The bustling residents of Ponyville looked on with mild curiosity in their eyes as a mare clad in a concealing, full-body cloak sauntered down Mane Street with a chubby brown earth pony nopony in town had seen before at her side. The naked one of the pair seemed to try his best avoid eye-contact with any of the curious spectators, choosing to instead hold an unending staring contest with the ground he was treading instead.

As was expected of some of the gossip mares watching the unusual duo in their hometown, various juicy rumors were integrated into the community's collective grapevine, ranging from the lascivious story of the Cloaked Mistress and her groveling assistant to the horrific tale of a horrendously scarred pony from the depths of the Everfree Forest.

"Listen up, Press." Glamour Shot refused to tear her gaze away from the the path directly in front of her to look at her unwilling associate, so he took the initiative and turned to look at the vague, shadow-cloaked facial features she wore as she spoke, "I'm going to need you to shadow Twilight and Spike today. Follow them anywhere they go without alerting them of your presence and report back to me immediately after they've returned to the library or if you hear so much as a hint pointing towards them having plans about leaving town. Understood?"

It wasn't as if he truly had a choice in the matter, so he gave her the response she wanted with a nod of his head before returning his gaze to the road underneath him. Under any other circumstances, Press would have simply blown off Glamour Shot's "request" to aid her and returned to basking in the riches of his latest newspaper issue, but blackmail was one twisted ace up her sleeve that she could use at any time to destroy his hard-earned reputation among the Canterlot Elite. So, to keep his name clean, he'd have to bear through the humiliation of being her subservient servant until she got her petty revenge.

With her orders clearly stated and duly noted, Glamor Shot tuned out the world around her and retreated into the tainted haven of her mind, plotting numerous contingency plans for the worst of possible outcomes. Of course, she didn't plan on failing, but no one ever does.

Ponies started to lose interest in the pair of newcomers in their humble town, returning to their day-to-day tasks or their open gossip circles. With the stares of the commoners no longer upon her, Glamour Shot picked up her trot's pace to try and reach the library in the distance as quickly as she possibly could without standing out like a sore hoof. She was so focused on keeping her sights locked onto the tree-turned-building that she nearly failed to perceive a large gasping noise nearby before an energetic pink blur flew into her line of sight, it's wide blue eyes radiating with childish excitement of the likes she had never seen before.

"Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie, but you can call me Pinkie for short because it can get pretty annoying having to say somepony's whole name every time you see them. Oh, now that we're talking about names, what are yours? You must be new here because I know everypony in Ponyville, but I don't know you two, which is why I asked you for your names. Are they something dark and scary, like the clothes you're wearing, or are you a fashion designer like Rarity?!"

Glamour almost swore she popped an eardrum just by listening to the pink earth pony's incessant hyperactive babbling, or maybe it was just the screams of her cringing cerebral cells trying to comprehend her quick speaking speed. All she did in retaliation was don a fresh glare of annoyance at the poofy-maned mare, hoping she could somehow will her out of existence, but Press decided to simply speak in her place instead.

"Uhm...my name's Press, Paper Press." The brown stallion's voice sounded far meeker than a stallion's voice should be, an effect brought about by the fear that he had spoken out of line considering how he wasn't given permission, but it was somewhat alleviated when Glamour Shot kept her unnatural silence.

"Do you work with writing stuff? What stuff do you write?" Pinkie shifted her divided attention solely onto Press, considering how the shady mare at his side had refused to speak up so far. She'd make her crack soon enough, no one can deny Pinkie, no one.

"Actually, yes. I am the director for the Canterlot Times newspaper company." The faintest of proud smiles grew on his muzzle as he reminded himself about his stature in the world, forgetting just for a second that he was nothing but a quivering slave to the malicious mare beside him.

"Wowza, you must be like richer than Richie Rich huh?" Pinkie's exuberant eyes then bolted over to the cloaked unicorn at the director's side, completely oblivious to the frightening expression hidden behind the veil of darkness cast over her face "What about you? What do you do? You never really gave me your name."

"The name's Shadow Streak, Miss Pie. I've come to this little town of yours to relax and enjoy the sights for a couple of days, considering how my hometown of Trottingham doesn't really offer much to see." Glamour Shot's intricately weaved alias gave up no signs of its truly deceptive nature, easily fooling the gullible confectionare questioning her. There were so many things that she had learned on her own under the Royal Palace's roof, so many skills that she managed to leech off behind everypony's backs, and years of lying about her reformed state of mind to the very Goddess of the Sun was more than enough to perfect her potential to deceive others.

"That's one ultra-nifty name, Shadow. Is there anything I can help you two out with? I'm always looking to make new friends so it wouldn't be a problem at all to lend you a helping hoof." Glamour's annoyed frown pulled up into a smirk as Pinkie offered her a perfect opportunity to simplify her job.

"As a matter of fact, Press here was looking for the library in this town. We heard it was carved into a tree, and he's been dying to see it for himself. Isn't that right, Press?" The bald unicorn turned to peer into the chubby stallion's eyes, not even giving him the illusion of a choice.

"Y-yeah."

"I know where it is, two of my bestest friends in all of Equestria live there! Come on, Press, let's go visit the library." Pinkie started to drag away the director before he could realize what was going on, only looking back to wave at the heavily cloaked pony, "Bye, Shadow Streak! I'll catch ya' later!"

"Not unless I catch you first..." murmured Glamour Shot to herself as she turned away from the pair of earth ponies, starting to make her way back to the motel with her plans already set in motion. Things were just going too well for her as of late, but it never hurt to have some eyes and ears scoping out her targets closely, just in case someone decides to stick their nose where it doesn't belong.

'That lardball of a stallion is gonna get himself in some deep shit of he doesn't learn to keep that big mouth of his shut instead of giving away his name and job to everyone he meets.'

The busy ponies of Mane Street had completely lost any and all interest towards the cloaked mare wandering the town at that point, making her return trip to her temporary residence all the easier thanks to the absence of curious ponies trying to get a closer look at her. She decided to leave the young cashier at the motel's entrance alone for the day, not in the mood to screw around with his lack of courage, simply walking up to her room's door before levitating the key to unlock it. Just as it did yesterday, the cheap room behind the doorway greeted her with its lack of finesse. She, of course, ignored the motel room's unappealing furnishings and instead moved over to the window overlooking the quaint town, pressing a sole hoof against the cool glass pane as she glared at the library in the distance.

"Soon you two will feel how it feels to be shunned by everyone around you, Twilight and Spike, you'll both learn how it felt to be an outcast of society itself, against all of your desperate wishes."

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The early-morning sun's golden rays filtered into the Golden Oaks Library, blanketing the scholarly abode in its warm glow whilst it lit up the scene of a lavender unicorn organizing a pile of books being levitated at her side as a nearby purple dragon busied himself with whipping up the their breakfast.

Whereas Twilight focused her attention on enforcing the Dewey Decimal System over her rebelling literary kingdom, Spike lost himself to the throes of the culinary arts as he tackled the stove, oven, and toaster simultaneously to turn raw ingredients into a glorious meal for his mare and himself. With the final platter set at the dining table, the firebreathing drake stuck his head out through the kitchen's archway and called out to the busy unicorn.

"Hey, Twi, breakfast is ready. Come and get it before it gets cold."

Twilight slide the final book held in her telekinetic field into its rightful place in the bookshelf before sighing in relief that her morning chores were done before making her way towards the kitchen. Mischievousness snuck into her smile as she thought up a way to break free from the lingering lighthearted stress clinging to her, the plans for the day ahead had put the lightest of strains on her head.

"Don't worry, mom, I won't let the food go bad."

Spike just stuck out his tongue as the ultimate comeback to his marefriend's playful teasing, knowing all too well that she didn't mean anything by it.

The circular dining table boasted the platter with morning foods stacked on its smooth surface proudly, its variety ranging from buttery pancakes to fresh french toast, the very sight of such a banquet instigating hungry groans from the oddball couple's stomachs. With matching sheepish smiles, the library-dwelling duo took their seats at the table and began their much awaited breakfast, slowly but surely chipping away at the hearty foods.

Silence was the last thing they wanted to hear, so the mare and the dragon kept it at bay with their casual everyday chatter, mainly conversing about some chores that would need to be caught up with considering their absence for the past couple of days. Eventually, however, their conversation drifted towards their plans regarding getting Applejack to keep quiet about the newspaper article she received.

"So, when do you think we should go?" Spike downed an entire glass of orange juice right after speaking, waiting to hear Twilight's plan of action.

"I'd prefer to visit her as soon as we possibly can. We're going to have to ask her to keep a tight lid on this before she lets it slip somehow, considering her near-inability to lie convincingly should anyone ask."

"You can say that again."

With their main objective for the day set, breakfast continued without any further topics of urgency to truly delve into. After making quick work of the dishes they had accumulated, the library-dwellers made their way to their home's main entrance. Before Spike could cross the threshold to begin the grueling walk to the outskirts of town, the violet aurora of his marefriend's all too familiar magic surrounded him and gently placed him on her back.

"Thought you might wanna hitch a ride." Twilight turned her neck slightly to look at the purple drake with her deep amethyst eyes, "The walk to Sweet Apple Acres is pretty long, after all."

"Thanks, Twi. You know, you really spoil me." Spike snuggled contently against the freshly washed mane of his special somepony, the familiar scent of lively lilacs seemingly imbued permanently into those velvety tri-colored strands.

"C'mon now, Spike, give yourself some credit. It's not like you haven't spoiled me with those masterful little claws of yours lately." The library faded into the background as Twilight started down the road leading her to what she expected to be an awkward conversation at best, the reality of the best possible outcome still being somewhat negative not marring the smile on her muzzle in the slightest.

"Yeah, I am great, aren't I?" Smugness unbefitting for the young dragon accompanied his equally boastful smirk as he spoke.

"Yeah-yeah, leave all the egotistical stuff to Rainbow Dash, Spikey, it's not your thing." It was a loveable quality that fit her chromatic friend seamlessly somehow, but she couldn't possibly begin to imagine Spike pulling off the "awesome" look of bravado successfully.

"Pfft, says you."

The rare couple continued their playful banter to keep themselves entertained as they made the trek towards Sweet Apple Acres, tossing teasing remarks back and forth between themselves. Through what little observation they managed to conduct on the surrounding ponies, the mare and the dragon deduced that their relationship had yet to reach the public eye, much to their silent relief. They planned on revealing their unique courtship to their close friends someday, but the newspaper article had succeeded at doing the one thing they wanted to avoid at all costs; it had scandalized their union in favor of the bits it would line the company's pockets with, leaving them to fend for themselves against the scrutinizing gaze of the merciless public.

The gates to the Apple's property came into view, looking about as well kept as they were the day the pair had first made their appearance in the little town. The sound of apple trees being bucked rebounded throughout the orchards, drawing Twilight closer to it, thinking that Applejack would be the one at work. She was wrong.

"Hey Big Mac, how are you?" Twilight's demeanor was cheery even though the source of the noise didn't belong to the mare she was looking for,

Big Mac simply looked at the pair with his stotic face, much like the guards of Canterlot, but his eyes roved over the two visitors, causing them to feel a little uneasy.

"So, uhm, is Applejack around here, we kinda need to talk to her." Twilight was really feeling freaked out by the look on Mac's face, one that somehow looked restrained, but his eyes showed some of the hidden emotions, causing the mare to shudder.

Big Mac just gestured towards his residence, not a single sound escaping from his muzzle, and Twilight just uttered out a goodbye before making her way over to the red workhorse's home. A elderly mare waited at the house's entrance, a look that Twilight and Spike had never seen before on her face currently taking it up. It was one of indignation and disgust, the sight alone banishing the couple's uplifting attitude.

"Uh, is something wrong Granny Smith?" Spike spoke up since Twilight didn't seem to be able to get over the cottonmouth effect that had suddenly overtaken her and rendered her speechless.

"Why of course there's somethin' wrong, I'm lookin' at it right now." Granny's voice had lost all of its elderly softness, instead, it was portrayed as an abrasive snarl-like tone that was accented by the insult she slithered into her answer.

The words that had originated from the elderly mare's mouth snapped Twilight out of her trance, confusion and a slight bit of anger injecting themselves into her senses.

"Hey, why would you say something like that!"

"Don't you raise your voice at me, missy, you and your little dragon feller ain't got a lick of the right to speak up to me in mah own house." Granny's voice only seemed to grow colder the more she spoke, her statements prodding at the couple.

"But, you haven't even given us a reason as to why your speaking to us like this, you've never insulted me or Spike before, and I don't see why you're doing so now." Twilight's voice was still slightly loud, but noticeably lower than before,

"Mah reason is that you and that lil' lizard of yours have come her to mah house to try and corrupt mah granddaughters with your unholy ways." Granny shifted her stance into a slightly defensive posture, accenting her speech.

Twilight stepped back a little at Granny Smith's choice of words, an equally undignified expression on her face mixing itself with her confusion.

"Unholy ways? What in Equestria are you talking about Granny."

"Don't you talk to me as if ah was your friend, ah am Granny Smith to you, and by your 'unholy ways' ah'm referring to you two an' what you've got going on!" Granny Smith took a step forward as her voice raised itself to a shout.

The couple froze at that second, their minds flooding with annoyance and larger traces of anger then before.

"That's what this is all about, it's all about who I chose to spend my life with?!" Twilight's voice doubled up on itself, ruffling the lime mare's mane a little.

"NO, this here is about unholy transgressions, and you happen to be commitin' the worst possible one!"

"Why is it unholy, answer me that Granny Smith!?" Twilight basically spat out the Apple mare's name as she continued the ongoing debate,

"Listen here, you she-devil, these are our traditions, ah don't need to have a reason to follow what ah believe in, and if Applejack won't listen to how stupid she sounds when she tries to belittle how heinous what it is you are doin', she'll stay locked up in her room until she does!"

Twilight's heart sank at Granny Smith's revelation, she had Applejack trapped in her bedroom until she would cooperate with her, and her anger flared that much more.

"LISTEN TO YOURSELF! You've locked your own granddaughter in her room, against her will, only so she would agree with what you are saying!"

Granny Smith's next move couldn't have been foreseen by Twilight or Spike once she enacted it. The lime mare raised her right foreleg and slapped it across Twilight's face, causing the mare to tumble over to the side with Spike following suit. The lavender mare had to restrain a telekinetic pulse that tried to fire itself out of her horn by instinct, as much as she didn't want to. A gash had been left on her cheek from the pointed edge of the hoof clipped her, and stung painfully as she lifted her head off of the ground along with the rest of her body.

"Get out of mah house, you sorry animals, better yet, leave this town for good. I don't want you anywhere near mah family from this point on, if you do, you will pay for your defiance."

Granny spoke with eerie malice to the couple, not a shred of remorse in her voice, and her threat was anything but hollow, being accented by Big Mac coming from the orchard with a small glare on his face.

Twilight turned her head to look at Big Mac, then back to Granny Smith before shaking her head slowly and speaking.

"I'm not going anywhere, Granny Smith, as long as I can live here, I will, and nothing you do will change that."

"We'll see about that." The lime mare threatened subtly.

The lavender mare spat at the elderly pony's hooves before turning around and making her way back into town, while Spike just returned the Apple's glares with one of his own before eventually turning around on his marefriend's back.

Applejack looked on from her bedroom's window as her best friend trotted down the path to Ponyville, tears matting her face at how useless she was in the whole situation, not really having the courage to do what Twilight had just done. Her hoof touched the smooth glass as another tear dripped from her face and onto the oak wood flooring.

"Ahm sorry, Twilight, Spike, you just did what no one in mah family has ever been able to do, you had the courage to go against the commands of an elder, you stood up for what you wanted instead of doing what they told you to do. Good luck."

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Rarity waded through the morning rush of ponies in the streets with no real destination in mind, she was simply trotting around since her mind wouldn't allow her to focus on anything else than her thoughts, work was out of the picture by a long shot for her, and she couldn't find anything else to take up her time.

Her morning had started up in a rush as her memories flooded back into her mind, confusing her greatly, and she almost jumped out of her skin when Ditzy Doo crawled out from under her bed, saying that she got tired of looking after her and decided to take a nap. The cross-eyed pegasus had also prepared an assortment of muffins inside Rarity's kitchen, ranging from blueberry to emerald studded flavors. With nothing but her thoughts, saddlebags, newspaper, and a fresh muffin, Rarity had waltzed out into the streets and just flowed with the ponies traversing them.

She began to lean towards a group of chattering mare, trying to catch a bit of gossip from the unknown group, before her eyes widened at a certain lavender mare quickly trotting through the edge of the small crowd. Twilight had a slightly irritated look on her face and Spike wasn't looking any happier than she was, the sight instantly catching the white mare's interest, so she began to push through the ponies around her a little quicker in hopes of catching up to the lavender mare.

In the end, the mare and dragon escaped Rarity's line-of-sight, but judging by the direction they were headed, the white mare figured out that they were headed towards the library, and continued to make her way through the morning crowds. At last, Rarity squeezed out from the mass of ponies occupying the street and began to trot a little quicker towards the Golden Oaks Library.

Upon reaching Twilight and Spike's residence, Rarity fixed up her mane a little at the doorway before knocking delicately on the wooden entrance. A few seconds passed and she was preparing to knock again, but a purple aurora overtook the doorway and opened it for the fashion designing mare. The organized interior of the library was contradicting completely with the slightly angered expressions on the owners of the house.

"Uhm, good morning, dears."

"Is that you, Rarity?" Twilight finally looked up from the spot on the floor her vision had been focused on, placing a mask of normality over her true emotions.

"Why of course, Twilight, I just saw you and Spike walking through the streets and decided I should pay you guys a visit." said Rarity in half-truths, her real reason for being there not entirely revealed yet.

"Thanks Rarity, it's nice to have some company over right, Spike?" Twilight turned her head towards the dragon that was laying on the couch.

"Yeah, I guess. was there something you needed Rarity, or did you just drop by?" Spike had spent enough time with Rarity to notice the signs that pointed towards her wanting to know something, and he wasn't really in the mood to play around for a while, he just felt like curling up with Twilight and going to sleep.

"W-what makes you think that, Spike?" Rarity was freaking out a little at being put on the spot so easily, but a deadpan from Spike forced the truth out of her.

"Okay, yes dear, I came here to ask you two about something."

"Well, what is it Rarity?" Twilight had a gut feeling that she already knew what the white mare was about to bring up, and her suspicions were proven correct when she spoke.

"I wanted to ask you and Spike about these."

Rarity levitated a familiar newspaper roll out from her saddlebags, but Twilight just pushed it back into her saddlebags with her own magic, much to her surprise, and spoke in a leveled tone.

"What about that, Rarity, we've already seen the pictures."

"Oh, you have, well I came over here to tell you about this nonsense, somepony must have fabricated a picture of you and Spi-"

"Wait wait wait, nonsense?!" Twilight's anger began to flare up again, much like it had with Granny Smith.

"Why, of course, I mean you two can't possibly be together I mean, come on." said Rarity, oblivious to the glares forming on the library dwelling couple.

"And what exactly makes you think that, Rarity!?" Spike teleported of from the couch and right next to Twilight's side, his pent up anger finally finding an outlet.

Rarity flinched away from the dragon's loud tone, one she had never heard directed towards her.

"I-I mean, you're a dragon and she's a mare, h-how is that supposed to work out?" Rarity started shaking a bit as the couple's looks only grew harsher the more she spoke.

"Better than any relationships you've been in, that's for sure." Twilight's anger was clouding her thoughts, leaving behind only the basics, not a friend, only a mare who completely disagreed her relationship.

Rarity gawked at her friend's words, completely surprised by the aggressiveness concentrated on her.

"Why I never!"

"What Rarity, is this what you came here for, to plant more doubt into Spike's mind, just like last time, filling his head with your lies."

"What lies! It's just not natural, Twilight, a pony and a dragon can't b-"

"WHY NOT, HUH?! What do you expect in life, Rarity, do you think the only relationship that is 'normal' is to get together with some stuck-up snob that would rather count the bits in his pouch than spend time with you."

"NO! It's nothing like that, this is just not right!"

"Why not, Rarity, please just answer me that one question, if you can give me a worthy answer that is backed up with hard facts, then I'll believe you."

Twilight's tone had returned to normal, though her eyes still held anger, and Rarity couldn't find anything to respond the lavender mare's question in they way she was asked to, so she just sighed sadly and looked down at the floor and uttered out a few words,

"It just isn't, Twilight."

The celestial student had heard enough from the white unicorn, and proceeded to open the door with her magic and pointed her hoof outside.

"Go, Rarity, and as long as you think like that, don't you dare try to convince us that what we are doing is wrong."

Rarity wanted to say something, anything to make herself look a little better, but found nothing yet again. She just stood there with her face down, lost in her thoughts on the current situation.

"GO AWAY RARITY!"

Spike's roar snapped the white mare out of her trance and caused her to scramble out of the library. Once Rarity got out through the doorway, Twilight slammed the door shut and hugged Spike as tears ran down her face.

"I'm sorry she had to put us through that again, Spike, I don't know what she was thinking."

"Don't worry, Twilight, I don't care about what she thinks, as long as I've got you here with me, I can stand it."

"Thanks, Spikey, that means a lot to me. To us."

The couple remained in their idle states for a few minutes before deciding that they would close the library early for the day and just rest off the day's stress, which was incredible for just one morning. The plush blue covers greeted the couple warmly as they settled down, wrapped in each other's forelimbs. Sleep didn't come for the couple easily, and a storm began to brew outside, its thunder rumbling in the distance.

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Press stumbled towards Glamour Shot's motel room with exhaustion written plainly over the goofy, content smile on his pudgy face. Pinkie had, against all of his pathetic attempts to convince her otherwise, decided to throw him a little shindig at Sugarcube Corner as a gift of goodwill and friendship. Still, as he walked through the door to the cheap motel room with a bag of sweets clutched in his maw and a party hat strapped to his head, he couldn't help but feel that he was forgetting something important that he was supposed to have done.

"Ah, about time you got here, Press. Did you learn anything from your reconnaissance on Twilight and Spike?" Glamour's voice drifted over to him from the room's sole window, and his heart went cold the second they registered in his head.