I: A Trip for Two
"Thanks again for helping me Pinkie Pie!" The purple alicorn Twilight Sparkle chirped with a smile as her bubbly, pink, and eternally energetic earth pony friend returned the smile tenfold.
"No problem Princess Twilight Sparkle!" she beamed causing Twilight to chuckle and shake her head in bemused exasperation.
"Pinkie, I've told you hundreds of times, you can still call me Twilight. I'm still the same pony I've always been, nothing's changed. Well except for the wings. those are a change." she added as an afterthought causing Pinkie to giggle.
Soon enough, both ponies found themselves in Twilights room in Canterlot Castle, where Spike was already waiting.
"Hey Pinkie! Long time no see! How was the trip? How's Ponyvillie? How's Rarity? Does she miss m-er us?" The stream of questions was something Twilight expected more from Pinkie rather than her assistant. Then again, they had spent the last six months living in the Castle while Twilight got acclimated to her new duties as a Princess, which to be honest, were much the same as her old duties as Princess Celestia's student. However, instead of writing reports about the magic of friendship to her former teacher, it was now her duties to teach it to everypony and make sure it thrived throughout Equestria.
Twilight assumed, and quite rightly, the Spike's hyper attitude was due to the fact that he missed their old friends in Ponyvillie and that today was the Celestia was allowing them to finally return to their old home in the tree library.
"We're going home today Spike." Twilight scolded lightly, adopting the semi-motherly tone she always seemed to when the baby dragon got overly excited "Don't attack Pinkie with questions as soon as she walks in the room. It's rude."
"It's alright Twilight! We've missed you a whoooooole bunch and I'm excited you're coming back! I've spent all week preparing a superty-duper welcome home party for when you came back! But then you wrote me telling me you needed my help to test a spell, and I was like 'I should bring the party with me!' but then I remembered that I'd need the girls to come with me but you only sent one train ticket, so I was like-"
Pinkie's typical stream-of-consciousness speech was cut off by Twilight stuffing her one of her forehooves into her friend's mouth until she got the message and quit speaking. "I need you to concentrate, remember the letter?" Twilight asked to which she received the muffled reply of,
"Mmmhmm,"
Never one to pass up an opportunity to practice her magic, Twilight had invited Pinkie to the castle both to catch up with her friend, and to test a long range teleportation spell she had been perfecting in her spare time. So far it had worked on rocks, flowers, and even a pillow. It was now time to test it on a pony. And Pinkie's chronically upbeat and cheerful attitude made her the easiest to work with. The earth pony was in no real danger, at worst she'd move only about a foot or so and end up with some singed hair and fur, but if all went according to plan, she'd be in Ponyvillie faster then she could say "party".
"Remember Pinkie, in order for this to work properly you have to help me by thinking about where you want to go." She instructed as she took her place next to Spike, her horn already beginning to charge with magic, "So just keep thinking about Sugercube Corner ok?"
"Okie Dokie Loki!" Pinkie exclaimed with a big grin before shutting her eyes tightly and chanting "Sugarcibe Corner" over and over.
Concentrating intently on Pinkies words Twilight closed her eyes and envisioned the gingerbread house-like bakery with its white paint which looked like sugary frosting and it's candy shaped adornments. With little more the a short soft grunt, the magic was released from Twilight's horn and hurtled towards Pinkie Pie, enveloping her in a purplish pink light for a brief moment before there was a bright flash and she was gone. The was not even any sign she had ever been there in the first place.
"That was incredible!" Spike exclaimed snapping Twilight back into reality, "You did it! you teleported Pinkie!"
"I-I did? Holy horsefeathers, I did it!" Twilight cheered nearly jumping with glee, "Spike, do you know what this means?"
"That we can go home?"
Twilight chuckled and allowed Spike to climb onto her back before she trotted triumphantly out of her room, "I was thinking more along the lines that I might have figured out a way to revolutionize transportation, but that works too. Let's go home Spike. I just hope Pinkie appearing out of nowhere doesn't scare the Cakes too badly."
"No, no darling! You can't hang a purple streamer next to an orange one the colors clash! It will look simply tacky!" Rarity set her drink on the table and levitated the steamer out of Applejack's hooves before moving it a few inches to the left and hanging it there. "see now put a yellow one next to the orange and then a green, then put blue next to purple."
Applejack sighed with irritations but obeyed her friend's advice regardless "Ah don't think Pinkie or Twilight will care sugarcube"
"I know, but it will irritate me if we don't fix it now. Say have you seen Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy? Shouldn't they be here by now?"
"And we're set!" as if on cue Rainbow Dash burst through the door to Sugarcube Corner, with Fluttershy trailing behind her
"Everyone in Ponyville has been invited! So how are the decorations coming along?"
"They'd be coming along faster if Ah got some help." Applejack said with a grunt
"I'm keeping the feng shui in balance darling" Rarity commented as she resumed levitating her drink and sipping it.
"I'll help you Applejack." Said Fluttershy gently as she flew over to assist her friend, as Rarity continued to give color pointers
The next few minutes were spent by the four friends making idle yet friendly conversation until Pinkie appeared tumbling out of the air with a bright flash. Shaking her head and slowly getting her bearings, the curly hared pink earth pony collapsed in a fit of giggles! "Woo! she did it! that was fun!"
The room fell silent as everypony took a few moments to absorb what had just occurred. Pinkie had always been able to do strange things, from her ability to vaguely predict the future with her "Pinkie Sense", to her ability to bend or even break the laws of physics at will, but appearing out of thin air with a flash of light was something that none of her friends thought they would see.
Applejack was the first to collect her thoughts and break the silence just before it became uncomfortable "Who did what sugercube? Weren't y'all going to Canterlot to help Twilight move back ta Ponyvillie?"
"I did!" Pinkie chirped in response, bouncing around the room happily as she did so "And she sent me back here with magic and it was so awesome at first I felt all tingly and then it was like whoosh and I was here!"
"Doesn't look like the other pony she sent with you thought it was fun." Rainbow Dash smirked pointing to the prone form of a white furred earth pony with a long light blue mane and tail which had been entirely braided with the exception of the very front which hung freely over the right side of her face. The pony groaned as if dizzy or in pain causing everpony else in the room to come closer, in order to make sure that she wasn't hurt.
"Uh...Pinkie, Sugarcube?" Applejack spoke once again, "Who's yer friend?"
"I don't know." Pinkie admitted cocking her head to the side curiously.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Rarity butted in as she bent down for a close look at her cutiemark, which appeared not only on her flank but also tattooed up and around her right foreleg from ankle to shoulder, and resembled a bluish-grey cloud, or perhaps it was smoke, next to which was a pink object which appeared to be a cylinder, like the silo on Sweet Apple Acers, but with a pointed tip, almost like an arrow but not quite.
"I've never seen her before." Pinky admitted before smiling widely, "Which means, that Twilight's welcome back party can also be..." she paused for dramatic effect, "A WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY FOR THE NEW PONY!" she exclaimed jumping up and down excitedly, he hooves clicking against the floor as she landed. The rest of her friends however were less enthusiastic, in fact, this made Pinkie's sudden appearance in Sugarcube Corner make even less sense then it had before.
"I doubt Twilight would have forgotten to introduce you." Fluttershy began in her normal soft-spoken tone, "Did you just forget she was there?"
"Nope. It was just me, Twilight, and Spike."
Another groan caught everypony's attention as this time it was accompanied by words, as the formerly prone and mysterious earth pony began to move.
"Uunh...how did Fat Hands pull it off? I had her beat."
"Hehe Fat Hands!" Pinkie giggled, "Wait...what are hands?" the collective glare from her friends let her know that she wouldn't be receiving an answer anytime soon.
Slowly the earth pony got to it's feet, and then using it's forelegs, pushed of the ground and reared up. It stayed in this position for a good two seconds before it lost it's balance and fell backwards onto the floor with another groan. it's eyes still closed.
"Stupid Summoners and their stupid teleport spells!" the mysterious mare complained as she rubbed the back of her head with her front right hoof which caused her to pause. "Wait, what the-? " she began, opening her eyes for the first time since her arrival. They were a bright red and almost seemed to give off a dim light. She glanced around at the five friends who were currently hovering over her, seeming to quickly and quietly take stock of each face before letting out a scream and quickly reaching behind her but the absence of whatever she was looking for seemed to frighten her more.
"Fishbones? Pow-Pow? And my zapgun's gone too? Oh man where did you guys go?!" she rambled frantically before trying to back away from the assembled group, who looked on with confusion. "Um...nice horseys...or ponies...I'm not gonna do anything." she said as her back hit a wall.
"Hey neither are we." Rainbow Dash said with a genuine smile. "We just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt is all."
"Holy crap you can talk?"
"Uh yeah?" Rainbow said now thoroughly confused by this new pony as were all of her friends.
The new pony looked down at herself taking stock of her new legs and hooves, "Ok...so I'm a Pony now...in a place with talking ponies...ok then." With no further ceremony the earthpony collapsed back into an unconscious state, leaving everypony else in the room to silently wonder what to do with her.
Again Applejack was the first to speak, "Y'all think you can finish decoratin' on yer own? Ah rekon Ah best take this poor girl to a hospital."
"Of course we can! don't worry about a thing!" Rarity smiled as she trotted over to the table with the decorations and began sorting through streamers once more.
"Right, think ya could lend me a hoof Rainbow?" the farmpony said as she stared to lift the unconscious pony onto her back
"Sure thing AJ!"
Once the mysterious and heavily tattooed pony was safely across Applejack's back the middle child of the Apple family bid her friends goodbye and set out toward the Ponyville hospital, hoping that they could bring the mysterious mare to her senses.
According to doctors, whoever this new pony was, she was simply suffering from exhaustion and was otherwise fine. Just to be safe, they hooked her up to an IV and gave her a bed to rest in. Despite being told that she would be informed when the mare woke, Applejack had elected to watch over her. After all the poor girl had seemed frightened and confused, and leaving her alone would be rude, if not downright inhospitable at this point.
And so Applejack waited for the mysterious mare to awaken, which was taking far longer than she had anticipated, to be honest, and caused her to nod off a few times herself. Finally, sometime in the early evening, the farmpony was awoken by the soft tapping of a hoof on the door.
"Unh, come in." Applejack yawned as she come back to the waking world.
The door swung open slowly and quietly as the purple alicorn Twilight Sparkle let herself in accompanied by Spike who was the first to speak.
"Pinkie wasn't joking, look." the baby dragon whispered.
Twilight nodded, "I see her Spike. Don't disturb her alright?"
Spike nodded and approached the bed slowly as Applejack took her hat off to give the newest Equestrian princess a polite bow. For her efforts she received a friendly nuzzle in return. "There's no need for that AJ. I'm here as a friend not a princess. Is this the pony?"
Applejack blushed lightly in embarrassment, "Yeah, sure is. Is she a friend of yours?"
"No," Twilight admitted, "I've never seen her before. She appeared when Pinkie did?"
"Yeah." Applejack's remark caused Twilight to look over the sleeping mare intently, as if studying everything she could. "Whatchya thinkin' Twi?" the farmpony questioned after a few moments.
"We should find a way to send her back to where she belongs." Twilight remarked trotting back over to AJ, "I can't believe I was so reckless as to try the spell over such a long distance."
"No harm done Twi," Applejack chuckled, "Ya didn't hurt nopony an' ah bet you'll figure this all out in no time."
"But I took her away from her family. What if they're looking for her right now? I feel horrible."
"Don't worry, they don't care." The voice of the new pony joining the conversation directed eveypony's attention to the bed. The white-furred and blue maned mare with the strange tattoos sat against the headboard of the bed and yawned. Yawn complete, she open her eyes and give a mischievous smile . "Don't have parents anymore, and my sister's crazy. We don't hang out much."
The white mare looked around the room for a few moments before shrugging, "so I guess it wasn't a dream. you guys are real." She paused a moment "Wait is this a hospital? I hate hospitals. I'm getting out of here. Outta the way lizard dude!"
The mare swung her hind legs off the bed, nearly knocking Spike over as she did so. She then tried to tear the IV from the foreleg with her other hoof. Failing that she switched to her teeth and succeeded. she hopped off the bed and started to trot away but found her path blocked by both Twilight and Applejack.
"Hey now sugarcube, you can't just leave yet!" the Orange mare said with a friendly smile.
"Oh yeah? Watch me!" The mysterious mare raised a front hoof in an attempt to push the other pony away only to find it stopped and held in midair by a purple field of sorts.
"Hold on a second!" Twilight scolded as she maintained her hold spell."I know you must be scared or angry, i don't blame you, but that's no reason to knock Spike over or attack us."
"I'm not scared or angry," the tattooed pony said with a bit of irritation at be held in place, "I just don't like hospitals."
After a moment's thought Twilight spoke once more, "Listen." she began, "It's my fault you're here, and I'm going to fix it. but I need time. For now I'd like you to stay with me and Spike at our house. But you need to work with me here ok?"
"Fine." the white earth pony sighed, "Can you let me go?"
"Will you try and fight us again?"
"No."
With a gentle smile Twilight released her spell and let the earthpony's hoof fall to the floor.
"So, let's get acquainted shall we? My name is Twilight Sparkle." the princess began before pointing a hoof at her orange companion, "That's Applejack, and the baby dragon over by the bed is Spike. What's your name?"
The smile on the tattooed earthpony's face returned this time even wider than before, "My name's Jinx."
About ten minutes later Twilight and Applejack had checked Jinx out of the hospital and had begun the walk to the tree library which served as Twilight's home.
"So uh...Jinx, where ya from?" Spike asked as he rode atop Twilight as he often did when traveling long distances.
"Zaun. but I moved to Pitover. But it's more like Lame-tover. It's too neat!"
Spike raised a brow, "I've never heard of either of those places. Where are they?"
Jinx made a sound which made it clear she had no idea, which in turn caused Twilight and AJ to stop.
"Y'all don't know where ya live?" Applejack couldn't hide the surprise in her voice as she and Twilight turned to face their newest companion.
"No idea where I am so I couldn't tell ya. Jeez, get off my back would ya? When I woke up this morning I didn't expect to come here, or be hanging out with talking ponies!"
Twilight and Applejack stopped completely, causing Jinx to walk past them before stopping in confusion herself. "What?" she asked in a slightly snotty by genuinely confused tone.
"That's the second time she's said us talking was strange Twi." Applejack remarked causing Twilight to wrack her brain. The strange tattoo and cutie-mark and the unknown places Jinx had mentioned brought a new possibility to light, one which Twilight hadn't even considered possible. What if she hadn't simply teleported Jinx from somewhere between Canterlot and Ponyville, but had instead had accidentally tore her from another world or dimension when she teleported Pinkie.
"Jinx," Twilight started, swallowing hard, "you weren't a pony before you came here were you?"
"Nope!" Jinx chirped with a smile, "full blooded human!"
As soon as the tattooed earthpony had completed he sentence, Twilight took off at full gallop toward her home without so much as a warning, Spike clinging onto her for dear life as Applejack and Jinx tried their best to keep up.
"Twilight, sugarcube, slow down! We can sort this out, but y'all are gonna hurt yerself or Spike. Calm down!"
"Celestia's...gonna...kill...me!" Twilight panted as she galloped along, speeding up even more and flapping her wings for an extra speed boost as her home came into view.
She slammed her hooves into the dirt skidding to a halt only centimeters from her door, spike holding onto her just barely. The alicorn pushed open her door and rushed past Time Turner who had graciously agreed to take care of the library in her absence. He had a greeting or a question for her but it hardly registered in her brain. If she didn't send a letter to Princess Celestia telling her what had occurred, then her princesshood could be stripped, or worse yet she could be banished.
"What the hay was that Twilight?" Spike gasped as he hopped off her back and caught his breath.
"Spike! Language!" the purple alicorn reprimanded before answering, "I'll explain everything as best I can as soon as there's time, but suffice to say I'm gonna be in a lot of trouble if we don't write Princess Celestia right away. Go get the ink and the good parchment."
"On it!" Spike remarked resolutely but as soon as he turned toward the shelf where Twilight kept her ink and parchment, his cheeks puffed out and he belched out a gout of green flame which quickly condensed into a rolled up letter which fell nearly soundlessly to the floor in front of him. "Uh oh...Um Twilight?" Spike said nervously as he bent over to pick up the scroll.
"Oh no...no no no no!" Twilight stammered, was it possible that that Celestia somehow knew of her mistake already? The world seemed to slow down as Spike broke the seal, unrolled the scroll, and cleared his throat beginning to read
My Dearest Twilight,
Earlier today three objects of unknown origin were found in the castle gardens. As a mare of science I believe that these objects may be of interest to you, and that you may be the best pony to help us identify what these objects are and how they are used. Please return to Canterlot tomorrow with your friends.
Sincereley,
Princess Celestia
Twilight hyperventilated and took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Ok..ok...this could work if we take Jinx with us. Celestia will be more likely to help us if she sees Jinx, and then I can apologize to her in person...this might all work out!"
The sound of Time Turner gently clearing his throat caught Twilight's attention. She turned her head to see the brown stallion looking around the corner.
"Forgive me Princess," he apologized, "Applejack, and her friend are downstairs, and I've got to head out to Sugarcube Corner for your party.
"Oh...right. Thanks again for watching the library while I was in Canterlot. I'll send you your payment by the end of the week." Twilight ended with a soft smile causing the stallion to blush
"It was my honor princess." with that, he disappeared back into the other room.
Spike gave his caretaker a pat on the side for reassurance. "Just relax Twilight just go enjoy your party! Let's show Jinx a good time, I'm sure you'll feel better if you see her having fun."
The ceiling and walls of Sugarcube Corner were covered in decorations of all sorts, from streamers to glitter, laser lights and even a huge mirror ball. The building was packed wall to wall with ponies of all types, sizes and ages, who after a speech by the mayor welcoming Twilight back to town, had begun drinking, eating, dancing and even playing party games to their hearts content. Overall, the party would go down as yet another one of Pinkie Pie's masterfully produced celebrations, where everypony could have a blast; everypony that was, except Jinx.
Despite the warm welcome she had received from everypony and the loud, catchy electronic music being played by a unicorn with large colored sun glasses, that looked almost exactly like Jinx herself, she was bored stiff. This place seemed like a country version of Pitover, just as dull orderly and safe. in fact, standing in the back of the room Jinx had found that she had already fallen asleep several times out if pure boredom. Little did she know, her chance for a bit of fun was about to hand itself to her on a silver platter.
A gentle poke from a scaly claw brought Jinx back to consciousness.
"Hey Jinx, y'alright? you were sleeping." Spike said with a friendly smile, offering Jinx a cup of punch which she flatly refused.
"I'm bored. hasn't been any fun here since this party started." the tattooed earthpony complained as she shook the last traces of sleep from her mind.
"I get like that sometimes." Spike admitted before he chugged the cup of punch Jinx had refused. "I'm the only dragon in a town of ponies. Sometimes I feel out of place, but these ponies are great just give the chance." Spike's smile returned. "Hey maybe we can hang out and I could help you cheer up. Whatd' ya say?"
Jinx considered the proposal for all of five seconds. "Yeah...hey, yeah!" She smiled as she spoke and started to head for the door motioning for Spike to follow her.
Once safely outside of the overcrowded bakery Jinx turned to Spike with a mischievous glint in her red eyes, "You can breath fire right dragon dude?"
"Uh...yeah, why?" Spike swallowed nervously, every time he used his fire in the past for doing anything other than sending Twilight's letters or roasting an occasional marshmallow seemed to get him in trouble.
"Because," Jinx chirped as she began walking for where she could only assume was the center of town, "I think it's time I showed these ponies how *I* party."
Twilight sipped her punch and sighed gently as she made her way toward the front of the bakery. She found a empty spot by a window and stared out into the peaceful night, losing herself in her own thoughts. She was glad to be home and with her friends to be sure, but she wasn't sure how long it would last. Celestia was already requesting her help back in Canterlot and then there was the whole matter of helping Jinx get back to wherever she belonged. For all Twilight knew come tomorrow she might have to leave her friends for another six months or even longer. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle as she thought about the last few months and what lie ahead. A few years ago she would have given Celestia anything she had in order to avoid coming to Ponyville, but now she would give anything to stay.
"Twilight Darling, are you alright? Pinkie's just about done setting up the piñata and the girls were wondering if you'd like to go first." Rarity's voice broke Twilight away from her reflections.
"Oh, hey Rarity," Twilight smiled weakly glancing over at her fashionable friend, "I'm fine, it's just-" Twilight found herself trailing away and staring out the window once more.
"Just what dear?" Rarity pushed, concern now clearly evident in her voice.
"I know it's silly," Twilight spoke after taking a few minutes to find the right words, "but when Pinkie wrote me last week to tell me about her plans for this party, I was hoping it would just be the six of us." Twilight paused to finish of her punch, levitating the cup to her mouth with the magic. "As much as I appreciate everpony's welcome, I've had to go to so many functions over the last few months I was just hoping for something small with the ponies I care for the most."
Rarity smiled a knowing smile and nodded, "Between you, me and the wall, I would have preferred something small as well. but you'll have to forgive us Ponyvillians." She chuckled at the last word, "It's not every day we get a visit from a princess, much less have one living in our town. Besides, now that your back I'm sure we'll have lots of time to catch up."
"That's just it," Twilight said with a resigned sigh, "Princess Celestia wrote me just before I came here. Her letter said I need to head back to Canterlot tomorrow to help them identify something. She wants me to bring you girls to help out but..." Twilight took another moment to collect her thoughts and wipe away the tears which had begun to form in her eyes, "how much longer will it be before my duties force me to spend all my time in Canterlot?"
"Ah yes, well..." Rarity couldn't hide the tinge of disappointment that she was feeling though she tried her hardest, causing Twilight's countenance to fall even further, "Normally I'm not one to hand out folksy wisdom darling, that's Applejack's forte, but if I were you, I wouldn't focus on how many days lie between then and now. Just live for today and tomorrow and cherish the ponies around you. You'll find you'll be much happier that way." Rarity concluded her advice by wrapping her front legs over Twilight's shoulders and pulling her friend in for a reassuring hug.
Twilight sighed again, but this time out of relief not resignation, "Thanks Rarity, after all we do have the train ride to Canterlot tomorrow, I'm sure we can all catch up the-" Twilight stopped mid word and peered out of the window. the sides of town hall were unusually bright for the time of night, and if she squinted Twilight was sure she could see the dancing shadows of nearby homes on its face.
Suddenly with a screaming whistle, a green light shout out from the gap in between Town Hall and a nearby neighborhood shooting just over the rooftops and exploding just over Sugarcube corner itself, bathing the area in neon green light, and crating a sound that could be heard even over Vinyl Scratch's Djing. The music stopped, the laser lights when out, and there was another explosion, this time causing a blue light.
Within second's what had once been a party for a princess became a silent gathering of worried ponies, seconds away from panic. Without a moment's delay, Twilight's natural leadership instincts kicked in and she turned to address the crowd.
"Everypony! Remain calm, remain here, and keep your heads down! I'll let you know when it's safe to come out! Come on girls I think we know what we have to do!"
With no further delay or prompting, the six friend sprinted out the door and towards the source of the commotion. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony raced towards danger without a second thought as they had always done. But even after all of their adventures and battles, what they found at the center of town was shocking even to them.
There, in the center of town dancing, whooping and hollering, were Spike and Jinx. The pair of them were dancing and laughing around a large bonfire constructed out of trash, wood and various other items which they doubtlessly had found discarded or forgotten about town.
Jinx held a large firework in her front hooves and aimed it once more in the general area of Sugarcube Corner. "One more dragon dude!"
Spike giggled playfully and lit the fuse with his breath, the pair of them watching gleefully as it soared into the air and exploded with a red flash of light .
"This is great! you were right!" Spike exclaimed before he and Jinx collapsed into a fit of laughter, "I wish I could see Twilight's face!"
"Spike!" Twilight growled, snapping the Dragon out of his revelry, but not even phasing Jinx, who continued to laugh in a way that put even Pinkie Pie to shame, "I thought I taught you better than this!"
Before, Spike could even react, he was lifted into the air with magic and dropped right in front of his oldest friend.
"Twilight I-" Spike began only to be cut off
"I don't want to hear it Spike!" Twilight scolded. "This was completely reckless, you've scared everypony in town and could have hurt somepony! As punishment, you're going to be staying here tomorrow and help everypony clean up this mess for as long as it takes. Now go home and go to bed...Now!"
The hoof pointed in the general direction of the tree library let the dragon know that Twilight was dead serious. Without further word, or any attempt a protest, he hung his head in shame, and began to walk home
"I'll walk ya home Spike." Applejack said in a rather deadpan tone, not wanting to seem any less angry than Twilight or undercut her threat. She turned to Rainbow Dash before departing "can you and Fluttershy put out the fire sugarcube?"
"Yup sure thing!" Rainbow said with a resolute nod, "Come on Fluttershy. there's gotta be some rain clouds around here someplace."
The three ponies and Spike departed, leaving Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie with Jinx, who had finally ceased laughing, but still wore a twisted smile.
"Wow, you ponies are harsh! It was just a little fun!"
Twilight glared at the tattooed earthpony, "I don't know if this is how they have fun where you come from, but in Equestria this is terrorism. I'm going to find a way to send you back to where you belong tomorrow. But for now, you're coming home with me. Come on girls, let's let everypony know they're safe."
Jinx sighed to herself and followed Twilight reluctantly. Without her belongings she couldn't hope to do anything other than obey. It was during the walk back to the bakery that Jinx found that despite him being a pain in her butt, Jinx really missed Fishbones, and that she wished she still had fingers, because she'd defiantly be showing two of them off to Twilight.
Pow-Pow, Fishbones and a Zap-Gun, the Three Keys to Fun!
Author's Note
Author's Note: I apologize profusely for taking so long to get this chapter out. I have three running fanfics and a web comic to write for as well so my attention is often divided. I was also bitten by the procrastination bug. That being said, I shall try to produce chapters more quickly in the future, though I can't promise I'll be able to. My thanks to those of you who still pay attention to this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Special thanks to my friend Master of the Boot who helped me with editing. You can find his work on Fanfiction.net and Deviant Art
Pow-Pow, Fishbones and a Zap-Gun, the Three Keys to Fun!
II: Pow-Pow, Fishbones and a Zap-Gun, the Three Keys to Fun!
The train from Ponyville to Canterlot glided rather smoothly down the tracks with only an occasional bump or jolt when making a turn. Much safer and smoother than the ones that Jinx was used to in Zaun or even Pitover. Not that she cared, it was still boring. One of the most boring things she had ever done and she had watched paint dry once. *Once*.
As Twilight and her friends were making plans about what to do after their meeting with the princess, a meeting, which as Jinx understood, would end with her being sent back from wince she came, the Zaunite turned Earthpony was staring out the window at the picturesque rivers, parries and mountains of Equestria passing her by. And imagining them exploding.
To Jinx they would look much better after she blew them up. Then again, everything did.
"So," Came a rather cultured sounding voice close by which broke Jinx away from her explosive laden daydream. "Twilight tells me you're from some place called Zaun? And you moved to a place called Pitover correct?"
Jinx gave the voice a half hearted grunt, enough to let it know she had heard, but not enough to tell it she cared. Regardless it continued to pester her.
"I'm a bit of a fashion designer you see and I must say you have a rather" the voice paused for a moment as if trying to find the right words, "unique look. What's popular from your home? I'm always looking for new trends to bring to Ponyville."
Jinx found herself staring into the face of a white furred unicorn with a purple, well styled mane. What was her name? Mareity? Scarcity, Hard to find? Something like that.
"Well Sparity," Jinx began, putting a hoof to her chin as if thinking,
"Rarity." the unicorn corrected,
"Whatever." Jinx replied, still keeping her assumed thinking position. In truth the earth pony never thought. She remembered things to be sure, but she never thought about anything. Thinking was for boring people and hurt her brain. It was much more fun to be spontaneous anyway.
"In Zaun we wear lots of belts." the tattooed earthpony continued before pulling her companion over and whispering into her ear, "For no reason."
Rarity drew away from Jinx slightly uncomfortable and more than a little confused. Not only had Jinx just invaded her personal space without permission, she had whispered into her ear a phrase which was hardly anything mean or inappropriate enough to warrant whispering. It was then that Rarity began to wonder if Jinx was either insane, joking, or a combination of the two.
"Well then, er ...thank you for the um...tip darling." Rarity tried to seem as friendly as possible as she removed herself from her seat. Jinx was a foreigner after all and as far as Rarity knew, the earthpony could be offended if she acted uncomfortable or offended by what just occurred. "If we can't send you home right away, you should drop by my store back in Ponyville. I'll get you an outfit to match the fashion you're used to, free of charge. It'll be my way of welcoming you to Equestria."
"Don't bother Rarity." Twilight interjected from a few seats away, pausing her conversation with Rainbow Dash. "Jinx has proven she's nothing but trouble. Until we can send her back she's staying at the Castle."
"Come now Twilight," Rarity replied, don’t you think you're being a bit harsh? I mean yes, she did start a bonfire and launched fireworks, but the mayor has allowed that before, and aside from a few scares nopony was actually hurt."
"Yeah Twilight, go easy on her, lighten up!" Rainbow Dash added as she nudged her friend gently with her foreleg and chuckled. "I mean it was a party."
"But...I...she..." Twilight sparkle sighed and threw up her hooves in defeat. "Fine. If we can't send you back then you're welcome to stay with us until we can." There was a general mood of agreement, accompanied by some confetti which Pinkie Pie sprinkled over Twilight in celebration of the reversal of her previous decision.
The remainder of the journey seemed relatively pleasant and aside from an occasional rough bump in the track, quiet from what Jinx could tell. She must have fallen asleep for the next thing she knew the screech of the train brought her back to reality. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning rather loudly. As she got her bearings.
"Canterlot Station! Please gather your belongings before disembarking the train!" called a stallion with yellow fur and brown mane who had emerged from the car ahead of the one where Jinx and her companions were currently. He was wearing a soot stained engineer's uniform and passed though the car as quickly as he had come to presumably give the same announcement to the other train cars.
***
Jinx lagged behind the six other ponies who had welcomed her to Equestria. She had no real desire to be here or to meet the princess Twilight was so intent on taking her to, but every time she found an opening to slip away, Twilight would fall behind with her and keep an eye on her. It was frustrating, Twilight seemingly read her mind, for all Jinx knew, she could have been. It was far more likely, however, that the flying purple unicorn was just extremely worried that the earth pony was going to make a run for it and disappear into the back alleys of Canterlot.
Canterlot, the place made Jinx ill with it pristine brightness. Gleaming white towers trimmed with purple and topped with gold reached toward the sky in supplication to the sun and moon, the streets nearly sparkled in their cleanliness and ponies came and went about their business with nary an ill look or word. It reminded Jinx of Pitover or worse yet Demacia, but even those places had the occasional bit of violence. This place was a bit too perfect. If this was all this world had to offer, then Jinx would be relieved to go back to Runeterra and the League. Back to here daily regimen of violence, explosions and kicking Fat Hands and Hat Lady's stuck up asses from one end of the Fields of Justice to the other.
"Isn't this Place amazing? Like super awesome amazing?" The bubbly voice of Pinkie Pie broke Jinx away from her nausea inducing sightseeing.
"Yeah." Jinx replied halfheartedly as she took a quick glance at Twilight to see if she was still watching her like a hawk. She was.
"Aww cheer up Jinxie! Can I call you Jinxie?" the pink earth pony asked before continuing without waiting for a reply or taking a breath, "I know you must miss home but if anypony knows how to send you back it's Princess Celestia. She can do almost anything!"
"Good." Jinx quietly mumbled to herself. If this was all this world had to offer, then the sooner she could return to the chaos and excitement of Runeterra and her guns the better.
Jinx and the six other ponies trotted through the pristine streets of Canterlot toward the majestic castle in the distance which seemed to mock Jinx with its imposing spires which were very much intact. Other ponies passed them by seeming to pay them little to no mind other than a polite bow toward Twilight.
After a few more minutes the group found themselves passing under an arch and through a gate of polished silver, and found themselves in front of a large staircase which led up to a large wall. The wall was lined with guards all in shining golden armor with shining spears propped against their shoulders. This display was capped off by an orange Pegasus with a blue mane and tail, who stood at attention and the top on the staircase wearing a pleasant smile.
"Well well well!" he began with a slight chuckle as he began descending the stairs. "Princess Twilight Sparkle is back in Canterlot already. Can't get enough of this city can you?"
"Flash!" the princes exclaimed as she galloped ahead and greeted the guard with a friendly nuzzle. "I have seen you in months! How have you been?!"
"Busy." he admitted returning the nuzzle with a bit more affection, "You?"
"The same." she replied with a light blush before changing the subject, "You remember my friends right?"
"Of course." The Pegasus proceeded past Twilight and gave her friends a smile and polite bow, "Though it seems you've made a new friend since the last time we met."
"That's Jinx." Twilight stated blushing as she recalled the circumstances which had led to the earthpony appearing in Ponyville. Luckily Flash could not see her, "I made a slight error in my calculations for a spell but I'm going to see if Princess Celestia has a way to send her back home."
Flash offered Jinx a sincere smile, "Well you're in good hooves with Princess Twilight and if Princess Celestia can help you you'll be back home before you know it. But it is nice to meet you Jinx. I'm Flash Sentry."
Flash Sentry was a member of the Crystal Guard, and one of the personal bodyguards of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, more commonly known as Princess Cadence, Princess of the Crystal Empire and Twilight's old foal sitter. Flash Sentry was a fit, athletic, handsome and fairly smart stallion with a list of accomplishments as long as Rainbow Dash's ego was big. He was the proverbial knight in shining armor pulled from the story books of fillies and colts and made flesh.
"Whatever." Jinx replied curtly causing everypony save for Flash, to stare at her in disbelief. Flash merely chuckled.
"That's a new reaction. Usually ponies aren't that nonchalant about meeting a knight."
"How should I react huh?" The tattooed earth pony snapped back, her red eyes burning with the fire of anger, "Fall to the ground and lick your hooves clean? Blow it out your ass knight boy!"
This time Flash joined the group in stunned silence, and after a few moments Jinx cracked a smile and then fell over in a fit of almost uncontrollable laughter.
"Oh my God I had you all going!" she gasped between pearls of laughter, "You should see your faces!" Jinx cackled, kicking her hind legs in a flurry for a few moments more before rolling over and getting to her hooves and taking a deep breath.
Everypony but Pinkie Pie blinked in confusion. For her part Pinkie let out a snorty giggle, attracting the attention of her friends.
"What?" she said with one last giggle, "Laughter is contagious." With that she went back to humming and staring off into nothingness as was her style.
"So is Cadence or my brother here with you or are you on your own?" Twilight quickly grabbed Flash Sentry's attention before anypony could continue to linger on Jinx's odd if not psychotic behavior
"Nope, I'm flying solo this time." Flash remarked as he turned to face the newest Equestrian princess one more, "I hope you're not disappointed."
"O-of course not!" Twilight stammered, her light blush returned, "But I'm sure you didn't come all the way here just to see me did you?"
It was no secret amongst her friends that Twilight had feelings for Flash, feeling that he obviously returned. But despite the best efforts of all of her friends, the alicorn always would have some excuse.
"I'm too busy right now." she'd say or "It's not the right time! He'll think I'm weird!"
Despite all of her friends’ best efforts; it seemed nothing would budge Twilight from her position.
"Ok you caught me!" Flash chuckled, "Princess Cadence sent me to pick up some trade agreements, but I was hoping to see you before I left. And it seems I got my wish."
Flash smiled, and Twilight could feel the words get stuck in her throat. Luckily, Fluttershy, of all ponies came to her rescue.
"Why don't you come with us?" she questioned with a shy smile, "After we've met with Princess Celestia we were going to visit the rest of Canterlot you could come with us...I-I mean if you want to."
Jinx perked a brow, the yellow Pegasus was one of the most odd of Twilight's friends, one moment she could be friendly and open only for her to withdraw and become shy a moment later. Jinx silently thanked the powers that be that the Pegasus was too shy to talk to her. Her indecisiveness would probably give Jinx a migraine.
"Well they aren't expecting me back in the Crystal Empire for a few hours, so I'd love to spend a few hours with you all." Flash smiled and winked at Twilight, "That is if the Princess will permit me."
"Sure!" Twilight exclaimed although a bit too enthusiastically for own liking. Clearing her throat she decided to clarify her statement, "I mean of course I don't mind, my friends and I would love to have you come along."
Behind Twilight there was a giggle from Pinkie Pie, a snicker from Rainbow Dash and Applejack an exasperated sigh from Rarity, and an audible groan from Jinx. The only pony not reacting to the Purple alicorn's bungled agreement was Fluttershy. Whether it was to spare her friends feelings, because she understood or because or because she literally had no opinion Twilight wasn't sure. She wanted to believe that Fluttershy understood.
Unlike the rest of her friends, Twilight never really had romantic opportunities. She had been too busy studying or researching to even notice when somepony was interested in her. Naturally this meant that while she could tell the Flash Sentry felt something for her, and she for him, the purple alicorn was still trying to figure out the perfect middle ground between energetic acceptance and social elegance, so that she did not seem too forward.
"I'll see you in a few hours then." Flash smiled as he began to trot away, "Meet me at Donut Joe's. Everypony's food's on me!"
"Sure thing- I mean will do- no I mean see you then!" Twilight fumbled through her words, albeit enthusiastically.
"See ya Flash!" Pinkie chimed in as Flash Sentry continued on his way. As he disappeared into the crowds of Canterlot everypony could swore they heard him chuckle."
Twilight blushed a dark red as her friends and even Jinx chuckled.
"That coulda gone better." Rainbow Dash teased.
"Aww shoot! She did just fine!" Applejack chuckled pushing the Pegasus gently with her foreleg before turning her attention back to Twilight. "Now come on we should get inside before the princesses think something happened to you."
***
Princess Celestia stood beside her former pupil, Twilight Sparkle as said pupil examined the three objects set before her. Across from the pair was Princess Celestia's sister Princess Luna. Celestia, being the older of the two was about a head taller than her sister. Her pelt and wings were a snowy white and her mane and tail were a prismatic collection of blues, greens, pinks and purples which seemed to shift colors based on the way the light streaming through the stained glass window hit it. By contrast her sister had cool blue fur, the color of the night sky and a mane and tail to match, complete with flecks of white resembling stars.
"I...I'm sorry Princess, I have no idea what these are." Twilight spoke after a few more moments of contemplation. "I've never seen anything like this before." She sighed in exasperation, brushing the purple and magenta mane away from her face.
"Relax Twilight; you're not being tested here." Princess Celestia chuckled as she leaned down to nuzzle her student in a motherly fashion. Having tutored her since fillyhood in the ways of magic, Princess Celestia spent just as much time raising Twilight as her birth parents, leading her to feel as if she was her protégé's second mother, a feeling the purple alicorn returned wholeheartedly.
Soothed by her mentor's words and affection, Twilight collected herself and took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. "Whatever these things are, their either completely benign or a technology beyond my comprehension. I mean look at this." Twilight levitated what appeared to be a barrel made out of some sort of pink metal. "This is obviously some sort barrel or keg of some sort, but why anypony would include a single handle and a bunny eared headband are beyond me."
Celestia raised a brow as did her sister Luna. True to Twilight's word, someone had placed a headband with bunny ears around the rim of the barrel like object. It would seem like Pinkie Pie's doing, had she not been waiting outside with the rest of her friends and Jinx.
"And this," Twilight exclaimed exasperatedly, levitating a L shaped metal object with a trigger over to her, " this looks like a crossbow, but there's no string. And don't even get me started on the metal shark."
By this time Twilight was nearly hyperventilating. Beads of sweat began running town her face and off her snout as she placed the object onto the table "I-I'm sorry princesses I've failed you!"
"Nonsense!" Luna exclaimed as she examined the objects herself, "this was not a test. My sister and I simply sought your opinion is all." She paused briefly, collecting her thoughts. "However until we can figure out what exactly these objects are or how they are used, I believe that it is best for them to remain here. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Celestaia stated, joined by Twilight who gave a resolute nod.
"I'm sorry again princesses." Twilight bowed respectfully as she spoke. "When I return to Ponyville I’ll check every book I have. There must be something I'm missing.
"Excellent" Celestia smiled as she turned her attention back to her most faithful student turned colleague. "Now I believe you said the was a problem we could help you with?"
Twilight felt her heart leap into her throat. She had been so wrapped up in deciphering the nature of the devices; she had completely forgotten her own problem. How could see tell the princesses that she had summoned someone from another world to her own. Could she even tell them? Would they even believe her?
"Well I- remember that new teleportation spell I was testing?" the Purple alicorn began meekly, feeling her mentor's gaze fall upon her. Although Celestia's gaze and outlook remained neutral, Twilight felt as if the princess of the sun was judging every word. "Well-"
"Hey Twilight?" Pinkie's voice echoed though the room catching the attention of the three princesses. The door to the room was slightly ajar and Pinkie and Jinx were peering around the edge of the door, "Jinx and I are really, really, *really* bored! Can we go and meet you later in town?"
Twilight nodded, "Of course Pinkie, why don't you meet me at Donut Joe's?”
There was some sort of a response from Pinkie but it was drowned out by a high pitched scream of joy from Jinx as she through open the doors and nearly bowled Pinkie over as she galloped over to the table with the three mysterious objects
"My stuff!" the strange earthpony exclaimed, bouncing from hoof to hoof her alluring red eyes gleaming with almost childlike delight. "You guys found my stuff!"
"These are your things?" Prince Luna was skeptical. While this was undoubtedly the pony Pinkie Pie had just mentioned she was uneasy about handing mysterious devices over to a pony with uncertain motivations
"Yeah!" Jinx beamed "I thought they got left behind after I was teleported, but I guess they just got teleported here instead of with me. Magic's weird like that."
"Teleported?" Princess Celestia now joined in her sister's confusion and unease, there was something off about this new pony.
"Yeah by Twilight!" Jinx smirked at the purple alicorn princess as she spoke, "What? She didn't tell you?"
Twilight felt the eyes of both her fellow princesses fall on her and felt as if her tongue would leap from her mouth had she tried to speak
"I believe you owe us all an explanation." Celestia's tone had gone from friendly to stern in a matter of seconds, causing Twilight to swallow hard.
"Well, I was testing a new teleport spell," Twilight started, dropping her eyes to the floor. She couldn't stand to see her mentor's stern look or the scowl of Princess Luna, "And while the spell worked without fault on inanimate objects, when I tested it on a pony-"
"You did what!" Luna's voice boomed throughout the room causing everypony save for her sister to flinch, "We cannot believe thou wouldst be so reckless. Thine actions could-"
"Peace sister." Celestia cut her sister off mid rant. "Let Twilight explain herself." Celestia turned her attention back to her protégée, "Continue."
"When I teleported a pony, in this case Pinkie Pie, from my room in the castle, to Sugarcube Corner, Jinx appeared alongside her. I don't know if it was the distance, or an error in my calculations, but I will fix my mistake so this type of incident never happens again. Please forgive me Princesses!" With that Twilight Sparkle though herself at her former mentor's hooves, nearly shaking. It felt as if the weight of the world had fallen on her shoulders.
After a moment of silence and consideration Celestia spoke. "I will help you." Twilight slowly got on her hooves on hearing the news and began to thank her mentor but was immediately stopped as Celestia continued. "One three conditions. First, you are never to attempt a magic experiment like that again without first notifying either myself or my sister. Second you will make amends to Jinx by sheltering her and acclimating to our society for the rest of her stay."
Twilight nodded as each of the conditions was named.
"Finally," Celestia concluded, "you will be the one to send your friend home."
"What?!" both Twilight and Jinx exclaimed almost in unison.
"Being a princess is about more than organizing and administrating a society, you also have to make amends for your mistakes."
The princess of the sun turned away from her student and her summoned companion and took her place next to her sister, who had begun examining the objects on the table once more.
"Luna and I have made our share of mistakes," Celestia continued, "and while we know others would be there to help us handle the repercussions, it would be we who ultimately would have to fix our errors. With that being said, Luna and I will assist you with whatever you need to send your friend back to her home, but you will ultimately cast the spell that sends her home. Am I understood?"
Twilight hung her head, shame overtaking her for the first time in several years. In her heart she knew she had failed he mentor, she had failed Equestria and she had stolen somepony from her home in an attempt to prove her worth as s princess. I'm not worthy of being a Princess. The purple alicorn thought before responding to her teacher. "I understand you perfectly princess." she answered meekly. "I'll figure out how to help."
Princess Celestia smiled at her student. "Don't worry Princess Luna and I will help as you need us." With that she turned her attention to Jinx. "You said these items were yours?" she questioned
Jinx nodded, "Yup!"
"Would you mid showing us how they work?"
"I uh...I'm not sure how they work, they’re guns, I just use them. I'm not a scientist or whatever." Jinx admitted."
"I believe my sister meant she wished to know how to operate-" Luna stopped when she noticed the slightly confused expression on the earthpony's face and chose another word, "to use your belongings."
Jinx's expression brightened, and a smile which threatened to split her face in half spread across her lips. "Oh ok!" she chirped, trotting over to the table with her belongings. She selected the object which reminded Twilight of a bowless crossbow. After taking a moment she lifted the item awkwardly, grumbling about "a lack of fingers" though nopony really paid any mind. She placed the tip of her right forehoof on the trigger of the device,
"This is my zap-gun...it uh zaps things." she spun around and pointed the zap-gun toward one of the many marble columns lining the throne room and shifted he hoof to press the trigger. The tip of the device, which reminded twilight of a glass tube, reinforced with metal began to glow and emit a wiring sound, similar to a small turbine winding up. After about a second there was a bright flash as what appeared to be a miniature lightning bolt shot from the barrel of the zap-gun, and slammed into the column in the blink of an eye, leaving a large scorch mark as small arcs of electricity enveloped the column, then dissipated after a few moments.
Twilight's mouth hung age. She had never seen electricity, no, lightning, produced by anything other than extremely advanced magic or nature itself. While Pinkie Pie hopped up and down, happily, entertained by the light display produced by the impact, the expressions that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, though slight, showed that they too were surprised by the devices power.
Jinx hooked the zap-gun onto one of her many belts and then lifted the pink barrel with a single handle and bunny ear headband from the table. "This is Pow-Pow, and she is my mini gun." without warning Jinx attempted to rear herself and then immediately fell onto her back. "Ow." she groaned as she rolled over to her side and slowly got onto her hooves. "Stupid legs! Stop making me look bad!" she chastised herself, fully aware that her legs could not be shamed into working as she wished, but it did not stop her from hoping they would obey regardless.
"Dost thou require help?"
Jinx watched as the Princess of the Night approached offering a hoof in support.
"Nah I got it!" Jinx dismissed the offered hoof and attempted to rear again. This time she managed to balance on her back legs for about five seconds before she again lost balance. Instead of finding herself on her back once again, the earth pony managed to shift her weight and land on all fours again with a groan of frustration.
"If you don't mid me asking why are trying to rear up?"
Jinx rolled her luminescent eyes as soon as Twilight's voice reached her ears.
"Because I need two han-er hooves to operate Pow-Pow. Duh!"
"Hey be nicer to Twilight!" Pinkie Pie scolded
"But I guess I'm having an off day so I'll have to show Pow-Pow off later." Jinx continued cracking a smile and blatantly ignoring Pinkie's comment as she awkwardly fastened Pow-Pow to her belts, rolling onto her side to do so, causing both princess Celestia and Princess Luna to cock an eyebrow in surprise at the odd behavior of the earthpony. But out of politeness they remained silent.
Getting back to her hooves, Jinx pointed to the last object on the table, the metal shark. "Now that I can show you, cause I only need one hoof for him. That's Fishbones!"
Twilight stepped closer to the table and took one last look over of the device Jinx called Fishbones, and for the life of her, she still couldn't figure out what the object was or how and why anypony would use it.
"Is there a reason it's a metal shark? You seemed to have painted a face on it as well, is that for decoration or does it serve a purpose?" Twilight spoke as Jinx lifter Fishbones over her shoulder, it's top, painted to look like a shark's mouth opened, revealing a slightly narrower tube concealed inside.
"First off," Jinx replied, "It looks like a shark because sharks are cool! And the paint's there to make it look cooler." Before Twilight could further question her, Jinx continued. "My friend Fishbones here is a rocket launcher!"
"Ooh! Ooh!" Interrupted Pinkie bouncing happily, "Like fireworks rockets?"
"Kinda!" Jinx chuckled and then pointed the rocket launcher toward the grandiose marble ceiling "Now watch this!" Jinx pressed a button on top of Fishbones which had been previously unseen, due to it being painted to look like the rest of the device. as soon as she did so the was a loud and metallic clunk as a metal rocket shot from the mouth of the metallic shark and hurtled toward the ceiling, creating a loud concussive and fiery explosion, and raining debris down onto the ponies below.
Acting on instinct, the three princesses erected barriers of defensive magic around themselves, Twilight erecting an additional barrier to protect Pinkie, who had no means of protecting herself from the rain of marble cascading down onto the floor.
As the smoke and dust began to clear jinx quickly mounted Fishbones as if it were a pogo-stick and began bouncing in place, giggling happily.
"Whelp, it's been fun Ponies, but now that I have my stuff back, it's time I start to have some fun! See ya later losers!" With that, the earthpony twisted the side fins on the back of Fishbones, causing it to belch out a large gout of flame and smoke, sending ever pony save for Jinx herself into a coughing fit, and further disorienting them. After a brief countdown and the cheerful if not ecstatic exclamation of "Blast off!" Jinx rocketed into the sky, away from the palace and toward Canterlot proper, just as the doors to the throne room flew open, issuing fourth an entire squadron of the Royal Guard and the rest of Twilight's friends.
As Twilight dropped her and Pinkie's shield and became swarmed by the guards who sought to protect Celestia, Luna, and herself from harm. Their questions about her current state and if she needed medical attention were lost to her as she remained focused on Jinx as the earthpony disappeared into the orange sky of late evening. At that point for the first time in as long as she could remember, Twilight Sparkle dropped the proper attitude she always adopted around the other princesses.
"Well, shit."
***
Spike was not having a good day. After getting up early to see Twilight and Jinx to the train station, he came back and spent the rest of the day under the watchful gaze of Big Macintosh cleaning up the remains of the bonfire he and Jinx had created the previous night. While he was very used to cleaning, it being his primary job at the library, he was not quite so used to heavy lifting, or at least lifting anything heavier then several thick tomes at a time. Spike counted himself lucky that Big Mac was kind enough to help him carry some of the heavier debris into a cart he brought specifically for that purpose.
"Thanks Mac, I don't think I could've done this without your help." Spike remarked as he helped the large red stallion push a large chunk of burnt discarded fence into the cart
"Eyup!" Mac responded trotting back over pile and helping Spike lift a burnt log.
No sooner had they loaded the log into the card then the thunderous explosion rang out though Ponyville, causing every pony in town to quickly gather outside of their houses. After a few moments of confused chatter somepony screamed, catching everypony else's attention.
"Sweet Celestia! Canterlot's on fire!"
"Smoke's rising from the castle! What the hay is going on here!" Cried another
Spike stood dumbfounded by the smoke rising in the distance, he had never seen that much smoke since the other dragon moved into the nearby mountain a few years back, and then it hit him, "Jinx! Twilight! RARITY!" he screamed, turning to Big Mac, "Mac we have to go! The girls went into Canterlot this morning! We have to go NOW!"
