Chapter 2: The Morning After Spell
 
NEW ON EMZ: The Equestrian Magic Zone
 
Flood of Refugees from the Griffin Kingdom. What will they be wearing?
Fluttershy pregnant, "never slept with a stallion", unconfirmed source reveals. (more on page 8)
Your who's who guide to who's doing who in the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, Flash Sentry and others.
Gabby Gums wins our lifetime achievement award in journalism.
This and much more in today's issue of EMZ.
 
>Be Fluttershy
>There's no denying it, you can't forget your night with Anon as easily as you thought.
I can't believe it had not taken them days
I still am not used to your ponykind ways.
>In comes Zecora, you've just settled into her place for a bit to ask for some friendly advice. To be honest you've gotten into a regular cycle of moping and recovering and you can't keep it up forever.
>You give a half smile and earnestly say "Thank you for letting me into your home for a while. It means a lot to me. It really does."
>Zecora grins and opens her mouth before catching herself and gives a simple nod. It must be tiring rhyming all the time.
>"And I can't thank you enough for letting the animals stay on your grounds. Are you sure you don't mind?"
>You couldn't have just left them home while you laid low for who knows how long. You can see in your line of a sight a sloppy pink mass coming at the window. Zecora leans her back on the wall and reassuringly says.
I understand what it's like when times are rough
I couldn't be happier to lend a...
>Suddenly from one window of the hut through to the other comes an awkward pink flamingo knocking over shelves and bottles. Zecora settles her things and continues.
...hoof.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94_uZi_QhsU
>Be Applejack
>Be galloping at full speed, fire in your eyes, rope in your mouth, stallion in your sights.
Ah, didn't touch her sis!
>"Like hay you didn't!" Big Macintosh is running as fast as his lumbering red hooves can carry him, throughout the square and past what seems like the entire onlooking town. You've always suspected he had a thing for poor Fluttershy, although she didn't seem the type to... He wouldn't, would he?
>"No time to think of that now Applejack. You've got to concentrate on catching Big Macint-oh."
>You suddenly slow down to a trot and survey the area as you pass through a pristine marble gate into one of the strangest places you've laid eyes upon. To your surprise it seems you have followed Big Mac into the public baths of ponyville, a lavish series of courtyards populated inexplicably by nopony but bulky colts.
Can I help you fine stallion?
And a fine stallion you are.
>You suddenly recognize in front of an imposingly large spa looking establishment, none other than Flim and Flam acting as bouncers.
Er... Yup! You've got to help me. She's fixin' to kill me.
>He can't seriously be in cahoots with the enemy. Either way you pick up the pace and maneuver through the throng of thongs and start unholstering your lasso. 
Well given your circumstance and forgetting our past history we will gladly let you into the Villa Flim and Flam, no questions asked.
For an added fee of course.
>"Oh no y'all don't!" This ass-hattery must end at once so you charge at Big Macintosh knocking him face down through the door as you proceed to hogtie the bastard.
What the buck are you doing you crazy mare?
>"Ah'm wonderin' why you had to go and deflower Fluttershy."
Ah didn't...
>"You've tarnished the family name and ruined the farm. The next step will probably be marriage for you two."
Ah don't....
>"You didn't rape her did you?"
Ah wouldn't....
"And we all know it's you, because you've always had a thing for...."
NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE! Why does everyone think they can just go and assume things about me? Friendships, Relationships, well that ship has sailed. You're just as bad as your little sister. Have you stopped to consider that I may have been following her home so I can help her with her vegetable garden? Have you considered her animals need to eat? Have you considered I DIDN'T stoop to rape?
>"Well I...."
Have you?
>"Nope." 
Exactly what I thought.
>You pause for a second to the disappointed stare of your own brother and look around the building you are in. You shake your head in sorrow, and hat on your heart prepare to start apologizing but this is all cut short when you sense an almost mechanical feeling. As if gears and sirens had been placed half hazardly in your skull. You suddenly hear in the stern voice of a member of the royal guard.
Admiral Bucephalus of the Crystal Empire Police. Your audience is requested with Princess Twilight Sparkle. You will be transported to the royal palace in 20... 19.
>You grasp your head and wobble out the door, murmuring to your hogtied brother "Bye, Mac. Have a nice time in the bathhouse. Help you later. Apple jelly."
18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11
>Flim and Flam grinningly approach the nervous red stallion and joke to each other.
Cheerilee, Fluttershy. Don't you just hate it when your family says your interested in some girl, when you're obviously not?
Er... Eeyup.
>Big Mac audibly gulps as the shadow overtakes him in some bathhouse in Ponyville. Somewhere in your heart that sounds a bit wrong to you but you just timidly stumble a bit more.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
 
>Be Fluttershy
18,17
>You feel an unbearable pain in your head. You remember Twilight saying that she can call a meeting in her place any time but you didn't think it would be like this.
16, 15, 14, 13
My Dearest Fluttershy, do you feel sick?
I'm sure to have something that can do the trick.
>Zecora seems fairly oblivious to how much pain you're in.
12, 11, 10, 9, 8
>"Voices... Twilight... Numbers..."
Are there suddenly voices where you think?
To the royal palace are you linked?
7, 6
>"Uhhhhhhhhh- huh."
>A look of seriousness falls upon her face she darts across the room and looks throughout bottle after bottle.
5
>She sniffs inside a rusty bottle and makes a contorted face before holding you down and pushing the opening into your mouth.
Fourr
>It tastes like Angel Bunny's dirty mat smells. You can even feel small pellets chugging down your throat.
Threeee
>The bottle is now empty and you let it fall on the floor and dissolve into a brown mess. The gears in your head feel as if they are slowing down.
Tuh-woooooh
>You start rising into the air. The characteristic pink of Twilight's horn takes hold of you.
Wuhhhhhhhn
>And then the gears melt as you fall down onto the floor, face up at the candlelit ceiling.
>A dopey smile forms on your face as you look up at your Zebra benefactor. "Thank you so much."
>Zecora smiles in return and you giggle. They told you in school to avoid situations just like this.
You needn't give me any thanks.
I'm all for saving ponies' flanks.
 
>Be Applejack
>You plop down on your plot, landing on a flimsy wooden bench in the waiting room of what must be the Crystal Palace. The seat buckles under your weight for a bit then begrudgingly bounces back to form.
>You worriedly look around. Next to you is Rarity, wearing a half ripped cocktail gown but besides that the room is rather empty and spacious. Just as you kick your legs out and prepare to relax in comes Pinkie Pie landing in the cannonball position shattering her seat into a thousand projectile wooden planks.
>Out of the rubble, Pinkie just stares at you and Rarity with a dead look in her eyes and the most unnatural smile. She takes what must be time for her to register everything then goes straight into group hug mode.
Ohmahgoshgirls. It'sbeensolong. HowareSweetieBelleandApplebloom? Ibetthey'refine. IwasgoingtowritebutI'vebeenohsobusy. I'mmanagingpartiesnow24/7andponiesarecominginfromalloverforaPinkiePieParty. Icouldn'tsaynotothemcouldI?
>She then scans the room (literally scans the room, with a green laser coming out of her eyes and everything) and concernedly asks.
What the Polka is going in here anyway?
>"Well Ah am glad to see you too, and Ah'm not sure why Twilight would send us out here, but I have a darn good guess. Rarity, Ah reckon you know what Ah'm talking' about? With Fluttershy that is?"
>Rarity nervously fixes her hair, tries her best to compose her gown and replies.
Oh yes, what a travesty. Fancy Pants and I were just discussing it while he tested out the.... Er... stitching of my latest design.
>"Been spending a lot of time in Canterlot?"
Oh yes I've been simply everywhere. Pushing papers, meeting all the right people and putting Ponyville on the map.
>"Well Ah'm sure Ah can speak for ponyville when Ah say we're all grateful back home." (You trust Rarity has best interests at heart even if her "work" seems like glorified galavanting.) Meanwhile Pinkie is chewing on her hooves, nervous as can be. You nudge to Rarity and ask.
>"Think we should fill the poor pony in?"
Oh yes, the worst news about Fluttershy. Word is the mare is in "delicate condition."
>Pinkie just stares in dumb confusion.
In pod
Huh?
Expectant.
What?
Fluttershy is... with foal.
>You are really tired of skirting around the issue and blurt out.
>"Pregnant. Fluttershy is pregnant."
>Pinkie surprisingly laughs it off.
Is someone loggin in your noggin? Obviously somepony's playing a joke on you. She wouldn't have done that without us knowing.
>She then turns dead serious, her face illuminated by dark shadows.
Would she?
>Pinkie starts pouting and you can practically hear her mane starting to deflate. You quickly add in.
>"Well, Ah'm sure this is all one big misunderstanding. We'll find a way to sort out the truth."
>Oblivous, Rarity digs into a magazine rack and pulls out an issue of EMZ and starts reading out loud, despite your desperate signals to the contrary.
 
Fluttershy; former model and element of harmony is according to an undocumented source pregnant. The mystery increases though, as the shy yellow Pegasus is reported as never having slept with a stallion. No sign yet of a baby bump but we'll be sure to document all developments in this unfolding story.
The informant, an anonymous social outcast insists we also include the fun fact that humans, popularized in the cult children's cartoon My Little Human have gestation periods 4 months longer than ponies. Thank you Lyra Heartstrings for that relevant piece of information.
 
>You fear for Pinkie's mental health and try to cut Rarity off. "Well Ah'm sure that we can find a more reliable source of news than the Equestrian Magic Zone."
Oh yes, it was in the Ponyville Express too.
>You facehoof and look back at Pinkie expecting the face of severe depression. On the contrary she's rather entranced.
Wowie Zowie. Who'd have known that ponies carried foals so quickly compared to humans. Oh, and how terribad for Fluttershy.
>You grit your teeth at having another of your friends becoming a marechild but don't question it. As long as Pinkie stays cheerful. You look up at the spacious ballroom you're waiting in and just have to ask.
Where in the hay is every-pony?
>Coming in from the shadows is the crinkled old face of the guard you heard earlier with a jagged scar running across one eye. You recall the name Admiral Bucephalus. Following him a little over two dozen guards (more than half of them crystal ponies) line up in formation. Among them a uniformed Spike tugs on your hoof before saluting.
I've been promoted to member of the Crystal Palace guard. Pretty cool huh?
>Rarity questioningly butts in.
How does that even...?
Her Highness the Princess Twilight Sparkle.
>His ugliness, the admiral, motions with his hoof and folding out the rows of guards reveal Twilight. Standing right next to- somepony.
Accompanied by Personal Assistant, Flash Sentry.
>You double take at Spike; newly appointed palace guard decked out in all kinds of fancy shenanigans, and Flash Sentry; personal assistant to your friend Twilight Sparkle. It's like some horrible cider induced dream. Rarity equally confused, puts on a sultry face and approaches the admiral.
I just had to ask a distinguished stallion such as yourself. How is that even possible?
Oh, the change in management. I have no idea, but it's the best thing that ever happened to me. Your princess needs a tactical thinker at her side and I think we have one in Flash.
>Twilight rushes in, genuinely happy to see you after all this time.
Girls. It's so good to see my friends.
>Flash catches up with her and she blushes before settling back to his side. There's something in his eyes that makes you uneasy. Hs face is movie star bland but after staring for a while it becomes more chiseled and to your liking. You shake the feeling and get to business.
>"Where are the others?"
Rainbow Dash is on an important mission abroad and we trust she is loyal enough to come to the palace when told. Fluttershy is... Where is Fluttershy?
>The Admiral adds in.
We lost connection your majesty.
This is bad. We must all go my chambers at once.
>And so you go.
 
>Be Fluttershy
So you tell me the father was not of this land
He was furless and hooveless with feet and with hands.
>"Uh... yes?"
>Zecora pauses a moment and shuts the curtains, her darkened home illuminated only by candles.
A chance encounter was all, you say
Now, he and his things have escaped away?
>"Umm. Hmm."
>She brings out a cauldron and at the tap of a hoof it starts bellowing smoke. The ambient noises of the forest and animals are suddenly distorted to tortured screams. You can't help but squeak a bit.
I fear this is a creature of olden times
Kept only alive in our song and rhymes.
>Pictured in the smoke are gruesome images of zebras being chased by men with spears and pointing menacing tubes. All kinds of exotic creatures are shown in running poses before being caged or... worse.
I truly hope that you eloped with some other
Nothing but pain can be made from the father.
>You start whimpering and look at your belly in shock. "No, I've only been with Anon."
>The smoke is suddenly reversed back into the pot. The room is filled with an uncanny silence and you just sit there, air blown back in front of a deeply contemplating Zecora.
>"What is it going to be? The baby?"
You've truly just once, had any relations.
>She has trouble getting the words out and plainly, almost tearfully states.
That child is going to be an abomination.
>"What can I do?"
Follow me, we're taking a trip.
Into the future we will slip.
>"So we're going to see what happens? The foal's destiny?"
I don't think you carry a foal inside you.
But yes, it's story will be in full view.
>"You won't hurt it will you?"
Although I don't like the situation you're in
I will promise no harm to you or your kin.
Now if you kindly would abide
I only ask you step outside.
>You nod and step outside the door into the starry sky to see the animals cowering in one place. You do your best to bluff calmness and they are slowly reassured but Zecora calls and motions for you to follow her down a narrow path into the forest. You say goodbye to your animal friends and gallop down into the heart of the Everfree.
 
>Be Applejack
>You gallop up what must be the millionth stair in the palace (it is the crystal empire after all) and you try to wrap your head around these gosh darned changes since you last saw Twilight. Pinkie bounces ahead of the exhausted group and asks.
Ooh, where's Shining Armor and Cadence?
>Flash suavely explains.
Cadence is representing The Crystal Empire at this year's summit. Shining Armor wasn't confident in the guards accompanying her and insisted he show up himself.
You're a roughy, toughy guard. Why aren't you go there with her?
I got demoted to Personal Assistant. Pretty cool, huh?
>Twilight blushes and fiddles with her mane while Pinkie naively laughs.
Totally.
>You finally show up at a room with a large circular table and each take a place. You count yourself, Rarity, Pinkie, Twilight, Bland Love Interest, the Admiral and Spike all in the room. The guards that didn't go into exhaustion are presumably outside the door.
>Things immediately turn to business. A map of Ponyville and the surrounding area is spread out on the table as the admiral barks commands this way and that, outlining a perimeter and marking the map halfhazardly. Flash starts up with surprising speed and determination.
I find it imperative we can safely retrieve and care for the element of harmony. Can we get a location on the target?
I've already sent some guards and they inform me the Pegasus is not at her residence, in fact she and all her animals seem to have relocated to the nearby forest.
>As the admiral and "assistant" play hackysack with poor Fluttershy you grit your teeth. "That 'target' is mah friend, and she may be in a sensitive spot as of late." Twilight puts her hoof on your mouth and reassures you.
Let the professionals do their work.
>She then proceeds to start joining in as well. Soon the whole room is in uproar. Everypony is pointing this way and that. Screaming so loud none of them notice the low rumbling of a stream of bright light coming right for you.
CRASH
>Through the window and cleaving your table in two is the technicolor trail of a dazed Rainbow Dash, crashed face first through the wall. With a struggle she pulls herself out and stumbles around a bit.
I came, I came as fast as I could. You said you wanted me Twilight?
>Everypony helps Rainbow onto her hooves and hushes her vigorous attempts to get to action.
>"Where the hay were you coming from, that forced you to fly like that?"
Twilight's got me doing fly-bys in the Griffin Kingdom. Things are going to Tartarus fast.
>You turn to the Twilight. "And why, beg your pardon, are we sending ponies? Sending our friends, into foreign soil?"
Flash kinda told the idea to me, and he got it from Bucephalus over here.
>You glare at the Admiral and prepare to unload your tongue but he quiets you.
I know what your going to say, but those Griffins are sitting on ancient pony lands. Land that belonged to use years before there ever was an Equestria.
>"And how does that give you the right to..."
Many things have changed in one thousand years.
>You suddenly notice he has a crystal shine to him, as if he were made of glass.
But one things hasn't. That there are creatures out there who can't be reasoned with. Ponies and others who will take every opportunity to subjugate and enslave the defenseless.
>You notice several cracks and chaffes in his marble complexion. He points his hoof out at a stain glass of Sombra sitting atop his throne of ponies in chains.
And Equestria is not going to remain defenseless. Now go and assist your friend, leave the diplomacy for another time.
>You try to respond but can't put the words together. The bastard's been through enough. You turn around and join the girls as they crowd around an aching Dash.
So what's this whole get together about anyway?
>Rarity tries to put it delicately.
We've heard the most terrible news that Fluttershy is... Expectant.
>"Pregnant. Fluttershy is pregnant."
>Rainbow Dash can't contain herself and starts laughing.
Fluttershy? Pregnant? Did Pinkie put you up to this?
>"Ah'm afraid we're serious Rainbow. Dead serious." Twilight then adds in.
You've been with her since the beginning. You must know how to approach her. We need to do this as a group.
I say let's stopping twiddling our hooves and do this.
 
>Be Fluttershy
>You've been solemnly following Zecora deeper and deeper into the forest. Neither of you have said a word.
>Under the night sky a swarm of bats swoops down overhead. The forest clears up and you find yourself in front of a bridge.
>"We aren't going...?"
You've heard of this place Fluttershy?
I was sure that none did know but I.
>"Sorta." You walk up to the old abandoned castle you've been in ages ago and follow Zecora as she trots around to the back of the building and to a bright blue glowing fountain of flowing water.
>The two of you say nothing as Zecora sips from the unearthly pond and looks up at the starry skies, with a blank look on her face.
The moon is bright out tonight.
>"Zecora, you aren't..." She cuts you off in a deadpan voice, as if it was someone else speaking.
Rhyming? No I'm not. The great god Pan is out. Prepare for otherworldly affairs.
>You notice her eyes are almost completely clouded, you can see slight movement of the fog in her gaze and can even catch a few bright lights.
Arachne is pulling the strings on her latest web. Deception. Lies.
>"Does it say anything about the baby?"
It says nothing about your child in these stars. It is as I feared. The baby will be born. But as an abomination it will be untouchable by the fates. It shall write it's own destiny.
>You look down at your stomach and notice a small churning. "What will this mean?"
From what I know about humans and their world.
A life of pain and change is unfurled.
>You look up at Zecora, her eyes back to normal. She gives you a reassuring hug and you soon find yourself stumbling around unable to stand.
This really should have happened soon
You body may not be in tune.
>You feel as if your innards are foreign to you. The whole sensation feels alien. "What do you mean?"
Your insides feel they may reject
A child that is not correct.
>"My body... May not... Like the baby?" Your fading in and out now.
>Zecora just nods.
 
>Be Applejack
>You've been following Fluttershy's trail for a while now. The situation is getting tense and you have no idea why the frail Fluttershy would have chosen to endanger herself and the foal.
>Galloping next to you are Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. It took forever but the stallions agreed to stay out of this, it wasn't any of their business.
>You soon find yourself approaching an awfully familiar place. You can't be less than a minute away from where you hunted down the Elements of Harmony. Twilight makes a determined face.
I've got a bad feeling about this place. I don't like it.
>Out of the fog and crossing the bridge you see a figure. Leaning on Zecora is a half conscious Fluttershy. She gets up and attempts to run over.
Hi girls.
>It isn't long before you she starts vomiting and you notice a puddle of blood. You don't know what's going on but you need to get her help at once.