Title:           Saddled – Chapter 9
Author:          Anonymous
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/BjXyQuQS
First Edit:      Saturday 31st of October 2015 02:51:09 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Saturday 31st of October 2015 02:51:09 PM CDT

        Rarity watched as her sister left to get help. As soon as Sweetie was out of sight, she sighed and sat down (up?) on the ceiling. She'd heard similar rumors before, but she'd always dismissed them as nothing more than racist anti-pegasus propaganda. But somehow, hearing it from her own sister made the idea seem more plausible. She knew it was still just hearsay, and the source wasn't very reliable, but something about the legitimate panic in her sister's voice, or maybe the inclusion of more details than she was used to, made her brain assign more credence to the story.
        She shook her head. There still wasn't any substantial evidence; her brain was just trying to get her to err on the side of caution. If filly-snatching were really as widespread a problem as rumored, surely steps would be taken to prevent or deter it. But still, it was as though her sororal instincts were overruling her rational judgement. Even if it was unlikely, if it was at least possible, she couldn't help but worry. This was her sister, after all.
        She tried to clear her mind, to corral her rogue imagination. The scene playing in her mind was not a pleasant one, but part of her mind told her she'd be neglecting her sister if she just ignored the risk. But, realistically, what was she supposed to do about it? Hire a bodyguard to follow her sister everywhere? Make her wear a chastity belt? Nothing she could think of was particularly practical.
        It occurred to her that she'd gotten through her fillyhood okay, and so did everypony she knew, so it couldn't be that common. Still, maybe it would hurt to suggest that Sweetie spend most of her heat indoors. She'd probably object, but she could have sleepovers with her friends to pass the time, and now that she had her cutie mark…
        Rarity shook her head. What was she thinking? She didn't have the authority to ground her sister, and their parents would almost certainly tell her she was just being paranoid. To be fair, she probably was, but there's a fine line between "paranoid" and "better safe than sorry". She sighed and sat down on the ceiling, mentally planning her next project in order to keep her mind from dwelling on the uncomfortable subject while she watched the front door to the Boutique and waited for Twilight to arrive.
        She was surprised when Twilight arrived, not through the door, but by teleporting directly into the Boutique, a concerned and slightly out of breath Sweetie Belle standing beside her. Rarity jumped back from the sudden flash and stumbled backwards. "H–Hello, Twilight. I'm guessing Sweetie Belle filled you in on what's been going on?"
        Twilight nodded and looked up at Rarity. "Most of it, yes. Could you fill me in on some of the details, though? If I'm going to figure out what's happening to you, I'd be really helpful if you could tell me everything you remember about what's been happening to you recently."
        Rarity sighed and sat back down. "Well, when I got out of the shower this morning, I noticed that walking around was more like walking through water; I had to push against my towel harder than normally whenever I turned or sped up, and my mane and tail kind of… trailed behind me, like… like a flag. The air itself even seemed thicker, and colder." She looked to Twilight to judge whether she was giving too many details.
        Twilight was listening intently. When Rarity stopped, she urged her to continue. "Okay, and then what happened?"
        Rarity cleared her throat. "I eventually realized that everything seemed to be slowed down. The clock was ticking slowly, and anything I dropped just kind of… floated down. And then, when I tried putting a spoon in the sink, the sink got dented."
        Twilight nodded. "Given what I know about heat and viscosity, what you experienced seems like it would result naturally from time slowing down. Though, given what you said about the sink, I'd guess it was actually you being sped up. Go on."
        Rarity smiled, relieved that at least what seemed to be several problems turned out to be only one. She took a breath, cleared her throat again, and continued the story, going over everything else that'd happened to her before her sister's arrival.
        Twilight mostly stayed quiet, nodding and urging her to continue from time to time. As Rarity's story unfolded, the look on Twilight's face seemed to grow more concerned. When'd Rarity finished her story, she nodded. "Okay, so I think I might have figured out a pattern to what's been happening, but I still don't know what could be causing it. Did anything happen before your shower that you're leaving out, that could give us a hint?"
        Rarity thought for a moment. "Well, before I got in the shower, some of my hairs were standing on end, and then I shocked myself, but before that…" Her eyes lit up. "When I was jogging, I felt a surge of magic in my horn, which distracted me and made me trip! That's when I headed straight to the shower to wash off the dirt."
        Twilight smiled. "Were you able to pinpoint the source of the magic? It must've been pretty strong to cause resonance in the alicorn of your horn."
        Rarity shook her head. "No, it only lasted for a split second. I just felt a tingling in my horn, and then it was gone."
        Twilight nodded. "Do you remember where you were when it happened?"
        Rarity bit her lip and thought for a moment. "Yes, I was running by the park, near one of the benches. A kindly old mare sitting there helped me back to my hooves."
        Twilight smiled. "That was nice of her. I'll have to check around that area for anything out of the ordinary. Is there anything else? What happened between when you left the party last night and when you went jogging this morning?"
        Rarity blushed heavily and glanced at her sister, who was listening intently. "Um… could we discuss this… in private?" She cleared her throat and darted her eyes to briefly point at Sweetie Belle, gesturing with her head.
        Twilight blinked a few times, confused, until it clicked after a few seconds. "Oh… Okay, I see. I should get you to the library, anyway; I have equipment there that might be useful. Normally, I'd be reluctant to teleport you without knowing what we're dealing with, but you can't exactly walk there in your condition, and time is of the essence."
        Rarity nodded. "Alright, just… Hold on. What do you mean? Why are you in such a r—" She didn't get to finish her thought before the Boutique vanished with a dazzling flash of light.
        Now inside her womb, Rarity's daughter was intrigued by the sudden surge in Oomph that seemed to warp the very fabric of the Context. She would have to see if she could learn enough about the phenomenon to reproduce it herself…