Walking a Tightrope - A Surprise Days Story

by NoGiantRobots1983

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 25674

Surprise has always wanted a foal. She finally gets her wish when she adopts a colt named Tightrope, but difficulties arrive when Tightrope turns out ot be unusual, and his real mother comes calling...

For as long as she can remember, Surprise's one wish has been to start a family. But she's a little old for that now, and having an infertile womb doesn't help matters either.

But then by chance, she meets a colt named Tightrope, whose home burned down in a fire and whose mother is presumed dead. Surprise jumps at the chance to take him in, but Tightrope is a strange kid with strange ideas about how the world works. Surprise has her work cut out for her showing the colt what life is all about.

As if that wasn't enough, Tightrope's biological mother turns out to be not quite dead after all…

This story marks a new beginning for my "Surprise Days" saga.

Special thanks to Luminary for beta-reading each chapter.

Canon note: This story takes place after Season One. For my purposes, "A Canterlot Wedding" is canon and has happened, but every other episode of Season Two and Three either hasn't happened yet, doesn't happen at all, or didn't play out quite the way we saw on TV. Most importantly: there is no Princess Twilight. She is, and always will be, a unicorn.

Tag note: "Human" because Surprise has a pet human. "Slice of Life" is true for the first couple of chapters but near the end there's a minor adventure element. "Alternate Universe" should be obvious.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-03 14:22:43 UTC

Prologue

Nighttime sure is beautiful, thought Twilight Sparkle as she walked through the darkened streets of Ponyville.  She stopped to glance back at where she had been--the Everfree Forest.  It was odd, to think that not so long ago, Twilight had been afraid of that forest.  These days, it seemed like she went in there once a week, often all by herself, to see her friend Zecora.

Now Twilight turned once again and looked at the final hoof of her journey.  Ponyville was a bigger place than it looked, and Twilight's library wasn't on this edge of it, so she had a walk ahead of her.  Even so, the scenes of a township at night put her at ease.  The streets were not dark at all, for the moon shone vividly through the cloudless night, its light amplified by the constellations up above.  And, too, the lights from the windows illuminated the street.  Through their thresholds, Twilight heard the sounds of happy pony families gathered together, perhaps to read bedtime stories or prepare for the next day.  It was the first day of summer vacation, and the foals were all restless.  Even being a study-freak herself, Twilight understood the enthusiasm all too well.

With a giggle, the purple pony continued on, towards her home, her every step sure, for even when she reached a part of town where ponies had shut their windows and gone to bed, she did not feel afraid.  No, not even as she realized there was another set of hoofsteps.

She stopped and looked.  Close behind her was a blue Earth stallion with a silver-gray mane, slightly dimmed in this darkness.  He was slightly smaller than Twilight, and of a meeker build, signifying one who had only recently matured, graduating from colthood into full-on stallionhood.  Twilight half-smiled with recognition.  "Blue Gallop," she said, "What are you doing out this time of night?"

"I'm... thinking."  There was an odd hesitating quality in his voice, it felt as though he wasn't sure of what he was saying.  He twitched nervously, and his head kept darting.  He was pretending to be distracted, and in Twilight's estimation he was doing a poor job of it.

"About what?"  She asked, hopeful that he would say what's on his mind.

"The... the future," Blue Gallop answered, and it seemed as though confessing that much had been an ordeal for him.  Still refusing to look directly at Twilight, he began to nervously move towards her.  "Have you... I mean... I've been wondering, lately... what it would be like to be a father."

"Oh, yes?"  Twilight half-smiled.  Ah, so this was some sort of clumsy come-on.  Just like last week, when he'd tried to get Pinkie Pie interested in a date, and it had led to him learning everything there was to know about dated walnuts.  He'd had to walk away from that one, embarrassed.

He stepped closer... and then he tripped, and tasted dirt.  Twilight moved to help him up, but he righted himself on his own.  Twilight could see now that he was trembling, even as his vision was now fixed on her.  It looked as though his legs would give way at any moment.

With an effort so great that he couldn't even bend his knees, Blue Gallop managed quick steps to Twilight, and quickly rubbed his hoof against her cheek.  A combination of forces occured to upset whatever he might've been planning:  Twilight took a step sideways and Blue lost his footing, again.

"Don't get fresh with me, buster," Twilight huffed air out her nose threateningly.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!"  he scrambled to a stand, and his hooves were so wobbly that he instantly fell again.  So he instead put his forehooves together in a position of pleading on his belly.  "Please, don't think ill of me!  I just... I'm trying to be brave, that's all!"

"Look," Twilight glared suspiciously now, "Just what is it you want?"

Blue Gallop came to his hooves.  His nervousness had set back in, and once more he was looking around, pacing up and down and trying not to look right at her.  "Well, you see, everypony in my family dies young, so I don't have a lot of time left, and I thought... All I want is to be a father before I die.  And I thought and thought," Blue walked up to a crate, pretended to be looking into it, "And, see, I thought maybe if I were warm, romantic-like, that maybe that would... and I thought..." Blue walked stiltedly to the opening to an alley, and looked down it.  "I wanted to father a foal, and I thought the perfect mother would be you..."

Then he gulped, and within a moment Twilight saw why as Blue scambled away from the alley.  Directly in front of the blue Earth Pony, a pegasus emerged.  A white pegasus, with a neon-green mane and tail, and a balloon cutie mark.  This pony could've easily been Pinkie Pie's mother or older sister, for the resemblance was uncanny despite a quite noticable age difference--a difference that showed itself in a mane that was frazzled in places, whose colors were beginning to bleach out, and a coat that used to be shining but now had dulled just a little bit.  A pony who looked closely might notice some age-wrinkles, but they'd have to search.

"Surprise!"  Twilight whispered her friend's name.

Surprise stared wide-eyed at Blue Gallop, nervously twitched her left forehoof in the dirt.  "I... don't know what to say," she stuttered out.  "I'm flattered, really.  But... there's something you should know..." A halting, hesitant quality came to Surprise's eye just then.  "There's... no sensitive way to say this..." Surprise choked out the words, "My womb died on me years ago."

Blue Gallop once more tumbled to his stomach.  For the moment, he had forgotten his own nervousness, so stunned was he.  He was a pony, and in pony culture, a barren womb was almost as bad as death itself.  "I'm sorry!"  He said, his voice full of a sincerity even Celestia probably couldn't muster.  "You got to make kids before that, right?"

Suprise slowly shook her head.

"Oh my gosh!"  Twilight Sparkle came to Surprise's side.  "I... don't know what to say."

Surprise slowly lifted her head, managed a weak smile.  "Nah, it's not so bad."  Then Surprise perked suddenly, and said to Blue Gallop, "Hey, Twilight here is single!  Have you asked her about it?"

"He has!"  Twilight quickly answered, her mind once again focusing on the stallion and the matters of the moment.  Her look became a suspicious one, but not one without sympathy.  "I'm afraid I have to turn him down."

Surprise offered the stallion a hoof to get to his feet, and said, "Oh, well.  There's plenty of single mares in this town.  Keep looking.  You'll find your special pony one of these days!"

"You really think so?"  Blue Gallop asked with tears in his eyes.

"I believe in it.  Miracle romance!"

"Miracle romance!"  Blue Gallop's eyes watered with joy as he mouthed those words.  "Oh, thank you," he gave Surprise a brief hug, "You've given me much hope!  I'll never forget this!  Now, I must be off, I've got to find my miracle romance!  My sincerest apologies, Twilight Sparkle!"  He bowed to Surprise and then to Twilight, and then took off into the night, leaving behind only drops of joyous tears that floated in the air for a second before dropping to the ground and being soaked up by the sand.

Surprise waved happily, but Twilight watched him go and then said silently, "I'm not sure encouraging him was such a good idea."

"Huh?"  Surprise stopped in mid-wave.  "Why not?"

The purple unicorn let out a sigh.  "He made moves on me."

Surprise lowered her waving hoof, blinking twice the way a pony does when they don't quite believe something.  "Really?  That guy?"

Twilight breathed a deep breath.  "Yes, that guy."

"He didn't try to force himself on you, did he?"

"No, nothing like that.  He tried to rub my cheek, and..." Twilight shook her head, "I'm not overreacting, am I?"

"Nuh-uh.  You told him off, right?"

"Well... you might say I side-stepped his advances."  Twilight couldn't finish that sentence without cracking a chuckle.

"Ah, the deadly sidestep maneuver!"  Surprise cracked a smile of her own, and the two girls shared a quiet night-time chuckle.  Surprise put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "Well, anyway, I think a guy like that is pretty harmless."

"You're probably right."  Twilight admitted, making one last glance at the beautiful, beautiful stars.  "But there might be other frisky stallions out.  I'd feel safer if I had an escort."

"I hear ya."  Surprise glanced around, almost wanting there to be a frisky stallion ready to try his luck.

And the two mares walked side-by-side all the way to the library, admiring the scenes of the town beneath the stars all the way.

At home in the library, Spike served the two mares some tea, a special brew which had been taught to him by Applejack.  Naturally, it tasted of apples.  And neither of the ponies could complain about that!  Spike bowed as he received the ponies' thanks, and with their leave he went off to bed, intent fully on sleeping in until afternoon the next day.  The mares wished him a good night, then conversed amongst themselves.

Twilight asked, "By the way, what were you doing out, at this hour?"

Surprise took a sip of her tea, placed the cup down.  Her answer came at her own pace, unhurried, unworried.  "Just admiring the stars."

Twilight nodded with a smile.

And then Surprise looked into her cup, and said, "Actually... the truth is Raydence and I had an argument, and I needed to get out of the house for awhile."

Twilight's eyes went wide, but only for a moment.  Raydence was Surprise's pet human, and it wasn't unusual for them to have disagreements, but their arguments usually took on the aspect of being a sort of game, or some kind of joke that only they get.  For Surprise to be so perturbed as to be driven from her home... it made Twilight quiver, a little, to think the two had such a wedge between them.

"May I ask?"  Twilight filled her voice with sympathy.

It seemed almost like Surprise wasn't going to answer.  The pegasus closed her eyes, and took a big sip of tea, allowing silence to fill the room.  Just as Twilight was about to give up, Surprise said, "Raydence and I... we have an understanding.  We gather our own food.  He doesn't gather grass, and I don't hunt for meat."

"Uh-huh?"  Twilight nodded, aware of the habits of the Surprise household and wondering at where this was leading.

"Well... the last couple of days, I've been waking up to find he's picked grass for me.  I didn't think much of it at first... you see, the day before, Raydence saw me struggling with a certain patch of grass.  It turned out to be stronger than I expected, and didn't rip easily.  So when he woke up, I explained it to him.  And he said 'yeah, I understand'.  But the next day, he prepared more grass for me, and again today... it was starting to get on my nerves.

"And then I caught him dusting my bed."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow.  "Go on," she urged.

Surprise went on, all right, and as she went her voice raised.  "Well, I got... irritated.  He started giving me a lecture about breathing in dust, and how I wasn't taking care of my things.  I've been busy lately!  I couldn't help it if I don't have time!  And then he tried to say that I've been sleeping more, eating less, not doing as much exercise... and I snapped.  I told him I'm as fit as ever, I'm not some helpless pony who needs to be waited on!  I can take care of myself!  What am I, an old woman?"

No sooner had those words left Surprise's mouth, than Surprise made this look as if she'd been stabbed through the heart.  She placed her teacup down, her hooves seeming as if they only had enough strength to do that much before they completely slumped, and her face fell downwards.  Twilight could now not see Surprise's eyes, but somehow, she knew they were full of tears.  Twilight left her seat, came to the pegasus' side, close enough to hear her mumble, "I'm not getting old.  I'm not!"

How was she to approach this?  What could Twilight say, that wouldn't just make things worse?

Only one thing came to mind.

"Do you want to stay at my place tonight?"

The pegasus made a pair of quick, sobbing gasps.  Silence followed, and then she wiped her eyes and nose, clearing out the moisture.  Even despite that, Twilight could still tell the pegasus' eyes had teared when Surprise faced her, but Twilight pretended not to notice.

"Thank you," Surprise said, wiping her eyes one more time.  "But if I don't come home tonight... he'll probably think I got lost, and force me to carry a compass!"

Twilight chuckled, and a moment later Surprise joined her.

Then Surprise said, "But you know... Being old wouldn't be so bad if..."

Twilight allowed that sentence to hang unfinished, for as long as the pegasus wanted.

Surprise stood up, looking a little nervous. "I should get going.  Thanks for the tea."

Twilight stood in place, and considered saying something else to her pegasus pony friend, but by the time Surprise had gone out the door and galloped towards her little homestead, Twilight realized that stopping her would've been pointless anyway.  After all, what was there to say?  The events of that night played back through Twilight's mind.  And she realized, that what Surprise would have said, was ...if I had gotten to do everything I wanted.

Oh Surprise, Twilight thought, Age reversal is possible.  You've told me so yourself.  Don't give up!  You'll have a foal to call your own!  I believe in it!

"Miracle Romance!"  Twilight repeated that strange phrase, and chuckled at the meaninglessness of it.

Yes, Tonight had been a good night.

1 - Surprise Finds a Son

Walking a Tightrope

The author's preferred edition

A "Surprise Days" Story

by NoGiantRobots1983

Chapter One

Surprise Finds a Son

~Let's Begin!~

Where am I?  I think... that... that red thing.  Is that a building?  Must... make...

His vision, blurry.  His hooves, weak and wobbly.  He barely had enough strength to take the few more plodding steps to the indistinct red blob in front of him.  He could only hope that it was a building.  In a moment of delirium, he wished that hot, bright thing in the sky would go away.  Everything was too bright, and it was hurting his eyes.  Something moved.  It could've been a pony-eating predator for all he knew, but he was beyond caring.  "Help me!"  He cried out, and it seemed like his cry was a pitiful little squeak.  His hearing must be bad...

He felt an impact on his side, and the world went dark.  When the light returned, he saw figures standing all around him.  He heard voices, then the darkness took him again.

When the light came back, his senses returned with it.  The colt now realized that impact he had felt was from collapsing on his side, and it still hurt.  But he could see clearly now, could see the purple unicorn standing over him, apparently using some magic.  There was a tan-furred, blonde Earth pony next to her, and this pony put some food in front of him.  Upon sight of the apple, the colt was suddenly intensely aware of an emptiness in his stomach, and began to eat.  He noticed that the more he ate, the less magic that purple unicorn used, and the stronger he felt.  At around ten apples, he felt like he could eat no more.

"P'shew!"  The purple unicorn wiped her brow.  "That was scary, but I'm happy to report a successful operation!"

The colt glanced up at her, and then looked all around him.  He realized now that he was surrounded by ponies, all watching him with strange, wide eyes and small pupils.  It made it look like they were scared, but they couldn't be scared of him, could they?

The tan pony asked, "Ya'll feelin' good, sugarcube?"

The colt blinked at her.  "Are you speaking to me?"

"Of course!"

"I think you've mistaken me for somepony else.  My name is Tightrope, not Sugarcube."

Why were they laughing?  Tightrope felt a strange feeling throughout his body... a weak feeling, a sinking in his spine and in his stomach.  A sudden desire to... shrink?  To disappear?

The tan pony said, "Well, little feller, glad yer all right.  You had us all worried for awhile."

Then the purple pony said, "She's right.  If I hadn't given you some of my life force, you'd be a goner!"

"Why?  What has happened?"

Once more the tan pony spoke, "Why, you stumbled out of them woods there!  You were all wibblin' and wobblin' like you were sick or somethin'!  You scared Miss Cheerilee here somethin' bad--" she indicated another purple pony who Tightrope had seen but not particularly noticed before, "--and she came and got Twilight and mahself, and we nursed ya'll back to health!"

Tightrope came to his hooves.  "Then I am in your debt.  What would you have me do?"

The purple unicorn and the tan earth pony glanced at each other, and then the purple unicorn asked, "What do you mean?"

"You've done me a service.  Therefore I must do something for you in exchange."

"Aw shucks, yung'un!"  The tan pony chuckled, "You don't owe us anything!"

Tightrope was about to object, but then the purple unicorn cut him off.

"We really ought to take you home, first thing."

Tightrope didn't even realize the sharp intake of breath was his own.  "Oh, no no no!  Not yet!  I can't go home yet!  My mother would be so angry if I told her I was in debt!"

Applejack took a moment to size up the little guy who was addressing her.  She figured he must be around the same age as Apple Bloom.  He had tan fur with white spots, which was a pattern Applejack had only seen in one other pony, and that one had been a transplant from Manehattan.  That, and how formal this "Tightrope" feller sounded, led her to believe he must also be from some big-name fancy neighborhood.  However, Applejack drew a blank when considering his mane and tail, which were lime-green, but had this strange way of looking like they had pink around the edges.

And she needed help convincing him to just let the matter be.

"Give us a minute," Applejack told the little guy, and motioned for Twilight to follow her around the side of the schoolhouse.  Once there, Applejack asked, "What do ya think?"

"He's probably just too embarrassed to thank us.  You know how boys his age are."

"I hear ya.  So, what ought we to do?"

"Why not humor him?  Find some easy task he could do to 'pay off' his debt."

Applejack smiled at the suggestion.

Tightrope had watched the two mares walk around the side of the building, and waited patiently for their return.  When they came back, that purple unicorn said, "All right.  Applejack and I will find something for you to do.  In the meantime..." the unicorn looked at the Earth pony, as if expecting a prompt of some sort.  She only received a questioning glance in exchange, and then told Tightrope, "...You'll be sticking with me."

Tightrope felt a smile form on his face.  He nodded with dignity, and said, "It is agreed, then!"

He thought he detected a low chuckle from the unicorn, but tried not to think about it.  A debt was a debt, and his would soon be payed in full!

Elsewhere in Ponyville, another mystery was walking on four legs, with an even bigger mystery close behind, a folded pair of pants draped over his shoulder.  Ponies took a second out to stare at the hairless ape thing that Surprise claimed was her pet.  Ponyville was no stranger to unusual companions, after all a baby dragon took up residence here, but the ponies at least had heard of dragons.  What in creation was a human?  Supposedly they came from a distant land that was on the other side of a rift, and the thought alone made him seem like an exotic fairy-tale creature.

This particular human also looked mysterious.  He was tall--Big Macintosh had once stood on his hind legs for the sake of comparison and the human out-heighted him by slightly less than a foot--and he had a black mane, the bangs of which effectively rendered the human's eyes invisible.  This had led to rumors that the human was blind (although this had been proven false) or else that his eyes were jewels or something.  The human was skinny, leading many to guess he didn't eat very much.  The human also always wore clothing, which changed on a daily basis but always seemed travel-worn.  His name was Raydence.

Raydence tried not to notice he was being stared at, but even so, it bothered him.  Even though he tried to sound casual, this was what lead him to say, "You know, I could always patch it up myself.  We'd save money that way."

"You know what else would save us some money?"  Surprise shot back with a tone of authority, "You learning to kill your food before trying to cook it!"

"It was just laying there, still as a statue.  How was I supposed to know it was still alive?"

"If it was dead, something else would've been eating it!"

"Right, right..." Raydence sighed, and glanced sideways.  Although, due to how his mane covered his eyes, to onlookers it would look as though he just turned his head slightly.

"Did it work?"  Surprise asked in a whisper.

"Yep," Raydence confirmed, glad to see that the townsponies were no longer paying attention and had returned to their daily business.  It was funny, that:  it seemed like Raydence was only interesting and exotic until he and Surprise started arguing about something.  Once that happened, he was no longer something special.  And he liked it like that.

All of the sudden Raydence staggered in his tracks, and when he stopped moving it was to find that a pink pony had taken occupancy in his arms, and had placed her own hooves over his shoulders.

"Regular as clockwork," Raydence mumbled, and not unappreciatively.

"Hiya Radey-Wadey!"  Pinkie Pie greeted.  "Is Surprise being a big meaniehead again?"

"She's being a small meaniehead today."  Raydence joked.  Surprise turned around and sat watching, an amused smirk across her face.

Pinkie gave a smirk all her own.  "You know, you could always dump her and come live with me."

"You make it sound like she's my girlfriend or something," Raydence said back, scratching behind Pinkie's left ear.  "What'd she ever do to you anyway?"

It was a question he'd been meaning to ask for a while.  Almost as soon as the two had met, Pinkie and Surprise got off on the wrong foot... or hoof, whatever the case may be.  Raydence thought back to the day Pinkie had thrown them both a welcoming party, and remembered that she hadn't seemed particularly enthused.  At the time, he hadn't thought much of it.  He didn't really know Pinkie back then, and this was just after an adventure, so he had seen her demeanor as a result of being worn out.  But the more Surprise and Pinkie saw of each other, the more it became clear that there was something Pinkie just didn't like about Surprise.

In fact, Pinkie's own friends had been worried about this.  According to them, Pinkie had never antagonized anyone.  She was such a loving pony!  And Raydence could believe it, because if Pinkie had nothing but disapproval for the pegasus, she seemed to have an abundance of affection for said pegasus' pet!  At first, it had been little more than the occasional tickle or mane-scruffle, like she would do to a dog or a cute kitty cat, but more recently Pinkie's behavior had taken on decidedly romantic undertones which Radey-Wadey wasn't sure he likey-wikeyed.

Pinkie glanced down at Surprise, saw that amused smirk.  Her own face returned disapproval, and then she brought her focus back to Raydence.  Pinkie totally ignored Ray's question and instead asked, "So, whatcha doin'?"

"We were on our way to Carousel Boutique," Raydence explained.  "I messed up catching a snake for breakfast and it ripped a hole in my jeans.  See?"  Raydence indicated the pair that he had sloshed over his shoulder.

Pinkie saw the hole, and in her mind she immediately imagined the scenario which would lead to a rip like that.  With a gasp, she asked, "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Of course not," Surprise replied almost mockingly, "If he was, we'd be going to the doctor and not a clothing store."

Pinkie Pie stuck her tongue out at Surprise, and then turned her attention solely to Raydence.  "Got any plans for tonight?"

"Just the same plan I have every night."

"Which is?"

"Try to take over the world."

Pinkie Pie blinked twice, and then things finally registered for her and she giggled.  "Oh Radey, you're so silly!"

Just as suddenly as she entered Raydence's arms, she hopped out of them and landed on all fours.  Then she said, "Well, if you're free tonight, I'm throwing a 'first week of Summer Vacation' party at Sugarcube Corner."

Surprise asked, "Didn't you throw a party last week?"

"Yes, but that was an anniversary gift for the Cakes!"

Surprise turned a disbelieving glance on Pinkie, "And everypony was invited?"

"That's the way they like it!"

"Hmmmm," Surprise's eyes bore into Pinkie, looking for any sign of a deception, but she found none.  "Well, we might be able to make it."  Once again Surprise hesitated.  Pinkie stared at her silently, clearly searching for an argument.

Raydence chose to cut that short.  Kneeling beside Surprise and stroking the pegasus' mane, he said, "Surprise is getting on in years, I can't leave her alone."

Pinkie glanced up at him, a rumble in her throat expressed her displeasure, but she could find nothing to argue with.  So she sighed, and said, "I never said she wasn't invited."  Immediately she perked up, as if the temporary annoyance had never existed, and she spoke with a chirpy-chirp-chirp, "The party is at eight o'clock tonight!  Be there or be square!"  Then she bounced away, going la la la...

Human and owner watched the pink one bounce off for a moment, and then Raydence mumbed, "Be there or be square... ponies still say that?"

"Raydence," Surprise said in a low voice, and of a markedly different tone from before.  It was the tone more than anything that caught Raydence's attention, and he knelt down next to Surprise.  Then she told him, "I don't mind being petted, but don't treat me like an invalid."

"Ah!  I forgot, sorry."

"This time, I'll forgive you."  Surprise glanced up at the sky real quick, and then began walking towards Rarity's boutique again, human following close behind.

Thinking about it, Raydence realized he had a question.  "So, why doesn't she like you?  Got any idea?"

Surprise paused in mid-step.  "Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really."

Surprise smirked.  "Try to put yourself in her horseshoes.  A man and a woman who travel together despite seeming to argue all the time."

"... I'm drawing a blank."

Surprise sighed with amusement.  "At first glance, we might seem a lot like Archie and Veronica."

"But Archie and Veronica don't--" And then, realization hit him with the full force of a brick.  "Oh.  Oh no."

"Oh yes!"  Surprise giggled, and then began moving again.  "Come on, we better get to Rarity's."

Raydence reeled from the realization for a moment longer, and then realized Surprise was leaving him behind, and hastened to catch up.  The human managed to do so just as Surprise opened the door to Carousel Boutique, and stepped in behind her, just in time to see another pony coming out.

Rainbow Dash had her head turned away, calling back to Rarity, "Sure!  I'll be there!"  That was why she accidentally knocked against Raydence.  She turned and was about to apologize when she saw who it was.

"Hey," Raydence knelt down, "You didn't hurt yourself, did ya?"

"Of course not," Rainbow Dash answered in an I can't believe you're asking me that tone of voice.

"Good!"  Raydence scruffled Dash's mane, a smile gracing his face.  "I'd hate to hurt the huggy pony."

"I am not a huggy pony!"  Dash swiped his hand away, and swished her tail when she saw the human chuckle.  She turned to Surprise, said, "Your pet has a real discipline problem, you know that?"

Surprise put on a face of mock despair.  "I tried taking away his squeakie toys, but that didn't help."

Dash hmphed, but then just barely half-smiled.  "Well, just remember, I'll buck him if he gets too grabby."

Raydence answered, "I'll do my best to survive."

Rainbow Dash pushed her hoof lightly against his face, not enough to hurt, but just to send him tumbling a little, and then she called back, "See ya, Rarity!"  And left the store.  Raydence recovered his balance and stood, chuckling a bit.

Rarity greeted her guests, "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Raydence needs his pants mended."  Surprise answered as the human took the ripped pair off his shoulders and put them on the floor.

"Oh dear," Rarity smirked.  "It seems like getting your clothes ripped is becoming a habit."

"Yep," Surprise looked aside and raised a hoof.  A window in space opened up and she pulled a Bit out of it, and swiftly tossed it over to Rarity, who missed it because she was too busy looking at that window in space.

Rarity came beside Surprise, and couldn't help glancing at this thing that appeared like a screen of some sort, divided into grids which showed all sorts of items, presumably things Surprise had collected over the years.

Surprise glanced her way, and asked, "What is it?"

"That's what I want to know!"

Surprise glanced at the window, and said, "It's just the inventory screen."

"I know that!"  Rarity answered.  "But I only got to see it that once, for a brief moment, and didn't have a chance to ask questions.  What is this thing?  How does it work?"

Surprise turned fully towards Rarity, sizing her up with a rather bewildered glance.  "Hold on.  Are you serious?  You've never seen any inventory screen before?"

"None at all!"

"Not even your own?"

"I don't have one!"

"How is that possible?"  Surprise asked in astonishment, and then she suggested, "Maybe you just don't know how to open it."

Rarity sat down, her attention fully on Surprise.  "Well, go on.  Explain it to me."

Surprise closed her inventory screen, and tried to think.  "I... would if I could.  But it's like asking me how to breath."

"Ummm," Raydence drew attention to himself. "I think I can help.  Look in the corner of your vision.  There should be an X there.  It's small, and nearly transparent.  It'll kind of blend in."

Rarity looked around her.  "I don't see it."

"Try blinking twice, really fast."

Rarity did so, and then scanned the far reaches of her field of vision again. "Still nothing."

"Just keep trying," Raydence assured her.  "It'll show up sooner or later.  Anyway, that's the beginner's method--the one I was taught when I first moved to Dream Valley.  More advanced users like Surprise can open it just by will alone."

Rarity lifted a hoof, which hung indecisively in the air for a minute before she pointed it at Surprise and asked, "Do you mean to say that everyone in Dream Valley has one of these things?"

"Yep-a-doodle," Surprise answered.

Rarity's hoof went back to the floor.  For a moment, all she could do was stare.  Then, when she regained the will to speak, she said, "You really should show this to Twilight Sparkle.  This is just the sort of thing she'd be interested in!"

"If you say so,"  Surprise indicated the dropped Bit, which Rarity now acknowledged, picked up and put on a counter.  "Anyway, we'll drop by at the usual time," Surprise waved, and then she and Raydence walked out the door.

Rarity waved as they left, but suddenly had a realization and started to run after them, but she stopped herself just short of the door.  She looked back, at the pants Raydence had left behind, and at the mannequin--or rather, ponnequin--beyond that.

The Ponnequin was dressed, neck to hind hoof, in a dazzling new dress.  It was white, with flowery frills, but every other frill was cinammon-brown, and the effect altogether gave the illusion of cinammon swiriling around a tasty, sugary bite.  I forgot to tell them I had a commission!  Rarity sighed, and glanced at the pants.  Oh, well.  This is a small rip.  I can have it fixed in a matter of seconds.

As Rarity touched the pants though, she could feel that they were worn.  Outside of the rip they didn't seem to be in any severe state of disrepair, but Rarity's sensitive hooves told her that they hadn't been washed in at least a day.  So she decided, for the sake of her clean hooves if nothing else, to run them through her own personal laundry basket first.  When she was done with that, she hung them out to dry.

It was then that she noticed Twilight Sparkle approaching.  Rarity's first impulse was to wave, and she began to raise her hoof but stopped in mid-motion as she realized her friend was accompanied by some little colt she had never seen before.  As the unicorn drew closer, Rarity asked, "And who is this?  A cousin, perhaps?"

"Not at all," Twilight answered, "This is Tightrope.  Applejack and I found him on the edge of Ponyville this morning.  He thinks he owes us a debt, so I've been travelling around looking for any odd jobs he could do."

"Oh?"  Rarity turned her head towards the colt, "What's this business about a debt?"

Tightrope sat, and his reply was stiff and formal.  He attempted to lack emotion, but he came off as a little too strong.  "The one called Applejack fed me when I was hungry, and this lady here cast some sort of healing spell on me when I was weak.  Therefore, I owe them."

Rarity cast a glance at Twilight, and said, "Come on inside and I'll get you both a spot of tea."

"I can't!"  the colt immediately denied.  "Then I'd be in debt for the tea!"

Rarity hesitated for a moment, unsure what to make of that.  At length she said, "Well, come inside, at least.  You won't be in debt for that!"

The colt did follow, but warily, as if he expected a trap to be sprung upon him.  Rarity asked, "Why were you collapsed and hungry at the edge of town, anyway?"

Tightrope glanced at Rarity, and then at Twilight.  Twilight then said, "You better start from the beginning," and Rarity realized Twilight had already heard the story.

Tightrope sat, and said, "It's like this, ma'am.  Two nights ago, lightning struck my mom's house.  The whole place caught fire!  I ran away, I tried to get help, but I got lost and I... wound up here."  Tightrope paused to take a breath.  It seemed as if just telling the story exasperated him, and Rarity imagined the events must've been quite traumatic to the little guy.  Suddenly he started again, "And when I was going through the forest, I couldn't find any food because a swarm of parasprites had just passed through.  So there was nothing to eat."

"Not even a blade of grass?"  Rarity asked.

Tightrope blinked as if the question surprised him.  "You can eat grass?"

"Of course!"

Tightrope tilted his head sideways, looking at her confusedly, and then he straightened and nodded.  "I'll have to remember that next time.  But that's okay!  Last night the sky was clear, and I found my location by following the constellation of the Great Bear!  Then I wasn't lost anymore!"

Rarity gave a faint smile, then asked, "And... how's your mother?"

The little fellah seemed to hesitate a moment, just barely, before he said, "Oh, I'm sure she's fine.  She's probably looking for me right now.  But I have to pay off my debt first!"

"Uh huh..." Rarity glanced at Twilight, nodded with her head.  Twilight nodded back.  "Excuse me, but I need to talk to Twilight outside.  Will you wait in here, please?"

"Affirmative!"

Rarity nodded, and the two mares stepped outside.

Twilight asked, "What's your impression?"

To which Rarity answered, "I don't know if you noticed, but he hesitated for just a fraction of a second when I asked him about his mother."

"I didn't notice that, but I have noticed that every time I talk about finding his mom he keeps bringing up his 'debt'."

"Well, you know what I think.  She's probably..." Rarity hummed a few bars of a funeral dirge.

Twilight sighed.  "I feel the same way.  It's just... I don't have any experience with kids, especially not... traumatized ones.  Oh, Rarity... what should I do?"

Rarity glanced through the glass doors of her own store, where Tightrope was sitting there, calm and diligent.  She answered, "I could take him off your hooves for awhile."

"Are you sure that's okay?  I don't want to impose--"

"Just tell me, is he sincere about his 'debt'?"

"He does little jobs if I ask him to."

"Fair enough,"  Rarity nodded, and came back inside, Twilight close behind.  To Tightrope, she said, "Twilight explained all about your debt to me.  Well, you're in luck.  It just so happens I have a few things I need taken care of.  Little odd jobs around the house, to keep me from being distracted while I finish my latest commission."

Twilight perked up in shock, "You have a commission?"

"Why, yes, dear!"  Rarity pointed with her hoof towards the Ponnequin, "That is my latest invention, the Cinammon-Sugar-Swirl dress!  I just recieved an order for twelve more of the same design, to be shipped to Canterlot!  Oh!"  Rarity was so ecstatic that she almost swooned.  Then she recovered herself, "But that means I can't do absolutely anything else for the rest of the day.  Not unless there were two of me."

"Excuse me!"  Tightrope nudged up against Rarity, and glanced at the dress.  "If you want, I can help you make them."

Rarity smiled, "I appreciate the offer, but can you sew?"

"I can!  My mom taught me how!  Just let me make one!"

Once more Rarity and Twilight glanced at each other, then Rarity said, "All right.  I've got enough fabric to make an extra in case something goes wrong.  The materials are over there and the design sheet is right there."

Tightrope followed the direction Rarity pointed, which led into her personal sewing room where she did all her sewing-related work and probably a few other things not related to sewing.  Tightrope quickly found the materials, and got to work.

Rarity whispered, "I've got a second set of materials upstairs, so I better start as well.  Just keep an eye on him and call him off when he's made too many mistakes."

Twilight nodded, and Rarity left to finish another Cinammon-Sugar-Swirl dress.  Forty-five minutes later, she came back down and was a little surprised to see Twilight hadn't moved, but was even more surprised to see Tightrope had finished one dress and was working on a second!  More amazing still, the dress Tightrope made was absolutely perfect, at least insofar as it was virtually indistinguishable from Rarity's!  The unicorn of fashion was almost in a trance as she watched the kid work, threading with his hooves and mouth as if it was the easiest thing in the world, his needlepoints all almost as precise as a machine!

Twilight's jaw had already dropped, and Rarity couldn't help but whistle.  "Excellent work, Tightrope!  Nicely done!  I never would've believed it if..."  Rarity allowed that sentence to wither away, for it was clear the little guy was too focused on his work.  "Only five left to go, dear," she informed him.

The only response she got was a brief nod.  The lad would not break his focus.

Rarity skipped on over to Twilight, and whispered as to not distract the little guy, "This is great!  Between the two of us we should have my quota filled with time to spare!  Oh, thank you so much, Twilight!  Now, I have one last favor to ask of you.  Follow me, please."

"Sure!"  Twilight followed Rarity out into the main hall, where the fashion female handed the magical bookwork a couple of bits.

"Come back later, with some bought-out food.  I'm sure all three of us will be hungry by then!"

"It's a promise!"  Twilight smiled.  She and Rarity exchanged a brief hug, and Twilight left the premises, merrily looking forward to a few hours from now.

A gust of wind blew, finally bringing sound to what had become a quiet little house.

In fact, the little place Raydence and Surprise occupied, a rental on the edge of Ponyville, featured only the bare minimum of what was required to be called a "house."  The main body of it was a den and a kitchen, which were really just one long room divided only by a counter.  Towards the back of the kitchen were doorways leading to two more rooms, but both were basically closets.  Rather spacey closets, but still closets.

Raydence was laying on a sofa near the front door, looking almost like he was asleep facing it.  It was only a slight turn of his head that revealed he was watching Surprise, who was sitting on her rump and staring at a wall.  It almost seemed like she might be looking out the window, but her head wasn't angled the right way for that, unless she were looking out the corner of her eyes.

Then a window in space opened, and Raydence could see that Surprise was going through her inventory screen.  Just a moment after opening it, Surprise began pulling objects out and placing them on the floor.

"Looking for something?"  Raydence asked.

"No, I'm clearing it out," she answered while placing bibs and bobs on the floor.  "You should clear yours too."

"Why?  We having a yard sale?"

"No--well, maybe.  It would help pay the rent this month."  Surprise gave a brief sigh, "Actually, I'm emptying it because there are no Can Openers here."

Raydence scratched his head.  "Do we even have canned food?"

"No, silly!  A Can Opener.  As in, a pony whose trained to open another pony's inventory screen."

"Oh, that!"  Raydence facepalmed himself with a slight smile.  "So, you're worried that our stuff might get stuck in magical subspace whatsits forever, am I right?"

Surprise unloaded a few more hooffulls, and then answered, "That, and I am considering a yard sale."

"Hmm," Raydence continued watching as she unloaded stuff, taking a glance at the items of her private little stockpile.  Some were quite mundane, such as an old rope, a pair of shades with a cracked lens, or a leather belt with a pistol holster (but no actual pistol).  Others were unique.  Among the pile was a red and white baseball cap with the words "Neo-Geo" written in the part above the bill.  It seemed to Ray that this had some significance that Surprise had overlooked at the moment, so he pocketed it in his own inventory for the time being.

Just then, a colorful box flopped to the floor, instantly catching Ray's attention.  The box was a clean, almost new-looking game of Electronic Battleship, and when Raydence opened it he quickly saw that it had been played, but probably not very often.  "Hey," he asked, drawing Surprise's attention, "When did we get this?"

Surprise's eyes lingered on the box for a moment, and it seemed to her pet that something had suddenly come over her.  Her eyes, which had been without expression before, seemed to become wetter, though not to the point of tears.

She grabbed the box, and looked it over.  "This..."  She hesitated a moment longer, and shook her head and began her sentence anew.  "This was back when I was going steady with Over Treetop.  You remember him, right?"

Raydence didn't have to think for very long.  "Oh yeah... That was what, ten years ago?  Just before we started travelling, in any case.  I want to be honest, I never liked him."

"You were jealous," Surprise chuckled.

"I was not!  He just... always seemed like a jerk."

Surprise chuckled once more, and then returned her thoughts to the board game.  "This game was something we bought... I guess about two months before our break-up.  We had talked, and we both thought that our kids would love it..."  Surprise dropped the box, and her eyes had become wetter.

"Surprise," Raydence attempted to reach out to her, but she walked away, and lept through the window next to the front door.  He followed, taking care not to trip over the baubles left lying around, and saw that she was walking away, "Hey, where ya going?"

"I'm gonna go see Rarity again.  Your pants should be done.  Don't follow me, okay?"

For a moment, Raydence thought of doing so anyway, but as he reached for the doorknob he remembered what Surprise had said earlier:  Don't treat me like an invalid.

And he smiled, and put his hands in his pockets as he stood straight.  She's got a point, I probably am being overprotective.  Besides, someone should really clean this up.  Taking a deep breath and rolling his sleeves up, Raydence began his appointed task.

Under the sky, now mid-afternoon and darkening towards the evening, Surprise stared upwards at the deep blue.  Her eyes watered for a moment longer, but the moment of melancholy passed, as she said to herself, Don't give up, Surprise.  In this world, anything is possible.  I believe in it!  Miracle Romance!  That thought restored a little bit of her smile, and she stared straight ahead, and took off towards her destination.  A sudden movement in the air attracted her attention and she briefly glanced up at three pegasi having a clandestine meeting.  Surprise decided to leave them be, and walk on, her mind running through memories of the days when she, too, used to fly high in the clouds.

Surprise took off at a gallop, and suddenly an earth pony stepped from a street right into her path.  Instead of stopping, Surprise leaped over the gent, and kept galloping for about five more steps, then she stopped, and tested her wings.

They wiggled a bit, but she could not force them to open.  She sighed, and said, "Ah well," to herself, and continued trotting on to Carousel Boutique.  It wasn't long before she was there.  The lights were on, the sign said "Open," so the pegasus invited herself in.

Upon crossing the threshold, something struck her senses.  Something to do with the atmosphere of the little store.  What was it?  Something about the lighting?  Maybe the smell of fresh bought-out food?  Perhaps it was the laughter and the animated discussion she heard coming from within?  All Surprise knew for certain was that those twelve similar-looking dresses weren't there earlier today.  Raydence's pants were hanging up on a rack, and a quick glance confirmed that they had been fixed.  But where was the proprieter of this estate?  Surprise followed the sound of the laughter.

The laughter led her to the kitchen, where immediately she was seen by Rarity, who waved to her and said, "Oh, Surprise!  I've fixed Raydence's pants for you."

"Yes, I saw, thank you."

"Come join us!"  Rarity waved Surprise to the table.  "You won't believe what happened!"

"You all seem to be enjoying yourselves," Surprise said as she came around to the other side of the table, and looked for a free chair.  She thought she saw one, but when she came around it turned out to be occupied by a little guy who seemed embarrassed to be seen, and thus was stooping to hide his presence.

"Oh?"  Surprise smiled, and the flavor of her voice had an added layer of sweetness to it, "And who might you be?"

The little guy straightened up, trying his best to look like a colt of dignity.  "I'm Tightrope, ma'am."

"Call me Surprise.  Where did you come from?  Why haven't I seen you before?"

"I come from Lavender Falls, ma--err, Surprise!  I just arrived here!"

Surprise lifted up her head and asked Rarity, "Is he your cousin or something?"

"Oh, nothing like that!"  Rarity answered.

Twilight took over, "Actually, Applejack and I rescued him this morning..." and Twilight proceeded to recount the story.  Rarity took over to summarize how Tightrope had helped her meet quota, and then Twilight finished, "... And so, we decided to have a little celebration!"

"Oh, and that's not all!"  Rarity proclaimed.  "My meal had the weekly free dinner giveaway!  Oh, today is my lucky day!"

Surprise chuckled, and then returned to the original subject, "And you're saying he sewed half those dresses for you?  That's pretty impressive."

"Yeah," Tightrope said nervously.  "My... mom taught me."

Twilight seemed to remember something, "Speaking of which, I sent a letter to the mayor of Lavender Falls.  They're to let me know when and if your mom turns up."  Surprise noticed that Twilight emphasized the if.

Tightrope seemed utterly nonplussed.  "Oh, she'll turn up.  My mom definitely survived the fire."

"I see," Twilight answered, with a cautious glance to the other two mares.  Then something else occured to her, and she said, "By the way, Rarity, I have an important assignment due tomorrow and Spike isn't really good with kids.  Would it be all right if Tightrope stayed with you tonight?"

Rarity's ears drooped a little, "Oh, I'm sorry, but... Sweetie Belle is due to arrive later tonight... I just don't have the space."

A sudden inspiration took over Surprise, an inspiration that came from she knew not where, but the more she lingered on it, the more it seemed just right.  Why was it right?  She had no idea, but she was willing to risk it.  "Well... Raydence is good with kids, and I have plenty of space... So, if Tightrope wouldn't mind..."

Rarity raised an eyebrow, "Isn't your house kind of small?"

"It won't be a problem," Surprise answered, wondering to herself how she could say that with a straight face.  Something just told her that she'd find a way.

Tightrope's ears drooped, and he seemed nervous.  He objected, "But... then I'll be in debt to you!"

"Uh-uh!"  Surprise giggled a little.  "Because I won't ask anything in return!"

"You promise?"

"Promise."

"Well... I suppose I could always sew another dress for Miss Rarity."

"Settled!"  Surprise declared, and for a reason she couldn't explain she wrapped her hooves around Tightrope and pulled him close, but controlled herself just short of squeezing him.  She began to wonder, why am I so eager?  What's come over me?

But Tightrope didn't struggle or squirm.  He looked at her, and he blinked his eyes twice.  Then he asked, "Ummm, Miss Surprise?"

"Mmm-hm?"

"What is the proper procedure in a case like this?"

Surprise looked down at him with a cocked eyebrow.  "Proper procedure?"

"I mean, am I supposed to hug you back?"

"Yes, silly!"

Tightrope nodded, and the barest lines of a smile formed across his face as he returned the hug, a feeling of warmth spreading through them both. As he wrapped his own forehooves around Surprise's neck, Surprise suddenly had a premonition, a vague feeling--one that was so silly it couldn't possibly come true--that this colt was about to become a big part of her life.

To be Continued...

2 - The First Day of a New Life

Walking a Tightrope

The author's preferred edition

A "Surprise Days" Story

by NoGiantRobots1983

Chapter Two

The First Day of a New Life

~Let's Begin!~

Raydence had just finished organizing the clutter when he heard a set of hooves land on the floor, and he knew Surprise had just leapt to the window as she was prone to do.  For some ponies, taking the front door was just too much trouble.  Raydence turned to greet her, but paused a moment and re-thought his greeting when he saw her.

"I could be mistaken," he said, "But it seems like you've grown a lump."

Indeed, there was something different about Surprise, and it largely involved the fact that there was a tan-furred, white-spotted, green-maned colt riding on her back.  He was hugging her closely and almost fearfully, as if he was afraid Surprise would let him fall off.  The notion stirred some memories, and Raydence couldn't help a little "Heh."

"Raydence, this is Tightrope," Surprise explained, "He's going to be staying with us until his mom comes to claim him."

Tightrope looked up, and came to a sitting position with his eyes full of wonder at the strange tall biped.  "Miss Surprise," Tightrope asked, "What is that?"

"He's my pet.  He's called a human being."

"A human bean?"

"Be-ing," Surprise corrected as Tightrope hopped over to the sofa, where he continued to sit and watch the pair, although he kept his eyes focused mostly on Ray.  The pegasus kept explaining, "His name is Raydence, and he has a poor sense of alphabetization.  Ray!"  Surprise was suddenly talking to him now, in a strict voice, "What's this?  Why is Shark Attack sitting on top of the pile and Splat is all the way down here?"

"Because Splat is in a large, rectangular box and Shark Attack is in a smaller square box.  I figured it made more sense to put the bigger ones on the bottom."

Surprise stared at her human for a second, then said, "As I was saying, humans are very good at organization!"

Tightrope cocked his head to the side and blinked confusedly.  He watched as Surprise walked around the counter and sat there looking at something he couldn't see, but Tightrope's eyes immediately flew back to the human.

"I...I've read a lot of books about animals," he said slowly and nervously, "I even know about griffons and dragons.  But no book I've read said anything about humans."

"That so," Raydence answered, his tone indicating that this wasn't news to him.

"Why?" Tightrope asked, "Why don't the ponies who write the books say anything about you?"

"Likely because they don't know anything," Raydence answered, turning to the colt.  "Actually, in Pony-dominated lands, the only place humans are common is Dream Valley.  That's because it's right next to the Rift.  I bet you want to know what the Rift is, right?"

Ray had expected an immediate answer, but instead the little guy shifted in place a little, the way kids do when they don't know what's expected of them.  It made Raydence himself feel a little nervous, and it was actually a relief when Tightrope said, "Yes."

Raydence smiled, and said to Surprise, "We might need sandwiches," to Tightrope he explained, "This might take awhile.  There's a lot to go over."

"Start with the Two Worlds," Surprise suggested, though her attention was clearly somewhere else.

Raydence nodded, and then started explaining.  "You see, kiddo, there are two worlds.  Ponia, the world where Ponies live, and Humania, which I think is populated with giraffes or something.  These worlds are separated by a Rift, which happens to be right at the edge of Dream Valley.  It's a deep rift, and pretty wide, but your average pegasus can fly right over it.  So Dream Valley has a lot of gizmos and doodads from Humania.  Including humans."

"What about the giraffes?"  Tightrope suddenly asked.

Raydence did a double-take.  "The what now?"

"The giraffes!  You said Humania was full of giraffes."

Silence hung in the air for a moment.  For a moment, Raydence's brain blanked out, the result of an unexpected realization.

"Tightrope," he said, "That part about giraffes was a joke."

The little guy's eyes went wide in sudden comprehension.  "Oh!"  Then he lowered his head.  "I'm sorry, I'm not good at jokes."

"It's okay, we can't all be comedians."

Tightrope shifted nervously, then reverted the subject, "So, what about this Rift?  Where did it come from?  Has it always been there?"

"There's a lot of things we still don't know, and to be honest, I'm not an expert.  But I can tell you that the Rift first appeared something like a hundred years ago.  Hey Surprise," Raydence asked, "Before the Rift appeared, what country used to be to the East of Dream Valley?"

"Edenhoof," Surprise answered.  "It's still east, just now you have to circle Humania.  It's easier to just fly west."

"So," Tightrope wondered aloud, "The lands that used to be there didn't disappear?"

"Nope, they just relocated."

"Weird," Tightrope blinked, scratching his head.

Surprise said, "I've been thinking about sleeping arrangements.  Tightrope, it seems like you're gonna have to double up with one of us tonight.  Raydence likes to sleep on that sofa.  Come over here and I'll show you my bed."

Tightrope obediently hopped off the couch and followed the pegasus around the bar and to the back of the house, where two doors hung open.  One led to the bare minimum of what could be called a room, with two windows but seemingly no decorations or furniture.  This was the door furthest to the right.  The other door, immediately to the left, opened to reveal a closet, and immediately there was something distinctive about this closet:

It had a huge plush panda on the floor.

Surprise climbed on the panda's belly, curled up like a cat and lay on her belly, and explained to Tightrope, "This is Mr. Pandacushymuffin.  He's where I sleep at night."

"You sleep in a closet?"

"It's very comfortable.  Come on, try it!"

Tightrope slowly and cautiously climbed onto Mr. Pandacushymuffin, who was in fact big enough to provide space for two ponies.  Raydence had to look away for a bit, because seeing a mare curled up with a colt just beside her on the body of a giant plush panda in a closet was the kind of thing that might make him forget he's the pet and suddenly develop an urge to cuddle or talk cutesy.

Tightrope sounded surprised, "It is pretty comfortable.  You're sure I'm not bothering you?"

"Of course you're not!"  Surprise giggled lightly, then asked, "Do you need a blanket?"

"No, it's... pretty warm in here.  Why do you sleep in a closet, Miss Surprise?"

Surprised sighed again, but this time more wistfully, "To tell you the truth, I really don't know.  I've just always felt more secure in closets."  Surprise tilted her head sideways a bit, trying to snatch a thought that was at the edge of her mind, and then she said, "Anyway, it's nowhere near bedtime yet, so--"

She had to cut herself short, for Tightrope had fallen asleep.  The pegasus couldn't help a smile.

Raydence couldn't help a jest, "And here I was looking forward to a quick round of Splat."

Surprise didn't respond right away, she gave a thought time to pass through her mind first, then she said, "I shouldn't be surprised, after all he's been through.  This is probably the first real nap he's had in awhile."  She proceeded to tell Raydence the circumstances under which Tightrope arrived in Ponyville and how he came to be with them.

Raydence glanced down, "Ah.  That explains a lot, actually.  Got any plans?"

"Some, but I think I'll sleep on them."  Surprise lay down her head.

"Good call.  Well, g'night."

That wasn't quite necessary, for Surprise was soon as asleep as Tightrope.  Raydence chuckled quietly, and returned to his beloved sofa, downing a good book before he, too, dozed off to la-la land.

"Ah wonder if Ah can get a cutie mark for loopin' the swing?" Apple Bloom asked, not to anypony in particular, while sitting on the middle swing of the set.  It was late morning, bordering noon, and the weather was good and sunny, and that meant plenty of time for crusadin'!  (In other words, playing around, but pretending it was important)

Scootaloo, sitting on the swing to Apple Bloom's right, smirked, "Heh, I bet you don't even go halfway!"

"Oh yeah?"  Apple Bloom accepted the challenge, "Watch me!"

The little farmpony with the bow grabbed the chains, ran backwards and jumped into the seat.  A rythmic pattern of kicking out and pulling in ensured that the swing would reach ever higher, until after just a few seconds it truly was going high.  Apple Bloom's body, for a brief second, was higher than the beam which her swing was attached to.  Then the descent came, and then the backwards ascent.  Turned face-down, Apple Bloom had time to notice just how high up she was, and suddenly she had doubts.  But she had been challenged, and a challenge must be met!

So she made another forward kick, and then another pull, each repetition soaring ever higher until at last--yes!--she was about to loop the swing!

Just one more repetition!  Yes, she could feel it as her eyes looked towards the sky, and then got an upside-down look at the park from up high.  She had done it!  She had looped the swing!

Then came the descent, and she got to see gravity pulling her closer to the ground.

There was a sudden yanking sensation as she went under the beam, Apple Bloom lost her grip in sudden shock, and was sent flying out of the swing.  She flew through the air uncontrollably, knowing that she was going to hit the ground face-first, knowing this was going to hurt, already envisioning the hospital visit!

Then she suddenly realized somepony had caught her.

"Whoa, girl," Rainbow Dash said as she held the little one close and gently descended with Apple Bloom clutched tightly to her chest, landing right next to Applejack.  When she let Apple Bloom go, Dash said, "I hate to sound like a boring old nanny, but you kids really do need to learn not to do anything dangerous.  Except when I'm around to keep an eye on you."

"Sure thing!"  Apple Bloom beamed, "Thanks, Rainbow Dash."

"Anytime," Dash said as Apple Bloom went back to her friends, bragging about her accomplishment.

"Thank ya'll kindly for that," Applejack said.

"Just doing my job!"  Rainbow Dash said, and when she heard Applejack chuckle, the pegasus added, "No, seriously.  I'm a member of the CMC Danger Rangers."

Applejack gasped with amazement, "What a coincidence, Ah'm a Danger Ranger too!"

"Danger Ranger?  What, pray tell, is such a thing?"  This question was posed by Rarity, who was just now joining Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash answered, "We're a super-secret organization that was formed by Big Macintosh and Miss Cheerilee to keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders from hurting themselves, or anypony else.  So we secretly keep an eye on them and secretly try to steer them towards the path of least destruction."

Rarity asked, "And you do all this in secret?"

"Yep!  Secretly in secret, in fact."

"So secret, in fact," Applejack interjected, "That we ain't even s'posed to tell non-members of our existence!"

Dash smirked, "Oops!"  Then she, Applejack and Rarity all had a good chuckle.

Rarity joked, "Well, I guess I'm a member now."

Dash quickly answered, "We're booked for the moment.  But the Pinkie Pie Danger Rangers have an opening!"

Rarity held up a hoof, her sensitive ears picking up another approach.  She turned to look, and saw a familiar white pegasus, a familiar dark-maned human, and an especially familiar colt coming their way.  She excused herself from the Ranger meeting and went to greet them, asking most pointedly, "And how is little Tightrope doing this morning?"  She scruffled the little one's mane once, and immediately pulled her hoof away.  "Uhh... he has had a morning bath, right?"

"Of course!  We were just at the river."

"The river?  Ewww.  That's so cold, and... river-y!  Oh no no no, he needs the spa treatment!"

"I feel fine, Miss Rarity," Tightrope spoke up.  "I don't feel dirty at all!"

Surprise glanced at the gathered Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had now moved on to playing on a jungle gym, and the pegasus asked, "Tightrope, would you rather eat first, or play?"

"I'm not really hungry, but..." Tightrope looked over the playground, "Ummm... what am I supposed to do here?"

"What do you mean?  Its a park.  You play in it."

"I know that, but... I mean... what are the rules?"

Surprise raised an eyebrow for a moment, and then said, "I think you'll understand better once you start playing.  Let's start over here," Surprise led him to the swing set, and was intent on using the middle one before she realized, "Hmm, this one's a little high off the ground."

Rainbow Dash had followed, remembering what had happened earlier that day, and said, "Here, let me fix that."  And fix it she did.  "There!"  Dash stepped aside and allowed Tightrope to take a seat, and Surprise gave the little one a few tentative pushes, while explaining how it worked to him.  Then she said, "I'm gonna give you a big one!  Hold on tight!"

Tightrope went pretty high and held on pretty tight, but after five repetitions he stopped kicking and allowed himself to slow, and come to a full stop.  The look on his face was more confused than anything.  "Miss Surprise," he said, "I don't think I understand this game."

Dash cocked an eyebrow, and said, "What's to understand?  You just swing."

"You mean... there's not a goal?"

"Just enjoy yourself."

Tightrope shook his head.  "I don't get it."

Dash rolled her eyes with a sigh, and then had an idea.  "Hey, Crusaders!"

The girls dropped whatever they were doing, and came galloping over.  Scootaloo especially came running fast, excited that Rainbow Dash of all ponies might have something to ask of her.  At least, that's what could be guessed from the huge smile she wore.

Dash said, "Teach Tightrope here how to have fun."

Scootaloo glanced towards the colt, approached him with a skeptical look in her eye.  "Wait a minute," she said, "You don't know how to have fun?"

Tightrope didn't answer immediately.  Something about these three girls gave him pause, especially as they all looked at him.  For some reason he couldn't explain, and which he realized went against all logic, he felt the compulsion to turn and run, to hide.  Which is exactly what he did, taking refuge behind Surprise.

The pegasus giggled, "Looks like he's bashful."  She turned, picked him up, and placed him down in front of the Crusaders.  "Go on, Tightrope.  Talk to them."

Tightrope glanced at Surprise, his eyes imploring her to rescue him, but she waved her hoof, urging him on.  So he gave in, and turned to speak to the girls.  He opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat.

"Courage, Tightrope!"  Surprise whispered to him.

The colt took a breath, and tried again.  "H-hello."

"Well hello there!"  Apple Bloom greeted, "Ah'm Apple Bloom!  Nice to meet ya, Mr. Tightrope!"  She stuck out her hoof.

Tightrope looked at the offered hoof, and for a moment wondered what to do.  The little guy made a sudden, almost unnoticable shiver as if he had been out-of-it for a moment and just came back to wakefulness, and shook the offered hoof.

Sweetie Belle had gone around the side to look him over, and she said, "Hey, he doesn't have a cutie mark either!"

Tightrope turned to face her, and said "Y-yeah... my mom was trying to make my emblem appear, but it hasn't happened yet."

"Emblem?"  Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah... my mom calls them that, so, I do too."  That cleared up, Tightrope immediately asked, "So, how do we crusade?"

Scootaloo asked, "Well girls, what are we gonna try to find our cutie marks in today?"

"I got it!"  Sweetie Belle bounced into the air, "Let's try to be lawyers!"

"Sweet!"  Scootaloo fluttered off the ground for a moment, but then she asked, "Ummm, how do you lawyer something?"

Tightrope said, "Oh, I know something about that... We need a big open area to be our courtroom..."

Tightrope quickly looked around, and saw a space nopony was using, which he promptly began moving towards, the girls following close by.  The adult ponies (and one adult human) watched until the distance was great enough that they couldn't quite hear Tightrope explaining stuff about lawyering.

Rainbow Dash very lightly elbowed her fellow pegasus, and said, "Looks like they got off to a good start."

"Mm Hmm!"  Surprise nodded lightly, with a smile visible on her face.

"Shouldn't you be shelving those books?"  Twilight glanced across the small upstairs room, where Spike had been sitting and twiddling his thumbs next to a pile of books for the last ten minutes, while she conversely had been organizing a batch of scrolls in a cabinet drawer.

"Oh," Spike broke out of his reverie, "Yeah, right, I'm on it!"  He got up, placed one book, and then tried to find the place for the next one.  After putting it up and before reaching for the next one, Spike said, "I've been wondering something."

"Oh?"

"Yeah.  About that kid that was here yesterday."

"Tightrope?  What about him?"

"Well..." Spike placed the next book.  "Did you notice how the edge of his mane was always kinda pink, or purple, kinda?"

"His tail, too."

"Yeah."  This book was easier to place, so Spike was now on his fourth.  It rather bothered him that Twilight was nearly done with her task while he had just started.  Somehow though, talking while he worked made it easier.  "Like... how does that happen?"

"It's not natural.  Likely he ate a chroma mushroom at some point."

"A what mushroom?"

"A chroma mushroom.  When eaten, they completely change a pony's mane and tail color."

"Wow."  Moving two more books, which were in a set and thus, went next to each other, Spike passed a thought through his mind.  "Do those mushrooms work on dragons, too?"

"Why?  You want a different scale color?"

"Well... I was just thinking..."

"Rarity likes purple,"  Twilight quickly revealed to him.

"Oh!"  Spike chuckled embarrassedly, "Well, nevermind, then.  I bet those mushrooms are hard to find, anyway."

"I'm sure Zecora has some, but ponies and dragons are different.  They might simply not work.  Okay, I'm done!"

"I'm... close!"  Spike said, trying to sound sincere.

Twilight rolled her eyes.  The dragon hadn't even gotten halfway through the stack, so clearly "close" meant something else to baby dragons.

The doorbell rang.  Twilight said, "I'll get that, you just finish that stack," and went down a set of stairs, to the front room, and opened the door.

She immediately found herself tackled and rolling backwards at high speed, finally ending up with her back on the floor and a smiling pink pony standing on top of her.

"Hiiiiya Twilie!"  Pinkie Pie greeted.

"Hi, Pinkie," Twilight grunted.  "I wish you'd make a softer entrance."

Pinkie lowered her face, almost to Twilight's, and then she went above and bit Twilight's horn, a move that made Twilight giggle a bit before she could protest that "that tickles!"  Then Pinkie let go, got off of the librarian and allowed her to get up, while she explained, "I just came to tell you that the 'Summer Vacation Has Officially Begun' party is tonight!"

"Wasn't it last night?"

"Oh no, yesterday the mail-wagon didn't make it on time, so there weren't any party supplies, so we had to cancel at the last minute.  But today the mail-wagon did make it, so we're gonna get ready to shake our booties and do the jam!"

Twilight smiled lightly and shook her head when she couldn't figure out Pinkie's catch-phrases.  "Well, that's actually good luck for me.  Tonight, I can make it."  Twilight pranced on over to a window, and glanced out.  Memories of last night came to her, of the little colt who she had passed off to Surprise.  The wheels in her head were already spinning, and almost to herself she said, "That's right, I'll stop at Surprise's on the way--"

"Surprise isn't invited."

Twilight chuckled, "I know that.  But maybe she'll let Raydence and--"

"Raydence isn't invited, either."

Twilight turned a shocked look on Pinkie, who wore the grumpiest look she could manage without her mane going straight.  "You don't like Raydence now, too?"

"Of course I don't!"  Pinkie fumed.  "The jerk!  He never showed up for my party last night!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow.  "But... you cancelled that party."

"I never told him that!"

Twilight's eyebrow lowered, and a smirk formed on her face.  "I think I'm beginning to get the picture."  Twilight shook her head, "But actually, there's a good reason they never showed up.  Actually, it's my fault."

Pinkie's grumpiness evaporated like water in an oven.  "Your fault?  How?"

Twilight sat down, and sighed.  "Did you hear about what happened yesterday?..."

Surprise considered, just for a moment, that perhaps onlookers mistook her group for a family.  There was Raydence on one side of her, and Tightrope on her other side, and a little ahead.

"So," Surprise asked, "Did you enjoy your day out with the girls?"

Tightrope had been walking along wordlessly, but the pegasus' question caused him to slow down.  His head turned down, not in a sad way, but in the way Surprise had seen ponies do when asked a difficult question.

After a moment, the little guy said, "Miss Surprise?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember that swing thing?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Well... I want to do that again, tomorrow, if we can."

"I hope we will," Surprise glanced up at the sky, and made a mental note to check the weather schedule on her way home.  "But what about the girls?"

"They were... nice.  Mom will be so proud that I exploited a loophole in Section 32 of the Custodian Code!"  Tightrope bounced when he said that, an exhuberant bounce of glee at a job well done.  However, when he landed he turned an awkward, questioning glance on the pegasus.  "Why did I jump like that?"

Surprise was about to answer, but a shrill cry drowned out her voice.

"RADEY-WADEY!"

And for the second time that day, Pinkie barreled someone onto their back.  Raydence had no horn to bite, but she instead playfully nibbled the collar of his shirt for a moment.

Raydence sighed, and was thankful that the streets of Ponyville mostly consisted of grass and sand--a person could fall almost anywhere and suffer no injury whatsoever.  "Hey, Pinkie," he greeted her in that here we go again! voice.

"Oh Radey!"  Pinkie said, "I didn't get to tell you that yesterday's party was cancelled, but I've got news for you!  The party is tonight instead!  And you're invited and she's invited and--" Pinkie's eyes fell upon the little spotted colt.  Her eyes watered up, and she approached the little guy and said, "Oh, he's so cute!  This the little guy whose house burned down and who walked all the way through the Everfree Forest?"

Raydence sarcastically answered, "No, he flew here on the back of an elf."

"Oh, you poor kid!"  Pinkie picked up Tightrope and hugged him close--a little too close, for he was immediately struggling to break free of her grasp.  "Don't worry about a thing!  Auntie Pinkie Pie won't let anything happen to you!"

Surprise put a hoof on Pinkie's arms, and Pinkie now realized she was holding him too tightly, and slackened her grip.  Tightrope looked up at her with wariness, and Pinkie decided to put him back down.  Then she said, "Twilight explained everything to me."

Tightrope hid behind Surprise.  The pegasus glanced his way, and felt a little worry in her heart.  Looking back towards Pinkie, she informed her, "I can't promise we'll make it to your party... but we'll try."

Pinkie sighed, as if she saw defeat as a foregone conclusion. "Well, I'll keep my hooves crossed.  See ya, Radey-wadey!"  And she nudged his head with hers, then hopped over him and bounced off to who-knew-where.  Only now did Raydence bother to pick himself up.

"Geez," he brushed the dirt off of him, "That pony is almost too cute for her own good."

Tightrope watched until Pinkie was well distanced, and then asked, "Miss Surprise, who is that pony?"

"That," Surprise answered, "Is Ponyville's resident silly filly, goes by the name of Pinkie Pie."

"She scares me."

Surprise made a light smile.  "First impressions aren't her strong suit, but you'll get used to her.  Come on, my tummy's rumbling."

And yet, several steps later, Surprise slowed her pace again.  She had happened to notice a familiar blue stallion with a silver-gray mane, walking into an alley, wearing a saddlebag that didn't seem very heavy.  The stallion's face was downcast, filled with a sorrow that radiated in every stride he took.  Surprise was so bothered by the sight, that she told the boys "Wait here," and then went to talk to the stallion.

"Hey, Blue," Surprise greeted once she got close, startling the earth stallion into jumping.  He landed facing her, and took a few heavy breaths, as if she had given him a heart attack.

"Oh," he breathed, "It's you.  H-hello..."

"Found your miracle romance yet?"

"N-no... I..."

Surprise glanced in the direction Blue Gallop had been going, and saw it simply led to an alley.  Then she glanced at the saddlebags, and asked, "Whatcha got?"

"Oh, n-nothing."

"Something you can't show Auntie Surprise?"  She asked as she crept closer, noticing how Blue tried not to meet her smiling gaze and in general was acting rather secretive.  When she was right next to him, Surprise made a quick motion in which her hoof flipped the saddlebag open and grabbed the contents before Blue had time to react!

What she discovered was a bushel of berries, the blackest berries she had ever seen!  They had a very strong smell about them, like alcohol but more bitter, and the pegasus didn't even want to put these near her mouth.  She knew what these were.  She knew them quite well.

"Poison Plums," Surprise declared.  Her ears picked up the faint sound of colt footsteps, and she instinctively knew without looking that Tightrope had followed her despite being told to stay put, so she told the colt, "A pony who eats these will die within seconds."  Then she glanced at Blue Gallop, "Just what did you plan to do with these?"

Blue silently rubbed his hoof across the dirt, he could not bear to look at her.

"Answer me!"

"I... I... I'm sorry."  Tears began to form in his eye.  "I just thought... Nopony would notice if I were to disappear..."

Surprise smacked him across the face, hard enough to knock him back and make him tumble.  The pegasus dropped the poison plums, crushed them beneath her hoof, and approached him almost accusingly.

"You told me the other day you wanted to father a foal before you died.  What happened to that?"

Blue lay sprawled on his belly, turned his head up at her, his eyes wide and watering.  "Last week... my pet kitten, Snowball, died.  I don't know why, she ate something I guess.  She was... the last family I had."  Blue sighed.  Surprise allowed him time to collect his thoughts in silence.  "My mom died three years ago, my father when I was a baby.  I... I've been on my own for years now.  I said I wanted romance, but the truth was, I didn't care.  I just hate being alone.

"But nopony notices me.  Nopony knows I exist.  I can't even support myself.  No place will hire me because I'm a blank flank.  How pathetic.  Eighteen years old, still haven't discovered my special talent.  Maybe... maybe I'm just not meant to do anything.  Except die.  Like my parents."

Surprise listened patiently, not realizing that every word Blue spoke was making her drive her hoof further into the ground.  She watched as Blue crossed his forehooves and sighed, then she could take it no more.  "Raydence!"  she called.

"Yeah?"  The human sounded like he was right behind her.  So much for waiting!

"Shoot him."

"Right-oh!"  Raydence affirmed.  A window in space opened.  Blue's eyes shifted up towards it, but he had to do a double take before it struck him that this was unusual.  By then, Raydence had pulled out a device most ponies in Equestria had never seen before.

The device was like a pair of tubes, somehow attached to each other through a means not immediately obvious.  The tubes were pink, and they had a triangular thing on one end.  Near the triangle was an area surrounded by a ring-like thing, and a switch of some sort was within.

Raydence pointed the tubes at Blue Gallop, and said, "Quick, give me a happy thought!"

"The first time you played Ray Force!"

"Yes!"  Raydence shouted cheerfully, and then he pulled the trigger.  There was a boom, noisy but not loud enough to be deafening, and something that was too fast to see shot at Blue Gallop, causing an impact which knocked him into a sitting position and then caused him to tip and fall backwards.  Yet at no point was he in any pain.

Rather, Blue Gallop experienced a sensation altogether rare for him.

He was happy.  Wonderfully, deliriously happy!

Surprise could see it in his eyes.  Blue Gallop had entered a magical world where all his wildest dreams came true, even the ones that didn't quite make sense.

"Miss Surprise?"  Tightrope asked.

"Yes?"

"What is that thing he's got?"

"That's Marle," Surprise answered.

"More specifically," Raydence filled in the details, "It's what we call a shotgun.  She's a little different, of course.  Typical shotguns make loud, ear-shattering kabooms, and they use bullets.  Marle here runs on joy.  She takes your happy thoughts, exaggerates them and turns them into ammo.  The result is... that."

Surprise glanced at Tightrope, who was looking at Blue Gallop.  "Will he be okay?"

"Yeah, after awhile he'll come down from his high.  We probably don't want to leave him here, though."  Raydence put the gun away in his inventory screen, and picked up Blue Gallop.

Surprise sat in thought, while the boys left the alley together.  Tightrope, however, only took a few steps before he sat down and put his hoof to his chin, thinking.  He then glanced back and asked, "Miss Surprise?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't get it."

"Get what?  Why Blue Gallop wanted to die?"

"I think I understand that part, but I don't understand why you stopped him."

Surprise looked the colt in the eye for a moment, seeing the honest question there, and feeling her own emotions run through her heart.  A smile graced her face, and she looked up to the sky.

"I did it because the sun rises every morning," she answered.

"Huh?"

Surprise chuckled, and walked out with Tightrope close behind, flicking her mane back once.  "It's not something I can explain.  One day, you'll understand."

The little guy looked at the pegasus, his little heart still reeling with unanswered questions and things he didn't quite get.  He gave an unconvinced "Oookay!" and focused only on keeping up.

To Be Continued...

3 - Pinkie's Party and the Days Following

Walking a Tightrope

The author's preferred edition

A "Surprise Days" Story

by NoGiantRobots1983

Chapter Three

Pinkie's Party and the Days Following

~Let's Begin!~

Tightrope had eaten in silence, glancing uncomfortably at the blue earth pony who had unwillingly joined them.  Blue Gallop did not eat, in fact he had this feeling about him as if he was not aware of his surroundings.  He tended to mumble, and strange words came to his mouth ever-so-often.  For this reason, Surprise had preferred them all to sit at a booth outdoors, and in the furthest corner, where few were likely to overhear.

Something like thirty minutes from the moment he was blasted with the happiness gun, Blue gave the first signs that he was coming around.  He mumbled something about recognizing the diner, and then full awareness kicked in and he hurriedly looked around.  Seeing familiar faces, he asked Surprise, "How did I get here?"

"Raydence carried you," Surprise answered.

"Oh," Blue lazily oh'ed, but then glanced around and asked, "And where is that... guy, anyhow?"

"In the Everfree Forest, catching his din-din.  Humans are meat-eaters, you see."

"Ah," Blue Gallop nodded.  Surprise directed the stallion's attention to a plate of hay that had been laid in front of him, and the stallion seemed hesitant about eating it, but after a moment he tore into it greedily, as if he had been famished.  Surprise had explained to Tightrope beforehand that the effects of the Marle-gun tend to make its victims feel hungry once it wears off.  Tightrope could sympathize with Blue, and wondered for a moment if the grown-up had ever suffered the kind of absolute starvation that nearly cost Tightrope his own life.

That brought the little one's mind back to thirty minutes ago.  He had asked Surprise, why did you save him?  Surprise had answered, Because the sun rises every morning.  What bothered Tightrope most about that answer was that he had the strangest feeling that someone else had said the exact same thing to him before... in a time and place that was just on the edge of his memory...

He shrugged, and sipped his juice through a straw.

Outside the restaurant, the gang met up with Raydence, who immediately said, "I think it's about time for the party.  Are we still going?"

"Fancy you remembering that," Surprise answered with a smirk.

"Don't read too much into it," the human knelt and pointed like a parent reprimanding a child, but Surprise didn't appear bothered at all.  She instead let out a short chuckle, and then the four were on their way to that big building that looked like a cake, a place these ponies called "Sugarcube Corner."

It had been darkening outside, which was perhaps why the bright lights and primary colors threw Tightrope off at first.  He noted a strange feeling, as if he had somehow become lighter, but he didn't quite know what this was called.  His first reaction was to take a slow glance around, taking in the place around him.  Many ponies had gathered in this confined space where balloons lined the ceiling, and zig-zagging strands of fabric floated down from on high.  Strange high-pitched sounds came to his ears, mixed with cheers and chatter.  In a corner, he saw ponies playing a game that seemed to involve putting their hooves on colored dots.  In another corner, they were trying to pin a tail on a picture of a donkey.  There were more games and groups going on, but Tightrope couldn't make out the specifics of all of them.

"RADEY-WADEY!"

The cry reached Tightrope's ears in time for him to jump away as a pink ball flew into the human's arms, knocking him backwards and almost out the door.  Tightrope had recognized the voice, and impulsively didn't want to be anywhere near its source.  Especially since Pinkie seemed to have an interest in the human that was rather dissimilar to Tightrope's own academic interest, and knowing that somehow made him uncomfortable, although he couldn't say why.

Surprise tapped Tightrope on the shoulder, and whispered, "We better go somewhere else."

Tightrope couldn't agree more, and willingly followed Surprise to the bar, which was in the very back.  He was a little bothered to see that Blue Gallop was also still with them.

Surprise and Blue took a seat at the bar.  Tightrope almost did as well, but immediately a voice called out to him.  He turned his head and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  Willingly, he ran over to them and said, "H-hello!"

"We didn't expect to see you again so soon!"  Apple Bloom greeted.

Scootaloo added, "Yeah, Surprise doesn't usually come to Pinkie's parties."

Sweetie Belle explained in a whisper, "They don't really get along."

"Really?"  Tightrope glanced back at Surprise with a skeptical look, "They seemed to get along fine earlier."  Then he glanced back towards the girls, "I don't blame her though, that Pinkie is scary."

Scootaloo answered, "Aww, she's not so bad.  Anyway, have you seen the games they've got set up?"

"I saw one, that one with the colored dots--"

"Come on!"  Scootaloo said without letting him finished, and the four--Tightrope half-reluctantly, feeling things were moving too fast--went to the side where the colored-dots game was being played.

The rules involved somepony spinning the hands of a board that vaguely resembled a clock.  Each quarter represented a hoof, and each contained four colors.  Each player, in turn, would have to put the hoof the spinner chose on the color the spinner chose.  The last one to lose their balance and fall was the winner.

Tightrope did not do well.  He was the first to fall in the first round he played, and in the second.  He wanted to stop, but the girls just couldn't get enough.  On the third go, he managed to outlast Sweetie Belle but nopony else.  On the fourth go, things went better.  The only pony who outlasted him that time was Scootaloo.

What was it they thought was so great about falling all over each other, again and again?  Tightrope couldn't tell, but he had been the first to call for a fifth round.

Surprise gave Sugarcube Corner credit, their strawberry milkshakes were good.

She glanced sideways, where Blue Gallop was slowly working his way through a cup of ice cream, seeming to stare into it.  In a low voice, Surprise suggested, "You know, there's plenty of mares here.  Maybe you'll find your miracle romance."

"Maybe," Blue agreed with his mouth, but his eyes only lazily followed the spoon he lifted a scoop of ice cream with.  He didn't even eat that scoop though, instead dropping it back into the cup and watching it fall, again and again.

All the sudden, "PINKIE GLOMP!"

Blue Gallop gasped and stiffened as he found a pair of pink forehooves wrapped around him.  He had barely enough sense to turn and look, and then choked out, "Pinkie!  What are you doing?"

"Aww!"  Pinkie answered, "You looked so sad!  So I thought I'd cheer you up!"

A lightbulb went off in Surprise's head, and she said, "Your timing couldn't be better!  Blue Gallop here was just saying he'd like to party more but didn't know where to start."

Pinkie's face beamed with the force of a thousand fireflies!  Speaking to Blue, she said with a thousand enthusiasms, "Well don't you worry!  Madame Pinkie will show you the basics!  Come on!"

"B-b-but..." Blue Gallop began to object, but did not have the will to stay where he was and refuse to join in, and thus reluctantly followed Pinkie wherever she led.

And Surprise thought to herself, If that pony can't turn him around, then maybe death is all that awaits him.

Almost as soon as Blue left, Raydence took his seat, wearing a face like he had just survived a battlefield.  He didn't even notice the ice cream until Surprise pointed it out.  Ray had never liked sweets, and so pushed it away.  Surprise hoped Blue wouldn't mind if she ate it.

"Your date is off with another man," Surprise teased in a low voice.

Raydence glanced around to see if he could spot Pinkie in the crowd, and then he faced forward, then upward and clutched his chest in a mock-dramatic fashion, "Alas, I am heartbroken!"  He saw one of the Cakes coming, and added, "Forsooth, I will go and win back my girl... after I have a slice of chocolate cake."

One chocolate cake came right up, and Raydence ate slowly, in small chunks.  After finishing a bite (like a good human, he never spoke with his mouth full) Raydence told Surprise, "Actually, I had a small hand in setting them up."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I told Pinkie that Blue was feeling, well, blue.  She's the smile pony, so... yeah."

"Ahh."  Surprise rested her head on her left hoof, smirked knowingly at the human.

"Only catch was, she demanded a kiss."

Surprise raised her eyebrows for a moment, and then her face returned to that knowing smirk.

Raydence continued, "But, I haggled it down to just a kiss on the cheek.  That's not too much to ask."

Surprise drank a bit of milkshake, then said seriously, "But you know... maybe you ought to actually start dating."

"Heh, right.  In a town where I'm the only human."

"Hey--"

"I know, I know.  Back home, interspecies was all over the place.  It just never sat well with me, that's all."

Surprise sighed, "Well, now that these ponies know humans exist, I'm sure importation will happen soon.  Not that you ever showed much interest in human women, either," she added as an aside.  After a beat, she then said, "But you know, if you keep putting it off, you'll wind up in my situation someday."

"Not likely."

"That's what I used to think, too."

"Yeah, yeah."

Surprise thought of pressing the matter, but decided not to.  This was just not the right time, or the proper place.  Such serious matters were best discussed at home, in privacy.  Those were all excuses, the truth was that Surprise had foreseen that Raydence might possibly say besides, you got what you wanted--

She pushed that thought from her mind.  Tightrope was not her child, and he never would be.  Not so long as there was a chance of his real mother being alive.  Surprise struggled to push that thought from her mind too, for it was simply a terrible thing to think, a terrible wish to want granted.  Surely she wasn't so desperate for a child that she would gladly steal someone else's!

Perhaps Raydence had the right idea after all.

Surprise returned to her milkshake, determined to forget these thoughts.  If nothing else, she would at least be the best babysitter ever!

"Hey, Blue!"  Twilight greeted on the street the next afternoon.  "I saw you at Pinkie's party last night."

"Y-y-y-you did?"  Blue replied with his characteristic stutter, and yet Twilight didn't think he looked nervous.  If anything, he looked... about as happy as he did the time Surprise put the idea of a miracle romance in his mind.  "W-well, I was there... Surprise brought me, you see."

"You and Pinkie spent a lot of time together."

"Y-y-yes, she showed me the ropes."  Blue answered innocently, and then he realized what Twilight was getting at and added, "Oh, its nothing like that.  Pinkie Pie isn't my miracle romance."

"Pinkie's as eligible as anypony."

"Yes, but... how do I put it... it would be like being in love with my kid sister, if you understand me."

Twilight did.  This actually was not the first time she had heard this sentiment expressed, and perhaps it would not be the last.

Twilight found herself thinking of the phrase "kid sister" later that day, when she had her back on the library floor, trying to break away from the vicious tickling assault of the pink pony.  Yes, she could certainly see Pinkie as a kid sister.  Then again, Twilight herself was somepony's kid sister, and it didn't make her any less of an eligible bachelorette.

How she was able to have these thoughts while laughing to high heavens and struggling to return the assault was anypony's guess.

As it happened, Twilight's salvation came in the form of Rainbow Dash, who came into the library, stopped to watch with a cautious curiosity, and then asked, "Am I interrupting anything?"

Pinkie stopped, and glanced sidelong at Twilight, who glanced back.  Conspiratorial smiles came to the two mares faces, and suddenly Pinkie pounced on Dash, now including the pegasus in their little game!

Caught with sudden laughter, Dash struggled to say, "Oh, that's how you want it, huh?  Take this!"  And for the first time since the tickle-melee started, somepony managed to get the upper hoof on Pinkie and put her back to the floor.  Dash demanded playfully, "Say uncle!"

"Never!"

"Say Rainbow Dash is awesome!"

Twilight stood aside for a moment, wondering which pony's side she should take.  However, the question was driven from her mind when the front door opened again, and in walked the local curiosity.  Raydence took a passing glance at the two tickling mares, leaned down next to Dash and said, "Easy, huggy pony.  Don't give Pinkie the hiccups!"

"I am not the huggy pony!"  Rainbow Dash waved her hoof at him.  If she had hands, her fist would be clenched, but Twilight didn't feel any genuine malice coming from the cyan she-pony.  In fact, Twilight had nursed a sense over the last two months or so that Rainbow Dash actually liked the teasing, and just didn't want to admit it.  And, as silly and filly-ish as the notion was, she actually felt like Raydence and Rainbow Dash would make a good couple (although she wouldn't tell Pinkie that).

"Hey Raydence!"  Twilight greeted him, "Looking for anything in particular?"

"Actually yes," Raydence stood straight up and was now mostly-business, although he still sneakily petted Rainbow Dash's main twice before she batted his hand away, almost seemingly like a cat when she did so.  Raydence added, "Surprise asked me to pick up a book she let you borrow.  If your finished."

"Oh!"  Twilight perked up.  "Yes, it was very interesting!  Hold on, I think I left it on my nightstand."

Twilight's horn glowed, and she teleported to her bedroom, startling Spike (who, of course, had just woken up).

"Wah!"  he jumped out of his bed, and then climbed back in.  "Why can't you just walk, like a normal pony?"

"Sorry, Spike.  I felt like exercising my magic."  Twilight immediately looked to her nightstand.  "Ah, there it is!"

"What's going on?"

"Raydence is here--"

"Oh."  Spike delivered with a clear note of disapproval.

"--To pick up a book Surprise let me borrow."  Twilight finished.  She chuckled a bit, and said, "Don't worry, Rarity still likes you more."

"That's good," Spike yawned, and curled up back in bed.

The unicorn teleported back to the main room of the library, and handed the book to Raydence with a "Here you go!  Tell Surprise I said thanks!"

Raydence glanced down at the book, and then he held the book up in front of him, his good-natured expression having taken an aspect of mild awe.  "Huh, fancy seeing one of these here."

Rainbow Dash hovered beside his shoulder.  "Classics of Ahmerite Short Literature.  What's an Ahmerite?"

"A person from Ahmer," Raydence answered casually.

"And where is that?"

Twilight Sparkle then said, "I'd like to visit it sometime.  It sounds interesting!"

The way Raydence glanced at her made Twilight feel as if she had said something wrong.  Raydence still had a good-natured look about him, he didn't seem bothered, but there was just something there that hadn't been there before.

"Ahmer doesn't exist anymore," he told the ponies shortly.

"Oh," Twilight parked her rumped and looked up at the human, hoping he'd answer her next question.  "What happened to them?"

Raydence took a breath, and said, "It would take a historian to explain all the details, but the way I understood it, they went crazy or something after the Rift opened.  I've mentioned the Rift before, right?"  The three mares in the room all nodded.  Twilight couldn't remember whether she had heard about it from Raydence or Surprise, but she knew the entire story of the Rift and how Humania and Ponia had once been separate worlds.  Reassured, Raydence went on, "Ahmerites didn't believe in magic, and it was a foundation of their culture or something.  Then the Rift opened and Dream Valley was their new neighbor... actually, I'm not quite sure how that led to Ahmer's downfall.  You'll have to ask Surprise."

Twilight sighed with resignation.  "Okay."

Just as Ray was heading out the door, he stopped, and considered the book again, "I do remember one thing.  Apparently, most of the things Ahmerites write are propoganda of some sort.  So anything you remember from this book, take it with a grain of salt."

With that, he left.

Twilight's glance immediately went towards Pinkie.  The party pony looked as if she was sad to see the human go, like she had wanted him to stay longer.  Twilight was about to say something, when suddenly Pinkie turned and tickle-glomped her!  The wrestle had resumed!

Tightrope sighed.  Somehow, his sigh was still audible over the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the roof.  He was staring out the window, and Surprise came to stare with him.  She said nothing, but the colt somehow sensed she wanted an answer.  Or maybe he just wanted to say something.

"I... was kinda hoping we'd get to go to the park again."

It was strange, he reflected, that he liked the park so much.  The toys there were the silliest things in concept.  Ponies go up and down, ponies swing left and right, ponies ride around in circles or climb on bars.  And yet, somehow, he couldn't help wanting to go there and do that again and again.  He had first gone there four days ago, but still each visit felt like the first time.  Especially when the girls were there.

Perhaps picking up on his feelings, Surprise pulled her hoof away on her own.  She sighed, "I don't like the rain much either."

Tightrope glanced back, and saw Raydence laying on the sofa, apparently asleep, but it was hard to tell due to how his mane covered his eyes. "And I bet the human is hungry," he commented, knowing Raydence was a meat-eater and he couldn't very well catch food on a day like this.

"Nah," Raydence answered, shifting a little.  Sleepily he added, "I saw the weather schedule and caught extra food ahead of time."

"I hope it doesn't rot."

"Stuff doesn't rot in the inventory screen.  Not sure how it works, but anything you take out is exactly the same as when you put it in."

"Null-time," Tightrope mouthed the term with a little bit of awe.  The gears began turning in his mind, and Tightrope turned his head to the side, toward the plain wooden wall.  He wasn't looking at the wall, though.  He was looking for an X, a small, transparent X that was supposed to be just at the corner of his vision.  At least, that was the method Raydence had explained to him, sometime during the four days now that he had lived with this family.

Seeing nothing, Tightrope blinked twice, rapidly.  There was still nothing, so he blinked again, and again.  He literally had nothing better to do, so he might as well... wait a minute!

This time he blinked, and something was different.  There was a patch, a barely noticable blur, and the more Tightrope focused on it the more it took on the shape of an X!

Without hesitation, the little guy touched it.  It felt as though he had pressed a button, and in that exact instant the X expanded into a blue-grid screen in space!  He had done it!  He had an inventory screen!

All the sudden there was clapping from the only other people in the room. Surprise said, "Oh, this looks like cause for celebration!"

"In the rain?"  Raydence asked.

"We can half-celebrate tonight and half tomorrow!  I know!  Let's have a celebration in the park!"

Tightrope glanced at the pegasus.  Of course, he felt like this was a personal accomplishment, that it amazed him that others would consider it so highly.  "This is cause for celebration?"  He asked.

"Of course!  Opening your first inventory screen... it's like a birthday party!"

Tightrope blinked.  "Ponies celebrate their birthdays?  Or is that a Dream Valley thing?"

Surprise paused, just as she was about to scruffle his mane, and once more Tightrope felt like he had said something... wrong.  As usual, almost immediately Surprise regained her composure, hugged him and said, "Oh don't be silly, every pony celebrates their birthday, once a year!"

Tightrope felt like saying something, but the words died in his throat.  Somehow, he liked the thought that others shared his enthusiasm.  It didn't matter to him that it seemed like a small reason to celebrate, as long as it meant going to the park again, and getting together with the girls.  But that was tomorrow.  Right now, he was wrapped up in the enthusiasm of having a new device to use.  Tightrope had heard the analogy "kid with a new toy" before, and for the first time he understood what it meant.

"Now I need something to put in it!"  He said.

"Oh, try this!"  Surprise handed him a set of Jenga blocks.  Tightrope placed them in, and they became a flat image filling one box on the grid.  Tightrope looked for something else.

Next, Surprise handed him a slinky.  Tightrope wiggled it in his hooves, because what else do you do with a slinky?  And then he made it walk into the inventory screen, where its upside-down half-donut shape became the next flat item in the grid.

Surprise suggested, "Something bigger!"  And then handed Tightrope the box to Shark Attack.  Big as this box was, the minute he placed it inside it became just another graphic.

Tightrope was not aware that his tail was shaking like a puppy's.  He immediately stepped forward, leaned on the sill of the space-window, and stuck his head in.  On reflex, Surprise grabbed his haunches and pulled him back.

"No no," she said gently, "It's not a good idea to stick half your body in the inventory screen."

"I just wanted to see what it looked like.  On the inside, I mean."

"Think of an endless expanse of blue grid."  Surprise answered.

Tightrope sat down and looked at her curiously.  "How do you know?"

Raydence sat up, "Yeah, Surprise, this is news to me too."

For once, Surprise looked like she was on the spot, and a little shy about it.  "Okay, okay, embarrassing story time.  When I was four, I got stuck in my own inventory screen.  I leaned in, like you did, and I tripped and fell, and it closed behind me.  Fortunately, my sister saw what happened and told my parents.  They went to see a Can Opener"--Surprise took a moment to explain this Dream Valley term--"And they got me out."

"Wow," Tightrope was suddenly interested.  "What was it like?"

"I didn't get much time to look around, to tell you the truth.  You see, it's as you said:  There's no time in there.  So to me, it looked like the opening closed and then opened a second later.  But my parents said I had been in there for a couple of hours.

"But keep in mind," Surprise added to her story, "That was in Dream Valley.  You're the first Equestria pony to ever open an inventory screen, and neither Raydence nor I have any Can Opener capabilities.  If you got stuck... it's very likely we'd never be able to get you out."

Tightrope glanced at his inventory screen with a new respect.  It was cool to stick things in it, but Tightrope realized he really wouldn't want to be stuck there for all eternity.  He briefly wondered what it would be like if he never got out, and the thought chilled him.

Yet as he pressed the X and closed the screen, his chills were replaced by a slightly-revived enthusiasm.  He was the first Equestria Pony to open an inventory screen, and they were going to celebrate it!  The mere thought of that made the little guy so excited he couldn't wait!

Suffice to say, the next day came, the park was open, the girls were there, and Surprise very publicly announced that they were celebrating a special accomplishment.  Tightrope publicly demonstrated his new ability, although he had to be talked into it because having a large audience made him nervous.  Yet when he did it, and they all gasped, and then clapped, he somehow felt... safer?  More secure?  Then Twilight Sparkle came to the front and said, "Amazing!  How did you do that?"

As he stuttered out an explanation, Tightrope realized that on some level, he liked this.  He didn't know what he liked, or why, but he hoped that, in the future, there would be more things to celebrate.

That girl Pinkie Pie was starting to make a little more sense.

To be continued...

4 - To Be Fast is to Feel Alive

Walking a Tightrope

The Author's Preferred Edition

A Surprise Days Story

by NoGiantRobots1983

Chapter Four

To Be Fast is to Feel Alive

~Let's Begin!~

It was late-morning, and Fluttershy had already made a commitment.  By her standard, that meant things were going kind of fast today.

The situation was one that seemed oddly familiar.  She had gone to Rarity's in order to return Opal, who had needed to be cat-sitted the previous night, only to learn that Rarity had promised to babysit the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  Then Rarity found out she had an unexpected workload, and couldn't fulfill it while also watching three kids...

The rest had happened like clockwork.  Fluttershy had offered to let them spend the night at her place instead, to which the girls enthusiastically agreed.  Fluttershy only made them promise one thing:  Don't go into the Everfree Forest at night and end up running into a cockatrice.

They were only too ready to agree to her terms.

The fact remained, Fluttershy had to childproof her house as much as possible.  The table was bolted in place, the fireplace could not possibly be lighted, they couldn't sneak behind the couch...

Fluttershy perked her ears up, listening.  She knew the girls were outdoors, and it didn't sound like they were raising a ruckus.

She could swear that she heard a young colt's voice.

No sooner did she notice that, than there was a knock at the door.  Immediately she tensed up.  Visitors were always one thing she didn't like, especially when she had responsibilities.  Omigosh, what if its a salespony?  It always took all her courage to turn down that bargain they were working so hard to pitch, and how would she be able to keep the kids in line later?

Oh, but what if the salespony talked to the girls?  Eep!  What if he sold them a vacuum cleaner?  This was the Cutie Mark Crusaders after all... Only the sun above could guess what havoc they'd wreak with a household appliance!

With a gulp, Fluttershy choked up her courage and did her civic duty.  "C-come in," she squeaked.

The door creaked open, slowly, cautiously, and (in Fluttershy's mind) sinisterly... only for her to perk up with pleasure when she saw that it was not a salespony with a vacuum cleaner, but rather someone she knew quite well.

"Surprise!"  Fluttershy gleefully spouted, "Oh, I was so worried!  I thought you might be a salespony!"

A male voice asked, "Does Ponyville have salesponies?"  The hearing of that voice made Flutters perk up twice as much, and she flew over her friend and right over to her pet.

"And how have you been doing?"  Fluttershy asked Raydence, wasting no time in petting him and hugging him and telling him how cutesy-poo he was.  "I hope you're eating well.  You look kind of malnourished.  Are you getting enough protein in your diet?  Should I catch a chicken for you?"

Raydence replied by scruffling the yellow pegasus' mane and saying, "Aww, you don't have to do that!"

Fluttershy giggled, and started scruffling Ray's mane, and saying, "Aren't you just the lovey-doviest widdle human?"

"I think you have it backwards.  You're the lovey-doviest widdle pony."

"Widdle human!"

"Widdle pony!"

Suddenly another voice said, "You know this pony?"

Fluttershy had been so caught up petting the human that she had, until now, overlooked the colt.  Now, as she fluttered back down to the floor, she was aware of the little spotted fellah with the green mane.

Surprise told the little guy, "Of course!  Fluttershy's one of the first ponies I got to know in Ponyville."

"That's right!"  Fluttershy added, "She saved my life once!"

Surprise contradicted, "Oh, come now!  Your animal friends had more to do with that than I did."  Surprise then said to the colt, "Anyway, Tightrope, you're going to be staying with her while we're in Plum-Plum... if that's okay with Fluttershy, of course."

Fluttershy smiled.  Good with animals, good with kids.  Then a worry occured to her.  "Well... I'd like to say yes, but I'm already taking care of the girls..."

Tightrope asked, "What girls?"

"Why, the Cutie Mark Crusaders--"

Immediately Tightrope perked up and gleefully spouted, "They're here?!  Awesome!"

"They're in the back yard--"

Tightrope didn't wait to hear anything else.

Fluttershy smiled.  "I guess that's that!"

Surprise smiled, but then Raydence asked, "You sure four kids won't be a problem?"

Fluttershy chuckled, "Oh, they're just children!  What could possibly go wrong?"

"Is that a trick question?"

Surprise chuckled, and added, "They're safe.  After all, they've got guardian angels."

Fluttershy's ears shot up in astonishment.  "You mean... you're a member of the Danger Rangers too?"

At the mention of that name, Surprise made a bemused expression and said, "Oh, is that what they're called?"  Fluttershy impulsively made an oops! expression, and Surprise immediately reassured her.  "Don't worry, I already knew all about them.  When you live most of your life on the road and facing danger, you tend to develop situational awareness.  By the way," Surprise delivered to someone at her side, "The kids are around back."

Fluttershy looked out in time to see who Surprise was talking to, and at first was confused twice over:  Once because Surprise was talking to a barrel, and again because Fluttershy couldn't place having put a barrel in her front yard before.  But before she had time to really think about it, Bon-Bon's head popped out of the barrel, winked at Surprise, and then ducked back into her disguise as her hooves came out the bottom and tip-toed around back, there to do their part in making sure the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't hurt themselves, or anypony else.

Fluttershy felt relief fill her heart, to know that she wasn't in this alone.  Then a question sprang to her mind, and she asked, "So, why are you going to Plum-Plum?  It's... it's not a witch, is it?"  Just saying that word made Fluttershy shiver.

"Nah.  Just a little case of a giant rat that the locals want captured alive.  Big reward.  Fifteen hundred bits."

"A giant rat?"  Fluttershy repeated, as the image filled her mind.  She imagined it being big, and with sharp claws, and large fangs... and a big fat furry belly that it probably just loved getting rubbed!  And it would swish its tail like a puppy and nuzzle any pony that was nice to it and and and... Fluttershy sighed.  "I wish I could go with you.  That thing sounds just so darling!"

"We'll be gentle with it," Surprise chuckled, then said, "Anyway, we must be off.  We'll be back tomorrow."

"Hey!"  Tightrope greeted the girls, "Fancy meeting you all here!"

Apple Bloom nodded with a smile, "Fluttershy let's us spend the night together every once in awhile, jus' so long as we don't get involved with any cockatrices!"

Tightrope's head tilted.  "Why would you do that?"

"It's a long story," Sweetie Belle sighed.  Then she asked, "So, why are you out here?"

"I think I'm spending the night too.  Surprise got some kind of job."

The girls glanced at each other, then back at Tightrope.  Apple Bloom said, "But she never left ya with another pony on her other jobs..."

"Yeah, but this time she's going to Plum-Plum to catch a rat or something," Tightrope was scratching his mane the entire time he talked, and then he asked, "Hey, why does Surprise just take these odd jobs, anyway?  Why isn't she permanently employed?"

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shrugged, and Sweets said, "I guess she just likes it that way."

Apple Bloom said, "Ah once asked my big sister that same question.  She said it's because Surprise doesn't wanna be tied down, in case she decides to move on."

It was Sweetie Belle who asked, "Why would she do that?  She seems so happy here!"

Apple Bloom shrugged, "Somethin' about her bein' on a quest.  It has somethin' to do with those witch-things, like the one that caused a stir in Ponyville a couple months back."

"What's a witch?"  Tightrope asked.

It seemed like Apple Bloom was about to speak, but just then Surprise called out, "I'll be back tomorrow morning!"

In response, Tightrope called back, "All right!  Bubbye!"

As he watched Surprise leave, there was a strange feeling.  It was a lot like the feeling he had when his house had burned down and he couldn't find his mom.  He was... by himself, totally independent.  There was no older pony to hold his hoof or look out for him.  The feeling was not entirely pleasant.  He had been in this place called Ponyville for something like two, maybe three weeks, but hadn't yet gotten completely accustomed to it.

He was broken out of his reverie by Apple Bloom suddenly asking, "So, how we gonna crusade for our cutie marks today?"

Scootaloo sat down and waved her hoof, "Umm, actually, I'm not in the mood for crusading.  The Race is coming up."

"Oh, that's right!"  Apple Bloom acknowledged.

Tightrope glanced the little brown pegasus' way.  "What's this about a race?"

"Every year," Scootaloo explained as Tightrope and the others followed her to Fluttershy's shed, where she had parked her scooter, "There's a race a bunch of us kids enter.  It's on the same course the adults use for the Running of the Leaves.  But we don't run," Scootaloo paused for a moment to fasten her helmet, "We kids get to use scooters and skateboards!  And this year, I'm gonna win first place!  Just watch me!"

Watch her they did, and Scootaloo zipped a full circle around Fluttershy's cottage in something like ten seconds.  When she stopped, she was pleased to note that Tightrope's mouth hung open.  "Pretty fast, huh?"

"Yeah, that is fast!"  Tightrope immediately answered.  "I bet you always make first place!"

Scootaloo looked away, glancing off towards the Everfree, but not looking at anything in particular.

Sweetie Belle said, "She didn't make first place last year.  All because some unicorn cheated--"

A powerful rage welled up in Scootaloo at that moment, and she pointed and declared, "Don't talk bad about Zam Zoomer!"  Without waiting for anypony to say anything else, she grabbed the handlebars, started her wings flapping and drove off to the edge of the property.

Tightrope watched, wondering for a moment if they should follow Scootaloo, who seemed intent on going into the Everfree Forest.  He felt relieved when that didn't happen, and instead Scootaloo just made a bunch of circles in the areas where the trees were thinnest.

Sweetie Belle sighed, and asked, "Why does she do that?  We all know he cheated!  She said so herself!"

Tightrope's curiosity was piqued.  "Who is Zam Zoomer?"

The question seemed to cause a silence to fall on the little group.  Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked to Scootaloo, as if hoping the pegasus would be gone long enough for them to answer the question.  Apple Bloom was the first to speak.  "He was this unicorn who moved to Ponyville last year, durin' the month just before summer break.  Ah remember it like it was yesterday... first time I saw him zippin' through town on his scooter, rampin off planks and doin' tricks... I thought it was Scootaloo 'til Ah got a closer look."

"Yeah,"  Sweetie Belle agreed.

"Anyway, Scootaloo met him soon after that.  Ah remember her comin' into our clubhouse, and she was all about how fast and cool he was."

Sweetie Belle interjected, "Yeah, it sounded like she was scared of him."

"She was scared of him!"  Apple Bloom responded.  "Don'chall remember how she used to spend so many hours practicin'?  It got so she never crusaded for cutie marks because she was so obsessed with bein' able to beat him in the next race!"

"Then when the race came, she lost," Sweetie Belle ended petulantly, "Because Zam Zoomer was nothing but a no-good cheater!"

Tightrope asked, "How did he cheat?"

"He used unicorn magic, duh!"  Sweetie Belle answered with the disgust clear in her voice.  "How is a pegasus supposed to beat a unicorn?"

Tightrope pointed out, "But... you're a unicorn."

"Well yeah, but he was using some kind of propelling magic!  I bet it made him super-fast!  No pony could hope to beat someone like that!  That's why its cheating!"

Apple Bloom watched Scootaloo for a moment.  "Ah dunno, Sweetie Belle."

"What do you mean, you don't know?  Scootaloo said so herself, at the end of the race!  Then she went to give him the what-for!"

Apple Bloom blinked, then after a moment she added, "Ya know... that's the strange part--"  Apple Bloom was forced to cut her story short, for Scootaloo was coming back, and they all knew how she'd feel if she knew they were talking about her and Zam Zoomer.

While she parked her scooter and put away her helmet, Scootaloo said, "I'm tired of practicing.  Let's go crusading!"

It was almost lunchtime.  Fluttershy had just fed her animals, and was setting up a table with plates of grass and orange juice, when suddenly there was another knock on the door.  Once again, Fluttershy tensed up, and images of salesponies with vacuum cleaners ran through her mind.  This time, she answered the door.

Once again, it was a friend she was glad to see.  "Oh, good morning, Twilight... or I guess, good noon?"

"Hey, Fluttershy.  Can I come in?"

"Sure," Fluttershy stepped out of the way to permit Twilight's entry, "Would you like a drink?"

"That would be great!"

Once the drink was delivered, Twilight explained her business.  "I came to see Tightrope.  She did leave him with you, didn't she?"

"You know about that?"

"Yeah.  Surprise tried to leave him with me first, and I recommended you."  Fluttershy nodded acknowledgement, so Twilight continued.  "Anyway, I got a letter just now--"

Twilight was interrupted by the sudden opening of the front door.  It was none other than the colt in question who rushed into the room and asked, "Fluttershy, do you happen to have a set of rollerskates, a bungie cord, some piccolos and a pound of macaroni noodles?" He then noticed the other mare, and said, "Oh, hi Twilight."

"Oh, just who I wanted to see!"  Twilight exclaimed, somewhat startling the little guy, "I've just heard from Lavender Falls!  Your mother is alive!"

Tightrope said a casual, "That's good."

Twilight raised her eyebrow for a moment, then decided to lay it on him, "But there's some bad news.  She's in a coma right now, and they don't know if she'll pull through."

Fluttershy and the unicorn both were amazed when Tightrope's response was just a casual "Uh-huh."

Fluttershy had to ask, "Aren't you worried even a little bit?"

"About what?  Mom'll be fine, after all she's already created--" His pupils shrank, and he immediately covered his mouth as if to un-say what he had said.  The two mares glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.  Tightrope quickly said, "Anyway, she'll be fine!  Fluttershy, do you have the things I asked for?"

"What were they, again?"

"They were..." Again his pupils shrank, and then embarrasedly he said, "I forgot."

Fluttershy couldn't help a smile.  "That's okay.  Oh, be a dear, would you?  Tell the girls that lunch is almost ready."

Tightrope sighed, still embarrassed.  "Okay."

The four childen and two adults had a pleasant lunch together, each getting their fill.  Afterward, Twilight said her goodbyes and left for the library.  The children then debated what to do next.

"It's kinda hot today," Apple Bloom argued.  "If we were closer to a pond I'd say let's take a swim and cool down a bit, but as it is..."

Scootaloo twisted her forehoof for a moment as she thought, then she said, "Yeah, but I want to get just a bit more practice in."

"You gonna beat Zam Zoomer this year?"  Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo gave her a dirty look, and then immediately turned for the door, and said, "I'll be back in a minute."

Without saying anything, Tightrope followed her out the door and around back.  He didn't mind the midday summer heat, for a curiosity overwhelmed his mind.  Several, in fact.  He noticed there was something to the way Scootaloo walked, to the way her tail swished behind her.  Even to the way she glanced.  How could he describe this?  The word that came to his mind was "graceful."  He didn't know if that was exactly right, but it seemed to fit.  Why was Scootaloo this "graceful," yet not the other two girls?  This was one curiosity he had, and for some reason, he didn't feel like he could ask.  It felt... wrong, somehow, to bring it up.

So instead, he brought up the other curiosity he had.

"If you don't mind my asking... what was Zam Zoomer like?"

"Wha?"

"I mean... what were his grades in school?"

"I dunno.  He moved in just before summer vacation.  He never went to school!"

"Okay," Tightrope accepted the answer.  They were now at the shed.  "But... what about next school year?"

Tightrope watched Scootaloo gear up, somehow aware that even then she somehow geared up "gracefully."  But there was nothing graceful about how she suited up entirely in silence, not even answering Tightrope's question before she made ready to zip away on her scooter.

Tightrope ran beside her, and cried out, "What kind of guy was he?  Was he smart?  Was he nice?  Why won't you tell me anything?"

"He was strong, okay?"  Scootaloo cried back, "That's all you need to know!"

Then she kicked her wing-power into hyperspeed, and Tightrope could no longer keep up.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn't help watching this scene from a window, and it was only by virtue of that window being open that they were able to make out the conversation.  They continued watching as Tightrope sat and saw Scootaloo zoom off into the distance.  Then the colt didn't so much as slunk back inside.  His head down, without speaking a word, he basically dragged himself to the sofa, only to glance at it and--apparently--decide it was too high to leap onto, so he instead lay on the bottom step of the stairs.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle approached Tightrope slowly.  He seemed lost in thought, in a way kids rarely ever are.  "Are you okay?"  Apple Bloom asked with a raised eyebrow, but Tightrope didn't seem to hear the question.

Then, just as the girls had thought to leave him alone, he mumbled, "Am I jealous?"

The girls stopped in mid-stride, and glanced at Tightrope.  The mere mention of jealousy caused feminine curiosity to bubble up in them.  Apple Bloom came beside him, a smirk on her face, and said, "Jealous, ya say?"

"Yeah," Tightrope answered as if talking to himself, "Scootaloo obviously likes him."

Sweetie Belle gasped, realizing who the him in this equation had to be.  "Did she... tell you so?"

"No.  But what else could it be?"

Apple Bloom continued smirking.  "An' this bothers ya?"

Tightrope finally seemed to acknowledge her.  "I think so.  Why, is that bad?"

"No, not at all!"  Apple Bloom stepped beside Sweetie Belle, and said, "Give us just a moment, Ah wanna talk to Sweetie Belle in private."  That said, Apple Bloom directed Sweetie Belle to follow her out front, where only the animals could hear.  There, Apple Bloom said, "What do ya say to playin' Cutie Mark Crusader Matchmakers?"

Sweetie Belle looked wary.  "I dunno... We're not gonna mix up another love potion, are we?"

"We don't have to!  The way Ah sees it, Tightrope clearly likes Scootaloo.  So all we have to do is get her to like him back!"

"But... she likes Zam Zoom...er..." As Sweetie Belle spoke, her wariness waned, and eventually morphed into a confident smirk.  "Yeah!  Tightrope's far better for her than that cheating unicorn!"

"Then it's settled!  Operation, Scootaloo and Tightrope will now commence!"

"Right!"  Sweetie Belle cheered, then asked, "So... what's our first move going to be?"

As it turned out, their first move was during a simple trivia game.  Fluttershy had a riddle book on hoof, and the little ones took turns seeing who could guess first.  It was Sweetie Belle who showed some creativity, by suggesting, "We should play on teams!"

"Good idea!"  Apple Bloom agreed, although in fact she at first missed the point of Sweetie Belle's suggestion and said, "Tightrope--" and then she got the hint when Sweetie lightly elbowed her.  Apple Bloom finished her sentence, "You team up with Scootaloo."

Scootaloo was pleased with this arrangement, because when they were all on their own, she scored the worst, while Tightrope scored the best.  In her mind, she could sit back and let Tightrope answer all the questions.

The games went on until it was dark, and pretty soon it was time for bed.  Naturally, the children moaned and tried to deny it, but Fluttershy could hear them yawn, could tell that they needed their rest.  So she led them to the upstairs bedroom, and saw to her delight that the one bed was, in fact, big enough to hold all four of them.

She only saw one change that needed to be made.  She turned the bed so that its side, rather than its head, was to the wall, allowing the four kids to lay across it in a straight row.

Reluctantly, the children jumped in, though Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were the least argumentative, while Scootaloo hesitated.  By the time the little pegasus finally climbed into bed, the only clear spot was between Tightrope (who was on the far left) and Apple Bloom.

"Do you want me to sing you a song?"  Fluttershy asked with a smile, secretly hoping they'd decline.

Sweetie Belle had already nodded off.  Noticing this, Apple Bloom shook her head, and nopony argued the point.

"Okay, good night!  Sweet dreams!"

Scootaloo tucked herself under the cover as Fluttershy left, and when the older pegasus was gone, Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom, "Don't you think its a little too obvious?"

"Why what ever do ya'll mean?"  Apple Bloom answered half-sarcastically, half-sleepily, and then rolled onto her side.

Scootaloo decided not to press the point any further.  After all, Tightrope was right next to her.  She briefly wondered about the colt.  It had become quite obvious to Scootaloo what Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were trying to do.  The amount of times they had forced her to pair with Tightrope were too many to all be accidents.  Then again, Scoots had the advantage of having been there when the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to get Cheerilee and Big Macintosh together.  She had experience to draw upon.  So maybe Tightrope hadn't noticed.  Then again, Scoots considered, Tightrope could even be in on it...

A yawn escaped the filly's mouth, and she decided to give her questions a rest, along with everything else about her.  "Well, goodnight," she said, and dozed off.

The morning sun was high in the sky, watching as two travellers made their way along towards Ponyville.  Surprise walked rather stiffly, and Raydence could feel an aura of anxiety about her.  He knew why, and he decided some levity was in order.

"So," he asked, "How long ya think fifteen-hundred smackers are gonna last?"

"About a year," the white pegasus answered quickly.

"Isn't that being a little optimistic?"

"We're not in Dream Valley.  There's nothing to spend it on except for food and rent."

"I guess so," Raydence thought aloud.  "Kinda depressing in a way.  All those poor fillies and colts, growing up without knowing the wonders of cartoons or video games."

"Uh-huh," Surprise answered, clearly not in the mood for this discussion.

Raydence sighed.  "You know he's fine, right?"

"Ohh," Surprise kinda moaned the word, "I know Fluttershy is reliable, but... just... I can't help but worry, you know?"

Raydence knew.  Surprise had barely been able to focus on her job yesterday due to anxiety over the colt who Surprise was just a step away from calling her son.  Surprise had a son.  Raydence knew that, and Surprise knew it too, although she tried to be in cautious denial about it.  After all, Tightrope's real mom could still appear, although the more time went by, the less likely that seemed.  In Ray's opinion, Tightrope's real mom had died in the fire and it was time Surprise officially adopted the boy, and he meant to tell her that very thing once her anxiety was relieved.

Surprise walked on.  She did not look back, her ears did not twitch, and yet she somehow knew, "Is there a puppy following us?"

"Arf arf!"  Pinkie arfed in response.  She had appeared behind the duo just as they passed by a bush.

Raydence turned around and scooped her up, asking, "And how has the pink pony puppy been doing?"

"Arf!"  Pinkie answered, then rubbed her head against Ray's chin exactly the way a snuggling puppy would.  Ray was glad she didn't lick his face--that would've been going too far.

Then Pinkie pouted, crossed her arms and said, "That was mean!"

Raydence went, "Eh?"

"You left without telling me!  You made me think you'd abandoned me!"

Raydence smiled, "Awww, how could I abandon you?"  He scruffled her mane a bit, and Pinkie made some happy puppy noises.  Then Ray said, "We just stepped out of town for a bit to make some quick cash.  Actually, we're gonna stop by Sugarcube Corner after we pick up Tightrope, because I've got this huge hankering for some cotton candy."

His words made Pinkie beam so hard, she almost glowed.  Leaping out of his arms, Pinkie declared, "Awesome!  In that case I better get to work!  I'll spin the greatest roll of cotton candy the world has ever seen!"

"I'll be looking forward to it!"

With that, Pinkie galloped off.  Ray and Surprise traded brief glances and half-smiles, and then continued on their own journey, but within half a step, there was another interruption.

"Just a minute there!"  Rainbow Dash called out as she swooped down in front of the human and put an accusing hoof directly on his chest.  "So what's the deal?"

"The deal?"  Raydence thought for a moment, "Well, Plum-Plum had a two-for-one sale on watermelons--"

"Don't play dumb!  One minute you say you don't like Pinkie Pie, the next minute you're holding her in your arms!  So which is it, do you like her or not?"

Ray smiled.  "She's cute."

"That's it?  Just 'cute'?"

"Uh-huh," Raydence's smile changed to a smirk, as he reached out to scruffle Dash's mane, "Of course, you're still the huggy pony."

"I am not the huggy pony!"  Dash swatted the hand away.  "You just remember, I'm keeping my eye on you, and if you do something to Pinkie that I don't like, I'm gonna let you know about it!"

Then Surprise spoke, "If you don't approve of Pinkie being around Raydence, why did you lead her here in the first place?"

Rainbow Dash landed, and asked, "What makes you think I did any such thing?"

"Oh come now!  Pinkie just happens to know where we're coming in from and you just happen to be in the area.  You don't survive on the road for over a decade without growing a few braincells, Dash."

Rainbow was uncomfortably shifting her hoof now.  "Well, I uh..."

Surprise pulled Dash aside, and spoke in a whisper, "Hey, just between us girls, what's the real story?  Are you jealous?"

Dash made a shocked look, but tried immediately to hide it behind a face of cynical indifference.  "Not the way you think," she whispered back.  Then, breaking away from the white pegasus and speaking normally, Dash added, "Don't get me wrong.  It's just that Pinkie's like a little sister to me.  I've gotta look out for her!"

Surprise nodded, and then changed the subject.  "So, how's Tightrope?"

"How should I know?"

"You're a Danger Ranger, aren't you?"

Once more Dash looked shocked.  "I didn't know you were in the club!"

"I'm not," Surprise smirked.

"But we're top secret!"

"Yeah, and you're good at following ponies without being spotted.  So am I."

"And you followed me?"

"No, I followed that stallion with the clocks on his rear.  Just one day I happened to realize he sometimes followed the girls around, and, well, from where I was that looked a little... alarming.  But I know you're in the club, because I listened in on one of your meetings."

Rainbow Dash's ears drooped, but just for a moment, then she giggled.  "Well, I guess you're right.  Anyway, last I heard, Tightrope's doing fine.  Oh, that reminds me.  Twilight got a letter from Lavender Falls yesterday."

For once, Surprise had heard something she had not expected, and it showed.  "What did it say?"  She asked eagerly.

"His mom's been found."

Raydence felt his heart sink a little.  He glanced at Surprise, and he alone just barely perceived her ears lower a bit.  Clearly, her feelings matched his own.

Rainbow Dash continued, "She's in a coma, and they don't know if she's gonna pull through.  So don't go expecting to get rid of him just yet!"  Rainbow Dash glanced to the south, and then said, "Anyway, a stray cloud just moved in.  I gotta go get rid of it.  See ya later!"

With that, Rainbow dashed off, leaving a human and a flightless pegasus to contemplate the news they just heard.

Surprise sat and sighed, finally allowing her full emotions to show as her ears lowered and she looked towards the ground.

Raydence stood still for a moment, wondering whether or not he should reveal something.  Eventually he decided to go for it.  "Gotta admit, I kinda perked up when she said the mom might not make it."

Surprise looked up at him with half a smile on her face.  "We're a regular pair of villains, aren't we?"

"Of course!  After we adopt a child we'll take over the world!"

"Ah yes, we'll brainwash a legion of cats to do our bidding!"  Surprise stood again.  "But, one thing at a time.  We better see to Tightrope before we go taking over much of anything."

Tightrope had nothing to pack, so he was instead downstairs helping Fluttershy with some household chores.  That left the three girls alone in the bedroom, giving Scootaloo the perfect opportunity to say, "I know what you're up to."

"Huh?"  Apple Bloom asked, and then it dawned on her what Scoots might mean and she tried to look all innocent.

"Is Tightrope in on it too?"  Scootaloo had to know.

Apple Bloom took a second to answer, her little mind not sure if it was better to play innocent or admit everything.  It eventually chose to just admit everything, just because that was easier to do.  "Nope.  It's just me an' Sweetie Belle."

Scootaloo was frustrated.  "You know I'm not a lovey-dovey pony!  What's the big idea?"

"Well," Apple Bloom was getting nervous now, "We just thought... Tightrope likes ya'll.  I'm sure ya noticed."

"Uh-huh," Scootaloo practically sighed that answer out, rolling her eyes.

Apple Bloom kept on, "And, well... we figured if you two got together, you'd dump Zam Zoomer.  Tightrope's much better anyway!"

The mention of Zam Zoomer brought Scootaloo's thought process to a screeching halt.  "Wait, back up.  What about Zam Zoomer?"

Sweetie Belle fielded that one.  "It's obvious, isn't it?  You say you're not a lovey-dovey pony, but you don't allow us to say bad things about Zam Zoomer, you won't even talk about him yourself, and you're not even mad that he cheated!  If that's not a secret romance, I don't know what is!"

There was a moment of silence.  Then Scootaloo felt her lip twitch, her eyes water, and soon she couldn't stand straight up, so she rolled onto her back, laughing as hard as her little lungs could!  She barely noticed the looks on Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's faces.  It took a good couple of minutes for the little pegasus to calm down enough to speak coherently again.

"Wait, you girls thought... Zam Zoomer was my boyfriend?"

"Uh-huh," Sweetie Belle sheepishly admitted.

Apple Bloom added, insecurely, "It's not just us.  Tightrope told us that he was jealous."

That sent Scootaloo into another round of hysterics, which didn't end until both Fluttershy and Tightrope were in the room, to tell them it was time to head into town.  Fluttershy at first worried that Scootaloo might have something wrong with her, but the smaller pegasus soon calmed down.  She said, "Okay, tell you what.  Let's meet up after I win the race.  Then I'll clear up everything."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked dubious about this proposal, but excited as well.  "Deal!"  They said, and followed Fluttershy and Scootaloo downstairs.  Tightrope followed last, asking, "Hey, wait!  Where is the race?"

And so, the race came.  Tightrope, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom all watched excitedly, waiting for the checkered flag to fall.  There were twenty two contestants in all, each lined up in four rows.  In the front row Tightrope spotted Scootaloo.  Tightrope was curious as to how come the racers were placed like this.  "How do they decide which racers go in front, and which ones go in back?" he asked.

Applejack, who was sitting next to her kid sister, heard the question and answered.  "By the numbers on their flanks.  They hand out the numbers when ya register for the race.  Scootaloo was the fifth to register, that's why she's number five."

"I see," Tightrope acknowledged.  Then he asked Sweetie Belle, "Which one is Zam Zoomer?"

"None of them.  I guess he didn't show up!"

Apple Bloom smirked, "Maybe he was disqualified?"

Sweetie Belle returned the smirk, secretly hoping that Apple Bloom's theory was the truth.

"It's starting!"  Apple Bloom couldn't help but exclaim.

The anticipation could be felt.  The crowds had gone silent.  In the hot-air balloon, the normally-talkative announcers Pinkie Pie and Spike had become quiet.  Any minute now, that stallion would wave the flag whose black-and-white checker-pattern matched his shirt.

There it was!  No sooner had the flag waved than Pinkie announced, "And they're off!"  The words were barely out of her mouth as the racers shot out down the speedway!

Tightrope felt confident that Scootaloo had the advantage, since she had started in the front row.  Yet soon he felt a pang of suspense, for as the first bend in the road came up Scootaloo skidded and seemed to lose control of her scooter, forcing her to slow down and causing all the other racers to pass her.  Tightrope's heart sunk when he heard Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both gasp at this unexpected terrible beginning.

Scootaloo was not about to call it quits, though.  She immediately redoubled her efforts, picking up speed on another straightaway and hugging the inner bend of the next turn.  Again she skidded, and it was here that Tightrope realized the skid had not been an accident--rather, it seemed to be a technique of some sort.  He heard Apple Bloom say, "I get it, she's drifting!"

Whatever "drifting" was, it worked.  Scootaloo had passed half the other racers without losing any speed.

Then the course took the ponies into the forest, and Tightrope could no longer follow events as they unfolded.  He could only follow Pinkie Pie's announcements, which often made no sense--especially when she started talking about candy.  Tightrope saw other members of the audience donning binoculars, which the audience had actually been suggested to bring along, and so he followed suit and donned his own pair.  Even so, his view of the race was blocked by the trees, and even when he had a clear view the racers were so distant that he couldn't make out any details.

His heart jumped when Pinkie announced, "It looks like Scootaloo hit something!"

It felt to Tightrope like the world just stopped, nothing was happening, nopony was saying anything.

Then Spike called out, "No!  Scootaloo ramped it!  She ramped off that boulder that sits in front of Beaver Creek!"

Pinkie gasped excitedly, "You're right!"

Spike addressed the audience, "As you all know, Beaver Creek runs right across the race track at one point.  The water is only ankle-deep, but the mud is still enough to cost many racers their speed.  Races have been decided by how gracefully ponies handled Beaver Creek!"

Pinkie added, "It looks like Scootaloo gained second place!"

"She did!  Her jumping the creek entirely gave her a huge advantage!  It's just her and Jelly Jam Boree now!  If I were old enough to gamble, my money would be on Scootaloo!"

Tightrope asked, "Where are they?" and in response, Sweetie Belle turned him until he faced the proper direction.  He could see them now, coming towards one final bend.  Once again, Scootaloo hugged the inner turn, and used that "drifting" thing while her wings worked overtime to maintain her speed.  Uh-oh!  Jelly Jam Boree had done the same thing!

The race was neck-and-neck, and in this final straightaway all it came down to was speed.  Scootaloo's opponent was also a pegasus, and both of them were trying to generate as much speed as they could.  As they got closer, Tightrope could almost swear that he saw smoke coming off of Scootaloo's wings.

It was only now that Tightrope noticed that a yellow ribbon had been put between the poles of the starting line, which was now the finishing line.  He knew that whoever tore that ribbon first would win.  Scootaloo was so close, but he couldn't tell who was ahead.  He could do nothing but hope.  For some reason, he started whispering a countdown to himself.

"Five... four... three... two... one..."

The ribbon tore, and a camera flashed!  Tightrope dared not believe it until he heard it announced.

"Scootaloo wins!"

The little pegasus stood on her hind legs and raised her arms in triump.  Her friends came down to hoist her into the air in celebration, and it was now that Tightrope realized he had been right:  There had been smoke coming off her wings!  She had flapped them so fast that they were burning red!

The hot-air balloon descended, and Spike carried the microphone to the stand, where he said, "Congratulations, Scootaloo, on winning this year's race!  You really put a lot into it this year!  How do you feel?"

Spike held the microphone to her, and Scootaloo only took a second to state her answer.  "Alive."

"Pardon?"

"I went real fast..." she had to take a breath, "and going fast... makes me feel alive."

For some reason, those words caused tears to well up in Tightrope's eyes.

Going fast might've made Scootaloo feel alive, but Tightrope was sure the post-victory celebration at Sugarcube Corner didn't hurt.  Scootaloo herself only wanted a drink, but she payed for anything her friends ordered by using a portion of her prize money--a hundred bits, which had been inside the trophy.  A warm, festive atmosphere wafted through the house.  Everywhere Tightrope looked, ponies looked like they all got exactly what they wanted.  Even Raydence, at the counter, was getting his long-awaited cotton candy which had been reserved especially for him.  Pinkie Pie, too, was getting a good mane-scruffling, which she seemed to enjoy very much.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders talked amongst themselves, taking the occasional moment to sip their drinks and nibble their snacks, as they talked about the race again and again.  It took them about an hour to finish their refreshments, at which point Scootaloo asked, "Anyone want more?"

Sweetie Belle said, "No thanks.  Umm... actually, I hate to bring this up, but..."

The other three Crusaders went silent, all guessing where Sweetie Belle was about to go.

Scootaloo nodded.  "I guess it's time.  Follow me," she left a tip on the table before leading the girls out the door.  Outside, she glanced back once to make sure they were all still with her, and waved for them to follow before walking down the street.  The sun was low in the sky, and in a few minutes, it would be gone.  The sight gave Tightrope a strange feeling that this would be a night he would never forget.

Scootaloo led them down a road that took them to the eastern edge of Ponyville, to a place where the number of houses diminished until they reached the very outskirt, where just one lone house stood between them and the Everfree Forest.  It was a single-story house, and yet the thick oaken timbers which made up its outer wall and roof gave it a sense of strength, especially in a town where most houses had straw rooftops.  The door was smooth, and looked as though it were made of one large block of wood whittled and smoothed to the proper size, whereas most Ponyville doors were multiple planks and two connecting beams, and often with little gaps.  A light was on in this house.  Somepony was home.

Scootaloo knocked on the door.

Tightrope heard soft hoofsteps approaching, and the door opened, revealing the occupant to be a white-maned, silver-furred mare who Tightrope immediately felt reminded him of Miss Cheerilee, except older.  She had a soft look in her eyes, which he read as gentleness... but also something else, something not-as-good but not exactly evil.  Weariness?  Sadness?  Maybe he was imagining it.  After all, she was smiling a little.

"Hello, Scootaloo," the woman greeted.  "Are these friends of yours?"

"Hello, Mrs. Zoomer," Scootaloo replied, and immediately Tightrope glanced her way.  It was just odd to hear Scootaloo sound formal, even if only a little.  "I came to tell Zam about the big race."

"I understand," the older mare nodded, and stepped aside to allow the children entry.

Tightrope glanced at Sweetie Belle, and could see that she felt the same way he did.  During the walk, Sweetie Belle had kept smirking, thinking she'd finally have her chance to tell off a pony she considered nothing but a big cheater, but that had changed the minute she crossed the threshold.  Now, they were all uncertain.  They knew this was leading up to something, and only Scootaloo knew what.

For that matter, Scootaloo had clearly been in this house before, for she led them right to a door at the end of a hall, ignoring all other doors.  Tightrope watched as Scootaloo opened the door to what he knew to be Zam Zoomer's room.

Tightrope had no idea what to expect a child's bedroom to be like, but he knew that his wasn't it.  There were no toys, no books or other personal belongings.  There was not even a bed.  Instead, there was an altar against the far wall, in the center of which was a photo of a unicorn colt with gray fur and a silver-white mane.

"Wh-what is this?"  Sweetie Belle asked, utterly taken aback.

Tightrope gave it a glance over, and answered her, "I... think that in that drawer under the picture... are his ashes."

Sweetie Belle glanced wide-eyed at him, and then at Scootaloo.  Her face clearly showed that she wanted to hear a denial from the pegasus, but instead she got a confirmation:  Scootaloo was sitting on her haunches, with the flat of her forehooves touching each other.  She was in prayer.  A second later, Apple Bloom joined her, as did Tightrope and Sweetie Belle, the latter in tears.

"Hey, Zam," Scootaloo said softly, "I came to let you know that I totally kept my promise today.  I almost didn't make it, because I messed up a drift right at the beginning, and everyone zoomed right by me.  But I got it together, and got back some of my lead by the time I got to the U-turn.  Oh, man, Berry Challenger put up such a fight!  You remember that guy, right?  Well, anyway... The thing that won the race was that trick you told me about, where you ramp up the boulder and jump over Beaver Creek.  Man, thank you so much for that!  That's why I was able to keep my promise."

Sweetie Belle was sobbing loudly now, and now she broke from prayer-sit and practically demanded, "Scootaloo, what's going on?  What promise?"  Scootaloo slowly looked at Sweetie, who then added, "What really happened last year?"

Scootaloo glanced at Zam's picture, as if to say Excuse me, and then turned toward's Sweetie Belle.

"After the race, I stormed off to give Zam Zoomer a piece of my mind... But he saw me, and he thanked me.  I said 'for what?' and he said 'for letting me win.  I know I couldn't have beat you for real.'  He thought his folks had put me up to it, because... because he had... oh, I can't remember its name, but it ate at his insides or something."

Tightrope's mind immediately searched for the name of that disease, but there were at least half a dozen he could think of that fit those symptoms.  All were terrible.  They also all had something else in common that bothered the colt, and he pointed out, "But... those diseases get worse the more you move around.  Entering a race probably..."

Scootaloo nodded.  "Yeah, I know.  He knew, too."

Sweetie Belle practically whined, "And he raced anyway?  Why would he do that?"

Tightrope thought he knew the answer.  "Because... going fast made him feel alive too, right?"

Scootaloo smiled.  "Yep... that's it.  He didn't care that he'd die faster, as long as... he got to die... with a smile on his face."  By the time she finished, Scootaloo's voice had become a choking sob.  Yet she mustered control of herself to say one last thing, "Before he passed on, I promised him that next time... I'd win first place for both of us.  That reminds me..."

Scootaloo reached for her bit bag, and Tightrope guessed she intended to give half the prize money to Zam Zoomer's memory, but before she did, there came a cold breeze, and Scootaloo looked as if somepony had spoken to her.  She asked, "You're sure?"  Then followed with, "Oh, okay..."

Apple Bloom had fought hard to maintain her composure, but even the tough little farmer pony was dropping wetness from her eyes and fighting hard to keep her voice from breaking, as she told Zam, "Ah... Ah'm sorry Ah ever... thought so badly of you."

Sweetie Belle quickly tried to resume prayer-pose, so she could say, "Yeah, me too."  But her composure was too wrecked for her to say anything more and remain intelligible.

Tightrope also resumed the prayer-pose.  He had intended to apologize for being jealous, but just as the barest sound uttered from his mouth, he felt a cool breeze, and a sensation like a hoof was being held gently against his mouth, like Surprise does when she wants to say something without being interrupted.  Tightrope's ears picked up the sound of a voice, quiet and distant, as though of a colt speaking quietly from the far end of a cave.  He shouldn't have been able to make out the words, but he could.  The words were Take care of her.

Tightrope nodded, and said, "I will."

"Why did you say, 'I will'?"  Scootaloo asked him, as they were walking back to Sugarcube Corner, where they had all planned to meet their sisters or guardians and finally separate, heading home for the night.  This was the third time Scootaloo had asked about Tightrope's words, and for some reason Tightrope felt like it would've been wrong to answer earlier, but that feeling had now passed.

"Zam asked me to take care of you," Tightrope admitted.

Scootaloo's answer was to give him a cynical smirk.  "Uh-huhhh.  'Take care of' me, huh?"  The pegasus spared a glance towards Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, noting their attempts to pretend they weren't interested at all.  Turning her attention again to Tightrope, Scootaloo moved very close beside him and, turning her head to emphasize her smirk, asked, "And just what do you mean by that?"

Tightrope didn't catch her meaning, and innocently answered, "I guess he wants me to protect you, and stuff."

Scootaloo chuckled, "And... stuff."

They heard approaching hooves, and looked ahead to see Rainbow Dash cantering towards them.  Scootaloo sighed as the cyan speedster neared, and said, "Well, I guess this is where I get off.  Rainbow Dash always comes to take me to her place when its time to turn in," she explained for Tightrope's benefit.

"Not just yet!"  The mare with the rainbow mane announced unexpectedly.  "I want to show you something first.  Surprise has a surprise for you kids!"

"A surprise?"  Scootaloo asked.  She and her four friends had a sudden case of overwhelming curiosity which compelled them to follow the older pony to Surprise's humble abode.  Even as they neared the door, they heard strange sounds and music coming from within.  The sounds were not exactly unpleasant, just none of the kids could identify the style or the instruments.

The first thing they saw upon entering was Surprise on the counter, a smile on her face, next to Rainbow Dash, and Applejack was on the floor below.  Near them, Pinkie Pie and Raydence were playing with some small devices, connected to a box that was giving off a strange glow.  As the kids walked around, they saw the box didn't simply glow--it had a picture in it!  A picture which seemed to be being controlled by Pinkie and Raydence!

The children sat down around Applejack, and Apple Bloom asked, "What is this thing?"

Surprise answered, "It's a video game."

A weird sound came from the video game, and Pinkie said, "Aww, they got me!"

Tightrope moved next to Raydence, and asked, "What is this?"

"Contra.  Wanna play?"

"Sure!"  Tightrope answered, and Raydence handed him the controller, which was a joystick with large buttons, and then moved to the couch.

"Me too!"  Scootaloo said, and Pinkie handed over her controller and then she, too, moved to the couch.  Perhaps to be with Radey-Wadey, but Tightrope barely cared about that.  Once more, he and Scootaloo were on a team, taking the role of a pair of humans fighting an evil army...

It seemed like only seconds later they were at the "Game Over" screen.  Tightrope was about to make a comment, but Scootaloo had already chosen "Continue," so the fight was on... but not for much longer.  Soon the game told them they were out of Continues.

Tightrope was so angry he smacked the floor, which got him a disapproving glance from Scootaloo.  "If you're not up to the challenge..."

"He's up to it!"  Sweetie Belle cut her off, and went around to Tightrope's side, so she could whisper in his ear, "You wanna show her what a tough guy you are, right?"

When he thought about it like that, Tightrope started to think that maybe he wasn't ready to give up yet.  Even so...

Then Raydence said, "There is a way to make it easier."

"There is?"  Tightrope and Sweetie Belle both exclaimed at the same time, the young unicorn clearly gleeful at the news.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes.  She didn't have to see Sweetie Belle's face to know that the little unicorn saw this as another opportunity to try to hook her up with Tightrope.  What she was curious about, were Tightrope's feelings.

Surprise said, "I'm not sure, Raydence.  We shouldn't teach them to cheat."

Tightrope turned around to look up at Surprise, and it seemed to Scootaloo that he really wanted the old pegasus to give in.

"Well," Scootaloo suggested, "If Tightrope really needs the practice..."

Tightrope quickly glanced at her, and it was all-too-obvious that her comment had made him hopeful.  He might not care about the game, and he might not have been in on Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's original scheme, but he clearly wanted the same thing they did, even if he was too dense to admit it.

Surprise, too, got the message.  With a smile and a sigh she said, "All right.  Ray?"

Raydence came down, and demonstrated with Tightrope's controller.  "Now, here's what you do.  Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start."

Tightrope repeated that, doing the commands as he did so.  When the game started, he saw that both he and Scootaloo had thirty lives.

He was very, very pleased with that.

Raydence stood and leaned against the counter, feeling a softness and a bout of nostalgia as he watchd the two kids play.  He said to Surprise, "Sorta reminds you of someone, doesn't it?"

Surprise sighed whistfully.  "I only wish this could last."

"Who says it can't?"

Surprise glanced at him doubtfully.

Raydence wasn't perturbed.  "Just look at them.  You used to say the strongest magic in the world was whatever brings a smile to a child's face.  Maybe the world will bend around their wishes!"

Surprise half-smiled.  "I hope so," she sighed.  "I really hope so."

To be continued...