The sun shone brightly in the small and humble town of Ponyville. Though it was actually rather sizeable, there weren't enough businesses that produced notoriety for the town. The clouds were cleared by various pegasi, who zipped and dashed across the sky with eager smiles on their faces. Many ponies filled the streets of the little town with various decorations and banners, singing praises and songs to the exciting news of their beloved ruler coming to their town once more. Though it will be the second time in the span of a week, they still treated the visitation as if it was the first. Though to them, it was the first time outside of a major holiday or event that the princess would grace the cheerful townsponies.

Fillies ran up and down the streets and colts dashed across the way as they bypassed the one place that brought a smile to many of their faces. With gumdrop doorknobs, gingerbread drywall, frosted gutters, window seals laced in chocolate wafers, cotton candy colored windows and decked to the brim with as much sweets as a young foal could dream of ingesting, this fantasial wonderland of sugar was one of the prime estates that the small town had to offer. There was no other bakery that came close in comparison. A couple's dream that came true in the form of their spiritual successors; Sugarcube Corner.

Inside, a turquoise mare with a pink mane was giving orders to an energetic, young pinkaholic mare who just graduated high school the past year.

"Pinkie, don't forget to-"

"Change the oil out of the doughnut fryer, got it!"

"Yes. And also, I want you to-"

"Organize the spices in the cabinets in order from commonly used to rare, okey dokey lokie!"

"And Pinkie, where is my-"

"Your pen is behind your left ear, silly!" The energetic mare pointed out as the older mare looked up to the location that was previously pointed out. With a sigh she raised a hoof and grabbed the pen off of her ear, writing off a checklist that she created to maintain the maintenance of the eatery.

"Thanks Pinkie."

The poofy-maned mare zipped across the room to survey what was going on in the kitchen. As she dipped her head into the room, she saw a orange stallion working in the kitchen while looking after something in the oven. She raised her voice once more to notify her employer. "Oh! And Mr. Cake is watching over the cake that you placed in the oven about three minutes ago!"

"Well that's a relief. Oh, and please be a dear-"

Pinkie zipped back to the other side of the room, standing next to her boss as she wrapped a hoof around the neck of the older mare. "Mrs. Cake, don't worry! Everything is going to be just fi-Ooooh! Pretty picture!"

Cup Cake shook her head as she watched the sudden attention span of the pink mare shrink to the size of a flea as she tra-la-la'd to the small portrait on the display counter. Normally she would be too busy trying to throw parties, cater to a variety of events or tending to the kitchen to notice it. But for some odd reason, she saw interest of the photograph of a young filly and her two parents. They stood in front of a large abandoned building holding up a large sign saying 'A dream starts with the first nail'. The sepia-toned portrait invoked the curiosity of the attracted mare.

"Hey Mrs. Cake, who's the ponies in this picture?"

Cup walked over to the young employee and looked over her shoulder to see the picture in question. With a light sigh, she gave her an answer.

"I remember that day. That was the day my father bought an abandoned property here in the town. He worked extremely hard to fix that property up."

"So that's your dad? So I'm assuming that this beautiful mare is your mother?"

Cup Cake smiled in hearing the compliment to her mother as she responded to the question. "Yes. And the little one in the middle that's struggling to hold up the sign from underneath is me."

"Wow... What ever happened to them? I don't see or hear about them much." Pinkie asked, invoking a deep sadness in Cup as she was reminded of the concrete fact of what was, is and always will be.

"My mother... She fell ill and passed away when I was still a preteen. My father passed on shortly after I graduated high school. Ever since, I've been taking care of that property that those two passed on to me and Carrot. We weren't even married when my father's will came in stating that he would take the co-managing position of the property. Fast forward from then to today and... well let's just say that my parents dream came true through the both of us."

Pinkie felt a bit of sadness in hearing the story of her employer losing both of her parents at an early age. One would expect these kinds of losses when they were old enough to see grandchildren. It's was unfortunate that the two deceased entrepreneurs would never see their own grandfoals in the coming months. But that wasn't the only thing that drove the poofy-maned Pinkie to shed tears along with her boss.

"Pinkie dear, why are you crying?"

"Oh... It reminds me of a loss that I experienced before I moved here."

"Your grandmother, Granny Pie?"

"Yeah." The pink party pony whispered as she wiped away a tear. "I'll never forget her last words."

"Oh... Pinkie."

"She said something that I still remember to this day. Well she said a lot of things, but she spoke of a poem before she closed her eyes for the last time."

My dear, Pinkie I say
that I fear this will be my last day.
So before I go, some wisdom I'll share
So that you'll forever be in good care.

When they come, they'll darken the skies
and they'll consume all crops before their very eyes.
But remember this list and you will see,
what kind of a hero you will be.

A trombone to fanfare the melody
An accordion to patch out a symphony
A tambourine is what you should also use
and a harmonica to sing the blues.

A banjo to pluck, some cymbals to crash,
A tuba for bottom and a bass drum to bash.
A final dose to break their spell,
is found in the hint of a little cowbell.

Play and prance with all your might,
for that the insect horde will leave by night.
And with the final insect left bouncing away,
you would stand tall as the savior of the day.

That is all I can share with you right now.
My life-long performance is over, it's time I'd take my bow.
But remember to smile, to laugh and to play.
Remember to be happy for the rest of your days.

"And those were her last words. They still touch me deep in my heart."

While Pinkie tried to recover from her tears, Cup tried her best to recover from the strange words that she had heard come from her employee's mouth. Though she knew that Pinkie had always had a thing for saying something that was off the wall, she decided that it was for the best to disregard her statements and move on with the day. It was just Pinkie being herself. Though she was more saddened in remembering her grandmother. It was always a difficult thing to deal with in her case. It was the sole reason why she moved to Ponyville after all.

Cup took a moment to think about how she could get the attentions of her pink party worker. Almost instantly, an imaginary light bulb shined overhead as an idea came to mind. She took notice of all of the cakes and pies lying around and thought that the best thing to cheer her up was to at least allow her to sample some of the baked goods. If there was anything that Cup learned from her father, it was that the sweets that they made often put smiles on the faces of those who partook in them.

"Pinkie, how would you like to be the taste tester for the sweets today?"

"...And that's why I'm considered the best flier in all of Equestria."

As the cyan-colored pegasus mare complete her final statements, a wave of silence filled the lobby of the Carousel Boutique. Her only audience member merely looked at her before clopping her hooves in false praise.

"Bravo. Such intricate details. So many astounding facts." The seamstress cheered flatly, earning a dejected expression from her visitor.

"Your sarcasm is showing."

"Well, you could argue that you could be one of the best fliers in all of Equestria. It wouldn't make any sense to proclaim yourself under that title when you don't even have the proper resume to prove yourself right."

Hearing the words that the fashionista chose, she rejected the argument and shunned the fact that her 'generous' nature would cause her to be so harsh and reality driven. "Yeesh, Element of Generosity."

Hearing the mumbled words of the rainbow-maned mare, she walked up to her in a show of concern. She didn't mean to cause harm, but she did want her to see that her statement was rather exaggerated. "Sorry Rainbow Dash, but I just don't want to see your... *ahem* ...ego get in the way of your natural talent. Those who rely on their ego usually don't fare off so well."

"How do you know that for certain?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rarity took a moment to think about the events of a past that she long chose to forget. It was an event that caused her mother so much pain and even threatened to cause harm to her. It was something that always plagued her whenever it came to letting one's pride get in the way and as a result, she definitely took the time to humble herself before allowing her ego to overtake her sense of rationality.

"It's... a long story that I would rather not get into. However, hear that you want to try and look presentable for the princess."

"Shhh!" Rainbow Dash silenced the snow-white mare with a hoof, as her eyes darted from one side of the room to another. She didn't want anypony to hear about her being in a boutique for aesthetic reasons. "Not so loud. I do have a reputation to uphold, remember?"

Rarity lit her horn as she levitated the cyan hoof away from her lips and trotted to one of her mannequins. "Oh come now Rainbow Dash. I am not the one to disclose secrets. As a lady, I know how to remain low key when it comes to private discussions. Whatever happens or is said in my presence is often gone unrecalled."

"How do I know that for certain? You could be one of those gossip ponies." Rainbow says as she points a hoof to the elegant seamstress.

Rarity cleared her throat before she made her rebuttal. "Well... I do participate in the usual gossip of another. But usually those matters are already in an undisclosed fashion, meaning that everypony already knows about it. And I never speak of what is told directly to me from the anonymous party. I may gossip on public issues, but when it comes to more revealing issues... well let's just say that I've managed to keep a lid on all of it."

Rainbow sighed deeply before she slowly started trotting over to Rarity. "...Okay. But the moment this comes out to anypony, I'll be coming for you. And trust me when I say this: I hurt mares and stallions equally."

"Well I guarantee that you won't be needing to hunt me down. So let's get started shall we?" Rarity agreed as she pointed to the podium that she wanted her client to model on. "Up here please."

Rainbow Dash did as she was instructed and leapt up to the podium. As she landed, she noticed that she was getting a disapproving glance from the fashion-savvy mare. It seemed that she didn't take a liking to her unnecessary aerobics. "Alright. I want to look somewhat presentable for the princess. But I gotta look awesome. It has to be something amazing."

Rarity moved the mannequin from one side of the room as it had a fuchsia and gold dress with a large powder wig set on the top of it's head. "Well, I suppose wigs are considered a big thing this time of year, especially with the nobles. How about it Rainbow Dash? I'll set you up with one of my newest creations."

Rainbow saw exactly where this was going in the eyes of the fashion mare. There was no escaping the reality of being roped up into another one of Rarity's experimental fashions. This was a solid indication that it was going to be a long day for her. With a large gulp, she said the only phrase that could accurately describe what her mind was thinking of at that very moment.

"Uh-oh."

"What happened to the rest of her name!?"

"We couldn't fit it all in."

"You can't hang a banner that says 'Welcome, Princess Celest'. Take it down and try again!"

As the young lavender mare finished scolding a pair of mares for their inability of adjusting the font of the letter to fit the banner's length, she began to trot down the cobblestone road within the town's central park. As she walked, she took notice of a beautiful patch of flowers that were being tended to. The flowers were a mixture of blues and violets that graced her snout with the alluring scent of the summer nectar. She halted her walk to give the mare who watered the flowers her approval.

"That looks perfect! Keep up the good work." Twilight said as the other mare smiled back and continued watering the flower patch.

The lavender mare kept a smile on her face as she strolled through much of the town and complimented a variety of others on a job well done. She had to also politely scold some of the others on some minor details, though she gave them credit for the efforts that they gave. Twilight was not the one to let small things breeze by her; she was rather invested into seeing that everything was going to be perfect for the princess' arrival.

Almost instantly, her stomach started to growl. It was obvious that her running across the town and going back to the library to help clean up would cause her to gain a sizable appetite. She made her way to the one place that she knew that she could not only grab a snack, but also check on the progress of the preparations. She would be able to knock out two birds with a single stone.

The bells of Sugarcube Corner rang as she entered the bakery. Upon walking in, she saw the Cakes hard at work as they were busy rolling dough and placing cakes out on display.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. How's the banquet coming?" Twilight asked.

The turquoise mare turned around and gave the young lavender mare a worried look as she pointed to the other side of the room. "Um... It would be coming a little better if..."

As she took notice of the half eaten cakes and pastries all over the far end of the bakery, Twilight felt a growing concern fill her mind. But before she could ask anything else, she saw a pink pony completely leveling a large pink cake with white frosting. As the pink mare came up from her destructive antic, she wore a beard made entirely of vanilla frosting. And after noticing, she promptly swirled her tongue around her face and rid herself of the evidence.

Twilight immediately ran over to the pink saboteur and stopped shy of her face, angry that all of the Cakes' hard work was all for nothing. "Pinkie! What are you doing!? Those sweets are supposed to be for the princess!"

The pink pony nervously clopped her hooves together as she gave her reason on why she was pigging out on the sweets. "I know. That's why I'm tasting them. Somepony needs to make sure that everything is tasty enough to touch the royal tongue." The pink party pony ran from behind the table full of the destroyed deserts and walked over to the adjacent counter as she took notice of another sample. "And I, Pinkie Pie, declare that these treats are fit for a king, or a queen, or a princess."

Before the mare could open her mouth wide enough to ingest the next victim of her frosted genocide, Twilight gave her a stern look that said 'do that and I'll drive a hoof down your throat'. Pinkie ignored Twilight's warning out of not paying any attention. Though what grabbed her attention was the sound of another voice entering into the bakery.

"Twilight, Pinkie, you won't believe..." As the yellow mare galloped inside, she skid across the floor and stopped herself, thinking that she was probably disrupting a conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, am I interrupting?

"No, not at all. Come on in and make yourself at home!" Pinkie said right before rolling out her tongue and demolishing a cake before her very eyes, earning a look of criticism from her friend Twilight. "What's going on, Fluttershy?"

"You won't believe what I found at the edge of the Everfree Forest." The yellow pegasus said as she looked to a long lock of her pink mane, indicating that there was something within. "Come on out, little guy. It's okay."

In an instant, three little creatures jumped from the pink mane of Fluttershy, invoking a gasp to part from the mare's lips.

"Three?" She questioned, remembering that she came to the shop with only one.

"They're amazing! What are they?" Twilight asked as she trotted over to see what the little creatures were called.

Fluttershy looked in confusion as the three critters took to the air. "I'm not sure. I'm also not sure where these other two came from."

"I'll take one off your hooves. I've never seen anything so... adorable. Besides, it'll be nice to have a companion for Spike so he won't bother me so much while I'm studying." The purple mare answered as she snuggled the yellow bulb that flew over to her.

"Pinkie, do you want the other one?" Fluttershy asked to her friend.

Pinkie looked on in disgust. She knew what exactly were those creatures were. Immediately, she had a flashback of her Granny Pie's poem before her passing. This was just the beginning of an even larger problem to occur. "Bleugh! A parasprite? Are you kidding?"

"Ugh?" Fluttershy asked surprised at her friends disgust for something so cute.

"A para-what?" Twilight asked, thinking that Pinkie was up to her usual antics.

"How could you not like-" Fluttershy tried to ask before the pink pony interrupted her.

"Ugh. Now I gotta go find a trombone." Pinkie said as she ran for the front door.

"A what?" Twilight asked, even more confused as to why she would need an instrument.

"A trombone. You know." Pinkie Pie said as she imitated the instrument in question before leaping off to find one.

Twilight shook her head and sighed as she finally came to the conclusion that her friend didn't exactly have all of her cupcakes in the oven. She once again dismissed her antics and carried on with her day.

"Typical Pinkie."

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Come in!" Rarity muffled out to the door as she refocused her attention to the mare on the modeling podium, sewing pins in her teeth. "Stand still, Rainbow Dash!"

Rarity tilted her head as she tried to pin down parts of a brand new dress she created for the visitation of the princess. Her cyan-colored model had different plans.

"I can't!" The rainbow maned pegasus shouted in obvious frustration, trying to take to the air. "I need to fly! This is way too boring for me."

Rarity spat out the sewing pens, trying to emphasize the importance of her friend standing still. As Rainbow tried to escape from the seamstress, the indigo-maned pony pointed out that the princess was to arrive tomorrow.

"Do you want to look nice for Princess Celestia or not?"

While the rainbow-maned mare sat and pouted on her inability to take to the air, Twilight entered the room and took notice of the newest creation that the fashion pony had set up for Rainbow Dash.

"Wow. Rarity, those outfits are gorgeous." Twilight complimented.

Rarity hummed with satisfaction in hearing her work being beautiful. "Thank you, Twilight. Nice to know someone appreciates my talents."

Rarity turns her head as soon as she saw the slightest motion in her peripherals. To her prediction it was none other than Rainbow being annoyed of having to model instead of flying around. Rainbow Dash drug both of her hooves down her face as she emphasized on how she was feeling.

"Ugh, sooo boooring."

"Purrreee?"

"Huh?" Rarity said as she heard an unfamiliar sound.

"What's that sound Twilight?" Rainbow asked finally finding something that appealed to her curiosity. She even took the distractive moment to take the air once more.

Chirping noises were heard as the two other mares closed in on Twilight, trying to identify what the sound was. As they were continually asking what noise was coming from Twilight, a small pink bulb with bright green eyes. Also with the pink critter showed the yellow one that Twilight originally had on the way to the boutique and a dark blue one that jumped to her back.

"Wow, what are they?" Rainbow asked, taken in by the little creature.

Twilight looked at the three smiling bulbs that sat on her back. "The better question is, where did they come from? I only had one a minute ago."

"I'll take one!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Me too! Oh, they're perfect!" Rarity agreed as the door to the boutique opened once more.

"Does anypony know where I can find an accordion?" Pinkie asks as soon as she walks in.

The girls continue to snuggle and hug their newest pets, much to the distress of Pinkie Pie. The pink pony raised her voice in hopes of getting her point across. "Girls!? Hello, This is important!"

The three other ponies still continue to ignore her as they start to make a variety of baby noises. Rarity is busy watching the blue bulb fly around, sometimes landing on the tip of her horn. Rainbow Dash is busy petting hers to notice who was at the door. Twilight was busy nuzzling her own. Ultimately, Pinkie concluded that the three mares were not going to be of help for the time being and stormed out of the doorway.

"Arrgh! Thanks a lot!"

"Score one for us! The little bastards are gone and now we won't have to deal with 'em for another hundred years!"

"Shit who cares!? We'll be dead by then!"

Numerous guards in the halls of the Canterlot Palace have taken to their mugs and started praising their efforts to keep the damages to a minimum while the migration took place. Though there were some losses in the food, it wasn't enough to declare a state of emergency. And as a result, many of the guards were either given the next day off or the remaining night off in honor of their momentous victory.

Among those shouting and dancing blindly in the halls was that none other than the four stallions that often hung around each other. Throughout high school, basic training, and even up to this point, the stallions have persisted through life and their friendship remained. The four sat at a table in the dining hall, discussing the events of the day.

"And that's how I learned how to do my first incantation." Azure said as he recalled the training that the princesses managed to give him on casting spells.

"Congrats, mane! I can't even believe what the hell had happened today. First the bugs, then Azure learning his first advanced level spell and now Blueblood fighting alongside Shining Armor." Longshot added.

"So how was it fighting alongside Prince Dickhead?" Poindexter asked while taking back a mug of the cider.

"Well-"

"Did he try to hide under a pillow?" Longshot asked first.

"Did he have one of his maids do it for him?" Poindexter asked as he stacked on top of Longshot.

"Did he actually cry?" Azure asked as he stacked on top of both Poindexter and Longshot.

Shining laughed at their usual hijinks and smiled as he gave his answer. "Surprisingly no. He was actually rather smart and he even had an idea to stave off the parasprites' attacks. It's just too bad that he's so closed-minded about protecting other that he's willing to let others suffer. That's just my only complaint, but aside from that he appeared to be a very competent soldier."

"So that little light show he threw back in high school was actually legit? I would've thought that somepony else was doing those spells behind the scenes." Azure asked, referring back to the night of the Spring Fling of '92.

"Yeah. He knows some pretty powerful stuff that not even my little sister had even heard of." Shining retorted as he took back his own mug, drinking down the cold cider.

"Shit. So you must be a legit walking powerhouse if you go around challenging him on a daily basis." Poindexter asked as he signaled to the maids for another round of cider.

Shining chucked at his friend's implication. "Heh heh... Maybe I have a little something that you guys don't know about."

"Woah there, I don't roll on that side of the barn." Azure joked, taking the statement out of context.

The four stallions all laughed collectively as they continued to joke on the matter of the day's outcome. But before a new subject could be brought up, a voice echoed throughout the halls.

"Hey boys, we got a fix on where the little bastards are headed!"

"What's the sitrep, Silverleaf?" Shining asked as he heard the news.

"The swarm has separated itself into two halves. One half has move east, the other moved south of here. The one that is moving up east from here is scheduled to hit the Hollow Shades come tomorrow afternoon. And if we follow the wind currents that are now sweeping the plains, their migratory route of the southbound swarm could be diverted to that of the Everfree Forest."

"That means for the most part that they would hit Ponyville within the next day, and that's the best case scenario. If not, then they would probably bypass Ponyville and hit Appaloosa next as a worst-case scenario. Appaloosa is an agricultural phenom. Lose that and we could easily lose some of our food." Shining concluded.

"The good news is that they shouldn't hit the town until after the princess' visit." Siverleaf added to his summary. "In fact they would just be arriving by nightfall."

"Have you tried to explain to Princess Celestia on why her visit would have to be cancelled?" Shining asked his subordinate.

"Tried and failed, sir. She's adamant on visiting her student. For what reason, she will not say."

Shining shook his head at the warning. He always knew that the princess had a habit of making things difficult. "Then I will assign an escort party. Come dawn, I want you to give her the best pegasi you can find in all of Canterlot."

"Yes sir."

Shining watched as the stallion trotted off into the hall. He took a deep breath, counted to three and resumed his drinking. If there was one thing that he didn't want to interrupt is night off was the fact that a hardheaded princess insisted to visit a small town in the middle of a infestation. He was going to enjoy his night, guilt-free or not.

"So who's ready to play some spades?"

"I may not know where all of you may have came from but there is one thing that I can get behind. And that is not only are you adorable, but you're also quite useful."

The next morning, Rarity waltzed around the boutique as she instructed the sudden multitude of the bulb-shaped insects danced around her and followed her every direction. It was almost as if she was a conductor and the cheery little bulbs were her entire symphonic orchestra. With a wave of a hoof, she direct some of the little critters to lift a cloth from one side of the boutique to another. With a flick of her head, she ushered them to release the cloth that they carried. Everything was as she desired it to be and her clothing lines were created much quicker. And as a reward, they were often treated with cuddles from the snowy mare.

"Purr-ack!"

As her pet coughs and gags on something, Rarity shows concern for it's health. "Oh! Are you okay?"

With a final gag, the orange bulb coughed up a fuzzball the size equivalent of it's own body. As it found a landing on the eyelid of the fashionista, she expressed her disgust in a shriek. Upon removing the sticky mess from her eye, she held it in her hoof and saw the brown shape distort into a smooth sphere and instantly grow a pair of wings and eyeballs. It was then when she realized how the numerous bugs came to be.

"Gross gross gross! No creature that behaves so revoltingly is allowed in my boutique!"

As she turned around, she had witnessed yet another one of the bulbs having digestive issues. As it coughed up a similar ball of bile, it too transformed into yet another creature. Rarity screamed in abject horror as she watched another three do the same thing just down the hall.

"That's it! I've had enough of this! You and all of your little revolting friends can leave my boutique! All of you! Get out!"

35 Minutes Later...

Rarity closed the door to her boutique as she exited with a set of bulging saddle bags. She wore an angry expression as she check whether or not the insects would find themselves flying out of her bags as she walked. She levitated the keys to her front door and locked the door as she gained an unexpected visitor. Pinkie Pie eagerly bounced over to the brooding mare to speak.

"Look Rarity, Applejack loaned me a harmonica. Isn't that great?"

Rarity looked behind her as she heard one of the annoying insects chirp. And upon noticing that the bag had started to become undone, she pressed the creatures inside under the loosened lid as a means to discourage their escape.

"And not a moment too soon." Pinkie continued as she watched the distressed mare close her bags.

"Ugh, Pinkie, I'm a little busy right now."

"And I'm not? You know how many more instruments I've gotta find? A lot, that's how many. Now if we split the list between us, we might just make it in time."

Rarity groaned in displeasure as she decided that her friend was talking more nonsense. She didn't have the time to deal with her. There were more pressing matters than trying to help Pinkie. "Please, Pinkie, I don't have time for some silly scavenger hunt. I've got a real problem."

As Rarity walked away she could hear her friend call out to her. "You've got a real problem alright. And a banjo is the only answer!"

As the fashionista walked further down the road, she ran directly into another one of her friends. Luckily, it wasn't the pony that insisted on grocery shopping. As she stop walking, Twilight came to a skidding halt before her. Her mouth fell with a gasp as she noticed the saddle bags that Rarity was wearing.

"I see we're having the same problem." Rarity pointed out.

"Ditto!" Said a third, who was revealed to be Rainbow Dash trying to evade a small gathering of the annoying bulbs.

"Fluttershy knows everything about animals." Twilight recalled as the three ponies broke into a full-speed gallop, making their way to Fluttershy's front door. As they made it to their destination, Twilight offered to knock on the door. But before she could, the door swung wide open, unleashing a massive flood of the annoying critters. "I'm sure she can tell us how to stop them from multiplying."

"...or not." Twilight finished as she called out for the mare inside. "Do something Fluttershy, can't you control them?"

Fluttershy was preoccupied with trying to dodge the insects that carried a variety of her belongings, ranging from cookware to household appliances. "I've tried everything I know: I've tried begging, and pleading, and beseeching, and asking politely and..."

"If we can't get them under control before the princess arrives, it'll be a total disaster." Twilight said as she imagined her mentor being abducted by the strange creatures. As she tried to snap herself out of her vision, another one of the insects coughed up yet another one of their own.

"Ew! If you ask me it's already a total disaster." Rarity corrected her friend.

As the four mares tried to think of something, another mare showed up in time to catch the mayhem that unfolded before their very eyes. Applejack arrived with a large wheelbarrow full of apples stacked tall.

"Here's all those apples ya wanted, Fluttershy, but Ah still can't figure why y'need so many."

Applejack soon found out exactly why the caretaker needed all of those apples. A sudden cloud of the multicolored insects swarmed the wagon and in seconds left it empty.

"HEY!" Applejack exclaimed in seeing her apples being stolen like that, though they were going to be eaten in the same manner either way.

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked as the other three watched Applejack shaking a furious hoof at the swarm that just took her apples.

"I got it!" Twilight shout out as she took notice of the cowpony before her. "No pony can herd like Applejack."

"Yeah! We can drive 'em back into the forest." Cosigned Rainbow Dash.

Applejack scoffed as she started to formulate a plan on how to get rid of the pesky little critters. "Ah'll rastle 'em up, but Ah need everypony's help ta do it. Twilight, you and Rarity wait over there. Ah'll herd the little critters straight at ya like a funnel. Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy stay on top of 'em, don't let 'em fly away."

"Aye-aye!" Rainbow called out, confirming the orders that were given out. Applejack kicked her hooves into the air as she called out her notable 'yee-haw' and started herding the nearest group of parasprites together. As the pegasi pair took to the sky, they gathered the ones that were high into the air and ushered them towards the ground. As the time passed, they had amassed a large snowball of the the creatures.

"Alright y'all, here goes nothin'." Applejack sounded off as the five mares managed to get the ball rolling. As they ran, they guided the large sphere into the path that lead to the Everfree Forest.

Look out Rarity, that one's fixin' to get away. Keep a lead on 'em, Rainbow Dash. Hold on girls, we're almost there."

While the cowpony mare continued to give orders, the party of five received a sixth visitor.

"Pinkie!" Twilight shouted as she found herself running side by side with the pink mare.

"Twilight, we don't have much time."

"You're telling me. The princess could arrive at any moment."

"Exactly. That's why I need you gals to drop what you're doing and help me find some maracas."

"Maracas?" Twilight started to lose patience with the random mare and her rather unusual suggestions. "Pinkie, we've got much bigger problems than missing maracas."

"You're right! Getting a tuba has to be our number one goal. Follow me."

Twilight continued to run in the direction she was facing as Pinkie dashed in the opposite. Within a few seconds, Pinkie found herself running backwards in trying to get the girls to help her.

"I said, follow me!"

"Pinkie Pie, you are so random." Rainbow Dash groaned outwardly.

"And you are all so stubborn!" Pinkie said as she made her way in the opposite direction, even more frustrated with her friends' inability to pay attention to what she had to say.

"Forget her ladies. Focus. Head 'em up and move 'em out."

As they climbed a hill, they successfully managed to herd away the large ball of insects that infected their homes. The five mares rejoiced in their accomplishment as they made their way back to the cottage that Fluttershy stayed in. But not before commending their efforts to one another.

"All right!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she gave her aerial companion a hard high five.

"Ouch." Fluttershy whispered as she rubbed her hooves from the harsh gesture that she and Rainbow shared.

"We did it. Nice work, Applejack." Twilight said as the other two pegasi grounded themselves besides the workmare.

"Couldn't a'done it without y'all." Applejack said as she looked at many of the other ponies, her attention slightly taken by one of the mares.

Twilight led the group back to the cottage as she spoke. "Now let's get back and clean up the mess they made before the princess arrives."

As they arrived, Twilight continued on about how they were going to clean up the town. "Okay, everyone knows what to do, right? We gotta work extra hard to make up for lost time."

But before she could open up the door to the cottage, a second swarm of the creatures busted open the door and flew past the five mares. The group of ponies stood slack-jawed at the sight of another swarm being as large as the one that they had managed to get rid of, if not larger.

"Where did they all come from?" Twilight asked as she watched the swarm fly into the air.

"Well..." The timid pegasus began as she revealed a bright orange bulb that bounced happily on her back. "I may have kept just one."

The other mares were more than livid as they gave the yellow pegasus a death glare. Fluttershy tried to defend her argument.

"I couldn't help myself. They're just so cute."

"Princess, I implore you to reconsider. Our sources show that there will be an early infestation in both Ponyville and Fillydelphia come this afternoon. By the time you get there, it would've already started."

"I appreciate your concern for my well being Captain, but I'm afraid that not going is no longer a viable option. If they are being attacked by the swarm, then would it not be best for me to take my leave in an attempt to assist them?"

Celestia and her captain trotted down the halls of the palace as they made their way to the chariot bay. While they walked, Shining tried to convince the princess to cancel her visit and have him go instead to clear out the parasprites. Of course, she rejected the idea out of concern for her student.

"Princess, with all due respect-"

"Ponyville is about to be swarmed with a large amount of parasprites and I am one of the only few who can cast a spell that will be able to protect the entire town. I am leaving and that is final, Shining Armor."

The captain swallowed his pride and much of his anger as he bowed before her, not wanting to show disrespect. He understood that she wanted to take the responsibility of protecting the town for herself and being able to see her student, but protecting the citizens and their ruler from all sources of harm was his primary assignment. He knew that she cared, but he hated how cryptic she could be in her methods in doing so.

As she climbed aboard her chariot, the four pegasi who led the carriage saluted their ruler as well as their captain. Shining Armor cleared his throat and spoke to the four stallions held at present arms.

"As you were." He said as he signaled for them to go back into the position of attention. "Boys, your assignment is to escort the princess to the south. Your destination: Ponyville. I expect no less of exceptional service when you are held to the duties of protecting your princess. But remember if anything should happen to her, then all of you will be held responsible. And believe me when I say that your failures will bring a punishment that would be the equivalent to death itself. Protect your princess, get her to where she needs to go, and get her back her safely. Do you copy?"

"Sir, we will adhere to the commands that we are given, sir!" The four pegasi sounded off in unison.

Shining walked to the side of the chariot as he bowed to Celestia. "Princess, are you ready?"

"I am ready captain."

Shining raised himself and walked away from the platform. As he parted, he gave the orders of dismissal. "Squad, ready flight!"

"Ready, sir!" The four pegasi guards answered as they simultaneously unfolded their wings and raised them high into the air. "Cleared for take-off, sir!"

"Godspeed, boys! DEPART!"

The swarm of the creatures have now made their advances from the edge of the Everfree Forest to the town of Ponyville itself. As they gently descended from the air, they started to scope out all of the possible venues that there would be food. As the multitude of the colored locusts fell to the ground, they had already gained an idea of what places to hit; everywhere. Without warning, they proceeded to gulp down all of the crops and foods that the town had available. They showed no signs of discrimination over what they ate as they chewed on fruits, vegetables, candies, sweets and more.

By the time the five mares entered the town, it was far too late to do anything in hopes of rounding them up for a second time. They were already tired from the first round up and were even more frustrated at Pinkie Pie, who brought a pair of cymbals to a tornado Rainbow Dash created to move the insects to the Everfree Forest, causing the metallic disks to get caught in the tornado and break Rainbow's concentration on holding the funnel and accidentally sending the swarm directly to Ponyville instead.

"What do we do? They're eating all the food in town!" Fluttershy asks as Applejack watches a group of insects eagerly partake in her produce stand.

"My apples!"

As Applejack ran over to her stand, Twilight wondered what she could do for the moment. Finally, an idea came to her as she thought about her lessons back in Canterlot. She had almost forgotten about the long list of spells used to change a pony's nature. Though she had never tried it on an animal, she knew that it was still better than doing nothing.

"I got it! I'll cast a spell to make them stop eating all the food." Twilight announced as she closed her eyes and gained her mental focus. Waves of magenta rippled throughout the air of the entire town square, where the swarm was based heavily in. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that all of the eating had stopped before. As they observed, Pinkie Pie came to the scene with some saddlebags filled with instruments.

"Look, tambourines! If you could all just..." And she once again became angry at the fact that nopony was paying her any mind. And with an angry grunt, she stormed off.

The five mares watched as one of the bulbs walked up to a wooden basket and sniff an apple. Twilight smiled in seeing the creature reject the fruit, but grimaced as it ate the wooden basket instead. Suddenly the entire swarm went from eating food to eating everything except the food.

"Hey, it worked. They're not eating the food anymore." Rainbow Dash snarked as Twilight mentally cursed herself for forgetting the various side-effects to habit-changing spells.

"Oh no... if they get inside my store..." Rarity thought about all the materials and dresses she had put together this morning and realized that the creatures would definitely eat everything in the room. "Everypony for herself!"

30 Minutes Later...

"Just keep it together Pinkie. I know that my friends may not know about the dangers of parasprites, but I know one thing is for certain, and that is I am the only one that can put an end to this."

The pink mare stood in her room as she finished creating a harness for her instruments. She knew that it was going to be a one-mare effort since no one would help her. She knew that this was going to happen also and had constructed a plan that would ultimately end with her being the sole musician for her one-mare marching band. She already took all of her music lessons back in high school to help her learn all of the instruments at hoof. The only thing that upset her was that this was a plan that she didn't want to follow.

She had another plan, one that involved all of her friends. She knew that some of them were musically inclined. Rarity could sing, Applejack could play a fiddle, a banjo and a harmonica, Fluttershy could play a tambourine and Rainbow Dash took a liking to bass drum. Twilight didn't have any knowledge on how to play an instrument, but she had the studious attitude to learn one. She wanted to save the town with her friends...

...but she was all on her own for now.

She strapped on the harness of the multiple instruments and checked if all of the auxiliaries were functional. With her rear-left leg, she would control the bass drum. With her rear-right leg, she could control the accordion. With her forelegs, she could control the cymbals. She would have to alternate from the tuba and the harmonica from time to time, but that was a sacrifice she was willing to make. As soon as she confirmed that her harness was in working order, she walked down the stairs with her instruments and made her way to the front door. Her grandmother's words filled her mind.

When they come, they'll darken the skies
and they'll consume all crops before their very eyes.
But remember this list and you will see,
what kind of a hero you will be.

As she opened the door, she could already hear the screams of the ponies in town. With her head held high she walked out the door.

A trombone to fanfare the melody
An accordion to patch out a symphony
A tambourine is what you should also use
and a harmonica to sing the blues.

She walked past the front entrance as the world around her slowly revealed it's madness. The parasprites ate away at the vendors booths down the street as the ponies ran away from incoming groupings of the multicolored menace.

A banjo to pluck, some cymbals to crash,
A tuba for bottom and a bass drum to bash.
A final dose to break their spell,
is found in the hint of a little cowbell.

Her prehensile tail grabbed a fallen cowbell off of the ground as she looked left to see the fallen mess of the dairy counter. She looked to her right and saw Rainbow Dash down the street while avoiding a group of hungry parasprites.

Play and prance with all your might,
for that the insect horde will leave by night.
And with the final insect left bouncing away,
you would stand tall as the savior of the day.

Pinkie smiled as she heard her grandmother's voice recite the final line. In spirit, she stood next to her granddaughter with a broad smile cresting over her face. Pinkie knew that this was something that her Granny Pie had prepared her for. And she was at peace with herself knowing that she followed through with her words of wisdom. With a deep breath, Pinkie raised her trombone and cranked out the highest notes in the upper register to fanfare her start.

"Pinkie!? We're in the middle of a crisis here! This is no time for your... nonsense?"

Twilight and the others stood dumbfounded as they watched the entire swarm dance and bounce after their pink friend, who played every instrument that she gathered. The five friends followed the long line of insects as they eagerly made their way into the Everfree Forest. And just as they followed the parisprite parade, they took notice of yet another visitor approaching from the sky. As Twilight pointed out, it was none other than Princess Celestia.

"Uh... Your majesty..." One of the pegasi whispered back to their esteemed passenger.

"I see them. And thankfully the little buggers are making their exit." Celestia called back as she also took notice of the parasprites making their exit.

"Oh, I see. So they managed to strike earlier than anticipated." The pegasus spoke quietly.

"Yes. Here is good enough, I wish to speak with my student for a while."

As the chariot landed before the party of element bearers, Celestia climbed off and made her way over to her student. As she approached, the five ponies, minus the one that was busy trying to remove the hungry menace from the town.

"Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil."

"Hello, princess." Twilight said nervously.

"So lovely to see you again, as well as your friends." Celestia said before a large crashing sound brought her attention to the large parade of insects bouncing cheerfully past her.

"So... how was the trip? Hit much traffic?" Twilight asked, failing to distract the princess.

"What is this?" Celestia asked as she stared at the parade even more confused as to why and how they were leaving the town without some sort of magical reinforcement. As she watched, a yellow parasprite made it's way over to the princess with a smile. Celestia already knowing what's going on, decided to find a little humor in the matter in hopes of sharing a laugh.

"Oh ho ho, these creatures are adorable." She said with sarcasm.

"They're not that adorable." Rainbow Dash mumbled silently.

"I'm terribly honored that you and the good citizens of Ponyville have organized a parade in honor of my visit." The humored princess added, seeing if they would at least find some laughter in her statement.

"Parade?" Twilight asked as she looked at the marching line of parasprites, finally understanding her mentors humor. "Oh. Yes, the parade."

"Unfortunately, that visit is going to have to wait for another time. I'm afraid an emergency has come up in Fillydelphia. Apparently there's been some sort of... infestation."

"An... infestation?" Twilight asked in disbelief that there was yet another case of the annoying bugs elsewhere.

"Yes, a swarm of incredibly bothersome creatures has invaded the poor town. I'm sorry Twilight, to have to put you all through so much trouble."

"Trouble? What trouble?" Twilight asked as she laughed nervously.

Celestia made her way back to the chariot, but not before speaking with her student one last time. "Before I have to go, would you care to give me your latest report on the magic of friendship in person?"

"My... report?" Twilight asked as she realized that she didn't get a chance to write another report with all of the events that occurred in the past two days.

"Haven't you learned anything about friendship?" The white alacorn mare asked her student.

Twilight took a look back at her musical friend and realized that her lesson was all with her for the day. She realized that she was ignoring her friend and waived her off for not being serious enough, where in fact she had the answer to their problems the entire time.

"Actually, I have. I've learned that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it. It's a good idea to stop and listen to your friends' opinions and perspectives..."

A loud cymbal crash interrupted Twilight, signalling that Pinkie had heard her loud and clear.

"...Even when they don't always seem to make sense." Twilight finished.

"I'm so proud of you, Twilight Sparkle, and I'm very impressed with your friends as well. It sounds like you're all learning so much from each other."

As Celestia finished her statement, she and her guards took off into the air as she knew that everything was going to be okay on that end. As they ascended into the air, one of the guards spoke.

"Well, that was something. Had we known that a marching band was all we needed to move the critters out yesterday, all of this nonsense could've been avoided."

"I agree." Celestia said as she and her envoy made their way to the next town. "As soon as we land, we need to inform the ponies of Fillydelphia that they need a band to play off the little critters."

"So, does that mean-"

"Start my fanfare as soon as you land."

Author's Note

I never thought that trying write out a whole episode of the show would be challenging. Go figure. I have a level of respect for the writers as they have to write out lines, actions, situations, plot devices, etc.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and remember to leave a comment on my progress thus far.

Poor Celly, she still can't seem to get ponies to see her as one of them.