Chapters CHANGELING Book 1: Prelude to Destiny
Episode 1: Butterflies Part 1
The office was dark. Lit only by the computer monitor. He preferred it that way. Soon he would control all of the city of Canterlot, then the country! He looked at the digital map of the city. Red dots showed the locations of his agents as they stalked their unsuspecting prey.
"Mr. Sombra, Ms. Shadow is on the secure line." his secretary said over the intercom.
"Put her through Ms. Hope and make sure the line is encrypted," He said. After a moment he heard the cluck that informed that the line had indeed been encrypted, "Report." he said.
"Target has been acquired, we are ready to make the grab sir." Tempest Shadow said.
"Use your own discretion. Make sure there are no witnesses." Sombra said before terminating the call.
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It was a normal morning at CHS. Sunset stood by the Wondercolt statue waiting on her friends to show up. The first to arrive was Pinkie Pie. Followed by Rarity, Applejack, and lastly Twilight Sparkle.
"Hey where are Rainbow and Fluttershy?" Sunset asked as they all walked toward their homerooms.
"Rainbow's bike is locked up in the bike rack, so she must be here some where." Pinkie Pie said pointing out the blue and red mountain bike that belonged to their friend.
"Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie please report to Principle Celestia's office." the school PA suddenly said. The five friends looked at each other before hurriedly making a beeline fore the principles office.
When they got there They were surprised to see Fluttershy's parents, her brother, and lastly Rainbow Dash. They all looked like they had been crying. Principle Celestia was holding Rainbow trying to comfort the girl. Now the girls were worried.
"Girls, have any of you seen or have been in contact with Fluttershy since school let out yesterday?" Vice-Principle Luna asked, "She never came home last night." For the first time in her life even Pinkie Pie had nothing to say.
"Last time any of us saw her was when school got out and she was heading to the animal shelter yesterday afternoon." Rarity said.
"None of you saw her after that?" Vice-Principle Luna asked. Each of the girls shook their heads.
"If you girls need anything my door is open. If you need to you may take the day off." Celestia said.
None of the girls took the day off but they all made sure to be near Rainbow, she was closer to Fluttershy than the rest of them. Rainbow managed to keep herself under control until lunch time. Then her anger caught up with her.
"IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! ARRRGH!" Rainbow screamed in the middle of the school cafeteria. She then slammed her fist down on the table. Time seemed to stand still in the cafeteria as all eyes turned to Rainbow Dash who was now sobbing uncontrollably.
"Lets get out of here and go somewhere more private." Applejack said as she and Sunset helped Rainbow up. The other four girls nodded in agreement.
The girls found their way to the music room which was thankfully empty. Applejack and Sunset carefully helped Rainbow into one of the chairs.
"It will be OK Sugarcube, we will find Fluttershy. Even if we have to turn this town upside down." Applejack said looking Rainbow in the eyes.
"Why would she runaway, that seems more like something Sunset or Twilight would do." Pinkie Pie said. Sunset glared at Pinkie and Twilight blushed.
"Let us not worry about the why right now, why don't we concentrate on how we can find her darlings." Rarity said as she handed Rainbow a handkerchief.
"Where do we start?" Pinkie Pie reached into her hair and pulled out a road map of the city and laid it out on the grand piano. The other girls, minus Rainbow Dash crowded around. Sunset pulled out a highlighter.
"This is the most direct path from the school to the animal shelter. Twilight, do you think Spike could sniff out a trail?" Sunset said as she marked a route on the map.
"Most likely, but he isn't a blood hound or a trained search dog, but I'm sure that for Fluttershy he would do his best." Twilight replied, "when do we start?"
"Now." Rainbow said from over Rarity's shoulder. She had stopped crying and had a look of determination in her eyes. We're coming Fluttershy. Where ever you are, you aren't alone.
After retrieving Spike from Twilight's house and informing him of the situation the girls set out looking for their missing friend. Spike did his best not to out run the girls. He knew that they were depending on him. He had managed to locate Fluttershy's scent and had begun to follow it however nearly two-thirds of the to the animal shelter the trail suddenly went cold.
"I don't understand it. I've got nothing beyond this point." Spike said looking at Twilight.
"Fan out, maybe we can find some clues that may tell us something." Sunset said. The girls looked around both sides of the street. Mostly their search turned up empty until Applejack found something in a nearby bush.
"Isn't this her bike?" Applejack said, pulling the bike out of the bush, "it looks like someone hid it here."
"Look at these skid marks in the street," Rarity said using her eye for detail, "they stop here and if you look carefully you can see that who ever was driving then sped away."
"Ooh sparkly," Pinkie said holding up two small objects., "Hey I found Fluttershy's hair clip and look at this!"
"That looks like Fluttershy's geode! Sunset do you think that you can use you magic to find out what happened here?" Rainbow asked, handing the small stone to Sunset.
"I can try." Sunset said taking the bride from Rainbow then touching her own. Suddenly everything went white. When the fog in her head cleared everything was in back and white. She saw Fluttershy riding her bike in the bike lane then suddenly a black SUV came up from behind her the doors opened and two people wearing tactical style clothing and face masks jumped out. One of them grabbed the poor girl while the other stabbed a needle into her neck. They then put her in the SUV and drove off. A second identical SUV then pulled up and another person jumped out and hid the bike in the bushes before driving off in a different direction.
"Oh no." Sunset said before she passed out.
Author's Note
I remember hearing that J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis couldn't find the kind of stories that they wanted to read so they wrote them themselves. This is the kind of story I want to read. I promise.
CHANGELING Book 1: Prelude to Destiny
Episode 2: Butterflies Part 2
Fluttershy could barely move. Her neck was sore and she didn't know where she was or how she got there. She opened her eyes and found only darkness.
"Hello?" she said weakly. She was greeted by echoing silence.
"Ah, you are awake." an amplified voice said, "we were wondering when you would wake up."
"Who are you?" Fluttershy said trying and failing to hide the fear that she felt.
"You do not need to know that yet" the voice said.
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"She's comin' around y'all give her some space." Sunset heard Applejack say.
"Whaa? What happened?" Sunset asked looking at her friends and noting the concern in their eyes. She also noticed that they were no longer on the side of the street but in Pinkie's bedroom, she also noticed that her friends were wearing different clothing. "How did I get here?"
"We were hoping that you could tell us darling, one moment you were doing your touchy-feely thing with Fluttershy's geode, next thing we knew you were passed out on the sidewalk. Luckily Rainbow was there to catch you." Rarity explained, "We didn't want you lying in the street and since we happened to only be a block from Pinkie Pie's house we brought up here. Today is Saturday."
"Does anyone have some water?" Sunset asked, realizing that she had slept through Friday. "I'm still trying to make sense of what I saw in my vision."
After drinking down two bottles of water Sunset explained what she had seen.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why would the government kidnap Fluttershy!" Rainbow said.
"I didn't say the government kidnapped her, I said they had military like training. And in those conspiracy movies you and Pinkie keep trying to get me to watch the big bad government bad guys use black SUVs." Sunset replied.
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Sombra was annoyed. The project should have been farther along.
"Doctor, you invented this organic metal alloy, will it suit our purposes?" Sombra asked.
"Yes sir. The subject will have fully integrated subdermal body armor. However when we have attempted to integrate the armor with animal subjects the results have been, uh, lethal." the doctor replied. "Perhaps we should reconsider what we are doing."
"Reconsider? Why doctor all we are doing is improving the human species, furthering evolution if you will." Sombra said, "now please get out of my office and solve your integration problems."
Sombra tapped two buttons on his desk and the door to his office opened. After the scientist had left Tempest Shadow stepped into the office.
"I want you to put him under surveillance. If he becomes a liability you know what to do." Sombra said.
Tempest didn't answer, she only nodded and left the office.
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"Uh, hey Flash what brings you here?" Applejack said breaking the silence.
"The whole school has heard about Fluttershy running away. Everyone I've spoken to wants to help look for her. Even the Diamond Dogs agreed to help." Flash replied.
"Thanks Flash. Why don't you go get everybody together and meet us at the amphitheater in the park in an hour." Sunset said. After Flash had left Sunset looked at the other five girls, "We need to be careful with what we tell people, but the more people we have looking the better."
"So we aren't going to tell the police about Sunsets vision? Flash's father, Flash Magnus, is the chief of police and both of your parents are police officers Rainbow Dash." Rarity said.
"I think Sunset is right. As much as I don't like hiding this from my parents." Rainbow replied.
Author's Note
So this ends Episode 2. Episode 3 will be posted sometime next week, most likely Tuesday evening.
CHANGELING Book 1: Prelude to Destiny
Episode 4: Revelations
"It is a shame that you felt it necessary it terminate the good doctor's employment." Sombra said.
"He was going to go the police." Tempest replied.
"That is too bad, I thought I had explained to him the necessity of advancing evolution." Sombra said. He had spent over a dozen fortunes to get to this point. He would not be denied. "Tell me, what has the media said about the girls disappearance?"
"Both the Canterlot Police Department and her friends are searching for her. A candlelight vigil was held last night at the amphitheater. Don't worry sir, there in no evidence of you involvement." Tempest reported.
"Good, make sure it remains that way."
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Pinkie Pie was on her way to Applejack's house to help bake some pies for the Shy family. However something kept nagging the back of her mind as she passed a newly built warehouse on the edge of town. What Sunset had said about black SUVs. She couldn't help but laugh. Parked behind the fence that surrounded the warehouse were two identical black SUVs, just like the ones that Sunset had described.
Arriving at Applejack's house she saw Sunsets bike was there.
*Knock,Knock*
"Oh hey Cuz," Applejack said opening the door, "Sunset and I got started without you, I hope that's ok."
"Yeah, that's fine. I would have been here sooner but I saw two black jeeps just like the ones Sunset told us about." Pinkie said.
"What did you say. Where?" Sunset asked.
"On my way here on the edge of town. Oh just give me your hand." Pinkie said, "The audience already knows what I'm talking about." Sunset and Applejack looked at each other, there were times where understanding Pinkie was impossible.
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"Has the DNA been chosen?" Sombra said looking through the two-way mirror as the medical doctors hooked the girl to the I.V. drip.
"Yes sir. I chose it my self after careful screening. In fact her biology seems predisposed to accept this particular species." Tempest said.
"What species did you choose?" Sombra asked.
"Vampire bat." Tempest replied. Sombra just smiled, he had always thought that the vampire bat was one natures most majestic creatures.
Author's Note
Pinkie Pie is hard to write. But now our heroes are getting the right pieces of the puzzle and fitting them together properly.
This story will be shorter than I originally intended, however I'm not sure what it exact length will be.
And I am going to throw my original release schedule out the window. I will post new episodes as I write them
I had to throw in a Pinkie Pie Fourth wall break to lighten the mood of the story a little, it was starting to depress me.
CHANGELING Book 1: Prelude to Destiny
Episode 5: Tribulations
"Twilight, what are you doing?" Rarity asked.
"Oh Rarity, hey." Twilight said as she moved to block the computer screen, "I didn't hear you come in."
"Your sister-in-law let me in, but you haven't answered my question darling." Rarity replied.
Twilight sighed then she uncovered the computer screen.
"I hacked into the city traffic cameras I was looking for film of the abduction so that we would have physical proof to back up Sunsets story. However all the traffic cameras in the city happened to be down for software maintenance at that time. So now I am using the cameras to try to locate two identical black SUVs." Twilight answered.
"Would you like a second pair of eyes darling? I have nothing else to do." Rarity said.
"Yes, I'd love the company." Twilight said.
Across town Rainbow Dash was trying desperately to get some sleep, but sleep eluded her. She thought she had heard the doorbell ring. It was probably one of the girls coming to check on her. Her mom walked into her room.
"Rainbow, honey, there is someone here to see you." her mother Windy Whistles said.
"Unless its Fluttershy I don't want to see anyone." Rainbow mumbled into her pillow just loud enough for her mother to hear.
"Hey Rainbows." a familiar voice said.
I know that voice, oh no! No no!
"Zephyr, What brings you here?" Rainbow said trying not to panic.
"I was starting to go stir crazy just sitting at home by the phone waiting for Fluttershy to call you know." Zephyr said. "You know growing up I adored you because you did something I never could. You were able to bring my big sister out of her shell."
"Fluttershy was, no, IS my best friend. I wish I knew where to look for her. I know she has to be scared." Rainbow said as she looked at a picture of her an Fluttershy from summer camp.
"Remember when we were kids and went summer camp and Fluttershy got lost." Zephyr said.
"I remember you crying a lot until we found Fluttershy behind the mess hall feeding a baby squirrel." Rainbow laughed, punching Zephyr in the arm.
"Thanks Zephyr, I needed this."
"If I know my sister, I know that if she was here she wouldn't want you crying into your pillow.
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After about an hour Twilight had gone to get them each a cup of coffee, when she returned she found Rarity staring intently at the computer screen.
"Twilight, darling, come look at this!" Rarity exclaimed.
"What is it--Oh my goodness!" Twilight said when she saw what Rarity had seen.
"What are those girls up to?" Rarity asked.
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They had waited for one hour after dusk before leaving Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie had wanted to call the others but both Applejack and Sunset had said no. Rainbow was too messed up emotionally, Twilight and Rarity lived on the other side of town. The warehouse had no markings on the exterior and except for a guard shack at the gate there didn't appear to be much activity. The only things the girls found strange about the place was a lack of windows on the building itself and its massive size.
"What do they have in there," Applejack whispered, "the Starship Enterprise?"
" Your guess is as good as mine," Sunset said, "We need to get closer."
"Closer, why in Apple's sake do we want to do that?" Appkejack demanded.
"If she can get close enough to touch a guard she could find out if they have Fluttershy." Pinkie replied.
"Ok, should I be worried that what Pinkie said actually made a lick of sense?" Applejack sighed. Pinkie just nodded, Sunset looked lost in thought.
"I don't like this idea, but looks like this is the only way we'll pull this off." Sunset said and then she unbuttoned the top three buttons on her top, "How do I look?"
"Like a Saturday night special." Applejack said.
"Thanks, I think." Sunset replied as she started to get up from their hiding spot.
"Wait!" hissed Pinkie Pie, "something is missing." then she reached into her hair and pulled out a lollipop and handed it to Sunset.
"This is so embarrassing, promise me that we will never speak of this again. Make that a Pinkie Promise." Sunset grumbled as she walked toward the guard house.
Author's Note
I had fun writing this episode. Particularly the parts about Rainbow and Zephyr and Twilight and Rarity.
CHANGELING Book 1: Prelude to Destiny
Episode 6: Darkness Before Dawn
Fluttershy could no longer tell if she was awake or having a bad dream. She had become accustomed to the pain. It had felt like her whole body had been on fire. But now all that mattered was the thirst. Her mouth and throat were so dry that they burned and felt like sand paper. She fought against the restraints as the doctors fit a metal collar around her neck.
"The control collar is in place and attached to her nervous system. You should have complete control sir." Tempest said.
"Good. Now remove the restraints." Sombra said, "it is time for her first meal."
"Sir our scientist are in there with her." Tempest replied a look of shock on her face.
"No loose ends Commander."
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"I still can't believe I did that." Sunset said. All the girls had met up in Pinkie's basement after school.
"Darling we saw it happen and we can't believe you did that." Rarity said.
"What did she do?" Rainbow asked she had been avoiding people all day and hadn't learned of how the others had spent the weekend.
"Nevermind that. Twilight have you learned anything about that warehouse?" Applejack asked turning the Twilight.
"Quite a bit actually. First, the property is owned by King Enterprises. Second, it is listed as their Special Projects and Environmental Research Laboratory. What ever that means." Twilight said pulling out her laptop and turning it on. She pulled up a three dimensional diagram of the warehouse.
"Where did you get this? I looked in city records and came up with absolutely zero." Sunset said.
"I wondered why you were late to classes today." Pinkie said.
"My friend Moondancer and I used our contacts in the Darkweb to investigate what we could. I am still waiting to hear back from some of them."
"I have a question for y'all," Applejack said, "have any of you ponied up since Fluttershy disappeared?"
In a sudden blur of pink that left behind a smell reminiscent of burnt cotton candy, Pinkie was across the basement and sitting behind her drum set. After ten minutes of frantic playing nothing had happened.
"Makes sense. Our ability to pony up is linked to our friendship and one friend is missing." Twilight explained.
"PINKIE STOP THAT RACKET SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO WATCH THE NEWS." Lime Pie yelled from the foot of the stairs .
"What's going on?" Sunset asked grabbing the remote to turn on the t.v. mounted on the wall. They all turned and looked at the t.v. on it was a shot of the warehouse along with several CPD police cars forming a barrier preventing anyone from approaching.
"Reports so far are scetchy, but a source from within the police department is saying that CPD was called to the scene because of a possible terror attack inside the building. So far there has been no official statement made the Canterlot Police Department. How ever our on scene reporter is saying that more officers are arriving on scene. More after this quick break."
"We need to go. NOW!" Sunset said.
Author's Note
A chapter with more then one word in the title!
I had trouble deciding how to start and where to go with this one. After the previous chapter I had a case of writers block.
Hey, Moondancer!
The end is in near!
CHANGELING Book 1: Prelude to Destiny
Episode 7: Awakenings
Thirst, hunger, fear, anger. These were what she knew. Nothing else mattered. She would hunt. She would feed.
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Chaos reigned outside the warehouse. The police had surrounded it and were trying to keep curious onlookers away.
"Dad!" Rainbow shouted when she saw her father. He was leaning against his patrol car listening to his radio holding a shotgun.
"Huh, Rainbow, girls you shouldn't be here its dangerous. I thought you knew better." Bo Hothoof said looking at his daughter and her friends.
"Dad, listen, Fluttershy is in there." Rainbow insisted. He looked at his daughter and then each of her friends and knew what they were saying was true.
"You're positive. Ok," he said turing to the person next to him who happened to be his wife, "Windy, get the girls to safety, I need to go find Magnus."
Rainbow watched her father walk away. She looked at the warehouse then at her friends then back at the warehouse and she instantly knew what she had do. She reached for her geode.
"Rainbow, no don't!" Sunset said when she saw the look ok her friends face, but it was too late, Rainbow was already sprinting toward the warehouse. Sunset looked at the rest of her friends. She could see it in their eyes, they were determined to go after Rainbow and find Fluttershy.
"Look, if we are going to do this, we need a plan. You heard what they said there is a monster in there." Sunset said, "Who knows what has escaped from Equestria now."
"WhatifthemonsterisreallyFluttershybecauseshewasturnedintoademonfriendbyrenegadescience." Pinkie Pie said all at once in one breath. Her friends just stared at her, "What?"
"Ok, no more pixie sticks tonight for Pinkie. Applejack said at last.
"Ahh." Pinkie replied.
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Once inside the warehouse Rainbow had to move cautiously, the power seemed to be out and only red emergency lights provided light if any.
"Fluttershy, are you in here?" Rainbow asked at a volume just above a whisper. She wouldn't admit it to anyone else but she was scared. Suddenly she lost her footing and fell. Her hand landed in something warm and sticky.
"Is that blood?" she asked no one in particular. She heard movement and saw several shadows moving towards her.
"Stay back, I'm warning you!" Rainbow said.
"I reckon that you don't want a hand up then." Applejack said holding out her hand. Rainbow wiped her hand on her blue t-shirt before giving her hand to Applejack.
"Man, am I glad to see you guys." Rainbow said. Suddenly they all heard an animal-like hiss echo around the warehouse.
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Fresh prey, prey with more vitality was near. She had to have it. This prey was different. Their auras shone brightly in the dark, a silver essence. They were unaware of her presence. She remained at distance. Isolate one of their number then strike.
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"Guys, this isn't fun anymore." Rainbow said wishing that she had a flashlight.
"This was never fun." Rarity said. Sometimes, Rainbow's sense of humor really got on her nerves.
Sunset tried to peer through the darkness, she thought that she had seen movement in a corner but in the dim light she couldn't be sure.
"Uh, do y'all smell that?" Applejack asked. Smoke, now that Applejack had said something they could all smell it.
"We need to hurry!" Twilight said with some urgency.
Rainbow looked around and saw her. Crouched along the wall was Fluttershy, or something that resembled Fluttershy. She was watching them with a predatory grin.
"Look there!" Rainbow nearly shouted as she pointed at Fluttershy. All the girls looked.
Fluttershy looked different, her hair was unkempt, her ears were pointed. Both her hands and feet were claw-like. However the most unsettling thing were the bloodstained fangs that protruded from her mouth.
"Ok, now we are in a horror film!" Pinkie Pie said. Sunset rolled her eyes.
"Fluttershy, its ok, we're... we're your friends." Rainbow said calmly as she took a step forward. Fluttershy just hissed at her. Rainbow hesitated and then reached out her hand toward her friend, "Take my hand Fluttershy, we are gonna take you home."
In a sudden flurry of movement Fluttershy made an attempt to grab Rainbow's arm but Rainbow was faster.
"We need a distraction." Twilight said. That gave Rainbow an idea.
"Be right back" she said, before using her super speed to leave the warehouse. She wasn't gone for more than a minute when she returned holding a small white bunny.
"I hope this works, little monster tried to bite me." Rainbow said.
"Fluttershy, here hold Angel. Holding a Bunny always makes you feel better." Rainbow said holding Angel out in her outstretched arms. At first there was no response from Fluttershy and it looked like she was going to attack but suddenly they all saw recognition in her eyes. Fluttershy collapsed to the floor weeping.
"I've become a monster," she cried, "you should all leave me here before I hurt you next."
Rainbow crouched down beside her best friend and placed a hand on her back.
"You're not a monster Fluttershy, you are our friend and nothing will change that." Rainbow said. Suddenly Fluttershy stood up lifting Rainbow up off the ground with a strength that rivaled Applejack. She was laughing.
"You pathetic creature. You fell for my trap, now you shall be the first to satisfy my thirst." Fluttershy said. Rainbow then noticed a blue glow being reflected in her eyes and realized that it was her geode. Using her free hand she reached into her pocket and wrapped her hand around the stone found there. Pulling her hand out of her pocket she slapped her hand against Fluttershy's chest.
The sudden force hitting her caused Fluttershy to drop Rainbow and clutch her chest. She felt something in her hand looked. A small pink stone was glowing in her hand. She looked down at feet at Rainbow, but she wasn't there. She was hovering in front of Fluttershy. She had sprouted wings, pony ears and a long pony tail. That's when Fluttershy collapsed and the last thing she felt before she passed out was cleansing pain.
"We need to get out of here now! I don't think that this building is going to stand much longer." Twilight said.
"We aren't going to make it. Rarity do you think you could make a force shield?" Sunset said. Rarity nodded and used her magic to create a bubble around them and Twilight then added her magic to it to relieve some of the strain.
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The fire department had managed to quickly get the fire under control and then the police had begun looking for the girls. They had found Rarity's shield. And had been able to get the girls out.
Rainbow had called Fluttershy's parents and had ridden to the hospital in the ambulance with Fluttershy. There was no sign of Sombra.
CHANGELING Book 1: Prelude to Destiny
Episode 3: Innocence
Nearly the whole school had shown up at the amphitheater. Rainbow Dash even saw Chief Magnus and her father in attendance. Rainbow's father was the captain of the patrol division while her mother was a hotshot homicide detective.
After discussing it amongst themselves they had turned Fluttershy's bike over to the police. Rainbow had decided to keep the hair clip and was wearing it now. She reached into her pocket and felt Fluttershy's geode. Keep it together Dash.
As the Rainbooms walked out on to the stage the amphitheater fell silent. The girls had decided that Sunset would do the talking. Rainbow would have but she was having trouble keeping her emotions in check.
"Thank you for coming," Sunset said looking out at the crowd, "as most of you may have heard, Fluttershy is missing. If any one knows anything or has any ideas please talk to Canterlot PD, or you can come to one of us if you feel uncomfortable speaking to the police." Sunset watched the crowd as she spoke, most the students seemed to be in shock. "Fluttershy was last seen on her way to the animal shelter. According to shelter officials she never got there."
"Where should we look for her?" Snails called out.
"I think Chief Magnus would agree with me that none of us should actively look for her, but keep an eye out, she may be lost or hurt or both."
Author's Note
This one is short, but I wanted to focus on the rest of the group for this one. And for those of you who are worried about Fluttershy, it will get better. Eventually.
