Done by a Single Night

I'd known both Fluttershy and Twilight for quite a long time, but I only realized today that they had been dating. It all added up; ever since about two weeks ago, they'd been doing very... suspicious things together.

They'd always walk each other home, and at restaurants they'd most always sit together. Every day, when I flew home, I'd see Fluttershy sneak up to Twilight's library at dusk and slip notes under the door. And, sometimes, while I was checking out a book, I'd see her even go up the stairs, to Twilight's bedroom... and not come down. Seriously, they have the indecency to go at it while I'm there?

Seriously. Uncool.

But honestly, I may have been overreacting. Maybe they were just... having a very... private and long game of checkers, or something, that was very secretive because... something. Yeah, seriously, it got more fishy the more I thought of it.

I've never seen Fluttershy leave by the front door, or even the windows. What are they doing that's so secretive?

Maybe they have a really quiet book club on... interesting books. Yeah. Like the ones I've seen Rarity slip secretly to them. That would sure explain a lot, as I'm not sure any of them would want to be caught reading something like that. But where was Rarity? And wouldn't it be easier, and make more sense to hold the meetings at Carousel Boutique?

I couldn't take it anymore. The suspense was killing me. I was about to swan dive off the roof of my house when I remembered. I was gonna go there anyways for one of Twilight's sleepovers, so why not prepare?

I went to my bedstand and picked up the saddlepacks Rarity tailored for me. They were just a plain blue like my coat, and had my cutie marks emblazened on both of the straps. She offered to do more, but I thought this already too flashy.

Moving over to the bathroom, I quickly grabbed some basic supplies. I threw in a toothbrush, toothpaste, some shampoo, and other random things. I then went back to my room for my sleeping bag. Seemed like flight school all over again. Except I actually was excited. And was going to learn something interesting, something I hadn't known all before thirty times through.

Satisfied with my work, I went back to my bed for a quick nap.

When I woke up again, I was in a room, but not the white plains from last time. The white here was quite more plain, and the room was very small.

The walls were, to begin, blank. I thought: "Where am I this time?" but as I spoke, the words burned themselves onto the walls. "That's strange." Appeared under them. Everything going through my head would find itself on the walls. The walls kept on getting painted more and more, never stopping. It was beginning to hurt my head. I tried to close my eyes, to stop having to look at the walls, but I was frozen in place. When I thought I just couldn't take it anymore, a stallion galloped out of the walls, slammed his left hoof into the ground, and whitewashed them over again. His body was about as plain as the walls, but slowly, coming up from his hooves, there were cascading rainbow colors, that kept swirling and changing. He raised his hooves, and the walls started to expand.

I don't know when it was over, but soon enough I was back, at the white plains.

"Hello again," the mare said in a voice like bells. I turned to face her. "Remember this?" She twisted a hoof as if turning a key, then flicked up, revealing she had a thin slip of paper. I'm not sure how, but she materialized the contract from earlier.

"Erm, yeah. What about it?"

She chuckled softly. "Oh, nothing. Just checking to make sure you are following it." She tossed it across the room, and it slowly shrunk until it was just a mere card. It hovered in front of me, perpendicular with the ground. Subconciously, I reached a wary hoof out to it. On the contact, it suddenly convulsed wildly and began to glow with power. But quick as it began, it slowly stabilized again.

"Anyways, to business."

I raised my hoof. "To business!"

"What?"

"Oh, I thought you were proposing a toast..."

"...Okay then... anyways, I assume you have met this colt before." She gestured to the white stallion.

"Erm, yeah."

The colt started to speak. "I am Canvas. Painter of Worlds, Equus ex Nihilo, the Wild Card. I am close within your grasp. The strongest weapon against a mare is herself. Learn to control your thoughts. Then you'll be able to control the wild beast of random that is me."

I didn't know what the buck he was saying, but the last sentance caught me off. "Erm, I'm not that kind of mare."

He facehoofed. "Look, this is just standard, I have to say random riddle junk like this. Basically, long story short, you have to be able to clear your mind. Then you'll be able to control me."

"I said, I'm not that kind of mare. I'm not going to conquer you, not once nor twice."

The white mare snickered. "Toldja she's this dense."

"Hey!"

The white earth pony sighed. "You shall wake up soon. But before you do, remember. Feelings are only what you make of them. True pain is from manifestation."

I was about to open my mouth to ask what the hell that meant, but when I tried, I collapsed to the ground in a great sleep.