Now at a normal pace, Twilight finally reached Ponyville once again, the young alicorn growing a little excited, now that her home was in sight and soon enough, she’d figure out the odd pair with her.

As she got into town, the curious pair attracted attention from those nearby; ponies surprised to see Twilight bearing a strange crystal, and more, to see the leafy, woody filly that walked near her, looking all around itself.

There’s so many of them here… and it’s so colorful…

…Yeah.

The plant filly slowed down, Twilight not noticing, too preoccupied with her thoughts and otherwise ignoring the stares of ponies nearby; she was fairly used to that by then. In moments, she’d left it behind, the plant filly still, looking around itself.

Why is everything colorful? Why is that sound everywhere? What are you all doing? Where are you all going, why are you all moving so much? Why are you all different colors, why do some of you have the extra parts on your back, or the stone on your heads? It’s all so mysterious! But better than that, it’s… it’s beautiful!

You’re all as colorful as the flowers, each with your own special picture! Your homes are just as colorful! I love those things on your back! I love the stalagmite thing on your head! I love how your eyes let me see you, seeing me! All your sounds and all your motion and all your things, it’s all BEAUTIFUL!

Ponies hesitated as they heard rustling, and once they saw the plant filly, its leaves rustling on their own as it moved into the marketplace, followed by a curious group, they stared, the filly moving chaotically through the area.

What is all this! What are you carrying! What is that thing! What kind of structure is that! Why did you put a bunch of plants atop a wooden thing like that! What is that thing on your face, covering your eyes! You’re covered in cracks, your not-vines go up instead of down, you got flowers in them!

Everything’s so colorful! Everything! Why are you all so colorful, why are the structures so colorful? Where did you find the color you can touch that you colored everything with! I want to, wha, what is that! Look at that! It sparkles, it shines, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before! Is, is that where the color comes from! Let me see too! I want color too!

Pinkie noticed the curious commotion outside Sugarcube Corner, and instantly perked up because of it. Wanting to know, she headed outside, eager to discover what had everypony interested.

Like everypony else, she stared as she too saw the plant filly, that was then rustling as if it was constantly being shaken, looking around itself as if everything needed to be seen, right then, and generally heading her way, weaving past stunned ponies.

Pinkie stared a second before she beamed, dismissing any confusion she did feel about it. It looked like a pony, it was new, and that’s all she truly cared about, then and there deciding to treat it like she would anypony else. She bounded to it, and it stopped, looking at her.

“Hi there!” she greeted, lightly hopping in eagerness. “You’re new!”

Your sounds are different! And you move so much! Everything, up and down and up and down! You came from the color place, can I go in! I want to go in, I want to color too, I want to become colorful too! Please, please, please!

Pinkie beamed more as the filly hopped in place, the bright mare giving a happy squeal, seeing her action mimicked; that always meant times ahead were going to be extra fun. “Get ready!” she told it, grabbing on. “Bet your buds I knock those leaves off you and give you a welcome party like you’ve never seen before!”

This place… It, it reminds me of the temple…

“Spike!” Twilight called as she finally got back to her home, entering into the grand entry hall. “Spike, library, magical study and practice room!” she called, knowing he’d hear her and be waiting, heading there herself.

Wh, whoa… Y, you are loud… like nothing I heard before…

Spike, in the library himself, startled a little at her return, and hurried out of his hiding hole to one of the rooms adjoining the library, the magical study and practice room. He opened the door and waited, wondering what Twilight was up to; the cmc had told him about the events at the farm, and Rainbow had later told them and him it was all fine now.

What, what is all this…?

As she came, he asked, “What happened?”

“In a moment Spike.” Twilight told him, too eager to begin her study right then, Spike hesitating as he saw crystal on her back; though it looked rather strange to be crystal to him. He followed her inside and shut the door, and turned to find Twilight gently trying to get the crystal filly off of her.

As it did so, Spike paused, seeing it for what it was then. “…Is that the ‘crystal filly’ the girls told me about? The one that attacked Applejack?”

There, there’s so much magic here, but, but stone shouldn’t… May, maybe it’s those crystals on that table? I, I don’t understand…

“Yes.” Twilight answered, getting on her own hooves and turning to see it. A brief lived thought wondered where the plant one was before she decided it was nearby; she was too eager to finally get insight into the crystal filly to be too concerned about the other. “Get the notes, we’re going to be learning!” she told him, focusing.

Recalling her last attempt, Twilight first tested it by repeating the same. Getting the same results as Spike got a notepad and pen, she then readied a stronger spell, and used that.

W, whoa!

The spell partially reflected, as before, but it gave Twilight a better insight into the exact mechanism. “General examination doesn’t seem to work.” She said, Spike jotting down as she spoke, Twilight then suspecting that the filly simply had many reflective surfaces on it; unusual perhaps, but considering the filly itself, nothing shocking. “It’ll likely work better if I focus it into a point; let’s see.”

Oh, oh! Wha, what is this!

Twilight nodded as her modified spell penetrated, noting that even the pointed spell struggled to get through. “High spell reflectivity.” She noted, before startling as she sensed something, blinking at the crystal filly. Wondering, she repeated the spell, stronger than before.

Ah!

She got a better response that time, noting the crystal filly’s eyes lightly glow a brief moment, but far more important was what she’d found inside of it.

There was such a thing as a mana conduit; a very particular crystal that would channel magic through it in very particular fashions. They were created via magic, as no natural crystal would ever form so particularly as to become a mana conduit.

Yet, one such conduit existed within the crystal filly; or, Twilight told herself, calming back down, something a lot like one. “…Double checking results.” She said, repeating the spell.

Eek!

There was no spell reflection at all that time; that shock, however, was swiftly overcome by the spell’s results, Spike hesitating as the filly’s eyes lit a bright pink. The filly didn’t have a mana conduit in it.

It had a multitude of mana conduits within it. Impossibly interconnected to one another, forcing Twilight’s spell through a particular path through them, and swiftly breaking the spell apart as the impossible pathway diverged, tearing the spell form to pieces.

This was impossible, Twilight knew: mana conduits required a near exact structure, and were in no way able to ‘connect’ to one another. Yet, her spell had found just that, except mana conduits were not just connected, but sharing space with other conduits, and forming coherent ‘pathways’ through the filly. That also split into others.

Spike eyed Twilight’s gape, Twilight herself stunned by the revelation, and then mildly upset by what it also told her:

Due to that same structure, it would be actually impossible to understand the exact design of the conduits. Any spell would be forced away by another conduit long before it could reveal the exact crystalline structure.

“Twilight?” Spike asked.

Twilight shook herself, determined to find out more, the filly’s eyes slowly losing their glow. “…Detecting multiple mana conduits cooperating within the target. It seems there’s a sort of system to send magic through the target as well.”

Ah… ha…

“Attempting a manifold spell form; it should survive better and give me a complete picture.”

Ah!

Again, Twilight sensed no reflection, but that time, it was as if the filly was actively absorbing the spell; Twilight noting the magic being particularly drawn towards the crystal patch on its back. Spike startled as its eyes instantly lit brightly, shining.

Her spell again found the same impossible manifolds of conduits, her magic hurried through; the manifold spell form breaking harmlessly and giving her further information as they spilt, that time. Spike could actually see it, faint glowing lines visible in the filly, as if bands of light hurried through it.

Part of what was new was that several null points existed, which caught and destroyed any magic or spell that escaped the conduits. Then several of the spells found an endpoint, and identified what appeared to be a distinct crystal form within the filly, before they hit it and were instantly decomposed and absorbed. Other spells kept going, noting a magical flow inside the filly, one that followed their same pathways; which Twilight was sure hadn’t been there before, the young alicorn only then noticing the brilliant shine from its eyes.

The manifold’s limits were finally reached and the spells began breaking apart once more as Twilight noticed the physical attributes of the filly; she and Spike noting that the general flow moved towards the filly’s head, and that the crystals on the back of its head were starting to glow themselves. First with a faint glitter, slowly growing brighter until they had a strong glow to them, the eyes’ shine fading until they were dark again, even the tiny blue light gone.

Then, suddenly, with a light ‘ping’, the crystals ceased glowing, and were abruptly surrounded by a curious, shimmering blue mist. The tiny blue lights returned, slowly returning to their original glint, and wandering a little as they did so.

W, w, wow… Tha, that was… wow…

Twilight, wondering, sensed the curious mist. Then her mouth dropped open.

The mist was pure magic; somehow remaining thick around the crystals there and not diffusing instantly like it should be. That was shocking.

But more so, Twilight kept track of her approximate mana use, and was rather experienced in measuring her expenditure according to the widely accepted guide for doing so.

That little cloud contained twice the mana she’d used in her spell.

Instantly, Twilight recast the same spell, needing to know if it had just happened or if some mechanism she’d missed had given the extra magic.

A, a, again!?

Again, the crystal filly’s eyes lit up, Twilight focused, determined to spot what she’d missed before. She swiftly noted what she was sensing:

There was no magical flow in the filly at first. The special crystalline formation inside did have a magical presence, but didn’t give any indications of outputting anything. The null points only voided mana that touched them.

Nothing appeared to be adding magic at all, and the general noise from the swiftly many spells made clear measurement impossible.

Which meant, Twilight knew, that somehow, the filly was actually doubling her spell’s total mana.

Actually, more than that, as some mana was devoured by null points; Twilight guessing that added maybe .2 or so to the total change.

Which could shake the foundations of magical knowledge, but Twilight felt it more likely that an otherwise unknown and unseen mechanism was adding magic, rather than that a foundation of magical knowledge was wrong. Perhaps that differing crystal structure within the filly?

She determined to check it again when she paused.

The filly wasn’t doing what it had before. Rather, the glowing lines inside of it were increasing, both in brightness and number, which was causing the filly to begin to glow.

Twilight quickly tried to sense what was happening, before being shocked again. She managed to figure out mana was rapidly increasing in the filly, but her spell had been so powerfully pulled towards the crystals on its back that she didn’t know more than that. Spike actually saw the glow on her horn be pulled towards it.

“Twi, Twilight?” Spike asked, noting the filly glowing more as time passed, the drakling at first confused at what he was seeing, before noting Twilight’s clear worry, which sparked his own. “What, what’s it doing?” he asked, tensing.

“I,” she began, trying again, before feeling the accumulating magic on her horn gone the moment she had it, the young alicorn startling. “I don’t know!” she yelped, the filly still growing brighter, Twilight watching with wide eyes, worry shifting to fear as glow turned to shine, swiftly growing brighter once it passed a point.

Twilight grabbed onto Spike and moved to the wall, holding him close as she tensed, waiting for something, more afraid for that she didn’t know what she could be waiting for.

She flinched at the touch of magic, but a moment more had her pause.

That wasn’t a random magical discharge; it had been her examination spell.

She looked just in time to see near countless such spells scattering, impacting everything in the room, manifold forms breaking and reflecting, filling the whole of the room for a few, brief moments, the crystal filly dark. As the last few spells faded, the tiny blue lights slowly came back, weak and wobbling as they slowly returned to their first brightness.

Wha, what, what is… What, what just happened? W, why do I feel so… weird? I…

The tiny lights returned to the original shine as Twilight cautiously relaxed, getting back up, and focused on her.

Y, you… I… I know about you…

You…

You’re… too big. Too deep. Too everything.

Y, you’re not a real pony!

What, what are you!

“…W, what happened?” Spike asked, slowly calming himself.

“…It just repeated my spell.” Twilight said, staring at it as its head shifted somewhat, its tiny lights moving a fair bit then. “On everything, at the same time.” She took a step closer, and, to her surprise, it took a step back.

S, stay away from me you, you thing! Did, did you hurt my friend! What did you do! I, I have to find them, now! T, tell me you’re nearby!

It turned, and began moving towards the door, its motions almost hurried in appearance.

“W, wait!” Twilight said, heading towards it. “You don’t have to,” she began, reaching for it.

N, NO!

Without any warning, a burst of magic propelled the crystal filly into and through the door, Twilight startling as it did so, and seeing it tumbling into the library. She stared out the hole at it, seeing it somehow manage to tumble onto its hooves before stopping, and resume slowly hurrying away.

“W, wait!” she yelled, hurrying after it again. “It’s alright, it’s al,” she tried, before badly flinching at it produced a hideous screeching sound, as is somepony dragged many nails across glass, except with a multitude of tones which made it far worse. She pushed forwards regardless, Spike holding his hands over his head.

Stay AWAY FROM ME!

Twilight got to sense the magical wave an instant before it hit her, throwing her back to impact the wall, the same burst of force throwing everything in her general direction with her, Spike yelping as he rolled back into the magical study and practice room, nearby shelves falling over.

Twilight landed on her hooves a moment after, dazed, and shook herself before looking. To find it floating in the air a brief moment before it shot off, flying through the air.

Not good, not good, not good!

She flinched as it hit shelves, the wood cracking and shuddering as it did so, before she saw it hit and go right through another door, heading out of the library. She stared a brief moment before running after it; that brief encounter told her she had to stop it, and quick, before things really got out of hoof.

Pinkie was feeling quite happy with the party. Lots of ponies had shown up and everypony was having a good time. Even the plant filly, which was rather hard to understand, but Pinkie felt she’d figured out lots of stuff about it, or rather, about Bushy:

It couldn’t talk, write, read, or understand. Pinkie had tried a number of ways, but Bushy had shown no indication of understanding any method of communication. Due to that, Pinkie had thus named the strange filly Bushy, and had worked to figure out what she could about it.

Bushy didn’t eat like normal ponies. A cupcake had been stared at, and Pinkie had shown it how, just in case. And Bushy had ‘opened’ its ‘face’ and put/grabbed the cupcake there and ‘shut its mouth, maybe’, crushing it there. Bits of cupcake were still present.

Drinking was equally odd; Bushy would just extend a hoof and the wood making it up would uncurl to dip into a cup and swiftly empty it. Giving it juice had this process stop and Bushy to startle before it ‘drank’ even faster than it had before. Said juice also made Bushy more active, and after a few cups, it had just started tossing them onto its back.

Bushy could control the wood making it up. Soon after Pinkie had gotten the party going, Bushy had shifted some of the wood on it to feign having a mane and tail. Which also partially revealed the dirt inside of it; Bushy went for another drink every time it grew a little dry.

Bushy’s leaves rustled when it was excited, Pinkie felt, but the ‘mane’ and ‘tail’ helped a lot more; Bushy wiggled both sometimes, and Pinkie was fairly confident that meant she was very happy about something.

Wood control also extended to how Bushy held things. Soft things, like cupcakes, had its hoof wood pierce into it, but hard things, like cups, were carefully grabbed by the wood, or, if it was really small, by tiny roots on those little branches. Bushy couldn’t hold anything it couldn’t pierce or grab in that fashion.

Bushy could even use its wood to make music. By tapping and rubbing wood together, Bushy could produce a good beat and several surprising notes, and it definitely wasn’t random, as Bushy would mostly match its music to the songs being sung. However, Bushy couldn’t really dance, instead just stumbling around with awkward, semi-random motions; reminding Pinkie of Twilight, in that way.

Bushy clearly liked meeting new ponies, always taking a few seconds to stare directly at them and look them over. It also clearly loved being amongst lots of them and being the focus of attention, or at least Pinkie felt it did. But what Bushy really, truly loved was coloring.

Bushy had near vibrated when Pinkie had given it some crayons, and then used them to produce some surprisingly accurate images of flowers and then of ponies nearby. It had drawn a few of such drawings, held them up to be looked at and approved of, and then took the time to try and color its own wood.

And if that wasn’t proof of Bushy loving bright colors wasn’t enough, it had taken some colorful frosting and made a spirited attempt to get it all over itself.

Altogether, she felt she’d given Bushy one of her most successful welcome parties ever; especially considering Bushy’s trouble with understanding and expressing itself.

But, just like a normal filly would, Bushy clearly started to grow tired after a time; less wiggling, slower movements, slower reactions. It did go for a lot longer than a filly that behaved like it would, however, and by the time Bushy was tiring, the party was starting to wind down.

I, I love all of you; this, this had all been just, just the best thing ever. If, if I ever wondered if you guys were welcoming, well, I’m taking this as total proof you are! G, giving me all that special water stuff and letting me have all the color I could want and, oh, oh hey, it’s you! The color keeper!

Pinkie spotted Bushy wandering, heading her way, and went to her, smiling down as Bushy stared up at her, its glowing eyes a little dim. Pinkie smiled at it, and despite knowing it pointless, asked, “Did you have a great time?”

All of you guys and your white stones. Your soft and warm forms, your not-vine stuff, your weird hoof things, all the moving everything, always. You’re so different than me or anypony I know, but you’re still ponies.

Thank you for giving me all this. All the special water, all the colors… I don’t know what it means to you guys, but I loved it, and I think it’s something really special. Thank you.

To Pinkie’s near shock, Bushie appeared to nod; lowering its head for a brief moment before looking back up at her. Her smile turning into a bright beam, she sat down and gently hugged the strange filly, Pinkie feeling rather proud of Bushy right then.

Wh, whoa, uh… O.K, you’re not really grabbing me… You’re just holding me real close… Gosh, you’re warm, and… Oh! Is, is this how you invite! You’re saying ‘I trust you’, right? You have to be. But… just in case:

Can I please invade you?

Pinkie had another pleasant surprise as Bushie shifted, and sort of hugged her back. She gave a happy sigh, feeling a hoof lightly stroking at her side, and gently squeezed.

O.K, I’m pretty sure you’re trying to invade me. Though you’re really bad at it. I’ll just take that as a ‘yes’ then, alright?

Pinkie felt a tiny sting on her side, and the mare froze, her eyes popping open as it felt like three needles suddenly stabbed her. With a sharp yelp, she leapt into the air, Bushy tumbling over, ponies startling in turn.

Pinkie then looked at her side, to spot three tiny holes in her side, bleeding; they still hurt. Confused and baffled, she looked at Bushy, and hesitated.

Bushy was lying on the ground, and was shivering a lot. Its eyes were gone, but far more pertinently, the wood making Bushy up was visibly growing.

A, ah, ah,

Pinkie stared, wide-eyed, as white wood swelled in size, before branches suddenly broke free and jutted out, waving in the air like tendrils, still growing as leaves appeared and grew with them. A few moments had many such branches out, new ones branching off the largest, and they began to weave themselves together; remaking Bushy not as a filly, but as big as an adult pony; and then bigger as wood kept growing despite it.

Bushy shifted, and rose to its ‘hooves’, as the new form finished, its head appearing almost like a mannequin’s might, then. More branches rose upwards from its back, rapidly swelling in size as they rose upwards, while smaller ones grew out from Bushy’s shoulders and flanks, those lacking any leaves. The ones on its back wove together, before lightly splaying out as they neared the ceiling, swiftly growing thick bundles of leaves so as to resemble a tree.

A brief moment of stillness followed, before, with a little pop, hundred so white flowers appeared amongst the leaves, turning Bushy nearly perfectly white save for fragments of frosting and some tiny bits of color still on some parts of wood.

Pinkie stared and slowly relaxed before freezing as Bushy’s eyes reappeared suddenly.

Blood red.

That, that, that was amazing! The, the single best thing I’d ever felt! I feel, I feel, I don’t know what I feel!

The branches on Bushy lightly shifted, Bushy itself gently shifting.

…But I know I want more.

A branch lashed out, snapping around a mare’s hoof, who screamed, which was the impetus for everypony to then panic. Bushy turned to the panicking crowd, and more branches lashed out, ponies using the chairs and tables to defend themselves from the seeking wood.

Before more could happen, Pinkie hit Bushy with a pie, and yelled, “No, bad Bushy! Bad!”, causing Bushy to freeze, and then turn to her.

…What if everypony else isn’t like you? Maybe you’re the only one like that. It has to be somepony special to be the color keeper, after all. Just like how not all of my kind have flowers.

…I know its rude, but I want more! I have to have more! Come here, you!

Pinkie started as all of Bushy’s attention turned on her, Bushy appearing some kind of plant-based nightmare as branches flared out around it, casting a shadow that accentuated its bloody red eyes.

Pinkie had barely readopted her glare when she heard the start of a roar; and then, suddenly, it was silent, and the bakery was empty, Bushy suddenly gone, the place a disaster. Pinkie blinked, before she looked outside, and easily spotted both the large pile of white branches and the great winged lion glaring at it.

She headed out the then broken front doors towards him, ponies gathering in a crowd nearby, attention mostly focused on the pile of wood, quite a few startling up from the prone positions they found themselves in.

“Kitty!” Pinkie called as she came, attracting the great winged lion’s attention.

“Pinkie, what was this… thing?” Kitty asked, frowning at the pile.

“That was Bushy.” Pinkie answered, looking at it herself.

“…Bushy?”

“…Bushy wasn’t always bad, you know.” Pinkie sighed, looking rather sadly at the pile.

“Pinkie?” Kitty asked, wondering as the Pink mare sniffled. “…You’re bleeding.” Kitty remarked, eyeing the sad mare.

“That… that’s probably my fault.” Pinkie said, sighing. Before Kitty could ask, she told him, “I hugged her and I think I held too long or too hard or something and panicked her; she bit me and got really big and… all that.” she said, gesturing at the pile. “And now she’s gone.” She squeaked, tearing up.

…Ow.

Kitty eyed the pile for a moment. The screaming that had first attracted him, and then the plant pony monstrosity he’d pulled out of the bakery that had clearly been threatening Pinkie hadn’t seemed like anything peaceful.

“She, she wasn’t always huge.” Pinkie told him, sniffling. “Bushy was just a little filly before. A happy little filly that loved to learn. She loved to color and could draw really good. She made all these really pretty drawings of flowers and ponies, and she loved singing. She couldn’t sing, but she could make sound to sort of match it.”

W, what happened to me? Why am I buried in… more of me? W, why is this wood so thick? I, I don’t grow stuff this thick.

…Why is a lot of it broken? Like, really broken?

“She moved her branches around to pretend to have a tail and mane, and she tried to color herself.” Pinkie continued, sighing sadly. “I, I’m sure she was happy. At least until I spooked her.”

“I’ll always remember you, Bushy.” Pinkie told the pile, wiping her eyes. “At, at least I got to welcome you right before it all went wrong.” She finished, her voice tightening at the end, Pinkie lowering her head.

It’s mostly dead too… This is… really weird. Back to the light. Nice and careful, just in case whatever broke all this wood is still out there.

Sure hope it wasn’t one of the color ponies.

Pinkie and Kitty hesitated as the small rustle, and the sad mare looked up.

“…Bushy?” Pinkie asked, hope blooming as she saw a small portion of the pile shifting. A moment after, and she saw the twin green glows.

…Color keeper? Alright! I know that you’re safe!

Bushy, again a small filly, came out of the pile, reformed as it once had been, and headed to Pinkie, who barely restrained herself from rushing and grabbing onto it like she wanted to.

“Bushy, you’re, you’re…” Pinkie tried, teary, before she yelled, “You’re alright!”

Loud! And… you’re leaking? Your eyes are leaking. That isn’t bad for you, right?

Kitty watched as the plant filly touched at Pinkie’s fallen ears, before yanking back.

Oh, ew! Salt water! You’re leaking salt water!

“So, this is Bushy’s… first form?” Kitty asked.

What was… oh.

“Y, yeah.” Pinkie told him nodding, before hesitating. Bushy was staring at Kitty for a moment, before it suddenly pulled inwards, even its leaves pulling flat against it, and it, without breaking eye contact with Kitty, began to ever so carefully move behind Pinkie.

Oh, that’s so not good… W, what even is that? Is, is that what broke all this wood? All my weird, too-big, dead wood?

“It’s just Kitty, Bushy.” Pinkie told Bushy, wondering how she might indicate Kitty’s harmless intentions to a filly that couldn’t understand. “He’s perfectly safe!” she said, heading to him and patting at him, smiling at Bushy. Bushy appeared to slowly relax, untightening.

Y, you can just touch that? Is that… is that what woodcraft looks like to you guys? We make things sort of like us; did, did you make that thing sort of like you? Are you seeing…

Oh. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no!

Pinkie and Kitty hesitated as Bushy suddenly looked around itself, Pinkie noting that it seemed far more animate than normal.

I have to find them! But, but how! Nopony speaks around here! Wait, wait! The color! A picture!

The plant filly turned, and ran back into the bakery. Pinkie, wondering and curious, followed, Kitty doing the same before he stopped outside while Pinkie went inside, noting the plant filly hunting amongst the general mess for something.

White stuff, but, but where’s the colors! They have to be right, or they might not understand! Green, Blue, but no purple or pink! Where did they go!

Pinkie noted it grabbing at crayons, and discarding them after a moment, and wondered. Her eye caught a few nearby, and thinking it was, for some reason, searching for a particular color, got them and carried them over.

The pink one was snatched, but the yellow wasn’t.

Yes, thank you! I got half, and… There!

The plant filly darted, and got a purple crayon from nearby, before hurrying to the nearby paper, and drawing with clear focus and purpose. Pinkie wandered closer, and watched.

After a few moments, it had drawn a purple pony with what had to be wings, extended out, a blur of pink on their flank, and a smaller, pink filly next to them. Done, the plant filly then grabbed the paper, and held it up to Pinkie.

Please understand, please know what I’m trying to tell you, please, please, please…

Pinkie pondered. The figure did look like Twilight, but crayon was pretty vague. It might be a purple pegasus with some kind of pink cutie mark instead. The pink filly was unknown; there had been no pink filly the plant pony had seen at the party, Pinkie knew, and it seemed silly to think it had spotted Diamond Tiara to then draw her.

Bushy clearly really wanted to draw this, and really wanted to show her the same. There was some reason it had done so beyond just wanting to draw, Pinkie was certain.

But she found herself struggling to guess what Bushy wanted to tell her. It wasn't until Pinkie thought of getting Twilight to help before realizing who the purple pony had to be. Pinkie nodded, and told the plant filly, “Follow me.”

Did, did you get it? Are, are you going to where these two are?

The plant filly watched her leaving, and Pinkie looked back. Then she smiled, and gestured for it to come, and simply hurried out of the bakery.

Y, you better be going to the right place! It’s really important!

Pinkie looked back, and saw it hurrying after her. “We’re off to Twilight!” she told Kitty, then galloping away, making sure she didn’t outpace the plant filly, rushing after her. Kitty hesitated before he followed in turn.

Please be alright, please be alright, please be alright…

Author's Note

In case anyone's wondering about Kitty, see my other story, Sands of Time, for more information.
And if any of you have any suggestions for how to, perhaps, better tie this together, please leave a message or comment.