look of utter surprise while Rainbow Dash burst into laughter. Apparently neither of the two had heard Frank's adoption of Applejack's accent before. "Can you talk like Pinkie Pie too?" Rainbow Dash asked when she had calmed down. "No more than I could fly like you", Frank conceded, straightening his spectacles. Twilight took notice that both lenses were of clear, uncolored glass again, as she had expected and as Discord had promised.
"You tried your new quill?" Twilight asked Frank and the suspicion she had expressed the previous day about gifts from Discord resounded in her voice. "Oh yes!" Frank said enthusiastically, not minding Twilight's skeptical undertone. "It is actually quite a special quill!" "Special quill?" Twilight was eyeing the writing utensil as if she expected for it to jump out from under the stone to stab somepony any moment. Frank picked up the quill hooved it to Twilight, put a sheet of paper on top of the one already resting there and said: "Write something!" "Okay...", Twilight reluctantly agreed. "Where is an inkwell?" "Never mind. Just write!" Twilight curled her lips a little. While she appreciated not being princessed by Frank, she was a little piqued at being ordered like that. But she put the quill on the paper and wrote: Twilight Sparkle
Where the quill touched the paper it wrote in neat lines as if it had just the right amount of ink on it. No blots, no scratching and no notable change in the amount of ink that the quill seemed to release. Twilight shook the quill in a way that would in case of a regular dipped quill have caused blotting on the paper, but there was not the tiniest unwanted spot to be found. "When I tried to dip the quill this morning it just wouldn't break the surface of the ink in the well. I thought that it was a joke of Discord. But then I discovered it wrote without being dipped. I completed two whole pages without without ever dipping it into any ink!"
Twilight was impressed. This would require some kind of magic she didn't know or at least couldn't think of spontaneously and admittedly, this was rather useful. Her suspicions however were not dispelled. "You still want to be careful. Maybe the text will disappear after a while or maybe it will take the ink away from other scrolls or books or anything like that." "Twilight", Fluttershy intervened quietly. "I was not sure about this quill after you left yesterday and I did ask Discord about it. He promised that this quill would not hurt Frank's or anypony else's writing or cause any other harm."
Twilight thought about this promise for a moment looking for loopholes in the formulation. Remembering Discord's question of the previous day, she asked: "What about what somepony may write who is not actually a pony?" "I told him, Twilight, that I would be really very disappointed in him if his quill did cause any harm whatsoever." Twilight nodded slowly. It was probably the best kind of security that could be expected from Discord. Given that it was probably in his power to switch every quill of Ponyville into an autonomously flying dart with the snipping of a finger, there was probably not much more to ask for.
"Where is he now?" Twilight asked her eyes wandering tellingly towards Fluttershy's mane. Twilight scolded herself for this when she saw the hurt look on Fluttershy's face as she shook her head answering the unspoken question. "Wherever Discord is when he is not here. I do not know." When none of the others paid any attention Fluttershy whispered: "He asked to come along, but I told him no and asked him to leave us alone this morning." Twilight nodded and gave Fluttershy an understanding smile. She knew very well how difficult it was for her friend to deny anypony a request, most of all a friend, even if said friend happened to be the master of chaos himself.
"There comes Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing in the direction of the town. Twilight had by now grown rather used to expect the unusual when Pinkie Pie was involved. The sight of her hopping along like a bouncing ball all the while balancing a tray of cupcakes on her head without any of the cakes falling off in utter defiance of the laws of inertia, gravity and probability still remained something that could have come right from her confusing dream. Though Frank couldn't know about her dream of course, his expression gave away that he was thinking along similar lines.
"And there's Rarity too", Applejack said. Rarity trudged along not nearly as energetic as Pinkie Pie. She looked in fact somewhat tired but put on a cheerful smile as she spotted them. After the greetings they all settled down and brought out what food they had brought along. At this point Frank raised the desktop lid to rummage through the bag underneath it. Rarity seemed to take particular interest in the lid and its functions.
Finally Frank brought forth a small jute sack. As he looked over the variety of sandwiches, cookies, cakes, the teapot and small stove which Rarity had brought along and all the other treats spread out over the blanket he suddenly hesitated. He looked rather uncomfortable and blushed. "Well...", he mumbled, "...they're not much. I didn't know... they are a few days old by now too. But they are a bit of a specialty in Fillydelphia. You can get them everywhere there and maybe you want to try..." He reached into the jute sack and brought forth several large salted pretzels. They looked a little squashed but Frank held one out with a brave smile while his face took on a color ever more resembling that of the tomato slices that could be found on the sandwiches which Fluttershy had contributed.
"Now that's very kind of you, Frankie, but you're invited and...", Applejack began, but Rarity silenced her with an inconspicuous nudge. "Oh this is lovely, Frank", she said. Twilight was not the only one to notice that it was the first time that Rarity had used his first name rather than referring to him as Mr. Blanket. "I have always wanted to try Fillydelphia soft pretzels!" She took the squashed pretzel from Frank's hoof and took a bite closing her eyes and made every impression of thoroughly enjoying the treat.
"If ever you come to Fillydelphia you really want to try fresh ones", said Frank whose face gradually returned to its normal color. The others too each took a pretzel now. Twilight took a bite and almost choked. Squeezed to unusual density and mostly dried up in the summer heat this pretzel was hardly the delight which Rarity's brave performance had suggested it to be. Twilight hastily took a sip from the cup of tea Rarity had just served her and she nodded her gratitude to Frank with the best smile she could muster. As Rarity poured tea into Applejack's cup she took a short glimpse at Frank, verifying that he didn't wear his hat and was distracted by talking to Pinkie Pie whose enjoyment of the pretzel seemed quite genuine. Applejack hadn't taken a bite from hers yet. "Be honest about this one...", Rarity whispered with a kind smile and a glimpse at Applejack's pretzel, "...and I'll have to pour out the tea-pot over your head, darling."
Applejack managed to avoid being subjected to a tea-shower from Rarity by just smiling and eating without talking about the treat from Fillydelphia at all. Fluttershy was sharing just enough of it with birds, squirrels and other critters around for it to be credited to her kindness rather than any kind of dodging. Rainbow Dash fed part of hers to Pinkie when Frank wasn't looking, while Twilight decided to consider it a princess' lesson in diplomatic countenance to finish the pretzel and Rarity seemed to think along similar lines.
Maybe Rarity's threat had reminded Applejack of the request she had for Rainbow Dash. In any case she turned to her after a while: "Hey Rainbow, Ah was going to ask you yesterday, but forgot during the party an' all, if you could give us a bit of a shower over Sweet Apple Acres today? It's been very sunny lately and that's good for the apples, but the soil needs some water too." For everypony's surprise Rainbow Dash gave a somewhat frustrated sigh: "I'll do what I can, Applejack, I promise." "But...?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Some ponies in Cloudsdale must have been messing up!" Rainbow Dash made a wide gesture with one hoof that included the whole sky. "Do you see that?" "See what?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Nothing! There is not a cloud in the sky! Not one!" Rainbow Dash's tone gave away that she hadn't noticed this today for the first time. "I mean it happens that there is no cloud for a day, but this is like the sixth in a row with none at all!" Everypony was looking at her now. "You didn't even notice, did you?" Rainbow asked. "Well, Ah did notice", Applejack hurried to assure. "Ah thought it was like part of some plan for the weather or something like that." "I wish it was", Rainbow Dash said, sounding a bit crestfallen. "I don't know exactly what is going on there, but it seems like they haven't been creating nearly as many clouds as they should up in Cloudsdale. I don't know any details, but it seems like there was a series of things not going as they should, so we don't get any clouds to distribute here. Didn't even find any for a nap in the last days and had to make do with trees!"
Applejack gave a frown that showed she wasn't nearly as concerned with the comfort of Rainbow Dash's naps as she was with the drying soil at Sweet Apple Acres, but whether Rainbow Dash had noticed the look or not, her next words stopped any comment that might have been on Applejack's tongue: "I promise I'll fly to see if I can scratch any stray clouds together, AJ. There just doesn't seem to be anything to work with at the moment."
Rainbow Dash spread her wings to live up to her promise right away, but Applejack held her back: "No, that's very kind of you su... err... Rainbow Dash, but you needn't fly off right now. We still got a picnic to finish." "Oh yeah", Rainbow Dash said, looking like she had indeed totally forgotten about that. It was uncommon for Rainbow to be so worried about something Twilight thought. She didn't know much about the details of weather planing or the workings at the weather factory in Cloudsdale, but Rainbow Dash's not so laid-back reaction was indicator enough that some things were in disorder. She didn't want to spoil the mood by inquiring further right now.
The sun was high up by the time they had not just finished most of their food but were also short of topics. Frank had told a number of anecdotes from his studies and of Fillydelphia and other places he had visited, but had not pressed towards the topic of cutie marks or his research. Rarity listened up at one story in which Frank's hat and the fact that it was rather waterproof played a role. Everypony else too had told similar, often funny, stories from their daily lives and the entire morning had been mostly about getting to know each other better. Finally Twilight suggested telling Frank about how they all had gotten their cutie marks and in which way they had found out for their cutie marks to be connected. The others all agreed, but Pinkie Pie made Frank swear a Pinkie promise that he would tell them about his still hidden cutie mark the moment it would not interfere with his studies anymore. Frank made that promise right away and walked over to his saddle-bag escritoire and picked up his quill.
As he did so, Twilight looked at him in surprise. Rather than holding the quill with his mouth, as earth ponies and pegasi usually did, lacking the levitation magic usually employed by unicorns when it came to writing, Frank held the quill with his left hoof. "Frank, how do you do that?" Twilight demanded to know. "Do what?" Frank asked surprised. Following Twilight's look at his hoof with the quill he answered before Twilight could clarify the question. "Oh, that", he held out his left hoof with the quill for Twilight to look at. His horseshoe there had a small, rounded projection sweated to it. The projection had a loop in it wide enough to only just squeeze a quill's shaft through without either damaging it or it sitting so loose that it would shift. The inside of the loop was lined with a little felt to prevent the metal from scratching the quill shaft.
"Unicorns have an edge when it comes to writing", Frank said. "And most of the students at the Academy are unicorns. Writing with the mouth is somewhat slower and less clear than writing through levitation. I found that attaching the quill to the hoof I could write almost as fast as the unicorns and a lot clearer and smaller than I would have with my mouth, which saved paper. Moreover it has come in rather hoofy when interviewing ponies for it allows you to speak and write at the same time without the need to always put down and pick up the quill again." "That's kind of ingenious", Rarity said.
"Ah was wondering about that when I saw ya scribbling earlier", Applejack said. "Did ya ever think of making more of these quill-holding shoes?" "Uhm, no... should I?" Frank asked. He scratched his temple with the quill, apparently oblivious to the streaks of ink this left where he scratched. "But of course", Twilight said as she discretely made the ink streaks fade away from Frank's temple with a spell. "I'm sure many ponies would find that very useful." "You think?" Frank asked a little doubtful. "Many ponies are so used to writing with their mouths that they may be skeptical about using their hooves for it. Earth ponies and pegasi don't usually write that much anyway—"
"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash interjected annoyed. "Not so many eggheads among us, but take A. K. Yearling! She's a pegasus and Daring Do is more and much better than most of what unicorns ever put on paper!" "Hey!" Twilight protested. Looking at his left hoof, Frank shrugged. "Point taken. I guess I should show it to somepony who can make more of those. It might be helpful to some ponies." "It might also get ya some bagful of bits", Applejack added. "Okay, I may give it a try if I come across some pony who can make more of those", Frank said, though the idea of some bagfuls of bits still didn't seem to kindle the same degree of enthusiasm for the idea in him as with the others.
"I'll have one for Apple Bloom right away", Applejack said. "She may just as well give that hoofwriting thing a try while still at school." "And one for Sweetie Belle", Rarity added. "It might actually be an interesting accessory for some pieces in my upcoming fall collection." Rainbow Dash burst into laughter. "What?" Rarity asked irritated. "Sorry Rarity...", Rainbow Dash chuckled while wiping a tear from one eye, "...but the image of you behind an anvil forging horseshoes was just too much for me."
Not even Rarity herself could suppress a little chuckle as the others joined in Rainbow Dash's laughter. Half in jest half seriously Rarity said: "Of course I would order these accessories from a professional, same as I don't weave the fabric I use or you don't make the clouds you..." Rarity clapped both forehooves over her mouth. "Oh, I'm very sorry Rainbow Dash, I didn't mean to..." Rainbow Dash gave a dismissive wave with a hoof. "If I did make those clouds you bet we would have some by now." She grinned. "So...", Frank said, "...you were going to tell me about how you got your cutie marks?"
Frank took some notes during the tale of the six friends' cutie marks, but before long he put down the quill, either too fascinated by the story or maybe, Twilight suspected, he decided he would be able to recount every word later on anyway, to put it down on paper then.
At last Applejack announced that she had to head back for Sweet Apple Acres which Rainbow Dash too took as a cue to go on her quest for stray clouds for Applejack. Twilight wanted to ask if she could accompany Rainbow in order to get some flying practice and lessons from her, but then she decided against it. She knew she would slow Rainbow down, thereby hindering her attempts to find any clouds for Applejack. It was only after both Rainbow and Applejack had departed that Twilight remembered Applejack's offer for Frank to stay at her barn. She didn't feel easy about bringing up the subject and decided not to without Applejack being around.
Frank's embarrassment about the picnic and his little contribution to it made Twilight wonder if Frank would appreciate or be embarrassed or even a little offended at the suggestion. Rarity took her leave as well a little later and Twilight remembered that she still hadn't written to Celestia. Moreover she wanted to see after Spike, a little surprised that he hadn't joined them.
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy however didn't seem to have anything particular to do at the moment and as Pinkie Pie told 'Frankie' that he could ask her cutie mark questions Fluttershy agreed to stay too and take a first interview together with Pinkie.
Frank's first questions were mostly about more details on how Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had gotten their cutie marks. In particular he asked if prior to the appearance of their cutie marks they had ever done activities related to what their cutie marks stood for or if they had felt like doing something along those lines or thought about it at all.
"I did not have a chance to care about animals before the day I got my cutie mark", Fluttershy admitted. "I don't remember thinking much about anything but what the other pegasi thought of me and about how much I feared flying. I hadn't ever been near the ground before that fall from the height of the summer fly camp. I hadn't even known about all the wonderful creatures down here. But then, when they appeared to be as scared by Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom as I had often been about flying, it just seemed natural to help them. I didn't have to think about it and there was no need at all to have thought about it beforehoof. It was just... what had to be done. What I had to do. And when I helped them not to be afraid, I was not afraid myself anymore. Not afraid anymore... It was so beautiful."
Fluttershy smiled and it was a smile so calm and utterly relaxed as she rarely showed. Her eyes became a little unfocused. Frank nodded but neither said anything nor wrote anything down at this moment. With Fluttershy's look and tone it didn't take much sensitivity to understand that she was reliving a moment that meant a lot to her and the student from Fillydelphia was not going to interrupt it. It was Pinkie Pie who broke the silence.
"There were never any parties at the rock farm!" she exclaimed. "I don't think I even heard the word there. I must have heard about it somewhere else and also about balloons and cakes and streamers. But I don't remember where I heard about it. There wasn't much smiling on the rock farm either. Though I'm pretty sure I must have seen some smile at some point before. But I don't remember about when or where I did either! Why can't I remember? Can you tell me Frankie?" Pinkie Pie grabbed Frank by the shoulders and shook him as if she could shake the answer out of him. Pinkie certainly didn't mean for this to be an aggressive approach, but Frank almost lost his spectacles and tried to shy away from her, looking as if he feared she was about to hit him.
Fluttershy knew Pinkie Pie too well for any such misunderstanding and intervened with the same kind of coolness she would have applied in case of a rampaging grizzly bear. Of all her friends Pinkie was sometimes the one most closely resembling one of her critter friends with their occasional unpredictability. She put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder and said calmly: "I don't think Frank can tell you that." Pinkie sat down immediately and just smiled. "How...", Frank straightened his spectacles, "...how did you get everything you needed for the party on the rock farm? The balloons I mean and the cake and the streamer? With parties so... unknown on the rock farm how did you get all that?" "I just did, silly", Pinkie smiled. Frank gave her a confused look, but Pinkie didn't look the least bit like she had meant any offense. Much rather it seemed that to her his question had sounded silly enough to warrant her words. The mystery of how she had gotten her hooves on all the material necessary for a party in the middle of nowhere didn't seem to give her any of the distress that she had shown about not remembering how she had learned about the very concept of a party in the first place. Frank raised his quill and scribbled something on the paper on his saddle-bag escritoire.
"What did you write there?" Pinkie asked curiously. "I can show you", Frank offered. "Or shall we continue with the questions first and I'll show you later? You know, all this is just so interesting!" Frank almost cheered the last words while taking down some more notes. So fast did he move the quill across the paper from one end to another that it almost appeared like he was merely drawing streaks all over it. His script was so tiny that indeed it took a closer look to make sure that indeed it wasn't mere streaks on the paper. "Uhm, what is it exactly that interests you so much Mr... Frank?" Fluttershy carefully. "I mean I am sure that it is interesting, I guess. But we did tell you about how we got our cutie marks during the picnic already."
Frank gave her a broad smile and put down his quill. "Well, you see there are different kinds of cutie marks...", Frank began. "Of course there are!" Pinkie said. "Did you never notice they are all different?" "Yes, Pinkie, I did notice that", Frank said patiently. "That's not what I meant though." Pinkie opened her mouth for another interjection, but Fluttershy silenced her by gently laying one of her hooves on one of Pinkie's.
"Different types of cutie marks I should say", Frank picked up the thread again. "Compare your stories with that of the others. Neither of you had known what you were going to do or what you wanted to do. If I understood you correctly then it came by sudden...", he was looking for the right word, "...inspiration? Like on the spur of the special moment." Fluttershy nodded.
"Compare this to the other ones. Twilight had long known her fascination with magic, she had been inspired by Princess Celestia, she had studied what she could in books and her mark actually appeared while she was passing the entrance exam for Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Or take Rainbow Dash. She had been an avid flyer long before and had already discovered her love for speed and winning in competition. Rarity had been sewing costumes for the school play and knew that she wanted to be a fashion designer. In case of all of them it seemed like they had long been working to get just the kind of cutie mark they got. While in your case it was more like... like you were meant to find your gift, maybe even be found by your gift, rather than pursuing it." Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie tilted their heads in perfect synchrony.
"What about Applejack's cutie mark?" Pinkie asked. Frank cast a musing look in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres before he said: "I am not absolutely certain, but if my guess is right then her type of cutie mark is a bit in between your types and that of the others. She had been working on the farm already for quite a while and I bet that doing so she had little doubt about her talent for it. But unlike Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Rarity she was not sure that this was what she wanted. Only when giving up on it for the sophisticated life she was looking for in Manehattan did she realize how much it meant to her and it was by this realization rather than her talent alone that her cutie mark appeared. She is a lucky pony." "I think we all are. Lucky ponies I mean", Fluttershy said. Frank nodded vehemently. "Yes Fluttershy you all are. No doubt about that. And please do not mistake my categorizing of cutie mark types as some kind of ranking or anything like that. You all are very lucky with your cutie marks and that is the most important thing about it, I think. There are some ponies not quite so lucky", he added with a slightly sad tone. Before either Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie could say anything he continued: "Like I said, this is not about ranking cutie marks when I put them in such categories." "What is it about, Frankie?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.
Frank was chewing on his lip for a moment before he responded: "Oh well, this somewhat goes into some of the rather tricky core questions of my studies. Some of the essence of what I hope to find out. The root of the matter or one of the roots rather..." Pinkie gave him so blank a look that it was unnecessary for her to voice the question and her fleeting glimpse at the gnarled root of a tree on the meadow wasn't necessary either to ascertain that she hadn't understood Frank's image.
"You see, we don't know for certain how cutie marks come about. In many cases, and you all are lucky that you belong to these cases, ponies understand the meaning of their cutie marks beyond any doubt. We don't know however if cutie marks appear because they are essentially what their wearers want their cutie marks to be... this might be the case with cutie marks such as Twilight's, Rainbow Dash's and Rarity's... or because the marks sort of find the ponies fitting to them as seems to have been the case with you two. Then we got the case of ponies like Applejack who got their marks not triggered by their unquestionable talents, but by their deliberate decision to embrace that talent. Would Applejack have gotten a different cutie mark if she had decided against her feeling to stay in Manehatten? Or would she have gotten the same cutie mark but ended up less happy with it? Would her cutie mark have caused her to leave Manehatten if it had appeared before she left there?"
Frank was looking at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy for a moment before he continued: "In some contexts it can be boiled down to the question 'do we control our cutie marks or do our cutie marks control us?' It may seem like silly manesplitting...", Frank said to Pinkie who looked like she was getting a little drowsy over the extended lecture on cutie mark research, "...but especially for ponies who are not so lucky to be as happy with their cutie marks as you all are, this may be really important. I do not yet know all the ends my research may come down to, but the different ways in which cutie marks are acquired may be of very direct importance for fillies like Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo too."
"Do you think you can help them get their marks, Frank?" Fluttershy asked. "That would be really kind of you. They have been so much after their marks for such a long time already." Frank looked down, his face turning somewhat sad. "I want to help them as much as I can. But I'm afraid I cannot tell them anything that would just make their cutie marks appear..." Fluttershy nodded: "Twilight told them so yesterday." "Did she? She is right I'm afraid. What I can tell them however is that I know of hardly a case where anypony succeeded in getting a cutie mark by randomly trying out everything that could be tried out. This, I understand, is what they have been doing for quite a while now?" Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy nodded.
"I don't really know if it would be good to tell them so. Cutie marks or no cutie marks, trying all that may give them so much! Just think of all the fun and excitement these little fillies must be having while trying out all the world has to offer for them." Frank's voice had become rather enthusiastic but switched to a rather downcast tone when he continued: "I don't want to take that away from them by telling them that they are not likely to get their marks by just trying randomly for the sake of getting their marks rather than for the sake of whatever they are doing." "It is kind of you not to tell them that", Fluttershy said.
Frank however looked even more distraught. "And yet I may have too. I have been talking to so many ponies about their cutie marks and the happiest were always those who acquired theirs like you all did, by either getting a mark for something they had long known they wanted to do or by having such an epiphany as you." "What is an epifunny?" Pinkie asked. "An epiphany is a sudden, striking realization. Like when you two realized what you felt you were meant to do." "Epicfunny..." Pinkie repeated slowly to remember the word she had made of what she believed she had heard Frank say.
Frank ignored her, focused on trying to make his point about the Cutie Mark Crusaders: "There are other ponies who got their marks for what seems to have been a fleeting enthusiasm or a temporary fancy. Some of these ponies just go on with other things apparently not minding their cutie marks much, but others...", Frank sighed. "I just hope I can make them understand that there may be a bit of a risk in wishing so much for any kind of mark that they might get marks which might make them unhappy after a short time of joy about having gotten their marks." "Oh my goodness", said Fluttershy. She had been listening ever more intensely to Franks explanations. "I had no idea how important your studies could be for other ponies." She blushed noticing that her words could easily be taken the wrong way, but Frank didn't take any offense. "On the paper it may all sound so theoretical. Like the rants of some— what was it Rainbow Dash said yesterday? Egghead? But actually if I really get my studies where I want to get them, they may really help some ponies with very real problems!"
Fluttershy was impressed. Even though she had by now lost some of her shyness about Frank, everything had still just seemed like just a favor to a stranger. An act of kindness was of course nothing that she of all ponies would consider unimportant by itself, but the possible benefits for many others made it all appear in a totally new light for her. "On the paper!" Pinkie Pie suddenly called. "You still haven't said what you wrote down when I asked you what you wrote down!" Frank made an inviting gesture towards the saddle-bag escritoire while looking at Pinkie. "It is a bit of a jumble on this page. I'm just taking quick notes to arrange and put them in coherent order later on. But this is what I had written when you asked." He tipped the paper with the quill. Pinkie bent over the paper to read the tiny script: Pinkie -> high potential of randomized magic? Indicated by:
Party provisions,
"Pinkie Sense",
energy Significance for cutie mark? "What does that mean?" Pinkie asked when she looked up. "I think that you are doing quite a lot of magic and..." Pinkie Pie gave him a look as if he had just announced that he thought of her as a long lost sister of Princess Celestia and Luna. Then she burst into laughter literally rolling on the floor.
"Silly Frankie, that's Twilight you are talking about. I am Pinkie Pie. I'm not even a unicorn." Frank remained totally serious: "Pinkie, rest assured that I did not confuse you with Twilight. Of course everypony is thinking of unicorns when thinking of magic. Unicorns can control their magic more than any other ponies, but while it may not often be pointed out in daily lives all tribes of ponies are endowed with a degree of magic." "Really?" Fluttershy asked interested.
Frank nodded. "You know birds Fluttershy. Imagine a bird had wings of a size similar to your wings in ratio to its body. The wings would be way too small for the bird to fly with. Pegasi can fly even though their wings are too small for their flapping alone to give them enough lift of their own. The wings however do work in combination with magic to allow for a pegasus to fly. The magic part of it comes so instinctively that hardly a pegasus even realizes that magic is involved in this at all." "BREATHE PLEASE!" Pinkie Pie shouted silencing Frank's lecture on pegasus flight. "And tell me why I am a... 'high potential of randomized magic'?"
Frank chuckled at Pinkie's silencing call but hurried to explain: "You are rather special Pinkie, for usually earth ponies like us show magic in the least obvious ways of all tribes. But to you many things seem to appear perfectly normal even though nopony else could explain them but for use of magic. The party provisions you got at the rock farm for example. Unless you went to some place to buy all of it or your family had a secret store of party supplies— which I guess was not the case —you probably got all of the balloons, streamers, and cake by using magic, even though you may not remember. Then there is something Twilight mentioned to me yesterday. She called it the 'Pinkie Sense' and if I understood everything right, it allows you to see things that will happen in the future. This is actually something that I don't think even the most powerful unicorn magicians were capable of. Twilight also told that sometimes you just seem to appear at places where you couldn't just appear without the use of magic and that sometimes you move so far in so short a time that no pony could walk or run so fast. I took note of all that because I think... and I must admit that this is only a theory of mine... that our cutie marks are strongly linked to our magic. And if a pony has such magic abilities as you, it is a point I should keep in mind when comparing the effects of your cutie mark on you with the effect the cutie marks of others have on them."
Pinkie Pie looked at Frank, her eyes having become as large as plates. "You mean... I am some kind of magicy wizard?" she asked. Frank shook his head: "No, Pinkie. You have a lot of magic, but you cannot use it as deliberately as a wizard or a unicorn could. Very often you don't even seem to remember when you used magic and if you do remember it seems to you like it was just as not magical as everything you do without any magic being involved. I'm afraid you are not a wizard, but I wonder if Twilight was teaching you a bit you might—" "Oh that is okay, Frankie", Pinkie Pie said happily. "I am much rather a party pony anyway. That's what my epicfunny told me, remember?"
"This was so lame!" Scootaloo moaned. "What was up with Miss Cheerilee today?" Apple Bloom nodded in agreement: "That was really off!" "Maybe she just had a bad day", Sweetie Belle suggested carefully, trying to soothe her annoyed friends. They were on their way from school to Sweet Apple Acres and their clubhouse there. "Could have been such a nice a day without Diamond Tiara around", Apple Bloom lamented, ignoring Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah", Scootaloo agreed, kicking her scooter forward rather casually so it wouldn't leave her walking friends behind. "I wonder why she wasn't there today. She doesn't usually miss." "Maybe Mister Blanket's talk about her 'trinket' scared her into getting the cutie pox", Apple Bloom said half hoping, half joking and both of the others grinned at the idea. "Can a pony be scared into getting the cutie pox?" Sweetie Belle asked. Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah don't think so, but we can put that one on the list of questions for Mr. Blanket." "We should start making that list right away", Scootaloo said. "At least Miss Cheerilee didn't give us any homework, so we got the whole afternoon", Sweetie Belle agreed.
"Question number one", Scootaloo proclaimed solemnly, "How do we get our cutie marks?" Apple Bloom shook her head with a sigh: "We thought of that one too of course, but Twilight said that he won't be able to tell us that." "He didn't say so himself though", Sweetie Belle said. "We could ask him anyway." "Question number one it is then!" Scootaloo said. "Let's get to the clubhouse first and take them down there", Apple Bloom said and grumpily she added: "After all that scribbling Miss Cheerilee put us through today Ah'm really not all that eager for more scribbling."
"What's that, little sis?" a voice from behind them asked suddenly. They had been absorbed enough in their own talk not to notice Applejack's approach in spite of the fact that the noise she made could barely be missed. Applejack was dragging one of the farm's carts that was squeaking under the weight of a large barrel. "Hi Applejack", Apple Bloom greeted her sister and with a look at the big barrel on the cart she asked, "What are you doing?"
"Got that barrel filled up down by the river. Big Mac's down there right now fillin' up another one", Applejack sighed. "Ah'm afraid we got to hose water some of our trees so they won't dry up." "Why don't you ask Rainbow Dash to give us a little shower? Didn't you mention you wanted to do that?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah did", Applejack nodded. "But Ah'm afraid she can't." "Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo called indignantly. The very idea that there could be anything that Rainbow Dash couldn't do seemed an outrage to her, but the claim that she couldn't do something so base for her has providing a shower was nothing short of blasphemy. "Not her fault", Applejack hurried to assure. "Apparently some pony's messing up in Cloudsdale so there ain't no clouds available for her or any pegasi to work with at the moment." Applejack nodded at the totally cloudless sunny sky. "Rainbow promised to chase for any stray clouds she may find, but just in case there ain't any there we want to be on the safe side."
"Can we help?" Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom gave her a somewhat regretful look. After the tedious school day neither of them was really craving for farm work and at the same time both of them probably would have offered their help too in case Sweetie Belle hadn't been the first to do so. "That's very sweet of y'all but..." Applejack hesitated. "You know actually I really think that would speed up things quite a bit. If Ah just drag the cart past them trees while two of you handle the water pump and one holds the hose this would really be very helping."
At the barn Applejack put a lid with an integrated hose and hoovepump onto the barrel. The Cutie Mark Crusaders climbed onto the cart where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo each took hold of one end of the pump's arm while Sweetie Belle held the hose. As Applejack trudged past the rows of fruit trees at a casual pace, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo began to move the pump's arms up and down while Sweetie Belle was pointing the hose at the bases of the trees they were passing by. "Do you think we could get our cutie marks for this?" Apple Bloom asked, squinting at Scootaloo's flank. None of their flanks however gave any sign of altering their blank status.
"Pumping water as a special talent?" Scootaloo asked not exactly overenthusiastic. "Where in Equestria does any pony need that as a special talent?" "Maybe as firefighters!" Sweetie Belle called with a sudden rush of enthusiasm. "Cutie Mark Crusader firefighters!" Turning towards Scootaloo, she accidentally showered her with the hose. "I think you just blew that one", Scootaloo said sourly while sweeping a soaked strand of her mane out of her face. Sweetie Belle looked a little crestfallen. "But doesn't it sound... awesome?" "Ah think it sure does!" Apple Bloom came to Sweetie Belle's aid. Thinking about it, Scootaloo too had to admit that the thought indeed had a great appeal.
Suddenly they heard Applejack laughing. "What's so funny, sis?" Apple Bloom demanded to know. "Sorry, little fillies", Applejack said still snickering. "I just couldn't help imagining the expression of proud joy on dear Rarity's face when you return all sooted and in sooty, scorched clothes after a good day's work as a firefighter, Sweetie Belle." Even Sweetie Belle herself had to grin at the thought though loyalty to her sister kept her from laughing out as everypony else did. "But firefighter is something we really haven't tried so far!" Apple Bloom picked up the thought again.
"Don't y'all let me catch you trying to start a fire anywhere for practice, you hear that?" while she still spoke casually a sharp undertone had sneaked into Applejack's voice, leaving no doubt that her statement was not meant to be a mere joke. "Dry as everything is an' with all the heat there is a bit of a risk these days. Until them Cloudsdale pegasi get their clouds together and get them clouds over here to give us some shower, we must be extra careful about fire."
The three fillies nodded in agreement as they moved on. Having passed the first row of trees Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle switched places and Sweetie Belle took over one of the arms of the pump while Scootaloo took care of the hose. "By the way, what was all the wailing and the long faces about when y'all got here? Did you have a hard time at school? Did that rich pony filly give y'all any petty payback?" "Nope", Apple Bloom said. "She wasn't even there today", Sweetie Belle added. "It was Miss Cheerilee", Scootaloo explained. "She had us writing all day from the beginning to the end. She never did anything like that before. It gave us a toothache... for real in case of Apple Bloom and me."
Applejack was smiling, thinking of Frank's horseshoe and made a mental note to herself to press that point when it would be her turn to be interviewed about her cutie mark. She didn't want to tell the fillies about it before she was certain to get one for Apple Bloom. "Maybe Miss Cheerilee had a bad day", Applejack suggested and with the wink of an eye she added: "Perhaps you shouldn't have let her dance that long with Big Mac yesterday. Maybe she was just tired and couldn't really think of anything else to do." "Miss Cheerilee?" Sweetie Belle asked with a tone that made clear she considered the idea of Miss Cheerilee running out of ideas to be nonsense.
Applejack shrugged. "We all get these days once in a while. What did she have y'all write about anyway?" "Just silly stuff", Apple Bloom grumbled. "About what we do every day, about our homes, about everypony in our family..." "Silly stuff?" Applejack asked with feigned indignation, raising an eyebrow at Apple Bloom: "Your family?" "Ya know what I meant", Apple Bloom said, not letting herself be tricked into unnecessary apologies or excuses. "She even had us draw maps of our houses." "Doesn't sound too bad", Applejack said. "At least that was something other than writing. Can I read what you wrote about us all, Apple Bloom?"
"Nothing secret about it", Apple Bloom shrugged. "But Miss Cheerilee took everything we wrote along to read and correct it." "She sure isn't lazy then", Applejack said. "Reading what an entire class of fillies has written when writing for an entire school day sure will make for a long afternoon for her." By the time they had finished the second row of trees and Apple Bloom was switching her place at the pump taking over the hose from Scootaloo Sweetie Belle almost regretted that Scootaloo hadn't made any attempt to shower her in return for her earlier mishap with the hose. With the heat and the labor at the pump handle it would have been a welcome refreshment, no matter what her elder sister might think about her mane getting messed up by it.
Twilight was surprised not to find Spike in the library. She had half expected to find him still asleep or only just up, even though that would have been very late even by his standards. She was even more surprised when she found a little note he had left on top of the note she had left for him in the morning:
Sorry Twilight. I want to join you, but Inkhorn, just came here and asked me to come along to the town hall to answer some questions about the party yesterday. She says it is important (maybe they want to know how I managed to send all those invitations to everypony). I'll join you if it doesn't take too long. See you later, Spike
Twilight raised an eyebrow. She knew Inkhorn only casually. Inkhorn was a dark blue unicorn and was often seen with Featherscribe, a white pegasus. Both of them were working at the town hall. Maybe this pair was sort of a mixture between assistants to Mayor Mare, the earth pony, and representatives of their relative pony tribe. Pinkie had sometimes jokingly nicknamed the two as 'pen and paper'.
But why was an assistant to Mayor Mare asking Spike to answer questions about the party at the town hall? Perhaps Spike's guess that it might be about his sending out all the invitations was just a speculation of his pride over that accomplishment, but Twilight was a little suspicious. Spike's ability to send letters with his fire breath to a receiver in a matter of seconds was a talent that might be a little more interesting for any bureaucracy than Twilight approved of. Not that she had any concerns that her number one assistant might be lured into any other kind of job, but knowing just how helpful he was and how much he wished to please everypony, Twilight could easily imagine his goodwill getting exploited in case she didn't put her hoof down against any such attempts from anypony other than good friends such as Pinkie Pie.
Twilight was wondering whether she should head for the town hall right away or if perhaps that would be a little exaggerated, when the door was flung open and Spike rushed in. He only spotted her after a few steps, stopped in his tracks and looked a little disappointed. "Hello Twilight. You're back." "Hi Spike." "I really wanted to join you. Now I missed the entire picnic, didn't I?" "Oh, don't look like that, Spike", Twilight said with a tone to cheer him up. "I'm sure there will be another one soon. After all the stress yesterday I just didn't have it in my heart to rouse you this morning."
"I'll remind you of that next time you do", Spike said with a tone of sarcasm, but he smiled anyway. "What did they want from you?" Twilight asked nodding at Spike's note. Spike didn't look too happy. "It was a bit strange", he said. "They didn't really ask just me, but quite a few ponies were there to be asked about the party yesterday." Twilight was surprised: "What did they ask?" "Well, how I liked the party and if I had any ideas for a way Pinkie Pie could best be rewarded for her...", Spike seemed to be raking his brain. "...for her 'continued services on behalf of public spirit of the citizens of Ponyville'?" Twilight asked, baffling Spike. "That's what Mayor Mare mentioned to me too yesterday", she explained. Spike nodded. "They didn't ask at all about the sending of the invitations", he said a little piqued. "Not at all?" Twilight was surprised. Spike shook his head. "They asked how long I stayed. Like they were in charge of my bed time!" Spike folded his arms giving every impression of a very self-determined dragon.
"So what did you tell them?" Twilight asked. "That I couldn't tell them when I left because I had fallen asleep on your back", Spike sighed clearly having caught the discrepancy of the tone and pose he had struck and his falling asleep and being carried home. "Told them I was still up though by the time Frank left. They asked about him too." "What did they ask?" Twilight demanded to know. She remembered having left Mayor Mare's question about Frank's accommodation unanswered. "When he left, where he stayed... they also asked me what I could tell them about him." Twilight gave him a look that made the question about what Spike had told them unnecessary.
"I told him he left before I did, that he wanted to put up a tent, I told them about him studying cutie marks and... well, pretty much what you told others too." "Why do they ask you about Frank? Couldn't they ask him himself?" "I think they wanted to. When Inkhorn came here this morning she asked for him too." Twilight shrugged off any thoughts about the whole matter. It was not unusual for Mayor Mare to be interested in a pony that would, though only temporarily, stay in her town. If there was anything more important to ask Frank about, they would probably come again or visit him at his tent. She suddenly remembered she still had a letter to write. "Spike, can you take a letter to Princess Celestia?" Her number one assistant nodded grabbing for a quill and a sheet of paper, but suddenly there was a growl of his stomach. "I guess she can wait a few more minutes", Twilight laughed. "You didn't have any breakfast at all so far Spike?" Spike shook his head giving her a grateful smile. "Like I said, I meant to join the picnic when Inkhorn showed up at the door."
"So when your cutie marks were switched, it affected not only your talents but also your memories?" Frank asked. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had given him a very brief summary of the events of the day on which their cutie marks had been changed. "I am not really sure if it really did affect our talents at all", Fluttershy said. "I was sure that I had been making ponies laugh all along and that it was what I had always been doing. I even thought that I had been good at it, but I think that must have been memories of Pinkie Pie. But I really wasn't good at all at making ponies laugh and I noticed that while I was trying to. Getting Pinkie's cutie mark did not make me funny or a good entertainer. It only made me think that I had been and that it was my task, whether I liked it or not."
"I was not funny anymore after I got Applejack's cutie mark", Pinkie Pie said. "I thought I had been working on the farm as long as I could remember. But somehow I also didn't really remember anything. Only that I was to be there and to work at the farm and that I didn't like it but that I had to do it. It was like my epicfunny was telling me to do something that wasn't funny at all." Frank nodded and took a few notes. "You thought that your house belonged to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy? And you Pinkie that you had always been living at the apple farm?" Both of them nodded.
"And being so unhappy with the tasks you were doing, didn't you think of doing something else?" Frank asked. "Not really", Fluttershy said. "When Twilight at one point told me that Rainbow Dash was doing my job, I thought that she was the one who was confused. I didn't remember anything at all about taking care of animals and I had no thought of trying it. Since I noticed I was no good at making anypony laugh I was going to go to Cloudsdale—"
"Why did you want to do that?" Pinkie Pie, who had never heard about that part of the day, asked. "I don't really know", Fluttershy said. When both Pinkie Pie and Frank kept looking at her she continued: "Maybe I thought that I could make the pegasi laugh but... I think I really just wanted to hide. I didn't want to be seen by anypony. And if I didn't see anypony and if nopony saw me perhaps I would not have had to try to make them laugh." Fluttershy was cowering a little. It was clear that she didn't like to talk about this. "I didn't remember...", she said, "...that I had always felt uneasy about crowds and drawing attention. But I still did! I still did!"
Pinkie Pie chimed in: "At the farm Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith all told me that I had not been working on the farm, but I was so sure that I had, that I just ignored them and worked on. I couldn't do anything against it. I didn't want to do anything against it. I didn't like what I was doing, I didn't like it at all, but because I thought that this was what I had to do, I didn't want to do anything else either. I didn't even think about it."
Frank was glad Pinkie Pie provided a break for Fluttershy and he took down some more notes. "You didn't remember having made ponies laugh Pinkie, did you?" "Not at all", Pinkie Pie shook her head and even she seemed unusually down-spirited at the memory. "It was like I had never left the rock farm. Like I had never ever had that epicfunny that had made me want to make others laugh and smile." "But your cutie marks returned to normal after you remembered your actual destiny in life? After, rather than before you started doing again what you had been doing before?" Pinkie Pie nodded: "Twilight then also put the Elements of Harmony on us and the memories came back. Memories of our real epicfunny and all."
"But if the cutie marks only turned back to normal after you did what you had been doing before the switching of the cutie marks... and if you didn't think about doing anything other than what the switched cutie mark told you to... how did you end up doing what you had been doing before the switching of the cutie marks? Did Twilight somehow force you to do what you had been doing before?" Frank had asked Pinkie Pie, but since she looked a bit lost at the complex formulation it was Fluttershy who answered: "She did not force us."
The pegasus seemed almost a little offended at the thought that Twilight might be forcing anypony to anything. "I do not think it would have worked at all if we hadn't wanted to. Twilight told me that Rainbow Dash was having trouble with her tasks. I didn't remember anything about taking care of animals, but I did remember Rainbow Dash and wanted to help her. And when then I started taking care of animals, not because I thought I could do it, but because I wanted to help Rainbow, all the memories came back. Twilight then put the Element of Kindness on me and then my cutie mark switched back too. I do not know if there was any other magic involved, I really don't know anything about magic, but I think it was really because we wanted to help our friends that we started doing the things we didn't remember we could do." Frank was scribbling as he listened.
"If I understood you right...", he asked, "...you were the last one to get your original cutie mark back, Pinkie? But Fluttershy was no longer trying to do what you had been doing. Which friend did you help?" "Everypony!" Pinkie said proudly. "I am everypony's friend and everypony was looking sad and angry. I was helping them to feel better." Frank was nodding with a smile, but at the same time he appeared to be somewhat distracted. "So... you, Fluttershy, had Pinkie's cutie mark. When you remembered, it disappeared and you got your original cutie mark back, while Rainbow Dash still had yours. But at that time none of you had Pinkie Pie's original cutie mark anymore, right?" Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both nodded.
Frank continued writing while his face became very pensive he mumbled something unintelligible to himself. "What did you say, Frankie?" Pinkie Pie demanded to know. Frank didn't react. "Frankie?" He twitched and looked up. "Excuse me, I was distracted there. What was the question?" "I asked what you said." Pinkie repeated. "Did I start muttering to myself again? Well, all this does rise a number of questions..." "Which questions?" Pinkie Pie asked. "For example, the switching of the cutie marks seems to have switched your memories and your perception of what your meaning in life was. It did not, however, affect your actual ability to do what your new cutie marks told you to. At first I thought this meant that the memories and wish to do what the cutie marks stood for was somehow part of the cutie mark itself. It seems I was mistaken there... luckily." "Why is that lucky?" Pinkie asked.
Frank hesitated for a moment. "Your cutie mark was the only one that was gone without anypony else still sporting it. If your memory and sense of enjoying what you were doing had all been linked to the cutie mark, stored in them if you will, they might have been lost when your cutie mark on Fluttershy's flank disappeared." Pinkie Pie uttered a high pitched scream. "Don't worry, don't worry!" Frank hurried to reassure her. "Nothing like that happened!" "Oh right. I forgot. Silly me", Pinkie said switching from utter panic to casual cheerfulness at the blink of an eye.
"I'm wondering if all those memories, in spite of them being transferred to the others along with the cutie marks, still remained in you all along. Except...", Frank started gnawing on his lower lip. "Except...?" Fluttershy asked after some moments. "Except if it was all because of the Elements of Harmony. Twilight put them on you right before your memories returned, right?" "Yes", Fluttershy confirmed. "It may all come down to your cutie marks being different from the cutie marks of other ponies because of your link to the Elements of Harmony. I'll have to talk to Twilight about this. I know so very little about magic myself. Maybe she can explain some things to me. Maybe she can show me the Elements of Harmony too. They have taken on the shapes of your cutie marks, haven't they?" Fluttershy nodded, but Pinkie Pie burst out: "She can't show you the Elements. She doesn't have them anymore."
"Pinkie!" By Fluttershy's standards her call had almost been a cry. "We are not supposed to tell about that! I think..." There were some moments of awkward silence and Fluttershy blushed. Frank was looking at his hooves finally he put down the quill and took a few steps away from the saddle-bag escritoire. "I'm sorry", he said. "I should have remembered." Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie gave him a confused look.
"When Twilight and I were at your place, Fluttershy, Discord mentioned you no longer have the Elements. I don't think Twilight wanted to talk about it. I just didn't think of it just now. I don't want to try to learn anything from you that you don't think I should know. Maybe I'll ask Twilight later. I can't help knowing now that something... happened about the Elements. Seeing how your cutie marks and the Elements are related I most likely will have to ask questions about them. Maybe you all want to talk among each other to make sure everypony knows what I am not to be told at this time." "Uhm... if you don't mind", Fluttershy said. Somehow Frank's words hadn't made the situation any less awkward. Frank thought for a moment about how he could get the talk going again to lessen the tension. "And after all of your cutie marks were restored Twilight became an alicorn?"
Frank had asked this question mostly in the hope to turn the talk towards a happy memory, but the result was quite the opposite from what he had expected. Fluttershy turned a bit pale and Pinkie Pie clenched her teeth as if she had stepped on something sharp and was trying to suppress a scream.
"I... I am very sorry… I didn't mean to...?" Frank stuttered before either of the two said anything. He couldn't make any sense of their reactions and they confused him entirely. "It was terrible!" Fluttershy's voice was quivering a little. Frank didn't know what to say still utterly confused by their reactions. Fluttershy however seemed to struggle with every word so Pinkie Pie took over.
"All was fine and funny when we had our cutie marks back, Frankie. Everypony was happy and joyful. Then suddenly Twilight had some idea, I think. Something she hadn't thought of before. An epicfunny! But the result was not funny... not funny at all!" Pinkie Pie started gnawing her lower lip, possibly imitating Frank's habit of doing so when thinking. "I apologize if I asked something I shouldn't have", Frank said. "I was under the impression that Twilight's becoming an alicorn was a happy event for you and nothing Twilight mentioned suggested otherwise to me. If I—" "It is okay", Fluttershy said quietly but calm. "You didn't know."
Some moments of silence passed before Frank said. "Uhm... actually, I still don't really know. Wasn't Twilight's becoming an alicorn a good thing? Did she... change from the way she was before?" "Oh no, she didn't", Fluttershy hurried to assure. "She is just as kind as she has always been and there is nothing bad about her being an alicorn now. We were all very happy for her when she returned." Frank was looking increasingly confused, insecure, almost desperate. It was clear that he wanted to understand what all this was about but at the same time he didn't want to cause Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie any distress and therefore didn't dare to ask anything else.
"Pinkie Pie", Fluttershy said after a moment. "I think we can tell Mr. Blanket about this. One of the others will anyway and it is not really a secret." "Not really a secret?" asked Pinkie Pie. "But it really is a secret! We never ever told Twilight!" "No we didn't", sighed Fluttershy. "But sometimes I wish we would." "If we tell him he must swear a Pinkie promise not to tell Twilight!" Pinkie insisted. "Will you swear a Pinkie promise Frankie?" Frank was clearly at a loss, trying to figure everything out. "A Pinkie promise must never be broken under any circumstances?" he asked uncertain. "NEVER EVER, ANYWHERE, ANYWHEN, ANYHOW!" Pinkie said menacingly. Frank shrunk back from her and swallowed.
"Do you swear?" Pinkie asked a creepy look on her face. "I can't", Frank said, sounding intimidated. "What?" the answer had snapped Pinkie out of her creepy mode instantly and she gave Frank a confused look. "I... err... I really don't mean any harm", Frank hastily assured. "I don't want to spy on any secrets. But I cannot give that Pinkie promise." "Why not?" Pinkie asked confused and a little offended that anypony would refuse a Pinkie promise. "Because I don't know what you would tell me. All I know is that there is something Twilight doesn't know. I am very flattered that you would even consider telling me anything that you didn't tell her. But I like Twilight and I cannot promise not to tell her something not knowing what it is at all. I mean I am sure that you would never not tell her anything that she needed to know, but whatever it is that you are not telling her, you both seem to be so upset about it. I... I just don't know. I'm sorry, but I cannot make that promise. This is all so confusing..."
The colt who appeared so composed most of the time now seemed to be really distressed. Fluttershy had only seen him like that for a few moments the previous evening, when she had flown over a roof and seen Twilight and him in the alley after Frank had lectured Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Finally Frank took a deep breath, looked up and said with his most factual tone:
"I'm curious. I always am. But don't tell me anything that you don't want Twilight to know about. I am not a gossiper who would give away a secret entrusted to him. But seeing how important this seems to be for you, I cannot know if I would be acting against Twilight's interests if I kept it a secret. I cannot even know if I would be acting against your very own interests, seeing that you yourself, Fluttershy, said that sometimes you wished you would tell her. If I had to decide between the interests of Twilight or you on the one hoof and the promise on the other, I probably couldn't keep the promise. And because I don't know if I can keep the promise, I cannot promise it!" He sighed. "I'm sorry about that."
Pinkie Pie's mouth stood a little open in surprise after this declaration of Frank. Fluttershy approached her and nudged her gently. "You know, Pinkie Pie, if that is alright with you, I think that perhaps we can tell him without a Pinkie promise." Pinkie Pie nodded without saying anything.
"Like Pinkie Pie said, Twilight suddenly thought of something while we were all celebrating that we had our cutie marks back to normal", Fluttershy told. "She rushed to the library and we all followed her. There she said something about fixing a spell and wrote something into an old book. And then...", Fluttershy swallowed and again her voice began to quiver, "...then all the Elements of Harmony flared up all of a sudden. And they were sending... rays of light at Twilight." "But it wasn't just light", Pinkie Pie said. "It was like some of the magic stuff Twilight is doing. It looked like all that light and shinning was attacking Twilight! I wanted to turn away to stop it, but I couldn't turn."
"I tried to run away from there too, but it was like that light kept us there while it was hitting Twilight. And then she was just... gone. And nothing but burned ashes where she had stood!" At this point Fluttershy cowered down, covering her face with one leg. "We all thought she was dead!" Fluttershy sobbed. "We thought we had... killed her!" Frank looked at Fluttershy distraught, when suddenly he felt choked by Pinkie Pie who cast her forelegs around his neck and was crying rivers. "She was gone!" she cried. "And we had no idea why, or where, or what. Only that our Elements had done it!" Frank was gasping for breath when Fluttershy joined the hug embracing both Pinkie Pie and him, but not nearly as fiercely as Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie loosened her embrace a little to include Fluttershy in it. Both of them were sobbing.
Frank was utterly lost, as if he had somehow invaded a very personal moment that he was not entitled to share, knowing neither of the two ponies for more than a day. He patted both of them in a helpless attempt to give some comfort. "It is alright", he mumbled. "Twilight is fine. Nothing happened to her. You didn't do anything wrong." He felt stupid as he said it, as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie both knew of course. But this was not a matter of knowing and Frank felt that he had torn open some wounds that had been healing. After what seemed like an eternity, Fluttershy finally let go and a moment later Pinkie Pie's grip slackened too. Frank opened his mouth to offer yet another apology, but before he could say anything Fluttershy silenced him with a shake of her head.
"We were terrified", Pinkie Pie sniffed. "I grabbed every book I could get my hoof on. I hoped that one book would say how we could get Twilight back. Twilight once told me I have a hoof for picking the one book I need even if I don't know why I need it. But none of the books told anything about what had happened. I didn't understand the book Twilight had written in either." "I couldn't think of anything", Fluttershy said. "I was just devastated. I don't know how long it was like that. We were all just... but then Spike thought of writing to Celestia and ask her for help. She wrote back immediately and her letter said that Twilight was alive and fine and that we shouldn't worry. She wrote that Twilight would return to Ponyville soon and that we should get outside." "I was so happy to see that letter!" Pinkie Pie said. "With Twilight gone and thinking that she was dead and that we had somehow done it, it was... it was worse than having the wrong cutie mark!" Fluttershy looked at her surprised, but nodded in agreement.
"We then went out", Fluttershy continued. It was night already, but suddenly there was a light and it was in the shape of Twilight's cutie mark. And she came out of that light, with her new wings and everything." "It was so great to have her back! And as an alicorn too." Pinkie Pie said in a tone that left no doubt that she was reliving the happiness of that moment just as much as she had relived the shock of Twilight's disappearing.
Frank waited for a couple of moments, but when it was clear that neither Pinkie Pie nor Fluttershy meant to add anything to the story, he asked carefully: "But you never told Twilight about the hard time you had when she was gone? I don't think she has any idea what it was like for you." "She was so happy and also so overwhelmed with everything; and so were we. None of us wanted to spoil anything for her. I think we just wanted to forget about the time before we got Princess Celestia's letter." Frank nodded. "Thank you for telling me all this. I will—"
"Oh look, there are Pen and Paper!" Pinkie interrupted him pointing across the green towards Ponyville. A dark blue unicorn and a white pegasus were approaching and they were clearly heading for them. "Pen and Paper?" Frank asked. He had seen the two ponies during the party yesterday, but he hadn't been introduced to either of them. "Actually their names are Inkhorn and Featherscribe", Fluttershy corrected. "Hello", Pinkie Pie called waving to them. "Good morning Pen and Paper", she greeted them once they were in talking distance. It was difficult to tell if the nickname pen and paper or the 'good morning' confused the two ponies more, seeing that the sun had long passed its zenith. They returned the greeting however and gave Pinkie a friendly nod.
"Your party yesterday was awesome!" Inkhorn said. "Thank you very much for that one, Pinkie", Featherscribe agreed. "You are very welcome!" Pinkie said cheerfully bouncing up and down on the spot, unmistakably happy about the appreciation for her party. "Thank you for coming here to thank me!" "Uhm... actually...", Featherscribe said rubbing his neck. "...we're also here to look for Mr. Blanket. That is you, isn't it?" Frank nodded: "Nice to meet you Mr. Featherscribe and Mrs. Inkhorn, is it?" The unicorn nodded, but there was something slightly forced about her smile. "Mr. Blanket, Mayor Mare would like to see you. She sent us to ask you to come to the town hall." "She sent both of you?" Fluttershy asked surprised.
"No problem", Frank said. "I'm just interviewing Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy for my studies on cutie marks. By the way, if you are interested I would very much like to interview you too. Your cutie marks seem to be of the kind very much befitting the name and probably the profession of their wearers." Inkhorn's flank indeed showed a large inkhorn while Featherscribe's was a quill. "Actually, Mayor Mare impressed upon us the urgency to see you as soon as possible. You could continue the interview later, I think?" Inkhorn said. Frank looked a bit disappointed at Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "If you don't mind...? I guess I have been taking up enough of your time already. Thank you very, very much for everything you told me." "You are welcome Frank", Fluttershy said. "I found it interesting too." "Me too" Pinkie Pie agreed. "You also taught me a new word. I didn't know the word 'epicfunny' yet." "Uhm, actually that's epiphany, Pinkie." Frank walked to his saddle-bags, put in his quill, and notes and folded the desktop lit together. "Are you coming, Mr. Blanket?" Featherscribe asked. "Yes, of course!" Frank said mildly annoyed by the impatience. "I'm just packing my stuff together." He put on the saddle-bags, bid farewell to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy and followed Inkhorn while Featherscribe was following close behind.
It had taken Twilight a little while to formulate the letter to Celestia. She had told about the events of the previous day, about her impressions of Frank and she had included some humorous allusions to 'quirkiness often associated with scholarly ponies' at both Frank's and her own expense and with a very subtle point at Celestia herself. When Twilight asked Spike to send the letter she was sure that Princess Celestia would find it entertaining.
"Oh, look", Spike called. He had gone to one of the windows on the upper floor to send the letter from there. "There's Frank and Inkhorn and Featherscribe too. Looks like they finally found him." "They're there? Then I'll just join them. See you later, Spike." Twilight rushed out of the door. She spotted Frank and Mayor Mare's assistants right away and raised her eyebrows a little. Rather than walking side by side Inkhorn lead the way followed by a slightly bemused looking Frank and Featherscribe at the rear of the column.
"Hello", she called, "Are you going to Town Hall?" Frank and Inkhorn both began an answer, but Frank deferred to Inkhorn with a smile. "Yes, Princess Twilight", she said. "Mayor Mare asked us to find Mr. Blanket and bring him to her. She has some questions to him." "Yes, Spike told me you asked him too about yesterday's party. Is this to be some kind of poll? May I participate too?"
Twilight had meant her last words as a joke, but Inkhorn nodded with just a fleeting smile. "Yes, actually that's really good. I didn't meet you in the morning when Spike came along, but I am pretty sure Mayor Mare would like to talk to you too, Princess." Twilight couldn't miss the somewhat serious tone of Inkhorn's voice. "What's the matter? Is anything wrong? Did something happen?" "Mayor Mare will explain everything to you. We'll be there soon." Twilight cast a confused look to Frank, but all she learned from his look in return was that he wasn't any smarter than she was about this.
They met Mayor Mare in her office on the upper floor of the town hall. Inkhorn led them to the right door and she and Featherscribe followed after Twilight and Frank had entered. All the windows of the room were cast wide open, but while this ensured that the air was not as stuffy as it was in the hall, it didn't help much against the heat. Mayor Mare bent over a rather old looking scroll, eyeing it with an intensity as if she tried to read something hidden between the lines. Only when Featherscribe closed the door behind them Mayor Mare startled and looked up.
"Ah, Princess Twilight, it is good to see you. Mr. Blanket." She nodded at Frank. "Thank you for coming here. Can I offer you something to drink?" "That would be great! The heat is really parching and we have been up and about all day!" Featherscribe responded though he had not been the addressee of Mayor Mare's offer. Inkhorn gave him a disapproving look but she too happily accepted when Mayor Mare without waiting for any further acceptances poured water from a carafe into five wooden cups which stood on a nearby side table.
"So... how are you doing?" Mayor Mare asked nopony in particular as she put down the carafe. Twilight raised an eyebrow. This wasn't courteous small talk but bore every sign of an attempt to procrastinate dealing with whatever the reason for this meeting was. Twilight was in no mood to be left guessing any longer but wanted for the cards to be put on the table: "I'm fine, but you have questions?" Mayor Mare took a sip from the cup she had filled for herself and nodded slowly uttering an inaudible sigh.
"Mr. Blanket", she looked at Frank. "I hope you enjoyed the party yesterday? When did you leave?" Frank looked confused but responded right away: "I enjoyed it very much, thank you. I left... when I was tired. I had been up very early yesterday." Mayor Mare nodded. "I hope nopony took offense? I didn't think there was any official close of the party..." "There wasn't", Twilight assured him and Mayor Mare shook her head. "Did you two leave the party together?" Mayor Mare asked. "No", Twilight said frowning a little. "But you were there; didn't you see us? I stayed around longer with the others."
Mayor Mare gave a nod that didn't say anything. "If this is about your question of yesterday...", Twilight continued somewhat annoyed, "...Mr. Blanket did not stay in the library overnight but rather set up a tent on the green. But you already knew that." Twilight cast a look at Inkhorn and Featherscribe. "Yes", Mayor Mare confirmed. She was clearly uneasy. "Mr. Blanket, did you see anypony after you left the party?" "See anypony?" Frank shook his head slowly. "I headed right for the green, set up my tent and went to sleep. I didn't see anypony."
Frank's glance fell on the scroll which Mayor Mare had been studying as they had entered. It was a rather large scroll and it looked rather old and tattered. It had rolled itself up however the moment Mayor Mare had taken her hooves from it, so he couldn't read what it was. "Miss Mayor...", Twilight began, "...won't you tell us what this is all about? What is this... interrogation? Why are you asking everypony about yesterday?" Mayor Mare winced a little at the word 'interrogation' and cast a look at the window as if she wished to be anywhere else but here. But then she seemed to brace herself and turned towards Twilight.
"Something happened that I don't think has ever happened before in Ponyville's history. Ponyville is and has always been a very... idyllic place; harmonic if you will. I am proud to have been elected as mayor of this town. It is my task to ensure that this harmony lasts and ever since I am mayor the good ponies of Ponyville have never seen this harmony compromised but by outside threats like Discord or that wandering hag Trixie. Thank you very much for your role in fending off these threats, Princess Twilight."
Twilight snorted a little at the description of Trixie as a 'wandering hag', but she braced for the unpleasant ends to which she expected the mayor's speech to lead. "There have been but only minor trifles when it comes to quarrels or disputes among the citizens of Ponyville which could either be settled by an easy talk or by the lifting of whatever kind of enchantment may have been at the core of such disputes." Twilight pursed her lips slightly. Had that been an allusion to the 'Smarty Pants incident' which she was still somewhat embarrassed about?
"But now something happened that has never happened before in Ponyville's history and that is threatening the peace in town?" Frank asked in a calm and matter of fact tone. "Yes!" Mayor Mare confirmed with a stern look. Apparently the little speech had bolstered up her confidence and there wasn't much left of the uneasiness that she had displayed before. "It appears that yesterday a very large sum of golden bits have been purloined from the premises of Mr. Rich, Ponyville's most wealthy resident."
Twilight and Frank exchanged a surprised look. Even in Celestia's shining empire, theft was not unheard of. But what crimes Twilight remembered as having been committed throughout her own lifetime had either been petty thefts of little value, or attempted heists against larger institutions such as banks or museums rather than against individual ponies. Also, all of the later cases Twilight was aware of had taken part in larger cities such as Manehatten, Baltimare, San Franciscolt or Fillydelphia. "But what? How...?" Twilight asked trying to smooth over her surprise but not really knowing how to ask for everything she wanted to know.
Mayor Mare however didn't need another invitation to continue: "When Mr. Rich woke up this morning he found that the bits had disappeared right from his workroom." "How much was it?" Twilight asked. "More than most ponies earn in a lifetime of work!" Mayor Mare said. Frank gave a barely audible snort. "Mr. Rich's daughter came past here to report the theft as she was on her way to visit her father in hospital." "In hospital?" Twilight asked more alarmed than she had been about anything she had heard so far. "Has he been injured?" Frank too looked startled.
Mayor Mare made a helpless gesture. "Not really, I think. Young Miss Rich was a little unclear about that. She did say that her father was not well though. With all the investigations at hoof I haven't yet gotten round to pay him a visit myself. Inkhorn, you did visit the hospital in the morning, didn't you? How was Mr. Rich?" The unicorn cocked her head first to one side then to the other as if she wasn't really sure about the answer. "He was not injured as he would be if he had been attacked, if that is what you mean", she said at last. "But I guess young Miss Rich put it right when she said he wasn't well. I accompanied her on her way to the hospital. Mr. Rich seemed... unhappy." "I'd seem unhappy if someone stole a working life's worth of bits from our home", Featherscribe commented.
Inkhorn shook her head. "I know Mr. Rich a little. He usually turns to me for any requests or official matters that don't require your own attention, Mayor. He is a businesspony all through and rarely shows sentiments beyond formal expressions in public. He is also nopony to be discouraged, daunted or dejected by difficulties or setbacks. But even though the examinations in hospital hadn't found any injury or anything, he appeared more... depressed than I have ever seen him... or anypony else. Little Miss Rich was seriously disturbed by this. Also... apparently he doesn't remember most of yesterday anymore. He was unaware of having been at the party yesterday or of the fact that there had been a party for that matter. Dr. Horse said it is most likely a case of amnesia."
Nopony said anything for a while until the silence became oppressive and at last Twilight asked the looming question: "Mayor Mare, why did you call us here?" "I have carefully studied the municipal law and the charter of Ponyville", Mayor Mare pointed at the scroll she had been scanning before. "I'm afraid that under the given circumstances my duties as mayor of this town leave me no other alternative. Mr. Frank Blanket, I hereby remand you into custody under suspicion of grand theft!"
"And which, pray tell me, are the 'given circumstances' that cause this suspicion?" Frank asked. Apparently the entire situation and everything Mayor Mare had told before had sufficiently prepared him for the mayor's ruling as to not give any sign of surprise. But while he remained calm Twilight believed to hear an undertone of suppressed anger. She herself was a lot more surprised by the mayor's announcement than Frank let on to be.
"There is not a pony, other than you, who has left the party before Mr. Rich did without having been seen by others and therefore having an alibi for the evening—", Mayor Mare began. "Not so!" interrupted Twilight fiercely. "I left before Mr. Rich did and Spike was fast asleep. That argument could be used against me and probably against some of the others too." "I should rephrase that", Mayor Mare said. "There is not a pony other than Mr. Blanket whose reputation and long term residence to Ponyville doesn't preclude any suspicions in this matter who left without company granting them an alibi."
"Reputation and long term residence to Ponyville precluding suspicions in this matter...?" Frank began, but apparently Mayor Mare had now talked herself into making her case clear. "Would you, Mr. Blanket, include a princess of Equestria or the representatives of the Elements of Harmony including those of honesty, generosity, kindness and loyalty into your circle of suspects?" "No, I didn't say that!" Frank cried, casting an apologetic look at Twilight. "Then we agree that there are ponies who can reasonably be ruled out from the suspicion. Next point is the motive. Were ponies to whom we talked before correct in understanding that you do not have a fixed residence?"
"Yes", Frank said. Twilight couldn't tell if it was anger or embarrassment that made him blush. "So an interest in obtaining bits, if given the chance, could not be excluded." "Given the chance!" Frank almost spat out the words. "I have never even been to Ponyville before yesterday! Mayor, I don't even know where in Ponyville Mr. Rich lives! Why is it that the ponies who got the least bits are presumed to be the most unscrupulous in obtaining them?" Mayor Mare took a deep breath, but remained calm. "Mr. Blanket, you yourself have asked for the circumstances, do you want me to stop?" Frank clenched his teeth and Twilight was about to say something when he, with a tone of resignation said: "Proceed please!"
"There has been word that you have been threatening young Miss Rich." "This is ridiculous!" Twilight blurted out. "Did she tell you that? Rest assured mayor that Mr. Blanket did not threaten young Diamond Tiara, but only gave her a stern lecture about bullying another kid as Mr. Blanket had witnessed. I heard it, Applejack heard it and if our words are not enough Rarity and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were there too! It had absolutely nothing to do with... this." Mayor Mare made a conciliatory gesture. The outburst of Twilight seemed to have drained some of the passion that her previous little speech seemed to have given her.
"Young Diamond Tiara didn't mention this at all when she was here this morning. Some other ponies we talked to earlier may have picked up her saying it on the previous evening. It may be seen as an indication of an aversion against Mr. Rich and his family." "I do not even know him", Frank said still with the voice of resignation. "We didn't even talk at all yesterday." "There is yet another thing you must consider, Princess Twilight", Mayor Mare continued. "Somepony here has committed the deed. I have always lived here in Ponyville. There is nopony here in Ponyville who I think is capable of such a crime. You, Princess Twilight, haven't lived here for nearly as long and still I think you got to know the ponies of our town well enough. Can you name a single one, colt or mare, here in Ponyville who you believe could do this?"
Twilight hesitated but then shook her head slowly. There was absolutely no pony in Ponyville who she could, even in her wildest dreams, imagine as an unscrupulous thief. The way things stood, this left only Frank, whom she could not imagine as a thief anymore than any of the others. Though she knew him for a much shorter span of time... though she had seen him put on so many faces and attitudes that she had not foreseen...
"But mayor...", she pleaded, "...this is just as it was with Zecora! Just because nopony knew her everypony thought of her as evil and whatnot. This is the same mistake all over again!" "I know", Mayor Mare mumbled quietly. She then tightened and looked squarely at Frank. "Mr. Blanket, did you do it? Did you take those bits from Mr. Rich's home?" Frank returned the look and his face changed to an expression of grim pride and there was not a trace of resignation in his voice when he said firmly: "By Celestia and Luna and all of Equestria, I did not!"
Mayor Mare nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she looked somewhat tired aged almost beyond anything that she achieved by dying her mane gray for the sake of a distinguished appearance. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and not that of a prosecutor: "Mr. Blanket, I do believe you. But I cannot believe anypony else here in Ponyville could have done this either. But what I believe is irrelevant either way." "What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
Mayor Mare tipped against the scroll on her table with one hoof. "It is all in the municipal laws established and agreed upon by the time Ponyville was founded. By these laws Mr. Blanket must be kept in custody and stand trial." "Then these laws are stupid!" Twilight called. "All there is, is that we don't know him as long as others and that he hasn't been in anypony's company for some time. There is no way anypony in their right minds could find Frank guilty on that basis!" "Still we must keep these laws", Mayor Mare said. "Or agree to change them in an assembly or..." She fell silent and looked at Twilight almost as if she hadn't seen her before. "What?" Twilight asked suprised.
"You are a princess!" Mayor Mare said. "So?" Twilight asked confused at this sudden realization of the mayor. "Your royal authority could be accepted as overriding municipal law in this matter! If you insist on Mr. Blanket's release from custody he may leave with you. The veto of a princess can overrule the law in a matter such as this one." Twilight's jaw dropped a little. She noticed that for the first time ever her role as a princess was put to the test. The realization sent a shiver down her spine. She felt lost suddenly and didn't know what to say. She cast a look at Frank. The colt shook his head.
"Don't, Princess Twilight", he said. What anger, resignation, or grim pride had been in his voice before had given way to a calm almost solemn determination. "I didn't do it and you yourself said that no pony in their right mind could find me guilty on the basis there is. If the law requires me to be remanded, then it must be so. Laws agreed upon by many ponies should not be overridden by the vote or the veto of a single one, princess though that she may be."
The words didn't miss their effect on anypony present. Inkhorn and Featherscribe who had been silent for a while exchanged an approving look, Mayor Mare nodded looking impressed while Twilight was raking her brain for any Pony Shakes plays or other pieces of literature from where Frank might have taken these words, but couldn't think of any. "I hope there aren't any objections to me taking my saddle-bags with me to custody?" Frank asked. "If I got to stay at a place for a while I would like not to waste my time there but continue with my studies. After all I got a lot of notes to order." Mayor Mare nodded: "Of course, Mr. Blanket."
"Excellent", called Frank cheerfully breaking into a broad smile as if he had just been invited to another party. Mayor Mare was looking perplexed. All tension seemed to have fallen from Frank and with a humorous tone he asked: "So which way to Ponyville's dungeon?" "But of course we don't have a dungeon in Ponyville!" Mayor Mare gasped. Frank cocked his head and asked: "What are we going to do about it then? Shall I be chained to the fountain on the town-square?" "Mr. Blanket, I thought that you had understood the seriousness of all this..." "I most certainly did, Miss Mayor. But now that decisions have been made and nothing will be changed about them I may make the best of it just as well and have what laughs I can take along."
"Frank, did Pinkie Pie tell you that kind of thing today?" Twilight demanded to know. Frank shook his head: "No she didn't, but if she had, she would have been right anyway." He shrugged. "So, for lack of a dungeon, which accommodation do you have in mind for me, mayor?" Mayor Mare blushed and there was an awkward silence. So uncommon was the idea of any pony being held in custody in Ponyville that apparently nopony had even given any thought to the question where the detainee was to be kept. The situation was so utterly absurd that in spite of everything Twilight couldn't help snorting a little. "We could bring him upstairs", Featherscribe suggested. "There is a latch on the hatch to the upper storeroom."
"If I am to be stored there...", Frank said, fanning himself with his hat, "...please make sure I got enough water. It will be hot up there." "Of course", Mayor Mare agreed. "The windows up there can be opened and there are also the stairs up to the cupola. Since you are no pegasus I think it is okay for you to go up there if you want to." "Wonderful", Frank said and Twilight couldn't even guess whether he was being sarcastic or if this was actual, genuine enthusiasm. Suddenly Mayor Mare blushed a little. "You are not a unicorn either..." "Yes?" Frank said half confirming half asking. "Well, the laws say that any pony detained must wear a magic suppressor ring throughout the time of the detainment." Frank squinted up at his forehead. "Any pony detained?" he asked. "It doesn't specify unicorns in the law text", Inkhorn confirmed.
Mayor Mare took a little dusty box from a shelf, opened it and brought forth a dark metal ring on a chain. "Maybe we can just hang it round his neck on the chain", Featherscribe suggested. "Really?" Frank asked. "No disrespect, mayor, but I am not sure who of us makes it more difficult to appreciate the seriousness of all this." "It's what the law says", Mayor Mare insisted. Frank rolled his eyes and allowed for the chain with the ring to be hung around his neck. "You realize this won't have any effect, don't you?" Twilight asked. "I really think when all this is over the old laws should really undergo a thorough examination. Lack of need to put them on the test may have caused them to be somewhat out of touch with reality."
Mayor Mare just nodded but didn't say anything. They left the room and Frank was led up the stairs which Twilight had rushed up the previous evening in pursuit of Fluttershy. The storeroom was baking hot and stuffy. Without being asked to do so Inkhorn and Featherscribe rushed to cast open the small windows. "Charming", Frank commented nodding at the boxes and shelves with folders, files and some books. "It looks like I too am to live in a library now. I'll let you know if there is anything of interest here, Twilight. If there is no law against ponies detained reading what reading materials there may be in their gaols?" "This is not a gaol", Mayor Mare sighed. "And you may read whatever you find here. I doubt any of it will be of much interest to you though."
"Will you look at that!" Frank called enthusiastically, pointing at an old fainting couch standing between some stacked benches and tables. "With some dusting it could get quite comfortable here in this jail!" "It is not a jail", Mayor Mare protested. "Must I refer to it as storeroom?" Frank asked. "Somehow it sounds a bit degrading to live in a storeroom." "More degrading than dungeon, gaol or jail?" Mayor Mare asked slightly irritated. Frank shrugged. "One of us will be downstairs at any time, so if you need anything you can knock on the hatch", Mayor Mare said. "And of course we will make sure you are not trying to escape." She added sternly.
"But why would I try that?" Frank asked. "In a sense it seems to me that my situation has significantly improved. A large room, furniture, an own library, a cupola on top it all and service personnel present at any time...", Frank stopped and suddenly looked remorseful. "I am sorry", he said with a serious tone and looking at Mayor Mare, Inkhorn and Featherscribe in turn. "That was inappropriate. You are doing your job and you are acting in the interest of your town. But as I said, I am not whoever stole Mr. Rich's money. I do hope your attention given to me will not distract you from finding whoever really did it." Mayor Mare nodded.
"May me and my friends visit Frank, mayor?" Twilight asked. "Of course. I do hope that this unpleasant business will be over soon." "Frank, I'm going to visit Mr. Rich and ask what he can tell me about what happened", Twilight said. "It won't be too much", Inkhorn pointed out. "As I said, he doesn't remember most of yesterday." "And maybe that is an important detail to exonerate Frank!" Twilight said. "I'll tell the others what happened. I'm sure they will help too." "Thank you", Frank said with a little bow. Mayor Mare, Twilight, Inkorn and Featherscribe left the room and Featherscribe closed the hatch and locked it with the latch.
As Mayor Mare headed towards her office, she turned around to Twilight one more time and quietly asked: "What is it with him? These sudden changes of moods and everything." "He is a bit quirky...", Twilight answered, "...and I don't think I understand everything he says or does. But I am certain that he is not a thief!"
With the rough awakening the arrival of the pony from Fillydelphia had given him the previous morning, Spike had expected for Frank's presence to result in additional tasks and more jobs to be dealt with. However, things had turned out quite differently. With Twilight having taken care of leading the guest around, the previous day would have been rather easy on him but for Pinkie Pie's insistence on informing all of Ponyville about the impending party. It had been a bit of work, but it had been more than made up for by the party itself. This morning Twilight had let him sleep in and except for the questions at the town hall and the one letter Twilight had had him write and send to Princess Celestia this day too had been uncommonly unscheduled for Spike.
He was standing in the main room of the library, looking a bit undetermined at a feather duster in his hand. There was no real point in dusting the library again. There just hadn't been enough time for much dust to settle anywhere since the last time he had done it. With Twilight gone with Frank and Owlowiscious asleep on a perch upstairs, Spike felt a bit at a loss of what to do with the unexpected free time. Maybe he could pay Rarity a visit and see if she had any use for his services as an assistant for whatever kind of fashion project she might be working on?
Spike shrugged, put down the feather duster and headed for the desk to write a note to Twilight about his whereabouts when suddenly a well known sense of inflation told him that a task was coming. With a loud burp and a surge of greenish flames Spike produced a scroll from his mouth bearing the seal of Princess Celestia. With an often practiced motion he caught the scroll in midair and headed for the door to search Twilight at the town hall or wherever she and Frank might have headed from there.
The door burst open with such a force that Spike took a leap backwards. Had he been one step closer it probably would have knocked him right over. "Spike! Write a letter to the princess immediately!" Twilight ordered from the threshold. "Gee Twilight, what happened? And I just got this letter from the princess." Twilight levitated the letter straight out of Spike's hand, broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. Judging from her deepening frown she didn't like what she read, which was fairly uncommon when it came to letters from Celestia.
"Twilight, what is it?" Spike asked as he rushed to the desk for a piece of paper and a quill, knowing that he stood a better chance of having his questions answered if at the same time he was following Twilight's order about the letter. This time however Twilight didn't answer. Still scanning the letter she entered slowly while gnawing her lower lip. Spike returned from the desk. "Ready", he said thinking that, by taking Twilight's dictation, he would most likely learn what upset her. "What am I to write?" Twilight shook her head slowly. "Maybe not yet after all..." "What, but you just said...?"
"I know Spike, but looking at this..." she tapped the letter of the Princess which she had put on the table, "...I think Princess Celestia may have enough trouble to deal with at the moment without me adding another without being able to say anything helpful about it. We will send a letter later when I can tell her more." "Care to tell me what in Equestria is going on?" Spike asked. Twilight sighed. "They arrested Frank, Spike." The dragon gave Twilight a look as if she had just proclaimed the world was a rotating sphere circling the sun rather than Princess Celestia raising and lowering it.
"What? Who? How? Why?" Spike asked, not sure which question he wanted answered first. Twilight laid out what had happened as quickly as possible but as detailed as necessary for her number one assistant to do what she had decided to ask him to do. "Spike, I am going to visit Mr. Rich and ask him about all this. I want you to tell Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash about this. When I'm done at Mr. Rich's place I'm going to return here. Maybe then we will have enough to write a letter to Celestia. Got it Spike?" Spike nodded and made for the door. By the looks of it, his original intuition about Frank's presence meaning more tasks and jobs had been right, though in a manner different from what he had expected.
As she entered Ponyville hospital, Twilight was greeted by Dr. Horse and Nurse Redheart who was standing behind the reception counter. "Hello Princess", the doctor said with a respectful yet informal bow. "How are you?" Nurse Redheart asked friendly without bothering about any more formal greeting. The hospital was her own realm and Twilight thought that if Princess Celestia herself would enter through the hospital doors she would not get any different treatment from Nurse Redheart as any other patient, which meant the best treatment possible but without any kowtows of any sort. Twilight found this quite refreshing. She noticed that the nurse had been one of the few ponies she hadn't seen at the party yesterday.
"I'm fine, thank you. How about yourself and all of Ponyville?" "Can't complain. The doctor was just telling me about everything I missed yesterday", she shrugged. "But it was my shift." "Luckily Ponyville is mostly fine too. Almost no sprained fetlocks in spite of all the dancing yesterday", the doctor joked. "If all ponies heeded my advise to drink enough and not to expose themselves too much to the sun in all this heat we might get idle for want of sunstrokes. Not that that would be a bad thing."
"Doctor, I was wondering if I could visit Mr. Rich here?" "Ah yes...", said the doctor, getting more serious again. "Indeed the one case these days which I don't think is related to the heat. I'm afraid you can't visit him here though." Twilight looked surprised. "He is no longer here", Nurse Redheart said. "He came here this morning, but after the examinations we discharged him." "He is alright then?" Twilight asked. Doctor Horse cocked his head and looked concerned: "Not quite, I think. But I'm afraid that he wouldn't benefit from staying in this hospital." "What do you mean, doctor?" "Now princess, with all due respect, I am not authorized to give out detailed information about the state of health of my patients and—"
"I know he has suffered a loss of memory that you diagnosed as amnesia and that he has been rather down-spirited", Twilight said a little impatiently. "Inkhorn told so", Twilight added as Dr. Horse looked at her surprised. The doctor sighed: "Medical confidentiality really doesn't mean much in this town... bless it. In the part of Baltimare I'm from originally, a pony could suffer from all kind's of ailments without even the immediate neighbors noticing." "Doctor, you probably heard about the theft from Mr. Rich's house..." "How could I possibly not hear about it in this town?" "...and whatever happened to Mr. Rich may be important for the investigations in this matter." Doctor Horse rolled his eyes: "I think Inkhorn said something similar—"
"Mr. Rich didn't remember anything that happened after about yesterday midday to this morning", Nurse Redheart said. "What are you—?" Doctor Horse began indignantly. "Saving you from a severe case of conscience crisis by telling the investigating princess what she wants to know, Doctor. I never lived outside Ponyville and am therefore not as likely to develop any negative symptoms or adverse effects over it." The doctor looked rather dumbfounded but also somewhat relieved about the brazenness of the nurse and didn't interrupt again as she continued:
"We didn't find any sign of physical injury whatsoever which rules out a concussion or other brain traumas which are the most frequent causes for amnesia. Blood tests didn't bring forth the use of any intoxicating substances which might have a similar effect—" "Now really Nurse Redheart—", the doctor protested. "Did you come to a different assessment of the blood samples, Dr. Horse?" Nurse Redheart asked with a raised eyebrow. "No", sighed Doctor Horse resigning into the lack of professional discretion. "In short...", Nurse Redheart continued, "...he seemed physically totally healthy, but for the total lack of any memory to the said time frame. His memory just ends around yesterday noon, by his estimation, and sets in again when waking up this morning."
"But shouldn't he have been kept under supervision then?" Twilight asked. "Hmm... since Nurse Redheart's efforts to spare me a guilty conscience would not leave this a secret and since apparently Inkhorn didn't show any more discretion either, I guess I can tell you just as well", Dr. Horse grumbled. "But I would appreciate if at least you, Princess, would be a bit more sensitive about this than anypony else seems to be." Twilight nodded.
"I am not a psychologist, but Mr. Rich seemed utterly and totally depressed. I have rarely seen anypony so completely resigned as him. I guess he would have just laid down wherever he stood not to do anything at all anymore but for the efforts of his young daughter and his butler to keep him walking." "All about the bits stolen from him?" Twilight asked. Dr. Horse shrugged. "If I understood correctly we are talking of quite a few bits there, but I don't remember if Mr. Rich himself even mentioned them. He wasn't very talkative altogether. This hospital is an excellent place for pony's to have their physical ailments cured and we are doing our best to make it appear as light and uplifting a place as possible...", Dr. Horse nodded at some potted plants and at pictures, undoubtedly done by young, thankful patients, which decorated the walls, "...but in general ponies just tend to be happier outside our hospital than inside it, no offense taken. We therefore decided to permit Mr. Rich to return home to pay us another visit tomorrow if there is no improvement. We think his mood may be helped more by his familiar surroundings under the loving care of his family rather than under our professional care."
Twilight nodded at both, Dr. Horse and Nurse Redheart: "I better go to visit him at his place then. Thank you very much." "Eager to catch the thief and bring Mr. Rich's money back?" Nurse Redheart asked. Suddenly Twilight noticed that the question somewhat turned the tables. She was not professionally obliged to any secrecy about Frank's arrest and more likely than not all of Ponyville would know about it by sundown, but still she didn't want to tell about it. She simply nodded again, while having a bit of a guilty conscience for disregarding the doctor's discretion the way she had. She then turned around and rushed out of the hospital.
"Good timing", Spike thought as he jogged up the path to Sweet Apple Acres. Not only was Applejack there, whom he had of course expected to find here, but Pinkie Pie was there too and so was Rainbow Dash, who was usually the most elusive of the group. Rainbow Dash was one to find whoever was looking for her more often than she was found by them. She didn't seem happy at the moment though, but outright frustrated while floating in front of a carriage with a large barrel on it and Applejack harnessed in front of it. Spike also spotted Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo sprawling around the barrel on the carriage.
As he approached, he heard Applejack say to Pinkie Pie: "No, Pinkie Pie. Much as I appreciate that offer of yours, I'm not gonna water our apple trees with lemonade or chocolate milk or let you water them with either. Trust me when I tells ya, you won't get chocolate apples if you water them trees with chocolate milk!" "Oh, so you did try, Applejack?" Pinkie asked enthusiastically, earning herself a frustrated sigh from Applejack. "I'm really sorry, AJ...", Rainbow Dash said, "...but all the way up to Foal Mountain I couldn't gather enough haze together to make for even a single decent cloud! There just wasn't any!" "Ah know, Rainbow", Applejack said with a flimsy smile. "If the clouds had been there I know we would now have our shower here." "I think I'll fly to Cloudsdale right away, give them a piece of my mind and have them tell me what is keeping them!"
"Wait!" shouted Spike as he saw Rainbow Dash spread her wings, knowing full well that she might be out of earshot in a matter of moments once she was on her way. Rainbow Dash paused in mid-motion and everypony turned to Spike. "Hello Spike", Pinkie Pie called in delighted surprise. "What are you doing here?" "Catch your breath little fellow!" Applejack asked with a concerned look at Spike who was panting from the long run. "What's wrong?" "They, arrested Frank!" Spike gasped, earning himself the kind of look he had given to Twilight at the same announcement from everypony present.
It took Spike a while to lay out everything he had been told by Twilight since he was often interrupted by questions to many of which he couldn't even give an answer. Twilight's own account to him had been sketchy. It came mostly down to Frank being in custody in the town hall accused of having stolen a large sum of bit from Mr. Rich who was in hospital. Spike had to pass questions about the exact basis for Franks arrest, about any circumstances of the theft and about what exactly happened to Mr. Rich. All he could say was that Frank was locked up in the town hall while Twilight had gone to talk to Mr. Rich.
"Ah guess we should head for the library an' wait for Twilight there", Applejack suggested. "Done watering the trees over here anyway and not much left to do for the time bein'. Twilight will be able to tell us more when she's back." Pinkie Pie nodded slowly, almost reluctantly. More than any of the others she seemed to have taken personal offense in the idea of Frank's being accused of theft and arrested. At one point Applejack, who had taken up the news with as much surprise as anypony but had kept the calmest about them, had to hold Pinkie back to stop her from walking straight off to the town hall to give 'Mayor Mare, Pen and Paper a piece of my mind'.
Rainbow Dash however shook her head. "You go ahead; I'll fly to the town hall and talk to Frank myself. I wonder what he says about all this." "You think they'll just let ya talk to him and—" Applejack began but was silenced by Rainbow Dash with a 'you seriously think they could stop me?' kind of look that left no room for doubt. "I'll join you at the library later", Rainbow Dash said and took off. "I still need to tell Fluttershy and Rarity", Spike said, turning around. "I'll let them know where you are." "So let's go!" shouted Apple Bloom jumping from the carriage. "Whoa, hold your horses, sis!" Applejack called. "Whoever said you were to come with us?" "Whoever says we won't?" Apple Bloom called back. "Yes, and why?" Sweetie Belle agreed. "He is a cutie mark researcher!" called Scootaloo. "This is Cutie Mark Crusader business!" "Or would you rather have us practice for Cutie Mark Crusader firefighters, sis?" Apple Bloom challenged with an almost menacing look.
Surprised by the fierce and unanimous opposition and lacking any good arguments beyond a vague protective instinct, Applejack gave in. "Alright y'all", she said as she stripped off the harness of the carriage which she had moved beside the barn. "But don't ya do anything stupid, you hear that?" "Do we ever?" Apple Bloom asked with a beaming smile. Applejack decided not to respond.
Spike found Fluttershy in her backyard. Unsurprisingly she was tending to a little sparrow whom she was petting and cooing to. It was so peaceful and harmonic a scene that Spike, who usually didn't have much of a sense for anything cheesy, felt kind of guilty to intrude. The dragon didn't say anything or make any sound to attract Fluttershy's attention until she noticed his presence by herself with a little start. "Oh, hello Spike", she greeted him. "I didn't see you." "Hello Fluttershy", Spike returned the greeting and decided to postpone the news a little. "Is the bird injured?" he asked looking at the sparrow. "I don't think she really hurt herself...", said Fluttershy, "...but the poor thing just came to me and she seemed so unhappy. I think she needed a hug and someone to talk to."
Spike nodded. While Fluttershy didn't understand animals the way she would have understood the talking of another pony there was no doubt that she had a unique sense for the needs and sentiments of animals and it appeared that animals in turn understood Fluttershy much more, or were much more willing to account for what Fluttershy was telling them, than in case of any other pony. "Is she better now?" asked Spike honestly concerned. "I think so, Spike", Fluttershy said. "And with the help of her friends and family...", Fluttershy nodded at a whole flock of sparrows and other birds perched on the branch of a nearby tree, "...I'm sure she'll feel better soon."
Fluttershy cooed the sparrow once again, then she extended the hoof on which the bird was perched. "Now fly, my little friend", she said. "Your other friends are already waiting for you and it is not too late to turn a bad day into a good one. Maybe you just had a bad start, little fellow." The sparrow chirped and it was a strong and beautiful chirp. "You are very welcome, little friend", Fluttershy said as the sparrow spread her wings and fluttered for her comrades on the branch. "But what is wrong with you, Spike?" Fluttershy asked suddenly, looking no less concerned at Spike than she had looked at the sparrow before.
It was Spike's turn to be startled. He was certain that neither by his tone nor by any other sign he had given away that there was anything to worry about. He had even taken deliberate efforts to avoid giving any such inkling to Fluttershy. But it was not for the first time that Spike noticed that the special sense and sensitivity that distinguished Fluttershy so much seemed to expand to him too. There was no point in further procrastinating the delivery of the message he had come to deliver.
"Uhm... I got some bad news, Fluttershy. A large sum of bits was stolen from Mr. Rich." "Oh my goodness", said Fluttershy compassionately. "Poor Mr. Rich!" Spike was wondering if ever before Mr. Rich's name had been used in a sentence that included the word 'poor'. "Who would do something like that?" Spike sighed. "They arrested Frank." Fluttershy's lower jaw dropped a little. She then shook her head. "No, he wouldn't do that! I think."
Spike knew Fluttershy well enough to understand that the 'I think' was not so much an expression of doubt about whether or not Frank had committed the crime he stood accused of, as it was an expression of Fluttershy's general reluctance against absolute statements. Spike shook his head. "I don't think so either. Nor does Twilight. She is visiting Mr. Rich right now. I told the others and they are waiting for Twilight at the library. Will you come too?" "Of course", Fluttershy nodded. "I will be back later", she said to nobody in particular but for all the animals around to hear and set in motion.
"I still need to tell Rarity", Spike told. "She is the only one of you who doesn't know yet." Fluttershy nodded. It wouldn't be much of a roundabout to pass by Rarity's boutique on the way to the library. As they crossed the little bridge leading across the brook near Fluttershy's house Spike tried to think of something to start a conversation. "How is Discord doing?" he asked and almost bit his tongue the moment the question was out. When it came to lighthearted small talk Discord was probably the worst topic he could have thought of. "Rarity mentioned he visited you yesterday", Spike explained as if he had to justify the question. Fluttershy however seemed happy about the question, though her look became a little concerned.
"Oh, I think he is alright. I think he enjoyed the visit yesterday. But later on he seemed a little bit cranky." "Cranky?" Spike asked alarmed. In case of everypony it was sad to hear that he or she was cranky; in case of Discord the idea of him being cranky evoked images of disaster in Spike's mind. "A little", Fluttershy said. "Something seemed to have spoiled the party for him." "The party?" Spike asked frowning. Fluttershy gave a little cry. "Uh... er... yes... ahem... I mean... here, the party here. At my place. We were having tea and then err... uh... he left later and he is not here anymore." Fluttershy's face had blushed so much that she had almost taken on Pinkie Pie's complexion. One didn't have to be a genius to guess that Fluttershy was hiding something. But so long the part about Discord being cranky but at some other, hopefully faraway, place was true, Spike didn't feel any need to press the point and gallantly changed the topic.
As they entered Carousel Boutique, they found Rarity bent over a drawing board. She was undoubtedly working on some new fashion draft and was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice their entry even after they closed the door with an audible sound. Only when Fluttershy gave a cautious sound to draw Rarity's attention she turned her head and beamed at them. "Fluttershy! Spikey-wikey! How nice of you to come for a visit and just at the right time too, I need your opinions on something..." Rarity ushered them into the room and towards the drawing board. On it lay a large sheet of paper on which Rarity had drawn... something.
"What do you think of this?" Rarity asked expectantly. "Uh it is...", Fluttershy began eyeing the sheet and tilting her head slightly, "...it is...", she walked to the side of the table to take a look from a different angle. "What is it?" Spike asked bluntly. Fluttershy's hesitancy allowed him to rest comfortably assured that his inability to figure out what exactly he was seeing was not just the result of his own ignorance in fashion matters.
"Why, a new outfit for Frank, Mr. Blanket, of course", Rarity said a little impatient as if this was the most obvious matter in the world. "It is... different?" Fluttershy said cautiously. "Oh yes, it is", Rarity said nodding. "Different indeed." "Is that an academic cap?" Fluttershy asked. "No", said Spike. "That's a pith helmet!" "Both right", Rarity said grinning. "I combined the two to a marvelous new type of hat." "Why would you do that Rarity?" Spike asked with an amount of skepticism in his voice that Rarity couldn't possibly ignore.
"Well, it is a bit uncommon—" "A bit?" Spike asked. "An academic cap and a pith helmet?" "...but I thought it would represent Mr. Blanket's academic background and also meet the needs for something stable and rustic on the road." Neither Spike nor Fluttershy said anything. "I took some inspiration from the Daring Do novels. Rainbow Dash might like that too", Rarity said. Spike felt an urgent need to direct the topic away from any questions for opinions and asked with a raised eyebrow: "Did Frank order a new outfit?" "No, of course he didn't", Rarity said slightly annoyed. "But he does need some help there. Did you see that hat of his?" "And that's why you combine an academic cap with a pith helmet?" Spike couldn't stop himself from asking and unable to keep a tone of sarcasm from his voice. Rarity snorted slightly: "I just cannot let him continue to walk around like that!" "Uhm... actually that's kind of why we are here", said Spike. "He isn't walking anywhere at the moment."
Rarity's reaction to the news of Frank's arrest was no less surprised than that of any of the others. She seemed to be even more challenged to add the notion of Frank as suspected of theft to the combination of student and hobo. More than any of the others Rarity seemed to be confused by this development. Spike noticed that unlike the others she didn't discard the idea of Frank as a thief right away but instead asked about details but was quick to assure her agreement when Fluttershy stated her conviction that Frank was not a thief. Abandoning her drafts, Rarity joined Spike and Fluttershy on their way to the library.
Mr. Rich's house was a two-story mansion. It was not quite a palace but probably as close as could be. A cobbled way led through a fenced front garden of neatly trimmed hedges and flowerbeds up to a perron to the pillared portico. Twilight used a bronze door knocker and after a few moments the door was opened a crack. Twilight didn't know the elderly white unicorn stallion at the door. He was wearing a black tailcoat.
"What is your desire?" he asked with a sonorous voice. "I need to talk to Mr. Rich", Twilight said. "Mr. Rich is indisposed. A good day to you", the stallion said and closed the door into Twilight's face. Twilight goggled at the door dumbfounded. She didn't remember any door having ever been closed into her face like that. It took her a few moment to recover from her surprise and to use the door knocker again. After some moments a small peep door was opened which Twilight hadn't noticed before, but the door itself remained closed.
"Mr. Rich is indisposed!" the voice of the tailcoated stallion said with an imposing tone and he seemed to be about to slide the peep door shut again. "Wait!" Twilight ordered annoyed and now sounding as imposing as she herself could manage. "I really must talk to Mr. Rich." "He needs not to talk to you." Twilight hated playing the princess card, but this really seemed like the situation to do so and this tailcoated lackey didn't seem to have any clue at all whom he was talking to.
"I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, student to Princess Celestia!" "And I am Swallowtail, loyal servant to the Rich family. This is their home, not your palace, Princess. This is their door and it remains closed unless I am told differently by one of them." Once again Twilight was dumbfounded. She usually preferred when ponies did not act any different towards her from how they had acted before her transformation and coronation, but she hadn't ever even seen this stallion before and the total lack of any regard whatsoever for her title was something Twilight had not experienced so far and that she had not expected. She was wondering if her rank as a princess gave her some kind of lawful right to enter even against the will of the owners, but not only did she doubt that it did, but she was also sure that this was certainly not a way to win the cooperation of the inhabitants of the place thus trespassed.
"Wait!" she shouted almost desperately as the stallion seemed to be about to close the peep door. "I know that Mr. Rich isn't feeling well and I don't want to disturb him any more than necessary. But I am investigating on the theft and it is certainly in Mr. Rich's own interest to support this investigation!" Nothing but a frown came from the eyes beyond the peep door, but at least it remained open.
"If Mr. Rich is indisposed, can I at least talk to Mrs. Rich please?" "Mrs. Rich is not here. Now kindly respect Mr. Rich's need to rest and go! I will inform the young master that you have been here." "Who's there, Swallows?" a little voice asked behind the door. The peep door was closed leaving Twilight standing outside, but she could still understand the muffled voices from the inside. "Her Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle wishes to be admitted to your father, young Miss Rich." "Did you... send her away?" "Yes, Miss Rich. I am under the impression that your father needs to rest. Did I fail in doing so?"
There was no response, but Twilight heard a little commotion and then the door was opened a crack again and Diamond Tiara was peeking out from behind the door. She looked a little disheveled with some streaks of her mane hanging over her usually meticulously arranged tiara. "What do you want?" she asked bluntly. Twilight decided not to dally with any courtesies which she didn't receive either. "I would like to talk to your father." "He is not well!" "I know. That's why I am here." "Can you help him?"
Natural as the question was, it took Twilight by utter surprise. She didn't know Diamond Tiara very well, but what little she did know and what she had heard from Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hadn't exactly endeared her to Twilight. The question however had been that of a little filly who was worrying about her father. "I don't know. I hope I can. I am trying to find out who stole the money from your house and hat the thief did to your father." Diamond Tiara eyed her indecisively.
"If I cannot talk to your father now, may I ask you some questions?" Twilight asked doing her best to be as calm and patient as she could. "What do you want to know?" "Anything that you can tell me about what happened here. When did your father notice that something was missing?" "When he woke up this morning he told us that the bags of bits from his study were gone." Diamond Tiara hesitated for a moment then she added: "He was unhappy." "Did he tell you—"
At that moment Twilight heard a drained voice calling from inside: "Who is there, Tiara?" She hesitated. "Swallowtail?" "It is Princess Twilight Sparkle, Master Rich", the tailcoated stallion said. "We told her that you are not feeling well and asked her to leave. She is insistent; in a most impertinent and intrusive manner, if I may say so."
Twilight's face felt glowing hot and she was certain it had blushed beet-red. The worst thing about it was that she wasn't quite certain if it was from anger or embarrassment or both. Just how was a princess supposed to react in such a situation in order to neither unduly exploit the title nor allow for herself to be reprimanded like an unruly filly? Before she could think of anything to say, the dull voice said: "Oh, then leave her in. It is uncourteous to refuse admittance to a visitor." Reluctantly Diamond Tiara stepped aside and opened the door wider.
"He doesn't feel well!" she said reproachfully. "I will not bother him any longer than I have to", Twilight promised. The servant Swallowtail gave her an almost scornful look but invited her to follow him with a slight motion of his head. Diamond Tiara walked close behind them. Twilight felt like she was being closely watched and that she really didn't want to spend any more time here than she had to. The place was quite impressive though.
The floor was of marble tiles but with thick carpets along the aisles. There were some statues on pedestals and framed paintings on the wall and in between some houseplants which gave every impression of being well cared for. The whole setup was lavish but stopping only just short of pretentiousness. Twilight thought that Rarity would probably enjoy this place a lot. A large skylight gave the entrance hall a bright and unobstructed atmosphere. Swallowtail led Twilight past a broad stair to the rear of the building into a large room. The rear wall consisted for the most part of large windows giving the room a similarly lit appearance as the entrance hall. With pleasant surprise Twilight noted some bookshelves, but a stealthy look revealed to her that much of what was standing there seemed to be folders related to Mr. Rich's businesses.
Twilight then spotted Filthy Rich himself who was just getting up from a couch and went to meet her. Indeed he wasn't looking good. He was a bit pale and his mane looked similarly disheveled as that of his daughter. As he walked towards Twilight, he smiled. But the smile appeared forced as if it took Mr. Rich a great physical effort and his eyes looked rather tired. He bowed slightly to her: "Welcome to my home, Princess. It is an honor to have you as my guest. May I offer you something to drink?" "Thank you very much, Mr. Rich, but I really don't mean to inconvenience you or take anymore of your time than I really must—" "Nonsense, Your Highness... if I may say so."
Mr. Rich was making a brave effort to look cheerful. "They may have taken some of my bits, but I don't think they have taken away any of the good apple cider. Swallowtail, would you be so kind to bring a glass for my guest and me?" The servant nodded stiffly and disappeared through the door. "My little diamond...", Filthy Rich was looking at his daughter and for a moment the smile on his face looked much less forced, "...please leave me a moment to talk to the princess." "But Daddy!" "Dear little Tiara, you don't need to worry. Don't look at me like that. I'll be safe in the company of the princess." Filthy Rich ruffled his daughters mane, not caring that it made her look even more disheveled. "Now off you go." Slowly Diamond Tiara turned around and shuffled out of the room shooting another disapproving look at Twilight.
When they were alone, Mr. Rich seemed to deflate a little. The smile disappeared, leaving him looking very tired and he rubbed his head with one hoof. "I apologize, Princess. My dear little Diamond and good old Swallowtail are very protective of me and indeed I haven't been feeling very well. They don't mean any harm. Please don't take any offense." "Oh, of course not." Mr. Rich's openness had taken Twilight by surprise and at the same time she was a little shocked at how worn-out Mr. Rich was looking now that he didn't put up a brave face for his daughter and his servant anymore. Twilight was suddenly a lot more understanding about their reluctance to let her go to their master, respectively father.
"Mr. Rich, would you like to sit down?" Twilight asked concerned. He just nodded, walked back to the couch from which he had gotten up before and let himself drop on it. He made a weak gesture beckoning Twilight to another cushioned settee and Twilight took a seat. She heard a quiet clinking from behind and as she looked back she saw Swallowtail entering. He balanced a silver tablet with two filled glasses and an opened bottle on one hoof. This forced him to a rather odd walk on three hooves. While it caused the little clinking of the glasses which Twilight had heard, it looked like Swallowtail was very experienced with this kind of walk and not a drop of cider was spilled when he placed the tray on a little table in front of the couch.
"Is there anything else I can do, Master Rich?" "Not at the moment, Swallows, thank you very much." As his servant had entered the room Mr. Rich had again put on his brave face. "Very well, Master Rich." Swallowtail took a little bow and left the room. Twilight followed him with her eyes. Mr. Rich uttered a long sigh, picked up one of the glasses and took a large swig.
"So Princess Twilight, what brings you here?" Mr. Rich asked as he put the glass back on the tray and leaned back. "I am here to investigate the theft of your bits, Mr. Rich." He nodded silently, looking rather exhausted. "As you may know, Frank Blanket has been remanded into custody under suspicion of the theft." Mr. Rich raised his heavy eyelids in a look of surprise. "They already caught the one who did it?" "No. I don't think so. Mr. Blanket has been remanded on the basis of an outmoded town-law just on the basis of the facts that he was without any company for some time yesterday, that he is not from Ponyville and that he is... well... not prosperous in bits."
As Twilight spoke Mr. Rich's face relapsed into worn-out exhaustion and he seemed to have real difficulties to concentrate on what Twilight was saying. There was a pause which became uneasy after a while and already Twilight began to wonder if Mr. Rich had forgotten that she was there when he finally said: "Mr. Blanket... I don't know him. But is he the colt that sweet Tiara mentioned?" Twilight braced herself for what she expected to become an unfortunate turn of the conversation. "I would not know. What did she mention?"
Mr. Rich sighed, his face became even graver than before and Twilight realized that he too didn't like the direction of this talk. "I gather that she and this Mr. Blanket somehow... clashed." "It was not Mr. Blanket's fault! He overheard Diamond Tiara bullying another filly about the other filly having no cutie mark yet and about her being unable to fly so far in spite of her being a pegasus and..." Twilight stopped mid-sentence her face an expression of shock.
Mr. Rich, the businesspony who rarely showed any sentiments, was crying. He was trembling, covered his face with both hooves, cowered onto the couch and he was sobbing, having lost all self-control except perhaps that which allowed him to muffle his sobs enough for them not to be heard outside the room. "Mr. Rich..." Twilight just didn't know what to say or do. She stood up approached Mr. Rich and levitated a handkerchief to him which she had spotted on a nearby bureau. He took it and wiped his face, but he continued to tremble. This was not normal and suddenly Twilight felt really bad about not having accepted the attempts of Swallowtail and Diamond Tiara to get rid of her at the door.
"Mr. Rich, I'm sorry, maybe it is better for me to go now and..." She cautiously put one of her hooves onto one of Filthy Rich's. He immediately embraced the hoof. "Don't leave me alone!" he sobbed. The enterprising businesspony was acting like a little terrified foal. "I won't", Twilight promised somewhat helplessly. "It's okay. Everything will be okay." Maybe it was just a few moments, but to Twilight it seemed like a very long time had passed until at last Filthy Rich let go of her hoof. He looked mortified as he was struggling to regain his composure.
"I'm very sorry", he said. "That was most... unusual." He seemed no less confused about his breakdown than Twilight and at the same time his regained composure too looked like it could crack again at any moment. "It is okay", Twilight repeated, not knowing what else to say and wishing that she had some of Fluttershy's instinctive understanding of what others needed, though focused more on ponies rather than critters. Mr. Rich reached for his glass of cider, emptied it and refilled it from the bottle. "Wouldn't you like a drink too, Princess?" he asked clearly intend on bridging the awkwardness. Glad about anything that could distract from everything else Twilight reached for the glass and took a sip.
"Apple-family's finest", Mr. Rich said and, though weak, there was nothing forced about his smile as he said it. "Just what would I do without dear Granny Smith helping me to ensure that I always got a rack filled in my cellar?" Twilight took another sip. An odd part of her mind made her wonder what would happen if she told Rainbow Dash about this. Probably Rainbow would either become extremely friendly towards Granny Smith or maybe try to secretly break into Filthy Rich's cellar Twilight thought jokingly to herself. The thought reminded her of the reason she was here. Not really knowing how to carefully direct the talk back to this reason she took another swig of cider. Filthy Rich himself picked up the earlier talk again. Whether it was the cider or the casual remark about Granny Smith, he did seem to be a little more relaxed than a few moments ago. His voice was somewhat monotonous though when he said: "You were talking about my daughter." Twilight nodded slowly.
"I love my daughter. She is my little diamond", Mr. Rich said. It sounded rather matter-of-factly for this kind kind of statement, but his voice seemed to grow stronger as he said it. Twilight shifted uncomfortably; just what in Celestia's name could she respond to this? "But I do know she does not always treat everypony with the respect she should." Twilight looked up in surprise. She hadn't seen that coming. But the surprises didn't seem to end this day, for Filthy Rich suddenly looked at her and seemed to make up his mind about something.
"Princess Twilight, may I rely on your discretion?" "My discretion? Is it something about the theft here?" Filthy Rich looked at her perplexed as if he had absolutely no clue what she was talking about. Then he seemed to remember. "Oh no, it has nothing to do with that." "Yes, you may rely on my discretion then." "Do you know why I'm named Filthy?" Mr. Rich shook his head. "Of course you don't. Hardly a pony does. But I do know they are badmouthing about it behind my back. Don't deny it, I know they do." Mr. Rich took another swig from the glass.
"Let them! Just let them! It was probably what my parents had in mind. And probably what my great-grandparents had in mind when they named my grandfather 'Stinking'. You know that was his name, don't you?" Twilight nodded. She had heard Granny Smith mentioning Mr. Rich's grandfather at some point, but she couldn't really figure out to what ends this talk was supposed to lead. "We are not a family of highborn ponies, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight didn't miss that for the first time he had not addressed her with her regal title. "Working earth ponies for as long as memory lasts over the generations of our family. No magically gifted unicorns nor pegasi soaring in the sky. We have always remained down-to-earth. But we did have the talent in our family. The talent to turn our endeavors into golden bits and enjoy what joy the coins can provide."
Mr. Rich's eyes wandered across some statues aligned on the sill of a chimney on the wall opposite to the wall consisting mostly of windows. Twilight was sure that each of the statues would cost a little fortune. "But for all that we still kept our hooves on the ground and our minds. We didn't shun the common ponyfolk who weren't endued with as many bits. Hooves, my mother was one of the most common of ponyfolk there ever was. Honest, laborious and certainly intend to ensure that I would not grow up into a stuck-up snooty-nosed little upstart. I guess the idea of my name and that of my grandfather was to always remind us of that. But it didn't always make things easy to be sure." Filthy Rich took a deep breath.
"I couldn't get myself to name my little diamond anything like that as a reminder. And I guess if I had so much as considered it, my wife might have considered a divorce in turn. She is not a common pony. Highborn in fact from Canterlot. The most beautiful mare there ever was before my eyes and yet she answered to the courtship of a pony by the name of Filthy." His eyes became a little unfocused. Confused as Twilight was about Mr. Rich disbosoming himself like that, she couldn't help noticing that a very slight but authentic smile was by now on his face. However, after a few moments his face became serious again.
"I insisted on sending our little Diamond to the local school here in Ponyville, for her basic education at least, rather than sending her to any of the fancy elite schools of Canterlot, Manehatten or Fillydelphia. I want her to know the kind of ponies whose work provides the basis for mine. I want her to respect them. Same as my mother I don't want her to become..." Filthy Rich didn't finish the sentence, but sighed and emptied the glass of cider again. "I'm not a prince and never wanted to be one. But sometimes... sometimes I wonder if being a good prince would not be the easier task than being a good father, husband, businesspony and simply a good pony."
Twilight didn't say anything. "Forgive my rambling, Princess. I don't know why I am bothering you with all this. I don't know what is wrong today." Once again Twilight said: "It's okay." Though by now she was quite sure that things were not okay and that most likely she would have to find out what it was that was wrong today. That purpose in mind and encouraged by the fact that at least Mr. Rich didn't look like he was about to have another breakdown Twilight said: "Perhaps it all has to do with the theft here. Please Mr. Rich, tell me everything you remember about yesterday and this morning and the theft."
Mr. Rich gave the oddest imaginable combination of nodding and shaking his head as he said: "There is not much I remember. I was working in my study yesterday and then I woke up there this morning, but the bags of bits I had in a chest there were gone." "You don't remember the party yesterday at all?" "Everypony says I was there, so I must have been I suppose. But I do not remember. I do not remember anything about it." Mr. Rich's voice began to dull again and Twilight asked hastily: "The bags of bits, how many were they?" "Six bags total." "Could you lift them all at once?" Twilight asked. Mr. Rich snorted slightly: "I guess I could have barely lifted one of them!" "Is your study here on the first floor?" "No, it is upstairs." "Are the doors usually locked? And if so, have any locks in the house been damaged?"
Again Mr. Rich gave the odd mixture of a nod and shaking of the head and finally added: "The doors of the house are usually closed and they cannot be opened from the outside without a key... as you probably saw when you came here. But no lock in the house has been damaged." "Does your study have windows?" Mr. Rich nodded. "Were they open when you were working there?" Mr. Rich nodded again. "It was hot I think...", he said with a drawling voice. "The windows were still open when I woke up in the morning."
Twilight thought for a moment. After a while she asked somewhat hesitantly: "Your servant, Swallowtail, how long does he work for you already?" Mr. Rich's face seemed to lighten up a little at the mention of his servant. "Always", he said. "Old Swallows has already been working for my father." "As a unicorn, how gifted is he with magic?" Mr. Rich hesitated for a moment, then he gave a kind of shrug and shifted a little. "I don't think I am a competent judge there, Princess." "I have never ever seen him before in Ponyville", Twilight probed carefully. "He hardly ever leaves the house", Mr. Rich said, his voice becoming almost a little defensive. "Why is that?" Twilight asked. "Why do you not ask him yourself, Princess?" Mr. Rich said and there was an unmistakable tone of reluctance in his voice now. There was a short break.
"Let me make one thing absolutely clear, Princess", Mr. Rich said and his voice sounded as firm suddenly as it hadn't ever since Twilight had gotten here. "I have utter and absolute confidence in Swallows! Word is that your friend Miss Dash has been designated the representative of the Element of Loyalty. I do not know Miss Dash very well, but I would at any time bet this house and everything in it against a cupcake that she would find her equal, if not her master, in Swallows when it comes to loyalty, Princess Twilight."
Twilight was glad Rainbow Dash had not been around to hear this challenge from Mr. Rich or the result would more like than not have been some attempt on her part to turn this into a competition to prove herself the old stallions superior in terms of loyalty... and win a house with a cellar holding a rack of cider on the way. "I beg your pardon", Twilight said. "I didn't mean to question his integrity." Mr. Rich nodded curtly. Again he looked very tired and it seemed like his powerful statement on behalf of his servant had drained much of his energy.
"Maybe you should go now", Mr. Rich said weakly. "I really don't feel very good." Twilight nodded. "Of course, Mr. Rich. Thank you for your time." She hesitated. "Just one more thing, may I take a look at your study for anything that might help in finding the thief?" Mr. Rich hesitated for a moment but then he nodded. "Swallows will show you the way." Mr. Rich struck a little gong that stood beside the couch and just moments later his servant appeared in the door. "Master Rich?" he asked. "Before she leaves, the Princess would like to see the site of the crime", Mr. Rich said and once again he put on as brave an appearance as he could muster in the presence of his servant. "Please show her around and answer what questions she may have." "Yes, Master Rich", he took a little bow. "If the Princess would follow me." Twilight got up and followed the old unicorn.
Diamond Tiara stood in the entrance hall moving one of her hooves as if she was trying to kick something invisible in front of her and looking rather frustrated. "Could you help him?" she asked as she spotted Twilight. Remembering the mood swings of Mr. Rich during the talk Twilight said: "I think you can help him more than anypony. I think you should go to him and stay with him and not leave him alone." Diamond Tiara didn't seem very satisfied with the answer, but she nodded anyway and walked past Twilight towards the room where her father was.
Twilight was ordering her thoughts, what she heard from Mr. Rich, what other impressions she had received, what other thoughts had crossed her mind. As she followed the old unicorn up the stair she suddenly remembered her understanding for the attempts of the servant to turn her away. She also remembered his brashness and the slight suspicion which Mr. Rich had discarded before she had even expressed it. She remembered Mr. Rich's firm declaration of confidence in his servant and thought that Swallowtail had to have qualities she hadn't yet had the chance to see. One thought however bothered her more than any other. She was wondering if she would have considered him any less brash had she still been just Twilight, the student and unicorn, rather than Princess Twilight the alicorn. Suddenly an image of Fluttershy appeared in her mind and Twilight knew what she had to do. Twilight sighed quietly. There was not an element of pride or attitude among the Elements of Harmony, but she knew exactly what the Element of Kindness required her to do. As she reached the upper floor she stopped the unicorn.
"Mr. Swallowtail?" "Yes, Princess?" the unicorn responded in a tone and with a look of haughty pride that might have left any uninformed observer confused about who of the two ponies was royalty. "I want to apologize for my insistence. You serve Mr. Rich well and I saw you had good reasons to wish him undisturbed by me. But I was not so insistent because I disregarded his well being or out of impertinence. A pony has been remanded suspected of the theft of your master's golden bits. A pony who I am certain has not committed the crime. I must learn all I can about what happened here to prove his innocence and to find out who really did it." Swallowtail nodded.
Twilight couldn't tell if it was an acceptance of her apology, a signal of agreement, of understanding, of all of that, or none of it. The servant remained as inscrutable as many of the servants at princess Celestia's court. But at least Twilight had the vague impression that, aloof as he remained, the unicorns silent disapproval or even contempt didn't continue for the rest of her stay. When after the visit to Mr. Rich's study she left the mansion, Swallowtail's parting bow was not quite as curt as could have been. Nevertheless Twilight couldn't help thinking that she dreaded the possibility that the day might come on which her role as a princess might ever impose upon her the need to maintain a courtly servant.
Rainbow Dash enjoyed the air stream on her face and in her mane as she soared low above the roofs of Ponyville. She loved the air stream as an indicator of speed and found it more animating than almost anything else. In these hot days it came with the additional bonus of providing cooling more refreshing than any shade. She would have enjoyed a little joyflying and felt tempted to spiral upwards to where clouds would have been supposed to be and do some of the stunts she always challenged herself to manage and through which, as a very welcome side effect, she earned the admiration of many of the citizens of Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash withstood the temptation to fly off track however and restricted herself to merely make the way towards the town hall in corkscrew spirals. Since she reached the imposing building in a matter of moments there wasn't a lot of time to go with though. In such moments her speed could be almost something of a drawback, Rainbow Dash thought with a twinge of regret as she spread her wings far in order to slow down. As she did so, she noticed there wouldn't be any need for her to land on the ground, for she spotted Frank Blanket sitting under the cupola of the town hall. He had set up his saddle-bag escritoire and was writing.
"Egghead all the way", Rainbow Dash thought as she flew closer. Frank looked up only when she was almost close enough to land, but instead decided to keep floating in front of the cupola. His face brightened up as he saw her and he immediately put down the quill. "Hello Rainbow Dash", he said, stepping out from behind the makeshift escritoire. "Hi Frank", she responded trying to think of anything more to say. "What are you doing up here?" It was the first question Rainbow Dash could think of and under different circumstances it would have been innocuous enough, but given the state of things Rainbow realized it was somewhat awkward.
"Didn't Twilight tell you I am—", Frank began, but Rainbow interrupted him. "Uh, yeah. I mean, no. I haven't seen her, but Spike told us... me, Applejack and Pinkie Pie that is. I think he was going to get to the others as well." There was a moment of silence and Rainbow Dash was rummaging her mind for something to say. When Spike had told about Frank's being remanded it had appeared to Rainbow Dash like a matter of course to fly here; very much like there was a friend in need of help. But now that she was here she didn't really know what to say or do since there wasn't really any help she could offer short of assisting in an outbreak that seemed to be as unreasonable as unintended by Frank.
"Looks like you outstripped me for the rank of Ponyville's worst criminal." Frank blinked perplexed. "I beg your pardon?" "Oh well, I guess till now I was kind of the worst criminal in Ponyville remembered history... short of Discord or other non-pony monsters I mean." "What? You?" Frank asked amused and bemused at the same time. "Oh well...", Rainbow Dash scratched her neck a little and squinted sideways in half-played and half-serious embarrassment, "...you see, I am not an egghead like Twilight or you; no offense meant." "Celestia forbid you were", Frank joked. "But when I was in hospital I came to really like the Daring Do book from their library and when they let me go before I had finished the book, I sneaked into the hospital at night to get it... I mean, I just meant to borrow it, I would have sneaked it back in." "Why didn't you just ask if you could borrow that book?" Frank asked. "And look like an egghead?" Rainbow Dash said in a tone suggesting for turning a petty thief to be the obvious choice of action instead.
Frank laughed out loud. "Such a horrible crook you are!" Oddly enough the mock made Rainbow Dash defensive about her competence as a thief being questioned. "Well, they would have never caught me had I been able to use my wing at the time. And it was the worst crime I remember ever being committed by a citizen of Ponyville. Well, this is kind of a sheltered place."
Frank still chuckled. "And besides, I actually did something while you... you didn't take that money, did you?" The question had been mostly rhetorical, but Frank grew serious instantly. "Of course I didn't!" Rainbow Dash made a calming gesture and at last landed beside Frank underneath the cupola. "So... what are you doing up here?" Rainbow Dash asked, this time feeling less awkward about it and looking at the escritoire.
"It's rather stuffy and hot down there", Frank said, pointing at the hatch with his head. I opened all the windows but it is still more pleasant up here. He took off his hat and fanned some air to himself. With a grin he added: "One of the benefits of being an earth pony is that I'm permitted up here. If they would want to lock you up for that crime of yours, they'd probably have to build that dungeon they don't have in order to keep you in." "Like that dungeon could be built!" Rainbow Dash bragged. "Did you ever wonder what it is like to be an earth pony?" "What?" The question had come utterly out of the blue for Rainbow Dash. "Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be an earth pony? Or a unicorn?" Rainbow Dash shook his head in confusion. "Of course not. Why would I?" "Never mind", Frank said with a dismissive wave with one hoof. "Why should I think about that?" Rainbow Dash said, ignoring Frank's dropping of the question. "I am awesome!"
Frank nodded, but it seemed like mere politeness while he didn't seem focused. "Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be an alicorn?" he then asked. "Phew... the questions you ask...", Rainbow Dash scratched her head with one hoof. "I don't think I ever thought about that kind of thing. I mean, why would I anyway? What's the point?" Frank didn't respond. "Is that the kind of thing you eggheads are thinking about?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Do you think what it would be like to be not an earth pony?" "Sometimes", Frank admitted. "Maybe it really is an egghead thing." He shrugged and looked slightly embarrassed.
Egghead thing that it might be, by now the question and Frank's admission of thinking about that had caught Rainbow Dash's interest. "So you picture yourself as a pegasus, or a unicorn, or... an alicorn?" Rainbow Dash asked and she couldn't quite keep a mocking tone from her voice. Frank's face became serious. Apparently he was not very eager for that topic or for being mocked about it. "Not like I was brooding about that, Rainbow Dash", he said. "It is not too bad being an earth pony. Many of us may be a little more on the ground in more than one way than some others. For an egghead like me this may not always be the worst thing to go with. Now don't get me wrong, but eggheaded unicorns may often focus on the movements of stars interesting mostly for their magic and eggheaded pegasi—" "There are eggheaded pegasi?" "...may often focus on clouds and air currents interesting mostly for their flight and the weatherworks for which pegasi of course deserve all the credit they get. But when earth ponies are eggheads we usually focus on very real life matters useful to as many ponies as possible, no matter if they sport horns, or wings, or both, or neither." Frank sighed.
"There is one thing about eggheads though, Rainbow Dash; maybe not all of us eggheads but I still think I'm speaking for most of us." "Frank, you do realize that most ponies would take a little offense in being called an 'egghead', don't you?" Rainbow Dash asked a little uncertain. "And did you mean to offend me?" Frank asked, raising one eyebrow. "No, of course not!" Rainbow Dash hurried to assure. "Then what point would there be for me to take offense where none is meant? Perhaps that's another thing about earth ponies. Many of us tend to be more patient and less touchy than pegasi and— " "Touchy!" Rainbow Dash shouted indignantly her face becoming all frowns. "Thanks for demonstrating", Frank said coolly. "But please rest assured that I meant no more offense in pointing that one out than you do when calling me an egghead."
This left Rainbow Dash a bit at a loss. Of course she didn't mean any real offense when calling Twilight or Frank an egghead, but she couldn't quite claim for the term to be without any jeer either. "Anyway...", Frank continued, "...most eggheads are rather curious. We want to know what we don't know and experience what what we haven't experienced and this brings us back to your question." "What question?" Rainbow Dash asked confused. "Do you think what it would be like to be not an earth pony?", Frank quoted, mimicking even the intonation of every word the way Rainbow Dash had said it. "In every day life the magic of unicorns in particular would often be very useful for an egghead. But sometimes I also wonder what it must be like to soar through the skies.
"It is just totally awesome!" Rainbow Dash burst out, emphasizing every word and her face brightening up as she said it. "No doubt it must be", said Frank, nodding and sounding a little melancholic. A little robin landed on the railing of the cupola looking at them much like he had understood that the talk was about something he could claim some expertise with. "It is kind of funny", Rainbow Dash said. "Twilight got her wings to fly now, but there are times when I am not sure if she even wants them." "What makes you say so?" Frank asked tilting his head. "Just... think so", Rainbow Dash answered with an evasive shrug.
She was not the most tactful pony there was, but somehow she felt that neither going on about Frank's unrealizable wish to fly nor her doubts about Twilight's enthusiasm for it were particularly sensitive to talk about. Taking a step towards the saddle-bag escritoire she asked: "What are you writing?" "I've been organizing what notes I took when I interviewed Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie this morning", Frank said. "It was really most illuminating... interesting that is." He made an inviting gesture towards the escritoire. Rainbow Dash stepped close enough to take a look at the paper and apparently the robin from the railing had felt addressed too and flapped over to land on the upper edge of the desk.
Rainbow Dash looked at the little bird slightly surprised. "If one lands on top of you, you really want to tell Fluttershy", she joked. "That would endear you to her." Rainbow Dash scanned the page but quickly found it somewhat tedious to read the tiny written words about "categories of cutie marks", "degrees of deliberateness in the manifestation of cutie marks" or "various levels of ambiguity respectively unambiguousness about the reference of cutie marks". "A little more on the ground, eh?" Rainbow Dash said. "I beg your pardon?" "You said you earth ponies were more 'on the ground' than others." "So?" "Oh come on! 'Degrees of deliberateness'? 'Various levels of ambiguity respectively unambiguousness'? Not even Twilight talks like that! If you want for anypony but extreme eggheads to read what you write you need to write so the not so eggheaded ones will know what you are writing about! Or else it will sound cryptic to them!" "Cryptic... cryptic... You read 'Daring Do and the secret scripture' lately?"
"Yes I did!" Rainbow Dash admitted unabashed and apparently delighted about Frank's familiarity with the book in which she had picked up the cryptic word. Frank scanned the page he had written and then nodded. "I take your point, Rainbow. Unless A. K. Yearling increases familiarity with some inkhorn terms a little more I think I should try to tone it down a bit." "Inkhorn...? What does Inkhorn have to do with that?" "It's a fancy word for 'egghead talk'", Frank said chuckling slightly. Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. "So you got an egghead word to describe the words which non eggheads don't get?" "Pretty much so", Frank said. "And no, it is not cool, you are right about that."
The preemptive concession of Frank took the wind from under Rainbow Dash's wings before she could comment on the lack of coolness in such a term herself. Instead she pointed at a kind of diagram on a page half of which was peeking out from underneath the uppermost page on the escritoire. "Is anything missing there?" she asked. One didn't have to be an egghead to notice that there were some large blank boxes in that diagram while other boxes were densely packed with tiny letters. Frank nodded. "So far I interviewed only Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. The other boxes are for some of the main points of the interviews which I hope to do with the rest of you."
"It doesn't bother you much, does it?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What do you mean?" "Being arrested and all that", Rainbow Dash said. "It is a bit annoying", Frank said. "But I didn't take that money and the way it sounded the mayor doesn't think so either. So long it is more of a formality, I guess I'll just have to go with it." He paused a moment before he sighed: "The one thing I am a little worried about is that unless they find whoever really did this, some ponies might keep thinking of me all the time when thinking about this theft. The stranger whose guilt they couldn't prove rather than the stranger who was wrongly suspected. I'm afraid that wouldn't help when I try to interview other ponies about their cutie marks or to just get to know them and thereby cease to be the stranger."
"I'm sure Twilight is doing her best find out who did it. And us of course. Once we know, you bet I won't let him or her get away with it!" "Can you think of anypony in Ponyville who you think could have done that?" Rainbow Dash gave Frank a blank look and finally shook her head. "Nor can anypony else. I think this, more than anything else, is why I am up here." There was nothing really comforting Rainbow Dash could say to this or to contradict. "I'll do my best to keep myself busy", Frank said with a smile and it was difficult to tell if it was sarcastic or genuine.
"I'm pretty much done with the sorting out of the notes I took so far. I may have to check out if there is anything interesting to read among the files and folders and stuff which are stored down there." Frank pointed at the hatch with one hoof. "Twilight went to talk to Filthy Rich and we are to meet her at the library", Rainbow Dash said. "From up here I can see the library and when Twilight gets there. So until she does, would you like for me to give you some more notes to work with? I promise they will be awesome!" Frank's face brightened up.
"Awesome!" he agreed as he picked up the quill and shoved it into the loop on his left horseshoe. He put a put a white sheet of paper on top of the one already on the escritoire without shooing away the robin that was still perched there.
It didn't require many questions from Frank to get Rainbow Dash to tell by herself in a stream of words which Frank didn't want to interrupt with questions. Rainbow told by herself about pretty much anything and everything related to her cutie mark and much more even to actions to which she accredited her cutie mark. Much of what she was telling was not really closely linked to Frank's main interests for cutie mark research, but he was still hooked by some of the tales. While at times she was fluffing her feathers a little too much Frank couldn't help thinking that Equestria might have lost a decent author by the fact that Rainbow Dash would probably consider writing to be too 'eggheady' for her. Moreover he doubted that the sheer power of the enthusiasm and... dash in which she told her stories could still be found as vibrant in any words put down on paper.
Still, Frank thought that perhaps he would make the suggestion at some time. Maybe Rainbow's love for the Daring Do novels might actually be helping in the attempt to instigate her to try something similar. Much as he enjoyed the stories of her exploits, Frank did ultimately direct the talk in the direction of the incident of the switched cutie marks with some questions. Rainbow Dash became a lot more monosyllabic and didn't really tell anything that hadn't already been mentioned in the morning. Frank was wondering if it was also about the harsh time Twilight's friends had had after her disappearance and carefully probed in that direction: "And after Twilight disappeared?" "Then what?" "What was it like? What did you do?"
Rainbow Dash rubbed her neck with one hoof. It was clear that she wasn't exactly eager for the topic, but she didn't seem nearly as uneasy about it as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. "It was kind of creepy. We went of course to see what we could do and tried to figure out what happened. With none of us being much into magic, we didn't really understand what exactly happened. It was a good thing that Spike sent a letter to Celestia. Her response was reassuring after all that. And when Twilight returned and returned with her wings it was really awesome. Like twenty percent cooler!"
"You said earlier that you are not always sure Twilight likes her wings." "Just you wait. Once I get her into some real flying lessons with me I bet I can make her like another twenty percent cooler still!" There was nothing forced or artificial about the comparatively easy way Rainbow Dash seemed to handle the events. Maybe it was the combination of lightheartedness, which Pinkie Pie certainly shared, and extreme confidence in herself and the world as a whole that made it easier for Rainbow to get over the harsh time. Then again Frank doubted that Rainbow Dash of all ponies was one to be as open about these kind of matters as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had been.
There was a sound from below and both Frank and Rainbow Dash took a look down through the hatch. "Mr. Blanket?" It was the voice of Inkhorn. "I am up here", Frank called and made ready to descend the stairs, but already Inkhorn was ascending instead. She gave Rainbow Dash an uncertain look as she arrived up underneath the cupola. "You have a visitor, Mr. Blanket?" "Am I not allowed to?" Frank asked surprised. Inkhorn rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Seriously you are the first pony in custody since... I don't even know if there has ever been a pony in custody here in Ponyville and concerning what a pony in custody is permitted to do or not the scrolls don't really say anything."
"Do they prohibit me from leaving?" Frank asked with a snort. "The city council, Mayor Mare, Featherscribe and I that is, agreed that the terms 'custody' and 'remand' include the notion that you are prohibited from leaving", Inkhorn said, her voice being dead serious while her look made quite clear that she too appreciated the absurdity of everything. "I promise not to carry him away", Rainbow Dash said. "Oh, could you?" Frank asked with a voice of genuine interest. Inkhorn stopped any response with a somewhat unnerved growl.
"Look now, Featherscribe and I are not overly enthused by the need to take night shifts to guard you either, Mr. Blanket." "Guard me during the night...", Frank said. "Now seriously, Mrs. Inkhorn I promise I'm not going anywhere and if my word is not enough and if it grants you and Mr. Featherscribe an undisturbed sleep you can look if you got some chain to attach me to the central column of the town hall or something but—" "Very kind of you, Mr. Blanket", Inkhorn said. "But I think you are misunderstanding the intention. It is not so much that we think you might make a run for it, but if you somehow injured yourself, if you needed anything or if, Celestia forbid, a fire broke out it would not be so good if nopony else was around, would it?" "Oh", Frank looked a bit abashed.
"Another reason for us to try to get this over with as soon as possible. Mayor Mare has already been talking to judge Lady Justice and agreed that there will be a public hearing tomorrow at noon in the town hall." "So he may leave after that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "If he is found not guilty by the judge, yes", Inkhorn said. "And if not?" Frank asked cautiously. "Don't you dare not to get cleared of all charges!" Inkhorn said sternly. "You told you didn't do it!" "I didn't!" "Then there is no need to worry about anything but one night of shifts for Featherscribe and me and a ton of paperwork because of the hearing tomorrow. Trust me when I tell you, that however unprejudiced we are to see the case, we will be glad to see you out of here; no offense meant." "None taken. Thank you very much."
"And also...", Inkhorn gave a little smile, "...we have to organize the catering for the inmate." She levitated a tray with a decent selection of foodstuff and beverages through the hatch. "There is more downstairs", she said. "But really if we were to keep you here we seriously need to increase our staff." "Thanks again", Frank said as he quickly grabbed for a cup of water. Inkhorn took her leave, went down the stairs and Frank and Rainbow Dash heard the latch being closed on the hatch below.
Suddenly Rainbow Dash turned her head and her eyes narrowed a bit. "There goes Twilight", she said and flapped up. "I'm going to tell her and the others about tomorrow's hearing. See you, Frank." Frank almost chocked on a swig of water he had just taken and waved frantically with one hoof to stop Rainbow Dash. "Yes?" the pegasus asked.
Frank coughed a few times then he said: "One more thing, if you don't mind. My tent is still out there. I was wondering if you could take it down and put it away for the night?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "You think somepony would take your tent away?" "In a town where a working life's worth of bits is taken away? Of course! But seriously, I was thinking more about Everfree Forest and all the woodland critters." "Say no more", Rainbow Dash said. "They can be really a pain! Your tent will be safe!" Frank was a little surprised at the vehemence of Rainbow Dash at the notion of the critters. But before he could say anything about it, Rainbow whirled around and dashed off in the direction of the library leaving behind a slowly fading track of rainbow. Frank looked after her for a moment then took a look at the half-full water cup. "To awesomeness!" he said as a toast as he raised the cup and emptied it. The robin leaped from the escritoire, spread the wings and fluttered away.
As Twilight entered the library, she was immediately rounded on by everypony waiting there and almost accidentally closed the door into Rainbow Dash's face. She told the others in all detail about the detention of Frank. "Poor Mr. Blanket", Fluttershy said. "I hope they are treating him kindly." "He's well enough", Rainbow Dash responded. "When I was there he was all into his studies and Inkhorn brought him food and stuff." "So he seemed okay with everything?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Pretty much. The one thing he said he was worried about was that everypony would think of him as the thief if the real thief isn't caught." "It still remains an outrage", Rarity said. "Locking a pony up on so flimsy a suspicion. There isn't even any evidence, but just this outdated town law. It should really be impossible to treat anypony like that!" Twilight nodded, but she was so conspicuously silent and her look so unfocused that Applejack gave her a slight nudge.
"You alright, sugarcube?" she asked. Twilight nodded, but then she said: "You know, I could have told them to let him go there and then." "You could have? How?"Apple Bloom burst out. "Princess thing", Twilight said. "Mayor Mare said that my vote or veto could overrule the law in a matter like this." "And you didn't tell them to let Frank go?" Scootaloo called angrily. "Why didn't you?" Sweetie Belle demanded to know. "Yes, why not?" even Rainbow Dash joined the protests of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Now give Twilight a break y'all!" Applejack said. "Frank himself told me not to do that", Twilight said almost a little defensively and raking her brain for what he had said she quoted: "Laws agreed upon by many ponies should not be overridden by the vote or the veto of a single one, princess though that she may be, is what he said, I think."
"Sounds mighty decent of him", Applejack said approvingly. Apple Bloom however didn't share her elder sister's appreciation: "Then what good is it to be a princess anyway?" "Isn't the whole point of being a princess that what you say is more important than what others are saying?" Scootaloo said. "No!" Twilight said sternly. "That is not the whole point of being a princess!" "If it doesn't allow you to keep someone out of prison who hasn't done anything to get there then what is the whole point of being a princess?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Now that is enough, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity reprimanded her little sister sternly.
Twilight was a little relieved about Rarity's intervention, but she couldn't help admitting to herself that the question about the point of being a princess had been one she had been trying to figure out ever since she had happened to become one. Being asked that very question so directly however made her uncharacteristically self-conscious. "Like you just said Rainbow...", Twilight said overplaying her self-consciousness, "...Frank is worried that he may end up linked to this theft unless the real thief is found. If he were to avoid investigations like that it surely wouldn't help his reputation." "A vote of confidence from a princess would damage his reputation?" Scootaloo asked, but everypony ignored her. "By the way, Inkhorn said that there will be a public hearing about this in the town hall tomorrow at noon", Rainbow Dash said.
"Very good", Twilight said. "No need to draw this out any longer. I'm sure Frank will be permitted to leave after that hearing." "Are you?" Applejack asked. "Of course", Twilight said, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Why, do you have any doubts?" Applejack shook her head slowly. "Don't get me wrong. Ah don't think Frank had anything to do with it, but what Ah'm thinking doesn't matter. What matters is what they are thinking." "They?" "Everypony at the hearing." "Applejack, they really don't have anything to bring up against Frank. Even Mayor Mare seemed more embarrassed than anything else because of what that law required her to do." "Inkhorn probably would have been happy had you ordered Frank to be released", Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "Now she and Featherscribe have to cater and guard him till he is released." "Just sayin' that y'all seem certain he'll be released no matter what", Applejack said. "Ah know all they got is that he wasn't seen by anypony after leaving the party and that nopony here knows him well but—"
"Don't worry, AJ", Twilight said. "I have been to Mr. Rich's place and there is plenty of evidence that Frank can't have done it." "Oh, how is Mr. Rich doing?" Fluttershy asked immediately. "The others said he was hospitalized?" Twilight nodded: "Yes, but he has been released again." "So Mr. Rich is feeling well again?" Rarity asked. "Hmm... sort of", Twilight said. She glimpsed notably at the Cutie Mark Crusaders who instinctively did their best to appear as inconspicuous as possible. "Girls... wouldn't you like to go play outside?" "No", the three fillies answered flatly.
"Sweetie Belle, I think what Twilight wants to say is that she would like to talk to us in confidence", Rarity said. "We are not disturbing you!" Sweetie Belle wailed. "Come on!" "I know you are not, girls", Twilight said. "But there are some things we really got to keep among ourselves". "But Twilight!" Apple Bloom pleaded with a look which Applejack knew was almost impossible to resist. "Off you go, little sis!" she said with a tone of finality that allowed for no opposition. "What would be the point of being a princess if it didn't even allow for me to get three little fillies out of my library?" Twilight tried to joke, but none of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was laughing.
As they trudged for the door, they were grumbling unintelligibly though Twilight was pretty sure she caught the words 'firefighter' and 'revolution' among the muttering. "You could visit Frank in the town hall", Rainbow Dash called after them as a suggestion, but she got no response. Twilight sighed as the door closed behind them. "No way to allow them to stay?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I don't think so", Twilight said shaking her head. "With all the quarreling between them and Mr. Rich's daughter I think they are better to be kept out of this. Also, I want to avoid any gossiping about anything. I got to tell you some things, but so far a lot of it is speculation." "Uh, I love speculoos!" Pinkie Pie chirped happily. "The Cakes really should bake them not just in winter time. And you got a lot of it, Twilight? How did you? I promise I'm not gossiping about your speculoos, but can I have some pleeeaasse?" Pinkie Pie was batting her eyes and gave Twilight a look not so different from the one she had only just gotten from Apple Bloom.
Twilight had grown rather used to Pinkie's randomness, but she still gave her an almost desperate look and took a deep breath before she answered: "No Pinkie, I don't have any speculoos and this is not about any kind of biscuit! This is really serious and I want you, all of you, to be discreet about what I am going to tell you... not to tell anypony about it I mean", she added to make sure there wouldn't be any misunderstanding. Pinkie looked a little disappointed about the lack of speculoos, but she made a zipping gesture to her mouth which Twilight knew was as good as a Pinkie promise when coming from her. All the others, including Spike, nodded in silent agreement.
"So, you were saying that you have plenty of evidence that Mr..., Frank I mean, can't have done it?" Rarity asked. Twilight nodded. "A servant of Mr. Rich showed me the study from where the money was stolen. He was also kind enough to show me the kind of bags full of gold the thief took along." "So he still has some of those?" Applejack asked. "Plenty", Twilight said with a nod. When she had asked Swallowtail if he could show her the kind of bags the thief had taken he had led her to a different windowless room. From the outside, the door of the room might have been mistaken for that of a storeroom, but as the servant had unlocked the door, it turned out to be a lot more massive than it looked. The room behind the door had turned out to be a storeroom indeed, but it stored an amount of coinage and securities that had made Twilight feel a little queasy and reminded her a bit of a dragon's hoard.
"I could barely lift one of those bags!" Twilight said. Her teeth were still hurting slightly from the effort of having tested their weight. "Maybe you could lift two of them", Twilight nodded at Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "But I don't think anypony in Ponyville, with the possible exception of Big McIntosh and Bulk Biceps, could lift six of those." A frown appeared on Applejack's face. "Are you sayin'—" "Of course not!" Twilight said hastily and firmly. "I'd suspect myself rather than thinking that Big Mac or Bulk Biceps tiphooved their way into the Rich Mansion and tiphooved out again with a load of gold that would be heavy even for them." Rainbow Dash burst into laughter at the image of Bulk Biceps tiphooving anywhere.
"And of course I know Big Mac would not take a single bit from anypony even if that pony lost it on the way to Sweet Apple Acres", Twilight assured to smooth out the last wrinkles of Applejack's frown. "So you are suspecting yourself, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked. From somewhere she had produced a deerstalker hat and a bubble pipe. Twilight snorted slightly. "Since nopony saw me after I left the party yesterday I fulfill at least one of the same criteria as Frank to be suspicious and given the fact that any thief must have used magic to lift all those bags I guess one could say that I am a more likely suspect than Frank." "Elementary, Twilight", Pinkie said eyeing her with a look so suspicious that Twilight was wondering if in Pinkie's inscrutable mind there was any room to actually consider the possibility of her being the thief.
"Oh Twilight, I had no idea princesses were so poorly paid nowadays", Spike commented. "Do you want me to testify on your behalf? Hey, Celestia is a Princess too! And she is good with magic! Should we tip off Mayor Mare about her?" Twilight silenced Spike with a grim look. She wasn't nearly as humorous about jokes at Princess Celestia's expense as she was about jokes at her own. "My point is that I don't think anypony could have done this without the use of magic", Twilight said. "This narrows down the possibilities quite a bit." "Uhm... but Twilight...", Fluttershy carefully intervened, "...maybe there was more than one? Beavers often carry logs in groups which a single one of them could never carry. I mean... maybe more than one pony carried away all the bags?"
Twilight gave Fluttershy an approving smile for her contribution, but before she could say anything Rainbow Dash called: "Yes, what makes you think only unicorns could pull this off, Twilight? Maybe one pegasus just flew in and out several times carrying one bag each time." "Rainbow, this is not a sport competition. I didn't try to fly when lifting that bag and of course I am not much of a flyer, but I am sure that even you couldn't fly properly with that kind of weight between your teeth or even on your back where the bags would also be in the way of your wings." Rainbow Dash gave a defiant look as if she had just received a challenge, but Twilight ignored this and turned to Fluttershy instead: "You are right, Fluttershy, that it is theoretically possible that there was more than one thief, but it is not likely. The study is on the first floor and a thief would have to walk through most of the mansion. With a bagful of clinking coins it is pretty much impossible this wouldn't be heard. A single unusually strong pony carrying six bags of coins, one pony carrying one or two bags of coins at a time and returning several times, or several ponies at the same time, no matter what, it would be impossible not to hear it. The only way to avoid such noise is to transport the money away with magic. Also, the mansion's door is rather massive. It would require magic to open it, or rather to just teleport in and teleport out along with the money."
"These are all good reasons to think Frank didn't do it, Twilight...", Applejack said, "...but Ah guess at the hearing they'll also wanna know who stole that money." "Frank too", Rainbow Dash reminded them. "He worries that if the real thief isn't found everypony will keep thinking of him as a thief." "Do you have any idea who may have done it, Twilight?" Rarity asked. As they were talking, Twilight had moved towards the library door and as Rarity finished her question, Twilight yanked the door open.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were standing there, their heads in unmistakable eavesdropping position. Ignoring the indignant shouts of Applejack and Rarity at their respective little sisters, Twilight told them quite calmly: "So far so good, but I'll now cast a sound barrier spell. You are not going to hear anything, so you may visit Frank, practice firefighting or plan for a revolution just as well." "Twilight...", Sweetie Belle began. Twilight gave them a little smile: "I understand you, but there are things which are not for all too many ears."
"Don't practice firefighting!" Applejack called as Twilight closed the door. Twilight concentrated for a moment and a slightly iridescent sphere formed along the walls of the library. Pinkie Pie was quite fascinated and touched the sphere to find that unlike the iridescent bubbles from her bubble pipe this sphere would not burst upon touch. "How did you know they were there?" Rarity asked Twilight. She shrugged: "I probably would have been there if I was one of them."
"So what's the big mystery nopony is supposed to hear, Twi?" Applejack asked. "Mr. Rich; he has not been injured, but he doesn't remember anything at all from yesterday noon to this morning. He doesn't remember he was at the party yesterday." "How can one just forget a whole day?" Rainbow Dash asked. "That's not everything, his mood was... strange. He looked totally... drained. He was crying, but not about the money he lost." Twilight bit her lower lip. Even to her best friends she didn't feel any need to go into details about what exactly Mr. Rich had told her.
"It can't be a coincident that the same day all this money is lost is also eradicated from his mind like that. He was not injured, but still utterly depressed. I think that Mr. Rich was attacked with magic." There were some moments of silence before Fluttershy quietly said: "But that's terrible! Who in Ponyville would do that?" Twilight gave a frustrated sigh. "The question is also who could even do that. Transporting away all that money and teleporting in and out of the mansion would be tricky already. Most unicorns here in Ponyville know little more than simple levitation and other spells specifically relevant to their respective profession. But messing up the mind of a pony like that, making him forget a whole day, draining him and making him all depressed... this is really, really dark stuff. Even I don't have a clue how to do that, because I really don't want to know. It is the kind of magic long declared illegal by Princess Celestia. But since I never ever studied anything like that I don't know how this works or who could do anything like it."
Again there was some silence before Rainbow Dash spoke up: "So that's what all the secrecy is about? Somepony doing some illegal dark magic?" "This is absolutely certain?" Applejack asked. "No chance at all that Mr. Rich just got like that because of his fright over the theft or something?" "I don't think so. Some of the stuff he told and some of his reactions were... I really don't think something like that would come from a mere fright. But honestly I know so little about this that I cannot tell for certain." "If you do not know much about this, maybe you should ask Princess Celestia if she can give you more information", Rarity suggested.
Spike gave a chuckle and mimicking the writing of a letter he said with a fair imitation of Twilight's voice: "Dear Princess Celestia, could you please teach me about dark magic? You know, the kind you declared illegal long ago and that is used to mess up the minds of ponies and—" "Spike!" Twilight silenced him with an angry shout. "The Princess is not in Canterlot at the moment anyway." "She's not?" Applejack asked surprised. "Nope", Twilight tapped the letter from the princess she had received earlier today and that was lying on a nearby table. "She wrote she is headed for Cloudsdale—"
"For Cloudsdale? What is she doing in Cloudsdale?" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "I was going to tell you. Apparently a dozen cloud brewing kettles burst there recently and the princess wants to investigate. She doesn't really spell it out, but I don't think she believes it was just an accident." "So that's why we don't get any clouds or rain!" Applejack said. "A dozen cloud brewing kettles?" Rainbow Dash asked aghast. "How did that happen?" "Apparently vents have been adjusted wrongly—" "Vents adjusted wrongly?" Rainbow Dash blurted out angrily. "The princess really should investigate upon that!"
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked surprised at Rainbow's harsh tone. "Let me put it like this", the pegasus said. "These cloud brewing kettles are not exactly complex. I could teach you everything you ever need to know about how to handle such a kettle in like five minutes. Hooves, these things are so fool-proof I'd feel at ease if Derpy was in charge of them!" "Rainbow!" Fluttershy protested. "That was a nasty thing to say!" Rainbow Dash sighed. "Right, I'm sorry. But my point is, it is almost impossible to make one of those things burst. And more than a dozen at a time? No way this could just happen by accident!"
"Maybe you could ask Luna about this meanie magic, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie suggested. Resuming his mimicking and mock-Twilight voice Spike said: "Dear Princess Luna, I'm writing to you since I believe your sister is busy and you may know better about what I want to ask anyway. You see, I would like to know about evil, dark, sinister magic to manipulate the minds of—" "Spike! Not helping!" Twilight called angrily as annoyed about Spike's antics as she was about the smirks they earned him from Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
"Zecora", Fluttershy said quietly. "What?" Twilight asked confused. "Maybe you could ask Zecora", Fluttershy suggested. "I mean she is of course no evil enchantress, but maybe she knows a lot about magic from elsewhere and types of magic you don't know as much." "That's a great idea!" Twilight said approvingly. "Best suggestion yet!" "Do you still want to write Princess Celestia though?" Spike asked.
Twilight gave him a glare that only relaxed when she was certain Spike's question was not an introduction to yet another mockery. "No, I don't think so", she said hesitantly. "Why not?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't help noticing that Twilight was looking somewhat uncomfortable. She sighed. "The princess is busy with her own investigations and there is really not much beyond speculation that I could tell her about what is going on here. And also... never mind."
Everypony kept looking at Twilight who suddenly seemed to take great interest in the texture of the nearby tabletop and was avoiding the looks of the others. "Darling, are you alright?" Rarity asked concerned. "Of course I am", Twilight said grinning at the others. Twilight had always been a horrible actor and if there had been any doubts left in the mind of anypony that something was bothering Twilight, her fake grin eradicated any such doubts. "What is it, sugarcube?" Applejack asked with an endearing smile and a knowing look that dismissed any possible attempts at denials or excuses. Twilight shifted uncomfortably and looked back over her shoulder as if she expected to find an eavesdropper there.
"It is just... well... I am a princess too now. I don't think I can just keep calling for Princess Celestia every time there is a problem." "You never did that to begin with", Spike pointed out. "When sometimes you better should have!" "I know", Twilight admitted. "Still, I can't just call for help from her. At least I must have really something to tell or to show her. I mean, she doesn't put her investigations on my shoulders either!" "Totally different thing", Rainbow Dash said. "How so?" Twilight asked. "Oh come on Twilight! She is Celestia! You know? Celestia! The one whose name ponies call out in moments of distress! The one who raises and lowers the sun! I mean, she is Celestia, while you are not. I mean you are..."
As Rainbow Dash talked, Twilight's look had become increasingly dismayed and Rainbow Dash noticed this much for her own chagrin. "Oh for Equestria's sake, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted and pulled her into a hug. "Go ask some egghead for the right words! And darn you for turning me all sappy now!" "What Ah think Rainbow wants to say is that you are awesome and don't have to think you would be any less awesome for telling the princess about this. It don't matter you're a princess yourself now, sugarcube", Applejack said as she joined the hug. "That's what I meant to say, AJ", Rainbow Dash confirmed. "I didn't know you were such an egghead with words." Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy joined the hug and as Rarity did too she dragged Spike along. The baby dragon gave some token resistance, more outspoken against such display of sentiments than even Rainbow Dash, but he didn't put up much of an effort and couldn't help smiling while rolling his eyes. He too could not deny to himself that moments such as this one were probably the most direct manifestation of every reason why Princess Celestia had sent Twilight to Ponyville with the 'order' to make some friends so long ago.
"Alright", Twilight said, giving everyone a warm smile when the group-hug finally disintegrated. "I am going to write to Celestia about this. I just want to talk to Zecora first. Maybe I will have a little more to tell her then." Receiving skeptical looks from some of the others Twilight added: "Celestia might not even get around to read that anyway before her return from Cloudsdale, so till then I can try to find out something more just as well." "So we all head for Zecora's place?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding a little skeptical, but willing to to let the matter about the letter rest for the time being. "I don't think we all need to go there", Twilight said. "You probably have other things to do?" "Well, Ah guess I should take a look after Apple Bloom an' the others lest they burn down town hall or anything like that", Applejack said. "And I must prepare the prison release party for Frankie!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. "I'll ask Mr. and Mrs. Cake if they can make us speculoos for that!"
"Pinkie, you did understand we think that there is somepony practicing dark magic in Ponyville, didn't you? We should wait with parties until we know it is safe", Twilight said. "Why? Don't you think meanie magic magicians go to parties? We could arrest the meanie there and then party because of that too!" Twilight just didn't know anything to respond to this view of Pinkie. "Don't you think we should warn everypony about this, Twilight?" Rarity asked. Twilight sighed. "Usually I would say so. But not only do we not know anything for certain, but also, you know how everypony here would react?" "Panic and run for their lives and lock themselves up in their homes?" Rainbow Dash suggested.
Twilight nodded. "If we know who or what exactly we are warning of and what we can do about it we really should, but at the moment I'm afraid it wouldn't make anypony any safer if we told them that there may be somepony practicing dark magic, especially if we don't have any idea who that might be." "I cannot imagine anypony in Ponyville would do anything like that", Fluttershy said quietly. "It's probably nopony from Ponyville anyway", Applejack said. "Like Twilight said, there is no pony in Ponyville with that kind of magic. We don't really have anypony suspicious yet, do we?" Everypony but Twilight were shaking their heads, but Applejack didn't miss that not only did Twilight not shake her head but her expression had also become rather contemplative.
"Do we, Twilight?" Applejack asked. "Hmm..." Twilight didn't respond. "Twilight? Did ya hear me?" "I did meet a pony today I have never seen before." "What? Who?" Rainbow Dash called immediately. "His name is Swallowtail", Twilight said. "Does anyone of you know him?" They all shook their heads. "He is a servant of Mr. Rich. A unicorn. But he is rather old and also, when I just asked a few questions about him to Mr. Rich he made it very clear that he has absolute confidence in him."
"An unknown servant in the house of the Richs! Now that would put him right in the best place to pull that theft off! How come none of us has ever seen him?" Rainbow Dash called excitedly. "Pinkie, you know every pony in all of Ponyville! You are sure you have never seen him?" "No, nay, never!" said Pinkie Pie. "Never had a welcoming party for this Swallowtail either." "Mr. Rich said that Swallowtail had been serving his father already", Twilight remembered. "So he would have been around by the time you first came to Ponyville already." "And never once be seen by Pinkie?" Applejack asked skeptically. "Yeah", Rainbow Dash agreed. "Not like it was easy to hide from Pinkie. I know that for a fact!" "He hardly ever leaves the house, Mr. Rich said", Twilight added. "Now that is rather odd, isn't it?" Rarity asked. "Living in Ponyville longer than anyone of us but never be seen by anypony."
"Maybe he is just shy?" Fluttershy suggested cautiously. "Some ponies don't look for company." Twilight nodded. "He didn't come across as a very approachable pony to me. Mr. Rich was very affirmative that he trusts him. Also, what would such an old unicorn want with bags of bits?" "I could think of some things", Rainbow Dash commented. "I'm not saying it wasn't somewhat suspicious", Twilight said. "But I think we must be careful not to get obsessed with that idea because we don't know him. It would be like the distrust against Zecora back then. It would be not so different from why that old town law would single out Frank." None of the others said anything.
"Well, I guess I'm going to Zecora then", Twilight said. "Wrong", Rainbow Dash said with a sudden grin. "What?" Twilight asked surprised. "We are flying to Zecora, Twilight! That's the perfect chance to give you some flight training. With no clouds in the sky, I don't have much else to do anyway." "While you are such a never resting workhorse when there are clouds in the sky", Rarity chuckled. "Hey, I do my job, I just do it faster than others!" "I take your point", Rarity said smiling and turning to Pinkie Pie she asked: "Pinkie Pie, could I borrow this hat of yours? I think I got an idea..." "You don't want to add that to the academic cap - pith helmet combo too, do you?" Spike asked skeptically. Rarity ignored him. "Thank you for the offer, Rainbow", Twilight said. "Let's go... or fly rather."
There was hardly a pony outside. The sweltering heat of the afternoon probably caused most of them to seek refuge in some sheltered parts of their homes. Fluttershy accompanied Rainbow Dash and Twilight up to her own home at the edge of Everfree Forest. While she was there it had been rather straight forward flying that didn't pose much of a challenge for Twilight. When Fluttershy said goodbye and descended to the ground however, something changed in Rainbow Dash's style of flying. Up to that point she had just flown alongside her, but now she began to spin around her in circles. As Twilight tried to follow her, Rainbow shouted: "Just keep flying straight forward, Twi! I'm just checking."
Twilight felt a bit uneasy, like this was some kind of test, but none about the book learning she by now felt mostly at ease with. Following Rainbow Dash's instruction, she looked forward and kept flying straight. Just a few seconds had passed when Rainbow Dash burst into Twilight's field of vision so suddenly and so closely that the start threw Twilight's flapping off beat and herself off balance. "Spread them out!" shouted Rainbow Dash as Twilight fell and for Twilight's surprise Rainbow's shout came from below. Somehow Rainbow Dash had managed to get underneath, just a little above the treetops and by the looks of it prepared to catch her if she fell too far. Against all instincts to flutter frantically Twilight spread her wings out far and almost immediately felt her descend stabilize and slow down. Gaining a little height again with some careful flaps, Twilight shouted angrily: "Don't do that Rainbow!"
"Do what?" Rainbow Dash asked puzzled as she caught up to her within the blink of an eye. "Just... popping up out of nowhere exactly where I am flying!" "What do you mean, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said while rubbing her neck with one hoof and giving a smile so sheepish that it was clear she knew exactly what Twilight was talking about. "Popping out of nowhere? That's what magic users do—" "You know what I mean!" "Point taken, but when flying you must have your eyes everywhere, Twilight. Nothing blocks your sight in a cloudless sky. You must learn to see everything coming before it is there."
Twilight sighed. She knew Rainbow was right, but while she still had to concentrate to just keep flying straight, keeping everything else around in sight and mind was asking a lot of her. Rainbow Dash was flying a short distance in front of her and once again she was flying backwards using her wings in a way that made it almost look like she was rowing through thin air. With Rainbow Dash it looked like there was no more chance of her falling down as there would have been for a pony walking on solid ground to break through the surface.
"You can slow down, Twilight", Rainbow Dash said. "What?" Twilight called. Coming from Rainbow Dash of all ponies, that was an unusual instruction. "Your flapping, I mean. It is way more hectic than it needs to be. In such hot weather the air can really do most of the carrying for you. Just spread your wings far, bend them just a little and flap slow and steady. There is no need for quick fluttering, Twilight, and it is a lot more relaxing to let the hot air do most of the work for you." It cost Twilight some effort to try to do as Rainbow told her. It was like an instinct for her to flap as fast as she could, trying to stay up and the idea of slowing down sounded like it would mean an immediate fall.
Rainbow noticed her fears. "Don't worry, Twilight, you can do it! You will not fall! And if you fall anyway, I'll catch you!" That was yet another thing Twilight could hardly think of doing, catching and carrying another pony midair. Trying to do anything like that would most certainly make her fall too. But she knew that Rainbow Dash could do that with little visible effort. She had seen her doing it many times before. As Twilight forced her wings further apart, spread her feathers and slowed down the flapping the effect was quite surprising to her. Not that she had doubted Rainbow's word, but she had not expected for it to not only be less tiring but that she even got additional lift rather than loosing altitude as she had half expected to. No doubt, this really was a lot more relaxing than the hasty fluttering she had kept up before.
Rainbow Dash gave her a broad smile and as Twilight meant to return it, she noticed that she was smiling already anyway. The sensation of being carried by the air was uplifting in every sense of the word. "Very good, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said. "This doesn't work as well at any time of course. Only when it is so warm as it is right now and it doesn't work as well the higher up we go. So let's get up a little higher, shall we?" "Must we, Rainbow? It's so nice down here and if this doesn't work as well the higher up we go..." "Come on now, don't be such a chicken! You do want to learn something new, don't you?"
Rainbow Dash sure knew which buttons she had to press. Angling her wings a little more, Twilight began to ascend. Rainbow Dash however bolted upright pretty much on the spot almost like a missile. Twilight gazed after her rainbow track, feeling a little hopeless. This bolting upright seemed to defy every law of aerodynamics and gravity she had ever read about. She struggled to ascend in a steeper angle, but the steeper she got the slower she became and from one point on which wasn't even close to vertical it felt like she was suspended from some invisible thread rather than gaining any height, in fact she felt that she was slowly descending, no matter how hard she flapped.
"Easy Twilight", Rainbow's voice said right beside her. Once again Twilight hadn't noticed her approach at all. She had been so focused on her struggle to gain altitude that a flock of dragons could have flown by without her noticing. At least she was so exhausted from the effort that the sudden address by Rainbow Dash didn't give her another downing-initiating start. "What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked. There was no mock in her voice. "I can't do it! I cannot bolt up like that, Rainbow!" Twilight's voice was slightly trembling, half from the effort, half from disappointment in herself.
"No, Twilight, and you don't have to. Many pegasi can't do that. I was just flying ahead to test the airs up there to see what we got. I didn't expect you to follow me like that." Somewhat reassured Twilight asked: "So how am I to do it, Rainbow?" "I think you should just screw yourself up", Rainbow Dash said matter-of-factly. Twilight goggled at her. "I beg your pardon?" "Like this", Rainbow Dash said in blissful ignorance of the little shock she had given Twilight. Flapping a little faster with one wing than with the other and leaning a little sideways, Rainbow Dash began to fly upwards in spirals much like she was following the threads of a screw. "It's an easy way to gain height on the spot", Rainbow Dash explained. "It is also a nice little practice in flying curves, in overcoming dizziness and in flapping your wings at different speed. I think some eggheaded flying instructor called this 'asynchrous flapping' or something like that." "Asynchronous flapping?" Twilight suggested. "Yeah whatever. Come on up now!"
Rainbow Dash turned out correct on every point she had made. Twilight did gain altitude relatively quickly by spiraling upwards, she had to increase her flapping speed gradually the higher they got and by the time Twilight had gained a rather considerable height she felt so dizzy she had to stop for a moment. She tried to spread out her wings to let herself be carried as she had just learned, but up here it didn't work. There were no warm updrafts to provide lift under her wings and she immediately began to drop until, flapping hastily, she managed to drift around an imaginary spot in midair which was about as close as she managed to come to Rainbow Dash's maintaining fixed at one point. Twilight was a bit out of breath and realized that she hadn't ever flown up this high so far. The air was thinner and she had to breathe faster than she did down below.
"Breathe deep", Rainbow Dash recommended, reminding Twilight of the erroneous name Pinkie Pie had spread the previous day. "Breathing deeper is less strenuous than breathing faster." Twilight followed the advise and was not surprised to find Rainbow correct about this one too, but nevertheless she was still feeling dizzy, a little sick and also somewhat sleepy. "Do you often go up this high?" Twilight said. "Sometimes. It is possible to fly up even higher, but the further up you go, the colder it gets and the more flapping it takes to stay up. Also one gets ever more sleepy. Beyond a certain point everypony just looses it." "Have you been there?" Twilight asked not sure if she was surprised. "Well yes, at one point during the academy time I just wanted to see how far I could go. Gilda and some others where there to catch me... just in case." "What happened?"
"Well, I did get really very high. It was pretty cold up there and breathing got really tricky. I started seeing funny things and in the end it was like there was a black curtain coming down. Next thing I remember was that I was falling. The others didn't actually have to catch me, but you know... I never felt the need to go there again. Don't worry, we are not going there, Twilight." "Isn't this pretty high already?" Twilight asked, struggling a little against nausea. "Higher than pegasi usually have to go for any weather works", Rainbow Dash confirmed. "Then why do we go here at all?" Twilight asked somewhat grumpy. "Take a look around, Twilight", Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically, spreading her wings and every hoof in every direction.
Twilight did and without further explanation she realized what Rainbow Dash meant. Ponyville was but a small spot down below and Twilight could barely recognize what she believed to be the roof of the town hall, the large tree housing Golden Oak library and the wide stretches of neatly arranged trees that were Sweet Apple Acres. The river flowing through Ponyville seemed like a thin glistening thread in the landscape. She could barely make out the thin dark line of tracks leading away from Ponyville's train-station, but somewhere in the distance a vague, blurry, moving dark line revealed an approaching train. She saw the snow capped mountaintop towering high over the shining and glittering golden roofs of Canterlot which appeared like a toy castle from up here. Far and wide almost to the southern horizon stretched the dark jumble of Everfree Forest, the ruins of the old castle of the royal pony sisters towering over the foliage at one point. Looking far to the blurry horizon in the west, Twilight even thought that she could make out the sea glittering in the sunlight at the far edge, but perhaps this was just a trick of her mind. "Yes...", Twilight thought, "...this is a view worth some strain and effort." Equestria from high above was really something to behold.
"Keep this in mind, Twilight", Rainbow Dash said. "Some may envy you for being able to get this view." Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a questioning look. "What do you mean?" "When I was talking to Frank earlier today, he said he sometimes thinks about what it must be like to be a pegasus and soar through the sky." Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment, then she added: "You know Twilight, I think that talk made me want to show you this. Of course ponies usually either don't have wings or have them from the day they are born. I imagine they take some time getting used to, Twilight, but just look at all this. Look at this awesomeness and tell me, isn't it worth it?" Twilight was a bit surprised at this little speech from Rainbow Dash and thought for a moment if perhaps some similar speech had been held in any Daring Do novel, but Twilight couldn't think of any. Rainbow Dash was right again either way. "Yes", she said, giving Rainbow Dash a smile. "Totally worth it!"
Rainbow Dash's mention of Frank had reminded Twilight of their actual destination and she in turn reminded Rainbow Dash of it. Rainbow nodded but added: "On the way down there is something else to practice. Apart from the view there is another reason I brought you way up here." Twilight couldn't help noticing a slightly malicious undertone in Rainbow Dash's voice and a mischievous grin on her face.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked cautiously. "Falling", Rainbow Dash said dryly. "Everypony can fall, even those without wings, but to get out of a fall again is sometimes not as easy. But it is very important to avoid injury—" "Rainbow Dash, what are you telling me?" Twilight asked increasingly alarmed as Rainbow Dash zoomed closer. "We are high enough so you have a lot of time to work yourself out of the fall on the way down and of course I'll be there to catch you if necessary."
"Oh no, Rainbow, don't you dare!" Twilight said, having gained a good idea of what her friend was up to and trying frantically to flutter away from her. "You gotta learn this, Twi, so you don't end up in such a situation not knowing what to do. The most dangerous kind of falling is you go down in a spin. Natural instinct is to flutter as hard as you can, but that doesn't help to get out of it. You need to spread your wings far and hold them there until the spinning ceases and then you can pull out of the dive slowly. Don't try to pull up too abruptly or it can bend your wings at this speed." "Must we really?" Twilight asked pitifully.
"Twilight, there has never been a flying student eager for this lesson... except for me perhaps." With those words Rainbow Dash tapped one of Twilight's wings. On the ground this would have been a friendly backslapping, up here however it made one of Twilight's wings contract and before she knew it, she found herself in a rapid downward spin towards the ground. She was kicking frantically in every direction and trying to make every motion her wings could make at the same time. She was screaming out loud as she felt a rush of adrenaline. Everything around her was spinning so she couldn't even tell up from down for certain anymore though she was pretty sure that down was where she was going at high speed.
"Keep your legs still and straight!" Rainbow Dash shouted loud enough to drown out Twilight's screaming and the swooshing of the wind in her ears. Twilight forced herself to do as Rainbow told her and noticed the fall became somewhat less erratic but still spinning so rapidly that the dizziness the earlier 'screwing up' had given her seemed mild by comparison. "Your wings! Spread them out far and hold them still!" It wasn't easy to spread the wings against the push of the air stream. For a moment Twilight felt like her wings were two sails being blown by a strong storm, but the push gradually decreased, as did the speed at which she was spinning until she was just dropping without rotating anymore.
"Very good, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Now dip your wings slowly!" Twilight angled her wings a little and as she did so, she could easily feel why Rainbow Dash had impressed upon her not to do this too abruptly. The force of the air stream was immense but it gradually ceded as she pulled out of the dive and suddenly gained so much lift under her wings that it felt like she was yanked upwards. She kept her wings still as she was down to the level again where warm updrafts provided most of the lift she needed. She took a deep breath, trying to end the hyperventilating she had gotten into during the long fall and suppressed the urge to gag. It occurred to her that she hadn't eaten anything at all since the picnic in the morning, but for the time being this was quite a relief. Rainbow Dash descended into Twilight's field of vision, smiling broadly.
"That was quite good, Twi!" "I'm gonna get you for that!" Twilight called not really angry but, high on adrenaline from the fall, quite determined to pay back Rainbow Dash. Twilight dashed towards Rainbow who playfully dodged her attack without even ceasing to fly backwards and facing Twilight as she did so. Twilight whirled around chasing after Rainbow again who avoided her with unnerving ease with a kind of zigzagging, laughing cheerfully as she did so and descending almost to treetop-level.
After the third futile attempt to get her hooves onto Rainbow Dash and maybe send her into a little spin of her own, Twilight thought of the one advantage she had over Rainbow Dash up here. Twilight's horn flashed in purple as she prepared a levitation spell to fix Rainbow to one spot, but before she could cast the spell, Twilight dropped. Concentrating on the spell she had neglected her wing-work and before she could recover from having lost the beat of flapping she already broke through the foliage, and felt a blow against her chest that knocked the breath out of her.
"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash was immediately right in front of her and gave her a frightened look. "Are you alright?" Twilight found she was hanging across a broad branch of a tree. She gasped a few times to recover her breath. "Please say something!" Rainbow Dash said. "Regicide is an offense, you know?" Twilight gasped. "Regi... what now?" "Killing a princess." "So bad?" Rainbow Dash asked somewhat reassured but still too concerned for jokes. "I'm okay", Twilight groaned. "Just a little sick." "Shall I give you a lift? To the ground I mean." "I think I can do", Twilight said and the next moment she teleported herself to the base of the tree. She was rather worn out and somewhat wobbly on her hooves. Rainbow Dash landed beside her the next moment.
"I'm sorry", she said contritely. "Maybe the spinning was a bit too much for the first lesson, Twilight." As the fright was wearing off, Twilight began to find the whole lesson ever more delightful, took some pride in having found her way out of the spin without any need for Rainbow to catch her and felt the need to reassure her friend, who now seemed more worried about her crash into the tree than Twilight herself. "It's okay, Rainbow", she said with a smile. "You're a tough teacher, but a good one at that." Rainbow Dash smiled broadly at the compliment. "You know Twilight, when you were chasing me after the spin you did some nice flying too." "I did? But you were just zigzagging away like it was nothing!" "Of course I did! I'm awesome! But I think at that moment you didn't think so much about the flying as about trying to catch me. Your flight was a lot straighter and more steady there than it was when you looked like you were thinking about every single flap."
Twilight smiled a little feebly, not quite sure if she was to feel flattered about the compliment or self-conscious about Rainbow Dash's impression that she was thinking too much about her flaps. "But Twilight, I don't think you should try doing any magic while flying too low to pull out of a fall." Twilight nodded. "When I concentrated on the spell I abandoned the flying." "Never a good idea to jinx your teacher anyway, Twilight", Rainbow Dash said laughing. "Did you ever try to put a spell on Princess Celestia?"
This time Twilight too couldn't help laughing in spite of Celestia being part of the joke. "So I hope I didn't scare you away from more flying lessons?" Rainbow Dash asked seriously once they had both calmed down again. "Can't wait for the next one... once my legs don't feel anymore like they were stuffed with feathers, I mean." "Any time you're ready, Twilight." "Maybe I should take a lesson in landing, Rainbow. That's still the most difficult part for me", Twilight admitted. "Yeah, I noticed", Rainbow Dash sneered, squinting upwards to the tree branch. "So... Zecora", Twilight said. "Yes, we're almost there", Rainbow Dash said. "I made sure we were going the right direction while you were chasing me." "You paid attention to the direction while I was chasing you?!" Twilight called flabbergasted. "Of course I did. I always do." And with that Rainbow Dash turned around towards Zecora's cabin which indeed turned out to be just around a few more trees.
They met Zecora outside her cabin where she was apparently examining a nearby tree or the plants growing around its roots. "Hello Zecora", Twilight called as they approached. The zebra looked up and greeted them with her peculiar rhyming singsong:
"Twilight Sparkle, princess new I am most happy to see you. And Rainbow Dash with whom to speak I was hoping this whole week." "Err... you did?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised once she had figured out Zecora's rhyme.
"Yes, indeed. The wood is drained for way too long it has not rained." Rainbow Dash groaned. "Yes, I know. Trust me, I have not forgotten about Everfree Forest, nor have any of the other pegasi, but we don't have any clouds to work with at the moment." Twilight gave both Zecora and Rainbow Dash a somewhat confused look. "I didn't know the pegasi also regulated the weather of Everfree Forest. I always thought the Forest took care of itself?"
"It does for the most part", Rainbow Dash confirmed. "It's not like every single cloud in Equestria was made in Cloudsdale. Apart from Everfree Forest there are also natural clouds along the coasts quite often. Sometimes pegasi there have to get rid of clouds rather than fetching any in that region to avoid storms or floods or both. But the climate of the forest also depends somewhat on the climate around. We don't really regulate the weather over Everfree, but usually we just push some clouds in the direction for the forest to work with. If all is dry around I'm afraid that so is Everfree."
"So it is, but why the sky is unclouded still to me remains shrouded." "Many of the cloud brewing kettles in Cloudsdale burst", Twilight explained.
"Most worrisome that is to hear and if not fixed my friends, I fear worse trouble still may be unleashed on Ponyville." "What do you mean, Zecora?" Twilight asked alarmed.
"A wood in need of water so dire is high at risk of catching fire. And if afire this wood in drought all living within will come rushing out."
Rainbow Dash gave a nervous whistle and Twilight clenched her teeth. The possibility that Zecora had just brought up was very unsettling. There was a good reason ponies usually avoided Everfree Forest and even someone as worldly- and wood-wise as Zecora would settle only within easy reaching distance from the forest's edge. A fire in Everfree Forest would surely send every timberwolf, manticore, cockatrice, hydra and who knew what other creatures stampeding out of the forest. There was little doubt that neither Ponyville nor anything else could last in the swath of such an onslaught. "Gee", Rainbow Dash sighed. "We wanted answers for one problem and got an even bigger one!"
"Blaming me you are wrong. The problem was there all along. Not my word provides the doom as you so readily assume!" "She didn't mean it like that, Zecora", Twilight said quickly. "It is just that there seems to be something else really wrong in Ponyville and we were hoping that perhaps you might know some answers where we are just guessing?" "Tell me Twilight what you fear. I'm most curious to hear."
Twilight told Zecora in broad detail what had happened. She told of Frank, whose studies in Cutie Marks Zecora found interesting enough to interrupt Twilight a few times with questions. While she did her best to be discrete about what exactly Mr. Rich had said during her visit, Twilight gave a vivid description of the condition she had found him in, of the memory loss and ultimately closed with her suspicion that Mr. Rich's state might be the result of dark magic. When Twilight had finished her report, Zecora pursed her lips slightly before she said:
"And because you want answers on magic so bad that you wouldn't dare to study that you walk into the Forest Everfree to ask about such malevolence... me?"
Twilight turned rather pink. If put like that, her question to Zecora could be seen as rather offensive. Worse even, with her constant talk in rhymes it was a lot more difficult than it would have been with a pony to figure out if Zecora was really offended or just talking in jest. Rainbow Dash spared Twilight an embarrassing response by blurting out: "Oh, come on now, Zecora! You know that we know that you are no evil enchantress or anything! But we also know that you know some things about this evil kind of eggheadedness and want to know if you can tell us anything that could help us figuring out what's going on in Ponyville!" A grin from Zecora relieved Twilight of her embarrassment as it seemed to make clear that Zecora's earlier words had indeed been in good humor rather than in actual offense.
"Indeed I know a thing or two, but I don't know if they'll help you. Messing with a pony's mind, make it forgetful, dull or blind is not an easy thing to do. Those who could, are very few." "But it is possible?" Twilight asked. "That a pony could make another forget almost a whole day and make a pony all depressed?" Zecora thought about it for a moment.
"I don't know of a specific case of memory turned into haze by means of spell, or jinx, or hex but to be sure I'd need more checks." Rainbow Dash was squinting at a large cauldron she could see through the open door of Zecora's cabin. "What about potions?" she asked. "That white stuff you gave Twilight recently messed her up quite a bit." Twilight gave her a stern frown but Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "What? It really did, Twilight!"
"Aplenty are the brews which ponies might choose their minds to loose you call them booze." Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash burst with laughter, but Zecora continued quite seriously:
"But to completely forget, not to remember at all takes brews difficult to get, nothing banal."
Twilight shuddered a little, thinking of the glass of cider she had emptied with Mr. Rich. The possibility of some kind of intoxication or even poisoning was something she had not so far thought of. Though she tried to suppress the thought as a matter of prejudice set against the judgment of Mr. Rich, she couldn't help thinking that Swallowtail had every possible access to whatever drink was served in the Rich mansion. But didn't this entire suspicion really come down to her not really knowing Swallowtail, which was no better than the reason for which Frank was now remanded? Worse even, could it be that her suspicion was fueled by her prejudice based on her first encounter with the servant having gotten off on the wrong hoof? Then again, by the same law for which Frank had been remanded Swallowtail could have been remanded just as well, since he hadn't ever even been at the party and he had so much more access and possibilities that would have allowed him to commit the crime.
"Twilight? Are you there?" Twilight startled as Rainbow Dash waved one hoof up and down in front of her eyes. Apparently she had been so lost in thought that she had missed something. "I'm sorry; what did you say?" "Not me", Rainbow Dash said. "Zecora did." "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about all this, I got distracted. What did you say?"
"As I just said, a memory lost may still be in the head to be recovered by the host. To recover his memory I may find a switch if I can talk to Mr. Rich." "You think you could restore his memory?" Twilight asked excitedly.
"I cannot promise to succeed if there's a memory to be freed. But I can try if I see him eye to eye." "That's great! Can you come along right now, Zecora?" But the zebra shook her head.
"It takes some time for me to prepare to give him some hypnotic stare—" "Maybe Fluttershy could do it!" Rainbow Dash suggested but was silenced with annoyed stares from both Twilight and Zecora.
"Also, it is getting late. When I'd be back it would be night. I'll stay on the inside of my gate When in Everfree there's no more light." "Tomorrow then?" Twilight asked hopefully.
"Tomorrow I will see you and Mr. Rich, if he agrees to." "I will talk to him", Twilight promised. "If he remembers, maybe he can tell us who took the money." "If he ever saw the thief at all, Twilight", Rainbow Dash pointed out. "We all saw him at the party yesterday. The thief may have been at his place at that time." "Maybe, but why should anypony mess with Mr. Rich and his memory after the theft? Maybe Mr. Rich surprised the thief." Rainbow Dash shrugged. Turned to Zecora Twilight said: "I just hope that we find the thief. It is just so difficult to imagine anypony in Ponyville did it." Zecora gave Twilight a musing look.
"One last thing that comes to my mind have you ever thought of a thief, who is not of ponykind?" "Not a pony?" Twilight asked surprised. The thought of anypony who was not a pony as a thief hadn't really occurred to her so far, but now that Zecora had mentioned the possibility, Twilight began to wonder if perhaps all this could be Discord's idea of an elaborate prank, perhaps to get back at Frank for his forwardness when they had met. Twilight nodded slowly.
While the sun was still up, the sky began to turn dusky and Twilight and Rainbow Dash both shared Zecora's view that lingering around in Everfree Forest at nightfall wouldn't be a good idea. So they said goodbye to Zecora and took off, heading back to Ponyville. During the flight Rainbow Dash refrained from giving Twilight any further flying lessons, but as they reached the edge of the Forest she suddenly slapped her forehead.
"What's the matter Rainbow?" Twilight asked. "I almost forgot I made a promise to Frank. He asked me to strike his tent and pack up his stuff so it won't get ransacked by critters from the forest." "No problem", Twilight said. "We are passing over the green anyway. You know, I can take his stuff along and keep it in the library until his release tomorrow." "No chance at all he won't be released?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight shook her head. "How could they? They got nothing on him and without magic such a heist would be impossible for him. Like I said, I would be a more likely suspect." "You think they are going to lock you up, Princess?" Rainbow joked. "Seeing the basis for Frank's remand, I think nothing is impossible. But if they look me up I'm gonna sue you for attempted regicide so at least I won't get lonely in jail", Twilight joked, making Rainbow Dash guffaw.
Twilight's landing beside Frank's tent was a bit unsteady, but at least she managed to stay on her hooves as she stumbled a few steps forward after touching the ground. "Slow down a little more before you touch the ground, Twilight! Lower the wingtips more, stop flapping altogether, bend your knees a little, but not too far. Make sure your rearhooves touch the ground first!" Twilight nodded as Rainbow Dash performed exactly what she had just recommended. Using magic it was a matter of a few moments to unearth the tent pegs, to fold the tarpaulin and to assemble the tent poles. As Twilight tried to roll up the sleeping bag however she found there was some uncommon weight to it.
Rainbow Dash noticed her surprised look and gave her a questioning look of her own. "Something's in there", Twilight said. "Maybe some forest critter already moved in?" With a reluctant look Rainbow Dash walked over to the sleeping bag, unfolded it as far as she could, took a look and carefully reached into it. Suddenly her face sported a look of utter surprise and she became a little pale. "What's the matter, Rainbow? Too creepy a critter for you to cope with?" Twilight teased. Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I think you should take a look at this, Twi", she said very seriously. Twilight raised her eyebrows and approached curious about what might have disconcerted Rainbow Dash so much. When she looked into the sleeping bag she immediately understood. Inside the sleeping bag was another bag. One of the kind she had been shown in the Rich's mansion today. And the sound when Rainbow Dash gave it a slight nudge with one hoof suggested that this bag was filled with golden bits up to the very top.
Applejack accompanied Pinkie Pie on her way to Sugarcube Corner, thinking of it as her best bet to find her sister and their friends. The place itself was an attraction for foals and from there it would be only a short distance to the town hall where the Cutie Mark Crusaders might have headed in case they followed Rainbow Dash's and Twilight's suggestion to visit Frank, which Applejack somewhat hoped they did. The idea of them getting too eager with firefighting or, Celestia forbid, actually getting fascinated with the idea of a cutie mark in starting a revolution made Applejack rather uneasy. She felt a little guilty for thinking about her little sister like that. She was well aware that Apple Bloom was quite sensible. Hadn't she been the one who had discarded all the bridle gossip about Zecora's alleged evilness at a time when pretty much everypony including herself had fallen for it? Apple Bloom was also quite independent... perhaps even a little too independent for Applejack's liking.
Part of her mind was telling her to put more confidence in Apple Bloom, but there was also that other part of her soul that almost demanded for Apple Bloom to be a little less independent. Applejack had always been rather down to earth and mature. Maybe this had made it possible for her to assume her new role after the sudden death of their parents so quickly. She had never allowed for sentiments of loss to drag her down and the work at Sweet Apple Acres had never left her any room for questions about meaning which she knew some fancy ponies would get worked up about. But part of her had assumed the role of a mother as well as that of an elder sister for Apple Bloom. She wanted for her younger sister to have as carefree a childhood as possible and she took more pride in Apple Bloom than she would ever grant herself for her own accomplishments. She knew she wasn't to get overprotective of her little sister and yet a tiny voice sometimes reminded her that if ever she should not be protective enough, she would never be able to forgive herself.
As they approached Sugar Cube Corner, Applejack found that her instinct about the possible whereabouts of Apple Bloom and her friends had been right. There they stood in front of the confectionery and were talking to Miss Cheerilee. As she noticed them, Apple Bloom immediately rushed to meet Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "Applejack!" she said with a suppressed voice and squinting backwards. Apparently she didn't want for her voice to be overheard by Miss Cheerilee, whom Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo continued to talk to. "Something is wrong with Miss Cheerilee!" "What is it?" Applejack asked alarmed. "She is all... funny." "But that's great! Funny is—", Pinkie began, but was interrupted by Apple Bloom immediately. "Not the good kind of funny!"
Applejack walked past her sister, who turned to follow her right on her trail. Before she had even reached her, Applejack could see that Miss Cheerilee indeed didn't look good. She was somewhat pale, looked disheveled as if she had just gotten up and Applejack noticed that she was trembling slightly. Worse still, when Applejack got close she saw the unmistakable puffy eyes and blurred streaks leaving no doubt that Miss Cheerilee had been crying. "What in tarnation...? Y'all did not mix anything funny in her drink again, did ya?" Applejack asked aghast. "NO!"
The protest of all three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders came so loud, in unison and with a tone of deep injury against such a suspicion. "We would never...", Apple Bloom began, but her sister cut her short with an appeasing wave of her hoof. "Right, I'm very sorry, sis!" Turned to the teacher she asked: "Cheerilee, for the love of Celestia, what happened to you, sugarcube?" "Nothing!" Miss Cheerilee exclaimed. "You don't look like—" "Nothing! Nothing! I know nothing! Gone, gone, gone..." Miss Cheerilee's eyes were unfocused at some point somewhere behind Applejack and Apple Bloom and it wasn't certain if she was even talking to them or not even really aware of their presence.
"Cheerilee, you hear me? What's wrong?" Her eyes focused on Applejack, yet their look still remained rather dull and empty. "Nopony is there! They are all gone! I am myself alone!" "But Miss Cheerilee, we are here!" Sweetie Belle cried and hugged one of her forelegs. "You are not alone!" Miss Cheerilee's look cleared a little. "Sweetie Belle?" she asked and Sweetie Belle nodded eagerly. "Where is everypony?" "Who do you mean?" Pinkie Pie asked. Even her usual carefree cheer had momentarily been brushed aside by the not good kind of funny shown by Miss Cheerilee.
"Most everypony's insides Ah think", Applejack said. "Too swelt'ring out here for them to hang out in the sun." Applejack took off her Stetson and carefully fanned Miss Cheerilee. "Have ya been in the blazing sun too long?" When working outside in this kind of weather Applejack's shading hat was more than a mere fashion choice. Some moments passed before Miss Cheerilee said: "Pinkie Pie? Applejack?" "That's right", Applejack confirmed with a nod. She looked back and lowered her head to her little sister.
"Apple Bloom, what happened? How did you find her?" "We only met her just before you got here. She was walking between the houses looking everywhere. We wanted to ask her about if she was already done correcting all those texts she had us write earlier. But first she didn't even notice us at all and when she did she was... like this." Apple Bloom made a helpless gesture towards Miss Cheerilee. "Cheerilee...", Applejack looking straight into her eyes, "...do you remember school today?" Miss Cheerilee just looked back at Applejack blankly. "Miss Cheerilee, please...", Scootaloo said, gently tapping the foreleg of Miss Cheerille that was not embraced by Sweetie Belle and looking at her big eyed, "...don't you remember? You had us write the whole day about our homes, our family, about everything."
"But Scootaloo, I'd never let you write all day!" Miss Cheerilee said sounding quite sure about that. "I... I wasn't at school I think. What happened?" Her voice was breaking as if she was about to cry. "Come now, sugarcube", Applejack said, patting Miss Cheerilee's shoulder. "Can you tell us what you remember?" "I only just woke up! I never slept in like that before! I never missed school before", Miss Cheerilee wailed. "But you were...", Apple Bloom began, but her sister hushed her with a look and a shake of her head. "That is okay", Applejack said. "Maybe you are a bit overwrought. Maybe you also had an accident at home which you don't remember at the moment." "But Applejack...", Pinkie Pie began. "...maybe this is... uhm..."
Pinkie remembered herself that she was not to tell anypony about what Twilight had told them. It didn't take Applejack's mouth-zipping gesture to remind her of that, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders had all noticed the gesture. "Applejack...", Miss Cheerilee said. "...is Big McIntosh there? Is he alright? Is he gone?" "I'm sure he is fine", Applejack responded somewhat surprised, "Ah'm just a little worried about you..." "Where is he?" Miss Cheerilee asked, sounding so desperate that Applejack made a quick decision. "He should be at Sweet Apple Acres now, but I can go and get him. Cheerilee, you should go home. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie will be with you. They will not leave you alone."
Neither one of the fillies nor Pinkie Pie objected. "Everything will be fine, Cheerilee, I'll be back with Big Mac in no time." And turned to the others she said a little more quietly: "Please take good care of her. I'll hurry!" Apple Bloom nodded. As Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders led Miss Cheerilee away towards her home, Applejack galloped for Sweet Apple Acres as fast as she could. Her mind was racing her hooves as she went. Twilight had to learn about this as soon as possible. Comparing Miss Cheerilee's condition to the description Twilight had given, Applejack had no doubt that the teacher had fallen victim to who- or whatever had attacked Mr. Rich before.
Miss Cheerilee lived in a small cottage not far away. On the way there, she broke into tears. It was rather unsettling for the Cutie Mark Crusaders who did their best to comfort her. They had no idea however what had put Miss Cheerilee into such a deplorable state. Nothing she was muttering allowed for the drawing of any conclusions. In the cottage Miss Cheerilee laid down onto a sofa. Pinkie Pie brought her something to drink and tried to cheer her up with some rather random stories while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stayed close to her which seemed to calm her down a lot more than Pinkie's antics. Before long Miss Cheerilee dozed off into a restless nap.
"Miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom whispered quietly a few times until she was certain that their teacher was really asleep. She then turned around and gave Pinkie Pie an almost menacing look. "Pinkie Pie! If ya know what is going on here, tell us now!" she ordered quietly, but in a tone which she knew would not have increased her chances with her elder sister. At the same time she was approaching Pinkie Pie. "Yeah" Scootaloo agreed while approaching Pinkie Pie from another side. "What are you and Applejack hiding from us?" Pinkie Pie was caught utterly on the wrong hoof being taken on by the fillies all of a sudden. Looking for the door she saw Sweetie Belle closing in from that direction. Pinkie Pie closed her eyes, made a very concentrated face and repeatedly raised her head in a jerky manner.
"Pinkie Pie?" Apple Bloom asked confused. "If you are trying to teleport yourself away, Pinkie, you're forgetting that you are not a unicorn!" Sweetie Belle reminded Pinkie Pie with her sweetest voice which at the moment didn't sound any less menacing to Pinkie than the no-nonsense tone Apple Bloom and Scootaloo struck. "But Frankie said I could do magic!" Pinkie Pie complained haplessly. "He did?" Apple Bloom asked sounding even more confused than she had sounded over Pinkie Pie's visible attempts at a magical getaway.
"Oh yes", Pinkie Pie said happily, hoping that she had discovered a loophole. "He even said he thinks I can do things he doesn't think even the most powerful unicorn magicians were capable of", Pinkie Pie recalled what Frank had said in the morning. "Great...", Sweetie Belle said unimpressed, now also taking on a more direct tone, "...but so long you cannot witch yourself away it doesn't matter. We want answers!" "Who did this to Miss Cheerilee?" Scootaloo demanded to know. "It wasn't me!" Pinkie promised. "Not so loud!" Apple Bloom hissed. "You don't want to wake up Miss Cheerilee. But you know who did this?"
"No, I don't!" Pinkie Pie said quietly having by now fallen back to the wall. "But you do know something about this." Sweetie Belle said. It was not a question but a statement. "We saw the sign Applejack gave you." Pinkie Pie nodded silently. "What do you know?" Scootaloo insisted. Pinkie Pie shook her head fiercely. "Tell us!" Apple Bloom ordered.
Pinkie Pie shoved part of her mane into her mouth. "Pinkie Pie...", Sweetie Belle said now again with a pleading tone, "...we don't know what is going on, but we care about Miss Cheerilee and also about Frank and we want to help. Can you tell us why you can't tell us?" "I promised", wailed Pinkie Pie, now almost crying. The Cutie Mark Crusaders exchanged a crestfallen look. They knew that if Pinkie promised anything there was no way she would deliberately break that promise.
"But if we just ask you some questions and you just nod, or shake your head, or shrug you are not really telling anything, right? Your mouth would still be zipped!" Sweetie Belle probed. Pinkie Pie cocked her head slightly. "Does this have anything to do with what Twilight told you in the library?" Scootaloo asked. Pinkie Pie half shrugged but then nodded slowly. "Does this have anything to do with Frank's arrest?" The question came from Apple Bloom. Again there was the mixture of a shrug and a halfhearted nod. Sweetie Belle had the impression that they had to ask more precisely to get more helpful answers. "Is what happened to Mr. Rich similar to what happened to Miss Cheerilee?" Pinkie Pie hesitated for a moment then she nodded.
It was a great relief for Pinkie Pie when Miss Cheerilee woke up just a little later, ending her cross-examination by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, whose whole attention now turned to caring for their teacher. Applejack returned not long after in the company of a worried looking Big McIntosh. Applejack found that getting Big Mac here had been a very good decision. Miss Cheerilee still looked very worn out, but it was unmistakable that the presence and care of him as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders had a very soothing effect on her. Miss Cheerilee could now tell more coherently that she didn't have any memory since having gone to sleep the previous evening and was unaware of having gotten up until shortly before meeting the Cutie Mark Crusaders near Sugarcube Corner.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash were heading for the town hall. After the first shock on the green Rainbow Dash had made sure to take on what she considered Twilight's earlier challenge concerning the weight of the moneybags. She could lift the bag but flying with such a weight held between her teeth was extremely tricky. So she had satisfied her ambition to show that she could do it by flapping a short distance while holding the bag. But even she had to admit that with the head dragged down and the rear stuck up as a result of frantic flapping to stay airborne this was not only 'not cool' but also nothing that any pegasi was likely to perform over a long stretch or time. Now Rainbow's jaw was aching. Twilight had ultimately teleported the bag into the library where she and Rainbow Dash then headed, neither of them saying anything on the way. At the library they had been received by a baby dragon under serious distress about the unscheduled popping up of a heavily filled bag of golden bits. Twilight had told Spike in few curt words about the origin of said moneybag.
"We got to bring it to Town Hall", Twilight decided. "But I don't think we should cause any more confusion by letting it pop up there and explain later." She gave Spike an apologetic look. "Rainbow, could you carry it there?" Rainbow nodded: "You got any backpack or something for it though?" "Of course. We don't want everypony to see us carrying that around." "Yeah, that too", Rainbow Dash said, cutting a face and rubbing her jaw.
As they headed on to the town hall they both fell silent again. Rainbow Dash was champing at the bit to say something but she had seen a look on Twilight's face, a sinister mixture of anger and brooding, that she found to be almost a little intimidating. She sensed that Twilight was in one of her moods in which some small thing could make her snap with anger and Rainbow Dash knew that this was something to be avoided even if it meant biting her tongue to avoid asking questions or saying something that Twilight might take the wrong way. She did grant herself the question though whether or not such moments of Twilight had become any scarier since her becoming an alicorn and a princess. Rainbow Dash caught herself thinking of Princess Luna in one of her creepy moments.
She was positively relieved when, turning round a corner, she spotted Applejack and Pinkie Pie heading towards them. The silence was going to be broken without her being responsible for it and without her being the only lightning rod for Twilight's potential fits of anger. Rainbow Dash's relief melted away however as she saw the face of Applejack bearing the unmistakable prospect of more ill news. Whether or not Applejack had noticed Twilight's look Rainbow Dash couldn't say, but Applejack was too straightforward and what she had to say was obviously too important for her to be intimidated by any looks.
"Twilight! Rainbow!" she called, cast a quick look around as if to verify that nopony else was around before she said with a slightly toned down voice: "Ah think Miss Cheerilee has been attacked by whoever got Mr. Rich!" Twilight goggled at Applejack and Rainbow Dash's aching jaw dropped. "Miss Cheerilee? Applejack, are you certain?" Twilight asked aghast. "Certain as can be from your description, Twi." Applejack confirmed. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo found her straying around near Sugarcube Corner. She doesn't remember a thing after last evening and she is all messed up and blue." "Where did you leave her?" Twilight asked. "We didn't leave her", Applejack said, sounding a little offended. "Brought her to her home. The kids and Big Mac are with her."
Twilight seemed about to walk right past Applejack, but the eart pony barred her way with one leg and shook her head a little: "Better don't, Twilight! She is really worn out, but Ah think having her students and Big Mac there is helping her. We did ask her of course, but she really doesn't remember a thing from yesterday evening to waking up not long before the fillies found her." Twilight gave Applejack an angry look and Rainbow Dash half expected for the snap she had dreaded to now unleash at Applejack. Applejack however didn't budge, returning a serious but not unfriendly look and Twilight finally gave in.
"What is it, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, needing no further hint that something was wrong on Twilight's end as well. "Miss Cheerilee", Twilight mumbled. "But that doesn't make any sense at all!" Applejack gave Rainbow Dash and the obviously heavy bag on her back a look. "Bad news from Zecora?" Applejack asked Rainbow Dash quietly. "That too", Rainbow Dash said. "The good news is we found some of Mr. Rich's money. Bad news is we found it wrapped up in Frank's sleeping bag."
Mayor Mare was no longer in the town hall. Inkhorn was holding the fort. She was busy writing, with piles of paper towering up on her desk onto which she was apparently copying the contents of folders piling up in another corner. "If I ever get lonely I'll make sure to get myself arrested", Inkhorn said grumpily without looking up from her work as she heard Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie enter her office. "I wouldn't remember when last time I got so many visitors on a single— oh, err Princess Twilight, begging your pardon. I meant no disrespect."
The grumpiness of somepony working unscheduled overtime or lack of reference to her regal title were the very least of Twilight's concerns at the moment and she didn't dally with any courtesies but instead levitated the moneybag out of the backpack on Rainbow Dash's back and onto Inkhorn's desk where it landed with an audible clinking. "Sweet Celestia!" Inkhorn shouted, dropping the pen and jumping up. "We found that in Mr. Blanket's tent. We think it belongs to Mr. Rich. He should be informed about this."
Inkhorn's eyes flickered between the heavy money bag and Twilight as she visibly tried to order her thoughts. "Mr. Blanket's tent you say? So it was him after all!" Inkhorn looked upset. "No!" Rainbow Dash blurted out. She had held her horses for quite a while and had kept herself quiet when Twilight had recounted in some more detail about the events since their parting at the library to Applejack and Pinkie Pie. The direct conclusion of Inkhorn, a conclusion which Twilight had carefully avoided in her report, made her give up the restrained. "That doesn't make any sense! Frank... Mr. Blanket that is, himself asked me to pack up his tent. What's the chance he'd do that if he knew there was a bag of stolen money wrapped up in his sleeping bag? Had he known about this, it would be like delivering himself! This is the most obvious framing one could imagine!"
Inkhorn fell back a few steps towards the open window at this outburst from Rainbow Dash. A thrush had landed there and tilted her head slightly as if in wonder what all the commotion was about. "But who would frame Mr. Blanket?" Inkhorn asked matter-of-factly. "The real thief of course!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "And who would that be?" Inkhorn inquired. "You think we wouldn't be putting that thief onto your desk if we knew?" Rainbow Dash asked frustrated. "But we know for a fact that it can't have been Mr. Blanket! He couldn't have done it!" "Calm down Rainbow!" Twilight said. It seemed like Rainbow Dash's outburst just now had cured her of her own grimness. In any case her tone and expression now resembled a lot more the calm matter-of-fact attitude shown by Inkhorn.
"I take it you have been making your own investigations, Your Highness", Inkhorn said. "But during the hearing tomorrow things need to be explained very clearly. I was pretty sure Mr. Blanket was here just because of the old town-law and that the hearing tomorrow would be mostly a formality. But this...", she pointed at the big bag on her desk, "...may change everything." "I understand", Twilight said. "Will a pony be in charge of well... the charge against Mr. Blanket in the hearing tomorrow?" Inkhorn nodded. "Featherscribe will. He will be informed about this. I'll be on guard here for the night, but not attend the hearing tomorrow." "Featherscribe in charge of the charge?" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Same as you he wants Frank out of here as soon as possible!" "Rest assured, Miss Dash...", Inkhorn said sharply, "...that Featherscribe is legally trained and his integrity and sense of justice will not be infringed by any wish to avoid work or take any bonus naps."
The dig at Rainbow Dash's well known napping habits was clear, but before she could say anything in return they were interrupted by a little voice from the door. "Uhm, hello. Did you all come to visit Frank too? Is everything alright?" "Fluttershy?" Twilight said surprised. "I had no idea you were here." "Rarity is here too. When we were going home we both decided to pay Frank a visit. I mean, it must be horrible to be locked up and..." Inkhorn sighed and rubbed her forehead with one hoof. "Please, no more laments about our cruel legal system!" she moaned. "Some ponies are paying to get treated in hotels like Mr. Blanket is treated here by us!" "I am very sorry", Fluttershy mumbled intimidated. "And like I said, getting arrested seems to be a good way to get many friendly visitors." "Do you hear that, Dashie? We are friendly! Maybe we should celebrate a prison party and—" "Not on my watch!" Inkhorn said flatly, interrupting Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm. "How unfriendly", Pinkie Pie sulked. "So, can we go up and see him?" Twilight asked.
Inkhorn made a helpless waving gesture. "You know the way. Just don't start partying up there! I got so much stuff to go through. She made a gesture at her desk and at the same time levitated the big money bag out of the way. It gave an audible clink when put on the ground. Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Will you write to Mr. Rich so he can pick this up?" Twilight asked. "I will, but we may have to keep it as evidence until after the hearing tomorrow. I assume Mr. Rich is going to attend too." Given his earlier state Twilight was not quite sure if Mr. Rich was going to, but she just nodded and turned for the door. "Uhm, Twilight? Is that a bagful of money?" Fluttershy asked as Twilight was passing her on the way to the stairs leading up to the storeroom. "We'll tell you upstairs", Twilight said.
"Hello", Frank greeted them as they ascended through the hatch with a cheerful smile. "Had I known of all the benefits, nice lodging and accommodation and especially the wonderful company I might have committed some misdemeanor for real to... what's wrong?" Frank had noticed the utterly unhumorous expressions of Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the confused look of Fluttershy and the at least not as cheerful as usual expression of Pinkie Pie. Twilight sighed. It only occurred to her now that she hadn't seen Frank since his arrest which seemed oddly long ago with all that had happened since. With the promise the others had given in the library Twilight was wondering if Rarity and Fluttershy had told Frank anything at all or if he had no clue what the state of things was. Twilight however wanted to get to the most crucial point right away.
"Frank, we have found one of the money bags stolen from Mr. Rich's house." "You have?" he asked surprised. "But... that's a good thing, isn't it?" "In your sleeping bag when we struck your tent!" Rainbow Dash said. For a moment Frank looked perplexed but then when the message sunk in his look for the very first time turned to one of utter horror and he became very pale. "Mr. Blanket?" Rarity called outraged. "No, I have not taken any money of Mr. Rich or anypony!" he called. "Princess! Rarity! Rainbow Dash! Everypony, I have not!"
"How do you think a bagful of that money ended up hidden in your sleeping bag?" Twilight asked, trying not to sound like she was accusing him but at the same time unwilling to reassure Frank right away, now that the seriousness of things she had learned about in the last few hours were dawning on him. "I have no idea", he said. "It must have been put there after we left." "Who would hide money in your sleeping bag, Mr. Blanket?" Rarity asked sharply. Frank twitched a little as if the return from 'Frank' to 'Mr. Blanket' as an address was a strong abuse. "I don't know", he moaned. "I can only guess. The real thief I think. To frame me!" "And why would the real thief expect the money to be found in your sleeping bag?" Frank made a helpless gesture. "I don't know. But really, I still don't even know where in Ponyville I'd have to look for Mr. Rich's house, to begin with."
"Give him a break, Rarity", Rainbow Dash said. "Frank himself asked me to strike his tent. It wouldn't make much sense for him to do that, expecting us to find the booty of a recent burglary there, would it?" "No, I think not", Rarity admitted with a softer tone. "In the hearing tomorrow that may not help much though if we don't have any clue at all who the real thief may be", Twilight pointed out. "Do you have any... enemies, Frank?" The colt shook his head immediately. "None that I'm aware of. But Twilight, isn't that amount of golden bits motive enough for a thief, so chances are I just conveniently ended up as a suspect and the thief would use some of the booty to increase the suspicion? You said 'one of the money bags' so I take it that more than one was stolen?" "Six total" Twilight said with a nod.
Frank uttered a little whistle. "One out of six may be an acceptable price if it helps making everypony look another way for the thief." Nopony said anything for some moments. "This is not everything", Twilight said. "It appears that whoever attacked Mr. Rich also attacked Miss Cheerilee." "Miss Cheerilee?" Rarity cried. "What brute would do that? What happened to her?" Twilight quickly repeated what Applejack had told her before. "Poor Cheerilee", Fluttershy sighed when Twilight had finished. "Whoever would do that to her?" "Ah think she was beginning to feel a little better by the time Ah left", Applejack said in a comforting tone. Fluttershy seemed even more shocked than any of the others had been by the news of the attack on Cheerilee.
"There is absolutely no clue at all who may have done it? No suspect whatsoever?" Frank asked helplessly. "Other than you?" Applejack asked bluntly. "Applejack!" Twilight called giving her a stern look. "I told you Frank can't have done it! Nopony could have without the use of magic! And the loss of memory of Mr. Rich and Miss Cheerilee would probably involve some very vicious magic!" Applejack nodded slowly and muttered an apology, but otherwise appeared rather tight-lipped.
"Honesty", Frank mumbled quietly. He looked down at the floor and scratched it with one of his hooves. "You know, I understand if this appears strange to you", he said, not looking at anyone. "I got not much more to tell than that I didn't do this. I can't say I took this very seriously with even the mayor telling me she didn't believe I had done it pretty much in the same breath. With one of the money bags found among my stuff and me not being able to say anything other than that I haven't ever seen, much less touched a bagful of money in my life, I see how this would look suspicious. But as for Miss Cheerilee...", Frank raised his head in a sudden jerky motion, there was a sudden furious sparkle in his eyes and his voice had become very sharp, "...I really don't see how anypony in their right mind could think of me as attacking other ponies like that! I can't use magic any more than you can, AJ! And most certainly I would not use that kind of magic even if I could!"
Frank gave Applejack a look that bore an uncanny resemblance to Fluttershy's stare. The tension became almost tangible and Applejack backed away a step with a look rarely to be seen on her face. But suddenly Frank seemed to deflate, the fury passing as suddenly as it had come up and he seemed to shrink as he mumbled: "I'm sorry. I don't want to... but really, I didn't steal the money and most certainly didn't attack Miss Cheerilee or anypony else." He was trembling slightly and for a brief moment Twilight had to think of his reaction after the confrontation with Diamond Tiara the previous evening. Same as then he quickly regained his composure.
Frank took a deep breath, let his look wander past everyone and when he spoke up, his voice sounded again as calm and humble as if his previous outburst had never happened: "I'm really thankful to all of you for your kindness, help, support, generosity, trust and everything. But we met not even two days ago. I will stand the hearing tomorrow. But if you are uncertain; if you think I did this; I understand. There is nothing and there never was anything for me to ask of you—" "Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash shouted, sounding almost angry. "You really think we would drop you like a hot potato all of a sudden? I'll be there tomorrow and tell them you yourself told me to strike that tent! It's so obvious framing nopony in their right mind can fall for it, right?"
Twilight knew that she would be there and she was still certain about Frank's innocence, but she waited, wanting to see the reactions from the others uninfluenced by her own. "I'll come!" Pinkie Pie called cheerfully. "Maybe they will all get an epicfunny there telling them you didn't do it!" The word 'epicfunny' earned Pinkie confused looks from everyone but Frank and Fluttershy who nodded and said quietly: "I'm with you." "I shall be there", Rarity declared with a somewhat pompous air. "Maybe the hearing will clear all this up at last!" Applejack didn't make any pompous statements but nodded in silent agreement. "I will be at the hearing of course", Twilight said. "I've been to Mr. Rich's place and there are plenty of clues that no pony without magic could have done this without being noted." Twilight hesitated for a moment, then she said quietly: "Maybe, just maybe there is even a pony who might be a suspect."
"Really?" Frank asked surprised. "Who?" Twilight shook her head and would have liked to bite her tongue. "No. Too weak a suspicion. I shouldn't have said anything." "Twilight thinks that she is more likely to have done it than you are", Pinkie Pie said happily. Twilight sighed: "Yes, I'm not the suspect I was talking about now, Pinkie."
"Are you ready?" a voice sounded from the stairs. Unnoticed by anyone, Inkhorn had come up. Twilight was surprised about this interruption. "Why? Is something wrong?" "Now I suspect actual jails got regular visiting hours rather than guards there having to constantly keep an eye on the door while dealing with paperwork!" "I'm not going anywhere", Frank assured. "You better don't!" Inkhorn said gruffly. "Anything else, Frank?" Twilight asked. Frank shook his head slightly, looking a little taken aback. "Just thanks again, all of you, for everything."
Inkhorn ushered them all out of the storeroom. As she closed the latch while the others were waiting below, Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight: "What has bitten her?" Twilight shrugged and whispered back: "Irregular work day, I suppose." She let her eyes wander over to the paper covered desk of Inkhorn and had a sudden inspiration. Turned to the others she said: "Please wait below. I got one more question to Inkhorn." When Inkhorn got back into her office, Twilight followed her. "Yes, Princess, what else can I do for you?" she asked in an official tone that didn't lessen Twilight's impression that it must have been a really irregular day indeed.
"Your work includes matters of registration, right? You know all citizens of Ponyville and got them registered, right?" "That is correct." "I need to look somepony up there." "Princess Twilight, surely you are aware that these information here are official and confidential?" Inkhorn said pointing at a shelve full of folders and scrolls. "Yes, but this is important and of relevance for the case tomorrow!"
Inkhorn eyed her. Twilight gave a silent sigh. She hated playing this card, but now she felt she had to: "Also I am Twilight Sparkle, a princess of Equestria and require information for the sake of this investigation on behalf of the citizens of..." "Okay, of course. What do you want to know, Your Highness?" "Do you know a unicorn resident of Ponyville named Swallowtail?" Inkhorn shook her head. "I know of no pony by that name." "Does he appear in the list of residents?"
Inkhorn levitated a folder out of the nearby shelve and held it as if she feared it was about to be snatched from her hooves as she leafed through it. "No", she said after a few moments while levitating the folder back to its original place. "There is no pony in Ponyville, unicorn or other tribe, by the name of Swallowtail. Is that everything Princess?" "Yes, thank you very much!" And with that, Twilight stormed out of the office and rushed down the stairs.
As Twilight left the town hall, she saw the others standing in front of it and by the looks of it Rainbow Dash and Applejack were in a heated debate. "I am not running out on him, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack snapped in response to something Rainbow Dash had obviously said before. "All Ah'm sayin' is y'all are mighty certain about everything. I have said it before and I'm sayin' again that he comes across as very friendly and all. But he's right about one thing for certain, we know him for less than two days and already y'all act like there was not a chance in the world he actually could have his hooves in this!"
"Do you really think that he did this?" Rarity asked uncertain. "Ah'm not saying that!" Applejack with a tone that made clear that she had said this before too and was getting frustrated with repeating herself. "Just saying that y'all are so rock solid convinced that he didn't do anything it comes across like nothing could happen to convince y'all otherwise!" "Don't tell me you're falling for that bag of money in his sleeping bag, AJ!" Rainbow Dash called. "He asked me to strike the tent. Just how stupid would a thief have to be to send ponies right to where he hides his booty? And who would hide his booty in a place where everypony who happens to find it would link it to him right away?"
"Ah'm just not so sure who of us is falling for something here, Rainbow Dash! You're right that all this would be very stupid of a thief to do. So stupid that perhaps nopony would end up thinking of the one as the thief who was so clearly being framed as the thief. Any chance a pony could frame himself so much that everypony else thinks he was being framed by somepony else?" Rainbow Dash goggled at Applejack, not knowing what to say. "Don't y'all forget exactly what Frank said? One out of six money bags as an acceptable price to make everypony look the other way for the thief? No chance the thief may put that spotlight on himself so much that everypony thinks it would be too obvious for him to be the thief?"
As Twilight approached the group, Applejack turned towards her. "You, Twilight, you told me just yesterday you thought he was manipulative. You, Rarity, were there too." "Yes, Darling", Rarity said. "You told Twilight then that you didn't think of him as dishonest, if I remember correctly?" Applejack nodded. "Yes, I did tell that and please trust me when Ah tell y'all that Ah hope I was right then. But it was all before anything happened to get worried about." Applejack gave a quick look to everyone. "And Ah also remember another time when Twilight had a bad feeling about somepony and we were all talking her out of it and it turned out she had been right all along. If it taught me one thing, it was to take Twilight's intuitions very seriously."
"I got more than intuitions now, everypony!" Twilight said with a grin. "We got to head to Mr. Rich's place immediately!" At this moment there suddenly was a quiet wailing sound from the top of the town hall. It turned out to be the beginning of a mournful melody played on a harmonica. Now that the sun was setting and the air cooled down somewhat, some more ponies were out in the streets than during the heat of the day and the melancholic melody from the top of the town hall attracted the attention of every passerby. "No doubt he knows how to make everypony feel bad about him being locked up there", Applejack commented sourly.
The mournful melody grew quieter as they headed for Mr. Rich's place. On the way, Twilight laid out her more than intuition points to the others. "At first I thought that I was just being prejudiced against this pony for having never seen him before and because our first meeting got off on the wrong hoof. At first I thought that his being so rude and repellent was because he was trying to shield his master. Mr. Rich really did look very bad, so such concern could have been understood."
"Then what makes you think otherwise now?" Applejack asked. "On the one hoof of course the point that working in the house he would know all he needs to know to commit the theft and being a unicorn he would be able to levitate and teleport the moneybags—" "But—" Applejack began, but Twilight cut her off with a quick wave of her hoof. "I know that's not enough, but let me finish first. I grew more suspicious because none of you knew him or had ever heard of him. AJ, Rarity, you have both been living in Ponyville all your lives and both of you had some contact with Mr. Rich, selling zap apples, cider or fashion to the Rich Family."
"Cider to the Riches?" Rainbow Dash asked, but both Twilight and Applejack ignored her. "It is very unlikely, though not impossible, that you would have never met this servant of Mr. Rich. When Rainbow and I were at Zecora's place, she told us that there are potions that could make ponies forget about something, though she pointed out they were nothing banal. She didn't rule out the possibility of a different kind of magic used for that either, though she couldn't say anything certain without seeing Mr. Rich herself. She promised to come here tomorrow." "Twilight, that's still rather weak", Applejack said. "Didn't Mr. Rich himself tell you that he has absolute confidence in this Swallowtail? And wouldn't he know him good enough after all that time?"
"He would...", Twilight said with an almost triumphant tone, "...and indeed this, more than anything else, made me think that I was just being biased. But Zecora said yet another thing." "She did?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised, raking her brain for what Twilight was referring to. "One last thing that comes to my mind have you ever thought of a thief, who is not of ponykind?" Twilight quoted. She found that as unusual as Zecora's talking in rhymes sounded, it made her words a lot more memorable, making it easier to remember the literal wording the way Frank had sometimes shown he was capable of.
"Not of ponykind?" Rarity almost cried. "What do you mean, that he is some kind of changeling?" Twilight shifted her head from one side to the other, hesitating a bit before she answered: "Not really. We don't know very much about changelings, but from what we saw at my brother's wedding, they can take on the appearance of someone who really exists. But other than Queen Chrysalis we didn't see any of them really acting like anypony whose form they had taken on. And Queen Chrysalis gave the worst performance as Princess Cadence I could imagine. Had she just put a little more effort into it... anyway, I'm getting off topic here."
"And besides, don't forget that Chrysalis and the changelings are locked up safe and sound in durance vile in her own castle!" Rainbow Dash reminded everyone with a deliberately cheerful tone. "She and her minions won't impersonate or harm anypony for a long time!" While Twilight shared Rainbow Dash's relief over the disposal of Queen Chrysalis and the changeling scourge she didn't allow for this to distract her from the problem at hoof. She continued: "Zecora's comment just made me think of the possibility that somepony could pretend to be somepony else. Changelings really physically take on the form of whoever they are imitating, which makes them very difficult to track and you really need to be in touch with them to turn them back to their original form.
But as you said, they are locked up and we would know if anyone of them escaped. It doesn't take a changeling for such a deception, however. So long nobody is even trying to dispel it, a simple illusions spell could do the trick. Few ponies practice that and therefore few ponies would recognize it or know what to do to dispel it, but I could easily imagine a pony like Trixie to be into that kind of magic." "Trixie? But Twilight, hasn't she reformed?" Fluttershy asked.
"Did I ever tell you, Fluttershy, that for some time it makes me cringe every time you are using the word reformed?" Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy gave her a hurt look, making Rainbow Dash feel sorry right away, but before she could give any apology, Twilight spoke up again. "I'm not saying this was Trixie's doing, I just used her as an example." "But Twilight, we think the same one who stole Mr. Rich's money also attacked Miss Cheerilee, right?" Applejack asked. "Why would the thief do that?"
This was indeed a question Twilight had been wondering about herself, but she thought she had a plausible theory. "I don't know this for certain, but my guess is this: Diamond Tiara must have noticed something. If indeed this Swallowtail has never been around before, she must have been hit by the same memory changing magic as her father to prevent her from exposing the thief. But it seems like this magic must work differently on fillies than on adult ponies. Diamond Tiara doesn't seem to have gone all depressed or feel that she has forgotten anything at all. But maybe the magic is also less effective on kids. Maybe she told Miss Cheerilee something that made her suspicious and the thief attacked her so she wouldn't be able to tell anypony."
"Maybe Mr. Rich himself made Cheerilee suspicious", Rainbow Dash said eagerly. "I recall seeing them talk to each other late during the party yesterday." Twilight nodded eagerly. "Yes, I remember too." Applejack still looked skeptical however: "Twilight, Ah know what Ah said before about taking your intuitions seriously, but ya said you got more than intuitions now and so far intuition is all we got. Do you really think this is enough for all of us to march up there to Mr. Rich's house and do... what exactly do you think we should do anyway?"
Twilight nodded but still gave a determined smile matching those so often found on Rainbow Dash's face. "Again, you would be right if that was all I had to go with. But here is the final thing. I asked Inkhorn about Swallowtail. She doesn't know him either, even though she mentioned knowing Mr. Rich a little when Frank and I were first told about the theft. But Inkhorn also told me that Swallowtail wasn't to be found in the register of Ponyville's citizens either. He does not appear on the list that includes every single one of Ponyville's citizens! A pony supposed to be a permanent resident here since the days of Filthy Rich's father!"
"Now that's really something more than intuition, Twilight!" Applejack agreed. "Ha!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as if she herself had made her point earning herself a rolling of Applejack's eyes. "But Twilight, what are we going to do when we get to Mr. Rich's place?" Fluttershy asked timidly. "We must put an end to this now!" Twilight said. In spite of her certainty about this, she did feel a little uneasy. "We cannot allow for this 'Swallowtail' or who or whatever he is to continue and possibly attack any more ponies!" "Yeah, let's kick his flank!" Rainbow Dash agreed with an enthusiasm that Twilight herself didn't quite share.
"I hope that won't be necessary", she said. "I will confront him with what we know and hope that he will come along quietly. With the kind of magic necessary to mess with the memory of Mr. Rich and Cheerilee like that, I must admit I would feel more at ease if we had the Elements of Harmony with us." "You think we are going to need them?" Rarity asked uneasily. "I hope not", Twilight said and didn't remind the others of the obvious fact that they didn't have them either way. "But we are six against one pony who may in the end be just a manipulator." "Exactly!" Rainbow Dash agreed eagerly. Oddly enough Twilight thought that she would have felt more at ease if Rainbow Dash had shown a little more of Applejack's skepticism instead of this reckless overenthusiasm.
"Maybe you should write to Princess Celestia first", Fluttershy suggested. "Or tell the mayor", Applejack said. "Just in case." "In case of what?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Do you think Mayor Mare is more capable at arresting somepony than we are? And Twilight is a Princess too now." Ignoring Rainbow Dash, Twilight said: "If Spike was with us now I would send a quick note. But time may be working against us. If the money was all Swallowtail was after he may already be on his getaway and if not, he might attack somepony else. We must hurry!" Applejack shrugged. "Not much more to hurry about now. Here we are." They had arrived at the gate of the Rich Mansion.
Twilight hesitated for a moment. When she had arrived here earlier today, the gate of the high metal garden fence edging the screening hedges that encased the front yard had stood wide open, allowing her to walk right up to the front door and use the door knocker. Now however the gate was closed. While the sun had by now disappeared and given way to Princess Luna's luminary, the illumination of the windows showed that the ponies inside the mansion were still up and awake. There was a cord in a slot of the left of the stone posts on which the metal gate was hinged. Undoubtedly it could be pulled to work a mechanic doorbell. As Twilight raised a hoof to pull the cord Rainbow Dash asked: "Shouldn't we just fly in or open the door with magic? You know, element of surprise and all?"
Twilight lowered her hoof. "We can't just... break in. But you have a point about surprise, Rainbow. Everypony, please stay out of sight in the screen of the hedges. Maybe we are lucky and Swallowtail himself will come to open the gate. I would rather confront him outside the house and with some distance from anypony else." Applejack and Rainbow Dash took position just out of sight behind the stone posts on both sides and the others right behind them. Pinkie Pie had put on a black mask that might have made Twilight consider calling the authorities had she seen anypony else sneaking around with it. Mercifully no pony was on the street leading past the Rich Mansion to see the peculiar ambush which a princess of Equestria was apparently setting up in front of a rich subject's house.
When Twilight was certain none of the others were visible from the entrance of the mansion, she took a deep breath and pulled the cord. A few moments later the door of the mansion opened and a ray of light from inside fell on the cobbled way. Twilight recognized that it was Swallowtail himself who was now coming down the way towards the gate. So he hadn't left yet, Twilight thought with a grim satisfaction and wondered which other plans or schemes might be keeping him here. She was sure the alleged servant had recognized her, but he kept approaching until there was no more need to raise the voice. Twilight kept as neutral and inconspicuous an expression as she could, not to arise any suspicions.
"Princess Twilight", the alleged servant said with a curt bow. No tone of his voice letting in on any thoughts or sentiments that might be passing through his mind as he spoke. "Good evening, Mr. Swallowtail", Twilight said. "Would you please open the gate?" "Master Rich is putting young Miss Diamond Tiara to bed. I do not think he is expecting any visitors anymore today. If you would return tomorrow I am going to announce your visit to Master Rich." "It is of the utmost importance that I speak to Mr. Rich now", Twilight said, putting a lot of stress in every word. Swallowtail was looking at her, his expression lacking any kind of expression whatsoever. "The investigations of the theft make it necessary for me to enter. It is your master's and therefore in your very own interest that the investigations are successful, or is it not?"
Twilight almost bit her own tongue. The way she had said the last words would certainly alarm the fraud. "Very well", he said after a moment. "I shall get the Master here now." "Mr. Swallowtail, open the gate now!" This was not the request of a visitor, but the direct and unmistakable order of a princess. Swallowtail raised his eyebrows a little, but then, for Twilight's surprise, he picked a keyring from a pocket of his tailcoat and intricately unlocked the gate holding the key with his teeth. Swallowtail took a step backwards and Twilight pushed both of the wings open with a spell.
With one leap Rainbow Dash landed on one side of Swallowtail while Applejack rushed to the other. Twilight kept her head lowered, her horn pointing at Swallowtail without the grille of the gate wings in the way anymore. Pinkie Pie and Rarity closed in behind Rainbow Dash and Applejack while Twilight could hear the Fluttershy flapping right behind her. If Swallowtail was surprised by the sudden encirclement he didn't allow himself more than a look of mild astonishment to both of his sides before looking back at Twilight.
"I was unaware you brought entourage, Princess. I must ask for your retinue to wait outside when you go to see Master Rich. Surely you do not wish to disturb young Miss Rich's sleep by..." "Retinue?" Rainbow Dash called infuriated. "The game is up!" Twilight said and couldn't keep a triumphant smirk from her face. "We know what you did!" "So you do?" Swallowtail asked calmly, raising one eyebrow. "And we've come to get you!" Twilight confirmed.
"My apologies, Your Highness. I understand that competent and appropriate attendants are difficult to find nowadays...", he gave a very very telling look at Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, "...and I appreciate the difficulties constituted by the need to assemble a domestic staff more decent than this one, occasioned by your recent crowning. But my services belong to the Rich family and I will not be wooed from my Master's service, however dire your need for more adequate personnel may be."
"Personnel!" Rainbow Dash burst out. "I'll show this would be flunky who's personnel!" If Rarity hadn't held her back with a quick spell, Rainbow Dash probably would have pounced upon Swallowtail. The look Swallowtail gave Rainbow Dash was dripping with contempt. "Most dire need indeed", he declared. "It's over, Swallowtail, or however we are to call you!" Twilight said. She almost hoped for the servant to triple in size and start sprouting fangs and horns or something like that. His calm composure irritated her more than such a transformation would have scared her. "We know that you are behind the theft and that you cast your spells upon Mr. Rich, his daughter and Miss Cheerilee!"
"I am surprised, Your Highness, that you should be aware of such vile activities of mine before even I myself am aware of them", Swallowtail said. "I might be inclined to contemplate the probabilities of this, but for the fact that you dare to accuse me of acting against the interests of my Master or even attack him, or any member of the family!" At the last words Swallowtail's tone had lost the casual composure and slightly ironic undertone of his previous utterances. His voice was sharp and imposing and his posture was of such pride and staunchness as would have befitted a memorial rather than a thief caught.
"I know not what might induce her Highness to such ridiculous suspicions, but she may rest assured that she is mistaken. Good evening, Your Highness." Swallowtail gave a bow so curtly that it was more of a nod rather than any show of respect and he gave a gesture towards the gate. "Oh no, you are not getting off the hook like that!" Rainbow Dash called. "You tell him, Twilight!" "I'll tell you what induces my suspicions!" Twilight growled, feeling Rainbow Dash's fury rubbing off on her and more than anything fueled by the arrogance of this, admittedly convincing, impostor.
"You are not who you claim to be! You have not been living in Ponyville since the days of Mr. Rich's father! Nopony we asked has ever seen or even heard of you! Your magic allows you to manipulate the minds and memories of ponies and you jinxed Mr. Rich and his daughter into believing that you were a longtime servant in their household! With your access to every part of the house it was easy enough for you to plan and commit the theft! Your magic allowed you to just teleport the money and yourself in any out as you saw fit! And..."
Swallowtail gave an inimitable sound that could have been anything from a furious growl to a jeering laughter and for a very short moment his solemn composure got a crack. "Celestia's most faithful student they call you! I pray the royal sisters will never unleash their less faithful students upon their subjects!" "How dare you ridicule Celestia!" Twilight barked. "I am not. You are the one ridiculing yourself, Your Highness, making yourself an embarrassment to good Princess Celestia and your entire estate!"
Swallowtail had found a sore spot and it took Twilight a huge effort not to silence him with a spell. "Her Highness is mistaken. My magic would not allow me to manipulate anypony and most certainly not to teleport anypony or anything in and out of the mansion as I saw fit. If this is a question of magical capabilities I daresay Celestia's most faithful student is a more probable culprit than I am." "Oh, so you are suspecting Twilight too?" Pinkie Pie asked cheerfully curious. "Not now, Pinkie!" Twilight snarled, feeling that she couldn't think of a less suitable moment for any antics from Pinkie Pie. "So you claim you could not teleport in or out of the house?" Twilight asked, trying to focus entirely on facts and blind out all anger.
Swallowtail nodded, but Twilight noticed the nodding came somewhat hesitantly and there seemed to be a subtle change in the expression of the servant, though Twilight couldn't put her hoof on it. "Why is that?" she asked, keeping a very close look at Swallowtail's face for any sign of dishonesty. "I am not authorized to give you that information, Your Highness", Swallowtail said after a moment. "Not authorized?" Rarity protested. "It may have escaped your esteemed attention that Twilight Sparkle is a Princess of Equestria whose royal authority should be sufficient to satisfy the demands of a butler pony!"
Swallowtail gave a little bow to Rarity and it was impossible to say if it was a mock or not: "It is not the vanity of this butler pony that needs to be satisfied by the authority of a princess, but loyalty to his Master that will not be overridden by the quirks of said princess." "How dare you—", Rarity began, but Swallowtail turned to Twilight again. "If her Highness is inclined to satisfy her curiosity without vain attempts to infringe my loyalty, she may want to teleport her own royal persona into my master's house." There was a moment of silence.
"Careful, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash whispered loud enough for everypony to hear. "That's a trap!" "The decision is that of her Highness", Swallowtail said coolly. "Her fancy colored courtier may rest assured she is not in danger around me in the absence of her mistress." Rainbow Dash was livid with rage now and had it not been for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy coming to Rarity's assistance to hold her back, she might now have attacked the servant who disregarded her reaction like it was the buzzing of a fly. Twilight hesitated. Nothing so far had run the way she had expected. Rainbow Dash could be correct with her guess about this being a trap, but by now Twilight was angry enough to take the bait if only it got things moving and make the imposter drop his mask. A purple radiance flashed up around Twilight's horn the moment before she dissappeared.
A metallic clash could be heard as if somepony had struck against the metal fence surrounding the yard. There was a flash of purple light near the wall of the mansion and Princess Twilight Sparkle rebounded from that flash of light as if she had flown head on into a wall that was only just soft enough to spare her any broken bones. She landed hard on her back. "Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted and was at her site within the blink of an eye. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie too rushed after her, forgetting completely about Swallowtail for the moment.
"Twilight, are you alright?" Rainbow Dash asked, shaking her fiercely. "Stop that!" Twilight gasped, trying to catch breath. "I told you it was a trap!" Rainbow shouted. "Where is... Swallowtail?" Twilight panted as she saw all her friends standing around her. She was struggling to get to her hooves. All of the others immediately looked towards the gate. Far from making a getaway, the servant was casually strolling up the cobbled way towards the perron beside which Twilight had landed. "You brute! How dare you—", Rarity began.
Swallowtail just spoke firmly enough to silence her without any need to raise his voice much: "A loyal servant will not prattle away about the safety precautions his Master takes to protect his property. It is not within the servant's authority to prohibit princesses from testing said precautions." Neither Rarity, nor Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie could react fast enough to keep Rainbow Dash in check, and if they could have, it was not sure if they would have wanted to, but the moment Rainbow Dash was about to pounce upon the servant there was a voice from the door of the mansion stopping her in her tracks.
"What is going on here? Princess Twilight! What is the meaning of this, Swallows?" Filthy Rich stood in the door of his mansion. Even in the dim light outside and against the ray of light falling through the door, Twilight could see that he was still looking very pale. But his voice sounded very firm and his bearing looked more steady than during Twilight's previous visit. "Master Rich, Princess Twilight is under the impression that I am responsible for the theft of your money. She is convinced that I have cast a spell upon you and the young Miss to make you think of me as the loyal servant to your family while I in fact was only an imposter. She believes that I cast a similar spell upon a Miss Cheerilee, for reasons which the princess has not yet laid out to me. I do not recall having ever met this Miss Cheerilee, but I do recall her name as that of your daughter's teacher, Master Rich. The Princess furthermore believes that I used my magic abilities to teleport myself and your money in and out of your house. Since I consider giving away any details about your house's safety precautions in conflict with my obligations and duties to you, but considered it beyond my authority to prohibit a princess from putting them to the test—"
"You talked her into trying to jinx herself into the house!" Applejack protested. "Swallows, did I not ask you to answer any questions which the princess might have?" Mr. Rich spoke softly, but the effects of his words upon the composure of his servant were more distinct than anything anypony else had said so far. "I admit that in the face of the accusations raised against me by her Highness, pride and indignation about the notion that I might act against your interests or even attack you or the little Miss may have taken the better of me, Master Rich. I failed you and I am very sorry for that." Swallowtail lowered his head.
"Princess Twilight, did I not assure you of my absolute confidence in Swallowtail? Did you not tell me you didn't mean to question the integrity of my loyal servant?" As he spoke, Mr. Rich stepped outside, descended the perron, walked over to Swallowtail and put a hoof on his shoulder in a display of trust and protectiveness. Swallowtail raised his head and there was a look of relief and gratitude on his face. It was a scene that didn't miss its effect on any observer. "You did", Twilight confirmed. "I did", she admitted. Her mind was racing. Just how could everything turn so totally different from how she had expected.
"But at the time there was a lot I didn't know. Nopony else has ever seen Swallowtail before!" "But did I not mention he hardly ever leaves the house? How many ponies did you ask, your Highness?" Twilight looked at all the others. "Did you ask anypony who is not here at the moment?" "Inkhorn!" Twilight called. "She said she knew you a little but she didn't know Swallowtail!" "Yes, Inkhorn is a pleasant conversationalist, a competent official and I should really invite her and Featherscribe for dinner some time. She has never been to my mansion before though and I never introduced or mentioned Swallows to her. Anypony else?"
Twilight felt like the ground underneath her hooves grew rather thin. She didn't recall having asked anypony else about Swallowtail. Zecora had apparently not heard of him, but with her living in Everfree Forest and not having any contact with the Rich Family that Twilight was aware of, this was hardly any evidence. "He does not appear in the list of all citizens of Ponyville which Inkhorn checked out in Town Hall! Everypony is listed there, but Swallowtail is missing! Mr. Rich, I am sure this must be very confusing for you, but there are spells and potions that allow for the manipulation of a pony's mind and memory. Your loss of memory to the events of yesterday is a very strong indicator that you have been subjected to that kind of dark magic. I was going to ask you if you were willing to have Zecora examine you to maybe help you recover your memory..." "Zecora... is this the zebra living in Everfree Forest of whom I heard... stories?" "She is not some evil enchantress!" Pinkie Pie called.
"I am willing to give everything a try to regain my memory, Princess Twilight, but your assumption that Swallowtail would be able... I mean that he would cast any spell on me or anyone in my family is not...", Mr. Rich seemed to be looking for a word to finish the sentence without making it sound too harsh. "The list", Twilight insisted. "Why would Swallowtail not appear on the list?" "It is strange, but even competent officials may make mistakes. Maybe his name was overlooked when the list was copied, maybe his entry ended up on a wrong page, maybe Inkhorn just happened to overlook it. I was not aware, by the way, that these lists are open for public inspection." Twilight was in no mood to justify herself for this inspection.
"Mr. Rich, everything is pointing towards Swallowtail. There is a lot less evidence against Mr. Blanket who is currently held in custody under suspicion of being the thief than there is against Mr. Swallowtail. The theft could not have been committed without the use of magic to begin with and with the precautions of your house...", while she had recovered her breath, Twilight was still aching from the fierce impact, "...it is even more likely that whoever did it must have been aware of these precautions. Maybe the thief levitated the moneybags outside the perimeter and teleported it away from there. Which unicorn other than Swallowtail would have such knowledge of your safety measures?"
"But Princess Twilight...", Mr. Rich said. "...wasn't your suspicion that Swallowtail was a mere fraud? If that was so, he would not have that knowledge of my safety measures." "He could have acquired that knowledge from you through his magic", Twilight said. At this point Swallowtail gently removed his master's hoof from his shoulder and said: "Master Rich, with your permission I would like to expose myself to whatever magic the princess considers appropriate to determine whether or not I am the kind of fraud, imposter, illusionist or whatever her imagination tells her I was." "Swallows, there is no need for this! I have absolute confidence in you!" "This means a lot to me, Master Rich. But the service to you and your family is both profession and vocation to me. At this moment it would be a service if these suspicions were dispelled. Unless you explicitly prohibit it, I insist for her Highness to inflict upon me any jinx that would help to end this ridiculous charade!"
Mr. Rich nodded slowly and Swallowtail turned towards Twilight, giving her a defiant look. "Here I am, Your Highness, at your service!" Twilight didn't know what to say. This was yet another turn of events that she had not foreseen. There was no backing out of this situation and as she thought so, she was wondering what it was that she wanted to back out of. Wouldn't this spell she was offered to cast give her all the clarity she could ask for?
Twilight took a step forward, laid the tip of her horn onto Swallowtail's chest and concentrated. Her spell met almost no resistance whatsoever, so for a moment she thought that she had missed or somehow failed to produce her spell. But as she looked she could see the reddish ray of light engulfing Swallowtail that would lift any illusion or even transformation. The servant was twitching in discomfort. "Please grow fangs and claws!" Twilight caught herself thinking, but other than some hair of Swallowtail's mane standing on end now there was no visible change about the servant. His appearance was his unaltered natural appearance. Twilight ended the spell feeling slightly sick suddenly.
"Are you satisfied, Princess?" Swallowtail asked, sounding a little shaky. "Your appearance is genuine", Twilight conceded, sounding more shaky than Swallowtail. "I think you should go now, Princess", Mr. Rich said. Twilight nodded slightly, closing her eyes and tried to think of something she could say. Suddenly a thought struck her; a last straw to grasp for that she had not taken into account. "Your appearance is genuine", she said. "But that only proves you are not concealing your appearance now! You could still use magic to mess with the minds of others or to commit the theft!"
"Twilight...", Applejack whispered cautiously, "...don't ya think you are getting fixed too much?" Mr. Rich's look at Twilight was very stern now, he didn't say anything for some moments. Finally he turned towards Swallowtail. "Swallows, thank you very much for everything. You may go inside now if you want to. Or... if you want to... you may tell." "Do you wish me to tell, Master Rich?" Swallowtail asked, his voice sounding even more shaky now. Mr. Rich pulled his servant into an embrace. "This is your decision, Swallows, not mine to make. It is the one way to rid yourself of any such suspicion even by the standards of her Highness. I will respect your decision either way." Swallowtails took a step backward and nodded curtly. "I'll show them."
Mr. Rich turned towards Twilight again, his voice sounded rather cold. "I appreciate your eagerness in investigating the theft, Princess Twilight, but your investigations are misguided and flawed. You might for example want to consider asking Granny Smith about my loyal servant. I am pretty sure she is one to have seen him back in the days. However, Swallowtails decided to let you in on a personal matter that should dispel your suspicions against him here and now. I must insist upon your every word to be discreet about this!" Twilight nodded slowly as did the others. Mr. Rich probably didn't know the meaning of the Pinkie promise gesture performed by Pinkie Pie, but he wasn't minding her much.
"You said yourself that this crime could not have been carried out without the use of magic, Princess Twilight", Mr Rich said. Swallowtails stepped forward and lifted one of the tails of his tailcoat, revealing a blank flank. "I am a blank flank, Your Highness", he stated. "And my magical capabilities are surpassed by the magical capabilities of an average common turnip!" he added with a very bitter sound. Suddenly images from her memory popped up in Twilight's mind. Swallowtail carrying rather than levitating a silver tabled with two filled glasses and a bottle of Cider and Swallowtail intricately opening the gates holding the key with his teeth rather than using magic for it. Twilight was torn from these recollection by the sound of a gasp from the door. Diamond Tiara stood there, her jaw dropped, her eyes wide open in utter surprise.
"Miss Rich!" Swallowtail called and for the first time his voice was one of actual fright. Diamond Tiara turned around and vanished inside.
"Diamond Tiara!" Swallowtail mumbled and rushed after her. Mr. Rich had grown even more pale than he had been all along, his face looked like it was set in stone. "Mr. Rich...", Twilight began, not really knowing what to say. "Go, Princess!" Mr. Rich said numbly. "Just go!" And with that he turned around, entered his house and closed the door behind himself.
Feeling as numb as Mr. Rich had sounded, Twilight shuffled down the cobbled way and out of the gate. The others were following her and Fluttershy and Rarity closed the gate as they were the last to leave the yard. None of them spoke for a while and Twilight trudged ahead, her head low and not looking back. It was a very rare mood of Twilight, for it was only ever triggered by the sense of utter failure and Twilight hardly ever failed. This however made her particularly unforgiving to herself whenever such a rare occasion occurred. These rare times left her friends utterly at a loss on whether their company and comfort or some seclusion and tranquility were what Twilight was looking for. Most likely she wanted both and neither of the two at the same time, so there was kind of an equal chance of doing the right or the wrong or both of the two with the same action.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy exchanged uneasy looks that told more than many words could have. Finally Applejack took a deep breath and accelerated her step to catch up with Twilight, but before she reached her, Fluttershy held her back, shook her head slightly and made to catch up with Twilight herself. This was not the moment for straightforward honesty but for gentle kindness. Fluttershy caught up to Twilight and just walked close beside her. She didn't address her and didn't give her any questioning looks. She was just there, close beside Twilight, offering but not imposing company, helpful but unobtrusive, leaving all options open to Twilight and allowing her to accept or refuse with no need to feel bad on her own behalf, no matter which decision she made. Fluttershy felt easier around most animals than around many ponies, but she had come to understand that in moments of distress and sadness ponies were often not so different from animals at all.
Twilight was feeling devastated. She had erred and been mistaken before and it had never been easy, but she did not remember having ever seen another pony suffer so directly as a consequence of her failure as she had in the moment when Swallowtails had spotted Diamond Tiara standing in the door of the mansion. The servant had done nothing to endear himself to her and she hadn't forgotten about all the snide and arrogance he had given her, but it had been her who had suspected and accused him of a crime and been disproved thoroughly. She still couldn't comprehend just how all the evidence she had based her accusation upon had been dismantled in just a few minutes, making her look like a fool. It had all appeared so solid before. Twilight had expected to make tomorrow's public hearing of Frank unnecessary and to be able to write a triumphant letter about her success to Princess Celestia.
A letter to Celestia... the thought made Twilight shiver. She would have to tell her about a miserable failure, about causing severe harm to a pony who already was struck with the misfortune of being a blank flank and incapable of using magic, about... her own doubts as to whether a pony who caused such misery through her rashness and lack of care was fit to be a Princess of Equestria with all the responsibilities this position held.
Twilight noticed Fluttershy walking beside her and the presence of her friend was soothing and reminded her to think of the here and now rather than of the letter to be written or of abstract thoughts about the future. She had reached a corner of the Rich Mansion's premises; there was nopony but them around on the streets here, but with all fears, remorse and despair assailing, Twilight wasn't sure if she would have cared about decorum at this time, even if others had been around. She just sat down and cried and when Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder, she pulled her into a fierce hug. The others were catching up too now, closely surrounding Twilight and Fluttershy.
"I was so certain!" Twilight sobbed. "It all seemed to fit!" "It did, Darling", Rarity agreed. "And this Mr. Swallowtail certainly could have made it a lot easier. If he had just..." Twilight shook her head fiercely while wiping her eyes with one hoof: "No! I am not blaming him or shirking responsibility for what happened! How would anyone of us react if we were falsely accused of that kind of thing?" "Well, I for once would certainly not trick a princess into crashing against some kind of magic barrier", Rarity declared. "Does it still hurt?" she asked concerned.
"A little", Twilight admitted. In fact the impact had hurt more than she let on about and she was aching all over, but at the moment this was the least of her concerns. "He could have just told rather than making such a show of it", Applejack said. "Yeah, 'fancy colored courtier', I mean, really?" Rainbow Dash growled. "Surely, if it hadn't been for Fluttershy, Pinkie and me, you might have ended up as the one to face a public hearing tomorrow, Rainbow!" Rarity said. "He was really asking to get his flank kicked!" Rainbow Dash said defiantly.
"Blank flank who hardly ever leaves the house", Twilight wailed, shaking her head. "It reminds me of something Frank told me when he arrived here. He said that many ponies think of adult blank flanks as having no talents whatsoever. Mr. Swallowtail probably got a lot of hard time already." None of the others said anything to that. "I just failed! Princess Celestia would have never—" Twilight began a high-pitched lament.
"Hold it right there!" Applejack said firmly. "Ya know I don't always agree with Rainbow, but she made a very good point earlier today, Twi! You are not Celestia and you don't have to be Celestia yet, or ever for that matter! Stop thinking of you yourself as a failure every time you happen to make one, sugarcube!" Twilight looked up at Applejack distressed. "I am not trying to be Celestia!"
It was the kind of look now that let everyone know that a wrong word could make Twilight burst into white flames, make her let buildings jump into the air or unintentionally let other things happen that would have done Discord proud. But Applejack had seen Spike's way of handling such situations. He knew Twilight longer than anyone of them and though there was no guaranteed success in moments like this, Applejack still felt that the moment for some straightforward honesty had now come. "Then stop bringing her up every time you feel you weren't good enough, Twi! You had some mighty good points telling you that this Swallowtail was behind all this! You were not the only one to think it was him!"
"I sure believed it was him!" Rainbow Dash admitted. "I wish it had been him." "You didn't, Applejack", Twilight said. "You were not convinced." "I had some doubts", Applejack agreed. "But I couldn't pinpoint them. Didn't know why Ah thought we might be mistaken. Ah didn't think of it and Ah was convinced enough to come along. Trust me when I tell you, Twi, that Ah would have never played along if Ah hadn't thought there was a very good chance Swallowtail had done it. Come to think of it, Ah should have thought of asking Granny Smith about him. That was a mistake and Ah made it. So that's that, but there is no need now to get all worked up about it. We thought Swallowtail did it. Turned out he did not. We got one suspect less to think about and that's a good thing, right?"
"You don't understand, AJ", Twilight sighed and whatever Twilight was going to say, Applejack knew that she had said the right things to at least snap Twilight out of her state of absolute unpredictability. "Don't you see how I ruined everything for Swallowtail? Did you see his look when he saw Diamond Tiara and when she saw that he was a blank flank?" "Ah say he did a fair amount of digging himself on that hole he ended up in!" "Up?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Down in a hole?"
Applejack ignored her and continued: "If he hadn't made such a secret out of being a blank flank and not being able to use magic, he would never have been under any suspicion to begin with. It was quite clear Mr. Rich knew and he didn't seem to give Swallowtail a hard time about that. And as for that daughter of Filthy Rich, if she didn't know and has any problem with that... well from what Apple Bloom is telling me, Ah think there is hardly a pony in Ponyville more in need of such a lesson to get her to think about her own attitudes!"
Twilight still felt bad about the failure and she remained firmly resolved to bring it to Princess Celestia's attention, but somehow Applejack had managed to break matters down to some hard facts that looked a lot less catastrophic than the overall picture. She nodded slowly and gave Applejack a thankful look which the earth pony accepted with a little smile. "But what about the whole case?" Rarity asked. "If it wasn't Swallowtail and if it wasn't Mr... Frank, then who else could have done it?" Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, but before she could say anything she was silenced by Rainbow Dash: "Not now, Pinkie!" she insisted sternly. "It was not Twilight!"
Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment and it was not quite clear if that was because she had only just remembered something or if it had been on her mind before but she had been unwilling to bring it up: "You know, we know someone else who could have done it." "Who would that be?" Rarity asked surprised. "Right...", Rainbow Dash said rolling her eyes, "...like none of you thought of him." Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy exchanged confused looks while Twilight was biting her lower lip, having a fair idea who Rainbow Dash was talking about. "Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash howled.
"Well, if you're talking about Discord—", Applejack began. "Of course I am talking about Discord!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "It wasn't Discord", Fluttershy said. She said it calmly, discarding the idea without much vehemence but without any doubt either. "You know that for a fact?" Applejack asked cautiously. "Ah mean, Rainbow does have a point..." Fluttershy shook her head and her face bore an almost masklike expression of certainty. "Darling...", Rarity began and put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, "...he does have all the magic powers it would take to do this." "Same as Twilight!" Pinkie Pie agreed, earning herself an angry look from Rainbow Dash. "But why would Discord steal money when he can steal cakes or speculoos?" "Discord could make almost everything just appear", Fluttershy said. "He doesn't need to steal anything from anyone."
"We are talking about Discord here!" Rainbow Dash said. "He may not care a bit about golden bits, but isn't all the chaos and confusion this caused already exactly his kind of thing? I bet he is laughing his ugly head off somewhere with a bag of popcorn or something like that!" "He didn't do it!" Fluttershy insisted somewhat louder, brushing Rarity's hoof from her shoulder. There was a moment of silence before Applejack spoke up again: "Fluttershy, I mean really no offense, but do you know this for sure or is it just a feeling of yours?" "He is my friend", Fluttershy said calmly. "You are my friends. I know that he didn't do it for the same reason that I know none of you did it."
Rainbow Dash was visibly struggling to maintain self-control and not shout as she asked: "So we are all the same as Discord to you, Fluttershy?" "You are all friends", Fluttershy said. Her eyes began to get teary. "And friends stick together. I think that representing the Element of Loyalty you of us all should be able to understand this, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash uttered an almost gurgling sound and nearly bit into one of her hooves which she pressed before her mouth as if to force back whatever she wanted to say. She didn't want to hurt Fluttershy and there was not much that made her feel more uneasy than seeing Fluttershy cry, but in moments like this one she couldn't help wondering how far kindness and loyalty could be stretched before turning into all out naivety.
"Discord and Frank had a bit of a run-in at your place", Twilight said bleakly, looking at the ground and avoiding to look at Fluttershy. "Is it not at least possible... just possible... that perhaps to him this appears like nothing more than a petty little prank? That he may not even grasp how serious this is?" "No!" Fluttershy insisted. "And also, why would Discord attack poor Miss Cheerilee?" "Why does Discord do what Discord does?" Rarity mumbled. Fluttershy shot her and everypony else a defiant glance while her eyes had by now become really tearful: "Just why can't you ever give him the benefit of doubt?" "Long or short list?" Rainbow Dash blurted out before she could keep herself from saying it. Her face became rueful right away and at the same time very desperate. "He was with me after the party yesterday", Fluttershy shouted. "He came home with me and stayed until I went to sleep. He was very unhappy!" Fluttershy gave everyone another look, but her self-composure now cracked up for good and tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Darling...", Rarity began and wanted to embrace Fluttershy, but she backed away. "I want to go... if you don't mind", she said, turned around and galloped a few steps before flapping up into the air. "Fluttershy...", Rainbow Dash called and flapped a short distance after her before just stopping to flap and landing uncharacteristically inelegantly. Hanging her head she mumbled: "I didn't want to make her feel bad..." Nopony said anything and Twilight felt almost as miserable as she had right after leaving the Rich Mansion.
Frank Blanket had stopped playing the harmonica a while ago and descended from the cupola back into the storeroom below which was illuminated by a small lantern. He had never given the instrument enough time and attention to become really good with it. In fact he was sometimes playing it while he was writing, paying so little attention to the sound that he couldn't even tell what he had played or what it had sounded like later on. Nevertheless it sometimes helped him to clear his mind, to relax or to just try to give some expression to his mood. He was downcast at the moment.
Everything had been working out so well. The last two days had been among the most interesting and delightful he had had in quite a while in spite of the fact that his curiosity and general disposition made it easy for him to consider a day interesting and delightful, but the evening had somewhat spoiled his mood. For all the planning and scheduling that were part of a student's routine, he usually took the upsetting of his plans with a degree of academic interest. The unforeseen and even chaotic exerted a certain fascination and for all he could tell a somewhat unforeseeable, chaotic element seemed to play a role in cutie marks too.
Up to the evening the unforeseeable events of the day hadn't been all too bad. He had made some good progress with the writing and ordering of his notes and interviews. In fact he had reached a point where he might run out of material to go through and could only hope for the possibility to interview Twilight or Applejack in order to obtain more material to work with. For the rest of the evening he would probably have to keep himself busy with the piles of folders and the books stored in here. Frank had hurled his hat onto the bed after descending from the cupola. At the moment he almost hated the headgear he had grown so used to. More than anything else the doubts Applejack had expressed in front of town hall had been something he had not seen coming and more than anything else they had gotten him into the mood expressed though his harmonica play earlier on. It appeared that all this might turn out to be more than an inconvenience to his plans to be recorded as a mere bonus of additional interest.
With the recent setting of the sun the temperature had decreased somewhat but it still remained warm. Not expecting any visitors anymore, Frank was wondering if he should risk discarding of the wraparound he was usually wearing with a constancy uncommon for ponies other than for some high-ranking ones who rarely went without their marks of fashion. He was still pondering when for his surprise the decision was made for him by a quiet sound at the hatch. It appeared that there was to be another visitor after all.
Surprised as he was about another visitor at this hour, Frank was even more surprised when he saw the visitor, or much rather visitors climb through the hatch. "Scootal... oh, all of you?" There the Cutie Mark Crusaders stood, grinning at Frank's perplexed look. "Didn't you expect us to drop in?" Scootaloo asked with a smirk. "Truth to be told, I didn't", Frank admitted. "Certainly not at this time and not after everything that has happened. Honestly, I had my doubts whether your sisters would permit you to visit me now." "Well...", Sweetie Belle said, "...Rarity doesn't really know we are here." "My sister doesn't know either", Apple Bloom admitted. "You see, we meant to visit you much earlier", Scootaloo added. "But when we were on our way here we met Miss Cheerilee." "Did Applejack tell you about what happened to her?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Twilight did", Frank said. "They've all been here not so long ago. How is Miss Cheerilee?" The three fillies exchanged an unhappy look. "We haven't ever seen her like that", Sweetie Belle said. "I think she was a little better when we left", Apple Bloom added. "Big Mac is with her and she really seemed a lot better after he was there." "We still wanted to visit you though and headed here after leaving Miss Cheerilee's place", Scootaloo said. "Our sisters don't have anything against us visiting you anyway", Sweetie Belle claimed without referring to the time at all. "Yeah...", Apple Bloom agreed. "...they know you didn't steal anything. They don't tell us everything they are talking about, but we did hear enough to know that much."
"When did they tell you that?" Frank asked. His serious tone surprised the fillies. "We did hear them say so before Twilight... I mean... before we went and found Miss Cheerilee", Apple Bloom answered. Frank sighed. "You didn't hear about the recent... findings yet, did you?" It was the Cutie Mark Crusader's turn to look perplexed. "Recent findings? What do you mean, Frank?" Sweetie Belle asked. Frank didn't look at any of the Crusaders but stared at some spot somewhere behind them as he spoke: "They found a whole bag of the money stolen from Mr. Rich hidden inside my sleeping bag. I guess your sisters didn't know by the time you last saw them. But now, Apple Bloom, I'm not sure your sister is as certain anymore that I didn't steal that money they found among my stuff." The fillies exchanged a look of surprise.
"But you didn't do it." Scootaloo said and it was not absolutely clear if it had been a statement or maybe a question after all. "No, I didn't", Frank said. "Then I don't care what my sister says!" Apple Bloom said with a defiant tone. "I could be lying", Frank pointed out. "If you were, wouldn't it be stupid to say this?" Scootaloo asked. "Except if I would think that you would think I didn't do it, because if I did I would not say this", Frank said, earning himself some rather confused looks from all three fillies.
Suddenly Frank chuckled and shook his head slightly. "Kids, you are awesome!" he said. "Thank you for keeping faith with me!" "But the others do not?" Sweetie Belle asked worried. Frank made a helpless gesture. "Some of the stolen money was found among my stuff. Nopony had seen me after leaving the party that evening. Nopony here knows me... I'm afraid all that looks very suspicious to many, especially when there is no other suspect." "You think they would actually... what would they actually do?" Apple Bloom asked. "If I understood everything correctly that Mayor Mare told me earlier today, the hearing tomorrow is not an actual trial. It seems that Ponyville doesn't have the necessary staff at all for a real court case. So the hearing tomorrow will either clear me of the charges or...", Frank hesitated. "Or what?" Scootaloo insisted. "If I am not cleared I will be brought to Canterlot where there are all the lawyers necessary for an actual trial who are not to be found here in Ponyville. They probably got a few actual cells there too."
The Crusaders exchanged a meaningful look and then nodded. "Frank, you could sneak out with us right now. There are no ponies out on the streets anymore." Sweetie Belle suggested. "We could hide you in our club house", Apple Bloom continued. "It is secluded and nopony usually gets there!" "You could hide there until they found the actual thief", Scootaloo said. "So you won't end up in some cell in Canterlot. Who knows, maybe we even get our cutie marks for this! Helping an innocent prisoner flee! Cutie Mark Crusaders escape agents!"
Frank looked at them as if he had misheard or as if he expected them to break into laughter any moment. After some seconds of silence he said: "You... you are actually serious about that?" The three fillies nodded. Frank sat down as if his legs had suddenly given in and ran one hoof through his mane. "Now that's... hold your horses... and really, you don't want cutie marks as escape agents. Trust me when I tell you that." The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked somewhat disappointed about Frank's lack of enthusiasm for their offer.
"Really, I appreciate you intention, gee, I'm actually rather touched by this. But if I made any kind of getaway it would look like a confession to everypony. They would stop even looking for a different thief if I just fled. Also, I am quite sure they won't send me to Canterlot. What I fear more is that ponies might end up thinking that I did it unless the real thief is caught. And that's what they would do if I tried to flee." "That's just what Twilight and Rainbow Dash said", Apple Bloom remembered. "And also this could really get you into very serious trouble too if you were caught trying to help a detainee escape." "All these adults are so stupid!" Scootaloo growled. "They know you didn't do this and still can't just let you go! Just how do you become like that?" "Scootaloo... kids, your trust really honors me. I could be a total liar though and because the other adults have nothing but my word and they don't know me very long. So they don't really know I didn't do this. They do what they have to."
Frank smiled suddenly. "There is another thing you may not have taken into account. I'm pretty sure Inkhorn would not just let you take me along with you when you leave. I'm surprised she even let you in at this late hour." "Pshaw", Scootaloo said. "She doesn't even know we are here! She is fast asleep down there!" This surprised Frank. "Asleep you say? I thought she was such a conscientious official. The long day's work must have really worn her out." Frank cast a look towards one of the open windows through which he saw that even the last trace of sunset had disappeared from the sky. Night had fallen.
"You know, Cutie Mark Crusaders..." the three fillies were beaming at him. Adults rarely used the name of their club, and they didn't recall when they had actually been addressed this way by an adult, "...I'm really looking forward to talk about cutie marks with you. But I think that for now you may really want to head home or else they will be looking for you and you may get in trouble." The Cutie Mark Crusaders were looking a little disappointed but one after the other they nodded.
"See you tomorrow, Frank", Apple Bloom said. "We will be at the hearing", Sweetie Belle promised. "Yes", Scootaloo said. "Poor Miss Cheerilee won't be able to work tomorrow, so we can be there." "See you then." Frank said with a smile. "Thank you for everything. You know, you really made me feel better." And with a wink of an eye he added: "Please close the door behind you." When the fillies had left, Frank turned towards the one of the boxes and began to inspect the different folders and books it contained. Most of it seemed to be statistical data of very little interest to him, while the most promising looking book he found turned out to be a cookery book.
While it would have been faster to fly rather than walk, Twilight was in no mood to fly on her way back to the library. On the way it occurred to her that she hadn't eaten anything at all since the picnic in the morning. So much had happened since that it seemed like a far distant memory to her. Her empty stomach on the other hoof was so present that she began to feel rather weak by the time she reached the library. When she entered, she saw she was not the only one who had noticed this. The table in the main room was all set with a rich, nutritious supper. Several piles of books were stacked up beside it and there was a note written in Spike's handwriting resting on her plate:
Dear Twilight, with everything going on at the moment you are forgetting to eat and I forgot to remind you of it. I picked and assembled every book I could find that may be interesting for you because of the hearing tomorrow so you don't have the need to look for books as an excuse not to eat! Don't you dare not to eat when you get back here! Even Princess Celestia has to eat! I went to sleep already, but feel free to wake me when you got to send that letter to Celestia we talked about before. Your number one assistant Spike
Twilight smiled at the letter fondly and almost instantly had to think of Mr. Rich and Swallowtail. If anypony accused Spike of a crime, she was sure she would defend him just like Mr. Rich protected Swallowtail. She forced herself to brush the thought away. Spike had a point. She had to eat.
During the supper Twilight couldn't keep herself from taking a look at the books Spike had assembled. There was an overview of the main concepts and legal basics which the laws in Equestria were founded upon, a standard code of law, a history of famous court cases with a special focus on those with an unexpected turnout, there was a book titled "100 dodges and pettifoggeries that really work!" that made Twilight frown a little as it read like a guidebook for petty criminals, and a collection of the most famous speeches held in court. While she was still eating, Twilight also started taking some notes of the facts which proved Frank couldn't have committed the crime while on the other side of the same sheet of paper she wrote down the points that were likely to be brought up against him. If she could deconstruct some, or better still, all of those points, there was not a chance the hearing could result in anything but an acquittal of Frank, even if she wouldn't be able to present the real thief. Thinking over the facts and cautious not to come up with another rash accusation, Twilight doubted she would be able to present the real culprit by tomorrow noon. There was also the chance that Twilight had never ever even seen the thief, a possibility she considered much more likely than the possibility that anyone from Ponyville could be behind it.
As Twilight finished the meal, she sighed partly of relief— she really felt like Spike had saved her life —and partly because she remembered her promise and the task she was much less eager to take on than the preparations for the court case. There was no excuse for procrastinating the letter to Princess Celestia any longer though. Twilight didn't bother with narrative style, flowers of speech or rhetorics in this letter. She just told the facts and didn't equivocate or make any excuses about her failure about Swallowtail. She abstained from any self-pitying laments about that failure too. She just wrote what there was to be told. When Twilight had finished, she couldn't help but notice that this was easily the most factual and least elegant letter she had ever written to the princess. She had added a wish of good luck to Celestia for her own investigations, but it sounded rather formulaic. She hoped that the princess would understand and not mistake the curtness and bluntness of the letter for impoliteness on her part. Twilight put the letter down on the table. She would ask Spike to send it first thing in the morning, but there would be little point in waking him up now. Celestia was not in Canterlot and would probably not read the letter until tomorrow anyway. Twilight reached for one of the law books again, but paused in midmotion.
All of a sudden she felt uncomfortable as if she was being watched. "Spike?" she asked. She had spoken quietly, but in the silence of the library the sound of her own voice seemed almost deafening to her... but so seemed the silence that followed. Twilight cast an insecure look around. She didn't know what was wrong, but something felt amiss... oppressive. Even though the night was so warm she had kept all windows open, she was shivering suddenly. She cast her head around, half expecting to see someone standing behind her, but no one was there. Twilight upbraided herself. Was she getting paranoid? She had spent many evenings working on her own in the library, but never ever had she felt so uneasy here. So alone and yet as if she was being watched.
There was a scratching sound. It was very quiet, but it gave Twilight such a surge of adrenaline that she whirled around and almost screamed even though there was nothing there to scream about. An owl was perched on the windowsill. It wasn't Owlowiscious. This owl was larger, but unlike her always helpful pet, this owl didn't sport any ear tufts. Her plumage was of a different shade of brown, except for the face that was shining white in such a sharp contrast to the rest of the plumage that it looked as if the deep black eyes were eyeing her through the holes of a mask. A barn owl, Twilight recognized. When she had adopted Owlowiscious, she had read a book on ornithology with a focus on the different species of owls. Back then Applejack had told her that, living up to its name, a barn owl was nesting in the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe this was the very same owl Applejack had been talking about back then. The bird was eyeing her curiously. Twilight calmed down from the fright and uttered a sigh of relief. Maybe she really got too worked up about everything and it would probably be a good idea to call it a day, get some sleep and resume her preparations for the hearing in the morning. She gave the owl a little nod and turned towards the stairs leading up to the bedroom.
There was a shriek and a hoot. Unlike the quiet sounds she had heard before, these sounds were really loud and they gave Twilight such a fright that she couldn't suppress a scream as she whirled around and beheld an unlikely scene. Owlowiscious had pounced on to the barn owl. Twilight hadn't seen him before and couldn't even tell if her owl had been in the room all along or if he had only just flown through the window. In any case there he was on the larger barn owl, his talons dug into her plumage and he was fiercely pecking at the other bird's head. The barn owl however was not just bigger but also clearly stronger. She was fiercely struggling back and raised her own talons.
"Asunder!" screamed Twilight and produced a ball of light which she flung from her horn between the two birds where it burst with a bang. With a fierce flap the barn owl dashed out of the window. Owlowiscious fluttered right behind her. Twilight cast a levitation spell trying to hold him back, but still shaking from the fright the spell missed and her owl too disappeared in the darkness outside. "Twilight!" Spike's voice sounded from the top of the stairs. "Who's there? What's wrong?" The baby dragon stood there holding a pillow raised in one of his paws as if it was a weapon to smite any intruder or attacker with.
"Owlowiscious!" Twilight shouted, ran for the door and knocked one of the books from the table as she brushed it while passing by. She almost flung the door into her own face as she magically yanked it open and jumped onto the sill. Neither Owlowiscious nor the barn owl or any other bird were to be seen on the starlit night sky. "Owlowiscious!?" Twilight called, thinking frantically, but in vain, about some spell that would help her find or return Owlowiscious here. "In the name of Celestia..." Twilight heard Spike shout as he tromped down the stairs, "...what's going on here?" "Owlowiscious is fighting with another owl!" Twilight called. "They flew away. We got to find him!" "Owlowiscious was attacked?" Spike called alarmed, jumping down the last part of the stair and was at Twilight's side at the blink of an eye. "No, he attacked the other owl." Spike gave Twilight an utterly unbelieving look. "No way, Twilight! Owlowiscious wouldn't hurt anyone!"
Even in this moment Twilight felt a little surge of joy about these words from Spike and was secretly wondering if Spike himself had noticed the irony, given the way his relationship with Owlowiscious had started out. It didn't change anything about what Twilight had seen however and wasn't helping with the fact that for all she knew he was now somewhere out in the darkness, battling a bird of prey larger than himself. "Let's go! We must find him!"
But almost the moment she said it, the search became unnecessary. Owlowiscious descended from somewhere above. He wanted to land on the sign of the library, missed it, flapped frantically but dropped anyway right into the arms of Spike who had rushed there to catch him. The owl in his arms, Spike rushed back into the library. Twilight followed him immediately. Inside, Spike put Owlowiscious on the table, fetched a bowl of water and some nibbles. Owlowiscious accepted both happily but seemed somewhat disoriented and uncoordinated. When picking for one of the morsels offered by Spike, he actually missed them several times. With a quick spell Twilight closed every window in the library and examined her owl who appeared rather confused by this attention. Some of his feathers had been ruffled quite a bit and a few actually been bent and broken. But for her great relief Twilight didn't find any scratches or cuts or other signs of a serious injury.
Owlowiscious however seemed to have mauled the other owl. There was some blood on his talons and it was not his own. Relieved as she was that her owl was not gravely injured, Twilight was very disturbed by what she had seen. Owlowisious had assailed the other owl with an aggressiveness she hadn't ever considered possible and she had no idea what could have triggered that kind of hostility at all. Much as she tried to get some answers from Owlowiscious, these attempts were not so much foiled by his inability to speak as by the fact that he seemed to be utterly confused by her questions when usually there hardly ever seemed to be anything the owl didn't understand when asked or told about.
"Just what in Equestria is wrong here in Equestria?" Twilight called out desperately. "Maybe you just need some shuteye, Twilight", Spike suggested with a yearning look towards the upper end of the stair. He was again holding his pillow in one hand. "Maybe tomorrow everything will clear up." Twilight didn't really share Spike's optimism, but he had reminded her of her own earlier resolution to call it a day. "I sure hope so, Spike. I sure hope so. Go ahead, Spike. I'll just clear things up and... oh err, since you are awake anyway, could you send this letter to Princess Celestia?" Twilight levitated the scroll towards Spike. "Sure thing", he said, grabbing the scroll. He walked over to a window, opened it and let the scroll disintegrate into a haze of green flame. He then walked up the stairs.
Twilight closed the window which Spike had left standing open. She didn't understand what had happened before, but for the time being she thought it was best when no bird could fly in nor Owlowiscious could fly out. For her surprise the owl didn't seem to have any such thoughts anyway. Perched on top of the celestial globe, he seemed to be dozing off.
"Just what in Equestria is wrong", Twilight mumbled quietly to herself and she realized that she did so in part because she wanted to avoid the silence that had so unexpectedly crept her out before. She picked up the book that she had accidentally brushed from the table before. As she did so, she couldn't help noticing a headline that caught her interest. The unusual witness – cases of non-pony witnesses as key witnesses in court cases. A sudden realization struck Twilight as she read the first few lines of the chapter and, squinting at a map of Ponyville half buried under books on another table, a triumphant smile appeared on her face.
She was walking on the page of a giant book. It was far too large for her to be able to read the words written on the yellowed paper. Twilight uttered a frustrated groan. A book she wasn't able to read was her personal idea of limbus. "Shrink it!" she thought to herself and cast the spell to do just that. The book shrank, but to such a small size that Twilight lost the ground under her hooves and was falling while a voice sounded from every direction saying:
"The party won't be ruined! This is not for you to read!" Twilight was flapping or at least she thought she was until she realized that she didn't have any wings. She rolled her eyes. A dream had to meet a higher standard of probability to scare her or make her believe it was real. This kind of nonsense was just annoying to her and she regretted that in spite of her awareness of all this being a mere dream she couldn't exert more influence on what was happening. She almost took a little offense in the fact that some corner of her organized mind produced such silly nonsense. This falling was rather boring compared to her actual fall during the flight training with Rainbow Dash during the last day. Suddenly however there was a motion at the edge of her field of vision and as she turned her head to see it, it still remained only just far enough out of her field of vision to identify it.
At the same time, Twilight felt that it was of the most urgent necessity to see and identify the vague shape that only just escaped her eye. She cast her head around frantically and pedaled with her hooves to turn around during her fall, but no matter what she did, the motion, or shape, or haze, or figure remained elusive. The more she tried to see it, the more intense became the sensation that she herself was being seen, observed even by... who or whatever it was and a sense of threat and even peril which the fall hadn't evoked began to set in. Suddenly there was another frightening thing Twilight realized. Her fall was suddenly no longer a boring drop into a never-ending void, but instead she suddenly saw treetops below and she was falling right towards them. She was screaming and kicking with all her legs.
"Spread them out!" "Rainbow Dash?" Twilight shouted. Or maybe she just thought she had shouted it. She wasn't even sure she had heard Rainbow Dash speak. Maybe it was just the memory of what she had heard her say, but in any case, Twilight suddenly noticed she had her wings back. She spread them out much like she had during her flying lesson. The air however was colder and would not carry her as much. She had to flap faster. "Rainbow?" Twilight asked again and looked around. But she didn't see her friend whom she had half hoped to unexpectedly pop up into her field of vision in midflight as Rainbow Dash so often did, both in dreams and when she was awake.
"Is anypony here?" she asked, but there was only a rather oppressive silence as she flew low over treetops with a glorious starry-sky above her. Suddenly she spotted the motion again. It was right ahead of her, in her field of vision and still it seemed blurry or too far away or both of that. Twilight accelerated her speed as much as she could. The motion was moving away from her, yet she felt that she was gaining distance. If she could get just a little closer she would see, she would recognize, she would understand all that she didn't. "Wait! You don't know what you are after!" a voice shouted. Twilight knew the voice, but didn't recognize and decided to ignore it. It was because she didn't know what she was after that she was after it in the first place. And if she could just get a little closer... Maybe if she could stop it with a levitation spell.
"Twilight Sparkle!" A booming voice sounded and something popped up in the air right in front of her. Twilight uttered a scream, tried to stop in mid-air, closed her eyes firmly, dropped, crashed through the treetops and landed on the ground. Usually this was the kind of thing that would make her wake up with a scream, but as she opened her eyes she found that she was standing on a forest floor and was obviously still in her dream. It was almost with surprise that she realized she hadn't hurt herself at all during the fall that in real life could have proven very painful, even dangerous. Twilight was looking around frantically, but didn't see the motion she had been pursuing. She spread her wings and wanted to take off to continue the chase, but before she could get off the ground, she heard the voice calling her again and she saw the owner of the voice descending through the treetops.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight called in surprise. "What are you doing here?" "We are— I am the Princess of the night and the starry-sky, raiser of the moon and guardian of dreams and I have seen the realm of your dreams before... though you may not have seen me, Twilight Sparkle." "I am sorry", Twilight said with a little bow, realizing that her question had perhaps been a bit brash and that she was probably not talking to some figure of her own imagination but to the very real Princess Luna herself. "I am surprised though not to see a single book or sheet of written paper anywhere", Princess Luna said in a tone that made it impossible to tell whether she was serious or if the remark was a joke at Twilight's expense.
"There was one. It disappeared", Twilight said. "But, Princess Luna, I was just pursuing... something when you appeared. Can you tell me what it was? I didn't recognize." Princess Luna shook her head. "It doth not work like that, Princess Twilight. I may walk in ponies' dreams and see what ails them and offer my help. But I am not making these dreams, I cannot see anything in your dream, or anypony's dream, that the dreamer could not. I cannot even see that what the dreamer, when awake, would think of as so much of a secret as to want to have it concealed from mine eyes."
Twilight sighed a little. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to recall what she had chased, but nothing appeared and her memory didn't yield anymore than the actual dream had. When she opened her eyes again, she immediately blushed. The forest had disappeared and given way to a landscape which Twilight recognized as her idea of what the surface of the moon would look like. She was mortified and frantically tried to recall the nightly forest or any surrounding other than the place of Princess Luna's thousand years lasting banishment. Much as she tried however, the moonscape remained. Princess Luna raised an eyebrow with an expression of royal decorum that Twilight doubted she would ever manage to produce on her own face. This expression could probably conceal any emotion from fury to amusement without giving the slightest clue about it away.
"I'm sorry, Princess Luna", Twilight stammered very self-conscious about her faux-pas. "I see", Luna just said and, remembering her earlier explanation, Twilight wondered if perhaps the moonscape which she would have wanted to conceal from Luna's view had become visible to her only through her apology. Perhaps she should talk to Luna in a less embarrassing situation about her ability to wander in ponies' dreams, for Twilight found this quite interesting. Come to think of it, she thought that perhaps she should try to talk to Luna in general. She knew her so much less than her elder sister Celestia. But with all her worries about how to come to terms with her new role as a princess and Princess Luna's own difficulties in resuming that role after a thousand years of banishment and being the subject of many spine-chiller stories, there might be a common link for them. Something where they could both help and learn from each other.
"It doth bother you that much, Twilight?" Luna asked and her voice sounded much less regal and much more compassionate now. Twilight was looking up in surprise and realized that the surroundings had changed once again. They were standing in a throne room. The grandeur of the room was dazzling to the point of being intimidating. More intimidating still were the dimensions however. The entrance gates and the stairs to the throne seemed to be set at opposite horizons. The pillars supporting an open sky sized ceiling had the dimensions of mountains and the steps leading up to the over-sized throne were each so high that it would be impossible to ascend without flying. In the proportions of this room Twilight felt like some tiny bug that would not even be noticed if it crawled through the halls of Canterlot. With her knowledge of dreams Twilight didn't doubt that Princess Luna was quite capable of drawing correct conclusions from the images.
Twilight nodded and avoided Luna's look. "It is still all so sudden. I hadn't seen it coming. I mean I am just... a student. I'm trying to live up to Celestia but everypony keeps telling me that I should not. But I just want to be good at what is expected from me. I want to be a good Princess. I—" "Tell me, Twilight Sparkle. Do you want to be good at what is expected from you? Or do you want to be a good Princess?" Twilight opened her mouth, closed it again, opened it, closed it again and didn't say anything. "Both?" she finally tried, feeling like she was failing an important test. Luna was looking at her again with a solemn expression that could conceal any kind of emotion. "Sometimes my sister has very high expectations. She always has very high expectations of herself. When she sent you to the Chrystal Empire, Twilight Sparkle, I doubted the wisdom of her decision. I asked her to come with you to face king Sombra; but she would not have it so. I thought that she was asking too much of you."
Twilight remembered the day when Princess Celestia had given her the task to protect the Crystal Empire. She remembered the look Princess Luna had given her back then. A look which had seemed doubtful, almost contemptuous, even hostile to her and which had sent an icy shiver down her spine back then. "I was wrong", Luna continued. "You exceeded all my expectations." Twilight was not sure if perhaps she should feel a little offended about that. "But remember, Twilight Sparkle, how you did. It was only when you gave up on the idea of having to do it all by yourself... only after you decided to act against the explicit instruction of my sister that you succeeded. That you even could succeed at all."
Twilight was feeling uncomfortable. "Princess Luna, what are you telling me?" "Only that you should stop feeling that ponies were disesteeming you every time they tell you not to try to be my sister. They are not telling you to settle for something lower or to strive for something higher. They only tell you to remain Twilight and not try to be another pony, whatever new title has been bestowed upon you." Twilight thought she understood what Luna was trying to tell her, but at the same time a part of her revolted against it.
"But Princess, do you know how much I failed today? How I accused an innocent pony of a crime and caused so much distress for him. I wrote to your sister about it. Did you read it?" Princess Luna raised an eyebrow and seemed slightly huffy when she responded: "I may act as my sister in Canterlot during her absence which includes the handling of official correspondence. But I do not consider myself entitled to read her private mail." Once again Twilight felt she had committed a faux pas. Just why did she drop every clanger available when talking to Princess Luna? "I'm very sorry! I just don't know... everything seems to go so wrong. Princesses don't make such terrible blunders!"
"Twilight Sparkle", Luna's voice sounded more solemn now than it ever had. "Look at me!" Twilight was looking at the Princess of the night who stood right in front of her now. "Look into my eyes and repeat what you just said!" Everything but Luna seemed to spin around Twilight and she was so embarrassed now that she began to wonder if it was possible to swoon in a dream just to get out of this embarrassment. Here she stood and told Princess Luna, whose mistakes had let her be dominated by the fearful Nightmare Moon for a thousand years, that princesses didn't make such terrible blunders as to suspect the wrong pony of a theft.
Twilight couldn't stand her look anymore and cast her eyes down. Princess Luna in turn didn't press her command. She was apparently satisfied that she had gotten her point concerning the infallibility of princesses across. "Twilight...", she said, her voice sounding more gentle again. "...you will be... There are...", she sighed and shook her head slightly. "Princess Luna?" Twilight asked confused. The princess of the night shook her head once again. "Never mind." There was a long moment of silence. "Thank you", Twilight said finally. "For coming here, I mean."
"You are welcome, Twilight Sparkle", Princess Luna said in a somewhat official tone. "But I did not originally come to talk about these matters." "You did not?" Twilight asked surprised. "The official correspondence I dealt with informed me about the events here in Ponyville which I presume you wrote about in the letter to my sister. I am to send an escort in case the hearing tomorrow results in Mr. Blanket being sent to Canterlot for further investigations." "I do hope that won't be necessary", Twilight said. "I'm sure he didn't steal that money." Once again Luna gave her an expressionless look that could conceal any kind of thought or emotion.
"I once met him in Canterlot's royal library", Princess Luna said. "He had good manners and I found his research topics intriguing. It was I who suggested to my sister that, given your recent experiences, a visit to you and your friends might be more fruitful for his research than the halls of the library." Twilight was surprised to hear this. She hadn't been aware of any academic interest of Luna and once again she noticed how little she knew about Celestia's younger sister. "I have since visited some of his dreams. I shall not tell about his dreams same as I shall not talk about anypony's dreams to anypony except the dreamer. But when I wanted to visit him just before I came here, his dream suddenly ended."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked confused. "Did he wake up?" "No, he did not. You notice when a dreamer wakes up, you can even make them wake up. But one moment he was dreaming and the next moment there suddenly was no dream anymore. There was nothing there. Not him, nor anypony or anything else either. Just a void. I have never seen... or not seen... anything like this before." Hearing this gave Twilight such a fright that she could only barely cling to her dream rather than waking up. "Luna! Do you mean he died?" Twilight cried. But Princess Luna shook her head again. "For more than thousand years I have been visiting dreams. Many more dreams than can be dreamed in the lifetime of a pony. And in this time, I have also sometimes accompanied ponies on their final dream up to the parting point where no living pony can follow."
A cold shiver ran down Twilight's spine. "This was not the ending of a dream at the threshold to... the other. To me it seemed much more uncanny and I cannot tell you what it means. I just thought that you should know this. But this is all that I can tell you." Twilight gave Princess Luna a blank look, not knowing what to make of what she had told her. "I will go now, Twilight Sparkle", Luna said. "Dawn is not afar. I wish for you to dream what dreams you would like to dream till then." Princess Luna spread her wings, but before she disappeared, she turned her head one last time. "Twilight, my moon is not quite as desolate as your dream makes it out to be." With that the Princess turned her head forward again and was gone.
Twilight took a deep breath when she entered the town hall. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Spike were with her and a sleeping, ruffled-looking Owlowiscious was perched on her back. After she had gotten up not long after Luna had left her dream, Twilight had continued to study the books Spike had assembled for her and she had continued her notes on the case. She was rather confident that with what she had, nopony could seriously believe that Frank had committed the crime. It was less than half an hour till noon and Twilight hoped that she would get the chance to have a word with Frank before the start of the hearing.
When she walked in through the door, she stopped dead in her tracks. She had expected there would be some interest in this hearing, but she had not expected a crowd comparable to that of the party two days ago. Even many of the young fillies were present since school had been canceled today and Miss Cheerilee and Big MacIntosh were among the few who were absent. Twilight spotted Mr. Rich and Diamond Tiara in the crowd. He was looking better than he had when she had last seen him, but his face remained icy, when he noticed her and gave her a curt nod. Rarity too was already there and waved them from her place close to the stage. On the stage itself Twilight saw Mayor Mare, Featherscribe and Lady Justice, a green colored, brown maned earth pony with a gavel for a cutie mark. They were talking with rather grave, in case of Featherscribe even angry, looks. Twilight let Spike take the drowsy Owlowiscious from her back, then she walked through an aisle between the crowd towards the stage while the others went over to Rarity.
As she went, Twilight caught many snippets of conversations related to the subject of the hearing. Some of them were wild speculations, but it seemed that some ponies were quite well informed. Twilight overheard some ponies talking about Mr. Rich's loss of memory and Miss Cheerilee's similar loss of memory was mentioned too. Twilight returned greetings offered to her on the way, but guarded against being drawn into any chat or gossiping.
"Good day, Mayor Mare, Lady Justice, Featherscribe!" Twilight greeted the assembled ponies when she reached the stage, giving each one of them a nod. "Ah, hello Princess Twilight", Mayor Mare said, returning the nod with a somewhat deeper bow. "Good to see you." She was doing her best to put a good face on things but it was quite obvious that she wasn't at ease. "Princess Twilight...", Lady Justice said with a friendly but businesslike tone, "...am I correct in understanding that you have been conducting investigations on the matters at hoof and intend to speak on behalf of Mr. Blanket?" "That is correct", Twilight confirmed. "I've got to admit that I have never been to any trial before. Is there anything in particular that I have got to keep in mind?" "Nothing really but the basics of civil conduct...", Lady Justice said with an encouraging smile, "...which I think we have come used to from everypony. There shouldn't be any problem there." Featherscribe gave an audible snort.
"You disagree, Featherscribe?" Lady Justice asked with a tone of surprised interest. "I don't", Featherscribe said. "But if it wasn't for the lack of some basic civil conduct on the part of somepony, there wouldn't be this trial in the first place!" Twilight was surprised about the severity of Featherscribe's tone and she remembered that today he was to be the prosecutor. "Technically this is not a trial", Lady Justice said calmly. "I am not to decide a verdict today on whether or not Mr. Blanket is guilty or not; unless of course in case of absolute and irrefutable evidence to the one or the other. But even then, I am not entitled to impose a sentence of any legal sanctions against Mr. Blanket today. The purpose of this hearing is rather to determine whether or not an actual trial will be necessary or if the evidence gathered so far is too slim for that. In this case Mr. Blanket will be permitted to leave after the hearing. But if the evidence is deemed sufficient to base a strong suspicion or even a conviction on, he will remain in custody to be brought to Canterlot where an actual trial is then to be held."
Twilight nodded and then asked: "Is everyone present entitled to testify if his or her testimony is relevant to the case?" "Of course", Lady Justice confirmed. "I will be moderating the proceedings and may admit the floor to everypony who asks to speak." Twilight nodded again. "Shall I get the defendant?" Featherscribe asked. Mayor Mare and Lady Justice both cast a look at a large hourglass that stood in one corner. The sand from the upper glass bulb had almost completely run into the lower one. "Yes", Mayor Mare sighed. "I guess there is no point in delaying this." "I would like to come along", Twilight said quickly as Featherscribe set in motion. "As you wish", he said with a shrug and headed for the stairs. Twilight followed right behind him. Featherscribe set a quick pace, only just short of a jog trot, that didn't allow for any talking during the ascend. Twilight was frowning slightly. She was even more surprised however when they reached the stairs below the storeroom in which Frank was.
"Bulk Biceps?" she called out in surprise. The unusually muscular white stallion stood at the base of the stairs, looking a bit lost but giving Twilight a smile when he saw her. "He agreed to guard Mr. Blanket this morning and during the hearing", Featherscribe said as he ascended the stairs to the hatch. Twilight followed him up to the storeroom. Frank was writing something on his saddle-bag escritoire as they entered. Some books and folders were stacked up beside him. He looked up as Featherscribe and Twilight entered through the hatch and put down his quill. The colt was looking a bit bleary-eyed.
"Ah, good morning", he said. "Is it time already?" "Come down, Mr. Blanket!" Featherscribe said. "Take your saddle-bags and follow us!" Frank hastily folded up the escritoire and picked up the bags. He was looking self-consciously at the books and folders still lying around. "Uhm, I think I should clear this up..." he said. "You can do so when you get back here", Featherscribe said. "If he does get back here!" Twilight said sharply. Frank looked at them a little confused. Featherscribe descended through the hatch without another word.
"Are you alright?" Twilight asked as Frank came closer. "A bit tired", he admitted. "I don't think I slept very well." Twilight thought of what Princess Luna had told her. "Did you have a bad dream?" Frank shook his head. "I don't remember. Maybe I'm just not used to sleeping in an actual bed anymore", he said with a sheepish smile, but it looked rather forced. "Are you coming?" Featherscribe called from below. Frank paused for a little moment when he beheld Bulk Biceps at the base of the stairs. Standing beside and walking in front of him on the stairs to the large hall, Frank looked almost a bit fragile. When he saw the large crowd in the hall, he paused again.
"So many!" he said more to himself than to Twilight, who was walking in front of him. Frank seemed uncharacteristically self-conscious even a bit scared about the hearing now. "Come on, Frank", Twilight said, putting as much confidence in her voice as she could muster and proceeded on to the stage where Mayor Mare and Lady Justice were waiting. As she walked onto the stage and cast a look to the front row, Twilight noticed with some consternation that Fluttershy was still not there. Maybe she was just late, but usually Fluttershy was so embarrassed about being late that she tended to come earlier than necessary to any meetings agreed upon. With a painful sting Twilight remembered that they hadn't parted in peace and harmony the previous evening. Her own misery and concern about Frank's impending hearing had perhaps kept her from giving Fluttershy the attention she would have given her under other circumstances. The others had clearly noticed this too, were talking among each other and Rainbow Dash in particular was looking rather unhappy.
Mayor Mare opened the proceedings with a short summary of the theft, the survey among ponies who had been on the party two days ago, the town laws that had provided the basis for Frank's detainment and the purpose of the hearing. She stuck strictly to facts, forbearing any evaluation or judgment. She then introduced Lady Justice as the judge, Featherscribe as the prosecutor and Twilight as a counsel for the defense. At last she turned to Frank, asking him to confirm his identity, which he did, sounding almost mechanically while he let his look wander along the rows of the audience.
"Mr. Blanket...", Mayor Mare said finally, "...you have heard the suspicions raised against you. Are you guilty or not guilty of these charges?" Frank gave her a short look and was visibly pulling himself together when he spoke up: "I have said it before and I say it again. I did not steal Mr. Rich's money. I hadn't stolen it by the time I was detained and I haven't stolen this money or anything else either since I was locked up!" There was some restrained laughter from the audience. Nothing in Frank's expression or tone however suggested that his words had been a deliberate attempt at a joke. Mayor Mare nodded slightly. "The defendant pleads not guilty", she repeated to a young unicorn clerk who stood beside the stage and took notes of the proceedings. Lady Justice turned towards Twilight and, speaking up loud enough so she could be understood by everyone in the hall, she said: "Since we have heard the accusation, the defense now has the floor. Princess Twilight, what can you say on behalf of the defendant in response to the charges raised against him?"
Twilight took a deep breath as she stepped forward. "First of all I want to call the fact to everypony's attention that Mr. Blanket is standing this hearing by his own decision. When he was remanded yesterday, it happened solely on the basis of the old town law and there was nothing more speaking against Mr. Blanket than the fact that he is not from Ponyville and that he left the party by himself and hadn't been seen by anypony after that. Given this feeble base for an accusation, Mayor Mare pointed out that my vote of confidence on his behalf would have allowed him to walk out freely. Before I could even make a decision, Mr. Blanket himself refused this possibility since he felt that a single pony should not be able to override the laws agreed upon by many." A murmur was running through the rows of the assembled ponies.
"Before he was remanded...", Twilight continued, "...Mr. Blanket had spent the whole morning in the company of me and my friends on the green, interviewing us for his research on cutie marks to which he is most dedicated. If Mr. Rich's money was stolen yesterday evening after the party as we assume, it would have left Mr. Blanket an entire night and almost half a day to try to escape from any persecution. He did not make even the slightest attempt however to leave the town at any point. When Mayor Mare told us about the theft, he appeared every bit as surprised as anypony about this. Mr. Blanket's lack of a permanent residence and considerable financial means have also been brought up as circumstantial evidence for a possible motive. Nothing in Mr. Blanket's attitude supports such an estimation of his character—"
"Any thief who isn't a total fool would act surprised when confronted with the crime!" Featherscribe interjected. "Every thief with but a little intelligence would know that a getaway right after the crime would preclude any attempts at pretending innocence!" "Mr. Featherscribe...", Lady Justice said with an admonishing tone, "...I didn't give you the floor yet. It is most uncomely to interrupt the speaker during a hearing." "I apologize", Featherscribe said. "I just want to ask the defense to stick to facts rather than wild speculations about the character of the defendant. If I am not very mistaken, nopony here has known him before his arrival in Ponyville two days ago. Or is there any substance at all to rumors and gossips which I myself picked up during the party according to which your acquaintance with Mr. Blanket was... closer than that of an acquaintance made just hours before, that would allow for estimations of Mr. Blanket's character to be more than mere speculation?"
"What in Equestria are you talking about?" Twilight asked irritated. Even as she said it, she felt it had been a mistake to ask this. In one of the books about court-cases she had studied there had been mention of provoking the opposite party into questions as a common trick to gain the floor and undermining their points even while they were still being made. "Now, I do not think it is necessary go into this in any detail, but the word colt-friend was circulating during the party and—" There was a frustrated shout from the front ranks of the audience and Rainbow Dash swung herself up so she hovered at the same level as the stage. "That was just me bridle gossiping! I was just teasing Twilight a little over a mug of cider and having a little joke. There's nothing to it!" There was a loud murmur all through the ranks and Lady Justice struck a gavel onto a wooden pedestal several times as a call for silence.
Frank took a step forward and with a slight bow to Lady Justice he asked: "May I speak to clear this up?" After the interjections by Featherscribe and Rainbow Dash, Lady Justice seemed to appreciate the courtesy of being asked for her permission to speak and gave her agreement with a nod. Turning towards the audience, Frank said: "I have never even seen Princess Twilight until the morning two days ago. She has been a very kind and welcoming host, as kind and welcoming as the entire town of Ponyville has been to me that day." He took a little bow towards the audience. "But that is all there is. Princess Twilight and I haven't known each other before and there is no relationship of any sort between us that would impede the objectivity of her judgment about me."
"What is he saying?" a little filly asked one of her parents so loudly that everyone was hearing it, causing some laughter in the hall. Even Frank mustered a feeble smile and said to the filly: "I'm saying that Princess Twilight...", he hesitated and seemed a bit embarrassed or at a loss for words or both of that, "...that Princess Twilight and I are not so good friends that she would think I didn't steal the money just because of that instead of actual evidence that I did not steal that money." Twilight couldn't tell for certain if there was an inkling of regret in Frank's voice or if perhaps that inkling of regret was her own.
"So we are to understand that any estimation of the princess of Mr. Blanket's character is based on a two days superficial acquaintance", Featherscribe stated, turned towards the clerk who was scribbling frantically. "An entirely uncritical evaluation of his character by the Princess is therefore of little evidentiary value in this hearing." "She's not uncritical!" Applejack shouted angrily from the lower ranks. Featherscribe turned towards her, but before he could say anything, Lady Justice was beating the pedestal fiercely with the gavel several times and for the first time she raised her voice to the imposing tone that made clear to every pony that she was in charge of the proceedings: "Enough! I know that few ponies here in Ponyville have attended any legal hearing before, but I'll have you all know that a hearing is not a fair! Those who wish to speak will signal this intention and speak when granted the floor! I will not have any further interruptions!"
The silence in the hall was so thorough that one could have heard a pin drop. Lady Justice granted herself a satisfied smile and pointed at Twilight with the gavel: "Please, Princess, proceed with your statements!" Twilight took a deep breath while she picked up the thread again. The interruption and the unexpected turn of the debate had somewhat distracted her. Above all she was surprised about the zeal exhibited by Featherscribe. She had been under the impression that Featherscribe himself had been convinced of Frank's innocence and she had therefore not expected for the hearing to be as confrontational as it had been so far. Calming herself, she spoke up again: "First of all I want to remind everypony that it is common practice in Celestia's realm that the guilt rather than the innocence of a pony has to be proven in a court and so far nothing at all has been brought up here that would prove any guilt of Mr. Blanket. The old town law is in stark contrast to the principle on which laws are enacted all over Equestria. When this hearing is over, I strongly advocate an examination of the town laws to make sure that actual evidence is necessary to remand a pony in the first place. Mr. Featherscribe has asked to stick to facts before bringing up the rumors and gossip. Very well, I will give you some facts that will prove Mr. Blanket can't have committed the crime. Mr. Blanket, have you ever been to Ponyville before?"
Frank shook his head: "No, I haven't." "Do you know where Mr. Rich is living?" "No, I don't." "I want to stress the fact that up to this point Mr. Blanket doesn't even know where to look for the site of the crime that he is supposed to have committed!"
"That's what he says", Featherscribe said, loud enough to be heard but too quietly for it to be considered an interruption. "A crucial point is that the detainment of Frank... Mr. Blanket I mean, was based on was the assumption that nobody saw him after he left the party and that therefore he lacked an alibi for the probable time of the theft." Mayor Mare looked up in surprise. "But isn't that so, Princess Twilight?" she asked. "Mr. Blanket himself confirmed to us that he didn't see anypony after he left the party." "And he didn't", Twilight confirmed with a confident smile. "But he was seen. Not by anypony exactly, but I can present you a witness who has seen Mr. Blanket after the party and can confirm his whereabouts after he left there. Spike, would you please bring our witness up to the stage?" Spike had just waited for his cue. With a few quick steps he entered the stage, holding the witness perched on his stretched out arm. "Fillies and gentle-colts, may I present you the witness I was talking about? His name is Owlowiscious."
"Is this a joke?" Featherscribe called fiercely. "Your pet owl? Is this some display of contempt for the court?" "Princess Twilight, this is a rather unusual call", Lady Justice said with her eyebrows raised. "Unusual but not unheard-of", Twilight pointed out. "There have been a number of legal cases in Equestrian history in which the testimony of non-ponies without the ability to speak common language have been regarded even to the point of determining the sentence." "It is true that there have been such special cases", Lady Justice confirmed. "And you think that your owl can give a testimony relevant and sufficiently clear and unambiguous?" "He is smart enough to help me in the library, finding books I am asking for. You may put him to the test. Owlowiscious...", Twilight said, turning towards her owl. "Please give us one hoot for 'yes' and two hoots for 'no', did you understand?" Owlowiscious gave an affirmative hoot. "Owlowiscious, can you land on the pedestal beside me?" Lady Justice said, making sure to neither look at, nor indicate the pedestal in any other way. Owlowiscious hooted once and as he did so spread his wings. A moment later he landed on the very pedestal Lady Justice had spoken of.
"He doesn't have any difficulties recognizing ponies either. Owlowiscious, please land on Featherscribe's head." "Oh no!" Featherscribe said, spreading his wings in a defensive gesture while backing away towards a curtain. "Pick somepony else for that!" Twilight shrugged. "Would you like to pick somepony? Just so you see I am not giving any secret clues with my commands?" "Owlowiscious, fly to Frank Blanket!" Featherscribe said, looking at the crowd. Owlowiscious flapped over to Frank who offered his head as a perch.
"We can admit this witness", Lady Justice decided. "But Princess Twilight, how did you learn your owl saw Mr. Blanket as you say he did that night?" "After I got home myself, some time after Mr. Blanket had left the party, I was talking to him. I was wondering out aloud where Mr. Blanket had set up his tent. When he heard this, Owlowiscious indicated the spot on a map that was lying around. I then checked out from the library's balcony and sure enough the tent was right where Owlowiscious had pointed on the map. He must have seen how Frank... Mr. Blanket, I mean, set it up. Isn't that so, Owlowiscious?" The owl gave an affirmative hoot.
"Did Mr. Blanket see you too?" Twilight asked. Owlowiscious didn't give a clear response but spread his wings in a rather clear imitation of a shrug. "He did not", Frank commented dryly, pulling a sardonic face. "He was rather tired that evening and got to sleep as soon as he had his tent set up." "And you, owl, are certain that it was Mr. Blanket whom you saw?" Featherscribe asked, earning himself an affirmative hoot from Owlowiscious. "No chance at all it could have been a different pony?" A denying double hoot came from Owlowiscious who also hopped from Frank's head onto one of the saddle-bags and pecked the unmistakable hat that was attached to it.
"Now seriously, Featherscribe...", Twilight said, "...who else do you think would walk out on the green at night wearing Mr. Blanket's hat to set up Mr. Blanket's tent?" The pointed question provoked some laughter from the audience, causing Featherscribe to give a conceding wave with one hoof. "And this...", Twilight added, granting herself a triumphant smile, "...rebuts one of the main reasons for Mr. Blanket's detainment. Contrary to what was known at the time, he does have an alibi for the time after leaving the party. I was back at the library less than an hour after Mr. Blanket had left. There is no way he could have headed to Mr. Rich's place, the location of which is unknown to him, commit the theft, head out for the green, set up the tent and get to sleep in such a short time."
"Fair enough, Princess Twilight", Featherscribe said. "Though we only got the defendant's own word that he was asleep at the time. While we presume it most likely that the theft was committed in the absence of Mr. Rich, the possibility remains that it was committed later throughout the night. Did you, owl, guard Mr. Blanket's tent for the rest of the night?" Owlowiscious uttered two hoots. "Mr. Blanket couldn't have committed the theft", Twilight insisted. "Nopony could have done it without the use of magic." As she spoke the last words she was looking directly at Mr. Rich and hoped that he understood the reference of her words to Swallowtail as well.
"The thief stole no less than six bags of golden bits, each of which so heavy that they are very difficult to lift. Almost nopony could possibly lift six of these bags, so a thief without the ability to use magic would have had to return several times. This would take long, require the thief to break into the house more than once and there is hardly a chance for this to go unnoticed. Moreover, if lifted rather than magically levitated the money bags will give a noisy clinking which would definitely be heard and draw the attention of anypony in the house. I got to admit right away that I cannot present you whoever stole the money, but whoever did must have been able to use magic. Mr. Blanket however, as everypony can see, is an earth pony and incapable of using magic. There is no way he could have done it."
Again, a murmur ran through the rows of assembled ponies and Twilight took a deep breath. Her logic was irrefutable. She felt that the points concerning the necessity of using magic had convinced more ponies than Owlowiscious' testimony had. "Did Mr. Rich lose his memory because of magic too?" the earth pony Bon Bon called from one of the rows.
Twilight was somewhat caught off guard by the question. It appeared Dr. Horse's estimation that Medical confidentiality didn't mean much in Ponyville was quite true. For the sake of discretion and also because of her intention not to spill the beans about the possible threat of a powerful but unknown and elusive magic attacker, Twilight hadn't really planned to address this point at all. But everypony in the hall was looking at her expectantly now and there was no way to just dodge the question. She cast an apologetic look at Mr. Rich. He looked somewhat resigned.
"Hmm... since many of you seem to have heard about it anyway, Mr. Rich did lose some of his memory to the day before yesterday and yes, it is possible, likely even, that this was the result of an abuse of magic." "What about Miss Cheerilee?" the same filly who had not understood Frank before called out loud. "I heard she lost her memory too! Was she also attacked by the one who attacked Mr. Rich?" The silence after this question was absolute and everypony was staring at Twilight now. With a little fright she realized that her role had switched all of a sudden. These ponies were no longer listening to a counsel for the defense in a hearing and they were no longer listening for the sake of something to gossip about. These ponies were now listening to their princess and they wanted to know about a threat that concerned all of them. Twilight knew that a lot depended on her next words. The last thing she wanted was a panic about a menace that nopony could identify at this time. She walked up to the edge of the stage and let her look wander along the rows of the assembled ponies, looking them straight into their eyes, hoping that she herself looked as calm and confident as she hoped for the ponies assembled to remain.
"It is possible and even probable", she said. "We do not know yet who did it, but we will do everything we can to find out and stop this. Everypony should stay calm and not allow for fear to get the better of us. There is no need to panic or to lock yourselves up or anything of that sort. It may be a good idea, however, to avoid staying by yourselves for the time being."
Once again murmuring was running through the rows. Twilight was relieved that there wasn't any kind of overreaction. Her recommendation to avoid staying by themselves had been a spontaneous intuition, but one that Twilight felt made sense under the given circumstances. For the moment the ponies present seemed to have completely forgotten about the hearing. When Twilight turned back she noticed that Mayor Mare and Lady Justice didn't look any less concerned than some ponies in the audience. Frank rubbed his forehead with one hoof as if he had a headache. Featherscribe's forehead was all frowns. He turned towards Lady Justice and said: "Your honor, I think everypony is somewhat distracted now. I got some questions to the defense and also would like to present some points so far not addressed to the court. Maybe there is time for a short intermission for everypony to get focused again before we proceed?" Lady Justice nodded.
"Princess Twilight...", she said loud enough to silence ponies in the hall even without using her gavel, "...is there anything more you would like to add at this point?" Twilight thought for a moment but then slowly shook her head. "Not now. I agree with Featherscribe that a short break may be a good idea." "We interrupt the hearing and will proceed in five minutes!" Lady Justice proclaimed and struck the pedestal with the gavel again.
Instantly the murmuring started again, louder now than it had ever been during the hearing itself. It filled the hall like the humming of a huge swarm of bees. Twilight was rather relieved that the ponies were talking among themselves rather than assailing her with questions, many of which she probably would have been unable to answer. She walked to the edge of the stage where Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity stood. Spike was following her and hesitantly, as if worried it might be misinterpreted as an attempt to escape, Frank approached too. Owlowiscious was still seated on his back.
"That was great, Twilight!" Spike called as he caught up to her. "No way they could not release Frank after this!" "And the party can begin!" Pinkie Pie agreed with a broad smile. "Yes, but what's the matter with old Featherscribe?" Rainbow Dash asked with a frown. "Doing his job is one thing, but doesn't he seem a little overeager to you?" Twilight too had been surprised about the grim vehemence of Featherscribe and she somehow couldn't help having a bad feeling about what he would do next. No doubt, the matter of the money bag in Frank's sleeping back would be discussed. Twilight was prepared to present it as the framing attempt which she was convinced it was, but somehow she felt as if there was something she had overlooked or didn't know about.
"Perhaps he wishes to make a mark as a lawyer to somehow boost his career?" Rarity suggested quietly. "I mean, winning a court case in which a princess of Equestria is representing the other party is something that might get him some attention." "Featherscribe never seemed eager for another job to me", Applejack said. Twilight shrugged. "Princess Twilight...", Frank said quietly enough so no other bystander could overhear it, "...what you just said... do you expect that there will be more attacks by... that attacker?" "I hope not, but I guess it is for the better everypony knows at least that there is that possibility. It may make it more difficult for that attacker." "Frank, are you alright?" Rarity asked. "You look...", she hesitated. "Terrible?" Applejack suggested. Rarity gave Applejack a frown, but 'terrible' was probably the word she would have tried to euphemize.
"I don't feel very good", Frank admitted. "Stage-fright?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Rainbow!" Twilight admonished her. "This is not some kind of performance show! Even you wouldn't feel well on this stage in that role!" Frank shook his head. "That's not it. I don't know... just don't feel very good. Didn't sleep very well. A bit of a headache. Never mind." He mustered a smile.
Twilight remembered the tired appearance of Frank up in the storeroom but down here in the better lit hall she also noticed he was looking rather pale. She was almost certain that this had something to do with what Luna had told her during the night, but she felt that this was nothing to be discussed or figured out during the short break of the hearing. "Is Fluttershy not here?" Frank asked as he looked at the others. "Oh, I didn't have a chance to tell you before you were on the stage, Twilight", Rarity said. "I went to Fluttershy's place before I came here to pick her up. She is very sorry, but she says there is a real emergency with her feathered friends and she cannot leave them alone."
"An emergency?" Pinkie Pie shouted, causing Twilight to hush her with a quick spell. She didn't want to permit Pinkie to start the kind of panic she had been relieved hadn't come up after her previous revelations. Some nearby ponies were looking their way, but in this moment there was the loud sound of Lady Justice's gavel on the pedestal again, calling for the continuation of the hearing. "Good luck", Applejack said to Twilight and Frank as they turned back towards the middle of the stage.
It was Featherscribe's turn to present evidence for the persecution. Twilight had expected he would start by referring to the part of the booty found in Frank's sleeping bag, but instead he began by referring to Twilight's previous statements. "Princess Twilight...", he began, "...you have made a very convincing case that the theft could not have been committed without the use of magic. I don't know a lot about magic myself, but aren't there some items which allow for magic to be used by ponies who would not usually be capable of this?" "What do you mean?" Twilight asked, but she asked mostly to gain a little more time to prepare a response, for she had a good idea of what Featherscribe had in mind.
"For example, there was the wandering magician Trixie whose recent visit to Ponyville everypony here will remember. She was using an amulet giving her magic powers she would not have been able to use normally." "Yes, but Trixie is a unicorn who is generally able to use magic and whose abilities were just enhanced by the amulet." "So any such magical items would be useless to anypony who isn't a unicorn and capable of using magic anyway?"
"No...", Twilight admitted hesitantly. The Elements of Harmony were of course one rather unusual example of magical items allowing her non-unicorn friends to act a kind of magic that even Twilight herself didn't understand to the last detail. However, she had heard of other examples which were probably more of the kind that Featherscribe was thinking of. "Like I said, I don't know very much about magic myself, but the levitation spell that would be necessary to lift the bags of money and do so without making the coins clink is a very basic form of magic that can be practiced by almost every unicorn and that doesn't take as much practice as some other spells, isn't it?"
"It depends a bit on what is levitated, how heavy it is, how large it is and how far it is from the pony using the spell; but yes, levitation is usually considered basic magic among unicorns." Featherscribe nodded with a grim smile. "Is it not hypothetically possible then, that a magic item, amulet, whatever could have been used to allow the thief the temporary use of magic the thief doesn't usually possess?"
"That is very unlikely", Twilight said. "True, there are such items and yes, an item allowing for the temporary use of a levitation spell would be possible. However, such items are extremely rare, and therefore extremely expensive. It is very difficult to transfer magic powers to lifeless objects. Usually such powers would wear off quickly or at least vanish after such an item is being used. The effort to transfer such magic would by far exceed the effort necessary to cast the respective spell many more times. Moreover, only very few materials absorb magic sufficiently to sort of 'store' magic powers or spells. Somepony without at least some magic training would also probably be unable to use such an item. If this wasn't so, they would certainly be far spread and commonly used. There are, but very few of them."
"Unlikely, but not impossible then?" Featherscribe asked. Twilight gave him a disapproving look but said: "Hypothetically." "Thank you, Princess Twilight." Featherscribe turned towards Frank who seemed to shrink a little. "Mr. Blanket, you studied in Fillydelphia?" "Yes." "And aren't some basic theories on the use of magic part of the obligatory curriculum for all students at the Academy there?" "That's true, Mr. Featherscribe, but rest assured that students there don't tend to earn enough bits to acquire any such rare magical items. Had I enough bits to afford such an invaluable item, I might be living in a larger tent!" Frank responded with a scathing tone. "Thank you, Mr. Blanket."
Featherscribe now turned towards the assembled ponies. "So far we have only talked about the original reasons for Mr. Blanket's detainment. However, since he was detained, further evidence has substantiated the suspicion against him. One of the money bags stolen from Mr. Rich's house has been found. And it has been found in the sleeping bag inside Mr. Blanket's tent!" The murmur setting in at this revelation from Featherscribe made Twilight regret that she hadn't brought up this point herself. Before Featherscribe could continue, there was an angry call from the audience:
"What? When was it found? And when did you ever plan to let me know that part of my property has been found again?" Mr. Rich craned his neck and frowned at Mayor Mare, whom he apparently held responsible. "I only learned about this when I came to Town Hall this morning", Mayor Mare said defensively. "I was under the impression that you had been informed, Mr. Rich." "Inkhorn said she was going to write to you about this, Mr. Rich", Twilight said. "I asked her to do so when I brought the money bag here yesterday afternoon." "You did?" Mr. Rich asked perplexed. "It was Rainbow Dash and I who found the money bag wrapped up in a sleeping bag in Mr. Blanket's tent."
"But what is all this still about then?" Mr. Rich shouted. "My money found hidden in the defendant's tent! How much more evidence short of a confession do you need?" Frank took a step forward, but before he could say anything, Rainbow Dash flung herself up into the air, spun around and hovered in front of the stage, facing Mr. Rich. "He had asked me himself to strike his tent after he was locked up here! A thief wouldn't send anypony straight to the hiding place of the booty! And if Daring Do taught me one thing, it is that a thief who wants to remain unknown wouldn't hide booty anywhere where it would be traced back to him immediately! This is so obviously an attempt to frame Mr. Blanket!"
"Come down here, Miss Dash!" It was Lady Justice who had given the order. She had not raised her voice, but there was such an authority in her command that Rainbow Dash complied immediately. "You say that you think the money bag which you found was placed in Mr. Blanket's sleeping bag as an attempt to frame him?" "Yes!" Rainbow Dash confirmed with a nod. "Isn't that obvious?" "Who do you think placed it there?" Lady Justice inquired. "Uhm, the real thief of course. Of course I don't know who that is." Rainbow Dash was looking uncomfortable. She had clearly not expected to be subjected to an interrogation. "When and where did Mr. Blanket ask you to strike his tent?" "It was yesterday in the afternoon. He was sitting under the cupola of the town hall and I flew by for a visit." "And you flew from the cupola of the town hall straight to Mr. Blanket's tent where you found the money?" "No, first I went to the library where I met up with Twilight and the others—" "The others?" "Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. We were... discussing all this." "And after you were done discussing all this you went to strike Mr. Blanket's tent?" "Uhm no, Twilight and I were flying. I gave her some flying lessons and then we flew to Everfree Forest." "To Everfree Forest? What in Celestia's name were you doing in Everfree Forest?" Featherscribe called.
"We were visiting Zecora there", Twilight came to the aid of Rainbow Dash who was looking rather uneasy by now. "We were hoping that she could tell us something concerning the kind of magic that might be responsible for the loss of Mr. Rich's memory." "And when you were done talking to Zecora, Miss Dash, what did you do next?" Lady Justice inquired her look fixed on Rainbow Dash. "We were heading back to the library and on the way I remembered Frank's request. So we stopped on the green and that was when we found the money." "What time was it?" Lady Justice asked. "I don't know exactly. Late afternoon. Dusk was beginning." "And between the time Mr. Blanket asked you to strike his tent and the time you found the money, whom did you tell about Mr. Blanket's request?" Lady Justice demanded to know. "Nopony at all", Rainbow Dash said after a moment. "Come to think of it, I only remembered when we were heading back from Zecora's place and told Twilight. I hadn't told anypony else."
"Mr. Blanket...", Lady Justice was looking at Frank now, "...did you tell anypony about your request to Miss Dash to strike your tent?" Frank shook his head. "No, I didn't." He thought for a moment. "Inkhorn came up to the cupola while Rainbow Dash was there with me, but she left before Rainbow and before I asked her about my tent." "If nopony but Rainbow Dash knew about the request for her to strike the tent, I'm afraid this is not quite so obvious a framing attempt as you are making it out to be", Featherscribe said. "Unless of course you yourself were the framer—" "Whoa!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but Featherscribe immediately made a calming gesture, "...which, in spite of your criminal record as a book snatcher, nopony would seriously consider."
Rainbow Dash's face nearly took on the color of the red part of her mane at this exposure, but before she could say anything, Twilight spoke up again: "Even without knowing about this, the thief may have expected that Mr. Blanket's tent could be checked after he had been detained. His detainment was not exactly a secret, especially not after this public hearing was announced." "Speaking of checking things...", Featherscribe said, "...given what was found in his tent I think it may be a sensible idea to check out the contents of these saddle-bags which Mr. Blanket is always carrying with him. Maybe they contain anything that would give us any more clarity." "What now, do you expect to find five bags of bits in my saddle-bags, Mr. Featherscribe? I'm afraid you are overestimating my strength!" Frank said sourly, provoking some laughter from the audience.
"This is just a hearing...", Lady Justice said sternly, "...and unlike in case of an actual trial in Canterlot, the laws don't give us the right to search the defendant's bags without his agreement." Frank stepped towards Lady Justice. "If lack of substantial amounts of bits or other discriminating items in my bags will help the establishment of the truth, you have my agreement to search these bags. I don't have much to hide in there." Frank began to take off the saddle bags and Twilight quickly came to his assistance with a levitation spell, hovering the bags towards Lady Justice.
Lady Justice had some difficulties to fumble open the lid of the first bag that also worked as the hinged desk of the escritoire. When she had opened it, she drew up a few books, an assortment of stationeries and folders into which stacks of densely written pages were squeezed as well as some loose sheets of paper. Lady Justice scanned a few pages with her eyes and unfolded one piece of paper which she eyed for a few moments. "Is this your map of Ponyville?" she asked Frank. "Oh, is it there?" Frank asked. "I thought I had it here in my pocket..." He checked out a pocket of his shirt but then shrugged. "I bought that map at the station in Canterlot so I would find my way to Golden Oak Library." "I see", Lady Justice said and looked at the sheets of paper in one of the folders. Tapping it with one hoof she asked: "Your mouthwriting is remarkably small, almost like a unicorn's." Frank nodded: "It is actually not mouthwritten, your honor. I modified one of my horseshoes a little so I can hold a quill with it. I found this to be faster and easier than mouthwriting and, as you already pointed out, the script is smaller and also clearer than most mouthwritten scripts. Let me demonstrate..."
Frank quickly reached for a quill that had been lying on the table, attached it to his left hoof, dipped the quill in a little inkwell on the table and started writing something on a sheet of paper. Murmuring started again in the hall and by the sound of it Twilight thought that it confirmed the assumptions that more than a few earth ponies and pegasi would find a modified horseshoe like Frank's useful. "Remarkable", Lady Justice said as she looked at the words Frank had just written. "You have written all of that yourself?" Lady Justice asked, pointing at the different folders. Frank nodded and a proud smile flickered across his face. "Scientific work in progress. I am still gathering more material. Of course I cannot use all of this in one book, but I think that perhaps once the main act is finished, I may publish a volume or several of other cutie mark related stories. Especially young fillies still waiting for their cutie marks may find them educational, entertaining and perhaps even encouraging." Frank gave the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were standing not far from the stage, a smile. Talking about his work seemed to exhilarate Frank to the point that he was forgetting the situation. The stage was suddenly his and he was talking to a surprised audience who hadn't seen this lecture coming. "Isn't it amazing how little research has been done, how little has been written on cutie marks, seeing what a crucial role they play in the lives of ponies. I am sure everypony here could tell a tale about the own cutie mark or that of others. But apart from such tales there is also the aspect of how they influence—"
"Mr. Blanket", Lady Justice called. "What is your cutie mark?" a voice from the audience called. Once again it was the filly for whom Frank had toned down his earlier explanation and who had brought up Miss Cheerilee in this hearing. "For the moment I would rather keep my cutie mark to myself so it will not influence any answers in case more ponies here in Ponyville agree to be interviewed for my research project. My cutie mark does refer to my studies however. When—"
Lady Justice struck the pedestal with her gavel. "Mr. Blanket, need I remind you that you are standing a hearing? This is not your lecture auditorium!" Frank looked very crestfallen. "Of course. I'm sorry. I sometimes get carried away with my enthusiasm for my field of studies." "Mr. Blanket, there is a question here that has nothing to do with cutie mark lore. You don't know where Mr. Rich's house is?" "That's true. If I wanted to raid Mr. Rich's house now I'd first have to ask you for the way." The little talk about cutie marks had apparently reawakened the more humorous part of Frank's spirit and his remark provoked some laughter from the audience. "How then do you explain this?" Lady Justice asked, holding up the map. Both Frank and Twilight took a step closer to see what Lady Justice was referring to. At first Twilight didn't see anything unusual about the map. It was a simple map of the kind that was offered to travelers for little money at stations or travel bureaus. It marked some of the important landmarks, public buildings and important shops and service providers of Ponyville. But then it struck Twilight and a moment later she heard a gasp from Frank. Mr. Rich's house was circled and beside it stood: Rich Mansion
"Didn't you just say you had no idea where Mr. Rich's house was?" Featherscribe asked; he too had stepped closer. "I didn't! I didn't know, I mean. I did say it, that I didn't know. But I really didn't!" "Then how come you marked it onto your map?" Featherscribe demanded to know. "I didn't mark this! I didn't write this!" Frank called. "This looks exactly like your very distinctive hoofwriting from the other pages!" Lady Justice said, tapping the words written on the map with one of her hooves. "It does", Frank said. "Then how do you explain this?" Featherscribe asked angrily. "I don't! I don't explain this! I cannot explain this! I don't know! This is my hoofwriting, but I didn't write this! I really had no idea where Mr. Rich's house was. And I don't have any idea how a map with the place being marked in my hoofwriting could end up in my saddle-bags!" Frank was sounding rather desperate now while Twilight's mind was racing to get her thoughts in order. "Maybe this is another attempt of the real thief to frame you", Rainbow Dash who hadn't left the stage suggested cautiously.
Featherscribe opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Frank himself said: "Yes, but how? This looks exactly like my hoofwriting and nopony but me had access to my bags or pockets or was even aware that I had this map. I do not see how anypony but me could have done this and at the same time I know that I did not do it myself!" "Frank, I'm trying to help you!" Rainbow Dash said, apparently trying to be quiet enough not to be heard, but with the total silence from the audience everyone could hear her. "I know", Frank said. "But I really don't understand how all this is even possible." There was an awkward moment during which nobody said anything. At last Featherscribe turned to Lady Justice: "Your honor, shall we proceed with the second bag? Perhaps its contents may help finding the answers the defendant is looking for."
Twilight gave Featherscribe a grim look, but she helped with a spell to open the lid that would prop up the desk when the saddle-bags were used as an escritoire. Lady Justice brought forth a few more books. One of them was looking particularly old and worn and Lady Justice gave it a closer look. "The tales of the merry adventures of Robing Hooves?" she asked. Frank nodded. "This is the first book I ever had. My mother got it for me from a book flea market and read it to me and I then read it to my dad when he was around. He couldn't read it himself, but he was so happy to hear me read it." Somehow these words from Frank made Twilight feel like she had a lump in her throat. She realized how little she knew about the hobo student colt from Fillydelphia. "The highway pony who stole from the rich to give to the poor?" Featherscribe asked. Frank put on a defiant face: "You will not hold that against me now, will you? How many ponies present here have not been told the tales of Robbing Hooves? Does that make all who have suspicious?"
"Of course not", Featherscribe said. "But stealing from the rich and giving to the poor... one might see some parallel there. The robbing of Mr. Rich and you yourself being—" Frank snorted angrily: "Poor, yes! You want to keep in mind that a pony ready to commit theft may not need having read Robing Hooves to realize that stealing from a rich pony may be more economic than stealing from a poor one! No offense to Mr. Rich or anypony present." There was some laughter from the audience. "Now really...", Twilight said, "...if owning a book about a famous outlaw or a crime story was an indicator for the owner being a criminal, I myself would probably be one of Equestria's worst crooks!" "Twilight!" Pinkie Pie shouted from the audience. "You can tell that to us, but not here! You may end up arrested!"
It seemed like the idea of Twilight getting arrested was a real possibility in the mind of Pinkie Pie, but everyone else now burst with laughter and even Lady Justice granted herself a chuckle before she ordered silence with several strikes of her gavel. The laughter had lessened the tense atmosphere considerably. Lady Justice proceeded searching the bag. She brought forth some more writing and drawing materials as well as Frank's harmonica and its holder and also a somewhat noble looking portfolio. "My certificates and credentials from the Academy", Frank said as Lady Justice opened the portfolio and studied some of the pages. "Impressive", she said with an appreciative nod.
Next she lifted the jute sack out of the bag which Twilight and Rainbow Dash recognized as the one from of which Frank had produced the pretzels during the picnic the previous morning. Lady Justice cast a somewhat skeptical look into it and Frank immediately blushed. "Just something to eat on the way... these are rather durable." Lady Justice closed the jute sack without saying anything and lifted a folded bundle of cloth out of the bag. Apparently it was a second set of clothing, another turtlenecked shirt and another wraparound, much like those which Frank was wearing. As she lifted the bundle on the table onto which she had put the other contents of Frank's bags, something dropped out of it and landed on the floor with an audible metal clinking. It was a small burlap bag closed with a loop of string.
"What is this?" Lady Justice asked as she picked up the bag and placed it onto the table. "That's my money. I'm pretty sure that a single pony would be sufficient to carry away six of those money bags or even a few more and without any necessity for a levitation spell", Frank said sarcastically, but nobody was laughing this time. Lady Justice was looking into the saddle-bags again, but Frank said: "I think that should be everything you will find in there." She nodded and let her look wander once again about the assortment of books, writing and drawing materials, the harmonica and the other items now on the table. "I think we are done with this. Uhm, Princess Twilight, could you please levitate the possessions of Mr. Blanket back to where they belong? It would be a great convenience rather than packing them up again by hoof." "Certainly", Twilight agreed and prepared the levitation spell to restore the items when suddenly Featherscribe stepped forward. "One moment! We haven't taken a look into the money bag of Mr. Blanket!"
Frank gave a slight frown. "I know what this bag contains. What it should contain. After I have seen alterations been made to my map, in my own hoofwriting but without me having done them, I cannot be certain that nothing has been changed about the contents of my money bag. It should contain two golden-, seven silver- and nine copper bits and a little stone." "A stone?" called Pinkie Pie. "Why do you carry a stone along Frankie? My sister Maud would like that!" Frank either hadn't heard Pinkie's call or decided to ignore it: "To nothing else you might find in this bag do I claim possession or awareness."
Featherscribe gave a little snort. "Preemptive refusal of responsibility? Now I would be surprised indeed if we didn't find anything other than what you just named!" Lady Justice cocked her head slightly and gave Featherscribe a scrutinizing look: "Featherscribe, as a judge I must ask if you are somehow biased against the defendant for reasons that got nothing to do with this hearing?" Featherscribe hesitated for a few moments before he said: "If I was... if I am, it is because of a reason that does have to do with this hearing, though I have not yet addressed it. I request for the search of Mr. Blanket's money bag to be completed and I shall offer my apologies for what I just said in case my intuition failed me. After that however, I can address this final point and everypony may then decide whether or not I am being unduly biased."
Twilight and Frank both gave Featherscribe puzzled and especially in Twilight's case alarmed looks. The looming announcement of such a revelation made Twilight feel extremely uneasy. Lady Justice acknowledged Featherscribe's declaration with a nod and proceeded to open Frank's money bag. The bag contained a speckled, rugged stone, two golden-, seven silver-, and nine copper bits and something that looked like a necklace. Frank seemed to sag a little when Lady Justice picked up the necklace. There was an amulet on the chain of the necklace in the shape of a silvery orb, a depiction of the moon perhaps, that sprouted two glassy, black wings. "What is this?" asked Lady Justice holding up the necklace. "A trinket that I have never before seen in my life", Frank said rather wearily. "Has anypony here seen this piece of jewelry before?" Lady Justice called to the audience, but there was only shaking of heads.
Featherscribe cleared his throat and said: "I have not seen this before, but I do have a theory about what it is and where it belongs. To put this theory to the test, I need your assistance, Princess Twilight." Twilight nodded silently, she was pretty certain what Featherscribe was going to ask and already had the spell to detect and analyze magic prepared when Featherscribe asked her to test the amulet for magical capabilities. Twilight was not really surprised about the result, but still felt rather numb when she announced:
"This amulet is loaded with a levitation spell. It allows the wearer to cast that spell a few times before it needs to be recharged." Featherscribe nodded, giving no sign of surprise or triumph and said: "With your permission, Lady Justice, I would like to test if this amulet allows for a pony other than a unicorn and without any practice in effecting magic to use levitation magic. Perhaps it would also be a good chance to return the money bag that was found in Mr. Blanket's sleeping bag to Mr. Rich?" Lady Justice nodded silently and Featherscribe slipped over the necklace. He moved to open a little trapdoor in the floor of the stage with one of his hooves but suddenly hesitated and then asked: "Princess Twilight, is it right that you have to concentrate on what you want to levitate and where you want to levitate it in order to cast such a spell?"
Twilight nodded. "You also have to make a very deliberate decision to actually cast the spell, so random thoughts or dreams of unicorns about anything flying anywhere do not manifest into actual levitation spells", she added monotonously. Featherscribe nodded and made a very concentrated face. The silver orb and the black wings of the amulet flashed a little and the trapdoor was flung open so fiercely that it might have knocked Featherscribe out had he held his chin a little more forward within reach of the door. He took a little jump backwards, the spell stopped, but the trapdoor fell open. Featherscribe walked to the edge of the trapdoor, looked down and the amulet flashed again. The bag which Twilight and Rainbow Dash had found the previous day darted upwards through the trapdoor. Featherscribe only just managed to stop it before it hit the ceiling. He then carefully levitated it in a somewhat serpentine descend towards Mr. Rich and finally dropped it onto the ground in front of his hooves with an audible clink.
"This is interesting!" Featherscribe called and seemed almost enthusiastic. "I didn't feel the weight of the bag at all. I think I could lift much heavier stuff or even several items this way! With a little practice I think I could let them fly in a more straight line and a more constant speed too!" "So you are saying that you think that a pony without much practice could levitate six money bags about, using this amulet?" Lady Justice asked. "That is what I am saying", Featherscribe confirmed as he stripped off the amulet and placed it back onto the table in front of Lady Justice. "There is more I got to say about this", Featherscribe said. "When I was asked to act as the prosecution in this hearing I did of course investigate and try to gather as much information as I could about the case, same as I'm sure the defense did." Featherscribe took a little bow towards Twilight which she barely noticed. Mr. Rich gave an audible snort. "I gave some thoughts about the defendant's possibilities to commit this at all. And I was in absolute agreement with the defense that this was nothing likely to have been done without the use of magic. But knowing that the defendant had studied at the Academy in Fillydelphia, reminded me of something I had read a little while ago." Frank suddenly gasped and his jaw dropped. Apparently he knew what Featherscribe was going to tell next.
"It is a bit of a hobby of mine to collect and archive newspapers. Perhaps working in a town office promotes a bit of an archivist instinct." Featherscribe gave a sheepish smile. "In any case I went through my archived newspapers and recovered this." Featherscribe had been walking over to a saddle-bag which he had placed at the edge of the stage before the hearing had begun and produced a newspaper from it which he now put onto the table in front of Lady Justice and leafed a few pages before tapping an article with one hoof. Lady Justice scanned the article. "Shall I read out the article to the audience, your honor?" Featherscribe asked. "I think a summary will do, Featherscribe."
"As you wish. This article tells about a professor of magical sciences at the Academy of Fillydelphia having lost a precious item in the possession of the faculty which he had borrowed for personal examinations. The item is described as an amulet in the shape of a winged orb that allows the wearer to enact levitation spells. The loss of the amulet is ascribed to the likable but careless abstraction of the professor's mind. The professor did not remember having borrowed the amulet at all but expressed his sorrow about the loss in a most disheartened manner. The Academy offers a generous reward to anypony who finds the amulet and returns it to the faculty. Mr. Blanket, perhaps it would have been sensible to return that amulet and go for the reward."
Frank looked desolate and shook his head. His voice was rather quiet and hopeless when he spoke: "I heard about this. It was the main gossip on the campus for a while. But I have never seen this amulet before and most certainly I have not stolen it." "Mr. Blanket", Lady Justice said. Her voice sounded very calm, gentle, even sympathetic now. "Are you absolutely sure that there is nothing you can tell us about this? Nothing that you want to tell us about this?" Frank took a deep breath and Twilight couldn't tell for sure if this was a gesture of suppressed anger or a desperate sigh. When he spoke however his voice was calm, almost meek: "You believe that I am making all this up. That in the face of such a discriminating evidence I'm turning to denial, no matter what?"
Lady Justice gave no sign of confirming or denying Frank's estimation, but said: "Mr. Blanket, I think you understand that all this is looking very suspicious. I do not mean to talk you into anything, but I think as the representative of the law presiding over this hearing it is proper for me to point out that the laws of Princess Celestia's realm are not designed to exclude a pony from society if that pony has made a mistake... even a planned and deliberate mistake... if that pony is ready to answer and take responsibility for that mistake. If there is anything you want to tell us. Something perhaps that might make an all-out trial in Canterlot unnecessary, it would certainly be held in your favor. We are aware that ponies can end up in... situations where the lure of money can mislead them into actions they would not usually commit."
"Is that what it all comes down to?" Frank said quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself now rather than to anyone else. "That 'situation'? But no... you got good reasons not to believe me and all I got for you is my word." Suddenly Frank seemed to brace himself. He raised his head and put on an expression of great dignity. His voice was firm and strong when he spoke up again:
"I have nothing to offer but my word in the face of all that is speaking against me, but my word you shall have! This is not a trial, but a hearing that is likely to lead to a trial. For this hearing I have not been asked to take an oath to say nothing but the truth. I want to take that oath however! To you, Lady Justice and Featherscribe, to you in particular, Princess Twilight, and to everyone present, pony, dragon, owl, to every living being in Equestria, I swear in the name of Princess Celestia and her sun, in the name of Princess Luna and her moon, and in the name of all there is in Equestria, that I don't have any idea how the marking of Mr. Rich's house appeared on my map, that I didn't know about the location of his house, that I have never ever seen this levitation amulet before, that most certainly I have not stolen Mr. Rich's money and that I did not lie about anything I said here!"
The all-embracing formulation as well as the solemn presentation of this oath didn't leave anybody unimpressed and there was a moment of silence. Once again however, it was Featherscribe who ended it: "I take it then that you are not going to lie about anything that you are still going to be asked here?" "I will not lie about anything relevant to this hearing, Mr Featherscribe!" Frank said with a slightly defiant tone. "Then I think it is time for me to address the previously mentioned point on which any bias of me against you may be based!" "That point was not about the amulet?" Twilight shouted surprised. "Princess Twilight, I got no personal sentiments whatsoever attached to that amulet or the stolen money. I don't see any of that as something that I would admit as a cause for personal bias." Twilight was aghast. Just how much more and how much worse stuff could possibly come?
"It has been emphasized before that Mr. Blanket decided to stand this hearing by his own decision. Just now he once again put a lot of stress on voluntarily offering an oath of impressive bombast. Mr. Blanket doesn't seem to be quite as constant in this determination as his words seem to suggest", Featherscribe began. "What in the name of Celestia are you talking about?" Frank asked, not trying to hide a gruff tone. "This morning, when Inkhorn finished her watch over Mr. Blanket and brought him breakfast, he attacked her in an attempt to break free!" "I did not!" shouted Frank and for the first time he really seemed to have lost all command over his voice. "That's a lie!"
Rainbow Dash stood beside Frank suddenly, holding out a hoof in his way as if to make sure that he didn't pounce upon Featherscribe. If Frank had had any such intentions, Rainbow Dash's blocking his way brought him back to his senses. "Inkhorn told me when she got home, before I set out to Town Hall. She said that when she brought up breakfast to Mr. Blanket this morning, he suddenly charged towards her in an obvious attempt to break from the storeroom in which he had been detained. Inkhorn could repel this attack easily by means of her magic without getting hurt or hurting Mr. Blanket, but she did tell me about this and I therefore asked Mr. Biceps to stand guard when I arrived at the town hall and happened to meet him." "This is not true!" shouted Frank. "Nothing like that happened!" "You are calling Inkhorn a liar then, Mr. Blanket?" Featherscribe asked and his eyes narrowed menacingly.
Frank took a deep breath. This was not a question he could simply confirm or deny without putting himself in a vulnerable position. "I believe Inkhorn is a pony of honesty and integrity. But I know that nothing even remotely mistakable happened. If Inkhorn says that I attacked her, I presume her to be under the impression that I did. But I know that I did not and I don't know what in Equestria could cause such an impression to her!" Frank stated as calmly as he could. "Inkhorn is not here, is she?" Twilight asked slowly. "She has been guarding Mr. Blanket for most of yesterday and all through the night while I was preparing for the hearing", Featherscribe said. "Obviously she is too tired to now stand this hearing too. Even town officials need to sleep sometimes."
"But that doesn't make any sense at all!" a voice shouted from the audience. Scootaloo jumped up and flapped fiercely with her wings as she shouted it. Her wings did not allow for her to fly, but they extended and prolonged her jump enough so everypony saw and noticed her. "He could have left yesterday if he wanted to! At night, when nopony would have seen or noticed until long after!" "What is that, little filly?" asked Mayor Mare surprised. Frank looked at Scootaloo and shook his head, slightly gritting his teeth. Lady Justice and many ponies in the audience didn't miss these signals.
"Little filly, do you want to give a testimony here?" Lady Justice asked sternly but not unfriendly. Scootaloo swallowed, but then she nodded. "My name is Scootaloo. I visited Mr. Blanket late in the evening yesterday." "We did!" Apple Bloom shouted. "I was there too!" "And me. We were all there together!" Sweetie Belle joined her friends. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity called. "What were you thinking?" "Y'all told us to visit Frank when you expelled us from the library!" Apple Bloom shouted, looking alternately at Rarity and Applejack. "But at the time when you left!" Rarity called. "Not at... when were you there anyway?"
Lady Justice struck the pedestal with the gavel. "Whatever need for discussion there may be, I don't think it is to be part of this hearing." "Kids", Frank said almost imploringly. "Don't get yourselves into any trouble here!" "We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie Belle called as if this was all the response necessary. "Young Miss Scootaloo", Lady Judge stepped closer to the edge of the stage so she had a clearer view on the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "You said that Mr. Blanket could have left if he wanted to. What did you mean by that?" "Well, when we got there late in the evening we could just walk in, open the hatch and visit Frank." "He could have just left with us if he had wanted to", Sweetie Belle added. "We told him he could sneak out with us...", Apple Bloom said. "...and that we could hide him in our clubhouse until the real thief was found", Scootaloo added. "Your honor, please...", Frank said, "...these are good kids! Please don't get them involved into this strange case!"
"You realize that assisting a detainee to escape or to hide an escapee from the law is wrong, right?" Lady Justice asked with a stern frown. "Ha, you are in so much trouble now!" Diamond Tiara shouted from the ranks. "Shut up!" all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders said with one voice and turning their heads to her in a single motion. "Order!" shouted Lady Justice and wielded her gavel that didn't find a pedestal to hit here at the edge of the stage, so she stomped with one hoof instead.
"We don't mean no harm, your honor...", said Apple Bloom, "...but it is also wrong to detain somepony for something he didn't do." "And how do you know that he didn't do it?" asked Lady Justice, stern again, but not unfriendly. "He said he didn't do it...", Scootaloo began. "Every thief would say that!" Featherscribe interrupted. "Featherscribe, I did not give you the floor. Let the witnesses give their testimony!" Lady Justice rebuked him. "Frank himself told us he could be lying for all we knew", Sweetie Belle said. "Yes, and when then we told him it would be stupid to say that if he really was lying, he said... 'except if...", Apple Bloom was racking her brain. "Except if I would think that you would think I didn't do it, because if I did I would not say this", Frank recited his own words almost mechanically. "Yeah, that", Apple Bloom confirmed.
"In any case, he wouldn't come with us", Scootaloo said. "He said that it would look like a confession if he did that. So why would he do that and not take the chance to escape and then the very next morning, with no real chance, try to attack Inkhorn and run away in broad daylight?" Twilight couldn't help but giving the three fillies a short smile. "I think the witnesses are making a good point there", she said. "And also, y'all are always talking about the money and how that could be stolen, but isn't it much more important how whoever is attacking ponies and make them forget things and feel miserable like poor Miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom said. "Nothing you said or found says anything about how Frank is supposed to have done that!"
Lady Justice ignored the general criticism and asked: "You say that when you got here yesterday in the late evening Inkhorn was asleep and you could just walk in?" "Yes, she was", Apple Bloom confirmed. "We weren't even quiet when we got in as we just wanted to visit Frank and we meant to tell her. But when we found her asleep, she didn't even wake up when we were talking to her. It was then that we thought Frank could walk right out with us." Lady Justice cleared her throat, but before she could respond, Featherscribe said:
"Now kids, this is kind of convenient, isn't it? You are telling a story that makes your friend look good and the only one who was there without either being you or your friend was supposedly so fast asleep that you couldn't even wake her. And she just happens not to be around to contradict this fancy story and—" "Featherscribe!" It was Applejack who spoke and her voice was icy and cutting. "Are you saying that mah sis is lying?" The menacing tone of Applejack reduced Featherscribe to silence. "She may be an annoying little brat sometimes...", Applejack said while she stepped forward and put a hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder, "...but she ain't no liar! And if she says Inkhorn was asleep, then Inkhorn was asleep!" Featherscribe nodded silently.
"I would like to call to everypony's attention that Mr. Blanket not only stands this hearing by his own decision, but also didn't try to make a getaway when he had the chance after he already knew about the money bag that had been found in his sleeping bag", Twilight said. "You may have also noticed that he was, though in vain, trying to keep the fillies from getting involved into this even though he knew they were talking on his behalf! I do think it is proper to keep all this in mind when you judge the credibility of Mr. Blanket!"
"And what about the credibility of Inkhorn?" Featherscribe called angrily. "Are you calling her a liar?" "Could maybe lack of sleep make Inkhorn... you know... see things?" Rainbow Dash suggested weakly. "What about Mr. Blanket himself?" Featherscribe countered. "Could not the mind of a studious pony with a demonstrated passion for his studies, a readiness to offer bombastic statements and the quirks often found among scholarly ponies 'see things'? No chance that he may be convinced of what he says but does not even remember now the things he did recently?" "Mr. Featherscribe...", Frank said and put on his spectacles, "...am I to understand it as a good thing or a bad thing that you are now moving on from depicting me as a calculating criminal to depicting me as a crazy criminal with possibly less direct responsibility for his actions?" Featherscribe snorted slightly.
After some moments he spoke up again: "We have heard some very positive estimations of the character of a colt whom nopony present has known for more than two days, one of which said colt spent in detention." Suddenly Featherscribe fixed his look on Applejack. "Applejack, at an earlier point of this hearing, you said that Princess Twilight wasn't being uncritical about Mr. Blanket. What did you mean?" The question clearly caught Applejack on the wrong hoof and it gave Twilight a fright too. "Well, Ah meant just what Ah said, that Twilight is not being uncritical about him", Applejack said evasively and looking very uncomfortable. These signs were too obvious for Featherscribe or anypony else to miss.
"What makes you say so?" Featherscribe asked. "Did Twilight say anything critical about Mr. Blanket?" "On the first day, Twilight did feel a bit uncertain about Mr. Blanket", Applejack said cautiously. "What did she say?" Featherscribe insisted. "Please don't say it, AJ!", Twilight thought frantically, but at the same time she knew that, representing the Element of Honesty, there was no way her friend would respond with anything but brutal honesty to the direct question. "She thought he appeared a bit manipulative", Applejack said. "But that was a totally different context!" Twilight called. "It didn't refer to this at all! The theft hadn't even been committed and it was just about..." Twilight didn't really know what to say. She didn't know if she was more upset by the satisfied look of Featherscribe or the injured look of Frank who looked like he was loosing the confidence he had gained through the initiative of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Featherscribe's confidence seemed to be bolstered up a lot however as he proclaimed: "After just such a short time, Mr. Blanket managed to gain so much trust that in the face of all the evidence presented here, he still manages to make ponies doubt he has his hooves in all this. He even manages to make fillies want to help him break out of detention!" "I didn't make them!" Frank protested. "He didn't even want to break out of detention!" Sweetie Belle called. "I think all this supports the princess' earlier estimation of him being manipulative!" Featherscribe continued. "And no matter the context, this too is important when judging the credibility of Mr. Blanket!"
Featherscribe took a deep breath and turned to Applejack again. "Applejack, you have a reputation as an honest pony, you have seen and heard all the evidence brought up here and you too have been in contact with Mr. Blanket. What do you think of him?" "He does seem like a decent fellow—", Applejack began not looking at Featherscribe or Frank or anypony else. "Are you certain that he did not steal the money?" Featherscribe pressed his point. There was a moment of silence. "I cannot be certain", Applejack said. "Applejack!" Apple Bloom shouted, backing away from her sister and giving her a very disappointed look. "How can Ah be certain about anything with all this confusion and proofs for the one and the other? Ah can't make heads or tails out of all this and Ah can't claim that Ah could!" There was total silence for some moments.
It was Mr. Rich who finally broke the silence: "I too am confused and concerned about some things. Perhaps some of these confusions and concerns can be ended right here and right now however. Princess Twilight, you will remember that during your investigations in this matter you had a pony reveal... the cutie mark parts this pony would have rather kept concealed. You furthermore held the suspicion that your suspect might be using an illusion charm or even transformation to conceal his appearance. In the face of all the evidence presented here, is there any reason to demand less of the suspect here?" Frank looked confused at Mr. Rich and Twilight in turn. He was as unaware as everypony but Mr. Rich, Diamond Tiara and Twilight and her friends about her investigation about Swallowtail. Twilight didn't respond immediately since she didn't know what she could say. "Your honor, given all the evidence we have, I insist that Mr. Blanket reveals his cutie mark and submits to disillusion spells to ensure his identity."
"With all due respect, Mr. Rich, this is nothing that you can insist on", Lady Justice said. "This remains just a hearing, not a trial and same as the searching of his bags was possible only through Mr. Blanket's consent and cooperation. We cannot insist upon either of your demands against the will of Mr. Blanket!"
"And yet if Mr. Blanket does not consent or cooperate, everypony here will think of it as a sign of guilt, wont they?" Frank's voice was sounding feeble. "With ponies wondering whether I'm a thief, crazy, a crazy thief and attacking ponies and destroying memories, I guess this doesn't make much of a difference anymore anyway." Frank shuffled to the edge of the stage. "I am a student...", he said, "...studying what is unknown. Filling in blank spaces and having focused on the study of cutie marks and especially on behalf of those who don't have a cutie mark or who have one they are not happy with. In this context and no other is my cutie mark to be seen!"
And Frank lifted the wraparound that had so far never left his flank uncovered since he had entered Ponyville. There was silence in the hall and though Frank had told her about his cutie mark, Twilight couldn't keep herself from taking a look too. Sure enough, his flank did sport another flank that didn't sport any cutie mark whatsoever. Twilight cast a look at the faces in the audience. Many looked surprised, some shocked, a few wrinkled their noses and some seemed to suppress laughter. "Is that all the trinket you got?" Diamond Tiara shouted suddenly. Her call was like a signal for those who had suppressed their laughter to laugh out loud and the laughing proved contagious to most in the audience. Twilight didn't miss that Mr. Rich was not laughing but seemed to be giving a stern talk to his daughter. Rarity looked a little shocked, Applejack and Rainbow Dash at a loss and Pinkie Pie, most confused of all, seemed to be fighting her instinct to cherish laughter realizing that this was not the kind of laughter that made everypony cheerful. The Cutie Mark Crusaders recovered quickly from their surprise and seemed bend on silencing the laughter, but in vain.
Frank let the wraparound drop over his flank again. For a moment there was a twitching on his face and Twilight thought that he was trying to join the laughter, but if that was the attempt, it failed miserably. He shuffled back to the center of the stage. Lady Justice was beating the pedestal fiercely with her gavel until the laughter ebbed away at last. "Princess Twilight...", Frank said despondently. "...let's get this over with. Cast your spells. Be careful though. If this turns out like my bags I might turn out to be some clawed, fanged, horned monster!" Twilight stood in front of Frank. "I'm very sorry, Frank", she said. "I am too." He braced himself and closed his eyes. "I am ready" Twilight put her horn against his chest and concentrated.
She felt her spell met more resistance than had been the case with the blank flanked Swallowtail. She had expected this since the sensitive resistance to this spell depended on the magic of the one on whom it was cast. At one point during her education, Princess Celestia had offered Twilight to practice the spell on her. It had felt like the spell had hit a solid wall and Celestia had never even stopped smiling when the spell usually felt unpleasant for a pony it was used upon. What Twilight had not expected however was the reaction of Frank when he was engulfed by the reddish light of the spell. He uttered a scream and grabbed his head with both of his forehooves, causing him to fall and land hard on the stage in front of Twilight's hooves. Several ponies in the audience cried in surprise or shock.
Unpleasant as this spell felt, it was not supposed to cause any actual pain and for a dreadful moment Twilight braced for the possibility that the quirky colt, student and hobo might indeed start to grow claws, fangs and horns as he had sardonically suggested he might. There was no such change however and some moments after the reddish light of the spell had faded away, Frank was looking up. He was paler than he had ever looked before, he sweated and he quickly wiped his glistening eyes with one of his forelegs.
"Sweet Celestia!" he gasped. "I had no idea it hurt like that!" "It shouldn't!" Twilight said. "It shouldn't hurt!" She extended a hoof, but Frank didn't take it and got up by himself. Murmuring was filling the hall again. Twilight's mind was racing and she was shocked at the effect of the spell. Frank was clearly the unclawed, unfanged, unhorned colt he had always appeared to be, but his reaction had been disturbing. She was wondering if there was a connection to what Princess Luna had told her in her dream.
Lady Justice struck the pedestal with the gavel again, causing the murmuring to end. She waited for some moments as if expecting for someone else to speak up, but when nobody did she asked: "Is there anything the prosecution wants to add?" Featherscribe eyed Frank but shook his head slowly. "We got part of the stolen money found hidden in the defendant's tent. We got the defendant's claim not to know about the location of Mr. Rich's house while it turns out to be marked on his map in his own hoofwriting. We got a magical item that would enable the defendant to use the magic necessary to commit the theft and we know that said item recently disappeared from a place where the defendant has been. We have a town official being attacked by the defendant who claims not to know anything about any of these points and we got even those speaking up on his behalf expressing doubts about him and thinking of him as manipulative. If all of that is not sufficient to warrant closer examination, then I don't know what in Equestria I could add to change this view."
"Is there anything the defense wants to add?" Lady Justice asked. Twilight was racking her brain but finally said: "I will not pretend I haven't been surprised myself by some of the revelations during this hearing. But I remain convinced that Mr. Blanket can't have committed the theft and wouldn't have if he could have. I think a crucial part of the picture is still missing. Nothing we said here has answered the question about the loss of memory of Mr. Rich and Miss Cheerilee. It still looks like deliberate framing to distract from the actual thief and attacker. I cannot yet say who the actual thief and attacker is, but he or she shall not be mistaken. We will continue to look for you and we will find you!" Lady Justice waited for some moments, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then raised her head and proclaimed her decision:
"It seems like there is only one thing that everypony here will agree upon, namely that there is a lot that remains uncertain at the end of this hearing. Further investigations are necessary to clear up everything. I shall write to Canterlot and I expect Mr. Blanket will be picked up tomorrow to stand further inquiries there." Frank closed his eyes and drooped. "I want it to be clearly understood that this is not a conviction or a verdict of guilty", Lady Justice continued. "It is resignation to the fact that the questions this hearing was about could not be answered sufficiently. Mr. Blanket is part of the picture of which, as Princess Twilight pointed out, a part is still missing. Which part Mr. Blanket is in this picture and if he is through his own actions or that of others I cannot say for certain. I do hope that the inquiries in Cantlerlot will bring that certainty which we didn't get here." She struck the pedestal with the gavel. Immediately the murmuring started again. Suddenly Frank took some quick steps to the edge of the stage. He was still pale and shaking slightly, but his face was one of barely suppressed rage. For a short moment Twilight feared he was about to jump into the crowd and prepared a levitation spell to keep him from it. But Frank didn't jump; he just shouted: "I didn't do it!"
Silence fell again in the hall. Twilight quickly stepped beside Frank and Rainbow Dash approached from the other side. Twilight wanted to say something, but didn't when she saw Frank's look. There was that fury about him which he had briefly shown before, when he had overheard Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bullying Scootaloo and when Applejack had shown her skepticism about him the previous evening. Same as then, Frank's fury seemed to fade away quickly to give way to a strange resignation. "That's all I got to say for myself... It looks like I'll be gone tomorrow. I would have liked to stay longer. But whoever really did this is still on the loose. Take care... and I hope you will be alright." Frank seemed to be at a loss for words and turned away abruptly. Rainbow Dash followed him towards the table on which the contents of his bags were still spread out.
"Your honor, may I retire to my cell now until I am picked up for Canterlot?" Frank asked. "It is not a cell—", Mayor Mare began. "Cell, dungeon, gaol, jail... there is an awful lot it's not supposed to be called!" Frank snapped. "Would you have me retire to the storeroom then? Or which other term do you prefer for the place where I am being stored? Forgive me if I'm by now a little less humorous about it!" Lady Justice frowned, but nodded. Frank reached for his saddle-bags and Twilight prepared a levitation spell to restore Frank's possessions to his bags. "The amulet and the map will have to be kept as documentary evidence. Your map will be returned to you after the inquiry in Canterlot." Frank just nodded. He thanked Twilight after she levitated the reloaded saddle-bags onto his back. He then grabbed his hat that was attached to one bag and pushed it onto his head before he trudged off for the stairs. "Shouldn't somepony follow him?" Mayor Mare asked uncertain. Frank's outburst had apparently rattled her. Twilight nodded and went after Frank and Rainbow Dash in turn followed her while Lady Justice, Mayor Mare and Featherscribe remained on the stage and the audience began to break up.
As they reached the floor with the offices, Frank was making for the stairs to the storeroom. "Frank, wait!" Twilight called and he stopped. As she and Rainbow Dash caught up with him she didn't really know where to begin though. "The spell shouldn't have hurt you", she said as it was the first thing that came to her mind. "It is not supposed to hurt at all." Only now, without the tension of the hearing and away from the crowd in the hall, Twilight realized how much the effect of her spell had unsettled her. Frank just nodded. "We will keep looking for whoever really did this! I'm sure we will find the real attacker!" Twilight promised. "Yeah...", Rainbow Dash agreed with a reassuring grin, "...and when we do I wouldn't want to be that attacker!" Frank just nodded. Several moments passed in silence.
"Say something!" Twilight finally said. Frank's silence was rather unnerving. "What's there to say for me?" Frank said and his tone didn't really give away whether this had been a question or a statement. "I hope you will succeed of course, but it looks like I cannot do anything about it either way." "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "When I was first detained it seemed a bit like a joke. When you found that money bag in my tent and when Miss Cheerilee was attacked, I realized this was more serious. But now... with my writing on the map, that amulet in my bag and the claim that I attacked Inkhorn, it has really become something personal for me! Yet here I am, stuck in this attic— maybe that's a term Mayor Mare will approve of? —unable to do anything at all. Now I'll be brought to Canterlot and all I'll be able to tell them there is that I didn't do it and that I don't know how all the discriminating evidence against me can even exist. So what is there for me to say? It doesn't make a difference anymore." Frank hesitated for a moment before he added with a wry look: "And if I do say anything more I end up being 'manipulative' again."
"That had nothing to do at all with this hearing! Nothing at all!" Twilight insisted. "I had just asked Applejack about what you had said about... you know... showing the hoof that another pony likes best. It was totally torn out of context in the hearing!" Frank just nodded again and then rubbed his forehead with one hoof.
"It doesn't make any difference anyway. I'll be picked up and be gone. Not sure if we will see each other again. Thank you for everything... all of you I mean. Please tell the others I'm—" "Whoa, you're not just goodbyeing us and giving up, Frank, are you?" Rainbow Dash protested. "Not much of a choice now", Frank said and ascended the stairs towards the storeroom. "Twilight will not close the latch behind you!" Rainbow Dash called. "You can sneak out once we are gone and then—" "Rainbow!" Twilight protested. Frank stopped and looked back. "Thank you for the offer, but if you leave the hatch open, I'm not going to leave. They could send me to Canterlot on my own and I would not make a run for it! I am not going to make ponies think that I did all this by trying to escape! And if they believe it anyway..." Frank didn't finish the sentence but just went on through the hatch, closing it behind him. Twilight used her magic to close the latch.
"Twilight, that cannot be right!" Rainbow Dash said. Twilight nodded, but said. "We got to get back down to the others. All is not over yet! I think we still got some work to do!" As they both headed for the stairs to the large hall, Twilight suddenly stopped. "Wait a moment, Rainbow! There is one thing I want to check out." With determined steps Twilight walked towards the office of Inkhorn. The door was not locked and Twilight entered. With a few steps she was at the desk and with a quick spell she levitated the large folder with the list of Ponyville's citizens onto the desk and flipped it open. It took Twilight just a few moments to find what she was looking for. It was a page full of names of ponies starting with s and right among them, in slightly faded but clearly readable letters stood the name Swallowtail.
Up in the storeroom, Frank Blanket put down his saddle-bags. There was no point for him to set up the escritoire. While he might have been able to find something to write about, this was not the time to do so. His head hurt and so did his stomach. The tiredness, headache and a feeling of hopelessness he had had in the morning were something he hadn't known in this form before. But he was familiar with what was boiling up in him now. It was not mere anger, the kind of which might have been quite normal in his current situation, but a raw fury that he tried never to show and if possible never to feel at all. It had never done him any good since back in the days when he had been called "Cranky blanky flanky Frankie" and other names by his peers or ponies who would consider him below being on their par.
As he grew up, Frank Blanket had developed a somewhat pragmatic attitude towards that kind of fury. It didn't make him feel better, it didn't make him act in a manner beneficial towards himself or others, it didn't help with what he was furious about and the subject of his anger did not manifest in a particular pony or institution or another subject clearly defined enough to make a target to vent at. For all that he had always been focusing on what was good in his life and in the realm of Equestria and he felt that it had made him a better pony. He had developed an appreciation for a number of things which many others saw as trivial or as matters of course. Frank Blanket had found great self-fulfillment in his studies and as he had done so, he had developed the talent to always show the hoof other ponies liked best while remaining true to himself. This had been very helping in actually being given much less cause for fury than had been the case before.
But now much of that fury was coming back. Years of self-discipline and actual overcoming of this fury had taught Frank to keep it out of every other pony's sight and even now he was counting slowly and breathing deeply, thinking of calm and beautiful sceneries, trying to keep in the fury all the while he felt like kicking something or trying to gnaw through the central wooden column of the town hall and bringing down this entire building. In the end, the realization that he was on his own, that nobody was watching and that it didn't matter either way anymore got the better of him. His look fell on the high stack of folders he had piled up earlier today. His intention had been to read through them to distract himself from the ill feeling that had haunted him since he had woken up in the morning. The folders however had turned out to be filled with such an amount and intensity of inscrutable and probably pointless official lingo that they had provided no distraction at all and that he now decided they did just not deserve the immense respect he usually held for any written words. With a fierce growling he kicked against the pile of folders, sending them flying all through the room, scattering some loose papers over the floor. He kicked a second time against the remains of the pile that his first assault had left standing.
One of the folders was flung against his saddle-bag, making it topple over and shedding some of the contents which Twilight had so carefully rearranged back after after the examination. Frank paused and listened for any sounds. He wanted to scream as loud and fierce as he could, but he suppressed that urge and instead listened. Sure enough the commotion had been audible in the office floor below and Featherscribe or somepony else would check what was going on. But there wasn't any sound. Apparently whoever was to stay here during the day had not yet left the great hall and not heard the little fit of pique he had thrown. It was the realization of relief that nopony had heard it that brought him to his senses and allowed him to call himself to order. There was no point in this and if he broke or destroyed anything now, he might regret having done so later and if he was heard screaming like a madpony now, this certainly wouldn't help him with whatever he was going to be in in Canterlot. Frank walked over to one window and pushed it wide open. Maybe he should just go up to the cupola again and play the harmonica a little to calm down. He took another deep breath and decided to first reshelf the folders and put back the contents of his saddle-bags.
Frank had restored about half of the folders when something caught his attention. His quill had landed on a little book that had apparently slipped out of one of the folders. It looked extremely worn out and bore no semblance to the gray folder it had slipped out of. The wooden cover had some cracks and was held together only by several broad ribbons that were glued to the cover. The cover bore some scorch marks. The pages were very yellowed and some of them were torn or also bore scorch marks or both of that. But they still bore a distinctly not printed and rather blotted writing. Frank flipped to the title page and began to read:
A treatise on some of the the least known, yet most dangerous creatures in the realm of Equestria by the most honorable Dr. Adus Noceo Quircs
That sounded most definitely not like the office lingo from the folders. Frank racked his brain, but he was quite sure that he had never heard of a book or treatise of such a title, nor did the name Dr. Quircs ring any bell for him. Frank flipped to the first page and read:
The reader is hereby informed that the research and gathering of information for this treatise required for the author to take frequent and potentially lethal risks. Moreover the research required of the author the use of means and methods which were not always sanctioned by the laws, rules, and customs approved of by her highness Princess Celestia the undimmed ap Eohippus, ruler of Equestria, mover of the sun, and acting mover of the moon. By continuing to read beyond this page the reader gives his or her agreement to accept the means by which the information herein contained were acquired and therefore abjures the possibility of using the content of this treatise as a basis for legal pursuit of the author.
Frank looked up, blinked once and looked at the text again as if he expected for it to have changed. This was certainly a most uncommon opening for a scientific treatise and declaring that reading beyond this opening was to be interpreted as the reader's consent to whatever means not in consent with the laws, rules and customs approved of by Princess Celestia the author had taken to acquire the information referred to in the opening was something that Frank doubted would be accepted by any court.
However, by the looks of it the author would not have to worry about legal persecution anymore. The titles bestowed upon Celestia and especially the reference as "acting mover of the moon" were something not in use for generations. In fact Frank was pretty sure that Princess Celestia herself had insisted not to be referred to as the "acting mover of the moon" not long after the banishment of Nightmare Moon. This book was clearly to be seen as a historical source. Nevertheless, Frank hesitated for a moment. He had no idea what means this Dr. Quircs had taken to gain which information on 'some of the least known, yet most dangerous creatures in the realm of Equestria'. This total lack of information what exactly all this was about convinced Frank that he could just continue reading. Knowledge was better than ignorance after all and if nothing else, he was quite sure that this was exactly the kind of distraction he was in dire need of. Frank flipped to the next page.
The great hall had mostly emptied by the time Twilight and Rainbow Dash got back down there. Featherscribe, Mayor Mare and Lady Justice were just heading for the stairs as Twilight and Rainbow Dash descended. "Princess Twilight", Lady Justice said with a little nod. "I got to say that even with this being just a hearing, this is one of the most... intriguing cases I have ever been involved with. Prosecution and defense both argued quite... fervently." She squinted at Featherscribe. "I'm going to talk to Inkhorn", Twilight said. "I must hear about this alleged attack of Frank!" "Alleged...", Featherscribe began. "Now give her a moment, for pity's sake, Princess! She's been up all night and the day before, been attacked by Mr. Blanket and only got home shortly before the start of the hearing!" "For pity's sake?" Twilight snapped, forgetting about any royal decorum for a moment. "You'd send him to stand trial in Canterlot for something he didn't do and dare talking about pity?"
"Princess Twilight...", Lady Justice said very seriously, "...while Mr. Blanket doesn't come across as a liar, the evidence brought up against him is rather strong. The money in his sleeping back, the entry on the map in his hoofwriting, the amulet that would enable him to commit the theft and that had been stolen from the very place he is coming from... I am not ignoring the flaws in the plausibility and the indications of a possible framing. However, even without the attack on Inkhorn, I would have considered further examinations necessary. Mr. Featherscribe has been doing his job as the prosecutor and admitted to a possible bias based on the attack on Inkhorn."
"But Mr. Blanket said he didn't attack her!" Twilight said. "He didn't just say he didn't attack her...", Rainbow Dash came to Twilight's assistance, "...he swore like the holiest of oaths that he wasn't lying! In the name of Celestia, Luna, all there is in Equestria and all that. If a pony was lying with such an oath, wouldn't that pony be... you know... struck by lightning or something like that?" "You probably know better than I do about weather phenomena and what influence the truthfulness of a pony may or may not have on them", Featherscribe commented dryly. "And as I suggested during the hearing, I wouldn't even exclude the chance that Mr. Blanket himself was under the impression that he is telling the truth. I admitted the possible bias because he attacked my Inky—" "Inky?" Rainbow Dash said, but was determinedly ignored by Featherscribe. "...but with all due respect, you seem to be rather biased yourself, Princess, if you never ever even consider the possibility that Mr. Blanket may have done all that! And if you...", he squinted at Rainbow Dash, "...are serious about what you said during the hearing, suggesting that Inkhorn may be 'seeing things' for being too tired, then you are rather inconsequent if now you want to wake her up to question her!"
There was an uncomfortable silence for several moments. "Maybe we should get upstairs to write to Canterlot and do all the paperwork that needs to be done now", Mayor Mare said. "I regret that the hearing led to no more... satisfactory outcome." It wasn't clear for whom the last words had been meant; for everypony perhaps. Lady Justice nodded in agreement and with a little bow to Twilight she proceeded past her and Rainbow Dash up the stairs followed by Featherscribe and Mayor Mare. Twilight sighed. She walked down to where Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Spike, with Owlowiscious perched on his head, were waiting. In the now empty hall they had probably heard every word of the exchange on the stairs, for nopony had spoken very quietly.
"We got a lot to do, everypony!" Twilight said with an air of grim determination as she approached. "Come on!" she said as she walked past the others towards the door of the town hall. Twilight cast a short look at the sky when she left the building. The sun had moved well past its zenith by now. "There's something really strange about Inkhorn", Twilight said. "What makes you say that, darling?" Rarity asked surprised. "Yes, what is wrong with...", Rainbow Dash grinned, "...Inky?" "Remember I told you yesterday that she told me that Swallowtail was not in the register of citizens of Ponyville?" "Of course", Applejack said. "When Rainbow and I were upstairs to bring Frank back, I took a quick look into her office." "You spied on her? Twi, the Princess and spy?" Pinkie Pie asked cheerfully. "Now really, Pinkie", Rarity said indignantly. "Twilight wouldn't spy!"
"Well... in a sense I did", Twilight admitted. "Told you so!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "Anyway, I just checked out the citizens register and Swallowtail was right there. The entry really couldn't be overlooked." "You mean Inkhorn lied to you yesterday?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised. Twilight hesitated. They had reached the fountain on the town square and Twilight stopped, for she hadn't yet made up her mind about which way to go first. "Are you suspecting Inkhorn to be behind all this?" Applejack asked, sounding alarmed and highly skeptical at the same time.
Twilight was gnawing on her lower lip. "I just don't really know. I don't really want to suspect her. I've been rash about Swallowtail yesterday and it all seemed so clear at the time, but then this suspicion was taken apart in moments. I don't want to make that same mistake again. But there is yet another point. If indeed Frank had no idea about the entry on his map and the amulet hidden there, both must have been arranged by somepony with access to his saddle-bags. Theoretically, and really I am not saying that this is was happened, Inkhorn could have used a sound muffling spell to sneak into the room at night and do this."
"I just cannot imagine that!" Rarity said. "She has always been living here and she is such a fine pony. She has been working here for so long and she and Featherscribe such lovely... colleagues." "Do you think she calls him Feathery?" Rainbow Dash asked, cutting a face. "And doing his job or not, wasn't he just... different today?" Twilight shook her head slightly. "I do not know. But no, I am not actually suspecting Inkhorn of anything. With all the strange things happening, I think there is really something much more serious about all this than we have so far understood. I don't think Inkhorn is a liar, I don't think Frank is a liar either, but this unknown attacker must have done something to one of them." Many pieces began to form to a picture in Twilight's mind.
"I didn't have a chance to tell you yet...", Twilight cast a look around to see whether there was anyone who might overhear their talk, but the square and the alleys were empty, "...but last night Princess Luna appeared in my dream. And she said that there was something wrong with Frank's dream. She said that it just suddenly ended in a way that she had never seen before. That one moment there was a dream and the next moment there wasn't anything anymore. A 'void', I think, she called it." "Does Luna tell you about what other ponies' dream?" asked Rainbow Dash and Twilight didn't miss that she sounded uncomfortable.
"Don't worry. Luna is perfectly discreet. Anyway, Frank looked rather worn out this morning, said he had a headache and his reaction to the spell..." "Oh yes, Twilight, what did you do to him on the stage?" Rarity asked. "It looked horrible!" "Creepy!" Pinkie Pie agreed. "I didn't do anything", Twilight said. "I didn't mean to. The spell shouldn't have hurt him. It was just the same spell I used on Swallowtail yesterday. The kind that would have lifted any illusion spell or returned a changeling to the original form." "You think it hurt him because of some other magic used on him?" Applejack asked. "It may be", Twilight said. "I don't know for sure. I don't know a magic that would have that effect, but if some magic was used on him and was lingering or something, it might have changed the effect of my spell. I... I really didn't mean to hurt him." Twilight suddenly felt it was important to stress that point once again. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had reminded her of how it had probably appeared to many ponies in the audience.
"And what do you think that magic did to Frank?" Applejack asked. "Do you think that perhaps some magic cast on him by somepony else could have made him steal the money and attack Inkhorn?" Twilight shook her head immediately. "No. Magic doesn't work like that. I'm not sure if even the most powerful magician could control a pony to the point of making that pony act against the own will without even remembering anything about it. I know very little about that branch of magic though..."
"Twilight, I know you don't feel well about this, but maybe you should really ask Princess Celestia about that kind of magic after all", Rarity said. Twilight nodded reluctantly. "Yes, with everything that has happened, I think I really should. And Princess Luna too. She seemed really worried about what she saw or didn't see in Frank's dreams. Perhaps she found out something more." "Princess Luna worried?" Rainbow Dash asked. The idea that a Princess whose darker side had been the very definition of nightmare and fear could worry about something didn't leave her unconcerned. Twilight only nodded in response to Rainbow Dash's question but continued: "There are several things which need to be done. I still hope that perhaps Cheerilee might remember something today that may help to find the attacker. We still don't have any idea why she of all ponies was attacked. Anything she may have done recently that she can remember may be important. We saw her talk with Mr. Rich during the party, perhaps he or she said something there that somehow led to her being attacked." "But... but wouldn't that mean that the thief would have heard whatever they were talking about?" Rarity asked.
Twilight shrugged. "There were so many at the party and while we really don't have any clue at all about the attacker, it is at least a possibility. Just speculating here— no Pinkie, not about cookies!" Pinkie Pie looked a little taken aback about having been interrupted before she had even opened her mouth. "Ah was going to visit Cheerilee anyway", Applejack said. "The kids already headed there right after the end of the hearing." Twilight nodded. She had noticed the absence of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "And what else is there to do?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Inkhorn", Twilight said. "We must talk to her and hear what exactly she says Frank did. And also... like I said, I cannot imagine her having done this and I really don't think that she would know the kind of magic we are dealing with here, but I still think we shouldn't totally exclude any possibility." "Featherscribe said that she is sleeping", Rarity reminded them. "Do you really want to wake her up?" "If necessary, yes", Twilight said. "With all due respect to her rest, if this may give us some answers. We need to find this attacker."
Rarity nodded. "I also very much hope that perhaps Zecora will be able to recover some memory from Mr. Rich. Perhaps she could talk to Cheerilee too." "When did Zecora want to come by?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I haven't seen her for a looong time." "We didn't really agree on a time yesterday", Twilight said. "I hope she didn't get here during the hearing and ended up locked out in front of the Rich Mansion." "Swallows would let her in", Pinkie Pie said. "He was not at the hearing." Twilight just hoped that if indeed Zecora had shown up at the Rich Mansion during the time of the hearing, she hadn't been treated as gruffly by Swallowtail as she herself had been. "Is there anything else to do?" Rarity asked.
Twilight nodded slowly. She had reserved the task which she considered the most difficult of all for herself. "What is it?" Rarity asked. "I know only one for whom it would be quite possible to do all that has happened." "Discord", Applejack said grimly. "I must talk to Fluttershy again", Twilight said. "Maybe she can talk to Discord. He really is the only one I know who not only has the means but probably also the mind to do that kind of thing. I only wished it wasn't so difficult to talk about Discord to Fluttershy." "Do you think he did it?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Like I said, he could do it and I think he would do it. But if he really did it, he also has all the means to make it impossible to track it down to him. If he did it, I don't think we would find any evidence. I think there is nothing we can do but ask Fluttershy to appeal to whatever she sees in him and hope that she is right about him."
"You don't believe in Discord's reformation?" Rarity asked. "Do you?" Twilight asked in turn, leaving all of the others just as unable to answer as she was herself. She sighed. "I hate to admit it, but I sometimes wonder if things wouldn't be better if he had been left the stone to which he was turned because of his own actions!" "You're right, Twilight, but I don't think you want to lay it out to Fluttershy like that", Rainbow Dash said. Twilight nodded sadly. "Of course I won't. But really, ever since we had to give up on the Elements of Harmony, I'm wondering whatever we could even do at all if Discord decided it would be fun to bring back all the chaos of his reign. What he can do is on such a totally different level than anything I could do against him. Even Celestia and Luna may not stand a chance against him without the help of the Elements of Harmony and I sometimes wonder if Princess Celestia would have ever had us release him if she had known that we would have to give up on the Elements."
"Did ya ever ask her about that?" Applejack asked. Twilight shook her head. "Didn't dare to", she admitted. "It's a moot point anyway. But I'm going to Fluttershy and talk to her. You said you were going to Miss Cheerilee, AJ, would one of you go with her?" Twilight asked in the direction of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. "Go with me?" Applejack asked a bit surprised. "I can come along", Rarity said. "That way I can also have an eye on Sweetie Belle." "Begging your pardon Twilight, but isn't it a little over the top having Rarity escort me to Cheerilee? No offense meant, but I can't say I feel an awful lot safer with Rarity as a bodyguard than I would feel without her." "Hey!" Rarity protested, putting on a pout. "I appreciate your company of course", Applejack hurried to assure.
"Girls, this is not about anypony being anypony else's bodyguard! But seriously, we don't know whoever is out there and attacked Mr. Rich, Mrs. Cheerilee and possibly Frank. I told everypony to avoid staying on their own and I really think that may be a good idea while we don't have any clue about the attacker. He or she may be deterred if there is more than one pony around. Of course I don't want to prohibit you from being on your own, but if we can help it... please, I just don't want to see anyone of you being attacked!" There was a barely concealed urgency in Twilight's voice.
"So Dashie and I will go to Pen and Paper's house then!" Pinkie Pie announced cheerfully and Rainbow Dash shrugged in agreement. "Great!" Twilight said. "I'll be off to Fluttershy then and will be back as soon as possible." "Wait a moment, sugarcube, aren't ya forgetting something?" Applejack asked, frowning. "What's that, Applejack?" "We're all not to stay alone while you wander off on your own, making yourself the perfect target for that attacker?" Twilight smiled broadly at Applejack: "No, AJ, you're the one forgetting someone." With a flash of her horn Twilight teleported Spike, who was still holding Owlowiscious, onto her back. "I got a flame-breathing dragon by my side! Of whom should I be afraid?" Spike was beaming at her.
Twilight was only passing by the library on her way to Fluttershy's cottage when she spotted Fluttershy flying towards her. She knew immediately that something was wrong as she spotted the look on Fluttershy's face. Her eyes were puffy and she looked disheveled in a way that alarmed Twilight. She took off so quickly that Spike could only just cling to her mane while Owlowiscious found himself waking up in free fall and only just managed to avoid a rough landing by flapping fiercely. "Twilight!" Fluttershy called before Twilight had even reached here. "You must come! Please! I need your help!" "Of course! What can I do?"
But Fluttershy already spun around and flew back in the direction of her cottage from where she had come. She had never shared Rainbow Dash's enthusiasm for flying and had never become even nearly as accomplished at it, but now she was flying as fast as she could, making it very difficult for Twilight to keep up and similarly difficult for Spike to cling on to Twilight's mane. During the flight a terrible thought came up in Twilight's mind. Fluttershy looked heartbroken and disheveled. Had she perhaps become the next victim of the attacker? Fluttershy landed in front of her cottage and looked back at Twilight with a kind of pleading impatience. Twilight tripped and almost fell when she landed.
"Fluttershy, for the love of Celestia, what happened? What is wrong? How can I help?" Fluttershy gave Twilight a look so desperate it could have made a stone statue cry. "My feathered friends! My birds, so many of them are... not well. And one of them... she must have been attacked. I tried everything I could, but I think she is..." Her mouth began to tremble and she didn't have to say it for Twilight to understand. Spike leaped from her back, unmistakably relieved to be on the ground again. Moments later Owlowiscious landed on his head. "Your magic...", Fluttershy sobbed, "...you must help her, Twilight!" Twilight nodded, but at the same time she felt like an icy cold hand was closing around her heart and squeezing. She didn't know all that much about healing magic and was certain that Fluttershy knew infinitely more about how to care for sick animals. By the sound of it the life of one of her feathered friends was at stake and if she failed to live up to her hopes, Twilight knew this would be infinitely more difficult to bear than any failed test.
Fluttershy led the way to her backyard where an unlikely scene presented itself. There were plenty of birds there, which was far from unusual in Fluttershy's backyard, but there wasn't the usual melody of chirping and twittering, except for occasional tweets that sounded almost like warning calls. It didn't take any expertise on animals to realize that these birds were distraught, nervous and scared. Even Fluttershy's bunny Angel, usually never shy to assert himself, seemed utterly lost and overtaxed amidst the flocks of birds. They thronged together as if in fear of being attacked but not knowing where to flee.
"What's happening?" Twilight asked aghast. "I don't know", Fluttershy sobbed. "First there were just a few birds who seemed to have a bad day. But when I got home yesterday there were so many of them. And this morning there were even more. They are terrified, Twilight! But I don't know what is doing this to them. And then there is..." Fluttershy sniffed. She had arrived at a wooden table in her backyard. On it, she had arranged a nest of twigs, cloth, and cushions and in this nest lay a bird whom Twilight had seen before. She gasped. It was the barn owl, the very same she had seen Owlowiscious attack the previous evening. Twilight immediately cast her head around to Spike, but Owlowiscous sat on his head, visibly concerned by the situation but clearly not out for any aggression. "She came here this morning", Fluttershy snivelled. "She was bleeding and ruffled and very weak. I did everything I could, but she is getting ever weaker!"
Twilight stepped beside the table. The barn owl didn't seem to notice her, in fact, Twilight wasn't sure if she was awake, even though her eyes were half-open. Her plumage was heaving and lowering only a little as the bird was breathing shallowly. There were broken and ruffled feathers, much like there had been on Owlowiscious after the fight the previous evening. Twilight saw that Fluttershy had bandaged some spots while a few minor scratches had been cleaned but lay uncovered. Twilight was thinking frantically about everything she had ever heard or read about injuries, birds, injured birds and any magic that might help here. "Did she eat and drink anything since she came here?" Twilight asked. "Very, very little", Fluttershy sobbed, nodding at a little bowl of water and another with some morsels which stood right beside the nest on the table. "The other birds...", Twilight asked, "...have any of them been injured like the owl?" Fluttershy shook her head. "But they are scared and terrified!"
Twilight took a deep breath and her horn flashed for a moment. Several of the minor cuts closed and looked like they had been healing for several days already. Fluttershy gave Twilight a very thankful look, but Twilight knew that any gratitude or relief was utterly premature. She had only mended the minor cuts because it was the only thing she knew about, but this owl was not in her poor shape because of this kind of scratches, which were probably a part of nightly life for such a bird of prey. If she could help it, Twilight didn't want to remove the carefully applied bandages which Fluttershy had undoubtedly put on with the uttermost care and skill. "Fluttershy, how deep are the injuries under the bandages?" Twilight asked. "Deep! I'm sure they must hurt the poor thing." "I'm sure they do, but what I mean is, do you think that they are... life-threatening for this owl?" Fluttershy was looking rather distressed.
"Please, Fluttershy, I must know to decide what to do to help our feathered friend here!" "I... I do not think the cuts would be life-threatening. They must hurt a lot, but I have seen birds with even worse injuries who were never... like this." Fluttershy pointed at the owl whose state gave good reason to fear for her life. Twilight carefully approached the owl and scanned her closely, but she didn't detect any curse or spell of any sort that might have explained the owl's suffering. She brushed through her mane with one hoof, frantically trying to think of something to do, but she had no idea at all what could be the cause for the suffering of the owl that wasn't caused by the injuries or any kind of magic that she could find. "I don't know who attacked her...", Fluttershy wailed. "Owlowiscious did", Twilight said flatly.
Fluttershy goggled at her as if she was certain she had misheard. "Last night he attacked an owl at the library. I don't know why and when I tried to get them apart, they flew away before I could stop them. I went after them of course and Owlowiscious returned a bit ruffled and confused, but otherwise okay. I don't know why he did it and I'm not sure if he knew." "That was this bird?" Spike asked, pointing at the owl on the table. The motion directed the attention of Owlowiscious on Spike's head to the owl on the table, while so far he had appeared absorbed with the observation of the other birds. With a short leap and a single flap of wings, Owlowiscious landed on the table beside the fading owl.
"Owlowiscious, no!" Twilight called and was about to drag her pet owl away with a spell, while Fluttershy uttered a little yelp. Owlowiscious however didn't attack but approached his conspecific cautiously, uttering some quiet hoots and nudging her gently. There was not a sign that would have suggested that just the previous evening these two owls had fought at talon and beak point. "What is he doing?" Spike whispered as if he feared his voice might scare away every bird around if he spoke up. "He is... caring", Fluttershy said. Indeed the scene reminded a lot of what it would have looked like had a pony in sickbed been cared for by a friend or relative. Owlowiscious hoots sounded like cooing noises as he nudged the barn owl and removed a few fragments of broken feathers from her plumage while carefully avoiding to touch any of the bandages or bruises which Twilight's spell had closed. The constant quiet hooting sounded almost like a song and Owlowiscious only stopped when he picked up a little morsel from the bowl beside the nest and fed it to the barn owl. The barn owl did accept the morsel while Owlowiscious continued to coo and made ever effort to coddle up his fellow owl.
"Twilight...", Spike said with a most skeptical voice, "...you're seriously saying Owlowiscious attacked this owl last night?" "He did. I saw it. I don't understand that either." The effect of Owlowiscioius' caring and caressing was as distinct as it was immediate. The barn owl opened her eyes completely and these black eyes were getting a lot more focused. She was breathing deeper and more regular now and even raised her head a little and span it as far as no bird other than an owl could have, first to the one, then to the other side as if trying to orient herself. She still looked very weak, she still had an air of despair and suffering about her, but as she took a little drink from the water-bowl Fluttershy had placed next to the one with the morsels, there was nothing left of the impression of impending death that had been looming just moments before. The barn owl uttered a weak hoot in response to Owlowiscious who did not budge from her side.
"Thanks!" Fluttershy sobbed, burying her face into Twilight's mane and drawing her into a hug. "I didn't do anything", Twilight said while returning the hug, patting Fluttershy's back gently with one of her wings and trying to understand what had happened. "It was Owlowiscious." "Thanks to him, thanks to you, thanks to everyone!" Fluttershy said, her voice still shaking, but her puffy eyes now giving a look of unrestrained relief. Twilight herself felt like she had been relieved of a very heavy burden and her knees felt weak. What if Owlowiscious hadn't been with them? What if the owl hadn't experienced this almost miraculous improvement under the care of Owlowiscious? What if the hope and confidence that Fluttershy had put in her had been in vain? In vain were these thoughts, to be sure, but Twilight couldn't keep them out of her mind while she still held Fluttershy.
After several more minutes and after Fluttershy had taken another close look at the owl that convinced her she was not in immediate danger anymore, Fluttershy invited Twilight and Spike into her cottage where she boiled tea. All the windows were open and almost all of the birds immediately flew inside as Fluttershy left the backyard while Owlowiscious stayed outside with the barn owl. Twilight was looking out of the window and at the birds there. Her mind was working frantically.
"Hello, anypony there?" Spike waved one arm in front of her eyes and by the looks she got from both Spike and Fluttershy, it was clear she had missed something they said. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" "Uhm... I was just asking if you wanted milk or sugar or honey in your tea, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked with an apologetic look. Twilight wondered how often she had been asking without her realizing it before Spike had taken the more direct approach to gain her attention, an approach Fluttershy probably wouldn't have taken for a much longer time. "Just the tea. Thank you, Fluttershy." "Gee Twilight, what are you thinking about?"
"The birds...", Twilight mumbled, half in response to Spike's question, half to herself. "Fluttershy, did any of the other birds care for the owl like Owlowiscious did?" "Oh no...", Fluttershy said while she put a cup of tea in front of Twilight and another one in front of Spike, "...other birds avoid owls or sometimes even chase them away. None of them got anywhere near the owl." "The other birds, Fluttershy! The other birds who came to you, how did they get better?" Fluttershy looked surprised at the urgency of the question. "I... I think most of them just needed a hug", Fluttershy said. "Some comfort and being with their friends and families." "Like the bird you had when I came here yesterday?" Spike asked. Fluttershy nodded and suddenly twitched. Spike's question had reminded her of something.
"Twilight, how was the hearing? Did they release Frank?" Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "No, they didn't." Fluttershy looked taken aback. "No? But how could they? I mean—" "The birds, Fluttershy, do they all seem the same or was it just some of them having a bad day?" "Uhm... some seemed very, very sad. But not all of them were like that. Most of the birds who came here since yesterday evening are terrified rather than just scared. I think they want to tell me something, but I don't really understand what they mean." "What they mean?" Twilight asked. "What are they saying?"
Fluttershy sighed. "It does not really work like that. Most of what the birds are saying cannot be translated like it was a pony language. They often use intonations or images that I don't understand completely either." "Anything Fluttershy", Twilight pleaded. "Anything you understand?" "Uhm... now I am really not sure. It also doesn't make any sense and I could be utterly wrong and they may just be saying something that I have never heard before so I don't understand—" "Please Fluttershy!" "Uh, okay. It sounds a bit like they were saying something like 'some of us are not one of us at some passing of everything'—" "Some passing of everything?" Spike asked confused, earning himself an angry look from Twilight. "I think that may mean something like 'life' or 'time'", Fluttershy said. "But I'm not really sure." "What else do they say?" Twilight asked. "The rest is really much more difficult it could be 'dark shifting, sky floating eats but not what is to eat, starves chirps'." Twilight continued to look at Fluttershy expectantly. "That's all they say, Twilight, but they say it over and over again." Fluttershy said.
"Starves chirps?" Spike asked. "How can you starve a chirp?" "Chirp is something birds say all the time. I think they use it for many different things", Fluttershy said. "I think it can mean, sun, song, cheer, clear blue sky, happiness, love, goodness... almost everything birds like can be described with 'chirp', but they always know what exactly they mean and perhaps I interpreted it all utterly wrong." Twilight was gnawing her lower lip. "Twilight, what happened at the hearing? How could they not release Frank?" "It must be the same attacker!" Twilight shouted, ignoring Fluttershy's question. "Twilight? What do you mean?" Spike asked. "The birds appear sad and hopeless! So did Mr. Rich! So did Miss Cheerilee! And Frank too didn't seem to feel well and..."
Suddenly Twilight stopped in mid-sentence, seemed to remember something and gave Fluttershy a look that made her fall back from her a few steps. "Twilight?" "Fluttershy, do you remember everything that happened since you left us yesterday?" "Uh... yes, I think so?" "Are you certain? This is really important! Is there any moment you don't remember?" Fluttershy thought carefully but shook her head. "No, Twilight. I remember everything." "Did you dream last night?" "Yes, I think so. But why are you asking this?" Twilight sighed with relief. "I was worried, Fluttershy. You were so upset that I thought if perhaps you too had been attacked by the same one who attacked Mr. Rich, Miss Cheerilee and possibly Frank." "Frank was attacked?" Fluttershy asked shocked. "I'm not quite certain, but Princess Luna visited me in my dream last night and said that there was something very unusual about his dream and Frank seemed somewhat downcast this morning. Not as much as Mr. Rich or, from what Applejack told me, Miss Cheerilee, but still." "Twilight, please tell me of the hearing... if you don't mind."
Twilight gave a summary of the hearing and its results while her mind was again focused on what she had learned here at Fluttershy's place. From her summary of the hearing and the tasks given to the others, Twilight returned back to the topic of the birds. "Their behavior seems so similar to that of Mr. Rich and Miss Cheerilee. They seemed really depressed, but care, concern, comforting from the ones they love, friends and family seem to be the most helpful remedy!" "But isn't that always helping, Twilight, no matter why someone feels bad?" Twilight nodded: "You are right there of course; but the owl was really... well you saw her. This was not just the usual effect of comforting. She might have..." Fluttershy nodded.
"But Twilight, Fluttershy said that most of the birds who arrived since yesterday appeared scared rather than depressed", Spike pointed out. "Yes, but most ponies too are worried after the attacks that happened. They are not in panic, but a few more such attacks and... anyway. I really don't think this is a coincidence! And somehow this must also be the explanation for what happened yesterday night. Owlowiscious would never just attack and injure a fellow owl!" Spike nodded in agreement. Twilight started to walk around Fluttershy's table in circles at a rapid pace while Fluttershy almost clung to the teapot she was still holding. Twilight's restlessness was making her rather nervous. "Something's missing! Something is still missing!" Twilight said to herself, but talking so loud that Spike and Fluttershy understood her clearly. "Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm certain the attacker of Mr. Rich and Miss Cheerilee also attacked the birds. But I don't know why. Maybe even the attack on Mr. Rich was not so much about the money after all. It all seems so chaotic...", Twilight coughed suddenly, quickly levitated the tea cup to herself and emptied it completely. "I still don't know who is behind this... but I think we got enough to put into a letter to Princess Celestia and one to Princess Luna. Maybe we will hear even more from Zecora when we get back to the library. Spike, come along!" Twilight stepped towards the door at a determined pace and levitated the hesitant Spike onto her back as she walked.
"Uh... Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, noticing suddenly that her focus on the case had let her almost forget about Fluttershy. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I just got some ideas and maybe we can still find the attacker before they bring Frank to Canterlot." "Did you get an epiphany?" Fluttershy asked. "An epiphany?" Twilight asked surprised, not because she was unfamiliar with the word but because she hadn't expected it from Fluttershy. "Or epicfunny if Pinkie got it right." "Not yet... something is still missing. But Fluttershy, the attacker is still about and I already told the others that nopony should stay alone for too long. Would you come with me to the library?" "I can't do that, Twilight! My feathered friends need me now and the other animals too. I must stay here with them."
Twilight nodded very slowly. Soft-spoken as Fluttershy was, Twilight was certain that nothing she could say would convince her to leave her animals behind in this situation. "Just please be very careful, Fluttershy! I still don't know why the attacker attacks whom he attacks. You should perhaps close the windows. I'm a worried to leave you here all alone—" Fluttershy laughed suddenly. It was a bright and clear laughter which even Twilight had rarely ever heard from her unassertive friend. Fluttershy quickly fell silent again, but she was smiling as she said: "But Twilight, how could I be alone?" She spread out her wings as if she wanted to embrace all the birds and other animals now crowded in the cottage. "Perhaps I am the least alone of us all... I think." Twilight was not quite sure what to make of this, but she just nodded. "I'll leave Owlowiscious here with you. It is probably the best for the injured owl. But if there is anything wrong, please send him to me immediately!" Fluttershy nodded.
"Twilight?" Spike lowered his voice a little. "Weren't you going to ask Fluttershy something else?" "No, Spike", Twilight said firmly. The dragon gave her a surprised look. "I meant about—" Twilight silenced him by shaking her head while Fluttershy looked at them confused. "See you, Fluttershy!" "Goodbye. Thank you for everything." Twilight left Fluttershy's cottage and headed back towards the library. "...Discord?" Spike finished his question as they crossed the bridge over the brook in front of Fluttershy's cottage.
Twilight shook her head again. "He could probably do all this and if it was all about what we had before we got here, I wouldn't put it beyond him. But attacking Fluttershy's birds, almost killing one of them. I don't think that is the kind of cruelty he would get a laugh from and also...", Twilight sighed, "...I may not be able to really understand that friendship between Fluttershy and Discord yet. But something tells me he would not do anything so certain to break this friendship. I still don't know who this attacker is, but after what I have seen here, I'm quite sure it is not Discord."
As they arrived back at the library, Twilight turned to Spike: "Spike, please write two letters, one to Princess Celestia and one to Princess Luna. Tell them everything that happened during the hearing, and all we know about the attacker that wasn't in the letter I wrote to Celestia yesterday." "Everything?" Spike asked a little unsure. "You were at the hearing. You were around all along. You know all I know, so please write those letters and I will check them to see if anything needs to be added." Twilight gave him an encouraging smile. "You can do it!" "What will you do?"
"I'll check if I can find anything else in the books that could help us. I've been so focused on preparing for the hearing and proving that Frank can't have done it that I didn't try as hard to find out who could have really done it. I'll see if I can find out anything about the kind of memory loss and depression and also about what we've just seen about the birds." As she said it, Twilight levitated about a dozen books from various sections of the library onto a table. Spike was looking somewhat skeptical.
"Are you sure this is going to help, Twilight? Don't you know all these books by heart anyway? Wouldn't you remember if there was anything in them?" Twilight sighed: "I'm not sure, Spike. But even I don't know every book here and maybe I have just overlooked something. There are still many missing pieces. For example, why would the attacker attack the birds, or Miss Cheerilee? I think if I find out about the why, it may lead to the who... Anyway, I sure hope Zecora finds out something or that Princess Celestia or Princess Luna know who might come up with that kind of magic."
A pony was heading for Golden Oak Library. It had been a very long time since he had last walked the alleys of Ponyville. He was wearing an old top hat that he hadn't been wearing in a long time and he had turned up the collar of his black tailcoat so they covered much of his face. He had his look fixed straight ahead and never looked at any of the ponies he passed on his way, however blatantly they were staring at him. His pace was steady and too quick for any curious passerby to try to engage him into an unwanted conversation. It was only when he reached the library that he stopped and hesitated for a moment. Nopony was around to be seen.
Swallowtail took off the top hat which he had set over his defective horn and fanned himself. He was more nervous than he would ever allow for his expression to give away. Celestia's sun stood unusually low for the time of the year and day, yet still the heat was lingering. It had been a very long time indeed since he had last left the Rich Mansion and he felt unprotected outside its walls. He avoided anypony outside those walls and had done so for a very long time. But for all he was aware of now, it was not him but his master who might be in need of a protection he could not provide himself. He would have gone to Tartarus at his master's bidding and perhaps he would have felt less awkward about that than he felt about talking to other ponies and doing so without the explicit bidding of his master.
He put the top hat back on his head, and with a working life's experience of countenance, put on a stern expression as he proceeded to the door of the library. It felt rather unusual as he knocked on the door to request rather than grant or deny entry. "That must be Zecora", he heard the voice of Princess Twilight from behind the door. Moments later the door was yanked open. A smile on the face of the princess froze and gave way to a startled, almost scared look and Swallowtail had the impression that she had just suppressed a little scream. Perhaps he was a bit of an uncanny sight with the dark coat, the top hat and the stern look. But he was not here to scare anypony. He removed the top hat from his head with a little nod.
"Princess Twilight." "Mr. Swallowtail. It is you", the princess said, still looking rather surprised. An awkward silence followed. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect you." "No. Miss Zecora was at my master's place, but learning that apparently Miss Cheerilee has been submitted to the same... inconvenience as Master Rich has, she decided to attend upon her too." Swallowtail said. "Why have you come here?" Twilight asked, looking at the unflinching face of the old servant. "There is something I got to tell you, Princess. Something that I think you should know." Twilight was giving him a probing look before she stepped aside. "May I enter?" "Please do!"
Swallowtail let his look wander through the library room. Piles of books and some pieces of papers covered more than one table in the room and some books were even lying on the floor. He would have never permitted such disorder to blemish the rooms he was in charge of in his master's house, but he had not come here to judge the service personnel of the princess, which, if word was true, consisted of a dragon even more juvenile than the princess herself. "Would you like to drink something, Mr. Swallowtail?" For a moment the old servant felt tempted to accept the offer, but managed to restrain himself. "Please, no courtesies, Your Highness." "As you wish", Twilight said cooly as she moved over to one table, inviting Swallowtail to the opposite site with a silent gesture. "Twilight, is that...?"
As Swallowtail looked up, he saw the little dragon he had heard about, but never seen before. He stood on the stairs leading to the upper floor of the library, holding a quill in one and a sheet of paper in another hand. "Mr. Swallowtail does us the honor", Twilight said stiffly. "Can I help... do you need anything?" the dragon asked. "Thank you Spike, but we are fine. Please just finish the letters." The dragon nodded slowly and climbed back up the stairs. Swallowtail couldn't help the impression that he was being observed though.
"I regret the way things turned out yesterday evening", Princess Twilight said formally. "I am sorry for this. I hope you are alright?" Swallowtail realized the situation was not much less uncomfortable for the princess than it was for himself. He wanted the talk to be over as quickly as possible. "The little Miss has not talked to me since", he said bleakly. "But I have not come here because of that. Master Rich told me about the hearing. I understand the defendant had to reveal a cutie mark that he would have rather kept secret?" Twilight nodded. "That must have been unpleasant." Twilight was frowning. Of course she did not miss the parallels to the events of the previous evening.
"The defendant said he is studying cutie marks on behalf of the ones who don't have a cutie mark or one they are not happy with?" "That's what Mr. Blanket does", Princess Twilight said. Swallowtail nodded slowly. "Mr. Swallowtail, you said there is something you think I should know? Something that has to do with all this?" "Miss Zecora hypnotized my master, put him in a trance and gave him something to drink that she said would, 'make him remember and tell, what has been forgotten through course or through spell'." Twilight nodded. This sounded like Zecora.
"I would not have permitted for my master to undergo such a treatment but for his own insistence, while I insisted on staying there for the whole time. Miss Zecora however did not find anything. No matter how much she probed and insisted, to a point that I felt almost compelled to intervene and protect Master Rich from her, she did not get any response other than 'nothing' from him about anything she asked about his memories of the day before yesterday and the night after. Miss Zecora said: 'I know not how a memory could be completely destroyed but in Mr. Rich's mind there is nothing but a void'. She said that there was absolutely nothing at all in my master's mind, not a suppressed memory or anything that had been magically tampered with. Just nothing at all."
"A void...", Twilight mumbled, remembering that this was the same term Princess Luna had used to describe what she had, or rather hadn't, seen in Frank's dream. "Is that everything, Mr. Swallowtail?" "No, Your Highness. I have not come as a mere errand messenger for Miss Zecora about something she would tell you anyway. In fact I am not here by anypony's errand but on my own accord." Twilight raised her eyebrows a little. The way Swallowtail said it left no doubt that it had been a long time since he had been doing anything significant without it being an errand. "I talked to my Master after Miss Zecora left and there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that he is indeed unaware of what I am going to tell you, Princess Twilight. I would not tell you this if I felt that it incriminated my Master in any way."
"You have my undivided attention, Mr. Swallowtail." "I am a light sleeper. A noise that would have left most ponies sleeping roused me two nights ago. Since I consider it my duty to check out everything that might indicate any infringement on the regular proceedings in my Master's house, I got up. When I left my room I only just saw Master Rich walk down the stairs. When I followed him down and into the backyard of the mansion, I saw for my surprise that he was levitating six bags which I knew to be filled with a fortune of bits." "You saw him levitating the bags of bits?!" Twilight shouted. "And didn't that seem the least bit strange to you?"
Swallowtail remained utterly calm and phlegmatic: "Rest assured, Princess Twilight, that in a lifetime of service to the Rich Family I have grown aware of the fact that my master is an earth pony not usually capable of levitating anything." "Then why in Equestria didn't you say anything?" "I did address my master in the backyard. He told me never to tell anything about this. He then asked me to return to my bed, but I still saw he teleported the bags away that were now outside the perimeter of the spell that protects the mansion against this kind of magic."
"You didn't tell because he told you not to?" "Yes, Princess." "Then why are you telling me this now?" "I have been in the service of the Rich Family for all my life. I know Master Rich better than even he may know himself. I was surprised about his actions that night, but I assumed for it to be part of a scheme that I was not supposed to understand. There were some uncertainties however, and after Miss Zecora's examination and a talk with my master before I set out here, I do not have any doubts anymore. That night, I did talk to Master Rich's body, to his voice, to his intonation, to his way of saying things and to his memory, but it was not Master Rich I was talking to. It was not Master Rich who ordered me never to tell anything about what I had seen." "You must come to town hall right now and tell this to Mayor Mare and judge Lady Justice!"
"No, Princess!" "What?" "I have entrusted you with this information, hoping that it may help you to find the real thief. While you don't know who the thief is, there is still a chance that this information will be held against my master. Therefore, I will deny it to anypony else." "But nopony would suspect your master! Ponies don't get arrested so easily!" Swallowtail frowned slightly. "Perhaps they would not. But would you not have said something similar to the defendant... Mr. Blanket, is it? ...before he got arrested on what I understood to be rather vague basis?" Twilight didn't respond.
"Let me speak clearly, Princess. I would lie and get imprisoned myself before I would allow for Master Rich to suffer any inconvenience from the information I trusted you with." "You would lie to everypony, see an innocent pony in prison and would get arrested yourself to spare your master inconveniences?" "Yes", Swallowtail said flatly. "This is crazy!" Twilight shouted angrily about his stubbornness and indifference for everything but his master's interest.
"I would not expect Your Highness to understand this", Swallowtail said with a voice of great decorum. "But perhaps there is, even in the life of one so high-standing as yourself, one for whom you would act just the same in a similar situation." Twilight noticed a momentary flickering in the eyes of Swallowtail and as she followed this short glimpse with her own eyes, her look fell onto her escritoire where a picture of Princess Celestia was standing. Whatever else Mr. Swallowtail was, Twilight had to admit that he was a keen observer.
"Is there anything else?" Twilight asked after some moments. "I think I have told you everything that I can. I wish you to find whoever did whatever to my master. I am going to leave now. Your dragon may come out of his concealment." There was a gasp from the top of the stairs. Twilight cast her head around. Spike was not within sight, but stepped forward now, looking guilty. "Spike, did you eavesdrop on us?" "Your servant was worried about the safety of his mistress", Swallowtail said. "How did you see me there?" Spike asked, his bafflement overcoming his embarrassment. "I did not. But I knew from the look you gave me, that as a loyal servant you would not leave your mistress alone with me. A servant can read more from the faces of others than he can hear from their words. Perhaps that is why I know that however much of my master was in the backyard that night, it was still not my master."
With that, Swallowtail put the top hat back on his head, opened the door, gave Twilight and Spike a curt nod and walked away. Twilight was looking after him as the somber figure walked down the alley that lead towards the Rich Mansion without ever looking back or to any other side. She noticed Spike stepping beside her. "Would you lie and go to prison to spare me inconveniences?" Twilight asked flatly. "I would, but I know you would never ask me to, Mistress", Spike answered, lost in thought. Twilight nodded and pulled Spike in a hug. "But call me 'Mistress' again and I'll have to send you to prison myself for lèse-amitié." "Say what now?" Spike asked, freeing himself gently from the hug. "Insult to friendship", Twilight translated. "Just promise never to become that... submissive." Spike nodded. "I think I got something more to add to the letters to Celestia and Luna." Twilight agreed: "You certainly do." Twilight was looking at the sun. It was late afternoon, but given the time of the year the sun stood unusually low and dusk was setting in already. Perhaps the royal sisters had decided to lower the sun earlier today because of the heat and the persisting lack of rain clouds.
"Urgh... what are we waiting for, Pinkie? Haven't we been patient enough by now?" Rainbow Dash was walking in circles in front of the small two-story house in which Inkhorn and Featherscribe were living. She had flown up and even tried to peek through the closed shutters of some upper floor windows against some protests from Pinkie Pie. Pinkie on the other hoof appeared almost unnervingly relaxed to Rainbow Dash. She seemed perfectly happy counting clouds, declaring what kind of figures she saw in them or doing the same with stones on the ground and trying to engross Rainbow Dash in a talk about why she thought Frankie was carrying a stone in his money bag.
"Why are you in such a hurry, Dashie?" Pinkie Pie asked with an air of actual interest in this question that Rainbow Dash would have liked to see from her about the questions she herself was aching to ask Inkhorn. "Why? We've been just hanging around here for like...", Rainbow Dash was making a sweeping movement with one of her wings. "You don't want to hang around with me?" Pinkie Pie asked, sulking. "Wha...? No, no, no, Pinkie! Nothing against hanging around with you, but you are missing the point! We should be doing something to help Twilight and Frank!" Rainbow Dash said exasperatedly.
"But we are, silly", Pinkie Pie said. "We are doing exactly what Twilight told us to do to help." Rainbow Dash forced herself not to facehoof with frustration. She knew perfectly well that when she got into a discussion with Pinkie about the sense of what they were doing or not doing, she would never hear the end of it. But suddenly Rainbow Dash's face brightened. "Yes, we are doing exactly what Twilight told us. And Twilight told us to wake up Inkhorn if necessary. I think it is very necessary!" "You do?" asked Pinkie Pie, again with this unnerving kind of actual interest in this question. "Oh come on, Pinkie! It is almost sundown already! How much more patient are we to be?" Rainbow Dash had meant for the 'almost sundown' to be a deliberate exaggeration to bring her point across, but as she looked up at the sky, she found the statement to be closer to the truth than she had expected it to be. The sun was already lowering towards the horizon and the sky began to show the yellow, orange and reddish lights of dawn. She raised an eyebrow involuntarily. Her body clock told her that it was unusually early for that. Had they indeed been waiting longer than she thought they had?
"Just wait sixteen more seconds", Pinkie Pie said. "What? Why?" Rainbow Dash asked confused. "Because by then Featherscribe will be here to open the door for us", Pinkie Pie explained matter of factly. Rainbow Dash cast a look over her shoulder and indeed saw Featherscribe coming down the alley at a fast pace, his wings spread in an almost aggressive manner. "Is our home under siege now?" he asked with a frown as he approached. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Feathers", Rainbow Dash answered cooly. "Twilight told you she wanted to ask Inky some more questions." Featherscribe snorted as he went to the door and unlocked it. He clearly didn't like Rainbow Dash calling Inkhorn 'Inky'.
"Why are you here anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked cheerfully. "Aren't you guarding Frankie?" "Mayor Mare is there now and gave me leave so I can have a quick meal before I got to get back and spend a sleepless night guarding him, same as Inkhorn did last night." "Look now, Feathers", Rainbow Dash said, mustering all patience she had left after the long waiting time. "All we want is to ask Inkhorn a few questions and we'll be gone again. Not so much more than what you all did the morning after the party. What's your problem?" "Alright already", Featherscribe said as he entered the house.
Rainbow Dash quickly followed, earning herself a stern frown from Featherscribe which she ignored. Pinkie Pie followed in Rainbow Dash's wake. The living room of Featherscribe's and Inkhorn's home looked somewhat similar to the offices in the town hall, though with some more comfortable furniture, a chimney that had obviously not been used in a while, and some pictures on the walls. There was a shelf full of folders, carefully marked by months and years and apparently including Featherscribe's archive of newspapers. An escritoire stood in one corner of the room on which papers were stacking high, suggesting that Inkhorn and Featherscribe didn't work in the town hall's offices only.
"Wait here!" Featherscribe said gruffly as he carelessly put his saddle-bag on top of a paper stack on the escritoire. "I'll get Inkhorn." "Thank you!" Pinkie said cheerfully as Featherscribe made for the stairs leading up to the second floor. "Gee, Pinkie", Rainbow Dash whispered when Featherscribe was out of sight and out of earshot. "Why are you so happy? Doesn't he bother you at all?" "Who?" Pinkie asked. "Featherscribe of course!" Rainbow Dash almost snapped. "He's been acting like a jerk all day!" "I don't believe Pen and Paper did anything wrong", Pinkie said, smiling. Rainbow Dash gasped, ready to give a disgruntled response when suddenly she spotted a little motion from the corner of her keen eyes.
The saddle-bag, which Featherscribe had stowed onto the escritoire, was shifting slightly and was clearly about to fall. Within the blink of an eye Rainbow Dash was there and caught the bag before it could hit the ground. She also caught several sheets of paper that had been lying under the bag and been dragged along by it and some which had slipped out of the bag itself and now mixed with the others. She cast a bewildered look at the uppermost sheet that was covered with a rather untidy scrawl. In this moment however she heard hoofsteps from the upper floor, quickly put the papers and Featherscribe's saddle-bag back onto the escritoire and returned to Pinkie Pie.
Inkhorn didn't look good and Rainbow Dash had to admit she could somewhat understand Featherscribe's protectiveness if Inkhorn had appeared as worn out before as she appeared now. "Hello Inky", Pinkie Pie chirped. "Pinkie", Inkhorn said with a slight nod as she descended the stairs. "Featherscribe told me you had some questions?" "Hello, Inkhorn", Rainbow Dash said. "Yes, we do..." Inkhorn stopped at the end of the stairs and looked expectantly. Rainbow Dash felt stupid suddenly. Twilight hadn't been very precise about the questions she would ask Inkhorn. She decided to overplay her insecurity with a straightforward assault: "You told Twilight that Mr. Rich's servant Swallowtail was not in the register of citizens, but when Twilight checked again, he was right there!" "She checked it again herself?" Inkhorn asked with a tone of mild disapproval, but before either Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie could respond, she continued: "Indeed I had checked out only the pages of the more recent arrivals in Ponyville, the last few decades that is, while Mr. Swallowtail was there, but only on the pages of the more long time residents. I wanted to tell the Princess when I spotted him, but she had left already."
"That's all there is to that?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding almost despaired at the banality of this explanation. "Yes", Inkhorn said. "Just what else exactly did you think there was to it?" Rainbow Dash didn't know how to respond to that and was therefore somewhat relieved when Pinkie Pie took over with the next question: "Did Frankie really attack you this morning?" Inkhorn nodded, looking tired and rubbing her eyes with one hoof. "He tried to, at least. When I went up with the tray of his breakfast, he suddenly charged towards me. Looked like he wanted to push me down the stairs and then rush past me. But I know some basic repelling spells, so he didn't finish his attack run, but was suspended just a few steps away from me." "But that doesn't make any sense!" Rainbow Dash said. "Even if he had gotten past you, he wouldn't have gotten far in broad daylight right in the midst of the town where everypony knew about his arrest."
Inkhorn shrugged and nodded. "Quite right. It appeared crazy. Maybe he is somewhat mad." "He says he didn't attack you!" Rainbow Dash said. "Well, he did. It was unmistakable. What does he claim it was?" "He says that nothing like that happened at all. Nothing that could even be mistaken for an attack." "Somewhat mad indeed", Inkhorn said. "I don't think he is mad!" Pinkie Pie insisted. "Then what do you call it?" Inkhorn asked wearily. Neither Rainbow Dash nor Pinkie Pie could think of any response. "Was that everything?" Inkhorn asked. "I'm still really tired and would like to get a little more sleep."
Rainbow Dash was thinking frantically about anything else to ask, but she didn't really know what to ask about in spite of the woefully unsatisfactory amount of new insights this talk had produced so far. She finally nodded reluctantly. "Well, see you then", Inkhorn said, turned round and shuffled back up the stairs. Rainbow Dash was looking at Pinkie Pie who returned her look no less helpless. "Oh, we just can't get back to Twilight with so little to tell her", Rainbow Dash moaned. Pinkie Pie cocked her head. "What else would you like to tell her?" she asked. Rainbow Dash gave a frustrated shrug. She walked over to the escritoire again and cast a look at the papers lying there. As she did so, there were again steps from above and moments later Featherscribe appeared on the stairs while Rainbow Dash turned away from the escritoire.
"Are you happy now?" Featherscribe said. "I'm always happy", Pinkie Pie chirped. "But really, you should smile some more!" Featherscribe rolled his eyes. "I got a night shift ahead guarding that friend of yours. Not much to smile about for me at the moment." He grabbed his saddle-bag, walked to the door, opened it and gave Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie the look of an unspoken, but unmistakable request to leave now. As he stepped outside after them, Pinkie Pie asked: "Didn't you want to eat something?" "I had a little snack while you were talking to Inkhorn", Featherscribe said as he closed the door and locked it.
"Are you locking her up now?" Rainbow Dash asked. She had been wondering before when Featherscribe had unlocked the door after he had arrived here. Locking ones door was a rather uncommon practice in sheltered Ponyville. Featherscribe snorted. "I'm not locking her up! You can just open the door from the inside. Didn't Princess Twilight recommend us all to be careful?" "Not so convinced that Frank is the attacker after all then?" Rainbow Dash probed. "I am. But better safe than sorry. Not that it was any of your business anyway!" With that, Featherscribe walked away in the direction of the town hall. Rainbow Dash cut a disgruntled face.
"Well...", Rainbow Dash sighed, "...let's go to the library, Pinkie. I just wish we had something more to tell Twilight." But almost the moment she said it, Rainbow Dash's face brightened up a little as she saw Scootaloo closely followed by Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom coming round the next corner. "Hi Scoots, hi girls!" she said. "Hello Rainbow!" Scootaloo said, stopping her scooter, her face too brightening up at the sight of her idol. "Are you coming from Miss Cheerilee? How is she doing?" Pinkie Pie asked while, in memory of having been cornered by the Cutie Mark Crusaders the previous day, she took a little cover behind Rainbow Dash.
"She's alright, Ah reckon", Apple Bloom said. "Better at least than she was yesterday." "But she still doesn't remember anything about yesterday morning", Sweetie Belle said. "Zecora came by and tried to help her remember something, but she didn't." "What did she do?" Rainbow Dash asked. "First she just talked to her and then, when Miss Cheerilee agreed to be hypnotized, she gave her some very weird looks. Reminded me a bit of Fluttershy's stare, but still different somehow. She also gave her some fancy potion to drink. It made Miss Cheerilee all relaxed and engrossed, but she ain't rememberin' a thing about before we found her yesterday", Apple Bloom answered. "Zecora said that Miss Cheerilee just doesn't seem to have any memory at all to that time and that therefore there isn't any memory to restore."
For a moment, Rainbow Dash was wondering what it might have sounded like to hear Zecora lay out all that in rhymes. "Are the others still there with Miss Cheerilee?" she asked. "They're right behind us", Scootaloo said. "Applejack, Rarity and Zecora, that is. When we told that Twilight said it would be safer for everypony not to stay alone, Big Mac decided to stay for the time being."
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes so ostentatiously that it was impossible for Pinkie Pie to ignore. "Don't you like that? I thought you even poisoned them into liking each other?" "An' we won't ever hear the end of that story, will we?" Apple Bloom said annoyed. "I swear he just calls her shmoopy-doopy when we are around to hear it just to rub it in!" "Would you rather have him call her that when we are not around as well?" Scootaloo asked. "Of course not!" Apple Bloom said looking horror-struck at the idea of her big brother sounding like a goofball without it being the result of either a poisoning or deliberate acting to annoy her.
At this moment Applejack, Rarity and Zecora came round the corner from where the Cutie Mark Crusaders had come before. "Hi Rainbow, hi Pinkie", Applejack greeted. "Ah was wondering if we would still find y'all here. You didn't have a chance to talk to Inkhorn yet?" "We did talk to her", Pinkie said. "We were about to head to Twilight to tell her about it", Rainbow Dash added. "Though there is really nothing new to tell about. Inkhorn says she just didn't see Swallowtail's name because she looked in the wrong part of the register and she didn't say anything about Frank attacking her that hasn't been said during the hearing already."
Rainbow's voice had given away her disappointment and frustration quite clearly. "We do not have so many news to tell her either", Rarity said as if to comfort Rainbow. "Only that Miss Cheerilee is feeling better, but still does not remember a thing about yesterday morning." "Does she remember talking to Filthy?" Pinkie Pie asked. Rarity frowned at the use of the name Mr. Rich didn't like himself and it was Applejack who responded: "She does remember that one, but it's not like there was anything special about it. Cheerilee says Mr. Rich just asked some general stuff like how school was running, how many kids were in her class at the moment... stuff like that."
"Nothing at all about his daughter and Frank?" Rainbow Dash asked raising an eyebrow. "Not from what Miss Cheerilee remembers and she said she remembers everything until the next morning where she doesn't remember anything at all anymore", Rarity said. "And you couldn't help her, Zecora? And what about Mr. Rich? Did you talk to him too? Did he remember anything?" Zecora began to chant:
"I talked to Mr. Rich before I knocked on Miss Cheerilee's door. He told me the memory of her suffers from the selfsame blur.
But alas more than blur it is that with their memories is amiss. Talking, potion and hypnosis dispensed in proper doses should have had the desired effect to make them both recollect.
But they can recover only memories which are there even if of them they are unaware.
I'm afraid these memories are not simply missed but much rather I fear that they do not exist.
I regret I can do no more, but where there's no memory there is nothing to restore. Forgotten things may be recovered but what they didn't hear or see I cannot bring back to the to the minds of Mr. Rich and Miss Cheerilee."
"But she did hear and see!" Sweetie Belle protested. "She was at school yesterday!" "Yeah, and she had us write the whole day about our homes, families, draw maps of our houses and all that and then collected all these texts", Apple Bloom agreed. "I still don't get how she can have forgotten about all that and also not know at all where all our work went", Scootaloo said.
Suddenly Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. "Wait a moment, Cheerilee had you write about your homes at school? And she did take all those texts with her? Did I get that right?" she asked with a sharp tone. Scootaloo nodded, surprised and almost a little intimidated. Rainbow Dash turned to the door of Inkhorn's and Featherscribe's home and wrenched at the doorknob.
"Dashie! The door is locked!" Pinkie Pie reminded Rainbow Dash, who now knocked the door so fiercely that it would undoubtedly be heard everywhere in the house. "We must get in there again!" Rainbow Dash called. "We must talk to Inkhorn once more!" She soared upwards and rapped at the window shutters of Inkhorn's sleeping room. "Inkhorn, wake up! We know you are in there!" There was no reaction from inside. "What in tarnation are you doing, Rainbow?" Applejack called. Rainbow Dash folded her wings to land right in front of the others. "We must get in there, Applejack! There's something in there that cannot be explained away like the matter with Swallowtail, unless you think it is normal that those school texts Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are talking about are lying right in there on Featherscribe's and Inkhorn's table!"
"Good gracious!" Rarity said. "Rainbow Dash, are you certain?" "Pretty much", Rainbow Dash said. "I saw all these scribbled papers in there—" "Scribbled papers?! They were a lot of work, you know!" Apple Bloom protested. "...but I had no clue what they were until you told about your missing school texts." "But why in Equestria would Inkhorn or Featherscribe take away school texts?" Rarity asked. "Beats me, but let's find out, shall we?" Rainbow Dash responded. "Inkhorn doesn't seem to be opening though, does she? Even if she was sleeping, she can't have missed your racket, Rainbow", Applejack pointed out. "What now, do y'all want me to buck open that there door?"
It wasn't clear from Applejack's tone if she meant this to be a serious offer. "I think I got a better idea...", Rainbow Dash said. "Less destructive and much more uncouth!" With a cheeky grin at Rarity, she propelled herself vertically up into the air but allowed herself to stall above the roof, folded her wings, tipped over backwards and dived headlong into the chimney, leaving behind a little cloud of black soot. "Awesome!" Scootaloo raved while Rarity cut a disgusted face.
They heard some commotion from behind the door, but after a few moments a slightly bruised and very blackened Rainbow Dash opened the door to let them in. Applejack stepped past Rainbow Dash with a look of grim determination closely followed by Pinkie Pie. Rarity seemed rather hesitant to step over the threshold, but when the Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed in before she could stop Sweetie Belle, she resigned into participating into this trespass and Zecora too followed her example. Rarity gritted her teeth at the sight of the track of sooty hoofprints that led from the chimney to the front door. She gave Rainbow Dash a silent but non-negotiable order to make good use of the doormat before stepping in again.
"Now where are these papers you were talking about, Rainbow?" Applejack asked. "Right over here", Rainbow Dash said as she walked over to the escritoire and tapped the stack of papers lying there, still leaving some specks of soot on the topmost sheet. "Inkhorn? I'm not breaking in!" Rarity called. "The door was open", she called as if the detail that Rainbow Dash had opened it made her entering any less of a trespass. She knew Inkhorn and Featherscribe and it wasn't only the uncouth way in which Rainbow Dash had entered that made her feel very uneasy about this. There was no response from above and Rainbow Dash and Applejack both gave Rarity the kind of raised eyebrow looks that made her pull herself together and approach too. With a quick spell she levitated the top sheets of paper from the stack and held them suspended in the air in front of the eyes of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Are any of these papers from the missing texts you were talking about?" A few of the pages were clearly related to town office work, but Apple Bloom immediately pointed at one of the sheets: "That's Featherweight's writing there!" "That one looks like Snips'!" Scootaloo said, pointing at a particularly messy looking sheet of paper. "And that is one of my pages!" Sweetie Belle said with a tone of pride while pointing at a sheet that was filled with fairly elegant looking lines which caught Rarity's interest. "My sister Rarity is... whatever do you mean by that, Sweetie Belle?" Rarity demanded to know with a frown. Sweetie Belle blushed. "Read on, on the other side", she said meekly. Rarity flipped the page over and as she continued reading, her frown smoothed out and gave way to a smile. Whatever Sweetie Belle had written on the first page to the chagrin of her elder sister, the other page seemed to make up for it.
"So these are the texts Miss Cheerilee had the kids write in the time to which she doesn't remember, I really want to know what Inkhorn has to say about this!" Rainbow Dash said. "Where is she anyway?" Applejack asked. "Not like she can be unaware we are here." "Last time Pinkie and I saw her, she went upstairs. She said she wanted to sleep some more." "Girls, you stay down here!" Applejack said to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "We're getting up to look for Inkhorn!"
"I still don't believe it!" Rarity said. "She's from Ponyville! I've known her all my life! And Featherscribe too, we were actually in the same class!" "She likes cherry pie!" Pinkie Pie stated as if this was an irrefutable proof of innocence. "Let's get up and ask her", Applejack said. "It is kind of strange she is not down here by now with all the clamor we've made." "Maybe that's because she is not up there", Rainbow Dash said. "Maybe she teleported herself away when she heard us coming in here!" "She cannot even teleport, Rainbow!" Rarity said. "Same as I she isn't into that kind of magic!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack went up the stairs, closely followed by Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Finally, Zecora too followed. She hadn't said a word since they had entered the house, but she was looking around as if searching for anything that could help to clear things up. The Cutie Mark Crusaders waited at the base of the stair.
Upstairs, Rainbow Dash went for the door leading to the room the shutters of which she had rapped before and pushed it open. The room was dark with very little light coming through the shutters. Rarity opened them with a quick spell. It didn't brighten the room a lot since it was getting dark outside, but what little light of day remained was sufficient. A full-size bed stood in the middle of the room and there lay Inkhorn. The dark blue unicorn lay aslant on top of rather than covered by the blanket. Her head was not lying on one of the cushions and one of her forelegs was dangling beside the bed. In spite of this looking far from comfortable, she seemed to be fast asleep and didn't even stir when Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Zecora entered.
"Inkhorn?" Applejack asked. "Wakey, wakey!" Pinkie Pie said stepping beside the bed, but Inkhorn didn't stir. "Wake up!" Rainbow Dash said and gave Inkhorn's head a nudge that made Rarity push Rainbow away a lot more firmly than Rainbow's nudge had been. The nudge however only made Inkhorn's head shift a little, provoking no further reaction. Applejack had by now found the switch and turned on the light. "Hello there?" Rainbow Dash almost shouted. Before Rarity could stop her, Pinkie Pie forced up one of Inkhorn's eyelids and waved one hoof in front of it. Her eye remained motionless though and Inkhorn asleep and indifferent. Zecora stepped forward and with a commanding voice she chanted:
"Step aside you all for in such a sleep a pony doesn't fall it's way to deep to be natural!" Zecora herself approached Inkhorn, held her hoof for a moment and shifted her into a more comfortable position. She then rummaged through her saddle-bags. "What are you doing?" Rarity asked.
"I'll try to wake her up of course but since the normal means won't do I'll have to use some gentle force don't breathe deep or you might spew." With these words, Zecora produced a cylindrical tin box with a screw lid, took a deep breath, opened the lid and held the box under the nose of Inkhorn. The unicorn twitched and Zecora quickly put the lid back on the box. With a gesture Zecora signaled Applejack to open the window and she quickly did so. Even though she had followed Zecora's example and held her breath, the intense stinging smell of whatever Zecora's box contained made her eyes water and Rainbow Dash, who hadn't observed the advise as closely, was coughing fiercely and quickly left the room. Inkhorn too started coughing now.
"Would you do Inkhorn the charity to get her a glass of water, Rarity?" Zecora asked. "Certainly", Rarity said, rushed out of the room and returned not much later, levitating a glass of water and Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders close on her heels. Inkhorn's look was one of utter confusion and even fear. Her first attempt to say something resulted in another fit of coughs. She accepted the glass offered by Rarity and took a swig before she asked: "What are you all doing here? What is this smell?" Even with the windows open, the stinging smell of the content of Zecora's tin box was still lingering.
"What you smell is a strong mix of herbs countering a sleeping spell."
"Now, what's with those texts of Mrs. Cheerilee's school class, Inkhorn?" Rainbow Dash demanded to know. She had brought several of the paper sheets along and was waving them menacingly in front of Inkhorn. The threatening effect was not lessened by the fact that all sooty as she was, Rainbow Dash would have blended in nicely in a Nightmare Night costume party. "Texts...?" Inkhorn looked perplexed. "What are you all doing here? What time is it? Where is Featherscribe?" "Stop dodging! We want answers!" Rainbow Dash called, swung herself up so she hovered above everyone else and covering everyone with a thin layer of soot in the process. Inkhorn was looking rather intimidated but shook her head as she shifted as far away from Rainbow Dash as she could. "How do these get onto your table?" Rainbow Dash insisted to know, almost pushing the school texts into Inkhorn's face. "What are you talking about? I have never seen these... what are they? What is going on here?" Inkhorn whimpered a little.
Applejack dragged Rainbow Dash back on the floor. "Rainbow, Ah think we may have another victim of our mysterious attacker!" "Impossible!" Rainbow Dash blurted out. "Pinkie Pie and I talked to her right before you got here!" The look of confusion on Inkhorn's face increased even further and there was a trembling about her that didn't fit to the usually rather assertive unicorn.
"We are in here because you didn't seem to hear us when we were trying to wake you up from outside, Darling", Rarity said. "Though that was certainly not for lack of noisy efforts", she glanced at Rainbow Dash, who put on a defiant look. "We got some more questions because of the hearing. Featherscribe is back at the town hall to guard Mr. Blanket." "Guard... you mean Mr. Blanket was not cleared?" Inkhorn asked surprised. "Of course not! But you knew that! We were talking about it just a short while ago! He attacked you, you said!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Whatever are you talking about?" Inkhorn almost sobbed. "I didn't talk to you and why would Mr. Blanket attack me?"
It was Rainbow Dash's turn to look perplexed and it was Pinkie Pie who said: "But Inky, you said he did!" "Whenever am I supposed to have said such a thing?" "In the hearing today Featherscribe said you told him that Frank tried to attack you!" Rainbow Dash said, sounding more confused than angry now. "And you told us the same!" Pinkie Pie called. "I did not!" "You did too!" "I was asleep!"
"You, be quiet!" Rarity told Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie with an uncommonly stern tone. "Inkhorn, what is the last thing you remember before you got to sleep?" "I got home from the town hall this morning. I was very tired. I lay down and next thing I know was all of you waking me up with that... whatever it was." "You really don't remember talking with us?" Rainbow Dash asked flabbergasted. Inkhorn shook her head. "But why is it so late already?" Inkhorn asked unsettled, looking at the window through which she saw the last rays of light on a quickly darkening, reddish sky. "The sun is getting down early today..." Rainbow Dash said with a little frown. "I didn't mean to sleep so long!" Inkhorn wailed somewhat exaggeratedly. "I never oversleep!" "We couldn't wake you up at all", Applejack said. "And if I got Zecora right, she thinks you've been sent sleeping with some kind of magic?"
The zebra nodded, but Inkhorn ignored both of them. Her look was fixed at some invisible point somewhere in midair and she looked like she was trying fiercely to get her memories together. "...I mean of course I had been awake all night but...", Inkhorn was blushing a little and fell silent. "But?" Rarity asked firmly but friendly. "I... I think I actually fell asleep during my watch yesterday evening", Inkhorn admitted blushing. "You did!" Sweetie Belle called. "We saw you!" "Hush!" Rarity ordered, giving her sister a stern look. "I never fell asleep at work before! You all must have seen me!" "We all?" Applejack asked confused. "Now, Inkhorn, the kids say they saw you asleepin', but we didn't." "But you were all there! To visit Mr. Blanket. That's what I remember... when I woke up again it was dark already." Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie exchanged confused looks.
"Now tell me, Inkhorn...", Applejack said. "...do you remember Twilight asked you to check out Swallowtail in the register of citizens of Ponyville?" Inkhorn gave her a blank look. "Whom?" She shook her head. "But you said that you just found him only after Twilight had left!" Pinkie Pie said. Even she, who usually had the least trouble when things got confused and confusing, seemed to be disturbed now. "What in Equestria are you talking about?" wailed Inkhorn. "Now, now, it's okay Inkhorn", Rarity said, patting one of Inkhorn's hooves. "And you're saying that Frank did not attack you this morning?" Applejack asked. "Sweet Celestia, no!" Inkhorn shouted, sounding really upset now. "I just brought him the breakfast tray and he was all appreciative about it. He did look a bit gloomy."
Gloomy was also a word that well befitted Inkhorn's state by now. "I want to see Featherscribe!" she called and her eyes were tearing up now. "I will stay with you", Rarity said in her most reassuring voice and looking at the others, she said: "See what you can do. I think Twilight needs to know about this." She pointed at the door with her head which Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie took as a cue to leave the room, ushering out the Cutie Mark Crusaders while Zecora stayed in the room with Rarity and Inkhorn. Rainbow Dash sighed once they were out of earshot from the sleeping room. "Just why do things always get even more complicate every time we find a certain clue? She didn't look like she was lying, did she?" Applejack shook her head. "She seemed a bit like Miss Cheerilee yesterday", Scootaloo said. "Not quite as much but still..." "And just before you arrived she told Pinkie and me the exact opposite of what she is telling now and these school papers..." "They could have fallen from Featherscribe's bag!" Pinkie said.
Rainbow Dash stared at her. "You're right Pinkie! They probably got mixed up with the papers on the table! And Featherscribe has been acting all strange today. He wanted to keep us away from Inkhorn and... we never actually saw the two of them together when we were here! Now I don't know what exactly is going on, but we should go to Twilight immediately and tell her about this. She'll know what to do! Applejack, will you stay here with Rarity, Zecora and the kids? Pinkie and I will get Twilight!" "Hurry", Applejack said, nodding her agreement, "Ah don't know exactly what is going on either, but it feels a bit like a race and we are catching up!" "Race sounds good to me!" Rainbow Dash said and with Pinkie Pie on her heels she ran for the door and on towards Golden Oak Library.
While Inkhorn had been questioned, Frank Blanket had finished reading a passage in the storeroom of the town hall. He was goggling stunned at the page he had just finished in the flickering light of a lantern. The book in general had been an interesting read although the author had sometimes expressed his views and opinions in a rather direct manner. But what in all probability was the chance to find all the answers in a book that just happened to lie around in a room that had happened to have become his cell? Probable or not, Twilight had to know about this! He began to stomp fiercely onto the hatch to call for his current keeper.
It went back to the town hall while the sun was setting. Feeling somewhat strained and closely pursued. The first action here in Ponyville had drawn more attention than foreseen. The action in Cloudsdale had been a work of art, the effects of which were now to be felt. If rumors were true, the topmost of the ponies, Princess Celestia, was examining things there, but she wouldn't find anything but what she was supposed to find. To dodge attention, it had meant to go into hiding for a while in the small, but central village of Ponyville. But with the preceding successes it hadn't been able to keep itself back, but had moved right on when there had been the chance of obtaining some of the material wealth so suited to trick or bribe ponies into actions suiting the purpose.
The colt called Frank Blanket from Fillydelphia, the place where it had happened to have been before, had turned out to be a very convenient dummy, not just as a distraction for the unforeseen attention, but he had also turned out to be a useful piece in this endeavor. The dividing and distracting potential of his treatment was not to be underestimated. For the time being however it would be better to lessen activities for a while and just watch things unfolding without drawing any more attention. The princess they called Twilight had been an amusement to tamper with, but her relentlessness and that of the other representatives of the magical items named the Elements of Harmony was getting dangerous.
It would have been fascinating to switch into her powerful position. It certainly would have given a lot of insights and possibilities beyond that of the other positions it had switched into. The princess' pet bird had prevented the approach though and it hadn't tried again. The risk was not to be underestimated. It had been easier in the larger places it had visited before. Not only had the anonymity of those larger places made actions a lot easier with lesser risk of drawing attention, but they had also offered good chances to promote the endeavor. The mere blocking of a few vents had effectively run down the entire weather factory for the time being. Perhaps the consequences of this could still be exploited further...
It reached the town hall where it, or rather the pegasus Featherscribe, was greeted by the mayor who was now heading for her home. The mayor too might have been an interesting target to promote the purpose, but then again it might have attracted too much attention for too little gain after it had already exploited the mayor's underlings. Seeing how the plan had been to go into hiding rather than launching actions here, things had gotten a bit out of control. It would spend the night here until the distraction from Fillydelphia would be transported off to Canterlot. It would then keep a low profile for a while unless the purpose required otherwise. It might go to one of the places it already knew, Fillydelphia perhaps, or one it had not yet visited, maybe Vanhoover or San Franciscolt. The experience here in Ponyville in any case suggested to go for a larger and more anonymous hiding place. Much as it had gained here, the teacher Miss Cheerilee having been a particularly rich source, the frequent switching had also been a drain on its powers but more so on its mind. Though nothing remained of actual memories from the former when switching to a new position, it still put a stress on ones mental integrity if done too often in too rapid succession. Perhaps it would be necessary to return to its original position for a little while. The nearby forest might offer the chance for that, though the perils that kept it unfrequented by the local ponies might pose a problem to it too...
The distraction from Fillydelphia was being noisy upstairs. Calling for something by stomping fiercely. The memories of Featherscribe's nature required to mind the call and ask whatever the colt Frank Blanket wanted; so it went upstairs and through the hatch. Something had agitated Frank Blanket a lot. He was talking of a book and of the answer to all the unanswered questions and demanded for Featherscribe to get Princess Twilight here immediately. Featherscribe would not have left his post just like that, but neither would he have ignored the urgency of the colt's demands. Moreover this could actually be important.
It required to hear more information from Frank Blanket. What he said was very alarming. A possibility for the entire cover to be blown, a risk that the near total unawareness of ponies of the existence of it and its kind might end. It had been unaware that such a book existed and demanded to see it. Indeed there it was, a threat to the endeavor. The book had to be destroyed and also the one who had read it. It fought back the instinct though to do this right away. The current position was ill suited for it. Moreover, this was the kind of deed that could, if framed into a different context, promote the purpose a lot more than any of the preceding actions.
A plan formed into its mind. The plan would require a free change and witnesses. The princess Twilight would be the perfect witness. The free change would prove another drain, but at least it would have to deal with the own memories and consciousness only in that form. It reassured the colt that the princess would be informed before he would be brought to Canterlot, but Frank Blanket was extremely insisting, threatened even to call from the cupola until Princess Twilight would be there. That kind of action might have promoted the image of him as mad, the image which it had tried to foster, but still it was a risk that could not be taken. So it reassured the colt that he would ask a passerby by the town hall to get the princess. Frank Blanket reluctantly agreed but impressed the importance of this once more before it left the room and latched the hatch.
It returned to Featherscribe's office and considered the next steps. It had visited Canterlot before and while it had not dared to turn active beyond reestablishing a contact there, for fear of being tracked down by the high princesses or their guards, the visit had given it some memories of patterns of appearance that could be used now. It also would have to get away from here unseen before returning unrecognized. It was lucky. There was a nightingale on the sill of the window of Featherscribe's office. It abandoned the no longer useful position and ensured its passivity with a sleeping spell. In the position of the nightingale it flew and landed at a sheltered spot not far from Golden Oak Library. It would be easy to attract the required attention for later testimonies in the form it would appear in now. The sun had mostly disappeared already. This was a bit unusual, but perhaps this too was a consequence decided upon by the high princesses in response to its actions at Cloudsdale. It granted itself a satisfied smile in its new shape.
Whatever the reason for the early sunset, it would provide a formidable stage for the next entry and the action that would follow. The colt from Fillydelphia now knew too much and had turned from a distraction into a threat to the endeavor. Frank Blanket had to die!
There was a very resolute knocking at the library door. Twilight had just taken a look over the letters Spike had written to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. They had been as thorough, accurate and concise as Twilight could have wished for, yet still carried the clear notion of her own conviction that Frank was not behind the crimes the impending trial was to be about. She had commended Spike for the good work after he had sent the letters. Twilight rushed down the stairs to answer the door. Because of the vigor of the knocking she expected to find Applejack or Rainbow Dash on her threshold, but when she opened the door, she took a surprised step backwards. Instead of her friends, a tall lunatic was standing in front of her threshold.
'A member of her highness Princess Luna, guardian of the night and keeper of dreams in the realm of Equestria's royal guard', Twilight silently corrected her instinctive thought. Ever since a talk with her brother Shining Armor, Twilight couldn't help thinking of the little, hilarious profanity every time she saw one of Princess Luna's royal guards. Her brother had told her about a certain rivalry between the guards of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
"Sunshine soldiers they call us...", Shining Armor had said. "...and fair weather guards! But we are a lot more humorous about it than they are about us calling them lunatics in turn." "And are you?" Twilight had asked with a laugh. "Are we what?" "Sunshine soldiers and fair weather guards?" "Twily!" Shining Armor had called in half played, half serious indignation. "Do I look like a sunshine soldier to you?" "Yes!" Twilight had answered flatly, looking at her brother's spotlessly polished armor and helmet, his speckless white fur and his carefully combed mane. Shining Armor had been speechless for some moments about this impudence, but looking at his own reflection in the equally polished armor of another nearby guard, he had started to laugh heartily.
"Point taken, little sister. But seriously, we all do our jobs and we do it well. Perhaps...", he had fallen silent. "Perhaps what?" Twilight had asked. "Well, maybe the job of a guard of Princess Celestia may include a little more representation while word is that Princess Luna's guards sometimes do see a little more action during her nighttime patrols and she picks her guards accordingly." Shining Armor had put on a broad smile: "That's why we are the good looking ones while they are the lunatics!"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" His voice was deep but had a strange sound to it, kind of buzzing, almost metallic. The guard took a deep bow, but he was so tall that even when he did, his lowered head was barely below that of Twilight. He was a unicorn and his fur as dark as Twilight had ever seen on any pony. There was something strange about his armor, it seemed to shine like black glass, though, in accordance with her brother's estimation, it didn't look like quite as much time and effort was invested to keep it polished. A dark cape was covering the back of the unicorn and Twilight was wondering if this was the newest addition to the guards' uniforms, for she hadn't seen that kind of cape on them on any earlier occasion.
"Yes?" "I'm here at the direct order of Princess Luna herself." "At the direct— did she receive the letter already?" "I know of no letter, but I am to see the prisoner Frank Blanket." "The prisoner...? But Mr. Blanket is not here, of course." "Where is he?" The tone of this guard was rather direct and Twilight felt a little reminded of Princess Luna's own tone in her more intimidating moments.
"He is in the town hall, I can lead you right to him, Mr. ...?" "Thank you, that won't be necessary, Your Highness. I'll find the town hall." "Oh, okay..." The guard took another short bow and was about to turn away. "Wait! Didn't the Princess give you any message for me?" "No, Your Highness. She did not." Twilight was rather disappointed, almost a little offended. "But why did she send you here?" "To see the prisoner Frank Blanket." "Yes, you said so. But why?" "I am not authorized to release that information!" "Not authorized...? I am a Princess of Equestria!" "Yes, you are." "So?" "So what?"
Twilight gave a frustrated snorting. Lunatic indeed! "I'll take you to him!" "No, Your Highness!" "What?" "The orders of Princess Luna have been very clear on this. I am to visit him on my own. I wouldn't have bothered you at all, but I didn't know where he was held." "Why am I not to come with you? What is this secrecy about?" The guard looked at her in silence for some moments. His eyes appeared deep, almost hypnotic. "Do you not trust the judgment of Princess Luna, Your Highness?" "What? But of course I do!" "Then you will let me go to Mr. Blanket. On my own." The guard looked at her for some more moments before he bowed again, turned away and marched off down the alley leading towards the town hall. Twilight looked after him dumbfounded. What was all this about? Did it have to do with that strange dream, or lack of dream, which Luna had told her about? But why this strange secrecy?
Twilight was looking at the sky. The sun had disappeared and the moon was rising on a clear starry sky now. "Spike?" she called back into the library. Her number one assistant appeared at the top of the stairs. "Who was that, Twilight?" "He... he didn't say his name. Spike, I think I must send another letter to Princess Luna."
"What's keeping you, Pinkie? You aren't usually so slow!" Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Something funny", Pinkie Pie said, sounding very serious. "There's always something funny for you, but it doesn't usually slow you down!" "Not the good kind of funny, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said and it was the grave way she said it rather than the words that caught Rainbow Dash's attention. "What is it, Pinkie?" "Something's wrong. I don't know. I feel like I swallowed a big stone!"
"Did you?" Rainbow Dash asked, remembering her interest in the stones while they had been waiting. She wouldn't put it beyond Pinkie to have swallowed one for reasons only she understood. "No I did not, silly!" Pinkie Pie continued. "My jaw is achy." "Maybe you didn't notice you ate a stone?" Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "My hooves are prickling, my spine is chilly, my ears are itchy and my knees are pinching, all four of them!" "Wait, you are saying this is your Pinkie Sense?" Pinkie Pie nodded. "What does it tell you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I don't know. I never had this combo before. But it is getting stronger and pinching knees mean something scary!" Rainbow Dash looked around uncomfortably. She knew Pinkie well enough to take her Pinkie Sense very serious, but signals that even Pinkie herself couldn't explain beyond 'something scary' were neither reassuring nor helping.
At that moment a tall dark figure appeared in the alley. It was difficult to recognize at first, but as the figure approached, Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped a little. A member of Luna's royal guard? What was he doing here? Rainbow Dash couldn't remember having ever seen any of the royal guards without either the respective Princess, or trouble, or both of that being nearby. Before Rainbow Dash had recovered from her surprise or had the chance to ask the guard anything, he had stepped past them at a quick pace. He didn't seem to have taken notice of them at all. As Rainbow Dash was looking for Pinkie Pie, he saw she had squatted down behind her. "It was just... one of Luna's guards, Pinkie", she said as reassuring as she could. "Nothing to worry about. Maybe your Pinkie Sense was just exaggerating a little?" "It is not over", Pinkie said. "Come on, let's hurry!" Rainbow Dash dragged Pinkie Pie to her feet and though somewhat wobbly on her legs, she managed to make some good speed and not long after, Rainbow Dash knocked at the door of the library.
Twilight opened and her face brightened up at the sight of Rainbow Dash and at the same time she was looking rather confused at her being all covered in soot. "Hello Rainbow, what in Equestria happened to you? You look like a chimney sweep!" "Had to take a different route into Featherscribe's and Inkhorn's house", Rainbow Dash said with a discarding wave of one hoof. "You didn't break into their home, did you?" Twilight asked alarmed. "Kind of, but you don't have to worry about that—" "Did you talk to Inkhorn? My goodness Pinkie, what is wrong with you?"
Only now Twilight had spotted Pinkie Pie who had remained a bit in the rear and only hesitantly stepped into the light falling through the door of the library. She looked like she was somewhere else entirely in her mind. Rainbow Dash hadn't realized till now how pale Pinkie had become. In the silvery moonlight it hadn't been as distinct. Apart from the symptoms of her Pinkie Sense Pinkie Pie was shivering as if she was cold in spite of the day's warmth lingering even after the setting of the sun. "Her Pinkie Sense is telling her something, but she doesn't know what exactly. Only that it is something scary." "Something scary?" Spike asked from inside the library. He stood there holding a quill and a piece of paper.
"Come on in!" Twilight invited Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Spike dropped the quill and the paper, ran for the kitchen and grabbed for three cups. Twilight levitated the cups right out of his hand and onto a table where she magically filled them with hot tea. Her magically produced tea tasted much worse than any Spike could have made the usual way, but right now Twilight didn't want to delay since Pinkie was looking like she could use any kind of hot drink. "You don't know what it is that your Pinkie Sense is telling you, Pinkie?" Pinkie Pie shook her head while her knees were twitching so much that she spilled some of the tea she was trying to drink. "I don't know. But it is getting stronger!"
Rainbow Dash shared Twilight's concern for Pinkie Pie, but as long as they didn't know anything more concrete, she felt she could also tell Twilight about everything she was urging to tell her. "Twilight, we think that Inkhorn has been attacked too and also it seems like Featherscribe may be behind it. He had some school texts with him which Miss Cheerilee had the kids write during the time to which she doesn't remember! And Zecora was there. She says something like she cannot restore any memories of Filthy Rich or Miss Cheerilee because they don't seem to have any memories at all... Did you know there is one of Luna's guards here in Ponyville?"
It was a bit too much information for Twilight to put in order so quickly while her mind was still fixed on Pinkie Pie, so she raised one hoof and said: "That guard was here. It was a bit odd. I was just going to dictate a letter to Spike to ask Princess Luna about him. He told he was here on her order, but wouldn't let on what she told him to do. He wanted to see Frank and—" Pinkie Pie took a leap, knocking over her tea cup and almost knocked over the table it stood on too. She had become even paler now.
"It wants to kill him! It wants to kill Frankie! It's on the way to him!" she shouted. There was no doubt and no time for delay. "Pinkie, get the others to the town hall! Rainbow, we are flying there now!" It was all there was to say. Twilight ran for the door, swung herself up into the air and flew at a speed she had rarely reached so far. Rainbow Dash was right beside her as the moonlit town hall came into sight. "You are faster, Rainbow! Take the entrance below and come upstairs! I'll land on the cupola and walk down from there!" With a quick salute, sooty Rainbow Dash dived down towards the town hall's entrance while Twilight made for the cupola.
Frank Blanket was walking around in circles. His worst fear was that Featherscribe hadn't taken him serious when he had tried to summarize what he had read in the treatise of Dr. Quircs. He had listened for any sounds from below and had taken the absence of any sounds as a possibly positive sign. Hopefully Featherscribe had gone downstairs and really asked a passerby to get Twilight, as he had promised he would. Frank walked up to the cupola. There were very, very few ponies out on the street anymore. The sun had disappeared and the moon was rising. For a moment he considered shouting as loud as he could to attract the kind of attention that might get him the chance to talk to Twilight once again, but he was hesitant to do so while he was still hoping that Featherscribe gave word to Twilight.
Frank would have been exhilarated to see Owlowiscious, but unfortunately Twilight's owl was nowhere to be seen. He descended from the cupola and walked over to the book that had provided so many answers. Somehow he felt he shouldn't leave it unguarded for any moment, so he closed it, placed it into one of his saddle-bags, put them on and strapped them with a lace. It was a silly measure to strap the bags as if he was about to go somewhere, but it was one of the quirky habits of Frank to always fixate the saddle-bags when he put them on. Perhaps it was a habit out of concern for the bags which he had held very dear as a container for all his worldly possessions. He had made them himself back in Fillidelphia shortly before he had set out on his first ever study trip, but a highly gifted craftspony named Rusty Wrench had given him a invaluable assistance in word, deed and scavenged materials for the making of these bags. The durability of the bags and the fine working of its mechanics were worth more than all bits Frank had been able to give and Rusty had been willing to accept as compensation back then.
Suddenly Frank felt observed. He cast his head around, but there was nobody but him underneath the bell roof of the town hall. "Hello? Is anypony there?" he asked. Of course there was no response and he gave a little snort, sneering about himself. Maybe everything that had happened and what he had read had made him a little paranoid? Then again, most ponies would probably grow a little paranoid in this situation. Suddenly there was a loud sound from below that made Frank twitch. There was the sound of heavy hoofsteps on the stairs. Somepony was coming up, but by the sound of it it couldn't possibly be Twilight. He heard the steps coming closer, finally up on the stairs and then he heard the metal sound of the latch before the hatch was pushed open. He didn't know the dark unicorn that was climbing up through the hatch, but he recognized the uniform of Princess Luna's royal guard right away. He had seen a number of them during the time he had spend in Canterlot.
"Who are you?" he asked a little intimidated at the sight of the tall guard. "Is it time already? Are you to bring me to Canterlot?" The guard didn't respond and Frank was wondering if somepony else would come. "There is something I must tell Princess Twilight before we leave! It is of the utmost importance!" The horn of the unicorn flashed, the hatch closed and the entire room was surrounded by an iridescent sphere. Frank knew enough about magic to recognize this as a one way sound barrier spell. Nopony outside would hear any sound that was made in here.
Frank's inside seemed to turn into a heavy lump and for a moment he forgot to breathe. How could he have been so stupid?! The alleged attack on Inkhorn! Either she or Featherscribe or both of them must have been taken over by the attacker! Obviously Featherscribe had been at the time when he had laid out to him how he knew exactly what was going on. The 'unicorn' was pointing the horn at the hatch and the latch closed with a grinding metal sound. Frank was now locked up with that creature without any chance from anypony outside to hear anything that was going on in here and he realized that his life was worth just the aim of the attacker.
Frank was looking right at the tip of the 'unicorn's' horn aimed at him. His motion came as a reflex rather than a deliberate decision. As the attacker's horn flashed up in a greenish light, Frank took a leap to the side. It was a clumsy movement, more of a hop, that sent the colt staggering sideways for several more steps and almost caused him to loose balance, but however awkward and instinctive, the movement fulfilled its purpose. The flash of green missed Frank, though it passed so close by his left shoulder that it made his hair stand upright as if by an electric charge. If there had been any doubts left about the effect the spell would have had, they were ended by the scorching and splintering of the wooden beams it hit.
Frank uttered a yelp while the attacker growled, annoyed that the first spell had missed the mark and prepared another one. Frank's next evasive maneuver was more deliberate than the first. He jumped behind the old fainting couch on which he had spent the night. The heavy saddle-bags strapped to his back encumbered him. An edge of one bag hit the back of the couch and caused Frank's landing to be rather clumsy. He ducked low behind the raised back of the couch. The next spell hit the couch back, caused a swirl of downs and filled the room with a stench of burned feathers. Luckily for Frank, the spell, whatever other effects it had, didn't seem to be very penetrative and he remained unharmed behind the couch. Still he didn't expect it to last one or two more such attacks.
Bordering the couch stood one of the bookshelves. Frank crawled past the end of the couch and took cover behind the shelf. It seemed like a more solid cover than the couch and due to the outline of the bell roof there was enough space between the shelf and the roof to fit in comfortably. Or comfortable it might have been but for the fact that a unicorn shaped attacker was standing on the other side of the shelf trying to murder him.
How, just how had he ended up in this mess? All he wanted was to write a scientific book about cutie marks! How had that gotten him so much to the wrong place at the wrong time? The impact of another spell reduced the back of the couch to shreds, leaving the attacker with the realization that its victim was no longer there. Life hadn't always been easy on Frank Blanket. He hadn't been born into a fortunate family, his cutie mark hadn't lessened the impression of learning from the school of hard knocks and he had suffered from early losses when he was just a little too old to be called an 'orphan' for it. He had been at odds with life for personal loss and injustices he had seen and been subjected to, and for a while these odds had given him an anger and a fury that had ultimately made him fell rather sick. Since the causes for his ill-feeling had seemed way beyond his control and since there was no benefit in fostering these sentiments or permitting them to determine his actions, Frank Blanket had decided to avoid and ignore them as much as he could and had been rather successful in doing so. Perhaps all this had contributed to a fairly limited drive to accumulate much in terms of material wealth and instead develop a passion for accumulating knowledge and experiences which he had felt no unfortunate turn of events could ever take from him; and he had embraced life for it, whatever turn it took and looked at the world with an enthusiastic, yet sometimes somewhat resigned curiosity. The wrath of his darkest days rarely simmered through.
And here he was, cowered between a shelf and the beams of a roof, about to be killed and thereby have his ability to learn and experience be taken away from him after all and long before his time had come! He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as if he could wake up from this if only he closed his eyes fiercely enough. As he did so, he felt a trickle run down his cheeks.
There was a loud bang and Frank felt a thump against his head. He cast his eyes open and drew a sharp breath, partly from the pain and partly because only now he realized that the fear had made him forget breathing at some point. Splinters of wood were lying around him as were several books and folders which had been blasted through the back board of the shelf as it had been hit by another spell. Apparently a particularly voluminous tome had landed on his head and been responsible for the thump. Some small pieces of torn paper were still drifting down in the air around him. Several of the books and folders were smoldering and one of them was actually catching fire as he looked at it. Oddly enough, it was the sight of the burning book more than anything else that snapped Frank out of being just paralyzed with fear and self-pitying.
There was no real chance of him getting out of this one and most likely nopony would ever know what had happened here. More likely than not, this attacker would continue with its schemes to ends which Frank didn't know. But with nothing to loose, there was no point in just waiting for the inevitable to come and however forlorn hope might seem, with everything to gain it was sure worth the attempt, if only for the vain notion of having at least tried to do something at all. With a swift motion, Frank grabbed a folder and the burning book, which he held at an edge not yet reached by the flames. He peeked past one end of the shelf and as he spotted the outline of the attacker, he quickly hurled the folder and the book at it.
This time Frank was lucky. Neither the folder nor the book were well suited as a throwing missile, but somehow he managed to make both of them hit. Sure enough neither did any actual harm to the attacker, but the folder was pierced by the 'unicorn's' horn, blocking its field of vision for a moment. As the attacker fiercely shook its head to rid its face from the folder, Frank grasped the one chance he saw to improve his situation. He rushed for the stairs leading up to the cupola. If he reached the top of the town hall he might be outside the attacker's sound muffling spell, he might be able to draw attention and he would be in a much better position in case the attacker would try to follow him up the stairs and the narrow hatch at its top. But he never reached the hatch. It hadn't taken long enough for the attacker to get the folder out of its face. A flash of green and reddish light exploded right in front of Frank, smashed the stairs into splinters and smithereens and hurled him back behind the shelf from where he had dashed for the stairs.
"Lucky to the end", Frank thought sardonically as he gasped for the breath which the rough landing had knocked out of his lungs. Not only had the spell missed him once again, proving for the aim of the attacker to be much worse than could have been expected, but it had even hurled him back into cover, allowing for the end to be postponed a little longer. If only he had the time to get rid of the encumbering saddle-bags. Maybe he would have managed the dash for the top of the stairs if it hadn't been for the cumbersome load on his back, but true to his habit he had strapped them fixed so even being hurled from the stairs had not rid him of the solid but cumbersome contraption on his back, which in times of more leisure could be turned into a makeshift escritoire.
Frank cowered low, expecting for the shelf to be reduced to debris by more spells from the attacker. But the spell didn't come. Instead Frank heard heavy hoofsteps approaching his cover. "It wants to save its magic!" Frank realized. "All the changes and all these powerful spells must have been a drain. It wants to make sure the next one is the last one!" To get a clear view at him, the attacker would have to stand right beside the edge of the shelf. Close enough perhaps for a last stand attack upon the attacker to avoid the range of its spell casting for just a few more moments.
The head of the attacker appeared at the edge of the shelf and Frank pounced upon it. Clearly the attacker hadn't expected to be attacked itself. The horn flashed up, but already Frank clutched the attacker's neck, too close to be hit by the spell which shattered something else somewhere else. Frank kicked and beat and bit and tried everything he could to harm the attacker in any way he could think of. His hooves didn't hit on metal where they hit what looked like solid metal armor, but whatever they hit, it didn't seem to bother the attacker as much as it might have bothered a pony. Frank let out a furious, rather unponylike growl. The attacker staggered back for a few steps, dragging Frank along, well away from the cover of the shelf and the couch. Drum at the attacker as he might, Frank didn't notice any effect upon it and then it shook itself almost like a predator that had caught its prey between its teeth. There was nothing Frank could put up against the strength of the body of a member of Princess Luna's guard. He was hurled through the air for some distance and landed hard on the floor. His saddle-bags had cushioned the impact a little, but the sound of cracking wood and tearing fabric told him that these bags would never again be of any use to carry anything or serve as an escritoire.
Strange as it was, in this moment the realization gave Frank a painful sting, almost as if he had lost a dear companion. As he struggled to get to his hooves again, Frank realized that the strap that had held the saddle-bags in place had broken so he could now just strip them off, but before he could do so, green light again flashed up in front of him.
The attacker stood not far away and Frank was a sitting, or rather a lying target. He couldn't understand how this spell missed yet again, but rather than him it was one of his bags that burst into flame, having been hit by the green light. Frank howled up, partly because of the sudden heat of the nearby fire, partly because of the unreasonable realization that the burning bag contained most of his writings on cutie mark research. Struggling free from the bags, he hurled himself onto the fire and managed to suffocate the flames at the expense of some minor scorching that would matter little.
Heavy hooves stepped right in front of him and as he raised his look, Frank knew that the game was up. However unlucky the aim of his attacker had been so far, it stood not a ponylength away from him, the head lowered and the horn pointing right at him while he was lying on the ground crouched over the damaged bag. For a moment he felt tempted to squeeze his eyes shut and turn his head away as if he could blind out the inevitable that way, but then a sense of angry defiance overcame him and he stared right into the eyes of the attacker, his own eyes watering but unflinching. "You'll fail nonetheless!" he hissed. The horn flashed up a final time, the last thing Frank expected ever to see.
Down the hatch as quick as she could. There was an intense stench of smoke and scorching and gray fumes were drifting through the air. Twilight noticed the iridescence as she passed the hatch and knew that somepony had set up a sound barrier. She was too late, the attacker was already there. Through the smoke she saw that the stairs in front of her had been blasted away and further down, not far from the end of the stairs, Frank Blanket was lying on the ground. Right in front of him stood the lunatic who had asked her for Frank's whereabouts. He lowered his head and as she saw Frank stir beneath the tip of the horn, she realized she was not too late after all.
So powerful was the shielding spell she cast between the two that it didn't merely swallow up the flash of green light from the lunatic's horn but that it made both the lunatic and Frank rebound some distance from it. Twilight jumped from the stairs, her wings spread far as she landed beside and a little in front of Frank. "Down!" she ordered the lunatic. "Now!" Imposing as her tone was, Twilight knew the moment she said it that the lunatic wouldn't obey her command. He shot three flashes of green at her in rapid succession, but making them fizzle out before they had come even close was an easy task for her. "Princess Twilight!" Frank gasped. "You're here!" "Stay behind me, Frank!"
The lunatic kept his eyes fixed on Twilight and she was certain he was reassessing the new situation as he slowly began to walk in a wide circle, never turning his lurking look or the tip of his horn away from Twilight, who in turn began to walk the circle's opposite perimeter. Her mind was racing about why a guard of Princess Luna would want to murder Frank and what this had to do with everything that had happened in the last days. Twilight didn't doubt for a moment that the lunatic had all the answers to the questions she had failed to answer so far. She knew that the time was working for her and was therefore in no rush to leash out at this mysterious attacker. Rainbow Dash would be here any moment and before long the others too would arrive, alarmed by Pinkie Pie. Her opponent, royal guard that he might be, was but a single pony and even though she had never focused on the destructive kinds of combative magic in particular, Twilight knew that she could handle this attacker. Magic was her gift and in this she would not be bested when it mattered as much as now it did.
Maybe the attacker had come to the same conclusion. He suddenly charged forward, but not at Twilight. Rather than staying close behind her, Frank had been dragging on what seemed to be his smoldering saddle bags. It had rendered his circling slower than that of Twilight and left him standing exposed. Instead of shooting any more spells the attacker, much to Twilight's horror, took a more direct approach and charged towards Frank with his horn lowered and clearly intended to run him through with it. She cast a quick spell. Blinded by the light of her own spell she couldn't tell for certain, but she was quite sure she had hit, but while the spell should have knocked the attacker over, he seemed almost undeterred in his attack rush at Frank. The colt however dived to the side and managed to dodge the slash of the horn. Nothing she had seen so far had prepared Twilight for what happened next. Having missed Frank, the lunatic didn't stop or turn around but continued his charge right on towards a window in the bell roof. Before she could do anything, the lunatic crashed through the thin glass and some splintering wood and disappeared in the darkness beyond.
Twilight uttered a scream. A fall from the height of the town hall's roof would easily mangle, probably even kill a pony unless he landed on the balustraded balcony below. She rushed for the broken window and frame, preparing a levitation spell in the hope of preventing the worst. But as she reached the broken window she saw something that took her breath away and that shocked her more than anything she had seen yet. In the light of the moon, she could see the shape of the attacker flying away, using wings that must have been concealed underneath his cape so far.
"An alicorn?!" Twilight shouted outraged once she had recovered her speech. "An alicorn?!" she shouted again as if repeating it would make the inconceivable any more comprehensible. She took almost a kind of personal offense from the realization. It was not a long time since she had been turned into an alicorn herself and whatever misgivings she had about her wings at times, she did take great pride in this. Alicorns were the fewest, they were destined for great things, they were the guardians of what was good and from their ranks were the princesses of Equestria like Celestia and Luna in whose service the attacker professed to be. Alicorns were not supposed to be murderers or fiends of any sort. The idea that an alicorn could commit such acts let Twilight abandon all restrain. There flew the answers which she wanted to get and she would not let them fly away. With one leap Twilight followed the attacker through the broken window.
"Twilight, wait!" Frank shouted. "Wait! You don't know what you are after! You cannot..." It was futile, the sound barrier spell was fading away only gradually as the one who had cast it was disappearing into the darkness of the night. The spell was still strong enough so Twilight, after crossing its iridescence, could not hear a word of Frank's warning. Desperately Frank rushed towards the broken window. The two shapes were barely visible anymore, but after a few moments a cascade of differently colored lights was marking the direction in which they were flying and battling each other. The direction of Everfree Forest.
Frank had no clue how Twilight had gotten here just in the nick of time but her outraged shout had made clear that she had no idea what the attacker was. She was as ill suited as most ponies to take on this foe while he... after everything that happened... could perhaps stand a chance if he managed to... Frank cast a short look at the smoldering remnants of his saddle-bag and hot fury was boiling up in him. He went to the hatch leading down towards the office floor and began to trample its planks with all strength he had. This room had never been meant to be a prison cell. How long would it keep a pony in that was serious about getting out?
Rainbow Dash didn't stay on the ground after she entered the town hall. Not only would she be faster if she flew rather than climbed up the stairs, but also she wouldn't make as much noise to alarm... whatever was there. "It wants to kill him!" Pinkie Pie had shouted and there had been no time for any explanations. But in spite of all the urgency, Rainbow Dash couldn't help thinking that it would be nice to have any clue at all whom Pinkie had meant. The royal guard they had been talking about when her sudden realization had struck? Rainbow Dash listened closely for any sounds from above, but there was utter and complete silence. Maybe Pinkie Pie's warning had been just in time for Twilight and her to show up here before... whatever else did.
She landed at the foot of the stairs that led up to the storeroom in which Frank was locked up, when suddenly she spotted something from the corner of her eyes that caught her attention. The door to Featherscribe's office stood open and bright moonlight fell through its window. And there in the moonlight... Rainbow Dash's heart skipped a beat ...there he lay. Featherscribe lay half concealed by his desk in an oddly twisted position. One wing outstretched, the other folded, his tongue was lolling and Rainbow Dash had to think of a marionette whose strings had been cut. Fighting an urge to scream and a sudden feeling of nausea, she bowed down and for her boundless relief noticed that Featherscribe was breathing. She poked him with one hoof but was not surprised that he didn't wake up or react to her lifting one of his eyelids. This was just like Inkhorn and Rainbow Dash realized that the suspicion against Featherscribe had lost its basis and that she was more than ever at a loss about who was left to be behind everything that had happened. It occurred to her that whoever had attacked Featherscribe was likely to be still around, possibly watching her right now and she braced herself for any sudden assault. She listened closely and cast a look in every direction. But there was nothing to be heard or seen. The silence was eerie, unnatural almost. And where was Twilight? Wouldn't she have reached the office floor by now or at least be heard upstairs?
Suddenly there was a sound of breaking glass somewhere outside. She pricked up her ears and the next moment a bang, deafening after the intense silence, gave her a surge of adrenalin and made her whirl around towards the center of the building from where the noise had come. There was another bang and also the sound of splintering wood. Rainbow Dash rushed to the office door. There was the banging noise again and she saw a part of the hatch to the upper floor break loose and the hatch was opened. A figure rushed down the stairs in such a hurry that he tripped and almost toppled over. He was looking neither left nor right, but just rushed on for the next stairs, not taking any notice of Rainbow Dash at all. Had it not been for the bizarre hat sitting askew on the head of the figure, she might not have been able to recognize Frank Blanket at all.
"Breaking out after all?" Rainbow Dash wondered, but for the moment her main concern was about Twilight. She'd be able to catch up with Frank after checking out the upper floor. As she made for the stairs leading up, she noticed the strong stench of scorching and she saw the wisps of smoke drifting through the scarce rays of moonlight that fell into the storeroom. The room looked as if it had been hit by a bomb. Trashed up furniture, a smashed shelf, the stairs leading up to the cupola blasted apart, a hole in the bell roof, a broken window and the entire floor was scattered with downs, papers, folders and books. Some of the books looked torn apart and scorched and Rainbow Dash was sure the sight would have given Twilight a screaming fit. Not even Derpy could have caused such havoc by accident and Rainbow Dash understood that she was seeing the scene of a fight.
"Twilight?" she called. "Twilight, are you here?" There was no response and Rainbow Dash hastily strode through the room, dreading the prospect of the drifting smoke revealing Twilight lying on the ground much like Featherscribe did one floor below. But all she found were the badly battered remnants of Frank Blankets saddle-bags. The colt certainly had some answers on what had happened here and what he was running away from. With a grim look, Rainbow Dash rushed for the broken hatch and spread her wings as she dived down headlong.
Running as fast as he could, Frank Blanket crossed the town square, thinking angry thoughts. He needed to be furious and not just to overcome his fear. Here he was, in hot pursuit of the selfsame fiend he had wished himself away from just moments ago. He had escaped with his life only by a combination of utterly inexplicable luck and the timely arrival of Twilight, who was now facing an enemy she didn't know, and not knowing how her own disposition could work against her. He headed on into a deserted alley when suddenly a group of ponies appeared round a corner ahead, rushing towards him. Frank stopped dead in his tracks and cast a hasty look to both sides. There were no side alleys to avoid the arrivals and in spite of the darkness he knew immediately who they were. The outlines of a stetson on one of the ponies' heads was as unmistakable as the outlines of his own hat probably were to Applejack and the others. Frank heard a sudden sound of hooves right behind him. He cast his head around and recoiled a little as he spotted a black smeared pegasus he might not have recognized in the dark, but for the rainbow colored streaks of mane shining through between what appeared to be soot.
"Rainbow... don't sneak upon me like that!" he shouted. "Frank Blanket!" Applejack called as she came closer, followed by Rarity and Pinkie Pie. "What are you doing out here?" Frank gritted his teeth. With what he thought had to be done, it would have been a lot easier if he had remained by himself, but he saw no way in the world he could expect them not to come along. At the same time he couldn't and wouldn't tell them everything, for their sake and for his own, but he couldn't allow for them to turn him from the disposition he was trying to get into and to maintain for the time being.
"There's no time for talking here", Frank said firmly and set in motion to step past Applejack and the others to continue his rush down the alley. "Hold it!" Applejack shouted, jumping into Frank's way. "You got some 'splainin' to do, Mr. Blanket!" "On the way!" Frank insisted as he tried to get past Applejack. "The princess is in danger and there's no time to waste!" "Twilight!" Rarity shouted. "Mr. Blanket... Frank... what happened to her?" "Featherscribe needs help too!" Rainbow Dash interjected. "He's lying in the town hall like Inkhorn did! Scoots, is Zecora still with Inkhorn? Get her to the town hall immediately!"
Frank hadn't noticed the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the darkness, but there they were in the wake of their elder sisters and Pinkie Pie. Scootaloo nodded to Rainbow Dash's order and sped back down the alley with her Scooter. Frank used the little distraction to get past Applejack and hurry on down the alley at so fast a trot it was only just slow enough not to be mistaken by the others as him running from them. The others rushed after him and by the looks of it, Applejack seemed quite ready to wrestle Frank down if necessary. Rainbow Dash overtook them all and flapped beside Frank.
"Now wait a moment... I mean... go on, but tell us what's going on! What happened up there in the town hall? The place looked like the Wonderbolts had held their tornado practice in there!" "The one who is behind all this came up there", Frank said matter-of-factly, keeping his look fixed on the way ahead almost as if he was talking to himself. "Wanted to kill me. Would have, but for the princess showing up just at the right time." "My goodness!" Rarity gasped. "And who is that?" Applejack called. "Hmm... more like what is that. Up there it looked like a member of Princess Luna's royal guard." "Are you okay?" Pinkie called as she caught up. "I knew it wanted to kill you." "You knew? But how?" Frank asked surprised. "Her Pinkie Sense", Rainbow Dash said. "That's why Twilight and I came to the town hall and why Pinkie got the others." "It was a very unfunny epicfunny, Frankie!" Pinkie Pie said with a tone in which her disturbance about the experience resonated.
Frank understood that but for this 'epicfunny' of Pinkie Pie he would probably be dead now and he would have liked to give her a hug for it, but he couldn't allow himself that, not while, unless he was utterly mistaken, a lot depended on him not getting dissuaded. These ponies made it everything but easy not to get dissuaded. "Are you alright?" Rarity asked the same question Frank had dodged when Pinkie had asked. "Are these... burns?" she pointed at some scorch marks with her horn. "It is okay. It is not much", Frank assured her. Indeed, he was surprised he barely noticed anything from his earlier suffocating of the fire on his saddle-bag with his own body.
"Now what about Twilight?" Applejack demanded to know. "Where is she? What happened to her?" "She was pursuing the attacker last time I saw her. The attacker flew away and she went right after." "You just let her go after that attacker alone?" Applejack bristled. "I'm not so good at flying!" Frank snarled. It was really unfair, but it was just what he needed right now. "I tried to call her back, but she didn't even hear me. The attacker had cast a sound-barrier spell." "So that's why I didn't hear anything at all?" Rainbow Dash asked. Frank nodded. "If you were there. I didn't even see you back in the town hall." "You were just rushing out, looking nowhere. You were gone before I could even say anything." The colt didn't say anything in response and a frown appeared on Rainbow Dash's face. "So you were running after Twilight and the attacker, right?" she asked. "That's where we are running now, right?" "Right", Frank confirmed.
Golden Oak Library had by now come within sight and as they approached, they saw Spike who was standing at the door and ran to meet them as soon as he spotted them, a small pouch dangling from his shoulder. They could tell he was counting them as he came closer. "Where's Twilight?" he called. "Seems she flew in the direction we're running in", Applejack said. "Pursuing... who exactly?" Applejack had called out the last words for Frank to hear, but the colt was just running on. "Oh for...", Applejack suppressed a course.
"I think I saw her", Spike said. "I wasn't sure, but I saw two shapes passing by in the sky. I couldn't tell for sure it was her, but there were some flashes... like magic spells cast." "Which way did they fly?" Applejack asked and Spike pointed in the same direction in which Frank was already running ahead; the direction that would lead them past Fluttershy's cottage to Everfree Forest. The group set in motion again and Spike was desperately trying to keep up until Rarity took mercy upon him and levitated him onto her back, even though she was struggling herself to keep up with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who in turn were in hot pursuit of Frank. The colt was by now no longer keeping back but ran as fast as he could. Without the load of his saddle-bags on his back, Frank turned out to be a runner who would make for a decent competitor in the running of the leaves, but right now they were not running for a harmless competition.
Rainbow Dash spread her wings to take off and close up to Frank, but Applejack hissed a quiet, "Wait Rainbow", between two steps. "What is it, AJ?" Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack cast a brief look at Frank and slowed down her pace a little as if to deliberately increase the distance to him. The colt was wearing his hat, but Applejack hoped that the hearing improving effect of the twisted brim caught mostly sounds from ahead of him. She cast a look back. Pinkie Pie and Rarity with Spike on her back were some distance behind and even further back were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Applejack frowned slightly. In all the chaos she had totally forgotten about the two fillies who should definitely not be part of this chase and decided that she would very strictly order them to stay at Fluttershy's cottage when they passed by there.
"What is it?" Rainbow asked again. "Doesn't Mr. Blanket seem... different to you?" Applejack whispered while she was still running on. Rainbow Dash didn't answer immediately, though she too had noticed something. "No time for talking, you mean?" "It's not just that. He's... grimmer than he was." "Perhaps Frank is being touchy about the whole hearing and somepony trying to murder him?" Rainbow Dash suggested, but she didn't sound very convinced. "We've seen some ponies acting strange lately and as far as we can tell they had somehow been under the influence of that attacker about whom Mr. Blanket doesn't want to talk." "What are you saying?" Rainbow Dash asked, knowing exactly what Applejack was saying but still wanting for the cards to be put on the table. "Just thinking that maybe it is not really Mr. Blanket we are following right now and that perhaps it would be a good idea to make certain about that before following him into Everfree Forest of all places!" "But Spike says he saw Twilight flying that way. She may need help! We got to hurry!" "Let's hurry up to make certain then!" Applejack said and accelerated her pace again. Rainbow Dash had rather mixed feelings about this, but she swung up into the air and prepared to overtake the colt who was just crossing the little bridge near Fluttershy's cottage.
Suddenly Frank uttered a little scream and as they looked, they saw a dark figure swooping down in front of him. A large pony clad in the armor of Princess Luna's royal guard. Rainbow Dash darted forward past Frank and pounced upon the dark figure. She sent the guard staggering backwards and he uttered a surprised call. Rainbow Dash heard the hoofbeats of Frank and the others drawing closer as she tried to wrestle the guard to the ground. The guard however was not tackled down easily. Rainbow heard some shouts from the others and the next moment she felt that she was grabbed from behind. She cast her head around and stared right into the metal-masked face of yet another royal guard. "Another one?" she thought aghast as she struggled to break free. "STOP THOU HOTSPUR FOOL! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" The booming voice made everypony freeze in motion except for casting their looks into the direction from where it had come.
From the pool of light provided by the bright moon in the clear dark night sky descended a figure larger than any of the ponies below or either of the additional royal guards in her wake. With an imposing bristling and a resounding clanking of metal horseshoes and greaves, Princess Luna of the Night landed next to her guards, Rainbow Dash and Frank. Her fierce look flashing from underneath the helmet she was wearing left no doubt that she was not in a joking mood.
"Oh my goodness! Princess Luna!" The call came from Fluttershy who appeared in the door of her cottage and bowed low at the sight of the Princess of the Night. Everypony, including Rainbow Dash who had just been released by her guard, followed Fluttershy's example. Pinkie Pie and Rarity hastened with their displays of reverence as much as etiquette permitted and hurried to catch up to the others. Princess Luna let her stern look wander over everyone present, but didn't tarry long. "We have followed the call of the dragon...", she announced with her booming voice, "...and none too soon it seemeth. Tell, us why doest thou attack my guards?!" Not even Rainbow Dash could remain unintimidated under the glare of the Princess of the Night, fell back a few steps without raising her head again and unable to give a clear response. "Call of the dragon...?" Fluttershy squeaked, looking up at the sky. The others too were alarmed and wondering what kind of obscure, archaic calling the princess was referring to.
Spike jumped from Rarity's back and rushed a few steps towards the princess. He too took a deep and hasty bow, but he seemed much less stunned by Princess Luna's appearance than all the others. "Thank you for coming here so quickly, Princess Luna!" he said. "I wrote you after Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie left me in the library." The explanation was clearly directed at everypony else since Princess Luna was of course aware of the short but urgent letter she had received.
"Oh... our dragon's call!" Pinkie Pie sighed with relief. "I don't know if I got everything right, but it seems a pony of your guard was trying to kill Mr. Blanket and Twilight is now pursuing him in Everfree Forest", Spike continued hastily. "Oh my goodness!" called Fluttershy, who was less aware of and more shocked about the recent developments than anypony else. "Nopony of my guard was here! Nopony of my guard would try to kill any subjects! 'Tis a lie!" Princess Luna shouted enraged.
"A misunderstanding, Your Highness", Frank piped up. "A deception. The attacker did come in the shape of a guard in your service. Rainbow Dash confused your guard with that attacker." "Why were you attacked, Frank Blanket?" the princess demanded to know. "Because... I acquired knowledge about the nature of the attacker and foolishly revealed so to the attacker itself as it appeared in a different shape. It wanted to kill me lest I reveal its identity." "Stop being cryptic, Frank, and reveal already!" Rainbow Dash shouted but was silenced by another stern look from Princess Luna.
"Thou speakest of shapes and callest the attacker it. Doest thou speak of a changeling?" "Yes, but more. A kind of changeling which among their kind is as rare as alicorns are among ponies. There's so little time to explain and Princess Twilight—" "I know what thou speakest off." "You... do?" Frank looked perplexed. "How...?" Princess Luna gave him a look that seemed to instill an understanding in him. "Oh...", was all Frank said and he evaded her eyes. "We shall then take on this fiend and—"
"No!" Frank shouted and at the same moment flinched at the own audacity towards the princess he had interrupted and who now pierced him with her eyes. "Your Highness, I know now what it takes to take on this fiend and you are..." He was looking mortified while the look of the princess became icy. "Thou thinkest thou hast what it takes?" Frank's face hardened and he stared back into the eyes of the princess. "If I do not succeed, the less the loss to everypony, if too successful much less the threat. But I can succeed!" Princess Luna nodded very slowly and for the first time since she had appeared, her stern demeanor showed cracks.
"Time is shorter than you all know", she said. "As we descended from Canterlot, we spotted fires in the forest!" Everyone gasped and Rainbow Dash flung herself higher up into the air. "Fire!", she said. "Fire in Everfree Forest!" she shouted. "Come down!" Princess Luna ordered. She cast a look at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom: "You two, sound the alarm in Ponyville! The subjects must know of the threat. Everypony is to get out of the way of harm that may come from the forest and seek shelter on the far side of the river. Only those capable of contributing to fighting fire and deterring what may come from the forest are to assemble on the green. Understood?" "Yes!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom said in unison, whirled around and rushed back towards Ponyville.
"Captain Crescent", The guard Rainbow Dash had tackled sprang to attention. "You guard the bridge! The others are to line up along the other side of the brook. Keep watch for what comes out of the forest and keep it from the town. 'Tis will be be a night's work to remember!" Captain Crescent and the other three guards did as they were told to. "Fluttershy?" Fluttershy squeaked at being so unexpectedly singled out by the princess. Luna's tone however was much less commanding and much gentler when she said: "I beg you to stay by my side. Your understanding of the woodland creatures and your kindness may prove invaluable tonight." Fluttershy nodded nervously. "You other Elements of Harmony, do what deems you best... kindness and harmony may not be all it takes tonight."
Frank turned towards the forest and Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were immediately with him. None of them looked at ease though. The news of the fire had turned the prospect of going into Everfree Forest at night from very precarious to insanely perilous. Spike too rushed to their side. "Spikey-wikey!" Rarity protested. "Stay here!" "I'm coming with you!" Spike said determinedly. "Oh no, you don't!" Applejack said. "There's fire in the wood, Spike! Twilight would never—" "And Twilight is in there!" Spike snapped. "I am a flame-breathing dragon! Who of us do you think will fare better in fire?" Everypony stared at him in surprise. "And also you won't be able to contact the princesses or receive messages from them unless I am with you!" Without another word, Applejack grabbed Spike and put him on her back. "Hurry!" Princess Luna said and the group set in motion. "Celestia be with you!" There was an indeterminable howl from somewhere deep in the forest. Princess Luna cast a look at the sky and mumbled: "You hear that, sister mine? We really need your help down here!"
Low above the roofs of Ponyville they dashed as fast as they could, the mysterious alicorn in the armor of one of Princess Luna's guards and Princess Twilight Sparkle in hot pursuit. Her mind was focused only on that shape ahead of her, blinding out everything else. There flew the answer to all the unanswered questions of the last days, she was sure that there flew the one who was behind the attacks on Mr. Rich, Miss Cheerilee, Inkhorn, possibly Featherscribe and possibly Frank. There flew the reason of her failures of the last days, the framer and deceiver who had so far misled everypony and who might have succeeded in much more foul deed but for the warning provided by Pinkie Pie's inexplicable sense for some things future. There had been plenty of clues that all this was about much more than some bags of money, but they had not prepared Twilight for the attempted murder of Frank and much less for an alicorn stooping to such sinisterness. She had to put an end to this now to redeem herself for earlier mistakes, to restore the order and, most importantly, to protect other ponies from being attacked by this ruthless fiend and his dark magic.
Much to her dismay however, the attacker was gaining distance. There was no doubt he was the more experienced and faster flyer and if she just kept trying to follow him like this, he would ultimately leave her behind and disappear into the night. Twilight cast a purple ball of magic energy after him. It missed and therefore didn't deal out the fall inducing punch that Twilight had hoped it would, but at least it caught the attention of the alicorn. He cast a look back and began to gain height.
A dart of greenish light suddenly shot towards Twilight. She hastily flapped with her right wing several times while she didn't accelerate the flapping of her left wing so she tilted a little to the side and the spell missed her. Twilight began to ascend after the alicorn, but he outflew her in ascend as much as in straight flight and with increasing despair she recognized that she would not be able to catch up with this elusive enemy unless she managed to coax him into accepting the fight. In rapid succession, Twilight cast three more magical purple balls after the shape. It was difficult to tell for certain, but as the three balls burst into magic flames, she was pretty sure that at least one of them had hit home. The shape however only staggered a little and started flying in zigzag lines to make aiming more difficult for her. Twilight couldn't suppress a grim smile. While the unsteady flight of her enemy made aiming very difficult, it also allowed her to gain distance on him again which was exactly what she had intended.
As she was drawing closer, Twilight realized that by now they had left the roofs and lights of Ponyville behind and there was only darkness below. Suddenly the shape ahead whirled around and similar to her own previous attack, he shot several bolts of greenish light in her direction. The scatter of these bolts didn't allow Twilight to avoid them like she had avoided the single dart before. She quickly cast a shielding spell similar to those her brother was so masterful with. The magic darts were consumed as they hit the sphere of the shield, but their impact made her gasp at the ferocity of the spells she could sense. These spells, if they hit, would not stop at merely dealing a punch or slow her down a little. In spite of her having seen the unrestrained magic of this attacker in the storeroom of the town hall, the renewed realization made Twilight feel rather uncomfortable, even anxious. For a moment the thought crossed her mind of flying back and informing Princess Celestia about this attacker. Maybe she knew what alicorn and what kind of foul magic was behind this.
She shook off the thought right away. The attacker was here and if she let him escape now, who knew where he might turn up again and who would be his next victim. Twilight continued her pursuit and cast spell upon spell after the attacker, purple magic balls and also some that should have stunned the other alicorn if they had hit. It didn't escape Twilight's notice that her enemy cast but very few spells back in return and still seemed to be more intend on making a getaway than actually getting involved into this fight. Maybe he was drained already by the spells he had cast against Frank before. Maybe she had an edge over him in this respect. The attacker cast some orange flashes, but they passed by way below Twilight, so she didn't need to take any evasive maneuver at all. She cast a short look after them. The momentary distraction caused Twilight to notice the next dart of green light too late to still cast a shielding spell against it. She flew a quick corkscrew spiral around it and only after she had finished it, it occurred to her that she had never flown such a corkscrew spiral before. She regretted that Rainbow Dash hadn't been there to see it. Her friend was right with what she had said yesterday about her flying being a lot better when she didn't focus on it. Come to think of it, all the previous magic casting while flying and focused on pursuing the attacker had also been very little trouble for her, Twilight thought. Twilight thought!
"Stop thinking about it!" Twilight implored herself as she felt her flight was getting less steady. Another dart of green light was flying towards her and this time she only just dodged it with an improvised dive that made her loose a lot of altitude. Moreover, the dart had passed so close above her head that she felt it had scorched her mane. For the first time since she had first seen this attacker, Twilight felt actual fear. Still he was flying away from her. All her previous magic attacks hadn't achieved anything but slowing down his flight. Maybe it was time to try something she hadn't done before, something the attacker didn't expect. "Celestia!" she thought as an orb of yellow and white light formed at the tip of her horn before she cast it to a point in the air in front of her enemy. The moment before the orb reached that point, Twilight squeezed her eyes firmly shut.
The orb burst into a short flash of extremely bright white light, illuminating the night sky like a lightning. Even through her closed eyelids, the flash dazzled Twilight somewhat, but certainly not as much as her opponent. As Twilight opened her eyes again, she spotted him drifting around in the air, showing every sign of being spacy from the unexpected light. He had fallen some distance and was now below her. Twilight swooped down towards him and as she did so, she prepared a levitation spell to fix her enemy to one spot in the sky just like she had tried to fix Rainbow Dash.
"Just like I tried to fix Rainbow Dash", she thought as she cast the spell, "And just like in my dream last night." Her flight became uncoordinated as she concentrated on the spell and the memory of the previous outcome in both waking time and dream. She cried, tried to pull out of her dive and at the same time drag the attacker along with her spell. What were the dark trees below? Was that... Everfree Forest? And what about the orange lights she saw there? Fire? Fire! Flap! Her left wing hit something solid and immediately contracted. A heavy blow hit her forehead, numbing her. Another stroke hit her torso, knocking the breath out of her. There was scratching and the snapping sound of breaking wood. Another hard blow as she landed heavily on her back and passed out.
It landed once its eyes had recovered from the flash of light and readjusted to the darkness. Things were not going to plan. It had pushed luck by making Princess Twilight a witness, but it still didn't know how she had come to turn up in time to save the distraction from Fillydelphia. It had been particularly unlucky about the dispatching of the distraction that had become a risk. Its spells had been of very poor accuracy, even though it was certain its aim hadn't been any less careful as it always was. The colt had also turned out to be surprisingly resilient. It didn't know if Frank Blanket had by now informed others about his findings in that book which he had shown. The princess' untimely arrival might have been a coincidence, however. She appeared unaware of what the colt from Fillydelphia could have told her and her immediate pursuit hadn't left any time so he could have told. The many spells back there and during the chase had drained it badly. But maybe the development could be turned in its favor after all. By the sound of things she had crashed somewhere here in the forest. If the element of surprise was still on its side, it might succeed here in what had failed the previous evening. There were no pet birds of the princess here to protect her. If successful, she would prove a much needed source of information, magic and nutrition and perhaps her position could be exploited more effectively on behalf of the endeavor than that of any other pony. It would have to use a different approach now. There was sufficient magic left for one more disguise to keep the princess unprepared once she was found. And if her position was not to be taken, taking her life might prove beneficial enough by itself.
On they went into the nightly Everfree Forest, yet with every step it sank in more that they didn't have anything to go with but the fact that Frank and Spike had seen Twilight pursuing the attacker in the vague direction of Everfree. This forest however covered too sizable a part of Equestria for this vague direction to be of much help. They didn't even know if the chase of Twilight and the attacker had ended over or in Everfree Forest one way or another and this uncertainty, along with the awareness of fires in the forest, making it about the most dangerous place to be in, put their nerves on edge.
"You see anything, Rainbow?" Applejack called up to the foliage. Rainbow Dash descended, shaking her head. "Nothing but forest, fire and night sky", she said grimly. "No lights or magical flashes of any sort." As if desperate to add anything positive at least, she said: "No wind at all. The fire will spread slower so long it remains windless." "And what if it does not?" Rarity asked cautiously. Rainbow Dash gave her a 'do I really have to answer that?' type of look, but Applejack, honest as always, said bluntly: "If the wind's picking up, fire may spread faster than any pony can get away from it. So let's just hope it ain't pickin' up, y'all."
"Let us just make sure we stay as far away from the fire as we can!" Rarity said through clenched teeth. Frank was walking a few steps ahead. He hadn't spoken a word since they had entered the forest, but he now turned his head and shook it without looking at anyone in particular. "I fear the fire is exactly where we must go." "What? But why, Frankie?" Pinkie Pie asked. "This is not the good kind of fireworks!" "It certainly isn't", Frank said, looking forward again and accelerating his pace somewhat. "But it is all we got about where Twilight may be. You saw several fires at different spots but fairly close to each other right, Rainbow Dash?" "Yes", the pegasus confirmed. "It must be from that magic duel. Twilight and the attacker casting flaring magic spells at each other and some sparkling from it set the wood ablaze. So they are probably near the fire or somewhere beyond it. In any case we must hurry!" He accelerated his pace as much as he could without risking to trip and fall in the near total darkness of the nightly forest.
Rainbow Dash flapped to the front. "If you seriously want to get to the fire, you want to go that way", she said, sounding a bit sarcastic as she pointed in a direction somewhat to the right of Frank's current direction. "Want to...", Frank snorted irritated as he changed the direction to where Rainbow Dash had pointed. "Won't help anypony if we stay away from the fire and away from Twilight." "And that attacker", Applejack said as she caught up with Rarity and Pinkie Pie right behind her. "Now what is it about that, Frank Blanket? What did you tell Princess Luna back there? An alicorn kind of changeling?"
Suddenly there was a loud and continuous cracking in the darkness ahead, as if dozens of trees were grinding against each other and it was growing ever louder. "That smell!" Spike shouted as suddenly a stench like composting and rotting wood filled the air around them. There was a croaky snarl and two glowing green eyes flashed up in the darkness ahead. "Timberwolf!" Applejack shouted as she leaped to the side and Spike only just managed to stay on her back by clinging firmly to her tied back mane. The huge wooden creature landed right in their midst with a leap of its own that sounded like many trunks snapping at the same time. It uttered another snarl and leaped on in the direction from where they had come.
Applejack was the first to recover from the fright. "Come on!" she ordered with a look of grim determination on her face as she set in motion again. For the moment the encounter with the wooden beast seemed to have let her forget about further questioning Frank. As they moved on, they heard the forest around them coming alive. Everywhere around them they heard cracking and rustling of wood and leaves, scraping steps, the fluttering of wings, all kinds of howls, and growls, snarling, hissing and tweeting. Sometimes they saw shadows rushing past them in the distance while sometimes critters, creatures and larger beasts of the forest were passing by close enough for them to recognize.
"Don't worry!" Pinkie Pie said with a cheerful smile at the timid faces of all the others. "All these monsters are way too scared of where we are going to stop and do anything to us." Rarity uttered something like a hysterical laugh, one of her eyes flinching nervously and she gave Pinkie Pie a look as if she wanted to wring her neck while Pinkie herself remained blissfully unaware and almost seemed to enjoy herself. "Whoa!" Rainbow Dash shouted as a Manticore rushed close past them. "Let's hope that was Fluttershy's pal! Let's hope that these beasts aren't all heading for Ponyville! That's a stampede even you couldn't stop, AJ!" Applejack nodded grimly: "Let's hope that Fluttershy and Princess Luna can!"
The first fugitives from the forest had been very unproblematic and Fluttershy had been personally acquainted with most of them. Bunnies, hares, a few hedgehogs, weasels, racoons and beavers were certainly not a threat to anypony and Princess Luna didn't have to give any orders for her guards to let all these small forest critters pass without any objection. Fluttershy immediately took it upon herself to comfort and reassure her little friends as much as she could. Princess Luna on the other hoof took to the air in regular intervals, scanning the treeline for any larger and more threatening arrivals.
She silently cursed herself for not having brought more than four guards along, but urgent as the message from Spike had sounded, it had not been very specific and had of course not allowed to predict a fire in Everfree Forest. But even if she had every single guard in Canterlot here at her disposal, this would have been a crisis of formidable dimensions. Trapped between fire on the one side and armed pony guards on the other, she had not a shred of doubt that most of the beasts of Everfree would not hesitate to assault the latter. Maybe it was even a blessing in disguise that she didn't have a large outfit with her. The priority was to protect the lives of ponies and lining many of them up in the swath of danger was therefore probably the most foolish thing that could have been done. It was not her job to stop the tide from Everfree Forest, but to keep it in check until the citizens of Ponyville would be out of immediate harm's way. She hoped that the two fillies she had sent to raise the alarm would hurry and that the town was sufficiently prepared for the evacuation to be conducted without a hitch. As she thought it, a bell was sounding from the nearby clock tower. A ringing that would be heard everywhere in the town. The fillies were living up to the task she had given to them.
Princess Luna landed beside Fluttershy who was arguing with Captain Crescent on the bridge over the narrow brook. A clawed and fanged bear, easily four times as tall as a pony, was no forest critter which a captain of her guard would let pass without further instructions. Princess Luna ordered for Fluttershy's pledge of the integrity and innocuousness of this bear, or any other creature she would pledge for, to be accepted as a pass to the green beyond the brook. Captain Crescent acknowledged the instruction with a snappy salute. "I am trusting in thy judgment, dear Fluttershy", Princess Luna said with the most gentle voice that she could muster. "But don't forget thy fellow ponies on the other side of the brook when you decide which creatures you don't expect to be of any danger to them." Fluttershy nodded, looking intimidated, though it had been far from Luna's mind to intimidate her in any way.
"Some will come from the forest whom we cannot permit to cross the brook while there are still ponies on the other side." "But we cannot leave anyone to the fire!" Fluttershy cried miserably. "No, we cannot", Princess Luna agreed and took to the air again, looking back at Fluttershy as an unspoken request to accompany her. Reluctantly, Fluttershy spread her wings and followed the princess. "Think not of me as indifferent towards the creatures of whom we must protect the ponyfolk of Ponyville, gentle Fluttershy!" The Princess made a gesture with one of her greaved hooves, encompassing the narrow, unwooded stripe between the treeline and the brook.
"In this stripe we must keep them while they pose a threat to other ponies. I hope for your kindness to calm these creatures while they are not in immediate danger, Fluttershy. But I feel that before dawn I may be compelled to instill greater fear than that of fire into some of them. When that time comes, I hope you will be by my side to guard me against the means I may have to employ to instill that fear." Fluttershy nodded, though she didn't really understand what Princess Luna was telling her. She was fighting back tears. Tears of pity for her friends from the forest, tears of fear of what was going to happen, tears of hopelessness about whatever was going to come, and above all, tears of fear for her friends who had gone into the forest to save another friend while she had to stay behind here. She had to think of their recent venture into Everfree Forest that had ended with their giving up of the Elements of Harmony. Back then, Twilight had been the one told to stay behind and it had turned out to be a dire mistake. Perhaps Princess Luna had read her face, perhaps her ability to visit dreams had given her a deeper understanding of the minds of ponies. In any case she said: "Believe me, Fluttershy, that you may be of greater help to your friends by staying here with me than you might be if you had gone with them."
Suddenly there was a hoot right beside Fluttershy's head and as she was looking to the side, she heard a second. Owlowiscious was there and much to her surprise there was also the injured barn owl flying right beside him. She still wore some of the bandages Fluttershy had applied, but her appearance was no comparison to the miserable, near-death state she had been in just a few hours ago. More than anything else this gave Fluttershy new hope and also the awareness that all the animals in and around her cottage had been the first to cross over the brook to the relative safety on the other side.
Above the forest, Fluttershy and Princess Luna could see three high columns of flame and smoke. "All is not lost", Princess Luna said. "While the lull lasts, the fire will not spread as fast as it could and once my sister manages to sort out the troubles in Cloudsdale... She never failed her subjects!" There was a strange mixture of a howl and a roar sounding from underneath the treetops. "Till then, we will make a stand and buy time for her and the citizens of Ponyville!" Princess Luna swooped down to land on the stripe in front of the treeline. Fluttershy followed her, feeling not half as bold and determined as the Princess of the Night sounded.
The group of wolpertingers seemed unperilous enough to be permitted to cross the bridge, though Fluttershy made a mental note to herself to ask Discord whether or not these unlikely composed creatures had been the result of one of his more "creative moments". It did not take long however for creatures to appear along the treeline for whose integrity not even Fluttershy was ready to guarantee. The manticore was probably the most well behaved among the creatures from Everfree which would not be permitted to cross the brook. As he sat down and started licking his paws, Fluttershy was wondering if Princess Luna too had recognized him as the very one whom Nightmare Moon had hurt and placed into the way of the future wielders of the Elements of Harmony a long time ago. Much less well behaved was a chimera who protested fiercely and scurrilously against being denied to cross the brook. Had it not been for the chimera's quick relapsing into its various heads quarreling among themselves, she might have been the first to put Princess Luna's means to enforce her orders to the test.
This test ultimately came in the form of a multi-headed hydra. The roaring of four heads at a time resounded from the forest and over the meadows beyond the brook. Like a much shriller echo, there were the outcries of many of the ponies who were by now gathering on the green, following the call Princess Luna had issued before. Fluttershy leaped backwards and took to the air more by instinct than by decision. Princess Luna however walked towards the hydra at an almost casual pace.
Fluttershy didn't know what to do, she knew that such a hydra was beyond the soothing influence of whatever kind of kindness she might offer to this beast and not even her stare would be of any use when there were four heads to be stared at at the same time. She spotted Captain Crescent whom Luna had assigned to guard the bridge. He stood there, ready to take a stand if any of the unwarranted creatures from the other side should try to cross the bridge, but he didn't bother to come to Luna's aid. "Shouldn't you be at your Princess' side... please?" Fluttershy almost screamed at the guard. "No", he said curtly with an unnerving ease. In view of Fluttershy's desperate face, he condescended to give further explanation: "Young Miss, had you been on night patrol with her Highness as often as I have, it would not be the Princess you would be worrying about now. I am to guard this bridge. My presence there would only distract her Highness unnecessarily."
Fluttershy looked at the captain of the guard dumbfounded and then turned her head towards Princess Luna. The princess had neither accelerated nor slowed down her casual pace and Fluttershy suddenly realized that the pace of the princess and the aura of composure that radiated from her every movement were all part of a cold calculation. Not just the eyes of every pony on the green, but also those of every single creature on the strip between the treeline and the brook were fixed on her. For most of them the hydra was as potential a threat as it was for anypony. Had any sign on the face or in the composure of the princess raised any doubts about her ability to keep the hydra at bay, the result might have been a panic and a renewed stampede of these creatures. The hydra did not seem captured by the princess' display of calmness. As soon as she got within reach, the two outmost heads of the hydra darted forwards to catch Princess Luna in a pincer movement. Fluttershy shrieked, but the princess looked neither left nor right and leaped upwards in the very last moment. The motion was so sudden and swift, it would have done Rainbow Dash proud, and yet there was nothing hectic or fidgety about it. The two heads clashed with an ugly thumping sound and Fluttershy instinctively cringed. "That's what I meant", Captain Crescent commented coolly.
Another head on its snakelike neck lashed out straight towards the princess. Luna didn't budge to any side, but her horn flashed momentarily in a silver light and the next moment the head seemed to clash against an invisible and impenetrable obstacle right in front of Luna. Fluttershy was reminded of the invisible obstacle Twilight had clashed into at the Rich Mansion the previous evening. The hydra's head sagged to the ground, unmistakably numbed. Even from the distance, Fluttershy could see that the green eyes in the face of the last remaining head of the hydra were looking rather scared by now. It made no difference that Princess Luna was smaller than any of the heads. The hydra recognized her as a potential danger and it was probably the absolute absence of any sign of fear from the princess rather than the pain of three hurt heads that intimidated the hydra. Before her last unscathed head could make up its mind on what to do, the booming voice of the princess sounded through the night: "DOWN, BEAST!" Immediately the snakelike neck bent and lowered the head to a spot low above the ground and well below the dark princess with the thundering voice. An unmistakable act of submission. "Stay here! Don't cross the water! Keep thy heads down! Don't you dare to attack or threaten any creature in any way and thou will be safe until the fire in the forest will perish! Defy, and I swear the fire will be the least of thy concerns tonight!"
Fluttershy didn't know if the hydra was even able to understand the words, but the tone and nonverbal signs were clear enough. When Princess Luna pointed at an empty patch of grass a little remote from the other creatures, the hydra crept there, three numbed heads dragging over the ground, the fourth one whimpering like a beaten dog. Even though the hydra was easily five or six times as large than even the largest of the creatures so far assembled on this side of the brook, it had lost all its menace. On the other hoof the looming threat of incurring the wrath of a princess who had reduced a hydra like that caused for the other creatures already assembled to be a lot more inconspicuous than before. Even the chimera stopped quarreling with herself and fell into a silence very uncommon for her kind.
As Princess Luna turned around to continue her air patrol between the brook and the treeline, a very different sound erupted from the green on the other side of the brook. It took her some moments to understand that the assembled ponies were cheering her. She granted herself a smile of grim satisfaction. This part of the job of being the guardian of the night was something hardly ever witnessed by ponies other than her accompanying guard. Much like the beauty of the night sky, it was something that usually stood in the shadow of attention cast by the brighter light of her sister's service to Equestria...
Princess Luna shook off the thought and focused on her task again rather than allowing for herself to be distracted, basking in her subjects' rare recognition. These subjects however posed a problem of a different kind. Not for the first time since her return did she realize how much things had changed in the thousand years of her absence. If back then she would have given the order for all capable of contributing to fighting fire and deterring what might come from the forest to assemble on the green, she would have been sure for only those actually capable to end up assembled. The part of the peasantry not capable of providing relevant help would have heeded her order to get out of harm's way and to the far side of the river. Today's citizens of Ponyville were not the peasantry of the days of old however and by the looks of it, almost every single one of them was either assembled on the green or approaching from the town. "Bless the subjects for their courage...", Luna thought grimly, "...and protect them from their lack of reason!"
In case the larger creatures on this side of the brook stampeded to the other side, Luna did not believe she would be able to stop all of them or to protect the crowd of ponies. She descended towards the bridge where Fluttershy was standing beside the captain of her royal guard. From the other side of the brook she saw a mare approaching whom she recognized as the mayor of Ponyville. She was looking a little disordered and cast nervous glances at some of the larger creatures between the brook and the treeline, but when she spoke up, her voice was almost enthusiastic: "Your Highness! Princess Luna! That was amazing! You and... that hydra. But what is going on at all? Rumors are abound—" Luna cut her off with an impatient wave of one hoof.
"There is little time for explanations, but you see for yourself that the forest is on fire. More creatures will come from it and that hydra may well be not the worst of them. When we asked for ponies capable of fighting the fire or deterring such creatures to come here, we meant only for those capable to come and not for the entire town to assemble in the swath of danger!" The mayor looked rather taken aback and mortified and Luna regretted the necessity of strong words to bring home her point. Doing her best to sound calm and friendly, she continued: "Now please get everypony not capable as far from the treeline as possible and to the other side of the river before—" A hoarse roar sounded through the night, like the grinding of many huge rocks against each other, but louder than any of the roars that had echoed through this night so far. "...it is to late", Luna finished her sentence, her voice turning icy.
Princess Luna turned and took to the air again. Whatever it was that was approaching, she did not have to wait for it to reach the treeline to spot its approach. Shaking and falling treetops testified to its path as well as to its dimensions. Luna swallowed and braced herself. This was no time for the playful filly that a small, long forgotten part of her had never quite ceased to be even after all this time. This time required the Princess of the Night's most fearsome and even relentless site. The princess' horn flashed and so did the air above the brook behind her. A flaring wall of fire seemed to rise high into the air above the waters of the brook. "Princess Luna! What are you doing?" The princess looked to the side to see Fluttershy flapping beside and a little behind her. She hadn't noticed that the kind-hearted pegasus had followed her when she had left the bridge. Fluttershy was looking terrified and Princess Luna was uncertain whether the roar, the commotion between the trees, the spell she had cast or her own grim appearance contributed most to her fear.
"Whatever comes there will scare the creatures beyond my control or yours. Fear of fire over the brook may turn their flight to the left and right and keep them from Ponyville." Fluttershy was looking aghast and Luna felt compelled to add: "There is no real fire above the brook. An illusion of flaring air, fiery scent and some warmth that will neither ignite anything nor burn anyone who touches it. But so long the creatures below don't know that, it may direct their flight away from the town or from your home." Luna's horn flashed again and a circular pillar of fire seemed to rise around Fluttershy's cottage. Something large broke forth from between the trees, breaking two of them in the process. Fluttershy gasped.
"A dragon!" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "A dragon!" "Stay away from it!" Luna ordered, uncertain if that order was even necessary and dived to a spot in the air in front of the dragon's head. Very diverse was dragonkind, more diverse than even ponyfolk. During her nighttime patrols, Luna had made the experience that there were dragons to be reasoned or bargained with, but she had never so far encountered a specimen of this size.
Only the front half of the huge beast had emerged from between the trees. A head like that of a deformed crocodile almost as large as a small house. This dragon was unmistakably ancient by the standards of ponies. Its skin had an earthy and rocky texture and as she approached, Luna even saw some plants and small bushes growing on the dragon's back, some of them shaking, some detaching from the dragon's body as it was moving on. No doubt, this beast had lain dormant for a long time, centuries perhaps or maybe even since the days preceding her own. Confused for a knoll perhaps, covered by the earth and soil, accumulated by the ages and as unconcerned by the world as the world had been unconcerned by it until it was woken up again to this world by the events of this night. There was a pair of wings on the back of the dragon, but if they had ever been able to carry it, it had long outgrown them and the wings were torn and remained so limp compared to the dragon's other motions that the question was legitimate if the old dragon was even aware of its wings' existence anymore.
"STAY BACK!" Luna commanded in her loudest and most booming voice to catch the attention of the old dragon. The dragon slowly raised its head and looked at the loud but tiny creature floating in the air ahead. Princess Luna could see her own reflected image in the eyes of the old dragon that looked like dark pools of black water. "This way is not open to you!" The dragon snorted and the exhalation hit Luna like a squall, sending her drifting for some ponylengths like a leaf in the wind. She struggled against an urge to gag. The snorting had a disgusting smell of smoke, scorched earth, composting and decay. Anger was boiling up in Luna. Ancient as this beast might be, it was not entitled to snort a Princess of Equestria away like a fly with its foul breath. Suppressing her anger as good as she could, she flew back to the spot in front of the dragon who had now worked more of its massive body out of the forest. "STAY BACK FOUL WORM! THIS IS NOT YOUR PLACE TO BE!"
The dragon stopped again, glaring at Luna with these dark bottomless eyes. "Thou art a creature of the fire! The flames cannot hurt you! Return and rest as thou hast rested for so long and leave thy fellow creatures in peace!" The old dragon opened its mouth slowly, laying bare fangs larger than any alicorn's horn, grained, stained and marbled as if they had been chiseled from rock, yet sharp and deadly to anything that would come within their reach. Green-yellowish, viscous saliva of a penetrating smell was dripping from these fangs and where droplets of it splotched the ground, grass withered within seconds and the earth itself took on a sickish color. A forked serpent's tongue flickered behind the fangs. A tongue not shaped to form words, but only to pick up the scent of prey for a creature that had likely roamed this world before even the first ever spoken word had been uttered or picked up by any listener's ear. This creature would not speak, or listen, or reason, or bargain, relic that it was from a time when all of these had been concepts unknown to the world.
The old dragon inhaled deeply, creating a pull against which the Princess of the Night had to struggle with might and main to avoid being sucked between the lethal fangs. The huge lungs of the ancient beast were filling with air like giant bellows and even before the first sparks of ignition flashed up deep in the dragon's throat, Luna braced, conjured up a shield as strong as her powerful magic allowed and hoped desperately that it would suffice to withstand the onslaught of this enemy's ancient fire.
Dragonfire was no comparison to regular flame or even lava from the earth's deepest pits. It could reduce to ashes in seconds what would take a regular fire hours and days to consume and old stories told that the touch of even a flicker of some dragon's fiery breath could drain the life of another creature, even if it managed to escape instant cremation. It could melt stone and metals which not even the largest furnaces in Equestria could soften up enough to forge it. It was this kind of all-consuming flame that hit on the all-withstanding shield-spell that Luna had cast. The heat was murderous and it made the sphere of the spell glow like a bubble of liquid metal. The spell however stood the shock and kept the flames at a distance from Luna, but even so the heat was intense enough to make her scream out in pain. Shielded by some of the most powerful magic known to this world and therefore some distance away from the blazing flames, they were still intense enough to heat up the metal of Princess Luna's helmet and her greaves to the point that she would have torn them off and hurled them away if there had been the time and occasion to do so. From far away she heard the screams of the ponies on the other side of the brook whom she was entrusted to protect; and protect she would, no matter what! The time for negotiations was over. This dragon was a powerful and ancient creature, but so was Princess Luna, the Guardian of the Night!
Few ponies could claim to have witnessed in their lifetimes a spectacle such as that which unfolded before the eyes of the citizens of Ponyville in this night. It was a clash of creatures both of whom from a different age that had been there long before any of the witnesses and both of whom would still be there when the passing of the ages would long have obliterated the memory of any of the witnesses to the dusts of history; unless of course it was for one of the ancient beings to end the existence of the other tonight. It was a rapid dance of light and shadow, fire and magic, hooves and claws, alicorn and dragon between a wall of fire and the treeline of a burning forest with more trees falling to the whirl of the fight.
"RETURN BACK UNDER THE EARTH FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!" thundered Princess Luna, not because she expected for the dragon to understand or comply but just because her booming voice was a vent for all the power and all the anger that she felt would otherwise tear her apart from the inside. Battle rage, a sensation for which there was no part in the better Equestria of these days compared to darker days of old and much as Princess Luna strove to keep such dangerous relics of darker days caged in a faraway corner of her mind, the dragonfire had reignited it and she was not sure if she could have withstood but for the strength she derived from this archaic fury.
It was not a surprise that the old dragon remained utterly underwhelmed by attacks of magic fire, even though they burned away the last patches of vegetation from the ancient beast's soiled scales. Piercing flashes of pure magic energy however did hurt the old beast and Princess Luna made the best of her ability to fly and her superior agility over the huge beast. Short necked as the dragon was, it didn't take much to stay out of reach of its deadly breath, its venomous saliva and the view of its bottomless eyes. More difficult it turned out to evade the razor-sharp spikes on the back and the tail of the dragon. Slow and deliberate as the motions of the beast's head were, its tail was lashing out as fast as a whip, yet much more erratic and less predictable as to where it would strike. As the battle drew on, it became ever more obvious to Princess Luna that the time and the toll of the fight were working against her.
The beast who had lain dormant for ages was detached from the sleeping rhythm of other creatures and while the constant evading and casting of magic spells were exhausting to Princess Luna, her enemy seemed quite capable to continue like this for days or even longer without any fatigue. While she was sure some of her attacks had caused the dragon pain, it seemed insufficient to turn it away or to decrease its will and ability to continue the fight. Unless she came up with something more severe, the outcome of this fight was as foreseeable as it was not to her liking.
She concentrated with all her mind on the next magic lightning she would send against her opponent, much like she had concentrated to create the shield that had saved her from obliteration by dragonfire. This time the result was not a short bolt of magic white light, but a flash of lightning emitted from her horn, branching out and connecting to several of the spikes on the dragon's back at the same time. This lightning didn't flash out within a moment like a lightning in a thunderstorm would have, but instead it lasted, forming a flickering bright band between Princess Luna's horn and several of the dragon's spikes. A smell of burning filled the air and there was a metallic taste to it. The air itself seemed to spark from the sheer power of the magic cast and Princess Luna felt her hair stand upright underneath the helmet. The helmet itself and greaves were glowing in a bluish light. The dragon below was roaring and hissing in unmistakable pain and Luna hoped that it would stir up its flight instinct rather than its fighting spirits.
She was so focused on maintaining the powerful magic lightning that she noticed the dragon's tail only in the very last moment. Princess Luna let herself drop and fluttered backwards hastily. It did get her out of the way of a potentially lethal tail lash, but it interrupted the lightning and the princess did not get away unscathed. One of the spikes on the dragon's tail scratched along the left cheek guard of her helmet, cut through it as if it was made of paper and scratched her cheek below, drawing a little blood.
The dark alicorn uttered a cry of rage. If this creature was not to be reasoned or bargained with, not submit to any orders nor succumb to pain, she would resort to her most frightful means, abandon all restraint and strike terror into the mind of the creature who did not yield to other means. She flew a loop that brought her to a spot right above the snout of the old dragon, out of reach of its breath, and right in front of those large dark eyes. She stared into them and nopony who wasn't very close by would notice the magic used here. This was not the crude and showy magic of flaring fire, flashing lightning or similarly blunt approaches. This was more subtle, more elegant in a way, more effective, more sinister and less attention-grabbing and it required a different kind of mindset to perform.
Wild and cruel was the teeth baring smile on the face of the dark alicorn and piercing her blue eyes which now flashed up in a bright white light. As if the white radiance of the dark alicorn's eyes had rubbed of on the dragon eyes they were staring into, the surface of the dragon's eyes suddenly grew frosted as if pervaded by a grayish haze. There was no focus in those eyes anymore and the dragon seemed to freeze in motion for a moment.
A cry went up into the air which few in the history of this world had ever heard and which nobody who had heard it desired to hear again. It was the shrill and bone-chilling scream of a creature supposed to be beyond age or mortality suddenly confronted with the fear and possibility of the own demise. All the fear and terror that one voice could carry were in this cry of a voice usually prone to spread rather than express terror. The unearthly cry faded into something like a whimper, though still more powerful than anything the lesser creatures would ever utter and with that, the dragon crawled backwards. "BEGONE, FELL BEAST!" The dark alicorn laughed in triumph.
The dragon turned around and as it did, more vulnerable parts of the beast's less scaled flanks were exposed to the dark alicorn. She reveled in triumph, her magical powers were beyond boundary by the shaking off of restraint and fueled by a malicious fury. It would be a cinch now to finish this which had seemed like a serious challenge, a danger even, just moments ago. The dark alicorn took aim and her horn began to flare in a greenish light.
"Princess Luna!" Her ears still half deafened by the cry of the defeated beast as well has her own booming voice barely picked up the voice which seemed to come from a different sphere entirely. It would have been easy to ignore this hushed, timid voice, but something in a suppressed corner of the mind of the dark alicorn told her that this was important, that this was in fact somehow what everything was about. "Please Princess... don't!"
It had taken Fluttershy a huge effort to get herself to fly close to Princess Luna, who had told her to stay away, and to the dragon whom she dreaded. But she, like nopony else had understood what was going on, that more than one fight was taking place and suddenly she had understood the meaning of the Princess' earlier mystic words:
"But I feel that before dawn I may be compelled to instill greater fear than that of fire into some of them. When that time comes, I hope you will be by my side to guard me against the means I may have to employ to instill that fear." The piercing eyes rested on Fluttershy who could barely stand the look of these eyes with their almost reptilian pupils. After the uproar of the fight, the occasional cracking of a tree in the path of the retreating dragon sounded like deafening silence and shy as she was, Fluttershy could not bear this silence now and forced herself to talk.
"The dragon is fleeing. Please let him flee! He will not hurt you or anyone now! Please... please stay here!" The dark alicorn closed her eyes for a moment and she took some deep, audible breaths. When she opened her eyes again, there was nothing reptilian or piercing in the eyes of Princess Luna of Equestria. She looked exhausted, but when she took off her gashed helmet and casually flung it away, a smile appeared on her face, weak and tired but of a goodness and heartfelt gratitude that no battle rage or older resentments would drown out, so long they themselves were drowned out by a quiet voice of kindness.
"Thank you", she said without any further explanation since there was no need for it. "When this night is over, Fluttershy, I would really like to jaunt the Canterlot gardens with you. I don't think I have ever introduced you to my pet opossum Tiberius, have I?" Fluttershy nodded and then shook her head. She appreciated the invitation and the gratitude of the Princess, but at this moment she was too worried about the others to feel any real joy.
They had reached a sandy stream bed which ran roughly in the direction they were heading. The recent lack of rainfall had caused the water level to drop so much that it reached barely over their fetlocks. The stream bed made a comfortable gateway into the depths of the forest as it was a lot more passable than the thick undergrowth around and allowed for a wider view of what was ahead. Moreover, the ditch of the stream bed allowed for some cover from everything they heard rampaging through the nightly forest. After a while however, there weren't all too many sounds from animals or other creatures to be heard anymore and instead they heard the sound of cracking fire while the smell of smoke reached their nostrils.
"Fire", mumbled Rarity to herself, repeating the word over and over again as if this mantra could calm her. None of the ponies remained unfazed by the primeval fears stirred up by the sensation of the nearby blaze and hurrying towards rather than away from it was against every natural instinct. At last the flames they had only heard and smelled so far came in sight. The fire was ravaging on both sides of the stream bed. The raging flames hadn't yet reached the banks, but they were edging closer and even from the distance, the heat could be felt uncomfortably. "The way is... is it blocked?" Rarity half stated, half asked in Rainbow Dash's direction. The pegasus swung herself up into the air above the level of the treetops surrounding the stream bed and cast a look in both directions.
"Not blocked", she announced. "Not yet. These flames...", she pointed at the fires visible on both banks, "...are just cropping out here. There is no fire near the banks beyond, but..." "But what?" Applejack demanded impatiently when Rainbow Dash didn't continue. "These fires will get too close to pass by them very soon. We can still go through there now, but the way back will be blocked any minute now." "But Dashie, you can fly!" Pinkie Pie reminded her. "You can always..." Rainbow Dash didn't say anything but gave Pinkie Pie a very offended look that made her fall silent.
"And Twilight is on the other side?" Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I don't see her and there are no magic flares or anything." "Best bet we got", Frank said grimly. "Flying in that direction and dueling on the way, setting the forest on fire their flight probably continued beyond this point." "Twilight", Spike mumbled on Applejack's back, quietly, but loud enough for everypony to hear. "Wish we had a better bet, but with Twilight at stake it's good enough for me!" Applejack said, pulled her stetson down, lowered her head and rushed forward between the two walls of fire while Spike again clung firmly to her mane. Rainbow Dash flew after Applejack immediately. Frank, who had so far stayed ahead, gritted his teeth. He was panting heavily but at last charged after Applejack the same moment Rarity and Pinkie Pie overcame their fears too. The air between the two fires was so hot that breathing became painful and parching and even on the skin the searing heat was only just bearable. No doubt, the narrow passage between the two fires would be impassable very soon. For now however, Rainbow Dash's observation turned out to be true and a short distance beyond the narrow gap, the temperature became tolerable again. Rainbow Dash and Applejack with Spike on her back had stopped some distance beyond to wait for the others to catch up. They were talking, but stopped as Frank, Rarity and Pinkie Pie came closer. They both took a drink from the shallow stream, but Spike gave Frank a look so unsettled that he was almost certain the previous short exchange had something to do with him. "Very well", he thought grimly. "It's better that way now."
He followed their example and drank as he arrived near them, so did Pinkie and even Rarity was parched enough to overcome reservations against drinking from a river she might have considered too uncouth under different circumstances. Thirst and the need for at least some cooling didn't allow for such daintiness. "Ah think we know these parts a bit, don't we?" Applejack said. "Whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked while she carefully splashed a little water into her face. "Ah'm pretty sure this here is the selfsame river the sea serpent helped us cross back then after you had given up your tail for him, Rarity." "I do hope he is alright now", Rarity said. "I never met a serpent with such exquisite sense of style." "It can't be, silly", Pinkie Pie said. "We wouldn't need a sea serpent to help us cross this river." "Pinkie...", Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes, "...back then there hadn't been such a long time shortage of rain draining the river." "Oh right. Silly me it is!" Pinkie said cheerfully.
"Begging your pardon, everypony, but do you think this is the time to reminisce?" Frank said sourly. "Mah point is that if Twilight is somewhere near here, Ah think we know where she'd probably go", Applejack said. "But wouldn't she just fly out of the forest?" Rarity suggested very quietly, leaving something unsaid that Pinkie Pie picked up immediately: "If she just flew out of here, while we are walking into here, we will all look very silly!" Rainbow Dash shook her head: "I've been checking for any signs of Twilight all along the way. No magic flares anywhere and she wasn't flying anywhere either. I would have seen her with all the moon- and starlight and Twilight is not fast enough to fly across all of Everfree Forest since I started looking for her. She must be in here!"
"Onwards then?" Frank suggested and set in motion again, following the stream bed. The others followed and as they walked, Applejack continued in an irritated tone: "Twilight would probably go for the castle of the royal sisters if she is nearby and can't or doesn't want to fly." "Yes, it wouldn't catch fire as easy as the forest around!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "And also the Elements are there and Twilight—" "Pinkie!" Applejack silenced her angrily. Looking at Rainbow Dash, she continued: "Rainbow, you fly ahead and see if you find her at the castle or anywhere nearby. You are faster and can search for her much better if you don't have to stick with us and maybe Twilight needs quick help!" "But what about you?" Rainbow Dash asked, cutting a distressed face. "What if you need me?" "We'll be fine, sugarcube", Applejack said with a smile.
"Rarity!" Spike called from Applejack's back. "You can do magic too! You can cast light signals, can't you?" "I sure can!" Rarity said and the prospect of being able to help seemed to oust some of her fear. "I will send up white lights time and again so you can see where we are, Rainbow." "Great", Rainbow agreed. "Can you send up a green one in case you find Twilight and a red one in case you need help?" Rarity nodded. "You could send up yellow ones too Rarity, right?” Applejack asked. "Of course I could", Rarity confirmed. "You want to have the good kind of fireworks, AJ?" Pinkie Pie asked. Applejack shook her head. "We'll be using that one in case of... a different kind of emergency."
She gave Rainbow Dash a look that seemed to tell her something. The pegasus nodded slowly. "We'll follow this here ditch a little longer", Applejack said. "Chances are, Twilight might come across here too. When we reach the point where we crossed back then, we are going to head for the castle. The fires are all behind us, right Rainbow? None ahead?" Rainbow Dash flew up above the treetops and turned around on the spot, scanning the surroundings. "No fires between here and the castle", she announced. "But hurry! I think there's some breeze picking up and it's blowing this way!"
It took no further hint for the group below to set in motion again. Rainbow Dash felt very uneasy leaving them with a fire raging behind them. But Applejack was right and the thought of Twilight who too was probably somewhere in this burning forest made her shake off these misgivings. Flying a bit higher above the treetops, she turned towards where the ruins of the old castle were towering above the surrounding forest.
Twilight didn't open her eyes immediately when her consciousness had returned sufficiently for her to understand that she had lost it. A flood of memories of the last hour was rushing upon her, but in no specific sequence and it took her a moment to put them in order to mentally prepare herself for what she would face once she opened her eyes. Princess Luna's royal guard, his attempt to murder Frank, the fight in the town hall's storeroom, the realization that he was an alicorn, the pursuit and their magic duel, and then her fall. Even memories of noticing trees down below and... she shuddered ...fire came back to her.
At least she had apparently not hit her head too hard during the fall and unlike in case of some other ponies lately her memories were still quite intact, Twilight thought sardonically. Other than that however, she didn't even have to open her eyes to know that things were not alright. Twilight felt like she had been run over by a train and there didn't seem to be a bone or muscle in her body that wasn't aching. She sternly called herself to order and forced herself to open her eyes rather than giving in to the luring temptation to just allow for herself to slip back into unconsciousness. It took her eyes some moments to adjust from the darkness behind closed lids to the darkness behind open lids, but gradually she recognized some outlines around her. She raised her head and turned it first in one direction, then another. Unsurprisingly, she was lying underneath a tree with a number of broken branches scattered on the floor around her. Twilight groaned as she slowly got up, testing carefully if she could put weight on her hooves or if she had broken any bones. For her great relief this didn't seem to be the case. She was aching all over and in the sparse light that fell through the treetops, she saw that she was covered in bumps, scratches and bruises, but it seemed that there was nothing severe enough to seriously inhibit her.
"The earth pony part of being an alicorn", Twilight thought with a grim smile. Everypony was always looking at her wings when thinking of the changes she had undergone during her transformation, but she was rather sure that unicorn Twilight or even a pegasus like Rainbow Dash would have been in worse shape after this fall. Twilight sniffed, she didn't know exactly how long she had been knocked out, but she clearly caught the smell of smoke in the air, and with a shudder she remembered Zecora's warning. No matter how long she had been unconscious, the mysterious attacker was now out of reach, Twilight thought, and it gave her a painful sting. But now she had no choice but to return to Ponyville immediately to raise the alarm. She spread her wings and winced as a twinge ran down her right wing, eradiating as far as her spine. She had clearly not gotten away quite as lightly as she had first thought. Very carefully, she spread her wings again and inspected them carefully. They both looked somewhat ruffled, but not bent or twisted in a way that would have suggested for any bone to be broken. Most likely she had wrenched a muscle or sprained her right wing or both of that. Twilight clenched her teeth. She could not allow for such weaknesses now. So long the bones were intact to support her wings, she just had to ignore the pain and get herself back to Ponyville. Time to mend such aches and pains would come, but for now there was more important stuff to do. She forced herself to not think of the wing or its complaints, gritted her teeth and flapped.
She could only just suppress a wail. The rapid movement of the wings had sent a jolt of pain down her spine that made it impossible to focus on anything else. Her vision turned blurry with tears. No matter what, she would not be flying anywhere this night anymore. She was sobbing, not just because of the gradually fading pain, but mostly for disappointment in herself. Failed once again! "Celestia", she murmured, closing her eyes.
Ponies said that Princess Celestia could bend tempered steel with her wings and while Twilight had never dared to ask her mentor about this, she didn't doubt the claim. And here she was, her wings rendered useless by a little fall and some branches. Celestia would never succumb to such trifles, least of all when so much was at stake and so many ponies depended on her! "But you are not Celestia!"
Twilight cast her eyes open and cast a look in every direction. "Rainbow Dash?" she asked. She was certain to have heard a voice. Or had it been just a trick of her mind? A memory of what Rainbow Dash and Applejack had told her before? There was nopony to be seen anywhere around in the dark wood, neither Rainbow Dash nor anyone else either. But she did believe to see a subtle but ominous glowing in the far distance. The fire was getting closer. Trick of her mind that it had probably been, it had reminded her of something. Not everything depended on her alone. Rainbow Dash had been with her and Frank would tell her what had happened, moreover she had sent Pinkie Pie to get the others. Maybe Spike had even sent a letter to the princesses after he had heard Pinkie's warning call. Unable to fly, the most sensible thing she could do for now was to walk away from the fire and hope that Rainbow Dash would catch up with her soon.
Rainbow Dash hadn't spotted Twilight anywhere on her way to the castle of the royal sisters, but flying above the tree tops of a forest at night didn't allow for a very good insight on what was going on below the foliage. A few times she had seen a white flare, sent up by Rarity, to indicate where the others were at the moment. It didn't take her long to reach the castle ruins. "Twilight?" she called. "Are you here?" She heard but just her own voice resounding from the crumbling walls. "Do you hear me, Twi?" No response.
Rainbow Dash circled the castle, scanning the ground and even dived down into the deep chasm that surrounded the castle like a moat and on the ground of which the Tree of Harmony was. The Tree was there, but Twilight was not. There was something else that struck Rainbow Dash though. The suspension bridge leading across the chasm, allowing for visitors who couldn't fly to reach the castle, was broken.
With a twinge of nostalgia, she remembered flying across that chasm before and fixing the bridge in defiance of the allurements of Nightmare Moon. When not too long ago she and Applejack had gone to the castle as part of their ongoing competition, the bridge had still been intact. Perhaps Twilight had entered the castle and torn the bridge behind her to stop that mysterious attacker from pursuing her? Then again, it appeared that this attacker had been flying... and magically dueling with Twilight. Up to this point, she hadn't really given much thought to the attacker, but the combination of the ability to fly and the ability to use magic seemed like a rather sinister prospect when referring to such a fiend. And what was it that Frank had let on towards Princess Luna? Something like an alicorn type of changeling? And what was it with that talkative colt having turned so tight-lipped to the point that AJ was growing wary enough of him to implicitly make yellow lights a signal for Frank to turn into a different kind of emergency?
Rainbow Dash shook off the uneasy thoughts and focused on the search for Twilight again. Though the thought of walking through the creepy old castle alone made her feel more uneasy than she would have ever admitted to anypony else, she had to check out if Twilight was there. In fact, it would seem very much like Twilight to be sitting in the old castle's library now, trying to find the answers to all the questions in some tome of long forgotten lore. Rainbow Dash landed on one of the towers above the part of the castle closest to where the old library was. There was another white light above the forest, so the others were on the move but hadn't found Twilight or encountered any danger. Rainbow Dash decided to hurry as much as she could to check out the interior of the castle, feeling uneasy about the possibility of missing any light signal while she was inside.
"Twilight? Are you there?" She shouted as she descended the tower's spiral stair. No response. She reached the great library hall. In the darkness, it was almost impossible to recognize anything and for a moment Rainbow Dash envied Twilight and Rarity for being able to just magically switch on some light, no matter where they were. "Twilight?" she shouted as she wandered through the darkness. The echo ominously resonated from many corridors and it sounded almost like the echos themselves were producing even more echos. In any case, Rainbow Dash could be certain that if Twilight was anywhere in this castle, she would have heard this call. Considering Twilight's insistence that libraries were supposed to be quiet, Rainbow Dash couldn't help thinking that this library made for a very good resonating chamber. Just as she thought it, she tripped over something that gave a clinking sound and fell hard, uttering a rather undignified stream of curses to resound from the walls. Stylish as some of the old armory in this castle might look, so long it was too dark to even see it, it was just a pain in the... Rainbow Dash didn't finish the thought. As she turned and groped for some old helmet or the like to kick it away in an act of revenge for tripping her, she clearly felt that it wasn't a helmet she had tripped over, nor any other piece of armor for that matter.
"Great!" she thought sarcastically once she had recovered from her surprise. "Why don't I ever trip about bags full of bits when there is nopony else to rightfully claim them?" Straining her eyes and counting five bags tightly filled with coinage, Rainbow Dash had no doubt that she had literally stumbled across the missing booty from Filthy Rich's Mansion.
For some moments Rainbow Dash stood beside the money bags, giving each of them a slight kick, producing the sound of clinking coins from each one of them. She didn't really know what to make of this, but then she focused. It was Twilight she was looking for. Since Twilight wasn't here, there was no point in lingering around and she would have gladly let all those money bags disappear into thin air if Twilight had appeared in their stead. She made for the stairs of another tower to return to the others and further reconnoiter the surroundings for Twilight. As she was ascending the stairs, there was a distant booming sound from the direction of Ponyville, like a deep voice, though Rainbow didn't understand the words. Was that Princess Luna?
A gust of wind hit Rainbow Dash as she stepped onto the platform of the tower, making her close her eyes. As she opened them again, her jaw dropped. She was certain that she had been inside the castle for just a few minutes, but the image that unfolded in front of her eyes was rather different from that when she had entered the castle. There was a howling sound of wind whistling across the castle walls and the same wind had driven the fire far across the forest, multiplying the area aflame within the short time she hadn't kept an eye on it. The glowing of the flames seemed to be reflected by the clear night sky and there, close to the castle and close to the approaching fire, a flare was going up that had nothing to do with the raging flames nearby. A magical flare of glaring yellow.
Wind was rustling in the leaves above and it was carrying occasional sparks with it. Some of them went out in flight, but others sparked new sources of fire. Twilight hurried as much as her battered legs allowed, but for her great dismay she was forced to flee in the very direction in which the wind was driving the fire, which blocked the safer direction for her. In spite of the darkness and the fear of fire, Twilight soon realized that she had come down near a part of the forest which she knew. Of course she was not a frequent visitor to Everfree Forest and having been turned to stone here on one occasion hadn't exactly fostered her curiosity for it, but she did recognize some landmarks that told her she wasn't far from the ruins of the castle of the royal sisters. With the fire blocking her way back to Ponyville, the castle ruins were probably her best bet to stay out of the fire which she wouldn't be able to outrun much longer. Of course, the partly overgrown castle with plenty of wooden components was far from providing a safe harbor, but it was certainly safer than the surrounding forest.
Also, it was where the Tree of Harmony with the Elements was and while the Elements and their magical powers remained in many ways mysterious even to Twilight, though she was probably more knowledgeable about them than any living pony other than the royal sisters, she still had a strong hope that their mysterious magic could provide protection in such dire need. Last but not least, if Rainbow Dash or anypony else were looking for her, they would most likely check out the castle. She hadn't been running long since making up her mind to head for the castle when it occurred to her that it might be a good idea to send up some light signal. It would make it easier for Rainbow or whoever else to find her. Whoever else... Twilight hesitated. She presumed for the mysterious attacker to be far away by now, but she couldn't be certain. If he was still around, he would see the signal too. But then again, hadn't she been trying to catch him in the first place? She stopped for a moment to catch some breath. "Rainbow?" she shouted. "Rainbow Dash?" There was no response. Twilight hesitated for a short moment, but then made up her mind and sent up a flare of white magic light that would be easy to distinguish from any lights the fires might produce. She waited for a few more seconds but then decided to run on and give more signals as she went.
"Rainbow!" she shouted after she had run some distance. She had reached a small clearing, stopped and send another white flare up through a gap in the foliage above. "Rainbow!" She listened carefully for some moments, but there was nothing to be heard except for the ominous sounds of fires eating their way through the forest and coming closer. She looked back. The glowing of the fire was some distance behind her, too far to feel its heat, but close enough that it would probably reach this spot in a matter of minutes. There was no time to pause. She turned and was about to start running again when she suddenly spotted a motion in the underbrush ahead. Twilight startled. She hadn't encountered any creature since she had woken up and had expected for everything close to the fire to have already taken to their heels or wings thus posing no danger to her anymore.
"Who goes there?" she called, trying to sound braver than she felt. "Rainbow, is that you?" There was no response. "Who goes there?" she shouted, trying to drown out her strain. There was a rustling of leaves and for Twilight's boundless relief, Rainbow Dash stepped out from the brushwood on the other end of the clearing. "Rainbow!" she sighed. "Why didn't you say anything? You gave me quite a fright there! Do you know where the others are?" Rainbow Dash was stepping closer, but she shook her head fiercely, gritted her teeth and made an unmistakable gesture to order silence. "What is it?" Twilight breathed quietly as her brightly colored friend silently edged closer towards her. Rainbow didn't respond but pointed at a spot behind Twilight. She cast her head around and stared into the darkness of the forest, illuminated only by the glow of the fire in the distance. She didn't spot whatever Rainbow was warning her of.
Suddenly Twilight's heart skipped a beat. Rainbow Dash's fur and mane were spotless, without even a speck of soot! She cast her head forward again. Without any sound of hoofstep, 'Rainbow Dash' had crossed most of the clearing and had almost reached her. There was a viciously triumphant glare in her eyes that Twilight doubted Rainbow's eyes could muster even in her most intense moments of mischievous joy and a hungry expression around her slightly opened teeth baring mouth. Twilight's horn flashed bright as 'Rainbow Dash' pounced upon her.
As they waded on through the shallow water, the stream bed became ever deeper and its banks steeper. "Darling...", Rarity said to Applejack as she stopped to send a white flare towards the sky, "...I do not think we will be able to climb out of this gully anymore if it gets any deeper and steeper." Looking ahead where the river bed turned ever more into a canyon, Applejack nodded. "Wish Ah had mah rope along. That would make things easier. But Ah think we're pretty close to the castle anyway, so I guess we can get out here just as well."
Frank probed the slope of the right bank. Close to the bottom, the earth was still muddy enough to prove slippery, further up it turned dusty and rocky as it became steeper. Way up, close to the where the regular water level would probably be, the roots of some trees were protruding from the slope, offering some hold. It wouldn't be an easy climb for anyone of them. Spike jumped from Applejack's back. His claws made it a lot easier for him to get a hold on the slope. As they were all working their way upwards, Frank found that the small projection of his left horseshoe that was meant to hold a quill gave him a slight edge too. As the slope got steeper, the climbing ever more turned into drawing themselves up along the dusty wall.
"You're doing fine, Rarity!" Applejack said encouragingly. Rarity had stifled any complaint or whining about this action that left her shining white coat all soiled and dirty and the ends of her mane and tail ruffled beyond recognition. As Spike reached the edge of the bank and turned to offer a helping hand to Frank who was closest behind him, it gave Spike a stab to see a tear washing a smeared line across Rarity's now dusty face. Only someone who didn't know Rarity very well would have discarded her woes as simple vanity to depreciate the fatalistic determination with which she was struggling on, her mind focused on the thought of Twilight.
As Frank reached the edge, he cast a short look down the stream bed to where the fire was approaching, still some distance away, yet close enough to reach this place within a couple of minutes. "Give me a hoof, if you don't mind!" Applejack said through teeth clenched around one of the roots near the edge. Frank turned towards her and extended a hoof, but suddenly froze in motion. He turned his head jerkily towards the forest . He slowly shifted his gaze from side to side as if he was scanning the forest, his strange hat sitting slightly askew on top of his head. "What...?" Spike began. "A voice", Frank said. "I hear—" Out of view from beneath the edge of the bank, there was a purple flash of light somewhere between the trees ahead. With a kind of growling, Frank dashed off and disappeared between the trees before Spike could say anything or try to stop him. "What in tarnation? That darn—" Applejack hastily dragged herself up over the edge, turned around, grabbed Rarity's hoof and while she was dragging her up, she shouted to Pinkie Pie, who was last in line: "Hurry Pinkie!" And turned to Rarity, she called: "Sugarcube, give us a yellow light now!"
The flash of purple light hit the attacker midair and hurled it several meters back towards the other side of the clearing. The blast of magic energy should have been sufficient to knock down or even stun anypony. The Rainbow Dash-shaped attacker was flipped over several times, but landed on its hooves ready to dash forward again. By reflex rather than by deliberate decision, Twilight's horn flashed again. She wasn't even quite sure what kind of magic it was that manifested into a ball of white-yellowish light, like a tiny solar orb, that shot at the would-be Rainbow Dash. The orb hit and pushed the attacker yet another step back but didn't knock it from its hooves. For Twilight's great appall, the orb passed through the shoulder of the attacker where it left a gaping hole, but the attacker just flinched a little and otherwise ignored it.
Twilight had heard of this, she had seen the effects of such magic attacks and she was aware that Princess Celestia herself had been wielding this kind of magic when centuries ago she had come to lift the changeling siege of the town of Trot. This magic had left most of the changelings, including Queen Chrysalis, marked with the gaping holes in their legs and horns that were by now often seen as natural distinction of their species. Twilight had neither studied that kind of magic, nor decided to use it, nor even been aware that she could use it at all. Another alicorn thing perhaps that she had not so far discovered. Her mind was racing while she was preparing another spell to keep the attacker at bay. The appearance as Rainbow Dash and the effect of the spell proved this attacker a changeling after all, the very idea she had dismissed the previous evening. But it still didn't make any sense. While Twilight wouldn't utterly discard the possibility that one or a few of Queen Chrysalis' minions were still on the loose, the magic used by the attacker had been way more powerful than anything she had ever seen coming from a common changeling. Moreover, he had been talking to her while in the appearance of one of Luna's guards, while the changelings she had encountered had only ever been able to echo words spoken by the one whose appearance they had just taken on. Chrysalis' herself had been the only exception to this rule.
'Rainbow Dash' was prowling towards her, her head lowered, her limbs flexed, her narrowed eyes fixed on her, the entire appearance of the attacker resembling that of a cat ready to pounce upon her prey if there was but the tiniest opening in her guard. Twilight lowered her head too, the purple glowing tip of her horn as fixed on her opponent as the opponent's look was fixed on her. Both enemies were assessing one another. Unnerving as the stand-off was, it would have been okay for Twilight to play for time and hope for the timely arrival of more help, but for the fact that the fire too was getting closer. She began to prowl as well, trying to circle her enemy so he, or she, or it would no longer be blocking her way away from the fire, but her enemy kept cutting off her way, lurking for any chance to attack and occasionally feinting attacks to test Twilight's reactions. She suddenly noticed that, without meaning to, she had fallen back several steps and reached the edge of the clearing. She couldn't allow for the attacker to drive her further towards the approaching fire and away from the clearing which at least provided a clear view and range for her magic spells. "What are you?" Twilight snarled.
She hadn't expected any response, but suddenly there was that buzzing voice which she had heard before and which seemed particularly off, coming out of 'Rainbow Dash's' mouth. "I can show you! Just let me get closer!" 'Rainbow Dash' took a step towards her. Twilight let light at the tip of her horn aimed at the attacker light up, an unmistakable threat. "One more step...!" she said in her most menacing voice. The attacker gave a vicious smile. "Enemy I am, to an enemy of yours. Precursor I am and teacher to a hostile friend. I are many!" Twilight's eyes narrowed. She was well aware that her opponent wanted to distract her with such riddle talk; lure her into the moment of lacking attention that would allow for an attack or maybe just to play for time until the approaching fire would force her to take the initiative. Yet still she was wondering if there were any grains of truth in what the attacker was saying. "What is your name?" she asked. "And why should I lay out my secrets to you, oh Princess of neither light nor darkness? But so be it then, if you can figure out the riddle, my name sucks..." Twilight couldn't keep one of her eyebrows from moving upwards to an expression of confused surprise at this revelation, but the opponent continued: "...for a vortex it is."
Even if she would have tried to shut off her mind entirely, Twilight was sure she couldn't have resisted against the lure of such riddle talk when the answer to the riddle might be answer to so many questions that had come up in the last days. Her mind was not suited to be kept silent when prodded like this and it was automatically running through anything it knew that was in any way related to vortexes. Suddenly she gasped and her jaw dropped a little. Something had struck her mind, but the thought was ridiculous. Impossible, and even if it was possible, the bearer of that name was not a harbinger of evil and he had long, long ago passed away. And yet, the moment the realization had occurred to Twilight, she could not just discard it as the utter nonsense it most likely was. A vortex could also be... "A swirl... Star Swirl the Bearded?" Twilight gasped.
Her opponent froze in motion for a moment and the eyes in the face of Rainbow Dash remained utterly inscrutable. Then suddenly the attacker laughed out loud, letting down all guard. A very unpleasant laughter and it seemed like it was echoed by many voices from the same throat. "The one who unleashed changeling kind upon the world of ponies?" If at all possible, Twilight's face became even more stunned. Her very view of the world was challenged and it drew her mind away from this insignificant clearing in a burning forest. Twilight's eyes grew unfocused and 'Rainbow Dash' noticed.
Forth rushed the attacker and crossed the little distance to Twilight. She shot off the spell she had prepared, but torn so fiercely from her abstraction about the flood of thoughts and implications of the revelations, she hadn't had a chance to aim and the purple ball of magic light missed, by manehair's breadth, but just as harmless as if she had fired it into the opposite direction, and the attacker was upon her, engaged in a wrestling that left no sufficient time or distance for the use of any magic spells. There was a cracking sound, perhaps the impact of the spell that hit aimlessly somewhere into the underbrush at the opposite end of the clearing, but there was another sound; a bloodcurling yell.
Twilight was yanked forward, but it wasn't so much the attacker tearing her that way but rather the attacker dragging her along while being run over and pushed away by someone else. The attacker's grip on Twilight slacked and she fell as did the attacker. Twilight leaped to her hooves as quickly as her scratches and bruises allowed, backed away and tried to capture what was going on. Given the impact of the unexpected attack, she half expected to see the real Rainbow Dash tackling the fake one or maybe some monster of Everfree that was late in getting away from the fire or that didn't need to fear the fire at all. But it was: "Frank!"
Through the element of surprise and the force of the attack rush, the mysterious attacker had been pushed away several steps. Frank didn't allow for the attacker to gather him-, or her- or itself. Instead he badgered the attacker with a ferocity surpassing any that Twilight had seen in this ferocious night so far. The postgraduate student from Fillydelphia was kicking and drumming at the fiend with every hoof as fierce and fast as he could.
"BACK! BACK!" he snarled and Twilight was not sure if he meant the attacker or her. Frank now headbutted at the attacker and it seemed like he was even trying to bite. Eerie was the scene that was time and again illuminated by a flickering of approaching fire. Shocked as she was, Twilight prepared another spell, but so entangled and unsteady were the combatants that she couldn't fire a spell without a greater chance of hitting Frank rather than the attacker who was mostly shielded by the own assailant. But no matter how fierce Frank's attacks were, they didn't show much of the effect one might have expected. Same as back in the storeroom of the town hall, it didn't feel to Frank like his hooves were hitting anything really solid and even though he drove the attacker back several steps, the many blows and kicks that hit home didn't seem to be much more than a nuisance. The attacker hissed and struck for Frank. He managed to dodge the blow, but it allowed 'Rainbow Dash' to gain some distance and to take off with a flap of wings.
"Oh no you don't!" growled Frank, jumped and dragged on the attacker's tail and one of the legs. With a free range now, Twilight fired another ball of white-yellowish light at the attacker and it hit one of the wings. Same as at the shoulder it tore a hole but otherwise seemed to leave the attacker rather unimpressed. Frank did manage to drag 'Rainbow Dash' down however. "What in the name of Celestia...", with a commotion that would have drawn a lot more attention but for the commotion of the ongoing fight, Applejack broke through the underbrush from where Frank had come before and set on to join the fray. "AJ, no!" Twilight shouted, stopping her friend in her tracks. "That's not Rainbow!" "Twi! Mighty glad to see you, but what in tarnation...?" "Whoa!"
A sooty, but unperforated Rainbow Dash had appeared above the clearing. The sight of her own double in fierce brawl with Frank, the presence of Twilight, the awareness of the yellow signal flare that had brought her here all left her at a loss on how to proceed. There was more commotion and Rarity, with Spike clinging to her mane, and Pinkie Pie broke forth from the bushes, looking no less challenged at the view that unfolded before them. "Twilight!" shouted Rarity and in spite of everything, the tone of her call alone carried all the meaning of an elaborate reunion.
Ineffective as his attacks had been, Frank had managed to drag the attacker to the ground again where, with him giving up on useless blows and kicks, the fight turned into a wrestling with Frank and the attacker rolling over the floor of the clearing. "Aren't we to help?" Spike shouted at Twilight. "AWAY! STAY AWAY!" the student-hobo roared and once again it was not clear if he was roaring at the attacker or at the others. The fight seemed to come to a close. Fierce and nimble Frank might be, but it was clear that he did not have the strength of the attacker. But even as he was wrestled to the ground, it seemed like he was clinging to the attacker as if not to let him, or her, or it get away. "Twilight, do something!" Pinkie Pie shouted and even without her announcing it, the twitching of her knees was foreboding something creepy.
Suddenly the attacker upon Frank grew dark and began to dissolve. The shape of Rainbow Dash began to disintegrate into something indefinable, something dark but evading any pinpointing of its color, too solid to be haze, but to hazy to be a liquid, reflecting and yet absorbing light and darkness alike, something just defying the descriptions that words might provide to anyone who hadn't seen it with the own eyes. Rainbow Dash forgot to flap her wings at the sight and came down unusually roughly at the edge of the clearing. Rarity screamed and Applejack flexed as if to prepare for an attack upon she knew not what, but as she did so, her eyes widened in distress. The indefinabilty lingered around Frank who was kicking and beating and uttering a series of sounds somewhere between furious snarling and the gurgling of someone drowning.
The indefinabilty seemed to grow less as it was lingering around Frank, ever less. The colt jumped to his hooves and stumbled several steps sideways, tripping, almost falling, yet getting up again. His head was twitching fiercely and his neck seemed to contract so the twitching head almost seemed to retreat between his shoulders. His eyelids were flickering until he squeezed his eyes shut and as he did, he uttered something like a cry of rage, was kicking with all feet at the same time and fell hard onto the ground. The hazy indefinable something around him seemed to increase and it seemed paler now than it had before, more transparent, less absorbing, less substantial, less present but still there. Very slowly and twitching, Frank got to his feet again, still surrounded by that inconstant indefinability. A gurgling and growling could be heard and an almost coughing sound as if he was trying to spit something out without anything there to disgorge, but the indefinability around him seemed to increase in amount and decrease in substance. Frank opened his eyes and they were staring without looking. Green they were, but growing dark until no iris could be told from the rest of the eyes that looked like shining black obsidian.
"Anything, Twilight!" Pinkie screamed and Twilight did. She wanted to protect everypony and she remembered her brother, she remembered their first encounter with Queen Chrysalis and she cast a magic barrier. It was not as large or as sophisticated as one her brother might have made. The one spell in which her brother would still best her, but as the magenta sphere of the barrier hit Frank, it pushed him back and dragged him along for some distance before he sank through the sphere while the indefinability was pushed further away and seemed to dissolve ever further as the sphere expanded until at last it burst like a bubble, leaving just the darkness of the night within view. Frank Blanket collapsed on the spot like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
"Frankie?" Pinkie Pie rushed towards the spot where the colt had collapsed. But Twilight quickly held her back with a spell. "Careful, Pinkie! He could be... not he", she cast a look around. "How did you— do you know what that thing was?" "Ah think Frank knows", Applejack said and carefully approached the colt, keeping her eyes fixed on him. "But he's been mighty tight-lipped about it. Said something about an 'alicorn kind of changeling' to Princess Luna and that seemed good enough to her but—" "Princess Luna is here?" "She is back at the edge of the forest along with Fluttershy to protect Ponyville. I do hope they are alright, but what about you, darling? You look terrible!" Rarity asked eyeing Twilight with great concern.
Given Rarity's usual standards of looks, Twilight could have said the same about her, but Rarity's concern was grave and this was no the time for any playful banter. "I'm okay", she calmed her. "I cannot fly at the moment. I had kind of a rough landing." "We are so gonna practice that one, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said. "But what about Frank now? AJ, the yellow light, what was that about?" Instead of answering, Applejack asked Twilight: "What happened? We all saw the end of it, but what was going on here?" Twilight shook her head: "Later. We got to get away from here! Everypony, stand back, we don't really know if this is Frank, if he is alright or if whatever it is is controlling him. I will try to wake him up!"
Twilight cast a quick look at Pinkie Pie. Her knees weren't twitching nor did she give any other signs of any warning calls from her Pinkie Sense, but still Twilight wanted to be cautious. She took aim with her horn and something that looked like a light blue vapor drifted towards the colt lying on the ground. Twilight made a movement with a hoof and the blue vapor seemed to nudge Frank like an expansion of Twilight's hoof. There was some unintelligible muttering, but he didn't open his eyes. "Frank?" Twilight made some more pushy movements with her hoof and so did the blue vapor. Frank cast his eyes open. They were neither green, nor black, nor in any way misty or unusual, apart from the fact that they were flickering around spacily as if to take in as much as they could as fast as they could. "Frank, how are you?" Rainbow Dash asked. Frank stared at her. "A quill!" he said. "What?" "A quill! I need a quill! Something to write!" "Egghead all the way! I think that's him alright", Rainbow Dash said in a perplexed tone. "For the mercy of Celestia!" Frank cried and began to scrape the ground with his forehooves. For a moment Twilight thought it was some kind of fit until she realized that he was trying to write or draw something into the dirt. "Please, I must have something to write!"
His outcry sounded so desperate as if his very life depended on it. "It's all fading!" Spike jumped from Rarity's back and cast a short look at Twilight who nodded. The little dragon ran over to Frank, produced a quill, an inkwell and a sheet of paper from the pouch he was wearing and held both out to Frank who snatched them and began to scribble frantically. "What are you—?" Rainbow Dash began, but Frank just shook his head and scribbled on in an almost manic manner. "We must go on", Applejack said to Twilight, looking at the ominous glow in the forest behind her. "Can't stay here. The fire will be here any minute." Twilight nodded. "Right you are. We can't run and hope to just outrun the fire forever. I was heading for the castle ruins—" "That's what we thought you would do", Rainbow Dash said. "I'm coming right from there and—" "...the bridge is cut!" It was Frank who had spoken, without looking up from his frantic scribbling. "What? How do you know?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised, but Frank didn't seem to hear her and gave no sign he was even aware he had spoken. Rainbow Dash's was just one out of more questions than Twilight could count, but Applejack was right; they couldn't stay here. Already the smoke of the approaching fire was dense enough to sting in the nostrils. "Come on, let's go!" she ordered. "We may have more time at the castle."
Applejack picked up Spike and put him on her back. Everypony turned and got ready to move, everypony that was but Frank who persisted in scribbling like there was to be no tomorrow. "Now, Frank!" Twilight shouted. She probably understood more than anypony how much one could be caught up in writing and with all that she had seen tonight, she didn't doubt there was some very good reason for the colt's obsession with what he was writing, but no matter how important, the priorities were dictated by the approaching flames. "I must put this down!" Frank shouted without looking up and continuing with his writing frenzy. "It is all fading already! I won't remember later on!" "And nopony will if you and those notes stay here to burn! Get moving!" It was the Princess Twilight Sparkle talking and too direct was the order to defy or negotiate it. Frank got up, holding the scribbled sheet of paper between his teeth, pocketing the quill and the inkwell and muttering something unintelligible to himself from the corner of his mouth. As they all set in motion, he continued to mutter and it seemed like a mantra he was repeating to himself.
It didn't take them long until they reached a point where they could make out the outlines of the castle ruins. "Rainbow, please fly ahead and fix the bridge so we can cross when we get there!" Twilight asked as they ran on. Rainbow Dash took off and gave a quick salute, but before she could fly away, Frank said: "You cannot." He snatched the sheet of paper which had slipped out between his teeth and stuffed it into the pocket of his shirt where the quill and the inkwell already rested. "She didn't just cut the bridge but removed so much of the rope that it cannot just be tied back together." "Who did?" Rarity asked. "And how do you know? And what do you know? And what in Equestria is all this about?" "The attacker...", Frank began, "...she cut the bridge beyond repair. I saw her memory. I must take more notes, I am remembering ever less of it." "Just a little further", Twilight said. "When we are at the castle... Rainbow, fly ahead and check out the bridge anyway. If it cannot be fixed we'll get down to the Tree. There's not much that could burn down there and I'm sure its magic will protect us too." Rainbow Dash nodded and flew ahead. "The tree?" Frank asked confused. "You'll see", Twilight said.
They arrived at the chasm little more than a minute later to find that Frank's prediction was correct. Rainbow Dash was hovering above the chasm, holding the loose end of the bridge, but a sizable part of it was missing so it was way too short to be attached on the other side of the chasm. As they approached, Frank suddenly began to lag behind until Applejack stopped and turned her head to him. "You coming?" Frank nodded, but his gait was very hesitant. They had gained a little distance from the fire but there wasn't much time to loose. Frank didn't seem to be nearly as worried about the fire behind as about what was lying ahead.
"Down we go", Pinkie Pie chirped as if there was no concern in the world as she jumped down the first steps of the stairs leading down to the bottom of the chasm. Frank gasped, almost shrieked and backed several steps away from the chasm. "What is your problem?" Rainbow Dash asked, dropping the loose end of the bridge. Frank had turned very pale and squinted sideways so almost only the white was visible in his eyes, he was trembling and appeared scared to death. "Frank, what is it?" Applejack asked half confused, half alarmed. "Not that way!" Frank stammered. "I'll better go there..." He pointed with his head in a direction away from the chasm back towards the burning forest. "Are you crazy?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "There's no time for such silly filly games!" "I can't go there!" Frank shouted, backing another step away and making every impression of being just a straw's breadth away from freaking out beyond control.
Applejack felt that Frank had a lot of explaining to do on much of what had been going on tonight, but she was sensitive enough to recognize a pony beside himself with fear. Frank's state reminded her of Fluttershy when confronted with her worst fears and Applejack half wished for Fluttershy to be here, feeling that the Element of kindness was probably best suited to calm a pony in such distress. Barring that, she felt it was up to her to talk some sense into that pony but in a way that would not provide that last straw to make him snap. "What is it, Frank?" she asked as calm and encouraging as she could. "What are you scared of?" "The dark abyss! These gloomy clouds at the bottom! If I go down there, everything will!" Frank's face was an expression of sheer terror. "Gloomy clouds?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the utterly unclouded chasm. "What in the name of Celestia are you talking about?" "Name of Celestia!" echoed Frank and it sounded like a cry for help.
"The Tree!" Twilight shouted. "I know what is keeping Frank! Celestia told me the magic of the Tree protects it against anyone not related to the Elements or powerful enough to defy this protection. It will conjure up ever worse fears in the minds of everyone else the closer he or she gets!" "But... but I?" Spike began. "Maybe it works differently for dragons. But I think you could get down there because we trusted you completely. It was loyalty to me that brought you here the first time. At one point I had even tried to make you wear the Element of Loyalty." "Yeah, that didn't work out", Rainbow Dash commented sourly. "Not helping, Rainbow!" Twilight said sternly. "And it surely wasn't because of Spike that it didn't."
There was a snorting sound and Twilight cast an irritated look around to see who else was being unhelpful, but everybody was looking around just as confused as her and she put the sound off to some hissing or cracking of the fire that was getting closer. "In any case it was good enough for the Tree." Twilight said. "Darling, this is very fascinating but...", Rarity began, looking in the direction of the fire. Twilight nodded and went to Frank who was looking as confused as fearful by now. "Come along, Frank!" she said in the most soothing voice she could muster. "The clouds you see are not there. They will not hurt you." His eyes focused a little more. "Come, we must go!"
He took several steps forward until he stood at the uppermost step of the stairs where Pinkie Pie was waiting, apparently a bit at a loss about whether or not the extreme fear on the face of the colt was something that could be laughed away. He was staring at the stairs and the chasm and his expression left no doubt that he wasn't seeing what Twilight or any of the others were seeing when looking at the same spot. He swallowed. "What is down there, Princess Twilight?" he whispered as if in fear that too much noise would wake up something that should better remain asleep. "The Elements of Harmony are down there, Frank." "Harmony! What are the Elements doing in such a place?" Frank shouted, staring at what was just a chasm to everyone else.
Twilight gave him a nudge towards the stairs. He twitched and for a brief moment it appeared like he was going to attempt to escape, but then he swallowed, closed his eyes, opened them again, realizing that walking down stairs with closed eyes wasn't going to help and began to descend. Twilight had hoped for the Tree's effect on Frank to wear off after a few steps, but the effects seemed to get even worse. After a couple of steps he was hyperventilating, halfway down he tripped and would have fallen but for a levitating spell from Twilight and for the rest of the stairs it was more like her levitating him while he appeared to be struggling just to maintain consciousness. "Goodness!" mumbled Rarity. "I had no idea the Tree of Harmony had such an effect on ponies!" "We've never seen anypony but the princesses anywhere near it", Applejack reminded her.
It was only after he left the final step and set hoof on the bottom of the chasm that most of the fear and anguish seemed to leave Frank. His look was that of someone awaking from a bad dream and uncertain on whether or not it had really been just a dream. He was looking up towards the night sky which reflected the reddish shine of the nearby fire, took a few uncertain steps forward and then his look fell on the Tree of Harmony in the cavern of the chasm's wall. His jaw dropped as he stared at the Tree for several moments, his gaze wandering along the Elements of Harmony in the shape of their wearers' cutie marks, along the trunk bearing the marks of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and to the Tree's crown prominently featuring the mark, the original of which drew the transfixed look of Frank Blanket next. "The marks..." he mumbled stunned. "I thought that you would find this interesting", Princess Twilight Sparkle said with a serenity that was in stark contrast to the obvious shock of Frank. "Well, Frank...", Applejack said after several more moments in which the colt goggled at the Tree, "...we are here and not going anywhere. Don't ya think that it's time to spill the beans about what all this is about, who exactly that attacker is and—"
Frank twitched and as if by reflex reached for the sheet of paper, the quill and the inkwell he had stuffed into his pocket before. In one swift motion he stuffed the quill through the loop in his horseshoe, dipped it into the ink and put the point of the quill onto the paper. But he didn't write anything while he looked like he was desperately trying to focus on something. "I... I don't remember anymore", he wailed. "Remember what, Frank?" Twilight asked. "I saw her mind. When she tried to take over mine. Before she was repelled and torn away. I saw her thoughts, her memories and plans—" "Wait, that smokey stuff was a she?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised. "Sure looked so before becoming smokey stuff", Rarity commented.
"Smokey Stuff!" Pinkie Pie repeated gleefully, having at last found a way to laugh at the attacker that had given her the creepiest signals her Pinkie Sense provided. Twilight however ignored the others as Frank's words had awakened her interest. "You saw the attacker's mind? And the attacker was female? Frank, are you certain? He said something to me—" Frank shook his head while he still stared at the piece of paper and very slowly drew something more on it. "She", he said. "I still remember that. But everything else... it is like waking up from a dream. The more you try to remember something, the more blurry and vague it gets." It was a relief for Twilight that what Frank said contradicted her absurd suspicion about a direct link between the attacker and her hero of old, Star Swirl the Bearded, but she couldn't get the final words of the mysterious attacker out of her head: "The one who unleashed changeling kind upon the world of ponies?"
Twilight cast a look at the sheet of paper which Frank was staring at and was surprised not to find any letters or words on it at all. Instead the page was full of different symbols, a few of which she believed to recognize as cutie marks, while others didn't make any sense to her at all. "Frank, Applejack is right. A lot has happened tonight and there is an awful lot we don't understand. Why don't you start telling us what you do know from the beginning? Who was that attacker and why was she after you in Town Hall?" Frank starred at the quill at his left hoof as if he hoped for it to somehow produce more words, letters or symbols by itself, but finally he nodded slowly. "Yes... yes, I should. First of all, thank you... so much happened indeed and it is only sinking in. Up there in the town hall... I thought I was done for... would have been, had you not turned up. Thanks to all of you, everyone", Frank said and let his look wander along everyone assembled. Applejack raised her eyebrows mildly surprised. Compared to how Frank had appeared ever since he had run into them near the town hall, he seemed very meek and much more like he had before the events since his arrest.
"I want to tell you what I found out that made her attack me." "Uhm, Twilight?" Spike piped up, plucking her mane slightly. "I want to know as much as any of you, but are you sure you are all safe here?" He cast a look up to the edge of the chasm. The fire had reached the trees near the edge of the cliff. "I mean it doesn't bother me much, but as for you, maybe it is time to at least send a short letter to—"
There was a loud rumbling sound that let the rocky walls of the chasm tremble in its foundations. The night sky seemed to become darker, blocking out the silver light of moon and stars and reflecting some of the ominous red glow of the nearby fire. "What in tarnation...?" Applejack began as everyone was looking up. A bright white lightning flashed up and illuminated the scene for a short moment before a deafening, rolling thunder sounded out through the night. As it gradually faded away, it was Rainbow Dash's enthusiastic laughter that sounded in everybody's ears as she pointed up at some indistinct figures on the sky that had turned overcast above the chasm in the last few seconds. "Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash shouted and the next moment the first raindrops fell and turned into a veritable downpour in a matter of seconds.
"Yeehaw!" shouted Applejack, rearing up on her hind legs. Rainbow Dash spread her wings to take to the air, but before she could take off, there was a bright white light between the rain curtains now coming down. Though she descended through the densest rain, it seemed like not a single droplet touched her pearl white coat or her flowing mane which seemed to eradiate rather than reflect light in the darkness of the night. Very relieved she appeared and yet sublime as her look fell on the ponies and the dragon who all took a bow; caring yet majestic, Princess Celestia the Undimmed, Princess of the solar orb and ruler over the realm of Equestria, had arrived.
Whenever in later times Frank Blanket thought of the time from the arrival of Princess Celestia to their return to Ponyville, it too reminded him of a dream, not as elusive as what he had been trying to cling to after the disappearance of the attacker, but not as clear and memorable to every syllable as the world often appeared to him. Maybe he was just worn out by a long day and had taken in and lost again, taken up and taken off too much in too short a time to remain as receptive for experience and knowledge as he usually was. Perhaps it was just the sense of security after the perils of this night that put him in a comfortable state of drowsiness after Twilight had answered the first questions about everybody's well being and the most important facts of recent events. He and the others had given some short complements about details that Twilight herself hadn't been aware of, like the arrival of Princess Luna and her intention to stem the tide of forest inhabitants.
It appeared that Princess Celestia was aware of her sister's whereabouts, but once the short report was finished, she urged to quickly return to Ponyville. Several pegasi of her royal guard had landed a large chariot beside the chasm to carry everyone back to the town, except for Rainbow Dash, who insisted to assist the Wonderbolts in putting out the forest fire. By the time the chariot, crammed with five ponies and a dragon, approached the edge of Everfree Forest, Rainbow Dash rejoined them in the company of Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. Spitfire gave a quick in-flight report to Celestia, announcing that the fires were under control and being extinguished for good. The princess nodded, thanked for the report and descended towards the narrow stripe between the brook and the treeline.
Large parts of the former treeline were a mess of fallen trunks and broken stumps, testifying to grand things that had happened here. Most of the citizens of Ponyville were assembled on the green beyond the brook while a large number of very diverse and rather intimidated looking creatures was huddled on this side. And there was Luna who counted those on the descending chariot and then gave Celestia a roguish, grim smile. "Great to see that you could join us after all, oh sister mine...", she called mockingly, "...but I'm afraid you brought poor weather along."
Indeed the clouds accumulated over Everfree where feathering out by now and with the arrival of Celestia, the rain arrived also. "I had no idea my fearless sister is afraid of some raindrops", Celestia taunted back as she landed and gave Luna a hug. She then turned quite serious as she eyed her sister and her look came to rest on Luna's cheek. "Luna, you are injured!" Luna shook her head, less ready to cope with an overly concerned and overprotective big sister than with a playfully taunting one. "It is nothing, Tia. Just a scratch. There was a formidable beast among those stirred up by the fire tonight. A dragon of the elder days. It returned to the forest where I hope for it to relapse into its long sleep."
Celestia nodded and tried not to show her worries about Luna too much. "Some smaller wild beasts ran off when the dragon appeared and may be roaming some distance up- and downstream." "I will send for more guards from Canterlot to round them up and drive them back to the forest", Celestia said. She nodded to one of the pegasi who had drawn the chariot. The seasoned guard knew his Princess well enough so no further instructions were necessary. He untangled from the harness, gave a quick salute and dashed off in direction of Canterlot as fast as he could. Fluttershy ran up to the chariot, the relief in her face beyond description when she saw that all of her friends were back safe and sound, if a little bruised, soiled and sooted.
Meanwhile, Princess Luna let her stern look wander along the various creatures still assembled, a rather humbled hydra among them, and gave a dismissive wave towards the forest whereupon the creatures set in motion and scattered between the trees. "A guard may know my will through a look and a nod, Luna, but someday you must show me how whole flocks of wild animals will submit to you at the wave of a hoof." Celestia's words had been meant half in jest and in recognition of her younger sister's mastering of the whole situation, but Luna's look remained serious and she shook her head very slightly. "It is not that simple."
"Princess Celestia!" Mayor Mare came galloping across the bridge and took a deep bow, almost sliding as the soil was getting muddy under the rain that came pattering down. "Your Highness!" She was looking up at Princess Luna also and corrected herself while she made every impression of trying to frantically think of the right words: "Your Highnesses! A great honor to have both of you here. And Princess Luna, that dragon... that was... But we got nothing prepared at all. Just what is happening tonight? Ponies say that smoke has been billowing from the town hall and it seems like the detainee Mr. Blanket broke out and... but that's him over there and—" Princess Celestia put a hoof on Mayor Mare's shoulder, a hoof to which mud or soil apparently wouldn't stick, and gave a soothing sound as if to calm down an upset filly. "It is alright, Miss Mayor", Celestia said. "The fires in Everfree are under control now and your town is safe. As for what happened tonight, I do not have the overall picture myself yet, but I think these ponies hold the pieces of it, Mr. Blanket not the fewest or the least among them. Let us therefore head to the town hall to put these pieces together!"
Celestia had raised her voice enough so the ponies on and around the chariot could understand her. "Go and tell the good ponies of Ponyville that the threat is gone and that they should try to get some rest! Then join us in the town hall! I expect us to gain a clearer understanding there of what has been happening so you will be able to answer the questions of the citizens in the morning."
Mayor Mare nodded, took another bow and hurried back over the bridge as fast as decorum permitted. Twilight and her friends, Spike, Frank Blanket, Spitfire and the remaining guards of Celestia and Luna were approaching. Princess Celestia turned towards the bridge, but then stopped and looked at her sister. "Lead the way! The night is yours, Luna, and you saved Ponyville tonight while I have done little. Let this be your procession." Princess Luna gave Celestia an almost fillial smile and took the lead. Spitfire gave a quiet snort, provoking a questioning raised eyebrow from Rainbow Dash who was walking beside her.
"She only single-hoofedly folded fifteen cloud brewing kettles of tempered steel today, you know, so we have some spare ones in case a dozen of them blow up again. She put them all in operation and somehow accelerated the brewing process to the point that those kettles produced two weeks' worth of clouds in a matter of hours. While she did, she was also corresponding with, I can't even count how many very important and very common ponies about their concerns. Moreover, she has been questioning like a dozen of workers in the weather factory about the accident there and examined the remnants of the burst kettles. I think she read a book or two sometime in between and ordered the priorities and preparations for the rainfalls in the upcoming days. And of course she took the reins immediately when reports of the fire in Everfree arrived. Seems like a lazy holiday by her Highness' standards!"
The group heading for the town hall was looking rather worn and rugged and yet in spite of the weariness of many of them there was an air of triumph when they were passing through the aisle formed by the citizens of Ponyville on the green. No royal decorum allowed for Princess Luna to conceal her satisfaction about the cheers she got along with the bows as she pranced ahead, wearing the scratch on her cheek like a crown. Least battered looking among the royalty present, Princess Celestia made every effort to avoid drawing attention while she was walking beside the slightly limping Princess Twilight, who of all royalty looked by far most battered.
On the way, Princess Celestia took every effort to magically ease the injuries and pains of everypony else. She also expanded the magical field that protected her from the pouring rain to the others, except for a gentle and purifying drizzle which she permitted to fall on Rarity, because she was the one most appalled by the filth caught during the night's endeavors and on Rainbow Dash, because the amount of soot caught by her looked the most appalling to everypony else. Frank appeared to be the most weary of the group. This and the fact that Applejack and Fluttershy were walking on both sides of him gave quick rise to the rumor among the crowd that the recapturing of the escapee Frank Blanket had been a crucial point of these night's mysterious events. Quite contrary to Frank, Pinkie Pie was a bundle of energy, bouncing rather than walking along and as she caught some of the rumors, she took it upon herself to give a few corrections to the crowd. Whether her words about 'meany smokey stuff' attacking Frank and Twilight were doing a lot of good to containing the spread of rumors was a different story altogether.
On their way they were joined by Zecora. Her quick versed report that Scootaloo's message had reached her, that she had managed to reawaken Featherscribe and that he was now with Inkhorn at their home was a relief for Rainbow Dash in particular. Feeling that Zecora too might have some of the pieces of the overall picture, Twilight invited her to come along to the town hall. Zecora accepted the invitation once Twilight had reassured her that, from what she had seen, the part of Everfree in which Zecora's cabin was located had not been reached by the fire.
Somehow, Mayor Mare had managed to organize some preparations of town hall for the honored, unexpected guests. When they arrived there, the rows of chairs from the hearing had been removed and instead a large round table stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by chairs three of which were clearly designated for the royalty by some special carvings and cushions. Twilight sighed silently. Princess or not, it didn't feel right for her to settle down on a chair in any way superior to that of anyone of her friends who had risked no less tonight than she had. Mayor Mare had also managed to have some cups and drinks prepared and Twilight made a point of assuming the role of the cupbearer by magically pouring a drink for everyone, including every guard, some of whom looked somewhat helpless at this violation of protocol which coaxed a little chuckle out of Princess Celestia. Twilight's friends were so used to this kind of acting that if at all, only Rarity was aware of the undermining of courtly etiquette and she certainly didn't care at this time but happily accepted the cup Twilight offered her. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna exchanged some looks and their nonverbal exchange resulted in Luna's opening the nightly convention.
"My sister and I scheduled sundown a little earlier today to offer some relief to the subjects' suffering from the lasting heat and drought occasioned by the improbable accident that destroyed a dozen cloud brewing kettles in Cloudsdale. My sister had gone to Cloudsdale to examine this strange case. Shortly before sundown, letters from the Ponyville town offices and from Princess Twilight... certainly written by her secretary Spike...", Luna added with a nod in Spike's direction, "...arrived, informing me about the hearing and requesting that an escort be sent tomorrow to bring Mr. Blanket to Canterlot for an actual trial to be held there." Frank was looking rather gloomy.
"Princess Twilight's letter made clear that she was presuming innocence of Mr. Blanket in the crimes the hearing had been and the trial was to be about and it also told about the testimony of a servant of one of the victims which further increased her suspicions that the real attacker was still at large. The testimony according to which the servant was under the impression that he had not been talking to his master in the night of the crime, in spite of talking to someone who in every appearance was his master, concerned me very much. Already I was concerned because last night I had perceived a rather sudden and uncommon interruption in the dreams of Mr. Blanket." Frank looked as if he wanted to say something, but then remained silent, looking weary and about as cheerful as someone who was about to have his teeth pulled.
"Shortly after sundown another letter arrived", Luna continued. "It was an urgent call for help from Spike who wrote that somepony wanted to kill Mr. Blanket and that Twilight was after that somepony. I immediately set out with Captain Crescent and the guards present at the time the letter arrived. We spotted lights over Everfree as we set out and as we descended, we recognized the fires. Then I saw you making for the forest." Princess Luna let her look wander past everyone whom she had spotted there. "We landed and Captain Crescent was immediately assaulted by Rainbow Dash."
"Yes, but only because I thought he was that attacker", Rainbow Dash interrupted. "He—" Princess Luna just raised a hoof and Rainbow Dash fell silent. "I had a short exchange with Mr. Blanket who appeared to be aware of the nature of the enemy at hoof and pressed to pursue this attacker further. Because of the fires I had the fillies Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who were also present, raise the alarm in Ponyville. I requested for those capable of assisting in extinguishing the fire and keeping forest creatures from stampeding into town to assemble on the green and everypony else to take refuge on the far side of the river." Luna sighed.
"It seemeth everypony is deemed capable these days. I intended to keep whatever was to come from the forest away from Ponyville and from the green on which the whole citizenry was now assembled. Luckily, I asked for Fluttershy to stay with me rather than go into the forest. Her abilities have proven invaluable tonight." Fluttershy blushed and cowered a bit lower. She had been hanging on Princess Luna's lips. Previous events had left little time or possibility for explanations and of everyone present, she had been thrown into the events of this night perhaps with the least preparation or previous knowledge of what was happening.
"All of the others headed for the forest and I only saw them again when they returned in your company, Tia", Luna concluded the summary of her perspective on tonight's events. "Twilight Sparkle, pray tell us what happened here and how you ended up in Everfree Forest tonight."
"Of course. Shortly after I sent you the letter about the hearing and the testimony of Mr. Swallowtail, a pony who appeared to be a unicorn lunatic showed up at my home." One of Princess Luna's eyebrows was sliding upwards and there was a strange scraping sound from Captain Crescent's direction.
"Talking in a rather crazy manner, I mean", Twilight hastily tried to gloss over her faux pas and struggled hard not to blush. "Also, he was wearing the outfit of your royal guard, though it did look somewhat unusual. In any case, he didn't say his name, but claimed to be here on your personal orders, Luna. He asked about the whereabouts of Frank and I told him. But when then I wanted to accompany him to the town hall, he firmly insisted on seeing Frank on his own, again claiming for this to be your personal order. It felt rather strange and I was about to dictate a letter to Spike to ask you about this. Just then Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie appeared. I had asked them to talk to Inkhorn. But Pinkie's Pinkie Sense was telling her that something bad was going on and before they could even tell about their visit to Inkhorn, it told her—"
"That it was going to kill Frankie!" Pinkie Pie blurted out. "It was really uncanny! I have never had so much pinchy pinch in my knees. Normal pinching knees mean scary things, but this was so much pinching it was really terrifying and when Twilight told he wanted to see Frank, I knew he wanted to kill him! Twilight and Dashie dashed off and I ran to get Applejack and Rarity to the town hall as Twilight had said."
"At the town hall Twilight told me to use the lower entrance while she landed on the cupola", Rainbow took over. "On the way up, I found Featherscribe lying on the ground. Zecora, he is alright, isn't he? He will be okay, won't he?"
"He wasn't feeling well tonight if tomorrow he will be alright I cannot yet decide."
There were some moments of uneasy silence before Princess Luna gave Twilight a look that unmistakably requested her to continue the report. Twilight shuddered a little at the memory: "When I came down from the cupola, the attacker was about to kill Frank, just like Pinkie Pie had said. The entire room was in shambles, but the attacker had cast a sound barrier. This is why you didn't hear anything below, Rainbow." Rainbow Dash just nodded, remembering that Frank had already mentioned this on the way to Everfree Forest.
"We were fighting for some moments, but then the attacker charged at Frank and after missing him, charged right on out of the window and flew away." "Flew?" Princess Celestia asked. "Do you mean that unicorn levitated himself away?" "No, he actually had wings at that time. I think the idea that this attacker actually appeared to be an alicorn upset me very much. I rushed right after him, tried to catch up, battled with him and finally crashed in the forest." "You should definitely visit the hospital!" Rarity insisted. "Your wings look really awful!" Twilight nodded. "I don't think I broke anything, but I will have them checked", she promised.
"I was making for the castle ruins when suddenly it seemed like you were appearing, Rainbow. This attacker can shift his appearance like a changeling. But he or she was perfectly clean while I knew that you were all sooty." Rainbow Dash gave Rarity a wry grin, caressing a speck of soot which the rainfall had not washed from her coat: "See what use some dirt can be?" Before the two had a chance to start bickering at each other, Twilight continued: "We fought, but my magic didn't seem to harm him... or her much. I actually cast some magic there I don't even know. It punched... a hole into the attacker, but she didn't seem to mind much. We were guarding against one another and then we talked."
"You spoke to that thing?" Applejack asked aghast. Twilight nodded. "I was distracted for just a moment and she attacked, but just at that moment Frank showed up and attacked the attacker." Twilight was looking at Frank: "What exactly was going on there, Frank?" The colt didn't react. His eyes were only half closed, but still he looked like he was dozing off. "Frank?" Rainbow Dash who was sitting beside him, jabbed Frank. He startled with a little yelp, looking spacy for a moment before blushing and ducking his head. "I'm very, very sorry! What did you say?" "Perhaps you want to tell us what you saw, Twilight", Princess Celestia suggested. "And Mr. Blanket can answer our questions then."
Twilight gave Frank a disapproving look. She wasn't huffy on her own behalf, but falling asleep in the presence of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna seemed rather disrespectful to her. She continued: "While Frank and the attacker where fighting, she suddenly dissolved into something dark and hazy. It is difficult to describe and it looked like it was trying to somehow take over Frank. It grew paler and more transparent and alternately seemed to decrease and increase while Frank's eyes turned green and then black. At that time, I cast a shield spell like those of my brother. It pushed that thing away and I think it dissolved as the shield expanded. When he got up again, Frank was very eager to write something down, but of course we didn't have much time to stay as the fire was getting closer. So we headed for the castle where you picked us up." Celestia nodded slowly.
Luna cleared her throat: "Well, it appears to me that Mr. Blanket may have some of the answers to tonight's mysteries. Tell us what you want to tell us!" "Why did smokey stuff want to kill you?" Pinkie Pie asked. Frank shook off the drowsiness. "That was because I found what the attacker was and she wanted to get rid of me so I wouldn't tell." "She? Who is she?" Rainbow Dash asked. "And how did you find that out?" Twilight demanded to know. "And what exactly is that attacker? You said something about an alicorn kind of changeling, didn't ya?" Applejack inquired.
Frank opened his mouth, seemed uncertain which question to answer first, closed his mouth again and then said: "After the hearing I was reading through the books stored upstairs in... whatever I am to call the room I was in." He gave Mayor Mare a short look. "And there was one book that had it all in it." "A book?" Twilight asked, her interest further increasing if this was at all possible. "A very old one by the look and tone of it, written by one Dr. Adus Noceo Quircs." "Quircs?" Pinkie Pie asked incredulously. "Do you know him?" Frank asked and looked at Twilight and the others too, but none of them seemed to be familiar with the name. "Neither do I", Frank said. "I never heard of him, but the book was mostly about changelings and he described some things that made me certain that the mysterious attacker behind all this had to be what Dr. Quircs in his book refers to as a switchling." "A switchling?" Twilight repeated the odd term. "Your Highness...", Frank was looking up to Princess Celestia, "...are you aware of these beings?" "I cannot say that I have heard of the term 'switchling' before or that I knew what kind of creature it describes." Princess Luna didn't say anything confirming or denying familiarity with the term or subject.
"Maybe I should just get the book and show it to you. It must still be upstairs." Quite contrary to his previous drowsiness and for the surprise of everyone, Frank jumped up quite nimbly and before anyone could say anything, he was running up the stairs. "Uhm... shouldn't somepony go with him?" Mayor Mare asked. "He is still a detainee, or isn't he?" As she said it, Rainbow Dash suddenly slapped her forehead: "I almost forgot to tell you. When I was at the castle to look for you, Twilight, I found the rest of Mr. Rich's money!"
"What? Rainbow, are you sure?" Twilight asked surprised. "Of course it could be just somepony else randomly left five bags full of bits standing in the castle library, but yeah, I'm pretty sure." "The old castle ruins...", Mayor Mare said, "...that makes sense as a hiding place. Nopony who isn't utterly crazy would ever get there voluntarily." Twilight and her friends exchanged a meaningful look and Rainbow Dash managed to suppress a laugh only by biting her lips.
Frank Blanket rushed up the stairs. Quirkily enough, the thought of presenting the book and the details about the attacker at last somewhat invigorated him. At the same time, some of the information seemed to weigh even heavier now after what had happened in the forest than it had on the way there, when at least part of his dodging answers had been dictated by the need of circumstances. He reached the stairs at the base of which some splintered wood was lying; remnants of the hatch he had kicked in to follow Twilight and the attacker. Frank hesitated for a moment and listened. There was no sound of steps on the stairs behind him and only a slight whistling of the wind and the splashing of the rain could be heard from outside. He climbed the stairs and entered the trashed storeroom.
A slight smell of smoke was still lingering. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like an unusual stroke of good luck to Frank that the town hall had not caught fire. When he had hurried after Twilight and the attacker, he hadn't given any thought to the sparks and still glowing embers of the previous fight that had been in the room. With all the paper and wood dried up by the heat and drought of the recent times, it seemed like a miracle that the town hall hadn't burst into flames. Now the rain was pattering heavily onto the bell roof and occasionally the dark room was illuminated for an instant by a flash of lightning somewhere above Everfree. The downpour and thunderstorm outside was none of the carefully planned and arranged patterns which made up for most of Equestria's weather. It was an emergency measure, kept only just enough in check by the small teams of pegasi out there to keep it from developing into an all out storm. Perhaps it was just the kind of clearance the region needed now after the long complete lack of rain.
Frank shook off the idle thoughts and walked over to where the remains of his saddle-bags were lying. He couldn't suppress a little whimper at the sight. He had suffocated the fire of the one bag with his own body in a moment when the attacker had still been there, trying to kill him. The unlikely good luck that had kept the town hall from catching fire didn't seem to have extended to his bags. By the looks of it, they had reignited and then somehow the fire appeared to have gone out again. One of the bags had not caught fire and its content had probably suffered only minor damage. It was the one that contained some of his books, his other set of clothing and his money bag. The other bag however was mostly burned. It was the bag that had contained his stationaries, his work on cutie marks and also the strange book he had found here. Not only had his work of a very long time been destroyed, but without the book his credibility, so much challenged during the hearing already, might suffer further.
As he stepped closer to the charred bag to look if perhaps there were any remains that could yet be salvaged, his hoof hit something that was lying on the floor. Another flash of lightning momentarily revealed the treatise of Dr. Quircs. There were a few small additional scorch marks on it's cover on top of which lay Frank's quill, quivering a little from an occasional whiff of wind that blew through the broken window through which the attacker had left. Frank picked up the quill and the book hastily as if he expected for them to vanish into thin air if he left them untouched for another moment. He pocketed the quill and looked around if there was any more of his burned bag's contents to be found. A few sheets of paper were lying around, but by the look of them they were more likely to be pages from the folders that had been hurled around during the fight.
The bag had been cracked open and torn when he had landed on top of it before it had been hit by the attacker's ill-aimed spell. Most likely the book and the quill had slipped out of the bag before it had been ignited, Frank thought, and for a moment he was wondering if he would have preferred for the old book to have burned if instead his own writings would have been spared this fate. It was pointless to think about this now. No doubt, the thought of it would catch up with him later and he was fearful of when it would, but for the moment he had to maintain his demeanor. He could not let any sentiments get the better of him, not when he still had to lay out what he knew to the ponies and princesses below. Sentiments getting the better of him... Frank stared at the book he was holding.
Tonight he had tried to let them get the better of him, but for the sake of better ends. Would they understand? Princess Luna probably had, but she was different in that respect from most ponies. And apart from the vain fear of what other ponies would think of him, there was also the question what the information about the weakness of the attacker would do to them. If defeating that attacker meant turning to... but the attacker was gone. Weakened, stripped of magical power, unhinged, dissolved, scattered and... in spite of everything, the thought made Frank feel a little uncomfortable... probably dead. There was no need for them to know about this anymore. Frank cast open the book and looked at the page in front of him. Many of the pages in this old book were fractured, torn, scorched or otherwise damaged.
However much it contradicted a deep seated basic attitude, Frank grasped the page with his teeth and tore a large part of it from the book. He looked at the torn out part of the page. It contained all that he had wanted to be on it. He folded the piece of old written paper and shoved it deep into his shirt's pocket. Then he closed the book very gently, as if to make up for the rough treatment it had been given before, picked it up and turned back to the stairs leading down to the great hall where the others were waiting.
Everyone was looking at him as he rushed down the stairs. "What took you so long, Frank?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I had to look for the book in the darkness. Thought it was lost for a moment. I thought it was burned like— anyway, this is it."
Frank held up the tattered looking book. He took a deep bow towards Princess Celestia and, following something like a reflex, reached up to draw his hat only to realize it was not there. He remembered he had had it on back in the forest where it had helped him hear the voices of Twilight and the attacker, but he didn't remember having worn it after that. Probably he had lost it when rushing towards the magical flares or maybe during the fight itself. It had probably burned like so much had tonight. Frank swallowed, but otherwise didn't allow for any sign on his face to give away the sting he felt about the loss. He placed the book on the table between the royal sisters and walked back to his place while the two princesses opened the book and skimmed over the first page. "Means and methods which were not always sanctioned by the laws, rules, and customs approved of by her highness Princess Celestia...?" Celestia quoted with a raised eyebrow. "By continuing to read beyond this page, the reader gives his or her agreement to accept the means by which the information herein contained were acquired...?"
Frank lowered his head despondently and resignedly. After everything that had happened, this seemed so trivial. Moreover, Dr. Quircs had at no point in his treatise specified what exactly the means and methods were which he had employed for his observations. This was a point that had baffled Frank, for the treatise contained detailed knowledge that suggested the story of how Dr. Quircs had acquired it might be no less exciting than a Daring Do novel. "I did read on", Frank said quietly. "I saw it as a historical source and..." He sighed. He was in no mood and didn't have the energy to make up any elaborate excuses, least of all to one who he suspected of being capable to read his mind like he could read the pages of Dr. Quircs treatise.
For his utter surprise, Princess Celestia was laughing suddenly. It was a clear and beautiful laughter that lifted some of Frank's despondency and made him look up at the Princess again. Her look was warm and sympathetic and with an ironic tone she said: "I suppose it would be unseemly for Celestia...", she glanced at the book page as if to look something up, "...the undimmed ap Eohippus, ruler of Equestria, mover of the sun and no longer acting mover of the moon to disavow the laws, rules and customs approved of by herself by reading beyond this page here in front of all her law-abiding subjects and fellow princesses. Moreover, I think everyone else here is also craving for explanations on who this attacker was and what a 'switchling' is. Therefore, Frank Blanket, please be so kind to earn my royal pardon for having read beyond this page by telling us what you read there." The good-natured humor of Princess Celestia was more encouraging to Frank than the actual request and he began to summarize the most important points of Dr. Quircs treatise:
"Dr. Quircs describes changelings as much less individualistic than ponies, more prone to following orders and more collectivist in general. I wonder, by the way, which role the lack of a cutie mark plays as an important sign of what differs us as what we are... what each one of us is. The changelings lack such a mark of course and—" Princess Luna cleared her throat. "Is this what the book is about?" she asked skeptically. "Uhm... no", Frank admitted. "I'm sorry, Your Highness." "Continue, Mr. Blanket", Princess Celestia said. "There is no such individualism and not so clear differing among changelings as there is with the tribes of earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns and the rare union known as alicorn. However, Dr. Quircs writes that, contrary to what most ponies think if— that's what he writes— they are thinking about changelings at all, there actually is a kind of changelings different from the large majority and this kind he names switchlings."
"How do they differ from the rest? And why does he name them that way?" Twilight asked. "He is not very specific about differences in appearance in their original form", Frank said. "Appearance is of little significance anyway to a species capable and prone to adopting the appearance of others all the time", he writes, and also that one would rarely get a chance to see one of their kind in their original appearance. He goes so far as to question whether or not they even have anything like an original appearance at all, or if what might be taken for their original form is but an appearance they deliberately pick rather than a state untampered with. What he does write is that what might be taken for an original appearance resembles the appearance of unchanged changelings, though somewhat taller.
What really differs them from other changelings are their abilities and their standing among the changelings. A switchling possesses all the shape shifting capabilities of a regular changeling, but more than that. A changeling who just takes on the appearance of somepony cannot talk with the voice of that pony, except for echoing what they have heard the pony whose appearance they have taken on say. A switchling on the other hoof can at least to some degree imitate voices, though not necessarily very convincingly. Such an imitation would probably not fool anypony who knows the one whose shape the switchling has taken on." "The voice of the attacker sounded kind of buzzing and nothing at all like Rainbow Dash", Twilight said. "But she was talking only after we were fighting already, so she probably didn't try. Before that she didn't talk. She had signaled me to be silent, as if to warn me that someone else could hear it." Frank nodded: "That was probably to trick you into paying no attention to her and not minding that she didn't talk."
"But is talking and imitating voices all that is so special about these switchling things?" Applejack asked, sounding rather unimpressed. Frank shook his head: "No, that is probably the least special thing to set them apart from other changelings. As for the what else they can do... haven't you guessed it already?" Frank was looking uncomfortable, as if the idea of having to explain it was giving him pains. Twilight nodded, but for the surprise of everyone it was Fluttershy who said very quietly: "They can take over the bodies and minds of others. She could replace others with herself." She shuddered and stared at the table top as if she didn't dare to look at anybody else. "Fluttershy?" Rarity asked surprised. "They tried to tell me, but I didn't understand", Fluttershy whispered. "Darling dear, who are you talking about?" "Some of us are not one of us at some passing of everything", Fluttershy mumbled. "That's what my feathered friends were saying all the time. The attacker was some of my feathered friends at some times and I didn't understand that!" "Nopony did", Twilight hurried to assure Fluttershy whose look left little doubt she was blaming herself. "You told me what they were saying, but I didn't understand it either."
"The birds?", Rainbow Dash asked confused, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. "Now I think I understand that this attacker can take control of the mind and body of somepony. That explains why Inkhorn and Featherscribe were so strange today. But why would anypony or any changeling who can take over the minds and bodies of ponies attack birds?" "To move about...", Frank said without looking at anyone, "...without drawing attention. When the attacker took over a bird, she could move around freely, fly, eavesdrop, get pretty much anywhere and she didn't draw any attention from ponies that way. It also allowed her to get close to her pony victims and then strike without even being noticed at all." "The owl!" Spike shouted. "The owl Owlowiscious attacked! Twilight, do you think that was...?" Everypony else but Fluttershy and Frank were looking rather confused, so Twilight explained: "When I got home yesterday after... after we were at Mr. Rich's mansion, an owl flew into the library and then suddenly she was fiercely attacked by Owlowiscious and chased away. We found Owlowiscious outside, looking somewhat confused. Today, after the hearing, Fluttershy brought me to her cottage where all the terrified birds were and the owl of the previous evening, injured by Owlowiscious and she seemed to be about to die, though none of her wounds were looking deep enough for that. She started to recover when Owlowiscious started nursing her."
"That was the attacker", Frank said. "She had taken the form of an owl who wouldn't appear so unusual that night. Dr. Quircs writes however, that some species, including many birds, are a lot more sensitive about recognizing when a conspecific has been switched to by a switchling. We ponies see, hear and smell just what we would expect to see, hear and smell when observing the actual victim of a switchling. Other species however seem to have some senses that allow them to recognize a switchling in case it has taken over a conspecific. It doesn't seem to work the same way when a switchling has taken over anyone of a different species. Had the attacker taken over a different animal, Owlowiscious might not have recognized her for what she was. That evening she planned to try to switch to your mind and body, Princess Twilight. Had it not been for Owlowiscious' attack, she might have succeeded. After they were both out of view, she put a spell on Owlowiscious that stunned him for a moment and blurred his memory of the last minutes." "How can you even know that?" Applejack asked frowning. "How come you know such an awful lot about what she was thinking and what she was doing when nopony saw her?" "I have seen it", Frank said, again looking rather uncomfortable. "Back in the forest when... when she was trying to switch to my mind and body."
"So that was what she was doing when she turned all smokey?" Pinkie Pie asked. Frank nodded. "I saw her mind when she tried. I saw her memory, her intentions. Her mind was in my head for a moment, but mine was still there too. The moment she was gone, all of her mind was disappearing also. Like a dream to which one may hold some memories right after waking up but which one has completely forgotten just a few minutes after. It was like trying to hold water in your hoof and the more you try to hold it, the more it runs away. I tried to write down what I saw when I was... back from there."
"So That's what your scribbling was all about!" Applejack said and Frank confirmed with a nod. "There is little left now. Few images from her mind which I remember directly. I do remember some things, but only as me telling myself to remember them after she was gone. Recent memories of hers were clearer than older ones. But it was all... very confusing... disturbing. Memories and thoughts that are not your own, but in your own mind, it is... most unpleasant. More difficult than it should be to keep the own mind apart from the other. Forgetting all this may be a blessing. Necessity even. That's why she cannot remember her victims' minds either. Just like Dr. Quircs wrote."
"What's that, Frank?" Twilight asked. "In his book Dr. Quircs writes that when a switchling takes over another being, it does maintain the own mind, but beside that it also takes over all the memories of the other one. The switchling knows the intentions and wishes of the victim without adopting them as the own. The switchling knows all the victim knows and takes over such characteristics like typical facial expressions and language of the victim and some of the motor skills, though not the refinements the victim learned through experience." "Motor skills? Is that another egghead term for... what exactly? And what do you mean with those refinements, Frank?" Rainbow Dash asked. "The way we move", Frank explained. "For example if a switchling switched to you—" "Not gonna happen!" "...the switchling would have exactly your script when mouth- or hoofwriting." "Oh", Mayor Mare said. "Hoofwriting? Mr. Blanket, do you mean that this is how...?" Frank nodded. "Yes, the switchling took me over too for some time, but I will tell about that later. Please let me first try to explain what a switchling does, for that explains some of what she did in the last days."
Frank looked at Rainbow Dash again and there was a slightly sneering tone in his voice as he continued: "In the utterly hypothetical and unlikely and uncool event of a switchling switching to you, it would also know your memories and know all that you know, for example about flying. The switchling would know exactly like you do how to flap to perform a flight maneuver and would have your memories of having flown it before. Yet it would still be all theoretical for our switchling and when flying that maneuver, she would know exactly what to do, but it would still be like flying that maneuver for the first time when the switchling would do so. She takes over knowledge and memory, but cannot quite adopt... for lack of a better word 'experience'."
"Why is that so?" Rarity asked. "Dr. Quircs guess is that this is because experience is almost always linked to emotion and switchlings don't take over or adopt emotion. They consume emotion. Like all changelings, switchlings feed on all the positive emotion of their victims. Joy, happiness, felicity, affection, friendship and, strongest of all, love. These emotions are something that a switchling, probably any changeling for that matter, cannot grasp the way we do. In a species of little to no individualism one changeling may seem just like the other to everyone of them. Maybe this doesn't really go for every single one, but most likely a changeling capable of really understanding and grasping these emotions as anything more than nutrition to be consumed rather than felt is about as rare and unlikely as a pony without absolutely no need or understanding for any of these emotions." Frank shivered, closed his eyes for a moment and twitched a little.
"Mr. Blanket?" Princess Celestia asked. "I'm sorry", Frank said, rubbing his head with one hoof. "A bit of a headache and also... I think this was the creepiest part about seeing her mind, seeing how she sees the world, how she sees us. It is difficult to describe. She does know some emotions. Triumph, amusement, satisfaction, spite, but it was all about herself. For other beings there was no sentiment whatsoever. In spite of her knowing and having seen the minds of ponies, there was no perception at all of emotions linked to the minds. She sees us or any beings as... factors in her... endeavor. Useful, not useful or a risk. Your Highness, I don't think it is really possible to describe it with what means our language provides. Having seen her mind for a moment, I still am not sure it is for our minds to understand or grasp. Much like it is not for their minds to understand or grasp the emotions they consume. Also, she would not see her actions as bad or evil… Not sure if these concepts even exist for them. I don't think I can explain it and for all the impression it left, the actual memory of it is blurry and fading further still. Usually when a switchling takes over the mind of a victim, the mind of the victim becomes... displaced. Dr. Quircs didn't write where it goes or how it goes, but while controlled the victim will not perceive anything whatsoever, nor remember anything that he or she didn't perceive."
Zecora nodded slightly: "That is why I could not find the memories in the victims' mind. A memory never obtained cannot by hypnosis or potion be regained."
"The memory of the victim only continues after the switchling leaves her or him", Frank continued. "Also, while the switchling knows the memory of the victim while controling him or her, it cannot keep any memories when leaving the victim. The only memories it will keep are memories to the own actions while controlling the victim. Switching to the minds of others, taking over all the memories, then loosing them again when leaving the victim is quite a strain. A pony's mind is not made for that and even the mind of a switchling may reach its limits when doing it too often in too short a time..." Frank was staring at a point somewhere in the air. He remained silent for some moments so only the pattering of the rain outside could be heard. Twilight was just about to say something to call him back from his apparent absorption when Frank resumed on his own accord.
"I think she did just that." "What's that, Frank?" Twilight asked. "I think the attacker switched to too many different ponies in too short a time in the last days. I am not certain but I believe that I did remember her mind as somewhat disassembled back in the forest. She has switched to many minds in the last days with hardly any intermission time for her own mind to come to rest and settle down. I am not quite certain, but I think she was beginning to... crack up. Maybe that is why she got careless, maybe that is why we could get away from her at all."
Applejack cleared her throat. "Ah get that this attacker can take over the mind and body of another pony, but if she can, why didn't she just stay with one victim but instead switched around all the time? Didn't that make it easier to notice she was there at all? Why didn't she just take over one pony and stick with that pony?" Frank swallowed. "That would have killed both, the victim and the switchling. Dr. Quircs writes that switchlings feed on love and other positive emotions of their victims, same as other changelings do. But when they actually switch to the mind and body of a pony it is not the subtle kind of gradual draining that a hidden changeling might impose. When a switchling takes possession of the body and mind of a pony, the positive emotions of the victim will get exhausted in a much shorter time. The switchling gains a lot of magical energy from this, while the victim will be left very..."
Frank was searching for a proper word, but Applejack just nodded. She had not forgotten about the state in which she had seen Miss Cheerilee the previous day. "From what Dr. Quircs writes, if a switchling stuck to one victim for a whole day, chances are that the victim might die from sheer extraction of any positive sentiment", Frank shuddered. "Yet whatever happens to the victim essentially happens to the switchling while it is still controlling him or her. Dr. Quircs assumes that if the victim died while controlled, it would be as if the switchling's own body was destroyed." There was a rolling thunder outside as if to underline Frank's last words.
After some moments Twilight asked: "There is one thing I don't understand though. Changelings are supposed to be rather... what did you say earlier... collectivist? And more prone to following orders? From what we know by now about what the attacker did it... she I mean, seems to have acted quite purposefully and independently. Not at all like changelings are supposed to act on their own."
Frank nodded. "This is where their standing among changelingkind comes in. With a species whose members are generally so prone to following orders, there has to be someone giving the orders, someone with a more independent mind and that's the switchlings. They are recognized as leaders by the lesser members of their kind who will follow their commands." "But don't they all do what meanie queeny Chrysalis is telling them?" Pinkie Pie piped up. "And she is locked up with all her measly, meanie minions?" "Dr. Quircs is a bit contradictory there. On the one hoof he writes that it is essential for the order in the changeling swarm that there is only one leader giving the commands. On the other hoof he writes there are but very, very few switchlings. Fewer than alicorns among ponykind he estimates. It still sounds like there was more than one. Maybe some of what he wrote is missing, or maybe he didn't know about this for certain, but he doesn't really write anything definite there." Frank shrugged. "But how is it even possible...", Rarity asked, turned half to Frank, half to the high princesses, "...that in all this time nopony ever heard about these 'switchlings'? And how come that Queen Chrysalis is in command instead?"
Princess Celestia seemed to ponder the questions for some moments before she said: "I don't think that the term 'switchling' has ever been used in discourse. It appears to be the name this Dr. Quircs applied and at the same time it seems like Dr. Quircs intended to remain obscure for whatever means he used to obtain the information. But it has long been assumed, known even, that there was such a special kind to make any organization of the swarm possible. As for Queen Chrysalis being in command 'instead', I presume for her to be of exactly that kind. 'Changeling Queen' may be just the term in which we may have been thinking of what Dr. Quircs calls a 'switchling'. But it is true that 'Changeling Queen' only ever referred to Queen Chrysalis herself. I hadn't been aware that there was more than the one of her kind. One who may not hold the title of a queen or be in command of other changelings."
Frank waited until he was certain that Princesses Celestia wasn't going to say anything more before he said: "Dr. Quircs never mentions Queen Chrysalis, or any name for that matter, but from all the description I agree that she must be what he calls a switchling." There were again some moments of silence as the notion of another changeling of powers comparable to those of Chrysalis sank in. Princess Luna was looking at Frank with one of her utterly inscrutable looks while Princess Celestia nodded after a moment. She had lost the humorous air she had shown about not reading beyond the introduction of Dr. Quircs book. Calm and serious as it was, her voice was still friendly also when she asked: "Mr. Blanket, you said that you saw her mind, her memory and her intentions?"
Frank nodded. "When she tried to switch to me. But my own memory to it started to fade the moment I was all myself again. Like a dream... a very bad dream... a dream I would like to forget rather than cling on to, but for the information it holds about what she did." There was compassion in the eyes of Celestia about the obvious discomfort of the colt at the memory, but the need to unravel the recent events left little room for oversensitive tenderness. "Please tell us about what she did, Mr. Blanket!" the high princess requested. Frank nodded and reached for the pocket of his shirt. With a rather cumbersome and fumbling movement, he brought forth a sheet of paper and put it onto the table. Everyone who had been there recognized it as the sheet which Spike had given Frank upon his urgent insistence back in the forest. "Uh, but what is that, Frankie?" Pinkie Pie asked as she, same as everyone, was looking at the paper. "You didn't write, you made pictures!"
Frank nodded. "There was so much that I still remembered right after she was gone, but it was rapidly fading away. I had no time to spell it all out, so I tried to put it in symbols and images to help me remember." The page was filled with small roughly scribbled images, some of which didn't make any sense at all to Twilight, but there were some that she recognized. "Is that my cutie mark?" she asked, tapping at something that looked like a star with the other five stars only indicated by dots. Frank nodded. "And there's a tree... the library that is", he said, pointing at a stroke with a circle on top of it, "...and Owlowiscious." He tapped at a scribble in the rough shape of an owl with the head circled. "This part is about what happened in the library yesterday evening." "And what is that?" Pinkie Pie asked, pointing at a spiral at the bottom of the page. Frank shook his head and made a waving movement with one hoof as if to shoo away a fly. "Please be quiet for a moment. I try to remember and get some order into this."
He leaned low over the paper, eyeing it closely and made some movements with his hooves as if he was trying to shift the images around on the paper. "Can I have another paper please?" he asked without looking up. Spike produced another sheet from his pocket and shifted it over to Frank. The colt took it without looking up from the paper he was studying and produced a quill from his shirt's pocket. With a little surprise Twilight recognized it as the very one Discord had given Frank. "Frank? You had that quill with you all the time?" she asked. "Hmm...?" The colt wasn't looking up from the paper. "That quill", Twilight insisted. "Did you have it in your pocket all the time?" Frank looked at the quill and shook his head while looking at the paper again. "No, it was upstairs. I picked it up when I got the book. One of my things that was not destroyed in the fight."
Frank had said it very soberly and yet Twilight suddenly had the image of a badly broken smoldering saddle-bag before her mind's eye. She suddenly thought of a tattered looking book of the merry adventures of Robing Hooves that a mother had read to a young Frank Blanket, who in turn had read it to his father who had been unable to read himself, but who had been happy to hear his son read it to him as Frank had mentioned during the hearing. Suddenly Twilight felt very miserable and she was wondering if the hobo student colt from Fillydelphia had lost more than the worth of six bags full of bits tonight.
Rainbow Dash startled Twilight from these considerations. She nudged her slightly and murmured: "This is a bit like in 'Daring Do and the secret scripture', isn't it? I mean figuring out the symbols and all. There is a bit of an egghead in Daring Do! It makes you all somewhat more awesome." Twilight didn't respond, but she didn't have to, for in this moment Frank spoke up: "I think I got most of it. And I think this is the order in which it is to be read... back in the forest I had no time to mind the sequence and was just taking down everything that came to my mind." He tapped the topmost symbol on the new sheet of paper. It was something that looked like a bell and a pretzel. "Fillydelphia", Frank explained. "The Changeling was there some weeks ago and...", Frank tabbed something that looked like a circle with wings, "...it was there that she stole the levitation amulet while switched to Ivory Tower." "Ivory Tower?" Rarity asked. "That's the name of the professor who they wrote lost the amulet."
Frank suddenly stared at the tabletop as if trying to see through it and when he continued it sounded like he was talking to himself rather than to anyone else. "It was the talk on the campus for a while... I don't know... I may have picked up his name there. But I don't remember. I may have never actually heard the name..." "Why did she steal that amulet?" Rarity asked. "Can't this switchling do levitation spells?" "I think she can. I... I really don't know why she stole that amulet. There must have been a reason..." Frank cut a strained grimace. After some moments he sighed: "I'm sorry. I just don't remember. There must have been something, but I don't know anymore. It is gone."
"Maybe she stole it just to frame you later?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "No", Frank discarded the idea immediately. "Definitely not. I recall she thought of me as 'the distraction from Fillydelphia' or as a 'convenient dummy'—" "Convenient dummy?" Pinkie Pie repeated, half indignant, half amused. "That were her thoughts", Frank confirmed. "She thought this just hours ago. The memory of the most recent events was clearer and I still have some of the images in mind. Not as elusive as the longer past or more general thoughts. Maybe it is also easier to remember the things I can directly relate to. I do not remember why she took that amulet, but she just used it to frame me because it was convenient at the time. It was not a long plan. I just happened to be there to be framed and the amulet happened to suit the purpose."
"What's the next thing?" Twilight asked, tapping the next symbol. Actually the symbol was clear enough and she had little doubt about the meaning of some towers at the steep slope of a mountain, but it was still so serious that she wanted to make sure. "The switchling went to Canterlot", Frank confirmed Twilight's fears. "To Canterlot?!" thundered Captain Crescent furiously. "How can such a thing walk there in broad daylight unnoticed? Are these foalish fair weather guards—" "Captain Crescent", Princess Luna said. She hadn't raised her voice and kept her face straight, but still there was a cutting tone to her voice that silenced the captain of her guard instantly. Twilight was wondering if the outburst of the captain was in any way a retaliation for her own faux pas about the use of the term 'lunatic'.
"My apologies, Your Highness. Your Highnesses, I mean, I'm just...", Captain Crescent muttered. "Proceed, Mr. Blanket", Princess Luna commanded. Frank hesitated. "I'm afraid I cannot say anything more about this either. I only know that she was in Canterlot, but that is all the symbols tell me. I don't think she switched to anyone there. All I know is that she was in Canterlot, but I have no idea what she did there. I'm sorry", Frank added as there was an unwilling growl of Captain Crescent. With an emphatically neutral tone Frank added: "I cannot even say if she came to Canterlot at day- or nighttime. But I think she didn't stay very long."
"Is that Cloudsdale?" Rainbow Dash asked, tapping the next sign which showed some buildings amidst clouds. Frank nodded, earning himself a broad self-satisfied smile from Rainbow Dash, silently congratulating herself for her Daring Doish deciphering talents. "The switchling went to Cloudsdale...", Frank continued and pointed at the next sign, a cloud in a circle, "...I'm not quite sure about this. I must have seen it and I think it has to do with Cloudsdale, but I cannot say what it means."
"I can", Princess Celestia said. "This is the cutie mark of Cloud Head, one of the engineers in charge of cloud brewing kettles up in Cloudsdale. I talked to him when I was there. Same as everypony else, he couldn't explain at all what had happened there. It had been during the night that the cloud brewing kettles exploded there. Nopony had seen it happen and luckily nopony was hurt because of that. But there was not a single pony there who didn't say that the setting of the vents was something so elementary that it couldn't be done so wrong by mistake. With a dozen kettles blown up, everypony including Cloud Head was convinced that it could only be a deliberate sabotage, but at the moment there was not a pony either who didn't have the absolute confidence of everypony else there." "Princess Celestia, did Cloud Head or any other pony suffer from any loss of memory?" Twilight asked. "I think everypony who was taken over by this attacker here lost his or her memory to the time he or she was under the attacker's control."
At this point Zecora chimed in: "Forgive me if I interrupt but I think you are mistaken unless I misunderstood Frank's memory seems not disrupt although his mind was taken."
Frank gave a rather odd mixture of a nod and shaking of the head. "She didn't quite take me over in the forest tonight. Almost did... but it was interrupted and I think this is the only reason why I do... or did remember some of what I saw of her mind. Actually I was taken over by her. But that was last night, before the hearing", Frank tapped some scribbles further down on the page which indicated this. "But I was asleep when she took me over and I was asleep when she left me again and it was also for a rather short time only. A short memory gap during the night would not be so conspicuous as during the day. Many ponies don't remember most of their dreams. But I expect her taking me over was the 'sudden and uncommon interruption' which you said you perceived in my dreams, Your Highness."
Frank was looking at Luna and for an odd moment Twilight had almost the impression as if there was a kind of staring match between the hobo student and the Princess of the Night. The odd impression vanished as quickly as it had come up when Frank continued: "I think it was because she wanted to avoid drawing attention, that she only ever took anypony in Cloudsdale over when he or she was asleep and left him or her while he or she was again asleep. That way she could act very subtle. Also, I don't think she ever took anypony over for more than a few hours there, so the effects of the take overs on her victims were not so distinct. She always struck at night there, while for the day she left Cloudsdale, stayed aground, hid from the view of everypony, perhaps by taking over some animals to rest or maybe just taking on some appearance that wouldn't draw attention. Therefore, nopony in Cloudsdale would notice any memory gaps."
"You read all this from just this sign, Frankie?" Pinkie Pie asked, pointing at the next sign on Frank's paper, a crescent. "I think so", Frank said, sounding slightly uncertain. "I think that is what it means. I only remember I had some very flimsy glimpses at all this. That crescent probably is the summary of her acting at nighttime only in Cloudsdale." There was another odd momentary impression for Twilight, but this time it seemed to her that an expression of doubt flickered across Princess Celestia's face, as if she wanted to say or add something but stopped herself from doing so before she had opened her mouth.
Frank continued: "It seems like her success in Cloudsdale made her somewhat less careful. She stayed there until there were rumors that you, Your Highness...", he bowed slightly to Princess Celestia, "...were going to come to examine the sabotage there. When those rumors came up, she left and headed for Ponyville and here she didn't show the same cautiousness as she had in Cloudsdale. I think her original intention was to stay in the castle ruins in Everfree Forest for a while, but when she got the chance to take over a bird, she flew to Ponyville. I believe— I really don't know this for certain —she just wanted to explore a bit and didn't have any actual plan in mind there. But while flying around she took notice of the preparations for your party, Pinkie. To any changeling such a party must appear like a real feast. She then saw Mr. Rich working alone in his study with the window wide open. There was an opportunity and she seized it." "Are you sayin' she didn't actually plan to go after Mr. Rich but just took him over because he happened to be there?" Applejack asked skeptically.
"Well... yeah", Frank said with a shrug. "I think I remembered what she did here in Ponyville better than what I remembered about what she did before. I still don't know it for absolute certain, but I'm pretty sure there was no grand scheme when she took over Mr. Rich. I think she just wanted to attend the party to feast on the plenty of positive sentiments among so thick a crowd that it would barely be noticed. She reckoned that confusion about loss of memory of the victim might be attributed to a heat stroke or something like that, so she considered the risk acceptable to take over Mr. Rich during the day. Maybe she realized his wealth only after she had taken him over or maybe she had guessed it from the appearance of the mansion. I don't know for sure. While she controlled him, she knew of course what he knew, but also that she wouldn't remember anything but what she herself did and learned while in control of him. During the party she therefore talked to quite a few ponies to get some more information on Ponyville and its citizens. Before she left Mr. Rich numbed with a sleeping spell at the spot where she had taken him over, she decided to take along the bags of money which were in his studies.
A switchling can still cast at least the basics of the own magic such as levitation spells even when in control of a being not usually capable of this. Dr. Quircs mentions this in his book too and also that the degree to which magic casting is still possible varies depending on what kind of being is controlled. He doesn't go into much detail there, but he also mentions that larger beings like ponies will last longer while under the control of a switchling, while a bird for example would suffer sooner from the effects and could therefore not be controlled as long without risk for both, the bird and the switchling. This may also be why she took over Mr. Rich rather than just attending the party in the body of a bird, in which case she would have also been limited to eavesdropping rather than being able to ask questions herself."
Fluttershy cut a face as if the mention of this caused her severe pains. Frank took a sip from his cup before he continued: "While she was levitating and then teleporting the money bags to the edge of the forest, she was seen by Mr. Rich's servant. She realized how suspicious this would look, but she knew of the servant's loyalty to his master and felt safe enough by just impressing upon him never to tell anypony about it. After she left Mr. Rich, she once again managed to take over a bird to get to the edge of the forest where she had teleported the money. She left the bird there and in her original form, expecting for nopony to see her at night in Everfree, she brought the money to the castle ruins and cut the bridge over the surrounding chasm." "So there would be even less of a chance of anypony stumbling across the money?" Twilight asked. Frank shrugged. "Probably." "Probably?" Applejack asked. "Frank, how much of what you are telling is what you think and how much of it do you know for certain?" "It is confusing", Frank admitted. "I think I know most of what she did do in the last days very certain. As I said, those memories are clearer than those to Cloudsdale and before. I know I had the memories to what she did very clearly in mind when I took this down in the forest." He tapped the original sheet of paper.
"I don't have those images in my mind anymore now, but I remember them as if somepony had described them to me so I could imagine them very well. I know what she did. I don't always know why she did it. I know she cut the bridge beyond easy repair, but as for why she did it, I guess it is as Twilight assumed. I suppose she didn't often think very deliberately about her intentions, same as we usually wouldn't when everything seems clear to us and maybe that is why I am less certain about some whys as I am about the whats."
"So, what did she do next?" Rainbow Dash asked. "After a short rest in the castle ruins, she took over another bird, returned to Ponyville and attacked Miss Cheerilee." Frank said, pointing at a sign on the paper that was clearly supposed to be Miss Cheerilee's cutie mark and that looked, cheerful as it was, somewhat out of place between the other more obscure symbols. "But why?" Rarity asked almost desperately. "Why would this thing attack poor Cheerilee? You don't know about that, Frank?"
"Actually, I think I can make a good guess about this", Frank said. "During the party she had gotten a good idea about the popularity of Miss Cheerilee and her own love for her students. Taking over Miss Cheerilee was like another feast for her and since consuming such positive emotions is also the basis for the magic of switchlings, it boosted her powers as well. There is yet another reason though. Same as her success in Cloudsdale had made her somewhat less careful, her easy success with Mr. Rich further increased her recklessness. She was ready to start something more in Ponyville rather than just going into hiding. But while not in control of a citizen of Ponyville, she knew little about the town or the citizens. Therefore she let all the students in Miss Cheerilee's class write about their homes and relatives. All those written student reports were a formidable source of information she could resort to after she had left Cheerilee and her memories behind. She left Cheerilee numbed with a sleeping spell and hid the students' texts outside at a place where she could easily pick them up later as whoever she would take over next. The hot weather suited her purpose too. Almost nopony was out in the streets so she could even just take on the appearance of somepony with little risk of this being noticed. However, there was a robin near Miss Cheerilee's place which she could use to look for a suitable next pony victim."
"A robin...?" Rainbow Dash echoed, her eyes widening. "You mean that was..." Frank nodded: "...the very one who landed beside us while you visited me up there." He pointed towards the ceiling. "Of course she couldn't take either of us over while we were both there, but she learned a lot by just listening to us and also figured out that not only had the theft of Mr. Rich's money stirred up more attention than she had expected, but also that I was suspected of having done it. She was not happy about that attention and decided that it would be a good idea to increase the suspicion against me to misdirect any investigations that might draw more attention or even come to some correct conclusions. When Inkhorn came up to us, the switchling learned about the hearing to be held and she also heard my request to you to strike my tent. After you left, she flew right to the castle and, leaving the robin and just taking on an inconspicuous unicorn pony appearance, she teleported herself and one of the money bags towards the green where she put the money into my sleeping back after making sure that nopony was there to see her. She then took over a thrush and eavesdropped on Mayor Mare, Inkhorn and Featherscribe, learning among other that he would be in charge of the persecution during the hearing.
"There was a thrush at the window of Inkhorn's office when you were there yesterday", Fluttershy said. "I saw the thrush when I came downstairs after I had heard your voices." "That was her", Frank confirmed. "And after you had all left the room, she took over Inkhorn." "But why?" Twilight asked. "What was the point?" "I don't know for certain", Frank admitted. "I think she had intended to take over one of the town officials anyway to see if she could learn anything useful for further actions in Ponyville. Perhaps she took her over at that point to also keep you away from me because she believed that this might make the job more difficult for the defense in the hearing..." Frank shrugged. "Inkhorn was kind of insistent on us leaving all of a sudden", Rarity remembered. "And it explains why she thought that she had fallen asleep during her watch while we were there", Applejack pointed out. "That's what she said when we talked to her earlier." "In the body of Inkhorn the switchling also overheard you saying something about a possible suspect, Twilight", Frank continued. "And when then you asked for a name from the register of Ponyville's residents, she quickly grasped that he was your suspect and decided to just fuel your suspicion by pretending for your suspect to be not recorded." Twilight pursed her lips. The memory of her disgrace at the Rich Mansion the previous evening still gave her a sting.
"Your conviction that I was not behind the theft and your investigations worried her though", Frank continued. "Maybe that is one reason why, switched to an owl, she tried to take control over you last night, but I presume the idea of taking control over a Princess of Equestria by itself also played a role. In any case, Owlowiscious thwarted this attempt. She was lingering with the owl for much of the night. This, her use of magic against Owlowiscious and the injuries from the fight with Owlowiscious left this owl nearly utterly drained of any happy or cheerful emotion." "And the affection, care and love of others is what will help the victims of a switchling?" Twilight asked. "According to Dr. Quircs, yes", Frank confirmed. "It did seem to do a lot of good to poor Cheerilee to have the kids and Big Mac around", Applejack said. "But other birds usually shun owls", Fluttershy whispered. "She was very weak when she arrived at my place and nothing I did seemed to really help her." "She probably needed the care of a fellow owl", Twilight said soothingly, noticing Fluttershy's tone of unwarranted self-blaming.
"What did this switchling do next?" Princes Luna asked after some moments. Frank tapped the respective symbols on the sheet of paper and said: "After the attempt to take over Twilight had failed, I think she wanted to plant some more fake evidence against me and also decided to take it upon herself to play the part of the persecution in the hearing to present me as the culprit in the most convincing way she could. She left the owl at the town hall and came through the open window while I was asleep and took me over." "Which left your dreams a void", Luna said. "I was alarmed when I saw this, but I didn't know the meaning of it and visited Twilight's dream to let her know about this."
A momentary frown passed through Frank's face, but whatever misgivings it signaled, he kept for himself as he continued: "Able to see my memories, she realized that, unlike herself, I didn't even know where Mr. Rich lived and were likely to point this out in the hearing. So she had me write the words 'Rich Mansion' on my map in my own script to make me appear like a liar in the hearing. She placed the map in my saddle-bags rather than in the pocket of my shirt from where she had taken it. She also put the amulet she had stolen in Fillydelphia in my money bag as further incriminating evidence. Before she left me, she also took some notes on memories of mine that could be useful for her, but that she would not remember after she left me again. She then left me and, once again after having taken over a nocturnal bird, headed for the place of Featherscribe and took him over." "But why did she?" Rainbow Dash asked confused. "If she had you taken over, couldn't she have just stayed with you and let you confess anything during the hearing to make absolutely sure?"
Frank hesitated for some moments, then he shrugged. "I don't know why she didn't. I suppose she could have. Perhaps she thought that such a sudden confession would have appeared unlikely, especially with the certainty that I would have withdrawn it and told about not remembering the hearing at all after she would have left me." "But that would have been a matter anyway, wouldn't it?" Applejack asked. "Ah mean, if Featherscribe wasn't Featherscribe throughout the hearing, we would have heard about his loss of memory tomorrow, wouldn't we?"
Frank shrugged again: "Probably. I really cannot tell for certain what she was thinking, but I'm not even sure if she herself knew for the entire time. Within less than two days she had taken over and left the minds of four ponies and at the very least five birds, maybe even more, with very little time to rest and for her own mind to settle down again. Maybe, just maybe, some of her decisions were more erratic than in Cloudsdale where she never took over more than one pony within a day and also for much shorter time spans than was the case with Mr. Rich and Miss Cheerilee." "She still did quite a performance as Featherscribe during the hearing", Rarity remarked. Frank nodded but said: "But even there she made a spontaneous decision that caused her great trouble later on."
"What's that, Mr. Blanket?" Mayor Mare asked. "The claim that I attacked Inkhorn in the morning. It was a relatively spontaneous decision of her when she realized how uncertain ponies were about whether or not I was guilty. She thought that nothing would be as likely to turn everypony against me than the claim that I had actually tried to attack someone. It was thoroughly made up. Miss Mayor, I suppose you did meet Inkhorn in the town hall before she left this morning?" Mayor Mare looked surprised, but nodded: "Yes, I did. She was looking rather worn out. As could be expected after the long night watch." "But even so, wouldn't she have mentioned to you if I had tried to attacked her before?" "Most likely she would have", Mayor Mare admitted. "It did sound odd, but I think that in the... intensity of the whole hearing it didn't strike me as so strange. I guess I thought that Inkhorn had just forgotten to bring this up... but an assiduous official like her..." Mayor Mare looked down at the table top. "I suppose I should have noticed this as strange", she said meekly.
If Frank Blanket took any satisfaction from this admission, he did not let any show upon his face as he continued: "There was another thing that happened during the hearing that she had not planned and that actually scared the switchling. She was quite relieved that no further attention was paid to it at the time." Frank made a short break and reached for the water cup. He was looking uneasy as if he didn't like what he was going to tell and suddenly Twilight had a good idea of what he was referring to. "The spell?" she said. "The disillusion spell I cast upon you during the trial?" Frank nodded, but still took a sip from the cup which he kept a little longer in his mouth than probably necessary before he continued.
"Dr. Quircs didn't write anything about this, but I suppose having been taken over by a switchling leaves something upset in your mind that caused for this spell to be so... unpleasant." "Unpleasant?" Rainbow Dash asked bluntly. "You collapsed and were screaming!" Rarity jabbed Rainbow Dash, earning herself an annoyed, "Well, he was", whispered so loudly by Rainbow that everyone could hear it.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both looking rather attentively. While Twilight had mentioned this in her earlier letters, she hadn't gone into any detail about Frank's reaction. Frank just nodded. "It hurt. I suppose that it would have hurt Mr. Rich, Miss Cheerilee, Inkhorn or Featherscribe as well. I actually wonder what effect this spell would have if cast on somepony currently controlled by a switchling. If she knew, I do not remember. I also don't know if this is a lasting thing or if a pony will react normally to the spell after some time passed. I mean, this was just a couple of hours after she had been in my mind."
"Should we give it a try?" Princess Luna suggested, lowering her head slightly. "No!" Frank shouted and ducked low. Only after some moments, when it was clear that Luna was not going to cast any spell did he straighten himself, looking rather embarrassed. "Please don't! Not now, it... it really did hurt a lot and also she was trying to take me over in the forest just recently. If you cast that spell I am sure it would be just like it was during the hearing, or worse. "I think we can do without that", Celestia said and Luna raised her head. "Please continue, Mr. Blanket." "The switchling was not happy with the result of the hearing. Your announcement that you would continue to look for the actual thief really annoyed her. If I remember correctly to what I did remember in the forest, you said that you were going to talk to Inkhorn while Featherscribe, controlled by the switchling, was there?"
"That's right", Twilight confirmed. "And Featherscribe was very much trying to talk me out of this." "The switchling was", Frank corrected. "She was worried. If you talked to Inkhorn while she was herself, her memory losses would become obvious and also the lie about the attack. The switchling didn't care much about this if it happened later, at a time when she would be gone... yes, I think I remember that she intended to leave Ponyville as soon as she could. The hearing convinced her that she had drawn too much attention. For the moment however she had maneuvered herself into a very uneasy situation. The hearing had not put an end to your investigations, she knew that you were going to talk to Inkhorn, she herself was posing as Featherscribe with no excuse to leave the town hall and she couldn't just leave Featherscribe there either. In case you talked to Inkhorn and she blew the claim of me attacking her, the switchling was aware that Featherscribe would certainly be asked next and if by that time she was still be around, things could get tricky for her." "Featherscribe did appear somewhat restless in the afternoon", Mayor Mare said. "I thought that he was just agitated about the whole hearing and that he took it all a bit too personal." Twilight nodded with a grim smile. She liked the idea that, with all the trouble this attacker had caused, they had at least succeeded to give her some hard time in return.
Tapping a sequence of symbols that included the cutie marks of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Inkhorn, Frank continued: "When she got a chance to leave the town hall under the pretense of eating something at Featherscribe's and Inkhorn's home, she found you two there." Frank nodded at Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. "And she had to switch from Featherscribe to Inkhorn and back in a matter of minutes to keep up the pretense. This took quite a toll from her and probably from Inkhorn and Featherscribe too. She was getting somewhat scatterbrained... literally. I think she began to notice this herself. Nevertheless, she was still very calculating when fobbing you off with excuses about the earlier pretenses as Inkhorn and also when later on I confronted her, while she was posing as Featherscribe, with the book of Dr. Quircs." Frank swallowed.
"I was rather excited when I read the book. The symptoms he describes about the victims suffering from loss... or rather lack of memory as well as draining of positive emotion matched the symptoms of Mr. Rich and Miss Cheerilee as you had described them to me. It also explained the symptoms I felt myself, though less prominent because I had been taken over by her for a much shorter time. And of course it was the explanation for the matters in the hearing that I couldn't explain myself, the amulet among my stuff, Mr. Rich's place marked on my map in my own writing and the claim that I had attacked Inkhorn. That's actually something I didn't think of at the time. I was so eager to let you know and also to exonerate myself that I didn't give any thought at all to the fact that the switchling was still around; that either Inkhorn or Featherscribe or both had been under the switchling's control and, as it turned out, still were."
"But that's somethin' Ah don't get", Applejack said. "If I get ya right, you were telling all this to this switchling thing posing as Featherscribe. Why didn't she just try to squash you for good right there, destroy that book and be off? Ah mean I'm glad she didn't...", Applejack hastily added with an almost apologetic look, "...but why in Equestria did she go to Twilight's place and pull off that show as a guard of Princess Luna? If she hadn't done that, chances are she might have gotten away with it." "I don't know for certain." Frank said a little hesitantly. "But I think that by posing as a guard of Princess Luna and by making sure that she was seen in that appearance before committing the deed, she actually meant to... cast doubts on...", Frank cast a nervous look at Princess Luna and was visibly struggling to find the right words.
"You mean she meant to frame me too?" Princess Luna said with an icy and impatient voice. Frank just nodded. "She stressed her claim of being here on your direct orders several times", Twilight said. "But why? This is so unlikely. Nopony would believe this, I think", Fluttershy said and for a moment an affectionate smile flickered through Princess Luna's face. "I do not know", Frank Blanket said. "Maybe she thought that such a false trail linked to such a crime would cause a more severe rift than something less spectacular. Maybe her decision about this too was influenced by the stress her mind was under... though I think there was something..." Frank squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead, giving every appearance of a pony desperately trying to remember something that had slipped his mind. But he ultimately sighed and shook his head slightly.
"I do not think there must have been something more to this", Princess Celestia said. "For it appears this was not the first attempt of this attacker to link crimes to my sister." "What?" Princess Luna glared at her elder sister. "Whatever did you detain from us?" "I didn't detain anything from you", Celestia said very calmly. "Mr. Blanket, you interpreted the crescent among the symbols referring to the attacker's actions at Cloudsdale as a sign that she acted only at night there. It may be so, but there is another possibility, for I have seen this symbol there. Several of the smithereens of broken cloud brewing kettles there had this crescent sign scratched into them." "And when did you intent to tell about this, sister mine?" Luna asked hotheadedly. "Any doubts about...?" Celestia gave her a sorrowful look as she shook her head. "None, Luna. Not even for the blink of an eye!" She reached out for her sister with one hoof. "I knew how you would feel about this and didn't mention it before while it didn't seem relevant to understanding tonight's events." Princess Luna nodded curtly.
"So what happened then?" Rainbow Dash asked when the silence except for the pattering of the rain outside began to get uneasy. Frank shrugged. "There is not much more left to tell that you don't know already. She turned up at Golden Oak Library. Of course this was not really to ask for my whereabouts, but to make sure that you, Twilight, and perhaps some other ponies would see her in her royal guard appearance before she would get rid off me. She then tried to do just that... you know, she should have succeeded." "What? Why, Frankie? She should not have—" Pinkie Pie began, but Frank shook his head. "Of course I don't wish it had turned out any different, but before you arrived, Twilight, she could have hit me with her spells several times, but still missed. It was so... unlikely." "Are you complaining about too much luck?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. "No", Frank said very matter of factly. "I'm glad I have been so lucky tonight."
There was no sign on his face nor any intonation of his voice that would have marked Frank's words as sarcasm, but once again Twilight felt a sting at the thought of a broken and burned saddle-bag. "After you arrived, she just tried to make a getaway", Frank continued. "She probably thought the game was up until she understood that you were unaware of what she was and after you crashed in the forest. Again, her decision to stop in the forest and go after you rather than continuing her flight may have been partly because she was getting somewhat inconstant from all the mind switches of the last hours, but maybe she also saw a good chance to take you by surprise, Twilight." Frank was silent for some moments before he said: "I think that is everything. You all know what happened in the forest." "Actually Ah don't", Applejack said. "For example, why didn't that thing manage to take you over there in the forest? And what exactly happened to it? Is it, or she, still about? Who is she anyway? And what was all she was doing about?"
Frank hesitated for a moment and his eyes wandered to briefly meet the expectant looks of everyone present. "I don't know all of this for certain. Back in the forest... I knew what the attacker was and was expecting what she was trying to do. That probably helped making it more difficult for her. Also, she was very drained of magical powers by the time and the burden of frequent switching in the recent past was working against her." Frank stopped as if thinking about what to say next. "They feed on positive emotion", Frank finally said. "I don't think I was feeling very positive at the time. This may have had some effect too."
Princess Luna eyed Frank with a very unexpressive look. "And finally your shield-spell, Twilight. It hit while she was not in a solid form. I think— and I'm only guessing here, there is nothing about this in Dr. Quircs' book— that a switchling while switched to the body of somepony else remains unaffected by the shield spell. It seems like the only way Queen Chrysalis could ever enter or remain in Canterlot while the great shield was in place there. She must have been switched to Princess Cadence or perhaps somepony else at the time the shield was first cast. From what I heard, the shield spell just expelled all these changelings from Canterlot, but my guess is that perhaps the shield-spell had an even stronger effect on her in this kind of vapor form than it would have while she had a solid body." "Is she... dead?" Fluttershy whispered quietly. "I don't know", Frank said after a moment. "I don't know what happened to her after the shield-spell hit. All I do know is that she was very, very drained at the time."
There was a bright flash of lightning outside, followed by a rolling thunder that rattled the windows of the town hall. Twilight swallowed and felt reminded of the dissipating of King Sombra back in the Crystal Empire. He had been a threat to everypony and they had done what had to be done, but nevertheless it had always been more of a comfort rather than a source of insecurity for Twilight that there hadn't been any body of a king demised. No matter what, she abhorred the thought of having been responsible for the death of anyone or anything. Perhaps the insecurity about the fate of this attacker was a bit of a blessing in disguise.
"Who is she?" Princess Celestia asked after a moment, picking up one of the basic questions Applejack had put up before. Frank closed his eyes once again and gritted his teeth, frantically trying to remember, but he ultimately sighed and shook his head before he opened his eyes again. "I am very sorry, Your Highnesses. I'm sorry everyone. I don't know. I don't remember. I don't even have any idea whether or not I did know at the moment right after she was gone. Gone. It's all gone!" He seemed very frustrated, moved one hoof to his mouth and for a moment it seemed like he was going to bite it before instead he rubbed his forehead again. Twilight cast a look at the sheets of paper lying in front of Frank, the one he had scribbled in the forest and the other one on which he had put the different marks and symbols in order, here in the town hall. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and then widened.
"Frank, what is this? What does that mean?" she tapped one symbol on the sheet from the forest. Not only had she noticed it was the only sign that Frank had not copied to the other sheet of paper, but something else about it had caught her attention. The symbol was a large spiral. Again Frank shook his head. "Something. It must have meant something, but I just don't know anymore. I have no idea where to put this one." Princess Celestia knew her former student well enough not to have missed her reaction to the unaccounted symbol. "Twilight, does this sign tell you anything?" "I don't know what it means, but I think it is important. Back there there in the forest when I was talking to the attacker I did ask her who she was. She responded with some riddle talk..."
Twilight was racking her mind and wished for Frank's ability to remember exactly what others had said. "She called herself an enemy of an enemy of mine. And she called herself a precursor and a teacher to a hostile friend." "Well, that makes everything perfectly clear", Spike said, rolling his eyes and earning himself an angry look from Twilight, but the little dragon was tired and exhausted and those were conditions that didn't bring out his more helpful site. Twilight decided to ignore the remark and continued. "When I then asked for her name, she said: 'my name sucks for vortex it is'." Rainbow Dash snorted slightly, but kept herself from giving any unhelpful comments about this. "Vortex", Twilight said, tapping the spiral symbol again. "Maybe that's what this is. Maybe this symbol is about the identity of this attacker."
She turned to Princess Celestia: "Do you know of any fiend of Equestria whose name has anything to do with a vortex?" The high princess slowly shook her head after a few moments. "I can't say I do." "Frank...", Twilight turned to the colt, "...do you remember anything about this if you think of it as a vortex or something like that?" She was tapping the spiral symbol again. Frank shook his head again. "I'm sorry", he muttered. Twilight sighed. It was frustrating to feel that she was on the right track but lacking a decisive piece.
"So what is it about the intentions of this elusive attacker?" Princess Luna asked after a while. "Mr. Blanket, you made it sound like much of her actions were committed unplanned or spontaneous. Are you saying that she is, or was, just some kind of desultory madcap?" "No", Frank said immediately. "Her actions here in Ponyville were rather spontaneous, but there was something she hoped to achieve. While not all of her actions were planned in advance, they were meant to promote a higher goal. Some big scheme. She thought of it as 'the purpose' or 'the endeavor'." "Well then what was it?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently. Once again Frank closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, pressing both forehooves against his forehead as if he could thereby squeeze some memory back to his mind. "Now don't you say you forgot that one too!" Rainbow Dash said dismayed. "That's the most important—"
"I DIDN'T FORGET!" Frank shouted, banging both of his hooves onto the table fiercely enough to rattle the cups. Everyone was looking at him taken aback and Rainbow Dash even flinched as Frank gave her a furious stare. For a brief moment Twilight was reminded of the few previous occasions when Frank had lost his poise and... not shown the hoof that looked best to others. The colt continued angrily, talking himself into a rage: "My memory is quite good, Rainbow Dash! But those weren't my memories to begin with! I got a glimpse at the mind of her like nopony should and it is for good reason that ponies taken over by a switchling don't remember or that the switchling cannot take the victim's memories along. Minds aren't meant to be mixed like that! And if now I don't have a clue what her big plan was, it is because I don't think she was thinking about its details all the time; same as anypony wouldn't keep thinking about the expected ends all the time when they are long clear!"
The harshness of his tone gradually ebbed away and suddenly he was looking rather mortified as it only now seemed to dawn on him that he had thumped the table and thrown a rather uncourtly fit in the presence of no less than three princesses, a mayor and the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. "I'm sorry", he mumbled. "I did not mean to loose countenance." Rainbow Dash just nodded, making a mental note to ask Twilight what exactly 'countenance' meant later on. Frank Blanket however didn't quite manage to regain it, as much as he was trying to put on a dignified face again. He was trembling slightly and finally covered his face with his hooves. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I cannot be of any more help. I believe I have said everything that I can say... I am not feeling very well anymore. I know no more. Not anymore. I'm just so... wiped out." Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both gave Frank Blanket scrutinizing looks for some moments before at last Celestia nodded.
"It's alright", she said. "It has been a long day for everypony here. And every dragon", she added with a nod at Spike who appeared to be in an intense struggle with his eyelids. "It may be best if those of us retire whose time it is to do so." "Uhm... Your Highnesses, I beg your pardon", Mayor Mare piped up, looking rather uncomfortable. "I heard and understood enough to address the citizens of Ponyville tomorrow. Because of what I heard, I am thoroughly convinced of the innocence of Mr. Blanket in the crimes he stood accused of. I'm bound to my obligations to the law and to the fact that our judge, unaware of course of what happened since and what we heard here, ruled that he was to be sent to Canterlot for further inquiries. I beg you to give further instructions on the status of Mr. Blanket." There were some baffled looks from some of the ponies present and it was quite obvious that Mayor Mare felt awkward about her office necessitating her to clarify the status of the colt who, though the mayor had carefully avoided alluding to this fact, was technically an escapee.
However awkward, it appeared that Princess Luna appreciated the mayor's old school conscientiousness and with an official tone she declared: "By my royal authority I instruct thee to release Mr. Blanket from custody and consign any further possible investigations to me. I further declare my royal pardon for any trespasses he may have committed in this, my night, in the efforts to persecute the attacker guilty of the crimes he himself was accused of." "Please...", Frank protested weakly. "...I don't mean to be cleared by a pardon, but by everypony understanding that I didn't do anything to require a pardon." "This is my royal order!" Princess Luna stated in a firm no-nonsense tone. "And you will accept it!" Frank nodded with nothing else he could do. "I will make sure ponies will understand that you weren't the culprit", Mayor Mare reassured Frank quietly. The colt nodded and reached for his neck with one hoof, groping there for something before he looked down and groaned. "The ring is gone", he mumbled. "I beg your pardon?" Mayor Mare asked confused. "The magic suppressor ring I had to wear around my neck. I must have lost it at some point tonight." "We can make do without it, I guess... in case it doesn't turn up again", Mayor Mare sighed. Frank nodded curtly and muttered a quiet "Thank you."
He then took a little bow towards Twilight and said: "I should get my tent from the library then." "Your tent?" Rarity echoed disbelievingly. "Are you out of your mind?" Applejack said. "You cannot seriously mean to set up a tent in this weather!" As if to underline her words, there was a flash of lightning outside and a few moments later a loud rolling thunder drowned out the persistent pattering of the rain. Frank cut a rather stoic face.
"Mr. Blanket...", Mayor Mare said hastily. "If you want to, you are welcome to spend the night up in the storeroom. No reason anymore to think of it as a jail or whatever else." Franks face softened a little. "Yes, thank you. I appreciate that a lot." He gave a little nod in every direction and looked at Princess Luna and Princess Celestia as if to make sure that they had no objections against him taking his leave, but when Princess Celestia herself got up, so did he, shuffled to the stairs and began to stagger up.
"Captain Crescent", Princess Luna said after a few moments. "Your Highness?" the captain of the guard sprang to attention. "I want you to fly to the castle in the forest. Take along whom you want and seize the stolen money from the castle library so it can be returned to the rightful owner. Afterwards I want you to help the other guards in rounding up what precarious creatures are roaming the surroundings of the forest. I shall be joining them soon." The captain of the guard took a snappy salute and with a swirl of dark cloth and metal he made for the door and took off as soon as he left the town hall.
Mayor Mare too took her leave now and Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy also bid farewell. Fluttershy invited Zecora to spend the night at her cottage, an offer which the zebra gladly accepted as it spared her a dangerous night walk through pouring rain and a forest even more restless after the fire than it would have been in a regular night. When at last only the three princesses were still there, Celestia nodded at the book and the scribbled pieces of paper still lying on the table. "My dear Twilight, I believe these should be brought to the Royal Library in Canterlot and I am going to study them closely for any further information they may hold. But I believe that you should study them first. Please send them to me as you see fit."
From somewhere, Celestia produced a weatherproof looking pouch into which she levitated the book and the sheets of paper. As she accepted the pouch, Twilight was wondering if Celestia's might went so far as to produce items such as this pouch from thin air by means of her magic or if she had just summoned an already existing pouch. She felt too tired to ask about it now and she envied Spike a little who had fallen asleep by now and was snoring audibly on her back.
As the three princesses stepped out onto the porch of the town hall, Twilight cast a gloomy look back at the stairs leading up to the storeroom. Celestia and Luna both stopped and gave Twilight questioning looks, but it was Twilight herself to turn to Celestia with a question:
"Did you know about Mr. Blanket when you suggested to him to go to Ponyville? That he doesn't have a real home, I mean. That he has so little and yet still seems so, so... okay with that?" "Did I know?" Princess Celestia repeated musingly as if uncertain. "I think I guessed that there was something different beyond the display of etiquette he put up in Canterlot and I was really reminded of you by the sheer enthusiasm he displayed while searching through the library. I was already thinking about whether or not I should ask you if you would be interested in helping him with his research when Luna came and suggested just that." "His research...", Twilight thought. After everything that had happened she felt like she had almost forgotten why Frank had come to Ponyville in the first place. "I'm feeling bad for him", she said sadly. "I think tonight the attacker destroyed much of what little he had. And just because he happened to be there to be dragged into all this by her. Was he even serious when he just suggested to put up his tent in this weather?"
Twilight made a gesture encompassing the whole dark cloudy night sky from which the rain was still pouring. She cast a rather useful little umbrella spell as she stepped from the porch and began to walk in the direction of Golden Oak Library. Celestia and Luna joined her and for a moment Twilight curled her lips at the idea of the unlikely scene of the Princess of the Sun, the Princess of the Night and the Princess of... whatever she was the princess of tramping through the forsaken alleys of nightly Ponyville through torrential rainfall.
"He would have set up his tent", Princess Luna said matter of factly. "But he was glad he didn't have to." Twilight gave her a surprised look. "One can see more about a pony if not too dazzled by the light", Luna said sententiously. Celestia raised an eyebrow, giving a taunting look which Twilight was sure she didn't often display. "I'm sure being able to visit that pony's dreams also helps, my dear sister", she quipped.
Luna ignored the quip as she said very seriously: "He didn't tell us everything." "He did not?" Twilight asked surprised. "No, he didn't", Princess Luna confirmed while calmly walking on and ignoring the questioning looks of both, her sister and Twilight. "You know?" Celestia asked. "I do." "But you are not going to tell us?" "No, I won't." "But you will if it is important for us to know?" "Of course." "Very well."
Twilight had followed this court exchange between the royal sisters with great confusion that showed so much on her face that Luna condescended to explain: "I happen to have a fair idea of what it is that Mr. Blanket didn't tell tonight. But I don't believe I am entitled to tell you at this point. Maybe Mr. Blanket will do so himself and perhaps it will never be important for you to know." Twilight swallowed an annoyed response that she was sure wouldn't have made Luna any less secretive. They trudged in silence for some time when suddenly Twilight remembered something else she wanted to ask.
"When I was talking with the attacker back there in the clearing, she said something very strange." "What was that, Twilight?" Celestia asked. "When she had given her riddle talk about her name, it occurred to me that a vortex that she said her name was could also be a swirl." Twilight blushed a little, but in the darkness of the night it was barely noticeable. "And with all the power she had shown before I was wondering if it was anyhow related to Star Swirl the Bearded... perhaps even if she could be him."
For her relief neither of the two princesses ridiculed her for the absurd thought and Celestia was quite serious when she said: "Star Swirl the Bearded has passed on a long time ago." "I know", Twilight said. "But that is not all. After I said his name she was laughing and asked something like if I was talking of the one who had unleashed changelings upon the world."
"Unleashed changelings upon the world? Star Swirl the Bearded?" Celestia shook her head. "Star Swirl was a very responsible magician. Quirky at times, but a good pony all through and very conscious about the effects of his magic and therefore cautious about anything that he felt could accidentally pose a risk to his fellow ponies." Twilight nodded. It was kind of comforting to hear this about the pony who she idolized like nopony else, except for Celestia. "So what she said was nothing but humbug? Just her trying to confuse me?" Celestia didn't respond as they all plodded on.
"Your Highness?" Twilight asked after some steps, sounding almost a little desperate. "My dear Twilight, I wish I could tell you this for absolute certain. I am certain that Star Swirl was a pony and magician of absolute integrity who would have never 'unleashed changelings upon the world' by any intention or accident that he was aware of. But what we were told today goes to show how much we haven't been aware of. Never have I heard of a Dr. Adus Noceo Quircs or of most of what Mr. Blanket told us about his studies. I cannot exclude the possibility that Star Swirl too may not have known something that this attacker may have been referring to. I would not be honest if I claimed to know for certain what I don't. Up to now, I was unaware that there may be another one like Chrysalis."
"Luna!" Twilight pleaded. "Whatever you are not telling us doesn't have anything to do with this, does it?" The Princess of the Night shook her head. "If it was important for you to know now, I would let you know." She took a deep breath and looking at Celestia and Twilight in turn she said: "Sister, Twilight, when I ordered the release of Mr. Blanket and declared royal pardon for whatever trespasses he may have committed tonight, I also instructed for further possible investigations to be consigned to me. I promise I shall conduct them very seriously."
By now the large oak tree of the library had come in sight and Luna cast a look up to the sky. "I will not linger anymore. The guards are to drive the creatures of the forest back into Everfree and I should be with them." Luna spread her wings. "Shall I join you, Luna?" Celestia asked. Luna gave her sister a warm smile. "Thank you, Tia, for asking. But even you need to rest and the guards and I can handle this. The night is mine to guard." With that, Luna took to the air and flapped away as another flash of lightning illuminated the sky. Celestia and Twilight were looking after her until the rolling thunder sounded through the night.
"I need to talk to her", Twilight said more to herself than to Celestia. "Twilight?" "Queen Chrysalis, I mean. She is still locked up in her castle." "Which is where she must remain", Princess Celestia said firmly. "It is a great relief to know that she at least is under lock, key and spell with the prospect of another one like her around." "Of course", Twilight agreed. "But if there is anyone we know who must know more about all this, it will be her. For all we know, she may be behind it all and know the ends Frank does not remember." Celestia nodded. "I am going to seek her out as soon as possible and see what information I can acquire from her."
"But Your Highness...", Twilight gave her a look which Celestia knew and had come to dread. She had often been subjected to this look of pleading, disappointment, and a sense of not living up to expectations from her most faithful student. Princess Celestia, one of the most powerful beings in all of Equestria, was utterly powerless against this look which she referred to just as 'the eyes thing' in her mind. "...do you believe that I cannot do this?" Apparently Twilight's dismay was so strong that she forgot to maintain her umbrella spell and thick raindrops were pattering down on her even though she didn't seem to notice at all. Princess Celestia discretely expanded the omnipresent field of magic surrounding her and protecting her from the rain whenever she wanted so it now included Twilight and the still sleeping Spike. "My dear Twilight, I have all confidence in you. But this is Queen Chrysalis we are talking about. She will not simply give away anything if it isn't in her interest. Even locked up she remains one of the most dangerous enemies of the good ponies of Equestria. She is sneaky and knows how to deceive—"
"Like when she deceived you while I saw through her?" Twilight blurted out. The next moment she froze in motion and her eyes widened in shock as if Queen Chrysalis herself had suddenly appeared in front of her. Never ever had she been so presumptuous, least of all towards Princess Celestia. "Your Highness...", she stuttered, "...I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..." "If the horseshoe fits, wear it!" Celestia said in a meek tone that upset Twilight more than a stern rebuke would have. Twilight cast her eyes down and drooped. "Celestia, that was really not what I meant to say. I am very sorry. I shouldn't—" The high princess of Equestria silenced her by gently putting one of her hooves on Twilight's mouth. The hoof was unsoiled by the mud of the rain-sodden way as if it had just been polished. Princess Celestia then put the hoof under Twilight's chin and carefully raised her head until their looks met again.
"My dear, dear Twilight, you are right about this. Perhaps I really needed a reminder that it was you who actually captured Chrysalis in the first place." Twilight blushed a little. "It is just that... with all this being a princess and all I think I need to do something and not just... continue as usual." Celestia nodded slightly. "I understand. But please don't think that I didn't trust you to be able to handle her." Suddenly the face of the high princess took on a very grave, even sad, expression. "Your Highness?" Twilight asked cautiously after some moments had passed.
"Perhaps I'm just worried. Maybe too worried, but still..." Celestia took a deep breath and her face straightened again. "It is just that being able to do doesn't mean one cannot fail at the attempt. Often our failures teach us important lessons, Twilight. But when it comes to dealing with enemies like Chrysalis, a failure can be very dangerous and not as correctable as many other mistakes. And you facing off that unknown enemy in the forest on your own... I think it worried me more than I allowed to show in front of everypony when you told about it in the town hall. I know you are strong and very capable, Twilight, and I will not be in your way in assuming your new role as a princess."
Celestia sighed and appeared to be pondering about her next words for a moment before she continued: "You are a kind and gentle pony, Twilight. These are high qualities to go along with your curiosity and keen mind. As a princess however, there are also times when one must be ready to ignore these important qualities. Sometimes a ruler has to make decisions between two evils and can only hope to pick the lesser one. Dealing with a fiend like Chrysalis is often a cause that can force us into just that kind of decisions. Perhaps it is the most difficult thing to learn for a ruler; to maintain and embrace your friendliness but not allow for it to be exploited. Please remember this when you visit Chrysalis, Twilight! Be careful and don't underestimate her because of her earlier defeat!" Twilight nodded. She didn't allow for the happiness about Celestia's change of mind about her visit to Chrysalis show on her face, but she felt she had been given not just the chance to do something important, but especially the possibility to further pursue all the questions that, for her greatest frustration, had remained unanswered so far.
There was another flash of lightning followed by a rolling thunder that made the sleeping Spike shift uncomfortably on Twilight's back. Princess Celestia cast a look up to the dark clouds. "I am worried, Twilight. I'm far from the omniscience which some ponies like to ascribe to me, but I apprehend that what we learned today is but a fraction of the whole picture, maybe just the beginning of a long chain of events. I feel like things are set in motion towards ends I cannot even guess." Twilight opened and closed her mouth several times without saying anything. What was there to say in response to the high princess' premonitions?
The Princess of the Sun turned her head, looked back at Twilight again and gave her a smile from which, even in the darkness and desolation of a night in pouring rain, all the light and warmth of her sun seemed to eradiate. And yet there was a slightly melancholic streak about this smile, which nopony would have even noticed who didn't know Princess Celestia as well as Twilight did. "I'm just hoping that you won't be too soon forced into the kind of decisions that I mentioned." Suddenly Princess Celestia unfolded one of her large wings and wrapped it around Twilight's head as if to shield and to embrace her at the same time.
"Twilight, I know it is a challenge for you to get accustomed to your new role as a princess and that you want to live up to your own expectations as well as to those which you believe to be mine. I have been wandering through this world long enough to have seen many great ponies come and pass and sometimes fail. Some would perhaps expect that after thousands of years the ponies of so much lesser a lifespan would cease to matter in the minds of so long lived alicorns; that we might cease to care. But it is because I do care that I can think of myself as a good ruler. Yet at the same time this care is also our greatest burden to carry. You got all the care and friendliness that one could ever hope for from a princess and I have no doubts whatsoever in your ability to be a good ruler over other ponies. It is your ability to rule your own goodness when necessary without suppressing it that worries me. My dear, dear Twilight, your getting accustomed to your new role as a princess is a challenge to you... but not to you alone."
Twilight was looking up to Celestia wide-eyed and still trying to think of something to say. "But Princess Celestia... I don't understand. Was it not you who made me a princess in the first place? Don't you... you know, foresee things like you did with Luna's return?" Celestia shook her head. "No, Twilight. I always anticipated that you might be a princess and through your own actions you have proven yourself worthy. There were and there are signs that sometimes allow us to make very good guesses about what will be. However, other forces are at work in this world and in our destinies than just those who control the order of sun and moon or even chaos. After thousands of years of study it still seems like only a few words from a large book could be deciphered that would tell us about which destinies determine ponies actions to turn them into princesses or pawns into heroes or villains. Perhaps Mr. Blanket may be onto something to decipher a few more letters in that large unknown book."
They both stood in silence for some moments before Celestia released Twilight from her wing's embrace and said: "Luna is right. I should retire and get some rest, and so should you." Twilight nodded. "And have your injuries checked tomorrow, Twilight, to see that everything is okay or else...", the Princess of the Sun gave an almost sheepish smile, "...I will make sure that Spike and your friends won't stop pestering you about it." "I promise", Twilight said with a chuckle that felt incredibly relieving after this talk.
Celestia spread her wings and soared up. One bright light amidst the dark clouds, like a shooting star or a never ceasing heat lightning, outshining the real lightnings that were flashing up time and again. She left behind a Twilight still so absorbed in processing what the high princess had told her that she didn't even notice getting soaked by the rain now that Celestia's protection was gone. It didn't take long however for Spike to give some grumbling protest and mumbling: "What's wrong? Did I miss something?" "No, Spike", Twilight said, renewing her umbrella spell. "Sleep on! We will be back home soon." And with that she plodded the last steps on the muddy path to Golden Oak Library.
Frank Blanket felt tired, sick, battered and a little dizzy as he staggered up the final steps to the storeroom. The day had taken its toll and he was more relieved than he would admit even to himself that the offer of the mayor had spared him the need to set up his tent somewhere in the mud and under the torrential rainfall. As he entered the room through the broken trap door however, he shivered a little and cast a nervous look around. He was not a hero and had always been prone to avoid rather than encounter dangerous situations. Tonight he had had no choice at first and later on he had not thought at all about whether or not he had any. But now, even with the benefit of the hindsight of having survived, the room gave him the creeps. He should have died here and still couldn't explain how so many times the spells of the attacker had missed him. There was a whistling sound of wind from the small hole in the roof and the shattered window through which the attacker and Twilight had left. Near the window, the constantly pattering rain had formed a puddle and time and again the pattering and whistling was drowned out by the sound of rolling thunder. Pulling himself together, Frank walked over to the couch on which he had spend the last night and behind which he had taken cover from the first blasts of the attack.
The couch was a mess. Its back had been shattered, the cushioning was scorched and shredded, downs were scattered all around it and the occasional gusts of wind from the broken window had driven some of the downs to every part of the room. In spite of these gusts, a smell of burning still lingered in the air and some pointed pieces of broken wood protruding from the shambles that had used to be a couch convinced Frank that he would not find any rest on it. Tired as he was, he still felt he wouldn't fall asleep right at the site of his near murder anyway. Perhaps his best option now was to see if any of his second set of clothing had survived the scorching of his saddle-bag sufficiently to serve as some makeshift cushioning and then lie down on the floor one stair down. While at it, he could also check out exactly what was left of his possessions and maybe get some idea of just how to continue tomorrow.
The remains of the bags didn't look any better than the remains of the couch. Wooden parts of its framework had broken and pierced the torn sailcloth. The two lids forming the desktop and its prop had both cracked and several of the hinges were broken and twisted. The attacker's spell had hit the bag whose lid formed the desktop and it had suffered most from the fire, but even though the other bag had gotten away with minor scorch marks, the bag as a whole was destroyed beyond repair. Frank decided to take a look at the unburnt of the two bags first, hoping to find more that he still had rather than what he had lost. Some of the contents had slipped partly or completely out of the torn back. There lay the portfolio with his certificates and credentials from the academy. It was a little bent and got some soot specks on it, but nothing really bad. The jute back was there, with the remains of what at one time had been Fillydelphia soft pretzels, and also his money bag with his coinage and the stone. The few books he had had in this bag were tattered but otherwise okay. Very carefully Frank picked up the book The tales of the merry adventures of Robing Hooves, bent the buckled cover back in shape as good as he could and shoved several loose pages back in place. He ran one hoof along the edges of the cover, closed his eyes for a moment and pressed the book against his chest, almost as if giving it a hug before he placed it carefully to the other items he had salvaged. His second set of clothing was there and whatever minor tears or specs it might have suffered, it was too dark to recognize this clearly, they would certainly suffice for some improvised cushioning. As he dragged the second wraparound from the bag, something fell from it and hit the ground with a tinny sound. It was his harmonica with its holder. Both looked very dented, but when Frank put on the holder and gave it a try, he found that however dented it looked, the harmonica still sounded the same as before.
With nothing left in the better shaped of the two bags, Frank hesitantly turned towards the one that had suffered the brunt of the attacker's spell and that had apparently reignited after he had left. Ashes and few shreds of paper were most of what had remained of the books he had carried in the bag. Moreover, what little shreds of intact paper remained, were for the most part blotted. Not one of the ink bottles in the bag had remained intact. To depict various cutie marks, Frank's stationeries had included an assortment of different colored inks and as he dragged forth whatever he could get hold of from the remains of that bag, his hooves and lower forelegs took on a pattern that looked like a very messy, sooty and smudged mockery of Rainbow Dash's mane. All the books in there had been related to his studies, some had been rather expensive and some had included what little helpful information on cutie mark matters had already been published, but not one of these books had remained in any readable state. Of his own writings and long work, Frank didn't even find a single identifiable page, not even some piece of cardboard from any of the folders in which he had filed them. It was all just gone like it had never existed at all. He rummaged in every corner of the broken back but all he got was ink, soot and dust.
He had seen the bag and feared that some of his work had been destroyed, but up to this point Frank had clung to the hope that his extinguishing the flames with his own body had saved most, or at least part of it. He had not been prepared for the loss of all of it. The realization sunk in heavily and it felt like a relentless grip was squeezing his chest. The question what to do tomorrow and how to continue at all became even more pressing. Maybe he would have had another fit, like the very one through which he had stumbled across the book of Doctor Quircs, but for his sheer exhaustion and his wish not to stumble across anything like that book again.
He just sat down, stared at the remains of his bag, felt numb, listened to the pattering of the rain and occasional thundering and finally put the dented harmonica in his mouth to play some kind of melody without paying any actual attention to what he was playing. He couldn't tell how long he had sat there and just played something without paying any attention to it until he finally stopped but still continued to just stare at his bag. But suddenly he pricked up his ears. There was a change. At first he had thought that it was just the silence after he had stopped playing the harmonica, but this silence was deeper. He could still see the rain coming down outside the broken window, he saw a flash of lightning and he was certain he should have heard some sound of whistling wind, but the silence was absolute, with not a single raindrop's splash being audible. Also there seemed to be a kind of iridescence between him and the world outside the window.
Frank Blanket jumped up and whirled around. A silent flash of lightning outside illuminated the room for a short moment and on the opposite end of the room Frank spotted a tall figure. He was wearing an elegant looking black suit and white shirt along with a tie that more than the rest of the exquisite clothing seemed to match the wearer's nature as it was constantly changing its colors and patterns. He wore spectacles of two different colors which too were in a constant, gradual change of color and transparency. He was whiffing a calabash pipe and its strangely luminescent smoke seemed to form a variety of figures and shapes around the smoker that dissolved the moment Frank's eyes fixed upon them to figure out what they were. An intensive smell of cinnamon and cookies was filling the room. On the his head the smoker wore a headgear that looked rather shabby compared to the rest of his attire. A kind of bowler hat with a wide rim so twisted that it seemed to expand the ears of the wearer.
"You...?" Frank Blanket gasped, not really knowing what to say while a flood of realizations struck him. For a brief instant his eyes flickered to the broken trap door but he called himself to order. He didn't know the schemes of his visitor, but he was well aware that he would not leave this room without his consent. Overplaying his uncertainty as much as he could, Frank put on a straight face and asked: "Dr. Adus Noceo Quircs, I presume?" "Draconequus Discord. One should think some of those 'Daring Do and the secret scripture' fans would have figured that one out, but perhaps I am less predictable than you claimed last time we met?"
Discord gave a very broad and toothy grin and Frank couldn't help falling a step back from him. The draconequus blew into the pipe and from its bowl an orange glow, like an oversized ember, rose and zoomed to the center of the room where it remained suspended in the air near the broken spiral stair. Like a hoovering campfire with flames licking in every direction, the glow from Discord's pipe filled the room with a flickering light. Frank stared at this uncommon light source as if he expected it to explode any moment.
"Now don't look like that", Discord said. "If I wanted to see Ponyville Town Hall burned to the ground, all I would have had to do was nothing at all. You sure left a number of glowing embers and sparks when you ran off so hastily and while I don't want to polish my own halo...", he reached up for a halo that had just appeared above his head and started polishing it with a flowered handkerchief before it dissolved into a ring of green smoke, "...I daresay we wouldn't be talking in this room had I not taken it upon me to do some snuffing out after you left to... well do some other snuffing out I suppose?"
Frank swallowed. His mind was racing. He remembered his own earlier astonishment about the fact that the town hall hadn't caught fire and he remembered the many other strange and improbable coincidences of this night. No doubt, Discord had the answers to many of the open questions, but Frank didn't know what to make of this whole situation. Very cautiously he took a few steps towards the suspended fire from which a warmth like that of a chimney eradiated. "Discord... Dr. Quircs... however I should call you..." "My liege is good." "I think not..." Discord snorted: "I bet my hat you would be the type to 'Princess' Twilight all the time until royally ordered to stop it and then still feeling awkward about it, but when there is the chance to actually play the courtier with the consent of the one fawned over, you don't want to fawn." "That hat you would bet... it looks familiar", Frank switched the topic. "Doesn't it? The things ponies are loosing these days. Can you imagine I found this just lying around in Everfree Forest?"
Frank sighed. Perhaps he would have taken some pleasure from this kind of banter under different circumstances, but he still felt drained, numbed and with trying to offer a bold front to the spirit of chaos he had mustered whatever spirit of his own he had still had. "So, with you being Dr. Quircs, what part did you play in all this? Why have you come here? What have you done? What do you want?" "So many questions. How about taking turns? Each question I answer obliges you to answer one of mine." "You want to ask me questions?" Frank was more than a little surprised at this. "I do. And since you already asked and I answered, I take it that you are accepting my suggestion. So my turn it is now." Frank was taken by surprise and some voice in his mind told him not to let himself be engaged in this, but another voice told him that more likely than not there wasn't much that he could conceal from the master of chaos anyway whether he agreed to this game of questions and answers or not, while on the other hoof he could barely hope for a better chance to get some of the answers he was looking for. He nodded silently.
"What have you got in your pocket?" Discord asked with his eyes fixed on the pocket of Frank's shirt. From his own pocket, Discord produced a ring on a chain and let it dangle from his clawed hand. Frank recognized the magic suppressor ring which he had lost, but at the moment he was too much taken by surprise about Discord's question to mind that ring. He was quite certain that Discord knew exactly what he had in his pocket and that no pretenses or denying would help him. But just how much did Discord know and had he been observer or originator of the recent events? Frank was frantically thinking about what to say and what to ask while he resigned to the inescapable and drew the torn book page out of his pocket. Discord flicked disapprovingly and Frank couldn't tell if his disapproval was in mockery or seriously. "Now, now, what would Princess Twilight say if she knew you are a biblioclast?" "I honestly don't know for certain what she would say if she knew all about this, that's all the answer I can give there. But I am not! Not a biblioclast, I mean; not usually... it is better to keep this away. It wouldn't do any good."
Discord uttered a jeering and bleating laughter. "Wouldn't do any good to whom I wonder? Are you the kind of pony who thinks the ends justify the means; especially with the ends being so much about self protection?" "I am not! Not that kind of pony, not with all ends at least and certainly not with all means..." Frank Blanket was quivering a little and he couldn't tell if it was for fear, suppressed anger or for being just overcharged with everything that had happened and that was happening still. But in spite of everything, the confrontation with Discord had torn him from the previous exhaustion.
"Self protection... I admit it's part of it, but it's also for their good. Princess Twilight, the bearers of the Elements, anypony here... they are too good for this. They shouldn't have to resort to..." Frank stopped as if a sudden realization had struck him and his expression became very conscious-smitten, "...to that kind of means." Frank sniffed quietly and suddenly he barked at Discord: "Give me my hat! It's not yours to bet with!" Discord looked a little taken aback at this sudden outburst and one more familiar with him than Frank Blanket might have been able to read from Discord's expression that he was perhaps considering whether he should transform the loudmouthed colt into a drum set or something along those lines. For some reason however, he reached up with his lionpaw, took off the hat and threw it towards Frank, making it fly like a frisbee which the twisted and asymmetric shape of the hat should have made physically impossible.
Frank dropped the page he had been holding, caught the hat, put it on and pulled the brim low, as if to shield his face from Discord's eyes. "You're welcome", the draconequus growled crabbily while he also levitated the magic suppressor ring into the pocket of Frank's shirt. "So because you think you protect them from 'the means' you won't let anypony know about the crucial bit of information I penned you onto that page?" Discord asked and it was difficult to tell if he was mocking Frank or not. The colt in any case remained calm now. "Princess Luna knows... I think."
"And you think that the highness who has fallen to 'the means' before is to be trusted with this information but none of the others who have not?" Frank didn't answer right away, he clenched his teeth and glimpsed down at a passage of the page that was lying in front of his hooves. He finally picked it up and held it as far from himself as he could, as if disgusted by the lines he was reading once again:
There is however something that switchlings take rather ill. Given their own unkind disposition, their weak point seems as unlikely as it seems sensible due to the fact that their bane constitutes the opposite of love, their main source of strength and power. Hatred, anger, wrath and rage prove formidably baleful for their kind. If they try to overtake a being meeting them with these sentiments, it will have an effect so draining on their strength, power and vitality that it comes down to ends similar to a pony emptying a cup of poison. But, to stick with that image, it is the dose that makes the poison and the simple justified anger of someone trying to fend off an attack will not suffice to harm a switchling. To fend off or even knock off a switchling, it takes a deep rooted kind of these sentiments, based not just on a fleeting fit of temper and intense enough to possibly prove poison even for the one exerting it, as lately demonstrated by the no longer mover but inhabitant of the moon.
Frank stuffed the page back into his pocket. "And what, I wonder, would Twilight Sparkle and the others think if they learn that the pony they put so much confidence in is capable of such poisonous feelings? Not at all in line with their friendship is magic kind of world outlook, is it?" Discord pouted tauntingly. "I don't want to be that way. I avoid it much as I can." Frank took a deep breath. "After I read that page, and when everything got out of hoof and the princess was in danger and with all the anger about… anyway, I did what had to be done." Discord eyed Frank while he puffed some indeterminable shapes out of his pipe. "Did he, I wonder...", Discord mumbled apparently more to himself than to Frank. "What's that?" Discord just shook his head absentmindedly.
"It's my turn to ask questions now! Don't think that I haven't been counting yours! You owe me some answers!" Discord slowly took off the ever color changing spectacles and cast them carelessly over his shoulder. Rather than falling to the floor, the spectacles sprouted a pair of wings and after flapping around in some circles, they made for the broken window and disappeared into the darkness of the night. Frank forced himself not to be distracted but kept his eyes fixed on Discord. "Did Fluttershy tell you about that stare of hers? Your look looks rather similar now… but don't answer, I don't want to owe you yet another answer. Go ahead, ask away!" "Why have you come here now at all?"
Discord struck his goatbeard with his clawed hand, tilted his head first in one, then in the other direction and finally said: "Perhaps to make you an offer that you might find interesting." "An offer?" Frank asked perplexed. "What kind of offer could that be?" "What if I told you that I know much of what made you a suitable receiver of that page which you feel others should not receive? I know where your anger is coming from and unlike you yourself, I am quite capable of putting you in a position to right these wrongs." Frank was looking at Discord, trying not to let any inkling of his thoughts find its way onto his face. "What if I asked you to call me 'my liege', regard me as such and that for it I could ensure that many more will be calling you so, or call you whatever else you prefer to be called. You could then have the means to right the wrongs and not a princess of sun or moon or anything else would be able to keep you from it. What if I promised as your liege, I would not in any way interfere with your own work in righting them while you yourself could be seated on the high throne in Canterlot if this be your wish."
"Get away!" Frank said. He hadn't raised his voice and there was no anger in it, just something that sounded like pure, stunned horror. "What if I told you…", Discord continued, his eyes narrowing, "...that if you didn't accept the offer, I will let every Princess know immediately about your covering up and about what a dangerously hateful pony you are? What… and where do you think you are going?" Frank had abruptly turned away and with quick steps he made for the broken trapdoor. "I'm not listening to this any longer!" he hissed. But as he tried to step through the trapdoor, he found that the sound barrier Discord had cast around the room held in more than just sounds. He was trapped inside its sphere as if it was made of stone or metal. Frank cast his head around, his eyes glaring fiercely. "Do what you must! You will not blackmail me into submission! Let me out and I will tell Twilight everything! Take me out or do your worst, I will not be a tool of your schemes!"
Suddenly, Frank lost the ground under his hooves and found himself suspended in the air and zooming towards Discord until there was barely a pony's length between them. Discord had taken the pipe out of his mouth and was eying Frank menacingly. "Are you sure this is what you would be saying?" Frank was twitching and trembling, but there was no way out of the suspension imposed upon him by Discord's magical grip. At last he seemed to resign, slackened and closed his eyes and felt how he was lowered to the ground where he crouched down. "No change of mind?" Discord insisted. Apparently Frank wanted to say something, but his voice was cracking up and all he got out was some indiscernible stammering, before shook his head fiercely and breathed something that sounded like: "Finish!" Whatever drive had allowed Frank to take his stand now seemed to be spent as he huddled together.
"Bravo!" Discord's put the pipe back between his teeth and clapped his lionpaw and the taloned hand together, producing a clapping sound that the unlike pair of hands should have been unable to produce. "What?" snapped Frank, his anger returning suddenly and fiercely. "Will you mock me now?" "You are kind of asking for it", Discord grumbled. "But in fact I am not mocking you at all… not now at least. I was merely applauding a test passed." "A test?" Frank repeated bleakly. "Knowing about your disposition and having a fair idea of some of its origins, I had to figure out where you stand, protector of the realm of Equestria that I am." "Protector… you?" Frank's voice was the oddest imaginable combination of incredulous bewilderment and fit of rage in the making. "You just suggested a coup d'état against Princess Celestia and you dare styling yourself protector of anything?" "I did not", Discord said calmly. "You did too!" shouted Frank. "Now, now, just because I know about your secret and your anger is no reason for you to abandon those manners of yours which I praised when we met at dear Fluttershy's home and get so loud instead", Discord said in a provokingly rebuking voice. "You suggested just that! For me to call you 'my liege' and be seated on—" Frank said through clenched teeth, but Discord interrupted him. "I see that this has been a rather unusual and tiring day for you", he said and it was impossible to tell whether or not his understanding was honest. "Perhaps that is why a pony so capable of remembering what exactly somebody says fails to make the distinction between a suggestion and a hypothesis."
"I asked you why you had come! And you said…" Frank stopped mid-sentence and suddenly there was an expression of realization on his face. "Perhaps, is what I said...", Discord said with smirk, "...and what ifs all along. But given the fact that I actually meant to put you to the test, I will be fair enough not to hold it against you that you would think of me as so malicious a backstabber and given the test results, I am even ready to assume that your deep rooted kind of hatred, anger and wrath, strong enough to harm a switchling need not turn you into some kind of backstabber yourself. Will you in turn give me the benefit of the doubt at least until after I answer those questions that you still haven't asked?"
Frank seemed to ponder this for a moment, but finally nodded. He was looking kind of lost however and finally said: "I just don't know where to start. Can you just tell me from the beginning which role you played in the events of the last days?" Discord opened his mouth, but there was no sound and all of a sudden it appeared like he was choking on something. He cleared his throat and said: "There is one last thing I need to make sure about before I can continue. Did you enjoy the party the day before yesterday?" "What? Discord, are you dodging the question again?" a deep furrow appeared on Frank's forehead. "I cannot make you tell me anything, but if you want to turn this into some kind of cat-and-mouse game, just spare me and—" "Do me the favor and never use the image 'cat-and-mouse game' in the presence of Fluttershy. But I am not trying to dodge your questions. In fact, I am bound by a Pinkie promise that I am trying to dodge so I can answer you, but to do that, I need you to answer me. Did you enjoy the party?" "Yes I did. It was a very warm welcoming to be sure." "And nothing I could tell you would ruin this party for you?" After a few moments Frank shook his head. "It was a great time; a great day and nothing in the world can take this joy I already had away from me, not even you, Discord!" Discord rolled his eyes. "A simple 'no' would have been enough, but since my tale cannot ruin the party for you, I am not breaking the Pinkie promise I gave by giving you some insight in my point of view of the last days."
Discord engulfed his calabash pipe, chewed on it for a moment and finally produced something that looked like a gum bubble which floated towards the center of the room to come to rest beside the suspended fire. It seemed filled with the figure forming vapors which Frank had noticed before, but inside the bubble they didn't dissolve as Frank looked onto them. Instead the figures became clearer, colorful and finally the bubble reminded Frank of the crystal balls some fortune tellers were supposed to work with, though Frank had never seen any of those before and was rather skeptical about the validity of any such fortune telling. The bubble however depicted scenes from the party two days ago rather than making any predictions of the future.
"Dear Fluttershy was kind enough to permit me to come along to the party, hidden in her mane so my presence wouldn't inconvenience anypony else", Discord explained dryly. "But she is not exactly subtle about concealing something… or someone and so Twilight, the Element of sceptic— of magic I mean, was onto us right away. Chased poor Fluttershy all the way up to the top…", Discord pointed at the broken stair leading up to the cupola, "...and there she had me promise once again not to show myself to anypony or annoy or attack or do anything to anypony or do any magic during the party except for…" Discord pointed at the bubble that illustrated everything he was telling.
"My spectacles…", Frank said as he saw in the bubble how a tiny Discord hidden in Fluttershy's mane changed differently colored glasses back to clear transparency in an alley where Frank had run after his fit of anger about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bullying Scootaloo, "...I thought the magic had just worn off." "Just worn off", Discord snorted. "You really don't think very high of my magic, do you? But what do you ponies know anyway with your limited vision?"
At these words, a new image appeared inside the bubble. Frank saw the crowd of ponies at the party, but between them moved one pony whom he recognized as Filthy Rich only when he took a closer look. Unlike all the other ponies, Filthy Rich's color appeared to be changing, his regular fur color shining through a blackish, fumy blur that seemed to pulse between variable degrees of transparency. Frank remembered of course that Mr. Rich had been controlled by the switchling at the time.
"You knew?" he asked grimly. "You knew but didn't tell Twilight or anypony that there was this monster walking among them?" "And of course you will blame me for it, right?" Discord said. "But you may want to add to your considerations the fact that I, as part of my reformation, imposed some magic upon myself that keeps me from breaking any Pinkie promises I make." Frank remembered Discord's apparent choking when before he tried to tell, before Frank's assurance that nothing Discord said could ruin the party for him. "I had promised not to ruin the party for anypony or impose magic upon anypony. Telling Twilight that some unknown menace— I didn't know at the time what it was, though I could make some competent guesses— was walking among them surely would have put a damper on her party mood. Still I tried to negotiate the point about the use of magic."
There was a slightly muffled sounding version of Discord's voice coming from the bubble: "How very interesting!" The image in the bubble still showed the uncanny figure of Mr. Rich walking between the other ponies. "Be quiet Discord!" a muffled, but sharp sounding whisper of Twilight's voice responded. "You promised!" "Alright, I will not be one to inconvenience you or anypony else on this party... Does that go for anypony who happens not to be a pony too?" Discord's muffled voice asked. "Of course!" Twilight's sharp muffled whisper came from the bubble. "Had our dear Princess been a little more confident about my estimation of appropriate use of magic on pony parties, I daresay it might have spared you all some trouble. Before I could think of some other way to get it into her thick skull that it might be—" "Do not talk of Princess Twilight like that!" Frank said angrily.
"Oh for great Tohobohu's sake! Here I am lying out to you why it was a bad thing that her Highness had me Pinkie promise my possibility to warn her or anypony away and all you got to do is trying to lecture me about what I should and what I shouldn't say? Are you even serious? Here we are, commander of chaos and harbinger of hatred, in an attic among the debris caused, in the end, by her princessiness' unwillingness to give me a chance to handle things, and all you care about is courtly etiquette? Will you just drop that ridiculous mask for a moment and let me continue? By Eris' and her golden apple, I have been exemplary in my patience already!"
The outburst of the draconequus caught Frank by surprise and reduced him to obedient silence while he was trying to figure out the outlandish exclamations as well as trying to swallow himself being titled 'harbinger of hatred' by the 'commander of chaos'. "As I was saying…", Discord continued, "...before I could think of some other way to get it into her Highness' enormously thick skull, that I was kind of out to warn her, her pet dragon reappeared and revealing my presence to anyone but her and Fluttershy was explicitly against the rules of that Pinkie promise. For the rest of the evening I got no chance at all anymore to have an undisturbed word with Twilight. I kept an eye on Filthy blackish there, but since he didn't mess up the party for anypony to the point that I might have considered myself released from that Pinkie promise there was really nothing I could do. At last the party ended and I brought Fluttershy home. When I asked her to come along to your little picnic the next morning she told me 'no', can you imagine that? I even risked some serious discord with Luna when I managed to meddle a little with a dream of Twilight's, but since it seemed the little princess had no need for me either I went where I am going when I'm just utterly fed up with you ponies."
"And you sulked?" Frank asked looking at a sulking Discord head looking at him out of the bubble. Discord growled slightly and poked his tongue at his own image inside the bubble. Discord's image inside the bubble returned a rude grimace. "Oh for… I really need to find better mannered pipes to chew into presentation bubbles!" Discord sighed. "Oh well, perhaps I was sulking for a while. But I was also being a little more informed then about what exactly I had seen walking among you ponies during the party." "You were being informed?" Frank asked, but Discord ignored the inquiry.
"Kindhearted and caring as I am, I came back to Ponyville the next evening to see if everything was alright just to find that everything was a total mess. Chaos and without me even having a hand in it. Not the good kind of funny as Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie would probably put it. You were locked up here, my dear Fluttershy was starting to get worried about ever more of her birds being traumatized, her Highness was going after some crotchety butler, all the while still suspecting me too once she couldn't keep up blaming said butler and I got around just in the nick of time to give her pet owl a subtle magic hind to get home immediately and keep her from falling to that now rather owlish opponent."
"But I don't understand", Frank said. "If you knew, why didn't you just put an end to it there and then? Why didn't you just tell Twilight what was going on?" "Would you have expected me to do that? If so, it may be in improvement with regard to me being so predictable as you claimed two days ago. There was also still that Pinkie promise, I don't know if I could have told Twilight even if I had meant to." "But you didn't mean to? Surely you could have found a way around it just like you did with me." "And why should I have? I got my pride too, you know, and if her Highness doesn't trust me… and if she did… maybe it is a good thing if I don't get her to trust me too much just yet."
Frank seemed about to ask something, but Discord cut him of with a shake of his head and a discarding wave before he could actually say anything. "Besides, should I have deprived the new princess of the chance to do her job? And even her higher Highness Celestia herself is not exactly known to meddle with her subject's affairs unless she is asked to or her intervention is really necessary. In any case I was curious about the hearing, how our princess would perform and also what exactly our inconspicuously intrusive impostor was up to. It was quite a delightful show to see how much effort her Highness… uhm yea, I guess it wasn't quite so delightful for you."
Franks impression had hardened and he was clearly struggling to suppress his anger while the bubble flashed several scenes from the hearing. "To be fair, I think Twilight didn't do too bad, given the fact that she lacked quite a few crucial pieces of the puzzle. So after the hearing was over, I made sure you got your hooves on some of the information that she was missing and also with some helpful hints on what the intruder doesn't handle so well and that you could provide, especially after the hearing." "But how could you know?" Frank asked wearily. "I always try to keep it to me. I got myself under control. I suppose Princess Luna, who can enter the dreams of sleeping ponies may have her means, but you—" "...got means of my own", Discord said flatly. "But with your outburst on the stage and with you kicking about folders up here, you were not exactly as subtle as you may pride yourself to be… perhaps it still could have counted as you just sulking about the hearing."
"Did you always observe me? Just how can you know all you know and how did you learn what you wrote in that book you let me find?" Discord discarded the question with a seemingly impatient wave that let a frown appear on Frank's forehead, but Discord ignored this too and continued: "What I did not know and what I had not foreseen was that of all ponies you happened to lay out all your findings to the one under the switchling's control even though you could have been able to guess this." Frank Blanket cut a defiant face but he stifled an angry response, remembering that he himself had thought of and referred to his revelation to the controlled Featherscribe as foolish. But when he saw something like a green flash inside the bubble he couldn't keep his anger in anymore: "Ponys could have been hurt or even killed, you know? Just because you wouldn't try to tell Twilight. I was very nearly… oh."
Frank fell silent suddenly and a look of utter surprise appeared on his face as a realization struck him. Discord was emphatically inspecting his claws and talons and mockingly pretended to blow some dust from them. "It was you! That's why she didn't hit when she could barely miss me! You deflected her spells!" "Sorry to disillusion you, but yes. She didn't just miss you because it was your lucky day. Done yelling at me?" "I wouldn't have called it a lucky day, but thank you! I guess I'm more obliged to Dr. Quircs than I had realized." "You're welcome", Discord said.
The bubble turned dark and only when in one corner a reddish shine appeared did Frank recognize that the bubble now showed the burning forest. "There wasn't so much left to do for me from there on", Discord said. "Her moony Highness was quite capable to stem the tide from the forest while dear Fluttershy was quite capable to stem her Highness' mooniness." Frank raised one eyebrow. He was pretty sure that the word 'mooniness' was one of Discord's own creations, but he had a good idea of what it was supposed to describe. The words from the book echoed in Frank's mind: '...a deep rooted kind of these sentiments, based not just on a fleeting fit of temper and intense enough to possibly prove poison even for the one exerting it, as lately demonstrated by the no longer mover but inhabitant of the moon.'
"Princess Luna knew", Frank said. "When at the edge of the forest I tried to summarize what a switchling is I didn't have to tell her. And she allowed for herself to stay at the forest's edge and let me go in instead." "If I do not succeed, the less the loss to everypony, if too successful much less the threat. But I can succeed!" Discord recited and it took Frank some moments before he realized that these had been his own words to Luna at the edge of the forest. "You got an air for pompous words, you know that? You ever considered writing dramas or plays?"
It wasn't quite clear if Discord's words had been taunting or if it had been an actual suggestion. Frank in any case appeared strangely frightened at the suggestion. Whatever Discord's intention, he just continued without waiting for any response from Frank: "It seemed the best to me to keep an eye on the newer princess for the time being." For a moment the bubble in the middle of the room took on the appearance of a large and rather eerie looking eyeball, before it turned dark again. "To be fair, I didn't have to intervene as much in the forest as I had to up here. The little princess may be growing with her tasks. Just a few whispered words which she then believed to be a trick of her own mind was all it took to get her on her way and from there on I could remain a silent observer for the rest of the time… oh well, I think at one point her Highness actually heard me snorting, but I guess she put that one off as a trick of her own mind too. In any case there was no need for me to do anything more. And here we are."
"But why didn't you just…?" Frank broke of sighed and shook his head slightly. "I guess it may not be up to us mortals to understand everything immortals do or what they don't or why." "There you go again", Discord said. "Maybe you really want to write that kind of stuff down." Frank gave a dismissive wave with one hoof, shook his head and suddenly all the weariness of before seemed to come back to him. For some reason, talking about the events of the night with all its perils and frights had felt calming, distracting and even almost comforting to Frank, but now it seemed like they had reached the end of it.
Discord however didn't seem to think that this talk had reached its end. "So?" he asked after some moments. "So what?" Frank asked, genuinely uncertain about what the draconequus was asking for. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"
It was just the question Frank had been trying to banish from his mind as much as he could ever since he had realized the complete loss of his work. He turned his head away as if he had found a sudden interest in the broken window behind him. Frank didn't know about tomorrow, he didn't want to think about tomorrow and least of all he wanted to stand whatever taunts the spirit of chaos might have in store for him. "Nothing", Frank said, staring firmly at a large wooden splinter lying on the floor near the broken window. "Nothing at all? That seems like very little to make plans about." Frank just gave Discord a very feeble look. Before he cast his eyes down again and pulled on the brim of his hat as if he was hoping to shield himself from all the world if only he managed to pull his hat deep enough over his face.
"What's there left to make plans about? Many ponies here will think of me as a thief or worse, even if they are told differently. There is nothing left to do for me here. All my work has been destroyed and I… I guess there's nothing to do for me but to go back to where I came from. Go back to Fillydelphia and do… what I can… Please Discord, just don't mock me now! I'm down far enough!" "And what makes you think I wanted to mock you now?" Discord's question sounded so serious and his voice and his expression were so untypically bare of any snide, irony or jeer of any sort that Frank looked up at him in surprise. "Once again not acting predictable?" Discord said with a triumphant tone, but there was no notable malice in this triumph.
"As for the ponies of this town, most of them are headstrong and stubborn, much like Twilight, but you should not put it beyond them to admit if their prejudices turn out wrong. And as for your work, was there nothing exceptional or unusual you experienced or saw today that you might find interesting to study and write about? Even in the very context of your own main field of studies?" Frank didn't have to look at the rather blurry shape that formed in the bubble to understand what Discord was referring to.
"The Tree", he said. Of all the events of this night he had pushed that one into as far a corner of his mind as possible. "Yes", Discord confirmed. "Tonight you have been admitted to the rather exclusive circle of ponies who have actually seen the Tree and who can approach it in spite of its attempts to keep the curious away." "A few old texts I read at the academy referred to a 'Tree of Harmony'. I had always thought that was some kind of old fashioned figure of speech or flowery phrase and so, I think, did everypony else", Frank said. "Word of that tree is not exactly far spread. Not much of a surprise given how few ponies have actually come close enough to see it with none of them having much of an interest to spread the word. But you have seen it, haven't you?" Discord asked.
"The marks on it, Discord, you know what they mean, don't you?" Frank asked with an air of urgency. "Perhaps…", Discord said reluctantly, "…perhaps not. Perhaps I will know and perhaps I won't. I don't know if I do know, if I did or if I will." Frank raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Discord hastily continued: "In any case, you may make something of it if you stay a little longer and pick that quill of yours rather than… whatever you thought you would do back where you came from. You really should continue with those studies you're doing. Perhaps, as time goes on, I might even contribute a snippet or two, if you continue with it?" "What do you mean? And why are you interested in my studies?" Frank asked, eying Discord suspiciously. "Oh, I find they are an interesting read. Did you ever notice you are using words like 'randomized', 'arbitrary', 'coincidentally' and 'unpredictable' quite frequently, referring to quite a lot of things? You know, there is a synonym for all these words you might want to consider: 'Chaotic'."
Ignoring Discord's suggestion and with his frown deepening, Frank asked: "And whenever did you read what I wrote?" At this question Discord gave a slightly mischievous look. "Well, that very fancy quill of yours does more than write without being dipped into an inkwell all the time. If you permit to demonstrate…", Discord clicked with two of his talons without waiting for any permission, the quill zoomed out of Frank's shirt pocked and came to rest in the air in front of Discord. The draconequus reached into the dangling fire and pulled two perfectly unburned sheets of paper out of it. The quill began to frantically scamper across one of the sheets. As he watched, Frank saw how the very lines the quill produced on one sheet appeared on the other as well, making a perfect copy of what turned out to be a rather disrespectful caricature of Princess Celestia. "It kept me updated on what you wrote the morning after the party."
"Fluttershy said you promised the quill wouldn't cause any harm!" Frank said sternly. "And what harm, pray tell me, is there in the quill doing twice the amount of work and me reading something you mean to publish anyway? Do you fear I want to plagiarize your dissertation?" A doctoral cap appeared on Discord's head and a monocle in front of one of his eyes. "Rest assured that it is not my ambition to become a professor at the academy in Fillydelphia. Twilight has her pet dragon doing her mail for her and I got other means."
Frank gritted his teeth to suppress the question whenever he had agreed to become Discord's pen pal. "And as for what you didn't write with this fancy quill…", Discord let the quill and one of the Celestia caricatures zoom towards Frank and both slipped into his shirt pocket, in case of the caricature only after it had folded itself neatly into a fitting size. "…I had some more time to read some of it up here while you and the others were downstairs, figuring out what happened tonight." Discord reached under his suit with his large paw and brought forth several folders, so large that had it not been Discord, there would have been no way to keep them stored invisibly under the suit.
Frank stared at the folders which he knew all too well and which, apart from a few harmless specks of soot, were looking perfectly fine. His look would have befitted a parched pony at the sight of a pond after crossing San Palomino Desert. At the same moment it occurred to him that somewhere far back in a subconscious part of his mind he had been hoping for exactly this from the moment Discord had revealed his role in keeping out the fire in the town hall. He had not allowed for that hope to manifest or even for himself to realize it, lest it be disappointed. For a very brief, fleeting instant there was another surge of anger about the time Discord had kept him in painful unawareness about the fact that his lifework had not been destroyed, but this surge was quenched before it could boil up. Too great was his relief to allow for it to be muddied by any anger about an attitude that was, as he thought with a slight inkling of malice, perfectly expectable coming from Discord. When the draconequus levitated the folders towards Frank, in movements that looked like they were performing the kind of dance of joy he might have performed himself had he been less battered and more awake, all Frank could think of saying was, "Thank you!" But it was as thorough and heartfelt a 'Thank you' as had ever been uttered in Equestria. Discord seemed to realize this, for he allowed himself a little smile and his third "You're welcome" tonight too sounded more thorough than the earlier ones.
"So?" Discord repeated his earlier question and this time Frank didn't have to ask for any clarifications. He took off his hat, placed it on top of the stack of now motionless folders in front of him as if the hat could shield them from any future damage, then he nodded. "I will go on! I will write and I will stay here in Ponyville to find… whatever it is going to be that I will find out." Suddenly however the colt looked uneasy, even a little scared. "You know, don't you?" he asked tentatively. "About what I am going to find, I mean. About cutie marks, about the Tree, about everything? Those 'snippets' you said you might contribute… Do you already know all there is for me to write?" Discord shook his head hesitantly. He didn't seem eager for that turn of the talk, but he didn't try to switch the topic. "My knowing is something entirely different from your knowing if that makes any sense to you. And if it does make any sense, shame on me for being so sensible. But I do not know what it is that you will be writing. I am aware of some things you are not, some of which you might end up figuring out for yourself."
For a few short moments Frank pressed his lips together, then he asked: "Discord, just how exactly do you know what you know that you shouldn't know? How do you learn about whatever 'snippets' you might be providing? How do you know about me and… the anger? How does your knowing work in being so very different from mine?" Discord cut a rather gloomy face. For some reason this sparked Frank's anger again. "You asked more questions than I did and don't you think I didn't notice that you skipped every single question I was asking about where your knowledge is coming from, Discord!"
Discord glared at the bubble for a moment and his look became rather inscrutable. "Alright, if you absolutely insist I will tell you where my knowledge is coming from, but first let me tell you one thing. There are things which the likes of you are not supposed to know or to understand, because it doesn't do any good to you! You yourself decided it was a good idea to keep everypony uninformed about which particular trait of your character made you suitable to take on that switchling, because you claim it to be for their good, because 'they are too good for this'; because 'they shouldn't have to resort to that kind of means'." Discord was using an almost disturbingly accurate imitation of Frank's voice for those words he quoted from what Frank had said before.
"Now rest assured, young pony, that what you want me to tell you would be harder for you to take than your little secret would be for others to take. You would either be lucky enough not to believe me and throw some more of your angry fits because you would think I was lying, or worse even, you would believe me. And trust me when I tell you that it would not make your life any happier, Frank Blanket! You want to learn where my knowledge is coming from, but you do not really want to know this. That being said, I leave the decision to you. Are you absolutely sure you want me to tell you this?"
Frank eyed Discord taken aback. He hadn't seen this reaction coming and a shiver ran down his spine. All of a sudden he felt that his decision now mattered. His curiosity had always been very strong and he felt that he had the chance to get an answer here which few ponies, perhaps even no mortal pony ever, had a chance to get. An answer that perhaps might constitute even a piece in the unknown picture he was trying to figure out in his studies about cutie marks. But at the same time, strange as it sounded, Discord hadn't given him any reason not to trust his words or not to take his warning serious.
There was a flash of lightning outside, its light slightly colored by the magical barrier that still surrounded the room. Frank Blanket closed his eyes and silently shook his head. "There you see!" shouted Discord. "You may fool yourself into believing that you are controlling us, but it is us who are controlling you much more!" "What?" Frank cast his eyes open. For his surprise Discord had apparently not been talking to him at all but was looking towards the ceiling through which the bubble which had previously shown the images of Discord's tale was just disappearing. "Never mind", Discord said, having lost his previous, serious attitude. "I was just being unpredictable."
Frank decided not to mind, but there was still something else he meant to ask, but he was hesitant to do so. There was no way he could ask without it coming across wrong, especially after everything Discord had done. Perhaps there was a roundabout way to turn the talk into that direction. "Discord?" Frank asked tentatively. "Yes?" "Earlier, you said you knew much of what made me a suitable receiver of this page." Frank tapped the pocket into which he had stuffed the page he had torn from the book. "I said what if I knew", Discord corrected. Frank shook his head: "Even so, you knew. You even told later on that you got means of your own to learn this. I don't want to ask you about those means again. Keep that secret to yourself, but with all the what ifs you were still talking about righting wrongs." The doctoral cap on Discord's head twisted into something that looked like a black crown while suddenly an equally black gown appeared around Discord's shoulders.
Frank shrunk back because not only had Discord apparently realized the direction into which he had meant to direct the talk, but he had also taken on an appearance that was pretty much the manifestation of the awful fears because of which Frank had tried to direct it there. "Having second thoughts about that job offer?" Discord asked and Frank felt unable to tell if the draconequus' voice sounded curious, inquisitive, luring, mocking or threatening. "No!" Frank said hastily, shaking his head. "But what you said, were you really just testing me? Or…" He stopped. The question was out as blunt as blunt could be and there was no way to withdraw it.
"You want to know if this here draconequus has any concrete plans of dethroning the princesses and taking over and ruling Equestria?" Feeling that he had maneuvered himself into a corner of no escape and was earning himself a transformation into stone or the like, Frank nodded.
"Been there, done that!" Discord said in a tone as if he was bragging about an accomplishment in a competition. "It is a very overestimated job, I can tell you. And ruling Equestria? You may have noticed that I am not quite so much into ruling and making rules as I am into deruling and derailing rules." Deruling struck Frank as a word that was probably one of Discord's own unruly creations, but given the context he had a fair idea of what the spirit of chaos meant. Discord however hadn't finished yet. His voice suddenly became serious again: "Of course that is exactly what I could tell you if indeed I was out to sit on that throne again and was plotting to achieve it, isn't it?"
It took Frank some moments to realize that Discord was actually waiting for a response to his last question. He nodded. "I'm afraid so." "And here we are", Discord said, giving no sign of surprise or annoyance about Frank's response. "Same as my knowing and not knowing is something you don't understand, my wanting or not wanting is something that you won't understand either. I cannot give you or myself any absolute proof about my plans and intentions. But maybe you want to think about this: The Elements of Harmony by which I was turned to stone twice are away at their tree. Neither Twilight and her friends nor her royal highnesses are wielding or controlling the Elements at the moment. If I really wanted that throne and rule over Equestria, I could have it right now!"
Frank stared at Discord, unable to say anything and not knowing what he would have said anyway. Some moments passed in silence before Discord spoke up again, picking up the thread which Frank had come up with before in the hope of masking his question about Discord's ambitions on ruling Equestria: "And as for righting the wrongs, perhaps being the ruler of Equestria does not put you as much into a position to do so as one might think. Rulers of a realm may see the whole but not all of its pieces. There are places where princesses don't go. Perhaps even princesses may sometimes need a peon to lead them there and show them what escapes their attention." "Did you just call me a peon?" "If the princesses trusts the peon, the peon could perhaps hold up a mirror to them time and again!" "Don't call me peon!" "Perhaps that peon could even convey to a princess some advise at times that the princess would not take from the actual adviser!" Discord said and he appeared increasingly enthusiastic about whatever he had in mind. "This here peon won't be your pawn, Discord!" Frank snapped. "A peon? A pawn? Now, Mr. Blanket, why would you call yourself that?" Discord asked with an expression of exaggerated surprise. "You did—" Frank uttered a frustrated growl, realizing that once again he had walked right into Discord's trap. The draconequus had never actually called him a peon.
"Now I am surprised that you would think of yourself in such low terms, Mr. Blanket, but actually I think it is a really good idea and very kind of you to offer yourself for such service on behalf of the good ponies of Equestria and—" "Cut it out Discord!" Frank shouted. Discord stroke along his goatbeard and looked down at Frank with an amused expression. "Maybe one should just make sure that somepony is around to call you a peon next time some switchling turns up. Is it not funny how that very sentiment you are so carefully concealing and that you fear so much at the same time makes you so fearless when it boils up? Or have I become so much less fearsome?" The black crown on Discord's head turned into a cap and bells and the black gown into a colorful jester's costume before both began to gradually fade away until they had completely disappeared.
Frank sighed. "Discord, I am grateful for what you have done. I truly am. You saved my life, you saved my lifework you saved this place from burning down and you probably saved Twilight too. I don't know why you won't just go to Twilight and tell her what you told me. That might perhaps make her trust you more than she has so far." "She shouldn't trust me too much yet", Discord said, folding his arms and giving every impression that this was all he was going to say on this matter. Frank cut a face as if he was uttering a silent scream before he took a deep breath and said: "Alright, for reasons I don't understand and that you won't lay out to me you don't want Twilight or the other princesses to trust you, but you want them to trust your advise. Why don't you make your suggestions to Fluttershy? I'm sure she would put in a good word for you when putting your advice to the others."
Discord nodded and for a moment he seemed a little absentminded. "She probably would. But I cannot tell what kind of advise I may give at times or what kind of knowledge it may entail. I don't want to hurt Fluttershy." "So you would rather hurt me instead?" Frank snorted. "Of course I would!" Discord snapped back. "Anypony would hurt you rather than hurting Fluttershy!" Frank reached for his hat on the stack of folders and cut a very disgruntled face. "Oh, get a grip, will you?" Discord said impatiently. "You know better than I do that you've seen some rougher places and will be less upset about some things than sweet Fluttershy would be! You may understand some things better and I trust you would be more capable of keeping a secret from Twilight if necessary than Fluttershy would be."
Frank noticed that the torn book page in his pocket grew very hot for a brief moment. Very slowly he nodded. "If you got something to tell to the princesses, I might work as your messenger and even pretend for it to be my own words if, and only if, I feel what I am to tell them is to good ends and not against the princesses." "And what, I wonder, if helping one princess required working against another?" Discord said, but he immediately discarded the question with a wave of his hands. "That may have to be figured out in case it ever happened." "But what I do will depend very much on what exactly it is that you will want me to do, Discord", Frank stressed. "I am not making any promises!" "Good idea", Discord commented dryly. "Lately I noticed that promises in the best of intentions can cause quite some problems. But shouldn't we at least seal this noncommittal agreement that not everything I say or do always deserves to be met with distrust without the benefit of the doubt with a hand-, hoof-, whatever shake?" Discord held out his arms, the left one with the talon and the right one with the lionpaw. Frank hesitated.
"Still giving this the detriment rather than the benefit of the doubt?" Discord said. "I promise I won't ask you to call me your liege or anything." There was one more flash of lightning outside and Frank Blanket reached out to give Discord's talon a bump with his own left hoof.
Twilight and Spike had finished breakfast and Twilight was making up her mind to decide whether to head for the hospital, as Spike insisted she should to have her wing checked, take the time to study the mysterious book of Dr. Quircs which Princess Celestia had left her, or if she should pay a visit to Town Hall to see after Frank and check out whether or not she might be of any help to Mayor Mare when it came to laying out the events of the last night to the ponies of Ponyville.
Before she had made up her mind, there was a knocking on the door. Twilight appeared to be almost relieved about the interruption and magically pulled the door open before her number one secretary had any chance to reach for the doorknob. Frank Blanket was standing outside. He was carrying a strange looking bundle on his back and only at second sight and with the memory of what had happened in the attic storeroom of the town hall did Twilight recognize that he had apparently stuffed his belongings into his spare wraparound as a makeshift replacement for his destroyed saddle-bags.
"Good morning", he said, looking somewhat sheepish and nodding at Twilight as well as Spike and Owlowiscious. The later didn't notice since he was fast asleep on his perch at the opposite end of the room. "Frank, come in!" Twilight called with a wholehearted smile. "Would you like a tea?" "Thank you", Frank said and looked rather surprised, much as if he hadn't expected such a warm welcome. Spike hurried to the kitchen, knowing that however competent Twilight was with magic, her magically boiled tea was much worse than any that he would prepare in the more traditional way. "How are you today?" Twilight asked. "I'm fi—", Frank began, but stopped short. Given the events of the previous evening and night, he realized that Twilight's question had not been mere formulaic smalltalk and politeness. "Better", he corrected himself. "Better than I was in Town Hall last night. One should never underestimate the recreative effects of a night of good sleep." "You hear that, Twilight?" Spike called from the kitchen. "You want to remember that!" "Hush, Sir Sleepsalot!" Twilight bantered in return.
Frank put on a smile, but it looked rather uncertain. Better he might feel, but still he seemed surprised at the whole lightheartedness and uncertain about what to make of it. "How are you yourself, Princess? How is your wing?" Twilight rolled her eyes a little, mildly annoyed about Frank being apparently the second one today to remind her of having her wing checked. "I'm okay and I will see the doctor later on, thank you… did you call me 'Princess' again?" "I… I am sorry… I didn't mean to... Twilight." The colt was looking rather fidgety and reminded Twilight a bit of a foal after a stern lecture. He was probably still more rattled than he was trying to let on. Twilight chuckled reassuringly and beckoned Frank to the table.
"Mayor Mare held a little speech earlier today", Frank said as he settled down at the table at the very place where he had settled down at their first meeting three days ago. "She gave everypony who was up already a summary of the events and asked them to pass it on." "Did she?" Twilight asked surprised. "Whatever she told them is bound to be changed, exaggerated and turned into all kind of stories and rumors if left to the ponies to pass on by hearsay." Frank nodded. "The mayor thinks so too. When I left Town Hall, she was working to word an official bulletin which she wants to hang out so everypony can check it out. With Inkhorn and Featherscribe both on sick leave today, she really got an awful lot of work on her hooves." "I think I should go there and offer some help", Twilight said and was looking for the door. "Twilight, your wing! You promised Rarity that you would see it checked!" Spike insisted as he was returning from the kitchen, carrying a tray of tea cups. "I will", Twilight said, slightly irritated while she levitated three cups from Spike's tray and he joined them at the table.
"I actually offered to help her", Frank said. "Mayor Mare, I mean. But she refused any help. She only said that she wouldn't mind having one of those 'writer horseshoes' on days like these", Frank said, holding up his left hoof which Twilight noticed bore some strange coloring marks, as if it had recently been dipped in differently colored ink and soot. "What did she tell the ponies?" Twilight asked. "She was kind enough to put special emphasis on the fact that I didn't steal Mr. Rich's money or attack anypony. She told that a changeling kind of attacker was behind it but that there was no more danger coming from it. Obviously she didn't want to cause any panic and she didn't go into any detail about switchlings or the like."
Twilight nodded. The existence of switchlings was probably not going to be any kind of state secret, but it would be best if public statements about them were based on what information the book provided that she had yet to study or perhaps on what further information she might coax out of Chrysalis whom she had yet to visit. She took a sip from her tea cup, then she asked: "What are your plans now, Frank?" "My plans", the colt repeated and Twilight wasn't quite sure if it had been a question, but before she could say anything, Spike suggested: "Maybe you want to join Twilight when she gets her wings checked?" "Oh, I'm okay", Frank said hastily. "No twisted wings or the like." Spike snorted: "I always thought this was just a Twilight thing. Are all you eggheads so scared of doctors?" "Says the number one assistant who will put up an epic dragon fight each time I mention the next dentist appointment!" Twilight quipped, half touched by Spikes concern for her, half annoyed by his constant pestering about it and, turned to Frank, she said: "I meant your plans in general, what are you going to do?"
Frank took a sip from his cup, then he said: "I still have a book on cutie marks to write." Twilight cast a short look at the unshaped bundle which Frank had placed beside the table. Apparently her look had been rather telling. Before Twilight could ask anything, Frank said: "It is not so bad as I feared. My saddle-bags are beyond repair, but other than that it is mostly some soot and spilled ink." He held up his colored hoof again. "Nothing lost that couldn't be replaced somehow."
"I'm glad to hear it. I feared that all your work had been destroyed." Frank shook his head, but suddenly he seemed very interested in the bottom of his tea cup, took a large swig and finally, with a glance at Dr. Quircs book on the table, he said: "With all that happened I take it that royal business may keep you too preoccupied for any extensive interviews for a while. But I think there are quite a few cutie mark stories to be heard from the ponies here. I think I will stay a bit longer here in Ponyville. Actually, I also came here to pick up my tent."
"Maybe we should find something more than just your tent for you when you are staying here for a longer time, Frank…", Twilight began, but before she could finish she was interrupted by a choking from Spike. The little dragon hastily turned his face away from the table and the next moment a whiff of green fire erupted from his mouth, along with a scroll bearing the seal of Princess Celestia. Twilight immediately caught the scroll, broke the seal and began to read.
As she read, neither Spike nor Frank could miss how the smile vanished from Twilight's face and gave way to a deepening frown and look of concern. "What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked when Twilight had finished reading the letter and her look jumped back to read a passage again. Twilight didn't answer immediately, but finally put the letter down and said: "Princess Luna and her guards drove all the forest creatures back who ran away from Everfree last night…" "But that's a good thing?" Spike said. Twilight nodded in agreement but continued: "But Luna had sent Captain Crescent to the castle ruins to pick up the stolen money Rainbow had found in the library. When he and some other guards arrived there, they didn't find a single bit even though they searched everywhere. The stolen money has been taken away!"
It took a few moments for this piece of news to sink in. "You mean that thing is still about and carried the money away?" Spike called. "Can't be!" Frank shouted, shaking his head. "Now I don't remember anything directly anymore, but I do remember that I did remember that she had been utterly weakened by the time your spell hit her, Twilight! She was in no shape to carry away anything; she was in no shape whatsoever anymore! Hay, I don't even know if she was anymore at all!" "Somepony else must have taken the money away then", Twilight said. "Yeah...", Spike said with a voice dripping with sarcasm, "...I'm sure many ponies other than you were flocking to the haunted castle that night amidst the creepy forest while it was burning." "Oh Spike, don't you get it? The attacker may have had an ally who took the money when we were gone!" There were a few moments of silence before Twilight added: "And if that is so, this ally is still on the loose!"
"But Twilight… Frank, you didn't tell anything about an ally", Spike said in what sounded like a desperate attempt to disprove the uneasy prospect. "I don't think I remembered any ally of her", Frank said slowly and cautiously. "There were many things you didn't remember for certain", Twilight pointed out. "Like who she was and what her overall plan was." Twilight stopped. She suddenly remembered how angry Frank had become the previous evening when Rainbow Dash had complained about his memory. The colt seemed quite calm though and just nodded. "Maybe. I cannot tell for certain that she didn't have an ally. In case she did, she probably didn't think a lot about that ally or I probably would have remembered."
There was a loud knocking at the door that let them all twitch. This time Spike reached the door before Twilight bothered to pull it open with her magic. "Oh, hi Derpy", he said with a tone of relief as he beheld the gray pegasus standing outside. The mailmare gave Spike a broad, unfocused smile and said: "Good morning, Spike! I got something for the princess." Derpy craned her neck to look past Spike and her smile became even broader as she saw her, waved to her and called: "Hello, Twilight!" "Good morning, Derpy! Come in!" As Derpy entered, she spotted Frank. "You are here too! Great! I was looking for you at the town hall, but Mayor Mare told me you had left."
"You were looking for me?" Frank asked utterly surprised. "Yes", Derpy confirmed as she was stepping closer to the table while rummaging through her mailbag. She hoofed a folded sheet of paper to Twilight. "Featherscribe told me to give this to you." And looking in the direction of Frank, she said: "I have something for you too." Derpy dived almost her entire head deep into the mailbag before she pulled up a sizable bag and dropped it onto the table with an unmistakable sound of clinking coinage.
Frank leaped back with a yelp and a look of horror. "I didn't do anything!" he shouted. Derpy's eyes got focused for a moment in surprise at the unexpected reaction from a colt receiving a bagful of money. Twilight understood that recent experiences as well as the fact that they had been talking about the disappearance of Mr. Rich's stolen money just before Derpy's arrival probably put Frank more on edge about any bits of money than under different circumstances. "Did I do anything wrong?" Derpy asked meekly and looking rather unhappy. Twilight shook her head and gave Derpy a comforting pat with one of her wings. "No you didn't, Derpy. This is just a little unexpected, that's all. Frank, won't you open the bag?" Very cautiously Frank untied the strings of the bag, eying it as if he expected to receive an electric charge from it any moment. Sure enough the bag turned out to be filled with golden bits, but there was also a folded letter attached to the strings that Frank untied. He unfolded the letter and as he read through it, his jumpiness seemed to give way to perplexity. He scratched his head and put the letter on the table so Twilight could see it.
"It's from the academy in Fillydelphia", he said. "They thank me and it says that the bag contains the reward for finding and returning the…", he checked out the letter, "...the lunar orb levitation amulet." Nobody said anything for some moments before Derpy bravely broke the silence: "That's the necklace you had in your bag yesterday, isn't it? That's very nice of them, right?" Frank nodded but sounded utterly puzzled when he said: "Yes, but I didn't really do anything. I had no idea they had such a loose definition at the academy of what constitutes finding and returning. I did not find that amulet, nor did I return it." He gave Twilight a rather helpless look. "I suppose I should correct that mistake and return this." He pointed at the bag on the table.
Twilight was not much less surprised than Frank, but after a few moments she shook her head: "I don't think so, Frank. I expect Mayor Mare will have been accurate in what she wrote to the academy about how the amulet appeared and I presume Celestia made sure the academy also got a report about the developments since the amulet was returned. I guess for all that you did not do, you are more entitled to that reward than the attacker would be for returning it." Frank goggled at her. "And besides, we do not know where or if the attacker is. If we ever see her again, you can still decide whether or not you want to offer the reward to her, but till then I think you would be the best choice as a trustee of this reward."
Frank laughed out loudly and it was the most thorough and unforced laughter Twilight had heard from him ever since his arrest two days ago. Derpy joined in, even though she didn't seem to be absolutely certain what exactly the laughter was about. "I bow to Your Highness' judgment", Frank finally said with a mock bow and a mischievous grin. "Perhaps I may borrow a bit from the attacker's reward to get myself some new saddle bags, or maybe even something more solid than my tent for accommodation." Twilight returned the grin. "Until I make up my mind however, I think I'll set up the tent on the green again. Is it here?" Spike pointed at a bundle leaning against a shelf at the other end of the room, consisting of the tent and sleeping bag. Frank went there and began to wrap up the bundle he had already been carrying into his sleeping bag. While he did so, Twilight cast a short look at the sheet of paper Derpy had given her. She lent a hoof, or horn rather, for Frank to wrap up the fairly large package of the bundle he had already been carrying, the bag with the reward money, his tent and his sleeping bag and levitated the whole load onto the colt's back. "Thank you very much, Twilight!" he said as he made for the door with slightly unbalanced steps under the ill-dispersed weight of the improvised bundle on his back. Twilight opened the door for him, but before he left, she asked: "Frank, is there anything else you want to say?" He gave her a confused look. "Err… is there? What do you mean?" Twilight shrugged. "Anything I mean. If anything comes to your mind or if you remember anything…" For a very brief moment Frank looked a bit sheepish, but then he shook his head. "Nothing I can think of at the moment. See you, Twilight."
He was about to perform another bow, but Twilight hastily shook her head. Remembering the awkward bow Frank had performed at their first meeting while carrying his perfectly balanced saddle-bags, Twilight thought there was a good chance that trying the same with the unruly load now on his back would result in disaster. With a last smile he turned around and walked down the road in the direction of the green. Twilight looked after him for some more moments. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed and worried.
Princess Luna had told that she had a fair idea of whatever it was that she and Celestia had sensed Frank had not told last night and also that it might never be important for them to know. She had hoped for him to be confident enough to tell her whatever it was, but maybe it would take some time. In spite of everything, Twilight had to admit that she still knew very little about the hobo-student from Fillydelphia. She turned back into the library where she found Derpy spinning the sphere of her celestial globe as fast as she could and showing a filial joy at this little game that brought a smile to Twilight's face.
"Featherscribe gave you this, Derpy?" Twilight asked, holding up the paper which Derpy had given her. The pegasus stopped spinning the globe and nodded eagerly. "He wasn't feeling well this morning, but he gave me a big stack of paper for Miss Cheerilee too, but this one he said was not for her because it is not from any of her school fillies. I did not really understand why Featherscribe kept Miss Cheerilee's school filly's papers, but he said that this one was not one of theirs."
Twilight nodded. She knew what this paper was. Frank himself had mentioned the previous evening that, when switched to him, the attacker had taken some notes on memories of him that could be useful for her during the trial. The page was written in Frank Blanket's unmistakable small script and it was headlined: Frank Blanket / Convenient dummy The page was filled with random looking cues about things the attacker had used in the hearing, like the Robing Hooves book among Frank's possessions or his presence at the academy when the amulet had been stolen. Twilight picked up the paper and folded it, but not without casting a last look at the final lines: Disposition difficult. To be avoided if possible.
