Twilight

Twilight had been pacing back and forth in the center of her living room for nearly two hours since the mysterious pony had left. Leaving spike to lean back and relax from his chores off to the side.

“How did he know my name?” said Twilight, throwing one for hoof into the air in exasperation, while continuing her uneasy pace.

“Maybe he herd of you. You are Celestia’s personal student.” Said spike, eating some gems that he had kept stashed for times like this.

“Well, I suppose you’re right, but it feels like there’s more to this spike.” Said twilight, unable to get rid of the strange feeling that kept tingling up and down her spine.

They then heard a knocking at their door. “I wonder who that could be?” said twilight, as she reached the door.

The door opened to reveal rarity, standing as if she was emanating some godly light and was the most perfect being in the universe, which to spike, she was.

“Oh, Twilight, you’ll never believe what just happened, I just met the. Most. Perfect. Stallion. EVER!” she said as she walked in, her words instantly snapping Spike out of the love sick daze he had been in moments before.

“What!?” He yelled, only to cover his mouth a few seconds after.

“Is there a problem Spike?” said rarity, a slight twinge to her voice of some kind, as well as a questioning look on her face.

“N-no, not at all!” he said hurriedly, trying to recover from his outburst in an attempt to keep his feelings for his crush from being known.

“Oh... Good! Then where shall I start?!” she said in excitement, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. “Oh! I know, Twilight he was gorgeous! He looked so big, and strong, and his main and tail would only be fitting for a gentle colt!” By this time rarity and twilight had moved to the sofa, and spike had run off only to come back carrying some tea.

As Twilight listened to the to the description, she got more and more worried that Rarity was talking about who she thought she was talking about. “Rarity, was this stallion grey, and did he have a dragon and yin-yang as his cutie mark?”

Rarity was shocked that Twilight already knew of this stallion, she sat there stunned for a bit before gaining an expression of confusion. “Why, yes Twilight. How did you know?”

With her fears confirmed, the tingling in Twilight's spine increased “He came here too… did...did he say anything... strange?” she said, stammering as her fear increased in Anticipation of her friends answer.

“Well actually darling,” said Rarity, dawning a somewhat worried look “that was one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you about him… you see, he knew about the elements.”

Immediately, the tingling sensation in Twilight’s spine spiked. “How?! The only record of our actions as the elements are in Canterlot, on the windows in the great hall! Only nobles are allowed through there, and even then, only a few actually take the time to go through and look!”

Spike, having figured out who they were talking about, and slightly miffed due to Rarity’s attraction to him, decided to play devil’s advocate in an attempt to help his new friend. “He might have connections to Canterlot nobility.”

“Well, I guess that’s true but-” Twilight started, but was cut off again as the door burst open to reveal a certain cyan Pegasus.

“Twilight! We need to talk!” Said Rainbow Dash, hovering above her two friends with an angry expression on her face.

“What is it rainbow dash?” Said Twilight, worried that she might have done something to make her friend upset.

“A stallion.” Said Rainbow Dash, her scowl deepening with her words.

Twilight sighed with relief before perking up at what her friend had said, the tingling sensation increased. “Stallion?”

“Oh my Rainbow Dash, I never saw you as the type to have colt problems…” Rarity quipped, putting on a sly grin as she teased her tomboyish friend.

“What?! No! I don’t-” as she was about to finish her statement, his face flashed through her mind, her heart beat increased and she blushed furiously as her voice got a bit quieter. “- like him that much…”

The two friends below her were floored, Rainbow dash had never expressed interest in ANY stallion before, now they were really curious who this pony was.

“A-anyway-” said Rainbow Dash stammering as she shook her head, attempting to clear the image of the stallion from her thoughts. “-this guy was suuuper sketchy, like, he was able to catch me from a high speed fall, stand on his hind legs like it’s nothing, and he knew about Gilda!”

When rainbow dash finished twilight was pretty sure she knew who she was talking about “Grey, black and red mane and tale, dragon cutie mark?”

“Well… Yeah, how’d you know?” Said the Pegasus, dawning a similar expression of confusion to the one rarity had had before.

“He’s come in contact with both of us so far.” Said Twilight, a concern written all over her her face.

“Oh... w-well what do we know so far?” said Rainbow dash, a bit embarrassed that she wasn’t the first one to bring him up.

“Not much, however-” Twilight started, but was cut off yet again by a knock on the door “What now?” she then proceeded to walk over to the door and open it, revealing a butter yellow Pegasus trying to hide behind her long pink mane. “Oh! Fluttershy, what can I help you with?”

The Pegasus peaked out from her main to see her lavender friend standing there and relaxed a little, “Oh, um, hello Twilight, I was wondering if, maybe, I could talk to you about something?”

“Sure Fluttershy, whatever you need.” Twilight said ushering her friend in.

Fluttershy started to head in but stopped when she saw her two other friends gathered. “O-oh, a-am I interrupting something?”

“Oh! No Fluttershy, we were just talking about this strange new pony who came to town today.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone, exhaustion clear in her voice.

Fluttershy perked up at the mention of a strange pony. “Oh! You too?”

Twilight halted in her tracks as she whipped her head back around to look at Fluttershy. “What?!”

“O-oh, well, There was a stallion who helped Dive bomb, one of my squirrels, after he had injured himself. At first he seemed pretty nice and, um, I guess, kind of handsome, but, just before he left, he told me ‘see you soon Fluttershy.’ And well, I hadn’t gotten to it yet but, I never told him my name.” said Fluttershy, now hiding behind her mane, embarrassed by all the attention she was getting from all her friends. especially at the "handsome" part.

Twilight gave a deep sigh before speaking. “Yep that sounds like him, but what are the chances that we would all-” she was again interrupted by a knock on the door. “By Celestia’s majestically. flowing. MANE!" finishing her outburst, she walked back over to the door and opened it to find a bouncy, bubbly, pink, pony with a huge grin outside.

“Oh! Hey twilight! You’ll never guess-” she started only for twilight to return the interrupting favor.
“-that you met a new stallion whose grey, has a red and black mane and tale, is tall and attractive, has a dragon cutie mark, and who seems a bit odd and mysterious...” she finished with a deadpan look.
Pinky pie stood there slack jawed for a few seconds before squinting at twilight and saying “ooh, you’re good.” After that, twilight moved aside for Pinky to bounce her way in before every one settled on to one of the seats in the living room.

“Alright Pinky pie, tell us what happened.” Twilight said, with a serious yet tired expression. Ready to learn something knew but eager to get this over with.

“Okie-Dokie-Lokie! So, I was walking around greeting every one this morning when my Pinky senses told me there was a new pony in town. So, I immediately took off in search of the new pony so I could give him a big ‘Welcome to pony-vill!’ hoof shake. When I found him, I tried to come up behind him all sneaky like, but when I went to surprise him he spun around and caught me, like he knew I was there! And then we twirled arooound, and we pretended to be in looove, and he pretended to diiie, and I pretended I was saaad, and then we booowed, and then we ran away laughing, it was SO MUCH FUN! And then, as if he read my mind! he said I had to wait if I wanted to throw him a party, and I said ok, and then he went one way, and I went another! Oh and before he left, the craziest thing happened! He waved and said good bye! but when he said it, he knew my name! And that’s what happened.” Pinky finished her story with a large smile. While everyone else had a confused and/or skeptical face.

Rainbow dash was the first to speak up. “Wait, so that was you two! I had seen some sort of crowed braking up in the town square, when I went down to check it out, I heard some sort of amazing performance happened, but I didn’t know who had done it? If this guy can draw a crowd as big as the one I saw then he has some serious skill!”

Rarity spoke next. “Indeed! One of my regulars who sometimes come in to gossip, said that it was absolutely fabulous! I must say Pinky, I had no idea you were so good at acting.”

“Of course! I’ve had several parties for foals where I had to be a clown. In order to be a clown, you have to know how to act!” Pinky responded, ending with a serious face and dramatic pose.

Rarity and Fluttershy clopped their hooves a bit before spike had decided to point out a detail that he found quite annoying for some reason. "wait, are we just going tocompletely bypass that every one of you has called this guy attractive in some way since arriving here?"

Every one developed a deep blush and averted their gaze before twilight spoke up. “Alright girls! Back on topic! Pinky pie, you said he knew your name?”

Spike noticed her blatant attempt to change the subject, but gave up in favor of the new subject at hand. At this point, Spike was a bit skeptical of his new friend but he was still trying to reason this out with the hope that he could clear his new friend's name. “So? Didn’t Pinky pie travel around entertaining ponies before coming here? What if he’s another guy who saw one of her shows, like cheese sandwich?”

Pinky pie developed a bit of a concerned expression before replying. “No Spiky, I mean he knew my full name, Pinkamina Diane Pie. Only you guys and my family know about that.”

Spike opened his mouth to reply but shut it once he realized there was no way to explain it without it being an extreme coincidence. He didn’t want to believe it, but the only male friend he had made, besides Big Mac, was starting to look a little to suspicious. He only hoped there was some form of logical explanation for this that would be more convincing than the argument he had provided so far.

Once the conversation had become decidedly over, Twilight suggested everyone should retell their encounter with the stallion so that things can be put in order and every one caught up to speed. After that was done they decided to go through the details.

“Alright girls,” said twilight, “this is what we’ve got, he met Pinky pie and put on a show so he isn’t trying to hide himself. He then met up with me and asked for books on psychology and physics, so he is likely very intelligent. After that, He saved rainbow dash-” she was then, cut off by said Pegasus.

“Hey! He didn’t save me! I was perfectly fine on my own!” she said, clearly distraught with the idea of any one saving her when she could have easily pulled herself out of that fall… right?

“Alright Rainbow dash, whatever you say.” Said twilight rolling her eyes a bit and giving an amused smile, Rarity and Pinky pie joining twilight’s teasing with looks of their own. Rainbow dash just crossed her fore hooves with a huff before looking away, likely an attempt to hide her blush… it failed.

“Any way,” Continued twilight, “he conveniently caught Rainbow dash before demonstrating above average balance, and hoof-eye coordination. He was able to carry you with ease on his hind legs, so he is likely very strong as well. Also, he knew you had some sort of relation to Gilda, so he likely has some info on our personal lives, this may include family members, friends, and employment.” Rarity perked up at that last bit, and decided to add her two bits.

“Oh, definitely. He not only knew about my reputation in the fashion industry, he was also able to accurately gauge the worth of my work at a glance. He clearly has knowledge not only about our work but also enough of an understanding of our chosen careers that he would be able to easily tell if one of us were lying in relation to our chosen source of income, and maybe even be able to obtain information on us based on what we do and how we do it.” she said, a shiver running down every ones spine at the prospect, twilight being reminded of the tingling sensation down hers’ that hadn’t gone away yet.

“Right, we need to be careful to keep our families out of danger. However, we can take care of that after this meeting. So next was Rarity’s shop where he revealed that he had knowledge of the elements. Then to Fluttershy’s to drop off an injured squirrel. That’s the last he was seen”

“I bet that plot hole hurt that squirrel on purpose just to get close to Fluttershy!” said rainbow dash. Every one turning a bit green at the thought of someone purposefully harming one of Fluttershy’s cute little critters.

“Oh, um, actually Rainbow dash, I examined Dive bomb’s injuries after he left and I didn’t see any differences between this one, and the ones he’s gotten in the past. So, in all likely hood, he just injured himself doing the same thing he usually does.” Fluttershy said, trying to stay out of sight behind her mane. Every one gave a sigh of relief.

“Well at least he’s not some sadistic ruffian who beets up on poor, defenseless, animals.” Said Rarity putting everyone’s thought’s into words.

After this everyone shared a moment of silence thinking about something they could have missed. After a few minutes of this, Pinky pie finally spoke up. “Hey, if he knows where we all live, then was him meeting all of us really a coincidence?” Every one froze at this, all eyes going wide with realization.

“Oh my gosh Pinky, your right! If he knew where we lived and wasn’t trying to avoid us, then that means he was purposely seeking us out!” said twilight, the tingling sensation returning with a vengeance.

“That’s right! Plus, if we follow the details of each of our stories, he was always headed straight for the next house, he just so happened to meet Pinky pie and rainbow dash on his way!” said Rarity, further increasing the rising sense of panic in the room.

“A-actually, b-b-based on how well h-he knows e-each of us, h-he p-p-p-probably k-knew he would run into Pinky and r-rainbow dash along the w-way.” Said Fluttershy, shaking uncontrollably with fear.

At this point, the amount of collective force the hearts of everyone in the room was producing, would have been enough to crush a small home... and its shed.

A force that was nearly doubled with Pinky's next question. “H-hey, um g-g-girls, w-where’s a-apple j-j-jack?”

Everyone in the room stopped... They stopped breathing, thinking, living, everything, it all just... stopped.

Only for everyone to spring into action as they all rushed for the door, as soon as everyone was out, twilight took the lead turning her head so her friends could hear her. “Rainbow dash I need you to fly ahead, you’re the fastest one here and can go there and back by the time were half way there. But don’t leave until I’m done speaking to everyone.”

“There and back?! No way! I can take this guy myself!” said rainbow dash, flying up beside Twilight before pounding one hoof into the other, ready to beat the feathers off of whoever would dare hurt one of her friends.

“No rainbow dash! You said it yourself, He is in excellent physical condition, especially for a unicorn! He has likely had some form of combat training, and we also don’t know how powerful his magic is! It would be best if you go see what’s happening then come back and report so we can be ready for what might be in store!” she said, trying to yell over the wind as it whipped by.

Rainbow dash grunted out a “Fine” before settling back into the position above the group she had been flying in before.

At her confirmation, Twilight continued with her plan. “Alright, he will likely have already made contact with Applejack by the time we get there! Should that be the case, when we arrive, I’m going to be teleporting us in, I will know where to teleport when rainbow dash reports back! When that’s done, I will be laying a barrier around apple jack! When that happens, Pinky pie I need you to distract him! You too rainbow dash!” both gave a nod of confirmation before she continued. “Rarity, while he’s distracted, I’m going to fill Applejack in as best I can! This is of course under the assumption that Applejack hasn’t been incapacitated! While that’s happening, I need you to start hitting him with spells! Anything will work so long as it’s strong enough to ware down his defenses!” rarity gave a nod of confirmation as well before twilight turned back, this time directing her attention to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I want you to remain a good distance from the fight and if at all possible get in front of him and use the stare! If we can do that we should be able to stop him in his tracks, and be able to capture him! Got it?!” Fluttershy, with the most adorable determined face any one has ever seen, gave her own nod before Twilight turned her attention back to the front. “If Applejack is safe, I’ll have her join the fight with her lasso and her physical strength! However, should she be incapacitated, we will have to continue on without her! I will try to use stun spells and offensive magic, but I have far more of the former versus the latter! And if Applejack should be in a… well… more severe state, I will have to teleport me and her out in order to get her to the hospital!” everyone went quiet for a bit, hoping that that last possibility didn’t come to pass. It stayed like this for a bit before twilight broke the silence one last time. “Everypony ready!?” with every one giving a loud “Yes!” she shouted the words “Move out!” before everyone prepared to do their job.

She hadn't realized it, but In her hurry, Twilight had missed two very small but important details, the first was the tingling sensation down her spine decreasing the further away she got from the library. The second was an errant leaf sitting on one of her bookshelves steadily losing it's black and red glow...

Author's Note

Hey there every one! I was Finally able to get the chapter done! Also, I now have an editor! I didn't want to make you guys wait so I posted this unedited, but once it has been edited, I will switch them out.