Choices

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three

Chapter One

Locks clicked. Keys jingled merrily before they were immediately shushed by the close confines of a pocket. A capable purple claw tried the handle to check if the building was secure. In this town, that action was unnecessary, but the librarian still performed it—an action born from spending his formative years in the capital city.

In his heart, the librarian tried not to think that this may be his last day locking up the library that had been left to him. Looking after the library was his responsibility after all, and he’d hate to learn that something bad would have happened to it during his absence. Maybe he could get one of his friends to drop by from time to time?

Sighing to himself, the dragon started to walk his daily trek through Ponyville—not too fast or too slow. He didn’t know exactly who was watching. A pace too fast or a grin too wide could tip off a spy to suspect his planning something before the dreaded day arrived. If the Princesses didn’t have so much faith in him, he’d have been formally “escorted” onto a train heading to Canterlot a week ago instead of having a ticket reserved for his leaving four days from now. To have so much time to make peace was a courtesy, he knew, but still he had to show up. As much as he hated to admit it, a group of ponies were probably assigned to make sure he did just that—and with good reason. At noon four days from now, a train headed to Canterlot will leave Ponyville’s tiny train station, but he won’t be on it.

He stuck a different key into a larger, more ornate door. The lock turned easily, and he quickly slammed the door shut behind him, finally letting himself relax.

“Goodness! Spike, is that you? I thought it was the royal guard breaking down the door—or Sweetie in one of her moods again...” The owner of the voice paused, then added in a low undertone, “I swear by Celestia I wasn’t as moody as that when I was a teenager.”

At the sound of the mare’s often-used melodramatic tone, Spike unwound a little further, but the royal guard comment made him wince. Too close to home. However, the dragon swallowed it and decided to humor her anyway. “Oh really?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Certainly not!” Rarity replied from where she sat, her spine facing the doorway, peering over a neat row of letters each enclosed in its own enamored envelope. “Could you ever picture me, Rarity, mooning over some scoundrel of a colt and then complaining to everypony when I discover what a cretin he is?”

Spike let out a cough which sounded suspiciously like “Blueblood,” and Rarity harrumphed. It was all rather odd. That exchange between them had been so familiar, so normal. To Spike, it was difficult to think that this may be the last instance they were able to have such a silly conversation for a very long time. Whether they went through this decision or not, things were about to change. Permanently.

There was a short silence between them before Rarity broke the calm.

“Have you any word from Twilight yet?”

Spike shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Then she must be still making intercession,” Rarity concluded. “After all, she does have the same rank as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

‘Which remains as a one-third vote,’ Spike thought but didn’t say aloud. Twilight had always been Twilight, that intelligent, determined, neurotic, adorkable pony they all knew and loved, but she was more than just Twilight now. She was Princess Twilight, that intelligent, determined, neurotic, adorkable alicorn whose responsibility was Equestria first and all things second. Nopony could fault her for that. It was the role she was born and trained for her entire life.

However, it was disturbing to note her absence during Princess Celestia’s personal visit last week and no sign of her in the following letter enclosing their arrival date in Canterlot and the…procedures…thereafter. Disregarding a hastily sent letter informing him to stay put while she figured out this mess a few days ago, none of them had heard anything more from their Princess. As the one being who knew Twilight the longest, Spike knew that this was totally out of character for the newest alicorn. A dozen manticores couldn’t hold her down from helping her friends in a situation even a tenth of this magnitude. Something was off here, but the dragon knew to trust Twilight. If she said that she would help, then she would most definitely help. However, in the meantime they were going to help themselves.

“You’re awfully silent, Spikey,” Rarity interrupted. “You don’t think Twilight will convince Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to stop all of this?”

“Of course she will, Rares. She’s Twi,” Spike responded with a grin.

Suddenly, the unicorn turned around and telekinetically bashed the dragon with a sofa pillow. “I warned you about using that pet name, Spike! What in Equestria is a Rares? That isn’t even a word. And even if it were, it would be a base, common word!”

“Ow!” Spike pretended to groan, rubbing the side of his face where the feather filled projectile had struck him. “So what’s a Spikey-Wikey then?”

“A perfect reimagination of the name Spike,” Rarity huffed.

“Alright, Rarity-Warity,” Spike countered, and just as he had expected, pillows began to bash him again.

Spike noted to himself that it was amazing that in a few hours he’d be a fugitive of Equestria, but yet here he was engaged in a pillow fight.

Rarity gazed at her reflection inside her oval vanity mirror. The mare who stared back at her was a pony whom she could barely recognize. The mare in the mirror possessed a coat the same shade of white and a mane the same hues of purple, but no amount of powder and blush could hide the paleness of her cheeks, and her mascara seemed to smudge every five minutes. Her hair? Her hair was intolerable. Rarity could only thank Celestia for the invention of hats. As expected, her stomach had refused to hold her breakfast—yet another rebellion of a once trusted part of herself. Usually in instances like this, the snowy white mare would’ve spent the day indoors hiding from all sight, but today she couldn’t. Today was THE Day. Slowly, she levitated a fancy blue flowered chapeau onto her head and a bejeweled scarf around her neck. It was simple, chic, and distracting enough to keep the random passerby from focusing too closely upon her face.

Rarity forced herself to smile at her wan reflection. “Who would have guessed that after all these years I would have found the perfect outfit for exile?” Her horn glowed, lifting a nearby pair of saddlebags to rest on her back and accidentally knocking over two of the eight letters lying neatly on a nearby desk. “Oops!”

Rolling her eyes, Rarity leaned down to scoop them up when she read the words written neatly in elaborate cursive on the envelopes.

To Mother and Father.

To Sweetie.

A lump rose in Rarity’s throat. All of a sudden she knew she couldn’t go through with this, she couldn’t. In her mind’s eye she could see her little sister’s disappointment, her parents’ shocked and hurt faces; she could-

“No,” the mare steeled herself. She couldn’t stay. She couldn’t go through with it. Her mother and father, they would understand. Sweetie Belle would need a while, Rarity was sure, but eventually, hopefully, she’d come around. Carefully, Rarity picked up both letters in her mouth and placed them both back neatly upon her desk once again.

Sighing heavily to herself, the white unicorn looked back only once before closing her front door behind her. This was it. One step would confirm her decision. All that she had worked for her entire life would be lost to her—maybe forever, or at least for quite a while—but what she was gaining was worth more. She was absolutely certain.

Clutching a faux picnic basket in her mouth, the white unicorn trotted down the street. Seeing Rarity with a picnic basket wasn’t unusual. None of the townsponies felt any suspicion from the seemingly jubilant mare strutting away towards the edge of town. It was common knowledge that the five Elements of Harmony liked to get together often, especially since Princess Twilight ascended to the throne a few years ago. Some said that the five remaining felt that their bond was more precious after that. However, what the townsponies didn’t know was that their resident seamstress wasn’t heading to Fluttershy’s house at all. They did not know that she would make a left as soon as she was out of general sight, heading for the Whitetail Woods. They had no idea that she would meet a certain dragon there who just so happened to be hidden among the first ring of trees. The townsponies had no inkling that they would share a brief, happy, passionate reunion before heading away from the little town.

The townsponies would have no idea until two days later. Spike and Rarity had officially planned a three days head start as nopony would miss them until an empty train arrived in Canterlot, but what they had failed to take into account…

All life in the imperial city of Canterlot revolved around the royal palace and the residents therein. In the space of ten years, Equestria had gone from supposedly two princesses to three then back to two and lastly back to a total of three princesses. Rumors abound about how the royal personages got along with all of the changes. Half of Canterlot stood convinced that Princess Luna and Princess Cadance never got along no matter how much they smiled at each other in public, that Princess Celestia’s secret nickname was Celly, and that Princess Twilight was the source of the jellyfrog invasion two years ago despite evidence to the contrary. The subject of Discord wasn’t discussed at all—not if one were to suddenly find an umbrella full of chocolate pudding on one’s head. All that anypony knew was that the unpredictable draconequus tended to sabotage Princess Twilight’s experiments from time to time and often took the time to visit the Element of Kindness a few days a month.

Canterlot longed for a glimpse behind the regal lives of their princesses. What they would find would surprise them.

Seated comfortably at a gilded golden table the half the length of Sugarcube Corner were two of Equestria’s three rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Each pony was silent as she took her meal, much more silent than usual as a certain pony’s absence was felt by both. The clatter of priceless ancient crockery and silverware was the only noise in that spacious hall.

“Why again is Princess Twilight absent from the dinner table, Sister?” Princess Luna asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Our dear friend has declined from supper today,” Celestia answered simply while taking a sip of her tea.

Something dark flashed across the darker alicorn’s face. “Then we should go to her. She must still be unhappy about all of this.”

“We will, Lulu, but Twilight is strong. She knows what she must do and what is required of her for it is the same what is required of us all as rulers of Equestria. I know that this shall be extremely difficult for her, but I have my complete faith in Twilight. She will do her best to protect Equestria.”

Luna looked away before gracefully sliding out of her chair. “Yes, dear Sister, I trust Princess Twilight Sparkle completely…and yet I know many things are found within a pony’s heart.”

Celestia grinned serenely at her retreating sister’s back. “And yet you question her capability again. I stated long ago before her coronation that she would be indeed ready for the next step.”

Princess Luna only mumbled something in response while she disappeared through one open door leaving her elder sister alone.

Princess Celestia sighed in her tea. Absentmindedly she twirled the cup around, watching the lukewarm brown liquid slosh inside its porcelain prison. How she disliked times like these when her mind was still and the weight of millennia seemed to crash down upon her. She was charged to lead, protect, and guide this nation along with her sister, and led, protected, and guided they had. However there were times- But whatever times the princess was going to remember, she never had the chance as she was thrown out of her reverie by her teacup biting her hoof.

Surprisingly, the alabaster alicorn did not scream. Her light magenta orbs only widened in shock as she threw the offending cup away, splashing tea everywhere. Her heart pounded loudly against her chest as the teacup began to chuckle.

Two mismatched red eyes and a smiling mouth with a single fang appeared on the chuckling teacups side, rolling around on the stained table in mirth. “Well, I’ll like to have you know, princess, that your lips have touched me in places that I am sure would cause your ears to wiggle.” The cup raised an eyebrow. “If you know what I mean.”

“Discord!” Celestia bellowed, her ethereal hair swirled around almost violently. “Out!”

“Owls?” Discord said innocently. All of a sudden, a hundred hooting owls appeared in the room. “Speak up, dear, you know I’m a trifle deaf in one ear.” His eagle claw dug into one ear and pulled out a gumdrop. “So that’s where that went to. Oh, well…” The draconequus shrugged and threw the offending candy over his shoulder. The resulting explosion could be felt all the way into the kitchens.

“Discord, why are you here?” Celestia asked tiredly. Another round of Discord’s antics was the last thing she wanted to deal with today.

“I’m bored, Celly! I have nothing to do,” Discord wailed as he leaped onto Celestia’s lap like a child giving Santa his Christmas list. “What’s a Discord without something to discord? It’s like a dragon without his flames! A manticore without his teeth! It’s booooring.”

“Didn’t we grant you a small section of Equestria to do whatever you wish?” Celestia stated after teleporting out from her embarrassing position underneath Discord.

“I know,” the draconequus replied, relaxing in Celestia’s abandoned chair. “And it was grand. Alligator owls, chocolate thunder, exploding lampshades…” He sighed happily. “It’s paradise on earth, let me tell you. I personally don’t see how you can stand living in this stuffy dump.”

“I certainly manage,” the alicorn deadpanned elegantly.

“I certainly manage,” repeated a white sock puppet on Discord’s lion paw that looked disturbingly like Celestia. A terrible ventriloquist, Discord’s lips moved the entire time.

“Oh I’m quite certain you do, Cellypuppet,” Discord patted the puppet on its head. “But I wonder how our dear friend Princess Celestia manages everything with her optimistic little sister doubting her every move and her former student avoiding her presence. It must be hard for our favorite cake-loving alicorn.”

Celestia smiled. “If that is all, Discord, I’m afraid that I must disagree with your sources. There is no conflict among Luna, Twilight, and me, and there never has besides what is general knowledge. If this is what you came for, then I must inform you that you’ve come for nothing.”

Far from admitting defeat, it was Discord’s turn to smile. “So you may say, my dear Celestia, but I’m afraid that you’ve forgotten to whom you are talking. I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Ill tempers and bickering are all a part of my realm, and I can sense the itty-bittiest argument from miles away. So imagine my surprise and delight to find the smallest plume of disharmony hovering over this very castle.” The draconequus’ red eyes brightened with glee as Celestia’s smile slipped from her face. “Well, like a firepony to a burning building, I had to come to investigate. Do you want to know what I’ve found out?”

Celestia’s glare was intense. “No. No, Discord, I do not want to know what you’ve found because you’ve found nothing. I’ll take my leave now as I have no time for your games.” It would be useless to make Discord leave. Besides the Elements of Harmony and a few good spells, mostly developed by Princess Twilight, nothing else existed to hinder the god of chaos.

Discord watched the angry princess leave. “Hmm…” his claw rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “She’s good Cellypuppet.”

“Uh-huh!” the puppet agreed.

“But not good enough. We’ll find out the source behind the disharmony, won’t we, Cellypuppet?”

“Yep yep yep!” Cellypuppet chirped.

“Indeed,” Discord stated, tossing the puppet aside which detonated upon impact somewhere behind him.

“Oh come on!” somepony down below in the kitchens wailed.

Author's Note

So to formally apologize for my month's long absence, I have uploaded another story. Ha! So yes, this is what has been bouncing in my head since November.

And yes, it's Sparity and some Dislestia.

I hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter Two

If somepony were to ask him to give one positive thing he could say about being on the lam with Rarity, Spike thought, it was that Rarity knew how to travel in style. At that very moment Spike found himself sitting comfortably before a sturdy wooden table, alternately sipping from a mug of an especially well brewed coffee and munching on a few gemstones resting upon a saucer. Not bad for a dragon on the run. The only thing that reminded him that he was currently deep inside the Whitetail Woods and not one of the wealthy country estates outside of Canterlot was the constant chattering of woodland creatures in the background.

So far there was no sign that anything had gone wrong; there were no coughed up letters from Twilight, no sightings of any royal guards swarming the woods… That absence alone made some small paranoid part of him very, very nervous, as if something bad was hiding just around the corner. The dragon had built up an incredible amount of pent up energy, and finally after his third round of pacing around the tent-like mansion—or rather the mansion-like tent—he decided to do something slightly more productive, i.e. go over the map for the umpteenth time.

Said map was located on a table right beside a sleeping Rarity. Tiptoeing across the room, it was odd for Spike to see her sleeping there while he was awake. Usually it was she who nudged him to rise at a stupidly early hour to open the library for the day. Now it was long past opening hours, and yet she was the one still in dreamland.

Spike had never put much thought at the differences between his biology and the average pony’s, but now he suspected that he was beginning to understand. They had indeed covered a lot of ground in two days of continuous plodding from sunup to sundown. In fact in a few hours’ time, the two would clear the Whitetail Woods altogether and come across that narrow strip of mountains which formed the Unicorn Range. Even at the end of the first day, Rarity was practically dead on her feet. The second day he was forced to carry her for the last hour, and so exhausted was she that she conked out of consciousness right after dinner.

In a startling contrast, however, Spike couldn’t feel more refreshed. If he were to be honest with himself, the dragon knew he didn’t need to pitch camp at sundown at all. He could keep walking for days and perhaps with a few small strategic rests, weeks even—just like he did that time when he trekked all the way to the Badlands to find himself years ago. It left Spike to wander at the true durability of a dragon.

It also left him feeling guilty.

“You let me oversleep you know,” mumbled a muffled voice.

“Yeah, well, you looked like you needed it.” The dragon had learned long ago not to mess with a mare’s beauty sleep, particularly this mare's.

Rarity tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. “Well… perhaps I did need that… However aren’t we supposed to put as much distance as possible between us and Ponyville before our absence is discovered? We really should get going, darling.”

After carrying a very tired, sore, and cranky Rarity for miles yesterday, Spike was less than convinced at her sudden enthusiasm. “Are you sure you’re alright since last night?”

A wince broke across Rarity’s face so fast that Spike barely managed to register it before she stretched her lips into a forced grin. “Of course, darling. You know that a little soreness never-” At that very moment, Spike poked one of her hooves with a finger.

“Ow!” Rarity screeched, snatching her front hoof away from the offending claw. “Well that was certainly uncalled for!”

“Rarity…”

Rarity sighed.

“You were seriously going to try to walk like that?”

The white mare only sat there on the edge of their shared four poster, silently fuming.

“Rarity…”

“Two days, Spikey! Two days! The ancient ponies of yesteryear were forced to walk miles in a frozen wasteland each day just to search for food, and here am I, lying here practically lame after a mere two days. I wonder what we shall have to do to fix this? Would I need a splint or a pair of bar shoes or even-” She gasped. “A wheelchair? How horrid! And we’ll never find an acceptable one during exile-”

“Hey look, hold on. You’re not going to need a wheelchair.” Spike swore that if he were able to receive a cutie mark, his mark would be something concerning dealing with irrational unicorns. Twilight was bad enough. “It’s partially my fault anyway,” he added suddenly realizing something. They had jumped into this whole thing like two naïve foals with little planning. There was no thought of their pacing, only the notion of getting to their destination as quickly as possible. And Spike, the dragon who somehow had five times the stamina of a pony, had set the pace. “I pushed you too hard.”

Rarity shook her head while gently rubbing her front hoof. “It’s not your fault, Spikey. I just…” She grimaced as her other front hoof put pressure on her tender one. “…stupidly overexerted myself. I wanted to get out of this forest as quickly as I could. I can’t stand forests—the tress, the dirt, the…nature, it’s not natural.”

“Well you can’t say you would know we’re in the middle of nature by looking at this place,” Spike grinned, gazing at the high wooden ceilings and fine furnishings of their obviously very magical tent.

A smile broke across Rarity’s face as well. “I knew that this would be an excellent purchase. Rather expensive, but worth every bit.”

“So, Haysom salt?” Spike suggested after a short pause.

“Haysom salt? Isn’t that for geriatric ponies?” Rarity raised an eyebrow.

“Not really. It wouldn’t hurt though. I mean, it helped Twi during the Pinkie Pie incident.” In spite of Rarity’s incredulous stare, Spike continued on. “Stay right here, Rarity. I’ll be back.”

“Oh, do believe me. I’m not going anywhere,” Rarity grumbled, holding up her hoof.

Two hours later, the unbearable pulsing in Rarity’s front hoof had long since quieted, and she lay in bed utterly bored. Lazily she twirled her hoof around in its cooling medicated water. Rarity had never dealt well with pain, and the knowledge of what was to eventually come made her queasy.

Sighing, Rarity sat up to glare more heatedly at her injured limb. If somepony from before had told her that she’d presently be in the middle of the Whitetail Woods and that the princesses whom she both loved and respected would soon be after her in two weeks’ time, Rarity would have immediately directed that pony to the Ponyville Mental Institution just on the edge of town. If only Twilight hadn’t told…

‘No…’ Rarity thought. ‘Twilight must’ve been so excited. Everypony was excited. The poor dear couldn’t have predicted what was to happen next…”

Nopony could have predicted what was to happen next…

Just then a delicious smell drifted past Rarity’s delicate nose and knocked the mare back into reality.

“Is that-?”

“Apple Crumb Cake?” Spike laughed. “Yeah, it is.” He handled the platter quite masterfully as he plopped down on their shared four poster.

“Well, must I ask what is the occasion for cake?” Rarity tried to sound nonchalant, but she unconsciously sat up a little straighter than before. How long since she had had a bite of something sweet? Two weeks?

“Oof, fwi dunno,” Spike replied with a mouth full of cake. Then he swallowed. “Just felt like having cake, I guess. I would’ve dumped those extra garnets in there, but then I remembered you can’t eat gems.”

“You didn’t have to worry on my account, darling. I’m doing my best to save as much of my figure as I can.” She shut her mouth to keep her teeth from grinding together as she watched him pick up another slice.

“You’re sure?” Spike asked. The slice dangled precariously between two fingers. A pair of royal blue eyes watched a piece of crumb fall back onto the platter.

Rarity sat there silently staring.

“You’re sure?”

“Oh, alright…” Rarity attempted to sound resigned, but her body’s eagerness to get one of her hooves on the tasty treat betrayed her. “But just this one. I’ve always been warned about the danger of too many sweets.”

“Ha! Tell that to Pinkie P-” Spike was interrupted by the cake platter traveling so fast that it nearly smacked him in the face. He looked on in disbelief. “I-I thought you only said that you wanted one.”

“Why yes, I did say that darling.” Here Rarity paused to swallow her slice. “But then I had this sudden thought. What if I wanted another slice? Of course I said that I wanted only one, but who can predict what the future holds? It would be better for the whole platter to be beside me if that happens, don’t you agree? You wouldn’t want me to strain myself with my hoof injury.”

The first thing that popped into Spike’s brain was how could a hoof injury directly affect a unicorn’s telekinesis. The second was how attractive Rarity looked with her hair down and how long had it been since...? A week? Naturally, all ideas from the second eliminated the first, and Spike had no problems crawling up beside her to share the cake, for now.

Thirty minutes of cake stuffing later, both Spike and Rarity lay side by side in varying states of ultra-fullness.

Spike opened his mouth to speak. “That was-”

“Terrible. Quite terrible. Ladies do not gorge themselves on cake. It was so terrible and yet…” Rarity smiled. Her body visibly relaxed, “…so fabulous…”

“I have the worst cast of the itis right now…” Spike yawned. Rarity turned her head to look at the sleepy dragon.

“Spike?”

“Hmm?” Spike blinked.

“You have something right there…” Rarity had sat back up now.

“Wait, what?”

“Don’t move. You have something right there on the corner of your mouth.” The white unicorn quickly reached over and swiped the stain away.

And then she licked her hoof. “Hmm… Apple.”

Spike chortled. “What was that?”

“Well, what kind of marefriend would I be if I were to let you walk around with apple crumb all over you? Not a very good one, I believe.”

“Hmm…” the dragon lay there thinking for a long moment. “Rares?”

“Yes, Spikey-Wikey?” Her tone was dark from being addressed once again as ‘Rares.’

“Hold on; I think there’s something on your face.”

Rarity’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh my, is it near my mouth? Is it on my nose? Goodness, this will not be good for my pores. I’ll have to exfoliate twice tonight-”

“Don’t panic,” Spike breathed as he scooted up closer. “I got it.”

“I hope you do, otherwise I can see it now. The first pony to see me when I finally step back into civilization would comment on what a huge zit I have-” She was silenced by a pair of purple lips upon hers. At first, Rarity stiffened in surprise but then relaxed as her mind processed the close proximity of a very warm body nearby. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her lips burning hot when he withdrew, finally.

“Marshmallow…” He licked his lips, and Rarity laughed, all thoughts about pimples and sore hooves forgotten.

“All of that effort for such a little mark upon my face,” teased Rarity. “Is the mark even gone yet?”

A claw played with a lock of silky purple hair while Spike leaned closer to examine the besmirched area. “Not yet,” he replied. Their lips met less softly this time and much more eagerly than before. How long since they had spent times like these together? The time before disturbing letters, dense forests, and injured hooves seemed like a century ago.

Rarity raised her hoof to mimic the motion of his claw in her hair. Up, then down, she followed the pattern of smooth scales and felt the hard muscle underneath. Spike moved closer to feel more velvety, warm fur when—

SPLAT!

“What the-?” They both looked down to see the empty cake platter stuck to Spike’s pale green underbelly. Spike emitted a groan.

“Well,” Rarity chucked. “I think you need a shower, Spikey-Wikey.”

Grumbling, the dragon hopped out of bed and pried the sticky plate off his front. Several clumps of apple crumb fell to the floor. Rarity giggled again, but as soon as Spike’s retreating back disappeared in the direction of the bathroom, she exploded in a flurry of action. She levitated a small mirror to eye level to carefully examine her hair, her makeup, and her general appearance. Was her breath fresh? Just because she’d been hiking in the woods for two days did not mean she could slack off. A lady held standards, no matter where she happened to be.

Rarity was reapplying her eye shadow when she heard a thump from nearby.

“Spike?”

No answer.

“Spike?”

Rarity could hear the shower still running. The forest’s various animals were still making a ruckus outside. Nothing seemed to be off, but Spike’s silence caused her insides to freeze.

“Spike, this isn’t funny in the least! Please answer m-”

“Rarity.”

Rarity turned around to see Spike in the doorway. In her panic she had scrambled out of bed, trying to keep her balance on three hooves—the forth curled under protectively against her chest.

“Spike, where have you-?” The mare had started to vent her feminine fury, but stopped when she noticed his bedraggled state. “W-why are you all wet, darling? Why didn’t you dry off?”

“We’re going to have to leave.”

Rarity was flabbergasted. “But how? Did somepony spot us? Did-” However, she quieted as her gaze focused on what Spike was holding. There, in his fist, was a tightly wrapped scroll partially soaked in shower water.

“It’s Twilight,” Spike answered tersely. “They know.”

“Oh now you just stop that,” admonished a gentle voice. “I know you’re unhappy right now because you miss Mr. Squeakers, but that is no reason to make a fuss.” To drive her point home, Fluttershy threw the disobedient feline a stern look. Opalescence, however, merely scoffed and continued to strike out at the bars of her carrier. Fluttershy sighed in resignation.

Fluttershy didn’t know how she was going to make it up to Rarity. She just hoped that her seamstress friend wouldn’t be too angry, but how could she know that a family of five bears would hurt themselves in a rockslide and come to her for help? Her house barely had enough space to accommodate a squirrel now, much less a cat, with all of the bears tucked nicely into sagging temporary cots, their arms and heads bandaged up to look like mummies. Sighing, Fluttershy had preplanned a very extensive apology and was prepared to give Rarity back all the bits she’d offered Fluttershy to keep Opal. She really hoped her friend wouldn’t be too disappointed.

The Carousel Boutique was unusually dark when Fluttershy approached, holding Opal’s cage in her mouth. Its curtains were drawn and its windows dark. Fluttershy noticed that Rarity’s mailbox seemed full, and it stood a little crookedly after its daily assault by the resident mailmare.

“Now that's strange…” Fluttershy muttered to herself. Her close friend Rarity was meticulous in everything she did. Before opening her shop, the fashionista would collect her mail daily and grumble about the hideous state of her mailbox before setting it straight once again. Looking at the acute angle Rarity’s mailbox made with the ground, a little voice inside Fluttershy told her that something was wrong. She shivered.

Behind her, the town’s clock tower struck ten, making Fluttershy leap into the air in fright.

“I-it’s ten in the morning,” she continued. Rarity’s boutique opened at nine.

All of sudden, Fluttershy felt like running in the opposite direction. Something was wrong; something was very wrong, but she wasn’t the best pony to handle things like this. She should go and find Applejack or Rainbow Dash, and they could-

But, no, why should she find Applejack or Rainbow? Wasn’t Rarity her friend as well? An unusual flood of courage surged through her. Besides, Rarity was probably having an off morning. It happened to the best of ponies sometimes. Why did she get so worked up over a crooked mailbox and a few letters?

“R-rarity?” One peak inside the dark foyer drained all of Fluttershy’s erstwhile courage. “Rarity, i-it’s me, Fluttershy.” There was no answer.

The only light Fluttershy had was what came from behind her as she’d left the door open—the door which she’d found closed but mysteriously unlocked. The haunting darkness transformed various blobs of gray which once must’ve been familiar and comfortable furniture into something unnerving.

“Rarity? Are you, um, here?” The shadows of the Carousel Boutique remained silent. A brief air current blew across her spine, and Fluttershy shook in her hooves.

“Well if you aren’t here, I w-wouldn't w-want to impose if t-that’s okay with you…” Fluttershy stammered while backing up towards life and safety outside. This whole thing was a huge mistake. She really should’ve gotten-

BANG!

SCREECH!

“Eep!” Fluttershy shrieked as a patchwork of metal bars dug into her hind leg. Somehow in her fright, she’d forgotten Opal’s carrier was behind her and had accidentally collided with it, inadvertently unlatching the lock and releasing its occupant. Opalescence, of course, leaped at the first sign of freedom and disappeared into the darkness. Her pet carrier on the other hand raced off to the side and smashed into the leg of a nearby desk. Fluttershy watched in pain and helplessness as that desk slowly collapsed upon itself, scattering a bunch of white envelopes everywhere.

“Oh, no… Rarity won’t like this, not at all…” Fluttershy whispered to herself. “And on top of this, I’ll still have to find Opal.” Peering at the dim outline of a nearby stairway, she gulped. For Opal... The mare slowly got up on her hooves.

And then Applejack landed on her nose. Fluttershy blinked. Or rather, an elaborately enamored envelope addressed to Applejack.

“Hmm… I wonder why a letter for Applejack is sitting here in Rarity’s house?” With the greater mystery of Rarity’s whereabouts put on hold, Fluttershy turned her energies into studying Applejack’s letter.

Soon Fluttershy would find more letters addressed to Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, Princesses Celestia and Luna, Rarity’s mother and father, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and finally herself. In spite of her growing curiosity, Fluttershy could never have opened any letter but her own, and she did indeed open her own.

Five minutes later Fluttershy barreled into Ponyville's pegasus post office, drenched in tears and demanding that a letter be sent to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Note

Chapter Two done because I hate to leave a story with no meat on the bones if you know what I mean. I have to get back to Baser Instinct though. I'll try to alternate between stories in updating.

Chapter Three

Discord’s mismatched eyes squinted as he peered down upon the mountain city of Canterlot from his cloud perch high in the skies. Discord was no fool. Contrary to what most ponies believed, he wasn’t just a dangerous ball of unpredictability fated to be resealed in stone by another crop of Harmony wielders a hundred years from now. He was Discord The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony and a draconequus thousands of years old with both considerable knowledge and power. He could read the signs that something big was in the works. Something huge. There was a change in the air, and yet Discord could not figure exactly what it was…

“Hmm…” the draconequus hummed while thoughtfully tugging on his fluffy white beard.

Something was happening in Equestria, and Canterlot Castle was right smack in the middle. Usually, Discord never really cared about anything that befell Equestria, whether it was positive for the inhabitants or not. No matter what state the nation was in, its basic potential for chaos would never change. Chaos was such a beautiful thing. And yet something about the way the air even smelled caught his attention. That made no sense—the atmosphere over Equestria having a smell, but it did. In fact, it smelled purple, really really purple. And Discord smiled. Something in Equestria didn’t make sense, and it made quite a ruckus in doing so. The draconequus couldn’t wait to meet it.

Suddenly a purple pegasus shot past a hundred hooves beneath him, rousing Discord out of his musings.
“Now what is-” And then Discord’s eyes widened as he leaned forward, clutching the edge of his cloud in tension. He’d seen the horn, the dark straight mane with its lighter streaks billowing in the air. A crooked grin spread across his wide mouth.

“Well, isn’t this remarkable? Here am I sitting and pondering what’s going on in Celestia’s pretty little head when a birdie appears and just may lead me to the solution anyway.” He took another glance at the retreating lavender figure and sighed. “Oh well. Knowledge waits for no one. You there!” Discord rapped hard on the poufy cloud below him, creating an awkward metallic sound. “Follow that alicorn!” The cloud emitted a small ‘Beep!’ in response and shot off in high speed after Twilight Sparkle.

“Why, it seems as if my day just got more interesting…” Discord chuckled to himself, squinting his brows against the wind.

The force of the wind hurtling past chilled the sweat pouring off Twilight’s coat as she forced her wings to keep flying at top speed. Never again, she vowed, would she ever think lightly of Rainbow’s stunt flying. The chill of air at critical velocity was nothing to joke about.

Still, Twilight ignored the growing leaden sensation in her wings. She had to reach Ponyville as soon as possible. At every other second her mind returned to Fluttershy’s letter…

‘How could they?’ Twilight huffed inside her head. Her concern for her friends had long since evolved from shock into a fine blend of anger, fear, and worry. ‘Have they any idea what kind of trouble they could be in? Have they any idea what they’ve just done?’ Today, she had learned that two of her closest friends had decided to violate a direct order to present themselves before Princess Celestia, the violation of which just happened to be a crime. A crime! Twilight shuddered at the idea.

As the gray mountains beneath her body slowly transformed into soft fields and dark patches of forest, Twilight couldn’t help but think that this was a bit ironic. Two weeks ago she’d been heading towards Ponyville also but under almost completely different circumstances. It was supposed to have been a surprise party—one planned so carefully that nopony should have figured out the secret behind it, especially Pinkie Pie, but somehow Pinkie had found out the true occasion anyway in whatever strange way Pinkie did such things. By the time Twilight and her carriage arrived, the boutique had been trounced up with multicolored balloons and streamers. Spike had been teasing her for over a week with little notes full of vague hints, goading her into trying to figure out the purpose behind his surprise invitation. However, the palace had been in the middle of negotiating yet another peace treaty between the zebras and the griffins, and Twilight was too exhausted to do much more than dismiss his cheerful riddles with a sigh and an eye roll.

And then Twilight and the rest of the girls sans Pinkie were told the good news. By Celestia, Twilight barely could believe it. It was crazy, impossible, and-

At last Twilight spotted Rainbow Dash waiting for her above the outskirts of Ponyville, breaking the princess out of her train of thought. Immediately she let gravity carry her to the earth—that is to say she dropped like a stone.

“Whoa, Twilight…” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow as she flew forward and watched her friend collapse upon the grass. “You definitely need some practice with those wings.”

“R-remind me to never ever fly nonstop to Ponyville ever again,” Twilight huffed, breathing heavily.

Rainbow Dash smirked in amusement. “You know, if you would’ve just accepted some of the lessons I wanted to show you, you wouldn’t be in this kind of pain right now.” She flexed one sky blue wing in display of what a proper feathered limb should look like. “You can’t just expect to fly long distances without having trained-” However, Twilight’s burning glare stopped Rainbow short, and the pegasus sighed. “Oh alright, jeez…” She quickly floated down to offer Twilight a hoof.

As soon as Twilight was back on four hooves, it was time for business once again. “Okay…” Twilight began, steadying herself and repositioning her aching wings by her sides. “Where are the girls?”

Rainbow opened her mouth to answer before a small shadow passed across her face. “What the-?” Both mares peered up at the lone cloud drifting innocently above them, looking pitifully lonely all by itself. “We had orders for clear skies for the next three days! Who could have missed this?” She stomped a blue hoof in frustration. “I bet it was Thunderlane…” she growled. “He’s always slacking off on the job… Hold on, Twi.”

Twilight looked on as Rainbow rocketed into the air and broke up the offending cloud with a single kick in under ten seconds flat.

‘Wow,’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘Maybe I should have taken up those lessons.’

Neither of them heard the tiny “Eep!” from above as the cloud dissipated into nothing.

“Well?”

“I am afraid you were right, Lulu. They have left Ponyville.”

Princess Luna sighed. “I had thought so. You did not leave them much choice, dear Sister.”

Princess Celestia didn’t answer right away. For a second she thought of a night long ago where she caught two naughty little foals—or rather a unicorn filly and a dragon hatchling—in this very chamber trying to tiphoof their way out of bedtime…

“Sister?”

Celestia blinked and then cleared her throat. What she said next did not address anything her sister had stated previously, but Luna understood. “Twilight has gone to Ponyville. I believe she has gone to either discover their whereabouts or convince them to return.”

Luna seemed to consider this for a moment. A brief smile flickered across her face. “And do you believe she shall be successful?” Celestia looked away, and the lunar princess sighed. “So you do know. You know very well that asking our dear friends Rarity the Element of Generosity and Spike the Dragon to do this is akin to a complete stranger asking us to hand over Equestria. We would rather give up our lives than do such a thing. I declare this of myself, and I am certain that you also feel the same, dear Sister.”

There was a pause where Celestia almost heard the faraway whines of two young voices reluctant to go to bed. For a moment the princess smiled, a little melancholy smile, but soon she collected herself. She could not afford to dwell on such memories now. It was time to get serious.

“Indeed, we must protect Equestria.” Celestia’s voice seemed to become stronger as she went on. “Truthfully, I wish that this entire situation had never come to pass, and yet I cannot risk the safety of my entire kingdom to a few.” When she finished, her voice was strong, and suddenly she felt a hoof upon her shoulder. Slowly, Princess Celestia turned her regal head to see her sister beside her, a grim look of total support upon her dark face.

Terrible, yet necessary.

Celestia sighed.

“Call the Guard. Tell them that they have an assignment."

Far away, deep underneath the dark canopy of the Whitetail Woods, two figures packed up their gear quickly. One walked with a pronounced limp while the other stood strangely on two legs--a rare sight in the four hoofed land of Equestria. If one were to watch the two, one would note the sense of urgency between them, perhaps even a sense of panic. One of them carefully picked up the other, and off they went into the gloom.

Little did they know that white was a color easily discerned through a sea of brown and green, and it didn't help that the one being carried had a very clean shiny white coat. They had studied their map so often that the geography of Equestria was nearly burned into their minds; yet little did they know that the Whitetail Woods was almost directly underneath the pegasi city of Cloudsdale. Most maps placed the cloud city off to the side, almost above Ponyville, but anypony from Ponyville could testify to the fact that Cloudsdale was definitely not in viewing distance. However, the two figures did not know any of this, not having much camping or geography experience. What happened next was in some ways very fortuitous to our traveling couple, and yet in other ways....not.

Author's Note

I know it's been months... Ah, please don't talk about it. I'll just say that a lot of stuff has happened--some of which may probably help me with this story.

And also, is it just me or is Nightmarity just an adult unicorn Diamond Tiara? Somehow this makes sense to me.
Nightmarity = adult unicorn Diamond Tiara