It had been a hot, dusty summer, and ponyville’s well of kindness ran dry.

The small town and the surrounding area had run afoul of an intense drought causing the trade in and out to slow to a crawl. The Apple Family’s farm had gave it’s last viable harvest months ago, something that made everyone nervous, it had been the backbone of the towns economic structure, and while it wasn’t quite the bulk of the towns trade it was enough that one worried about the future and whether or not business in town could bounce back from the merciless sun.

Sugar Cube Corner was swamped, to say the least. A large collection of ponies sitting flank to flank as they waited patiently on their drinks, the customers outnumbered the employees, by dozens. The lone waitress, an earth pony by the name of Pinkie Pie fidgeted nervously, her hair, a normally chaotic mass of curls and puffiness that held a shape not unlike that of a balloon had fallen into a long straightened drape of red from the sweat that had built up from the humidity and heat that had cursed the interior of the building. More than heat had caused her normal demeanor to fall into a disarrayed mess, the atmosphere of the bar, the feelings generated by the customers, had created a pressure that weighed her emotions down like lead. Rather mechanically she serves a glass to a patron, who exchanged their bits to her. She wiped her brow, closed her eyes, and tried to imagine being anywhere else.

Upon the stage near the bar another earth pony sat, drawing a bow across the strings of a tall cello and filling the air with simple notes that accompanied a nearby piano. The frustration of the musician reflected in the music she played, a composition that was intended to be lively and upbeat, was more in step with a dirge of mourning. And yet somehow, it felt more quiet than the silence among the patrons.

Everyone was angry. But no one really knew why. In the wake of the heat wave, and amidst the uncertainty of everything a veneer of hostility had slowly permeated across the townsfolk, and even now in this bar where ponies tried to get away from their issues

Rarity sat quietly in the corner booth, watching everyone. On any other day she would be at her shop working on...something, a commission, an alteration, a pet project, anything to keep herself occupied, and yet the heat had driven away her creativity and worse yet? Her business. Fancy dress was impractical for the weather, and everyone had for the most part procured a hat, or umbrella as shield from the heat.

Which brought her here. She hoped to meet creativity here. And maybe, if allowed, get to know them better. Have a drink with creativity maybe? And so it was she very calmly kept the company of a lemon-lime soda. And she was so bored, to the point of idly flicking the straw in her glass.

The bell above the door jangled, and most everyone, Rarity included, turned to look at whomever had come through.

One of the first things that stuck out about the pony was the mane, a stripe of a deep purple with a second lighter shade of magenta and near red shade hid a portion of her face as it draped beneath the flat top hat she wore. A badge displaying itself across the lapel of her jacket immediately identified the pony as someone who worked within the echelons of equestria’s law enforcement.

“That’s a ranger” Rarity heard a pony nearby mumble as she watched the unicorn. The word raised an eyebrow on the designer's face. What would a ranger be doing in ponyville? From the last time she recalled small talk about the Rangers most of them only ever left canterlot when something big was happening. Equestria was by no means significant enough to warrant any visit from Celestia’s personal extrajudicial law enforcement.

And yet, there she was, moving towards the bar and standing at the counter, Rarity could read lips just enough to make out an order for a peppermint soda before she took off her hat and laid it upon the counter.

And Rarity immediately fell in love.

The unicorn stood in the chair, sitting there quietly.

Rarity tried to read her. She seemed so...mysterious to her. Everything about her screamed “look at me!’

And then, of all the things that had happened. She heard a shout.

“What good fer nothin’ work are you here to do!” a burly angry earth pony suddenly lurched up to the bar next to the Ranger, aggressive and angry as he continues to seeth rather publicly

The Ranger continued to speak in a quiet tone that insisted on being so impossibly difficult to hear in the din of the bar. And now worse, everyone seemed to be looking at this new arrival.

The silence was unbearable before suddenly, the earth pony went to swing his forehoof at the ranger.

The Reaction was just as swift and quick. The earth pony froze up as a gun was suddenly pressed into their face, illuminated with the light of the lavender pony’s unicorn magic.

“You ain’t got the fucking guts to pull that trigger, bitch!” he slurred loudly

Rarity finally heard the mysterious ranger speak for the first time since they’d walked into the building.

“You’re right.” she moved to slide the gun back into a holster along her shoulder. “I’m not going to fight you.”
Wham

A set of hind hooves collided with the head of the earth pony, sending him fast to the side, his head slamming directly into the counter top of the bar, bouncing up, stumbling back and collapsing to the floor. The bartender ducked down to avoid the violence that just dusted up.

The Cyan pony with the rainbow mane stood there with a wide and devilish grin at the distracting ruse that had just occurred “but I absolutely will!” she said with a confident tone that made rarity lean back in surprise. And of course, This pony was wearing an identical uniform to the Unicorn that had entered a few minutes earlier, though this one had the proper modification necessary to accommodate the wings this pegasus sported.

Two Rangers.

And then all hell broke loose.

A trio of earth ponies lunged and jumped at the pair of rangers, one of them was immediately grabbed with telekinesis and thrown out through the swinging doors of the bar and out of sight while the remaining ponies were kicked and smacked by the pegasus, the exchange of blows fast as the pegasus flew up and above them in an assisted back flip over them both, knocking them on their fronts with a kick to the hindlegs, destabilizing one as the unicorn grabbed an empty glass bottle and slammed it hard into the other, disorienting and knocking him to the ground, and screaming as blood trickled down his face.

The remaining pony suddenly froze up in his space before letting out a yelp and running out the bar. His remaining friend hobbled out on unsteady legs.

“Cowards!” The pegasus spat in the direction of the door. All the while the idle chatter of the bar slowly returned. The bartender slowly raising their head back up to face the two rangers, now lining back up besides each other.

Rarity was appalled, but intrigued as she looked that the two ponies; Was this how all Rangers conducted themselves? Surely not. At the very least the pegasus had to be an exception to the rule.

Somehow without realising Rarity’s own legs had betrayed her and she found that she was now only a few steps away from the two of them, a couple of questions bubbling upon her tongue like the carbonation of the beverage she’d abandoned back at her table.

“And I’m just supposed to let a group of thugs take on the ponyI’ve been charged with keeping an eye?!” The rainbow maned pegasus’ voice was...by far the most unique voices that had ever graced Rarity’s ears, less gracing them and more jumping in and ping ponging about on her eardrums.

“Again, I was intending to de-escalate things, Ms. Dash” The unicorns voice was...incredibly formal, presenting itself as a complete inversion to the pegasus.

Rarity was formulating a few assumptions as she observed the two of them talking now.

“Apple Cider if you have it” Rarity heard Ms. Dash say to Mr. Cake, the bartender and one half of the owners of the bar.

“I’m..sorry but we’re out for the season”

“What?!” Rarity flinched at the sound of the pegasi’ incredulous cry. “But I was told that Ponyville's apples were always plentiful”

“It’s the heatwave Ms. Dash.” The Unicorn answered both informally, and in a way that implied that this was not the first time an interaction like this had happened “No rain, no apples.”

“I thought I said Dash or my full name was better, you always make me feel older than I am when you call me Ms.” And yet another implication that this was a repetition of prior events.

Rarity continued to formulate her various assumptions about the two Rangers before her. Romance was definitely off the table with the way they spoke to one another, plus that very likely was frowned upon in their profession. Rarity also knew that while it wasn;t impossible for parents to give birth to different types of ponies the fact that there was zero resemblance between either of them ruled that out, alongside the over formality of the unicorn to the pegasus she was left to only assume whatever relationship these two rangers had was strictly of a business necessity.

“Can we help you?”

Rarity blinked in confusion. They were talking to her? Right. They were talking to her. Because she had walked up to both of them.

“Oh yes.” Rarity was suddenly wondering just why she had walked up to the both of them “That was incredibly impressive” she said, still not entirely sure why she had chosen to try to engage with the both of them. She had to look like a madpony.

“Of course, I knew those grunts would run if I showed them what for!” Dash grinned with confidence.

“Yes, I’m..terribly sorry for that” Rarity said “we don’t...normally behave that way, it would seem people are a bit frazzled over the length of this heatwave thats came over us all”

The Unicorn seemed to light up hearing that “We’re actually here with regards to that Ma’am.”

Rarity flinched at the formality, a dreaded sensation of the hidden but scant wrinkles under her eyes that she’d acquired from long worked nights at a sewing machine burning on her face “Uhm, Rarity. Please” she presented her hoof to shake with the both of them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Dash was the first to reach back and shake Rarity’s hoof “and I’m Rainbow Dash, and this here is Twilight Sparkle.” She motioned with her head toward the unicorn.

“The uhm, pleasure is all mine” Rarity withdrew her hoof

“We’re actually hoping to meet the mayor” Twilight spoke up, “It would be very appreciated if you’d be willing to show us there. You’re the first to actually say all that much to us since we arrived to Ponyville”

“Oh of course, I just need to pay for my meal and drink” Rarity motioned to her table, her hoof nudging into the pink pony who’d silently shown up beside her. A yelp of surprise coming from the white unicorn as she jumped away from Pinkie Pie.

“I noticed you weren’t at your table Rarity, so I thought I’d bring your refill and receipt to wherever you’d ended up at.” Rarity had already felt bad for pinkie, but hearing the monotone depression in her voice as she stood there like a statue holding the bottle of soda on a plate made her feel even worse.

“Thank...thank you, Pinkie” Rarity’s horn lit up taking the soda, she then placed the exact cost of bits on the platter, along with a particularly larger than average tip. “You uhm, have a good day Pinkie”

“I’ll...try” Pinkie nodded, turning away and walking off.

The three ponies left the building, no sooner had the doors shuttered behind them that Rainbow Dash asked “what was up with her?”

“Oh? Pinkie?” Rarity cast a look back to her “She’s….I think the heats gotten to her the most out of everyone.” She looked to the brim of her hat thinking about the angry yellow sun hidden past it. “Pinkie’s normally much more cheerful, and usually goes about lifting everyone's spirits in times like this. But it seems even she has her limits''

“What do you know about the heatwave?” Twilight interjected, out of the corner of her eye rarity saw a notepad and a pencil floating in the air near by, writing along as they all walked.

“Well...only that it’s been this way for two months now...longer than normally should be.”

“Are the pegasus still going about their normal routines?” Rainbow dash followed with the questions.

Rarity nodded “yes, at least as far as the few times I’ve gotten to see them at work, most of the rain clouds seem to just dry up and disintegrate under this….hideous sun” she grimaced then. “I’m wondering how long they’re going to even bother at this rate”

“Well, if we’re here, it won’t be that much longer till things go back to normal!” Dash grinned

“Ms. Dash, please don’t set expectations for us yet” Twilight interjected from her silent observations of the town around the three of them.

It was at that point Rarity seemed to note how most of the ponies seemed to run or hide away out of sight as the three of them passed through town.

“Well this...certainly isn’t normal of everyone” Rarity wanted to be aghast but nothing-

“It doesn’t exactly seem like everything in this town has been normal as of late” Twilight responded.

Rarity sighed “yes...it goes without saying that the heat has certainly taken the wind out of most us. Especially with how it’s ruined the apple family’s orchard.”

“In fairness to them, when rangers arrive it doesn’t exactly mean good things are happening.

“How bad do things normally get for you two?”

“Us? Oh almost never, not normally that bad” Dash said.

“Rangers are legislated as judicators and executors of the law” Twilight stated, seeming to correct the other. The statement seemed to rouse other memories of rumors, stories of rangers who would show up, declare a law to be broken and then execute the lawbreaker at gunpoint with little to no ceremony to be spoken for.

“Okay so there is kind of a reputation that tends to precede our line of work” Rainbow Dash said.

“It certainly isn’t a glamorous job” Twilight continued on.

The remainder of the walk was quiet. But eventually they found themselves at a building at the exact center of town, the equestrian flag rippled proudly in the humid arid wind. “Here we are,” Rarity said. “Town hall; City legislations, council, and...of course Mayor Mare.”

“We appreciate you showing us the way” Twilight sparkle Nodded in a friendly manner.

“Hopefully we can get straight to work fast, set everything straight” Dash said.

“It’s not a problem, really.” Rarity, smiled and walked past the two of them and looked back, specifically looking to Twilight, though it could certainly be identified as directed at the both of them.“If you're ever around, I run Carousel Boutique. Fashion designs, clothing repairs, If you need it, I can do it” she smiled “and if I Can’t...well then I’ll learn to do it” and with that Rarity turned and made her way off.

A long silence fell over the two rangers before Rainbow Dash looked “Oh she likes you.” she said with a grin.

“Lets just go”

“Still heartbroken”

“Dash...I’d rather not with you right now”

Rainbow Dash let out a brief giggle as she turned and stepped into the building.

--

City hall was the only building cooler than the outdoors. The mayor would never directly answer the question, owing it to the insulation of the building and controlling how long doors were allowed to be open in the building. However, the reality of it was that she had a small crew of pegasi on her personal payroll. Many years ago they had made it a business to quietly smuggle winter clouds down and hide them with in the basement, a series of pipes and shifts of wing flapping circulating the cold from the icy rains the cloud created kept the building at exactly the right temperature, all the while the condensation cycle of water to vapor to water to vapor insured that, at least for most of the summer the heat would never affect Town Hall.

It was not at all legal. But Mayor Mare was a pony who felt that her status entitled her to things others would not normally have.

And Mayor Mare, with ever greying hair had simply taken to her paperwork, atmospherically existing in an all together separate world from the citizens whom she was tasked with Governing.

The door opened, as she looked up to see the two rangers entering her office. “Come in, come in. I’d received the letter, I wasn’t thinking you’d arrive so soon. The trains truly are a marvel it seems” She smiled cordially to the two of them. “I appreciate your presence in investigating the strange events happening in my town”

“Ms. we would like to ask you a handful of questions first and foremost before we begin” Twilights ever present notepad floated before her.

“Go right ahead, that's what I’m here for.”

The questions were similar to the ones asked of Rarity, though due to the nature of her position they also included a battery of relevant questions. The population of the town (675) how many business operated in town (about 20, though some had indefinitely closed due to the heat. ) people of interest (The Applefamily, whom exported apples to all over equestria, Zecora a local shaman from a place the mayor felt impolite to try to pronounce aloud.)

“Was there any particular criminal presence in town with grudges against the town,

“Well, as far as I’m aware, I’ve not done anything wrong by anyone, in or out of the city. Myself and the city council try to accommodate the needs of anypony in ponyville, so long as it’s not unreasonable”

“magic users with hostility directed to you or anyone in town?”

“Not since The Great and Powerful Trixie passed through here about a year ago” She told Twilight, “And I’m not sure if you know of that ones reputation, but I doubt she’d be able to do much regardless of how big her grudge against the town could be.”

“Anything noteworthy happened in town you could remember from just before the start of this heatwave?”

The mayor furrowed her brow and reached to scratch at her ear “Well. There was the mare who’d moved into town, apparently had a business agreement with Sugar Cube corner. Damndest timing at that, poor girl had an ice cream shop set to open. Then all her inventory melted.”

“Ouch!” Rainbow dash said with a sense of empathy “Cookies and cream would hit the spot these days”

“I share the sentiment.”

“Do you think you can tell us anything more?” Twilight asked as her pencil glided across the paper meticulously.

“I wish I knew how to help more, I know Princess celestia has given you all the authority you need beyond what I can give you. So I can only tell you you have my blessing to carry on however you need to” The mayor said with as much of a friendly tone she could keep with regard to the situation “and hopefully still the citizens of ponyville will be cooperative in assisting you where you need them too”

“Of course”

“And, as a recommendation, The Key Lime soda at Sugar Cub Corner is delightful in ever possible way you can imagine” she said

-

There was a small inn four minutes away from town hall, the two of them were settling in, Neither mare had that much, a few days change of clothing, and enough bits to feed themselves over the course of few days. Anything past that would need to be specially requested to be sent to them through the mail.

Twilight sat at the desk in the hotel room, writing down everything from the two interviews so far. There would be many more. It was routine, boring, and a part of her disliked it, but she did it anyway. This was her punishment, and she was going to let it carry out fully.

Rainbow Dash currently was doing a series of wing push up, the silence of the room was only broken by the sounds of the pencil scraping across paper, and the sounds of her own grunts of exertion as she exercised, focusing on routine in spite of her new environment.

“So small town, sudden mysterious heat wave followed by hostility and caginess” Dash said slowly through a series of grunts. “What do you think egghead?”

“I think It’s too early to tell Ms. Dash” Twilight said, pulling out a book of monstrous fauna “shifts in emotions are covered by an especially broad ranger of creature, could be anything from Changelings to Crab Grass” she put on a pair of reading glasses before she began flip through a series of pages “and that’s not even accounting for the possibility that it could be an especially malevolent mage or witch”

“Ughh” she pushed herself up, and fell on the bed, rolling over wings spread wide “what about Weather manipulation?”

“If it weren’t the scale I’d argue it could be a rogue weather crew”

Dash scoffed “and thats where your book smarts end, Weather crews only extend as far as cloud cover, rain, and snow, and things more immediately in the atmosphere. We can’t change the temperature.”

Twilight Grumbled “well...if I had access to it, the draconequii might have som-

“Yeah, that's not gonna happen.” Dash interrupted. “The Princesses told me to keep your eyes off it. And besides. I don’t even know why they chose to make me carry the damn thing around with us.”

Twilight leveled her eyebrows and let out a puff of air from her nostrils in irritation.

They were both stuck with one another, and mildly resented each other for the situation they were in.

Eventually Dash broke the heated silence “So what will you be doing”

“Research.” Twilight said simply “whatever it is has likely been documented in one way or another, should be in one of these books” she said, lifting her bag as a pile of books fell out, almost seeming to be more books than the bag could reasonably carry.

Dash starred in a bit of shock, “well then.” she looked back up to her companion “I think I’m going to go take a look around, get to know the locals and see if any of them seem especially shifty” She said with a wave of her wing “Don’t get in too much trouble” The pegasus then hoisted her bag and walked out the door leaving the unicorn alone.

“I think I hate her” she mumbled to herself then paused for about five seconds, “You’re stuck with her twilight. Murder can wait til the both of you are back home in canterlot.”

She’d had to read that stupid book.

That stupid, evil, enigmati tome.

Twlight Sparkle shivered with the intrusive memory as she remembered the angered looks that had been casted upon her

“In normal circumstances Twilight, you would be cast out from your position as my apprentice” Twilight had been so small in that moment, the heat coming off Princess Celestia’s disappointed stare made Ponyville’s heatwaves feel like a spring afternoon. “But I believe...I won’t be doing that today”

She had been temporarily stripped of her apprenticeship. But the silent part had been ‘and banish you from canterlot all together’ Something that had not happened, quite the opposite. Twilight had been enlisted into the Equestrian Rangers, and trained for a year. She surmised that Princess Celestia believed that the organization could temper her behaviour, whether or not it had done so though was something Twilight couldn’t even begin to guess.

And then as if it couldn’t get any more absurd. She’d been partnered with a former member of the Wonderbolts. The story had been that she’d butted heads with her squadmates and was “incapable of participating in a team.” Though further documentation showed that she was also incredibly head strong, impulsive, and prone to violence.

And somehow Princess Luna herself had seen fit to arrange the both of them to be assigned as partners. Which princess she had no clue, but they had also decided to have the very book that had gotten Twilight into this literal hot mess would be carried by Rainbow Dash, an alleged secondary private mission that Dash was told to refuse to divulge knowledge of.

It was very, very annoying.

--

Rainbow Dash whistled a careless tune as she walked down the street, she’d left the jacket of her uniform in the inn room. She was thinking, not of the mission, but a desire to take in the sites, and to maybe get lucky with...anyone really.

So she went back to Sugar Cube Corner with some ideas in mind.

Of course, the longer she stood outside the more she felt it.

The Heat.

She’d known that the supernatural heat wave that had swept ponyville was intense. But the longer she sat under its raging sunlight, alone, with her own thoughts. The more it became apparent. The intense sweat that was already staining her shirt clung to her body, and her feather felt heavy as she gave a couple of flicking flaps to speed up the cooling process.

“No wonder the town is so hostile” she spoke to herself in the quiet street.

And that was gonna bug the piss out of her too. No one seemed to want to look at her or give her the time of day. How was she supposed to solve a mystery if everyone darted out of her path before she could even see who was there.

She sighed and walked into Sugar Cube corner again. She hadn;t actually gotten to properly have anything when she had been in a couple hours back, she’d hoped though that the people she’d got the short skirmish with had went elsewhere, as much as she liked a good tussle she certainly couldn’t afford to make it recurring. Especially with the egghead there to reprimand her if she even dared to take in that indulgence.

Eventually the pink colored mare had found her sitting at the booth she’d been sitting at a booth, Dash noted the haggard expression on her face “Can I get you anything”

“Uh..yeah, the key lime soda I was told is really good”

Pinkie’s face, if it could get any less pleasant to look, somehow found space to sink a bit more “We’re uh..actually out...the mayor bought the last case this morning”

A tickle of annoyance crawled up Rainbow Dash’s neck. Well that sure was a kick in the teeth. “Well...then I’ll just have..the house special and whatever drink you think sounds good for me then”

The faintest hint of a smile tugged at Pinkie Pies lips “Sure thing” before running off to the back.

Dash would have expected the place to have been further packed then it was, but it would seem the place was only running at half capacity

“What have you gotten into Rainbow Dash?” She mumbled to herself.

And then...she showed up.

The most immediately recognizable feature on the unicorn pony who’d just walked in was a broken horn on, alongside the scar around her right eye. She was dressed incredibly casually, or at the least seemed to have been forced into it. The slacks she wored around her rear hooves were stained with sweat, a bow tie around her neck undone and dangled along her collar, the white shirt having been stained and left transparent, the deep red magenta of her coat plainly visible beneath the garment.

She walked up to Pinkie with a dead, empty look in her eyes, something that made Dash remember the way her father would look when a work day would go utterly sideways and he would come home overworked and underpaid, with little to show for it.

Whoever this mare was...she could not hide her problems, at least in this moment. Where she believed no one was paying her much mind.

“Pinkie, I need my usual. Think you can help me with that?” Dash was trained to read lips in her past few years with the rangers.

The earth pony nodded “I got your cherry limeade in a cooler.”

“You have single handedly saved my whole day”

Pinkie smiled again, Dash was beginning to determine that dreary and ran ragged was not typical to Pinkie Pie in any one way or another.

Rainbow Dash kept her eye focused keenly upon this new pony. She watched her sit down in the booth next to her. She continued to try to look inconspicuous as she continued to eye up this mare.

“You’re looking” The mare spoke to Rainbow Dash, pulling her out of her attempt at stealth.

“I am?” Dash refused to look up at her, eyes fixated on a salt shaker at the table.

The Mare continued in a unamused manner “I’m pretty much the only other pony in this place with you at the moment, plus I’m gonna assume you don’t seem ponies that look like me...and look up at me, you look stupid”

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head “Sorry..do you mind if I take that seat”

“Not like I can stop you.”

She got up and swapped seats, now directly across from the mare with the mangled horn. “I’m Rainbow Dash by the way”

“Fizzlepop” the mare replied.

The both of them sat there in silence. “So...you’re new to town” Fizzlepop finally broke the silence

“What gave it away?” Dash asked

“Well you don’t look dead inside.”

Dash snorted a laugh at that “yeah, I guess that would do it”

“And you’re a ranger” Fizzlepop added

“Well I Can’t exactly hide that with the badge”

“Guess not”

“So how long have you been in ponyville, Fizzlepop?”

The other mare suddenly snapped to attention acting as if she were reciting a script. “Am I being detained?”

“No! No..no..this is small talk..you’d know if I were investigating you”

Fizzlepop slowly relaxed again. “Well I was supposed to set up an ice cream shop in town...got set up about a month before...you know...this” she gestured out to the building, though Dash got the impression it was more directed at the town of ponyville in general.

“Yeah..the mayor talked about you.”

“In good or bad fashion?”

“Neither really, just things of note that came up.”

Fizzepop nodded “So...you’re here to try to fix the heatwave?”

“What we’re aiming to do.” Dash said. Pinkie pie suddenly trotted up, sliding a plate of pancakes and eggs, then a pitcher of syrup.

“We’re out of honey...and the syrup’s not really maple, just an imitation..I hope that’s okay.”

Rainbow nodded “that’ll be fine” she smiled a bit.

Pinkie than placed a single bottle of a fizzy red soda in front of Fizzlepop and nodded to them both “let me know if you need anything else” she then went off to the back.

“So what are you gonna do?” Fizzlepop popped the cap off her bottle with a brief electrical pull of telekinetic magic

“Well...the process is that we ask a lot of questions, and then basically make a lot of guesses from there and hope for the best. Normally a lot easier when we can determine if the cause is a pony or not.” Dash scooped her eggs on top of the pancakes, stabbing dirctly into the gooey center, watching it deflate as the yolk soaked into the syrupy cake beneath it..

“Not a lot of ponies this powerful?”

“I mean, I’d put it on celestia, but given she’s the one that sent us out here. But nah, honestly I think I’d get this done if it weren’t for my partner they saddled me with.”

“You got a partner in town?”

Dash nodded between bites of yolk covered pancake “a real egghead, if ever there were”

---

Twilight Sparkle walked and pushed the door to the boutique open. The hotel room had became more stuffy than she could deal with, the only thing she could think to take her mind off how the air wasn’t moving was to do more work.

When Twilight wasn’t working, not keeping track of things, she got anxious. And when Twilight sparkle got anxious, she made poor decisions.

And poor decisions had ultimately been what led to her being a ranger, and ultimately what led her here to Carousel Boutique, to further pursue a handful of questions that would allow her to pursue her hunch.

In moments she saw the white unicorn walk forward from some space in the back of the building, unicorn magic moving in a dusting off fashion across her blouse and skirt“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where we-..oh hello again” Rarity smiled after looking up at her.

“Hello Ms. Rarity”

“ Just Rarity, again...but please just Rarity” she said, “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again, Twilight was it?”

“Yes...I had wanted to ask you a few more questions regarding things in town.”

“Of course, would you like a drink?” Rarity smiled and motioned for Twilight to follow “I’ve been holding onto a bottle of apple cider, I have some water...if you’d like I have wine.”

Twilight observed the various mannequins in various states of undress, most of the outfits the imitations of ponies were wearing were also barely wearing what would be considered clothing, the outfits in various states of production.

“I’ll drink whatever you’d drink” The Ranger spoke calmly. “So...Rarity, have you lived in ponyville all your life?”

Rarity lead the two of them to a small table, her magic grabbing on to a couple of seats and pulling them in “All my life, yes dear” she replied in turn, walking to grab some crystal glasses, or some imitation thereof. Rarity then proceeded to pour the bright red wine from bottle, the squeak and pop of the bottle the loudest thing in the room between the both of them.

“So...that accent?”

“Oh darling I’ve had this all my life”

“Okay.” Unlike earlier, twilight didn’t pull out her notebook, she was savvy enough to know Rarity was going to be far more candid. Also..Rarity wanted to get Twilight into bed with her, and while Twilight felt a hint of guilt in leveraging those desires...she would not deny that she wasn’t on some level feeling a hint of desire herself. And it had been many months since the last time she’d been in bed with any pony.

Twilight started asking the questions as Rarity passed the glass of wine along to her “Do you have any idea what could be causing the heatwave Rarity?”

“Well..I’d initially assumed it was just a simple heatwave that was going to last a week...I could only imagine it was natural...now..well I can’t be entirely sure as to what it is.” Rarity took the first of what would be many sips of wine to come. “I know Celestia is able to control the sun, move it around in the sky, everyone’s known that since childhood. But this...well I’m told that once you get outside ponyville the heat returns to normal. I wouldnt’ imagine ponyville would be subject to Celestia’s temper”

“Celestia would never do something this extreme, especially to just one town” Twilight assured her before taking her own drink of wine“Earlier you said this wasn’t normal for ponyville...the way the ponies were acting”

“Yes” Rarity nodded “The town is typically much more friendly, it’s rare people ever isolate themselves even in the worst of times, in fact the worst I recall before now was how they treated Zecora”

“Zecora?”

“Zebra, she lives on the edge of town out in everfree forest”

“Ah yes, The Mayor mentioned her...do you think she may have something to do with this?”

“Oh heavens no. Zecora’s never shown any particular hostility to the town, or anyone here” Rarity shook a hoof trying to dissuade the very idea of such a thing

Twilight took another sip of wine, staring back and forth between the red drink and the mare across from her.“So...Do you think the mayor could be up to it?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“The fact she’s the only one with a building that feels..normal..kind of makes me wonder if she knows more than she lets on about”

“I...don’t know exactly what she would get out of economically starving her own town”

“Just measuring, out all the possibilities” Twilight emptied the last of her glass “Do you know about changelings?”

“Monsters...I’ve heard of all sorts of ghastly stories; they quietly sneak into towns, replace your loved ones and feed off you and the people around you before there’s more of them and they just….take over”

Twilight started to explain “I could chalk the weird occurrences in town to the possible to a possible hive building somewhere in the city”

“How could they make the town hotter?”

“Well...they’re like insects” Twilight made some wiggling motions with her hooves “if they were to beat their wings fast enough, at the same time, the amount of heat generated from the vibrations would be able to raise the heat of ponyville.”

“I can’t imagine they’d be able to keep that up for as long as the heat wave was happening in town.”

“There’s also another hole in my theory.” Twilight took the wine bottle and refilled both her glass and Rarity’s “Changelings can only feed on emotions, they hold no ability to manipulate it outside of what could be done through disguising themselves as loved ones”

Rarity had a bit of a smile at the refill “So...what do you believe is causing these things”

“Well...the heatwave I can’t be sure...but for the way the ponies are acting...I’d need to perform an experiment, and for that...I think I’d like to stay for dinner, and..perhaps the rest of the evening. If you’re open to that”

“Why Twilight, I’d love to...I’ll need to prepare a little more than usual, but I am more than willing to accommodate the both of us.”

Twilight smiled and continued to drink, smiling as she and the fashion designer continued to keep eye contact.

It was going to be a good evening.

I genuinely have no clue what I'm doing with this story, just kind of going with my gut. Bare with me won't you?