Surprise on Short noticeby SeptiaChaptersSurprise on Short notice 1, Twilight & RainbowSurprise on Short notice 2, Applejack & Fluttershy[Scat] Surprise on Short notice 3, Rarity & Pinkie PieSurprise on Short notice 1, Twilight & RainbowSurprise on Short notice Part 1: Twilight & Rainbow Written by Septia. “Come on, Guys, this is gonna be the best day ever,” Pinkie beamed to the gathered assembly of surprise parties. “Yeeeeah, she better watch out, cuz she's not gonna know what hit 'er.” Rainbow said flying across the room and pumping her hoof into the sky. “Ah believe the ideas' that she's not gon’ be watching out, ain't it? Wouldn't be much of a surprise otherwise.” “Ooh, it will be marvellous,” Rarity said with a twirl. “Just imagine her face, thinking we would have forgotten the day she arrived to ponyvillie.” “And then, Boom, Exactly,” Pinkie shouted to follow up, “Then she'll see all her friends were there, all along, like we were always, and she'll be flabbergasted, Flabbergasted I tell you,” Pinkie celebrated by blowing a party horn early. In the corner Fluttershy drew her hoof against the ground, peeking over to the others. She cleared her throat, and nopony noticed. “Alright, line up,” Rainbow called out, “Pinkie you got the party supplies?” “Duh, I got enough for twelve parties.” “Just twelve?” “On me right now~” “Great,” Rainbow day soared over. “Applejack, Rarity, catering and gifts set up?” “You got it.” “We still have Pinkie's notes, if any obstruction were to rear itself.” “Awesomesauce, And Fluttershy-.” “I…” Fluttershy said, the others taking a mental step back, allowing the mare some space to respond. “Girls… it is not that I, don't like the idea of shrinking down to surprise T-twilight. But… Do we need to make it a surprise? I'm more partial to a milder surprise, like, one I'm told of beforehoof, And, I don't remember Twilight being the most keen on big parties.” “Flutters flutters flutters,” Rainbow said and wrapped her hoof around their back, “Twilight's a changed mare, she's not the unicorn she was when she arrived.” “Pff, ya sure got that right,” Applejack chimed in. “But, certainly figuratively as well, while not quite the social butterfly, our dear friend has grown some wings.” “And with those wings we're gonna soar all the way to party town, then all the way back, bringing the party town to Ponyvillie.” “Uhh, yeah, what Pinkie said,” Applejack nodded. “There's little like a hootenanny to really shake up a special day.” “Then everypony better get ready,” Pinkie said puffing out her chest, jittering with excitement, “and make sure to pack your biggest smiles.” ~ 1 ~ This was getting boring. Like, really boring… Like, sitting on the bench at try-outs boring. The more time passed sitting here in the tree, the less I could take waiting the eternity it would take for Twilight to arrive. Everypony else had already sorted out everything in there, just waiting for my signal… Wonder if they were dying of boredom too? I mean, I've been out here for at least… two minutes now. How much longer is it going to take that bookmare to-. Oh, hey, wait is that Twilight down there? In a dash I rushed back in through the window, calling with my faintest voice. “Egghead alert, Egghead alert.” Rarity gave me a reassuring gesture. Pinkie holding up the shrinking cookie up, visible for all of us. I flicked mine up, and on the count of three, we dug in. Across the room I saw Rarity and Fluttershy ready to hide under at the desk, with Applejack holding onto a cart of applestruders, pretzels, and pastries so it would shrink down with her. Meanwhile, Pinkie and I were clutching the party supplies, ready to shuffle under the bed to pop off the real fireworks when Twilight would least expect it. My stomach felt strange… Whatever magic shenanigans they had cooked up, it didn't really sit well. Maybe it was just a particularly fatty cookie? Though the tingles and pricks along my coat were distracting to say the least. To mitigate the discomfort I peered out across the room, everything drew backwards like the world was made of sillyputty, the fish eye lens of my perspective shifting the room further and further away from me. Bookshelves and furniture melting outwards and growing as tall as the skyscrapers of Manehattan. In a few moments, the gang had shrunk to the size of a novel’s dogear. Another round of gesturing had us ready. Shuffling away the supplies under the bed, seeing Applejack slot the carts into separate layers, each sliding under the bookcase before she followed suit. And after that… we just had to keep still. Waiting, once again. Though this time, it was spiced with excitement. Pinkie was jittering and bouncing beside me, and kinda hat to admit it, but it was infectious. This was a real big prank of a surprise party, and it would only get better when I went off script to toss a pastry right at her face, just to test her reactions skills, of course~… The silence started to get on my nerves. I let out a deep sigh, “Phheyu pheeuch,” my nostrils were clogged with huge specs of dust, big enough that I could almost feel each individual grain dredging along the inside of my nostrils like a battering ram. But I just had to power through it, doesn't matter how stale and course it smelled under the bed. I wasn't about to blow our cover, I am sure Pinkie would agree-. Though, when I looked over, I saw her covering her face with her mane in an improvised gas mask. Guess she hadn't considered what it'd be like to be so ‘lil. Come to think oof it; I hadn't either. But It'd all be worth it for the look on Twilight's face when she-. -Kkddmmfth- The door unlatched with a boom of crushed bark, the light creak bellowing in with the beat of a battering ram throughout he room. There was no mistaking it, our target had arrived, and we were all ready. After a brief exchange of smiles we pounced out from under the bed, the others leap out with us as we all shouted: “Surprise.” Our call hung in the air, drowned by the treads of the alicorn shuffling through the room. “Where did I leave that reference…” Twilight mumbled to herself in a booming tremolo that rippled the air all the way down to the bottom, where I still stood with my hooves spread wide, stunned in embarrassment. I looked over myself, then at Pinkie. We were still small. “Pinkie, that was the sign.” “I Know.” “And, we're, still teeny.” “Teeny tin, yup.” “So… make us, not be?” “I…” Pinkie remained silent for a moment, “I'm not sure how.” “What?” “But we're gonna get back to our original size any second now, guarantee it.” She sounded so sure, probably a mistake to doubt her, Pinkie was much more organized than myself, she probably knew what she was doing. Oh, hey, There's Twilight now, well, surprise was ruined, but at least she could get us back to our… Why isn't she slowing down? -Thrbbddm- -Thhdwwm- The ground quaked beneath us, Twilight's eyes glued to the nightstand across the bed, each step passing along quivers through my spine. -Chrhrht- Was that wood creaking? Splintering at her steps? Was it just a trick of the ears? But those hooves were getting, a lot closer… Peering up, I saw the gleam of Twilight's eyes fading, as she neared, replaced by a veil of deep violet; the shade of her coat looming as a tremendous storm cloud over the Everfree forest: massive, untamed, and unrelenting… -Ctrrthwwdddmmmffsh- her hoof slammed down a jump away from me. Instincts took over. With a smack of my wings I took off, darting back to Pinkie behind me, shoving her and two of the decoration carts, ramming us deep underneath the bed in one swoop. Right afterwards… I heard it… -Crkwwrllrlsstkk- Crkwtshdwwmph- The fracturing of wooden nerves, a shower of splinters blossoming up to a roar which was instantly smothered by the sheer weightiest against it. I didn't have a chance to see it happen, but it filled me with a rush I hadn't felt since the last time it was us against the world… Last time we… had been in danger. I shook off the creeping tingle down my back, and looked over, from under the drapes of the bed, at the stationary purple hoof. “Yeoouch, what’s that?” Twilight's voice boomed, as she lifted her hoof. Underneath were laid a spa collection of planks, splayed out in a flowering bloom of compacted wood straddled with popped rubber in a melange of hues. The former balloons scrunching up and furrowing to sporadic tangles, though a few fluttering free beneath her like seedpods. “Huh…? Oh, go-gosh, hope that wasn't another of spike's toys... nevertheless, repairs and apologies will have to wait, now where did I put it…” And then the hooves kept going, just like that. They had levelled the cart, utterly, faster than even I could grasp. And then she just, kept going. It was right were Pinkie had stood. Just before I… If I had waited a moment longer… If I wasn't the fastest pegasus in Ponyville she… Each time I tried to formulate my thoughts, a tremble burgeoned at my side, trembling up to my throat, subduing my thoughts. I Couldn't think about that, that would never happen. What was I talking about, we were never in any danger, this is just Twilight. She would have… she would, notice if… Another tremor. I ground my chompers together, stifling whatever sensation tried to make itself known. “Pinkie, you ok?” It took a moment for the blank eye’d mare to respond. “O-of course I am, Gee, Twilight sure aught to keep a better look at where she's going. Didn't know she could be such a cluts, ahah-cnnsrt- aha,” she chuckled with that cheeky snort. I took a breath, it felt awkward in my lungs. Had I not breathed since the stomp? How long had it been? Couldn't have been more than a couple seconds… what was going on? “Yeah, yeah she better... Uhm, shouldn't we be back to our usual size soon? How long would those cookies last?” “Uhm, we should already be, I'm positive. So, should be any moment now,” Pinkie smiled. Was this also a prank? If so, massive props to Pinkie, but this was going a bit over the line, even for me. I crept back to the end of the bed, spying across the room. There sure weren't any carts of pastries anywhere, or gifts and decorations. Or ponies, and counting only one regular, giant sized giant pony. Seems we weren't the only ones stuck like this. “Pinkie, she almost stepped on you.” She was silent for a moment, then toppled back laughing. “Phhff, Rainbow, pff, haa, ha you crack me up, that's ridiculous. Think Twilight would ever do that?” I looked back at the pancake’d cart. Something cold budding in my chest. “You know what? Surprise is over, I can't stand breathing in all this dust. Twilight will get it, just hold tight, I got this.” I assured, then leapt out, and took off. Even if I had just flown about three decimeters, it was getting kinda tiring. I had just exerted myself of course, but distance radians sure grew a lot longer when you're the size of an ant. Just a bit further and I'd be above Twilight’s head. It really was a shame of a good surprise to do this, maybe I could just scare her a little bi-. “Ahhaa, I found it.” I heard twilight call out as her mane whipped around, eyes, and a broad, brown tome rushed towards me… -Crkktwwddngppppth- The bulk of a hundred bison rammed into me. I felt every stretch of my body flattening to the rock hard surface, even parts of me that couldn't usually bend this way. And the rush… the surge of air around me, crashing through my mind, wind resistance puncturing my wings and threatening to strip my feathers. At every moment wishing the pressure thrusting up beneath me would end. I got my wish. The swing of the motion jettisoned me off the covers, breaking off against the cover with gobbledygook some old cot had scribbled down ages ago. The winds parted for me, in speeds I hadn't experienced for many moons. All that effort to get to her, and now… I was soaring fast as lightningbol-. -Thhrwwmps-. I slammed into something soft, a plush sensation of felt wrapped around cement cradling my mind, just for a moment. Then I blacked out. A coarse taste of grit and abrasive dust all throughout my mouth. Ache, pulsing. It hurt so much… I tried winking dust out of my eyes. Eventually clearing my vision. Help. I was certain I heard something. I needed a moment, taking my bearings. I had landed on some, ancillary shelf near the roof, few books even here, mostly a bundle of padded foal’s books. Guess that broke my fall. Lucky. If I they hadn't then… Oh, more chutzpah, less worry, gotta gather myself. I heave myself up, then lowered myself to the wood again, panting, inhaling a mothball worth of dust. Then, coughing with the coarse junk in my throat, and shuffling up to the extremity of the shelf. Looking down… There was Twilight, so, couldn't have been gone too long. Didn't see anypony else. So either they'd already gotten big, or they all still needed Twilight's help. I couldn't help but smile. Here I was, I'd descend like a bolt through a cloud, ready to save everypony, it was my calling. I felt it beating in my chest, through the exertion and various injuries, I would help everyone, and I would be the hero they deserved. I rose up tall, fanned out my wings. -Crkkth- Every nerve in my face tensed, a crack of strain whipped through my right wing. “Oow owo oouch oow ooo. Ooow…,” I whimpered, and slumped back down on my torso, wing twitching and sloughed by my side, now and then tension pricked through it, aching along my body. I might have sprained it… But, it wasn't that bad… It was just a little sprain, Anypony could do that when they exerted themselves, and as Cool as I was, It was bound to happen. I would just have to get down without… flying. I looked around. The other shelving nearby was off towards the proper bookshelves. Across the door… a trench as far as it was deep, though its depth went even further too, towards cold, hard flooring… It hurt to breathe fast. I tried to stand again, but my wing scrunched up in ache. It had to rest. I had to rest. I would, just have to recover. A sprained wing, that would jut be, a week at most? I could, probably do it in a couple of days. Just… a couple of days… up here… alone. B-barely able to move… Those tremors were back, though they didn't stay in my barrel this time, they flourished through my system, fuelled by the straining, soot filled breaths clogging my lungs. “R-rainbow… Dash is n-not gonna be defeated by a… a sprained wing,” I proclaimed. Especially, not one I, caused myself… If I had just taken it a bit easy, if I had been a little less cocky, would I… w-well no, it was sprained before I stood up, right? It, has to be, this, this couldn't be my fault. It was always like that, I'm sure it felt like that this morning even. Y-yeah my wing was a bit stale already. Th-this isn't… my fault… I told no one. My face was getting warm, lungs struggling in the build up of dust trickling at the edges of my throat… Whether this was my fault or not, I realised I… would have time enough to figure that out, m-more than enough time. As long as my lungs could hold. Surprise on Short notice 2, Applejack & FluttershySurprise on Short notice Part 2: Applejack & Fluttershy Written by Septia. What the hay was going on here? Why hadn't Pinkie activated the growth doohickey? The pretzels would be fine, but the fritters were getting dust up all over. If this was another one of their pranks… I peered out, hard to make out, but there was something prismatic raising up from the bed. Rainbow? Yeah, surely, guess something might have snagged, but ‘suppose it would be less of a surprise, and more of just a party. A ‘nanny ain't the same as a hootenanny, but at least... -Kdnkk- A thud echoed as Twilight raised her book with a sweep. And a trail of blue swatted aside, arching towards the roof, and fading away towards the wall. -Ghhllmmwp- I swallowed. That, wasn't Rainbow dash, then. Yeah, couldn't be. Pinkie had just forgotten to make them grow again, soon as she did then they'd all… But what was that if not rainbow? A colored blue beetle? A flowery spec of dust? Couldn't be… there was no doubt, Rainbow had been swatted out of the air. My breathing picked up, ever so much, constrained to my gut, which curled in my barrel… Maybe Pinkie had just forgotten how to get them big again. Maybe they hadn't come to the time limit of the shrinking spell. Phtaaaaah. a much deeper breath, halting in my throat as a shiver pierced my spine, delivering a single thought to my head… ‘What if she never knew? What if there was no cure?' The swallow from earlier lodged stuck in my throat, cramping it taut. I grasped at my neck, massaging it, clinging to it. I had to keep. I had to keep my senses, I had even seen if Rainbow was… even if Rainbow. She was fine. She'd gotten kicked by worse. She'd bounce back any second… Second after agonizing second… But no Rainbow. The spikes of worry proliferated throughout my body. I bit down and cleared my eyes. Right. Gotta, keep my head cool. I Gotta work out a solution. What would they do? What did they have to do? What… could I do. Floor's out of the question, it was a hazard to be in the open. I wouldn't wanna get trampled, and ‘be hard to catch her attention. Had to get on similar elevation. The bookshelf was possible, though it weren't exactly in prime shape for climbing. It was a bit too far between each step to reach well, and ‘surface all smooth, if I fell… I fell… other options. Desk? Similar issue. I kept trying to look away from the obvious… The chair. Slender legs to climb up, a padded cushion if I were to fall, and promising straight access to the desk where I'd be most visible. It wasn't the first time I was tiny, though I was even smaller this time, … but getting there would be a trap if Twilight would get there before I got all the way up, maybe a small chance, but still… “Whew, that is a load off, can't believe the book was hidden away up here, could have sworn I saw Pinkie with it yesterday. So, next on the agenda would be… Oh, right, Fluttershy wanted to meet up, wonder what for,” Twilight said, her presence and voice broadcasting in booming tones throughout the room, signalling her exit as she waltz back out. One large breath. Alright, guess the coast was clear. I munched a pastry for good luck, and ran out under the shelves, meeting u with Rarity and Fluttershy by the desk. ~ 1 ~ “Ya sure you can't fly us up there?” “I-I-I… It w-would be a bit too… m-much.” “Best case would be for all of us to get up there, better than lounging on the floor when she gets back.” “Aehhem,” Rarity said, and held up a bright yellow strap of wrapping twine. “I may have an elegant solution.” Slightly less than elegant, but with the all the twine tied together, wrapped around my hooves, it was easier for Fluttershy to support me bit by bit as I climbed up the chair. Halfway up the leg and I was already sweating. “Whose idea was it to shrink us this small?” I mumbled, but seeing Fluttershy was struggling as well, I focused on climbing. So far so good, with Fluttershy's help we were scaling up across the leg at a steady pace, only needing a couple of breaks now and then to catch our breath. The first real break came when we reached the seat. I could keep going, though managing my stamina was important, especially when I didn't just have myself to rely on, if Fluttershy was managing well. “How ya holdin' up?” “O-oh, I'm, mm… I am fine, I, we can keep going.” “Oh uh, just checking, I still need to catch my breath some.” “O-oh sorry, of course, take your time,” Fluttershy said, with just a hint of relief in her voice. I smiled back. Climbing up the backing of the chair was going smooth, though the surface was clean without much grip. Having Fluttershy hoist me up when things got rough was just the boost we needed. And now, we were slightly less than a quarter of the way up. -Kkkdtntwntthdk- Which is when the resounding thud of the door slamming open echoed through the room. “Guess it was a bit early to visit Fluttershy. I am sure she wouldn't mind if I came a little later, I also just have to dig into this book a little more.” It was Twilight's voice, her steps causing tremors that I felt even this high up the chair. Fluttershy’s head snapped to Twilight, her breathing picking up. “Flutters, stay calm,” I urged. “W-what d-do we do? D-do we go back down?” She asked with a stammer shaking her breath. “We-…” that was a good question. Up on the peak of the backing was risky, but also closest to Twilight. Heading back down was safer, but if we didn't get all the way down in time… I had to make a decision now, for Fluttershy. “We keep going up, one last spurt, come on Flutters, hoist hoist.” “Ah-aha, oo-yes you s-sure. Yes I'I got you,” she responded and pulled, wings flapping as I clambered higher. Maybe Twilight wasn't even going to- oh she was heading right for the desk. Head already in the book, but up this high was our chance. I heard Fluttershy straining as I dragged my torso higher, bucking my legs in a run to skip upwards, to ease the weight of the harness… My hoof reached the top, heaving myself up with a wheezing Fluttershy above me. “W-we got it,” I exclaimed. Just as I saw Fluttershy I felt the thread loosen, Fluttershy's grasp faltering. “Y-yippie,” she huffed out, careening through the air back towards the bookshelf on jittering wings. I had overexerted her… she couldn't stay airborne. But, this was okay, we made it to the top, just as Twilight was coming. Jut needed to hang on and get her attention. “Twilight, over here Twilight. Get your nose out of the papers and them and-.” -Scrrrtttkkddhft- The screech of the furniture grinding against the wooden floor stormed through my surroundings as Twilight pulled the chair back. The ground beneath my hooves, ripped from beneath me… My breath caught in my throat as I tried to turn my head back, back to were the chair had been. A simple tug had dislodged me from the peak, all that effort. My hooves flailed, instant taking over to find any kind of grasp as the ground grew closer… -Thhpffmmph- The buffer of compressed fluffing absorbed my hearing, the brunt of the fall siphoned into the cushion. Relief… the stress vacating my muscles in a flutter of tension. It was okay, I was okay. The shaking overtook my mind for just a second, but that was enough to hamper my reaction, as a meteor in sparkling pink followed by a sky of purple, plummeted towards me… “Twilit-.” -Thhpddff- the pastel color gave way to darkness. Air gave way to padding, and relief gave way to pressure. It encompassed everything around me. My body was steamrolled in the smooth fuzz of Twilight's coat and pinned into the cushion below. My body forming an imprint in the feathery fluffing underneath, my heart thumped, breath stifled by the mass of blubber above me. If I rammed my hooves upwards, into Twilight's flank, opening up a small pocket of air. But as I drew in breath I felt my lungs dry in the scorching heat of the confined space. Everything was stacked against me… but thanks to the cushion, I was okay… Sandwiched between two pliant obstacles, there was enough ease that I could still move, still force it to give. Enough to support myself, even if my bones rattled under my skin, even with my own sweat drooped across my forehead, and the raw brine of mare musk wafting from Twilight's rear. This close, everything was amplified, the only moisture in my throat was that of condensed flank musk… I thought back to all my days at the farm, working from early morning, each day getting tougher… What if anypony but me had… gotten stuck here… would Rarity have been able to… The worry made my chest pump harder, choking me in the sparse reservoir of air. Hooves aching and creaking as the weight settled… I screamed. “Twilightghhr gha.” Though my voice betrayed me, choking in my own exertion. The pressure mounted… -Thhrwwtwp- With a crinkle of moisture, like a broom drawn across mud, the sweat gummed rear lifted. A fresh, clean breath infiltrated my lungs, my chest swelling with relief. Of course; small as I may be, she'd notice she was sitting on something… It was too close. I was almost done for… “I was certain I had turned the button side of the pillow down,” Came Twilight's voice from above. The cushion begun to levitate. I shook my head. As the pillow flipped in the air, barely hanging on with the sweat outlined trench around me, facing down at the wooden seat… “T-twilight,” I wheezed. -Chrlt- -Krlrrslptsh- The perspiration glue cracked and detached around me, my weight tearing me off the cushion to fall onto the wood. -Ctdkdntl- It knocked in my muzzle, feeling it pulse in my face. Panic set it, can't think about pain, it was coming, had to move. I grasped and tugged over the surface, heaving me forwards as the shadow fell on me from above. The looming darkness creeping ever closer as I moved a cent at a time. “W-wait, w-ait,” I called, desperate as the light of the world around me shrunk into a sliver, and shut, sealed, as the weight bore down. There was nothing buffering the load beneath me now, only the full weight of a mare behemoth, magnitudes larger than myself…bore down. -Ckrkt- I heard tension in my bones, felt the white hard surface flatten me. -Crrnnnntch- As the creaks grew louder, it grew warmer, I felt more liquid around me, though this time, it wasn't sweat… I was cocooned in a scent of copper. -Crkrpktuglrkxrplt- To me, it was the loudest sound I would ever hear, the sound of my own bones fracturing within me, tearing through the little stretch of skin it could reach as my frame was pistoned into into a sheet. Organs punctured by shards of bone and tearing rends through my skin in bloated boils, for the brief time it could, before everything was bulldozed by my friend's behind. If only she had looked back, if only I hadn't pressured Fluttershy. In that split moment, that brief spark of consciousness, was filled to the brim with bitter regret. And it was that feeling which punctuated my existence. ~ 2 ~ I couldn't see her anywhere. My wings were still tired, muscles aching, carrying anything bigger than a lil’ bunny for that long, I just. I couldn't… My eyes flicked to and fro, but I couldn't find Applejack anywhere. She wasn't on the chair. She wasn't on the desk. Twilight was still reading. And Rarity… W-… why was, Rarity crying? She'd taken shelter on the side of the desk, head in her hoof, shaking. W-what, what had… Where was… Applejack. My mind flooded with the worst possible scenario, watching Applejack fall off the chair hurtling to the ground, squished under a wooden leg, choked in Twilight's fur. I kept shaking my head, cowering. It couldn't have happened. But, all of them, all of them had to be true. Why did I stop pushing myself? Why had I left her? It… It was my fault… My breath stabilized. A clear clarity filled my chest. It was so obvious… Everything, every, single, thing, was my fault. I could have said no, I could have motioned against the idea, I could have checked with Pinkie how long it would take for the spell to wear off. I felt the side of my lips crock into a contorted smile, drooping with tears. Of course, everything was so simple now, when it was clear it was all me. And that meant, I had to set it right… I took off from the shelf, flapping my wings, hard… Rarity looked up at me from the ground. I couldn't look at her, I had to focus, I had to give this my all. I flew back a safe distance from Twilight, far enough that she wouldn't smack me with a hoof or her head, but close enough that she'd hear me. I-. I hoped. I only have one shot at this. I thought back to everything Rainbow had taught me, everything I had been through, with all my friends at my back. I drew in a deep breath, feeling my lungs fill until they cramped under my ribs… Then… I shouted. “Twilight. Behind You!” I screamed for all I was worth, my throat aching in the reverberations needed to throw my voice this far, this loud, it drummed through my ears. “Whhauhah?” at once, Twilight reacted, startled by the tremendous noise. She swept her chair back, kicking her legs up behind her… I avoided the legs coming up behind me,… but missed her tail whipping up, -Cttwthchps- and cracking into my back… “Who's there?” Twilight said, staring at an empty room. She blinked a few times. Ears flicking. She brushed her mane Back over her ears, “Huh… Certain I heard something…” “Spike?” she called out. “Yeah?” came the dragon’s response from downstairs. “What did you want?” There was a moment of silence, before… “Can I pick up some more sweets?” Twilight sighed, “We already…” but then she rolled her eyes, tired of yelling. “Okay, fine with me, pick up some maple ones for me,” she shook her head and pulled the chair back. “Really, does he have to make such a ruckus?” she mumbled. “Hying… mmggr…” I came too, opening my eyes to find hair, long strains of purple and mauve bushed around me, threads of Twilights tail wrapped and coiled along my limbs, with a view out to the room, framed by the purple hues. My chest quivered. Eyes watering. I let everyone down again. Of course, again, what did I expect to happen? Even giving it my all, even thinking ahead… I closed my eyes, stabilizing my breathing. “Tw-… T-t-tw-wilih-…” I wheezed, my voice like sandpapers grinding in my throat… biting down on my lip. I had gone too hard. Calm… please. It was okay, t-this could have gotten worse, I could just try again. Yes, everything was fine, next time, I'd be better. I would try another angle, it was fine, l-lived and, l-learn… I drew my left hoof back. -Srcrrth- Several of the strands binding my hoof clutched tight, a creaking strum through the wireworks. Another few strands trickled over me from the movement. Okay, bit too stuck there, that was okay. Right hoof -Shhrrrthc- the tail hairs screwed, wrapped around my limbs in a helix. Snags of strands jabbing into my fur. O-O-okay. That's, fine. I could try my leg… -Srrktkch- The threads dug into my fur, grinding against my skin, sharp surfaces pruning hairs form my coat. It stung. My chest rose rapidly. -Shhfrht- A shower of hairs shifted, trailing over my body, swirling into the knots around my limbs and tracing over my face. Why was this, being so difficult? I tried my other leg, bated breath… -Shff- Some hairs trailed off of it. Progress, good, very good, just, have to draw it back, and. -Shhrprha- -chrffwrhhthsa- A rustle of fuzz swarmed around me, like wind through a field of bamboo shoots. The whirl of tailhairs winding and pirouetting around me as Twilight moved, my leg caught in a snag as I trailed back, nestled deeper into the embrace of sharp strands revolving around my form. In panic I flapped my wings. -Fllrrght- Bringing forth a tide of stands over me, wrestling me into a forest of vines that wrapped and dug into my fur… I stopped. Ceased my breath. Dread trickled along my sides, up my spine. I was stuck…caught in an even tighter snag… I couldn't move. As soon as I moved I would… -Chrhrhthc- The hairs tensed, brushed across my body… In a mass of smooth, but singular strands… -Jhfhlrlth- digging deeper… like I was caressed by the edges of a knife, drawing red strips in places across my body. Scarlet marks whipped over my legs, one right below my chest, and one… one s-so very close to my eye, it grazed just above my eyelid. A few feathers, cut from my wings. I… I hadn't … even moved for that one. I-it just. It just happened. “T-twai…” I wheezed, my dried lungs barely able to form vowels. I just had to… think of something while, remaining still. They would constrict again… Any moment, they would draw tighter and deeper into my skin, they would… My mind wandered… how many cuts. Would it take before I… before… Silence. Tears. Small vibrations through my chest. -Ctnnng- A strand tautened, brushing over my forehead, bent over my eye… I could watch the blurred line trace across my eye… the distance so minuscule, it took up a strap of my vision… a single tear, caught on the strand as it brushed over, and rested against my muzzle… A-any closer and… t-that would have gone through my eye. My core convulsed with waves of fear sprouting through my limbs… but I couldn't move… I couldn't speak. If I did… then… But… for how long? Would anypony find me? Would Twilight, notice me? Maybe if I w-was an even bigger tangle she would, b-but, that meant… My chest rippled gain. And on queue, the garrote wires around me tensed. There was one… around my neck. I felt it, every time I tried to take a breath. Okay… Okay. It couldn't be that long, could it? I mean… eventually the-. The spell would wear off and… Ice. A tundra in my chest, a glacier over my spine. It hurt to think about. If I started to grow. As I was now. I would still be in the tangles, I would still be ensnared and cocooned in the strands. If I grew, Twilight's hair wouldn't grow with me, it would swell around me, growing tighter, until they all… Even just the thought made the hairs tighten. Or so it felt, ensnared in a deluge of wires, where, where I couldn't move, but I also had no luxury of waiting. How long would the spell last? Hours? Days…? Seconds…? I couldn't stay calm, and when I couldn't stay calm, the hairs shifted, and when the hairs shifted it drew new cuts over my body, and when that happened it… was hard to not react… To be forced into motionless exile. Hiding away, without speaking, without moving, without interacting with anypony. In this tepid isolation, where I couldn't do nothing, but if I did anything, I was punished. I couldn't hold back the tears, watching them dripple onto strands, trailing like dewdrops in a spiderweb. The worst thing… The very worst thing… Was how accustomed I felt to this helpless sensation, as if I had lived with it my whole life… But now, it was just more… tangible. [Scat] Surprise on Short notice 3, Rarity & Pinkie PieSurprise on Short notice Part 3: Rarity & Pinkie Pie Written by Septia. I could not believe my eyes. Fluttershy just. Vanished from the air, snapped by a drape of purple hair; an actress vanishing beyond the fickle veil of the stage drapes. There just… suddenly was no Fluttershy. This couldn't be true, how would. And Applejack was, and where was Rainbow when you needed her bombsure brashness? There had to be something I could do, but how would I even? And was anyone else even okay? How could I know if. “Hey there, Rarity.” The cheery greeting cut through my train of thought like a cold silver knife. Turning my attention to Pinkie Pie, waving by the end of the bookshelf by my hiding spot at the desk. My eyes widened, I trotted over. “Pinkie Pie, you are okay. That is wonderful to see but, we have to put our heads together, there might still be time for-” “The surprise, of course, I don't even think Twilight noticed us yet, soooo she's going to be so happy, right, right right?” I just stared, “Pinkie… What are you talking about?” “Did you forget, silly? The party. That's why we're here, duh.” My lips scrunched into a sharp line. Starting at the pink pony as she smiled, head twitching, eyelids flickering. My heart sank… She didn't seem to be in any state to help. Wouldn't be much help. The way her eyes stared so full of joy, and yet gazed vacant into the empty distance. “Seems I will have to think of something. Hmm, prey tell, what would, what would Twilight do in a snag like this…?” “Hey there, Fluttershy,” Pinkei Pie said with a wide wave. Rarity froze up, and stared in her direction. At first, only seeing Twilight’s, ahem… derrière. But… there… thigh up in the tail. Was that… buttercup yellow? It was. “Fluttershy.” “Looks like she's having fun up there~. Maybe we can all join in later?” I ignored her. I had untangled my fair share of yarn in my life. Being stuck in the center of one… a chill dusted down my back. Lacking the tools to get Twilight’s attention, the best I could do was care for Fluttershy. “Pinkie, I am going for Fluttershy.” “Sweet, you do that, and I'll check on the refreshments to make sure they don't get too dusty, phaaha,” Pinkie said and skipped off. Might be for the best, least she was out of the way… From the tip of Twilight's tail on the ground, the way up to her flank seemed… exponentially longer. Taller than any ski slope I'd vacated to. Though. Though, time was short, this had to be done right, and fast. My horn lit up, and wound the surrounding hairs in folds, forming steps. Remarkably it felt as easy as weaving fabric for a dress. I climbed upwards, forming nooks and crannies to rest my hooves and boost me higher. Though, even with this, it was tiring work… I hadn't exactly prepared for mountain-climbing today. Though this was fine, most certainly. I didn't need to reach all the way, only close enough to be within range of my magic, then. “Hold on Fluttershy, I am coming,” she didn't respond. That chill at my spine rippled once more. -Chhfhhrt- A rumble rattled down the tail. I quickly snagged myself tight as to not fall. Why would she need to start moving now? “Hmm, mmm,” Twilight hummed as she turned the book to and fro, “Maybe if…” She sighed and left the book open on the desk, shuffling off from the seat -Ghhrbglglpsah- A churn of growls warped in her guts like a screw reeling through moist gravel. “Phew,” she huffed and shuffled out of her room, humming a soft tune melody as she approached the bathroom. The sways and bobs tore and chucked me to and fro, the tailhairs wrapping and trying to cling around my frame, though fields of levitation kept them at bay, and me from being caught tight, even if the jerking twitches and careening was doing a number on my stomach… Dares to crawl through it. When it finally came to a halt I was steady, tussled, but alight. And now, much closer to the tangle. “Fluttershy? Are you there? do not be alarmed, I am right by you,” I called out. “…” Still nothing… there wasn't even any movement, but, I could see the lump, I could see yellow, I… I could see… crimson. -Bbghrhrlgpththa- A rumble caught me off guard. Earthquake trickling through the hair wires around me. Coming from… behind the tail? I thread my hooves into surrounding nooks I carved out, and spread the strands out of the way. Where I saw… a wide ring of pale lilac, scrunched up skin, puckering out towards me… -Chrlrpsth- then it pinched shut with a squelch of a frog wrapping its tongue in honey. -Bpprprlllppptptthhhfffrrprth- The onslaught of smog was relentless, an earthquake of staggering winds pouring out in a cascade of pungent rot: the air tainted in shades of crusted grease and coagulated hay pulp, the close, somewhat clear air instantly invaded by the sharp tang of mould infested, untreated goat yarn marinated in liquid slug breath. My countenance cracked, my whole face warped in on itself, and my muzzle resigned from service. “Dear Luna, that is repugnant-.” And, that was just about as far as I got, before I realised my mistake… I had to cover my nostrils. There was no choice, anything to mitigate even a smidgen of this skunk breath was pure instinct. But in doing so, I lost control of my grasp. The void took me, the only thing supporting my body was air resistance. I was such a fool… But, I had been so close. My vision trailed back, I would meet my fall head on… That's when I saw it, water, a pool of clear water. A grain of hope. And in a frantic shuffle, I aimed my rear hooves towards the surface to break my fall and split the surface. If only I had more tim-. “Phaaa, Phew. Oh, whoops, sure glad nopony was around to hear that,” Twilight said to herself as she seated herself back on the toilet. Darkness. Pressure. Pain, pain, lungs, water. Surface… Air… sweet air. I was alive, I was so very, very alive. The pain made it blisteringly clear… half submerged in water I could just barely feel my lower legs enough to know that they pulsed and throbbed in blinding white ache. They had, broken my fall, quite literally. But I was alright, I was alive. And I could rest against the wall, slippery as it was, … it was a point of support, and I would take anything I could-. -PPfrrrbbpth- My ears twitched, I stared above. Darkness, a sledge of light, shining up a dark cleft, a rim shrouded in shadows, slowly parting… -Chrlrlpththhaa- It crinkled like an army of crabs marching through a field of frosting, reverberating down the bowl and swaying the space around the sound. Pocks and crinkles, pops of viscous bowel glue lacing the surface… and the smell. So high above, but its pungency pierced through my nostrils, sharp spears of dried processed malt and black pepper. It was a nightmare. It, had to be. This happening. I was not, I was not about to be buried in. “P-please, please,” I whispered, trying to flail away, feeling sharp aches as my legs locked up, a pain as if they were struck against an anvil kept me in place. But it was coming: A behemoth of sludge, carved in intricate patterns by Twilight's bowels, folds of raw, distilled filth compacted to a bale of manure suspended from on high… “Please no. Don't, anything but this. A-any ow a-anything,” I whimpered, but it only descended lower, reeking of rot. I grasped the bowl. It was, it was a cone… a cone. It was a giant echo chamber. My breath sped up trying to compose myself, of course. I drew in a deep breath, reared back and shouted. “Twi-” -Cdllrprbtwwpplgshhs- -Splltthshah- The tower of manure toppled down, smashing into the porcelain wall and bending into the water to crack, unsnap into it like a whip crack, splattering the walls in currently clean water, and at once, muffled my attempts to reach my friend. “Phaa… ooo… did I ever need this…” Twilight hummed out, reclining against the seat and brushing over her tummy. ~ 1 ~ Muck… Pure ruination… every stretch of my body, mired in gunk. My breath was miasma, every sense torched with broiled methane and decomposing grains. -Chrlrpth- It crinkled as it dragged over me, its own weight pulling me down, crinkling as polished butter, off of my form. “Pthhea phtahot float-” I spat out mouthfuls of gunk, slop clogged between my teeth and gums, corrupting what remained of my rosebuds in a hail of prickling vitriol. Every stretch of my body was fraught with the foulest of dirt, clinging not only to my mane, my coat, every stretch of my body… but to my soul. But… I was freed? My upper body, in the open, as the weight of the loaf had wedged itself off. Piling up below me in the bowl. I couldn't celebrate. My mind was trash. Mulch. But, mulch, that still harboured a cinder of hope. I turned to the wall. -Chrlrpghhth- ignoring the cacophony of crinkles at my legs. And… put my filthy, filthy hoof to the porcelain -Chrlrlpthsh- It pasted onto it, like plaster… success… another… -Cllrpth- and another -Schrllprthh-. Slowly, hoisting myself and my frail legs up along the concaved surface. I had never, in my wildest nightmares, imagined I would have to use… t-this, as my method of escape. To overcome the utter disgust that ravaged my body… But here I was. Perhaps a new mare. Perhaps Rarity died down there in the plumbing. But I… survived. I… would make it out of here… -Chrlrlpthhs- Another crinkle, a quake. I didn't dare turn around. Even as it grew closer, I had to keep going… another stretch, another pull. Clrpth- -Cpllthc- I heaved myself higher… -Fhhrrgswrllcpthhc- Then it came… With a squeal of compated clay smothering everything in its path. My legs, a stretch of dark sludge, piled on… creeping over my hooves, up over my tail… “Oh, p-please no,” I huffed through tarnished teeth. -Chrlrlpsthhgbth- But it wouldn't stop… the mound of muck bulldozed my body to the porcelain, steamrolled my frame under dunes of steaming manure, baking me in the raw fumes of pestilence, and clamping my frame sealed… I was trying to move. To splay my forehooves further… only to watch the blanket of mulch devour me, sealing my my body in a tomb of hot sweltering mortar. A pupa of pottery. Still twitching towards the light, as I was subsumed and enveloped in grime. Twilight rose from the seat with a huff, fanning over her muzzle. “Phew, was glad to be rid of that,” she mused, and flushed. -Chrlrlpfffhht- The spiral of water trailed along the bowl, lapping clear the muck stamped to the ceramics, down into the maw of the drain. Though, a few smudges remained, those bothersome stains that gummed to the wall. Tiny climps of umber. Though, such was life, she would eventually need to give the bowl a good scrubbing. But for today, it could wait… ~ 2 ~ The good news was, all aside from that earlier cart mishap, all the party decorations and refreshments were ay-o-kay. This party was gonna go off without a hitch after all. Though, everypony had gotten a bit more silent. Even when Twilight came back, there was not a peep from either Rarity or Fluttershy. That was pretty silly. But, of course, they were just in character. Yes, I knew it. They were planning to really surprise Twilight, and so they were hiding. And I hadn't given them the signal yet either, silly me, though at times I can get a bit empty headed I suppose. I was just too excited to share this wonderful day with all my best friends. Though, it would be hard to really surprise Twilight, still being this small. But if I asked nicely, I bet she could pop me back to size, and then we'd clear this all up~ Boy, the desk really was tough to climb, really had to put all my earth pony muscles to the test for this one. “Twilight, c-could I get you lend me a hoof? I only need it for a sec.” Though she didn't respond. Of course, I almost ruined the surprise. Hah, can't do that, and I was more than halfway up after all, She knew I could do it. Huh, maybe all the snacks weren't accounted for, there was some strawberry jam poking out from thunder the seat cushion. Oh, that’s Applejack, she can chew with her mouth a bit too open at times, yessurie. And, would you look at that? Almost at the top, and I still got a song in my heart and adventure in my eyes, could use some water for maybe, then I'd be good to go. Just… maybe, a lil… rest to… just… just before I reach the top I… so tired… … … -Thhdft- Peeking up. A rope… A colourful rope hanging down the edge of the desk… Twilight… “You noticed me…” I huffed out, my hoof shaking as I reached up, grasping a hold of the thread, and hauling myself up. Just, a bit… further, and… yes… over the ledge, up on the edge,… I cleared it. “Yes, Twilight hah, su-surprise~” I whimpered out, looking around myself. The rope was a frayed stump decoration of a mat, inscribed with colorful runes, with a handful of gemstones placed along it. Twilight, was deep in a book, tracing it with her hoof. “Hey, Twilight?” Her horn was set aglow. The mat vibrated, lifted… Ooh, a flying carpet, that's fanc-fancy.” I huffed out, slumping towards the center as it raised up, the sides of the mat closing together, as I crumpled up in ball with the gemstones. “H-hey, am I… your present Twi… Twilight?” “And… just like, so.” Twilight said, as her horn gleamed brighter, I could see it through the fabric… as it begun to glow, and soon, everything, became, so warm… so fast, every strain in my body bending at once, inflating, compacting, grinding together, tempering… until I couldn't stay lucid… ~ 3 ~ “Hmm, Curious.” I felt her. I …'Saw' her, close. Twilight, yes that was Twilight, right in front of me, I did it, she found me. “I do not recall having any pink gemstones in there, but I suppose the spell mentioned drawing out the essence of the objects, certainly did turn out pretty nice.” Those were. Words. Kinda strange words. I looked down, I couldn't quite… perceive myself. I felt… flatter? I suppose? Like a balloon before you blow in it. Through… below, I recognized the cloth. Through, there were no gems left, and in the center just… a big, uniform pile of ash… just. Grey, dust… Twilight, this is, I didn't know you had gotten so good at pranks. Though, she didn't appear to hear me. “Let's give it a test run,” she said. I was pulled through the air, down in front of her, level with the desk, and I felt a soft brush of parchment at my back. “Ooo, nifty, it is so smooth to the page, that's sure better than defiling the corners with dogears: Twilight said to herself… to herself… herself. She wasn't, talking in my direction, almost as if I… 'Oh Twilight, that's so silly, I guess you were the one to surprise me today, one step ahead huh?' It was a joke, Twilight wouldn't… turn me into a bookmark, just like that. She sure, knew we were here, knew all her friends were close, knew how much we cared for her. Even, even if she was closing the book now, she just, she needed a bit of time to be ready for the surprise. Yes, how kind of her to play along. Of course, she didn't want to disappoint her friends, even if she knew… about. Yes, all the work we had put in. She just needed to brace herself or the surprise, then a-… after she, got the book I was in back from the shelf she would open it up, and boom, a surprise for the surprises, Twilight was really next level on this stuff. It was gonna be so much fun to chat about this afterwards. With everyone gathered around the table, or out dancing, eating cakes and buns. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, and me, inseparable heroes of Equestria. As soon as she came back, they'd have so much fun. As soon as Twilight came back, the party would be on. As soon as Twilight would return… it would be the best day ever. ~ 4 ~ “Hey, Minuette?” Twilight asked the mare closing up shop. “Hmm? Oh, hello Twilight, evening finding you well?” “For the most part, I would say so, though, you don't happen to know where Fluttershy is?” “Reckon, back at her cottage. Isn’t that usually where you find her?” “Well, she's definitely not there, turned the whole place upside down, she didn't even leave a note.” “Oh,” Minuette mumbled, “Perhaps she's just out caring for some animal in need? Or up in Cloudsdale? Have you asked Rainbow Dash?” “See the thing is… I haven't seen her either, all day.” “Hmm, suppose she does tend to sleep in some days, maybe she was just feeling particularly sleepy?” “Yeah maybe… You haven't seen, Pinkie or Applejack ether, have you?” “Twilight,” Minuette said, patting her shoulder. “You know your friends better than I do, I haven't seen or heard of ‘em all day either.” “Oh, right. Of course, thank you still, appreciate it.” “It is getting dark, you sound like you could use some rest.” “Yes, that's, sound. Sounds… Goodnight Minuette,” Twilight waved and shambled off. Just as Minuette was about to turn away, she spotted something… a little yellow tangle at Twilight's tail, bobbing with her steps. She rose a hoof, then lowered it. Twilight had enough on her plate as it was, it would be rude to point out something so insignificant like a snarl in a tail…
Surprise on Short notice 1, Twilight & RainbowSurprise on Short notice Part 1: Twilight & Rainbow Written by Septia. “Come on, Guys, this is gonna be the best day ever,” Pinkie beamed to the gathered assembly of surprise parties. “Yeeeeah, she better watch out, cuz she's not gonna know what hit 'er.” Rainbow said flying across the room and pumping her hoof into the sky. “Ah believe the ideas' that she's not gon’ be watching out, ain't it? Wouldn't be much of a surprise otherwise.” “Ooh, it will be marvellous,” Rarity said with a twirl. “Just imagine her face, thinking we would have forgotten the day she arrived to ponyvillie.” “And then, Boom, Exactly,” Pinkie shouted to follow up, “Then she'll see all her friends were there, all along, like we were always, and she'll be flabbergasted, Flabbergasted I tell you,” Pinkie celebrated by blowing a party horn early. In the corner Fluttershy drew her hoof against the ground, peeking over to the others. She cleared her throat, and nopony noticed. “Alright, line up,” Rainbow called out, “Pinkie you got the party supplies?” “Duh, I got enough for twelve parties.” “Just twelve?” “On me right now~” “Great,” Rainbow day soared over. “Applejack, Rarity, catering and gifts set up?” “You got it.” “We still have Pinkie's notes, if any obstruction were to rear itself.” “Awesomesauce, And Fluttershy-.” “I…” Fluttershy said, the others taking a mental step back, allowing the mare some space to respond. “Girls… it is not that I, don't like the idea of shrinking down to surprise T-twilight. But… Do we need to make it a surprise? I'm more partial to a milder surprise, like, one I'm told of beforehoof, And, I don't remember Twilight being the most keen on big parties.” “Flutters flutters flutters,” Rainbow said and wrapped her hoof around their back, “Twilight's a changed mare, she's not the unicorn she was when she arrived.” “Pff, ya sure got that right,” Applejack chimed in. “But, certainly figuratively as well, while not quite the social butterfly, our dear friend has grown some wings.” “And with those wings we're gonna soar all the way to party town, then all the way back, bringing the party town to Ponyvillie.” “Uhh, yeah, what Pinkie said,” Applejack nodded. “There's little like a hootenanny to really shake up a special day.” “Then everypony better get ready,” Pinkie said puffing out her chest, jittering with excitement, “and make sure to pack your biggest smiles.” ~ 1 ~ This was getting boring. Like, really boring… Like, sitting on the bench at try-outs boring. The more time passed sitting here in the tree, the less I could take waiting the eternity it would take for Twilight to arrive. Everypony else had already sorted out everything in there, just waiting for my signal… Wonder if they were dying of boredom too? I mean, I've been out here for at least… two minutes now. How much longer is it going to take that bookmare to-. Oh, hey, wait is that Twilight down there? In a dash I rushed back in through the window, calling with my faintest voice. “Egghead alert, Egghead alert.” Rarity gave me a reassuring gesture. Pinkie holding up the shrinking cookie up, visible for all of us. I flicked mine up, and on the count of three, we dug in. Across the room I saw Rarity and Fluttershy ready to hide under at the desk, with Applejack holding onto a cart of applestruders, pretzels, and pastries so it would shrink down with her. Meanwhile, Pinkie and I were clutching the party supplies, ready to shuffle under the bed to pop off the real fireworks when Twilight would least expect it. My stomach felt strange… Whatever magic shenanigans they had cooked up, it didn't really sit well. Maybe it was just a particularly fatty cookie? Though the tingles and pricks along my coat were distracting to say the least. To mitigate the discomfort I peered out across the room, everything drew backwards like the world was made of sillyputty, the fish eye lens of my perspective shifting the room further and further away from me. Bookshelves and furniture melting outwards and growing as tall as the skyscrapers of Manehattan. In a few moments, the gang had shrunk to the size of a novel’s dogear. Another round of gesturing had us ready. Shuffling away the supplies under the bed, seeing Applejack slot the carts into separate layers, each sliding under the bookcase before she followed suit. And after that… we just had to keep still. Waiting, once again. Though this time, it was spiced with excitement. Pinkie was jittering and bouncing beside me, and kinda hat to admit it, but it was infectious. This was a real big prank of a surprise party, and it would only get better when I went off script to toss a pastry right at her face, just to test her reactions skills, of course~… The silence started to get on my nerves. I let out a deep sigh, “Phheyu pheeuch,” my nostrils were clogged with huge specs of dust, big enough that I could almost feel each individual grain dredging along the inside of my nostrils like a battering ram. But I just had to power through it, doesn't matter how stale and course it smelled under the bed. I wasn't about to blow our cover, I am sure Pinkie would agree-. Though, when I looked over, I saw her covering her face with her mane in an improvised gas mask. Guess she hadn't considered what it'd be like to be so ‘lil. Come to think oof it; I hadn't either. But It'd all be worth it for the look on Twilight's face when she-. -Kkddmmfth- The door unlatched with a boom of crushed bark, the light creak bellowing in with the beat of a battering ram throughout he room. There was no mistaking it, our target had arrived, and we were all ready. After a brief exchange of smiles we pounced out from under the bed, the others leap out with us as we all shouted: “Surprise.” Our call hung in the air, drowned by the treads of the alicorn shuffling through the room. “Where did I leave that reference…” Twilight mumbled to herself in a booming tremolo that rippled the air all the way down to the bottom, where I still stood with my hooves spread wide, stunned in embarrassment. I looked over myself, then at Pinkie. We were still small. “Pinkie, that was the sign.” “I Know.” “And, we're, still teeny.” “Teeny tin, yup.” “So… make us, not be?” “I…” Pinkie remained silent for a moment, “I'm not sure how.” “What?” “But we're gonna get back to our original size any second now, guarantee it.” She sounded so sure, probably a mistake to doubt her, Pinkie was much more organized than myself, she probably knew what she was doing. Oh, hey, There's Twilight now, well, surprise was ruined, but at least she could get us back to our… Why isn't she slowing down? -Thrbbddm- -Thhdwwm- The ground quaked beneath us, Twilight's eyes glued to the nightstand across the bed, each step passing along quivers through my spine. -Chrhrht- Was that wood creaking? Splintering at her steps? Was it just a trick of the ears? But those hooves were getting, a lot closer… Peering up, I saw the gleam of Twilight's eyes fading, as she neared, replaced by a veil of deep violet; the shade of her coat looming as a tremendous storm cloud over the Everfree forest: massive, untamed, and unrelenting… -Ctrrthwwdddmmmffsh- her hoof slammed down a jump away from me. Instincts took over. With a smack of my wings I took off, darting back to Pinkie behind me, shoving her and two of the decoration carts, ramming us deep underneath the bed in one swoop. Right afterwards… I heard it… -Crkwwrllrlsstkk- Crkwtshdwwmph- The fracturing of wooden nerves, a shower of splinters blossoming up to a roar which was instantly smothered by the sheer weightiest against it. I didn't have a chance to see it happen, but it filled me with a rush I hadn't felt since the last time it was us against the world… Last time we… had been in danger. I shook off the creeping tingle down my back, and looked over, from under the drapes of the bed, at the stationary purple hoof. “Yeoouch, what’s that?” Twilight's voice boomed, as she lifted her hoof. Underneath were laid a spa collection of planks, splayed out in a flowering bloom of compacted wood straddled with popped rubber in a melange of hues. The former balloons scrunching up and furrowing to sporadic tangles, though a few fluttering free beneath her like seedpods. “Huh…? Oh, go-gosh, hope that wasn't another of spike's toys... nevertheless, repairs and apologies will have to wait, now where did I put it…” And then the hooves kept going, just like that. They had levelled the cart, utterly, faster than even I could grasp. And then she just, kept going. It was right were Pinkie had stood. Just before I… If I had waited a moment longer… If I wasn't the fastest pegasus in Ponyville she… Each time I tried to formulate my thoughts, a tremble burgeoned at my side, trembling up to my throat, subduing my thoughts. I Couldn't think about that, that would never happen. What was I talking about, we were never in any danger, this is just Twilight. She would have… she would, notice if… Another tremor. I ground my chompers together, stifling whatever sensation tried to make itself known. “Pinkie, you ok?” It took a moment for the blank eye’d mare to respond. “O-of course I am, Gee, Twilight sure aught to keep a better look at where she's going. Didn't know she could be such a cluts, ahah-cnnsrt- aha,” she chuckled with that cheeky snort. I took a breath, it felt awkward in my lungs. Had I not breathed since the stomp? How long had it been? Couldn't have been more than a couple seconds… what was going on? “Yeah, yeah she better... Uhm, shouldn't we be back to our usual size soon? How long would those cookies last?” “Uhm, we should already be, I'm positive. So, should be any moment now,” Pinkie smiled. Was this also a prank? If so, massive props to Pinkie, but this was going a bit over the line, even for me. I crept back to the end of the bed, spying across the room. There sure weren't any carts of pastries anywhere, or gifts and decorations. Or ponies, and counting only one regular, giant sized giant pony. Seems we weren't the only ones stuck like this. “Pinkie, she almost stepped on you.” She was silent for a moment, then toppled back laughing. “Phhff, Rainbow, pff, haa, ha you crack me up, that's ridiculous. Think Twilight would ever do that?” I looked back at the pancake’d cart. Something cold budding in my chest. “You know what? Surprise is over, I can't stand breathing in all this dust. Twilight will get it, just hold tight, I got this.” I assured, then leapt out, and took off. Even if I had just flown about three decimeters, it was getting kinda tiring. I had just exerted myself of course, but distance radians sure grew a lot longer when you're the size of an ant. Just a bit further and I'd be above Twilight’s head. It really was a shame of a good surprise to do this, maybe I could just scare her a little bi-. “Ahhaa, I found it.” I heard twilight call out as her mane whipped around, eyes, and a broad, brown tome rushed towards me… -Crkktwwddngppppth- The bulk of a hundred bison rammed into me. I felt every stretch of my body flattening to the rock hard surface, even parts of me that couldn't usually bend this way. And the rush… the surge of air around me, crashing through my mind, wind resistance puncturing my wings and threatening to strip my feathers. At every moment wishing the pressure thrusting up beneath me would end. I got my wish. The swing of the motion jettisoned me off the covers, breaking off against the cover with gobbledygook some old cot had scribbled down ages ago. The winds parted for me, in speeds I hadn't experienced for many moons. All that effort to get to her, and now… I was soaring fast as lightningbol-. -Thhrwwmps-. I slammed into something soft, a plush sensation of felt wrapped around cement cradling my mind, just for a moment. Then I blacked out. A coarse taste of grit and abrasive dust all throughout my mouth. Ache, pulsing. It hurt so much… I tried winking dust out of my eyes. Eventually clearing my vision. Help. I was certain I heard something. I needed a moment, taking my bearings. I had landed on some, ancillary shelf near the roof, few books even here, mostly a bundle of padded foal’s books. Guess that broke my fall. Lucky. If I they hadn't then… Oh, more chutzpah, less worry, gotta gather myself. I heave myself up, then lowered myself to the wood again, panting, inhaling a mothball worth of dust. Then, coughing with the coarse junk in my throat, and shuffling up to the extremity of the shelf. Looking down… There was Twilight, so, couldn't have been gone too long. Didn't see anypony else. So either they'd already gotten big, or they all still needed Twilight's help. I couldn't help but smile. Here I was, I'd descend like a bolt through a cloud, ready to save everypony, it was my calling. I felt it beating in my chest, through the exertion and various injuries, I would help everyone, and I would be the hero they deserved. I rose up tall, fanned out my wings. -Crkkth- Every nerve in my face tensed, a crack of strain whipped through my right wing. “Oow owo oouch oow ooo. Ooow…,” I whimpered, and slumped back down on my torso, wing twitching and sloughed by my side, now and then tension pricked through it, aching along my body. I might have sprained it… But, it wasn't that bad… It was just a little sprain, Anypony could do that when they exerted themselves, and as Cool as I was, It was bound to happen. I would just have to get down without… flying. I looked around. The other shelving nearby was off towards the proper bookshelves. Across the door… a trench as far as it was deep, though its depth went even further too, towards cold, hard flooring… It hurt to breathe fast. I tried to stand again, but my wing scrunched up in ache. It had to rest. I had to rest. I would, just have to recover. A sprained wing, that would jut be, a week at most? I could, probably do it in a couple of days. Just… a couple of days… up here… alone. B-barely able to move… Those tremors were back, though they didn't stay in my barrel this time, they flourished through my system, fuelled by the straining, soot filled breaths clogging my lungs. “R-rainbow… Dash is n-not gonna be defeated by a… a sprained wing,” I proclaimed. Especially, not one I, caused myself… If I had just taken it a bit easy, if I had been a little less cocky, would I… w-well no, it was sprained before I stood up, right? It, has to be, this, this couldn't be my fault. It was always like that, I'm sure it felt like that this morning even. Y-yeah my wing was a bit stale already. Th-this isn't… my fault… I told no one. My face was getting warm, lungs struggling in the build up of dust trickling at the edges of my throat… Whether this was my fault or not, I realised I… would have time enough to figure that out, m-more than enough time. As long as my lungs could hold.
Surprise on Short notice 2, Applejack & FluttershySurprise on Short notice Part 2: Applejack & Fluttershy Written by Septia. What the hay was going on here? Why hadn't Pinkie activated the growth doohickey? The pretzels would be fine, but the fritters were getting dust up all over. If this was another one of their pranks… I peered out, hard to make out, but there was something prismatic raising up from the bed. Rainbow? Yeah, surely, guess something might have snagged, but ‘suppose it would be less of a surprise, and more of just a party. A ‘nanny ain't the same as a hootenanny, but at least... -Kdnkk- A thud echoed as Twilight raised her book with a sweep. And a trail of blue swatted aside, arching towards the roof, and fading away towards the wall. -Ghhllmmwp- I swallowed. That, wasn't Rainbow dash, then. Yeah, couldn't be. Pinkie had just forgotten to make them grow again, soon as she did then they'd all… But what was that if not rainbow? A colored blue beetle? A flowery spec of dust? Couldn't be… there was no doubt, Rainbow had been swatted out of the air. My breathing picked up, ever so much, constrained to my gut, which curled in my barrel… Maybe Pinkie had just forgotten how to get them big again. Maybe they hadn't come to the time limit of the shrinking spell. Phtaaaaah. a much deeper breath, halting in my throat as a shiver pierced my spine, delivering a single thought to my head… ‘What if she never knew? What if there was no cure?' The swallow from earlier lodged stuck in my throat, cramping it taut. I grasped at my neck, massaging it, clinging to it. I had to keep. I had to keep my senses, I had even seen if Rainbow was… even if Rainbow. She was fine. She'd gotten kicked by worse. She'd bounce back any second… Second after agonizing second… But no Rainbow. The spikes of worry proliferated throughout my body. I bit down and cleared my eyes. Right. Gotta, keep my head cool. I Gotta work out a solution. What would they do? What did they have to do? What… could I do. Floor's out of the question, it was a hazard to be in the open. I wouldn't wanna get trampled, and ‘be hard to catch her attention. Had to get on similar elevation. The bookshelf was possible, though it weren't exactly in prime shape for climbing. It was a bit too far between each step to reach well, and ‘surface all smooth, if I fell… I fell… other options. Desk? Similar issue. I kept trying to look away from the obvious… The chair. Slender legs to climb up, a padded cushion if I were to fall, and promising straight access to the desk where I'd be most visible. It wasn't the first time I was tiny, though I was even smaller this time, … but getting there would be a trap if Twilight would get there before I got all the way up, maybe a small chance, but still… “Whew, that is a load off, can't believe the book was hidden away up here, could have sworn I saw Pinkie with it yesterday. So, next on the agenda would be… Oh, right, Fluttershy wanted to meet up, wonder what for,” Twilight said, her presence and voice broadcasting in booming tones throughout the room, signalling her exit as she waltz back out. One large breath. Alright, guess the coast was clear. I munched a pastry for good luck, and ran out under the shelves, meeting u with Rarity and Fluttershy by the desk. ~ 1 ~ “Ya sure you can't fly us up there?” “I-I-I… It w-would be a bit too… m-much.” “Best case would be for all of us to get up there, better than lounging on the floor when she gets back.” “Aehhem,” Rarity said, and held up a bright yellow strap of wrapping twine. “I may have an elegant solution.” Slightly less than elegant, but with the all the twine tied together, wrapped around my hooves, it was easier for Fluttershy to support me bit by bit as I climbed up the chair. Halfway up the leg and I was already sweating. “Whose idea was it to shrink us this small?” I mumbled, but seeing Fluttershy was struggling as well, I focused on climbing. So far so good, with Fluttershy's help we were scaling up across the leg at a steady pace, only needing a couple of breaks now and then to catch our breath. The first real break came when we reached the seat. I could keep going, though managing my stamina was important, especially when I didn't just have myself to rely on, if Fluttershy was managing well. “How ya holdin' up?” “O-oh, I'm, mm… I am fine, I, we can keep going.” “Oh uh, just checking, I still need to catch my breath some.” “O-oh sorry, of course, take your time,” Fluttershy said, with just a hint of relief in her voice. I smiled back. Climbing up the backing of the chair was going smooth, though the surface was clean without much grip. Having Fluttershy hoist me up when things got rough was just the boost we needed. And now, we were slightly less than a quarter of the way up. -Kkkdtntwntthdk- Which is when the resounding thud of the door slamming open echoed through the room. “Guess it was a bit early to visit Fluttershy. I am sure she wouldn't mind if I came a little later, I also just have to dig into this book a little more.” It was Twilight's voice, her steps causing tremors that I felt even this high up the chair. Fluttershy’s head snapped to Twilight, her breathing picking up. “Flutters, stay calm,” I urged. “W-what d-do we do? D-do we go back down?” She asked with a stammer shaking her breath. “We-…” that was a good question. Up on the peak of the backing was risky, but also closest to Twilight. Heading back down was safer, but if we didn't get all the way down in time… I had to make a decision now, for Fluttershy. “We keep going up, one last spurt, come on Flutters, hoist hoist.” “Ah-aha, oo-yes you s-sure. Yes I'I got you,” she responded and pulled, wings flapping as I clambered higher. Maybe Twilight wasn't even going to- oh she was heading right for the desk. Head already in the book, but up this high was our chance. I heard Fluttershy straining as I dragged my torso higher, bucking my legs in a run to skip upwards, to ease the weight of the harness… My hoof reached the top, heaving myself up with a wheezing Fluttershy above me. “W-we got it,” I exclaimed. Just as I saw Fluttershy I felt the thread loosen, Fluttershy's grasp faltering. “Y-yippie,” she huffed out, careening through the air back towards the bookshelf on jittering wings. I had overexerted her… she couldn't stay airborne. But, this was okay, we made it to the top, just as Twilight was coming. Jut needed to hang on and get her attention. “Twilight, over here Twilight. Get your nose out of the papers and them and-.” -Scrrrtttkkddhft- The screech of the furniture grinding against the wooden floor stormed through my surroundings as Twilight pulled the chair back. The ground beneath my hooves, ripped from beneath me… My breath caught in my throat as I tried to turn my head back, back to were the chair had been. A simple tug had dislodged me from the peak, all that effort. My hooves flailed, instant taking over to find any kind of grasp as the ground grew closer… -Thhpffmmph- The buffer of compressed fluffing absorbed my hearing, the brunt of the fall siphoned into the cushion. Relief… the stress vacating my muscles in a flutter of tension. It was okay, I was okay. The shaking overtook my mind for just a second, but that was enough to hamper my reaction, as a meteor in sparkling pink followed by a sky of purple, plummeted towards me… “Twilit-.” -Thhpddff- the pastel color gave way to darkness. Air gave way to padding, and relief gave way to pressure. It encompassed everything around me. My body was steamrolled in the smooth fuzz of Twilight's coat and pinned into the cushion below. My body forming an imprint in the feathery fluffing underneath, my heart thumped, breath stifled by the mass of blubber above me. If I rammed my hooves upwards, into Twilight's flank, opening up a small pocket of air. But as I drew in breath I felt my lungs dry in the scorching heat of the confined space. Everything was stacked against me… but thanks to the cushion, I was okay… Sandwiched between two pliant obstacles, there was enough ease that I could still move, still force it to give. Enough to support myself, even if my bones rattled under my skin, even with my own sweat drooped across my forehead, and the raw brine of mare musk wafting from Twilight's rear. This close, everything was amplified, the only moisture in my throat was that of condensed flank musk… I thought back to all my days at the farm, working from early morning, each day getting tougher… What if anypony but me had… gotten stuck here… would Rarity have been able to… The worry made my chest pump harder, choking me in the sparse reservoir of air. Hooves aching and creaking as the weight settled… I screamed. “Twilightghhr gha.” Though my voice betrayed me, choking in my own exertion. The pressure mounted… -Thhrwwtwp- With a crinkle of moisture, like a broom drawn across mud, the sweat gummed rear lifted. A fresh, clean breath infiltrated my lungs, my chest swelling with relief. Of course; small as I may be, she'd notice she was sitting on something… It was too close. I was almost done for… “I was certain I had turned the button side of the pillow down,” Came Twilight's voice from above. The cushion begun to levitate. I shook my head. As the pillow flipped in the air, barely hanging on with the sweat outlined trench around me, facing down at the wooden seat… “T-twilight,” I wheezed. -Chrlt- -Krlrrslptsh- The perspiration glue cracked and detached around me, my weight tearing me off the cushion to fall onto the wood. -Ctdkdntl- It knocked in my muzzle, feeling it pulse in my face. Panic set it, can't think about pain, it was coming, had to move. I grasped and tugged over the surface, heaving me forwards as the shadow fell on me from above. The looming darkness creeping ever closer as I moved a cent at a time. “W-wait, w-ait,” I called, desperate as the light of the world around me shrunk into a sliver, and shut, sealed, as the weight bore down. There was nothing buffering the load beneath me now, only the full weight of a mare behemoth, magnitudes larger than myself…bore down. -Ckrkt- I heard tension in my bones, felt the white hard surface flatten me. -Crrnnnntch- As the creaks grew louder, it grew warmer, I felt more liquid around me, though this time, it wasn't sweat… I was cocooned in a scent of copper. -Crkrpktuglrkxrplt- To me, it was the loudest sound I would ever hear, the sound of my own bones fracturing within me, tearing through the little stretch of skin it could reach as my frame was pistoned into into a sheet. Organs punctured by shards of bone and tearing rends through my skin in bloated boils, for the brief time it could, before everything was bulldozed by my friend's behind. If only she had looked back, if only I hadn't pressured Fluttershy. In that split moment, that brief spark of consciousness, was filled to the brim with bitter regret. And it was that feeling which punctuated my existence. ~ 2 ~ I couldn't see her anywhere. My wings were still tired, muscles aching, carrying anything bigger than a lil’ bunny for that long, I just. I couldn't… My eyes flicked to and fro, but I couldn't find Applejack anywhere. She wasn't on the chair. She wasn't on the desk. Twilight was still reading. And Rarity… W-… why was, Rarity crying? She'd taken shelter on the side of the desk, head in her hoof, shaking. W-what, what had… Where was… Applejack. My mind flooded with the worst possible scenario, watching Applejack fall off the chair hurtling to the ground, squished under a wooden leg, choked in Twilight's fur. I kept shaking my head, cowering. It couldn't have happened. But, all of them, all of them had to be true. Why did I stop pushing myself? Why had I left her? It… It was my fault… My breath stabilized. A clear clarity filled my chest. It was so obvious… Everything, every, single, thing, was my fault. I could have said no, I could have motioned against the idea, I could have checked with Pinkie how long it would take for the spell to wear off. I felt the side of my lips crock into a contorted smile, drooping with tears. Of course, everything was so simple now, when it was clear it was all me. And that meant, I had to set it right… I took off from the shelf, flapping my wings, hard… Rarity looked up at me from the ground. I couldn't look at her, I had to focus, I had to give this my all. I flew back a safe distance from Twilight, far enough that she wouldn't smack me with a hoof or her head, but close enough that she'd hear me. I-. I hoped. I only have one shot at this. I thought back to everything Rainbow had taught me, everything I had been through, with all my friends at my back. I drew in a deep breath, feeling my lungs fill until they cramped under my ribs… Then… I shouted. “Twilight. Behind You!” I screamed for all I was worth, my throat aching in the reverberations needed to throw my voice this far, this loud, it drummed through my ears. “Whhauhah?” at once, Twilight reacted, startled by the tremendous noise. She swept her chair back, kicking her legs up behind her… I avoided the legs coming up behind me,… but missed her tail whipping up, -Cttwthchps- and cracking into my back… “Who's there?” Twilight said, staring at an empty room. She blinked a few times. Ears flicking. She brushed her mane Back over her ears, “Huh… Certain I heard something…” “Spike?” she called out. “Yeah?” came the dragon’s response from downstairs. “What did you want?” There was a moment of silence, before… “Can I pick up some more sweets?” Twilight sighed, “We already…” but then she rolled her eyes, tired of yelling. “Okay, fine with me, pick up some maple ones for me,” she shook her head and pulled the chair back. “Really, does he have to make such a ruckus?” she mumbled. “Hying… mmggr…” I came too, opening my eyes to find hair, long strains of purple and mauve bushed around me, threads of Twilights tail wrapped and coiled along my limbs, with a view out to the room, framed by the purple hues. My chest quivered. Eyes watering. I let everyone down again. Of course, again, what did I expect to happen? Even giving it my all, even thinking ahead… I closed my eyes, stabilizing my breathing. “Tw-… T-t-tw-wilih-…” I wheezed, my voice like sandpapers grinding in my throat… biting down on my lip. I had gone too hard. Calm… please. It was okay, t-this could have gotten worse, I could just try again. Yes, everything was fine, next time, I'd be better. I would try another angle, it was fine, l-lived and, l-learn… I drew my left hoof back. -Srcrrth- Several of the strands binding my hoof clutched tight, a creaking strum through the wireworks. Another few strands trickled over me from the movement. Okay, bit too stuck there, that was okay. Right hoof -Shhrrrthc- the tail hairs screwed, wrapped around my limbs in a helix. Snags of strands jabbing into my fur. O-O-okay. That's, fine. I could try my leg… -Srrktkch- The threads dug into my fur, grinding against my skin, sharp surfaces pruning hairs form my coat. It stung. My chest rose rapidly. -Shhfrht- A shower of hairs shifted, trailing over my body, swirling into the knots around my limbs and tracing over my face. Why was this, being so difficult? I tried my other leg, bated breath… -Shff- Some hairs trailed off of it. Progress, good, very good, just, have to draw it back, and. -Shhrprha- -chrffwrhhthsa- A rustle of fuzz swarmed around me, like wind through a field of bamboo shoots. The whirl of tailhairs winding and pirouetting around me as Twilight moved, my leg caught in a snag as I trailed back, nestled deeper into the embrace of sharp strands revolving around my form. In panic I flapped my wings. -Fllrrght- Bringing forth a tide of stands over me, wrestling me into a forest of vines that wrapped and dug into my fur… I stopped. Ceased my breath. Dread trickled along my sides, up my spine. I was stuck…caught in an even tighter snag… I couldn't move. As soon as I moved I would… -Chrhrhthc- The hairs tensed, brushed across my body… In a mass of smooth, but singular strands… -Jhfhlrlth- digging deeper… like I was caressed by the edges of a knife, drawing red strips in places across my body. Scarlet marks whipped over my legs, one right below my chest, and one… one s-so very close to my eye, it grazed just above my eyelid. A few feathers, cut from my wings. I… I hadn't … even moved for that one. I-it just. It just happened. “T-twai…” I wheezed, my dried lungs barely able to form vowels. I just had to… think of something while, remaining still. They would constrict again… Any moment, they would draw tighter and deeper into my skin, they would… My mind wandered… how many cuts. Would it take before I… before… Silence. Tears. Small vibrations through my chest. -Ctnnng- A strand tautened, brushing over my forehead, bent over my eye… I could watch the blurred line trace across my eye… the distance so minuscule, it took up a strap of my vision… a single tear, caught on the strand as it brushed over, and rested against my muzzle… A-any closer and… t-that would have gone through my eye. My core convulsed with waves of fear sprouting through my limbs… but I couldn't move… I couldn't speak. If I did… then… But… for how long? Would anypony find me? Would Twilight, notice me? Maybe if I w-was an even bigger tangle she would, b-but, that meant… My chest rippled gain. And on queue, the garrote wires around me tensed. There was one… around my neck. I felt it, every time I tried to take a breath. Okay… Okay. It couldn't be that long, could it? I mean… eventually the-. The spell would wear off and… Ice. A tundra in my chest, a glacier over my spine. It hurt to think about. If I started to grow. As I was now. I would still be in the tangles, I would still be ensnared and cocooned in the strands. If I grew, Twilight's hair wouldn't grow with me, it would swell around me, growing tighter, until they all… Even just the thought made the hairs tighten. Or so it felt, ensnared in a deluge of wires, where, where I couldn't move, but I also had no luxury of waiting. How long would the spell last? Hours? Days…? Seconds…? I couldn't stay calm, and when I couldn't stay calm, the hairs shifted, and when the hairs shifted it drew new cuts over my body, and when that happened it… was hard to not react… To be forced into motionless exile. Hiding away, without speaking, without moving, without interacting with anypony. In this tepid isolation, where I couldn't do nothing, but if I did anything, I was punished. I couldn't hold back the tears, watching them dripple onto strands, trailing like dewdrops in a spiderweb. The worst thing… The very worst thing… Was how accustomed I felt to this helpless sensation, as if I had lived with it my whole life… But now, it was just more… tangible.
[Scat] Surprise on Short notice 3, Rarity & Pinkie PieSurprise on Short notice Part 3: Rarity & Pinkie Pie Written by Septia. I could not believe my eyes. Fluttershy just. Vanished from the air, snapped by a drape of purple hair; an actress vanishing beyond the fickle veil of the stage drapes. There just… suddenly was no Fluttershy. This couldn't be true, how would. And Applejack was, and where was Rainbow when you needed her bombsure brashness? There had to be something I could do, but how would I even? And was anyone else even okay? How could I know if. “Hey there, Rarity.” The cheery greeting cut through my train of thought like a cold silver knife. Turning my attention to Pinkie Pie, waving by the end of the bookshelf by my hiding spot at the desk. My eyes widened, I trotted over. “Pinkie Pie, you are okay. That is wonderful to see but, we have to put our heads together, there might still be time for-” “The surprise, of course, I don't even think Twilight noticed us yet, soooo she's going to be so happy, right, right right?” I just stared, “Pinkie… What are you talking about?” “Did you forget, silly? The party. That's why we're here, duh.” My lips scrunched into a sharp line. Starting at the pink pony as she smiled, head twitching, eyelids flickering. My heart sank… She didn't seem to be in any state to help. Wouldn't be much help. The way her eyes stared so full of joy, and yet gazed vacant into the empty distance. “Seems I will have to think of something. Hmm, prey tell, what would, what would Twilight do in a snag like this…?” “Hey there, Fluttershy,” Pinkei Pie said with a wide wave. Rarity froze up, and stared in her direction. At first, only seeing Twilight’s, ahem… derrière. But… there… thigh up in the tail. Was that… buttercup yellow? It was. “Fluttershy.” “Looks like she's having fun up there~. Maybe we can all join in later?” I ignored her. I had untangled my fair share of yarn in my life. Being stuck in the center of one… a chill dusted down my back. Lacking the tools to get Twilight’s attention, the best I could do was care for Fluttershy. “Pinkie, I am going for Fluttershy.” “Sweet, you do that, and I'll check on the refreshments to make sure they don't get too dusty, phaaha,” Pinkie said and skipped off. Might be for the best, least she was out of the way… From the tip of Twilight's tail on the ground, the way up to her flank seemed… exponentially longer. Taller than any ski slope I'd vacated to. Though. Though, time was short, this had to be done right, and fast. My horn lit up, and wound the surrounding hairs in folds, forming steps. Remarkably it felt as easy as weaving fabric for a dress. I climbed upwards, forming nooks and crannies to rest my hooves and boost me higher. Though, even with this, it was tiring work… I hadn't exactly prepared for mountain-climbing today. Though this was fine, most certainly. I didn't need to reach all the way, only close enough to be within range of my magic, then. “Hold on Fluttershy, I am coming,” she didn't respond. That chill at my spine rippled once more. -Chhfhhrt- A rumble rattled down the tail. I quickly snagged myself tight as to not fall. Why would she need to start moving now? “Hmm, mmm,” Twilight hummed as she turned the book to and fro, “Maybe if…” She sighed and left the book open on the desk, shuffling off from the seat -Ghhrbglglpsah- A churn of growls warped in her guts like a screw reeling through moist gravel. “Phew,” she huffed and shuffled out of her room, humming a soft tune melody as she approached the bathroom. The sways and bobs tore and chucked me to and fro, the tailhairs wrapping and trying to cling around my frame, though fields of levitation kept them at bay, and me from being caught tight, even if the jerking twitches and careening was doing a number on my stomach… Dares to crawl through it. When it finally came to a halt I was steady, tussled, but alight. And now, much closer to the tangle. “Fluttershy? Are you there? do not be alarmed, I am right by you,” I called out. “…” Still nothing… there wasn't even any movement, but, I could see the lump, I could see yellow, I… I could see… crimson. -Bbghrhrlgpththa- A rumble caught me off guard. Earthquake trickling through the hair wires around me. Coming from… behind the tail? I thread my hooves into surrounding nooks I carved out, and spread the strands out of the way. Where I saw… a wide ring of pale lilac, scrunched up skin, puckering out towards me… -Chrlrpsth- then it pinched shut with a squelch of a frog wrapping its tongue in honey. -Bpprprlllppptptthhhfffrrprth- The onslaught of smog was relentless, an earthquake of staggering winds pouring out in a cascade of pungent rot: the air tainted in shades of crusted grease and coagulated hay pulp, the close, somewhat clear air instantly invaded by the sharp tang of mould infested, untreated goat yarn marinated in liquid slug breath. My countenance cracked, my whole face warped in on itself, and my muzzle resigned from service. “Dear Luna, that is repugnant-.” And, that was just about as far as I got, before I realised my mistake… I had to cover my nostrils. There was no choice, anything to mitigate even a smidgen of this skunk breath was pure instinct. But in doing so, I lost control of my grasp. The void took me, the only thing supporting my body was air resistance. I was such a fool… But, I had been so close. My vision trailed back, I would meet my fall head on… That's when I saw it, water, a pool of clear water. A grain of hope. And in a frantic shuffle, I aimed my rear hooves towards the surface to break my fall and split the surface. If only I had more tim-. “Phaaa, Phew. Oh, whoops, sure glad nopony was around to hear that,” Twilight said to herself as she seated herself back on the toilet. Darkness. Pressure. Pain, pain, lungs, water. Surface… Air… sweet air. I was alive, I was so very, very alive. The pain made it blisteringly clear… half submerged in water I could just barely feel my lower legs enough to know that they pulsed and throbbed in blinding white ache. They had, broken my fall, quite literally. But I was alright, I was alive. And I could rest against the wall, slippery as it was, … it was a point of support, and I would take anything I could-. -PPfrrrbbpth- My ears twitched, I stared above. Darkness, a sledge of light, shining up a dark cleft, a rim shrouded in shadows, slowly parting… -Chrlrlpththhaa- It crinkled like an army of crabs marching through a field of frosting, reverberating down the bowl and swaying the space around the sound. Pocks and crinkles, pops of viscous bowel glue lacing the surface… and the smell. So high above, but its pungency pierced through my nostrils, sharp spears of dried processed malt and black pepper. It was a nightmare. It, had to be. This happening. I was not, I was not about to be buried in. “P-please, please,” I whispered, trying to flail away, feeling sharp aches as my legs locked up, a pain as if they were struck against an anvil kept me in place. But it was coming: A behemoth of sludge, carved in intricate patterns by Twilight's bowels, folds of raw, distilled filth compacted to a bale of manure suspended from on high… “Please no. Don't, anything but this. A-any ow a-anything,” I whimpered, but it only descended lower, reeking of rot. I grasped the bowl. It was, it was a cone… a cone. It was a giant echo chamber. My breath sped up trying to compose myself, of course. I drew in a deep breath, reared back and shouted. “Twi-” -Cdllrprbtwwpplgshhs- -Splltthshah- The tower of manure toppled down, smashing into the porcelain wall and bending into the water to crack, unsnap into it like a whip crack, splattering the walls in currently clean water, and at once, muffled my attempts to reach my friend. “Phaa… ooo… did I ever need this…” Twilight hummed out, reclining against the seat and brushing over her tummy. ~ 1 ~ Muck… Pure ruination… every stretch of my body, mired in gunk. My breath was miasma, every sense torched with broiled methane and decomposing grains. -Chrlrpth- It crinkled as it dragged over me, its own weight pulling me down, crinkling as polished butter, off of my form. “Pthhea phtahot float-” I spat out mouthfuls of gunk, slop clogged between my teeth and gums, corrupting what remained of my rosebuds in a hail of prickling vitriol. Every stretch of my body was fraught with the foulest of dirt, clinging not only to my mane, my coat, every stretch of my body… but to my soul. But… I was freed? My upper body, in the open, as the weight of the loaf had wedged itself off. Piling up below me in the bowl. I couldn't celebrate. My mind was trash. Mulch. But, mulch, that still harboured a cinder of hope. I turned to the wall. -Chrlrpghhth- ignoring the cacophony of crinkles at my legs. And… put my filthy, filthy hoof to the porcelain -Chrlrlpthsh- It pasted onto it, like plaster… success… another… -Cllrpth- and another -Schrllprthh-. Slowly, hoisting myself and my frail legs up along the concaved surface. I had never, in my wildest nightmares, imagined I would have to use… t-this, as my method of escape. To overcome the utter disgust that ravaged my body… But here I was. Perhaps a new mare. Perhaps Rarity died down there in the plumbing. But I… survived. I… would make it out of here… -Chrlrlpthhs- Another crinkle, a quake. I didn't dare turn around. Even as it grew closer, I had to keep going… another stretch, another pull. Clrpth- -Cpllthc- I heaved myself higher… -Fhhrrgswrllcpthhc- Then it came… With a squeal of compated clay smothering everything in its path. My legs, a stretch of dark sludge, piled on… creeping over my hooves, up over my tail… “Oh, p-please no,” I huffed through tarnished teeth. -Chrlrlpsthhgbth- But it wouldn't stop… the mound of muck bulldozed my body to the porcelain, steamrolled my frame under dunes of steaming manure, baking me in the raw fumes of pestilence, and clamping my frame sealed… I was trying to move. To splay my forehooves further… only to watch the blanket of mulch devour me, sealing my my body in a tomb of hot sweltering mortar. A pupa of pottery. Still twitching towards the light, as I was subsumed and enveloped in grime. Twilight rose from the seat with a huff, fanning over her muzzle. “Phew, was glad to be rid of that,” she mused, and flushed. -Chrlrlpfffhht- The spiral of water trailed along the bowl, lapping clear the muck stamped to the ceramics, down into the maw of the drain. Though, a few smudges remained, those bothersome stains that gummed to the wall. Tiny climps of umber. Though, such was life, she would eventually need to give the bowl a good scrubbing. But for today, it could wait… ~ 2 ~ The good news was, all aside from that earlier cart mishap, all the party decorations and refreshments were ay-o-kay. This party was gonna go off without a hitch after all. Though, everypony had gotten a bit more silent. Even when Twilight came back, there was not a peep from either Rarity or Fluttershy. That was pretty silly. But, of course, they were just in character. Yes, I knew it. They were planning to really surprise Twilight, and so they were hiding. And I hadn't given them the signal yet either, silly me, though at times I can get a bit empty headed I suppose. I was just too excited to share this wonderful day with all my best friends. Though, it would be hard to really surprise Twilight, still being this small. But if I asked nicely, I bet she could pop me back to size, and then we'd clear this all up~ Boy, the desk really was tough to climb, really had to put all my earth pony muscles to the test for this one. “Twilight, c-could I get you lend me a hoof? I only need it for a sec.” Though she didn't respond. Of course, I almost ruined the surprise. Hah, can't do that, and I was more than halfway up after all, She knew I could do it. Huh, maybe all the snacks weren't accounted for, there was some strawberry jam poking out from thunder the seat cushion. Oh, that’s Applejack, she can chew with her mouth a bit too open at times, yessurie. And, would you look at that? Almost at the top, and I still got a song in my heart and adventure in my eyes, could use some water for maybe, then I'd be good to go. Just… maybe, a lil… rest to… just… just before I reach the top I… so tired… … … -Thhdft- Peeking up. A rope… A colourful rope hanging down the edge of the desk… Twilight… “You noticed me…” I huffed out, my hoof shaking as I reached up, grasping a hold of the thread, and hauling myself up. Just, a bit… further, and… yes… over the ledge, up on the edge,… I cleared it. “Yes, Twilight hah, su-surprise~” I whimpered out, looking around myself. The rope was a frayed stump decoration of a mat, inscribed with colorful runes, with a handful of gemstones placed along it. Twilight, was deep in a book, tracing it with her hoof. “Hey, Twilight?” Her horn was set aglow. The mat vibrated, lifted… Ooh, a flying carpet, that's fanc-fancy.” I huffed out, slumping towards the center as it raised up, the sides of the mat closing together, as I crumpled up in ball with the gemstones. “H-hey, am I… your present Twi… Twilight?” “And… just like, so.” Twilight said, as her horn gleamed brighter, I could see it through the fabric… as it begun to glow, and soon, everything, became, so warm… so fast, every strain in my body bending at once, inflating, compacting, grinding together, tempering… until I couldn't stay lucid… ~ 3 ~ “Hmm, Curious.” I felt her. I …'Saw' her, close. Twilight, yes that was Twilight, right in front of me, I did it, she found me. “I do not recall having any pink gemstones in there, but I suppose the spell mentioned drawing out the essence of the objects, certainly did turn out pretty nice.” Those were. Words. Kinda strange words. I looked down, I couldn't quite… perceive myself. I felt… flatter? I suppose? Like a balloon before you blow in it. Through… below, I recognized the cloth. Through, there were no gems left, and in the center just… a big, uniform pile of ash… just. Grey, dust… Twilight, this is, I didn't know you had gotten so good at pranks. Though, she didn't appear to hear me. “Let's give it a test run,” she said. I was pulled through the air, down in front of her, level with the desk, and I felt a soft brush of parchment at my back. “Ooo, nifty, it is so smooth to the page, that's sure better than defiling the corners with dogears: Twilight said to herself… to herself… herself. She wasn't, talking in my direction, almost as if I… 'Oh Twilight, that's so silly, I guess you were the one to surprise me today, one step ahead huh?' It was a joke, Twilight wouldn't… turn me into a bookmark, just like that. She sure, knew we were here, knew all her friends were close, knew how much we cared for her. Even, even if she was closing the book now, she just, she needed a bit of time to be ready for the surprise. Yes, how kind of her to play along. Of course, she didn't want to disappoint her friends, even if she knew… about. Yes, all the work we had put in. She just needed to brace herself or the surprise, then a-… after she, got the book I was in back from the shelf she would open it up, and boom, a surprise for the surprises, Twilight was really next level on this stuff. It was gonna be so much fun to chat about this afterwards. With everyone gathered around the table, or out dancing, eating cakes and buns. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, and me, inseparable heroes of Equestria. As soon as she came back, they'd have so much fun. As soon as Twilight came back, the party would be on. As soon as Twilight would return… it would be the best day ever. ~ 4 ~ “Hey, Minuette?” Twilight asked the mare closing up shop. “Hmm? Oh, hello Twilight, evening finding you well?” “For the most part, I would say so, though, you don't happen to know where Fluttershy is?” “Reckon, back at her cottage. Isn’t that usually where you find her?” “Well, she's definitely not there, turned the whole place upside down, she didn't even leave a note.” “Oh,” Minuette mumbled, “Perhaps she's just out caring for some animal in need? Or up in Cloudsdale? Have you asked Rainbow Dash?” “See the thing is… I haven't seen her either, all day.” “Hmm, suppose she does tend to sleep in some days, maybe she was just feeling particularly sleepy?” “Yeah maybe… You haven't seen, Pinkie or Applejack ether, have you?” “Twilight,” Minuette said, patting her shoulder. “You know your friends better than I do, I haven't seen or heard of ‘em all day either.” “Oh, right. Of course, thank you still, appreciate it.” “It is getting dark, you sound like you could use some rest.” “Yes, that's, sound. Sounds… Goodnight Minuette,” Twilight waved and shambled off. Just as Minuette was about to turn away, she spotted something… a little yellow tangle at Twilight's tail, bobbing with her steps. She rose a hoof, then lowered it. Twilight had enough on her plate as it was, it would be rude to point out something so insignificant like a snarl in a tail…
