Product of Friendship (My Little Pony)

8 Paradoxical Bonding (4/4)

Pinkie Pie bounced through the gates of Canterlot Castle with a pair of guards to follow her. In her mouth, she carried the handle of a picnic basket that held slices of caramel creme pie that she intended to share with her friends. Twilight would especially appreciate the walnuts Pinkie accounted for the Princess's slice.

She wasted no time to burst in a door and give her awe cheerful greeting to her friends. "I'm back!" Pinkie cheered after dropping the basket before her. Picking it with a hoof, she skipped to a table within a chamber where all of her friends had gathered. Each welcomed Pinkie with a warm smile.

"How're you the last one to show up?" Rainbow Dash voiced. "You're usually always the first among us to be here."

Pinkie took a seat on the table. Fluttershy and Rarity nodded at their friend. "Being the first all the time is so boring. We oughta give our entrance a change every now and then. Besides, I had to find myself a pair of foalsitters for Lil' Cheese before coming here. He tends to run off when things sound serious."

"Found some new helpers did ya?" Applejack said. "I sure hope you told em about your son's special quirk."

"I couldn't do that," Pinkie waved her hoof. "They wouldn't learn the lesson then."

"Wait," Rainbow raised a brow. "You didn't tell them? Oh man, he's going to drive them insane when they lose track of him."

"Pinkie, dearie," Rarity said. The fashionista mare greeted her friend with a wry smile. "Don't you think withholding regards of your son's unique gift is a tad sadistic?"

"We'll come back to this discussion after our meeting," Twilight voiced.

"That's if they survive long enough," Rainbow said.

After the Princess let out a sigh, she began the discourse. "First, I would like to thank all of you for coming so soon. I know this is sudden, but this matter cannot be ignored."

"Oh my, then something has happened?" Fluttershy wondered with an anxious smile.

"Yes," Twilight confirmed. "Through constant patrols and reporting from settlements across Equestria, it has been found that there has been a steady drop in incidents of magic discharges. I can only surmise from this that the use of Devil's Dust has diminished."

"Really?" Rainbow said. "Geez Twilight, I thought you were going to give us some bad news."

"Does this mean that this whole thing is going to be behind us soon?" Applejack asked.

"That would be nice," Twilight said. "But things don't simply just go away. We still do not know how the Devil's Dust is produced and where the Sisterhood produces them.  Though I would like to think that their production has dropped as perhaps a matter of resources, I can't help but think that maybe they are allocating them."

"Allocate?" Fluttershy wondered. "Well that doesn't sound pleasant."

"Honestly," Rarity sighed. "These witches have been bothersome to the harmony  we've strived for. Everywhere they go, they test out forbidden magic and cause trouble for creatures everywhere."

"We still don't even know where they're coming from," Rainbow said. "Ever since this whole Devil's Dust became a thing, witches have been coming out of the woodworks all over the place."

"So what do we do now?" Applejack asked. "We still have no clue where they're hiding, how they make the stuff, and what they will do next."

"Pretty how things have been for the past decade," Fluttershy surmised and then sighed. "I feel awful that there's nothing more we can do to help every creature."