Applejack and Pinkie Pie had to come by the library and wake me up this morning. I guess I didn't realize how much time it would take for me to write some of these entries, so I ended up getting to sleep well after midnight. I'm used to Spike doing a lot of my writing, but since this is a secret journal it all has to be done by mouth or hoof (or magic, in my case).

Spike's still beaming about that kiss Rarity gave him, and as much as I'd like to express my disapproval I really don't know what to say to him. I'm very concerned about him being hurt. I've warned Spike that something weird is going on, and he knows that Rarity and Fluttershy are involved and possibly in danger. I don't question Spike's loyalty or his ability to keep things quiet, so I think it would be a good idea for him to join us on our trip.

AJ, Pinkie, and I picked up Rainbow Dash on our way to Fluttershy's cottage. When the four of us arrived at her cottage, we could hear some sort of commotion going on inside. A number of her animals were making loud noises, like they were arguing in whatever unintelligible language beasts use to communicate, or maybe even fighting. Granted, I realize it's not common to keep a fully-grown bear in your home with you, but her pets are usually so placid. The four of us began exchanging looks of worry.

I knocked at the door, and then there were even more animal noises, and something clattering to the floor, I think? After a pregnant pause, we heard a familiar voice.

"Oh! P-please hold on just a moment, I'll be right there. Just a minute," a panicked-sounding Fluttershy called out from inside. The sounds of animals moving from place to place echoed through the closed door. Applejack silently pointed at one of the larger windows, which had curtains fully blocking the view.

"Eh, that's not actually too uncommon," said Rainbow Dash. "She usually keeps them closed at night, and maybe she slept in like Twilight. Plus, you-know-who might be in there for all we know. Unrelated: do you guys smell something?"

Applejack seemed to bristle at the casual mention of her brother, but maintained her composure. "A-hem. Big Macintosh came home last night," she said. "I mean, they ain't married yet, or even plannin' on it as far as I can tell. I don't think it's quite that serious at the moment, if you follow," she said in a hushed tone. "Besides, that pair are probably the two shiest apples this side of Ghastly Gorge..."

Just then the front door opened a crack, which made Rainbow Dash yelp in surprise, but what immediately followed sobered her up in a flash. Fluttershy blocked the doorway opening, and she was an absolute mess. She was wiping her legs and neck with a filthy-looking cloth, her mane was matted and dishevelled, and my Stars, the odor. Dear Princess Celestia. I swear to Star Swirl, I have never experienced anything like this in my life. It wasn't just Fluttershy, of course, it was coming out of the house itself. Everypony but Pinkie Pie had our hooves covering our noses. Pinkie just kept a smile on her face the entire time. Unfortunately, I couldn't see much of the inside with Fluttershy blocking the way. It was simply too dark. Judging by the shadows, I would guess some of the furniture had been overturned. There were no large moving objects, so most of the animals had probably exited out back. Rainbow was the first among us brave enough to break the silence.

"Oh. My. Holy. Horse apples. Fluttershy, what is that smell?!" said Rainbow Dash. "It's like, like... it's like, an entire zoo took a massive dump and then it died, and then a second zoo dug up the grave of the first zoo and ate its rem—"

Applejack delivered a swift elbow to Rainbow's ribs, painfully halting her mid-sentence. "Heh, sorry about that, sugarcube," she said, nonetheless pulling her hat down to cover her muzzle entirely as she did. "But it do smell mighty ripe in there, and well, um, I live on a farm with pigs. Just sayin'. Are yer critters givin' you a hard time for bein' gone for so long, maybe?"

Fluttershy bowed her head shamefully for a moment. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that. I think I've just taken on a few too many new pets recently, and the responsibilities are a little, um, taxing," she said. "I'll have them all under control later today, I'm sure. It just takes a while to train them to, er, assist one another. Maybe we should have another adoption event soon."

Pinkie Pie leaned over to Applejack. "Please tell me we're not inviting Aunt Goldie to one of those again," she whispered. Applejack offered Pinkie a subtle head-shake in agreement.

"Well, gee," I said, with a sigh. "We were going to ask if you wanted to come with us to the Crystal Kingdom, but I guess it looks like you have your hooves full already. Luna is worried that Princess Cadance is in danger..."

"Oh!" said Fluttershy, her eyes widening. "No, no, I have to come, of course! Princess Cadance is such a good friend to all of us. Just, could you maybe, give me a few hours to clean things up, if that's okay with you?" she asked. "Oh, and, um, Applejack, if it's not too much trouble, could you ask Caramel if he might be available to take care of my pets while we're out? I would pay him, of course, and be I'd be ever so grateful."

"Wait, wait, wait. Caramel? Why not ask your coltfriend to do it again?", Rainbow asked, dropping a heavy dollop of sarcasm on the word. (I don't understand what Rainbow Dash has against, what was it Pinkie Pie called it—right, Fluttermac? I don't get it. I have long suspected that "being cool" involves pretending to not like most things, and I believe this datum fits the overall trend, so maybe that's all there is to it.)

"His name is Big Macintosh," said Applejack, shooting Rainbow an angry glare. "And I'm guessin' it's because Mac'll be up to his flank in chores without me bein' in the field for however long this trip's gonna take. Now, Fluttershy hon, are you absolutely sure Caramel can handle your pets? These same pets that apparently turned your living room into a disaster zone overnight?" she continued, a doubtful look in her eyes.

"Oh, yes, I'm very sure. Just, I need a few hours. Um, and I think I should probably go take a bath now. But, I can meet you in the library later on, if that's okay? Or, you know, whatever you want me to do," said Fluttershy, her voice trailing off.

"You might want to take two baths just to be on the sa—oof!" said Rainbow Dash, wincing from another blow. "Hay, quit punching me!"

"Then quit bein' such an ass's ass-end," said Applejack.

"Okay, I think we're good here. Thanks, Fluttershy. We'll wait in the library for you after we get Rarity," I said. Fluttershy bit at her lower lip, smiled demurely, and closed the door.

"Pony. This just ain't right," said Applejack. "Everything's gettin' odder by the minute. Shy'd never let her place get in that much of a shambles, let alone so quickly."

"Yeah, Twilight. Are you positive we should be bringing Weird and Weirder along for this particular probably-saving-an-entire-kingdom-again mission?" asked Rainbow Dash. "As much as I care about both of them, they could be dead weight."

"I really don't know. But I'll feel much better knowing we're able to keep an eye on both of them, and they're still our friends," I said. "I admit we no longer have the physical Elements, and I still have no idea what the Box is supposed to do, so our resources are already limited. But I think we should stick together."

"I'm with Twi," said Applejack.

"I dunno," said Pinkie Pie. "If they turn out to be pod ponies I'll be really upset we weren't more careful, but I'll probably think it's amazing too because I managed to guess something by using one of Spike's comic books! How cool is that?"

"Yeah, when the zombies are eating our brains or whatever the hay I'm sure that will be real comforting, Pinkie," said Rainbow Dash. Pinkie beamed with, well, pride, I suppose?

Our trip to the Carousel Boutique was, fortunately, a lot less crazy. Rarity let us come in, and she was very interested in going on our trip with us, which made me feel a lot better. Apart from the horn, she's pretty much still Rarity, I think. I'm starting to suspect that most of this is in our heads.

"Oh, I need to grab some things before I go, so I can catch up," said Rarity. "I have some earrings I'd like Fluttershy to try on, to see what they look like in a public setting, and I think I'll bring some for Cadance, too. Fluttershy is oh so graceful, and such an absolute dear. Oh! And I have those shoes you wanted to try out for me, Pinkie Pie. Come this way. I'm afraid they're far too heavy for me to move without my magic."

"Too heavy?" asked Rainbow Dash, once Pinkie and Rarity had walked into the back room. Then we heard a loud pounding noise, and Pinkie Pie returned with four very simple-looking shoes. They were clearly bronze, and highly polished. They were a bit thicker than Celestia's shoes but featured no ornamental edge to them, just a simple cup rising up around the hoof in front. Judging by the noise they made, each shoe must have weighed at least two kilograms. Pinkie's legs struggled to lift with each step, yet she seemed excited.

"Wow, these are super-duper heavy! Do you think ponies will actually want to wear them?" Pinkie asked. "They're really tough to walk in but I think I can manage them for the trip, at least." The way Pinkie Pie bounces around, a pony would think she were made of rubber or something. But she's just as heavy as any other earth pony, and just as muscular underneath. It's easy to forget how strong she is.

"Heh, those'r kinda neat, actually," said Applejack. "Why, I could get me a real workout in a quad o' those in no time. Great for building some calf muscles on ol' Bucky 'n' Kicks."

Rarity smiled. "That's the idea. It's a shoe marketed only for the earth pony demographic, essentially. Sort of like a status-symbol, turned on its head, if you will. And while I don't have another set ready just quite yet, Applejack, I absolutely must see you in a quad the moment we return from our little adventure! And I won't take 'no' for an answer," she said, then winked at Applejack, eliciting a blush. It was a little awkward.

Still, I have to admit, I'm impressed by both the idea and her usual masterly craftsmanship. They just look so plain that they don't seem like "Rarity material", but I guess that was part of the point.

"Huh. Soooooo, you got anything special just for pegasi back there?" said Rainbow Dash, grinning and craning her neck around a dress screen.

"Yes, but it's not ready quite yet. I'll have to, you know, work out the kinks with Fluttershy first," she said, and giggled a bit to herself. "But I'll bring some extra earrings just in case those go over well."

We thanked Rarity and left. The trip back to the library was uneventful, except for the four-divot holes Pinkie kept leaving in the ground every time she pronked forward (though only to about one-third the normal height of her jumps).

So here we are. I've been sitting in the library writing this for the past hour or so. Rarity's already here, and Fluttershy should be by at any moment. We're going to take the evening express to Canterlot, then change trains to head for the Crystal Kingdom.

I should be excited, but I still have a very bad feeling about all of this. Somewhere in my brain, I know about something, but I can't bring it into the light of consciousness. Usually it's because the buried concept is something I don't want to be true, or want to admit is true, but I know that's exactly what this feeling is. That scares me.

I really hope all of this ends up being just a dumb coincidence. I'd be thrilled to feel dumb as dirt right about now.