The sun shone brightly through the window, a bright warm blanket of light draped over the table in the kitchen of Carousel Boutique. To one side sat the alabaster unicorn who lived there; on the other side, the buttercream pegasus who was her best friend. As they sat, they sipped from their cups.

“Fluttershy, I don’t know what to say. It really wasn’t me,” Rarity said.

“You keep saying that, but you really have no proof to the contrary. You’re the most likely suspect until my little baby is found.” Fluttershy smiled.

Rarity let out a little sigh. “Innocent until proven guilty.”

“Only in a court of law. As for our friendship...”

“What would I have to do to get in your good graces?” Rarity asked.

“Find my little baby raccoon-pony hybrid child, and bring him back home. Assuming you didn’t eat him, that is.”

Fluttershy scooted her chair out from the table and stood up, trotting over to the kitchen counter. From the stovetop, she picked up a teapot—an ornate, ancient thing—and started to walk back to the table with the thing between her teeth.

Suddenly, there was a very loud noise. PREEOW!

Fluttershy jumped, startled, dropping the teapot in the process. Time seemed to slow down as the antique china spiralled towards the ground, and—

“See! I am a good pony! I would never do such a thing!” Rarity exclaimed. Fluttershy opened her eyes—which had instinctively snapped shut—to see that, miraculously, the teapot hadn’t fallen to the ground and shattered; it was suspended aloft by a shimmering blue magical aura. Yet even though the teapot was saved, a pool of the liquid had spilled onto the floor, soaking Fluttershy’s hooves.

“Rarity, you know how much I’d like to believe that,” Fluttershy said wearily. “But all signs point to you. Nobody else in this town has such a ravenous appetite for small rodents. And my raccoon husband says he last saw you skulking suspiciously around outside my house.”

“A lady does not skulk. I was simply inspecting the beautiful flowers on display!” Rarity set the teapot down on the table, and then picked up a cloth rag from the counter in her magic. She moved as if to wipe up the liquid, but—

“It was not Rarity—it was I!” another voice exclaimed. The cabinet beneath the kitchen counter burst open and a smiling pink pony popped out, her mane floofing up as she stood up. “Pinkamena Diane Pie, now with a thirst for blood!”

Rarity facehoofed. “You see, Fluttershy? This really had nothing to do with me.”

“Eh, I’m not a hundred percent convinced. That’s kind of way too convenient of an explanation,” Fluttershy remarked.

“No, really. I thirst for two things: blood, and tea.” The pink pony leapt over to the puddle on the ground, and started licking. “And I’m almost out of tea.”

Rarity grimaced; Fluttershy just stared.

“Do you have any proof you did that to my poor child?”

“Do I ever!” the pink pony said with a grin. “Blood and guts all over my bathroom floor. I can take you there now if you like.”

“Why would she need to prove she’s done it, while you’re just assuming I’m guilty by default?” Rarity said, skeptical.

The pink one smirked. “You know how easy it is to go from fashion threads to bashin’ heads!”

A beat. Then, all three of them laughed, uproariously.

“That wasn’t even a real joke.”

“Who cares?”

And, much as the sun kept shining on down through the window of the Boutique, life went on.