The Dresden Fillies - deviantART

I glanced downward in surprise. The tape measure was still wrapped firmly
around my neck, and I hadn’t even realized it. I glanced at Rarity and
almost asked her to cut it out, but the words died in my mouth.
Her horn wasn’t glowing.
I wasn’t completely familiar with unicorn magic, or really any kind of magic
here in Equestria, but I had noticed one common thread: anytime
somepony used magic, their horn glowed. I only had a small sample to
work with, but I felt safe making the assumption that the former caused the
latter. All of which lead to the conclusion that Rarity wasn’t using magic at
the moment.
So who was winding the cord around my throat?
The pressure it was exerting was so slight that it was almost unnoticeable,
especially when I was holding still. It dawned on me that whoever – or
whatever – wasn’t trying to choke me to death. They were putting me in
one of the most subtle sleeper holds I had ever imagined. Already I could
feel a vague tiredness at the back of my mind, and given another minute, I
would be out cold. All without knowing I had ever been under attack.
The adrenaline surge that came with realization banished the creeping
exhaustion, and I tore the tape measure away from my throat with a
panicked burst of telekinesis. It flew across the room, one end clattering
against the floor. There had been no resistance when my magic grabbed it,
and I couldn’t feel the touch of anyone else’s power on it. It was almost
enough to make me wonder if I had overreacted.
No. That’s just what they want me to think. I didn’t know the motive just yet,
but somepony wanted me out of the picture. The accident with the welcome
wagon could have been happenstance. The falling anvil, the second
accident, might have been a coincidence, but three times was a
conspiracy.
My mind flew as I tried to puzzle out just what was going on. Was Trixie
back for revenge? Did some xenophobic pony figure out what I really was?
Was some other entity I didn’t even know about responsible?
I rushed to the window, but when I looked out, everything seemed normal --