My Little Pony: Talismans are Magic

Chapter 5:  Dragon in Sheep's Clothing

It was a beautiful morning for Twilight and Pinkie Pie to search Unicorn Range for the Sheep talisman.  Anytime Twilight needed a pony with a keen sense of unexpected random moments, Pinkie Pie was the ace in her deck.  “I know the talisman is somewhere in this meadow, Pinkie Pie.”  Twilight foretold.  “But only one of these haystacks is covering it.”  “Don't be silly, it's not like we're going to be here forever.”  said Pinkie Pie with optimism.  “And don't you think it's ironic how the one we're looking for is related to all the animals around us?”  No matter how challenging things could be, it was very rare for Pinkie Pie to get discouraged or not smile.  “Yes Pinkie, I am fully aware of all the sheep that inhabit the entire range.”  Twilight acknowledged.  Even if they weren't in sight, it was very easy to hear the baas from all the sheep and ram throughout Unicorn Range.  As Twilight searched one haystack after another, Pinkie pranced around in her happy-go-lucky manner and made an astute observation.  She noticed that all the haystacks Twilight searched had at least one sheep eating the hay, but the only stack Twilight passed by was not getting any attention at all.  It was as if a mysterious force was keeping the sheep away from that one particular haystack.    “Hmm, I'll check this one.”  Pinkie Pie said to herself.  She dug both hooves through the lonely haystack and glanced her big blue eye inside.  Sure enough, in the dead center was the prize they were looking for.  “Oooooo, pretty rock.”  Pinkie Pie said out loud.  Twilight looked over and was very amazed that Pinkie only searched one haystack to get the talisman.  “Great job, Pinkie!”  Twilight complimented.  “Now we need to get outta here before-”  “Oh no, my Pinkie senses are tingling.”  Pinkie Pie alerted.

As Pinke Pie's tail and body trembled, Shadowkhan minions rose from the grass like ghosts coming out of a grave.  Pinkie stuffed the Sheep talisman in her thick curly mane to hide it.  “Um, we don't have it.”  she fibbed.  With no words or emotion, the Shadowkhan brandished their swords, indicating that they called the bluff.  “Well, you know, I thought maybe they'd buy it.”  Pinkie said, looking at Twilight with a guilty smile.  The ninjas rushed forward and attacked Pinkie Pie, keeping their attention only on the gregarious pink pony.  “Missed me, missed me again.”  Pinkie giggled.  She did not feel threatened at all as she continued to dodge every sword attack with very little effort.  Twilight was also charging up a magic missile in her horn but it was too difficult for her to aim at the fast moving attackers, considering that she did not want to blast her friend by accident.  “Pinkie look out!”  Twilight shouted.  A ninja approached Pinkie Pie from behind with a sword, but at the very last moment Twilight fired her magic attack and blasted the ninja into dust.  “Phew, close one.”  Pinkie said with relief.  “Be careful Pinkie, you have the talisman!”  Twilight voiced out.  Unexpectedly, a Shadowkhan ninja sweep kicked at Pinkie Pie's front hooves and tripped her.  The Sheep talisman rolled out of her mane and on to the grass, open for the taking.  Twilight sprinted forward, hoping to get to the talisman, but in rotten luck the attacking ninja grabbed it first.  With amazing power, the Shadowkhan ninja pitched the talisman all the way over to Finn and Ratso, who were riding in a fast moving mine cart down the railroad tracks.  After Finn caught the talisman in his hooves, all of the Shadowkhan thew down their smoke bombs at the same time, and disappeared after the blue smoke subsided.  “Thanks for the freebie, losers!” Finn shouted as he and Ratso were getting away.

“Not on my watch!”  Twilight yelled.  The purple unicorn ran as fast as she could to catch up to the enforcers, but she tired out after about thirty seconds of running.  “Pinkie Pie... it's up to you....”  Twilight painted as she gradually moved as slow as molasses.  “Huh... Pinkie?”  Twilight just realized that her buddy was not close to her.  Finn and Ratso continued their escape until they saw something they did not expect at all.  Pinkie somehow got way ahead of the crooks, and had a big surprise at the end of the railroad tracks that turned the tables around.  “Here's my PARTY CANNON!”  Pinkie Pie shouted.  When the enforcers got within point blank range, Pinkie fired her party cannon and blasted the goons out of the cart and sent them flying into a thick coated ram.  When Finn and Ratso regained there composure, the ram charged and chased them at least a mile away out of harm's reach.  “Hope their not having a baaaad day.”  Pinkie Pie joked.  “Glad to see your sense of humor hasn't changed.”  Twilight remarked as she approached the minecart to reach in for the talisman.  It was a bit surprising that the talisman remained in the mine cart even after Finn and Ratso got blasted away.  “You did a great job today, Pinkie!”  Twilight said gratefully.  “Aw it was nothing!”  Pinkie Pie modestly said.  Twilight secured the Sheep talisman in her saddlebag and suddenly felt her fatigue kick in.  “This really took a lot out of me.  Waking up early in the morning, looking through all those haystacks, fighting the ninjas, going after those brutes, AND hunting down the other three talismans from before, I could REALLY use a nap at this tim!”  Twilight took a deep breath after ranting out everything on her mind. “Now we just need to get back home before I start counting sheep.”  Twilight sighed.  “Well whaddya we waiting for, let's get back to Ponyville!”

Around high noon, Twilight finally made it back to Ponyville in one piece.  When she walked in the library, her head was slouching and her eyelids were heavy.  “Hey Twilight, how did everything go?”  Spike asked.  “Just peachy...”  Twilight said with fatigue.  “You don't sound very good.”  said Spike.  “Hold on!  Please tell me you got the talisman!”  “Yes  Spike, I have it in my bag.”  Twilight said.  “But aren't you supposed to take that to Canterlot right away?  Don't forget what happened last time when we kept the Rooster talisman here.”  Spike said, remembering that unforgettable night.  “Oh no!  I forgot all about it!”  Twilight blurted out.  “About what?” Spike asked.  “Pinkie Pie is having a slumber party at Sugarcube Corner tonight, which means that if I go then I won't have time to make it to Canterlot Castle!  But I don't want to disappoint the others, so that means I have to attend!”  “Calm down Twilight, I'm sure Princess Celestia won't get mad at you over one party.”  Spike consulted.  “I'll be leaving at 6:00 this evening, but first I'm taking a nice long nap.”  Twilight said.  “Spike, please put this in a bookcase drawer.”  Twilight reached in her bag for the Sheep talisman, but her slow reflexes caused her to drop it on the floor.  Spike hurried over, picked it up, and secured it inside a small box to be hidden in the bookcase.  Twilight proceeded to walk up the stairs and then collapsed as soon as she got in her bed.  Spike thought to himself about everything his master could be stressing over.  “Gosh, all of this talisman hunting is taking a toll on Twilight.”  he thought to himself.  “She's forgetting to have fun every now and then.  I think the party will be a good way to get the stress off her mind.”

Meanwhile back in the Dark Hoof hideout, Finn and Ratso were still brushing off the confetti that got blasted on them from Pinkie Pie's cannon.  Trixie was rather annoyed with the mess they were making near her desk and in front of Shendu.  “It would seem that Twilight Sparkle has claimed yet another talisman, giving her a total of four while I have none!”  Shendu yelled.  “There is no excuse for your mediocre efforts.  You are weak, Trixie; and so are your pathetic henchmen.”  “That's it, I ain't takin' no more lip from a statue.”  Finn barked.   “Watch that tone when you speak to me!”  Shendu snapped.  “Even in my current state, you are still at my mercy and should any of you defy me, I will make sure that all of you suffer dearly for insubordination!”  “We're the ones that are searching all of bloody Equestria for these ridiculous talismans.”  Trixie argued. “The least you could do is be a team player.”  “If it's direct cooperation you want, then that can be arranged.”  Shendu insisted.  “If stupidity is hindering your progress, then what you need is the eyes of a dragon.”  A small section of Shendu's body started to liquidate and melt.  Following up, a Shadowkhan ninja walked over and reached his hand in the melted are and pulled out a gnarly pendant.  It resembled Shendu's face with the same sinister expression and the same red piercing eyes.  “When a talisman is near, the eyes will show you the path.”  Shendu stated.  “Finn, you and Ratso should check out Ponyville before going straight to Canterlot.”  Trixie indirectly commanded.  “Hope it's not a repeat of our first encounter.”  Ratso moaned.

Around dusk, Twilight had finally gotten ready for the party after her long nape.  She was also much more invigorated with confidence since her rest had gotten the stress off her mind.  “I'm heading over to Pinkie Pie's party now.”  she said.  “Spike, make sure the talisman stays in that box, okay?”  “Of course I can, Twilight.  You can count on me to hold the fort down.”  Spike assured.  “I'll be back tomorrow morning.  Good night Spike.”  Twilight said, bidding farewell.  As soon as she walked out the door, Spike could not resist his own curious nature to find out the power of the Sheep talisman.  “I can't just sit here doing nothing, and besides, one look won't do any harm.”  he said.  Spike opened the cabinet underneath the bookshelf where he was told to hide it.  He was starting to get just a little bit nervous, but not enough to stop him from getting the talisman out of the box.  The moment Spike put the Sheep talisman in his palm, the sheep image gradually lit up and activated.  Spike's body collapsed on the ground, and his spirit form ejected into the air.  “Wait, what am I doing up here?”  Spike looked back down at his physical body on the ground.  “Oh no!  I'm dead!”  Spike panicked.  He flew back down to his body and regained consciousness.  “I'm, alive?”  he wondered.  “Hmmmm”  Spike thought for a second, and ran up the stairs to his small bed.  Once he got to the bed, he clenched the talisman again and went back to astral form.  “So this must be the ghost talisman.”  Spike concluded.  “Wow, this is awesome, now I don't have to sit around the library forever.  I can fly around all of Equestria.  Yahoo!”  The baby dragon took flight and embarked on an extraordinary adventure.

About an hour later, Finn and Ratso had made it to the outside perimeter of the library.  “Shoot, it's probably locked up in Canterlot Castle by now, let's just call it a night”  said Ratso.  While Finn was wearing the pendant Shendu made for them, the eyes of the dragon pendant  started to glow bright red right after Ratso's suggestion.  “I'm sorry, you said somethin'?  Finn said with a smug look.  Finn and Ratso quietly sneaked through the front door without being seen.  Not saying a word to each other, Finn pointed his hoof at the stairway since the locator indicated that direction.  When the two cronies got to the top of the staircase, they spotted Spike's motionless body lying in his bed with the talisman in his open claw.  “No... way.”  Ratso whispered.  Finn casually walked over to the lifeless dragon and easily took the Sheep talisman.  As the two enforcers walked out the door, Finn came up with a clever idea.  “I know exactly what to tell the boss.” he said with a slick smile.

It only took about an hour for the enforcers to make it back to their informal headquarters.  They also had no qualms with making up an elaborate story to overestimate their achievement.  “And then she fired her magic beam at us, but I used the table to block!”  Ratso said with so much energy in his voice.  “He's right Great T, it was like something out of a comic book if you'd seen the whole fight.”  Finn added.  “I mean it's not like we had any trouble getting the talisman from a sleeping baby dragon- oof!”  Finn punched Ratso in the chest before he could ruin their tall tale.  “Was that before or after she blasted the table?”  Trixie questioned, raising her eyebrow with skepticism.  “Well, regardless of what happened in the library, I know how much this means to you, boss.”  said Finn, as reached in his saddlebag and revealed the talisman with pride.  After Finn handed over the talisman to his boss, Trixie pitched the Sheep talisman into one of Shendu's octagon shaped sockets, which landed perfectly inside.  “Cheers, Shendu, to our first talisman.”  Trixie said holding up her cup of tea.  The talisman gave off the white shine for a few seconds until it settled in completely.  “I'm freeeeeee!!!”  Shendu exclaimed as his astral form slowly came out of his encased body.  Shortly after, the dragon demon retracted back.  “A good start for your first talisman, Trixie.  With the power of the sheep, I am able to use my astral projected form to explore the world as a free spirit.”  Shendu explained.  “I can also use this to my advantage for finding the other claimed talismans.”  Shendu did not bother to say anything else to Trixie, so he instead reverted back to astral projection to carry on his own agenda.  “If there's a sleeping baby dragon, then there's an open vessel for me!  Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”  As Shendu took off for Ponyville, Finn and Ratso left Trixie alone as she relaxed in her chair with a cup of tea.

Spike was having a great time peeking in on other Ponies in Ponyville since he eventually realized that he could not be seen or heard.  “This is getting boring, there's no fun if no one can see or hear me.”  said Spike.  “I'll go check out Canterlot instead.  I'm curious to see what it's like in the private areas.”  When Spike got to Canterlot Castle, he noticed that Princess Luna was standing on the highest balcony looking through a telescope.  What the baby dragon did not expect was for her to be able to detect his presence.  “Ah, so we have a wondering soul tonight.”  Luna said.  “Wait a sec, you can see me!?!?”  Spike said back.  “Indeed I can, Spike.  Through my lunar powers, I can see into anybody's dreams as well as those who are in astral form.” Princess Luna explained.  “My only guess of thy presence is because thou has unlocked the power of another talisman Twilight Sparkle found.”  “Wow you're good.”  Spike “But why has thy master not returned to Canterlot to safeguard the talisman?”  Luna solemnly asked.  “I know this might sound a bit farfetched, but she had to go to a slumber party.”  Spike answered.  “A slumber party, how charming.  It seems some ponies do appreciate the night life after all.”  Luna sarcastically said.  “But enough of that, I strongly urge thee to retreat back to the library before anybody finds thy lifeless body.”  she advised. “I bid thee farewell, young Spike.  Now go!”  “Yes your highness!”  After giving a quick salute, Spike soared very quickly in the direction back to Ponyville.  “I hope he'll be alright.”  Luna said quietly to herself.  “Both he and the talisman could be in grave danger if he doesn't make it in time.  I shall watch over in case the great evil emerges.”

Spike was racing back to Ponyville as fast as he could, but from the distance he saw that he had opposition.  “Out of my way, little dragon!”  Shendu sneered.  “No you don't, ya big ugly dragon!”  Spike yelled back.  They both dived for the library, passed through walls and headed straight for the body.  Shendu narrowly got in first before Spike could rightfully claim his flesh.  When Shendu gained consciousness, his red piecing eyes glowed.  “Get out, it's my body!”  said Spike as he kept on trying to dive into himself, but each time he tackled his own body, he was deflected back.  “Try all you want, weak little dragon.  My spirit is far stronger than yours will ever be in a thousand years!”  Shendu insulted.  “Now to find my way to Canterlot Castle.”  When Shendu opened to door to go outside, he looked in the distance and saw a familiar face standing firm in the middle of the road.  Princess Luna's blue sparkly mane waved in the moonlight, and she had a very stern look in her eyes.  “Awesome, she's here!”  Spike cheered.  “You... you're one of the alicorns that scattered my talismans!”  Shendu ascertained.  “Thou shall not pass, foul creature.  Relinquish the baby dragon's body or face my anger!”  Luna demanded.  Her anger resonated enough to cause a lightning bolt to strike in the sky, which made her seem even more intense.  Shendu stepped out of the library and progressed to face off against the moon princess out in the open.  “Have it your way then.”  Shendu sneered.  “Even though I am not in my true for, this will prove that I am once and for all... your executioner!”  Shendu opened his mouth very wide and breathed out red hot flames at Luna.  The princess fired back a white beam of light from her horn, and overpowered Shendu's hot breath.  The beam also struck Spike's body, and purged the demon's spirit from the flesh that he temporarily controlled. “Nooooooooo!!!!”  Shendu screamed as  his spirit was ejected from Spike's body, giving the baby dragon the opportunity to get inside his body for good.  The demon was driven all the way back to Manehatten in his petrified encasement.  “Back so soon, aren't you?”  Trixie patronized as she sipped her tea.  “Blasted alicorn spell, I'll get my revenge when I'm free from this wretched prison.”  Shendu swore.

Spike immediately got back in his body, and woke up in the street.  Princess Luna offered her hoof to help Spike off the ground.  “Wow, you're amazing as ever, Princess Luna.”  Spike complimented as he regained footing.  “Thank you for all your help.”  “Tis my duty to help those in need of my aid.”  “Pleasant dreams, young Spike.”  She winked back and took flight towards the moon.  “Aw man, I need to get some rest after all that.”  All the sudden, a thought came piercing through Spike that reminded him of something else.  “Oh no, the talisman!  I'd better get it fast.”  Spike's heart raced as he ran back inside the library and up to his bed on the second floor.  He rushed around looking everywhere but there was no talisman to be found.  “I don't understand, the demon didn't take it with him.”  “Actually...”  Spike had a flashback in his mind of what Princess Luna warned him about.  “Dang it, those thugs must have taken it while I was goofing off.  Twilight's gonna kill me when she finds out tomorrow.”  Spike slumped in his bed and thought to himself as he drifted into sleep.  “If only I had listened...”

The next morning, Twilight came through the door looking very happy.  “Good morning Spike, I hope you slept well.”  Twilight greeted.  She walked over to the same bookshelf that Spike had the talisman hidden inside.  When she opened the box, Twilight froze in fear when she saw it was missing.  “No, the talisman...  Spike, what happened?!?!”  “I'm very sorry, Twilight, it's all my fault, when I took the talisman out of the box, I accidently triggered the power of astral projection.”  Spike confessed.  “I got too carried away with flying around Ponyville and Canterlot, and in my absence the bad guys took it from my body.”  “Did anything else happen while I was gone?”  Twilight asked.  Deep down inside, Spike felt like he had already done enough damage losing the talisman, let alone allowing his own body to be possessed by a demon that only Princess Luna could exorcise.  “Nope, that was it.”  Spike lied.  “Look Spike, you don't have to be so hard on yourself.  “You're still my number one assistant, and we all make mistakes including myself.”  Twilight consulted.  “Come on, let's get some breakfast.”  Twilight walked with her loyal assistant down the streets of Ponyville.  In the back of his mind, Spike was relieved not only for Twilight's forgiveness, but also for her not being overly obsessed about the talismans for a change.  It was the first time that they had lost to their new enemies, but it was an experience that would make them stronger in the long run.

End of Chapter 5