There was a touch of humidity in the air the next morning. I could feel it even before I stepped out of the library, although I wasn’t too concerned about it. It wasn’t a thick summer humidity that promised to keep you wet even hours after you stepped out of the shower, but a thin, shimmering blanket that promised allergies to come. The weather report called for more rain later in the afternoon though, so it wouldn’t last long.

Clipping my modified saddlebags around my waist, I shook my head at Ebony who was adjusting the straps of her own bags. “You know, you don’t have to come with me, right? I’m pretty sure I can find my way there by myself without any trouble.”

“Okay, first of all, that’s a lie,” she deadpanned. “We all know you’re a trouble magnet. No, wait. A trouble black hole. Every time you’ve been by yourself for more than a few minutes, something happens. I’m right, aren’t I?” she asked Primrose, who was resting on the couch. “Every single time!”

The bat pony nodded her head, eyes bloodshot and lidded.

“Not every time,” I frowned.

Ebony cocked an eyebrow. “The human fighting pit. The manticores. Lyra Heartstrings. The Gala. The infected human. Hearth’s Warming Eve. The Discord fiasco.”

“What about the timberwolves?” I asked, crossing my arms. “You guys were with me when that happened!” She stared at me for a few moments before I huffed and looked away. “Fine, whatever. So what? You’re going to escort me there, stand around and watch, and then escort me back? That’s your plan for the day, and every other day I go somewhere?”

“Oh goodness, no.” Ebony shook her head. “I’m going into town because I need to run a few errands for the greenhouse before the storm hits. The flower sisters have some new items in stock I want to look at too.”

“So why bring up the trouble thing?” I asked, annoyed.

“Because I didn’t want you lying to yourself or others,” she said, batting her eyelashes at me.

I glared at her before tsking. “I hate you. That was unnecessary.” As she stuck her tongue out at me, I turned and called up the stairs. “Twilight! I’m heading out for a bit! Do you need anything while I’m out?” After a few moments, there came a returning shout from somewhere up above.

“No, I’m good. Thank you!”

“Suit yourself,” I muttered. Stretching, I nudged Ebony with my knee. “Alright. Let’s get going, fam. Got stuff to do and ponies to see.” She motioned for me to lead the way, and we both slipped out of the library.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

The inside of the Carousel Boutique was unusually messy. Swatches of fabric lay draped over every table surface and piles of discarded scraps were accumulating in the corners. Half a dozen ponyquins were scattered about, each one dressed up in various outfits that were all half-finished. Thread covered everything like some multi-colored spider silk.

As the front door closed behind me, I glanced around at the disaster scene with morbid curiosity.

“Rarity?” I called out. “You home? Or alive for that matter?” When I received no reply, I clicked my tongue before reaching up and grabbing the cord of the bell above the door. In a single, deft movement, I rang the bell frantically for several seconds before letting it fall silent again.

Before the echo finished fading, a pile of clothing in the far corner began to move. The tip of a white horn emerged from beneath a torn piece of red cloth. A moment later the rest of the unicorn appeared, the fabric draping over her shoulders like a shawl. She had wrinkles under her eyes and her red glasses were slightly crooked, but surprisingly, her mane and tail were still in pristine shape despite having been buried under a mountain of cloth.

Rubbing her cheek, Rarity glanced around blearily. Upon spotting me standing there, her eyes widened.

“Goodness, darling, was that you?” she yawned. “Isn’t it a little late to be making so much noise?”

“I, uhhh…” I glanced out the front window at the sunshine and shopping ponies outside before turning back to her. “It’s… not that late? I mean, maybe to someone like Twilight, but it’s still before noon.”

“Wha…?” Looking at the clock, Rarity’s ears folded back as she noticed the time. “Oh no! No no no! Don’t tell me I was like that all night!” Hurrying to a nearby mirror, she began fretting over her appearance. Her horn sparked to life and brushes and powders orbited her head.

“Long night?” I asked as I placed my saddlebags down next to the door.

“Nothing I haven’t dealt with before,” Rarity said as she worked. “Just some work for an upcoming event in Manehattan. A little crunched for time, but I’ve managed such things before. Unfortunately, though, I ran into a bit of a block last night and it appears I may have… worked myself a bit too hard trying to overcome it.”

“Oh, well, if you’re busy, I can always come back later,” I offered. “It’s not that important and I don’t want to distract you from your work.”

Putting the finishing touches to her appearance, Rarity tsked. “Oh, pish posh. You are no bother, darling. If anything, this will be a welcome change. Hopefully focusing on something else will help get me back into the zone.” Putting her brushes away, she turned to me. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“I need shirts.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I need some shirts.”

She gave me a confused look. “Shirts? You need… shirts? Just shirts?” After studying me for a moment, she pursed her lips. “May I inquire as to the reason? Is there an event coming up that you need to dress up for? Some formal event? Perhaps a shirt for working outside beneath the sun? Anything like that?”

“Nah, nothing like that, thankfully,” I said with a shake of my head. “Just plain, simple day-to-day shirts. For whatever reason, I appear to be losing them lately. I have no clue what’s happening to them, but they are disappearing faster than cupcakes at a Pinkie Pie party. I think I have like… three shirts left right now, and with summer coming up, I don’t want sunburns, so yeah… I need more. Think you can do it?”

Rarity tittered. “And here I thought you might be providing me with an actual challenge. That’s a rather simple task, darling. I should be able to produce several pieces in rather short order. Unless…” She rubbed her chin. “Unless, of course, you want to add any unique designs to some of them? Some strips perhaps? Or maybe some pockets? Removable sleeves?”

I opened my mouth to decline her offer, but paused instead at the last option. My eyes narrowed. “Removable sleeves?”

“Long sleeves in the morning, short sleeves at night,” Rarity said with a grin. “It’s a new fashion trend that’s been popping up in Las Pegasus lately, and I’ve simply been dying to try it out. Granted, the original design is meant for ponies, but modifying it for humans would be no trouble at all.”

I stared at her before nodding slowly. “Got any examples to show?”

Rarity’s eyes sparkled. “You know, I think I actually might. One second, darling.”

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

“Thanks again for seeing me on such short notice.” Waving to Rarity over my shoulder, I exited the Boutique with my saddlebags full of several new shirts. They were basic ones, monocolored with Twilight’s cutie mark embroidered on the back. She couldn’t get to the removable sleeves version just yet, but Rarity promised me that she would get to them as soon as possible.

Rarity returned the wave absentmindedly as the door closed, already gathering her supplies again with a look of concentration on her face. Leaving her to her work, I moved off down the street towards home.

Dark clouds were starting to be gathered in the sky. The weather team was bringing in small rain clouds and clumping them together, where they slowly grew into bigger and bigger clouds as they drew moisture from the area. A breeze was beginning to pick up, the scent of rain seeping into the air.

There were still a few ponies left in the marketplace, finishing up some last-minute shopping before the storm hit. A lone human hung about the fountain, staring up at the weather team as her hair whipped in the wind. Every so often one of the younger pegasi would flitter down, boop the human on the head before returning to the clouds. In the distance, a whistle sounded as a train pulled into Ponyville station.

I hung around the market for a few minutes to see if Ebony might make an appearance. Since I didn’t know how long her errands would take, I figured I’d wait for her. For all I knew though, she was already back at the library. If not, it wasn’t that hard to find; you could literally see it from the marketplace.

When it became apparent that Ebony wasn’t going to show, and most of the sky was blocked by ominous gray clouds, I decided to head for home. Ditzy waved at me as I passed, one wing ushering her daughter along in front of her.

The branches of the library were whipping back and forth in the wind as I walked up the path to the front door. A flash of light came from somewhere behind me, and a few seconds later a low rumble echoed through the town.

“Looks like I made it just in time,” I muttered to myself as I pushed the door open and slipped inside. As it closed behind me, I unbuckled my saddlebags and went to put them on the floor, only to pause.

Across the room, the small cupboard beneath the stairs was open. In front of it stood Twilight. She had been in the process of putting something inside the small closet, so I had a pretty good view of her rump. She stared back over her shoulder at me, her eyes wide with alarm and her wings flared wide. Her tail lashed to the side, revealing certain… parts to my gaze.

However, that’s not what made me pause.

No, the thing that truly caught my attention was the shirt dangling from between her teeth.

One of my shirts.

Not only that, but just past Twilight, I could see the contents of the cupboard, which happened to be a cacophony of blankets and various books, as well as what looked to be all of my missing shirts.

“It was you,” I hissed.

Twilight’s pupils were the size of pinpricks.

Silence fell over the room as both of us just stared at each other, the only sound being the sound of the storm growing stronger outside.

Then, as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky outside, I lunged for her.

A loud whinny escaped her as Twilight bolted, but she tripped over the shirt in her teeth. Before she could recover, I was upon her with a shout. One hand grabbed her shoulder while the other grasped at my shirt. I tried wrestling it from her, but she jerked her head away, trying desperately to keep a hold of the shirt. The tip of her horn scratched my bottom lip.

“Twilight, what the fu—oof!” The air left my lungs as one of her back hooves connected with my stomach. We both toppled over, struggling with one another in a frenzy of hair and feathers. “What the fuck, Twilight? What are you—ouch! Stop that!” Letting go of the shirt, I lifted my hand to protect my face from her buffeting wings.

Twilight tried to take advantage of my distraction and scamper off, but I wrapped my arms around her barrel, pinning her against my chest. A rush of hot air blew in my ear as she snorted. That was the only warning I got before Twilight planted her hooves on either side of my body and rolled. I held on for dear life as she tried to barrel roll me off of her. She rolled a second time followed quickly by a third after which we crashed into the couch, toppling it over as well. Cushions cascaded down around us, adding to the chaos and confusion.

“This… is… ridiculous!” I growled, shaking my head to dislodge a pillow that was threatening to smother my face. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Twilight growled from around the shirt, her ears splayed back and her pupils the size of pinpricks. Her nostrils flared as she snorted again.

“I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, but you can’t have this!” Struggling to maneuver myself around, I finally managed to get the upper hand for a brief moment. With some difficulty, I opened her jaw up just enough to tear the shirt away. My cry of triumph though was immediately stifled when she twisted her neck about and bit down on the shirt I was wearing instead. I cried out in pain as she chomped on some of my flesh as well. “Mother fu—!”

Before another round could start, the front door burst open. “Hello~~~! Twilight! Anypony home? Sorry to barge on in, but it’s storming out there to beat the band. Oh, um… am I interrupting something?”

Both Twilight and I whipped our heads around to stare at the front door and the very pink, very confused pony that was standing there. Outside, lightning flashed across the blackened sky and thunder rumbled loudly.

Slowly, Cadance glanced back and forth between us, her bemused look deepening. “I, um…” Her gaze drifted from my cracked lip, to a disheveled Twilight who still had the shirt I was wearing clenched in her teeth, to the fallen couch.

Upon seeing the opened cupboard door and the contents within, her puzzled expression gradually shifted to surprise and then to glee. Sitting down, she clopped her hooves together all while giggling uncontrollably. “Is that… Twilight, are you nesting?”

“N-no,” Twilight stammered out from around my shirt. “No, I-I’m not!”

Cadance’s eyes narrowed and she made to step towards the cupboard, only for Twilight to squawk and fluff out her chest and wings aggressively. She jumped off me and darted in front of the cupboard, blocking her path.

This caused Cadance to squee, dancing in place. “Oh, I knew it! You are nesting! But that means… h’oh my gosh! Twilight!

“You’re pregnant!”

Author's Note

And we're back, baby. Sorry for such a long hiatus, but things happen, . Needless to say, I'm happy to be back on the typewriter again.