TWO PONIES, ONE KEY
By GeodesicDragon
As the midday sun hung idly over Ponyville the residents rushed back and forth between the brightly-coloured market stalls, buying whatever caught their fancy. But it soon became apparent, if the way they kept bumping into disgruntled market-goers was anything to go by, that two of them – an Earth pony stallion and a unicorn mare – only seemed interested in the conversation they were having which each other.
"Today's the day, Pixel Fantasy," the Earth pony stallion said. "We're finally gonna get the keys to our new house!" He skipped a few steps along the road. "I can't wait!"
"All right, Sweet Tale," Pixel Fantasy replied with a giggle. "Take it easy, or else you're going to pass out from the excitement."
Sweet Tale barely dodged another irritated pony who was attempting to buy some apples. "Don't tell me that you're not excited as well, Pixel," he pouted.
Pixel simply smiled at him as the Ponyville Locksmith came into view. She used her magic to open the door and the two of them stepped inside, attracting the attention of the elderly unicorn stallion behind the counter. "Hey there, younguns," he said jovially. "How can I help you this fine afternoon?"
"Afternoon, Spare Key," Sweet Tale replied with a swift nod of his head. "Pixel Fantasy and I are here to collect the keys to our new house, since the Mayor's office told us you would be making them."
"I did indeed get a request from the Mayor's office," Spare Key replied, lighting his horn. "But it was only for one key, not two." He came up with an envelope in his magical aura, tipping a single key onto the counter. "I'd make another one, but I'm kinda busy making keys for the new houses they're building in town."
Pixel Fantasy took the key in her own magical aura. "That's all right, Spare Key," she said understandingly. "I'll just hold on to this until you can get another one cut."
Sweet Tale raised an eyebrow at her. "Who said you get to keep a hold of it?" he asked. "It's my house too, you know."
Pixel fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I know it's your house too," she said. "But we both know that I'm the better one at keeping things safe. If I gave the key to you, it would be lost in minutes."
"Oh, really?" Sweet Tale shot back. "Well, do you want to know what I think?" He paused while Pixel Fantasy nodded. "MINE!"
He lunged forward and grabbed the key in his teeth, before running out of the locksmith's office and down the street. Pixel blinked in surprise a couple of times, then narrowed her eyes and turned to face the direction Sweet Tale had ran off in. "Hey!" she shouted. "That key is mine, you stupid plothead!"
She ran off after him as Spare Key rolled his eyes and sighed. "Kids these days," he said. "Always arguing over nothing."
***
Sweet Tale dodged ponies, carriages and stalls with all the agility and grace of a cat as he ran through the market square. Behind him he could hear grumbles of disapproval — as well as the angry yelling of Pixel Fantasy, who was closing in fast through her excessive use of teleportation.
"Give me back that key, Sweet Tale!" she bellowed. "You've got no right taking it from me!"
"Never!" Sweet Tale shouted back. "It's my key, not yours! You'll have to catch me first!"
"Gladly!" Pixel responded, disappearing in another flash of light.
Sweet Tale squealed in fright as she suddenly appeared in front of him, and then grunted in pain as she tackled him to the ground. The two of them rolled along the ground, hooves flailing and curses flowing as they each tried to wrestle control of the key from the other. They eventually scrabbled to all fours, whereupon Sweet Tale took a hold of one end of the key in his teeth and Pixel grabbed the other end in her magic.
"It's... my key, dammit!" Sweet Tale grunted, his words muffled by the key. "I'll let you eat... as many of my... raspberry turnovers as you want... if you'll just... let go!"
"Practice... what you... preach!" Pixel growled. "I'll let you... have... the biggest bedroom... if you'll just... let go!"
The two of them relinquished their hold on the key at the same time, sending it flying through the air. It landed in a puddle, and the two friends glared at each other. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed before they both spoke in unison.
"MINE!"
As they raced towards the key, tripping and grabbing each other in a desperate attempt to get there first, they became aware of the many disapproving stares they were getting. Ponies had stopped everything to watch the display, and even foals were facehoofing and tutting at what they had seen. The two came to a halt and, with sheepish grins, they turned to face each other and sighed.
"I think it's safe to say..." Sweet Tale said with a nervous cough. "I think it's safe to say that we went a bit overboard with this."
"Agreed," Pixel replied. "I'm sorry I got so possessive."
"Me too," Sweet Tale said. "We're friends, for Celestia's sake, and friends don't argue and fight about petty little things like this."
"How about we go back to Spare Key's place and pay for another key to be made as a priority?" Pixel offered. "It'll cost a bit more, but it'll be better than embarrassing ourselves like this."
"Definitely," Sweet Tale nodded. "I'll go and recover the key from the puddle, and then we'll head on back."
Pixel nodded back and watched as Sweet Tale walked over to the puddle the key was lying in. But as he got closer, a black and white blur suddenly swooped down and snatched it up.
"What the—" Sweet Tale muttered. He and Pixel both looked in the direction the blur had travelled — just in time to see a magpie deposit the key in its nest. The two friends both groaned and facehoofed, and then spoke in unison once more.
"DAMMIT!"
Author's Note
Inspired by the cover art (which is used with permission).
Pixel Fantasy belongs to Jonbun and Sweet Tale belongs to Sweet Tale (formerly Greatodyer).
I regret nothing.
