Fizzy's Dilemma

Author's Note: I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry.

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It was a common misunderstanding that intelligence and knowledge were synonymous. In reality, the two were completely different things, and seemingly paradoxical though it may be, an important aspect of intelligence was being able to recognize when one lacked knowledge. It was an aspect Wind Whistler had rarely had to exercise before today, and it was the reason she now found herself knocking on the door of one of the last ponies she’d expect to associate herself with.

As a pink-coated, pink-maned Pegasus opened the door, music began to drift down the hall, from Medley’s room. Wind Whistler ignored this, though, jumping right into the topic. “What is the nature of love?” She asked.

“Excuse me?” Heart Throb stared at her in confusion and some slight annoyance.

“You heard me!” Wind Whistler replied, looking around furtively. “What is the nature of love?”

Heart Throb stepped back to let her into her room, though it was more out of instinct than politeness. “I don’t follow.” She shrugged.

“Are you so slow?” Wind Whistler retorted, pacing back and forth in agitation upon entering, wings rustling. The room itself looked like a Valentines-Day themed furnace; hot pink and red wallpaper adorning the walls. “I asked, what is the nature of love? This feeling, light as a dove?” Even with the door closed, the music was still loud, and Heart Throb found herself tapping a hoof to the rhythm. “When I don’t need my wings to fly, and sometimes they’ll just rise…”

The music suddenly hit a sour note, and Medley swore loudly, the music stopping for a moment. Heart Throb’s blush was hidden under her fur, but her mortified grimace was more than enough. “Should I be hearing this?”

Wind Whistler blushed as well, avoiding the other pony’s gaze. “Ahem, my apologies.” From down the hall, Medley resumed her practice, and Wind Whistler was just as quick to move on. “This is of outmost urgency, to keep me from grave fallacy! I won’t stop and stare; I will get the mare!”

Heart Throb gave a start, clearly surprised. “Mare, huh? That’s new…”

Wind Whistler shot her a glare. “May I please continue?”

When no further interruption was forthcoming, she resumed her pacing. “So I will ask again, could you please explain… What is the nature of love?”

“Yeah!” Heart Throb grinned, earlier irritation forgotten. Medley’s song came to an abrupt end, unnoticed by either. “Yes. I was honestly becoming worried for you, darling. Nothing wrong with your logic and such, but it’s good to see you connecting to your emotions.” She nodded in agreement with her own words, biting her lip thoughtfully. “Why don’t we take a short walk, and you can explain the details?”

---

The early afternoon sun shone down on Dream Valley, the rolling hills bright with their colorful flowers, while the forests became cathedral-like, occasional sunbeams lancing down through the tall roof of branches. Heart Throb walked along a path through the underbrush, and Wind Whistler followed behind her by a few paces. It was fairly quiet here, the stillness interrupted only by the occasional songbird or a stray leaf caught in the wind.

When they could no longer see the sprawling form of Paradise Estate through the trees, Heart Throb stopped abruptly, turning to face Wind Whistler. “So, darling, now that we are in no danger of being overheard, what has brought about your sudden shift in attitude?” Her smile was oddly shark-like.

Wind Whistler unconsciously hoofed the ground, suddenly re-evaluating the wisdom of her decision. While Heart Throb was certainly all about romance, it was more questionable whether her views on the topic necessarily reflected reality. A certain incident regarding a large door and a charming prince sprung to mind…

But Wind Whistler had already chosen this course of action, and so would be expected to follow through. Reluctantly, she began.

---

The metal was cool under her hooves, and slippery with oil from the vines growing along the ramp’s edge. Wind Whistler slid down it, pushed along by gravity and the occasional flap of her wings. This was fun, and she expressed as such freely, song pouring from her lips like the rampant joy pouring from her heart. She laughed giddily, and her mouth hurt from smiling so much; there was just so much joy in being alive!

The ramp turned to one side, and she caught a brief glimpse of Fizzy, Gusty, and Shady out in the middle of the large cavern, clustered around a barrel. She couldn’t tell what they were doing, but paid it no heed, too caught up in her own rush of emotions.

The world shifted; Wind Whistler suddenly felt light-headed. Reality, or perhaps just her perception of it, fell apart and reshaped itself. When she came to, she found herself sitting at the base of one of the metal ramps. The strong emotion of before was once more locked away and suppressed, and she found that logic and reason were once more things of consequence. Dropping down to the floor, she trotted over to the small mound in the center of the cavern; her three friends also appearing to be recovering from a bout of disorientation.

Following behind Wind Whistler was a stocky bipedal creature; one of the Dell Dwellers. He wore a top-hat and a coat over his coveralls; evidently holding some form of authority here. “You saved our Dell! He told the trio gratefully. “And the entire forest!”

“Aw, it was nothing much,” Gusty said, ignoring the fact that they had been the ones to endanger the Dell in the first place.

“That’s easy for you to say, Gusty!” Shady muttered, head just barely poking out from behind a rock. “But… what really did happen?”

Fizzy piped up, barely restraining a small bounce. “Well, uh, when we fell into the dell, we kinda knocked over this barrel…” She trailed off, frowning as she tried to figure out how to explain the next part.

“As long as the Frazzits remain in the barrel, the balance of nature is preserved; we inadvertently released them and upset the balance.” Wind Whistler finished, cantering forward to nuzzle Fizzy. “But Fizzy took control and restored everything to normal.”

The unicorn giggled. “I did? I mean, how did I do that? Balance? What balance?” She looked back and forth between her friends, now genuinely confused. “What are you talking about?”

Wind Whistler’s own memories of the last few minutes were also quickly growing hazy, so she couldn’t blame her friend. That said, though, she couldn’t resist the urge to poke a little fun. “As I said,” Wind Whistler declared, “everything is back to normal!”

---

“It was the night after that incident, when I took the time to reflect upon the day’s events, that either I began to have these deeper feelings, or began to take notice of them.” Wind Whistler explained. “Given my admitted lack of experience with recognizing my own emotions, it is entirely possible that my regard for Fizzy has been beyond the merely platonic since before that occasion. Either way, that brief period during which I experienced the world as she does, seems to have brought this attraction to my attention. It has taken longer still for me to acknowledge it as being anything more than a lingering side-effect of the Frazzits’ influence.”

“But now that you’ve accepted it,” Heart Throb guessed, “You’ve come to me for advice on what to do about it?”

“Indeed,” Wind Whistler confirmed. “I am uncertain about the ideal course of action to take in this situation, as it is well outside my range of expertise.” Heart Throb nodded, holding a hoof up to her chin as a contemplative silence fell between them.

Neither realized they were being watched.