Recasted

by The Fiery Joker

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Adventure
Length: 82815

What if during the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight didn't meet the rest of the main six? What if she met different ponies? What new things would she learn from these different ponies?

What if during the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight didn't meet Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash? What if she met different ponies? And they're all stallions? How would things be different? How much would things stay the same?

This is basically a retelling of MLP but with different characters. Twilight is still here, but the rest of the main six are not present, instead other characters will be taking their place. Alternate Universe pretty much.

The lessons I plan to put into each in one of these chapters (besides the first two) are lessons that I either need to learn myself or lessons I learned the hard way.

Concept Help by Psychotic Nekomata and Judoshrew
Co-Written by Emerald Comet
Edited by Nonagon

Now with Audio Drama!
Chapter 1

Published 2012-02-27 14:14:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-08-10 22:11:40 UTC

Chapter 2: Friendship is Magic

“Seize her!” the Mayor shouted. “Only she knows where the Princess is!”

The Royal Guards reacted immediately and charged at the black alicorn. Nightmare Moon slitted her eyes at the attackers, almost amused that they thought they could harm her.

“Stand back, you foals!” she commanded with her dark voice. Nightmare Moon stomped her hooves on the balcony. Purple miasma bled out from the ends of her hooves and shot upwards. The summoned clouds began to twist around Nightmare Moon, forming a storm of swirling purple smoke above her. The guards stopped their assault and beheld the sight. The howling vortex screamed and bolts of lightning burst outwards, striking the guards and forcing them to retreat back to the floor.

Nightmare Moon proceeded to laugh at the pathetic excuse for an attack and disappeared in a wisp of purple smoke. The mist weaved in and out between the crowd of ponies and flew out of the large town hall doors, shutting them with an echoing slam.

Not so much a whisper was said amongst the shocked crowd. Groups of ponies gave awkward glances to each other, exchanging looks of shock, disbelief, and fear. Mostly fear.

“Mommy? Is she telling the truth?” a little filly asked her mother, breaking the silence. “Is night now... forever?” The entire room then erupted into nervous chatter, each wondering similar questions such as the fate of their beloved Princess and how their homeland is going to change.

Prowler stood on the balcony, gritting his teeth. “Drat!” Prowler cursed, giving at stomp to the floor in a fit of frustration. “How did she get in without me noticing?”

A flicker of movement caught his eye. A figure carrying a small dragon siddled along the walls behind the crowds. Nopony seemed to notice her as it opened the large Town Hall doors an slipped out unnoticed. Prowler's wings extended and his lips curled.

“Her!”

“Nightmare Moon returned!” Twilight thought as she dashed away from the town hall. “Darn it! Why didn’t the Princess listen to me? Oh forget it; I need to get back to the library and…”

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

Twilight’s legs involuntarily locked in place. She glanced over her shoulder and beheld one of the stallions from earlier, flying straight at her with the face of a ruthless predator. He landed directly in front of her and stopped four inches from her face. body tensed up as if it were about to strike.

“You, mare, have some explaining to do!” he demanded as he advanced on her, his eyes burrowing into her with the fury of a tiger. Twilight shrunk as she walked backwards, her eyes refusing to leave his.

“Everything was running smoothly until you suddenly showed up. Now we have a princess missing, a large group of hysterical ponies, and now a reign of eternal night! Everything's fallen to pieces and I have a strong inkling you’re partly responsible for this! Explain yourself now or I will be forced to take action!"

“Prowler! Calm down!” Another voice came. Running down the road approaching the two was Firebrand followed by Jinx, Shenanigans, and Aqua Jet.

Firebrand walked up to Prowler and gave him a strict look. “You know just as well as I do she had nothing to do with this; blaming her isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

“Hmph.” Prowler turned his head high, choosing not to reply.

“Whew…that was close…” Twilight thought.

“But you're not getting off so easily, Twilight.” Firebrand continued. "Prowler has a point. You suddenly showed up in Ponyville and Nightmare Moon happened. Sorry, but we can't write this off as coincidence."

"And there's the fact she left pretty quickly and quietly after a nation-wide crisis occurred." Prowler quipped, glaring out of the corner of his eye.

"Shut. Up. Prowler." Firebrand deadpanned through gritted teeth. He took a deep breath and looked at Twilight dead in the eye. "Twilight, we need you to tell us the truth."

Five pairs of eyes all looked at Twilight. Prowler's eyes were sharp, keeping their accusatory look. Firebrand's face kept stern, unwilling to compromise like a father trying to elicit an apology from a child. Jinx's mouth tightened; he seemed worried about this whole ordeal and wanted to be alleviated with a simple answer. Aqua Jet and Shenanigans just looked as if they wanted their curiosity sated, leaning in to hear Twilight's reply. Whichever way she sliced it, Twilight had five stallions waiting for her to answer.

“Darn it…” Twilight thought, hanging her head. “I can’t just run away now, I have to give them something, otherwise I’ll look even more suspicious. I have no choice…”

“I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon,” Twilight explained, forcing out each word. “Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her.” She closed her eyes and tensed up. “But I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!” She yelled, flailing her head around.

“Calm down, Twilight,” Jinx reassured, moving closer. “We can help you. Let’s just go to the library and figure this out.”

Twilight took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

Twilight and the stallions burst through the doors of the library.

“Everypony, split up and start searching! We’ll have a better chance of finding something that way. I’m going to take Spike upstairs.” Twilight asked. The stallions immediately complied and spread out amongst the many bookshelves. Satisfied, Twilight headed up the staircase with the unconscious Spike on her back. As soon as she opened the door, Spike began to stir.

“Uh... We gotta stop Nightmare!...” Spike groaned from the top of Twilight’s back. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out again.

“You've been up all night, Spike,” Twilight said as she placed Spike in his basket and pulled the cyan blanket over his chest. “You are a baby dragon after all.” Her heart melted as Spike pulled the covers over his face and snored.

“Heh, sometimes I feel like your mother.” Twilight said aloud. “Well, it is half-true, considering I hatched you.”

“Hey, I found something!” a voice called from downstairs.

“That was quick.” Twilight thought as she raced down the stairs to see the progress of the stallions.

Shenanigans was dangling upside-down from a ladder and waving his prize around for all to see. “’The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide… very conveniently named."

“Let me see!” Twilight said as she snatched the book with her magic, inadvertently causing Shenanigans to fall to the ground with a thud. She placed the book on a pedestal and started turning the pages.

“There are six Elements of Harmony,” she read, “but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now--"

“The Everfree Forest.”

The mere name evoked untold fears within the hearts of ponies. No one could blame them; the forest looked very intimidating. The trees had no order whatsoever, with their trunks and branches twisting and stretching in every direction. The trees formed a frightening wall, almost as if the forest was demanding all to stay out. The ground around it had no form, no structure, no level ground. It was completely chaotic from the outside in.

The appearance wasn't the only reason. The most frightening part was they had no idea what lurked inside. Rumors of dangerous and evil creatures circulated amongst the townsfolk of Ponyville. Because of this, nopony ever went in.

“You know, I can never get over how not scary that name is,” Shenanigans remarked.

Prowler sighed and adjusted his glasses. “Well Gentlecolts, it looks like we have our work cut out for us. Let’s get a move on…”

“Wait,” Twilight stopped Prowler, who returned a confused gaze. “Look I appreciate the offer, but I’d really rather do this on my own.”

Aqua hovered over Twilight with his front legs folded. “Uh, heck no. Ya think we’re gonna let one unicorn take on Nightmare Moon alone?”

“Yes, precious,” Prowler agreed. “Besides the obvious 'safety in numbers' rule, we daren't call ourselves stallions if we let a lovely lady like yourself wander into danger unprotected.”

“Besides, Twilight, you’re our friend. Friends help each other,” Jinx added. "Well, uh, they don't always help, but the point is they should, eheheh..."

Twilight winced. “I’m starting to hate that word…”

“And think about it, Twi!” Shenanigans interjected. “What if there was a monster made of marshmallows in there? There’s no way you would be able to eat it by yourself!”

Firebrand eyed the green pony in disbelief. “There’s no marshmallow monsters in there.”

"How would you know?” Shenanigans replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "You’ve never been in there."

Firebrand opened his mouth to retort, but stopped. After a quick pause, he began to say something, but again found himself unable to say anything back. His widening eyes blinked rapidly as his pupils drifted towards the center of his face. After a few terse moments wrestling with the logic bomb, he rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Fine..." he moaned. "You have a point there...”

Twilight bugged her eyes out. "Did he really just LOSE that argument?" she thought incredulously.

“Ahem… I hate to interrupt your ever-so-important discussion but we really have things we should be getting around to doing.” Prowler said. Firebrand and Prowler took the lead, with Jinx trailing behind and Aqua Jet hovering above them.

Shenanigans looked back at Twilight and gave a reassuring grin, “Come on Twi, where's your sense of adventure?” he exclaimed as he bounced after the group.

Twilight sighed and trotted after them.

“Soo… none of you have been in here before?” Twilight asked, gradually slowing down her pace.

“No," Firebrand moaned, his tone much less emphatic than earlier. "Why should we? This place is… is…”

“Weeeeird….” Shenanigans emphasized, his eyes fixated upon a strange curvy branch. “I hear some stuff goes on in this forest. Weeeeird stuff.”

The group stopped as they approached a steep cliff. A natural rocky bridge formed from one plateau to the other. The ponies looked down the slopes. The chasm below looked ready to swallow all six of them up. Vertigo nudged Twilight's spine, so she decided to say something to get her mind off it.

“Stuff?” Twilight asked. “Like what?”

“You don't wanna know.” Jinx blurted as he surveyed the canyon. “Nopony who comes in here ever comes out.”

"GAAAAHHHH!!!!" Shenanigans screamed.

Firebrand, Prowler, and Aqua Jet whirled around, ready to strike at anything. Shenanigans started darting his head left to right with a look of sheer terror. Nothing seemed to be attacking him, causing the stallions to tilt their heads in confusion. After a few moments he calmed down, perplexing the other ponies.

"Uhh, Dude, Shenanigans, you feeling okay?" Aqua Jet asked.

"Jinx said it." Shenanigans said with a long exhale.

“W-what?” Jinx stammered. “What'd I say?”

"Rule 1 about Murphy's Law, Never EVER tempt Murphy's Law." Shenanigans stated.

"Murphy's... Law?" Aqua Jet echoed. "Who's Murphy?"

“Seriously? That’s why he got so worked up?” Twilight sighed and shook her head. "It's just a saying," she explained. "If something can go wrong it will always go-"

Twilight was silenced by a large cracking noise.

Before she could breathe, it was accompanied by a sensation of weightlessness. Twilight's heart exploded as she realized the ground beneath them was no longer there. The group screamed as they were sent tumbling down the side of the cliff. The pegasi, whose instincts kicked in and started hovering, paused a moment to figure out what just happened.

“Aqua Jet! Let’s go!” Prowler barked.

Aqua Jet propelled himself forwards with his powerful wings, quickly closing the distance between him and the tumbling ponies. “Hmm… Prowls probably can’t lift Brand…” he assessed. “I guess I gotta!” Confident in his strength, he aimed himself at the large red unicorn. Luckily, Firebrand managed to regain his balance as Aqua Jet approached. Aqua Jet locked his hooves around Firebrand’s torso and pushed back with his wings. While not quite achieving takeoff, Aqua Jet was able to drag the musician away from the slopes.

Despite a few facial bruises, Prowler managed to stabilize Shenanigans, after silently swearing revenge. He secured Shenanigans in his grip and began to follow after Aqua Jet. Jinx thrashed around and managed to grab onto a dangling tree branch with his teeth. He lifted himself up onto the branch and held on for dear life, gripping it with both his front and hind legs.

Twilight, however, kept sliding down the slope. No matter how she tried to push herself away, the cliff’s edge quickly approached her. Her legs flew out from under her and dangled over the edge. She tried her best to kick herself back up but had no strength or footing to do so.

"Aqua Jet!" Jinx called. "Twilight's in trouble!"

After dragging Firebrand to safety, Aqua Jet then rebounded to find another pony to rescue. His eyes widened as he noticed Twilight’s situation.

“Prowler!” he yelled as he passed over the officer. “You grab Jinx! I’m gonna go get Twilight!”

Breathing heavily, Prowler dropped Shenanigans next to Firebrand. A flicker of movement caused his eyes to shift upwards. The side of the mountain began to rumble again and multiple cracks appeared in the side. Prowler's heart jumped as a second wave of rocks broke off from the cliff side and multiple large rocks rolled down the slopes.

“Aqua!” Prowler screamed, “Watch out!”

Aqua Jet continued soaring towards Twilight, his eyes dead set on his goal and completely oblivious to a large black rock tumbling after him, almost like it was trying to chase him. The boulder hit a natural ramp and bounced into the air. With horrifying accuracy, the giant piece of earth descended upon the pegasus, landing directly on his wing.

“YEARGH!” Aqua yelped as pain shot from his wing to his brain. The rock shattered upon contact, breaking into dozens of pieces and tumbling down the cliff along with the wounded Aqua Jet screaming in agony.

Twilight’s lower body dangled off the side of the cliff. She tried pushing herself up with her hind legs, but she had nothing to settle her hooves against. Inch by inch, her body slid off the cliff face.

“Somepony! Anypony! HELP!” She screamed, tears in her eyes. Twilight forced her eyes shut, desperately trying to use every muscle in her body to hang on.

Her hoof slipped.

Instead of falling like she thought, Twilight felt her hoof get yanked upwards. Her eyes opened in shock and she glanced upwards. Aqua Jet danged over the side of the cliff, grunting in pain.

“ERRGH!” he groaned as he tried to lift the dangling Twilight. He only got her halfway up before his arm gave out. With another pained grunt, he tried using his other wing for momentum but ran out of strength.

“Crud! I can’t lift you, my wing’s busted!” he shouted.

“Aqua Jet, what am I gonna do?” Twilight cried, clinging to Aqua with whatever strength she had left and trying her best not to look down. “I’m going to fall!”

Aqua Jet gritted his teeth. “Bad bad bad!" He looked over towards the rescue zone, where Prowler just started to drop Jinx off. "Crud, that slowpoke! I can’t hold her long enough for him to get here! There’s gotta be a way out of this!” He shut his eyes and forced himself into deep thought. Suddenly, his expression calmed and he released a long exhale.

“Twilight, listen. I know how to get you out of this," Aqua Jet said with an unusual stoicism. “I'm going to drop you-"

"What?!"

"-and I'm going to save you," Aqua Jet finished.

“Are you crazy?!” Twilight screamed, widening her eyes. "You can't save me with a broken wing! That's impossible!"

“Yes, I can," Aqua Jet insisted. "The only way you're getting out of this is if you believe what I'm saying. Do you trust me?”

“Is this really the best-"

“DO YOU TRUST ME?!” Aqua Jet screamed, his glare almost threatening Twilight to not reply. It was almost like his face said “I dare you to say no.” A word leaped unbidden to Twilight's mouth.

“…yes," she whispered.

“Then, let go," Aqua Jet stated. "I promise I will save you.”

“Promise?" Twilight thought as she stared into Aqua Jet’s ruby eyes. "Just… let go? He’s crazy! I’m going to die! There’s no way he can save me… can he? He does seem sure… maybe he could… should I trust him? I… I…………”

Twilight closed her eyes and released her grip.

The fear she felt was overwhelming. The weightless feeling made her heart feel like it was going to burst. Her mind scrambled itself into mess of incoherent thoughts spawned by sheer terror.

“GOTCHA!”

Twilight felt legs wrap around her. She stopped yelling and opened her eyes to see the pained face of a blue pegasus.

“Aqua Jet???” Twilight asked. “How are you flying without a second-“

“I’m not!” Aqua Jet replied. “Hang on! We're gonna start spinning!” On cue, the two started to spiral in midair. As Aqua's speed increased, Twilight found it harder to hold on. She tightened her grip around the blue pegasus as the inertia threatened to fling her off. Her eyes forced themselves shut, not daring to look at the ground.

Aqua Jet took a deep breath and focused. The world seemed to slow down around him and his vision narrowed into a black tunnel. He darted his eyes back and forth, looking for a safe place to put Twilight. His eyes rested on a large bush near the ground of the crevasse. Working his timing until he was behind it, he barrel-rolled and shifted his body, forcing Twilight to let go. Twilight let out another yelp as the momentum of flight dumped her into the foliage.

Straightening out from his stunt, Aqua Jet looked back at Twilight to make sure she was safe. The bush rustled with movement as Twilight flailed around inside, trying to stand upright. Satisfied, he turned his head, temporarily forgetting he was still gliding with a broken wing with large tree slowly growing in front of him.

“Oh, this is gonna suck…” he muttered.

CRASH!

“AQUA JET!” Twilight screamed. She dashed out of the bushes and galloped to Aqua’s crash site. Aqua Jet laid there in a crumbled heap, moaning more in annoyance rather than pain. He opened one of his eyes and slowly wobbled upright. He gave Twilight an awkward grin, alleviating some of Twilight's fear.

“Told ya I'd save ya... Ya... thought I was gonna... let you fall?” he said in half-broken speech.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Twilight said,

“Ehh, I’ve had worse.” Aqua Jet scratched the back of his mane.

"How did you know that you could catch me?" Twilight asked, running through the past few minutes in her head. "The kind of maneuver you did is almost impossible."

"Hey, it's part of the life of a traceur that you gotta know what you can and can't do," Aqua Jet gritted. "Besides, I promised."

His eyes caught the rest of the group hitting the bottom of the mountain trail and approaching them. Each of them looked concerned over the fate of both Twilight and Aqua.

“It’s okay, everypony." Aqua Jet explained to their worried faces, "We’re okay for the most part. Let’s go.”

“Not so fast, Aqua." Jinx trotted up to Aqua Jet with a scrutinizing look on his face. "Let me take a look at you.”

“Huh?” Aqua Jet tilted his head in confusion.

“We don't know if you can go on like this. If anything’s broken, we need to patch it up to prevent any more damage,” he explained. Jinx donned his goggles and glanced at Aqua's wing. “Does anypony have any sturdy cloth? I need to make a sling.” he asked, looking around at the other stallions.

“You can use this,” Firebrand offered as he walked up and took off his black vest.

“That’s too small, I'm going to need more,” Jinx replied. His eyes slowly drifted towards Prowler.

Prowler blinked once he realized everypony was eyeing him. Or rather, his black officer uniform. With a sigh, Prowler unbuttoned his shirt and hooved it to Jinx.

"This'll work." Jinx said as he received the two articles of clothing. Jinx walked over to the wounded Aqua Jet and looked him over for a minute. A couple coos and muffles left his mouth as he surveyed the damage.

Aqua's body looked absolutely battered. His left wing was bent backwards and a large purple splotch formed on the right side of his front leg. A large cut stretched from his neck to the middle of his chest, most likely from the bushes. The leaves and dirt in his mane and tail most likely came from the same place as well.

“You’re a mess. Nothing’s broken, thank goodness, but your wing is definitely dislocated, and probably sprained. We need to keep it protected and elevated.” Jinx prepared the vest and shirt into a makeshift sling. “Okay, this is gonna sting for a bit, but it’ll get better once we get you to an actual doctor.”

Aqua Jet sighed. “Alright, just warn me before yo-YEOUCH!!!!!!”

Without warning, Jinx adjusted Aqua’s wing and wrapped the vest around it. Aqua, despite his cries of pain, remained remarkably still, except for his face which showed extreme anguish. Aqua winced with each wrap of the tie, and Jinx didn't seem bothered by Aqua Jet's obvious discomfort. Once Jinx finished tying the knot, Aqua started to shudder and utter choked breaths through clenched teeth.

“Owwwwww….. “ Aqua whimpered, a single tear streaming down his face.

Jinx took a step back to view the sling. “Now that should hold for now. If you want me to do something about your bruises, I have a potion for th-“

“No! No! Get that away from me!” Aqua Jet screamed as he backpedaled away from the gray alchemist. He instantly regretting doing so after multiple ghostly blades stabbed his joints.

"GYAHHH! Oww.... Remember the last time you gave me some of your voodoo juice?” he said. “It was so strong it messed with my head and I did some… stuff.”

Stuff? Twilight thought.

Jinx raised his eyebrow as he shoved the potion into Aqua’s hooves. “I don’t see how that was my fault." he said almost defensively. "You didn't take it as directed, remember?”

“That’s not my fault either.” Aqua Jet pouted, “It tasted too good….”

“Oh, really? Can I have some?” Shenanigans asked.

“Not unless you were severely wounded in the fall,” Jinx replied.

Shenanigans immediately clutched his head and fell backwards onto his rump. “Ooohhh… my head huurrttss…” he moaned. “My body aches all over from rolling down the cliff…”

Jinx didn't buy it.

“Haha. No potion.”

“Awwwww…..” Shenanigans froze in place and made a silly looking sad face.

"Now drink up," Jinx said returning his gaze to the daredevil. "It won't heal your wing, but it will keep you stable for a while."

Aqua Jet obliged and titled the concoction down his throat. A few moments passed without much activity until Aqua Jet gave a pleasured moan. His muscles visibly relaxed and the healing effect became apparent. His cuts stopped bleeding and scarred up. The purple bruises under his skin slowly faded from sight.

"Ahhh... much better..." he breathed, handing a half-finished bottle back to Jinx.

"Soo..." Jinx placed the vial in one of his belts and took off his goggles. "What do we do now?"

The ponies looked up. The natural bridge that connected the two plateaus was completely destroyed and they were now stuck at the bottom of the canyon.

"That was the fastest way to the temple..." Twilight thought. "We're going to have to find an alternative route."

Twilight's eyes scoured the edges of the cliffs. The cliff was for the most part featureless; no cracks, ledges, or trees sticking out of it. "Nothing climbable..." Twilight thought glumly. She glanced to the left and right. To her right the cliff seemed to become smaller, so she figured that might be their best bet.

"I guess we just... follow this area down here until we find a way back up." Twilight suggested.

Jinx looked back at Aqua Jet, to which he returned a smile.

“Is he doing alright?” Twilight asked.

“I think he’ll pull through.” Jinx replied. “He’s pretty tough.”

The ponies continued their walk through the forest in silence. Periodically Jinx would look back at Aqua Jet to see if he was doing okay. Aqua Jet would always smile back, trying to keep up his tough-guy appearance.

“Wow... it’s really beautiful tonight,” Prowler commented, looking up at the sky.

Twilight looked up. WIthout a cloud in the sky, the moon gave off a dim silver light, illuminating their path. The scattered stars twinkled the nearer they became to the moon, perfectly complimenting it. The ethereal purple landscape certainly was beautiful.

“Yes it is. Shame it’s being caused by a megalomaniacal tyrant bent on causing eternal darkness,” Firebrand spat, suddenly darkening the mood. Twilight sighed, reminded that the pony-shaped head in the center of the moon was now missing.

Prowler seemed unperturbed by the comment. “Still, a beautiful night is a beautiful night, no matter if it’s being caused by an evil dictator or benevolent monarch.”

Shenanigans chuckled. “Well you’re certainly looking at the glass half-full.”

Twilight huffed. “Come on guys. We need to keep an eye out in case we run into-"

A blood-curdling roar echoed through the canyon, commanding the ponies to freeze in place.

"What was that???" Jinx cried.

"I think the better question is what is that!?" Shenanigans screamed, pointing upwards.

Twilight looked up. A shadowy figure was slowly becoming larger in her field of vision. Four legs… Wings… Scorpion tail… Large cat-like body… Twilight’s heart jumped into her throat in fear.

"A Manticore!" She screamed.

The manticore’s roar echoed throughout the canyon. With a strong flap of its wings, it charged at the group of ponies. One of its paws winded back and thrust forwards. With little time to react, the massive paw nailed Jinx and sent him careening into the bushes nearby.

“Jinx!” the ponies exclaimed as they saw the alchemist vanish from sight.

“Alright, bub, you asked for i- YEAARGHHH” Aqua Jet recoiled and fell to the floor.

“Aqua! You stay back! We’ll handle this!” Prowler said as he charged.

The battle began. The manticore swiped its massive paw at its first assailant. Prowler twisted his body and glided diagonally under the manticore’s claws, emerging without a scratch. Determined to capture the evasive pegasus, the manticore leapt into the air swiping wildly at Prowler, but none of his feral slashes made contact. Taking advantage of the distraction, Firebrand galloped forward and closed the distance between him and the beast. Without losing momentum, he whirled his body around and delivered a strong hind buck to the manticore upside the jaw. The force of impact sent the manticore reeling onto his back.

Seeing his opening, Shenanigans leapt into action. He jumped over Firebrand and landed on the manticore’s exposed underbelly. He started to trample and punch the manticore’s soft areas.

“What should I do…" Twilight thought as she viewed the scene "What do I… Of Course!” She closed her eyes in focused preparation. Her horn glowed soft lavender as she accumulated energy at the base of her horn.

The manticore quickly recovered from the assault and grabbed Shenanigans with its massive arms and hurled him at Firebrand. The two ponies collided with a loud thud and tumbled over each other.

“Shen, get off me!” Firebrand barked from under the green earth pony.

“Oooff…” Shenanigans groaned and shook his head. A purple unicorn slowly came into focus.

"Twilight! Firing your laser would be good right about now!!!" Shenanigans exclaimed with rising anxiousness.

“On it!” Twilight crouched and pointed her horn forwards.

"Uhhhhh..." Shen blinked, not expecting so quick a reply. "Brand! We need to move now!"

A brilliant beam of lavender light burst from Twilight’s horn. Firebrand and Shenanigans scrambled to avoid the path of the wave and dived in opposite directions. Prowler turned at the sound of the explosion and upon seeing the attack coming he shot himself upward. The manticore turned as well to see the wall of purple light approaching. He flapped his wings but his bulky body prevented him from escaping in time. The manticore roared as the attack slammed into its body, the force of the wave launching the creature into the air. It landed several yards away, smoke rising from its motionless body.

"Whoa." Aqua Jet breathed.

Smoke rose from the manticore’s motionless body. The ponies tentatively grouped back together, panting or shaking.

“Did we win?”

Jinx popped his head out of the bushes.

"Heck yeah! Dude, it was awesome!" Aqua Jet cheered, then winced in pain. "Ow."

"Is anypony hurt?" Jinx grunted as he struggled to get out of the bushes.

"Speak for yourself. That furball nailed you pretty good."

"Well, I'm fine." Jinx grunted, still trying to release himself from the grip of the bushes. He planted his hooves on the bush and forced his body upwards. More of his body released itself from the bush’s grip. However, his legs were still trapped and he fell forwards, tasting dirt. His filthy face looked up at the rest of the group.

"Uhhh... little help?" he grinned sheepishly.

Prowler laughed as he flew over to assist the hapless earth pony. He kicked and snapped several branches that ensnared Jinx's small body.

Jinx's eyes nestled on the smoking body of the Manticore. "You didn't kill it did you?"

"No, it's just unconscious," Twilight said. "But we did do a lot of damage to it."

“Hopefully nothing serious…” Jinx said quietly.

“Jinx... What's that you're standing next to?” Prowler said, pointing a hoof.

The ponies turned their heads as Prowler searched inside the bushes Jinx was previously in. After glancing at the inside for a second, he put a hoof to his mouth in shock.

"Oh dear..." he stammered.

"What is it Prowler?" Jinx asked.

"I think... we might have made a horrible mistake."

He pushed aside the bushes to reveal a large pile of assorted twigs and grass. On this pile were small bundles of yellow fur and insect-like tails.

"Is that... a nest?"

"Yes, and if I had to guess, I'd say it came from our recent acquaintance over there."

"A manticore's nest?" Twilight asked. "What... what is a manticore's nest doing all the way out here?"

"It was probably migrating." Prowler explained, gesturing towards the nest's contents. "The nest is rather ramshackle and looks recently built."

"And... and we just..."

The ponies stood in silence, an awkward pause permeating the air.

"...Wow." Aqua Jet stated. "We're jerks."

All the ponies shifted uncomfortably. Firebrand and Shenanigans looked at each other awkwardly as they did the most physical damage to the creature. Twilight felt absolutely horrible as she was the one who finally took it down. Even Prowler felt a twinge of regret even though all he did was distract it.

Jinx seemed particularly distraught. His eyes seemed to become misty as he beheld the group's actions. He trotted over to the unconscious chimera and inspected it closely.

“Oh, well that just makes things worse…”

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

Jinx tilted the manticore’s left paw back. Embedded in it was a large black thorn.

“It wasn’t attacking us because it was protecting its young or looking for a meal; it was just grumpy because it was in pain.”

Twilight turned away from the sight and released a pained grunt.

"Aqua Jet, how are you feeling?" Jinx asked, keeping his eyes fixated on the unconscious animal.

"What? Umm... I feel fine. I mean…” Aqua Jet stuttered and looked over his body. “My wing is still wrecked, but I can move the rest of my body fine as long as I don't try too hard."

"Good.” Jinx said and placed his goggles over his eyes. “I'm going to heal the manticore."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me." Jinx said coolly as he reached for his belt.

"Are you serious?" Firebrand asked disbelievingly. "You're seriously going to let that thing try and hurt us again? Last time I checked it almost killed us!"

"And need we remind you we've lost valuable time to track down the Elements of Harmony?" Prowler added. "Doesn't the whole of Equestria seem a bit more important than caring for a vicious monster? And don't you think that potion would be better suited to helping one of us if we managed to sustain further injuries?"

"No." Jinx replied with an edge to his voice. "We need to fix this. It's not the manticore's fault. I... I can't leave it like this."

Jinx popped the cork off the vial and moved towards the manticore's gaping maw. He crouched down to pour the serum down its throat. Hissing quietly, Firebrand stepped over to Twilight.

"Twilight, say something to him," he beckoned.

"Jinx, stop."

Her soft voice stopped Jinx in mid-movement. Jinx still kept his gaze locked onto the manticore, but all could tell he was listening.

"Look, I understand the guilt you feel. Hurting this manticore wasn't easy for me, either," Twilight offered. "We all feel terrible for what we did, but we have a job to do. It's sad and cruel, but accidents happen and there's nothing we can do about it. We should just move on."

Jinx froze. His face tightened and his breath quickened. The hoof holding the healing serum slowly began to twitch. He inhaled deeply and his body calmed.

"I don't care."

He titled the tube and poured the red liquid down the manticore's throat. Twilight sighed. She couldn't blame him for what he did, but she felt it wasn't the right choice. The other stallions either groaned or facehooved, or both.

A small rumble caused Jinx to get up on his hooves and walk a few paces back. The magic potion started to take effect as the burns and scratches on the manticore's body began to slowly started to mend themselves together.

The manticore's eyes shot open. It scrambled to its feet and shifted into a combat stance, ready to attack the group again. The manticore stared at the ponies angrily and bared its fangs.

“You know, maybe you should have removed the thorn before healing it,” Shenanigans commented.

“Yeeeaaaahhhh… didn’t think that one through…” Jinx replied, sweat dripping down his face.

Jinx timidly walked up to the manticore, visibly shaking. The manticore raised its large paw to strike the earth pony, baring its sharp fangs. Jinx stood his ground and removed his goggles.

"Are you f-feeling b-b-better?" Jinx asked, his voice trembling.

The manticore halted its attack but its expression remained fierce. Its eyes burrowed into the gray earth pony, studying him. Jinx gulped out of terror, and offered a sincere smile.

The manticore’s expression slowly softened. It lifted its paw and looked at it sadly. It slowly moved the paw towards Jinx.

“Do you…want me to remove it?” The manticore nodded slowly. Jinx moved closer and prepared to pull the thorn. “Okay, now this is going to hurt just a little bit…” He grabbed it with his mouth and gave a gentle tug.

-poink-

The manticore reeled in pain and gripped Jinx off the ground, bellowing out a deafening roar straight in front of Jinx’s face.

“JINX!” the group screamed.

“Wait, NO! NONONONONONO-” Jinx screamed in protest.

The manticore's roar softened into a small purr.

“What the?” Twilight deadpanned. The manticore was lapping its tongue across Jinx's body. Not like it was tasting him but... grooming him.

“NOSTOPNONOSTOPGETITOFFGETITOFFEWEWEWEW” Jinx cried, shaking his head back and froth. No matter how much he struggled, the manticore's grip stayed tight.

Twilight's impulse to both frown and smile at the same time cancelled each other out, so her expression remained completely neutral. On one hoof, Jinx was "suffering" and she wanted to help him, but she also didn't want to risk upsetting the manticore. Besides, it kind of looked cute the way he was being groomed by such a large ferocious beast.

Once the manticore felt it gave Jinx enough appreciation, it gently placed Jinx on the ground. Twilight tried her best not to laugh. She could swear his mane resembled Frankenstallion’s wife, and not to mention poor Jinx was now covered from head to toe in manticore saliva.

"Eeeewwww..." Jinx whimpered, eyes tightly shut and body cringing.

The manticore spread out its wings and crouched. It flapped them repeatedly, and with increasing force. Extending its limbs and powering its wings downwards, the manticore leapt to the top of the plateau. After regaining its balance, it approached a long tree.

“What’s it doing?” Twilight asked.

“I dunno.” Jinx replied.

The manticore wrapped its massive forelimbs around the large tree trunk. With a mighty heave, it uprooted the tree dragging dirt and broken roots with it. It released the tree and set it down on the ground. It proceeded to walk around the tree and crouch again. Pushing its powerful limbs, it charged directly at the tree and slammed into it. The tree creaked as it started to tilt over.

“TIMBER!” Shenanigans yelled.

The ponies dashed out of the way of the crashing lumber. It hit the ground with a resounding crash, spraying dirt and leaves all around. When the dust settled, the ponies could now see the tree’s trunk stretched from the bottom of the chasm to the top of the cliff. The manticore stood next to the tree’s roots at the top, breathing heavily. It gave a friendly growl, as if it were beckoning them to come up.

“Wow! Now we can get up!” Jinx exclaimed cheerfully and dashed up the log. Pleased with the fortunate turn of events, the rest of the stallions followed suit. Firebrand and Shen gathered on both sides of Aqua Jet and assisted him up the tree bridge, while Prowler simply flew up and over.

“Thanks big cat dude! You saved us a real pain in the flank!” Aqua Jet said as he passed the manticore. The manticore gave a proud roar and flew back down to its nest.

Twilight was the last to get to the top. Jinx was next to the roots of the tree, waiting for Twilight to get back up.

“Well, everything turned out alright in the end,” he joked.

Twilight felt the need to say something. “Jinx, can I ask you a question?”

“What is it?” he answered.

“Why…”Twilight paused to word herself carefully. “Why didn’t you attack the manticore like the rest of us?”

Jinx flinched. "W-What do you mean? I was knocked away by it and had to recover for a little bit."

"Jinx, I'm sorry, but I don't buy that." Twilight accused. "Your face doesn't look all that beat up, even though that's where it appeared to make contact. There's not so much as a bruise on your face."

A trickle of sweat drifted down Jinx's cheek.

"You didn't get hit at all, did you?"

Jinx sighed and dejectedly scraped the dirt below him. “Okay, you got me," he admitted. "I didn't want to fight it. I figured it would leave me alone if I just made it look like was harmless."

"Why?"

"Look, I... don’t like fighting. It's just..." Jinx stuttered, trying to put what was in his mind into words. "I try to look for ways that I can get out of fights without having to do it.”

“Just like that? You just run from every fight?” Twilight asked, then immediately realized how badly she worded that. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” she said immediately.

Jinx simply smiled at her. “It’s okay. I don’t mind. Conflict in general is just…something that never appealed to me. Not everyone who attacks you is automatically evil; there is usually a reason behind it.” He contemplated a moment, trying to draw a parallel.

“Take Nightmare Moon for example. She wasn’t evil from the start, was she? She just wanted to be respected and loved, much like everypony else. That’s not so wrong is it? But when she couldn't get it, she tried to force others to give it to her. And you know what happened after that… It's sad, if you think about it.”

Twilight never looked at Nightmare Moon that way. She thought she was just an evil tyrant, a monster. But now… she saw her as something different. An actual being with… feelings and emotions. A poor soul who just needed a friend.

Jinx looked somber. “That’s why I don’t fight. A lot of ponies will tell you that all that matters is the strength of your legs, when just showing a little mercy and compassion are strengths all on their own.

"Firebrand, what are you doing?" Jinx asked.

A loud snap resonated from a tree. One large and one small dead branch floated over to the group, surrounded by Firebrand's golden aura.

"Making a weapon." Firebrand answered. "You know, just in case something like the manticore happens again."

"Clever idea, Brand. One minute, please," Prowler agreed. He fluttered over to Aqua Jet and pulled a small sharp instrument from the makeshift sling around his body. "Here, use this knife."

"Whoa, dude, you have a knife?" Aqua asked. "Why didn't you use it against the manticore?"

"I didn't have it on my person at the time, and besides; it's a throwing knife." Prowler replied, brandishing the tiny blade back and forth to emphasize his point. "One does not simply slay a manticore with a throwing knife."

"Would've been cool though."

“Besides, it’s getting pretty dark,” Firebrand commented, levitating the small knife towards himself. “I can barely see a thing out here and I don't want to get ambushed unprepared.” Almost as if on cue, the trees became so thick that the group was shrouded in complete blackness.

Firebrand rolled his eyes. “Okay, now I swear this forest is mocking me.”

The ponies continued their routine of walking and checking on Aqua Jet's condition. The sounds of Firebrand's whittling and the clopping of hooves in the dirt were all that reached the pony's ears. Nopony spoke to another for several minutes, which didn't sit well with a clearly bored green earth pony.

“So… how ‘bout that festival?” Shenanigans asked to nopony in particular.

“Shenanigans… No one cares…” Twilight thought. She wanted to get out of the forest quickly and with as little snarky commentary as possible. Too many bad things have happened to the group for her to want to just chat, and this darkness wasn't helping her mood.

“Come on, nothing?” Shenanigans pressed to the uncaring ponies, “I know we’re in a serious adventure and just had two brushes with life-threatening danger, but doesn’t anypony want to at least talk about something happier? I can’t take all this doom and gloom.”

Twilight slowed, Shenanigans logic starting to take effect. Now that he mentioned it, Twilight was feeling a little shaken.

“He’s right…we did almost died…twice… …oh my gosh we almost died twice!” Twilight’s breathing started to quicken. “No… No... I can’t think like that I can’t-We almost fell to our deaths and got eaten! Aqua Jet’s in a cast! Stop it, Twilight! We have to do this for the Princess! We have to-What else are we going to run into!? We barely survived the previous challenges, how would we get through the rest SHUT UP!” She started to grit her teeth, trying as hard as possible to shove these thoughts out of her head.

“You okay?”

Twilight opened her eyes to the wide-eyed Shenanigans. “Yes, I’m fine.” Twilight insisted.

Shenanigans comically tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. Twilight caught his expression and sighed in defeat. She waited until the rest of the stallions walked ahead before finishing.

“You win. I’m not fine,” she admitted.

“You wanna talk about it?” Shenanigans asked gently.

“Not really, I just… I just…” Twilight’s tone heightened. “I… No, I’m not fine, I’m not fine at all!” Twilight thrust her forelegs into the ground. “You wanna know why?! We almost died twice back there. Almost! Died! Once by nearly falling to our deaths and the other by almost getting eaten! Aqua Jet is crippled and pretty much useless now! Not to mention we’re lost and don’t even know if we’re going the right way! What is the point of all this if we're just going to get hurt or killed?!”

She then pointed an accusing hoof at Shenanigans. "And why are you so chipper about this? Do you not care about any of this? Is this all some big joke to you? All you've done so far is point out the absurdity of the situations we find ourselves in, or downright annoy us!"

Twilight felt tears flow from her eyes, hours of emotional repression finally released. "It's just... this is so hard..." Twilight sobbed. "I never wanted any of this..." She sat on her haunches and buried her face in her hooves, sobbing quietly. A hoof wrapped itself around her shoulder. Rather than push away, Twilight leaned into the embrace.

“Look, I know you feel hopeless right now, and that’s perfectly understandable,” Shenanigans said as sympathetically as possible, “but you gotta let those feelings go. If you let them win, you’ll lose sight of what we originally tried to do. If we turn back now, then what did we come out here for? What’s the point? Just to get Aqua Jet’s wing broken and risk being manticore chow? Or was it that a hammy villain took over and we're the only ones that can stop her?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. "I... I... I'M AN IDIOT," she thought, "I completely forgot about what we came here to do! We have an obligation to all of Equestria to stop Nightmare Moon, and I'm just sitting here throwing a pity party. Some student of Celestia I am..." She sighed heavily.

Shenanigans gave a small chuckle and a friendly shove with his hoof. “Hey hey, now, don’t beat yourself up. You're not perfect, so don't try to be. You gotta stop focusing on the bad,” he encouraged and gave a mischievous glance towards Aqua Jet. “You gotta admit, doesn’t that story of Aqua Jet doing stupid stuff while tipsy with one of Jinx’s potions interest you in the least?”

Twilight considered the thought. She glanced at Aqua Jet and her imagination suddenly took hold.

The broken image of the factual Aqua Jet bled away to make way for her own version. He Aqua Jet was surrounded by hundreds of Jinx's empty vials, with several in his mouth. He spat them out and blew raspberries at Twilight, shaking his head back and forth. His body swayed from side to side as he began to walk towards her, wobbling with each step. One of his legs didn't make proper contact with the ground and his torso hit the floor. His hind legs still kept moving, almost mechanically, pushing his unmoving torso across the dirt. "I"M A LITTLE TEAPOT! SHORT AND STOOOOUUUUT!"

Muffled giggles escaped Twilight's mouth.

“That’s the spirit, Twi!” Shenanigans cheered. “See the good in the bad. If we didn't have that accident, you probably wouldn't have known that story existed! Now you have something to look forward to once this whole adventure is over! Don’t ya feel so much better now?”

“Thanks. I needed that." Twilight said. "Sorry for the things I said... I was just...”

"It's what I'm here for. Think nothing of it." Shenanigans grinned. "Wait, is it technically possible to think of nothing?"

"You'd know." Twilight jabbed.

"Oooh. Yikes." Shen cooed. "Wear gloves with this one."

Twilight looked up. The other stallions stood in a line with unreadable expressions on their faces.

"Did you guys hear all hear that?" Twilight asked, slightly dreading the answer.

"Every word." Aqua replied.

"But Shenanigans seems to have this under control, so we won't comment." Prowler continued. "Let's just move on from here."

Twilight gave Shen a warm smile, to which he replied with a playful wink.

“It is pretty dark though. That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn’t even know it,” she assessed. “Keep your eyes peeled, everypony.”

"The dark is where I thrive, gorgeous." Prowler cooed, walking to the front of the pack. "Just follow the sweet serenade of my voice and I'll lead you to safety on this romantic night of nights."

Shenanigans put his hooves to his throat, miming a gagging motion.

"I see that, Shenanigans!" Prowler snapped. "You will cease that childish mockery or so help me I'll... GOODNESS! What did I just step in?”

“AGH! LOOK OUT!” Jinx screamed.

Prowler looked at Jinx inquiringly. “A little late for that, don’t you-“

Prowler stopped as he felt himself hit something. Without looking, he touched the object he bumped into. "Bones?" He slowly turned.

It was the skeleton of a pony, except it was standing upright and moving.

“ZOMBIE PONIES!” Prowler cried.

A small rumble echoed through the dirt. Dozens of black bones with meat still attached slowly started to rise out of the ground. They slowly floated in midair and gathered together. From chaos came order, and twisted mockeries of ponies started to emerge from the floating piles of bones.

"Grrraaaahhh!!!!!" Firebrand leapt at the nearest zombie, smashing its head with his makeshift spear. The zombie collapsed under the force of the blow, the bones holding it together scattering on the forest floor. Firebrand then proceeded to fight the next one, thrusting his weapon through the zombie's. chest. A sharp wooden point made a clear protrusion on the other side on the zombie's body. Gritting his teeth, Firebrand lifted the spear with the zombie still on it and smashed it against another one, breaking apart both.

Prowler sidestepped towards Aqua's sling, and yanked out two more throwing knives. With great grace and a piercing gaze, he flung both blades towards the two nearest zombies. The knives sank into the skulls of their targets which broke apart at the trauma. He picked up the skulls with the blades still inside them and smashed them against the next one unlucky enough to be next to him and releasing the throwing knives again for further use.

"Ummmmm... umumumum... which one was it?!" Jinx stammered. He pulled out two of his vials, both containing a red liquid. With his trembling hooves, he uncorked them and mixed them together. A violent hissing sound came from the vial, changing the liquid to a glowing green. With a hesitant grit, he tossed it at a group of the approaching zombies. The glass shattered on contact with a zombie's head, spraying the viscous material all over it and its allies. Smoke rose from their bones and their forms began to dissolve, being eaten away by the green goop.

"Stick together!" Twilight cried. She looked over at the crippled Aqua Jet and realized she had to protect him. She fired multiple briefly charged shots with her horn towards whatever got close. In was working until a zombie got the idea to leap in the air over the formation. Twilight looked in horror as her shot missed and the zombie descended upon her.

A blue hoof planted itself into the side of the zombie's face. The form twisted and fell apart in midair. Aqua Jet landed on the ground in front of Twilight with a half-pained half-cocky grin.

"I still have two good limbs." Aqua encouraged, flexing his front hoof and non-damaged wing.

"Thanks!" Twilight cried. Her confidence grew as she continued firing off spells and supported the rest of the stallions.

Their advance was short lived, as more zombies continued to crawl out of the ground. Firebrand trust his sharp staff towards another zombie. Instead of dying like the rest, it caught Firebrand's spear with its mouth. With one quick motion, it snapped it in two. Prowler found himself unable to retrieve his knives as the numbers blocked his ability to retrieve them. The two stallions began to retreat while Jinx was frantically searching through his coat for anything to use. The reanimated corpses formed a perfect circle around the group of ponies. They began to moan, baring sharp moldy teeth and yellow saliva dripping from their mouths.

“Anypony have any more ideas?!” Twilight asked as she backed into the stallions.

“No!”

“None!”

“Nope!”

“Nothing!”

“We need to get out of here!" Twilight screamed. "There's probably a-"

“PFFFF HAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

"What?" Twilight eyes bugged out as Shenanigans was seen directly next to a group of three zombies. And laughing.

“Wow, you need a sandwich buddy. You almost look like the walking dead. OH WAIT! HAHAHAHAHA!!” The group's jaws hit the floor.

“Shenanigans, what are you doing?!" Twilight screamed. "RUN!”

Shen shook his head and chuckled. “Hey Twilight, remember what I said about seeing the good in the bad?"

“What do you-“

Shenanigans suddenly struck a pose, flicking his messy hair over his head. His legs shifted according to some sort of musical beat.

It’s close to midnight, and somethin’ scary’s lurkin’ in the dark….

Twilight: Tell me he's not...

Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart…

Firebrand: What is this? I don't even…

They're going to eat you, there's zombie ponies right now coming here…

They’re going to beat you, unless you find out how to banish fear…

Aqua Jet: Whaddya mean?

You stop and see, that scary things are just imagination…

You now perceive, see when you stop and look ‘em in the eyes…

They’re hilarious!

Shenanigans stopped directly in front of a zombies face with his trademark wide grin.

“HA.”

As soon his laugh finished the zombie pony in front of him vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the rest of the group to gawk.

SING WITH ME!

'Cause this is humor, humor time

They’re all completely harmless, so just laugh your fears away! HA!

Humor, humor time

Just giggle at the ghostly, and the kooky, spooky, and laugh!

Humor, humor time

Just stand up for yourself; you’ll live to see another day, HA!

Humor, humor time

Just crack up at the grossly, and the weepy, creepy,

and... pause for dramatic effect… LAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGH! YOW!

The zombie ponies slowly dissipated one by one, vanishing in puffs of black smoke. The entire group of ponies were sprawled out on the ground laughing. When it started to quiet down, Shenanigans stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. “See? They weren't real. There was nothing to be afraid of."

"Keeping a good attitude will most of the time get you the whole way!”

“Most of the time?” Twilight snarked with a raised eyebrow.

“YOU GET MY MEANING!” Shenanigans stared at Twilight with a silly looking grumpy face, which slowly caused the group to erupt into more laughter.

"...and that's what happened when I drank too much of one of Jinx's potions."

Twilight failed to suppress a giggle. "Wow, Aqua. I wish i could've been there to see that."

"Well, I sure as heck don’t.”

All the ponies, including Aqua, burst into another laughing fit.

"Oh yes, before I forget," Prowler piped up. "Jinx, i must express concerned interest at the way you handled yourself with the zombie illusions. Pardon my forwardness, but it seems rather uncharacteristic of you to be carrying around corrosive acid." Suddenly curious, the group's heads turned towards Jinx.

"Oh, that, um..." Jinx stuttered. "Well, I wasn't actually carrying around acid. I brewed that concoction on the spot."

"Using what?" Twilight inquired.

"Separate, those two liquids were harmless," Jinx explained. "All they were was an allergy ointment I made and some tomato juice I planned on drinking later. When mixed they... well... you saw what happened."

"Oh, so like, diet soda and chewing mints?" Aqua Jet asked.

"Something like that," Jinx affirmed. "More like mixing your medicine."

“Hey guys? Check this out,” Shenanigans cooed.

The ponies halted their pace. A massive river stretched across the landscape. The river thrashed about, uncharacteristically violent for a river not known for having rapids.

“Wait a sec. There was supposed to be a bridge here,” Aqua Jet groaned. “How are we supposed to cross this?”

“How’d you know that?” Twilight asked.

“I’ve flown over this place multiple times.” Aqua Jet answered. “You remember stuff.”

"You fly over the Everfree Forest? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Nah... not really. Now, disturbing a nest of harpies while flying over the Everfree Forest? THAT'S dangerous."

"You what???"

Aqua Jet playfully scratched the back of his head. "Kidding haha... ow."

Firebrand’s ears perked up. “Hey, you hear that?”

Everypony stopped talking and noticed a strange noise.

“What on earth is that sound?” Prowler wondered.

“It sounds like… crying…” said Firebrand. “Let’s go find out.” Firebrand took the lead, his trained ears tracking the source of the wailing. “I think it’s behind here.” He said as he pushed aside a patch of bushes. The ponies had looks of bewilderment as they found the source of the sound.

A large purple water serpent was thrashing about in the river, moaning and crying like a newborn filly. His body was long and snake-like, and the size of a train. One particular feature is he had a large patch of well-groomed yellow hair on his head, and an equally smooth mustache to compliment it. Except half the mustache was missing though, like it was ripped off.

“What a world, what a WORLD!” he blubbered, slamming his body on the ground next to the ponies on dry land.

Twilight walked up to the serpent. “Excuse me, sir, why are you crying?”

The serpent opened his tear-stained eyes. “Well I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid!” The serpent then reeled back and smacked the river in a fit of rage. A large wave came crashing down on the ponies, knocking several of them towards the forest.

“You can’t be serious...” said the soaked Prowler as he picked himself up. “We can’t seriously be delayed from stopping Nightmare Moon by a whiny serpent who's distraught about his mustache being uneven…” He started shaking his head at the sheer stupidity of the situation. “Honestly...”

“HEEEEELLLLLPPP!!!!!!”

The stallions looked at each other in horror. They dashed to the river’s edge and saw a distraught Twilight flailing about on the surface.

“HELP! I can’t swim!” Twilight cried, trying her best to stay above the waves. Another one of the serpent’s fits splashed more water onto Twilight causing her to disappear under the water.

“Sir, you have to calm down!" Firebrand pleaded. "If you keep this up, you’re going to drown one of our friends!”

The serpent continued his bawling, oblivious to anything other than his grief. Twilight appeared on the surface again, thrashing about wildly with her forelegs. Firebrand growled, tapping his foot with increasing tempo on the ground.

“Prowler! Save Twilight!” Firebrand ordered.

"I can't, it's too dangerous!" Prowler refused. "Those waves will surely get me before I get the chance to rescue her, and then we'll both be in trouble!"

“HELblubP MEEEblubEblubblub!” Twilight cried. A giant wave formed and engulfed her, stealing her away from the stallions' sight.

Something snapped within Firebrand. His breathing stopped, and his eyes looked as if they caught on fire.

“DARNIIIIIIIT!!!” He howled. Firebrand galloped forward and threw himself off the cliff.

Firebrand hit the water hard, immediately going underwater. He pumped his legs and ascended to the surface and gasped. Working instinctively, he pounded his legs in the river as hard as he could, praying that his strength wouldn't fail him. The azure waves smashed into him and threatened to take him down as well.

“DARN IT! It’s too violent on the surface!” Firebrand thought.

Firebrand quickly filled his lungs and dove under the raging waters. He darted his head left to right under the water, his hopes slowly sinking as no sign of the unicorn showed.

“Come on, come on, come on… don’t be dead… please in the name of Celestia don’t be dead…”

A flash of purple swished past him. Instantly turning towards it, he found Twilight still flailing about below the waves, screaming out bubbles of the precious air she had left. Realizing he had no time left, Firebrand mustered all the speed he could and sped towards her. He wrapped his hooves around Twilight's body and kicked his forelegs upwards, thrusting her above the surface.

Twilight gasped and coughed for air.

“Don’t struggle! Just concentrate on breathing!” Firebrand barked.

Twilight complied despite her mind panicking. Firebrand grunted hard as he pumped his legs towards the river’s side. He quickly turned his head, looking for the shore. He gasped as another wave began forming and threatened to swallow them.

"Twilight! Deep breath, now!" Firebrand ordered. He heard Twilight suck in a large amount of air just as the wave crashed over on them. Firebrand lost all sense of direction as he and Twilight were tossed about under the surface. His lungs and limbs burned as exhaustion and suffocation started to set in. His vision darkened, his grip on reality beginning to fade.

“NO! Firebrand screamed inside his head, clutching Twilight harder. "I'm not going to die! Not yet!” His legs fought against the water, begging to just give up. In a glowing moment of surprise, Firebrand felt his hooves touch dirt. He planted his hind legs into the sand and thrust himself upwards. Once he broke free of his watery prison, Firebrand inhaled to sate his greedy lungs and felt relief wash over him when he heard Twilight do the same.

Firebrand's backside sunk into sand. Knowing he was safe for now but not done yet, he dragged Twilight further up on the shore. Once he got them a good distance away from the riverbank, Firebrand collapsed to the ground and buried his face in the sand, exhausted. He heard Twilight gag and cough up water, and took that as a sign that she survived.

“Are you two okay?!” Jinx called from the other side.

Twilight wheezed, trying to gather enough air to satisfy her oxygen-deprived lungs and answer back. "We’re... Fine!” she yelled. Twilight then turned to the collapsed Firebrand, panting between each word. “We’re fine, right?” She asked.

Firebrand slowly got to his hooves and sat on his flank. “Yeah… I’m… fine…” Firebrand said between deep breaths.

Twilight gave a warm, sincere smile, “Thanks for saving me.”

If Firebrand didn’t have a red coat, Twilight would’ve seen him blushing. He avoided eye contact with her and looked upwards. “Yes… I… ummm... I did what anypony... Y-You're welcome.” he stammered, trying to keep his masculinity intact.

“How did you learn to swim like that? No normal unicorn is that strong.” Twilight asked, genuinely curious.

Firebrand smirked and looked off into the distance. “Well, I used to be in Celestia's Royal Unicorn Guard,” he explained with a touch of pride. “Five years in service at Canterlot.”

"The Guard? That explains a few things... Twilight thought to herself. "Like why he knew my name and trusted me earlier..."

"...But that’s a story for another time. Right now, we still have a problem.”

Firebrand looked at his friends across the river. “Prowler can get over (lucky punk), but the rest definitely can’t. And I’m NOT carrying all of them over; I don’t think I could survive that.” he thought glumly to himself and started to pace.

“Could we try making a bridge?” Twilight suggested. “Like the manticore did?”

“I’m not that strong, Twilight. Besides, the waves would probably hit the first pony that tried to cross… Darn it! Everything would be so much easier if that dumb serpent would stop being such a dumb baby over some stupid facial hair!"

"Well, he said he started with his little hissy fit once his mustache was sliced off.” Twilight noted. "Maybe if we restyle his mustache, he'd stop."

"With a serpent that flaming flamboyant, I don't think any of us have the skill to do that up to his standards." Firebrand groaned. "I know his type; they're a borderline infestation in higher Canterlot. Once they lose something, they won't stop crying until they recover the thing they lost."

"Any ideas?"

"None. The only way he'd stop is if he had a complete mustache, and I don't think-" Firebrand stopped. His eyes drifted over to Twilight. “Could she… no, not the right color…” He looked at his own flank for a second, then groaned. “Well, it looks like I have no choice.”

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked as Firebrand walked over to the serpent. Firebrand ignored her and tried to get the wailing reptile's attention again.

“Sir Serpent?” The serpent didn’t answer, and continued crying.

“Sir Serpent!” Firebrand repeated, louder. Still no reply.

Firebrand’s eyes lit up. Closing his eyes, his horn shined a bright red for a few seconds and he took a deep breath.

“SIR SERPENT!!!”

Firebrand’s voice suddenly boomed with enough force to shake the ground. Twilight clutched her ears in pain. She had never heard of a spell used to amplify a voice before. ”Must be useful when dealing with large crowds… or foals.”

The serpent stood upright, ceasing his bawling for a moment.

“What is it?” the serpent sniffled.

Firebrand leaped at the serpent and yanked one of the scales off, to which the serpent gave a big “OUCH! What did you do THAT for?!”

Ignoring the blubbering, Firebrand brandished his newly acquired scale, and brought the sharp object down on his own flank. The scale cleaved through his golden tail, slicing it perfectly off. Twilight gasped at his act and the Sea Serpent nearly fainted.

Firebrand’s horn glowed, and the sliced piece of tail hair levitated into the air. then used his magic to levitate the tail into the hole where the serpent’s mustache used to be. It fit perfectly, almost like the mustache was never gone.

The serpent started to chortle. “OHOHOHOHOHO! My moustache! Thank you young stallion!”

Firebrand gave a cynical grin. “You’re welcome,” he said with a hint of irritation.

Twilight walked up to Firebrand. “Why did you do that?” she asked.

“We weren’t going to get anywhere with this serpent in the state he was,” Firebrand explained, “The only way to continue on was if his grief of his mustache was calmed, ergo, replacing it. But nopony else's tail has the texture nor the color of his mustache to replace it except mine, so I kinda had to…”

Twilight persisted. “But your tail! It looks so…”

Firebrand dismissively waved a hoof in the air. “It's just a tail; I’ll live. He doesn’t deserve it, I know, but… I think he needs it more than I do.”

“But still, how are the rest of them going to cross?” Twilight pointed out.

“Oh, thank you dear stallion,” the serpent gushed. “I’m so sorry for being so overdramatic. How can I repay you?”

Firebrand smiled at Twilight and turned back to the serpent. “Could you perhaps assist my grounded friends on the other side of the river?” he asked.

The serpent bowed low, “With pleasure!” He stretched his long snake-like body across the river, and the rest of the group promptly walked across.

“Heh, that worked out nicely,” Firebrand chuckled.

Shenanigans was the last to cross, and eyed Firebrand’s flank.

“Dude, nice tail,” he joked.

“Keep walking,” Firebrand glowered.

“Hey, I think the trees are starting to thin out!” Jinx exclaimed.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Shenanigans asked.

“Good thing. I’m sick of being in here.” Aqua Jet mumbled.

“Hey, what’s that?”

Each of the ponies turned their heads. Some sort of tall structure appeared in the distance. The building looked fairly ornate, if ancient.

“There it is; the ruins that holds the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight exclaimed with sparkling eyes. “We made it!” Twilight started galloping towards the ruined building.

“Twilight! Wait a second!” Prowler warned.

“We're almost there. WHOA!” Twilight’s heart fluttered as her forelegs didn’t hit earth like they were supposed to. Twilight’s eyes bugged out as the front half of her body was now dangling over a large crevasse. Prowler grabbed Twilight’s tail and yanked her back to safety.

“My my, aren’t we accident prone today.” Prowler chuckled.

Twilight looked back submissively. “How’d you know that the-?”

Prowler adjusted his glasses. “Farsighted.”

Aqua Jet surveyed the broken bridge. “Well, we ain't going nowhere with the bridge out,” Aqua jet mused, “Problem is, I can’t fly over to fix it. Soooo…”

Everyone looked at Prowler, who proceeded to roll his eyes and fold his glasses. “I can take a hint…” he sighed.

Prowler spread out his wings and leapt off the edge. Dense fog obscured his eyesight, but Prowler treaded on. He followed the ropes downward until they ended. “I found it! It looks intact; I just need to retie it!”

Twilight’s voice echoed down the chasm. “Great! Let us know when you’re done!”

“Understood!”

Prowler grabbed the rope with his mouth and soared to the other side of the cliff. He searched around for a place to tie the rope down when his eyes rested on some nearby rocks. He started to wrap the rope around them, but then he stopped, and turned to the ponies on the other side.

“Excuse me? How does one tie a knot?” Prowler asked.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Firebrand’s voice boomed across the canyon.

“Calm down,” Prowler laughed, “I’m just pulling your leg.”

“GOOD ONE!” Shenanigans bounced three feet in the air and pumped his front leg.

Prowler smirked and started to tie a basic knot. “Alright… the rabbit goes through the hole… 'round the tree… and back down the-“

“Prowler…”

Prowler immediately snapped to attention and whirled his head around, trying to find the pony who called his name. All he could see was thick fog.

“Prowler…”

“Who is there?” Prowler demanded, whipping his head back and forth to find the source of the voice. “Show yourself!”

“We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival...”

Prowler blinked. “I… beg your pardon?”

Three shadowy figures slowly emerged from the silver fog. A jet black unicorn mare with reptilian yellow eyes followed by two equally black stallions appeared. All three were clad in dark purple armor resembling Celestia's royal guard's, if only a twisted mockery of it.

Prowler immediately shifted into a combat stance and prepared to fight. His nostrils flared as he started counting with his hoof and spreading out his wings. Instead of being intimidated, the black mare giggled darkly.

“There’s no need for that; we don’t wish to fight.” she cooed. This gave Prowler pause. His muscles relaxed, but still kept his low posture. The mare continued, “Instead we come to you with an offer.”

“From Nightmare Moon, I’m guessing,” Prowler accused through slitted eyes.

The mare slowly approached Prowler with a grin.

“Such an intelligent pony,” she said sweetly. “Correct. Nightmare Moon has kept a close eye on you, and she likes what she sees…”

“I’m… sorry… what?” Prowler lost his composure, his cheeks beginning to burn. The black mare then started to pace around Prowler, flicking her tail back and forth. The hairs of her tail brushed up against Prowler's flank, causing him to take a sharp breath and his heart rate to quicken.

“You’ve caught the eye of our mistress,” she explained with a soothing music in her voice. “You can see things that nopony else can see; you have manners, style, and to be frank, you’re quite the handsome devil. You’re much better than your so-called companions. She wishes you to join her side and serve her reign of eternal night.”

“Eternal night…” Prowler looked up at the moon and stared. He couldn't deny there was something hypnotic about the moon. It looked so peaceful, so mysterious...

So... inviting....

“Yes… you understand the beauty of the night.” The mare leaned in a few inches from Prowler’s face. She cradled his cheeks wither her hooves and began stroking his mane. “Here is our offer. Abandon this silly escapade and join Nightmare Moon. In doing so, she will give you anything your heart desires.”

The corners of Prowler's lips curled into a sinister smile. “Anything?” he asked.

"Anything. Money, Power, Fame, or...." The mare planted a slow and deliberate peck on his nose. "Whatever happens to tickle your fancy.”

“Prowler? What’s taking so long?”

Twilight caught a glimpse of the pitch black ponies talking to Prowler. “OH NO!” she started to protest. “Prowler, don’t listen to her!”

The black mare's face turned to Twilight and her eyes flashed a bright yellow. With a sneer she planted a kiss on Prowler's lips. The fog gathered around the canyon and thickened to the point where the ponies couldn’t see the other side of the bridge.

The ponies stood on the other side, anxiously awaiting the outcome. The fog was too thick and they couldn’t see the results of the conversation. “He’s not seriously thinking about saying yes,” Twilight asked, then added quietly, “is he?”

“He is the chief of security, so he’s probably a stickler for the rules, but,” Aqua Jet paused, “I dunno to be honest.”

“He does know everypony that comes in or out of Ponyville, but, now that I think about it, we don’t really know him all that well,” Jinx added.

“That’s not good…” Twilight thought. “Please don’t say yes… please don’t-”

“Hey, somepony’s coming!” Shenanigans said. The group turned to see a pegasus-like figure coming through the fog.

“Prowler!” Twilight said.

Prowler landed on the ground and was greeted with enthusiastic cheers. “Let’s get going. We have work to do,” he said as he turned to trot across the bridge. The group followed in high spirits. The temple lay before them, giant doors open.

Twilight released a huge breath. “We made it! Now we can ERG-“

Twilight’s muscles suddenly tensed up. Her limbs moved against her will and threw her to the ground. She struggled hard against her body, but it wouldn’t cooperate. She looked around and noticed the other stallions falling to the ground as well. A blue aura surrounded each of the ponies. Twilight instantly knew that they were being repressed by magic.

“What’s… going… on?” Twilight rasped out.

“I figured you of all ponies would know, Twilight.” Twilight forced her head to look at the figure staring down at her.

Prowler.

“A binding ward. Basic magical proximity trap. To the non-magically inclined, you all are being held down by a spell,” he explained, looking off into the distance. “Well, it seems my work here is done.”

“Prowler, what’s going on?” Twilight demanded of the dark purple pegasus.

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” Prowler said with a condescending look in his eyes. “I’m betraying you to Nightmare Moon.”

The statement almost echoed. The group couldn't believe what they just heard.

“NO!” Twilight yelled. “Prowler! How could you…” she whimpered, almost heartbroken.

“Sorry love,” Prowler sneered as he adjusted his glasses. “Things have changed... definitely for the better.”

“You backstabbing spawn of-“ Firebrand looked ready to kill. He struggled against the spell with all his might, but to no avail. All he could do was lie on the ground and growl curses at Prowler.

“Tsk tsk tsk.” Prowler cut him off, shaking his head from side to side. “Careful, Firebrand. There’s a lady present.”

“Don’t stop on my account,” Twilight spat, indignant.

Prowler turned to Twilight and scoffed. “Oh, you thought I was referring to you?”

On cue, the fog began to dissipate. A large jet black alicorn arose from the smoke. It’s blue reptilian eyes narrowed and lips spread into a triumphant grin. She let loose a bone-chilling laugh, almost crushing Twilight with the mocking tone.

“Too bad, my little ponies." Nightmare Moon gloated. "Your journey is over.”

“How could you do this, Prowler?” Jinx cried, shaking, “We were your friends!”

Nightmare Moon sneered. “Your ‘friend’ is smarter than you give him credit. He realized that it would be so much better for him to serve Equestria’s new queen than to serve your former excuse for a ruler.” She sidestepped towards Prowler, draping a large wing over him. “So sorry, but your companion will be serving me from now on. You all, however, will rot in one of my dungeons for the rest of your lives, while Prowler here will be by my side and become leader of my royal nocturnal guard.”

“Exactly. Head of security…” Prowler repeated. “In case a foolish somepony gets the idea to do something like…”

THIS!!!!!

Nightmare Moon's legs got swept from under her. The next thing she saw was a large purple hoof heading towards her face. She tried to dodge out of the way but it was too late. Prowler's hoof connected with a satisfying thud, to which he followed with a graceful and well-placed tackle into Nightmare’s side. Nightmare's form was sent sailing over the cliff, screaming in anguish as she disappeared under the fog.

The spell encasing the rest of the group dissipated. The ponies stood up and beheld the results of Prowler’s sudden attack.

“Now! Everypony run!” Prowler barked. The group immediately realized what he did and darted towards the ruined temple. Satisfied of his friends’ safety, he returned his gaze to the cliffs. He raised an eyebrow, looking closely at the clouds blanketing the bottom. He knew full well that Nightmare wasn't close to being finished, so he stood patiently, waiting for her to return.

Just as he thought, the haunting shadow of Nightmare Moon appeared in the distance. She burst through the clouds, roaring in fury. Her eyes flashed a white matched only by the gritted fangs she now bared at Prowler.

“You finally reveal yourself, coward!” Prowler accused, flaring out his wings in defiance. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time! Did you not think I saw you start the second avalanche or reanimate the corpses?”

Nightmare Moon pounded the ground, lightning lacing her figure. “Silence, you worthless peon!” she bellowed. “How dare you betray the Mistress of the Night!”

"Ooooh... such an ugly word, 'betray,'" Prowler grinned evilly, flexing his wings and revealing the two stored hidden blades in between the feathers. “I'd like to think I'm... reinterpreting our deal... oh what I am I saying? Yes, I did betray you, as short a service it was."

Nightmare's sharpened teeth bared. "You foal! Once we deal with your friends, you will suffer much more dearly than they for this treason!"

"Treason?" Prowler chuckled. "Au contraire! I was never on your side to begin with.”

“And why not?!" Nightmare Moon screamed. "You would've been one of the most feared and respected ponies in Equestria! You would've had everything! Power, riches, how could you refuse?!”

Prowler paused. He then threw his head back in mocking laughter. “You seriously thought I would change allegiances just like that?! Over some second-rate flirting and a pretentious title? I pegged you for loony, but not dense.”

The fire in Nightmare Moon's eyes was almost visible. Her long horn started to shine a bright purple as she crouched to charge. Prowler followed suit, flaring out his wings and grinning triumphantly.

Nightmare Moon stared at the purple pegasus, her cyan eyes sighed and stood upright. “This isn’t over, worm,” she growled as she evaporated into purple miasma.

“What? NO!” Prowler screamed, his eyes widening in alarm. “GET BACK HERE!”

Nightmare Moon’s smoke form had started to float away. Prowler took off and attempted to chase her down again. The smoke stayed out of his reach and progressively distanced itself from the determined Pegasus. Prowler froze in midair, realizing he couldn’t catch her. He looked on in pure rage as the purple mist vanished over the horizon.

“Drat, I lost her again…” he furrowed. Prowler landed on the ground, overcome with feelings of bitter disappointment. “I was so close… SO CLOSE!” He screamed inside his head. He growled in fury as he walked towards the forest’s edge.

“I was…” He froze. “Oh no…”

Mumbling dejectedly to himself with his head held low, Prowler slowly walked through the trees towards the ruin. He entered the clearing outside the temple, and looked up.

The rest of the group was standing outside, chattering amongst themselves.

“There he is,” Aqua Jet pointed a hoof.

The ponies slowly turned towards Prowler, impatient and angry looks on their faces. Prowler stopped walking and hung his head, ashamed.

The silence settled for a while until Twilight walked up to Prowler. The stern look in her eyes seemed to push Prowler's head down.

“I’m… sorry...” Prowler's voice started to quiver. “That was cruel of me to do.” In an effort to compose himself, he inhaled deeply, then exhaled. He looked at Twilight again; she still had the same harsh look, which caused Prowler to look down in shame again.

“Listen, I have a… pride issue,” he explained, his voice quivering. “Pride and impatience. Nightmare Moon personally slighted me by getting past me and stealing the Princess away. As a pony with a good record, that was an enormous blow to my self-esteem. Say what you like, but I feel ultimately responsible for all that’s happened. So I did what any stupid pony would do: I sought revenge.” He looked up at Twilight with misty eyes. “I’ve been planning this for a long time, ever since we started this adventure.”

Prowler’s body started to shake and he started to speak quickly, his emotional side overcoming him. “I… didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you would’ve inadvertently given away the plan, not complied, or wouldn’t… wouldn’t trust me,” he sighed and bowed lowly. “Please, forgive my selfishness and accept my apology.”

The rest of the ponies looked at each other in silence. This was a side of Prowler that none of them expected. It was strange to see this dignified pony start humbling himself before them, on the verge of crying no less.

Twilight crouched down next to Prowler, who didn’t look up.

“We already have,” Twilight reassured, offering a warm smile. “Of course we’re still a little mad that you went behind our backs like that, but we can’t be angry at you forever. While what you did was stupid and inconsiderate-" Prowler flinched at that, "-I don't think anypony here could blame you. You did hurt us a little bit, but you had good intentions and we did come out on top in the end of it all. You just made a mistake. We all do.”

Twilight surprised even herself with what she was saying. She didn’t know where these words were coming from, but somehow they just fell out. She felt she needed to say something to comfort this broken pony.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

Prowler looked up at Twilight and gave a contented sigh. He stood upright and adjusted his glasses. “Yes, thank you..." he said, "But, I wouldn't mind a hug if that's not too much to ask?”

"AND GLOMP!" Shenanigans cheered, engulfing Prowler in a bearhug.

"I meant a hug from Twilight!" Prowler screamed, breaking the hold and shoving his assailant away. He straightened out his now misaligned glasses and growled, "Goddesses above, you can be so THICK..."

“He's okay,” Shenanigans grinned, either oblivious or ambivalent to the insult. "Just let us know next time you plan on only pretending to stab us in the back, deal?"

"I'll try."

Firebrand and Prowler pushed the large temple doors open.

The temple was mostly intact, somewhat resembling the Canterlot throne room. The large tiled floors fell apart with scattered dirt pits. Large gray walls were cracked and parts of the ceiling were missing, but it looked stable for the most part. An ornamental pedestal stood in the center of the temple, branching out five times and carrying five large gray stones.

“The Elements of Harmony! We've found them!” Twilight said with relief obvious in her voice. Prowler flew up and grabbed two of the spherical baubles and Firebrand levitated down the other three. “Careful, careful!” Twilight instructed as the two stallions gently placed the elements on the floor.

Jinx studied them for a moment, “Hey, weren’t there supposed to be… six?” he asked.

“Yeah, how’s this supposed to work if we don’t have the sixth?” Aqua Jet added.

“The book said when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.” Twilight answered. It didn’t make too much sense, she admitted, but it was all they had to go on.

“Great. Why do ancient legends and stuff always have to be so vague?” Shenanigans grumbled. “Any ideas on what it means Twilight?”

Twilight stared at the elements for a moment. “I’m not sure, but I have an idea.” Twilight crouched down next to the elements and her horn started to glow. “Stand back,” she warned. “I don't know what will happen.”

The stallions looked at each other and silently nodded an unspoken agreement. They took their leave and proceeded to walk out of the temple, leaving Twilight alone to concentrate on the elements.

The stallions walked out of the large doorway, looking at each other in silence.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Firebrand suddenly shouted. The rest of the ponies looked at him, confused. “We can’t leave her like this! What if-“

Before he could finish his sentence, the doors to the temple slammed shut. Firebrand facehooved. “Curses,” he spat.

“Twilight!” Aqua Jet immediately dashed up to the door and started pushing on it with all his might.

“NO!” Jinx screamed as he pulled him back. “Stop that! You’re going to hurt yourself more!” Jinx reprimanded.

“But…”

“Hey look over there!”

Every pony turned to where Shenanigans was pointing. It was some large crack in the wall of the castle. Jinx ran over and started tapping the wall, surveying its strength. A determined look passed over his face.

“I got this,” he said. Jinx redonned his goggles and fished around his belt. He pulled out a vial containing a clear liquid from one of the slots.

“Stand back and close your eyes!” he ordered. Jinx tossed the vial at the crack in the wall. Upon making contact with the wall, the vial shattered and a large explosion resulted, causing all of the ponies to avert their eyes. When the smoke cleared, they dashed into the temple.

Twilight was staring at a giant purple tornado starting to lift the elements.

“The Elements!” Twilight cried. She immediately dived into the swirling purple vortex and it vanished in a bright white flash.

“Twilight!” the stallions yelled. They all rushed to where Twilight used to be, but there was no trace of her at all. The group started to panic, calling out for Twilight, but no answer came.

“Where could she have gone?” Jinx panicked.

“Look over there!”

Everypony looked at where Prowler was pointing. They could see the windows of the second floor of the nearby tower were flashing.

“But how do we-“

“This way!”

Shenanigans stood by the doorway that connected the two towers, gesturing the others to come. They immediately darted out the doorway to try and find their friend.

Twilight coughed. A bright flash temporarily blinded her and she had no idea where she was. A few seconds passed before the stars blocking her view disappeared.

She gasped. The Elements of Harmony floated around Nightmare Moon. A slow grin crept to her features, announcing her victory without speaking.

Twilight wasn’t finished yet. She counted with her hoof and flared her nostrils, to which Nightmare Moon stared at Twilight in disbelief.

“You're kidding. You're kidding, right?” she scoffed.

Twilight charged forwards. Her horn started to shine a vibrant purple. Nightmare Moon charged as well with an aloof look on her face, hardly believing this unicorn had the gall to challenge her. As they neared each other, Twilight's spell activated and she vanished before they made contact.

Nightmare Moon screeched to a halt, completely stunned. She glanced over her shoulder and found the purple unicorn next to the elements.

Twilight swayed. She quickly regained her composure and focused another spell. Crouching down next to the elements she began to murmur to herself, “Just one spark. Come on, come on.”

Nightmare Moon wasn’t going to risk Twilight actually managing to activate the elements. She promptly transformed into a blue mist and swiftly moved to intercept Twilight.

All of a sudden, the elements started to spark, electricity beginning to connect them. A small glow emanated from the pile. The energy slowly grew until it burst, sending Twilight reeling backwards. She yelped as she flew through the air and hit ground. She slowly stood back up, rubbing her head.

Nightmare Moon materialized next to the elements and looked down at them. The elements started to shrill and glow, frightening Nightmare Moon. “No! NO!” she yelled in protest.

Twilight gave a triumphant grin. “Yes! Now the sixth element should...” The elements began to shine brightly, shrilling and crackling with lighting. A bright flash emitted from the elements…

Then stopped. The elements returned to their dormant state, causing Twilight to look on in horror. “But... where's the sixth element?!” she gasped.

Nightmare Moon cackled in triumph and proceeded to stomp the floor, smashing the Elements into dozens of pieces. Twilight stared in broken disbelief.

The night princess proceeded to boast. “You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me?! Now you will never see your princess or your sun! The night will last forever!”

Twilight cowered in fear. Nightmare Moon had won. The elements were no more. Twilight was completely outmatched and had no hope of winning.

“TWILIGHT!”

Twilight flinched at the sound. Jinx?

“WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Firebrand?

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!”

Shenanigans?

Twilight realized that her friends were coming… wait… friends?

…….

A smile slowly appeared on her face, as the many jumbled thoughts in her head became clear. Everything suddenly made sense.

Twilight turned to the laughing Nightmare Moon with a newfound confidence. “You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that?” she jeered. Nightmare Moon stopped laughing and looked at Twilight quizzically. She wondered if she was bluffing.

“Well you're wrong... because the Elements of Harmony are right…”

“HERE!” The stallions stood in place next to Twilight, ready to combat the evil dictator.

The shattered remains of the elements began to levitate and glow. Nightmare Moon looked down in alarm. "What?!"

Twilight smiled and reminisced her journey to the ancient castle. The struggles each of them went through and overcame together came rushing back into her mind and she began to tell Nightmare Moon what she experienced.

“Aqua Jet, who gained my trust through his dedication to himself and others, represents the spirit of... HONESTY!

Jinx, who befriended a manticore with his display of mercy, represents the spirit of... KINDNESS!

Shenanigans, who inspired us all with his warm and merry heart, represents the spirit of... LAUGHTER!

Firebrand, who was willing to sacrifice anything including his life for the better of others, represents the spirit of... GENEROSITY!

And Prowler, who could not abandon the world for anything he could’ve possibly desired, represents the spirit of... LOYALTY!

The remains of the elements surrounded and circled all of the present ponies as Twilight called each individual, bathing them in a fluorescent light. Twilight continued. “The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!”

“You still don't have the sixth Element!” Nightmare Moon protested. “The spark didn't work!”

Twilight shook her head. “She doesn’t understand.” “But it did!” Twilight confidently insisted. “A different kind of spark.”

Twilight turned to face the group with tears in her eyes. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are my friends!"

As she released the declaration, a brilliant light shone down from above causing the night alicorn to avert her eyes. A spherical bauble similar to the elements formed out of nothingness. It slowly drifted down and hovered above Twilight.

“You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of...”

MAGIC.

The very earth seemed to rumble as Twilight spoke the powerful word. The elements started to shrill and glow even brighter around each pony. Each element dissipated into colored light and circled around each ponies' neck. The lights solidified and formed elaborate jeweled crests. The sixth element hovered over Twilight’s head, and shifted into a large beautiful golden tiara.

The Elements of Harmony started to shine spectacularly and they levitated into the air. A large white light surrounded the ponies, engulfing them in pure magic.

A large rainbow light burst from the top of the group and blasted straight towards Nightmare Moon. The brilliant beam engulfed the panicking Nightmare Moon, who could do nothing but scream in protest as the magic took its effect.

All six ponies lay sprawled out on the floor, unconscious. Shenanigans was the first to get up.

“Ugh…” he groaned as he reclined like a reanimated corpse. “WORST… NIGHT… EVER…”

Jinx woke up at the sound of Shenanigans’s voice. “Wha… is everypony alright?” he asked.

Aqua Jet stood up and stretched. Oddly, there was no pain in any of his joints or bones. “Actually, yeah…” Aqua Jet wiggled his body around. “I wonder…”

He attempted to move his wing under the sling. Even though he had limited movement of it, he still had enough to realize there was no pain. He immediately started to untie the vest. As soon as the final knot was undone, he shot his wings out, displaying them for the group to gape at.

“WHOOOOO!!” Aqua Jet cheered. “My wing’s all right! I AM BACK BABY!”

Firebrand trotted over to Aqua Jet. “I’ll be taking that back, thank you very much.” He said with a smirk, gesturing towards his vest.

“Firebrand, I’d take a look at your wound as well,” Prowler said plainly.

“Huh?”

Prowler gave a small gesture and Firebrand looked at his flank. The short yellow stub that once existed was now replaced by his former long tail. He laughed in pleasant surprise. "Heh, now Shenanigans will stop teasing me about it…" he thought to himself as he turned to Shenanigans. Firebrand’s eyes settled upon a piece of jewelry that hung on Shenanigans's neck. “Whoa, where’d you get the necklace?” he asked.

Shenanigans raised an eyebrow. “Ditto.” Everypony looked down. Sure enough, they all had elaborate golden necklaces with jewels in each center, except for Twilight who had an elegant tiara.

Jinx studied his necklace for a second, then observed the other ponies’ jewelry. “They look like our cutie marks,” Jinx pointed out.

Shenanigans gave his trademark ear to ear grin. “SWEEEEEET…!” He gushed over his new toy. Shenanigans looked over at Twilight, his expression comic.

“I gotta say Twilight, what you said last night was some of the cheesiest stuff I have ever heard.” The stallions stared at Shenanigans, whose expression instantly turned solemn. “But I think what happened speaks for itself,” he continued. “You’re right. We do symbolize the elements of friendship.”

“Indeed you do.”

The group snapped at the sudden warm voice. Everypony looked out the stained glass window. The sun was beginning to rise beautifully over the horizon. The rays from the sun shone brightly, filling the ruins with light. When the light dimmed, a large winged unicorn was standing proudly. Her multicolored mane sparkled and flowed beautifully to the side.

“Princess Celestia.” Twilight breathed. The group of stallions immediately bowed to the alicorn, except for Twilight, who ran to her mentor and hugged her.

Celestia angled her neck and accepted the embrace. “Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student,” she proclaimed. "I knew you could do it."

Twilight looked at Celestia in confusion. “But... you told me it was all an old pony's tale.”

Celestia simply smiled. “I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more,” she explained in her warm, motherly voice. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart.”

“Wow…if she had told me from the beginning, I probably wouldn’t have made friends with these stallions.” Twilight thought, smiling of understanding.

Celestia’s head turned to the side, her smile vanishing. “Now if only another will as well.”

There in the corner was Nightmare Moon, although she looked different. Her armor lay around her, completely shattered. Her jet black mane became dark indigo, and her translucent mane was now a solidified sky blue.

“Princess Luna.”

The fallen alicorn gasped. Princess Celestia slowly walked over to her. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this…” Celestia said as she looked down at Luna, her voice quivering slightly.

Celestia knelt down next to Luna. “Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister…”

Everypony in the room gasped at the reveal. “Sister?” they repeated in disbelief.

Princess Celestia stood upright with a gentle look in her eyes, “Please… will you accept my friendship?”

The situation suddenly turned tense. Each of the Elements of Harmony looked worriedly at the two Princesses, hoping for the best.

Princess Luna looked down for a moment. Multiple emotions could be seen on her face. Sorrow. Guilt. Sadness. Regret. She closed her eyes and grimaced...

...and threw herself at Celestia with tears in her eyes, wrapping her forelegs around her. “I'm so sorry!” she bawled. “I missed you so much, big sister!”

Princess Celestia started to cry as well, tears of joy streaming down her face. “I've missed you, too…”

“PAAAAAARRRTAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Shenanigans and Aqua Jet leaped from table to table, whooping loudly and flailing around, causing half of Ponyville to double over in laughter at their antics. They started riverstomping on the table Firebrand and Prowler were sitting at. After a 20 second routine, they leapt to another table to perform some moves from Moontrotter.

“Shenanigans is crazy… but I don’t think I want him to change.”

“Hear hear. The stallion certainly can throw a good celebration.”

“You have any family, Prowler?”

"Never thought you the small talk type." Prowler quipped with raised his eyebrow. “I figured you of all ponies would know. After all, you see him nearly every day.”

“Sorry, what?” Firebrand asked.

“Snicker.” Prowler answered resting his head in his hooves. “Brown mane? Tan coat? Earth pony?”

“Wait, Snicker is your brother?” Firebrand said incredulously, then sat back in his chair. “Huh. Did not know.” “Now that I think about it, their manes are similar.”

Prowler chuckled as he sipped his mug of cider.

“Hey everypony! Here they come!” Jinx yelled, causing everyone in the vicinity to turn their heads.

A golden carriage pulled by two ponies from the Royal Earth Pony Guard drifted into town. The glowing figures of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna rested on the back. Confetti and streamers rained down as the two were greeted with enthusiastic cheers from the entire populace.

Twilight stared at them from a distance. She had fulfilled her royal duties and no longer had any reason to stay in Ponyville. At first she couldn’t wait to leave. Now she wished she had a little more time.

Twilight had made friends. Good friends that would stick by her in times of trouble. They made her happy just looking at them. For the short time she knew them, they impacted her greatly. Saying goodbye now was like saying goodbye to a piece of herself. She hung her head, her expression sullen.

“Why so glum, my faithful student?” Princess Celestia asked from behind Twilight. “Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?”

Twilight didn’t look up. “That's just it. Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them.” Twilight turned. She saw the stallions behind her, listening intently to what she said, somber looks on their faces.

Aqua Jet stepped forward. “Princess…” he asked, “Does she really have to go?”

Princess Celestia looked thoughtful for a second, pondering the unicorn’s lament. Her expression soon changed to a warm smile. “Spike,” Celestia addressed. The purple dragon instantly jumped to her side with a scroll and parchment.

“Take a note, please.” Celestia stood proudly and spoke in a royal manner. “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville,” she finished with a smile.

Twilight eyes oozed with pure concentrated glee as her friends embraced her in a group hug. “Oh thank you, Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before.”

Shenanigans raised his eyebrows at Twilight. “Aww, man, really? I don’t think that would make for a very interesting chapter, Twilight.”

“What?”

“NOTHING!”

Chapter 3: That's The Ticket

CRASH! SMASH! BOOM!

The maroon doorways of the Parading Flames Theater echoed with uproarious laughter.

“You’ll never catch us, Kindle!” a crimson pegasus yelled back.

“We’ll see about that, Spark!” a peach filly replied. “Come on Spike!”

“Stop Kindle, wait!" Spike cried. "Stop running, please!!!”

Two little colts exploded through a door and dashed through the room. A determined peach unicorn ridden by a small purple dragon appeared in the doorway as well, giving hot pursuit to the giggling duo.

The two parties dashed into the next room. Spark's eyes fixated on a red vintage couch in the middle of the room. Seeing an opportunity to lose their chasers, Spark and Snicker jumped on the furniture. The impact caused it to fall over onto its side, making it much more difficult to jump over. Kindle darted around it, losing precious distance from her targets.

The colts made their way into the dining room and were quickly followed by Kindle and her unwilling rider. They dove under the white tablecloth and slid underneath the wooden chairs. The two colts attempted to lose their pursuers by taking a sharp left into the next room.

"Wait, Kindle! DON'T!" Spike begged.

Kindle ignored Spike and dove under the cloth as well. The poor purple dragon on her back got smacked in the gut with the end of the table and fell, completely immobilized.

"Ha, you lose Kindle! Now all you have is-WAAAA!" Spark yelped as his body floated away from the floor. He stopped in midair, surrounded by a red ethereal aura.

"Hey, what the heck is- FIREBRAND!"

The large red unicorn appeared through the doorway, his horn glowing a bright red and an annoyed look on his face.

"RUN!" Spark ordered. Snicker immediately turned towards the nearest door and propelled his legs. The door wasn't getting any closer for some reason. Snicker looked down. His legs were glowing purple.

"Hey, no fair! How are you holding me if you already have..." A purple unicorn came into the doorway, cutting off his question.

"You're mine now, boys!" Kindle said as she leaped into the air at Snicker. With a look of pure nonchalance, Twilight lifted Snicker further into air out of Kindle's reach. Kindle refused to give up and kept leaping in the air, swiping like a cat at a dangling toy. Firebrand walked over and wrapped his oversized foreleg around Kindle, completely restricting her movement.

Spark and Snicker struggled and flailed around in the magical grips, trying anything to counter the unicorns' levitation spells. No matter which way Spark twisted and turned, he couldn't break the magic. Kindle wasn't faring much better, as her small legs barely budged her older brother's stocky grip. In a last ditch attempt to break free, Kindle stuck out her tongue and dragged it across Firebrand's leg. The leg didn't budge.

All three foals gave Firebrand grumpy looks of defeat.

“How many times have I told you three not to roughhouse indoors?” Firebrand lectured. "Especially in the dining room where you could easily break something important? Now go outside. You've already made enough of a mess in here, one that I now have to clean up. After which, you and I are going to have a little chat."

Firebrand cut off the magic to his horn, releasing Spark from the magical grip. Spark's wings fluttered as he gently landed on the floor. Twilight made sure to place Snicker down on the floor before deactivating her spell.

Firebrand gestured with his muzzle towards the entrance, where Twilight Sparkle stood holding the front door. The colts looked at each other and shrugged as they walked out the door. Once Twilight shut the door, Firebrand released Kindle from his hooves.

“You, little missy, are going upstairs,” Firebrand commanded the filly.

Kindle looked up at him with wide indignant eyes. “But he called me -“

“Here, Kindle, I got you a new book,” Twilight offered, gently shoving a Daring Do and the Vampony's Castle volume into Kindle’s hooves. “Why don’t you go up to your room and read it?”

Kindle stared at the book she was now cradling. She nodded slowly and trotted away. Twilight's eyes followed Kindle out of the room. and she could swear she thought she saw the peach filly grinning in triumph.

Firebrand turned to face Twilight and smiled. “Thanks for taking me up on my offer Twilight,” Firebrand breathed as he slumped against the wall. “Kids can be a real load... especially pegasi.”

“Not a problem,” Twilight answered as she started levitating some of the objects scattered across the floor. “Kindle seems to be an easy fix as long as she can ignore those two colts.”

Firebrand chuckled as he activated his own horn and reset the upturned couch. “I figured you two would get along,” he said as Twilight finished organizing the room. “You’re both into books. Well, Kindle’s more into reading stories rather than educating herself but-”

“HEY, NOT TRUE!” Kindle whined from the other room.

“Hay is for horses!” Firebrand shouted back.

Elsewhere in the multiverse, someone just threw up their lunch and died.

"WHAT?" Twilight asked with a slightly disgusted look on her face.

“I know, I know,” Firebrand explained sheepishly while rubbing the back of his mane. “My dad did that to me when I was that age, so whenever I’m around children, bad jokes like that just kinda shoot out every now and again.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled as she straightened out an upturned chair.

Spike then stumbled into the room, barely able to walk a straight line. He clutched his stomach in pain and fell on his haunches.

“Oof... I don’t feel so good...” Spike groaned as his chest started to heave. With a huge burp, a large plume of green flame exited his maw with a large belch. The flame wrapped around itself and a floating tan scroll materialized.

“Speaking of things shooting out…” Firebrand said with interest, dropping the chair he was holding.

The scroll descended and hovered in front of the three. Twilight observed the royal insignia encrusted on the scroll. “It's a letter from Princess Celestia,” she stated, her interest rising.

Spike cleared his throat.

“Hear ye, hear ye,” he read in a faux royal voice. “Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce The Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot on the 21st day of..." Spike sighed and brought the letter closer to his face. "Yadda yadda yadda, cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest.”

“The Grand Galloping Gala?!” Twilight exclaimed with an unhinged jaw. Twilight exploded into the air, squealing like a little foal.

“The Grand Galloping Gala!" she screamed, bouncing with each cheer. "The Grand Galloping Gala! The Grand Galloping Gala!”

Firebrand rolled his eyes and grinned while Spike started to forcefully gag.

“This is amazing!” Twilight said giddy with excitement. “I've never been to the gala. Have you, Spike?”

Spike rolled his eyes and grimaced. “No, and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want any of that girly frilly froo-froo nonsense.” Spike waved his claws around for emphasis.

“Whoa," Firebrand shot a glare at the purple dragon. "There are in fact males who attend the gala every year,” he defended. “Dancing and partying isn’t strictly for mares you know.”

Spike stuck out his tongue and pointed at it in obvious disagreement. Firebrand sighed and returned his attention to the floating tickets.

Twilight also ignored Spike's comment and turned her attention towards the tickets currently hovering in front of her face. As they stood suspended in the air, a question loomed as well.

"Who am I going to take to the Gala?"

Like anypony, she wanted to take all of her friends. Problem was, she only had one extra. Did she really have to leave somepony out? How could she possibly choose? Was... she was going to have to pick a favorite? She liked them all equally...

Or did she?

She quickly shook her head of such thoughts and glanced at Firebrand, who was still gazing longingly at the floating tickets.

“The Grand Galloping Gala...” Firebrand mused. His expression slowly brightened. “That’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to go! I’ve never performed for an audience like those high class folks at Canterlot! If I got the chance to play there, it would really get the Fire name out and make us famous!”

“Perfect!” Twilight said, her worries vanishing. “Since you’re here, would you like to come?”

Firebrand’s face looked as if it were going to explode with excitement and joy.

“YES I-" Firebrand’s facial expression suddenly dropped. "-don't think I can! I think I might have plans for that day! Horseapples!”

Firebrand magically pulled a small notebook out of from his pocket and opened it, viciously scanning through the pages in an anxious frenzy. Not wanting to break the irate musician's concentration, Twilight tip-toed to the side and glanced over his shoulder. Firebrand seemed to stop on a calendar looking page, his eyes darting back and forth across it. Twilight made a mental note of possibly getting one of these pocket books, it might be useful.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'moooooooon..." Firebrand repeated to himself. A look of disappointment spread across his face as "Eerrgghh... darn it. I was going to visit my family up in Baltimare for that weekend." Firebrand facehooved and started to thrash his head about. "Perfect, just freaking perfect!”

Twilight tried to calm the agitated stallion, but all that came out was, “I’m sorry, Firebrand.”

With a dejected sigh, Firebrand waved his hoof. “Ehh, I’ll get over it. You, know, why don’t you ask Shen or Aqua? They could be available.”

Twilight pondered that for a moment. She did have four other friends who might want to join her. She shrugged and turned to leave. “Alright. Sorry you couldn’t come!” she called as she walked out the front door.

“So am I…” Firebrand sighed.

"That'll be two bits."

"Thanks, Carrot." Spike said cheerfully as he threw the coins on the table. He grabbed the carrots and placed them in Twilight's knapsack. "So, we got carrots, tomatoes, lettuce... hm. I could really use some apples now for some reason..."

"Mmhmm," Twilight mumbled.

Spike looked up, noticing Twilight's lack of speech and glum tone. "What's wrong, Twilight?"

“Nothing just..." Twilight sighed, looking back at the theater with a pained stare. "Firebrand seemed really upset,”

“Aw, don’t worry Twilight,” Spike reassured. “You heard him, he said he’d feel better later, and besides, I’m pretty sure one of our other friends would be more than happy to come.”

Twilight stopped walking, then stood up straight in newfound confidence. “You’re right, Spike. I need to remain optimistic.”

“Well, it seems you’re learning!"

A high-pitched singsong voice behind Twilight and Spike to turn their heads. A green earth pony brimming with cheer and energy pranced up to them.

"So when did you graduate from Shenanigans' school of making-good-out-of-bad?" The happy-go-lucky stallion gave Twilight a grin. "Darn, I wish I had a diploma to give you. I bet you looked just adorable in the robe and cap."

“Hello, Shenanigans!" Twilight smiled, from both the joke and seeing the opportunity arise. "Do you by any chance have plans on the 21st?”

“Why?” Shen asked, comically cocking his head to the side.

“Well, I was hoping you might be interested in going to the Grand Galloping Gala with me.”

Shenanigans became a statue. The pupils in his big bright eyes grew and engulfed his irises. “You’re going to the Grand Galloping Gala? REALLY?!”

"Jackpot," Twilight grinned. “Yes! Princess Celestia gave me two tickets, one for me and another for anypony of my choosing!”

"What?" Shenangians' expression dropped. His eyebrow raised in suspicion, confusing Twilight who was expecting a happy response.

"That doesn't make any sense." Shenanigans said as his gaze drifted to the corner of his eye. "Princess Celestia only sent you two tickets when she’s fully aware that you have five friends who just might want to come to the biggest celebration of the year? Pun intended, I call shenanigans.”

Twilight blinked. "Did Shenanigans just... question Princess Celestia's motives?" Twilight thought. "How could he accuse her of something like that?! Princess Celestia is the most wonderful pony ever in existence! Princess Celestia wouldn't intentionally do something like this..."

...

Would she?

“Well, I… uh…”

“Ehh, I wouldn’t think about it too much," Shen shrugged. "Probably just didn’t have room or something along those lines. I dunno.”

"He is so... strange." Twilight thought. Shenanigans seemed to have some sort of radar that pointed out unnecessarily complicated or unfairly contrived situations. As soon as he did though, he immediately brushed them off and pretty much answered his own questions, much to the confusion of everypony around him.

“But anyways, you gotta let me come! I’ve always wanted to go!” Shenanigans pleaded. “Everypony keeps telling me how awesome it is! The lights, the atmosphere; it’s something I’ve always wanted to see! It’s supposed to be the experience of a lifetime, and…”

Shenanigans jumped on a nearby dining table. The ponies who were unfortunate enough to be dining on it gasped in astonishment as their meals were stepped in and ruined. Shen stood proudly; giving a pose reminiscent of royalty as he delivered his ultimatum.

“With Celestia as my witness, I’m not missing out on something this huge!”

In that moment, Mayor Mare trotted up. “Oh there you are, Shenanigans," the mayor said. "Listen, I need you to come in on the night of the 21st. The normal staff is going to be missing come the Grand Galloping Gala, and you’ll need to fill in for all of them. Have a nice day!"

Mayor Mare walked off with a casual grin on her face, leaving a disappointed Twilight with a mouth wide in shock. She sighed and turned to Shenanigans, who was still frozen in place. He still had his victorious smile, but his eyes formed an intense expression.

“Aw come ooooooooon!” he cried as he fell backwards off the table onto his back. “What are the chances of that?!”

“It’s okay Shenanigans." Twilight sighed at his tragic display. "I’ll just find somepony else.”

“But… but… but...” Shenanigans started to protest, but then moaned in defeat. “…fine,” he grumbled to himself as he picked himself up from the ground. He trudged away from Twilight, hanging his head and mumbling.

"Shenanigans..."

"Hey, you! Are you gonna pay for the food your friend just stepped in?"

"Okay, two down, but we still got three more to ask!" Spike said. "We've just run into a bit of bad luck is all."

“I hope that's the case. I'd really hate to not have anypony to go to the gala with..." Twilight muttered to herself.

“Doth my ears deceive me?" A suave voice behind her cooed. "You have tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?”

Twilight turned her head. A purple pegasus was above them, head resting on his forelegs and hovering as if he were laying on his chest. He landed next to Twilight with an eager and seductive smile on his face.

"How did he get here? Was he stalking me?" Twilight smiled. "Oh wait, it's Prowler, I shouldn't be surprised."

“Yes I do! I was hoping I could…”

“Say what?”

Aqua Jet zoomed over out of nowhere and landed on the ground with a large thud, causing the other three to wobble off balance.

“Oh, dude, you're luuuuucky," Aqua Jet pined.

"Lucky? Why on earth would you want to go, Aqua Jet?" Prowler asked. Twilight nodded as well; it didn't seem like Aqua was the formal gala type.

"Of course I don't wanna go to talk to the fat cats, bleh," Aqua grimaced. "But the thing is, the mountainside next to Canterlot is a perfect place to show off my stunts! And at the gala? Dude, I’d get noticed in no time at all! My team of super-flying daredevils would be guaranteed!”

“Assuming you survived your first stunt,” Prowler silently coughed to the side.

“I’d sure as heck love to go. But… ain't no way I can. I unfortunately gotta manage the weather here. Ponyville’s due for a sprinkle that night, and I can’t go.”

Twilight felt her heart sink. “Really?”

“Trust me Twi, I really don’t wanna work on the night of the gala, and push out a storm even...” Aqua Jet sighed, “but... I kinda have to. Lame, I know...”

Twilight turned to the dark pegasus. “Prowler?” she asked hopefully.

Prowler sighed and adjusted his glasses. “Sorry Twilight, unfortunately I cannot attend either. As chief of security, I have duties here. Especially on the night of the gala, where many ponies are going to be there and leaving their homes empty and defenseless. As much as I would love to do some...”

Two mares, one a mint green unicorn and the other a cream earth pony, sat on a park bench conversing and giggling. A small mischievous grin crept up onto Prowler's face.

“Some... scouting of the populace..." Prowler slurred, before shaking his head and snapping himself back. "I cannot, will not, and would not. I simply have responsibilities that cannot be shirked.”

“Jeez, dude, you sound like my dad,” Aqua Jet chuckled. His face then contorted into a mockery of an old stallion's muzzle, his lower jaw stuck out and his eyes scrunched. “‘Aqua Jet!" He said in a mockery of an old man's voice. "You must be responsible and do your duty! Work before pleasure,’ blah blah blah…”

Prowler gave a swift shove to Aqua Jet’s side.

"Ow! What the hay was that for?" Aqua jet whined.

Prowler motioned with his head at a distraught-looking Twilight, holding her head low with a droopy frown.

“Aw come on, don’t look so down, Twi," Aqua Jet shrugged, "I’m sure there’s somepony that’s free, it’s just not gonna be one of us.”

“But I wanna go with one of my friends!” Twilight insisted. “It’ll be so lonely without one of you.”

“Trust us, Twilight,” Prowler responded with a sigh, “it’s a shame for all of us.”

“Cheer up Twilight.” Spike said while patting Twilight's side. “We still got Jinx to ask. This time it will work. What could Jinx possibly have going on that could make him not come to the Gala?”

The two approached Jinx’s white laboratory and greenhouse/orchard/farm.

“Gee I don’t know,” Twilight retorted as she rolled her eyes. “That’s what I thought about the other four.”

“Now, Twilight," Spike said while shaking a finger. "That’s what we don’t want. Negativity.”

Twilight exhaled deeply and dragged her legs to the front door. She raised her hoof and knocked. The door creaked open at the impact, much to Twilight's astonishment.

“It's open? Weird..." "Jinx? Are you there?” Twilight called.

No answer.

“Jinx? Hello?” Twilight called, her voice shaking.

Twilight's eyes strained to make anything out in the blackness of the room. A counter with multiple sinks protruded from the center with multiple potted plants scattered about on it. Numerous shelves filled with vials and bottles clung to the sides of the walls. Everything seemed to be in order, but no sign of the goggled gray alchemist.

“Maybe he’s not home?” Spike asked.

A small rumble rocked them, knocking the two off balance. A muffled high-pitched voice reverberated beneath the floor. Twilight placed her head to the floor with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Do you hear anything?" Spike asked.

"I hear... laughing."

"Laughing?" Spike said in disbelief.

"Yes. Somepony is below us." Twilight said as she stood upright. "Start looking for a door that leads to a basement or something."

“Like that?” Spike said while pointing a finger. In the corner of the room was a conspicuous looking wooden slab. They both walked up to it and observed it with curious glances. The wooden slab had a large metal ring serving as a handle, with a large metal hook and eye binding it to the floor.

"It's a trapdoor," Twilight thought aloud. She magically unlatched the lock on the trapdoor. As she lifted the handle, the door let out a resounding creak causing Spike to wince and look around anxiously.

Twilight peeked through the hole in the floor uncovered by the hatch. A flight of eerie-looking stone stairs descended into complete darkness. Twilight started to climb down, but was stopped by a claw.

“Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea?" Spike pleaded. "It's not like I'm scared to go down into a creepy tunnel that doesn't look like it leads to something we shouldn't know about, but... we’re trespassing as it is, are you sure we should be doing this?”

“Come on Spike, this is Jinx, the Element of Kindness we’re talking about here. What could possibly go wrong?”

"You should be glad Shenanigans wasn't around to hear you say that," Spike pointed out. Still, Spike had to admit Jinx's timid and gentle nature meant they were most likely safe from bodily harm.

Spike clung to Twilight's leg as they slowly descended the dark stairwell. The brown walls gleamed with moistness and the faint smell of chlorinated water permeated the air. The humming of an engine reverberated throughout the corridor, causing Spike to grip tighter. The two reached the final step and stood with mouths agape.

Twilight and Spike couldn't believe what they were seeing. While the upper floor seemed more fitting for fields of biology, this one seemed more fitting for chemistry, except if it were owned by a mad scientist. Through the dim light, Twilight could make out enormous machines sporting a twisted matrix of pipes with superconductors protruding from the top. They hummed loudly as they pumped a dark orange liquid through elaborately connected glass tubes which extended from one side of the room to the other. Twilight followed the liquid's twisting path with her eyes until her eyes stopped on a small nozzle squirting the liquid into a jar filled with a purple powder. The liquid fizzled as it came into contact with the powder, releasing a red smoke.

The sound of hooves clopping alerted Twilight to somepony else in the room. She yanked Spike behind the wall and peeked outwards. A light gray earth pony with large red goggles and a muzzle carrying a test tube case slowly approached the large beaker filled with the bubbling brew.

"Twilight? What's Jinx doing?"

"I don't know," Twilight answered as Jinx cautiously picked up the large beaker and poured a small portions of it into multiple medium-sized vials. After placing six filled test tubes into the carrying case, he picked it up with his mouth and walked towards a small table in the center.

A small circular stand stood shining on the center table. Large electrical wires connected the stand to the conductors the large generators in the back of the lab. Beads of sweat dripped from his face as he gently placed it on the table.

Jinx's head snapped upwards as a large siren blared. He deftly plucked one of the vials from the case and quickly placed it in the stand. Gritting his teeth, he ran for the generator in the back of the lab and placed his hooves on a large red lever.

“IT… COULD… WORK!!!” Jinx screamed as he pulled the switch. A surge of electricity screamed from the top of the generator causing a crackling electrical current to flow down the long wires towards the center of the room. The branching energy engulfed a vial on the center table, emitting a large blinding light. Twilight and Spike were forced to shield their eyes, but Jinx’s goggles allowed him to take in all of his experiment’s glory and wonder. The flash vanished and everyone in the room beheld the results.

The small vial that originally contained a clear orange liquid was now glowing a phosphorescent blue. Jinx slowly approached the workdesk, paying careful attention to his latest creation. He gently lifted it from the stand and brought it close to his muzzle. After staring at it for a few moments, he suddenly burst into evil laughter.

“MWAHAHAHAHA! I’VE DONE IT! AFTER MONTHS AND MONTHS, I’VE ACHIEVED IT! I’M A GENIUS! ALL HAIL THE ALMIGHTY JINX, MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE, OVERLORD OF-”

Jinx ecstatically spun around, flaunting his latest creation, and froze. Twilight was standing there, observing Jinx’s... passion... in soft horror. Neither moved nor batted an eye for what seemed like an eternity. The tension and awkwardness became palpable as neither were brave enough to break the silence. A wide-eyed look remained fixated to Twilight's face but Jinx’s expression remained a mystery due to his red goggles covering his eyes.

“Twilight?”

“Jinx?”

“…H-how long have you been standing there?”

“I… umm… saw everything. Jinx.”

“Oh my goodness!" Jinx immediately panicked and threw a rag over his finished experiment. "I… it’s not… I was just… All it is is…” Jinx stammered. He gulped and pulled his goggles off, his face a flushed a bright red akin to his eyes.

“Please don’t tell anypony,” he whimpered, burying his face in his hooves.

“Don’t worry, Jinx, this’ll stay between us. Right Spike?"

No response.

“Spike.”

Still no response.

“SPIKE!”

The baby dragon jumped and quickly gave his answer. “Oh, yeah, yeah, Jinx, I won’t say a word.”

Jinx gave a shiver of pure embarrassment. After giving a couple dejected whimpers, he looked off towards the shelves to his left and rested his head in his hooves. “So… ummm…" he peeped with a twitching mouth. "Did you… need something?”

“Oh I almost forgot!" Twilight perked up. "I have an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala and was wondering if you wanted to come!”

“The Grand Galloping Gala? Really?!" Jinx exclaimed, almost falling out of his chair. The tensity of the room instantly evaporated as Jinx jumped out of his seat, eyes glowing with happiness. "That’d be incredible! I mean, I couldn’t care less about the actual gala, but I’m much more excited for who’s showing up there!”

“Who?” Twilight and Spike asked in unison.

“Doctor Charm!”

“The famous alchemist?” Twilight asked.

“You know him, Twilight?” Spike said.

“Well, yeah he…”

“He’s a genius!" Jinx swooned. "Doctor Smiling Charm is a legend amongst alchemists. The scientific breakthroughs he’s discovered, the things he’s created; I own every single one of his books, and- oh I’m sorry I got carried away.” Jinx sighed dreamily, his eyes drifting upwards. “What I wouldn’t give to be his apprentice…”

“So you want to come?”

“I can’t.”

Twilight’s heart plummeted. “What?”

“I don’t have anything planned on the day of the gala itself, but I do the day after. I’m substituting for Cheerilee the day after the gala, and I need that night to prepare for the class.”

Spike’s eyes widened as he got an image of mad-doctor Jinx teaching an entire classroom... full of children...

“But Jinx…” Twilight protested, her voice quivering.

“Trust me, I really want to go, but I can’t." he said softly as he spun in his chair and returned to his work. "Sorry, Twilight..."

“Alright so Jinx wasn’t available, but maybe we can... Twilight?” Spike looked around and saw Twilight walking away from the lab.

“Twilight, where are you going?” Spike called.

“Home…” Twilight replied, not turning to look back at Spike.

Entering the library, Twilight retreated upstairs to her room. Spike decided it would be best if he stayed downstairs and began to organize a pile of books in the corner of the room. Twilight shoved her bedroom door open and threw herself atop her bed, burying her face in the pillows. She breathed heavily through the fabric; her body lacking the motivation to flip herself upright.

Twilight was destroyed. Any other time she would've happily gone to the gala. But now that she had friends, things became more complicated. These stallions were a joy to be around, and going without one of her friends seemed like having a telescope without any stars to look at. She rolled over and stared at her blank ceiling. Her eyes became misty as her frustrated eyes refused to blink.

"This is so stupid." she thought angrily. "There's always got to be a catch, huh? I get the chance of a lifetime and I can't share it with anypony else?"

A knocking noise interrupted Twilight's thoughts. Twilight's body rolled over and faced her bedroom door. After staring at it briefly with a scowl on her face, she rolled back over pulled the blanket over her head.

“Twilight, it’s for you!” Spike called.

Twilight's body cried out to not leave the bed, but her brain forced the stone limbs to drag themselves out of bed. She hung her head low as she shoved her door open trotted down the stairs.

“Hey, Twilight..."

Twilight looked up. The brick red Firebrand looked down at her with tender eyes.

"Twilight, have you been crying?”

“No!" Twilight shook her head and wiped her eyes. "It’s just... ummm... sometimes a lot of books don't get checked out too often, and they collect dust! I was reading one and they got into my eyes! Yeah, that's it!" Twilight smiled, giving a poker face that would make a magician blush. Firebrand's expression remained unchanged.

Twilight looked down. "I was looking forward to going to the Grand Galloping Gala with one of you, but all of you are busy."

“Yeah... actually, I came to talk to you about that." Firebrand said with a smile. "See, I called my parents and asked if I could go with you and have our family reunion some other time. They actually said yes and we rescheduled it for the weekend before, so now I’ll be able to stay and go with you to the Gala!”

Twilight's body felt as if were going to be lifted off the floor. Her features brightened as the feelings of utter disappointment washed away.

Another knock was heard. Twilight and Firebrand exchanged curious glances. Twilight walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a teal-maned dark pegasus standing in the doorway.

“Oh hello Firebrand, old chap," Prowler drawled. "Fascinating to see you here, is- Twilight! I've been looking for you, love. Might I have a moment of your time?” Stepping inside after Twilight moved out of his way, he adjusted his glasses back onto his face.

“I thought about your proposition... As head of Ponyville’s security, it’s my sworn duty to make sure that all citizens of Ponyville are secure. As you are well-aware, I take my job very seriously. So seriously that it just dawned on me that I haven’t taken a vacation in quite some time. So I decided to take the day off. Now I’ll be able to escort you to the Gala as any good gentlecolt should.”

“Now wait a...”

Firebrand’s protest was cut off by a sudden crash. The window was blown open and a massive blue object hit the ground with resounding force. It rolled along the surface of the floor until it smashed into the bookcase near Spike.

"Aqua Jet!" Twilight began. "What are you..."

“Hey Twi, guess what? I caught a break!" Aqua Jet rasped as he scrambled to bring himself to his hooves. "Someone else on the weather patrol said he could cover my shift. I now owe him a favor, sure, but I’m free if ya want!”

“Um, Aqua, I...”

Prowler was silenced by a white rush skidding to a halt in the library. Jinx looked relieved to see Twilight and began speaking. “Twilight! I’m glad I finally caught up to you. See... I said before that I needed to take the night off before the Gala to plan. However... the one topic I seemed to have issue with was one of my lectures. So I decided to cut that out and... the rest of it was easy! It won’t take me any time to set up at all, so I’ll be able to go to the Gala with you.”

Now Twilight felt cornered. Her previous sadness of not having anyone to go to the Gala with was being replaced with anxiety on being forced to choose who she would take. And to top it off, as if on some cosmic cue, the missing sixth green pony happened to trot in.

“Hey Twilight!” Shenanigans greeted. “I just... Wait, what in...”

Shenanigans eyes slowly scanned the room. Four stallions were standing in front of Twilight. Didn't all the stallions supposedly have plans that interfered with the gala? And they were now in the room with Twilight, obviously wanting something?

...

Processing...

...

“OH YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” Shenanigans snarled angrily.

Twilight gawked at Shenanigans for a bit. “Weren’t you supposed to... How did you even... you know what? Never mind. I’m not sure I want to know.” She sputtered as she massaged her temples.

Twilight then noticed the five stallions silently looking at her.

"Why are they staring at me like that?" Twilight thought. The answer eventually dawned on her. "Oh... right... Okay, Twilight... what's the situation now? Well, now we have five friends, and only two tickets. Five friends and two tickets. Oh no, what am I going to do?!"

“I... I...” she stammered. Her eyes began to dart between each of the stallions. Her heartbeat quickened as the stallion's eyes burrowed into her skull. She instinctively took a step backwards. The wood beneath her hoof gave a quiet creak.

“INEEDTOBEALONE” Twilight screamed as she sprinted upstairs to her room, leaving the five anxious ponies in the main lobby. She clumsily shoved the door to her room shut, making more noise than she intended. Twilight flinched at the slamming sound, thinking she was giving the wrong impression to the stallions downstairs.

She stopped in place. Her mind raced through the events of the day and what just happened.

"What am I going to do?" she thought, sliding down on the door until she hit the floor. "I don't want any of my friends to be left out, but the way this is set up, I'm going to have to pick somepony over another. Even if I gave up my own ticket, there would still be three others that couldn’t go. And to top it off, they each made a few sacrifices in order to get her extra ticket, which will make me feel worse for making a decision. GAH THIS SO FRUSTRATING!!!"

Her mind wasted and despairing, Twilight slumped on her star-spangled bed and stared at the ceiling. She was going to have to make a choice.

A choice where somepony will inevitably be disappointed.

"Gentlecolts, we should probably make ourselves comfortable." Prowler suggested as he adjusted his glasses.

"Why?" Jinx asked.

"Because this is a big decision Twilight's going to have to make." Firebrand explained as he slumped against a wall. "There's no way this can be easy for her. You know what? Scratch that, this isn't easy for her."

"Man, if I had just come earlier..." Aqua Jet moaned.

"Hey, now is not the time for that." Shen said. "What we need to do is just sit here and wait, and try not to argue."

Aqua Jet nodded while releasing a moan and leaned against a bookshelf. Shenanigans leaned back and sprawled out across the floor where he stood. Jinx just sat his haunches down and waited.

"How long has she been up there?" Shen asked to the ceiling.

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes." Prowler replied nonchalantly with a glance to the clock.

The atmosphere in the room became increasingly awkward as time went on. The stallions tried not to look at each other for fear of setting the room off.

The sound of a door opening caused each of the ponies to snap to attention.

Twilight slowly descended the stairs, her face completely unreadable, but her lowly hung head and the solemn way she was walking indicated she had a rough time. They stood up and said nothing as Twilight reached the floor. Twilight stopped a few feet away from the line of stallions and didn't look at them. She took a few deep breaths, then gazed at her patiently waiting friends.

"I've-"

“Twilight, wait,” Firebrand interrupted. “We just wanted to say that... we didn’t intend for this choice to be forced on you like this.”

“This was something that could not be anticipated, and we understand how difficult this is for you,” Prowler continued. “So we feel you should know-”

“It don’t matter who ya pick, Twi,” Aqua Jet finished.

“We just want you to know that whoever you pick, we’ll all still be friends,” Jinx added.

“We won’t think less of you, because we’re all friends and you just happened to not have an extra ticket,” Shenanigans said. “Bottom line, we’re friends now...”

The five stallions walked over to Twilight and gave a big group hug.

“And we’ll still be friends after this.”

A warm smile spread across Twilight's face. "I have the greatest friends ever..." They stayed in their embrace for a little bit, the warmth of their bodies feeling strangely comfortable.

“I’ve decided...”

The stallions quickly broke the embrace and stood in a line, either wide-eyed in anticipation or clenched like they were bracing for impact. Twilight took another deep breath and delivered her decision.

“None of us are going.” Each of the stallions gave a look of sheer shock.

“This just isn’t fair, on any of us,” Twilight explained. “If I can’t go with all my friends, I don’t want to go either.”

Her friends immediately started to protest, but she cut them off with a wave of her hoof. “I couldn’t possibly enjoy myself at the gala knowing that I left one of you out. I want all of you there with me, so... I would rather not go at all.” The stallions looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement.

“If this is what you want Twilight...”

Twilight turned to her assistant and levitated a parchment and quill into his claws. “Yes, Spike, take down a note,” Twilight asked as Spike prepared to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I've learned that one of the best blessings you can ever have is a good friend who doesn't care if he or she is picked over someone else. Being forced to choose a friend over another is a horrible experience that a good friend won’t force you to go through. But these times will still happen, and that good friend will be there to let you know that choices like that won't ruin a friendship. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

With a somber look in his eyes, Spike rolled the tickets in the parchment and sent the letter to Celestia. The room stayed quiet, nopony looking at each other or speaking of the events that transpired.

...

“Snickerdoodle.”

All the heads in the room turned towards the source of the voice. Shenanigans was in the corner of the library wearing the most incriminating grin possible. Everypony in the room stared at him with cocked eyebrows.

A few moments passed and smiles slowly grew on their faces. The more the word repeated throughout their minds, the more absurd it sounded. The smiles soon escalated into muffled snickers until the group suddenly burst into laughing fits.

Shenanigans grinned his signature toothy smile. "What? I couldn't take the awkwardness anymore. I had to say something."

A huge burp came from Spike as a letter materialized in from his mouth. Wiping the tears from his eyes and still giggling a little, Spike read the letter to the laughing ponies.

My faithful student Twilight,

Why didn't you just say so in the first place? Six tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala.

Spike burped again, and six hovering golden tickets formed out of his green flame. Everyone in the room gasped.

"3... 2... 1..." Shen counted.

“WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Aqua Jet cheered. “Yes! Yes! Yeeeeess!!!!” He leaped into the air and looped around the inside of the library. Everypony in the room cheered in agreement. All their dreams were coming true, all the sadness gone, and was now replaced with enthusiastic anticipation. Spike however was surprisingly quiet.

“How come I don't get a ticket to the gala?” he complained silently. Immediately after, Spike gave out another burp that made another ticket and another scroll appear.

And one for you, Spike. As soon as the gold flashed, Spike snatched the ticket.

“Yay!” Spike cheered. He was quickly silenced with an accusing glare from Firebrand. Recounting what happened earlier that morning, Spike immediately tried, and failed, to save face.

“I mean, gross, I have to go too?” The group, especially Firebrand, laughed even harder.

“Well, this whole thing turned out pretty well,” Jinx commented, smiling.

“Indeed,” Prowler agreed. “I believe a celebration is in order.”

“A celebration celebrating us going to a celebration?” Shenanigans commented. “Yo dawg, I heard you like celebrations!”

“Is that supposed to be an impression of Aqua Jet?” Twilight asked.

“No! It's a..." Shenanigans started, but then facehooved.

"Forget it.”

Chapter 4: Nightwatcher Day

Silence.

Silence and Tranquility.

The white moon shone brightly over the sleeping town of Ponyville. A light white fog drifted between the buildings and not a soul stirred in the streets. Everypony was sound asleep and would not wake until morning.

“A perfect time for a robbery…” somepony clad in a black jumpsuit muttered as he emerged from an alley.

His head popped out from the corner of the alley. His head moved left and right as he surveyed the streets. Empty. He lightly galloped across the street and pressed himself against a wall. He tiphooved lightly across the wall and swiftly moved towards the next building.

The crook grinned as he approached his destination. The logo sporting the words "Star Jewelry" spread across the window. The crooked burglar walked up to the door and pulled out a knife. He shoved the knife into the door's lock and twisted it around. A light click resounded, letting the robber know he was clear to enter. He lightly pushed the creaking door open.

He slowly scanned the dark room until his eyes nestled upon his targets: beautiful jewelry resting on pillows on shelves and the register containing hard-earned bits. With a grin on his face, he deftly moved over to the sparkling baubles and swiped them into his large bag. He then moved to the register, carefully prying the drawer open to make sure the chime didn't sound. The drawer slid open and the exposed golden bits shined under the moonlight. The bits made their way into the bag as well.

“Hehehe... they never saw it comin’.”

Cackling quietly to himself, the robber decided he no longer needed to linger. He promptly tied his bag and fled out the door, leaving nothing left for the owners. He galloped silently through the abandoned streets and stuck to the shadows and alleyways, carefully making sure he wasn’t followed. After a few minutes, he came across a dark alley on the other side of town and stopped. Backing up towards a dumpster and feeling completely safe, the crook opened his loot. The shining bits and sparkling gems gleamed beautifully under the moonlight.

“Too easy.”

“Lovely. So what did you get?” a dignified voice behind him said.

“Oh, just some jewels, some bit-WAIT A MINUTE!”

The robber whirled around. Directly down the alley blocking his exit was a dark purple pagasus with a smooth flowing teal mane. The pegasus was dressed in a black security officer’s uniform. Embroidered on the left sleeve was golden sheriff badge bearing the pegasus’ name: Prowler.

The pegasus titled his head to the side to get a better look at the burglar’s bag. Upon seeing the rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and cash inside, he narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow at the thief.

“Well well well, caught in the act. Listen up, there are three possible outcomes to this,” Prowler said as he folded his glasses and dropped them into his breast pocket. “One... you try and fight me and I beat you to a whimpering pulp.”

He slowly approached the quivering pony with his head held high. The robber started to scramble backwards looking for a way out. Dead end.

“Two... you try and run and I snap your legs in two. Which is it?”

The crook didn’t move, shaking in pure carnal terror. The bespectacled pegasus just grinned, his eyes gleaming with the ferocity of a panther.

“So, you’re taking the third option of just standing there like an idiot? Less work for me.”

SMASH!

The burglar pony arced in the air into the street and rolled along the ground until he was stopped by solid concrete. Prowler swiftly strode over and continued his assault. Prowler bit the pony’s clothing in the area around his neck and swung him around violently. Prowler then released his toothy grip and the robber was hurled towards the nearest building. In a moment of clarity, the thief landed on his feet and turned to retaliate, but Prowler was already flying towards the crook and gave a well aimed left hook to the burglar’s face. Once again the earth pony found himself flying through the air with excruciating pain.

SHATTER!

The robber crashed through the jewelry shop’s window, scattering glass everywhere in the room. He landed on the floor with a resonant thud. With a grunt the burglar quickly picked himself up and frantically looked around searching for a hiding place. He darted to a corner and curled up as Prowler flew through the window. He narrowed his piercing yellow eyes and started to walk through the store, slowly moving his head back and forth.

“You cannot hide from me, coward; it won’t save you. ” Prowler said with malice dripping from his mouth.

The burglar trembled. Prowler far outclassed him in terms of combat; he had to get away from him as quietly as possible. As Prowler headed deeper into the store, the thief slowly made a move towards the now (permanently) open window while taking great care not to make a noise. Once he reached the window, he quickly glanced at Prowler; Prowler was still searching the back of the store. “Perfect,” the burglar thought as he placed one hoof out the window.

-crackle-

The burglar looked down in horror; his hoof had crushed a small shard of glass. He attempted to dash out the window, but before his body could react, a wrecking ball with wings slammed full force into his side. Prowler sent the robber flying out of the store with a well-aimed full body slam. The thief smashed into the middle of the street and skidded along the ground for a bit before screeching to a halt.

Prowler casually stepped out of the store and slowly looked around for what remained of the burglar. Spotting him, he gracefully floated over to the beaten pony, looking down condescendingly. The robber groaned as he attempted to bring himself to stand.

Prowler moved his muzzle straight into the burglar's face.

“I want you to think very carefully now.” Prowler whispered. “Are you entirely certain you want to stand back up?”

The crook twitched. His legs gave way and he fell down in a crumpled heap, whimpering in pain.

Satisfied with his victory, Prowler reached into his pocket and pulled out his pair of glasses. After adjusting them, he surveyed the damage and shrugged at the aftermath. The store window he smashed by means of pony spread giant shards of broken glass from the inside of the store to the streets outside.

“Oh dear, I’ve made quite a mess...” he sighed. “Well, I’m sure the cost of glass windows is considerably less than what you tried to swipe.”

Prowler took out a rope from his knapsack. He proceeded to bind up the burglar very tightly, ignoring his screams of discomfort. Out of the corner of his eye, Prowler noticed multiple lights flickering on in nearby houses.

“Oh dear...here it comes...” Prowler thought irritatedly. Ponies in the immediate area opened their windows including the jewelry shop’s owner, who caught eye of the shattered window of her shop. Fearing the worst, she worriedly galloped towards Prowler.

“Prowler! What’s going on? What happened???” she frantically demanded of Prowler.

“I saved your business, Amethyst Star,” Prowler nonchalantly replied as he gave another yank to his knot, eliciting another yelp from the bound criminal. “Your jewels and bits are still safe in the store, but they’re all shoved into a bag. Even though you’ll have to do some reorganization, it’s a small price to pay considering the alternative.”

Not wanting to explain anything more, Prowler grabbed the end of his lasso and began to haul the tied up pony away from the crime scene, causing his prize to further moan in pain as he was dragged along the ground.

“What happened?”

“Is everything all right?”

“Is this a new marketing ploy?”

Amethyst Star sighed. It had to be her shop that almost got robbed. The broken glass was for the most part cleaned up, but the window was still in dire need of replacement. Amethyst Star was trying her best to clean up the mess, but her friends and the paparazzi wouldn’t let her fix her shop in peace. Ponies gathered around the remains of the jewelry store and bombarded her with questions.

“Please! Please everypony! Everything is fine!” Amethyst explained frantically. “There was an accident last night where somepony tried to rob my store.”

The crowd suddenly gasped and the questions doubled in intensity.

“Was anything stolen?”

“Are you still going to stay in business?”

“Is this a new marketing ploy?”

“PLEASE everypony!” Amethyst wailed in desperation. “I’m still going to stay in business. Nothing was stolen. Prowler caught the pony responsible for this.”

Word travels fast in Ponyville. The news spread quickly from mouth to mouth until it reached the town hall, and eventually reached the Mayor. When the Mayor caught wind that last night’s commotion was Prowler once again doing his duty for the sake of the town, she had decided that it was high time the nightwatcher was paid his just due for it and thus decided to hold an awards ceremony for the stalwart chief.

A good number of Ponyville turned out for the ceremony. The town hall was decorated with balloons, ribbon, and police themed banners, courtesy of Shenanigans. Firebrand as usual was off in the corner conducting cheery yet formal-sounding pre-ceremony music. The crowd outside slowly grew in numbers and in excitement as they waited for the ceremony to start.

Firebrand’s song abruptly ended. The ponies in the audience began to chatter in anticipation as they realized the ceremony was about to begin. Twilight Sparkle trotted to the center stage levitating a large stack of papers and a huge smile on her face.

The happy anticipation of the crowd was soon replaced with groans; the audience soon realized this was going to be a LONG ceremony. Twilight, oblivious to everypony’s disdain, pulled a sheet from the top of her large paper pile, and began to recite her painstakingly prepared piece.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, today we are honoring a self-sacrificing stallion who works every night to ensure that the city of Ponyville is safe from criminals. He is our chief of security, P-”

“Prowler is so awesome!” Aqua Jet interrupted, shoving Twilight off the podium. “He’s such a great guy! We made plans to go flying together later today! It’s going to be AWESOME!”

“Umm... yes...” Twilight brushed herself off and pulled herself back up, trying to start again. “Now about that, we are here to-”

“Prowler truly is the greatest friend anypony can have!” Jinx added, cutting into Twilight’s speech much like the daredevil before him. “He’s helping me reorganize my chemicals today!”

“...that’s very nice.” Twilight said as she politely pushed the duo away. After she shooed the two stallions offstage, she turned to go back to the podium. “Now back to the subject at hoof, we are here to-”

Twilight stopped to see Shenanigans at the center podium looking at Twilight with his trademark ear-to-ear grin. Annoyed, Twilight glared at the green earth pony.

“What?” Shenanigans responded. “Everypony else got some input, and I don’t want to be left out!”

Twilight stared at Shen, obviously irritated.

“Pleeeeeeeeease?” Shen’s eyes widened to the point where they resembled sad puppy dog eyes. Unable to resist his influence, Twilight groaned in defeat. “Fine...Quickly...”

“Quickly? Okay!” Shenanigans cheered. He took a large leap backwards and inhaled deeply. After holding his breath for a moment, he blasted “ProwlerissogreatthatheisgoingtohelpmewithrepaintingthetownhallImeanIcan’tdoitbymyselfIneedapegasustodoitwithmeandProwlerissonicehe’swillingtohelp!”

Shenanigans inhaled deeply after spewing out his contribution, leaving a stunned Twilight and a very stunned looking crowd of ponies. Shen briefly surveyed his audience. Satisfied with the effect of awkward silence, he playfully pranced off the stage giggling to himself. After shaking her head a bit to get back to reality, Twilight gave a sigh of relief and walked to the center podium to finish her speech.

“And now finally without interruptions, we will now...”

Twilight heard a cough and turned her head to see a smiling Mayor Mare, a sign that she had overstayed her welcome despite all the interruptions.

“ARGH!” Twilight screamed as she scattered her stack of papers and stomped off stage, grumbling to herself. The Mayor took her place on the podium, much to the happiness and relief of the other ponies who knew well how much Twilight would’ve gone on.

Mayor Mare cleared her throat. “And so, without further ado, it is my privilege to give the prize, Pony of Ponyville Award, to our beloved guest of honor, a pony of the most steadfast dedication, courage, and ability. Ponyville's most capable and dependable friend, PROWLER!”

On cue, their deputy appeared in all his awe and glory from behind the left curtain on stage. The entire town erupted into thunderous applause. Taking a moment to soak in the praise, he proceeded to walk towards the center stage, deftly and smoothly putting one leg in front of the other, almost as if he were modeling. For added effect, he flicked his mane towards the audience, causing multiple mares to swoon. Grinning mischievously, Prowler adjusted his glasses and continued towards center stage.

As he took center stage, the ponies in the audience stopped stamping their hooves and stood silent.

“Do they want some sort of speech?” Prowler thought, his mind throbbing slightly. “Drat, I’m going to have to make this brief. I don’t think I could last another hour before passing out...WHY do I do this to myself...” The audience gave Prowler eager looks. He could see the pure admiration plastered on their faces. “Oh...that's why... Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give them a little more excitement. After all, I AM the Pony of Ponyville...”

“Thank you, fillies and gentlecolts. I’m truly honored, but in all fairness, I was only doing my duty to the good citizens of Ponyville. I have done so and will keep doing so to make sure the citizens of Ponyville remain safe. You will never have to worry as long as Prowler is your chief of security!”

Though a short speech, its effect on the populace was still clear. The crowed once again thanked the noble defender by stomping their hooves hard upon the dirt and whooping loudly. Prowler smiled and embraced the praise. A golden glimmer caused him to glance over towards stage right. Mayor Mare walked up carrying a large shining trophy embroidered with large silver letters spelling out “Prowler, for steadfast dedication to justice, is awarded the Pony of Ponyville award.” After a respectful bow, Prowler accepted the trophy and hoisted it onto his back. He lurched backwards and leaped into the air.

“And here comes the finale...”

Prowler circled the area a few times, riling the audience up and causing them to cheer, before he left the scene with a crowd full of hope and knowledge that they were secure.

Prowler flew back to his house while making sure to keep the trophy well balanced upon his back. Still concerned if he had an audience, he landed with a grace, and walked as if here were gliding across the ground. He kept this facade up all the way to the entrance of his home.

Once he entered his door, however, he took on a much different demeanor. His usually well kept presence dropped and he looked utterly exhausted. Slumping the trophy down, he trudged like a camel towards his bedroom and flopped in a most undignified manner upon the mattress.

“Ugh... dear Celestia, I was never a day person,” he moaned. “But now that the festivities are over, I can finally get some well earned rest.”

Resting himself, his eyes began to close. The events of both the night and the day took their effect and he started to drift away.

He heard a sudden knocking upon the door, pulling him out of his dreamland. Unwilling to move, Prowler’s mind willed the noise to go away. The knocking silenced, and a small grin crept onto his features. It slowly vanished as he heard quiet breathing. He opened his eyes, and he was suddenly gazing into another pair of eyes filled with pure determination.

“Hey, Prowls!”

“Ugh....Shenanigans, what is it? Can you not...” The reality of the situation suddenly dawned on him, and he shot out of bed and landed on the ground with a large thump. He scrambled clumsily to get back onto his hooves. After quickly regaining stability, he pointed an accusing hoof at Shen. “HOW DID YOU GET INTO MY HOUSE?!”

Shen shrugged. “The front door was open. You know, for a chief of security, your house isn’t very...secure.”

Cursing his lack of mental judgement in not locking the door, he facehooved and sighed. “What do you want?”

Shenanigans cocked his head to the side. “We’re repainting the town hall, remember?”

A pin dropped. “That was... now?” Prowler asked with a sudden tone of dread.

“Yup.”

“Celestia preserve me, I may hit him.” Prowler thought. He was in no condition to do anymore work, and wanted nothing more than to make up his lost sleep from last night.

“Listen, Shenanigans, I-” Prowler stopped speaking as his eyes glossed over his recently acquired trophy. “Prowler, for steadfast dedication to justice...”

“Steadfast dedication...”

“Dedication...”

Prowler mentally cursed. He never figured the Element of Loyalty thing would come to bite him in the flank. Fighting back the screaming thoughts of self-preservation and common sense, he turned back to the confused green earth pony.

“Never mind.” he said with an out-of-place determination. “I made a promise and a promise I will keep.”

“Ooo...kaayy...” Shenanigans stammered. “Don’t know where that came from, but I’ll take it.”

Prowler forced a smile, eyes closed in a friendly fashion... and also to hide the utter fatigue behind them.

Shenanigans bounced happily through the main square, with Prowler close behind and still trying to keep up his facade of dignity.

“Just stay calm Prowler. After all... what could go wrong?

…

Oh dear Celestia, did I REALLY just think that? ESPECIALLY with Shenanigans of all ponies??? Honestly it's his very name!

Prowler’s vision suddenly went dark as a large object was shoved onto his head. Prowler stumbled for a bit and lifted his front legs onto the object to attempt to identify it. A helmet of some sort?

“It’s dangerous to go up alone.” Shen said. “Take this.”

Prowler scowled under the helmet. “Patience Prowler...this pony is your friend and he is simply having a little fun at your expense...” he reasoned with himself “...besides, I could easily fall and crack my head; he’s simply looking out for me... ”

He tilted the helmet back to get a better view of the irritating earth pony. His vision blackened again when a large cloth was thrown into his face, causing him to stumble and fall disgracefully on his flank.

Prowler was fuming with rage. He most likely would have been more tolerant of Shenanigans’s antics were he not so tired, but alas, this was not the case. He slowly pulled the unknown object of his head.

A bright pink apron.

Prowler started to tremble out of sheer fury. "THAT DOES IT." Prowler thought as he stood up. "I am going to give this this careless and irritating stallion the most savage lecture of a lifetime!"

Another object was thrust in front of him: a plate holding a daisy sandwich and a glass of lemonade. Prowler looked quizzically at the smiling Shenanigans.

“What? It’s almost noon.” Shen said as he gestured towards the sky. “You’re supposed to eat lunch at noon last time I checked. At least...you do right? I mean, do nocturnal ponies have different eating habits? Like a vampony or something? You’re not a vampony are you?”

“Shut up,” Prowler said as he took the plate. “Thank you...” he said grudgingly.

Shenanigans smiled as his gift was accepted. They ate lunch together for a second next to the town hall, with Shenanigans rambling about the subject of vamponies, much to Prowler’s annoyance. The food and cold drink made him perk up some, probably enough to finish the paint job, but he still felt incredibly drained. Prowler wasn’t in the mood to eat or chat, or now that he thought about it, paint the entire town hall. That prospect seemed impossible, much less enjoyable.

After Prowler finished his food and drink he stumbled trying to stand back up. He sighed and adjusted his glasses as his brain reminded him how tired he was.

“Well, I feel we’ve had enough chitchat. Let’s get this done shall we?” he suggested.

Shen spun on his hooves and gave a mock salute. “Let’s do this!” he yelled as he dashed towards the scaffolding, with a groaning Prowler following close behind.

“Alright Prowler, you’re going to monitor the belay while I start applying the colors.” Shenanigans explained as he hooked himself onto the scaffolding. “Do you know how to work it?”

“Yes.” Prowler replied without emphasis as he hooked himself on as well.

“Well that’s good, cause I don’t. Oh, even though you can fly, buckle yourself on as well, just in case of...shenanigans. Does that sound good?”

“Sounds fine to me,” Prowler said, forcing a tone of excitement as he joined Shen on the scaffold.

“Just keep the line taut and we’ll have this done a few hours or so!”

“A FEW HOURS?!” Prowler thought in terror. “How could this possibly take more than one hour?!” Prowler looked down near him. There were at least a dozen different colors of paint next to him including all colors of the rainbow and everything in between. “Oh, of course this wouldn’t be SIMPLE, nooooooooo, that would be too easy...well, at least this is the worst the situation will get.”

“Hey Prowler,” Shen said as he turned to face the pegasus with a grin. “Know what time it is?”

Prowler turned to the earth pony with an apathetic look. “No...” he answered.

“It’s time…” Shenanigans suddenly flicked his mane in the air. “To” He brought down his head as if on some sort of downbeat.…”PAINT!”

“...kill me...”

Time to paint! Time to paint!

Look at this place it’s just so quaint!

Grab your paintbrush and your cans, buddy, and give it color taint!

Crimson red, aqua blue, why, there’s so much we could do!

Maybe green here, it’s so fitting! Until it’s done, well we’re not quitting!

Until it shines! Until it’s grand! A pure rainbow wonderland!

The colors here surely make you faint!

Come on and pull that rope there is no time to mope it’s

Time to paint! Time to paint! Time to paaaaaaiiiiiinnnnt!

The following hours were taxing on Prowler’s mind. Shenanigans blissfully sung his happy broadway-esque tune, completely unaware of the sheer agony he was causing Prowler. Any other time Prowler would have probably sang along with him or at the very least been happy to listen, but given that his senses were completely botched up from his lack of sleep, every note felt like a jackhammer being applied to his head.

But, like a true gentlecolt and good friend, Prowler attempted to suck it up for the sake of his friend, but at the expense of his sanity. The pain eventually caused Prowler to enter a bleary trance, with him entering a routine of pulling the scaffolding up every time Prowler ended a chorus of his tune. He didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics other than a reference to Shen’s cutie mark which happened to be two crossed paintbrushes. Prowler would’ve asked him right there about his cutie mark but his mind was too far gone to care. He just wanted to go home and sleep in silence...

“Alrighty whitey tighty! We are done!”

Prowler sat up groggily and turned to face Shen. “Pardon?”

“I said ‘Alrighty whitey tighty! We are done!’”

Prowler took a few seconds to comprehend his friend’s declaration. He slowly scanned his friend’s handiwork on the walls of the building. The town hall was...painted to be sure. He certainly wouldn’t have chosen that color scheme, though. He did note though, that it was...complete. He didn’t have to... be... around........ anymore.................

…...

“FINALLY!!!!”

Prowler cheered as he instantly took off and soared away from the town hall, leaving a stunned Shenanigans still on the scaffolding.

“Well that was... odd...” the shaken Shenanigans said. He never seen Prowler be so rowdy and... loud. He liked rowdy and loud, but what he didn’t like was his friends breaking character.

"Meh, I shouldn't worry about it. Maybe he's just...." Shen put a hoof to his chin and looked down from the top of the town hall. “Wait a second... how am I going to get down from here?” He looked at the rope that was used to hoist up the scaffolding. He had no idea how to operate it.

“WAIT A SECOND! HOW AM I GOING TO GET DOWN FROM HERE?!” he repeated. Shen frantically started to pace around on the scaffold trying to find a way down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a lavender unicorn viewing the newly-furbished town hall in awe.

“TWILIGHT! HEY! UP HERE!” Shenanigans called. Twilight Sparkle looked around for the source of the voice. She made eye contact with Shen and waved.

“Oh hello Shenanigans!” Twilight greeted. “Nice job painting! The town hall really looks good!”

“Thank you! But now is not the time for me to accept well-deserving praise of my glorious handiwork!” Shenanigans screamed as he flapped his outstretched hooves around. “I’m stuck up here and I can’t get down!”

“Stuck?” Twilight asked, “How?”

“Prowler was supposed to let me down, but he just flew off and left me behind!”

“He what?” Twilight looked stunned. "Strange. That doesn't seem like Prowler at all to just up and leave a friend in need. What could’ve been so important that he would’ve forsaken Shenanigans like that?"

“Well... have you tried adjusting the rope?”

Shenanigans slumped on his haunches grumpily. “No... I don’t know how....”

“Oh... well... I’ll try to levitate the scaffolding down.”

“Are you sure Twilight? I mean, wouldn’t it just be easier if you-”

“Don’t worry, Shenanigans, I got this.” Twilight reassured and her horn illuminated a soft violet color as the scaffolding began to glow much the same. The ropes began to move and the structure descended slowly. As Twilight tried to concentrate, however, the strain of the scaffolding became too much for her and it began to tip over.

“Twilight?! Wait a second, this isn’t-” Shenanigans called. But at this point, the scaffolding tilted too far down. Shenanigans completely lost his balance and bounced over the railing. Fortunately for him, Twilight had gotten the scaffolding down to a low enough height so the fall wouldn’t have hurt him, but it didn’t stop the green pony from falling into a conveniently sitting barrel of rain water. Shenanigans plopped into the rain barrel, spraying water in all directions and soaking Twilight. The sensation of freezing water attacking half her body caused Twilight's concentration to falter. With Twilight’s magic no longer supporting it, the scaffolding came crashing down next to the town hall, scattering wood and dust.

Shenanigans’s head popped out of the barrel, immediately spitting out water and shaking his mane dry. His expression changed into one of irritation as he looked at Twilight.

“As I lay here, sopping wet in this barrel... I cannot help but wonder...” he mused, placing his head in his hoof. “Why in Equestria didn’t you levitate just me down Twilight?”

Twilight blinked. It did seem odd that she chose to levitate the scaffolding down. “Um... that’s a very good question... you see... um... … … let me get back to you on that later, ok?” The unicorn did a complete 180 and took off, but as she did, she couldn’t help but wonder why Prowler had left Shenanigans on the scaffolding to begin with.

Prowler darted across the cloudless blue sky with his mind set on one thing: getting home and going to bed.

“I feel absolutely dreadful,” Prowler thought as he flew towards his home. “I just need some sleep, and no more distracti--”

“Yo, Prowls!”

“Who in Equestria...” Prowler turned to see an ocean-blue pegasus flying beside him.

“It’s your friendly neighborhood Aqua Jet. So I see you’re out and about in the sky. Up for some exercise?”

Prowler’s eyes twitched. “E-e-e-e-e-e-ex-exercise?”

“Yeah. You and I were gonna go flying, remember? Might as well get ourselves stretched out, right?”

“These promises are going to be the death of me...” Prowler thought in a sardonic tone.

Aqua Jet observed Prowler’s reaction and blinked. “Prowler, are you-”

While Prowler just wanted to fly off, his mind once again moved back to the ceremony. The promises he made imprisoned himself. His nature refused to let him break those promises. “I’m fine,” he interrupted. “Let’s go.”

Aqua Jet looked at his friend with concern. “You know, if you’re not feeling up to this, we can do this la-”

“NO!” Prowler interrupted, halting his flight and facing Aqua with an indignant look in his eyes. “I made a promise and a commitment! I do not go back on my word! I assume the Element of Honesty should understand a thing or two about promises!” He glared at Aqua Jet, daring him to argue back.

Aqua Jet recoiled in surprise. Prowler’s outburst caught Aqua Jet completely off guard. They stared at each other for a few seconds, until Aqua Jet extended his forelegs upward.

“My hooves are up, officer. You can arrest me, I’ll come quietly,” Aqua Jet said sarcastically.

Prowler narrowed his eyes. He knew he shouldn’t have said that, but his pride and fatigue got in the way of him actually apologizing so what came out was, “Let’s just get this over with...”

Aqua Jet still felt uneasy, but he decided to give his friend the benefit of the doubt and to ignore his friend’s little fit. He took the lead and gestured for Prowler to follow him. Prowler nodded slowly in response and still looking irritated, followed. After about ten minutes they arrived at the outskirts of the ever so unusually named Everfree Forest. The thick forest was not as threatening from up in the air as the deadly creatures that usually threatened them were grounded.

“Alright. Let’s do some quick laps around. Up for that Prowls?”

“No. No I am not. By the Celestia-only-knows-how-many gates of Tartarus, NO!” But despite his thoughts, Prowler only nodded grudgingly.

“Alright then!” As Aqua Jet lined up, Prowler took his place right next to the energetic pegasus. Usually he’d be fine with things like this, but his body felt incredibly sluggish and weak. Aqua Jet took off a few moments after Prowler took his spot and Prowler took off soon after.

As Aqua soared on forward, he noticed Prowler was lagging behind. He decelerated to match pace and started flying upside down next to Prowler. Looking at him comically from the corner of his eye, Aqua tried to encourage the exhausted pegasus. “Come on Prowler. I know you’re faster than that.” the daredevil probed.

It didn’t help.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!” Prowler screamed inside his head. Prowler couldn’t stand when Aqua Jet showed off his moves in front of him; he couldn’t stand show-offs in general, but Aqua Jet’s aloof attitude WHILE he showed off made it all the more infuriating. Coupled with his limbs feeling as if they were gelatin, he realized this activity here was going to be was one of his biggest trials of patience he ever had. Still, he continued on, doing his best to ignore the perky Aqua Jet and trying to figure out a way out of this fiasco.

Meanwhile, Aqua Jet just observed Prowler from his inverted postion. "Jeez, this is NOT what I pictured our flight would be like. I don't think Prowls is even trying at all..." A sinister grin spread across his face. "Well, maybe he just needs a little... stallion motivation."

“So, this is the limit of the Pony of Ponyville, our unstoppable security chief?” Aqua Jet jeered as he mockingly flew backwards. He decreased his speed and hovered right in Prowler's face.

“Mares don’t dig slow pegasi.”

Prowler’s last threshold of patience plummeted into the abyss at that comment. Tunnel vision engulfed his view as the rage of a thousand suns swelled up inside him.

“You... cocky... arrogant...!”

Prowler halted in place as his eye caught something in the distance. His eyes narrowed in an attempt to try and identify the object with his superior vision. Upon realizing what it was, his lips curled into a mischievous smile as his mind quickly schemed a plan of vengeance.

“You think you’re hot stuff with your speed and whatnot? Let’s see how you fare in maneuverability.” Prowler stated as he pointed with his hoof at the Everfree Forest. “We are going to fly in between the trees and whoever crashes first loses.”

“In the Everfree?” Aqua Jet asked for clarification. “Look man, there’s daring, and there’s stupid. I don’t think we sh-”

“Oh, is this the resolve of the famous daredevil Aqua Jet?” Prowler taunted. “Afraid you might bump your head on a tree? Oh dear, it seems I overestimated your bravery. Ah well, I’m sure everypony won’t mind how you turned down a silly challenge like this due to you...”

He floated and whispered into Aqua Jet's ear:

“Just don't try hard enough.”

The word struck Aqua Jet at his very core. That word, just saying the very word would send Aqua Jet over the edge. His competitive pegasus nature quickly overcame his common sense. This wasn’t just an exercise anymore. This was personal. This was...a challenge.

“You're on, flathoof.” Aqua Jet gritted.

Prowler and Aqua Jet glared viciously at each other, and slowly turned their bodies towards the Everfree in perfect synchronization. Despite his body’s cries for respite, Prowler’s mind was dead set on putting Aqua Jet in his place. Aqua Jet on the other hand was pumped and ready to trample Prowler.

“On my go, Prowler.” Aqua Jet breathed. “3...... 2......”

ZOOM!

Both pegasi dashed forwards before Aqua Jet finished his countdown. Neither of the two were in the mood to play fair. Though both could’ve stopped to call the other out, neither did. There was a race to be won and it was technically still on fair terms as they both started at the same time.

The two quickly reached the edge of the everfree. The normally intimidating forest didn’t deter the competitors at all as they flew straight through the wall of trees. The game was on. The two winged ponies darted left and right, expertly dodging each tree as they threatened to make contact. Aqua Jet and Prowler stood neck and neck as they flew deeper into the forest.

Prowler suddenly took a sharp right. Aqua Jet took note of Prowler’s sudden move and gave pursuit.

Prowler glanced behind him. “That’s right, Aqua... take the bait.” Prowler thought darkly to himself. “Your mind has betrayed you, created a false goal for you to accomplish...”

Aqua Jet, oblivious to Prowler’s malicious intent, kept the pursuit up and slowly closed the distance between him and Prowler.

“Ha, you’re slowing down, Prowler! I got you now you-”

Aqua’s thoughts were interrupted as Prowler screeched to a halt in midair. Aqua Jet widened his eyes at the display. Is he giving up?

Working expertly, Prowler flapped his wings and twisted his body. Prowler's form sailed horizontally over the surprised Aqua Jet, leaving the blue pegasus in shock as Prowler soared away in the opposite direction. "WHAT THE HAY???", Aqua Jet "How did he-" Aqua Jet did not notice the approaching tree and as such his face and the tree became quickly acquainted with each other.

Aqua Jet tried to yell in pain but the impact left his muzzle half-buried in the trunk of the tree and all that came out was a muffled groan. Aqua Jet dislodged his face from the wood and shook his head in confusion. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, the reality of the situation dawned on him. The dark pegasus was seen flying away from the forest, wearing a triumphant sneer as it soared away.

Aqua Jet grunted, humiliated. “How in Equestria did he...”

-plop-

Aqua Jet turned at the sudden noise of something like a soft basket hitting the ground. To his left, a spherical yellow object lay shattered on the forest floor, with a golden liquid splashed in all directions. Aqua Jet approached cautiously, and tilted his head trying to figure out what the object was.

He lowered his head to sniff the yellow slime on the ground. It smelled sweet, and familiar.

“Honey?”

A humming noise slowly grew in intensity.

“......uh oh.....”

“Interesting...” Twilight said aloud to herself.

After what happened earlier with Shenanigans, Twilight figured she should brush up on proper application of magic, rather than just learning it. Her bout with common sense dealt a slight blow to her pride, much more than she would care to admit. She had taken several books on the subject up to the balcony to study and as usual, was enjoying herself.

Twilight perused through the final book with a small smirk.

“Well, I don’t think any more problems like today are going to happen again.” Twilight thought proudly as she closed her book and placed it on the tower next to her. “But still, Prowler ditching Shenanigans alone on the scaffold? That doesn’t seem-”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!”

Twilight looked up. Something was flying in her direction, and fast.

“Aq-”

Twilight didn’t even get to finish a syllable. She was promptly hoisted from the ground and hurled inside the library. A thud resonated as her body collided with the ground and rolled for a second. Twilight groaned in slight pain as she slowed to a halt. After picking herself up, she turned and began to berate the rude pegasus.

“Aqua Jet?! What in Equestria are you-”

“NOT NOW!” Aqua Jet shot back.

Aqua Jet ignored the flustered unicorn and proceeded quickly to lock the windows he used for their entrance. Twilight noticed a look of sheer terror on his face, like something was going to kill him.

As soon as he locked the window, a large cloud of black and yellow smoke covered blotted their view of the outside world. Aqua Jet recoiled at the impact of the cloud against the wail and curled away from it, terrified.

“What in Equestria...” Twilight slowly walked up to the window. “Aqua Jet, what’s going on? Why are all of these bees...” She put two and two together. “Prowler?”

“How'd you guess?” Aqua asked flatly.

“Just a hunch.” Twilight answered. She put her hoof to her head in contemplation. “This is very odd behavior for Prowler. Why would he ditch Shenanigans and apparently cause a swarm of bees to attack Aqua Jet...This doesn’t make any sense...”

Seeing no other option, Twilight got up with a look of confidence.

“Aqua Jet, let’s go find Prowler. We’re going to put a stop to his antics once and for all.” Twilight declared as she went for the door.

“TWILIGHT WAIT!”

Twilight’s hoof was suddenly locked on both sides by two blue forelegs. She turned to see Aqua Jet release a relieved breath.

“What is it?” Twilight inquired.

“In case you haven’t noticed, the bees are out there waiting to massacre us.” Aqua Jet stated.

Twilight’s eyes widened and she proceeded to mentally slap herself. Why am I lacking in so much common sense today? Twilight sighed and looked at the swarm of angry insects outside the window.

“So, until these bees decide to leave, we’re stuck here.” Twilight deduced disdainfully. “And that means...Prowler’s still going to be out there.”

Aqua and Twilight exchanged fearful glances. Who was going to be Prowler’s next victim?

“HA. The fool of a pegasus never saw it coming...” Prowler proudly thought to himself as he flew out of the forest. The adrenaline rush from his scuffle with Aqua Jet had given him a slight energy boost, and he felt more awake.

For a brief moment, anyways.

His exhaustion quickly caught back up to him before he could realize it. His body betraying him, Prowler’s mind shut off and his vision paused for a split second, and his body dropped in the air slightly. His body had a change of heart at that moment, alerting Prowler of his situation. The falling sensation quickly shot Prowler back to his senses, and he leveled himself out again.

“Oh dear. That was too close...” Prowler thought anxiously. “Alright, I should land...if I continue this flight I could pass out in midair and severely injure myself...”

Grateful that he was at least out of the Everfree Forest, he angled himself downward. His hooves touched soft ground as he stopped moving. He glanced upward to figure out where he was.

He apparently was just on the edge of Ponyville. The Everfree forest was located on the west side of Ponyville, and his house on the east.

“You can do this, Prowler...just...one hoof in front of the other....”

Prowler repeated the statement to himself as he trudged onwards, still trying to get back home.

“Easy Prowler, easy. As long as nopony else stops you, you’ll be home in just a matter of...”

“OOF!”

Prowler felt his muzzle hit something soft yet firm.

“Please don’t let it be who I think it is, please don’t let it be...”

“Oh, hey Prowler.”

“BLAST IT!”

Realizing escape was impossible, he opened his eyes to see the last pony on earth he wanted to run into: A pony who he promised a favor for.

Jinx.

“Lucky me!” Jinx beamed. “I’m so glad I ran into you!”

“I’m not...” Prowler thought glumly to himself. He did his best to look pleased and hoped Jinx’s naivete would make him not notice anything out of ordinary.

“Are you free now?” Jinx unintentionally gave puppy dog eyes that would make even the most emotionless pony squee.

“Yes...” Prowler said through gritted teeth. “Cheater...” To anypony else he would’ve looked like he was in excruciating pain, but Jinx was too naive to notice.

“Great!” Jinx said with an innocent smile. “I know you’re good at making observations, so you’ll be the perfect one to help me!”

“Define irony, I’m the one who needs help here...”

“Are they gone yet?”

“No...”

Twilight sighed. She and Aqua Jet were still trapped in the library. The vicious swarm of bees were still trying to find a way to get in. Twilight figured they would have left by now, but this particular group seemed peculiarly determined. Left with nothing else to do but wait, Aqua Jet figured he should start up some conversation.

“So Prowls really left Shenanigans up by himself?” he asked.

Twilight sighed. “I just don’t understand. Abandoning Shenanigans, trying to get you mauled by bees...” A look of horrific realization appeared on her face.

“Oh no!”

“‘Oh no?’ Oh no what?!” Aqua Jet asked.

“I just remembered Prowler also promised Jinx a favor... mainly to help reorganize his chemicals. If something goes wrong, then... Celestia help us all.”

The two looked at each other in dread.

“NOT GOOD!” Aqua Jet screamed. “We gotta do something! Can’t you like teleport us outside or something???”

“I can’t!” Twilight exclaimed. “All I’m able to do is teleport myself and someone small like Spike!”

“So what do we do???”

“I don’t know! I just don’t know!”

-knock- -knock- -knock-

The two panicking ponies faced the door. They had looks of pure confusion as a purple dragon casually walked in carrying a small backpack.

“Hey Twilight! Hi Aqua Jet!” Spike said cheerfully. “I just bought some bug spray! This stuff really works and I didn’t even use it! The bees surrounding the library just took one look at it and flew away! Cool huh...guys?”

Spike looked at the two ponies. Their faces combined multiple emotions: Frustration, confusion, incredulity, shock, disdain.

Mainly frustration.

“Guys?”

Prowler sneezed. He always hated coming down to Jinx’s laboratory because it always stank like window cleaner with a hint of wet dog. How Jinx could stand being down here for extended periods of time was beyond him. The mad scientist-esque interior didn’t bother him too much as he was accustomed to being in places without much light, but the constant humming of the nearby generators and bubbling chemicals was starting to agitate his weakened nerves.

He looked about at the various chemicals. It didn’t really help that the world was spinning in his eyes, fatigue taking its toll upon him. However, he tried to will himself to look good for Jinx’s sake, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so.

“So Prowler, I just need a little help here and... hey.” Jinx saw through Prowler and walked up to him. “Are you ok?”

“NOOOOooooooo...” Even as he thought this, however, Prowler merely readjusted his glasses. “I’m fine. So... this section then. How are we organizing this then? Alphabetical? Numerical?”

“Umm...Somewhere along those lines,” Jinx answered.

“Specific.” Prowler’s temper was beginning to flare again. Every vague answer meant he had to be here longer trying to elicit a legit response from Jinx therefore keeping him from getting home and finally going to sleep. “Sleep...that would be very nice right about now......”

…....

Prowler shook his head in an effort to wake himself up. Thinking the very word made him drowsy. He had to get back to the task at hoof otherwise he was going to collapse on the spot.

“How are these supposed to be organized Jinx?" Prowler asked. "Did they not have a proper order before I came here?”

“Well I usually keep them in terms of what I used most. There never really...was an order.”

“That's not helping you scientist twit...” If Prowler wasn’t trying to keep appearances, he would’ve been growling with rage. He felt right on the cliffs of insanity, and just one little nudge would sending him spiraling down. “So... what am I supposed to do?”

“Ummm...I don’t know?”

Nudge.

“You... don’t... know?” Prowler said through gritted teeth as his appearance was slowly starting to fail him. “Then why... in Celestia’s name... did you need me?”

Jinx was naive, but not that naive. He started to notice Prowler’s fury seeping through his features and began to feel threatened.

“Umm... umm...” Jinx stammered.

“If this was such a simple task of reorganization, involving chemicals of a nature that only YOU are aware of, then what possessed you to believe that I could be of any service at all?!” Prowler’s disguise seemed fully broken now, no longer possessing the strength to even hide it. He slowly advanced upon the grey earth pony, his yellow cat-like eyes burrowing into Jinx’s very soul.

“Prowler...I...listen...”

“NO! You listen, you insufferable simpleton of an alchemist!” At the first word he’d spoken, Prowler pronounced himself with a powerful stomp of his hooves onto the ground.

“Why did you ask for my assistance when you had no idea what it was that needed to be fixed?! I’ll give Shenanigans some credit, he at least knew what he was doing and had a good reason for asking for my help! But you... you ask me to help you with something only YOU have any experience in and with no specific directions that would help get the job done in a PRECISE manner! I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!”

Prowler’s tirade was interrupted by the multiple sounds similar to breaking glass. The two ponies turned to see what made the noise. Apparently Prowler’s anger-filled stamping of the ground caused multiple vials on his shelves to come crashing down. Multiple brightly colored liquids splashed together on the floor and started to bubble and spark.

When Jinx saw the shattered bottles on the ground and the chemicals mixing with each other, it was his turn to have wide, dramatically open eyes, save for the fact they were filled with fear as opposed to rage.

“Oh no... when those mix, they...”

“They what?”

“...run.”

“Jinx’s house is this way! Come on!”

Twilight and Aqua Jet raced towards the alchemist’s home, hoping they could make it there before Prowler did.

A sign depicting the words “Wonder Life Labs” appeared in the distance, much to their relief.

“We made it! Now we just need to see if-”

The front door to Jinx’s lab suddenly swung open and two very frightened looking masked figures dashed out. One took to the air and headed for the other side of town, while the other ran straight for Aqua Jet and Twilight carrying a large knapsack.

“Jinx? What’s going on?”

“There’s no time to explain!” Jinx said through his mask and shoving several into their hooves. “Quick! Put these on!”

“What is it? Is Pro-”

Before Aqua Jet could finish, a loud explosion caused the three ponies to stumble. Gas began to flow from Jinx’s abode, filling the air around the lab with a purple haze.

The gas quickly permeated the surrounding area and eventually reached the group. Twilight and Aqua instinctively held their breaths at the smoke’s approach, but they eventually relented and put the masks on.

“Jinx... what is that?” Twilight asked with her mechanically altered voice.

“Stink gas. It’s the stuff you usually find in stink bombs.”

“Hey cool! These masks make our voices sound awesome!” Aqua Jet said giddily.

“Now’s not the time for that! We’ve got to warn the rest of Ponyville about this gas!” Twilight made to turn back towards the town, but Jinx quickly stood in front of her.

“We can’t do that Twi. The gas will spread to the entire town before we reach everypony. And even if we could, all I had were these masks. Not much we can do other than wait for it to go away.”

Twilight sighed through the mask. She felt really sorry for whoever was unfortunate enough to breathe in stink gas. “Jinx... was Prowler here?”

“Yeah. He didn’t seem like himself though. He was actually very frightening and...angry. Very angry.”

Twilight nodded. “That does it... I’m going to find Prowler and set him straight.”

Twilight grimaced.

Ponies all around her were gagging and holding their noses in pure agony. She wished she could get something to help them, but Jinx said that there was nothing she could do other than wait for the gas to dissipate on its own. Trying her best not to look at anypony, she continued on towards the Detention Center.

Prowler made his way back towards his room. Now that everything was done, he could finally sleep. The threads of his sanity were starting to tie themselves once more as he laid down. “It’s over... finally... I can just...”

Twilight burst through the door, knocking several items off the shelves. “Prowler! We need to talk, no-”

Snap.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!”

Twilight froze. Prowler looked absolutely monstrous compared to his usual self. His mane was completely disheveled with stands of hair pointing off in all directions. His face was the worst part. He looked almost like a corpse with wrinkled features and large bags under his eyes. And his eyes... Dear Celestia, his eyes. They were as big as saucers and bloodshot red, and formed with an expression of the utmost scorn that Tartarus itself could not hope to match.

“How DARE you barge into MY house uninvited and demand something of ME?! The nerve! Well, I have news for YOU, you rude little librarian! I promised you NOTHING, HA HA HA, you hear that?! NOTHING! So why don’t you take your precious flank and... and...”

Prowler’s eyes suddenly rolled into the back of his head. The room suddenly became black and his body lost all feeling.

“Prowler? Prowler?! PROWLER!”

Black.

“Huh... What in the...where am I? Why is- OW!”

His head suddenly gave a twinge of pain. “Oh, my head... Alright, Prowler, let’s figure out what’s going on...”

He tried to move his body, but for some reason he couldn’t will it to budge. Sighing inwardly, he attempted to use his remaining senses to see what he could gather. He could feel something soft draped over his body, only what he could assume was a blanket. He also felt something plushy under his head, most likely a pillow.

“Alright, I’m in a bed most likely. But whose?”

He slowly forced open his eyes. The familiar faded blue paint of his ceiling greeted him.

“My bed. But how did I get here? The last thing I remember was...”

He tried to recall what went on the past day, but not much was coming to mind. A knife suddenly probed at his skull. “Ahhhhh! Oh dear... Okay, thinking too hard: bad. Maybe I should try something... what is that sound?”

The sound of a door opening quietly and closing resonated. Prowler’s instincts kicked in, ready to spring into action.

“Intruder! Whoever you are, you’ll soon regret you broke into my house, criminal sc-why am I not moving?”

Prowler’s body rebelled against him again, refusing to budge an inch.

“Oh no, oh no, not good, not good! Who is there?! Who is-”

His eyes fixated upon a lavender unicorn.

“Oh... Twilight... well, don’t I feel silly...”

Twilight levitated a chair next to Prowler, and quietly placed it down next to his bed.

“So you’re awake.” It was a clear concise statement. Prowler got the dark looming feeling that she was going to talk his ear off about something.

“What happened?” Prowler said as he vaguely remembered the events of last night.

“You hyperventilated and passed out from your screaming.” Twilight explained. “My book said you should probably also have a headache.”

“Understatement of the year...”

Twilight’s expression turned serious. “Is there something you want to explain Prowler?”

Prowler gave a huge sigh. There was no escape now.

“No, nothing I want to explain, but... probably something I should. Alright, here’s how it is: I’m the Chief of Security. I’m the pony responsible for making sure Ponyville is safe at night. That means I have to stay up all night, every night, to make sure that task is accomplished. It’s my responsibility, and I will never shirk it.”

A small grin appeared on Twilight’s face. That’s the Element of Loyalty for you.

“Staying up all night means I don’t sleep during it, obviously. In order to balance it out, I sleep during the day. It was a comfortable rhythm that I quickly got accustomed to. But lately, my job has become increasingly difficult, because I’ve been active during the day as well. Can you guess why that is?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Because of you, Twilight. And because of Jinx, Aqua Jet, Firebrand, and Shenanigans. You five gave me a reason to want to spend my time in broad daylight. Unfortunately, that also meant I would have to give up the time that I usually use to sleep to spend time with you.” Prowler gave a small chuckle. “I suppose this was just an accident waiting to happen.”

“And that’s why you acted so strangely today. You were just so exhausted that it completely messed with your head.” Twilight said.

“Slight understatement, but yes, that is, in a nutshell, what happene- wait. Today? What time is it?”

Twilight casually looked off towards the window.

“Past dusk. I’m not sure what the exact time is though.”

“Past dusk?!" Prowler panicked. "My shift! I need to get back to work and-”

Prowler attempted to free himself from his blanket. His movements were suddenly halted as Twilight’s magic restrained him.

“No.” she commanded sternly. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“But...the security! My shift! What if-”

“Calm down. I explained the situation to our friends. Firebrand’s taking the first quarter of your shift. Aqua Jet, Shen, and Jinx are filling in for the rest of it.”

“I... I...sigh...” Prowler relaxed and Twilight released her spell.

“They’re taking my shifts?” Prowler looked over at his Pony of Ponyville trophy. Guilt stabbed him. “Well, now don’t I feel like a complete jerk...” Prowler thought as his mind returned to earlier events of the day.

“Prowler...” Twilight spoke softly. “Did you ever consider asking anypony to help you? To take your shifts?”

The dark pegasus chuckled. “Actually, no. The thought never crossed my mind... I didn’t think I needed to.”

Twilight gave a look that suggested she was telling him something he should already know. “Well then, I’ve been thinking it’s time you took a break from doing the night shifts single-handedly. I don’t think we should have a repeat of what happened today.”

“Haha. I understand. First thing tomorrow, The Ponyville Night Security is now hiring.”

“I’m glad we came to an agreement.” Twilight said in a cheery business-like tone. She got up from her chair and headed for the door. She quietly opened it and stepped out. “Good night, Prowler.”

“Good night, precious. Tell our friends I’m sorry for making myself look like a raging blockhead and causing comedic disaster to befall them, would you?”

Twilight giggled as she closed the door. She pulled out a parchment and quill and began to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Prowler is a very hardworking pony and likes to make sure his friends stay safe. But sometimes that burden can become a little too much for him. One sign a of a good friend is that friend would be more than happy to help with that burden. Friends look out for each other, and that sometimes involves a bit of work from both, but it’s much better than one pony doing everything by him or herself.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

Chapter 5: Weathering a Storm

-HEAVY EDITS MADE IN THE SECOND ACT-

One could argue that sunrise is the most beautiful part of the day. The way the sky slowly changed from pitch black to a soft blue and how the gray clouds transition to a royal purple can catch even the most perceptive off guard.

But the best part comes when the sun breaks the horizon. Magical things happen to the vast skies as Celestia’s burning star slowly rises. The purple clouds transform into a vibrant orange as the sun’s red rays streak across the sky, which changes from purple, to red, then to orange, then yellow, and finally a deep blue.

To see this multi-hued wonder untainted by buildings or land and to have a clear view of the entire horizon is supposed to be a sight that would make one’s eyes misty. The only place a pony could view this spectacle in all its glory would be at the ocean, where a single pony happened to be observing.

A deep blue pegasus with a red hurricane cutie mark perched himself on a plateau overlooking the shining blue ocean. His body rested comfortably on the ground while his forelegs dangled off the edge of the cliff.

“A storm is coming...” he thought as the beach breeze blew through his messy red mane. A bright orange circle rippled as it slowly rose from the horizon. The pegasus smiled. No matter how many times he viewed the morning sun, it was breathtakingly beautiful each time. Each day was different. There were sometimes clouds, sometimes it was clear. Today was special though, and this pony knew it.

The pegasus decided he needed to be complacent no longer. His toned limbs stretched and popped as he stood up straight. He turned away from the ocean line and took one final look at the beautiful sunrise. His eyes calmly closed; an adventurous grin crept to his face as he crouched his body and his head lowered.

A silent countdown entered his head.

Three…

An energy slowly started to gather from the bottom of his hooves and began to rise throughout his body.

Two…

This fire inched up his body and spread to his wings, causing them to stretch and flare out.

One…

His eyes shot open, filled with a blazing determination.

FLY.

The blue pegasus leapt from the ground and nosedived over the side of the cliff. The pegasus did not extend his wings or try to fly; rather, he let himself fall. Adrenaline pumped throughout his entire body as the weightless sensation coursed through him. Wanting more of his artificial high, he then twisted his body around and outstretched his limbs, adopting a sleeping appearance as he fell through the air. His heartbeat quickened as the sound of the roaring waves below threatened to swallow him.

“Wait for it…” the pegasus thought. “WAIT FOR IT…”

With a look of pure concentrated thrill on his face, he swung his legs around and twisted his body perpendicular to the ocean. Fear a foreign concept to him, he accelerated towards the crashing ocean like a torpedo. His wings shot out at the last second, rocking him backwards as the air gathered around his wings. His timing that of an expert, Aqua Jet’s flight path curved perfectly, causing him to narrowly escape plummeting into the gaping maw of the ocean.

Aqua Jet let out a loud whoop as his daredevil feat was accomplished. He soared across the surface of the sparkling golden ocean, small waves shooting out on both sides of him. For fun, Aqua Jet shoved his front hooves partly into the water, causing large spraying outwards. He then tilted his body to the right towards the shoreline, causing a medium-sized wave to slowly rise from the left of his hooves. As he flew, the wave continued to rise until it reached a height of a small building. Thinking quickly, he flapped his wings hard and darted over the top of his newly created wave. He halted himself in place as the wave began to reach its peak.

A moment of silence.

Aqua Jet breathed heavily and sweat beads as the wave’s top began to slow. The bubbling strains of foam on the flat ocean started to drift towards him at the wave's crest. The wave started to become thin towards the top, making the wave curve downwards. He gave a small bat of his wings which pushed him forwards slightly. As the wave began to straighten, Aqua Jet slowly slid down the wave’s curved surface making a white foam streak form behind him.

The crackling of the water slowly grew in Aqua Jet’s ears. The wave began to tilt over which Aqua registered as his cue to act. He pointed his body towards the end of the wave, the water passing under him at a faster rate. He leaned hard against the wall of water, pushing as the wave gave heavy resistance. Faster and faster Aqua slid down the wave, his body beginning to shake from the speed. Finally, the crest of the wave came crashing down, forming a perfect cylinder over Aqua Jet.

All his preparation came to this moment, and it paid in spades. No longer needing to push, the pegasus relaxed. He rocketed down the crystal clear tube, feeling an exhilaration unlike any other. Water droplets sparkled as they flew past the proud face of the daredevil.

“YES! I did it!” Aqua Jet thought triumphantly to himself. “I finally did it! I-”

His moment of ecstasy quickly vanished as he felt something like a rock hit the back of his neck.

Aqua Jet gasped for breath as he broke the surface. Foamy water stung his eyes as he attempted to open them. The salty liquid rushed into his mouth, filling it with a vomit-inducing taste. He quickly spat the foul water and rubbed his face trying to see.

Aqua panted for a few moments as he instinctively started to kick under the water. Luckily he knew how to swim, but because his wings were drenched he couldn’t fly out.

“Oowwww...” he whimpered while rubbing the back of his neck. “What hit me?”

Aqua Jet looked around him. The placid blue ocean still held evidence of aftershocks of his latest escapade, with small white waves spread across the surface, but nothing that seemed like it would be able to strike him from behind. His eyes drifted towards the empty shoreline.

"Ehh...whatever, I'll think about it later." He paddled towards the beachfront, silently thankful the waves weren't too fierce in face of the oncoming storm. His rotating legs eventually hit the sand and sank partly into the wet muck. The water tickled him as a small wave brushed against the back of his legs.

Once Aqua reached drier sands, his hooves firmly planted themselves in preparation to dry himself. Aqua Jet shook his body violently, his hair and mane thrashing about and spraying water all around. He repeatedly flared and contracted his wings, determined to get every last drop of water out.

”WHAT IN CELESTIA’S NAME??”

Aqua Jet’s eyes shot open. A fuming and slightly damp red unicorn lay squirming on the sandy beach, thrashing about and trying to stand up while uttering a long string of euphemisms and curses. It stood up and turned on Aqua Jet, eyes flashing with anger before turning into surprise.

"Aqua Jet?”

“Oh, hey Brand. ‘Sup?”

Firebrand stared at Aqua as if he wasn’t believing what his eyes were telling him. “What in Equestria are YOU doing out here so early?”

"Umm...” Aqua murmured while rolling his head back. “I was just... practicing a new move out in the ocean. What does the showpony do on a beach in the morning?”

“I go for a run here nearly every day.” Firebrand’s head gestured towards the shoreline. “I was just taking a break here before I was...” he paused and gave a not-so-subtle glare at Aqua Jet. “Unpleasantly aroused.”

"You work out?" Aqua Jet asked, tilting his head and raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah. Helps me start the day fresh and prepared for anything.” Firebrand mused with a hint of pride. “Plus I think it's kinda fun.”

"So...” Aqua Jet shifted, his eyes looking Firebrand over with a puzzled expression on his face.

“You work out?"

Firebrand blinked twice before answering. "Yes...” Firebrand’s tone started to become combative and his eyes darkened. “Is that such a foreign concept to you?"

"Naw, it's just... Well...umm...” Aqua Jet scratched the back of his mane, trying to put what was in his head into words.

“You work out.”

"YES. I EXERCISE.” Firebrand answered, completely flustered. “WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME EXERCISING?"

"Nothing!” Aqua Jet exclaimed while taking a step back and waving a hoof. “I just...never expected you to be the kind of guy that does that. I mean, you sit in your house all day playing flutes and trumpets.”

"Hey! I don't just do that!” Firebrand protested.

“Riiiiiiight. Whatever dude.” Aqua Jet probed with a smirk on his face.

“Listen you, there’s more to being a musical director than just playing instruments for the whole day! For instance, I also..." Firebrand stopped as soon as he saw Aqua Jet snickering.

“What are you laughing at?” Firebrand asked while poorly disguising his irritation.

“You don’t need to prove a dang thing to me.” Aqua Jet laughed. “I’m just teasing.”

“Like I need your approval...” Firebrand muttered. He brushed more of the sand off his body with his hoof, though to his chagrin it was more difficult with the water that loosely coated him.

“So how long did you run for?” Aqua asked coyly. “5? 10?”

“Miles?”

“Minutes.”

The brick unicorn flushed a shade of saturated red visible through his brick coat. “For your information, I was...” Firebrand stopped again as he caught Aqua Jet's muffled snickers, and fought back the urge to argue further.

“Celestia darn it, how does he do that???” His chest clenched and he released a restrained exhale as Aqua Jet chuckled harder. He wasn’t going to let the pegasus make a fool out of him. “You think you know my weakness?” Firebrand thought. “Fine then. Two can play at that game.”

“It’s still better than what you can do.” he bluffed.

"Riiiiiiight.” Aqua Jet scoffed. “Nice try, but that isn’t going to work.”

"Aww, what’s the matter?” Firebrand began to circle around Aqua Jet, a mischievous grin creeping its way onto his muzzle. “Is it too much for you? Is this just the one thing that’s...” Firebrand stopped behind Aqua, looking as condescending as he could. “Impossible... for you to do?” Firebrand sneered evilly as he saw Aqua Jet’s left eye twitch. “Hook.”

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Firebrand said as he raised a hoof and pointed down the shoreline. “You see that tree over there? First one to the tree wins." “Line.”

Aqua Jet followed Firebrand’s hoof. A pair of thick palm trees protruded from the side of the beach cliff. It was a fair distance, probably 300 or so meters. Nothing that would wear him out.

"You got it.” Aqua Jet said, face ablaze with the spirit of competition. “You're going down, showpony.”

“Stinker.”

"But first...” Firebrand’s gaze narrowed upon Aqua Jet’s other Celestia given gift; the one that wasn’t his competitive attitude at least. “You're not using your wings.”

Aqua Jet looked towards his side and shrugged. "Okay, fine then. I won't use my wings.”

"No.” Firebrand’s eyes locked onto Aqua’s. “I'm tying them so you won't cheat.”

"What?” Aqua Jet recoiled. “Dude, come on. I'm the Element of Honesty, remember? You seriously think I'd stoop that low?”

The faint sound of chirping crickets resonated over the ocean’s waves.

"Ouch."

Firebrand didn’t reply to Aqua Jet’s injured pride. His horn glowed red as some vines ripped themselves from the nearby cliff. With great dexterity, Firebrand looped the vines multiple times around Aqua’s torso. With a mischievous grin he gave a gentle yank, causing Aqua Jet to yelp and glare daggers.

“There. My wings are tied.” Aqua Jet grumbled. “Do you feel better?”

“Yes, in fact. Very much so.” Firebrand said while fighting back the urge to smile.

Aqua Jet snorted and grimaced as he shifted his wings to a comfortable position inside the vines. He took his place on the starting line and counted with his hoof. “You ready to eat your words?”

Firebrand’s eyes didn’t meet Aqua’s competitive glare, “Has anypony ever told you that you talk a lot?” he deadpanned as he shifted next to the pegasus.

Both stallions crouched low, and pushed lightly in the sand for pre-match leverage. For a moment there was faltering silence. The ocean's waves next to them crashed on the shore, resembling an enthusiastic audience cheering on a final race between two rivals.

Aqua Jet’s teeth flashed. “Three… Two… One…”

“GO!”

Both ponies launched themselves forward, kicking up the sediment and spreading it all around. They galloped down the shoreline, bodies neck and neck. Aqua Jet was surprised; the unicorn was keeping up with him. He was a royal guard, but unicorns were genetically less athletic than pegasi or earth ponies.

Still, Aqua Jet was determined to win. He closed his eyes and powered his hooves in the sand, giving himself an extra burst of speed. Smiling confidently, he turned his head, expecting to see the musician behind him.

To his surprise, Firebrand was still right next to him. Fighting back to urge to say “what” and lose precious air from his lungs, he shoved his legs into the sand again hoping to gain a lead on him, but the unicorn still managed to keep up.

“Darn it!” Aqua Jet thought bitterly. “This sand is slowing me down! How does he-”

“I go running here every day.” Firebrand’s words echoed.

“Oh...well, then I can just use my win-”

….

“Crud.”

The race continued, neither pony gaining nor losing any ground. As they turned to near a rock face, Firebrand darted to the left and cut Aqua Jet off on the turn, placing himself in the lead with the finish line quickly closing in.

“What the??? How did he-” Aqua Jet’s mind started working at a breakneck pace. “He started on the left, and we had a left turn so early in the race...so THAT CHEATER!! Oooohh…Tell me not to cheat and you do it yourself!? Oh, IT IS ON!!!”

Aqua Jet immediately whipped his head around and clamped his teeth on the bindings around his wings. With a strong yank of his head, the vines immediately came loose and freed his bound limbs. No longer restrained, the pegasus flapped his wings and rose off the ground, smiling as the exhaustion from running vanished.

“See ya, sucka!” Aqua jeered as he hovered over the galloping unicorn.

Firebrand’s eyes widened in surprise and indignation as he looked up. “The hay Aqua! I thought I said-”

“You cheat, I cheat!” Aqua yelled as he flew ahead, the tree almost within reach.

“I didn’t...” Firebrand snorted half the remaining air out of his lungs. “Okay if that’s the way you want it!”

A soft crackling rung in Aqua’s ears. He turned his head over his shoulders to see Firebrand’s horn immediately began to glow a bright gold.

“Oh no you don't!” Aqua Jet immediately angled his body downwards and divebombed towards the red unicorn. He outstretched his foreleg and reached for Firebrand’s horn in an attempt to halt the spell. His foreleg made contact with the horn, causing the aura to immediately fade and halting the spell. However, Aqua’s momentum caused him to continue moving forwards and the two stallions collided. They tumbled and rolled over each other in the sand before hitting their finish line hard. A loud wooden thud announced their arrival to the destination and a cloud of dust kicked up from their constant movement.

When at last the dust settled down, the two threw themselves away from each other and spun to face the other. Each stallion breathed heavily as they locked eyes, their gazes not moving in the slightest.

The silence broke as small snickers escaped Aqua Jet’s mouth. Firebrand was less amused, and let his eyes narrow.

“That...” Aqua breathed. “Was fun.”

“Whatever you say...” Firebrand growled as he stood up and brushed sand off his body.

“Usually you’re so uptight, showpony. I’ve never seen you act like this before.”

“Yeah? Well, don’t get used to it.” Firebrand said.

A large boom interrupted the two stallion’s conversation. Both ponies snapped their heads towards the source of the noise. Over the ocean’s horizon, a large mountain of dark silver cloud loomed, filling the ponies’ stomachs with dread.

“Yeesh.” Aqua cooed. “Those clouds don’t look friendly.”

“A storm?” A look of concern crept onto Firebrand’s face. “Nopony said there was going to be a storm today.”

“Guess there is.”

Not getting the answer he wanted, Firebrand sighed. “When’s it going to get here?”

Aqua Jet put a hoof to his chin and allowed his gaze to drift upwards. “Ehhhh... around noon, I guess.”

“Ugh.” Firebrand groaned. “I don’t wanna be here when it hits. We should get out of here.”

“What? Aw, c’mon, don’t be a spoilsport.”

“No.” Firebrand huffed. The unicorn stallion spun around and walked away. “You’re welcome to stay, but I’m leaving.”

Aqua Jet stood in place, looking between the storm and the retreating musician. Feeling a twinge of abandonment, he trudged after the stubborn Firebrand.

“You’re a real party pooper, ya know that?” He whined with a half-lidded glare out of the corner of his eye.

“It’s a freaking hurricane. I’m not stupid enough to stay for something like that.”

Aqua Jet sighed. “I was hoping you were.”

“Say wha-ahh?”

A freezing drop of water landed directly on the end of Firebrand’s nose, sending a sharp chill throughout his body.

“Rain?”

He was answered by a thundering boom. The enormous sound rippled and vibrated the area, pounding the air in the two stallions’ chests. The ocean surface out in the distance began to ripple as the torrential downpour began its attack, unleashing a giant wall of rain.

“Shoot!” Aqua Jet shouted, a look of concern piercing the usually apathetic face. “That storm’s getting here faster than I thought! We’d better get a move on!”

“But I thought you said that it wouldn’t be here until this afternoon!”

“Well, I was wrong! Let’s get out of here!”

“He was...wrong? Firebrand thought as he galloped down the shoreline. How could a pegasus misjudge something like that? And someone on the beach patrol no less???”

The temperature around the two dropped almost instantly, piercing their coats with cold wind. Rain came soon after and overtook the stallions, enveloping them with a freezing shower of icy darts. The barrage of water pounded the dirt, filling their ears with loud and constant popping.

“Horseapples!” Firebrand thought. “We need to get out of this rain now!”

“Look over there!”

Aqua Jet pointed towards the cliff’s face. Firebrand’s eyes followed Aqua’s hoof, but they struggled to make out what the pegasus was trying to reference. The rain completely obstructed his sight, covering his view in a gray haze.

“I don’t see anything!”

Firebrand felt a pressure on his chest, and soon realized his hooves were no longer touching the floor. A pair of blue forelegs wrapped themselves around Firebrand’s torso, and he looked up to see Aqua Jet above him gripping his body.

“What are you-”

“Just shut up and hold on!”

Firebrand was about to retort about him not holding on to anything, but he thought better of it and allowed the pegasus to carry him where he wanted. Water accumulated on Firebrand’s muzzle as the two stallions sped forwards. Firebrand’s eye finally caught what Aqua Jet was talking about. Through the dense mist, he could see a small hole in the cliffside large enough for somepony to enter. Possibly even use to shelter from a storm.

“Oh.”

The world changed from a light blue to a dark grey as the two entered the umbrella of a cave. The biting stings of freezing rain ceased their assault as well, much to the relief of the two stallions. Aqua Jet released his hold on Firebrand, letting the red unicorn hit the ground with a soft plump while Aqua Jet’s powerful wings let him land gracefully on the sand.

Aqua Jet shook the water off his body again, thankful that he was once again dry.

“Ahem.”

Aqua Jet turned around. Firebrand stood with a look of concentrated fury dripping from his face.

Oh wait, that’s water. All over him. Steaming too for some reason.

“Ahhh-Whoops. Sorry.” Aqua Jet grinned sheepishly.

“Water.” Firebrand scowled. “I. HATE. Water.”

“Oh, gimme a break.” Aqua Jet sighed as he looked outwards from the cave. His eyes took in the massive spectacle created by the giant force of nature. Black clouds now covered the entire sky, and the sounds of falling rain and howling wind were almost deafening. Aqua Jet squinted his eyes. Because it was so early in the morning, there was very little light making it almost impossible to see.

“This is a bigger storm than usual." Firebrand noted. "How bad is this exactly?”

“Oh it’s bad, pretty bad, but I can’t see how bad.” Aqua replied.

Firebrand took the cue. His horn crackled and began to shimmer a brilliant gold. A bright yellow ball appeared at the base of his horn and and traveled to the tip, bathing their surroundings in a soft glow.

“Oh...” Aqua Jet’s eyes widened. “Very bad.”

Large understatement. Giant waves as large as a hill formed and immediately crashed down on the shore. Rain puddles increased to the size of ponds in mere minutes, and he was pretty sure that foliage wasn't supposed to be flying across the horizon. Aqua Jet grimaced. If he flew again out there, he’d be swept up in an instant and only Celestia knows where he’d end up.

“When can we get back out? I’m kind in a hurry.”

"I dunno... but my best guess is..." Aqua Jet's mouth portrayed slight disgust. “All day. You won’t be getting back until tomorrow, probably.”

Firebrand wasn’t sure what happened next, but something akin to a freezing chill jolted up his spine while simultaneously the contents of his stomach jumped halfway into his throat. He blinked twice before realizing he forgot he was supposed to be breathing.

“I’m sorry, I must’ve misheard you." He said through a forced neutrality expression. "But I thought you said we wouldn’t get back until... tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Why?”

Firebrand’s eyes expanded to saucers. “No...”

“What?”

“No. No! NO! NO!!”

“Dude, are you okay?”

Firebrand began to run back and forth at the entrance, desperately looking for a way out. All he was greeted with was another thunderclap. “NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!”

“This is...weird.” Aqua Jet jaw hung loose a little bit at the display. Firebrand was usually calm and saw things objectively, even if he did fly off the handle most of the time. To see him acting like the world was coming to an end was out of place, to say the least.

“What’s wrong, Brand?” Aqua Jet asked.

Firebrand faced Aqua Jet with a heartbreaking look of worry plastered on his face. Aqua Jet tensed; if Firebrand was this worried, it must be very bad. Aqua braced himself for whatever horrible tragedy was coming out of the unicorn’s mouth.

“It's the worst possible thing... Kindle and Spark are at my house right now, and there’s nopony there to look after them!” Firebrand explained hysterically. “Mom and Dad entrusted me to take care of them while they were on vacation, and now a hurricane is attacking the house and I’m supposed to be there!" The unicorn buried his face in his hooves. "This is bad. This is bad. This is bad! This is bad! My parents are going to kill meeeeeee...”

Aqua Jet breathed a sigh of relief. “Whew, I thought it was something serious...”

“THIS IS SERIOUS! My siblings are alone and without a guardian to look out for them! What if they break something?! What if they hurt themselves? They could trip down the stairs! The refrigerator could fall on them!"

Aqua Jet didn’t know what was weirder; Firebrand jumping to worst case scenario or what his idea of worst case scenario was.

“Ummm... dude, the chances of that happening are kinda slim.”

“But it still could happen! Which is why I’m going out th-”

Aqua Jet shoved his leg in front of Firebrand. “Don't. You go out there, and you’ll be sent back to Ponyville in a cupcake box.”

Shaking his head of the mental imagery, Firebrand turned around and looked around their shelter. “But...we still need to find a way out of here! Umm...” Firebrand glanced down the tunnel. “Where does this cave lead to? Let’s follow it! It may lead out of here.”

“Dude, chill. If we just wait it out, we’ll be okay.” Aqua Jet said while looking at the passing storm. “I mean, it might not stay the whole day; that was just a guess. I mean, if we're lucky, maybe it'll last just for a few hours or it’ll weaken a little later so we can probably... wha?”

His view of the storm began to darken. Confused, he turned around to ask why Firebrand turned his light off, but the unicorn wasn’t next to him. He barely caught a glimpse of Firebrand’s werelight in the tunnel and soon realized he was about to get left behind.

“What the- Hey, Brand, wait up!"

Firebrand didn’t slow down and kept trudging onwards, his horn illuminating the tunnel in a phosphorescent glow. The darkness seemed to be all encompassing, but Firebrand’s spell managed to paint a detailed enough picture. Water could be seen and heard as it dripped from hanging stalactites. Jagged cave walls erred to and fro as the depth continued onward. The winds outside echoed throughout the tunnel, a violent cry of hatred for anything in the storm’s grasp.

“Oh, I hope Spark and Kindle are safe...” he thought worriedly. “Of all the times I couldn’t be there, it had to be during a hurricane."

Firebrand's eyebrows furrowed. A huge mass of dread began to form in the pit of his stomach. "The timing couldn’t be any more perfect; the second I lower my guard, the worst possible thing happens. When my parents find out about this, my flank is going to get chewed something FIERCE...”

Without any sort of light at the end, the cave seemed to go on forever, filling the unicorn’s heart with chills. Still, he would not stop until he could potentially undo the mistake he made. There had to be some way out of this, some easy loophole to get himself out of the cave and instantly next to his siblings like nothing was wrong. Things usually fell into place like that. Maybe he could ask Aqua Jet to-

Firebrand flinched as something touched him. Upon glancing to his side, he found a stout blue wing brushed up against it. He followed the wing with a raised eyebrow to the oblivious pegasus next to him, staring off into space with wide eyes.

“Aqua Jet, can you stop touching me?” Firebrand said in mock politeness.

Aqua Jet blinked out of his stupor. “Uh?"

"I said, stop touching me." Firebrand repeated, his jaw beginning to tighten. "That means, please remove your wing."

Aqua Jet glanced over to his wing, and returned a very confused look.

"Why?"

Firebrand released a tight breath. He just needed to explain himself; he wasn't going to let himself get angry this easily.

"Because I asked you to." Firebrand stated.

Aqua Jet hesitated for a second, then sighed and retreated to the side. He cocked an eyebrow and made a face that said, “Happy now?” Firebrand snorted and continued down the tunnel.

The two slowed down as a fork in the road appeared, a large crevasse dividing the path. Firebrand glanced towards each, taking in each one's characteristics. One path led upwards to the right, and the other sloped down to the left. The one that descended to the left was damp and filled with puddles.

Firebrand tilted his head to the right and followed the path with his eyes. His first observation was that it was much drier and it looked much safer. It also didn't help that since they were underground, a downward path was unlikely to lead them out. On top of that, they did need to head upwards in order to get out of the cave. Satisfied with this logic, he wordlessly started heading towards the upper path.

“Whoa, wait a second, Brand.” Aqua Jet stepped in front and shook his head. “We can’t go this way.”

“And why not?” Firebrand asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I dunno, something just tells me we shouldn’t.”

Firebrand blinked, all emotion drained from his face.

“Look Brand, take it from the guy who’s at the beach all the time.” Aqua Jet stepped closer to the downward tunnel to illustrate his point. “There’s no water down there. None at all. That’s gotta mean that during normal storms the water that would usually flood in here gets drained somewhere. I’d have to say that’s our best bet if we want to get out of here. I mean the other trail looks like it... Brand?”

The unicorn wasn’t there. In fact, he had already started going down the other direction, much to Aqua Jet’s alarm.

“Waaa... Why does he keep ditching me...” Aqua Jet whined as he dashed after Firebrand. “Jerk...”

The faint sound of clopping echoed behind Firebrand, eliciting a scowl from the unicorn. “I don’t have time for your stupid self-aggrandizing musings and theories; we are wasting too much time as it is...” Firebrand thought. He cast his horn down the tunnel, showing nothing more than continuing darkness for the long run; stalactites and stalagmites being the only decoration the cave had to show. Needless to say, it was not what Firebrand wanted to see.

“Ugh, if I had just not let myself get sucked into his stupid little games, I wouldn’t be in this mess...” He casted a sideways glance towards the pegasus and snorted. “That colt is so immature. And I only have myself to blame for stooping to his level...”

Firebrand slowed down; something immediately felt off. He looked back towards Aqua Jet, and found the pegasus standing uncomfortably close again.

“Aqua Jet, what did I just say?” Firebrand deadpanned.

“What?” Aqua Jet mumbled.

Firebrand’s temper flared. “I just told you to stop being so close to me. Could you please remove yourself from my flank?”

“Why do you care? It’s not like we’re...” his eyes shifted. “You know…”

“You are touching my butt with your wing." Firebrand deadpanned. "It’s making me uncomfortable and you’re annoying, and I would appreciate it if you would respect another pony’s personal space.” Firebrand huffed as he increased his pace, placing himself a few meters ahead.

“Okay, mom...” Aqua Jet muttered under his breath.

“I’m a trained musician.” Firebrand said. “I can hear what you said and... oh great.”

The two ponies stopped. Before them lay a steep, rocky slope as tall as a small building. Firebrand lifted his horn to shed some more light on the cliff and groaned. Multiple protrusions of rock scattered themselves all over the cliff, almost forming a natural ladder. It certainly made the wall climbable, but not wholly safe do due the size of it if he were to fall. On top of that, an obstacle of this caliber wasn't doing much for Firebrand's current hasty and easily irritable mood.

“Perfect. Just great." Firebrand grumbled as he started to climb. "Now we get to perform a death-defying climb while lost in a cave and all because of that stupid storm."

He carefully placed his hind hooves on hard bases and pushed upwards, reaching for the next rocks. He studied the wall as he climbed, making sure he had solid footing before continuing on. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy as the expressionless Aqua Jet flew past him, making easy work of the obstacle that the tempest forced him into. "This doesn’t make any sense. Why would the pegasi schedule a storm this big in the first place?”

“It wasn’t the pegasi.” Aqua Jet replied plainly as he flew upwards past the unicorn.

“What? But...you..” Firebrand stammered as he lifted himself upwards a little more. “You… all control the weather...”

“Not on the beach. The beach is completely random, like the Everfree Forest.” Aqua Jet said while landing on the top of the slope. “We don’t control that kind of thing. The ocean’s just too big to keep track of, so anything could happen out there.”

“But that’s stupid!” Firebrand cried. He reached up with his hoof towards the top of the slope but came up short. “We have weather patrols all over Equestria that’s just about as big as the entire ocean. I don’t see why it shouldn’t be the same here.”

Aqua Jet sighed as he grabbed Firebrand’s hoof and lifted him up. “Be real here. Other than -urgh- kelpies, nopony lives in the ocean. What would be the point of patrolling it if nopony’s around?”

“Oh, I can think of a few reasons, like,” Firebrand gestured with a hoof to the surrounding area. “How about, look where we bucking are.”

Aqua Jet paused, wondering for a moment if it would be in his best interests to drop him.

“No one would have to know... Nah, I need his light to see.”

Aqua Jet grunted, pulling hard with his athletic legs. Some resistance quickly notified that Firebrand was heavier than the average unicorn. Aqua gave a couple bats of his wings, making it a little easier to hoist Firebrand up.

"Well, I'm glad we're done with that." Firebrand panted as he continued walking forwards. "Now we just need to-"

Firebrand's heart jumped as his hoof met air and he immediately collapsed to the ground. Firebrand's body reacted almost instantly and pushed back with his hind legs. Due to his surprise, he stumbled over his own legs and landed clumsily on his rear.

"Jeez, what is it with unicorns and almost falling off cliffs?" Aqua Jet thought coyly to himself.

Firebrand gasped for breath as he regained control of his brain from his instincts. He shook the adrenaline from his head making his next obstacle eventually came into focus.

The pathway immediately gave way to a steep, but not vertical ridge. He could barely see rocks the size of his head at the bottom that looked to him like little pebbles.

“A cliff, this time downwards.” Firebrand scowled. “This is unbelievable! Is the entire universe just against me today???”

“Oh my gosh, Brand, shut up…” Aqua Jet thought as he placed a hoof to his face. “That’s not even a cliff; it’s more of a slope…”

“Look, don't be such a wimp. It’s not that steep. just slide down it.” Aqua Jet reasoned.

Firebrand scowled. “Well, excuse me if I am wingless and actually have to work to overcome things.”

"What." Aqua Jet’s eye twitched. "Did the unicorn just say he had to work hard? The ones with..." He released another pained breath. He was quickly losing the tolerance to ignore Firebrand, but he wasn't going to lose his cool.

“F.y.i., I’m not the one who said we should come here in the first place.”

“Well, what were we supposed to do? Lollygag around at the entrance and just wait for the storm to go away? I don’t know about you, but that seems like a big freaking waste of time to me.”

Aqua Jet’s eyes thinned. “Has anypony ever told you that you talk a lot?”

“Funny.” Firebrand looked over condescendingly. “I told you the same thing earlier. Can’t take a little criticism, so you throw it back. How mature.”

“Dude...” Aqua Jet moaned as he rolled his eyes. His body tensed as he released a voiced breath. The warped logic exhibited by Firebrand made him instantly lose interest in continuing the conversation. “Whatever...”

“Typical." Firebrand scoffed. "A pegasus not accepting responsibility. If you pegasi actually did your jobs instead of gaffing off something important like a tropical storm, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mes-what did I just step in?”

Firebrand lifted his hoof. His upper lip raised in disgust as he found a sticky, smelly white substance sticking to his hoof like glue.

“Yuck!" he squealed, shaking his hoof vigorously to get the viscous slime off. "What the heck is this stuff?”

“Ummm... Brand, I’d keep the volume down a few notches...”

“Why should I?” Firebrand demanded. Aqua Jet didn’t answer, and instead pointed upwards. Firebrand followed his hoof and gasped.

Dotting the cave’s ceiling were hundreds of little brown winged creatures. Their wings folded over their tiny bodies as they dangled vertically from the ceiling, almost like an upside down flower field. Except without the flowers. Or sun. And with bats. Lots of bats. They seemed asleep... or at least dormant. If awoken, the ponies would have to deal with another storm; this one much less pleasant.

“That... is just freaky." Aqua Jet gasped.

Firebrand looked down at his hoof. "So I just stepped in...” Surprise hit his face before it contorted into a repulsive grimace. “Oh Faust, Mother of Celestia, disgusting!”

“Shut up, Brand!” Aqua Jet hissed.

Firebrand immediately clamped his hooves over his mouth. Without warning, a putrid odor forced itself into his nose, causing him to gag. Firebrand's chest tightened as he realized that in his haste, the guano was now placed directly in front of his nostrils. Firebrand gagged and removed his hoof, making choking sounds in his throat and valiantly resisting every urge to taste his breakfast again. He looked up again once his stomach calmed down; the ceiling didn’t stir or react.

“Oh thank goodness...” Firebrand rasped, nearly collapsing to the floor, not noticing Aqua's feeble attempts at disguising his amusement.

The unicorn took a few deep breaths (and silently chastising himself) and looked at the slope below him. He could slide down it, like Aqua Jet said, but he could just as easily tumble down and severely injure himself. “Just one obstacle after the other." he thought glumly. "Storms, winding paths, bats, and now, cliffs."

Firebrand cast a sideways glance to the pegasus closely huddled next to him again. "Lucky Aqua can fly down and he...wait....oh my bucking...”

Gritting his teeth, Firebrand stopped and glared venomously at Aqua Jet, nestled upon him once more like a little foal that wouldn’t stop clinging to its mommy.

“For the last time Aqua, get off me!” Firebrand yell-whispered as to avoid waking the looming doom.

Aqua Jet gave a slightly pained look. “Why is it so bad that I’m standing next to you?”

“For the umpteenth time, it makes me uncomfortable! Now stand somewhere else and let me focus!” Firebrand ordered as he shoved the pegasus away with his foreleg.

“You did not just shove me.” Aqua Jet said darkly, eyes filled with a strange emotion.

Firebrand didn't notice Aqua Jet's sudden change of tone. “Well, asking nicely didn't seem to work. So let's try not so nice: Stay away from me.” Firebrand ordered.

He took a tentative step off the edge and braced himself. He shifted his weight and began to move down. Inch by inch he slid down, actually feeling a small thrill rush as the air blew past his face. He reached the bottom with a triumphant grin. “Well, crisis averted. The bats aren’t going to be a problem at least. Heh heh, sorry Shenanigans, Murphy’s Law didn’t get me this ti-”

Something hard shoved itself into Firebrand’s side. He hit the ground with a hard thud and slid across it, dirt and rocks digging into his coat before coming to a halt. Confused and exasperated, he picked himself up and turned to see what hit him. His eyes widened in even more confusion and exasperation.

Aqua Jet looked down, lips curled into a condescending frown.

"Oops." Aqua Jet singsonged. "Sorry. Didn't see you."

"What the hay were you thinking, Aqua Jet?!" Firebrand stood back up. "I could've been seriously injured!"

"Aww, did the widdle showpony chip a hoof?" Aqua mocked. "I thought you were a soldier, not a priss. Playing those sissy flutes must be making you soft."

"You child!" Firebrand shouted, his veins aflame with the fury of an inferno. "Just because I shoved you doesn't give you the right to hit me back! Retaliation is not something you should-"

“Blah blah blah blah blah.” Aqua Jet interrupted while flapping a hoof left to right. “Boy, you have a lecture prepared for anything don't you? Everything just has to be so perfect. As soon as somepony does something that doesn't fit daddy Firebrand's law, you jump down their throats like some bossy control freak."

"Oh, so it's come down to name calling hasn't it?! And I am not a control freak!"

"You sure act like one." Aqua replied smugly. "Yell like one too."

"Shut up! If it weren't for me you'd still be... wait... what did you say?"

Aqua Jet's head tilted. "I said you yell like one. Why?"

"Oh no..." Firebrand's tail tucked between his legs and his eyes drifted upwards.

"What are you..." Aqua Jet faltered. His cheek twitched as horrific realization flooded into his head. He glimpsed over his shoulder to and found his fears confirmed; Twenty glowing red eyes stared back at them, looking very, very, unhappy.

“Umm...Brand?” Aqua Jet eyes drifted backwards, yet his head remained still as stone. “Bats aren’t dangerous... are they?”

Firebrand didn’t return his gaze, instead remaining fixated on the creatures above and not daring to move an inch. “Well, I’m no expert, but there is the risk of Rabies and/or Tetanus.”

Aqua Jet gulped, and his eyes hesitantly returned themselves to the ceiling. Hundreds of eyes now gazed at the two trembling ponies.

“I’m... thinking we should start running. Like...now.”

"Hang on a second." Firebrand whispered. "Look."

Firebrand pointed at the hundreds of steely red eyes glaring back at them. "They haven't done anything yet. Maybe if we just back away slowly, they won't-"

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!!!!!!!!!

“Okay, run!"

The ceiling erupted in a sea of leathery fury as the entire colony of bats descended upon the two ponies. Firebrand and Aqua Jet surged their legs into the ground and leapt away, galloping down the tunnel. The sounds of high-pitched shrieks stroked their fear, their hearts throbbing in their chests just as their race for their lives started.

Aqua Jet soon realized he would get more speed by being airborne. He took off and charged ahead with every intention to place as much distance from himself and the winged demons pursuing them. His vision became darker as he flew ahead, causing him to narrowly miss a sharp rock impacting his face. He slowed down and looked back at the light-giving stallion trying to keep up with him on the ground.

"Goshdarnit, Aqua Jet!" Firebrand scowled forwards. "Why did you have to be stupid and set off these bats?"

"Me!?" Aqua Jet screamed back. "You're the who shouted the loudest, Mr. Musician!"

"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't assault me first!"

“Don’t act like you didn't have it coming!” Aqua Jet yelled as stalactite nearly scraped the side of his fur. "Now go faster so I can see where I'm flying!"

"What?! I don't take orders from you, you little-"

Another screech from the bats interrupted their argument. The fear stabbed them in their hearts, actually making their limbs move faster. They refixed their gazes on the way forward and shut their mouths. On they ran, no matter what the obstacle. Neither wanted to take any chances with slowing down to be careful when facing each obstacle that came into view, so both ponies ran into difficulties.

Aqua Jet weaved in and out of the dangling stalactites, but not coming through completely unscathed. Despite his agility, he received multiple scratches from the hanging rock formations. Firebrand was faring little better, as many large rocks blocked his path, forcing him to quickly use combinations of levitation and acrobatic running.

Firebrand's mind raced. "We can't keep running like this! We need to do something about those bats!"

"Why don't you come up with something, fearless leader!" Aqua quipped.

"You're not helping!" Firebrand shouted back, mind racing. "I know it's difficult, but try saying something useful!"

"Okay, try shouting at them! Maybe you can nag them to death! It's what you're best at!"

"You useless little-" Firebrand gasped as something clicked in his mind. "Wait... Of course! Bats navigate by sound! And, if it's loud enough they become frightened by it! And my special talent is-"

Firebrand whirled himself around and slid to a halt. He bent his horn low and crouched before the oncoming storm.

"Brand!? What are you doing???"

Firebrand's grit his teeth as his horn fizzed and sparkled. A large translucent red cone grew at the base of his horn, swirling around violently as the unicorn gave it more power.

"Echolocate this, you bloodsucking freaks of nature!!!" Firebrand shouted. A shrill squeal burst from the top of his horn towards the oncoming swarm. The soundwaves rippled the air, forming multiple aerial shockwaves. The spell engulfed the colony of bats, scattering their formation into a state of chaos.

Firebrand grinned, proceeding with the next part of his plan. He slowly walked forwards, pushing the spell with it. The bats slowly obeyed his subliminal command and began to retreat down the tunnel. The malevolent shapes eventually disappeared down the tunnel, along with their unholy screeching.

Firebrand breathed slowly, his head feeling slightly like a watermelon as the adrenaline stopped pumping. He stood back up tall and proud, filled with the pure satisfaction of defeating a mighty foe.

"You idiot!"

Something long and blunt connected with Firebrand's face. His head flew backwards and forced his body to the floor. Firebrand stood up, gritting his teeth and wiping the dirt from his face.

"Idiot???" Firebrand shouted. "I just saved our lives!"

"And almost got us killed! We're in a cave you dolt! Your stupid sound magic could've caused a cave-in or rockslide you moron!"

"That doesn't mean you get a free pass to attack me!" Firebrand galloped right into Aqua Jet's face and pressed his nose right on Aqua's. "What is it with you? All you do is just walk around, be useless and just mooch off my light. I'm leading you through here on the generosity of my heart, and what do you do?! You spit in the face of the pony here trying to help you! Some friend you are! And then you try and cuddle me like I'm your mother, or like I'm your..." Firebrand backed away and huffed. "Never mind. And top it off, you think that by me not complying with your childish needs, you can hit me and it suddenly makes it all better!"

"Yes. Yes it does." Aqua Jet replied quietly, lowering his head into a sinister glare.

Firebrand paused. His body slowly angled away from Aqua, getting a strong inkling of malicious intent coming from the pegasus. “If you so much as dare to think of laying another hoof on me…”

“Oh,” Aqua Jet grinned evilly. “I dare far too much!”

Aqua Jet charged. Hooves stamped the ground as the stunned soldier was suddenly taken to the ground, dashed hard. The pegasus did not stop there, raising his front right hoof up high and connecting it with Firebrand's face. Former instincts kicked in, however, and Firebrand wrapped his hooves around Aqua's leg and thrust himself upward, throwing the raging pegasus off of him. However, Aqua Jet immediately changed angles in the air, his natural speed allowing him to instantly recover. him to dash the unicorn against the wall. Rock met Firebrand's back hard, doubly so by the two strong hooves pressed against his chest.

Firebrand shot his hooves under and between Aqua's grip, executing a perfect hold breaker. Aqua's forelegs shot to the sides, momentarily surprising the blue pegasus. He then quickly pushed both of his forelegs, knocking Aqua and the wind out of him.

Aqua Jet wasn’t done with Firebrand yet, and immediately regained his balance from his stumble. He leapt off the ground and charged the unicorn again. Firebrand dodged the second charge easily, sidestepping out of the way and hoping the pegasus would crash against the wall. Instead, Aqua's body curved in midair, effectively landing on the wall as if it were the ground. He immediately propelled him self off and swung his right leg towards Firebrand's face. Firebrand parried the blow with his left leg, and countered with his own more precise right hook. He hit nothing, as Aqua twisted his head and dodged, and swung wildly at Firebrand with a flurry of punches.

Firebrand face tensed. He was able to effectively parry or shield himself from each assault, but the pegasus was far too fast for him to fight back and the numerous rushes started to wear down upon him. His mind began to shift further into combat mode as the attacks continued.

"Foe: Pegasus. Speedy and bold. Very straightforward attacker. Brutish even. Not giving me any time to breathe or counter. Meeting him head on, ineffective, too fast, advantage him. Have to use deception or surprise. Best method... Ambush? Lack of hiding spots. He can... see... me...”

Firebrand dimmed his horn. The last vestments of light began to dim until darkness swallowed their surroundings. Upon realizing what was happening, Aqua Jet immediately darted at the unicorn to finish him off, but Firebrand melted into the darkness before at which point the unicorn made his move and disappeared. Aqua Jet's blood began to boil in panic, but his determination and pride refused to allow him any moment to cower. His eyes darted around the area but all he could see was pitch darkness, no silhouette of the unicorn to be found.

"BRAND! BRAND, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The walls echoed with dark laughter, sending chills up the pegasus body.

“Pathetic, Aqua. Absolutely pathetic." Firebrand's voice echoed. "You made three very fatal mistakes. Your first mistake: challenging a pony who's been trained as a Royal Guard."

A crackling rock sounded from behind him. He immediately spun around and charged at the sound, hoping to get a number up on the unicorn. His hoof connected with nothing, making him flop ungracefully to the ground.

“Second mistake: Challenging a pony whose special talent is sound."

“This isn’t funny! Where are you???” Aqua Jet whipped his head and body around in panic. Now matter how he tried, he couldn’t find the source of the voice; it seemed to come from all around him.

"Third mistake..."

Aqua Jet saw the area in front of him glow slightly and heard the familiar sound of crackling magic behind him. He was suddenly surrounded in a golden glow and lifted off the ground. Then in one swift motion, he was hurled at the wall closest him. Aqua yelped as he hit the wall and fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Letting me know exactly where you are."

Firebrand slowly walked over to the pegasus, standing tall over his defeated foe. He didn’t wear a look a triumph or pride. Rather, his lips pursed in pity and revulsion.

“We’re not going together anymore.” Firebrand stated. “Any time we are together it leads to us getting bucked. Here’s the plan. You go one way, I’ll go another. Everypony wins.”

“What!?” Aqua Jet squealed wide-eyed in fear. “But how am I supposed to see-”

“You should have thought of that before you attacked me.” Firebrand glowered. “I'm sure you'll find some way. Why don't you go back to the cave's entrance? You seemed very content there.”

Firebrand turned his body and started to walk away, abandoning the blue pegasus in the darkness.

"Wait a sec!" Aqua Jet pleaded, slowly rising to his hooves. "You can't leave me!"

"Just try to stop me." Firebrand sneered, then cocked his head with a condescending gleam in his eye. "Hang on; You tried that before. Didn't work out so well, did it?"

Aqua Jet's heart raced. He leaped off the ground and barrelrolled over the pegasus. “Just wait a second! Let me-"

"Aqua. I am warning you now." Firebrand growled, his horn beginning to spark. "You had better get out of my way."

In spite of the pure venom-laced tone, Aqua Jet didn't back down. He instead clenched his jaw and took two deep breaths. “It’s now or never...”

“Brand... I…I gotta tell you something…”

"And I'm not listening." Firebrand shoved his shoulder into Aqua Jet and pushed him aside. Aqua rebounded and moved himself back to the unicorn's side with a desperate look in his eye.

"Dude, this is important! I-"

“Whatever it is, I don’t freaking care!” Firebrand shot back and shoved him away. “There's nothing you can say that will change this! I’m sick of dealing with you. You have been little more than a large inconvenience for the entire day. I hope to not see you any time soon, possibly ever again! Now, I'm going to do us both a favor and disappear! Goodbye!”

Firebrand's horn began to dim, slowly enveloping both stallions in black. Aqua Jet began to hyperventilate, his breaths coming up shallow and weak.

"No! No! Brand, don't leave me!" Aqua pleaded. "I need to tell you something!"

The last of Firebrand's spell fizzed out and the unicorn faded away into the darkness. The sound of gradually quieting hoofsteps entered Aqua's ears, making Aqua Jet enter full on panic mode.

“Brand! Please don't go!”

The hoofsteps suddenly stopped.

...

"He didn't..."

...

Firebrand froze in mid step. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and a hoof dangled in the air in shock at what he just heard.

...

"He... said..."

...

That word. That dreaded, evil word.

...

Please.

"No! No! NO! I've wasted too much time here! He had his chance! He's going to have to... but... he... ARGH!" Firebrand’s mind cried out to ignore Aqua and just continue on, but his conscience began to assault his mind with thoughts and actions against his own wants. His eyes twitched and his lungs spasmed as he fought heroically against his moral programming, but ultimately his resolve faltered and Firebrand halted in place with a low groan. “Please” was the word, an almost hypnotic spell that Firebrand could not say no to.

“What is it…” he growled. “I swear on all that is holy and righteous if this isn’t important...”

Aqua Jet’s legs began to quiver. Redness flushed his cheeks as his heart rate quickened.

“I’m…" he breathed, fumbling over his words. "I’m scared of the dark.”

"What?"

"I’m scared of the dark.”

Any patience Firebrand had left was lost. “Spit it out, already!”

“Alright, alright! I’m scared of the dark!”

The air around the two ponies became still. The statement echoed down the cave, and with each reverberation that came back, the pegasus winced as his dark secret was revealed time and time again.

“You’re… what?” Firebrand said in disbelief. Aqua Jet didn’t answer and instead looked away in utter humiliation.

Firebrand began to stare at the crimson-maned pegasus, starting to reevaluate his opinion of him.

“…I can’t believe it. The fearless daredevil Aqua Jet, afraid of the dark? He performs death-defying stunts on a regular basis, half of the time with a blindfold, and he’s afraid of a little darkness? How is that…” Firebrand shook his head. “No, no, I can’t judge him. There’s probably a reason for it. Should I ask him what it is? Well, maybe I shouldn’t. It's probably a personal traumatic- Wait, how long have I been thinking? SHOOT! He’s probably-”

“Listen, Aqua, I want you to know that-“

“Just forget it.”

Aqua Jet let his head droop low and whipped his body around so Firebrand couldn't see the complete shame on the pegasus’ face.

"Well..." Firebrand stammered. "We... we should keep going. The sooner we get out of here the better."

Aqua Jet didn't reply. Without lifting his head, he walked past Firebrand and didn't look the unicorn in the eye.

A strong wave of guilt struck Firebrand. All those times that Aqua Jet was violating his personal space, he was just scared and wanted a friend to make him feel safe and that he wasn't alone. Every time that happened, Firebrand just pushed him away and shunned him. Firebrand couldn't shoulder all the blame, as he had the excuse of ignorance, but it still didn't alleviate the knot in his stomach formed by pure guilt.

“Aqua...”

"Shut up." Aqua Jet hissed.

A twitch attacked Firebrand's face, but he quickly subdued it. "Listen, Aqua, I-"

"I said, shut up." Aqua growled through gritted teeth, his tone becoming combative.

Firebrand fumed. How dare this stallion spurn him when he's trying to comfort his broken friend? The nerve! Maybe he should just dim his horn and let him suffer, just to show that impudent stallion-

...

"Wait, what the buck am I thinking? Was I really just about to do that? What kind of pony would do that to a distraught friend?"

Firebrand's eyebrows furrowed. He was just about to do something incredibly cruel, and it would have felt really good to do so, to exercise that sort of power over him. Like a control freak.

What Aqua said began to eat at him. Why would Aqua Jet say those things? Was he really so controlling? Did he really think everypony else was beneath him? Aqua wasn’t the type to say things he didn’t mean, so he wouldn’t say those things just to hurt him.

Firebrand turned his head. Aqua's face seemed to relax; The tension on his skin was mostly gone, and his jaw looked looser. He figured now that the poor stallion had calmed down, he could ask the question weighing heavily on his mind.

“Aqua, when we had that argument...” Firebrand looked at the ground. “Did you mean what you said? Am I really a control freak?”

“Yup.” Aqua Jet replied without emphasis.

Something akin to a poison dagger stabbed Firebrand in the chest and gave a little twist for flair.

“Ouch.” Firebrand said low-spiritedly. “That was blunt.”

Aqua Jet shrugged. “Call it like I see it, dude; I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it.”

Firebrand felt a stir of bittersweetness. “Maybe that’s for the best.”

“I mean, you never acted like this before today.” Aqua continued. “Seriously, what gives? You don’t usually blow up at small things this easily. Big things sure, and things that deserve it, but not small things. And seriously dude, I've never seen you so... heartless."

"What?" A space in Firebrand's chest felt like it was smashed into a million pieces.

"I'm dead serious. You were about to abandon me back there. Abandon me. In a dark cave full of cliffs and bats even. It's like you don't even care about what happens to me. Hey, newsflash, without your light, I could've gotten seriously hurt or even..." Aqua Jet halted his speech, and gave a heavy sigh. "Dude, what gives? Why are you acting like this?"

Firebrand didn't know how to reply; he was stricken at his very core. His mouth hung open and his eyes darted across the ground. “I…” Firebrand breathed, trying to offer some sort of theory. “I… I just... I... I don’t know…”

“Uh huh.” Aqua Jet mumbled and let out a long sigh. "I think I do. It's your bro and sis. You're too worried about them, and that's making you panic. Usually whenever something doesn't go the way you want it, you plow through anything that gets in your way. And I guess... today that thing in your way happened to be me."

Firebrand blinked. Aqua's words actually made a ton of sense. Firebrand was the sort of pony that made sure things went his way, and the more serious it was, the harder he would try and make the situation be fixed.

"I have arachnophobia.”

Aqua Jet looked up and tilted his head. “You have a rack o’ what now?”

Firebrand sighed. “Arachnophobia. It means I’m scared of spiders.”

“What?” Aqua Jet stammered. His face wore multiple expressions from shock to confusion before finally resting on curious. “Why are you saying this to me?”

"Guilt complex. Call it payback for you entrusting me with-” Firebrand paused to find the most politically correct words. “-a secret like yours.”

"No way." Aqua Jet chuckled in disbelief. “The big tough Firebrand, scared of spiders?”

“Yes.” Firebrand deadpanned. “Got bitten by one as a foal, sent to the hospital, and been terrified of them ever since.”

Aqua Jet was taken aback at how nonchalant Firebrand was in admitting this.

“…dude, your life sucks.”

“Not completely.”

Firebrand shrugged it off and continued his trek forwards with Aqua Jet. Not long after that and not unexpectedly, Aqua Jet started to approach Firebrand again. But before he touched, he began to back off, knowing what was coming.

“It’s fine Aqua, I don’t mind anymore.” Firebrand prompted. Aqua Jet gave a hard-luck smile and wrapped his wing around Firebrand’s back, sending a shock throughout his body. Firebrand opened his mouth, about to protest that wasn’t part of the deal.

The words never came out. Aqua Jet still had that wide-eyed, frightened look in his eyes about his surroundings, but he was also smiling. Firebrand released a held breath and decided against asking him to remove the wing. "He needs this." he reasoned. However, his mind went back to their fight, and what was said between them.

"He seemed to get his mind off our surroundings when we were talking..." Firebrand pondered, studying the pegasus' face. "Well, when he was talking, at least. It looks like he can only have one thing on his mind at a time. If I can get his train of thought moving, maybe he won't be so... scared." He could still scarcely believe this was the real Aqua Jet: cowering in the face of danger that wasn't even there.

“Aqua..." He turned to Aqua Jet hesitantly. "I... heard something about you wanting to start your own team of Stunt Flyers. Is that true?"

“Yeah.” Aqua glanced over at Firebrand, but then returned to looking at the blackness around him.

“Why not just join the Wonderbolts?”

Aqua Jet's ear twitched. His eyes narrowed, a look of minor offense taking hold on his lips. “Dude, many reasons. One: They’re the Princess’s professional flying squad. Imagine the amount of responsibilities they have, the image they have to keep up, There’s no way I could handle that.”

“Oh, I know that feeling...” Firebrand thought as memories of being in the Royal Guard came back to him.

“Two: Suits look stupid.”

The statement took Firebrand completely by surprise. A childish grin broke through his features before he began chuckling.

“Yeah, I guess the uniform is a little silly-looking.” Firebrand said, choosing to ignore that a wacky uniform doesn't say anything about professionalism. He would know, he was a guard.

"Three: When I look at them, I dunno, I just see... acting.” Aqua Jet started looking around him. Not in fear, but in reflection. “They’re just doing it just because they have to. They do tricks and stuff, but none of it's exciting or daring. There’s no passion behind it. I’ve just seen better.”

"From yourself." Firebrand stated flatly.

Aqua Jet burst into a cocky smile.

“Exactly.”

Firebrand rolled his eyes and snorted. Aqua Jet had a huge ego, and being the Element of Honesty didn’t help matters much. His logic went something like “Because I’m the Element of Honesty, if I say I’m awesome it must be true!” Aqua Jet was not afraid to let the nearest pony know how awesome he was and didn’t care who he offended. He sort of admired that fearlessness, but worried it might get him into trouble if he wasn’t careful with his tendency to be blunt.

“Aqua Jet and careful?” Firebrand thought while trying to hide a chuckle. “That’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one.”

“And four: I want to be somepony great. To be remembered. Somepony others can look up to. I’ll admit, the Wonderbolts are cool, it’s just...”

He stopped walking and looked down. scratching the back of his crimson mane as he tried to put what was in his mind into words.

“I don’t want to be just another Wonderbolt. Many ponies have already done that. I wanna be recognized as somepony who actually did something. Why join something great when you can MAKE something great?”

Firebrand stared at the pegasus, studying him. This was a side of Aqua Jet he’d never seen. This lazy self-indulgent bum actually had a dream? And a respectable one at that?

"Huh. That’s very... ambitious of you."

"Hey, stop using big words... I can’t stand when everypony I know uses words I don’t know the meaning of."

“It means you have a dream and the drive to make it a reality.”

“Yeah, doesn’t that sound so much cooler than saying ambi-tishus?”

“Ambitious.”

“Dude, whatever.” Aqua Jet huffed as he turned away.

Firebrand couldn’t help but smirk a bit. Obviously he had touched a bit on Aqua Jet’s ego. The pegasus wasn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the socket, after all, but he was pretty harmless in it. After a moment, Aqua Jet spoke up.

“Soo... you work out.”

If it were any earlier, Firebrand would have blasted him right there, but given the civility of their recent conversations, he just rolled his eyes and growled.

“I thought we went over this; I exercise." Firebrand explained. "It’s part of any healthy pony’s routine. That’s it.”

“Naw, it’s just...running on sand... never thought that would break me off so fast.”

“Maybe you should do it some more.” Firebrand suggested. “The sand’s terrible traction is a huge workout, and exercise is always more fun with a buddy.”

“Yeah! That sounds like a gre-” Aqua Jet stopped suddenly, eyes wide with shocked realization. “Wait a second. The band geek is inviting me to work out with him?” Aqua Jet thought. “Wha... This is wrong on so many levels...”

“Aqua? You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine." Aqua Jet replied glumly, his ego bruised even more. "Let's just get outta here."

Firebrand continued moving forward, satisfied he had finally reconciled with Aqua Jet. Well, at least they weren't at each other's throats, so it was a huge improvement. He cast his light further down, feeling a bit better about the situation he was in.

The two walked together for what seemed like an hour, and it began to wear on the less patient Firebrand's mind. The cave almost didn’t seem to have an end. Even with his magic illuminating the area around him, all he could see ahead of him appeared to be miles and miles of incomprehensible darkness. It also didn’t help that another fork in the tunnel appeared.

"Another fork."

Firebrand cursed.

“Another one... Another stupid delay!!!” Firebrand wailed. He stomped at the ground, thoroughly frustrated at the constant stream of obstacles. “How am I ever going to get back home if this keeps up! The storm, the cave, everything is going wrong! What are we going to face next, a raging, hungry Ursa Major?!”

Aqua Jet turned and gave as gentle a tone he could muster. “Dude, it’s outta your hooves. Chill out.”

“But my brother and sister! They’re my responsibility! I need to make sure they’re-oof!”

Firebrand was cut off by two hooves being shoved into his shoulders. The soft dirt rose up to impact his backside with shock forcing his eyes shut. When he opened them, two giant red eyes filled with lucid frustration fixated on his.

“Chill. Out.” Aqua Jet repeated.

A silence lingered, with Aqua Jet standing over the unicorn, glaring down at him. Firebrand didn’t feel fear though, rather a tingling of surprise. An instinct told him to shove the pegasus off, but the bright red eyes staring at him told him... no... commanded him to stay. Aqua Jet pressed his face right into Brand’s, keeping his body secured to the floor both mentally and physically.

“Brand, no if’s, but’s, or “I just’s.”" Aqua lectured, his eyes locked onto Firebrand's. "You’re panicking and it’s not making you think straight. The more you think about it, the more it’s making you lose your head. You'll probably just put us into more danger by doing that."

Firebrand was about to deny that claim, but Aqua's uncharacteristically stern expression kept his mouth glued shut. Firebrand looked off to the side. He had to admit Aqua had a point. "Look dude, just calm the heck down and don’t worry about it. Your bro and sis? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. You're overreacting about things that don't even matter right now. Right now, we just need to keep going... wherever we’re going.”

Firebrand remained silent for a moment, staring at Aqua Jet with wild eyes. They remained there for a few moments, neither stallion moving an inch. A sigh of defeat left Firebrand's mouth. "You're right..." he muttered glumly.

“Glad I finally got through to you.” Aqua smiled as he got of “Now he can stop whining and I can-”

“Wait..." Firebrand's ears flicked. "Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?" Aqua Jet asked quizzically. His body shrunk back. "It's not the bats again, is it?!"

"No it's not, it's sounds... different." Firebrand glanced behind Aqua, staring in contemplation at the dark hole behind them.. “It sounds like...water. Rushing water.”

“Rushing water?” Aqua Jet repeated, putting a hoof to his muzzle. “But that could only mean...”

A look of horror broke through Aqua Jet’s expressionless face as realization struck.

“FLASH FLOOD!” Aqua Jet screamed and instantly sped forwards through the tunnel, with Firebrand galloping close behind. As they ran, the faint sound of rushing water grew in their ears. Firebrand resisted every urge to look back and see the torrent of death pursuing him despite him hearing the water swiftly approaching. Aqua Jet however, was able to chance a glance behind him due to his ability to fly.

“Brand! You have to run faster! I can’t see where I’m flying!”

“I think I’ll just run faster to save my life, thank you very much!” His heart pounded from concentrated survival instinct as he sped onwards. Even though he was fleeing for his life, Firebrand noticed something odd. He felt the ground begin to meet his hooves at a faster rate.

“What the... How can they be- These tunnels are sloped upwards! Perfect! If we can just outrun it, it’ll eventually slow d-”

His hoof dropped into a dip in the floor, causing him to stumble and fall face-first into the ground.

The light guiding Aqua Jet flickered. Because of the last two times this happened, he instantly knew what caused it. Aqua turned his head around and gasped; Firebrand lay unmoving on the ground and the flood swiftly approached him.

“Brand, no!”

The flood paid his cry no heed as the waves engulfed his friend. Aqua Jet cursed and flew away, knowing if he tried to rescue him, he would be swallowed by the flood as well. Still, as he outflew the water, the darkness overtook him. Yet his previous fear was not found. It was instead washed over by a new feeling of pure despair.

Firebrand was lost to the flood. Aqua had failed to save his companion. His friend. Despite the band pony’s geeky nature and how annoyingly commanding he was, he didn’t think he would lose him like this. What made it worse was he was beach patrol. It was his freaking job to save ponies from disasters like that, so not only did he fail at his job, he failed as a friend. He silently prayed from the bottom of his heart that Firebrand was still alive, but his weather-trained mind told him the hard truth that his survival was unlikely.

A glimmer of light caught Aqua Jet’s eye. The end of the tunnel! It was finally there. If he continued to fly onward, he’d make it through and outrun the torrent. He could hear the water flowing after him, the backs of his hind legs getting wet. Putting every ounce of strength into his wings, he grit his teeth and reached towards the light.

The blue blur burst from the cliffside. His eyes stung by the sudden change of light as rain started pelting down upon him. He turned around and viewed the hole he burst from. The water flooded out of a hole in the rock face, creating a small waterfall. Yet as Aqua Jet made his landing, he rushed back towards the pseudo-waterfall, looking for the slightest shade of mahogany or yellow.

“There!”

There, laying not so far from the bottom of the waterfall, was a convulsing unicorn’s body. Filled with hope, Aqua Jet forgot his fatigue and flew towards it. He landed a few feet away and gasped. Firebrand’s body was covered in small lacerations and purple bruises. The worst part was his face. It contorted into a horrifying expression of pain. Short harsh breaths escaped Firebrand’s mouth as Aqua Jet approached.

“Brand?”

Firebrand’s eyes slowly opened. The two stallions locked eyes.

“Brand?” Aqua Jet’s eyes widened hopefully.

“Water...” Firebrand rasped, his body shivering. “I... Hate... Water...”

Aqua Jet beamed. “I’m so glad you’re alive. I was afraid I’d have to do mouth to mouth.”

“Sorry, I don’t swing that way.” Firebrand coughed up water as he tried to move. He treaded carefully with his movements to see which of his limbs were usable or not. He started with his forelegs, gently shifting them from the ends to the tops. Nothing was broken; just a big laceration on his left leg. He moved to his hind legs and repeated the process. He smiled as nothing seemed to hurt... then winced as a sharp pain shot up his right leg.

“Whoa, Brand, is anything broken?” Aqua Jet said with rising concern.

“No, not broken...” the unicorn respired. “Maybe sprained, definitely bruised, but not broken...”

“Man, where’s Jinx and his voodoo juice when you need it?” Aqua Jet thought. He then shook his head and chuckled. “On second thought, I don’t think I want to see Firebrand out for a loop, he might turn into one of those angry guys at a bar that decide the half-ton bouncer there is ‘really ticking him off.’”

Firebrand grunted as his limbs slowly began to cooperate. Making sure not to put pressure on his right hind leg, he stood up tall. Taking two determined breaths, he pitifully limped forwards on three legs.

“I’m almost there...” he mumbled. “Just hold on... I’m almost-” His foot struck a dip in the dirt causing him to fall forwards. Aqua Jet caught him before he hit the ground, and pushed him back up to his feet.

“You still need your personal space?” Aqua Jet said with a smirk.

Firebrand tried to look annoyed but failed. “If I wasn’t halfway paralyzed, I’d beat you within an inch of your life.” Firebrand shot back with an obvious joking tone. He paused and looked away anxiously. “Can I... lean on you while we walk?”

“Sure, bro. What are friends for?”

Firebrand gave a warm smile as he draped one of his forelegs over Aqua’s torso and shifted his weight onto the blue pegasus.

The rain suddenly began to stop. The sun broke through the gray clouds, bathing the two wet ponies with warm sunlight. Firebrand looked upwards and squinted his eyes.

“Aqua, I thought you said that the storm would last the whole day.”

Aqua shrugged. “Well, I was wrong.”

Firebrand rolled his eyes. “You know, for the Element of Honesty, a lot of your statements turn out to be false.” Aqua Jet stuck out his tongue, and the two burst into chuckles, reconciling in their robust laughter as they headed back to Ponyville.

“Hey, I think I can walk again, could you give me a boost?”

“Sure, dude.”

Aqua Jet gave a light shove to Firebrand’s side, setting him straight up. The unicorn didn’t fall over immediately, which they both took as a good sign. Aqua still kept close as to make sure that Firebrand wouldn’t immediately fall over again.

When Firebrand and Aqua Jet returned to the musician’s house, he quickly ~~ran~~ limped up to the door and banged on it. His breath quickened and sweat beaded down his head as he heard somepony trotting up to the door. A purple aura surrounded the door as it slowly opened. Shock and relief consecutively overtook him when he saw Twilight Sparkle there.

Twilight at first looked surprised to see him, and concern spread across her features as she scrutinized the two stallions’ cuts and bruises. She silently gestured for them to come in and they obeyed.

“Let’s play Stratego now!” A small raspy voice chirped from the other room.

“No, you’ll cheat at that too.” A little filly's voice deadpanned.

“How do you even cheat at Stratego?” The raspy voice whined.

“You’ll find a way.”

They’re okay… They’re okay… Firebrand closed his eyes and let out an enormous sigh of relief. His legs visibly loosened and his head drooped a little.

“Thank goodness... What happened?” Firebrand turned around with a smile. He was met with Twilight's face filled with an expression of disappointment and placid anger, causing his smile to vanish.

“They were just playing outside when the storm hit. I took them in because you weren’t here.”

“You weren’t here.” Her words echoed. Firebrand shuddered; he had known this was coming, but it hurt all the more to be reminded of his failure.

“How could you do this, Firebrand?” she said as she advanced upon Firebrand, the definition of indignation radiating from her. “What in Celestia's name were you thinking? A hurricane comes and you’re nowhere to be found! Your brother and sister were so worried about you! I was worried about you! Honestly Firebrand! I was literally just about to write to the Princess to send a search party out for you!"

Firebrand stood still as a statue, a stern look plastered on his unmoving face in spite of the verbal assault, but the wounds were easily visible in his eyes.

"How could you leave your siblings alone during a crisis like this?" she continued. "That’s not only irresponsible, it’s chargeable negligence! You’re their temporary guardian, entrusted by your parents for their protection! They could've been seriously hurt, or worse because of your absence! Where in Equestria were you!?"

Aqua Jet ground his teeth; he couldn’t stand to let Firebrand be lectured like this. “Hey Twi, lay off him, it’s not his fau-”

“Stay out of this.”

To Aqua Jet’s surprise, the words came from Firebrand. His eyes burrowed into Aqua Jet, ordering him to back off. Aqua Jet saw that look before; that very same look Firebrand had when he told Aqua his greatest fear. Aqua Jet nodded weakly and took two steps back.

Firebrand took a reserved breath before continuing. “I have no excuse. I should’ve been there for my family but I wasn’t. I should’ve been aware that a hurricane was coming but I wasn’t. I failed, pure and simple, and there's nothing I can do to change it."

Firebrand's voice was so calm it was unnerving. Aqua Jet couldn't believe that he was just rolling over and accepting the blame when he didn't do anything wrong. Why would he-

"I'm sorry I made you worry." Firebrand continued, eyes drifting away. "That was pure insensitivity on my part and I only hope I can make it up to you. You have no idea how much I am thankful that you took my siblings in when I wasn't able to. Now, if you are finished, I would like to see my brother and sister so I can apologize to them also.” Firebrand said as he began to move by Twilight.

"Oh..." Aqua Jet breathed in understanding. Firebrand didn't care about winning the argument. He just wanted to do whatever it took to get to see them. Winning this just wasn't worth it to him.

“Wait, Firebrand-” Twilight protested as she stepped in front of Firebrand.

“Twilight, I would like to see my family.” Firebrand snapped, alarming Twilight, who actually looked a bit hurt. Firebrand grit his teeth and drooped his head, silently scolding himself for his outburst. “I'm sorry... Look, I've just-I’ve been waiting too long for this; whatever you want, it's going to have to wait.”

Firebrand trudged into the next room, not looking at the shocked Twilight who sidestepped timidly out of the irate musician’s way. He stepped into the next room with the two bickering foals, leaving two very stunned ponies in the lobby.

“Aqua Jet?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah?"

Twilight paused. “…What happened between you two?”

“What do I do...”

Celestia paced back and forth, repeatedly mumbling the same phrase to herself over and over.

“What do I do... what do I do...”

The Equestrian princess stopped pacing and glanced out her window. The sky was now a bright orange, signifying the arrival of twilight. Celestia sighed and rubbed her eyes with a hoof. Her horn glowed and levitated her giant jewelry off her imposing figure. The ornaments floated across the room and decorated themselves on a ponyquin in the corner. With a weary groan, Celestia moved to her large bed and dropped herself on it. The blankets muffled the deep moan she gave as her body took a break from the constant walking. She was very grateful none of her subjects were able to see her in this mental state; they would lose confidence in her as a ruler on the spot.

Her room was in shambles. An enormous pile of scrolls formed in the center stretching all the way to the ceiling. each containing a complaint over the aftermath of the recent force of nature. From the fancy embroidered scrolls of Canterlot to the rough scrolls of Manehatten, it seemed everypony in Equestria wanted Celestia to just pop in and fix everything. The outcry from the people had been unexpected at best, frightening at worst, and now she was trying to figure out how to make amends despite it not being her fault.

“How am I to go about this?” Celestia moaned. “There’s so little time to make amends for this silly controversy. They honestly expect me to fix it now, and some even have to gall to suggest it's my fault! It was a random storm; one I had no control over. Why can’t they understand that?” As she told herself this, a voice in her head spoke otherwise.

“They regard you as a deity, of course they expect you to have some degree of omnipotence and omniscience,” the voice in the back of her head argued.

Celestia furrowed her brow in annoyance at the insolent voice. “Silence, you. Simply because I am immortal doesn’t exactly define me as all-powerful. I may be an alicorn, but even so it's completely impossible to repair everything by mys-”

Her internal debate was interrupted as a sudden flash of green appeared and a scroll tied in a red velvet bow materialized. It plopped onto her bed with an unceremonious thump. Celestia let out a light growl; the last thing she needed was another complaint. She was about to throw it atop the pile until something about the scroll clicked in her head.

She brought the scroll closer to her eyes and scrutinized the tie around it. "Red velvet... Twilight?" She slowly removed the ribbon and read with rising interest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, Firebrand and Aqua Jet showed me another power of friendship. Whenever something unexpected happens, or when you are afraid, one of the easiest solutions is to have a friend to lean on. Impulses like panic and fear can cloud your judgment and make you lose sight of the bigger picture, but a friend can always be there to make sure you go in the right direction. They can be there for you when the world seems hopeless and pull you out of the darkness, no matter how impossible it may look. Even if you’re both afraid or panicking, just leaning on each other in times of trouble can help you both survive.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia blinked. She put a hoof to her mouth in contemplation, reflecting in her head over what she just read.

“Guards?” she called softly.

The two large doors to her bedchamber promptly opened. Two white unicorns clad in ornate golden armor walked in and bowed low as they approached, showing the Princess proper courtesy. Their eyes drifted across the current state of the bedroom, but wisely elected to keep silent about it and ignore the aftermath of the disheveled princess' stress.

“Yes, Princess?” they recited in gruff unison.

Celestia didn’t look at them. Her eyes wandered towards the window, bearing witness to coming of the night. As the moon slowly peeked over the horizon, the regent of the sun allowed a genuine smile to break her features. She knew exactly how to deal with the problem.

“Could you... please fetch my sister?”

NEXT TIME ON RECASTED

"Aqua Jet is guilty, your honor," Prowler said. "And I intend to prove it!"

"The sentence is a year in prison."

"He broke the law." Firebrand spat. "He deserves to be punished."

"Aqua Jet. We, the people of Ponyville, find the pegasus Aqua Jet..."

GUILTY.

Chapter 6: The Crucible Part 1

Ponies of all colors and breeds gathered together in the middle of the town square. Anxious and excited murmurs spread throughout the crowd, the subject of their gossip most likely being the exotic-looking wagon that stood out in the clearing.

Even Twilight Sparkle and Spike couldn’t resist the allure of the mysterious object and soon found themselves assimilated into the gathering. Twilight stretched her body high as possible and peered over the herd. Not seeing anything other than more ponies, she squinted her eyes and peered harder.

Twilight spotted the silhouettes of her friends gathered together at the front. Jinx, Shenanigans, Firebrand, his two siblings Kindle and Spark, and Prowler’s little brother Snicker stood near the front. Twilight shimmied through the crowds, careful not to touch anypony and offering small apologies to those she accidentally bumped into.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked as she scooted next to Jinx.

“Some traveling showmare rolled into town.” Firebrand stated, giving the wagon a scrutinizing gaze. “Calls herself the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria.”

Twilight looked at the yellow wagon. The simple design and color scheme reminded her of an elementary school clubhouse, except on wheels. A flag hung off the top of the red roof, depicting a blue crescent with a magic wand. What struck her as odd was the small size. It seemed very tiny for a traveling performer. Did she just get a room in an inn while she was in town?

“Pff, are you kidding?” Spike scoffed with rolled eyes. “The honor of best unicorn goes to Twilight.”

“And what are we? Chopped onions?” Kindle gestured to the horns on her and Firebrand's heads.

“Well, you stink and make ponies cry, so yeah.” Spark sneered, miming his tiny wings in a “nyah nyah” fashion. A murderous spark appeared in Kindle's eyes. Her horn sparked and she counted with her hoof. Spark smirked and flared out his tiny wings in response.

“No fighting.” Firebrand growled, his large red hoof dividing the two siblings. "If you do, I'll tell mom and you won't be crying from onions." The two children pouted and looked away from each other, reaching a silent agreement to continue their bout later.

“The mom card? Really?” Shenanigans snickered.

“Hey, it works.” Firebrand huffed. "You'll understand once you get siblings."

Twilight suppressed a giggle; she understood it all too well. She recalled the many times that her own brother played the “I’ll tell on you” shtick to get her to behave. While cheesy and flimsy, she couldn't argue with it's effectiveness.

“So Twilight, how did you guys hear out about this?” Jinx asked. “I thought you were taking a day for practicing spells.”

“Oh, we were, but we finished early,” Twilight answered. “We were just walking to the store when we ran into Snips and Snails.”

“Literally...” Spike grumbled, rubbing his arm.

A collective groan spread throughout the circle of friends at the mention of those two... special unicorns. Not many ponies in town liked them, generally because they had a bad reputation for being loud and obnoxious.

And they had a tendency to not look where they were going.

“Hey, I think the show’s starting.” Firebrand hissed. The wagon began to rumble, causing the crowd to go silent. Cyan flags burst from the tops, along with the wagon’s walls unfolding to create a makeshift wooden stage.

“Come one! Come all!” An amplified voice echoed. “Come and witness the amazing power of the Great and Powerful TRRR-RIXIE!”

The entire stage erupted in lavender smoke, engulfing the entire wagon. It soon dissipated, revealing a blue unicorn with a star-spangled purple cape and pointed hat. The unicorn leaned back and posed with a white smile, appealing to the starry-eyed audience.

“Watch in awe,” the showmare drawled, dramatically billowing her lavender cape back and forth. “As the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”

As soon as she finished her sentence, the wagon let loose a barrage of fireworks and swirls, leaving the audience in awe of the spectacle.

“Watch out! Ham incoming!” Shenanigans whispered. The three older stallions giggled and returned their attention to the stage. The three foals below them cooed, their bright eyes mesmerized by the flashing smoke and mirrors.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie assumes that all mares enjoy flowers, do they not?” Trixie drawled. She smirked as half the crowd began whooping. “Well then, the always benevolent and generous Trixie will now use her amazing abilities to provide for everypony!”

Trixie flourished her horn and unleashed a blinding flash. When the ponies opened their eyes, dozens of rose bouquets rained from the sky, gently lowering to the ground. Growling and vicious mares snatched them from the air, stallions even more so by trying to score a free batch of flowers for a marefriend.

“This is so campy.” Shenanigans ground his teeth into a wide grin and began trembling. “I love it! Freaking awesome!”

“Yeah, she does know how to put on a show.” Firebrand commented, draping a foreleg over his gaping sister and handing her a fallen bouquet. “A little over-the-top for my tastes, but she seems to know what she’s doing.”

“I like the way she’s using a combination of magic and alchemy.” Jinx said, rubbing his chin. “I wanna know where she got the chemicals to make those explosions that color...”

Twilight silently observed Trixie’s antics. She noticed Trixie's illusion spells and basic magical skills were far above the adept level, well suited to her type of work. What interested Twilight more was her more advanced tricks. To the untrained eye, one would think she was performing these feats of magic by herself, but Twilight was no untrained mare. Once the smoke dissipated, she spied the slightly ajar compartment that most likely hid the rose bouquets towards the back of the stage. Even if it were closed fully, she noted that Trixie was using levitation spells, not summoning spells. A simple trick, but effectively pulled off, if the audience's reaction was anything to go by.

“Ugh, I don’t like her,” Spike griped. “Twilight’s the real best unicorn in all of Equestr-”

Spike’s speech was cut short as a zipper formed on his mouth.

“Please Spike, don’t heckle her. Let’s just enjoy the show.” Twilight chided. Spike folded his arms and pouted, a muffled “Hmph” escaping his lips.

“It seems the audience is having a very good time! Is Trixie correct?” Trixie turned her head to the crowds. Thunderous applause and cheering resounded in the entire town square. That was all Trixie needed.

“Well, then now comes the best part of the show.” Trixie cried, summoning red smoke. “I give all you Ponyvillians a challenge: Anything you can do, I can do better.”

“Oooh, this should be good.” Firebrand thought. “I feel sorry for the poor sucker that falls for her challenge.” He flinched as a hoof nudged at his side. Curious, he looked over and noticed his two siblings and Shenanigans were looking at him expectantly.

"What?" Firebrand questioned.

“Go on.” Shen encouraged. “Show her up!”

“What?! Are you kidding me?” Firebrand said in disbelief. “I’m not going to go up there, this is how showmares work! She’s just going to embarrass me in front of the entire town!”

“Exactly!” Shen beamed.

Brand’s eyes dropped from incredulity to a half-lidded glare.

“No.”

“Come on, don’t be a spoilsport!” Shen prodded. He moved next to Kindle and Spark, picking them up and pressing their heads against his. “Think of your brother and sister! They came to see a show and you wouldn’t want them to be bored because you were selfish, would you?”

“Guilt tripping will get you nowhere.” Firebrand said, turning his attention back to the stage. “My answer is still no.”

Shen’s eyebrows narrowed. There was no way he was going to let Firebrand get out of this. Hell or high water, Firebrand was going up there. He ducked down and whispered something to Kindle, who smiled and replied back with two words. Shen stood up and puckered his lips.

“Pretty please?” Shen asked, fluttering his eyelashes. A victorious and evil grin crept onto Shen's features as he saw Firebrand’s eye twitch. Shen resisted every urge to laugh as he observed the sparks flying inside Firebrand’s head. Shen sat patiently, waiting for his inevitable victory while Firebrand suffered his mental brawl.

Firebrand broke the silence with a deep throaty growl. He turned and walked towards the stage, muttering a long string of euphemisms to himself. Brand would’ve cursed, but his siblings were present so all his friends heard were low inaudible grumbles and something along the lines of “stupid element.”

“Ah, it seems Trixie has her first volunteer!” Trixie drawled as Brand made his way to the top of the stage. “So, what’s your special talent? Music, Trixie would assume if that silly cutie mark is anything to go by.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Firebrand groaned, his mood entirely soured. “The showmare can figure out that a musical note means a musical talent. Give the mare an award. Next you’ll be pointing out that wings on a pegasus means they don’t exactly need legs to get from one place to another. Everyone, three cheers for the Lame and Pretentious Trixie.”

“Oh, SNAP!” Shenanigans shouted. A couple ponies didn't understand the sincerity of the insult and began cheering, thinking it was a part of the show. Twilight tried her best not to snort. She felt what Brand did was rude, but even she couldn’t resist letting out some degree of amusement.

“Trixie did not call you up here to put up with your bitter sardonicism.” Trixie shot back, her face unfazed by the insult. “Either display your talent or begone with you! Or is the talent of the gruff grouch so embarrassingly inferior to that of the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

Firebrand rolled his eyes. "You tell me," he sneered and activated his horn. On command from his magic, the trees and grassy hills rustled with the force of a gentle breeze, massaging the crowd’s manes. Soft whistling filled the area, permeating the air with quiet, subtle melody. The winds continued to blow harder causing the music to escalate into enchanting moans, creating a beautiful yet somber-sounding tune.

“Aha. Creative use of Number 16.” Twilight thought with a hint of pride. “Took him a bit longer than me to activate it, but the music he’s playing is really pretty.”

The wind stopped blowing, and the music slowly faded away with a final dark drone. “There we go.” Firebrand said. He closed his eyes and remained still as a statue. “I'd like to see you top that."

Trixie’s mouth curled into a devilish grin as her brow lowered. “Oh, Trixie will.” she intoned as her hat rose off her head. Trixie faced the crowd with her head held high and activated her magic. Wind started to pick up in response to her magic, just as Firebrand’s did. It blew through the underbrush, rustling the fauna, though with a bit more strength.

Firebrand cringed. It sounded like elementary school children we given recorders for the first time and told to go nuts. One by one ponies in the crowd started to grimace and groan at the music. Firebrand looked over and to his surprise, Trixie was still smiling. He braced himself, knowing something bad was about to happen.

Twilight looked on with a raised eyebrow. It seemed like Trixie wasn’t even attempting to make music. To have a showmare cause a worse performance than her competitor seemed like presentational suicide. From what she saw, Trixie was just controlling the wind which only continued to increase in ferocity.

"Oh I see." Twilight pondered. "Technically she just has to do the spell better than he does, the music doesn't really matter. I have to admit, that's a clever loophole." Several plants were ripped from the ground, their roots flailing and spraying dirt everywhere. They began to whip up and swirl around the stage, creating a tornado of plant debris. Firebrand ducked down to the ground, trying his best not to get sucked away by the wind.

For what seemed like an instant, the wind died down. Firebrand picked himself up, cautious if something else were to happen. His yellow mane was covered in twigs and tiny leaves. Dozens of tiny cuts spread across his body, but not enough to cause bleeding or substantial pain.

“Ouch.” Firebrand breathed. He bowed low to his opponent and descended the stage. The sounds of cheering from his friends and siblings greeted him as he rejoined his group.

“See why I wanted you to go up there?” Shenanigans laughed, giving a friendly punch to the bemused Firebrand’s shoulder.

“Brand, that was awesome at the beginning!” Spike flattered. “You really burned her skinny flank!”

"Hey, they don't call me Firebrand for nothing.” Firebrand said.

"Huh?" Twilight asked.

"I ‘burned her flank?’" Firebrand quoted. "My name is Firebrand?"

Firebrand was assaulted by blank looks.

"I get it!" Shenanigans cried.

"Shut up, Shen." Firebrand sulked, snapping his head to the side and grunting. Hearty laughter spread throughout the group, and even Brand couldn't help smirking at his own expense.

“Can’t she get arrested for this?” Jinx asked, looking over the dirt and cuts covering Firebrand. “I mean, technically this is assault.”

“Actually, no.” Snicker replied, raising a hoof. “Under the rules of a duel for the purposes of exhibiting a pony’s abilities, as long as blood isn’t drawn any sort of injury is permitted, including bruises.”

The ponies went dead silent and regarded Snicker with wide eyes, except for Twilight, who managed to suppress her excitement at the intelligence of a young colt such as Snicker.

“Where the heck did you learn that?” Firebrand asked. Snicker gave a confused look, as if the answer were obvious.

“Prowler.” Snicker moaned. “He thinks a good gift is a book on laws to make sure I never get in trouble." The group “ahh’d” in understanding.

"What's wrong with giving a book as a gift?" Twilight pouted. "Spike gets them all the time and he doesn't complain, right Spike?"

"Y-yeah! Books are... awesome!" Spike stammered.

"See?" Twilight smiled. The ponies in the group felt a stir of pity for Spike, especially Shenanigans who silently promised to get him a proper gift before the day was done.

“Still, that’s an oddly specific law.” Shenanigans noted. “What kind of law is that?”

“A blue one.” Snicker replied, waving his book.

“A what?”

“Blue Law.” Twilight answered. “It’s basically a type of law made a long time ago that applied at the time, but doesn’t now, which is the reason why most of them sound really silly. They were usually made to enforce standards out of necessity or because of a value. Did you know it’s technically illegal in Ponyville to take a bath in your own home? And even in Fillydelphia it’s illegal to frown! There’s also weird laws like you can’t throw stones into barrels, you can’t take-”

~snore~

Twilight stopped her speech and looked towards the source of the noise. Shenanigans was sprawled out on the floor, eyes closed and drooling a small puddle.

A swift smack from Firebrand roused Shen from his impromptu nap.

"OW! It was a joke!" Shen whined, rubbing the back of his head. "Lighten up!" Twilight turned away with a grumble. None of her friends appreciated her love of knowledge and trivia. She was just getting to the good parts too...

"Umm, Twilight?"

Twilight felt a hoof pawing at her leg and looked down. Kindle was looking up at her, eyes almost radiating curiosity.

“Does that mean Trixie could have broken Brand’s leg, and it wouldn’t have broken that law?” Kindle questioned.

“Well... yes, technically.” Twilight answered, eyes darting around. It unnerved her that the innocent little filly would ask such a question. “Most of them are very poorly worded like that. It’s the reason most of them have been repealed or are not enforced.”

“Interesting...” Kindle’s gaze drifted towards her brother Spark, the corners of her mouth rising.

“Still, you could have avoided this, Brand.” Jinx fretted. He pulled out a vial and hoofed it to Firebrand. “You’re not going to get many dates if you act like that around mares.”

“No offense Jinx, but I’d prefer taking advice from Prowler on dating.” Firebrand explained as he levitated the cork off the potion and took a sip.

“None taken and point taken.” Jinx shrugged.

“Speaking of Prowler, where is he?” Twilight pondered aloud. “Does anyone else find it odd that a pony as paranoid as Prowler would not want to know about a significant event going on in Ponyville?”

The group looked around the area and exchanged curious looks. since Prowler didn't trust anypony outside his circle of friends and family, and ran thorough background checks on a pony that even sets foot in Ponyville, it did seem out of place. Especially considering that the extravagant Trixie was in the middle of the town square trying to soak up as much attention as possible, Prowler's absence made little sense.

“Oh, he knows, but he’s busy right now.” Snicker stated. “Then again, anypony’d be busy after what happened last night.”

“After what happened?” Jinx asked.

“Wait, you guys didn’t hear?” Snicker queried, tilting his head. "It was in the paper this morning.”

“Heard what?” Twilight asked, curious as to what would be so serious as to occupy Prowler.

"Umm..." Snicker mumbled, “Aqua Jet’s been arrested."

Author's Note

Sorry but...

I gotta give you guys something. You've been waiting too long.

Chapter 7: The Crucible Part 2

"Sigh..."

The gentle humming of the air conditioning and the rhythmic ticking of a clock echoed through the dimly lit room. A purple pegasus sat at his desk, adjusting his glasses and humming as he turned the page to his book.

A small yawn escaped the pegasus' mouth. Realizing what he just did, his eyes quickly darted around, anxious that someone saw him. Sensing nothing, he straightened out his nametape, "Sheriff Prowler" indented on it, and rested his head in his hoof.

His eyes snapped to attention as he heard multiple hoofsteps outside his door. Instinctively, Prowler’s hoof drifted down to the concealed row of knives that hung underneath his desk. His eyes locked onto the door. Whatever sought to ambush him was about to have a really bad day.

Four familiar ponies pushed the door open and stumbled into the room. Prowler gave slight chuckle and withdrew his hoof. A pang of disappointment hit him that he didn't get a chance to utilize his hidden blades against some shady intruder, but it vanished as he was happy to see his friends again.

“Well, hello there gents, and Twilight!” Prowler cooed, giving a predatory grin. “Love! What brings you to my humble residence? Come to finally let me ask you out to a sublime dinner and bask under the moon-”

“We don’t have time for your silly flirting!” Firebrand snapped, shoving himself to the front. “What I want to know, what all of us want to know-” Brand gestured to everyone present “-is why you took it upon yourself to throw Aqua Jet into one of your rotting cells!”

Prowler’s grin disappeared. With a half-lidded stare, he sat up straight in his chair and folded his forelegs across his desk, adopting a professional appearance.

“Sir, I am going to have to ask you to please stop that shouting,” Prowler said in an unnervingly level voice, “And have a conversation like a calm, reasonable stallion.”

Firebrand raised an eyebrow. After a beat, he snorted and backed away, looking off to side in contempt. Prowler’s mask never moved, keeping up the professional facade.

“Thank you." Prowler smirked, and began his explanation. "Now, I would assume you are all here about Aqua Jet?"

Everyone not behind the desk nodded their heads.

"Prowler, why is he in jail?" Twilight asked.

Prowler took a deep breath. "Earlier this morning, and I mean, very early this morning, Aqua Jet was found in the beachfront caves, laying underneath several crates of smuggled illegal goods." Prowler disclosed as he turned a page to his book. "Naturally he was arrested under suspicion of harboring said goods and brought in for questioning.”

"That's it?" Firebrand questioned. "He just happens to be there and you jump to the oh-so-logical conclusion he's guilty?"

"You know what they say," Prowler asserted. "Actions speak louder than words."

“That’s not fair!” Jinx cried. "Aqua Jet wouldn't do that! You know he wouldn't!"

"Jinx is right, Prowler." Twilight continued, trying to use the most gentle tone possible. “I know that makes him look suspicious, but for all we know he could've just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, he’s the Element of Honesty. I'm sure if you just-”

“Oh, I’m well aware of his element.” Prowler said, closing his eyes and clicked his tongue. “He confessed.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open, her words caught in her throat. Jinx stood stunned, not believing what he just heard. Firebrand’s brow furrowed, even Shenanigans looked surprised, which was a big deal because Shenanigans was never surprised.

“He... what?” Twilight breathed.

“Aqua Jet openly admitted to contributing to smuggling illegal goods.” Prowler stated, his tone level and uncaring. “A hefty crime, worth about a year in prison, with the possibility of early release if he has good behavior, or if either of you have 1000 bits just lying around for bail.”

“But... but...” Jinx stammered, his lower lip quivering. “That’s... he...”

“T-that’s absurd!” Twilight insisted. “He’s Aqua Jet, the Element of Honesty! He wouldn’t... help... smugglers!”

“Aqua Jet would disagree. It’s right there in black and white.” Prowler sighed. “Aqua Jet confessed, and now he has to serve punishment." Prowler adjusted his glasses and moved his eyes back towards his paperwork. "There is a trial later today, but with that confession, a guilty verdict is all but assured. Personally, I tried to get him out of that, spare him the public humiliation, but I couldn't. Sorry, but that's that.”

Twilight's heart raced. Her mind refused to accept this. The more she tried to tell herself that Aqua Jet was innocent, the more hopeless she felt. The thoughts of her feelings and assurances about her friend were slowly slaughtered by the cold hard truth that Aqua Jet was guilty. Twilight hung her head in defeat; there was no other way of looking at it.

“There really is no way out of it. With that confession, Aqua Jet sealed his own guilty verdict.”

“There has to be something we can do!” Jinx protested. “He can’t be in prison for a year! He just can’t!” Prowler was about to reply before Firebrand interrupted.

“Sorry Jinx, but he broke the law.” Firebrand stated. “No matter which way you look at it, he deserves to be punished.”

Each of the ponies turned turned their heads towards Firebrand, their expressions shocked or appalled.

“WHAT?” Jinx yelled. “How could you say something so heartless?!”

“‘Heartless?’ You think I like seeing Aqua Jet in this situation?!” FIrebrand retorted, “Of course I feel bad for him, but this is a serious matter! Or maybe you forgot he broke the law. When you break the law, you have to be punished, and that’s that!”

“But he’s our friend!” Jinx replied. “We can't just abandon him to a year in prison; that's not what a friend does! Can’t there be an exception made to this?”

“What? No!” Firebrand said, his eyes wide with incredulity. “How in Tartarus is that fair? Aqua Jet gets let off the hook just because the Chief of Security knows him personally!? Oh, that's real fair!”

"Listen everypony, maybe we should calm down." Twilight interrupted and raised a hoof.

“But he’s not a bad pony!” Jinx insisted, ignoring Twilight completely. "He doesn’t deserve to be thrown in jail with bad ponies who actually deserve it!”

“Well, as of this morning, we were apparently wrong.” Firebrand stated with a dark edge to his voice.

“How could you say that? You know him and you know he isn’t like that! Your brother, bless his heart, even looks up to him! What would he say if he saw you condemning Aqua Jet like that!?”

"Umm, boys, I don't think..." Twilight started again.

“Hey, you leave my brother out of this! He has nothing to do with this!"

"Sure he does! Did you forget that including your brother, Aqua Jet has saved countless lives on the beach? Which is more than what I can say for you!"

"What are you insinuating?"

"I'm insinuating you're an insensitive clod!!"

"Why, you naive little-!"

“SILENCE, BOTH OF YOU!”

Both ponies stopped their argument and looked over. A familiar red tint spread across Prowler's eyes, freezing the two bickering stallions where they stood and locking their eyes with his.

“I’ve had a long night and your foalish squabbling is grating on my already weakened nerves.” Prowler growled from behind his desk. “Now you two will behave yourselves like the adults you are or I’ll have you both arrested for public disturbance."

"Yeah, but he was-" Both stallions started.

"-and trespassing on city property, I should add," Prowler interrupted, "Worth about three months in prison, or a 200 bit fine.”

The two stallions nearly choked, the ramifications of barging in on a government establishment uninvited hitting them full force. They took one last look at each other before harrumphing and moving to opposite sides of the room.

"I'll-uhh..." Shen mumbled, "I'll see if I can't calm things down, eheheh...." He shot Twilight a reassuring grin before dashing off to try and cool off Jinx and Firebrand.

Twilight froze, her mouth agape and eyes glossy. She refused to believe this was happening. Aqua Jet breaks the law, which she still had difficulty wrapping her head around, and her friends were now at each other's throats because of it. "Why is this happening?" she thought. "They're supposed to be friends! Sure, we have a few mishaps and a couple disagreements here and there, but nothing to warrant something this... bitter and anger-fueled."

A small pointed object prodded Twilight's shoulder. “Twilight?” Spike asked, giving a concerned grit. “Wouldn't this be a good time to try fixing a friendship problem?"

“But I don’t know what to do!” Twilight said. “This is so confusing! I don’t think Aqua Jet should be punished, but he’s guilty! It’s right there in black and white! I know what you're thinking, try a loophole, but I don't know! I don’t know of any loopholes to exploit; I’m no law expert!”

“So who is?”

That gave Twilight pause. Her eyes drifted towards the dark purple pegasus sitting at the desk, sighing and sifting through paperwork. Her eyes widened as a big, bright lightbulb went off in her head. Twilight steeled herself and walked across the room.

Prowler’s eye lifted from his paperwork as he noticed the approaching mare. “Twilight, dear, I know what you’re thinking, and it's not going to work.” Prowler sighed and adjusted his glasses. “Just go home.”

“Prowler, you’re an expert at law.” Twilight said, her scientist-problem-solver mode activating. “Are you positively sure there is no possible way to get Aqua Jet out of prison?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve looked since I arrested Aqua.” Prowler stated, his tone rising slightly. “There’s nothing I can do to help him, even though I really want to.”

“Nothing at all?” Twilight pressed. “No strange or obscure laws whatsoever that relate to accused ponies getting out of prison without punishment? Nothing at all?”

Prowler opened his mouth to say “No” again, before he paused and put a hoof to his muzzle. Twilight’s heart lifted; a pause meant there was hope.

“Well...” Prowler hummed. “It’s a rather big stretch, but there is something.”

“Anything is better than nothing.” Twilight said, her body inching closer. “Tell me. You never know if we can do something useful.”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath, sweetie.” Prowler said, as he sat upright in his chair. “I don’t tell ponies I arrest about this, because I don’t like getting their hopes up about something clearly impossible. The only way out of an obviously guilty verdict is if he received a pardon from Princess Celestia herself. It’s mostly used as a cruel joke amongst the inmates because of the miniscule chance of it happening. Obviously, seeing as she almost never does it and unless she knows the pony personally, I don’t think she would-”

“Guys! I think I have a solution!” Twilight shouted. The three stallions looked over at Twilight.

“I can write a letter to Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed. “She’ll know what to do! We can maybe request her to get the Royal Pardon! Spike, take a letter!”

Twilight's magic snatched several pieces of paper and a quill from Prowler's desk, causing the security chief to flinch in alarm. Spike grabbed the quill and paper and prepared to write.

“Ahem,” Twilight dictated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I come before you, respectfully asking a favor. Aqua Jet, who you know as the Element of Honesty and one of my close friends, has recently been imprisoned for the crimes of accessory to smuggling. He has confessed to the crime, which would lead to an immediate guilty verdict and a one year sentence. I respectfully request that you use the power of the Royal Pardon to release Aqua Jet of his punishment.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike whipped the quill up with a flourish after writing the last word. He then rolled up the scroll and burned it with his magical flame, sending the ashes whisking into the air.

“I don’t know about this.” Firebrand shifted. “Are you sure you should be abusing your connection like that, Twilight?”

"It's worth a shot." Spike said, placing the quill on Prowler's desk. "The most she can do is say no."

“Besides, who cares?” Jinx grumbled.

“I do." Firebrand stated. "It seems a little unfair to-”

“Oh unfair, unfair, unfair!” Jinx mocked. “Everything has to be just so for Firebrand! No one gets any say!”

“What?! Now you listen here, Dr. Frankenstallion!” Firebrand shouted. “I have half a mind to go over there and...” he paused, a vein bulging in his head.

“You know what? I’m leaving before I do something I regret.” Firebrand growled, shooting a glare at Jinx. “I get the feeling I’m not wanted here.”

Firebrand's magic yanked the front door open and he stomped out of the room. The door slammed behind him, a wooden smash echoing in the office.

Twilight wore a look of pain. How could something like this happen? Everything was going fine in her circle of friends until one of them got in trouble. Now different sides of them, very ugly sides of them, began to appear and started breaking them apart.

"Sooooooooooo.....” Shen inquired, trying to break the awkward. “Now what?"

"W-well, can we talk to Aqua Jet?" Jinx asked, still reeling. "Maybe if we get his side, we can find something to prove him innocent.”

“It’s a start.” Twilight mused. “So what do we know right now?” All heads in the room turned towards Prowler.

“Well, technically all he really said was, ‘I did it.’” Prowler explained. “I never really received the full story, given his hasty confession. That said, I don’t know how much information you’re going to get out of him, or whether or not said information will be of any use, but certainly there’s no harm in trying.”

“So we have a plan!” Shen squeaked. “Interrogation time! I’ll be good cop, and Spike will be bad cop!”

"Why do I have to be bad cop?" Spike complained.

“Well because there's this thing called bad drag-uhhh.... You know what? Never mind. Prowls'll be bad cop.”

"As much as I relish the opportunity to interrogate somepony with force, I must decline.” Prowler chuckled as he adjusted his glasses. “I still have a responsibility to sit the desk and do my job.”

“You’re not coming?” Jinx asked.

“Believe me, I want to help, but I have things to do.” Prowler sighed and hovered back to his desk. “Besides, I’m sure you three will suffice.”

"But what about the other prisoners?" Shen noted. "You aren't going to see us. What if we give them something that helps them escape?"

"Are you?" Prowler bounded from the desk and leapt towards Shenanigans with the ferocity of a tiger. He forced his muzzle in the petrified Shen's face and growled. Sweat flowed down from Shenanigans' head and his legs vibrated under the intensity of Prowler's glare.

"Umm.... no." Shen gulped, unable to tear his eyes away.

"Good." Prowler's grin returned, all traces of anger vanishing. "Now go help Aqua Jet."

Twilight smiled. At least the situation wasn't completely hopeless. She had a plan, friends who would help her, and a good feeling that things would turn out well.

"Also, keep in mind visiting hours are almost over." Prowler said as he sat down. "It’s a weekday, so you all have about 10 minutes.”

“Aaaaaaaaand.... it’s gone.” Shen grumbled.

“Well, it’s better than nothing...” Twilight groaned inwardly.

-

Twilight’s heart shivered. The brightly lit offices were a sharp contrast to the gloomy dank architechture she and her friends found themselves in. The colorless walls of the dark prison cells seemed to give off a pressure of dread and hopelessness.

“I believe I can flyyyy~” a solemn voice rang through the halls.

“Wow, that’s depressing.” Twilight thought.

“SHUT THE BUCK UP, YOU MOTHERBUCKING JACKA-”

Twilight immediately cast a deafening spell on Spike before he learned words he shouldn't know yet. It didn't stop Jinx and her wincing with each creative euphemism, most them involving rubber tubes and body parts, that reached their virgin ears.

Spike stuck a finger in his ear, wondering why it suddenly got quiet. Twilight fought the instinct to tell Spike out loud what she did and instead pointed to her horn. At first Spike tilted his head, but once it clicked he gave an "oh!" of understanding.

“Hey, guys. Wassup?”

There, sitting in the middle of the cold, dark cell, was their friend. Kind, burning eyes over a big, toothy smile stared back at them. Nobody in the room thought they would even be in this situation; they never thought they would be staring at someone they knew, someone they loved, being caged like an animal and deemed to be a danger to others around them. The ponies not currently imprisoned looked off to the side or fidgeted, having trouble accepting this sight. The seconds ticked by without so much a peep from the group of friends.

“So, we gonna address the elephant in the room or we gonna sit here doing nothing?” Aqua rolled his eyes. “I’m okay with either.”

“You seem chipper for somepony who has to deal with soap on a rope.” Shen commented. To the group’s surprise, Aqua started chuckling.

“Nah, that’s just a rumor. Kinda comfy in here, actually. I know, big shock. Besides...” Aqua looked down. “I kinda deserve this.”

Each of the ponies flinched at Aqua’s confession. Twilight stepped forwards and placed a hoof on the bars.

“Why did you do it?” Twilight asked gently. She tried her best to make sure her tone didn’t sound like she was accusing him and she just wanted to know. Aqua hung his head, smile slowly appearing and disappearing at random.

“You guys aren’t my first friends.” Aqua Jet explained, eyes not making contact. “When I was just a kid, I used to live up in Cloudsdale. My first friends were... kinda not the best influence on me. I did some junk that I’m not too happy about. I guess I was just in on the whole craze of ‘bad is good’ that swept through Cloudsdale back then.”

Twilight shuddered as the memories came back regarding that particular fad. Cloudsdale and other nearby cities were rife with petty crime, unwholesome entertainment, and teenage rebellion hit an all-time high. For a rule abiding introvert, it was horrible.

“Jeez, is it just me or is a Cloudsdale a city of jerks?” Shen quipped.

“Nah, Canterlot's worse.” Aqua said. “Anyways, it took me getting arrested for me to know that I didn’t want to keep living that life. I left them and came here to Ponyville, to try and get a fresh start. And for the most part I did, and I was happy."

“Ooh, juicy backstory.” Shen said. “What’d you get arrested for?”

“Shenanigans, we have more important things to worry about.” Twilight admonished.

"But I wanna know!" Shen complained. "Look, I'm trying to egg as much info out of him as can because I don't know when we're going to be able to do this next!"

Twilight winced at that, but stood her ground. "If you don't let him continue, we won't even have a chance of getting him out of this."

Shen gave a small pout, but acquiesced. “Fine... tell us what happened last night."

“Yeah, yeah, last night, I was hanging out on the beach, just watching the sunset. I see some dudes walking on the shoreline and fly out to say hi. Turns out, they were my old friends from Cloudsdale.”

“Oooh, the plot-”

Before Shen could finish, Twilight and Jinx shot a glare that would make cockatrice blush. Shen grinned and mimed a zipping motion across his mouth.

“So yeah, we met up, one thing led to another and... we had a party.” Aqua Jet smiled and looked down. “We talked about stuff, played some volleyball, smoked some hay bacon... it was kinda nostalgic, ya know what I mean, guys? Meeting some old friends, jokin’ around, having some fun. I didn’t think anything was wrong.”

Twilight listened intently, making mental notes to possibly use for later, and doing her best to ignore Shenanigans’ voiceless commentary.

“So, it’s two in the morning and from the lampshade on my head, I’m thinking I’ve partied enough, which was REALLY weird because we were on a beach.” Aqua Jet laughed at his own joke. “I start to head off when my old friends say they need my help doing some heavy lifting. I thought nothing of it at the time, just figured they needed to move some heavy stuff. We walk along the beach for about ten minutes to an alcove. I get there, and...” Aqua Jet’s brow furrowed.

“I should’a known.” Aqua Jet gritted. “I should’a known right then and there that something was up. Right when I smelled the skunk fumes I should’a done something. But nope. Like the IDIOT I was, I helped them lift the crates into their carriage. All of a sudden, I hear a loud “FREEZE!” and my “friends” begin to bolt, ditching me in the cave. I have no idea what’s going on, so I did nothing. Smart move on my part, because I was now holding a giant crate of smuggled stuff in a shady cave now surrounded by cops. You can guess how that looked to them. I just surrendered, ‘cause it would have looked worse for me if I tried to get outta there.”

Aqua Jet slumped back onto his haunches. "And now I'm here," he whispered, "All because I was too much of an idiot to realize I helped commit a crime."

“You didn't know.” Jinx insisted. “They just used you. You didn't know that what you were doing was wrong.”

“Ignorance is not a defense in court of law.” Prowler explained, walking in on the conversation. "When a crime is committed, somepony has to be punished.”

“I thought you had to sit the desk.” Spike noted.

“I do, but I'm also here to remind you that your ten minutes are up and you must vacate the premises.” Prowler stated.

“Please! Can't we have just a little more time?” Jinx begged.

Prowler paused and looked at his hoofwatch. He gave a heavy sigh and headed back towards the door. “You have five more minutes. After that, I expect you all to vanish. Do I make myself cle-”

A giant belch cut Prowler off. The ponies turned towards Spike, who now grasped a fancy embroidered scroll. Five very hopeful yet nervous ponies, Including Prowler, crowded around Spike as he opened the letter and cleared his throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I have received your letter of concern and I agree completely. This whole matter seems very suspicious, as I do not believe Aqua Jet would knowingly commit such a crime. I also feel he should not be punished for this ordeal, as it would severely hamper our ability to utilize the Elements of Harmony should they be required again.”

“Whoa. Didn’t think of that.” Aqua chuckled. “Kinda makes me feel important.”

"Keep reading," Prowler asked, "I don't think she's done."

“Unfortunately, as much as it pains me to say,” Spike continued, his scales drooping. “I cannot issue the Royal Pardon.”

A long, disappointed sigh escaped everyone in the room.

“The consequences would be dire. If I did, it would look as if I condoned smuggling as long as somepony of high status, such as an Element of Harmony, indulges in it. It would be as if merely being an Element of Harmony granted immunity from the law, which I cannot allow. Ponies would lose faith in me as a ruler, and I forsee Equestria slowly but surely plummeting into chaos and disharmony.”

“Over Aqua Jet?” Shenanigans breathed with wide eyes. "Jeez."

"Sorry guys." Aqua Jet mumbled. "Looks like I'm going to be in here for while..."

Twilight shook her head and groaned, her mind overclocking for any possible solution. "This can't end like this. There has to be something. Anything. This can't-"

“Wait a second!” Spike exclaimed. “There’s more!”

Do not lose hope, for there are still ways we can bend the law in our favor. There are no laws dictating who I can establish as prosecution or defense. I will appoint Prowler as prosecution, as the law is set up to aid prosecution in all crime scene investigation endeavors. His attention to detail will allow him to gather as much evidence as possible, which could be of benefit to both prosecution and defense. Also, there is no laws stating how many defense attorneys Aqua is allowed to have. I trust your judgment on who should reside as Aqua’s defense.

I believe in you, my faithful student.

Princess Celestia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hold on a tick.” Prowler stated. “Princess Celestia wants me to serve as prosecution against my own friend?”

“You heard the drake.” Shen replied. “It’s our best bet at getting Aqua out of here.”

“You guys don’t really have to do this...” Aqua Jet tried.

“No! Don’t you ever say that!” Jinx cried. “You’re our friend, and friends help each other, no matter what!”

“Okay...” Aqua Jet resigned. “If you guys really want to, I won’t stop you.”

Prowler studied the letter, humming to himself. Serving as prosecution to help the defense? The very thought was scandalous. He did feel this was cheating, but technically it was within the rules. “So, I suppose that means I should go and gather evidence?”

“And I guess we should too.” Shen replied, draping a leg around Twilight.

“What? What do you mean?”

“We’re gonna be the defense, Twi!” Shen exclaimed, waving a hoof towards the distance. “The princess said Aqua can have as many lawyers as he wants! And it should be us because you’re, like, super smart and I’m good with finding loopholes. It’s the perfect combo!”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but stopped. Shenanigans did have a point there. Not that she liked to brag, but her intelligence was far above that of a normal pony, and she did seem to be the most qualified to be a lawyer than other ponies she knew. Adding on, Shenanigans also seemed to have a knack for being able to somehow predict future events via patterns and repeating elements. The more she thought about it, the more sense it seemed to make.

“Very well.” Twilight stated. “When is the trial?"

Prowler glanced at the wall. "In about four hours," he answered.

"Then we don't have much time, so everypony do what you have to do." Twilight stood up, brimming with confidence. "Prowler, you go back to the beachfront and see if you can find anything else that might help Aqua Jet. Shenanigans, you stay here with Aqua Jet and try see if you can get any more information out of him. Jinx, I need you to find out who's going to be on the jury, I have an idea that might work. Spike and I will head back to the library to learn more about law. Aqua Jet's life is in our hooves, so let's do what we have to to save our friend."

Author's Note

Alrighty, I think I can work with these increments! Lot faster!

Chapter 8: The Crucible Part 3

-

"Where are they?" Jinx wondered.

The alchemist fidgeted in his seat. The courtroom was surprisingly empty, considering the magnitude of the case. Every so often a pony or two would walk into the courtroom through the large mahogany doors in the back, but most of them were jury ponies and took their seats in the wooden booth towards the front. That didn't stop Jinx from putting himself as far into the corner as possible with only the presence of a certain energetic green handypony for company.

"Calm down, Jinx." Shen grinned. "Everything's going to be okay."

"How can you say that?"

"Easy!" Shen bounced. "Everything's going to be okay! Everything's going to be okay! Everything's going to be okay! Come on, you try it!"

"No, I mean, what makes you so sure we're going to win this?"

"Come on, Mr. Grumpy Pants! We're the good guys! We're supposed to win!"

"I wish I had your optimism..." Jinx mumbled.

The doors flew open once more. This time, Twilight Sparkle and Spike stepped through the doors.

...followed by a maelstrom of books floating in midair.

"Jeez, Twi." Shen laughed. He inclined his head, getting a great view of the ceiling and the top of towering stack of books. "Did you bring the whole library with you?"

"Actually, yes." Spike confirmed, causing Jinx and Shen's eyes to widen dramatically.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, boys." Twilight said. She released the spell and let the books fall, releasing a slight tremor. "Besides, a book I read said that in order to be a lawyer, you have to know pretty much everything, so I thought 'why not bring every book I have just to be safe?'"

"And I thought Shen went overboard..." Jinx breathed.

"I'll take that, as a compliment." Shen snickered, then frowned. “Where’s Firebrand? You’d think he’d be here.”

“I dunno.” Spike shuddered, hopping off of Twilight's back. “After today, I’d think he’d want to give us some space for a while. You know, cool off.”

“Oh, that would explain what I saw earlier." Prowler said as he walked in. "I do believe when I last saw him, he was eating with a rather pretty blue mare with odd purple robes. Looked like he was having a good time too. I would too if I scored a date with a girl like that."

“Trixie?” Twilight thought. "Why would Firebrand-”

"What?!" Jinx fumed. “That jerk blew off coming to this trial to go on a date with TRIXIE?"

"Calm down, Jinx. Shouting will get you removed from the courtroom.” Prowler tutted. “Besides, I'm sure Firebrand has a very good reason for what he's doing.”

"What could a date with "The Great and Powerful Trixie" possibly accomplish?" Jinx snapped.

“I...” Prowler paused. His eye shifted around the courtroom, as if he were searching for an answer.

"So anyways, Prowls," Shen stepped in, his voice higher than normal. "Did you find anything?

“Very little.” Prowler said, silently grateful for Shen's interruption. "We did find evidence that will aid the Cloudsdale Police Department in capturing Aqua's former friends, but aside from that, not much else.”

"Anything we can use?” Twilight asked.

“All rise for the entrance of the honorable judge, Swift Justice.”

All the heads in the room turned towards the front of the courtroom. An orange maned pegasus garbed in black robes fluttered over to the center stand. Once she landed in her seat, she pulled out a pair of large bifocal glasses and proceeded to set them on her white muzzle.

“Darn.” Prowler said. “We should get to our seats.”

Twilight gave a quiet hiss. Every opportunity to help Aqua Jet kept getting ripped from her. She had absolutely no time to set up anything concrete, and the rate at which she was losing things meant it would be that much harder to prove Aqua Jet innocent. She gave a heavy sigh and walked over with Shen and Aqua to her seat.

Twilight pulled up a book titled "Lawyers For Dummies" and flipped to the etiquette section. Her eyes scanned the pages, absorbing as much information as she could with the few precious seconds she had.

“Aqua Jet stands accused of smuggling illegal goods into Equestria.” The judge read. “Defense, how does the defendant plea?”

Twilight stood up. “The defendant pleads not guilty, your honor.”

"Well, that's a flat-out lie, technically." Shen snarked to himself.

"It is now time for your opening statements please." Swift Justice announced. "Defense, you may begin."

“Yes, your Honor.” Twilight stated. With dignity rivaling that of Prowler, Twilight stood up and strode over to the jury stands. A bead of sweat dropped off her brow and disappeared into her fur.

"It begins."

“Aqua Jet." Twilight dictated, her voice unwavering and clear. "A pony most of the people in the room are aware of. He is a local weather pony for Ponyville, and manager of the coastal weather. Additionally, recent chosen bearer of the Element of Honesty. Now this pony stands accused of a crime of accessory to smuggling, which he has confessed to. Anypony could obviously see this would land him an instant guilty verdict."

Aqua Jet rubbed his ear with a hoof. “She’s on my side, right?” He whispered.

"Wait for it." Shen grinned. “Twilight did a little... research on our jury members.”

Aqua Jet raised an eyebrow. His interest piqued, he turned his attention back to Twilight’s performance.

“Now let me ask you," Twilight continued, "How many ponies here would describe Aqua Jet as a pony who deserves to go to prison? A pony whose dependability makes you trust your life to him if you’re in danger, has always done his job to the best of his ability, and recently helped saved the world?”

Twilight studied the jury, looking for her specific targets. Logically, Aqua Jet was guilty, so the only course of action to take was appeal to the jury's emotions. That is, the emotions of ponies which Aqua Jet’s actions have affected. She made sure to make clear eye contact with each special member as she continued her speech.

“Furthermore, punishing Aqua Jet would do more harm than good. Firstly, someone will have to fill in his job for altering local weather and managing the weather of the nearby beachfront. Now, I do not think lowly of my fellow pony, but I do not believe there is a pony greater suited to the task than he, as I do not believe there is a single pony in here that would doubt his proficiency.”

Twilight made strong efforts to not smile. She spied several jury members nervously rubbing their hooves and looking down. It was a strong indication that they were taking her words into consideration, and when they would convene later to discuss the verdict, they would vouch for Aqua. Feeling she was on a roll, she continued her case.

"The most important thing to consider is Aqua Jet is an Element of Harmony. If disaster would befall Equestria again, and we would need to utilize the Elements of Harmony, we would be unable to defend Equestria from such a threat. Aqua Jet may have confessed to the crime, but we intend to prove that it is not his fault that this happened, and sending him to prison would do more harm than good.”

Twilight's head bowed. "Thank you." Her eye drifted upwards. Several of the ponies in the jury looked as if they were in deep thought. She had certainly gotten through to them with her words, and the evidence hadn't even been presented yet.

“Prosecution, you may make your opening statement." The judge recited.

Prowler sighed and pushed his glasses further back onto his muzzle. He glanced over to Twilight, who gave a subtle nod. The officer stood up and turned to the jury.

“Aqua Jet is guilty.” Prowler stated without emphasis, “And I’m going to try and prove it.”

Prowler sat back down in his chair and folded his front legs on the table, signaling that’s all he wanted to say. The judge raised an eyebrow at the stallion, but decided asking why wasn't worth the time.

"Very well, then," she stated. “Prosecution, you may now make your case.”

“Yes, your Honor.” Prowler replied. Prowler stood up from the desk and turned to the jury. “At 0200 hours on this Thursday morning, the Ponyville Security Station received an anonymous tip, detailing the transport of illegal goods across the borders from Dragon Territory to Equestria. This is a textbook example of smuggling."

"Anonymous, huh?" Shen sneered. "Convenient."

"We dispatched a small team of police officers, led by me, to the described location. Once we arrived, the defendant was found holding one of the crates containing the contraband items. He was promptly arrested and brought in for questioning, where he confessed to contributing to this endeavor. Prosecution rests."

A wave of muffled whispers spread through the crowd, most sounding shocked or confused.

“Prosecution, you may call your first witness.” The judge said.

“Yes, your Honor. Prosecution calls the defendant, Aqua Jet, to the stand.” Prowler said, looking over at the defense.

A guard wearing a black police uniform walked over to the defense table. Aqua Jet stood up on cue and walked over, putting up no resistance as he was escorted to the stand.

“Raise your left hoof.” The guard said.

“Ugh, when is this stupid ceremonial junk gonna be over and done with?” Shenanigans whispered.

“It’s a time-honored tradition, Shen.” Twilight tutted. “Please be patient.”

“In the presence of the creators," the guard recited, "do you solemnly swear to speak the truth, all of the truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“But I’m BORED.” Shen whined.

“You’re the one who wanted to serve as defense along with me, Shen.” Twilight reminded. “It’s your own fault.” Shenanigans had no answer to that, but felt the need to give another moan. He slumped his head in his right hoof and began drawing invisible figures on the desk with the other hoof.

“Yes, sir.” Aqua Jet replied to the guard.

The guard took out a key and moved towards Aqua Jet’s bindings. Metal cuffs and shackles rattled as they hit the ground. While the guard picked up the cuffs and resigned to the corner of the room, Aqua Jet to the opportunity to recline in the stand. Oddly, he found the position comfy. He decided the ground was more interesting than the courtroom and didn’t notice Prowler getting up from his seat.

“Aqua Jet.” Prowler said, as he adjusted his glasses. “Is it true that you were at the beach that night?”

“Uh huh.” Aqua replied, not looking up.

“And you helped smugglers accomplish their task of illegally smuggling goods into Equestria?”

“Yeah.”

Prowler turned towards the jury. “Prosecution rests,” he stated, then sat down and said nothing else. A few murmurs swept through the jury, audible phrases being "guilty" and "why are we even here?"

“Your honor, Defense would like to examine the witness.” Twilight stated.

"Granted,” Swift Justice confirmed.

Twilight approached the stand. Aqua Jet gave a small glance, but then resumed staring at the floor.

“Aqua Jet, was helping these criminals something you planned?" Twilight asked.

Aqua Jet's eyes radiated confusion. “No... I didn’t plan it at all.”

“So you just randomly decided on the spur of the moment, that you wanted to throw your life away and smuggle illegal goods into the country?"

“What? No." Aqua Jet insisted, annoyance creeping into his voice. "I didn’t even know I was doing it.”

“You didn’t know? Please, elaborate.”

“I didn’t know they were wanted criminals. I figured they were just old friends that needed a little help moving or something, and I didn’t suspect anything.”

“You knew them?" Twilight repeated.

"Yeah, we were childhood friends. They asked for help, and I gave it, even though I didn't know what it was."

"So, here's what I've gathered from our little exchange. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that..." Twilight turned away from Aqua Jet and gave a stern look at the jury. "These criminals played the kindness of your heart and abused your trust, then ditched you the moment things went south for them, and made you look like the guilty one?"

That gave the entire courtroom pause. The records ponies typed furiously on their typewriters, making sure to get each word verbatim.

"Well..." Aqua paused. "When you put it that way... yeah." A small smile appeared on Aqua's face. "Yeah, they pretty much did that."

Twilight turned towards the judge and said, “No further questions at this time.” Twilight sat down with a smug grin; she had the jury wrapped around her hoof. She felt it was a little cheap and manipulative to appeal to their emotions like that, and basically ask them to ignore the logic of the situation, but Twilight was willing to cross that line to help her friends.

"Prosecution, would you like to examine the defendant again?" The judge said.

Twilight looked up. The case was theirs, Aqua Jet would be innocent, and all Prowler had to do was say-

"Yes." Prowler said.

"No-ye-wait, what?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What is Prowler doing? We already have the jury on our side; what else does he need to say?"

"Aqua, answer me truthfully." Prowler questioned. "Would these criminals have succeeded if not for you?"

Aqua Jet's smile disappeared. "Well... no."

"WHAT IS HE DOING?!" Twilight panicked.

"So these criminals got away, succeeded in smuggling almost half a ton worth of illegal goods into Equestria, because of your naïveté and carelessness."

"Y-yeah." Aqua Jet stammered, shrinking back into his seat.

"STOP IT, PROWLER!" Twilight screamed into her head, vainly hoping Prowler could hear her. "STOP IT! YOU'RE RUINING EVERYTHING!"

"And furthermore," Prowler continued, "You realize that your actions, whether direct or indirect, still resulted in criminals escaping capture and the-"

"Defense would like to re-examine the witness!" Shen cried.

Before the judge could reply, Shenanigans burst from his seat and leapt towards the stand. Prowler tried to protest, but he could barely utter a syllable before he was promptly shoved out of the way.

"Where were you on the night of the 21st?" Shen accused.

Aqua Jet blinked. "I... could swear I just-"

"What are you not telling us, beach boy?" Shen interrupted. "Tell us why you aren't telling us the things you're not telling us!"

"What?"

"Answer the question!" Shenanigans shouted as he pounded Aqua's booth multiple times. "Do I need to remind you that you are under oath?!"

"Which question do you want me to answer?"

"I want you to answer the question that you are avoiding to answer the question to!"

"Defense!" Swift Justice screamed and thrust her gavel in Shen's direction. "You are out of order!"

"No, you're out of order!" Shenanigans shouted back, "He's out of order! She's out of order! This courtroom is out of order! The vending machine in the lobby is out of order!!!"

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" The judges voice boomed, silencing Shenanigans' dramatic interruption. "Defense, you will cease your childish antics before I hold you in contempt of court!"

Shenanigans froze and meeped. "...yes, your honor." A slight wobbly shiver could be seen in his step as he made his way back to his seat.

"What was that about, Shen?!" Twilight hissed under her hoof.

"I had to do something!" Shen insisted. "Prowler was on a roll with his arguments and I had to disrupt his flow!"

"You couldn't have done that with a bit more tact?"

"Well, I panicked!" Shen whined. "It seemed like a good idea at the time!"

"Now, since I trust there will be no more interruptions," the judge said as she straightened out her robes. "Does the prosecution wish to continue the cross examination?

"No, your honor..." Prowler stated. "I... believe I lost my train of thought."

"Very well." The judge said. "Defense, do you have any more questions?"

"That's our cue!" Shen whispered.

"You're not going back up there, Shen!" Twilight commanded. "I don't want you getting us a penalty!"

"Defense," the judge repeated, lacing her voice with venom. "Do you have any more questions?"

"Okay, fine, but do something!" Shen informed. "The judge looks ready to kill!"

"Your honor..." Twilight started. Thoughts flooded her mind about the present state of affairs. What could she ask? She already gambled everything on the jury, which was now rendered kaput. She had no other evidence disclosed to her other than Aqua Jet's testimony which was milked dry.

"N-no further questions, your Honor." Twilight cringed, the words almost wounding her as they left her mouth.

"Very well." Swift Justice stood up and addressed the entire court. "Since neither side has evidence they wish to present and neither feels the need to question the other, we can move on. Has the jury reached a verdict?"

“Umm, your honor?” Shen said. “I-"

"You will stand up when addressing me, Defense!" The judge snapped.

Shen gulped audibly and shot himself to attention. "Your honor, I respectfully request w-we take a short recess for lunch?”

“It is four in the afternoon.” The judge deadpanned, with fifty layers of searing hatred concealed underneath her tone.

“Well, yeah... but... T-that doesn’t mean all of us ate!” Shen noted, desperately hoping his troll logic would save him.

“You know, he’s right, I am kind of hungry.” A large pegasus in the jury stated.

"See? We can't have them making sound judgments on an empty stomach!" Shen inwardly cheered and ran with it. “You don't want us to have a mistrial do you? We need to take a food break! And need I remind you about the vending machines that are out of order?"

"We're doomed..." Twilight moaned in her head as it impacted against the desk.

The judge's mask never moved, except her piercing gaze remained locked onto Shen's sweating face. Shen's forced grin widened as the fiery stare he received from the judge got narrower and narrower. For a moment, he was afraid he signed his own arrest warrant.

"Sustained." The judge stated, and smacked the podium with her gavel. “Court is adjourned for one hour for lunch. However, in the meantime the jury will discuss their ruling on the case of Aqua Jet's smuggling.”

The audience dispersed into a disorganized gaggle as the ponies herded themselves out of the courtroom.

Aqua Jet didn't look up as a security guard replaced his cuffs and harness. Without resistance, Aqua Jet let himself be led out of the room, trying to avoid eye contact with anypony.

Prowler forced himself to look away from the pathetic display. The sound of a door shutting let him know he could look again. When he opened his eyes, a very irate purple unicorn was staring him down.

“What in the hay was that, Prowler?" Twilight snapped. "Were you trying to get Aqua Jet a guilty verdict?”

“Excuse me?" Prowler shot back, his chin high. "I was assigned a job, and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability; that's what a professional does. It's not my fault you couldn't keep up.”

“We're supposed to be helping Aqua, not trying to get him a worse sentence!”

“And did it ever occur to you that the judge can remove me and reassign a different prosecution if he doesn't think I'm performing adequately? If I didn't fight back she would more than likely replace me with a lawyer less inclined to our cause? Did you ever think about that?”

Twilight didn't answer.

"I suspected as much." Prowler smirked, letting the feeling of winning a battle of principle wash over him. "The situation requires tact and conduct, something you should be happy I'm here to provide."

"So, Mr. Professional,'" Twilight quoted. "Has your 'tact' and 'conduct' gotten us any closer to saving Aqua Jet?"

Prowler's smile vanished. “Well..." Prowler said, resisting every urge to stammer. "Technically no... But-"

"And that by doing what you did, all our work up until now have been for naught because you felt the need to 'be professional?'"

"You don't understand! I can't just be a bad attorney! I've already explained to you why!"

"So what? Our original purpose was to help Aqua Jet, but all you've done is make things worse!"

"It's not like I was given any choice in the matter." Prowler countered. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it your idea that I be prosecution?"

"It was actually the Princesses' idea." Spike piped.

"Oh, thank you, Spike, now I remember." Prowler mocked. "That makes it all the better! Royal Orders compelling my nature to get my friend convicted! Quite the pleasant situation I'm in! I've been forced between a rock and a hard place, and none of you are making this any easier for me!"

"STOP IT! PLEASE!" Jinx shouted, stepping in between Twilight and Prowler. "Guys, we shouldn't be fighting right now. Aqua's still depending on us. Shen was able to get us an hour lunch break. Don't you think we could use that hour for something useful?"

Twilight wanted to retort about Jinx's earlier scuff with Firebrand, but she held her tongue.

"Jinx is right." Spike added. "And I don't know about you guys, but I know I can't work on an empty stomach and I haven't eaten since breakfast. Why don't we just go get some food? I'm sure the answer will come to us after we get some something to eat."

Twilight grunted, still wanting to continue the argument. Eventually, she surrendered and walked to the door. The rest of the group soon followed suit and the courtroom was thus empty of ponies.

-

"There has to be something!"

Hard paperback books flew in the air and landed on the other side of the room. Papers danced and hovered above the ground as a purple pegasus dashed from bookcase to bookcase.

"Something! Anything! This office has to have something!"

Prowler tore through book after book, document after document. He finally settled on a singular book and flew over to his desk. His bloodshot eyes sped through the pages, scanning every letter and sentence.

“There's just too much to look through..." Prowler sighed, defeated. "If I knew what to look for I might have a chance, but there's nothing! NOTHING! I CAN'T HELP HIM!!!" Prowler threw the book against the wall, bending the spine out of shape.

"What do I do?!" Prowler screamed to himself. "I know Aqua Jet is guilty, and in order to maintain justice he will have to be punished. I'm a police officer; my loyalty to the law should be unwavering. But he's my friend! How am I call myself the Element of Loyalty if I knowingly send my loving friend off to prison? The poor sap doesn't deserve prison! Argh!" Prowler threw his hooves up in the air and buried his face in them. Prowler's breathing intensified. His eyes bulged out of their sockets and his teeth ground together. "Why does this have to happen? Why does fate feel the need to make my life miserable? Why does friendship have to make things so dang complicated?!?!"

Wooden creaking echoed from Prowler's constant back-and-forth rocking. His wings involuntarily flared and created a storm of paperwork from the contents of his front desk. He looked up at the floating pieces of paper, and buried his face in his hooves.

Frustration. Guilt. Desperation. These emotions continued to eat at his mind, and would not leave until they consumed all of it.

"What do I do... It's loyalty to my friends... Or loyalty to the law..."

"My friend... the law..."

"My friend..."

The door creaked.

Prowler's eyes snapped open. "Intruder!"

Steel rang as Prowler flung a concealed blade towards the door. The room resounded with a thick "twang!" as the knife embedded itself into its target and became a wobbling blur.

Prowler's eyes widened in horror. The knife stuck a meager two centimeters above the chocolate maned colt that stood frozen in the doorway.

"Oh, Snicker!" Prowler gasped. "I'm so sorry! That was an accident! I acted on impulse! I didn't mean to-"

"That was so freaking cool!" Snicker cried. "How'd you do that, Prowler!?"

Prowler gave a poker-faced grin, and swore he would thoroughly punish himself later for his reckless act. He pushed his glasses further back onto his muzzle and flew over to his earth pony brother.

"So..." Prowler started. "Any... particular reason you dropped by, brother?"

"I'm going to hang out with Kindle and Spark." Snicker moaned as if reciting a repeated mantra. "You told me to tell you about that every time I leave the house."

"Ah, yes. Very good. Thank you for letting me know." Prowler said. His eye drifted down to Snicker's hoof. He smiled once he noticed a small blue book lay wrapped in his leg. "Ah, I see you still have your birthday present. Enjoying it?"

"Yes." Snicker chirped, putting on a wide grin.

Prowler sighed. He didn't need to be the Element of Honesty to figure out that Snicker was lying through his teeth. However, he took some solace in the fact that Snicker was lying to keep him happy. "Oh well, I suppose I'll have get you something better for your birthday next year, maybe I'll let you do the picking." Prowler said. "Is that satisfactory?"

"Okay." Snicker said as he hooved the book into Prowler's before trotting away. Snicker took one more look at the knife embedded in the wall and grinned before closing the door.

"Imbecile..." Prowler spat to himself. "What else am I going to screw up today?" A small sigh escaped his mouth as he regarding the book. A tiny bookmark stuck out of it. Curiosity overtook Prowler and he opened the pages.

"Didn't even get past the fourth page." Prowler whined playfully. "He barely even tried to read this thing! I wouldn't say this book is so boring as to warrant quitting that soon. After all, the really interesting stuff happens right... here..."

Prowler paused. A small blurb of text caught his eye, so he adjusted his glasses and took a closer look. Prowler's eyes moved back and forth across the page, his brow furrowing with every passing second.

Suddenly, he darted towards the bookshelf again and pulled out a single volume. He quickly flipped towards the center of the book and skimmed the pages. His eyes halted. A single passage, a single sentence, that this case hinged on

He read it once.

He read it twice.

He read it a total of fifteen times.

Then...

He gently placed the book back on the shelf, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Well, it seems I have no choice... I'm so sorry..."

-

"We will now continue where we left off." Judge Swift Justice said as she moved in her seat. "Does the Prosection have any more claims?"

Prowler inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Nothing, your Honor."

"Very well." Swift replied. She turned towards Twilight Sparkle and Shenanigans and said, "Does the Defense have any more questions?"

Twilight wanted to say yes. Oh, Celestia she wanted to say yes. She could say the one thing that would release Aqua Jet, put this whole mess behind them and pretend it never happened.

"No, your Honor..." she mumbled, utterly destroyed. "There's nothing more we can do." "We lost..."

“Now, has the jury reached a conclusio-”

“Your honor?” Shen said, standing up. “I respectfully request a we take a short recess for afternoon tea?”

“Request denied.”

“Thanks a lot.” Shen deadpanned, sitting down and giving Twilight a shrug.

“Since nothing has changed from the hour, other than all of us eating," the judge put malicious emphasis on that last phrase, "Will the jury please give their verdict?”

A pony stood up from the jury, holding the piece of paper stating Aqua Jet's fate. Every pony in the room stood with bated breath to hear what to say.

"We, the people of Ponyville, find the defendant Aqua Jet...”

“Guilty,” the pony finished, “Of the crime of accessory to smuggling.”

"No. No. No! This isn't supposed to happen!" Shenanigans insisted under his breath. "It can't end like this! We're the good guys! We're supposed to win!"

"I'm afraid the good guys don't always win in real life, Shen." Twilight mumbled, utterly drained. "We tried..."

Prowler approached Aqua Jet's stand, both of their faces completely devoid of emotion.

"I want you to know that I don't hate you, Prowler..." Aqua Jet said. "You were just doing your job."

“Aqua Jet," Prowler replied sadly, "You know that even though you’re my friend, it doesn’t exempt you from the law.”

“Yeah, I know...” Aqua Jet gritted.

“And you know that for the sake of justice, the punishment for your crime has to be paid.”

“I know...”

“However...”

Aqua Jet looked up, confusion written on his face.

“For the sake of our friendship...” Prowler inhaled. “I will be serving your punishment for you.”

Author's Note

Psyche.

Chapter 9: The Crucible Part 4

-

“ORDER! Order in the court!” The judge screamed, whacking her mallet in a frenzy. The entire crowd erupted into gasps and chatter as Prowler revealed his intentions. The continuous smacking eventually calmed the ponies down, after which the judge turned to Prowler and yelled, “Prosecution! Explain yourself, because I can scarcely believe that this is a viable option at the moment!”

“Yes, your honor.” Prowler stated. He reached into his suit and pulled out a tiny blue book.

“What is that?” The judge asked.

“This is a compilation of exhaustively researched information regarding minuscule, and often forgotten details on the intricacies of our justice system.” Prowler explained. “All throughout these pages readers can be educated on the subject.”

Prowler approached the stand, and placed the book next to the judge’s hammer. The judge picked up the book and scrutinized the cover. Her eyes narrowed the more she looked at it.

“‘Loony Laws.’” The judge read. She slammed the book back down onto her podium. “Prosecution, are you mocking this courtroom? Because what I see here is a child’s trivia book.”

“That doesn't make its contents any less true or important.” Prowler replied. “The target audience is irrelevant; what matters is the message and if it is delivered well.”

A gaping void descended from an alternate dimension and filled everyone's souls. The entire room froze, with ponies in the pews starting shifting positions in their seats. It was as if an entity collectively walked on all the graves of the ponies in the room, summoned by a simple statement.

“A-anyways, let's bring the focus back to the matter at hoof.” Prowler stammered, trying to regain his nerves. “There is a certain passage in these pages that will probably be of interest to the courtroom.”

The very visage of professionalism and grace, Prowler moved to center of the courtroom, making sure all were able to see him. He adjusted his glasses and opened the small book.

“In 747 Anno Discordia,” Prowler read, enunciating every syllable clearly, “A mare by the name of Water Walker was forced to be prosecution against her own daughter, Jupiter Apple. Refusing to send her own daughter off to prison, she petitioned Celestia to have a law be created so that prosecution could, if they so desired, make penance in the place of the accused. Celestia established the law, but added a small footnote that the sentence would be lightened against the savior if this law was enacted.”

Prowler closed the book and turned towards the jury. “I paraphrased a bit there, but the point still stands. Since I am Celestia's appointed prosecution, I choose to enact this law, and willingly submit to Aqua Jet’s sentence of one year in prison, with 1000 bit bail."

The judge remained silent, trying to take all of this in. This law was too good to be true as far as the group of friends were concerned. It did seem a little convenient that a law like this would exist, but then again, in all her years of working in the criminal justice career, she's seen weirder laws that lawyers scraped from the bottom of the barrel. The more she thought about it, the less fault she could find with it.

"Yes, but don't get ahead of yourself," The judge reminded, "That law also states the one who enacts it also receives a lighter sentence. With that in mind, the defendant's sentence of a year in prison with 1000 bit bail will be reduced to the immediate preceding punishment, which so happens to be..." The judge paused for a moment, then sifted through the stack of papers on her desk. She lifted a small piece of paper, adjusting her glasses to get better focus.

"Three thousand hours of community service, with 800 bit bail."

Prowler winced. Three thousand hours? He had expected something like that, but it still intimidated him. His mind quickly worked through the math. If he were to work three hours of community service in a day that meant he'd be obligated to perform for... 1000 days... and if there are 365 days in a year that meant...

Almost three years of servitude.

"Well, as my dear friend Aqua Jet would say..." Prowler thought bitterly. "This is gonna suck."

"By the power vested in me by the Diarchy of Equestria, you are hereby sentenced to three thousand hours of mandatory community service, starting today." Swift Justice stated. She turned to the guards still next to Aqua Jet. "Guards, escort Prowler to my chambers, where we will draw up the paperwork for this arrangement. The defendant Aqua Jet is free to go, cleared of all charges against him. And with that, court is now dismissed."

The judge smacked her gavel.

-

Prowler wiped his brow, trying to get the salty water out of his face. Sweat blurred his vision and stung his eyes, but every time he would wipe, more perspiration would instantly replace it. A deep, clear growl resounded from Prowler's throat.

"Blast this stupid cart..." Prowler cursed, "What did they put in here, rocks?"

He looked over his shoulder. Atop the wooden cart were chains laced over a large stack of bricks. "Oh... right..." Prowler sighed. He continued his trek down the street, trying to ignore the pitiful gazes of bystanders and passersby.

"So this is to be my fate every day for the next three years?" Prowler mused. "Enduring this suffering for three hours every day, on top of my actual working job. Was it worth it, Prowler? Was this really the best course of action to take?"

"YO!"

Prowler glanced over his shoulder. Twilight, Spike, Jinx, and Shenanigans approached him, carrying what seemed to be a large picnic box. Following them was a toothy smile of a certain acquitted blue speedster.

"Yes... I suppose it was."

Prowler's black tinted-glasses were suddenly wrapped in a purple aura and levitated of his face. Twilight then took a small hankerchief from the picnic basket and gingerly wiped the lenses. With a smile, she placed the specs back onto Prowler's muzzle.

"Thank you very much for that." Prowler laughed. "I could barely see through those things."

"That's not all we brought." Jinx piped as he pulled a pitcher containing a yellow liquid and cup from the picnic basket. "I made some refreshments for you, fresh from the trees of my greenhouses."

"Lemonade?" Prowler smiled as he eyed the glorious godsend. "How sweet."

"Shen's idea." Jinx explained. "We can't directly help you, but there's no law saying we can't keep you company or bring you food."

"Heh, true." Prowler chuckled and took the cup. A chill bit him as he touched it, but it was a welcome bite. He already felt better just touching the cool plastic and letting the feeling spread across his skin. "Well, Shen, you certainly know how to make the best of a bad situation." He droned.

"Nah, I think you pretty much trumped me today in that department." Shenanigans replied.

"That's..." Prowler's grin vanished for an instant, "...one way of looking at it." Prowler took a small sip from the glass of lemonade. The glorious sensation of sweet and sour blend flowed over his tongue, somehow magically giving him a burst of strength. Considering what he went through, this could be the nectar of the gods.

"You're insane, man, ya know that?" Aqua Jet said. "Absolutely bucking insane. And I mean that in the coolest way possible, dude."

"We just wanted you to know that what you did was very brave." Twilight said. "You showed true loyalty today."

"So does the hero get a kiss?" Prowler grinned, giving Twilight very unsubtle bedroom eyes.

"No."

Prowler sighed and rolled his eyes. "Thought not."

"OOOH! YOU JUST GOT FRIENDZONED!" Shen cried. Raucous laughter burst from the group of friends.

"Oh that reminds me," Prowler said, "Twilight, did you happen to scavenge a friendship letter from all of this?"

"Yes," Twilight nodded, "But I wanted you to hear it as it was being written. Spike!"

"Ready to go!" Spike cheered, pulling out parchment and flourishing a quill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Princess Celestia,

The trial was a success, in a way. Aqua Jet was pronounced guilty, but Prowler found a loophole which allowed him to take the brunt of the law for the sake of his friend.

Prowler taught me that you should never give up on your friends. Even if it seems hopeless, even if it seems everything is against you, with perseverance and hope you might just find a way through. We're all so happy we have someone we can trust will always be there for us through the tough times, even at the expense of himself. There is no greater sign of a good friend than one who will put others' needs above his.

Your-"

"Chief Prowler!" a voice cried.

A yellow pegasus descended on the group, breathing heavily. From his white uniform and black cap over his short, straight orange mane, the group easily identified him as one of Prowler's newest day patrol officers.

"Brass Star?" Prowler queried. "What are you doing here?"

"I was told to read this to you! It's from the judge!" Brass Star pulled out a small piece of parchment. "From the desk of Judge Swift Justice, under Article 8008.3, following the subsequent currency transaction to the treasury of the Diarchy of Equestria, the coeval felon or felons are herewith discharged from their respective designated punitive measures and reinstated with full freedoms from government mandate from this date of September 7th, in the year of 1000 Anno Discordia.

"Uhh..." Shen croaked. "T.L.D.R. version please?"

"Prowler got bailed." Twilight breathed. "Somepony paid the money so he doesn't have to work out here anymore!"

"Really?" Prowler almost squeed. "This is great! That's-" His smile turned instantly into a suspicious glare. "Wait, who managed to pay that ludicrous amount already?"

"I don't remember." The young officer replied. "I wasn't there for the whole conversation. I think he had a black vest on, but that's all I know."

Each of the ponies turned to each other with knowing looks.

"Thank you, Brass." Prowler said. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

Brass insisted, saying, "But boss, what about-"

"Exactly, I'm your boss." Prowler interrupted. "You do what I say; Go home. I'll deal with the rest of your shift."

Brass Star hesitated, then shrugged and headed back towards town.

"Now as for us..." Prowler hummed, "I think we have a certain musician to talk to." The others nodded and headed back towards town.

Even as Prowler strode into the town square, his thoughts turned to his bailout. He couldn’t even begin to process what happened. The valiant sacrifice he made for the sake of his friend was probably the most intense thing he's ever done in his life. This choice held the fate of his friends' life, and if Twilight was right, all of Equestria. Despite the grueling manual labor that resulted from his decision, he felt the choice he made was the right one.

And if he were being honest, he was feeling a little pleased with himself, almost smug that he was able to make such a choice. Now Firebrand just pays 800 bits out of the blue, completely taking away most of the weight of the consequences? Prowler did feel a little cheated, but then again, he was just saved out of three years of government slavery, so he couldn't complain...

Much.

The group soon arrived at the large wooden doors of the Parading Flames Hall. A swift knocking from Twilight's was soon accompanied by the door creaking open and Spark Fire's messy red and yellow mane appearing in the doorway.

"Hello, Spark." Twilight greeted, maintaining politeness. "Is Firebrand home?"

"Yeah, he just got back." Spark replied, opening the door more. With that, the group stepped off the porch and into the musical hall's main lobby.

A door opened from the right of the group with a blast-vested unicorn appearing in the doorway. "Spark? Who was at the door?"

Twilight and her friends eyes locked onto Firebrand's. For a moment, Brand just stood there in the archway, turned to stone by their gazes. Brand's mind went into overclock, trying to figure out the best way to proceed with the situation he was now presented with.

“Hey, Sparks?" Firebrand said, putting on a facade. "Why don’t you take your sister and Snicker and go outside?”

“Why?”

“Because I asked you to." Firebrand countered. He soon caught his mistake then let out a deep breath. "Please?"

A small grunt of disappointment left the colt's mouth before he went into the other room. A few seconds passed before the quiet muffled slam of the back door signified they were alone.

Firebrand then took the opportunity to assault Prowler and Aqua Jet in a giant embrace. Aqua Jet immediately returned the gesture, but Prowler was a little more hesitant.

“Oh, Sweet Celestia!" Firebrand cried, "I’m so happy you two are okay!”

“Happy? HAPPY?” Jinx repeated, pointing an accusatory hoof at Firebrand. “You were the one who wanted to see Aqua Jet rot in jail. How can you possibly be happy?”

Firebrand broke his hug and wheeled on Jinx. “Oh, so I'm not allowed to be happy that my friends are all right, is that it? Do I not deserve-"

“BOYS!” Twilight screamed.

Jinx and Firebrand froze. Realization soon dawned on them and their heads dipped down in shame.

“I’m not going to sit here and watch my best friends argue.” Twilight reprimanded. "We're friends, and we talk through things, not shout at each other and call each other names."

"Firebrand, look at me." Twilight ordered. Firebrand lifted his head and stared straight into Twilight's firm gaze. He knew he was going to get another lecture.

“We're not mad that you thought Aqua Jet needed to be punished." Twilight continued. "What we’re upset about is that you completely bailed on us. When you were supposed to be supporting your friends in their utmost time of need, you instead chose to be around Trixie. I don't know much about boys, you might have just needed to "cool off," as some may put it. Say what you like, but that doesn’t send the best message to us when you choose a date with a random mare over the fate of one of your best friends.”

“What?" Firebrand asked. "You thought me and her were... Oh, by the Creators, no! She was helping me get Aqua Jet out of prison!”

“What?” Everypony asked in unison.

“Look, it was obvious. Aqua Jet was guilty," Firebrand explained, "Not even the greatest lawyers in the world could’ve saved him. When there's a crime, there has to be a price to pay. I didn't want to see him get locked up for a year, so I did the only thing I thought I could do: try and bail him out."

"You had a thousand bits just laying around?" Aqua questioned.

"Eight-hundred, remember?" Shen reminded. "Lesser punishment and all that jazz?"

"Still, dang," Aqua whistled. "Was that, like, your entire life savings or something?"

Firebrand shook his head. "No. There was no way I could pay that, and that's where Trixie came into the picture. I asked her to help me with setting up a sort of charity show to raise funds. At first she was reluctant, but then I reminded her about our little scuffle earlier and how it created such a buzz with the audience. I thought the extra attention would be of interest to her, and she eventually agreed. So, we started a little charity show with me-" Firebrand coughed and his cheeks reddened, "-me helping her out with the show as her 'assistant,' which was little more than me being a pincushion for her tricks."

"That explains why the courtroom was a little empty..." Twilight realized.

“Wait, that doesn't make sense." Spike noted. "How did you manage to raise eight-hundred bits within five hours?"

“I didn’t.” Firebrand replied. “We only raised five. The rest of it came out of my own pocket..."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "He spent... 300 bits? That's enough to buy a small house! And he spent it all on Aqua Jet?"

"Whoa... I'm guessing you're going to be on a noodles diet for a while, huh?" Shen quipped.

"Pretty much."

Now it was everyone else's turn to feel awkward. Jinx and Twilight in particular felt extremely guilty for the things they thought and said about Firebrand, even though he gave them little indication to think otherwise.

"Contrary to what you may think," Firebrand affirmed, "I still care about my friends. It’s just that I-"

“When it comes down to choosing between the law or your friends," Aqua interrupted, "You’ll pick the law?”

Firebrand flinched as if struck. He opened his mouth to deny that claim, but stopped. He wrestled with the accusation... no... observation, until he realized Aqua Jet was speaking the truth. With an angry growl Brand snapped his head away, too ashamed to look at his friends. Firebrand's eyes drifted down to the floor, a large wave of self-loathing attacking him.

“Hey, Brand..." Aqua comforted, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Don’t feel so bad. You're still one of my best buds, even when push comes to shove. Besides, someone’s gotta be that guy.”

“Sometimes you come across as unfeeling and cold,” Prowler added, “But deep down, we know you have a heart of gold.”

“Hey, that rhymed!” Shen shouted.

All the heads in the room turned towards Shen. A large, nervous grin grew on Shen's face as the silence egged on.

“Oh... uhh.... sorry..." Shen apologized, backing away slowly and not making eye contact with anyone. "Interrupting touching moment... I’ll just... you know... go off into the corner here... and... not say anything else..."

After Shenanigans reigned himself to his own given punishment, Prowler began to chuckle. “Well... that effectively killed the mood.”

“Jinx..." Firebrand bowed. "I’m sorry for all those nasty things I said about you. It wasn't fair of me to not take your feelings into account. I’ll try to be more considerate next time.”

“I’m sorry too.” Jinx frowned. “I kept jumping to conclusions and wouldn't listen to anyone. I’ll try not to let my emotions cloud my judgment in the future, too.”

A slow hug from both stallions sealed the apology.

“So, onto other important things, like this Trixie character." Prowler interrupted, "Even though it was strict business, I would assume you had to make her sympathize and feel for you when you two were discussing things. Forgive my fowardness, but do I detect a future romance?” Prowler asked with a smirk.

Firebrand sighed. “You know how Trixie acted with her stage persona in front of everypony today? Arrogant, obnoxious, full of herself, and loud?”

“No, but I can assume you're telling the truth from Spike's grimace."

“That’s not an act.” Firebrand pursed his lips. “She’s actually like that... this goes without saying but it isn’t going to work out between us.”

"See?" Spike yelled. "I told you she was unbearable!"

"Whoa guys," Jinx tried, "Maybe you shouldn't say bad things about Trixie like that..."

“Oh, so she’s no longer taken?” Prowler purred, licking his lips. “Well, technically she never was, so you won’t mind if I... tactically acquire her off your hooves?”

Firebrand snorted at the use of military jargon. “Go ahead. I don’t think I could stand another minute of the Hammy and Obnoxious Trixie’s third person speech pattern...”

"Oh, this I gotta see." Aqua Jet said. "You know, considering I... missed the first showing." He and Prowler burst into laughter as they walked out of the hall followed by the pseudo-grouchy Firebrand and uneasy Jinx.

Twilight smiled and took a deep breath, releasing all the stress that had accumulated throughout the day. This was how her friendship was supposed to be: Jinx trying to be pacifist and not getting the joke, Prowler being an insufferable flirt, Firebrand being grouchy and overly critical, and Aqua Jet wearing that dopey, easygoing smile. Everything was back to normal. The only thing that was missing was Shenanigans laughing at somepony else's expense, but he was serving his own punishment right now.

"Spike? Could you add something extra to the letter?"

Spike hummed. "Sure, but I'm going to need to make a second draft. There a little blurb right here that-"

"That's fine, Spike." Twilight huffed. "Just write this, please."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Princess Celestia,

The trial was a success, in a way. Aqua Jet was pronounced guilty, but Prowler found a loophole which allowed him to take the brunt of the law for the sake of his friend and through complex subversion of the law, we got Aqua Jet freed with Prowler only having to work an hour and a half of manual labor and Firebrand paying three hundred bits.

I barely understand it myself, but maybe that's why I'm not a lawyer.

Prowler taught me that you should never give up on your friends. Even if it seems hopeless, even if it seems everything is against you, with perseverance and hope you might just find a way through. We're all so happy we have someone we can trust will always be there for us through the tough times, even at the expense of himself. There is no greater sign of a good friend than one who will put others' needs above his.

Your

Another thing I learned today is you never know how strong your friendships are until they are tested. And when they are tested, sometimes things you don't like to talk about are brought up, and more often than not your friends will have conflicting perspectives on life. The sign of a true friend is one who is willing to look past those conflicts, and work to preserve the friendship rather than just be right. We may believe differently on how the world should work, but that doesn't mean we still can't be friends.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once she finished, Twilight decided to let Shenanigans out of his self-induced timeout. She quickly became puzzled as Shenanigans was staring at the floor with an intense gaze and frown. It seemed something was burdening him.

“Shenanigans, is something wrong?” Twilight asked, concern creeping into her voice.

Shen snapped out of his stupor. “Huh-wuh? Oh, no, not really, it’s just... I just noticed something.”

“Noticed what?”

“We’ve gone through a lot today. A magic show, an investigation, a court case, our friendship breaking apart and coming back together again..."

"Yeah, I’d call it a day.” Twilight joked.

Shen chuckled as well, then put his hoof to his mouth in contemplation. “But, in spite of all that, do you know what really surprises me about this whole fiasco today?”

“What?"

“I got through this entire chapter without shouting objection.”

Author's Note

ZING!

Huh boy, this was a pain in the butt. So many factors to consider, so many rewrites, and wanted to get this arc done ASAP.

In my circle of friends, we have Catholics, Protestants, Agnostics, Atheists, all with differing political views. How can we possibly be friends? Easy. We make sure to talk about the bad stuff from time to time, and we make sure that we respect each others opinions. We all have our beliefs and ethics and morals, but that doesn't mean we still can't have a good time.

Also, those of you who get the two hidden references towards the beginning, you get a free cookie.

Chapter 10: Murphy's Law Part 1

Drip… Drip… Drip...

“I should really get that pipe fixed…” Jinx thought. "That could be an accident waiting to happen..."

The gentle humming of Jinx’s machinery echoed in his subterranean chamber. A single lantern hung in the middle of room, glowing white hot and caressing the damp stones around it with a soothing glow.

A single earth pony sat at the center table, quietly scribbling on paper. He stared at the suspended vial, eyes not blinking. Sweat dripped down his face, his jaw clenched.

"Alright, if I try Calcium instead of Magnesium it shouldn't explode in my face this time... hopefully..." Jinx mused. "That hair regrowth serum tastes awful..."

Being down in his private laboratory always soothed the alchemist. Jinx did enjoy the company of other ponies, but he was always more comfortable alone and applying his trade. Nobody else appreciated the kind of work that Jinx did, but he never held it against anyone. After all, alchemy is a complicated science and trying to explain the inner machinations of its complex and delicate processes would bore anypony.

Jinx grabbed a small plastic pipette and sucked up a small amount of the blue liquid with it. Licking his lips, he hovered it over his concoction, relishing the moment he squeezes the drops in and completes-

“HI JINX!”

“MEEP!” Jinx squeaked. Jinx's reflexes betrayed him and the poor earth pony tumbled out of his chair. He landed with a disgraceful thud and an even more disgraceful "oof!"

Jinx blinked twice as his brain caught up to what his body just did. He lifted his goggles off his face and was greeted by the stifled chuckles of a green earth pony with a Cheshire cat grin.

“Oh my gosh, that was hilarious!” Shenanigans howled, “Man, I knew you were jumpy, but-”

“I’m not jumpy.” Jinx insisted, his cheeks burning red. He snatched the vial away and huffed. “You just... startled me a bit, is all... I thought was alone...”

“Okay, whatever you say...” Shen shrugged.

Jinx huffed and turned back to his workbench. He took a deep breath and returned his full attention to his work. His latest creation was glowing a clear white, bathing everything around in a soft glow. It was almost inviting, like it was beckoning Jinx to come to it.

Jinx grinned and redonned his red-tinted goggles. He took more blue liquid with the pipette and hovered it above the vial. His plan was nearly coming to fruition. After months of planning and testing, it was now finally within his reach. Slowly but surely, his creative zen washed over him, blocking out everything around-

“HI JINX!”

“WAGA!” Jinx sputtered. Again, he and the ground became acquainted with each other.

“So, uh, what were you saying about not being jumpy?” Shen probed with a raised eyebrow.

Jinx silently mourned the death of any pride he had remaining in him. He turned to Shenanigans with a vulnerable look in his eyes. “Look, I’m trying to concentrate. Can you please not shout into my ears anymore?”

Shenanigans waved a hoof and sighed, “Okay, okay, I promise I won’t scare you anymore.”

“Thank you.” Heaving a sigh, Jinx once again eyed his project. Losing a little bit of patience due to Shen's interruptions, he decided against savoring the moment and quickly proceeded with the next step. With a slow, steady squeeze, two drops of the blue liquid fell into the mixture. All that remained was to wait to see the effects of combining the two chemicals.

Nothing happened. With every passing second Jinx furrowed his brow, a little surprised his experiment failed. By all accounts and according to his long hours of testing, it should have worked. "Maybe my math was wrong... maybe it-"

The solution fizzed and bubbled. A cloud of blue began to come into existence at the top of the vial. Like a drop of food-coloring permeating water, the solution slowly spread its taint throughout the bottle. A small grin tugged at the corners of Jinx’s mouth. He had done it. His experiment was a success and there was somepony breathing down his neck.

“Shen…” Jinx moaned.

“Sorry but… what are you doing?”

“Oh, this?” Jinx replied. “Well, if I'm right, I’ve just completed a new formula to bend the visible spectrum of light around the ingester. If precisely effectuated, this solution should administer precise electromagnetic impulses across numerous nerve endings rendering complete-"

“Hello? Uneducated pony in the room!” Shen wailed. “Use small words, please!”

“Oh… sorry.” Jinx chuckled. “Umm… it’s an... invisibility potion.”

“Wow, seriously?" Shen said.

"Yes, but there’s a problem," Jinx held up the vial to his face and sighed. "I haven't tested it yet. I honestly don't know what to give it to first."

"Well then, fine. Test it on an animal," Shen shrugged. "Don't scientists test things on rats or something?"

"Well... yes... but..." Jinx rubbed the back of his mane, "I asked her and this time she said no."

"'She?'" Shen quoted.

"Yes, my pet rat, Mrs. Twitches."

"Seriously?" Shen snorted. "You have a pet rat named Mrs. Twitches?" He stifled a snicker after saying the name out loud.

On cue, a small white rat scurried up onto Jinx's head. It was fairly larger than normal rats and had a large tuft of fur on its forehead. It pushed Jinx's messy hair out of its way to give itself some room, tickling Jinx in the process. It then groomed itself, washing its face and pressing back the hair between its ears and nose. Once it was finished it tilted its head, scrutinizing Shenanigans with its red beady eyes.

"Awww," Shenanigans cooed, letting his grin adopt a toothy and goofy appearance. "She's so cute!"

"Don't patronize me, you mediocre sack of chartreuse vomit."

"Huwuhwuh-" Shen reeled back, eyes bulging out like saucers. "Did that rat just talk?!"

"Congratulations, you have the perceptive qualities of a three-year-old, and 'That rat...'" Mrs. Twitches tiny mouth quoted, "-refuses to drink it, because if I turn invisible it would be rather troublesome for me not to get stepped on. Any simpleton could figure out as much. It baffles me how you are the dominant species..."

"Why? Talking? Explain? Rat? Please?" Shen stammered, pointing a trembling hoof at the rat on Jinx's head. Jinx opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off.

"And once again, we are treated to another rousing example of the startling intelligence of your species," Mrs. Twitches groaned, slamming her tiny paw to the tuft of her head. It took Shenanigans a second to realize she was mimicking the motion of a headslap. "Maybe I should explain this slowly, so you don't drivel again: Jinx is an alchemist. Put two and two together, you imperceptive dunce. Let me guess, born unintelligent? No, too convenient, must've been childhood head trauma..."

"Mrs. Twitches!" Jinx chided. "Shenanigans is a good friend of mine; please be nice!"

"This walking disaster of evolution's name is Shenanigans?" Mrs. Twitches mocked. "Well, someone's parents had a sense of humor; it certainly compliments his cranium's output capacity. Now, if you two plebeians will excuse me, I require sustenance and would prefer not to spend it with less developed life forms."

Mrs. Twitches leapt off of Jinx's shoulder and scurried towards the stairs. With great dexterity, she hopped up each step in quick succession until she disappeared from sight.

"Sorry about her," Jinx apologized. "I know she seems like a jerk, but she's actually a big help. She offers a lot of useful advice and is a great assistant. Really, I can count on her when I need her. But as you've noticed her personality takes some..." Jinx rubbed the back of his head, "...getting used to."

"I can get used to her personality, easy," Shen said, eyes not leaving the staircase. "It's the fact that I was just verbally abused by a rat that I'm still a little shaken about."

"Like I said, sorry."

Shenanigans waved a hoof. "So, anyways, let's ignore the possible Chekhov's gun derailment there and get this plot back on track. Invisibility potion? What the heck, I’ll drink it for you!”

"Wait, what?" Jinx blinked. "B-b-but I haven't tested it yet! I don't know if it's-"

“Come on, if you say it's safe, that's good enough for me!"

Jinx's eyes darted back and forth and his neck tightened. "Well, I never actually said it was safe, all I said was it-"

"Is it going to make me explode?" Shen questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well... no... that's not possible consider-"

"Is it going to give me some freaky disease?"

Jinx's eyes glassed over. "Well, theoretically that's highly unlikely given the chemical structu-"

"Is it going to turn me into a mare?"

Jinx blinked. "Of course not. In order to do that, I'd have to-"

"So then what's the problem?" Shen questioned.

"Umm..." Jinx rubbed his leg and let his gaze wander to the machinery clinging to the wall. As much as he tried, he had nothing to refute Shenanigans' logic. He worked on this project for weeks and thought of every possible outcome. There really was nothing conceivable that could go wrong with it.

"I... I dunno."

"Bottoms up!" Shenanigans thrust the vial in the air in a faux toast and pressed the vial to his lips, letting the fizzing liquid flow down his throat.

"Wait, you shouldn't drink it straight from the bottle!" Jinx exclaimed. "You never know what chemical residue may have gathered at the t-!"

“Hmm…” Shen smacked his lips and clicked his tongue a few times, swirling the remnants of the concoction in his mouth. “Can’t figure out the flavor. What’s it supposed to be?”

"Oh... well, the flavoring's chemical structure had to be nonreactive to the potion's," Jinx explained, "So the only thing that was compatible was snozzberry.”

Shen narrowed his eyes. “Wait, doesn’t snozzberry actually mean-URP!” Shen’s body lurched forward. He clutched his stomach, a distorted grimace appearing on his face.

“Whoa!" Shen heaved. "That is NOT sitting well!”

“Oh, good, that means it’s working,” Jinx smiled. “And that means we’re running out of time before it passes through your system and tarnishes in your bloodstream. Quickly, we need to get you strapped.”

“Wait, what?”

Jinx ignored Shen’s questioning and shoved him backwards. The surprised Shenanigans landed on a small metal slab with six leather belts on it.

“The potion is just a primer,” Jinx explained, binding Shenanigans’ hooves, chest, and head with leather straps. “This machine is what will actually make you invisible. Are you comfortable?”

“Yes I am, honey. Did you bring the whips?” Shen smirked.

Jinx's face rivaled a tomato. "I'll... take that as a yes."

Jinx reached under the table and pressed a small button. Metallic sounds whirred and clanked as the machinery stirred. Shenanigans' platform rose above the floor and inclined towards the wall. A large cylindrical casing wrapped itself around Shen's form, covering him completely.

"Hey, wait, have you tested this thing?" Shen questioned, his voice muffled by the container. "This thing doesn't seem very safe."

"I've used this machine before on other things." Jinx assured. "The worst that could happen is nothing some cream and gauze won't fix, and even then it's unlikely for that to happen. Nothing is going to go wrong."

“Thanks for jinxing it, Jinx," Shen deadpanned. "Look, I trust you, but even that only goes so far. I want you to be one hundred percent sure; this thing isn't going to do anything really, really bad? Like, leave any permanent scars or burns on me, or something?”

“Oh no no no no, of course not, ” Jinx replied, placing both hooves on the giant switch. “Nothing permanent.”

“Oh oka- Wait, What?!”

Jinx yanked the lever down. Electricity surged from the superconductors on top of the machine as it sparked to life. The room was soon filled with the sounds of a rushing engine. Flashing lights from bulbs and electricity caused by the experiment would put a rave to shame.

“Hey, is that going to-" Shen suddenly gritted his teeth and forced his eyes shut. Electricity currents flowed across his body, pinning his body in place. "Ow! Wowch! Yeough!” Shen yelped, straining against his restraints. "That hurts! OW!"

"Shen?" Jinx asked, his eyes widening. "Shen, is everything okay in there?"

"NO! No, I'm not alr-" Shen's voice escalated in volume, filling the entire room with his voice. "AHHH!! IT HURTS!!! ARGHH THE PAAAIN!!! STOP IT! NO MORE! GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!!! I CAN'T TAKE IT! OWOWOW YEAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!”

“Shen?! Shen!!!” Jinx cried, his heart exploding in his chest. Realizing he just made a terrible mistake, Jinx pounded on the glass, his friend’s cries of agony ringing in his ears. “This isn't supposed to be happening! I made sure that thi- Oh I knew this was a bad idea! Why did I let you-" Another scream from inside the container. "SHEN! Please, speak to me! Are you alright, Shen!?”

“I TOLD YOU IT’S NOT SITTING WELL!” Shen screamed. “I REALLY NEED TO USE THE BATHROOOOOOOOM!”

Jinx paused, then sighed. "Why did he have to do that?" he whined. "Has to make a song and dance out of everything, doesn't he? Nearly gave me a heart attack..." Jinx shook his head and walked over to the apparatus’ switch. With a grumpy frown, he placed his hooves on the lever.

“If my calculations are correct, the experiment should be done in three, two, one…” Jinx yanked the lever back, powering the machine down. The room descended back into its quiet, dormant state.

Jinx walked over to the apparatus and pressed the activation button again. The metal casing groaned as it opened, revealing thick foggy smoke.

“Shenanigans?”

Jinx waved his hoof in the smoke, trying to see if he could spot Shenanigans. After a few seconds without success, he tried to blow the smoke away. A big mistake as he inhaled a large volume of the gas and began coughing. His vision blurred by tears and smoke, Jinx took a few steps back to try and regain a hold of his senses. The smog eventually cleared, and Jinx smiled once he saw a lack of a certain green pony.

And the leather bindings were burnt into dust.

“SHENANIGANS?”

Jinx's hoof rushed to meet the table. All he felt was metal.

“Oh nonononono… this can’t be happening!" Jinx fell back onto his haunches, the world spinning around him. A thousand thoughts rushed through his mind, sending him into spiraling mess. "I vaporized him! How could this have happened?! Prowler's going to arrest me and my friends are never going to talk to me again but it was an accident I didn't mean to foully and unnaturally murder him what am I going to-”

“HI JINX!”

“GHOST!!!” Jinx jumped into the air and clung to a dangling pipe. His head darted back and forth, wide frantic eyes searching for the source of the voice. "Please Shenanigans! I didn't mean to vaporize you! Please don't take your ghostly revenge on me because I don't deserve it because you were the one who volunteered for the invisibility... and..." Jinx's voice trailed off, finally hearing the muffled, lighthearted snickers echoing in the chamber.

“You promised…” Jinx whined.

“Hey, Aqua Jet’s the Element of Honesty, not me,” Shen voice echoed.

“...ehhhh….” Jinx whimpered, “Point taken…"

“Still, nice reflexes. Here, let me help you down." Shen snickered. He walked over and picked up a chair. To an onlooker, it would have appeared if the chair were bouncing in midair. Hesitant at first, Jinx let go of the pipe and landed on the chair.

"And nice potion! I'm completely invisible!" Shen cheered. Jinx couldn't see what Shen was doing, but from the sound of hooves walking in a circular motion, it seemed he was looking himself over.

"How long's this gonna last?" Shen asked.

"Uhh... Aboouuut...." Jinx hummed. "To be honest I'm not sure but at least three, maybe four hours."

"Shoot. Well, I guess we'd better get started."

"Started on what?" Jinx asked. He heard something that vaguely sounded like two things rubbing together, coupled with conspiratorial chuckles.

"I wanna go see what we can mess with."

Author's Note

Any users making comparisons to the beginning of Double Rainboom will have bad things happen to them. With a spoon. A very MENACING spoon.

Chapter 11: Murphy's Law Part 2

The fields outside Ponyville were a fairly tranquil place. A small creek ran straight through the hills, weaving in and around the trees scattered around the area. These fields were a popular spot for ponies to have picnics out in the open and not be bothered by wind, heat, or animals. If the sun was not too high in the sky, you could set yourself under one of the few trees and not have to move for hours if the shadows moved right.

Unless your name is Aqua Jet and you don’t care where you take a nap.

The blue pegasus lay sprawled out on a cloud hovering barely above the earth’s surface, his exposed belly catching the rising sun’s rays. His head dangled off the cloud’s side, drool dripping from the tongue hanging out of his gaping mouth. Occasionally he would let out a loud, gurgling snore which startled away any animals that had gathered under the cloud for shade.

"Target acquired," a pony breathed.

The still-invisible Shenanigans and the visibly distraught Jinx lay prone under the cover of bushes. A small duffel bag lay next to them, bulging from the items contained within.

“Shen, I really don’t think this is a good idea!" Jinx hissed, trying not to wake the nearby pegasus.

“Come on, Jinx!" Shen grinned. "It’s just some harmless fun at the expense of somepony else’s dignity!”

Jinx’s jaw hung open. "You… what… no! This just seems mean! Can’t we do something else like, uh, tap his shoulder and make him look the other way or something?”

Shenanigans knew Jinx couldn’t see his face, but he still felt the urge to drill a deadpan stare of utmost incredulity in Jinx’s direction.

“You have much to learn about pranking, young grasshopper…” Shen rasped like he were fifty years older.

“But he looks so peaceful trying to sleep,” Jinx insisted. “No one likes being woken up from a pleasant nap.”

“That’s exactly why we should,” Shen sneered as he took inventory of their instruments of mischief. “The last thing he expects is a prank, which will make his reaction all the more priceless!”

Jinx still wouldn’t have it. More excuses formed in his mind about why their escapade should be called off. “But… but… what if he gets mad?” he tried. “What if he chases us and attacks us!”

“Then it will be even more worth it!” Shen replied, holding up a wooden brush. “Seeing others get mad when they realize they’ve been had is half the fun!”

“Well… umm…” Jinx’s mind raced for anything he could use. “Shouldn’t I be invisible too? I mean, what if Aqua finds me? Maybe we should go back!”

“And maybe Aqua Jet will wake up in that amount of time and be anywhere but here…”

Shenanigans rolled his eyes. “Jinx, be honest. Would anypony ever suspect you of scheming a prank?”

Jinx paused, his excuse thoroughly demolished. “...Point taken...” he sighed, hanging his head in defeat.

“Still, I think you have a point about the whole ‘him possibly causing harm to us’ thing,” Shen admitted. “Tell ya what, you stay in the bushes here just in case he wakes up, and I’ll be safe because I’m invisible.”

Jinx hesitated, but did as instructed. “Why am I letting him do this…” he thought glumly to himself. He crouched low behind the bushes and looked through the leaves. From there he could see their bag of pranking materials and the sleeping form of Aqua Jet.

Shen crept, hunched to the ground like a predator. One leg extended slowly as he kept his center of gravity low, moving steadily towards his target. One step at a ti-

“Oh silly me! I almost forgot!” Shen exclaimed. As if he was a clip of a film being played in reverse, he sped back towards the spot where Jinx was crouched.

“Our last pranking accessory is still on its way!”

“What ‘pranking accessory?’” Jinx asked. He could see his friend just looking out in the distance. For what he didn’t know…

“Oh, don’t worry. He’ll probably be arriving in about three...” he looked up towards a small clump of bushes, “two… one…”

“Okay, I know you’re around here somewhere, punk!” a gruff voice yelled.

Jinx’s heart stopped.

Firebrand burst through the bushes, steam snorting out of his nose and eyes blazing in anger. His horn was alight in gold, carrying an opened letter and a silver trombone. The anger slowly receded when he saw a gray pony frozen in place, sweat gushing down his brow like rainbow falls. The anger then made way to confusion as Jinx began waving awkwardly.

“Jinx?!” Firebrand exclaimed. “You’re the one who took these photos?”

“Uhh…” Jinx stuttered. “Actually, I think it was…”

Firebrand felt something behind him. A soft presence, but still tangible. He turned his head slowly…

“Hi, Brand!”

“Aaah!”

Firebrand let out a surprisingly high-pitched scream as he lept back, somehow landing in Jinx’s outstretched forehooves.

The three ponies blinked. Slowly.

Then Jinx lowered his friend onto the ground. The two shuffled clumsily away from each other.

“Huh… awkward,” Shen stated.

“Okay, so, Shenanigans is invisible,” Firebrand assessed. “And Jinx is around. Alright, easy to assume what happened.”

“Wait, Shen? How did you find the time to get Firebrand over here?” Jinx asked.

“Easy,” Shen chirped. “I had those photos taken a while ago for a rainy day and kept them in my handy dandy prank bag ever since.”

“That explains the photos, but not how you knew Firebrand would be coming.”

“Because he’s predictable,” Shen grinned.

“Why do I hang around with you two again?” Firebrand asked exasperatedly.

“Because you love us and we give you happy fuzzy wuzzies in your tummy,” Shen drolled, to which Firebrand facehoofed.

"So why am I here exactly?” Firebrand asked, his hoof not moving from his face.

"Simple, we need you to play our background music to make the scene more fun!" Shen said, “Speaking of which, I didn’t tell you to grab your trombone. How’d you know?”

Firebrand glared at him.

“I needed something to use as a bludgeon against somepony who was blackmailing me,” he growled.

Shen gave a nervous laugh and took the smallest of backsteps away from Firebrand.

Firebrand sighed and put the mouthpiece to his lips, before starting a diabolical bluesy tune.

Jinx saw the prank bag shuffle around in midair, before being quietly dropped on the ground. The bag continued to twist and distort before a brush and a jar of black ink levitated out of it. The jar seemed to unscrew itself and the brush decided to dip itself inside the paint. The brush then slid across Aqua’s dark blue coat, spreading the black ink all over in strange curves and lines. It then moved to the red hurricane cutie mark, drawing an angry-looking frowny face in the center. Aqua’s cutie mark area soon became the template for a mural depicting a foul hurricane-headed dragon breathing fire against the poor innocent townsponies painted on Aqua Jet’s chest.

The other side was a ninja pony holding Aqua’s cutie mark like a shuriken.

“Shenanigans, you need professional help…” Jinx groaned.

“Don’t bother. The shrink wouldn’t last a day,” Firebrand quipped.

Something caught Jinx’s eye. Water droplets formed seemingly out of nowhere above Aqua Jet, creating the rough outline of a pony’s head. The water then gathered and fell off to the side as if wind brought them together and pushed them away.

“What is that?” Jinx wondered, putting his hoof “Could that be… Shenanigans’ sweat?” He began think about how water would look on an invisible pony. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it made sense that Shen’s sweat would look like that if it was gathered and pushed away if he wiped it off.

“Wow, that’s interesting.” Jinx leaned in closer, mesmerized by the display of physics at work.

Shen drew the final stroke across Aqua’s face, completing an impressive-looking handlebar moustache, and backed away, taking a second to review his handiwork. Shenanigans wouldn’t settle for less than anything other than the highest form of expressive silliness when it came to art, and tried his best to go all the way whenever he could. “Hmmm...” he thought, examining his incapacitated victim. “It needs a little touch up...”

Shenanigans reached back into the duffel bag and pulled out a feather duster and can of whipped cream. He tightened his chest, trying not to laugh and set off the prank prematurely.

Carefully, he sprayed a generous amount of cream onto Aqua’s outstretched hoof. Shen approached Aqua’s face, the feather gripped between his teeth as if it were a sword. With a centimeter between the feather and Aqua’s muzzle, Shen lightly brushed the feather on his target.

Aqua’s nose twitched, but he otherwise lay still. Shen backed up slightly before approaching again and giving Aqua a more rigorous brushing.

Aqua’s cream filled hoof slapped to his muzzle, coating his whole face with the substance. Shen lept back, teeth clenched, the laughter threatening to overtake him. A few seconds passed in silence, the laughter slowly dying in Shen’s throat. He walked back to Aqua and examined him.

The pegasus was still unconscious, and very much not awake to be embarrassed and/or ridiculed.

“Did it work?” Jinx asked.

Shen jumped slightly, not expecting the sudden presence. “No. No it didn’t,” Shen replied in awe and disappointment. After a second of silence, he raised his hoof and smacked the side of Aqua Jet’s face.

The slumbering pegasus’ only response was a moan.

“Wow,” Shen breathed. “Just… wow. He is passed the buck out. That usually wakes ponies up instantly.”

“Aww, Shen I’m so sorry,” Firebrand mocked. “Here, let me play you a sad song on the world’s smallest violin.”

“You have a violin with you?” Jinx asked.

“No, you idiot…” Firebrand growled.

Aqua let out a soft moan, unconsciously licking his lips. Upon his tongue discovering the whipped cream coating his face, it began exploring more of the area, taking as much of the cream with it as it could. Shenanigans and Jinx watched the display with varying emotions of interest and aversion.

“Hey, Shenanigans, can you taste things in your dreams?” Jinx asked.

Shen shrugged. “You’re the scientist, you tell me.”

“I’m an alchemist, not a oneirologist,” Jinx huffed.

Shenanigans looked over Aqua’s sleeping form again, putting a hoof to his mouth. “Jeez. This is ridiculous. Guy doesn’t even realize he got pranked. We need him to be awake for him to actually be humiliated.”

“Why don’t we just wake him up? Like, poke his side or something?” Jinx suggested.

“No no no no no no!” Shen yelled. “This is a PRANK. He has to be woken up surprisingly! We need him to be shocked and slash or confused when he wakes up!”

Jinx’s head drooped as he pawed the ground. This whole “pranking” thing was almost lost on him. Shen seemed to have it down to an art form which made Jinx feel all the more inadequate to be Shen’s “partner in crime.”

“Well, I don’t have any ideas. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anypony sleep this soundly either,” Jinx observed. “In my opinion, it’d take a really big noise to wake him up.”

“And to my everlasting shame as a prankster, I left my airhorn back at my place…” Shen facehooved. “What usually wakes you up?”

“I’m a light sleeper. Usually all it takes to wake me up is the rooster outside.”

“A rooster?” Shen tapped his chin. “Hm, there's some potential there...” His eyes flicked to his left, his eyebrow moving up and down in slow succession.

“No,” Firebrand stated.

Rolling his eyes, Shen continued thinking. He spied a small building laying on a small hill. He stared at it with narrowed eyes, the gears in his head invisibly turning. A sly smile crept across his face. “A rooster’s not gonna cut it… but that…” Shen grinned and clapped his hooves together, “...that just might be excessive enough.”

“What might?”

“Here,” Shen said, placing his hooves through the cloud and onto the body of his snoozing friend, “Help me push Aqua. I’ve got a very bad idea that I intend to follow through with."

Jinx hesitantly moved toward Shen until he froze and began eyeing the cloud carefully.

“What now?” Shen groaned.

“What if he falls off the cloud?” Jinx asked, “I doubt you can-”

“Brand, throw me the glue!” Shen called back.

Brand stayed in place and narrowed his eyes in Shen’s general direction. A gold aura surrounded the bag and a can of quick-drying glue levitated out.

“Say please,” Brand replied, tilting his head.

“Pwetty pwease wif sugar on to-”

The bottle sailed through the air and smacked into the invisible Shenanigans. A pony-shaped outline formed in the ground with groans emanating from the area.

“Don’t… test me, Shenanigans,” Firebrand growled.

“How did you know where he was?” Jinx asked.

“He’s invisible, not inaudible...” Brand replied, his eyes closed.

After picking himself and the bottle of glue up, Shen placed a hoof under Aqua and lifted his back slightly off the cloud. As he did so Aqua's head lulled backwards causing his tongue to flop over the front of his face. "Charming image," Shen muttered under his breath. With his other hoof he carefully applied the glue to Aqua Jet's back and slowly lowered him back onto the cloud.

Waving his hoof, Shen motioned Jinx over, who, despite his troubled thoughts, placed his hooves on Aqua’s side and gently pushed. Aqua Jet gave a slight moan of discomfort, but still remained completely unconscious. The two earth ponies continued in silence as they pushed the slumbering pegasus up the hill. They made effort to direct their strength at a downward angle as to not accidently push Aqua Jet off the cloud.

“Move your plot, band geek!” Shen called back, getting a throaty growl in response.

“Where are we going?” Jinx wondered. He was soon answered by a building peeking out over the top of the hill. His eyes widened in realization.

"Is that the… Why are we heading towards the animal shelter?" he asked.

“This is how we’ll wake Aqua Jet up,” Shen explained. “We’re going to drop him through the sun-roof of the shelter and let the animals wake him up. If a bunch of grouchy critters don’t wake him up, I don’t know what will… unless there’s a dragon nearby, which would be completely awesome now that I think about it.”

An indigo unicorn appeared over the hill. Humming a tuneless melody, she trotted over to the shelter and stopped at the door. A pair of keys levitated out of her saddlebag and unlocked door, letting the unsuspecting owner inside.

“...My Goddess… you ponies are insane,” Firebrand said.

“OH YES!” Shenanigans said with a grin stretching beyond the physically possible.

“Please don’t lump me with him,” Jinx muttered imploringly to Firebrand. “I’m not that cra-”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he turned back to Shenanigans.

“Hang on?! Animals?!” Jinx squealed, pupils the size of raindrops. “B-but if you go in there, w-what’s to stop the do-I mean animals from getting you too?"

“Um, hello?” Shen waved a hoof, knowing full well that Jinx couldn’t see him. “Invisible? I’ll be fine.”

“They’ll still be able to hear you,” Firebrand noted.

“I’ll just have to be silent and ninja this sucker,” Shen replied, gesturing to the drawing on Aqua Jet’s flank.

“Oh sweet merciful Celestia… Shen being silent…” Firebrand’s head perked up. “Wait, since you have to be quiet, does this mean I can leave?”

Shen shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Firebrand turned to leave but pivoted on his hooves. "Not a word of this, to anypony Shen!" he said, his hoof pointed.

“Right here Brand.”

Firebrand didn’t move for several seconds. With a snarl, he stormed off towards town, growling curses to himself.

“I-I still don’t think we-you should go in there,” Jinx gulped, his body rigid and tense.

“Why not?” Shen asked half-heartedly, still pushing the cloud towards the shelter.

“Well, we’ll be seen!”

“You will, but I won’t," Shen sneered, an eager smile spreading across his face. "That's why I'm going to be doing most of the prank and you’ll be safe outside. Don’t worry, I still have special plans for you, but for now you need to help me get Aqua up onto the roof.”

“B-but we can’t. It’s too high!” Jinx insisted. “There’s no possible way we can get on top of the shelter. Well, I guess that means we can’t do this. Maybe we should go home and-”

“Oh look! A ladder! How convenient!”

Jinx’s face fell as Shen hoisted the ladder over his back and carried it to the wall of the shelter. A few clanks and clacks from the invisible pony signaled his traversal of the ladder and arrival on the roof of the shelter.

“Okay Jinx, push him up as far as you can and I’ll take it from there!” Shen instructed, reaching his legs over the edge of the roof.

“B-But… But…” Jinx stammered.

“I can’t get him up here by myself, Jinx. Quit being a such a worrywart and help me,” Shen complained, his hooves swiping towards the very out-of-reach cloud. “What’s the problem?”

Jinx tapped the ground, his eyes darting everywhere except at Shenanigans’.

“T-there's dogs in there,” Jinx stuttered.

“And?” Shen asked.

“I… I... I hate dogs!” Jinx blurted out.

Shen stopped reaching. He gave Jinx a long stare.

“Did… did Jinx just use the word ‘hate?’” Shenanigans thought, his brain struggling to compute. His head rose and he stared straight ahead with wide eyes, all of his senses shut down to give his brain more ability to process what he just heard. He looked back at Jinx and asked, “Why?”

“I had a bad experience,” Jinx replied, tapping the ground nervously.

“Bad? Like, how bad?”

“I had a bad experience,” Jinx repeated through gritted teeth, a wide fake grin appearing. “Please don’t press further. You really don’t wanna know.”

A demon of curiosity urged Shen to acquire more details, but through complex mental gymnastics he managed to banish those thoughts to the dark pits of whence they came.

“All right, just push Aqua up high enough so I can reach and… keep a lookout,” Shen directed. “You never know, Prowler could jump us at any time… Guy’s spooky like that.”

Jinx hesitated, but relented and positioned himself under the cloud. Placing both hooves on the white fluff, he pushed Aqua’s body towards the sky as straight as he could. The cloud drifted upwards, momentum keeping it going. Jinx stood watching his sleeping friend seemingly float (if jerked occasionally by Shenanigans) upwards and come to rest on the building’s edge.

Shen walked over to the wooden trapdoor laying in the center of the roof. He undid the hook and eye keeping it shut and placed his hooves on the end of the hatch. With a grunt, he pushed upwards. The wood let out a loud creak, surprising the invisible Shenanigans. So surprised he dropped the doorway, wincing as it slammed against the concrete roof. He darted his head towards the inside of the shelter; if any of the animals woke up his entire prank would be ruined.

“What happened? Are they awake!?” Jinx hissed, panicking.

“Shhh,” Shen replied down at Jinx. A few tense seconds passed where Shen just waited for a sound to send his plan crashing down. Nothing came. Releasing a breath he forgot he was holding, Shen turned back and checked to see if Aqua had heard his mess-up and awoken from his apparent hibernation. The pegasus still lay asleep, letting out his quiet snores.

“How is he still sleep? This is ridiculous,” Shen deadpanned. Shrugging it off, he reopened the trapdoor (prepared for the noise this time). Looking through the hatch, he saw several chain-linked kennels and pens all nestled against the wall and all housing animals. Luckily it was still morning and they were all asleep.

Shenanigans carefully pushed Aqua Jet’s cloud into the opening. Aqua Jet floated gently towards the ground, not making a sound as his vehicle descended. Upon hitting the floor, it bounced a little, coming back up and drifting back towards the ceiling.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Shen growled. “Nothing can ever be simple, can it?” Shen surveyed the scene, his plan readjusting itself in his mind. “He’s just sitting there halfway. Now I gotta go in there and pull him back to the ground.”

Shen stared down at the floor of the shelter, a good twenty to thirty feet separating the two of them. He decided it would be best to not jump down and risk broken limbs and began to think.

“You should keep the hatch open,” Jinx called from the ground in a shout-whisper.

“Why?” Shen asked in the same somewhat audible tone of voice.

“Dogs are violent and cruel animals,” Jinx explained, face devoid of emotion. “I would hate for Aqua Jet to be trapped in there with such evil creatures without any method of escape.”

Shen looked over with a raised eyebrow, once again facing the temptress of uncovering juicy backstory. Using his powers of friendship-based exorcism, he was able to mentally subdue and destroy her, but added a small footnote at the end of his mind to summon her back once this was all over and find out just what the buck happened to make Jinx of all ponies hate dogs.

“All right Jinx, here’s what you’re gonna do,” Shen instructed. “You’re going to take this bag in with you and walk into the front entrance of the shelter. All I need you to do is strike up a friendly conversation with the manager, and when I give the signal, place our handy-dandy prank bag of funzies in the room and book it out of there as fast as you can. This last part’s just gonna need me.”

Jinx blinked. “What’s the signal?”

“Oh trust me, you’ll know,” Shen grinned, hoofing the prank bag to Jinx.

Jinx started towards Shen’s general area. “Let’s just get this over with. The further away I am from those abhorrent demons the better.”

“Oh, now that’s just plain teasing. I NEED to know what happened to him…” Shen thought. He shook his head. “Nyah, focus Shen. Aqua’s not gonna prank himself…” He paused. “Oh wait. Technically he is.”

Shen slowly reached his legs down to the roofs of the dog cages, careful to not rattle the metal wiring. Once he felt he had decent footing, he brought his forelegs down and looked for the next figurative step down. Maybe a pile of boxes stacked near one of the stalls? Nope. A ladder? Nope. Just dogs. A lot of dogs. Could he use them? Oh wait, they’d wake up. Not to mention too unstable to walk on.

“Drat, I didn’t plan for this,” Shen growled. Peering over the edge of the top of the stall, he took a look at the ground. It didn’t seem too far, maybe seven or eight feet, and the floor was laden with straw so it could easily absorb his impact and any sound it might make.

He shrugged. “Geronimo,” Shen mentally stated, coiling his body and hopping off the edge. He landed with a soft crunch, the force of impact rattling his legs a little bit. He promptly picked himself up and turned towards the still blissfully asleep Aqua Jet. “Perfectamundo. That wasn’t too bad. Now let’s get to-”

A large yawn interrupted him. Shen widened his eyes as he realized the sound came from behind him.

Turning slowly, he saw a pitch-black dog the size of a horse curled up in the center of its cage. Large, goat-like horns protruded from the top of its skull, curling back towards its neck. Two large canines spouted from its closed maw, stretching to the bottom of the hound’s chin. A large patch of crimson fur lined its spine, leading to a long, whip-like tail decorated with a knife-like spike at the end.

“Whoa. This mutt is HUGE,” Shen cooed, his heart pounding against his ribcage. “I think I understand why Jinx is scared of dogs now! You’d need a whole freaking tree to play fetch with this guy! I think only a pony like Princess Celestia could even try taming it!” Shen glanced off to the side, his imagination taking hold. He chuckled at the cute yet frightening implications of his monarch tossing a tree to have this behemoth of a dog chasing it.

The hellhound stirred, opening one red eye.

Shen felt all of his insides freeze. “I’m gonna die,” he gulped, praying he wasn’t too loud.

With a tired growl, the dog’s massive head rose off the ground. The front legs soon followed until the titan was sitting upright. Its nose lifted and sniffed the air. Small puffs of grey smoke exited the beast’s nostrils with each breath. It glanced around the immediate area, occasionally glancing over the place where Shen stood frozen with fear.

“Oh no. He can’t smell me, can he?!” Shen screamed in his head. “No! No, stay calm, he can’t see you, and if he can’t see you-”

The dog yawned again, showcasing rows of curved spears lining the insides of its mouth.

“TEETH! Large teeth! VERY large teeth! That thing is going to kill me!”

The dog plopped its head down to the ground. It figured whatever disturbed it must be long gone and its nose is playing tricks on it. Not two seconds later, rhythmic snoring could be heard from the giant canine’s maw.

“Note to self, invisible doesn’t mean inhear-ible or insmell-ible,” Shen sighed. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, The adrenaline still made him feel lightheaded, but it was a strange, comfortable lightheadedness. After a moment, he put his hoof to his mouth to stifle the small chuckles coming on.

He couldn’t believe how scared he was, and yet he couldn’t help but laugh a little at how he’d overreacted. He could stare down zombies and not even blink when faced with the prospect of eternal night, but for some reason an oversized sheepdog chilled him to the core by its mere presence.

After carefully positioning Aqua’s cloud in the center of the room, Shen stepped back, surveying the scene. He put his hooves together like a movie director, bending his legs as if he were setting up a perfect shot.

“Everything’s in place… and now…”

Shen tiptoed over to the cages, lifting his hind legs in preparation to strike the wired pens.

“RISE AND SHINE!”

He struck the cage with all his might, the dog inside yelping awake. Its bark alerted the dog next to it, then the next, then the next, until the entire room was drowned in a cacophony of loud dog barks.

Aqua Jet shot from his cloud, ripping off puffy bits still glued to him. Screaming, he headed straight up and smashed into the roof. He plummeted back towards the ground, holding his head in pain. Unfortunately for him, he drifted too close to one of the cages and a large grey dog leapt at the barrier, snarling and trying to chew through the wire. Still unable to grab a hold of his senses, Aqua Jet yelped and recoiled backwards, directly into another cage. He shrieked as another dog latched onto his tail. He pulled away before it could get a solid grip and flew towards the ceiling again. This time he missed the ceiling and flew through the open hatch, still wide-eyed in surprise as he flew off without destination.

"Hey! What's going on here?!"

An indigo unicorn levitating a can of pepper spray and a bat burst through the door to the cages, wondering what had riled her dogs up.

“Time to go!” Shen thought. He snuck behind the owner while he was preoccupied with a particularly yappy brown terrier and slid toward the open door.

Jinx was nowhere to be seen. Shenanigans smirked, figuring Jinx figured out the signal. He searched around the room for his prank bag and found it nestled against the far corner of the room. Conveniently in the most troubling place to grab it.

“Golly friggin’ jeepers, Jinx,” Shenanigans sighed. “Oh well, he’ll learn eventually.” He stifled a chuckle as he sipped open the bag and pulled out the piece de resistance to his little escapade.

"And the cherry on top..." Shen grinned, placing the "Kick me" sign on the owner's back before slipping out the now unlocked doors unnoticed. He sprinted away, his mischief-maker instincts telling him to get as far away from the scene of the crime as possible.

After a few minutes of aimless running, he slowed down and dropped his bag. Knowing that now no one would be around to hear him, he threw his head back and roared in laughter. He pounded the ground repeatedly as the image of Aqua’s completely shocked face repeated itself across his mind. His chest hurt the more he remembered how Aqua kept ramming into everything but the exit.

“Hey, Shenanigans!”

Shenanigans turned towards the voice. Jinx came running over looking at the exact spot Shen stood.

“How did you know where I was?” Shen asked.

“You kick up dirt and grass blades when you run, Shen, and you were carrying the bag with you,” Jinx explained. “It wasn’t hard to follow you.”

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but how do you know exactly where I am?” Shen questioned. “You seem like you’re looking straight at me.”

“Well, you were laughing so hard, there are tears dripping down your face,” Jinx pointed out. “Plus, I can see your mouth.”

“Wait what?”

“The invisibility is wearing off,” Jinx pointed out. “I can see your mouth floating in front of me.”

Shen paused, looking cross-eyed at his muzzle. There was, in fact, a floating lime-green mouth suspended in midair. As Shenanigans stared at it, his lips curled into a grin most sadistic.

“Wow, that is just jaw-dropping!” Shen cried.

“Oh no…” Jinx took a step back his eyes widening. “Please Shen. Don’t.”

More fur spread out of the mouth, slowly taking the shape of a pony’s head. A black and white mane faded into existence, along with bright red eyes. “What? It’s just a pun. Nothing to lose your head over.”

“Sheeeeennnnnn…” Jinx whined.

The effect stopped at his torso. Instead, his hooves decided they should be the next to re-materialize. Soon, all four of his legs were completely visible, connected to an invisible body.

“Ahh! They’re back! I couldn’t stand to be without my legs!”

“I think I’m gonna be sick…” Jinx groaned. “Please Shen, no more! I can’t take it.”

Shen looked down at his still missing chest and shrugged. “No, one more please! I still feel kind of empty inside!”

“Shen, please, stop, this is actually painful,” Jinx pleaded.

“Okay, okay, fine, I’m done… party pooper,” Shen chuckled, his remaining body part revealing itself. Shen walked in a circle, scouring his being for any more.

“So, did you see the look on Aqua’s face?!” Shen cheered.

“Yeah, he was pretty scared…” Jinx rubbed his mane, remembering the utterly horrified and confused expression contorted onto Aqua’s face.

“Did you see where he went?” Shen demanded. “We gotta tell him it was us!”

“Do we have to?” Jinx asked. “I mean, I don’t want him to be mad…”

“That’s half the fun!” Shen replied. “The prank is never complete without letting the pony know he’s been had! Besides, Aqua’s a good sport about this kind of thing. The guy never gets his panties in a twist about anything.”

“Okay, I think he flew that way,” Jinx pointed. “There’s meadow over there on the other side of that hill.”

“Great! Let’s try and find him” Shen took off enthusiastically with Jinx close behind him.

The two stallions trotted over the hill, their eyes scanning everywhere a blue pegasus could be.

~SNORE~

Jinx and Shen looked up. A dark blue hoof and bright red tail poked out of the cloudtops. Their jaws dropped as they spied Aqua Jet laying face down on another cloud.

“What the…” Shen’s left eye twitched.

“Did he… fall asleep… again?” Jinx stammered. “Or… did he never wake up at all?”

Shen picked up a small rock and tossed it towards the clouds. The pebble bounced harmlessly off Aqua Jet’s shoulder. The pegasus absentmindedly scratched the impact area and rolled over, a dreamy look on his face.

“Out…. cold...” Shen said, turning to face his stunned apprentice in pranking.

“After all that?” Jinx asked, approaching the snoring pegasus. “How do you fall, let alone stay asleep after experiencing something like that?”

Shen growled. “Gosh friggin dang it to Tartarus...” He kicked the ground in frustration, spraying up a small cloud of dust. “Unbelievable. We had this ingeniously set up prank with so many great resources, and we don’t get the final satisfaction of seeing him humiliated! Well, we completely botched this whole thing up.”

“Botched?” Jinx quoted, turning his head towards Shenanigans. “How?”

“We broke the third rule,” Shen replied, not looking at his friend.

“The what?”

Shenanigans sighed and walked over to their bag of pranking equipment. After a few seconds of sifting through the toys, he whipped out a small piece of paper.

“The Five Rules of Pranking,” Shen recited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rule 1: Know your target.

Rule 2: The prank needs to be fixable and cleanable.

Rule 3: The prankee must be made aware they were pranked.

Rule 4: Have an escape route.

Rule 5: Have fun (The Most Important Rule).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And the problem is number three,” Shen finished, rolling up the scroll. “He’s out cold, ergo, we can’t inform him he was duped.” He shoved the list into the duffel and turned to leave, completely demotivated.

“You could always wait until he wakes up,” Jinx suggested, zipping up the bag trying not to be left behind.

“And then what?” Shen snapped, turning his head back. “Besides, telling him “hey, we pranked you” to his face will just suck all the fun out of it. He probably doesn’t even remember anything!” He hung his head and dragged his hoof dejectedly across the dirt. “This prank was a complete failure.”

“Well, I don’t think it was a failure,” Jinx mumbled.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I kinda had fun,” Jinx shrugged. “And it says here that’s the most important rule.”

Shen looked up, seeing Jinx with a small smile on his face. “You did? You really had fun?”

“Well… yeah. I mean, Aqua Jet really didn’t seem to mind that he was tricked, and…” Jinx mumbled and looked off to the side. His hoof scratched the back of his mane.

“And what?”

“His… screaming was funny.”

“YES!” Shenanigans cheered, punching the air. “Finally, someone who understands!”

“You…” Jinx stammered. “ You… wanna do another?”

"Want? Oh ho ho ho ho, my new motivated partner in crime, I NEED to do another," Shen affirmed, putting an enthusiastic hoof around Jinx's shoulder. "But first, since you seem to be a little more into this... we should both probably be invisible."

Author's Note

Finally. All it took was four writers and a very dedicated editor. Freaking plot holes and writer's block...

Yes, it's not dead!

Chapter 1: Mare In the Moon

"Hill... Hill... River... Hill..."

Deciding the ground wasn't interesting enough, Twilight Sparkle looked up. The late morning sky sported a large scattering of small white puffy clouds. The wind blew past Twilight, gently massaging her mane. While it felt nice, it didn't help to quench how irritated she was.

"Cloud... bird... cloud... cloud... ugh"

Twilight groaned and slumped against the guardrail with a frustrated scowl. Her morning hadn't exactly go as she'd wanted it to.

TWO HOURS EARLIER

Spike inhaled deeply. With a large breath, large plumes of green flame exited his maw. The flames surrounded the parchment and disintegrated it.

"There, it's on its way," Spike informed Twilight. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and cocked an eye. "But I wouldn't hold your breath..."

"Oh, I'm not worried, Spike," Twilight Sparkle said as she casually trotted over to the window with a smug grin on her face. She glanced out the window to the quiet streets of Canterlot. "The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my mentor she's never once doubted me."

BUUUUUURRRRRRRP!

A plume of green flame burst from Spike's mouth. The fire twisted into itself and formed an emblazoned scroll.

"See?" Twilight said proudly. "I knew she would want to take immediate action."

Spike rolled his eyes and picked up the scroll. He unraveled it and cleared his throat.

"My dearest, most faithful student Twilight," he read while attempting a royal accent. "You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely..."

Twilight Sparkle grinned. She, like anypony, enjoyed being told how great she was. But this was special, seeing as it came from Princess herself.

"...but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!"

"....WHAT?"

"How did I get stuck doing the LAST thing in Equestria I ever wanted to do..."

Twilight glanced at Spike, who began to unroll the scroll again.

“My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying,” Spike continued, “So I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration hosted in this year’s location: Ponyville, and I have an even more essential task for you to complete.”

Spike looked at Twilight and smiled for emphasis. “Make some friends.”

Twilight groaned. Socializing was something she didn’t like to do. Scratch that, she LOATHED it. Never mind the fact she had little social experience; it was painfully awkward for her. Talking to ponies other than Celestia was like a chore rather than pleasure. Just like a chore, she was NOT looking forward to it.

As the buildings of Ponyville approached, a large feeling of dread built up from the pits of Twilight's stomach; the dread of actually... talking... to another pony. The mere thought was unbearable.

Noting Twilight's lack of enthusiasm, Spike rested a claw on her back. “Look on the bright side, Twilight!" He piped with a huge smile. "The princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?”

Twilight's ears perked up at the word “library.”

“Yes! Yes it does," she said, the gears in her head turning as a vague plan started to form in her mind. “You know why? Because I'm right. I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library and find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return.”

“Then when will you make friends, like the Princess said?” Spike inquired as the chariot started its descent into the bustling town.

“She said to check on preparations,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly, trying to work away around her orders. “I am her student and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends.”

Twilight looked backwards towards the shrinking Canterlot, firmly nestled into the side of the mountain. "Because the Princess asked me to, I'll try to make friends," Twilight thought. "But I'm definitely not putting a lot of effort into that. Nightmare Moon is more important."

The chariot landed in the middle of town square and the two royal pegasi pulling the carriage skidded to a halt. “Thank you, sirs,” Twilight said to the drivers with a slight bow of her head. She stepped out of the carriage and cast a long glance over her destination.

The town looked modest enough. Many colorful ponies walked through the streets of the main square, and to Twilight's surprise, they seemed oblivious to the royal carriage had just landed in their small town. Quaint wooden buildings with straw roofs spread across the edges of the streets. The town looked as if it were built in a grid structure. Twilight had to admit, the town had some good planning.

Deciding she observed enough, Twilight grabbed her checklist and gave it a quick once-over.

~~~~~~~ Summer Sun Celebration Checklist ~~~~~~~

Decorations and Activity Planning

Provided by: Unknown

Location: Town Hall

Music

Provided by: Brand Fire

Location: Parading Flames Theater

Catering and Refreshments

Provided by: Jinx

Location: Wonder Life Labs

4: Weather Management

Provided by: Aqua Jet

Location: 1337 Windy Street

5: Security Detail

Provided by: Prowler

Location: Ponyville Detention Center

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight frowned. The first pony she was supposed to meet had a defined location, but she had no idea who or what their name was. That meant she would have to... ask other ponies about his or her whereabouts. With a heavy sigh, she magically rolled up the scroll, ready to get down to business.

"She's not getting out of this so easily..." Spike thought as he surveyed the plaza. A young couple at a cafe chatted away while they ate their brunch, laughing and obviously having a good time. Spike decided it was probably best not to interrupt them. He spied a big tan stallion that stopped to buy a pear at a fruit stand. He seemed busy and in a hurry.

“Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about?” he mused, interrupting Twilight's thoughts.

As if on cue, an eccentric-looking green earth pony bounced up. He had a long, messy white mane with black highlights that draped over half his face, and a long, messy looking tail with red highlights. His cutie mark was two crossed paintbrushes, one dipped in red, and the other in black. He stopped in front of the duo and looked at them with wide, scrutinizing eyes.

“Come on, Twilight. Just try,” Spike beckoned. Twilight forced a smile.

“Uhh…" She stammered and braced herself for the awkwardness she was sure was about to follow. "Hello?”

“Hey!" the green pony chirped with an ear-to-ear grin. "What’s your name?”

"So far so good... or maybe decent is the better word…" Twilight's legs relaxed a little. "Maybe this won't be so bad." “Twilight Sparkle. And what’s your-”

“Lemme guess, you new around here?” he asked, cutting Twilight off.

Twilight blinked twice before continuing. “Yes, I've been sent to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration that’s being hosted here, and-”

“Oh, so you’re the one I was supposed to meet!" he interrupted again. "I was wondering when you'd show up. Here, I’ll show you to the town hall right away. Come on!”

The green pony spun around and started down the main road. Twilight stood there for a second, still trying to process what just happened.

"Well, first impressions? Kinda rude and a hyperactive weirdo," Twilight thought cynically to herself. She had to trot a little to catch up to the energetic pony, but deliberately stayed a few paces behind him. The earth pony had a huge grin on his face, not seeming to notice anything around him. "Well, maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge. His behavior is a little perky, he seemed to take to me well enough, and was friendly enough to give me directions, no less. I wonder why my checklist said "Unknown" though, he... what the?"

Twilight's gaze locked onto the green earth pony's movement and how... odd it was. He seemed to be moving in a way that was a mix between bouncing and prancing. She was repelled, yet strangely entranced by the carefree way he... prounced? They continued walking down the road, with the green pony... prouncing?... along without a care in the world, and Twilight staring at him in silence.

Twilight felt a sudden nudge on her flank. She turned to find Spike giving her an odd look, as if he were expecting something. Spike gestured with his eyes towards the eccentric pony.

"Why is Spike doing... does he want me to talk to this pony?"

Twilight gulped as she turned back towards the green stallion. "Where do I even begin talking to someone this…strange? Greetings are simple enough, but actually carrying on a conversation?" She released a quiet moan, one that she hoped neither Spike nor the new pony could hear. "I'm booksmart, not streetsmart..."

"Wait, that’s it."

Twilight's mind raced back to a self-help book she once read. "How did that phrase go again? 'Talking about another pony’s interests helps build relationships?' Oh great, I've never done anything like this before, so how can I… ugh…. Well, it’s worth a shot."

“So, uh… what do you... do?” Twilight asked, the awkward tone making Spike roll his eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?" the stallion asked. He slowed to a trot next to Twilight, giving her a look like she'd just asked him to wear a tutu. "What do I... do? What do you mean by that?"

Twilight wasn't sure what he was implying. "Like... What's your occupation?"

“Oh THAT! Well, I work at the Town Hall," he replied with a high-pitched squeal, "I’m the pony everypony goes to when they need something out of the ordinary done. I'm a jack-of-all-trades, pretty much. I like it because it's an interesting job and full of surprises." He looked up, a warm smile spreading across his face.

"Everyday's an adventure, from something as simple as cleaning to something as complicated as building a house. To somepony else they would seem normal boring jobs, but not to me! I'm skilled at making things more... Interesting..."

He winked, the corner of his mouth curling up into a mischievous grin. The green pony's voice sounded very enthusiastic, seeming to be an endless pit of boldness and gallantry. Just being around this pony made Twilight feel tired and like she couldn't keep up with his energy.

Nevertheless, Twilight felt relieved that she'd gotten that off her chest and turned to Spike with a happy smile. It quickly disappeared as she caught Spike's calm glare and folded arms. He made his dissatisfaction with the conversation very clear, shaking his head and nodding his head towards the pony. Twilight begrudgingly turned to the strange pony again, a little miffed she was being bossed around by her own assistant.

“Ummm…" Twilight tried, "What... do you do for fun?”

The pony tilted his head to the side, but somehow still managed to walk in a perfectly straight line. His smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of pure stupefaction, as if he'd been asked to wear a tutu while spinning a banana cream pie.

"What is with this pony?" Twilight thought, completely flustered by the pony's actions.

“What do I... do... for fun?" he stammered. Realization suddenly dawned on his face. "Oh! THAT'S what you meant. Well, painting is a hobby of mine, but I take a bit of pride in all of the arts and crafts-y.... arts. Part of the reason why I was given the job of decorating the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Twilight turned to Spike to see if he was finally satisfied. Instead, what she got was Spike pinching the bridge between his eyes.

“Ask him his name,” Spike suggested with a deadpan tone.

Twilight flinched and overpowered her will to facehoof. "Ugh, I am SO bad at this… does the Princess really expect me to do this?" she thought. "No, Princess Celestia gave me a task, and I will see it through. I've never failed an assignment and I won't start today."

“What’s your name?” she asked, exasperated. The green pony stopped prouncing. He turned to Twilight and gave a mischievous smirk.

“The name's Shenanigans,” he said, “and before you ask, yes, the name is the game. I love for ponies to have fun…” he winked at Twilight, “...even if it has to be at somepony else’s expense.”

‘Somepony else’s expense?’ Twilight nervously quoted in her mind. "Does he mean like pranks? Oh, Celestia help me if he does..."

"Belated, nice to meet you!" Shenanigans extended a hoof to Twilight. She hesitated at first, but eventually grabbed it. At first, nothing happened, leaving Twilight to wonder if this pony even understood the concept of a hoofshake. Suddenly, Shenanigans started vigorously shaking her hoof with enough force to shake a mountain. His vicegrip eventually released, leaving Twilight in mild pain.

"You couldn't shake my hoof like a normal pony?" Twilight gritted, her hoof now having a heartbeat.

Shenanigans laughed and gave a snarky smile. “Normal hoofshakes are boring. I like to spice it up a bit, Twilight!" His catlike grin spread even wider across his face. "Since you already introduced yourself to me I guess that makes us friends!”

"FRIENDS?" The air around Twilight suddenly dropped 20 degrees. Then raised about 60. “Yeah… friends…” Twilight stuttered, the last word leaving a funny taste in her mouth.

“All right!” Shenanigans exclaimed. “We’re here.”

Twilight looked away from Shenanigans and gasped. The Town Hall certainly was... decorated.

The building certainly looked like a traditional town hall, what with the wooden structure and white walls, but it was the decorations that made their eyes pop. Large blue neon lights laced every edge of the building, with Hearth's Warming lights draped over the roof. The entire building was decorated elaborately with balloons and shiny ribbons of all colors of the rainbow. It even had a giant yellow neon sign with lettering that spelled out, “Summer Sun Celebration" hanging over the doorway. A giant luxurious red carpet led into glass doors with giant red curtains around them.

“Wwwwooooowwww….” Spike cooed.

Shen pumped his hoof to the ground, as if he were congratulating himself for something. “Heh, the looks on everypony’s faces when they see this place for the first time,” he laughed, “so worth it! I should be thankful my pals in Las Pegasus were feeling generous enough to lend me these lights.”

Shenanigans stopped patting himself on the back and looked at the two still standing there in awe. Twilight and Spike couldn't help but stare, taking in every detail of the flashing lights of the town hall.

“So, uh, are we going to go in, or are you just going to stand out here burning daylight?” Shen asked sarcastically.

Something about the wording snapped Twilight back to attention to the matter at hand. “Yes, Right. We need to finish business here,” she muttered under her breath, “the sooner the better…”

“All right! To the entrance! AWAY!” Shenanigans shouted as he dashed into the town hall like a royal cavalier.

Twilight and Spike walked up to the glass doors and entered. The interior of the Town Hall looked much like… well… a town hall. Thin red carpets spread across the floor and long hallways with multiple paintings of obscure yet faded abstract art greeted them. The walls had a very pale beige color scheme, and there weren't many windows.

It looked normal. Nothing crazy, nothing overly dramatic or complicated. It was just simple, practical, and normal. Something that made Twilight relax a little.

“Not as flashy as the outside,” Spike commented.

“Wait, what?” Shenanigans flinched, sounding a little hurt. He surveyed the room with wide eyes. “Wow, you’re right. Hmmm….” a mischievous grin crept up onto his face.

“We’ll have to do something about that, hehehehe...” he said evilly and started to rub his hooves together.

Twilight groaned. Just when she thought she saw a bit of normalcy, it was quickly ripped from her grasp. She glared at Spike.

“What?” Spike asked. Twilight said nothing and hung her head.

“Operation Skyrocket Hall Inside Town begins!!" Shenanigans cheered, dashing from area to area, over and under furniture. "I really gotta do something about this! Look over there! Those couches need to be rainbow striped like right now! And over there, I seriously need hang like a dozen large green streamers from the balconies! And the beige walls have to go! We need like a nice orange or maybe violet! OOH! I could easily put a banner here, maybe put some glitter on it… or some lacing! What do you think, Twilight!?”

Twilight blinked, barely able to register that the earth pony seemed to teleport in front of her face.

"Wait, what was the question?" Shenanigans sat in front her, wide-eyed and expecting an answer. "Oh no! I can't be rude to him! 'What do I think?' About what? The room? What do I say? I don't know what the question was! I need... I need to figure out a response vague enough to satisfy him!"

“Ummm… errr… both?” she guessed, hoping she said the right thing.

“Both?” Shenanigans paused. His passionate red eyes drifted upwards towards the ceiling. A few seconds passed before a beaming smile spread across his face.

“GENIUS!" Shen exclaimed with starry eyes. "Why didn't I think of that? I guess it's true what they say about too many cooks spoiling the broth! ...Oh wait, what am I saying? Those people are morons. But whatever, you’re a big help Twi! So, who’s next on your list?”

Twilight twitched at the sudden change of topic. Deciding to ignore the pony's strange attention deficiency, she quickly checked her list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Decorations

Provided by: Unknown

Location: Town Hall

Music

Provided by: Brand Fire

Location: Parading Flames Theater

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Firebrand huh?”

Twilight was so preoccupied with her list that she didn’t see Shenanigans’s head placed directly over her shoulder. All of her muscles clenched up in sheer surprise when he spoke right next to her ear.

“Well, he’s down the street, probably working on the opening fanfare,” Shenanigans said as he rolled his eyes. “He's a nice guy, but too serious for my tastes.” He looked to the side and hummed. “Well, I’ll see ya later, I need to find some orange or violet paint! Allons-y!” He crouched in exaggerated preparation and dashed out the door, leaving Twilight and Spike alone in the lobby.

“What a strange pony,” Twilight commented with a hint of revulsion.

“I think he’s alright. He’s funny,” Spike said.

“Not the word I would’ve picked…”

Twilight and Spike walked away from the town hall. They continued along the path until they stopped in front of a large classically-inspired carousel-shaped building. It sported a maroon color scheme with black and gold edges. Oddly enough, there were no windows. As they approached, soft flute music could be heard coming from inside.

"Oh, he must be rehearsing now," Twilight guessed.

She knocked on the door, and the music suddenly stopped. The door cracked open to reveal the head of a small peach-colored unicorn with a turquoise mane and blue eyes .

“Hi,” she greeted with an innocent smile.

“Hello, does Brand Fire live here?”

The filly gave a small snort. “Yeah, come in, I’ll go get him.” The little filly opened the door fully and gestured the two to come in.

The inside almost looked like a museum. The walls and ceilings all sported a red and gold color scheme, reminding Twilight of the times she'd spent with her parents at the fancy opera houses at Canterlot. A large ornate rug spread out across the tan-and-brown-checkered floor. A few mirrors and portraits of famous composers spread out amongst the walls, with numerous fancy chairs nestled against them. Staircases hugged the left and right walls, leading to a semi-circular balcony.

The peach filly went upstairs, leaving Twilight and Spike to observe the room in silence. They didn't have to wait long for something to happen as the sound of a door opening drew Twilight's attention. A skinny, yet fit-looking crimson pegasus colt with a red and yellow mane came dashing into the room. He skidded to a halt in front of Twilight and looked up at her with large curious eyes.

“Hey, who are you?” he asked with a scratchy voice.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, I’m here to check on Mr. Brand’s music," Twilight replied and gestured to Spike next to her. "And this is Spike, he's my assistant."

“Your assistant's a dragon? Cool!”

An earth pony colt came up. This one was tan and had a chocolate-brown mane. He eyed Twilight and Spike suspiciously before turning to Spark. “So Spark, are we going to do this or what?” he asked.

The red pony replied, “Yeah, I just think we could use a little more help, Snicker. It's not easy to do this kind of thing, you know."

"Yeah, but we gotta hurry. We're running out of time."

A twinge of dread struck Twilight. These two didn't look like they had the best of intentions, what with the vague exchanges of words and Snicker's odd glares.

The tan earth pony sighed, but his expression brightened as he observed Twilight and Spike. “Hey, what if they help?” Snicker suggested excitedly, pointing at Twilight.

Twilight reeled back. A five-paragraph essay of protest assembled itself in her mind, but before she could dictate, Spark immediately cut in.

“No way! The dragon may be fun, but she’s a mare, she won’t be!”

“Ahem.” The peach filly coughed as came down the stairs. She'd evidently heard their comment, and the duo of colts started looking at each other in fear. The peach pony moved closer to the group to most likely lecture them, but they saw through her plans and dashed out the door.

“Get back here!” the peach pony yelled after them, chasing them out, and somehow in her haste having the courtesy to shut the door.

Twilight stood there dumbfounded. She didn't have much experience with foals, but surely the hyperactivity exhibited by these three wasn't normal. She certainly hadn't been that rambunctious when she was that age. A twinge of self-satisfaction spread through her when she thought about the playdates she'd intentionally missed to make for studying.

A trombone played a comic descent. Twilight turned to find a brick red unicorn standing halfway down the stairs. A trombone was levitating next to him covered in a red aura.

“I see you met the munchkins,” he said with a slight smirk on his face. He was large and stocky for a unicorn, and he wore a black pocketed vest jacket. His mane was groomed loosely back, as was his long tail. He had amber eyes and his cutie mark was a flame shaped like a musical note.

"He looks a little young to have kids..." Twilight thought.

“Are you… Brand Fire?” Twilight asked.

“I prefer Firebrand, thank you very much,” the pony corrected with a gruff yet friendly tone. “So, what brings Celestia's prized pupil here all the way from Canterlot?"

Twilight was taken aback. "He knows where I live? I've never seen him before." The red coat and yellow mane didn't ring any bells as far as she knew. The vest seemed slightly familiar, but it wasn't something flashback worthy.

"Alright, down to business; why are you here?" Firebrand asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Twilight decided to figure it out later and continue with her objective. “I’m here to supervise on how Ponyville is handling the Summer Sun Celebration," she explained, "I just need to check up on the music, which is apparently your department.”

“Got it. Come upstairs.” He turned to walk up the stairs, and Twilight and Spike followed.

"This place is huge, are you guys rich?" Spike asked placing his hand on the guardrail and admiring the sheen of the mahogany.

Firebrand gave a look that couldn't be registered as a smile or a frown. "No, just... well-connected," he stated, looking around. "We're a large family and we all get along real nicely. I recently moved out and am trying to set up a business here. It used to be a clothing store, but my family remodeled it for my line of work," Firebrand explained with a hint of disdain.

"I don't know why he's complaining." Twilight sneered to herself. "He seems to have it pretty good. Silver spoon, much?"

"But enough about me, let's talk about you." He quickly brightened up and smiled at Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, protege of Celestia. You must have had quite the day. Do you listen to any music?” Firebrand asked.

"Some change of topic," Twilight thought as she mentally rolled her eyes. She didn't think hard about the question, as she wasn't an avid listener of music.

“Not really,” she blurted without thinking. After a brief moment, her real answer popped into her head. “Well, sometimes I listen to Beethoofen because I read in a book that he helps concentrat-“

“Beethoofen? Seriously?" Firebrand's eyes took a condescending gleam as they happened to pass Beethoven's portrait on the wall. "I was hoping for something a little more original. Come on, there's way better composers out there, like what about Dvorjock? Or Wagmare? Saddleveri's a bit of a hack but he-'" Brand stopped himself and chuckled. "Sorry, I get heated easily. You should come by after the festival. I'll introduce you to some actually decent music, as one friend to another."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Why does everypony in this town want to be friends with me?" she thought. "I mean, this unicorn is friendly, sure, but the apathy he has towards the chaos involving those kids unnerves me. And apparently he goes all super-critic and geeks out over anything related to something he likes..."

"Funny, one could say the same about you," Twilight's thoughts said to her.

"That's beside the point!" she argued back.

Her thoughts were interrupted as they stepped onto the second floor. "Songwriting Room" was emblazoned on one of the doors. Firebrand walked up to the door and pushed it open.

The group walked in to a large tan room. Multiple filing cabinets clung to the walls and stacks of staff paper scattered across a couple of work-desks. A pedestal in the center overlooked the entire musical ensemble. All instruments made of brass were ordered by size, with trumpet being the smallest and tuba the largest. The woodwinds were directly on the other side of the room arranged in a similar manner, with piccolo being the smallest and an enormous saxophone at the end. The percussion instruments lay at the wall opposite of the door, ranging from timpanis to triangles to drum sets, even a gong.

“I’m guessing you wanted to listen to the music I’ve done so far?” Firebrand inquired, standing on the podium in the middle of the room.

“Yes, then we’ll be on our way,” Twilight answered, anxious to get this over with. A huge smile crept across Firebrand’s face and he giddily started to shuffle his staff papers around.

“Oh you’re going to LOVE this…” he said, elated. Twilight looked at Firebrand in confusion. The serious facade dropped and he suddenly started acting like a little foal, eager to share his latest creation with the nearest pony.

“So what kind of music are we talking here?” Spike asked, “Like a trumpet fanfare or something?”

“You could say that." Firebrand said, but didn’t look up from what he was doing. He stood up and turned to his spectators. “Alright, it’s not finished yet, but I can show you the first couple measures.” He paused for a moment, then gave a garbled hiss through his teeth.

“You, uh, may want to put these in." Firebrand explained. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out two sets of foam cylinders and handed them to Twilight and Spike. "It gets pretty loud in here. Don't want to lose your hearing!”

Twilight gave a worried look and the musical joke made by the stallion completely passed over her head. Spike, on the other hand, was pretty much handed a new toy and happily shoved the pieces of foam into his ears.

Firebrand stood tall on the pedestal in the middle of the room. With the closing of his eyes and his horn glowing, multiple instruments glowed scarlet and started levitating into the air. They began to settle in an organized manner, brass in one corner, woodwinds in the other, strings in the center, and percussion in the back. The sections halted their movement and arranged in a crescent in front of Firebrand. He paused for a moment. He then then jerked his head back and inhaled.

“Alright, Con Fuego…”

A long note could be heard quietly from the flutes. The trumpets played three ascending notes quietly, painting a perfect picture in her mind of the sun rising over the horizon. Twilight relaxed; the music was calm and put her in an easy state of mind.

“Well, this isn’t so-“

DAAA DAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!

The entire array of instruments blasted two notes with enough force to shake a building. Twilight clutched her ears; the earplugs weren’t doing their job very well. The drums started booming loudly, sending vibrations through the ground. Then suddenly… it became quiet again, just like the intro.

Twilight let go of her ears cautiously. She could hear three small notes beginning their ascent...

Realizing what was coming, she instantly grabbed her ears as the second pair of blasted notes blew through the room again. The force of the instruments literally blew through Twilight’s mane.

Then the music suddenly stopped. Firebrand removed his earplugs and turned to his audience.

“Well, that’s all I have so far,” he finished, “I’m sorry if it was too loud, but that is the volume I’ll be playing it at when I perform, because the dynamics of the rooms are different. Simulation, you understa…" Firebrand paused, now finally noticing his onlookers' condition. "Are you two okay?”

Twilight looked as if she'd gone through a hurricane. Her mane was disheveled and standing on end, and she was shaking a little. Firebrand should have been glad he couldn't read her thoughts either, because Twilight didn't exactly warm to the shocking piece.

Firebrand looked at his audience with a concerned expression on his face. “Sooo… opinions?” he asked timidly, trying to keep his bearing.

Twilight wondered how to put it delicately, “Umm… well… that… was….”

“AWESOME!!!” Spike shouted, “Your music’s really cool!”

Firebrand gave a relieved smile. “Well, I try,” he said with a hint of pride. He looked back at his sheets. “Anyhoo, I should get back to work on this. The ceremony is tonight, after all."

"You d-do that..." Twilight quivered as she backed up. She almost tripped over herself trying to get out the door.

"Oh and… Twilight?" Firebrand called, "If you want, you can come back anytime. Maybe we could take turns foalsitting.” he added with a chuckle.

Twilight resisted the urge to hiss. Firebrand turned away after he commented, so he didn’t see her obvious disinclination.

"Twilight..." Spike mumbled, "Your mane looks funny."

“What’s next on the list, Spike?”

“Food, and good thing too, I'm famished,” Spike answered over the rumble of his stomach, “we're supposed to a place called, 'Wonder Life Labs' and meet a pony called 'Jinx.'”

“Jinx,” Twilight repeated in her head. “This can only end well…”

As she walked down the street to meet the next pony, her nose caught some strange odors. She smelled chemicals and smoke, which caused Spike to sneeze. “That must be the place,” Spike sniffed.

They stopped in front of a large, ordinary-looking wooden building in front of a vast dozen acres of crops and fruits. With the steel chimney and whitish-grey paint job, one could easily suggest it was some sort of laboratory. That and the fact there was a sign posted saying "Wonder Life Labs" on the front. Twilight guessed this is where all the "agricultural" products came from.

Twilight walked up the concrete steps. A sign hung on the door, saying, "Knock quietly, pony working." Twilight found that slightly odd and raised her hoof to knock.

KABOOM!

A large explosion burst through the door, throwing Twilight back and shoving her against the ground a few yards away. Her body slid along the ground, eventually slowing to a halt.

Twilight sat up and shook her head. Her vision was clouded and low ringing buzzed along the insides of her skull. She opened her eyes but could barely make anything out due to black smoke. The foul odor of ammonia shot up her nostrils, causing her to wretch. When the dust settled, Spike came into view. He was dizzy and completely disoriented like she was. Concerned, Twilight jumped over to her assistant.

“Spike? Are you alright?” she said worriedly.

Spike's eyes were spiraling, “I... I dunno...” He sat up and blinked twice. His small body started to sway as he looked at Twilight. His expression then shifted to one of confusion.

“Wait, when did you learn the spell to make four of you?”

Twilight made a mental note to check Spike for a concussion later and looked at the aftermath. There was a giant hole in the wall where the door used to be, and wood debris lay everywhere. Twilight looked at herself and winced. Her mane was now even in a worse condition; it was sticking straight up and splotched black by the soot of the explosion. Twilight shook herself off, causing black mist to spread in the air around her. It seemed to get rid of most of the blackness on her body.

A small mumble alerted Twilight to look to her left. A stallion covered in black soot lay unmoving on his back. Before she could wonder if he was still conscious, the pony shifted his legs. He robotically inclined his body so that he was now sitting. Across his face were safety goggles with red lenses, and a small pocketed belt with test tubes and vials wrapped around his body. He lifted his goggles off his ruby eyes to survey the scene.

“Well... that didn't work...” he said softly to himself, then gave a cough, exhaling black smoke.

This new pony got up to his feet and shook himself off. He was a pitch black stallion, with a long, unkempt, and wavy black mane and tied back tail. For some reason Twilight couldn't make out his cutie mark. "Is he a blank flank?" she wondered. The stallion surveyed the damage around his house again and sighed.

“Note to self, Potassium Chlorate reacts a bit stronger than Magnesium Phosphate.”

As he continued dusting himself off, he finally noticed Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there!” the pony panicked. He rushed towards Twilight, forelegs flailing clumsily and lacking the smallest bit of grace. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, just got the wind knocked out of me...” she said groggily.

“Are you sure? Nothing’s broken?” the pony asked anxiously, scouring each inch of her body with his eyes.

“Well, I have a slight headache, but other than that, there’s…”

Upon the mention of the word “headache,” the smoking black pony reached into his pouch and pulled out a vial with a red liquid.

“Drink this,” he instructed with his gentle voice, “It’ll make the throbbing go away.”

“Huh?” Twilight asked as she eyed the mysterious contents of the bottle.

Jinx gave a small grin. “A headaches cure-all potion. Made it myself,” he explained proudly. “A few sips should make it all go away.”

Twilight eyed the rubble in the area unconvinced. She didn’t think it entirely safe to just drink something that she was just handed by a random pony. On the other hoof, she didn’t want to be rude, so she reached for the vial.

“OH WAIT!” he snatched the vial away, and flushed in embarrassment. “Sorry, heh heh, wrong one. I-it’s this one," Jinx giggled awkwardly. "Whew, that would’ve been nasty…”

Twilight suddenly gave a twinge of terror. "The other ponies I met so far were just crazy, but this one... THIS one was actually DANGEROUS!" She looked at the bottle she was given and shuddered. "Still, I can't insult him... I just hope it's not going to do anything quote-on-quote 'nasty' to me..."

Twilight popped the cork off the top and guzzled a quarter of it down. It tasted very weird, like a cross between sour apples and spicy mayonnaise. She shivered as the liquid splashed down her throat into her stomach. Her head actually started to feel better, but the strange taste of the medicine still lingered in her mouth.

“Well, thanks for that,” she tried to sound thankful. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I take it you’re Jinx. I’ve been sent to check on how you’re handling the food. How is that coming?”

“Oh... um... Actually pretty well. The food over there, ripe for the picking,” Jinx gestured, “You can, uh, check them out if you want.”

Twilight looked at the fields. It seemed this pony had every single kind of vegetable and fruit known to ponykind. Each row contained a different selection, from grapes to pumpkins to tomatoes to potatoes to apples; Twilight could swear Jinx grew anything a pony could want to eat.

“You uh, wanna try some?” Jinx inquired.

“Well, as supervisor, I have to.” "They actually look delicious too."

“Great! Don’t worry, all the food is completely safe to eat. It wasn’t easy making these things. Really, plants are complicated stuff I tell ya. Did you know plants actually hate green light? Weird, I know; they are pretty picky when it comes to how they-“

Jinx trailed off into a long, and Twilight could swear, prepared speech of how each chemical sped up the process of photosynthesis and enhanced the brightness of each flower petal. Even though she had an appreciation for knowledge, her mind wasn’t feeling up to a lecture of this caliber, especially after the tumoil she'd gone through today. Twilight continued to take inventory, testing each plant individually and tactfully not letting on how irritated she was.

"I'm going to need another swig of the headache potion after this..." Twilight thought as she bit into a vegetable.

“-asked me to spruce up the banners with some of my color enhancers, and… wow, I never met someone that liked eating peppers raw.”

“What?” Twilight thought, her mouth full of an unknown plant. A stinging sensation started jabbing at the insides of her mouth. The stings soon escalated into a burning sensation. Twilight’s eyes bugged out, and tears began waterfalling down her face.

“HOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Twilight screamed, almost breathing fire.

“OH MY!” Jinx exclaimed. “D-drink the rest of the headache potion! It’ll cool your mouth down!”

Twilight grabbed the vial from Spike with her magic and guzzled the rest of it down. The burning sensation stopped almost instantly. Twilight panted, completely out of breath.

“Are you all right?” Jinx inquired. Twilight whimpered in response. “Well, I’m sure you’ll feel better in a minute or two. Just... laugh it off, eheheh," Jinx exhaled deeply, then gasped. "OH SHOOT! I left some chemicals in the freezer! They’re going to spoil if they’re in there too long!” he explained quickly. “Well, I loved chatting with you; we should do it again sometime! But for now, I gotta run! See you later!”

Jinx realigned his goggles and dashed off into the remains of his lab, leaving Twilight and Spike next to the warzone of a front yard. Twilight massaged her head with her front hooves, and then eyed her empty vial.

"I'm going to need more of this..." she muttered.

Twilight deposited her vial into a trash bin as Spike greedily gobbled down his last dragonfruit. The purple dragon went through the checklist again.

“Alrighth, nexth om thuh listh isth weathuh," Spike read through his chewing. After a raised eyebrow from Twilight, he swallowed his food and continued. "It’s being monitored by a pegasus named Aqua Jet,” Twilight looked up.

The orange and red rays of the sun streaked across the dusk sky and reflected off the clouds, making the normally white clouds seem purple and blue. In fact, there were plenty of clouds in the sky. And no sign of a pegasus working on them.

“Well, then he’s not doing a very good JOB, is he?” Twilight muttered. "This Aqua Jet evidently didn't care enough to do his job on time. A tardy pony. Joy..."

SLAM!

A window opened up from the building next to them. Twilight and Spike turned promptly to see a blue flash shoot from inside it. It flew straight up into the air and started spiraling all over the sky, doing large crazy aerial loops. The flash started dispersing the clouds as it flew, slamming into small ones and gathering large ones.

Twilight could only watch in awe as the clouds were masterfully rearranged and reformed. Large round clouds were reshaped to straight and flat designs and small clouds were done away with altogether. The clouds formed perfectly covered the blue horizon, and there was not a single cloud blocking the sky where the moon would eventually be.

After a few minutes, the streak then stopped and slowly surveyed its creation. Taking this momentary pause to figure out what the flying object was, Twilight could make out the vague shape of a pegasus. The pegasus then made a large half-loop and dived straight towards the ground. It almost seemed as if the blue pegasus was going to crash, but the winged pony worked expertly and angled itself to fly in a perfect quarter circle to the ground. The pegasus eventually made contact with the ground, hooves screeching and kicking up dirt. The friction and speed caused the grass below him to catch on fire as he slowed to a halt. After taking a few deep breaths, the stallion looked back at both his ground and sky handiwork, and shrugged. He then started to trot over to Twilight.

“Ey, what's up?” he said in an airy, quiet tone.

“I take it you’re Aqua Jet,” Twilight stated, not asking.

“That’s right." Aqua Jet flicked his short, messy red mane out of his face. "Hey, I’m gonna go get some chow; you’re more than welcome to join me. Come on.” Aqua Jet trotted into his house.

"Odd that a pegasus would prefer living on the ground..." Twilight thought as she and Spike followed closely behind Aqua Jet.

As soon as she entered his house, Aqua Jet was already setting up his table, arranging white dishes and a red and blue striped tablecloth almost at lightning speed. He even brought out white dining candles, and lit them somehow. Twilight and Spike sat at their chairs with the blue pegasus still working on making an ideal dining setting. He skidded to a halt right next to Twilight, yet still wearing that emotionless face.

“So, what would you two like? Ask for anything,” he asked without emphasis.

Spike lifted a finger. "I'd like some gems, if you've got them."

Twilight recalled her earlier situation. After taste testing multiple fruits and vegetables, she wasn't feeling too hungry. Adding almost being fed a potion that would've done something "nasty," she figured she’d better play it safe.

“Maybe some water would-“

Aqua Jet dashed off and returned with a glass of water and some sapphires on a silver tray almost as she blinked. He placed the tray carefully on the table in front of Twilight and Spike, and stood back up straight. Twilight wasn't sure if he was sincerely imitating/mocking a butler or just being a good host.

“Anything to eat?” he asked.

“Uhhh… No thank you.” Twilight said, unnerved.

“Alrighty then,” He trotted over to his refrigerator and pulled out a fruit salad. “So what’s your name?” Aqua asked as he sat down.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she replied, enjoying the get-down-to-business she rarely got today. “I’ve been informed that you’re the one in charge of managing the weather," she stated with a raised eyebrow, "May I ask why you didn’t do anything until now?”

Aqua’s expression dropped instantly to one of disappointment, surprising Twilight as that was the first true emotion she'd seen him show. “Ah great..." He sighed heavily. "Look, the ceremony was being held at night; it would’ve been pointless to fix the weather until then,” he explained, resting his head of his hoof. “Call me lazy, I know, but I was at the beach and just had better things to do.”

“Better things?” Twilight asked. "What could be more important than making sure this ceremony is perfect?"

“Well, it's my job to manage the weather at the coast. I'm weather manager, lifeguard, rescue pony, all that jazz. But it comes with perks, like allowing me to practice."

"Practice? For what?" Twilight asked, then recoiled. She realized that was all Aqua Jet needed to change the subject and mentally slapped herself.

"I’m real into parkour. Daredevil Flight, the obstacle-course kind of junk," he rambled. "I plan on starting my own group of professional flyers someday, well, once I get famous enough. That means training for THAT.” Aqua pointed at the flashy poster on the wall. “The Best Young Fliers competition coming up, and that means I need to work my flank off to win that sucker and get myself recognized.”

Twilight looked at the poster in confusion. “’Daredevil Flight?’” Twilight quoted.

“Yeah. Testing your limits. Like recently I made a run through Ghastly Gorge blindfolded," he looked away and sheepishly frowned. "Almost broke my leg yeah, but it was totally worth it.”

"How could a pegasus be so nonchalant about breaking his own limbs?! Is he fearless or just stupid?"

“That sounds incredibly dangerous,” Twilight said worriedly.

Aqua Jet leaned in close to Twilight. She shuddered as she finally saw him open his crimson eyes fully and actually smile.

“That’s what makes it fun," he whispered.

“HEY! IS THAT A MARE???”

Aqua stiffened and widened his eyes in horror. Twilight nearly jumped at the sudden voice outburst.

“WHO’S THERE? IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD BE AWARE OF, AQUA???”

Aqua winced with clenched teeth. Twilight looked for the source of the booming scratchy voice, but she couldn’t seem to find where it came from.

“Who’s that? Your brother?” Spike asked.

“NO! He's umm...” Aqua Jet looked as if his mind was racing, “…um…heh, could you two step outside for just a sec?”

Putting on a forced grin, Aqua started to lightly push Twilight and Spike out the door. As soon as they were out he slammed the door, and loud fighting sounds and noises of a struggle proceeded. Bottles were definitely breaking and there were sounds of crashing furniture.

After the scuffle seemed to end, Aqua opened the door slightly, and was breathing heavily. His mane was ragged, and was also starting to sweat.

“I’m sorry, that… there… it’s a long story,” he said between large breaths, “I’ll tell you all about that once we’re better friends, but for now, let’s just say…” his voice lowered to a whisper, “I have a roommate I REALLY don’t like.”

Twilight gave an awkward smile and walked away slowly.

It was now nighttime. The moon slowly rose from behind the northern mountains and bathed Ponyville in a soothing silver light. Twilight would've appreciated it more if not for the fact that it reminded her of Nightmare Moon.

“Ugh, I can’t wait until this is all over," Twilight whined. "What’s next on the list?”

Spike scanned the checklist. “Security, which is supposed to be covered by a pegasus named Prowler.”

“Wait, Security?” Twilight asked, looking at Spike incredulously. “This is a Summer Sun Celebration, why do we need security?”

Spike didn't look up. “This coming from Miss ‘Nightmare Moon is returning,’” he said sarcastically.

“Touché. Where is he? We need to find him now.”

Spike looked up at the sky. “Hey, Twilight, did you see that?”

“See what?”

Spike pointed upwards. “I thought I saw something dart between the roofs…”

“It’s probably nothing. Now we need to find this Prowler before the ceremony starts and-"

“ -there it is again!”

Twilight looked up. “I still don’t see anything.”

“I know there’s somepony up there.”

“Look Spike, this is serious, we need to-“

“Hey, it’s coming this way!”

A teal flash burst from the top of a roof. It altered its course and landed on the ground near Twilight. It was a dark purple, bespectacled pegasus with bright yellow eyes and a long, windswept teal mane and tail. A cat’s eye served as his cutie mark.

He faced the stunned Twilight and proceeded to walk very smoothly in her direction. He stopped in front of Twilight eyeing her quizzically. He then started to walk around her and look her over with a frightening and piercing glare, like he was looking for something. Twilight wanted to ask what this pony was doing, but she was too petrified the pony would attack her if she moved. The pegasus then stopped in front of her, and moved two inches from her face.

Twilight was incredibly uncomfortable having a stallion this close to her face, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to move. The stallion stared directly into her eyes, not blinking at all. After a minute, he retracted his head, and gave a smile.

“Are you… Prowler?” Twilight asked. The dark stallion adjusted his glasses and grunted.

“Yes, young mare, I am,” he answered.

“Well... my name is Twilight Sparkle, I’m here to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I wanted to check the security, but you weren’t here.”

“You're in luck, I just finished. Nothing out of the ordinary,” he said. “I didn’t see anypony that looked like they wanted to ruin the party, other than you, who I’ve admittedly never seen before, but…” He chuckled, the sort of laugh a fantasy villain would give. “You don’t look like anypony that would cause another pony any harm. I honestly don’t know why I hid from a pony as pretty as you.”

His voice had a strange music to it. It was almost like listening to a vampony whisper sweet-nothings into your ear before he sucked out your blood. She wasn’t really sure she could trust this pony; he seemed sketchy.

“Hid?” Spike asked, “You hide when conducting your patrols? Why?"

Prowler paused. His head slowly turned to look down at Spike, scrutinizing him almost condescendingly like Spike had said something offensive. A few second passed where nopony said anything. “Okay, this pony is really starting to creep me out,” Twilight thought.

Prowler sighed and adjusted his glasses. “If somepony’s going to break in, they aren’t going to do it if they know someone might catch them now are they?” he explained, “The smart thing to do is to make it look like there’s no security, to bait the would-be criminals into coming out; make them come to me... or I could just go look for them, wasting time and energy.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Spike complimented. Prowler turned his attention back to Twilight.

“Alright gorgeous, is there anything else I can help you with?” he asked through lidded eyes.

"'Gorgeous?' Is... is he flirting with me?".

“N-No," she stuttered, "You seem to be in control of the whole security thing, so, I’ll just go…”

Prowler sighed at the declination. “Alright, I suppose I’ll speak to you again sometime, maybe we could dine at my house. I’d love to have you.”

"A million ways to say that, and he had to pick THAT one." Twilight gagged. “Eh heh heh heh… bye!” Twilight dashed off towards the library.

“Twilight! Wait for me!” Spike called.

“Well, that finishes the list, so now you can…" Spike stopped. Twilight eyes were locked into the ground with an intense gaze. Air could be heard forcing its way past her nostrils.

"Twilight? Are you alright?” Spike asked.

Twilight turned to Spike with a piercing glare. “Am I alright? NO. No I’m not alright. Why? EVERYPONY HERE IS CRAZY!!! I’ve gotten screamed at, deafened, exploded, freaked out, and hit on. This is what having friends is supposed to be?! I can't wait until this dumb Celebration is all over, so we can get back to Canterlot and never see this place again!”

Spike was surprised by her sudden tirade. He folded his arms and looked away. “Gosh, Twilight, don’t take it out on me.”

Twilight winced, mentally scolding herself. “Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we're running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time.”

“Twilight, you need to lighten up." Spike's voice became cheerful again. "It’s the Summer Sun Celebration; stop being such a workaholic.”

“I can’t do that, Spike. This is too important.”

Twilight Sparkle opened the door to the library. Silence. Pure silence. Surrounded by nothing but fine literature, history, and educational textbooks. Just the way she liked it.

She trotted over to the nearest shelf and started browsing for a copy of the book she'd read earlier that morning. Upon finding it, she levitated it off the shelf and opened it.

“Legend has it that in the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about everlasting night.” Twilight moved over to the window to look at the moon. She could see the mare in the moon very clearly, and the stars radiantly shone around it.

“I hope the Princess was right,” Twilight tried to reassure herself, “I hope it really is just an old pony tale.”

-KNOCK KNOCK-

“Oh great, what is it now?" Twilight muttered. "Spike, could you get that?”

“I’ll be there in a second,” Spike answered.

Returning to her book, Twilight tried to think. “Now where was I? Oh yes, the-“

“Twilight, it’s Jinx," Spike called back, "The ceremony’s starting and he came to get us.”

Twilight moaned. "Right as I get some free time too..." Twilight reluctantly put her book away and moved to the door. She found an unfamiliar light grey pony with a loose black mane and scarlet eyes.

“Uh, hey Twilight!" he said. "The Celebration’s starting soon, and uh… I was told you’d be staying in the library…so… you comin?”

Twlight blinked twice. She had expected to see Jinx at the door, not this other...similar one. She remembered that Jinx had a black coat, not a light grey one. The mane looked familiar, but that was it.

“Umm… who are you?” Twilight asked.

The grey pony widened his eyes in surprise. “Huh?! It’s me, Jinx! Don’t you remember me?” He sounded almost hurt.

“JINX?” Twilight exclaimed in disbelief, “But I thought you were... black all over...”

“What? OH…" Jinx shrunk in embarassment. "That… uh… well, that’s what happens when you’re in my line of work. Things can get… messy, to put it lightly. I-I got myself cleaned up for the festival.”

“We’d better get going if we don’t wanna be late," Spike added, "We wouldn't want to miss the sunrise, would we?"

"Yeah, Shenanigans would FLIP if you two didn't show up…”

Twilight entered the town hall and gave a humph; it was definitely different from this morning. The couches were all rainbow-striped and the banners were decorated with lace and glitter. The balconies were strung with festive lights and a giant chandelier hung in the center.

Twilight looked at the crowd. She recognized a couple ponies from Canterlot that showed up for the Summer Sun Celebration. There must’ve been a few hundred ponies here, all conversing. Twilight saw Firebrand off in the corner playing background music, and she was thankful it wasn’t loud like earlier.

Shenanigans bounced up behind Twilight, making her jump in surprise, then groan.

“Hey, Twilight!” he chirped, “I took your advice and spruced the place up! Doesn’t it look so much better?”

“Amazing,” Twilight said without emphasis.

Shen was able to see through her thinly veiled sarcasm. "Wow, talk about creator backlash," he quipped. "Eh, I still think it looks good..."

Twilight chose to ignore the connotations and looked up towards the sky. The white moon descended slowly towards the horizon like it always did, still with the mythical shadow of a mare painted on its surface. "Please be an old mare's tale... Please be an old mare's tale... "

The sound of booming drums signaled the crowd to quiet. Firebrand was in the corner conducting the first part of his fanfare. A middle-aged mare stepped into the spotlight.

“Fillies and gentlecolts," she announced, "As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration.”

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers and applause, and Firebrand cued the second part of his fanfare. Twilight kept her eyes on the moon.

The mayor continued, “In just a few moments our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year-”

Twilight's eyes widened. The stars suddenly moved closer to the moon, making it flash for a brief instant. The Mare-shaped shadow in the center disappeared.

Twilight looked at the moon in alarm. "THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN."

“-And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria-”

Firebrand prepped the downbeat for his music. Prowler was on the second floor balcony, ready to pull the curtain to reveal their esteemed goddess.

“Princess Celestia!” The melodious fanfare sounded, and Prowler pulled the curtains back.

The Princess was nowhere to be seen.

Twilight's heart plummeted. “This can't be good.” The ponies in the room started to panic, and proceeded to chatter amongst themselves of their apparent lack of a Princess.

Firebrand was still conducting the fanfare, oblivious to what happened behind him. Aqua Jet flew over and tapped him on the shoulder.

“What is it? You just ruined my-“ he caught the scene, “Wait, where is the…"

...

“Oh.”

“Remain calm, everypony,” the mayor instructed. “There must be a reasonable explanation.”

Prowler looked around on the second floor balcony. “She’s not up here!" he announced. "She’s gone!"

The doors suddenly blew open in the wind, extinguishing the candles in the room. The electrical lights flickered and shut off. The wind began to gather and spin on the second floor balcony, and a purple mist condensed out of thin air. Everypony looked at the spectre in fear and confusion, but Twilight immediately realized what was happening.

“Oh no. Nightmare Moon!” she thought as Spike fainted next to her.

The purple mist materialized into a pony, this one with long, elongated legs, large wings, and an imposingly long horn. Her coat was jet-black and covered with cyan battle armor on her head and chest. Her purple misty mane flowed like the ocean's waves behind her.

“Oh, my beloved subjects,” Nightmare Moon smirked, scanning the room with her large blue, reptilian eyes. “It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces.”

“What is this? What did you do with Princess Celestia?” Prowler demanded.

Nightmare Moon turned to face the pony next to her and chuckled, “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?”

Everypony in the room stayed silent, other than Shenanigans, who whispered to Twilight, “Is she going to monologue?”

Nightmare Moon scanned her audience, impatient at the lack of recognition she was getting. “Does my crown no longer count, now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" she said coolly. "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?” Nopony answered, they all simply kept looking at her in fear.

“I did, and I know who you are," Twilight stated as she walked into the center of the room.

"You're the Mare in the Moon: Nightmare Moon.”

The entire room gasped. Some broke into nervous chatter and side conversations. Shenanigans' jaw dropped and gave an exaggerated flinch.

“Well well well, somepony who remembers me,” Nightmare Moon's lips curled into an evil sneer. “Then you also know why I'm here.”

Twilight shrank back and gulped. Her mind raced as she remembered the Legend of Nightmare Moon and her original goal. “You're here to... to...”

Nightmare Moon cackled. “Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, THE NIGHT WILL LAST FOREVER!”

-

Special Thanks to Mike for helping me with the plot and Daniel for literary criticism!