The Elephant in the Room

by Matthew Penn

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 6040

Twilight, look out! There's a gigantic elephant destroying your living room! Wait, why are you ignoring it?

What a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the air is crisp and fresh, nothing could possibly go wrong. Good morning Twilight, good morning elephant. Oh what a day to be alive...

Wait.

An elephant?

Twilight, look out! There's a huge elephant right behind you! Oh my gosh, it's destroying the library! Now it's going into town! Twilight do something! Wait, why are you smiling? Why aren't you doing anything?!

Published 2014-11-08 19:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-11-08 19:00:01 UTC

The Elephant in the Room

“Good morning, Twilight,” Spike said while whistling a pleasant tune to himself. He walked past the doorway to the library proper, past Twilight and the elephant, thinking about how good his breakfast was going to be. “Today is such a beautiful day,” he said. “Look how bright the sun is! I’m sure a lot of ponies are outside enjoying the weather. Like going to the park, the beach, or even the--”

He stopped. Slowly, he moved backwards until he was even with the doorway again. He poked his head inside. There was Twilight, along with a rather large, unknown visitor.

“Good morning, Spike,” Twilight said. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Twilight, do you know there is an elephant in the room,” Spike asked.

“An elephant? What do you mean?”

“The elephant that’s standing in the middle of the library.”

“Spike, you must be seeing things. How can a large creature like an elephant fit into a small room like this?”

Spike stared blankly at the unicorn, then back to the elephant. The giant mammal grabbed a silver lamp with gold stripes and threw it to the floor. The lamp broke into little glass pieces. Spike gasped and ran across the hallway. He came back to the spot with a small broom on one hand and a dustpan on another. While he was cleaning, the elephant used its trunk to swipe rows of books from their shelves.

“Whoa, Twilight watch out,” Spike yelled. “The elephant is messing up your books! You know how much you hate that!”

“Spike, please. There is no elephant.”

“But he broke your favorite lamp!”

“That old thing? I was planning to throw that out ages ago.”

The elephant turned to Spike and began to stomp toward him. A few more books fell to the floor as the room shook. A glass vase clattered into tiny pieces. Spike backed away slowly, pressing against a wall on the other side. The elephant crouched and tried to fit its huge body through the small opening. The elephant’s head was able to widen the narrow opening, but its body was stuck. It used it legs to pull its head out, but to no success.

“What’s the matter? You seem stuck,” Spike taunted. The elephant aimed its trunk at the dragon’s face and he was blown violently into the wall when the elephant made its unique, trumpet-like roar. Spike peeled off the wall like a snowflake and his mouth was agape at the hole his body made on the wall.

“Spike, that was rude,” said Twilight from the other side of the room. “Excuse yourself this instant.”

“That wasn’t me! It was the elephant!”

“Will you stop it already,” groaned Twilight. “A joke is a joke, but lies go too far.”

“I’m not lying! An elephant blew its trunk at me!” Spike yelled. The elephant struggled, twisting its head left and right and shoving his huge shoulders into the wall until part of that wall became a jagged, splintered hole. Spike pressed his small body to the wall once more when the elephant began to release itself. “Twilight, do something! Use your magic to make it go away, it’s about to escape!”

Twilight’s response was inaudible when the elephant broke free from the wall. The elephant stood proud above the pile of debris that used to be a wall. Spike quickly moved out of the way when the elephant marched toward the front door while destroying much of their furniture. Its tusks knocked over a coat rack and sent silverware shattering into the wooden floor. Its giant legs smashed a dresser and a table. Spike ran as fast as he could to catch up with the animal, but it was too late. The elephant bursted through the front door, completely obliterating it into nothing but a pile of splintered wood.

“Did you feel that Spike? It must have been an earthquake.”

“Twilight, we gotta catch that elephant before it wreaks havoc in Ponyville!”

“Spike, I really don’t want to have this conversation again. Sometimes, you just let your imagination run wild.”

“It’s not my imagination! A giant elephant just destroyed our home, and is about to terrorize Ponyville! We have to stop it!”

“How long are you going to keep this up? I have no time for this. I’m going to run some errands. You can join me if you want, but please no more jokes about elephants!”

“This isn’t a joke! Do you not see that giant hole that used to be our front door?!”

“... You’re right. Thanks for calling the renovators, Spike. I really thought about having the place redecorated. I always knew I could count on you.”

After Twilight pulled Spike in for an affectionate hug, she trotted merrily through the giant elephant-sized hole, seemingly oblivious to the creature’s presence. Spike slumped on his bottom and facepalmed himself. His eyes darted back and forth at the destruction caused by the giant four-legged mammal. Books were scattered across the floor with some pages ripped out. Bookshelves were reduced to crumbles of tree bark. The living room looked as if a massive battle took place in it.

“This is strange,” Spike said to himself, “this isn’t like Twilight to ignore something big and obvious like this.” The purple dragon’s eyes looked deeply into the massive hole created by the elephant. While pondering the situation, he heard the faint sound of the elephant’s trumpet roar followed by terrified screams. “That’s it! If she can’t see it, then I’ll make her see it!” Spike wore his determined face and dashed out of the destroyed treehouse.

He had to hurry, for a giant was rampaging through Ponyville.

****

“Rarity, I don’t wanna go to the spa!” Sweetie Belle whined.

“You don’t want to go? Why is that, Sweetie?”

“It’ll be boring! I don’t want to spend all day doing nothing but sitting in a tub filled with mud!”

“Mud baths are good for the skin, Sweetie. And besides, mother and father kept complaining how we don’t spend enough sisterly time together, so I thought a trip to the spa would be a great thing for the both of us.”

“But me, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo wanted to go to that new amusement park!”

“We’ll go there some other time. Right now I thought we could--WHAHAHA!”

Rarity’s heart stopped beating when the giant creature turned a corner and slowly approached the two unicorn sisters. The fashionista’s pupils shrunk when the towering beast stood in front of them. As the elephant drew ever so close to the unicorns, Rarity could barely produce an audible sound or anything resembling the English language.

“Wow! Is the circus in town?” Sweetie asked.

The elephant extended its trunk toward the frightened fashionista and her sister. Its trunk sniffed around Sweetie Belle, while making her giggle. Afterward, the creature gave a friendly sniff to Rarity while exploring her exquisite mane. Its nostrils sucked the beauty right out of her perfect mane, leaving her extremely unkempt.

“M-m-my mane!” Rarity said before dramatically fainting. The elephant, who was now bored with unicorns, walked toward another direction. Sweetie Belle waved good-bye to what could possibly be the only live elephant she’ll ever see in her young life.

“Help! Help!” a boyish voice called out from the distance. Spike appeared from around corner and to his horror found Rarity lying motionless on the ground. “Oh my gosh! Sweetie what happened to Rarity?!”

“Oh, an elephant sniffed her mane and she fainted. It was really funny!”

“Which way did it go?”

“It went that way. Can I help you find it?”

“I don’t know. It could be dangerous, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Could be dangerous? Spike, you and I are practically the same age!”

“... Alright. Just stay close to me.” Spike and Sweetie advanced toward the direction the elephant was going, but not without him putting Rarity inside a random wheelbarrow. Spike, Sweetie Belle and her comatose sister embarked on their journey to find the rogue elephant.

****

Nothing in the world seemed to bother Twilight today. Usually she was the unicorn who would get aggravated over the slightest of things. Now, she was as cool as a cucumber, not letting anypony or anything ruin her already perfect day.

“Let’s see… retrieve my pocket watch from Time Turner? Check. Buy more parchment for friendship reports? Check. Gather DNA samples of my friends… I’ll save that for later.” Twilight double-check her list for anything else she needed to get accomplished. Her face lit up when she found one item that appealed to her. “Wonderful! Pick up my order from Sugarcube Corner! This will be a treat!” The studious unicorn turned to another direction that lead to the Shop of Sweets. However, unbeknownst to Twilight, a gray behemoth was following her… one with a trunk and tusks.

Once Twilight lead herself inside Sugarcube Corner, the aroma of freshly baked pastries filled her purple nostrils. With one sniff, her nose consumed the smell of melted chocolate, vanilla and oven ready baked goods. A pudgy blue mare with a pink icing-shaped mane smiled to her next customer.

“Hello there, Twilight,” said Mrs. Cake, “are you here to pick up your order?”

“Yes - twenty fudge-filled chocolate brownies!” Twilight said with enthusiasm. Mrs. Cake carried a box from the oven with the fresh smell of warm chocolate already invading her senses. As soon as Twilight was about to pay her, a series of low but very audible thumping noises shook the store.

“My, what on earth was that?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“I don’t know. I heard the Royal Sisters had some unfinished business with the Moleponies in the center of earth. Maybe their confrontation caused an earthquake.”

“That’s strange. Why would the Princesses want to--Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Cake jumped right out of her skin when she saw a giant gray monster head trying to insert itself through the door. The beast’s trunk swung around chaotically, knocking over tables and breaking display glasses.

“Looks like you have another customer,” Twilight said.

“What are you talking about?! There’s an elephant in my store!”

“Don’t be silly Mrs. Cake. Sugarcube Corner is way too small for something like an elephant to fit inside.”

“Now is not the time for jokes, Twilight! We have to get that elephant out of here! It’s scaring the customers!” The elephant became more and more aggressive. With all of its might, the elephant forced its entire body into the store, creating another massive hole where a front door used to be. Mrs. Cake let out an ear-piercing shriek, which summoned Mr. Cake from his baking duties.

“Honey, what’s wrong? Cheese and crackers, it’s an elephant!”

The elephant stood on his hindlegs and released its signature trumpet roar. Several customers flee from the scene, fearing the mammal would crush them with its giant feet. Using its trunk, the elephant stole the customer’s uneaten pastries and fed himself. His mouth full of deserts, the elephant swung its long trunk and destroyed displayed windows and shelves. Mr. and Mrs. Cake tried their best to contain the beast and drive it out of their place of business by using brooms, pots and pans.

“Wow, he must really want to get his hooves on your deserts, Mr. and Mrs. Cake,” Twilight said. “Thank you once again for the brownies. I’m sure the girls are going to enjoy these!”

“Why aren’t you calling for help?!” Mr. Cake yelled. Without a single word, Twilight grabbed her box of chocolate square goodies and trotted merrily (and obliviously) through the giant, elephant-shaped hole in the wall. After spending five minutes of defending their beloved store against the gray giant, the elephant grew tired and vanished as he appeared. The Cakes breathed a sigh of relief and they dropped to the wooden floor. Broken wooden shelves and shattered glass decorated the store, along with debris from the wall and ceiling.

“I think I heard it over there!” a familiar young voiced yelled out. Mr. Cake opened his eyes and saw a purple dragon child carrying an adult unicorn in a wheelbarrow and a unicorn filly running besides him. “Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Are you okay?” Spike asked.

“An… elephant… just… trashed our shop,” Mr. Cake said.

“You saw the elephant? Where’d he go? We’re trying to catch it!” Sweetie said.

“He went that way. But be careful, he’s very big.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cake. Come on Sweetie Belle, we haven’t a moment to lose!” Spike, Sweetie, and the still unconscious Rarity dashed to where Mr. Cake pointed, tracking down the rogue elephant before it caused more harm to the citizens of Ponyville.

“Carrot… was those kids trying to catch the elephant?”

“I believe so.”

“... I hate this town.”

****

“... The cat spent all day giving birth to her little kittens,” Fluttershy said. “You should’ve been there, Rainbow Dash! They were all so cute, and the mother kept making that sweet little ‘mew’ sound!”

“That’s cool, I guess. Kittens are cute alright,” said Rainbow Dash.

“You have to see them right away! They’re probably cuddling up with their mother right now!”

“Sorry Fluttershy, but I’m not that much of a cat pony. No offense.”

“Please, Rainbow Dash? I might even let you keep--”

A low rumble knocked the two pegasi off their legs. While lying on the ground, they felt the earth shake beneath them. The birds in the soared frantically to the opposite direction of where the two were walking. Rainbow helped Fluttershy stand on her legs when they heard voices coming from afar. A group of ponies ran past them, all in a chaotic chorus of screams. Fluttershy gasped at the look of terror on the faces while Rainbow could not comprehend the situation that lead to this scene.

“Oh my gosh! Why is everypony running?” Fluttershy asked.

Her answer came in the form of a wild - and frightening - blow in the air. The low rumbling quickly changed into loud, thunderous stomps that shook the earth to its core. A giant, gray animal with floppy ears and white tusks marched their way. Fluttershy’s bright-yellow coat turned pale once the creature was up-close. Rainbow had to rub her eyes just to be sure this was not a fantasy. When their fears were confirmed, they could barely produce coherent sentences or phrases.

The elephant stop walking and took a look at the pegasi that stood below it. Like deers caught in the headlights, Rainbow and Fluttershy were paralyzed when its trunk reached out toward them. The first to be sniffed was Rainbow Dash. The elephant guided his trunk across Rainbow’s body, only to stop a second later in a manner of disgust.

“Hey! I don’t smell that bad!”

The next to be sniffed was Fluttershy. The trunk travelled around her head and mane, much to her displeasure. Then, the animal felt a tingling feeling inside its nostrils. It backed its trunk and huffed heavily. Three huffs later, the elephant sneezed so greatly that it almost blew Shy and Dash into the trees.

“Wow, I didn’t know elephants were allergic to you,” Dash joked. While the two recuperated, the elephant decided its business was done. It marched onward, leaving the pegasi to themselves.

“Oh dear, what’s an elephant doing in Ponyville,” asked Fluttershy.

“I don’t know… but I do know who’s going to kick it out!”

“Wait Rainbow!” Fluttershy grabbed Dash’s leg before she could proceed to fly any further. “You’re not going to beat it up, are you? It’s just an elephant, it probably doesn’t even know what he’s doing.”

“Fluttershy, a giant elephant is terrorizing the town! I know you love animals and all, but we can’t just sit here and do nothing! Now if you excuse me, I’m gonna teach that elephant a lesson!” Rainbow gained momentum and was ready to take-off until Fluttershy blocked her way again.

“Rainbow, please, let me handle this. Maybe it’s terrorizing Ponyville because he’s looking for its mother. It’s probably just a baby.”

“You mean like that movie where the ponies in Manehattan were videotaping that monster?”

“Um, I don’t watch a lot of movies. I’ll be right back.” Fluttershy flapped her wings and slowly approached the elephant, as to not frighten it. She softly landed on the ground and the giant mammal stopped. The air was thin between them, and the uncomfortable silence made the pegasus quiver. She swallowed the remaining the fear she had in her and spoke softly to the creature.

“Excuse me,” she began. “I’m the pony from earlier - you know, the one that made you sneezed? Um, if you don’t mind, may I ask you to leave Ponyville? It’s not that I hate elephants; I love all kinds of animals, including elephants. It’s just that you’re scaring the ponies here and destroying their homes. So, um, do you think you can do your rampage someplace else?”

The elephant edged its head close to the pegasus. The two were suddenly locked in a (non)intimidating standoff. The elephant slowly raised it trunk and aimed it at Fluttershy’s face. With one trumpet blast, she was lifted off the ground. With no more challengers, the elephant advanced onward to another part of town.

“I see that negotiations has failed!” Rainbow said. “Now it’s time for full force!” Faster than a speeding bullet, Rainbow Dash shoot herself through the air and blocked the elephant’s path. She firmly planted her legs on the ground and stared down the clumsy beast like a ferocious predator. “Now listen here you big, dumb elephant! This is my town! My friend asked you nicely to leave! But if you want to be hard-headed, then I’ll give you a hard head as a parting gift! No wait, that didn’t sound right. Hold on. Um… okay, I got it! If elephants never forget, then you should’ve remembered to not be a big jerk! Yeah, that’s it! Now leave!” The elephant now stood on its hind legs, while its two front legs formed a defensive position. “Wiseguy, eh? Put ‘em up, put em up! C’mon, I’m not afraid of you!” Rainbow said while imitating boxing moves. With one quick move, the elephant used its trunk to swipe Rainbow out of the way. Her back made violent impact with a tree and she was out of the game. The elephant moved on with its exploring, hoping that no more challengers would face it.

“Rainbow, are you okay?!” asked Fluttershy. She flew to her side and noticed a purple bruise on the right side of her forehead. Her heart raced when she was unresponsive. She tried to awake Dash by shaking her body slightly, but to no success. “Oh dear, your unconscious. I knew I should have taken those CPR classes.”

“Did you hear that?” a young voiced yelled.

“I think it came from over there!” another young voiced answered, this time more feminine. Fluttershy turned around to see three familiar faces; Spike, Sweetie Belle and for some odd reason, Rarity lying motionless in a wheelbarrow.

“Spike? Sweetie? What happened to Rarity?”

“Rarity met an elephant and she fainted,” Sweetie explained.

“Speaking of elephants, have you seen one roaming around somewhere?”

“Of course! Rainbow and I just encountered one just now.”

“Spike and I are trying to catch it! If Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were here, the three of us would be the Cutie-Mark Crusaders Elephant Catchers!”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“You don’t say,” muttered Spike.

“The elephant went that way. If we hurry, maybe we can catch up with him,” said Fluttershy. She loaded the unconscious Rainbow Dash into the wheelbarrow with Rarity. The trio and the numb duo sprint forward and the quest to find the runaway elephant continued. “By the way, how did the elephant get here?”

“It just appeared in our house this morning,” said Spike. “And the weird part is, Twilight totally ignored it. She acted like it didn’t even exist.”

“That doesn’t sound like her at all. How could she ignore something so blatant and obvious?”

****

Saturday afternoons was a great time to be at the amusement park, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo took advantage of every moment, with Applejack watching them. The screams of ponies on rollercoasters and the scent of cotton candy and popcorn filled their hearts and noses with ecstasy. Lines of ponies were spotted at every ride and attraction. Each one looked as if it could be a thrilling experience that they didn’t know which one they wanted to go on to first.

“I hate picking rides,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s like trying to pick a favorite toy at a toy store, it just can’t be done.”

“Well, we can’t stand here in the middle of a busy amusement park all day,” Applejack said while using her stetson to keep the sun from her eyes.

“I know, how about the Twist and Shout?” Scootaloo suggested. She pointed at the direction the ride was, and they saw ponies sitting on a circular cart that rose to the top of a pole which swung them around rapidly.

“I don’t know. How about the Slap Happy?” Apple Bloom asked. She pointed to a ride in which ponies sat on a giant hand, which slapped the ground in one swift move. “On second thought, lets not go on that.”

“Well, there’s always the Derpy Hooves Experience,” Scootaloo said. A line of children took turns sticking their heads inside a giant bell while Derpy banged it with a mallet several times.

“You know what, how about we just go on the bumper cars,” Applejack said. Their debate came to an abrupt end as a stampede of terrified ponies knocked Applejack to the ground. “What on earth? What are they running from?”

“Maybe the Crazy House was too much for them,” Scootaloo said, referring to the amusement park attraction. An animal-like roar blasted in the air, making the three ponies jump right out of their coats. “Whoa! That sounded like an elephant!”

“Don’t be silly,” Applejack said. “There ain’t no elephants around these here parts.”

More screaming ponies ran their way, and sure enough when they turned their heads a giant grey elephant entered the amusement park. When a blast from its trunk the elephant trampled booths with its large feet. It stopped at a snack bar and used its trunk to swipe a pile of popcorn to feed itself. “Well I’ll be a rattlesnake in winter,” Applejack exclaimed, “that is an elephant!”

“See? I told you,” Scootaloo said.

“I didn’t know the circus was in town,” Apple Bloom said. “Maybe we should’ve gone to that.”

Applejack swiped her little sister and Scootaloo off their legs, tumbling and rolling to the a safe spot before the elephant could trample them. The elephant stopped to blow it’s trunk for a brief moment before resuming its path of chaos on the amusement park.

“You two stay here where it’s safe,” Applejack told them. She remove her stetson from her head, reaching for the lasso she kept in it with her teeth. “I’m gonna go tame that elephant!” She twirled the lasso above her head and throw it until it reached around the elephant’s large neck. “Gotcha, big boy!” The animal stopped walking when it noticed the lasso tied to its neck. The elephant grew restless, and swung its head around, taking Applejack along for the ride.

“Hold on there, big fella!” she yelled. Applejack was determined to not let go of the rope, but the elephant was beginning to overpower her. With one final swing of its head Applejack was thrown into a snow cone machine. The elephant stood on its back legs and blasted its trunk in victory, then continued to cause terror.

“Applejack, are you okay?” Apple Bloom said. “Are you hurt?”

Applejack climbed out of the snow cone machine, unfortunately her orange coat was a mixture of different flavors from raspberry to sour apple.

“Don’t worry Apple Bloom, I’m fine… but I do need to take a shower after this.”

“Wow, that elephant sure got you good,” somepony said. Applejack looked past Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to see Pinkie Pie gazing at the destroyed ruins of the amusement park. “Hi guys! Is this park great or what?”

“What’s so great about it? An elephant trashed everything!”

“I know, isn’t it cool?”

“Applejack! Pinkie!” somepony yelled from far away. Much to their surprise, Applejack and Pinkie saw Spike, Fluttershy, and Sweetie Belle coming to their direction. What they couldn’t wrap their heads around was the fact that Rainbow Dash and Rarity were stacked on top of each other in a wheelbarrow. Once everypony was present Spike had to catch his breath.

“Thank goodness we found you,” Fluttershy said. “There’s an elephant on the loose!”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” Applejack said sarcastically.

“Come on… guys,” Spike said in between breaths, “We have to… catch that elephant… before it’s too… late.”

“Oh goodie, a wild chase!” Pinkie said.

“Spike, may I ask why Rarity and Rainbow Dash are lying on a wheelbarrow,” Applejack said.

“It’s a long story,” he said. “Now if you excuse me, I have to rest for a little bit. I’ve been running all day trying to catch that elephant, and that wheelbarrow is very heavy!” Spike laid on his back on the ground, panting heavily and sweating. “Can somepony please give me a blueberry snow cone?”

****

Once Spike caught up with his breathing and finished his blueberry snowcone he and the others pursued the elephant. Along the way, he explained the situation to everypony who encountered the elephant. He started at the beginning when the animal mysteriously appeared inside the library, and how Twilight was oblivious to the damage it caused.

“... And then we spent the entire morning trying to catch the elephant,” he said. “This has been the weirdest day of the whole life!”

“I’ll say. How the heck did that elephant get inside the library?” Applejack asked.

“That’s just it! I have no idea, and Twilight won’t do anything!”

“That don’t sound like her one bit! Why on earth would she ignore something that’s as big as an elephant?”

“Well… maybe she didn’t see it,” Fluttershy said.

“It made a hole in our wall!” Spike said.

They were at the penny arcade when they heard the brass roar of the elephant, then hid in a spot where the hoped it wouldn’t see them. The elephant was terrorizing the amusement park patrons who stood in line for the strength tester game. The elephant’s trunk swiped the mallet off the ground and slammed it level, causing the puck to rise to the top of the tower. Victorious, the elephant roared.

“Wow, that elephant sure is strong,” Scootaloo said.

“Alright y’all, we gotta find a way to take down that elephant,” Applejack said.

“Leave everything to me,” Pinkie said. Applejack tried to protest, but Pinkie had already hopped out of the arcade and landed right behind the elephant. “Oh Mister Elephant!” she called out. The elephant turned around to see a grinning pink mare with a poofy mane. “You must be new in town, so I got a little present for you.” She produced cannon from thin air, and with a cool tone said, “Let’s get this party started.”

She aimed the cannon at the elephant and fired. Instead of a fiery explosion, a party hat appeared on its bald grey head, and confetti floated around its face. Pinkie fired again and a record player played dance music. She fired once more, and a table with snacks and a huge cake at the center was visible. “Now stop your rampaging and boogie down!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Uh-huh, oh yeah, it’s your birthday!”

Unfortunately for Pinkie it was not the elephant’s birthday. The trunk crushed the party hat and its huge feet crushed the table. The record player was the last one to go. The elephant brought its feet on the ground and Pinkie was shaken off her legs. “Was it the cake? I keep forgetting that not everypony likes coconut.”

The elephant was about to crush Pinkie, but a lasso caught hold of her by her waist and pulled her away before the creature’s large feet could trample her.

“Well that strategy of your’s didn’t work,” Applejack said.

“Fluttershy, can’t you use the stare, like you did with that cockatrice?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Oh yeah, the stare,” Scootaloo said. “That was awesome! Do it again!”

“The stare? Oh… I don’t know about that. I only use it in really desperate situations.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, this is a desperate situation,” Applejack said. “Now go out there and give that thing the magic gaze, or whatever you call it!”

“I… I don’t think I want to. Maybe we should--”

Spike clinged to one of her front legs and said, “Please will do it? I just want this day to be over!”

All eyes were on Fluttershy. With the pressure weighing down on her, she had no choice but to use the stare on the elephant. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and flew out of the penny arcade. As she landed near the elephant she saw that it was eating peanuts from a destroyed vendor.

“Um, excuse me, Mr. Elephant.” The elephant had not noticed that Fluttershy was trying to get its attention. She increased the volume of her voice and said, “Excuse me, I believe I was talking to you.” Fluttershy and the elephant were now face-to-face, and she could smell the faint scent of peanuts from its mouth. “Hello there. Do you remember me? I was the pony that made you sneeze. Listen, um, my friends really want you to leave, and they’re going to make me do something I really don’t like doing. So would mind please leave town? I hear the jungle is pretty nice.”

The elephant snorted at Fluttershy and continued to eat the peanuts from the vendor. It was time for the last resort. She slowly closed her eyes, and apologized to the elephant under her breath. A glare as deep as the darkest abyss was released, and the elephant was petrified. Those cyan eyes pierced the elephant’s soul like a knife. It tried to blow its trunk but there was something about the stare that prevented the giant from doing so. The more the elephant stared into the eyes of the pegasus, the more it was being controlled. Soon, the elephant relented, and it laid on its belly defeated.

“You did it, Fluttershy,” Spike yelled. The others cheered for their victory over the elephant, as did the amusement park patrons who were hiding in different sections of the park.

“That’s the second time we’ve seen her use the stare,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Great job Fluttershy,” Applejack added, patting her on the back. “I knew you could do it.”

“But I hurt the elephant.”

“It ain’t hurt, it just knew it’s been beaten.”

“What are we gonna do with it now?” asked Pinkie.

Before anypony could answer her question, there were groans coming from Spike’s wheelbarrow. To their relief, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were regaining consciousness again. “.... Jeez, my head hurts,” Rainbow said. “What happened? And what am I doing in wheelbarrow? And why am I on top of Rarity?”

Rainbow flew off the wheelbarrow and landed on the ground. Rarity rubbed her head as soon as she woke up. “Oh my, what a terrible nightmare. I dreamt that I was standing face to face with a giant elephant. Then it ruined my perfect mane.”

“Hi Rarity,” Sweetie greeted. “It wasn’t a dream, it really happened.”

A look of confusion crossed Rarity’s face until she saw the elephant lying on the ground. It was too much for her to bear, so she fell back on the wheelbarrow.

“Wow, she must be really tired today,” Pinkie said.

****

So ends another perfect day for Twilight Sparkle. The weather was perfect, her chores were completed, she brought home her favorite snack from Sugarcube Corner, and nothing out of the ordinary happened while she was out. She wish everyday was as perfect as this, and hoped that tomorrow will be even better. Twilight entered her home through the front door (or what remained of the front door), not realizing that much of the library was in ruins.

“Spike? I’m home!” she called. “Are you here? I have brownies for the two of us to enjoy!”

“Oh I’m here all right,” Spike said.

Twilight turned around to see not just Spike but the rest of her friends as well. They didn’t look very happy. “Hi girls, what brings you here?”

“That!” they all said. Spike and the mares pointed to the elephant that was tied up and locked in a cage.

“Oh… why is there an elephant here?” Twilight asked.

“You’re just now starting to noticed the elephant?” Spike asked angrily. His heart boiled and he heated like a teapot ready to whistle. “Twilight that thing has been here all day, but you never paid attention to it! It destroyed the library!”

“It terrorized the town!” Applejack said.

“It gave me a bruise!” Rainbow Dash said.

“It ruin my mane!” Rarity cried.

“It made me use the stare,” said Fluttershy, “and you know how much I don’t like using the stare.”

“And it doesn’t like parties!” Pinkie shouted.

“Oh… uh… what does all this have to do with me?” Twilight asked.

Spike slapped his face in bewilderment, then said, “When elephant was here this morning, I thought you would use your magic to make it go away, but you didn’t lift a hoof. Instead you just sat there with that silly smile on your face. Twilight, look around you.”

And she did. The whole library was a destroyed wreck. Lumber and plaster were scatter across the floor, the furniture was crushed, and books fell off their shelves. Twilight’s eyes were finally opened when she saw her prized possessions buried beneath the rubble. She gazed back at her friends, whose glares have soften, then at the elephant in the cage.

“The… the elephant did all this?”

“That’s what I’ve trying to tell you this morning! What made you do something like this?” asked Spike.

“I don’t know. I thought if I just ignored it, then maybe the situation will work out on its own. Look how wrong I was,” she sighed.

“Twilight, that’s not the way how life works. When you see a problem as big as an elephant, you just can't ignore it. You have to do something. Not acknowledging the elephant in the room is never a good idea, and leads to bad results.”

“... You’re right Spike.”

Twilight shamefully lowered for head, but Spike rubbed her back. She glanced back at him, and she felt better when he smiled at her. “Spike. Girls. I’m truly sorry about what happened today. I made a terrible decision, one that put those I care about in danger. Can you ever forgive me?”

“... Ah heck, we always do don’t we?” Applejack chuckled.

Twilight’s friends ambushed her with a group hug. Spike only gave a thumbs up. Now all was forgiven, but when they were about to decide what to do with the elephant the cage disappeared, like it had never been there.

“Hey, what happened to the elephant?” Pinkie asked.

“... I guess when I finally acknowledged the elephant it vanished… like magic,” Twilight said.

With the elephant gone, Ponyville was safe from harm’s way once more. To celebrate their victory over the animal Twilight shared her box of chocolate fudge-filled brownies with Spike and her friends, and ate under the wreckage of the library.

“What a dreadful day,” Rarity said. “I hope a disaster such as this never happens again.”

“You know what would be worse than an elephant?” Pinkie asked. “A barrel full of monkeys.”

Wooden barrels tumbled down the road, breaking into splinters upon impact with a brick wall. Terrified monkeys were in a frenzy, screeching and hollering while waving their arms, jumping up and down. They ran to a jewelry shop and threw a rock at the window.

“... You had to say it, didn’t you,” Rainbow Dash said.