My Little Pony: Talismans are Magic

Chapter 6:  The Slow and the Steady

Around  the schoolyard of Ponyville Elementary, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were sitting at a picnic table enjoying freshly grown apples for their lunch.  On a typical day, they would discuss ways for each of them to get their cutie marks, but the talk amongst their group became relatively different.  The talismans of Shendu had made a very big impression on them, especially Apple Bloom because of her unforgettable encounter in Appleloosa. “And after Twilight and my sister got knocked down, I stepped in and beat Tohru with the talisman!”  Apple Bloom recalled.  “That's great!  Although I wish Rarity and I get to help find a talisman soon.”  Sweetie Belle hoped.  “Then that means Rainbow Dash and I should get one as well.”  Scootaloo implied.  Before they could share other ideas, a slender colt named Featherweight came out of the schoolhouse with a bag of papers to pass out.  He was primarily known for being the editor in chief for the Foal Free Press.  “Extra, extra, read all about it!”  Featherweight hollered out as he passed out all the copies.  The crusaders eagerly grabbed a paper to look over.  Scootaloo flipped through the articles until they got to the back cover with a huge unique tortoise.  “Cool!  The Baltimare Super Shell Convention.”  Sweetie Belle read out.  “Also known as Shellcon for short.”  Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes and looked closer at the smaller print.  “Aw shucks, it's 30 gold bits per head to get in.”  Apple Bloom said, feeling bummed.  “And it's this weekend, only two days away from today.  No use in goin' at this point.”  “Actually, there's more to it.”  Scootaloo said.  The pegasus pointed her hoof at something the other two overlooked.  In the middle of the tortoise's shell on the flier image was a gray octagon with the insignia of a rabbit.  “I'll be gosh darned!  That's the Rabbit talisman!”  Apple Bloom blurted out.  “Well look what we have here, the blank flanks are getting excited over nothing.”  a voice from behind said in a mocking tone.

When the three Cutie Mark Crusaders looked back, they were face to face with the pretentious Diamond Tiara and her close friend Silverspoon.  “It's no surprise that you three are so desperate to find these so-called magic talismans.”  Diamond Tiara teased.  “After all, you still don't have your cutie marks.”  “Oh dear, I wonder if that Ox guy will show up to help them.”  Silverspoon sarcastically added.  “His name is Iron Will, and besides he lives in Appleloosa, not Ponyville.”  Apple Bloom stated.  “Oh, what's this, a turtle convention?  Seriously, you losers never cease to amuse me.”  Diamond Tiara berated as she noticed the newspaper on the table.  “I guess your only hope of a cutie mark is to wear a shell on your flank.”  Silverspoon ridiculed.  “See ya around, cutie mark losers.”  Diamond Tiara said as she and Silverspoon prepared to leave.  The crusaders did not bother to look back at their enemies since it was bad enough having to tolerate their insults.  “Magic talismans my hoof.”  the two fillies laughed as they left the area.  “I'll never give in to them... ever!”  Scootaloo sneered.  “Honestly, I'm glad they don't know the truth about the talismans.”  Apple Bloom said with relief.  “Yeah, I guess you're right.”  said Scootaloo.  “We should show this to Twilight right after school.”  Sweetie Belle further suggested.  “Hey, aren't you forgetting something? After all, Twilight's not the only one we have to rely on.”  Scootaloo said with a cocky grin.  “This could be the chance for Rainbow Dash and I to step in.”  “Aw, but I wanted to help find one too.”  Sweetie Belle sighed.  “Tell ya what, you and your sister can get the next one, I promise.”  Scootaloo assured.  “You two should go to the library after school to inform Twilight.  I'll find Rainbow Dash.”

When school got out for the day, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hurried to Twilight's library as fast as they could.  When they got close to the door, the door slowly opened as Twilight walked out.  “Hold on girls, what's the big rush?  Twilight asked, hoping there was no trouble.  The two crusaders came to a screeching stop, just barely close enough to prevent themselves from colliding into their friend. “Twilight, we got something to show you!”  Sweetie Belle said.  “Look here, we got ourselves a lucky rabbit.”  said Apple Bloom as she held up the newspaper page.  Twilight's eyes got big when she looked at the image of the big green tortoise with the Rabbit talisman in the center of its shell.  “Wow, I'm surprised you found this before Princess Celestia could inform me.”  said Twilight.  “I believe our best source for help will be Rainbow Dash since she has knowledge of owning a pet tortoise.”  “We got that part taken care of, and we decided that Scootaloo will help ya'll out this time.”  Apple Bloom said.  “You've done a great job, you two.”  Twilight complemented.  “If you don't mind, I'll keep this paper for reference.”  “Good luck getting the talisman, Twilight.”  Sweetie Belle said.  “Let us know what happens.”  said Apple Bloom.  They all waved goodbye, and then Twilight gently shut the door to resume her book organizing.  “How are you going to be able to afford the trip let alone the con itself?”  Spike asked while he was feather dusting a bookcase.  “Hmm, that's a good question.”  Twilight pondered.  “I'm on a tight budget right now but at the same time Princess Celestia is really counting on me to find the talismans as soon as possible.”  “You could always ask for a loan, I'm sure she won't mind doing that for you.”  Spike suggested.  “That might be worth a try.”  Twilight said.

In the dreary hideout of the Dark Hoof, Trixie sat at her desk fidgeting with a small pile of gold bits.  “You know Shendu, these talisman escapades have become quite the burden on my budget, yet I'm not seeing any returns.”  Trixie commented.  “After all, we did score the Sheep talisman recently.”  “When and ONLY when you and your group retrieve all twelve talismans shall you be rewarded the lost treasure of Chin Sheewong.”  Shendu proclaimed.  “You mean the refuted lost treasure.”  Trixie replied.  “So it appears we have a skeptic.”  said Shendu.  “I shall enlighten you.”  A Shadowkhan ninja came out from the left side of Shendu holding a golden goblet.  When the ninja lifted the lid from the goblet, Trixie's jaw dropped open as she gazed at the golden nuggets shining with luster.  The magician was so mesmerized to the point where she would not question Shendu's authority. “I...I don't believe it!  It's magnificent!”  The ninja retreated back into the Shadows along with the goblet and the gold.  “You have my word that the treasure will rewarded to you once this journey is over.”  Shendu promised.  Before Trixie could make any further statement, Finn and Ratso walked in the room next to each other arguing over the morning newspaper.  “Aw c'mon Finn, I wanna read the comic section.”  Ratso begged.  “Hold your tail, I gotta check the results from the Wonderbolts Grand Prix.”  Finn said.  “You two, come closer!”  Shendu demanded.  Finn and Ratso looked back at Shendu with puzzled looks on their faces, not knowing if they did something good or bad.  “Turn over to the very back page.”  the dragon instructed.  Finn did as he was told, and then to everyone's surprise, the same flier from the Foal Free Press was on the back of the Manehattan Times.  “There it is, the Rabbit talisman.  I trust that you will have no trouble dealing with reptiles.”  Shendu said.  “You sure we should be messing with a turtle?”  Ratso nervously commented.  “I heard that when they bite, they won't let go until there's rain.” “It ain't gonna rain this week, Ratso.  And besides, it's a tortoise, not a turtle.  The little guy can't stop us from taking the darn rock off his back.”  Finn said, poking fun at Ratso's lack of confidence.  “Then it's settled.  Let Tohru and Chow know about this.”  Trixie instructed.  “The sooner you all get that talisman, the richer we will all be!  The Great-and-Powerful Trixie will not fail!”  “Patience, my faithful mare.”  Shendu interjected.  “Slow and steady wins the race...”

Scootaloo was racing all through Ponyville on her scooter looking for her favorite idol.  “Darn it, if only I could fly this would be so much easier.”  Scootaloo said as she raced passed pedestrians and moving carts.  It was rather embarrassing to the young pegasus that not only did she lack a cutie mark, but her wings were very underdeveloped for her age.  For that reason, her most reliable way of travel had always been her blue scooter.  “Hold on, I see someone in that cloud!”  Scootaloo observed.  As she got a better view of elevation, she was able to catch sight of Rainbow Dash on cloud control duty.   “Rainbow Dash!  Down here! I need to talk to you!”  Scootaloo hollered while she dismounted from her scooter.  The rainbow maned pegasus easily recognized the young filly's voice, and zoomed down to see her friend.  “Hey, Scootaloo!  Whatcha doin' around here?”  Rainbow asked.  “I need to tell you about something really awesome that happened today”  Scootaloo quickly said.  She had to take a few breaths before she could continue talking.  “Me and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders found a picture of this tortoise in the school paper and-”  “Wait a minute, you came all this way looking for me just to talk about a tortoise!?”  Rainbow Dash asked.  “C'mon, what's so awesome about that?”  “But this isn't just an ordinary one.”  Scootaloo continued.  “The tortoise has a talisman stuck in its shell; the Rabbit talisman to be exact.  We really need your help on this, Rainbow Dash.  You're the only pony I know that has a tortoise, and I'm sure that if you bring Tank, it will be easier to get the talisman.”  “You mean, THE talismans!?”  Rainbow Dash asked with her eyes getting wider.  “The ones that Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie found recently?  Heck yeah I'll help out!  Time for your senior friend Rainbow Dash to make her move!”  “I knew you would be up for it!  Thanks for taking the offer!”  Scootaloo happily said.  “I'll catch up with you and the others after you get out of school tomorrow.  See ya around, kid!”  said Rainbow Dash as she took off for the sky, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.  Scootaloo watched in amazement, feeling inspired to be as awesome as her hero.  “One day, I'll be just like her!”  Scootaloo said with determination in her eyes.

The next day, Twilight hurried to the Ponyville train station around 4 pm to meet Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.  Tank was also present, equipped with his goggles and flying propeller that he always used to keep up with Rainbow Dash.  “Took ya long enough.”  Rainbow Dash remarked.  “Scootaloo and I got here in a flash.”  “Sorry I'm late.”  Twilight apologized.  “I had to write a letter to Princess Celestia, but at least I convinced her to lend us enough money to cover the costs of the hotel and other stuff.”  “We should get on now, the train's gonna leave any minute now.”  Scootaloo said.  The three ponies passed on their luggage to the baggage porter, and boarded the train.  “The pet will have to come with me to the proper designated area.”  the porter stated.  “Alright, but you better take good care of him.”  Rainbow Dash said back.  The porter escorted Tank to another cabin where other pets were being kept while Twilight and her friends made their way to coach.  When they got settled in their seats, Scootaloo picked up on the conversation again.  “By the way Twilight, why did Spike not come with you on this trip?”  Scootaloo asked politely.  “He seems like the type that enjoys going on adventures.”  “He would've been more than happy to come, but he's still very embarrassed about losing the Sheep talisman to the dragon demon.”  Twilight explained. “He believes it's the best way to atone for his mistake.”  “Poor guy, I hope he doesn't get discouraged from helping us out ever again.”  Scootaloo said.  “Don't you two worry, as long as you got the awesome Rainbow Dash around, there's nothin' that can stop us!”  Rainbow Dash bragged.  Twilight gave a narrow look at her egotistical friend, indicating that the boasting was completely unnecessary.  “Come on, Rainbow Dash, we're on a 2 hour ride to Baltimare, so the least you can do is not get carried away.”  Twilight said.  “Alright...”  Rainbow Dash groaned.  She slouched her head on a pillow and closed her eyes.  Scootaloo turned her head and stared out the window while Twilight decided to read a book for the remainder of the ride.  When the three ponies finally arrived in Baltimare, the only things they wanted to to do were eat dinner and get to the hotel right away.  Twilight and Rainbow Dash did not want to dawdle around the metropolitan city because of the big day to follow.  Scootalloo and Tank were also not in the mood for sightseeing.  When it finally got close to bed time, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were getting ready to get some shuteye when Scootaloo had already passed out on one of the beds.  Rainbow Dash tucked Scootaloo under the blankets and then gently patted the foal on her mane.  “Good night, my awesome friend.”  Rainbow Dash said quietly.

The following day around 10 am, Twilight and her friends arrived at the Baltimare convention center and saw a few groups of ponies that were clearly turtle enthusiasts.  “Come on every pony, let's get in before those bad guys- ugh!”  Scootaloo tried to dart for the entrance but Twilight grabbed her from behind.  “Don't jump in the action just yet.”  Twilight said.  “Slow and steady wins the race.”  “What the heck does that mean?  You're just making up some egghead nonsense.”  Rainbow Dash refuted.  “Actually, it's an old and wise moral from one of Neighsop's fables, The Tortoise and the Hare.  Once upon a time, there was... huh?”  Twilight looked around and noticed that Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo ditched her to get in the convention sooner.  “Hmm, they'll never learn at this rate.”  Twilight said, shaking her head.  To her disappointment, she went on through the entrance alone.  When Twilight got inside, she was impressed with how many ponies were so enthusiastic about Shellcon.  The majority of everyone, especially the wealthy ponies, were showing off their finest turtles and tortoises and bragging about every little detail about them.  “No time to waste, I've gotta find the big fellow.”  Twilight said to herself.

Unfortunately for the heroes, the Dark Hoof enforcers had also managed to get to Shellcon for the same obvious reason.  While searching around, Tohru, Finn, and Chow were not impressed at all with the con, but Ratso was the only one making the best out of it.  They even went as far as searching the dealer's room but with no success.  “No Ratso, you can't have one.”  Finn scolded as Ratso was holding a stuffed turtle plushie.  “But I like Tommy the Turtle.  Please Finn I'll pay you back.”  Ratso begged.  “Be quiet you two.  We're here for the talisman, not for toys.”  Tohru ordered.   “There's the purple one, let's nail her!”  Chow said with spite.  “Not yet, we still have not found the talisman.”  Tohru stated.  “We will follow her.”

Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Tank were still together, but they did not take the time to admire all the shelled creatures.  “Ugh, eggheads, so many of them.”  Rainbow Dash groaned.  She did not feel comfortable seeing young adult ponies dressing up in shell costumes that she imagined would be for colts and fillies.  It also annoyed Rainbow Dash whenever somebody would ask to take a picture of Tank.  They were after one thing and one thing only: the tortoise with the Rabbit talisman.  “Darn, there's so many of these things but not a single one of them is the one we're looking for.”  Scootaloo whined.  “Don't give up yet, my friend.”  Rainbow Dash encouraged.  After about an hour of looking around the convention, a staff member made an announcement over the PA system.

“Mares and gentlecolts, thank you very much for your time and patience.  On the second floor in the ballroom, we will now be showing the main star of the event.  The one and only Neighsop has finally arrived! ”  Just about every pony rushed to the elevators and stairs to get to the panel room on the second room.  Scootaloo was absolutely certain that Neighsop was the tortoise on the back cover of her school paper.  “I definitely know it's him.  He's the one with the talisman.”  Scootaloo said to Rainbow Dash.  “Wow, I guess what Twilight said before wasn't a made-up thing after all.  But she's still an egghead.”  Rainbow Dash chuckled.

Twilight also heard the announcement and got the instinctive feeling to go to the ballroom.  When she got there, she also reunited with Rainbow Dash, Scoootaloo, and Tank.  “Girls, I think I found the one we're looking for.”  Twilight assumed.  “Well duh, that's why we're here.”  Rainbow Dash said.  They looked over and saw Neighsop on a red carpet while he was also surrounded by a huge crowd of what seemed to be his own cult following.  “Now we just need to get the talisman and get outta here.”  said Scootaloo.  Before they could proceed, the Dark Hoof enforcers had cut their way through the crowd to get to Neighsop.  “There the bad guys, don't let them take it!”  Twilight ordered.  The crowd gasped when Tohru was trying to remove the Rabbit talisman with force, but Rainbow Dash flew in to intervene.  With an impressive flying kick, Rainbow Dash struck Tohru in the back of his head and knocked him down.  “Get the rainbow one!”  Chow yelled as the enforcers chased after Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash, keep these guys distracted while I try to remove the talisman.”  Twilight instructed.  “I'll have Tank interact with Neighsop to make it easier.”  Scootaloo added.  “I'me on it!”  Rainbow Dash saluted.  Scootaloo positioned Tank to interact with Neighsop so that the big tortoise would not have to worry about his shell getting tinkered around.  Twilight began to use her unicorn magic to remove the Rabbit talisman, but it turned out to be much harder than expected.  Neighsop's shell had such a tight grip on the talisman that even Twilight's magic was giving her a headache.  “Nah nah.”  Rainbow Dash taunted at the enforcers with her funny facial expression.  Finn, Ratso, and Chow jumped for her but she flew away very quick.  The attackers crashed into each other, and then Rainbow Dash grabbed a table cloth.  She flew in circles around the enforcers and tied them up in the cloth.  Other bystanders were whispering to each other and watched in aw. “She's pretty good.” “I've never seen such speed.”  “I wonder what her name is.” they all said to each other.

Twilight was getting closer to removing the Rabbit talisman from Neighsop's shell, but it was not coming out without a fight.  “Just a little... more.”  she said with her teeth gritting from all the stress.  After a very enduring struggle, Twilight finally popped the talisman out of the tortoise's shell.  However, Tohru had gotten back up on from being knocked out, and was quick enough to tackle Twilight and Scootaloo away before they could claim the talisman.  Afterwards, Tohru picked up the Rabbit talisman and left the two dazed heroes on the ground.  When Rainbow Dash saw what Tohru did to Scootaloo and Twilight, her patience had completely gone out the window.  “That's it, put em up tough guy!”  Rainbow Dash barked.  She spread he wings to full span and readied herself in sprinting position.  Shortly after, a white light traced within the rabbit image on the talisman and activated the magic.  As soon as Tohru moved slightly forward, he zipped away and moved like a blur within reach of Rainbow Dash.  When the large bully realized what had happened, he had a malicious grin across his face.  “Hmm, peppy...”  he said.  “Take this!”  Rainbow Dash shouted when she went for a flying kick.  Tohru zoomed away to another spot, making Rainbow Dash look like a slowpoke.  The process repeated, and every time the spunky pegasus went for an attack, Tohru dodged and struck back each time.  Scootaloo watched in horror as the gigantic stallion was beating down on her hero and not even breaking a sweat.  “Wow, look at the big guy move.”  Finn said while still tied up with the other enforcers.  “If only we could do that to Sparkle.”  said Chow.

It was not a good feeling for Twilight and Scootaloo to watch Rainbow Dash get smacked around by the speed enchanted Tohru.  Twilight had to come up with a practical and fast idea before things could get worse.  She looked behind her and saw a table with cups of ice water sitting around.  Instinctively, Twilight knocked the table over, spilling all the ice water on the ground  Other ponies in the area gasped in shock when she made the mess but it was still for a good cause.  As Tohru came at Rainbow Dash, he slipped on the puddle, and went sliding down the wooden floor.  “Whoooahhh!!!”  Tohru yelled out as he went sliding.  He was heading straight at Finn, Ratso, and Chow who were still tied up in ropes.  “Oh no! Oh on! OH NO!!!”  all three of the enforcers screamed in fright.  The velocity of Tohru sliding on the wooden floor was so fast that when he crashed into the other enforcers, they smashed through the wall.  The whole Dark Hoof gang was knocked out, and the Rabbit talisman rolled out of Tohru's hoof.  The crowd of ponies cheered for the noble mares and took pictures of the aftermath.

Rainbow Dash flew over and grabbed the talisman from the unconscious Tohru and then gave it to Twilight.  “So Rainbow Dash, what have we learned today?”  Twilight asked with a smile.  “Yeah yeah I know.  Slow and steady wins the race...”  Rainbow Dash answered without giving eye contact.  Scootaloo approached the wreckage where the enforcers were unconscious and saw something unusual on the ground.  She picked up a small card from where Finn was lying down and knew it was important.  “Hey Twilight, come see this!”  Scootaloo shouted across the ballroom.  Twilight and Rainbow Dash hurried over to see what Scootaloo had found. On the card, there was an insignia of a black horse hoof with the initials DH in the center.  “The symbol is obviously a hoof, but I can't help but think this has a significant meaning.”  Twilight concluded.  We'd better keep this, it's our only clue to finding out who they truly are.”  “You ladies were incredile, can we please get a picture of ya'll next to Neighsop?” a staff pony asked eagerly.  “Eh, I guess we could do it to celebrate.”  Raimbow Dash said.  “We'd be more than happy to.”  Twilight answered.  With another talisman and another victory claimed, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo stood with Tank and Neighsop as they smiled and posed for the camera.

End of Chapter 6