Rarity knocked on the door to Twilight's library and collected her thoughts.

She had been in Manehatten for fashion week over the past week and had returned to find out that Rainbow Dash had been missing for three days and Flurttershy had been missing for almost a week.

The door opened a crack and Twilight peered out. "Hello?" She asked

"Twilight, its me, Rarity!" Said Rarity, trying to look through the crack to see her friend. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, Rarity! Of course, of course!" The door opened wider and Twilight came into view.

"Are you alright dear?" Asked Rarity after a moment of shock.

"Of course!" Said Twilight, looking a little confused "Why do you ask?"

Rarity said nothing and simply stared at her. Twilight appeared to be a strange combination of nervous, tired and frustrated. Her mane and tail were disheveled, with chuncks of it missing, as though she had torn them out in frustration. Her ear was twitching uncontrollably, and so was her eye. Her eyes were barely wider pinpricks and darted around wildly, as though she were worried somepony would see her.

After a moment of awkward silence, Rarity asked "May I come in?"

"Oh, of course!" Said Twilight, moving to the side to let Rarity in.

Once Rarity was inside, Twilight slammed the door and Rarity heard the distinct *click* of the lock.

"Would you care for something to eat?" Asked Twilight after a moment.

"Yes please, if it isn't too much trouble. I was on the train all morning, so I missed breakfast," Rarity replied, realizing how hungry she actually was.

Twilight led her into the dining room at he center of her house and then entered the kitchen, leaving Rarity alone.

"Darling, where is Spike?" Asked Rarity.

"Oh, he's in Canterlot on royal business for Princess Celestia," Twilight called back from out of sight. "How was fashion week?"

"Oh it was absolutely wonderful darling!" Said Rarity, "I won and got to spend time with he premier fashion designers in Manehatten!"

She told Twilight all about the different designers and how they had shared their techniques and offered tips on how to become a big name designer.

"And Sapphire Shores commissioned an entire new line for her upcoming show!" Finished Rarity, lost in happy memories for a moment. Twilight remained silent in the other room.

"Darling?" Asked Rarity, getting up and walking towards the kitchen door to see if Twilight was alright.

She was about to open it when the door burst open. Twilight was standing there, levitating some plates and glasses behind her. "That sounds lovely Rarity!" She said with a unnervingly wide smile.

"Oh it was," said Rarity as she returned to her seat.

Twilight set a plate and glass in front of Rarity, then took her seat and set her plate and glass down.

Rarity ate and drank hungrily, not noticing or caring what she ate. I must be hungrier than I realized she thought as she finished the last of her drink.

Twilight hadn't said anything, nor had she touched her food while Rarity ate. She just watched Rarity, almost expectantly.

"Thank you darling, I hadn't realized how hungry I was."

"Of course Rarity! What are good friends for?"

Rarity sat for a moment, wondering how best to phrase her question. "Darling," she began, "I must confess that I had anoher reason to visit you today."

"Oh? What's that Rarity?" Asked Twilight.

"Well, when I got back, I found out that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash have been missing for a few days and-" she hesitated for a moment, then went on "-and they were both apparently last seen here, so I was wondering if you may know anything about their disappearance."

Twilight just stared intently at Rarity, not saying anything. Rarity opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped she she felt a stabbing pain her stomach. She looked down, but she seemed fine. "Twilight, what was in that foo-"

She screamed suddenly as the pain in her stomach spread like fire throughout her body. It enveloped her entirely, then concentrated in two points on her back and on her horn.

She could feel her bones shifting and becoming lighter and she felt two nubs of bone growing rapidly on either side of her back. She screamed again as the pain intensified and her vision went dark.

After some time, she couldn't tell how much, she began to become aware of her surroundings again. She had fallen to the ground and a majority of her vision was taken up by what appeared to be Twilight's legs. She looked up slowly, wincing at the pain it caused. "What- what have you done?" She whispered.

Twilight appeared extremely frustrated. "How could this happen? The serum should've been right this time!" She muttered to herself, flipping through a notebook she was levitating.

"Wha- what serum?" Asked Rarity weakly. She was hardly able to breathe and let her head drop back to the floor, unable to hold it up any longer.

"No matter," said Twilight, closing her notebook. "This data should provide me enough information to adjust the serum so it produces a fully fledged alicorn."

Rarity winced as a purple aura surrounded her and lifted her into the air. She dimly watched as Twilight carried her down the stairs to her lab.

Twilight was still talking, so Rarity focused long enough to hear her finish "-after all, a live autopsy on a test subject should prove most illuminating."

Author's Note

Nothing much to say about this chapter, so as always, thanks a ton to SOUTH3 for prereading and to ace010101 for introducing me to the fandom! Y'all are the best