My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Adventures of the Book of Virtue

by ColossalGX

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Original Character, Comedy, Random, Adventure
Length: 99598

The course of the FIM series changes with a new arrival to Ponyville before it all began...

A new arrival comes to Ponyville at the start of the series and changes it's course; for both better and worse. A fairly thought-up re-imaging of the 2010 series, with a new focus on the fabled Book of Virtue. Rating varies due to suggestive and unexpecting situations, as well as randomness...

Published 2015-04-16 00:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2018-01-29 03:40:06 UTC

First Day in Town

Author's Note

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro

Okay, here's a little something I've been doing when I'm bored. I decided to make this a reimaging of the show, a little randomness here and there, references from other different media, and more importantly, some OC characters and a certain plot item. This is my first time doing something like this, so some insight will be nice. It's not perfect, but this is the best I could think up. Here's my first few chapters 1, 2 and 3. Enjoy...

Please Read and Review.

First Day in Town

Hi, uh, I have a question. If you were a type of pony, which type would you pick. I know it's none of my business, I'm just curious. Let's be fair, you tell me, then I'll tell you what type I'd be. All three have their perks, I guess.

Pegasi have wings so they can fly. And they can walk on clouds and stuff. They're in charge of the weather, they can move clouds and make it rain if the clouds are heavy enough. Unicorns have horns that they can use that 'magic' thing. They use it to move stuff and make other things happen. Most Unicorns I've seen have lots of money and live in classy places like Canterlot. Earth Ponies are kind of strange. The can't fly and they can't do magic. But they are stronger than the other two so I think that's something. And they're good at growing plants and fruits and veggies and stuff, so that can be a good trade-off too.
Okay, you told me about you, so I guess it's fair I tell you about me. But it's kind of a long story so you can make yourself comfortable in front of the computer, or tablet or whatever device you're using right now and enjoy the story.

There I was, walking on the dirt road leading probably to nowhere. There's just me, my dragging hooves, the dirt on the road, and that big wooden cart I was dragging behind me. Everything I was carrying was packed in boxes; no crates, just regular cardboard boxes. I was moving to another town to find an apartment to live it. I used to live with my parents before they decided to kick me out.

Wait, forget what I just said. The didn't exactly kick me out. They just thought it'd be best if I expand my horizons a bit. I never felt I fit in where I was walking from. So when a friend of my dad's came over for a visit, they managed to talk a bit and arranged for me to move to a new town nearby. So there I was moving out to a new world.

We were all hoping I could find what I was looking for as soon as I move to town. See, my dad's a delivery guy. He sends supplies to various stores around the county. And since he's a Pegasus it makes his job easier. And my mom's a telemarketer, but I don't know much about moving calls to other ponies. She's a Unicorn, too, but I don't know what difference that makes.

But me, I'm just different, I mean way different; jot just from my folks but from ponies in general. I'm not really as strong as I should be, and I never really like getting my hooves dirty. And even when time comes for it, all I do is kill plants instead of growing healthy food. That's right, you guessed it. I'm an Earth Pony.

When I first set my sights on the town it was a bit more than I expected. For being a small and quiet town it was quite bustling. I walked past many ponies minding their own business, not even turning attention towards the blue guy wearing the short-sleeved jean jacket and the jean kilt over his haunches. Walking further through the town I was thinking about where I'm supposed to go to settle down and unpack.

And then BOOM! I didn't know what hit me! All I saw was a pink blur and before I knew it, off my wagon and on my back. It was like I was hit by a pink freight-train and it hurts like I-Don't-Know-What. I got back up on my hooves and tried to fight off the pain. After shaking myself back to consciousness, I looked around and spotted a pink pony lying on the ground with its rump in the air. As I walked around I got a good look at the pony's face as she got back up. She shook her head like a wet dog, I shielded my face as dirt and pebbles out of her hot-pink, puffy hair. When she was finished she spotted me with her pair of blue eyes. I stood there for a moment to see if she'd respond but nothing actually happened; she just stood there, staring at me like some kind of side-show attraction, and I just stood there, trying to think of what to do next. I must not have paying attention, because her eyes looked bigger that I thought possible. In fact, I could've sworn that they just stretched out of her eyes! I'm starting to get crept out and need to get out of here as soon as possible. So I decided to stop beating around the bush, go ahead and ask her.

"Uh, do you know where I could find an apartment-"

Her reply came quicker than I thought, if you even call it a reply. As much as I could tell she jumped out of her horseshoes, gasping like she just saw a poisonous spider before I blacked out again.

"Hey. You there. You alright?" a new voice echoed in my pounding head. As soon as I regained consciousness I stumbled back onto my hooves. My vision cleared and saw another pony right in front of me. He was about my height with crimson fur, fiery red hair and blue eyes.
I groaned as I stumbled back on my hooves. "Does everyone here run each other over on a daily basis?" I asked, gritting my teeth, "I'm just wondering."

"Let me guess; some weird pink mare shot off somewhere in the speed of sound?" the red stallion joked.

"And pack a punch more powerful than a locomotive!" I replied, "She a friend of yours?"

"Ha! She wishes! It's too bad you weren't lucky enough to steer clear of her! You didn't strike up any conversation, did you?"

"...I asked her for directions."

"The brace yourself! You're in for a hell of a surprise! Anyway, something tells me you're not from here!"

"Good guess. I'm looking for an apartment to move in. Can you point me in that direction?"

"Oh yeah, the buildings are right around that way!" he pointed his hoof to my left.

"Okay, thanks," I slipped back onto my wagon and began on my way.

"Wait hold up!" the red stallion suddenly zipped in my way, floating in midair. I spotted something flapping from his sides. He was standing in front of me, hovering by a pair of red wings. "I better give you a tour of the town! You don't wanna have to ask for directions every time you wanna go somewhere, right?"

I thought it over, "No, I don't think so." I could see his face brighten as he got into mine, which made me uncomfortable.

"Yeah, well what are we waiting for! We got a lot of ground to cover!" with that said, he yanked me back off my wagon and pulled me by my forehooves into the town.

"Wait! What about my stuff?!"

"We'll come back for it later! It's not going anywhere! Hey, on that topic, hang on! Without saying another word he began to rise in the air. I heard him beat his wings harder as he flew across the town, taking me with him.

I looked down towards the town and felt chills running down my spine. I was never too fond of heights so I made sure to take the red stallion's advice. "Where are we going anyway?!"
"We're going to a pitstop; Somewhere we can stuff our faces!" he replied as he rose further over the town, flying towards a woodsland on the outskirts of the town. There were a lot of trees we were flying over, but it didn't take long until I spotted a clearing with a large red farmhouse near the center. Soon we stopped near a wooded-pike fence wall, "Here we are, Sweet Apple Acres Central!" he announced as he landed me onto the dirt road. I almost stumbled off my hooves when they were abruptly dropped to the ground. "Go ahead and go in. There's a pony there who can help who's just about the only pony wearing a cowboy hat!"

"What about you?"

"Nah, I'm good!" then he turned and flew away, "But you could wait for me here in half an hour! And save me a doggybag!"

As I watched the pegasus fly off I decided it was time to go on ahead and go to that farm. I'm gonna have a lot of unpacking to do, so I might as well get some nourishment so I won't regret it later.

As I walked beside the wooden fence I saw two more ponies walking ahead of me. Wait, not both of them are exactly ponies. One of them was a... Well, I assume it was a purple, green-spiked, lizard thing; and it was walking on two legs. I know this isn't exactly my business but I can't help but feel curious. So I moved a bit quicker until I met them in front of the archway sign. When I got close enough I can see it holding up a piece of paper and one of those quill-pens you use for writing and stuff. That guy's lucky; at least he gets to have hands to hold things with.

"Um, may I help you?" I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a girl call on me, and turned to see the pony who the lizard was walking with. As interesting that lizard thing was, the pony I saw was more captivating. She stood with a coat of purple fur, which I saw was very well taken care of. The same applied to her mane and tail, which was shiny and straight and I can see a pink stripe running down either. My eyes wandered towards her back end and spotted a purple star surrounded by six smaller white ones, "Excuse me, eyes up here!" I pulled my gaze towards the pony's violet eyes, which greeted me with an offended expression. I guess I should've known better than looking at her butt like that. But I gotta admit she looks cute when she's angry. I'm not too good with girls, it's really hard for me to figure out what to say. But I have to make a good first impression. What should I say...?

"Sup?"

The girl pony stood with a blank look before she gave an annoyed look in her eyes, "Sup?" she repeated before walking off towards the farm, with the lizard following.

"Yeehaw!"

Startled, I turned to see an orange pony running across the yard. Her tied-up yellow mane and tail blew in the wind while a brown cowboy hat was stuck on her head. She charged towards a tree before she quickly turned and kicked the trunk, sending a lot of apples falling into several baskets surrounding it.

"Let's get this over with," I heard the purple unicorn mumble under her breath as she approached the orange pony. "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle-"

That was as far as she got before the other pony suddenly appeared in front of her and shook forehooves with her, "Well, howdy-do, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!"

"Friends?" the unicorn called Twilight managed to get out; I heard her voice wobble from being shaken too hard, "Actually, I-"

"So, what can I do you for?" Applejack asked when she let go. I saw Twilight's hoof still shaking. I wanted to help so I reached out and grabbed hold of it. I managed to stop the shaking but I ended up trembling hard all over. I just couldn't stop shaking as that lizard thing stood there snickering at me.

I asked for help but Twilight just ignored me and cleared her throat. "Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?" Summer Sun Celebration? What's that?

"We sure as sugar are!" Applejack beamed, "Would you care to sample some?"

"As long as it doesn't take too long-"

Twilight didn't even finish because I heard a ringing from a small triangle and Applejack shouting, "Soup's on, everypony!" I didn't see it coming but I was suddenly trampled over by a stampede. After shaking off the stars and birds that were flying around my head I saw Twilight and that lizard thing dumped at a table under a gazebo. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family?"

"Thanks, but I really need to hurry-"

"This here's Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala..." one by one there were ponies zipping to and from the table putting food on it. It was a matter of time before it began to pile on, "Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp..." Applejack took a deep breath, "Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom aaaand Granny Smith!" she jammed an apple into Twilight's mouth and pointed from the gazebo to an old, bright-green pony sleeping in a rocking chair. Next to him stood a droopy-eyed pony with a light-tan coat and a black cowboy hat. "Oh, and that there's Boomhauer. Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests."

The old pony woke up with a snort, "Wha..? Soup's on? I'm up, here I come, ahm comin'..."

Applejack then put her arm around Twilight, "Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!"

Twilight spat the apple out before laughing nervously, "Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way."

"Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?" a sweet voice chimed and Twilight looked down to a small yellow pony with red hair.

The purple pony seemed to shrink before that pleading child, "Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do..." that earned a disappointed sigh from all the other ponies there as she started to walk off.

I looked towards the purple pony and the lizard thing who were walking out of the farm, then back towards the saddened ponies who were slowly scattered with plates of food in their mouths. I felt sorry for them having their hospitality put down by some unicorn. And to think all that food would go to waste...

"Uh... I can stay here! I'm new here!" I blurted out. Everyone stared at me for a few seconds before they cheered with joy, most muffled with the plates in their mouths. Next thing I knew I was lifted off my hooves and carried off to I-don't-know-where.

Much later I just walked back into Ponyville, carrying a couple of bags of food in my mouth. Those apple-ponies were so nice to me and I was happy to try out all those cakes and cookies. They even let me take as much chocolate cake and fudge as I want back to my place. That reminds me, I still need to find a place to live so I can settle down. I was looking around for the cart I left in the middle of the street. After looking around I finally found it, with someone inside...

Wait a minute, someone's digging around inside my cart! "Hey! Get out of there!" whoever was digging in my cart popped his head out. It was that red pegasus who dragged me to that farm! He must have been trying to steal my cart while I was preoccupied!

"Oh, hey!" He chuckled nervously, "Uh, how's was the trip?"

"What I want you know is why are you digging around in my stuff!" I shouted as I stomped towards him.

"Okay, I know this looks bad, but I was not trying to steal your stuff! I was just trying to move it to a safe place-"

"You had better step away from that cart!" I growled, pushing the pony aside and put my mouth on the reigns, pulling my cart away. But I didn't get very far, because some kind of bump along the way kept my cart stuck somehow. Frustrated, I spat out the reigns and walked around the cart, where I found the back wheel stuck in a pothole! I tried pushing the cart by the back, but I couldn't get it unstuck! After a twenty minutes of trying I finally gave up, plopping down on the ground. I don't know how I'm gonna get myself out of this.

"Need any help?" my head twisted back to see that red pegasus hovering in front of me!

"You followed me?!" I exclaimed, "Wait a minute, I don't need any help!"

"Well, it's looks like it," he replied, "And seeing that you wasted 20 minutes pushing that thing..."

"Just stay away from my cart and stop bothering me!" I got back up and got ready to try pulling my cart again when-

WHAM! SPLAT!

I was slammed right into what I should assume is a mud puddle! I couldn't believe it! First he tries to steal my cart and now he runs me over?! I swear, wherever he's off to I will track him down and I will find him!

As my blood boiled I hear a bit of nervous laughing, "Uh, 'scuse me?" a new voice said, followed by more sheepish laughter. I lifted my head up from the puddle to see a pony with a sky-blue coat, purple eyes and a, I don't know if it's real, short rainbow-colored mane and tail. He was also wearing a pair of goggles over his head, "Lemme help you," he said as he suddenly disappeared. As I stood up I saw a small cloud standing over me. Now in the sky; but an actual cloud over me. I sorta, I don't know, 'puffed' a few times before I was suddenly hit with a downpour of rain. It only took a few moments before it stopped. I found myself soaking wet with my matted mane covering my eyes, "Oops, I guess I overdid it," I heard the blue pony chuckle again, "Um, uh, how about this? I don't know what happened next but I suddenly felt like I was being hit by a whirlwind! I never actually seen a twister, tornado or any of that sort I'm just assuming it feel like that. The wind stopped and I could finally see again! "My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry!" I looked up to the pony's voice and found him hovering next to me! I must have missed those wings he's using, so that makes him a pegasus! "No no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome." the sudden sound of cackling made me spot that red pegasus flying in laughing his head off.

"Oh man! Oh man!" he fell to the ground still laughing. "You really outdone yourself, Rainbow!" he snickered, "I can see you're still out of practice!"

The blue pegasus Rainbow confronted the red pegasus face to face, "And I can see you're still the dysfunctional @$$hole I broke up with six months ago!" broke up? Wait, does that mean they were dating? And they're both guys! Aw, sick!

"Hey, you might've fooled everyone else but your little I'm-not-interested-in-you routine doesn't work on me." the red pegasus chuckled, sounding a bit smug.

"Speaking of work shouldn't you supposed to be at work?!"

"I got a day off!"

"'Day-Off' my furry blue flank! You were supposed to help clear the sky for the Summer Sun Celebration!" I heard those last three words again. What's it supposed to be, some kind of festival?

"Don't look like you've been doing your job!" the red pegasus stated, pointing his hoof at the apparently-cloud-filled sky. "Y'know if I didn't know better I'd say you're still wasting time playing around!"

I suddenly found myself watching Rainbow press his face on the red pegasus', "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm just happen to be practicing!"

"Well you should be 'practicing' clearing the out the sky!"

"Well I was just going to!" he moved away from the red pegasus and landed, I think he was getting ready take off or something, "Wait... I've already done my share of the work!" he shot back towards the red pegasus, "How about you clear the clouds for a change!"

"Okay, maybe I will!" I have enough listening to those two so I decided to leave. But before I could manage to get two steps out, I was pulled by the tail and ended up on my stomach.

"Hey, don't go yet! You about to see why ponies here call me Mach Faiz!" so that's what his name is.

"Yeah; Mach Faiz as in 'You're always quick to get out of working!" Rainbow cracked.

"No, Mach Faiz as in 'I'm the fastest flier in Equestria!'" Mach then instantly launched himself off the ground and went soaring into the sky. My eyes could barely keep up with him; all I could see was a red streak flying around. It went around past the clouds, those slowly being moved away from where I'm seeing. It's been about five seconds when-

SMACK! "ACCK!"

Suddenly a saw a white pegasus falling to the ground next to me. He went groaning and yelling as he held onto his side. I looked at his flank and found a large cloud on it. I looked back up where Mach stood with his wings keeping him up, "Oh! Uh, sorry-"

"&%)DAMMIT, FAIZ!" The white pegasus screamed.

"Did I..did I get you?"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"Me?! Nothing! You, other other hand-"

"Ha! Figures!" Rainbow laughed, fluttering beside me, "You can't even move away a few lousy clouds!"

"Oh, like you can do better?!" Mach challenged.

"Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat!"

"'Ten seconds' these furry red-" but he wasn't able to finish because Rainbow blasted off, through the cloud that he sent to earth and then into the sky. For each and every turn and swerve she broke through a cloud, not even stopping to watch it dissolve to mere vapor. She was moving faster than Mach did; faster than the speed of sound! Next thing I knew she was standing on a post on a bridge that was nearby. That didn't seem to take long.

"What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat." Rainbow boasted, "What'd you think of that!"

Mach just turned away and scoffed, "At least you did your job."

Rainbow flew up and got into his face again, "Because I'm always there when needed, Faiz! Because unlike you I don't leave Ponyvillie hanging!" he zipped back down to earth to pick up the white pegasus. "So don't speak to me! Ever! And while you're not speaking to me, jump on your furry red nuts and drop dead!" with that Rainbow flew off with the other pegasus.

"So that's it?!" Faiz called to him, "After all those times I've been there for you?!"

"Yup!"

"After all the time we spent together?!"

I had to admit that was the most awkward moment I had ever seen, and it wasn't even on tv, and I spend half my time watching some pretty weird stiff. ...Doesn't matter now. I still need to find a house. So I just grabbed the reigns and went on my way.

I figured the first place I'd look is the Town Hall. It wasn't that far from where I was walking. When I got there I asked the lady at the desk if she could help me find a house. She said she'll let the mayor know, but the mayor's out apparently. I had nothing better to do so I sat on a chain in a corner like she told me. I waited there, bored, at least until someone else walked in, not that I was paying attention, not even when after a couple of minutes there was some kind of argument going on. I felt my stomach grumbling, and realizing that I still have food left over I decided to go back out to the card I left outside, if only to escape that constant argument. I reached into the back until I found the bag. I turned back to eat it back inside when I suddenly bumped into someone, dropping my bag.

"Watch where you're going..." I looked towards who growled at me and found a black pony with a yellow mane walking past me. I didn't pay him any mind however so I picked up my bag and was about to go back inside when I a loud thump. I turned back to see another cart next to mine; and one of its wheels were broke off. "Dammit..." I know I should be minding my own business, but sometimes I feel better about myself when I help some random stranger. So putting my bag back, I went to the black pony, who was trying to lift his broken side of the cart.

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

The pony stopped to look at me, with something of a mild scowl, "Ugh... I appreciate your concern, sir, but..." he grunted when he must have been tired of keeping his cart up and dropped it, then sighed. "Okay... I left my cart-jack at home and I'm in a terrible hurry. Would you mind if I borrow your cart for a while?"

"Well..."

Sometimes I wonder why I even open my big mouth. I figured I'd help people and at least get a small reward out of it. Now I found myself unloading my stuff out of my cart and helping him load his stuff into it. I should've known no good deed goes unpunished, "So, if you don't mind asking, do you want to tell me your name?"

"I guess if that's to thank you," the pony huffed when he finished with the last of his things, "I'm-"

"That would be New Moon!" I became surprised, yet frustrated to see Mach Faiz here again, "Better known as Equestria's Most Grumpiest Librarian/Fairy Tail Buff!"

The pony New Moon groaned as he held his head, which I assume was in annoyance, "Faiz, I do not have the time to listen you your smug crap today!"

"Why? Still trying to get out of dodge because you afraid the boogeymare's gonna get you?" Mach chuckled.

"Just shut up for once, and leave me alone." New Moon growled as he walked towards the reigns of my cart.

"Wait, since you're taking my cart, maybe you could tell me where you're going?" I asked him.

"Yeah! Tell 'im where you're running from!" Mach added, apparently trying to tease him.

New Moon sighed in defeat, and spat out the reigns and walked towards me, "Well, if you must know, I have to leave before an ancient threat called Nightmare Moon comes."

I couldn't help but raise a eyebrow. I don't know who and/or what he's talking about; though the term 'Nightmare Moon' sounds like some kinda heavy-metal rock band. "I'm sorry, who?"

New Moon rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly before he continued, "Okay, you know Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, right? Well, long time ago she had a sister. To make a long story short Celestia's better than her sister at everything, sister gets jealous, tries to kill her, Celestia ships her off to the moon, but not before vowing to come back to get her."

"Okay..." this story's getting stranger already.

"Legends said this dubbed 'Mare of the Moon' will be able to make her escape at her 1000th anniversary of her imprisonment. And it's been 1000 years since that event."

I remained silent for a moment, trying to think of something to say... "So?"

"So, tonight's the night this Mare of the Moon will break fro her prison. And with Celestia coming here before dawn, she'll most likely come for her here." he said, "So we should all postpone the celebration get out of here before she comes. Maybe if Nightmare doesn't see anypony she'll go away."

"LAME!" Mach came in in called out, "New, if you didn't want to come to the celebration you could just stay home!" he chuckled, "All that 'Nightmare Moon' talk is just an old-pony-tale!"

"Well," New Moon scoffed with a brief chuckle, backing away back to the front of the cart, "Tale or no tale she's coming! There are plenty of documents down at the library that back this up."

Mach then burst out laughing, "Who would've thunk! A bookworm spooked by a fairy tail!"

"Yes. Very spooked," New Moon replied sarcastically, "That's why I'm leaving; and so should the rest of you. Trust me, it's your only chance for survival." he then bit into the reigns and pulled the cart away, leaving me with my big pile of stuff near me.

"Eh, I'll give him 11 minutes," Mach muttered to himself before he flew off. I looked around but there was no one there. Now I'm sure I'm alone.

I spotted something lying around on the ground that wasn't there before. That New Moon guy must have forgot it when he left. I moved closer to take a better look at it. It was a book with a blue cover and six rocks on the front. I craned my neck lower to read the book's title...

The Book of Virtues...? But now I have another problem: looking for a way to lug all that junk around without my cart! I don't even have a place to bring my stuff! ...I can't just leave my stuff here, or someone might steal them. I leaned against the wall and sat down on my flank. I've been feeling tired, so I didn't see it coming when I suddenly found myself asleep.

I woke up after a good, short rest. First thing on my mind was that book that black pony dropped. I should give it back to him. I looked around; it got pretty hard to see all of a sudden. I found the book and picked it up with my mouth, the only way I could pick up stuff, by the way. Let's see, how do I find... what was his name... Shadow Moon, I think? Yeah, that's it. Hey, the sky's black all of a sudden... Wait a minute, how long was I asleep?! It must be later than I thought. I want to find the guy, but think it's a bit too dark to see. Wait, I think I got a flashlight with my stuff. But I can't hold that and a book at the same time. But then I also brought a saddlebag with me, so I could put the book in that. So I rummage through my stuff and found the flashlight, and then my saddlebag, put the book inside and tossed the bag over my back with my teeth. Then I grabbed the flashlight and clicked it on with my teeth too. I looked around down at the ground and found a set of wheel tracks. Those must come from the cart Shadow Moon took with him.

I followed the tracks which lead me a long was from town onto a different dirt road from where I first came to town. It took me a while until I found myself being lead to a small cottage past a small bridge. I followed the trail around the house towards the backyard. I guess I wouldn't bother knocking on the door, because the light were off and I don't want to disturb anyone while they're asleep. The trail went on but I suddenly stopped when I looked up to see what was ahead. It was a vast, dark forest; much darker than the night above me, and there weren't any stars in that sky. The only source of light I could see from there were to tiny to be considered lights, and came in pairs, and were blinking. I don't like the look of this. That place sends chills down my spine that I almost dropped my flashlight. And I haven't even walked in there yet. Why am I even doing this?! I don't even know the guy!

...Then again I did borrow his cart. So I should make sure he doesn't do anything stupid like break that one. So I guess my mind's made up.

I walked through the dark forest, looking around cautiously for whatever could be out there. I fell like someone's spying on me, like some mugger's waiting to gang up on me. I tried to ignore whatever could distract me, like the bushes rustling near me, or the sound of footsteps behind me. This is really started to creep me out, so I did the next best thing, and ran. I ran as far as my four feet could take me. Unfortunately I didn't go that far. I stood there panting and wheezing after running five to ten yards. Sometimes I wish I'd gone to the gym with my dad.

I don't feel hungry because I could hear my stomach growling but I can't feel it. I don't think that's even possible. ...Wait, that's not me! Then who's making that sound?!

I feel so dumb not realizing there was something behind me! I don't know what it is but I don't like it! But if I try to run who know what it'll do to me! I could think of only one thing to do in this kind of situation: I stood still. That's right, you heard me! I stood still! Like a statue! They say that if you stand still in an animal's presence, that animal will forget you're a living person and eventually go away! And you know what, it really worked! Because after whatever it was sniffed me, I can hear it walk away! That was a close call, I sighed out... in... relief...?

I guess you'd know by now that I had to drop my flashlight when I breathed out. That animal must've heard it drop and now it's growling at me! Now before you get to judge me or anything, I'll just go on ahead and make a run for it! But I didn't get to go anywhere because I was being pulled on by my tail before being tossed into the air! That's when I got a good look a the gaping mouth I'm coming down over! No, no, no! I don't' want to get eaten! Maybe if I close me eyes then it'll go away!

I closed my eyes, alright! And I don't need to see to figure out that I didn't get eaten, and I fell face-first onto the ground, and that hurt really bad! I had trouble getting up and was holding my hooves over my hurt face.

"I guess your mom never taught you not to go out in the woods after dark, huh?" It took me a moment but I recognized that voice! I look up to find a shadow of a pegasus hovering over me!

He dropped down and showed his face. What's Mach Faiz doing here? "What are you doing here?" I wondered aloud.

"Try asking me after we run from that!" I looked where Faiz was pointing. What's so scary about a pile of wood? I got my answer when the wood began to move. They stacked against each other until they became some king of four-legged animal! From head to toe it looked like it was born from wood, down to the splintering claws and teeth. I stood frozen as the animal then stared at me with those glowing yellow eyes! It was ready to jump on me before I saw a red blur smash through the beast, reducing it to another pile of wood! Faiz went flying in the sky hooting. Did he really do that?! He the came back towards me and, I didn't see it coming, but, he grabbed me by the tail and lifted me up, until we were high above the trees! I could hear him laughing over me. "Hahaha! Did you see that?! Wait, what are you doing back here at night?"

After finding my voice from looking at the wooden debris I replied, "I'm trying to look for Full Moon. He dropped something that I wanna give back to him."

"Full Moon?" I heard him say in a confused tone, "...Oh, you mean New Moon!"

"Yeah, that's him. I followed the tracks from the cart he borrowed from me and lead me here," I looked ahead over the forest's treetops towards the night sky. "Any idea where he'd go?"

"Personally, I think he's crazy to come here, especially at night; but there's an old castle past the forest. I mean, it's the only place I could think of worth walking through a place like this."
"Well, it's worth a try," I guessed. "I could use a ride, it's faster that walking, right?"

"Then you came to the right pegasus!" he said, "I can get you there in no time at all!"

"That'd be nice," I replied. Suddenly I have the same animal that attacked me earlier snapping its jaws, trying to catch me in mid-air, "Um, anytime now!"

"Then you'd better hand on!" I hear him chuckle before we went moving way from the beast, flying over the forest towards the castle.

Trip to an Old Castle

It didn't take long, about 35-45 minutes. I was so far up and I was scared of heights, but it beats having to deal with other dangerous creatures down there. I was looking across the horizon until I spotted a weird stone structure up ahead. "Is that the place?"

"Yeah, man, that's the place." After a few more minutes of flying I was relieved when we landed at the end of a crevice. Up ahead was a series of broken-down ruins, the outside grown with vines and moss. "Well, here it is! Let's go." I followed Mach through a pair of large, rotten, wooden doors into an even larger stone hallway. There I saw some kind of pedestal holding five stone tablets.

Mach was flying in the air, looking around. "Well, nothing out of the ordinary."

"What about that big pedestal over there?" I asked, pointing at the big pedestal.

"What?" Mach flew over to the pedestal, "I don't know, doesn't look like anything interesting."

"What do you think New Moon would come here for?" I shrugged, "I mean, what's so important about this place?"

"If you're here looking for some kind of tourist attraction, you came to the wrong place," I gasped and looked over my shoulder, where someone was standing in the doorway. They walked in out of shadows and I saw New Moon. But by how he's glaring at me, I could tell he wasn't happy to see us. "What are you doing here?"

"So this is where you wandered off to." Mach said, landing next to me.

"That's not what I asked you!" New Moon growled as he stopped and kept glared at us, "I said, what are you doing here!"

"Uh, I... I was just looking for you! You dropped this..." I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out the book he dropped today.

"The Book of Virtues..." New Moon whispered. I saw the book glowing dark-blue as it was yanked out of my mouth, "So that's where it was..." he said to himself, looking at the book and then back at us. "Thank you. But now I need both of you to leave this place, now!"

As I stood there confused, Mach hovered in New Moon's face, "C'mon! Why is it that you can't leave too? What are you doing that's so important?"

"This isn't something you need to know!" New Moon growled at him, "Just take my advice and leave!"

"Well... You did borrow my cart when yours broke..." I spoke up.

"Your point...?"

"Don't you at least own me as to why you're here?"

New Moon stared at me for a moment before sighing like he gave up, "Fine. But as soon as you get your answers you and Faiz get out!"

"Okay, fine them."

"Alright... If you must know..."

"Hello-oooh! Anypony in there?!" I heard someone I recognize yelling. I looked pass New Moon and saw Rainbow Dash flying into the room, with a group of five more walking behind him; most of them I already met today: the purple one, the one with the hat and that pink pony that ran me over. The last two were a white one with purple hair and a yellow one with pink hair.

"Hey, Rainbow." Faiz greeted.

"Faiz?!" Rainbow exclaimed as she hovered down towards him, "What are you doing here?!"

"I oughtta ask you the same thing."

"For once I have to agree with Faiz," New Moon said to Rainbow, then towards the others, "What are you doing here?"

The purple unicorn, Twilight, stepped into the conversation, "Excuse me, my name is Twilight Sparkle. We came here looking for a group of artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony..." then I saw her eyes move over to my direction, "Wait, I know you..." I stepped back on instinct. I didn't attract any attention from someone before. I usually have to approached someone to want something.

"Now that you mention it I did see him earlier today," the pony-in-the-hat Applejack said, "You were at my farm this morning!"

"Hey, I saw you today, too!" Rainbow Dash added, "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Uh, I was just here to return that book to him," I spoke up pointing at New Moon.

I saw Twilight look closer at the book floating near New Moon, "Wait, is that what I think it is...?" she then gasped, "The Book of Virtue!"

"So you know about this book?" New Moon asked.

"Um, I don't meant to interrupt..." Applejack spoke and pointed back to that pedestal, "But don't we have get those elements there?"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about them!" Twilight gasped. Rainbow and the yellow pony flew up to the pedestal and picked up the stones one by one, then lowering them to the floor near the others, "Careful...Careful!"

"One, two, three, four..." the pink pony counted, "There's only five!"

"Are there supposed to be more than five?" I asked, trying to find out what's going on.

"There's said to be six Elements of Harmony," Twilight answered, "But we only know of five: Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter and Generosity."

"What about that one big one over there?" I asked, pointing at that big stone which the two pegasus ponies were carrying off the pedestal, and placing it near the smaller stones.

"I guess that would carry the sixth element," Twilight said, "From what I read, when the five elements are present, a spark will cause the sixth to be revealed."

"A spark of what? You mean a spark from a match...?" I guessed.

"I suppose she means a spark of magic!" New Moon corrected with an annoyed tone. "Perhaps it requires a unicorn's magic to trigger the Element's power. The princess was the last to use them, so she probably sealed the elements into those stone tablets there with her magic."

"So it'll take magic to uncover all six elements," Twilight finished, "That might work. How's you know?"

New Moon showed Twilight the book. "This book you were interested in. In a way it has a history with the Elements of Harmony you've been seeking. It also contains the most powerful spells known to equine-kind. And something this powerful can only be handled by somepony who would know how to use its power like they should..." suddenly, the gems on the book began to glow brightly, surprising Twilight and even me, but not New Moon, "See? Even the book itself thinks you're worthy to wield its you need is to form a contract with it."
Twilight blinked in bewilderment, "A... Contract?"

"By forming a contract with the book, you can have access to its spells. Here, let me show you..." the book lowered to Twilight's level just below her head, "Now, place your hoof ontop of the book."

"Okay..." Twilight did so.

After clearing his throat, New Moon said, "I, New Moon, hear-by terminate my contract and relinquish it to Twilight Sparkle." the book then flashed before it glowed a purple aura as Twilight removed her hoof and held onto the book with her magic, "Now my bond with the book is severed. All you need now is to recite the phrase needed to complete your contract. Unfortunately, the phrase is the same as the sixth mystery element."

"So I'll be able to release the Elements of Harmony..." Twilight look down at the book, "And learn a whole new world of magic... Now that I think about it, all that power... Thank you, Now Moon," Twilight smiled and walked to the stones. The book seemed to glow even brighter while near them, "Stand back. I don't know what will happen." Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and her horn began to glow.

"Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate." Applejack lead the rest of us out the door so we could watch Twilight do her magic thing.

I then notice some kind of fog began creeping across the floor. I don't know what else to call it, but it was blue and littered with stars, like some kind of night-fog. It then started to form a whirlwind around the stones, creating a tornado. She must have been so focused on her magic that she didn't notice! I didn't think at that time, I just ran for Twilight.

"TWILIGHT!" The purple unicorn must have heard that because she looked back and then noticed the big tornado right in front of her! I already decided what I was gonna do when I finally got to Twilight. All I did was clamped on her tail with my teeth and tossed her to the entrance, or as far as I could get her towards the entrance. "You better get yourself back here, too, right now!" I wasn't able to run back to New Moon and the others when I suddenly found myself pulled into the tornado! My lungs collapsed from the vacuum this tornado made! I felt myself being lifted off the stone floor and carried into the winds.

It seemed like moments when the wind stopped and dropped to the floor. After I choked on the dust picked up from where I fell, I looked around. This isn't the same room I was in. Was I carried off somewhere else? "What just happened?!" I then saw the starry mist that carried me off at the other end of the room over a dias and changed shape. I was now looking at a large black pony, the tallest-looking pony I've ever seen; a unicorn with the kind of armor I've seen on royal castle guards, except this one's kind of a light-blue. I knew I wasn't dreaming because I swore his mane was the same starry mist flowing under his helmet. I looked at him curiously, "What is he-?"

He suddenly disappeared in a plume of smoke and then reappeared right in front of me! I stumbled back onto my hide! "Did you just address me as a male...?" I just realized that I have a girl in front of me by the way the pony snapped at me, "Are you trying to say you don't know the distinct difference between a stallion and a mere?" I wished I could find a rack to crawl under just to get away from those green snake-like eyes of hers. They're just so creepy! Just what kind of pony is she?! Soon backed up a bit from me, "But I shouldn't be one to talk. When I first spotted you I only saw a pony wearing a skirt. So I assumed it was a girl; an ugly girl."

A skirt?! "for your information, this a-"

I was suddenly lifted off the ground and close to the woman's face, about a couple inches from each other, "Maybe you didn't hear me. If I say it's a skirt, you better believe it's a skirt. And don't forget who you're talking to..." she then dropped me on my face, "But let's not change the subject. I'd like to thank you for bringing the book here for me. It saves me a lot of trouble of looking for it myself," I looked back up and saw the tall mare facing me from the dias, where she was holding the book with her magic, "You might have known by now, but this holds more magical power unlike anything you'll ever get to see. But what you don't know is it's true purpose..." she then tossed the book across the room to me, "Try citing its password and you'll see what I mean." I got more confused. I just wanted to get this back to it's owner. What would I want with a magic book?

The doors behind me burst open and the eight other ponies ran inside and crowded around me, "My goodness, are you alright?!" Twilight asked me worriedly, "Where are the elements?"

"Looking for these?" everyone spotted the mare, somehow holding five elements in her hair and tail with the last larger one on the floor next to her.

"How are we supposed to get the element's now?!" Applejack groaned.

"Whaddaya mean? It's just one pony! Let's just take 'em from her!" Faiz decided, and hovered over the rest of us, "Guess I'll have to do it for you!"

"No, Faiz! Wait!" But Faiz ignored New Moon as he shot towards her.

But the mare only chuckled, "You're kidding... You're kidding, right?" she settled the elements down before she managed to catch Faiz in mid-air, with her hair like she did with me! She then tossed him back across the room over us and crashed right in front of the door.

"I guess he forgot that one pony's name is Nightmare Moon!" Rainbow groaned.

"Wait, that's Nightmare Moon?!" I exclaimed, "But that's supposed to be a fairy-tale!" suddenly I felt something wrap around me and yank me halfway across the room. Then a metal shoe stepped on my back. I almost got the air knocked out of me.

"Oh, I beg to differ. I'm very real!" Nightmare sneered. When Rainbow flew towards me to save me, I yelped when Nightmare's mane started to crush me, she stopped in mid-air in alarm. "I suggest you keep your distance, little pony," slowly rainbow backed away back to the others, "Good. I'm sure you couldn't like with yourself if any of your actions cause the poor stallion to die."

"That pony has nothing to do with you! Leave him out of this!" New Moon shouted.

"Is that so. Well then I might consider letting him go, on one condition..." Nightmare said, "You, whoever you are, I want you to recite the password please."

"Password?" Twilight asked and then gasped, "She must mean that book!"

"And that's it right there!" New Moon pointed. The book was tied together with me around Nightmare's mane, "It must have been next to him when Nightmare Moon caught him!"

"I'm still waiting for that password!" Nightmare sang.

"But why would he know the password to the book?" Twilight asked New Moon.

"He doesn't!" he replied, "I do!"

"Well then give it to 'im!" Applejack said.

"I can't!"

"What do you mean you can't!"

"I just can't!"

"Maybe I should rephrase. I was that password right now!" Nightmare emphasized by squeezing her hair tighter around me.

"You heard her! He needs that password now!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Or do you want him to get crushed!"

"You don't understand!" New Moon said. "If he says the magic words then it's all over!"

I can't believe he's thinking about abandoning me like that. Can't he see I'm about to die?! I can feel Nightmare's hair squeezing me tighter, cutting off my oxygen! If it's a password she wants then fine! I'm an Earth Pony! I can't use magic, so what's the harm! What's this password he's talking about?

"ABRACADABRA!"

"NO!" New Moon shouted. Just then I could feel the book vibrating on my front. Do all magic books do that? And do they all glow with a strange light like this does? I didn't have anymore time to think when everything went white. I couldn't feel Nightmare's grip on me anymore, just the force of cold stone hitting my side when I fell to the floor. I stood up and held my arm grunting in pain. I found the password on the first try...?

"Hey, are you alright?" Twilight ran up towards me.

"I'm fine," I winched, "But what about...

We looked to find Nightmare lying on the floor, presumably unconscious, "She must have been knocked out by the blast. But who knows when she could wake up..." she ran up to the dis to the elements, "Okay. Just one spark..." she dipped her horn down towards then and then it blazed with magic, "Come on... Come on!" the six stones began to glow the same color as her horn. Suddenly the magic kicked back hard on Twilight and threw her across the floor. I got up and limped towards her to see if was alright.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah, fine." she said with a smile. She got up and looked at the still sparkling orbs, which then suddenly blown out, "...Nothing happened? I don't understand!"

Nightmare is heard giggling as she rose to her feet, "Did you think you could defeat me so easily?" she raised her front legs and brought them down with a crash. The force causing the five smaller orbs to shatter.

"You!" New Mood growled as he stomped towards me, "I'd ask how you knew the magic words but that's beside the point! This whole thing is you fault!"

"What?" I asked, confused, "How is this my fault?"

New Moon turned away with a scowl before he answered, "The Book of Virtues chose Twilight Sparkle to be its wielder. But now that you spoke the password you made not only the book, but the Elements of Harmony useless!"

"But what do those elements has to do with the book?"

"You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that?" I heard Twilight called out to Nightmare, "Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here." she became flanked by the other Applejack, Rainbow and the other three ponies who came. The shattered remains of the five smaller tablets began to glow and float off the ground behind them.

"What?!" Nightmare gasped.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!" Several of the stone shards began to circle around Applejack.

"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!" more shards orbit around the yellow pegasus.

"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!" more shards gravitate around the pink pony.

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!" more surrounded the white pony.

"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!" the remaining shards appeared around Rainbow like the others. "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."

"You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"

"But it did! A different kind of spark," Twilight turned towards the others, "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you..." she panned her gaze through them towards us, "all of you, are my friends!" the ceiling then lit up. I had to shield my eyes because it was so bright, "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!" when I dared to look again I saw the six ponies wore bands of gold; five necklaces and a crown for Twilight. Each of those ponies glowed while Nightmare tried to shield herself from the light.

But suddenly the lights died out. That can't be a good sign.

"What happened?!" Twilight exclaimed, "I don't understand! We have the six Elements; they were supposed to work!"

Nightmare laughed, "Yes; keyword 'supposes to'! I must confess you had me worried for a moment. It's a shame you couldn't contract with the Book of Virtue!"

"What?!"

"This is exactly what I'm talking about," New Moon muttered, "I told you the book and the elements have a history together. They could've work without the book, but not it and the Elements are useless now."

"New Moon, what are you saying...?" Twilight asked desperately.

"The book chose you, Twilight, because you hold a pure heart and strength of will that allowed you to revive the Elements of Harmony. So one who holds the book and its contents should be one who holds the power of the elements," he then glared at me again, "But you had to blurt out the password, now you're bound to the book! You just made the six Elements obsolete!"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" but then Twilight was being thrown off the floor, her crown falling off. Her and the five other ponies are being held by Nightmare's magic aura.

"Allow me to clear things up a bit," Nightmare sneered, "The Book of Virtues is considered to be an additional Element of Harmony, as it could represent one or many virtues, hence its name. But since it's formed a contract with a pony not among the six elements, much less a virtue to call his won, he created a gap among you for a seventh; a seventh Element of Harmony that doesn't even exist!" Nightmare's hair and tail swirled as she laughed full-throttle.

I could see I really screwed up. If I had left like New Moon said, none of this would have happened! I had to do something if no one else could. So I just charged in and lunged at her. But before I could reach her a red blur crashed into her. That's right, I said it; a red blur shot through the window and smashed into Nightmare, knocking out her concentration and released her magic on the ponies.

"Twilight!" New Moon rushed over to the ponies, "Are you girls alright?"

"I think so..." Twilight groaned as she stood back up, "But... what happened?"

A red pegasus the crawled out of the large hole he made. Mach Faiz stumbled to his feet with a tired look on his face. He must be the one who flew through the window! "Faiz?! That was you?!" Rainbow exclaimed, surprised.

Suddenly Faiz shot into the air cheering and laughing, "WOOHOO! 3 personal records: for longest distance, top speed, and number of sun-stealin' douche-bags kicked in the frickin' face! Dis you see that?!" no one was able to reply because of that giant black shadow looming out of crater, "C'mon! You gotta admit that was cool!"

"Faiz! You better look behind you!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Faiz turned around to meet an enraged Nightmare Moon. He only greeting was a furious whinny as he spread out a pair of large bat-like wings. She gave no warning when she swung them forth in front of him. The gale force of how she beat her wings knocked Faiz across the room, "I think playtime is over, little ponies," Nightmare snarled as she landed. Her horn then glowed with magic and electricity. "Any last words?"

"Wait!" I ran in front of the ponies, "I have a question!"

Nightmare released her magic, "What is it?" she asked impatiently.

"Why are you doing this?! I just don't why you'd cause all this trouble!"

"You would ask me my intention?" Nightmare asked, "Perhaps if you looked into my so-called legacy..."

"Someone told me about it," I said, "They said you went overboard because of your jealousy with-"

"JEALOUS?!" Nightmare roared, "I'm not jealous! I'm fed up! Do you even know what it's like to be Mistress of the Night? No one even appreciates the wonders my nights offer! They all waste it under their huts! But now I'll get the recognition I rightfully deserve! And soon everypony will learn to respect the night!"

"But how's depriving people of sunlight going to help anyone? Trust me, you need the sun just as much as any one else!"

"You talk nonsense! I am the Harbinger of the Night! The Mare of the Moon! I need only the night!" she said.

"Just think about it! Without sunlight we can't grow any more fruits and vegetables! We won't be able to grow any more wheat which means we won't be able to make any more flour; which means no more bread, no more porridge, no more crackers or biscuits or pancakes, it could be the end of cakes and cookies and pies!"

"Not the pies!" the pink pony squeaked.

"What's your point?" Nightmare asked flatly.

"If you take away our sun, then you'll be taking away our food! We'll be starved! If you want to rule Equestria you have to take other ponies' well being into consideration! A true leader puts the people ahead of themselves!"

"A true leader rules with all her power! She consolidates her dominance to ensure nopony goes against her! Since when do the ponies matter? Their only purpose is to obey and devote themselves to their ruler! Besides, this will serve then right for neglecting my beautiful nighttime!"

"You think no one appreciates the night?!"

"It's a fact! Just name one thing ponies do during the night?"

"You mean besides watching meteor showers, go stargazing, go for nighttime strolls, visit gallop-in theaters, go kayaking under the moonlight, light lanterns for nighttime festival or watch fireworks?!" I think I'm somehow getting to her, because Nightmare's eyes seemed to wander as her scowl faltered, "Yes, maybe no one enjoys the night as much as you, but there's as much we do at night as much as we do in the day. Maybe Celestia banished you to teach you this. For too long it's been about only you. Like I said, you need to put others ahead of yourself. If you manage to change your attitude I'm sure she'll..." I stopped what I was saying due to the bright light shining behind me. I turned back and dropped my jaw when I saw Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow and the three girl ponies flash in a white light. Two multicolored were coming from them in some kind of double helix. I looked up to see then twist together into a giant rainbow and followed it as it crashed down over Nightmare Moon. I could hear her screaming as the rainbow swirled into a tornado. One blinding flash later, everything went silent and dark.

After hearing a collection of clamoring a few moments later I turned and saw the six ponies looking over each others' accessories. Now I found out what they actually looked like, each had a gem on the front that looked like either a red lightning bolt, an orange apple, a pink butterfly, a light-blue balloon or a purple diamond. The tiara on Twilight was studded with blue gems with a giant six-pointed star, the same one marked on Twilight. I then realized that those elements really worked, "But that doesn't make sense," I wondered to myself, "I thought those things don't work anymore."

"With what you did it shouldn't!" New Moon came marching towards me, "Whatever happened back there, the book suddenly reacted with the six elements. So they took that chance to strike while the even could."

"But Nightmare said the elements don't work because of another missing element. But if the book reacted to them..." I then came to a realization, "That must mean the Book of Virtues is the seventh Element of Harmony! Which mean I have the spirit of the elements in me all along!"

BONK!

"Wrong answer!" New Moon snapped after he whacked me ontop of the head with the book, "I don't know how or why it happened but one thing's for certain: it was all out of dumb luck. In fact, if you had left the castle like I told you in the first place, we wouldn't have gone through so much trouble!" the black pony turned away, "Because of you, we may never be able to use the Elements of Harmony again!" New Moon then walked away. I don't know why he's making a big deal out of this. I mean we save the world...right?

It wasn't long until the sun rose through the shattered window over the dias. But another surprise came when a blaze of light separated and floated right into the room, where it settled on the dias with one final flash! In its place stood another tall, winged unicorn with a white coat. She was wearing a gold tiara with gold shoes and a gold necklace with a another purple diamond gem on it. What really caught my eye was that long hair and tail stripped with different colors. They were flowing like the wind would!

"What are you doing gawking?!" New Moon hissed behind me, where I found him bowing, "Do you have any idea who that is?! That's-"

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cheered as she ran to the flying unicorn; the two nuzzled each other in affection. So that's the famous Princess Celestia? I always hear of her, but I never seen her myself, "But... you told me it was all an old pony tale."

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more," Celestia replied, "I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart."

"But what about the Book of Virtues? I was supposed to be it's master, but..."
"I know. I didn't think the book would fall into another's hooves. For one saving grave he was able to reignite the Elements of Harmony before it was too late. And I'm grateful for that."

"With all due respect, your Highness..." New Moon interrupted, "We were only able to defeat Nightmare Moon because of sheer dumb luck. He did nothing to help them obtain the Elements. All he did was distract her by talking nonsense!"

"He tried to reach out to Nightmare Moon through pure reason," Celestia protested, "I'm sure he knew he had no special magic of his own, so he used that voice of reason hoping to convince Nightmare to stop her chaotic ways. I think that counts as anything."

"Hey! Where d'you think you're $^#damn going!?"

"No! Let go of me!" I found Mach Faiz at the far end of the room dragging a different pony by the tail.

"Faiz, no! You don't know who that is!" New Moon cried.

"Can't you tell?! It's Nightmare!" Faiz said before he was pulled off of the pony by New Moon's magic.

"That's Princess Luna!" New Moon said, "Which happens to be Princess Celestia's younger sister!"

"Sister?!" everyone else exclaimed. Luna looked a lot different, and smaller that the Nightmare Moon I saw. Her coat was violet-blue with light-blue hair and tail. She wore a small blue crown and necklace.

Celestia approached the other princess and laid down in front of her, "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister," Celestia rose, "Will you accept my friendship?"

Everything went silent as Luna turned away. One thud later she stood upright and nuzzled Celestia against her chest, "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!"

"I've missed you, too." Both princesses were in tears.

The one who took it harder than anyone was that pink pony. After blowing on her handkerchief she continued weeping. But she didn't stay that way for long... "Hey, you know what this calls for?"

"A PARTY!" she squealed as we made it back through the forest and into Ponyville's meadow fields where the locals were waiting with a festival underway.

"She spent two hours during the trip back to town just to say that?" Faiz muttered.

After everything I went through, I guess this is a good time to say this was one hell of an adventure. I came here to Ponyville to find myself. And overnight I helped saved the world! That reminds me, I'm going to be living here! And I still haven't gotten a place to live, yet! I'm sure if I could make it to town hall...

It's gone! When I finally reached town hall, all the stuff I left is gone! Everything I came here with, all gone! I plopped onto the ground, hopeless. I had money in that. What am I supposed to do for a house now?!

"Hello?" I jumped up and found Twilight walking to me, "I was looking for you at the party but you weren't there. I wanted to talk to you."

"Well... Um, I'm surprise you wanted to find me," I slumped over against the hall wall, "So what do you want to talk about?"

Twilight sat down beside him, "Well, back where I came from, I was usually on my own. I thought I didn't need any friends. But after what we just went through, I kinda realized how important friends are to somepony... That's why I'm moving here to Ponyville."

"Well, that's nice. I came here yesterday and was about to move here," I told her, "But everyone was too busy to help me find a home... But why are telling me this?"

"The Book of Virtues. Now that you're it's master, there's a lot you'll have to learn from it."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

Twilight stood up, "I'll be staying here to learn as much as there is on friendship. And since you have the book, you'll be helping me. It'll be our mission appointed by Princess Celestia."

I don't know what I gotten myself into, but a mission from royalty seems like a good idea. "So what do we do first...?"

Author's Note

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro
Please Read and Review.

Two Tickets to Armageddon

Author's Note

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro
Please Read and Review.

Two Tickets to Armageddon

Ever since that Elements of Harmony incident, the young blue pony was able to enjoy the rest of his day in his new home in Ponyville. He just never expected his new home to be in the library's basement, or that he'd be living in a hollowed-out tree, or that the entire library would be a hollowed-out tree. Princess Celestia had Twilight and him arranged to live here the day before. The only problem he had is that he had to pay rent to stay, as ordered by New Moon, the librarian. Luckily he found a means of paying so he had no worries.

He woke to the sound of an alarm clock ringing in his ear. After an agonizing while of searching for it outside the covers, he finally dropped his hoof on it, shutting it off. He rose out of the blanket with a tired yawn. Leaving it on the floor behind him, he slipped on his everyday clothes: his jean vest and kilt. After going up the flight of stairs he crossed the main library and went out the door.

Retracing his steps from two days ago, the blue pony finally reached the Apple Barn, where someone was waiting for him at the gate, the tanned stallion with the black hat Boomhauer. He gave a poke and the stallion tilted his hat from over his eyes. "Yo…"

"Um, excuse me, I'm because Applejack told me you need extra help on your farm today," the pony greeted, "Do you know her?"

After a moment of awkward silence the stallion retreated into the farm property, "C'mon…" and the pony followed.

Later after taking out the baskets and the wagon, the two went to the area where the apple trees are.

"A'ight now, here what'cha need'tdo,kay?," Boomhauer instructed, "Just grabon t'thatthere dang'ol treet-runk'njus… jus' shakeitlikethere no tomorrow, them apples'llbe fallinoutin notime. Or you can justurn'round 'ngiveita big… dang'ol kick like so…," he spun around and gave the tree a firm kick, causing a lot of apples to fall out of the tree, one of them fell on the pony's head, "Jus put'em inthembasket 'nbring'em tothatthere barnoverthere. You'd beworkin' till noon." With that, Boomhauer left the pony to work.

All throughout the day he busied himself with the apple trees, shaking the red fruits from them and tossing them in the baskets attached to his given saddle. It wasn't so hard since he help with farm work back home. As he shook the umpteenth tree one of the apples rolled away. He bent down to grab it but it then glowed purple and floated off on its own. He looked up to see Twilight Sparkle holding the apple with her magic. "Twilight…? How long have you been here?"

"Not that long," Twilight answered, "I'm helping Applejack pick apples. It looks like you've already gotten started."

"Well, um… Would like some help? I mean, since you're picking apples… And I'm picking apples…?"

"Sure! The more the merrier! That's why I was looking for you," Twilight said with a smile, "C'mon. I left Spike over where I was."

"Spike?" the pony asked, puzzled as they walked across the edge of the tree orchid.

"Oh! Right, I forgot we were moving in that I didn't introduce him to you. He the dragon who was with me when we first met here! Wait, speaking of, I didn't really catch your name, either, did I?"

"Omnifarious."

"Huh?" Twilight looked back at the pony, unsure of what she heard, "You're nefarious?"

"Omnifarious! With an 'O'," the blue pony corrected, "It's my name. It means 'many forms'. But you can just call me Omni for short."

Twilight smiled back, "Well, Omni, it's nice to finally meet your acquaintance."

Omnifarious carried the wagon and followed the purple unicorn until they stopped at another part of the apple orchid, where Applejack and the dragon Spike were busing themselves.

"Hey, there!" Applejack greeted the moment she spotted Omnifarious, "I was told you'd be working with us today and wondered where you've been! It's mighty nice of you to help out!"

"Thank you." Omnifarious said. For the rest of the day they continued on harvesting apples, he and Twilight shaking them and tossing them into their baskets. But as he worked he couldn't help but notice Applejack's bizarre method of harvesting, the orange cowgirl charging towards a tree and stopping just in time to spin around and deliver a powerful kick with her back-legs. A slight crack was heard right before a bunch of apples fell to the ground. She did the same thing once every tree. The moment he moved to another tree he decided to try it himself. He backed up a few yards, and then ran towards it. Then just like Applejack he turned and shot out his back-legs, connecting his feet to the tree. But nothing happened. He tried again, and again, but the apples still stuck by the stems.

"How do they do it…?" Omnifarious huffed, muttering to himself.

"Hey, try not to overdo it, okay?" Applejack said walking to him, "Apple-Bucking isn't something anypony can do. Besides, some trees need a little extra KICK!" she emphasized with a kick of her own and a load of trees fell down, one of them hitting Omni on the head, "Oh! Sorry about that. I guess I don't know my own strength! I'll just get to work somewhere else. Keep up the good work!" As Omnifarious watcher trot back to her stations, he wondered how a pony like that could be that strong, even among earth-pony standards…

Finally done when the sun was at its peak, Omni hauled the wagon of filled baskets as he followed the two girls.

Thank you kindly for helping me out," Applejack gratefully expressed, "I bet Big McIntosh I could get all these Golden Delicious in the barn by lunchtime. If I win, he's gonna walk down Stirrup Street in one of granny's girdles. Hmhm."

"No problem at all, Applejack," the purple unicorn replied, "I'm glad the goal is lunchtime. All this hard work is making me hungry."

"I know, right?" Spike added as he rode on Twilight's back. The dragon was busy going through the apples picked, apparently tossing them aside. That's a terrible waste of good apples.

"Puh-leez, Spike, you've been lounging on my back all morning while we worked."

"Exactly. You two are taking so long, I missed snack-time," All that lunch talk reminded Omnifarious he hadn't had anything since this morning. That's why he didn't expect his stomach to suddenly growl on him. He froze when he got caught and Twilight stifled a giggle, "See? He agreed," Spike continued tossing away apples and one caught itself in Omni's mouth. Omni spat it out the moment he found a worm in it. "A-Ha!"

Spike finally held a bright red apple in his claws. Although Omni would rather have a granny-smith, he decided not to be picky, "Excuse me, are you gonna—" he didn't finish his sentence as that same apple disappeared into the dragon's mouth. "I guess so…"

"Spike!" Twilight scolded, angry at the dragon's rudeness.

"What?" the dragon argued, not realizing his behavior. Suddenly the dragon belched. His breath seemed to float around until it transformed into a rolled parcel. Seeing that made Omni's jaw drop. How does this kind of thing even happen?!

"It's a letter from Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed as they watched it float down for the dragon to catch. As Omni walked around to peek at the opening letter, Spike cleared his throat and read aloud, "Hear ye, hear ye. Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce The Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot, on the 21st day of… eh, yadda yadda yadda, cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest."

After a moment of silence, the looks on Twilight and Applejack brightened, "The Grand Galloping Gala!"

Omni looked on as the two ponies continued to hop and dance, repeating the same words over and over. What are they so excited about? "What's the Grand Galloping Gala…?" he went ahead and asked.
Twilight and Applejack stopped jumping and stared at him like he was some sort of strange creature. They looked at each other before shooting back at Omni. "You never heard of the Grand Galloping Gala?!"

"Uhhh… Am I supposed to?"

The two ponies groaned loudly, "It's only THE most greatest annual ball of all time! How could you not have heard of it?!"

Omni felt a little crowded what do they expect of him? Spike, on the other hand, looked disgusted and gagged. Suddenly he burped our two golden scraps. "Look! Two tickets!"

"Wow, great! I've never been to the gala. Have you, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"No," Spike replied, "and I plan to keep it that way. I don't want any of that girly frilly frou-frou nonsense."

"Sooo, it's not that good?" Omnifarious asked.

"Not that good?!" Applejack repeated, "It's a heap good more than just good. I'd love to go. Land sakes, if I had an apple stand set up, ponies would be chowin' our tasty vittles till the cows came home. Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres? Why, with all that money, we could do a heap of fixin' up 'round here. We could replace that saggy old roof, and Big McIntosh could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy old hip. Why, I'd give my left hind leg to go to that gala!"

"Oh, well in that case, would you like to—" But Twilight was interrupted when someone overhead gasped. Next thing Omni knew that he was slammed flat onto the ground. "Are we talking about The Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack snapped, "you told me you were too busy to help me harvest apples. That's why I had to ask Omni and Twilight!"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "Twilight and who?"

"The new pony who's moved into town a week ago; AND the one you're sitting on!"

"Wha…?" Rainbow looked down and found Omni groaning under him, "Oh! Sorry, I didn't notice you there!" he then hovered off of him using his wings.

"What were you busy doing, anyway? Spyin'?" Applejack demanded.
"No, I was busy napping," Rainbow defended, and flew upside-down over to Twilight, "and I just happened to hear that you have an extra ticket?"
"Yeah, but—"
"YES! This is so awesome," Rainbow cheered, doing a loop, "The Wonderbolts perform at The Grand Galloping Gala every year."
"What's the wonderbolts…?" Omni asked, still recovering.

Rainbow stared blankly at him and lost his focus that he dropped on his back. The Pegasus scrambled back on his feet and stared at Omni accusingly like Twilight and Applejack did, "You're joking, right? He's joking, right?! Somepony tells me he's joking!" he whipped his head back and forth between Applejack and Twilight, then he flew right towards Omni, pressing his nose against his. "I-I can't believe what I'm hearing! You never heard of the Wonderbolts?!"

Rainbow was suddenly pulled back down by his tail by Applejack, "Whoa! You might wanna calm down, there!"

"How could I calm down!? How could he not know who the Wonderbolts are?! Everypony knows who—"

Applejack shoved her front hoof against Rainbow's mouth to keep him quiet, "Maybe, since you're such a big fan and all, maybe you can tell him about them."

"Oh, I'm more than a fan!" Rainbow scoffed after he swatted away the earth-pony's hoof, and then shot back into Omni's view, "The Wonderbolts are the most talented, most amazing, most awesome flyers in Equestria and beyond! The kind of Pegasus-ponies you have to be living in the center of the planet not to—"

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Alright, fine! But you really don't know what's you're missing! And going to the Grand Galloping Gala is am opportunity of a lifetime! Everyone would be watching the sky. Their eyes riveted on The Wonderbolts, but then in would fly Rainbow Dash! I would draw their attention with my Super Speed Strut. Then, I would mesmerize 'em with my Fantastic Filly Flash. And for my grand finale, The Buccaneer Blaze! The ponies would go wild! The Wonderbolts would insist that my signature moves be incorporated into their routine, and then welcome me as their newest member," he then hovered back to Twilight, "Don't you see, Twilight? This could be my one chance to show 'em my stuff. You gotta take me!"

Applejack pulled him back again, "Hold on just one pony pickin' minute here. I asked for that ticket first."

"So? That doesn't mean you own it."

"Oh, yeah? Well I challenge you to a hoof-wrestle. Winner gets the ticket."

At a nearby stump they locked arms and went at it. Their so-called contest remained at deadlock for a few seconds before Twilight shoved them apart. "Girls, these are my tickets, I'll decide who gets it, thank you very much. Whoever has the best reason to go should get the ticket, don't you think?"

"Drummin' up business for the farm?"

"A chance to audition for The Wonderbolts?"

"Money t' fix granny's hip!"

"Living the dream!"

"Oh my, those were all pretty good reasons, aren't they?" Twilight backed away nervously.

Omnifarious' stomach rumbled on his again. He held his head low, trying to hide his blush having to stand attached to the wagon for everyone else to hear him. "Look, uh, I'm gonna just bring these back to the farm. I need to eat something."

"Here let me help you!" Twilight hastily went to Omni's side, "You know what, I'm hungry, too. After we're done let me show you the cake shop walked past on the way here, okay?"

"Um, okay."

"That's great!" Twilight turned back to Applejack and Rainbow as she led Omni to the farm, "I'll need some time to think about this. I'll get back you later, okay?"

"Okay." The two dejected ponies groaned.

After putting the apple and the equipment away they left the farm and returned to town.

"Alright, boys, we're here!" Twilight called. Omni could see a small two-story building built just like a gingerbread house, with candy-striped columns on the front corners and a cookie flowerbed. They actually make houses out of that stuff? When Omni went ahead the top half of the door suddenly burst open and out shot a pink blur that dropped him right back on his face. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the end of it.

"Eeeee! Spideeer!" Omni suddenly found himself being stomped on by the pink pony! "Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off!"

"Pinkie Pie, STOP!" Twilight exclaimed and yanked the pink pony away from him with his magic.

When Pinkie calmed down she finally had a chance to look at the so-called spider, "Wait, that's not…" also, since Omnifarious was asked to carry the tickets, because he was the only one who has actual pockets, the managed to fall out of his jacket and onto the ground. And seeing those tickets put stars into Pinkie's eyes. "…tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?! It's the most amazing incredible tremendous super-fun wonderful terrifically humongous party in all of Equestria! I've always, always, ALWAYS wanted to go!"

"Omni!" Twilight rushed over to the trampled pony and helped him up, "Omnifarious, are you alright?!"

Omnifarious groaned, "What just happened…"

"Uh…" Twilight pointed towards the pink pony, hopping around and dancing.

"With decorations like streamers and fairy-lights and pinwheels and piñatas and pin-cushions. With goodies like sugar cubes and sugar canes and sundaes and sun-beams and sarsaparilla. And I get to play my favorite-est of favorite fantabulous games like Pin the Tail on the Pony!" Pinkie sang.

"Uh, maybe it's best you didn't know," Twilight looked away from that disturbing scene, "Wait, where are the tickets?"

Omni looked around and found them on the ground, "There they are…" he reached down and picked up the tickets. When he looked up he was met with a pair of sparkling blue eyes, which belonged to a white pony, with a neatly-styled, curled mane.

"Are these what I think they are?" she gasped with a regal-like accent, startling Omni.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Pinkie cut in, jumping in place, "Twilight's taking me to The Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot."

"The gala?" the white pony said, "I design ensembles for the gala every year, but I've never had the opportunity to attend. Oh, the society, the culture, the glamour! It's where I truly belong, and where I'm destined to meet him."

"Him?" Pinkie repeated, a puzzled look between her and Twilight.

"(Him who?)" Omni couldn't help but mutter with the tickets in his mouth.

"Him," the white pony began to wander with dreamed eyed, "I would stroll through the gala, and everyone would wonder, 'Who is that mysterious mare?' They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself, and the princess would be so taken with the style and elegance that she would introduce me to him, her nephew: the most handsome, eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot. Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt. Our courtship would be magnificent. He would ask for my hoof in marriage, and of course I would say, 'Yes!' We would have a royal wedding, befitting a princess, which is what I would become upon marrying him, the stallion of my dreams… Twilight, I simply cannot believe you would invite Pinkie Pie so she can... party, and prevent me from meeting my true love. How could you?" she then turned away like those fancy unicorns would do…

Suddenly something small and white snatched the tickets from Omni's mouth, "What the…!" the rabbit did a quick u-turn before scampering a long pink tail, along a yellow back and ontop a pegasus' head, holding the tickets over her eyes, "Angel, these are perfect." She gasped softly.

"Uh, listen guys," Twilight said, "I haven't decided who to give the extra ticket to."

"You haven't?" Pinkie and the white unicorn asked, in either irritability or eagerness.

"Um, excuse me, Twilight," the yellow Pegasus caught everyone’s attention with a soft tone, "I would just like to ask, I mean, if it would be all right, if you haven't given it to someone else—"

"You? You want to go to the gala?" the white pony asked cynically.

"Oh, no…" the rabbit suddenly kicked her in the leg, "I mean, yes, or, actually, kind of. You see, it's not so much The Grand Galloping Gala as it is the wondrous private gated garden that surrounds the dance. The flowers are said to be the most beautiful and fragrant in all of Equestria.

For the night of the gala, and that night alone, would they all be in bloom... and that's just the flora! Don't get me started on the fauna. There's loons and toucans and bitterns, oh my! Hummingbirds that can really hum, and buzzards that can really buzz. White-blue jays, and red jays, and green jays, pink jays and pink flamingos!"

"Gee, Fluttershy," Twilight said, "it sounds... beautiful?"

"Wait just a minute." Now everyone turned their attention to a rainbow-haired Pegasus perched on a roof.

"Rainbow Dash, were you following me?" Twilight gasped.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, maybe. Look, it doesn't matter. I couldn't risk a goody-four-shoes like you giving that ticket away to just anybody."

"Wait just another minute." Then came Applejack.

"Applejack, were you following me too?" Twilight groaned.

"No. I was followin' this one-." Applejack pointed to the blue pegasus in front of her, "make sure she didn't try any funny business. Still trying to take mah ticket."

"Your ticket?" Rainbow argued.

"But Twilight's taking me!" Pinkie cut in.

Pretty soon Twilight was caught between five bickering ponies and a hard place. Omni was left out as Twilight huddled under the onslaught. This looked kind of silly, arguing over someone else's stuff. If she's not gonna atop this, he figured he should. "Hello? …Hello?!" his voice didn't reached the barrier of arguments so he figured he should…

"QUIET!" Twilight yelled, breaking their barricade.

"And then I said, "Oatmeal, are you craz-" Pinkie finally settle down a second late.

"Girls, there's no use in arguing."

"But Twilight-"

"Eh!" Twilight snapped, "This is my decision, and I'm gonna make it on my own, and I certainly can't think straight with all this noise!" she then found an excuse when Omni's gut rumbled again, "not to mention I'm practically dying of hunger. Now go on, shoo," everyone reluctantly grumbled as they dispersed. "Wait, Omni, where are you going?"

Omnifarious stopped when he heard his name called, "Didn't you just tell me to—"

"I didn't mean you," Twilight caught up to him, "Besides, didn't you say you need something to eat?"

"I did say that…"

"Good. I needed your help, anyway." Twilight slipped the tickets back into Omni's jacket, "C'mon, I wasn't lying when I was getting hungry myself." The two went back to their previous task and reached the cake shop. But as soon as Omni opened the door…

"You made your decision yet?!" Twilight shut the door right back in Pinkie's face.

"Let's go somewhere else," she laughed nervously before looking around. "Hey, where's Spike…?"

After catching up to Spike, they went to a café in another part of town. Twilight, Spike and Omnifarious were sitting together on a flat-top mushroom table outside. Omni couldn't help but watch Twilight slump over on the table. He felt bad not doing anything to help her back near the shop.

"Oh,what am I gonna do…?" Twilight whimpered as she levitated one of the flowers in the vase, "All five of my best friends have really good reasons to go to the gala. Applejack, or Rainbow Dash?" she plucked off the petals as she counted off their names Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy, Rarity... Oh, who should go with me?"

"Have you made your decision?"

"I CAN'T DECIDE!" Twilight shouted when the waiter caught her by surprise, and caused everyone else to stare at her.

"Twilight, he just wants to take your order." Spike said, pointing to the menu. After giving their orders they were once again left alone.

"What do you think, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"I think we have to try another restaurant. I mean, I like grass just fine, but would it hurt anybody to offer some gemstones?"

"I mean about the gala and the ticket and who I should take."

"Oh. You're still on that?" the dragon groaned.

"Spike, listen. How do I choose? And when I do choose, will the other four be mad at me? I mean, I could give up my ticket and give away two, but that would still leave three disappointed ponies. What if I end up losing them as friends because of it?!"

"Maybe you don't have to decide," Omni spoke, getting Twilight's attention, "If they're going to fight over who's going to go, then maybe it's best none of them gets to go. Better yet, if you want, you can just skip the Gala and find something else to do that you can all enjoy. If no one goes to the gala, then no one gets left out. It's just a party anyway. I mean, there'll be other parties, right?"

Twilight stared at him with a confused glare before she replied, "Omni, I don't think you quite understand how epic the Grand Galloping Gala is! It's not some just your run-of-the-mill party where you do nothing but eat cake and play party games! It's THE most incredible, amazing, wonderful, remarkable—," she paused when the waiter brought her plate, "Oh. Thank you… Miraculous, mind-blowing, larger-than-life event in Canterlot! You'd have to have been born in an insane asylum to not like to go! And I'm not saying that you're crazy or anything, but I'm just surprised you didn't ask to go with me to the Gala! But the point I'm trying to make is, those tickets to the Gala don't grow on trees! Only a select few can be invited and those few are mainly noble who live in a high-class society like Canterlot! And being the princess' personal student, I'm lucky enough to even get one, let alone two tickets! I can't just spurn the princess' gift like that I'm sure she went thorough so much to give me those ticket! I just can't do that!"

Now it was Omni's turn to slump, "Oh, uh… Sorry I…"

Twilight sighed, "No, I'm sorry I snapped. It's just…"

"Em, madam? Are you going to eat your food in ze rain?" the waiter asked from the doorway.

"Rain?" Omni looked around and realized the their table was now sitting in a spot of a tranquil, clear sky in the middle of a thunderstorm. "Does…this happen often."

"I wouldn't know…" Twilight replied, wondering also, "What's going on?"

"Hi there, best friend forever I've ever-ever had," they looked up to see Rainbow Dash poking her head over the hole in the clouds, "Enjoying the sunny weather?"

"Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" Twilight asked suspiciously.

"Whaddya you mean? I just saw the smartest, most generous pony about to get rained on," Rainbow innocently replied, "so I thought I'd kick a hole in the clouds to keep her dry so she could dine in peace, that's all."

"Rainbow, you're not trying to get extra consideration for the extra ticket by doing me extra special favors, are you?"

"Me? No no no, of course not," Twilight scoffed at the pegasus' excuse, "Seriously, I'd do it for any pony. Heh heh, eh."

"Rainbow, I am not comfortable accepting unwanted favors, so I'd appreciate it if you close up that rain cloud right now."

"Uh, Twilight—"

"Fine." Rainbow groaned and zipped up the hole.

"That's better." But no one got to eat on account of their food being as waterlogged as their fur and hair. Omnifarious swore he was being laughed at.

"Twilight, I don't think that was a good idea!" Omni said, earning a groan from Twilight.

"Twilight," Omni pushed up his drenched hair and saw the white unicorn Rarity stopping by, wearing a saddle with an umbrella on it, "it's raining."

"No, really?" the purple unicorn deadpanned.

"Come with me before you catch a cold." Rarity yanked Twilight away from her seat and pulled her away. Not wanting to be left in the rain, Omni followed them with Spike.

Eventually they made it to Rarity's home, which was basically a large, 2-story tent dressed like a carousel. Once they got inside, Omni took the chance to shake the water off him.

"Ack! Stop! Stop it! Stoooop!"

Omni stopped and found a soaking-wet Rarity staring back at him, "Oh… Right. I shouldn't have done that, huh?"

"Look what you have done!" the unicorn shrieked, "Do you have any idea how long it took to style my mane?!"

"Rarity, wait!" Twilight said hastily, "I'm sure it was a—"

"Whoa, whoa!" Omni backed away from the enraged unicorn, "I said I was—"

"No, no; 'sorry', is when you trip somepony in a fashion show," Rarity stomped towards the pony who backed himself against the wall, "'Sorry' is when you ask somepony, 'When's the baby due?', and it turns out the mare is just fat! This is as far away from 'sorry' as you could possibly get!"

"Rarity, Please! I'm sure it was an accident!" Twilight pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Twilight, but I won't have it; not in my boutique!" Rarity huffed, then pushed Omni out the door, "Until you decide to learn some proper manners, you're not welcome here!" that was that when she slammed the door behind him, once again leaving him in the rain, and for him to groan.

Luckily, the rain stopped right there and then, "Well, that saves me the trouble of walking in the rain again."

"How's the weather down there?" Omni looked up to see Mach Faiz fluttering down towards him wearing an umbrella hat.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Omni huffed and walked off for the library.

Faiz decided to follow and hovered over him. "Something must be wrong with you. I just wanna help."

"Why are you so interested, anyway?" Omni asked just before his stomach growled on him again.

"Wanna have lunch?" Faiz asked.

Omni decided to follow Faiz to get some food, and ended up dining in the cake shop he and Twilight passed by earlier, and now they're waiting for their food, "So, now you wanna tell me what's going on?"

With a sigh, Omni replied, "Well, everyone seems to be fighting over who gets to go to some ball in Canterlot."

"Oh, man! Not that Grand Galloping Gala $%&!" Faiz groaned loudly, "All that party has is a bunch of snooty unicorn ponies trotting around and talking down on the little-pony!"

Omni eyes widened a bit, "Is that true?"

"I mean, why else do they let only famous ponies in! I've never been there, but I know for a fact that the gala is just an excuse to gather together, and talk about nothing but how much better they are than us regular ponies!"

"Wow, I thought I'd never run into someone who doesn't like that ball. Wait…" Omni turned silent for a moment, "Don't ask me why or what, but I'd better do something about this. Thanks for the talk," the blue pony headed for the door until something came to him. "Um, where do Fluttershy and Rainbow live?"

"Uh, remind me again where Rainbow lives!"

"This is the place. I thought it was obvious."

"Yeah, but… Up that… high place?!" Omni gulped as he was staring at a giant castle made of clouds.

"Where else do pegasi live?" Faiz asked sarcastically.

"I thought Rainbow'd be living in a house near town! I mean, how am I supposed to get up there?!"

"Hey, who's that out there?!" Rainbow came out of that bundle of clouds he called a castle, "Oh, great, it's you! What are you doing here!" he sped down to ground level and faced Faiz with an annoyed expression, "I thought I told you never to come near my house again!"

"Uh, that's not what I came here for!" Faiz replied smugly, "I came here because Omni wants to talk to you."

Rainbow glided curiously over the darker blue pony, "Well, spit it out! What'd you want to talk to me about?"

"Look… Do you remember earlier when you punched a hole in the sky over me?"

"You? Where were you?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

Omni sighed exasperatedly, "At the café, sitting with Twilight!"

"Oh, right. What's your point…?"

"That Rarity's been trying to get Twilight's extra ticket by doing some special favor… Or at least I assume that's what she's doing."

"I should have known!" Rarity gasped dramatically, "She'd try anything to get that ticket for herself, obviously!"

"Uh, how's that better than what you did earlier?"

"I was just giving my best friend a sample of some of my best apple pastries for business!" Applejack defended, "How's that a bad thing?"

"Maybe when you're trying to get something that everyone else is trying to get…?"

"And, again, how's that a bad thing?" Pinkie asked Omni over the bottom half of the shop's door.

"Shouldn't you feel bad for pressuring Twilight to choose between her friends?" Omni asked the Pegasus Fluttershy.

The timid yellow pony's eyes wandered as she scuffled her front feet from just behind her door in her cottage. "Well, um…"

"Hey, I'm not pressuring Twilight to do anything!" Rainbow argued, "…Just as long as I get to meet the Wonderbolts!"

"Just as long as I get to meet the stallion of my dreams!"

"Just as long as I can get the money to support my farm!"

"Just as long as I can be part of the greatest party of all time!"

"Well, um…"

"And if she decides not to take you…?" Omni asked.

Rarity huffed, "Then I'll never speak to her for as long as I live!"

"So she'd better not come running to me for a backstage pass for my first Wonderbolt show!"

"Because I'd be mighty peeved if she wouldn't help a dear friend keep her bread n' butter standin'."

"Besides, I'm well past due for a huge party!"

"Well, um…"

"But what about everyone else who wanna go?!" Omni asked.

"That's their problem, not mine!" Rainbow shot back.

"What they will be missing is none of my concern!" Rarity turned away.

"Omni, I got a big brother, a little sister and a grandmother to help support!"

"But it's the best party of all time! I can't just pass that off!"

"Well, um…"

"So what you're telling me, is that going to that gala is rather more important than everything else?!"

"Are you serious?! Do—do you even have to ask?!"

"What sane pony would even think to ask that kind of question?!"

"What part of 'I need to help support my family' don't you understand?"

"Did I mention it's the best party of all time?"

"Well, um…"

Omni felt sick trying to talk to them. Is the party really that important to them? "Okay, you know what… I tried to reason with you but I guess I can't. If you'd really put some party ahead of your own friends, then I guess this conversation is over!"

"Good!" Rainbow zipped off.

"Very well!" Rarity harrumphed and slammed the door in Omni's face.

"I guess you just really don't get it, do you?" Applejack frowned as she pulled away with her wagon of food.

"Okie-doke!" Pinkie chirped as she shut the door on him.

"W-wait! I didn't mean—" but Fluttershy was interrupted by a white rabbit who slammed the door.

"Anymore bright ideas…?" Faiz asked, hovering over Omnifarious.

"I just wanna be alone right now…" Omni frowned and decided to return back to town.

He just couldn't help but feel like a failure that he wasn't able to reason with the girls. Is the gala really that big a deal that they'd put everything else second, including their friendship with each other? It sounds depressing now that he thinks about it. He looked around town and found the town being unusually lifeless; not a single person in sight. Where is everyone?

Eventually Omni found his way back to the library and passed through the door. The inside's just as lifeless as outside. Where's New Moon? He thought he'd be here. After hearing his stomach growl for the umpteenth time, he decided it's time to finally get some food into his stomach. But he didn't get halfway into the kitchen when a sudden flash dropped something heavy right ontop of him.

"Warn me next time you're gonna do that." Spike said, queasy.

"I didn't even know it was gonna happen," it only took Omni groaning but Twilight got off of him when she realized she's sitting on him. "My goodness, I'm so sorry!"

"Where did you go just now?" Omnifarious groaned.

"Omni, I don't want to talk about that now!" Twilight said as she helped Omni up, "Now quick, help me lock the doors!" Twilight, Omnifarious and Spike went around turning out the lights; blowing out lanterns and candles and switching off lightbulbs. After making sure no one else would know they're home, they stumbled into one heap.

"Do you think we're safe?" But Omni was interrupted when the lights suddenly switched on, startling them. The blue pony looked around until he found the five other pony girls gathered in a loft above the bookshelves. No doubt they're still after Twilight for that extra ticket. And it's no surprise when Twilight screamed, no doubt out of frustration. "I can't decide! I just can't decide!"

"Okay! Alright…I've had enough!" Omnifarious snapped, "I still don't see how a bunch of tickets is worth all this trouble! But if you wanna go to that gala so badly, then I guess there's only one option! Some one get me a paper cutter! Preferably the guillotine kind!"

"What for?" Spike asked.

"There are five girls wanting that ticket—"

"There's more that five now…" Twilight cut in under her breath.

"But only two tickets! Since no one wants to back out, I might as well turn those two tickets into six!"

"Wait! Are you saying…" Twilight caught on to Omni's plan and gasped, "Where did you get a stupid idea like that?!"

"When I was a kid and I learned about King Solomon in Sunday School."

Twilight became confused, "You go to school on Sunday? And who's King Solomon?"

"King Solomon; the Book of Kings."

"…"

"One of the 48 prophets."

"…"

"One of the wisest, richest and most powerful king who built the first temple in Jerusalem that ended up being torn in two later on."

"Omnifarious, you're not making any sense!"

"Listen, in one of his stories, Solomon had to settle a dispute between two women who both claim to be the mother of a child they're fighting over. When Solomon suggested the baby should be cut in half."

"Th-that's a terrible idea!" Twilight gasped with the other girls, "Who would even think of that?! And how is that the same thing at this?!"

"Look, the point is, Solomon managed to find out who the baby's real mother is because that same woman would rather forfeit her child rather than see it slain. I figured if I try sorting out who would rather give up their ticket and who's fine with just a piece of a ticket…and maybe who still wants the whole ticket…well…um…"

Suddenly Mach Faiz slipped in and joined in, "Hey, Omni; here's the paper cutter you asked for!"

"Wait! How'd you know about the… I mean, where were you—"

"Omni! Omnifarious, I want you to hold that thought because I'm going to explain to you when this is over all of the thing wrong with what you said; but back to the topic, you just can't just chop the tickets into pieces! If tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala become damaged in any way they become invalid! And besides, the Gala is important to all of them!" Twilight turned towards her friends, "I just can't stand to disappoint any of you, and giving me gifts and doing me favors won't make any difference, because you're all my friends and I wanna make you all happy and I can't, I just can't decide!" with and exasperated sigh, she wound into a huddle on the floor, her forelegs wrapped around her head. Omni tried comforting her by rubbing her back.

"Twilight, sugar," Applejack stepped over to the purple unicorn, "I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you, and if it helps, I don't want the ticket anymore. You can give it to somepony else. I won't feel bad, I promise."

"Me too. I feel just awful that I made you feel so awful." Fluttershy added.

"And me too. It's no fun upsetting your friends." Pinkie frowned.

"Twilight, it was unfair of me to try to force you as I did." Rarity admitted.

"Wait a minute!" Omnifarious cut in, "What about trying to find your soulmate, Rarity?!"

"Oh, there will be other fish in the sea, as most ponies put it."

"And Pinkie, what about going to your first biggest party in history?!"

"A party's not as fun without all your friends to come along."

"Applejack, what about your farm? Don't you need the money you could make at the Gala?"

"Eh, the farm'll still be standing without it."

"But you ignored everything I told you earlier!" Omni said. "Why'd you change your minds just now?!"

The girls looked at each other before returning to Omni with apologetic looks, "Maybe you're right. We were thinking about ourselves back there."

"The way I treated you was most unbecoming of me," Rarity apologized. "I'm very sorry."

"Guess we shouldn't have been so selfish, huh?" Pinkie added.

"To think a couple of tickets would cause all that trouble," Applejack said, "I guess we all realized how wrong we are…"

"Yes! That means the ticket is mine!" Rainbow laughed and danced around in the air, "I got the ticket, I got the ticket—"

"Well, almost all of us." Applejack face-faulted.

Rainbow shifted gears when he was caught by the dirty glares everyone else gave him. "y'know, I haven't perfected my signature moves for The Wonderbolts anyway. I don't need that ticket either."

"We all got so gun-ho about going to the gala that we couldn't see how un-gun-ho we were making you." Applejack confessed, and everyone (except for me and Faiz, of course) gathered in front of Twilight.

"We're sorry!" they all apologized in unison, leaving Twilight to grow a new smile on her face.

"Spike, take down a note." The dragon whipped out a quill and a blank parchment for Twilight as she stood back up and cleared her throat…

Dear Princess Celestia,
I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be…

"Can I see those tickets, Omnifarious?" Twilight asked.

"Just a minute…" Omni reached his snout into his jacket for the two tickets. But there's something wrong. "Um, Twilight…"

"Omni… Where are the tickets?"

"…They're gone."

"WHAT?!" the entire library outburst.

"…I would return the tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala," Twilight scowled as she continued, "Unfortunately they have been misplaced due to the chaos caused over them. Besides, if my friends can't all go, I don't wanna go either." "Spike, you can send the letter now." The dragon set fire the note with his own flame and it disappeared.

"I guess no one's going to the Gala after all." Fluttershy gloomily pointed out.

"It's okay, girls. I couldn't possibly enjoy myself without my best friends there with me, so I would rather not go at all." The girls and Rainbow gathered for a group-hug, the rest of the guys staying away.

"Gross! Get a room, girls!" Faiz laughed; at the same time Spike began to gag, "Seriously, there are children present!"

"Well wallop my withers!" Applejack stomped towards the insulting Pegasus, "Isn't that just like a boy; can't handle the least bit of sentiment!" Spike suddenly belched and a rolled parchment came out of his fire, "Whoa Nelly!"

"A letter from the princess? That was fast." Twilight commented as Spike opened the note.

My faithful student Twilight,
Why didn't you just say so in the first place?

It's all it said before six tickets floated down into Spike's hand and everyone gasped, "Six tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala."

"Now we can all go!" Twilight joyfully released, letting Rainbow and the girls cheer in joy.

"Yeah, I don't think that's possible, actually." Faiz interrupted their jubilation.

"And why's that?" Twilight asked.

"There're six tickets, but more than six of us!" Faiz pointed out, "Do the math! Which six of us gets to go?"

"Obviously not you!" Rainbow spat.

"Who says?!" their argument was interrupted when everyone heard a loud rumbling coming from Omnifarious, who slumped in embarrassment of having everyone hear his stomach growl for the umpteenth time today.

Twilight giggled, "We never did get a bite to eat, did we?"

"Allow us to treat you to dinner." Rarity proudly offered.

"What a great way to apologize." Rainbow stated.

"And to celebrate!" Pinkie added, "Come on everyone, the cupcakes are on me!" everyone left the building, grabbing their ticket as they passed the dragon, until Omni and Faiz were left with him.

"How come I don't get a ticket to the gala?" Spike dejectedly groaned, before he belched out another note with one more ticket, "'And one for you, Spike.'" The dragon ran out of the library laughing, only to stop short when Applejack noticed with a smirk, "I mean…gross! I have to go too?" after pasting her and eying her nervously, Applejack trotted after him, giggling to herself.

"Hey! What about my ticket?!" Faiz demanded, flying after him while Omnifarious trotted behind, ignoring the pegasus' ranting.

The door to the supply closet banged from the other side until New Moon burst out of it, bound and gagged.

Down below in the basement, the Book of Virtues laid near the staircase, suddenly opened on its own. The front page had been magically etched, especially at the top large column where it marked with a single word: Consideration.

An Apple a Day

Author's Note

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro
Please Read and Review.

An Apple a Day

"Wanna try explaining to me again?" New Moon snapped, "I don't believe a word of it!"

"What's not to believe!" Omni, who walked beside him, asked, "It's simple logic!"

"Logic?! You should know how to use your hooves like everypony else! How could you not hold objects with them?!"

"Uh, do you have to ask? Look!" Omni stood up and clopped his hooves together, "Solid stuff! No thumbs! How's someone supposed to hold stuff with these?"

"Omnifarious, if you haven't learned already then… Uh-uh. Look," when they reached Sweet Apple's farm, they found something among the cattle that doesn't belong. It was red with wings, and sneaking between the cows. Eventually the two ponies went over the fence and caught up to it, "What do you think you're doing!"

Faiz jumped when New Moon caught his attention, "Whoa! Don't get up behind me like that! You scared the $#!% outta me! And almost the cows!"

"What are you doing here anyway!" New Moon demanded, "And what's in that box?!"

Faiz shifted his eyes, "Well…"

"Dammit! You're trying to tip those cows again!"

Omni raised an eyebrow, "Tipping cows?"

"No. No, this is gonna work! This plan's foolproof!" Faiz said.

"Faiz, the last hair-brained scheme to thought up backfired on you!" New Moon argued, "Didn't you learn you lesson from the last time?"

Faiz snuck into the Apple family farm that night and put this urban legend to the test. At first he tried to just push them but it was like pushing down nailed-down tables. Then he tried one other thing he was told would work. He went under one of the cows and fondled her utter. Faiz was then pulled out moments later and tossed in front of another cow staring at him. The cow pointed over his shoulder and Faiz looked back.

"Should've kept your hooves to yourself, &%$hole." The lead bull scowled before beating the crap out of him.

"Hey, my informant said that would sweep any brood off their feet. Anyway just trust me on this; this'll work! And lucky you, you two will my eyewitnesses!" Faiz set the box down and opened it, "I know a guy, who knows a guy, who's world-famous for tipping cows; and he mailed me the ultimate instrument of cow-tipping! Now watch and be amazed!" Omni face faulted when Faiz pulled out a baby's rattle.

But New Moon seemed to think otherwise as he panicked, "Faiz, don't you dare! That thing will—"

The result of Faiz shaking the rattle was unlike anything Omni seen before. The cows suddenly went mooing at random, the sound they're making made them appeared hysterical and scared. They went running all over the place, leaving the ponies stuck in the middle of the cattle field. Omnifarious thought of only one way out without getting trampled, and latched onto the back of a random cow. The only thing he could do is hold tight as the cows broke through the fence and ran out of the farm, leaving New Moon and Mach Faiz miraculously unharmed.

Faiz still lied on his stomach and propped his head up with one of his hooves, "Why do all beautiful thing end up neglecting me?"

"Because you always have to test everything like an idiot! Now come on!" New Moon yanked Faiz to his feet and dragged him off the farm to follow the stampede.

Omnifarious held on to dear life ontop of the lead of the herd as it raced down the road. He could see them heading towards the stream, with the town just a bridge over. What would happen if the herd would stomp into Ponyville…?!

"Yee-haw!" a southern hoot caught Omni's attention and looked back to find Applejack charging up next to the heard, with her a brown-and-white dog. "Move aside, Winona," the dog barked and dropped back, only to pull back up at the opposite side of the herd. Applejack nudged the cow beside her but wouldn't budge; so she called out her dog with a whistle, "Winona, put 'em up!" the nimble canine leap up with a bark and made her way from one broad to another with her owner not far behind, now ahead of the heard.

Applejack twirled a lasso with her teeth and tossed it over around the lead cow's neck. Leaping to the ground, she pulled mightily. With the help of her dog barking at the leading cow, they were able to steer the herd away from the bride. Digging her hooves in, Applejack managed to stop the heard at the edge of the stream, and threw the rope away afterwards. "Now what was that all about?"

"Excuse me; pardon me…" New Moon came in dragging Faiz by the tail, "Faiz has something important he needs to tell him. Don't you, Faiz?"

"Yeah, well, what I wanted to say was… You should keep a closer eye on your cattle—"

WHAP! "Try again."

"Alright, fine! Just put up a stronger fence next ti—"

WHAP! "Try, again."

"Okay, okay! …Don't do drugs."

"Son of a—Faiz brought a rattle to the fields and cause the stampede!"

"That was you?!" Applejack went up to Faiz, "They might've thought it was a rattlesnake! Did 'ya even think of the consequences this time?"

"Jeez, one little mistake," Faiz rolled his eyes, "How many time do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"Once would be nice!"

"Mmmmmm… Nope." He then turned around and trotted away.

"Faiz! Where d'ya think you're going?! Come back here!"

"Can't talk! Gotta see a man about a goat!"

Faiz darted into the sky before anyone could say anything, even knocking into the white Pegasus from chapter 1. He was that close to being knocked off the cloud he was napping in, now hanging for dear life. " %$DAMMIT, FAIZ! AGAIN!" he yelled after the red Pegasus.

Back at the town the citizens cheered after watching Applejack's feat. "Applejack was just... just..."

"Appletastic!" Pinkie Pie finished for the Mayor.

"Exactly. We must do something to thank Applejack for single-hoofedly saving the town."

"I know…"

"A party!" everyone gathered at the pavilion for Applejack's celebration.

"She stood motionless in the street all week just to say that?" Faiz questioned. WHAP!

"Less talking, more working!" New Moon ordered Faiz back into cleaning.

"We all ready?" Twilight asked.

"Just one last thing…" Rarity levitated a large banner onto town hall's third-floor balcony, "Now we're ready."

"Is Applejack all set?"

"Actually, I haven't seen her all week." Rainbow said, joining in.

"Not since the stampede." Pinkie added.

"But she'll be here for sure. Applejack is never late."

A few minutes later, everyone gathered at the hall's pavilion, where Twilight stepped up to a lectern set up in front of the doors. "Welcome, everypony! Today we are here to honor a pony we can always count on to help in matters great and small. A pony whose contributions to—"

"Did you see Applejack's slick moves out there?!" Rainbow barged in, "What an athlete. This week she's gonna help me with my new flying trick, and I know it's gonna be so awesome."

Twilight shoved him back, "Exactly. And..."

"This week, I get to run Sugarcube Corner for the first time!" Pinkie popped up.

"What does that have to do with Applejack?" Pinkie asked, annoyed.

"Oh. Applejack, one of the best bakers ever, is gonna help me! Applejack makes everything great, so free samples for everypony!" the crowd cheered.

"Oh-kay, that's great," Twilight dryly pushed her aside, "Now if I could just make a point without being inter—"

"Twilight?"

"-rupted."

Twilight, I'm so sorry," Fluttershy whispered, "but I just wanted to mention that Applejack is also helping me this week with the official bunny census, where we count up all the new baby bunnies that were born this season. She's gonna help gather them using her wonderful herding skills." She then cringed and slid away.

"Anyone else? Anyone? No?" Twilight cleared her throat, "Well then, as I was trying to say—"

"GET OFF THE STAGE!" Faiz yelled from under the crowd.

"Never mind!"

The unicorn groaned and stomped from the podium, letting the mayor take her and cleared her throat, "And so, with no further ado, it is my privilege to give the prize, Pony of Ponyville Award, to our beloved guest of honor, a pony of the utmost trustworthiness, reliability, and integrity. Ponyville's most capable and dependable friend: Applejack!" everyone cheered as the curtains opened, only to gasp when there was no one there. It took spike a few moments to catch up.

"Ah'm here! Ah'm here!" a pile of apples made their way through the crowd, a few falling behind before Applejack thrust her face to the Mayor's as she stepped into the lectern. The cowgirl looks like she's seen better days, "Miss Mayor. Thank you kindly for this here... award thingy," she stepped over and looked over to her trophy, giggling at the distorted reflection it showed her, "It's so bright and shiny and, heh, heh heh, ah sure do look funny." She made noises as she moved her face around, Pinkie Pie soon playing along.

A confused Twilight cut in, "Okay. Well, thank you Applejack for saving us from that scary stampede, and always being there for everypony."

"Yeah. Ah like helping the ponyfolks and… and stuff…" Applejack dozed before she shook herself awake, "Oh, uh, yeah. Uh, Thanks." She then dragged herself away with the giant trophy in her teeth.

Later, there was a knock on the door, where Omnifarious answered, seeing Big Macintosh on the other side. "May ah come in?" he moved aside to let the large red stallion in, finding a patch of bandages around his waist as he walked by.

"What happened to you?" Omni asked.

"What ah need from you's a little bigger than me…" Macintosh said, "I want to talk to you 'bout Applejack."

"Well, she did look like she haven't slept in a while…"

"That's the problem. You see, it's come this time of year when we harvest our apples to sell. But we've gotten a little short-hoofed. In fact, Applejack's stuck doing all the work alone," Macintosh looked back at his injuries, "And as you can see ah'm in no condition to help…"

"Isn't there anyone else that could help?" Omni asked, "What about your relatives? Or Boomhauer? I've seen him around the farm plenty of time!"

"All mah other relatives are busy with their own orchids all around Equestria. As for Boomhauer…"

"Boomhauer…? Boomhauer, we talked 'bout this! You can't go anywhere, especially when it's—" after bumping into a tripwire, McIntosh looked up to find himself standing over a spring-loaded trap armed with a pony-sized flyswatter! "Oh mah—" WHAP! "Ack!"

"Whoa… That must've hurt."

"Not much, but now ah can't help Applejack; not that she wants help at all."

"But she couldn't harvest all those apple by herself, can she?"

"That's the problem: she can't. But she thinks she has to prove something. Ah'm worried she'll hurt herself. Ah was hoping you could talk her out of what she's gotten herself into."

"But why me?"

"You helped out at th' farm a few time before. Ah figured who better than you?"

"I understand. I'll go talk to her. I think you should go back home and rest."

"Alright, thanks." Macintosh left the library with Omnifarious, just when a rainbow-colored streak crashed into the treehouse, making a large hole in the bathroom with the tub dangerously close to the edge.

"What the %*&$?!" New Moon screamed as the tub started to slide to the edge, "No, no, no, no, NOOOOO—" was all he sad before he crashed into the ground under the broken shards of the tub.

Well, that was a waste of time. Omni walked all the way to the orchids only to find out she wasn't even there. He went back to town and asked around until he was lead to the cake shop he was in two weeks ago. Unfortunately Faiz just happened to be hovering around. "How's it going, Omni?"

Omnifarious groaned, "Not him again…"

"Geez, attitude much? Just wanna get those free samples Pinkie promised!"

Omni ignored the red Pegasus as they entered and tapped on the bell on the counter, where Pinkie Pie popped up from behind. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, is Applejack here with you?" Omni asked, "I'd like to talk to her."

"Sure! Be right back!" Pinkie disappeared under the counter.

"Hey Omni, if you don't want yours, can I have it?"

"No." Omni flatly replied. A few moments after Applejack came stumbling out from the back. "Applejack? …You feeling okay?"

"Never better…" Applejack mumbled, her head bobbing, "Wh-wait, why'd you ask?"

"Well, Big McIntosh came by earlier and—"

"McIntosh sent you?!" Applejacks baggy eyes widened, "Ah should've known he couldn't mind his own business…"

"Yeah, well, anyway, he told me you don't have anyone to help you harvest so—"

"Look! Ah'm gonna tell you what ah told Mack and Twilight—"

"Over here."

"Oh…" Applejack backed away from Faiz to face Omni, "And I'm gonna say it once so listen up: Ah don't want your help and I don't need you, or anyone's help! So get in mah face about that again and so help me ah'll—ZZZZZZ, ZZZZZZ, ZZZZZZ, ZZZZZZ, ZZZZZZ—" her eyes shot back open when Faiz poked at her, "Wha! Huh? …(sigh)Look, ah appreciate your help, but that's not really necessary. Now if you excuse me, ah still have—OW!" she shook off her throbbing head after running it into the doorsill, "If you don't mind, ah still have loads of trees to take care of…" she stumbled her way out the door.

"Hey, I wasn't gonna say anything…" Faiz stepped in, "But Applejack looks a bit tired."

"You think?" Omni glared at him in sarcasm. There was a small ding from the back of the room and Pinkie Pie poked her head through the back door.

"Muffins ready!" Pinkie looked around, "Where's Applejack?"

"She left."

"Oh! Well, so long as you're here, want some free samples?"

"I do!" Faiz jumped over Omni and ran into the back with Omni trotting behind.

In the kitchen, Omni gathered with Faiz near the counter to get their goods. Omni looked over and found a mixing bowl next to the sink. He figured he'd get something extra so he snuck over. But when he looked into the bowl, he almost lost his lunch before he got it. Lucky for him the bowl was swiped from under him.

"Nuh-uh-uh! No naughty-noshing allowed!" Pinkie chirped as she cleaned out the bowl.

Omni tried to keep from vomiting as he looked over to the counter. There was an open bag of chips, half a liter of soda, a couple wedges of lemons and… He could've sword there are a couple of worms crawling on the counter! "Uh, what exactly are you making?"

"Chocolate Chip Muffins!" Pinkie replied.

Omni's eyes widened. "What about that bowl you're cleaning?!"

"That's what I used to make the Chocolate Chip Muffins!"

"And where exactly are the Chocolate Chip Muffins?!"

"Right over there on that counter!"

Omni's shot over to the counter and found a tray of brownish muffins, one which is in Faiz' hoof about to be bitten into.

"FAIZ! WAIT!"

CHOMP!

"So is he going to be okay?" Omni asked.

"He's still a little queasy," the doctor reported without talking his eyes off the clipboard, "It looks like he at something that a pony should never, ever eat… What did he eat?"

"Uhh, I think he took a bite our of a Chocolate Chip Muffin; except instead of chocolate chips maybe there were potato chips, and I think the flour been mistakenly replaced by lemons and the baking soda cut out with carbonated soda... Oh, and I think there were earthworms instead of wheat germs."

"Oh!" the doctor grimaced in surprise, "Well, this may be a problem. He'll seriously need to have his stomach pumped. I'll give you two some time alone…"

"What just happened…?" Faiz groaned over his upset stomach.

"Remember that muffin you ate?" Omni said, "You might've gotten food poisoning."

"Poisoning?! Ugh! Why does it have to be me?! On Free Day of all days?!"

"Want me to stay with you while you get your stomach pumped?"

Faiz smiled weakly, "Nah, you don't have to do that. It's gonna take me a few days to get back on my hooves. And between you and me…" his eyes shifted back and forth, "I need to lay low for a while until the bulls calm down"

A few clicks from outside the 4th floor window caught Omni and Faiz attention. Omni opened the window and looked around, "HEY! DOWN HERE!" he looked down to see a herd of bull gathered under the window with bats dangling in their hooves. "YOU GOT A RED PEGASUS IN THERE WITH YA?!"

"Who's asking?!" Omni shouted back.

"TELL 'IM WE'LL BE WAITING FOR HIM FOR ROUND 2! WE'LL BE HERE ALL 'TIL THEN!"

Omni didn't respond, and just slammed the window in front of him.

The blue stallion couldn't help but think about Applejack as he walked from the hospital (from the back to avoid the bulls) on his way back to Ponyville. She sure didn't look so good since he saw her at that award thing. And from how she was looking back at the shop, it looks like McIntosh wasn't exaggerating when he said she needs help. All that work must be cutting into her sleep time. Maybe he should try again and talk Applejack out of trying to do everything by herself… What the…

What Omni's looking at isn't the weirdest thing he ever saw but it's close. Right in front of him was the town, overrun by rabbits! Everywhere he looked they were hopping around, munching on whatever they found edible. What's even more strange was a few ponies lying around the road as if they were trampled. What could've caused this?

"One problem at a time, Omni!" the blue pony decided to shake away the scene and hurry to Applejack's farm.

After searching around the orchids, Omnifarious finally found the orange pony at the base of a tree, kicking it a lot weaker than he thought she would. Must… keep… buckin'... just… a few… more," she wheezed over each kick, "Must finish harvestin'."

"Applejack, can we talk for a minute?" Omni asked.

"Ah'm a little busy right now." Applejack groaned.

"Because, um, this is very important and it really can't wait."

"Well, there's a whole lotta apples to buck down," she limped away to another tree, "so yeah, it really can't wait."

Annoyed he was ignored, Omni zipped into Applejack's direction, "I saw a whole bunch of rabbits hopping around in town where they're not wanted. Do you know anything about that?"

"Oh that. Ah was helping Fluttershy with some 'rabbit census'," Applejack scowled and walked past him, "Apparently those furry critters can't take a few simple orders…"

"Applejack, I really think you should take a break from this harvest. It's must really be tiring you out from the lack of sleep!"

"Ah'll catch some shut-eye…" Applejack grunted as she weakly kicked another tree, "When ah buck each and every tree out here!"

"Seriously, all this working day in and day out isn't healthy! And trying to help people the way you are is just making things worst!"

"You're pullin' my leg, right?" Applejack moved to another tree.

"Applejack, Faiz got food poisoning earlier from a muffin that you helped make!"

"It's not exactly mah fault! I didn't think puttin' worms in muffins was a good idea either! Ah was just going by what Pinkie Pie told me to put in. So put it up with her!"

"This isn't helping any, Applejack! Just get some rest and let someone else handle this!"

"McIntosh's injured and Boomhauer's run off to who-knows-where! They're the only ones who can get these apples down fast enough like ah can!"

"Then you'll need all the help you can get; not one pony can harvest all those trees, especially not you!"

Omni was stopped when Applejack shot her nose against his, her baggy eyes glaring at him, "Can't you just forget 'bout it! It's not your business anyway!"

"I'm only trying to help…"

"Well, don't! Ah can handle this by myself!" Omni stood as the orange pony stomped away pulling a wagon full of apple-filled baskets. It's hard to believe that Applejack could be this stubborn, That doesn't matter; whatever she's trying to prove, it's not worth working herself to the bone. So it's time to take this to the next level. Omni trotted over the wagon and, tossed out one of the baskets, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?! Cut that out!" but Omni ignored her as he threw out the last basket and stepped onto the wagon, "Omnifarious, this isn't funny!"

"Listen, haven't you heard of the saying 'No Man's an Island?" Omni asked sternly.

Applejack latched off of the wagon to face Omni again, "Haven't you ever heard of 'Nopony sits on my wagon'?!"

"I'm not gonna let you wear yourself out doing the impossible! You can't do this by yourself!"

"Ah can and ah will as soon as you step off mah wagon and let me do mah job!"

"Look! Even if you can harvest an entire orchid by yourself, if you couldn't get one pony to get off the back of their wagon, what makes you think you can take care of a whole apple farm by yourself!" Applejack's anger vanished as she backed away with her mouth agape. She turned away hanging her head low, her ears seen folded against her. With a sigh, he slipped out of her saddle that carried two extra baskets. Omnifarious suddenly felt bad, and wondered if he was too tough on her. But unexpectedly, Applejack strapped herself back to the wagon.

"Fine! But don't say you didn't ask for this!" The cowpony neighed and fiercely tugged on the wagon. Omnifarious suddenly found himself hanging on to the wagon as he's being pulled across the orchid, "You wanna see if ah could get one pony off my wagon? Well let me show you!" Applejack swerved from an incoming tree and slammed the wagon against its trunk.

Even as Omni recovered from the force of the impact, he still clung onto the wagon. "You're not gonna get anything from this, Applejack!"

"Wanna bet?! You ain't seen nothin' yet!" Applejack repeated the process again and again, slamming into tree after tree as she zipped between them across the farm, knocking down many apples from the impact. The wagon began to rock the faster she went; and the faster she went, the harder it got to hold on to the wagon, and the more it hurts every time he went against a tree, "GET! OUTTA! MY! CART!" eventually, Applejack was tired out, gasping for breath with Omnifarious.

"See…I told you…" Omni panted, "Now do you understand…?" he waited until Applejack settle down, her hat covering her face. It looks like he finally got through to her.

"Are you kidding? Ah'm just getting started…" Applejack stood up, "Ah hope you're ready for one more ponyride!" she then went speeding across through the trees, in a straight path to accelerate her speed. Omni looked over head and saw they're heading straight for a far away tree! If she keeps that pace and runs into that… "Last chance, Omnifarious!" unfortunately, Omni hung on to avoid breaking something, not that it make any difference, "Fine! Remember, you've been warned!" the blue pony held tight as the headed straight for that tree there. As there were just a few yards between them and closing, Omni shut his eyes and braced for impact.

"STOP!" there was a bright light and suddenly Twilight stood in the way. That was the excuse Omni waited for and Applejack dug her hooves into the dirt to brake herself; but they were going too fast. Twilight jumped out of the way right before the two earth ponies crashed into the tree…

"Applejack… Applejack…" The first to regain consciousness was Applejack, Twilight Sparkle standing down over her, "Oh, good, you're okay," Twilight sighed in relief before scowling down at her, "Now Applejack, I completely respect the Apple family ways. You're always there to help any pony in need, so maybe you can put a little of your stubborn pride aside and allow your friends to help you.

"…Okay, Twilight." The cowpony finally groaned.

"I am not taking 'no' for an answer-what?"

"Yes, Twilight. Yes, please. Ah could really use your help."

Twilight chuckled in solace, "C'mon, Applejack. You're long-due for a rest." Using her magic, she gently lifted the tired pony onto her back and walked her off the farm to her home.

"What about me? I need help too!" Omni whimpered, lying on the ground around the remains of the shattered wagon. "Twilight…? Anybody…?! …Don't mind me; I'll just lay here in agony… Heeeeeelp…!"

As Applejack slept like a log, Twilight and her four other pony friends gathered and pitched in to harvest the rest of the apple trees. Even New Moon, who checked out of the hospital with a clean bill, is glad to help out. It's hard work but took little effort as the finally plucked the orchid clean of apples.

"How about y'all take a little break? Ah got some fine apple juice waitin' for ya!" A healthy Applejack came by at a picnic table, offering a tray of juice boxes, "Ah can't thank you enough for this help. Ah was acting a bit stubborn."

"Well, you poisoned Faiz, started a rabbit stampede, and I was left on my back because no one bothered to help me to the hospital!" a pain-wracked Omni cursed before he was whacked upside the head, "OW!"

"It's you own fault, Omnifarious," New Moon scowled, "Maybe next time you'll think twice about taking matters into your own hands. Besides, some of us had to focus on one problem at a time."

"Okay. A mite stubborn," Applejack blushed, "and ah'm awful sorry. Now, ah know the town gave me the Prized Pony award, but the real award is having you five as my friends.

Rainbow wiped his brow, "That applebucking sure made me hungry."

"And I've got the perfect treat." Spike began handing over a handful of muffins, first one going to Omni.

"Oh, thanks, I haven't had a bite all day."

"OMNI, NO!"

CHOMP!

Omni's thrown into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital.

Under the empty treehouse, the Book of Virtues had long since opened by itself. Behind the first page etched a new one:

Dear Princess Celestia,

My friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have, and she's always there to help any pony. The only trouble is, when she needs help, she finds it hard to accept it, so while friendship is about giving of ourselves to friends, it's also about accepting what our friends have to offer.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

And over the headlines was one word: Cooperation

Epilogue:

Far from Ponyville, Boomhauer stood lazily over a fence drinking with his buddies.

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Mmhm-OOMPH!" He's knocked off the fence and onto the dirt, when he got a surprise visit for a very-pissed Applejack, "Okay! Okay, Applejack, wait! Jus' lemmiex 'plain-" he didn't get the chance as he was dragged away by the tail.

"YOU! MUST'VE! LOST! YOUR! MIND!" She screamed as she beat him with a crop. "YOU! DO NOT! SKIP OUT! ON! YOUR! JOB!"

...

"Yep."

"Yep."

"Yep."

Bully for Griffon

Author's Note

Author's Note:

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro

Please Read and Review.

Bully for Griffon

"Hiccup…hiccup…hiccup…" This is just his luck. Just what did he do to deserve this? He was helping Spike carry parchments back to the library; and not even before he walked down the stairs of the pavilion the sound of thunder pounded in his ears! He wasn't tone-deaf for long but now he can't get rid of those hiccups! He can't even carry the papers without them jumping out of his backpack! Now he has to leave Spike to carry those by himself while he goes to get rid of the hiccups. And since he doesn't want to drink out of some dirty fountain, he decided to go to the next-to-near free source of water he could find: the river bordering Ponyville.

Almost to the river, he spotted Mach Faiz coming across the river pulling a large cart. He was hoping not to be noticed but he wasn't that lucky, "Hey, Omni! I was looking for you!" Omnifarious ignored him and just drank from the river. Unfortunately Faiz just stopped beside him, "I got big plans in store for Ponyville and I need help to pull it off!"

Omni pulled his head back up, "Find someone else. Whatever it is you're planning I don't want any part."

"I just thought we'd have a little male-bonding time!" Faiz said, "We haven't been close since we first met."

"I've been taught not hang around trouble makers." Omni scowled and walked back to town.

But Faiz kept persisting and walked after him, "It's just a small favor! Since when does anything I do hurt anyone?"

"Two weeks ago you caused a stampede that almost flattened Ponyville. Besides, whatever you got there can't be any better than that."

"Look, it's just a few pranks and gags! There's no harm in making ponies laugh, is there?"

Omni stopped, "I tried pulling a prank one time."

Omnifarious sniggered as dialed a random number. A few seconds passed before the phone answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is your refrigerator running?"

"Yes. Is your door unlocked."

"Uh, yes. But why do you—" the refrigerator kicked the door open and smacked Omnifarious unconscious, before running out the door with his wallet.

"It did not go well."

"Omni, these pranks won't hurt anyone, trust me! It's not like you have anything better to do, is there?"

Omni thought about that for a moment. It really is boring at the library; nothing to do but read a bunch of old books. What does Twilight see in those, anyway? "…Just a few harmless pranks?"

"100% harmless; believe me." Faiz grinned.

Omnifarious soon followed Faiz around town for what the Pegasus called 'male-bonding'. Their first stop was at Rarity's shop (hmph, rhyme). While Faiz snuck around the store's top floor he waited around the bushes wondering why they're there in the first place. When he heard footsteps coming in a different direction, he hid and peeked out from under a bush. He watched as Rainbow and Pinkie came to the door with a basket of flowers. After ringing the doorbell, they darted into a nearby bush, the same bush Omni was hiding, and crashed into him.

"Omni! What are you doing here?" Rainbow groaned as he got off him.

"Rainbow? What are you…Achoo! What are you…Achoo! Rainbow—achoo! Achoo! Why can't I stop—achoo—sneezing?!" Omnifarious felt something on his snout and wiped it off, finding a pink powder on it. "What's this?!"

"Oh…" Rainbow picked up a can with some of the same powder spilled out; he smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."

Omni looked closer at the can's sign, "What are you doing with—" suddenly Pinkie shoved her hoof over his mouth.

"Shushit! She's coming out!" the pink pony whispered.

Pinkie and Rainbow peeked out and spotted Rarity coming out with a towel and bathrobe. She sniffs into the bouquet and came up with a pink smidge on her snout, causing her to sneeze uncontrollably. Judging how the tow later bush-dwellers were running off giggling, they put sneezing powder in the flowers. Omni wiped off whatevers left of that stuff to stop himself from sneezing. A moment later Faiz came hovering over him.

"Okay, it's finally set! C'mon!" Omni followed the giddy red Pegasus over to the back of Rarity's shop.

Omni looked around while Faiz hovered under a second-floor window, snickering, "I'll bite. Just what did you—" suddenly he heard the sound of a blaring bullhorn followed by shrilling shriek.

"HA! Got it!" Faiz dropped down with an ENG video camera in his hooves, "C'mon! Let's get out of here before she catches us!" luckily Omni could take a hint and bolted with Faiz and his wagon, Rarity screaming the pegasus' name out her open bathroom window.

Omni dropped onto his side, catching his breath while Faiz was messing around outside the library. When he knocked the door, he zipped behind the sign and waited. Twilight opened the door and step out, only to step on a tripwire set for a bucket to fall over her, covering her in… in… there was nothing to describe what was spilled on her because there was absolutely nothing there, Twilight's back end and a face floating around.

"This is priceless!" Faiz cackled behind the camera, "Quick! We better split!" Omni didn't have to be told twice as he pulled the wagon out of here, preferably from the back of the tree to avoid being seen. But that didn't help much with Faiz laughing along the way.

After racing around town limits, they finally slowed down when they walked down the path on the way to Applejack's farm.

"Are you sure there's no problem with what you're doing?" Omni wondered to Faiz.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the pranks. Don't you think this is a little too much?"

"Omni, there's nothing I'm doing that's hurting anyone. Sure, Rarity's ears might be ringing for a while and Twilight may need to dye her fur over; but these are completely harmless gags, Omni! It's not like we're committing a crime or anything!" Omnifarious remained quiet, but skeptic, "Beside, no ponies were hurt in the making of this next prank: there's cans of paint in the back. We'll sneak into the farm, and paint the apples in many colors! Blue, yellow, green, even plaid and polka-dot! We'll be doing Sweet Apple Acres a favor! Picture it: Sweet Apple's Over The Rainbow Apples! Available for a limited time only!" Faiz then snickered.

"I think someone else might already have that idea…" Omnifarious said and pointed towards the orchid. What Faiz saw made him gasp. The apples on the trees were already painted like easter eggs!

"What?! Who could've done this?!" Faiz took off flew over the farm, until he spotted Rainbow and Pinkie Pie scurrying off from the farm. "I can't believe it! They stole my idea!" he then saw Applejack on the farm grounds and a lightbulb lit over his head. A minute later Faiz landed near Omni and hastly trotted off. "Job'sdonelet'sgo."

"What? Wait, Faiz! What'd you do this time?!"

"Mach Faiz! You get back here!" the way Applejack yelled was obvious. The first thing his mind told him was to follow Faiz before he does anything else stupid.

Omnifarious finally caught up to him at a stream bend outside of town. Faiz was there hiding behind a few trees. "Faiz, don't you think this has gotten a little out of hand—"

"Shushit! Keep you voice down…" Faiz whispered and pointed to the other side of the stream, where Fluttershy has been seen tending to a few animals playing in the water. "Here's the thing. Remember that foghorn I planted in Rarity's bathroom disguised as a bottle of hairspray, and left it there because I was making a clean getaway?" Omni didn't respond; just scowled, "Well, I rigged this rubber duck with an extra foghorn. It's gonna float to the other side of the stream and—"

"Faiz, are you trying to blow that foghorn-rigged duck in Fluttershy's face?"

"Well…yeah!"

"NO! Faiz, don't you know how sensitive Fluttershy is?" Omni hissed, "I mean, her name alone should've gave it away!"

"Omni, please! I'm sure the name 'Fluttershy' is just a stage name, like Carrot Top!"

"Wait, you mean Golden Harvest, or Carrot Top the prop comic?"

"Both! Either! Whatever!" Faiz sighed, "Look, how many times do I have to say it: it's a harmless prank!"

Omni swatted the duck away from the Pegasus, "Faiz, I'm not going to let you do it!"

Starting to become irritated, Faiz stood up and stared down the earth pony, "If I knew you'd be a buzzkill I wouldn't have invited you in the first place! This is supposed to be two guys having some wholesome, male-bonding fun!"

"I came with you against my better judgment because I thought you'd know better, that I thought you'd put others' feelings ahead of your own amusement! Mach Faiz, this has to stop!"

"Oh yeah?! Well who's gonna stop me? You?!"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Both Omni and Faiz flinched and found and small angry crowd of Rarity, half of Twilight, and Applejack biting to get rid of a really bad itch. And they were all lead by New Moon. "I can't believe it! I should've known you'd pull this on us again!"

"This is what I'm talking about," Omni muttered to Faiz, "…Wait, I was with you all day. Where'd you have time to prank New Moon?"

Faiz looked away, "Well…"

The furious New Moon stomped towards Faiz and Omni, "You think these pranks of yours are funny? Huh? You think they're funny? Well let me show you a joke of my own! Tell me: Why did Mach Faiz cross the road?!"

"Is… Okay, I'll bite," Faiz shrugged, "Why?"

"Because Ponyville Hall just issued a town-wide ban on obnoxious pranking!" New Moon grunted and kicked the wagon, sending it crashing into a nearby tree. But he wasn't finished when he went and tearing it up from the transport to the cargo. Soon the wagon was nothing but a big heap of trash, "GOOD LUCK PULLING YOUR PRANKS NOW!" he screamed as he smashed the camera against the tree and stomped off.

"Well, that's 6 hours of my life I'm not getting back." Omni muttered as he walked off.

"I don't think so!" he was then pulled back to face the half-Twilight, "Omnifarious, do you have any idea of the damage you caused? How could you help do something like this?!"

"Look, I really didn't think this could turn out bad," Omni defended, "Faiz said these were harmless pranks."

"Harmless? Look over there!" Twilight's face hovered towards Applejack, who's been biting herself trying to relieve the itch, "Applejack can't stop scratching because you and your 'friend' poured three whole boxes worth of itching powder ontop of her!"

"I had no idea what he was doing! I was just put on look out! If I had known he'd do this I would've stopped him! I wouldn't hurt anyone like that!"

"But you let Faiz do it. And that makes you just as responsible for this!" Twilight's face sighed, "If you were like Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash earlier this wouldn't be a problem. But this… If what you want is a laugh, you need to be better than this." Twilight's back half walked away with Rarity, dragging a still-itching Applejack with them.

Omni was left standing pettily near the stream. He knew these jokes were no good but he didn't realized they were this bad. How did Pinkie and Rainbow get away with stuff like this? All this running around made him tired. He figured he should just go home and forget this ever happened. What he didn't know was the gag duck was left floating to the other side, Fluttershy poking at it.

Omnifarious trotted through town not knowing what exactly to do. No one bothered to talk to him while indoors on account of what happened yesterday. And anyone who bothered to take to him was instantly shut up by New Moon. Omni knew what Faiz did isn't right, but did they have to alienate him like that? If he wants to make it up to them, how's he supposed to do it? Also, how do Pinkie and Rainbow get away with things like this? Their pranks just get shrugged off while Omni and Faiz almost got their heads bit off.

Just then he saw Big McIntosh trot past him pulling a cart full of apples. There's a guy to talk to; at least he wasn't involve yesterday. Omni trotted next to him, "Hey, uh, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Nope…" McIntosh replied kept pulling, with a scowl seen on him.

"So… Applejack told you what happened yesterday?"

"Eeyup."

"Well, I wanna know how I can make it up to her. I know what happened gone a little to far…"

The big red pony stopped abruptly, still not looking at the blue one, "Do you really?"

"I'm just 'bout done with today's load. What about you, Applejack? …Applejack? …Applejack!"

The orange farm-pony didn't respond, only whined until she tossed her had down and fell onto hhe side with it. She then kicked against the ground and spun herself on her head, trying to get rid of that bad itch. That's the forth time she did that that day, "For pity sakes, mare; don't make me have to put a plastic cone over your head!"

"Oh. I didn't think it'd be that bad."

"I got my hooves fuller than usual right now thank to what you two did. You want to make it up to me, then how about you help me out at the farm."

"That could work…"

So Omnifarious ended up working as a farm hand all day. After half a day of work, he plopped down against a tree. The rest of the work done here is not as easy as just picking apples. It's the same as the farm work he did back home, but they weren't compared to this. He's just glad McIntosh is through with him, at least until tomorrow. He guess he'd better head on home.

Before he could leave from the gate he heard a crashing sound in the trees. It sounded like a big deal so he rushed over to the source of the crash, just in time to see Pinkie Pie hovering up from a tree riding something between a helicopter and a bicycle. Omni tried to shrug it off and walk on home. But on his long walk he's still bugged by what happened yesterday. It just doesn't make sense how Rainbow and her could get away with the same thing he and Faiz did. A prank is still a prank, isn't it? Maybe there's a difference on what to do to others. He could ask Rainbow for advice, or maybe Pinkie…

CRASH!

Omnifarious suddenly felt he was hit by a meteor! His body's splayed out on the road under a heap of aluminum debris!

"Omnifarious! Omigosh, are you alright?! I'm so sorry! Here let me help!" Pinkie dumped him onto a stretcher card and pulled him away, wailing some siren.

After making it to the library, she got Spike to patch up Omni while she explained to New Moon and Twilight abut what happened earlier, up to the part when Pinkie crashed into him; not that New Moon bothered to hear it.

"So Pinkie Pie, are you sure that this friend of Rainbow Dash is really so mean?" Twilight asked, not looking away from the book she's reading while sitting in a small wooden tub covered in suds.

Um, yeah!" she went pacing, "She keeps stealing Rainbow Dash away, she pops my balloons, and she told me to buzz off. I've never met a griffon this mean. Well, actually, I've never met a griffon at all, but I bet if I had, she wouldn't have been as mean and grumpy as Gilda."

"I knew a griffon." Omni cut in, grabbing their attention.

"You know a griffon?" New Moon cynically asked.

"Well, yeah. There was this one griffon that picked on me while I was still in school. He got away with everything he did to me. Stole my bike, my lunch money, even my homework! Then one day I got a lucky break…"

Younger Omni went running into the classroom and grabbed his bookbag. Suddenly he felt the ground under him thumping. It's always a bad omen so Omni knew what's coming. So he dashed out of the room.

"OMNIFARIOUS!"

Younger Omni braked in the middle of the hall, eyes wide in anticipated horror, "G-g-g… Gelman?"

A large, hulking griffon stomped around the horror in front of the small pony. "Where'd you think you're going, Omni?"

"I'm…I'm…I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!" Omni burst out the school screaming with Gelman breaking the door down after him. The rest of the onlooking students cheered for him as he tried to avoid the griffon.

"Run, Omni! Run!"

"Serpentine, Omni! Serpentine!"

Omni's parent's drove by and Omni took the chance to jump inside before Gelman could grab him, "Get back here, %#& $%!"

"So long, Gelman!" Omni laughed from the cart, "I'm moving away to # % knows where! Haha! I'm free! FREE!"

Gelman screeched after watching his prey get away.

"If Gilda's anything like Gelman, then I guess griffons aren't exactly the friendly type," Omni waited for a reply but everyone stood silent staring, "Well?"

"Omni there's a huge difference between those two," New Moon scowled, "The only thing Gilda is guilty of is being Rainbow Dash's childhood friend. And Pinkie Pie is just feeling threatened because she's jealous of Gilda!"

"Jealous?!" Pinkie gasped, feeling accused.

"Green with envy. Well, in your case, pink with envy." Spike joked.

"While this other griffon, this so-called bully…" New Moon continued, "No one bullys ponies just for the sake of being a bully. Obviously you provoked him somehow and maybe that's why he was picking on you."

"I have to agree with New Moon. Listen Pinkie, I don't want to upset you, but just because Rainbow Dash has another friend doesn't make Gilda a grump. And Omnifarious, stereotyping someone at the drop of a hat, just because of something that happen to only you? That's even more childish."

"Not to mention hypocritical, on account of what you did." New Moon added.

"Right. I think it's both you and Pinkie who needs to improve their attitude."

"Improve my attitude? But I... D... B… It's Gilda that... D... Are you seri..." tired of stuttering, Pinkie screamed in frustration and stomped out the door.

"You too, Omnifarious!" New Moon scowled.

"What?! Why me?!"

"Don't argue! It's apparent you didn't realize what you did wrong! Until you finally admit it, I don't need you causing trouble in my Library! Now go!"

"Fine!" Omni groaned.

"New Moon, don't you think you're a little too hard on him?" Twilight asked in concerned.

"Twilight, trust me, I know what I'm doing." New Moon said, not taking his eyes off the blue stallion until the door was shut behind him.

Omni lost Pinkie real fast. He didn't know a person could move like that. This 'jealousy' idea didn't really sit well with her, he could tell. He's never seen Pinkie this upset in the 4-weeks-and-counting he's been here. The blue pony soon found her slouching over a table outside the Sugarcube Corner shop.

"Pinkie Pie," Omnifarious walked up to the pouting pony sipping out of a sundae cup, "Are you alright?"

"Hi, Omnipotent." She muttered.

"…My name's Omnifarious." He corrected.

"That's what I said; Omphalism."

"Never mind…" Omni sat down on the opposite chair, "Hey, I never met this griffon of yours, but I believe what you were trying to say. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Pinkie turned away, "Help with what? Twilight's right. Maybe Gilda isn't a big meanie grumpy mean-meanie-pants. Maybe I'm just a big jealous judgmental jealous-jealousy-pants." However the sound of laughter made her jump out her seat when Omni could see Rainbow landing into town with a lion-eagle hybrid.

"That must be Gilda, right?" he watched on until Gilda went behind a produce cart, where her tail suddenly stuck out in front of someone's face over the corn.

" A rattler, a rattler!" Granny Smith screamed in misunderstood terror, "Run for the hills! Everybody forsake yourselves!"

Gilda looked up and watched as the old mare fled as quickly as her bony joints could take her, which isn't very quick. Pinkie and Omni, at the table, saw the whole thing.

"Aw, poor Granny Smith, she didn't know it was a joke." Pinkie groaned.

"I guess Gilda's never taught to respect your elders." Omni said.

"…No, no, let's not misjudge her. It was kind of a funny prank, I guess."

"Try telling that to New Moon."

"Hey, Omni!" the blue pony jumped at the call of a certain red Pegasus. "I wanna talk to ya'!"

"Oh no. No. Not again!" Omni muttered, already realizing what he wanted.

Faiz wasted no time asking as soon as he reached the table, "Hey Omni, I need a favor!"

"No! You know what. No!" Omni burst out, "I don't want anything more to do with you and your so-called pranks! I got in a lot of trouble because of you! Well, that's it! I'm done!"

"Wait, you don't understand! I thought about what I did and, believe me, I learned a valuable lesson!"

"What lesson's that?"

"That with great power comes great responsibility! I found the perfect target for the King of all Pranks!"

"Faiz! I can't believe you're still set on doing this after what happened yesterday! Do you have any sense of morality?!"

"Hey!" Omni and Faiz attention was placed back to the action when they saw Gilda standing erect over a frightened Fluttershy, "I'm walking here!"

"Oh, um, I'm sorry," Fluttershy backed away, "I-I-I was just trying to..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Gilda mocked, mimicking Fluttershy's timid tone; she stomped towards her, nearly stepping over a bunch of baby ducks, "Why don't you just watch where you're going, doofus?"

"B-b-b-but I... I..." The griffon sucked in a double lungful of air and let out a deafening roar right in the meek mare's face. It became awfully quiet until Fluttershy flew off sobbing, "Ugh, please, all these lame ponies are driving me buggy. I gotta bail." She then flies off.

"No need for morality when there's none on the receiving end," Faiz said, "What I got planned is perfect for someone like to knock her down a few pegs. Now tell me you don't wanna be part of this."

"…Lets prank the #$ % out of her."

Phase-1 of Faiz's so-called plan involves setting up a large party. And what better place to set it up in that Sugar Cube Corner. Apparently it's the best place for Party Central, especially when Pinkie's the master of ceremonies. As soon as the shop's door opened, ponies came bustling in drones. Word gets around fast in a small town like this. As for Pinkie Pie, Faiz had to pull her in by a red wagon. She was stuck in an erect pose beaming a triumphant smile; just like she was standing an hour back while he and Faiz were setting up.

"We should keep score on how many times she does this." Faiz muttered as he heaved her onto the floor, where Pinkie started moving again and zipped away.

"Okay, you know what to do, right?" Faiz asked Omni.

"Let's get this over with," Omni sighed. When he spotted the griffon among the crowd (she wasn't so hard to spot), he moved through it and tapped on her furry brown hind quarters. That caught her attention.

"Can I help you?" she rather demanded with an annoyed scowl.

"Hi, uh, my name is Omnifarious, and I wanna welcome you to Ponyville." He held out her hoof for Gilda to shake. What followed is a full-body electrical shock that sent the griffon tottering to the ground. Even when Omni's the one with the joybuzzer, he's just as surprised as she was.

"Do joybuzzers even do that?" Omni wondered looking at the small button on his hoof.

Faiz cackled as he came up, "This triple-strength joybuzzer does! C'mon, let's get her ready for the next one!" Omni followed Faiz back to the party.

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Gilda, a long-time, dear friend of Rainbow Dash," Pinkie announced to the crowd, "Let's honor her and welcome her to Ponyville." Gilda can be seen forcing a smile while the others cheered on her.

"Het, Gilda! Gilda! Try these first!" Faiz zipped in front of a table behind Gilda, with a bowl of candy in his hooves.

"Vanilla lemon drops. Don't mind if I do." A moment after popping one into her mouth, she made a sour face before flames sprout out of his beak. Just what's in those things?

"Punch is right over there!" Faiz laughed as he pointed to a few cups near a punch bowl. Gilda grabbed a grenade-shaped cup and dumped the drink into her mouth, only to spit out what little tobasco sauce that wasn't chugged down her throat. She moved to the toilet cup and spat out vinegar, and a trash can cup with mouthwash. There's a can of soda she grabbed was the one with punch, but it's also the one with holes to drain it on Gilda's crest. Faiz kept laughing off the comedy show with most people in the room. Gilda dunked his head into the punch bowl to get the myriad of bad tastes in her mouth.

That's Omni's cue to come in and present Gilda with a present in his mouth, which Gilda snatched away and opened, which gave her a bunch of toy snakes popping in her face, leaving her dazed and disheveled.

"This is gonna be one hell of a party." Faiz snickered.

Later into the party…

"Faiz, when is this 'master plan' supposed to happen," Omni muttered, "So far it's jut one typical prank and/or gag after another. Isn't there anything original you got planned?"

"Omni, be patient. This is the kind of prank you can't rush. Trust me; before this party's over, Gilda's gonna go down in history as the first griffon to be pranked inside-out and outside-back-in by the Prankster King!"

"That's if history's a back-page article in yesterday's paper, #%$hole!" Rainbow shouted from the other side of the shop. That guy must have real good hearing.

"Yeah well, wait until the main attraction! Then we'll see!"

"We'll see you still being an #%$hole!"

"Caketime, everypony!" Pinkie called, carrying a large, towering cake into the shop room.

"Hey, can I blow out the candles?" Spike asked eagerly.

" Why don't we let Gilda blow out the candles, Spike," Twilight stated, "She is the guest of honor after all."

"Exactly," Gilda pushed over spike and moved over to the cake. She took a deep breath and blew out the candles. Omni could see the perplexed look on her face when the candles relit themselves. She blew them out again only to get the same result. He doesn't know how many times it take for her to keep blowing until she could see the writing on the wall, but eventually she's downright winded in front of the still-lit candles.

"Re-lighting birthday candles, I love that prank," Spike laughed with the crowd, "What a classic."

"Now, I wonder who could've done that." Pinkie giggled.

"Yeah, I wonder." Gilda snarked.

"Who care?!" Faiz scooped up a hoofful of cake and shoved it in his mouth, "This is some damn-good cake!"

"Faiz!" New Moon slapped Faiz over the head, causing him to spit out bits of cake. "What is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with eating cake?!"

"What's wrong with using a plate and fork!"

"Hooves are nature's plates and forks!"

"Who wants to play Pin the Tail on the Pony!" Pinkie announced.

"Oh, my favorite game," Rarity giddied, the paper tail near her feet, "Can I go first? Can I have the purple tail?"

" Well, I am the guest of honor," Gilda snatched the tail away, "and I'll have the purple tail."

"Yeah, Gilda should definitely go first," Pinkie said, "Let's get you blindfolded."

"Hey what- ugh- what are you doing?" Gilda protested as Spike pulled a blindfold over her eyes before she's sent spinning like a tornado.

"We're spinning you around and around and then you can pin the tail on the pony," Pinkie lead the griffon to the poster, "Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail."

"Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail," Gilda mocked Pinkie's advice, "Yeah, right. This is another prank, isn't it? I'm going this way." She turned the other way.

"Wait! The poster is this way! Gilda, you walking in the wrong-"

Gilda really should've listened, because right after stepping through the batwing doors into the kitchen, she was shot back out and was sent crashing back to the wall, where a sombrero hat dropped on her head with the purple tail hanging across her beak like a mustache.

"Uh, Gilda? You pinned the tail on the wrong end." Pinkie naively stated.

The whole restaurant uproar in laughter, which pretty much all she wrote as Gilda made an uproar of her own that nearly split everyone's ears. She then shot into midair, "This is your idea of a good time? I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life. And Pinkie Pie, you! You are queen lame-o with your weak little party pranks!"

"Wha? Me?" Pinkie gestured unknowingly, "I'm don't know what you're talking about!"

Gilda landed with a thud, "Fine, go ahead and keep playing dumb! I guess that means you won't mind what I'm gonna do to you!"

Everyone gasped when the griffon pounced on Pinkie and held her against the wall. Just when she's about to hurt her she jump when someone bit her tail. Gilda shot back and spotted Omnifarious backing away. "You leave Pinkie Pie alone! I'm the one who set all those pranks, so put it up with me!" he did not know why he said that.

Gilda growled and stomped towards him, "I don't know what make you think you can pick a fight with me, but I could've let you walk out of here while you even have a backbone. But instead you decided to bite my tail!" Omni suddenly found himself backed into a wall with the griffin towering over him, "So maybe I should fix this biting problem of yours permanently!"

"Not on my watch, you don't!" Faiz pushed Gilda back and got in between them.

"You really can't wait your turn, can you?!" Gilda growled.

"Faiz, what are you doing?!" Omni hissed.

"Hey, don't take all the credit! You're not the one who asked Johnny Knoxville for a favor to borrow his giant hand for the party," Faiz said, then stared down Gilda, "Beside, the only thing this griffon's good at is blowing smoke. She's not so tough."

Suddenly Gilda went and slugged the unfortunate pony next to her… SMACK "#$%DAMN!" which happened to be that white Pegasus from Chapters 1 and 3.

Faiz yelped and jumped over the nearest table, "He did it! It was all him! It's all his idea!"

"Faiz you idiot!" Omni cried right before Gilda slammed him against the wall off his hooves, about to strike him with her free talons, "NO, DON'T!"

Right when Gilda's about to clout him, her claw got held in place by a midnight-blue aura. New Moon stood holding her with his magic. "I suggest you put those claws away before I rip them away."

Gilda glared at him for a moment before snarling in defeat and dropped Omnifarious, letting the black unicorn loosen his grip, "I can't believe I'm wasting time with you losers! Come on Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene," Gilda walked to the door but Rainbow didn't move an inch, only stood with a hardened look, "Come on Rainbow Dash. I said, we're leaving."

"You know what, you leave," Rainbow stated, "I'm staying."

Gilda scoffed, "Come on, Dash, you're joshing me. You'd rather stay with these ponies? They're a bunch of haters!" Gilda shot back at Omni, "This one in particular! He set up these lousy pranks, just to make a fool out of me! He's obviously jealous of how awesome I am!"

"I threw this party to improve your attitude," Pinkie replied, "I thought a good party might turn that frown upside down."

"And I'm sure they weren't all meant for you specifically," Rainbow disputed, "It's just dumb luck that you set them all off."

"I wouldn't be sure about that." New Moon muttered in the background.

"And you sure didn't need any help making a fool of yourself. You know, this is not how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends. If being cool is all you care about, maybe you should go find some new cool friends someplace else."

Gilda huffed, "Yeah? Well you, you, you are such a… a flip-flop!"

"Oooh, breaking out the family-friendly cursewords." Faiz teased.

"Cool one minute and lame the next! When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call." The bird of prey walked out the door… with a bumper sticker saying 'CAUTION: I can go from 0 to BITCH in 2.5 seconds'.

"Not cool." Rainbow huffed.

"Wow, talk about a party pooper." Spike avowed, with everyone else muttering in agreement.

"I'm sorry everypony, for bringing Gilda here. I didn't know how rude she was, "Rainbow apologized, and walked up to Pinkie, "And Pinkie Pie, I'm really sorry she ruined that awesome party you put on for her."

Faiz cut in with Omni in tow, "Hey, what about us? We help set up too!"

"So it was you!" New Moon stomped towards the group.

"Uh, I mean, it's all him! Yeah…" Faiz raced off leaving Omni to face New Moon alone. Rainbow and Pinkie backed away.

"I'll deal with you later, Faiz! And you…" New Moon kept approaching Omni backing away, "You still haven't learned your lesson, have you?!"

"Look, I know you wouldn't understand, but I did all this hoping to teach Gilda a lesson. I'm just trying to help-"

"A lesson?! There's no lesson for them to learn when they're on the receiving end!" New Moon shot back, "Don't you know that every action comes with both a positive and negative reaction; and the one who gets pranked always receives the negative reaction!"

"But…but—"

"But what, Omnifarious?"

Omni hung his head low, "Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were doing the same this me and Faiz were doing the other day. It's double-standard, isn't it?! If what you said is true, then why don't I ever see you telling them off!"

"Let me tell you something…" New Moon growled, "The result of pranks you and Faiz make always end up hurting the ponies on the receiving end. At the very least it would cost money to fix what you ruined. Remember Applejack? She can't come to this party because her cone can't fit through the door!"

"That wasn't be that was Fai—"

"You had a part in it just being there, Omnifarious! Don't pretend you merely an innocent in that. As for Pinkie Pie, she wouldn't pull any pranks if they'd hurt the ones she targets. There's nothing irreparable in what she does. She's the Element of Laughter for a reason, after all! She intends to bring laughter not just to herself, but to others, even with a few small pranks. She finds a way for people to laugh with her. There's no harm as long as both sides are laughing. So no, Omnifarious, it's not a double-standard. What you did to Gilda, it's just as cruel as what you did to everyone else. And you add insult to injury by saying you're 'helping out a friend'. If you don't know how to do it right, then you have absolutely no right calling yourself anyponies' friend!"

"Well…well excuse me for trying to help out a friend…" Omni stepped aside and let himself out of the restaurant.

Omnifarious stood in the middle of the floor in the basement fuming off. First it's the castle, then the tickets, then the harvest and now this. Every time he tries doing something for someone, it ends up biting him eventually. How could there be a rulebook on how to do the right thing? What's what he's doing any different from anyone else trying to help? If there's something wrong with him just helping, then what kind of friend is he…?

Omni jumped when a bag dropped right in front of him. Who's in here?! Is it Twilight? New Moon? …No, he's the one who confined Omni here as if he's disciplining some child.

"Hi, Omni!"

"Wha!" Omni jumped back when Pinkie popped up, "Pinkie Pie?! …But what are you doing here?"

"I feel bad that you had to miss out on the afterparty, so I brought you a doggybag! C'mon, look what's inside!" Omni looked back towards the back and dipped his snout in, and then pulled out it looks like a cup with a space in the middle, "A cup with a split personality! Now you don't have to choose which juice to drink every day!" Omni dunked back into the bag and pulled out a small white cap, "Underpants you wear on your head, so you can keep warm during cold nights!" the next thing Omni pulled out s small toy car, "A pencil-sharpening indy car! You can play with it and write letters at the same time!" next came a small white tube, "A toilet-paper dispenser walkie-talkie! Now you'll have some one else in the bathroom to talk to when you feel lonely!" the next one was a bit larger, that's because it was a roll of toilet paper with pictures on it, "Toilet paper comics! You'll never know what'll make you laugh right before you leave the bathroom!" what's left seemed to be stuck on his head. He pulled out wearing some kind of eyeglasses, "And wacky drinking glasses! Saves a fortune on straws!"

"Wow, that's…that's very nice of you," Omni took off the glasses and smiled a bit, "Thank you."

"Oh don't worry about it! There's nothing I love more than seeing other ponies with a smile on their face! Well, it's getting dark and I have to be home!" Pinkie hopped onto the staircase and walked up the stairs before she stopped, "And Omni, New Moon's wrong. There's nothing wrong with helping out a friend."

Omnifarious' spirits began to lift as Pinkie left the basement. Knowing there's someone who's on his side, he slipped under the blanket and eventually fell off to sleep.

Late that night behind Omni's back, the Book of Virtues opened and flipped through a blank page where a new message was written in it:

Dearest Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that it's hard to accept when somepony you like wants to spend time with somepony who's not so nice. Though it's impossible to control who your friends hang out with, it is possible to control your own behavior. Just continue to be a good friend. In the end, the difference between a false friend and one who's true will surely come to light.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

And headlined over the inscription: Faithfulness.

And Now Back to the Show-Off

Author's Note

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro

Please Read and Review.

Excuse me, I may be new here, but I cannot help but notice that my story hasn't been getting any positive feedback from my previous chapters. But I happen to be very proud of this story, so if anyone would be so kind, would you help me make this fanfic as good as the others? Some beta-reading or positive feedback would be greatly appreciated. And ow, I hope this next chapter, as well as future others would be at least enjoyable...

And Now Back to the Show-Off

Omnifarious woke up early one afternoon. Things started to become dull around here, mainly because he promised to stay away from Mach Faiz and his horseplay as often as possible. At least he could get away from any trouble he'd cause. With nothing to do in this basement, much less this whole library, he decided to step out and find something to distract himself. So he put on his vest and kilt, and walked out the door.

Omni wonders if there's anything good to eat, so he went over to Sugarcube Corner. When he finally made it, Omni rang the bell on the counter and out popped Pinkie Pie, "Hi, Omni!" she greeted with her usual enthusiasm.

"Hi. Do you know what I can get for breakfast here?"

"I know just the thing! Follow me! You'll find it on the counter!" Omni followed the pink pony back into the kitchen, the first time he didn't have to call the ambulance. Pinkie walked back to the counter and pulled some pastries out of the oven.

Omni looked over to the large plate of pastries on the counter, "What are you making?"

"Cinnamon rolls! I got help making them just right! Didn't I, Mr. Pillsbury?" Pinkie tickled Mr. Pillsbury on his fluffy white stomach.

"Hoohoo! There's nothing that says 'I love you' like—hey! What the hell are you doing, you crazy bit—mmph!" Dough Boy got cut off by Pinkie rolling him flat.

"I'm gonna have no trouble selling these!" Pinkie scooped some rolls into a paper bag and gave it to Omni, "Here! These are freshly made! On the house!"

"Oh! Thanks!" Omni grabbed the bag into his mouth and left the shop. When he went out the door, he saw a few ponies running in a certain direction. Curious, he decided to follow them to a gathering at town hall. He carefully weaved through the crowd until he reached the front, where he met Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight. "Whbf guun un?"

"Hm? Did you say something?" Twilight turned to him.

"Whbf guun un?"

"Uh, one more time," Applejack said, "Without the bag?"

"What's going on here?" New Moon, who just stepped into the crowd, asked.

"She's performing here, that's what." The Mayor next to him answered.

"Who's 'she'?"

"Well, if you had come to our council meetings…"

New Moon scoffed, "I'm not talking about no Council meetings. Just tell me who's performing!"

"Come one, come all!" a voice bellowed overhead as the wagon in front of the crown opened, "Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" a blast of glittering blue smoke went off and when it cleared, Omni dropped his bag as a bright-blue mare stood on the stage, whose mane and tail are two lighter shades of blue. On her head is a wizard's hat, and around her neck is a purple cape fastened with a gem. The crowd cooed as her purple cape blew back, revealing a star-tipped wand as a cutie-mark, "Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" fireworks and fanfare erupted, boosting the crowd's excitement.

"My, my, my! What boasting!" Rarity muttered.

"There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?" Twilight asked.

"Nothin' at all," Applejack scowled at Trixie's performance, "'cept in when someone goes around showin' it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons."

"Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us." Rarity lectured.

"Especially when ya got me around being better than the rest of us," Rainbow swanked, then feeling a bunch of glares hammered on him, "Eh, I mean…"

"BORING!" Faiz suddenly hovered over the crown, "I can do better tricks than what you're pulling out!"

That seemed to catch Trixie's attention, "Well, well, well, it seems we have some neigh-sayers in the audience," the proclaimed, "Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?"

"All I see is a blowhard!" Faiz countered, "Why don't you tell me what makes you so 'Great and Powerful! You can't do that, can ya'? I bet you don't even have a horn under that hat!"

Trixie scoffed, "Why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded ursa major!" more fireworks danced from the stage, awing everyone with a decoration in the sky of a big bear and a small pony, "When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to, but the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magic, vanquished the ursa major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!"

"Saw, sweet!" a couple of little onlookers sighed.

"That settles it."

"Trixie truly is the most talented, the most magical, the most awesome unicorn in Ponyville."

"No, in all of Equestria!"

Faiz blew a raspberry, "You sure you didn't paint a bear costume blue and dump glitter on it?! 'Cause it sounds to me you're just blowing smoke up everybody's—" suddenly a newspaper was smacked into Faiz's face.

"Read it and weep; Hoofington's headline of that day to confirm it!" Trixie verified, then looked down to the crowd, "Anypony else doubting my talents? Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians. Anything you can do, I can do better."

"I'm not feeling to good right now. I think I should head on back…" Omni grabbed his bag and tried to excuse himself from Trixie's frequent ranting. But he couldn't get halfway through the crowd when he suddenly felt himself being dragged back by his tail and the suspended upside-down, face-to-face with a scowling Trixie. Omni quickly held his kilt against his legs.

"I'm sorry, folks! Trixie was distracted by this pony who thinks he can walk off in a middle of Trixie's show! Do you think you're too good to witness my amazing talents?!"

"Hey, leave 'im alone!" Applejack demanded, but was then held back my New Moon, "You're not seriously expecting us to just stand here, are you?"

"Just trust me," the unicorn suggested, "Getting involved we'll just get roped into Trixie's sideshow."

"Did Trixie hear correctly? Are you actually a stallion?" Trixie scoffed as her magic dropped Omni onto the stage. "Why would any self-respecting stallion be wearing a skirt!"

"It's a kilt…" Omni muttered.

"Uh, NO it's not! If you ever bothered to look into a dictionary you'd know that the official definition of a kilt is a hock-length garment with pleats at the rear, made of woolen cloth in a tartan pattern. What you have, my fashion-challenged little pony, is a skirt!"

"I have to agree with her with that statement," Rarity unconsciously muttered, then feeling Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight glaring daggers at her, "Oh, please! Do you even see any pleats anywhere on that garment?!"

"I don't see how this is any of your business." Omni tried to argue.

"Tell Trixie; because she's curious: why would a stallion like you (or any stallion for that matter), be wearing mares' clothing under the place where your cutie mark is?" the smirk on the blue unicorn grew a bit wider, "Wait, it all makes sense now!"

Omnifairous began to sweat under his fur, "I told you it's none of your business!"

"The reason you hide your cutie mark is because you don't like to reveal your special talent!"

"Huh?"

"You think you're too good to share your talents! That's why you flaunt around shamelessly in mares' attire just to show off! Well, I got news for you: showing off is something only the Great and Powerful Trixie should do!"

Omnifarious suddenly felt his kilt being tugged it by magic, and he consciously sat himself to the stage, "Stop! You don't wanna do that!"

"What's the matter? Afraid I'll blow your grand unveiling if I show everypony your cutie mark?"

The magic pulled harder. Omni panicked as he felt the kilt ready to slip off, "I'm serious! STOP!"

"That's it! I can't stand for no more of this!" Applejack snapped and jumped on stage between Trixie and Omni, "Why don't you pick one somepony your own size!"

Trixie scoffed, "So. Somepony's finally stepped up. Ready to be publically outshined by Trixie's magical powers?"

"Can your magical powers do this?" Applejack twirled a lasso with her blonde tail, amazing people as she hoists the loop clear of the boards and worked it forward and back. With an expert flick she tossed the lasso and tugged back to pop an apple into her mouth. The crowd cheered just after she finished, "Thanks for the background, Boomhauer!"

"Yeah-jackie; dang'ol-don't-mention-it." The black-hat farm-pony muttered as he waved off with his banjo.

"Top that, missy."

"Oh ye of little talent…" Trixie's hat began to glow from her magic and lifts clear off her head, "Watch and be amazed at the magic of Trixie!"

A gleam of the appendage brings the entire rope to life, mimicking the act of a hypnotized snake. It suddenly lashed out past Applejack and tied Omni's legs together and flipped him onto his back, "Wait! Hold on—" another apple stuffed itself into his mouth.

"Omni!" Applejack gasped and glared back at Trixie, "That's a low blow!"

"Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails!" Trixie announced as Applejack rushed to untie the blue stallion.

That was when Rainbow flew on stage. "There's no need to go struttin' around and showin' off like that."

"Oh?"

"That's my job!" Rainbow then went flying through a windmill fan and shot himself into the air, piercing through some clouds. He stopped in front of the sun before diving in a reversed course back to the stage with a rainbow hanging above him.

"They don't call me 'Rainbow' and 'Dash' for nothin'!" Rainbow said over the second batch of cheering.

"When Trixie is through, the only thing they'll call you is 'loser'!" A beam from Trixie's horn caused the rainbow to zip off and wrap a retreating Omnifarious into a small tornado and carry him off into the sky screaming. The cyclone veered madly in all directions before slamming Omnifarious into a small crater and flying off.

"Oh man! Omni!" Rainbow dashed towards the crater to the blue pony's aid.

"Seems like any pony with a dash of good sense would think twice before tussling with the Great Trixie." Seems like any pony with a dash of good sense would think twice before tussling with the Great and Powerful Trixie." The blue unicorn throws another burst from her horn while Rainbow was busy pulling Omni out of the crater. A black stormcloud then came hovering over and zapped Omni back into the hole, bringing a an uproar of laugher from the crowd.

"That's not funny…" a smoking Omni groaned.

"What we need is another unicorn to challenge her," Spike suggested, "Someone with some magic of her own."

"Yeah! A unicorn to show this unicorn who's boss." Rainbow agreed.

"A real unicorn to unicorn tussle." Applejack added.

"Enough. Enough, all of you," Rarity stepped in, "I take your hint, but Rarity is above such nonsense. Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace."

"Ooo, what's the matter?" Trixie teased, "Afraid you'll get a hair out of place in that rat's nest you call a mane?"

"Oh, that really hit a nerve," New Moon muttered, "This could turn out ugly."

"Oh, it. Is. On!" Rarity growled, her 'beauty and grace' dropped out.

"I don't think I can take any more of this," Omni groaned, "Maybe I should go ahead and head back to the library." He finally walked out from the crown.

"Girls Gone Wild: Unicorn Edition!" Faiz announced over the crowd, "Taking all bets, 5 to 1!"

Now onstage and circling Trixie, Rarity regained her composure, "You may think you're tough with all of your so-called powers, but there's more to magic than your brutish ways. A unicorn needs to be more than just muscle. A unicorn needs to have style," she lets her magic speak for her as she pulled a curtain from the stage and wrapped herself like a cocoon with it. A moment later and the audience awed as Rarity is wearing a fancy dress, "A unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty."

While the audience kept fawning, Omnifarious suddenly found himself walking back to the crowd, from the opposite direction he was going, "How the #%$& I get back here?!" that was when Trixie fired another blast of magic, which was for Rarity who quickly dodged and knocked Omnifarious out of the crowd and back into the crater. "Owww…"

"Ooooh, look what you did." Faiz booed at the white unicorn on stage.

"Omnifarious, my goodness!" Rarity hopped off the stage and excused herself through the crowd, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know that could happen!"

Applejack and Rainbow pulled Omni back out of the hole. When he showed himself, everyone who saw him gasped and stared widely. "What? What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me that way?"

"Your hair!" Rarity was the first to blurt out, "It's green!"

Omni blinked and quickly dug into his coat and dropped a small mirror on the ground and looked over his head. Rarity's right, "Oh. Well, it doesn't look too bad, I guess."

"Omnifarious, I just want you to know that I'm not one for unnecessary subtleties so I'm about to say this for your own good… YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! That is absolutely the last color you should want your hair dyed! It's putrid, hideous and downright despicable! Whoever thinks green can be considered a mane color has absolutely no sense in style! Please, I want you to name one pony who would look good with a green mane!"

"There was this nice old lady I used to know…" Omni muttered in aggravation.

"Well, I'm afraid no matter who she is, I will have to support the fact," Rarity huffed, whipping her gaze away, "I just regret not meeting this mare just to give her the plain truth."

"…She's my late grandmother!"

Rarity's eyes shot open after being caught with her big mouth. Her white cheeks flushed pink, "W-well I'm sure your grandmother looked fabulous in all colors of the rainbow. I just don't feel confident that I share the same level off—" one sudden flash later… "QUICK! I NEED A MIRROR! GET ME A MIRROR! What did she do to my hair? I know she did something terrible to my hair!" Rarity snatched up the mirror to look herself over, and she was not happy at what she's seeing. Evidentially Trixie decided to stick with her 'rats' nest' crack, "Ugh, no. Green hair! Not green hair! Such an awful, awful color!"

As she ran off sobbing she passed an offended pony who actually has green hair, "Well, I never!" she scowled and walked away.

"Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria," Sighing smugly, Trixie scoffed and decided to end the show and walk off, "was there ever any doubt…?"

"Omni, I'm so sorry about what happened earlier." Twilight said. Back at the library she offered to help Omni dye his hair back to what it was.

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything."

"But I didn't exactly do anything while Trixie did all that stuff to you. I don't know why she kept aiming at you."

"Of all the talk she was doing she also have the walk to back it up," the blue pony muttered, "Where does all that magic come from? Unicorns only use a little magic, don't they?"

"That's kind of true. Unicorns use magic to assist them in the special talents they possess. But since Trixie's talent is magic, well… I guess that's another story."

"And she uses it to degrade everyone else just to feel good about herself. If that's how people like Trixie behave, then I hope never to see another of her kind as long as I live."

"I guess it would be for the best…"

Omnifarious felt Twilight's hooves soften on his head, "Something wrong?"

"Uh, no. Nothing to worry about… Done," after rubbing the dye in, she put a shower cap over his head, "Just keep that on for a few hours."

After having the caped removed by Twilight, Omnifarious managed to get off the chair and back on his feet, "Thanks, Twilight."

The unicorn smiled, "It's the least I can do."

Suddenly there's a knock on the door and Omnifarious went to go and answer it. He tried to open the door but then remembered he has hooves, not hands.

"Here, I'll do it." Using her magic, Twilight opened the door for him, and at the door was those two kids from the show earlier.

"Can I help you?" Omni asked curiously.

"Yeah! Trixie told us to find you!" one of them said, "She want you to come to town square!"

Hearing Trixie's name soured Omni's mood, "I don't wanna." He stated and walked away from the door.

"She said that you'd say that!" the other kid said, "That's why she told us to say this when you do say it! Um, what was it again?"

"Oh, I know! She said, 'B is for Blue, the sad color of your coat'!"

Omni suddenly stood stiff and looked back over to the two kids. "Wait, what?"

"She said you'd know what it means! …So what's it mean?"

Omni didn't respond and just walk passed them, "I'll be right back…"

"Omni, what's going on?" Twilight asked, concerned, "You're not actually going, are you?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll be right back." Omni sternly repeated, and went out the door.

They walked down the street until they reached Trixie's wagon. There the unicorn was busy brushing her hair in front of the mirror. "We brought him here for you!"

"Excellent. You may go now," the two kids zipped away, leaving Omni alone with her, "You know, when I last saw you I mistaken you for some nameless fashion confused pony. I would be lying if I said you're good at blending into the crowd. I just tend to make it a habit not to concern myself about average ponies. And considering you, make that less-than-average."

"Just what is it that you want?" Omni asked impatiently.

"Is that anyway to treat an old friend?!" Trixie gasped in mock, "You should be grateful I chose you at all!"

"I'd hardly call you a friend. Especially after what you did…"

Trixie scoffed, "Thing of the past. What matters is that you're here. I guess my old nursery rhyme still caught your attention."

"That's not what I'd call a 'nursery rhyme'!"

"Doesn't matter. I'm just glad I have someone to run my errands. I'm so tired."

"Do them yourself. Because I'm not doing it." Omni turned his back and walked off. But Trixie is unfazed.

"I don't think you have that choice. Not as long as you have your big secret," when Omnifarious stopped in his tracks, Trixie smirked; she called his bluff, " 'B is for Blue, the sad color of your coat', there's more to that, you know. Maybe I should make it my next performance," hanging his head low, Omnifarious skulked back to her, "Good boy. Now here's what I want you to do…"

Later, Omni just came from the marketplace with a bag of apples in his teeth. When he came back to Trixie's cart, he could see someone near it with Trixie. He couldn't hear what they're talking about but he could tell they're arguing about something. He wouldn't know what it was about because when Trixie spotted him she shooed away the pony she's talking to. When Trixie took the bag from him she picked out an apple, only to roll her eyes and toss it over her shoulder to Omni's dismay, the process repeating over and over.

"Why did you ask me to by apples if you're just gonna throw them out…?" Omni muttered.

"Why didn't you get me what I ask?! I told you to bring back red delicious'; freshly-ripe red delicious'!"

"And you think those aren't red delicious'?"

"First of all, these are jonathan apples! I can tell the difference between red delicious' and jonathans; and I can tell whether or not they're freshly ripe!" Trixie tossed the last apple out, "I guess you're just as incompetent now as you were when you were a colt. Now my appetite's ruined," she tugged on the collar of her cape, "Ugh, this heat is getting my fur all sticky. I'll be needing a shower."

"Why tell me that?"

"Apparently I have to spell it out for you. Find me a rain cloud to shower under, preferably a large and dark one!"

"What?! How do you expect me to get one from that high up?!"

"That's your problem. You'll have to find a way to get one and bring it outside of town, someplace where I can have my privacy," Trixie turned her back towards him and shooed him away, "Well, go on!"

Omni groaned and walked off.

It hasn't been getting any easier trying to get those rainclouds. He asked as many Pegasus as he did, but none could be able to help him. Even he thought asking Rainbow Dash is an issue, especially when he'd ask what it's for.

"What's up, Omni!"

Unfortunately, he was too lost in thought to notice Faiz tailing him. Tired of thinking, he swallowed his pride and decided to ask, "Do you mind doing me a favor…?"

It took little effort on Omni's part when Faiz brought a large rain cloud to a plain of pink trees, that's the least of Omni's problem when he sees Trixie's wagon, as it she knew he'd be here. Thinking she's inside he begrudgingly knocked on the door only for it to slightly crack open with a creak. Out of curiosity he looked around inside. Nothing came of interest other than a partially opened box. He decided to take a closer look and removed the lid and pulled out a large cloth, which turned out to be a large winged lion costume. Trixie must have pretty weird tastes in cosplay…

"What do you think you're doing snooping around in there?!" before Omni could process what's happening he was pulled back outside, where Trixie stood over him, "Weren't you ever taught not to touch other ponies' property without permission?!"

"Sorry! You door was open and there was this—"

"Well it's off-limits, so stay out! By the way…" Trixie removed her hat and cape and dumped them on top of him, among other alike clothes, "This clothes are getting filthy. Clean them!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! I don't care how you get it done, it better be done!" Trixie turned to leave, "And they better be spotless and dry by the time I return for them."

"But…but—" but Trixie ignored him and left him with her dirty laundry. Omni groaned in frustration.

After somehow sneaking them all the way back to the library, Omni stuck himself in the basement scrubbing Trixie's laundry in a small turn on a washboard. There's a whole lot of capes with so much dirt on them. Somehow he thinks this isn't coincidental.

"What're you doing, Omni?"

Omnifarious jumped at the call of Twilight, who's standing at the top of the stairs. He can't let her see him like this! He quickly scooted himself in front of the pile of laundry out of Twilight's sight. "Nothing, just doing some laundry."

"Really? Mind if I help?"

"I appreciate it, but I can do this myself!"

But Twilight suddenly popped up next to him, "Don't be silly. It'll go by faster if there are two people. Don't worry, it's no trouble," she then drew her attention to the pile behind Omni, "Do you normally have that many clothes?"

"I wear a lot of clothes! I'm not really comfortable with—Twilight, no!" But it's too late when Twilight pulled out one of Trixie's wrinkled capes. Omni sweat a bit when she made a strange face and pulled out one of Trixie's hat next. Like Omni feared, it didn't take long for Twilight to put 2 and 2 together.

"…Is this what I think it is?"

"Twilight, it's not what it looks like!"

"Hey, Omni! Trixie just asked for her laundry!" Faiz burst into the basement.

"Crap…" Omni cursed.

"Omni, what are you doing with somepony else's laundry, especially Trixie's laundry?" Twilight asked.

"Look, this is just a misunderstanding—"

"Omnifarious!" Rarity barged in, her mane thankfully back to normal, "That pompous blowhard came by my boutique and mistook it for a laundromat! She said you brought her heap of dirty laundry there!"

"Rarity, I—"

"Omnifarious, what's going on?!" Twilight asked, losing her patience.

"Please! Just let me—"

"Hey, Omni!" Rainbow flew in and dropped onto the basement floor, "I just heard you and Trixie are pals or something! You actually know that windbag?!"

Omnifarious groaned and curled up in a fetal position. This really has gone out of hand…

"Omni… I think it's time you tell us the whole truth," Twilight said, "Can you please do that?"

He couldn't avoid it any longer, so it's best to brace himself and get this off his chest. A few moments passed when Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow and Faiz gathered with him on the floor level to listen in. "Okay, here's the thing: Trixie… We first met when I found her under a tree when its was raining that day. I helped her out and we've been close ever since. We were kids then and we used to walk together, play together…"

After a moment's silence, Twilight spoke, "Then what changed?"

"What do you think? She got her 'special talent'. Everyone was so amazed with what she can do. And me, well, no one wants to hang out with someone who didn't have a special talent, so she joined up with everyone else who picked on me for it. She didn't even say goodbye when she moved away. I thought I could forget about her; at least until this morning."

"My goodness, that's so sad." Rarity said, after hearing his story.

"Yeah, but there's another thing," Rainbow said, "what's with you doing all those errands for her just now?"

"She's right," Twilight pointed out, "Normally something like this doesn't happen unless…"

"I have to go…" Omni muttered and pushed himself out of the crowd, making his way up the stairs.

"It's what those two kids said before you went out, isn't it?" Twilight asked, "Please, Omni, whatever it is, you can tell us!"

"I can't."

"But Omni!" Twilight pleaded when they reached the top.

"Look! If I could tell you, I would!" Omni snapped, "But I can't, so I won't, alright?" Omni walked out through the thankfully-opened door and proceeded to go outside, but his hooves once again got in the way. "Um, if you don't mind…" Twilight sighed and opened the door for him, "I just need some time alone."

"But Omni…" Twilight whimpered as she watch him leave the library, "Can't you trust us…?"

Omnifarious left his sense of direction back at the library as he wandered outside Ponyville. He doesn't care where he's going, just as long as it's far off from his problems. It's too bad that he has to go back eventually. And as for Trixie, he can't think of any reason why she wouldn't broadcast his big secret to the town when she feels like it. It makes him sick to his stomach, he'd rather get mauled by a bear. Maybe he'd get some pity when they visit him in the hospital.

His ears perked when he heard a lowly growl somewhere. From out of the bushes came a large bear! Wearing a porkpie hat! Now he's starting to regret walking so far out at dusk. Omni once heard that if he stands perfectly still the animals won't feel threatened; so that's what he did. The bear walked closer and sniffed at him. Maybe now it'll go away.

"RRRAAAAAGGHH!" Maybe not!

Trixie spent a while walking through the forest until she ran into the bear from earlier, right outside a large cave. "Ugh, finally I found you. Did anypony else follow you?" the bear shook its head, "Good. The sooner we pull this off the sooner we can leave this dump. Oh, and next time you decide to waltz my caravan, don't. I don't want everything I worked for ruined because someone couldn't learn to be patient."

"You really know how to pull a scam, don't you."

Trixie's jaw dropped. Did the bear just talk to her?! That moment the bear raised it paws and ripped its head off, showing Omni's face underneath. "Omnifarious?! But…"

"But what? That you thought I wouldn't find out?"

Omni scurried away from the towering bear, but it chased him through the forest. He looked for something at all to fight off the beast where one is heading towards him. Omni ducked under the low branch on the side of the tree and pulled it with his from legs. When the bear got close enough, he let got and let the branch smack the bear in the face, knocking it on it's back. But somehow that caused Onmi to panic more because it also seemed to knock the bear's head off! How did that even happen?! Omni moved over to the body to see the remains and saw something that doesn't belong on the bear's mutilated neck…

A pony's head was sticking out of it! And unconscious, no less. Confused, Omni found the bear's head and looked into it; it's hollow! No brains, just mesh and eyeholes! This whole thing's a costume! He was being chased around by a guy in a bear costume! He fount a small tag attached to the rim of the mask: 'if stolen, please return it to…'

"Somehow, that didn't surprise me; but I still can't believe it…" Omni said, "Everything you claim to be is all one big con!"

"You just have to snoop around…" Trixie growled, "You just can't leave well enough alone, can you?"

"What else is fake? Is your so-called special talent fake? Can you even use magic?"

Suddenly, Omnifarious was knocked back into a nearby tree by Trixie's magic aura. "Don't you dare question Trixie's abilities! I can outdo anypony who challenge me!" she then shrugged, "…but the whole Hoofington incident was staged. Plus, I was nowhere near the everfree forest that time. It was mostly harmless backwoods."

"But why? Why would you do it!"

"Because these magic shows just blow on its own!" Trixie snapped, "Do you realize how many towns I visited just to prance around like a fool in front of ponies? Most of them were jealous because they wish I have the power they don't, and lead other ponies into booing me off my own stage! But if I could show those ignoramus' just how powerful I am, then they'll appreciate my talents and I could leave their backwater town a hero!"

"So you pay someone to ransack a town just so you can step in and play the hero?" Omni reviewed, "What if you hurt someone!"

"I had to make it look realistic. A few injured ponies are no big deal. Besides, they all thanked me as they watched me ride off into the sunset… Why can't you just mind your own business!"

"You dragged me into being your errand boy! This is my business! And I'm not going to let you pull your scam in this town, or any other! This stops right here!"

Trixie gave a sly smile, Oh, really? And who's going to stop me, you? Don't forget, I know you better than everypony else here? You know, I can blow the whistle anytime I want." That little reminder is all she's sure it takes to get him back in line.

"Fine by me," Omni responded to Trixie's surprise, "Let's both step into the light together!"

"You're joking, right? You're not serious, are you?"

"Just watch and see if I am!" Omni was prepared to run back to town and tell everyone the news, when a loud roar blared from a distance, so loud it even stunned Omni, "Trixie… Is stat you?"

"Do I sound like a bullhorn to you?!" the ground suddenly shook with small pebbles and rocks jumping around. Omni and Trixie feel very small when out of the cave came a colossal blue beast.

"What the heck is that?!" Omni gasped.

"It's an ursa major! Ever heard of it?!" Trixie cried.

"That's an ursa major?!" the bear's second bellow is a warning that the two ponies should get out of hear as fast as possible. And that they did as they sprinted away through the forest, but not without the bear close behind them.

"This is all your fault!" Trixie barked, "You had to make a scene and now you woke up an actual ursa major!"

"I just followed what your note said!" Omni argued, "You're the one who picked the location!"

"And you were stupid enough to come here!"

"Whatever! Looks if we keep running like this we could lead him to Ponyville! We gotta steer him away from the town and somehow deal with him ourselves!"

"Whoa, wait! What's with the 'we'?! I don't want any part of this!"

"Well, too late now, Miss Great-and-Powerful! If Ponyville gets flattened and you're not there to save anyone, you really will be known as a fraud!"

Running out of breath, Omni waited for Trixie's response. She then huffed, "Fine! I got an idea! Just stuck close to me!"

"How would that help?!"

"Just do it!" Omnifarious moved towards her, wondering what she's planning. When the gap's nearly closed, he leaned in, "One of us can just fight the bear off!"

"Are you crazy?! That thing is huge!"

"That thing is pretty big! Worst case scenario he'll eat you in one gulp, but if you're lucky, you'll probably wake up mangled on a stretcher, if anypony finds you!"

"What are you talking about?!" Omni then realized her scheme, "Wait! You're not thinking—ack!" he was then kicked to the wayside and left behind.

"If you don't wanna get mauled just run the other way and you'll keep that thing away from town!" Trixie called from the distance, "Nothing personal, Omni!"

Omnifarious scrambled back up on his feet and saw the bear closing in. He tried to scamper away but the ground collapsed under him and hit his head…

"Omni…Omni…" the world slowly came back to him as he woke up in the middle of the path. Hovering right over him there's a pair of purple eyes, "Omni! You're awake!" Twilight gasped and helped Omni up.

After a moment Omnifarious regained a few of his bearings and looked around, but not without holding his head to keep his brain from popping out. "What happened…?"

"I was hoping you could tell me!" Twilight wished, "I after what happened recently I was afraid you had gotten hurt! I'm just glad nothing bad happened to you!"

"Well, I'm still in one piece… Wait!" Omni suddenly remembered, "Twilight, there's something you need to know! Trixie's a fraud! She staged the attack on Hoofington with a guy on a bear suit, so she could come out a hero! She's been doing this in every town she's been it!"

"That makes sense…" Twilight said, "When the Ursa Minor found it's way into town—"

"That's right, I almost forgot! Twilight, is everyone alright?!"

"Don't worry, I took care of it! He won't be bothering us anymore. Anyway, she blew her own cover the moment it showed up. After that she ran off."

"Figures. I'm just glad no one's hurt. We should be heading back now."

"Yeah, we should."

When Omni and Twilight made it back to town, they met with New Moon and Faiz back at the library, where they salvaged Trixie's wagon there.

"Alright, let's see what we got…" New Moon rummaged through the small pile of newspapers he took out of the wagon, "'Trixie saves Trottingham from Terrifying Tiger.'" He said out of the print.

"Got it!" Faiz tossed a cheap Tony the Tiger costume from out of the wagon.

"Here's another one: Trixie rescues Baltimare from Barbaric Bandicoot.'"

"Here's one!" Faiz threw out a Crash the Bandicoot costume.

"Here's the last one, and the latest…" New Moon picked up the last issue, "Trixie helps Hoofington from Horrifying Hare.'"

Faiz came out of the wagon and spat out a dirty Frank the Bunny costume from his teeth, "Where does she get these things!"

"Well, that's all of them," New Moon tossed the last paper over his shoulder, "That unicorn's been pretty busy…"

"I guess it's safe to say that she won't be causing trouble anymore," Twilight said, "Not without her supplies."

"I'm still wondering about something," Omni said to Twilight, "How'd you get that bear to leave town?"

"Oh? Well…" Twilight turned away blushing, "all I did was calm him down. Then when he was pacified I just carried him off back to the everfree forest."

Omni has a problem wrapping his head around what he's just told, "But that thing's huge; I saw it myself. Even lifting something that big with magic's impossible. So how's that possible?"

"If you had seen it yourself, you'd be made a believer," New Moon intruded, "Whether it's aided by her tutelage by the princess or that Twilight is unique, she pretty much mastered her special-talent of magic, and she proved it in saving this town from being stomped on."

"She did that all by herself…?" Omni muttered and New Moon nodded, "Oh. Well… I guess I should turn in for the night…" he made his way to the basement for bed.

"Omni, wait," Twilight stopped Omnifarious, "There's something I've been wondering for a while. I told you about my special-talent, but you don't want to talk about yours…" Omni looked over his shoulder, "If it's not too much trouble asking… May I know what your special-talent is?"

"…Just forget about it. My special-talent isn't so special…" Omni walked through the basement door but Twilight followed.

"But then why do you wear that—"

"I mean my special-talent is nothing to be proud of," Omni snapped as he continued down the stairs, "It's best that no one knows…"

"Omnifarious, if there's something I learned tonight, is that any talent a pony has is something to be proud of. I'm sure your talent isn't as bad as you may think…"

Omifarious stopped at the end of the stairs, "Twilight, just trust me; it's best if this is left alone…"

Under their noses, the Book of Virtues was left open, and a new topic was on a new page…

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a showoff that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off... Especially when you're standing up for your friends.

And the headliner above: Modesty.

"Hey wait…" Omni looked the empty space in the middle of the floor, next to the basin and washboard, "What happened to all those clothes there?"

Lighting a match, Rarity tossed it into a gasoline-soaked pile of capes and hats and watched the whole thing burst into flames, "Well now, that should count for closure…" the white unicorn trotted back indoors, leaving the small mountain burning.

It's such a Dragon

Author's Note

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro

It's such a Dragon

Omni finally woke up early one Saturday morning and got up off the basement floor and from under the blanket. After putting on his jacket and kilt he walked up the stairs and pushed through the door out of the basement. Groggily walking straight to the kitchen, Omni turned on the faucet and drank the water from out of the sink. After getting his fill he turned off the water and walked out for the door. But something caught his eye when he backed up to a window, where he saw huge clouds of smoke in the sky from the direction he's looking, "Uh, Twilight?" Omni hurried back into the library, "Twilight, I think there's a cloud of smoke outside!" he looked around for the purple unicorn, around the library, even upstairs, but she's not here. Is she out today?

Suddenly there's a knock on the door. That must be her. But by the time he went downstairs, they already invited themselves in; and it wasn't Twilight. Instead it's Faiz, with a coupe of empty sacks over his shoulders. "Is that the same clothes you wore yesterday?" he huffed, "We seriously need to talk about your choice of wardrobe!"

Omni groaned, "I know you didn't come here unannounced just to criticize about what I'm wearing."

"You're right. I came here because I need you for something. You see, we're about to go treasure hunting."

"Treasure hunting?" Omni raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, there's a cave out at the top of the mountains and it's filled with treasure! And I want you to help me get some!"

"Wait a minute, you're telling me there's a huge load of treasure stashed in a cave somewhere?" Faiz nodded, "What if that treasure belongs to someone else, maybe some giant beast could be guarding it? Won't that be stealing?"

"Omni, no one keeps that much gold and jewels just sitting around! You have to sell it off to make use of it! And I'm gonna make plenty use of it! Are you with me, or not?"

"Faiz, this is seriously a bad idea," Omni insisted, "I'm not gonna risk my life for something shiny. Just forget about it!"

"Wait, wait!" Omni stopped midway towards the basement door, "I know you're not used to this much livelihood. I know this; but I'm telling you, we're gonna make this trip worth it! Besides, it's Friday…"

"No, it's Saturday." Omni corrected.

"You ain't go no job…"

"Are you forgetting? I help out at the apple orchids."

"And you ain't got #^$ to do! Not today, anyway!"

"How would you know?!"

"Okay! If you're not gonna help, then more treasure for me!" Faiz went walking back out.

"Faiz, stop!" Omni called and Faiz stopped at the foot of the door, "If we go and it turns out I'm right, I want us to get straight back here, without any treasure! Would that satisfy you?!"

The red Pegasus snickered, "Fine, whatever you say!"

In no time at all, Omni and Faiz headed straight towards the mountains near the town. As Omni was being carried by Faiz, he couldn't keep his eyes of the huge clouds of smoke coming from the peaks. "You know anything about the smoke coming from there?" he asked in suspicion.

"There? Oh, that must be the dragon sleeping there."

"WHAT?! And it didn't cross your mind to tell me that back at the library?!"

"Sorry! I thought it didn't matter at the time!"

"You knew it mattered! Faiz, you knew I didn't want anything to do with anything that'll get me killed!"

"Well, nothing to do about it now! We're just at the foot of the mountains! Might as well get it over with!"

"Faiz, get me down! I mean, NOW!"

"Alright, fine!" Faiz grumbled and released Omni, causing him to fall straight down into a large bush below.

"Gah!" Omni scrambled out from under the bush, "Are you crazy?! You could've killed me! Wait, something softened up my fall…" the blue pony rustled through the bush until he found… "Uh…"

"You weren't even that high up! You're alive, aren't ya?!" Faiz landed and went up to Omni as he looked over him at what he's looking at, "Wait! Isn't that…" there's a yellow pony with wings and pink hair lying in a dazed state on the ground. Omni just fell ontop of Fluttershy!

"Oh man, Fluttershy!" the panicking blue stallion pulled Fluttershy out of the bush and shook her, her eyes like googly-eyes as he did, "Fluttershy? Are you okay? Fluttershy!" the only response he got was a little mumbling from her. "I think she said something. That's a good thing, right?!"

"Omnifarious? Mach Faiz?! Is that you?!" Omni looked up and saw a group of five ponies against the steep slope of the mountain, and New Moon's the one leading them. "What are you doing out here?!"

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Faiz called back, "What are you guys doing up there?!"

"Never mind that! Where's Fluttershy?" Rainbow wondered, "What's she waiting for, an invitation?"

"Umm…" Omni darted between the group and Fluttershy, "I think she's taking a nap right now…!"

"Are you kidding?!" Rainbow dove down to ground level, where he saw Fluttershy unconscious, "What'd you guys do?! Get away from her!" Rainbow shoved Omni away cradled the yellow pony. She tried calling out to her but all she got was a few quiet murmurs, "Oh good, she's just unconscious… Isn't anypony gonna tell me what happened?!"

"Omni fell on her!" Faiz pointed.

"Only because you dropped me on her!" Omni argued.

"Alright, that's enough!" Applejack grabbed a scroll from out of Twilight's bookbag and tossed it down, "Take this! You'll need this to find another way around the mountain!"

"Around the mountain?!" Rainbow groaned, "That'll take forever!"

"Wait, shouldn't we bring Fluttershy back to town?" Omni asked, "I don't think she should be outside in this state."

"Omni, we need Fluttershy for this!" Twilight called.

"Besides, you're the reason that happened!" New Moon said, "So you're going to be the ones responsible for making sure she meets us up the mountain safely, both you and Faiz!"

"What? Why do I have to do it?" Faiz asked.

"Why don't you stop sassing, and get your #% up this mountain!"

Omni and Faiz managed to find an alternate route up the mountain. As they walked Omni had to be the one to carry Fluttershy on his back. "So, what exactly are you guys doing here, anyway?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Rainbow asked over him, "There's a dragon sleeping at the top of the mountains!"

Omni stopped, "Wait, did you say there's a dragon…?"

"Yeah. See those clouds of smoke up there?" Rainbow pointed up to the dark sky, "That dragon's snoring's what causing it! So we have to get it out of there! But why are you here?"

"Faiz said it's to look for treasure!" Omni glared at Faiz, "He never said it was dragon treasure!"

"Hey, I didn't think it mattered!" Faiz protested.

"We were about to steal treasure under a dragon's nose; A DRAGON!" Omni said, "and not the kind of dragon that grants you wishes after gathering his family jewels, I mean the kind of dragon that's flash-fry us for barbeque if he catches us anywhere near his stuff! The fact we're stealing from a dragon isn't just immoral, it's the definition of both suicide, and jack$&%ery! Taking treasure from a dragon is something I would most definitely like to know if I'm following you on a treasure hunt!"

"Okay, okay!" Faiz backed away, "You don't wanna get your hands dirty, I get it!"

"The only thing you'll 'get' is toasted, killed, eaten, uneaten, and re-toasted, in that order!" Rainbow said, "trust me, you're way in over your head this time!"

"And you're any better?" Faiz snide.

"Uh, yeah!" Rainbow rolled her eyes, "You're talking to one of the Elements of Harmony!"

"Is that a new name for 'lazy cloud potato'?"

"Are you asking for a fight?!"

"ALRIGHT!" Omni shouted over the two pegasi, stopping them from arguing. Then looked back to the yellow one slumped on his back, "But what makes it so important that we can't just take her back to town?"

"Maybe it's due to her being good with animals and stuff." Rainbow said.

"But a dragon? Don't you think that's a bit overkill?"

"Did you ever run into a manticore when you were in the everfree forest?"

"I was never in the everfree forest. Faiz carried me over the forest that night."

"Well, we were being chased by a manticore that got a thorn in its paw. In fact, it was Fluttershy who got it out and calmed the manticore down."

"She really did that? She must've been really scared at the time!"

"Nope, she went up to it and coddled it like it's a kitten! You should've seen it!"

"Too bad she's out it right now," Faiz hovered past, "Of all the times to be passed out."

Rainbow scowled, "Yeah, no %& #..."

It took longer, but they managed to reach a large plateau on the side of the mountain, where the other ponies were around waiting. Omni dropped off his hooves the moment he stepped on the plateau.

"Took you long enough." New Moon said.

"Nice to meet you too." Faiz scoffed.

"Now get up! We still have a ways to go to the top of the mountain!"

"C'mon…" Omni panted, "Can't it wait a minute…?"

"Ponyville can't wait, and neither should we. Now let's go!"

Omni groaned.

The ponies traveled further up the mountain until they reached the edge of a dropoff. One by one they jumped to the other side until the only one left is…

"Okay, Omni. Your turn." Twilight called.

Omni's shaking a bit as he stayed on the opposite side. "I don't know, it looks kinda wide, and steep… Besides, I don't wanna drop Fluttershy!"

"Oh, no problem! I'll take care of that!" Faiz hovered down to grab her.

"No, I'll carry her!" Rainbow flew past him and lifted Fluttershy up from Omni's back.

"Okay then, Faiz, you carry me!" Omni suggested.

"Oh! Yeah, I'd love to but…" Faiz trailed off.

"Whaddaya mean 'but'?! You just offered to carry Fluttershy a minute ago!" Omni's complaining stopped when a loud thunderclap filled the sky. "What was that?!"

"That's the sound of the dragon snoring!" New Moon said, "And the longer we wait, the more damage the smoke will cause to the environment!"

"Come on, Omni! We should be much farther by now!" Twilight said impatiently.

"You could just leap on over." Applejack encouraged.

"Alright! Just, just give me a minute…" Omni said.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a hop, skip and a jump. See?" with one nimble bound, Pinkie jumped back to Omni's side, then broke into song as she jumped back over, "It's not very far, Just move your little rump, you can make it if you try with a hop, skip and jump."

Twilight groaned, "We don't have time for this."

"A hop, skip and jump, Just move your little rump," Pinkie continued singing as she jumped back and forth. Omni's starting to get dizzy just from watching her performance, "A hop, skip and jump, A hop, skip and jump, A hop, skip and jump, A hop skip and jump, A hop skip and jump!"

"Okay! I'll do it!" Omni snapped, and Pinkie jumped back to the opposite side. Scuffling his feet, Omni backed up a few feet, and started to run towards the ledge.

"WAIT!"

He skid to a stop when Pinkie called him out, "What now?!"

"Aren't you forgetting something!" Pinkie said and suddenly broke into song again, ""It's not very far, Just move your little rump—"

"Alright, fine! Just give me some room! Okay. A hop…" Omni hopped, "a skip…" he closed his eyes and skipped over the edge.

"Just don't look down!"

But in spite of what Twilight said, he did just that. The moment he looked down, he panicked from the height he's over. He wanted to get over as fast as possible and kicked his legs. But he didn't have to go far as he touched the other side and his still kicking legs sent him running face-first into the rock wall. "Ack!"

"Omni, I said 'jump', not 'run'!" Pinkie said and Omni slumped against the wall, groaning.

Further along the path, Twilight spoke up quietly, "Let's keep it down. According to my map, we're entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep could cause a huge rock slide."

Hearing that loud and clear, the group moved on ahead, taking care to put down their hooves as quietly as possible. As Rainbow flew low, he brushed along a leafy branch to drop loose. One of them happened to brush onto Omni, tickling his snout. That messed with his sinuses as he took sharp intakes, but managed to stop himself from sneezing…

"Achoo!" Omni's heart raced as he sealed his mouth shut. Everyone else froze in place, on edge of what would happen. They all stood quiet, waiting for the smallest article of sound. After a few moments, they considered themselves lucky. It couldn't take that but of sound to cause an avalanche.

"RIIIING! RIIIING! RIIIING!" Everyone started to panic when that sound blared over them. Each one looked around to try and get rid of that noise.

"Wait! Hold on, I got this!" Faiz pulled out his smartphone that's been ringing on top volume. He keeps tapping on the touchscreen, trying to silence the phone; but all he managed to do was trade one ringtone for the next, from bullhorns to bass drum solos, to 'Ain't no Mountain High Enough' by Diana Ross. It's really not helping any.

"GIMME THAT!" New Moon snatched the phone away and, with a grunt, tossed it over the mountain. Everything was quiet now that the noise was gone, save for Faiz whimpering as he slouched over the edge of the mountain.

"Now why'd you have to go and do that?" Faiz groaned, "It didn't do anything to anyone…"

"YOU! ARE! SO! STUPID!" New Moon screamed, "THAT NOISE YOU MADE COULD START AN…" suddenly, the ground shook under their feet. The rumbling ensured, and rocks big and small started tumbling down towards them.

"AVALANCHE!" the ponies ran left and right trying to avoid being crush by huge boulders. Everywhere was rocks trying to roll them over. As each one missed, each one fell over the mountain. After the danger they managed to get through without a scratch.

"Is everypony okay?!" Twilight called, and everyone confirmed, everyone except…

"Wait! I don't see Omni anywhere!" Applejack said.

"And he had Fluttershy with him!" Rainbow added. The ponies called out trying to look for their friends.

A pair of blue feet dug themselves in the edge of the cliff. Omnifarious climbed back up to the edge carrying Fluttershy in his teeth by her tail. He finally got himself over with the yellow pony safely. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Hey. Next time we're walking through an avalanche zone, why don't you use your inside voices." Faiz retorted to New Moon.

"What?! We almost died because you had to bring that—"

"Boys, enough!" Twilight exclaimed, "We'll have plenty of time to argue after we get this done!" the purple unicorn looked onto the usual trail, which is now unfortunately blocked by the stones caused by the landslide. Then she looked on over towards the mountain itself. Her face fell when the narrow path along the edge is the only one available, "Now come on, we're getting close."

"Yeah, New Moon; and try not to shout next time—"

"Don't you start, Faiz!" Twilight snapped.

After a dangerous trek up the slope of rocks, the group finally made it to the top of the mountain. Omni felt something squirming ontop of him and looked over to see Fluttershy stirring on his back, 'I think she's starting to wake up…' the blue pony lowered himself on his belly and slipped out from under her. He didn't stand too close as not to scare her, but soon Fluttershy woke up.

"Hmm…" Fluttershy mumbled, "What happened…?"

"Fluttershy? Are you alright?" Omni asked quietly.

Fluttershy moved her head to Omnifarious' voice rubbing her eyes, "Omni… Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Fluttershy rolled over to her belly, "Oh my, I just had this awful dream. There were clouds of smoke and a dragon, and we had to climb up that big scary mountain. And there were steep cliffs and landslides and everything. Oh, I'm just glad it was all just a nightmare…"

"Um, about that…"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Fluttershy!" Twilight called out and ran to her, "Thank goodness you woke up, and not a moment too soon! We just made it to the top of the mountain!"

Fluttershy jumped up to her feel fully awake, "Wha… But… But…" she stammered and panicked, eventually planting her head into the ground.

"Ugh! Come on, Fluttershy! We have to do this!" Twilight pulled the yellow pony's head out and started pushing against her, trying to get her closer to the cave, "Every…second longer that dragon…sleeps is another…acre of Equestria that is covered in…smoke." Most of the ponies were helping Twilight push Fluttershy forth until Pinkie flew in towards them.

Eventually, Fluttershy decided to pull her head out. "I… I can't go into the cave." Everyone groaned and crashed to the ground.

"Oh, great. She's scared of caves now, too." Rainbow complained.

"I'm not scared of caves, I'm scared of…" Fluttershy mumbled.

"What's that, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"I'm scared of…" she mumbled again.

Twilight Sparkle stepped closer, "What?"

"I'm scared of dragons!" she finally blurted out.

"But Fluttershy. You have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals." Twilight pointed out.

"Yes, because they're not dragons."

"Oh come on!" Rainbow argued, "We've seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing."

"Yes, because he wasn't a dragon."

"You're the one keeping that evil monkey in your closet!" Faiz said, "How's that any different?"

"Because he's not a dragon."

"Spike is a dragon," Pinkie reminded, "You're not scared of him."

"Yes, because he not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, totally-all-grown-up dragon!" The dragon snored again, causing Fluttershy to whimper.

"Wait a minute!" New Moon joined in, "You're the one who asked me to gather the seven dragonballs to summon Shenron!"

Seven glowing orbs pulsed with light as Fluttershy backed away from the pile. "Arise, Shenron!"

The dragonballs flashed and exploded in a bright light that lit the dark skies. That light grew and took shape that's long and large. The light shed off revealing a giant green dragon with fearsome red eyes.

"I am the mighty Shenron and I will grant you one with that is within my power," the beast bellowed, "Quickly, name your desire."

"So you may as well compare that dragon in that cave over there to a small lizard!"

"…That time was different."

"But, if you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we came all the way up here?" Twilight asked.

"Assuming she had a say at all…"

"And what's that supposed to mean?!" New Moon snapped, just now listened to Omni's muttering. "Are you implying that we forced her here against her will?!"

"Well, did she say she didn't wanna come?"

"Of course she didn't! I would've remembered her saying that!"

"Actually…" Twilight reluctantly spoke, "She did asked if she could stay behind. But I pushed her to coming with us…"

"But she would have to come with us if she had just told us she's afraid! There's a difference!" New Moon said, then glared back at Omni, "Besides, where do you get off?! You're the one who fell on top of Fluttershy and knocked her unconscious! Besides, she's our best chance of getting that dragon to leave!" he turned to Fluttershy, "Understand? You just gotta put that fear aside!"

"He's right, Fluttershy!" Applejack said, "If you can't do it for yourself then please do it for us!"

"I-I…but I…but…" Fluttershy stammered but Omni stepped in between them and defended her.

"Look, if she's afraid then I don't see any shame in it! We shouldn't have to force her into this!"

"That's not what we're trying to do!" Applejack said, "We're all scared of that dragon!"

"I'm not!" Rainbow gloated from the background, earning a glare from the orange pony.

"…Almost all of us are scared of that dragon, but we've got a job to do. So please, Fluttershy, get in there with Twilight and show her what you're made of!"

Fluttershy stammered, trying to find her answer, "I… I… I just can't." she sulked and started her way back down the trail.

"Way to lower our chances." New Moon huffed before he and the others returned to the task at hand.

"I think I should…yeah…" guessing he's not needed here, Omni decided to leave with Fluttershy. He followed her trail until he spotted her slouched behind a rock. Omni went over and sat down beside her. After a few moment of hearing her silent sobbing, he finally spoke, "If you want, I can lead you back to town. We don't have to stay here if you didn't want to."

"No, you don't understand…" Fluttershy whimpered, wiping her eyes, "It's not that I wanted to be here, it's not like I want to help, it's just… I feel so helpless! I want to help them but no matter what I want to do I just can't! I'm just too afraid…"

"Everyone's afraid of something, but that's not a weakness; it's a part of who you are. If there's something beyond your ability, you shouldn't risk trying to overestimate yourself and then end up hurting yourself. Not being able to do something doesn't make you any less of a person. Fluttershy, the best you can do is let us handle it. But if you still wanna help in some way, if anything goes wrong, you'll be the one to call for help because I'm sure this is much more than even all of us can handle. You feel the same way, don't you?" Fluttershy wiped away her tears and nodded, "I'm glad you do. Now just sit back. I'm going to see what's going on." Omni stood up and walked back out towards the cave, where he walked to Twilight, "Is there any progress…?"

"Well, we've been trying several methods…" she was interrupted by loud pummeling from the cave for a moment, "But nothing's working."

Pinkie walked out of the cave, a complete mess and a balloon from her tail, "Apparently he doesn't like laughing. Or sharing…"

"All right, that's it!" Rainbow finally lost his patience, "We tried persuasion, charm, whatever it is Pinkie Pie does. It's time to stop wasting time! I'm going in!"

"Rainbow, no!" but she ignored Twilight as he's about to make a beeline into the cave, before he got pulled back out by New Moon's magic.

"Before you charge in there and get us all killed, perhaps we should find another solution!" he stated.

"Yeah? And what do you suppose we do?" Rainbow bickered, "We tried everything we can think of!"

"We can try to reason to him." Omni suggested.

"Don't you think we tried?" New Moon said, "Trust me, I was there with Twilight when she was in the cave. She explained to it what it's doing to the town and the environment, but it seems like it just doesn't care!"

"Then we can just try again; give him a reason to leave."

"I don't see how that's any different."

"I think I'm know where Omni's getting at," Twilight said, "Before I only told him about his snoring problem, but I don't think he really understood the circumstances. Maybe if we give him more detail, he could see the gravity of the situation and then decide to leave. Am I right, Omnifarious?"

"Um, right," Omni nodded uncertainly, "That's exactly my plan."

New Moon sighed, "Alright then, we'll just try harder. So who's going in?"

"How about I go in?" Omni offered, "I think I could be a good help."

"Wait, you?" New Moon interrupted, "I highly doubt you could do any better than we did."

"No, wait. I think Omni's right," Twilight said, "He could be just what we need to finally persuade that dragon to leave this mountain."

New Moon was about to intervene when Applejack spoke, "Yeah, now that you mentioned it, he really was a great help to us back when we battled Nightmare Moon. He tried to reason with her that time, remember?"

"I also remember him trying to reason with you during Applebuck Season," New Moon countered, "But in the end it was actually Twilight who managed to do that."

"I…try to forget that day," Applejack sulked in shame. "I'm thankful that Twilight was there for me that time, but I'm also thankful that Omni was there, too. Sure, I didn't listen to him, but he kept trying. And now that I had time to think about it, I'm sure he was just as worried about me as the rest of y'all. What's more, he was willing to risk his health to make sure I stopped wasting mine."

"Though, ironically, he couldn't tell if he was eating a good muffin or a bad one at the end of the day."

"What Applejack means…" Twilight quickly interfered, "Is that it's worth a try. We don't exactly have time to debate as it is. I say we give it a shot."

"Well, if Applejack and Twilight agree, then so do I." Rarity agreed.

"Me too! I agree, too!" Pinkie added.

"I guess it's worth a shot." Rainbow said.

Knowing where they stand in their decision, New Moon let out another sigh. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."

Without wasting any time, both Omni and New Moon walked into the cave, which looked bigger on the inside. As they went deeper, Omni noticed several piles of gold and jewels as he walked by. "That's…a whole lot of gold."

"Well, he is a dragon," New Moon said, "You ought to expect a large horde of treasure."

"So where are we supposed to find—oof!" Omni didn't pay attention where he's walking when he ran into a rough, red wall.

"Maybe you can try looking in front of you." New Moon groaned.

Omni backed away and took a better look at what's in front of him. He almost wet himself when he found himself face-to-face with a dragon's face staring back at him. "I…think I left something back at the—"

But New Moon pushed him forth when he's backing away. "This is your idea, so get to it."

Omni gulped and slowly approached the dragon, "Um…hey. Look, I came up here because there's a lot of smoke coming from your snoring and it's getting bad for the environment. We'd like it if you slept somewhere else," smoke blasted out from the dragon's nostrils, causing both Omni and New Moon to choke on it as the giant lizard curled against the scalagtite it's been leaning against until it's back's turned to them.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" New Moon coughed.

Omnifarious groaned and kept trying, "Look, I know you'rr tired, but you really have to find another place to sleep! It's not exactly safe for the environment!" the dragon didn't move an inch save for its back rising and falling a little, "Maybe we can work out a deal! What do you want? Gold? Jewels? A bigger treasure hoard? Whatever it is we can give it to you if you can just leave!" a loud snore echoed through the cave nearly suffocated from the clouds of smoke that quickly rolled into them.

"Geez, Omni. That's a pretty tall order you were giving," New Moon huffed, "Where do you think we'd find a big load of treasure, treasure I'm sure it already have tons of?"

"Look, I'm making this up as I go!" Omni then started pacing, "I need to think…"

"Take as much time as you need," New Moon replied in sarcasm, "It's not like everyone else in Ponyville's waiting for the smoke to finally clear up!"

Omni walked around trying to come up with an idea. So far the dragon can't be bargained with. So the only thing he could think of that could solve this is by force. Maybe to the others that'd be a bit extreme, but it could get the job done. And since Godzilla is no doubt halfway across the world maybe they could hire some mercs to do it. They don't even have to worry about getting paid with all this loot in here. Of course they'll have to work that out with the dragon, but there's a feeling he's gonna get a little cranky for pestering him. It'd be a wonder how he'd get any sleep… "Wait a minute… I think I got it."

"Got what?"

Omni moved out from under the lit lightbulb and walked over to one of the large piles of gold. "If he doesn't wanna leave there's only one thing left to do… We're talking some of this treasure with us."

"WHAT?!" New Moon gawked at the blue pony like he's crazy. The dragon heard as well, having bigger ears than them. "Omnifarious, what is it that you think you're doing?!"

"We're gonna put out a tax. If this dragon wants to stay here, then he's gonna have to pay for it."

New Moon looked over to see the dragon with its head raised and could hear a low growl meant for the two ponies. He scurried over to stand between Omni and the stash. "This has to be the craziest idea you've ever come up with! We're supposed to make the dragon leave, not let it take up residence here!"

"Well, it's clear that he rather move in. And since it's our territory that means he's gotta give us something in return. I'm sure all this will cover rent for the next few hundred years."

Omni walked the opposite direction towards another pile but New Moon quickly stepped in the way, "Need I remind you that this dragon is the reason Equestria is going to be covered in a think blanket of smoke!"

"Then I guess he's here to stay," Omni pushed New Moon aside, "But only if he decides to give a small donation every now and then."

A giant claw fell down on the small pile of gold and retracted further into the cave. The dragon raked up the scattered bundles of treasure and moved them over to the other side of the cave into the large pile, where the dragon laid on his side to block the ponies from getting to it.

"That dragon's not gonna let go of that treasure!" New Moon warned, "They're famous for hording it and they'll pound you into the ground if they don't eat you first! What are we supposed to do now!?" without replying, Omnifarious walked off back towards the entrance, "Hey, where are you going?! We still got a mission to complete! How are we supposed to get that dragon to leave this cave?!"

"I think it's obvious we can't do this on our own," Omni said, "If he doesn't wanna go, then we'll have to make him go!"

"You're not making any sense! What are you talking about?!"

Omni stopped and looked back at New Moon, "We're gonna have to take him out by force! Lucky for me, I know a famous guild of dragonslayers!"

"Dragonslayers?" New Moon repeated, dumbfounded.

"Once we leave this cave I'll be able to call 'em up! And when they get here, they'll make short work of that dragon, and when they're done, I'm sure they'll take all his treasure as payment!"

The sound of growling drew their attention to see the dragon rise to its feet, its back arched as it started growling at them.

"I think it overheard you," New Moon groaned, "Every word of it." the dragon slammed its tail into the ground causing the entire cave to shake. Both ponies stood trapped in place as the sky began falling around them, "We have to get out of here, like, now!" Omnifarious didn't waste time to respond as he's already chasing New Moon towards the exit, rock falling all over the place while some barely missed them. The black unicorn was soon the first to escape out of the cave. But when Omnifarious was just a few yards away, a fallen boulder landed right in his path blocking his escape. Soon the path towards outside was block by a mountain of rock. He backed up against the large obstacle and cringed at the sight of the looming dragon right in front of him. The giant lizard then picked him up by his tail and hung him upside down over his opening mouth. Omnifarious panicked as he was about to get eaten. He quickly tried to think of something clever to talk his way out of it and this is what he came up with.

"Wait! I was just kidding, okay?! I LIED! I LIED!" the dragon lowered its maw and glared at Omni with deep yellow eyes. He managed to give the dragon the attention he needs. Now he just needs to push a bit further, "You got me! I don't know any dragon slayers! I made all that up so you cam pay attention! But listen, if this goes on the way it's been going, someone else will come here! Not far from here is a giant white castle! Which means if they notice what's going on, they will take action! They'll send soldiers after you until you either leave or get killed! And as long as that happens, there's no way you'll get any sleep! You'll always be interrupted someone coming after you and take your little treasure, especially if they decide to take it at night! So if you really want to be alone, guarding your treasure, then this has to stop!" as Omni was catching his breath the dragon's eyes trailed away. He spent the next few moments waiting for its decision as he hung upside-down by the tail. Omnifarious finally got a snort out of the dragon before lowering him to the ground and walking off back into the cave. He started chasing after it, "Well, are you gonna leave or not?!" the dragon just responded with a gruff snarl as it stopped to his large treasure collection. Omni hurried over to find the dragon taking a giant handful of treasure in one hand while pulling one its underbelly with the other, and dumping what it's holding into the dragon's built-in pouch before going over the same process, "Wow, I didn't know dragons have those," Omni muttered to himself as he waited for the dragon to collect all of its treasure. When the dragon slinked away from the now-barren cavern walls that tells Omni that it's finally decided to move on, he chased it back to the entrance, still blocked. There the dragon starting digging away at the fallen debris stone by stone. Soon there's enough rock removed to open a path to the out side, but there's only enough space freed to fit something the size of a pony. The dragon pick up Omni once again and put him down against the rocks' surface near the opening, "Oh, thanks." As the dragon snorted in response Omni walked through the gap and finally returned to fresh air.

From the top of the rocks he could see Twilight and the others standing below.

"Omni! You're alive!" Twilight exclaimed among her friends as they gathered, "Are you alright? Can you get down?"

"I'm on it!" Rainbow flew up to Omni and carried him down to the other ponies' level. Then Twilight ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" Twilight pulled back, "What happened in there?!"

"I don't think we have to worry about the dragon anymore," Omni said, "I managed to talk things out and now he's ready to leave."

"Really? How'd you do that?" Applejack asked, surprised.

Omnifarious shrugged, "I got him to look at things in a different point of view."

"Alright, good for you now let's hurry up and get our of here!" Faiz suggested, much in a hurry himself.

"And just where were you after all this time?" Applejack asked, they eyed the full sack over Faiz' shoulders.

"Nothing! Just my laundry!"

"Give it here!" New Mon yanked away the sack with his magic and opened it. And what's inside shone in his face as he glared back at the red Pegasus, "Faiz, you didn't." he pulled down the sack and let a huge pile of gold and jewelry spill out of it. After taking a good look at the sack's contents everyone else shared New Moon's glare, save for Rarity who's eyes were glued to the treasure in awe.

"Okay! So I snuck out a small piece of that lizard's stash when he wasn't looking!" Faiz admitted, "C'mon! It's not like he's gonna miss that little pile!"

"Faiz, that's not yours to take!" Twilight firmly stated, "We need to leave that where it is and leave before he does find out it's missing!"

"Now hold on, let's not be hasty!" Rairty hastily intervened, "That dragon did put us through a lot of trouble. It's only fair we should be compensated! Faiz does have a point, this small portion won't be missed." Suddenly the familiar sound of thunderous roaring coming from the cave. It made enough noise to loosen a few rocks from the blockage outside. That dragon must not be too happy.

"You were saying…?" Applejack groaned, worried like the others as the ground jumped under their feet.

"It's coming this way!" Twilight whimpered as the vibrations got stronger.

"Then we gotta leave, now!" New Moon insisted. The girls didn't have to be asked twice as they made their way back down the rocky slope. Faiz, however tried to make off with the stolen loot when New Moon and Omni blocked his path. "Not you!"

"Oh, c'mon! Is this really the right time for a—" the cave's opening suddenly exploded and the blocking debris burst out in different directions, causing the trio to scatter. An enraged dragon stomped out, its maw smoking with black fumes. He snarled as he glared from Omni, who's standing at the edge of a cliff, to New Moon backing into a rock outcropping, and finally to Faiz, growling as he spotted his stolen treasure in the pegasus' hooves, "Alright, fine! You can have it!" panicking, Faiz tossed over the sack to drop in the dragon's claw. But it turns out he threw it a bit too far and the bag ended up in Omni's arms. "Oops! I guess I threw it too hard…"

"You gotta be kidding me!" New Moon exclaimed and turned to Omni, "Drop the bag so we get out of here! Now!"

That was Omni's idea, but he couldn't get himself to move where he wants to. In fact, he's stumbling back to the edge of the cliff due to the weight of the gold. The dragon then roared and blasted a stream of smoke that was strong enough to push Omni clear over the edge. Everyone screamed as he fell down the mountain.

Rainbow shot from behind the safety of the giant rock and flew clear over the cliff, then dropping straight down to catch up to Omni. The distance between the two ponies began to close as Rainbow dove against gravity to reach Omni, but the blue earth pony could tell the hard, unforgiving ground is beating Rainbow to it. It's painfully obvious what will happen if Omni doesn't start falling, but the Pegasus is still yet to reach him! 30, 20, 10 yards to go until he gets flattened and there's nothing that can save him!

Expecting a loud crunch to be his last sound, Omni was surprised when he heard nothing. His eyes kept squeezed shut even when the wind stopped blowing from under against him. Is it over? Is he dead? He hoped he's not dead.

"Omni? Are you okay?"

Omnifarious opened his eyes and was met with the sight of a lovely yellow pony with long pink hair and turqoise eyes. "Fluttershy…?"

Rainbow came into view, "Oh man! You're okay!"

Omni stood up, "Wait, I remembered falling. What happened?"

"It's Fluttershy! She came in out of nowhere and saved you!" Rainbow said, "We're lucky she's here!"

"What about the others?!" Omni gasped, realizing the situation, "What about the dragon?!"

"That's right, we still have a big, scary dragon to worry about! They could still be in trouble! I better get back up there!"

"Rainbow Dash, wait!" Fluttershy called right before Rainbow readied for take off. "You should stay here with Omni. I have to handle this."

Rainbow and Omni could see Flutershy looking up over to the ledge, but she doesn't look scared, more like determined. "Are you okay with this? That is a dragon up there."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Fluttershy spread her wings and flew up towards the top, leaving the two other ponies behind.

"I really hope she'll be alright…" Rainbow hoped under her breath, then lowered his head back to his fellow blue pony.

There was some commotion in the first few moments but after that, there's only silence aside from the subtle sounds of nature. It's only a matter of time until the two began to get anxious and Omni's the first to speak up. "You think Fluttershy and the others will be okay up there?"

"She's our best and last chance, Omni," Rainbow said, "They better be…"

"Rainbow! Omni!" the two could hear the voice of Twilight calling to them. She and the rest of the party can be seen coming down the direction the came from. But there's one missing…

"Whare's Fluttershy?" Omni got his answer when the sound of a dragon's cry caused him and the others to look up and see the shadow of a giant winged beast flying off over the thinning clouds of smoke.

"Fluttershy offered to stay back and help the dragon relocate," Twilight explained, "In the end she managed to save us and calm the dragon down."

"Fluttershy came throught for us?" Rainbow asked, "I'll have to thank her when she gets back!"

"We'll all thank her," Twilight said. "But first we should head on home."

"Spike! We're back!" Twilight called when she returned to the library with Omni. But when she looked around, the only sign of life were a few critters here and there. "Spike?"

"Over here…!" they heard a squeak from the bookshelves. And there they found a dragon's tail sticking from between the books.

"Spike? What are you doing back there? You're supposed to be taking care of the animals!" Twilight attempted to pull out the books but Spike pulled them back in.

"No! I can't come out! He's in here somewhere, just waiting for me!"

"What are you talking about? Who's waiting for you?!" suddenly the basement door burst open and there stood a ferocious brown monkey sitting at the doorway, its large, sharp teeth showing as its finger shaking furiously at the two ponies.

"When's Fluttershy supposed to be back again?" Omni asked, glancing back at Twilight.

In the basement underneath, the Book of Virtue opened with a new entry:

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend, Fluttershy, who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.

Always your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

It finished with the headline: Courage.

Insomnia-Over

Author's Note

Author's Note:

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro

Oscar: Sesame Workshop

Insomnia-Over

"Omni! Omnifarious, wake up!"

"Ngh!" the blue pony got jerked awake by New Moon. "Hmm…?"

"Just look at yourself!" New Moon spat, "All you do is lie on your side and eat my food and breathe my air! That's as lazy as you can be!"

"That's cause there's nothing to do in this treehouse…" Omni mutter to himself, but then New Moon jerked him up to his feet by the collar.

"This is a library! How about you bring a book down with you once in a while! Or better yet, why aren't you out at the park?"

"Why?"

"Why?! There's a storm coming and we need all hooves on deck clearing out any loose debris! We got the memo this morning!"

"We?! No one even told me! And why aren't you at the park?"

"I'm telling you now! Now get to it!"

Omnifarious had no idea how fast it happened but now he's found himself outside the library with the door shut behind him. Sighing, he decided to get himself to the park. He wandered around for a bit until he spotted Applejack near him, to the left. She was twirling a lasso with her teeth and tossing it around hanging branches before yanking them back, snapping the branches off the tree.

Omnifarious trotted up to Applejack. "Hello? Applejack?"

The orange pony turned to the sound of his voice, "Oh, Omni!" she spat out the rope, "Well howdy there. I haven't seen you in quite a while."

"I though I'd come by to help," Omni looked down at the rope, "is there anything I can do? Maybe 'lasso' a few things?"

"You'd like to learn a few rope tricks, huh? Maybe I could help with that."

"You think I could handle a lasso?"

"It's not that hard once you get the hang of it. Let's start with something small. See that branch over there?"

Omni looked to another hanging where Applejack was pointing with a hoof. The bushes looked somewhat like one of those sculptures rich people have in their big gardens. "That branch has a pretty weird shape…"

"Well, too bad it's gotta be taken down," Applejack tossed her lasso onto the branch and put down the hanging rope, "Okay, try pulling that branch there down," Omni took Applejack's rope and started pulling tight, "C'mon, Omni, you got it. Put your back into it!" Omni stood on his legs and tried wrapping the rope around one of his arms thinking it'd give him enough pull to break the branch. It worked, the limb snapping and flying off the tree. But where it went flying too…

WHAP! "Uwagh!"

"Uh-oh…" Omni ran to the white pony that's been sprawled out on her back, her eyes rolling around in her dazed state.

Applejack joined him and saw the same thing, "My stars, Omni, what did you do?!"

"I didn't mean to, it was an accident!" Omni argued.

"Oh, I know it was; I hope she's okay…" Applejack nudged her foot against the pony, "Rarity? Sugar Cube, are you alright…?"

Rarity managed to wake up and shake herself out of her daze, "Ooh, my head…" she groaned, standing up.

"It was my fault," Omni apologized, "I didn't mean to hit your head like that."

With Rarity now aware of Omni's presence, she cleared her senses, and turned to him with a scowl, "Oh, that's not all you should be sorry for…" she picked up the fallen branch with her magic – the same branch with the bush sculpture now broken and disheveled – and then waved it at Omni's face, "What kind of brute would ruin a perfectly placed piece of art! What could you possibly have against topiary?"

Omni fidgeted in place on his feet. He thought Rarity would get a bit upset but he didn't expect her to get upset over something like a tree branch. Suddenly the rope yanked the tree away again.

"Give 'im a break, Rarity. It's just an accident," Applejack said after spitting out the rope that had pulled said flora, "Besides, that branch was hanging off the tree. It had to be taken down. Don't y'all care about nothin' other than prettifyin'?"

"Somepony has to," Rarity huffed, "I'm not the one a making an absolute mess of the town square."

"Yeah, well, the storm's gonna make an even bigger mess if we don't prune all these loose branches so they don't tumble down on anypony."

"I simply cannot imagine why the Pegasus ponies would schedule a dreadful downpour this evening and ruin what could have been a glorious sunny day."

"Think more practical-like, will ya?" Applejack said as she kicked a nearby tree and shook down more broken and loose branches, "They accidentally skipped a scheduled sprinkle last week, so we need a doozy of a downpour to make up for it, is all."

Omni looked up to the sky, where dark clouds were just done being mashed together by Pegasi, who were all now flying off. Omni was still trying to figure out why they even have to make weather when nature could just do it instead… His confusion did not lessen when the clouds started to drizzle a moment after. He didn't think it'd start raining this soon, but a little rain didn't bother him either way.

Rarity on the other hand… "Oh no! My wonderfully styled mane shall be ruined!"

"Ya shoulda hurried up and finished the job already." Applejack muttered as she kept kicking branches down.

"Oh! Ah! Oh! Ah! It's coming down too fast! Ah! Oh! Oh! Ah! Help me!" Rarity began running about like a headless chicken, trying to find shelter.

Omni looked around looking for someplace that Rarity could hide under, until he realized there's a wooden park table right behind them, "Rarity! You can stay under there until the rain stops!" Omni called. As Rarity galloped over to the table he walked over to Applejack, "Do you need any help?"

"I could use all the help I can get." Applejack replied with a small smile.

"Ooh! No, no, no!"

"Something wrong?" Omni had heard Rarity gasp and went to join her.

"I prefer not to get my hooves muddy." Rarity said, pointing under the table where a mud puddle is.

"There is just no pleasin' ya, is there?" Applejack groaned, glancing over at the situation as she kept working, "Everything's got to be just so."

"I really don't know what the problem is…" Omni said, "You're saying you'd rather get you hair wet?"

"Ugh! Of course not!" Rarity scoffed, "But muddying my hooves wouldn't serve any useful purpose, either!"

"You know what…" snorted Applejack, clearly fed up with Rarity at this point, "Y'all wouldn't know useful if it came up and bit'cha!"

"Wait, what did I do?" Omni asked.

"Huh? No, not you, Omni. I'm talking about Rarity."

"See? Even Omnifarious could tell that doesn't even make any sense." Rarity jeered.

"Does so."

"Does not."

"Does so."

"Does not."

"Does so."

"Does not."

"Does so infinity. Hah."

"Does not infinity plus one. Heh."

Omni felt like the odd man out as the two girls stared daggers at each other. Suddenly he could feel the rain falling harder than it had a moment ago, and he could hear a faint rumble of thunder from a distance.

"What say we go our separate ways before one of us says something she will regret?" Rarity offered.

"I reckon y'all are gonna say something you'll regret first."

"On the contrary, I believe it shall most certainly be you who says something you will regret first."

Omni suddenly decided to jump in between them and break the conversation, "Uh, I'm sure no one's gonna say anything, so we better just go on home before the storm gets worse. Okay?" he glanced between Applejack and Rarity, who are still glaring at each other, "So we're going, right? We're not gonna say anything, just go home, alright?!"

Eventually the girls decide to back away, still not keeping their eyes from each other. With them going to their own respective homes, Omni decided to go home as well; however, an abrupt, loud thunderclap sent Omni flying in the wrong direction out of shock, and even called Applejack and Rarity back, hugging each other. Finally Omni fell from the sky on top of them in a heap. "On second thought, we better find some shelter together."

With the rain pouring as hard as it is, Omni and Applejack hid under the table for protection, "Heh, nice and dry here," Applejack said, trying to pay no mind to the mud on her hooves, "Sorta…"

"Come on, Rarity, there is still space for you to join us," Omni tried to reason with Rarity, "Please, there's still room, just get over here!"

But it turns out that even rain isn't stopping Rarity from looking for any more shelter, "Oh! Unacceptable!"

"Applejack! Rarity!" Rarity could hear someone calling out for them from a distance. Omni and Applejack crawled from under the table when they called again. They all looked towards the library with Twilight waiting at the open door. "Come inside! Quick!" The three sodden ponies sprinted through the rain and into the house. Except Rarity, who was the only one who made it inside properly, with Applejack and Omni stopping at the door.

Twilight looked at the duo quizzically. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know anything about weather, but don't you think staying inside a giant tree is a bad idea?" Omni asked.

"Omni has a point there." Applejack agreed.

"Not if you have a magical lightning rod protecting your home like I do. Don't worry." Twilight assured, and Omni and Applejack went inside.

But for some reason Rarity walked into their path, "Uh, do be polite houseguests and wash up, please, won't you?" she's pointing at the patches of mud on their feet, and even some splattered on Omni's clothes.

"Wait, since when am I a house guest?" Omni recoiled, "I live here too!"

Half an hour before New Moon left…

"You live here?" The black-coated pony scoffed, sitting on his leather recliner, "No, you stay here. I live here! This is my house!"

"Be that as it may, I'm sure New Moon won't appreciate you streaking mud all over his floor. It is his library after all."

"She does have a point." Twilight shrugged.

"Let's just get it over with, Omni," Applejack muttered, "Otherwise she'll never hush up…"

Omni followed Applejack out the door. Luckily there's a garden hose right next to the door. They figured it would be a simple wash and go straight back in. But when Omni turned the knob it turned into the fight of their lives. They spent five minutes wrestling for control of the hose. After getting smacked and sprayed, they finally got a handle on it and cleaned the mud off.

They went back in the house, waterlogged between the downpour and the hose, but mud-free. But they weren't ready for what's in front of them.

"Holy!" Gasped Omni.

"What in tarnation!?" Exclaimed Applejack.

Rarity and Twilight were sitting in the middle of the main room, with some green goop on their faces.

"Now wait just a goll-darn minute. Ya make me wash the mud off my hooves, but it's okay for y'all to have mud all over yer faces?" continued Applejack, still completely flabbergasted.

"Silly! This is called a mud mask," Rarity said, "It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion."

"We're giving each other makeovers!" Twilight giggled, clapping her feet, "We have to do it, it says so in the book." She pulled out a book and showed it to Applejack.

'Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask' was the title… Are all books here have long titles like that?

"Oh hey, heh, would'ja look at the time," Applejack nervously chuckled, "I gotta skidaddle on home quick."

"Uh, there is a lot of lightning out, remember?" Omni asked as Applejack backed away to the door.

"I know but, I'm powerful late for, uh, fer somethin'. Uh, g'night." Applejack sprinted out the door before anyone could question her.

"She'll be back…"

The sky made a thunderous crash outside, not a second before Applejack jumped back inside, "Or maybe I'll sit here for a spell."

"Hurray slumber party!" Twilight clapped giddily.

"Uh, hey, what about me?" Omni asked, "I mean, I'm not doing anything…"

Twilight stopped clapping and lowered her head, trying to figure out how to reply. "Oh, Omni, the thing is…"

"You see, a slumber party is something only fillies could participate in," Rarity answered rather bluntly, "So if you don't mind, we need this room for ourselves for the night."

"She…does have a point." Twilight agreed.

Omni huffed, "Alright, I can always find something else to do."

The blue pony walked back to the basement. But when he got to the door, it was shut tight, and it refused to be open. Locked. Omni hated when things like that happen. "Twilight! Twilight the door won't open!"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Twilight walked to the door, "Omni, next time will you please leave the door open?" she used her magic to turn the knob, but the door still didn't open. Twilight inspected the knob for a moment before she saw something out of place, "Hey, I don't remember a lock being there last time. Wait, what's this?" Twilight spotted a small folded paper wedged behind the knob's frame. She pulled it out and opened it, finding a letter, "'If Twilight Sparkle is reading this then Omnifarious is asking someone to open the door because he's still using that excuse about not being able to use his hooves. I was unable to find you when I left so you don't know that I installed a lock on this door. I won't be gone long so I'll be keeping the key with me so that he won't spend anymore needless time on his back. If for some reason that I'm away for longer than expected, make sure he keeps busy until I return. –New Moon. P.S. As usual don't let Omni touch any of the books in the library. We don't need anymore of my delicate hardcovers lost to his clumsiness.'"

"Now that's just heartless," Omni groaned, "Just because I tore a few pages out of some cookbook doesn't make me clumsy."

"Well, there's not much to do in here, is there?" Twilight sighed, then looked over Omnifarious and his soaked clothes, "Um, you should focus on getting out of those clothes so you can take a bath. We can't have them smelling like mildew.

"Fine then." Omni walked up the stairs to the bathroom. That place was safe enough to take off his clothes while the shower ran. When he finally got the water right, he tossed his clothes into the laundry basket and jumped into the tub and let the water pour over. And with washing with a bar of soap, that's no simple task either, but he managed to get it done. After he washed up, he hopped out of the turn and shook the water off. Who needed a towel when he could do that? But he still needed one for obvious reasons.

He didn't even notice the thunder outside when everything around him suddenly went dark. The storm must've cause a blackout. There's no use trying to spend all night by himself so he walked against the wall trying to get downstairs. He bumped into a few stuff on the way down but he has a grasp on where to go. He could even see a shimmer of light around the corner. Omni followed until the light disappeared; when he found himself what he'd thought is the library. Now all he has to do is walk through to the kitchen…

"AAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!"

A voice cried out, shrill and piercing. Omni suddenly felt a hefty blow to his face, sending his skidding backwards on his rump.

"Ack! Ow!"

The lights suddenly turned back on and Omni was left on his back kicking, holding his face.

"Omni!" Twilight gasped and ran over to him, "Omni, are you okay?! Let me see!" she gently pried his hooves away and saw a small bruise on his muzzle, "What happened!?"

"I don't know!" Omni groaned, "it was too dark to see but I think something hit me!"

"Wait, that was you sneaking behind me?!" Rarity gasped, then scowled at him accusingly, "I never thought you to be so impulsive! Have you no shame?!"

"Why don't you lay off him!" Applejack suggested defensively, "I'm sure he not that kind of colt! It's clearly an accident!"

Rarity scoffed and turned away with her nose up, "Hah! That's no reason to put your hooves on a mare's hindquarters!"

"Ugh! Look, I'm sorry, okay?!" Omni sat up and held him nose, "It's just that it was too dark to see! I didn't know where anything is!"

Rarity didn't look back, her nose still high in disgust, "Nevertheless, ignorance is no excuse for that kind of abuse."

"Okay, that incident's behind us now," Twilight said, trying to stray from the subject, and look towards Omni, "I've just invited Omni to join in on our sleepover!"

That must have piqued Rarity's interest, as she snapped her head back down with a near-panicked expression. "What-? Um, Twilight? Are you sure that is a wise decision, allowing a…colt in a sleepover."

"I'm sorry?" Omni replied, offended, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know what I mean," Rarity huffed, "Slumber parties are reserved for fillies only. A colt participating in such activities is unthinkable, especially among the fairer gender."

"That's no entirely true, Rarity," Twilight said, skimming through the pages of a book, "It's not exactly encouraged, for sure, but there's nothing about not having a co-ed sleepover."

"B-but…" Rarity's voice faltered, "This is supposed to be a girl's night…"

"Hey, I say we let him 'im join in!" Applejack suggested, if only to spite the white unicorn, "The more here the merrier."

"Sorry Rarity, it looks like you've been outvoted," Twilight said, "Now, who wants s'mores?"

Later, the group was all sitting around in the kitchen with marshmallows roasting near an open fire. Omni's marshmallows were the first to be toasted to a golden-brown, and it was the first to retrieve the 's'more' treatment. The end product actually looked like an untidy version of two s'mores attached to each other, with the graham crackers unbroken.

"That's what s'mores look like?" Twilight wondered, looking at the three treats on his plate, "I thought they'd be smaller."

"Well, there isn't any wrong way to do it." Omni's about to take one into his mouth, but the plat was suddenly snatched away.

"I'm afraid that is where you're wrong," Rarity said, holding the plate with her magic, "There's always a right way and a wrong way in doing everything."

"Okay, fine. Just gimme that back. I'm hungry." Omni reached for the plate but Rarity pulled it back.

"This is the first slumber party Twilight has hosted. It's only fair that the meals are properly prepared and served as such," she lectured, speaking to him as if scolding a child, "Not to offend, but these are just too messy to enjoy."

"Um, thanks Rarity, but…" Twilight said, "I'm sure they'd be just as good."

"I'm sorry, but my mind is made up." Rarity dumped the cookies into the nearest trash bin, to Omni's dismay.

"Hey, thanks!" Oscar called from inside the can and munched on the s'mores.

"Rarity!" Twilight snapped, "That is a terrible waste of—"

"Ah-ah!" Rarity cut her off, "It appears I have to take it upon myself to show you how it's properly done. It will be well worth it, I guarantee."

And off Rarity went, commandeering the food supplies to give a lesson on how to make proper s'mores that nobody needed,

"Then you place one marshmallow on the top of the chocolate and be sure it's centered – that part is most critical – and then carefully put another perfectly square graham cracker on the top. And done. Ta-da!"

"Okay…" Omni said, "So do we eat now?"

"Please be a little patient. We have quite a few more before we can enjoy it as a full course."

"Nah, ya just eat 'em." Applejack came and ate the thing right off the plate. Rarity turned away in disgust as Applejack belched the crumbs out after.

"You could at least say excuse me." She sighed.

"Aw, I was just about to, but you interrupted me. Pardon."

"S'mores, check," Twilight writ off a list, "Now the next item of fun we have to do is Truth or Dare."

"I dare Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change." Rarity chided.

"Oh yeah? Well I dare Rarity ta lighten up and stop obsessin' over every last little detail, for a change." Applejack countered.

"I think the truth of the matter is that some pony could stand to pay a little more attention to details."

"And I think the truth is some pony oughta quit with her fussin' so the rest of us can get things done."

"Um, I don't think this is how the game's supposed to work," Twilight said, trying to diffuse the argument, "You have to give an honest answer to any question or do whatever any pony dares you to do. Omni, why don't you go first."

"Oh. Me? Um…" Omni tried to figure out what to do.

"Here's an idea!" Applejack suggested, "Dare Rarity to step outside and let her precious, tidy mane get ruined again."

Rarity gasped sharply, "No! You wouldn't dare!"

"Rarity's right. Besides, it's Omni's turn so it's his decision," Twilight said and then turned to Omni, "So, what's it gonna be?"

"I dare…I dare Rarity to…"

"Omnifarious, don't you dare!"

"… I dare Rarity to spend 15 seconds in the rain."

"NOOOOO!" Rairty cried, falling back and whimpered.

"You have to. It's the rule." Twilight backed up.

"Hah!" Applejack laughed.

"…Fine!" Rarity huffed, and stepped outside and let herself get drenched in the rain. Applejack snicked as she came back in with her hair and tail waterlogged and straight. "Okay. I dare Applejack to play dress-up in a frou-frou, glittery, lacey outfit."

Applejack gasped, but stepped out of the kitchen for a moment to come back in wearing a puffy blue dress with shocking speed. "Happy?"

"Very," responded Rarity smugly.

"I dare ya to enter the next rodeo when it comes to town."

"I dare you not to enter the next rodeo that comes to town."

"Um, do I ever get a turn?" Twilight asked, trying not to interrupt.

"I dare ya to not comb your mane a hundred times before bed."

"And I dare you to comb yours just once."

"I don't think they're ever gonna stop…" Omni muttered.

Twilight smiled nervously, "I, uh, I think we should check off Truth or Dare and move on," she checked off her list and skimmed through her book, "Let's see what our next fun-fun-fun thing is, shall we?"

"Here's an idea…" feeling their bickering won't go away on it's own, Omni decided to take the initiative, "Hey, girls; think fast!" he grabbed a pillow form the floor and tossed it at the girls, but was caught by Rarity's magic.

"How rude!" Rarity gasped.

"She's right, Omni! That was uncalled for!" Twilight scolded, "What were you trying to accomplish?"

Omni shrugged, "Well, if they're gonna fight all night, why not make it a pillow fight?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Pillow…fight?"

"Oh, please. I am not at all interested in participating in something so crude—" but Rarity cut off when another pillow made a direct hit, Applejack stifling a laugh as she's the one who threw it. "Oh! It… Is… On!"

And just like that, the library was sent into an uproarious haze of chaos as a whole bunch of pillows went flying all over the place, with Twilight and Omni standing in the very middle of it.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just stop them?" Twilight asked, worried.

"They're just letting off some steam. It's not like they'll actually try to—"

"DUCK!" Twilight dropped down avoiding a stray pillow by Omni was too slow to avoid two of them coming from both directions. They simultaneously struck him in the face, putting Omni into a daze. He dropped to the floor beside Twilight, somewhat dizzy.

"Maybe we should take it down a notch?" pleaded Twilight.

"I will if she will," replied Applejack stoutly.

"She started it," responded Rarity with just as much determination.

Both Applejack and Rarity kept tossing more pillows and ended up building up a pile in the middle, which Twilight had to dig her way out, "Maybe we should just call it a night and get some sleep?"

Later that night, the girls and Omni turned in inside Twilight's bedroom loft. Rarity and Applejack slept in a spare bed opposite to Twilight's (how they stood to sleep next to each other is a mystery), while Twilight shared hers with Omni. Rarity made some case about how a guy and a girl shouldn't be sleeping together at their age, but Twilight decided not to listen. It's better than him sleeping on a cold, wooden floor.

"Omnifarious…?" Twilight called softly, checking if he's awake.

"Mmhm…?" Omni mumbled.

"About earlier, I'm really sorry for what happened between Applejack and Rarity. I can't believe my first sleepover would turn out so badly."

"Not your fault. It's Rarity who gave me a hard time. I don't know what you ever saw in her."

"Now, don't talk like that," Twilight scolded, "Yes, Rarity may come off as a little…superior, but she's actually real nice. She's not called the Element of Generosity for nothing."

"…I think you lost me back there. What are you talking about?"

"I forgot, you weren't with us until back at the castle. Remember when we used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon?"

"How could I not?"

"Rarity represents the Element of Generosity. When we traveled through the Everfree forest, we came across a giant serpent whom Rarity gave a scarf to as a gift. It's that act of generosity that earned her one of the Elements of Harmony."

It would've been a touching speech if not for Applejack and Rarity who, apparently are still awake, were arguing again over something or another. Way to ruin the moment… "I need to use the bathroom." Omni crawled out of bed and out to the library.

However, the 'going to the bathroom' spiel was naught but a ruse, for Omni was actually heading straight for the kitchen for a snack. While munching on his snack (graham crackers), he listened carefully for the bickering of Rarity and Applejack. Now sure Rarity and Applejack had stopped bickering finally, he decided to go back upstairs. But when he passed through the door, he noticed the girls standing in front of a giant window.

"Did I miss something?!" Omni rushed over to join them and asked. Twilight simply pointed out the window, where Omni took a step closer and spotted a giant tree next door, where it's upper section has been broke off and leaning towards them. "Oh."

"Ya see?" Applejack snapped at Rarity, "That's why we needed to take down all those loose branches in town, not spiffy 'em up."

"But I—"

"Outta my way, missy! Time's a-wastin'." Applejack pushed the window open and tossed her lasso over her head.

"Wait! Stop! Don't!"

"No waitin'! No stoppin'! Doin'!" With that, the rope flew and caught the loose tree at its top, "And that, my friends, is what we call gettin' 'er done." She bit down on the end of the rope and gave one good heave. But all that did was send the tree tumbling down through the window. The girls managed to keep a safe distance. However…

"Omnifarious!" Twilight cried and ran over to the fallen tree," Omni, can you hear me? Are you alright?!"

"…Don't worry, I'm okay." Omni's voice assured from under the branches.

Twilight sighed in relief, "Thank goodness, can you get out?"

"…"

"Omni?"

"Actually, I can't move!"

"Not good!" Twilight gasped, "The tree must be pinning him down!"

"I tried to tell you it would come crashing down in here!" Rarity argued, aiming her exclamation at Applejack.

"She's not wrong about that!" Omni called out from under the tree.

"Well, ya should'a tried harder," Applejack snapped back, then sighed, "I'm mighty sorry, Twilight."

"It's... Well, it's not okay," Twilight sighed, "There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my bedroom, and the book doesn't say anything about having a giant tree branch at your slumber party. Or at least I haven't found that entry yet."

"That's not something you can find in some book, you know!" Omni replied.

"What in tarnation are y'all doin' over there?" Applejack griped.

"Cleaning up this mess some pony made," Rarity replied as she focused on reshelving the books, "Who was that again? Oh, right, that's you."

"We gotta do somethin'!"

"You can help get this thing off me!" Omni groaned, feeling the tree getting heavier. Applejack tried pulling on it with her rope, then kicking it away, then just jumping on it, causing Omni to exclaim, "Hey! I asked you to get it off, not add more weight to it!"

"Rarity, for pony's sake, stop sweatin' the small stuff and help me get rid of this thing!" Rarity only glanced back and returned to shelving, "I said hussle over here and help me!"

Just like before, Applejack was ignored, leaving her straining the tree's weight. Applejack looked at the downed tree, and then at Rarity. Applejack then sighed and said, "…Look, I'm sorry, alright?"

"What was that?" Rarity finally replied.

"I said I'm sorry! I should'a listened to you when you noticed where this here branch would end up. Yer annoyin' attention to detail would'a saved us from this whole mess. But right now, ya need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all the little things and help me move the one big thing in here that actually matters!"

"…"

"Please!"

That magic word caught Rarity's attention, but she eyed her hooves with a couple of worried grunts, "But I'll get all icky."

"Consarnit! What the..."

"Rarity!" Omni shouted, still straining against the tree on top of him, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you!" Rarity assured.

"I need you to listen carefully because this is important. Can you do that?"

"Of course! What is it that you need?"

"What I need, is for you to just forget about how not to get dirty and just deal with it!" the blue pony barked, "Getting your hands dirty is just the result of hard work! And no one gets through without getting their hands dirty!"

"Don't you mean hooves—"

"Whatever! This is just a part of life everyone goes through, one way or another and as many times as they need to! You can't just pick and choose the parts you like, Rarity! Whatever work that has to be done, it begins and ends with doing what needs to be done to get the job done; not thinking about how to stay in your comfort zone, because it's not always gonna happen!"

"Now that's deep…" Applejack muttered.

Hearing Omni telling her off like he did, Rarity felt a bit guilty about how selfish she'd been. That's when she's decided to put all that aside and looked towards Applejack. "Let's do this!"

The two girls begin their operation by grouping up to discuss solutions to moving the tree, while Twilight starts off by searching for answers in a book.

"Well, they do have a section about backyard slumber parties," Twilight mused, "Is that what we're doing right now? Does this count as camping?"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Omni whined, trying to keep much of the tree's weight off as he could, "I told you you're not gonna find it!"

In the meantime, Applejack and Rarity broke off and got to work. Backing off to a corner, Rarity took aim and fired a huge dose of magic from her horn, turning the giant tree into a bunch of small topiary bushes. With only the trunk left, Applejack readied to kick it right out of the house; but a stern look from Rarity led her to just drop it through the window. With the window shut, everything was finally calm; except for the fact that the whole room is in chaos, but not as bad as the coat of muck Rarity was stuck under. "U-ugh. Oh, I look awful."

Feeling a little tinge of pity, Applejack took a couple of somehow-still-clean slices of cucumbers and placed them on Rarity's eyes, "Better?"

"Hm, better." Rarity blindly reached out for Applejack and pulled her in for a hug, which the cowgirl gladly accepted. Disaster averted on many different levels.

Nonetheless, Twilight still had her nose in her books. However, her attention was momentarily drawn away when she spotted the pile of bushes "Oh, pretty! Where did these come from? They're not in the book either." With her eyes glued back to her book she missed the part where the pile collapsed when she picked up one of the bushes.

"Would you mind?! I'm trying to get some sleep here!"

"Cumulonimbus?!" Applejack gasped at the sight of the white Pegasus sitting around the bushes, "Wait a minute… Were you sleeping in that tree? In the middle of a storm?!"

"Is that a problem? I don't tell you where to sleep so don't tell me where to sleep!" grabbing his pillow, Cumulo walked out of the room.

"Nice of you to save me." Omni sighed as he rolled off his back, even though he felt forgotten.

"Omni!" the three girls jumped up and gathered around him.

"Omnifarious, are you hurt anywhere?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"Just a little sore," Omni groaned, "It tends to happen while trying to hold up a huge tree trunk,"

Twilight scooped him up and hugged him tightly, "Ow, ow, make that a lot sore!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Twilight loosened her grip, "I'm just glad you're alright…"

"Well, now that all that chaos is over with…" Rarity said, removing her cucumbers, "I supposed there is one thing lift to do…"

"You mean get this whole mess cleaned up before New Moon comes back?" Omni guessed.

"No. Well, yes, but what I mean is, I think it's time I should, ad you'd say, 'eat crow'…" Rarity approached Omni, and shuffled her front hooves, looking down nervously, "Omnifarious, I apologize for my rude behavior earlier. I was a bit…prickly and at times I took it out on you. Can you please forgive me…?"

"…Don't worry about it," Omni replied, "I guess it all worked out in the end."

"Thank you," Rarity smiled, then looked back at Applejack, "But I think someone else owes you an apology. Right, Applejack?"

"Huh, wha?" Applejack became confused until she got a grasped on what Rarity is talking about, "Oh, right… I guess you wouldn't have gotten pinned down by that tree if it weren't for me. What about it, Omni? You forgive me?"

"Like I said, it worked out in the end, didn't it?" Omni said. With that, Rarity opened her arms wide, where Omni carefully leaned in for a hug. Applejack, as well as Twilight, joined in the embrace. Together they melt into the air of peace and tranquility that formed as they held each other in peace and silence.

"…How long are we gonna stay like this? I'm feeling kinda sticky."

Sometime later, underneath the library, the Book of Virtues came to life once again with a new entry:

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's hard to believe that two ponies who seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each others' differences, you'd just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all.

And the headlines, something unique, different aside from the previous entries: Perceptiveness/Diligence.

Ponyville Zebra Trial

Author's Note

My Little Pony: FIM-Hasbro

Ponyville Zebra Trial

"Huh? What's this all about?" Omni groaned as a saddlebag was thrown at his feet.

"You are going to deliver this parcel to who it's delivered to." New Moon instructed.

"But isn't it the post office's job to do that? What's it doing here?"

"All you need to know is that someone is expecting their package. All you have to do is make sure this package is delivered," the black unicorn scolded, "That's it."

"Alright, fine," Omni scoffed, "Just who is it I gotta send this to?"

"She'll be waiting near the fountain close by. She won't be that hard to miss. She'll just about be the only one in town right now…" New Moon said, going back up the stair, "And by the way, I don't want to hear any problems while you're out."

Omni sighed as he looked down at the bag, "I wouldn't mind just going back to sleep…"

Regardless, Omni slipped under the saddlebag and made his way out of the library. It's easy, right? Find whoever wants this stuff he's carrying, give it to them and mission accomplished.

As he walked through the streets of Ponyville, however, he realized that he was the only one outside. Strange? Normally this small town would be bustling, but now it was a ghost town. So… Where was everyone?

Eventually, he made it to the fountain. It looks like he was the first one who to make it. He sat on the edge and decided to wait until whoever wants the package comes so he can go back. Preferably to sleep.

"Pardon me, young pony sir; are you the one whom I must meet?" Omni looked around and found someone walking towards him. They're wearing a grey cloak so he doesn't know who that is under there. "I was told you would have the parcel I need."

"Um, excuse me?" Omni asked.

"Your knapsack no doubt holds the package I have sought," the stranger continues, "You are acquainted with one New Moon, are you not?"

"Uh, right. You must be the guy he told me about," Omni jumped off the fountain to his feet. "Not to be rude but, you mind giving me a name? I don't feel too comfortable talking to strangers."

"Oh, how true indeed. I suppose now would be a good time for introductions…" the stranger raised an arm and removed their hood. Underneath dark-grey/white striped fur, a Mohawk-like mane and gold hoops in the ears. Their face holds a good deal of wisdom. "Zecora, you may call me."

Omni's face tinted purple as he realized he was talking to a girl. "So, you're a zebra, huh? I never thought I'd meet a real one up close."

"So this is the first you've seen of my kind," Zecora said, "And since we are greeting, may I ask for your name, if you don't mind?"

"Oh! My name's Omnifarious! Nice to meet you."

"And I you, Omnifarious. It is nice to have words to exchange for a change."

"Wait…you mean you haven't talked to people before now?"

"I am afraid so. As a witch doctor I create homemade remedies," Zecora looked down, looking a bit saddened, "But as it is, the other ponies just tend to avoid me."

"Really? So what's their problem? Are they scared of zebras or something?"

"Whatever the case, I wish I knew; then I'd know what to do."

"Well, whatever the case, I'd better get this mail to you."

"Yes indeed; if you would, please," With that, Omnifarious took out the package from the bag and gave it to Zecora; or rather it would've given it to her if not for a pink blur that zipped by and took the package right out of his mouth. A door slammed a second later nearby. This particular door just happened to belong to the backer.

"What was that?! Some kind of large pink cat?" mused Zecora, blinking.

"I don't think so," Omni huffed, "But I better get it back. Please stay here!"

The blue pony ran over to the bakery and knocked on the door, "Pinkie, I know it's you! Open up!" he waited for the door to open but only heard a bunch of murmuring that came from the other side, 'Just what's going on in there…?' "C'mon, Pinkie! I don't have time for games! Just give back what you stole so I can—" Omni stopped when the door cracked open.

He took the opportunity to step inside, where there's nothing greeting him but a dark dining area. "Okay, Pinkie! Joke's over! All I wanted was the box so if you don't mind-" the only answer he got was the door slamming behind him, concealing him in the dark, causing him to groan in aggravation. "Terrific…"

"Omni, watch out!" What happened next caused Omni to jump back when he found himself in the middle of pure havoc. Things happened that can't be explained because it was pitch-black inside. He was relieved when the lights suddenly turned on.

The display in front of him is just plain… Well, to explain, all he could see was a fight cloud. "Uh, should I be asking what's going on?" the cloud broke showing Applejack and Rainbow biting or pulling each other's hair.

As soon as Rainbow caught a look at him, she darted our and knocked Omni right on top of her, "As a matter of fact, you better if you know what's good for you!"

"Whoa, what?! What are you talking about?!" Omni cried. Thankfully a purple glow on Rainbow's tail yanked the winged pony off of him.

"That's enough, Rainbow!" Twilight scowled as she came from the back room, and walked towards Omni, "Can you get up?" he replied by doing so.

"Now that was just crazy!" Omni groaned.

"You're not the only one, trust me." Twilight replied, glancing towards the back room where Rarity and Fluttershy peeked out from the double-doors, along with a small yellow pony with red hair.

"Twilight, what are you doing?!" Rainbow bickered after he quickly recovered, now with Applejack beside him and both ready to charge at Omni again.

"That pony can't be trusted!" Applejack agreed.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Twilight argued, standing on guard in front of Omni.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask again!" Omni cut in, raising his voice, "Just what's going on here? Why's everyone in town locking themselves indoors?"

"Don't you pretend you don't know!" Applejack snapped, "We saw you out there with…her!"

"What? You mean Zecora?"

"Aha!" Rainbow yelled, "That proves it! You're in cahoots with her!"

"Rainbow, hush!" Twilight scowled, and turned towards Omnifarious, "We saw you talking to someone outside. Do you know her?"

"Wait, that reminds me…" Omni walked over to the window and looked outside, where the zebra can be seen waiting out by the fountain where he left her. Eventually everyone else joined and stuffed their faces on the window trying to see what he sees.

"Just look at those stripes! So garish!" Rarity complained.

"You ever seen a zebra without stripes?" Omni groaned, trying to be facetious.

"A what?!"

"You mean you guys don't know a zebra when you see one?" Omni looked around the group and back away, "She's just like anyone else, except for the stripes. And like all zebras she's born with those stripes." That harmless bit of info apparently became too much for the white pony as she fainted off her feet.

"Born where?" Applejack asked, "I've never seen a pony like that in these parts, 'cept... her!"

"Me neither, and that makes sense. Normally you'd see these guys overseas, in a country called Africa where they came from. I think she probably moved from there herself. But I never seen her in town before now, and I've been here a couple of months."

"That's just it, she lives in... the Everfree Forest!" that moment a loud thunderclap burst from the other room. But it turns out someone's trying to sneak food out of the kitchen and stumbled over a few pots and pans.

"Spike!" Twilight scowled.

"Uh, sorry."

"Anyway…" Omni continued, "So I guessing Zecora's a hermit. How's that a problem?"

"The Everfree Forest just ain't natural." Applejack shivered, "The plants grow..."

"Animals care for themselves..." Fluttershy added.

"And the clouds move..." Rainbow added.

"All on their own!" all three said in unison, while Rarity fainted a second time.

"And how exactly is that not natural?" Omnifarious suddenly found himself being stared at like he's crazy, "Uh, what you just explained is nature in general. Just because it's not handles by ponies doesn't mean it's not normal. Of course it's natural."

"He's speaking poppycock!" Applejack snapped.

"What did I tell you!" Rainbow added, "This guy's working for her! He probably came with her from the Everfree Forest to spy on us!"

"Oh brother!" Twilight groaned, rolling her eyes.

"And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil... stuff!" Pinkie cried, "She's so evil I even wrote a song about her!"

"Here we go." Rainbow sighed as Pinkie went bouncing around the room as she sang:

She's an evil enchantress

She does evil dances

And if you look deep in her eyes

She'll put you in trances

Then what will she do?

She'll mix up an evil brew

Then she'll gobble you up

In a big tasty stew

Soooo... Watch out!

Pinkie finally stopped on her hind feet catching her breath. Everyone just stared at her.

"Wow. Catchy." Twilight stated, monotone.

"I...I have no words…" Omni stood with his mouth open, "No words at all."

"It's a work in progress." Pinkie smiled and jumped off.

"Look, I don't get it. What did Zecora ever did that's so bad? Just name one thing."

"Well, she comes to town once a month…" Rainbow began.

"Mhm, try again."

"Then, she lurks by the stores." Rarity added.

"Uh-huh, try again."

"And then, she digs at the ground." Fluttershy added.

"Okay, that's strike three," Omni shook his head, "Look, hasn't it occurred to anyone that Zecora only came to do some shopping? Even if she can grow food in a forest, I don't think she can wait a month for it to grow."

"Yeah! Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly," the small yellow pony piped, "Everypony likes to shop. You know what I think?"

"Apple Bloom! Hush and let the big ponies talk." Applejack interrupted, nudging aside the smaller pony.

"I am a big pony…" Apple Bloom mutter under her breath.

"W-what about digging at the ground?" Rainbow asked, "You've got to admit that's weird."

"What if she's digging for innocent creatures?" Fluttershy whimpered.

"I am sure there is an explanation for everything Zecora does," Twilight stated, "And if anypony here were actually brave enough to approach her like Omni was, they would find out the truth."

"Then why don't Omni go back out there and talk to her, since he seems to be so friendly with her!" Applejack suggested, with the others nodding in agreement.

"Do you girls even realize how childish you're acting…?"

"Forget it, Twilight," Omni said, "I'm about to get back anyway. It's not like she'd wait forever." The blue pony left the dark store through the conveniently opened door and back outside.

He looked around for the zebra but she wasn't where she was before, "I was afraid I took too long…" Omni sighed. But then at the corner of his eye he saw something moving across the street, "Hm, guess not." He quickly turn the corner to find the small yellow pony sneaking around, conveniently following the covered zebra. He figured something strange is going on so he decided to follow them. As long as he can reach the zebra he's got time.

Eventually he followed Apple Bloom who followed Zecora outside of town and towards the forest. Along the way, he watched as Apple Bloom jumped into one of the bushes lining the path. However, whenever he drew near to her, she would vanish within the depths of one bush and pop up in another clearly separate, almost as if she had teleported.

"Just how do you keep doing that?!" muttered Omni, poking his head through a bush. However, after a bit of 'cat and mouse' Omni managed to draw near the yellow filly.

"Is the forest that scary?"

Apple Bloom jumped as the sound of Omni's voice. She fell on her stomach and saw the blue pony standing over her.

"I-I'm not scared! I'm just resting a minute!" Apple Bloom scrambled back to her feet and recovered. "Did Applejack tell you to follow me?"

"No I just came because I need to talk to Zecora about stuff. But why are you here?"

"I just wanna show them that I can take care of things without somepony watching over me. I want to know what Zecora's up to."

"Well, since we're going the same direction we better stick together. We don't want to get separated."

"Okay, just stay behind me!" Apple Bloom said and ran into the forest. Omni, rolling his eyes, soon chasing her.

They galloped a fair ways into the forest until they manage to catch sight of Zecora, who was still following the path which is began to surround by patches of vivid blue flowers. It wasn't long until Omni heard a bundle of feet coming from the opposite direction.

"Apple Bloom, you get back here right now!" Applejack's voice called out from behind, catching both Apple Bloom and Omni's attention.

"You stop right there!" Omnifarious turned his head just in time to get bulldozed by Rainbow, slamming them both off their feet and into a flower patch, with the winged blue pony holding him down. "I knew it! I knew you were no good!"

"Beware! Beware, you pony folk!" Zecora bellowed, backing away into a sprouting mist, "Those leaves of blue are not a joke!"

"Y-you keep your creepy mumbo-jumbo to yourself, ya hear?" Applejack replied while picking up Apple Bloom, with the others running by to shout at the zebra.

"Beware! Beware!" Zecora warned for the last time, before disappearing into the mist.

"Yeah, back at ya, Zecora!" Rainbow shouted, "You and your lame curse are the ones who better beware!"

"And you!" Applejack scolded to Apple Bloom, "Why couldn't you just listen to yer big sister?

"I...I..."

"Who knows what kind of nasty curse Zecora could have just put on you?"

"Just like in my song!" Pinkie said before breaking out in song.

"You guys, there's no such thing as curses!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Well, that's interesting to hear coming from Miss Magic Pants herself." Rainbow retorted.

"You know she does bring up a good point. I mean, a curse is a type of magic—mrph!"

"Shaditup!" Rainbow spat as he shoved Omni's face back into the flowers. Fortunately he was pulled off thanks to Twilight's magic.

"My magic, real magic, comes from within," Twilight explained, "It's a skill you're born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations; all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they're just an old pony tale."

As it turned out, no one bothered waiting for her to finish and just walked off.

"Just you wait, Twilight," Applejack called back, "You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true."

"And keep an eye on Omnifarious in the meantime, too!" Rainbow added.

With everyone else gone, Twilight walked over to Omnifarious, who was still lying in the patch. "Let's get back to town, Omni. I think we had enough excitement for one day," Twilight helped him on back on his feet and the two walked home together.

"Why did I have to be the bad guy just because I'm new here?" Omni muttered, "I could've avoided this if I had stayed in bed!"

"Did you at least get Zecora package delivered?"

Upon realization that he actually hadn't managed to even do that, Omni groaned, "I knew I forgot something."

Later in the day, Twilight was in the library reading when the door opened. When she answered, she was blown from what fell in. "Omnifarious?! What happened?!"

Omni groaned as he rolled onto his back, "Well…"

"Hey, is that Zecora's package?!"

"No."

"I think that's her package you got there."

"No it isn't."

"C'mon, I need that thing."

"No!"

"I mean it!"

"NO!"

"…You're gonna make me fight you for it, aren't you?"

"Yes…"

'Sigh.' "Alright, you asked for it…!"

"Pinkie Pie did this to you?" Twilight gasped as she came back with an icepack, "I know she's an earth pony but, don't you think it's weird that she'd be capable of…well, that?"

"What's weird is that 'Payback' was playing in the background." Omni reached for the icepack, but pulled back to continue scratching.

"Wow that must be one bad itch you have."

"It's been like this since we left the woods," Omni said, still scratching, "There must be something in those flowers that's making me itch."

"Maybe I could find something to take care of that," Twilight went to the shelves to find a solution, "Just try not to scratch too much in the meantime."

"Can't make any promises…" Omni muttered.

After a good night's sleep, Omni woke up feeling better than he did the day before. That oatmeal bath Twilight gave him really did the trick. He went upstairs to get a bite to eat. When he walked into the library…

"No…no…no…" there's books scattered and opened across the floor, and someone with their face pressed in one of them.

"Is…is there a problem?" Omni asked.

"Omni!" Twilight shot up from her book and spun around towards him, "Omni, something happened to me when I woke up this morning! Look!" she pointed to her forehead. Omni stepped forward for a closer look and saw Twilight's horn, limp with blue spots on it.

"Ooh…" Omni awed, not in wonder but in confusion, "How'd this happen?" He reached forward to poke it with a hoof.

"Don't!" Twilight jumped back, covering her horn, "Unicorn horns are more sensitive when they're like this!"

"Is there any way to fix it?"

"That's what I'm looking for…" Twilight huffed as she hopped back over to her books, "But so far nothing's come up!" she sifted through book after book, becoming more frustrated. "There has to be a real reason for this! An illness? An allergy?!"

"A curse!" Spike exclaimed.

"I gave a real reason. Something that points to something real."

Omni wandered over the books a bit until he came across a certain one, "How about this one?" Omni called and pointed down to the book, where Twilight came over and read the cover.

"'Supernaturals'? Omni, the word 'supernatural' refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses."

"It could be related…"

Twilight groaned, "Not you too. You know, I thought you of all ponies would be reasonable!"

"Look, I'm just spitballing here. Maybe there's something about this whole thing we're missing. Remember that thing with Nightmare Moon? We all thought it's some fairy tale before now."

"Princess Luna, is a powerfully magical being who was exiled a very long time ago. Nightmare Moon's story was a prophecy turned into a fable. Besides, I knew Nightmare Moon was coming when no one else didn't. This case is nothing like that time!"

"Well, it couldn't hurt to take a look, could it?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it can!"

"Omni could be going somewhere with this," Spike interrupted, "Maybe we are dealing with a—"

"Ah pfurse!" Pinkie – who seemingly had come from nowhere in particular – spat, though not by choice. Her tongue was sticking out, swollen with blue spots.

"A purse? How could it be a purse?"

"Pinkie? What happened?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Pee pah Zthecora!" Pinkie tried saying, spraying spit everywhere, "Sthe put a cursthe on me!"

"Hey, say it, don't spray it, Pinkie!" Spike groaned.

They're suddenly interrupted by a crash they heard from outside. The group looked towards the entrance to see Rainbow crashing against the window, "She's (thud) trying to say-ow! Zecora (thud) oh!" suddenly she broke through the door and crashed into a bookshelf, tangling himself in a ladder, "she slapped us all with a-ow-curse!" she groaned.

"I'm afraid I have to agree." Next came in Rarity, except her hair and fur is totally overgrown. Now she looked like a giant mop head.

"I hate to say I told ya so, Twilight, but I told ya so!" Applejack's voice squeaked out. She was kinda hard to find since she's so small she could fit on Apple Bloom's back, where she is now. "It's a curse, I tells ya!"

Then come the sound of maniacal laughter. Then came in Fluttershy being pushed inside by Faiz, who's been laughing his head off. "Hey! Hey, guys! I gotta show you something that's so &^#%ing funny! I—" he stopped when he spotted Rarity, then Applejack, then Pinkie Pie and then Rainbow, which he responded by falling on his side, pointing at them as he rolled over cackling.

"Is this really the time, Faiz?" Omni groaned.

"Fluttershy seems fine to me!" Twilight pointed out, referring to the yellow pony who's been sitting there quietly.

"Yes, there doesn't seem to be a thing wrong with her." Rarity agreed.

"Fluttershy? Are you okay?" Fluttershy flinched, but didn't answer Twilight, "Is there something wrong with you?" she nodded, "Would you care to tell us?" she turned away, not wanting to answer, "So... you're not going to tell us?" she then nodded again, "Yes you're not, or yes you will?"

"Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?!" Applejack squealed, having lost her patience.

"…, I don't want to talk about it." Fluttershy finally answered, but it's how she answered that's the reason she kept quiet. Turns out no one wants to hear a guy's voice from a girl.

And it kicked Faiz's cackling into overdrive. He went running around from one place to another, before dancing around like Sunday morning at church. And it didn't help when he started doing backflips with Spike laughing with him, "This is hilarious! Look at all of you! We got: Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple Teeny, Flutterguy, and..." he turned to Twilight, but lost his grin when he couldn't figure out an insult for her. "uh... I got nothin'... Twilight Sparkle. I mean seriously, I can't even work with that."

Twilight scowled, laughing sarcastically, "This is no joke, Spike. Now start looking for more books so I can find a cure!" Spike groaned.

Rainbow finally removed himself from the ladder and hovered hazardously, "I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!"

"It's not a curse!"

"I agree with Dash!" Applejack squealed, "We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!"

"It's not a hex either!"

Being caught in the middle of a heated argument, Omni decided to take a breather and get out of the house. This is turning into a problem. Who knows how bad it'll get if things keep going how they are now. He needs a way to solve this problem or else the entire town could be roped into this. But he doesn't know many people here, and the others are preoccupied…

Once again he found himself standing behind the everfree forest borderlines. He had no idea how Zecora could help fix this but there was one else to turn to. Besides, maybe the town could open up to her somehow if she does fix it. Now he hopes he could remember the direction he went last time…

"Is the forest that scary?" Omni nearly jumped three feet in the air at the sound of Apple Bloom's voice. He spun his head to find the small yellow pony behind him, with a childishly smug smirk on her face. "I can keep you company if you are scared."

"I'm just retracing my steps. I'm not scared." Omni replied.

Apple Bloom replaced her smirk with a smile, "I know. I just wanna help, so I'm coming with you!"

"I don't think that's a good idea. I rather not look forward to Applejack kicking my face in if she even finds out about this."

"You won't have to wait that long!" an angry squeak was heard, and Applejack popped out from under Apple Bloom's hair.

Omni groaned, "No, please not now…"

"Yes now! I'm not gonna let you lure my little sister into your master's evil fortress!"

"Look, I'm just trying to find and answer to this mess, just like you. Beside, I'm sure Zecora isn't as bad as you made her out to be."

"And besides, she doesn't live in any fortress, she lives in that giant tree stump-"

"Hush up and let the big ponies talk!" Applejack interrupted her sister, before going back to Omni, "And you! You may have brainwashed my sister, but you're not fooling anypony! I know what you're trying to do! You're not going anywhere near that forest!"

"Uh-huh. And who's gonna stop me?" Omni backed away and walked into the forest. "Apple Bloom, wanna point me out to the place?"

"You're not taking me seriously, are you?!" Applejack squealed, "Apple Bloom, we're going back to town, now!" Apple Bloom only turned her eyes to Omni, who only gave a shrug before looking back up at Applejack. "Apple Bloom, Let's, Go!"

"No." was her reply.

"Wha—no?!" Applejack sputtered in surprise, "You can't ignore a direct order from your big sister!"

"I guess your right," Omni replied before turning to Apple Bloom, "Hey Apple Bloom, what do you suggest we do with her?"

"What?! Apple Bloom, don't you da—"

Before she knew what happened next, Applejack was tossed up and caught by the tail by Apple Bloom, who then put her on a branch hanging over a bramble bush, too far up from land for Applejack to escape." Sorry Applejack, but I'm your big sister now." She giggled.

"Apple Bloom, you get back here right this instance! I'm gonna tell Big Macintosh on you!"

"That should be quite the trip!" Omni couldn't help but laugh as he and Apple Bloom walked into the forest.

"Ah, ponyfeathers…"

After making their haphazard trip deeper into the forest, they finally stopped in front of a hut made from a giant tree stump, with a couple of large masks decorated on it. It looks weird, but then again he was sleeping under a tree himself.

"So this is the place, huh?"

Apple Bloom nodded, "Yep, this is where Zecora lives!"

"Good. The sooner we can solve this the better." Omni knocked and backed away, waiting until the door itself opened, revealing the zebra behind it.

"Hello again, young pony stallion. It's good to see you again…" Zecora greeted Omni, then looked down at the small yellow pony next to him, "and I see you brought a companion."

"Um, my name's Apple Bloom." The smaller pony greeted.

"Uh, hi. We've been having a small problem lately and—"

"Strange afflictions have befallen them, have they not?"

"… How's you—"

"It is due to the patch of flowers they walked upon, and by now their situation would no doubt be fraught."

"Okay, I could tell you their taking it pretty bad. Do you know anyway to fix it?"

"Luckily I'm in the process of a remedy. But if you need it quickly, it would be appreciated if you helped. So welcome, and follow me."

Following the zebra, Omni and Apple Bloom entered her hut. Inside was actually a large room with a black cauldron in the middle, walls mostly filled with vials and containers and decorated with similar tribal masks hung up. "So what exactly are you making?" he asked, scratching his head.

"The hardship they face are due to the blue flowers they walked upon. But with the help of this bathing therapy, it can be undone."

"What can we do to help?"

"There are still certain herbs which this cure needs. Only then can we proceed."

"What do they look like? I can get 'em for you." Apple Bloom offered.

"You mean we can get them for her," Omni insisted, "It's still too dangerous with those animals running about."

"You need not worry, the beasts are far away. And these herbs are right next to my home, so your friend will not have to run astray. And besides, I doubt some one of her height can reach so high."

After getting properly equipped Apple Bloom went out the back door to pick the herbs. Meanwhile Omni was helping Zecora with the concoction in the cauldron. Whatever she asks for Omni pulled from the shelves for her. As she added to her brew, she continued muttering over it. But while she was working, she managed to catch Omni scratching when he thought she wasn't looking. "I can see you have quite a scratch. Were there allergies you were unfortunate to catch?"

Omni groaned, "I think I stepped back into those flowers on the way here. Maybe I am allergic."

"The fact you didn't share the same bizarre symptoms as your friends is indeed strange."

"It didn't stay for long. I just got an oatmeal bath and I came out fine. So it's those flowers that're doing this?"

"Yes. But if what you have is a simple allergic reaction, then indeed a more mundane solution should be called to action."

"You seem to know your stuff, huh, huh?"

"With this book as my guide, I do manage to get by."

Omni walked over to the book Zecora referenced to that's been sitting on a pedestal nearby and read the open topic aloud, "Remedies for Poison Joke…"

"An unpredictable flower whose effects are various; very potent but far from dangerous."

"Oh? Then there's no problem. All we need to do is get whatever it is we're making ready and we're golden. By the way, if you don't mind me asking, do you just like to rhyme or is it a zebra thing?"

"Skill such mine would require great focus. I rhyme, yes, but it is more of a necessity, not a bonus."

"Make sense. But about those flowers, do you know what makes them do all those funny things to people."

"Well, just as the flowers' pollen would latch to your coat, it also latches to the magic of the pony within. As to how it could not properly affect you, could it be that your magic is thin…?"

"…Just one more question, how can you tell if something or someone has magic or not?"

"There are many methods. For the instance of ponies—"

WHAM! The door suddenly burst open and a streak of blue started bouncing around the hut! Omni dropped to the floor while Zeora cursed in her native language as Rainbow kept smashing into the shelves, breaking whatever ended up in his way. That's not the half of it as the front door busted open for four very angry little ponies.

"What have you done with Apple Bloom!?" Twilight demanded.

But that was the least of the zebra's worries, as Applejack suddenly latched her lasso to Zecora's ear, trying to force her off her feet. And when Rainbow crashed into the cauldron, knocking it over and spilling its contents all over the floor, that was the last straw. "No! You know not what you do! You've gone and spilled my precious brew!"

Groaning, Omni stood up and confronted the ponies, "You really couldn't have come at a worse time…"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Twilight snapped, "I didn't want to believe that Zecora cursed us, I didn't even want to believe that you're in league with her, but the evidence is overwhelming!"

"Evidence? She did nothing to no one!"

"She made me look ridiculous." Rarity accused, spitting out her locks in front of her.

"She made me sound ridiculous!" Fluttershy blamed.

"She made me speak ridiculous!" is what everyone could only guess that Pinkie said.

"She ruined my horn!" Twilight finally added.

"How dare you!" Zecora yelled, "You destroy my home, destroy my work. Then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?"

"Seems that way! Not cool, Twilight!" Omni answered, pulling the book tossed on him off his head.

"You're the ones who put this curse on us," Rainbow snapped, "now you're gonna uncurse us!"

"It is unwise to venture down this road," Zecora fumed, "Your actions will make my anger explode!"

"Where is Apple Bloom!?" Twilight demanded, looking for a fight as she butt heads with the zebra.

"Zecora! I think I found all the things ya asked for," Apple Bloom returned from the back with a saddle full of plants, until she realized what she walked into, "What in Ponyville is goin' on here?"

Applejack gasped, "Apple Bloom! You're okay!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because Zecora is an evil enchantress who cursed us and was gonna cook you up into soup!" exclaimed Twilight.

Shortly after that accusation, Zecora and Apple Bloom burst out laughing.

"Oh Twilight. Did those silly fillies finally get in yer head?" Apple Bloom giggled.

"Apparently," Omni stated, "Whatever happened to 'There's no such thing as curses'?"

"Omnifarious, look around," Twilight growled, "You can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse!"

"This isn't a curse!" Apple Bloom and Omni stated at once.

"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact," Zecora said, referring back to the last time they met in the woods, "'Beware, beware you pony folk. Those leaves of blue are not a joke.'"

"I remember! That what you used to put that curse on us!" Rainbow charged.

"That was a warning!" Omni snapped, growing more impatient. "Those blue flowers from the woods, it's a plant called Poison Joke!"

"That plant is much like poison oak," Zecora explained, "But its results are like a joke."

"What in the hay does that mean?" Applejack insisted, jumping on the zebra's nose."

"It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead this plant just wants a laugh."

"Will somepony please talk normal?" snorted Applejack.

"This whole mess must've started when you all stepped into that patch of Poison Joke when you guys chased after me!" Omni explained, "What you thought was a curse was just a bunch of little jokes!"

"LITTLE JOKES?!" the small orange pony squeaked, "Very funny."

"Ok, fine. But what about the cauldron?" Rainbow asked.

"And the chanting?" Fluttershy added.

"And the creepy decor?" Rarity wondered.

"What? You mean these tribal masks?" Omni asked.

"Treasures of the native land where I am from," Zecora said, gesturing to the masks in the room, "This one speaks 'hello', and this 'welcome'."

"Not welcoming at all, if you ask me."

"Please Rarity, they're not that bad." Omni groaned.

"The words I chanted were from olden times," Zecora said, "Something you call a nursery rhyme."

"But the cauldron..." Twilight stammered, "The Apple Bloom soup?"

"The cauldron's not soup, it was for a cure we were making," Omni said, "Guys, Zecora's a witch doctor!"

"Wait a minute!" Applejack snapped, "If Zecora's a witch then what's to say it's not really a curse!"

"NO! Not witch! Witch Doctor! There's a difference!" Omni snapped, "A witch doctor is just like a doctor; except instead of using modern medicine, they make it from scratch; from herbs and plants they'd need to fix up whatever's bothering someone. The cure for poison joke is just a simple old-natural remedy. All you gotta do is soak in it!"

"But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything," Twilight said, "What book has this natural remedy?"

"I sure you already have it, Twilight. You just haven't been paying attention to the title. Here, look at this." Omni pointed to the book lying at his feet. Upon close inspection, Twilight read the book's title aloud.

"Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super."

"I...I... I'm so sorry. I had the answer the whole time, if only I had bothered to look inside."

"Never judge a book by its cover. –Benjamin Franklin," Omni stated promptly. Everyone gave a bewildered look at the blue earth pony at his strange choice of words.

"…one of America's founding fathers?" the room remained silent.

"The guy who first discovered electricity? Inventor of the stove? Seriously, has anyone here ever read a book?! Twilight, there's gotta be something about him in all those books you're—"

Suddenly there was a knocking on the door, "Was there someone else with you?" Omni asked, everyone shaking their heads while Zecora went to the door.

Upon opening it Mach Faiz came barging in. "I think we may have a problem here. There's…" unfortunately he became distracted by the sight of six pranked ponies, resulting in him to spontaneously laugh his head off.

"Wait, what is it you need to tell us?" Twilight asked, but Faiz only replied in pointing and laughing even harder. He could barely get two words out. So Omni had to push him back out the door and hut it behind him.

"Zecora? Can you make another batch of whatever it is you were making?" Omni asked.

"Mix it up I certainly will," Zecora confirmed, "Yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville."

"But whenever Zecora comes to town, all the shops are mysteriously closed." Apple Bloom said.

"Which is why I decided recently to obtain supplies by courier. Although I wished I had acquired my parcel earlier."

"Yeah about that, there's been a little set back…" Omni glared at pinkie, who threw a big, fat raspberry at him. "I guess Zecora ordered some herbs so she won't have to waste anymore time waiting for the shops to open to her. That's what New Moon had me carry."

"So we can make more of the cure when we get Zecora's package back to her?" Twilight asked and Omni nodded.

"So what are we waiting for?" Rarity asked, "The less time I'm like this the better!"

"That's assuming there's no angry mob waiting back in town!" Omni flatly stated.

"Now what's that all of a sudden?" Applejack squeaked, "Are you assuming ponies are gonna be waiting with torches and pitchforks?!"

"Applejack's right, Omni. You've got to have a bit more faith in—"

Suddenly another series of knocking interrupted Twilight.

"Hold that thought…" Omni went back to the door, "Faiz if you have something to say then say it through front of the door!"

"In case they haven't told you already, the girls cause some kind of riot when they told them Zecora's responsible! Now a witch-hunt posse's waiting for them to drag you and Zecora back to them!"

Omni glared back at the girls, "You were saying…?"

"Oh, come on! You can't believe what Faiz has to say!" Rainbow argued, "He just likes to twist things for amusement!"

"Rainbow's right," Twilight agreed, "These ponies aren't beyond reason. I'm sure they'll understand if we just explain everything to them."

The door burst open and slammed shut as Omnifarious sat breathlessly against it. After running back into town, everyone was waiting for them like Faiz said. But the instant Omni explained everything (as Twilight suggested), they all just dismissed it as more witchcraft and chased him off, separating him from the rest of the group. After several minutes of running for dear life and losing the mob, he decided to just sneak back into the cake shop and get what he needed to this whole mess would end sooner.

"'Aren't without reason', these nuts," Omni huffed, then stood up to find a light switch, "I better get that box before things get more outta—" after turning the lights on he turned only to find a not-so-warm welcome. "Oh, terrif—"

SMACK!

"You look kinda peaceful when you sleep," Omnifarious woke up back in the library. This is the second time he'd slept in Twilight's bed; the unicorn leaning against the edge next to him. "If you hadn't been hit on the head with a frying pan."

Omni groaned, "What happened…?"

"After we were separated when the crowd broke off after you, we managed to clear everything up with the people who stayed."

"What else?"

"Well, after we found you being carried off by a giant stake, we were able calm the rest down before they could toss you into the lake."

"Thanks for that… So did everything turn out okay?"

"Yeah. We managed to get the bath ready and wash the joke's pollen off."

"Then it's over…?"

"It's over. And so is all this idle gossip on Zecora. But there's still something I can't put my hoof on," Omni's heard skipped a beat and a lump formed in his throat. He hoped it's not what he think it is… "You seem to be unaffected by the Poison Joke beyond a mild rash. And after talking about it to Zecora, it really is nothing more than an allergy. Omni, do you know something about it…?"

"Just leave it alone."

"But there may be some lingerin—"

"I said drop it!" Twilight recoiled from Omni's raised voice, "Trust me, I'll deal with it when the time comes."

"But how would you?"

Omni turned his head away, "…Because I dealt with the same thing a long time ago. I only remembered now because Zecora told me about it. All I ask is that you leave well enough alone."

"But Omni…"

"Please, Twilight! Just let me hand it."

As much as Twilight wanted to keep prying, she knew better than that if it was something personal. So she gave up and walked out of her room, giving one last worried look before closing the door, leaving Omnifarious in silence. He bit his lip as only his thoughts accompanied him, 'I'm not gonna let it happen again. I didn't come here to start over to let it happen again.'

In the basement underneath was a new entry in the book:

Dear Princess Celestia,

My friends and I all learned an important lesson this week: Never judge a book by its cover. Someone may look unusual, or funny, or scary. But you have to look past that and learn who they are inside. Real friends don't care what your "cover" is; it's the "contents" of a pony that count. And a good friend, like a good book, is something that will last forever.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

And the headline above: Tolerance.

Dumbing of Age

Author's Note

My Little Pony FIM-Hasbro

Dumbing of Age

The day started like any other, the difference being that he's been pulled into another job today. It doesn't seen proper going out like he just got out of bed, so Omni got out of bed and went into the bathroom. After sitting in the shower for ten minutes he got out and dried off, got dressed back into his everyday clothes and stepped in front of the bathroom mirror.

Something about his own reflection sometimes made his stomach turn; and not because he gets bed-head or anything. Whenever he looked in the mirror, he tries not to look at his backside. That's not because he never kept groomed or anything, it just that it brings back a past he rather forget about. Unfortunately it recently came back to bite him. Here's hoping that's the only time it sneaks up on him. After getting himself groomed, he stepped out into the library, where Twilight sat near a small stack of books reading.

"Hey, Twilight, do you know where the school is?" Omni asked.

"Try going straight across the meadow and stay beside the tracks until you reach the stream," Twilight replied, not taking her eyes off her book, "Once you cross it there should reach a path eventually," She used her magic to let Omni out the door and shut it behind him. "…Wait, why would you want to go to school?" she wonders if it's too late to and ask him...

After walking through the meadow and crossing the bridge over the stream, he followed the dirt path until he could see a small red building, a little bigger than any regular house. It's a long time since he's seen a school this small.

Reason being this is due to today's job he's been given, which is to babysit someone's kid while they're off doing some stuff. When the children were just getting out, something had just occurred to him…he's got absolutely no idea who he's supposed to babysit! Not that he forgot their name, just that doesn't have a clue what they look like! They should've given him a picture of the kid before going off! "Guess there's one way to find out…" so he stood outside the school grounds and waited for the first student to walk past him front of him. "Are you Diamond Tiara?"

"...Mooooom, this wierdo's talking to me!"

"Wha?" before he could tell up from down, Omni was sent onto his back, hard and fast.

"You need to stay away from my little boy, you sicko!" the mother shrieked as she rushed out from the school with her child in tow.

"What's her problem…?" Omni groaned as he got up, just in time to see another child coming, "Hey, are you Diamond Tiara?" he received no reply but instead a spritz from a can of pepper spray they were carrying. Omni was left writhing back on the ground trying to rub the pepper from his eyes.

While the pain was subsiding, he heard another set of tiny footsteps coming towards him and stopping, "Diamond Tiara?" his only response this time was a powerful kick that traded one kind of pain for another.

By the time he was able to see again he was holding his nuts as yet another child stop right in front of him. She was a small pink pony with purple and white hair. Beside her was another, grey one with braided white hair, "Are you…oh please, oh please…Diamond Tiara?"

In response one of the ponies, the pink one with white and purple hair, gave a disgusted look. "Excuse me? Who are you?"

"Just please tell me where I can find someone named Diamond Tiara!" Omni pleaded, having enough pain to deal with.

"Um, maybe you can try looking up here!" the pony pointed over her head, which has a diamond-encrusted tiara sitting on it.

"Oh..." Omni groaned and got up on his feet and decided to be direct, "Look, my name is Omnifarious and your dad hired me to look after you."

"So you're the one my dad sent?" The pink pony gagged, looking him over, "I guess there really aren't many suitable candidates."

"Look at that! He's wearing a skirt!" The grey pony pointed towards Omni's haunches.

Diamond looked towards where the grey pony was pointing, "Hey you're right, Silver! What's up with that!"

"It's a kilt, not a skirt!" Omni muttered under his breath.

"HA! Kilts are plaid, you idiot! That's definitely a skirt!" Diamond laughed along with her friend.

"You actually go out in public, dressed like that?"

"I think there's something under there he's trying to hide," a snide smirk crept on Diamonds face, "Like say, something short, small and no-so-satisfying."

"Ha! Good one!"

'These girls really got an attitude on them...' Omni thought, "Look, I'm supposed to be taking care of you. So what do you wanna do today?"

Diamond stopped laughing and shot a glare at Omni, "At least you know how to skip to the chase. Sugar Cube Corner. You can at least take me there and give me a sundae."

Omni resisted letting out an exasperated sigh as he replied, "Okay, let's go." But right when he turned around to leave he felt a large weight pressing down on him. "Ah! What gives?!"

"You don't expect me to walk all the way there, do you? You're supposed to do what I want. And I want you to take me to Sugar Cube Corner, understand?!"

"…Alright, I'm going," Omni growled as he started walking back to town, when even more weight pulled him down, "What the…" he looked back at the payload and saw the small grey pony right behind the pink one.

"Silver's coming along too," Diamond smirked, "I'm sure you won't mind."

Omni couldn't help but groan as he started dragging his feet all the way back to town. This is gonna be a long and difficult day.

At the bakery he ended up treating the two girls to a sundae bowl as requested. There he was sitting at the table with them, watching them gossip. It's just then when he noticed them exchanging glances towards him as they kept whispering to each other that he could be their main topic. But when they noticed him staring at them they decide to cut it short.

"What are you staring at?" Diamond muttered, and Omni just turned away, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"I'm full," Silver groaned, pushing away the large half-eaten bowl, "You can have the rest."

"I'm full too. In fact I need to use the bathroom." Diamond hopped off her chair and walked off.

"Yeah, I need to use it too." Silver jumped off and followed her friend. With both girls after the restroom, Omni's left on the table with a half-eaten bowl of ice cream. Well, they did say they didn't need anymore, so he cleaned it out the only way he could, right out the bowl. The advantage to eating right out of your plate is when you're in a hurry you can take one giant bite after another when you're done. And when Omni was done licking the ice cream off his muzzle he laid back against his chair, satisfied. That was well worth the twenty bits he paid.

"ggrrrrrrrrrll"

Uh-oh! Either Omni's sphincter just got shorter or nature's suddenly called; no, yell's more like it! He needs a can and he needs it now! After asking, more like pleading, for directions for the bathroom, Omni stumbled through the building until the only thing standing between him and a stone's throw from the john was a flight of stairs...

And for some reason a door-to-door salesman. "Hello. I'd like to give you an opportunity of-" Omni's really in a hurry so he pushed aside the salesman and went up the stairs...

Only for another salesman to stand in his way. "Young man, how would you like a chance to-" like he did before, Omni brushed him aside and continued...

Only for yet another salesman to appear! "For one day only, you can-" this is getting annoying! Omni just tossed the third salesman over his shoulder and sprinted on before anyone else could interfere. But that became an impossibility!

How could something as going to the bathroom become so difficult! One after another more salesman came and one after another he had to mow over them just to get to the toilet! After leaving heaps of ponies at the stairway he dragged his feet across the second floor for the second door on the left. One step, then another, one more to go, finally he can get his business over with!

Omni shoved his hoof against the door, the only obstacle left keeping him from the toilet, when he saw the sign hanging on the door saying: Out of Order.

3...

2...

1...

"UH-OH!"

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG

"Alright, already! Keep your shirt on! I mean metaphorically..." Spike said as he rushed over to the door and opened it, only to welcome a blue blur inside and hear another door slam upstairs. "What was that?!"

"Huh?" Twilight looked up from her books, "Is Omnifarious back already?"

"C'mon, c'mon!" Omni didn't wait for the tub to fill to jump in. Putting his kilt under running hot water he scrubbed frantically trying to get the stains out, "I can't believe that actually happened to me..." he whimpered. Hoping the stains are gone Omni looked over his kilt only to groan in dismay at the stains still under the jean fabric.

knock-knock-knock

"Omni, are you alright in there?" Twilight asked from outside.

"NO! DON'T COME IN!" Omni yelled back.

"Okay then..." Twilight replied, with a little concern in her voice. Omni sighed out after hearing her feet move away. But he still has a problem; what's he supposed to wear now?

Turns out just running hot water and elbow grease won't clean this up, so he'll have to add some detergent and a rigged surface. After tossing a tower over his backside, Omni went down to the basement for the basin and washboard where they're kept when not being used. It's gotta be here somewhere...

"I was wondering where you were."

Omni jumped at the voice that alerted him. He looked around until he spotted Diamond Tiara sitting lazily on the stairway. "What are you doing here?!"he asked, surprised.

"What and I doing here?" Diamond repeated, making it a question she asked herself, "I should be asking you the same question!" She then got up and walked down the stairs, not taking her eyes off him. "Your job was supposed to be looking after me. I go to the bathroom two minutes and you just up and left."

"Something came up," Omni glared.

"Something more important that seeing two fillies to their safety?" Diamond finally stepped on the floor where she still glowered at Omni. "You're lucky some stranger didn't swipe me away in the middle of the street!"

"Not that lucky, apparently..."

"What was that?!" Diamond caught the words Omni was mumbling under his breath.

"I didn't say nothing." Omni scoffed.

"...I hope you think I'm not stupid. Just because you're older, doesn't give you the right to boss me around!"

Omni sighed. "Hey, I'm supposed to be looking after you, alright?"

"Yeah, you did a real good job doing that when you skipped the check on me back at that cake shop!"

"Oh yeah..." Omni looked aside. "My bad."

Oh, I wouldn't count that as a sorry. Not yet, anyway."

Omni shyed his head back. What's she talking about just then? That sounds like a threat. But just look at her; he's three times her size. What does she think she can do to...

Was that a draft he just felt? Omni suddenly turned pale as he looked back to see that grey little girl Diamond was hanging with, with his towel lying on the floor under her hooves. On impulse he quickly spun around to hide his backside from her, just to have it shown to Diamond instead. Amongst his panic he tried moving his haunches away from one pony just to show them to the other. Eventually he was making a spectacle of himself for the girls to laugh at, spinning around like a dog trying to catch his tail. It was only moments after that he decided to do something about it.

"Gimme that!" Omni charged for the towel only for Silver to scurry away to Diamonds side. He quickly spun back around to unsuccessfully hide his bare end and glare at the two.

"So that's what's you've been hiding!" Diamond didn't even bother holding her laugh back. "Now wonder you have to wear a skirt!"

"You listen here," Omni snarled, "If you wanna live to see tomorrow, you're not gonna tell anyone about this, understand?!"

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Diamond scoffed, "I don't think so. What's in it for us?"

"This is not a negotiation." Omni growled.

"Okay then." Diamond then turned to her friend. "Let's bolt!" with that, the two darted towards the stairs.

"Come back here!" Omni chased after them up the stairs. He was a hair away from catching them until a large wooden door crashed against his face. When the stars cleared from in front of him, he banged on the door until Twilight opened it.

"I thought we agreed to leave the door half-way open." Twilight said. She's beginning to get really tired of being Omni's doorman.

"Have you seen two girls come by here?" Omni asked.

"Oh, right. Sorry I didn't tell you but they said they wanted to surprise you. Did everything turn out okay?"

When he saw Twilight's eyes travel past his, Omni quickly pushed the door until he could only present half his face through the crack. "I'm fine. I'm just indecent right now!"

"Oh! I'll just leave you alone then."

Omni let out a quiet sigh when Twilight turned and left him. With the close clear, he slumped against the wall next to the door. But he still has one major problem...besides his dirty laundry...

The secret that he's worked so hard to keep since coming here, was about to be unveiled to the entire town! There's nothing Omni can do to stop it as long as his jeans are in the wash! How's he supposed to go out there without anything to cover himself...?

Knocking on the door, Omni waited a few seconds before Rarity opened it. "Hi, uh, I need a little favor from..." he then caught Rarity staring at his weird attire he sighed, "Yes, I'm wearing a poncho, please focus. I need something made for me. Is there any way you can do it?"

"Um, right," Rarity replied, still dumbfounded by Onmi's poncho, "You can come in if you want I'm just about to put the finishing touches on a new dress."

"Okay." Omni followed Rairty into the story. He looked around until his eyes fell to the platform where someone's modeling in what could be one of Rarity's new dresses. But looking closer his pupils suddenly shrank. "Oh my $%&#..."

"Omnifarious!!" Rarity gasped, "Leave that language outside where it belongs! There's a child present!"

Standing on the platform wearing the dress was none other than Diamond Tiara. She gave a mocking gasp as her eyes laid on him. "Omni? Is that really you?"

"You two know each other?" Rarity asked, alternating looks between Diamond and Omni.

"Omni! You haven't told her about me?" Diamond frowned, hopping off the platform to him. "I thought we were friends!"

"Omnifarious, what is she talking about?"

"I don't know what this girl's talking about!" Omni said, "I only met her yesterday and I can tell you, she's not at all friendly!"

Diamond let out a gasp, "How...how could you..." she whimpered, "How could you lie like that? After everything I've done for you, you're gonna just sit there and pretend I don't mean anything to you?!"

"Wait just a minute-"

"I don't understand!" Diamond cried as she sadly nuzzled Rarity's front legs. "D-did I do something wrong?!"

"There, there; I'm sure you did nothing wrong, darling..." Rarity soothed the whimpering girl, before shooting a glare at Omni. "Get out."

"But I didn't-"

SLAM!

"Teriffic..."

After getting soundly kicked out of the shop, Omni decided to get something to eat. He figured a little brainfood can help so he went to the market to to help himself with some grannies. He went to the spot where the apple stand would be and met Applejack.

"Hey there, Omni! What can I get-" the cowgirl trailed off when she saw the raincoat on him.

"Do you have any green apples left?" Omni asked quickly, trying to take the topic off his coat.

"Um, sorry, I'm cleaned out for the day."

"Cleaned out? It's not even noon yet!"

Applejack's eyes rolled over to another pony walking away with two bulking bagsfull of apples. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Ugh. Thanks anyway..." Omni sighed and began to walk away.

"Hold on! I can get you some back at the farm!" Applejack called and Omni turned back to face her. "But could you do something to me in the meantime?"

"Like what?"

"It's for mah sister Applebloom. If you happen to find her, would ya mind spendin' a little time with her, make sure she's alright? I could be a little busy in the orchards for a while."

"Alright, I'll do that." Omni then went back for a walk around town.

Omnifarious spent the afternoon walking around town until he spotted a small yellow pony with red hair and a pink bow sulking across the street he was passing. Something seemed to be wrong with her. Maybe if he could talk to her...

"Is that who I think it is?"

Omni groaned as he was caught by Diamond and Silver as the came from the right of the intersection. It's only been a day and he couldn't forget a snooty voice like hers.

"I didn't think you'd show yourself," Diamond snide, "I guess you're still too scared to show a little fur."

"Look at that coat!" Silver pointed, "I think he's planning to flash somepony!"

"Ugh! Disgusting!" while the two shared a laugh as if Omni wasn't here, he decided to play the part and walk away, "And where do you think you're going?"

"To see a man about a goat!" Omni barked back as he kept walking.

"Why? Are you gonna share some dirty secrets? I know I am!" Diamonds words suddenly stopped him in his tracks, "And it's a secret worth telling."

"Just hurry up and tell me what you want..." Omni growled, knowing all to well what's on the tiara-wearing pony's mind.

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Diamond around to stand in Omni's path, the predatory black look staring into his, "I want my very own maid. And I think you'll do nicely."

Same as wanting a puppy. How original.

"Fine. I'll do it." Omni muttered, pulling his eyes away in disgust.

"That's what I wanna hear," Diamond smirked, "You look like you need a job, so who better than me to give you one. And the first order of business..." Diamond leaned in closer, "You can bark like a dog."

"Right...I'm not doing that." Omni pulled away and was about to walk off, not caring about what else the little pink pony had to say.

"Hey, everypony!" Diamond Tiara announced to everyone in earshot. Everyone stopped what they're doing to hear her announcement, "I know something I'm sure you'll all love to here!" No! She couldn't! She wouldn't! "That pony in the raincoat, Omnifarious..." oh, who is he kidding?! "Is-"

"ALRIGHT!" Omnifarious shouted, and retreated back to Diamond's side, hissing to the spoiled pony, "Fine. you win."

"Is there ever any doubt?" Diamond raised her nose in victory, and glanced over her shoulder to her opponent, "So, Omni, is there anything you'd like to say to everypony?"

The townspeople gathered in a crowd to watch what's about to happen. This is going to be humiliating. Here goes... "Woof...woof."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Woof. Woof."

"I don't think they heard you! Would you like me to translate that for everypony to hear?"

She just won't be satisfied until she gets exactly what she wants! Why him... "Ruff! Ruff! Rrrrr-ruff! Ruff!" everyone stood around watching, whether by bewilderment, pity or disgust, as Omni continued barking away with reckless abandon. When he felt like he's finished, he stopped, hoping that got Diamond satisfied. They must've gotten the message that the show was over, because the crowd dispersed luckily. While everyone was going back to their own business, Diamond and Silver rolled over laughing. They must really enjoyed that.

"Oh, I am definitely keeping you!" when she was all but finished she wiped away the tears from laughing so hard.

"You are so lucky to have somepony like him around!" Silver said to her, "Maybe you can bring him to your party this weekend!"

"That's a great idea! I'm sure he'll be glad to come! You can say his rest-of-his-life depends on it; 'cause it does," Diamond finalized that small sentence with her soon-to-be-trademarked predatory glare. Then turned around and walked off, gesturing her partner Diamond to coming with her, "This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. See you at the party, butler!"

Omnifarious sat there in the busy streets of Ponyville, watching in disdain as Diamond Tiara walked away with a prideful bounce in her step. This may as well be the beginning of the end of his life, living as a pet clown to some spoiled, stuck-up brat. This is one of those times you wished the day's been called off on account of rain...

Conveniently and ironically, a giant raincloud flew out of nowhere and poured hard on him, "A bit too late for that, don't you think?!" Omni groaned, "But thank goodness for raincoats..."

A couple days later...

Omnifarious pushed open the door and stumbled back inside the library. That show he was forced to put on seemed like child's play compared to what he had to go through since then. When Twilight saw him come in, she got up from her book pile and walked towards him, "Whoa! Omni, you don't look well. What happened?"

"Just had a busy day," Omni muttered as he passed her, "Don't worry about it."

"Why have I been hearing rumors about you lately?" Omni froze his tracks at the question, "I didn't want to say anything because I hope it isn't true, but I overheard somepony about you barking like a dog in the middle of the street the other day. And since then these rumors started. If something happened out there I need to know so I can know the truth. Can you please do that for me?" Twilight sure has been persistent on this. Why couldn't she just leave it alone? Omni sighed and began to speak, before the door started knocking, "I'll be right back," Twilight sighed and answered it, "May I help you? ...Sure, I'll get him for you," she pulled back from the door, "Omni, it's Diamond Tiara. You know, one of the fillies who came over the other day?"

Omni flinched at the very name. Nothing good could ever come from her. He stormed over and scooted Twilight over, slipping out through the door to meet the spoiled pink pony, "What are you doing here?!" he hissed as he towered over her.

"What, no 'hello, you highness' or 'what is your bidding, master'?" Diamond scoffed, "What kind of servant are you supposed to be?"

"That is not what I asked you?" Omni growled.

"Well, in case you forgot, I'm having a Cuteceanera at the end of the week, and I think you should come."

"What for?"

"Because I wanna show off my new butler to everyone coming. That or because I said so; pick one. Of course, if you do something else for me instead..."

"And what's that?" Omni asked.

Diamond hithered him with her hoof for Omni to lean over. She whispered in his ear and Omni pulled back with a bleached face with Diamond giving a sly smirk, "I'll be waiting outside," Omni gulped and walked back inside, kicking the door behind him and finding Twilight standing near the window.

"Omni, please listen. Whether or not these rumors are ture, if this goes on any longer, they might develop into something worst later on. Are you saying you wouldn't mind waiting for another angry mod to come after you?"

"What, no!" Omni shook her head, and Twilight walked closer to him.

"Then tell me what happened!" the unicorn pleaded.

Without any other option, Omnifarious backed away and sighed, "Diamond Tiara's blackmailing me," those words were really hard to spit out.

Those words, however might seem alien to Twilight, as she gave a more distraught look, "One of the fillies from the other day? But...how?"

"...Remember that secret I said I didn't want anyone to know?" that deepened the unicorn's worry, "Yeah, they know."

Soon the two sat at the kitchen table, Omnifarious taking the time to explain to Twilight what happened the day he babysat Diamond Tiara and. When she finished, Twilight looked more disturbed than before, "I can't...I can't believe a couple of fillies would even do that."

"This isn't something new to me. This is pretty much what I had to go through at the last place I live in. Now, she wanted me to got to some party, some Quinceanera."

"You mean a Cuteceanera..."

"Wha? No, a quinceanera. You know, that thing teenage latino girls have when they turn 15? Though she doesn't seem that mature..."

"What...? No, Omnifarious. A Cuteceanera is an event celebrating finally getting her cutie mark. To be honest, I don't understand how you not know about it. It is a special moment in a young pony's life," Omni turned away with an uneasy expression, leaving Twilight to double-take her statement, "T-then again it is reserved for only the filly. I'm sure your moment was just as special! Right...?"

"Can we please change the subject?" Omni insisted.

"Oh. Sorry," Twilight's ears flattened, ashamed of herself for trying to pry into Omni's personal life, "You're not going to just let those girls push you around like that, are you?"

"Twilight, you have to understand this isn't something I can just tell someone off on. You won't believe the kind of hoops I had to jump through just to keep them quiet when they found out!" Omni and Twilight looked out the window to see Diamond Tiara lighting a hoop on a pedestal on fire, "See?"

"Omnifarious, I don't know what you have to do, but you can't let this go on any longer," Twilight said, "I'm afraid this will eventually get out of hoof."

"I'm glad to hear whatever you come up with. Because until then, I'm stuck..." Omnifarious sulked out of the kitchen to the basement, ready to call it a day.

"Listen, I'm going to run some errands tomorrow and I'd like you to come with me. I just can't have you moping around indoors."

"...Fine." was all Omni said before shutting the door.

The next day Omni followed Twilight to the bakery. When they walked into the kitchen, quite a mess was waiting for them, "Whoa, what's been going on in here?" Twilight exclaimed, looking around.

"We've been making cupcakes, wanna try them?" Pinkie hopped over offering a plateful of cupcakes, cupcakes that were burnt an inedible.

"Nnnno thank you..." Twilight politely declined, pushing them away, "not that they don't look...delicious."

Pinkie turned the plate over to Omnifarious to offer him a sample. Taking a look at them reminded him how he ended up in the hospital, "Um..."

"Twilight, you have to help me!" a higher-pitched voice called, and in came a small yellow pony with red hair and a pink bow. Omni recognized her as Applejack's sister Applebloom. It's not the best of excuses but...

"What's the matter?" Omni turned to the smaller pony, offering assistance even though no one asked.

Applebloom took in a huge lungful before taking it all out at once... "Tiara's cute-ceañera's today and everypony in my class will be there and they'll all have their cutie marks and I want to get my cutie mark but I'm no good at selling apples or hang-gliding or making cupcakes, but I wanna go to the party but how can I go to the party if I don't have my cutie mark, which Pinkie Pie says I can't just make appear, but I need it to appear, RIGHT NOW!"

"Uhhh..." Twilight said, "I don't follow. How can I help you?"

"You can use your magic to make my cutie mark appear."

"Is that true, Twilight?" Omni asked, "Could that work?"

"Of course not," Twilight answered, "A cutie mark is something a pony has to discover for herself."

"Twilight, jus' trah." Applebloom pleaded.

"I'm sorry but-"

"Oh please, please, please please please!" Applebloom fidgeted, grabbing Twilight in the chest.

"Alright alright!"

"Oh thank you thank you thank you," Applebloom backed away and let Twilight aim for the right spot. After a flash of light, a cart full of apples, "Yes! I knew you could do..." but then the picture vanished on her, "it."

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I told you-"

"Try again, try again!" And Twilight did so and formed another mark on Applebloom, fading away like the last one. Many more times she tried again with the same result and no sign of changing. Eventually she stopped and instead of telling Applebloom 'I told you so,' she let Applebloom sulk in dejection.

"Told you that not even magic can make a cutie mark appear before it's time." Twilight said, trying to comfort her.

"It's hopeless, hopeless!" Applebloom cried, walking away with her head low, "I just won't go to the party, I can't go. Everyone will just laugh at me and make fun of me and call me name. It will be the worst night of my life."

"Hey. Applebloom," Omni called, causing the smaller pony to look back sadly.

"What?" she sniffled.

"Do you think a cutie mark will help you make friends?"

"I don't understand," Applebloom turned to face the blue pony with a confused look on her face, "What are you sayin'?"

"Judging by what you told us? It sounds like you think the other kids will like you only of you have a mark like them. Is that right?"

"Well, I guess so..." Applebloom eyes wandered, "But that's why ah really need my own cutie mark so ah won't be embarrassed at Diamond Tiara's party!"

"Then go."

"But I don't have a cutie mark! All the kids will-"

"Listen," Omni tone became absolute, causing Applebloom to cut herself off, "if you go to that party, if those kids think they can make fun of you just because you don't have a mark of your own, if that's all they care about, then they're not really your friends, are they? But if there's even one who will stick up for you, if they decided to like you for you and not some mark on your backside...do you understand what I'm talking about?"

Applebloom took in everything she was just told, considering the ultimatum she's been given, "I think so. But I don't think I'm ready right now."

Omni sighed, "Look, what if I go with you?"

Applebloom's eyes relit a little, "You'd do that?"

"Yeah, the truth is, I kinda have to go there too."

"But why? This party's for kids!"

"That's not important. You just need to remember that whether it turns out good or not, if you show yourself at that party, you'll know who your real friends are, okay?"

Applebloom let those words seep in, and suddenly she latched herself on Omni's chest, giving him a hug, "...Okay. I think ah'm ready to go home now," she pulled back to look at him, "Will you come over so you can walk me to the party?"

"Sure."

"Thanks. I feel a little better now. Ah'll see you at the party." Applebloom jumped off of Omni and made her way for the exit.

"That was nice of you, Omni." Twilight smiled.

"She's going through what most kids her age go through; I can relate. Can't you?"

Twilight's smile dropped and looked away, as if she were caught with her hand in a cookie jar, "I...I got my cutie mark for as long as I was a filly," she shamefully admitted, "And I didn't hang out with other foals then so..."

Omni sighed, "Then forget I said anything..."

"I'm sorry...Hey, I know you want to keep it personal but...we're still friends, aren't we?"

"I think so...why are you asking?"

"I just want you to know that whatever you're going through, you don't have to do it alone. At the very least, if there's something, anything you need help with, just remember you have me to turn to," Twilight smiled again a bit, "Okay?"

"...Okay." was all Omni said as he made his way to the exit. But as soon as he made it past the kitchen gates, he couldn't take another step...

Right in front of him was a huge party in progress, complete with streamers and presents and guests among others. He could think of only one person this party's for, "And where was all this when I came through the front door?!" Omni stammered as he walked across the party floor, "I mean it's only been two minutes! When did they even find the time to-"

"It looks like the entertainment's finally here!" Omnifarious silently cursed himself just before seeing Diamond Tiara coming towards him with an amateur strut in her step, with Silver Spoon close behind her, "It's a good think you came. I was starting to think you weren't going to come."

"Whatever happened to 'this weekend' or 'at the end of the week'?" Omni growled at the tiara-wearing pony.

"Why? Did you forget to check your calendar?"

"It's Friday!" Omni snapped, "The end of the week's Saturday!"

"I guess you forgot what the phrase 'Thank Goodness it's Friday' actually means," the spoiled guest of honor whipped her head back with a 'harumph', "You can blame the author for lazy, last-minute writing. Doesn't matter, 'cause you're here," Diamond dropped her sinister smirk and glared as she pointed her hoof out at him, "It's a huge honor. So be grateful!"

Omni groaned and hung his head, resisting the urge to face-palm himself, "Look, what is it you need me to do?"

"Oh, don't worry, there's plenty for you to do. Try to stay with me," Diamond and Silver trotted through the party, with Omni reluctantly following, "We'll be playing a few party games shortly, not that ridiculous kids stuff, something with an actual mature twist. Next you'll get to watch me open my presents with everypony else. You'll get to carry them for me back to my house. Hope you're back is ready for it. And after the presents comes cutting the cake, of course I get the first piece...Hey!" Diamond then went marching to one of the other kids, who conveniently has a mouthful of cake that apparently came from a tall, multi-layered cake with a huge bite taken out of it. That boy must really got a mouth on him, "It's my cute-ceañera, I'm supposed to get the first bite at cake!"

Omni had been considering turning around and making a break for the door, but a suddenly sharp collision broke him from that. Omni turned to see he bumped into a round table with a punch bowl on it. He didn't remember that being there. That's when the table moved. Yep, the table's actually moving away from him, scooting a path on its way to the exit. Taking the alternative to listening more of Diamond's ranting, he quickly stood in its path and halted the punch table's path of escape. That's when the small bow-wearing girl's head popped out from under the sheet.

"What are you ding under there?" Omni quietly hissed.

"Look, ah change my mind," Applebloom said, "I'm not ready for this!"

"So you're just gonna bail? After what we just talked about?!"

"That's when ah thought ah had time to get ready! How was ah supposed to know Pinkie Pie's hosting the party at Sugarcube Corner today?!"

"Look, I have to put up with this and so should you!"

"Then leave! Then neither of us can put up with it!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"Because..." Omni really wanted to justify his reasons, but it's something he could tell just anyone if he bothered telling anyone at all. But if this can solve little Applebloom's problem, what other option does he have? Besides, if she could sympathize, maybe she could help keep his secret contained...? "What I'm about to tell you, is something you should never, ever tell anyone else. Now if I tell you, if you understand, could you please stay...?"

Applebloom gazed down at the floor, before she looked back up with a questioning look, "What is it?"

Omni let out a deep sigh, ready to let out something he hoped never to come from his own mouth, "Look, my-"

"There you are!" the demanding outburst of Diamond Tiara said from not to far. Seeing her closing in with Silver, Applebloom became desperate enough to pull the sheet off the table, which unfortunately also turned the punch bowl over on Omni's head. All that punch to himself and he never got to drink any. In the meantime Applebloom was dressing the cloth into a makeshift skirt for her hindside, "Well well well, look who's here."

"Nice outfit," Silver snided before trading a wicked snicker with Diamond.

"Just sumt'n I, uh, pulled together last minute," Applebloom wasn't lying about that...

"It really shows off your cutie mark," Diamond said, only to double-take with an insult, "Oh wait, that's right, you don't have one."

"Uh, I have a cutie mark," that caught Diamond and Silver off guard.

"Eh, what? Since when?"

"Since... Um... Earlier today."

"Oh really? Let's see it," Now its' Applebloom's turn to get caught. Wonder how she's gonna talk her way out of this...

"I shouldn't. Ah couldn't," Applebloom smiled with false bravado, "My cutie mark is so unbelievably amazing, ah'm afraid that if ah show it off, everyone will start paying attention to me instead of you," she then leaned in close to Diamond, "Outshined at your own cute-ceañera; can you imagine how embarrassing that would be?"

Your move, Diamond...

"Uh, forget it," she scoffed, "I didn't really want to see it anyway."

"Okay, well, ah'm gonna go mingle. Enjoy your party," Applebloom left the two cheerfully sauntering off. The good news is, she really managed to pull it off.

Bad news, that left Omni alone with Diamond Tiara, "Hey! I wouldn't expect you to know what hygiene is but I do expect you to at least be presentable in my presence! Clean yourself up!"

Spoiled condescending brat really has a mouth on her. Omni goes for the bathroom, but only because Omnifarious wants to; because he fells like it; 'cause it's his decision; 'cause that's an original thought.

The sound of a scratched record caught everyone's attention, including Omni's. He turned to see the tablecloth lying on the floor, which left Applebloom with nothing to hide with. And of course Diamond and Silver were here to make her problem even worse.

"Wow, that is an amazing cutie mark."

"Nice try..."

"Blank flank!" that was Diamond and Silver's cherry on top as Applebloom became a laughing stock. Seeing her as the receiving end of a is something even Omnifarious can't handle. So he decided that enough's enough. But before he could step in, someone else did it for him...

"You got a problem with blank flanks?" both girls gasped before seeing two more moving out from under a nearby table, one orange with purple hair and another white with purple and light-pink hair, "I said, you got a problem with blank flanks?"

"The problem is, I mean, she's like, totally not special," Silver said.

"No, it means she's full of potential," the marble pony refuted, standing beside Applebloom with her partner.

"It means she could be great at anything," the orange pony added, "The possibilities are, 'like, endless'."

"She could be a great scientist, or an amazing artist, or a famous writer. She could even be mayor of Ponyville some day."

"And she's not stuck being stuck-up like you two."

Everyone got a good laugh at that, but Diamond took that as an insult, "Hey, this is my party! why are you two on her side?"

"Because..." both her and her friend stuck their flanks out, revealing themselves as tow more blank slates!

"You don't have your cutie marks either?" Applebloom gasped, "Ah thought I was the only one."

"We thought we were the only two."

"I for one think you are three very lucky fillies," Twilight said, also in the same room.

"Lucky?" Diamond gagged in disgust, "How can they be lucky?"

"They still get to experience the thrill of discovering who they are, and what they're meant to be.

"And they got all the time in the world to figure it out, not just an afternoon," that part's added by Applejack. Omni wonders when exactly she got here. But Applebloom became the actual center of attention by everyone else, leaving Diamond with no one to sate her over-inflated ego.

"Hey, what's everypony doing? This is my party!" Diamond cried, "everypony is supposed to be paying attention to me!"

"Name's Scootaloo," the orange pony greeted Applebloom.

And I'm Sweetie Belle," the marble pony added.

The sunny yellow pony smiled, "Apple Bloom."

Afer getting a quick wash-up, Omnifarious walked down the stairs past a pouting Diamond Tiara. Lucky for him she didn't bather aknowledging him. Walking back onto the party floor he saw Twilight stading aside while the other guests were dancing. When he sat beside her, he found out what got her interested as the watched the three-filly trio sitting at one of the tables...

"So I was thinking, now that we're friends..." Applebloom trailed off, "I mean, we are friends, right?"

How could we not be? We're totally alike," Scootaloo said, "We don't have cutie marks, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon drive us crazy-"

"Totally crazy," Sweetie Belle added.

"Well, now that we're friends, what if the three of us work together to find out who we are and what we're supposed to be?"

"Ooh! Ooh! We could form our own secret society."

"I'm liking this idea."

"A secret society. Yeah. We need a name for it though."

"The Cutie Mark Three?"

"The Cutastically Fantastics?"

"How about... The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle seemed to like Applebloom's idea.

"It's perfect!"

"This is gonna be so great!"

"We're gonna be unstoppable!"

"What do you say we celebrate with some of these delicious cupcakes?"

Thakfully Applebloom stopped Scootaloo short from taking a stray cupcake out in her mouth, "NOT the cupcakes. Trust me."

"Let's see if there are any cookies."

"Yeah! Come on."

Twilight Sparkle and Omnifarious watched on as the newly-formed trio zoomed off.

"You were right about one thing, Omni," Twilight spoke up, "Having Applebloom stay at this party really did give her new friends. I don't think she'd know there were other like her otherwise."

"Now she does," Omni said.

Twilight then dropped her smile, adopting a distressed expression, "Now all that's left is to think about what to do about this Diamond Tiara situation."

"Just don't worry. I'm gonna handle it..." the only problem being how he's gonna handle it without everything getting more out of hand... He was spaced out from thinking that he almost didn't notice Applebloom walking up.

"I wanna thank you for what you said earlier!" she chirped, "I don't think I'd ever find any friends if I didn't stay."

"You're welcome..." Omni replied.

"So, what's that secret you were gonna tell me?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Omni bluntly replied.

"Wha? You said that you'd tell me!"

"I asked that you'd stay if I told you. But you stayed even when I didn't tell you. So I shouldn't tell you."

"Aw come on! I won't tell anypony! Please!"

"Sorry, but that was the deal," Omni looked over to the stairway at a still sulking Diamond, who was sporting fiery glare right at him, "That reminds me, wait right there," Omnifarious walked casually towards the guest of honor, planning to do something he should've done from the start... "I just came over to tell you that I quit."

Diamond pause for a moment, trying process Omni's request, "...What?"

"I said I-"

"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID!" Diamond shot back in a thunderous outburst, "What makes you think I'm just gonna let you 'quit'?"

"Because I just did. So if you don't mind..." Omni turned around to get back to the party.

But of course Diamond stepped in his path, apparently none too happy with his choice, "I don't think you're understand how much hot water you're under. I can blow the whistle on you anytime I want, is that clear?!"

"See, that's when you're wrong. Because if my secret has to get out, at least I won't have to keep being your slave," Omni leaned in close to Diamond's fuming muzzle, "And I'll tell you something else. What you're planning to do is no worse that taking my ride and free will. So I'm taking them back."

Diamond closed the gap and pressed her nose on his, snarling, "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me," Omni pushed Diamond aside and strolled off to the door. Passing by he could see the proud smiles on Twilight and Applebloom. He was about to leave when the door was suddenly moving away from him! Omni looked over his hindquarters and couldn't believe what he's seeing! Diamond Tiara's dragging him off by the tail! He looked back pleading at Twilight and Applebloom who could only give a sympathetic look. When they got far enough, Diamond threw him over against the wall and plopped herself right on his chest. What kind of girl's that strong?!

"You think you can just walk out on me, do you?" Diamond said in a dark but calm voice, "Let me fill you in on a little secret. As bad as your little secret is, it only cupcakes compared to what else I got on you. And all it took was an ice-cream sundae and couple of prunes."

Prunes? Wait a minute! Does that mean, from the other day... "Diamond you didn't!"

"Glad you finally managed to figure it out," Diamond smirked, "Don't worry, I won't tell anypony...so long as you do what I say when I say it and don't anything back. Do we understand each other?"

"You wicked little-"

Uh-uh," Diamond wagged her hoof in front of him, "Do. We. Understand each other."

"...Yes," Omni replied through his teeth, and Diamond hopped off of him.

"I'm glad we can come to an agreement," Omni lied slumped against the wall as he watched the tiara-wearing tyrant trot off. He still couldn't believe he's been outsmarted by a brat like that, "Listen up everypony! It's time to play Pin the Tail on the Pony!" she glared back at Omnifarious with a smirk, "Why don't you come on over and show us how to play!"

Reluctantly the blue pony got back on his feet and walked up. This cannot be good whatever she's planning. Omnifarious looked around across thr walls, "So where's the poster...?"

"Huh? Why do we need a poster...?" Diamond asked with a sing-song tone, "When we got a real pony right here!" she then jumped on top of a nearby table and held up a large tassal, wiggling in her hoof, "Let's have some fun."

From across the room Twilight and Applebloom's trio watched as the 'fun' began to unfold.

"I'm starting to feel real sorry for that guy," Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, and I thought we had it bad," Sweetie Belle agreed, "I wonder if there's anything we can do to help..."

"Let's make things interesting!" the could here Diamond announce to the other guests, "Let's see who can catch him when we set him out in the street blindfolded!"

"He...he's a stallion. He can tough it out," Applebloom shook her head. The others nodded in agreement while Twilight just let out a stressed sigh and face-palmed.

Down in the basement below the library, the Book of Virtues came back to life with yet another entry...

Dearest Princess Celestia,

I am happy to report that one of your youngest subjects has learned a valuable lesson about friendship. Sometimes, the thing you think will cause you to lose friends and feel left out can actually be the thing that helps you make your closest friends and realize how special you are.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

And the headline above: 'Kindredship'.

Please Read and Review.

Luna Eclipsed OR the Halloween Special AKA Trick-or-Treat, Smell my Stinky Feet!

Author's Note

My Little Pony FIM-Hasbro

CFGX: "He's a Halloween-centric chapter. It took me all month to make it so please enjoy it. Reviews and insight are greatly appreciated."

Luna Eclipsed OR the Halloween Special AKA Trick-or-Treat, Smell my Stinky Feet!

It was another day in Ponyvile. And like any other day he found himself waking up and walking out of the house to yet another job. As he stepped out of the library. He went through his usual route passing through the usual places to his destination. He passed through Quils and Sofas with their paper crows propped across the edge of the roof, to Sugar Cube Corner with their pumpkin carvings placed in front of their windows. Finally after passing a field full of makeshift scarecrows he made it to Sweet Apple Acres.

The morning went by slowly as usual as he spent it shaking apples from his share of trees and placing them in baskets. After loading his quota he brought them in front of the barn where he met up with Applejack, "Hey, I got tha apples and-" Omni took a better look at her attire. She was wearing a series of patchwork clothing with straw stuffed underneath. More importantly her cowboy hat was replaced by a straw-woven hat, "Is...there any particular reason you're wearing that?"

"Huh?" Applejack blinked, "Don't you even know what today is?"

"Am I supposed to?" Omni asked. Applejack pointed towards a calendar nailed on the wall. He walked closer and studied the month and down to the earliest day not crossed off, "It's the 30th. So what?"

"What?" Applejack looked closer at the calendar, "Oh, wait a minute..." she brought out a pencil and crossed out the next day, leaving only one day left: the 31st.

"31st..." then Omni realized, "October 31st? Halloween's today?!" he them raced off back to town.

"Wait! I haven't given you your pay yet!" Applejack called, but Omni was too far gone by then, "And what's this 'Holloween' stuff all about anyway...?"

"Can't you check again? There's gotta be something over there..."

"Sorry, but there's not much demand for whatever costumes you're looking for, unless you'd rather go out tonight as a fairy princess."

"Thanks for nothing then..." groaning, Omnifarious marched off until he's out of the costume shop. How ironic the one time of day was near sold out of the products made just for that day.

"Afternoon, Omnifarious," he looked up to see Twilight greeting him with a smile, her saddle bag seen full of supplies, "Getting ready for tonight?"

"Twilight, did you know that Halloween was today...?" Omni asked, only to received a confused look as usual from the unicorn.

"Um, excuse me?"

"All Hallow's Eve? October 31st? ...The 31st day of the 10th month?"

"Omni, I think you mean Nightmare Night!" Twilight corrected, "Look, why don't take a walk with me? It's been a while since we talked like this," Omni sighed and followed Twilight down the street, "So, what's with the long face when I saw you leave that store?"

"Well, I wanted to get a costume for tonight but they have nothing in stock."

"Come to think of it, this is our Nightmare Night since we moved here, right?"

"Actually this is my first one period," Omni explained, "I grew up in a kinda religious family so we stayed away from stuff like this."

"Okay..." Twilight hid a cynical look, "Maybe we can work something out. New Moon told me he wanted you for something to do for Nightmare Night tonight."

Omni's eyes and ears perked up, "Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"When you said I can help out..." Omni groaned over a huge bowl of candy given to him, "I thought we'd be, you know, going out tonight?"

"We are going out. 'We' being me, Spike and Twilight," New Moon suggested.

"And why can't you give out the candy?! You've been here longer than anyone else in this library! Where are you going that's so important anyway?! Y-you don't even have a costume!"

"You don't need to know. You just need to stay here and do what I asked."

"Look, this is my first time doing something like this. The least you can do is-"

"The least I can do? The least I did was let you leave here for free!"

"I've paid my rent! On time-"

"Moving on!" New Moon interrupted, "Listen, I just need you to do this one little thing. Whatever you're planning, it can wait next year! Is that clear?!" while the two drove their noses against each other, there was a knock on the door, "I'll get that..." he went to the door and with his magic he pulled it open...

"Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!" where a small herd of tiny little ponies stood on the other side, a princess, an astronaut and a ladybug with bags open ready.

"That's you're cue," New Moon said as he turned around passing Omni.

But in the black unicorn's place Twilight came over to the door beside him, "Hi, everypony. Great costumes," she then looked up from the kids to the elderly green apple pony, "Happy Nightmare Night, Granny Smith."

"I should have been asleep five hours ago," Granny replied in her tired, frazzled state.

"I'd better..." Omni went over to the candy bowl and grabbed three pieces of candy in his mouth, and came back to drop each one in one of the children's bags. He now wished he went for four pieces because out through the costumed children bulled through a small brown pinto pony dressed as a pirate, even having his very own eyepatch. He took a few swings of his tiny plastic cutlass before falling over off-balance. But he quickly recovered.

"Pipsqueak the pirate, at your service," he saluted in a british accent, "It's my very first Nightmare Night!"

"Since you moved here from Trottingham?" Twilight asked.

"No, my very first Nightmare Night ever!"

Omnifarious looked away and sighed under his breath, "Well...that makes two of us..."

Suddenly a giant chicken jumped out of nowhere with a giant squawk, "Enough chitchat! Time is candy!"

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight raised an eyebrow, "aren't you a little old for this?"

"Too old for free candy?" the oversized chicken squawked, "Never."

Omni sighed and tossed a piece of candy into Pinkie's bag.

"Say guys, how do you like my costume," Omni looked over Twilight's costume, which was a set of star-stitched cape and cap...and a beard.

"You're a wizard, right?"

"Uh-huh!" Twilight nodded excitingly, "Can you guess which one?"

"Sure. You're Merlin from The Sword in the Stone."

Twilight scowled a bit at the answer, "And...what gave you that answer?"

"You're wearing the same blue costume and a beard. All you need now is an owl and you're good."

The purple unicorn was about to rebut before the black unicorn came back, "Twilight, if you and Spike are ready, I'd like to got to the festival now."

After nodding Twilight turned back to Omni, "Aren't you coming too, Omni?"

Omnifarious volunteered to stay and give out the candy. So he won't be joining us this year." Omni's mouth hung open as he was interrupted by New Moon. He must really be set on making him stay here.

"Oh..." Twilight's tone saddened, "Well, we'll see you when we get back," the two unicorns and dragon (who's dressing up as a dragon; let's call 'im Double Dragon) stepped out the door and walked out with Pinkie.

Omnifarious wanted to have his first Halloween night outside, not inside. There must be some way to get it done. Soon he realized his answer was just waling away, and managed to catch up to Granny Smith before she got too far, "Hey, how would you like to take a break from all this while I look after them?"

As tired as she was, Granny took the opportunity to call it a night. And without a chaperon, the four little trick-or-treaters were left at the library with the only adult. But that doesn't mean they were staying there all night. They went out tonight for candy and that's what Omni wants. That's why after a while he came out with his own costume. He threw it right over himself so the kids were standing right in front of a ghost...with too many eyes...wearing pink flowers. Unfortunately his first impression on them wasn't a good one, "It's my first costume..." he hung his head low.

Now ready for candy, Omni followed the kids through town on his first quest for candy. They stopped in front of many houses and given many loads of candy. When they got their fill of treats, they stopped near town hall to contemplate their spoils.

"I got giant gumdrops!"

"I got juicy fruity jawbreakers!"

"I got blueberry bubblegum!"

"I got malty milk balls!"

Omnifarious dumped his contents from his own bag. But what he was given unfortunately wasn't something you can eat unless you have jaws of steel. "I got a rock..."

KRRAAAAAKAKKOOOOOMM!

There sounded a massive thunderclap right over their heads. It caused the children to run off scared. Soon after Omni was abandoned, the sound of thunder turned into the sound of laughter. He looked up over to the small black cloud overhead and spotted a pony in black and lightning-patterned spandex. And by his multi-colored hair he knew who it was, "Rainbow! Did you do that?!"

Rainbow Dash poked his head over the cloud he's standing on, "That you, Omni?" his laugh reached a higher note, "Oh man, did you make that thing yourself?!"

"Were you the one that did that?!" Omni snapped, "That wasn't funny!"

"Oh, come on! It's just a little prank! It's not like I was trying to hurt anyone!"

"But what if lightning struck someone? You could've seriously hurt someone doing that!"

"Well, I didn't so you can stop bellyaching," Rainbow pushed his cloud and started moving away with it, "Nice costume, by the way!" he flew off cackling, probably looking for someone else to scare half to death, which in no time was Cumilonimbus.

"&#%DAMN!" the white angel-pegasus shrieked as he fell off the cloud he was sleeping on.

Omni's really regretting going out wearing this...

"Ow!" something soft bounced off of Omni's head. He looked down and saw a roll of toilet paper on the ground.

"Sorry 'bout that!" a familiar voice called out and a pegasus landed near the ghost pony.

"...Faiz?"

"...Omni?" Mach Faiz turned to the ghost sharing his puzzled look, that was about to be replaced by his another air of laughter.

"Hey, this is my first night on this holiday," Omni snapped, trying to stop Faiz from laughing, "I would like some appreciation."

"Okay, I'll take your word from it. But still..." Faiz kept snickering, "You're wearing that?"

"What are you doing with toilet paper, anyway?" Omni sighed, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, this?" Faiz picked up the roll, tossing it with his hoof, "Just a little Nightmare Night mischief."

The gears turned in Omni's head until he managed to guess what Faiz's taking about, "You're using that?" he asked, pointing at the roll.

"Sure am!" Faiz grinned, "Wanna join in?"

It's not like he had anything better to do, but just because Faiz would risk going to jail doesn't mean he has to, "Nah, have fun." he waved off.

"More fun for me, then," Faiz shrugged and flew off.

Omni feels he need to get some sweets when the night's still young. Maybe Sugarcube Corner's still open...

Taking back his still empty treat bag up under his costume and ignoring an audible 'shink', Omni went on his way to buy some candy instead. But it only took a few steps to realize that the costume was being dragged right off him! He jolted still with the sheet hanging halfway over across his back and turned his head to see the form of a tiny little nightmare.

"Look what we have here," there stood Diamond Tiara with her own costume: a blue leotard with matching leg stockings and a headband holding back her pink-and-purple hair, "Somepony decided to go out on Nightmare Night like he always does back home: a wayward little pony hiding under his sheets like he's scared of the dark!"

Omni spun around to face the little tyrant, but after feeling his costume being yanked straight off, he spun back halfway and confronted Diamonds sidekick, Silver Spoon, wearing a green variation of Diamonds outfit.

"Hehe, good one!" Silver giggled and tossed the sheet aside.

Omni gritted his teeth and sighed, "It's good to see you too, girls... This might be a stupid question, but, wanna tell me who you're going as?"

"You're right, that was a stupid idea. But that's understandable so I guess I'll humor you," both Diamond and Silver were standing shoulder to shoulder, Silver twirling an iron staff while Diamond brought out a giant fan, "You're in the presence of two very stunning warrior princesses, boh of us deadly as we are beautiful."

"I might've guessed that..." Omni sighed, "And what may I honor these two 'princesses' with?"

"Well, since you asked, this happens to be your lucky night," Diamond smirked, "I just so happen to have a spare costume for you to wear. Show 'im, Silver!"

Silver spoon brought out another copy of their outfit, this one magenta in color. Looking more clearly it's more like a one-piece girls swim in, "And it's all yours."

That suit looks like a size 3. How are they supposed to make Omni wear that...? "I am not wearing that."

Silver scoffed, "We saw your costume. Why would you wanna pass up an opportunity like this?"

"What am I supposed to look like wearing that?!" Omni spat.

"You'll be the princesses' least competent yet equally ugly stepsister," Diamond frowned, "It's the role you're born to play!"

Omni gritted his teeth. He was about to tell the two off with future inevitable failure when a small crown lead by a large chicken passed by screaming their heads off. He then looked up to see dark clouds gather together. Doesn't matter if it's done by pony power or not, it's still unnatural. Anyway, that herald of a black chariot pulled by a pair of dark, bat-winged ponies. A shadowy cloak which was it's passenger jumped off and landed in the ground in front of all who stopped what their doing.

They removed their hood, revealing a tall, navy-blue pony. Her sparkling blue mane that's synonymous with the blinking night sky reminded Omni of Princess Celestia. Is this her relative or something? By the way everyone seemed to bow to the ground around her, she must be. Her cape dissolved into fluttering bats as she walked into the middle of the street stretching her large wings, causing the others to cower. With the girls away, Omni tossed his costume back over himself. From two of the eyeholes he could see everyone around the large pony shudder as she raised a hoof and...

"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!" the voice from her can very well be mistaken by the sound of thunder, "WE HAVE GRACED YOUR TINY VILLAGE WITH OUR PRESENCE, SO THAT YOU MIGHT BEHOLD THE TRUE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT! A CREATURE OF NIGHTMARES NO LONGER, BUT INSTEAD A PONY WHO DESIRES YOUR LOVE AND ADMIRATION! TOGETHER WE SHALL CHANGE THIS DREADFUL CELEBRATION INTO A BRIGHT AND GLORIOUS FEAST!" unnecessarily, lightning flashed on cue.

"Did you hear that, everypony? Nightmare Moon says she's gonna feast on us all!" the chicken exclaimed, causing everyone else to scream with her and run off.

The tall pony calling herself Princess Luna could only give a shocked and confused look to the spectacle in front of her, "What? No, children, no! You no longer have reason to fear us! Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of terror!" unfortunately, a stomp on the ground made the wrong impression as the people cowered some more. She strode on over to the town mayor, who's wearing a rainbow afro, "MADAME MAYOR, THY PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT HATH ARRIVED!" she offered her hoof to her, only for the mayor to noticeably shudder in her presence. The same went to mostly anyone she pointed to, "What is the matter with you? Very well, then. Be that way. We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell." the blue pony then left, which was a bit rude considering she didn't even notice Omni standing right there while everyone else had their faces in the ground. But he seemed to be the only one to notice when someone's distraught...

He followed the direction Luna was going when eventually he met up with Twilight, "I take it you're worried too?" she asked.

"Kinda. Hey, do you think that's really Luna back there?"

"What are you talking about? Of course it's her! Who else could it be?"

"Let's ask her," The two ponies reached a woodsy clearing somewhere outside of town, where right in the open stood erect a large statue of a tall pony on its hind legs, appearing to be whinnying towards whoever's standing in its sights, about the same height as Celestia by the looks of it. And right in front of it lied a sulking blue pony that was Princess Luna.

"Princess Luna?" Twilight called, "Hi, my name is-–"

"Star Swirl the Bearded," Luna answered for her as she hopped back up, "Commendable costume! Thou even got the bells right."

"Thank you! Finally! Somepony who gets my costume!" Unfortunately it's too late to take back that off-topic statement, "Uh, I just came to welcome you to our celebration! My actual name is -–"

"Twilight Sparkle," Luna then bellowed, "IT WAS THOU WHO UNLEASHED THE POWERS OF HARMONY UPON US AND TOOK AWAY OUR DARK POWERS!" she then lowered back her tone, "Might we ask who is your friend?"

"Wanna introduce yourself?" Twilight glanced to Omni, but instead of being on the spot next to her he was circling around Luna, like he was examining a weird statue at the museum. And like a teacher scolding at a student Twilight hissed, "Omni?!"

"You have...quite a peculiar friend." Luna said, before Omni walke in front to face her.

"Are you...really Princess Luna?" Omni asked.

"Omni!" Twilight snapped.

"But of course," Luna answered, "Whom else could we be?"

"What happened? You look, uh..." Omni sized up the winged unicorn, "Big."

"OMNI!" Twilight pounced him and jammed her hoof over his mouth, "I'm so sorry! You see he-" but the damage was apparently already been done.

"HOW DARE THOU SO CASUALLY INSULT US! WHO ARE THOU TO JUDGE OUR PERFECTLY FIT PHYSIQUE, THOU WHOM CLEARLY HAS NO SENSE OF APPEARANCE OF THOU OWN!"

"I am so sorry, Princess Luna!" Twilight hasty apologized, "He doesn't know what's he's talking about at times!"

But Omni forced Twilight's hoof off of him. "Doesn't she look a bit different to you?"

"What are you saying? I don't see anything different about her!"

"Actually..."

"No! Let go of me!" I found Mach Faiz at the far end of the room dragging a different pony by the tail.

"Faiz, no! You don't know who that is!" New Moon cried.

"Can't you tell?! It's Nightmare!" Faiz said before he was pulled off of the pony by New Moon's magic.

"That's Princess Luna!" New Moon said, "Which happens to be Princess Celestia's younger sister!"

"Sister?!" everyone else exclaimed. Luna looked a lot different, and smaller that the Nightmare Moon I saw. Her coat was violet-blue with light-blue hair and tail. She wore a small blue crown and necklace.

And that's where the 'pause' button clicked.

"See? Right there," Omni pointed at the TV ontop of a paused-video VCR, "Can't you tell the difference?"

However, Luna was more interested in the TV set than what's on it, "This is quite the interesting device. What is it?"

"I'd like to know that myself," Twilight said, as curious as Luna, "I didn't even know he had something like this!"

"Please focus!" Omni said, pointing at the dark-blue pony, "You don't see anything different between this lady and the one on the screen?"

"Thou still have not introduced yourself yet." Luna mentioned.

"Eh, right. Wait a minute..." Omni pulled off his costume. "Remember now?"

"AND WHOM ARE THOU WHO CLAIMS WE ARE FAMILIAR OF?!"

"You mean you don't recognize him?" Twilight asked.

"I'm the guy you conned into binding with a magic book." Omni said.

"Magic book, you say? ...The Book of Virtue?" Luna leaned in closer and the gears started turning. When the answer came to her, her eyes widened as her voice softened, "...Omnifarious?"

"Yeah, nice to meet ya too."

"We remember now... THOU TOO HAD A PART IN MY REVIVAL! IT WAS THOU WHO SHOWN US THE ERROR OF OUR WAYS. FOR THAT WE ARE THANKFUL AS WELL!"

"So that's a good thing?"

"But of course," Luna replied, "We could not be happier. Is that not clear?"

"I sure that's because you've been yelling every other sentence. Don't you think that sets off a bad impression?"

"But this is the traditional royal Canterlot voice!" Luna explained, "It is tradition to speak using the royal 'we', and to use THIS MUCH VOLUME WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS!" that last outburst was strong enough to push Omni on his back.

"What Omnifarious meant was that's why your appearance was met with... 'mixed results'," Twilight assisted, "I think if you just changed your approach a bit, you might be met with a warmer reception."

"CHANGE OUR APPROACH!"

"Using your inside voice, for starters..." Omni implied.

"INSIDE VOICE?! PLEASE ELABORATE!"

"Lower the volume?" Twilight explained.

"Ohhh. We have been locked away for a thousand years. We are... not sure we can..."

Omni finally managed to get back on his feet, "Not too late to start."

And a good place to start was somewhere small, so the three walked to the outskirts to Fluttershy's small house.

"Don't worry, Princess. Fluttershy can give you some great pointers. She's delicate and demure with the sweetest little voice." Twilight knocked on the door.

"GO AWAY! NO CANDY HERE! VISITORS NOT WELCOME ON NIGHTMARE NIGHT!" the voice from behind the door was even louder than Luna's.

Twilight chuckled sheepishly. "Fluttershy, it's me, Twilight!"

Fluttershy cracked the door open and peeked out, "It is you," she opened the door a bit more, "Oh, and a ghost. ...A ghost?!" she yelped and shut the door back.

"Uh, no, just Omnifarious!" Omni called, "It's a costume!"

Fluttershy opened the door back just enough to see Omni pull the cover off, "Oh. It is you," she opened the door a bit more, "Ah, and Nightmare Moon... Nightmare Moon!?" the yellow pegasus yelped and shut the door back again.

Twilight laughed nervously, "Wait right here."

"No..." Omni held Twilight back, "I'd better handle this. Leave it to me..." he stepped to the door and was about to open it before... "Uh, a little..." Twilight groaned and used her magic to open the door and allowed Omni inside. After a split second of what happened to be a moment of silence, the door opened and he limped right back out, dropping to the ground in a torn and beaten heap, "Girl knows karate..." Omni grumbled before lying back face-down.

"Maybe I should handle this..." Twilight said and walked inside. A few loud noises, a couple broken furniture and near-zero resistance later, she was managed to shove the yellow flyer out the door, "Fluttershy..." she grunted, "you remember Princess Luna?"

"CHARMED!" Luna greeted.

"Likewise..." Fluttershy zipped back inside but Twilight levitated her back out and turned her to face the large visitor.

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE HATH SPOKEN OF THE SWEETNESS OF THY VOICE! WE ASK THOU TO TECHEST THOU TO US TO SPEAK AS THOU SPEAKEST!"

"Okay."

"SHALL OUR LESSONS BEGIN?!"

"Okay."

"SHALL WE MIMIC THY VOICE?!"

"Okay."

"HOW IS THIS?!"

"Perfect, lesson over!" Fluttershy made a break for the house but ran splat into the door.

"A little quieter, princess."

"HOW IS...THIS?!"

"Better. Right, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy managed to peel her head off the door, dazed, "Yes."

"HOW... ABOUT...NOW?"

"Just a little more..." Omni slurred as he stumbled back on his feet.

"AND...how about now?"

"Yes!" Twilight cheered, "Well done."

Fluttershy was about to sneak back in when Luna dragged her back out and held her tight, "I THANK THEE, DEAR FLUTTERSHY! OUR NORMAL SPEAKING VOICE SHALL SURELY WIN THE HEARS OF THY FELLOW VILLAGERS!"

"Fluttershy!" the familiar clucking of a giant chicken came from over the small bridge, "You've gotta hide us! Nightmare Moon is here and..." when she saw Fluttershy in Luna's arms she squawked, "Ah! She stole Fluttershy's voice so she can't scream when she gobbles her up!" she screamed along with the other kids who ran off.

"NAY, CHILDREN! WAIT!" after letting her loud voice slip, she lowered her tone, "I mean... nay, children, no, wait." but it was too late as they were long gone.

"Well, could be worse..." Omni muttered.

"Come on, princess," Twilight said, "Time for plan B."

The three walked back into town square, where the folk there cringed to the ground at Luna's entrance.

"It is of no use, Twilight Sparkle," Luna said, "They have never liked us and they never shall."

"My friend Applejack is one of the most likable ponies around. I'm sure she'll have some ideas." Twilight said and spotted the scarecrow as she just presented a little pirate from falling into the applebobbing basket. But when she saw Luna coming, she met with the ground with the others. "Uh... Applejack, the princess is looking for a little advice on how to fit in around here."

"'Fit in'? Really? " Twilight snarled a bit and Applejack got the message, so she stood back up and jumped to Luna, "I mean... that's easy! All you gotta do is have the right attitude. Loosen up a bit, be positive, play a few games, have some fun."

"Fun?" Luna replied, confused, "What is this "fun" thou speakest of?" she was then lead to a nearby vendor with a bowl of spiders on a table, "Pray tell, what purpose do these serve?"

"Try to land the sp-sp-spiders on the web." the vendor whimpered. Luna scooped up a spider and tossed it lightly towards the web ornament, but landed on the ground near it instead. Luna looked back with worry from the blunder.

"You can do it, princess!" Applejack cheered.

Luna tossed another spider, this time landing it on the web, "Ha! Your princess enjoys this 'fun'!" she laughed, excited, "In what other ways may we experience it?"

"Twilight!" the purple unicorn followed the sound of New Moon in a hurry, who stopped right in front of her panting, "Twilight..."

"Is there something wrong?" Twilight asked, concerned.

After catching his breath, New Moon answered, "The library... You need to come and see this..."

Twilight and Omni had to wait until they got there to to actually believe it. The tree was a complete mess. Egg yokes splattered all over the trunk and toilet paper hanging on the tree limbs in places impossible to remove it unscathed.

Twilight stared up at the library in both awe and horror, "Who could've done this...?" a loud coughing can be heard from nearby, which turned out to be a jack-o-lantern, bruised, beaten and battered. "Oh my gosh! What happened?!"

"It was horrible..." the pumpkin wheezed, "They w-were waiting...they knew no one was guarding the place. So they..." the pumpkin couldn't finish, instead having to hack out gobs of pumpkin seeds.

"Please don't speak," New Moon soothed, "You did your best."

"Why wasn't he at his post?" the pumpkin sobbed, "This would never have happen if...if..." but that was all it could get out as his flame finally flickered away.

Sliding the jack-o-lantern's hollow eyes closed, New Moon was joined with Twilight and Omni before finally letting out a snarl. "When I get my hooves on that pony I am going to rip him apart...!"

"He mentioned someone supposed to being at her post," Twilight whimpered, "Does that mean..."

"It's been like this every Nightmare Night..." New Moon said, "Someone only does this whenever nopony's home. That's why I had Omnifarious stay behind! But you know what, I blame myself. I should've know better than to ignore my much better judgement and leave that idiot with something as simple as giving out candy..."

"Did you even tell him the real reason?" Twilight asked.

"He doesn't need to know," New Moon flatly replied, "It was supposed to be a straight-forward task. But as usual, he screwed it up! The moment he shows his face I am going to hold him responsible!" Twilight darted her worried eyes over to Omni, sort of thankful New Moon didn't noticed the blue pony under the sheet. It also means he shouldn't stay around any longer, and for good reason, "Wait a minute..." New Moon looked with a raised brow over to the flowery ghost, "Who're you? Why are you here?"

That's his cue for Omni to run off.

"Hey! Where are you going?!"

The closer he got, the more chaotic the trail seemed to have gotten. Beside the groups of ponies running all over without any sense of direction, the ground seemed to be infested with giant spiders! Omni saw that and got freaked out that he jumped onto the first table he saw. Pandemonium seemed to be all around him! What could've caused this...?

"BE STILL!" That outburst came like a shockwave as Luna stood over the cowering populace.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Omni jumped off and approached Luna, "Whatever happened to inside voices?!"

"NO! WE MUST USE THE TRADITIONAL CANTERLOT VOICE FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SAY," Luna bellowed, anger now noticeable in her tone, "SINCE YOU CHOOSE TO FEAR YOUR PRINCESS RATHER THAN LOVE HER, AND DISHONOR HER WITH THIS INSULTING CELEBRATION, WE DECREE THAT NIGHTMARE NIGHT SHALL BE CANCELLED! FOREVER!" the princess instantly fled away, leaving the town shaken in her declaration.

He wandered around to find someone to ask until he found Applejack, "What happened when I was gone?"

"I don't exactly know what happened myself," Applejack explained, "I mean, one minute we were all having a great time, then all of a sudden somepony cried foul and it all turned into a major frightfest, and not the good kind," the two stood looking around at the damage caused by what happened. Parents were comforting their children from the fun that was now ruined for them, "But more importantly, how are we gonna fix it?"

"I don't know..." Omni looked toward the direction Luna went, "But I better start somewhere..."

Omnifarious retraced Luna's trail until he reached the outskirts, where he could see a large pony's shadow moving on the bridge. He joined the princess who was sadly hanging her head, looking at the reflection in the river below. Omni scooted towards the princess and placed his arms on the flat-surface edge.

"Begone, Omnifarious," Luna said in a low growl, not taking her eyes off the water. "We have nothing to say to thou."

A few moments of silence passed before Omni spoke up, "So...I heard the party got a bit...lively while I was gone."

"It was a complete disaster, if that was what thou implied," Luna replied darkly.

"Oh... Well, I didn't exactly see what happened but-"

"An infant colt whom we aided claimed to the public that we we trying to devour him," Luna huffed, "Then, the giant talking chicken returned and then accused us as well. And like naive foals the rest actually believed it and went scurrying like rats. And no matter how much I appease them it only caused more pandemonium."

"I guess it didn't work out li-"

"Thou patronage is testing our patience," the princess snarled, "No more non-sequitur. Speak your mind, then leave."

"About what you said earlier...you didn't actually mean that, do you?"

"Thou would presume we would jest about something like this? We have tried reasoning with them but they refuse to listen," Luna scoffed, "If they are to behave like children, then we must treat them as such."

"Like I said, it could be worse. Let's try again, okay?"

"No. We no longer have purpose in this village," Luna then walked herself off the bridge, "So we will take our leave."

Omni followed suit, not wanting to lose her, "So that's it? You're gonna just quit and leave?" Luna didn't reply, nor turned her head as she kept walking further from the town. Being ignored like that was causing Omni to lose his patience, "I guess you'd just rather feel sorry for yourself that make any effort to make any real friends!"

That last outburst certainly got Luna's attention, so she spun around and countered with an outburst of her own, "HOW DARE THOU SPEAKEST TO YOUR PRINCESS LIKE THAT, FILTHY PEASANT!" her voice was nearly loud enough to push back whatever isn't nailed down, even a blue-furred pony who was being dragged bit by bit across the ground, "THOU PRESUME TOO MUCH! WE HAVE MADE MANY AN ATTEMPT TO BOND WITH YOU INGRATES! IT IS THEM WHO WOULD SPITE THEIR PRINCESS RATHER THAN PRAISE HER! THEY WILL NEVER ACCEPT THEIR PRINCESS LIKE THEY HAVE OUR SISTER! WE! HAVE! FAILED!" a sudden decibel increase was made for emphasis and that sudden force knocked Omnifarious onto his back. Upon getting back up he saw the princess weaken in the knees and knelt to the ground, her head tucked between her front legs. If Omni didn't know better he'd thought she was crying. She might be by the way her voice wavered just then. As he approached her he could see that she was visibly shivering.

Omnifarious never thought much of anyone, even if their royalty. But even he could see right now that she was feeling vulnerable. He sat down in front of her, this time being more careful of what to say, "You know, you were right about one thing, it's not your fault. Those guys really have been overreacting. But it's not exactly the first time this happened, not the worse either. I haven't been living in this town very long, but I knew enough to know they can be very stupid sometimes."

Luna stopped shivering and rose her head a bit from her position, though eyes not on his, "Is that so?"

"Oh yeah. It's like that time back a few months ago when I first met that zebra named Zecora," Omni reviewed, "I was delivering a package to her but got held up because the townspeople thought she was a witch or something. One thing led to another and some stuff happened that got Zecora blamed for it. I tried clearing things up with them and you know what they did? They tried to burn me at the stake!"

Luna's mouth opened for an inaudible gasp as her eyes eventually connected to Omni's, "How awful! What happened after?"

"Twilight and the others had to clear things up and bail me out. But at least no one's calling Zecora a witch anymore."

"But how does that day relate to tonight?"

"People here usually see what's in front of them. With Zecora they see some strange horse with stripes, so the first thing on their minds was to duck for cover. You see the similarities?"

"Perhaps..." Luna rose up in a sitting position like Omni was, "But how does that solve this predicament?"

"By doing pretty much the same thing. Get a chance to sit down and talk things over. Simple."

"And when there come a time where that fails as well?"

"Failure only comes when you just give up and stop trying. Think about it, if you leave now, you'll be leaving these people believing their princess really is a monster, or at the best-case scenario a spiteful princess. Do you really think that's what's best for you or them?"

"We do not," soon Luna was standing on her feet, with a face not of scorn of spite, but of spirit, "Very well, we shall try again."

"That's what I like to hear," Omni turned back for the town when he spotted a familiar purple shape in the darkness, "Twilight...?"

The purple unicorn emerged with a bashful smile from her hiding spot, "Sorry if I were eavesdropping, I didn't want to interrupt," she then looked on over to Luna, "He's right though, Princess Luna. It's like the saying goes, 'If first you don't succeed, just try again'."

Luna looked away for a bit, thinking it over before replying, "That may as well be true."

Twilight looked back down to Omni, "So, do you have a plan?"

"I was just thinking we gather a few people and talk it over. Hopefully they'll pass on the news and get this whole mess straightened out."

"That is a good idea. And I already though of one in particular..."

The giant chicken went clucking gleefully across town. It was then it saw something in the ground in front of its feet. It was small, it was colorful. It bent down to find out it was...

"Ooh! A piece of candy!" the poultry pecked away the wrapper and scooped the candy into its mouth. It didn't get the chance to pull back up before another was set in its sights, "Ooh! A piece of candy!" and another, "Ooh! A piece of candy!" and another, "Ooh! A piece of candy!" and another, "Ooh! A piece of candy!" and another, unsuspecting of the trail that led the chicken to a dark alleyway, where the trail ends and all that came after was darkness.

Omni jumped onto the large, overturned crate to keep his weight on the captive.

"That really isn't part of the plan, you know!" Twilight groaned.

"What? This is how you catch stuff!" Omni said, trying to stay on top of the thrashing crate.

"You better let me handle this," Twilight telekinetically turned the crate over and Omni off of it. With its freedom back the giant chicken was about to scramble before getting tackled by Twilight, stuffing a hoof in its beak, "No! No shrieking. No screaming or squealing either. Okay?"

"...Okay." the chicken muffled.

"There's something I want you to see. And I promise that it's safe, but you really, really, really can't shriek. Do you promise not to shriek?"

"Mm-hmm," the chicken nodded, so Twilight decided to remove her hoof. She and Omni stepped aside to reveal Luna. Seeing the princess emerged from the shadows, the chicken began to squawk fearfully before having to clamp her own mouth shut.

"Pinkie Pie, you remember Princess Luna, right?" Twilight greeted.

"Ah. The ringleader of the frightened children," Luna approached Pinkie, shyly rubbing her hooves, "Hast thou come to make peace?"

Pinkie was hesitant for a while, but was able to deliver a warm smile to Luna. She soon stretched a hoof out to the princess...

Until a loud thunderclap and lightning ruined it all and tore down whatever bonding was about to occur, "Nightmare Moon!" the chicken shrieked and scampered off.

Omni looked up to see a familiar laughing cloud, "%&#DAMMIT, RAINBOW!" he snapped at the cackling pegasus before she was too far gone.

The chicken was making her way out of the alley before Twilight popped up in front of her blocking her path. She put her hooves on its wings making sure it didn't go anywhere, "She's changed, Pinkie! She's not evil or scary anymore! And she definitely doesn't want to gobble you up!"

"...Well, duh," a question mark popped above Twilight, "I know that. Sheesh, Twilight. I'm almost as big as her, how's she gonna gobble me up?"

"Wait a minute, am I missing something?" Omni asked.

"So why do you keep running away and screaming?" Twilight asked.

"Sometimes it's just really fun to be scared!" Omni chirped.

"Fun? Pinkie Pie, you're a genius!"

"No, I'm not. I'm a chicken." Pinkie squawked.

"Princess Luna! I've finally figured out why you're having so much trouble being liked!"

"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm." Luna deadpanned.

"I need to say I'm kinda lost myself," Omni added, "Care to elaborate?"

"Come with me. I'll explain everything on the way."

"I still don't understand what we're doing..." Omni muttered as he hid with Twilight in the bushes. From there they were watching the small trick-or-treaters leaving candy in front of the statue, one after another.

"Don't worry about it," Twilight said, "All we have to do now is watch and wait."

Among the last of them the small, brown-spotted pirate gave his candy to the pile. He looked up at the statue, "Goodbye, Nightmare Night. Forever..."

The wind suddenly picked up before everyone can leave. What came after was a booming voice, "CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! YOU WERE WISE TO BRING CANDY TO ME! I AM PLEASED WITH YOUR OFFERING! SO PLEASED THAT I MAY JUST EAT IT..." the statue then turned black with lively hair and tail, coming instantly to life, "INSTEAD OF EATING YOU!"

The kids scream and ran out of the woods. With the area now empty, the statue that turned into Nightmare Moon turned into Luna, as she spat the fake teeth out, "I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight and Omni rose from the bushes, "Just wait." Twilight replied, confident.

"For what?" Luna jumped off the platform, "For...for them to scream some more?"

"Um... Princess Luna," the princess felt something tug on her tail and looked down to see Pipsqueak, "I know there's not gonna be any more Nightmare Night, but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?"

Luna gave a confused look as she spotted more children emerged from the bushes, "Child. Art thou saying that thou... likest me to scare you?"

"It's really fun! Scary, but fun!"

"It... is?"

"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year."

"Well then. We shall have to bring Nightmare Night back!"

"Whoa! You're my favorite princess ever!" Pipsqueak turned to his friends, "She said yes, guys!" and the kids cheered.

"See? They really do like you, princess." Twilight smiled. She then glanced over to Omni waiting for him to give his own output, even having to elbow him to get his attention.

"Oh! Right. Sure no one likes being scared, but this is the one time of year that turns into mutual entertainment for us. You just needed some time to be familiar with it is all. Just be moderate at what you're doing."

"Can it be true?" for the first time in a while, Luna shown a genuine smile, along with a clear expression of joy, "OH, MOST WONDERFUL OF- I mean... Oh, most wonderful of nights."

Later that night, Omnifarious sat against a nearby tree with huge bag of newly-obtained candy. He figured since this is his first time, and there's no point in Luna latting anything extra go to waste, he decided to sort through her offerings for whetever chocolates he could find, and leave the rest for her. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to eat them. No because chocolate's not his favorite, but because the chocolates were in wrappers, and wrappers and whooves don't mix, something Omnifarious didn't think over.

"Omnifarious," the blue pony looked up to see Luna aproaching, "Twilight Sparkle and I noticed you were not partaking in the festivities. So I have taken upon myself to search for you."

"Okay..." Omni waited for whatever else she had to say.

"And I felt I should thank you again for your assistance. Although it was mostly Twilight who helped me achieve my goal in bonding with the townsponies. But I supposed with what little contribution you made, you have at least convinced me to stay. So I suppose that counts for something."

"You say that like I was just in the way..." Omni boldly replied.

"Oh no, I did not mean it like that," Luna double-took, "I only meant that compared to the number of times Twilight had helped tonight, you only helped once. I meant no offense to that."

"Mmhm." Omni snorted.

Luna craned her head close to Omni's level, "But supposed you look at it this way: if you had not tried to convince me to stay in Ponyville, then perhaps I really would have been no better than Nightmare Moon. And I would look back on this night only with regrets," she gave a warm smile, "That is what I meant."

"Tell me something. Last time you were Nightmare, would you really had considered what I told you before the Elements took effect?"

Luna's smile turned into a frown as she looked away, "My times as such a pony are not ones I wish to remember."

"Alright, you don't have to answer," Omni said, "Just curious is all."

"But to answer your question, I truely would rather I did. Twilight was perhaps right about you. You do have the talent to form words of silver, albiet on rare occasions they hold equal value." with that, the princess lift Omni alone, with him taking in those last words. He honestly never though of it like that...

Meanwhile, the Book of Virtue opened with a new addition:

Dear Princess Celestia,

When you first sent me to Ponyville, I didn't know anything about friendship. I met somepony tonight who was having the same problem - your sister, Princess Luna! She taught me that one of the best things you can do with friendship is to give it to others, and help them find it themselves! And I'm happy to report that all of Ponyville has learned that even if somepony seems a little intimidating, even scary, when you offer them your friendship, you'll discover a whole new pony underneath. And even if my Star Swirl the Bearded costume didn't go over, this still turned out to be the best Nightmare Night ever!

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

And the headline to top it: Understanding.

"Omnifarious, what is it that you are doing with those items?" Luna wondered, pointing to the TV set hooked with a gaming console.

"This?" Omni gestured to the large joystick controller he's holding, "It's a video-game."

"Video...game?" Luna sat down close to Omni, "Please tell me the purpose in this 'video-game'."

"I'll show you," Omni scooted back to give Luna a clearer look at the controller, "You use the controller here to control the guy to beat up the other guy."

As Omni fiddled with the controller, Luna kept her eyes on the TV screen watching some guy with no shirt beating up a big guy with four arms until he fell unconscious.

"Liu Kang Wins."

"Interesting," Luna sighed in awe, "May I try?"

"Go ahead," Omni scooted aside for Luna to works the controls, "After picking the character you want, just use the joystick to move and the buttons to hit stuff."

"Very well," Luna, after taken to the character selection, chose a large man wearing a horned helmet before being brought to the arena. As soon as the match started, Luna went to work on the controls and beating the opponent senseless. After depleting their health the oppoenent became dazed.

"FINISH HIM!"

But Luna was already fiddleing with the controller randomly intil the screen turned dark. The horned man then uppercuts his opponent into the air, and smashed them to pieces with his hammer as they fell.

"Shao Kahn Wins."

"Flawless Victory."

"FATALITY!"

Princess Luna stood in front of the screen, mouth agape. A few seconds passed before she could finally speak up, "That...was...EXHILIRATING!" she squealed gleefully, "This is just like the gladiator arenas in the olden tmes but better! I had no idea this sort of thig exists!"

So throuout the night Princess Luna spent it playing the video-game until sun-up, amusing herself through victory to bloody, gory victory.

And that's how she got into video-games!

Please Read and Review.

Boots, Bridles and Britches

Author's Note

My Little Pony FIM-Hasbro

Boots, Bridles and Britches

Omnifarious traveled a short ways through Ponyville to Rarity's shop. The night before he was asked for an extra set of hands for her at the boutique for the week. Once he got there he knocked on the door.

"Coming!" the white unicorn sang from the other side and opened the door. Rarity came out beaming a beaming smile, "Hello, Omnifarious."

"Hey, I came here for the job."

"Oh, yes. I was expecting you. Come on in," Omni was about to walk inside before the entrance was blocked, "But first, would you mind wiping your hooves before you do? I don't want any tracks inside."

Omni sighed and wiped his feet on the welcome mat before following Rarity inside, "So what am I supposed to do today?"

"There are several tasks I'd like to get out of the way before the day is done. But first, I'd like you to get something from down at the basement for me..."

Omni soon found himself standing around rolls of cloth, big and small. What Rarity wanted was for him to bring up whatever color she asked. But one problem's in the way, that simply he can't carry them up and down the stairs since he needed all four feet to walk...or maybe two if he's trying to carry one with his arms. So the best he can do was improvise. That's when he spotted a small strip of cloth nearby...

Soon he managed to bring up the colors Rarity asked for, just in time for Rarity herself to stop by for her fabric. Unfortunately...

"Ugh! No, that is not it at all!” she exclaimed, sticking out her tongue in disgust, “I didn’t ask for these colors!"

"Look, you asked for a ‘Rose Red’, ‘Royal Blue’ and a ‘Sunny Yellow’," Omni raised a brow, "This is it, isn't it?"

"No, it is not!” Rarity pointed to the fabric with a cautious foot, “What you brought was a Cranberry Red, Ocean Blue and Dandelion Yellow! These won't do at all! And… is that drool on my fabric?!"

Omni eyed the cloth sheet next to him, and he spotted several wet blotches on it. He shrugged, "I don't know how else I'm supposed to carry them up and down the stairs without them slipping off my back."

"Well, if you're going to use your teeth, can you please not get anymore on my possessions?” Rarity then muttered, “If you can, that is..."

Omni held back a growl, "Am I supposed to take offense to that...?"

"Of course not...” Rarity trotted back over to one of the mannequins she was working over, “Now enough chit-chat. I'd like the basement tidy so I won't have to stumble over anything."

Omni let out an audible sigh before going back downstairs…

"Omnifarious, where are the spools I asked for?" a small thud startled her as a white basket dropped right beside her with what she needed, "Oh. Thank you,” she then waved a hoof off, “You can go."

Omni was about to get back to work when he saw a few dresses on display, five of them to count. He thought they look familiar, but maybe he was wrong...

"I finished with the basement, Rarity." Omni called as he walked back to the workroom, but Rarity was nowhere in sight.

"That's it. Keep them closed..." But he can hear her, so he followed her voice to the showroom where Rarity was leading the five others inside with their eyes shut. "Don't look..."

"Hey, guys," Omni called, causing the white unicorn to yelp in surprise, as well as caused the others to open their eyes.

"Hi Omni!" Pinkie waved, then gasped as she spotted the dresses, "Are those the dresses meant for us?"

"Um, of course. Although I wanted it to be a surprise until the time was right!” the white unicorn shot a glare at Omnifarious, sneaking in a hiss in addition before turning back to the others, “But I suppose it's better late than never, as they say. So, what do you think?"

The five others eyed over the dresses, "Wow... They're..." Twilight sputtered.

"Yeah, they're..." Rainbow stammered.

"They sure are..." Applejack was searching for the right word, "...somethin'."

"Yes! Something." Twilight repeated.

"I love something!" Pinkie chirped, "Something is my favorite!"

"It's... nice." Fluttershy whispered.

Rarity's bright expression faltered by the girls' less-than-mundane feedback, "But what's the matter? Don't you like them?"

"They're very nice..." Twilight said.

"And we're plumb grateful 'cause you worked so hard on them." Applejack added.

"Mine's just not as cool as I was imagining," that earned Rainbow a glare from the others, "She asked."

"I guess what we're all saying is that they're just not what we had in mind." the others supported Twilight with a few collective agreements, but did nothing to cheer up Rarity.

"That's okay," Rarity groaned, "Not a problem. There's plenty more where that came from. They were only a first pass. You're my friends and I want you to be 110% satisfied. Not to worry, I'll redo them."

"Oh, Rarity. You don't have to do that," Fluttershy assured, "They're fine."

"I want them to be better than just fine," Rarity said, already in the process of dismantling the dresses, "I want you to think they're absolutely perfect."

"Are you sure?" Applejack asked, "I mean, we wouldn't wanna impose."

"Oh, it's no imposition," Rarity slipped out a strained laugh, throwing the dress made for Twilight on the floor, "Really, I insist."

"Well, in that case... Thank you again, Rarity." the white unicorn laughed politely until Twilight and the others left the building. "What have I gotten myself into...?"

Having stood aside for the whole conversation, Omni approached Rarity, whose head was hanging around the discarded dresses she pulled off the now-empty mannequins. "That's a tad ungrateful, wasn't it?"

Rarity's ears twitched at his snide remark and jerked his head up to glare at him, "I would appreciate it if you did not insult them like you did!"

Omni backed away, "But that's what happened, right? You made those dresses for them and they didn't even like it?"

"For your information those were only...prototypes," Rarity huffed and walked passed him, "Their honest opinions just mean I needed to do better."

"And what's the special occasion that you're so determined to pull this off?" Omni watched as the unicorn froze in her tracks, her fur literally standing on end. "That has to be the whole reason, right?"

"Don't you have a basement to clean up?" she snapped back.

Omni shrugged, "Already finished."

"Then you're done for the day," Omni suddenly found himself dragged towards the door, "Now move along so I can get to work."

"What about my pay!"

"I'll have it sent over in a short while," Rarity grunted as she pushed Omni out, "I appreciate the help, dear. I'll call you when I need you." she said sweetly before slamming the door on him.

After that long morning, Omnifarious finally returned home to the treehouse, where he walked by New Moon on his way back downstairs.

"And where do you think you're going?" New Moon asked in a bored tone, not taking his eyes off his books.

"To bed."

"'To bed'?" New Moon glanced over at the blue pony, "It's the middle of the afternoon."

"It's night somewhere..." Omni was about to pass the basement door when he was suddenly pulled back out by the tail by magic.

"That can wait," New Moon said, "I just got you a new client; very urgent. And since it seems you have nothing else planned..."

Omni groaned, "Alright."

"Good. And just to make sure the job gets done..." New Moon looked over to the stairs, "SPIKE!"

"You don't have to yell! I'm coming!" someone called out from upstairs and the purple dragon came down.

"Can you do me a favor?" New Moon asked, "I'd like you to keep an eye on Omni while he's on his assignment. His client should be at the door."

Omni and Spike stepped out to see a fancy-looking carriage parked right in front of the tree, with a fancy-looking pony seen from the window. He looked like one of those big-wig people from that fancy city uphill, with his own fancy clothes and purple shades and his big, powdered wig.

"It's about time you decide to show up," he huffed. His tone sound sophisticated, and did a terrible job at hiding his snooty attitude, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?"

"But..." Omni trained off, confused, "You just got here...?"

"Wrong, I was waiting here for thirty seconds. That's thirty whole seconds of my precious life I'll never get back. Where is your sense of punctuality!?"

Omni had to resist groaning in front of the stuffy-collared client, "So what exactly is my job?"

"See that over there?" the pony pointed out the window towards the front of the carriage, where the harness remained empty, "You're job is to fill in that empty space and do what you lower-class pony do best..." that snobbish tone was already getting annoying.

Omni was starting to like this client much less than a few seconds ago, "So what is it...?" he shrugged.

"Do I really have to say it?" the pony barked, "I want you to get in the harness and pull the wagon!"

Omni had to resist groaning in front of the stuffy-collared client, "Anywhere specific?" he offered through his clenched teeth.

"No. Just pull me around town until I say you can stop!" the client held his head like he was nursing a migraine, sighing, "Why must I be stuck with such small-minded help..."

It was getting much harder for Omni to keep from snarling, “And who exactly am I driving?” he asked casually, “I'd like to at least know who my employer is…”

“So you're one of those…” the stiff groaned; Omni could guess he was rolling his eyes, “It's just irritating how some ponies are too short-minded to keep up on even the basic of news. Well if you must know my name is—"

“Hoity-Toity!” the voice of Spike suddenly piped up as the dragon hopped beside Omnifarious, “One of Canterlot's best leading experts on fashion! You’re Hoity-Toity, right?”

The pony, apparently named Hoity-Toity, smirked and gazed back to Omni, waving towards the dragon, “See? Even the local lowborn clearly know who I am!”

“Uh, thanks I guess?” Spike blinked, “So anyway, you got my letter, right?”

Hoity-Toity rubbed his chin with good, “Oh right. So you’re the one who sent me that letter?” the dragon nodded quickly, “And I'm to understand that there's a clothing designer in this small town?”

“That's right, the best there is!” Spike replied, excited.

“Is that right…? Well, I'll be expected to see their designs while I’m here, like around, shall we say, first thing this evening.”

“I’ll make sure she gets the message right away! Don’t worry, you won’t regret coming here!” and just like that, Spike went sprinting down the street leaving a trail of dust for Omni to choke on.

“Well what are you waiting for?” Hoity-Toity exclaimed to Omni, who was coughing out the tiny dirt particles, “I’m sure there will be more dust for you to eat. In case you failed to realize, you're on the clock.”

Omni was starting to dislike more by the minute, but bits are bits and a job is a job, so he slipped into the harness and started pulling.

All the while Omni was pulling his client around town, Hoity-Toity was not making this ride easier on him, or anyone passing by or crossing his path. He complained about the many people walking past and how they never thought to buy horse shoes, giving unwanted criticism towards shop owners and their mediocre merchandise, and gave rude comments to children about their sub-par education. By the time he was done gagging over the produce stands someone’s stomach can be heard rumbling.

“Driver! I am famished!” Hoity-Toity ordered, “And in case you cannot translate that it means that ‘I am hungry'. I heard there is an apple orchard. Go there and fetch me an apple! Now!” Omni grumbled but decided to comply; not because his ‘boss’ demanded it...

A couple increments of ten minutes later, Omni carried his client to Sweet Apple Acres where, after with solace leaving him at the entrance, found Applejack harvesting apples from the orchard. He then explained to her (in a nice detail) about his client's ‘current needs'…

“So that’s the ‘Hoity-Toity’ I've been hearin' 'bout,” Applejack looked through the trunks at the carriage, “I gotta admit, guy's as fancy as his name.”

“So… can I have that apple now?” Omni asked.

“Shucks, take a whole bushel!” Applejack pointed to a basket full of newly-picked apples, “And don’t worry about payin' me, it’s on the house.”
Omni’s brow rose from the level of generosity, “Hm! Thank you,” he latched the bag onto his saddle and prepared to leave.

“Hey, another thing!” Applejack called out for Omni to stop, “Speakin' of Hoity-Toity, we're gonna have a fashion show at Rarity’s at nightfall. We’re gonna model the new dresses she made for us! He's gonna be the guest of honor, but you’ll be there too, won’t you?”

Omni had to sneak out a sigh before nodding, “I’ll do that…” he then walked on back to the entrance.

“And I'd like that saddle and basket back when you’re done!”

Omnifarious went back to the gate post where Hoity Toity was waiting impatiently, “Do you have any idea how long you took?” the fancy pony retorted.

“Lucky you, you've just got all the apples you can eat,” Omni begrudgingly settled the basket of apples down under the window Hoity-Toity was looking through. Hoity scooped up an apple and held it close to him, sniffing it with suspicion. Omni wondered what the problem was. It's just an apple, it's not like it's poison or anything. He was given his answer sooner that he thought in the form of an apple brought to his face at high speed.

In layman’s terms, it was thrown back at him by his crummy client, “I cannot eat those!”

“He couldn’t just said it instead of tossing it in my face…” Omni muttered, holding his hoof to the bruise between the eyes.

“I told you to pick fresh apples for me! But these have no doubt been sitting around on the ground!” Hoity complained like a spoiled child; it's hard to tell the difference between the two, come to think of it, “This is unacceptable!” the door in from of Hoity opened, causing the basket to crash against it and fall over, spilling the apples out onto the ground.

“You know… I’m sure someone had to work real hard to harvest these apples…” Omni stated, his words coming out in more of a hiss.

Hoity pulled back in disgust with a huff, “Then I guess someone doesn’t know how to harvest properly,” yes, he just said that. And if it were Applejack standing there instead of Omnifarious, someone could lose some teeth; though what's stopping Omni…? “I change my mind. I want pastries instead. There is a pastry shop in this tiny little town, is there?” Omni took deep breaths, in and out he inhaled before exhaling, reminding himself he doesn’t have to deal with him forever. Just give him some cake and the big baby will be happy…

After dragging Hoity-Toity's wagon back into town, he went straight to the place that’ll get his client to shut up for a while, Sugar Cube Corner, “That is a pastry shop?” Hoity eyed the store cynically, “I guess this is the best this dinky little town can do…” he then tossed a bag of gold coins at Omni, “Bring me the most expensive pastries they have. By the looks of that place I’m sure this should more than cover it.”

Although Hoity would do without beaning Omni on the head, the blue pony kept his mouth shut and brought it into the store, where he's met with Pinkie Pie at the counter, “Hi, Omni! What can I getcha?”

Omni dumped the bag of gold on the counter in front of the pink pony, “What can I get for this much?”

Pinkie opened the bag and stuck her nose inside to count off the gold, “Wow! I didn’t think I’d be able to sell these!” she ducked under the counter and popped back up with a small wooden chest, “You’re in luck! I was just gonna eat them myself!”

“What’s in it?” With a flick of his hoof Omni opened the box. But a sharp, blinding light soon made him regret it.

“A specially-unnamed dessert, made in and exported all the way from Nowhere!” Pinkie chirped as she closed the box, “And you just became it’s first customer!”

Omni rubbed his eyes until he got his sight back, “That’s nice. Thank you,” he then took the chest off the counter.

“You’re welcome! Hey, are you going to Rarity's fashion show tonight? We're gonna show everyone the new dresses she made us!”

“Sure, I'll be there.”

With the food in tow Omni left the shop and returned to the carriage where Hoity-Toity was waiting, “About time to came back.”

Taking a small, deep breath, Omni kept his composure, “You going to like what I got for you,” he presented the chest to his client, which Hoity snatched away.

“Somehow I doubt it. What somepony of your taste, or lack—“ opening the box caused a bright ray of light to spring out into Hoity's eyes, causing him to fumble with the box and drop it on the ground, it’s turned-over contents falling out in an unceremonious splat, “Ahh! My eyes! What have you done to my eyes!” Hoity busied himself with rubbing his eyes (over his shades) and pointing the blame at his driver. Thinking it over, Omni wonders how you could get blinded while wearing shades… Hoity was finished rubbing but not finished blaming, “Now look what you done! All those bits down the drain thanks to you!” he went on and on how Omni was to blame and how he should never have been trusted to deliver his client's food, to how he's unfit to pull anyone’s carriage to making sure Omni never works in this town again, all without giving Omni the chance to defend himself.

You know what, screw it. Omnifarious had just about had it with this client's mistreatment. It’s time it became someone else’s problem. After a short while looking around for a sucker, he spotted a tan-colored pony with a darker-brown hair color, just coming out of a phonebooth. Leaving his ‘former’ client to continue his tantrum (not even paying attention to the one he’s yelling at), Omnifarious managed to stop the pony in the middle of the street, “Wanna make an easy ten bucks…?”

The sun was beginning to set behind the town and Omni was left with nothing short of going back to the treehouse. And since he’s rather do anything else than listen to New Moon's rantings on responsibility, he decided to check on those ‘new dresses' he heard Rarity’s made.

So he went to her tailor shop. However it was a bit hard to notice due to curtains draped over the front, not to mention a small bridge sticking from the entrance like a tongue. Seeing the overgrown carousel like that reminded him of one of those fashion shows he unintentionally saw on TV. Stepping on the bridge he knocked on the door.

“Coming!” a call came from the other side following a few footsteps before the top half opened to reveal the owner of this shop. Rarity sucked in a small gasp as her baggy eyes met Omni. Omnifarious didn’t show it, but it surprised him that Rarity looked like something the cat dragged in, her being so conscious of her appearance and others', “Omnifarious! Fancy meeting you here...” Rarity greeted, though there was a bit of strain behind it.

“Well, the others told me about this show you’re putting on and decided to come,” Omni said, looking back to see a small group of ponies walking around and gradually growing, “I'm not late, am I?”

“No, but, Uh…” Rarity trailed of, her eyes darting which ever way to avoid contact with Omni. Her foot tapped on the edge of the door's bottom half before eventually she flashed Omni a huge, forced-out smile, “I'm so sorry, Omnifarious; I know you came all this way to see my new designs, but…how do I put this delicately…this show is for invites only, and I don’t recall you ever being given a—“

“I wasn’t told anything about ‘invites’,” Omnifarious scowled, “Not by Applejack or Pinkie or anyone.”

“I know, and I’m afraid it’s my fault,” Rarity pouted, pulling her gaze away, “I may have forgotten to tell the girls about this. It’s more of a last-minute situation. But unfortunately I can’t allow you to watch my show; invites and all that. I’m sure you understand, right.”

“Nope, can’t say that I do,” Omni scoffed, “Where’re the girls? I’d like to talk to them,” he looked over Rarity’s shoulder into the house, but she managed to obscure his view by closing in towards Omni.

“They are busy getting dressed for the show. And I’m sure they would rather not be disturbed,” Rarity said, her twitching nose inches away from Omni's, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell them you said hello. So bye-bye now!” Rarity pulled back into the house and slammed the door shut just as quickly.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out something’s wrong, and it’s all centered around Rarity. Why doesn’t she want him around tonight? And why doesn’t she want him seeing her new dresses? Omni fells like he needs to find out so, against Rarity’s wishes, stuck around behind the crowd waiting for the show to start.

The lights suddenly dimmed and we’re replaced by spotlights above the runway. Then a booming voice echoed over everyones' heads, “Since the beginning of time, the elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashions that truly expressed the essence of their very souls. Patiently waiting decades -- no, centuries -- for the perfect pony gown. Today, at long last, Equestria, your wait is over! Let's hear it for the breathtaking designs of Ponyville's own Rarity!”

The curtains pulled open to show Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow, all shown in the spotlight. The audience gasped and murmured at the sight of their new dresses; but they weren’t awestruck, it sounded more like they were struck in the face. And here’s why:

Twilight's dressed like a walking solar system complete with stars on a pair of antennae on her head, making her look more like a space alien than a pony in a dress. Pinkie was dresses like a ballerina rented for a birthday party. She wore a large cupcake on her head and balloons floating off her tail. Applejack looked like she made her dress herself back at the farm with the denim ov.eralls and burlap saddlebage, not to mention those rubber rainboots and that ten-gallon hat. Fluttershy looked like a tree the birds would come home to roost on with that bird's nest on her head. And Rainbow looked like a giant lightning bolt in more colors than it was meant to.

To make it simple, those they make those dresses look absolutely ridiculous and vice-versa; but you wouldn’t hear Omni say that, which was why it was typed down for him. It’s become clear why Rarity wanted him to stay away from the show; she didn’t want him, as opposed to everyone else looking on, to see this happening. And it took him no time at all to realize how it could all get worse…

“Oh, those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink!” he could hear the pompous whining of Hoity a ways over, a laugh track followed by the audience, “It's a travesty is what it is. Those outfits are the ugliest things I've ever seen, oh for shame. Who is responsible for subjecting our eyes to these horrors? Not to mention wasting my valuable time!”

That sounds like a cue for trouble to start boiling over. Omnifarious was having difficulty thinking of the worst-case situation of that that canterlot windbag would do to Rarity and her store, but it didn’t take much thinking to know that she won’t do without a job.

And it could come that much closer to that as Spike came hopping onto the catwalk, “Come on out and take a bow, Rarity. You worked really hard for this,” eventually Rarity came brooding out through the curtains. Spike couldn’t be any more oblivious as he was the only one applauding for her, “Yes! All right, woo-hoo! Go, Rarity!”

Omni watched on as Rarity kept sulking down the runway like a dead girl walking, feeling the eyes of the judgmental audience burning into her. This has become too hard to watch. It’s time to step in as Omni squeezed through the crowd with a few ‘excuse me's and ‘coming through's until he reached the edge of the catwalk.

“Ah! Omnifarious!” the unicorn shrieked seeing the blue pony's face. She darted her eyes between him and her models.

“I thought you were home sick!” Twilight said.

“I was? Really?” Omni asked sarcastically, climbing onto the runway with the others.

“Of course you was!” Rarity said, “I told you, you'll see the designs after you recover,” she forced out a small laugh before giving Omni a subtle hiss, “So you can leave. Now.”

Omni ignored Rarity and surveyed the people in the audience until he spotted Hoity Toity among them. He could notice a smug face anywhere, “So how’d you like my new costumes, Hoity?” he called out to the fancy pony.

“Your costumes?!” exclaimed Rarity and her models.

“Uh, yeah; my costumes. Remember asked you to show them the costumes I made for your show? You know, ‘cause we're friends and all?”

“Did I hear correctly?!” Hoity gasped, “You're actually associated with this scoundrel, actually approved these horrific designs?!”

“Um… Just kidding, everypony!” Rarity let out a strained, nervous laugh, “You all didn’t honestly think I would introduce these ridiculous attires and take them seriously, did you? Um, this was merely a display of…fashion don’ts! Something to show you what not to put onto dresses!”

“It may as well be a display of how not to steal one's precious spare time, which you are most definitely doing to mine! If you actually think it’s worth wasting exposing me to your friend's eyesore, then you clearly have no eye for fashion; a fact I’ll make sure all of Equestria will know!” Hoity jumped up form his cushy little seat, turned around and trotted off down the path parted for him by the audience, “Now good night to you!” with the ‘guest of honor' no longer sticking around, the rest of the audience seemed to disintegrate by the pony until it was near-nonexistent. Seeing that appeared that final punch in the face for her…

“Rarity? You okay in there? You haven’t come out for days,” it’s been a couple of days after the show-gone-wrong and Rarity has isolated herself in her room. Her other six friends have been standing outside the door trying to get her to come out.

“I’m never coming out! I can’t show my face in Ponyville ever again!” Rarity's mewling can be heard in drama from the other side of the door, “I used to be somepony. I used to be respected. I made dresses—beautiful, beautiful dresses. But now everypony is laughing at me. I’m nothing but a laughingstock!”

“You’re not a laughingstock, Rarity,” Twilight called through the door over Rarity’s sobbing.

“She kind of is!”

Twilight hissed back to Rainbow before continuing, “Come on out and talk to us.”

“Leave me alone! I vant to be alone!” that last part made her sound like that swedish movies star from the 1900s; Omni forgot who it was, though… “I want to wallow in…whatever it is that ponies are supposed to wallow in! Do ponies wallow in pity? Oh, listen to me! I don’t even know what I’m supposed to wallow in! I’m so pathetic!”

Omnifarious held his head with a hoof, becoming aggravated by the increased bass of sobbing and released a delay groaned, “How about we bait Rarity out of that room. We can use that cat of her as ransom.”

Rainbow shook her head with a sigh, “Omni, what are you even doing here?”

“Excuse me…?”

“I mean, don’t you think you've caused enough trouble already?”

Omni flared through his nostrils as his temper rose a notch, “For your information I’m only trying to help. Besides, I was the one who took the bullet for Rarity when things went south on her show!” the blue pony hissed and winched as he held and old wound wrapped in gauge.

“Yeah, and it went just as well as when you tried holding down Hoity-Toity when he tried to leave.”

“Not that I'm takin' sides but Rainbow's got a point,” Applejack said, “I know you mean well but thanks to your horseplay Hoity's gonna be givin' Rarity as hard a time as you gave him.”

“Well, I would love to hear a better idea,” Omni huffed lowly, turning to the others, “Well? Anyone got any ideas?”

“Uh, panic?”

“That’s your answer for everything!” Rainbow frowned towards Fluttershy.

“Well, we can’t just leave Rarity like this,” Applejack said.

“She’ll become a crazy cat lady!” Pinkie gasped.

“With just the one cat?” Omni asked, confused.

“Give her time…”

Omni’s sight wander back to Twilight, who was peering through the keyhole. What could she be thinking with that determined look she's giving off…?

“…I got it!” Twilight shot back from the door and gained everyone’s attention, “I have an idea I'm sure will work! And I think we need our secret weapon…” Omni shied against the fluttering eyes of the unicorn, having a faint idea what she meant…

The good news was, Twilight actually went along with his idea. But the bad news, he was left to deal with Rarity himself. As for the others' part, they wouldn’t even tell him except to worry about his part. So here he was with the best bait to draw Rarity out in the open: her very cat in a kennel. From what he's told, Rarity’s cat is more important to her than keeping her hair dolled up. That should be reason enough for her to come on out and finally get this problem solved.

“OMNIFARIOUS!!!” his name echoed through the streets like thunder. The sight of a cloud of dust caught his sight and was getting larger the closer it got, which was right towards him! And the source of this incoming storm was…Rarity?! “Return my Opal to me at once, thief!!” the pristine white unicorn charged headlong through the street with Omnifarious right in her path. This would be the part where he and her would smooth things over. But the way he sees it, he might as well be standing in a railroad. Because Rarity doesn’t seem to be stopping for anyone, especially him. So the most sensible thing to do, was to run!

He took the next right at the intersection and sprinted for his life, but the one-woman stampede followed his path and kept chasing after him! She was catching up fast and he knew he could never outrun her speed forever. He had to go into overdrive just to keep at least 10 feet away from the raging unicorn chasing him all over town, and could run out of gas anytime now. And the moment he does… Suddenly he felt weightlessness under his scrambling feet.

“Need a lift?” Omni looked overhead to see the wagging brows of Mach Faiz, the ruby-red Pegasus carrying the blue pony over the town. Omni looked back down to earth to see Rarity with her feet planted screaming:

“I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, OMNIFARIOUS!!!”

“Sheesh, I didn’t think you had much luck with mares but, what did you do to tick her off so bad?”

Omni spat the kennel out into his free arms, “Can you just take me back to the treehouse? I'll explain when we get there!”

Faiz shrugged and flew faster towards the library, passing over the buildings to make extraordinary time. But as they landed in front of the treehouse, Omni got the nagging feeling that Rarity will catch up to him with her speed and stamina. So he raced to the entrance and pummeled on the door, “Hey, open the door! Hurry up! I know you’re in there so open up the door!” the door swung in abruptly causing Omni to fall on his stomach.

Looking up he could see Now Moon looking down at him with his usual scowl, “Is there supposed to be some logical reason you’re acting like an idiot like you usually do?” Omnifarious didn’t want to waste time trying to explain the whole situation so he scampered back up and sprinted into the library, “Whoa, where are you going?!” with a magical Aura from his horn New Moon grabbed Omni by the tail and proceeded to pull him back, “We’re not done talking!” but a tap on his shoulder made him turn his attention towards Mach Faiz.

“I think you got bigger problems to worry about…”

“What?” Faiz answered his confused, wrinkling brow by pointing outside across town, where a large stampede cloud was heading straight towards them. With his keen eyesight he was able to make out the one and only cause of it to be the very furious Rarity, “What the--?!” he wasn’t able to finish his curse as Faiz pushed him into the house before jumping inside and shutting the door behind them, “Someone better tell what’s going on here, right now!”

“Sure thing; when we're not in mortal danger!” Fair said, pushing a couch against the door just in time for a loud ‘slam’ to echo through the room, “We could also use a safe room if you got it!”

“Basement! Now!” Omni gestured to the door on the other side of the room and led the others into the basement before slamming the door behind them.

With something finally between them and the madwoman, New Moon decided to get a word in, “Now will somepony explain to me what the—“ he was interrupted by a small growl and spotted the kennel on Omni’s teeth, with the cat locked up inside, “%$#damn, you didn’t. You did not just get between her and Opalescence!”

“Talk to Twilight about it! It’s her idea!” Omni had to spit out the kennel to speak, causing Opal to drop unceremoniously on the floor with a frightened yowl.

A loud crash was heard from the other side of the door and set of heavy footsteps heading their way, “Look, I don’t care what excuse you got, you need to give Opal back!”

“I will. There’s just something I gotta take care of first.”

“Take care of?!”

Then there was a polite knock on the door, strangely contrast to the tantrum he threw a short while ago, “Pardon my intrusion, but there’s something in my possession I've…recently misplace,” the tone that came from outside didn’t sound hostile either, “If you would be so kind as to return it, I would not want to do anything we both might regret later.”

“You better let me handle this…” Omni stepped towards the door and called out to the other side, “Rarity we need to talk!”

“Yes, we indeed do,” Rarity replied sweetly, “And I would like to start with why, out of everyone in Ponyville, would take a sweet, innocent feline like my poor Opalescence.”

“For the record, I was never involved!” New Moon called through the other side.

“This is pretty much the only way I can get you out here,” Omni explained through the door, “Rarity, you need to get out of this funk you’re in. It’s just not a good look for you!”

An audible gasp can be heard from the other side, “Do not tell me how I should live my life! Or what remains of it, anyway! How could you tell me this after all that has happened recently?!”

“Hey, I know things look bad but we can just try again! Let’s put on another show, without the last-minute preps and stuff.”

“Put on another show?! Hoity-Toity would never want to set hoof within ten meters of my boutique ever again! Not after that terrible fiasco during the first time!”

“Hoity-Toity’s pompous a windbag! It’s not your fault he didn’t want to see your real dresses, not some hand-me-downs you scraped together!”

That crude statement was meant was a loud slam causing the three ponies on this end to recoil, “How could you be so callous?! Those designs I presented were made in mind of my friends! I had put every bit of effort, blood, sweat and tears to make them, to their specifications! I will not have my friends’ wishes squandered by some pony who runs waltz around in a mares' skirt!!”

Omnifarious felt crushed hearing that crude remark that came from the unicorn on the other side of the door. When she just said was completely uncalled for... It really wasn’t worth all that...

“You wanna know what I think went wrong? I think you paid so much attention to the wants of others that you forgot which one of you really knows about fashion. Your first designs you showed them were much better than what you showed at that show, but it seems the people you made them for were the only ones who couldn’t tell the difference. They didn’t appreciate what you did for them and expected more than you can handle. And things got out of hand only because you was too scared to give them your critical input. So instead of trying to criticize me maybe you should go back to your little clothing store and get ready for another fashion show; one that shows what Rarity made, not what others expect them to make.”

The room remained silent for a few moments, Omnifarious standing by to wait for a response, “Rarity!”

“Omnifarious…” Rarity finally replied, “I will consider what you said; but all I’m concerned about is my Opal. Will you please return her…”

Omni couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he managed to wore her out. The hard part's over so it’s only fair to hold up his end of the bargain, “New Moon, open the door,” he stepped aside as the door was magically opened revealing the pristine white unicorn, her head hanging low and her gaze focused on her feet, “Hey, I’m glad you managed to cool down a bit. So we can go back over and—“ but he seemed to be ignored as Rarity suddenly spin around and…

The next thing he could know was waking up in a new room; white ceiling white walls, white sheets, and white bandages wrapped around him. The only other thing welcoming him was the world of hurt he was in, but he didn’t know where it came from.

The door in front of him then suddenly opened and the nurse peeked in, “It looks like he’s finally awake,” she spoke quietly to the outside and stood aside for another.

“Thank you. I can take it from here,” the nurse nodded and closed the door, leaving Twilight Sparkle alone with Omni as she came up to his bedside, “So how are you feeling?” Omni tried getting up, only for a new wave of pain to keep him in bed groaning, “I guess than answers my question…”

“What happened?” Omni muttered, tossing a hoof over his forehead to try to nurse the small migraine bothering him.

“Well, we got a bit worried after hearing Rarity’s outburst, so we followed her trail to the library.”

“Uh-huh…”

“…Where we you…unconscious on the floor.” Twilight's tone turned to one of slight embarrassment.

“Mmhm…”

“And, when we finally managed to pull her off from stomping on you…”

Omni winched as he felt an intense sting on his side, “That explains the ribs…”

“Then we were able to settle down and explain everything; Faiz and Moon, in the meantime, hurried you off to the hospital.”

“So that’s where I’m at…” Omni grumbled, “So, you’re gonna do that do-over?”

Twilight raised a brow, “I’m sorry, ‘do-over’…?”

“Redo that fashion show.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, “You really don’t know how long it is?”

“No, but I got a feeling you’re gonna tell me…”

“It’s been three days since you were taken here. You were in a coma since then!” Omni groaned as that latest piece connected, to think someone like Rarity was capable of knocking someone out was hard enough to believe… “Also, the second show turned out better; much better than the last time,” she gave a small smile at that last part.

“Alright, that’s one problem down…” Omni huffed before glaring at the ceiling, “Is Rarity sorry for putting me in the hospital?”

“Well, we did tell her it was part of the plan, and my idea, but…she still stood by her decision.”

Omni pushed his hoof back over his eyes, “You gotta be kidding me…”

“But she understood the situation, and decided to let bygones be bygones by, as she puts it, compensating you for your troubles. She said it’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“I still can’t believe she did that to me,” Omni hissed.

“Well, I guess it’s my fault. I had no idea it would turn out like that otherwise—“

“It’s not your fault, Twilight,” Omni groaned, “I mean, the execution really bit but I know you'd never put me in danger on purpose. No sense overthinking it…”

Twilight gave another small smile, “Thank you, Omnifarious. I guess I'll leave you, then. You still have awhile to heal,” the lavender unicorn trotted to the door before taking a look back, “Oh, I almost forgot. I thought I want you to know, Rarity told me what went on before… we came along, specifically what you said about us…”

Omni removed his hoof to look at her, “What about it…?”

“Well, based on what she told me, you were…brutal.”

“I only told her what I meant. And I meant what I said,” Omni pulled his gaze back up to the ceiling, “I won’t blame you if that upsets you, but don’t judge me for being honest when I had to.”

“No, what we did was a bit uncalled for; I get that. It’s not exactly the first time you've been straightforward. But still, the truth hurts, it seems.”

“Sometimes you just can’t sugarcoat it.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Well, I'll leave you to get your rest,” Twilight opened he door and went through it, before sneaking her head back in, “I do appreciate what you did for us; we all do. And I’m sure Rarity does, as well.”

“Sure…” Omni gave a small not to Twilight who then closed the door, leaving him to peace and quiet.

Over the time Omni was at the hospital, a new passage in the Book of Virtues was already made:

Dear Princess Celestia,

This week, my very talented friend Rarity learned that if you try to please everypony, you oftentimes end up pleasing nopony, especially yourself. And I learned this: When somepony offers to do you a favor, like making you a beautiful dress, you shouldn’t be overly critical of something generously given to you. In other words, you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

And the headline above reading: Respect.

Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Senses are Tingling!

Author's Note

Author's Note:
My Little Pony FIM-Hasbro

Hello, I know I haven't updated in a long time, but I had other projects to worry about among other things. If anyone is up for it, I could use a co-writer or two, or maybe I could adopt it to someone else and guide them through it in hopes of getting the chapters out. Either way, I would like to get through this faster than others are used to. So some help could be appreciated. Thank you...

Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Senses are Tingling!

It was a new morning in Ponyville, Equestria. The good part of it is, Omnifarious doesn’t have to work today. The annoying part, he couldn’t sleep in today. The thing about it is, Twilight Sparkle is busy practicing magic outside the town pavilion and needed a test subject. Her dragon Spike was usually the one on the receiving end but thanks to a certain game of rock-paper-scissors (dumb paper…) it was Omni’s turn. And here he was, standing around with a stick balanced under his hoof and leaves around his neck. He was getting bored out of his mind as he sat on his haunches like some kind of model.

“Omni; eyes over here!” Twilight's whip-like tone pulled the blue pony from his drowsy state, causing him to accidentally release a snort, “For this to work, it’s crucial we keep our concentration totally on the—“ it wasn’t that long before he zoned out again. He couldn’t help it, this has been nothing but dull on this side. But the sound of playful giggling might finally save him from this... “Omni!” a greater outburst yanked his attention back, “This magic needs our full attention to make it happen! There’s no other way!”

“Hey, look over there!” Spike pointed over to a nearby tree, where Pinkie Pie poked out of a tree from hammerspace wearing one of those colored umbrella hats. She went and darted into a bush, then into a porch, then to a rock, then to somewhere else left to the reader's imagination.

“Never mind her,” Twilight sighed impatiently, “She’s just being Pinkie Pie.”

“Super-Extra-Pinkie Pie today,” Spike scratched his head and added.

The even stranger thing happened as Pinkie poked out from between two houses; her puffy tail started rattling like a maraca, “Huh…twitchy twitch-a-twitch-a-twitch…”

“Pinkie Pie, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you up to?” Twilight wondered, curious as she and Spike approached her, followed by Omni who was yawning off the boredom.

“Oh, it’s my tail! It’s my tail!” Pinkie waved her tail curls in Twilight’s face, whereas Twilight pushed it away, “It’s a-twitch-a-twitchin’! And you know what that means!”

“…, Actually, Pinkie, I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“The twitchin’ means my Pinkie Sense is telling me that stuff’s gonna start falling! So better duck for cover!”

Omni looked up into the sky. There’s not a cloud in the sky so there’s no sign of rain. So unless Atlas’s sleeping on the job somewhere...

“Oh, Pinkie, it’s not gonna rain. Why, there’s barely even a cloud in the—“

WHAP!

Suddenly Omni was smacked in the face by something small, green and squishy, followed by a croak.

“He just said ‘nice catch' in Frog.” Pinkie giggled. Omni focused his gaze to see a giant from attached to his muzzle. In response to another croak he panicked and shook it off of him until the frog was nowhere in sight. Omni darted around to make sure of that.

“Oh, I’m so, so sorry,” the soft and squeaky voice of Fluttershy said from overhead, who was hovering over with an overfilled cart and bulging saddlebags all filled to the limit with croaking amphibians, one even riding shotgun on her head, “Are you okay, Omnifarious? I just couldn’t stand to see the pond getting so overpopulated, what with the frogs all hopping into each other and all, so I decided to fly as many as I can on over to Froggy Bottom Bog.”

“Uh-huh, just…” Omni waved her off, his heart still beating a few tick, “Just go do you thing…”

Fluttershy grabbed an overfilled basket of frogs in her mouth and flew off, “Bye-bye!”

“Hey, look! Froggy wants to hitch a ride too!” Pinkie pointed over Omni’s shoulder. A low croak caused him to tense up and crane his head over to see the frog sitting on his back. He panicked a bit and tried swatting it off, eventually causing him to end up chasing his tail instead.

“Would you hold still!” Twilight said impatiently, trying to aim with her magic. Soon she had to hold him in place altogether his feet dangling over nothingness. And the frog finally decided to let itself off.

“Whoa! Calm down, Omni!” Spike said as the frog landed in his hands, “You act like you never seen a frog before.”

“Come on, you guys. Let’s continue our practice session where there’s a little less commotion,” Twilight said and walked off with Spike hopped on her back and Omnifarious following.

“Wow! That was amazing!” Spike said, “Pinkie Pie predicted something would fall, and it did!”

“Oh, come on,” Twilight sighed, “She said something would fall, and a frog just happened to fall right around the same time. A coincidence. Nothing else to it.”

That moment after, Pinkie zipped back in front on a handstand with her tail throbbing again, “My tail, my tail! Twitch-a-twitch! Twitch-a-twitch! Something else is gonna fall!”

Omnifarious, not interested in Pinkie's silliness, wanted to go on ahead of the group and hope the others would follow. But suddenly he was dropped right from under where he was going. The next thing he saw was stars as he was flat on his back in a dry moat that came out of seemingly nowhere.

“Oh no! Omni fell!” Spike gasped, “Is it…safe to go help him?”

“It’s okay. My tail’s stopped twitching,” Pinkie chirped before trotting away humming.

“That was amazing!”

“Oh, please,” Twilight sighed.

“Er, Omni… Why're you hangin’ out in a ditch?” Omni barely registered that southern tone as his vision focused enough to see an orange pony in a cowboy hat looking right over him.

“Because Pinkie Pie predicted it!”

“Honestly, Spike, she did not,” Twilight refuted, “Two coincidences in a row like this may be unlikely, but it’s still easier to believe than twitchy tails that predict the future.”

Applejack let out an unnerved gasp and reared up, “Twitchy tail? Pinkie Sense?” she darted over to the nearest cart and scrambled underneath.

Spike had then hopped off his ride and went up to her, “Don’t worry, it’s safe. The prediction already came true.”

“Oh, wait. Don’t tell me you believe in this stuff too,” Twilight said.

Having just calmed her nerves, Applejack climbed out from under the cart, “I know it doesn’t make much sense, but those of us who have been in Ponyville a while have learned over time that, if Pinkie’s a-twitchin’, you better listen.”

While that went on, Omni finally managed to climb out of the trench. He almost fell back in when Pinkie popped back up from out of nowhere, “My ears are flopping, my ears are flopping!”

Spike recoiled in terror, “What does that mean?”

After a short pause Pinkie eyed Omni, “I’ll start a bath for you.”

Whereas both Spike and Applejack took a step back, Twilight just laughed the warning off, “A bath? This thing keeps on getting more ridiculous by the minute--!”

“GAH!!” Omni suddenly felt something cold and slimy splash on him from behind. It’s one of these days he wished he paid attention to traffic...

True to her word, Pinkie had already got the bath started by the time Twilight and Omnifarious reached the bakery. Omni was now sifting around through bubbles trying to wash every trace of mud off. He was very persistent that both Twilight and Pinkie keep at least a whole room away from him until he's done.
“So basically, it works like this,” he could barely hear Pinkie from the next room over, “I get different little niggly feelings and they mean different things. Like when my back is itchy, it means it’s my lucky day. And when my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary’s about to happen.”

“Is your knee pinchy now?” Twilight asked.

“No, but my shoulder’s achy. That means there’s an alligator in the tub.”

…Wait, did he hear that right? Sitting stiff in the tub Omni’s gaze fell to the surface of bubbles, where it had just blinked back it him?!

The way he burst out of the tub screaming must have made it across the entire top floor because someone made it to the bathroom door in record time!

“Omnifarious! Are you alright in there?!” Twilight's voice exclaimed through the door. This, he suddenly realized, became a very dangerous position standing outside the turn so he jumped back in, until the same bubbles blinked at him again and Omni jumped back out. But when the jiggle of the doorknob reached his ears he jumped back in right before Twilight burst in, “Omni! What’s wrong?!”

“Something in the tub just winked at me!” Omni exclaimed.

“Then what are you doing in there? Get out of the tub!”

“What?! No! Just get that thing out of the tub!”

“What’s all the hubbub?” Pinkie blinked after she popped in.

“Something’s in the tub! Get it out!” Omni exclaimed, panicking as he met sitting in the same tub with whatever's with him. Pinkie trotted over to the tub and dunked her head inside, fishing out something green and scaly.

Twilight gasped and jumped back seeing the small reptile being placed on the bathtub rim, “How come your knee didn’t get pinchy? That isn’t just scary, it’s downright dangerous!”

“No, it’s not, silly! This is my pet alligator Gummy. He’s got no teeth! See?” while that was going on the gator had made its way back to Omni's side. And by the time Omni could predict what happened next, that next thing happened: the gator shot over with its jaws wide open and brought a gasp out of Omnifarious as it latched onto his nose. The weird part was: there really was no teeth, just squishy gums in their place. Omni wasn’t even given time to pull the gator off it hand already snapped it’s gums into Omni’s ear, and after that his hair, “See?” Pinkie giggled watching her gator snapping all over to keep from getting caught.

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

After the bath, Omni walked with the two girls back to the library, Twilight still on the same topic along the way, “Well, I still don’t believe all this ‘special power'. It’s just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo.”

“What’s not to believe? You do magic. What’s the difference?”

“Acutally she does have a point…” but no matter how low Omni muttered it, Twilight heard it, and halted her path to glare nose-to-nose at him.

“No, she doesn’t! And there’s a huge difference! For one thing…” the purple unicorn went over to a crate of cleaning products near a cart and pushed them off just so she could jump on herself. She clears her throat, “…magic is something you study and practice. It only happens when you decide to do it, and it’s meant to make something specific, that you choose to happen, happen! With you, uh…it makes no sense at all!”

“That’s so not true, Twilight,” Pinkie said as they continued down the streets, “Sometimes it’s a bunch of random things happening to my body at random times that supposedly predict the future. I call ’em ‘combos’.”

“’Combos’?”

“Sure! You know, like ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter? That means the sky is about to be graced with a beautiful rainbow.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Uh-oh. I feel a combo coming on. Ear flop…eye flutter…knee twitch!” it went off step-by-step, but Twilight just threw a skeptical glance while Omni just ignored it as they made it to the library, hoping to get some sleep in and leave this little affair to them.

He would've knocked on the door but the door opened up for him; or rather the door was slammed into him with Spike coming out with a pile of books in hand. He couldn’t tell over the pain washing over, but he was flattened across its woodwork before sliding down to a groaning heap on the doorstep.

“You said that combo meant ‘beautiful rainbow’,” Twilight muttered to Pinkie.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no. You’re thinking of an ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter. This was an ear flop, then eye flutter, then knee twitch. That usually means ‘look out for opening doors’,” Pinkie jumped over to Omni, “You okay?”

Twilight sighed and shook her head, “I don’t believe this…”

“You don’t believe because you don’t understand.”

That caused an idea to pop inside Twilight's head…

And that idea lead them to the basement, where all sorts of equipment was set all over.

Twilight had Pinkie clamped behind a console wearing a helmet covered with blinking lights, “Okay. Now when you get another twitch, we’ll have all kinds of scientific information.”

“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie chirped.

“So why am I involved in this…?” grunted Omni, who was attached to a lot of wires and looking around, “I don’t have any special future-seeing powers! And where’d this stuff even come from?”

“Somehow everything that happened lately seemed to revolve specifically on you,” the purple unicorn explained, “Hopefully this will also explain the connections between that, the strange events and these ‘Pinkie Senses',” Twilight stepped back and exchanged glances between the machine and her lab rats, “Any twitches yet?”

“Nopey-dopey!”

A few more seconds later...

“Now? Anything?”

“Wait! Hold on! …Uh, no.”

“Are you kidding me? After a whole day of nonstop twitching, now that I’ve got you all hooked up, you’re not getting a single one?”

“I don’t control it. They just come and go.”

“That makes no sense!”

“Sometimes you just have to believe in things, even when you can’t figure ’em out.”

“I will not believe in anything I cannot explain.”

“Twilight, is it really that important to know this stuff?” Omni sighed, “It’s not like there’s gonna be a doomsday by just leaving it alone…”

“Omni, you don’t know what you’re saying,” Twilight groaned, “If these ponies here believe that a few tail twitches can predict the future then who knows what other silliness they would believe.”

“Wait! Hold on…” Pinkie suddenly tensed, “I’m feeling something…”

“Oh my gosh!” Twilight jumped back to the console, “What? What is it?”

The loud grumble in Pinkie's gut answered that question, “It’s my tummy! That usually means I’m hungry. Let’s eat!”

“Can someone get these wires of me then?” Omni muttered.

Twilight facefaulted with a low groan, “You know what?” she yanked out the wires off with her teeth, “Just forget it! I don’t need to know if this is real or not. I don’t need to understand it. I don’t even care!” she stormed off with Pinkie slipping out of her clamps and following.

“I didn’t think she’d learn her lesson so soon…” Omni said to himself. He pulled himself off of the wires and followed Twilight and Pinkie upstairs. But as they approach the door, Pinkie gasped and backed away.
“Uh-oh,” as Omni stopped and watched a combo from earlier swept her literally off her feet, he shuddered on the inside thinking of what that did to him and he didn’t have to memorize the signs to figure out what’s gonna happen next.

So he halted while Twilight glanced back before opening the door. However what she saw past there made her gasp and drop flat to the floor as something big and large flew over her and towards Omnifarious. The only thing that came to mind is the word ‘run’ as he made a mad dash back the way we came. But the big object was just to fast for him and he was caught in his path, rolling down the stairs in the process.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Spike jumped in through the door, “That giant spool just came out of nowhere! Was anypony hurt?!”

“Uh-huh…” Pinkie eyes darted over to the end of the stairs, where Omnifarious was lying under the giant wooden spool that he fell with.

“Since we did we have a giant wooden spool?!” Twilight exclaimed as he darted back down stairs and rolled the spool off of the blue pony, “And how could it had been rolling around towards the basement?!” the then shot a glare at Spike, “Did you plan this?!”

The small lizard waved his hands in defense, “No! Honest! It’s like I said, that thing suddenly burst through the outside door!”

Pinkie, concerned as the others, jumped from her space at the top of the stairs to Omni’s side, “That was a close one! We’re lucky it wasn’t a giant boulder coming down those steps! That would’ve been—“

“I better stop you right there…” Omni raised a foot to the pink pony as he stood back up, causing her to stop mid-sentence, “This…is really beginning to be a problem. How long is this supposed to keep up?”
“Sorry about all this! This goes on all day! It won’t stop until it wants to!”

“Good to hear…” Omni stumbled back up the stairs.

“But where are you going?” Twilight asked.

“To lay low until this Pinkie Sense blows over. So until then, consider Pinkie and me on a break,” he didn’t wait for Pinkie's answer and just marched out of the library to elsewhere…

Omni decided to spend the day at the park, where he has nothing to worry about but blue skies and green grass. He went over to the nearest bench and plopped down on his haunches, where he could be alone with his thoughts with no distractions. He thought over about his attitude towards Pinkie before e left. It might be too blunt, but he needs to steer clear of that Pinkie Sense if he wants to see tomorrow.

Unfortunately he couldn't rest. Why? Because there was something there in the park that doesn’t belong, something you don’t see in the park everyday. That bush over there was walking on its own! Seriously, it was taking a leisurely stroll around the park, stopping to smell the roses. But there was Pinkie also, seeming not to know there was even a bush behind her.

Something was up, and somehow, Omni had to be the one drawn into it. So he walked on over to the bush, probably out of its line of sight, and poked it what’s assumed to be its backside.

“Waa!” Guess Omni was right, that bush was so focused on Pinkie it didn’t know something else was sneaking up on it. He waited until the bush crashed back down to earth to examine it. Under those tiny leaves was a big pair of purple eyes.

“How ya doin'?” Omni’s casual greeting was repaid by being sucked into the bush.

“Honestly, Omni!” Twilight hissed, “Don’t you know better than to sneak up on ponies?”

“You mean, like what you’re doing?” Omni pulled back an opening in the bush showing Pinkie minding her business.

“…No!” Twilight held Omni down and peeked through the bush, “…I’m doing scientific research. I’m observing Pinkie Pie, scientific name Pinkius Pieicus, in its natural habitat.”

“Or, you can just call her ‘Pinkie Pie’ like a normal person…” Omni sighed. He tried to peek outside but Twilight held him back down.

“There’s something fishy going on with the whole twitchy prediction thing, and I’m getting to the bottom of it. So, shhh!” Twilight peeked out of the bush and spotted Pinkie hopping off somewhere, “Come on! Pinkius Pieicus is on the move!”

Omni sighed and helped Twilight walk under the bush to follow Pinkie wherever she was going…

Eventually they stopped at the local schoolyard, where the goofy pink pony was rolling about on the grass and humming to herself. Nothing interesting was happening, until Pinkie was scratching her nose. Twilight was watching her like a hawk, while Omni took the time for a nap.

“Omni, pay attention!” Twilight hissed, jabbing Omni with a foot and forced him to unfurl himself from his sleep, “If you look closely, maybe that'll give you a new perspective on solving this mystery,” Omni groaned and peeked through the gap just in time to see Pinkie freak out and zip across the playground hide trembling under the nearest bench, “Aha! That makes no sense!”

“Sure, just another normal day in the life of Pinkie Pie…” Omni said, “Can I go home now?”

No only couldn’t he go home, he was pulled back down in the bush with Twilight, “Don’t you see? She’s hiding like something’s about to fall from the sky, but a twitchy tail means something’s gonna fall from the sky, not an itchy nose.” Suddenly there was the sound of buzzing that became a bit of white noise for Twilight’s lecturing. He glanced through the bush and saw a fair-sized swarm of bees closing in this way… “This proves, perhaps conclusively, that—“

“Okaygreatclassdismissed! Now if you don’t mind!” Omni scrambled to his feet and dug his way out of the bush. But something holding onto his kilt kept him from going anywhere.

“Where are you going? I’m trying to teach you the value of scientific observation!”

“Observe that!” Omni pointed towards the incoming swarm, hoping she’d have the sense to get out of there with her hide intact.

“Um, right!” Twilight gulped. Luckily the situation sunk in and decided to get where the getting is good. She went one way while Omni ran the other. Eventually the swarm lost sight of the both of them; and after asking for directions they went on their way to hunt them down.

“I think I had something for this…” Omnifarious took off his mustache and sombrero, “’All barb and no brains'. That’s it,” suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was met with the angry swarm of bees, “Oh great…”

Unfortunately a couple hundred beestings gave Omni no excuse when New Moon suddenly came up to him on his way from the hospital with a new job at Sweet Apple Acres. Having his saying no rejected, he slumped the whole way to Applejack's farm, where he happened upon Twilight leaning over a bale of hay…spying on Pinkie Pie through her binoculars.

“What are you doing?” Omni gave his fast-paced question to Twilight, who recoiled from seeing the blue pony right in front of he binoculars. The purple unicorn then yanked him behind the bale with her.
“What are you doing here?!” Twilight hissed.

“Don’t worry about what I’m doing; what are you doing still spying on people? …Hey, Spike.”

“Hey,” the dragon casually replied.

“I am not spying!” Twilight gasped, and peeked back over the bale to make sure she wasn’t sing been, ”I’m doing research. I still need more information.”

“I got attacked by a swarm of angry bees,” Omni growled, “That’s all the information I can stand.”

“That was just circumstantial evidence. No quiet down.”

“What’s she doing now?” Spike asked.

“Smelling a flower.”

“Holy guacamole!” Spike started scribbling in his notepad, “I wonder what that means!”

“Probably that the flower smells good. Wait! I’m getting something! Ear flop...eye flutter…knee twitch.”

“Wait, doesn’t that mean something…?” Omni asked, alarmed.

“Hold on,” Spike said, running off for cover, “You told me that’s the combo that says ‘watch out for opening doors'!”

Twilight laughed dismissively, “You really, really believe this stuff, don’t you? Here. Let me show you there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Omnifarious warned.

“Omni, please,” she scoffed as she propped herself against a half-opened barn door's bottom closed half. Nothing happened, which Twilight was pleased with a smirk before she pushed off, “You see? I promise you there’s nothing to fear from that ‘Pinkie Sense’ nonsense,” she then walked off to the farm exit, “Now c'mon. We'll need more data to be sure,” Spike and an annoyed Omni followed as the unicorn, “See, circumstantial evidence and coincidences are one thing, but nothing beats simple logic and—“

Omni wasn’t sure whether or not he was glad to not hear Twilight gloating any longer, or whether or not it’s a good thing he was too annoyed to pay attention to the ground he was walking on to notice a hatch opening in front of him, which he fell in. Instead of rambling, the only thing he could process was a combined world of dizziness and bodily harm, followed by a facefull of dirt.

…Although in hindsight, he was starting to regret it.

“Omni! You came to visit mah new apple cellar! How nice!...Omni? You okay?...Uh, Omni?”

“Twilight, it’s not that I mind spending time with you…but I just got out of the hospital!” Omnifarious was being pushed against his will on his new wheelchair. Even though he just left the hospital he couldn’t catch a break. Instead of getting the rest he was prescribed, Twilight decided to take him right back with her on her, for lack of a better term he could think of, crusade, “Do whatever you want, but take me home first!”

“Will you please stop being paranoid!” Twilight groaned as she pushed the practically-mummified pony against her magic, with Spike close by, by the way, “Nothing’s gonna happen, I’m sure if it.”

“Wanna bet…?” Omni huffed.

“There won’t be any need; because there’s really nothing to lose.”

“You mean besides what's left of my health?”

“Look, I promise to protect you if something were to happen. Besides, you'll be the one on watch this time.”

“Wait, that’s what you put all this stuff on my chair for?!” Omni looked around at the several wires and pulleys attached o the chair, as well as Twilight's binoculars attached between his bandaged arms.

“I figured the best way to prove I’m right is that you see it for yourself,” Twilight propped Omni's chair to the back of a park bench so she could Spy on Pinkie who was a distance away, “Okay, Spike, just like we gone over…” the dragon nodded and tugged on one of the pulleys, where its wires pulled up Omni's arms, “Okay, just tell us whatever Pinkie is doing. We'll take note."

“Ugh, fine!” Omni squinted through the lenses, where he could see Pinkie Pie and a… “Twitchy tail…wait…” he recoiled from the binoculars, “Twitchy tail?”

“Twitchy tail… TWITCHY TAIL!!” both Spike and Omni broke into a full-scale panic; the dragon let got of the lever, causing Omni’s still-hurting arms painfully on his lap.

“Hush, you guys!” Twilight hissed, “We can’t let Pinkie know we’re here, remember?”

“Something’s gonna fall! Something’s gonna fall! Run for your lives!”

“Ugh! Spike, honestly. You’re overreact—“

“Twilight? Remember what you promised?!” Omni began panicking, “You heard the dragon! The sky's gonna—mmph!!”

“Enough!” Twilight jammed a hoof into Omni’s mouth, “I just about had it with this superstitious ridiculousness! Now repeat after me: nothing is going to—“

“Crash!” Went a flowerpot to the head.

“…Okay, it’s just one little flowerpot. And it didn’t really hurt that—“

“Smash!” the anvil went as it fell on the same spot, causing Twilight to recoil.

“…Well, I guess that would hurt a—whoa!” the unicorn scrambled backward to avoid the hay wagon that shattered right on top of him, “…A-alright, I’m sure the worst part is over. Now come on, let’s get you—waahh!!” the hard and fast descent of a piano flattening him caused Twilight to jump a clear distance back. When he close was clear, the tiptoed cautiously back to the giant pile of debris, “Omnifarious…?” the poked at the pile her friend was buried over, “Are you okay…?”

Later, Pinkie still didn’t have a care in the world until someone came by with a basket full of apples, “Hey, Applejack! Whatcha doin’?

“Takin’ more apples to mah new apple cellar. How ’bout you, Pinkie? What you doin’?”

“Oh, letting Omni and Twilight secretly follow me all day without me knowing.”

“What?!” the loud growl came from the blue pony who came stomping into view, once again in a bandaged mess, with Twilight and Spike following close by.

“You mean you knew all along?” Twilight argued, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Silly, that would have spoiled the secret,” Pinkie's giggling smile was met with a grimace from Twilight.

“Tail still twitching?” Spike asked, hiding from behind Twilight.

“All done. Clear skies from here on in, as far as I can tell…” until she performed a whole new trick: her whole body shaking like a maraca.

Spike ducked back into his cover, “Oh, no! What does that one mean?”

“Don’t know. Never gotten any like it before. But whatever that shudder’s about, it’s a doozy! Something you never expect to happen is gonna happen!” another shudder ran over Pinkie, “And it’s gonna happen…at Froggy Bottom Bog!”

Applejack gasped, “That’s where Fluttershy’s headed!”

“Oh, no! Is it about her?” Spike peeked back out.

“Uh…I’m not sure,” Pinkie said.

“We’d better go and make sure she’s okay,” Applejack insisted.

“Calm down, everypony. All we know right now is that Pinkie Pie just got a case of the shivers. That’s all,” Twilight failed to realized until it was too late that everyone was already on their way to the Bog. One, however, was still close by, walking the other way…so she helped him find the way.

“What happened to being cynical?!”

“I’m being logical. This is just to prove I’m right about this.”

“Then leave me out of this!” Omni choked on some dust as he was being dragged along by Twilight’s magic, “Don’t you think I’ve gone to the hospital once too many?!”

“Just trust me on this, nothing is going to happen!”

“And if it does?!”

“It won’t, it’s as simple as that! And I just want to be there to see the look on Pinkie’s face when we find out nothing’s wrong.”

“Okey-dokey,” Pinkie replied.

The group never stopped as they entered through the marsh, except for the occasional shudder that Pinkie keeps getting, “Cold? Need a jacket or something?” Twilight teased as the continued.

“No, thanks. I’m fine,” Pinkie answered through another one.

“So, what do you think happened to Fluttershy?” Spike asked, worried.

“I hope nothin’.”

“I know, but…what do you think happened?”

“I’m tryin’ not to think about it.”

“Me too. But…I’m thinking about it anyway. Like…what if…she exploded?”

“Just exploded, for no reason?”

“Yeah, like, boom!” the whole group stopped.

“Whoa!” Pinkie gasped.

“I know!”

“What if…what if she exploded, and then…and then exploded again?”

“Can you do that? Can you explode twice?”

“Of course not.” Applejack grunted as they started back forth.

“But what if…she exploded…and exploded again…and then—“

“Um, guys!” Omni called out to the dragon and pony, “Let’s save the ‘what if's for after we find her.”

“Omnifarious is right, you know,” Twilight said, “I'm sure she’s alright.”

“I hope you’re right, for Fluttershy’s sake,” Applejack peeked through the trees to find a swamp right in front of them, “Look! There’s Froggy Bottom Bog!”

No one wasted any time scattering about and calling the pegasus’s name. It didn’t take to long, though, when someone had just then found her. The yellow pegasus was occupying herself by welcoming her overly-packed cargo of frogs to their new home in the swamp.

She was emptying her latest basket of frogs when Spike surprised her with a hug, “Fluttershy! You’re okay!”

“Of course,” the pegasus greeted.

Applejack sighed, “Whoo…what a relief.”

“I’m so glad everything’s all right,” Pinkie said.

“So…that’s it, right? Mission accomplished?” Omni asked, “That means we can go home now?”

“Um, you attention please…?” Twilight added herself with a prideful stride. Just what could she be so giddy about…? “Sorry. I know it’s not nice to gloat, but…”

“Then please don’t…”

“AHA!” the unicorn smugly burst out, “I told you there was nothing to worry about, and I was right,” Omni hid a short of annoyance towards Twilight's crowing; and the moment he looked away, he spotted something big and rough-looking swimming close by; really close by.

“Twilight, we can always wait until we—“

“I know, I know, just let me have this,” Twilight waved off before she continued on ranting, not even paying attention to the mist rising, “Pinkie Pie said whatever she was shuddering about was a(cough, cough)doozy, and(cough, cough)and the only(cough, cough)doozy here is how right I am.”

What rose from the mist was tall, mucky, scaly and towering right over the frightened group and right behind Twilight.

“O-okay, fine, we're all glad to admit how wrong we are, but we really need to—“

“Ah-ah-ah! You all really need to hear this,” Twilight said and continued on, “Pinkie’s made a lot of predictions today, but(cough, cough)ugh, what is that smell?” one towers became three, three growling towers looking very them, “But what we’ve shown here is that there’s no point in believing(cough, cough)in anything you can’t see for yourself.”

“Behind you, Twilight…!” Omni pointed a shuddering hoof over Twilight’s head, “Look! Behind! You!” Twilight finally decided to listen and turned around, where she had to crane her head to see what got everyone so scared, “See that?!?!”

“I see it…but I don’t believe it…!” looming overhead was a colossal, bronze-scaled, four-headed dragon. A roaring, colossal, bronze-scaled, four-headed dragon.

“Is that a hydra?” Pinkie squealed.

“Who cares? RUN!!” Applejack and the rest ran off to the opposite direction of the hydra; all except for Pinkie, who was too scared to process escaping.

“What are you doing; Come on!” Omni lunged over before one of the heads struck at their target to swing Pinkie by her tail (which suspiciously tastes like cotton candy) over to catch up with the other before doing the same thing.

The hydra wasn’t far behind and made several more bites into their targets, only giving the ponies more of a reason to run for their lives. They ran high and low, ducking and dodging and leaping whatever’s in front of them just to not lose their footing, all the while the hydra was biting into everything not pony.

“Everypony up that hill!” Twilight shouted as they closed in on an outcropping.

“HEEELLPP!!” came the cry of a small dragon, who got himself stuck knee-deep in mud.

“For the love of—Hold on!” Omni charged back and yanked Spike out by the tail, dragging him along before being able to climb on his back. Luckily the hydra had its foot stuck in muck which gave the escapees more distance between it and them.

“I think we’re gonna make it!” Twilight huffed.

“But Pinkie’s still shuddering!” Spike pointed ahead where Pinkie was vibrating along with the others. Suddenly…

“Oh, looky there. It’s stopped!” but then… “Ohhh! Theeere iiit iiis agaaaiiinnn!”

Lowered his head and pushed the pink pony up the hill to catch up with the others. Just when it looked like they're getting somewhere, suddenly they stop until Omni caught up. Eventually they hit the literal end of the road when they stopped in front of a giant fissure, with the only thing on the other side of a coupe of tall gaps was a rock wall. What’s worse is that the Hydra was closing in on their way.

“He’ll be up here in no time!” Twilight cried, “Quick! One at a time! Cross!”

“Uh, do you know any spells for turning a hydra into a mouse?” Spike asked Twilight.

“No!”

“How about a squirrel?”

“No!”

“How about—“

“No small rodents of any kind!”

“...That’s too bad.”

“A hop, skip, and a…” Fluttershy jumped over, one pillar at a time, to the opposite Rock ledge. Next was Spike (who used Omni’s head as a diving board, unfortunately), then went Pinkie (who had to get pulled back by Applejack when she was about to fall over).

Applejack pushed off from the edge with Pinkie in tow.

“He’s too close!” Twilight lowered her head and dug at the ground, “I’ll distract him. You guys go! Now!"

“And what are you supposed to do against that?!” Omni exclaimed pointing at the advancing Hydra.

Eventually she gave her answer, “CHAAARRRGE!!” and she ran in a full gallop towards the monster.

“This girl's crazy…!” Omni squeaked as he watched Twilight speed on forward. Twilight kept moving between the hydra’s feet where the heads tried to follow. That seemed to cause the body itself to tip and tumble over on its back. As Twilight made her way back to the chasm, the hydra rose back up and put its foot down, hard enough for the tremors to break one of the pillars ahead, leaving a much bigger gap between one end an the other, which makes Omni and Twilight practically stuck. It pretty much made itself clear how far down they would go and how far away they are from the others.

What’s worse is that Pinkie was still shuddering, Y-Y-Y-You have to jump!”

“I’ll never make it!” Twilight cried.

“You’ll be fine!”

“I will not!”

Omni himself was being found between a rock an a hard place. After an ear-splitting screech from the monsters, he was seriously considering taking Pinkie's advice, “How do you know we're not gonna just fall, Pinkie?!”

“Trust me! You'll be safe! Pinkie Sense never lie!”

Omnifarious took one more gut-wrenching look down the fissure and swallow, “You better be right about his!!” he ran off whimpering the opposite way, before letting off a warcry as he slung back in a full sprint, ready to vault over the giant chasm.

“What do you think you’re doing?!?” Twilight pulled forcefully to bring Omni back to her side before, for good measure, pinning herself over him to keep him on his back, “You cannot seriously think you can make it over that distance! What were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking about getting away from that huge monster over there!” Omni snarled aside.

“That means making a thousand-foot drop to your doom?! I though you were smarter than that!”

“It’s better than getting eaten!”

“Not even that justifies suicide! Don’t gamble your life on some dumb premonition!”

“Look, chances are we'll be able to make it to that last pillar!” Omni tried to crawl out from under Twilight, but the unicorn made it harder by pinning his arms.

“No, chances are we'll fall into a bed of sharp rocks on the way down!” Twilight snapped back, “Just calm down and we'll find another way!”

“Twilight, this is the only way!”

“No it's not! With all this Pinkie Sense nonsense going on, it's like nobody’s thinking straight!”

“Twilight…”

“It’s bad enough everyone else believes it, but now you say it’s the only thing to save our lives?!”

“Twilight…!”

“What?!”

“…Maybe all it takes, is a little bit of faith.”

Twilight stood quietly over him with a perplexed look, “You mean believing in a bunch of make-believe predictions and hope they come true? Is that your definition of 'faith'?”

“Yes!” it was Omni’s turn to snap, “Think about it: you’re backed into a corner with the only way out putting you in more danger than you already are; but can also potentially save your life. That’s what faith is: putting your trust in something. Whether or not you can understand it shouldn’t be the issue.”

“But…,” Twilight whimpered, “but it's just not possible. What’s the point in believing in something you don’t understand…”

“Understand the situation,” Omni pointed his nose back down hill, where Twilight looked, “Understand that?”

“…No?”

“What do you mean, 'no'?” Omni hopped back on his feet to see the hydra goofing off on its side; reading a comic with one head, drinking soda with the next, ect. Until they were caught, and decided that break time's over, “Okay, understand the situation now?!”

“Yes! Yeah, I get it!” Twilight began backing away as the hydra marched towards them. She and Omni looked one more time over the edge, “You do realize this is crazy, right?”

“Sometimes crazy works,” Omni said, “Besides, we’re betting our lives on Pinkie’s hunch! Are you saying you don’t have faith in her?”

“You really should’ve mentioned that earlier. Okay…” gulping, both Twilight and Omni whimpered backwards to gain a running start, before dashing forward screaming and launched themselves over right before the hydra could headbutt them. But the force caused the last pillar to tumble away under them.

They drop fast down the chasm, screaming the whole way down. Both didn’t have to tell each other this was the end. But the moment they touched the bog waiting for them at the bottom, they were saved…by a giant bubble that bounced them all the way back up the cliff, tossing them onto the other side with Pinkie and the others.

With Twilight sitting back up with a goofy grin on her, everyone cheered around her while Pinkie gave her a powerful hug, “I knew you could do it, Twilight!”

“I don’t know how it happened,” Twilight sighed in relief, “Coincidence, dumb luck, or what. But you said there’d be a doozy here at Froggy Bottom Bog, and I’d say we just had ourselves one heck of a doozy.”

“Hey, uh, Pinkie?” Pinkie looked down at Omni, who was still tumbled on his back, “The whole…snapping at you from before, I shouldn’t have done that…”

Pinkie gave a beaming smile right over him, “It’s okay, Omni. Don’t worry about it,” …followed by another series of the jitters.

Omni shot back up, “Pinkie…?”

“That wasn’t it,” she said in between shudders.

“What wasn’t what?” Spike asked.

“What are you talkin’ about, Pink?” Applejack asked.

“The hydra wasn’t the doozy,” Pinkie said, “I’m still getting the shudders!” as there went another, “You see? There it is again! Whatever the doozy was at Froggy Bottom Bog, my Pinkie Sense says it still hasn’t happened.”

“Oh, no…” Omni groaned, rolling over with his face covered, “No, no, no, I cannot go through anymore of this bull—“

“What?!?” came a loud outburst from Twilight, “The hydra wasn’t the doozy? How could it not be the doozy? What could be doozy-er than that?!”

“Dunno, but it just wasn’t it.”

As frustrated Omni was, it wouldn’t hold a candle to Twilight’s frustration. In fact, all of it she had pent up was released in one go. She was, literally, on fire! Eventually she got it out of her system and dropped in slightly-singed shambles, “I give up.”

“Give what up, Twi?” Spike asked.

“The fight…I can’t fight it anymore. I don’t understand how, why, or what. But Pinkie Sense somehow…makes sense. I don’t see how it does, but it just does! Just because I don’t understand, doesn’t mean it’s not true.

“Y-Y-You mean you b-b-believe?” Pinkie shuddered.

“Yep. I guess I do.”

The tremors in Pinkie intensified, which gave way to a lot of puffs and stretches until finally, it stopped. She gasped as she looked herself over, “That was it! That’s the doozy!”

Omni uncovered his eyes, “What? What is?”

“You believing! I never expected that to happen! That was the doozy!” Pinkie laughed, “Oh, and oh, what a doozy of a doozy it was!”

“Okay, lemme get this straight…” Omni scrambled to his feet to Twilight, “So you actually believe Pinkie Sense is a real thing?”

Twilight sighed, “Yes. Pinkie Sense is really a thing…”

“So that means no experiments? No more test subjects?”

“No! There won’t be any more reason for it…” Twilight groaned, “Omni, I’m sorry for everything happening lately, and I’m sorry for dragging you along. I didn’t realize things would turn out this bad…”

Omni remained silent for a moment, “I'm just glad I can just put this whole thing behind us…” suddenly a soft padding can be heard nearby, coming from Pinkie’s one-again-twitching tail. Everyone present backed away to the nearest corner or ledge, leaving a whole lot of space for a worn-out Omnifarious, “Please, no…ACK!” before getting swatted to the wall by a large, swung-over tree branch.

Meanwhile, the Book of Virtue gave itself a new entry:

“Dear Princess Celestia,
I’m happy to report that I now realize there are wonderful things in this world you just can’t explain, but that doesn’t necessarily make them any less true. It just means you have to choose to believe in them. And sometimes, it takes a friend to show you the way.

Honk.

Always your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.”

And the headline above entitled: “Faith.”

Bow-wow-wow Yippee-Yo Yippee-Yay

Author's Note

Here's a couple new updates. Please spread the word about this story if you like it...

Bow-wow-wow Yippee-Yo Yippee-Yay

It was a day like any other when Omnifarious was sent out for a job; only this time, he was out helping scavenge for gems with Rarity. Apparently she needed them for a dress she’s making for…

“Oh my gosh! Sapphire Shores! The Pony of Pop! She is awesome! I mean, she’s gorgeous and talented and—”

And apparently the tiny dragon riding him wouldn’t let him hear the end of it, “Okay, Spike! I get it.”

“Oh no, I don’t think he does, Spike,” Rarity chimed as she lead the two through the meadow outside Ponyville, “He'll need a more colorful description than that.”

“Look, I don’t know why we're making such a fuss over this,” Omni sighed, causing Rarity to stop to a halt, “I mean, if you think about it, behind all that fame and fortune they’re people like us. I don’t see why putting them on a pedestal should matter.”

Rarity spun around and glared at him nose-to-nose, “You know, I was generous enough to overlook the fact that you have never heard of her, but this generosity could only go so far,” she spun around and continued walking, “And this very generosity is what led musicians like Sapphire Shores to share their voices to the ponies over. It is their gift to us, so the least we can do is give them our praise. So do not presume you know more than I.”

Spike snickered as he hovered over Omni's head, “She’s got you there. You should’ve seen how she was totally flipping out over her.”

“Ladies do not 'flip out', Spike,” Rarity replied, aiming her glowing horn as she paced around, “However, I was quite in awe. Oh, I need to find more jewels than ever before to decorate her costumes. Stopping short, she swung her head one way and another, as if dowsing for water. Finally she picked a certain spot, where s cluster of rocks can be seen below the aura-filled surface, “Ooh! Aha!”

“Did you find some?”

Rarity pointed to the ground where the glow used to be, “Yes, Spike! Right there!”

In no time flat, Spike was clawing away the dirt and digging himself into a sizable hole. He straightened up after a few seconds, having uncovered a handful of gems. His irises and pupils grew several sizes as he took in the sight. He licked his drooling chops, because fun fact: dragons eat jewels, “Ooooh…you look…so…delicious!”

Spike!” Rarity exclaimed, stopping the dragon from diving in, “I promised I’d give you gems to snack on, but we need to collect more first or I’ll never be able to make these outfits for Sapphire.

Spike groaned sadly as he brought the gems to the wagon Omni was pulling, “I will miss you, my sweets.”

“Come along, boys!” Rarity called, “We have many jewels to find!”

“At your service, my lady!” Spike bowed.

As the day went by, the search went smoothly. Rarity would find a buried pack of gems, and Spike would dig them up. Sometimes he’d even shovel them up or jackhammer them out, and all by using his tail.

“You know, it’s rude to stand around while Spike and I do all the work,” Rarity gave Omni a disappointed frown, even though Omni was lugging an ever-growing load in the wagon by the yoke. He was finally able to be free of it only to take a spot marked by Rarity. The moment he started digging, a loud shriek caused him to stop and find a fuming Rarity with dirt in her hair, “Perhaps…you should keep pulling the wagon.”

Thankfully, they managed to gather enough jewels to meet their quota. As Spike was drooling over the payload, Rarity gave him a pat on the head, “You’ve been very patient today, Spike, and for that, you get the finest reward. This is from me to you,” she brought over a large blue gem and dropped it in Spike's opened hands. Those last few words stopped him from devouring it and looked at Rarity with stars between them, “Is something wrong, Spike?”

“No...” he replied in a daze, “It’s perfect.”

The mood broke when her horn flared up and seemed to pull her along of its own free will for a moment, before she managed to take back control, “Bring the cart, Omnifarious! There are more over here!”

After one more, colossal payload…

"Well, I think that's all we can do for today. And these will certainly get me well on my way with Sapphire's outfits. Why don't we start headi..." Suddenly, Rarity's horn began glowing again, leading her to somewhere else. "Oh! What's this? Another jewel. Oh, strange. "It's in the trees. Oooo..." She spotted a gold gem between the bushes, but suddenly a strange creature popped out: a canine whose narrowed, red reptilian eyes have yellow whites. The gem is attached to a diamond-studded black collar, above which is a wide, leering, crooked smile, "Ewww!" Rarity flinched at the sight of the creature, "Uh... uh... Good day, gentle... uh, fellow. Uh, I am Rarity, and this is my friend Spike,” somehow the pony carrying all the gems didn’t matter, “And you are…?”

The creature jumped down on his short hind legs and advanced raising his large forearms, “A Diamond Dog!”

“Oh, really?” Rarity and company started backing away, noticing the collar and red vest stuffed with gems inside, “Oh, well, that explains your fine taste in jewelry. I-I mean, I-I-I know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and now I know that they’re a dog’s best friend too, hehe... So, um, ahem, you’re out hunting for gems as well?”

“Yes! We hunt!”

“Uh, ‘we’?”

“We hunt for gems,” the dog held his collar, “but you are a better hunter! So now we hunt…for you!”

Suddenly, two more diamond dogs burst out of the ground behind the group. Rarity screamed and ducking a grab by one of them, and Spike did his jackhammer impression on the end of the other’s tail, who took a graceless dive overhead while clutching at his hindquarters. The dragon then bulldoze the leader, “Run, Rarity! Run!” but he got no further before the leader mashed him to the ground with one finger.

The unicorn took his advice, and the half-buried dragon seized one of the henchmen’s hind legs to trip him up when he tries to run. As he fell, one forepaw slaps squarely down on the second henchman’s tail, causing him to fall as well, “Spike! Come on! Hurry!”

However, Rarity was too preoccupied to notice the ground bursting open and the dog leader popping up behind her, “Gotcha!”

While all that was going on, Omnifarious was trying to chew his way through the leather straps of the harness so he could help. But he soon realized that time was against him when he saw Rarity screaming under the leader’s arm.

Omni chased them to a nearby hole which their leader lead his fellow dogs in, all the while Rarity can be heard screaming inside, “Stop! Put me down, you scum! You brutes!” he jumped inside where, after scurrying over Rarity, he bit into the arm that was grabbing her and forced it to released. With them separated, he got in between the two and delivered a powerful kick that launched Rarity clear out of the hole, painfully, as she had mentioned, “Were you never taught to be gentle with a lady?!”

Omni tried to climb back up, but realized he was being held in place by the diamond dogs that captured Rarity, “Go! Get out of here!”

Spike poked his head inside, “What about you?!” he asked, worried.

“Don’t worry about me! Just go and come back with the others—WHOA!” and Omnifarious was dragged out of sight and away from the light...

“Why did we bring him here? He’s useless to us.”

“Not completely useless. Remember we’ve yet to bring a present.”

“Oh right, I forgot about that.”

“Shhh, he’s waking up.”

Omnifarious stirred awake with his head beating like a drum. After shaking off as much of his migraine as possible, he looked around finding himself inside a dimly-lit cave, and to his bigger misfortune, surrounded by the diamond dog trio. And what’s worse, he’s been feeling something attached to him, “What am I wearing…?” he groaned aloud as he felt straps of leather tied to his face on down. Looking between his eyes he found a leather harness around his snout. And looking over his shoulder he found a saddle attached to his back; the same kind of saddle that horses wear He pushed himself up to his feet to confront the dog trio, “So...any chance you guys could take me back home…?” the dogs laughed in response, though it was still worth asking.

“You’re already home; your new home,” the leader said, “And it’s time to meet your new master.”

Omni blinked, “Master…?”

“SANDY!!” after the dog’s yell a trail of elevated dirt made it’s way towards the room. When it stopped between Omni and the dogs another popped out. It was a small tan pug pup wearing a black collar, “Say hello to your new pet, Sandy.”

“Excuse me?!” Omni exclaimed in shock. The pup Sandy went over and started sniffing at him. He tried backing away but he only managed to lead her along. Soon the pup was sniffing from all directions.

“Remember what we do to let others know he’s yours?” the tall dog gave a wicked grin.

“That he’s what—OUCH!” when Omni spun around the pup was already removing her fangs from his backside.

“Good. Now remember what we told you, take real good care of him. Understand?” the pup nodded in response to the tall dog’s question, “Have you come up with a name for him?”

The pup turned back to Omni and cocked her head trying to think something up, “I’m gonna call you…Scruffy!”

“What? No!” Omi argued, “That’s not my name! I already got a name! It’s—“

“It’s Scruffy now!” the leader snapped, “We gave it to you, that’s what we’re gonna call you! So get used to it!” he then turned and lead his group out of the room, leaving Omni with the pup, who’s on all fours with his tail wagging, like she was ready to lunge at him.

“What do you wanna do?” Sandy asked, panting.

“Uh, go home?” Omni said, “I wanna go home.”

Sandy’s wagging then stopped, “But you are home. This is your home.”

“No, I mean my other home. My real home, back in Ponyville. That’s where I need to be.”

The pup sat with a crestfallen look at him, “But…what about here? With me?”

Omni sighed, “I want you to listen, I don’t belong here. I belong in Ponyville with the other ponies there. That’s where my home is,” but Sandy only replied with a pleading look, “Look, I’m sorry but that look won’t change my mind. I can’t just stay here forever,” she added big watery eyes and a quivering lip to her look, “Listen, just pretend you’re in my shoes and you were taken from your home. Trust me, you won’t like it if you had to—“ Omni looked over Sandy at the diamond dog leader who was peeking out behind the door, smashing a nearby rock with his bare hand. Omni sighed, “What do you wanna do?” Sandy sat with a wag and a smile.

First order of business turned out to be playtime. Sandy brought a ball they could share. Whenever she bounces the ball to Omni, he knocks it back. And when the ball bounces away, she’s always quick to catch it before it went too far. She must really liked that ball.

Next he had to be taken out for a walk, or the other way around it seems since Sandy was the one riding him on a saddle. As embarrassed as he is having to wear one of those things, how he had to be lead across a long, well-occupied corridor of ogling diamond dogs like a parade float was worse.

Which lead him to this point, where Sandy was showing off her new pet pony to her fellow pups, having him perform tricks he had to learn. He even had to chase his own tail, which was hard to do since he had a very short pony tail.

That was when Omni decided he had enough. Being a spectacle was fun for a while but it was time he found a way back home. So when everyone else were gathered around Sandy awing her, he snuck away around the corner and made use of an old talent he never bothered telling anyone about, and dug a hole through the cave wall.

It was only a matter of time before Omni was able to dig his way back to the surface, where the sunshine and fresh air was waiting for him. Except he failed to notice the one thing standing in his way…

THWACK!!

The dazed blue pony got dragged back into the caverns and tossed into the room he first woke up in, surrounded by the three dogs and Sandy.

“I caught this one trying to dig to the surface,” the dog that dragged him said.

“You tried to escape?!” the dog leader growled at Omni.

“I was just getting some fresh air,” Omni groaned.

“You lie!” the leader snapped, “You were running away from protecting Sandy! Something bad could’ve happened! It’s time you get punished!”

That was when he pulled something out from under his vest, something that caused Omni to flinch and back away, “Whoa! What is that?” although he knew all too well what it was. Every kid’s worst nightmare: the riding crop.

“This is what we use on bad ponies who do bad things!” he then turned to Sandy, “You will be the one to do it.”

Sandy stepped back from the crop presented to her, a worried look in her eyes, “But I don’t wanna.”

But the leader wouldn’t accept that answer and put the crop in her hand, “You have to Sandy. The best way to make sure your pony in obedient is through discipline. And a crop makes it easier.”

“Or, I can just say sorry and forget any of this stuff happened,” Omni hopefully suggested.

“His words mean nothing!” the leader said, “If something like this happens again, and he isn’t around to protect you, it will only be because he isn’t loyal to you. This way, you can fix that,” he lowered the crop in front of Sandy, who, after a few moments, took it with a solemn look at it. After that, she walked towards Omni.

“Uh, you’re not really gonna go through with it, are you?” the blue pony asked, beginning to panic as she padded around him out of sight, unable to see any further as he was being held down by one of the bigger dogs. It was only a matter of time before…

WHAP!

“Ow!” was forced out of his mouth as he felt the leather surface of the crop lash against his backside. The same happened the second time, then the third, and continued on when he was in too much pain to process counting.

Eventually, Sandy thankfully stopped as he felt himself get teary-eyed. She walked back in front of him and ruffled his hair with a paw, whining to him, “I’m sorry, Scruffy. I only did it because I love you.”

“And let that be a lesson to you,” the dog leader added, “Now don’t let me catch you separated from your master again!” he then stomped out of the room with the others following, leaving the pup with her pet.

Later that day, Omni was stuck following closely behind Sandy, who’s had her nose dragged along the dirt as she walked. From what he recently discovered is that diamond dogs are capable of literally sniffing out gems. That must be how they got so many stockpiled.

Eventually they reached a dead end, where Sandy was sniffing more feverously against that end's wall. She then jumped back onto all fours with her tail and tongue wagging, “There’s something here!” she yipped before getting to work on scraping the wall. And for further reference she was a fast digger; because in no time at all she managed to unearth a very large diamond. And that was no exaggeration. This diamond was just as tall as Omnifarious and twice as wide.

“Now that is one big rock…” Omni couldn’t help but mutter in awe. But he was looking at the surface as Sandy continued digging around it.

Suddenly he felt a small tremor under his feet, which soon grew larger, eventually enough for Sandy to notice and stop digging, “What’s going on?!” Sandy’s answer came in an instant when the ground suddenly crumbled and collapsed from under them, causing the two to fall straight down deeper into the caverns.

They met ground eventually, but so did the rocks that came tumbling with them. And there came a loud yelp reminding Omni that he wasn’t the only one in danger.

“Sandy!” he lunged towards the pup and stretched himself over her to protect her from the rocks the crashed down around them…

When the rumbling stopped, Omni lifted his head to find the both of them surrounded by walls to fallen rocks and boulders, and interestedly, the giant diamond plugged over their heads like a ceiling.

“Are you alright?” Omni asked as he backed away to check on the puppy, who rolled over to her side, whimpering as she clutched one of her paws, “What happened…?” he asked in concern.

“One of the rocks fell on it,” Sandy whimpered, “It really hurts…” another tremor was then heard, only this time it didn’t come from below but above their heads. The rocks can be heard shifting before things calmed down again, “What was that?” Sandy whimpered.

“I don’t want to alarm anyone but I don’t think these walls are gonna last,” Omni said in a worrying tone, “If we don’t find a way out then everything's going to fall on top of us and crush us to death.”

Flinching, Sandy stumbled to her feet and limped to the nearest wall, trying not to put pressure on her hurt paw. She could only manage a few shallow scrapes before Omni had to pull her away when the walls made another tremor, “You don’t wanna do that! Those rocks may be the only thing keeping the walls up! That cave could collapse faster like that!”

“Then…we can’t dig our way out? We’re stuck in here? But I don’t wanna be crushed!” Sandy whimpered before crying in her heathy forearm, “It’s not fair! I want my mommy and daddy!” she stood there a few more moments sobbing, until she was picked up and held in Omni's arms.

“I miss my mom and dad too,” he said.

Sandy sniffled, “You have a mommy and daddy too?”

“Well yeah, everyone does. I started missing them the moment I was forced to stay here. I might never see them again and it scares me,” he looked down at the diamond dog pup, “How would you feel if someone took you away from your family just to be someone’s pet?”

Sandy looked down in thought for a moment before answering, “I wouldn’t like that at all.”

“Which is exactly how I feel. Do you think I’d like to be separated from my family?” a moment passed before Sandy shook her head, “So, if I were to leave this place right now, and be with my family again, would you be okay with that…?” yet another moment passed…

…and Sandy nodded.

“Good girl,” Omni pup the dog down and stood to his feet, “But first thing's first, we need to get out of here before this cave collapses.”

“But how? We can’t dig without the cave collapsing.”

“Actually, it’s the walls that are unstable…” Omni tapped on the floor, “But the floor isn’t. We can dig through here, then tunnel around the cavern so we can make it back up top.”

“But my paw hurts. I can’t dig that well anymore.”

“You can’t, but I can. I may not be a diamond dog, but I can still dig a hole,” there was yet another quake, so Omni lowered himself to the floor, “Now hurry and hang on! We don’t have much time!”

After Sandy jumped onto Omni’s saddle, the blue pony himself started digging away as the walls started crumbling away. Soon he managed to make a hole deep enough to leave the cavern before it became buried in rubble…

Eventually the two managed to find a way out as they dug their way back up to the nearest cavern floor above. Sandy jumped off the saddle and latched onto Omni’s face, giving him a hug, “You saved me, Scruffy!”

“I’ll take that as a 'thank you’,” Omni muffled through Sandy’s grasp, adding a light smile. When Sandy’s let go the smile dropped as Omni gave her a serious look, “But did you remember what we talked about a while ago, about how badly I wanted to go back to my family?” it was then that Sandy lowered her gaze and her ears folded down. She must’ve gotten the message, “I think it’s time for me to go.”

“But…” she looked back up with pleading eyes, “You’ll come back someday, won’t you…?”

After a moment, and idea lit up in Omni’s head, “Let’s do one better: whenever you’re in Ponyville, look for a giant treehouse; you can’t miss it. We can hang out then.”

Sandy’s eyes lit up, “You mean…I get to come visit you?” Omni nodded, and in response the dog latched onto him in a crushing hug. Omni pated her back in return.

“I take it you’re okay with that?” Omni asked.

“Yes!” Sandy yipped, “I’ll be sure to visit you the first chance I get!”

“Make sure it’s on Sundays. I got a crazy work schedule.”

The diamond dog then let go and jumped back in front of him, “But…can you let me rub your belly, one more time?”

Since Omni was being given the pleading puppy dog eyes, he forgot about saying no. So he smiled, and rolled over on his back, giving Sandy access to one last belly scratch. If there’s one thing Omni'll miss, it’s those belly scratches. After they were done, Omni jumped back on his feet, “Well, I guess I’ll be waiting for you when I get back.”

Suddenly, Sandy reached out for the moment to give Omni a quick lick on his nose, “Goodbye, Scruffy. I love you.”

Onmi gave a quick nod and dug into the nearest wall to get back to surface…

The blue pony dropped tiredly in front of the library before knocking lazily on the door. Soon after, it was answered.

“Holy smokes! Omni?!” Spike gasped before zipping back inside, “Twilight! It’s Omni! He’s here!”

“What?!” a few stamps down the stairs later and Twilight skidded to a stop at the door, looking down worried at the pony, “We’ve been waiting for you all day, Omnifarious! Where have you been?!” Omni could only reply with a groan from his planted face.

The next day, Omnifarious went back to Rarity's tailor shop. After he knocked on the door, he heard a familiar humming closing in before the door opened to reveal Rarity herself.

“Welcome to the Carosel Boutique. How may I help—” but when she spotted the pony in front of her, she dropped her introduction as well as her cheerful expression, replacing it with a blank stare and a small, coy smile, “Oh…hello, Omnifarious…”

“You don’t sound too happy to see me,” Omni flatly replied.

“No, no, it’s just… Surprising to see you here unannounced.”

“…Anyway, I came to get my payment.”

Rarity blinked, “Pardon?”

“You hired me to lug around gems you harvested. Don’t tell me you already forgot.”

“Ohhh, right. That…” the white unicorn tilted her head, looked away slightly and chewed her lower lip. Why does this not look good? “You see, this thing happened and, well… I’m afraid I don’t have the funds to pay you at the moment. But don’t worry, I’ll come to you when I have it.”

Rarity was ready to shut the door if it weren’t for Omni’s foot being propped against it, “That’s not fair, Rarity, you said that the last time you hired me, and I still haven’t been paid for that.”

“To be fair, between having poor fashion sense (no offense) and kidnapped poor Opal (some offense)…” you could hear the anger escape through her teeth over the second part, “You didn’t do a satisfactory job at the time and as your employer I have the right to withhold any payment due to poor workmanship.”

“Then what’s your excuse for this time? What exactly happened that you couldn’t pay me like you promised?”

“You know, it’s rude to pry into a lady’s affairs.”

Suddenly, the beeping sound of an answering machine cut their argument short, “Hello. This is Rarity, owner of Carosel Boutique. Please leave a message. *Beeep* Hi! It’s me, Pinkie Pie. I just called to thank you for that awesome spa day yesterday! It was mighty generous of you to pay for all of us, even Spike! Although I still find it weird that the sack you paid the money out of said 'Omni's Pay' on it.”

“Um, let me just…” Rarity scurried away from the door and a series of clacking and banging sound can be heard as the message continued.

“I also find it weird that Omni disappeared this whole time. I was sure he was doing a job for you yesterday. Oh well, I’ll ask him when I see him…” then a loud smash can be heard, replacing the recording as the machine was on the ground in pieces, “Anyway-see-you-at-the-spa-next-week-bye!” after that there was a click.

“So that’s how you spent my money?” Omni growled, “After I saved you from those dogs yesterday!?”

“About that, they came back and caught me before I can get back to Ponyville,” Rarity stated, then adding a dose melodrama as she swayed around like a damsel on the verge of fainting, “And you cannot begin to understand the horrors I have been through! I was forced to ruin my carefully-done hooficure by digging holes for them! I got dirt in my perfectly-styled mane! And worst of all, I had to wear a yoke! A YOKE! I had to relieve myself as only a proper day in the spa can, so I can forget about all the horrible things I’ve been through!”

“What about me?!” Omni’s temperament rose, “I went through pretty much the same as you! Worse, I had to drag myself all the way back home! Are you saying you can catch a break but I get nothing for my troubles?!”

He was expecting at least a look of concern from the white unicorn, but all he got was a blank stare, as if she could care less. In fact all she did was wave a slip of paper through the door and slipped it into Omni’s vest pocket.

“Here. A coupon for a free day at the spa. Now if you would excuse me, I have some dresses to design. Thanks-for-stopping-by. Bye!” and Rarity ended her sickly sweet farewell with a slam to the door in Omni’s face.

And that’s how Omnifarious spent most of yesterday as an underworld slave, left to rot, and stiffed out of his pay in no less than 24 hours.

…But at least he made a new friend out of it.

Please Read and Review.

The Threads are Greener when turned Inside Out

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

“Coming!” a familiar voice sang from inside the carosel home before the door opened, revealing its caretaker Rarity, “Welcome to Carosel Boutique, where—” when she realized who was outside the door, however, her cheerful expression sullied a bit, “Omnifarious…is here... What a surprise you decided to drop by!” her smile was faked this time.

“What are you talking about? You came over yesterday and said you have a job for me at your shop today,” Omni said.

“Um…” Rarity blinked, still keeping her fake smile, “Is that today?”

“You said, and I quote…”

“If you’re not busy tomorrow, darling, I would like you to help me at my boutique tomorrow at noon. You will receive payment for a job well done.”

“Oh! You mean 'today' today!” Rarity chuckled nervously, “Listen, there’s been a change of plans. It looks like I won’t be needing any help—”

“Rarity!” the squeal of Pinkie Pie can be heard from inside, “I just want to thank you again for inviting all of us to help you help Fluttershy model for the super-famous photographer that’s coming today!”

Rarity’s eyes had been wide like saucers in those moments, “Um, let me finish, uh… Because I already have enough help. So if you don’t mind…” she was about to close the door when Omni stuck out his foot to keep it from closing.

“Listen, I’ve been keeping quiet about this, but not anymore,” Omni exclaimed, “Every time I do a job for you, you stiff me on the payment!”

“That…that’s ridiculous!” Rarity stammered.

“What about the first one I did for you? It was around the same time you had your fashion show. You still haven’t paid me for then!”

“W-well, you did ruin my first show, and you kidnapped Opalescent! I think you deserve that dock of pay!”

“And what about the time I was hauling gems for you?”

“While you were the one pulling the wagon, you weren’t there to carry the load home.”

“That’s because I was kidnapped, after I saved you from those diamond dogs! And I don’t remember even getting a 'thank you’ for that either!”

“I gave you a coupon!”

“About that…” Omni brought out the coupon and dropped it from his mouth onto the floor, “Check the expiration date.”

Rarity picked up the coupon with her magic and read the expiration date, which caused her to go pale, even though it’s hard to tell with her white coat, “…Oh.”

“Read the fine print on the back, where your signature is, I should let you know.”

Rarity turned over the coupon where the fine print was, and grew even paler, “…Oh!” she squeaked.

“Not only did it expire the day before you gave it to me, as it turned out, only the person who’s signature is on that thing is allowed to cash it in. You gave me a coupon I can’t even use!” Omni exclaimed at that last part, then shook his head frantically, “I...I don’t understand! What did I do to you to be treated like this?!”

“Uh, now, now, I can tell you’re getting a little frustrated for…some reason, but, uh...I have some good news! I have been busy working on a special project just for you!”

Omni, taking a break from his raging, blinked, “Is that true?” Rarity quickly nodded, “And what does that have to do with all the money you owe me?”

“Oh! Well, it’s just that the project is a bit expensive, I figured it’s only fair that it’s made from your payroll. It’s only fair, right?” Rarity grew a nervous grin.

"And that voice message I heard the other day?"

"It may say 'Omni's Pay' on the bag, but I just needed someplace to carry the money."

“And you didn’t just explain it to me?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I’m sure you don’t mind taking a peek, you know, to see how far you gone.”

“Oh no! Nonono! You see, a true artist never reveals her work half-way. It’s considered bad—” Rarity’s fake cheerful expression dropped as she spotted something over Omni’s shoulder, “…On second thought, one little peek won’t hurt. Come on in!” without any further explanation the unicorn pushed the normal pony into her shop, where her six other friends, including Spike, were in the lobby.

“Omnifarious?” Twilight greeted said pony, “I thought Rarity was giving you the day off.”

“Day off?!” Omni exclaimed, “I only do occasional jobs! All my other days are my day off!”

“Which is why I decided to call you in today!” Rarity lied through her teeth, “Besides, you said yourself you needed the extra bits.”

“But you said—”

“Look!” Rarity replied to Twilight in haste, “A lady can make up for mind if the time calls for it! Now if you would excuse us…”

The white unicorn would have pushed Omni through the basement door if Omni hadn’t grasped his hooves onto either side of the door frame, “You’re a bad liar, Rarity! Just tell me what’s going on that’s so important!”

“Nothing special is going on!” Rarity once again lied cheerfully, still trying to push Omni into the basement, “It’s just the seven of us together helping out a friend for no special occasion whatsoever—”

Suddenly the main door burst open, letting in a couple of ponies carrying equipment, plus one more with a light-blue coat, cropped white hair and tail wearing a pair of pink-lensed glasses. She announced in a thick german accent, “Photo Finish; has awwived!”

“…, Uhh, you saw nothing!” Rarity exclaimed as she finally managed to kick Omni through the basement door before slamming it, trotting back into the showroom like nothing happened.

That left Omni sprawled and groaning downstairs in a dark basement…

It’s been who-knows-how-long since he was locked inside and no one came to open it for him since, so he decided to get himself out. So he sprinted from the farthest wall and up the stairs, and spun around to kick the door down…

Only to run through it and flat into the nearest wall.

“Omnifarious?!” the familiar voice of Rarity exclaimed, “What are you doing in my basement?!”

Omni groaned as he picked himself up, “What are you talking about? You locked me in there, remember?!”

“...Oh,” Rarity blinked, then blushed, “I…supposed there’s no way you could forget this ever happened?” she tried enticing him with a bright grin, but Omni wasn’t having it.

“I have been locked down in that basement for…I don’t know how long!” he groaned, “And I want to know why! I want the truth, Rarity.”

“Now…define 'truth'.”

“Rarity!!”

“Oh, alright!” Rarity huffed, finally dropping her façade, then took a deep breath, “Remember the mare that came over earlier? That was one of the most prominent photographers in all of Equestria! And she came to me, of all people, to do a photo shoot of my designs!”

“And what exactly does that have to do with me?”

“You see…” Rarity pulled her gaze away, “I kinda didn’t want you two to meet.”

“Why, not,” Omni began seething.

“Well, here’s the thing… And don’t get mad for what I’m about to say…”

“I’m mad now.”

“Okay then… The truth is, and it’s nothing personal, by the way; I sort of...didn’t want you to ruin my chances with her.”

“…First of all, why single me out of all people? And second, how is none of that personal?!”

“It’s not about me at all. It’s just…to be the greatest photographer, you have to be very selective of your clients. And Photo Finish is the most finicky of them all.”

“So?”

“So, I wanted to make a good first impression. And it stands to reason that I can’t do that—and don’t jump to conclusions—when you are here.”

“So you’re embarrassed to be seen with me,” Omni spitefully spat.

“See? You’re already jumping to conclusions! Photo Finish selects her clients very carefully and through many variables; especially by their-‘ahem’-associates.”

“So you’re saying I’m not good enough to be around you with her around.”

“Please listen to reason, Omnifarious. Fluttershy has been chosen to be the next top model of Equestria. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And I feared she wouldn’t get the position with…you know…”

“So what, you though I’d ruin this 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' somehow?”

Rarity darted her eyes to the side, “…Your words, not mine.”

“Rarity!!”

“Listen, Photo Finish is very selective of her clients! You cannot even count the number of clients that fell out because of the company they keep.”

Omni's eyes casted down, “So I’m supposed to be bad company…”

“I know this is hard for you to understand, but I just cannot take any chances.”

“…”

“Which is why we cannot have you around Fluttershy, especially when Photo Finish is around. And even when that happens, just walk away and pretend you don’t know each other. So, do we have a deal?”

“You do realize you’re asking me to stay hidden because you’re afraid I’d ruin Fluttershy's modeling career by being around her.”

“So…that’s a yes?”

“…I’m leaving,” Omni turned to walk out when Rarity popped up between him and the door.

“This is only as long as Photo Finish is in town!” the white unicorn pleaded, “I cannot have any chances of it being ruined!”

“Do you even hear the words coming out of your mouth?!” Omni exclaimed, “You want me to stay out of sight of some snooty photographer because you think I’m not good enough to be around! And you expect me to be okay with it?!”

“Please, Omnifarious! Just this one favor and I’ll most definitely owe you one!”

“Have you even been keeping count? You owe me three! Remember, the payment for my first and second job with you? Not to mention that expired coupon!”

“Actually, that coupon was from your second job.”

“RARITY!”

“Okay! Okay! Just do me this one favor and I promise; I will pay you for those last two jobs, as well as a free spa day, all expenses paid. Just do me this one, little, favor.”

That sounded like a pretty good deal; although it’s a long time coming. But there’s one problem: How am I supposed to believe you’ll keep your word this time?”

“I Pinkie Promise…” Rarity crossed over her heart before covering an eye with that same hoof, both with pride, “I will keep my word.”

After another moment of consideration, Omni sighed tiredly, “Fine."

Suddenly, the shop's door burst open for Fluttershy to jump in and slam it back closed so the mob she brought with her couldn’t.

Rarity was the first to welcome her, with a forced smile, “Wow. Look how popular you are. I’m so excited for you!” but eventually she grew tired of grinning and just dropped it, “You must be having the best time ever…”

As she clasped the grin back in place, Fluttershy approached her sharing Rarity’s level of enthusiasm, “Oh, yes. Best time ever.”

“Fluttershy!” Photo Finish called as she intruded herself inside, “I have been looking for you everywhere. We have the thing at the place!”

Fluttershy turned to Rarity as Photo leaves, “I’ll see you at the spa? Our usual time?”

“Of course! I can’t wait to hear all about the...'thing' at the ‘place',” after one of Photo's stripe-sleeved forelegs reached in to yank Fluttershy out, Rarity lets her true feelings show with a groan and a sullen slump, “I’m the one who should be mobbed by strangers wherever I go!”

“That sounds like jealous-talk just now,” Omni stated.

“Oh be quiet; you don’t know anything,” the sound of the opening door and jingling bell then snapped the envious unicorn back into customer-greeting mode, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique!”

“Is she still here?” one of the ponies who came in looked around, “We heard Fluttershy was here.”

“Sorry, you just missed her,” Rarity then brightened her previous sullen state and showed off a nearby dress rack, “But you’re still in luck. I’m having a huge sale on some of my best designs.”

“And you are…?”

“Rarity, of course.”

“Never heard of you.”

The white unicorn fumed like a teakettle as the two ponies walked out.

“I reiterate: that’s jealousy talking,” was all Omni could say before…

POW!

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

Omnifarious walked to the door and peered at the window next to it, where he spotted a large, floppy hat and an equally large pair of sunglasses. As much as he’d be glad to let a complete stranger into a house that’s not even his, but, as usual, no hands to work the knob. So he did the next best thing and pushed open the upper part of the door. After that, the stranger helped themself to jumping inside and pushing the door back in.

“May I help you…?” Omni asked flatly. The stranger pulled off their hat and shades to reveal a head of pink hair and light-blue eyes. Omni recoiled a bit in surprise, “Fluttershy?”

“Sorry about barging in like this,” the yellow pegasus said meekly, “I didn’t want anypony know I was coming here.”

“I heard you got all famous and stuff.”

“Mm, yeah…” Fluttershy stared down at her hoof tracing across the floor, “If you don’t mind, I need a favor from you. You see, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to feed the animals. So I need somepony to do it while I’m away, so…”

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

“What now…” Omni groaned as he went back to the door. And upon opening it…

“OH MY GOSH IT’S FLUTTERSHY!”

SLAM!

“I thought you said no one knew you were coming,” Omni said, looking back over to the frightened pegasus.

“I don’t understand!” she whimpered, “I was sure nopony followed me!”

Suddenly there was a loud bang at the door. Omni backed away as a few more came before the door itself burst open, letting in a whole swarm of ponies and photographers. Both Omni and Fluttershy were literally backed into a corner as they found themselves surrounded by crazed fans and flashes.

After much question-asking and picture taking, Omni had enough and pushed one of the cameras down, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Outta the way! You’re blocking my shot!” Omnifarious was pushed outside of the mob, leaving Fluttershy to be bombarded with more questions and pictures.

As bad as yesterday had been, today’s fiasco was more than enough as Omni pushed his was back into the eye of the storm and then, getting in between Fluttershy and the paparazzi, grabbed the nearest camera, tossed it to the floor and smashed it to pieces under his foot. Everything went silent after that.

“Next picture they take is gonna have their camera end up like this one right here!” the blue pony shouted, “And don’t get started on the next person who asks one more question! Go ahead and try!”

“What’s with the skirt!?” another camera was thrown over the crowd and smashed into that next person.

“Now everybody out!!” the crowd groaned as they left the library. After the last person sulked out, Fluttershy was once again alone with Omni.

“Thank you, Omnifarious,” she said, “That was a bit…extreme; but I really appreciate it.”

“Fluttershy, be honest with me… Being in the limelight seemed completely out-of-character for you. You don’t really like how you’re always the center of attention…do you?”

Fluttershy casted her eyes nervously to the floor. But eventually, feeling Omni’s gaze on her, she finally gave in and walked back and forth across the library, “Oh, it’s horrible! I never have time to myself anymore! I couldn’t even be alone in my own house because there’s a crowd camping at my front door waiting for me! I became so busy I even missed out on my spa day with Rarity!” she then slowed down and lied on the floor, with her distraught expression on her face rested on her crossed forlegs, “Being a model feels nice, but… I don’t want to lose my friends because of it.”

“So to clarify, you feel this whole modeling thing just isn’t you, tight?” Fluttershy, still looking downward, silently nodded, “Then quit.”

Fluttershy shot her head up and looked with puzzled, wide eyes at Omni, “Q-quit?”

“If you don’t like something then it makes no sense to put up with it if you can just quit right now. So the first chance you get, tell your bosses you quit.”

It was then that Fluttershy shot up to her feet, “B-but I can’t just quit! It’s Rarity's dream to become a world-famous model but they chose me instead,” she brought back her hope-depraved demeanor, “So I have do this, for her…”

“Just think about it: if Rarity knew you’re torturing yourself like this, especially when she’s the cause of it, would she want you to keep doing it?”

“But this is exactly why I have to keep doing this. Doing what you suggest, quitting because I couldn’t handle it seems…” Fluttershy hung her head back down as her ears folded back, “selfish.”

Omni sighed in frustration, “Compared to you not wanting to model and Rarity wanting you to model even though you clearly don’t want to, which do you think is more selfish?”

Fluttershy shook her head and gave a small, solemn smile, “But if Rarity doesn’t know then it’s not the same. I could see the proud look on her face when I first made my debut. So I don’t want to waste that by thinking about myself.”

“Then you might not know this but Rarity was actually—” suddenly some of the books flew off the shelf right next to Omni, his mouth clamped shut by a pair of pink hooves and pulled back against the shelf.

That was when a puffy pink face popped through as well, “Don’t mind us! Just go on back to your modeling career, okay?”

“O…kay. I guess I’ll see you two later…” after Fluttershy left the library, the hooves that were holding Omnifarious finally let go.

“Pinkie!” Omni snapped, facing the pink pony (who apparently got herself stuck between the shelves somehow), “What were you doing just now?!”

“What am I doing?” Pinkie pointed to herself with one of her dangling arms, “I just stopped you from making a huge mistake!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember that promise you made to Rarity?”

“You were there? So you knew what Rarity had me do!”

Pinkie nodded, “You made a Pinkie Promise. And nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise.”

“You can’t be serious,” Omni glared at her deadpanned, “Pinkie, if you knew what those two are going through then it doesn’t make sense making them go through this emotional discord.”

Pinkie shook her head, “Doesn’t matter. You can’t break a Pinkie Promise, no matter what.”

“I don’t think you understand what’s going on—”

“That’s not true!” Pinkie said matter-of-factly, “Rarity’s jealous because Fluttershy is famous, and Fluttershy is sad because her fame is keeping her away from her friends.”

“And you actually want this to go on?”

“Of course not! But a Pinkie Promise is a Pinkie Promise. And nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise.”

“You cannot expect me to let this friendship tear apart because of some petty pact.”

“You don’t understand, Omni! This is more than just about some silly promise. The Pinkie Promise is the ultimate sign of trust. And everypony knows, that losing a friend’s trust is the quickest way to losing a friend.”

“Pinkie—”

“Forever!”

“But Pinkie—!”

“For-e-ver!”

“Pinkie!”

“FOREVER!!”

“You know what, @*&$ it!” Omni spun around and stomped towards the door, “Screw the Pinkie Promise! I know what needs to be done, and I’m gonna do it!”

“Wait! Don’t leave!” Pinkie called out to Omni before he jumped out the top half of the door, leaving Pinkie stuck between the shelves, “At least call the fire department before you go!”

So Omnifarious marched straight on down to the auditorium, where Fluttershy was sure to be on account of the many ponies seen gathering inside. But before he could get through the door, he had to deal with the bouncer guarding it, telling him to pay admission. So he bud farewell to what little bits he had on him until his next payday (if there ever will be a payday, that is…).

The inside was jam-packed with ponies waiting for the show to arrive, which became more sooner than later as the room went dark, the curtains rose and the spotlights shot at Fluttershy, who came out to the runway in a green dress. But it wasn’t until she strutted down the runway when things got weird. As she was hovering off the runway, she fell face-first back into the ground. But that wasn’t the worst of it: her wings started flapping and dragged her around still face-down. After that she was picking her nose, scratching off fleas and braying like a donkey. It was one embarrassing spectacle after another. And everyone was there to say so:

“Get her off the stage!”

“She’s an embarrassment to all things fashion!”

“I, Photo Finish, have made a terrible mistake!”

So, this must be what Fluttershy would rather have; to get kicked out of the job in shame rather than just quit as simply put. Well, Omnifarious won’t have that. So he did the one thing he thought he’d never do…

And that’s giving a round of applause.

The encouraged cheering was out of place over the constant booing, so it was easy for everyone to stop and spot the one person motivating Fluttershy, clapping his hooves as he rooted for her, “Whoo! Yeah! Keep going! Yeah!”

“Did I hear right?! Who could possibly applaud to that horrid display?!”

“He actually think that is good?!”

“He clearly knows nothing about fashion! I mean look at him!”

“I agree! Who in their right mind wears a skirt that ugly?!”

The crowd went back to booing; only this time, it was aimed at Omnifarious. And to add to the insult, they started throwing rotten fruit at him as well.

“Ow!” Omni cried out as something hard pelted him, “Was that tomato frozen?!” he tucked for cover as more stuff was being thrown at him.

“Bravo! I say, bravo!” everyone stopped their angry tirade stopped at another new voice completely out of place, “Such attitude! Such pizzazz! She’s invented an entirely new kind of modeling! Bravo!”

“Who is saying these things?”

“It’s her!” All eyes followed the random lady’s hoof to a pretty white unicorn in a dress and hat cheering and stomping her applaud, “The unicorn in the gorgeous cape and headdress!”

“Now that is a pony who clearly knows a thing or two about fashion.”

Well, that changes everything! If that fabulous pony likes it, then I do too. Bravo!”

Everyone joined together in stomping and cheering for Fluttershy. At least Omni's plan worked, in a way; and no one else is throwing anymore stuff at him…

When the show was over, Omni decided to give Fluttershy a stern talking to. The only thing standing in the way is that bouncer standing in front of the dressing room's door.

“Hey, nopony's getting in without a pass,” the bouncer barked out.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m a friend of Fluttershy's. Just ask her; she’ll vouch for me.”

“Look, everypony who came here also said they’re 'friends' with Fluttershy,” if ponies could make quote-fingers, he’d make them, “So no, you’re not getting in.”

Omni groaned, and tried to think of a better idea… “Hey look!” he pointed out the opposite way, “There’s some guy over there saying he’s nominating you for the 'Best Bouncer' Award!”

But all that did was make the bouncer chuckle, “You really think I’m that stupid, huh?”

“Uh, hello? Excuse me?” some pony was walking around, possibly looking for someone, “I’m from the Awards Committee, and I’m here to give to give a nomination voucher to…”

When the bouncer heard his name, he sprinted on over to get his nomination. That left no one in the way as Omni pushed the door open and went into the dressing room where he found Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle for some reason…

“I can’t believe it…” he scowled, “Did you know how stupid you look out there?”

Fluttershy was about to explain, but Twilight beat her to it, “This is completely my fault, Omni. I was just trying to help Fluttershy out of her modeling career.”

Omni groaned with a facepalm, “Figures…”

“Wait…you knew?”

“Yeah. Fluttershy told me. Of course, I did try to help her myself but apparently she doesn’t wanna take my advice.”

Twilight turned to the yellow pegasus with a concerned look, “Is that true?”

Fluttershy sulked with her ears folded, “I know this looks bad, Omni, but following your advice would mean having to tell Rarity why. It would mean being seen as an ingrate. I just can’t…”

Twilight then turned back to Omni, “Please, consider what Fluttershy's going through. She’s doing this for Rarity's sake. Would you have her give up if it means hurting Rarity’s feelings?”

“Does it even matter when Fluttershy’s not even enjoying it?” Omni replied, “You said it yourself, you’re helping her weasel out of this whole thing!”

Twilight turned away, embarrassed at her own contradiction, “I won’t expect you to understand, Omnifarious, but it isn’t that simple.”

“Then I’ll make it simple. Apparently I know something about Rarity that will settle this once and for all! It turns out that she—” but Omni was cut off when in an instant his foot was put in his mouth; only to realize that foot wasn’t his...

“Sorry!” Twilight cried as she pulled her forehoof out, “I don’t know what happened! It’s just…happened!”

Omni spat out whatever was left behind by Twilight’s hoof, “Are you kidding me?!”

“Fluttershy, are you all right?” everyone turned to see Rarity as she came barging in towards Fluttershy.

“I’m great,” the pegasus said, forcing a smile, “I’m a super-famous fashion model. Why wouldn’t I be great?”

“Because you have—” once again, Omni found another foot in his mouth; or rather, two, “Twilight!!” he gagged after Twilight yanked out both of her forehooves.

“Sorry!!” Twilight exclaimed, “I honestly don’t know what happened!!”

“Out there on the runway, everyone was turning on you and…ooh…oh, Fluttershy, it’s so awful…” Rarity’s voice then dropped to the lowest decibel, “…I wanted them to.”

“You did?” Fluttershy asked.

“Of course she did! Because—” suddenly, Omni found his mouth being stuffed by various fruits from the basket at the corner of the room.

“I’m jealous!” Rarity continued, “I wanted all the attention, and instead it was going to you! I even started hoping that you would do something silly so your modeling career would be over.

But then, when it started happening, all I could think was… How could I want you to fail at something you love so much?”

Eventually, Omnifarious managed to remove the fruit from his mouth, “Because! Fluttershy doesn’t—" but in that instant, his mouth was stuffed full of dirt and everything went dark.

“Love? Oh, Rarity, I hate being a model.”

“You do?”

“More than anything.”

“Then why did you keep doing it?”

“I was afraid if I quit, you’d be mad at me for not wanting to ‘shine all over Equestria.’”

“And I thought if I told you how jealous I was of your success, you’d think I was a terrible friend.”

“Never.”

“All this time…”

“If we’d just told each other the truth…”

“I promise never to keep my feelings a secret again.”

“Me too.”

Finally, the two friends both mimicked the new Pinkie Promise, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” before ending with a laugh.

It was then that Photo Finish came peeking through the door, “You were brilliant. Brilliant! I’ve already got six photo shoots lined up for tomorrow alone.”

“…I’m sorry, Photo Finish, but I—” but Fluttershy was cut off when a white hoof was placed over her mouth.

“Let me handle this, darling,” Rarity said and went to another part of the room.

Eventually Omnifarious was able to fill his lungs with fresh air after finally managing to pull his head from out of the flowerpot, when he suddenly found himself being dragged along before stopping in front of Photo Finish.

“Photo Finish, meet Omnifarious. He is a good friend of your client.”

“Is this true?” the photographer asked the yellow pegasus, who nodded with a puzzled look. Photo took a step forward to take a better look at the blue stallion. Omni felt awkward as he felt her eyes behind those shades looking him over, so he decided to do some smalltalk…

“Sup?”

Photo Finish flinch at the greeting…

“All that travel! All those photo shoots! All that publicity! WASTED!!!” Photo wailed as she was carried out of the auditorium by her assistants.

Omni watched her at the door with Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight as the photographer fainted after.

“There…” Rarity sighed in relief, “We won’t have to worry about Photo Finish stepping one hoof into town ever again.”

“This makes no sense…” Omni said, giving a confused, sullen look, both to practically no one, “Fluttershy could’ve just simply quit… I honestly don’t understand the problem of saying 'I quit'… Two words; that’s all it would take…”

“To be honest, I’m kind of confused myself,” Twilight said.

“Me too…” Fluttershy added.

Rarity shrugged, “Listen, the important thing is that Fluttershy no longer needs to worry about Photo Finish coming back,” she then began to proudly stride away as if she did nothing wrong, “I think this calls for a relaxing day at the spa to celebrate. Twilight, Fluttershy, you can come as well.”

“What about me?” Omni asked.

Rarity stopped, “Um, what about you?” she asked politely.

“What about my full payment? What about my free spa day?”

“What is he talking about?” Fluttershy gave a puzzled look to Rarity, who couldn’t turn back due to hiding a panicked, guilt-ridden look.

“Rarity was afraid I’d ruin your precious fashion career, so she had me promise to stay away from you! In fact, the whole basic idea was to make Photo Finish believe that I…didn’t…know you…” it then dawned on the blue pony on what previously happened, “You had me to introduced to Photo on purpose! You never intended on paying me or giving me that 'free spa day'!! You diabolic—” Omni would’ve lunged at Rarity if it weren’t for Twilight levitating him in place off the ground.

“Rarity, is what he just said true?” Twilight asked in a serious tone.

Rarity brushed a hoof against her opposite forearm, eyes darting in random directions as she chuckled nervously, “Now why would I—I mean how could you…um…maybe?”

“How could you?!” Omni exclaimed as he tried to struggle out of Twilight’s grip, “Whatever happened your 'Pinkie Promise'?!”

“Listen, I was going to pay you…eventually… It’s just that…all those spa treatments I gave my friends, I kind of…paid for them out of your pocket,” Omni stopped struggling and listened in disbelief as Rarity continued tip-toeing around the conversation, “And about that 'free spa day', that was before I realized the spa put a lifetime ban on you; something about a 'stolen coupon'?” his body fell limp in Twilight’s magical field and his crestfallen look became worse as Rarity continued, “So if anything, I’ve always intended to keeping that promise. It just…fell apart. The problem isn’t that I wouldn’t, it’s that I can’t,” by that time, Omni was let down on his haunches, seeming not about to do anything, “Now, regardless of what you may be thinking, I feel that I should remind you that we had an orally iron-clad contract. So since you couldn’t uphold your end of the bargain, I see no reason to hold up mine. But look at it this way: I was able to invite all my friends to a relaxing day at the spa; and it was your funds that made it possible. So technically, it was your treat. And I am very grateful for that; so is everypony else, I’m sure.”

“Rarity, I think you made your point…” Twilight said, trying to spare what’s left of Omni’s shattered ego, “Besides, he doesn’t look well…”

“Well, this has been a difficult-enough conversation to have,” Rarity said, regardless of her recent boldness. She tiptoed carefully towards Omni and lightly patted his shoulder, “Just to let you know, I’m not proud of any of this. Here’s hoping this doesn’t damage our friendship,” she then spun around and trotted off, “I’ll let you know the next time I require your services!”

“I should be going to, so…bye,” Fluttershy then walked off in a different direction.

“Look, I know Rarity, you know, mucked you over, but I’m sure they’re worse things… Right…?” but Twilight may as well be talking to a broken brick wall, “Well, I’ll see you at home then…” Twilight walked back to the treehouse, leaving Omnifarious in his depressed state…

“Omni? Are you down there?” the blue pony's ears perked up at Twilight’s call. Yet he simply kept lying on the library basement’s cold floor, even when hearing the door open and a set of footsteps closing in, “There’s something left at the door. The tag on it says it’s for you.”

So against his better judgement, Omni dragged himself out to the ground floor. But when he looked through the opened door, it was a sight to behold.

Sitting in a small, red wagon sat two large, opened bags of gold coins, along with a letter with his name on it that read: 'For what it’s worth, you were right; nothing good can come from living a dream you don’t enjoy yourself, and it’s better to show your true feelings than to bottle them up for the sake of others.

PS, Also for what it’s worth, the job paid really well. So I hope this makes up for all the trouble you’ve been through lately.’

Huh, well what do you know. After getting kidnapped by diamond dogs for Rarity, being left to rot by Rarity and being stiffed from payment by Rarity, after being locked in a closet for days, being given false promises and being left high and dry as if she’s done nothing wrong by Rarity, it was Fluttershy who managed to come through in the end. For the first time in a while, it feels like everything’s gonna be alright for Omnifarious.

“I was wondering what kept you with this month's rent,” New Moon said, walking off with the money in tow, “This should be enough to cover it. Whatever’s left over can help spruce up the place.”

…Or maybe not.

Downstairs, the Book of Virtue gained a new entry:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Being a good friend means being able to keep a secret. But you should never be afraid to share your true feelings with a good friend.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

And the headline that came with it: Honestly.

Epilogue:

*RIIING! RIIING! RIIING!*

*Click!* “Hello, this is I, Dio Brando. If I’m not answering the phone right now, that should mean I’m out on a leisurely nighttime stroll to destroy the Joestar clan. Just leave a message after the beep.”

*BEEEP*

“Hi! It’s Pinkie! I just wanted to thank you for letting me borrow The World for a while. He came quite in handy! We’ll, he should be getting back to Cairo soon. Bye!”

*Click!*

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