The Mandate

Chapters

The Mandate
Ultimate...um
House of B(ates)
Misunderstanding Crisis
Crime Does Not Pay
Criminals, However, Pay a Lot
Quality Control
Crossfire
Burn, Baby Burn!
Pizza to Ashes
The Right to Party
One More Day
Ponyville Fails

The Mandate

Mr. Bates woke up early and found his mouth tasting terribly. He turned and looked at his alarm to find that it was about three in the morning.

"Ugh. Please let this be a dream." After about five minutes of just lying there it was apparent that it wasn't one. With little else to do, he got up from his bed and went to his bathroom to brush his teeth. Still half asleep, he ended up walking into his dog's cage, stubbing his hoof in the process. "Gah! Freaking-"

"BARK BARK BARK!" his dog yelled upon hearing his master wake him up. He suddenly got out of his cage and got right in front of Bate's path, walking in a way where his head was pointing to him and also walking in the most annoying way for his master to pass through.

"Come on, Barky. Just go back to sleep." He moved through his kitchen, the animal still following behind, or in this case, ahead. He got to his bathroom and flipped on the lights, blinding him in the process. With blurry eyes, he opened up his cabinet and reached in to get his toothbrush only to have it fall into his sink.

"Hate it when that happens." He washed it off with hot water and got the toothpaste out. He took off the cap and that also fell into the sink. Fishing it out, he finally squeezed out on the tube, only to find that there wasn't anything left in it. Thinking that there must be some somewhere else, he went and turned around.

He quickly heard the dog yelp as he stumbled over it and fell face flat onto the floor. His face was immediately filled with pain, especially his nose. He looked into the mirror and saw his nose bloody and bent. It was right then when he remembered that he was queasy when he saw blood and fell back on the floor.

It was several hours before he woke up again, his body sore from the falls and awkward position he ended up sleeping in. The dog also decided to mess with the cabinet and ended up pulling it off the wall, spilling its contents everywhere. Bates got up, his body aching as he did so. He looked around and saw that there was light outside. He went over to this clock and found that it said it was half past eight. Seeing that he was late he left for work right then, deciding to clean up all his stuff when he got back. It was only when he left his house did he finally taste his mouth and remember how terrible it was. When he tried to get back in his house he found that he had locked himself out. With no place else to go, he sighed and resigned himself to work.

"Heyfield! If you don't get your stuff off my desk I'll let it on fire!" Sound yelled as she threw his pockets off of her desk.

"I'm trying to make a story here, so cut me some slack!" he yelled while picking up his pockets off the floor.

"What's the story? 'Pocket Guy and the Grunge Brigade'? They have the ability to have super large muscles and guns with no pupils?" The two were going at it as Mr. Bates finally came in.

"Can you keep it down?" Queso asked. "I'm trying to think up new storyline."

"By that, you mean just do another crossover," Low Web said with contempt.

"Maybe I should, and the crossover could be with the good characters that we have against all your clones."

"That saga wasn't bad!" Low Web continued to yell at Joe Queso while Bates listened with disinterest. His ears were ringing from all this yelling while his writers continued to create chaos.

"Come on, guys. Let's not fight over this," Buronson told his coworkers. "After all, we all know that my Hoof of the South Star series is the thing that keeps us in business."

"You tell 'em, Burry!" Sound cheered for her writer.

"Oh, shut it, Sound," Red Lead, the Penciller that worked with Heyfield told her. "You know that Heyfield and I started a new generation of art style. If anything, we helped make this company."

"Too bad that art style was terrible," Tres Williams, the fashionable penciller for Queso said, laughing while he taunted.

"Well at least they can get their stuff finished in less than two months," Finch replied. "You take so long that the people who bought the previous issue have forgotten about the comic by the time the new issue's been released." The yelling continued, each pony complaining about the other's styles. Bates managed to hear all of this even when he closed up his office.

"Maybe if I close my eyes I'll be able to sleep," he said, hoping that they'd shut up soon. His hopes were dashed, however, when somepony started knocking on his door. "Who is it?"

"Golden Bell and Cloverbud," Cloverbud said in a flat tone. "We need to talk about the new toys that we'll be releasing this fall."

"Come in," he replied drearily. The two entered, both carrying tons of papers with them. Bates raised his head to see this and just wanted to go back to bed. That, or somewhere he'd be able to actually sleep. "You know, I'm just the Editor here. Why is this my job?"

"Because of weird job responsibilities," Cloverbud replied. "We need you to check over each of these toy designs and see if they're accurate. Afterward, I'll look at your notes and decide if they're correct. Then we pass them onto the toy makers and do this again another three times."

"Also, I'll be deciding if we listen to your notes or not," Golden Bell said quietly. "After all, we can't spend too much, but also need to look good."

"Hey, you there, Mr. Bates?" Sound called out while looking into his office.

"Obviously," Tres Williams derided. "Sir, we're in desperate need of new art supplies. I was wondering if you would mind placing the order soon."

"Yeah. Make sure to in for extra black markers!" Red Lead yelled out. "Heyfield and I need some more of that."

"And stencils! Gotta get my stencils!" Finch added.

"I need red," Queso said flatly, as if realizing he was the last one to ask.

"Yeah. Also, you mind pushing all of our due dates back a couple weeks? We've got to finish up our current projects. Taking our time to get them just right." The other writers mumbled in agreement with Buronson, saying that they needed time as well. It was at that moment that Bates started to breathe heavily.

"Can't any of you do this without having to annoy me?" He was starting to feel his blood boil, his tired body adding to the rage.

"Well, your job is to help us, so sorta not?" Heyfield's statement finally drove Bates into a frenzy, sending out a scream that shook his office.

"Look! If you really want my help, then I'll give it. I'll give it in my OWN way! What I'm going to do is give," he took a deep breath and declared, "an editorial mandate." Right then, the entire staff of Trot Comics heard this and suddenly gasped, realizing that they had just made the biggest mistake possible; angering your Editor until he made a mandate. "Now, here's what's gonna happen. Buronson, Sound, you both need my help?"

"Uh, nope! We're completely-"

"Too late! Mandate time! Your main character, whoever she is, is now a Princess of the Wasteland. Also, she's going to become an Alicorn now." Sound and Buronson both gasped in horror at the idea of changing their character completely. "Now, onto Heyfield."

"Mr. Bates, I don't think-"

"Oh, Heyfield. So confident. I think you and should create a comedy series. Also, there can't be any fighting whatsoever." The staff actually thought that Heyfield was going to have a heart attack by how he reacted to this. "Now, onto Joe."

"No! Please!"

"Joe! I want you to do a giant crossover event with a good amount of our superhero characters, and have it politically based! Also, make sure that you don't spend too much time elaborating on one side, or else someone might not like how their side looks."

"Well, sucks to be you guys," Low Web said, somehow ignorant of being next.

"Don't worry, Low Web, you'll have some fun as well!" Bates said cheerfully. "Guess what? Bring back the clones!"

"Why?!" Low Web was now on the floor, weeping.

"I thought you said that it was good," Heyfield reminded him.

"I lied!"

"Okay! Now, onto you two," Bates said, directing his attention at Cloverbud and Golden Bell. "I want you to choose the toy designs for yourself! And I'm not getting any of you any art supplies. You know why? Cause as of now I'm on vacation! I'm going straight to the nearest beach to relax. I'll be gone for two weeks and you better have it all done and shipped by then, cause I'm not gonna get the blame for when they bomb! Good day!" And with that, Mr. Bates left Trot Comics in the hands of the staff.

After five minutes, everypony realized what had just happened and screamed.

Ultimate...um

The staff was in chaos. Everypony was running around, trying to figure out what was going on and how they could get out. Golden Bell was with Heyfield, both crying. Red Lead and Buronson were screaming their heads off while manically drawing large weapons. Low Web and Joe Queso started fighting, performing wrestling moves on each other. Tres Williams was just walking into a wall, mumbling about how everything was now finished while Finch was trotting in circles. The only ones who weren't freaking out were Sound and Cloverbud.

"Everypony, calm down!" Cloverbud yelled out, restoring sanity to the room. "Now, it is true that an editorial mandate is usually something to worry about, but we need to be collected while doing this. If we don't get these stories made, we're fired."

"We're as good as fired already with what we have to make!" Heyfield cried out. "I don't know anything about comedy!"

"Look, we just need to find a way that...oh who am I kidding. He pretty much doomed us," Cloverbud admitted.

"Say," Sound said, noticing something was off, "is it just me, or is not everypony here?"

"Oh yeah! Malarson!" Low Web said, remembering the fifth writer. "Guess he's late or something. He must be pretty glad he wasn't here."

"I thought he'd left our studio," Queso added, remembering something about him changing companies.

"Not yet. He's still with us for two more weeks." Golden Bell informed them. "Until then he has to complete any assignments he has within that time."

"Wait, I just had an insane idea." The group was silent as they listened to what Low Web had to say. "What if we convince Malarson to take our projects and put his name on them?"

"But I thought that we were the ones supposed to make whatever we were assigned," Buronson pointed out.

"We would, unless we simply had him working with each of us. Think about it; Malarson actually has a history of working on projects that went wrong, but he still manages to get hired because of his more famous works. Not only that, but he's going over to a new company. If we simply have his name first on each of our projects, ponies will assume that the reason they got horribly created was because somepony who was unfamiliar with the material kept on interjecting their own ideas into it. If it somehow goes well, we can just chalk it up as a victory for us."

"That's just insane enough to work!"Heyfield yelled.

"Yeah, and even though you writers might be the ones who have to suffer, me and the other Pencillers get to shine," Sound said cheerfully. "After all, if your stories stink, they'll love our awesome art even more."

"Buck yeah!" Finch, Tres, and Red said, high-hoofing each other.

"Don't forget our colorist, Ink Blot," Heyfield reminded them.

"Oh yeah. Does that guy ever come in?" Sound asked, realizing that he was in the office less than even herself.

"I don't think so. You guys usually hand me your work and then I leave it on Bate's desk. I once asked him myself about our colorist and he said that he only comes in at night at the every three days to pick it up and drop off the other stuff," Cloverbud explained.

"It doesn't matter right now. We just need to get in contact with Malarson and have him start working with us and we'll be good. Got it?" The group agreed with Heyfield, but then remembered something else.

"Hey, Clover, what about you and Golden?"

"What do you-" Cloverbud then remembered that she was now in charge of making the corrections with the new toys that would be released. Both her and Golden Bell now had a new responsibility and it would be on their heads if they didn't get it right.

"So, Cloverbud, would you like to accompany me to the toy factory?" Golden Bell asked in her sweetest voice.

"Sure," she said with draining energy. Golden Bell must have been absorbing it since she seemed to get more energetic the two hung around. They went off while the rest of the artists waited for Malarson.

Bates was finally able to rest and relax on his train ride to Lowtide Harbor, a vacation destination he'd been wanting to visit for a while now. He hadn't exaggerated either when he said that he was heading straight there, as he immediately went from the office to the train station. He didn't worry about packing anything or worrying about his house. That was something for another day. Right now he'd just go over and relax.

"Ah, this vacation time is finally being used. Don't think I've taken a day off in years. Feels great though." As he laid back against the seat, he couldn't help but forget something. "Huh. Now, was there something I should have done before I left? I know I gave the crew their mandates." He thought it over and remembered, "Oh yeah! Malarson! Hopefully he'll find something to do. Anyway, not my problem. Left it to those guys and they should be able to handle it."

Five minutes later, the thought came to him again, a nagging feeling in his head. He thought that it was just paranoia, but couldn't shake the feeling that it was legitimate.

"Okay. There's definitely SOMETHING that I've forgotten." He struggled to think over anything else that he might not have done at work. "Well, the toys are being handled by Cloverbud and Golden Bell. Writers have their stories. Artists have their art to do. Their really isn't anything else for work. Maybe I'm just feeling that way because I didn't go back to my house to-"

The shock on Bate's face was too much. The pony who was sitting across from his seat was now horrified at this stallion's expression, thinking that he might have had a stroke.

"BARKY!" he yelled out. "I forgot about my dog! I gotta go back and-"

"Sir," one of the attendants called out, "What seems to be the problem?"

"I need to go back to Ponyville! I forgot something about my dog!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that. This is a non-stop ride to Lowtide Harbor. If you need, you can contact somepony by phone once we reach our destination."

"Yeah. That's alright. I-I think I'll do just that." Bates returned to his seat and started worrying once again when he remembered his medicine cabinet had fallen down. He hoped that the dog hadn't been dumb enough to eat any. He also hoped that he'd actually find somepony willing to take care of his dog, but who?

House of B(ates)

Malarson was having a lovely time as he trotted to work. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and he'd soon have a new place to work at in a couple of weeks. While he was sad to leave his old crew behind, it was time for him to try something new. Hopefully the rest of the crew wouldn't feel bad about him leaving. He entered the studio of Trot Comics and greeted his coworkers.

"Good morning!" he said as he saw the writers and artists huddled in a circle.

"Malarson! Great to see you!" Buronson was the first to say in his loudest voice.

"Come on over! Have a seat!" Queso added, pulling out a chair.

"Need something to drink? I can get you something," Low Web offered.

"Wow! You guys are being nice to me today."

"Of course, Malarson! We'll miss you when you're gone, but we fully accept and support your decision." Heyfield patted him on the back with a smile. "It's also why each of us wants you to help us with our new stories."

"Wow! All four of the writers want me?" The smile on Malarson's face almost looked like it hurt.

"Sure! Think about it; you're an experienced writer with all the skills to make any story sell well, and it'd be nice to have you help us and have a little memento to remember you by." Low Web was starting to feel guilty about his plan.

"Really? Is it because you finally got Mr. Bates angry and he made an editorial mandate that's forcing you to create terrible comics and you need somepony else's name to pass the bit onto?" The group was stunned by Malarson's apparently psychic abilities.

"How did-" was all Heyfield could get out.

"I do the mystery comics, remember? This sort of deduction is my thing." The group looked embarrassed as they had forgotten what he'd actually worked on. "Anyway, I'd be glad to help you guys out. Depending on our situation, we can help turn your situations around and surprise everypony. Now, who was the first to get their mandate?"

"That would be us," Sound said, Buronson at her side.

"What's your mandate supposed to be about?"

"We're supposed to make our main character, a tough and independent wanderer in a nuclear wasteland into a princess. And an alicorn."

"Oh my," Malarson said, putting his hoof to his chin. "Well, let's get started."

Pepperoni was busy with the lunch shift while his wife, Bloomheart, helped serve the customers. She'd been happy to spend more time at home since she'd had her hours readjusted and was able to help with the business.

"I've got three cheese pizzas cooking up right now," Pepperoni informed her. "Hopefully that can sate them for a while."

"We both know that's not true," she replied as she passed by, carrying out one of the orders. Pepperoni took a deep breath as he used this brief moment of rest to catch his breath. He was interrupted when his phone began to ring.

"Pepperoni's Pizzas! How may I help you?"

"Pep! Glad that you're there," Bates said with relief. "Listen, I really need you to do me a favor. I know it's big, but it's important."

"Sure! What's bothering you?"

"Long story short, I went on sudden vacation without going home first and I left my dog there with the medicine cabinet spilled out onto the floor. I'm gonna need you to look after him for a couple weeks. The dog food is right next my fridge and...you still there?" Bates was pretty sure that he'd scared him off at that point.

"Yeah. I was just writing down the information. I've actually had a situation like this happen when Cleversong and Sound were just foals. Bloomheart and I went outside for just a moment and ended up looking ourselves out while our kids were in the kitchen. When we finally broke in we found that they were trying to play Hansel and Gretel and-" Pepperoni stopped talking when he heard a gurgling noise on the other end. "Hello?"

"Pep! Please go now! I don't want my dog to die! Oh, and one last thing is that the keys are inside, so you'll have to break in as well."

"I'm on my way!" Pepperoni hung up the phone and ran out straight to the door.

"Hun! Where you going?" Bloomheart asked.

"I need to save a dog!" he yelled as he burst out the door.

Bates put the phone down and tried to calm himself. His friend was on the job, so that was all he could do for now. He looked for the nearest information terminal and got a map of Lowtide Beach to use while he was there.

"Might as well try to relax while I'm here," he said while reminding himself of why he came there in the first place. He located where the hotel was and went there to get himself a place to stay. He remembered that there was a place he had originally paid in advance years ago when he saw that they had a deal for those who paid ahead. He was lucky that they never made any specific rules about how it worked, so he was able to buy a two week stay at a hotel.

He approached the concierge at the counter and checked in.

"Hello! I may I help you?" she greeted.

"Yes. My name is Mr. Bates, and I've-"

"Oh my goodness! He's actually alive!" She then pressed a button out from under the desk and the lobby was suddenly flooded with hotel staff looking at Bates with interest.

"This is the guy?" one of them whispered.

"I only thought he was a legend," another said.

"Wow. You reserve a place for ten years and suddenly you're the talk of the town. Anyway, if you wouldn't mind showing me to my room."

"Um, I don't know how to say this," the concierge looked around nervously, as if hoping somepony else could let him know, but we're all out of rooms at this moment."

"Oh come on! The one time I manage to take a vacation and it happens to be when you guys are full?" Bates was frustrated by this news and was about to leave until one of the staff managed to push their way through.

"Get out of the way!" he yelled at them, finally getting to Bates. "Mr. Bates, it's an honor to finally meet you. I remember ten years ago the day that you decided to call us up and take our 'Early Bird' offer. Since then I've become the manager here and we've actually set up a betting pool saying when you'd actually get here."

"Cool. Who won?"

"You."

"Really?" Bates was caught off guard with this.

"Yes. It was determined that if nopony had bet on one of the days you'd come in, you would automatically win the entire pool. You're lucky too. This is the only day that's come up that noppony put down a bet for."

"How much do I win?"

"Well," the manager was counting the numbers up in his head before telling him, "twenty thousand five hundred and fifty-four bits." Bates' mouth just hung open after hearing that number. "Anyway, we do have one room available for you and that's the Royal Suite. Seeing as we've been waiting for you for a good ten years, it's a free upgrade. I'll personally show you to your room." With such an awesome start to his vacation, Bates was sure everything would be just fine.

Misunderstanding Crisis

"Okay!" Malarson said as he got with Buronson and Sound. "Where do we start?"

"Well, the last place we were at was the assault on Face Fist's Nuclear Cannon where he was aiming it at-"

"Hold on," Malarson interrupted. "Who's Face Fist?"

"In the last arc the newest character that joined with Jenshiro-"

"Wait," he now said, interrupting Sound. "Who's Jenshiro?" The two just stared at him for a while after he asked that. "Well?"

"She's the main character!" Buronson yelled out. "Have you even read any of the story?"

"No. I thought that's what we were going over." The two groaned as they realized that Malarson really didn't know what their comic was about.

"Hah! Sucks to be you guys!" Red yelled as he and Heyfield shot out comedy premises.

"Look, Mal, maybe you should read over our series before you help us out. Otherwise we'll end up making something that really is awful," Sound told him.

"Okay. I guess I'll be doing that tonight. Maybe I can help out Heyfield until then." Malarson trotted away with disappointment, leaving Sound and Buronson back to square one.

"So, how're we supposed to do this then?" Sound asked, hoping that the writer might think up some story that actually makes sense.

"Well, I think we could make it a one-shot, you know? Make it so it's nothing permanent. One story like that shouldn't make things too difficult for us." Buronson thought about one-shot ideas and said, "Maybe she doesn't become Princess of the whole Wasteland, but of a tribe or something."

"Well how can we make her an alicorn?"

"I think I have an idea."

While Buronson and Sound worked on their new story premise together, Low Web and Finch were trying to figure out how to bring back the clone saga they had once done.

"Maybe we could have something with time travel?" suggested Low Web.

"Nah. Just mentioning that would turn fans off," his partner told him.

"Seeing as we're working the clone saga again, we might as well go all out in the insanity since they'd be turned off by that again," Web joked.

"Actually, that might just be what we need."

"Finch, what're you talking about?"

"Web, what if we went and included a storyline so insane that was so cool with this premise that everypony forgot how dumb it actually was?"

"What you just described is the average super-hero comic book."

"Huh. Alright, but what if it was made even cooler within the universe?" Web was started to get annoyed with his coworker's riddles.

"Are you going to actually have a point to this?"

"Yes. I'm suggesting we include the clones and time travel...TOGETHER!"

"That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Go on."

"Alright. What if Courage Colt actually has to fight time travelling clones of himself that came from the future because he eventually defeats the clone master in the future with new powers, and the clones go back in time to make sure that Courage Colt doesn't defeat him with them?"

"Yes?"

"And the reason they've gone to that point in time is because they couldn't get an exact time before the time travel device was going to be destroyed?"

"Yes?!"

"And it turns out that the clone master is..."

"WHO?! WHO IS IT?!"

"I dunno yet, but sounds awesome, doesn't it?"

"WE SHOULD MAKE THIS!"

"Web, that's what we're going to do. You think you can do this?"

"Finch, as of this moment, I'm fairly certain that this is what I was born to do."

"All right then." The two pulled out typewriters and yelled "Let's do this!"

"So, is this factory a nice place?" Cloverbud asked Golden Bell as they passed into Absrho's Toy Factory.

"Oh, definitely! It's a fun place to see tons of machine and plastic at work." Golden Bell smiled as the two reached the receptionist. "Hello! It's me, Golden Bell. I'm here with my associate, Cloverbud, to check on the toys for Trot Comics."

"Alright. Take a seat and somepony should be with you shortly." She said this without looking up from her magazine and pointed to a couple of chairs. Golden Bell skipped over and took the closest one, motioning over for Cloverbud to come over.

"This better not take a while," Clover said as she sat. Golden Bell had grabbed one of the magazines sitting around while Clover decided to check out the toy catalog that they send in the mail. In it, she saw several of the other products that the company did and wondered how they'd handle their properties. She saw that they designed the popular Styrofoam sports equipment that every foal seemed to play with, along with other toys including Magic: The Gathering cards, the potato guy, and board games.

"Excuse me, but are you from Trot Comics?" a representative asked them.

"Yes. I'm Cloverbud of Quality Control and this is my associate, Golden Bell of Public Relations. We're here to check on the toy models that are supposed to be here."

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Cold Mold, and I'll show you around." The two followed as Cold Mold showed them around the building and explained the history of the toy company. "We've got several new projects that we hope show our dedication to quality and learning for the children. Since you're looking for models I assume you'd like to take a look at them as well."

"No, just the-"

"Yes!" Golden Bell interrupted, causing Cloverbud to lose most of her day.

"Splendid! Now, if you follow me, I'll show you the process of the toy making."

For the next several hours the three of them walked through a mechanized factory where plastic molds were forged, organized, and then pieced together to form a final product. The smell of the place was agonizing, the smell burning its way up their noses. Golden Bell was clearly irritated by the chemicals in the place while Cloverbud was completely unaffected, even without the protective equipment everypony else was putting on. The three finished up their time in that part of the factory and moved over to where the final products were placed. Mold and Golden took off their safety equipment, Golden doing so quickly, and went over to a table with several boxes to take a seat.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for; the reveal of Trot Comics first ever toy, Jenshiro!" Mold took off the box to reveal Jenshiro to the two. The very second he did so, Cloverbud knew something was wrong with the toy. "So what do you think?"

"Why is she pink?" she asked, pointing to the bright pink Jenshiro.

"What do you mean?"

"Jenshiro's coat is white. Why is this toy pink?" Cloverbud's question seemed to make Mold seem nervous.

"Well, girls really like the color pink, so we-"

"So you destroyed the integrity of the basic character design and changed her to pink in order to appeal to a group that you stereotyped?" Golden Bell had never seen Cloverbud so intense or calculating with her words. Mold looked like he was about to faint.

"Um...I think we may have some things to fix before we show you the rest." He gathered up the boxes and started to exit through the back. "Please come back within a couple of days. We'll have better models set up for you. Thank you for your patience."

"Wow! I'd never seen a stallion look so nervous before," commented Golden Bell.

"I am the Quality Control. I make sure what is made is of quality. Fail to do so, and I shall strike." Only Cloverbud could make a seemingly innocent position in a company seem so powerful. "Come. There is nothing more to see here." And without another word, the two left the factory.

"Alright, this is the place," Pepperoni told his companions. "Apple Cider, you mind doing the honors?"

"Sure. Just make sure nopony is watching. I don't think this is exactly legal," he said as he took out his lock picking kit.

"How did you know that A.C. was a master of lock picking?" Pawpads asked.

"What? Don't you remember that long talk we once had where you told me about how you took it up as a hobby after you once got locked out of your house?" Pepperoni said as if this were common knowledge.

"Nope. Anyway, here you go." The door opened with a click, the three of them carefully entering the residence.

As soon as the three entered they saw that the house was in shambles. The furniture had been ripped up, knocked over, and in some way or another broken.

"What the hay?" A.C. asked.

"I've seen this before. When you've got a really hungry dog who's not trained it can get real messy," explained Pawpads. "Now, where's my little patient? Come on. Come on!"

"Pawpads, I'm pretty sure that just doing that won't-" The dog suddenly came rushing towards them, a dumb smile on it's face.

"Who's a hungry boy? You a hungry boy? I bet you are! Just let me check you out first." Pawpads then looked into the dog's eyes with a light and checked inside the mouth, humming while doing so. "Well, it doesn't look like he's gotten any pills. No side effects seen, and he's just feeling so energetic, aren't you?" The dog barked in response as the two played with each other.

"Well, I'm gonna go get the food and keys. Hopefully I won't need the two of you again." Pepperoni looked around the house and found the fridge Bates had told him. As he went to the side to get the food, he saw something out of site and decided to follow up on it. What he saw was the bathroom in shambles with the medicine cabinet off the wall and dried blood on the floor.

"Hey. You need any help with-woah." A.C. looked at the scene and wondered what happened here. "That's a lot of blood."

"Yeah. Don't know how that could have-"

"FREEZE!" a terrifying voice yelled out. Pepperoni and A.C. turned to see guards rush into the house, surrounding Pawpads and then themselves. "You're under arrest for Breaking and Entering. Anything you say can-" He stopped as he looked to the floor in the bathroom and saw the dried blood. "What's with this blood here?"

"I'm not really sure, but it was here when we-"

"Shut it!" the guard yelled, sending shivers through Pepperoni's spine. "It's been here for several hours now. Can any of you find where the owner is?"

"We haven't seen anypony else here, sir," another guard addressed. "The pony who called us said that they'd heard noise earlier this morning that sounded like loud crashing though, so it might be possible that this occurred at that time."

"Alright, you three are coming downtown. You might be in real big trouble." Pepperoni received a glare from A.C. and knew that things had taken a turn for the worse.

Crime Does Not Pay

Bates woke up from his rest feeling energized once more. He'd forgotten what it was like to sleep in until nine in the morning. By this time he'd be looking over new issues making corrections on basic spelling and grammar, along with saying that the plot has become convoluted. As he stretched out of his bed, he was greeted to gentle music.

"That sounds pretty nice," he commented. Bates looked to see where it was coming from and looked out of his room to see somepony practicing their harp playing in the hallway. "You're pretty good," he commented.

"Thanks. Just getting it ready for the lobby," she said as she was waiting for her elevator. "So you're the lucky winner of that pool, huh?"

"Yeah. Definitely didn't expect that to happen to me when I got here." Bates stood next to her, waiting as well. "I'm Bates by the way."

"Lyra," she replied. She sighed deeply, as if something was bothering her. "Really wish that could've been me."

"Huh?"

"The pool. Put down some money when I heard about it. It's actually the whole reason I'm here in the first place. For multiple reasons actually." She seemed nervous as she said that.

"Money issues can be a real pain," he replied.

"Now I'm working here to work it off. Hope it works."

"Work what-" the beep of the approaching elevator cut off Bate's question, Lyra rushing in with her instrument the moment the doors opened.

"I'm almost late. You mind taking the next one? This harp's pretty big."

"Sure." Bates saw her disappear as the doors closed. He wondered what it could have been that'd gotten her so nervous. As the next elevator came, he entered and went to the lobby. When he reached there he saw the pony he just met setting up in the dining hall to entertain the guests.

"Hello, Mr. Bates. How are you this morning?" the concierge asked him as he approached.

"Pretty good. I was going to check out the town today and was wondering what places might be interesting."

"Well, there's the boardwalk with several interesting shops. There's also an arcade next door with lots of interesting games to play. We have restaurants, shops, and even an amusement park here as well. Obviously there's the beach, but I suggest not going in yet."

"Really?" Bates said, disappointed. "Why not?"

"It's most likely too cold this time of year. You'll feel like you're freezing when you get in there. Trust me when I say it's not pleasant." She said this and shivered.

"Okay. Thanks for the info." Bates left the hotel, determined to have one of the most awesome vacations ever.

The crew at Trot Comics was busy coming up with their stories, feeling better after brainstorming their plans. Queso was still researching the politics of the time, so he hadn't been able to create anything yet. Heyfield was still working with Malarson in trying to create a story that didn't result in somepony punching another and kept on failing. Web and Finch were now trying to figure out how to incorporate giant robots in their story as well. Buronson however was waiting for Sound, who was late this morning.

"Hey, Cloverbud, you know if Sound's coming in today?" he asked, hoping that she'd called in or something.

"I hope so. We only have two weeks to get this thing done, so we need her here on the double."

"Yeah. I'm still trying to figure out this one scene where-" Buronson was interrupted when Sound came barging in, a very angry expression on her face. "Um, hello Sou-"

"I just found out my dad's in jail!" she yelled out. "Apparently our Editor forgot about his dog and called my dad to help take care of it. Not only that, but A.C. and Pawpads are there with him!"

"Who?" Red asked, not aware of Sound's friends.

"Paws is the vet and A.C.'s an artist," she explained quickly. "Anyway, those three had to break in because Bates didn't have any keys for them and apparently had pills or other things on the ground. Oh, and you know what's even better? They're also being charged on suspicion of murder."

"What?!" the entire staff yelled out.

"Yeah! Turns out that nopony's seen Bates since he left here yesterday and when they were in his house there was dried blood on his floor. Dad's not worrying since he knows that Bates is alive and'll bail him when he gets out. That, or when he eventually calls. They don't know where Bates is right now."

"Geez. Sorry to hear that," Buronson said.

"Thanks. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a break from this right now and do something like help out Heyfield. Seems like he's really having trouble with his comedy." Sound left her writer all alone and went over to her associate's desk, who was currently brainstorming several other ideas for something funny.

"Maybe I could have a story that focused on a sad clown," Heyfield told them.

"Alright. What would happen with the clown?" Malarson watched as Heyfield tried to come up with something.

"The joke is that a clown is sad?" He looked to see their reactions, disappointed to see nothing happen. "Yeah. I'm not so good at this. Wish I could make a comedy about punching."

"Hey, just be glad that your manly comics always put a smile on my face. They're so dumb I can't help but laugh," Sound told him.

"Thanks. I wish I could punch in them. That'd relieve me so much." Heyfield thought that idea over and came up with an idea. "Wait, what if he just doesn't punch?"

"What're you getting at?" Red asked.

"The comedy could be about a super-muscular pony living in a non-muscular world like ours and his inability to punch things."

"We could actually work with that," Malarson said. "Make one of your characters with your art style and have somepony else work with the other surroundings."

"Wait, you're saying not to have my normal art style for the book?" Heyfield and Red looked confused at this suggestion.

"Yeah. After all, if your art is same for everything else and not just the main character then it won't stand out." Malarson noticed that Heyfield looked like he was cringing at this suggestion.

"You know, I could actually help you with the art. After all, my art's a bit of the opposite style you use," Sound suggested. "Just let Red do the artwork with Burry."

"What?" Buronson asked.
"Okay. That'll work." Red went over to Buronson and the two looked awkward as they sat down together.

"Now," Sound said, "let's start on this."

Pepperoni, A.C., and Pawpads sat down in their holding cell, waiting out there time.

"So, what now?" A.C. asked.

"We wait," Pawpads said without energy. "Hopefully Bates'll call soon. I don't want this on my record."

"Don't worry guys! I'm sure that he'll call to check on his dog as soon as possible. Bates is responsible like that." Pepperoni was confident that things would work out for them. A guard came out and approached the cell they were in.

"Excuse me, but are you three the ones who were in the Bates residence?" he asked.

"Yes. Did you get a call from Bates yet?" Pawpads asked.

"No. He's still missing, and you're still possible suspects. However, we did receive a testimony from several witnesses who say that they did see him at their workplace. Some we couldn't use, but others were valid. Right now you three are only charged with Breaking and Entering."

"Oh, well, that's something of a relief," A.C. said, a weight coming off of his chest. "Wait, we're still gonna be in here though, aren't we?"

"Yes. Unless the three of you pay bail. You'll be able to meet with a judge tomorrow on that if you please, but if you really do think that Mr. Bates will vouch for you then you could save yourself money and not go, but spend who knows how long in here." The three contemplated this situation.

"I think we'll-"

"We'll pay," Pawpads said, interrupting Pepperoni.

"Very well. You'll see the judge tomorrow afternoon. Good night." The guard left, leaving a baffled Pepperoni.

"Pawpads, why?"

"Look, I've got a job helping sick animals. I can't be out for two weeks waiting for somepony to come and save me and my fiance. It can't be too much, and I can't stay in a cell for that long." Pepperoni looked surprised by this, but knew she was right. The business would also not have anypony to run it if he was here. After all, Bloomheart would be the only one there and she still had her shifts at the hospital. A.C., being a independent music artist....it wouldn't be nice.

"Alright. Hopefully it goes well for us. After all, how much could bail be?"

Criminals, However, Pay a Lot

Sound and Cloverbud were busy that morning. With Pepperoni currently in jail, the two of them needed to run the restaurant. He'd been the one that always ran it by himself, and it's a miracle how he was able to do so.

"How did dad manage all this?" Sound asked as she got the ovens prepped.

"This is his passion. He was always good with cooking and somehow knew how to get it done quickly," Bloomheart said as she prepared the silverware. "Now, when you have an order you have to-"

"Write it down fast, use one of the balls of dough, and placed the order list on top of the oven that's baking it. I know this stuff, mom. I've lived in this place all my life."

"I know. It's just the first time that you've ever run the place on your own. It's either been your father or me, and I won't be able to get to you today with the surgery." Bloomheart fumbled with a pizza cutter, catching it before it landed on the ground. She took a deep breath and told herself that everything was going to be fine. "Say, what do the ponies at work think about you not coming in right now?"

"They're pretty accepting of the situation. After all, it's not every day that your boss gets your dad put in jail. Not only that, but everypony is doing planning for their stories right now, so they don't need me immediately. I'll be fine running this place until he gets out." Sound started pushing her mother out the door. "Now, go and help with your life-saving job while I keep the family business going. Don't bother checking in if you can, cause I'll probably be busy with all the customers." Sound pushed her out and shut the door before her mother could say anything. "Now, what do I do?"

Queso and Tres were just about in the middle of there books on modern politics when they couldn't take it anymore. They'd spent the last two days non-stop reading about economic policies and social issues without getting any work done.

"Joe, we can't do this!" Tres screamed out. "I have no idea how we can combine our superheroes with politics when we don't know much about politics!"

"Yeah. I think you may have a point." Joe through back his book on political economy and said, "It honestly looks like we won't be able to do this accurately."

"I know, I know. I mean, how can you do a comic about politics if you don't give a comprehensive explanation and understanding of policies, reasons, and the characters who hold them?" Joe thought through Tres' dilemma and came up with an answer.

"Maybe we don't."

"Huh?"

"Tres, think about it; how many ponies do you know that fully understand the complete political world with all of its consequences, policies, complex cultural issues, and economics?"

"Absolutely none," Tres replied confidently.

"Exactly! We should use that to our advantage. Make the heroes fight for political ideas and policies that they don't fully understand. Ponify them a bit by showing some understandable weakness."

"Awesome!" Tres was firmly on board with Joe's plan, but then realized something. "Hey, Joe?"

"What?"

"What pony should hold what position, and on what kinds of policies? Also, why do they suddenly get involved with politics?" Joe tried to reply, but didn't know how to answer.

"I'm not completely sure yet. Let's work on what characters we'll use and analyze them to see how they'd react to...something. I'm not sure yet on what's a popular political subject."

As the two worked on deciding what heroes they'd pick, Buronson and Red tried to work together.

"So, Sound said that we'd try to make the story around Jenshiro becoming a Warrior Princess of a tribe. While that does sound like a place we could start, her ideas on how she'd become a princess were a bit," Buronson hesitated, saying, "weird."

"What does that mean?" Red inquired.

"She said that Jenshiro could read a magic book and suddenly become an alicorn," Burry replied, placing his hoof on his face when he said this.

"That sounds...dumb. Also, it sounds like a definitive deus ex machina." Burry was surprised by Red's vocabulary.

"Yeah. Needless to say we're not doing it. I was thinking of something more along the lines of some genetic mutation of sorts, but I'm wondering how that could work."

"Maybe you could do a thing where you destroy Face Fist's nuclear cannon and she becomes irradiated, causing the mutation. When she gains the horn she also finds herself starting to use magic, leading to a later saga where a villain creates alicorns with that method."

"Red! That's awesome! We could totally do that." Red kept on surprising Buronson. He'd always thought that he must be unintelligent because he worked on Heyfield's stories. Apparently he was pretty good at creating his own.

"Yeah. I know how awesome I am." Red was feeling pretty bold at that moment. "Also, here's my practice art on Jenshiro. Hope you like it." Oh boy.

"Three thousand! Three-freaking-thousand!" Pawpads yelled as she left the courtroom. "There's no way I can afford that!"

"Yeah. I'm pretty much screwed as well," A.C. added, wondering how many songs he'd need to write before he could afford it.

"Hmm," was all Pepperoni said. "This might be more difficult than I thought."

"What gave you that bucking clue?!" Pawpads yelled at him. "Never should've listened to you. Now I'll have to spend a whole lot just to be free for a crime we didn't commit! We also have to pay for the bail bond, an additional three hundred, meaning that we almost total ten thousand bits! Where the hay can we find that money?"

"Well, I know of one place," Pepperoni said. "This is that I have to personally be at the bank to make a withdrawal from there. That, or be dead."

"Couldn't you just have your wife make the withdrawal?" A.C. asked as the three were ushered back to their cell.

"Nope. I have to be the one to make this withdrawal. It's a very secure account." He looked around and waited until the guard had put them back in their holding cell before continuing. "Look, you know how I sometimes bet on races?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, turns out that I'm good at it. Really good. Actually, I'm also good at running smaller betting pools. It was small at first, but started growing. I now get a cut of all bets and even have several ponies that work with me to run it." The two were surprised at what Pepperoni was telling them. "I also have ponies that help collect for me, and right now there's somepony that owes me a whole lot. Ten thousand to be exact. I'm usually lenient with payments, but it's an emergency, so I'll need to call it in."

"Uh, Mr. Pepperoni, sir, is this legal?" A.C. finally asked.

"I have no idea," he replied honestly. "I mean, is it illegal to set up gambling rings and have minotaur enforcers?" He thought for a moment before saying, "Probably."

"So, you make the call, collect the money, have them pay our bail and that's it?" Pawpads asked.

"Yeah. I mean, if it weren't for me you guys wouldn't be here in the first place. I'll pay for it all." Pawpads called out for one of the guards, asking if he could make a phone call. After being let out, he type in a mysterious number.

"This is Mr. Thes. What seems to be the problem?" a deep voice asked.

"Hello, Thes. This is Mr. Pepperoni."

"Sir! I'm sorry. Didn't know it was you. Sorry if I sounded gruff."

"No problem. Listen. I'm gonna need you to contact the recent pony that seemed to move away and get what I was promised. Like, in whole. I have a problem and I'll need you to come to the police station. Oh! Another thing. If you can't actually find her, get Mr. Bates. I don't know where he is, but I know you already know where the other pony is, so do whatever you want. Honestly, I just need one or the other. See you." Pepperoni placed down the phone and was escorted back to his cell. "Don't worry, guys! My guy's on the case."

Pepperoni's Pizza was on fire, the ovens spewing out flames. Everypony was galloping toward the exit while Sound tried to put out the fire.

"Hold on, everypony! I'll be finished with this in a moment." Sound grabbed the fire extinguisher and threw it at the fire. "Well, I guess that didn't work." She then flew out of the restaurant while it turned to ashes. Bloomheart watching in horror as their home was destroyed.

"Sound! What happened?" she asked.

"I decided to stuff the microwave with tin foil. I guess that wasn't a good plan." Sound shrugged and flew away, the flames behind her growing and engulfing the entire town.

"Everything is burning!" somepony yelled out. Soon the fire was spreading to fast and furiously to be stopped. It soon spread to the Everfree Forest, then Manehattan, and then engulfed Equestria, followed by the entire world.

"If only I hadn't left Sound alone at the restaurant!" Bloomheart cried out, floating in space.

"Gah!" Bloomheart woke up from her nap, Cathy and Tina looking surprised by her wake up.

"Well, looks like you didn't sleep well," Tina commented.

"I just dreamt that Sound burned down the restaurant, followed by the entire world."

"Well, that's a bit extreme," Cathy said.

"Yeah. I doubt it's that bad." Bloomheart looked at the clock and was surprised by what time it was. "Huh. I guess my shift is over. I better clock and and check on Sound."

"Good luck," the two said as Bloomheart grabbed her stuff and left.

Bloomheart's thoughts were racing as she went home. She thought of all the horrible things that could have happened while she was gone. When she arrived home, she went inside and saw the restaurant busy, Sound in the back.

"I have two large cheese!" she yelled. Two ponies came forward and grabbed the boxes. Sound then went back and placed another pizza into the oven. Bloomheart went over into the kitchen and decided to help out.

"Wow! This place is running well," she commented.

"Duh. I told you this place would run well with me. I've been helping you guys since I was five." Sound set the timer for that pizza and rested for a moment to talk with her mother. "So, busy day?"

"Yeah. The surgery was longer than expected. Almost lost them at some point. Never thought a nose job could kill." Bloomheart took a seat, tired from her nap. "Sound, I gotta apologize. I thought you were gonna burn down the place for a moment."

"Don't worry. You're a mother. That's kind of your job to do. Anyway, I could use some help with the dishes. You mind doing that?"

"Sure!" The two went back into their positions, both feeling proud in their own way.

Quality Control

Bates was having a blast with his vacation. He was dancing, going to fancy restaurants, blowing stuff up with what he suspected later on were anarchists. It was quite a time for him. Not only that, but he found himself staying out most of the night and coming back early morning. The concierge gave him the usual greeting as he entered.

"Good morning, Mr. Bates!" she said to the lumbering stallion, tired from his escapades. "Do you need any assistance getting to your room?"

"Nah. I'm just tired." He went slowly to the elevator and waited as it came down. As it opened, the cerulean mare hurried past him, not noticing him at all. "Wonder what that's about," he said as he entered. Pushing his number, the door closed and he was lifted up. When they opened, he was greeted by a large, sun-glass wearing minotaur.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a blue looking mare pass by here?" he asked. Bates thought about if he saw a blue mare pass by and couldn't think of any. There was the cerulean one, but no green.

"Nope. Sorry." Bates then went to his room and locked the door after entering, plopping down on his bed when it was in sight.

"Huh," the minotaur said, thinking, "I should have also asked him if he knew a 'Mr. Bates'."

The lunch shift at Pepperoni's Pizza was slow today, giving Sound some time to clean up the place before the downpour. It was pretty nice for Sound, having forgotten what it was like to not immediately worry about getting something done. All the dough was prepared, all the toppings readied, and now the floor and tables were fresh and shiny.

"Think I know why dad likes doing this," she commented as two other ponies entered the establishment. She turned to see that it was Cloverbud and Golden Bell coming in. "Hey guys! How's it going?"

"Pretty good," Golden Bell replied.

"Terrible," Cloverbud said.

"Huh. Guess things aren't going well with the toy guys then." Sound said this as if it were common knowledge to her. "Thing about those guys is that when it comes to girl toys they really lay it on with the pink and purple."

"Jenshiro was pink," Cloverbud told her. Sound burst into tears laughing when she heard that.

"Oh wow! I guess that myth I heard about those guys was real." Sound went on to clarify. "See, apparently Ashbro or whatever it's called accidentally signed a contract that made it so they end up buying an extra 200 gallons of pink and purple dye each year. Because of that the toy guys really need to market those colors so they don't suffer a big loss."

"That would make a while lot of sense," Golden Bell said as she looked up from her menu. "I think I'll have a cheese pizza. Wanna share, Clover?"

"Sure. One cheese pizza," she said through her crossed hooves.

"Coming right up!" Sound went into the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone.

"Cheer up, Clover. I'm sure they've improved the design now."

"You're a very hopeful girl, Golden Bell. My job is to look at things that area terrible and make them good. It's not as easy as you'd think."

"Oh really?" Golden Bell replied, looking a bit insulted by that statement. "Clover, I have to go and market all the stuff we make in order for us to let ponies know that we make things. Do you realize how difficult it is to figure out the best ways to get ponies interested and have them inform you of how they became interested? It's hard, and I do this marketing on my own, along toys most of the time, so I do know what it's like to deal with something difficult."

"Huh," Cloverbud said, somewhat surprised at the meek pony's backbone. "Guess we both do difficult things on our own."

"Yes. Yes we do." The two sat quietly until their pizza arrived. After eating the whole thing (to the surprise of Sound who couldn't believe their appetite) they went back to the factory.

"Oh boy, do I have a surprise for the two of you!" Cold Mold said to the two enthusiastically. "We REALLY went and looked at the character and took tons of notes. Trust me when I say you'll be impressed."

"If the character is now purple..." Cloverbud said, her eyebrow furled.

"Don't worry. We put extra work in it this time. Follow me." Going through the factory again, Golden Bell starting wheezing again while Clover just passed through. In the room they'd first seen the toys was a single box.

"I assume you reworked the one we saw before," Golden Bell said through gasps.

"Eeyup! Take a look at the new, improved, JENSHIRO!" He revealed the toy, shocking the two mares. Instead of the inaccurate toy before, this one looked like an exact replica of the character. "Now, what do you think?"

"Wow!" the two yelled ecstatically.

"Great! Now, the price per production of each of these is about forty bits, so-"

"Wait a moment," Golden Bell interrupted. "Forty bits to produce one of these? How much would they go for on the market?"

"Um, well, with the normal percentage adjustment, it would be in the realm of...one hundred and fifty bits." This price set Golden Bell's jaw on the table. "Now, it really is expensive, so-"

"I don't mind," Cloverbud said to the shock of those two. "After all, this is incredibly high quality. I approve it."

"Clover, are you out of your mind?! We can't mass produce that! It's too expensive, and what pony would spend that much on an action figure?"

"Golden Bell, I thought you wanted the best," Cloverbud said.

"Yeah, but at a cheap and profitable price! I'd rather go with the previous model than do something this expensive." Those words sent Cloverbud jumping out of her seat.

"You take that back right now," she said menacingly.

"Or what?" The two were now staring right into each other's eyes, challenging the other to make their move.

"Um, I don't think-"

"STAY OUT OF IT, MOLD!" the two yelled at him, not changing their glance. He slowly left the room and closed the door.

"There is no way I'm going to allow something that expensive to go into production," Golden Bell said firmly.

"Well there's no way I'm going to let something as shoddy as the previous toy besmirch my good reputation as Quality Control," contested Cloverbud.

"Same here with me." The two continued to stare until they heard a whistle and saw ponies leave the facility.

"It looks like we'll have to continue this later on," Cloverbud said.

"Yes." The two left the factory, never leaving the other's eyesight until they finally had to go home.

Crossfire

The workplace was tense the next morning as Cloverbud and Golden Bell sat at opposite sides of the room staring at each other. Everypony could feel the pierce of their eyes as they gazed past them. Heyfield, who was sitting right in the middle of the two, couldn't help but feel like he was in trouble.

"I'm...sorry?" he said, hoping whatever it was would stop. The two kept going on while the rest of the staff worked.

"So, Low, I was thinking that we could have the giant robot thing be at the end. Make it so it all leads up to it by including glances of the thing and little hints of the project as well." Finch was excited as he talked about his grand finale.

"Yeah, but how do they get there still? We're still trying to come up with a big baddie for Courage Colt." The two knew that their plan wouldn't work if they couldn't find a good villain for their hero.

"Maybe we could make it a crossover with Hoof of the South Star and have one of their characters be it," suggested Finch.

"You're not touching any character of mine!" Buronson yelled out.

"Okay. Doesn't look like we're doing that then. Maybe we could do a thing with a villain that's a weakling and have it so in the future he become really powerful?" Finch thought over Courage Colt's menagerie of villains, trying to think of one that wasn't a challenge.

"Hey, what about Mr. Multiple?" suggested Low Web. "He was that guy who could create copies of himself, but each one got weaker as a result. "

"Yeah! We could make it so he not only figures out how to make each copy just as strong, but later on figures out how to extend the process to others and take control of those clones." Finch was starting to get the gears moving.

"He also makes the clones by working with Nega Courage to get the DNA. That way it makes sense of how he could make copies in the first place!" Low Web was scribbling these ideas down quickly, hoping that he could make a full script out of it afterwards.

"Great. Now we still need to figure out where a giant robot can fir into all of-"

"ALRIGHT! STOP IT! I'm sorry for whatever it is!" Heyfield finally broke down under the pressure, feeling guilty about what he'd done. Or at least thought. The rest of the staff looked at him and then continued their work, the only one questioning his condition being Malarson.

"You alright?" he asked. Heyfield came to his sense and got off the floor, feeling embarrassed.

"Sure. Just...anyway, I was about to tell you about Bloodslash's back story. See, he was part of this elite mercenary group that went on the most dangerous assignments, but found himself being employed less and less as time went on. Turns out that there wasn't a market for mercenaries anymore, so he wasn't able to get paid anymore. Seeing as he was about to become broke, he took up a job in resource management at a paper company. Now, Bloodslash must deal with life as a boring resource manager and not mess it up with his violent tendencies!" Malarson clapped as Heyfield finished up.

"See! You knew how to make a comedy. You just needed the right direction." Malarson started writing up the office space that Bloodslash would be working in. Malarson had been the one to suggest that Heyfield do the main character while he designed the world surrounding it. That way the two writers could base their character's actions off of the other's to create tension within the story.

"Awesome. Now we just need to see Sound about the artwork. I'd like to see what she draws and how you draw yours."

"Don't worry, Mal. I'll get my stuff done and make sure Sound gets her work finished." Heyfield started sketching his character while still being in the crossfire of the two mares' vision. This might be a bit difficult for him.

Lunchtime for Bates was very relaxing. He'd eaten a fancy sandwich with a name he could barely pronounce and was now relaxing on a bench near the water. For him, Trot Comics was on the other side of the world.

"So, what's next?" he asked himself as he tried to make a plan. "I've gone dancing, eating, firebombing, and even karaoke. I guess I should finally go into the water now." Bates was conflicted as he thought this out. He'd never actually gone swimming before and was now going into a large ocean. "Maybe I should stick close to the shore." As he thought this over, a familiar mare took a seat next to him, gasping for air. "Hey, um, Lyre?"

"It's Lyra," she corrected between breaths. "Say, you're the guy who won a whole bunch of money, right?"

"Yeah?" Bates knew where this was heading.

"Awesome. So...could you lend me some?" Right on schedule. "I'm not trying to sound weird or anything, but I need ten thousand bits."

"WHAT?!" Bates couldn't believe what he'd just heard. A pony he'd only met once asking him for ten thousand bits. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because I'm really desperate really fast. I've gotta pay off these guys or they'll catch me and make me work for them for who knows how long," she explained. "I mean, can you imagine how many nights I'd need to play the harp for them before they let me go?"

"Not really sure on the base rate of that sort of thing." Bates thought about something and asked, "Say, if your name is Lyra, why do you play a harp?"

"Because I'm a harpist? What does my name have to do with my talent?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just seems like a common thing for most ponies to be named after something that they end up being good at." Bates stopped talking for a moment before he remembered something. "Say, weren't you just trying to run away from somepony?"

"Sorta. Some large minotaur in sun-glasses trying to collect on me." Bates thought about his experience with a minotaur not too long ago asking about a colored pony. He realized that it must've been him and that he simply confused what color horse he was looking for. "Right now I'm fine though. Left him in a china shop. Dunno why, but they end up being real careful in those places. Just need to find a good place to hide for now."

"You know, I do have an extra room in my suite. You could stay there." Bates had no idea what he was talking about, but just felt his body saying that. "After all, he wouldn't check the same place twice that quickly."

"You know what? Sure. It'll be close to work as well. Just head down to the lobby, get paid, and soon I'll have enough to pay back."

"Hoping that he doesn't check in on there again," Bates added.

"Yeah. So, you mind taking me there to hide? I'm certain he must be out by now."

"Alright." Bates led the unfortunate mare back to his room in hopes of concealing her from the brute.

The staff at Trot Comics was packing up their supplies, the day just about over. Everypony had had a rough day with planning, writing, glaring, crying, and general fatigue from the mandate. Just as the first pony was about to leave, Low Web pointed something out.

"Say, wasn't Ink Blot supposed to come in at some point to do the coloring?" he asked.

"We don't have anything to color, so why would he?" answered Finch.

"He doesn't know that, so why would he suddenly stop?"

"He only comes in at night. Remember?" Cloverbud informed them. "He should be here tonight. I'll leave him a note explaining what's going on and that there isn't anything for him yet."

"Why don't we do it in person?" Heyfield suggested. "It's not like we've ever even seen him. It'd be awesome to finally see our Colorist in the hide."

"You know, that's actually not a bad idea," Golden Bell added. "We've never paid much attention before with Mr. Bates working us till we couldn't wait to leave, but he's not here right now, so we can all hide and find out who this pony is!"

"Hide?" they asked her.

"Duh. He won't show himself if anypony else is watching. He might just not show up then." Golden Bell seemed to think that the entire reason Ink Blot came at night was to not be seen.

"Fine then. Let's find some place to hide and see what this pony looks like," Cloverbud said, finally giving in.

The crew was hiding in the ceiling above Mr. Bate's office, looking down a small hole they'd made, waiting for the pony to appear.

"You know, this is kinda boring," Tres said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. Didn't think it'd take this long," Red said. "Think he's a no-show?"

"He better not. Or else he wasted my time," Cloverbud said angrily.

"Our time is valuable as well, Clover." Cloverbud was about to respond to Golden Bell, when they heard the bell to the front door ring. The group silenced as they waited for the sight of the artist to appear, not knowing what he might look like. As he finally came into sight, the group was shocked by what they saw.

"He's a ze-" was all Joe was able to say before the ceiling crashed down, leaving a mangled group of ponies on Bate's floor. Ink Blot stared at this as if it were normal.

"Oh, um, Mr. Ink Blot? I'm Cloverbud, and these are your associates." She motioned over to the ponies stuff lying on the floor. "Anyway, we don't actually have any work for you yet. We were forced into a mandate, meaning we haven't finished writing the stories, so please come back at your regular time." Without a word, Ink Blot left the room, along with the entire crew confused.

Burn, Baby Burn!

Mr. Thes stood in his room, Lyra tied up in a chair. The knot wasn't tied well, but she knew that anything she tried would result in the minotaur bringing the pain.

"Now, do you have the money?" he finally asked.

"I'm working on it, alright? I left Ponyville so I could actually find a job where I'd earn enough to pay you back," she explained. "Now, if you'd just let me-"

"Look, I need you to somehow get me ten thousand bits right now, okay? I don't care how you do it, the boss needs the money and you have it, and that's what I do. Now you do your thing. Wait...I think I messed that up. Anyway, money." The minotaur felt like he was forgetting something and then remembered to ask. "Actually, there is another way you can help pay off the debt. You know a pony named 'Mr. Bates'?"

"Mr. Bates?" Before Lyra could say anymore, the door to the hotel room blew open, a group of long-haired ponies pouring in.

"Save the lady!" one of the guys said as he grabbed Mr. Thes' right leg. The minotaur just stood there as the ponies started grappling onto his body, trying to figure out the proper response to this. He finally decided to move however when he saw that Lyra had galloped out of the room.

"Stop!" he yelled, chasing her while covered in hippies. More and more of them poured in through his door, grabbing onto him until he could move anymore. "I wonder if anypony will believe me when I tell them what just happened."

"Blue chick! Follow me!" a hippie called out, leading the captured mare to safety. She was led outside to the exit of the place they were staying at, a familiar face standing there waiting for her.

"Mr. Bates?" she asked, surprised that the hippies were working with him.

"It's a long story," he told her as they rushed out of the building, looking for a safe place to hide. "But let's just say that those hippies are some pretty awesome ponies."

"Hey, Mr. Bates, do you know that big guy?" Lyra asked.

"Never saw him before I came across you. Why?"

"Well, he told me that if I told him where I could find you that he'd clear my debt. I didn't tell him anything though." Bates was horrified when he'd heard this. It looked like he was now a target of a possibly murderous crime lord.

"Thanks for that. You know anyplace we can lay low?" he asked.

"I know that the place we were staying at has an emergency safe room for situations like this. We can use that." Bates stopped in his tracks as soon as he heard this.

"Wait, so why didn't you stay there before?"

"It smells," she explained. Deciding that this wasn't something to bother arguing about, they went back to the hotel again, hoping that the minotaur wouldn't bother to check the place again.

Bloomheart was having a pretty good day on her shift. She'd managed to help a patient in critical condition stabilize and also found a bit in the vending machine. Those two things had never happened both on the same day before, so she took it as an omen of good things to come. It was during her lunch break that she really appreciated how well things were going for her. And then she remembered her husband was in jail.

"Bloomy! How's it going?" Cathy asked, sitting next to her.

"It's...going as well as things can for for now," she told her. "Definitely could be better."

"Husband still locked up?" Tina asked.

"Yeah. Just wish that Bates would call and sort things out already. I know he's on vacation, but he should at least check in on his dog."

"My guess is that he thinks you guys are doing fine on your own and don't need to be bothered," Tina suggested. "Wish he bothered giving you guys some contact information."

"Same. Can't change that now though. Just hope I can get through this time. Sound's spending her time at the restaurant since her comic place doesn't need her just yet. They're still writing their stories apparently."

"Is Sound doing fine on her own?" Cathy asked.

"Surprisingly, yeah! I worried that she was going to end up destroying the place and burning down Equestria. Turns out she can run that place on her own."

"Well, if she can do that on her own, I think I know something the three of us can do to cheer you up." Cathy smiled before announcing, "MALL TIME!"

"Wait, three?" Tina never hung out with Cathy ever, so this was a surprise. "I dunno about-"

"Oh come on, Tina. I never get to have time outside of work with you." Cathy gave her a sympathetic look that Tina was annoyed by.

"Fine. I'll join." She was excited to finally get her other coworker to go out with her.

"So, Bloomheart, where would you like to go first?"

"Honestly, I have no idea if I'd like to go out. I think Sound might need help when I get home, so I think I'll pass." Bloomheart's attempt to not deal with her coworkers outside of work again didn't look like it would work. Tina, the senior nurse there, gave her a look that said 'you will join or I'll make you work in blood drives'. "Well, I guess I could try to make it. I think Sound can do well."

Sound was dealing with a rush that evening, both a soccer team coming in from a victory (along with their competitor) and a clown posse deciding to eat there.

"I want extra cheese!" one kid kept screaming. Several of them were kicking their ball around and almost kicked it right into Sound's face.

"Calm down! And stop kicking that ball around!" she yelled. Looking up at the clock, Sound wondered where her mother was. "She was supposed to be off her shift an hour ago. What's taking so long?"

"Excuse me, mam, but where is my pizza?" one clown asked.

"It's being cooked. Should be about half an hour. she explained. Sound opened an oven and turned around to grab one of the pizzas, not noticing the soccer ball landing in the oven.

"Is that my pizza?" the clown asked her.

"Yes. Patience," she said, too busy to notice the ball kicked on there. "Now, who's next?"

"Mememe!" two foals with jerseys yelled, fighting over their chance to place their order.

"Calm down fellas! I'll be able to get them made faster if you cooperate."

"I was pizza with pepperoni!" the one on the left yelled.

"I want anchovies!" the other yelled, grossing Sound out.

"Hate those things," she said as she went back into the kitchen to prepare them. Going back into the freezer she grabbed a can and opened it up, grossed out by their smell.

"Where's our ball?" one kid asked. "I don't wanna lose it. I just pumped it and everything!"

"Heh. Serves you right," Sound said under her breath, hoping that ball wouldn't cause her anymore trouble. "Now, onto the peppero-"

"BANG!" went the oven that Sound just put a pizza into. Checking out the noise, Sound noticed that the pilot light was apparently broken. She opened it up and saw the remains of the ball on the pizza.

"Soccer! I hate you!" she yelled out. "Now I have to fix the light and reignite the thing." She tried to do this, but noticed several of the other pizzas were ready. She decided to deal with it after she'd served the other customers, taking a good forty minutes before she could get to it.

"Now, let's fix this thing." With the supplies in hoof, Sound began the repair. She replaced the light and lit a match to reignite the oven. Unfortunately, Sound had forgotten to turn off the gas during that time and left the oven door open, flooding the place with gas. When she lit the match, everything went downhill.

Pizza to Ashes

It was early in the morning when Sound arrived home with Tina and Cathy after a long night of partying. The three hadn't had a night like that ever since they started working at the hospital. It was just what they needed.

"This was great! Thanks for doing this, girls," Bloomheart said, carrying her bags behind her. "Didn't think that things would go that well. Glad you convinced me to go with it."

"No prob! Just knew you would need something and this seemed like it'd get you out of the dumps," Cathy said while Tina followed, dragging both of their bags along.

"Honestly, I thought I'd be too old for this, but I actually felt pretty energized while shopping. Dancing was pretty neat as well."Tina said.

"Well, I'll definitely be turning in as soon as I get get home. Glad I don't have a shift tomorrow." Bloomheart was getting close to home when she saw smoke and glowing over the houses. "What's going on?"

"I dunno. Maybe a bonfire?" Tina's guess made Bloomheart's adrenaline rush through her veins as she rushed around the corner to see what was causing the glowing in the night sky, only to come across the burning remnants of her restaurant and home.

"SOUND!" she yelled out as she dropped her stuff to see what remained and to find out if her daughter was safe. She looked around and saw a crowd looking at the firefighters hosing the place down. "Sound! Where are you!"

"Mam, are you alright?" a guard asked.

"This is my home. My daughter was working here. Her name is Sound Barrier. Have you seen her?"

"I think so. Let me check." Bloomheart's heart was pumping as she waited for him to come back with the news. She worried about all the things she'd had on her mind for the past week. She worried about her husband, her daughter, her home. She thought that these things were already solved, but now they were back with vengeance. The guard soon came back, a stern look on his face.

"Come with me, mam. I'll bring you to her." Bloomheart couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing due to this guard's reactions. Led to the ambulance. There she saw a pony covered in soot with a blanket wrapped around them.

"MOM!" Sound cried out, dropping the blanket and galloping over to her mother. The two hugged instantly, both grateful to see each other safe. "I was worried when you hadn't come home when you should have."

"You're worrying about me?" her mother asked incredulously. "I think you've gotten confused. about what should be going on.
The two laughed in relief at the knowledge that the two were safe. The relief soon fell away as the reality of the situation revealed itself to the two. "Uh, Sound?"

"Yes?"

"HOW THE BUCK DID YOU BURN DOWN OUR HOME?!" Compared to the burning in Bloomheart's eyes, the fire looked look a sizzle.

"Well, I was making pizzas for a large group of ponies when suddenly a soccer ball got kicked into one of the ovens."

"And you didn't notice that?"

"I was really busy. Anyway, what happens is that the oven closes and the ball end up blowing up with the heat and air stuff. It breaks the pilot light and I open it up to replace it but forgot to turn off the gas. Took me time to actually replace it with all the customers I had. Well, when I finally replaced the light and lit a match," she motioned over to their house.

"How'd you get away from that unharmed?" her mother asked.

"Turns out that the same guy that placed the spell on my hair also made it flame retardant." The two were grateful that the spell that Sound's former bandmate used when he did her hair finally had some use. "Anyway, i tried to fight it with the extinguisher, but it wasn't enough."

"Well, at least you didn't just throw it at the fire," Bloomheart said, hugging her daughter. Sound's eyes widened when she realized that she had used the extinguisher incorrectly.

"Maybe he could smash it?" Heyfield suggested to Malarson as the two worked on his story. "After all, that's not punching."

"I guess you're right," he replied, looking over the script. "He could also bite-" Malarson stopped as he looked over to hear the door slamming with Sound coming in with another pony following behind her. She looked as if she had come out of a burning building the way her coat looked.

"Sound? You not working at the restaurant today?" Cloverbud asked. She then noticed that her mother was with her as well.

"No, Clover. I'm not working today at the restaurant. I can't work today at the restaurant. The restaurant is currently in a state of disrepair. Guess why." Sound hoped that the state of her appearance would explain what happened.

"Your place was swarmed by a sandstorm?" guessed Heyfield.

"A mutating virus spread to the customers and made them destroy the place?" Low Web asked, wondering if the time had come for his secret bunker to be used.

"A fire. It was a freaking fire. I'm covered in ashes, alright? I got freakin' singed also. My mom's here since she doesn't have work today and the firefighters say our house isn't safe yet to return to."

"Geez, Sound. Sorry to hear," apologized Queso. "You guys need a place to stay for now?"

"Yeah. We're looking for any places to take us now. Don't wanna bother any of you with us staying with you." Sound told them, hoping not to get any other offers from her coworkers. "Hopefully we get the okay to stay in the upper part of our place. That's where our rooms are."

"Okay then," Heyfield accepted. "Hey, you wanna see what we've managed to make? Got something going with our main character now."

"Sure. Mom, just try to find someplace comfy to stay while I'm working, okay?"

"Okay." Bloomheart was still in shock from what had happened earlier that morning. She was okay initially, but as she saw the state of the restaurant she and her husband had created her mental stability started to slip. Right now she was quiet and barely moving, almost as if she were in a dream.

"So Malarson, how's it looking?" Sound asked as she sat down at their desk.

"Well, we've got a basic premise that seems to be working. Our story focuses on a super-tough stallion who's trying to adjust to society with the help of an organization." Malarson continued his synopsis while Bloomheart wondered around, checking out her daughter's workspace.

"Anything I can help you with, mam?" Golden Bell asked as she saw the guest moving around.

"No. Just...checking things." Bloomheart looked around, her face gloomy and with no energy to it.

"Aww. I wish I could fix things for your family right now. Can't begin to imagine how difficult it must be for all of you."

"It's...not good," she said quietly. "Wish things would return to normal."

"Well I know that things should get better soon as your husband gets released. I know that you guys are looking around for a place to stay, but you can always stay with either me or Heyfield. He has a pretty big place and will definitely help you out. It'd also be good for him to work on his new project with Sound while she's there."

"Thanks," she replied quietly.

"No prob! Say, why don't you join me and Cloverbud when we go over to see the new toys today?"

"That sounds interesting." This was probably the first real positive thing Bloomheart had said since the disaster.

Cold Mold was feeling nervous as he examined the new toy he hoped to present to the comic book ponies today. He'd personally looked over the toy's creation in order to determine if it was what he had in mind. With only a couple minutes left, Mold looked over his notes and rehearsed it all in his head.

"Mr. Mold," the intercom blared, "three mares are here to see you."

"Okay Mold. You've got this." He decided to greet the three mares as they entered through the doors, this time the toy already with him. He didn't want that one spunky mare to end up fainting from the fumes again. "Hello, ladies! I've decided to cut to the chase and bring the toy right here for you to see. I'm really certain that you'll enjoy this one."

"Is it expensive?" Golden asked.

"Retail at twenty bits."

"Is it faithful?" Cloverbud inquired.

"As faithful as I could make it." Mold waited for the third pony to speak up, but she just stood there.

"Oh. Don't mind me. I'm just a guest of theirs," she explained.

"Alright. Well, here it is!" The cover was removed from the toy, revealing a small action figure that had all the main details down correctly. The expensive fabric had been replaced by the plastic painted mold that now consisted of the entire figure.

"This does seem decent," Cloverbud said as she analyzed it.

"Say, what's that winding thing in the back for?" Bloomheart asked, turning the tool. Cold Mold started holding in gleeful laughing as he awaited their reaction.

When wound up, the doll's forearms started swinging around. While doing so, the microphone inside of the toy let out "ATATATATATATATA!" stopping only when the swinging stopped. Bloomheart was memorized by this and turned the knob for another two times. At the end of the third she started laughing wildly.

"Oh my goodness! This is so awesome! It's actually got the whole punching thing with it and the scream also! Can I just have this for a bit longer?" Cold Mold's smile was just as big as Bloomheart's when he saw how happy one of the series' fans was with the toy.

"I'm sorry, but that's the working prototype. I'll be sure to save you one for when we finally start producing them however," Mold promised.

"Well, it looks like our work here is done," declared Cloverbud. "Come on, girls. We need to attend that party, remember?"

The Right to Party

It was evening time in the office now, the work finished for the day. It was also supposed to be the day that Ink Blot would be coming in. The last impression they made with him didn't go well, so this time they hoped to make things better.

"Alright, so who got the supplies?" Queso asked.

"It was supposed to be Sound," Cloverbud informed him. "Sound, did you get the stuff like we asked?"

"What? No! I've been busy with the restaurant and everything so I couldn't research zebras or whatever you asked me to do. Sorry that I couldn't take time away from my family business to look up different cultures because you guys apparently can't be culturally sensitive or whatever it was that happened."

"Okay. Guess we won't do that thing then," Tres said as he gathered up his jacket. "Well, see you guys tomorrow."

"Wait, you're all going?" Sound seemed to change her tone from bothered to worried.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like we've actually got anything ready for any party or whatever this was supposed to be."

"Then can we at least work until the guy arrives and apologize for last time?" Sound replied. "I'd like to see this guy myself. See who does all my coloring."

"I agree with Sound," Malarson added. "We've still got a lot of work to do and not much time left to do it. We should get ourselves primed to crunch now with the deadline approaching."

With Malarson's revelations about the deadline the group worked late into the night, getting things completed for their projects. Low Web and Finch finally figured out how to insert the giant robot fight alongside the dream sequences so it worked perfectly. Red Lead and Buronson were finally getting their story polished as well, Lead finally figuring out how to draw feet and hooves. Sound joined Malarson and Heyfield as they got the contradicting art styles to work well in the panels. Overall, progress was definitely being made. In the meanwhile Bloomheart was killing time in Cloverbud's office with the two others.

"So, what do you guys do while they're busy?" she asked.

"Well, right now I'm looking over the recent ads I've placed for the special books we're releasing," Golden Bell explained. "There'll be a special event with these stories where the reader can call in and say whether or not they want these mandates to be included in the canon or not. That way you guys can back out if things don't go well."

"And I sit here and wait for everypony to bring me their work," Cloverbud said, laying back in her chair. "Normally I play Solitaire until somepony comes in. Wanna join me?"

"I guess." With nothing else to do, the two played Solitaire together until they realized that it was too easy with another player. With that option gone, they decided to pass the time by talking.

"So, Bloomheart, you know where you two are gonna stay for now?"

"I wish. I really don't feel like making one of you guys take us in. It'd just be awful for us to do," she explained.

"You know, we really do want to help you out. It's not like we feel the need to ask you guys. It's a thing we want to actually do for you two."

"Thanks, Clover. I guess I also just can't get over the fact that I can't get into my home right now as well. I mean, that was my husband's dream and we both worked together to make it real."

"You'll be able to rebuild it again soon. Don't worry about it for now. Also, you're staying with me tonight. Sound will stay with Golden Bell. This is an order, so no buts, okay?" Cloverbud's stiff face somehow made this talk all the more soothing for the tired mare.

"Okay," she replied.

"Great. I'll let Sound know and-" Cloverbud stopped talking as she noticed Ink Blot's finished work in her outdoor folder. She looked around and didn't see him anywhere. "Did anypony see Ink Blot?"

"Huh?" Low Web said, looking up from his desk. They were all too busy to see the stealthy zebra.

"Don't worry, Ink Blot," she said menacingly. "I'll be ready next time."

One More Day

The hotel staff and hippies were all in position for the final assault by Mr. Thes. For the past several hours he'd sent his goons after them in order to get their money, but due to an ancient oath by the hotel to protect their inhabitants at all cost they've joined forces. It was now only a matter of time.

"Can't stop thanking you for protecting us," Bates said to the manager.

"Hey. I wouldn't be a good boss if I purposely let everypony who worked or purchased from me get hurt," he replied. "Wait, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like," the manager paused a moment before declaring, "honking."

"They're back everypony!" Bates yelled out. Soon as he warned them their foes suddenly broke through the barricaded doors.

"They're sending in the clowns!" the receptionist finally yelled out.

"I only wish I knew how a minotaur could convince a clown troupe to help him hunt down a target," Bates said, lobbing furniture at them.

"Doesn't matter anymore," Lyra said, helping Bates regain focus. This onslaught of furniture and clowns continued until a large figure covered in billboard appeared through the entrance.

"It's the minotaur! Open fire!" Everypony followed the command, throwing everything they had with them. Eventually the minotaur stopped right in front of his target and cleared his throat.

"Look, I'm just trying to find a Mr. Bates. It's pretty important, and I think we'd all get through this easier if any one of you pointed me to him," he told the staff.

"We'd never betray one of our clients!" one of the managers yelled back.

"All I need is for him to talk with my boss. Hay, I'll wipe that blue/cerulean/whatever colored pony's debt clear with it, alright?"

"Wait, that's all you want?" Bates asked.

"Yeah. You know the guy?"

"I'M Mr. Bates," he declared.

"Huh. Well, that makes this easier." Mr. Thes got out a cellphone and dialed a number. "Yes, I have information about a case involving a break-in with Mr. Bates' house."

"Wait, what?"

"Anyway, I have information on Mr. Bates' whereabouts. Where? Right here actually. He was on vacation. Here he is." The cellphone was handed over to Bates, receiving it with a confused expression.

"Hello?" Bates asked, hoping to understand just what was going on.

"This is the Ponyville Police Department," the voice said. "About a week ago we arrested three ponies inside of your house. While in there we also found blood on the floor."

"Any idea on who those three were?"

"They were Pepperoni, Pawpads, and Apple Cider." Bates' nearly dropped the phone when he heard that. "Hello?"

"They were there to feed my dog!" he yelled at the officer. "The blood was from an accident I had earlier that morning. I also forgot to give them my keys, so they must've broken in to do so."

"Oh." The phone was silent for a minute before the other line said, "Well, if you can just verify yourself with ID we can get this settled. Thank you and have a nice day." There was a click and Bates was left there, anger and confusion overwhelming him.

"Come on! This is just plain awful. First vacation in years and I have to cancel early." Frustrated, he remembered something else. "Oh yeah, and those guys at work. They better be through when I'm back, otherwise I'm just gonna be angrier."

"Anyway, that's what I was sent here to do," Mr. Thes told him. "Miss Lyra, you're debt is paid, or whatever. I'm not sure if I have to collect still or not, but I don't think it matters anymore."

"Awesome!" she yelled out.

"Alright, but one thing first." Bates dialed in another number, waiting a moment before somepony picked up.

"Hello?" a groggy Cloverbud asked.

"Clover, it's your boss. Look, I'm coming home today because of something weird and need for you guys to finish up your issues by the end of the day. I'm a bit angry, so don't mess this up." He immediately hung up right before he heard Cloverbud's horrified reaction.

"Clover! What's going on?" Bloomheart said as she burst into the room.

"I just got a call from Bates. He's coming home today!" she yelled out, jumping out of bed.

"That's great! He can now get Pepperoni and the rest out of jail." Bloomheart's happiness contradicted Cloverbud's extreme distress.

"And also get us in trouble for not completing our stories. I need to call the rest of the crew and get them together. Bloomheart, get us donuts. We'll be crunching today." Bloomheart ran downstairs, hoping to find someplace that sold donuts that early in the morning.

The group of Trot Comics was all together, gathered in front of their building.

"Where's Cloverbud? She's the one with the keys," Finch said.

"I have no idea," replied Golden Bell, looking around. She said that she'd be here ASAP. Weird that it's taking her so long." As soon as she finished saying that, Cloverbud and Golden Bell appeared, both holding plates covered in foil.

"Sorry for the wait," apologized Clover. "SOMEPONY decided that instead of getting donuts or something simple that she should instead cook up a bunch of pizzas."

"I couldn't think of anyplace open and just went with what I knew," Bloomheart told the group sorrowfully. "I've got a lot of stuff that's been going on, alright?"

"Look, let's just open up and get started. We were talking through how to finish up the stories and we're pretty certain that if we get into it we may just finish up before Bates comes back." The group followed Sound's advice and got it open fast. They then rushed to their desks and started working frantically.

"Okay, so how can we end this thing?" Low Web asked Finch, hoping he'd have a plan.

"Well, we could always go the route of 'it was all a dream' if it really-" A hoof suddenly hit Finch in the back of his head. The two turned around to see that it was Cloverbud. "Cloverbud, what the hay?"

"Look, we're on rush more and I can't stop to review every comic, but one thing I can do is stop you all from doing something before you start. That should keep things fast. Bloomheart! I'll need you to help me clear out the bad ideas as well. Use force as desired."

"Oh wow! Do I get paid?" she asked, not knowing how the business worked.

"You'll be my temporary intern," Cloverbud responded.

"So...do I still get paid?" The entire room started shouting with laughter. everypony stopping their work to catch their breath.

"That was just what we needed. Thanks for the humor," Cloverbud replied. "Now, if anypony else has terrible ideas for their story get it out of the way so we can get to the good stuff."

For the next two hours the crew thought of important plot points as quickly as possible. Buronson decided that the entire saga would conclude with their alicorn character losing their wings in a big sacrifice to stop a nuclear bomb and failing, losing the ponies that considered her a princess. Queso and Tres couldn't figure out a particular issue for them to use in the fight or any actual heroes, so they made some up (though they could've picked better names than 'Strong Guy'). The heroes ended up fighting over a political election with parties and Cloverbud, clueless on politics, couldn't complain. Low Web and Finch ended up having a time paradox wipe the time slate clean, leading to everything going back to the way it was. Hopefully anypony that actually didn't like the clone saga would be happy that it didn't interfere with the main story. The last thing being made was by Heyfield and, surprisingly enough, he was almost finished with it. Apparently working with Sound and Malarson had really made it easy for him to write.

"Wow. We might actually be able to do this," Sound said as she finished drawing the last page of panels.

"Yeah, but something feels like it's missing," Malarson added. "It's almost like something isn't there."

"What else is there? We've done the writing and drawing. What else do you need?" Heyfield, Sound, and Malarson sat there for a moment before they realized what they needed.

"COLOR!"

The train ride back to Ponyville was incredibly awkward. Lyra was sitting next to Bates while Mr. Thes was sitting right across the two of them, eating a sandwich he had in his pocket.

"You guys want any?" he asked them.

"No thanks," Bates said as he looked out the window. "Mare, of all the things to happen on vacation. Hope Pepperoni isn't angry."

"Who's that?" Lyra asked.

"He's the friend that got arrested for trying to help feed my dog. Didn't give him a key so he had to break in. Wonder why he needed those two friends of his daughter though."

"So you'll be going over there then?"

"Yeah. Though I really need to ask something. Hey, Mr. Thes."

"Yeah?" Thes asked, putting down his food.

"Why exactly were you sent to get me? Seems like an odd thing for an enforcer to do when I'm not even related to Lyra's debt."

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that now," he explained. "Only know that once Pepperoni is free can I leave."

"Whatever," Bates said, returning to his window. "Wonder what work will feel like now."

"BUCK!" Cloverbud yelled out as she was told what the issue was. "Does anypony know where our colorist lives?"

"No! Not only that, but he has the only copies of the other work we did when he took it to color." Sound and Cloverbud were both freaking out now, the other staff now realizing what was wrong as well.

"So what now?" Bloomheart asked, carrying her quality control bat.

"We need to search town and find where Ink Blot lives. Hopefully somepony else has seen him around. Otherwise we're pretty much left with nothing." Without hesitation the staff followed Cloverbud's orders and started searching the town. All except for Golden Bell who was currently in her office.

"What could she be busy doing?" Deciding to see whether or not she was busy, Cloverbud opened her door and found Golden Bell was on the phone with a carrier.

"Yes. About a week earlier. Be sure to correct that and make sure that customers know as well. Thank you." She hung up the phone and flipped through an address book.

"Bell, I need you to help out and search around for Ink Blot. We need our colorist fast."

"Clover, I'm kinda busy doing my job making sure we have ponies to carry our stories, so I can't help, alright?" She dialed a number and waited for a moment. "Hello. This is Golden Bell from Trot Comics. I'm calling to let you know that our special mandate issues are going to be released a week earlier than expected. Yes, I know this is an odd occurrence, but this is what's going on right now. Thank you for understanding." She was about to dial another number when Cloverbud approached her and put a hoof on the dial.

"Golden, I really need you to stop making calls. Our colorist is more important right now that the carriers."

"Fine." Golden Bell opened the door to her office and found standing right outside was Ink Blot. "Found him."

"Ink Blot! Glad you're here. I need you to work fast. The rest of the the comics are just about finished and we need you to color them now," Cloverbud instructed him. "Have you finished the rest of the other pages?" Without speaking, Ink Blot handed over his colored pages. "Okay, now we need for you to complete-wait, why are you here earlier than usual." He flipped through the pages he handed over and pointed to one panel that started to get colored before suddenly stopping.

"I think he's saying that we need to get him more art supplies," Golden Bell explained.

"Okay. I'll head down to the craft store and get some supplied. Golden, stay here and make sure nothing new happens." Cloverbud ran out the office and ran towards the mall, hoping that they would be thoroughly stocked.

After several hours the train carrying Bates, Lyra and Mr. Thes had arrived at the Ponyville station. The three of them had gone over to the police station to get Pepperoni and the others out of jail.

"Hey. I'm Mr. Bates. I'm the guy who you all thought was dead. Here's my ID, so yeah, it's me."

"Alright. Let me confirm this and then I can have you identify the three who were in your house." The guard went back and promptly returned, confirming the ID. Bates was then led to the holding cells to identify his friends.

"Bates!" Pepperoni yelled out. "Glad to see you! Can't wait to get out of here."

"Pepperoni man, I'm sorry that you got arrested for helping me out. Sorry you two got involved as well."

"That's alright," Apple Cider replied. "Well, actually, no. This really sucked."

"I really want to get out soon," Pawpads replied. "Can't wait to deal with raid animals again."

"Okay. I'll sign the paperwork and let you three out," the guard told them. "Because you were falsely incarcerated you can choose between getting a one thousand bit package or committing a crime with a sentence limit of one year."

"I'll choose to choose the 'one year' option," Pepperoni said to the surprise of everypony.

"Uh, we'll choose the money option," Pawpads replied.

"Okay then! Well, have a nice day!" The guard opened the cells and them led them out into the lobby where Mr. Thes and Lyra were.

"Miss Lyra, your debt is now paid off. Remember to be more responsible with funds next time," Mr Thes said, leaving the group. Lyra, no longer involved, went off as well.

"Who was that?" Pawpads asked.

"That was the help I called in," Pepperoni told them. "Come on. I'll make you guys a pizza."

The four of them went off and talked about their experiences with each other while heading over to Pepperoni's place to get something to eat.

"After the boardwalk I had to hide in an arcade for several hours," Bates said, recounting his vacation. "To keep from becoming seen I hid in one of the arcade cabinets when a large cow-"

"MY HOUSE!" Pepperoni yelled out when he saw it. He ran over to the ruins of the place while the three others approached it slowly.

"Oh wow," Pawpads said, approaching the dismayed pizza maker. "Pepperoni, I'm so sorry."

"Same," A.C. added, not knowing what else to say.

"How did this happen? Why did nopony tell me about this? Is my family okay?" Pepperoni was freaking out right then.

"I don't know, but I think that we can find this out at the hospital. If they were hurt then we can find out." Pawpads words were able to bring sense back to Pepperoni. Bates and A.C. help him back to his hooves.

"Yeah. Let's go there." The four hoped that things would be better than expected.

"Hey guys! You have any luck?" Sound asked as she returned to the office.

"Yeah," Heyfield replied. "Apparently he was right here when we left. Guess we didn't see him in the office."

"Great. Now we can just have the comics get colored and then send it off."

"Except we don't have any coloring supplies," he added. "Cloverbud went out to get some. Hopefully she comes back soon. I'll just grab some more of your mom's pizza while waiting."

"You really enjoy it?" Bloomheart asked.

"Obviously. Somehow I like having that more for morning than even donuts."

"You should see my husband with his morning pizza. He usually-"

"BUCK!" Cloverbud yelled out as she came in the office with her shopping bag. "For some reason all the stores were out of the good stuff and only had crayons!" She laid them out on the table right in front of Ink Blot. "I know it isn't much, but it's all we can do right now." Ink Blot looked at the crayons with wide eyes as if he couldn't believe what he had to work with.

"Wow. Feel sorry for him," Finch said.

"Look. We don't have much in the way of options so we might as well use this." Cloverbud told them. "I'm pretty sure that at this point Bate's train has come in so we have to do this quickly."

"Alright. I'll keep a look out in the lobby to make sure that he's not coming," Sound told them. "Somepony call an express pony ant tell them to meet at our window in case he somehow gets in the building." She went down into the lobby and waited in case somepony showed up. After several minutes she did see somepony she didn't expect.

"DAD!" she yelled out as she saw him right outside his office.

"SOUND! You're alright!" He ran and gave her a big hug. "I saw our place and worried that you guys had gotten caught in it. Didn't find anything at the hospital so I came hear to find you."

"Glad that you're out now." Sound suddenly realized something else. "Wait, does that mean Mr. Bates came by and vouched for you?"

"Yeah. He stopped by to check on his dog. Almost forgot about that." Pepperoni then realized something else. "Say, why didn't you guys come and visit me?"

"I was busy managing the restaurant during visiting hours," she answered. "Um, the fire was also related to me, but that's for another day."

"Well, at least our insurance can cover this. I always knew something like that would happen to it. Can't wait to see your mother right now."

"She's inside right now. Go inside while I keep the lookout for Bates," Sound informed her dad.

"Thanks!" He went into the place, wondering what his daughter meant by 'keeping a lookout'.

"Alright. Better make sure that Bates doesn't come here yet."

"What do you mean, Sound?" a voice said behind her asked. Sound turned around to find her boss standing right there.

"GAH! Uh...you surprised me, sir," she replied. "Say, would you like to go someplace right now?"

"Nah. I'd like to check on you guys and your finished projects. I'm tired from recent events and want to return to regular stuff. I really just hope that you guys learned to not mess with me next time though. Don't wanna assign another one of those projects again." Bates entered the building while Sound tried to find some way to delay him.

"Say! How was your dog?"

"Apparently he was alright. He ended up eating my couch. Dunno how it kept him alive though." Bates continued up to the workplace. Sound noticed right outside was an express carrier who flew around to the back.

"Uh, how was vacation?" Sound hoped that could keep him busy for a moment.

"Well, for the first couple of days it was like an actual vacation, but then things got really weird involving an enforcer, clowns, hippies, and nuclear bomb."

"Wait, what?"

"Doesn't matter now. I really should get back to work. Have seven other days for vacation. Wonder when I'll break and use them again." Bates went forward, Sound baffled at what he told her.

"Wait! I need to call those guys now!" Sound got on the phone and called Cloverbud's number.

"Yes?"

"HE'S COMING!" Sound yelled on the line. She then slammed the phone down and tried to follow Bates up and stop him. At that moment he was right up at the door, about to see the staff not finished with their work. He opened it and Sound used the only trick she had left.

"LOOK AT THAT!" she yelled, momentarily distracting Bates. She saw that the entire staff, even her mom and dad, were busy coloring the rest of the pages frantically as the express pony waited outside their window.

"Hey! Pizzas!" Bates approached the fresh pizzas that Bloomheart had made and took a couple slices. "I can't belief I'm this hungry." He started eating the pizzas right there, completely ignoring the staff. The rest of them scribbled furiously before Cloverbud gathered up the pages and put them in order. She bundled it up, placed it in a box, and tossed it to the delivery pony right outside.

"Morning, sir." Cloverbud greeted, exhausted. "How was your vacation?"

"It's a long story," he replied. "So, have you guys finished your mandates?"

"Eeyup! We really put a lot of effort into it. So, how about we take the day off to celebrate?"

"You know what? Sure. We've all got stuff to sort out it seems." Bates yawned while saying this. "I also need to rest. Go home everypony." The group left without a word, both exhausted and glad with their work.

3 WEEKS LATER

"Wow. Never thought a review could physically hurt somepony." Hayfield said, reeling back from his computer.

"It hurt me way more than you. I had to do the drawing and that was just brutal. At least you got some compliments." Sound put her head on the desk, feeling dead inside.

"I think it can pretty much be said that none if us got out unscathed." Low Web said as he saw a pile of mail on his desk. "Great. More hate mail."

"Can I use it for more origami?" Golden Bell asked.

"Sure. Just make sure to screen them first in case it's something terrible in them."

"I really don't want to work anymore," Joe said as he sorted through his own mail. "Politicians are actually calling me a 'Master of Propaganda' with my politics."

"It's probably worse for the other guys. They read the reviews and called off for today," Cloverbud told them. Right then Bates came out, looking troubled.

"Well, apparently the higher ups called and said that I apparently can't make mandates anymore. They said that it was so awful that the money we made couldn't make up for the terrible quality."

"So did you get fired?" Sound asked, worried.

"Oh no. They made a whole bunch of money off of it. Anyway I'll let you guys decide what you make now. That's what I've learned." Bates returned to his office, the rest of the crew tired.

"Well, back to work," Sound said, hoping the next story would come out better.

Ponyville Fails

Bloomheart had just left that morning as Sound was prepping for the day. It was business as usual with dough preparation and the works. What made this morning different though were the visitors.

"What?" she asked herself as she heard knocking on the door. "Who could want pizza this early in the morning?" Sound opened the door and found that Red, Cloverbud, Heyfield, and Williams were there.

"Sound," Heyfield said, "did you know that Ink Blot's a zebra?"

"Really?" Sound said. "Huh. And why did it take three others here to tell me that?"

"Well," Cloverbud stretched out, "we may have made him feel really uncomfortable last night. We pretty much crashed down out of the ceiling and-"

"Uh, I feel like there's a thing you guys left out," Sound told them.

"We just stayed hidden so we could see what he looked like," Red explained. "But yeah, we really messed up."

"So we decided that next time he came by we'd greet him and show we know his culture by throwing him a little thing," Heyfield added. "Wanna help?"

"Guys, I have no idea what's going on, and I don't want to get arrested for some weird thing that happens. My dad's still in jail and I don't want to do anything that gets me thrown in with him and leave this place without anypony." Sound closed her door and tried to get back to work, but the door was burst open.

"Sound! Please! We know nothing of zebras and we don't want to be speciest. You're our only hope of doing this properly." Sound was still surprised as Heyfield seemed to kick through the door without any issue.

"Uh...ok? I'm not an expert on this sort of stuff though. Why not ask that other zebra around?" Sound thought that over and then said, "Actually, no. That might not be the best idea. You could also look it up online. See what it's like."

"Awesome! Thanks, Sound. Alright guys, let's go and see that zebra and go online!" Heyfield left the restaurant and the rest of the crew followed, leaving Sound with a broken door and a feeling that things were going to go horribly wrong.

"Okay, you're clear," Bates said to Lyra after he'd examined the lobby.

"Thanks," she replied, picking up her stuff and getting into position. It'd been fairly easy for the two to outwit their pursuer. Apparently he wasn't the brightest enforcer as he never bothered to check back at where she'd been staying. She started playing, Bates appreciating the music he heard.

"Good stuff, isn't it?" a voice behind him said.

"Yeah," Bates responded.

"Too bad I"m gonna have to bring her in." Bates heard this and turned around to see the minotaur just standing there. "Oh, uh, disregard that last statement." The large enforcer went over and suddenly grabbed Lyra up right in front of everypony there. "Don't worry, folks. Just a pony inspector. This one escaped the factory." With such a confusing story nopony was able to realize he had walked out with her.

"Sonavu!" Bates yelled out as he realized his mistake. He burst out the front doors and looked around to see the enforcer running off, Lyra struggling in his arms. "Guess I have to go after her." Bates tried galloping after the two, but was suddenly pushed back by the crowd.

"Surf's up!" somepony yelled. A crowd of long-haired, smelly ponies suddenly pushed him away into the direction of the beach.

"No! NO! I hate hippies! I hate you all!" Bates looked at Lyra as she looked at the crowd, her horrified expression turning into laughter as she saw the hippie crowd. She then remembered that she was being kidnapped again and then responded appropriately.

Cold Mold was looking at the two Jenshiros, one pink and one detailed, and tried to figure out if he could figure out how to create a compromise.

"Okay. One looks really good but really expensive. The other is cheap but ugly. How can I make this something that isn't too expensive, but something the fans would buy?" Mold looked over the cover of the comic Hoof of the South Star and saw Jenshiro in one of her poses. "Maybe I could do something with...opposable limbs?"

"Mr. Mold, sir, are you finished? I need to clean here?"

"Not yet. I'm trying to figure out how to make this action figure work and be profitable. I've got these to work with, but they aren't very useful."

"Hmm. Hey, is that supposed to be that girl from that punching comic?" the janitor asked.

"I guess. It's Jenshiro from Hoof of the South Star. Not sure why you think it's the 'punching comic' though."

"My son reads this stuff. He showed me this one part where she punches really fast and screams 'atatatata' or something." Cold Mold heard what the janitor said and decided to check through the issue on his desk. He saw what he was talking about, Jenshiro punching insanely fast.

"Huh. I think I can totally work with this."