"They're so scared, they're gonna destroy a town!" Foxglove explained cheerfully to the bat.
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"They're so scared, they're gonna destroy a town!" Foxglove explained cheerfully to the bat.
Spoiler"Oh no! Well...umm...master would probably do whatever she could to make sure they DIDN'T destroy the town. Maybe get rid of whatever they're afraid of, or learn why they're afraid and get rid of the thing making them afraid....I don't know, should I bring her here?"
"...Do NOT bring that mare here. We're not THAT desperate." Celestia says, grimacing.
"Oh, no...I wouldn't want to be a bother... I'm trying to do those things, but... The Princess says Bears aren't very good at helping make a pony not scared. So I'm coming up with ideas."
She's been mentally composing a list, and scrunches up her face a little.
"...Oh, hey, what about rain? I think having somewhere dry to cuddle up is really relaxing." She does not specify that, to be honest, it rarely happens.
Gearstride just looked between them with a bit of confusion. "Hey hey...for those of us that don't speak critter....what is being said?"
Foxglove jolted a little, as if being asked to explain somehow made it more difficult.
"Oh, um, I was asking Friend Bat here about the situation we have here...And, um, about fear and stuff? Fear as a spring or a river."
"Well, the bat was asking if it should bring its master here, and frankly, dealing with her in the already limited capacity I do tends to be enough for me. Besides which, I think our problem has a fairly simple solution...." she says, clearly pondering something.
"As trite and silly as this may sound, I think our paranoid librarian may just need some friends. I'm a little worried about whether she has any at all, given that she's apparently made her desire for everyone to get out quite public, and no one seems to consider any of this their problem...but as I said, we should scout things out and make sure that's the case before doing anything rash." the Princess says.
"I'd like that, but...Well..."
Foxglove squirmed a little, as if the princess's gaze was white-hot sunbeams. No, like she was being judged.
"Sometimes...I can...Um... When it comes to ponies... Umm.... It's like trying to catch reflections... Looking for the silver in the water...Or..."
She shakes her head sadly.
"I don't want to screw up; they're really scared. So I thought I'd ask. Sorry."
Foxglove blinked. She was not sure how to cope with the concept of a princess wanting to hug her.
"Um, you don't need to, I'm fine..." When she glanced away, though, she gradually nodded.
And Celestia gives Foxglove a very nice, loving hug.
Foxglove at first seems a little at a loss, but reciprocates a little, rather than just being hugged. The fox sighs at the rest of the group.
"Cute," Lucky muses, watching the scene before him with a bemused, laid-back smile. He then tilts his hat with a wing, and smirks. "As for making friends... Well, as we all know, I've gotten off on a bad hoof with our dear Librarian. But I've got a bit of a knack fer makin' friends, or at least, gettin' folks to be friendly. Of course, my options are a bit limited here. Methinks she ain't gonna be much inclined to go out fer a drink or a friendly race..." he muses, before frowning throughtfully. "I'll think on it."
He then gives Celestia a curious look. "Oh, and pardon my asking, but who does the bat work for? I would have thought they were an emissary for Luna. But, uh..." he furrows his brows. "This is a wild guess, but somehow I figure you'd be more inclined to answer her mail."
"A mare who claims to be a sage of great wisdom, but mostly seems to spend her time sending me various varieties of junk mail." She says with an eye roll. "I consider her a little bit of a friend, but she can be an annoyance at times. She has at least cut down on it in recent times, especially after I gave her a bit of a talking to." She says.
Foxglove, having disentangled from the hug, was now deep engaged in planning, and had the look of someone who was likely to drift off if not stopped.
Lucky nods along in understanding to Celestia, though he really understands almost nothing she's talking about.
He then leans over towards Foxglove, noticing her look of deep through and contemplation. "You, uh, got something in mind?"
With a sharp little node, Foxglove took a deep, determined breath.
"I'm going...To help her out. With cocoa.... And cookies?"
She rubbed her hooves into the dirt, drawing out little abstract doodles. Some of them looked vaguely like mugs.
"And a reminder that she shouldn't be working so hard at burning down the whole town. And maybe I'll invite puppies... Um, wish me a good contrivance of fate?"
Celestia gives a kind smile.
"I wish you the best of luck, Foxglove."
She'll let Foxglove do her thing, as Unity has made it clear she has no interest in Celestia.
Foxglove walked off towards her plans, causing Tweedle and Foxglove to trail after -- the latter shooting one last glace at Celestia, as if expecting her to try something. You never knew.
-Some Time Later-
Foxglove knocked once again on the library door. She was hovering a big thermos full of cocoa and a tin of cookies she'd managed to scrounge up. A small throng of rabbits -- not as cuddly as bears, but she was working on short notice -- pressed up against the sides of her legs.
The Unicorn opens the door with a glare. Then her eyes go wide in surprise. "...What on Equestria is this?" she asks, clearly utterly befuddled.
"...These are rabbits," Foxglove explains. Foxglove, hidden in the rabbits (trying very hard not to be impolite about how delicious they'd be) yipped. Rabbits momentarily burst away like a firework, before slowly hopping back.
"Oh, um, right. Right... We came to invite you to, um... It's like going to dinner but eating breakfast food, I guess. Cocoa for tea."
Lucky, meanwhile, tries to be helpful.
He goes to the local general store, and tries to barter for a picnic basket, picnic blanket, and maybe some other stuff that might prove useful. "What else do you eat with cookies and cocoa?" he mutters to himself as he peruses the store. "Marshmallows? Huh. You can roast those over a campfire too..."
A short while later, Foxglove may notice Lucky stumbling down the road towards the library, trying to maintain his balance while his wings attempt to maintain their hold on the picnic basket, red-checkered blanket, bag of marshmallows, and a bag of sporks currently piled up on his back. "Heeeeeey, not too late am I?" he asks with an awkward grin.
Foxglove pulled back, trying to avoid the direct inquiry as much as possible.
"...Because you need a fuse. Or a pressure valve. Foxglove explained, trying to avoid the exact phrase of "you're kind of so scared you're acting insanely so we thought you could calm down," no matter how applicable it was.
"I'm...not sure I get what you mean...but okay?" She says, seeming to be willing to go along with this. The Pegasus pops her head out of the door, and pets one of the rabbits, if it will let her. Assuming it does, she gets a small, but genuine smile.