Disposing of the Evidence

Twilight returned to her castle as the sun began to set over the horizon. Her visit to Zecora had taken longer than she was expecting, but at least she could fly over the forest on her way back. While Twilight trusted her own skill in crafting potions of all varieties, she also knew that Zecora was far more experienced. That would make it far more likely that everything would go well.

Additionally, Zecora was one of the few ponies she could trust implicitly to keep this whole operation under wraps. She had to maintain a certain degree of candidness when interacting with her, but Zecora knew the value of discretion. She wouldn't go blabbing, and she had given Twilight the potion in an opaque brown paper bag with three staples to keep it shut until Twilight was ready to open it. There were very few ponies Twilight would share her secret with, but Zecora was definitely high on that list.

She rushed up to her bedroom, making sure the door was locked before opening the bag and placing the potion into a locking box. She would open it when the time was right, but not yet. First, she wanted to do a bit of research. Zecora had given her the same warnings that Flurry had, albeit in rhyming couplets. "Alcohol and this potion at the same time will clash; keep them separate to avoid the rash. Keep this information clear in your head, unless you want to wake in a hospital bed."

While she trusted that Zecora wouldn't skip out on warnings of danger, Twilight wanted to be absolutely certain that her niece was safe. She decided that it was time she did a bit of research on the potion for herself. If there was one thing Twilight did exceptionally well, it was research. She had a private library to prove it.

She made her way down there to do some looking into what to expect, and how to counteract the potion's effects, if she had to. When she arrived, she found the book missing, as well as a few more. Just when she was wondering who might have taken them, she heard a book close on the other side of a bookshelf. She peered around the corner, and saw Flurry sitting at her research table, a desk lamp illuminating the books that were missing from the shelves. "Flurry?"

"Hello, Aunt Twilight," answered Flurry, not bothering to look up. "I'll be here for a bit."

"I just came back from picking up the... thing you wanted." The library was an open room. Twilight couldn't be sure who was listening in.

"Thanks for that," replied Flurry. "I'll be up shortly to make use of it." Her voice was monotone, and her eyes never stopped scanning the pages. It was no wonder Flurry was doing so well with her studies, with how focused she seemed to be on the books she was reading. If this was how she studied regularly, it was easy to believe that Flurry was tutoring other students in her class.

"Have you finished with 'Perfectly Practical Potions and their Protective Properties when Percolated Precisely?'"

"Haven't started on it yet, actually," admitted Flurry, scooting it across the table. "Make it quick, I want to hit that one after I finish with 'Hundreds of Horrifying Herbs that are Harmful to Happy Homes,' and 'Many Minerals that May be Made into Magical Manifestations of Massive Might.'"

Twilight nodded and flipped open the book. She only had interest in one potion in particular; the one that she and Flurry would be using while she was here. She would be through quickly.

After another two hours, Flurry was done reading. She'd brought a notebook, and had scrawled in it the parts she needed to remember. "Well, that finishes 'Bizarrely Benign Beans that Brew into Basic Balms Both Beneficial and Baffling,'" she yawned. "What say we take a break from the studying for tonight and find something to eat? I'm going to be here for a whole month studying, and classes don't start for another three days. I'd say I have a pretty good headstart."

Twilight looked up at the clock. She made sure that it always chimed loudly in the library, but only at ten in the evening. She had to add that distraction, otherwise, she'd never be impelled to take care of her basic needs. She'd always be tired, hungry, dehydrated and smelly if she didn't put that clock in. Plus, she'd never be around to settle disputes or make the decisions the Equestrian citizens needed. They had about half an hour remaining.

"I suppose now's a good a time as any," she nodded, standing up with an armful of books. "Right after we put these away, how about we have a nice cheese and broccoli frittata?"

"Sounds tasty," smiled Flurry back, gathering up the rest of the books.

After their meal was finished, Flurry and Twilight made their way to their respective rooms. Their conversation at dinner today was just like it always had been until recently; an intelligent and respectful conversation between two knowledgeable mares that culminated in each of them finding a new viewpoint based on fresh information.

Today had been a good day for Twilight, all things considered. Flurry had already disposed of one photograph for the toe-sucking, they'd spoken as equals through dinner, and she'd even found the time for some studying with her niece. All in all, this had been pleasant.

That's when the secret door swung open. Twilight was more discreet about her sexual preferences than Shining and Cadance were, so she'd made her secret passage between the rooms far more difficult to figure out. In the Crystal Palace, the door was just a large painting. In the Castle of Friendship, one had to walk up to the bookshelf, rearrange three bookends and pull two books out, replacing them backwards, with the spines facing inside. If the order of the books was changed for any reason, or one of those two specific copies of the books were removed, there would be no way to turn the wall into a door.

"Good evening, Auntie," smiled Flurry, walking nonchalantly through the door. "Are you ready?"

"How did you open that door?" asked Twilight, befuddled.

"I saw Daddy open it, once," came Flurry's simple answer. She strode over, sat down on the bed, and spread her legs to show that she'd already discarded her panties. "Now then, we've both checked out everything there is to know about that potion, and you say you've gathered it from a reliable source. All precautions have been met. I'm ready to drink it."