The 63 files

Chapters

TwiDash
TrixieJack
OctaScratch part 2
FlutterPie
BraeburnXSoarin
OctaScratch pt. 3
LyraBon
SpitLight
Twixie
TwiScratch and OctaPie
Twixie pt. 2
OctaScratch pt. 4
An OctaScratch Quickie
RariJack
TwiDash- parenting part 1
TwiDash Wedding pt. 1
Royal Wedding
RariShores
A report on recent activites
SoarinDash was here, but it's gone now.
There's a FlashPunch in my boot part 1
OctaScratch part 1
Screwing around

TwiDash

Out of all the ships that exist, I tend to be drawn to the ‘opposites attract’ pairings. That being said, I have to say that shipping itself is a strange beast. Since gender-bends have started taking hold, I would have thought that mixed gender-bent couples would take hold much the same way. I guess it has too, but for the purposes of this experiment self shipping doesn’t count. Since I need experience writing romance, let’s see this as a learning experience. Since Twi-Dash is my current favorite ship at the moment, let’s start there.

Twilight was resting in the library by herself enjoying the latest in a series of books she’s been reading, ‘The eggheads guide to relationships.’ Twilight found it funny; she wouldn’t have been interested in these kinds of books a few weeks ago. It’s funny what love does to somepony.

“Incoming!” Twilight heard a familiar voice yell, and she magically opened a window without looking up from the book she was reading. She caught a blue colored blur in her peripheral vision and the familiar crash behind her as she marked her place in the book and walked over to the pile of books.

“If you wanted to see me Rainbow, you could just use the door,” Twilight said. The colt pushed his head up through the books and shook his head.

“I caught a bad wind,” Rainbow said as Twilight started levitating the books off him and back onto the shelves. “But it brought me to you, so I’m not really complaining.” Rainbow flashed a grin at Twilight, who turned away with a light blush.

“Always a charmer, aren’t you Blitz,” Twilight said and put the last of the knocked down books back on the shelf. “So, what were you working on?”

Blitz stood up and stretched his wings a bit. “Oh not much, just a new routine that’s totally awesome,” Blitz said and brought his hoof up in a dramatic pose, “If I can perfect this one, the Wonderbolts are bound to want me in their ranks.” Blitz said it with such intensity that Twilight was sure he could burst into flames.

“Oh really, well let’s go see,” Twilight said and started walking to the door, noticing Blitz look a little shaken.

“W-what, you want to see it now?” he asked. Twilight looked back at him with a slightly teasing smile.

“Of course, I love seeing your tricks. Is there a problem with me watching this time?” Blitz shook the nervousness from his demeanor and put on his usual cool detachedness.

“Of course not, it’s just a work in progress. Not entirely finished, you know.” Blitz said and walked up to Twilight. Her coltfriend’s behavior made Twilight giggle and she nuzzled against Blitz’s neck, which caused him to blush and made his wings tense up a little.

“Well, if it’s good as it is, it’ll be amazing when it’s done. Come on, let’s go see it.” Twilight walked over to the door and magically opened it, Blitz following behind her.

“By the way, where’s Spike?” Blitz asked.

“He’s off on business in Canterlot; he should be back by tomorrow,” Twilight said and closed the door when Blitz was clear. Blitz trotted up to Twilight’s side.

“That’s been happening a lot lately,” Blitz said.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked giving Blitz a questioning look.

“Spike going off on trips, leaving you alone with your books and me,” Blitz grinned at Twilight, “I’m starting to think you’re sending him off just so you can spend time with me.” This little accusation caused Twilight to look away from Blitz and blush, which took Blitz by surprise.

“Seriously?”

“I might have sent him around town on minor errands a couple times, but I never sent him out of town just for that.”

Twilight looked back at Blitz, who stared at her a little before laughing and ruffling her mane.

“I learn something new about you every day, babe,” he said and grinned at her. “You know, if you wanted to spend time with me, all you would have to do is let me know and I’ll let you stay at my place.”

“Oh quiet you,” Twilight said and lightly pushed Blitz. The rest of the way out they laughed, made small talk, and said hi to any friend they came across.

The two of them soon reached an open plain, perfect for what Blitz had in mind. Blitz started doing a couple stretching exercises while Twilight settled down to watch.

“So, what tricks are you going to be doing?” Twilight asked. Blitz finished his stretches and turned to Twilight.

“It’s a work in progress,” he said.

“So, you’re just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks?”

“Pretty much, it’s worked before,” Blitz said and grinned at Twilight, who started laughing.

“Right, we’ll be watching.”

“We?” Blitz asked and Twilight motioned to a nearby bush, where a certain orange pony was watching. Blitz chuckled and lowered into a ready position.

“Well, let’s give you a show,” Blitz said, took a running start and took off into the air. For a moment, Blitz felt a twinge of nervousness grow inside him. He shook the feeling away as he reached the height of his climb and flipped into a dive.

While he was diving, Blitz scanned the skies for stray clouds. It was a mostly clear sky that day but there were still a couple clouds here and there. An idea edged its way into Rainbow’s head and he decided to see where it would go.

Rainbow pulled out of the dive, headed to the nearest cloud and started flying around it. When he got it spinning fast enough he grabbed a hold of it and flung it out in the air. He kept an eye on how fast the cloud went and how it traveled as he the same thing to another cloud and flung it on a collision course with the first one. When the two clouds were close enough, Blitz started flying around them in a way where the clouds started combining into one big cloud. Then with the cloud still spinning, Blitz kicked the cloud in several spots causing it to burst into several water droplets.

With the wind carrying the water behind him, Blitz formed a funnel and spread the droplets out from the top, which caused a rainbow to shine through. Twilight stared at the sight as Blitz flew down and landed next to her slightly dizzy. Once he shook the dizziness from his head, he sat down and put a hoof to his chin.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Twilight asked, “I thought it looked good.”

“I don’t know, it was ok but it wasn’t…cool enough. Something is missing.” Blitz thought for a minute and then turned to Twilight. “What if I tweak it a little so it rains rainbow juice?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Blitz,” Twilight said and gave him a look telling him to think about what he just said. When he did, Blitz nodded.

“Oh yeah, it wouldn’t be really good if I tried to introduce a trick that could blind an audience. Well the base trick has merit; I’ll just have to tweak it a little.” Blitz put a hoof to his chin in thought while Twilight gave him a look.

“What do you mean blind?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah, if you get rainbow juice in your eye it could blind you. I know this one guy who worked at the rainbow factory back in Cloudsdale who got maybe a teaspoon of the stuff in his eye; he’s still blind in that eye to this day.” Twilight stared at him baffled.

“…When did this happen?” she asked.

“About six years ago.”

“…Yeah, rainbow juice in that trick would be a very bad idea.”

Rainbow nodded and closed his eyes in thought. After a minute he perked up and grinned widely.

“I got another idea,” Blitz said and stood up and motioned to Twilight to do the same. When she did Rainbow studied how she stood and made minor adjustments to her stance.

“Rainbow, what are you doing?” Twilight asked. Rainbow made one last adjustment before he answered.

“Don’t worry this will totally work. Just don’t move.” Rainbow then took off, stopped ascending around 50 feet in the air and flew behind Twilight.

‘This is not going to end well,’ Twilight thought to herself and waited to see what Rainbow would do.

'She’s going to hate me for this,' Rainbow thought to himself as he started pulling up and flew upside down in the other direction, keeping an eye on Twilight to make sure she didn’t move much. When he was far enough in front of her, he dived down and pulled up when he was a few feet from the ground. It was here that Twilight realized what Blitz was doing.

“Oh no, Blitz, no no-” Twilight said and stood up on her hind legs and waved her front hooves just as grabbed Blitz her and flew up with her screaming, leaving behind an orange foal staring in awe.

Twilight was holding on to Blitz for her life as he flew, him grinning and laughing occasionally. There was also the occasional barrel roll. Soon enough he slowed to a hover and braced himself for a chewing out.

“Blitz you jerk! Warn me next time you do something like that,” Twilight yelled, still holding him tightly. Blitz tried to move a hoof to rub his mane, but stopped when Twilight screamed “Don’t let go”.

“Sorry!” he said and moved over to a cloud and set Twilight on it. “I guess I didn’t think that through did I?” he asked and Twilight gave him an angry look.

“No, you didn’t.” Twilight sighed and turned away from Rainbow, “You can be such a jerk sometimes.” Blitz flew around to face her.

“But I always make up for it; just name the price and I’ll pay it,” Blitz said and landed on the cloud. This was how they usually settled these kinds of things. I would work most but not all of the time. Twilight spent a minute or two thinking up the proper punishment with Blitz waiting the entire time. Finally Twilight cleared her throat.

“Alright, you’re going to treat me to a nice dinner and you’re going to let me stay at your house for the night. There may also be minor things that I’ll tell you about when they come.” Blitz gave her a questioning look.

“How nice?” he asked.

“Better than the café we usually go to.” Twilight then looked at Rainbow’s mane, “You’ll also have to comb your mane.”

“Help me comb it and it’s a deal,” Blitz said and stuck a hoof out, which Twilight accepted.

“Fair enough, drop me off at the library and come pick me up at six.” Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Blitz’s neck while he did the same around her midsection. He was about to take off when Twilight surprised him with a kiss. The surprise action was over when Blitz realized what happened.

“Thanks for the ride,” Twilight whispered in Blitz’s ear, who managed to regain his senses.

“No problem,” he said and took off from the cloud, looking forward to later that night.

“And that should be it,” Twilight said as she looked over the things she packed for the night. Satisfied, she closed the saddlebags and giggled. She was almost as giddy as she was at her first slumber party, though this was weirder since she didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she was going to be spending time at Rainbow’s house, which she hasn’t had much time to do. It was almost six and the closer it got the more nervous Twilight got. It was ten till when there was a knock at the door.

“You’re early,” Twilight jokingly said when she opened the door and saw Rainbow.

“Yeah, a whole ten minutes. I would have been here earlier, but you have no idea how much work it took to get my mane as straight as it is right now,” Rainbow said and pointed to his mane, which Twilight had to really focus on to see it was indeed straighter than it usually is.

“Yeah, I can only guess. Come in, I’ll help you get it under control,” Twilight said and let Rainbow inside. Rainbow noticed the saddlebag on the table.

“You’re packing a bag? Why, you’re only staying a night,” Rainbow said. Twilight motioned for Rainbow to sit and floated a brush over.

“I know, but I just wanted to bring something over. I hope that’s ok and- oh wow Blitz, do you even wash your hair?” Twilight asked and was a little surprised at the resistance Rainbow’s mane was putting up.

“Of course I wash it,” Blitz said, “I just don’t comb it often.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Twilight said and then floated the brush back to the table, “Whatever, its fine how it is.” Twilight then levitated the saddlebag onto her back and secured.

“Sorry about this, I’m not sure why this thing is so-“ Blitz said but was interrupted when Twilight nuzzled against him.

“It’s ok, I like it how it is,” Twilight said and walked to the door.

“You’re not even that mad, are you?” Rainbow asked Twilight.

“Not right now, but screw this up I will be,” Twilight said, opened the door and looked back at Rainbow. “Are you coming?”

“I’m coming and don’t worry, I’ll behave myself,” Blitz said and walked out with Twilight.

And, to Twilight’s minor surprise, he did. The dinner went off without a hitch and Blitz behaved well enough that Twilight thought that he may have crammed with a certain fashion pony in between wrestling with his mane. Rainbow and Twilight were leaving the restaurant when Blitz let out a sigh.

“That totally went better than I thought it would go. I nearly went stir crazy in there.” Twilight giggled and bumped against Blitz.

“You did really well in there. Better than I thought you would do,” Twilight said.

“Oh geez thanks for the vote of confidence, Twi,” Blitz said feigning hurt, “even if you are totally right. What all did you pack anyway?”

“Just a couple books, some notes I made,” Twilight cleared her throat and looked away in embarrassment, “a few other things.” Rainbow looked curiously at Twilight.

“As in?” he asked.

“As in something you’ll see later. Oh look, we’re at your place now.” Twilight jumped on Rainbow’s back, who buckled a little under the sudden weight. He bore it though and flew up to his cloud home.

“How long does that cloud walking spell last anyway?” Blitz asked as Twilight climbed off of him.

“The spell book didn’t really specify when it wears off, so I’ve been renewing the spell every other week,” Twilight explained as she led the way into Rainbow house.

“Huh,” Blitz said to himself and followed Twilight inside.

Twilight settled onto Rainbow’s bed while he excused himself to get a shower. Twilight looked at her saddlebags a couple times before she walked over to them and pulled out the notepad she had packed. She read over one of the notes she wrote and looked in one of the bags.

‘I wonder if he’ll be fine with it?’ Twilight thought and re-read the note a couple more times. ‘There’s only one way to find out.’

Rainbow Blitz let the water from the shower cloud run over him for a few more seconds before he hit it to stop the water. He shook off as much excess water from his coat as he could before stepping out of the shower. He hooked a wing on a towel and tossed it on his head to dry his mane out. Blitz lifted the towel briefly to check it.

“Heh, looks nice straightened but I prefer it how it usually is.” Rainbow continued to dry his mane as he walked to his bedroom. “Sorry about that Twi, I totally skipped a shower this morning and…what are those?”

Twilight looked up from her book to her coltfriend, down to her hooves which was what he was looking at, then back up to him. “They’re socks,” she said simply. Blitz blinked rapidly as he absorbed that.

“Ok, where did you get them and why do you have them now?” Blitz asked. Twilight started blushing and looked down.

“I’ve had them for a while now, but I’ve never had a reason to wear them.” Twilight looked back up at Blitz and smiled. “Maybe I should wear them more often. You seem to like them.”

Blitz looked confused at Twilight until she motioned to his wings, which he found were fully extended. He gave a yelp of surprise and blushed at the discovery.

‘Stupid wings, always giving away my thoughts!’ Rainbow thought cursing his wings. He was so focused on this he didn’t notice Twilight get off the bed until she removed the towel from his head and she was in his face with her forelegs around his neck.

“This isn’t a problem, is it Blitzy?” Twilight asked with a hint of concern. Rainbow gulped as he looked at Twilight and she started rubbing the back of his neck.

“N-no it’s fine. It’s just a little surprising is all,” Blitz said and sighed a little at Twilight’s rubbing, “And they do feel really good.” Twilight smiled and planted a small kiss on Rainbow’s lips.

“That’s good; I was worried you wouldn’t like them.” Twilight then kissed Blitz again, who returned it and wrapped his forelegs around Twilight. They held it for a minute before they broke for air. Twilight focused on moving the book back into her saddlebags magically before she went in for another kiss. When they broke this one, Rainbow rested his forehead against Twilight’s as best he could.

“How did I get a wonderful mare like you?” Blitz asked and nuzzled Twilight, causing her to giggle.

“The same way I got you; we got incredibly lucky,” Twilight answered and brought Blitz back in for a kiss, falling backwards on the bed in the process. The notebook lay forgotten on Twilight’s bags, still open on that one note.

A strange anomaly in relationships, referred hereafter as the clothing conundrum, is a strange little statistic. Generally, couples that wear clothing on occasion have healthier relations than those that don’t usually. The exact reason for this is currently unknown and pending further investigation.

Ok, I hope you see where I'm coming from here. This is mostly me just experimenting with an idea I had and getting experience with romance. There will be other couples in this, which brings up the question of how to proceed. Should this all be one universe or should it take place over several different ones? I'm leaning more toward the first option, but what do you guys think?

TrixieJack

I didn’t even know this ship existed. Let’s see where this goes.
*Opening Case 56*

Ponyville is by no means a stranger to travelers and few of them ever caused trouble, directly or indirectly. At the moment one such traveler was hard at work in a caravan trailer some ways outside of Ponyville.

“Ok, let’s see if this will work,” he said, took a deep breath and concentrated his magic into his horn. He had been studying and reviewing this spell for at least a week, and he was sure that if he could master it, it would be a huge help for him. He could do it, he just needed to keep his focus on this one…simple…task.

“What are you doing?”

The sudden voice behind him spooked which caused him to misfire and start bouncing wildly around the trailer.

“Who DARES to invade my home space?!” he shouted and turned to the intruder, who was a gray pegasus with a blonde mane and crossed yellow eyes.

“I was wondering what you were doing in here,” she said.

“What?” he asked and then ducked under the wayward spell. He followed the path of the spell and was horrified to find that it not only was headed for his stash of fireworks, but it also landed on the fuse for the biggest firework in the pile. It hit and for a few moments he thought that nothing was going to happen. But then the fuse lit up and he slowly looked over at the mare, who looked back with one eye while keeping the other on the fuse.

“RUN!” he yelled and ran for the door, grabbing his hat magically on the way out, followed by the mare. He looked around frantically for any sort of cover, but only found a rather large bush. He and the mare promptly dove over it and waited for the inevitable. Five seconds passed.

10 seconds passed.

After 20 seconds they stood up, looked at the caravan, and started to laugh.

“Heh, guess it was a dud,” he said.

Meanwhile, on a cloud above Ponyville, a certain pegasus and unicorn were spending their day off enjoying both the scenery and each other’s company.

“I always love coming up here,” Twilight said as she looked out over the landscape. “The scenery looks beautiful from up here.”

“Yeah, it does,” Blitz said, although he wasn’t necessarily looking at the landscape. It took Twilight a moment to pick up on that and turn to Blitz.

“Really Blitz? Out of all the things to say, you chose that?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” Blitz said simply and grinned at Twilight, who couldn’t help but laugh.

“You can be so cheesy sometimes,” Twilight said and nuzzled against Rainbow.

“I can’t help it. You make it too easy,” Rainbow said and started nibbling on one of Twilights ears.

“Ah, Rainbow stop that tickles,” Twilight said and tried vainly to nudge Rainbow away. They did this a lot though, so it was just play.

Then the explosion happened.

They didn’t see it when it happened, but they heard it and felt the shockwave.

“What the hay was that?!” Rainbow exclaimed as they watched the distance smoke column rising up. Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other. Blitz nodded toward the smoke and Twilight nodded. She climbed onto his back and he took off toward the smoke.

The light blue unicorn stood up coughing. He tried to wave away the smoke, and when it cleared he found his caravan was no longer there.

“Great, my trailer has been destroyed, again.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “Well, guess it’s time to start over. AGAIN.” He then felt the top of his head. “And where’s my hat?” His question was answered when the mare cheered behind him with his hat on.

“That was the best fireworks show I’ve ever seen!” she screamed, her eyes spinning.

“Give me that!” he said and snatched the hat off her head, snapped the dust off it, and placed it on his head. She made didn’t react at all. He walked away from her to the wreckage of his trailer.

“Well, good luck with the cleanup. I got mail to deliver,” she said and flew off toward Ponyville. The unicorn groaned in exasperation and started to dig through the wreckage.

“Oh please don’t be a waste of bits. There you are!” He pulled out a special box, designed to be able to withstand just about anything. Which was a good investment because he lost almost everything he owned after his last caravan was destroyed. He opened the box and removed its contents: a simple saddlebag, his bag of bits, and his cloak. He put the bits into the saddlebags before securing the bag onto his back and covering it with his cloak.

“I was hoping not to go into town this soon, but now it can’t be helped,” he said to himself. He then turned to Ponyville and stood up straight. “Well then, look out Ponyville. Because The Great and Powerful Trixter is coming back sooner than expected!”

“Do you do that all the time?”

Once again startled by a voice from behind, Trixter yelped and stumbled forward, tripping on his hooves. He heard somepony snicker behind him as he tried to stand up.

“What is it with everypony sneaking up on me?!” Trixter yelled and turned around to find a familiar unicorn and a somewhat familiar pegasus whom he couldn’t place at the moment. “Well, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle and…” Trixter let the sentence hang for a moment.

“Rainbow Blitz,” the pegasus said.

“Of course it is, I was just making sure you knew.” Trixter stated.

“It’s my name. What are you doing here anyway?”

“That’s a good question, why did you come back?” Twilight asked, “It’s been almost a year since you’ve been here.” Trixter looked away from the two thought over his answer.

“To be honest, I don’t know. Usually I find it easy to avoid towns that don’t like me, but this town’s different somehow. It draws you in, you know?” Trixter looked back and saw the look Rainbow was giving him. “Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge against me?”

“I just don’t trust you,” Rainbow replied.

“I expected as much,” Trixter said and sighed. “If it means anything, I didn’t mean any ill will against either you or those other two ponies. I was just playing it up for the crowd, how was I supposed to know those two colts would be dumb enough to provoke an Ursa, let alone that there was an Ursa cave nearby to begin with?”

“He has a point, nopony saw that coming,” Twilight said, “Although we really could have done without the Ursa attack.”

“Fair enough, and you know what, it is my fault. My boasting planted an idea in their heads and that caused a good deal of damage,” Trixter took this moment to lift the brim of his hat, “Right now, all I want right now is a chance to make up for it.” Trixter looked over to his caravan, “It’s not like I’m gonna go anywhere anyway.” Twilight and Rainbow gave each other a look.

“So why are we helping him again?” Rainbow Blitz asked. He and Twilight were waiting in the library while Mr. ‘Great and Powerful’ was using the bathroom upstairs.

“Because I don’t think he was lying to us about making up for last time,” Twilight said while looking through the shelves for a book. “If he wants to try apologizing to the entire town to get on their good sides, who am I to stop him?” Twilight pulled a book down to check the cover, but shook her head and replaced it. “And besides, if I judged everypony by first impressions alone, I wouldn’t have made such good friends. Isn’t that right Blitz?” Twilight asked and gave Blitz a smile.

“I said I was sorry about that,” Rainbow said. Twilight giggled at this and nuzzled against Blitz.

“I know you are, but your reactions are so cute when I tease you.”

“Oh really?” Rainbow asked and, with a grin, placed a wing over her. “Well, two can play that little game,” Blitz then leaned closer to whisper into Twilight’s ear, “my little pet.” Twilight’s eyes widened and she looked away blushing furiously.

“I was just curious that night, Blitz,” Twilight said. Blitz chuckled and hugged her tighter.

“That’s not really a bad thing Twi,” Blitz said and started nuzzling the top of Twilight’s head, which she returned. “And who knows, next time you want to do that, maybe I’ll wear the leash.” This caused some laughs to rise from the both of them as they continued nuzzling each other.

“I’m not about to walk in on something private down there, am I?” Trixter’s question stopped their nuzzling and giggling, and Blitz looked down at Twilight who mouthed a ‘later’ and got out from under his wing.

“No, you’re fine to come down,” Twilight called up and shot a glance at Rainbow, who skulked over to a corner and put pretended to read a book. Trixter came down the stairs still slightly wet with a towel wrapped around his mane.

“I must thank you again for letting me use your bath Ms. Sparkle. Being covered head to hoof in dust and soot is a most unpleasant feeling,” Trixter said not noticing the various poses he made. He also didn’t notice Blitz annoyed huff.

“It’s no problem, though I get the feeling it would be best if you found a temporary residence for your stay,” Twilight said and motioned toward Blitz with her eyes.

“That should be no problem,” Trixter said, “I have plenty of spare bits for a hotel stay. I have to say this is much better than the last time I-“

“This has been bugging me for a while,” Rainbow interrupted without looking up from the book, “Why aren’t you all ‘The Great and Powerful Trixter enjoyed the bath. May Trixter bother you for more bath beads?”

“Are you asking why I don’t refer to myself in the third person?” Trixter asked and Rainbow nodded, “That’s just something I do for my shows. Besides, would you forgive someone who asked for forgiveness while being completely obnoxious about it?”

“…eh, you have a point,” Rainbow said, then looked up and had to stifle a laugh. “What is that?” he asked and pointed to the towel. Trixter looked up at the towel, and then stuck his chin up.

“Some ponies are very mindful of their manes, thank you very much.” This remark sent Rainbow into a laughing fit. Trixter magically unraveled the towel, gave it one last dry off, and then tossed it onto Blitz’s head.

“Well, if there is nothing else, I’ll be off,” Trixter said and levitated his saddlebag, hat, and cloak onto himself and made his way to the door. He opened the door and was surprised to find a dark blue unicorn about to knock on the other side. He stood there for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking.

“Excuse me, are you the librarian?” he asked.

“That would be me,” Twilight called from behind Trixter and the unicorn moved past him.

“Hi, I’m looking for this book,” he said and levitated a white note card toward Twilight, who took it in her own magic and read it.

“The Physics of Inert Magical Energy,” Twilight read and gave the note back, “I think we have it over here.” Trixter didn’t stick around to see the end of this exchange, since he chose this time to walk out of the library and into town.

Trixter didn’t know where to start in town, so he found himself wandering around town. He noticed more than a few looks his way, but it was easy enough to ignore them. He eventually found himself in a marketplace of some kind. He looked around at the various ponies buying and selling their wares. He was considering whether to get something when he heard a voice rise above the others.

“Apples, nice and fresh!” Trixter looked around and found the pony who was calling that. She was manning an apple cart, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane topped with a cowpony hat. As Trixter walked over to her he could have sworn that he had seen her somewhere before. He was almost there when she saw him.

“Apples, come and you?!” she shouted and pointed a hoof at Trixter, “I remember ya, ya’ll was that fancy pants magician from a while back. Ya got a lotta nerve to come back here.”

“Yes, I am aware of that,” Trixter said, “But I assure you, I have a good reason miss?”

“Applejack and I bet ya do,” she said looking none too pleased.

“I’m sorry, but have we met?” Trixter asked and Applejack’s stare intensified.

“Ya’ll don’t remember hogtying me at yer last show?” Applejack asked. Trixter thought for a moment and his eyes widened in recognition.

“That was you?” he asked, but backpedaled at Applejack’s glare. “I mean of course that was you, and I am sorry about that.”

“Uh huh, why are ya here now though? Did ya come back fer revenge?” Applejack asked.

“Revenge, no why would I want to get revenge against you? All I wanted to do was apologize for what happened.” Trixter said.

“Oh really? Ya’ll have to forgive me if ah don’t buy that.” Trixter sighed.

“I expected as much, and I suspect that will be the case for most of the town. So, what would it take to earn your forgiveness?” Applejack gave Trixter a weird look.

“Earn mah forgiveness?” she asked and Trixter nodded, “If ya’ll are serious, come by Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow. If ya want forgiveness, ya’ll have to work for it.” Applejack smiled smugly and Trixter sighed.

“If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it,” Trixter said and put a determined look on his face. This surprised Applejack, who thought that he would go away at the prospect of work. She shook away the feeling and looked Trixter right in the eyes. “Where exactly is Sweet Apple Acres?” he asked.

“Just ask around, you’ll find it,” Applejack said and turned back to her stand, “come by tomorrow around ten, and leave yer fancy hat and cape wherever yer stayin’. I guarantee the work I have planed will be dirty.” Trixter turned and started to walk away before he answered.

“I will. See you tomorrow, Miss Applejack.” Applejack watched Trixter walk away and shook her head when he was out of sight.

The next day, Trixter was on his way to Sweet Apple Acres, though only about half an hour of wandering and asking around. He noticed more apple trees the closer he got to the orchard. Soon, after an extended walk past seemingly infinite rows of apple trees, Trixter was at the gates of Sweet Apple Acres.

‘The things that I do,’ Trixter thought to himself as he entered orchard. He wasn’t particularly impressed by the look of the farmhouse and barn, but then again he wasn’t particularly impressed with Ponyville in general despite its rustic aesthetic. He started trotting toward the farmhouse, but changed his course when he saw a large red pony working a nearby field.

“Excuse me,” Trixter called out and continued when the pony looked over, “is Applejack around here somewhere? She said she would have some work for me today.” The pony looked him over couple times before pointing to the farmhouse. Trixter nodded his thanks and started walking to the house. He got about halfway there when Applejack walked out and toward him.

“So ya actually came. That’s a little surprising.” Trixter gave her a confused look and followed her as she walked past him.

“I don’t see why it’s surprising. I’m willing to put up with anything to make up for what happened,” Trixter said and looked over at the red pony. “If you don’t mind me asking, who’s that?”

“That’s just mah older sister,” Applejack answered.

‘That’s a mare?!’ Trixter thought, eyes widened with shock. He snapped out of it when Applejack waved a hoof in front of him.

“C’mon, I don’t need ya getting distracted before yer job,” she said and continued walking.

“What do you need me to do anyway?” Trixter asked. Applejack didn’t answer, instead continuing to lead Trixter through the orchard. After a while of walking, they stopped walking at the top of a hill.

“Yer job fer today is to buck the apples from all the trees from this hill to that hill,” Applejack pointed toward the hill opposite them, “and along the width of both of them. Do you think you can handle that?”

“There’s got to be like three dozen trees down there, and you want me to take care of them all?” Trixter looked at Applejack, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Ah, quit yer bellyaching. I had to do half the entire orchard by myself once,” Applejack said poking a hoof into Trixter’s chest. “If ah can do that, you can handle this little plot. Right?” Applejack and Trixter stared at each other for a minute before Trixter huffed and walked over to inspect a tree. After a moment he turned around and kicked it as hard as he could, which caused only a few apples to fall.

“Good enough fer a beginner,” Applejack said as she walked away, “make sure all are off the tree before ye move on. I’ll be back in an hour to check on you.” Trixter watched Applejack walk away before sighing and kicking the tree again.

An hour later, Applejack was going to check on Trixter’s progress. She got to the plot he was working to find he did a decent enough job, though some of the trees still had apples on them.

“Ah’m gonna hafta redo these trees, but he still got it done,” Applejack whispered to herself, “Ah’ve gotta think of something else fer him to do.” She saw Trixter continuing to buck the trees, although he seemed much more tired than earlier. “Don’t tell me ya’ll are tired already?”

“I’m a show pony, not a worker,” Trixter said as he looked around, “Although I have to say I think I did a good enough job.”

“Like ah said, good enough for a beginner. Don’t think yer done yet either, let’s find somethin’ else fer ya to do.” Applejack then motioned for Trixter to follow and the two started walking through the orchard. After a minute or so of quiet walking, Applejack broke the silence. “So, why ain’t ya speaking all fancy like the last time ah saw ya?”

“That’s just something I play up for shows,” Trixter answered, “If I went around saying things like, ‘The Great and Powerful Trixter demands a cup of coffee with two sugars and a hint of milk,’ nopony would want to interact with me for more than a minute. It’s good for drawing in crowds though.”

“So why are ye here? Ye got yer hide tanned pretty good last time ye were here.”

“Extenuating circumstances have left me without a means of transportation for the foreseeable future.”

“Beg yer pardon?” Trixter sighed.

“I accidentally blew up my caravan,” Trixter said and Applejack barely held back a laugh. “Oh yeah, it’s really funny until it happens to you.”

“Ah know, ah’m sorry,” Applejack said, still trying to hold back her laughter. She managed to quiet down by the time they got back to the farm. A familiar red pony walked up to them.

“So, how’d he do?” she asked. Applejack shot Trixter a look before answering.

“He did well enough, though it coulda been better,” Applejack said and then perked up in realization, “Oh ya ah haven’t introduced ya two. Red Gala, this is Trixter; Trixter this is Red Gala and it’s really impolite to stare.”

“Oh sorry,” Trixter said and looked away.

“Anyway, ah need something else fer him to do. Do ya need any help with anything?” Red Gala rubbed her chin before shaking her head.

“Ah can’t think of anything righ’ now,” she said

“Really? What about the plowing?” Applejack asked.

“Ah’m almost done with that.”

“Anymore trees that need buckin’?”

“Not today.”

“Any seeds that need planting?”

“Not that time of season.” At this point Trixter started eyeing his hoof.

“Need anything packed into the barn?”

“Caramel took care of that.” Trixter stopped paying attention to the conversation here and started to use his magic to straighten out his mane and tail.

“Well what about—“

“We’re still savin’ up to actually repair the barn, remember?” Red Gala pointed at the barn to emphasize her point. “Why do ya need him to do somethin’ around here anyway?”

“He pulled a stunt about a year ago and he wants to make up for it. Are yew even paying attention?” Trixter jumped a little at the question.

“I’m sorry I spaced out somewhere. What was that about a barn?” Applejack facehoofed at the question. Red Gala then cleared her throat to get their attention.

“Ya know, if the issue is making up for something he did, ah have an idea what yew can do,” Red Gala said and smiled in a way that put Applejack on edge.

“What do ya have in mind?” Applejack asked.

“Well, why not have him treat you to dinner?”

“What?” was the response from both Trixter and Applejack.

“Just a thought,” Red Gala said with a slight shrug then turned to walk away. “And Trixter, if ya come by tomorrow ah’m sure we’ll have more work fer ya.”

“Whoa, hold on! Back up a sec,” Applejack said and blocked Red Gala’s way, “where did that idea come from?”

“It was just an idea,” Red Gala replied, “Whenever Caramel messes up a job he always tries to make up fer it by inviting me to dinner. Ah never understood why though.”

“Gala,” Applejack sighed before continuing, “Ah don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I have to agree,” Trixter called from behind Gala, “no offense to Miss Applejack, but I’m fairly certain that any dinner date with her would be a disaster waiting to happen.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked and moved back to Trixter.

“I meant exactly what I said.” Red Gala took a step back from the incoming storm.

“Are ya suggesting that ah’m unable ta behave myself at dinner?” Applejack moved closer and stared at Trixter, almost touching heads with him.

“I suggested no such thing,” Trixter said returning Applejack’s stare, “I was simply stating an opinion.” This brought Applejack to bring her forehead onto Trixter’s, the stare intensifying.

“You’ve got some nerve, ya know that? Ah’ve got more manners than you ah’ll have ya know, and if ya want to see ‘em, ah’ll show them to ya.” Trixter arched an eyebrow.

“Is that so?” he asked and Applejack continued to stare. They held it for a minute before Trixter blinked and backed away. “Alright then. The great thing about opinions is they can be changed. If you are really serious about this, then I’d like to see where this goes.”

“Oh, ah’m serious. Come tonight at six and ah’ll show you how serious ah am.”

“Fine, am I paying?”

“Ah course, unless ya can’t handle paying fer a little dinner.”

“Of course I can handle it,” Trixter said and then stood up on his hind legs and used his magic to cause a light to emanate from behind him, “And mark my words Applejack, on my honor as a show pony, THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST DINNER YOU’VE EVER HAD IN YOUR ENTIRE *yay*ING LIFE!”

“Ah shut it. Ah’ll see you at six,” Applejack said and Trixter’s light show stopped and he returned to all four legs.

“Fine, I’ll see you then,” he said and started to walk away.

“Fine,” Applejack said.

“Fine,” Trixter called back halfway to the gate.

“Fine!” Applejack yelled back.

“Fine!” Trixter was past the gate at this point and started back toward Ponyville. Applejack huffed a little, turned back to Red Gala, and crossed her front legs.

“Ah sure showed him,” Applejack said proudly. Red Gala simply stood there smiling and waited for the pin to drop. When it did, a look of recognition crossed Applejacks face. “Wait a minute,” she said and looked angrily at Red Gala, who took that as a cue to start running.

Six o’clock came much sooner than either Applejack or Trixter wanted to. Applejack managed to distract herself from the upcoming predicament by focusing on the work that needed to get done, which were all finished by four. The intervening two hours was spent keeping Applebloom out of trouble and sitting on the porch of her house.

It was now ten after six and Applejack hoped that Trixter wouldn’t show up, which crumbled when she saw him walk through the gates and toward the house. Applejack was fairly certain that they had the exact same expression on their faces. Trixter stopped in front of the hose and the two of them were quiet for a moment.

“We’ve been tricked,” he said in a flat voice.

“Mhmm,” Applejack replied and stood up.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“Nah, ah know that Gala won’t let me live this down if I don’t. Let’s just get this over with.” Applejack walked off the porch and toward the gates, Trixter following close behind.

“You don’t know that.”

“Do ya have an older brother or sister?”

“No, I was an only foal.”

“Trust me, an older sibling will use any excuse to poke fun at ya.” Trixter let out an affirmative grunt and they were quiet for the rest of the journey into town. Once there, Trixter led the way toward the restaurant they were eating at. They stood in front of it for a minute before Trixter stood straight.

“Well, since we’re going to do this we might as well enjoy it.” Trixter then motioned a hoof inside and bowed slightly to Applejack. “After you, miss.”

“Uh huh,” Applejack said unimpressed and entered the restaurant with Trixter following. They were led to an empty table and started looking through the menus.

“Anything in particular you want?” Trixter asked.

“Nah, ah’m not really hungry right now. Ah’ll probably just get a daisy sandwich,” Applejack said and put the menu down.

“Are they any good here?” Trixter asked and was answered with a nod, “Alright, I’ll get that too.” Trixter put the menu down and the two of them were quiet until the waiter came to get their orders and for a minute after. Trixter was the one to break the silence.

“So, is apple farming something you like to do?”

“Ah course I like it, its mah special talent after all,” Applejack answered and motioned her head to her cutie mark.

“Ah right, of course.” Trixter took a drink of water and thought of something else to say. “You’re friends with Twilight right?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Nothing, I’m just trying to make conversation. It just seems like being friends with her would be very interesting. Do you have any interesting stories about that?”

“Ah’m not particularly interested in talking about that,” Applejack answered and took a drink of water.

“Ok how about this, a story for a story. I’ve been a travelling magician for a while, so if you tell a story I’ll tell one.” Applejack gave him a questioning look. “It’ll at least help pass the time.” Applejack sighed and rubbed her face.

“Alright, where do ya want to start?” she asked.

“Ok, how did you first meet?” he asked.

And so Applejack and Trixter made small talk, exchanging stories that happened to them both as dinner went on. On Applejack’s side there was there was her first meeting with Twilight, to an abridged version of Nightmare Moon’s defeat, to the Grand Galloping Gala and another abridge story of Discord’s defeat, to all the little things in between. Trixter’s stories weren’t nearly as impressive, simply interesting things that have happened to him over his career as a magician. His best story (arguably) was a strange time in Stalliongrad that involved a heavily inebriated unicorn DJ and a bottle of vodka, which Trixter didn’t want to go into specific details about.

“You know, hearing all this stuff from you makes me really glad I decided against the revenge route,” Trixter said and took a bite of his sandwich and continued after swallowing. “I mean, there’s no way I can stand on the same level as a group of ponies who managed to take on two powerful beings and win in the same year. The only way I can think of to even begin to be on your level is to make a pact with a dark god, which I’m not too keen on.” Applejack chuckled at this and finished off her own sandwich.

“Well, ah guess if ya were to do something like that we’d hafta kick yer flank too,” she said and the both of them laughed.

“You know, I’d be really interested to see how you would do that,” Trixter said and finished his sandwich, “And this has been the most fun I’ve had on a date in a long time.” Applejack cocked an eyebrow at this.

“Who said this was a date?” she asked. Trixter gave her a confused look.

“Did I say date?”

“Yes, ye did.”

“Huh, slip of the tongue. But still, I wouldn’t mind doing this again sometime.” Here Trixter noticed the waiter walked up and placed the check on the table. Trixter nodded his thanks and looked over the price, placing the necessary bits plus tip on the table before getting up.

“Well miss, should I see you home or…?”

“Ye can cut that out now, it’s kinda creepy. And ta answer yer question ah can see myself home, though I can accompany ya to wherever yer stayin’.” Trixter nodded and smiled simply.

“That’s good enough for me; the hotel I’m staying at isn’t too far away from here.”

So Applejack followed Trixter out of the restaurant and toward the outer edges of Ponyville. Celestia’s sun had set about a half hour ago and the moon was already making its journey through the sky. The pair soon came to the hotel and stopped in front of its doors.

“Well, here’s my stop,” Trixter said and pawed at the ground a couple times before speaking. “You know, I was serious about doing something like this again sometime. It doesn’t have to be dinner or anything like that; maybe I could just come over to the farm and do something sometime?” Applejack smiled and patted Trixter on the shoulder.

“Of course, we could always use any extra help. Just come on over sometime and we’ll find something fer ya to do.” Trixter smiled and started to speak.

“Tha—“

“And besides, yer gonna be very busy for a while if you wanna make up that little fiasco to the entire town. So ya had better get used to the hard work,” Applejack said with a chuckle.

“…Right, that too,” Trixter said, noticeably deflated. He opened the hotel door and looked back at Applejack. “I’ll see you some other time.”

“A’right, see ya,” Applejack said and waved a hoof at Trixter, who disappeared behind the hotel doors. Applejack started trotting down the streets back to Sweet Apple Acres.

‘Ah guess there’s more to him than just a showoff. If anything he’s at least a hard worker,’ she thought to herself on the way back. She was almost out of town when a familiar voice called from behind her.

“Ah Applejack, I thought that was you.” Applejack looked behind her to find a white unicorn with an expertly kept purple mane trotting toward her.

“Elusive, what are ya doin’ out this late?” Applejack asked her friend, who motioned toward the saddlebags he had on.

“I was just doing some late night shopping, darling. What about you?”

“Oh um, just some business I had to do, nothing too serious,” Applejack answered and turned back to the road. “Ah gotta get going Elusive, Ah’ll see ya later.”

“Actually, this is perfect,” Elusive said and Applejack stopped in her tracks.

“What is?” she asked.

“Well, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while, but I’ve just been so busy with the boutique I haven’t had the time. It’s been simply unbearable!” Elusive said, striking a dramatic pose with the last sentence.

“Elusive, I’m kinda in a hurry. Can ye get to the point?” Elusive huffed a little and threw his chin up.

“Fine darling, are you free sometime tomorrow?” Applejack was thrown off by the question and thought about her schedule tomorrow.

“Ah think ah have the regular work load tomorrow, so ah should be done sometime in the afternoon. Why do ya ask?”

“Oh that’s wonderful! You see, I’ve been thinking how you and I haven’t been spending nearly enough quality time together lately,” Elusive said with stars in his eyes.

“What?” Applejack asked confused.

“So I’ve decided tomorrow afternoon, I’ll stop by and we can spend an afternoon together!”

“What?”

“It’s settled then! I’ll see you tomorrow Applejack. Bye!” Elusive waved a hoof and trotted away from Applejack.

“…WHAT?!”

*Observation suspended. Reconfiguring file parameters.*

First of all, I'd like to thank Super Big Mac for helping me out with this. This would have been a lot shorter and a lot worse without his help.

Not much else to say really, let's just sit back and see where this little arc goes.

Next chapter, who knows what's up next? Till next time!

OctaScratch part 2

*Resuming observation of case 55: Octavia and Vinyl Scratch*

“Hey Scratch, are you up?” Orlando asked knocking on Vinyl’s door. He kept knocking until the door opened slightly to show a blue goggle lens framed by Vinyl’s blue mane.

“What do you want?” he asked flatly. Orlando laughed nervously.

“I didn’t know you were working,” he said.

“What do you want?” Vinyl asked again. Orlando cleared his throat.

“Do you have any cheese I can use?” he said and smiled. Vinyl stared at him (or at least Orlando thought he did, it was hard to tell with the goggles) before he opened the door.

“Get what you need and get out, I’m busy,” Vinyl said pointing to his kitchen before walking back to his couch, which was covered in various notes and various scribblings that were indecipherable to anyone but Vinyl.

“How long have you been working anyway?” Orlando asked as he searched through the fridge.

“That depends, what day is it?” Orlando looked back at Vinyl, afraid to answer.

“It’s Monday,” he finally answered.

“In that case, two days.”

"Two days?! Did you sleep at all in that time?”

“Nope, I’ve been downing Red Pony like its water.” Vinyl let out a chuckle, “I know I’m going to regret this later.”

“Yeah, you’re probably gonna come down hard,” Orlando said, closing the fridge door and walking over to Vinyl.

“Oh shut it. Did you get your cheese?”

“Yeah I got it,” Orlando said and looked back at the block of cheese on his back.

“Good,” Vinyl said and held up a sheet of paper to his face, “now unless you need something else, can you please leave? I’m kinda busy.”

“Actually, there is one thing,” Orlando said and pulled out a slip of paper he had stashed behind his ear and held it out for Vinyl, who grabbed it magically and floated it over to him.

“What is it?”

“Well, this filly I’m seeing is really into the orchestra that plays here, so I tried to get some tickets for tomorrow. Unfortunately I can only afford one and she can’t go anyway, so now it’s yours.” Vinyl stared at the ticket for a moment before turning to Orlando.

“You gave me a ticket to a high society event? Why not kick me in the face and give me the headache now?”

“I thought you would say that, so allow me to present this fact. Your little crush Octavia is going to be playing there,” Orlando said with a huge grin. Vinyl lifted the goggles over his eyes before answering.

“I don’t have a crush on her.”

“But you’re still gonna go right?”

“That depends, how much did this cost?”

“About half my pay check.” That little fact caused Vinyl to grimace, and then a thought struck him.

“Wait, why are you giving me this instead of going yourself,” Vinyl asked.

“Pfft, like I’d ever be caught going to a classical concert alone,” Orlando said and burst out laughing. Vinyl stared at him until his laughter died down. “That was a good one Scratch, I needed that. Well, see ya later and thanks for the cheese.” Orlando waved at Vinyl and left the apartment, with Vinyl staring at the door in confusion. He shook his head and set the ticket on his table.

“I’ll never get my friends.” Vinyl concentrated his magic and gathered up his notes. Once they were all gathered he sorted through them to make sure they were in order. Once he was satisfied he set them down in a pile in front of him and he rubbed his eyes, now starting to feel those long sleepless hours catching up to him.

Vinyl got up from the couch and stretched before looking at the ticket. He levitated it up to eye level and checked it over before sighing and setting it back down.

‘Tomorrow, huh? I’ll worry about it later, I’m way too tired right now,’ Vinyl thought as he walked to his bedroom. He barely registering how he floated the goggles he had on over to his wall of similar goggles, all with different colored lenses. Vinyl lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling waiting for the last of the energy drinks to wear off. Eventually his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

The alarm clock started its daily ringing and soon a grey hoof extended out to silence it. The hoof then withdrew back into the covers and dragged its owner out from under them. Octavia rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen. There she started her morning routine by setting a kettle of water to boil. With that started Octavia then went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.

‘Ugh, bedmane,’ Octavia thought lamenting one of the few downsides to having a long mane. She slipped a hoof into a brush and started brushing her mane as she thought about the day ahead. ‘Oh yeah, tonight’s the concert, which means last minute preparations.' With a couple more brush strokes Octavia got her mane straightened out and she shook it out a little.

‘I wonder what I would look like with a shorter mane? That DJ seemed to wear it well.’ It took Octavia a second to realize what she thought and when she did she rubbed a hoof on her head. Ever since she had met Vinyl she had tried her hardest not to think of him, yet somehow he found a way to worm into her thoughts.

Thankfully she was spared any further thoughts on the subject when her kettle let off a whistle. Octavia returned to the kitchen, took the kettle off the flame and set about making her breakfast.

The alarm clock started ringing, which caused a white hoof to slam down on it. Its owner peeked out from under the covers and stared at the clock, which showed the time to be 7:30.

“Ugh, it’s way too early for me to be up,” Vinyl murmured to himself but all the same forced himself out of bed, where he unceremoniously tumbled to the floor. He struggled a little on the floor until he somehow managed to get on his hooves and stumble toward the bathroom. Vinyl fumbled with the sink faucet and let the sink fill up before plunging his head under the water and holding it there for a minute.

Once Vinyl was certain he would stay awake, he pulled his head from the water and shook the water from it before draining the sink. After that Vinyl made his way to his kitchen to get some form of breakfast started. His first stop was the fridge.

‘What happened to all my cheese?’ was his first thought on seeing his fridge. ‘…Oh right, Orlando took some of it.’ Vinyl sighed and closed the fridge and grabbed a couple slices of bread. ‘Guess its toast for me today.’ After setting the bread in his toaster to cook, he thought over what to do for the day as he stared at the toaster.

‘I’m sure there was something I wanted to do today. What was it again?’ Vinyl rubbed a hoof on his forehead which actually helped jog his memory. ‘Oh yeah, that concert that Orlando forced me into. When does that start again?’ Vinyl walked over to the table with the ticket and inspected the times on it. ‘It starts at 7 and lasts till 8, with a dinner afterwards that lasts until 9. Alright, guess I’ll show up a few minutes early.’

Here an idea struck Vinyl; that maybe his usual goggles would stand out too much at this concert, especially if he wanted to see how Octavia played without her noticing him and wow that sounded a lot less creepy in his head. Shaking away the awkward feeling, Vinyl stood up straight with one goal for the day.

“I’m going to have to go in deep for this,” he said with conviction. He then smelled something burning and turned to his toaster with smoke coming out of it. “MY TOAST!”

Octavia took one last sip of her tea and set the empty cup down on the table with the rest of the breakfast dishes. She picked up the plate with the cup on it and placed it in the sink to clean later. With breakfast out of the way Octavia set upon the rest of her morning routine, which was mostly making sure her cello was in perfect shape and in tune before completing her appearance with one of the bowties she was known for. Once all the above was finished, Octavia strapped her cello case to her back and started for the door.

Octavia stopped when she saw the lone envelope on her table, which contained the letter she had written. She had thought about sending it yesterday, but had opted not to unless those surges came back. With a sigh, Octavia turned away from the letter and left her apartment.

Vinyl finished the last bit of burnt toast as he made his way down the street. It took him a while of digging through his goggle collection, but he had found one piece of his outfit for tonight. Unfortunately he lacked the other part of his outfit, which forced him to have to go out and buy it. Not that he minded that, he needed the fresh air.

Vinyl managed to catch a tram, a few of the other passengers glancing over to him. A few of the lingered on his blue goggles, but they didn’t last long. His stop soon came and Vinyl hopped off and continued on his way. He soon reached his destination, a high end clothing store .He had heard about this department store once and hopefully it had what Vinyl needed.

As Vinyl entered the store, the high class atmosphere nearly caused Vinyl to leave immediately. He persevered however, and after a while of wandering the store he found what he was looking for. Vinyl then found himself completely baffled by just how many of this one item that this store had. He must have stood there staring for five minutes before a store attendant walked up to him.

“Can I help you with anything sir?” The question snapped Vinyl out of his trance and looked over at the attendant, back to the clothing, then back to the attendant before answering.

“Uh yeah, which one of these do you think would go best with my eyes?” he asked either ignoring or forgetting the fact he was wearing tinted goggles. The attendant was a little worried about this question, but his professionalism hid it and he pointed to one.

“How about this one?” Vinyl inspected what the attendant pointed at for a minute or two. The longer Vinyl stared at the article, the more worried the attendant grew. After two minutes Vinyl grinned widely and picked up the item with his magic.

“Perfect, I’ll take it,” he said and trotted toward the register with his prize floating behind him. The attendant let out a breath once Vinyl was out of sight.

Octavia was more used to walking to her practices and shows, but right now she was running late, so she instead opted to take the tram. At the moment she was going through the set her ensemble was supposed to do that night, so she was more or less ignoring the other passengers.

So when she heard a set of hooves get on the tram, it was only chance that she looked up to see who it was. When she saw that the new passenger was none other than Vinyl Scratch, Octavia felt a twinge of horror pass through her as well as that tingling sensation from the last time they met. He didn’t attempt to make conversation with her, instead focusing on bobbing his head to whatever music was playing from his headphones. Octavia focused on her sheet music as her thoughts ran wild.

‘What is he doing here? Is he following me or does he not even know I’m here?’ She glanced back at Vinyl, but she couldn’t tell if he was aware of her presence due to his goggles and his seemingly automatic head movements. ‘Why would he even be in this part of town anyway? I could ask him, but I fear whatever would stem from that and oh no I’m panicking. Take deep breaths Octavia, don’t let him get to you just because he’s standing next to you.’

Octavia took several deep breaths and tried to focus on the sheet in front of her. A couple minutes passed before Octavia glanced back over to the unicorn next to her, who had stopped bobbing his head in favor of looking out the window. It was here that Vinyl chose to speak.

“Looks like this is my stop, I’ll see ya later ‘Tavi.” Vinyl then left the tram and started down the street before Octavia could recover. She stared at him until the tram turned a corner and he disappeared from view. Octavia stashed the sheets of paper into her cello case and spent the rest of the tram ride and most of the subsequent walk in deep thought.

‘He knew I was there the whole time and he said nothing until the last second? Why, does it bring him joy to torment me in such a way? Well that’s it, I will think of him no longer! I will not torment myself with thoughts of his cocky attitude or his uncivilized manner of speech or his sleek white coat and blue mane that only serve to bring attention to his gorgeous red eyes and what am I thinking?!’

‘Well if that wasn’t a good sign of how good this day is gonna be, I don’t know what is.’ Vinyl chuckled a little, his music blocking out the world leaving him alone with his thoughts. ‘I mean, what are the odds of running into ‘Tavi on a tram in Manehattan of all places?’ Here the song he was listening to started to end and he heard someone shouting behind him.

“Vinyl, will you take your headphones off, I’m trying to talk to you! Do you hear me you-“ The rest of that sentence was lost when the next song started. Vinyl turned back just as the pegasus was about to yell at him again.

“Yeeeeees, Tobias?” The sudden movement caused the pegasus to stumble backwards.

“Ah Vinyl, you heard all that?” Vinyl lowered his headphones around his neck.

“Except for that last part, yeah. So what am I?” A look of horror crossed Tobias’ face and he bit his lower lip in thought.

“You…are a… really charming, charismatic, and handsome stallion…?” he eventually offered with a smile.

“Oh really?” Vinyl asked and moved in closer to Tobias, who backed up panicked, “You know if you were interested all you had to do was ask.” Vinyl smiled widely and this made Tobias panic even more.

“What, no! I don’t swing that way, I mean not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just that I don’t think of colts that way. Do you get what I mean?” Tobias stared into Vinyl’s goggles, hoping he would say something. After a few moments, Vinyl started laughing and threw a hoof around Tobias’ shoulder.

“Relax, I’m just messing with you.”

“That’s not funny dude, you really freaked me out,” Tobias said hurtfully.

“Oh you can get your payback later,” Vinyl said and removed his foreleg from Tobias, “What did you want to say?”

“…You know, I forgot entirely what I wanted to say,” Tobias said and sighed. Vinyl dropped the smile he had and removed his goggles and let them hang from his neck.

“Hey, I’m really sorry if that really got to you. I forget sometimes how much of an ass I can be.” Vinyl placed a hoof on Tobias’ shoulder, who shook his head.

“I guess I still need to get used to your sense of humor. I’ll be alright.”

“Maybe, but I still feel kinda bad. Tell ya what, let’s get some lunch. It’ll be my treat,” Vinyl said with a small smile. Vinyl motioned for Tobias to follow and the two continued down the street. They walked down a few blocks before Tobias spoke up.

“I just remembered what I wanted from you,” he said.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, do you mind if I borrow some bread later?” Vinyl looked over at Tobias and his huge grin and sighed.

“Yeah, you can.”

Octavia finally reached the hall where her ensemble would be playing, and it was obvious to everyone who saw her that she was in a sour mood. Not just any sour mood either, it was that really bad mood where you can feel the darkness emanating from the body, y’know? Because of this, the only pony brave (or dumb) enough to talk to Octavia like this was Frederick.

“Hi Octavia, what’s wrong?” he asked. Once he said that, Octavia spun around and advanced on Frederick.

“Why is he following me?!” Octavia asked angrily, causing Frederick to stumble back.

“You’ve lost me already. Who’s following you?” Frederick asked.

“It’s that DJ from the other day. I ran into him on the tram ride over here, and do you know what he did?”

“Look Octavia, why don’t you tell me while we get set up?” Frederick asked while motioning to Octavia’s cello case. Octavia cleared her throat and opened her cello case.

“Ahem, of course, I apologize for my selfishness. Well, here’s what happened…”

“Sho, wait a minufe,” Tobias said through a mouthful of food and swallowed before continuing, “This Octavia that you have a crush on actually lives here?”

“Why does everypony assume I have a crush on her, we’ve only talked once,” Vinyl said and took a sip of his coffee.

“Still, I don’t understand how you can be so lucky and unlucky in love at the same time. Mind telling me what you’re doing right?”

“Can we please not talk about that?” Vinyl asked and rubbed his eyes with a hoof.

“Right, sorry.” Tobias chewed on his lunch for a bit before speaking up again, “So, is she cute?”

“Who?”

“Your mom, who do you think I’m talking about?” Vinyl allowed the comment since he did kind of deserve it. He thought for a minute before answering.

“Yeah I guess she is cute, in a kinda weird, stuck up, high class kind of way. Honestly, I think she needs to relax a little. When I ran into her a few minutes ago, she looked like she was about to have a heart attack.”

“Really, was this before or after you talked to her?” Tobias asked between bites of food.

“Today or at all?”

“Today.”

“I didn’t even say anything to her, I just stood next to her and she started freaking out. If I had actually talked to her, her head might have blown up.” Vinyl laughed a little and finished his coffee.

“I feel like I should say something to that,” Tobias said and rubbed his chin. Vinyl looked at him confused, but shook his head and looked up at the sun to check the time.

“Two o’clock already? Man where does the time go?” Vinyl asked no one in particular.

“Time flies when you’re having fun, you know,” Tobias said and took one last bite of his meal.

“Heh, yeah I guess. Let’s get going, I got some stuff to do and you still need your bread,” Vinyl said and hopped off the chair he was sitting on, a grinning Tobias following behind him.

Octavia finished telling her story as everyone finished her set up.

“So you’re all jumpy because you ran into that DJ again?” Frederick asked.

“I am not jumpy, and I resent the accusation,” Octavia said as she set her cello against a stand. Frederick stepped away from his piano and moved to Octavia.

“Well then, why are you so angry? All he did was stand next to you right?”

“Yes, which is what infuriates me! No matter what I do, he always manages to work his way into my thoughts!” Octavia sighed and rubbed her face before inspecting her cello. “Hopefully practice and the concert will help calm my mind.” Frederick nodded even though Octavia couldn’t see it. Right then, the conductor called everyone’s attention over.

“Alright everypony, I know you all must be nervous,” he started, “but we still have a couple hours until the show, so let’s use that time to get ready. Now I want everypony to split into their sections so we can run through tonight’s set again.” Everypony nodded and moved off to their instruments. Octavia had got her cello and was moving to her section when a familiar voice spoke up behind her.

“Well Octavia, you actually showed up.” Octavia turned to find a mint green unicorn stallion grinning at her.

“I should say the same to you, Harpsy. I would have expected you to stay with your wife in Ponyville,” Octavia replied.

“Funny you should mention her, she’s actually gonna be at the show later,” Harpsy said with a chuckle and started walking away with his instrument floating behind him, “So try not to mess this up, ok?”

“Same to you.” The conductor cleared his throat, drawing the attention of all assembled, and after a few moments to make sure they were ready he raised his baton and started the first set.

Once Tobias got his bread and left, Vinyl spent the next four hours scribbling out more notes and putting together some kind of rough draft of a track. Once Vinyl managed to tear himself away from his work long enough to check the time, the sun had already set.

‘It’s that late already?’ Vinyl thought to himself and set a sheet of paper aside. He then stood up from his couch to stretch a little before taking off his goggles and walking over to his attire for the night. He inspected both items for a moment before he put them both on (after a brief struggle with the second item) and looked at himself in the mirror.

‘Wow, I look like a tool,’ was his first thought on seeing himself. Then again, this was the first time he wore a bowtie since middle school. And he didn’t even know where he found the pair of glasses he had on. Vinyl stared at his reflection a bit longer and then shrugged. It was the best outfit he could throw together that wasn’t what he would usually wear anyway. And if some high class pony found issue with that, they’ll have to deal with it. Giving his glasses one final adjustment, Vinyl started for his apartment door. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Let’s do this,” he whispered to himself and left the apartment, the door closing behind him. A few seconds later the door opened again and Vinyl walked in, grabbed the ticket he forgot, and then left the apartment.

“Well, I wonder if this is the right place,” Vinyl said sarcastically as he stood in front of what may have been the most overly elaborate building he had ever seen. The concert hall definitely looked like what Vinyl imagined a concert hall to look like, with columns lining the front along with intricate carvings on the walls behind them and the ponies mingling in front for the show to start.

Vinyl marveled at how out of his element he was, but he still pressed on with a sigh. He moved slowly to where the crowd seemed to funnel into the building, and when Vinyl got to the doors a unicorn stopped him.

“Ticket?” he asked. Vinyl blinked a couple times in confusion before realizing what he meant and levitated his ticket in front of him. The unicorn looked the ticket over a few times, and then a couple more times, before punching a hole in it and waving Vinyl in. “Enjoy the show sir,” he said before moving on to the next in line.

‘Poor guy must have said that a hundred times tonight,’ Vinyl thought as he stuck the ticket behind his ear. Vinyl looked around the entrance area, which had the high set ceiling and chandeliers that he expected, as well as several groups of ponies just milling about and making small talk. After not finding a bar he could get a drink at, Vinyl opted to go into the auditorium and find his seat.

It took a few minutes and several looks at his ticket before he finally found his seat. Vinyl sat down, readjusted his glasses and settled in for the wait. Soon enough, Vinyl lost himself in thought over song and show ideas and was only brought out of it when an earth pony mare and her filly walked in front of him to get to their seats. Once the two of them took their seats, Vinyl noticed the filly was staring at him.

“Um…hi?” Vinyl asked. The filly stared for a few more moments.

“Why is your mane so blue?” she asked.

“Tootsie!” The filly flinched at the mare’s scolding and turned towards her with her head down. “What did I say about asking rude questions?”

“Don’t do it because a rude question can hurt somepony’s feelings?” the filly replied uncertainly and the mare nodded.

“That’s right Tootsie,” she said and looked up to Vinyl, “I’m sorry about my daughter, she doesn’t think some things through.” Vinyl waved a hoof and smiled.

“It’s alright and honestly that’s not the worst thing I’ve been asked about my hair,” Vinyl said but didn’t voice the thought he had afterwards. ‘I do not dye my mane!”

“Still, I’m sorry all the same. My little Tootsie is a bit of a hoof full, but she’s still a gem of my life,” the mare said and nuzzled the filly, who gave an embarrassed cry of ‘Moooom!’ It was these little things that brought Vinyl to a horrifying revelation.

‘Oh no, I never thought I would encounter this kind of pony this early in my life: a proud parent. Alright, I think as long as I don’t insult her kid or parenting methods I should be fine.’ Vinyl took a deep breath and readjusted his glasses, ‘Stay calm Vinyl, you knew this day would come and you’ve made preparations.’ Vinyl was pulled out of his thoughts again when the mare started talking again.

“Oh I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself have I?” Vinyl shook his head cautiously and the mare smiled sweetly. “Well, my name is Bon-Bon and this is my daughter Tootsie Flute.”

“I like your glasses,” Tootsie said. Vinyl laughed nervously and readjusted his glasses.

“Uh, thanks, and I’m Vinyl Scratch,” he said and extended a hoof, which Bon-Bon shook and Tootsie tried to do the same, but just succeeded in tapping his hoof. Vinyl chuckled a little at the filly’s actions. “So, what brings you two here?”

“My husband is going to be playing on stage tonight,” Bon-Bon said.

“Daddy plays the lyre!” Tootsie said excitedly and turned to Bon-Bon, “When is Daddy gonna be playing, Mommy?”

“In a few minutes honey, just be patient,” Bon-Bon said. There wasn’t much more conversation for a while. Soon, more ponies started to take their seats and the lights started to dim. The stage curtains started opening and the musicians walked on stage with their instruments. Vinyl sat back in his chair, determined to at least try and pretend to enjoy the show.

Octavia walked onto the stage, focusing only on the music coming up. She reached her place and performed her standard routine of setting her cello up. When she was ready she allowed herself the chance to see what the others were doing.

Frederick was by his piano going over the music sheet again, Beauty was with the rest of the brass section doing the same and making sure their instruments were in tune, and Harpo and Harpsy were checking their respective instruments. While Harpsy was tuning his lyre he turned to the crowd, smiled widely, and started waving. Octavia assumed he was waving at his wife in the crowd and, out of curiosity, she started scanning the crowd for the two toned mare.

After a moment, Octavia spotted the earth pony in the crowd holding up who Octavia assumed was their daughter, who was also waving at Harpsy. She also vaguely recognized the blue maned unicorn sitting next to her, but she didn’t realize who it was until a few moments later. When she did, it took every fiber of her being to reduce a full body cringe to a simple surprised eye twitch.

‘Did I just… no, don’t think about it. Just ignore it until after the show, and then chew him out,’ Octavia thought and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. When she opened them she saw the conductor walking onto the stage and bowed toward the audience. Octavia took one last breath and, along with all assembled, waited for the conductor’s signal.

Show time.

“So, who did you come to see?” Vinyl was so focused on the preparations onstage he almost missed the question.

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s just that most of the ponies here are here to see an artist they like. I just assumed that was the same for you.” Vinyl scratched his head in thought before answering.

“Eh, it’s more like my friend bought a ticket and pawned it off on me, but I guess if I had to choose one I guess I’d say Octavia.” This answer seemed to catch Bon-Bon off guard.

“Octavia?” she asked and Vinyl nodded, “huh, you don’t look like you’d be a fan of hers.”

“It’s more like a professional business curiosity.”

“Mom, daddy’s gonna start playing,” Tootsie complained and stretched up in an attempt to see the stage.

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetie,” Bon-Bon said and held up Tootsie a little higher, “is that better?” Tootsie nodded and looked on at the orchestra. Vinyl settled into his seat and watched the orchestra make their final preparations. Tootsie started waving at the stage and a green unicorn started waving back.

“I take it that’s your husband?” Vinyl asked. Bon-Bon sighed before answering.

“Mhmm, that’s the love of my life.” For a second Vinyl thought that Octavia had looked at him, but he shook it off. “Oh, I think it’s going to start now,” Bon-Bon said as the conductor walked out and bowed.

‘Ugh, finally. These shows take way too long to get set up,’ Vinyl thought. Vinyl took a deep breath, let it out and closed his eyes at the same time the conductor raised his baton. It took a few more seconds before the music actually started. Then he was in for the long haul.

The moment the conductor gave the starting signal, Octavia easily slipped into playing mode. That familiar sensation of the world around her fading away started to surround Octavia. She closed her eyes and let the music guide her movements and thoughts. The only time she opened her eyes was to check the sheet music; other than that Octavia was running fully on auto pilot.

She loved these fleeting moments.

Vinyl, for his part, did what he would normally do when analyzing a piece of music, which was just letting the music carry him and seeing how they all fit together. He followed each instrument as best as he could through the ups and downs of the music, every little piece performing its duty to the whole work. Yet his focus always ended up drifting back to the strings section and the cello specifically.

‘Heh, she knows what she’s doing,’ Vinyl thought as the piece came to a close. Vinyl took a deep breath and waited for the next one, ready to repeat the process again.

Octavia was lost in her own little world, riding the music as it played all around her. She didn’t know how long it went like that until she found that the concert was nearing its end. The final notes resounded through the auditorium which was followed by the sound of applause from the audience.

The orchestra bowed as best as they could with their respective instruments. The curtains closed and Octavia felt that unwelcome tingle run across her skin. She picked up her cello, walked over to her case, and started packing it away when Harpsy trotted over in his usual excited manner.

“Well I’m glad to see that the show didn’t go horribly wrong, don’t you agree Octavia?” he asked.

“I am in no mood to be talking right now Harpsy,” Octavia said as she shut her case and walked out of the room. Harpsy watched her walk away slightly confused by her attitude and followed her after a moment.

“What’s eating at you?” he asked when he caught up to her. Octavia didn’t answer him or acknowledge he was even there, so the two of them walked in silence until they join the crowd that heading toward the hall where dinner would be served. Octavia looked through the gathered ponies inside, most of who were chatting in groups, but saw no sign of Vinyl. However, any hope that Octavia had that Vinyl had gone was shattered when Harpsy spoke up again.

“Hey I can see Bon-Bon from here. I wonder who she’s talking to?” Harpsy walked to one of the food tables, Octavia looking over to where he was going. There she saw Bon-Bon talking with the pony she had hoped wouldn’t be there. Octavia focused on this one pony and moved in.

Vinyl, after wandering toward the food hall with Bon-Bon and Tootsie, found himself doing nothing more interesting than loitering and chatting with Bon-Bon.

“So what did you think of the show?” Bon-Bon asked while she helped Tootsie get some food.

“It’s not my kind of show, but it was alright,” Vinyl replied and looked up and down the spread, “Do you know if they have chocolate oranges?”

“They still make those?”

“Of course they do, it’s the most awesome thing that’s ever been made with chocolate!”

“I don’t know, that seems like a very lowbrow food to have at a place like this.” Tootsie started poking at Bon-Bon and looked at her pleadingly. “Oh, alright sweetie,” Bon-bon said and lowered herself so Tootsie could climb on her back.

“What does that even mean?” Vinyl asked.

“It’s just that I don’t think an event like this will have-“

“No, I meant what does lowbrow mean?”

“Oh, it means not high class. I think,” Bon-Bon said scratching her head before she looked to her right. What she saw made her eyes widen in horror. “Oh no,” she whispered and placed a hoof over her eyes. Curious about her behavior, Vinyl turned to see Harpsy walking to him.

“Hey Bonny, how’d you like the show?” he asked with a grin. Bon-Bon’s reply was to groan without moving her hoof. “Speechless huh, I knew we were awesome!” Harpsy chuckled little while still grinning. It was here that Octavia arrived, still staring at Vinyl. “Anyway, it’s nice to meet you,” Harpsy said and extended a hoof to Vinyl, who took it, “I hope Bon-Bon hasn’t been bugging you too much.”

“Nah, we were just having an intellectual discussion,” Vinyl replied and smiled at Bon-Bon, who still hadn’t looked up.

“I’m sure you were,” Octavia said and Vinyl turned to her.

“Oh hey ‘Tavi, I didn’t notice you there,” Vinyl said and chuckled, “I gotta remember to be careful around you.”

“Ha…ha…ha…” Octavia said with her eye twitching.

“Are you ok Bon?” Harpy asked, “You’ve been quiet since I got here.” Bon-Bon didn’t answer, since she was still holding a hoof to her face; so Tootsie popped up from behind her mother’s head and swallowed her mouthful of food.

“Daddy, you’re doing that thing that embarrasses Mommy,” she said pointing at Harpsy. It was just then that Harpsy noticed that he had been standing on his hind legs the entire time he was there. He yelped in surprise and lowered back down on all fours.

“I’m sorry Bon, I didn’t notice until now,” he said trying to look into his wife’s eyes. Bon-Bon took a deep breath, lowered her hoof, and sighed.

“Its ok honey, I expected you to do something like this. Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s just a mild quirk,” Vinyl said drawing the couple’s attention, “if you want to see some real embarrassing stuff you should see some of the parties I’ve gone too- you should not see some of those parties, I take that back.” Harpsy and Bon-Bon stared confusedly at Vinyl while Tootsie just sort of stared off into space. “I’ve seen some bad things,” Vinyl said and shivered slightly. Octavia cleared her throat.

“Ahem, Mr. Scratch can I talk to you in private?” she asked, her tone of voice leaving no room for negotiation.

“Sure, I need to see if this place has chocolate oranges anyway. I’ll see you two later.” With a wave at Harpsy and Bon-Bon, Vinyl walked down the table with Octavia following. Once they were sufficient distance away, Octavia spoke up again.

“What are you doing here and why are you dressed like that?” Vinyl cracked up a little at the question.

“Well you cut straight to the heart of the matter, don’t ya ‘Tavi?” Vinyl asked and inspected a tray of food. When he was done he shook his head and turned to Octavia, “I came for the show.”

“Uh huh,” Octavia deadpanned.

“Yeah that’s not entirely true. A friend pawned a ticket off on me and I really couldn’t let it go. It was still an alright show.” Vinyl turned and tapped a server on the shoulder, “Do you have any chocolate oranges?” The server stared at him for a few seconds before pointing further down the table. “No way, thanks,” Vinyl said and proceeded down the table.

“You didn’t answer my question as to your attire,” Octavia said.

“It’s to look high class,” Vinyl replied, adjusting his glasses.

“It takes more than a pair of glasses and a bowtie to be high class.”

“I said ‘look’ high class, and I don’t think you’re one to talk about high fashion.”

“DON’T YOU TALK ABOUT MY BOWTIES!” Octavia shouted, causing Vinyl and most of the ponies around them to flinch and stare. Octavia looked around the room before coughing into a hoof and looking away.

“…Ok, now I know what button not to push,” Vinyl said and cautiously started to walk down the table again with Octavia. Neither of them said anything until they came across a (arguably) very out of place tray of chocolate oranges.

“So, did you at least enjoy yourself?” Octavia asked. Vinyl took a second to swallow his food before answering.

“Yeah I guess. It’s not my thing, but at least I didn’t fall asleep from boredom.” Octavia narrowed her eyes at him.

“Oh really, and what would your thing be?” Vinyl stopped midway from eating another slice and looked at Octavia with a serious expression.

“Is that a serious question? My kind of thing is completely insane if you’re not prepared for it.” He leaned in closer to Octavia, “Are you sure you want to explore that kind of thing?” he asked and took a bite from his chocolate slice. Octavia couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his antics.

“You make it sound like it’s the worst thing I could experience. I’m a grown mare Mr. Scratch, I’m sure I can handle it.” The two of them stared at each other for a moment until Vinyl swallowed.

“If you’re really that curious ‘Tavi, just come to one of my shows. You’ll get your fill.”

“Stop calling me that, and why should I do that?” Octavia asked.

“It was just a suggestion, but if you are interested my next show is tomorrow.” Vinyl plopped the rest of the chocolate treat and chewed happily while Octavia raised an eyebrow. A few seconds later Vinyl realized what he said and almost choked.

“Oh crap, it is tomorrow! I totally forgot and I haven’t finished my set yet! You,” he pointed at a nearby server, “do you have a pen I can borrow?”

“What?” she asked before Vinyl grabbed the pen placed behind her ear with his magic, took a napkin, and hastily jotted an address and time on it. He gave the pen back to the server and handed the napkin to Octavia.

“This place, this time, just ask around and you’ll find it, I gotta go!” he said rapidly before darting through the crowd toward the exit. Octavia stared at the retreating unicorn for a moment, looked at the napkin in her hoof, and then sighed.

‘I guess I’ll have to send that letter after all,’ she thought, grateful that the tingling was starting to go away. She folded the napkin twice and stuck it in her collar before walking off to try and enjoy the rest of the dinner.

*Observation suspended*

And there you go, the chapter where I prove how badly I suck at describing some scenes. Still I hope you enjoyed it.

On another note, are these chapters getting too long? Each chapter so far has been longer than the last, so should I try and cut back on that? Let me know.

Next time, we have shenanigans.

FlutterPie

*Begin Case 57 observation*

Ditzy Doo had a job to do, and that was to deliver the mail. Nothing, not rain nor sleet nor muffins would ever stop her in that mission. As such, Ditzy was focused on the path in front of her and didn’t notice Rainbow Blitz until she ran into him and they both tumbled to the ground.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Ditzy said and scrambled to her hooves, Rainbow already on his.

“It’s alright, I wasn’t paying attention myself. Busy with the mail as always?” Blitz asked and Ditzy nodded joyfully.

“Yep, being a mailmare is so much fun and it pays well too. If I had known about this a few years ago, I would never have tried to join the royal guard,” Ditzy said and laughed loudly.

“Yeah I… wait what?” Blitz asked confused.

“Yeah, I could have been a royal guard, but I got shot in the knee with an arrow. Also they said that my eyes cross, but I’ve never noticed until then,” Ditzy said as one of her eyes looked up while the other stayed on Blitz. “Did you do the sky today? It looks really nice.” Rainbow didn’t answer immediately since he was trying to decipher exactly what Ditzy said, though he gave up soon enough figuring it was just Ditzy being Ditzy.

“Every time I talk to you, I feel like I’m in high atmosphere,” Blitz finally said and didn’t notice the smile disappear from Ditzy’s face. “Well, I gotta go. I’ll see you later Ditzy,” Blitz waved at her and turned away from her, only to find himself face to face with her again. He jumped back in surprise and looked rapidly from where she was to where she is a few times.

“You know Rainbow,” Ditzy started with both her eyes locked into Rainbow’s, “Getting shot in the knee with an arrow is very painful experience.” Ditzy started walking toward Blitz, still maintaining eye contact. Blitz tried his hardest to look away, but every time he tried Ditzy found a way to keep their eyes locked.

“I’m sure it is Ditzy, but-“

“I would hate for you to catch an arrow to the leg Blitz,” Ditzy said and continued to advance on Blitz, who stumbled and fell on his haunches. “I mean, if that were to happen, you wouldn’t be able to do weather duty or all those tricks you do.” Ditzy pressed her head against Rainbow’s, causing him to fall back. Ditzy stood over Blitz and continued to stare into his eyes. “And that would be a terrible thing, wouldn’t it?”

“Mom, what are you doing?”

Ditzy looked up to find a purple unicorn staring at her. This would be Sparkler, the eldest of Ditzy’s two daughters.

“Hi sweetie, I’m just delivering the mail,” Ditzy said. Sparkler looked down at Rainbow then back up to Ditzy.

“Uh mom, I think you’re scaring Rainbow Blitz again.” Ditzy looked down at Rainbow and after a moment a look of recognition crossed her face and she got off him.

“Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow. Are you ok?” Ditzy asked. Rainbow continued to stare up at the sky, seemingly paralyzed. “He’ll be alright in a few minutes. How’s your day been, sweetie?”

“I’m fine mom, I was just going to pick up Dinky from school,” Sparkler said. Ditzy smiled and patted Sparkler on the head.

“Alright, I’ll see you at home when I’m done,” Ditzy said and started walking away.

“Uh mom,” Sparkler said and pointed at Blitz, who still hadn’t moved, “are you sure he’ll be alright?”

“Yeah, he’s been through worse things. I’ll see you at home sweetie,” Ditzy said and, with a wave, walked away. Sparkler watched Ditzy walk away before turning to Blitz and poking him a couple times. After the fifth poke, Blitz blinked a couple times before rolling onto his hooves.

“Are you ok?” Sparkler asked. Blitz shivered a little.

“I forgot how scary she can be sometimes. I’ll be fine after a shower,” Blitz said and took off toward his house, leaving Sparkler behind. She watched him fly for a moment before resuming her trot towards the school.

“Pinkie dear, are those cupcakes done?”

“They need a few more minutes, Mrs. Cake.”

Sugarcube Corner was as busy as it ever was, with ponies coming and going and the smell of confections in the air. Mrs. Cake was at the counter while Pinkie and Mr. Cake were taking turns cooking in the kitchen. Mrs. Cake heard the door open and found Ponyville’s resident mailmare walking in.

“Hello there Ditzy, have you come for your daily muffin?” Mrs. Cake asked when Ditzy walked up to the counter.

“Oooh, that sounds good,” Ditzy said with a sparkle in her eye, “Oh and I also have a letter.”

“Oh, for who?”

“Pinkie Pie.”

“For me!” Pinkie exclaimed as she popped out from behind the counter, mildly surprising the two mares. Ditzy was the first to recover and smiled widely.

“Yep, all the way from Manehattan!” Ditzy said, then reached back and pulled the letter out. She handed it over to Pinkie, who took it quite literally shaking with joy. She stared at the address for a few moments before squealing in joy.

“She finally wrote me back! I’ve been waiting for this for so long and now I can finally throw a ‘My older sister wrote me a letter’ party. I got to get everything together for this since my party cannon is running low. Scratch that, first I’ll read the letter, THEN I’ll prepare for the party.” Pinkie then disappeared upstairs in a cloud of smoke. Mrs. Cake and Ditzy stared at where Pinkie used to be (or at least Ditzy’s left eye was, her right eye having wandered to the muffin display) for a moment.

“What a silly pony,” Ditzy finally said and leaned closer to Mrs. Cake, “Now about those muffins.” While Mrs. Cake led Ditzy over to the muffin display, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane slowly made his way into the bakery and looked around. When he saw Mr. Cake walk out of the kitchen with a tray of cupcakes in his mouth, he walked up to the counter and tried to get his attention.

“Um, excuse me?” Mr. Cake looked over to the yellow pegasus and held up a hoof. After placing the tray on a counter behind him, Mr. Cake turned back to the pegasus.

“Hey there Butterscotch, how can I help you?” Butterscotch jumped a little at the sudden question.

“Oh hi, um… is Pinkie Pie in?” he asked.

“She’s upstairs,” Mrs. Cake called over, “she should be down in a moment.”

“Oh um…ok, I guess I’ll wait for her here. Can I have a cupcake?” Mr. Cake smiled and handed Butterscotch one of the fresh cupcakes from behind him. Butterscotch nodded his thanks and moved to take a bite when Pinkie came bouncing down the stairs with her usual cheery mood filling the air. Pinkie had made it down the stairs and hopped around the counter before she noticed Butterscotch staring at her.

“Oh hi, Scotchy, how are you today?” Pinkie asked with her trademark grin on her face. Butterscotch tried and failed to talk several times. After a moment, Pinkie continued. “Nothing to complain about, that’s good. I’m feeling super de duper too, although I’m running low on streamers for the party later. You’ll be coming right?” Butterscotch stared into Pinkie’s eyes and managed to find his voice after a few more failed tries.

“W-well um… of course I’ll come.” Butterscotch then looked away and started to paw at the ground, “Um, Pinkie, I uh…”

“Great, I’ll see you then Scotchy! Bye,” Pinkie said and proceeded to hop out of Sugarcube Corner, leaving Butterscotch behind.

“Wait Pinkie, I-“ Butterscotch called out as loud as he could, but Pinkie had left without hearing the mildly loud whisper. Saddened once again by another failure, Butterscotch said goodbye to the cakes and also left the bakery. He made it a good distance away before realizing he still had the cupcake in his hoof.

‘I wonder if there is an easier way of doing this,’ Butterscotch thought to himself as he chewed the cupcake. When he finished it he had made a decision. ‘I need to ask somepony for advice. I wonder who can help me.’

Elusive focused intently on the suit he was working on, making sure every single stitch met his standards. Due to this focus, Elusive failed to notice the door open quietly and Butterscotch walked in. Butterscotch walked over and was about to talk when Elusive finished the suit and exclaimed happily.

“Yes, it’s finished! This may very well be the greatest suit I’ve ever made so far!” Elusive would have surely broke into an evil laugh if he hadn’t noticed Butterscotch. “Oh hi Butterscotch, I’m sorry I didn’t notice you there. How may I help you?”

“Oh well, I um…” Butterscotch fished around for what to say when the door opened again.

“Hey ‘Lusive, you in?” called a certain rainbow maned pegasus.

“Over here Rainbow, how can I help you?” Elusive asked. Rainbow walked over to the two of them, Butterscotch moving out of the way.

“Hey Butterscotch,” Rainbow said with a wave, “Did you get that thing done Elusive?” Elusive thought for a moment.

“Oh, that. I’m sorry Rainbow, I’ve been really busy lately, but I’ll get on it soon.”

“Alright, I hope it gets done soon.” Rainbow then turned to Butterscotch, “Anyway, how’ve you been ‘Scotch?” Butterscotch jumped a little at the sudden question.

“Oh, I’m alright. Um, can I ask you something Elusive?” Elusive walked over and put a hoof on Butterscotch’s shoulder.

“Of course dear, I’m always willing to help with anything you need. What’s bothering you?” Elusive asked while Rainbow, having completed his business, started to leave.

“Well, I need some advice with…that thing.” Rainbow’s ears perked and he was back at their side in a flash.

“What thing?” Rainbow asked. Elusive looked at Rainbow over his red work glasses (patent pending. Maybe.)

“It’s none of your business Blitz, and even if it was Butterscotch doesn’t have to talk about it if he doesn’t want to.”

“It’s alright Elusive,” Butterscotch said and turned to Rainbow, “Well um, you see…” Butterscotch stopped for a second before taking a deep breath and blurting out the sentence in one breath. “I’vebeentryinttoconfesstomycrushbut it hasn’t really been working out…” It took Rainbow a second to figure out what he said.

“You have a crush on somepony?” Blitz asked with mild surprise and Butterscotch nodded. “Huh, I honestly didn’t see that coming. So who is it?”

“Rainbow, while I appreciate your curiosity, don’t you think you’re being a little pushy?” Elusive asked.

“No offense Elusive, but if it’s reached the point where he’s asking you for help, he probably needs all the help he can get.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Elusive asked glaring at Rainbow, but they were interrupted when they heard Butterscotch mumble something.

“What was that?” Rainbow asked and Butterscotch replied with some quieter mumbling.

“Butterscotch is very shy about his crush. It took five spa trips before he opened up to me about it.” Elusive’s explanation caused Butterscotch to shrink a little from the attention.

“Really?” Blitz asked and Elusive and Butterscotch nodded, the latter a little more embarrassed, “I have a better idea to figure this out. You ever play twenty questions?”

“Um…I heard of it,” Butterscotch answered.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Elusive asked.

“Easy, I ask Butterscotch a bunch of questions about his crush and piece it together from his answers.” Blitz then looked around nervously, “But we gotta be careful, the walls have ears.” Elusive gave a look at Rainbow, who continued to look around nervously.

“Well, I guess it’ll be ok if it will help,” Butterscotch said.

“Are you sure?” Elusive asked and Butterscotch answered with a nod.

“Great, then let’s started!” Blitz said and rubbed his forehead in thought, “Let’s start with something simple: Is your crush a pony and if so, is it a mare?” Butterscotch gave a confused look.

“Um, is that one or two questions?”

“Two,” Blitz answered.

“Oh, um, yes to both.”

“Alright, does she live in Ponyville?”

“Yes.”

“Ok in that case do I know her, and if I do, do we hang out often? And that does count as two questions.”

“I’m going to put this suit away, so I’ll be back in a moment,” Elusive said and levitated the suited mannequin behind him and up the stairs.

“Um, yes to both again,” Butterscotch said.

“Alright, that narrows it down a bit. The only mares I really hang out with are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight. So can I assume that: A, it’s probably one of them and B, it’s probably not Twilight, am I right?”

“Um, no it’s not Twilight.” Rainbow looked relieved at that and also chastised himself for thinking ill of Butterscotch.

“OK, is it Applejack?” Blitz asked and moved a little closer to Butterscotch, who shook his head instead of answering vocally.

“What about Applejack?” Elusive asked rejoining the group, this time lacking his red glasses. Rainbow didn’t answer, as the implications of the last question hit him.

“Pinkie Pie?” Blitz asked and Butterscotch nodded with a light blush. Rainbow blinked a couple times. “You have a crush on Pinkie Pie, of all ponies?”

“And what is wrong with that?” Elusive said and moved next to Butterscotch, “I happen to like the thought of Pinkie and Butterscotch being together.” That last bit caused Butterscotch to blush deeper.

“Oh undoubtedly, I mean we are talking about Butterscotch here,” Blitz said and butterscotch blushed a little deeper, “but we’re talking about Pinkie here.”

“Well, I don’t-“

“Do you remember your birthday last year?” Elusive was thrown off by the question.

“Yes I do, but-“

“Do you remember how she managed to make a cake almost as tall as you despite only having two eggs, a loaf of bread, and a can of frosting on hoof?”

“…Ok you have a point. What is your point?”

“Pinkie Pie is an unpredictable force, so there is no way I’m going to let Butterscotch take that on by himself. As such, I will help him in his quest for the rest of the day.”

“Um, quest is kind of a strong word,” Butterscotch said.

“This sounds like this is going to be an all day thing and I have something to do later,” Elusive said, “So…”

“You won’t be joining us for ‘Operation: get Butterscotch and Pinkie Pie together’?” Blitz asked. Elusive stared incredulously at Blitz, wondering whether or not he was joking, but Blitz shrugged before Elusive could say anything. “Well that’s ok, we should be fine with just me and Butterscotch. C’mon Scotch, we’re going to your place.” Blitz walked over to Butterscotch, grabbed his tail in his mouth, and walked to the exit dragging Butterscotch behind him.

“W-wait, why my house?” Butterscotch asked.

“We need a base of operations,” Blitz answered through the mouthful of tail and then walked the door with Butterscotch in tow.

“Well, I guess that’s ok, but I can walk there.” Elusive watched the two of them walk and get dragged away respectively. When they were a distance away, he sighed.

‘I hope those two don’t get into trouble.’

“Thanks again! I might be back later!” Pinkie called as she was leaving her main party surplus store. She hopped out the door with the saddlebags she had forgotten, gone back to get, and returned to stuff full of streamers, snappers, those letter decorations you hang up on walls, and various other party things too numerous to list. So Pinkie was bouncing happily along when she noticed Rainbow Blitz dragging Butterscotch along. Pinkie changed her course in midair and bounced over to the pair.

“Hi guys, whatcha doin’?” Pinkie asked when she got to them. Blitz perked up at Pinkie’s voice and spat out Butterscotch’s tail to talk.

“Hey Pinkie, we’re just going to ‘Scotch’s house for something.” Butterscotch also gave a nearly inaudible ‘hello’.

“Really, what is it? Can I help with whatever your doing?” Pinkie asked and gasped when a thought crossed her mind, “Are you planning a party and you didn’t tell me?! But I was going to do one later, how could you something like that Blitz? You know how important these are to me and you still-“ her rant was stopped by a hoof in the mouth.

“We’re not planning a party Pinkie, we’re doing something else,” Blitz said and removed his hoof from Pinkie’s mouth.

“Whew, I was a little scared for a moment,” Pinkie said and made that brow wiping motion, “So what are you doing and are you coming to my party? It’s going to be great, there’s going to be cupcakes and punch and streamers and po- actually I might need more poppers. After all, you never know when you need poppers. Maybe I should get more streamers too. Oh, maybe-“

“Pinkie!”

“Yes?”

“Of course we’re coming to your party, that’s a given, but I can’t tell you what we’re doing. It’s kinda top secret.”

“Aw really, are you sure there’s nothing I can do?” Pinkie asked crestfallen.

“Don’t worry, if we do need your help we’ll let you know. Ok?” Pinkie and gave a salute.

“Okie dokey, lokey! I’m off to get more poppers, bye.” Pinkie then turned around and hopped back into the store, Butterscotch and Rainbow watching her.

“Um, Rainbow, why didn’t we just tell her now?” Butterscotch asked.

“What, and make this too easy? We have to have these kinds of things last at least half an hour or else it’s just not worth it. I thought you would know this by now,” Blitz said and bit on Butterscotch’s tail again and started walking. “Come on, we gotta go.”

“But I can walk on my own,” Butterscotch said to no avail.

A few minutes of dragging Butterscotch later and the pair made it to Butterscotch’s house. When he got to his front lawn, Blitz spat Butterscotch’s tail out and sat down.

“OK, now that we have reached our base for this operation, we need to discuss a plan so foolproof, it’ll have Pinkie swooning in your hooves in no time!”

“Oh, well um, I don’t necessarily want that,” Butterscotch said. He was going to continue, but he felt a series of thumps against his leg and looked down to see Angel Bunny kicking at his leg. “Oh, hi Angel. Um, how’s Jeffrey doing?” Angel gave a look that said ‘how do you think it’s going?’ Butterscotch sighed at this less than stellar news, “Ok, keep trying. Hopefully you can get through to him.” Angel sighed and hopped off across the yard. Butterscotch turned back to Rainbow who had a slightly confused look.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“Oh um, it’s not really important. So, what was your plan?”

“Well, what have you tried so far?” Blitz asked

“Um, I’ve tried telling her, but…” Butterscotch trailed off, hoping he didn’t have to explain more. Blitz only nodded and put his chin on a hoof.

“Alright, so we can rule that out. What else can we do?” The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them going over plans.

“Um, would a song work?” Butterscotch offered. Blitz rolled onto his back and waved a hoof in the air.

“Let’s save that for later, in case anything else we come up with doesn’t work.” The two returned to silent thought until Blitz jerked a little and rolled on his stomach.

“I have an idea. Back in flight school whenever someone wanted to confess to a crush of theirs, but didn’t want or couldn’t do it face to face, they would write a love letter.” Blitz got up and moved over to Butterscotch, “What do you think?” Butterscotch looked away and thought for a moment.

“Um, what would the letter have to say?” he quietly asked.

“Not much, just something like ‘I’ve had a crush on you for a while and I was wondering if we could have lunch or something sometime.” Blitz thought over what he said and then added, “It might have to be a little longer than that though. What do you think?” Butterscotch thought for another moment.

“Do you think it will work?” he asked. Blitz put a hoof on his shoulder before answering.

“Don’t worry, if it doesn’t we’ll think of something else. Do you need any help writing it?” Butterscotch shook his head and stood up.

“I…think I can do it. I just hope it’s good enough.”

“I’m sure it will be fine. Go write it, I need to figure out a plan to get it to her.”

Pinkie Pie once again left the party store having somehow stuffed her bags with even more party supplies than before. As she bounced toward Sugarcube Corner humming a tune to herself, she started to get the familiar feeling of being watched. She didn’t let the feeling get to her, instead choosing to ignore it like always.

“Hey Pinkie!” Pinkie looked up to see Rainbow flying toward her and landed in front of her.

“Hi Blitz, what are you doing? Are you still doing that thing with ‘Scotchie?” Pinkie asked with a smile. Blitz examined his hoof while he answered.

“It’s going fine, thanks for asking. I’m just doing something else right now.”

“Really, what are you doing?” Pinkie asked, unaware of a rustling in the bushes nearby.

“Ah, checking the weather, flying around, distracting you.” That last part caused the bushes to stumble and yelp a little.

“Oh yeah, the weather has been pretty nice lately,” Pinkie said looking up at the sky, but a second later she realized something. “Oh my gosh…I forgot to get apples for tonight’s party! How could I forget something like that?”

“Are you going to make apple treats?” Blitz asked. He noticed a yellow hoof extend from the bush and started fiddling with one of Pinkie’s bags.

“Yeah, Inkie used to love apples, so I thought to myself, ‘Pinkie, why not make a whole spread devoted to that one food?’ and I thought that was a super fantabulous idea, so now I’m going to do it. By the way, what was that about distracting me?” Blitz shrugged at the question and Pinkie let out a gasp. “I’m being distracted from something?! Oh, what is it?” she started bouncing, which made the yellow hoof’s job harder.

“Pinkie, if I told you it would make the distraction pointless,” Blitz pointed out. Pinkie stopped bouncing and closed her eyes in deep thought, which allowed the yellow hoof another chance at the bag.

“What if asked really nicely, would you tell me then?”

“Nope, I can’t tell you. You’ll just have to wait until the distraction is done.” The hoof managed to open the bag, which caused a burst of party supplies to come out of it. When that happened a second hoof joined the first to try and put them back in the bag.

“What was that?” Pinkie asked and looked around a little.

“Nothing, it was just part of the distraction!” Blitz said and waved to get Pinkie’s attention.

“Oh, is that all? I thought it was someone throwing a party without me. You really thought of everything, didn’t you Blitzie?”

“Uh, of course I thought of everything and I am totally not making this up as I go along,” Blitz said and grinned widely.

“Wow, I’m a little jealous. I would probably never be able to distract anyone as well as you,” Pinkie then put a hoof to her chin, “Or maybe I can, what do you think?”

“Trust me Pinkie, you can be very distracting without even trying.”

“Aw, that’s nice of you to say.” The two hooves behind Pinkie managed to get most of the party favors back in the bag and Butterscotch leaned out of the bushes, placed a note he had in his mouth into the bag, and closed the bag before retreating back into the bush.

“Oh, would you look at the time,” Blitz said looking at the non-existent watch on his hoof, “It looks like the distraction is over.”

“Aw really, can’t you distract me for just a little longer?” Pinkie asked sadly. Blitz put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, maybe I’ll distract you again later, but I gotta go now. I’ll see you later Pinkie.” The two exchanged a final wave before Blitz flew off. Pinkie watched him fly away for a moment before resuming her bouncing toward Sugarcube Corner.

“Um Rainbow, why are we back at my house again? Uh, if you don’t mind me asking.” Indeed the two of them had returned to Butterscotch’s cabin after their ‘plan’ ended in success (I guess.) Rainbow was hovering around the yard before

“We’re here to brainstorm more ideas for you to confess to Pinkie. I mean, who knows when she’ll actually find that letter, right?” Blitz landed next to Butterscotch and sat down. “So, any more ideas on how to…” Blitz trailed off as he looked to the side, “I’m sorry what’s Angel doing?”

Butterscotch looked over to see Angel with another bunny. Angel made some motions to the other bunny and hopped across the yard a couple times. The other bunny looked at Angel confused and scurried toward Angel, who facepalmed at the act.

“Oh, Angel is trying to help Jeffrey learn…bunny things,” Butterscotch answered.

“Bunny things? Why would a bunny need to be taught those things?” Blitz asked.

“Well, Jeffrey is kind of…special. He, um… thinks he’s a chicken.”

“He…thinks he’s a chicken? What does that mean?”

“Well, he scratches at the ground, tries to eat chicken feed, he sits on eggs and hatches them.”

“…Does he lay eggs too?” Blitz asked with minor terror in his voice.

“Oh no, he can’t lay any eggs himself…but he tries.” The two pegasi were quiet for a minute, with Rainbow taking in this new information. Eventually, Blitz broke the silence.

“Um, right let’s get back to the planning. Got any ideas?” Butterscotch shook his head a little and the two of them sat in silent thought. “What about writing it out on a puzzle, and then breaking it up and giving it to Pinkie to solve? I saw it happen in a comic once.”

“Um, did it work there?” Butterscotch asked.

“Nope, but I still think it’s a good idea. What do you think?”

“Is it a jigsaw puzzle?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Pinkie doesn’t like puzzles.”

“She doesn’t? That’s news to me, I thought she liked puzzles.”

“It’s only jigsaw puzzles she doesn’t like.”

“How do you know this?”

“Um, don’t you remember that time at Twilight’s slumber party?”

“This puzzle is impossible!” Pinkie yelled. The six friends were gathered around a table with the puzzle in the middle of it. The puzzle was Twilight’s idea.

“Pinkie, there’s no need to shout. It’s just a puzzle,” Twilight said in an attempt to calm her pink friend.

“Yeah, an impossible puzzle!” Pinkie shouted and pointed at the puzzle.

“Every puzzle has a solution darling, especially this one,” Elusive said calmly.

“Not this one. Not even the greatest unicorn minds in the greatest college in Canterlot could solve this!”

“It’s a sixteen piece puzzle Pinkie! It’s not that difficult!” Blitz yelled.

“Not that difficult?!” Pinkie then proceeded to flip the table over, scattering the puzzle pieces all over the floor and startled her friends. Butterscotch, who had been quiet the whole time, disappeared behind Applejack. “Now who’s being difficult?” The room was quiet for a few moments with everyone staring at Pinkie. When she calmed down, Pinkie looked at everyone and then looked at the floor.

“Uh, did I overdo it a little?”

“Just a tad, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied. Butterscotch slowly peeked out from behind Applejack and returned to his place in the group.

“Sorry,” Pinkie said and looked a little more depressed. Twilight moved over to Pinkie and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry Pinkie, that was just one activity we could do.” Twilight then levitated a checklist over to her and looked it over, “How about we skip ahead to snack time?” Pinkie immediately perked up at the offer.

“Well, now I remember it. Why didn’t I remember that until you brought it up?” Butterscotch only shrugged a little in response. Angel hopped over to Butterscotch and gestured over to Jeffrey.

“Oh, it is your lunchtime isn’t it?” Butterscotch turned to Rainbow, “Um…”

“Go do your thing, I still need to think of something anyway,” Rainbow said and rolled onto his back. Butterscotch got up and followed Angel. “Ok, so the puzzle is out, what about a cake?”

A few minutes later Butterscotch returned to Rainbow, who was staring at the sky.

“Um, any new ideas Rainbow?” Butterscotch asked. Rainbow sighed.

“Nope, I’m completely tapped. Neither of us have experience in metal works and we can’t bake a cake without Pinkie knowing about it. What about you?”

“No, just the song. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, we’ll figure something out.” Rainbow rolled onto his hooves and started walking. “Come on, maybe a change of scenery will help.” It took a moment for Butterscotch to catch up to Rainbow.

“Um, what do you think Pinkie’s doing?” Butterscotch asked.

“Probably Pinkie stuff, I find it best to not think about it.”

“297…298…299…300! That’s 300 streamers for the party.” Pinkie moved the streamers she had counted off to the side. “Now for the poppers!” She was halfway to the other bag when a thought struck her. “Oh, I still need to get apples from Applejack. I can’t believe I forgot about that.” Pinkie laughed a little and looked at the bag seriously and pointed at it. “You’ll get your hour poppers, but right now it’s the apples time.” She paused for a second, just staring at the bag, and then smiled widely. “Great, I’m glad you understand.” Pinkie then jumped off her bed, put the saddlebag on, and bounced out the door.

“So…did it help?”

“Nope.”

Rainbow and Butterscotch had made it to the park. There were several ponies out enjoying the nice day, families and foals playing and couples just enjoying each other’s company. Rainbow and Butterscotch settled under a tree and Blitz continued.

“I just don’t get it, how can it be so difficult to think of something of this? Did you think of anything?” Butterscotch shook his head and looked away from Blitz. “Alright then, what’s the song? It’ll probably be orders better than what I thought of.” Butterscotch was going to answer, but he was distracted by something. Blitz turned to see what caught Butterscotch’s eye.

What he found was a unicorn pawing at the grass and staring really hard at it. He repeated the pawing and staring a few times before curiosity got the best of Blitz.

“Hey, what are you doing?” The unicorn looked up at them and stared for a moment.

“I’m interrogating the grass,” he answered. Blitz blinked a couple times in confusion.

“I’m sorry?”

“Yeah you’re right, that sounds really stupid, but trust me it makes sense in context. I need to go find a pine tree now.” He then turned away from the pair and trotted away.

“Well that was dumb,” Blitz said and turned to Butterscotch, “anyway, about that song.”

---30 minutes later---

“Spike, have you found that book on ancient Equestrian history?” Twilight called to her assistant as she looked through a stack of books.

“Hold on… here it is!” The dragon said holding out a book which was almost immediately taken away surrounded by a magical aura. Twilight checked the title when it floated I front of her and gave Spike a smile.

“This is it, thanks Spike,” Twilight said and gave Spike a pat on the head before walking over to a table.

“It was no problem,” he said. There was a knock on the door just as Spike was about to start sorting books.

“Spike could you get that?” Twilight asked as she started to flip through the book.

“On it.” Spike walked to the door and opened it to find Trixter, who he didn’t immediately recognize.

“Is Miss Sparkle in?” he asked.

“Uh…” Spike scratched his head trying to place where he’s seen him before. He didn’t notice Twilight walking up behind him.

“Hello Trixter, how are you?” she asked.

“I’m doing fine, thanks for asking,” Trixter said, “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Of course, what do you need?” Spike walked back into the library at around here.

“I don’t suppose you know of anypony else that needs some cheap help? It’s surprisingly hard to find something like that.” Twilight rubbed her chin in thought for a moment.

“What have you done so far?” she asked.

“Small jobs here and there and I’m also helping your friend Applejack at her orchard.” Trixter looked away and whispered to himself, “I need to see her again sometime.”

“My advice is to just ask around, somepony is bound to need something done. I think I remember Elusive saying he needed help with something, but I’m not sure how long ago that was.” Trixter sighed a little.

“Well, better than nothing I guess. Thank you Miss Sparkle.” Trixter turned and started walking away.

“It’s no trouble,” Twilight called to him. She started to close the door when Trixter started laughing.

“Ha ha ha, what are you wearing?” he asked somepony.

“Shut it.” Twilight recognized Blitz’s voice, smiled a little and left the door open in case Blitz came in, which he did.

“Hey Twi, do you mind if I change out of this?” Blitz asked. Twilight looked back at Blitz and barely managed to contain her surprised laughter. Rainbow was quickly walking toward the stairs in a dress tuxedo, shoes and all.

“Sure Blitz, go on ahead. But why are you dressed like that?” Spike glanced back to see what was going on.

“I’ll explain when I’m out of this. Butterscotch is here too by the way.” Blitz walked up the stairs and Twilight glanced over to the door and at Butterscotch, who was wearing a helmet for some reason.

“Um, hi Twilight,” Butterscotch said waving at Twilight.

“Hi Butterscotch, um…why are you wearing a helmet?” Twilight asked. Butterscotch touched the helmet and took it off.

“Oh um, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“What?” Twilight asked confused. Butterscotch put the helmet on a table and Blitz walked back down the stairs. “Ok, so why were you dressed up like that?”

“We were trying to do something, but it didn’t pan out,” Blitz said. “As for the tux…I think we got distracted somewhere along the way.”

“What were you doing?” Twilight asked.

“Well,” Butterscotch started, looking down at the floor, “We were, um…”

“I’ve been helping Butterscotch with something all day,” Blitz interrupted, “but it’s surprisingly hard.”

“Maybe I can help? What are you trying to do?” Twilight asked and walked to Blitz. Blitz looked at Butterscotch on what to do. Butterscotch, after a moment, gave a small nod. Blitz returned the nod and turned back to Twilight.

“Well, Butterscotch has a crush on someone and he’s been trying to confess to her. I’ve been trying to help him for most of the day.”

“Butterscotch has a crush on someone?” Twilight asked.

“I was just as surprised when I found out too.”

“Ok, so what is the problem?”

“It’s mostly who the lucky mare is.” Twilight looked at Blitz curiously. “Don’t worry, you’ll find out who it is soon enough.” Twilight nodded and motioned for the two to sit down, Spike joining them too.

“Out of curiosity, what all did you try?” Spike asked. Twilight shook her head and smiled at Spike’s not so disguised question.

“Don’t get your hopes up, all we came up with is a song and a letter,” Blitz answered.

“Why don’t you just tell her?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not going to tell her, it’s not my place.”

“What do you mean ‘It’s not your place’?”

“How would you feel if somepony had a crush on you, but he had someone else tell you?”

“Point taken.”

“How did you find out about this anyway, Blitz?” Spike asked.

“I had to play a game with him to figure it out,” Blitz answered gesturing to Butterscotch, who perked up a little. Twilight looked at Spike who shrugged.

“I take it that worked well?” She asked.

“Yeah, it was pretty painless.”

“Well, maybe it can work again?” The room was quiet for a moment. Then Rainbow’s eye twitched when he realized what she was saying.

“ARGH, WHY DIDN’T WE DO THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!”

“What was that?” Pinkie asked herself mid-bounce. She stayed like that for a moment before shrugging it off and continuing on her way. She was about halfway to Sweet Apple Acres and in a few minutes she was hopping through the gates. “Hi Red Gala!” She called out to the red mare. Red Gala waved back and continued with her work while Pinkie bounced to the farm house and knocked on the door.

“Uh, Applejack ain’t here,” a voice said on the other side of the door.

“She isn’t?” Pinkie asked leaning closer to the door.

“…It’s Pinkie Pie.” There were hoofsteps on the other side of the door and it opened to reveal Applejack.

“Sorry about that Pinkie, I was expectin’ somepony else,” Applejack said, looking at the gate while she did, “Anyway how can I help ya?”

“Apples!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“Really? Alright, let’s get ya some.” Applejack left the house and walked to the barn, Pinkie bouncing behind her. Applejack opened the barn door where the stock of apples was at and Pinkie started going through the apples. “So what’re ya making?” Applejack asked.

“Apple treats,” Pinkie answered as she started putting apples into one of her bags. Once she had enough she turned to Applejack. “So how much for all these?”

“Ah, ya don’t hafta worry about-“

“I insist,” Pinkie said pressing her face against Applejack’s. They stared at each other for a minute, but Applejack had no chance of winning this battle.

“Fine, but yer not payin’ full price, alright?” Applejack asked and Pinkie smiled.

“That’s alright, but I’m going to have to pay you later. Would that be alright?”

“Ah course it would,” Applejack said and slung an arm around Pinkie’s shoulder, “It is for a party right?”

“Of course silly.”

“Well you go finish that up and I’ll see you there. And if you see Elusive, I’m not here.”

“Okie dokey lokey!” Pinkie said and, with a final wave to Applejack, she hopped away from the barn and out the gates. A few minutes down the road Pinkie ran into Elusive. “Hi there Elusive, what brings you out here?”

“Hi Pinkie, I planned something with Applejack so I was going to pick her up,” Elusive walked closer to Pinkie. “You haven’t seen her have you?”

“Yes! No wait,” Pinkie thought hard for a moment. “I don’t know.” Elusive gave Pinkie a confused look before just letting it go.

“So what are you doing?” he asked.

“Oh I was just getting some apples to make apple strudel and some other things too. You see I got a letter from my sister today and I was so happy I had to throw a party. So I went to get some poppers and streamers, but then I started thinking about what kind would be best, so I-“

Elusive started blinking out a little. Pinkie had a tendency to go on without realizing it but she would stop soon.

“-I couldn’t decide on the color, so I just got all of them! After that I decided to get some apples and WHOA!” Elusive jumped at Pinkie’s sudden yell.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I’m feeling a combo coming!” Elusive froze at and waited for Pinkie to do something. After a few seconds Pinkie scratched her right rear hoof against the ground. “Itchy hoof…” Pinkie whispered, then she arched her back and a few muscles twitched. “Twitchy back…” Nothing happened for a few more seconds before Pinkie’s left ear started flopping. When it was done flopping, Elusive waited a couple seconds for something else to happen.

“Is that it?” he asked.

“Yep,” Pinkie answered.

“Well, what does that mean?”

“Well, either a cloud is going to take me for a ride or the world is going to end. I can’t remember which one is which though, they’re very close together.”

“Which one is it, that’s kind of a bad thing to forget.”

“Oh don’t worry silly, I can remember it. Just give me a moment.” Pinkie sat down and scratched her head in thought. Elusive happened to look up during this and had to double take at what he saw.

“Uh, Pinkie- “

“Don’t worry, I almost got it,” Pinkie said, not noticing the cloud parking itself above her. Elusive stared at it as four legs sprung from the cloud and wrapped around Pinkie, who finally noticed the cloud. “Oh, so that combo was the cloud one. It’s when the itchy hoof and floppy ear is the other way around is the other one. I have to remember to write that down somewhere.” Pinkie giggled as the cloud lifted her up and she waved at Elusive. “Well, bye Elusive, I gotta go for a ride. I hope to see you later.”

“Right, bye Pinkie,” Elusive said and waved back. He watched Pinkie fly away and when she was out of sight he turned and continued trotting toward Sweet Apple Acres.

“So where are we going Mr. Cloud? I bet we’re going to have fun there, what do you think? Come to think of it, why do you have pony legs? And I don’t remember clouds ever giving ponies rides before. What do you think Mr. Cloud? And you wanna know something, I’ve been thinking of trying a new frosting for some cupcakes. Do you think wasabi or horseradish would work?”

The cloud gave groan.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Horseradish is a funny word, now that I think about it. Why don’t they call it ‘ponyradish’? That would make more sense wouldn’t it? What do you think Mr. Cloud, do you prefer horseradish or ponyradish? Because I think-“

“Dangit Pinkie, can you be quiet for a moment, I’m trying to think,” the cloud said.

“Ooh, you can talk. You’re really smart for a cloud and-wait I recognize that voice.” The cloud started to shake until it dispersed to reveal Rainbow Blitz. “Oh hi Blitz, what were you doing disguised as a cloud? *gasp* I get it, you dressed up as a cloud to fool my Pinkie sense! Very clever Blitzie, but don’t expect it to work again. So where are we going?”

“Butterscotch’s house,” Blitz answered. Pinkie smiled and started kicking joyfully.

“Ooh, do you need my help with that thing you two were doing? What are you doing anyway?”

“You’ll find out when we get there.” The two fell silent until Butterscotch’s home came into view.

“So, which name do you prefer?” Pinkie asked. Rainbow thought for a moment and started flying lower.

“Horseradish.”

“Really, why?”

“I wouldn’t be too keen on eating something with ‘pony’ in its name.”

“Huh, I didn’t think about that. I guess that makes sense. What about wasabi?”

“I don’t even know what that is. We’re here, brace for landing.” Rainbow flew down and let Pinkie go when she was a foot off the ground, where she somehow landed with a squeak. “Hey Butterscotch, are you here?” Said pony waved at the two and turned back to Angel and Jeffrey as they walked to him.

“Now Jeffrey I know it’s hard, but maybe you can just try to do the things Angel does?” Butterscotch asked. Jeffrey stared at him for a moment before shuffling away. Angel made several gestures at Butterscotch. “Maybe we should try again tomorrow? We should get through to him soon.” Angel silently sighed and hopped away.

“Still having problems with Jeffrey?” Pinkie asked which mildly surprised Rainbow and Butterscotch nodded.

“Wait, you knew about that?” Blitz asked and Pinkie nodded, “Huh, that’s weird. Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?”

“So what did you guys want me to do?” Pinkie asked.

“It had something to do with food.”

“Well um,” Butterscotch stopped for a second and then he took a deep breath and quickly said, “I wanted to tell you something, but I can’t tell you directly. So…”

“Oh, you mean you want to play charades? I love that game!” Pinkie said bouncing energetically.

“I think it was important,” Blitz continued.

“So what am I guessing?” Pinkie asked with a smile. Butterscotch tried to answer, but his words failed to come.

“Well… I have a, um, crush on somepony.”

“You have a crush on somepony? That is so cute ‘Scotchie! Hey, is that what you and Blitzie were doing for the day? There was no need to be all secretive about it, I would have helped you anyway. I could have made lunch for us all and-“

“Oh crap, I haven’t fed Tank today!” Blitz shouted startling Butterscotch and Pinkie, “You can handle this on your own for a minute, right ‘Scotch?”

“Oh um, I guess,” Butterscotch answered.

“Great, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Blitz then took off and flew away, leaving Butterscotch and Pinkie alone. Pinkie took her saddlebags off before speaking.

“So, you want to play a game until Blitz gets back? Ooh, maybe we can play one to tell me who your crush is! Would that be ok?” Butterscotch pawed at the ground and nodded, slightly blushing.

“Great, but what game should we play? You can’t really guess somepony’s name in Charades, and I have bad luck in hangpony.” Pinkie put a hoof to her forehead in thought.

“20 questions?” Butterscotch offered.

“Great idea ‘Scotchie, I haven’t played that in a while. Alright, first question: is your crush a mare?”

Butterscotch nodded.

“Do I know her?” Pinkie asked smiling widely, which was answered with another nod. “I know it’s kinda silly, but have I ever thrown a party for her?”

That question threw Butterscotch off a little, since he didn’t know if Pinkie actually threw herself a party. After a minute of thought, Butterscotch just shrugged.

“Oh, is it Applejack?” Butterscotch shook his head. “Twilight?” He shook his head faster. “Ditzy?” Another shake of his head. “Wow, this is harder than I thought. Am I close at least?”

Butterscotch nodded and said, “You were closest with Applejack and Twilight.”

“Is she friends with them?” Pinkie asked and Butterscotch nodded again. Pinkie thought about that for a minute before she reached a conclusion.

“I got it, I know who your crush is!” she said, stood on her hind legs, and pointed a hoof at Butterscotch in an exaggerated fashion. “Is your crush Pinkie Pie?”

“U-um, yes?” Butterscotch asked confused.

“Ha, I knew it. Pinkie Pie is the only other mare that’s close friends with Twilight and Applejack. Actually there are others, but that’s not important. She’s a nice mare, if a little out there, and I can totally see you two being together.” Pinkie smiled at Butterscotch, who was more than a little confused.

“Um, you’re Pinkie Pie.”

“Yeah, I know.” They looked at each other for a few more moments before Pinkie finally got it. “Wait, you have a crush on me?” Butterscotch looked away and nodded, a part of his mane covering an eye as well as his blush. Pinkie felt a tingle dance across her skin as she looked into Butterscotch’s eyes. “Why am I all tingly?” she asked right before it hit her fully. Her entire body was buzzing with electricity and she started laughing and rolling on the ground.

“Pinkie, are you ok?!” Butterscotch said and hurriedly hovered over Pinkie and looked around anxiously, “Oh dear, w-what do I do?” He didn’t have time to think of something since Pinkie had somehow managed to get her forelegs around his neck. The sudden contact startled Butterscotch into closing his wings and he fell to the ground where Pinkie tightened the hug. Butterscotch froze up, blushing furiously, as Pinkie hugged him laughing and kicking her hind legs. They stayed like that until Pinkie’s laughter died down and she opened her eyes.

“Are you ok ‘Scotchie?” she asked. Butterscotch nodded in response. Pinkie let Butterscotch go and sat on her haunches. “I’m sorry about that; that was a new Pinkie sense.” Butterscotch regained control of his body and rose to his haunches too.

“It’s ok Pinkie,” he said and pawed at the ground to gather up his courage, “Um… do you like me back?” The moment of truth had come and Butterscotch waited for Pinkie’s answer, those few seconds stretching forever for him. Pinkie didn’t say anything since her answer was to hug Butterscotch again. Butterscotch almost froze again, but he managed to keep enough control to return the hug. The two of them stayed like that for a while, just enjoying the moment. Neither of them noticed Blitz flying back, stopping at the scene, and flew away smiling. Pinkie looked over at her saddlebag and pulled away.

“I uh, still have to prepare for the party,” she said and walked over to the bag and put it on. “You can come help me if you want.” Butterscotch thought for a moment before standing and smiling.

“I’d love to.”

*Observation suspended.*

>Warning: alternate universe detected.<

/:>send observation request

>Request sent. Resume primary observation<

This chapter was harder than I thought it would be, mostly because I don't think I can write Fluttershy at all. Oh well, I gave it my best shot.

Next time, we eat either apples or a Wonderbolt. I haven't decided yet.

BraeburnXSoarin

I tricked ya, we're having apples AND a Wonderbolt!

>Begin Case 58 observation<

The train rumbled along on its journey, once again shaking this passenger from his sleep. He sighed and looked around the dark car for something before sitting up in the bed and looking outside. The moon managed to give off enough light to be able to see the passing plateaus and desert.

“How’d I get myself into this?” he asked himself and fell back onto the bed, remembering back to what brought him here.

“Why do I have to do this? I don’t need to do it!” he said. The coach sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“I know you don’t want to, but unfortunately you don’t have much of a choice. This is kind of mandatory.” He looked over at his captain.

“Can’t you help me with this, please?” she sighed and swept a hoof over her mane to flatten it.

“Look Soarin, I don’t like these as much as you do, but we all need to take at least one vacation every year.”Soarin sunk a little in his seat and Spitfire placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Look on the bright side, at least it’s the off season so you don’t have to worry about missing any shows.” Soarin sighed and looked back at the coach.

“Can I at least choose where I’m going spend my exile?” he asked.

“Don’t say it like that, it’s only for a week, and yes you can.” The coach handed Soarin a clipboard. Soarin took it and half heartedly looked through the list of cities.

Manehattan, he’s already done it.

Fillydelphia, didn’t like atmosphere.

Stalliongrad, not after what happened last time. Soarin shivered a little at the memory, he didn’t know how that DJ got so many lemmings together IN STALLIONGRAD OF ALL PLACES! Soarin shook the memory off and continued looking down the list. Then he stopped at one town’s description.

Appleoosa: premier frontier town! Friendly townsfolk and a relaxing atmosphere. Best pies you will ever taste!

Yeah, guess which part caught Soarin’s eye.

“Pies,” Soarin whispered, staring at that single word. Spitfire looked at the list to see what Soarin was looking at.

“Appleoosa? Do you really want to go there?” she asked.

“Pies.”

“You do realize that the town is about as close to the middle of the desert that you can get, right?”

“But the PIES!” Soarin said and leaned in close to Spitfire. After a moment of staring, Spitfire sighed.

“Fine, it is your choice. I just hope you know what you’re getting into.”

Soarin huffed a little and rolled in the bed. “She could have at least told me about the train,” he murmured.

“Eh, it’s not so bad,” A voice said from across the car. Soarin looked up to find a gray earth pony in the top bunk across from him, “I mean, me and my friend travel all the time.” The bunk below him stirred a little but the pony underneath stayed asleep.

“I guess, I just prefer flying,” Soarin said. The earth pony raised an eyebrow at this.

“Pegasus huh, so what do you do?”

“Um, I’m a Wonderbolt.” The earth pony let out a low whistle.

“A stunt flyer huh? What brings you out this far?” Soarin turned away from him.

“I have my reasons,” he said simply. The earth pony didn’t say anything, which Soarin was glad for since it allowed him to drift off to sleep.

When Soarin woke up the sun was starting to rise. He looked outside the window and saw that the train was fast approaching Appleoosa. Soarin got up and got his luggage ready to go. The train slowed down and came to a stop.

“Hey wake up, we’re here,” the earth pony behind him said and nudged the sleeping pony. It was only now that Soarin managed to see what his cutie mark was, and was more than a little concerned about it. The earth pony noticed Soarin staring and turned to him. “What?” he asked and looked back at his cutie mark, “Oh that, don’t worry about that. It’s more name indicative than anything.” Soarin nodded and started walking toward the train door and the earth pony went back to trying to wake up his friend.

Soarin stepped outside and was almost taken off guard by the heat. He managed to overcome it and looked around at the town. Soarin felt out of place, like he had walked right into one of those frontier novels. The earth pony and his friend walked past Soarin who barely noticed.

‘Well, I better find where I’m staying,’ Soarin thought and started to walk away from the station. His hoof almost touched the street when somepony called out to him.

“Howdy there!” Soarin flinched a little and turned to the source of the voice, which belonged to a yellow mare with an orange mane. Perhaps the most striking feature about her was her hat and vest. She walked toward Soarin with quite possibly the biggest grin he had ever seen. “You’re new here aren’t ya?”

“Um, yes,” Soarin said.

“Really, in that case let me be the first to welcome you to Aaaaaaapleoosa!” she said rearing back on her hind legs with a dramatic flair. Soarin could faintly hear somepony neighing when she said that.

“Did you hear that?” Soarin asked.

“That’s just the sound of Appleoosian hospitality making itself known. Allow me to introduce mahself, mah name’s Jazz Apple.” She extended a hoof to Soarin, who shook it.

“Soarin.”

“Pleasure ta meet ya Soarin, I hope ya enjoy yer stay in Aaaaapleoosa!” She reared back again in what Soarin was sure was a rehearsed action.

“Are you sure you don’t hear that?” Soarin asked looking around for the source of the neighing.

“I have no idea what yer talking about Soarin. So, do you need any help finding your way around our town? I’d be happy to show you around if you want.”

“Uh no, that’s alri-“

“Great, let’s start!” Jazz said and hooked a leg around Soarin.

“What?” Soarin managed to get out before he was quickly dragged off and found himself in the middle of Appleoosa’s main street.

“This is the main street, where you can find almost everything you need here.” Jazz then started to point out several buildings. “That’s the general store and there’s the clothing store. There’s the doctor’s office, the hat shop, and that’s where the horse drawn carriages are stored, did you get all that?”

“H-huh?”

“Great, let’s go on to the next stop!” Once again Soarin found himself whisked away and when he stopped he was in front of a two story building. “This is the Salt Block, the local watering hole. If you want some salt or something to drink, this is the place to get it.” At this point a stallion stumbled out of the building, down the stairs, and stood for a minute before face planting onto the ground.

“Um ok. I don’t suppose you can tell me where I can stay while I’m here?” Soarin asked.

“Well, the Salt Block has some rooms and there’s also the hotel. It’s really a matter of your preferred comfort level.”

“I’ll take the hotel please.”

“In that case, it’s right over there,” Jazz pointed to a building, “Anything else ya need help with?”

“Nah I can’t think of…actually where are the pies sold?” Soarin’s mouth almost watered at the thought of those delicious food stuffs.

“You can find them easy enough if you know where to look. If you came for the pies, you couldn’t have picked a better time. Our apples are just about ready for harvest and ah would say that they’re some of the best we’ve ever had.”

“Awesome. I have to get settled in, so thanks for showing me around Miss. Apple.” Jazz waved a hoof in the air.

“Just Jazz is fine.” Soarin nodded and walked away with a wave. Jazz returned the wave and walked off somewhere.

‘Heh, if everypony here is as friendly as her I’m going to like it here,’ Soarin thought and let a smile break through.

After checking in to the hotels and setting his bags in his room, Soarin started looking around for a place that sells pies. After a few minutes of searching he finally found some. This particular stand seemed to be temporary, but all Soarin saw were the pies, sitting there in all their glory. He was so taken in he almost missed the pony who was running the stand talking to him.

“Howdy there, you looking for a pie mister?” she asked.

“Yeeeeeeees,” Soarin said, staring at one pie in particular.

“In that case, a pie’s eight bits each if you want one.” She found herself eight bits richer and one pie poorer in less than five seconds. Soarin stared hard at the pie in his hooves and he nearly started to dig in. However the world has this weird habit of taking away what you want most for maximum laughs, such as what happened here.

Soarin was leaning in to take a bite of the pie when somepony bumped into him. This sudden contact caused Soarin to yelp and throw his pie in the air. He turned to the perpetrator to find the earth pony from earlier.

“Sorry about that, are you ok?” he asked. Soarin paid him no mind as he looked up to find his pie flying through the air. Time seemed to slow down for Soarin as gravity took hold of the pie and it started to fall.

Right onto somepony’s head.

The way he reacted to getting hit with a pie, which included such things as loud screaming and flailing wildly in order to get the pie filling off him, you’d think that he was hit with rainbow juice or something. After about half a minute of this he finally fainted, and was soon surrounded by a crowd.

“Is he going to be ok?” The earth pony’s unicorn friend asked as a couple of ponies moved him onto a stretcher.

“He got hit with a pie, he’ll be fine,” the earth pony said and the two of them walked away. Soarin watched them walk away and looked back to where the pie landed, not noticing an earth pony with a spiffy mustache walking over.

“What’s going on over here?” he asked.

“Somepony got spooked and accidentally threw a pie, sheriff,” the vendor explained.

“It looked so good,” Soarin lamented.

“What kind of pie was it?” Sheriff Silverstar asked.

“Just a regular apple pie.”

“Did it hit anyone?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Oh, he’ll be out for the rest of the day, but he should be fine after that. I’m gonna go check on ‘em,” Silverstar turned to Soarin, “You stay out of trouble ya hear?”

“Ok,” Soarin said depressed and walked away. With his appetite more or less ruined, Soarin wandered around town aimlessly, taking in the sights and sounds that was offered as well as feeling mildly baffled at the sight of two separate dancing events taking place within about 20 feet of each other. After a few hours of this Soarin noticed that the sun was starting to set, so he decided to get some dinner and return to the hotel.

When Soarin woke up the next day, he was optimistic as to how the day will go. After a quick breakfast and brushing his teeth, Soarin grabbed his bags and left the room. Soarin ignored his instinct to find some more pies in favor of looking around town some more. He was observing a group of ponies drawing some of the carriages he saw earlier when somepony walked up to him.

“Still in town eh?” Soarin turned to find Jazz, still sporting that friendly grin.

“Yep, still here,” Soarin answered and looked back at the ponies drawing, “Hey, what’s with--?” Soarin gestured towards the group of ponies.

“That’s just something we do fer fun. Ah’m sure you been doing something fer fun too.”

“Not really, I can’t really think of anything to do for fun around here. I don’t suppose you have any suggestions.” Jazz put a leg around Soarin’s shoulder with that same big grin.

“Ah got a few.”

“Uh oh.”

“And that just about does it. What do ya think?” Jazz turned to Soarin who was scratching his head in confusion.

“I kinda lost what was going on around the dancing part.” Jazz sighed.

“Well, do ya want me to start from the beginning?” she asked.

“NO! No no no no no, that’s fine, I got it,” Soarin said with panic in his voice. The two of them stared for a moment and Soarin coughed into a hoof. “So um, is there anything you could show me?” he asked and avoided looking at Jazz’s eyes due to the awkwardness of the situation.

“Hm… I guess there’s the orchard. It’s what keeps the town alive and it’s mighty impressive.”

“An apple orchard,” Soarin asked and Jazz nodded, “In a desert?” another nod. "Ok, you have my attention.”

“Great, it’s this way.” Unlike the previous times where Jazz dragged Soarin to the destination, she actually let him follow of his own. After a few minutes of silent walking they reached the orchard and Soarin was surprised by how big the orchard actually was. “Ah know, sometimes ah get a little teary eyed seeing it too.”

“How exactly did you get all these trees to grow so well in a desert?” Soarin asked.

“A whole lot of love, tenderness, and good land speculation. Ya see, this clearing is the only place around here that can support apple trees. That…caused some problems some time ago.”

“What do you mean, the location seems fine for what you need.”

“You know, that’s what we thought when we came here, but as it turned out we planted our orchard right on a stampede ground for a local buffalo tribe.” Soarin let his discomfort show, but Jazz dismissed it with a hoof. “Ah don’t worry, we got all that sorted out long ago. If ya get lucky ya might even get to see some of them in town.”

“Uh ok, I’ll look forward to that.”

“Alright, well ah gotta get to work. Ah’ll be seein’ ya.” Jazz tipped her hat at Soarin and walked away.

“Ok, bye,” Soarin returned and waved. Afterward he took flight toward town to hopefully be able to get a pie. He didn’t get one because, as Jazz had said, the buffalo tribe had come into town and pretty much cleared the town of pies. So he settled for a regular Appleoosian lunch and some more looking around. When the sun started to set again, instead of going back to the hotel, Soarin went to the one place he hadn’t been yet: the Salt Block.

Soarin didn’t really know what to expect when he went there, but it was much nicer than he had thought. It had that frontier charm that you can’t really get anywhere else, with the standard layout that Soarin had expected and the groups of ponies just milling around with salt and drinks. Soarin walked to the bar and sat down.

“Hi there, what can I get for you?” the bartender asked.

“Um, just some salt will be fine,” Soarin answered. The bartender nodded and set about getting the salt.

“Well, fancy seein’ you here.” Soarin turned to find Jazz taking a seat next to him.

“I’ll say, how many times have we run into each other?” Soarin asked.

“Ah dunno, but ah’m not really complaining.” Jazz chuckled a little and grinned at Soarin, who was going to say something but got distracted by the bartender bringing him his salt.

“Do you want something Jazz?” the bartender asked.

“Nah, ah’m alright.” The bartender nodded and walked away. “So, how ya enjoying yer time here?”

“I still haven’t gotten a pie, other than that it’s been fine.” Soarin ate one of the salt cubes he got, and found it to be surprisingly good.

“Ya haven’t run into any real trouble?” Soarin answered with a shake of his head. “That’s good, ah would hate to find someone wasn’t enjoying their stay here.” Jazz scooted a little closer to Soarin. “Y’know, ah don’t think ah ever asked you what you did fer a living. Care to share?” Soarin swallowed the salt cube and thought for a moment.

“Well, I’m a stunt flyer. You know, entertaining crowds with daring feats and tricks.”

“A daredevil eh? Ah bet you’re a real hit with the fillies.” Soarin hadn’t been expecting that and nearly choked on a salt cube.

“W-what?”

“…Unless your fence is on the other side?”

“N-no, that’s not it! Where did that come from anyway?”

“Ah was just talkin’ out loud.”

“Of course you were. Anyway you’d think that would be the case, but I found out that most fans don’t really see past the uniform. There are exceptions, but it’s not really my place to talk about it.” Soarin ate another piece of salt and Jazz took one as well. “What about you, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Eh, ah never really cared fer that kind of stuff. It’s a lot of work keeping a town like this alive, but its good work. Say, how much longer are you going to be stayin’ here?”

“Well, I think it’s for a few more days,” Soarin answered. “Why?”

“Ah was just curious. Well, I’ll see you later, thanks fer letting me steal some salt.” Jazz gave Soarin a small wink and walked away. Soarin was a little confused by this action but shrugged it off as just another quirk of hers. Soarin finished the rest of his salt, paid for it, and left the building. He walked past the earth pony/unicorn pair on the way out.

“Well this place looks alright to hang for a bit, don’t ya think?” the earth pony asked.

“Yeah, it definitely has a certain charm,” the unicorn answered.

“Psst,” a pony sitting at a table said trying to get the pair’s attention, “You wanna play ‘find the queen’?”

“NO!”

Soarin woke up before the sun had come up the next day and felt a bit of a buzz from the salt earlier to go along with his dwindling optimism. At least the hotel had free water to help get rid of it. Once he had drunk some water, he lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

‘So, what do I do today?’ Soarin thought and rolled onto his side. After a minute of thinking he sighed and sat up. ‘Forget it. I’ve spent the week just wandering around, so why change that now?’ Soarin stood up and looked out the window at the sky and felt a smile cross his face. ‘Or I could get some practice in. They never said I couldn’t do that.’ Soarin grinned and wasted no time in opening the window and flying out.

Soarin was at first thrown off a little while flying, since most of the flying he was used too was while wearing a frictionless flight suit, but he got over it soon and flew up high above the town. He marveled at how small the town looked from this height and then landed on a nearby cloud and did some stretches.

“I think the basic practice will be enough for now. After all, gotta keep my skills sharp after all.” Soarin lowered into a ready position and imagined those first few moments right before he took off during a show. He counted the seconds before the imaginary signal sounded and he took off.

Soarin visualized one of the many training grounds the Wonderbolts used for flight training as he zipped through the skies. A sharp left turn followed by a right turn, a series of rolls that would have gone through a set of rings if they had actually been there. Soarin pulled up into a flip so he was facing the sky, then the upside down world, ground, and then back to the world how it usually is although he was now going faster than before.

Soarin loved the feel of the wind on his face as he continued practicing, and probably created a very interesting sight for anypony who looked up. Soarin decided to end with a flourish, which was a steep corkscrew dive onto the cloud he had started on. Despite the speed he managed to land softly enough that the cloud only wobbled a little when he landed. Soarin spent about a minute to catch his breath, as even the most basic Wonderbolt courses were still physically strenuous.

‘I wish I had someone timing me,’ he thought to himself, ‘I think I might have beaten Spitfire’s record on that.’ Soarin sat down and couldn’t help but laugh at what he just thought, ‘Ah who am I kidding, I’d never be able to beat her record. She’s captain for a reason.’ When Soarin felt thoroughly rested he stood up and looked around for a second. “Ok, time for round 2.”

Soarin spent quite a while doing these flying exercises and by the time he bothered to check the time it was already afternoon.

“Dang, it’s that late already?” Soarin said and heard his stomach rumbling, “And I haven’t eaten anything today. I better take care of that.” Soarin hopped off the cloud and flew to get his money from his room. He then wandered around to find something to eat when, once again…

“Well howdy again.”

He ran into Jazz again. Soarin of course turned to her with a warm smile.

“Same to you. Done with work today?” Soarin asked.

“Yeah, it’s been starting to slow down a bit. Ah also couldn’t help but see your little show a while ago.”

“Oh, you saw that?”

“It was kind of hard to miss.” Jazz walked past Soarin and motioned for him to follow. “So, what’s your plan fer today?”

“Right now, get some lunch and then maybe some more practice afterwards. Certainly beats waiting all day for a pie to get nothing.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be worth the wait,” Jazz said. Soarin nodded and the two shared a comfortable silence. “Now that ah think about it, what exactly got you into pies in the first place?”

“Well… have you ever been to the Grand Galloping Gala?” Soarin asked and Jazz replied with a shake of her head. “Well let me give you a free tip: Don’t go. That was probably one of the most boring things I’ve ever been to in my life. Although it was kind of interesting when the whole place went nuts at the end, and I’m also pretty sure that colt that was hanging out with us was checking me out. Or maybe I’m taking that the wrong way, I’ve always been bad at reading ponies. I mean there was this one time in-“

“Uh Soarin, you’re kinda ramblin’,” Jazz said.

“Oh, sorry. Anyway, a few minutes into the gala I’m wandering the grounds when I realized I hadn’t eaten for a while. Not even a second after I realized that, I stumbled across a stand selling apple treats. That pie I bought was the best I’ve ever had.” Jazz chuckled.

“Well it’s nice to see that my cousin is doin’ alright. Ah have to write back to her soon.” Soarin stopped at that.

“You and the mare with the awesome pies are related?” he asked.

“Was she an orange earth pony with a blonde mane?” Jazz asked and Soarin nodded, “Then that’d be cousin Applejack. No wonder ya got so into pies.” Any more conversation was interrupted by Soarin’s stomach.

“Oh right, I was on my way to get some lunch. Maybe after that I’ll try for a pie again.”

“Still haven’t gotten one huh?” Soarin shook his head and Jazz put a hoof to her chin in thought, “Ya know, that gives me an idea. You’re still stayin’ at that hotel right?” Soarin was slightly thrown off by the question, but quickly recovered.

“Wha- I mean, yeah I am. Why?”

“It wouldn’t be too much trouble if ah stopped by later, would it?”

“Well, I guess it would be alright, but why do you-“

“You’ll find out later. I’ll see ya then,” Jazz said and walked away grinning.

“Hey wait, I didn’t-,” Soarin started but waved a hoof, “Oh forget it, I’m gonna get a sandwich.”

And so it passed that Soarin had a decent sandwich for lunch and went back to going through several flying exercises for the next few hours. After he went through one part of ‘flight pattern 55-B’, or as he called it ‘that one spinny trick with all the fireworks’, Soarin paused for a moment to catch his breath and checked the time.

“Looks like it’s almost five,” Soarin said to himself. “I hate to say it, but the others were right about this. I feel like I could go on a full tour right now.” Soarin did a couple of quick backflips and laughed the whole way. “I may owe Spitfire fifteen bits, but I don’t care!” After a few more flips, Soarin dove down to the down and flew into the window of his hotel room. Since he couldn’t think of anything to do now that he was here, Soarin settled on getting started on packing his things. This took a while since, despite the fact that he packed very little, he somehow managed to spread it out throughout the room. Soarin had just managed to track down his last item when there was a knock on the door.

“Hold on a second,” Soarin called and, after a moment to put his things away, he answered the door to find Jazz on the other side. “Jeez you weren’t kidding when you said later.”

“Sorry, but these kind of things take a while to get just right,” Jazz said and looked over Soarin’s shoulder, “Ya mind if ah come in?”

“Oh, it’s no problem,” Soarin said and opened the door wider to let Jazz in, “sorry about the mess.” As Jazz walked in, Soarin noticed a package on her back.

“It’s no problem.” Jazz set the package on the bed and looked around the room. “It’s nice to know ya made yourself at home during your stay here.”

“Yeah, I might have to come back here the next time I have some free time. Nice open skies, friendly atmosphere, I can see why you like this town so much.” Soarin looked at the package curiously. “So what’s that?” Jazz laughed and pointed at it.

“Since you wanted one so badly, I had to make sure you got one,” Jazz said and unwrapped the package to show a fresh pie. “I’m not exactly the best when it comes to baking, but I can still make a mean pie. You’re drooling a little.” Soarin jerked a little and wiped his mouth off.

“Uh, thanks. You didn’t have to do this though.”

“Ah nonsense, ah wanted to do it. Ya better hurry up and dig in before it gets cold.” Soarin looked at the pie and then back at Jazz.

“Don’t you want some?” he asked.

“Nah, I already ate.” Soarin gave her a curious look.

“Why do all this for me Jazz?”

“Huh?” Jazz asked, returning the look.

“I mean, I get friendly hospitality, but this goes a little bit further than that. Is there a reason for it?”

“Does it really matter? Ah just wanted to do something nice fer ya.” The two stared into each other’s eyes for a minute before Soarin closed his and shrugged.

“Well alright, but I’ll feel a little guilty eating this all by myself.”

“You’re just pulling mah leg.”

“No, I’m just being polite. Just humor me a little,” Soarin said as he hopped onto the bed. Jazz chuckled a little.

“Ah sure, why not?” she said and hopped on the bed too. No sooner had she done that then Soarin started eating the pie in a messy fashion. Jazz laughed a little at this, which caused Soarin to stop mid bite.

“Oh sorry, I can’t help myself sometimes,” Soarin said and pushed the pie over to Jazz, “You want some?” Jazz smiled and took a bite. “This is really good. Does your family put something in these pies to make them like this?”

“Nope, just apples and a lot of love.” Jazz took another bite before sliding it back to Soarin.

“Wow, your family certainly knows its craft if this is just a regular apple pie for you.” Jazz couldn’t help but blush a little at the compliment, but thankfully Soarin missed it when he took another bite of the pie. Soarin swallowed his mouthful of pie and licked some of the filling from his lips, not noticing he had missed a bit on his cheek.

“Y’know, yer a bit of a messy eater,” Jazz commented.

“Heh sorry, I just get a little sloppy when I really like something,” Soarin said and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, these pies are so good. I can’t place it exactly, but these are on a whole other level. The crust is just the right mix of crunchy and chewy. And the filling is--“ Soarin was interrupted when Jazz suddenly leaned forward and licked the filling off of his cheek. Soarin’s eyes widened as he watched Jazz savor the taste of the filling before swallowing.

“The filling has just the right kind of favor without being too overpowering, right?” Jazz asked and looked at Soarin. After a few moments of staring at her, Jazz looked away with a blush starting to form. “W-what?”

‘Did she just lick me?’ Soarin thought, his mind racing to try and put this together. ‘Why would she do that? The only reason I can think of is…no,’ Soarin blinked when that piece fell into place. He stared at Jazz who was chewing another bite of pie and looking anywhere but at him. ‘It couldn’t be that.’ Jazz swallowed and coughed a little.

“Ah guess that was a little too fast?” she asked.

‘It is. Oh man, what am I going to do?’ Soarin racked his mind for a solution to this little problem.

“Maybe ah should go,” Jazz said, bringing Soarin back to reality.

“Huh?”

“Ah think ah went a little too far. If ya want me to go, ah understand.” Soarin’s eyes widened and he shook his head.

“No, it’s not that. You just surprised me is all.” Jazz looked at Soarin with a hint of relief in her expression.

“Thanks, ah don’t know what came over me,” she said and took another bite of pie.

“Don’t worry about it, things like that happen to…” Soarin stopped when Jazz looked up at him with those green eyes, “…they happen to everypony at some point.”

“Ah suppose so,” Jazz said and smiled. Soarin noticed that she somehow got some filling on her cheek.

“Hey, you…” Soarin started and started to lean closer to Jazz. ‘Wait, what are you doing?!’ Soarin’s brain screamed at him, although it was a vain effort since Soarin was on autopilot.

“What?” Jazz asked leaning back slightly.

“You got something on your…” Soarin’s voice grew to a whisper the closer he leaned in.

‘NO! Abort mission! This isn’t going to end well!’

“Cheek,” Soarin finished just before he licked the filling off Jazz’s cheek. Jazz froze at the sudden action and Soarin swallowed the filling and looked into Jazz’s widened eyes.

‘Bad move dude.’ It took Jazz a few moments of blank staring to recover and saw Soarin sitting there waiting for her reaction, which was to pick up what was left of the pie and press it into the left side of Soarin’s face. ‘See, I told you. This is what happens when you act without-‘ the thought was interrupted when Jazz pressed the pie into her own face. ‘What?’ was all Soarin could think before Jazz jumped on him.

Jazz had Soarin pinned to the bed and she started licking the filling off his face. Soarin at first didn’t know what to do, but he soon gave in and started licking the filling of Jazz’s face. This mutual cleaning was a surprisingly very pleasing experience and Soarin wrapped his forearms around Jazz’s torso. Soarin noticed that Jazz was working her way across his cheek toward his mouth and Soarin adjusted to match her. When they were both close enough they ceased the licking and started kissing. Soarin pulled Jazz in closer to deepen the kiss and heard an affirmative groan from her.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying the kiss and occasional caresses, before they broke for air. Soarin looked up at Jazz as she took her hat off and let it fall to the floor. Soarin had the small feeling that he should say something, but he decided against it. Instead he rolled them both over so Jazz was underneath him. Jazz smiled and raised her head for another kiss which Soarin returned. Time soon slipped away from the two of them and soon they were asleep.

The sun’s rays were streaming into the room and stirred Soarin awake. Soarin opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a sleeping Jazz, her orange mane spread out on the pillow. The events of last night came back to Soarin and he smiled and hugged Jazz. After a few minutes like this Jazz stirred and opened her eyes to meet Soarin’s smiling face.

“Morning,” he said and Jazz returned the smile and hug.

“Mornin’,” she returned. Soarin moved in closer for a kiss and Jazz met him. It was a short one, but perfect for the morning. Afterwards they stared at each other for a minute and Jazz laughed softly.

“What?”

“Nothin’, ah just didn’t expect you to be such a gentlecolt last night.” Soarin’s face reddened and he chuckled.

“Hey I haven’t even taken you out to dinner or something yet.”

“Well, ah’ll be sure to hold you to that the next time you’re in town.” The smile dropped at the realization that Soarin would be leaving soon and she looked away from him, “If you’ll be coming back.”

“Hey hey, don’t be like that,” Soarin said and pulled Jazz in closer, “I’m not sure when I’ll have some free time again, but when I do I’ll be back.” Soarin lifted up a little to look out the window, “There’s just something about this town that draws you in.”

“What, the pies?” Jazz asked jokingly.

“Not what I was thinking of, but that’s another good point.” Soarin lay back down on the bed and smiled as Jazz laughed.

“Y’know, if you don’t hurry you’ll miss your train,” she said when she settled down. Soarin’s response was to bring Jazz in for another kiss, which she gladly sank into. When the kiss broke Soarin only said one thing before the next one.

“The train can wait.”

>Observation suspended<

This pairing honestly came completely out of nowhere for me and I can't help but enjoy it. This is quite remarkable for me because not even a few years ago I wasn't too keen on the idea of M/M relationships.
Funny how we change eh?

OctaScratch pt. 3

>Resuming observation for case 55: Vinyl Scratch and Octavia<

‘I cannot believe I actually came here,’ Octavia thought to herself as she stood in front of the club. She double checked the note Vinyl left her to make sure it was the right place and once she was sure she entered.

The inside of the club was cleaner than Octavia expected, although the general atmosphere was still what she expected. Aside from a few lights scattered around, the interior was almost pitch black. Octavia looked around the inside for any signs of life, but found only the bartender for the moment. She walked over to him and sat down.

“How can I help you miss?” the bartender asked. Octavia looked around once more before answering.

“Would there happen to be somepony named Vinyl Scratch here, would there?” she asked.

“You mean DJ Pon-3? You’re a little early, he’s not supposed to be here for a while,” he said and then motioned at the bottles behind him, “You want something to drink while you wait?” Octavia sighed a little.

“Straight whiskey,” she answered. The bartender nodded and walked away to prepare the drink. The door opened and a pegasus walked in. He looked around for a moment before heading to Octavia.

“Um, this is the place where DJ Pon-3 will be playing right?” he asked nervously.

“Yes, that is what I heard,” Octavia answered. The bartender placed Octavia’s drink in front of her. “Thanks,” she offered, to which the bartender nodded and turned to the pegasus.

“Oh um…whatever she’s having?” he said nervously. The bartender nodded again and walked away to get it, leaving Octavia and the pegasus alone. Octavia could have sworn that the pegasus might die from nervousness soon. “Oh man, I suck at talking to mares. What do I say?” he whispered to himself. Octavia took a sip of her whiskey and cleared her throat before speaking.

“So, what’s your name?” she asked and the pegasus jumped a little at the question.

“W-what?”

“I asked what your name was, but I suppose it would be more polite to introduce myself first. My name is Octavia.” She held out a hoof and didn’t notice the pegasus’ attitude do a complete 180.

“No way, it’s a small world. I was talking with Vinyl about you yesterday,” he said and chuckled, “I guess if you’re a friend of Vinyl, you can call me Tobias.” He shook Octavia’s hoof and nodded his thanks at the bartender when he bought the drink over. Octavia was a little unpleased at this development.

‘Out of all the ponies in this city that could walk in, it had to be one of Mr. Scratch’s friends. It’s like the world’s playing one huge joke on me,’ she thought and turned back to her whiskey. There was no real conversation between the two for a few minutes, but the silence was broken when Tobias spoke up.

“So are you here to see Vinyl’s show too?” he asked. Octavia answered with a nod. “That’s cool. You know this is actually my first time seeing him work too. I’m really excited about it.” He bounced in the seat a little with a huge grin. Octavia shook her head and took a sip of whiskey. The door opened a second time and Vinyl walked in.

“Great, there’s somepony here. Can some of you help me with my stuff?” he said and motioned behind him.

“Sure thing,” Tobias said and happily walked to Vinyl. Octavia quietly sighed and followed. Outside the club there were at least half a dozen boxes full of…things.

“Ok, if you both can take at least one of these boxes I can probably get the rest,” Vinyl said and looked over at Octavia, “Hi Octy, glad you could come.” Octavia didn’t say anything and gestured for Vinyl to hurry. “Oh fine, here,” he said and levitated a crate onto her back nearly taking her off guard. He also put one of the boxes on Tobias’ back and Tobias grunted from the effort.

“Dang, this is heavy. Where do you want it?” Tobias asked and walked back into the club with Octavia and Vinyl following.

“Just put it anywhere on the dance floor will be fine, now come on I only have an hour to set all this up!” Vinyl said and looked back to make sure the boxes levitating behind him were alright. The three of them walked onto the empty dance floor and set the boxes haphazardly down. Vinyl immediately set about opening and unpacking the contents.

“Anything else you need?” Tobias asked. Vinyl lifted several cables out and inspected them.

“I’ll let you know if I do, now shoo I have work to do.” Vinyl nodded in satisfaction and moved to the back of the floor with the cables in tow.

“Man, I’ve never seen Vinyl so focused about something. Usually he’s joking around and happy y’know?” Tobias turned to where Octavia was only to find that she had moved back to the bar. Tobias felt a little foolish and was about to do the same when Vinyl called out to him.

“Hey Tobias, get your flank back here, I may need your help after all.” Tobias walked to Vinyl smiling widely. Octavia chose to focus only on her drink for the next couple of minutes. “Wait no, don’t put that there!” There was some kind of crashing from behind Octavia.

“Oops, sorry,” Tobias said. Octavia sat for a moment before the work continued behind her.

‘Don’t look Octavia, it’s not worth it,’ she thought to herself and took a sip of her drink. There was nothing interesting going on for the next few minutes, which Octavia was grateful for. But such things don’t last forever.

“Hey ‘Tavi, I need your help for a moment,” Vinyl called out. Octavia sighed and turned around, and found herself surprised at the setup that Vinyl managed to set up. Then again, she hadn’t been paying attention for 15 minutes or so. Either way Octavia walked onto the dance floor.

“What do you need?” she asked. Vinyl pointed over at Tobias, who was standing in the middle of the floor.

“I need you to stand next to Tobias so I can get an accurate sound check. Can you do that?” Octavia nodded and walked over to where Tobias was. There she noticed that he was shaking with excitement. “Ok, let me get something simple started for this, so hold on,” Vinyl said and started digging behind the turntable he set up. After a moment he levitated a record up and set it on the player. He focused some magic into the turntable and a song started playing. Octavia was nearly deafened by the volume.

“So how is it?” Vinyl asked over the music.

“It’s too loud!” Octavia yelled back.

“What?”

“Too loud!”

“I can’t hear you, there’s a song in the way.”

“I said it’s,” the music stopped mid-sentence, though Octavia didn’t realize, “too loud!”

“Really? It sounds fine to me. What do you think Tobias?” The two turned to the pegasus, who was staring into space and jerked out of it after a second.

“I’m sorry I blinked out for a minute. Did you start yet?” Vinyl and Octavia stared at him for a moment. “What?”

“…No we haven’t started yet, but try and pay attention when we do.” Vinyl said shaking his head a little and started playing the song again at a lower volume. Since she was no longer deafened, Octavia could actually focus on the song and recognized it from the first opening lyrics.

“Ugh, I hate this song,” Octavia whispered.

“What, how do you not like this song? This is probably one of Sapphire Shores’ biggest hits,” Tobias said.

“Precisely, every time I try to listen to something on the radio I hear this song. It gets annoying after a while.”

“Vinyl can you believe this? She doesn’t like this song!”

“You leave him out of this!”

“Please fillies, you’re both pretty, but how does it sound?” Vinyl shouted at them.

“It sounds alright I guess. I don’t know what you’re looking for,” was Tobias’ answer. Octavia took a few more seconds to answer.

“It seems off somehow.”

“What do you mean?” Vinyl asked and started walking over to her.

“It just sounds off.” Vinyl stopped next to her and listened carefully as the song played. After about ten seconds of listening Vinyl sighed and walked back to the station.

“This stupid speaker, it’s always messing up,” Vinyl said and started playing with some of the cables. A screech of static erupted from it before it settled back into the song. “Is that better?” Vinyl asked and walked back into the center.

“I guess.” Octavia said.

“I can hear it,” was Tobias’ answer. Vinyl stopped and listened a bit more before nodding.

“Alright, this is good. I’ll work out the minor kinks later.” Vinyl walked back to the turntable and stopped the music.

“So, is there anything else that you need us to do?” Octavia asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Nah I’m good, I’ll be back at showtime,” Vinyl said and walked past Octavia and out of the club.

“What?”

“I heard he likes to appear out of nowhere when he starts his shows,” Tobias said, “It adds to the mystery or something.” Tobias walked back to the bar and Octavia sighed and followed.

‘Accursed DJ, I can’t believe he talked me into this! Ah what am I saying, this can’t possibly be as bad as I’m thinking.’

“I had to say something didn’t I?”

One thing Octavia had learned during her life, it was that she did not like club goers. As such, Octavia drank her third glass of whiskey and tried desperately to ignore the whoops and hollers of the crowd behind her.

It wasn’t working well.

Even worse than the crowd was the ‘music’ that was currently playing. Octavia had no idea why this constant thumping and ear rending noise was considered good to these ponies and she was sure the answer would forever elude her. She took another sip of whiskey when a stallion wearing a blue hoodie with the hood up and some saddlebags to cover his cutie mark.

It didn’t even take Octavia a second to recognize Vinyl.

“Why did you change into that?” she asked which caused Vinyl to jump a little.

“Uh, I do not know what you talking about,” Vinyl said in a bad Stalliongrad accent, “I just come here for show and drink.”

“And why are you talking like that Mr. Scra-“ and at that moment, Octavia discovered the very unpleasant experience of getting a hoof shoved into her mouth. She was also sure if she could see the glare Vinyl was giving her through the goggles.

“Shut up, are you trying to blow my cover?!” he whispered harshly at her and looked around to make sure no one had heard her, which they hadn’t. Once that was established, Vinyl removed his hoof from Octavia’s mouth and shook some saliva off. Octavia coughed a little and glared at Vinyl.

“And what was that for?” she asked.

“I can’t have you tell them I’m here,” Vinyl pointed at the crowd who were still jumping and dancing to the music, “It’d ruin my entrance.”

“I don’t think they’re paying attention to what’s going on around them, so I doubt they will hear me back here.”

“You’d be surprised what these kinds of people can pick up.” Vinyl seemed to shiver a little, probably from some memory of parties long past, when the bartender walked up to the two of them.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked.

“More whiskey please,” Octavia said and pushed her glass forward.

“Allow me to think for one moment,” Vinyl said switching back to the accent and put a hoof to his chin, “I will have a, how you say, painkiller.”

“You need to work on the accent,” the bartender said and took Octavia’s glass and walked down the bar.

“Was it that bad?” Vinyl asked turning to Octavia.

“Yes it was,” she said bluntly, “I’m sure if you tried that in Stalliongrad you would be pounded into paste.”

“Heh, good thing I can’t legally enter there for a few years.”

“…what?”

“Yeah, one time I went there, did a show, got drunk and blacked out. I woke up on a train to Manehattan with a note saying I’ll be arrested if I enter the city again in the next three years. I also apparently caused at least 1000 bits in property damage, which the city took from me when I was out.”

“…What exactly did you do?” Octavia was honestly curious about that.

“I have no idea, but it must have been awesome if it got me banned from a city.” Vinyl flashed a grin at Octavia who, after a few seconds of thinking, decided not to pursue that conversation any further.

“So how long will this take? I don’t think I can take any more of this noise.” Vinyl couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Heh, yeah dubstep is kind of an acquired taste, but I guarantee you that you’ll like what I play.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Oh really, wanna bet on it?” Octavia looked at Vinyl with the most neutral expression she could give.

“I’m not a betting pony.”

“Still, you’re going to like this. It’s just whether or not you like one of the songs I’ll play.” Octavia had to admit, he had her interest.

“What would the parameters be?” she asked.

‘Gotcha,’ Vinyl thought. “If you don’t like any of them, I’ll give you a hundred bits. I’m getting paid well for this show so I’ll be good for it.” Octavia looked at him with clear disbelief on her still neutral face.

“And if I do like one? What do you get then?” Vinyl lifted the goggles to look Octavia in the eye.

“If I win, your lovely company would be all I need.” Much against her will, Octavia blushed a deep shade of red and felt her skin tingle.

“This seems like a very one sided deal!” she said slightly louder than she wanted.

“Yeah, in your favor. Either I pay you directly or I pay for your drinks for the rest of the night. Either way, you win.” Octavia stared into his eyes, purple meeting red for half a minute, before she looked away trying desperately to hide her burning cheeks.

“Fine,” she said. The bartender returned with their drinks and Octavia immediately took the glass and drank it all in a few seconds and pushed the glass back. “More please.”

“You shouldn’t drink whiskey like that, it’s bad for you,” Vinyl said and lowered his goggles and grabbed the cocktail with his magic. “Spasibo, now if you’ll excuse me I have to go evacuate the dance floor.” Vinyl then walked off into the dancing crowd. The bartender returned with a full glass which Octavia gratefully took.

‘Why did I agree to that?! I wasn’t in control of my actions again! Damn him and his gorgeous eyes,’ Octavia thought and took a sip of whiskey and started to feel the effects from the drink. Not enough to be drunk but definitely enough to be tipsy. Not even a second later Octavia and the rest of the crowd were spooked when all the lights and music suddenly went out.

Some ponies in the crowd screamed, but most murmured amongst themselves. That all stopped instantly when a screen at the back lit up a blinding white, highlighting the turntable and a pony who hadn’t been there before the blackout. The crowd was quiet for a moment before they erupted into cheers of ‘Pon-3, Pon-3, Pon-3!’

Vinyl, now totally into party mode, took off his jacket and flung it out into the crowd, where one lucky mare managed to catch it. He took a sip from his drink before nonchalantly kicking open a case, levitating a record out, and setting it on the turntable. Vinyl’s horn grew brighter as he set a hoof on the record and spun it with a dramatic motion which caused magical sparks to fly out and dissipate over the crowd while the screen changed to a cavalcade of bright colors. The new beat and the visuals whipped the crowd into a frenzy again and they started dancing with a renewed fervor.

“Showoff,” was all Octavia had to say on the matter.

Vinyl was well in his element and, if it weren’t for the fact that Princess Celestia would have to raise the sun eventually, he could have kept this going forever. Vinyl’s mind was racing with all the minor alterations to the beat, volume, lights, visuals, and all the other minor details he had memorized but couldn’t remember, all while absentmindedly nodding his head to the songs. Every now and then, Vinyl would glance at the bar and saw that, at the very least, Octavia was paying attention to the show.

After who knows how long into the show (Vinyl had a hard time keeping track of the time while working, usually because he was too busy losing himself to the music) he glanced at the turntable’s built in clock to find it was nearing 2 A.M.

‘Almost time to wrap up,’ he thought as he lowered his goggles to rub his eyes, making sure to keep them closed until the goggles were back in place. He looked over the crowd and couldn’t help the large grin as they jumped and danced excitedly. He managed to pick out Tobias enjoying himself dancing with some mare near a corner, as well as that mare who had caught his jacket still holding onto it.

‘Well, I riled them up.’ Vinyl turned to the record box and pulled out his last record for the night, ‘Time to bring them down.’

Octavia glanced back at Vinyl as the current ‘song’ seemed to be coming to an end. At this point the world was slightly more blurry and the songs had sort of blended into each other until she had eventually stopped caring.

‘I hope this ends soon, I’m really tired,’ she thought and emptied what might have been her tenth glass of whiskey. She nearly groaned when Vinyl pulled out yet another record and set it on the turntable. She turned back to the bar and was about to call for the bartender when the song started and stopped her in her tracks.

There were no high pitched techno beats or booming bass, simply a soft melody that drifted over the room like velvet. Octavia dared to look back and found the crowd was starting to settle down. They were still dancing, but it was more subdued, like a switch had been flipped to change their entire being. Vinyl was nodding his head softly in time to the beats.

She couldn’t do anything more than stare at him as more soft instruments joined its blooping brother in harmony.After a few minutes the soft beeping that seemed to be lulling Octavia to sleep gave way to a slightly more upbeat and energetic stage of the song.

The lead up to this song, the same kind of song that was making this crowd dance like mad ponies not even a few minutes ago, was all it took to hook Octavia. It might have been the alcohol in her system talking to her, but something about the song seemed to be calling to her. She continued staring at Vinyl as she got up from her seat and walked into the
crowd.

The song’s melody, both gentle and exciting, guided Octavia through the crowd until she was near the front. Vinyl’s head was dancing up and down to the fast paced beat and yet Octavia could feel his eyes on her. Her skin tingled with that familiar electrifying feeling as she swayed back and forth to the music. The fast paced melody soon slowed down and soon faded out into silence, a few ghostly notes resounding in the room before silence finally took over. The crowd started stomping their hooves in applause as well as letting out a few cheers.

It took Octavia a few seconds to realize she was among those applauding.

Vinyl took the record off and set it carefully in the box. Some volunteer ponies came on stage to pack up his things. Vinyl walked over to the part of the stage where the mare with his jacket was and pointed at her. The mare looked down at the jacket, back up at Vinyl who nodded, and lifted the jacket up to him which was soon enveloped in magic and lifted up to him. Vinyl put the jacket on, nodded his thanks, and walked off stage.

Once Vinyl was out of her sight, Octavia realized where she was and walked off the dance floor with several other ponies. She was almost to the bar when somepony poked her side, which caused her to jump a little and turned to find Vinyl standing there. He motioned for her to follow him which she did. Outside the stage ponies were loading Vinyl’s stuff into a small cart. Vinyl stopped next to it and turned to Octavia.

“So, I take it you liked the last song?” It took Octavia a second to realize the question was directed at her.

“Oh, oh yeah. The bleeps and bloops were very pretty.” Vinyl raised an eyebrow at the answer.

“Are you ok? How many drinks have you had?” Octavia took a moment to think it over, slightly swaying back and forth.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuh, ten-ish.”

“Ten-ish?” Vinyl asked a little taken aback, “Do you even remember where you live?” Octavia giggled a little.

“Don’t be silly, of course I do.”

“Alright then, where is it?” Octavia silently stared at him and Vinyl tilted his head.

“I forgot.” Vinyl sighed heavily and shook his head.

“Good thing I only had a couple drinks tonight, because I’m gonna have such a headache tonight.” Vinyl took his goggles off and let them hang from his neck before looking back up at Octavia. “Look, you can crash at my place for tonight if it’s alright with you.” Octavia perked up a little and smiled at Vinyl.

“Ah, so that was your plan all this time eh? Bug me enough so I would get drunk enough so I would agree to go to your place.” She leaned closer to Vinyl who leaned back only slightly. “A very clever plan Mr. Scratch, and I have to tell you, it might work.”

“Pfft, in your dreams.” A hoof tapped Vinyl’s shoulder and he looked at one of the stage ponies.

“Your stuff is ready to go and your payment’s in your bag,” he said.

“Thanks.” The pony nodded and walked away and Vinyl hitched himself to the cart and looked at Octavia. “You can either walk or ride in the cart, your choice.” Octavia laughed and walked up to him.

“Such a gentlecolt, I’ll take the cart thank you.” Octavia walked past him and swished her tail across his muzzle as she did so. Vinyl didn’t even blink and waited until Octavia was in the cart before setting off at a light trot.

‘Ugh, I hate drunk mares. Way too clingy.’

“Pffft, you actually live here? It’s way too small.”

“We just reached my door, we’re not in my apartment yet.” Vinyl had already grown tired of drunk Octavia and just wanted to go to bed. As such he wasted no time in unlocking the door and opened it. Octavia stumbled into the apartment, nearly tripping on the door along the way, and Vinyl followed her with his show stuff.

“Wow, this is much better than I expected. I thought you lived in some roach infested…thingie,” Octavia said as she poked at his couch. Vinyl stacked the boxes near the door barely listening to her.

“Uh huh.”

“Wow, is it hot in here or is it me?” Octavia asked and tugged at her bowtie.

“It’s just you,” Vinyl said as he hung up his jacket. He glanced at Octavia who was taking off her bowtie in what he thought was supposed to be a sensual way, but it was really kind of fumbling. She put the bow on Vinyl’s table and walked towards him with half closed eyes and red face, most likely from the whiskey.

“So, where are we going to sleep?” she asked. Vinyl pointed at his room.

“You’re sleeping in there,” he said flatly. Octavia followed his hoof and walked to the door.

“Ooh, big bed. I hope it’s comfy,” she said and walked inside. When Vinyl got to the door Octavia was already lying on the bed snuggling up against a pillow. “Are you coming?” she asked with those half lidded eyes.

“In a minute, I need to do something. Just make yourself comfy.” Octavia nodded and Vinyl walked into his kitchen to make sure he had…well it didn’t matter, as long as it gave him enough time for Octavia to fall asleep. Once a few minutes had passed he checked on her and, sure enough, she was out cold and snoring softly. Vinyl smiled softly and moved the covers on top of her before quietly leaving the room, closing the door, and heading to the couch.

The next morning Octavia was woken up by the alarm clock and she quickly ceased it’s ringing to lessen the pain in her head. When the ringing stopped she decided to sleep a bit longer and settled back into the pillow. That is, until she realized she wasn’t in her apartment.

Octavia shot up and looked around the room, thankfully finding that she was alone in the bed. At this moment several questions ran through Octavia’s head.

What happened last night?

Did I do anything?

Where’s my bowtie?

With these questions in mind, Octavia got off the bed, slowly walked to the door, and opened it. The room outside was probably one of the most messy rooms she had ever seen, with papers scattered over the floor as well as what might be take out containers, although she couldn’t really tell. She also saw Vinyl lying on the couch, twitching and mumbling in his sleep.

“Y…you and my friends should hang out… on the weekends.” Octavia shook her head and walked over to him.

‘I don’t understand how anypony can live in such a sordid mess,’ Octavia thought and poked Vinyl in the side, which only caused Vinyl to roll over and mumble something about hearts. Octavia gave him a firmer poke to his back, which once again caused Vinyl to roll over. Octavia, eye twitching from annoyance, decided to forego subtlety in favor of waking him up. She rose to her hind legs, knowing no one would stay asleep through-

“Hi Octy!”

Octavia screamed and fell onto her back when Vinyl suddenly shot up into her face and yelled that. She managed to roll onto her stomach in time to see Vinyl laughing.

“Hahaha, that was fun,” he said and then fell back onto the couch asleep again. Octavia’s eye twitched again as she got up and prodded him not so gently.

“Don’t you dare fall asleep on me, you have some explaining to do!” she yelled. Vinyl rubbed his eyes and looked up at her.

“Do you have to yell at this time? I shouldn’t even be up right now.”

“Shouldn’t be up, it’s nine in the morning!”

“Exactly, wake me up when it’s one o’clock. Or don’t, I don’t care.” Vinyl looked at his bedroom door then back to Octavia. “So can I sleep in my bed now that you’re awake?”

“Not until you tell me what happened last night! And where’s my bowtie?!” Vinyl pointed at the table and Octavia took the bowtie and expertly put it on.

“And don’t get your hopes up, nothing happened,” Vinyl said and, with a lot of effort, sat up on the couch.

“I am not getting any hopes up, and I hope you’ll forgive me for not entirely trusting your account,” Octavia said making a minor adjustment to her bow.

“And I totally understand, but here’s the thing, I don’t like dealing with drunk mares.” Vinyl hopped off the couch and walked to the kitchen. “The only reason you’re here in the first place is because I didn’t know where you lived.” Octavia thought that over as Vinyl dug through his cupboards.

“So nothing happened?” she finally asked.

“Look ‘Tavi, I know you well enough to have a good idea what would happen if I tried that: You’d see me lying next to you, you’d kick my ass, yell at me, kick my ass some more, and then leave never to speak to me again. Am I wrong?”

Octavia had to admit he was probably right.

“Besides, I like hanging out with you too much to do something like that.” Vinyl closed the cupboard and walked to the fridge.

“So, I can go?” Octavia asked.

“Sure, it might take some searching for you to get home, but it shouldn’t be too much-“ Vinyl opened the fridge door and immediately recoiled from it, “Oh sweet Celestia, what is that?!”

“What’s what?” Octavia asked and walked over to the fridge, where she also flinched back from the contents, “Oh goodness, what is that?!”

The contents of the fridge were…strange to say the least. Most of the contents were covered in some kind of green-purple moss.

“You…eat this stuff?” Octavia asked.

“Hell no, this stuff wasn’t here yesterday!” Vinyl yelled pointing at the moss.

“I think it just moved!” Octavia yelled and backed away from the fridge, which was quickly shut by Vinyl. They stared at the fridge for a moment and Vinyl turned to Octavia.

“Tell you what, how about I walk you to your house. Away from my fridge.”

“Uh, that’s quite alright Mr. Scra-“

“I insist!” Vinyl said and started pushing Octavia toward the door, “I’ll buy you breakfast along the way, my treat.”

“That is not necessary,” Octavia said and tried her best to stop herself from being pushed, only to be thrown off when Vinyl turned her around and looked into her eyes.

“Please don’t leave me alone with that thing,” he pleaded. Octavia stared into his red eyes and felt that tingle cross her skin again, not really helped by the closeness between them. Octavia blushed a little and looked away.

“Fine, since you’re being so pushy,” she said and was relieved when Vinyl backed up.

“Thanks, just give me a second to get my stuff.” Vinyl walked over to his wall of goggles and, after careful consideration, he chose a pair with lenses almost as red as his eyes and put his backpack on. “Ok, let’s go,” he said and led the way out of the apartment, Octavia rather reluctantly following behind.

“So, do you mind if I ask you something?” Octavia asked. The walk was lacking in conversation up to this point and something had been bothering Octavia for a while.

“Sure,” Vinyl said and took a bite from the doughnut he had gotten. To call that ‘breakfast’ would be a bit of an overstatement, but he’d manage with just that for now.

“Why do you have so many pairs of goggles? Are you obsessed or something?”

“Nah, I just prefer variety in my style. I don’t like to assume, but I would guess that you have a bunch of bowties at your house.”

“Yes, it would be best to not assume such things.” There was no way she was going to tell him he was right. Vinyl finished his doughnut and looked around.

“So, how much farther to your house?” Octavia looked around a little.

“Not much farther,” she answered. They continued walking without conversation and after a while they stopped in front the building Octavia lived in. Octavia looked over at Vinyl, who looked at her grinning widely, and sighed. “You’re going to follow me, aren’t you?”

“Only if you want me too,” he replied.

“I don’t…but you’re going to do it anyway right?”

“Yeah, but look at it this way. The next time you get blind drunk, I’ll be able to know where to drop you off.”

“Don’t count on that,” Octavia said and walked toward the building and Vinyl followed.

“You never know.” The two entered the building and walked up the stairs. After a couple flights Vinyl started humming a tune.

“Please don’t hum.” Octavia said.

“Man, you’re stingy,” Vinyl said. Thankfully they soon got off the stairs and were in front of Octavia’s door. She had barely unlocked and opened it when Vinyl walked inside.

“I did not say you can come inside!” she said forcefully at him.

“Technically you didn’t say anything either way, so it was an open offer. This is a pretty swanky place you have here.” Octavia sighed, walked inside, and shut the door behind her. She walked past Vinyl, who was just taking in her apartment, and into the kitchen to get a proper breakfast ready.

“How much does this place cost? I might get a place like- WHA?!”

“It took a while to pay this off, I doubt you could afford it,” Octavia said and looked in her fridge.

“Frog,” Vinyl said which caused Octavia to immediately turn around to see that he was entranced by a frog doll sitting on a small table and slowly reached out to it.

“DON’T TOUCH HIM!” Octavia yelled and Vinyl immediately fell back onto his haunches in fright. Octavia walked over and picked the frog up. “I didn’t think you would be back so soon,” she said to the doll while she cradled it.

“I’m lost,” Vinyl said very much confused.

“This is none of your business Mr. Scratch, this is a private conversation.” It finally clicked into place for Vinyl and he smiled.

“That’s a toy from your foalhood isn’t it?” he asked. Octavia jumped a little and looked down at the frog.

“What if it is, it’s not like you would care.”

‘Oh gosh, this is so adorable!’ Vinyl thought and stood up. “So, does he have a name?” Octavia looked at him annoyed and with a light blush.

“Of course he doesn’t and even if he did I wouldn’t tell you!” Octavia set the frog back on the table and sighed, “Is this your way of trying to pressure me or something?” Vinyl raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

“Pressure you? Did we agree to something where that would be necessary?” Octavia couldn’t believe that and it showed on her face.

“Really, you don’t remember the ‘let’s work together sometime’ talk a few days ago?” she asked. Vinyl thought for a second and his ears perked up.

“Oh right, I did say something like that didn’t I? So I take it you are interested?”

“Maybe, but I’m usually too busy.” If it was possible for Vinyl’s grin to grow bigger, it probably would have.

“Oh don’t worry about that, I can get everything together in a snap. Just let me know when you’re free and I’ll take care of everything.” Octavia sighed and tried to ignore the tingling under her skin.

“Fine, I’ll let you know.”

“Great, in that case I better go take care of some things, not to mention I better call a hazmat team for that moss. I’ll see ya later ‘Tavi.” Vinyl walked to the door and opened it before turning back to Octavia. “Hey, wanna know something I just realized?”

“What?”

“You’re a lot friendlier to me than you were a few days ago. We’re bonding.” Vinyl waved goodbye and left the apartment. Octavia stared at the closed door for several seconds after he left.

‘Oh dear, he’s right. I’m in a lot of trouble.’

>Observation suspended<

How many times has this specific series of events happened for these two? Ah well.
Next up is the fandom's OTP.

LyraBon

Begin Observation of Case 59<

The Heartstrings household stood near the center of Ponyville and fit pretty well into the aesthetic of the town. The sun had set half an hour ago and its youngest resident was in her bed watching a puppet show.

“You shall not pass!” the old wizard puppet shouted at a chimera puppet.

“No, it’s too dangerous!” a filly puppet yelled at the wizard. It was in vain though as the chimera and wizard bashed into each other. The filly gasped, fully absorbed in the story. The battle continued, with the filly puppet begging for the wizard to run. After a while, the filly’s cheers whenever the wizard seemed to be winning died down and the bedroom door creaked open and Harpsy peeked inside. Bon-Bon, who was on the floor with puppets on three of her hooves, motioned toward the bed with a questioning look. Harpsy looked at his daughter curled up in a comfortable ball holding her green seapony doll close to her and looked back at Bon-Bon and mouthed ‘she’s asleep’. Bon-Bon nodded and took off the puppets on her front hooves with her mouth, the last one with her front hooves, and quietly walked toward the door. Bon-Bon blew out the candle and closed the door leaving a crack of light.

“She’s so cute when she’s asleep,” Harpsy whispered to his wife as he took one last look at Tootsie. Bon-Bon nodded and motioned to Harpsy to move. Harpsy nodded and he and Bon-Bon walked quietly to the living room and sat on the couch, Harpsy in is usual oddball style and Bon-Bon lying normally laying her head on Harpsy’s lap. They spent the next few minutes enjoying each other’s company and Harpsy stroking Bon-Bon’s mane with a hoof. Harpsy noticed Bon-Bon was unusually stiff and stirring every now and then.

“Something on your mind Bon?” Harpsy asked. Bon-Bon sighed and spent a minute thinking.

“I was just thinking about Tootsie is all,” she said.

“Why?”

“She can’t stay a little filly forever Harpsy, it won’t be much longer until she’s a grown mare.” Bon-Bon looked up at her husband. “I guess I’m a little worried about how she’ll turn out.”

“She’ll be fine Bon,” Harpsy said and continued stroking Bon-Bon’s mane, “We’ve done a good job so far. Honestly, I’m a little surprised at how well I’ve been doing, remember how much of a nervous wreck I was when Tootsie was born?” Bon-Bon thought back and giggled at the memory.

“I guess you’re right, I should worry less about Tootsie and more about you,” Bon-Bon said with a smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If I remember right, you had very bad luck when it comes to teenage mares.” Bon-Bon’s wide smile clued Harpsy into the joke and he decided to play along.

“The way I remember it I only had trouble with one mare in particular, and the method I used worked most of the time.” Bon-Bon moved up and sat on Harpsy’s lap facing him.

“Yes, but I don’t think that method would work on your daughter,” Bon-Bon pointed out and wrapped her forelegs around Harpsy’s neck with Harpsy wrapping his forearms around her waist.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to figure something out then.” Harpsy pulled Bon-Bon closer until their faces were touching.

“We’ll figure something out,” Bon-Bon corrected.

“Right, sorry.” Harpsy closed what little distance there was to kiss Bon-Bon. They had been married for who knows how long and in that time every kiss they had felt the same as their first. The feel of their lips on each others, their breath on their cheeks, and just the simple feeling of closeness was enough for them. When they broke the kiss and looked into each other’s eyes for the next couple of minutes.

“So, you ready for bed Bon?” Harpsy asked. Bon-Bon released the hug and shook her head.

“No, I think I’m going to take a bath first and then I’ll go to bed.” Bon-Bon stood up and got off the couch, swiping her tail across her husband’s snout. “I’ll see you there,” she said in a sultry tone. Harpsy didn’t need any more hints, so he got off the couch and followed Bon-Bon with a grin.

>Warning: connection malfunction<

>Observation drone disconnected<

>//:reestablish connection

>connecting<

>…<

>connection reestablished<

>Opening observation channel<

The sun was shining down on Ponyville which was bustling with activity as usual. Through the crowd of milling ponies walked two unicorn mares, one with a grayish purple coat and blonde mane and the other light blue with a dark shade of purple for her mane.

“Are you sure your parents won’t mind if I study at your house Tootsie?”

“Don’t worry Dinky, I’m sure they’ll be fine with it,” Tootsie said then quietly added, “if they’re even home.”

“Well, if you say it’s alright,” Dinky said a little unsure.

“I still don’t understand why we can’t go to your house,” Tootsie said, and Dinky thought back to the morning.

“Give it back to me!” Ditzy yelled at the object of her rage. Dinky walked up to her and gave her a confused look.

“Uh mom, why are you yelling at the vase?” she asked.

“Because it stole my muffin!” Ditzy said and started growling at the vase. Dinky looked over at the table to find a muffin sitting on it.

“Uh mom, there’s a…” Dinky trailed off at her mother’s angry look at the vase. Sparkler walked up and sighed a little.

“Don’t worry about this Dinky, just go to school. I’ll take care of this.” Dinky slowly nodded and walked to her bags, put them on, walked out the door.

“Sweetie, the vase won’t give up the muffin! Go get The Doctor, this vase must suffer!”

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but mom’s acting a little crazy today. It’s probably best not to bug her while she’s like this.” Tootsie nodded and noticed they were approaching her house.

‘Oh I hope Dad isn’t home by himself,' Tootsie thought as she knocked on the door and opened it. “Mom, Dad, I’m home,” she called into the house. She walked into the empty living room and looked around, Dinky waiting by the door. “Mom, Dad?”

“Boo!”

“Ah!” Tootsie jumped a foot into the air and turned to see her father barely holding in his laughter.

“I got you again Tootsie,” he said between laughs. Tootsie looked back at Dinky with an annoyed look.

“I didn’t see him coming!” Dinky said, which drew Harpsy attention.

“Hi there Dinky, what brings you here?”

“Hi, would it be ok if I studied with Tootsie here for a while?”

“Of course it would, come on in.” Dinky nodded and walked inside, already feeling a little cheery from Harpsy’s smile. “Do you want a snack or something to drink?”

“Oh, no thanks.”

“Hey Dad, where’s Mom?” Tootsie asked and set her bag on the floor.

“I talked with Bon earlier and she said she still had a few candy batches to finish up. That was about half an hour ago, so it should be a few hours until she gets home.” Harpsy walked into the kitchen and Tootsie stared at him in horror.

“Um Tootsie, are we gonna get started?” Dinky asked. Tootsie snapped from her trance and walked over to Dinky.

“Sure, what should we start on first?” Tootsie asked, not letting her inner thoughts show through. ‘Oh I hope Dad doesn’t do anything embarrassing.’

“Ok, so if X equals 47, then that would mean that…have you been following at all Dinky?” Tootsie asked. Dinky laughed softly.

“Um, no,” Dinky said and Tootsie sighed.

“Ok, let’s start from the beginning. First you take-”

“Hey, would either of you girls like some sarsaparilla?” Harpsy asked peeking his head through the kitchen door.

“No thanks Dad, I’m…” Tootsie stared at Harpsy for a moment. “Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“What is that on your head?” Harpsy pointed at the hat he had on and Tootsie nodded.

“It’s a wool hat,” he answered.

“Why are you wearing that?”

“It’s trendy.” Tootsie mouthed ‘What, trendy?’ before shaking her head.

“No thanks, I’m not that thirsty.”

“I’m actually a little thirsty,” Dinky said. Harpsy nodded and returned to the kitchen. Tootsie and Dinky went back to studying and after a few minutes Harpsy walked out levitating a glass of sarsaparilla and a plate with a sandwich on it.

“Here’s your drink Dinky,” Harpsy said and set the glass in front of Dinky.

“Thank you,” Dinky said and took a drink. Harpsy levitated the sandwich and took a bite from it.

“Ok, do you have a good understanding for what we’re doing for math?” Tootsie asked. Dinky nodded and Tootsie put her math homework away. “In that case let’s go on to something else.” Harpsy took another bite and Tootsie glanced at him before taking out a piece of parchment. “I’ve been having some trouble in history, so why don’t we…” Tootsie looked back at Harpsy, who wasn’t doing anything other than eating his sandwich and watching them. “What? Why are you watching us?”

“I’m just eating lunch,” Harpsy said and motioned to the sandwich, “am I bugging you?”

“It’s just a little unnerving.”

“I’m fine with him sitting there,” Dinky said.

“W-what?!”

“Let me finish my sandwich and I’ll go do something else,” Harpsy said and took another bite of his sandwich.

“Well, alright,” Tootsie said and opened the parchment, “So, where were we here Dinky?”

An hour later, Tootsie and Dinky decided to stop studying and started just chatting away.

“No way!” Tootsie exclaimed.

“I swear, I heard Silver Spoon making out with somepony in the bathroom during lunch! It was one of the most surreal things I’ve ever heard.” Dinky said and the two shared a laugh.

“Feh, teenagers these days.” The two girls turned to Harpsy who was sitting in the corner tuning his lyre.

“What does that mean?” Tootsie asked. Harpsy inspected one troublesome string before answering.

“Teenagers these days have no sense of shame. When me and Bon-Bon were teenagers, we at least had the sense to wait till school was out and we were back home before we were all over each other.” One of the strings of his lyre snapped and Harpsy sighed, set it down, and walked to a cupboard. “Where did I put those replacement strings?” Tootsie stared in horror at her dad before she could even think of reacting.

“Why would you say something like that?!” she yelled at him, “I don’t want to know the details of my parent’s early love life, and especially around my friends!” Tootsie was taken off guard when Harpsy started laughing.

“I love being a parent. I can totally embarrass my kid and there’s not a thing they can do about it. Oh here are the strings.” Harpsy levitated some strings out of the cupboard and walked back to the lyre, with Tootsie staring at him in horror the whole way. When Harpsy sat down and started fiddling with his lyre Tootsie covered her face with her hooves.

“Um…do you want me to go home?” Dinky asked uncomfortably. Tootsie replied with a groan. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Harpsy, I’m home,” Bon-Bon called out when she entered her house. She was greeted by Tootsie walking up and nuzzling her. She also noticed Harpsy walking from his work corner.

“Hi Mom, how was your day?” Tootsie asked.

“It was alright, I got to sell all the candy I made today.”

“Hey Bon,” Harpsy said and gave Bon-Bon a quick kiss.

“Hi.” Bon-Bon slid her saddlebags off and noticed Dinky sitting near the table. “And hello to you Dinky, how are you?”

“I’m alright ma’am,” Dinky replied quietly. Bon-Bon laughed a little and moved to the couch to lie down.

“So, how have your days been?” Bon-Bon asked when she was comfortable.

“My day was alright, aside from some small annoyances,” Tootsie said and gave her father a look, with Harpsy only smiling at her.

“My day went fine ma’am,” Dinky said. Harpsy sat on the couch next to Bon-Bon who moved to rest her head against him.

“I’ve just been fixing my lyre in between watching those two.” Tootsie gave him a look again and Bon-Bon nodded.

“I hope you didn’t embarrass her too badly,” Bon-Bon said flatly. Harpsy noticed this and couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

“Of course I didn’t. Is something wrong Bon?” Bon-Bon fidgeted a little before answering.

“We’ll talk later.” Harpsy nodded and started stroking his wife’s mane. Dinky happened to look out the window and was shocked at the time.

“Oh no, I didn’t think I’d stay this late,” she said and hurriedly put her saddlebags on, “I gotta get back home. I’ll see you tomorrow Tootsie.”

“Ok, see you then,” Tootsie replied and waved at Dinky, who returned it and walked out the door. Tootsie stood up and stretched before turning to her parents. “I’m going to get started on dinner. Do you want anything in particular?”

“Not really dear, but I’ll be in there to help you after I’m done resting,” Bon-Bon said and snuggled up closer to her husband.

“Ok,” Tootsie said with a nod and walked into the kitchen. Harpsy looked down at Bon-Bon and started stroking her back.

“So, what’s on your mind?” Harpsy asked.

“Later.” Harpsy stopped his stroking and Bon-Bon looked up at his large grin.

“Being stubborn huh? Well I know how to fix that.” Bon-Bon’s eyes widened and she sat up.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t you da-“ Bon-Bon didn’t get to finish as Harpsy pounced on her and started tickling her. This was one of Bon-Bon’s greatest weaknesses and she was laughing loudly within seconds. “Ahahahaha, Harpsy sto-o-op it!” she said between laughs.

“Then tell me what’s bothering you!” Harpsy yelled and pressed harder with his assault.

“Later!” Bon-Bon managed to push Harpsy off so she could get away. Bon-Bon ran up the stairs with Harpsy not too far behind.

“You won’t get away for long!” he called. He saw Bon-Bon go into their bedroom and smiled. ‘Aha, the room’s a dead end! She’s mine now.’ Harpsy thought as he entered the room.

But it was a trap! The second Harpsy was in the room, the door closed and he quickly found himself pushed onto the bed with his wife looming over him. He stared up into Bon-Bon’s blue eyes, one of the many reasons he had fallen for her, and smiled at his predicament.

“Gotcha,” Bon-Bon whispered and lowered her head, her eyes closing along the way.

“Yep,” was all Harpsy said before meeting Bon-Bon’s lips. He wrapped his forelegs around Bon-Bon’s waist and pulled her down onto him. Bon-Bon yelped a little through the kiss at the sudden movement but that was quickly replaced by pleasurable groans. They broke the kiss after a minute and stared into each other's eyes while they caught their breaths.

“You know, that’s the third time this month that you’ve done this to me,” Harpsy said and rubbed his wife’s coat while chuckling. “I wonder when I’ll stop falling for that.”

“You never will, you love this too much,” Bon-Bon said and kissed Harpsy again. When they pulled away from this one, they both laughed softly.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Harpsy said and raised his head up. Bon-Bon leaned down expecting another kiss, but was pleasantly surprised when Harpsy instead moved past her mouth and placed a small nibble on her neck. She let out a small yelp and was rolled over onto her back. She looked into her husband’s yellow eyes and smiled.

“I love you,” Bon-Bon said.

“I love you too,” Harpsy replied and brought Bon-Bon into a deep kiss. Bon-Bon moaned into Harpsy’s mouth and tightened her hold on him. They always loved this part of the day.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Tootsie was going through the fridge and discovered something.

“Uh oh, we’re out of milk,” she whispered to herself and closed the door, “I better go get some more.” Tootsie walked out into the living room and looked around at the empty room. She had heard the commotion that happened here, but didn’t really think anything of it. She glanced over the stairs, but quickly stopped her mind from going any further.

‘I remember Berry Wheat’s parents saying Mom and Dad never quite left the ‘high school sweetheart’ stage of their relationship. I have to agree.’ Tootsie opened the front door when a rogue thought entered her mind.

“No, bad brain, I don’t want to know that!” she said and knocked the side of her head a couple times with a hoof before walking out.

When Tootsie got back home she found her Father on the couch working on his lyre and Bon-Bon poking her head out from the kitchen.

“Where did you go?” Bon-Bon asked. Tootsie motioned at the carton of milk floating next to her.

“We were almost out of milk, so I went to get some.” Tootsie walked into the kitchen and placed it in the fridge. With that done she walked to her Bon-Bon. “What are you making?”

“It’s just a daffodil and spinach casserole, I hope that will be alright.”

“Of course it will, let me help you,” Tootsie said and gave her mother a small nuzzle before walking to a counter. Minutes of silent preparation passed and when Bon-Bon put the nearly finished dish in the oven, she felt a weight on her back and hooves wrap around her neck.

“Hi hon,” Harpsy whispered into her ear sending shivers down her spine.

“Harpsy, I’m trying to cook dinner,” Bon-Bon said and tried half-heartedly to shake her husband off.

“I know,” Harpsy hugged Bon-Bon a little tighter and moved his face closer to her ears, “anything you need me to do?”

“Um, do you want me to leave for a moment?” Tootsie asked. Harpsy immediately let go of Bon-Bon and stepped away rubbing his neck.

“No, there’s no need for that,” Harpsy said. Tootsie shook her head and smiled at her parents.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m the adult here. Can you set the table Dad?” Harpsy nodded and went about his given task. With Harpsy busy, Tootsie walked next to a blushing Bon-Bon.

“You know Mom, it should be you and Dad embarrassing me when I’m close with somepony, not the other way around.”

“Oh hush,” Bon-Bon said and gave Tootsie a light nudge. Tootsie laughed and nuzzled her mom before going back to dinner preparations. The dinner turned out well and it was very cheery until they all retired for the night.

After school the next day Tootsie, Dinky, and Berry Brew were having lunch at a café and chatting about their day.

“Ugh, these school days are too long,” Berry lamented and stretched a little, “do you remember when school only lasted half a day and we could play all the time after that?”

“Yeah I do, it was only a few years ago. I can’t believe you’re actually nostalgic for something that recent,” Tootsie said and took a drink.

“It was really fun though, playing tag all day, crusading for our cutie marks. I felt kind of sad when I got mine, but I was glad when we still played,” Dinky added.

“That reminds me, I have to practice later. You can’t get better if you don’t practice.”

“Oh yeah, playing the flute is your special talent. Sometimes I forget that,” Berry said and chuckled a little. Tootsie looked back at her cutie mark, a silver flute with music notes floating next to it, and looked back at Berry.

“Yeah, it’s easy to forget. How are you doing on that front by the way?” Berry twirled a hoof in the air.

“Eh, it goes. I know mom’s glad my talent is wine and juice making like her, but you have to be very patient when it comes to that. Hopefully I’ll build it up.” Berry stood up and said, “I’ll be back in a second,” before walking away. When he was out of earshot Dinky leaned closer to Tootsie.

“You haven’t asked him out yet, have you?” she asked. Tootsie nearly spat her drink out but managed to keep it in the cup.

“W-what, no I haven’t. Where did that come from anyway?”

“I was just wondering, I mean you’ve been meaning to do it for a while now.” Tootsie stared into her drink as she thought of an answer.

“I know, I just haven’t gotten around to it. I mean, what would I say?”

“About what?” Tootsie and Dinky let out a shriek of surprise and looked at Harpsy who was sitting at the table and eating from a box of candy.

“Dad, what are you doing here?!” Tootsie exclaimed.

“I was walking home and saw you here, so I wanted to drop by and say hi. I also have some candy from Bon-Bon. Want one?” Harpsy held out the box to Tootsie and Dinky and Tootsie shrugged and took one.

“Why not, I love Mom’s candy,” she said and took a bite from the candy.

“Thank you,” Dinky said and took one as well. At this point Berry came back.

“Hey sorry I took so long,” Berry said and noticed Harpsy. “Oh hi Mr. Heartstrings, how are you doing?”

“I’m fine Berry, thanks for asking. Want a candy?” Harpsy held the box out to Berry who took one.

“Thank you,” Berry said and popped the candy into his mouth. He savored the flavor for a moment before turning to Tootsie. “Was this made by your mom?” he asked and tootsie nodded, “That’s what I thought, your mom makes the best candy.” The other’s nodded and Berry sat down.

“So what were you talking about earlier?” Harpsy asked Tootsie.

“Dad, that’s private!” Tootsie said with a light blush. Harpsy, with his superior Father instincts, managed to deduce what was going through her mind.

“Alright, we’ll talk about it later,” Harpsy said and popped a piece of candy into his mouth.

“NO, let’s never talk about it!”

“You know that really does suck,” Harpsy said inspecting a piece of candy.

“What?”

“I was at the store getting food for later when I saw a box of candy on a shelf.”

“What?”

“Why would anypony willingly pay twice as much for inferior candy when you can get Bon-Bon’s candy for half the price? What’s up with that?”

“Wh- what are you talking about?!”

“What’s the deal with candy prices?” Dinky said and nearly broke down laughing. Tootsie sighed into her hooves.

“Dad, don’t you have something to do besides embarrassing me?” she asked.

“Oh yeah, I do have a song to finish. I’ll see you at home Tootsie.” Harpsy gave one last wave and walked away. Tootsie sighed and looked at her friends.

“Why does it seem like I’m the only one of us with a parent that regularly embarrasses me?”

“Heh, if that’s what you think then you have to see Mom on Saturdays,” Berry said.

“I think embarrassing your kid is part of a parent’s job, although I’ve never had that problem,” Dinky added.

“Of course you haven’t, your mom is awesome. I’ve seen how she makes raisin muffins.”

“I just realized all our moms are really good at making some kind of food,” Tootsie said and twirled her hoof in the air, “Celestia help us if they decided to combine their powers to make some kind of muffin-candy-wine hybrid.”

“Mhmm,” Dinky hummed and nodded.

“Actually that sounds awesome,” Berry said and stood up, “let’s see if they’ll go for it!” Tootsie and Dinky stared at him for a moment before shrugging.

“Sure why not? I don’t have to do anything for a few hours anyway.” Tootsie said and stood up as well.

“I have to admit, I’m kind of curious too,” Dinky said and followed her friends.

Harpsy was lying on his couch plucking some strings on his lyre that was floating in front of him. This was how he usually wrote songs, just playing notes until he found some that sounded good and wrote them down. It’s worked so far for him, so why change it? Anyway, this is how Tootsie found him when she came home.

“…Dad.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you upside down?”

Yes, he was upside down on the couch, and no there was no clear reason for it.

“I don’t know.” Tootsie and Harpsy stared at each other for a few moments before Tootsie sighed and walked to the stairs.

“Well, good luck with that. I’ll be practicing in my room if you need me.”

“Alright.” Harpsy waited until the hoofsteps faded away before he started playing again. “Ooh, that’s a good one,” he murmured and jotted down the notes on the sheet next to him. Harpsy heard a soft flute melody drifting down from upstairs. He smiled and played a couple notes before a shrill note startled him and nearly caused him to drop his lyre.

“The heck was that?” He asked and after a few moments the flute started playing normally. Harpsy actually managed to get some notes written down before another shrill note called out. Harpsy sighed and set his lyre down, rolled off the couch, and walked upstairs to Tootsie’s room.

“Do you need help in here?” he asked peeking into the door and startled Tootsie.

“W-what?” Tootsie asked confused.

“I can hear you from downstairs. What’s wrong?” Harpsy walked into the room and Tootsie sighed.

“I was trying to play a song, but I underestimated how hard it is,” Tootsie explained and motioned to a set of sheet music. Harpsy picked them up magically and looked them over.

“Buck’s Little Fugue? Why do you want to try that?” Tootsie looked down at her flute and scratched at the bed.

“I thought it sounded pretty,” she said

“Heh, yeah it does, but you gotta be careful. Sometimes the nicest songs are the hardest. Hold on a second.” Harpsy set the sheet down and left the room. Tootsie watched the door for a moment and Harpsy came back in with his lyre. “If I remember right, this song is actually kind of difficult to do alone. Maybe it’ll help if I play with you?” Harpsy sat on the floor and smiled at Tootsie. Tootsie thought for a moment and proceeded to levitate the flute up.

“Sure, it couldn’t hurt. How should we do this?”

“You start playing and I’ll join after you. And Tootsie, just relax. That helps more than anything.” Tootsie nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself, looked at the sheet music, and started playing. Tootsie was a little surprised when she was doing better than she was before. After a moment Harpsy joined in with his lyre. Any bit of nervousness Tootsie felt faded away as she closed her eyes to let the music carry her.

It wasn’t just the song or the way the flute and lyre mixed together that really relaxed Tootsie. Hearing her father’s playing brought her back to when she was a filly.

Harpsy was just about to fall asleep when he heard crying coming from down the hall. Harpsy turned to his sleeping wife next to him and nudged her.

“Hey Bon,” he whispered to her. Bon-Bon fidgeted a little but didn’t wake up. Harpsy got out of bed as quietly as he could and walked down the hall to Tootsie’s room. He opened the door to find his daughter, barely four years old, crying on her bed. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” he asked and lit a candle to see. Tootsie sniffed and looked at Harpsy.

“I had a bad dream,” she said. She sniffed and let out a few sobs before Harpsy got down and pulled the filly into a hug.

“Shh, it’s ok Tootsie. It was just a dream,” he said. The hug did its job since Tootsie started to calm down and hugged him back. After a minute or so of hugging, Tootsie stopped crying and looked up at Harpsy.

“Can I sleep with you and Mommy?” she asked. Harpsy thought this over for a moment. Tootsie had been having these bad dreams for a few nights now, and while it was ok for her to sleep with her parents, both Harpsy and Bon-Bon were hoping the dreams would pass. Harpsy looked into Tootsie’s big eyes and nearly conceded defeat when a thought struck him.

“Well we could do that, but I think I have a better idea,” he said and let go of Tootsie to lower himself to her eye level. “Would it help you sleep better if I played a song for you?” Tootsie blinked a couple times and looked at her hooves.

“Um…”

“Let’s try it. If it doesn’t work then you can sleep with me and mommy. Does that sound good?” Tootsie stared for a moment longer before giving a small nod. “Ok, wait here for a moment.” Harpsy got up and left the room to get his lyre from downstairs. When he got back Tootsie was wiping some leftover tears from her eyes. Harpsy sat his lyre down against a toy chest and walked over to Tootsie. “Alright sweetie, I need you to lie down for this ok?” It took Tootsie a moment to comply with her father’s request. Harpsy’s horn glowed as the covers pulled themselves over Tootsie’s body and his lyre floated next to him.

“Close your eyes, it works better that way,” he said and Tootsie did as she was told. Tootsie was a little scared of what would happen, but that fear soon melted away when Harpsy started playing. The song wasn’t too complex, just a short and simple tune much like the lullaby’s her mother would sing to her. She heard her father’s voice humming along softly with the tune. Tootsie tried to stay awake, but the song melted away any form of resistance the filly could put up. It encased her in its sweetness and in a few short minutes, Tootsie was fast asleep. Harpsy continued to play for a minute longer before he stopped and walked quietly out of the room, blowing the candle out along the way. He closed the door softly and quietly made his way back to his room and set the lyre down on a dresser. He turned back to the bed to find Bon-Bon looking at him with a smile.

“I heard your song,” she said and patted the bed next to her, which Harpsy promptly got on, “It was nice.”

“Heh, thanks Bon,” Harpsy said. Bon-Bon leaned closer and kissed Harpsy on the cheek, smiling at her husband’s blush.

“And you were worried you wouldn’t be a good father.” Harpsy laughed a little and hugged Bon-Bon closely to him.

“Yeah, I guess it is kinda silly.”

The way Tootsie remembered it, she never really had any bad dreams after that, and if she did Harpsy would play a song and put her right to sleep. Her mind returned to the present as she and Harpsy finished the song.

“See, once you relax a little it’s really easy,” Harpsy said with a chuckle. He then looked at Tootsie with some concern. “Hey Tootsie, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, of course I am. Why?” Harpsy pointed at Tootsie’s face.

“You’re crying.” Tootsie raised a hoof to her eyes and it came back wet. Tootsie blinked a couple times in surprise and wiped the rest of the tears away.

“Heh, what’s wrong with me?” she asked and laughed a little. Harpsy set his lyre down and sat next to Tootsie on the bed.

“Is something wrong Tootsie? You know you can tell me anything,” Harpsy said. Tootsie set her flute down and hugged Harpsy, much to his surprise.

“You know, despite all my complaining about you embarrassing me, I still love you. I hope you know that,” Tootsie said and nuzzled against Harpsy.

“Of course I do sweetie,” Harpsy said and nuzzled Tootsie, “And I do know what it’s like to have an embarrassing parent.” Tootsie pulled away with a confused look.

“Huh?”

“Oh yeah, you should have seen my dad when I was a teenager. He’s kind of chilled now, but you should have seen him back then.” Tootsie laughed at that and Harpsy joined in. After a moment Tootsie calmed down and looked at Harpsy.

“I find it hard to believe grandpa would act anything like you back then.”

“I never said he acted like me,” Harpsy said with a laugh.

“That’s actually kind of scary that there would be somepony that could embarrass you.” Harpsy chuckled at that. He glanced off to the side and something caught his eye.

“Hey what’s this?” Harpsy asked and levitated a green doll over to him. Tootsie’s eyes widened as she recognized the doll, the color having faded a little over the years and with some noticeable stitches. “You still have this? I thought you got rid of it years ago.”

“Can I see that?” she asked and Harpsy released the doll so Tootsie could take it. Tootsie looked the doll over and smiled a little. “Why would I get rid of this?”

Tootsie slowly stirred to consciousness and opened her eyes. Usually when she did she would find either an empty room, her mother coming to wake her up, or her father smiling widely at her. Today it was the third one.

“Good morning sweetie, how are you today?” he asked. Tootsie answered by reaching out and touching Harpsy’s snout with a hoof.

“Honk!”

“Oh no you didn’t!” Harpsy said and started tickling Tootsie who tried desperately to fight off her father while laughing. Eventually Harpsy stopped tickling her and smiled again. “Do you know what day it is Tootsie?” Tootsie shook her head while still laughing a little. “It’s your birthday today! You’re turning five today!”

“Wow. Does that mean I can have a Pinkie party?” she asked with her eyes shining with joy.

“Of course, but not right now, Mommy is making breakfast downstairs so we gotta eat first.” Harpsy lowered to the floor and looked at Tootsie. “You want a ride down?”

“Yay!” Tootsie jumped onto Harpsy’s back and the two walked downstairs and into the kitchen. “Hi Mommy!” she called and waved at Bon-Bon who had just set a plate of pancakes on the table.

“Good morning Tootsie, how are you feeling today?” Bon-Bon asked as Harpsy lowered himself down so Tootsie could get off and bounce toward her mother.

“I’m great! Daddy says I’m turning five today,” Tootsie said and tried her best to look at the pancakes, “Are those for me?”

“Well, they’re for all of us, but you can have as many as you want since it’s your birthday today,” Bon-Bon said.

“Yay, I want two please!” Tootsie said and bounced over to a chair, where she managed to get up on it all by herself. Bon-Bon scooted the chair forward and Harpsy set about preparing Tootsie’s breakfast. The three of them were soon enjoying the delicious pancakes. Tootsie swallowed a mouthful of pancake and looked at her mother.

“Mommy, when I’m done eating can we get a present?” she asked. Bon-Bon rubbed her chin and pretended to be in deep thought.

“Well, I don’t know…”

“Oh please mommy, can we go?” Harpsy said in his best childish voice and gave Bon-Bon a puppy dog look. Tootsie looked at her father for a minute before doing the same. Bon-Bon managed to withstand this assault for a few seconds before breaking into a small laughter.

“Alright alright, we can go.”

“Yay!” Tootsie exclaimed.

“But you have to finish as much of your breakfast as you can, ok?” Tootsie nodded and set about eating her breakfast with a renewed determination. “And that goes for you too,” Bon-Bon said to Harpsy.

“Hey I was gonna,” Harpsy said and took a bit of his pancakes. Bon-Bon smiled and shook her head a little. A few minutes of quiet eating passed and Tootsie pushed her empty plate forward.

“I’m done,” she said smiling. Bon-Bon examined the plate and nodded.

“Alright, go get your saddlebag ready. We’ll leave when we’re done eating.” Tootsie nodded and carefully got off the chair and trotted out of the kitchen. Harpsy finished his meal next and used his magic to stack the two empty plates on each other.

“I’ll take care of the dishes, ok Bon?” Bon-Bon nodded and finished the last of her pancakes. Harpsy took that plate as well and took the stack to the sink while Bon-Bon left to find Tootsie. She found her in the living room setting her saddlebags next to her parent’s bags. Tootsie saw her mother and bounced over to her.

“Mommy, can Dinky come to my party?” she asked.

“Of course she can, your party wouldn’t be complete without her.” Tootsie squealed in joy and bounced around her mother. Harpsy walked in during Tootsie’s third trip.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said. The three put their saddlebags on (Tootsie with a little help from her parents) and walked outside. It was a sunny day outside with some groupings of clouds here and there. Tootsie made sure to say between her parents as they walked toward the toy store. When they reached it and walked inside, Tootsie looked around excitedly and looked up for her parent’s permission. When it was given she wasted no time in looking through the selection with Harpsy taking care to stay near her.

“Hi!” Bon-Bon jumped at the sudden voice and turned to find Pinkie Pie standing there.

“Oh Pinkie, you spooked me a little. How are you?” Bon-Bon asked.

“Oh I’m doing super because I know today is a very special day for a certain special filly! I also know your birthday is in one month and seven days, Harpsy’s is in three months twenty seven days, and your birthday was last week,” Pinkie said pointing to the mare behind the counter, “I’m so sorry I missed it. Here, have a birthday cupcake.” Pinkie placed a cupcake on the counter and the mare took it with a smile.

“Thank you Pinkie,” she said.

“Aw, you’re welcome.” Pinkie turned back to Bon-Bon, “So is the party going to be at your house or Sugarcube Corner? Oh, maybe it’ll be at the park, I haven’t had a party there in ages! Oh, maybe we can have it at-“

“Pinkie!” Pinkie stopped talking and tilted her head at Bon-Bon. “We were thinking Sugarcube Corner at around 3 or 4. Would that be alright?”

“Of course it will! Any special requests you can think of?” Bon-Bon scratched her head for a moment.

“We were going to invite Ditzy and her daughters, so maybe you could have some muffins ready for them?”

“Silly Bon-Bon, I was going to invite them anyway, but thanks for reminding me. Welp, I better go get started, I’ll see you this afternoon.” Pinkie trotted out the door with a wave at Bon-Bon.

“She’s such a nice mare,” Bon-Bon said aloud.

“Can I have any one of these Daddy?” Bon-Bon turned to see Tootsie and Harpsy standing next to some dolls and walked over to them.

“Yep, you can have any one you see, but you can only have one ok?” Tootsie nodded at her father’s question and stared hard at the selection of dolls. After a few moments of searching, she perked up and started bouncing.

“Oh oh, I want that one!” she said pointing at a pile of seapony dolls. Harpsy walked over to them and looked at Tootsie.

“Which one?”

“The green one!” Harpsy looked at the pile and levitated a green doll up.

“This one?” Tootsie nodded and pointed at it.

“Mhmm, I know he’s the right one because he looks like you.” Harpsy looked at the doll and smiled.

“My, she’s right. He’s such a handsome seapony,” Bon-Bon said and giggled. Harpsy blushed at his wife’s comment and looked at Tootsie.

“Alright, let’s go pay for him and you can have him.” Tootsie could hardly contain her excitement as her parents payed for the doll. When she finally got her little hooves on it she hugged it tightly before setting it carefully in her saddlebag.

“Come on Tootsie, let’s go play in the park until your party starts,” Bon-Bon said and held the door open for the filly and her husband. On his way out Harpsy planted a small kiss on her cheek. Bon-Bon smiled at him and they made their way to a fun day at the park.

Tootsie looked up from the doll and at Harpsy, feeling tears coming back to her eyes again.

“It looks just like you.” Harpsy sat stunned, finding he had nothing to say. Tootsie sat the doll down and hugged Harpsy, who felt some tears starting to gather in his eyes as he hugged her back. “I love you Dad,” she said and some tears finally spilled out.

“I love you too sweetie,” Harpsy said and stroked Tootsie’s mane. They must have sat like that for a few minutes, a half hour, or a whole hour. It didn’t matter to them. After a while they heard the door open downstairs.

“I’m home,” Bon-Bon called out. Harpsy and Tootsie reluctantly broke the hug and wiped away the tears.

“Come on, let’s go see her,” Harpsy said and hopped off the bed. Tootsie nodded and followed her father downstairs where Bon-Bon was waiting. Bon-Bon tilted her head a little at the sight of them.

“Did I miss something? You two look like you’ve been crying.”

“Oh um, we were just reminiscing,” Tootsie said.

“Oh? Well I hope you’re willing to share later.” Bon-Bon’s smile dropped and she dug through her bags until she pulled out a piece of paper. “Tootsie, can you go get dinner started? I need to talk with your father for a moment…alone.”

“Um, sure,” Tootsie said, grabbed the paper with her magic, and walked into the kitchen. When Tootsie was out of the room, Harpsy looked at Bon-Bon concerned.

“What’s wrong Bon?” he asked. Bon-Bon stared at the floor for a moment before looking up into her husband’s eyes.

“Well…”

Tootsie was worried about her parents. Whatever it was that her mom said it killed any conversation that could have happened. Right now the three of them were sitting at the table eating a salad dinner Tootsie had prepared. Well, ‘eating’ wouldn’t be the proper term since Harpsy was just staring at it while Bon-Bon was just playing with it. Tootsie swallowed the bit of salad she had managed to eat before speaking up.

“Are you two fighting?” The question was enough to knock her parents out of their stupor and looked worriedly at Tootsie.

“What, no we’re not fighting,” Harpsy said and looked at Bon-Bon. “It’s just…” Harpsy trailed away at his wife’s look.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to tell me,” Tootsie said and levitated a forkful of salad up.

“I went to the hospital today.” The fork stopped midair and Tootsie looked at her mother. She couldn’t see her eyes since her twin colored mane was blocking it.

“Huh?” Tootsie said and set the fork down.

“I haven’t been feeling too well lately, so I went to the hospital a couple days ago.” Tootsie felt a pit grow in her stomach and hoped this didn’t mean what she thought it did. “The doctor told me to come in today for more tests, so I did and…” Bon-Bon paused for a moment and started breathing heavily. Tootsie realized she was crying when tears came down Bon-Bon’s face.

‘Oh no, it is,’ she thought and felt her own tears start to form, ‘please don’t tell me it’s something serious.’

“What did he say?” she asked. Bon-Bon took a couple breaths and mumbled something. “What was that?” Tootsie asked leaning closer. Bon-Bon looked up at Tootsie and spoke louder.

“I think I’m pregnant.” Tootsie’s eyes widened and she could have sworn her heart stopped.

“W-what?”

“I’m not entirely sure and there are still some more tests that need to be done, but right now it seems very likely.” Bon-Bon smiled as more tears fell down her face. “You’re going to be a big sister Tootsie.” Tootsie’s reaction was to sit there for a moment before quickly getting up and hugging her mom tightly.

“I thought you were sick or something and I was going to lose you!” Tootsie buried her face into Bon-Bon’s neck and felt the tears come out, “Compared to that, this is the greatest news I’ve ever heard.” Bon-Bon returned the hug and stroked Tootsie’s back and then they felt Harpsy hug them both.

“Yeah, it is,” he said and closed his eyes. “I’m going to be a daddy again.” The three of them spent the rest of dinner like that, silently taking in this good news.

Sometimes, there just aren’t any words that need to be said.

>Drone shutdown initiated<

>Running diagnostics<

>…<

>Diagnostics complete<

>Opening test channel<

Harpsy finished brushing his teeth and, with one last check, exited the bathroom and made his way back to bed where Bon-Bon was waiting for him.

“Sorry I took so long,” he said as he got into bed and hugged his wife, “How you feeling?”

“Well, all things considered, I’m feeling alright,” she answered and rubbed her swollen stomach, “I’m just a little uncomfortable.”

“Well, look on the bright side. It’ll be over soon enough.” Harpsy ran a hoof down Bon-Bon’s chest and over her stomach. He kept it there for a moment and felt the baby- his baby- kick.

“Ah, she’s getting really active,” Bon-Bon said. Harpsy moved his hoof back up and Bon-Bon turned to look at her husband. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m just really scared Bon,” he said and let his fear show, “I mean, how do I know if I’ll be a good father?” Bon-Bon rolled so she was facing Harpsy proper.

“Are you asking whether or not you, a simple lyre player, will be a good father to your first foal?” Harpsy looked away from his wife, but Bon-Bon turned his face back toward her. She smiled at him before drawing him into a kiss, which he gladly returned and pulled Bon-Bon in as close as her belly would allow. When they broke the kiss, Bon-Bon stroked the side of Harpsy’s face. “The answer is yes, I think you’ll be a great father.”

“…Even with all of my little habits?” he asked.

“Yes, even then. They’re a part of who you are, and you are the pony that I married.” Harpsy smiled and kissed Bon-Bon again.

“Thanks Bon,” he said and they both settled into a peaceful sleep in each other’s arms.

>Observation suspended<

I'll admit, I got a little teary eyed writing the end parts. Let's see if it translated well.
Next time, I need to hire a caterer for better planing.

SpitLight

>Observation request granted<

>Probe launched<

>…<

>Feed established. Opening observation channel<

She planted her hooves on the cloud and lowered herself into a ready position, the same way she’s always done. The world around her was tinted from her goggles. Soarin, her second in command, took his place to her right and another Wonderbolt stopped on her left. Soarin turned toward her, his eyes blocked by the same goggles she wore.

“You ready for this Cap’?” he asked. She gave one laugh and scrapped at the cloud.

“Always,” she replied and grinned at him. He returned the grin as the announcer started speaking.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, thank you for coming today. It’s a lovely day here in Ponyville, with hardly a cloud in the sky. I say it would be a perfect day for a picnic or maybe-“ Soarin made a ‘hurry up’ gesture. She had to agree, this announcer had a bad habit of rambling. “Oh sorry, you don’t want to hear me go on about nothing. Let’s get on to what you’re here for! Here they are, the Wonderbolts!”

“Showtime,” Spitfire said and took off, the Wonderbolt lineup for this show taking off at the same time. Just another show for the flyers.

It was as much a surprise to the Wonderbolts that they were performing at Ponyville as it was for their fans. Of course when their number one fan Rainbow Dash found out about that she, to steal a phrase, ‘flipped the *yay* out’. I could go into details about that, but I’m sure you can guess how it went. Anyway, when the day arrived Dash had to bring her friends along to the show. You can also guess how this went.

“Oh my gosh, did you see that? I didn’t know Fleetfoot had perfected that trick already. That is so wicked!” It took pretty much all of Dash’s willpower in order to keep from doing tricks out of pure excitement. Her friend Berry Bubble fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you were) had no such inhibitions.

“Woo, do that flippy thing you do!” he called out to the flyers before sticking his face into the tub of popcorn he had. Rarity flinched away from the popcorn that was flying.

“Berry dear, can you please be more careful?” she asked. He looked up from his tub of popcorn, some of which was hanging from his mouth, and looked at Rarity curiously. “Uh, nevermind.”

“Yer really into this, aren’t ya Dusk?” Applejack asked. Dusk Shine had been watching the show quietly the whole time.

“Of course I am,” Dusk said, “it’s not every day you get to see a show like this.” Applejack chuckled a little and turned back to the show.

“Oh oh oh, I think they’re doing something big!” Berry said and pointed at the twirling Wonderbolts.

“They’re going to do it, aren’t they?!” Rainbow said, barely containing her excitement. The flyers started to spin around so much that the smoke trailing behind them started to form one giant smoke column. When they reached a certain height, the Wonderbolts spun for a few seconds before they launched outwards in a flurry of fireworks. The crowd silently watched the display for a moment before erupting into a deafening cheer. The Wonderbolts did one last flyby over the crowd, saluting along the way, and then flew away from the stadium. When the cheering died down and the crowd started to disperse, the six friends left and made their way through town.

“So, wasn’t that awesome?” Rainbow asked the group.

“Of course it was, Dash,” Applejack said, “but it’s also that we’re not as big a Wonderbolt fan as you.”

“Well of course you aren’t, I am their biggest fan after all.” Rainbow then took off to do a few backflips. “I have to tell you, I’m really pumped right now. I gotta do some tricks to get this energy out. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Wait!” Berry called, which stopped Rainbow from flying away.

“What?” Dash asked. Everyone could see the gears turning in Berry’s head.

“Pumped… pumps are used for pumping. And pumping rhymes with strutting.” Berry seemed to vibrate a little from thinking. “Oh, I just got a great idea for a party!” Berry said with an energetic bounce.

“Really, how so?” Rarity asked.

“I can’t talk, I gotta get on this right now. Come by Sugarcube Corner at seven, hopefully I’ll have it done by then.”

“Well, now you’ve got me curious,” Dash said. “Sure, I’ll stop by.”

“And that goes for the rest of us too,” Applejack said.

“Great, see you then. I hope they haven’t left yet.” Berry then bounced away with his usual cheery demeanor. When he disappeared around a building, Applejack tapped Dusk on the shoulder.

“What do ya think he has in mind?” Dusk just smiled and shook his head.

“We’ll just have to see, I’ll see you then.” Dusk waved at his friends and set off toward the library.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully and soon the time for Berry’s party rolled around. Dusk had met Rarity and Applejack on the way and the three made their way to Sugarcube Corner. There the party had started picking up, several ponies milling around chatting and eating their fill on the variety of snacks. The trio worked their way over to Rainbow Dash, who was just chilling in the corner.

“There are certainly a lot of ponies here,” Dusk commented looking around the room, “but it doesn’t look any different than his last party. What’s the theme this time?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since I got here,” Rainbow answered. “I’ve tried to get an answer out of Berry, but whatever he’s got planned is apparently top secret. I wonder what it is.”

“I don’t know,” Berry said appearing from nowhere next to Rainbow Dash, who jumped in surprise.

“What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?” Rainbow asked when she regained her composure.

“Well, that idea I told you about is still on hold until they show up, but I don’t want to get anypony’s hopes up until they do.”

“What do you mean ‘they’?”

“You’ll see if they show up.” Rarity looked around the room for a moment.

“Where’s Fluttershy?” she asked.

“She said she couldn’t come because of ‘something personal’. I’m a little sad at that, but I’m sure it’s important.”

“Alright, ah guess all we can do is enjoy the party until your surprise comes along,” Applejack said and moved over to the snack table. Rarity nodded in agreement and walked off somewhere. Rainbow was about to interrogate Berry again only find he had disappeared again.

“How does he do that Dusk?” Dash asked and turned to Dusk, only to find that he had disappeared too. She looked around for a moment before giving up, “Screw it, I’m going to get some punch.”

“So, is this the right place?” Soarin asked as he, Spitfire, and the rest of the Wonderbolts stood in front of a giant cupcake building.

“There aren’t that many bakeries in this town, so odds are this is the right place,” one of the Wonderbolts in the back said. Spitfire walked up to the door, pretty much ignoring her teammates banter, and knocked on the door. A few moments passed before the top half of the door opened and a pink colt poked his head out.

“You came!” he said and gave a huge grin.

“Of course, why wouldn’t we come?” Spitfire asked and motioned for her team to move up.

“Celebrity entitlement.”

“What?”

“Oh nothing, come on in. The party is just getting started.” Berry pulled his head inside and opened the door for the team to enter. The party was going pretty well right up to when the team walked in, wherein everyone stopped and looked at the flyers.

‘Oh no, I can see where this is going. A whole lot of hassle and pictures,’ Spitfire thought and braced herself for what would surely come. Strangely for them, they weren’t swarmed immediately and the only sound in the room was Berry bouncing.

“See, I told you my idea would be super,” Berry said to the crowd. After a moment, Rainbow Dash pushed through the crowd to Berry.

“Your idea was to invite the Wonderbolts? How did you manage that?” she asked.

“Well, I found where they were staying and I was like ‘hey, I’m gonna have a party later. There’s gonna be food and drinks and everything, you wanna come?’ and they were like ‘Sure.” When Berry finished Rainbow stared at him confusedly.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” A few more moments of silence Rainbow put a hoof on Berry’s shoulder.

“Berry, I could kiss you on the mouth.”

“No you wouldn’t Rainbow, you’re not into that stuff remember?” The party guests started to return to what they were doing and Spitfire turned to the other Wonderbolts.

“Alright guys, you know the drill for these things. I want everyone back at the hotel no later than 11, but until then enjoy yourselves. Understood?” The Wonderbolts gave a salute to show they understood.

“Ja ho, your helmet,” Soarin said in addition to the salute. Spitfire gave him a look and shook her head.

“Just be back by 11, and have fun.” Spitfire then made her way through the crowd and the rest of the Wonderbolts doing the same. Spitfire made her way to the snack table, making sure to keep an eye on her teammates, and looked over the spread of confections.

“Wicket party huh?” Spitfire turned to find a white unicorn with a blue mane and purple goggles over her eyes. Spitfire was sure she saw the mare somewhere before.

“Vinyl Scratch?” Spitfire asked.

“The one and only baby,” Vinyl said with a chuckle and levitated a cupcake off the table, “I’m a little surprised you know about me.”

“Soarin is a bit of a fan, so I didn’t really have much of a choice.” Vinyl shrugged and bit into the cupcake. Here Spitfire noticed that Vinyl’s front right leg was in a cast and hanging from a sling. “Did something happen to your leg?” she asked. Vinyl looked down at her leg and swallowed her mouthful of cupcake.

“Yeah, I kinda broke it a while ago,” Vinyl said plainly and Spitfire felt a small chill run through her at that.

“Are you going to be ok? Breaking a leg is kind of serious.”

“I’ll be fine, we’re not living in the 500s you know. I just have to keep off it and go to the hospital every week and it’ll be good as new.”

“Are you sure?”

“If it makes you feel better I’m not here alone here.” That actually did make Spitfire feel a little better so she turned back to the table.

Meanwhile down the table, Soarin looked up and down the table but couldn’t find what he was looking for. He sighed and turned to get some punch when he heard someone clear their throat.

“Are ya looking fer this?” Soarin looked at the table to find a fresh apple pie in front of him. Soarin stared at the pie, only barely hearing the voice. “I was wondering why Berry wanted all those pies. Try to leave some for the others ok?”

“Thank you, I love you,” Soarin said as he grabbed the pie.

“Heh, I appreciate the sentiment handsome.” Soarin snapped out of his little haze at that and looked around, managing to catch a glimpse of a cowpony tipping a hat at him.

“Could that have… ah whatever,” Soarin whispered and started digging in to the pie.

Dusk was over by the punch bowl casually sipping some punch. He didn’t even really flinch when Berry suddenly popped up in front of him.

“Hey Dusk, are you enjoying the party?” Berry asked. Dusk took another drink before answering.

“Yeah, I’m having fun Berry. I’m feeling a little light headed from this punch, but it’s so good I can’t stop drinking it.” Dusk took another drink to illustrate his point. Berry looked at the cup with a concerned look.

“Uh Dusk, where did you get that?”

“The punch bowl over there,” Dusk pointed over to the counter of the store.

“Um Dusk, that’s the hard punch.”

“Pffft hahahaha, hard. That’s really funny Berry. Hahaha, I need more punch.” Dusk proceeded to walk to the counter with Berry watching him with squinted eyes.

“He’s not driving home tonight,” he said seriously. “Wait, we don’t drive, we either walk or fly. In that case, he’s not flying home tonight.” Berry nodded and was about to get some sweets when he felt somepony enter the bakery. “A new guest,” he whispered and leaped into the crowd.

“Ugh, where is she?” A gray earth pony stallion asked himself as he looked around the crowded room. He proceeded to take exactly one step into the party when his vision was filled with pink party pony.

“Hi Octavio!” Berry said excitedly and startled Octavio.

“Oh, hi Berry, how are you doing?”

“Oh I’m doing absolutely super! I mean look at this party, have you seen it? There are cupcakes and muffins and strudel and two different kinds of punch, hard and soft, and that was before our special guests showed up!” Berry then grabbed Octavio’s shoulders and started shaking him, “And now that you’re here, this may be one of my best parties EVER!” He stopped shaking Octavio and put a hoof to his chin, “I’m really looking forward to finding a way to one up this party.” Octavio cleared his throat once his mind settled from the shaking and smoothed his mane.

“That’s nice Berry. I don’t suppose you know if Vinyl is here, do you?” Berry nodded with a wide smile.

“Yep.” Octavio stared at him for a few seconds and raised an eyebrow.

“So, where is she?”

“Give me two seconds.” Berry then jumped into the crowd and, after a few moments, jumped up from the floor in front of Octavio. “She’s over by the snack table chatting with Spitfire.” Octavio nodded his thanks and walked through the crowd. It took some searching before he spotted the familiar blue mane and walked toward it. When he got close enough he managed to hear the last part of the conversation.

“…So many hamsters, you have no idea,” Vinyl said waving her good foreleg for effect.

“Where did you find all of them?” Spitfire asked.

“I wish I knew.” Vinyl glanced over and spotted Octavio approaching and waved at him. “Octy, you made it!” Octavio couldn’t help but sigh.

“Vinyl you know how much I hate that nickname,” he said and shook his head. Vinyl slung her good foreleg around his neck and pulled him closer.

“Oh lighten up, this is supposed to be a party. Get a cupcake, get some punch, just have fun!” Octavio shrugged the DJ off him and looked at her leg.

“Is that alright? You haven’t strained it have you?” Octavio didn’t see it, but he knew Vinyl rolled her eyes at the question.

“No I haven’t, it’s fine.” Octavio sighed once again.

“Sometimes I worry about you.” Octavio turned to Spitfire and cleared his throat, “I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself have I? I’m Octavio,” he said and held a hoof out, which Spitfire shook.

“Spitfire. You’re that cello player, aren’t you?” Octavio nodded and Spitfire tilted her head. “Huh, what brings somepony like you out here?”

“I have to watch her,” he said and motioned to Vinyl who was halfway to biting a cupcake, “I leave her alone for too long and she does something stupid like break her leg.”

“Hey it’s just a fracture,” Vinyl said offended, “and it was accident, you couldn’t have stopped it if you were there anyway.”

“You can never be sure Vinyl.” Spitfire stepped back a little since she was sure she could see sparks shooting between their eyes. Thankfully it didn’t last long and Octavio looked back at Spitfire. “Anyway, I hope she hasn’t caused you too much trouble.” Spitfire smiled and shook her head.

“Nah, she’s a little talky but I’ve dealt with worse. Do you have to deal with her regularly?”

“You have no idea,” Octavio said with a role of his eyes. Vinyl snickered a little which caused Octavio’s eyes to widen and glare at the unicorn. “What did you tell her?”

“Nothing,” Vinyl answered and took a bite of cupcake. Octavio sighed and looked at a confused Spitfire.

“Look, whatever she said about me is not true ok? She can be a bit of a prankster.”

“She didn’t mention anything about you. We were just making small talk is all. It’s not like I assumed you two were dating or anything,” Spitfire said and picked up a cup of punch with her mouth.

“Good, because we aren’t. Sometimes I think the truth is much worse than that.” Spitfire tilted her head a little.

“Oh?” she managed to get through the cup and took a drink.

“Yeah, she’s my sister.” Spitfire nearly spat her drink out, but managed to catch it in the cup and set it down on the table.

“Huh?”

“Oh it gets better,” Vinyl said and leaned on Octavio, “We’re twins!” To Spitfire’s credit, she managed to keep her mind going for a few seconds before it had to shut down.

“Wha, how, bu-…huh?” she stuttered out before staring at them in confusion.

“You know, I love the look on ponies faces when I tell them that,” Vinyl said and motioned to Spitfire’s face, “That is the look of a pony who had their mind blown.”

“I wish you would stop blurting that out like that Vinyl. Somepony might not come back from that,” Octavio said.

“Oh come on,” Vinyl said and leaned against her brother, “it hasn’t happened yet.” Here Spitfire’s brain turned back on and she shook her head a little.

“You’re twins?” she asked.

“Yes, it is kind of hard to believe isn’t it?” Octavio said and nudged Vinyl away from him.

“I just wish I could remember the look on Dad’s face when he found out. I’ve been led to believe it was a sight to behold.” Vinyl said and laughed. The laughter didn’t last long when she looked at her turntable and immediately scowled. “Oh son of a-“ she said and hopped onto Octavio’s back, “HEY GET OFF MY BABY BEFORE I KICK YOUR FLANK!”

“Vinyl you’re really heavy!” Octavio complained. Spitfire turned to see what was going on and found none other than Dusk Shine on the turntable, a cup floating next to him.

“Hey, where’s the DJ? There’s hardly anypony dancing here!” he said and took a drink from the cup.

“OH I’M COMING, YOU BETTER GET READY!” she yelled and hopped off Octavio. Octavio quickly bit down on Vinyl’s tail in a vain attempt to stop her.

“Vinyl no, you’ll hurt your leg more!” he said through the tail. Thankfully Dusk headed Vinyl’s earlier warning, in that he tipped off the turntable and landed flat on his back. It only took a second for the crowd to gather around him before Vinyl, Octavio, and Spitfire pushed their way to the front.

“Hey, you ok?” Vinyl asked nudging Dusk with a hoof. Dusk nodded with a small ‘mhmm.’ Berry popped up next to them and looked at his friend concerned.

“Dusk, are you ok? How much have you had?” he asked.

“I dunno, but I’m really comfy right now,” Dusk said and snuggled into the floor a bit.

“What a lightweight,” Vinyl commented and was immediately reprimanded by Octavio.

“You don’t look too well Dusk. I think you should go home,” Berry said and reached a hoof out to help Dusk up. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“Is it very far?” Spitfire asked.

“Well no, the library he lives in is only a short walk away,” Berry answered.

“Well if that’s the case I can drop him off there and be back in a flash.” Berry gave Spitfire a confused look and shook his head.

“That’s alright, I wouldn’t want you to miss your pa-“

“I insist,” Spitfire said and stared at Berry very hard. I guess you could call this stare a less potent version of Fluttershy’s stare: it wasn’t enough to paralyze, but definitely enough to unnerve anypony caught in it, even Berry Bubble.

“W-well, ok. The library is in a large tree, you can’t miss it,” Berry said and took a step back.

“Thanks, I promise I won’t be long,” Spitfire said with a smile and nudged Dusk to the door. “Alright, let’s get you home.”

“Thank you very much Rainbow Dash,” Dusk mumbled.

“Heh, guess again,” Spitfire said as they walked out the door. It took a few seconds before the party slowly resumed.

“Well, that was weird wasn’t it?” Octavio said and turned to Vinyl, “…Vinyl, what are you doing?”

“Aw, my poor widdle baby, did the big mean stallion hurt you?” Vinyl said and did her best to cuddle the large piece of machinery.

“Vinyl, I’m worried about you. You need a coltfriend,” Octavio said plainly.

“Oh hush.”

Meanwhile in another part of the bakery, Rainbow Dash could barely contain a fangirl squeal as she hovered over Soarin and Applejack.

“Oh my gosh, did you see that? She didn’t even think twice about helping Dusk out!” she said as a tiny squeal got past her.

“Yeah, that’s Spitfire for you. I keep trying to tell her that her need to help others might get her into trouble, but she never listens to me,” Soarin said and looked uncomfortably to Applejack. “Uh, you’re kind of in my personal space.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Oh wow, that punch was really good. I’m going to have to ask Berry for the recipe,” Dusk said as he stumbled through the streets. Spitfire was taking all this in stride since she had been in this position, escorting an inebriated pony home, several times before with either one of her teammates or a fan that had a little too much. After about a minute of walking, Spitfire saw a large tree coming up to them with several windows in it.

“Is that your house?” she asked. Dusk stared at the tree for a moment before nodding.

“Yep, that’s my house,” Dusk said and nearly tipped over, only to be stopped by Spitfire. The two made their way to the front door and Dusk looked at Spitfire and patted at his coat. “H-how much do I owe you?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Spitfire said shaking her head, “I just wanted to help.”

“Y…you’re a really nice mare.” Dusk blinked a couple times and stared at Spitfire. “Are you a Wonderbolt?”

“Um, yes.”

“Well that explains it. Dashie is always talks about how nice you all are, taking time out after every show to talk with your fans. I guess that is one of the reasons she looks up to you so much.”

“Yeah,” Spitfire said quietly and frowned a little, but shook the feeling away and smiled, “Anyway, don’t stay up too late. If you drank as much as I think you did you’re going to have a terrible morning tomorrow.”

“You know that reminds me, I think I have a bottle of wine somewhere in here. You look like a pony who likes wine.” Spitfire laughed nervously and stepped back.

“That’s ok, I don’t drink,” she said.

“Ah, you can have one little drink. It’s not going to hurt anything and you have to have fun every once in a while.” Spitfire stared at Dusk and thought it over for a moment before sighing.

“Oh fine, one glass won’t hurt,” she said and walked to Dusk as he opened the door.

“You know, Dashie’s going to be so jealous when she finds out I hung out with you,” Dusk said and laughed a little and closed the door.

Soarin made his way through the party, occasionally stopping to wave and shake hooves with some of the party goers, before he finally got to where some of his teammates were.

“Hey, do any of you know where Spitfire is?” Soarin asked, “It’s been a while since she left.” They shook their heads and one of them, Fleet Foot, spoke up.

“I haven’t seen her since she left. I’m sure she’ll be fine though,” she said. Soarin thought for a moment and shrugged.

“Yeah you’re right. She didn’t get to be captain by good looks alone. Well I’m going to turn in for the night, don’t stay up too late ok?” The Wonderbolts nodded and Soarin walked out of the bakery after explaining what he was doing to Berry. He had made it out to the streets and a way away from the bakery when he heard somepony call behind him.

“Ya’ll are leaving already?” Soarin turned to find Applejack trotting up to him.

“Yeah, I’ve got a bit of a big day tomorrow. We all have to practice after every show to keep up our skills,” Soarin explained.

“Ah, so you’re going to be here for another day at least?” Applejack asked. Soarin answered with a nod and Applejack smiled. “Well in that case, ya can come over to Sweet Apple Acres if any of ya want something to eat.”

“Oh um, ok,” Soarin stumbled out as Applejack drew closer, “I’ll be sure to tell the others.” He looked the cowpony in the eyes and felt like he had seen those eyes before. “Hey, have we met somewhere before?” Applejack replied with a chuckle and kissed Soarin so fast he couldn’t react. The kiss ended quickly and Applejack winked at him.

“Maybe. Ah hope to see you tomorrow.” Applejack’s words circled in Soarin’s mind as he stared wide eyed at the cowpony walking back into the bakery. When Applejack disappeared from sight there was only one thought in Soarin’s head that burned like a fire in his brain.

‘Was I just kissed by a colt?!’

Spitfire groaned a little and rubbed her forehead to alleviate the headache. This is one of the reasons she never drank, because the last time she went drinking with her team way back when she was a rookie she blacked out and woke up with her head ready to implode on itself. As it turns out Spitfire, despite how awesome she is in other aspects of her life, has a very low alcohol tolerance. So Spitfire decided to stay in bed for just a little longer (she didn’t even remember how she got back to where the Wonderbolts were staying) at least until the world stopped being so bright. Spitfire rolled on her over and settled into the bed.

And found herself looking at Dusk Shine’s face.

Spitfire stared at the purple unicorn who was still soundly asleep. Her mind went blank at the implications of the situation and hoped it wasn’t what it looked. Dusk stirred and groaned a little and slowly opened his eyes, only for them to immediately shoot open at the sight of the orange mare next to him. The two just lay there staring at each other for about a minute before they did the only thing they could think of.

This was, of course, to freak out and scream their heads off. Dusk got off the bed, ran to the bathroom, and shut the door behind him. Spitfire stared at the door for a moment before awkwardly getting off the bed and walking to it.

“I-I’m gonna go, ok?” she asked through the door.

“Y-yeah, I think that might be the best idea,” Dusk said back. Spitfire looked around and saw her flight suit on the floor and walked over to put it on. When that was done, she took one last look at the bathroom door before she opened a window and flew out. As he flew she thought the same thing as Dusk.

‘What the hay happened last night?’

Soarin had spent most of the night staring at the ceiling replaying the kiss from last night over and over in his head. He could not have been happier when the sun rose and he lined up with the rest of the team and got ready for practice. That is until he and the others noticed that Spitfire wasn’t around.

“Hey, did Spitfire ever come back last night?” Soarin asked Fleet Foot, who shook her head.

“Stop!” The assembled ponies looked up and saw Spitfire flying toward them and landed in front of them. “I’m here I’m here,” she said and rubbed her forehead a little. Soarin and Fleet Foot shared a look before Soarin stepped forward.

“Are you ok Captain?” he asked.

“Yeah I’m fine, I just have a bit of a headache.” There was of course more to it than that, the world was still a little too bright and the slightest sound might as well have been a blow horn to her.

“Are you sure?” Spitfire closed her eyes, rubbed her head some more, and nodded. “Maybe you should sit this out. You really don’t look so good.”

“I’ll be fine!” Soarin jumped a little at Spitfire’s yell and backed back into line. Spitfire took a deep breath and started thinking. ‘Ok ok, practice. We need to practice, and then maybe a long cold bath afterwards. Alright, first we should…’ Spitfire rubbed her head again in a vain attempt to dispel the headache. She could tell that she would have this headache all day, but she won’t let something like a hangover stop her. After all, every moment she spent idle will be another moment she would think about that unicorn. ‘Still, with my head like this there’s no way I can do the drill sergeant thing right now. There has to be a workaround just for today.’ Spitfire tried hard to think of something through the headache when she noticed a pegasus watching from the sidelines that she was sure she had seen somewhere before.

“Who’s that?” she asked and pointed at the pegasus and Soarin turned to look.

“That’s Rainbow Dash,” Soarin said, “You remember, she won that best young fliers competition a while back?”

“Oh yeah, she did didn’t she?” Spitfire thought for a moment and felt an idea come to her head. “Give me a minute,” she said and took off toward Rainbow Dash.

“Is she going to do what I think she’s going to do?” Fleet Foot quietly asked Soarin.

“I think she is, and honestly I think that would be a good thing. She’s been kind of coltcuddled since she got here.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean cuddled! I mean distracted! Dammit!” Fleet Foot stared at Soarin as he mumbled at the ground.

Spitfire meanwhile had just landed in front of Dash who was quite surprised to see Spitfire come to her.

“Hey, you’re Rainbow Dash right?” she asked. Rainbow, completely stunned, could only nod. “Cool, so how are you doing right now?”

“I-I’m doing alright, just stopped to watch you practice,” Rainbow managed to say.

“Yeah, we should do that in a second. Actually I wanted to talk to you about that.” Rainbow’s eyes widened and found she couldn’t talk. “You see I think I partied just a little too hard last night and right now I have this really bad headache,” Spitfire rubbed her forehead to both soothe the pain and punctuate her point, “So I’m not exactly in peak condition. You said you wanted to join the Wonderbolts at some point right?” Dash nodded. “So does that means you at least have a decent knowledge of our practice methods right?”

“Of course!” Rainbow finally managed to say, “I’ve read that training manual at least 15 times, and I’m about halfway through it again.”

“Great, I don’t suppose you could maybe help keep an eye on the team while we practice so I won’t have to worry about that and focus on training?” Rainbow stared at Spitfire for a few seconds.

“No joke?”

“No joke, but it might just be for until this headache goes away.” Rainbow let a small squeal of joy escape her before she coughed a little and tried to look unfazed.

“Well, I guess I could, but I need about two minutes to get my stuff.”

“You have one minute.”

“I’ll get it in less than that!” Rainbow then took off in a huge dust cloud. Spitfire coughed a little from the cloud and walked back to the other Wonderbolts.

“Guest trainer?” Soarin asked.

“Mhmm,” Spitfire said and nodded, “With that said, you guys remember what to do for this right?”

“Be nice, even if they’re no good,” the team said in synch.

“Very good,” Spitfire said and barely flinched when Rainbow Dash landed next to her.

“What’s my time?” Rainbow asked loudly and Spitfire rubbed her forehead.

“Fifteen seconds and can you keep it down a little?” Spitfire said.

“Dangit, I was too slow,” Rainbow muttered to herself as Spitfire walked into the line. “So anyway, what practice session were you planning to do?”

“You’ve read the book, just pick one, I don’t care,” Spitfire said dismissively and rubbed her forehead, “And where did you get that hat and whistle?”

“I’ve always had these,” Rainbow said and started thinking deeply. Eventually she grinned and looked at the Wonderbolts, “Alright I have an idea, but let me get into character first.” Rainbow then proceeded to clear her throat in an exaggerated fashion.

‘Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,’ Spitfire thought, ‘Maybe I should have just-‘

“Alright, listen up!”

‘Oh good Solaris, my head!’

“I have been asked to help you lot out with your training today, but you may not know that I have incredibly high standards.” Dash started pacing in front of the team, “You will perform up to my standards or you will suffer the consequences.” Dash stuck her face in Fleet Foot’s, “Is that understood?”

“Y-yes Ma’am!” Fleet Foot said nervously.

“Good answer!” Dash went back to pacing, “Now for this session you will be doing practice session 66-C. In case you all forgot, that means you will fly twenty laps in increments of five with twenty pushups after every five. If you miss count a lap or a pushup, you will have five laps and pushups added to your count.”

‘Is she serious?’ Spitfire thought while staring at Rainbow incredulously.

“With that in mind, you may now get started.” The Wonderbolts just stared at her for a few seconds. “Did I stutter?!” The volume of the yell was enough to startle the flyers into starting the laps.

‘Yeah, this definitely wasn’t a hot idea.’

Meanwhile Dusk Shine was lying in his bathtub and trying desperately to figure out exactly what he had gotten himself into.

‘Alright Dusk, be calm and think this through,’ he thought to himself. ‘Now I woke up with Spitfire in my bed. That doesn’t necessarily mean I… there’s gotta be an explanation.’ Dusk took a deep breath and plunged his head underneath the water. He shut his eyes and thought back to last night as hard as he could.

Spitfire walked inside and sat on the couch looking a little uncomfortable. Dusk walked into the kitchen and came out with a bottle of red wine and a couple glasses.

“I’ve never actually had any of Wheat Brew’s wine before, but everypony says it’s really good,” he said and set the bottle and glasses down.

“Oh really? I wouldn’t know,” Spitfire said. Dusk struggled a little to open the bottle, but managed to open it and poured two glasses. Spitfire took one of the glasses and looked into the wine.

“I can’t remember, is it standard to toast to something before drinking?” Dusk asked. Spitfire looked at him and shrugged.

“To good health?” she said.

“Sure, that’s good enough.” They clinked their glasses together and Dusk took a drink, Spitfire waiting a second longer before doing the same.

Dusk broke the surface of the water and took a couple breaths.

‘Well, that was enlightening I guess,’ he thought and sighed, ‘I guess I’ll ask around. Somepony has to have an idea what happened last night, right?’ Dusk took another breath and went back under to finish his bath. A few minutes later Dusk was walking down the stairs to leave the library. He saw the nearly empty wine bottle along with the two glasses on the table and felt a small chill run down his spine. ‘Let’s hope that something can be salvaged from this,’ he thought and walked out of the library.

“Ha, beat that Berry!” Vinyl said and slammed the table.

“Heh, no problem,” Berry replied and took one of the peppers in front of him and downed the whole thing. He gagged a little and started sweating, but managed to swallow it and bear the spiciness. “Octavio, what does that put us at?”

“Hold on, I still need to carry the 3 on that one, and it brings the score at ‘you’re both idiots,” Octavio said flatly. “Seriously, what made you think this was a good idea?” Dusk walked in at that moment and was a little confused as to what was going on.

“Um, what are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m having a spicy thing eating contest with Vinyl,” Berry said cheerfully, “We both made it pretty far. Oh, how are you feeling after last night?”

“It’s…complicated. I need to talk to you about that.”

“Well, we’re almost done with this, so can it wait?”

“Well, I guess, but what are you going to be eating next?”

“You’ll find out,” Octavio said as he put on padded gloves on his fore hooves, “Vinyl do you have any more of those goggles of yours?”

“Of course I do,” she said and levitated three pairs of goggles into view, “yours have gray lenses.”

“Thank you,” Octavio said and put the goggles on. Berry and Dusk took the remaining goggles, pink and lavender respectively, and watched as Octavio placed a black box on the table and took out some metal tongs.

“This is going to be awesome!” Berry said shaking from the suspense. Octavio opened the box and put the tongs inside, to take out…

“Chili peppers?” Dusk asked. In the tongs was a clear container of maybe six peppers. Octavio motioned with his head and Berry slid a metal tray underneath the container, which was carefully set on the tray.

“Not just any peppers,” Vinyl said with an ominous tone, “They’re Bhut Jolokia peppers.”

“These are some of the spiciest peppers on the planet,” Octavio said, “They’re so spicy we have to wear gloves to handle them. If these touch a bare part of your body you’ll have a rash for weeks.” Octavio carefully used the tongs to open the container, flinching when it opened, and set two peppers on the tray. “For the record, the only things spicier than these are rainbow juice, some other peppers, and pure capsicum, which is deadly.”

Dusk gulped at that. “And you two are going to eat them?”

“Sure why not?” Vinyl asked and levitated a pepper toward her. Berry put a glove on and picked up the other one. Surprisingly, he looked very nervous.

“How much do we have to eat?” he asked.

“One small bite,” Octavio answered. Berry gulped and bit the tip off while Vinyl ate the whole thing. “Vinyl what are you doing?!”

The two chewed the peppers for a bit before Berry started coughing.

“Oh screw this!” he shouted and spat the pepper into a nearby bucket and started downing a glass of milk.

“It’s getting kind of warm,” Vinyl said and coughed a little.

“See, this is why I can’t leave you alone, you do stupid stuff like that!” Octavio shouted at his sister who just waved him off with her good hoof. Berry finally stopped drinking milk and took a few deep breaths before turning to Dusk with a smile.

“Anyway, how can I help you Dusk?” he asked. Dusk stared at him in disbelief before shaking his head a little to regain his focus.

“Do you remember what happened to me last night?” he asked.

“You got smashed on punch, danced on my equipment, and had to be escorted home,” Vinyl said and took a drink of milk. “You’re such a lightweight.”

“Not everypony parties as much as you Vinyl,” Octavio said.

“Yeah whatever. Why do ask anyway?” Dusk looked down and blushed just a little, which was all Vinyl needed. “NO WAY! Who did you sleep with?!” That question earned her a light blow to the head from her brother.

“Vinyl, that is not a proper thing for a lady to ask!”

“Oh come on, I was just curious!”

“You still shouldn’t ask such things.”

“What, like back in college?”

“YOU SWORE TO NEVER SPEAK OF THAT AGAIN!” This kind of banter went back and forth between the siblings. Berry scotched over to Dusk and poked him.

“Is that what happened?” he asked. Dusk took off the goggles and rubbed his eyes.

“It’s really complicated and I don’t remember all of what happened either. I was hoping you could tell me what happened.”

“Well I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything aside from what happened before you left the party.” Berry scooted closer to Dusk and put a hoof on his shoulder. “If you want my advice, don’t sit on this. Try and talk to this pony and sort it out, otherwise you may regret this for the rest of your life.”

“Heh, you’re being awfully serious about this Berry,” Dusk said and smiled.

“Well, this is a serious subject, and if I helped at all then I did a good job.” Dusk laughed a little and pulled Berry into a hug.

“Thanks Berry, maybe I’ll do what you said. It couldn’t hurt right?” Berry broke the hug and nodded. Dusk got up and started walking to the door.

“Good luck Dusk!” Berry shouted, “Tell me how it goes later, ok?”

“Spitfire, get down here!”

Rainbow Dash was seriously starting to get on Spitfire’s nerves, mostly because she had unreasonably high standards even when compared with some of the other trainers the Wonderbolts had. Well, at least she had been honest about her highs standards. Spitfire landed next to Rainbow panting a little from the exercise.

“Yes, what is it?” she asked.

“Your technique is really sloppy.” Rainbow said simply.

“Wha- I beg your pardon?!” Spitfire said angrily.

“Not to mention you’re not going as fast as I know you can. Plus you’re miscounting your laps by actually going over the count.”

“…Seriously? You’re complaining about me doing too well?”

“A miscount is a miscount.” Soarin dropped to the ground in between the two mares, neither of whom flinched when he landed. He started doing pushups and Rainbow nonchalantly stepped on top of him. “So what’s on your mind?”

“Why are you on top of me?” Soarin asked as he struggled with the pushups.

“I always wanted to do this, where the trainer stands on the trainee to make the workout harder. So what is your deal?” Spitfire huffed and looked away from Rainbow.

“There’s nothing wrong, I just had a rough night last night. Can I get back to the workout?”

“Well you can, but I’ll just ask you later anyway. There’s more going on in your head than just a hangover.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me!”

“And I say there is.” Spitfire had to give Rainbow credit, she didn’t back down easily.

“…Nineteen, twenty!” Soarin shouted. Rainbow got off him and he immediately shot into the sky.

“Seriously, what’s wrong? I didn’t even think it was possible for something to get to you.” Spitfire huffed and turned away from Rainbow.

“There’s nothing wrong. I’m getting back to practice now.” Spitfire took off only to be immediately pulled back down by her tail. Spitfire glared at Rainbow who spat out her tail.

“Ugh, tails taste horrible. So why do ponies keep doing that to me?”

“What is your problem?!” Spitfire yelled at Rainbow, “If I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to talk about it!”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really.” Spitfire rubbed her forehead, thankful that the headache was finally subsiding. “Jeez, how long has it been since this hangover started and it’s only now started going away. This is why I never drink.”

“Really you don’t drink?”

“Stupid stallion, he just had to…ah crap.” Spitfire looked at Rainbow, who just raised an eyebrow at her.

“Really, that’s what’s bugging you? You got drunk and might have slept with a stallion? Man, I thought you were harder than that.”

“…Huh? Are you being serious, you realize that this isn’t like practicing flying tricks right?”

“Of course I know that, I’ve been in that situation long ago. I’ll give you a free tip Spitfire, ignoring this kind of thing will only make it worse. You probably for the best if you talk to this stallion and smooth this over as soon as possible.” Spitfire
gave Rainbow a confused look as Rainbow observed the team practicing.

“That seems kind of deep for you. Where did that come from?” Spitfire asked. Rainbow sighed and looked at Spitfire.

“An old pain I put behind me. I don’t really want to talk about it, kay?” Spitfire nodded and scratched at the ground for a few seconds.

“Is it really that simple, to just go talk to him?” Rainbow shrugged at the question.

“You won’t know till you try.” Such a simple sentence and yet it held so much meaning. Spitfire thought it over for a moment.

Spitfire took a large drink and finished her second wine glass. She coughed a little from the wine, followed by giggles.

“This wine really is good. Who made this again?” Dusk finished his own glass and set it down before answering.

“Wheat Brew. He makes the best wine I’ve ever tasted.” Dusk poured himself another drink and refilled Spitfire’s glass when he offered. Spitfire laughed and swirled the wine in the glass.

“Heh, I might have to get a bottle from him,” she said and took a drink, “I know I could use a drink every now and then.” Dusk stopped mid drink and set the glass down.

“What do you mean?” he asked. Spitfire set her glass down and slid the hood of her uniform down to her neck. She shook her mane out and let it fall down before she picked up her glass and drank the rest of the wine.

“It’s… just hard sometimes.”

“Hey Spitfire, you ok?”

Rainbow Dash’s voice broke Spitfire from her thoughts. She shook her head and looked at the cyan mare.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. I’m going to take a break,” Spitfire said and took off into a hover.

“Sure, go on,” Rainbow said and watched Spitfire fly away. Rainbow laughed and wished Spitfire the best of luck.

“Hey.” Rainbow turned to find Soarin standing next to her, “Since you seem to be giving away free advice, do you mind if I ask you something?”

Dusk didn’t know where to start when he worked up the courage to go looking for Spitfire. He first checked with Rarity to see if she had any ideas, which she unfortunately didn’t. After Rarity wished him luck Dusk decided to head for Sweet Apple Acres to ask Applejack for his opinion. He started down the road and only made it about a quarter down the road when he heard someone shout at him from above.

“Hey!” Dusk looked up and saw a pegasus flying to him. He only realized it was Spitfire when she landed in front of him. “Oh, it is you. That’s…great,” she said and looked anywhere but at him. Dusk couldn’t help but do the same. “Uh listen, we need to talk… preferably somewhere private.”

“R-right, well the library is usually empty. We can talk there if you want.”

“Ok, you lead the way.” Dusk turned and started walking back to Ponyville with Spitfire following. And so began the longest, most awkward walk of both their lives. The two silently made their way through town, ignoring the looks they were getting from the ponies they passed, and they were soon at the library. They couldn’t have got there fast enough. Dusk opened the door for Spitfire and followed her inside.

“So…” Dusk started.

“I think we should get the easy stuff out of the way,” Spitfire said and sat on the couch. She stared at the wine bottle that was still there and took the hood off her face and rubbed her face. “You wouldn’t happen to remember what happened last night, do you?”

“Bits and pieces,” Dusk said and sat on the couch too. A few seconds of silence passed and Dusk sighed. “I’m sorry.” That surprised Spitfire and she looked at him with wide eyes.

“Huh?”

“I guess that was my first time drinking and I went and dragged you into this. And for that I’m sorry.”

“H-hey, don’t say things like that.” Spitfire rubbed her foreleg nervously, “I don’t really drink that much myself.”

“Uh…thanks.” They fell silent for a moment before Dusk spoke up again. “I guess it does get hard sometimes.”

“Hard? What do you mean?” Dusk, despite his intoxicated state, was curious about what Spitfire had said. He was even more surprised to see she started crying.

“Well, do you know what it’s like to be popular, especially when you’re the captain to the biggest stunt team in Equestria?” she asked and sniffed a little.

“Uh, no I can’t say I have.”

“It SUCKS!” she yelled startling Dusk. “Well, not really, but there’s just so much responsibility put on you. My fans look up to me, my team looks up to me. Even Soarin, the closest pony I can call my best friend, looks up to me. I always have to play the role model and I just get sick of it.” Dusk didn’t say anything, instead deciding to sit on the couch and let the crying mare sob herself out.

“Sometimes I just want to quit, but I know I can’t do that. *sniff* I wish somepony would just see me as a mare and not a Wonderbolt, as a pony and not a uniform.” Spitfire cried for a minute longer before wiping the tears away and started reaching for the wine class. “I think I need some more wine.”

Spitfire stopped when she felt a pair of legs hugging her. Her breathing and heart quickened as she was hugged tighter.

“I think you just need someone to talk to, and I’m very good at listening,” Dusk said. Spitfire sniffed a bit more and maneuvered herself to hug Dusk back. Dusk let Spitfire cry into his shoulder for a while, gently stroking her back as she did so. “It’s ok, let it all out,” he whispered. When Spitfire was done crying she looked up at Dusk.

“Thank you,” she said blushing ever so faintly.

“I-it’s no problem,” Dusk stammered out, “I just like to help ponies with-“ He didn’t finish as Spitfire kissed him suddenly. Dusk’s eyes widened in surprise and Spitfire pushed him down onto the couch. Spitfire’s eyes were closed as she pressed harder into Dusk who, after a second of not knowing what to do, closed his eyes too and pulled Spitfire closer.

Spitfire gave a little yelp and started kissing harder, giving off small moans of pleasure. The two pulled away and stared at each other breathing heavily.

“Hey, are you getting a little hot too?” Spitfire asked.

“Yeah, a little,” Dusk answered. Spitfire smiled and lowered toward Dusk with half lidded eyes.

“Good.” Spitfire kissed Dusk and managed to slip her tongue into his mouth. They both moaned into each other’s mouths as they fought for dominance, which Spitfire was winning for the record. Spitfire pulled away after a while, her tongue lolling out, and stared into Dusk’s eyes.

“The couch isn’t too comfortable,” she whispered into Dusk’s ear and wobbly stood up from the couch. Dusk stood up as well and motioned toward the stairs. The two walked up the stairs, laughing quietly the whole way, and had barely gotten inside before they were kissing again. After a long deep kiss, they pulled away and Spitfire started to take off her flight suit. Dusk couldn’t help but stare at the orange mare, which made both of their blushes deepen immensely. Spitfire finally got her suit off, hugged Dusk, and looked into his eyes.

“Really, thank you,” she said. Dusk only answered with another kiss and pulled her backwards until they tumbled onto his bed.

“Well, not all the time,” Spitfire said with a faint blush. “Um, this might seem a little sudden, but would it be alright if we started over?”

“What do you mean?” Dusk asked.

“Well, I don’t really know myself, but I will admit you are different from other stallions. I don’t think anyone else could handle me spilling my guts like that to them.”

“It really was no trouble. I like to be able to help ponies.” Spitfire smiled and scooted closer to Dusk.

“That’s really kind of you.” Dusk’s eyes widened and he started to stutter a little.

“Well it’s not- I just…” Spitfire laughed a little kissed Dusk on the cheek.

“You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re embarrassed.” Spitfire stood up from the couch and pulled her hood over her face. “I gotta get back to practice. Hopefully I’ll see you later.” Dusk simply nodded and watched Spitfire walk out of the library.

Maybe this could end well.

“And that’s my take on it,” Rainbow told Soarin as he finished his last set of pushups, “And really what does it matter whether or not you’re gay? You’re a Wonderbolt! What have they done with their lives?”

“That seems kinda rude,” Soarin said as he stood up.

“Yeah, but if somepony is going to judge you based on your romantic preferences than they’re not exactly being polite either.”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point. Anyway I’m done with practice, so…”

“Of course, just don’t take long.” Soarin nodded and took off just as Spitfire walked in.

“Where’s he going?” she asked.

“He finished practice so he wanted to go see someone,” Rainbow answered. She looked Spitfire over and noticed how she seemed to carry herself more confidently. “I guess it went well?” she asked with a smile.

“Yeah, it did. I’m going to get back to practice.” Spitfire took off leaving a cloud of dust behind her.

“Yeah, now that’s the Spitfire I know!” Rainbow cheered. All in all, it was a good day for Rainbow Dash.

Later that day the Wonderbolts had assembled to leave.

“Aw, do you guys have to go? I had so many ideas for games and parties we could do!” Berry said.

“Yeah, we have a lot more shows to do. Such is the life of a Wonderbolt,” Spitfire said.

“Well in any case, you guys are more than welcome to come back if you want,” Dusk said.

“We might just take you up on that offer.” Dusk blushed a little and looked away. Soarin happened to look at Applejack who winked at him. He had never been more glad to be wearing a flight suit than right then.

“We’ll see you then,” Spitfire said, turned to the rest of the Wonderbolts, and slammed a hoof against the ground. The all snapped to attention and, with a nod from Spitfire, they took off into the air in unison. The group of friends watched the team fly away until the storm clouds that followed them disappeared into the distance. Rarity looked around at the group and noticed something.

“Does anyone know where Fluttershy is?” The others looked around as well.

“Come ta think of it, ah haven’t seen her for a while,” Applejack said and scratched his head.

“I’ll go see if she’s at her house,” Rainbow Dash said and took off toward Fluttershy’s cottage. A couple seconds passed and Rarity looked at Applejack.

“Soarin huh?” she asked.

“What can ah say, ah like athletes.”

Rainbow Dash landed in front of Fluttershy’s house and walked up the path to the door.

‘I hope she’s not sick or anything,’ Rainbow thought to herself. One thing she didn’t expect was for there to be a sentry at Fluttershy’s door. Angel Bunny spotted Rainbow and held his arms out to stop her.

“Really? You’re really going to try and stop me?” Rainbow asked. Angel continued to hold his arms out. Rainbow scooted Angel out of the way and opened the door. “Hey Fluttershy are ok?” The inside of the room was also something Rainbow hadn’t expected, which was Fluttershy on the couch making out with a certain griffin. Rainbow stared at the two for a good half minute before Guilder happened to open an eye and very quickly scooted away from Fluttershy in fright.

“Rainbow?!” he said and pointed at Rainbow. Fluttershy turned to Rainbow and shrank a little at her friends stare.

“Um…” she started, “I can expla-“

Rainbow didn’t give her a chance to finish before she slammed the door and flew away, her face devoid of emotion.

>Observation suspended<

>Universe entered into log<

Ugh, this took way too long to write. Anyway, I'm a little surprised at how low key this specific ship is. I've only seen a couple fics of this pairing and even fewer fan art. This obviously can not stand, we need more stuff with these two.

Next time, maybe apples, maybe music, maybe steam. Who knows?

Twixie

Not all stories are the same, and the same can be said of love stories. When you think of love stories, most ponies think simple colt meets mare tales where they fall in love and end up married in a few months.

It’s not that simple here.

She couldn’t say her life had been ‘normal’. A showmare’s life is never normal, but for her it went double that.

She looked down at a simple town, where both her troubles had started and hopefully where she will find her peace.

One year earlier, she was looking down at the same town. It was simple, just go down there and woo the crowd with some tricks. The bits would come in again and she’d move on to the next town. Two days later she was crying as she looked at herself in a river.

“Where did it go wrong?” she asked her rippling reflection, “I did everything right, but it all fell apart. All because of those idiot colts, that Ursa, and him.”

The mare’s name is Trixie, although she prefers the moniker “The Great and Powerful Trixie”. At the moment though, she was starting to doubt that. She had boasted about her magical prowess, though that was just to woo the crowd to her side. After all, the more they cheered the more money she got.

But that’s all ash now. You see, that trip she took ended in disaster for her. Her home, along with her belongings, was now destroyed. Even worse, he had revealed her to be what she was, a simple showpony with very little in the way of magical prowess. She got up, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked at the water.

“I swear,” she said, her reflection changing to the purple unicorn stallion that caused her so much pain, “You’ll rue the day you crossed The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Of course, before she could get revenge, she had to start from scratch. That was harder than she thought, since her humiliation in Ponyville seemed to spread outside its borders. Nopony would hire her, not even for something as small as a birthday party. She said she wandered the streets of Manehattan for about three days before she finally collapsed from thirst. Poor thing probably would have died right there, if she hadn’t been found.

Found by an old stallion who took pity on her.

Found…by me.

I found the poor thing in an alleyway and decided to take her home. I set her in the guest room where she stirred awake.

“Where am I?” she asked. I didn’t say anything and went to get a glass of water for her. When I got back she was trying to stand up, so I had to force her to lie down and gave the water. She glared at me when she drank the water, but I’m sure she was grateful for it. When she finished, I asked for her name.

“I am The Great and Powerful Trixie! And I did not need your help.” I had to disagree with her on that, but I didn’t voice it and offered her some food. “Fine, Trixie will eat your peasant food.” I couldn’t help but laugh and went to get her some food.

She didn’t look ready to eat anything real heavy, so I just prepared a simple salad for her. When I gave it to her, she just stared at me angrily before digging in. I sat down in a chair and waited for her to finish.

“Why are you watching Trixie?! I’ll have you know Trixie doesn’t go for older stallions!” she yelled at me. I told her not to worry, I’m not interested in mares as young as her, and I was just wondering what her story was. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, “too painful.”

She then asked what my name was. I told her names don’t matter much, but if she wanted she could call me Rucks. She nodded and went back to eating the salad. When she was done she pushed the bowl away and turned away from me. I took the bowl and left her alone for the rest of the day.

She stayed with me for about two days before she was well enough to walk on her own. Of course, I had her stay for another day just to make sure. She always had this angry look on her face the entire time she was around me. Some of the looks she gave me I was sure would make a manticore shrink back in fright. When I finally let her go, I gave her a spare saddlebag, a small lunch, and about 50 bits to get her by. That…seemed to make her angrier.

“Why are you being so kind to Trixie!” she yelled, “I’ll have you know that Trixie is more than capable of taking care of herself!” I said I didn’t think so since she seemed to have a tough time getting food. “Why would you care?! No pony asked you to help Trixie! Maybe Trixie wanted to die in that alley-“ I silenced her with a stomp of my hoof. That was the first time she said something that really made me mad.

‘That’s no way to talk,’ I told her, ‘I don’t know what kind of trouble you have in your life, but you can’t just give up the first time you hit a streak of bad luck.’

“And how would you know?” she asked. Up until then, neither of us shared anything about our lives, but I decided to share just one part of mine.

So I told her, ‘I don’t ever want to see a mare die in an alley again.’ That caught her off guard, her eyes opening in surprise. I didn’t say anything else, instead I walked past her and opened the door. I told her that if she needed anything, my door would be open for her.

She walked out the door and down the street. She only looked back once before I lost sight of her. Never saw her again after that.

That was about a year ago now. Life went on and I had mostly forgotten about her. That is, until I received a letter in the mail. And then another, then another. All of them from her, all of them addressed to me. They came with numbers on the envelopes, from one on. In order, and roughly speaking, all the letters said the following.

The day she left my care she wandered Manehattan a bit, stewing over whatever caused her trouble. She fantasized about revenge, of burning the whole town down with magical fire, of the look on the stallion’s face when he saw her. How he’d plead for his life, and how she would ignore him. That was her fantasies, but reality had a matter of catching up with you. She knew of a couple homeless shelters and, since she was technically homeless, she could stay there for a while. So she walked, pausing only to eat the sandwich she had been given, and by the time the sun set she was at a shelter. She had a hot dinner and settled into her bed.

The past catches up to her as she falls asleep.

Sometimes the most humble of starts can shape a pony, and Trixie was no different.

She was born the second child to a small family in Canterlot. Her father was a simple magician, not unlike what she would be later in her life. Her mother stayed at home to watch over her, although she was also an assistant for her father’s shows. She also had an older brother, about nine or ten years old when she was born.

Her childhood was the best any filly could hope. She played with her older brother, she watched her father’s shows, enjoyed her mother’s meals, and played with her friends. But good times don’t always last forever.

When she was eight, her brother came down with some illness. Most of the doctors her family saw said there was either very little or nothing they could do. Her brother didn’t take well to this and grew depressed.

His depression was so deep, it worsened his condition. Last doctor the family tried said he had, at best, two weeks. Little Trixie overheard the whole thing and ran to her room where she sobbed herself to sleep. The next day, she decided to try and make her brother smile for whatever time he had left.

It took a while for her to find what she needed. Inspired by her father’s shows, she borrowed one of her father’s hats and a cape, both too big for her. She slowly entered her brother’s room and told him she wanted to make him smile. He didn’t smile, but said she could try.

She set up for her first magic show. It didn’t go well at first, the filly messing up what should have been the simplest of tricks. After the fifth trick didn’t work, Trixie started to break down.

Her brother, saddened by his sister’s tears, told her to keep going. He said that watching her helped him out, even if she wasn’t doing well. Her brother’s kind words emboldened her and she wiped away the tears. She readied herself for one last trick and decided to make it her biggest one. She took her hat off and focused magic into her horn. Her brother was surprised when her horn started glowing brightly.

She grunted a little at the effort as her horn was completely engulfed in a light blue light and she reached into the hat. She released the magic in one big burst and pulled a rabbit out of the hat. Brother and sister stared at the wiggling animal in her hoof in surprise, and then the rabbit managed to slip away from her and ran out of the room. The siblings heard their mother scream from downstairs. Trixie started to cry just a little when she heard something.

Her brother was laughing.

She looked at her brother and saw he was indeed laughing and he had one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen.

‘That was amazing Trixie,’ he said in between laughs, ‘Can you do it again?”

Her eyes widened and meekly said she’d try. She did exactly what she did before and pulled the same rabbit out. Her brother smiled and laughed again, so she started laughing too. Her brother insisted she try all the tricks from earlier again and, to her surprise, she did them all almost flawlessly.

I remember hearing somewhere that a positive attitude can do wonders for the sick almost as well as any medicine. That was true enough for this story.

Three weeks after her first show, after constant magic shows from her, Trixie’s brother made a full recovery.

When her brother told her that and hugged her tightly, thanking her for her help, something seemed to click in her head.

Magic shows aren’t just about bits or fame. As an entertainer, all that should matter are the smiles on the audiences face. Entertaining for the sake of entertaining, once she realized that it all made sense.

She hugged her brother back and her cutie mark appeared.

When she woke up, the memory was still fresh in her mind. She didn’t like the feeling it brought, the reminder of how she had forgotten that one simple thing.

She pushed the thought out of her head and instead focused on the one thing she did know for certain: revenge against a certain stallion.

Her next couple of letters were mostly how she fantasized revenge against the stallion, ranging from ruining his own reputation to more…well, you don’t want to know about the ‘more’. One of those fantasies made the bourbon I was drinking at the time harden in my gut.

I’ll give her one thing, she’s imaginative when she sets her mind on something.

Winter was a hard time for her. Not because of the cold or lack of shelter. No, it was something else.

She was in Canterlot at the time, having managed to scrounge up enough bits to get a winter cloak, walking through the main square when she met somepony she thought she wouldn’t see again.

Her older brother.

He spotted her through the crowd and had called out her name. He was overjoyed to see it was her and started hugging and nuzzling her, the joy in his demeanor evident to anypony who looked.

She, for her part, returned the nuzzle and gave a half hearted smile. He asked how she was doing. After all, it had been several years since they had seen each other.

‘Not too well,’ she replied, ‘I hit on hard times.’

Her brother’s smile dropped into worry and he asked, ‘how hard?’ The look she gave was all the answer he needed. He grabbed her by the hoof and said she’d stay with him and his fiancé for the holidays. She tried to decline but…well, older brothers and all that.

She was quite surprised at how much of a fun time she had on Hearth’s Warming Eve. More fun than she had in a while. Her brother had told her not to give up, that one setback shouldn’t be all it takes to knock out The Great and Powerful Trixie.

She agreed, so she strengthened her resolve and was now more focused on the stallion.

The next letter was dated two days after Discord’s release. I’ll never forget that date, when the world quite literally fell apart at the seams. And for Trixie, it was the scariest time of her life.

She was in Fillydelphia, fantasizing about her revenge again, when the chaos being came to town. He laughed as he effortlessly turned the town’s ambitions against it. She was one of the unlucky few who remembers her time ‘turned’ completely. I don’t envy her, it was a bad time for everypony.

The chaos being had spotted her staring at him and he floated over to her, held aloft by balloons with no strings.

“Well well well, what have we here? Do we have a fighter on our hands?” he said and inspected her. His face grew dissatisfied and he conjured up an ice cream cone made of rainbows, “I suppose not. What do you do anyway?”

“I-I’m a magician, a showpony,” she answered.

“Oh really, and what brought you to that?” Trixie almost answered, but Discord held up his eagle claw, “Don’t answer that, I really don’t care. I’m actually surprised such a useless profession still exists.”

“U-useless?!” she said, her voice filling with anger.

“Why yes, why would anyone pay to see you do silly little magic tricks like pulling a rabbit out of a hat? Even I can one up that!” The chaos spirit grabbed a running rabbit, opened its mouth, stuck his lion paw in and pulled out a top hat. “See, stuff like that is easy,” he said as he put the top hat on, “anything you could do, I can do better.”

The words stung her. She tried to talk, but Discord kept going.

“And besides, why do those tricks anyway? For money? Fame? To make them happy? Well, if you’re so good at it, try and make him happy,” he said pointing to a stallion tearing apart several books and screaming about purifying the world, “Or her,” he pointed at a mare clutching at several potted plants, laughing maniacally. “Ooh, what about him!” This stallion was screaming at the top of his lungs and pounding his head against a tree. “If you can make any one of them better, I’d be very impressed.”

She looked around at the chaos, how the world was tearing apart all around her. Stallions and mares running all around her, foals begging their parents to snap out of whatever madness had gotten to them. She looked around her and came to a horrifying conclusion.

“I can’t,” she said and felt tears gather in her eyes, “Magic can’t stop this. Nothing can.” She cried fully now and felt a coldness run through her body, as if all the colors of her soul was being drained. “I’m worthless.” Her body was now entirely cold, but she didn’t feel anything.

Nothing but sorrow. So she fell where she was and cried her eyes out.

“Huh, that was easy. No fun at all. I’m going to go check on Dusk Shine. At least he’s a fighter.” Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light. Trixie got up and, still crying, made her way to a park. She felt nothing at the patched purple grass or the erratic movements of the sun and moon.

Cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain? Nothing.

She collapsed against an upside down tree and sobbed herself out, deciding to wait for death.

It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

Half an hour later, that big rainbow wave washed over her and cleansed her mind, just like it did all of us. She woke up a while later to find the world had returned to normal. Her mind was sane and rational again, but the pain of realizing that her life’s whole meaning could have been worth nothing stayed with her. When Celestia’s guard came by to check on her, she didn’t react to them at all.

I had heard that some ponies never recovered from the incident. One poor mare for example is still under the impression that she’s a dog. So the guard took Trixie to Canterlot for treatment. By coincidence, it was around that time that the Elements of Harmony visited Canterlot. Trixie had heard of them before, but had never seen them in person.

She was in the crowd during the award ceremony for the Elements. As she wondered who they could be, she saw somepony.

She saw him.

Raged filled her and she was ready to advance on him when she saw the other ponies cheering. He and his friends smiled nervously at the attention as they walked toward Princess Celestia. When they reached her Trixie came to a horrible realization which was confirmed when a new stained glassed window was revealed. It displayed a scene of him and his friend defeating Discord.

They were the Elements of Harmony.

They had saved her.

Her gut wrenched and her anger chained to despair.

“How could I compete with that?”

Her next letters didn’t even mention any thought of revenge or the stallion. Instead, she talked about how she went about rebuilding her life. She tried so hard to get someone to hire her, she wasn’t picky about who it was. Finally, after a few days, she got one.

A foal’s birthday party, but it was better than nothing. She braced herself for anything that could happen.

Jeers.

Booing.

Not getting paid.

Starving.

What she didn’t expect was laughter. The young colt and his friends enjoyed her magic tricks, astonished whenever she made a bouquet of roses appear from nowhere. One filly wanted to bring a cat with her, so Trixie, with only a description, managed to pull that cat out of another colt’s hat.

Everything she did was rewarded with laughter, cheers, and smiles. The atmosphere was infectious and she found herself smiling too. When the party was dying down the colt’s mother said she was glad she hired Trixie. She gave her a bonus and said she would tell all her friends about her.

Words couldn’t have expressed Trixie’s gratitude.

Earlier I had noticed a difference in her letters. In the earlier ones she always referred to herself as ‘Trixie’ or ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’, but as the letters kept coming she started dropping that habit and started using personal pronouns more. At her sixth or seventh letter, it dropped entirely.

She also said that her dreams were different as well. While she would normally dream of her past or how she would ‘get back at that stallion’, now she was dreaming of more simple and happy things. Parties that went well, new tricks that pleased crowds immensely, but one thing stuck out among all of the other subjects of her dreams.

She dreamt of him.

Dusk Shine, she said his name was. First time I actually heard his name. One such dream she actually managed to get down before it left her mind. Let me see if I can remember it.

The sky was clear and the sun was shining down on the two unicorns. Trixie was taking in the sunlight as she lay down on the blanket. Dusk had invited her on a picnic and she was more than willing to accept. The lunch had been delicious and the conversations that were brought up enjoyable. Now they were just enjoying the day and each other’s company.

“This was fun,” Trixie said and leaned against Dusk, “We should do this again soon.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Dusk said and leaned against Trixie as well. She scooted closer to him and nuzzled against him, breathing in his scent.

‘He smells like lavender,’ she thought. Dusk smelled her as well and they nuzzled against each other. After a while they stopped and looked into each other’s eyes, both a deep purple.

“Dusk, I have something I want to tell you.” Dusk tilted his head and waited for Trixie to continue. “Well, I just… um, give me a second.” She looked away from him blushing. Dusk laughed a little and placed a hoof on her cheek. He turned her face back toward his own and smiled at how surprised she was.

“W-what are you…?” she started but trailed off as she stared into his eyes. She could lose herself in that deep purple. Dusk leaned forward, closed his eyes, and kissed Trixie. Her eyes widened, but as the kiss went on she closed her eyes as well and leaned into the kiss. She loved the feel of his lips, the warmth of his breath, the sounds he made, and the way he tasted. They pulled away when they couldn’t stand the lack of air and stared at each other. Trixie moved in front of Dusk, sat him up on his haunches, and sat in his lap crossing her forelegs around his neck. Dusk wrapped his own forelegs around her waist and pulled her closer, causing Trixie to giggle and kiss him lightly for a second.

“I love you,” she said, finally able to voice her feelings to the purple unicorn.

“I love you too Trixie,” he said. Her heart beat faster and she kissed him again, pulling him as close to her as she could. Dusk did the same and after a moment of kissing decided to test the waters as it were. He opened his lips ever so slightly and licked Trixie’s lips. She shivered a little and moaned at the feeling, and she opened her lips. Dusk stuck his tongue in Trixie’s mouth, exploring as much of it as he could while Trixie did the same to him. They were both enjoying this a lot, each of their groans of pleasure driving the other to continue. Dusk fell onto his back, pulling Trixie down with him, and hugged her even tighter.

Trixie broke the kiss and looked at Dusk’s blushing face, probably as red as hers was. They breathed heavily for about a minute before they could talk.

“Wow,” was all Dusk could get out. Trixie smiled and leaned closer to him.

“Wow? Is that… all you can… think of? Was I that good?” she asked and was filled with joy when Dusk nodded. “Well then, I hope you’re ready for more.”

I shouldn’t say any more, it’s kind of a private thing. Anyway, if that dream didn’t say it, the last line of that letter does.

‘I think I’m falling for Dusk Shine.’

Her last letter had come not even a week ago. In it she said she was going to Ponyville. After a year of preparation, she was finally ready to face Dusk. She didn’t say whether it was for revenge or for love. I doubt I’d find out either way any time soon. But still…

Trixie walked into Ponyville, the sun having set about an hour ago. She made a beeline through the town and towards the tree that housed the library. She had fixed everything that went wrong with her life, everything, but this.

If she did decide on revenge, it probably will be a glorious battle.

She approached the door and knocked three times on it.

I can see it now in my mind, Dusk in one corner and Trixie in the other.

She waited a moment before the door slowly opened.

If she didn’t lie about her potential, she might have a shot.

“Trixie?!” Dusk said at the sight of the blue mare, “What are you doing here?”

She might just win.

“You know Dusk Shine, I’ve dreamt of this moment for a long time,” Trixie said and stared into Dusk’s eyes, “You better be ready.”

Or…

“Ready for what?” Dusk asked, his face growing determined and ready for whatever Trixie threw at him.

Maybe…

He wasn’t expecting Trixie to kiss him.

Maybe she chose love.

Trixie broke the kiss and looked at Dusk, waiting for his reaction.

“W-why did you-?”

“That was for saving me from Discord.” Trixie walked closer to Dusk, who backed up a little. Once she was inside, she magically closed the door behind her. She forced Dusk onto his hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around his neck.

“And this…” she started and kissed him again. Dusk, although still surprised, managed to wrap his forehooves around the mare. Trixie broke the kiss and looked into Dusk’s eyes, “Is for helping me rediscover my calling.” Trixie pushed against Dusk and yelped a little when they both fell onto his couch. Trixie kissed him again and licked his lips. Dusk closed his eyes and let out a moan as he opened his mouth and Trixie immediately dove in.

She was really aggressive, exploring every part of Dusk’s mouth and forcing his tongue to wrestle with hers, sometimes actually able to get into her mouth. Both of their bodies were heating up from the make out session and it showed when Trixie pulled away for a breath.

“What was that for?” Dusk asked. Trixie laughed and licked the corner of his mouth.

“That was just for fun,” she said and pulled her cloak off. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, this is just unexpected,” he said. He then stole a kiss from Trixie, which caused them both to blush deeply. “But I am liking this.” Trixie giggled and nuzzled her head into Dusk’s neck.

“Good, because you’re mine from now on,” she said and fidgeted a little until she was comfortable.

“Where have you been all this time?” Dusk asked and stroked Trixie’s back. She hummed in pleasure before answering.

“Plotting revenge against you.”

“H-huh?!”

“But that was before I fell for you.” Trixie looked up into Dusk’s eyes and smiled.

“Y-you…” Trixie laughed and kissed Dusk on the cheek.

“You heard that right. I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, fell for you and fell for you hard.” She planted a quick kiss on Dusk’s lips and felt her heart flutter when he smiled. “I love you.” Dusk brought Trixie up for another deep kiss. Trixie moaned into his mouth and breathed heavily when the kiss broke.

“I guess I have some catching up to do, huh?” he asked. Trixie let out a low ‘mhmm’ and nuzzled into Dusk’s neck, content in just enjoying his warmth and the strokes down her back. After a few minutes Dusk spoke up to ask, “So, what would you have done if you didn’t fall for me?”

He didn’t receive an answer.

“Trixie?” He looked down to find the blue mare was asleep. Her mouth was slightly open as shallow breaths passed through it. Dusk laughed quietly and levitated a blanket and pillow over to them. He placed the blanket over them, the pillow under his head, and kissed Trixie on the top of her head. She squirmed a little but settled down with a smile.

“Good night Trixie, I can’t wait to see if you’re sincere about this,” he whispered and closed his eyes.

One way or the other, whether she’s now standing over him victorious in revenge or being held close by the stallion she fell in love with, I’m looking forward to her next letter.

After all, nothing ever really ends.

This was a lot of fun to write, and I think I'm now a legit Twixie shipper. Ah well, that kind of thing is bound to happen. Though honestly I wish this was a lot longer than it is. Maybe I'll revise it later.

TwiScratch and OctaPie

Opening Observation for Case zzzzdknd 01010000 01101111 01101110 01111001 00100000 01010000 01101111 01101110 01111001 00100000 01010000 01101111 01101110 01111001<

Connection Malfunction<

The alarm sounded loudly and startled one of the two occupants awake, which resulted in him falling to floor. He rubbed his head and shakily got to his hooves before looking over at the other pony.

‘He’s STILL SLEEPING?!’ he thought at the sight of the unicorn snoring away. That problem was quickly solved with a swift kick to the midsection.

“Oomph,” was all the unicorn got out as he clutched his stomach and looked up at his attacker. “What the hell Octy?”

“The alarm went off and you were still sleeping. I swear Vinyl you could stay asleep if a bomb went off or the zeppelin crashed.” Octavio walked to the door and, with a little effort, managed to turn the handle and pushed it open. “Come on, we have to prepare to dock.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming,” Vinyl said and got up to follow Octavio. They worked their way through the small hallways toward the front, Vinyl taking a quick detour to get breakfast for the two of them. Octavio pushed through one last door and was in the cockpit. He sat in the left chair and turned off the auto pilot, which was pretty low tech when compared to other models, and started the complicated task of piloting the zeppelin through the thick overcast.

“Ugh, look at that,” Vinyl said as he walked into the cockpit with two cups of coffee floating next to him. He offered a cup to Octavio, which he took and nodded his thanks, before sitting down in the other chair. “I don’t remember the overcast being this bad.”

“Are you sure we’re close? I can’t see a thing.”

“You said that the alarm went off right? That means we should be about twenty miles away.” Vinyl took a drink of coffee and leaned forward. “I think it’s actually starting to clear.”

Octavio squinted through the overcast and saw it was clearing. A few seconds later it cleared enough for them to see their destination.

“Whoa,” was the gist of their reaction. Vinyl turned to Octavio with a huge smile.

“Well Octy, allow me to present you to Canter-city 03, popularly designated ‘Ponyville.”

>Scanning structure<

>…<

>scanning complete<

>Structure designation: Canter-city 03<

>Structure height: ~ 10-20 kilometers, highest populated area ~5-8 kilometers<

>Total population: ~20-30,000<

>structure age: indeterminable<

>Warning: probe signal detected on structure<

“You’ve been here before, right Vinyl?” Octavio asked.

“Yeah, when I was a colt my mom took me here,” Vinyl explained and took a drink of coffee, “It wasn’t a happy visit though, my granddad died and we had to go to his funeral.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Octavio said.

“It happened years ago, but thanks anyway. It was so surreal at the time, I can’t really remember a time Mom cried that much.” Vinyl downed the rest of his coffee and threw the empty cup into a trash bin. “Want me to call in?”

“By all means,” Octavio answered and finished his own cup. Vinyl went about getting the radio ready for transmission, set the frequency, and picked up the transceiver.

“Canter-city tower, this is zeppelin 003, requesting permission to dock over.” The other end was silent for about ten seconds afterwards.

“Vinyl,” Octavio started but was shushed down by Vinyl. A second later the radio crackled to life.

“Zeppelin 003, this Canter-city tower, where are you, over.” Vinyl mouthed ‘I told you’ to Octavio before answering.

“We’re a small, twin ballooned zeppelin coming in from the west. We’ll await visual confirmation, over.”

“Roger.” A few tense moments followed, which caused Octavio to start sweating a little. “We have eyes on a zeppelin matching your description. Can you perform a simple maneuver to confirm over?”

“Roger, we’ll turn right twenty degrees, over.” Vinyl twirled a hoof and he and Octavio set about slowly turning the craft. Once that was done Vinyl picked up the transceiver and waited.

“We have visual confirmation. What is the nature of your visit, over?”

“Recreation and some trade, just some scrap parts we found. We don’t expect to be here longer than three or four days, over.”

“Stand by.”

“Vinyl, what if they won’t let us in?” Octavio asked.

“They will,” Vinyl answered simply. The minute or so of slowly approaching the tower in front of them was starting to get to them.

“Zeppelin 003, you are cleared for docking in port 032. Popping green smoke in 3…2…1,” no sooner had the radio operator said that a trail of green smoke drifted from the structure, “Can you see the trail, over?”

“Roger that, we see it and are coming in now, over.” Vinyl mouthed an excited ‘yes’ to Octavio.

“Roger, we’ll be waiting for you. Over and out.” The radio crackled out and Vinyl replaced the transceiver, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was easy,” he said and sat up straighter, “Let’s get going.” Octavio nodded and they focused on piloting the zeppelin to the dock. They started slowing down once they got close enough.

“Go release the tethers, ok?” Octavio asked and gestured behind him.

“Can do,” Vinyl said as he got up and walked to the tether releases, which were just four simple switches that would release four ropes with a hook on the end to drag them in. “One, two, three, and four! Tethers away!” Vinyl said and walked back to his chair. Out of the window he could see a group of claws extending out and, once they were out of sight, felt the craft shake as they were brought to the dock.

“Zeppelin 003, this is Canter-city tower, were you planning to glide down to dock, over?” the radio crackled. Vinyl picked up the transceiver to answer.

“Yeah, we were planning to glide in, over.”

“Roger that, we’ll prepare for your landing, over and out.” Vinyl set transceiver down and looked at Octavio.

“Come on, let’s not keep them waiting,” he said and walked out of the cockpit with Octavio following. Their side door out wasn’t that far of a walk and they were soon there and strapping on their gliders. Vinyl put a pair of goggles on, the world turning a slight shade of purple because of them, and waited for Octavio to do the same before opening the door. Vinyl couldn’t help but whistle at the drop.

“Man, would you look at that. How high do you think that is: three, maybe four kilometers?”

“Please don’t joke like that Vinyl, I always get nervous at this,” Octavio said. Vinyl chuckled at his friend.

“Alright, I’ll go first.” Vinyl backed up a little and took a running jump out of the ship. Octavio took a deep breath and did the same. The winds at this height brushed past Octavio’s face as he quickly gathered speed. Vinyl, as usual, was busy flipping and twirling in the air and most likely screaming in joy.

‘What an adrenaline junkie,’ Octavio thought to himself. Once he was at a reasonable height, he turned a knob on his glider which allowed a pair of metal wings to spring out from its sides. He tilted up slowly to slow his descent. He looked down at Vinyl and saw he waited a few more seconds before deploying his own glider. Octavio rolled his eyes and started gliding toward the landing platform. Octavio flared his glider and slowed down for a slightly less than graceful landing. But at least he landed at all when compared to Vinyl who had foregone landing entirely in favor of aiming for the safety balloon at the end.

“Whoo!” he called as he flew into the balloon and tumbled down it. Octavio shook his head and walked over to Vinyl, making sure to retract his glider along the way.

“You know Vinyl, one of these days you’re going to miss the platform, and then what are you going to do then?” Vinyl got up, being careful of the glider, and retracted it before answering.

“Eh, I’d probably just land on one of the lower platforms or, if I get lucky, I could glide all the way to the ground.”

“I don’t think that will happen, you’ll probably die from the fumes before getting close to it. Now come on, let’s go get our things.”

The world slowly faded in for Twilight, starting first with the sound of clockwork gears churning away. After spending her entire life living inside what is essentially a steam powered machine, you get used to the sounds. Twilight stretched her forelegs and rolled over in her bed and opened her eyes.

And found a smiling pink pony filling her vision. Twilight screamed and backed away from Pinkie, falling out of the bed onto the floor.

“Silly Twilight, do you know what time it is? It’s almost seven!” Pinkie said as she looked down at her friend.

“I was going to wake up Pinkie,” Twilight said and stood up. She wasn’t really shocked at the fact that Pinkie was fully dressed in one of her usual dresses. Now that Twilight thought about it, she doesn’t remember a time when didn’t have one of those dresses on. “So what did you have planned for today?” Twilight asked as she started putting on her own dress with her magic, although it wasn’t nearly to the extremes as Pinkie.

“I don’t really have anything planned, although I did want to go to the zeppelin terminals. Have you ever gone there to just watch the airships?”

“Not that I remember,” Twilight said and tightened one of her belts. “But I guess I do see the majesty of them, I’ve never been on one. Will any of the others join us?”

“I already asked the others, but they said they had other things to do. I think Rainbow said something about problems upstairs.” Twilight looked at Pinkie worriedly and subconsciously tied one last ribbon.

“Is it serious?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure there would have been an announcement if it was.” Pinkie hopped off the bed and walked over to Twilight, “So it will just be you and me for today. So come on, let’s go!” Twilight gave a last look at her dress and nodded.

“Alright, let’s go,” she said. Pinkie bounced excitedly out of the room with Twilight following. The pair made their way out to the cobblestone streets where Twilight looked up at the sky through the higher streets, gears, and pipes. They passed by a couple street vendors and bought a couple muffins for breakfast. “How are the others doing? I heard Fluttershy has had a few pregnant animals.”

“Mhmm and Applejack said he had one of the biggest harvests he’s had.” Pinkie answered and took a bite of her breakfast muffin.

“Really, I thought they were having problems with one of their irrigation system up there?”

“They were but they figured out what the problem was. I think he said one of the intake valves wasn’t sealed properly or something. Once they figured that out, everything ran smooth as taffy.”

“And Elusive is still doing well?”

“Mhmm, his new line is doing very well from what I heard. He even gave me these stockings!” Pinkie held out a hind leg so Twilight could see. The stockings were primarily pink with blue and yellow stripes running along it. If there were anything else to it, Twilight wasn’t the pony to know it.

“They’re um…nice?” she said.

“I know, and they’re really comfy too. You should get some.” The pair finished their muffins and reached a railing separating them from a ledge. Pinkie leaned over it and looked down into the thick cloud cover. “Hey, do you think the clouds down there will ever clear? From what we heard from the Princess’ the land down there used to be really beautiful. I can only imagine the kind of parties I could throw down there.”

“I heard the same too and I have to agree, but I can’t imagine anything other than the wasteland down there,” Twilight said joining Pinkie in looking over it, “All those trees starved of sunlight, I’m surprised there was anything even alive down there.”

“Fluttershy was crying almost every time we saw an animal. I wonder how much of that was natural and not Nightmare Moon’s doing?”

“I don’t want to think about it. Come on Pinkie, let’s get going.” Twilight continued walking and Pinkie lingered behind for a second before joining Twilight. The two friends continued making small talk along the way to the docks. Pinkie looked to the left and gasped loudly before zooming over to the railing.

“Twilight, look at that one!” Pinkie said bouncing excitedly. Twilight walked over to her excitable friend and inspected the zeppelin she pointed to.

“It’s kind of small, isn’t it?” Twilight asked, “I’ll admit it’s really rare to see a model like that, but I think it’s because it’s outdated. I think I prefer Princess Luna’s personal airship.”

“Not that, I haven’t seen that one before! Do you know what that means?!” Twilight thought for a moment before answering.

“New ponies to gree-“

“NEW PONIES TO GREET!” Pinkie shouted and grabbed Twilight’s shoulders. “WE HAVE TO GO MEET THEM!” She said shaking Twilight and drawing attention from the surrounding ponies.

“O-o-o-kay, Pi-i-inkie! We’ll go!” Twilight managed get out. Pinkie stopped shaking her, smiled widely, and dragged Twilight as fast as she could to where the craft was docking. When they stopped Twilight was dazed while Pinkie bounced in place smiling at the elevator. After a minute the elevator doors opened and two stallions, a gray earth pony and a white unicorn, walked out.

“Ooh, I definitely haven’t seen them before,” Pinkie said smiling even wider. Twilight shook her head and got a good look at them.

“Yeah, I think they are new. I wonder where they are from?” The two walked to a counter where a unicorn was going through some bags. The earth pony took off his goggles and said something to the unicorn, who nodded.

“They’re kinda handsome.”

“W-what?” Twilight asked surprised and Pinkie just shrugged. The unicorn apparently got bored of waiting and starting looking around. He stopped when he spotted Pinkie and Twilight, who smiled widely and nervously waved respectively. He nudged the earth pony, said something to him, and they both looked at them. Pinkie waved wildly at them and they talked a bit more. Whatever they said resulted in the unicorn shrugging and waving back at them.

“They seem friendly.” Pinkie said. The unicorn finished inspecting the bags, handed them over to the stallions, and probably said a normal greeting to the city. The pair nodded, took their bags, and walked over to Pinkie and Twilight. They didn’t even get a word in before Pinkie started talking.

“Hi, you must be new here right? I can tell because I haven’t seen you or your ship before and if I had seen you before I would know since I know everypony in the city! Those are some nice goggles you have by the way. Where did you get them? How much did they cost? Do you like cupcakes? What about muffins? Carrot cake? Chocolate cake? What about taffy? Ooh ooh, what about parfaits? Everypony loves parfaits! Have you ever met somepony and said ‘hey, you wanna get some parfaits?’ and they were like ‘nope, I don’t like parfaits.’ OF COURSE YOU HAVEN’T, PARFAITS ARE DELICIOUS! Anyway I’m Pinkie Pie and this is my friend Twilight Sparkle. What are your names?”

“W-what?” the earth pony asked.

“To answer your questions: yes, Canter-City 06, about 20 bits, yes, yes, haven’t tried it, and I prefer my parfaits with a little whipped cream and strawberries. Nice to meet you,” the unicorn said. Everypony, Pinkie included, was surprised that he managed to keep up with Pinkie’s rambling.

“You… caught all that?” the earth pony asked.

“Mhmm. Anyway, I’m Vinyl Scratch and this is Octavio Philharmonica. It’s nice to meet you both.” Vinyl flashed a grin at the two mares and held a hoof out.

“Uh, the pleasure’s all ours,” Twilight said and shook his hoof. Octavio cleared his throat to draw the other’s attention.

“You’ll have to excuse Vinyl, he can be a little… uncultured at times.” Vinyl huffed a little.

“Well excuse me, some ponies don’t have the patience to stand those boring high society parties that you always drag me to.” Octavio glared at Vinyl and raised his hind leg slightly. “Anyway, Twilight, Pinkie, it was nice meeting you, but we gotta get going.”

“Aw, but I wanted to show you around. It’s not every day you meet somepony new,” Pinkie said sadly.

“W-well that’s nice of you, but-“

“Vinyl, need I remind you that we don’t exactly know our way around the city. Besides, it’s not polite to decline help from a mare,” Octavio said and turned to the mares, “I assure you, we’d be more than happy to let you show us around.” Pinkie immediately perked up and bounced excitedly.

“That’s super! Come on, let’s go!” Pinkie said and started bouncing away and Twilight smiled awkwardly and followed her. Vinyl started whispering to Octavio as they followed them.

“What are you doing? We just met them, why are you…” Vinyl’s eyebrows raised a little and he smirked. “Oh, I see what’s going on.”

“What are you going on about?” Octavio asked.

“Oh don’t worry, a nod is as good as a wink to a blind bat. And I’ll admit they are pretty cute.” Octavio’s eyes widened as he got what Vinyl was saying. “So, which one are you interested in?” That question was rewarded with a punch to the shoulder.

“I’m just being a gentlecolt. I’m not like you where I would go with every mare that showed the slightest interest in me.” Vinyl’s face grew serious.

“Dude, that’s cold.” Octavio sighed.

“Maybe we should drop this conversation.”

“Yeah.”

The group walked through the streets and Vinyl and Octavio couldn’t help but marvel at the landmarks Pinkie pointed out.

“And that’s Celestia’s tower,” Pinkie said in regards to a clock tower in front of them, “my granny Pie said the section was built around this and that there are several towers just like this in the other cities.”

“Yeah, I think I remember seeing a tower like that back in 06,” Octavio said and turned to Vinyl, “You remember right? That tower we always climbed when we were foals.”

“Mhmm,” Vinyl hummed. Octavio sighed. Vinyl never really cared about these kinds of things.

“I take it you want to do something else?”

“Funny you should mention that! We should probably sell those parts to get some spending money. That doesn’t mean you have to stop touring though, if you really want to.”

“How considerate of you,” Octavio said and tossed his bag onto Vinyl’s back, “Just try to get a good price on those.” Vinyl saluted and started to walk away when Twilight spoke up.

“Actually, I needed to go to the market today. I can show you there if you want.”

Vinyl shrugged and said, “Sure, why not? How far away is it anyway?”

“Not that far,” Twilight said and turned to Pinkie, “I’ll catch up with you later Pinkie. Same place as usual?”

“Yeah that works, I’ll see you then.” Twilight smiled at Pinkie and she walked down the street with Vinyl.

‘Wait a minute, that means that I’m left alone with-‘

“Come on Octy, I still have so much to show you and we’re not even done with this level!” Pinkie said and dragged Octavio away with a yelp. When they stopped Octavio found himself standing in front of one of the most out of place buildings he had ever seen.

“I may not look it, but I am a baker and a party mare. And this is Sugarcube Corner, the best place to get sweets in the entire city!” Pinkie explained as she gestured to the cupcake shaped building. Octavio was fascinated by the building as Pinkie went on about frosting or something.

“Is… is that wood?” he asked.

“Mhmm, it’s completely wooden! Well except for the kitchen appliances and the bathroom, but that’s a given.”

“But isn’t wood expensive? The only other wooden building I’ve seen was the concert hall back in 06, and that building completely bankrupted all the ponies who invested in it. How did a baker get enough money to buy a wooden building?”

“I dunno. I think Mr. Cake’s great grandfather made the whole thing himself and made regular trips to the surface to get the trees he needed.” Pinkie leaned in closer to Octavio and smiled widely, “So, would you like a cupcake?”

“Uh, sure?” Pinkie smile grew bigger and she bounced into the bakery. Octavio sighed and whispered, “I hate you so much Vinyl,” and followed the bouncing mare.

“Oh come on, there’s no way this can be that cheap!” Vinyl said to one of the merchants. He had been trying for a long while to get a decent price on the scrap he had, but it wasn’t going very well.

“That’s all I’m willing to give. It’s in decent shape, I’ll give you that, but there’s also rust on it. Rusty materials is barely worth anything. So it’s one hundred.”

“For one or all of it?”

“All of it.”

“That’s a bunch of crap! Do you have any idea how long it took to find all of this? It has to be at least 150.” The merchant rubbed her face and groaned.

“Look kid, I know what you’re trying to do, but I’ve been around a lot. I’ll tell you what, 115, final offer.”

“…120.” She sighed at his insistence.

“Fine.” The merchant started counting out the money and Vinyl mentally patted himself on the back. Sure Octavio was bound to yell at him later, but for now he was done. He took the bits from the merchant and walked over to Twilight, who was busy looking over some tools.

“Find what you need?” he asked. She magically picked one up, shook her head, and set it back down.

“No, I don’t think they ha- YES!” She picked up another tool and smiled. “This is exactly what I need! How much for this?”

“For that one? Twenty bits.” Twilight quickly put the money on the counter and trotted away happily. Vinyl followed her looking bemused.

“So why do you need that?” he asked. Twilight stopped and laughed nervously as she tucked it into one of her belts.

“Well, it’s kind of a secret,” she said. Vinyl raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

“Well ok, must be big I guess. Where do you think Octy and your friend went?”

“Knowing Pinkie, there’s only one place I can think of. Follow me.” Twilight led the way down the streets and past several large gears, its purpose unknown to all but the maintenance teams. They had been walking for a few minutes when some nearby speakers screeched to life.

“Attention citizens! Due to a severe overheat for some machinery in the upper levels, the weather for your section will change to light snowfall with a minor chance of heavier snowfall for the remainder of the week. We apologize for any inconvenience and wish you a pleasant day.”

“More snow? I left 06 to get away from the snow,” Vinyl said angrily.

“You don’t like snow?” Twilight asked.

“It snowed all the time while I grew up. It was some kind of malfunctioning weather generator or something. Nopony bothered to fix it for ten years since it didn’t really hurt anything.” Vinyl stopped and sat on a nearby bench and Twilight sat next to him. “I remember when I first met Octy. We kind of hit it off as foals and he took me to his house. He lived on a different level than me since his family was better off than mine, and I remember being so shocked at the lack of snow. I always tried to find an excuse to go there.” Vinyl started laughing, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bore you with my reminiscing.”

“I don’t mind. I love hearing about other ponies’ lives.” Vinyl looked at Twilight curiously.

“Really, then what’s yours?” he asked. Twilight looked away, her cheeks slightly red.

“Well, it’s kind of embarrassing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…I’m kind of the… personal student of Princess Celestia.”

“Wha- really?” Twilight nodded and Vinyl blinked a couple times, although Twilight didn’t see that through his goggles. “Huh, I didn’t know the Princess had students.”

“Well, I’m kind of a special case. Princess Celestia said she’s never seen anypony with as much magical potential that I do, and I’m also kind of skilled with machines.”

“Well, we all kinda have to be somewhat skilled in that in this day and age. So I don’t really see-“

“I built my first steam generator when I was ten.”

“Pfft hahaha, ok point taken.” Vinyl stood up and motioned to Twilight, “Come on, let’s go find our friends.” Twilight nodded and led the way again. The pair continued to make small talk along the way.

“So what’s it like on a zeppelin?” Twilight asked.

“Really cramped and pretty dangerous. One bad part or leaked balloon or wayward spark and you’re going down. It’s still pretty fun though.”

“Hm…” Twilight hummed and looked up, “Oh, we’re here.” The pair arrived at Sugarcube Corner and Vinyl stared at the building.

“Wood?”

“Yeah, a lot of ponies say that.” Twilight opened the door and called into the bakery. “Pinkie, are you here?”

“Come in!” Twilight smiled and walked inside. The bakery gave off a warm atmosphere, which Twilight always enjoyed, and found Pinkie balancing a plate of cupcakes on her head as she walked to Octavio. “Hi Twilight! I was just showing Octy here all the different cupcakes we have. Do you want one?”

“Sure, I’ll have one of the usual.” Pinkie nodded and hopped toward the counter.

“Save me…” Octavio said to Vinyl pleadingly.

“Why?” Vinyl asked smiling widely.

“I’ve had a hundred cupcakes in the last half hour, and I don’t think she’s going to stop anytime soon!”

“So it’s been going well for you then?” Octavio stared angrily into Vinyl’s goggles.

“I’m going to kill you later.” Twilight cleared her throat to get their attention.

“So Vinyl, do you always wear those goggles?” she asked.

“It’s just something I like to wear. Only my closest friends get to see my eyes, right Octy?”

“Yeah, I should feel so honored that you consider me one of your closest friends.” Pinkie walked back over with a plate of cupcakes on her head.

“Here you go Twilight,” she said and handed a cupcake to Twilight, who nodded her thanks. “So Octy, how do you like the cupcakes?” she asked leaning against the table with her forehooves supporting her head.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Vinyl leaned toward Pinkie with that same grin on his face.

“For the record, Octy’s favorite cupcake is chocolate with vanilla frosting.”

“Oh really, why didn’t you say so? I’ll go whip some up right now!” Pinkie hopped away humming a tune and Octavio grabbed Vinyl’s vest and pulled him closer.

“Why would you tell her that?!”

“I’m just helping you out.” Vinyl said almost totally unfazed by Octavio’s anger.

“I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!” Octavio yelled and growled a little.

“I’m getting hungry,” Vinyl said and pulled away from Octavio, who fell to the floor, and walked to the counter. Twilight giggled a little through a mouthful of cupcake.

“You two have an interesting friendship, don’t you?” she asked.

“You have no idea.”

“Hey Pinkie,” Vinyl called out.

“Yes?” she asked popping up from behind the counter.

“Do you have that cupcake flavor with the rainbow frosting? I really like those.”

“Seven Colors of Flavor? Yeah, we have those.”

“Great, I’ll have one.” Pinkie disappeared under the table and came back up a couple seconds later with a Rainbow cupcake. Vinyl placed a couple bits on the counter and took the cupcake. “Thanks.”

“That reminds me, I haven’t seen Dashie in a while,” Pinkie said staring at the cupcake.

“Who?”

“A friend of mine called Rainbow Dash. She’s a weather pony that works in the upper levels. I haven’t seen her for about a week.”

“She’s probably just busy or something.”

“But what if she’s been foalnapped?! She could be locked up in some dungeon as a mad pony walks to her with an evil smile.”

“Mad pony?” Vinyl asked and took a bit from the cupcake.

“Yeah, and it could be anypony! Maybe…even… ME!” Vinyl and Pinkie stared at each other for a second and Vinyl cracked up.

“Oh really, you? I highly doubt that you can hurt anything, let alone one of your closest friends.”

“I know, that’d just be silly. She probably is just working hard.” Pinkie looked over Vinyl’s shoulder. Vinyl followed her eyes to find Octavio and Twilight chatting away. “So… is your friend single?” Vinyl choked a little on the cupcake at that.

“W-what?”

“I was just wondering if he had somepony back home. If he does, I envy them.”

‘Is this really happening? I was kidding earlier!’ Vinyl thought and coughed a little.

“Uh, no, he’s single.”

“Oh that’s cool. Would you like another cupcake?” Vinyl shook his head from the conversational whiplash, looked down at the half eaten cupcake, and shrugged.

“Sure, why not?”

“Great, give me a minute.” Pinkie disappeared underneath the counter. Vinyl finished the cupcake and waited for Pinkie.

“You know,” Vinyl jumped and looked at Pinkie who had somehow teleported next to him, “Twilight’s single too.”

“Wh- huh?”

“I just thought you’d like to know, wink wink nudge nudge, say no more.”

“What are you-?”

“Say no more,” Pinkie said pulling down on her eye lid and smiled widely at Vinyl.

“I have no idea what you’re-“

“Your cupcake’s done!” Vinyl screamed and turned to Pinkie standing behind the counter with a cupcake sitting in front of her.

“Wha- buh- that’s- how did you?” Vinyl stammered and looked back and forth between where Pinkie was next to him and the counter and found Pinkie was in both locations. He looked back at the counter with Pinkie still smiling widely and sighed. “Forget it,” he said and grabbed the cupcake. He went back to the table and was glad that the second Pinkie was gone.

“Hey, did you guys see…?” he asked motioning back to Pinkie.

“It’s best not to think about it,” Twilight said and finished her cupcake, “I think Rainbow said it best when she said ‘there is no logic, there is only Pinkie Pie.”

“Truer words have never been spoken. Do you happen to know where a hotel would be?”

“There’s one not too far from here, we can show you there if you want.”

“That’d be great.” Octavio said and stood up.

“Aw, you’re going already?” Pinkie asked as she walked up with a plate of cupcakes on her head.

“I’m afraid so. Thanks for the sweets though, how much do I owe you?” Pinkie shook her head and smiled.

“Don’t worry about it, they’re on the house. You want me to pack these up for you?” she asked motioning to the cupcakes on her head.

“Yes, I’d appreciate it.” Pinkie nodded and bounced away. When she returned with a box they left the bakery.

“So how long are you going to stay here?” Pinkie asked as she somehow kept the box of cupcakes safely on her back.

“Probably only a few days,” Vinyl answered.

“Really?!” Pinkie’s sudden yell startled Vinyl and Octavio, “If that’s the case, I need to move my schedule up.” Pinkie then pulled out a notepad and started flipping through the pages.

“Uh…”

“Just don’t think about it,” Twilight said and pointed at a building, “That’s the hotel over there. It has good rooms and is relatively cheap. You should be fine there.”

“Do you two have anything planned for tomorrow afternoon?” Pinkie asked.

“Well no, we were just planning to sightsee for our stay here,” Octavio said.

“Alright then, your party will be tomorrow afternoon. I hope you’ll be ready by then.” Pinkie put the notepad away and smiled widely.

“Party?” the two colts asked.

“Yeppers, I am the premier party pony for the entire city. One of my parties are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.”

“That sounds awesome!” Vinyl said and leaned over Octavio’s back, “Count us in!”

“What?!” was Octavio’s response to that.

“Hey I just noticed your goggles, they look good on you.” Pinkie said pointing at the item.

“Thanks, at least someone appreciates my sense of style.” Octavio huffed and threw Vinyl off of him.

“Are those goggles just for show, or do they actually do something?” Twilight asked.

“They’re actually welding goggles that I tinted different colors, so they’re stylish and helpful.”

"Do you have more of them?"

“Of course, in all colors you can imagine.”

“…I don’t suppose I can borrow a pair for something?”

“For what?”

“Oh um…”

“Vinyl, it’s getting late. We better turn in.” Vinyl looked at Octavio and then to the setting sun.

“Oh wow, your right.” Vinyl turned to Twilight, “We’ll talk about that later Twilight. So until then, good night.”

“Good night,” Twilight said and waved at Vinyl, who waved back and followed Octavio inside.

“So Twilight, so want some advice from Aunt Pinkie about colts?”

“No.”

“I can’t believe you did that.” Octavio said and set his bag in a corner of the room, “Why would you just agree to a party like that?”

“Because I like parties, you know that,” Vinyl said as he lifted his goggles off his head, “Besides, I think Pinkie likes you.”

“She seems like the kind of pony that likes everyone, so I don’t really see the significance.” Octavio started to take off his bowtie when Vinyl turned him around and stared into his eyes.

“No Octy, I think she likes you.” Octavio stared into Vinyl’s red eyes until his eyes widened in understanding.

“Y-you mean…”

“She asked me if you were single.” Octavio’s eyes narrowed and he backed away from Vinyl.

“No, you are not playing matchmaker with me. That is unless you would like me to do the same to you.” Octavio undid his bowtie and smirked at Vinyl.

“Oh?”

“I saw the way you were staring at Twilight.” Vinyl blushed a little and Octavio’s smirk widened. “Tell me, if you had the choice what would you want from her?”

“Now that’s private Octy! And I should ask the same of you!”

“Obviously I would want something refined and elegant, which I doubt Pinkie would have.” Octavio brushed past Vinyl and opened the bathroom door. “I’m going to take a bath before bed. You can have it when I’m done.” The door shut behind him and Vinyl sighed.

“Yeah.”

>Downed drone signal detected<

>Tampering with casing and internal systems detected<

>Triangulating position<

Vinyl was the first to wake up for once. When he saw Octavio sleeping, he decided to leave him be and get ready for the day.

‘After all, I don’t wake up sleeping ponies for kicks.’

Vinyl dressed himself up in his usual vest and goggles, he did what he always did when he woke up first: stare at Octavio until he woke up.

He must have sat there for about five minutes before Octavio opened his eyes. Waking up to a purple goggled unicorn grinning madly at you not even a few inches away from you is not exactly a good way to wake up, so Octavio screamed at the top of his lungs and fell of the bed. Vinyl laughed loudly at this.

“Morning Octy, how ya feeling?” Vinyl asked.

“What do you think?”

“Pretty good, if I do say so. I’m going to get some breakfast, you want anything?”

“I’ll get my own breakfast, thank you.” Vinyl shrugged and left. Octavio sighed and put a hoof on his face. “Why do I put up with him?”

“Twilight, are you up?” Rainbow Dash asked as she knocked on Twilight’s door. After the third round of knocking the door opened up to reveal Twilight in her engineering garb.

“Rainbow? What is it, do you know how late it is?” she asked rubbing her eyes.

“Yeah, it’s 7:30 in the morning.” Twilight’s eyes shot open and she looked to find the sun already out. She yelped a little at the sight and shut the door. Rainbow rolled her eyes and waited a minute. Twilight opened the door again with her dress for the day on.

“Why are you here anyway? I thought you were working in the upper levels?” she asked hastily tying a ribbon around her neck.

“I was, but I managed to get some time off. So how are you doing?”

“I’m fine, had an interesting day with Pinkie yesterday.” Twilight finished tying the ribbon and started walking down the street with Rainbow following her.

“I heard about that, and about a couple of stallions. What did they look like?”

“W-why would you ask that?” Twilight asked blushing a little.

“No reason, Pinkie just told me they were kinda cute. Your opinion?”

“I don’t want to talk about this!” Twilight yelled.

“That good huh?” Twilight’s response was stopped when she saw a snowflake fell in front of her, followed by another and several more. “It’s started already? I thought they wouldn’t start until noon.” Rainbow looked back at her sparse clothing and shivered a little. “I better go pad up, I’ll see you later Twi.”

“Alright, see you,” Twilight said and waved at Rainbow as she galloped away. Twilight turned and continued walking down the street. A minute of walking later Twilight realized she had no reason to be out. She sighed and turned back to walk back to her house.

“Oy!” Twilight looked back and saw Vinyl trot up to her with a crepe floating next to him. Twilight smiled and waved at him.

“Hi Vinyl, how are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m fine, aside from the snow. You?” Vinyl took a bite from the crepe as Twilight answered.

“Oh, just going for a walk. I was just about to head back.” Vinyl perked up and swallowed his crepe.

“Oh yeah, I got these for you,” Vinyl said and levitated a pair of goggles up, “you said you wanted one of these right?” Vinyl floated it over to Twilight who took the goggles in her own magic.

“Yeah, I kind of lost mine. Thanks.” Twilight started trotting back to her house and was surprised that Vinyl was following her.

“What are you working on?” he asked.

“Oh well…” Twilight stared at the path ahead of her for a few seconds and looked at Vinyl seriously, “You won’t tell anyone will you?”

“My lips are sealed,” Vinyl said with a grin. Twilight stared at him for a second before looking ahead.

“I think you should just see it for yourself.”

Octavio adjusted his bowtie one last time before he deemed himself ready to go out. While flying on a zeppelin was adventurous and all, there was very little in the way of proper cleaning supplies. Octavio opened the door ready for a day without any distractions.

Absolutely. No. Distractions.

“Hi!” Octavio screamed at the appearance of Pinkie Pie at the door, today wearing a light blue dress. “How are you doing today Octy?”

“How did you find my room?!”

“Vinyl told me.”

“Damn you Vinyl,” Octavio whispered angrily. Pinkie placed both forehooves on Octavio’s shoulders.

“Come on, we still have so much to see!” she said and dragged Octavio, who gave off a yelp.

Twilight opened the door to her house and let Vinyl in.

“Nice place you have here,” Vinyl said looking around the house, “How much did this cost?”

“Nothing actually. When I first came here the princess had me stay here, but some things happened and I’ve been staying here ever since.” Twilight moved to a door and walked down a flight of stairs, “Can you stay here for a moment? I uh, need to clean up down there.”

“No problem,” Vinyl said and looked around some more. “What is this place anyway?”

“I think it used to be a skiff repair shop, but it closed down and was turned into a library when zeppelins started taking off.”

“Huh.” A minute of aimless wandering later and Twilight called up again.

“You can come down now.” Vinyl walked over to the stairs and started down them. When he reached the bottom he found Twilight working on something. She was wearing simple brown overalls with a white undershirt. Her hair was done up in a bun and she had Vinyl’s goggles over her eyes. Twilight looked over at Vinyl and felt a little self conscious when she realized he was staring. Maybe.

“W-what? Not every mare has to wear a dress you know.”

“I’m not staring at you, I’m staring at that,” Vinyl said and pointed at what Twilight was working on. It was a large piece of machinery that was a dark black and smooth all around. It must have taken a while to get it down there due to its size.

“Oh… right,” Twilight laughed nervously and rubbed her neck, “Sorry, I guess I just got used to it.”

“What the hay is it?” Vinyl asked and walked closer to it.

“I have no idea, it kind of fell from the sky about a month ago. I’m been trying to figure out what it is, but I haven’t made any progress. I know one thing though, it’s not pony made.”

“Wait, are you saying this is alien technology?” Vinyl asked and poked at the object.

“I’m not saying that, although it is an option. I was hoping to get into it to discern where it came from.”

“Do you need help with that?”

“Yeah, come over here for a second.”

“And that takes care of the history of these stairs! Interesting huh?”

“Riveting.” Octavio honestly stopped listening to Pinkie long ago. Pinkie frowned at Octavio’s uncaring attitude.

“Well alright mister uppity pony, what do you want to do?”

“Honestly, I just want to enjoy the sights and maybe a nice cup of tea.”

“Oh yeah, did you eat those cupcakes?”

“You forgot to give them to me.” Pinkie gasped loudly.

“UNNACEPTABLE! You need to have cupcakes!” Pinkie grabbed Octavio’s hoof, “Come on!”

“Oh no.”

“So Vinyl, what do you and Octavio do?” Twilight asked as she looked through the insides of the machine.

“Believe it or not we’re musicians.”

“Really?”

“Yeah but we’re as far apart from each other as we could get. See I’m more into dance music while Octy is into classical.”

“Hm, then how did you two become friends?”

“I’m sure Octy asks himself that every day. You almost done in there?”

“Hold on, let’s see if this does something.” Twilight grabbed a couple wires with her magic and carefully connected them together. Sparks of electricity jumped between the wires and Twilight jumped away from the machine. “Um…did it do something?”

>Downed drone located<

>Warning: tampering detected<

>Self destruct activated<

Twilight and Vinyl backed away from the machine as it started beeping rapidly.

“Uh, I don’t like that beeping,” Vinyl said worriedly, “What should we do?”

“Run.” Vinyl didn’t need any more incentive as he and Twilight ran up the stairs. They barely managed to make it out of the stairs when the machine blew up, which could be heard for quite a ways away especially by a certain earth pony pair.

“What the hay was that?” Octavio asked.

“That came from Twilight’s house! Come on!” Pinkie took off at a gallop, Octavio following behind.

Back at Twilight’s house, Twilight coughed at the smoke as she lay on the floor.

“Well, that didn’t work well. Are you ok Vinyl?”

“Yeah I’m fine.” His voice was closer than she thought and she found out the reason was because he had landed right on top of her. “Are you ok?” he asked.

“U- uh…” Twilight stammered out more than a little embarrassed at the closeness. It didn’t make it any better when Pinkie Pie burst through the door a second later.

“Twilight are you ok, I heard something go boom!” Pinkie paused at the sight of the two unicorns. “Oh…” Octavio walked in a second later and looked at Vinyl for a second.

“You hypocrite.” Vinyl got off of Twilight and walked over to Octavio.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Octy, something blew up is all.”

“I’ll bet that’s what happened.”

“Actually that is what happened,” Twilight said as she stood up, “I was working on something and I must have done something wrong.” Pinkie walked over to the basement door and looked inside.

“Wow it’s smokey down there. Is your basement going to be alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll have to clean it up later though.” Twilight took off the goggles and cringed a little at the cracks in the lenses. “Um, sorry about your goggles Vinyl.”

“Ah don’t worry about it, I have a ton of them. So Pinkie, when did you want that party?” Vinyl asked stashing the cracked goggles away.

“Oh my gosh, thanks for reminding me Vinyl!” Pinkie said and dragged the assembled into a crushing hug, “I almost forgot with all the sightseeing and explosions! We have a lot of work to do!”

“P-Pinkie, I’m fine with helping, but I need to get dressed,” Twilight managed to get out.

“Ok.” Pinkie let Twilight go and dragged Vinyl and Octavio away by their tail and hoof respectively. Twilight looked at her smoking door and flinched.

“I am not looking forward to cleaning that up.”

A few hours later, after Pinkie worked overtime on preparations, Vinyl and Octavio’s party was well under way. The two of them were initially very baffled at the amount of ponies that showed up when it started, about twenty or fifty in a few seconds, but that went away when they were informed that this was kind of small for a Pinkie Pie welcome party. At the moment Pinkie was busy introducing them to her friends.

“This is Fluttershy, she takes care of the animals that live on level 7. She’s kinda shy though.”

“Um… hello…” the yellow pegasus said quietly. She was wearing what was probably the simplest clothing that Vinyl and Octavio had ever seen since she wore a simple white robe. Pinkie hopped over to an orange earth pony with a cowpony hat and a duster coat.

“This is Applejack, his family runs the biggest apple orchard in the city. Do you get apples from Sweet Apple Acres where you come from?”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Vinyl said and shook Applejack’s hoof.

“Thanks and it’s nice to meet ya,” Applejack said and shook Octavio’s hoof.

“This is Elusive,” Pinkie said in regards to a white unicorn who, in comparison to Fluttershy and Applejack, was wearing a very stylized outfit. “He runs Carousel Boutique on level 5.”

“A pleasure to meet you. Tell me, is that what the fashion in Canter-city 06 is like? It’s very simple and rustic.”

“Actually this is a little out of date, most of the new vests over there are really shiny.” Octavio looked at Vinyl with a surprised look on his face. “What? I keep up with fashion.”

“That’s… really weird for you.” Octavio said. Vinyl shrugged and looked back at Pinkie.

“This is Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie said and pulled Rainbow into a hug, “I already told you about her right? Fastest flyer in Equestria?”

“Yeah you did,” Vinyl said and shook Rainbow’s hoof, “It’s nice to know you haven’t been kidnapped.” Rainbow gave him a confused look and shook her head.

“Uh, thanks I guess.”

“You’re a flyer huh? Do you get to practice often?” Octavio asked.

“Not as often as I would like, what with airship traffic and all. But I do get it in when I can.”

“And you already know Twilight, so that’s all my friends. I better leave you to enjoy your party and let me know if you need anything.” Vinyl and Octavio nodded and the group dispersed except for Twilight.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“We… didn’t really want to say anything, especially around Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy,” Octavio said nervously.

“What do you mean?”

“We were just kinda surprised to see healthy pegasus with wings intact.” Vinyl whispered and looked around a little.

“Healthy?”

“It’s kind of a harsh subject, so I don’t really want to talk about it ok?” Twilight nodded and followed Vinyl through the crowd. Octavio sighed and counted down.

“Three, two, one.”

“Hi Octy!” Pinkie said popping up next to him.

“Pinkie.”

“I made a whole batch of cupcakes for you. You want some?”

“Yes, that would be good.” Pinkie smiled and led Octavio to the food table, which Vinyl and Twilight were walking away from.

“So…” Twilight started and Vinyl sighed.

“You’re wondering about what I said earlier right?” Vinyl asked.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, let’s get somewhere a little more private.” The pair moved to a table in the corner and set their food and drinks down. Vinyl sighed quietly before speaking, “So, do you want the hard or soft version of this?”

“Water it down please,” Twilight said and took a bite of her cupcake.

“Ok, here’s the deal. You see, back in 06, it’s really rare to see a healthy pegasus like Rainbow Dash, mostly because pegasus birth rates there are both very low and very prone to complications.”

“W-what?” Twilight said in shock.

“This is why I don’t really want to talk about it, since it’s kind of a grim subject. Let’s talk about something else ok?”

“Y-yeah. So what is your home city like?”

The party had continued for the next few hours relatively smoothly and both Vinyl and Octavio were surprised at how much fun it was. Vinyl had spent most of that time talking with Twilight in one of those long enjoyable conversations that don’t really go anywhere and Octavio found that Pinkie Pie’s cheery attitude was incredibly infectious and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. But as always the party started dying down at around 11 as ponies started going home.

“How late is it?” Vinyl asked.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Twilight said and stretched a little. “I should probably get to bed soon.”

“We should be doing the same soon Vinyl,” Octavio said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Hey, would you mind if I walked you home Twilight?”

“W-what?” Twilight asked in surprise.

“It’s the nice thing to do and Octy would probably yell at me if I didn’t.”

“Wh- don’t drag me into this!”

“Hey!” Octavio screamed when Pinkie rested against his back, “As long as you guys are offering you can walk me home Octy.”

“What?!”

‘Wow, she doesn’t dance around the issue does she?’ Vinyl thought and smirked, ‘Might as well tease Octy while I can.’ “Oh come on Octy, a true gentlecolt would a mare home is she asks right?”

“Don’t you DARE trap me in my own ethics Vinyl!”

“So you’ll do it?” Pinkie asked.

“Yes! I mean- what was the question again?”

“Great, let’s go!” Pinkie grabbed Octavio’s hoof and dragged him away as he looked at Vinyl angrily. Vinyl just chuckled and waved.

“He looked pretty mad,” Twilight commented.

“Yeah I’m going to get it later, but for now I’m happy. Come on let’s go.”

“I’m really glad you enjoyed the party and that you’re nice enough to walk me home. You don’t look like the kind of pony who would do something like this, but then again you should never judge a pony by their looks. Like I remember this one time when-“

“I’m sorry, but is there ever a moment you’re not talking endlessly?” Octavio asked.

“When I’m asleep or really excited,” Pinkie said simply, “My house is just down here.” They took a right turn and continued down the street. Octavio watched Pinkie bounce up and down and had to ask.

“Hey, I heard from Vinyl that you had been asking about me.”

“Mhmm.” Octavio was taken aback a little at her answer.

“W-well, why were you asking about me?” Pinkie looked back at him with a smile.

“’Cause I think you’re nice.”

“Huh?”

“You’re not too bad looking either, but that’s not why I’m interested in you.”

“Interested?” Pinkie didn’t say anything and they continued walking. ‘Interested? Could she… no it can’t be. Nopony just decides something like that so fast.’

They arrived at Pinkie’s house a couple minutes later. It was a simple house with nothing outstanding about it, which seemed a little odd for Pinkie. Pinkie opened the door and looked back at Octavio.

“Do you want to come in?” she asked.

“I-I don’t wish to impose…”

“Don’t be silly.” Pinkie grabbed Octavio and pulled him inside. If the outside looked normal, the same couldn’t be said for the inside which was filled to the brim with all sorts of party supplies, some of which Octavio didn’t even know had existed. It was a miracle that Pinkie had managed to fit furniture in it.

“Stay here for a moment, I’ll be back in a second,” Pinkie said and walked upstairs. Octavio looked around the room and spotted a cannon. He walked over to it curiously and, upon finding a button, reached out to press it and…

“Freeze mister!”

Octavio jumped away from the cannon and turned to Pinkie, who had taken off her dress in favor of a shirt and some shorts. She walked over to the cannon and started checking it.

“That’s what I thought, I forgot to unload it. That would have been bad if you actually fired it.”

“What is it and why do you have a cannon in the first place?” Octavio asked.

“It’s my party cannon.”

“What?”

“Yeah, everything I need for a successful party on the go is in this cannon. I take one with me wherever I go.”

“You have more than one?!” The implications of such a thing existing, let alone more than one, were a scary thought to Octavio.

“Mhmm. You have to be prepared no matter what, since you never know when you’ll need a party.” Pinkie laughed a little and turned the cannon away from her.

“Right, I guess you have a point. Well, I better get going,” Octavio turned started walking to the door.

“Aw, you’re not even a little curious about what I meant earlier?” Pinkie asked.

“Honestly, I’m a little afraid to ask.” He placed a hoof on the door and Pinkie popped up between him and the door.

“Oh really?” Octavio was more than a little concerned with how she said that.

“Uh y-yeah,” he said feeling his cheeks grow warm at Pinkie’s proximity. “I-I mean there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s just that-“ Octavio gasped a little when Pinkie wrapped her forelegs around his neck, “I’ve never been in this situation before.”

“Well, neither have I,” Pinkie said and brought her face closer to Octavio’s increasingly blushing one, “and there’s nothing wrong with that.” Octavio opened his mouth to say something when Pinkie kissed him. Octavio’s eyes widened as his mind tried desperately to process what was going on.

‘Why is she kissing me?! We’ve only known each other for a few days!’ Pinkie pushed Octavio up on his hind legs and he instinctively wrapped his forelegs around her. ‘What am I doing?! I have to get out of here and oh Celestia that’s her tongue.’ Once that happened, Octavio really couldn’t help it when he pulled Pinkie in closer. She giggled a little and deepened the kiss. Octavio closed his eyes and took in everything he could about Pinkie: how her mane smelled like cotton candy, how her near endless supply of energy seemed to flow into him, and when her tongue entered his mouth, how she seemed to taste like every kind of candy he could think of. Pinkie released the kiss and stared into Octavio’s eyes.

“You’re a pretty good kisser,” she said through pants.

“T-thanks.” ‘Wow, her eyes are beautiful.’

“So um… do you still want to go back to your hotel?” Octavio hugged Pinkie tighter and smiled.

“I can probably stay a little longer.” Pinkie smiled widely and kissed him lightly and let him go.

“Well then, I have the perfect idea.” She walked past Octavio, brushing her puffy tail across his body causing him to shiver, and started up the stairs. “Are you coming?”

“Yes ma’am.”

When Vinyl and Twilight left the party, Vinyl couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the sight of Pinkie dragging Octavio away.

“So, you enjoyed the party?” Twilight asked with just the slightest twinge of nervousness in her voice.

“Yeah, it was pretty cool. If Pinkie throws parties like that all the time I’ll have to come back more often.” Vinyl kept an eye on how she moved and she seemed to want to say something. ‘Best to not force it out.’

“Yes, I would like to see you more often. Y-you know, as a friend.”

“Or more?” Twilight gulped at the question.

“M-maybe. B-but I don’t mean right away, just maybe…when you come next… I’ll be quiet now.”

“Hey calm down, it’s alright. You’re a nice mare Twilight and I would be more than happy to indulge you.” Twilight blushed and looked at Vinyl.

“I-I don’t mean to push you into anything! It’s just… oh what are the words?” Vinyl grinned at her and bumped her slightly.

“It’s ok, I get what you’re trying to say.”

“Uh, thanks.” They grew quiet until they came up to Twilight’s house and she turned to look at him. “So uh, when will you be back?”

“I don’t really know, but I’ll send you a letter next time I come.” Twilight nodded and scrapped the ground for a moment.

“Oh whatever,” she whispered and kissed Vinyl on the cheek. Surprised at the action, Vinyl could only watch as Twilight opened her door and looked back at him. “I’ll be sure to see you off when you leave. Well, good night.”

“Yeah,” Vinyl said and Twilight closed the door. The snow started to fall heavily as Vinyl walked back to the hotel.

He didn’t really mind it much.

The next morning Octavio woke up to the sound of clock gears and light humming. He opened his eyes to find Pinkie lying next to him lightly stroking his face.

“Good morning,” he said and placed a hoof on Pinkie’s side.

“Morning,” she said and scooted closer to Octavio, “I, um…” the words were stolen from Pinkie’s mouth when Octavio kissed her. “Yeah, that.” Octavio laughed quietly.

“You know, out of all the things I thought would happen here, I didn’t expect this.” Pinkie nuzzled against Octavio and smiled.

“You’re taking this pretty well. Is something wrong?”

“No, why?”

“I’m just thinking out loud. Come to think of it, do they still do clothing exchanges in 06?” Octavio nodded and Pinkie smiled widely. “That’s good, hold on a second.” Pinkie pulled away from Octavio and leaned off the bed. Octavio averted his eyes while Pinkie searched the floor. When she came back up she turned to Octavio and held out a long piece of cloth.

“A stocking?” he asked taking the cloth.

“Mhmm, they were specially made for me. I can’t think of anything better to give, right?” Octavio smiled and folded the stocking into a square and set it aside.

“Thanks Pinkie, hold on a second.” Octavio leaned over the side of the bed and immediately saw what he wanted. He grabbed it in his mouth and handed it to Pinkie.

“A bowtie?”

“I take my bowties very seriously. I wouldn’t give you this if I didn’t care.” Pinkie hugged Octavio and put the bowtie on, with some help from Octavio.

“Thanks Octy. So, when do you have to get ready to leave?” Octavio hugged Pinkie.

“Later,” he said and kissed Pinkie forcefully and pulled her down onto him.

Leaving could wait.

Vinyl double checked both his and Octavio’s bags since Octavio didn’t bother to show up last night. He smiled at that, having a good guess as to what he was doing. He put his bag on and slung Octavio’s over his shoulder and left the room. On his way down he ran into exactly the pony he was looking for.

“Hey Octy, where’ve you been?” Octavio blushed a little at the question.

“Out.” Vinyl grinned widely and Octavio gave him an angry look.

“Well whatever, it’s none of my business. Come on, let’s get going.” Vinyl levitated Octavio’s bag onto its owner and brushed past him. Octavio rolled his eyes and followed Vinyl. He expected Vinyl to try and bring up what happened, but was surprised when he didn’t. After a short walk they had made it to where their airship was docked and found Pinkie and Twilight waiting for them. Octavio blushed a little at the sight of Pinkie wearing his bowtie and was thankful Vinyl either didn’t notice or didn’t say anything.

“Hey guys!” Pinkie said bouncing excitedly.

“Hi Pinkie,” Octavio said.

“Pinkie, Twilight,” Vinyl said with a happy tone when he said the latter’s name.

“Hi,” Twilight said nervously, “Um, Vinyl can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure. Hey Octy, can you go get the ship ready?” Vinyl asked and levitated his bag onto Octavio.

“Of course.” Octavio smiled at Pinkie and walked to the ship dock.

“Um, Pinkie?” Pinkie looked at Twilight and, after a moment, nodded in understanding and walked away. “So, Pinkie told me about an interesting custom from your city.”

“Clothing exchanges, right?” Twilight nodded, “Huh, I’m surprised Pinkie would know about that. But either way, she’s right.”

“Ok then,” Twilight said and lit up her horn, undid the ribbon around her neck, and levitated it over to Vinyl. “I want you to have this.” Vinyl took the ribbon in his own magic and looked it over.

“You sure? This is kind of a big commitment.” Vinyl said.

“Of course I’m sure,” Twilight said, “Think of it as incentive for you to come back to me.” Vinyl smiled and tied the ribbon around his foreleg.

“Well then, I should give you something too,” Vinyl said and took his goggles off and levitated them over to Twilight. She was a little disappointed that he kept his eyes closed. “These were the first pair of goggles I ever bought. So now I will come back to you.” Twilight grabbed the goggles and hung them from her neck.

“Thanks Vinyl. You’ll come back soon right?” Vinyl opened his eyes, stunning Twilight with its vivid red color, and smiled at her.

“As soon as I can.” Vinyl winked at Twilight and walked to the zeppelin. Twilight waved at him with Pinkie joining her a second later.

When Vinyl got to the cockpit of the zeppelin he sat next to Octavio and looked out at the waving mares.

“We are going to come back right?” Octavio asked as he prepared the zeppelin for departure.

“Of course we will. Come on, let’s get ready to go.”

“All right, tethers are retracted and fuel tanks are full.” Octavio and Vinyl performed their respective actions and the zeppelin very slowly pulled away from the dock and out into the open skies. “By the way, what happened to your goggles?”

“Only if you tell me what happened to your bowtie.”

“…Point taken.”

Yesh, this was a long chapter. Well, let me know what you think.

Twixie pt. 2

Like I said, stories don’t always end. And this one has just started.

Dusk groaned a little as he woke up and opened his eyes. He could tell he was in the main room of the library. He tried to remember why he slept down there instead of his room. Then the dream came back to him.

‘I don’t know why I dreamt of Trixie of all ponies, but it was still some dream. I wonder how she’s doing?’ Dusk was about to get up when he heard a light moan that wasn’t him. He looked down to find a familiar blue mare lying on him. His eyes widened when he recognized the mare.

‘T-Trixie?! Why is she-? That wasn’t a dream?!’ He thought as his mind raced at a thousand miles an hour. It was brought to a halt when Trixie fidgeted a little and smiled. ‘What have I just gotten myself into?’

Dusk ever so slightly started to edge his way off the couch and was surprised when Trixie hugged his neck. Even so, he stood up and positioned Trixie on his back and carefully walked upstairs into his room. Making sure not to wake the sleeping mare on his back, Dusk magically picked Trixie up and placed her on the bed. He sighed and started to walk away when Trixie stirred.

“Dusk?” she asked and opened her eyes. When she saw Dusk looking nervously at her she smiled. “Good morning.”

“Um, morning Trixie,” Dusk said.

“Where are you going?” she asked and sat up.

“Um, out?”

“Oh,” she said sadly, “Can I come with you?” Dusk sighed and walked over to her.

“Alright, we better talk about this now,” Dusk said and sat on the bed facing Trixie.

“Talk about what?” Trixie asked already dreading the conversation. Dusk looked at his hooves and took a deep breath.

“Last night… you said you love me.” Trixie blushed and nodded. “You kissed me and said you love me.” Trixie nodded again, blushing a deeper red. “Did you mean it?”

“Of course I meant it. It took me a while to figure it out but I do love you.” Trixie scooted closer to Dusk and looked up into his eyes and felt her insides go cold at how uncertain they looked. “But you don’t love me back.”

“…I don’t know,” Dusk said. That sentence nearly broke Trixie’s heart.

“But, last night…”

“I was kind of tired and I thought it was a dream. Obviously that wasn’t the case.” Trixie felt tears spill from her eyes. Everything seemed so perfect, but everything around her had come crashing down. Again.

“W-why would you say that? I…I…” Trixie sniffed a couple of times before throwing herself into Dusk and cried into his shoulder.

“T-Trixie?” Dusk said in surprise.

“Why would you do that to me? Leading me on like that.” Trixie continued sobbing and felt Dusk’s forelegs wrap around her.

“I didn’t mean to do anything like that. It’s been too long since the last time I saw you and I just don’t know how I feel about you.” Trixie sniffed a little.

“What do you-?”

“I just need some time to think.” Dusk pushed Trixie away a little and looked her in the eyes. “Ok?” Trixie wiped her eyes of tears.

“If nothing else, can we at least be friends?” she asked.

“Of course we can,” Dusk said and pulled her into a hug, “That’s the least I can do.” Trixie smiled as she hugged him back, thankful that she at least had that. After a minute Dusk let her go and she scooted away a little. “I have some thinking to do. You can stay here for a while if you want. The bathroom’s over there if you need to use it.” Trixie nodded and Dusk hopped off the bed and walked to the door.

“I love you,” Trixie called after him, which caused Dusk to stop for a moment before he walked out the door. Trixie stared at the door for a moment before she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

“Is it really that easy?” Butterscotch asked.

“Of course it is! Well, at least I think it is since I haven’t tried it myself, but still there’s no harm in trying.” Berry Bubble said.

“O-ok, I guess I’ll try.” A bell rang throughout the store and Berry and Butterscotch looked over to see Dusk walk in, not looking all too well.

“Hi Dusk! What’s got you so down?” Berry asked. Dusk sighed and rubbed his face.

“I’ve…got a lot on my mind. I don’t suppose I could talk with you guys about it?”

“Oh, sure Dusk,” Butterscotch said.

“I have work to do, but I’ll be over when I can,” Berry said and leaned closer with a smile, “Do you want me to make you some cupcakes?”

“Yeah, I’d like some,” Dusk said and waved Butterscotch over to a table. They sat down and Dusk put his face in his hooves with a sigh.

“So um, what’s wrong?” Butterscotch asked after a moment. Dusk set his hooves down in front of him and sighed again.

“I don’t suppose you know anything about mares, right?” he asked. Butterscotch’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Well, last night I got a visitor, a mare I haven’t seen for a long while.”

“Oh really? That’s nice that you met up with an old friend. How is she?”

“That’s kind of the thing, when she showed up she… kissed me and told me she loved me.” Butterscotch blushed and let out a little ‘eep’. A couple seconds later Berry walked over and set a plate of cupcakes on the table.

“I don’t see what the problem is. If she likes you what’s to stop you from liking her back?” Berry asked.

“That’s the problem, I don’t know how I feel about her. I had mostly forgotten about her until she showed up last night! What am I supposed to do?”

“It’s funny, I was just talking with Butterscotch about something like this. Do you want me to tell you what I told him?” Dusk looked at him curiously. “Well, if the issue is not knowing how you feel, why not wait it out? Give it a couple of days and see what happens.” Dusk sighed and took a cupcake.

“I guess that makes sense, but I’m worried about her. I could see the heartbreak in her eyes when I told her I didn’t know how I felt. It’s so weird, she was so confident when I last saw her.” Dusk took a bite from the cupcake and rested his head on a hoof.

“Well you can ask Rarity for advice. I’m sure she could-“

“NO! No no no, I am not asking Rarity for help on this, she’ll be way to biased on this!”

“What do you mean?”

“Just trust me, it’s not a good idea. Not to mention I’m not sure how she is with grudges.”

“Grudges?” This time it was Butterscotch who asked.

“It’s a really long story.” Dusk finished the cupcake and reached for another one.

“Well… why don’t you tell us about her?”

Trixie woke up from her nap to find she was still alone. She sighed, got off the bed, and walked to the bathroom. Her heart ached a little, but she just let it go. Life goes on and she reminded herself that she had another job to do in a few days. If Dusk was going to make up his mind, he’d have to do it soon.

Trixie watched the bathtub fill with water and shut it off when it was high enough. After testing the water temperature she slipped into the tub and sighed as the heat sank into her. Trixie sank under the water for a second before coming back up. She brushed her wet mane out of her eyes and relaxed against the back of the tub.

“Oh Dusk,” she whispered and closed her eyes. She could still dream after all.

Trixie lay in the tub and subconsciously cleaned her coat when somepony knocked on the door startling her out of her thoughts.

“W-who is it?” she asked.

“It’s Dusk.” Trixie’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of Dusk’s voice. “Are you ok Trixie?”

“Yes I’m fine. I’m just taking a bath.”

“Oh, that’s good. Do you mind if I come in?”

“W-WHAT?!” If her heart skipped a little earlier, now it very nearly stopped. She swirled some of the water around and blushed. “Well, I guess it’s ok, but it’s kind of embarrassing.” The door rattled for a moment before Dusk walked in and smiled at the furiously blushing Trixie covering her face with her hooves.

“Hi Trixie,” he said as he shut the door and walked closer to the tub causing Trixie to sink into the tub, “I’m sorry to burst in like this. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“I-It’s fine,” Trixie managed to whisper out before picking herself up in a confident manner, “I mean, why wouldn’t you want to spend time with a unicorn like me?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Dusk said and leaned over the edge of the tub, “I don’t suppose you’d mind if I joined you?”

“W-what?!” Trixie barely had the time to exclaim that before Dusk entered the tub and hugged her, “I- wha- buh-“

“Shh,” Dusk said and placed a hoof on Trixie’s lips. “Let me say this before I lose my nerve.” Trixie nodded and Dusk moved his hoof. “I was thinking about earlier, you know what I mean right? Well, I thought about it and I’ve decided.”

“Decided?” Dusk just smiled and kissed Trixie. Trixie yelped in surprise before sinking into the kiss. Trixie wrapped her hooves around Dusk and pulled him in closer. ‘Oh Dusk…’

“Dusk darling, are you in?”

Trixie snapped out of her fantasies and yelped a little. She watched the door and was glad she had locked it. She heard hoofsteps come closer and stop in front of the door. Trixie wisely decided to keep quiet.

“Dusk, are you in there?” The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She splashed some water in the tub. “Oh, have I…come at a bad time?” Trixie splashed one more time. “Oh um… ok. I’ll leave Spines downstairs, thanks for letting me borrow her for a while. We’ll talk later dear.” Trixie waited until the hoofsteps faded away before releasing her held breath in a sigh.

‘Something always happens just when it’s getting good.’ She thought and sank under the water.

“And that’s more or less what happened, at least from what I know.”

Dusk had finished explaining about Trixie and what happened afterwards to Berry and Butterscotch.

“I remember her now, she’s that magician pony,” Butterscotch said, “It’s nice to know that she was alright after she left.”

“I always thought I was one party behind, but I couldn’t remember why,” Berry said and ate another cupcake whole, “I have to work on a party for her.”

“What am I going to do guys? I don’t know how long Trixie’s planning on staying here and if Rarity or Applejack find out about her there’s going to be trouble,” Dusk said burying his face into his hooves.

“What about Rainbow Dash?” Butterscotch asked.

“Eh, Rainbow Dash has always been a wild card. For all I know she probably forgot about Trixie.”

“Well I say do what I said earlier: wait it out and see what happens. Rarity told me once that jumping into a relationship is never a good thing, it’s better to ease yourself into it. In fact I’ll gladly lend my help if you need it.”

“I’ll help too. That is, if you need it,” Butterscotch said. Dusk smiled at his friends.

“Thanks guys, though I don’t think there will be any problems as long as Rarity and Applejack don’t find out about Trixie.” Dusk looked out of a nearby window to check the time. “It’s just about lunch time. I had better go check on her,” Dusk levitated a couple of cupcakes over to him and stood up, “I’ll talk to you later guys and thanks for your help.”

“It’s no problem! Remember to come by if you need help!” Berry said waving.

“Good luck.” Butterscotch said. Dusk waved back and left Sugarcube Corner. Berry stopped waving a second later and sat quietly with Butterscotch. “Um, Berry, when are you going to visit your family again?”

“In a few days actually,” Berry answered with a smile, “Why do you ask?”

“I uh…wanted to come with you.”

“Of course you can come!” Berry dragged Butterscotch into a hug. “I’m sure Inkie would be glad to see you.”

“I-I hope so.”

“Put the chair down!” Trixie yelled at the dragoness.

“No way! I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m not letting you go anywhere until Dusk gets back!” The two had been locked in this stalemate for a while, Trixie holding up a (admittedly weak) magic shield and Spines holding a chair over her head, when the front door opened and Dusk walked in.

“Trixie, I’m back and…what is going on here?”

“Dusk, thank Celestia you’re here! Can you please call your pet off of me?”

“I am not a pet, I’m an assistant!” Dusk set the cupcakes down and levitated the chair out of Spine’s claws.

“Spines stop it! I can explain what’s going on.” Spines crossed her arms and looked between Dusk and Trixie.

“Ok, so what’s going on?” Trixie lowered the shield and walked over to Dusk.

“Well…it’s actually kind of complicated. You see-“

“I’m in love with Dusk,” Trixie said and leaned against him, which caused Dusk to stiffen up a little and Spines’ eyes to widen, “So I’m going to stay here for a while.” Spines stared at Trixie for a moment before looking at Dusk.

“She’s not serious is she?” Dusk stepped away from Trixie and stared at the floor.

“I have no reason to believe she’s dishonest, although it’s a little more complicated than that.” Trixie’s demeanor sank a little at that. “When did you get back here anyway? I thought you were helping Rar-“ Dusk’s eyes widened in shock, “Oh no, please tell me Rarity didn’t find you.”

“Rarity dropped me off a little while ago and I found her when she left.”

“I was taking a bath at the time and when I got out your…dragon attacked me.”

“For a very good reason! How do I know you’re not planning anything against Dusk?” Trixie pressed her face against Spines’.

“And why would I do such a thing to the colt I love?!”

“That could be part of your plan!”

“ENOUGH!” Dusk screamed and pulled the two away from each other by their tails. “Look Spines, I’m still on the fence about all this, so until I figure things out please try and play nice with Trixie.”

“But-“

“Do you trust me Spines?”

“O-of course I do! Why would you…” Spines looked into Dusk’s serious face for a few seconds and sighed, “Alright, I’ll play nice, but the second she tries something bad I’ll be on her.” Dusk smiled and nuzzled the little dragon.

“Thanks Spines.”

“Yeah yeah, I suppose you want some lunch?”

“That would be nice. And uh…” Dusk motioned to Trixie who had picked up her cloak off the floor.

“I’ll make her one too. I hope you know what you’re doing Dusk.” Spines walked into the kitchen and Trixie went back upstairs. Dusk looked between the kitchen door and the stairs a couple times and sighed.

“I hope so too.”

Rarity trotted cheerfully through Ponyville’s market enjoying the nice day. She hadn’t planned on going through the market, but, well, why not? She passed by Applejack’s cart and stopped for a moment.

“Howdy Rarity, how ye doing today?” Applejack asked.

“Hello to you too Applejack, I’m doing wonderful. Inspiration struck not too long ago and Spines was such a dear coming over to help me. How about you?”

“Ah’m doing alright, just set up the cart and said hi to Dusk. Not much else has happened today.” Rarity gave Applejack a confused look.

“What, But isn’t Dusk still in the library?” Applejack shook her head.

“No, I saw Dusk heading toward Sugarcube Corner not too long ago.” Rarity rubbed her chin in thought.

“Then who did I…?” Rarity’s eyes widened and a smile crossed her face. “Oh Dusk, trying to hide things like that from me.”

“I’m not following.” Rarity smiled at Applejack and nuzzled against her.

“Don’t you see Applejack? Dusk is hiding a fillyfriend from us! Oh I just have to know who it is.”

“Settle down there sugar cube,” Applejack said and pushed Rarity away, “even if he is hiding somepony from us it’s none of our business.”

“Oh of course dear, but I’m still curious as to who the mare is. Ooh, maybe I can still meet her if I hurry back!”

“Rarity, ah don’t think that’s-“ Applejack started but Rarity either didn’t hear her or didn’t care as she took off toward Dusk’s house. “Please don’t cause any trouble,” she said and sighed.

“That was a great lunch Spines, like always,” Dusk said and picked up the plate magically and walked to the sink.

“Thanks Dusk, you appreciate my cooking, unlike somepony else,” Spines said and looked toward the main room.

“Spines…”

“Yeah yeah, I know. What’s she doing anyway?”

“I’ll go check.” After setting the plate in the sink Dusk walked into the main room to find Trixie reading a book. She looked up when she heard Dusk approach. “What are you reading?”

“I don’t know,” she answered and closed the book. “So... about earlier…”

“I still need time. You understand, right?”

“I know.” At that point somepony knocked on the door. Dusk and Trixie shared a look before Dusk went to answer it.

“Hello Dusk, I-“ just as quickly as Dusk opened the door he had shut it and looked back at Trixie.

“It’s Rarity!”

“Who?”

“Just get out of here for now!” Dusk opened the door and smiled at Rarity, “I’m sorry about that Rarity, you startled me.”

“It’s quite alright Dusk, I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm, you see I heard from Applejack that you went to Sugarcube Corner earlier and it was around that time that I dropped Spines off here.”

“Oh?”

“And when I did, somepony was taking a bath here.”

“I’m sorry, but is there a point to this Rarity?” Rarity smiled knowingly at him.

“It’s ok if you want to keep your fillyfriend a secret Dusk. I was just hoping I could meet her sometime.”

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Look, an old friend is staying over for a while is all. I’d introduce you but you just missed her,” Dusk motioned with his hoof behind the door to punctuate the words, “and you two probably wouldn’t get along anyway.” Trixie just stood there thinking during all of this.

‘Why would he want me to leave? If that’s one of his friends, wouldn’t it be easier to introduce me to… oh right, I did kind of humiliate some of his friends the last time I was here wasn’t I? They probably wouldn’t listen to me if they’re still mad. But how do I get out without her noticing me?’ She saw Dusk’s hoof motion and suddenly it was all clear. ‘THE WINDOW!’

“Just missed her? What is that supposed to mean?” Rarity asked.

“It means just that,” Dusk said and didn’t flinch when he heard a crashing behind him, “You just missed her.”

“What was that?”

“Oh that was Spines, she probably dropped something. Spines, quite dropping plates!”

“I didn’t drop anything!” Dusk looked behind him at that and saw Trixie stick her head in through a broken window and grab her cloak. His eye twitched a little and he turned back to Rarity.

“Well anyway, you can see she’s not here,” Dusk said and his eye twitched a little at the sight of Trixie casually walking behind Rarity, “Maybe you’ll meet her later.”

“I certainly hope so, if she’s so great that you’re going to such extents to hide her. We’ll talk later Dusk,” Rarity said and turned to walk away. Dusk waited until she was out of sight before he closed the door and sighed.

‘Hopefully Trixie will stay out of trouble.’

“The target is in my sights. She left the library about two minutes ago. Current status: wandering the park aimlessly.”

“Um Berry, why are we following Trixie?” That was indeed what they were doing, following Trixie in a bush.

“That’s simple Butterscotch, it’s so we know what she’s like. You can’t throw a party for someone if you don’t know what they like.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense, but why are we in a bush?”

“…I like bushes. OH, I think she’s doing something!” Trixie looked back at the, to be frank, very conspicuous bush following her and walked toward it.

“What are you two doing?” she asked.

“We’ve been compromised!” Berry shouted and grabbed Trixie by the cloak and pulled her into the bush.

“What are you doing, let me go!” Trixie yelled and was silenced by Berry’s hoof.

“You’re Trixie right? I was curious about you since Dusk talked about you,” Berry said. Trixie removed the hoof from her mouth and blushed slightly.

“Dusk talked about me?”

“Yeah, and he reminded me that I haven’t thrown a party for you yet, which is why I brought you to Sugarcube Corner to ask you what you like!”

“W-what, but we’re in the park.”

“Not anymore.” Berry stepped out of the bush and Trixie stuck her head out to find that she was somehow in the middle of Sugarcube Corner’s kitchen.

“What, but we were in the park! We didn’t move at all! How did we-?” Butterscotch stepped out of the bush and looked at Trixie.

“It’s…best not to ask,” he said and walked toward Berry followed shortly by an incredibly confused Trixie.

“So Trixie, do you like cupcakes?” Berry asked.

“Uh, about the same as any other pony I guess.”

“That’s good, because I wanted you to try a whole bunch of cupcakes I have just made.” Berry walked over to the oven, took a heat pad in his mouth, and took a fresh tray of cupcakes out of the oven and set them on the counter. “I still have to frost them though, so I hope you don’t mind waiting.”

“T-that’s alright.” Berry smiled and put another tray into the oven and set the timer to ring.

"It's weird though isn't it? I totally did not see you coming today. Do you think so too Butterscotch?"

"Oh yes Berry, and although it was unexpected I can't help but find it exciting."

"Oh where is that stupid powdered sugar? It just cannot be found."

"I don't know, maybe it's where it would be found?"

"It is possible, although the alarm clock had just stopped earlier."

"Um, Berry Bubble, what does that have to do-"

"RUN!"

The timer rang out.

"Oh silly me, I didn't set the timer right." Berry laughed and set the timer correctly this time.

“What was that about?” Trixie asked.

“What was what about?”

“That conversation you two just had. I think it was about…powdered sugar or…something… you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about do you?” Berry and Butterscotch stared at Trixie for a moment and Berry smiled widely.

“Do you like chocolate cake?” Trixie sighed.

“Yes, yes I do.”

“So, what is going on with you and Trixie?” Dusk looked over at Spines confusedly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well don’t get me wrong, I get how romance works, but… Trixie? Really?” Dusk sighed and rubbed his face.

“It’s really complicated Spines. She showed up last night and said she loved me and I don’t know how to feel about it.”

“So…your plan it to do…what exactly?”

“I don’t know Spines, right now I’m just playing it by ear. So please don’t-“ Dusk was interrupted by the door opening and Trixie walked in with one of the most emotionless faces Dusk had ever seen. “Uh, are you ok Trixie?”

“Your pink friend is insane,” she said as she closed the door and took her cloak off.

“You ran into Berry Bubble? What did he do?”

“He had me try a bunch of cupcakes for some party later. He also had some weird conversation about powdered sugar with some yellow pegasus.”

“Heh, that’s Berry Bubble for you, always treating cupcakes like an art form. How long ago was this?”

“I was there for hours. *sigh* Is dinner ready yet?”

“It’ll be ready soon, so no complaining,” Spines said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Spines nodded and walked into the kitchen. “Hey, your pink friend…he-“

“Berry broke the laws of physics again didn’t he?” Trixie was surprised at how casual Dusk sounded.

“Y-yes, he-“

“It’s best not to think about it. He has this thing called Berry Sense, and when I tried to figure out… let’s just say it didn’t end well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you ever had a flower pot, anvil, hay cart, and a piano dropped on your head in sequence?” Trixie stared wide eyed and shook her head. “That is just one of several things that happened to me. Really, it’s best to just accept it.” Dusk turned and started toward the kitchen.

“Hey Dusk,” Trixie started.

“Yeah?”

“…Nothing.” Dusk stared at Trixie as she walked past him. He shook his head after a moment and followed her in. There was an uncomfortable silence over dinner that night that continued when they went to bed. Dusk had gotten the guest bed ready for Trixie earlier and they settled into their respective beds. Dusk fell asleep and woke up a few hours later when someone entered his bed. He looked back and saw a light blue in the darkness.

“Trixie?”

“Um… I can’t really sleep. Do you mind if I sleep with you?”

“U-uh, I guess not…” Trixie smiled and, after getting under the covers, scootched over to Dusk and hugged him. Dusk stiffened up uncomfortably as Trixie nuzzled against him.

“Thanks.” After an uncomfortable ‘uh,’ Dusk very slowly wrapped his forelegs around Trixie. She hummed happily and settled closer to Dusk. He didn’t know why, but the feeling of Trixie’s breath and the rise and fall of her chest was very soothing to him. He could feel his heart beating slightly faster as he fell asleep with this light blue mare in his arms.

‘I might be able to get used to this.’

Spines was the first one to wake up the next morning and reacted the same way any child would at the sight of an older brother figure asleep in a bed with a mare: disgust and quickly leaving the room. She got started on breakfast downstairs while upstairs Trixie stirred awake. She blinked a couple of times at Dusk’s sleeping face and sighed happily. About a minute later Dusk woke up to Trixie lovingly stroking his face.

“Good morning.”

“Uh…g-good morning.” Dusk realized that he was still hugging Trixie and quickly retracted his forelegs. “Um, how are you feeling?”

“Happy and in love,” Trixie answered and her smile dropped, “You?”

“Still on the fence. Sorry.” Trixie placed a small kiss on Dusk’s cheek and smiled at Dusk’s blushing face.

“That’s ok, we’re still friends right?” Dusk nodded. “Then I can live with that for now. I still love you, but I can wait.”

“Breakfast is ready,” Spines called from downstairs. Trixie coughed and moved away from Dusk.

“We uh, better get going.” Dusk nodded and Trixie got off the bed and walked toward the door. When she got there she looked back. “Dusk…”

“Yeah?”

“…Nothing.” Dusk stared at Trixie as she walked and shook it off a second later and followed her.

Breakfast was better than last night’s dinner.

“Berry, we need more muffins!”

“OK, Mrs. Cake!”

It was a busy day as usual for Sugarcube Corner and Berry was hard at work baking up a storm. While he was doing this, he ran over several party ideas in his head.

‘What kind of would Trixie like? She didn’t specify which cupcake she liked best, so should I just make one of each? I know, I’ll ask her later! I wonder what Pinkie would think?’ was the basic train of thought from him. He set a tray of muffins on the counter, giving his favorite mail pony the usual share, and noticed Rarity and Applejack walk in.

“Hi girls, what can I do ya for?” Berry asked as the two mares walked up to the counter.

“Oh not much Berry, I just heard you were thinking up another party. It wouldn’t happen to do with Dusk and a certain mare, would it?”

“Yer gonna have ta excuse Rarity, she’s convinced herself that Dusk has some secret fillyfriend or something, and unfortunately she’s chosen me to be her… um…”

“My confidant dear.”

“Yeah sure.”

“Aw girls, I can’t say anything like that, it’s a secret. Besides, Dusk said you probably wouldn’t get along with her anyway.” Rarity gave Berry a weird look.

“Dusk said something like that earlier. Why wouldn’t we get along?”

“I don’t know, I think it might be because he thinks you’d be mad at her for turning your hair green.”

“Turned my hair green?” Rarity’s eyes widened in realization.

“Uh oh.”

“Her? That traveling showmare that nearly destroyed the town?”

“Who?” Applejack asked scratching her head.

“That magician who caused that Ursa to attack a year ago? She tied you up with your own rope?” Applejack stared at her confusedly. “You really don’t remember do you?” Applejack tapped her chin a couple times.

“Nah.”

“Nah! What do you mean nah?!”

“Rarity, calm down a little,” Berry said hoping to calm his fashionista friend.

“Calm down a little? Why should I calm down?!”

“What’s Rarity freaking out about this time?” The three turned to Dusk who had just walked into the bakery.

“Dusk, I’m so sorry, it just slipped out,” Berry said.

“What slipped out?”

“Oh nothing, just that you might be cavorting around with that magician. Would you care to explain?” Dusk’s eyes widened at the question.

“Um… no?”

“Who is she talking about?” Applejack asked Berry.

“This mare,” Berry said and held up a picture of Trixie standing smugly next to a horrified Rarity with green hair.

“Oh… nope, still not ringin’ any bells.”

“Really, am I the only one who remembers what that mare did?” Rarity asked.

“No, I remember it just fine, but you do remember that ponies can change right?” Dusk asked.

“I find it highly doubtful that a braggart like her could change drastically enough for you to like her.”

“You’re not even giving her a chance!” At this point pretty much everypony in the bakery backed away from the arguing pair except for Berry and Applejack.

“G-guys, calm down,” Berry begged.

“Please give me a reason why I should. For all I know she could have you under a mind control spell.”

“That’s just ridiculous! I’ll have you know that there are several symptoms of mind control that even the pony under its influence can figure out if they pay attention, and I definitely know that is not the case here.”

“But then why would you-“

“I don’t know ok? But you know what, even if I did know how I felt about her, that still doesn’t change one thing about all this.”

“Oh, and what would that be?”

“Guys…” Applejack started.

“You’re a hypocrite!”

“I’m a what?!”

“Dusk, Rarity, please stop.”

“A hypocrite! How many times have you gone on about ‘the magic of romance’ and ‘how great having a special somepony would be’, but the moment I get in that position you act like this! What does it matter who I choose as long as it makes me happy? You should just be glad I found somepony to begin with!”

“W-what?”

“But you know what, this whole thing is pointless anyway since I still don’t know what to think of her. Your opinion has been noted.” Dusk turned and started walking to the door. “We’ll talk later Rarity.”

“Dusk, don’t you walk away from me!” Rarity yelled, but Dusk didn’t turn around and walked out of the bakery. Rarity huffed a little and walked to the door too.

“Rarity…” Berry started to say as Rarity walked outside. Berry looked at Applejack worriedly, “Applejack, what just happened?” Applejack sighed and looked at the door.

“Trouble. Come on, we better go.”

“So, you don’t remember me at all?” Trixie asked the rainbow maned mare. She shook her head.

“Nope, I don’t remember you. Should I?” Trixie thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“No, I was just wondering. It’s nice to meet you anyway.”

“Uh, ok. I gotta go now, come on Ditzy.” Rainbow waved at the gray mare next to her and took off.

“Ok, Rainbow Dash!” she said and took off as well only to immediately crash into the ground. “Oops, my bad!” she laughed a little and took off again. Trixie stared at the retreating pair before walking down the street. If nothing else, she was glad to come to Ponyville again, it’s really nice when it’s not getting attacked by some random monster. Trixie wondered what she could do and decided to go to the park. That pegasus, Rainbow Dash she thought her name was, said there would be a rain storm later so she’d have to take advantage of the nice weather while she could.

“You!”

Trixie perked up a little and looked around until she saw Rarity trotting toward her.

‘Oh no, this isn’t good.’ She thought to herself and said out loud, “Um… hi?”

“Don’t you ‘hi’ me. You have some explaining to do,” Rarity said with just a hint of anger in her voice.

“A-about what?” Trixie asked.

“You and Dusk.” Trixie’s eyes widened and Rarity knew she had her.

“What about us? We’re just friends.”

“That’s not what I heard. I heard you were infatuated with Dusk.”

“I-infatuated?! Well, I guess… but what does it-“

“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe it.” Rarity started circling around Trixie, her eyes piercing into the blue mare. “Exactly how long have you been gone and how long have you been here?”

“A year and two days respectively, but-“

“Do you really think that’s enough time for everypony to forget what you’ve done? It’s not even that you turned my hair green, that’s nothing compared to the Ursa.”

“That wasn’t my fault!”

“Not directly, yes, but this is beside the point. Why exactly would you fall for Dusk of all ponies?”

“I don’t know, it just kind of happened. Is it so wrong to love someone?”

“Yes, if it’s for the wrong reasons, and for you I don’t know how to feel.”

“I assure you, I love him for the right reasons, and if you have a problem with that I don’t know what to tell you.” Rarity stopped circling and stared Trixie right in the eye.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Wh-“

“Has Dusk ever said or done anything to show he ever reciprocated your feelings?”

“Well…”

“I hate to say this, but if he hasn’t yet he probably never will. It might be best to cut your losses while you can.” Trixie looked down at the ground and felt tears come to her eyes. After all, she did have a point.

“But…I love him.”

“Even if you do, you’ll just end up hurting yourself if he doesn’t return your feelings. Trust me dear, it’s better this way.” What happened next was something Rarity could never have seen coming.

Trixie hit her across her face. The left side of Rarity’s face stung as she stared at Trixie, tears falling down her face.

“Dusk warned me not to talk to you. I didn’t think it’d be because you would be right.” With that, Trixie ran away sobbing lightly.

‘Well, she took that harder than I thought,’ Rarity thought rubbing her cheek, ‘I hope this works.’ Rarity was about to go home but was stopped when Berry and Applejack ran up to her, the latter looking pretty angry.

“We just saw Trixie running away, what did you do?!” Applejack nearly yelled at Rarity.

“We just had a little talk is all, but I don’t think she took it well.”

“She’s heading into the forest,” Berry said sadly.

“Well, maybe we should go after her?”

“Oh no, you caused enough trouble today. I ain’t lettin’ you out of my sights again.” The skies started to darken as several pegasus ponies moved dark rain clouds into position in the sky.

“I’m going to go find Dusk,” Berry said and started galloping away. Applejack put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder and pushed her along.

“You’re coming with me. What were you thinking?” Rarity didn’t say it out loud but her face pretty much said it all.

‘You wouldn’t understand.’

Rain.

Trixie hated rain, or at least right now she did. She found herself where she had been a year ago, crying her eyes out as she lay next to a river. She once again lamented at how her life, which had seemed so perfect a couple hours ago, had come crashing down again.

This time there wasn’t any anger, only sorrow. Trixie stared into the river, a small magic shield protecting it from the rain. She looked into her reflection and started thinking.

After all, reflections don’t judge you based on what you did in the past, they only show the now. So maybe, when you’re reflecting on the past, you should look into your own as well. Who knows…

“Trixie?” Trixie’s eyes widened when a familiar purple unicorn appeared in the water.

…someone may be reflecting on the same thing.

“Dusk?” Trixie looked over at Dusk who was dripping wet from the rain. He sat down next to her and watched the rain hit the water for a few moments. “What are you doing here?”

“I… heard from Berry that you talked to Rarity earlier,” Dusk said and looked at Trixie, “I don’t know what you talked about, but-“

“Save it.” Trixie’s sudden outburst startled Dusk and she sat up and looked at him angrily, “Why did you come here anyway?”

“I was worried about you. Did you really expect to run away like that and I wouldn’t come after you?” The look on Trixie’s face spoke plenty of her answer. Dusk sighed and motioned for Trixie to come closer, which she very slowly did.

“Um… your friend said-“ Trixie started and stopped when wrapped a foreleg around her.

The rain came down harder.

“Look Trixie, I don’t know what you two talked about, but if Rarity is as good a friend as I know she is she’ll accept any choice I make. This included.” Trixie blinked a couple of times and looked up at Dusk.

“This?”

“Well… if you don’t mind me asking, when did you start liking me? I just realized I never asked you that.”

“Oh well, I guess it was a little after Discord got out. I was in the crowd during your award ceremony.”

“R-really?” Dusk asked in surprise and Trixie nodded.

“You have no idea how much I wanted to march up there right then and give you a piece of my mind. I don’t know why I didn’t at the time.”

“So you’ve had at least a few months to think this over huh?” Trixie nodded again and Dusk pulled her closer to him. “I wish I had that kind of time.”

“For what?”

“You know, all of this. I still don’t know what to think about this, but I guess I could try this.” Dusk turned fully to Trixie, with her doing the same, and he placed his other hoof around her and looked into her eyes.

“W-what are-?” Dusk wiped a strand of her wet mane out of her eyes and smiled at her. She could only give off a little ‘uh’ as Dusk leaned closer to her. ‘There’s no way this is happening. I have to be drea-‘ Trixie thoughts stopped almost immediately when Dusk kissed her. Trixie’s eyes shot wide opened at the action and closed her eyes and pressed harder into the kiss. Dusk pulled away and wiped away some wet mane out of his eyes.

“Wow, that was nice,” Dusk said. Trixie laughed a little and hugged Dusk’s neck.

“Really, ‘nice’ is all you could come up with?”

“Were you hoping for ‘mind blowingly amazing’?”

“Maybe.” Trixie’s smug smile made Dusk laugh and he kissed Trixie again. Neither of them noticed the rain anymore.

“I could get used to this,” Dusk said and stroked Trixie’s face.

“Get used to this?” Trixie asked. She was going to say more, but…

“I love you Trixie.” Dusk said those four magic words.

“What?”

“Yeah, I could get used to saying that too. And before you say anything, yes I mean it.”

“Really?” Dusk couldn’t tell because of the rain but Trixie started crying in joy.

“Yes and I’ll say it as many times as you want.” Dusk hugged Trixie closer and stared into her eyes. “I love you Trixie.” Trixie sniffed a little and she kissed Dusk again.

“I’m not dreaming this time right? That would be too cruel if I am.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not.” Trixie smiled and rested her head against Dusk and laughed a little at the reflection of her and Dusk hugging.

“You know, we’re going to catch a cold if we stay out too long. We should probably go home.” Trixie snuggled against him and let out a soft ‘mhmm’. “Ok, hold on.”

“Wait what?” No sooner had Trixie asked that than she was surrounded by a white light. When it faded Trixie found they were in back in Dusk’s room in the library. “What- how did you?”

“It’s a simple teleportation spell. I could teach you if you want.” Trixie laughed a little and let Dusk go.

“Thanks but no thanks. The Great and Powerful Trixie prefers to learn on her own, although you’re more than welcome to point me in the right direction.”

“I’d be more than happy to. I have to say, I kind of missed that attitude of yours.” Trixie took off her wet cloak, shook her mane out a little, and smiled slyly at Dusk.

“Oh, so you prefer a mare with attitude? I guess we both chose right eh?”

“Oh quiet you,” Dusk said and nuzzled against Trixie before walking to the bed.

“You’re going to bed now?” Trixie asked walking over to him.

“It’s hard to tell because of the storm but it is getting late. You can sleep with me again if you want.” Dusk got on the bed and had the wind knocked out of him when Trixie quite literally pounced on him and playfully bit him on the ear. “You’re really active.”

“I can’t help it,” Trixie said and let off a quiet squeal of joy and kicked a little, “I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Dusk lifted her off him enough for him to roll onto his back and hugged Trixie’s waist.

“Yeah, the last couple of days had been kind of crazy, especially our first little make out session.” Trixie smiled and leaned down toward Dusk. Out of all of her fantasies, the feel of Dusk’s heart beating with hers was something she never could have imagined.

“So you did like it?” she asked and was overjoyed when Dusk nodded, “Well then, want to do it again?” Her heart was beating at a thousand beats a minute when Dusk kissed her deeply and Trixie quickly licked his lips. Dusk granted her access and the two of them quickly set about exploring each other’s mouths, moaning the whole time. Dusk rolled Trixie over without breaking contact. After another minute or so of kissing, Dusk pulled away and he and Trixie stared at each other breathing heavily.

“Dusk…”

>In accordance with Clause 893, the following scene has been edited out and placed in the Red Files. For the full unedited scene, view the required file<

Trixie slowly woke up and was a little surprised somepony’s hooves wrapped around her. She fidgeted a little and the hooves started stroking her stomach. She dared to look behind her and saw Dusk smiling at her.

“Good morning Trixie,” he said. Trixie’s response was to lunge at him and kiss him deeply.

“Morning,” she said when she was done and licked his cheek. “So, are we still set for later?”

“A day of relaxation at the park, followed by a nice lunch and Berry Bubble’s party for you? Yeah, we’re good.” Trixie kissed Dusk again and rolled on top of him.

“That’s good. I love you so much, you know.” Dusk smiled and kissed Trixie on the forehead.

“I love you too. I better go let Berry know everything’s good now.” Dusk then whispered, “Though chances are he already knows.”

“Oh you’re not going anywhere yet big boy. I have something planned for you right now.” Trixie slowly got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom, keeping an eye on Dusk. “Aren’t you coming?” When Dusk understood, he got up and followed her. When he caught up to her they nuzzled each other and giggled as they entered the bathroom.

Sometimes, bad things have to happen in order to appreciate the good things to come.

And there's part 2. I might add more later, but for now screw it. I'll probably update the chapter name when it's added.
Oh yeah, and there's a really obscure reference that most of you probably won't get. If you do catch it, I'll love you forever.

OctaScratch pt. 4

>Resuming Case 55 observation<

Octavia was enjoying a cup of tea that she usually had for breakfast. Today the sky was clear and the sunlight drifted through her windows.

‘A perfect day for practice,’ Octavia thought with a smile and took another sip of tea. There was a knock at her door and she got up and walked over to it. “Who is it?” she asked.

“It’s Vinyl.” Octavia flinched a little at the voice.

‘I knew something like this would happen,’ she thought with a sigh and opened the door. Octavia got distracted by Vinyl’s goggles.

“Hey ‘Tavi, how you doing today?” he asked with his usual grin.

“I’m…fine. Why are you wearing pink goggles?”

“It’s not just pink, but hot pink, and for no real reason. Can I ask you something?”

“You’re going to ask even if I say no right?” Octavia asked and Vinyl nodded, “Then go ahead.”

“Alright, you remember that moss from my fridge?” Octavia nodded. “Well you’re going to love this. Turns out that moss is some kind of fast spreading moss that’s apparently so bad if we had caught it any sooner it would have spread to a whole block. As it stands though, it’s only my building that had to be quarantined, which means I’m out of a house for the near future.”

“Are you serious?” Octavia asked, already dreading what the question he wanted to ask would be.

“Yep, I am. So, with that said, would you mind if I stayed here for a bit?”

‘I knew he was going to ask that.’ Octavia thought and asked out loud, “Why don’t you stay with one of your friends if it’s that bad?”

“If that was an option I would take it, but one of them lived in the same building as me, one’s inconvenient for me, and I don’t know where the last one lives. Even then, I’m very bad at getting along with them when I stay over.”

“And a hotel is out of the question why?”

“I don’t know how long this will last and hotels can get expensive. Please ‘Tavi, it’ll just be until my building’s cleared.”

“You’re not going to stop calling me that, are you?” Vinyl shook his head and Octavia sighed. Octavia thought for a few seconds before staring into Vinyl’s goggles eyes. “On three conditions,” she started, which caused Vinyl’s ears to perk up, “You pay for your own food, I don’t want to come home to find a mess, and sometimes my ensemble comes over to practice, so no complaining when they do. Is that understood?”

“So, do what I would normally do anyway plus I get the benefit of good music? Why didn’t I try this before?” Vinyl asked with a laugh.

“So you agree to the terms?” Octavia asked.

“Yep,” Vinyl answered.

“Alright then, come on in.” Octavia moved to the side and Vinyl walked in with a small cart full of boxes. “I see you came prepared.”

“Yeah, I barely managed to get my livelihood and goggles out before I had to leave. You mind if I claim your couch?” Vinyl asked and hopped on the couch.

“I guess. Look I have to go to practice now, so don’t make a mess, got it?” Vinyl saluted Octavia, who rolled her eyes and walked over to her cello case.

“By the way, do you have a record player somewhere?” Vinyl asked.

“There should be one in the bookcase over there,” Octavia said and motioned to said bookcase. Vinyl got up and walked over to it. “Please don’t-“

“I won’t make a mess of your apartment! Don’t you have practice to go to?” Octavia sighed and opened the door.

“I mean it.”

“You can go now.” The door shut a second later and Vinyl found that record player. He grinned and levitated it over to the couch. “Alright, time to work.”

Frederick and Harpo were busy setting up for practice and waiting for Beauty Brass and Octavia to arrive. The two of them had just finished setting Harpo’s harp down.

“Where do you think the others are?” Frederick asked. Harpo shrugged and started test playing his instrument. Frederick decided to do the same when Octavia walked in. The look on her face said that this would be one of those practice sessions. “Are you alright, Octavia?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she answered setting her cello case down and took it out. Frederick shrugged and went about his business. It probably wasn’t his business anyway.

“Garbage.” Vinyl picked up what had to have been the sixth record he tried and tossed it at the wall, where it shattered. It’s a good thing he made a lot with his job, otherwise this would be a very expensive habit. He sighed and levitated the next record into the player and set the needle down.

It too was soon hurled at the wall.

“Ugh, why does popular music nowadays have to suck so badly? I need something good, something simple to listen to.” He got off the couch and walked over to Octavia’s book case. “Let’s see if ‘Tavi has anything good.” He levitated a bunch of records out and walked back to the couch with them. After sorting through them he found, shock of all shocks, they were mostly classical. He was about to give up when he came across one record he never thought he’d come across.

“No way, I didn’t figure ‘Tavi to be a fan of you.” Vinyl smiled widely and pulled the record from its sleeve. He glanced over at the frog that was sitting there staring at him. “What, is it so wrong to like the oldies?” he asked the frog. After a second of staring Vinyl sighed, “Leave me alone for a few minutes and I start talking to dolls.” He set the record on the player and put the needle on, the sound of guitar strings instantly filling the air.

‘I missed this music.’

“Sorry I’m late, the trolleys were slow,” Beauty said as she walked in.

“Beauty, thank goodness you’re here! Octavia’s been talking nonstop for almost half an hour and I don’t know what she’s talking about!” Frederick said and motioned to Octavia, who was ranting to a silent Harpo.

“And then he showed up at my apartment wearing pink goggles! I can stand the story with the moss and him staying with me for a while, but why pink?! It just doesn’t make sense!”

“Do you have any idea what she’s talking about?”

“Probably some colt or something, and as long as she doesn’t rant during practice I could really care less.”

“Yeah, I’m not too keen on hearing about her personal life either.”

“But they were pink!”

“Come on Octavia, let’s start practicing.”

Vinyl lay on the couch playing along with the record. He was actually surprised that ‘Tavi had this record since he had been looking forever for it. His playing was interrupted by a knock on the door. After checking to make sure his goggles were on, Vinyl got up and answered the door.

“Hi, I have a large celery and alfalfa pizza.”

“Ah, cool beans.” The delivery pony looked up at Vinyl and stared for a moment.

“You’re DJ Pon-3.” She said.

“The one and only baby.”

“…I’m trying so hard not to freak out right now.”

“Heh, yeah a lot of ponies say that.” The delivery pony took the pizza out and handed it over to Vinyl who took it in with his magic. “So, twenty bits was it?”

“Yeah, twenty bits.” Vinyl nodded and went inside, set the pizza on the table, and levitated a bag of bits next to him.

“Ok, that’s twenty bits plus a fifteen tip. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She looked back and forth down the hallway a couple of times before asking, “Can I have your autograph by any chance?”

“Hahaha, sure hold on a second.” Vinyl walked back inside, grabbed a pencil and paper, and walked back to the door. “Anything in particular you want me to write?”

“No, not really,” she answered. Vinyl shrugged and quickly wrote something on the paper and handed it to the mare.

Thanks for the pizza. Hope to see you soon!

DJ Pon-3

The smile on her face practically split it in half, which in turn caused Vinyl to smile as well.

“Thank you so much, my friends are going to freak out when they see this!”

“It’s no trouble, have a nice day.”

“You too. Bye!” Vinyl waved as the mare walked away and he shut the door. He levitated a slice of pizza up and lay on the couch again. He started playing along again and looked over to where the frog was, still staring at him.

“I don’t care what ‘Tavi says, you have to have a name,” Vinyl said to the frog. “I’m still talking to dolls. I better take a shower or something.” Vinyl took the needle off the record and walked into the bathroom.

A few hours later Octavia walked into her apartment having performed flawlessly at practice despite her worries. The first thing she saw was Vinyl lying on the couch scribbling something or other on a piece of paper.

“Well at least you didn’t- what is that?!” Vinyl looked up at Octavia’s yell and looked at where she was pointing.

“Oh that? That’s trash.”

“I told you several times to not cause a mess, and why did you throw my records against the wall?!”

“They’re not your records, they’re mine.” Octavia blinked a couple times at that.

“What?”

“I didn’t like those records so I tossed them. They displeased me so they died. By the way, your frog’s gone.” Octavia blinked a couple times and looked to find that the frog was indeed gone. “It disappeared when I took a shower and this letter was in its place.” Vinyl levitated a letter toward her, which she took and read.

Dear Octavia,

I apologize for leaving again on short notice, but there is an urgent matter that requires my attention. I will try to be back as soon as possible.

Give your new coltfriend my regards.

Sincerely,

“Wait, coltfriend?!”

“So what’s his name?”

Octavia jumped a little at Vinyl’s question and looked at him.

“He doesn’t have one!” she answered.

“You were reading out loud.” Octavia blushed a little and looked away. “So, what is his name?” Octavia mumbled something after a couple moments. “I’m sorry?”

“It’s Mission, ok!” Octavia waited a moment for the inevitable laughter.

“Nice name. Better than what I had for the doll I had when I was young.” Octavia looked at him curiously.

“What did you have?” she asked.

“I had a little hydra named Dave. Would you like some Pizza?” Octavia glanced at the half eaten pizza and sighed.

“Sure.”

Dinner time rolled along quickly and Octavia was surprised that Vinyl helped her in the kitchen. She was even more surprised that he was a competent cook. There was hardly any conversation during dinner until Vinyl spoke up.

“So, you didn’t tell me you were a fan of this guy,” he said and held up the record he was listening to earlier.

“Where did you find that?” Octavia asked

“I got bored and raided your record collection. You know I’ve been looking for this record for years, could never find it.”

“I… didn’t realize you were a fan of acoustic guitar.”

“I’m an all around music fan. In fact, I think the first record I ever bought was a Beethoofen record.” That shocked Octavia.

“B-Beethoofen, really?”

“Mhmm. What was the first record you ever bought?” Octavia thought for a moment and answered after taking a bite of her food.

“It was a record of Buck’s little fugue. I would say that was what got me into classical music to begin with.”

“Wow, that’s amazing how a little thing can change your life so drastically huh?” Octavia nodded and after a few more minutes of quiet eating Vinyl smiled at her.

“What was the second album you ever bought?” Vinyl asked.

Octavia just stared at him.

It should be noted that Octavia’s apartment has only one bathroom. This, as you can imagine, cam make mornings a very interesting experience.

“Are you done in there yet?” Octavia called into the bathroom.

“Hold onto your saddle, I’m almost done,” Vinyl called back. Octavia stared flatly at the door which opened about a minute later and Vinyl walked out with a towel around his neck. “Sorry about that, I have a very specific routine.”

“So you say. It has to do with your mane, doesn’t it?”

“I have to work to look this good ‘Tavi, not like you where you just have to curl your mane and put on a bowtie. It would certainly be easier for me.”

“That’s not what I saying Mr. Scratch.”

“I DON’T DYE MY MANE!” The sheer amount of anger in his voice made Octavia back up a little. She stared at him, eyes wide, until Vinyl took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. The bathroom’s free now,” Vinyl said and walked away. Octavia stared at him for a moment longer.

“Well… now I know not to say that again,” she said to herself and walked into the bathroom.

A few days passed and Vinyl was still crashing at Octavia’s apartment. She had learned that his schedule was sporadic at best. Sometimes he’d be passed out on her sofa for the whole day, others she wouldn’t see him at all. Either way, she appreciated the quiet when it happened. This day was one of those where he decided to spend the day with her.

“Hey ‘Tavi!” he yelled at her, though at this point she had gotten used to it and continued to drink her tea.

“Yes, Mr. Scratch?”

“I gotta go to the record store, wanna come?” Octavia thought for a moment and finished her cup.

“Why not? I don’t have anything special planned for today.”

“Aside from waiting for Mission,” Vinyl said with a smile.

“You be silent! I’m just worried for his safety!” Vinyl chuckled and walked over to his bag.

“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine hanging out… wherever frogs hang out, hitting on lady frogs and the like.”

“Don’t be silly, he’s a good frog. He has a wife of five years in the Griffin Nations.” That fact just made Vinyl laugh slightly harder as he put on a pair of orange goggles.

“That’s so adorable ‘Tavi, you love the frog so much you thought up a back story for it. I wish I was that imaginative as a colt.” Vinyl laughed quietly on his way to the door with Octavia staring angrily at him while she followed.

Unfortunately Vinyl decided that he needed- needed- to go across town to the record store near his building, even though Octavia pointed out there was one not even a block from her home.

“It’s a matter of principle ‘Tavi, not convenience,” Vinyl explained, “If I don’t support my local record store, then who will?”

“I don’t know, other shoppers?”

“Oh ‘Tavi, how new to the world you are.” Vinyl smiled and patted Octavia on the head, earning an annoyed look.

“Out of curiosity, how old are you Mr. Scratch?”

“Oh wouldn’t you like to know. Here’s our stop.” The pair got off the trolley and proceeded quietly down the street.

“But seriously, how old are you, because I’m fairly certain I’m older than you.”

“I don’t know. Hey I just noticed we’re wearing compatible accessories.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re wearing a blue bowtie, and blue and orange are compatible colors. That’s kind of a freaky coincidence eh?”

“This conversation is over.” Vinyl chuckled and they quietly walked for a while until they arrived at the record store. Octavia looked around the inside as Vinyl started walking around the store. Octavia decided to do the same and wandered into the classical section. Of course, Octavia being Octavia, she’d already listened to most of them even if she didn’t own them.

“Sapphire Shores has a new record? You would think I’d have heard of this.” Octavia looked up at Vinyl and, after confirming he wasn’t looking, started edging along toward another section and started looking through it. After checking on Vinyl one last time, she found what she was looking for, picked it up, and very slowly walked over to the register. “Seriously, that record has been here the whole time? Huh, guess I didn’t look hard enough before. So you find something ‘Tavi?”

“M-maybe,” Octavia answered. Vinyl joined her at the register and placed his records down.

“Expanding your horizons huh? I’m actually surprised that you chose one of my records though.”

“It’s none of your business what I choose to listen to.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” They paid for their records and started walking back. A little while later Vinyl started laughing.

“What?” Octavia asked.

“I’m just wondering what ‘business’ your frog could have.” Vinyl snickered at the thought.

“He does this every now and then, where he just disappears for a week or so. He’ll be fine.”

“Pfft, a wife in the Griffin Nations, where did you come up with that?”

“I’m serious about that.”

“I know you are, which is why it’s so funny.” Octavia and Vinyl stared at each other for a moment.

“I hate you.”

“Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me. That recording thing I talked about earlier is good to go whenever you are.”

‘How can he shrug off comments like that so easily?!’ She thought and said out loud, “Oh really, that’s good to know.”

“Yeah, but you have to tell me when you’re free about a day in advance so I can prepare. Is that good for you?” Octavia simply nodded and hoped the conversation would be over. Thankfully it was after one last comment about frogs from Vinyl.

They arrived back at Octavia’s apartment a little while later and Octavia noticed she had some mail. Vinyl settled onto the couch and started listening to his new records as Octavia sorted through the mail. One letter in particular stood out to Octavia so she read it, making sure not to read it out loud.

“Whatcha reading?” Vinyl asked.

“Nothing!” Octavia shouted and quickly walked into her room and shut the door. Vinyl shook his head and turned his attention back to the song. Honestly, not one of Sapphire Shores better songs but he could still tell where she was trying to come from.

“I’m gonna have to let her know what I think. I’m sure she’ll appreciate my opinion.”

“NO!” Vinyl looked back at Octavia’s room and, after a few moments of silence, shrugged it off.

“I wonder how we are on milk?” Vinyl got up and walked over to the fridge and opened it. “Huh, low on milk, I better go get some.” He shut the fridge and walked over to Octavia’s door.

“I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS!” Vinyl knocked on the door. “What is it!”

“I’m gonna get milk, you want anything while I’m out?”

“No!”

“Ok.” Vinyl grabbed his bag and was about to leave when a thought struck him and he knocked on Octavia’s door again. “Hey ‘Tavi, what’s your favorite whiskey brand?”

“Why?”

“I’m just curious, and since I’m going out anyway I might as well get you a bottle.”

“I don’t remember the exact brand, but I think there’s a bottle in one of the cupboards. Just go get your milk.”

“’Kay, I’ll be back soon.” After Vinyl checked the brand and started walking out, he thought he heard Octavia say something.

“There’s no way she can be right.”

The day Octavia and Vinyl were to do their little recording thing had arrived and Vinyl was leading Octavia and her cello down a populated street. After a while he stopped and turned to her.

“This is the place,” Vinyl said as he motioned to a building. Octavia didn’t know what to think.

“Who exactly owns this building?” she asked.

“A friend of mine, she lets me use this place from time to time.” Vinyl opened the door and motioned with a hoof. “Fillies first.”

“You’re such a gentlecolt,” Octavia said as she walked inside. The inside seemed to be a standard waiting room for buildings like this. Vinyl closed the door and lead Octavia through the building. “So how is this going to work?”

“Well usually I would just remix a song when I work with somepony, but honestly your music as it is works best on its own, so instead we’re going to start from scratch and make something new.” Vinyl opened a door and the pair walked into a recording studio.

“So you want me to play something in here and then you’ll do something later?”

“Yeah, pretty much. You’ve recorded a record before right?” Octavia’s flat stare answered well enough. “Ok, go get set up in there while I get things ready. I’ll let you know when we’re good to go.” Octavia nodded and walked into the booth and started taking her cello out.

“Is there anything in particular you want me to play?” Octavia asked. Vinyl held up a hoof through the window and pressed a couple of buttons which caused the speakers to turn on.

“Not really, I just want you to play whatever, and then I’ll do my thing afterward.”

“But what do you want me to play?”

“I don’t care, make something up.”

“It’s not that easy to just make up the music I play. It is a refined art that takes months or years in order to-“

“Hey ‘Tavi this is a two minute song, you’re not writing Beethoven. I’m sure you can throw together two minutes of music.” Vinyl shut off the speakers and motioned for Octavia to play.

Octavia sighed and rubbed her forehead in thought. After a moment she picked up her cello and bow and tested a couple notes.

“Hey make a hoof motion when you’re ready to record,” Vinyl said. Octavia didn’t respond as she tested a couple more notes. When she was satisfied she nodded at Vinyl and readied her cello. Vinyl fiddled with the console a little and gave Octavia the go ahead to play.

Octavia took a deep breath and started playing, slowly at first and going faster as she went on. Octavia closed her eyes and threw her whole being into the song.

Vinyl for his part was laughing wildly in joy. He could feel the untapped energy in this song and the ideas were flowing. But for now he had a job to do, so he took a breath and focused on the console.

“Ok ‘Tavi, let’s break for lunch,” Vinyl said through the speakers. Octavia nodded, set her cello on its stand, and exited the recording booth.

“So, how many takes have we done?” Octavia asked, “I kind of lost myself in the last few minutes.”

“We’ve only done one take. You didn’t stop playing for an hour.”

“What, then why didn’t you say something?”

“Well you gave me a lot to work with and you’re music is really pretty, so I see no problem.” Vinyl turned away with a smile and missed Octavia blushing lightly. “So do you want anything to eat?”

“I’ll… just have a sandwich. I don’t care what kind,” Octavia answered and sat in a chair.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a second.” Vinyl adjusted his goggles (yellow today) and left the room. Octavia sighed and, upon spotting a pile of magazines, picked one up and idly flipped through it. She stopped on an article concerning Hoity Toity and Photo Finish when someone knocked on the door.

“The door’s open,” Octavia called and set down the magazine. The door opened and a yellow earth pony with a blue mane walked in wearing a flashy white dress and top hat. It was none other than Sapphire Shores.

“Oh I’m sorry, I thought this was the room Vinyl Scratch was in,” she said upon seeing Octavia.

“He went to get some food, so he’ll be back soon. So what are you doing here?” Sapphire walked over and sat on a chair as she answered.

“Well, this is my recording studio. Vinyl asked if he could use it a couple of days ago and I said yes. I don’t think Vinyl’s introduced me to you yet.”

“I’m back,” Vinyl called as he walked inside levitating a couple food items next to him. “Oh hey Sapph, I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Here’s your sandwich ‘Tavi.” Vinyl sat next to Octavia and gave her the sandwich.

“Um, thank you,” Octavia said.

“So, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend Vinyl?” Sapphire asked.

“Oh right. ‘Tavi, this is Sapphire Shores, and this is Octavia Sapph. She’s a cello player.”

“I’m surprised. You actually remember my name,” Octavia commented.

“Huh?”

“I thought I recognized you. Didn’t you play at the Grand Galloping Gala once?” Sapphire asked.

“Please don’t remind me of that,” Octavia said. Vinyl got up off the couch and walked over to the recording console.

“I see he’s in work mode,” Sapphire commented, “he’s has that same look that he always had in college.” Octavia chocked a little on the sandwich at that.

“You went to college?” she yelled at Vinyl.

“Yeah I had to do that in order to be able to make my own music. DJing pays well, but not as well as any music I make would,” Vinyl said and started listening to the recording. “I’m not really sure if we should do another take, because this one is really good.”

“I am… in shock that you went to college.”

“A lot of ponies say that when they find out about that. I don’t really understand why.”

“Anyway, how exactly do you and Vinyl know each other?” Octavia asked and took a bite from her sandwich.

“We used to date in college.” Octavia choked again but managed to swallow it and set the sandwich down.

“Maybe I shouldn’t eat right now.”

“That reminds me, how is that mare friend of yours doing?”

“We broke up,” Vinyl said flatly.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I actually think we’re done for now ‘Tavi, I’ll have to go over all of this later.”

“So do you want me to close this up again?”

“Nah, I’ll stay here a bit longer, but you two are free to go.”

“Ok, it was nice to see you again Vinyl,” Sapphire said and gave him a light hug, “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t. I’ll see you later Sapph.” Sapphire Shores let Vinyl go and started walking to the door, stopping to look at Octavia for a second.

“You’re really lucky, you know that,” she said and winked at Octavia before leaving.

“What? WE ARE NOT DATING! Why is everypony assuming that?”

“Who, you and that piano player, Frederick was it?” Vinyl asked.

“Wha- NO! Where did you get that from?!” Octavia yelled. Vinyl smirked a little and lowered his goggles to look at Octavia, who felt her skin tingle.

“Really, so you are single?” Vinyl asked.

“What, shut up! I’m going home!” Octavia walked into the recording booth and packed up her instrument.

“I love you too ‘Tavi,” Vinyl said through the speakers and started laughing madly.

“Did you hear me Mr. Scratch?” Octavia asked. Vinyl had been working on something nonstop for the last day or so and Octavia had to leave for a concert in Canterlot.

“Yeah, of course I heard ya.” Vinyl answered.

“So, you’ll be alright for the next few days?”

“Course I will.”

“Ok then, I’m leaving now. Try not to burn down the apartment while I’m gone.” Octavia strapped the cello case to her back and walked out the door. Vinyl looked up at the door and sighed a little.

“It’s about time she went grocery shopping, we’ve been running out of milk. I hope she gets back soon.”

That was more or less what happened three days ago. When Octavia and her ensemble got back to Manehattan they all went to Octavia’s home for dinner.

“I really am worried, he might still be here.” Octavia said as they stood in front of her door.

“What do you mean?” Beauty asked, “You said he’s been here for a while.”

“That’s why I’m worried.” Octavia took out her key, thankful that Vinyl had actually locked the door, and opened it. The quad walked inside and found Vinyl lying on the couch in almost the exact same position Octavia left him in. He looked over at them and slipped his headphones off.

“Oh you’re back, did you get the milk?” he asked.

“Milk? What are you talking about?”

“You were going to the grocery store weren’t you?”

“Store? You were not paying attention at all when I told you where I was going, were you?” Vinyl scratched his head a little in thought.

“So you weren’t going to the store?”

“I WAS GOING TO A CONCERT IN CANTERLOT, YOU DUMBA-“ Octavia stopped herself and took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself, “I meant that I had a concert to go to.”

“Oh, how did it go?” Vinyl asked completely unfazed.

“It went well,” Frederick answered.

“That’s nice. How long ago was this?”

“About three days ago.”

“THREE DAYS?!” Vinyl quickly tapped on the tablet he had been using and checked the date. “Huh, it has been three days. Ha ha, you know what it’s like getting lost in your work.”

“You’ve been working for three days straight?” Octavia asked and Vinyl nodded, “Are you some kind of automaton?”

“I don’t know what that word means, so no.”

“Um, should we come back later?” Beauty asked.

“No it’s fine,” Octavia said and motioned at Vinyl, “Do you see what I’ve had to put up with for the last couple of weeks?”

“I…guess?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Oh it’s nothing! We just… um…” Frederick stuttered.

“Are you saying you two aren’t dating?” Harpo said plainly. Octavia stared at him in horror at the thought. She also swore she heard… wait a minute.

“Mr. Scratch do you mind? I’m recoiling in horror!”

“Ah sorry,” Vinyl said and took the record off the player, “I was just wondering if we could fit this part in somehow. I guess not huh?”

“Octavia, maybe we should get dinner ready?” Beauty suggested.

“That sounds good, I haven’t eaten for a while.” Vinyl got up off the couch and waited a little for Frederick, Beauty, and Harpo to walk away a little before turning to Octavia with one of the biggest grins he ever had. “So, we’re dating huh?”

“NO WE ARE NOT!” Octavia yelled and stormed into the kitchen with Vinyl chuckling a little.

“Ok, this is what I managed to come up with. Y’know, for that collab thing,” Vinyl said holding a record.

“Uh huh,” Octavia said and took a sip of her drink. While Vinyl admitted that first take was good, Octavia had learned that he was a bit of a perfectionist. If even one thing was wrong he was liable to start the whole thing over from scratch was how he put it.

“This actually took forever to figure out what I wanted to do with it, and you have no idea how much it pained me to cut it down to these couple of minutes for this sample.”

“So play it and let me hear it.”

“Alright, put these on first,” Vinyl said and held out a pair of headphones.

“Um, ok.” Octavia took the headphones just as someone knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Vinyl said and set the record to play. Octavia put the headphones on and waited as the song started. It started rather simply with a section of the song she recorded and was soon joined by a techno back track. She also thought she heard an added synthetic orchestra to it. She hummed a little in curiosity and took another sip of her drink as Vinyl walked over to the couch carrying a letter. The song’s tempo started to intensify which drew Octavia’s attention. As the song went on, she unfortunately had to admit that she liked the song.

She looked over at Vinyl who was silently reading the letter. He perked up a little, folded the letter up, and looked at Octavia with a wide smile. Octavia raised an eyebrow and took the headphones off.

“My building’s clean,” he said. “It took a while but they got all of that moss out. I can move back in whenever I can.”

“Really?” Octavia asked in mild surprise.

“Yep, see for yourself.” Vinyl handed the letter to Octavia which she took and started reading. “You realize what the means don’t you?”

“No, I don’t,” Octavia answered as she saw Vinyl roll of the couch and grab her by her shoulders.

“A house leaving party!”

“A what?” Octavia never noticed before, but every time Vinyl touched her skin felt that same electric sensation multiplied by ten. She would have thought something along the lines of ‘yet more proof that the world’s conspiring against me’ but right now she didn’t really care.

“You know, a small party, just you and me, where we just hang out and listen to music to celebrate how I’ll be out of your hair soon.” Vinyl then pulled Octavia in close and waved a hoof in front of him. “Just imagine it ‘Tavi, two great musicians just hanging out listening to music. Maybe have a couple of drinks, maybe not, we’ll see where that goes. What do you think ‘Tavi?”

‘Oh Celestia, this tingling is going to make my chest explode! I could try to decline this, but he’ll probably do it anyway. Oh why not, if he’s going to do this I might as well try to enjoy it.’

“Sure, just please stop hugging me,” Octavia said.

“Deal, go find some records you want to play and I’ll see what I’ve got.” Vinyl let Octavia go and walked over to one of his record boxes. Octavia softly sighed and rubbed her shoulder as the tingling started to go away.

‘I could use a drink,’ she thought and walked to the kitchen.

“Hey ‘Tavi, what kind of drinks do you have anyway?” Vinyl asked. Octavia opened the fridge to check.

“Milk, orange juice, and whiskey, although I’m fairly sure you won’t-“

“I’m more of a cocktail pony, but I’ll have some whiskey.” Octavia looked back at Vinyl with a raised eyebrow. “What, I liked broadening my horizons just like anypony else.”

“Alright, I was kind of in the mood for some myself.” Octavia grabbed a bottle and set it on the counter before going to get a couple of glasses. “I’ll have you know that this whiskey is pretty strong.”

“Heh, thanks for the warning ‘Tavi,” Vinyl said with a smile. Octavia couldn’t help but offer a small smile in return. After another minute of preparation they gathered in the living room around the record player, Vinyl’s choices next to him and Octavia’s next to her.

“So ‘Tavi, you want to go first or should I?” Vinyl asked.

“Does it really matter?” Octavia asked pouring herself a glass.

“No, but I thought you would like to have the choice.”

“I really don’t care.” Vinyl shrugged and picked up a record and set it in the player. The music that played was a simple high paced techno beat. “What would this be?”

“A copy of my first record, and man does this bring me back. This was made years ago.” Vinyl took a drink and stared longingly at the player.

“Really, you’ve been making music for that long?”

“Yep, but I’ve been DJing since I was a foal. That’s how I got my cutie mark after all.”

“Really? How did that come around?”

“Heh, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

“That’s… kind of a complicated story.”

“Well, we have all night and, honestly, any cutie mark story is bound to be complicated.” Octavia swirled the whiskey around the glass and stared into it a little.

“Let me think about it,” she finally said and finished her glass of whiskey.

“Alright, I guess I’ll start,” Vinyl said and levitated the bottle over to refill Octavia’s glass. “Well, I guess I should start with my family since they kind of tie into this.” Octavia made a ‘go on’ motion.

“Well, I was pretty much born into music. My father was a big time folk guitarist, and I guess he still kind of is, and my mom helped him out by singing for a couple of his songs. I was born in Canterlot, the youngest of three kids.”

“Wait, you were born in Canterlot?”

“I know, I don’t act like it right? I blame my parents for that. Anyway, my older sister is kind of the black sheep of the family since she found her talent in bowling. My brother… I actually forgot what he does, light shows or something.”

“How exactly does this tie into your cutie mark?”

“I’m getting to that. See, given what my family mostly did, I always assumed my talent would be music although I didn’t know how it would come about. I was about maybe eight when my brother had this party at our house. I think he forgot I was there because it started around the time I was doing homework.”

Vinyl got distracted when the music stopped. “Oh, my choice is over, your turn to play something.”

“*sigh* ok,” Octavia said and randomly picked out one of the records and switched it with Vinyl’s record.

“Anyway, where was I?” Vinyl asked as Octavia started playing the record, Beethooven’s Fifth Symphony lightly playing. “Nice choice.”

“Thank you, and you were talking about a party.”

“Oh yeah, thanks. Well like I said, I was doing homework when this party started. Mom, Dad, and Sis were out, which left me alone with about twenty or so teenagers.”

“A foal’s worse nightmare,” Octavia said humorously.

“Yeah and it didn’t help that the DJ for that party sucked! I was about eight or nine at the time and even I could tell he sucked. Come to think of it, I think his talent was in stone masonry or something. Anyway, you can imagine how I reacted to this, what with being a dumb kid and all.”

“You confronted him in the bluntest way possible, right?”

“Pretty much, I walked right up to him and told him ‘you suck’.” Octavia set her glass down and double face hoofed.

“Really? Please tell me you weren’t that dumb.”

“Yes I was,” Vinyl said with evident pride in his voice, which made Octavia groan into her hooves. “Anyway, that was met with the standard amount of scorn you would expect and one mare even said, ‘Well then, why don’t you do better?’ So I took the challenge and, if I do say so, I did really well for a dumb kid. I at least did better than him.”

“How exactly did you do better? I can hardly see a foal doing well DJing a party for teenagers.”

“Well yeah, I was just a kid at the time, but compared to what he did I was awesome. You see, to be a good DJ you have to be able to read the crowd to see what they want to hear. You want to excite them enough that they keep listening, but you can’t excite them too much.”

“You keep saying things like that. ‘I’ve seen some bad things,’ and the like. What do you mean by that?”

“Um…” Vinyl looked around the room and motioned for Octavia to come closer, which she did. Unfortunately the things that were whispered into Octavia’s ear that night cannot be repeated without the listener suffering severe mental damage. Just…trust us on this one, you don’t want to know. When Vinyl was done with his story Octavia just stared at him.

“I entirely regret asking that,” she said and picked up the glass, “Why don’t we get back to your other story, the one without the mental scars.”

“There’s actually not much else to it, mostly because I can’t remember it. All I can really remember is music, how much fun I had doing it, and my parents being really mad when they got home. Dad chewed me and bro out for a good while before he congratulated me on my cutie mark. I didn’t even notice it appear at the time.”

“And…that’s it?”

“Yeah, pretty much. It’s kind of dull but not everyone gets their cutie mark by blowing up a castle or something.”

“I suppose not.” Octavia took a drink and looked at Vinyl’s wide grin. “What?”

“Just wondering what your story is? We’ve been pretty different so far, music and attitude wise, so I wonder if it’s the same for our foalhoods.” Octavia finished her glass and held it out to be refilled.

“I’m having trouble remembering right now,” she said. Vinyl shrugged and finished his own drink just as something caught his eye.

“Your frog has an eye patch now,” he said getting up and walking over to it. Octavia looked over to find that Mission did have an eye patch over its right eye. Vinyl chuckled a little and motioned at the doll. “You’re really committed to this aren’t you?”

“Shut up! What he does in his spare time is none of my business,” Octavia yelled and looked away with a blush.

“That’s never going to get old, it’s too adorable,” Vinyl said with another joyful laugh. Octavia growled angrily at him and felt her blood freeze a little when he noticed a nearby picture turned around.

The record came to a halt.

“What’s this?” he asked and gently pulled it off the wall and walked back over, giving the picture to Octavia as he started switching records.

“This…” she trailed away a little at the sight of the picture. ‘How long has it been?’ “…is kind of why I couldn’t remember.” Vinyl set the record to play, a soft techno beat drifting through the air.

“Really?” he asked. Octavia held the picture closer to her chest as old memories started to wash over her.

“What’s your relationship with your family like?” she asked.

“Oh jeez, it’s alright I guess. I haven’t seen any of them for a while, but we get along. Why?”

“I haven’t seen my family for a long time,” Octavia said and set the picture down so Vinyl could see it. The picture showed a happy scene, a group of three young fillies in a group hug as two older ponies watched them. Vinyl’s eye was almost immediately drawn to the filly in the middle of the hug, her cutie mark contrasted nicely with her coat color, which in turn contrasted to the other fillies’ coats, a bright pink against a dark blue and a light grey.

‘Oh no way.’

Octavia wasn’t always called that, it was a name she had chosen for herself when she had made into high society. Her real name was Inkamena Pie, born the eldest of three daughters to a small rock farm in the middle of Equestria. She and her sisters had a rough time growing up since their father was pretty old fashioned.

“If you’re not tending to the rocks, it’s a waste of time,” he would always say. That little mantra came to define the Pie sister’s life for ten years and, aside from the occasional visits from their grandmother, there was very little happiness on that farm. That’s not even getting into the expected sibling rivalry.

On this particular day at lunchtime ‘Inkie’, as her sisters called her, was sitting on her bed lovingly stroking her stuffed frog doll. She and her younger sister had an altercation earlier and she was waiting on her father. She didn’t have to wait long as the door opened to let her father in with her sister by his side.

“So, have you thought about what happened Inkamena?” he asked sternly. She could never really look her father in the eye, so she nodded at the floor. “Now it doesn’t matter who started the fight, you should know better than to bite your sister.” He pushed the pink filly forward, “I believe you might want to say something to your sister.”

Inkie looked over at her sister then down at the frog. She took a breath and-

“I’m sorry.”

She looked at her sister in surprise, as did her father.

“I shouldn’t have been playing with Mission without your permission. I-I’m sorry.” Inkie set the frog down, hopped off the bed, and walked over to her sister as light tears started to fall.

“I… shouldn’t have acted the way I did either,” she said and gave her sister a hug, “I’m sorry for biting you Pinkie.” Pinkie returned the hug and sniffed a little. “Can you promise me one thing?”

“What?”

“The next time you want to play with Mission, ask first. He’s very sensitive.” They broke the hug and Pinkie nodded.

“I will,” she said. Both sisters turned to their father.

“Alright, you two go eat. We need to finish moving the south field today,” he said and left the room. Inkie turned to Pinkie with a sad look on her face.

“Does it hurt?” she asked. Pinkie rubbed her left foreleg a little.

“A little, but I’ll be ok.”

“I really am sorry.”

“It’s ok Inkie.”

Later that day, the whole family was out gathering rocks. Rock farms are a little different from other farms since most of their exports are ores, and ores have to be nurtured with as much care as any other crop. That particular lesson was drilled into Inkie’s head until it was practically burned there. She checked on her sister’s progress and of course Pinkie was falling behind. That was how it always went; Pinkie would always be the one to finish last and would have to work the field alone.

‘Just once I wish father would let me help her,’ she thought as she pushed her last rock into place. He never would though, for whatever reason, and always insisted that they each work their own lots alone. Something about building character or the like. Bellamina finished soon after her so the both of them walked to their parents near their house. Inkie looked back at Pinkie looking sadly at them and walked into her house and up to her room with her sister.

“Do you think Pinkie will be in soon?” Bellamina asked as Inkie adjusted Mission on her bed.

“Hopefully, I don’t want her to be out too la-“ she was interrupted when the house shook with a large boom from outside and Bellamina quickly ran to Inkie hugging her tightly.

“What was that?!” Bellamina asked in panic.

“I don’t know.” The door flew open and their mother came in.

“Are you two alright?” she asked and both fillies nodded. Their mother sighed in relief before looking outside worriedly, “Have either of you seen Pinkamena?”

“She was outside a minute ago,” Inkie answered and walked over to the window at an empty field, “W-where is she?”

Neither Inkie nor her family saw Pinkie until dinner time. Even then, all she did was walk in with a complete messy mane and tail, grabbed her dinner, and walked right back out and toward the silo. She didn’t come in for bed that night either, so in the morning the entire family went out to finish working the field and they heard music coming from the silo.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie, is that you?” she heard her mother ask. Pinkie opened the door, a couple of balloons floating out of it.

“Mom! I need you and Dad and the sisters to come in here quick!” she said and closed the door. Her parents looked at each other for a moment before walking over to the door and opening it.

They did not expect streamers, a cake, punch, numerous balloons, and all other kinds of favors they had never seen before. They looked around the silo for a second before Pinkie appeared out of nowhere.

“Surprise! Do you like it, huh? It’s called a party!” Pinkie said, a party blower sounding from nowhere. The four of them stared in shocked silence, her father’s wheat stalk falling from his mouth. A silence permeated the air as Pinkie waited for her family’s reaction.

She couldn’t speak for the rest of her family, but Inkie knew how she felt about this. She had never seen anything like this before, never even been off the farm before. The room had some kind of effect on her and felt her mouth twitch rapidly.

“Aw, you don’t like it,” Pinkie said sadly and turned away from them. Inkie tried to hold it in, but she couldn’t. A few seconds later she and her family broke out in the biggest smiles they ever had. The sight made Pinkie perk up immediately. “Oh, you do like it!” she exclaimed and zoomed over to them, “I’m so happy!”

“Why do I feel like I heard this story before?” Vinyl whispered to himself.

“What did you say?” Octavia asked.

“Huh? Oh nothing, just talking to myself,” Vinyl said and waved a hoof in the air, “Please continue.”

“…Like I was saying, that was more or less how that went. My sister got her cutie mark then and when I noticed it the first time it blew my mind.” Octavia picked up her glass and took a drink, “I’m not sure you would know how that feels though.”

“Knowing your entire reason to live could be different than what you thought it was? Nope, can’t say that I have. You seemed to have taken it pretty well though.”

“You would think that would be the case, but honestly I didn’t know what to think. The thoughts swam through my head like, ‘if rocks aren’t my talent then what was?’ That went on for a couple of days until the next time my grandmother came to visit.”

“Pinkamena, I’m glad that you’re happy finding your special talent, but you still need to help us with the fields.”

“Awww.” It was about two weeks after Pinkie got her cutie mark and life on the farm had returned to normal or at least normal enough when it came to the new Pinkie. Out of all the new things, the least troublesome was her mane and tail which was now permanently puffed out and no amount of brushing could tame it. Her father sighed and looked down at her.

“Think of it this way: the sooner you get your work done, the sooner you can get back to… planning parties or whatever it is you do.” Pinkie’s ears perked up at this and she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Her father stared in bafflement at the cloud as Inkie walked up to him.

“Father,” she said, drawing his attention.

“What is it Inkamena?”

“I… never mind.” She couldn’t say it, she couldn’t look her father in the eye and say she was having doubts about rock farming. She was good at it but, like any skill, that could be learned given enough time. Looking back on it, it never did bring her happiness. She was about to walk away when Pinkie returned with a large smile.

“I’m done!” she exclaimed joyfully. Inkie and her father looked to find that she had done her entire days work in less than a minute.

“Wh- I… W-well done Pinkamena,” her father managed to stutter out.

“Thanks Dad!” Pinkie said and hugged her father’s legs before hopping away. Inkie let out a light sigh and looked down the road out of the farm and spotted a familiar figure walking toward them. Pinkie noticed at the same time and almost instantly zoomed over to her. “Granny Pie!” The older mare laught softly and patted the young filly’s head.

“Hello there Pinkie, you’re a lot more energetic than when I was last here,” she said as Pinkie bounced around her.

“You super diddly bet I am! Look look, I got my cutie mark! It’s for party throwing!” Pinkie exclaimed as Granny Pie inspected Pinkie’s cutie mark.

“Well, it certainly suits you Pinkie and I would love to see one of your parties.” The two heard approaching hoofsteps and looked over to see Inkie and her father walking toward them. “Hello Clyde, you’re looking healthy.”

“I am mother,” he said with a nod.

“Hi Grandma,” Inkie said quietly. Granny Pie blinked a little and looked Inkie over.

“Ooh, I should throw you a party. I’ll get started right now!” Pinkie said and zoomed toward the silo. The three of them watched the pink filly disappear and Clyde sighed.

“I better get back to work. Will you be staying as long as usual mother?”

“Of course, Clyde. Do you mind if I talk to Inkamena for a moment?” Clyde simply nodded and walked to the fields. Granny Pie looked at Inkie who avoided her gaze. “Is something troubling you Inkie?”

“… No, not really,” Inkie answered.

“But you sound like something is. Come on, let’s walk for a moment.” Granny Pie walked toward the house with Inkie following behind. Pinkie bounced out of the silo and gave Bellamina a cupcake, wherever she had gotten it. “Does it have to do with Pinkie?”

“Well… not really,” Inkie answered and watched as Bellamina took a small bite of the cupcake and smiled widely at Pinkie, who smiled even wider and hugged Bellamina. “I’ve just been thinking a lot lately. I mean, Pinkie found her special talent in something other than rocks, so maybe that’s the same for me. I’m just so confused right now.” The two of them sat down near the house.

“Yes, that can happen, but that kind of curiosity can be a good thing,” Granny Pie said and looked at Pinkie bouncing around happily, “I think I have an idea. How about you and Pinkie come with me into town sometime? We can just look around a little and have a good time. Does that sound good?” Inkie thought for a moment and looked up at Granny Pie with a smile.

“Yeah, I would like that,” she said. Granny Pie smiled down at her and patted her on the head.

“Good, then we can go tomorrow if you want. I’m going to go rest for a while, we can talk some more later.” Granny Pie got up and walked into the house. Inkie sat for a moment longer before getting up and walking to the field.

Life goes on after all, and she still had work to do.

As far as she could remember, Inkie had never really been out of the farm. There was always work to do and if someone had to get something in town she would always stay behind. So really, you can imagine how she felt her first time in town. Awestruck and excited would only be scratching the surface though. Pinkie, of course, was as excited as ever.

“Now remember you two, you need to behave yourselves here,” Granny Pie said to them, “so make sure to stay close to me.”

“Don’t worry Granny Pie, I’ll be so well behaved you wouldn’t know I was here,” Pinkie said cheerfully.

“You… do remember how father agreed to let us come out here, don’t you?” Inkie asked. Pinkie, for her part, looked up and hummed in thought.

“So would it be ok if I took Pinkie and Inkamena to town tomorrow?” Granny Pie asked Clyde.

“Well I don’t know, she has a lot of work to do tomorrow,” Clyde said, “But then again-“

“Chickens!” Pinkie yelled as she entered the room, which was followed by a large bang. Clyde then found his face covered with cake batter. “Aw man, my party cannon still needs some tweaks. Back to the drawing board, I guess.” Pinkie walked out of the room and Clyde wiped some batter off his face.

“Then again, it might calm her down a little,” he said as Granny Pie laughed a little.

“Nope, not at all,” Pinkie said joyfully. Inkie sighed in exasperation.

“Never mind.”

“So girls, are you ready?” Granny Pie asked and started walking when the two girls nodded.

The day went pretty well, with the three of them visiting several shops and looked at all of their wares. Pinkie in particular was very interested in all the sweets she saw. Throughout all of this, Inkie was watching for anything that could have interested her. No matter what she looked at though, nothing had really peaked her interest. After a few hours of shopping, they made their last stop at a music store.

“This is going to be amazing! I can always use more party music!” Pinkie said.

“Now that I think about it, where did you get that first music?” Inkie asked.

“I don’t know.”

“…Of course you don’t.”

“Oh, we should get something for Bellamina!” Pinkie then bounced down one of the aisles. Inkie sighed a little and walked down one of the aisles too. She never really was into music, didn’t see the point when all she did was work rocks all day. Still she could at the very least try, so she wandered the store and looked at the records. The store also had some kind of intercom system that regularly played music throughout the store.

It was through that intercom that she first heard it. (Bach’s ‘Little’ Fugue)

It was a simple piano melody, but that was enough to stop Inkie in her tracks. The melody grew more complex as it went on and bounced around in her head. She didn’t know why but the song felt like it was calling to her.

She had to find it, so Inkie found the first attendant she could.

“Excuse me sir, do you know what this song is?” she asked.

“This is Buck’s ‘Little’ Fugue. It’s not one of my favorites personally, but that’s just me. It’s over in the classical section if you want it,” the attendant said and pointed across the store. Inkie gave her thanks and walked to the section, catching sight of Pinkie doing along the way.

“Let’s see, Buck…” she whispered as she looked through the section, very difficult considering her height. She had just spotted the record when it was levitated down to her.

“Here you go kid, have fun with it,” the attendant said with a smile.

“Uh, thank you,” she said and walked away quietly. She rejoined with Pinkie and Granny Pie as she carefully held the record in her hooves.

“Did you find something Inkie?” Granny Pie asked.

“Y-yes.”

“Ooh, what is it?” Pinkie asked trying to see the record.

“You probably won’t like it Pinkie.” Pinkie gave Inkie a confused look and was about to say something when Granny Pie cleared her throat.

“Well, are you two ready to go?” she asked and Inkie quietly nodded.

“Yep! I hope Bellamina likes what we picked out for her,” Pinkie said excitedly and bounced ahead of Granny Pie and Inkie. Inkie looked down at the record and shook a little in anticipation.

“Wait, you… actually excited about something? That’s a shocker,” Vinyl said with a chuckle. Octavia’s response was to get up, grab Vinyl’s glass, and toss the whiskey into his face.

“Can I please finish?” she asked. Vinyl laughed a little and wiped his face clean.

“Sure, I’m sorry. Anyway, you were talking about a record?” Octavia looked into Vinyl’s eyes and sighed a little at the familiar tingle.

“Well, I bought the record and took it home,” Octavia said and sat down, “My memory is kind of fuzzy, but I think I listened to it over and over for the rest of the day. It was just so entrancing to me and I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“Would this happen to be that record?” Vinyl asked and levitated up a record.

“No, that’s my… third replacement record I think.”

“Replacement?”

“I… liked the records so much I would wear them out in a month or so,” Octavia said with a hint of embarrassment, which wasn’t helped by Vinyl’s appreciative whistle.

“So, you listened to these records so much that you just got into classical music?” Vinyl asked and set the record down, “Hey do you mind if I keep this song playing a bit longer?”

“I don’t mind, it helps me think. It’s not exactly the records that got me where I am, soon enough just listening wasn’t enough. I had to actually play these masterpieces I loved so much.” Octavia took a drink before continuing, “I think I saved up my allowance and any money I made from sales for two or three years before I finally had enough to buy my first cello. It was old and constantly out of tune, but it was my first one and I’ll never forget it.

“I practiced for months, trying to play every symphony I could either by memory or by ear. I suppose you know what it’s like to lose yourself in something you love, am I right?”

“Every moment I hear a song or play a show,” Vinyl answered with a smile.

“Well I developed that habit rather quickly, so much so that I didn’t even notice that my sisters started to sneak into wherever I practiced to listen to me.” Octavia finished her glass and set it down, “I was the last of my sisters to get my cutie mark, but that didn’t make me any less happy when it happened. And I wouldn’t trade away any of that.”

“Our experiences make us,” Vinyl said.

“Huh?”

“I sometimes like to think about what could have happened. ‘What if I had a different talent?’ and ‘What if I did this instead of that?’, but really none of it matters. Do you know why?” Octavia shook her head and Vinyl smiled softly, not that large grin Octavia had gotten used to. It somehow made her heart tremble a little. “Simply, if one little thing had changed, we wouldn’t be here right now. If I hadn’t decided to go drinking with my friends that night, I wouldn’t have met you. And you know what ‘Tavi, despite all of your complaining about me and constant anger over all the times I annoy you, I can tell you like hanging out with me. It’s really subtle, but it’s there.”

Octavia stared at her hooves with a blush, hoping Vinyl couldn’t see it, and said, “You know, that story I told you about my childhood, I’ve never told anypony that. I always thought other ponies would look down on me if they found out how I was raised.”

“Then they're idiots.” Vinyl’s statement caused Octavia to look at him in surprise. “It doesn’t matter how you were raised, it’s what you do with yourself now that defines you. And honestly, I like the idea of a high class musician coming from a rock farm, it’s a much more interesting back story than ‘grew up in Canterlot and just grew into music’. I wish I had your back story.” Octavia laughed at that.

“You obviously have never been on a rock farm, it’s a lot harder than you think. It’s all about magical lay-lines and proper positioning, so you wouldn’t last a day.”

“Yeah, true enough. So what happened to your family? You said you weren’t too close.”

“It’s not that I’m not close to them, I just haven’t seen them for years. Little Bellamina is all grown up and tending to the rock farm and… well, the less said about Pinkie, the better. I’m just too busy sometimes.”

“Well I don’t see why you can’t take a quick vacation to visit, you’re not exactly lacking on vacation days.”

“Do you really want to start on that, Mr. Scratch?” Octavia asked annoyed.

“Well-“

“And you know what, I have a couple more things I wanted to share about you.” Octavia got up and walked in front of Vinyl, leaning in close to him. “I will say that you are, without a doubt, one of the most annoying ponies I have ever met. Everything you do and, if I could go far enough, your very existence seems to serve only to cause me discomfort.” Vinyl of course knew something like this was coming, but he was still surprised when Octavia sat down and scooted closer to him.

“Uh…”

“Every time I look into those eyes of yours, I feel this shiver run through my body and I always think that I’ll lose myself in them. That’s not even taking into account the contrast they make with your mane and coat, which shouldn’t work on anypony yet you still find a way to do it.” Octavia pushed Vinyl up against the couch and scooted closer to him. “You anger me with every stab at my character, yet I still keep you around. I keep trying to get away from you but you still persist in coming into my life somehow.”

“Is this supposed to be nice?”

“Shut up. Do you know what the most annoying thing about you is? Every single thing you do should drive us apart.”

“…And?” Vinyl’s question was answered not even a second later when Octavia suddenly met her lips with his. Vinyl’s eyes widened as Octavia pushed against him and wrapped her forelegs around him. She pulled away and looked him right in the eye.

“If that’s what should happen, then why do all of those things make me love you so much? It doesn’t make any sense.” Octavia started leaning back toward Vinyl but was stopped by a hoof.

“I think you’ve had enough for tonight ‘Tavi. You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said and tried to get up, but he didn’t get far.

“I know exactly what I’m talking about, I’ve just been in denial for the past while. And I’ll have you know that it takes more than what I’ve had tonight to get to me, so if you’re going to reject me then at least respect me enough to not use the ‘you’re too drunk’ excuse.”

“But I wasn’t… oh never mind,” Vinyl said and looked into Octavia’s purple eyes, shining slightly in the pale light, “I’ll probably get my flank kicked for this, but you know what the REA says, ‘who dares, wins.’”

“What does that-?” Octavia was interrupted when Vinyl pulled her into a kiss. She moaned into it and felt Vinyl wrap his arms around her. Her skin felt like it was on fire as she took in this new sensation. Vinyl broke the kiss long enough to drag the both of them onto the couch before diving right back into the kiss. The night devolved into a series of long kisses, licks, nuzzles, and gentle coat strokes until they both fell asleep hugging each other.

And to think, they only made it to three in the morning.

Vinyl woke up to the familiar feeling of a light hangover. He groaned a little and was a little thankful that the record player had stopped sometime in the night. He tried to get up but he felt much heavier. He happened to look down and saw that Octavia was weighing him down.

“Oh crap,” he whispered. She mumbled something and hugged Vinyl tighter. He groaned a little in discomfort and started awkwardly stroking her coat. “Hey, wake up,” he said after a minute and lightly poked Octavia’s side causing her to stir and open her eyes.

“Where am I?” she asked quietly. Vinyl was prepared for the beat down of a lifetime, but was happily surprised when Octavia didn’t do that and scooted up to meet him face to face.

“Well, I’m not in pain right now, so that’s a good sign,” Vinyl said and hugged Octavia.

“Oh quiet you.” Octavia kissed Vinyl lightly and rested against him with a sigh.

“So… are we dating now?”

“It’s not official until you actually take me out on a date, and I expect it to be good.”

“And what is your idea of a ‘good date?’”

“Anything above just ordering take out and making out on the couch. A nice dinner would be preferable.”

“Right, because that first option is best saved for the weekends,” Vinyl said and chuckled a little at Octavia’s blush, “But don’t worry, I’ll make the first date a good one.”

“One more thing,” Octavia said and leveled Vinyl’s head with hers, “My ensemble must not find out about this for a least a month. I am not giving Harpo the satisfaction of being right this soon. Understood?”

“Hahaha, yeah I got it,” Vinyl said and kissed Octavia on her forehead. Octavia giggled a little and returned the kiss.

“Well then, why don’t you get breakfast started while I get ready, would that be alright Vinyl?” Octavia asked and sat up.

“Sure thing ‘Tavi. You know, I think that’s the first time you call me ‘Vinyl’.”

“Really?” Octavia asked to which Vinyl nodded, “Huh, it probably never crossed my mind.” Octavia got off the couch and walked to her bedroom door. She looked back at Vinyl and said, “I’m serious about that first date by the way.”

“You worry too much about these things, you know that right?”

“I’m not taking any chances with you, Mr. ‘got kicked out of Stalliongrad’.” Octavia closed the door behind her and Vinyl shrugged to himself.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” he said and got off the couch and walked to the kitchen, “I wonder if ‘Tavi likes waffles?”

I hope this turned out well. As always any opinions are welcome.

An OctaScratch Quickie

Octavia made her way off the tram and toward Vinyl’s apartment. It had been a couple of days since Vinyl moved back in so Octavia wanted to make sure he was doing alright. It’s a good thing she remembered where his apartment was, given she had only been there a couple of times. Soon enough, Octavia had found the building and made her way up to Vinyl’s door and knocked on it.

“The door’s open,” Vinyl called so Octavia opened the door and walked inside to find Vinyl lounging on a couch. He looked up and grinned widely at Octavia, a set of purple goggles covering his eyes.

“Hey ‘Tavi, what bring you here?” he asked. Octavia walked over to the couch and sat on it.

“I wanted to see how you were settling back in here. And well, I wanted to see you anyway,” Octavia said blushing lightly. Vinyl pulled Octavia into a hug, which she returned.

“That’s nice of you ‘Tavi. As you can see, I’m doing fairly well. No more moss, so that’s good.”

“Yes, that is good,” Octavia said and started pulling Vinyl’s goggles down. “Did you ever find out where- OH MY GOD!”

“What?”

“Your eyes are a different color!” Octavia shouted and pointed at Vinyl.

“They are?”

“Yeah, see?” Octavia pulled out a hoof held mirror and held it up to Vinyl, who saw that his eyes were now magenta.

“OH MY GOD!” he shouted wide eyed.

“OH MY GOD!” Octavia shouted.

“OH MY GOD!”

"OH MY GOD!"

“How did this happen?”

“I don’t know, I can’t remember!”

“Well what did you do last?”

“I was just relaxing after the royal wedding a few days ago.”

“And that somehow- wait,” Octavia lowered the mirror and looked into Vinyl’s eyes, “what royal wedding?”

“The one between Shining Armor and Princess Cadence,” Vinyl said, all trace of panic gone from his voice.

“And what do you mean ‘relaxing’?”

“I was the DJ for the reception there.”

“…You went to the royal wedding.”

“Yeah, a friend of mine was in charge of the reception and she asked me if I would like to DJ for the reception and I was like ‘alright’. So I went and did my thing and came right back. It was pretty fun.” Octavia stared at him in some weird mixture of disbelief and anger.

“And you didn’t invite me why?”

“I didn’t know how you liked weddings. Celestia knows I didn’t go to the wedding itself. I heard things got pretty crazy though.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, some kind of alien invasion or something. I was asleep for most of the day though, so who knows.”

“Huh, I’m not so sure I wanted to go now.”

“Eh.” The two ponies were silent for another moment until Octavia looked at Vinyl’s eyes.

“OH MY GOD, YOUR EYES ARE A DIFFERENT COLOR!” she yelled.

“They are?” Octavia held the mirror back up and Vinyl proceeded to scream in horror followed by Octavia. In the resulting confusion Octavia dropped the mirror somewhere and started hugging Vinyl. After a few more moments, Vinyl suddenly stopped screaming and asked, “Hey you want to get some lunch?”

“Yes actually, I am kind of hungry,” Octavia replied as she let go of Vinyl and hopped off the couch. Vinyl replaced his goggles and followed Octavia.

“Where do you want to go?”

“As long as it’s not some dive bar I don’t care.”

“In that case I know this awesome deli not too far away, they have great sandwiches.” Vinyl opened the door for Octavia and followed behind once she was through.

“That sounds nice.”

The couple walked down the streets of Manehattan enjoying the sunny day. Every now and then Vinyl would bump into Octavia just to see her jump a little.

“Nice day out huh?” Vinyl asked.

“Yes it is. Sometimes I wish I had your coat color, I get really hot on days like this.” She was brought to a sudden stop when Vinyl quickly turned and smiled at her.

“Oh really? I can think of a couple ways to cool off in that case,” he said. Octavia blushed deeply and knocked Vinyl out of the way.

“Be silent! You shouldn’t talk about such things in public!” she said in shock. Vinyl gave Octavia a confused look.

“What are you talking about? I meant just hanging out in your house and just chill out for a while, unless you’re more the outdoorsy type.”

“Well, I do enjoy lying in the sunshine. Still, ponies might take what you say the wrong way.” Vinyl’s ears perked up and his smile widened further.

“Well ‘Tavi, if you’re a good girl we’ll see what happens,” he said and laughed, which earned him a kick to the leg. He flinched from the pain and let out a small chuckle before saying, “Totally worth it.”

“So, where is this deli?” Octavia asked looking everywhere but at Vinyl.

“It’s right over there,” he replied and pointed to a building. They walked inside, Vinyl with a minor limp, and placed their orders. “Can you go get a booth or something ‘Tavi? I’ll be over in a sec.”

“Alright,” Octavia answered and walked away. As she sat down, a thought struck her that she was really worried about something. She couldn’t quite place it though, so she spent a while thinking it over until Vinyl placed a sandwich in front of her.

“Something on your mind ‘Tavi?” Vinyl asked and took a bite of his own sandwich.

“Yes, but I can’t remember what it was. It seemed important at the time,” Octavia replied and took a bite of her own sandwich. “This is really good.”

“I told ya, it must be the ranch dressing or something. This place only opened about a week ago too, so that makes this really incredible.”

“Really?” Octavia asked and Vinyl gave her a small nod. The lunch continued without incident until Vinyl lifted his goggles to rub his eyes.

“Why are my eyes so itchy?” he asked. Octavia looked up and her eyes widened in surprise.

“OH MY GOD!”

“What?”

“Your eyes are a different color!”

“They are?” Vinyl got up and walked to the bathroom. Octavia blinked a couple times and put a hoof to her chin.

“I’ll freak out about this after lunch,” she said with a nod and continued eating. Vinyl came out a couple seconds later and sat down.

“My eyes are a different color,” he said emotionlessly.

“We’ll worry about that later. We don’t want to spoil our lunch right?” Octavia asked.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Besides, I already took care of the freak out for the moment in the bathroom.”

“OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!” Vinyl said while he looked at himself in the mirror.

Once Octavia and Vinyl finished their lunch and walked out of the deli, Vinyl turned to Octavia and asked, “So, what did you want to freak out about?”

“I can’t remember,” Octavia said and rubbed her forehead.

“Eh, it must not have been important. You coming back to my place or…?”

“Yes I will. Maybe I’ll remember what it is on the way there,” Octavia said and led the way back to Vinyl’s apartment. Vinyl did that bumping thing as they walked, each one lasting longer than the last one. “Why are you doing that?”

“No reason,” Vinyl said as they stopped at an intersection. “You know, I think that thing you were talking about had something to do with my eyes.”

“Yes that does ring a bell, but why?”

“I don’t know, is something wrong with them?” Vinyl asked and lifted the lenses of his goggles.

“OH MY GOD!” Octavia yelled.

“What?” Octavia turned Vinyl to a conveniently placed mirror and they both screamed at the sight of Vinyl’s eyes. They ran across the street screaming as a cross eyed pegasus watched them from behind the mirror.

“Jeez, what’s their problem?” she asked and lifted the mirror up to a window.

“Alright, I think we’re safe now,” Vinyl said. He and Octavia were lying on his couch breathing heavily from the run.

“Yes, I think so,” Octavia said back, “what were we running from again?”

“I don’t know,” Vinyl said and lifted his goggles off his head. Octavia blinked a couple of times at Vinyl’s eyes and scooted toward him a little.

“You know, now that I look at them, they suit you very well.”

“What?”

“Your eyes,” Octavia said and hugged Vinyl’s neck, “I could just stare into them all day.” Vinyl chuckled and hugged Octavia.

“Yeah, you said that before,” he said.

“I could have sworn they were a different color though.”

“Like what?” Vinyl asked. Octavia smiled and took off her bowtie, tossing it onto the table with Vinyl’s goggles.

“Who cares.” She said and pushed Vinyl down onto the couch. Before Vinyl could say anything Octavia lay down on him and kissed him deeply. Vinyl returned it with an equal fervor and lightly poked Octavia’s lips with his tongue. Octavia didn’t waste any time and stuck her tongue into Vinyl’s mouth and started to wrestle with his tongue. After a minute of making out Vinyl tapped Octavia on the side, which signaled her to stop for a moment.

“Does that lunch count as a first date?” Vinyl asked.

“No,” Octavia simply answered.

“Ok, I just wanted to make sure,” Vinyl said and pulled Octavia into another kiss.

Red or Magenta, I'm sure we can all agree Vinyl's eyes are still incredibly hypnotizing.

Also some parts might have been inspired by this. Just so you know.

RariJack

>Updating case file 56<
>Resuming observation<

The day was going pretty much as Twilight expected, which amounted to sorting through the dozen or so books she had decided to read that day and when that was done turned her attention to a recent book shipment. Twilight was happily sorting them, humming a tune to herself, when she heard a knock at the door.

“It’s open,” Twilight called. The door opened and Twilight looked to see Elusive walk in followed by Butterscotch. “Hi guys, how can I help you?” she asked. Elusive turned to Butterscotch and whispered something to him. Butterscotch nodded shyly and Elusive turned back to Twilight.

“Are you busy today darling? We can come back later if you are.” Twilight shook her head and checked the books she was sorting.

“No, I just need to finish sorting this shipment and I’ll be free for the rest of the day. Did you have something in mind?” Twilight levitated a book in front of her and studied the cover, “Oh, Blitz’s book came in. I’ll have to remember to tell him later.”

“Well, I was wondering if you would join me and Butterscotch for our weekly spa visit. I tried asking the others, but Applejack said she didn't want to go and Rainbow is helping Pinkie with making cupcakes or something.”

“So that’s where he went. I’d love to join you two, just give me a few minutes to finish up.” Elusive nodded and Twilight checked the books she had already double checked in order to triple check them to make sure they were all there.

“Um, what do you think Pinkie and Rainbow Blitz are doing?” Butterscotch asked Elusive.

“I can only guess with those two.”

“Oh no, all of the eggs have been stolen by some fiend!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed dramatically as she looked at the ingredients on the counter, “Who could I count on to help me get them back?” Just then a pony dressed in a skintight purple uniform with a matching mask, hat, and cape flew through the kitchen door and landed on the counter. “Mare-Do-Well, you heard my cry for help!”

Mare-Do-Well nodded and dramatically reached a hoof under the cape and pulled out a carton of eggs and handed it over to Pinkie.

“Hooray, you rescued my eggs from the evil clutches of Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake, along with their vicious attack gator!” Pinkie said pointing a hoof across the room where the infants were paying no mind to what Pinkie was doing, instead opting to play with Gummy who reacted with his usual stone-faced attitude. “How can I repay you?” Mare-Do-Well started cracking up and hopped off the counter.

“This is too much fun Pinkie,” Blitz said and pulled off the mask he was wearing, “I’m so glad you kept this costume.”

“I know right? Sometimes I like to wear it and pretend to fight supervillians.”

“I wonder if Elusive can make me this hat?” Blitz asked.

“Ok, I think we’ve spent enough time admiring the costume, NOW LET’S MAKE SOME CUPCAKES!”

“Yeah!”

“You’re going to have to take that off for this!”

“Aw.”

Twilight finished sorting the books and the group was now making their way to the spa.

“I’m so glad you are coming with us Twilight, it has been way too long since we have been able to do something like this together,” Elusive said.

“I have to agree, we’ve been really busy lately,” Twilight said, “what was that about Applejack being sick?”

“I only heard it second hoof from Red Gala, but I think Applejack is just trying to avoid me.”

“Really, what makes you think that?”

“Please Twilight, I’ve spent most of my life learning how to read a mare’s thoughts and I know Applejack’s more than a little uncomfortable at the prospect of doing something with me,” Elusive said as they were now passing through the market and Twilight started to see what Elusive was saying.

“Elusive, are you…interested in Applejack?” she asked carefully.

“That’s a rather direct way of putting it, but I guess that’s the case. Why, is it really that strange?”

“Um, a little bit. It just doesn’t seem like you’d be into mares like Applejack.”

“I can’t really explain it, it’s just kind of there. I would never have guessed you would fall for somepony like Blitz, but look how wrong I turned out on that.” Twilight had to give him that, but before she could continue the conversation she noticed a familiar unicorn manning a stall.

“Trixter? What are you doing here?” Trixter looked over at the group and waved.

“Hi Miss Sparkle, I’m just watching this stand until the owner gets back,” he said and sighed sadly, “I wish I hadn’t blown up my caravan. Anyway what are you doing?”

“I’m doing alright, I’m going to the spa with my friends,” Twilight replied happily.

“No coltfriend?” Twilight shook her head.

“He doesn’t like that kind of stuff.”

“Ha, I’m not surprised in the least.” Trixter gave a small haughty laugh before turning to Elusive, “And have you given further thought to what we discussed?”

“I have and I may have something for you to do,” Elusive said and gave a small devious smile, “but I’m sure you won’t like it.”

“I don’t care, I’ll take any job if it can replace this one. That unicorn over there has been staring at me for 10 minutes and it’s starting to creep me out.” Elusive pointed over at a blue unicorn who was now walking over to them. “Can I help you?” Trixter asked.

“Yes, I have heard that you are an expert on micro and megastrobilus, and as such I require your help with its culinary preparation,” he said completely serious. The assembled gave him a look.

“I don’t speak whatever language you just spoke, can you translate that into Equestrian?” Trixter said.

“Oh fine, I’ll do my best to do that.” He cleared his throat and levitated a pinecone into view, “I want you to eat this pinecone.”

“What no!”

“Eat the pinecone,” he said more forcefully.

“I thought that rumor died months ago!”

“EAT THE PINECONE!”

“NO!” Trixter yelled and ran away, the unicorn following closely.

“Oh, I hope he doesn’t yell at the grass again,” Butterscotch whispered. Elusive and Twilight looked at him curiously, but didn’t ask any questions.

“Let’s hurry to the spa, it’s almost time for our appointment,” Elusive said and led the group on.

“Hey Pinkie, is this dough done yet?” Blitz asked in regards to the blob of dough in front of him. Pinkie walked over and inspected it.

“Yep, that’s dough alright. Why did you make it though? We’re making cupcakes, not bread.”

“Oh,” Blitz said and sunk down depressed.

“Oh but I can still use it! I mean, you can never have enough bread,” Pinkie said to try and cheer Blitz up.

“Awesome! I knew I was doing something right!” Blitz said immediately snapping back into excited mode, “So is it done?” Pinkie looked at the dough again.

“Not yet, we still need to FLATTEN IT!” Pinkie pulled out a massive hammer and slammed it onto the dough at the last part, startling Blitz.

“Jeez Pinkie, careful with that! You could hurt somepony.”

“Really? Like who?”

“… Me, for instance. I mean, what do you think would happen if you hit me on the head with that?” The two of them stared at each other for a moment, Pinkie still holding that hammer close to her.

“You’ve been reading too many horror stories, haven’t you Blitz?” Pinkie asked. Blitz looked away, not wanting to say she was right. “You want to hit the dough for a while?” she asked and offered the hammer to Blitz. He stared at it for a second before answering.

“Do I EVER!”

When the group arrived at the spa, Elusive went ahead to set up the day’s activities with the spa ponies. When that was done, the brother-sister pair led them in for their treatment. The three put on some of the spa’s robes and were lying down on some couches.

“This is heavenly, it’s been way too long since I’ve been able to relax like this,” Elusive said. The male spa pony, Pelo, walked over and started filing Elusive’s horn.

“I have to agree Elusive, it has been a while since we’ve been able to hang out,” Twilight said. Lotus, the other spa pony, walked up to Twilight with a file in her mouth. “Oh no thanks, I’m alright.” Lotus nodded and walked away.

“Oh yes, we’ve all been so busy lately,” Butterscotch quietly agreed. He let out a soft ‘eep’ when Lotus poked him lightly.

“Hey Elusive, would it be alright if we continued talking about that thing?” Twilight asked.

“Of course, these two are good at keeping secrets,” Elusive said with a hoof motion to the twins.

“Ok, I just wanted to make sure. How exactly were you planning to ask Applejack out?”

“That’s a matter of debate. I was hoping to talk with her about it, but that didn’t fall through.”

“And what were you planning to do on this date?” Lotus managed to sneak up on Twilight and started massaging her back, which caused Twilight to let out a sigh and relaxed into the bed.

“Well, I was planning a spa visit like this one followed by a nice dinner, but that’s a little too much for a first date don’t you think?”

“Mhmm. A little higher please,” Twilight mumbled and Lotus complied.

‘Well she’s gone,’ Elusive thought with a sigh and turned to Butterscotch. “What do you think?”

“Oh well, I really wouldn’t know. I haven’t really gone on a date with Pinkie yet,” Butterscotch said trailing off a little at the end.

“What, you two haven’t gone on a date yet?” Butterscotch nodded, “Huh, I would have expected you two to have gone on at least one date, especially considering how… affectionate Pinkie can be.”

“Oh um…” Butterscotch couldn’t even finish the sentence before he blushed heavily and looked away.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that of course. I think its adorable how she nuzzles up against you.” Elusive’s attempt to help ease Butterscotch didn’t help at all since the pegasus’ blush deepened further. “Actually, this gives me a great idea! What if I invited Applejack on a double date with you and Pinkie?” Pelo started working on Elusive’s forelegs as Butterscotch started thinking.

“Well, if Pinkie and Applejack are ok with it and it’s not too much trouble,” Butterscotch finally said.

“Oh it’s no trouble at all dear,” Elusive said waving his free foreleg and turned to Twilight, “What about you Twilight? Would you and Rainbow be interested in-“

“OH RIGHT THERE!” Twilight screamed as Lotus pressed a particularly sensitive point on her back. Lotus continued the massage as one of Twilight’s hind legs kicked out behind her. “You have got to teach Blitz how to do this.”

“I never thought I would say this sister, but I think you’re doing too well,” Pelo said to his sister. Elusive and Butterscotch were stuck in an awkward silence before Elusive tried to break it.

“Speaking of which, how do you think Blitz and Pinkie are doing?”

Blitz carefully placed the hot pan with a loaf of bread on it onto the counter. With that done he set the heat pads he was using next to it and inspected the bread.

“That’s actually looking pretty good. I wonder what the others would think?” Rainbow looked around the kitchen and found he was alone with Gummy, who was just staring at him. “Hey Gummy, you wouldn’t happen to know where Pinkie went would you?” he asked, only to be slightly disappointed at Gummy’s response of blinking at him. “Oh fine, be that way. I’ll just go find her.”

“AAAAAAAAH!” Blitz turned to the door to find Pinkie stumbling in with something covering her face. She fell onto the floor and appeared to be struggling against what was on her face. “Blitz help me, this thing is suffocating me!” she yelled and tried to fight off her attacker.

“Pinkie, that’s a piece of carpet,” Blitz said flatly.

“Get it off me!” Blitz huffed a little before complying and simply knocking the carpet off Pinkie. She took a deep breath and scooted back against a counter. “Thanks, now it’s my turn,” she said and pounced on the carpet and started struggling with it again. “Quick, open the window!” she yelled. Rainbow did as he was told and Pinkie slowly walked over to the window and threw the carpet out.

“Now stay outside with your horrible brethren the grass!” she screamed at the carpet and shut the window. She took a deep breath and turned to Blitz, “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem. Is that bread alright?” he asked and motioned to the loaf behind him.

“Yep, now let’s get back to THOSE CUPCAKES!”

Gummy watched the whole thing with his usual deadpan expression.

Usually, Sweet Apple Acres wasn’t the kind of place that would completely stop for one event, unless it was a disaster coming in. Today was an exception.

“The headless get Winona!” Applebloom said as she was play fighting with Winona, who was skillfully running around her and letting off a small bark every now and then. It was honestly a one sided battle since Applebloom had a blanket over her head in order to properly role play. At least she was tenacious since she got right back up whenever Winona knocked her down.

“This might just be the most adorable thing ever,” Applejack said to Red Gala, who replied with her usual ‘Eeyup.’

“There it is!” Applejack and Red Gala looked to find Scooterroll charging at Applebloom wearing some form of white paper armor wielding a paper sword with Sweetie Belle following. Scooterroll started hitting Applebloom with the sword, which soon caused Applebloom to fall over and she found herself assaulted with licks from Winona.

“Ok ok, I give!” Applebloom said and tried to push Winona off while laughing.

“Forget what ah said, now it’s the most adorable thing ever,” Applejack said.

“Eeyup,” Red Gala agreed, “You’re still going into town.”

“Oh come on, why?!”

“You’ve spent the last few days hiding in the house. That is not healthy.” Red Gala then put a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder and effortlessly spun her around and pushed her to the gates. “Yer gonna go spend time with your friends today. Ya can come back after you’re done.”

“Ya don’t have to push me Gala!” Thankfully Red Gala stopped pushing Applejack when they reached the gates.

“Honestly, ah’m a little worried about you Applejack. Ya been like this since yer date with that magician.”

“It wasn’t a date!”

“Ah course it wasn’t. Look, just go enjoy yourself and clear your head, ah can handle the farm for the day.”

“All by yourself?”

“Caramel will come by later, if it makes you better. Now get going.”

Applejack sighed and started walking toward Ponyville. She passed by Caramel along the way and waved at him. It wasn’t even a few feet later that a bush rustled next to her.

“Is anyone there?” she asked. She was a little surprised when Trixter stuck his head out of the bush. “Trixter?”

“Is the coast clear?” he asked and looked around, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Why were you hiding in a bush?” Applejack asked as Trixter got out of the bush.

“There’s this crazy unicorn who has been following me all day. It’s got me a little on edge. What are you doing?”

“Ah’m just going to spend some time with my friends in town. What about you?”

“I’m still working. Caravan’s cost a lot of money, and that’s not even taking food and hotel expenses into account.” Trixter sighed at that and looked at Applejack, “Hey, I’m sorry to spring this on you, but are you going to be busy for the next couple of days?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Why?”

“Well, if you weren’t doing anything in the next few days, maybe we could do something?”

“W-what?”

“It’s just a thought. Let me know if you are free ok?” Applejack would have answered but she and Trixter got distracted when a pinecone levitated between them.

“Pinecone…” Trixter had the proper response of screaming and running away, with a unicorn jumping out of the bush and gave chase with the pinecone in tow. Applejack stared in confusion before shrugging it off and continuing her walk.

“Happy happy, joy joy, happy happy, joy joy!”

Rainbow and Pinkie had been jumping around in a circle waiting for this batch of cupcakes to bake and chanting whatever strange incantation Pinkie had come up with.

Gummy stared on with little care.

After about the fifth time they did this, there was a ringing at the front counter and they both stopped.

“A CUSTOMER!” Pinkie yelled and shot out the door to the counter. She got to the counter and was incredibly happy to find Butterscotch. “Hi Scotchie, fancy seeing you here,” Pinkie said and disappeared under the counter.

“Uh, Pinkie,” Butterscotch started and leaned over the counter.

“So what brings you here?” Butterscotch jumped a little and looked at Pinkie who had somehow gotten next to him. “Did you come to help me make cupcakes, or maybe you just wanted to see me? Aw, that’s so sweet of you!” Pinkie nuzzled against Butterscotch and smiled at him.

“Oh um, thanks but I wanted to ask you something.” Pinkie tilted her head and kept on smiling. “Elusive wanted to know if you were free later.”

“Why?”

“Um, he wanted us to go on a double date with him and Applejack.”

“Neato! I didn’t know Elusive and Applejack were a couple.”

“What was that now?” Rainbow asked peeking out of the kitchen.

“Well, they aren’t yet. This would be their first date.”

“Who’s first date?”

“I need to check something real quick,” Pinkie said and turned to Blitz, “How are we doing on those cupcakes sergeant?” she yelled.

“We just finished the fourth, fifth, and sixth batches Ma’am and the next three are in the oven!” he said with a salute.

“Give me a couple more hours, we have a lot of baking to do,” Pinkie said to Butterscotch with a smile.

“How many cupcakes do we have to make anyway?” Blitz asked.

“150.”

“What?! Is that individual cupcakes or batches?”

“Just the cupcakes.” Rainbow stared at Pinkie in shock.

“This is an order right? Who would be insane enough to order that many cupcakes?”

“I don’t know,” she said shrugging and turned to Butterscotch. “If you want, you can help us make these cupcakes.”

“Um, let me go tell Elusive what we’re going to do and I’ll be back,” Butterscotch said.

“Alright, see you then!” Pinkie said and nuzzled against Butterscotch. Butterscotch jolted a little but calmed down and nuzzled Pinkie back. They pulled away and Butterscotch walked out of the bakery waving at Pinkie.

“I have to ask, is that what ponies see when I’m out with Twilight?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh no,” Pinkie said and walked past Rainbow, “you two are much worse.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Elusive waved at Twilight as she closed the library door, her face still blushing furiously from the spa visit. If anything Elusive was glad that Twilight at least enjoyed herself. With the escort done, Elusive started trotting toward Sweet Apple Acres for maybe the third time that week when Butterscotch came up to him.

“Hi Elusive,” he said quietly.

“Hello Butterscotch, what brings you here?” Elusive asked.

“I um, talked to Pinkie and she said she would be free later today.”

“That’s wonderful news, when will she be free?” They didn’t notice Applejack walking to them.

“Oh crabapples,” she whispered and continued walking. ‘Don’t look at him, don’t acknowledge him.’

“I um… don’t know. She’s really busy at the bakery,” Butterscotch said.

“Busy? How so?” Elusive asked and turned to Applejack, “Hi Applejack.”

“Dangit!”

“She has a lot of cupcakes to make. Rainbow Blitz is helping her, but there’s still a lot to bake.”

“How many?” Applejack asked.

“150.”

“What?! What kind of pony would order that many cupcakes?” Elusive asked.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Trixter yelled and ran past the group.

“PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINECOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!” The three ponies watched the two unicorns ran toward town.

“…Was that the unicorn from earlier?” Elusive asked.

“Oh my,” Butterscotch whispered and sank down a little.

“Would either of ya mind telling me what just happened?” Applejack asked.

“There’s no time for that darling, Pinkie Pie needs our help right now.” Elusive started walking to town with Butterscotch and Applejack following behind.

“Um, Applejack?”

“Yeah Butterscotch?”

“I’m really looking forward to later.” Applejack gave him a confused look and sighed.

‘Ah forget it, I’ll worry about it later.’

“Thanks for your business Harpsy. How’s Bon-Bon doing?” Pinkie asked.

“She’s doing fine,” Harpsy said and picked up the bag with a hoof and gave it to Tootsie, who took it in her mouth.

“Fhank you Daddy,” she said through the bag.

“You’re welcome Sweetie, but remember to save one for mommy.”

“Aw, that’s so cute,” Pinkie said looking down at Tootsie, “I wonder what it’s like to be a parent.”

“It’s not easy,” Harpsy said and got down so Tootsie could climb on his back, “But it’s totally worth it.” Rainbow Blitz walked out of the kitchen, set a cupcake box next to the growing pile, and started back to the kitchen. “Hi Rainbow Blitz.”

“Hey,” Rainbow said back and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Well, we better get going. Say bye to Pinkie Pie Sweetie.”

“Bye Pinkie Pie!” Tootsie said waving.

“Bye Tootsie Flute, I hope to see you soon,” Pinkie said waving back. Harpsy reached the door just as Trixter ran inside breathing heavily.

“Are you ok?” Harpsy asked him as Tootsie peeked over his head.

“Unicor… chase… pinecone! Whooo…”

“Oook, good luck with that,” Harpsy walked past Trixter and out of the store. Trixter looked up and nearly jumped at a smiling pink pony.

“Hi magician pony who’s name I forget, how are you doing?” she asked.

“I-I’m just fine. I just need a place to lay low for a while, and if you needed me to work a little that would be good too,” Trixter said.

“Funny you should mention that, we might need some help. Although it depends on how much you want to be paid.”

“Anything is fine.”

“Then yes, we could use your help! Just let me get into character.” Pinkie then trotted happily behind the counter and ducked from sight.

“What do you mean ‘character’?” Trixter asked and walked to the counter only to walk back a little when Pinkie emerged wearing a black sweatshirt with ‘Gongs’ in red letters and a pair of goggles with red lenses.

“Third Class man? I have not mastered the secret of First Class yet.” Pinkie said with some kind of accent that Trixter couldn’t place.

“Huh?”

“But don’t worry, all first raters were once third raters like us. You know how they got there?”

“I don’t-“

“THEY WORKED THEIR FLANKS OFF UNTIL THEY PUKED BLOOD- AND THEN THEY WORKED SOME MORE! The God of Work will help you on your quest. Today’s job is on the bulletin board.” Pinkie pointed a hoof at said board which most certainly wasn’t there a minute ago.

“I am so lost,” Trixter said and walked to the board and grabbed the only piece of paper on it.

Cupcake packer

Location: Sugarcube Corner

You are to pack cupcakes into carry out boxes. Finish packing before the client comes to pick them up.

Payment based on number of boxes packed.

“Well, I guess I’ll take it,” Trixter murmured and turned back to the counter, only to find Pinkie gone.

“I’m over here now.” Trixter screamed and turned to Pinkie who was standing on her hind legs with her forelegs crossed.

“How did you-?” Trixter said with panic evident in his voice.

“The unspoken rules of Ponyville are confusing to me,” Pinkie started making wild gestures with her forelegs, “but one thing is for certain: cupcakes are god! They sit on a throne of sugar with their cousins the doughnut and muffin. But a cupcake without a home might as well be dead. Give the cupcakes a home and the God of Cupcakes will smile down on you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“GET TO WORK!”

“Ok I’m sorry!” Trixter ran into the kitchen very much frightened. A second later Elusive, Applejack, and Butterscotch walked into the bakery and walked to Pinkie sans sweatshirt and bulletin board.

“Hello Pinkie,” Elusive said.

“Oh hi guys and Applejack, how are you doing?”

“Butterscotch here told us about your need for help, so here we are.”

“Aw, that’s very sweet, thanks Scotchie.” Pinkie bounced over to Butterscotch and nuzzled him.

“Y-you’re welcome,” Butterscotch said quietly and blushed lightly.

“So what do ye need help with?” Applejack asked.

“Well, Elusive can man the counter so I can help Rainbow in the kitchen and Scotchie can help the magician pack cupcakes if it’s ok with him.”

“Trixter’s here?” ‘Oh no.’

“Is that his name? It has a nice ring to it. So what do you want to-“

“I’ll work the counter with Elusive,” Applejack said from behind the counter.

“Ok, thanks Applejack,” Pinkie said and started trotting to the kitchen.

“Um, Pinkie?” Butterscotch asked.

“Yes Scotchie?”

“Where did you get those goggles?”

“Oh, I borrowed these from Vinyl. Thanks for reminding me to give these back to him when I’m done with them.” Pinkie walked into the kitchen with Butterscotch following as Elusive joined Applejack at the counter.

“Ah know ye want ta ask me something Elusive, so what is it?” Applejack asked.

“Later Applejack.” Applejack sighed and dreaded how well the day would go.

“THEY JUST KEEP COMING!” Trixter shouted as he stuffed cupcakes into a box, “And where is that music coming from?”

“Who cares, just keep packing those cupcakes!” Rainbow shouted and placed another batch of cupcakes next to Trixter. For some insane reason the cupcakes were going faster than they were before, so everypony in the kitchen was working as fast as they could. Trixter placed the last cupcake in the box and ran into the main area to put it with the rest of the boxes.

“Come on, we’re nearing the deadline! Come on you third raters!” Pinkie shouted having put the sweatshirt back on, “No offense Scotchie.”

“N-none taken,” Butterscotch said in a moderate voice and took a box out to the counter. Pinkie jumped on the counter and stared down at Rainbow.

“What’s your excuse? I’ve seen Sugar Gliders move faster than that!” she shouted at him.

“I have to wait for the cupcakes to bake, and that doesn’t make any sense,” he said back.

“Ha, typical third-rater excuse! You’ll never be a first rater with a mindset like that.”

“I am not a third rater!” Blitz shouted at Pinkie.

“Well that’s what I’m seeing. Are you a third rater Rainbow Blitz?”

“No!”

“What do you want to be?”

“A Wonderbolt!”

“And what are they?”

“First Raters!”

“Then work your flank off and be a First Rater!” Rainbow roared, opened the oven as it dinged, and pulled the tray out without a heat pad. He tossed it on a counter and replaced it with another tray before closing the oven.

“That was a horrible idea!” Rainbow yelled and fell to the floor rubbing his teeth.

“What did you expect to happen?” Trixter commented and closed the box he was working on, “Idiot.”

“What in Equestria is going on in there?” Elusive asked staring at the door.

“Ah don’t know, but whatever it is it’s working,” Applejack said as Pinkie hopped out and set a box on the counter.

“We’re almost done back there, did anypony show up?” Pinkie asked.

“Only one and he’s just sitting over there,” Elusive said and pointed at said customer.

“Oh don’t worry about him. Anyway, we’ll be done in a few minutes and then we can go on our double date!”

“A what now?” Applejack asked, but didn’t get an answer from Pinkie. When Pinkie disappeared into the kitchen Applejack looked flatly at Elusive.

“…Well, yes that is what I wanted to ask you,” Elusive said.

“FRAAAAAAAGH!”

“What’s wrong?” Applejack waited for Trixter to set another box and go back into the kitchen before talking.

“Why would ya just spring that on me? Ya could have at least talked to me about it.”

“I did try to talk to you about dating, back when you were ‘sick’, and the double date was something I thought up with Butterscotch.”

“Uh, just so we’re clear, we are talking about you and me going on a double date with Pinkie and Butterscotch right?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, but why are you asking me? There are plenty of single mares in this town.”

“You can’t fault matters of the heart Applejack.”

‘Wait, what did he just say?’ Before Applejack could inquire into this, Trixter and Rainbow Blitz came out again.

“We’re finally done!” Blitz yelled and set the box he was carrying on the counter.

“So many cupcakes, I can’t help but wonder who wanted all of them,” Trixter said.

“Nice work Third Rater,” Pinkie said as she joined them, “I suppose you’d like your payment?”

“Yes I would thank you.” Pinkie walked over to the register and dug through it while the unicorn walked over to the counter.

“How may I help you?” Elusive asked him.

“I ordered all the cupcakes,” he said.

“You?!” Trixter yelled and looked ready to run.

“Don’t shout at me, I’m working right now.”

“Working?”

“My bosses really like cupcakes, so they have me picking up sweets. I’ll go back to chasing you with a pinecone when I’m done ok?”

“I would very much prefer if you didn’t.”

“Here you go, 75,000 milli-bits,” Pinkie said holding out a bag to Trixter.

“What the hay is a milli-bit?” Trixter asked taking the bag in his magic.

“Ugh, you’re such a Third Rater.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“A thousand milli-bits are equivalent to one bit.”

“So you only gave me 75 bits?”

“Yeppers!”

“Alright whatever.” Trixter walked around the counter and waved at the ponies as he walked out.

“Ok, so I’ll take those cupcakes now. I think you’ve been payed in advance for them?” the unicorn asked.

“Yep,” Pinkie said.

“Alright then, I’ll just take those off your hooves then.” He looked at the massive stacks of cupcakes and sighed, “I may have to make a few trips.”

“That’s alright, we got nothing going on right now,” Applejack said with a friendly hoof wave.

“Thanks for that,” he said and picked up some of the boxes magically and walked to the door.

Which was slammed open by a furiously blushing Twilight.

“Pinkie, are you quite done with Rainbow Blitz?” She asked excitedly as the unicorn walked out the door.

“Help I can’t get out of this thing!” Pinkie shouted having got caught in the sweatshirt.

“Yeah, I’m done Twilight,” Rainbow said.

“Great, I need your help with something,” Twilight said and walked over to Rainbow.

“Really, what is-?”

“DON’T ASK QUESTIONS!” Twilight yelled grabbing Rainbow’s face and then walked around him to bite his tail, and proceeded to drag him out of the bakery.

“What’s going on? Seriously Twi, you’re kind of freaking me out!”

“Is it me? Am ah the only one having a weird day?” Applejack asked.

“Sorry, Twilight might be my fault,” Elusive said. Pinkie managed to get out of the sweatshirt with Butterscotch’s help.

“Whew, thanks Scotchie.”

“I-it’s no trouble Pinkie,” Butterscotch said gently set the sweatshirt on the counter.

“So, when are we going on that date Elusive?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe-“

“Wait, I have an idea! Why don’t we go now?”

“What?” Applejack, Elusive, and Butterscotch said in unison.

“Well, not right now right now, but soonish right now.”

“Uh Pinkie, ah don’t think that’s a…” Applejack paused at Pinkie’s unconditionally smiling face and, after a few seconds of staring, sighed. “Where were ya plannin’ on goin’?”

“I was thinking of having a nice lunch at that café down the street,” Elusive said.

“That sounds… nice,” Butterscotch said.

“Well, I have to wait for that colt to get his cupcakes, so why don’t you go ahead and I’ll meet you there?” Pinkie asked.

“Are you sure that would be alright?” Elusive asked.

“Oh sure, I need to give Vinyl his goggles back anyway.”

“Alright then, we’ll be sure to save you a seat,” Applejack said and walked to the door.

“Ok!” Pinkie watched her friends walk out of the bakery and searched underneath the counter for a minute before pulling out a white unicorn with a towel on his head. He lifted the towel and looked around in confusion.

“What in the- how did I-?” he said and looked at Pinkie, “Oh, that explains a lot.”

“Hi Vinyl, how are you doing?” Pinkie asked.

“Eh I’m fine, nice goggles.”

“Thanks, they’re yours though,” Pinkie said and took off the goggles to give them to Vinyl.

“I was wondering where they disappeared too. Thanks for that,” Vinyl said and took the goggles.

“So is there anything new going on with you?”

“Broke up with my old marefriend, got a new one. Not much other than that.”

“Really? Who is it and when did that happen? You have to tell me these kinds of things SO I CAN PLAN AROUND THEM!”

“Chill Pinkie, I only recently that I got together with her. She’s pretty cool, I’m sure you’ll like her.”

“Neato, when can I meet her?”

“Soon enough. So… can you put me back please?”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie grabbed Vinyl by his neck and sent him back home. With that done, she happily hopped out of Sugarcube Corner and down the street.

“Hi guys!” Pinkie called out at her friends and sat at the table, “Did I miss anything?”

“Nah, we only been here a few minutes,” Applejack said and scootched away from Elusive a little.

“Alright, but I may have forgotten about those cupcakes. I’ll be right back.” Pinkie trotted back down the road and Applejack and Elusive started some kind of rushed argument.

“Ah still can’t believe you asked me out like this!” Applejack whispered at Elusive, “Have you always had some kind of crush on me?”

“I wouldn’t call it a crush, more like an emotional attraction,” Elusive said back.

“That’s called a crush and how long?”

“What does that matter?”

“I’m back!” Pinkie said and sat down.

“Pinkie, that didn’t take long,” Elusive said cheerfully.

“Nope, so did I miss anything?” The assembled shook their heads as a waiter walked over to them.

“What can I get you today?” he asked and took out a notepad and pencil.

“Ah’ll just have some water,” Applejack said.

“Water,” Butterscotch whispered.

“I’ll have a cup of tea,” Elusive said.

“A cup of coffee with five sugar cubes,” Pinkie said. The waiter nodded and walked away from the table. “This is so much fun, I’ve never been on a date like this before. Except for those sleepovers with Scotchie every other weekend, but that’s something else entirely. By the way, how’s Jeffrey doing?”

“Oh, um, still the same,” Butterscotch said.

“Jeffrey?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, Jeffrey’s a rabbit that Butterscotch is looking after. I don’t know the whole details, but I’ve gathered that Jeffrey thinks he’s a bird of some kind,” Elusive explained.

“Do you think Gummy would help at all?” Pinkie asked and smiled at the waiter who brought them their drinks.

“Oh um, I don’t know. I’ll have to see how Angel is doing and see if he would like the help,” Butterscotch said and took a sip of water. The table shuttered a little which caused him to yelp a little and hug Pinkie.

“What was that?” Applejack asked and looked under the table to see a familiar light blue unicorn. “Trixter, what are you doing here?!”

“Don’t blow my cover!” Trixter said and looked out on the street as Elusive, Butterscotch, and Pinkie joined in looking at him.

“Why on earth are you under our table?” Elusive asked.

“It’s that crazy unicorn that’s been following me! Oh no there he is, I’m not here!” Applejack looked up to find the unicorn from earlier.

“Why do ya think he’s following you?” Applejack asked.

“Because he has been following me all day! I don’t know how he found out about that rumor.”

“What rumor?” Pinkie asked.

“I’m not telling you! Uh oh.” Trixter backed away from the table edge as the unicorn walked over to them.

“Hello pink baker pony, have you seen light blue unicorn magician around?” he asked.

“Who?” Pinkie’s friends stared at her for a moment and Applejack shook her head.

“Sorry, we ain’t seen him since he left the bakery a few minutes ago,” Applejack said, “why are ye looking for him anyway?”

“Business proposition. I wanted his opinion on something and it’s only now occurred to me that I might have been doing it wrong. If you do see him then can you tell him that I was looking for him?”

“Okie dokie, it’s not like he’s hiding under our table or anything,” Pinkie said not paying attention to the slight yelp from Trixter.

“Thank you and sorry for interrupting your lunch.” He walked away from the group and Applejack forced Trixter out from under the table.

“Thanks for not giving me away. I have to go now, work to do and all that,” he said and also walked away.

“Ah wonder if Red Gala will let me back on the farm yet?” Applejack whispered to herself.

“The day has been kind of unorthodox, hasn’t it?” Elusive said.

“This coffee is really good, you should try some Scotchie,” Pinkie said and held out the cup to the pegasus.

“T-that’s alright, I don’t drink coffee,” Butterscotch said and politely pushed the cup away.

“I’m getting kind of hungry now,” Applejack said and took a sip of her water.

“Yes, a nice lunch does sound nice.”

“And that’s all you want me to do?”

“Yes, just eat the pinecone, tell me how it tastes, and I’ll pay you for it.” Trixter sighed and thought it over for a minute.

“Do I have to swallow it?” he finally asked.

“Only if you want to.”

“I don’t. In fact, where did you hear this from anyway?”

“Yeah, that’s classified.” The unicorn lifted a pinecone into view and set it on the table. Trixter sighed and picked it up with his own magic.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said and took a bite. Almost immediately he started coughing up bits of pinecone, but forced himself through it. After a solid half a minute of chewing Trixter couldn’t take anymore and ran to a nearby trashcan. After coughing a couple more times he walked back to the table.

“How did it taste?” the unicorn asked.

“It tasted like a pinecone! What did you expect?” Trixter nearly yelled, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

“Fascinating,” the unicorn whispered. He rubbed his chin a little before setting a bag on the table, “Thank you for your help, there is your payment.” Trixter opened the bag as the unicorn stood up and stretched.

“Wait, how much were you going to pay me?”

“I don’t know, hundred… 125 bits?” he said not noticing Trixter’s baffled stare, “I don’t particularly care since money is a fleeting thing. I have to go check the lake for magical radiation now, so if you’ll excuse me.” Trixter looked at the bag of bits in front of him, and then to the unicorn trotting away, and then back to the bits.

“I shouldn’t complain, but… this town is crazy,” he said and picked up the bag.

“Open wide Scotchie, it’s really good,” Pinkie said and held out a hay fry. Butterscotch slowly opened his mouth and gave a quiet ‘Ah’ as Pinkie put the fry in his mouth. Butterscotch chewed lightly and gave Pinkie a soft smile before picking up a fry of his own.

“Um, say ah?” he quietly said holding out a fry, which Pinkie ate out of his hoof.

“Ah.”

“I’m really glad that they got together,” Elusive whispered to Applejack.

“…Ah have to agree. Ah don’t think ah’ve ever seen a more lovey dovey couple than them,” Applejack whispered back.

“Anyway, how has the farm been doing?” Elusive asked taking a sip of tea.

“We’re doing alright. Ah’m a little concerned about Applebloom, but it’s probably nothing.”

“Really, what’s she doing?”

“Probably another of her crusader activities. Don’t worry, if it gets worse ah’ll talk to her about it.”

“Applejack, if it has even the slightest possibility of being destructive you should talk to her about it. I learned that with Sweetie Belle.”

“And it hasn’t. Ah know my little sister Elusive, so if you’re-“

“I meant nothing by it darling, just talking from experience is all.” Elusive looked up at the sun to gauge the time. “I might have to go look for her soon.”

“Ah saw her earlier and she was just playing with Scooteroll and Applebloom. So they’re probably doing Crusader things.”

“I hope they don’t get into trouble, it took nearly two hours to clean Sweetie Belle after their last ‘adventure’.”

“Getting a little dirty won’t kill ya,” Applejack said teasingly.

“It’s not just the dirt Applejack, I’m worried that they might do something that could get them seriously hurt. Where exactly is the line for them?”

“After ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Tree Movers’ ah learned there might not be any limits for them.”

“Wait, is that why an apple tree appeared next to my boutique and disappeared the next day?”

“Eeyup.” Applejack set about finishing her lunch ending the conversation for now. Elusive abided and sipped his tea carefully. After a few minutes of eating and watching Pinkie and Butterscotch he set down the empty cup and sighed.

“I’m so glad I could set aside the time to do this with you,” Elusive said, “I should get back to the boutique soon.”

“Set aside? Wait, exactly how busy are ya anyway?”

“Not excessively, it’s just a few dresses and suits due in a week or so. Excuse me Butterscotch but-“

“Pinkie, t-that’s a lot of fries.”

“Come on Scotchie,” Pinkie said waving a large amount of fries in Butterscotch’s direction, “they just want to be friends with your stomach.”

“Well… I guess I don’t want to disappoint them.”

“Um… Applejack, could you be a dear and…?” Elusive asked.

“Yeah, ah’ll tell them,” Applejack answered.

“Thanks darling.” Elusive leaned in and kissed Applejack on the cheek before she could react and placed some bits on the table. “That’ll cover both of our meals, so don’t worry about that.”

“Alright,” Applejack said dazedly.

“I’ll see you later then.” Elusive stood up and started walking away at a brisk pace. Butterscotch noticed this and swallowed the mouthful of fries.

“Where is Elusive going?” he asked.

“He remembered some work he had to do and regrets havin’ to leave,” Applejack said quietly and stood up, “Ah have to go now. This was really fun.” Butterscotch and Pinkie watched Applejack walk away before looking at each other.

“D-did we do something wrong?” Butterscotch asked. Pinkie thought for a second and twitched her ears.

“I got it!” she finally spoke up, “I think Applejack just had her first kiss.”

“Really? Oh wow.”

“But I think it’s more like a kiss on the cheek, but I guess the romantic lives of my friends are not really my business.” Pinkie smiled at Butterscotch and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

“Oh uh… thank you Pinkie,” he said with a light blush and, after making sure nopony was looking, did the same to Pinkie.

“Aw, thank you,” Pinkie said back and nuzzled against Butterscotch. After a moment of this she held up a hay fry which Butterscotch ate.

‘He kissed me,’ Applejack thought as she walked through the streets of Ponyville, ‘And why am I worrying about this? It was just a kiss, it doesn’t mean anything…right?’ Applejack shook her head and looked ahead of her, ‘Of course it doesn’t. Why am I worrying about this, it’s not like I have-‘

“Applejack, what are the chances?” a voice said to her left and Applejack turned to find Trixter.

“Oh, howdy Trixter. What are ya doing here?” Applejack asked trying to sound happy.

“Just wandering around since I finished all of my jobs for today. Hey, do you remember what we talked about earlier?”

“Uh…”

“About maybe doing something again soon, like dinner or something. I really enjoyed the last one we had.” Applejack adjusted her hat as she looked into Trixter’s eyes in thought.

“Oh yeah, ah’m sorry but ah don’t know when ah’ll have time for that,” she said looking away from him.

“Well… how about I come to the orchard tomorrow and we’ll talk about it then?” Applejack sighed and tried to move past Trixter, who stepped in her way. “I’m going to be working there tomorrow anyway.” Applejack looked Trixter in the eye, and then down to her hooves as they scrapped the ground, and after a few seconds of thought sighed again.

“Ah guess it couldn’t hurt,” she said.

“Excellent, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Trixter said with a hint of pride. Applejack only barely looked back up at him when he kissed her cheek, freezing her in place. “You won’t regret this, I always aim to please,” he said and trotted away from Applejack.

She turned to watch him and placed a hoof on the cheek he had just kissed, and then touched the one that Elusive had kissed.

“Oh hayseed.”

“I’m still feeling uncomfortable about this Twi,” Rainbow told his marefriend.

“Come on Blitzie, I haven’t been able to get this out of my head,” Twilight said through her heavy blush and nuzzled deeper into the pillow she had against her face, “Can you please do this?”

“Well… alright,” Blitz said approaching Twilight, “just don’t get your hopes high. It’s not like I’ve done this before.”

“Ok, just don’t be too rough.”

“I’ll try.” A few tense moments passed before Twilight felt Rainbow on top of her, which she didn’t expect, and let out a little whimper as he started working. He started by rubbing her shoulders in small circular motions and slowly made his way down her back. Twilight gave slight whimpers and screams whenever Rainbow hit a particular spot. As he moved lower and lower, shifting along the way, Twilight wondered if she had locked the door.

She got her answer when Spike walked in.

“Uh, what are you two doing?” he asked shifting the bag of groceries in his arms.

“Wait Spike! I, uh… well, you see…” Twilight stammered while trying to hide her blushing face.

“It’s exactly what it looks like,” Rainbow said behind her. Twilight gave a squeal of embarrassment as Spike scratched his head.

“You’re… giving Twilight a massage?” he asked.

“Yep,” Rainbow nodded and continued massaging Twilight’s back.

“Ok… why?”

“Apparently Elusive took her to the spa and she got a massage so mind blowing she had to teach me how to do it.” Blitz massaged a particular knot in the middle of Twilight’s back and Twilight screamed into the pillow before relaxing more naturally on it.

“This feels so good Blitzie, and keep doing what you did there,” she said while giving pleasurable ‘hmms’. Spike shook his head at the unicorn and started to the kitchen.

“I’ll never understand you two,” he whispered to himself and got to work putting groceries away.

“So where did you get this idea anyway?” Blitz asked Twilight, “This is kind of a weird thing to ask me to do.”

“This isn’t any different than when you let me massage your wings,” Twilight said imagining the blush on Blitz’s face through closed eyes, “just think of it as returning the favor.”

“Alright, point taken,” Blitz said quietly and leaned next to Twilight’s ear, “I guess I’ll have to make this really good then.” Twilight could only giggle to herself as Rainbow continued with the massage.

TwiDash- parenting part 1

>Due to incomplete Data from other observations, some parts of this observation will be corrupted. Proper patches will be made once data is complete.<

“Nice show everypony,” Spitfire called out to the assembled Wonderbolts in the locker room, “and I’d say this was a great way to close out the season.” Most of the Wonderbolts let out some cheerful whoops, all except for the most recent addition to the team. Soarin noticed this and made his way over to him.

“Is something wrong Blitz?” he asked and placed a hoof on the rainbow maned stallion’s back, which caused him to jump a little and smile sheepishly at Soarin.

“No, I just have stuff on my mind is all,” Blitz said and looked into the locker and the picture of him and Twilight the day he was inducted into the Wonderbolts. That day was tied with his wedding day as the greatest day of his life. Although that might change in a few days.

“Oh yeah, you and your wife are expecting aren’t you?” Soarin asked as Rainbow put his flight suit in the locker and took out the bomber jacket he had gotten from the team. “When did you say it would happen again?”

“Any day now. I’m so nervous right now,” Rainbow said putting on the jacket and shut the locker.

“Why, it’s only the birth of your first kid ‘dad’”, Soarin teased.

“You’re not helping.”

“Yeah, take it easy Soarin,” Spitfire said walking up to the two stallions.

“I’m sorry Spitfire, it’s just too easy to mess with Rainbow here,” Soarin said and rubbed Rainbow’s back.

“I suppose,” Rainbow said and pushed Soarin’s hoof off, “but it’ll be a huge weight off my chest when this is done.”

“Ah don’t worry Rainbow, it’ll be over before you know it,” Soarin said and led the way out of the locker room with Rainbow and Spitfire following. When Blitz got outside he took a breath of late afternoon air and stretched his wings. “So what are you going to do now that you’re free for a while?”

“I’ll probably spend time with Twilight and practice my tricks until the next season.” A wisp of green smoke caught Blitz’s eye and it formed into a scroll in front of him. Rainbow grabbed it in his mouth before it fell through the cloud.

“What’s that?” Spitfire asked as Rainbow opened the scroll and started reading it. His face was mostly flat until his eyes widened.

“No way,” he whispered and continued reading with a smile steadily growing on his face.

“What’s going on?” Soarin asked. Rainbow rolled up the scroll and barely contained his glee.

“I gotta get home now,” he nearly yelled and took off into the air, “I’m gonna be a dad!” Spitfire and Soarin watched him fly away whooping and hollering before turning to each other.

“Looks like it’s time,” Soarin said.

“Mhmm,” Spitfire said.

“Want to go see?”

“Sure, I have nothing planned.” Spitfire and Soarin took off and followed Rainbow Blitz to Ponyville.

‘Oh man, how long ago did this start?’ Blitz though as he flew to Ponyville, thankful for Cloudsdale’s migratory nature. ‘Is it already over? Am I going to get there fast enou- oh who am I kidding, of course I’ll get there fast enough. I’m going to be a dad!’ Blitz did a couple corkscrews and in joy and smiled so hard his face could split open.

“Hey slow down a bit!” Blitz looked over his shoulder at Soarin and Spitfire and slowed down a little so they could catch up. “Jeez Blitz, you don’t have to do everything as fast as possible you know,” Soarin said once he caught up.

“Yeah, birth tends to take a few hours at least,” Spitfire added.

“Really, and how long did it take for you to be born Cap?” Rainbow asked. Spitfire thought on it for a good minute or so.

“About… two and a half hours I’d say,” she finally answered.

“Really? Wow.”

“And how long did it take you?”

“Pfft, I don’t know, Mom never told me. She doesn’t want to talk about my foalhood at all actually.”

“Given how you are now, I can only imagine what you were like as a colt.”

“I thought I was as energetic as a colt should be.”

“Every stallion says that,” Soarin said. Ponyville was within reach now and the three pegasi landed in front of the hospital. Blitz was the first one through the doors and noticed all of his friends were there.

“Hi Rainbow Blitz!” Pinkie Pie called over while bouncing over to him, “You got here fast, Spike just sent the le-“

“WHERE IS SHE?!” Rainbow shouted and shook Pinkie a little until Applejack stopped him.

“Calm down there, she’s just gotten in half an hour ago,” she said.

“And birth is a lengthy and complicated process that takes at least a few hours,” Elusive added.

“I told you,” Spitfire said.

“Yeah, just relax and everything will be fine,” Soarin said and sat next to Applejack.

“Pardon me for being a little antsy at the moment!” Rainbow took a couple breaths to calm himself down and looked at Pinkie, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright, I’d be a little nervous too,” Pinkie said and scratched her chin, “For some reason I’m craving nachos right now.” She didn’t say anything more on the matter and sat next to Butterscotch.

“Rainbow Blitz?” a nearby nurse asked drawing Rainbow’s attention.

“Yeah?”

“You’re here to see Twilight Sparkle right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then, if you can sign this real quick I can take you to her.” The nurse held out a clipboard which Blitz quickly signed and was led through a set of doors.

“Guess we’re in for a wait, eh Soarin?” Spitfire asked and sat on a bench.

“Yeah, which is why I brought a book just for something like this,” Soarin said pulling out said book.

“What is it?” Applejack asked.

“Its part on an anthology series I’ve been reading. I would never have guessed a post apocalyptic series would be so good.”

“Hm. By the way, how are you and Jazz doin’?”

“We’re doing fine, and hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time with her now that I’m done with the season.” Applejack nodded and settled in for a long wait as Soarin cracked open the book. Spitfire unfortunately had the honor of talking with Pinkie Pie. For some reason Pinkie was staring at her and it was making Spitfire uncomfortable.

“Um, what is it?” she finally asked.

“Your birthday was 13 days ago wasn’t it?” Pinkie asked.

“…Was it?”

“Ah crap, that’s what I forgot!” Soarin moaned, “Sorry Spitfire, we were planning a party for you when your birthday came.”

“Did I really forget my birthday?”

“Don’t worry, I happened to have stashed a cake here just in case,” Pinkie said and pulled out a box and handed it to Spitfire. Spitfire opened the box to find an orange cake with ‘Happy Late Birthday Spitfire!’ written in frosting surrounding her cutie mark.

“Wait, when did you make this?” Spitfire asked.

“This morning.”

“You… wait, you made it this morning and put it here despite not knowing if we would be here, when Twilight would go into labor, or if I would even show up here at all? That doesn’t make any-“

“Don’t think about it,” Elusive said.

“Don’t think abou- OF COURSE I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT! I have to know-“

“You won’t find out,” Applejack said.

“What do you-“

“I can explain this,” Soarin said and set his book down, “I’ve hung out with Blitz’s friends enough to know that Pinkie is some kind of seer when it comes to random things.”

“Like what?”

“She predicted that Blitz’s first foal will be a girl pegasus.”

“I don’t see how that’s-“

“Three months before they actually got pregnant.”

“…Really?”

“Really. We have a betting pool going on over whether she was right about it. Personally, I’m going with her.”

Spitfire could only stare at this new revelation until she sighed and looked at the cake.

“Do you at least have plates for these?” she asked Pinkie.

“Of course silly!”

Several hours later Butterscotch had fallen asleep in Pinkie’s lap and Spitfire had to leave because of business while the others waited for news on Twilight. Soon some double doors opened and Nurse Redheart walked out, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

“You’re all still here?” she asked surprised.

“Of course, we’re worried about Twilight,” Elusive said.

“Twilight Sparkle?” Nurse Redheart looked over a clipboard and nodded, “I see. Well, you don’t have to worry, the labor went smoothly and both her and her child are fine.”

“That’s a relief,” Applejack said with a sigh, “can we see them?”

“They’re both asleep, so I’m going to have to ask you to come back in the morning. I’m sorry about this.”

“It’s alright,” Soarin said and stood up to stretch a little, “I can wait until morning. Later then.” Soarin walked out of the hospital followed by Elusive and Applejack.

“Wakey wakey Scotchie,” Pinkie said quietly and nudged Butterscotch gently.

“Wha? Where am I?” Butterscotch asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“You fell asleep silly. Come on, we get to visit Twilight and the new baby tomorrow.” Butterscotch woke up enough to stand up and follow Pinkie out of the hospital. Nurse Redheart watched them leave before turning back into the hospital. She walked down several darkening hallways until she came to a certain room. A quick peek inside showed Twilight sleeping was soundly along with Rainbow Blitz on a nearby chair, his jacket serving as a makeshift blanket.

Redheart quietly shut the door to avoid waking the two up.

Morning came soon enough and Twilight slowly stirred and opened her eyes. She was nearly blinded by the whiteness of the room and after a minute of adjusting to the room she sat up. One of the first things she saw was Rainbow snoozing in a chair.

“Blitzie?” Twilight quietly called over. Rainbow stirred a little but didn’t wake up.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Twilight looked at the door and the doctor walking in, “How are you feeling today?” Twilight moved around a little before answering.

“My lower body hurts a little, but I’m alright otherwise.”

“After birth pains, don’t worry it’ll pass. Are you hungry at all?”

“A little, but I can wait.”

“Wait for what?” Rainbow asked rubbing some sleep from his eyes.

“Good morning Rainbow, it was just talking about breakfast.”

“Oh yeah, I could use something.” Blitz yawned and looked around before freaking out a little and falling onto the floor.

“Blitz, are you ok?” Twilight asked looking down at her husband.

“Where’s the baby? Is it ok?” he asked frantically.

“Don’t worry Rainbow Blitz, your daughter is fine and sleeping,” the doctor said, “I can take you to see her when she’s awake.”

“Her?” The doctor nodded and left the room, leaving Rainbow and Twilight alone. “A… daughter?” Rainbow asked sitting down.

“Just take it in ‘Dad’,” Twilight said with a small giggle, “we’re parents now. I can’t wait to be called ‘mom’.”

“Yeah,” Blitz said and stood up after a minute, “I’m going to get some breakfast, you want anything?”

“I’m not too hungry, so maybe just a bowl of oats?”

“Alright babe,” Blitz gave Twilight a quick kiss before walking to the door. “I won’t be long.”

“Ok. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Ooh ooh, which one is it? Which one is it!” Pinkie nearly shouted and pressed her face against the glass. All of Pinkie’s friends have come to see the new baby along with Soarin.

“Pinkie, the babies are sleeping,” Butterscotch whispered to Pinkie, “You don’t want to get kicked out again.”

“Oh right. Sorry, but I’m just so excited! We’re going to have a new baby to play with!”

“What did you do to get kicked out of a hospital?” Soarin asked.

“Pinkie can get a little over excited with celebrating sometimes,” Elusive explained, “and when the cake twins were born she almost threw a party right in the ward. She wasn’t kicked out per se, but she wasn’t allowed back for a while.”

“Huh, but where did she-?”

“Look, it’s Rainbow!” Pinkie said excitedly pointing through the window at Rainbow and Nurse Redheart. Rainbow looked over to the window and waved at the group as Redheart lead him through the nursery. Nurse Redheart stopped next to a crib and looked to Rainbow.

“Here she is Rainbow,” she whispered to Blitz and nodded at the baby. Blitz hesitated a little and looked down at the sleeping pony. He didn’t know what to expect, but he felt a beat of happiness when he looked at the pegasus, her dark blue coat contrasting with the pink blanket. She let out a little yawn and settled into the crib.

“Aw, she’s so cute,” Pinkie said pressing against the glass.

“Female pegasus, looks like I won the pool,” Soarin whispered.

“She is rather adorable,” Elusive said, “I can’t wait to see her up close.”

“I have to throw her a birthday party!” Pinkie said shaking with excitement.

“But you can’t go in there Pinkie,” Butterscotch said, “you’re not allowed.”

“I can wait.”

“So, have you and Twilight decided on a name?” Nurse Redheart asked. Blitz poked a hoof into the bed and lightly tapped his daughter.

“We were thinking something like Shimmering Dawn,” Blitz answered and smiled at his daughter lightly flapping her wings.

“That’s a nice name. We’ll have to keep her and Twilight in for another day to make sure they will be alright and then they can both leave.”

“Alright, I can’t wait.” Both Rainbow and Redheart were distracted by a new presence in the ward, a specific smiling pink pony.

“Aw, she’s so cute!” Pinkie said looking down at the sleeping baby. She felt a piercing stare drill into her and looked up at Nurse Redheart. “I wasn't going to do anything!” Redheart didn’t say anything and pointed to the window. Pinkie slowly smiled at Redheart and sank beneath the crib to reappear with her friends outside the room.

“The babies need to sleep Rainbow Blitz, so-“

“I got it,” Rainbow interrupted Nurse Redheart and started for the door, “I’ll be back later ok?” Redheart nodded and Blitz left the room. When he left Nurse Redheart turned her attention to some of the babies that were waking up.

“Thanks for helping me with this, it’s really hard tending to the library with just me here.”

“Especially with your size,” Scooteroll said with a chuckle. Spike would have berated him except that he was right, he had been growing in the past few years and without the usual greed most dragons get with it. Spike looked out to see what the other crusaders were doing, with Applebloom carrying a bunch of books on her back and Sweetie Belle trying her best to sort books with her magic.

“So when is Twilight getting back from the hospital?” Sweetie asked having successfully put a book away.

“Ah actually went to visit her earlier and she said she might be able to come back today,” Applebloom said.

“How was she?” Before Applebloom could answer the door to the library opened and Twilight walked in. She put a hoof to her lips and motioned outside, Spike and the Crusader’s nodding. Blitz then walked in carefully carrying a baby carrier and set it on the floor.

“I heard her stir a little, so she might be awake,” Rainbow whispered to Twilight.

“She?” Spike asked and slightly moved the blanket off the carrier. The Crusaders gathered around the carrier and looked at the baby pegasus as she stretched her legs and opened her magenta eyes to look around the room.

“Aww, she’s so cute!” Sweetie Belle said.

“She’s only a few days old, ain’t she?” Applebloom asked.

“Why is everyone making a big deal of this?” Scooteroll asked, “it’s only a… oh who am I kidding, she is pretty cute.” While the Crusaders were busy fawning over the foal Twilight looked up at Spike quietly scooting to a corner.

“Aw Spike, no need to be shy,” Twilight said and walked over to the dragon, “Go say hello to Shimmering Dawn.”

“I-I don’t want to scare her,” Spike replied. Twilight smiled at him and pushed him from behind to the group.

“You won’t scare her as long as you don’t do anything too fast. Now go say hi.” One last push and Spike was in front of the baby. She blinked up at the new creature and Spike smiled nervously at her.

“Uh, hi there,” Spike said and waved at her. Dawn blinked again and held a hoof up to Spike who, after getting a nod from both Twilight and Rainbow Blitz, slowly extended a claw to her. Once the claw touched the hoof, Dawn stared at it for a little before grabbing it in her hooves and biting it a little.

“I think she likes you,” Blitz said.

“I hope so,” Spike said trying to pull the claw from Dawn’s mouth, but he wasn’t trying too hard. Rainbow glanced over to Twilight and wasn’t too surprised to see she was busy writing something down.

“Whatcha doing Twi?” Blitz asked walking over to Twilight, “Writing to Princess Celestia?”

“No, I took care of that yesterday. I’m actually setting up a schedule for how we can watch Dawn,” Twilight said.

“…Huh?”

“You’re off from the Wonderbolts for now right? Then that means you might be able to come by when you’re not working weather. Are you going to be working weather? Where are you going to be?”

“Uh Twi, calm down a little.”

“I AM CALM!” Everybody shrank back a little from that outburst, though miraculously Dawn wasn’t roused by it since she was still occupied with Spike’s claw. Rainbow very slowly reached for the paper Twilight was using and grabbed it.

“It’s ok Twi, I’m not going anywhere for a while. You know I wouldn’t leave you alone in a time like this. Just take a couple deep breaths.” Twilight did as Rainbow asked and leaned into Rainbow Blitz once she was settled down enough.

“I’m sorry about that. I-“

“Don’t worry about it, everypony melts down every now and then. So what did you want to talk about?”

“Uh Dawn, you can give me back my claw now,” Spike said pulling his claw from Dawn’s mouth. Once it was free Dawn stared up at him and she started to cry a little. “Oh no, nononono TWILIGHT!”

“A common plant found in the Everfree Forest, Poison Joke is very rarely found anywhere else in Equestria. This may most likely be attributed to the unique biome present in the forest.”

Twilight was absentmindedly jotting down her thoughts as she inspected a Poison Joke flower. Shimmering Dawn, now a month old, watched her mother curiously and walked over to the table.

“Poison Joke has a similar biology to Poison Oak and Poison Ivy in that direct contact with the flower causes an allergic reaction and-,” Twilight put a glass case over the flower when she saw Shimmering Dawn look at the flower, “No sweetie, that’s not for you.”

“That’s where she went,” Spike said when he walked into the room with a bottle, “come on, it’s time to feed you.”

“Oh thank you Spike, I almost forgot about that.” Twilight lit her horn and took the bottle from Spike’s grasp and picked up Shimmering Dawn in her hooves. Dawn’s eyes were focused on the floating bottle and waved for it and grasped it when it was within reach. “Don’t drink too quickly Dawn. Where was I on this?”

“Uh, Twilight?”

“Oh yes, although it is unknown exactly what determines the reaction, it may be tied into a ponies’ special talent. My own experience with Poison Joke affected my horn, rendering my magic useless. Similar symptoms happened to my friends related to their own special talent and- oh are you done Dawn?” Twilight removed the bottle and set it on her desk before shifting Dawn onto her shoulder and lightly patted her on the back.

“You’ve gotten used to this motherhood thing, haven’t you?” Spike asked. Dawn gave a light burp and Twilight set her down with a smile.

“I’m surprised as well, and everypony has been so helpful, you especially Spike. I probably would have snapped on her first restless night.”

“It wasn’t that bad, she was just hungry,” Spike said and yelped a little when Dawn started chewing on his tail, “and I wished she would stop doing that.” Twilight giggled and levitated Dawn off of Spike’s tail.

“You have to stop doing that Sweetie,” Twilight said nuzzling her daughter. She then set Dawn back down and checked the schedule for the day, “Oh, Cadence is going to visit today. She said she might talk Shining Armor into coming too; I hope he does, he hasn’t had a chance to see his niece yet.”

“He hasn’t? He must be very busy with the royal guard.” Twilight sighed sadly, but perked up when she heard somepony screaming outside.

“Second floor north side!” After some quick thinking Twilight set down some pillows in planned positions and waited a few seconds when a blue blur burst through a window, landed on the pillows, and landed in a magic net Twilight put up. Rainbow Blitz fell to the floor and looked up at Twilight.

“Thanks Twi,” he said rolling onto his stomach just as Shimmering Dawn jumped onto his back.

“You do remember that I have a front door right?” Twilight asked and levitated Blitz into a standing position and Dawn off of him, “Even if I do like it when you use the windows.”

“And you’re getting good at not breaking anything when you crash like that,” Spike commented as he replaced the pillows Twilight used.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Rainbow asked and looked back at Dawn who started chewing on his tail.

“It doesn’t mean anything honey. I need your help for a minute while we wait for Cadence,” Twilight moved to the table and Rainbow followed her.

“Cadence is coming? When?”

An hour later as it turned out. Cadence, along with Shining Armor, walked through Ponyville waving at the ponies who saw them.

“Do you think Twiley will be happy that I managed to come here?” Shining Armor asked.

“Of course she will,” Cadence answered spotting Pinkie Pie trotting somewhere ahead of them, “It’ll be a nice surprise too. I can’t wait to see Shimmering Dawn, what do you think she’s like?”

“Knowing who her father is, probably incredibly energetic.” The library was fast approaching Cadence trotted the rest of the way there, smiling at Pinkie Pie who was waiting at the front door.

“Hi Cadence, fancy seeing you here!” Pinkie called over with a wave, “and Shiny too! I thought you were busy?”

“I managed to get some time off. What are you doing here?”

“My Pinkie sense went off, and since it said somepony was going to experience a flight burst today, I figured I should help.”

“A flight burst?” Cadence asked.

“It’s like a magic burst, but with pegasi. Neither are very fun,” Pinkie said with a shiver, “I’ll never forget that night. Anyway, let’s go see them.” Pinkie then turned around and knocked on the door. A few moments passed before Twilight opened the door.

“Hi guys, it’s good to see you!” Twilight said and hugged Pinkie, Cadence, and Shining Armor in order, “I didn’t think I would see you today Shining Armor.”

“I know and I’m sorry I couldn’t come any sooner. How have you been?” Shining asked nuzzling Twilight’s head.

“I’m fine, just a little exhausted from watching two energetic pegasi.”

“Excuse me Twilight, but I have business to do,” Pinkie said and let herself inside.

“Don’t break anything this time,” Twilight said.

“No promises.”

“I’m sorry, come on in.” Twilight moved out of the way to let Shining Armor and Cadence in and shut the door when they were clear. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“No thanks. Are we the only ones here?” Shining Armor asked.

“No, Rainbow and Spike are watching Dawn upstairs. Do you want to-“ a crash sounded upstairs, causing Twilight to flinch, “What was that?!”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Pinkie yelled from upstairs.

“*sigh* excuse me for a minute,” Twilight said and walked upstairs. “What is going- WHAT IS SHE DOING ON THE CEILING?!”

“Flight burst Twilight! Get her down Rainbow!”

“I’m trying!” Shining shared a look with Cadence and they both went upstairs to find Twilight and Pinkie underneath a section of ceiling where Rainbow was trying to catch Dawn who was on the ceiling.

“What is she doing?” Cadence asked. Dawn looked down at the new arrivals which allowed Rainbow to grab her and lower her to the floor.

“Jeez kid, you put a scare into me and your mother,” Blitz said cradling the filly, “We’re going to have to keep a close eye on her until she settles down from this.”

“Yes, we will. Do you have any advice on that Pinkie?” Twilight asked turning to Pinkie.

“All I can say is to wait it out. I think Pumpkin and Pound Cake went through their spurts for a couple months or so, but I’ll tell you those were the worst two months I’ve ever experienced.”

“The worst?”

“Oh yes, but I’m probably biased on that because I had both Pumpkin and Pound cake to deal with while you only have Dawn here. Where did she go?”

“Aw, she’s so cute Shining Armor,” Cadence said cuddling Shimmering Dawn in her hooves, “I can’t wait to have one of my own.”

“What? How did she-?” Rainbow asked looking at his now empty hooves.

“O-one of our own?” Shining Armor asked.

“…This is going to be an interesting family relationship, I can already tell.”

“I personally can’t wait to see how our parents react, your mom especially,” Twilight said leaning against Rainbow.

“Oh that would be a sight to see,” Rainbow said and smiled when Dawn bit Cadence’s mane.

“Sweetie…”

Rainbow thought he was prepared for being a parent, and he and Twilight were about as prepared as they could be. It was also a stroke of luck that most of their parent friends were nice to dispense advice.

No amount of preparation and advice could have prepared him for nights like this. Blitz got out of bed and walked to the crib he had set up where Dawn was crying.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Blitz asked lifting his crying daughter out of the crib. He ran through the list of everything he did before bed as he set Dawn on a nearby table. “Ok, I fed you, I’m fairly certain the temperature is fine. What did I forget?” Rainbow soon got his answer when he smelled something coming from Dawn’s diaper.

“Oh, that’s it. Don’t worry, Daddy’s got this.” Blitz was thankful for Twilight’s obsessive foresight as he got a fresh diaper out as well as everything else Twilight said he would need. “If I can do a Sonic Rainboom at will, I can change a dirty diaper,” Rainbow said and steeled himself for the task ahead. Once he was ready, he set about changing the diaper with a speed only he could do and he was done soon enough. Dawn blinked up at her father, more than a little confused as to what happened, while Blitz disposed of the diaper.

“There we go, that wasn’t so bad was it kid?” Blitz asked picking up Dawn and cradling her on the way to bed. “Do you have any other surprised for me before you go to bed?” Blitz tickled Dawn’s belly and smiled at how she laughed, “Alright sweetie, it’s time for bed.”

Blitz gently placed Dawn in the crib, tucked her in, and watched as she yawned and fell asleep. He let out a sigh and walked back to his bed and lay down on it. He loved sleeping on clouds, a love he would be sure to show Dawn once she was able to.

He was very nearly asleep when Dawn started crying again.

“I say Rainbow Blitz, you look simply dreadful,” Elusive said to a very tired Rainbow Blitz, a stark contrast to his daughter happily chewing on his mane.

“Shimmering Dawn would not go to sleep last night. I still don’t know how I finally got her to go to sleep,” Blitz answered steadying Dawn when she almost fell off his back, “Parenting is hell.”

“Indeed. So how can I help you?”

“I need some of that extra strong tea you have. After last night, I definitely could use something like that- can I help you?” Blitz asked Dawn who was halfway to biting the blue on his mane. “My mane doesn’t have different flavors for each color Dawn.” Blitz watched his daughter stare at him before biting his mane anyway, eliciting a sigh from her father and a small laugh from Elusive.

“I’ll go get your tea Blitz,” he said and trotted toward the kitchen. Once Elusive was out of the room Blitz grabbed Dawn by the neck and lowered her to the floor.

“What am I going to do with you while your mother is out of town?” he asked Dawn, who just tilted her head at Blitz. Blitz then got a weird feeling and heard some voices outside.

“Come on Dinky, I’m sure Elusive has something for you to do,” the familiar voice of Scooteroll said as he walked into the shop.

“I don’t want to be any trouble,” Dinky said following Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in, “Will it be ok?”

“Of course, as long as we don’t enter his work space,” Sweetie Belle said reassuringly. Of course, Scooteroll spotted Rainbow and immediately became excited.

“Rainbow Blitz! What brings you here?” he asked walking over to his idol, barely registering Dawn walking to his side.

“I’m just picking up something from Elusive, so I won’t be staying for long. Dawn no!” Blitz walked over and picked up his daughter with his mouth just as she was about to bite Scooteroll’s tail. He set her away from Scooteroll and sighed, “You’re going to drive me crazy if you keep doing that.”

“What did she do?” Elusive asked levitating a bottle of tea next to him.

“She almost bit Scooteroll’s tail,” Rainbow answered, “I hope Twilight figures out how to stop her from doing that.”

“Don’t even try it!” Scooteroll yelled and backed away from the other, very confused Crusaders, Dinky especially.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll grow out of it soon enough. Here’s that tea you wanted and I made it stronger than usual just for you.”

“Thanks, this will be helpful,” Blitz said and watched Elusive put the bottle in one of his saddlebags. “Come on Dawn, let’s go see Uncle Spike,” Rainbow told Shimmering Dawn and picked her up and put her on his back. “I’ll see you later Elusive.”

“Be careful,” Elusive said to Rainbow as he walked out of the boutique. Once his cyan friend was gone Elusive turned to the Crusaders. “So, how can I help you all?” he asked and felt a little nervous at their smiles.

Twilight had just gotten back from Canterlot and she trotted through town toward the library. She waved at some of the passing ponies, including their biggest helps in parenting Harpsy and Bon-Bon, and was soon at her tree home. She proceeded to enter the library to find Spike playing with Shimmering Dawn and a very dead looking Rainbow Blitz lying on a couch.

“What happened in the week I was gone?” Twilight asked shutting the door behind her.

“Dawn was restless, from what Rainbow said,” Spike explained and pointed back to Rainbow with a claw, “it took a toll on him as you can see.”

“She wouldn’t stop crying all night,” Blitz said weakly, “And I couldn’t sleep at all. I’m going to go pass out on a cloud somewhere, but before I do you should know that Dawn said her first words a couple of days ago.”

“She did, oh that’s great news! What did she say, what did she say?” Twilight asked excitedly clapping her hooves.

“Go show mommy what you learned Dawn,” Spike said and gently nudged Dawn toward Twilight. Dawn looked up at her mother and took a breath.

“Mommy… Daddy,” she said. Twilight gave a squeal of joy and picked up her daughter to hug her.

“That’s so cute, I’m so proud of you Sweetie!” Twilight said nuzzling Dawn, “That’s another thing to cross off of your checklist Dawn.”

“I just knew you had something like that stashed somewhere,” Blitz said and stretched his tired limbs. Twilight smiled at him and set Shimmering Dawn down.

“Thanks for watching her while I’m gone, both of you,” Twilight said and nuzzled the top of Spikes head before walking over to Rainbow. “You look like you could use some sleep.”

“I fully intend to get some,” Rainbow said standing up and kissing Twilight, which she gladly returned. Spike looked away from the couple shaking his head while Dawn tilted her head curiously. Rainbow pulled away from Twilight with a smile and said, “I’m off. See you after about a day of sleep.”

“Ok Blitzie,” Twilight answered and watched her husband walk out of the library. Once the door shut behind him Twilight turned to Spike. “I also visited my parents while in Canterlot and they wanted me to give you some gems.”

“Really?” Spike perked up and hardly noticed when Dawn bit his claw.

An interesting part of parenting is visiting grandparents. Sometimes, in what is usually the case for Rainbow’s mom, they would come visit them. Twilight was a little nervous around her at first, but that went away after a while, especially when Twilight realized just how much Rainbow took after his mom.

One such visit happened when Dawn was about a year old. This particular day found Rainbow reading a book with Dawn in his lap while Twilight was busy reorganizing books.

“The latest Daring Do books have gotten really dark,” Blitz told Twilight and patted the top of Dawn’s head.

“Are they really? It seemed like a logic progression to me,” Twilight answered from the shelf she was working on. “And if they’re so dark, are you sure you should be letting your daughter read them?”

“She can’t read Twilight, but when she can I’ll definitely show her these books.” Twilight looked ready to say something when a knock sounded on the door. Twilight and Rainbow shared a couple looks and Twilight went downstairs to answer the door. When she opened the door a pink pegasus with a blue mane nearly pushed her way into the library.

“What’s up egghead, how ya doing?” she asked and looked at Twilight with a large grin.

“Hello to you too Firefly, I’m doing well,” Twilight said shutting the door and picking up an errant book, “So what brings you down here all the way from Cloudsdale?”

“Oh nothing, I just wanted to get some fresh air, get away from the sun. Why do you think I came down?”

“Hey Twi, who is it?” Rainbow called down from upstairs.

“It’s your mom and get ready, her sunny disposition hasn’t changed at all,” Twilight yelled back and turned to Firefly, “Do you want anything to drink while you’re here?”

“Do you have coffee or sweet tea of some kind?” Firefly asked.

“I’ll see what I have, so go ahead and make yourself at home.” Twilight didn’t leave any room for argument as she trotted into the kitchen. Firefly shrugged and flew up the stairs into the upper floor of the library. The second she had entered the room Shimmering Dawn struggled out of her father’s lap and ran to Firefly.

“Grandma!” she yelled and leaped onto Firefly’s legs.

“Hey kid, how are you doing?” Firefly asked rubbing Dawn’s mane and barely noticed Rainbow closing his book and getting up.

“Great!”

“Hey mom, it’s great to see you,” Rainbow said and gave Firefly a quick hug.

“Great to see you too Blitz. Tell me, have you gotten soft in your flying? Because I’d hate to be able say I can outfly a Wonderbolt,” Firefly said with a smirk.

“I’d like to see you try Mom,” Rainbow said returning the smirk, “and you know what, you do that I’ll put in a good word with the Wonderbolts for you.”

“That’ll be the day.”

“Butting heads like usual are you?” Twilight said from the doorway levitating a couple drinks next to her, “You two will never change. I hope tea is alright with you Firefly.”

“It will as soon as I get Dawn here off my legs,” Firefly said lightly shaking Dawn off of her. The filly wasn’t deterred much from this and happily bounced around her grandmother as she took her tea.

“How have you been Grandma? You should have seen when Daddy took me flying yesterday, and then Scooteroll took me for a ride on his scooter! And then Mommy took me to see Uncle %#^&@ and Aunt Applejack! And then-“

“That’s nice dear,” Firefly said taking a large drink of tea and sitting down, “I must be getting old because she exhausts me after just a minute. I never had this kind of trouble with Blitz when he was a colt.”

“You have to tell me about that sometime,” Twilight said sitting down with her drink and pulled Dawn toward her.

“You don’t have to do that,” Blitz said nervously and sat down next to his wife.

“Well, since you both brought it up, I do have some stories to tell you,” Firefly said smiling widely at Blitz. “Have I ever told you about Blitz’s flight bursts when he was a baby?”

While Firefly’s visit’s were exciting in its own way, it was a much needed piece of simplicity whenever Dawn visited Twilight’s parents. They usually stayed in Canterlot where there work was centered, but sometimes one or both of them would spare a day or so to come to Ponyville.

On this particular day, Twilight took Shimmering Dawn with her to Canterlot.

“Now Sweetie, are you ready to see grandma and grandpa?” Twilight asked her daughter as they stepped off the train. Dawn answered with a nod and stuck close to her mother as they walked through the streets of Canterlot.

Twilight had brought Dawn to Canterlot several times before, but this was different since she had business here today. While Twilight would usually leave Dawn with Rainbow or one of her friends, it wasn’t that simple this time since Rainbow was back touring with the Wonderbolts and her friends were similarly inconvenienced; even Pinkie surprisingly enough. Twilight glanced down at her daughter who was staring around the city in awe, like she always does.

“Alright Dawn, we’re at grandma and grandpa’s,” Twilight said steering Dawn to a familiar building. Dawn immediately perked up and ran toward the building to excitedly knock on the door. Twilight had gotten to the door when her mom answered it.

“Grandma!” Dawn screamed leaping onto her grandmother.

“Hello Shimmering Dawn, Twilight. How are you doing?” the white unicorn asked.

“Great!” Dawn said and scooted in between her grandmother’s legs to go inside.

“I’m doing fine Mom, and thanks for agreeing to watch her for a little while,” Twilight said and nuzzled her mom.

“It’s not trouble at all dear, and your father could use some time with his granddaughter.” Her point was punctuated when Dawn yelled ‘Grandpa!’ followed by a small scream. “So go ahead and do what you have to do and we’ll be here when you get back.”

“Well ok, I shouldn’t be too long. Bye Dad, I’ll be back soon!”

“Ok Twiley, don’t worry about us,” her father called from inside the house. Twilight smiled and nuzzled her mother again before turning around and walking through the streets. Twilight’s mom smiled at her daughter, closed the door, and walked inside to find Dawn snuggling against her husband.

“So what do you want to do while you’re here?” Orion asked Dawn. The filly shrugged and flapped her wings experimentally in an attempt to fly up to her grandfather’s face. “Well, I think I have an idea. Do you want to see some pictures I worked on?” The prospect of a picture book seemed to appeal to Dawn as demonstrated by her large smile.

“You seem to know what to say Orion. I’ll get some lunch ready.”

“Alright dear. So, what do you want to see first Dawn?”

There were also the occasions when both grandparents were present. This was interesting since, unbeknownst to both Twilight and Rainbow Blitz when they were dating, both of their mothers knew each other.

Just one more odd coincidence to add to the pile.

“And that’s the Ursa Minor constellation,” Orion said pointing at a part of the picture he was on. Dawn at least was enjoying it, even if she didn’t know what Orion was talking about. He looked up and smiled at Dazzle, who had just come in with a small tray of snacks. She had just set it down when someone knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Dazzle said and walked to the front door. While she expected Twilight or Shining Armor, Dazzle wasn’t displeased to find Firefly instead. “Firefly, what are you doing here?” she asked and hugged the pegasus.

“Eh, no reason Daz. I was just nearby and decided to drop by,” Firefly answered and returned the hug briefly before pulling away. Dazzle stepped aside so Firefly could enter the house. Firefly motioned a hoof toward the doorway Dazzle came from and asked, “So is there anything I need to know before I go in there?”

“We have Shimmering Dawn over today, nothing else otherwise,” Dazzle answered while shutting the door.

“Oh really? This ought to be fun.” Firefly crouched down and walked carefully to the living room. She peeked into the room and watched Orion and Dawn reading a book while Dazzle just walked past her.

“So are you enjoying yourself Dawn?” Dazzle asked her granddaughter who gave a happy nod as she looked over Orion’s book.

“Who was at the door?” Orion asked glancing over at the door Dazzle came from.

“Just an old friend who came to say hi,” Dazzle answered and watched Dawn look up at her curiously. Dazzle watched her out of the corner of her eye and smiled when her curiosity took over and she wiggled out of Orion’s lap and walked to the door. She slowly peeked in the door when…

“Gotcha!” Firefly shouted as she snatched up Dawn and levitated through the room with Dawn giggling in her hooves.

“Grandma Firefly!” Dawn shouted and hugged Firefly’s neck. Orion closed his book and stood up watching Firefly hover lazily over the floor.

“Hello Firefly, you seem well,” he said to her as he stretched his tired legs, “will you be staying for a while?”

“Sure, I just wanted to check up while I’m in town,” Firefly answered and set Dawn down on the floor, “So did Rainbow or Twilight drop her off?”

“Mommy did!” Dawn answered and started trotting around Firefly.

“Busy as usual eh? She’s going to drive herself mad from work in a couple years.” Firefly settled down on a couch and let out a small ‘oomph’ when Dawn joined her, “If you ask me, she needs to learn to chill a little, her and Rainbow.”

“I’m not too keen on talking about Twilight’s love life, so if I can be excused,” Orion said slipping out of the room while Dazzle sat down opposite Firefly.

“Grandpa’s funny,” Dawn said smiling widely, which caused Firefly and Dazzle to laugh softly.

“So, what have you been up to Daz?” Firefly asked and stretched out on the couch, forcing Dawn off and toward Dazzle.

“Not much, Orion and I have been busy with our work.” Dazzle looked down at the filly nuzzling against her and smiled as she stroked Dawn’s mane, “and of course there’s Dawn here to liven the days every now and then.”

“That’s one way to put it I guess. She’s way too much like Rainbow when he was a colt.”

“Really, how?”

Twilight left the castle having finished her business. While she didn’t need to, she liked to deliver some important research in person instead of relying on dragon fire. After all, it wasn’t every day that somepony completed months of in depth research into Changeling biology.

“I still don’t know how they can change their appearance though,” Twilight whispered to herself and sighed, “if only there was a live specimen to study. Too bad they all vanished.” Twilight sighed and looked around at the buildings.

Ponies were walking to their intended destinations along with guards on their patrols. For a second Twilight thought she saw a familiar Captain but shook her head at the notion. Shining Armor had been incredibly busy both with guard work and more personal business. Twilight could remember Shining Armors exact words on the matter.

“I’m still trying to get used to being called uncle, so dad is going to be a new thing for me.”

‘He’ll need all the luck he could get,’ Twilight thought and laughed as she turned onto her parent’s street and didn’t notice anything too out of place when she saw her parent’s house. She increased her pace to a trot and was at her parent’s doorstep in no time and knocked on the door.

“Mom, I’m back,” Twilight called as she opened the door.

“We’re in here Twilight,” her mom called from the living room. Twilight walked to the doorway and was surprised to find Firefly on the couch with Dawn sleeping on top of her.

“Well hello Firefly, I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Yeah, nopony expects me when I decide to show up,” Firefly said and motioned a hoof at Dazzle, “Ain’t that right Daz?”

“Yes Firefly, I am fully aware of your stealthy tendencies,” Dazzle answered and turned to Twilight. “So how did it go dear?”

“As well as it could have gone, but I can’t really talk about it,” Twilight said and pointed at her daughter, “Do you want me to get her off you Firefly?”

“Who Dawn, nah she’s fine unless you need to be somewhere.” Twilight thought it over for a moment before shrugging.

“Not right now, but we’ll have to go as soon as Dawn wakes up,” she said and sat next to her mother, “so you seem to be doing alright Firefly. Anything new in your life?”

“Actually, she was just about to tell me about this new coltfriend of hers,” Dazzle said with a smile.

“What?!” Firefly yelled and accidentally jerked Dawn awake, which caused Twilight to hurriedly shush her until Dawn yawned and settled back to sleep. Firefly sighed in relief and glared at Dazzle to whisper, “I do not have a coltfriend!”

“Oh, but weren’t you just telling me how he-?”

“You shut it! If you say anything more than that then Twilight will know, then she’ll probably tell Rainbow Blitz, and he probably won’t care and will just fall asleep on a cloud somewhere!”

“It’s nice to know you have such a positive opinion of your son,” Twilight said sarcastically.

“Of course I do!” Firefly said that a little louder than she wanted to so Shimmering Dawn woke up with a low groan. “Oops.”

“Shush. Hi Dawn, did you have a nice nap?” Twilight asked. Dawn yawned and nodded her head before trying to snuggle back into Firefly. “No no, you got to stay awake Sweetie. We’re going home soon.” Dawn curled up into a ball as Twilight got up and walked over to her.

“Can’t I stay here?” Dawn asked peeking at her mother.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t. You can visit again the next time we come here, does that sound good?”

“…Mhmm.” Dawn uncurled herself and nuzzled Firefly and saying, “Bye Grandma.”

“Bye Dawn, and I should be going too,” Firefly said and stretched her wings a little. Twilight took the moment to carefully lift Dawn magically over to her and set her on her back, her wings flapping lightly along the way. Once Dawn was settled onto her back Twilight carefully walked over and nuzzled Dazzle.

“Thanks for watching her Mom,” she said.

“It was no trouble at all,” Dazzle said, “Now don’t be a stranger dear. You can always come visit us whenever you want.”

“I will. Is Dad around?”

“I’m right here,” Orion said having just walked in, “Do you have to leave so soon Twilight?”

“Yes, I have to leave now to get back to Ponyville before nightfall. I’m sorry about that.” Orion just smiled softly and walked over to hug Twilight.

“It’s no trouble. Thanks for coming to visit.” Firefly quickly slipped out of the house as Twilight nuzzled Orion and nudged him away.

“I’ll try and visit more often, and thanks again for watching Dawn.”

“Like I said, it’s no trouble at all. Have a safe trip back,” Dazzle said.

“We will. Goodbye and tell Shining Armor I said hi if you see him.” Twilight opened the front door and walked outside, Orion and Dazzle joining at the door.

“Bye Grandma! Bye Grandpa!” Dawn yelled with a wave.

“Bye you two, and remember you’re always welcome to visit,” Dazzle said waving back. Twilight waved before trotting away from the house. She had only made it about a block before Firefly started hovering next to her.

“Just so we’re clear, I don’t have a coltfriend. I haven’t for near twenty years and I plan on keeping it that way,” Firefly said irritated. She then sighed and whispered, “Why does Daz feel the need to nag me on that?”

“It’s alright Firefly, I kind of figured that wasn’t the case,” Twilight said with a small giggle.

“I swear egghead, if you tell Blitz about this…!”

“I had no intention of that at all, and even if I did I couldn’t. I hardly ever see Rainbow when he’s touring.” Twilight sighed sadly which made Firefly more than a little unsettled.

“Yeah, I guess he would be busy. I, uh, got some things to do, so… see you later I guess.” Firefly took off to the skies, though only Dawn watched her. Twilight sighed a little and looked up at the skies.

‘Not much longer. Maybe I can see one of his shows before the season is over. Dawn will certainly love it.’ Twilight smiled and started to think of how to do it when Dawn asked something.

“Mommy, what’s an egghead?”

“Uh, well uh… I’ll tell you later honey.” Twilight glanced back and saw Dawn tilt her head in curiosity. “So, what did you do at Grandma and Grandpa’s?”

>Observation Suspended<

TwiDash Wedding pt. 1

“Is this where Twilight said she would be?” Shining Armor asked as he looked around the Canterlot market.

“That’s what she said,” Cadence said and looked around the market. After a moment she pointed to a café across the way, and more specifically a purple unicorn sitting at a table. “There she is! Come on, let’s go see her.” Cadence trotted over to Twilight with Shining Armor following close behind. Twilight perked up when she saw them approach and waved at them.

“Cadence, Shining!” Twilight called and got up for a quick nuzzle to both of them, “I’m so glad you came. I hope you don’t mind that I ordered for you.”

“Of course we did, we wouldn’t miss something like this for the world,” Shining Armor said and sat down at the table with Cadence, “and it’s fine.”

“We haven’t had the time to really talk since the wedding,” Cadence said fixing her tea, “What all has changed?”

“I’m still living in Ponyville and still learning the magic of friendship and studying in general,” Twilight said stirring her tea, “I visited Mom and Dad while I was here and they seemed happy with some news I gave them.”

“What news?” Shining asked.

“Do you remember Rainbow Blitz? He did a Sonic Rainboom for your wedding?”

“Yeah I remember him. Didn’t you two say you were dating?”

“Mhmm, we have since a little before your wedding. I still can’t believe that was only a year ago.”

“It’s already been a year?” Cadence asked, “Time certainly flies, doesn’t it Shining Armor?”

“Yes, sometimes when I see Twilight I expect her to be the same filly she was a few years ago. Can you pass the sugar Twiley?”

“Here you go,” Twilight said and passed the sugar with a hoof instead of her magic. Cadence’s eyes widened at Twilight’s newest decoration. “So, Blitz and I went on a double date with Butterscotch and Pinkie almost a week ago and he asked me something there.”

“Really, what did he ask?”

“Something simple that I never thought I’d get asked.” Shining Armor looked up and saw the bracelet she had around her hoof.

“What?”

“Is he normally this late?” Pinkie asked through a mouthful of food.

“If we ever have a date anywhere and we don’t go together, then he usually forgets and oversleeps by ten minutes,” Twilight said, “but don’t worry he’ll probably be here in-“

“Hold it!” Blitz landed next to the table with a bag on his wing, “I’m here and I’m not late!”

“He’s not actually,” Pinkie said licking some mayonnaise off her snout, “only by about a minute or so.”

“Well alright,” Twilight said, “So what’s in the bag?”

“This? It’s a… thing from... a… place, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow said nervously and placed the bag under the table before sitting next to Twilight. “Did I miss anything?”

“No, we just started, like Pinkie said. Speaking of which, how is Jeffrey doing Butterscotch?”

“He’s doing alright. Gummy has been a real help to Angel,” Butterscotch answered. The small talk continued with Blitz hardly saying anything. He was constantly looking between Twilight, his plate of food, and up at Butterscotch.

“And then Gummy ate one of Pound Cake’s first treats! You should have seen how happy Pound Cake was when I told him that Gummy enjoyed it.”

“What was it?” Twilight asked.

“Strawberry savarin.” Everypony stared at Pinkie for a second at that, “I helped him make it.” She took a bite from her sandwich and disappeared under the table only to appear between Rainbow and his own meal. “Is something wrong Blitz? You’ve been all thinky and pondering since you got here.”

“I’m fine, just have something on my mind is all,” Blitz said pushing Pinkie out of the way. Once Pinkie was back in her spot Blitz whispered, “I wish I was good with words at times like this.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Just give me a minute, I’ll think of something.” Blitz continued eating and tried to avoid eye contact with the others.

“Is something wrong?”

“Please, just… let me think.”

“Hey, do you think…?” Pinkie whispered to Butterscotch.

“I’m… not at liberty to say,” Butterscotch said back. After a moment of awkward silence, Rainbow sighed.

“Ah whatever, I might as well say it,” Rainbow murmured and turned to Twilight, “How long have we been together?”

“One year, three weeks, and two days, rounding down,” Twilight answered.

“Rounding down from what?”

“The hours.”

“…You’re such an egghead. Anyway, this whole time we’ve been together, it’s been really great.”

“Yes?”

“Hey, do you think-?” Pinkie started but was surprisingly shushed by Butterscotch.

“And while I really like doing this kind of thing with you, I’ve been thinking something,” Blitz continued.

“What is it?” Twilight asked feeling incredibly anxious. Rainbow tapped the table a couple before he picked the bag up and put it on the table.

“Well, as fun as being your coltfriend is,” he started and pulled out a box and placed it on the table, “I can’t help but imagine what it’d be like if you said yes.”

“Yes? To wha-?” Twilight stopped abruptly when Rainbow opened the box. She gasped and widened her eyes at the sight of a gold bracelet inlaid with a blue gem cut into Rainbow’s cutie mark. She couldn’t breathe as she looked rapidly between Rainbow and the bracelet with her hooves over her mouth.

“Twilight, would you like to marry me?” he asked and pushed the bracelet over to Twilight. Butterscotch and Pinkie watched the whole thing silently, the latter’s mouth hanging wide open. Twilight still hadn’t moved aside from her eyes and Rainbow was starting to get worried. “Twilight breathe, you’re starting to scare me!”

Twilight managed to regain control of her breathing, which only resulted in her taking a deep breath and screaming at the top of her lungs startling most of the ponies around the group. She then leaped onto Blitz and hugged him tightly.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!” Twilight shouted rapidly and hugged Blitz tighter, squeezing the breath out of him. Butterscotch reached over and closed Pinkie’s mouth while smiling softly.

“Didn’t see that coming,” Pinkie said.

“I can’t… breathe!” Rainbow said through the tight hug.

“So… you’re engaged now?” Shining Armor asked.

“Mhmm, I would never have imagined I would be getting married in such a short time. I’m so excited,” Twilight said giving off an excited squeal.

“I’m happy for you Twilight,” Cadence said with a clap of her hooves, “So when is the date?”

“Of the wedding? Not anytime soon, we just have too much to do with my studies and his flying. I’d love nothing more than to marry him as soon as possible, but we’re just not ready.”

“That alleviates some of my concerns,” Shining Armor stated, “I was worried you might jump into this kind of commitment without thinking about it. Kind of silly now that I think about it.”

“Quite the contrary, I’ve put a lot of thought into this. I’ve got most of the wedding details down, but everything is really dependant on the date.”

“Wait, you planned your own wedding?”Cadence asked.

“…Yes?”

“I’m not sure that’s a proper thing.”

“Why not?”

“It’s good to be home, isn’t it Spike?” Twilight asked as Spike got off her back.

“I’ll say. It was nice to see your family after so long, but nothing really beats Ponyville,” Spike said with a stretch, “Are you hungry at all?”

“Let me put this bracelet away and we can make some lunch.” Twilight lit up her horn and looked it over, lingering on the gem. “This is going to be the last time I can wear this until the actual wedding,” she commented and set the bracelet back in its box.

“So you and Rainbow really are going to get married? I want to say I didn’t see it coming, but I’d be lying.” Twilight laughed softly and nuzzled the top of Spike’s head.

“I don’t think we were that transparent, were we?” she asked as Spike slipped away from her.

“I kinda picked it up after the fifth or so time I accidentally walked in on you and Blitz making out,” Spike said and crossed his arms, “You have heard of locks right?”

“Uh heheheh,” Twilight laughed nervously and rubbed her face to hide the blush, “Right. So, are you ready to eat?”

“You bet! Is Blitz coming to join us again?”

“I don’t think so. He’s been waiting for something for a while. If he wants to eat something here he’ll have to make it himself.”

“Works for me, so what do you want to have?”

Rainbow Blitz woke up that morning the same way he usually did: almost completely tired and wanting to sleep in. Of course he couldn’t do that, he had weather duty today. Of course that was nothing to him, he could finish all of his work within an hour if he wanted to and he could relax the rest of the day afterwards.

So it was with that in mind that Rainbow rolled out of bed and walked down the stairs of his cloud home with his wings outstretched to keep his balance. He made it into the kitchen and patted Tank on the head and smiled at the tortoise smiling up at him.

“Are you hungry buddy?” he asked already noticing the answer in Tank’s slow nodding. Rainbow set about getting Tank’s breakfast ready before seeing to his own. Rainbow made sure to slow down his eating enough so Tank could catch up and when both had their fill Rainbow picked up the tortoise.

“Alright Tank, watch yourself while go work. I should be done before too long ‘kay?” Tank answered the question with a very slow blink. “Awesome! So let’s get-“ Rainbow stopped when he noticed a haphazard pile of mail in front of the door. Rainbow sighed and put Tank down to gather the letters up. He murmured something about Ditzy and saw that a letter at the bottom was a light blue instead of the usual white.

“What’s this?” Blitz asked and picked it up and looked it over. It was addressed to him with a return address somewhere in Cloudsdale, and the sender was made abundantly clear when Rainbow turned the letter around to see a seal in the shape of a lightning bolt and weather cloud.

If Rainbow didn’t have any self control, he probably would have majorly freaked out, but with it he just barely kept himself in check. He looked back at the front, over at Tank in the middle of giving him a confused look, back to the letter, and then he picked up Tank and flew to the door.

The day just got really interesting and it only started.

“Ok Spike, are you ready to do this?” Twilight asked as Spike went through a list she made.

“Quadruple check checklist to see if… yeah check,” Spike said marking off the list and setting it aside, “We’re done with that.”

“Great! Now that we’re done making a checklist to make our grocery list, let’s go shopping!” Twilight walked to the front door with Spike holding a new list, thankfully for him a much shorter one. When Twilight opened the door she was promptly knocked flat on her back by her rainbow maned fiancé.

“Twi, I need you to hold onto a letter for me while I do my job! Is that ok with you?”

“W-what?”

“Awesome, you’re the best Twi!” Rainbow gave Twilight a quick kiss before putting a letter in her hoof and flying back out the door. Both Twilight and Spike blinked a couple of times in confusion. Spike then set the list down and walked over to Twilight.

“Well that was odd,” he said and helped Twilight to her hooves, “Are you ok Twilight?”

“I am, thanks Spike,” Twilight said and levitated the letter up to inspect it. “A letter from the Wonderbolts? That explains his excitement.”

“Where are you going to put it?” Spike asked.

“In a book!” Twilight cheerfully walked over to a bookcase, pulled a book out, and read the title, “The All Knowing Hideaway book of Hideaways.’ I never thought I would use this for its intended purpose.”

“Why, what is it?”

“A hideaway book,” Twilight answered and stuck the letter in between pages 302 and 303, “although I have to question the logic of naming the book that.”

“But don’t you have a book called ‘how to make the perfect checklist’ somewhere around here?” Spike asked pointing back to the bookshelves.

“Oh Spike, that’s a renewable checklist, not a book. Now come on, we have shopping to do.” Twilight put the book back in its place and started walking out the library.

“Ok, wait for me,” Spike called out, grabbed the list, and followed Twilight.

The weather plan for the day called for partly cloudy day, though that translated to ‘bust up enough clouds and let the other weather ponies deal with proper positioning.’ So that’s what Blitz did after checking in: go out to leave a certain number of clouds.

Of course, he also couldn’t help but use the poor victims as practice too. So Rainbow set about clearing some of the clouds as stylishly as possible, corkscrewing and backflipping through the clouds along his way. He noticed some of the other pegasi performing their own duties as he did so, but only one particular pegasus made him stop and double take. One gray pegasus who always seems to cause trouble.

Who else but Ditzy? Today it was the old favorite of the thunder cloud. While Blitz would usually walk it off as nothing, today he just had to ask.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?” Ditzy asked.

“That! You keep getting these thunder clouds when we don’t have any storms scheduled for weeks. Where are you getting them?” Ditzy thought for moment, not noticing a tiny lightning bolt running up her leg.

“Well, I charge them myself,” she answered.

“What?”

“Have you ever rubbed a balloon against your mane really fast? It’s the same thing with clouds.” Rainbow stared at Ditzy incredulously for about half a minute while Ditzy just smiled at him.

“Whatever, I guess it’s something new to learn. I have to get back to work, so please don’t destroy anything and get rid of that cloud soon,” Rainbow said and flew away.

“Ok.” Ditzy waved at the retreating Rainbow Blitz and may or may not have forgotten what he just said.

“Hm… what do you think Spike? Which should I get?”

“Twilight, its bread I don’t think it matters.” Grocery shopping was usually painless for the pair, but then Twilight would do something like constantly comparing two loaves of bread to see which one was fresher. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t the very last thing they had to get.

“So this one?” Twilight asked and held up one of the loaves.

“Uh, I guess?”

“Excellent, I can always count on you for a second opinion.” Twilight put the other loaf away, gave the first one to Spike, and started trotting toward the front of the store, “Is there anything we may have forgotten?”

“I don’t think so, we got everything on the list.”

“Oh, we’re almost out of gems for you! We better get some while we’re thinking about it.” They approached the cash register and Twilight started putting the groceries up for checkout.

“Are we? It didn’t seem like that when I checked this morning.”

“Really? Well we better get some more anyway, better safe than sorry after all.”

“That’ll be 48 bits,” the cashier said and Twilight took out her bit bag from the saddlebag.

“Anything else we should get while we’re out Spike?” Twilight asked while she counted out the bits that the cashier accepted.

“I don’t think so, but what do you think that letter Blitz got was about?” Spike asked and rolled up the list.

“Thanks for your business,” The cashier said and gave the groceries to Twilight.

“Thank you,” Twilight said and took the groceries in her magic and put them in her bag. “Come along Spike, we better get back to the library.”

“Coming,” Spike said and climbed onto Twilight’s back so they could leave the store. “So when do you think Blitz will come to the library?”

“For the letter? I would say 10 seconds flat, but that’s gotten kind of cliché after spending so much time with Rainbow. Why?”

“I’m just wondering if he’ll be at the library by the time we get there.”

“By how long?” Twilight asked finding herself curious as to where this was going.

“Long enough for him to settle in for a nap.”

“Two minutes then?”

“Now I’m curious. Let’s go see!”

“No, I think I’m going to take my time.”

Rainbow Blitz focused on the last cloud he had to take care of. Rainbow stretched a little and dove toward the cloud, breaking through it with little trouble. The smell of humidity filled his nostrils and he breathed it in deeply. A quick look around showed that the other weather ponies were finishing up with their own tasks. He didn’t see any thunder clouds either, so he decided it was safe to take a break.

A quick scan showed that Blitz was above Sweet Apple Acres. He stared at one of the apple trees, mentally debating on whether or not to get one of the fruit, before deciding not to risk the wrath of the Apple family.

‘I’ll get something to snack on later,’ he thought and started flying to Ponyville, ‘for now, that letter is taunting me!’ He increased his flying speed and smiled at the sight of the library coming closer.

“Hi Rainbow Blitz!”

The sudden appearance of Ditzy Doo in his vision caused Rainbow to scream in surprise and trip over her. Not crash, trip. Once that happened, Rainbow went spiraling to the ground. On his way down, he caught sight of a conveniently placed trampoline in his path.

“Dangit Ditzy, this isn’t funny anymore!”

“Moment of truth Spike,” Twilight said excitedly, “are you ready?”

“You bet I am!” Spike returned with similar enthusiasm, “Now let’s see what’s in there!”

“Ok, here we go.” Twilight slowly opened the door and peeked inside with Spike. “He’s not here.”

“Darn it! I was sure he’d be napping on the couch,” Spike said and kicked a pebble away. He looked up and instinctively dove to the ground upon seeing a blue blur hurtling towards him.

“Don’t worry Spike, I’m sure he’ll be here in-“ Twilight got interrupted when the very pegasus they were talking about crashed into her, knocking the both of them to the floor. Spike stared as they tumbled and eventually settled and found themselves kissing each other on the floor. The held it for a second, Spike staring at them confused, before Rainbow pulled away from her and rushed to the door.

“Where did she go?!” Blitz yelled and searched the skies.

“Who?” Spike asked and looked in the skies as well.

“Ditzy! She tripped me in midair again and set up a bunch of trampolines so I would bounce into Twilight!”

“Well that explains that,” Twilight said as she joined Spike and Rainbow at the door.

“Where did she even get all those things?”

“Who knows, now come inside.”

“But-“

“No buts!” Twilight yanked Blitz into the library by his tail, waited for Spike to enter the library, and then shut the door and took off her saddlebags and placed them on Blitz. “Since you’re here, why don’t you help Spike put away the groceries while I find that letter of yours?”

“Um, ok. Are you feeling alright Twi?”

“Of course I am. Why?”

“Well, it’s just that you’re getting a little pushy, and usually when you do that you act a little crazy and then I have to give you a massage or dump you in the lake to calm you down.”

“That was one time Blitz! One time, on a hot summer day, and you won’t let it go!”

“You didn’t have to drag me down with you!”

“Should I go for a bit?” Spike asked.

“NO!” both ponies yelled at him. After a bit of staring between the three, Spike sighed and pushed Rainbow.

“Come on, we have stuff to do,” he said.

“But we’re in the middle of discussing something!” Rainbow protested.

“Then discuss it after we put those groceries away!” Spike gave Rainbow a quick shove, which actually moved him a little.

“Ok ok, you’re getting stronger.” Twilight waited until they went into the kitchen before she walked over to a bookshelf, looked for a moment, and levitated ‘The All Knowing Hideaway book of Hideaways’ over to her and opened it to the place where she put the letter.

“It really is quite the ingenious hiding place, but I can’t help but think that this is all this book is good for,” Twilight said and set the book on the shelf, “I tried reading it once, but it was a little too boring even for-“ Twilight stopped talking when she was suddenly hugged from behind.

“You’re talking to yourself again Twi,” Rainbow whispered into her ear as he leaned onto her.

“Blitz? A-are you done with the groceries?” Twilight asked while nudging Rainbow off of her.

“I would have, but…”

“I have a system for these!” Spike yelled from the kitchen, “and I am not going to let Rainbow screw it up because he doesn’t know where things go! He nearly crushed the bread too!”

“Yeah, Spike won’t let me help. So how are you doing?”

“Um, fine. Here’s your letter.” Twilight wiggled the letter in front of Blitz, who took it a second later and sat on one of the pillows.

“This is so awesome! What do you think it is, because if it is what I think it is I might just blow up!” Rainbow said excitedly. Twilight lightly shook her head and sat next to Rainbow and quickly opened it with her magic.

“Well don’t keep us in suspense, read it,” she said and levitated the letter in front of Rainbow.

“Alright, hold on a second Twi.” Rainbow pressed the letter down on the floor so they both could read it.

Dear the recipient of this letter,

This letter is to inform you of your eligibility for the most recent Wonderbolt tryouts which will be held in a month. The top five participants will be given special consideration for Wonderbolt candidacy, so please use this time to practice and hone your skills to the fullest.

Any further details will be given at the proper time.

From Spitfire, acting captain of the Wonderbolts.

“Well that’s interesting,” Twilight said, “What do you think about this Rainbow?” Rainbow Blitz didn’t answer immediately and didn’t seem to have moved since reading the letter. “Rainbow?” Twilight asked looking at the pegasus with a wide eyed, awe struck expression. A light tap to the neck proved his paralysis as he fell over just as Spike walked in.

“He fainted huh?” he asked walking up to Rainbow and poking him.

“Mhmm, and I think this is third level paralysis. I never thought it would reach that far.”

“You have a way to snap him out of this right?”

“Of course. Upstairs on the bookshelf closest to my bed is a photo album of all of Rainbow Blitz’s embarrassing moments, you go get that while I go get a pitcher of water.”

“On it!” Spike gave a small salute and picked up the letter to read, “So why did he faint?”

“Rainbow’s been scouted by the Wonderbolts.”

“Oh. I’ll go fill the tub in case the pitcher doesn’t work.” Spike tossed the letter aside and started upstairs.

“Good idea Spike.”

Ponyville has long since accepted Pinkie Pie’s eccentricities, although she still manages to throw them for a loop sometimes. So Elusive, having stepped outside his shop for a minute, was appropriately confused when he saw Pinkie walking down the street with a bucket on her back and Applejack following close behind. Elusive took off in a trot toward the pair, hoping to uncover the mystery.

“Applejack darling, what is Pinkie doing?” he asked when he caught up with her.

“Ah don’t know, Pinkie just showed up asking to borrow our bucket. Ah asked why and she said ‘to carry the molasses.’ Ah don’t know what she’s got planned, but ah don’t want to miss it.”

“Yes, I find myself curious as to her intentions. Let’s follow and find out.”

“You two can just ask me you know,” Pinkie asked appearing behind her friends, “Silly fillies. Anyway, I’m on an important mission to help Rainbow Blitz at the library, but we have to hurry.”

“Um, ok?” Applejack said nervously.

“Why does a bucket of molasses have to do with… never mind, I actually want to see where you go with this,” Elusive said.

“Hooray, now let’s go!” Pinkie yelled and led the way to the library. Applejack and Elusive shared a look and wordlessly followed her and were at the library soon enough. Pinkie knocked on the door rapidly and didn’t stop until Twilight answered the door.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked and glanced at the bucket, “why do you have a bucket of molasses?”

“Well, my neck got all twitchy then my eyes got all itchy, then my hoof got all scrappy, so I figured Rainbow Blitz passed out. The molasses is to wake him up.” Twilight stared at Pinkie for a half minute and then at Elusive and Applejack who shrugged before sighing.

“Will it work?”

“Yes! …Maybe… it depends on where he is.”

“I put him in the bathtub a couple of minutes ago. It really hit him hard.”

“Well, do you mind if I wake him up?”

“If it works, go on. Come on in and Spike’s up there if you need him for anything.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie exclaimed and bounced happily past Twilight and Elusive and Applejack took a seat on some pillows.

“So what brings you two here, and do you want anything to drink?” Twilight asked while slowly walking to the kitchen.

“Ah’m fine, ah’m just waiting for Pinkie to be done with my bucket,” Applejack said with a gesture to the stairs.

“I was curious as to why Pinkie was carrying the bucket, and tea would be fine,” Elusive said with a small smile. Twilight nodded and walked into the kitchen.

“Ah wonder what Pinkie is-“

“AAAAAAAAAGH!”

“What in the hay?”

“What was that?” Twilight called from the kitchen.

“Rainbow’s awake,” Pinkie shouted happily and placed the bucket next to Applejack, “thanks for letting me borrow this Applejack.”

“Um, no problem. What did you do?” Applejack asked.

“Oh Applejack, some things are better not known.” Pinkie patted Applejack on the back and sat on the table as well, humming some kind of happy tune.

“But you say that all the time darling,” Elusive said with a light tap on the table.

“I do?”

“Ya, you never really explained how that party cannon of yours works,” Applejack said.

“That’s a trade secret.”

“It’s not that hard of a concept,” Twilight said as she walked in, two teacups floating next to her, “I saw how it worked once and it’s quite fascinating. Here’s your tea Elusive.”

“Why thank you Twilight.” Elusive took one of the cups in his magic and took a drink. “So why was Rainbow Blitz asleep?”

“He got a letter from the Wonderbolts earlier.”

“Oh! Does that mean he got accepted into the Wonderbolts?!” Pinkie shouted and jumped onto the table.

“Something like that.” Everyone looked up at a very soaked Rainbow Blitz looking a little annoyed at the top of the stairs. “Did you really have to pour syrup on my head Pinkie?”

“It was molasses, and it was totally necessary.”

“How?” Rainbow spread his legs apart into a ready position and lowered his head.

“Rainbow, if you do anything that could damage the books here, heh heh, I’ll hurt you,” Twilight said with a rather wide and creepy smile, which stopped Rainbow in his tracks and caused him to backpedal into the room. When Pinkie, Applejack, and Elusive looked at Twilight she said, “I have to make sure the books are in good condition.”

“…That reminds me, I got to get something from the boutique. I will be back in a minute,” Elusive said and quickly trotted out of the library. Twilight watched him leave in confusion and looked over at her friends.

“What was that about?” Twilight asked.

“You said that in kind of an evil way,” Applejack said.

“Did I? I didn’t think it sounded that bad, did it?”

“Like something out of a horror novel!” Pinkie shouted and looked over at one of the bookshelves, “Where is the horror section again?”

“It’s over there, I think,” Twilight pointed at a shelf behind her which Pinkie hopped toward, “I didn’t know you read horror.”

“I don’t, but when you get a hankering for cake, you have to indulge it right?”

“…No.”

“You know, that would explain some of those romance novels I’ve seen you read,” a recently dried Rainbow commented from the top of the stairs and glided down to the table.

“I was using those as study aids Blitz! Uh, w-wait, I didn’t mean anything by-“

“That explains some things Twilight,” Rainbow joked and moved closer to a blushing Twilight.

“Ah don’t get it,” Applejack said.

“What’s going on down here?” Spike said from the top of the stairs.

“Nothing! Nothing is going on!” Twilight shouted and scooted away from Rainbow.

“Ooh, I haven’t read this one,” Pinkie said pulling a book out of the shelf and began reading it.

“Did I miss something in the time it took to put that towel away?” Spike asked as he joined the others scratching his head.

“NO, you didn’t miss anything!” Twilight yelled again.

“You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed,” Rainbow said scooting right up to Twilight, causing her to blush deeper.

“Riiiiiight, so Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you want anything?” Spike asked.

Applejack waved a hoof and said, “No thanks Spike, ah had better get back to-“

“I’m back~!” Elusive suddenly said from the front door with a measuring tape around his neck, his (patent pending) red design glasses, and saddlebags most likely filled with… something.

“Hi Elusive, do you need any help with that?” Spike asked.

“No thank you Spike, but thanks for asking. Oh and here, a little thank you for helping me the other day.” Elusive levitated a bag of gems from his saddlebag and gave it to Spike, who proceeded to walk to a corner toe snack on them, before walking over to Twilight and set his saddlebag down.

“What’s all that for?” Twilight asked.

“Oh Twilight, don’t worry about it, just pretend I’m not even here,” Elusive said not so subtly measuring Twilight’s front leg.

“Are you taking my measurements?!”

“Oh ho ho… yes.”

“Why?”

“No reason dear.”

“That reminds me, I have to get some practice done for that thing,” Rainbow said and stood up stretching his wings, “I’ll see ya later Twi.” He gave Twilight a quick kiss before flying out of the window.

“Ah better get going too,” Applejack said and picked up the bucket, “bye Twilight.”

“Ok, bye Applejack. Are you going too Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

“What? Oh no, I’m alright,” Pinkie answered fully immersed in the book.

“I’m sorry Twilight, but this is not proper working conditions. Come on, we have to go back to the boutique!” Elusive said standing up. He secured his saddlebag back onto his back before gently nudging Twilight toward the door.

“Now?! Why?” Twilight asked.

“Time is of the essence, and the sooner the better. Spike, would you like to come along and help me?”

“Sure thing!” Spike said and ran up to Elusive with the half eaten bag of gems.

“We haven’t even set a date Elusive!” Twilight shouted when she was finally pushed out of the library with Elusive and Spike right behind her, the latter closing the door behind him, leaving Pinkie Pie alone.

“…That is not how a rainbow is made at all. This is the worst cook book ever.”

Royal Wedding

The following are some brief snippets of the events surrounding the Royal Wedding for this universe.<

“This is going to be awesome!” Rainbow Blitz shouted out to the rest of the ponies in the train car. Mostly everyone in the car was excited with the news of the wedding they would take part in and were chatting excitedly among each other.

Except for Twilight, who was staring out of the window with an angry look. Rainbow was the first to notice this and walked over to her and Spike.

“Is something up Twi?” Rainbow asked.

“What do you think?” Twilight asked quietly. Spike shrugged at Rainbow as he gently nudged Twilight.

“Are you still bummed about your brother? If it’s bugging you so much, why don’t you talk to him about it?”

“I plan on doing just that.” Twilight sighed before continuing with, “I just need to clear my head about my brother and this ‘Mi Amore Cadenza’.”

“Well we still have a while until we get to Canterlot, so you can think for a while.”

“And I thought you would be excited to see Shining Armor again,” Spike added.

“I am but… I just need to talk to him,” Twilight said. She looked out the window to see the Canterlot strangely surrounded by some kind of shield. Twilight heard some rustling next to her and felt a wing drape over her.

“Well, if you need to talk about anything you always have us,” Blitz said and nuzzled Twilight, which she returned.

“Thank you Blitzie. Actually, there is something I want to talk to you about. In private.”

“Ok,” Blitz said and got up to follow Twilight to the next car, with their friends noticing.

“Where are they runnin’ off to?” Applejack asked.

“They’re going to talk about something or other, in private,” Spike answered finger quoting the last two words, “probably boring couple things.”

“I totally get it,” Pinkie Pie shouted from her seat and waved a foreleg, “They’re totally-!” any further comments from Pinkie was muffled by Applejack’s hoof.

“That’s alright Pinkie, ah don’t particularly want to think about that kind of thing,” Applejack said.

“Jealous Applejack?” Elusive asked with a joking grin.

“What?! Ah quiet Elusive.” Elusive laughed at Applejack’s reaction and went back to discussing the wedding with his friends.

“This looks like a good room,” Twilight said opening a door. This car had a couple private compartments, most of which was empty for this trip. Twilight walked inside and shut the door once Rainbow was through. Twilight opened her mouth to talk, but Blitz suddenly kissed her forcefully, which caused her eyes to widen. Blitz pushed her up against the wall and wrapped his forelegs around Twilight, who returned the gesture and groaned into Blitz’s mouth. They kept kissing for another minute until Twilight pushed him slightly.

“So you wanted to talk?” Blitz asked and licked his lips.

“Y-yes, before you did that,” Twilight answered.

“So, what was it?” Blitz moved his head to Twilight’s neck to sniff her mane and lick her neck.

“D-don’t do that! It’s about us when we- oooooh,” Twilight moaned and hugged Blitz tightly as he lightly bit her neck and sucked on it, “W-when we get to Canterlot.”

“Mhmm,” Blitz mumbled into Twilight’s neck. Twilight managed to break out of her haze to push Blitz away.

“Rainbow, be serious for a moment! You can be such a jerk.”

“Alright, what’s up?” Blitz pressed his forehead onto Twilight’s as she thought something over. After about a minute she looked up into Rainbow’s eyes and sighed.

“When we get to Canterlot,” she started, “would it be alright if we… pretended to just be friends?”

“What?” Blitz asked in shock and pulled away from Twilight, “Are you breaking up with me?”

“No! No, that’s not what I meant at all!” Twilight pulled Rainbow closer and nuzzled him, “We’re just going to be really busy with the wedding and all. I just…” Twilight trailed off and hugged Blitz tighter.

“I think I see what’s going on,” Blitz whispered into Twilight’s ear, “It’s been a while since you’ve seen your brother, so you want to catch up with him without having to break the whole ‘I’m going out with somepony’ thing on him just before his wedding, right?”

“Yes, that’s it.” Twilight looked back into Blitz’s eyes, “So… will it be alright, just until the wedding is done?”

“You’re asking if we can be ‘just friends’ for a couple days? That’s easy Twi, especially after two months of playing that exact same game.” Twilight smiled up at him and placed a small kiss on his lips.

“Thanks Blitzie, you’re the best,” she whispered to him and squeaked a little when Blitz pulled her closer.

“You realize that we’re going to have to make this last for a couple days right?” he said with a huge grin.

“Mhmm.”

“So, anything in particular you want to-“

“Shut up and kiss me,” Twilight said and threw herself onto Rainbow, who was caught off guard by both the sudden weight and the feeling of Twilight’s tongue in his mouth. They both fell to the floor and lost themselves in each other’s smell, taste, and feel.

It was only the fast approaching city of Canterlot that kept them restrained to making out and eventual light cuddling.

“We should probably get back to the others,” Blitz said as he stroked Twilight’s mane.

“Yeah,” Twilight answered and shifted a little, “maybe in a couple of minutes.” Blitz chuckled softly and brought Twilight in for another kiss, probably their last one for a couple days.

The train pulled into Canterlot, passing through the shield surrounding the city without any difficulty. Twilight and her friends were waiting at the door and they left the train when it slowed to a stop.

“So are we all going to do what we need to do?” Elusive asked.

“Yes, I’ll check on you all later,” Twilight said and looked back to find Rainbow Blitz was gone, off to practice his tricks no doubt.

“Are you ok Twilight? You seem upset,” Butterscotch said quietly.

“I’ll be fine Butterscotch. I have something to do so I’ll see you all later.” Twilight started to gallop away and the others left to do their own assignments. Spike, with nothing more to do, decided to follow Applejack and wait for Twilight to show up.

It was a couple hours later and Twilight was watching Cadence talk with Applejack about the catering. Twilight tried to focus on the checklist in front of her, but she looked up at the pink alicorn as she accepted a bag of treats from Applejack only to throw them away when Applejack wasn’t looking.

“Spike, did you just see that?” Twilight asked the dragon and looked to find him playing with the cake decorations again. She watched him make some kissing noises before sticking her face toward him. “Spike this is serious!”

“Maybe she wasn’t hungry,” Spike said.

“Spike, that’s-“

“Excuse me,” a voice suddenly called out as Rainbow Blitz flew into the room and started looking for a snack.

“Oh Rainbow, how is your-“

“Going great, can’t talk now, gotta practice, see me later!” Rainbow yelled, grabbed a fritter with his mouth, and flew out just as fast as he came.

“Rainbow, those are for the wedding!” Applejack yelled after him.

“Well he seemed to be in a hurry,” Spike said with his attention still focused on the figures he was playing with, “When are we going to see him?”

“In a little while, but first we have to check on Elusive. Come on Spike.”

Rainbow Blitz pushed himself as fast as he could in the relatively small amount of space in the air of Canterlot due to the shield surrounding the town. Even then, Blitz made as much use of the space as he could. He pushed himself faster and faster until he could see the air bend around him and form into a cone in front of him.

It was nearly broken when Blitz slowed down just enough for the air pocket to bounce him back. Unlike the other times this happened, Rainbow rolled his body around and flapped his wings rapidly until he was stabilized and flying back to where Twilight was sitting. A small part of him was slightly disappointed when he saw Twilight was busy with her list, but every other part of him was ecstatic that he ‘still had it’. He slowed to a hover in front of Twilight and pumped a hoof.

“Did you see that Twilight? The Rainboom is good to go when it’s needed!” he shouted and did a couple of flips.

“So you’ll be ready for the wedding?” Twilight asked flatly. Her tone of voice caused Rainbow to land next to her, completely ignoring Spike who was still playing with the cake decorations.

“Yeah, given some more practice. Are you feeling alright?”

“Of course I am, I’m just… thinking is all. I have to go check on Pinkie Pie now, so good luck with your practice,” Twilight said rolling up her list as she got up and walked toward the castle.

“Thanks, and you know we’re here for you if you want to talk,” Rainbow yelled after Twilight.

“I know.” Rainbow gave Twilight a look and was about to take off when-

“Oh Shining Armor, please teach me the ways of the unicorn!” Spike said in a falsetto voice and motioned the two figures into kissing each other.

“Is that all you’ve been doing this whole time Spike?”

“Hey, I’ve been helping Twilight, I’m going to be the ring bearer, and I’m in charge of Shining Armor’s bachelor party!” Spike said gesturing to himself with the Cadence figure.

“Do you even know what a bachelor party is?”

“A… party for the groom, right?”

“…Well, yeah basically. By the way, Twilight took off over there, so you might want to hurry if you want to catch up with her.”

“Uh oh, I gotta go Rainbow Blitz. See you later.” Spike waved back at Rainbow as he chased after Twilight. Rainbow stretched his wings for a moment before flying back up with a new trick idea in mind.

“-And we have lights and balloons, lots of balloons, streamers, punch, some music to dance to. Oh, and there’s-“

“Pinkie!”

“Yes Twilight?”

“Are you prepared for the reception?” A simple question which had led into at least a five minute rant from the pink mare.

“Of course, but I am missing only one thing.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at Pinkie and scanned over her list quickly.

“What are you missing? Some streamers, punch ingredients, the cake?”

“The DJ!” That answer earned Pinkie another confused look.

“DJ? Oh no,” Twilight’s eyes widened in fear and looked around the room, “please tell me you don’t mean-“

Twilight was interrupted by the hall doors being kicked open alongside a massive bass drop, one which caused even Pinkie to jump in surprise. A glance at the door revealed the culprit to be an unfortunately familiar white unicorn with a blue mane and tail wearing a set of purple goggles and some form of massive boom box next to him.

“Pon-3’s in the house baby!” he shouted at the top of his voice and walked in calmly bobbing his head alongside the music. Pinkie Pie, who had attached herself to Twilight’s face, leapt off the purple unicorn with a loud gasp and bounced happily over to the other unicorn.

“Vinyl, you came!” she said and brought Vinyl Scratch into a massive hug.

“Course I did, I go where the party needs me.” Pinkie released Vinyl from the hug and led him in to where Twilight was coming to meet them. “Hey Sparkle sparkle sparkle, how you doing?”

Twilight sighed and said, “You know I hate that nickname.”

“I know, which is why I use it. None of your other friends mind my nicknames.” As if on cue to demonstrate his point, Rainbow Blitz happened to walk in at that moment with Elusive. “Hey Sexy, ‘Lusive, how ya doing?!”

The stallion’s reactions to this were, respectively, to immediately turn around and leave the hall and to huff loudly and continue along as if he didn’t hear him.

“See, they don’t mind at all!”

“I would very much appreciate it if you didn’t hit on my boyfriend for the next few days,” Twilight said and looked over her list again. “Anyway, I have to check on some other things, so can I trust you and Pinkie to handle yourselves?”

“Yup-a-rooney,” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Course, Sparkles,” Vinyl said with a flash of his trademark grin. Twilight just shook her head and turned to make her way to Elusive at a trot. “She seems testy.”

“She’s trying to keep her relationship with Rainbow a secret from her brother,” Pinkie explained and held a hoof to her chin, “At least I think that’s what she’s trying to do.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there,” Vinyl said and lifted his goggles magically to rub his eyes. “Man, my eyes feel weird. Do they look weird Pinkie?” Vinyl opened one eye and Pinkie looked at it for half a minute.

“Nope, same red eyes you always had,” she finally said.

“That’s good,” Vinyl said and replaced the goggles over his eyes and gestured to his equipment being pulled by some unlucky unicorn attendant, “where should I put my stuff?”

“Out in the garden, just wait until you see it, it’s so fancy pants!”

“Awesome, I love fancy pants stuff!”

Later that night, Twilight was sulking in her room after having a minor meltdown at dinner with her friends. She felt slightly bad for yelling at her friends for that, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was horrendously wrong with Cadence. She had been thinking on the subject for nearly a half hour before she heard a knocking on her window.

‘I’m sure I know who that is,’ Twilight thought and got up from the bed, walked over to the window, and pulled back the curtains to show none other than Rainbow Blitz outside. “Hello Rainbow, what brings you here?”

“I’m sure you know Twilight. You mind if I come in?” Rainbow asked and tapped the glass again.

“Oh, of course,” Twilight said and lit up her horn to unlock the window. Rainbow flew inside and gently landed with the window closing behind him. “Are the others coming?”

“Butterscotch and Applejack are asleep, Elusive is working on the suits and dresses for the wedding, and Pinkie’s doing who knows what. Is Spike around?”

“I think he went to Elusive’s room. You know how Spike gets when helping Elusive.” Twilight walked back to her bed and looked at Rainbow once she was comfortable again. “So what can I help you with?”

“Well…” Rainbow started before looking over the bed and climbing on it with a shrug, “you seemed kind of mad earlier. Everyone was worried about you, so I volunteered to come here and ask what’s going on.” Twilight scooted ever so slightly toward Rainbow and sighed.

“It’s Cadence.”

“Who?”

“…Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the pony who my brother is going to marry?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry, but it’s been a busy day for all of us.”

“I never did tell you what I called her, did I? I just have a really bad feeling about her.”

“Didn’t we talk about this already? Planning and overseeing a wedding is a pretty stressful thing, so maybe you’re mistaking stress for being evil?”

“Rainbow, I saw Cadence hypnotizing Shining Armor with a spell. I saw his eyes go-“ at this point Twilight twirled her eyes and made a face that made Rainbow struggle to keep from laughing.

“Well…”

“And don’t say what I think you’re going to say. I know a mind control spell when I see one.” Twilight looked away from Rainbow and was suitably surprised when he managed to sneak up and hug her from behind.

“Maybe you should just relax a little,” he whispered into her ear causing her to blush and struggle a little.

“Rainbow, what do you think you’re- ah!” Twilight gasped when Rainbow bit down on her ear, sending a small jolt of pleasure through her. “Not fair,” she cried quietly and fell onto her bed along with Rainbow still chewing her ear.

“Ah quit whining, we never did say how this works besides not letting your brother find out,” Rainbow said and hugged Twilight tighter.

“I guess we didn’t.” Twilight rolled around just enough to see Rainbow Blitz and stared at him for a few seconds. “Oh, what the hay,” she said after a few seconds and jumped on Rainbow Blitz and kissed him, knocking them both off the bed in the process. Rainbow had no problem with this turn of events, as evidenced by his forceful returned kiss.

Meanwhile, Prince Artemis was keeping watch over Canterlot from the watchtower. He tried as hard as he could to focus on the task in front of him and ignore the excitable lump on his back. Which proved a hard thing to do since she insisted on playing with his mane every few minutes.

“Hm, it appears the east side is safe,” he said quietly and moved the telescope to the left, “what about- AH!” Artemis’ screamed and slapped the telescope, startling the passenger on his back. His subsequent shouting of, “CLOSE THINE CURTAINS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” in the Royal Canterlot Voice did little to calm her. Thankfully for Artemis, the next time he looked through the telescope the curtains were closed. He sighed in relief and looked back at yellow and red eyes.

“We, um, apologize for our rude behavior,” he said awkwardly. That seemed to sooth the little bundle as she curled up into a ball on his back and started snoring softly. Artemis shook his head slightly with a small smile and looked back through the telescope.

“Thanks Rainbow, I needed something like that,” Twilight said as she nuzzled Rainbow’s neck.

“Heh, no problem Twi,” Rainbow said and returned the nuzzle. The couple didn’t do anything more for a few minutes.

“You should go back to your own room soon,” Twilight said and untangled herself from Rainbow Blitz, “Spike should be coming back soon anyway.”

“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” Rainbow asked with a sly smile.

“As tempting as that is, we both have a busy day tomorrow.” Twilight lit her horn and lifted Rainbow to the window, the pegasus struggling against it the whole way. Twilight soon let him go, causing him to flop onto the floor before getting up.

“Ok, I get it. We can talk after all of this is over right?”

“Of course we can.”

“Awesome, see you tomorrow babe!” Rainbow dashed over to Twilight and gave her a quick kiss before leaping out of the window. Twilight stood there for a moment before collecting herself enough to close the window and get back into bed. It was bound to be a long day tomorrow after all.

And it would be, though for reasons she wouldn’t realize.

Everything had come apart in record time. There was a mock ceremony for the wedding in the main hall, and Twilight thought it would be a good idea to confront Cadence during that.

The end result was Shining Armor all but disowning her, Princess Celestia very disappointed in her, and her friends ignoring her. The only reaction she got from them was Rainbow Blitz briefly looking back at her as he left.

“What have I done? I could have had a sister, but instead I lost my brother,” Twilight said to herself before she collapsed on the small set of stairs with her face in her hooves. After a couple seconds of crying, Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder and she looked up to see Cadence smiling softly at her.

“I’m so sorry,” Twilight said.

Cadence simply smiled and said, “You will be.”

“Oh my, are you sure about that?” Butterscotch asked worriedly.

Rainbow sighed and said, “I’ve tried it five times already and it ended the same way every time: I get bounced back and end up with a mouthful of dirt. Five times, always close but always doomed to failure.”

“But why? You’ve never had trouble with a Sonic Rainboom before.”

“I just can’t think straight Butterscotch. It’s like there’s something keeping me from focusing. And you know what, I think I know what it is.”

“Is it Twilight?” Blitz nodded and Butterscotch moved to hug Rainbow with one of his birds landing on the latter’s shoulder. “This has got to be hard for you, but Twilight did say some hurtful things.”

“You didn’t see her face when we left man. She looked so heartbroken and I wanted so badly to hug her, but I still just flew away. What kind of friend am I?”

“A very good one, don’t think otherwise.” Butterscotch gave Blitz one last hug and let him go saying, “Why don’t you go find her? There is still some time before the wedding. Um, if that’s ok with you.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll do that. I mean, Twilight couldn’t have left Canterlot right?” Rainbow took off with a wave to Butterscotch, who waved back before turning his attention back to his birds and found a familiar pink mare in front of him. He hardly had time to let out a squeak when Pinkie hugged him.

“The light’s coming from this way!” Twilight yelled as she pointed down one of the many corridors that the cave seemed to have. Cadence rushed ahead of her with a speed betrayed by her ragged looks.

“We have to hurry!” Cadence yelled back, pausing for a moment to inspect a nearby cavern before stopping to sit down with Twilight stopping next to her. “I can’t even imagine what is going on up there, with Shining Armor liable to marry someone who only wants to use him.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get up there in time,” Twilight said and placed a hoof on Cadence’s shoulder, “We just have to find that light.” Cadence looked over at Twilight searching the darkness of the cave and felt proud for the mare.

‘She’s changed so much since I last saw her, in so many ways,’ she thought. ‘There’s something else too, but I can’t place my hoof on it right now.’ She turned away from the unicorn and saw a twinkling in the darkness.

“There, this way!” Cadence said and rushed for the light with Shining Armor on her mind.

“So you haven’t seen her at all?” Rainbow asked Elusive, who was busy making some final adjustments to the suit Rainbow would be wearing.

“No, not since her little outburst earlier. I’m worried about her Rainbow and – stop twitching like that, this will take longer.”

“I don’t really care Elusive. I can’t focus on flying because I’m worried about Twilight, and even if I could I don’t think I’d want to.” Elusive made one last adjustment to the suit before taking it off of Rainbow.

“What do you mean?” Elusive asked as he put the suit on a mannequin.

“Do you really want me to tell you?” Elusive nodded and Blitz took a breath before saying, “I hate Shining Armor.”

“Hate him? Why would you-?”

“You know why! That whole speech he gave to Twilight earlier was totally, absolutely uncool. I was so close to kicking him right into the sun when he said that.” Elusive flinched back at Rainbow’s thinly disguised anger.

“Rainbow Blitz, maybe you should calm down just a tad.”

“Why should I calm down?! You didn’t tell Shining Traitor to calm down when he was blowing his lid!”

“Rainbow Blitz, that is just unfair!”

“And what happened to Twilight wasn’t unfair?! Oh forget it, I have the rest of the day to find her.”

“But what about the wedding?”

“It can go to Tartarus along with the groom! I am seriously one wrong sentence away from beating him down!” Rainbow walked to the window and flew outside, Elusive moving to watch him.

“I hope he doesn’t do anything rash.”

“I hope they’ll be ok,” Twilight said as the three brainwashed bridesmaids leapt after a decayed bouquet into the darkness.

“We can look for them when everything is done,” Cadence said looking around and up at the opening to the cave. “Twilight come over here. I think I can fly the both of us up there.”

“Ok, the faster we get up there, the faster we can stop the wedding,” Twilight said as she walked to Cadence, who spread her wings and held onto Twilight. She flapped her wings a couple times and the pair were lifted up to the light.

‘Dangit Twilight, where are you?’ Rainbow thought as he flew above Canterlot. He had already flown over the castle several times, and after seeing Pinkie and Butterscotch dressed up, he was fairly sure the wedding was starting.

‘Feh, he can have his bride. What kind of stallion trades his sister for a wife anyway?’ Rainbow then slowed to a hover as he realized something. “I’m really angry about this. I gotta calm down a little or this will end up like that Mare Do Well thing.” After a couple of seconds of looking around, Rainbow eventually saw a lone cloud floating by and flew toward it.

Much like anyone else, Rainbow Blitz had something to do for stress relief. For him, one of the best ones was an old one for him.

He liked to pretend to be a cloud by digging into it.

Don’t judge him.

After landing on the cloud and testing a couple of spots, Rainbow dug into it and let the cool moistness envelop him, keeping his wings extended outside of the cloud so he could continue his search. So Rainbow just kind of… floated along for a minute or so until he noticed a couple of ponies running on the ground.

‘Who is that?’ he thought and lowered a little to get a clearer view, focusing on the purple mare in front. ‘Is that-?’

“Twilight!” Blitz suddenly yelled and shot out of the cloud like a cannon.

“Did you hear something Twilight?” Cadence asked and glanced up at the sky, briefly seeing a rainbow streak.

Twilight replied with, “No, what did you he-“ before she was tackled onto the ground suddenly, startling Cadence in the process. Once she slowed to a stop she found Twilight caught in a hug by a cyan pegasus with rainbow hair.

“R-Rainbow? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked trying to escape poorly from the hug.

“Looking for you. Do you know how freaked out I was when you just disappeared?” Rainbow said and let go of Twilight, who got up on all fours and brushed herself off a little.

“Well, thanks for worrying about me Rainbow. Wait, if you’re here, does that mean the wedding hasn’t started yet?”

“I think it has, I wasn’t planning on going because I don’t like your brother at all. Speaking of which, why is she here?” Twilight followed Blitz’s hoof to Cadence.

“The me that’s about to marry Shining Armor is an imposter, and if we don’t hurry then she’ll succeed!” Cadence said pointing down the hall. Rainbow Blitz blinked a couple of times before turning to Twilight.

“Yes, that’s more or less what’s going on. We’re running on borrowed time so I’ll have to explain later.”

“You promise?” Rainbow asked, to which Twilight nodded. “Alright but I’m doing it for you, not your brother.”

“Good enough for now, but we’ll have to settle whatever problem’s you have when this is over.”

“Fine.” Rainbow took off and flew into the castle past Cadence. For the briefest moment, Cadence saw Twilight smile softly and run after the pegasus with Cadence behind her. They soon caught up to Rainbow and along the way he and Twilight shared several looks.

‘I wonder…’

“This way!” Twilight shouted and turned left on a branching hallway that Rainbow shot past with Cadence behind her, though the pegasus was with them again soon and started flying next to Twilight.

“So how is there two of her?” Rainbow asked gesturing his head back at Cadence.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said as they came up to some large doors, “but I intend to find out.” Twilight punctuated this by throwing the doors open and yelling “Stop,” drawing the attention of everyone inside with the wedding well underway.

“I found Twilight, by the way,” Rainbow added.

“Why does she keep trying to ruin my special day?!” the Cadence at the altar yelled dramatically.

“Because it’s not your special day, it’s mine!” the real Cadence yelled next to Twilight glaring angrily at her doppelganger. Everyone in the room turned to the Cadence at the altar, eyes widening at this turn of events.

“What, how did you escape from my bridesmaids?!”

“We used the one thing no bridesmaid can resist.”

“Don’t say a word Rainbow,” Twilight whispered to Rainbow.

“I wasn’t going to say anything!” Rainbow replied slightly offended.

“But you were thinking something.”

“No I wasn’t!”

“Oh, something’s happening.” Indeed, things seemed to be literally heating up at the altar when the fake Cadence was suddenly engulfed in green flames. The wedding dressed burned away and the pink fur melted away to blackness while her hair’s bright colors gave way to a bright neon green. Once the flames died away ‘Cadence’ had transformed into something else entirely non-pony.

“What is that thing?!” somepony in the audience yelled.

“Why are its legs made of cheese?” Pinkie asked.

“Is that a guy?!” Rainbow yelled angrily.

Half an hour and one rather excellent fight later, Twilight and her friends found themselves captured by an invading changeling army, their task to get the Elements of Harmony a miserable failure. Rainbow Blitz eyed his captors on his forelegs in between looking at his ground based friends.

“This was your plan Twi?” he asked. When Twilight said she had a plan when they were surrounded, he had hoped it didn’t involve getting captured. Twilight didn’t say anything and just looked back at him with an annoyed look before looking ahead.

“Uh, Twilight…?” Applejack started to ask for probably the tenth time.

“Not now Applejack,” Twilight answered flatly.

“But-“

“We can talk all we want later. I need to focus right now.” Applejack looked hurt from the brush off, but didn’t say anything. Their group soon reached a set of gigantic doors which opened into the hall where the wedding was supposed to be held. However the colorful decorations of an hour ago were replaced by a slowly creeping black substance with a pod in the center holding Princess Celestia. Princess Cadence was bound to Twilight’s left while Shining Armor still stood at the altar in a trance and off to the right near a large window was the changeling king. Twilight and her friends, Rainbow especially, shivered when he turned to look at them.

“Ah, there you are,” he stated in a half formal, half flirty voice and looked up at Princess Celestia, “Sorry princess, but it looks like your backup plan failed.” Celestia glared at him, though the changeling king ignored it and looked back out the window. Rainbow Blitz was dropped onto the ground unceremoniously while the king awed at the chaos outside.

“Would you look at that! Feed my children, there’s enough love in Canterlot to go around.” The two changelings above the group looked at each other before silently deciding to heed their king’s wishes and left the hall.

“Not very bright, are they?” Rainbow whispered to his friends.

“I think those ones were just drones,” Butterscotch commented and looked at the King, “there may be a more dedicated breed devoted to protecting him.”

“We’re running out of time,” Twilight whispered. She gave one last glance at the King and, once she was assured that he wouldn’t do anything other than look out the window humming to himself, she quickly crawled over to the tied up Cadence. Twilight focused her magic on her bindings which shimmered for a few moments before bursting into sparks. Cadence looked back at Twilight who simply said “Go to him.” Cadence nodded and rushed to Shining Armor while Twilight looked at her friends and motioned to the Changeling king. They all nodded and got up while keeping an eye on the oblivious king.

Then the hall was filled with pink light and some kind of magical hum. Everyone in the room turned to Shining Armor and Cadence wrapped in some kind of magical aura that was slowly lifting him up.

“What, no!” the king shouted and frantically fired a spell at the two ponies. The spell bounced off of some kind of shield and in fact seemed to amplify whatever was going on. That was when the whole room filled with bright light, forcing everypony to close their eyes.

Meanwhile across Canterlot, Vinyl Scratch was just barely waking up and preparing for the coming night.

“Oh Dave, I’m so glad you could come with me. Our plan for world domination is coming along perfectly, but first we got to straighten out your scales.” His intricate planning session was cut short though since a large bang made him jump out of bed just as a magical wave slammed through his room. His eyes burned slightly, but Vinyl didn’t really care since he wanted to see what happened. Once he had rushed to the window all he saw was a bunch of black dots flying to the horizon and maybe a far off scream.

“The hay were those?” Vinyl asked himself and looked up at the sun. “Noon huh? Guess I better get ready.” Vinyl turned away from the window and itched at his eyes a little.

The light finally dimmed enough for everypony to see the room again. Twilight Sparkle rubbed the dots out of her eyes to see Shining Armor and Cadence standing woozily at the end of the hall and a broken window where the changeling kind was. She could also see that there were no changelings buzzing around outside.

“Ugh, what happened?” one of her friends said from behind her. She looked back at Applejack adjusting her hat on her head.

“Ah…think we won,” she said looking around uncertainly. The pod holding Princess Celestia chose that moment to give way as it split open and poured the sun princess onto the floor.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight yelled and rushed over to her teacher followed by her friends, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, just give me a moment to collect myself,” Celestia said and stood up slightly drowsy. Twilight moved to her side to help her up, which Celestia nodded her gratitude. “Thank you, I’ll be ok.”

“Are you sure? Maybe I should- gah!” Twilight struggled to breathe when Rainbow suddenly brought her into a crushing hug.

“That was awesome Twi! Did you have all that planned out?” he asked.

“Not really. I can’t really breathe Blitz,” Twilight gasped out while struggling against the pegasus.

“Hugs!” Pinkie yelled and leaped at Twilight and Rainbow, eliciting shouts of surprise from both of them. Celestia stepped away just as the rest of Twilight’s friends converged on her for a massive group hug.

“Guys stop, this is embarrassing.”

“Then we’re going to keep doing it,” Blitz said with a large smile.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia said drawing the group’s attention, “I have to commend you for all you’ve done again. Even when faced with incredible doubt, you still pushed forward and saved Canterlot. You have my thanks.”

“I’m just glad everypony is safe,” Twilight said with a glance to Shining Armor and Cadence.

“Indeed, I am too.”

“Too bad ‘bout the wedding,” Applejack commented and motioned at the destroyed hall, “All of that work too.” Twilight blinked and looked at each of her friends before untangling herself from the pile.

“Guys,” she started and looked back to see her friends lined up and ready for duty, “We have work to do, and I need a checklist.”

And so the preparations for the wedding of Shining Armor and Cadence began. Again. This time it was more enjoyable for everyone involved, which Twilight was thankful for. She and Cadence had just finished checking in on Applejack and were on their way to meet Butterscotch when Cadence decided to speak up.

“Twilight, can I ask you something?” Twilight didn’t immediately answer since she was caught up in her plans and checklist. Cadence leaned closer and said her name much louder.

“What? Oh, sorry Cadence I was distracted,” Twilight said and rolled up the checklist, though she kept it floating next to her.

“I wanted to ask you something. I hope you don’t mind if it’s a little… personal.”

“Personal? Do you mean what I think you do?”

“Well, yes. Are you and that rainbow maned pegasus… close? It seemed like it when we were rushing to the wedding.”

“You noticed that huh? Who am I kidding, of course you noticed.” Twilight took a deep breath if only to stall the inevitable for a moment and said, “Yes, we are close. I wouldn’t really say ‘close’ close, but pretty close. No that doesn’t make any sense; what I meant was-”

“Twilight, there’s nothing wrong with admitting he’s your boyfriend,” Cadence said with the most innocent of laughs when Twilight blushed. "I apologize if I’m embarrassing you, but I think you two make a cute couple.” Twilight’s face deepened even further and she rubbed it to hide it.

“Um, thank you. Anyway, um, Butterscotch is next. He’s in charge of the music for the ceremony and- what was that?” Twilight jerked her head up and looked around the sky frantically.

“What was what?” Cadence asked and looked up as well. After a couple of seconds Twilight shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I just thought I saw-“ immediately a flash of blue and rainbow swooshed by and took a screaming Twilight with it, leaving only her checklist on the ground and a very confused Cadence behind. She blinked a few times before realizing what happened and laughing quietly.

“So,” she said to herself and levitated the list up as well, “the east courtyard then.”

As for Twilight, you would think she would be used to this when Rainbow Blitz has done this exact same thing several times in the past. But no, it always was the same thing, her screaming for her life as she held on to him as tightly as she could.

“Rainbow, if you even try and joke about dropping me, you are going to regret it!” She would have added emphasis to this by hitting him if she wasn’t scared of letting go. One thing she also will never get used to was the sudden stopping, with this instance being right into the depths of a cloud. She didn’t realize that until after a few seconds, as evidenced by her screams, and when she did realize it she gave the pegasus above her a hard glare.

“You’re a jerk.”

“You say that every time I do this,” Rainbow said and moved some cloud to form a pillow under Twilight’s head. She rolled her eyes and lifted her head to allow it and tried to resist a smile when Blitz started nuzzling her neck.

“So is there a reason you kidnapped me besides to cuddle?”

“Do I need a reason?” Blitz looked up at Twilight and was glad to see her smile and laugh. “Well, yes I’m supposed to make sure you know that we want to talk to you about what happened earlier.”

“Why, what do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. We’ll make our case there, but I want you to know now I am really, really sorry.”

“Rainbow, you and the others have nothing to be-“

“Twilight, why do you have to do that?” Rainbow scooted up and leaned in closer to Twilight’s face. “Every time we do something incredibly wrong, you always have to assure me it’s not as bad as it is.” Rainbow then suddenly kissed Twilight, which caused her to fight back in shock before giving in with a happy groan. Rainbow pulled away sooner than either of them really wanted and said, “why do you do that?”

“Because… it really isn’t?” Twilight answered and looked away. “I honestly could have handled everything a lot better than I did. Maybe if I had acted differently, maybe things would have-“

“Twi, you’re blaming yourself again,” Blitz said and hugged Twilight closer, smirking inwardly at the cute way she blushes, “can’t you let us all be wrong this once?”

“No, because you’re not-“ Twilight stopped at the look on Rainbow’s face and sighed, “can you put me back on the ground? We all have work to do after all.”

“Can’t we have five minutes to ourselves?” Blitz asked and did his best to pull puppy dog eyes on Twilight. It must have worked since giggled at the act and kissed him on the snout.

“I’ll be counting.”

Signal to observation drone lost<

Attempting to reconnect<

Opening internal messaging system<

*pod 47-a: Anyone else having problems with drone signals? Mine keeps dropping.*

*administrator 8: What sector are you in?*

*pod 47-a: Um, 53-b. Why?*

*administrator 8: That’s what I thought. A shockwave from a demolished universe in sector 43-d is passing by that sector. It’s probably interfering with the signals.*

*pod 43-e: How bad is it?*

*Administrator 8: The universe was labeled highly malignant.*

*pod 47-a: That’s just perfect. I’ll increase the shielding on the drones and keep an eye out for anything bad.*

*pod 43-e: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.*

Signal reestablished<

*pod 47-ba: Indeed. My signal just came back, so I better get back to work.*

Internal messaging system<

Twilight Sparkle looked up at the beautiful night sky. The shining stars, infinite and unknown to all except Prince Artemis, seemed to provide the perfect backdrop for the wedding reception. It took a lot of hard work cleaning up after the invasion and to get everything ready, but the wedding went off perfectly. Shining Armor and Cadence were having their first dance while everypony watched silently. Twilight felt a wing drape over her back and knew immediately who it was.

“You enjoying yourself?” Rainbow asked and nuzzled Twilight.

She returned it and said, “Yes, but are you sure you should be doing that?”

“You said until after the wedding, and I asked Pinkie and she said the reception doesn’t count as part of the wedding since it’s celebrating it. You get what I mean?”

“…That is the most ridiculous line of logic I’m going to agree with. It’s for the best I suppose, I have to tell Shining Armor about us anyway.”

“I suppose,” Blitz said less than enthusiastically. Twilight noticed this and gave him an questioning look. “I still don’t like him.”

“Why? He hasn’t-“

“Alright everypony, time to get this party started!” Pinkie called from the DJ booth and somehow pulled Vinyl Scratch from behind it.

“We’ll talk about that later,” Rainbow whispered in Twilight’s ear, “sounds like you’re up.” Rainbow gave Twilight a quick kiss on the cheek and trotted away. Twilight rubbed the cheek and looked at Pinkie waving a microphone.

“Hey Twilight, wanna sing?” Pinkie shouted at her.

“Yes, I’ll be over in a second.” Twilight barely had a moment to start walking when Vinyl put on a record and Pinkie threw the microphone at her. Twilight caught it deftly and started singing the first thing that came to mind. The party seemed to liven up as ponies started dancing with the newlywed couple.

“Twilight’s a good singer, don’t ya think?” Vinyl asked Pinkie.

“Mhmm, but isn’t that true for everypony?” Pinkie asked back.

“Yeah, I guess everyone has to with you around. Never know when you’ll start a song and dance number.” Vinyl pushed down on one of his goggle lenses in an attempt to scratch them and mumbled something under his breath.

“Are your eyes still hurting you? Maybe you should use eye drops.”

“Maybe, but I swear they’ve gotten worse since that weird pink bubble splashed through the city.” Vinyl lifted up his goggles and rubbed his eyes.

“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure it’s no-“ Vinyl opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times, “Oh my god!”

“What, what happened?!”

“Your eyes changed color!”

“You can’t be serious, eyes don’t just change color.”

“They did, look!” Pinkie pulled out a hoof held mirror and held it up to Vinyl.

“Oh my god, you’re right!”

“I told you!”

“They’re purple!”

“Magenta actually.”

“Whatever!”

“Oh my god!”

“Oh my god, look at that guy. What is that dance?”

“Where?”

“That guy, on the edge of the dance floor,” Vinyl said pointing to a stallion and moved his goggles over his eyes.

“Wow that looks like fun! I’m going to go try that.” Pinkie leapt over the table and hopped onto the dance floor. Vinyl double checked the settings and scratched his head when he saw everything was alright.

“What were we yelling about?”

“Thank ya kindly, hope ya enjoy it,” Applejack called to the unicorn customer with a wave. Applejack looked at her stand and was happy to see her stock was almost half gone. A much better turnout than the Gala.

“Hey AJ, how’s it going?” Rainbow Blitz asked suddenly appearing next to her table.

“Well enough, as ya can see. Ya want something?”

“Nah I’m good for now, though I would appreciate it if you could save a fritter for me.” Inevitably, Rainbow’s eyes were drawn to the centerpiece of the stand, a big and very delicious looking apple pie. “Wow, that looks good.”

“What, the pie? Yep, and it’s fresh from the oven too. Ah had to make a new one because one of those changelings got to it.”

“Did someone say pie?” Both Rainbow Blitz and Applejack leapt back about a foot at Soarin’s sudden appearance.

“Gah! Where the hay did you come from?!” Rainbow yelled and looked back at the crowd.

“Oh, I was mingling. Can I have that pie?”

“Oh uh, yeah. That’ll be six bits.” Soarin gave Applejack the bits and she passed the pie to him. Soarin’s mouth was practically watering until his ears snapped up in recognition.

“Oh right, you’re Applejack right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do you have a cousin named Jazz?”

“Yeah, do ya know her?”

“Yep, and she wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry she couldn’t come, but she’s looking forward to the next family reunion. I think that’s what she wanted me to say.”

“Ah, that’s good to know. How do you know her exactly?”

“We’re good friends.” Soarin grabbed the pie in his mouth and said a muffled thanks and walked back into the crowd.

“He sure is an odd apple. So anyway Rainbow, ah-“ Applejack blinked a couple of times when she realized Rainbow was no longer at the stand and was following Soarin into the crowd.

“Applejack, there you are!” Applejack’s eyes widened and she pulled her hat down over her eyes as Elusive trotted to her.

“Ah crud.”

After Twilight finished her song, her parents had caught her and the three of them had spent the last few minutes catching up. Mostly it was Twilight talking about life in Ponyville and the friends she had made (and accidentally slipping her relationship with Rainbow), but her parents didn’t mind listening.

“Well it sounds like you’ve been having fun in Ponyville,” her father said and hugged Twilight, “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks dad, and I’m sorry I haven’t had time to visit you and mom recently. It’s been kind of hectic lately.”

“Don’t worry about it honey,” her mom said with a small smile, “you’re a grown mare now and you have your own life.”

“I know, but I’ll try to make some time to visit you two.” Her mother nodded and they both looked at her father who was staring at something to the left.

“Is that Rainbow Blitz over there?” he asked and pointed at something. Twilight looked and resisted the urge to facehoof when she saw Rainbow practically gushing about something or other to Soarin. Neither of them noticed a quick flash of a camera from somewhere.

“Yes, that’s him. And it looks like he’s fan spazzing and making a fool of himself.”

“Well, I recall a little filly that was very excitable. There’s not much of a difference that I can see.” Twilight really couldn’t respond to that besides blushing and gaping at her father in shock. She managed to get herself under control and desperately changed the subject.

“So, you want to meet him? I’m sure he’ll be happy to meet you.”

“That’s alright. We can wait for a more convenient time for both of you. You can tell him we said hello though.” Twilight nodded and gave her parents a quick hug.

“It really was good to see you again,” Twilight said and waved at her parents as they moved on to another part of the reception. She then sighed and started walking to Rainbow Blitz, who seemed to have noticed her and quickly wrapped whatever conversation he had with Soarin.

“It was really nice talking to you. Thanks, really.”

“Ah, it’s no problem. I’m always happy to chat with a fan.” Soarin regained hold on his pie walked to some lonely corner to enjoy it.

“So, I take it you’re enjoying yourself too?” Twilight asked suppressing a giggle.

“Of course, I got to talk with Soarin one on one! That’s just so awesome!” The way Rainbow flared his wings showed he was only a moment away from pulling some kind of aerial stunt to let off excess energy.

“Oh, so it is true anything Wonderbolts related gets you excited.” Twilight placed a hoof over her mouth and smiled deviously, “I’ll be sure to make a note of that.”

“Wha- wait, what does that mean?!”

“Nothing. You look cute when you blush.”

“Oh, very funny Twi.” Blitz shook his head and Twilight giggled again, though it was on the brink of a full on laugh. “So do you want anything while you’re here; an apple fritter or something to drink?”

“Well…”

“Hey everypony!” Twilight, Rainbow, and pretty much everypony turned when Vinyl Scratch’s voice echoed from the loud speakers. “Fun fact number 36: I, the amazing DJ Pon-3, have incredibly keen eyes and right now I’m spying a whole bunch of couples just splitting off and talking among themselves. So how about this, I am going to dedicate these next few songs to anypony who would like to dance and let the world fade away until it’s just them and their special somepony.”

As he was saying this, he took off the record stopping the upbeat party music that had taken over the air of the reception and replaced it with a slower track perfect for slow dancing. Twilight smiled widely and grabbed Rainbow’s hoof.

“Come on, you have to dance with me!” she said and started pulling him to the dance floor.

“W-wait, I can’t dance to this! It’s just not-“

“Oh don’t be like that. It’s easy.” By this point, Twilight had gotten Rainbow on the rapidly filling dance floor. A quick glance showed Shining Armor and Cadence in the center, Pinkie and Butterscotch close by and, amazingly, Elusive had managed to talk Applejack into dancing with him. Blitz swallowed some of his nervousness and looked to Twilight for some kind of direction.

“I’ll lead the first few steps and you repeat them. It’s a simple ballroom dance.” Twilight crossed her neck with Rainbow’s and did just that: two steps back followed by a half turn and two steps forward. Rainbow soon got the hang of it and started leading Twilight and, much like how the DJ predicted, the world and its worries from before that moment faded away until it was just them and the music surrounding them. Twilight closed her eyes and nuzzled closer against Blitz, feeling stray strands of his mane tickling her face.

And then Rainbow Blitz attempted first degree moment killing.

“I’m a little surprised that you actually know how to dance,” he whispered into Twilight’s ear.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Twilight whispered back unamused.

“I can’t get your last birthday and that amazing dance of yours of my head.”

“I was into the music, and I didn’t see you trying to dance then.”

“Well…”

“Shush. You’re such a jerk.”

“And…?”

“…And I probably wouldn’t love you as much if you weren’t. It highlights how you make up for it really well.” Rainbow let out a small chuckle and pulled away to look into Twilight’s purple eyes.

“I love you Twi.” Twilight smiled and wrapped a foreleg around Blitz’s neck.

“I love you too, more than you’ll ever know.” Twilight pulled Rainbow down for a kiss that lasted only a couple of seconds before breaking it and returning to the dancing position. This small moment was witnessed by two ponies besides them: one being the all seeing DJ, and the other being Shining Armor.

‘Well that explains his colorful rant earlier,’ he thought. He then let the thought go for the moment to focus on his new wife, hoping tonight would be but the first in a lifetime of nights like this.

He wouldn’t be the only pony to think that tonight.

RariShores

“Hold it steady Dash.”

“I am, just hurry up.” Twilight levitated her wrench in front of her and concentrated on the pipe. Elusive had called her and Rainbow Dash to help fix a faulty steam pipe in his shop. If Twilight was right, then all she had to do was tighten this one bolt and it should be fine.

“How are things going up there?” Elusive asked.

“Give me a second.” Twilight turned the bolt and nearly fell back at the burst of steam from the pipe, though thankfully Rainbow caught her. A couple more quick turns later and the steam shut off and she turned it much slower. “Ok, try it now.” Elusive walked away and flipped on the switch to his sewing machine and it sprung to life.

“It’s working now,” he called up and Rainbow flew down and set Twilight on the ground, “Thanks for your help dears.”

“It’s no trouble Elusive, I’m always ready to help a friend,” Twilight said and lowered her purple goggles around her neck.

“What are you working on anyway that needed this fixed now?” Rainbow asked.

“I have a lot of dresses that I need finish, and the deadline is looming.” Elusive’s horn lit up and various tools and wraps of cloth levitated to him, “I better get to work now, so thanks for your help.”

“Alright, later,” Rainbow said with a wave and opened the door to the shop, “Uh oh, Pinkie alert!” Rainbow barely managed to get out of the way when Pinkie barreled into the shop.

“TWILIGHT! Twilight Twilight look!” Pinkie yelled and held out a letter to Twilight.

“What is it Pinkie?” Twilight asked and took the letter with her magic.

“It’s Octy and Vinyl! They wrote to us!”

“What?!” Twilight read the letter out loud.

Dear Pinkie Pie,

I wish to let you know that Vinyl and I are able to visit in a few days. I don’t wish to make any promises but we should be there about a week after the date on this letter. I’m sure Vinyl wrote something to Twilight as well, but he always forgets to send his letters, so be a dear and show Twilight this will you?

We look forward to seeing you and Twilight soon.

Octavio Philharmonica, dated February 13

“The thirteenth? That was about six days ago.” Twilight looked up from the letter into Pinkie’s smiling face.

“They’re coming to visit! Isn’t that incredible?!” Pinkie said. Twilight dropped the letter in shock.

“When?” she asked.

“I dunno, a week or so. Why?”

“Oh no, that’s too soon. I haven’t cleaned up my house enough!” Twilight grabbed Pinkie shoulders, the panic evident in her eyes. “Pinkie, you have to help me!”

“Ok,” Pinkie said and whisked Twilight out of the store. Rainbow blinked a couple of times and turned to Elusive, who didn’t even look away from his sewing machine.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“They never told you? Pinkie and Twilight have been having a long distance relationship with those two stallions, um… Octavio and Vinyl I think they were, for a while now,” Elusive explained.

“How come I never found out about this?”

“You’re usually working in the higher levels, we’re lucky to see you once a week.”

“You realize that my job is really important right? Maintaining the weather for a city as big as ours is not easy.”

“That came out wrong,” Elusive said and walked over to Rainbow Dash. “We are all very grateful for what you do. We just wish that we could see you more.”

“I know,” Rainbow said and hugged Elusive, “I’ll probably be down here for a while and I’ll let you guys know when I have to go back.”

“We can have Pinkie throw a party for you then. Be careful Rainbow Dash, we really do worry about you.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you later.” Dash walked out of the shop and Elusive waited a moment before returning to work.

‘I always wonder if that will be the last thing you say to me Rainbow.’

Elusive had finished his last dress for the day, more than please with how it turned out. He looked outside and saw that nighttime was starting to fall. Sweepy Belle come in at around that time and, after a light scolding from Elusive, started helping to clean the shop. They were nearly done when the door to the shop opened.

“Ah, welcome to Carousel Boutique. I’m sorry but we’ll be closing in a few minutes,” Elusive said and turned to who walked in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw who the customer was.

“Oh really, well I guess I’ll come in tomorrow,” the cream colored earth pony said and started to walk out.

“Sapphire Shores?! W-wait a minute!” Elusive called out and rushed forward to meet her, “What are you doing here?”

Elusive had first met Sapphire Shores when the latter had come to him with a dress commission. He had spent who knows how many hours and every last gem he had to make the dress and she had loved it. So much so that she had wanted more of these dresses and eventually became a very welcome client.

“I was hoping to commission a couple more dresses from you, since the last line you made for me was so delightful.”

“Th- that’s great!” Elusive said in joy.

“I’m going to go clean my room Elusive,” Sweepy interjected.

“What? Oh, of course Sweepy, I’ll be up to help in a moment.” Sweepy rolled his eyes and walked up the stairs. “Heh, little brothers. So, how may I help you this time?”

“I was thinking a semi-swirled gem pattern along the side, you can decide on the exact dress. I also heard that steam tubes are coming back into style, so maybe you could make a couple with that?” The smile dropped instantly from Elusive’s face and his eyes widened in horror.

“Steam tubes… on a dress?” he asked.

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

‘Yes it’s a problem! Steam tubes went out of style decades ago!’ Elusive screamed in his mind, but he spoke out loud, “No, I was just making sure you were sure.”

“I was only thinking of two dresses like that. When can you get the first one done?”

“A few days at the most. I’ll send you a letter by pneumo when I get it done.”

“That will be fine. Ooh, are these real gems?” Sapphire Shores started inspecting a couple of gems and Elusive grimaced behind her back.

‘Damn you! Damn you filly! And yet…’ Elusive’s eyes drifted Down Sapphire’s body down to her flanks, ‘And yet…’

“Ooh, these are real gems! You just can’t replicate the feel of a real emerald or ruby grown from the earth.” Sapphire Shores then picked up an emerald and started turning it over and inspecting it.

‘Oh they don’t get much more real than that,’ Elusive thought with a grin. ‘No no, I have to focus! Come on Elusive, keep it together! What did she want? It wasn’t games it was…’ Sapphire held the emerald up to the light, ‘GEMS! Of course, fermented stones! Full ripe gems need fertile soil. Of course, it’s so obvious what I must do!’ “But all I have are raisins.”

“What?”

“Huh, did I say something?”

“Yeah, you said something about raisins.” Elusive’s eyes widened and he started stammering.

“I-I uh… was just thinking about food. I’m a little hungry.” Elusive smiled widely and started sweating a little under Sapphire Shores’ gaze.

“That reminds me, I haven’t had raisins for years. I have to try them again sometime.” Sapphire set the emerald down and walked past Elusive, “Well I got to get home now. I look forward to seeing what you come up with Elusive,” Sapphire Shores said and walked out of the store.

“Yeah,” Elusive said and waved at her. “Why do I only act like that around you?” he whispered to himself and walked over to the gems. “I only have enough here for one dress,” he said and looked up at the clock, “I have all night to work on this. I better help Sweepy before working on this though.” Elusive nodded and walked upstairs to help his little brother.

Elusive lifted up his last gem and, with perfect precision, placed it on the dress. He let out a held breath and gave it one last inspection. He nodded in satisfaction and lifted the mannequin with his magic and moved it out of the way.

“Well, that’s one done. I’ll have to get more gems later, but that will have to wait.” He heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs and turned to Sweepy Belle.

“Elusive? Were you up all night working again?” he asked.

“Well… maybe,” Elusive answered sheepishly, “Anyway, let’s get breakfast ready for you.” Sweepy grinned widely and trotted excitedly into the kitchen. “Just don’t touch the toaster!” Sweepy trotted less excitedly after that.

Elusive shook his head and smiled softly. Sweepy always tried to help him, bless his heart, but he just didn’t have well enough self control sometimes. That didn’t mean Elusive loved him any less though. So he and Sweepy started getting breakfast ready, a much trickier act than you might think due to Sweepy’s inability to understand how a toaster works. They made due however and were soon enjoying breakfast with normal toast.

“So Sweepy, how are the other crusader’s doing?” Elusive asked setting down his tea cup.

“Well, Applebloom is doing alright. She’s been helping around her farm. Scootaloo is… well, Scootaloo.” Elusive chuckled at that and Sweepy looked a little hurt. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

“Right, so how did that dress turn out?”

“Magnificently, of course. I’ll show it to you if you don’t touch it!” Elusive actually leaned across the table to tell him that.

“I won’t!” A small staring contest happened between the two brothers and Elusive sat back down.

“Good. I have to say Sweepy, you did very well with these waffles.” Elusive took a bite to illustrate his point.

“Thanks, I thought this recipe would work out.”

“Really, and what did you use?”

“Strawberries!” Elusive stared at Sweepy, then the waffles before shrugging and taking another bite. Sweepy was about to do the same but stopped halfway and gave Elusive an annoyed look.

“What is it?” Elusive asked calmly.

“I don’t have a crush on Scootaloo,” Sweepy said forcefully.

“I never insinuated that you did.”

“Come on Spike! We need to get all of this cleaned up before Vinyl gets here!” Twilight yelled as she carried a stack of books.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Spike said. Despite his confusion on the subject he still helped Twilight with cleaning.

“Really? I thought I told you already. Oh whatever, take these while I clean up over here!” Twilight said and dropped the stack of books into Spike’s arms. Spike managed to keep his balance up until the front door slammed open.

“Twilight, I require your assistance!” Elusive called into the building. He noticed Spike climb out of the pile of books on the floor. “Spike? When did you get back?”

“H-hi Elusive. I got back yesterday,” Spike said and inspected his prosthetic right arm and flexed it a little. “That’s good, it still works. I just had this repaired too.”

“Repaired? Is that what you had to do?” Elusive asked.

“It was nothing big, just a tune up.” Spike would have said more, but Twilight took this moment to walk up to them.

“Hi Elusive, what brings you here?” she asked.

“I was hoping I could borrow Spike for a while,” Elusive answered.

“Why do you need to borrow him?” Twilight asked.

“For gem hunting darling. You see, Sapphire Shores has commissioned me to make some dresses for her.”

“Again?” Twilight asked and Elusive nodded.

“Mhmm, and I finished her first dress this morning.”

“And did she like it?” Spike asked.

Elusive looked back and forth between the dress he made for Sapphire Shores, which shone in the light from all the gem stones, and the pony herself who was staring wide eyed and unmoving. She had been like this for almost ten minutes and it was starting to worry Elusive, so he waved a hoof in front of her. That snapped out of her trance and looked at Elusive.

“I’m sorry, you said something?” she asked.

“I didn’t say anything. I take it you like the dress?”

“Like it?” Sapphire turned to the dress, her eyes sparkling from it, “I love it! When can you have the rest done?”

“I’ll send you a letter when they’re all done. Have you changed your mind on the steam tubes?”

“No.”

“Of course.”

“Yes, she did. And as you can expect, I’m all out of gems for the rest of the dresses, which is why I need Spike for a while.” A thought hit Elusive and he looked nervously around the room, “Where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“I’ve been on your back this whole time,” Pinkie said. Elusive turned just in time to find Pinkie hopping off his back and turned back to Twilight and Spike, who just shrugged. “Why do you need to borrow Spike? You can just go to level 16 and get your gems there.” Elusive gasped in an overly dramatic fashion.

“Pinkie Pie, this is Sapphire Shores we’re talking about! She deserves nothing but the best gems to be gathered! Plus I think those Diamond Dogs are still down there and I’d much rather avoid them if possible.”

“But if you’re not going to level 16, where are you going?” Twilight asked.

“Oh Twilight, what’s the lowest possible point that gems can grow?” Elusive asked. Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike rubbed their chins in thought.

“Level 32?” Twilight offered and Elusive shook his head.

“Ooh ooh, you can take the gems from the gears! Nopony would miss them.”

“Pinkie, while I appreciate the input, that’s a horrible idea. If one gear were to break, it would mean trouble for the whole city,” Elusive said in the gentlest way possible. Spike, after another second, snapped his fingers.

“The surface,” he said.

“That’s right Spike, good job.” Spike beamed with pride and Elusive turned to Twilight who looked at him like he was crazy.

“The surface? Elusive, do you know how crazy that is?” Twilight asked.

“Of course I do dear. The surface has monsters, wild ponies, and an atmosphere that will kill me if I breathe it in for too long. The risks are high, but so are the rewards. I heard there are seams of gems down there, just waiting to be discovered.” Elusive walked over and held Twilight by her shoulders, “Can you imagine it Twilight? Thousands of gems, untouched by pony hooves, all of them of the greatest quality and shine that could never be replicated by gem farms.”

“Well duh, not with the kind of fertilizer their using,” Pinkie commented. Twilight, Elusive, and Spike stared at Pinkie in surprise until she said, “What, I grew up on a rock farm.”

“Anyway, I need Spikes help digging up the gems. That is if it’s ok with the both of you, of course.”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said and looked at Spike’s pleading face, “the fumes down there can be dangerous if you’re not prepared.”

“Oh Twilight, do you really think I’d go down there without preparation? I have a mask and several spare filters ready, so with some luck it shouldn’t take more than a few hours to get all the gems.”

“What about weapons?”

“Ugh, garish things, I’d much rather not be associated with them.”

“And let’s not forget how the fumes don’t affect me that much,” Spike added, “I don’t really need anything more than what I have now.”

“But-“

“WAIT! I’m getting an idea!” Pinkie yelled and scrunched her face in thought. “I got it! Applejack said he was going to visit Braeburn down in Appleoosa soon. Maybe you can ask him to go with you?”

“…That’s a really good idea Pinkie. Applejack has been down to the surface much more than any of us. He’ll probably know some safe ways to get around too.”

“When is he going down?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know, but I can find out,” Pinkie answered.

“You do that Pinkie. Well Twilight?” Elusive asked. Twilight thought deeply for a while before sighing.

“Just be safe,” she answered.

“Alright, thanks Twilight!” Spike shouted and hugged Twilight’s legs.

“Hold on there, you still have to help me with cleaning here,” Twilight added.

“I better go finish my preparations,” Elusive said and turned to walk to the door, stopping to inspect Pinkie’s outfit. “Is that a bowtie?”

“Oh yeah, Octy gave it to me. Neat huh?”

“Yes, it goes really well with your dress and coat colors. This gives me an idea.” Elusive walked out mumbling clothing ideas to himself.

“Any day now, can you believe it Twilight?”

“I know, which is why we have to get this cleaned up!” Twilight answered and turned to another stack of books.

“So, who’s Vinyl?” Spike asked. He never really got an answer that day.

Octavio woke up to the familiar feeling of hooves wrapped around him. It took him a second to realize where he was, the zeppelin he and Vinyl used, and exactly who was holding him. A quick look confirmed Octavio’s suspicions and he pushed Vinyl off his bed.

“Really, having a long distance fillyfriend isn’t enough for you? You have to snuggle against me as well?” Octavio asked angrily.

“Huh?” Vinyl asked groggily. Octavio rolled his eyes and walked out of the room. Vinyl blinked a couple of times before getting up and following Octavio. “I need my coffee.”

Elusive had breezed through his standard morning and met up with Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, and Applejack outside of Twilight’s house. They exchanged greetings and started walking to one of the zeppelin docks which was close by the elevators that Elusive had to take.

“So how do ya know they’re comin’ today? Zeppelin’s are kind of hard to predict,” Applejack said to which Twilight held up a letter with magic.

“Portable dragon fire lighters, perfect for sending letters on the go. We got this one a few hours ago and they said they would try to get the same dock they used last time.” Twilight gave the letter to Applejack so he could read it.

“I’m just so excited!” Pinkie said bouncing more than usual, “Are you as excited as I am Twilight?”

“I’m really kind of nervous,” Twilight answered, “What if he-“

“Oh Twilight, you worry too much. I’m sure it’ll be fine when he gets here,” Elusive said reassuringly.

“I hope so.”

“Who exactly is Vinyl?” Spike asked. Apparently no one heard him again since Pinkie gasped and zoomed over to a railing and pointed at a zeppelin.

“Look it’s them! I remember that zeppelin!” Pinkie shouted.

“That is their ship, they’re the only ones I know of that have an airship like that,” Twilight said and let an excited grin creep onto her face, which Pinkie shared.

“Uh girls, if that is them then ya might want to hurry if ya want to meet them,” Applejack said. The two mare’s eyes opened wide and they shot off toward a dock. The two stallions and dragon blinked at the empty air for a moment.

“Huh, I didn’t think Twilight could keep up with Pinkie,” Spike said.

“Neither did I,” Elusive said, “We better catch up with them.”

“Dock 35 is just down the road,” Applejack said and pointed a hoof, “It was dock 35, right?”

“Yes, I believe so,” Elusive answered and led the way down the road. They passed by one of the many sets of gears that ran the city’s deep infrastructure along the way.

“Ya know, I always wondered who built all this,” Applejack said.

“Huh?”

“Well, somepony had to have built this right? It wasn’t here all the time.”

“I always assumed the princess’ built all the cities,” Spike said.

“I guess so, it just confused me a little. Maybe ah can ask Twilight later.” Speaking of, they saw Twilight and Pinkie standing near one of the dock entrances and joined them. The old zeppelin outside was busy going through the complicated task of docking.

“It’s almost here!” Pinkie said excitedly and Twilight nodded.

“Hey Twilight did the princess’ build the cities?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know,” Twilight answered.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it never crossed my mind.” Twilight thought for a second before saying, “I’ll ask the next time I get the chance.”

“Thanks Twilight.”

“Can anyone at least give me a hint as to what this Vinyl looks like?” Spike asked with annoyance finally showing through.

“To my memory, Vinyl is a unicorn stallion about my age, with a white coat and a bright blue mane,” Elusive explained, “He really stands out so you’ll recognize him once you see him.”

“Oh…ok.”

“Whoo!” shouted a white blur that flew past the open port.

“And speaking of…” Elusive added.

“Was that him?” Twilight asked and tried to look over the edge from where she was. Her question was answered a minute later when the elevator doors opened and Vinyl walked out whistling a tune.

“Sir, you are aware that the landing balloon is for emergencies only right?” the stallion at the checkout table asked.

“Are you saying you expect me to see a giant balloon and not dive into it?” Vinyl asked.

“Yes. Just set your bag down so I can go through it.” Vinyl shrugged and placed his bag on the counter.

“Vinyl!” Twilight yelled and waved at the unicorn, who turned and smiled widely.

“Hey Twi, I’ll be with you in a second,” he shouted back. Twilight grinned and let out a squeal of joy.

“You’re really excited,” Pinkie commented and started looking around, “I wonder where Octy is.”

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere,” Elusive said, “Just be patient.” No sooner had he said that did Vinyl get his bag back and walked over to the group.

“Hey Twi, how you been?” Vinyl asked and nuzzled Twilight a little.

“I’m alright,” she answered with a blush, “You?”

“Same.”

“Where’s Octy?” Pinkie asked.

“He’ll be up soon, he’s got some cargo he won’t trust anyone else with.”

“Oh ok.” Pinkie turned her attention back to the elevator and Spike cleared his throat.

“So you’re Vinyl?” he asked. Vinyl looked down at the dragon and blinked behind his goggles.

“Uh yeah, and you are?”

“Oh uh, this is Spike. He’s my number one assistant,” Twilight said and nuzzled against Spike.

“Jeez Twilight, embarrass me in front of everyone why don’t you?”

“Well anyway, nice to meet you dude,” Vinyl said and extended a hoof to Spike, which was slowly taken and shook. Everyone turned to the elevator when it opened and Octavio walked out with a large case on his back.

“Octy!” Pinkie yelled and flung herself at Octavio.

“Stop!” Octavio yelled and held a hoof out. Pinkie stopped inches away from Octavio’s hoof somehow staying in midair. The sight caused Vinyl to tilt his goggles down so he could make sure he was actually seeing that.

“What the- how is she-?” Vinyl started but then sighed, “Pinkie Pie right?”

“Yeah, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight answered. Vinyl rolled his eyes and replaced the goggles as Octavio took the case off his back.

“Hey Vinyl, could you please hold this for me?” he asked and held out the case.

“Okey dokey,” Vinyl answered, walked over to Octavio, and grabbed the case. Octavio made a ‘back away’ motion, which Vinyl complied with, before checking his hoof placement and looked at Pinkie.

“Proceed,” he said and Pinkie shot forward as if she never stopped, slamming into Octavio and nuzzling against him on the ground.

“Hi Octy, I missed you so much since I last saw you! Did you miss me? How much? Because I can tell you I couldn’t stop thinking about you whenever I bake a batch of your favorite cupcakes. That actually makes me wonder about how vanilla and chocolate work together so well. I mean the other day I was-“

“Does she have an off switch or a dial we can turn down?” Vinyl asked.

“No, and trust me I looked,” Twilight answered. It was a second later that Twilight realized what she said and blushed wildly at Vinyl’s wide grin.

“Care to elaborate?” he asked.

“NO!” Vinyl let out a chuckle and pulled Twilight closer to him.

“-So how long are you staying this time? I hope it’s longer than last time. I know, how about I make you some cupcakes to welcome you both back and-“ Pinkie’s rambling was stopped by Octavio’s hoof.

“Pinkie, silence for a moment,” he said. Pinkie nodded and Octavio removed his hoof from her mouth and, placing his forehooves on Pinkie’s own, flipped her off of him. Nobody was really surprised when Pinkie effortlessly back flipped onto her hooves. Octavio stood up, dusted himself off, and took the case from Vinyl. “Thank you Vinyl.”

“No prob.”

“Well,” Elusive said drawing the attention of everybody, “you four look like you have a lot to catch up on, so can I take Spike and Applejack and leave you to it?”

“What?” Applejack asked confused.

“Why, where are you off to in such a hurry?” Vinyl asked.

“Oh you know, business.” Elusive made a few not so subtle nods at Spike and Applejack, “Very important business.”

“Yeah, but we don’t have to-“

“No excuses!” Elusive interrupted Applejack and started pushing him away from the group.

“Uh, Twilight…?” Spike asked and gestured to Elusive.

“It’s alright Spike, just be careful,” Twilight said. Spike nodded and ran after Elusive and Applejack.

“Was that a dragon with a prosthetic arm?” Octavio asked as he and Pinkie walked up to Twilight and Vinyl.

“Yeah, it was. What’s the story there?” Vinyl asked.

“It’s kind of a long story, I’ll tell you later,” Twilight said and led the group through the streets, “So how long are you two staying this time?”

“Well Octy is supposed to play for some big social gathering up top, so I’d guess a lot longer than last time. Those goggles look good on you by the way.” Twilight looked away blushing lightly.

“Oh um, thanks.”

“So what’s in the case?” Pinkie asked pointing to the case Octavio brought while still maintaining her bounce.

“It’s my cello,” he answered with a hint of pride.

“Can I play it?”

“No.”

“Oh I love seeing young love bloom,” Elusive said with a dreamy air to his voice, “It brings the kind of joy to my heart that very little else can.”

“Ah think yer makin’ this too much of a big deal. How long have they been going out exactly?” Applejack asked as Spike caught up with them and tapped Elusive’s side.

“Hey Elusive, can I…?”

“Oh, of course darling,” Elusive said and got down so Spike could climb on his back.

“Ya know, ya didn’t tell me why ya wanted to come on this little trip with me,” Applejack said and sidestepped a couple of playing foals, “Would ya mind sharing?”

“Gem hunting,” Elusive answered simply.

“Really, yer gonna risk yer neck down there for gems ya could get at level 16?”

“No simple gems are going to do for this project.”

“Sapphire Shores,” Spike added before Applejack could ask.

“Oh.”

“What do you mean ‘oh’?” Elusive asked, “Do you have something to say?”

“Later.” The look Applejack gave left no room for argument, so they proceeded in silence past several buildings and gear sets. Spike couldn’t help but marvel at the sight even though he had seen it hundreds of times before. The same could be said for Elusive.

“So what all did ya bring?” Applejack asked a couple minutes later, startling Elusive.

“What? Oh, you mean for the surface?” Elusive asked, to which Applejack replied with a nod, “Well, I have a gasmask with some spare filters and this saddlebag to carry the gems.”

“That’s it? Ya didn’t even bring a weapon?”

“Of course not, why would I-?”

“Listen Elusive, that ain’t gonna do. Every time we’ve gone down there, Nightmare Moon, escorting Bloomberg to Appleoosa, we got lucky to not run into any of the bad things down there. Ah’m not lettin’ ya go down there unless ya got something to protect yourself with.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Ah’m dead serious. This ain’t a game Elusive, just take something to protect yourself. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have one.”

“You’re not going to let this drop, are you?” Elusive asked to which Applejack shook his head. Elusive sighed and said, “I’d rather not.”

“Too bad.” Elusive gave Applejack an annoyed look as they continued on down the street. Applejack stopped to buy a quick snack for him and Elusive, which the latter reluctantly accepted. They soon reached the center of their level which housed the main elevator for the city. The three of them walked to the doors, which opened up to show a trio of ponies coming out.

“Ah howdy Vashyron, how ya doin’?” Applejack asked the older stallion.

“Eh I’m fine, keeping an eye on the twerps,” he said ignoring the glares offered from the colt and mare behind him, “You?”

“Just gonna escort a couple of mah friends here down to the ground before ah visit Appleoosa.”

“Really?” the filly in the back asked, “lucky, I would like to see the surface at some point.”

“Why? We have enough trouble up here without having to go down there,” the colt next to her said.

“That’s not the point Zephyr! Haven’t you ever wondered what’s down there?”

“Nope.”

“That’s enough you two,” Vashyron said to the two behind him, “We have things to do remember? We’ll be around if you need us AJ, ok?”

“Alright, we’ll let you know,” Applejack said and stepped aside to let the trio by. Elusive and Spike, who had remained silent for the whole exchange, looked at Applejack with a questioning look. “They’re a couple of free to hire ponies that help out around the orchard from time to time, mostly in dealing with varmints.”

“Of… course…” Elusive slowly said and moved to the elevator, “Well, shall we get moving?”

“Ah course.” Applejack joined the unicorn and dragon on the elevator, the doors closing behind him and lurching into a brisk crawl down as he leaned against a railing. “Now, about that weapon.”

“I already told you, I am not-“

“Shut it. Ah am not letting one of my friends out in that death trap we call the surface without something to defend himself.” Applejack reached back to his saddlebag and pulled out an aged revolver along with a bandolier.

“Wow, how old is that?” Spike asked in wonder.

“It was my great grandpappy’s, and it still shoots as straight as when it was made,” Applejack answered and held it out to Elusive.

“Uh, darling-“

“Take it, and promise me you’ll use it if you need to, or I won’t let you go further than this elevator.” Applejack’s expression left no room for argument, so Elusive looked at the pistol before grabbing it and the bandolier in his magic and putting it in his saddlebag.

“If I need to, but I’d much rather prefer if I returned this with every bullet intact,” Elusive said, to which Applejack nodded. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened so the group could walk out onto the next level.

“So how many more elevators do we have to go through?” Spike asked.

“About five more,” Applejack answered.

“Ugh!”

About an hour and one lunch later, the group had finally arrived at the final elevator. The guard for this elevator, a griffon in his mid to late years, watched them approach with wary eyes.

“What can I do for you?” he asked when they approached.

“We need to go down to the surface. Ah take it you wanna search our bags?” Applejack asked with as much professionalism he could muster.

“I don’t get why you ponies are dumb enough to go down there. Let me see them.” Elusive levitated his bag toward the griffon while Applejack took his off to do the same.

“I don’t really have any bags,” Spike said with a shrug.

“Whatever,” the griffon replied and rummaged through the bags, “a gasmask for each, spare filters for each, two revolvers fitted for .45 caliber cartridges, and a bag of apple seeds?”

“For my family,” Applejack answered.

“Ok, are you planning on taking anything back up with you?”

“I’m hoping to get some gems,” Elusive answered, “other than that, no.”

“You realize you can get gems from level 16, right?” Elusive gave the griffon a cold stare, already a little sick of hearing that. “Whatever, it’s your funeral.” The griffon replaced all of the items and handed the bags back to the ponies and said, “Get in and follow all instructions given to you. Oh yeah, and may the princesses watch over you or whatever it is you say.”

“Charmed.”

“Much obliged,” was Applejacks response. The group didn’t waste any time entering the elevator and let out a couple of breaths once the doors closed behind them. “Ah don’t like him.”

“I feel like he’s judging me on how good I’ll taste every time we talk,” Elusive said with a shudder.

“Oy, are you ready?” a guard outfitted with armor and steam powered guns shouted.

“Yeah, we’re good to go,” Applejack shouted back.

“Alright, get your equipment ready for the trip.” The guard turned to the console next to him and started the process of starting the elevator. The sound of screeching gears filled the room and Applejack motioned to Elusive.

“What is it?” Elusive asked as Applejack pulled out his gasmask.

“Ah want ya to be straight with me,” Applejack said, “Why do you want to go down to the surface for gems you could easily get in safer climates?”

“I have a very important client and they deserve nothing but he best.”

"Yeah, ya'll said that before. No offense Elusive, but ah’m a little concerned how you’ll willingly risk yer life just to impress her.”

“I don’t see the problem. After all, you’re over protective of-“

“That’s not the same! There’s being a good boyfriend, and then there’s being suicidal to get someone’s attention!” This pushed Elusive’s temper to its limits.

“Is there a point to this conversation besides berating me Applejack?” he asked fixing Applejack with a glare that was returned.

“Ah just don’t want one of my friends getting killed just to prove something to a mare. Ya get what ah’m saying?”

“Yes Applejack, I do understand, but you don’t have to worry about me.” Elusive looked back at Spike who was busy watching the gears before continuing. “But I do know my limits. All I’ll do is get enough gems for a few dresses and then I’ll come back. So do you have any words of wisdom to impart so I can make the trip?”

“Yes actually.” Applejack took off his saddlebags and searched through one until he pulled out a map and spread it in front of him and Elusive. “Every time we came down here we always avoided a couple areas. The elevator we’re on will stop once we reach the surface and continue on rails for about three kilometers or so. About half a kilometer northwest of that is an old town built before ponykind ascended to the sky.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Very. So whatever ya do, steer clear of that town.” Applejack tapped the spot on the map for extra punctuation and started tapping other areas as well. “There are also a whole lot of bogs and swamps scattered around. Stay away from those as well, swamp gas will go right through your mask’s filters and eat yer mind away.”

“Um , that’s alright, but how long would that take?”

“After one minute, you start hallucinating; after five, you fall into a sleep that you probably won’t come out of.”

“Um, that is good to know.” The elevator shook violently, which caused Applejack and Elusive to brace themselves. Spike ran back to the ponies and looked around.

“Alright everyone, we’re almost to the surface,” the guard yelled out and quickly pulled out a gasmask and pulled it over his face. His voice took on a slightly muffled tone as he yelled, “Get your gear ready!”

“Ya heard him,” Applejack said and he and Elusive pulled out their own masks. “Are ya going to be alright Spike?”

“Of course I’ll be fine,” Spike said and gave his chest a tap with his prosthetic arm, “dragons are built to withstand the harshest environments after all.”

“While I believe you Spike, pollution can still do terrible things to anyone,” Elusive said, “and I would feel much better if you had some kind of protection.”

“You know, Twilight said the same thing, which is why she wouldn’t let me leave without this.” Spike gestured at the small mask that was hanging around his neck. “And I mean that literally, she would not let me leave without it. You know how Twilight can get.”

“Are you guys deaf? Put on your masks!”

“Alright, sorry,” Applejack yelled and slipped his mask on with Elusive and Spike doing the same with their own. “So do ya remember how to work these masks Elusive?” He asked setting his watch.

“Of course I do: the filters last only ten or twenty minutes at a time, so I have to time it so I won’t run out of air,” Elusive replied setting his own watch, “It’s not my first time down there.”

“Ah know, but it’s good to make sure.” The elevator shook one final time, the squeal of gears filling the room as Applejack, Elusive, and Spike turned to the large elevator doors.

“Doors opening in 15 seconds!” the guard yelled and readied his guns at the door. Elusive took a step back as the doors slowly creaked open and a quick stream of smog rushed in due to the minor pressure difference. The gasmasks did its job of protecting the ponies from the toxic atmosphere. The guard walked forward and swept the area outside, the guns on his back following the turns of his head, and waved the group.

“Looks clear,” he said but didn’t turn away from the outside, “it must be a slow day out there.”

“Ah’d rather get moving while it’s like this,” Applejack stated and adjusted his hat, “Ah don’t really want to tangle with anything today.” Applejack walked past the guard and looked around the smoky surroundings with Elusive and Spike following closely.

Suddenly some kind of crash sounded in front of him and Applejack immediately had his revolver out and pointed in the direction of the sound. The guard rushed forward and aimed at the sound as well.

“Whoever’s out there, come out nice and slow!” the guard shouted. For the longest minute, the only sounds in Elusive’s ears were filtered breaths until a coughing rang out and a small silhouette stepped out.

The stallion seemed young, probably not even twenty, and had obviously been through hell to get where he was. He was cut up, face bruised, and he lacked any kind of mask in the very polluted air explaining his coughing fit. He also wore ragged clothes, so bad he might as well have gone without, and Elusive would have guessed they dated back to before the towers were built. But by far the most eye catching thing about him was the bundle in his forehooves, some kind of jacket wrapped around something.

“That’s far enough!” the guard shouted which startled the stallion into falling back on his haunches. “State your business!”

“I…” the stallion started speaking only to give way to another coughing fit. When his breathing settled he continued, “I heard it was safe up top. The great cities of steel with no smog, only clean air for those who could make it.” Elusive tilted his head a little and tried to place his thick accent.

‘He must have come from up north,’ he finally concluded and looked at Applejack. The farmpony returned the gaze and holstered the pistol. The stallion continued his story while he struggled to breathe.

“I... need to get up there.” He wrapped his forehooves around the bundle tighter and nuzzled it, “She needs it. She won’t survive down here.” He turned up to look at Elusive with the most broken eyes he’s ever seen. “She’s only a few days old.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but I’m not too keen on risking the security of the city to save one child.” The guard took a step back, his eyes looking over the stallion, “How do I know you’re not some kind of anarchist?”

“Does he look like somepony who will cause problems?” Elusive asked pointing a hoof at the stallion, “he’s sick and it doesn’t look like he’s barely holding together.”

“Is it money you want?” the stallion asked and Elusive could see he was close to crying. “I have fifteen bits. You can have them all, they don’t matter, but please let me save her.” Now he was fully crying loudly and hugged the bundle closely.

“Stop crying,” the guard said shaking his head, “I don’t want your money. Just please don’t cause trouble up there or else my boss will know it was me.”

“W-what, really?!”

“Yeah, just hurry up and get on the elevator before I change my mind.” The guard then experienced the last thing he thought he’d experience that day when the stallion rushed to him and gave him a hug.

“Thank you! I’ll never forget what you’ve done. You’re a good pony, a good pony. Thank you.”

“Get on the elevator.” The stallion squeezed the guard one last time and half walked, half stumbled into the elevator as he started coughing again. “And you three, try not to bring anymore ponies like him.”

“We’ll try not to,” Applejack answered with a nod. The guard nodded and slowly backed into the elevator, sweeping the area again as the trio started walking away from the elevator. The squeal of gears shutting behind them resounded through the countryside.

“Well, there’s no going back I suppose,” Elusive commented.

“Eeyup. Come on, we already wasted a few minutes and our first stop is ten minutes away.”

“Woah…”

“Yeah, that’s what ah said the first time ah saw this,” Applejack answered Spike’s simplistic statement. Elusive didn’t say anything. How could he, with the sight before him.

Applejack had led them to their first stop, the remains of an old town. ‘Remains’ was unfortunately putting it lightly, since most of the buildings still standing were sparse stone buildings with several yards worth of space in between each one. Elusive could only guess that any other buildings rotted away a long time ago.

“I… don’t recall coming through here before,” Elusive finally said.

“Yeah, we never had to pass through here during the Nightmare Moon incident.” Applejack took a step forward and looked around the ruined town, “Come on, there should be a camp in one of those buildings.” Elusive and Spike nodded and followed the cowpony down to the town.

Elusive’s breath started to fog the lenses of his mask as he looked around the town. A two story building to his left had the remains of some mannequins in the front windows and the right building was unidentifiable. The sheer atmosphere of the area was oppressing and Elusive found himself taking deeper breaths.

“How many ponies do you think lived here?” Spike asked breaking the fragile silence.

“The town is fairly large, so ah’d guess there might have been a few hundred here.”

“Hundreds lived here. Now it’s a ghost town. What could have happened back then?” Elusive asked.

“Ah don’t know, and ah don’t want to know. Let’s hurry up and find that camp.” Elusive nodded and trotted up to Applejack. A few minutes of walking in the heavy atmosphere passed slowly and Elusive could have sworn that a shadow was following them the whole way.

“Hey, is that smoke?” Spike asked and pointed at a distant smoke column.

“That’s the camp. Come on, we’re almost there.” Applejack sped into a gallop and reached the camp before Elusive. “Whoa whoa whoa, don’t come in here!” he suddenly shouted back at them. Elusive skidded to a stop and caught the faintest of glimpses at what Applejack found.

“What is it?” Spike asked but was stopped by Elusive.

“You don’t want to know Spike.” Elusive said and backed Spike away from the door.

“Oh, this poor guy must be a Stalker,” Applejack called from inside the building.

“A what?” Spike asked.

“A pony who comes down here willingly in order to find things: fuel, technology, anything useful. This guy must have gotten jumped while warming himself.” Elusive looked into the room and saw Applejack lean in closer to the pony and took his hat off. “Ah’m real sorry, I’ll and get your I.D. to yer family.” Elusive closed his eyes and offered his own silent prayer for the pony. When he opened his eyes he saw Applejack search the pony and take out a small metal tag. He put that in his saddlebag and went back to searching the pony before taking a few spare filters.

“Is that really necessary Applejack?” Elusive asked.

“He won’t be needing them.” Applejack replaced his hat and stood up, “Let’s get moving, ah don’t want to say here any longer than needed.” Elusive couldn’t help but agree, as he felt something watching him. The trio left the dying campfire, Elusive making sure Spike didn’t see the body, and soon enough they had reached the other end of the town.

Elusive sighed and said, “I’m glad we’re out of there. What was in there?”

“Ah don’t know, ah don’t spend too long in those towns. Anyway, this is where we have to part ways guys. Ah think the gems yer looking for is that way,” Applejack pointed behind Elusive, “Just remember what ah said about swamps.”

“Yes yes, avoid swamps and remember to change the filter on my mask every twenty or so minutes. We’ll be fine Applejack.”

“Well…alright.” Applejack tilted his hat at Elusive and said, “Take care you two. Ah hope to see you alive and well back up top.”

“Likewise.” Applejack turned away from Elusive and Spike and started galloping into the distance.

“So… wanna get going?” Spike asked. Elusive waited a moment before nodding and kneeling down.

“Of course, hop on Spike.” Spike followed the instructions and soon the pair were on their way.

Elusive still couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched.

“There!” Elusive pointed at a patch of ground and Spike was immediately on it, digging down into the ground. Elusive could feel his breathing growing harder, so he took one last deep breath and held it as he switched filters. When the new filter was in place, he let the breath out and breathed in the new filter, glad that it was working properly.

“Wow, there’s a whole bunch of gems here!” Spike exclaimed and held up an armful of shining, multicolored gems.

“Let me see,” Elusive said and looked closely at the gems. He took in every single detail, every line, even the kind of colors that the gems shined, before he smiled widely under the mask and pranced excitedly in place. “Yes yes yes, that’s exactly what I’m looking for!” Elusive lit up his horn and levitated all but one of the gems out of Spike’s arms and into his saddlebag, “You can keep that one for being such a good helper.”

“Really? Thanks!” Spike held the gem up, no doubt licking his lips under the mask. Elusive laughed quietly at the dragon’s actions and cast the gem finding spell again.

“These gems are perfect, but I need more. There has to be more somewhere,” he murmured to himself and started walking along. Spike ran alongside him and paused when Elusive gave a small cough.

“Are you ok?” Spike asked, his voice full of worry.

“Yes, I’ll be alright,” Elusive said clearing his throat, “come along, we have work to do.” Spike hesitated just a moment before running to catch up with Elusive. They repeated the process of finding gems, digging them up, inspecting, dividing, and beginning anew about half a dozen times before Elusive’s coughing became so bad he almost lost his footing.

“What’s wrong?!” Spike yelled and held Elusive’s side, his eyes showing the fear he felt for the unicorn.

“I don’t know,” Elusive replied and took a couple deep breaths, “I just changed my filter. Why is it so hard to breathe?”

“Who are you?”

Elusive’s eyes widened and he looked around for the voice.

“Elusive?” Spike asked looking around too.

“Why are you here?”

The voice echoed around Elusive, piercing into his brain and giving him the worst headache he could imagine.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Shut up!” Elusive shouted and held the sides of his head.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

“I can’t breathe. I have to get this mask off!” Elusive grabbed the bottom the mask and pulled it off his face in one fast motion. Immediately the air got to him, making his coughing fit and headache worse. Elusive let out a series of hacking coughs and took increasingly shallow breaths in between each one.

“Stay out of swamps.” Elusive managed to look up at Applejack, staring at him without any mask on his face. “Those places can be…intoxicating.”

The last word echoed through Elusive’s mind as his vision filled with blackness.

Elusive’s eyes shot open and he took a deep breath. The sight of a wooden ceiling helped to calm him as he slowly sat up in his bed.

“Is… this my room?” he asked himself and looked around. His bed was the same as always, with lovely crafted wood showing against the lovely drapes he had made for the bed. Elusive slid out of the bed and planted his hooves on the floor, his knees shaking a little. His eyes caught the window and he slowly walked over to it and gasped at what he saw.

His bedroom window had always faced a giant gear, one of several placed throughout the tower that he lived on, but this time the gear was gone. In its place was a magnificent view of a village of sorts, bright colors replacing the dim browns he was used to. The sky was a bright blue and there were these puffy white clouds being lofted to and fro by pegasi.

“W-where am I?” Elusive asked, fear and wonder taking equal measures in his voice.

“The time before…” Elusive’s head pulsed and he fell back onto his haunches. “Before ruination.” Elusive clutched his head and he tried to stand up when the voice shouted much louder than it did before.

“YOU CAUSED ALL THIS!” Elusive stumbled over to the bathroom door and opened it, causing a piercing scream to fill the room.

When the scream faded, Elusive found himself not in his bathroom but instead in some kind of factory. He remembered taking a tour of something similar to this in his youth. However, all the machinery were still and darkness claimed most of the factory. Elusive heard faint whispering coming all around him and he galloped to the next door he could see. There was a faint light underneath the door and he opened the door.

Another scream, and this time he found himself in… Sugarcube Corner?

Indeed, he had found himself inside the bakery that Pinkie Pie worked at. But there was one thing different about the bakery: a chair in which a cream colored earth pony with a blue mane sitting in it.

“Sapphire Shores?” Elusive asked and walked slowly to the mare.

“You’re a fool, you know that?” Elusive stopped in his tracks. “Do you think your little crush on me is a secret?” Faster than Elusive could blink, Sapphire Shores stood up and landed a solid punch to his left jaw and knocked him to the ground. Elusive spat something out and felt something ice colt land on his back.

“Do you have any idea who I am? Why would I ever agree to do anything with you? You can make dress after dress for me and it won’t change the fact that you’re just a simple tailor.” Sapphire rolled him onto his back and he closed his eyes to keep from seeing this… this thing.

“Wake up Elusive!”

“Elusive, wake up!”

Elusive shot up, his flailing hooves knocking Spike off his feet, and looked around frantically as his lungs burned. His eyes fell on the discarded gasmask and put it on as fast as he could. He took two breaths before falling into a coughing fit.

“Elusive, are you alright?!” Spike asked frantically and checked all over Elusive.

“What…what happened?” Elusive asked.

“I don’t know, you just freaked out and collapsed. I dragged you away from where we were, but I thought you were…”

“Thank you Spike.” Elusive stood up shakily and looked around. He didn’t know what he experienced just then, and he hoped he wouldn’t know for the rest of his life. “Let’s go back to the city, I have enough gems for my work.”

“Can you walk?”

“Yes, I… I think I can. Let’s go home.”

For some reason, on the way back home, Elusive didn’t get the feeling he was being watched.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Sweepy asked Elusive for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Granted it’s not an unfounded question since Elusive had been breathing through an oxygen tank for the last day or so.

“I’ll be fine darling,” Elusive said, “just a few more days of breathing through this and I’ll be as right as rain.” Elusive punctuated this with a deep breath and coughing fit. Sweepy, the well meaning little brother he was, was immediately at Elusive’s side pounding on his back. “Thank you Sweepy. I better get back to work now.”

“Nuh uh! You’re going to stay in bed until you’re better.” Sweepy, bless his heart, always had his brother’s best interest in mind. Right now, Elusive was keen on following Sweepy’s instructions since all the most of his work was finished.

“Ok Sweepy, just give me a minute.” Not a second after he said that that, they were surprised when the doorbell rang through the building. Elusive looked at Sweepy and his little brother nodded and walked to answer the door. Whoever it was seemed fairly impatient since they rang the bell a few more times before Sweepy made it to the front door.

“Hello and welcome to Carousel Boutique! How can I help you?” Sweepy said in a fairly good imitation of Elusive when he opened the door. He immediately recognized the earth pony as one of Elusive’s regular customers, although Sweepy couldn’t place her name.

“Um, hello, I came to check on some commissions I made a few weeks ago. Is Elusive in?” the mare asked looking around the inside of the boutique.

“Well… yes he is, but he’s not feeling too well. I can ask him to see if he can see you miss…?”

“Sapphire Shores.”

“I thought I saw you before. Um, come in.” Sweepy backed away from the door to let Sapphire Shores in and, once the door was shut behind her, he walked over to the stairs and shouted, “Elusive, the sapphire lady wants to talk to you!”

“Sapphire Shores?!” Elusive yelled back followed by a short coughing fit, “S-she can come up.”

“He can see you,” Sweepy said and hopped up the stairs with Sapphire following. She couldn’t remember being up here, so she didn’t know what to expect. It certainly wasn’t expecting the state Elusive was in.

“My word, what happened to you?” she asked and trotted up to Elusive.

“It’s nothing, just a small accident a while ago,” Elusive reassured and coughed a couple of times.

“Are you going to be ok?”

“He said if he keeps breathing though that for a few days he’ll be fine,” Sweepy answered. “I’ll go make some lunch, ok?”

“Thank you very much, Sweepy.” Elusive waited until Sweepy was gone and continued, “He’s a little angel isn’t he?” Another coughing fit struck him then, the sheer weight and sound caused Sapphire Shores to take a step back.

“What happened?” she asked again.

“I was stupid and I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. I breathed in the wrong thing and now I’m going to be bed ridden for the week.”

“Breathed in? What activity would put you at risk for-?”

“Gem collecting. The further down you go, the better the quality. My customers deserve nothing but the best.” Elusive immediately regretted saying that once he saw the recognition on Sapphire Shore’s face.

“Are you saying you went to the surface just to finish those dresses of mine?” she asked. Elusive thought for a moment and nodded quietly. “I don’t know whether to be appalled at your stupidity or flattered by your tenacity.”

“Either option is good for me, though it is kind of short sighted in retrospect.” Elusive took a few deep breaths through the mask and flinched slightly when Sapphire Shores walked up to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“Nonetheless, I would very much prefer if you don’t risk your life for me again. I doubt I could live with that on my conscious.”

“You won’t have to worry, I don’t plan on doing something like that again for a long time.” Sapphire Shores nodded and gave him a small smile. She glanced at a clock and the smile dropped at the time.

“Oh my, I didn’t realize how late it was. I apologize, but I should get going.” Elusive nodded as Sapphire Shores started walking to the door.

“Oh, one last thing!” Elusive called stopping Sapphire Shores at the door.

“Yes?” Elusive had to keep himself from getting lost in her eyes and chose his next words carefully.

“I don’t think I can finish the steam pipe dress you wanted. All the pipes I have are too bulky.” It wasn’t what he wanted to say, but it seemed to work since Sapphire smiled at him.

“I’m sure you’ll improvise. I’ll be by again next week.” Sapphire Shores waved at Elusive and trotted down the stairs. Elusive sighed inwardly and took a few more breaths from the mask. He heard small hoofsteps from Sweepy as he joined his brother.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” he asked. Elusive shook his head and stared outside his window, the familiar gears going along their daily chores, whatever they were.

“Confessing to a crush of yours isn’t easy Sweepy,” Elusive said. “Hopefully you won’t be having as much trouble as I’m having.”

“I don’t have a crush on Scootaloo!”

“I never said you did.” Elusive glanced at Sweepy and laughed at his little brother’s face. “Come along, let’s go make lunch.”

A report on recent activites

‘Oh crap, I’m gonna be late! It took forever to get that recording down!’

This is the observer assigned to pod 47-a, and it was no joke that he was late. With quite possibly one of the largest meetings his organization has ever had having started five minutes ago, he was hoping he didn’t mess anything up. He rushed past several of his coworkers until he saw the door to the meeting room and another one of his friends next to it.

“You’re sweating up a storm there, you feeling alright?” she asked leaning against the wall.

“Oh I’m fine, I’ve only just been called to give evidence of one of the biggest meetings we’ve ever had. Not to mention I only just got said evidence ready, so yeah I’m totally fine!”

“No need to get snippy, I was just asking. You don’t need to worry anyway, they just started the meeting and you’ll be called in shortly.” She then looked around a little before leaning forward and asking, “So, what did you see?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” 47-a said and shrugged, “It’s nothing world changing anyway.”

“You’d be surprised what can change the world. You must have heard about all the weird stuff going on lately: the decrease in malignant universes, that thing that’s going on in 53-d, and now this. My ground unit won’t stop talking about it.”

“May you live in interesting times. I’d better go in now, you’ll see what I managed to find.”

“Alright then, good luck,” she said just as 47-a walked through the door and into the dimly lit hallway beyond. He could hear someone discuss recent events, his boss among them. He took in a deep breath and let it out as he approached the door into the meeting room.

‘Uh oh, it looks like everyone is here!’ was his thought when he saw just how many showed up. He was beginning to miss the pod when his boss looked back at him and, with a small smile, waved him forward.

“And speaking of the observers, the one I called has just arrived,” he said. 47-a could feel hundreds of eyes on him as he walked to the center of the room and took his place on the pedestal. Above and in front of him were his boss’ bosses, the five who made all the major decisions of the organization. He cleared his throat and stood up straight for the presentation.

“I’ve… come to give my on influences from the Prime universe,” he said with as much conviction he could muster.

“Were our theories correct?” one of the females asked.

“From what I could find, yes. It’s not very conclusive though, since I could only record about five or ten minutes. The changes are there though.”

“Show us,” one of the two males ordered. 47-a nodded and started to key in the information to the screens.

“I’ll put it on the main screen for the audience as well as each of your private screens for review. Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

“Where did you record this? What universe was it in?”

“The universe? Um…” ‘Oh crap, what was the number again?!’ “I can’t remember the designation at the moment, but I know it was the primary universe I’m assigned to.”

“I can forward the designation during the playback,” his boss said from next to him.

“That’s acceptable. Play it.”

47-a didn’t need further encouragement and started the recording, looking up at the screen at what he got.

>connecting drone<

>…<

>drone connected<

It was just another day for Spike, busiest dragon in all of Equestria. Or at least he would be if it wasn’t for Twilight locking him out of the library. He was pretty sure what was going on in there and he was not looking forward to cleaning up the mess.

“Hey Spike, there you are!”

Maybe he could share the load.

“Hey Rainbow Blitz,” Spike greeted and stood up to walk over to Blitz, “did you come to see Twilight?”

“Yeah, I wanted to chat with her about… y’know, wedding stuff. I take it she’s inside?” Spike looked back at the library and cringed a little like it was a bomb. Rainbow caught that and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Well, I went to the store to get groceries when some Canterlot noble guy showed up. You know how much you two have been the talk of the town since Twilight’s coronation.”

“Ugh, tell me about it. I thought the whole ‘Prince’ thing was kinda cool at first, but you hear enough of something and it starts to get old.”

“Well anyway, Twilight must be talking with him since she won’t let me in. I think she put the groceries away though.”

“Those aside, I can’t possibly see how this will badly.” Rainbow sat down next to Spike and waited for the inevitable to happen. It didn’t happen since Twilight calmly opened the door and walked outside.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my wedding will not be to the same extent as my brother’s,” Twilight said as calmly as possible to the noble behind her.

“I beg your pardon Princess Twilight, but I don’t understand why that is,” the noble said.

“If you must ask that, then I think you’ve forgotten the point of a wedding. You are still invited to come if you wish, just know it won’t be as big as you wish.” The noble thought for a minute before sighing.

“As you wish Princess,” he answered before bowing and walking away toward the train station. Twilight sighed a little and looked at Rainbow and Spike as she stretched her wings.

“Hi guys, have you been there long?” she asked and gave Spike a light nuzzle.

“I only just got here,” Rainbow said giving Twilight a small kiss and said, “I take it my new princess has been busy?”

“A little bit. He was the third noble to come visit me about the wedding.” Twilight motioned to the library and led them towards it. “It’s hard enough planning a wedding by itself, but on top of the nobles and my other duties it’s more hectic than it should be.”

“It sounds like you need a break,” Spike said and pointed a claw at Rainbow Blitz, “and he said he wanted to talk to you anyway.”

“Oh really, and what would that be about?”

“I’ll tell you on the way. I was also hoping you would join me for a quick flight.” Twilight smiled at Rainbow’s cheesy grin and shook her head lightly.

“I guess I can go with you, but only if you’ll help me out with some wedding details.”

“Good enough for me, since that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Rainbow took off and made a hoof gesture toward Twilight, who just shook her head and looked at Spike.

“I’ll be back before long, so can you-“

“I’ll clean up and sort out some minor details,” Spike said. “I assume you left a checklist or something somewhere?”

“It’s on the main table, and thanks Spike.” Twilight gave Spike another nuzzle and took off in the air after Rainbow.

Flying was one of the things that Twilight was still trying to get used too, much like any other skill that a pony can take up. She was sure that she would never fly as well as Rainbow or any other natural born pegasus, but she could still fly well enough. Once she and Rainbow were a good distance above Ponyville, he did the same thing he usually did when they flew together: he took a hold of her hoof and led her in a flight routine that is in many ways similar to a dance. Granted she wasn’t good at it at first, but after doing it at least once a day for the past two weeks when they could definitely helped.

“Show me what you got Twi!” Rainbow suddenly shouted and let Twilight’s hoof go. Twilight yelped a little at flying around on her own, partly because she had just been letting Rainbow drag her around, but she soon settled back into the normal routine she had been taught. Eventually Rainbow landed in her vision, grinning like a mad colt whenever he did that, and Twilight shot right for him.

Evidently Rainbow Blitz didn’t expect that, as evidenced by the surprised look he had when Twilight collided with him. They managed to keep their ‘balance’ and Rainbow found his bride to be kissing him. The kiss lasted only a few seconds before Twilight pulled away and threw a quick wink at Blitz before flying to a nearby cloud. Blitz hovered for a moment before shaking his head and following her to the cloud.

“It’s nice to see you’ve gotten used to those wings Twi,” Rainbow commented just as Twilight settled on the cloud and folded her wings, “especially since I don’t have to carry you around all the time.”

“Oh quiet, I’m not that heavy,” Twilight said rolling her eyes and patting the space next to her, which Rainbow acted on and sat next to Twilight. “I probably wouldn’t be so into this if it weren’t for you, you know that?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s just returning the favor though.” Twilight decided to let him have that little comment and scooted closer to him so they could mutually put a wing over each other as they looked over the scenery. The couple lay there in silence, basking in the warmth of the midday sun as well as each other, before Twilight decided to break the silence.

“So, what ‘wedding stuff’ did you want to talk about?” she asked looking over at Rainbow.

“It’s nothing major, our friends just wanted to ask your opinion on some things.” Rainbow then held up a hoof and gestured with it as he listed off their friend’s requests. “Butterscotch wants to know how his bird choir is sounding, both Applejack and Pinkie want us to taste test some dishes they have planned, and Elusive wants you to retry your dress to see if his additions will look good.”

“Did you…?”

“Relax, I didn’t see your dress or anything. Elusive just wanted me to pass that along.” Twilight closed her eyes in thought and hugged Rainbow a little closer.

“I’m sure they’ll all be amazing, but if it will put their minds to ease I don’t see the harm.” Twilight opened her eyes and looked at Blitz with a smile and asked, “So which one did you want to do first?”

“It is almost lunchtime,” Rainbow replied with a big grin. Twilight looked up to judge the time and found him to be right.

“I see your appetite is still as strong as ever. Alright, we can go see them first, and then see Butterscotch, and then I’ll see Elusive by myself. After that, we can meet at either the library or your house for dinner. How does that sound?”

“Can you squeeze in a few free minutes in before lunch?” Rainbow asked and gave Twilight’s ear a nibble. The new alicorn gave a light squeal and let her guard down enough for Rainbow to strike, rolling her over and pinning her to the cloud. Twilight’s wings shot out from the sudden change in position along with the excitement necessary for the moment.

“S-sure, but only a few minutes.” They both smiled and hugged each other closely as they exchanged small talk between small, loving kisses. “So Blitzy, are you going to be ready for our wedding?”

“Of course I will, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, I just keep imagining ‘Prince Rainbow Blitz’ and you just look so silly.” Twilight couldn’t help but let some giggles slip out while Rainbow rolled his eyes at the image.

“Laugh it up Twi. I never imagined you to be a princess and now look where we are.” Twilight was just about to give him a dirty look when he kissed the top of her forehead and said, “it’s ok though, I’ll grow to the idea. And maybe I’ll be the first Wonderbolt to marry a princess and become a prince.”

“You better be careful, an afternoon’s worth of study will be enough to destroy that idea,” Twilight said kissed Rainbow again and said, “I love you so much Blitzy.”

“I love you too Twi.” Neither of them said anything else and spent the remaining minutes they had silently holding and kissing each other.

The recording faded out and showed the drone’s disconnect screen and 47-a silently waited for a reaction. The first one to speak was, strangely enough, the quietest of the five heads.

“How much can you vouch for universal accuracy?” he asked sternly, “is there any real change from before the Prime’s shift?”

“No sir,” 47-a replied, “the only change is the anatomy and status of the Element of Magic. Everything else is either constant or a reasonable change.”

“No malignancy?”

“No sir, not even the weakest sign.” 47-a thought for a moment before deciding to speak up. “I would also like to note that the… shift isn’t constant; the whole universe didn’t change immediately. I only saw one other scene before I came here.”

“And what would that be?” the first head to talk to him asked.

“It’s something from later in the universe’s timeline. I couldn’t get a video, but I did save a still picture. I have two of them, both before and after the change if you wish to see.”

“Go ahead and show it.” 47-a didn’t hesitate in following the order and pulled up a picture on the screens. He didn’t really need to look at it to know what it was.

Simply put, it was a picture worthy of any family’s wall. Loyalty and Magic were celebrating their twenty something anniversary with their adult daughter. He couldn’t have helped but take a snapshot of the scene when he saw it, the happy laughter of all three as they spent time with each other.

He waited half a minute for the room to take in the picture before bringing up the second picture. When he first saw it, he was a little stunned. He looked up at the second picture depicting a similar scene: Magic, Loyalty, and daughter embraced in what could best be described as a group wing hug. The reason he remembered taking it was, save for Magic’s new wings, nothing else was different between the two pictures.

“I would like to quickly point out what no doubt everyone else has noticed; Magic has aged, despite her new position and ascension. I don’t believe this change is like the Sun and Moon Princess’, at least not for this universe.”

“This is still new information,” the quiet one stated, “We can’t take one recording and a few pictures as irrefutable proof.” The others nodded in agreement and the female in the middle, the leader of them all, looked down at 47-a with a measured, piercing glare before pointing at him.

“You are a follower of the creed of Magic, are you not?” she asked. 47-a looked down at the band on his right arm, a simple black cloth with the purple symbol of the Element of Magic on it.

“Y-yes I am,” he stated slowly.

“I would like to know your personal opinion as a follower of Magic. Not as a pod worker and not as a member of this organization.”

“My… personal opinion?” The head nodded and 47-a looked to his boss, who pointedly avoided his gaze. Seeing little choice, 47-a stared at the ground in thought and decided to speak his mind as plainly as possible.

“I… don’t see any reason to speak out against it,” he started and licked his lips before he continued, “I’m sure we’ve all either read or seen the events in the Prime universe. I believe this transformation, and all the consequences felt through the multi-verse, are simply a result of who Magic is. She did say she wouldn’t be where she was if not for the other elements.

“I’m not sure if I can put it in scientific or logical words, but I know on an emotional level that she is right. This, um… change doesn’t affect anything in the long run, or at least I think so. If anything I think it proves we still have so much to learn, not just from our main subject of research but from everything else too. The magic of Friendship is still a large unknown, but it is a strong force.

“Truthfully, I don’t believe we will find the answer to that question on the magic of Friendship. But we can at least try.” 47-a looked up at the assembled leaders and finished with, “That’s my personal opinion.” He watched silently as the leaders talked among themselves for an agonizing few minutes before looking back at him.

“We concur,” the main one said, which nearly stopped 47-a’s heart. “This sudden change is an enlightening one and definitely deserves a closer look. Until we can devise a suitable plan for that, all pod observers, ground teams, and demolition teams are to follow their current orders until told otherwise.” All five of them stood up and said, “This meeting is adjourned.”

As the leaders walked out of the room, 47-a released a held breath he didn’t even know he was holding and looked at his boss. All he did was smile and say, “Take a couple hours off. You earned it,” before walking out of the room as well. 47-a stood there for almost twenty seconds before following him out of the meeting room.

“Jeez, that was such a letdown! I was expecting something more dramatic than wedding planning.” 47-a sighed when he was assaulted by the complaints from his ground team friend.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that was just the smallest piece of my job. Hardly anything exciting happens during observation,” he replied with a wave to his friend.

“I don’t know how you can stand it. Put me on the ground anytime, at least then I have something to do besides watching ponies kiss on a monitor.”

“How is that going for you?”

“It goes. I heard there’s some developments in 53-d, so I might be going there soon. You’re free aren’t you, why not treat me to some lunch?” 47-a gave her a weird look, though honestly he was a little hungry and he couldn’t resist spending time with his friend. There was just something about that smile that fit so well with her Loyalty pendant.

“Sure, why not? I think the mess is serving your favorite.”

Author's Note

Not quite as long as I would wish, but for now it's something. More to come later.
By the way, I would like to advice caution when commenting on this chapter. Seriously, think through what you're going to write.

SoarinDash was here, but it's gone now.

“Soarin! Soarin, where are you?!” Flamethrower, captain of the Wonderbolts, had been wandering around one of the training facilities for almost ten minutes trying to find his second in command. So far though, no luck, but that would change when he actually got a reply.

“That you Cap? I’m in here.” Flamethrower followed the voice until he found Soarin in a locker room fussing around with his mane.

“There you are. What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to get my mane straight,” Soarin said turning his head to get a better look, “What do you think? Does it look good?”

“It looks the same as always. Why are you worried so much about your mane?”

“Well, I want to make sure that it looks fine for tomorrow. I uh… got a date tomorrow.” Even though Soarin added that last bit in a whisper, Flamethrower still heard it and reacted in the expected manner.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

Soarin sighed and said, “That right there is exactly why I didn’t want to say anything to you. You react way too badly when it comes to this subject.”

“You’re damn right I do! Who is it anyway?” Soarin flinched for just a second at the sincere curiosity in Flamethrower’s voice.

“It’s uh… just a stallion from a small town. I just um… let slip the idea of hanging out and he was very eager in accepting.”

“You asked Rainbow Blitz out, didn’t you?” Soarin’s silence was enough answer for him. Flamethrower sighed and placed a hoof on Soarin’s shoulder. “Look Soarin, as your best friend, I have to once again say that I don’t think this will work out.”

“You’ve said that every time I’ve ever went on a date for the past seven years! It’s getting kind of old Cap. Can’t I go one date without you telling me about how bad dating is?”

“No. In fact, I think it’s time to go over the list again.”

“Oh god no, not the list.”

“Come on Soarin, let’s get some coffee,” Flamethrower threw his arm around Soarin’s shoulders and led him out of the locker room.

“So Dusk, how are things going for you?”

“Well, everything’s fine Pinkie,” Dusk said absentmindedly eating a treat, “nothing odd has happened lately and I got a letter from Juliet.”

“Oh that’s nice, what did she say?”

“Um… her family is doing alright, and she might be able to visit soon. Are you alright Pinkie? You seem kind of down.”

“Oh I’m fine Dusk, just really tired.” To punctuate this point, Pinkie immediately collapsed into a sleeping pile on top of the table that she was currently sharing with Dusk. The unicorn shook his head and reached for another treat the Pinkie had made just when Rainbow Blitz burst into Sugarcube Corner.

“Things are turning up Rainbow Blitz!” he shouted happily and sat at Dusk’s table.

“They are? What do you mean?” Dusk asked.

“Guess who got an exclusive interview with a Wonderbolt!” Rainbow smiled widely and waited for an answer.

“You?”

“You got that right!”

“That’s really cool Blitz. Are you going to be interviewed by Flamethrower?”

“Nope, Soarin is going to be doing it. We talked for a bit a while ago and he said ‘hey, we should hang out sometime’ and I was like ‘sure’. This is going to be so awesome.”

“I’ll say, I’m happy for you.” Dusk then got distracted when Fluttershy walked inside and looked around for a moment. “Fluttershy, over here!”

“Oh crap, I hope she doesn’t have anything to say to me,” Blitz said and rubbed his forehead.

“You still haven’t learned what she’s saying? It’s easy man.”

“Maybe for you, but I’ve had to live with her since we were kids!” Fluttershy gave him a look as she sat next to Dusk and Blitz continued. “I don’t have time to figure out her moon language when I’m almost about to become a Wonderbolt!”

“Kare wa chodo watashi wa tsuki kara kita koto o honomekasumashita ka?” Fluttershy asked Dusk.

“He’s just saying he’s too lazy to learn a new language,” Dusk replied, “don’t take it too personally.”

“Watashi wa sore ni narete iru, shinpaishinaide kudasai. Watashi wa chodo kare ga gengo o shutoku shitai to omoimasu,” Fluttershy said looking at Rainbow.

“You see, I didn’t catch a word of any of that. Anyway, I need to think of some good places to take Soarin for the interview. Do you guys have any ideas?”

“Well, there are always the restaurants. A good meal makes for a good first impression,” Dusk offered.

“Anata ni wa, ikutsu ka no nihongo o manabu koto ga dekiru node, tabun, anata wa raiburari ni kare o toru koto ga dekimasu,” Fluttershy offered.

“I am not taking him to the library so I can learn your language,” Rainbow shot down, “nice try though.

“…Matte, anata ga jissai ni watashi ni sono toki o rikai shimashita ka?”

“No, but I knew exactly what you were going to say. You get kind of obvious sometimes.”

“Anata ga ima was ode wa arima-“

“Fluttershy, we don’t even live near a beach. There is the lake, but I don’t think Soarin will like that.”

“Ugh…”

“Alright Soarin, it’s time to go over the list again,” Flamethrower said lifting up a mug of coffee and gesturing at Soarin, “How’s your coffee by the way? Good?”

“Yes, it’s great coffee like always,” Soarin said sipping the coffee, “can we get through this? It’s getting late and I want to get some sleep before tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go through this as fast as possible. Now first of all, dating can be either a very fulfilling or soul crushing experience depending on what happens.”

“Cap, just because you had a couple of bad dates doesn’t mean the whole concept is horrible. That’s just your bias leaking through.”

“I’ll show you a bias leaking through. Continuing to point number two, you are a goddamn idiot.”

“Take my current age, subtract ten from it, I wasn’t smart back then because I was an idiot,” Soarin recited flatly, “we’ve gone over this so many times, I’ve memorized your stupid list. Can I go home now?”

“No, because everyone needs a reminder. You’re just as much an idiot now as you were ten years ago, it’s just going to take you another ten years to figure it out.”

“What about seven years ago when you were going out with that mailmare? Were you an idiot then?”

“You’re damn right I was, just for different reasons.” Flamethrower suddenly became sad and slouched down in his chair, “She was so pretty and I let her go. I’ve never regretted anything like I did that.”

“…You want to talk about it?”

“No. Y-you can go now if you want, I want to be alone right now.” Flamethrower then flew out of the room and seemed to be crying while Soarin stared in confusion.

“Well… that doesn’t bode well for me. Now I can only hope that nothing completely out of the ordinary happens tomorrow.” Soarin then sighed and commented, “I hope I didn’t just jinx myself.”

“Alright Fluttershy, are you sure that this list will get me on good terms with Soarin?” Rainbow asked reading over the list that Fluttershy had helped him make. Ironically enough, Fluttershy had the best penmanship out of all of them.

“Anata ga sore ni koshū suru baai wa,[wa i, soreha mondainai hazudesu. Watashi ga o susumedeshouga, anata no chansu o kizutsukerudarou to, kare no mimi o kiru hanashi o shinai,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile.

“I find it a little weird that the one friend that I can’t understand was the only one who offered to help me with this. Where are the others?”

“Yūgure wa, kanojo no kusuri no koyubi no muishiki wa, futatabi kare wa kin'yōbi ni nai mono wa nani demo ya~tsu te isogashī byōnin, appurujakku wana kibun, soshite chinji... Mā dare ga shitte imasu. Karera wa ato ni shite aru kamo shiremasen.”

“Is it the same thing that happens to Dusk all the time?”

“Watashi wa kiitaga, tabun shimasendeshita.”

“I hope he gets better, he sometimes goes crazy whenever he gets sick.” Blitz finished reading the list and rolled it up for easy stashing under his wing.

“Watashi wa anata ga nani o imi suru ka shitte iru, kare wa ōjo o tenpuku shi, sekai seifuku shiyou to shitaga 2-dome wa hontōni kowakattadesu.”

“Yeah, that was a bit of a mess. Well, it’s about time to go meet Soarin. I’ll probably stop by later to see how you’re doing, ok?”

“Sore wa daijōbuda to omou ga, anata wa uzura no chūi ga kare ni iubekidesu. Anata wa karera ni machigatta michi o mitsumerunaraba, sorera wa isshun no uchi ni subete no anata no ue ni narimasu.”

“Alright, I’ll tell him that. See you later Fluttershy.” Fluttershy waved at Blitz until he was far enough away when she realized something.

“Matte, watashi wa chōdo niji no burittsu to no teiki-tekina kaiwa o shinakereba naranakatta no ka?” She wondered to herself and scratched her head, “Kore wa watashi ni totte hajimetedesu. Watashi wa tenshi ni iu tsumori wa, kare wa sore o kakitomete iru nda.” Fluttershy nodded and stood up to trot home while humming a tune to herself.

‘Alright Soarin, you’re here in Ponyville for your date. Just play it cool and everything should go fine.’ Soarin took a breath and started into Ponyville proper at a brisk trot. The ponies in town were going about their business and Soarin was legitimately surprised that few ponies seemed to recognize him. ‘Then again, most ponies don’t know what I look like outside of my flight suit. Now where am I going to meet Rainbow Blitz again?'

“Oy, there you are!” Soarin perked up a little and looked up at Rainbow Blitz, lying down on a cloud and waving at him before gliding down to him.

‘Wow, he looks awesome,’ Soarin thought, taking special note of the brace on Rainbow’s front right leg. It was an odd thing, apparently made of the same material as Royal Guard armor and with some kind of skeletal design.

“Nice of you to come out like this,” Rainbow said extending his braced hoof to Soarin, “I hope you don’t mind is I say I expected you not to come.”

“It’s no problem, really,” Soarin said shaking Rainbow’s hoof, “I had nothing important to do today anyway. By the way, I like whatever this is on your leg.”

“My Deistic Brace? Thanks I guess, though I’ll tell you I’d prefer not to have it.” Soarin got a little confused by that, but shook it off when Rainbow started looking around and asked, “So do you want to get something to eat? I know a couple of places around here with good food.”

“Uh, sure I’m up for some lunch.” Soarin gave his best grin at Rainbow, who rolled his eyes good naturedly and led Soarin into town. Soarin hardly payed attention to his surroundings and lost himself in thought.

‘Alright Soarin, the first hurdle of introductions are over. Wait, I already met Blitz before. Oh whatever, now I just have to worry about where we’re going to eat.’

“So, anywhere you want to eat in particular?” Rainbow asked suddenly, looking back at Soarin, “we have a café, a sandwich shop, a bakery, and I think a restaurant somewhere.”

“Huh? Oh, I’m not too picky, so I’m good with whatever,” Soarin answered with a light shrug.

“Alright, I guess we could go to the sandwich shop and stop by Sugar Cube Corner for something sweet if you want.” Soarin simply nodded in agreement and Rainbow turned back to the path ahead of him, only to get distracted when he saw a purple unicorn lying on a bench. “Hey, is that Dusk? Hey, you mind if I go check on him?”

“I don’t care, but why? Is he sick or something?”

“Uh… kind of. It’s really hard to explain.” Rainbow started trotting to Dusk followed by Soarin, who almost immediately saw what the problem with Dusk was. “Hey buuuuudy, how ya doing today?” Blitz asked leaning down to Dusk’s face.

“Don’t patronize me Blitz, I’m in no mood right now,” Dusk rebutted flatly and sighed, “It’s just another day in my life getting crapped on.”

“Um… I don’t mean to intrude, but are you always an alicorn?” Soarin asked pointing at Dusk’s wings.

“Rainbow, can you please tell whoever just said that that he’s lucky I can’t move. Otherwise I would deliver an apocalyptic beat down worthy of your God Hoof onto him.” Rainbow Blitz chuckled nervously and turned to Soarin.

“Uh… he just said-“

“I heard,” Soarin said flatly and pointed at Dusk’s wings again, “So why does he have wings?”

“Oh those? I’unno, they just kind of grow every month or so. I think this is the… twenty sixth is it?”

“Twenty seventh,” Dusk answered with his wings giving a light flap, “twenty eight if you count the second time, which I don’t.”

“Yeah, this has happened before. Just don’t worry about it, they’ll probably go away in a day or so.” Soarin just gave Dusk a very concerned look, to which he sighed again.

“Yeah, don’t mind me. I’ll just wallow in my horrid life of misery until Juliet comes and kicks my ass. Don’t let me ruin whatever you were doing Blitz.”

“If you say so, but I’ll still be around if you need me ok?” Dusk nodded as best he could in response and Blitz waved for Soarin to follow. The Wonderbolt reluctantly followed Rainbow while looking back at Dusk.

“So… that happens all the time?” Soarin asked.

“More or less,” Rainbow replied, “but that’s hardly the weirdest thing that’s happened here. Wait until you meet Dusk’s girlfriend.”

“Let’s hope I don’t. So… where’s the sandwich place again?”

“Are those all sandwich names?!” Soarin asked as he looked over the rather impressive yet baffling names that the shop had. “I mean, what the heck is a ‘tropical peanut butter surprise’?”

“I’m glad you asked,” the mare tending the counter said with a smile, “it’s a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with pineapple and banana added to it.”

“What?”

“This shops appeal is you can make your own sandwich and, if it’s good enough, they’ll sell it as a regular item,” Rainbow Blitz explained and giving the sign another once over, “ponies can come up with some weird combinations. What the heck is a ‘Sinner’s Sandwich’?”

“That’s a daisy and chamomile sandwich with strawberry jelly and your choice of cereal. That one was thought up by Pinkie Pie,” the mare said.

“Ok, that’s got me curious. I’ll try that.”

“I guess I’ll just have a daisy sandwich,” Soarin said.

“Gotcha, that’ll be seventeen bits!” Before Rainbow could do anything, Soarin deposited the bits onto the counter with a small grin.

“At least let me pay for lunch, it’s the least I can do.” Rainbow cocked an eyebrow at Soarin before shrugging.

“Well alright, but I’ll pay you back my share later.” Soarin returned the shrug and offered to find them a table. Blitz nodded in agreement and Soarin went to claim a table outside. Since he decided that he had a minute or so for the food to prepare, Soarin looked around at the small section of street the sandwich store was situated next to.

It was a good thing Soarin decided to come at a slow day, since the only ponies that seemed to be out were some couples and groups of friends heading to whatever destination they had planned for the day. Soarin was very nearly about to start watching the clouds just as Blitz came up with the sandwiches.

“Hope you weren’t waiting long, they wanted me to be really specific on what kind of cereal I wanted,” Rainbow explained with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s no problem, really,” Soarin said taking a bite of his sandwich. The conversation died a little and Soarin fished around in his head for a topic when one happened to be walking by in the form of a singing pegasus. Soarin was about to comment when Blitz did it for him.

“I know that song!” he said with what seemed like dread and looked toward the yellow pegasus and yelled, “Fluttershy, what did I tell you about singing that?!” The pegasus stopped and looked over at Rainbow Blitz with a confused look and trotted over to him.

"Reinbō yā ā. Nani ga machigatte iru, watashi wa anata ga watashi wa anata no tēmasongu o utatte sukidatta to omotta," Fluttershy said and looked at Soarin, "Otaku wa daredesu ka?"

“Node?” Soarin asked before Blitz could respond and looked between Fluttershy and Blitz as they gave him confused looks. “Well, I think she called me a node, and you have a theme song?”

“Que? Anata wa watashi o rikai suru koto ga dekimasu?" Fluttershy asked.

“You can understand her?” Rainbow asked, his voice and eyes full of awe.

“Yeah, she’s only speaking Japanese,” Soarin answered rubbing the back of his neck, “I’ve been to Neighpon more than a couple of times. Can’t you understand her?”

“Yes and no. Pinkie said once, ‘if it’s funnier if you don’t understand her, then you won’t.’ I don’t get it though. How much do you know?”

“I know enough to get by. Let me try.” Soarin looked at Fluttershy, cleared his throat, and said, "Kon'nichiwa, watashinonamaeha Soarindesu. Sore wa, anata ni aete tanoshīdesu," very slowly. Fluttershy answered with a blank stare leading Soarin to continue with, "Watashi wa reinbō to yūran-sen no gozen, mausutorappu shita nochi, wareware wa niwa no hōsu de saisei sa remasu. I think I screwed something up, but I think she got the idea of what we’re doing.”

“Watashi wa anata ga umaku rikai suru koto ga dekiru, to watashi wa anata no dōseiai no gengai no imi o rikai shite inai,” Fluttershy replied with a sigh and looked at Rainbow Blitz, "Anata wa kare ga watashi ni hanashite tomeru koto wa dekimasu ka? Watashi wa kono yōna kaiwa o yokeru koto ga dekimasunode, watashi wa betsu no gengo o hanasu."

“OK, I think she was asking where the bathroom is. Uh…Sore wa anata to daijōbudarou to, watashi wa anata no o shiri o hirateuchi shitai.” Fluttershy’s jaw fell open and she raised a hoof to deliver such a powerful slap to Soarin’s cheek that it knocked him unconscious the second it landed. The wonderbolt flew out of his chair and crashed into another empty table.

"Hentai! Watashi wa anata no itta koto ni tsuite anata no haha to iu made matte... Anata o... coltcuddler!” Fluttershy shouted and stormed away from the restaurant while everypony around watched the scene.

Rainbow Blitz couldn’t help but burst out laughing and said, “Oh Celestia, that was awesome! This day is going to be the best ever!”

“Ouch, he doesn’t look good. Will he be alright?”

“I dunno, he got the Slap of Death from Fluttershy and has been out for half an hour.”

Soarin groaned loudly and rubbed his forehead as he opened an eye. It shut almost immediately as the sun was too bright and had to try a couple more times before he could see clearly. Apparently he was lying on the ground and two ponies were standing over him. He recognized Rainbow Blitz, but the unicorn mare was a mystery to him. They backed away as Soarin sat up, the mare with a look of concern and Blitz with an amused look.

“What the hay happened?” he asked quietly.

“You managed to piss off Fluttershy and she slapped the **** out of you!” Blitz shouted much to the displeasure of Soarin’s aching head, “I seriously thought you were dead for a minute there.”

“I certainly feel dead,” Soarin said and looked at the unicorn, “and you are?”

“My name’s Juliet!” she said and bounced excitedly. Soarin quickly looked her over and took in her cream colored coat and blonde mane done up in pigtails. She was also wearing a purple cheerleader outfit along with white stockings on her hind legs. Soarin’s immediate assessment of her was that of a stereotypical ditzy cheerleader, which wasn’t helped by what she said.

“I’m a cheerleader at the magic university in Canterlot! I’m sure you’ve heard of us right, the Canterlot Knights? We’ve gone to the nationals three times!” She ceased her bouncing and put on an annoyed look and said, “We’ve never won though. Bleeagh!”

“I’m sorry, never heard of them,” Soarin said and stood up on all fours, “What’s a cheerleader from Canterlot doing in Ponyville anyway?”

“I’m here to visit my boyfriend! Oh he’s just the most super sweet and caring unicorn ever! We’ve been dating for almost two years now, and he’s never once complained about my ginormous fat butt!” Soarin sighed as Juliet went on about this ‘perfect boyfriend’ with a sparkle in her eye and turned to Rainbow Blitz for a proper explanation.

“You remember Dusk Shine right, the unicorn in the park who threatened to kill you? Juliet’s his girlfriend,” Rainbow explained. Soarin looked at Juliet, who was now accidentally showing some flank at him, and cocked an eyebrow silently. “Yeah, I had the same reaction when I first met her too. I mean, Dusk managing to land a hottie like her? If it weren’t for the fact I couldn’t give a crap about romance, I’d be more than a little jealous.”

“Yeah… wait what?!”

“What do you mean ‘wait what’?” Juliet graciously butted into the conversation with a gasp.

“OMG, if you and Soarin were hanging out he probably thought it was a date!” she said excitedly, “he totally has the hots for you and you didn’t even notice! I can’t wait to tell Dusky!” Juliet galloped away, leaving Soarin with a feeling of dread in his stomach.

“A date?” Rainbow asked and stared at Soarin, “is that what’s going on with you? It would explain a lot.”

“It always has to be something, doesn’t it?” Soarin said and sighed sadly, “I can’t have a single date without something going catastrophically wrong. What did mean by not caring about romance anyway?”

“Well, it’s kind of a requisite to being sane in this town: you learn to ignore certain things.” Soarin gave him a confused look and Rainbow added, “When you wake up in the basement of a bakery to one of your friends acting all crazy and making jokes about hacksaws, you kinda learn to give up certain things.” Rainbow looked at his braced arm and whispered, “At least Pinkie was nice enough to give me this arm after cutting off my other one.”

“So, how does that tie into you not caring about romance?” Soarin asked again and sat down on the grass.

“I guess it’s more like I don’t have the time or patience to bother with that kind of thing.” Rainbow sat next to Soarin and stared up at some clouds drifting around. “This arm, awesome as it is, kind of makes me a target for demon attacks. You know, big brutish things that want to take over the world. I can handle them pretty well though.” Rainbow chuckled and said, “The last one who tried to take me got kicked all the way to Canterlot Castle. That was a fun letter from the princess.”

---One week earlier---

“I love my improbably large bathtub,” Princess Celestia commented to herself as she sank underneath the bubbly waters and sighed in relief. “It’s too bad Lulu couldn’t join me, I always enjoy our sister bath time.”

Her musings came to a rather unexpected end when something crashed through her ceiling and landed in the tub next to her. It scrambled in the water, a clawed hand landing on Celestia’s flank, before it came up for air. It noticed the water was almost boiling hot as it turned to see the Princess of the Sun literally ablaze with anger, both her mane and tail long trails of fire.

“You touched the Royal Flank!” she whispered through gritted teeth and stepped toward the cowering demon.

Luna, who was in her private room reading a book, hardly even flinched when she looked out her window and saw a trail of fire heading right for the sun. Her only comment at the sight was, “Rainbow Blitz must be busy in Ponyville.”

---Back to the present---

‘Oh great, I really do suck at dating! I don’t think I’ll be dating Rainbow again, I don’t want to be kicked into the sun,’ Soarin thought with a scared look in his eyes. Rainbow Blitz noticed this and laughed happily.

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll be fine as long as you don’t piss me off.” He stood up and stretched his wings out before saying, “Anyway, this day definitely got interesting. It’s not every day you get to date a Wonderbolt, even if it is by accident. Come on, let’s go see a movie or something.” Rainbow started trotting away from Soarin into the pathways of Ponyville, and looked back to see the Wonderbolt following slowly behind him.

‘I fear for my life,’ Soarin thought to himself and swallowed a little.

“Dusky, there you are!” Juliet said leaping onto her boyfriend’s back. It had taken a while for her to locate Dusk in the park (though she wouldn’t admit she passed by him three times before noticing) and frowned at his less than enthusiastic sigh.

“Hey Juliet, it’s good to see you.” He said and drooped a little. Juliet wouldn’t have any of that and leaned over Dusk’s head and looked deep into his purple eyes.

“What’s wrong baby? You’re so down in the dumps I can smell last year’s garbage on you.”

“The wings came back… again,” Dusk said simply and extended a wing. Juliet prodded it with a hoof to confirm it was real before smiling widely and hugging Dusk’s head.

“Aw, is that all? Don’t worry Dusky, I can take care of those right away for you!” After all, she had done it before. Once… he at least didn’t have wings when she finished.

“I suppose,” Dusk said and sighed, “Just make sure you aim for the right spot this time. You missed rather horribly last time.”

“But you got better!”

“You cut my head off and wore me as a fashion accessory for a week.”

“But you got better!” ‘Albeit with a body a year older than before, but if you want to make an omelet…’

“Whatever Juliet, we can just wait a little while and the wings will go away eventually.”

“But that’ll take forever!” Juliet complained and hit Dusk lightly. Just then, they both noticed a pony coming toward them with an unusual gait. “You’ve gotta be ****ing kidding me.”

“I never thought I’d say ‘I almost died from a Chihuahua bite,’ but I swear that actually happened.” Blitz said excitedly. He and Soarin had agreed to see the new Daring Do movie, the former looking forward to it for a long time and the latter deciding ‘why not?’

“I heard about Poison Chihuahuas,” Soarin commented with a nod and a drink of soda, “I think Flamethrower got bit by one and went blind for almost a month. Are they as vicious as they say?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” The theater doors opened just then, drawing both stallions’ attention, as Rarity walked in. She looked around for a moment and walked over to Rainbow.

“There you are Blitz,” she said and looked Soarin over and asked, “Who’s the nerd?”

“Really, we’re going through that again?” Soarin asked, “Is it the flight suit ponies recognize the most?”

“Probably,” Blitz flatly said and ignored Soarin’s shocked expression, “you remember Soarin right? The second in command of the Wonderbolts?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell, I do apologize,” Rarity said bowing a little.

“It’s fine,” Soarin said waving a hoof, “though I have to ask if you have any particular quirks.”

“Quirks?”

“He pissed off Fluttershy and got the Slap of Death,” Blitz explained with a smirk. Rarity immediately stiffened up and looked at Soarin with sympathy.

“Oh, I’ve experienced that once. It was simply horrifying!” she said with a dramatic gesture.

“That slap is a thing she’s known for?” Soarin asked and looked at Rainbow unamused, “It would have been very helpful for you to tell me that.”

“It slipped my mind,” Blitz said, “and I didn’t know you’d piss her off enough that she’d give you the Slap of Death.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long was he out?” Rarity asked.

“Half an hour.”

“My word, you must be a very durable pony,” Rarity commented and looked at Soarin in awe.

“Um… thanks? Is that a good thing?” Soarin asked.

“Very much, most ponies are unconscious for at least two days when they’re hit by that. Oh but I’m sorry, I actually had news for you.”

“News? What kind of news?” Blitz asked as Soarin ever so conveniently took a drink of soda.

“There are zombies in East Ponyville,” Rarity calmly said as both she and Rainbow Blitz ignored Soarin spitting out his mouthful of soda. “It’d probably be best if you avoid that area for a while.”

“Ah crap, after the movie I wanted to go somewhere there,” Blitz said and sighed, “oh well, I guess we could-“

“Objection objection objection!” Soarin shouted and pounded a hoof on the floor, “What the hell do you mean ‘zombies’?! The demons I could handle, but zombies?!”

“Oh yeah, that’s a thing too,” Blitz said calmly and waved a hoof in the air, “but don’t worry, they’re mostly harmless if you stay away from them.”

“…But WHY?!”

“Dude, it’s best not to ask questions. That is the fastest way to drive yourself mad living here.”

“But-“

“Oh hey, the movie’s starting. Let’s hurry and get to our seats.” Rainbow Blitz stood up and walked down one of the halls. Soarin sat there staring at the cyan pegasus and barely noticed Rarity leaving the theater.

“But…why?”

“They’re… kinda dumb aren’t they?” Juliet pointed out.

“Yeah, they haven’t really done much of anything.” Dusk pointed at one random undead wandering towards him and Juliet, which he cautiously maneuvered to go back where it came from. “They just kind of wander around, stare at various bookstores, and spray graffiti on some walls.”

“Just like mall goers. Do you want me to get the chainsaw and deal with them?”

“If you want, but like I said they don’t really attack anypony. These guys have been showing up for a while now and they haven’t tried to eat anything once. I think they might be a different kind of zombie.”

“Different kind?” Juliet asked and shook her head, “Baby, a zombie’s a zombie. If these guys are so different from what I fought against, then maybe Nightmare Moon is actually Count Chocula!”

“Will you listen to me? The zombie’s you fought before ate and talked and did things besides wander around aimlessly bumping into walls.” Dusk proved his point by pointing a hoof at a zombie mare that was, indeed, just walking into a wall repeatedly. His wings flared a little defensively at the way Juliet stared at him and added, “Not that I’m trying to stop you from doing what you do. I just wanted to clear an issue.”

Juliet stared at her boyfriend for another moment before sighing and saying, “Dad is not going to like knowing that there are different kinds of zombie.” After her complaint Juliet proceeded to pull out her main weapon, a chainsaw about her size, and ran headlong into the horde. She had just gotten to the first one when Dusk sat down to watch the show.

“Man, I love watching her work.”

“See, I told Daring Do was awesome! Didn’t I say that?” Soarin absolutely could not understand how his kinda sorta date could be so excited when he knew ravenous undead could be stalking the streets outside. Blitz stared at him, waiting for an answer, and Soarin sighed.

“Yeah, I’ll admit it was pretty good,” he said upon reaching the theater’s doors and peering outside. He was once again baffled by the complete lack of panic by anypony. “Hey Rainbow, is this… zombie thing a… common thing?”

“What? Oh them, yeah I guess you could say that.” Soarin’s jaw dropped and waited for more of an explanation. “Every other week, a horde just shows up and meanders around a bit before leaving. Really they’re more of an annoyance than anything.” Rainbow pushed the door opened and walked outside with Soarin. “Especially the pegasus ones, they’re the worst. Last week, one of those sons of ******* found his way up to my house! It’s a really nice cloud house with these pools of liquid rainbow on the side. Do you know how much those pools cost to get?”

“I don’t care, but 500 bits maybe?”

“More than that, and it certainly didn’t pay through the nose just so some zombie can claim it as a swimming pool for a few hours. Liquid rainbow stains easily both ways man.”

“So that’s your biggest gripe when it comes to the walking dead invading your town: that they’ll disrupt your afternoon shopping and ruin your house’s rustic aesthetic? Wouldn’t something else be on that list too? Like, oh I don’t know, getting eaten?!”

“Not really, the zombies we get are pretty stupid, and even if they did attack anypony there’s a family of zombie hunters that live in Canterlot that can be down here in half an hour.”

“…Zombie hunters… in Canterlot…”

“Yep, Juliet’s family. Her mom’s really cool too, makes the most awesome brownies.”

“Wait, Dusk’s ditzy cheerleader girlfriend… is a zombie hunter.” Once Soarin had said it out loud, he found that it did sound as dumb as he thought.

“And she’s a pretty boss one too. I’d probably have a hard time going up against her even with my God Hoof, and that’s not even going into the rest of her family. Anyway, what did you want to do next, we could go flying for a bit if you want.”

“Yeah, I think we should see other ponies Rainbow.” Soarin took a moment to realize that was the first time he’s ever said that.

“I totally agree. You haven’t even been here a day and you’re already starting to lose it.” Rainbow’s words took him off guard a little.

“Lose it? What do you mean?”

“You look like you haven’t slept in years and you’re all twitchy. That usually happens to ponies who actually notice how insane Ponyville is. Sorry to open your eyes by the way.” Soarin now noticed he was really twitchy, his right eye most of all. He was absolutely certain he was going to snap and kill somepony if he didn’t happen to notice somepony he recognized.

“Wait, is that Ditzy Doo?” he asked and rubbed his tired eyes. Sure enough, trotting towards them was the gray pegasus with eyes and mane of gold known as Ditzy Doo. Out of all the ponies Soarin thought he would meet today, Ditzy wasn’t one of them.

“Hi Rainbow Blitz, and hi Soarin!” Ditzy said excitedly as one of her eyes followed one of the stallions, “I didn’t expect to see you here, whatcha doin?”

“Nothing much, just on a date with Rainbow here. We’re almost done though.”

“You know Ditzy?” Rainbow asked Soarin.

“Yeah, she used to date Flamethrower a few years back.”

“No ****?” Rainbow asked with a chuckle.

“Yep, I remember Flamey like it was yesterday,” Ditzy said and sighed, “he was such a great coltfriend. Oh well, time flies and muffins are made, and a certain cyan pegasus is late with his offering.” Ditzy focused both of her eyes on Rainbow Blitz and bored into the pegasus.

“Oh crap, sorry about that. Things have been really busy with the demons and Soarin here. Tell you what, we’re close to Sugarcube Corner so let’s go get you a muffin.”

“I accept this offering of delicious baked treats,” Ditzy said with a nod and led the way to Sugarcube Corner.

“An… offering?” Soarin asked and tilted his head.

“I’ll explain later if you want. You coming or are you going home?” Rainbow asked.

“You know what, I gotta see this,” Soarin said and trotted next to Rainbow Blitz, “what’s one more piece of insanity to add to this experience?” Rainbow shrugged and focused on the path to Sugarcube Corner. He suddenly realized Pinkie was there and felt a sense of dread as the cupcake building came into view. When the group walked into the bakery, Rainbow’s fears proved true when he saw Pinkie manning the counter with dark colors and flat mane.

‘Oh crap, she’s in psycho mode,’ he though and swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Hey, isn’t that the party mare with the awesome cupcakes?” Soarin asked with something resembling joy in his voice. He was still on the brink of insanity, but at least he was happy now. Rainbow looked at Ditzy, sitting comfortably in the corner, and he gathered up every ounce of strength and courage in his body to face… her. He walked up to the counter and waved weakly at Pinkie.

“Um… hi Pinkie. I’d like to buy something.” Pinkie gave him an uninterested look and slowly raised a silver hatchet into view.

“What do ya want?” she asked flatly and admired the way the metal shined in the light.

“Uh… a muffin for Ditzy, that’s all.” Blitz took a deep breath to calm his nerves and faced Pinkie directly. “I assume there’s something you want to order me to do?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Pinkie pointed the hatchet at Blitz and said, “Demons are razing Trottingham, and it’s the God Hoof’s job to take care of rampant demons. Guess who has it?”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll do that in a few minutes. Can I have the muffin now?” Pinkie slammed the hatchet into the counter, which startled Soarin though it failed to get a rise out of Blitz.

“Demons Blitz! You will go take care of them when you’re done with Ditzy and the Wonderbolt! Otherwise I’ll ask Mr. Silver here to take that arm of mine back, understand?”

“What, your hatchet there? Funny, it doesn’t look like an effeminate griffon in tight silver underpants.” That comment threw Pinkie off and she gave him a confused look and ‘huh?’ “Yeah, I fought a griffon called Mr. Silver not too long after you gave me this arm. He had a twin called Mr. Gold.”

Pinkie stared at him for a moment before she visibly started to hold back laughter. She failed horribly in holding it back and collapsed against the counter in laughter, her mane poofing up and her colors returning to normal in the process.

“A-are you serious?!” She asked and pounded the counter with a hoof, “Twin griffons in tight underpants that matched their names?”

“Well they were actually demons, but yeah,” Blitz answered. Pinkie’s laughter increased tenfold and she actually started crying from laughter.

“Oh my god, that’s awesome! Just for that, the muffin is free. Oh man, that made my day.” Pinkie swallowed her laughter long enough to fetch a fresh blueberry muffin from the display case and give it to Rainbow Blitz before collapsing on the ground laughing.

“Glad I could help,” Blitz said and walked over to Ditzy and Soarin. Soarin once again had a confused look and scratched his head.

“Are you two friends?” he asked, “that seemed very confrontational.”

“Yeah, but I’m used to it,” Blitz said with a shrug and placed the muffin in front of Ditzy. “There you go, we’re square for a while right?” he asked.

“Blueberry…fresh…” Ditzy said analyzing the muffin before smiling cheerily, “Yup, you’re good for the next two months.” Ditzy then stared at the baked good like a predator eyeing its meal and Rainbow quickly turned away from her.

“You don’t want to see this,” Blitz said shutting his eyes and covering his ears.

“Don’t want to see what?” Soarin asked, “She just gonna-“

Terror. That’s all Soarin could describe those following ten seconds for the rest of his life. He would have nightmares of Eldritch terrors for the rest of his life from this experience. The poor muffin never stood a chance.

“No…” he whispered though tears and fell to his haunches, “I-I tried to save her, but the clouds were so high. It was raining too.” Then, just as quickly as it started, the horror ended leaving Ditzy sitting happily with crumbs on her mouth and Soarin snapped out of his trance.

“Are you ok Soarin?” Dusk asked and poked Soarin with a hoof, “You seem kinda-“

“NOTHING HAPPENED!” Soarin shouted angrily, “And if anything did it wasn’t my fault!”

“Ok, no one said anything,” Rainbow said waving his hooves to calm Soarin down. Ditzy burped next to the pair and giggled while she covered her mouth.

“Sorry, I’m such a pig sometimes,” she said blushing lightly.

“That’s it, I’m done,” Soarin said and walked to a table, “I’m going home.”

“Bye Soarin, be sure to tell Flamey that Dinky and I said hi!”

Soarin stopped and stared back at the mail mare and asked, “Dinky?”

“My daughter. She’s turning seven in a few months.” If Soarin’s mind hadn’t snapped before, it most certainly did when the implications hit him.

“I’m out,” he said flatly and picked up a chair. He threw it effortlessly at the window and relished in the sound of the glass shattering into a thousand pieces before flying out of it and into the open skies.

“…Did he just break a window?” Pinkie said and glared at Rainbow Blitz.

“I’ll pay for a replacement,” he said and waved a hoof in the air.

The flight back to Cloudsdale was surprisingly relaxing to Soarin, a much welcome relief after this train wreck of a day. He quickened his pace when he saw those wonderful cloud buildings and landed in the district of the Wonderbolt barracks. He just wanted to slip into his bed and sleep for a week, which he would have done if he hadn’t ran into Flamethrower on the way.

“Oh, there you are!” the orange stallion said and patted a spot next to Soarin on the couch, “How did the date go?” Soarin sat on the couch before answering.

“Awful,” Soarin deadpanned, “You’re right cap. Dating sucks ****.”

“Really? I wouldn’t think Rainbow was that bad of a date, what happened?” Soarin sighed, feeling the exhaustion overtake his entire being.

“Turns out he lives in the insanity capitol of Equestria, Ponyville. He fights demons for a living.”

“Oh yeah, he does live there. Sorry Soarin, I guess I should have warned you about that place.”

“Yeah, a lot of people could have warned me about that place. By the way, I saw Ditzy just before I left.”

“You did?!” Flamethrower sat ramrod straight and stuttered, “H-how was she? Is she doing well?”

“Oh yeah, perfectly fine for a goddamn monster!” Soarin was perfectly fine when he saw his captain flinch at the anger in his voice, “Did you know she turned into an unimaginable horror when she eats muffins too?!”

“Oh yeah, the things she did when we were dating.” The look on Flamethrower’s face as he reminisced led to Soarin giving him the most hateful death glare he could muster.

“You could have warned me about that too. I’ll need shock therapy to get over that. By the way, she has a daughter.”

“She… what?” Soarin smirked evilly at Flamethrower’s surprise.

“Yeah, a little filly named Dinky. She’ll turn seven in a few months.”

“She… has a filly?” Flamethrower’s face turned slowly from surprise to anger as he flew into a hover and shouted, “She lied to me, she said she couldn’t have children! I’ve been tricked!”

“We’ve all been tricked Cap,” Soarin said and stood up from the couch. “I’m exhausted and my bed is calling me. Night.” Soarin left his captain swearing in the lounge and walked slowly to his quarters. He yawned and decided a quick stop to the restroom was needed. A shower was definitely on that list as well.

“There we go, that’s the last one!” Juliet exclaimed happily and set her chainsaw blade first on the ground. “I think I got a great workout from that too. What do you think baby, do my legs look thinner?”

Dusk took a second to inspect Juliet’s legs before saying, “I would say yes, but that would imply there would be room for improvement. That is false, since you couldn’t look any better if you tried.”

“Aw, that’s sweet even if you’re lying,” Juliet said and placed a small kiss on Dusk’s nose with a small “Mwa! Now do you want me to take care of those pesky wings?”

“Huh?” Dusk asked and looked back at his wings, “Oh, I forgot I had those. Go ahead.” He lowered his neck and extended his wings as far as they could go.

“Okie Dokie, here you go!” Juliet hefted her chainsaw in her magic and the deadly machine belched magical fire as she swung it at the wings, which separated cleanly from Dusk’s back and disappeared in a bright flash of rainbow colors. Dusk opened an eye and was surprised he didn’t feel a thing as he looked back at his now bare back before turning to Juliet.

“Juliet, you are without a doubt the greatest mare I could ever hope to get my hooves on,” he said and pulled Juliet into a tight hug, “I love you so much.”

“Aw, I love you too baby!” she said just as Dusk pulled her into a kiss and brought her down on top of him when he fell backwards.

Soarin sighed happily as he left the shower. The hot water definitely helped his sore muscles as he shook off the excess water and grabbed a towel to dry his mane out. Once he was sufficiently dry, Soarin dispensed of the towel into a nearby hamper and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth.

He was reaching for the toothbrush when he saw his reflection in the mirror and froze. His mind churned as he took in the dull gray eyes, dull matted fur, and the strange feeling of coldness his body felt despite the hot shower he had just had. He scowled into the mirror and groaned in frustration.

“Goddammit, I’m a zombie.”

Author's Note

I had a ton of fun writing this, and I really do apologize if this comes off as pure crack. It was really the only way I could have written this since SoarinDash is my most hated pairing bar none.

Also, any Japanese is most likely very poorly translated and is meant to be that way. If people care enough I'll edit in subtitles for what it's supposed to say.

There's a FlashPunch in my boot part 1

You know, it’s funny how you grow to realize certain things when you do something a whole lot. For example, Equestria is indeed a very beautiful country: high purple mountains, verdant plains, glistening rivers and lakes. It’s all very pretty to look at when flying through the air.

If only I was flying under my own power!

Sorry, it’s been a long, long two months. My name is Flash Sentry, once a… sort of respected private in the Equestrian Royal Guard. Now… well, I’m still a royal guard I suppose. It’s just that I’m now the very, very unwilling bodyguard for the most insane pony I had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Now you may be wondering why I’m flying through the air, hundreds of feet above the ground toward some random patch of dirt or lake, under somepony else’s power despite being a pegasus right? Boy, is that a story. I’ll try and keep it short.

I had only just got accepted into the Royal Guard, you know getting that nice set of golden armor and all, when I was assigned to help with… something or other, I don’t care anymore. Something about the Crystal Kingdom, a festival, a mirror or some ****. All I know is that was when my otherwise uninteresting life went right to hell.

I had only just gotten transferred to the Crystal Kingdom to help get it back on its hooves after… I don’t know, being banished from local time for a thousand years or something? I didn’t really care then and I certainly don’t care now. I will say that the Crystal Kingdom was a pretty cool place: all the ponies there were friendly, they really like festivals, carnivals and other celebrations (maybe trying to make up for the one thousand year difference?) and the two ponies that ran the place, Princess Cadance and Aegis were really nice; a little lovey dovey, but nice.

And then I met Dusk Shine. Now I like to consider myself a nice guy (yeah, look where that ****ing GOT ME!) which is why when I accidentally bumped into him while patrolling I naturally helped him up and apologized.

“Sorry about that, I wasn’t paying attention,” he said as he rose to his hooves and rubbed his forehead.

“Don’t worry about it,” I remember telling him, “I tend to do that a lot too.”

“Yeah, but it’s been happening to me a lot more than I want recently,” he replied and shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Ah, it’s Private Flash Sentry,” I replied like a moron. Then again how was I supposed to know that my name would have been the one thing to ruin my life? I didn’t even notice that Dusk suddenly got this crazy look in his eyes. “Well, it was nice talking to you, but I should get back to patrolling.”

I tried to walk away after that only to find myself stopped by something pulling on my tail. I turned around to find my tail held in place by an aura of purple magic, which was being emitted by said pony, who was still giving me a crazy look.

“You’re not Alexander,” was all he said to me before a hoof met my face.

“Ugh, even my memories hate me. Why do I always remember the beatings and not any of the good stuff?” Yes, I am talking to myself. I gotta do something while I wait for the ground to come back to me. “Oh, that’s right, BECAUSE NOTHING GOOD HAS HAPPENED SINCE I MET THAT LOUT! And what dumbass mistakes me complaining about said beating for ‘oh I really like that guy! I wanna be around him all the time’ OH WAIT!”

“So I heard you and Dusk Shine had a good first meeting,” said none other than Princess Celestia not even one hour after said beating I got earlier. At least none of my legs were broken.

“Who?”

“My personal student. He’s nice purple unicorn or alicorn, that kind of changes.”

“THAT ***HOLE?!” My wing started hurting again at the memory and my upcoming good mood was now totally shot. “Oh, I have some choice words about him! And what do you mean it changes?!”

“He sometimes has wings and he sometimes doesn’t. That’s not the point of this conversation though Private. Dusk seemed to really like you when we talked earlier.”

“LIKE ME?! ******bag nearly beat me to death because he heard my name! How is that anywhere close to liking me?!”

“Dusk has just been under a lot of stress, what with the attempted robbery of one of the most precious magical artifacts in all of Equestria and having to go to another universe to get it back.”

“Ok, one, he didn’t seem all that stressed before he went crazy and started beating me to death, so I think that’s crap. Two, it wasn’t even the real Element of Magic, it was a cheap toy he bought for five bits at a gift shop. I can show you where he bought it if you want! And three, he didn’t even know that’s where the thief went. He didn’t even notice there was a theft to begin with! Nopony would have even known there was a mirror if you hadn’t pointed it out!”

“Are you quite finished?” Celestia interjected.

“No, I have one more thing to say,” I replied and cleared my throat, “Basically everything that has happened in the last four days is all your fault… your highness.” Here we had a minor staring contest, which is not really that intimidating when you actually do it. “I’m done now.”

“Good. As I was going to say, Dusk is curious about you since what happened and wants to get to know you better.”

“This could only end in pain and misery,” was all I could get out.

“As such, I have decided it would be good for him and you if you were to be transferred to Ponyville with Dusk. Your comrades in the guard have said you haven’t made many friends.”

“And your proposed solution is to send me to the craziest town in all of Equestria, where Shoggoths are a common pet, zombies attack every other week, and the guardian deity of the town is a cross eyed pegasus who likes muffins above all else?” Yeah, I heard the stories about that town.

“Yes.”

“…”

“This is the dumbest idea ever. Of all time.”

“This is not a negotiable deal Private.”

I sighed and moved over to a nearby wall, patted it slightly, and prepared to give it the most solid headbutt I’ve ever given.

*wham*

Oh thank god, the ground! Even if I landed face first in the dirt it means I can finally start going home, for what qualifies as ‘home’ in my life now. So I spat out he mouthful of dirt that I accidentally swallowed and stood up stretching my wings. I also blew a strand of my mane that fell in front of my face. Let the record show that I stopped styling it like I used to because that was also apparently a sure shot way of setting Dusk off. Besides, I think it looks better when it doesn’t look like a frickin’ cow lick.

When I was sure I didn’t have any more dirt in my teeth, I turned around to start walking back to Ponyville only to find myself face to face with a mildly annoyed pony. Given my previous experiences with ponies I’ve met like this (all of which ended badly) I was naturally shocked and screamed as I fell back on my rump.

“Geez, did I really sneak up on you like that?” he said in surprise and scratched the back of his neck, “Sorry about that dude.” He held his hoof out to me, though once again that has ended badly for me in the past I waved it away and picked myself up. He just shrugged and waited for me to get myself together, which at least gave me time to look him over.

He looked normal enough, since he was a normal magenta earth pony with a slightly darker mane and a quick look at his grape and strawberry cutie mark gave me at least a good direction as to what he does. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d seen him somewhere.

“Are you ok? That fall looked like it hurt.”

“I’m alright,” I told him as I dusted myself off. “I’d taken worse falls.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true given that you’re a pegasus.”

“The falls had nothing to do with me being a pegasus.” I turned back to him and asked, “So what are you doing in the middle of this field?”

“Well, it’d be weird if I wasn’t out here considering I own the place. It’s also my grape orchard.” I looked around my surroundings to find I was indeed in a grape orchard. Through sheer luck I didn’t hit any of the grape vines when I crashed landed.

“Huh, you think I’d have noticed that on my way down. I should probably stop losing myself in flashbacks when I’m about to crash land somewhere. Sorry about nearly destroying your orchard by the way.”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it. I actually think you helped me out a little considering I was gonna turn this bit of field into another vine plot in a week or so. I think your face might have softened the ground when you landed. So thanks for that!”

“Um… you’re welcome?” I’m having a hard time telling if this stallion was being serious. His earnest laugh seemed to prove that he was.

“Anyway, are you feeling alright after that fall? Do you need help getting back to wherever you came from?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. I need to get back to Ponyville sooner or later anyway.”

“Ponyville? That’s an odd coincidence; since I was gonna head back there just now.” He must have noticed my widened eyes since he fixed me with a flat look and said, “Don’t give me that, normal ponies live there too.”

“I’ve never met any of them.”

“Well they are there. Now come on, I need to get back to Ponyville anyway, so might as well have company on the way right?”

Well, I couldn’t fault him there. This random pony was probably the first pony in a long while who hasn’t tried to beat me up or insult me since I was forced to this insane asylum, so he was definitely high on my list of ponies I know. On the walk back to Ponyville I also had to make sure that I absolutely did not try to fly there.

“Do you mind if I ask why you aren’t flying dude?” the pony asked me. I honestly hoped he couldn’t read my mind.

“I’ve learned not to fly around Ponyville or the surrounding area. That helicopter was really pissed.”

“Yeah, that’s Ponyville for you.” He looked back at me and asked, “So what’s your name? I don’t think I asked that.”

“Slab Bulkhead,” I replied immediately. Of course he gave me an odd look and I could tell he wasn’t buying it.

“Seriously dude?”

“No, of course not. Ponies here just really hate my name for some reason, so I don’t use it anymore.”

“Oh come on, it can’t be that bad,” he replied and gave me a slight nudge. “Come on, let’s hear it.”

I couldn’t help but sigh before saying, “My name is Flash Sentry.”

“It’s not that bad.” That actually surprised me. Man has it really been that long since I’ve had a normal interaction with somepony? “I don’t think its cause enough for the pain you’ve claimed to have experienced. I’ve certainly known ponies with worse names anyway.”

“I’d like to meet them. Besides my name didn’t nearly give me nearly as much grief as my old hair style. Sorry, I don’t think I caught your name either.”

“Berry Punch,” he answered and held out a hoof. It took me a second to decide to return the hoof shake. Afterwards we continued walking towards Ponyville, which wasn’t as far as I thought it would have been. At least something’s gone good for me today. “So what was that about your hair?”

“It was… it was just dumb. You don’t want to know.”

“You know, you sound like somebody who complains a lot about things too much.”

“I know this’ll make me sound like an entitled jerk, but after some of the crap I’ve been through the last two months, I like to think I earned some of it.” We reached the edge of Ponyville and I stopped walking. Berry noticed that I stopped and looked back at me.

“Are you ok Flash?”

The second I step into this town I’m just gonna sentence myself to more pain and misery. I could just turn around, walk away from this town forever, and absolutely nopony would have to know. Maybe I could go to Los Pegasus, call myself Punt Speedchunk and become a professional gambler.

“But miss Fluffy Fluffs is back at the library,” I unknowingly said aloud, “and like hell am I gonna leave her alone with Dusk.”

“Miss Fluffy Fluffs?” Berry Punch’s voice knocked me back to reality and to the realization that I had said that out loud. I could feel my face redden as I tried to think of an excuse for that, though Berry just laughed it off and said, “I’m sure it makes sense to you. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear anything ok?” I nodded in agreement and Berry gave me one last wave before walking into the town.

I took a deep breath and started walking into the town as well. I barely made it five steps before I accidentally pumped into somepony.

I started saying, “Oh, sorry,” but by the time I finished it whoever I bumped into slammed a hoof into my face and instantly floored me.

“What the **** Zel?!” I heard someone shout a second after I hit the ground.

“He bumped into me,” said another, much calmer voice.

“So you knock him out?!”

“He deserved it. I’m bored now, so let’s see what this town has going on.” I heard hoofsteps walking away and the first voice sighing.

“It’ll be fun, he said. Zel’s actually really cool to hang out with, he said. ****ing Polar, I’m gonna kill him then next time I see him.” Then I heard flapping wings and I thought one thing before I actually passed out.

I hate this town.

When I woke up I was a little surprised to find somepony had actually taken the time to move me out of the road. It’s always the small things that make these things that make living in this asylum bearable I suppose. And hey, they even put me on the bench too!

I stepped off of the bench and stretched out my legs and wings from the sudden nap I took and started trotting along the road. I could already feel the welt on the side of my face starting to hurt and let out a sigh of annoyance. I mean, what are the chances of running into the same angry pegasus in a… I hate this town.

Oh whatever, aside from the impromptu trip courteous of Dusk and his insane friends and getting clocked just now, it’s been a fairly uneventful day. As I approached the library I was sharing with Dusk, I could only really wish that he hadn’t burned my bed in some mad science experiment in the time I’d been gone. So, vainly hoping for the best, I opened to door to the library and walked inside.

“Oh, there you are Dirk Hardpeck,” said the one stallion I didn’t want to see, the one and only Dusk Shine, “I didn’t think it’d take you this long to get back.”

“I didn’t think it’d take you so long to get back,” I replied back in a high pitched voice and glared at him, “You know if you want me to be back in a timely manner, maybe you shouldn’t knock me halfway across the damn country!”

“Well, technically it wasn’t the whole-“

“Oh shut the **** up, you know what I mean!”

“Is that any way to talk to Equestrian royalty,” Dusk asked and extended his wings to prove a point. I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically. Seriously, it was one of those moments where I was crying from laughter for a good two minutes. Of course Dusk didn’t take the laughter too well, though he and his pet dragon- I think his name was Spike or something- waited until I stopped laughing to speak up.

“And what exactly is so funny?” Spike asked out of curiosity since he missed our little discussion.

“’Equestrian royalty!’ yeah right, you’re not even close to being that.”

“I could have been,” Dusk protested lightly.

“Weren’t you the guy who laughed in Princess Celestia’s face when she offered you the position?” This got the unexpected reaction of confusion from Dusk, who looked down at Spike.

“Did I do that?” he asked. I honestly couldn’t believe he didn’t know that. He did it, after all! Everypony heard the story of the stallion who outright refused to be royalty and laughed at the notion of it.

And he couldn’t REMEMBER?!

“Yeah, you did do that,” Spike answered plainly.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you, Blitz, Applejack, and Pinkie all laughed your heads off when Celestia said that.”

“Huh, I don’t remember that, but I’ll just assume it’s true.” Dusk turned back to me and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and said, “I guess you got a point there.”

“Don’t try and be my friend,” was all I could say before walking over to the door to the basement. “I’m going to bed.”

“But it’s only one in the afternoon.” Dusk pointed out.

“You’re in the afternoon!” I was tired, sue me.

Anyway, after that I walked down to my room, which was really just a glorified hole in the ground. Seriously, I’m sleeping in a random hole in the ground that Dusk dug up. At least he put in stairs. I felt the side of my face that was still kind of welted and heard something I didn’t think I’d hear down here.

And it was coming from my little hole.

After one little check in there, and with another sigh, I walked back upstairs and stuck my head out of the door.

“Dusk, why is there a cow in my hole?” I asked him. The aforementioned pony looked up from his book and gave me a curious look before he understood what I was talking about.

“Oh, that cow? That’s Edgar,” he answered.

“Edgar…”

“Yeah, he rented out a space and your room worked out pretty well. Try and be nice to him ok?” I couldn’t help but stare at him before just shutting the door and going back downstairs and looking down into my space.

Sure enough, there was the cow just staring up at me. I returned its stare and walked down into the hole before hopping onto my bed. Yeah, Dusk actually gave me one of those too.

“Now… Edgar, this is my side of the hole,” I said to the cow, “you don’t come to my side of the hole. If you do, I’m gonna have barbeque for dinner. Got that?”

The cow answered with a dull moo. This is where I am at this point of my life, arguing with a cow over room space. I sighed again and snuggled into my bed.

I hate this town.

I slept pretty well for the rest of the day, save for waking up at one in the morning because of Edgar. Why would a cow bug me for a glass of milk anyway? Aside from that I woke up at the normal 7:30 feeling pretty refreshed. I knew this feeling wouldn’t last for very long, but I could enjoy it for right now.

I did my normal morning routine, stretching out any kinks and preening my wings if needed, all while ignoring the cow next to me. With that taken care of I walked upstairs to see if it would be possible for me to get breakfast here. The answer to that was ‘no’ because I went up to find Dusk working on building some monstrosity of machinery.

“What the hell,” was all I could say at the sight. At the moment all he had done was some kind of ring nearly half as tall as the room it was in.

“It’s not done yet,” Dusk said from his little study corner and motioned at the… thing. “It’ll probably take me all day to get it done too.”

“I assume I’m going to have to take part in this when it is done?” I asked knowing the answer.

“Only if you want to,” Dusk answered.

“Yeah right. I’m going to get breakfast and be back if nothing else comes up.” Dusk just waved at me as I walked outside. I didn’t bother to return it.

Say what you will about the town and its unique brand of insanity, at least the weather is nice. It’s only partly cloudy today, which suits me just fine. I thought I remember somepony on the weather team say we’re about due for rain in a few days.

I’m still a little wary of the other ponies as I walk down the street. Sure they’ve been pretty nice all around, but I’ve still learned to be very careful when it comes to looks around here. It only took a minute to make my way over to Sugarcube Corner, one of the few places I’ve actually grown to like in this town. Not for the pink mare that usually works there of course.

I got inside and waited in the two pony long line. I know, thrilling. Well, after the pony at the front got what she wanted, things got a little interesting.

“Why are we having breakfast here Dad?” said a voice behind me, a filly of some sort. Of course I turned to look back and who should I see but Berry Punch with the filly.

“It’s called quick and easy Pinchy,” Berry told the filly. “Some days, like today, we’d just be way too busy to settle for a normal breakfast. Which is why we came here because getting a muffin is quick and easy. Understood?”

“…I think?” the filly replied giving Berry a confused look. I lost interest at around this point and started looking back to the line when Berry looked up and saw me.

“Hey, it’s Bold Bigflank!” he said and trotted up to me. Couldn’t he have chosen a better name to call me at that moment? Oh whatever, he still seemed friendly enough so I waved at him. “You’re looking better than you were yesterday. How’s that feeling by the way?” He patted the side of his face to indicate what he was talking about.

“Oh, that.” I felt the welt on my face, which stung a little, and said, “It doesn’t hurt as bad as it looks. At least I assume so.”

“Who’s this Dad?” the filly asked looking up at Berry.

“This is the stallion I told you about yesterday. The one with the incredibly bad luck.”

Bad luck?! I…yeah.

“Oh! Nice to meet you Bold!” the Filly said and waved at me. I gave her a small wave and looked over at Berry with a small nod at the filly.

“Oh, this is my daughter Ruby Pinch,” Berry said and rubbed the top of Ruby’s head, “and she’s daddy’s favorite girl, right?”

“Yup!” Ruby replied and gave Berry a huge smile, which I will admit is probably one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.

“Well, that’s nice I guess,” I said and looked up at the now non-existent line. “Oh, I’m next.”

“Come on Pinchy,” Berry said and moved into the spot behind me. A quick look behind me showed that Ruby Pinch was just bouncing happily next to him. For some reason the mare that was attending the counter had left, so I rang the little bell and waited for someone to come.

I really like these bells.

“I’m coming,” called a voice from the back. After a moment of waiting and listening to some crashes in the kitchen, the pony who called earlier walked out of the back. None other than Pinkie- oh dammit, her hair’s flat.

Pinkie Pie’s insufferable enough to deal with normally, but the prospect of having to deal with her when she’s in one of her insane phases was not a good start to my day. It must have been a sight for Berry to see two ponies giving each other equally sour looks.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said when she caught sight of me, “what do you want?”

“Nice to see you too,” I returned and, after a quick look at the menu, decided what to have. “I’ll have a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee.”

“We don’t have any coffee,” was Pinkie’s immediate answer. I looked back up at the menu and yes, coffee was indeed on the menu.

“Right, I’ll have a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee,” I repeated. The mare sighed and leaned against the counter, resting her head on top of a hoof.

“We don’t have blueberry muffins,” she said. I didn’t feel the need to point out the display case to my right proudly displaying several varieties of muffins, blueberry among them.

“You’re kidding right?” Berry asked incredulously and pointed at the display case. Pinkie followed his gaze and stared at the baked treats for a couple of moments before sighing and looking back at me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’ll… get your stuff.” Pinkie pushed away from the counter and started to collect what I ordered when Berry spoke up behind me.

“Can I get two blueberry muffins and a cup of coffee as well?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks. Um… can I ask a favor from you?”

“Huh?” I asked and turned to face him. He rubbed the back of his head and motioned to Ruby, who was doing a little dance. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. “Oh, I see. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your stuff.”

“Thanks Slab!” he said cheerfully and quickly led his daughter away from the line. I guess it’s a good thing this town hasn’t completely killed the nice guy in me. When I looked back at the counter I saw Pinkie had come back and set down the coffee and muffin in front of me.

“Here’s your garbage, that’ll be seven bits,” she angrily told me.

“Thanks, I guess,” I replied to her and motioned to where Berry and Ruby disappeared, “I’ll be taking care of Berry’s thing too.”

“The two muffins and the coffee?” she asked, to which I nodded, “Aren’t you the good Samaritan. It’ll be sixteen bits with his stuff then.”

“Alright,” I murmured and reached for the little bag of bits I kept under my right wing. A pony can’t pickpocket something that close to the body after all. I pulled out the required number of bits and tossed them onto the counter saying, “There’s your money.”

“Thanks, ****lord,” she said taking the bits, “Let me get Berry’s things now.”

“I’ll be back in a second. I’ve gotta take these to a table and I’ll be back.” I picked up the muffin in a hoof and the coffee in my teeth.

“Sounds good to me,” Pinkie said and gave me an odd grin. “You know Flink, I think we’ll be good friends judging from all of this.”

Wait, what? Oh whatever, it probably is just her trying to get to me so I ignored it. I set my things on an empty table and went back for Berry’s stuff, which promptly went to the table. It took him two minutes before the two of them came back.

“Oh, there you are,” Berry said once he found the table I was sitting at, “thanks for the help again.”

“It’s no trouble,” I told him with a wave of my hoof, “I’m just glad you haven’t tried to…” I trailed off when I saw that Ruby Pinch had sat at the table and stared at one of the blueberry muffins with… I don’t know, awed reverence? I’m pretty sure her eyes were sparkling.

“Ruby! What did I say about joining tables without asking?!” Berry scolded, which broke Ruby’s reverie.

“Sorry daddy,” Ruby said and turned to me, “Um, would it be ok if I ate here mister?”

“Well, you’re already sitting so I guess I don’t mind,” I told her and motioned at Berry to take a seat.

“Are you-?”

“Yes.”

“Ok,” Berry added with a shrug and sat next to his daughter, who was already taking a bite of the muffin. With that little reminder, I proceeded to eat my own in my own unique way. Which was dunking the muffin in the coffee and eating it that way.

I’m just glad nopony had anything to say about that.

“Is Bold Bigflank your real name?” Ruby asked out of the blue. I, of course, gave her a confused look before speaking.

“What? Oh, that. No, it’s not my real name.”

“Then why did daddy call you that?”

“For some reason my real name causes ponies to go into fits of rage, so I don’t use it anymore.”

“What’s a fit of rage?” ….My god she’s innocent. I looked at Berry and I could tell that neither of us wanted to tell her what it was, though it didn’t really matter since she seemed to immediately forget the question and asked, “So can I give you a new name?”

“As long as it’s not obviously insulting and is fit for a filly your age to say, I don’t care.”

“Ok,” Ruby said and started doing the ‘thinking’ thing of tapping her hoof on her chin. Hopefully it’ll keep her busy for a minute or two.

“You know, I’m surprised at how normal you and your daughter are Berry,” I said making a small motion at Ruby.

“Why is that surprising?” Berry asked. I simply pointed to the counter where, in the two minutes I looked away, Pinkie found herself fighting off a Nightgaunt. “Oh. Well Ponyville is a very nice place to live in when you get used to the zombies and the liches.”

“You know, it’s not helping the town’s case when you put it like that,” I replied simply. Man that Nightgaunt is loud.

“I suppose so. Would it help if I said Ruby here was born from a wine casket?”

“Is it true?”

“No.”

“Then no.”

“PUNCH ROCKGROIN!” Ruby shouted suddenly throwing her hooves into the air. I stared at her along with Berry for a couple of seconds before I felt this really bad stinging pain in my chest. I grabbed at it and placed my head on the table while I fought it off.

“Sweetie, you did it again,” I heard Berry say while this was going on.

“Oops. Uh, sorry,” Ruby said. I could only groan in pain.

“Give him a second.” Cute induced heart attacks really suck, though I managed to fight it off and caught my breath a little while after that. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah, a little. What was that?”

“Sorry, I probably should have told you. Pinch here is… well, really cute as you already could tell. I was hoping she’d grow out of it when she turned nine.”

“And how old is she now?” I asked.

“Eleven,” Ruby answered.

“…I have a feeling she won’t be out growing that.” Here I realized that I still had my coffee and muffin to eat, so I quickly finished both of them off. “Well, I better get going. There’s gotta be something I can do before I have to go back.”

“Are you going to be ok?” Berry asked giving me a curious look, “Nopony has ever shrugged off one of Ruby induced heart attack that fast, not even me.”

“Oh, I’ve dealt with worse. I will admit it was one of the more pleasant injuries I’ve had since I’ve moved here.” As much as I hate to admit that, it was true. “Anyway, I’ll catch you guys later I suppose.” Just as I stood up, that Nightgaunt was flung over to our table. Stupid thing was annoying, screeching and flailing around like that.

“Why won’t it die?!” Pinkie asked angrily.

“You need to put a mirror up in front of it, dumbass,” was my response. I’m honestly surprised that she didn’t know that. Pinkie just gave me a weird look before reaching underneath the counter. Just as the Nightgaunt started coming back at Pinkie she lifted up one of those full sized mirrors and, when it ‘saw’ its reflection, it screeched horribly and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

“What in the…?” was Pinkie’s reaction and stared at me entirely baffled. “How did you know that?!”

“I played Alone in the Dark once,” I replied and proceeded to walk out of the door. The last thing I heard was Pinkie saying, ‘fair cop,’ along with something shattering.

She can have her bad luck.

Hi, I’m the narrator. Since some events take place away from Flash’s point of view, I’ll be describing those until we get back to him. Anyway, Berry waited until he was sure Flash was out of the bakery before turning to his daughter, still very much enthralled by her muffin.

“So, what do you think about him?” Berry asked his daughter. Ruby looked up at him and shrugged lightly.

“I think he’s nice,” she said stealing a glance at her half eaten muffin, “he let me come up with a name for him, so that’s nice. Do you like him?”

“Yeah, he seems ok. So I was thinking about giving him a normal test period, see how things go. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Testing is always good, unless it’s for school. Can we have cake after the test?” As Berry looked into his daughter’s eyes, he couldn’t help but smile and pat her head.

“Yes, we can have cake after the test,” he answered and felt his heart warm at Ruby’s cheer.

I’m not sure what I could have ever expected when I left Sugarcube Corner, but I can tell you that ‘nothing’ was not on that list. That is the most dumbfounding thing though, in this town where not even five minutes ago I saw a pony wrestle a Nightgaunt, and now there’s absolutely nothing going on anywhere in this town.

Just… wow!

That doesn’t mean that I’m going back to Dusk’s place anytime soon, I’m not crazy after all, so I decided to just wander around my own personal hell. After all, poke around a needle bin enough and you’ll eventually be poked right?

TWO HOURS OF NOTHING LATER! How is that possible?! It’s like this place is actively trying to drive me insane by playing against expectations! It was practically a relief when I saw smoke about a block away, as much as it makes me sound horrible. By the time I got there, there was only about three or four ponies watching it. Among them I saw the pony who knocked me out yesterday and his friend, who seemed to be desperately trying to wrap his mind around something.

“So… you wanted to get some caramel…” the friend started.

“Yup.”

“The shop didn’t have any…”

“Mhmm.”

“So you burn the shop down?”

“Of course not, don’t be stupid. I left the shop and burned this building to the ground.”

“…WHY?!”

“It deserved to die, it was weak.”

“You know, even if the stupid thing wasn’t condemned, I don’t think ‘weak’ would be an accurate way to describe a building.”

“Oh whine some more.” The poor house completely collapsed on itself with only me to really care. Not that it really mattered since another house fell from the sky on top of the remains.

“Whoops, sorry about that!” I didn’t even have to look up to know who the culprit was.

“See, everything worked out you baby,” the calm pegasus said pointing at the new house, “Now let’s go get ice cream.”

His friend stared at the house before he sighed and said, “Sure.” Then without so much as acknowledging that I was there they walked right on past me to get ice cream.

At the very least that was something that happened, so I was at least content to go home. Unfortunately I had barely taken one step before another weird thing happened.

The thing being a partridge.

I don’t know why, but that partridge looked really angry, or at least as angry as a bird can look. It stared at me, it laughed at me, and then walked right by me. I watched the bird walk away and felt a shiver go down my spine.

“Wait a minute, this is silly! I’m being scared by a partridge of all things! I’m going home.”

“Hey I’m home,” I called out when I got back to the library. As expected Dusk was still working on whatever machine he was working on when I left. Dusk slid out from under the machine and gave me a light wave, which is when I noticed that he didn’t have those wings of his.

“Oh hey… whatever your name is,” he replied, “you wouldn’t happen to know where the spanner wrench I kept on that table went would you?”

“Considering I’ve been out most of the day, no. I would check behind your ear though, since you somehow managed to get it stuck there.” Dusk reached behind his right ear and at least had the decency to be confused about that before getting back to work. I didn’t ask questions as to why, since I was more concerned about the machine he was making. “What are you making here anyway?”

“It’s a medical diagnostic machine that hospitals use to scan a pony’s body,” Dusk explained with a gesture to the half finished machine. “And when it’s done I’m gonna put you in it.”

“Of course you are, it’s not like you have anyone else to test it on,” I said with a sigh, “So why are you doing that again?” His response was to stare blankly at me.

“Are you serious? You’ve been here how many months-?”

“Only two,” I rectified.

“Whatever, and you haven’t realized there’s something wrong with you?”

“Oh no, I realize there’s something wrong with me. I’m still here and I haven’t left.” Not for lack of trying, of course.

“Not mentally moron, everyone here has something wrong with them mentally! I meant physically. In the two months I’ve known you how many times have you been beaten to near death, got punched halfway across the country, or anything else like that?”

“I lost count at twenty.”

“I SAW YOU GET EATEN BY A SHOGGOTH ONCE! Doesn’t that seem weird to you?!” At around this point I noticed Dusk was starting to grow really unhinged, though that seems to happen every Tuesday so what else is new?

“Yeah I remember that. It really sucked. It spat me out though, so it worked out. I guess it didn’t like how I tasted.”

Dusk’s left eye twitched a little and he said, “Shoggoths don’t have a sense of taste.”

“…Really?”

“Here they don’t! And that’s not even getting into Rainbow’s God Hoof, an artifact so powerful it sealed an arch demon away, and when you got hit by it you were only bruised for three days!”

“…Well, when you put it like that it does seem really weird. It must be that diet I’ve been on.” If there’s one joy in life I relish every time, it’s annoying Dusk Shine.

“Diet?!” he seemed practically ready to blow up when he took a deep breath and said, “You know what, it’s obvious you don’t care. Just go to your hole and I’ll get you when the machine is ready.”

“Sure dude, I was getting bored anyway.” I started making my way to the basement door when Dusk added something.

“By the way, Edgar went shopping for ice cream. He didn’t know what you liked so he said he’d just get rocky road for you. Is that alright?”

“Sure, whatever.” I almost closed the door when a thought hit me and I leaned out to ask, “Hey, do you know Berry Punch and his daughter?”

“Of course, everyone knows them. Half of the heart related injuries in Ponyville are because of Ruby Pinch.”

“Yeah, I figured that out. So... was Ruby Pinch actually born from a wine casket?”

“…What? No, that’s stupid. Why would you even think that?”

“Just making sure. You can never be sure in this town.” With that out of the way, I closed the door and went down to bed. It was still only 3 in the afternoon, but who cares?

Meanwhile, near an ice cream parlor, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were hanging out.

“We never do anything together any more Flutters,” Pinkie said, pausing mid bounce to fall to the ground, “I wonder why that is?”

“Wareware wa ryōhō no mono ni totemo isogashiku shite iru: Anata no pātī o mochi,-shin no hidzume no mono to iu, ore wa watashi no dōbutsu ya sorera no imaimashī kyūketsuki o motte iru,” Fluttershy replied.

“That’s true I suppose. Those vampires haven’t been giving you much trouble right?”

“No. Sore wa watashi ga ima ni chūi suru hitsuyō ga hashira no danshi.”

“I swear that mask is somewhere. I got Rainbow working on it, so hopefully something will come up.” A moment of silence passed between the two friends before Pinkie asked, “By the way, is your Japanese supposed to be bad? I’ve been wondering that for a while.”

Fluttershy stared blankly at the pink mare before blushing and bashfully replying, “Possibilites.”

“I don’t understand your taste in ice cream.” Pinkie and Fluttershy turned their attention to a pair of stallions a couple of tables away from them. The smaller of the two replied after a second.

“I don’t understand why you have to pick at everything. Did you even order any ice cream?”

“It’s coming, just hold your…” He went silent for a moment as they stared at each other silently, “I don’t know, horses I guess.”

“Fair enough.”

“We’ve been getting a lot of tourists around here haven’t we?” Pinkie asked once they stopped talking.

“Tsūrisuto' wahensō no kanōsei akuma' to iu no wa chōdo betsu no hōhōdesu,” Fluttershy said.

“True enough I suppose. Mr. Gray on white looks legit, but that brown one looks suspicious. I’ll have to get Rainbow to investigate.”

“Hey Pinky, you realize we can hear you right?” The large gray one said, “You’re not even bothering to lower your voice.”

“THEY HAVE ADVANCED HEARING! Be careful Fluttershy, they might be able to read your thoughts!”

Fluttershy’s only possible response was to shake her head and mutter, “Baka.”

“Hey, that’s not very nice Fluttershy.” Just then Pinkie and Fluttershy felt the earth shake a little and looked back at the ice cream parlor to see a sight to behold.

“Sorry that took so long guys,” the waitress (a purple pegasus if you care) who set down an absolutely massive pile of ice cream in front of the gray pegasus said and pointed at the thing she just carried out. “Here’s your… what was it? A super, ultra, peta-wac, something or other ice cream Zel.”

“Thank you Panzy,” Zel said before starting to eat the ice cream.

“Holy crap, that must stretch up to the stratosphere!” The brown pegasus exclaimed while craning his neck back to look up at the massive pile of ice cream. He then turned to the waitress and asked, “How did you get it out of the shop Panz?”

“I’m very good at my job Cleft,” said with a small hint of pride, extended her hoof out and asked, “would you like more ice cream?” Cleft stared at the empty bowl in front of him before pushing it toward her with a nod.

“I feel like we’re losing focus here. Shouldn’t this be about what’s his face?” Pinkie asked Fluttershy.

“Hai,-sōdesu,” Fluttershy replied, though when she looked over at Pinkie she let out a small scream of horror.

“What? Do I have something on my face?”

“P-Pātorijji," Fluttershy stated and pointed at Pinkie’s head. Pinkie didn’t even have to try and look on top of her head because the partridge hopped off of it and waddled menacingly toward the ponies at the ice cream shop. Zel only noticed it after it stopped and stared at him.

“The hell is this pheasant doing here?” he asked pointing his spoon at it.

“That’s not a pheasant, it’s a Chukar Partridge,” Cleft said and scratched his head, “though why it’s here is a good question.”

“Whatever it is, it’s making me mad. Get out of here!” Zel proceeded to toss a small amount of salt on the partridge.

“Bakame! Anata wa sore ga okotte iru yo!” Fluttershy shouted as loud as she could to no avail. The moment the salt hit the bird it flew at Zel and knocked him to the ground pecking him.

“Agh, get off of me! Stupid buzzard, I’ll turn you into barbeque!” Zel shouted as he fought the bird off.

“I always wondered why you went on about partridges all the time Flutters,” Pinkie said absently, “Now I get it.”

“Is my ice cream coming soon?” was all that Cleft had to say about the situation.

Will the devilish partridge get the one up on it's eternal nemesis? Will anything involving the main characters come around at some point? And how many Ill placed references can be stuffed into these stupid little things?! Find out next time on this Bizarre Adventure!

Author's Note

Well, there's that. Honestly not as good as I'd like it, but it's a start. Part 2 of this will have to come later.

As always, any kind of criticism is appreciated.

OctaScratch part 1

This is an interesting case. Unlike the last entry, where our two subjects have already been together for a while, our subjects for this entry haven’t even met yet. So from first meetings on, let’s look at the case of Vinyl Scratch and Octavia.

“Hey, are you ok?” A voice called through the darkness to me. I tried to open my eyes but the bright light forced them shut and worsened the headache I had. “You don’t look to good,” The voice, which I recognized as female, said through the pain.

I tried opening my eyes again and succeeded this time, seeing the mare standing over me with her white coat and red mane. I rolled onto my side and woozily stood up.

“Where am I?” I asked, rubbing my aching forehead.

“Up until a minute ago, passed out on my front lawn; that was a wicked party last night,” the mare said.

“Yeah, I guess,” I said with a laugh, “but can you be more specific as to where here is?” ‘Oh please tell me I’m still in Manehattan.’

“Um, I think this is Soho in Manehattan,” she said a little unsure, but nodded after thinking it over. “Yeah, this is Soho. I’m an artist so I have to live close to work.”

I sighed in relief. “Thank Celestia, if I somehow ended up in Stalliongrad again, I probably would have killed someone.” I looked around the yard for my things. “Hey, where’s my bag and headphones?”

“You mean these?” She asked and held out exactly what I was looking for. I never really liked saddlebags so I always use those string backpack thingies. I took the bag from her with a thank you and looked through it. Thankfully nothing had been stolen while I was out, though all there really was in it were my headphones connected to the latest music player I got, a notepad filled with doodles and notes, and my bag of bits.

“Oh and here’s your payment,” she said and held out a bag in her mouth, which I took telekinetically. I counted them to make sure they were all there and bit one to make sure it was real (yes, ponies still do that.) With that done, I emptied the bag of bits into my own and handed it back.

“Thanks, but I gotta get going,” I told her and turned to leave.

“That’s alright. I’ll let you know if I want you to DJ again.” I reached up and moved my trademark goggles down to hang from my neck. It worsened my headache, but that look of surprise when a pony saw my eyes for the first time was worth it every time.

“No problem, you know how to find me.” With that I walked away to begin my morning ritual.

Vinyl Scratch, better known by his stage name ‘DJ Pon-3’, made his way through the city he’s called home for about a month now. His first stop of the day was a convenience store for a can of Red Pony and hopefully a newspaper, which he didn’t find immediately.

“Hey, you have any issues of the Daily in yet?” Vinyl asked the cashier as he rang up his drink.

“None for the Daily yet, but I do have Inquirer,” he said and showed a copy of said newspaper. Vinyl mouthed a curse.

“Fine, I’ll take it.” Vinyl paid the final price and left with his items. He was about to open his drink when he caught a look at his reflection.

‘Ugh, I need a shower,’ Vinyl thought as he looked into his eyes, which were much redder than usual, before moving on to catch a tram to his destination. He read the paper on the way, but threw it away when he found nothing interesting along with the empty can of Red Pony. His second stop was a familiar stop for him, a record shop about two blocks from his apartment.

Scratch loved all kinds of music and sometimes he just liked to browse the record selection to see what was catching on. At the moment nothing was reaching out to him.

‘Sapphire Shores has a new record, which I’ve already heard. There’s a compilation album I made, a remix, indie rock, another compilation, anther remix.’ Vinyl let out an irritated sigh, ‘Well, looks like nothing new is in. Too bad, I was hoping for something new.’ Vinyl turned to leave, but stopped when he passed by the new releases and saw something that caught his eye. Vinyl grabbed the record telekinetically to get a better look at it.

This album was possibly the most minimalist thing that Vinyl had ever seen, featuring only a light purple treble clef on a gray background and ‘Octavia’ written in the same light purple along the top. The back only had a list of songs, most of them classical, and the name Octavia on the bottom.

‘The only way this thing could be more avant-garde is if the artwork was just the treble clef on a black background, or hay just take the treble clef out all together.’ Despite vinyl’s remarks, he was more than intrigued. So he floated the record over to the register. ‘Well, whoever you are Octavia, you’ve caught my eye.’

“Are you feeling alright Octavia?”

The cellist perked up at her name after almost nodding off. She rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes.

“Yeah I’m fine. I’m just a little tired,” Octavia told her ensemble as she got her cello out. Frederick, the pianist of the group, stopped setting up for a moment to turn to Octavia.

“Are you still a little worried about that record?” Frederick asked. Octavia sighed a little and rubbed her face.

“Maybe just a little bit,” Octavia said and took a deep breath to regain her composure. “It’s just stage fright, it’ll pass.” Octavia then stood up straighter and prepared her cello. “Don’t we have practice?”

‘That felt so good. I needed that,’ Vinyl thought as he stepped out of the bathroom. His apartment was by no means spacious with only one bedroom, bathroom, and a small kitchen but it served well enough. Vinyl lay down on his couch and looked at the record he just bought and then over to his record player.

“Ah why not?” Vinyl said to himself and got up from the couch. “Let’s see what you can do Octavia.”

“Ok, is everyone ready?” Frederick asked the ensemble and received an affirmative toot from Beauty’s sousaphone, a ‘mhmm’ from Harpo, and a silent nod from Octavia. “Ok,” Frederick said and turned back to his piano.

“Let’s get started,” Vinyl said as he put the record in the player and set the needle down. Vinyl took the few seconds before the music started to collect himself. Then the music started and he let it wash over him.

Octavia loved the cello for a lot of reasons, though one of the biggest reasons was stress relief. Every time she played, the music flowed through her and she felt all the worries of the day flow away with every note. During moments like these there was no sadness because she couldn’t see her family that often because of work. No worries over the possible consequences of making a classical album in a musical age of club dance songs. Even the incredibly small troubles like the lack of any real love life were gone. In moments like these there was only the weight of an instrument, the motions of artistic expression.

There was only the music.

But these moments are fleeting at best and they all come to an end. This one ended much too soon for Octavia. One final note from her cello, and the moment was gone.

Vinyl jerked awake to find that the sun was starting its descent and the record he had been listening to had reached its end, the only sound being produced a pathetic scratching sound as the needle failed to find a groove. Vinyl got up from the couch and removed the needle from the record. He stared at the record’s label and that one word printed on it. He then started to laugh, a low happy chuckle that grew into one of the hardest times he’s ever laughed.

“Hahaha, forget the shower, that was something I definitely needed. I can’t remember the last time I heard something that wasn’t techno beats.” Vinyl contemplated on playing the record again when a knock came to the door.

“Hey Scratch, are you in?” Vinyl walked over to the door and looked through the peephole to find it was exactly who he thought it was.

“What do ya want Or?”

“Oh, you’re actually awake this time. Me and the boys were gonna go down to Stray Dogs. You wanna come?” Vinyl put a hoof to his face; the last thing he wanted right now was to get hammered, especially after last night. Eventually he lowered the hoof and sighed.

“Yeah, let me get my jacket.”

“Alright everyone, great practice today. We should be ready for our next show very soon.”

Octavia never really cared for these after session chats. She still listened in on what the others were saying as she packed her cello away and loaded it on her back.

“Are you going home already?” Frederic asked Octavia as she started for the door.

“Yes, it’s been quite a long day,” Octavia said without turning around, “I’ll probably just go home and enjoy the rest of the night.”

“Why don’t you come with us? I found out about this great bar that has some of the best whiskey I’ve ever had,” Beauty said, aiming right for Octavia’s weak spot.

She hit it dead on; Octavia wouldn’t really admit it to anyone, but she did enjoy the occasional glass of whiskey, and it really has been a while since she had been with her ensemble anywhere that wasn’t practice.

“Alright, I’ll join you. I still need to drop my cello off at home, so I’ll meet you there. What’s it called?” Beauty smiled at this.

“It’s called Stray Dogs.”

The Stray Dogs bar wasn’t the best bar in Manehattan, but Vinyl knew plenty of other places much worse than here. It was clean enough, had good staff, and the greatest selling point to vinyl was it was only a few blocks from home.

“So, you guys invited me to go drinking with you just so you can tell me that nothing of importance has happened to you?”

“You know, not everything has to do with work Vinyl. Can’t we ever just hang out when we’re off?” asked an earth pony to Vinyl’s right. Vinyl found it a little weird that he was the only one of the group that went by his real name, but after a while of hanging out with them he just stopped caring.

“Yeah I guess. I’ve just had a lot on my mind,” Vinyl said and took a drink.

“You had another wild part last night?” asked the pegasus of the group. “Though I guess the better question is can you remember any of it?” he asked with a laugh.

“Oh shut it Tobias,” Vinyl said and took another drink of his cocktail, “and no, I can’t remember last night. She paid me full price though, so it must have went well.”

“That’s just like you Vinyl,” the other unicorn in the group said, “If you can’t remember and it paid well then it must have been a good night.” He shook his head. “So where did you wake up this time?” Vinyl emptied his glass before answering.

“It was someone’s front yard in Soho.”

“Heh, better than that one time at the Statue of Neighberty,” Tobias said with a laugh and got hit with some salt licks thrown by Vinyl.

“And this is the place,” Beauty told the group. Octavia was less than impressed with the building’s facade, but followed the group inside. The inside wasn’t the best she’s seen either, but then again looks weren’t the reason bars existed. So Octavia and her ensemble settled themselves at the bar. While the others engaged in small talk, Octavia had the misfortune of overhearing another group’s conversation.

“So Scratch, how are things going with you and the ice queen?” Octavia then heard a sigh.

“Hey, can I get another Painkiller over here?”

“Coming up,” the bartender called back and then turned to Octavia’s group. “Sorry about that, what can I get you?”

“Whiskey, straight,” Octavia told her.

“I’ll have the same, but on the rocks.”

“I’ll have a Rum and cola.”

“Same.”

“Alright, they’ll be up soon,” the bartender said and left to prepare the drinks. This left Octavia with her thoughts and the other groups conversation.

“What do you mean you broke up?! When did this happen!”

“Will you calm down, you’re attracting attention!” Vinyl sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Besides, it happened two weeks ago. It was way too soon in any case.”

“Here’s your drink,” a waitress said and placed a drink in front of vinyl, who nodded his thanks.

“Geez Scratch, you have the worst love life I’ve ever seen. What is this, your sixth fillyfriend?” the earth pony asked.

“Can we please not talk about this? I’m getting uncomfortable,” Vinyl pleaded.

“I have to agree, let’s talk about something else.” The unicorn said.

“Well, what else is there?” Tobias asked. Vinyl’s ears perked up and he smiled widely.

“I got something,” he said and popped a couple salt licks into his mouth.

“Here you go ma’am,” the bartender said as she placed Octavia’s drink down, “Would you like some salt too?”

“No thank you,” Octavia replied. She never ate salt with her drinks, it dilutes the flavor. She picked up the glass and swirled the whiskey around. It wasn’t what she would have preferred had she been given the choice, but it will have to do. The conversation continued behind her as she took a sip.

“So get this, I was in the record store near my place and-“

“And you actually found something that interested you?” the unicorn interrupted and Vinyl shot him a nasty look. “Sorry.”

“Anyway, I did. It was the most eye catching and simplistic thing I’ve ever seen, just an insignia and the artist’s name.” Octavia stole a look at the speaker.

‘My word, what is with that mane?’ was her first thought on actually seeing him.

“So, who was he?” his pegasus friend asked. Octavia let out a small ‘hm’ before raising her glass for another sip.

“Beats me, somepony named ‘Octavia,” he said and Octavia nearly did a spit-take, though she managed to make it mostly unnoticeable.

“Octavia?” the unicorn friend asked. Octavia could have sworn that he had looked at her. “I didn’t think you would be into that kind of music.” The white unicorn perked up.

“You know ‘em?” he asked.

‘Oh Celestia, please say no,’ Octavia thought to herself. ‘Wait, why am I panicking?’

“Yeah,” the friend replied and this time he definitely looked at her, “I know her.”

‘Oh no,’ Octavia thought and turned around for another drink.

“Are you ok?” Frederick asked, to which Octavia only nodded.

“So, care to fill me in?” the first one asked.

‘What was his name, Scratch or something?’

“All I know about her is what I’ve read in magazines. Apparently she’s a good enough cello player to get invited to play at the Grand Galloping Gala.” Octavia glanced back.

“Really, that’s so weird this is the first I’ve heard of her,” Scratch said.

“That’s because you don’t read,” the unicorn said and finished his drink.

“Hey, I read.”

“Action novels don’t count,” the earth pony said with a laugh.

“Oh that’s a load of hay and you know it,” Scratch said as his friends stood up. “You’re leaving already? It’s not even ten.”

“Unlike you, some of us actually have to work most of the week. I’ll see you, Scratch,” the earth pony said and waved, followed by the pegasus. The unicorn stayed behind for a moment.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know what this Octavia looks like eh? I’m really curious about her now,” Scratch asked and his friend sighed. It was here that Octavia felt the precursors to something she hasn’t felt in years.

‘Oh please don’t say what I think you’re going to say and why am I panicking?!’

“If you really want to know more about her, just ask her. She’s over at the bar right now,” the friend said and motioned toward Octavia.

“Really,” Scratch asked and followed the motion. His red eyes met with Octavia’s, and that’s when it hit her. Octavia felt an electric tingle run under her skin and her breathing was getting heavy. She turned away from him and tried to calm her breathing, but found it wasn’t working.

“Octavia, are you ok?” Beauty asked.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Octavia said and quickly made her way there. She barely had enough time to lock the door before she collapsed against the sink. She had one last coherent thought before she was overwhelmed by this long forgotten feeling.

‘Oh no, this is going to be a big one.’

“Well, that was weird. Is she gonna be ok?” Vinyl asked.

“She hasn’t been feeling well for a while, but I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Frederick said. Vinyl got up and walked over to the bar with his drink floating next to him.

“If you say so. Do you mind if I sit here? I don’t really want to drink alone.” Frederick nodded and motioned to a seat which Vinyl took. Vinyl was wondering how to break the ice, but was beaten to it.

“So, you’re Vinyl Scratch?” Harpo asked which took everyone at the bar off guard, “You’re smaller than I thought.”

“You’ve heard of me?” Vinyl asked not sure if it was a good thing.

“I know you through your stage name, which I found spray painted on my apartment building.” Vinyl reacted to this as well as he could have, which was tossing his drink into his own face, face planting into the bar, and groaning into his forelegs. “Although to be honest, I don’t know any more than that.”

“I’m going to check on Octavia,” Beauty said and stood up. Vinyl sat up and levitated a couple napkins to him.

“I’m sorry about that, I was just hoping for a better first impression,” Vinyl said and started drying himself off.

“Octavia, are you ok?” Beauty asked and knocked on the door.

“I’M FINE, LEAVE ME ALONE!” Octavia screamed from the other side of the door, which caused everyone to stare at the door.

“…So, what do you do Mr. Scratch?” Frederick asked.

Octavia’s breathing finally slowed to normal and that electric tingle started to fade away. She splashed some water on her face to help clear her thoughts.

‘Well, it’s been a while since I’ve felt something like that. How did these surges work again?’ Octavia thought and rubbed her forehead in an effort to try and remember. After a moment of thinking, Octavia shook her head and sighed, ‘I guess I have a letter to write.’ Octavia took a deep breath before she unlocked the door and found Beauty on the other side.

“Are you feeling better?” Beauty asked. Octavia nodded, finding that she actually did feel better than she had for a while. At least until she saw Vinyl at the bar. She felt that tingle coming back, but managed to suppress it so it wasn’t noticeable and returned to the bar.

“Are you alright?” Vinyl asked her as she sat down, and Octavia responded with a silent nod. “That’s good, ‘cause I would much rather not know I was able to make somepony violently ill just by looking at them,” Vinyl said with a chuckle and offered a hoof shake. “I’m Vinyl Scratch, by the way.”

“Octavia,” she said and shook his hoof, “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Nah, the pleasure is all mine,” Vinyl said with a grin. The bartender walked up and set a drink in front of him.

“Try not to spill this one, ok?” she asked.

“Ok, sorry about that,” Vinyl said and took a drink from his cocktail.

“So Mr. Scratch, what exactly do you do and-“ she stopped when Vinyl looked her right in the eye. “Um…”

“I’m a DJ, you can just call me Vinyl, and yes my eyes are naturally red. Cool huh?” Vinyl asked and waited for a response.

“Yes, of course,” she replied and took a sip of whiskey. Thankfully, Vinyl didn’t say anything and let a comfortable silence fill the bar. About ten minutes passed like this until Frederick and Beauty stood up and put some bits on the counter. “You’re going home?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired. Don’t stay up too late, ok?” Frederick asked.

“I won’t. Goodnight,” Octavia said and waved goodbye. Frederick and Beauty returned the wave and left.

“I can stay a bit longer,” Harpo said from down the bar. Octavia was grateful to have a friend nearby.

“Hey, do you mind if I ask you a question?” Vinyl asked and continued when he had Octavia’s attention. “I don’t really get the impression that you’re the kind of pony to release a record. What made you do it?” Octavia let out a small laugh.

“No offense Mr. Scratch, but you don’t seem like the kind of pony to listen to classical. Why did you buy it?” Vinyl gave Octavia a confused look, to which she responded with, “Answer my question and I’ll answer yours.” Vinyl took a breath and started thinking.

“I guess I got it because it was different from what I usually listen to. I usually listen to techno and pop songs, but you get burned out on that stuff after a while. That’s pretty much it really.” Vinyl took a drink and waited for Octavia. She finished her glass before speaking.

“I made a record because I wanted to. That and because there’s a severe lack of classical music out there,” Octavia said and turned to Vinyl, “Do I need any more of a reason?” The two of them were silent for a moment before Vinyl started laughing.

“I guess not, but that’s priceless,” Vinyl said in between laughs while Octavia glared at him. Octavia barely registered the bartender walked up to her.

“Would you like some more whiskey ma’am?” she asked and Octavia nodded without taking her eyes off of Vinyl. He soon stopped laughing and turned to Octavia.

“That was awesome. You know what; I like you ‘Tavi.”

“Don’t call me that,” Octavia said, but was ignored by Vinyl.

“We gotta do something like this again sometime. This was the most fun I had just shooting the breeze with somepony.”

“I don’t think we should do that,” Octavia said simply and thanked the bartender when she brought her drink over. Vinyl sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Are you always this difficult to deal with?” he asked and got a glare from Octavia for his troubles. “You don’t to hang out as a friend, fine we don’t have to do that. At least humor me with the thought of maybe working together in the future.”

“…I’m sorry?”

“One of my favorite things to do is work with other artists on something. If we were to do something like that, I would follow your lead on it and try my best to back you up.”

“…You cannot be serious.”

“I am serious,” Vinyl said and levitated a card from his bag, “Just humor me on this, please?” he placed the card on the counter and looked at her. Octavia looked down at the card and then into her whiskey.

‘He has to be joking. I’ve known him for less than fifteen minutes and he pulls this on me?’ Octavia looked at Vinyl and felt that electric tingle return, though not as powerful as before.

“What if I don’t want to do it?” she asked.

“Then you don’t have to, it’s your choice,” Vinyl replied. Octavia looked at Harpo, who gave her a shrug. Octavia stared into her drink and sighed.

‘I hope I don’t regret this,’ Octavia thought as she took the card. “This doesn’t mean anything, I hope you know that.” Vinyl smiled and picked up his drink.

“Of course it doesn’t,” he said and took a drink.

“And I don’t want you showing up whenever I’m at practice,” Octavia told Vinyl, who emptied his glass before answering.

“I won’t, but I may see what your shows are like,” Vinyl said and stood up from the bar. “Put my bill on my tab. Night ‘Tavi, hopefully I’ll be seeing you.” With that Vinyl left the bar, leaving Octavia alone with Harpo.

“I hope I didn’t make a mistake there,” she said to herself.

“He seemed like a nice enough guy,” Harpo said as he paid for his drinks and got up to leave, “just give it time, you never know what could happen.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Octavia asked, but didn’t get an answer.

*Observation suspended. Observation will resume at next possible opportunity.*

Made a couple minor edits I missed my first run through.

Screwing around

Ponyville hospital has very few stay in patients, but they did have one. The problem is she can get… bitey.

“Stay! N-no, stay!” the doctor shouted at the blue mare. This was really the only way to get her to listen since her mind seemed to only work like a dogs. That made feeding her a real hassle, since her frazzled mind could only associate food with a dog’s food dish. The mare growled at him as he shut and locked the door. He sighed and looked at his foreleg.

“She’s not making any progress at all. If anything she’s getting worse, she’s never bitten me before.” He sighed and looked through the window at the mare scratching her head with a hind leg. He left the door and went to get things ready to put her to bed.

The mare, nicknamed Screwloose by the hospital staff, watched the white coated intruder leave. Once she was certain that her territory was safe again, she relaxed and scratched her ear. She caught sight of her tail and, like any dog, started growling and chasing it.

“Well, you look like you’re having fun,” a voice said cheerfully. Screwloose stopped chasing her tail and turned to the new intruder, a light purple earth pony stallion with a mixed dark purple and white mane and tail topped with a propeller hat. She growled at the pony and barked a couple of times at him. “Whoa down girl, I’m just passing through,” he said. Screwloose growled and took a step toward him as the door opened. The stallion’s swirled eyes widened and he jumped to the ceiling.

“Dinner time!” the pony said and set down a food dish before closing the door. Screwloose perked up, barked happily, and ran to the dish. She ate from the dish happily, not caring what the food actually was, only that she had something to eat. The stallion dropped back down t the floor and walked over to Screwloose.

“So, whatcha eating?” he asked. Screwloose growled at him and nudged the food dish away from him. “Ok, sorry. I’m getting tired of walking.” The propeller in his hat spun up and he started flying around Screwloose. “Anyway, since I have to go soon, I might as well introduce myself. You can call me Screwball, so what’s your name?” Screwloose answered with a growl. “Well alright, see you later,” He said and flew above the door just as it opened. Screwball waved and slipped out the door, the doctor not seeming to notice the purple pony.

“Alright, it’s time for bed,” the doctor said and motioned toward the bed. Screwloose growled a little and the doctor had to stare her down. After a moment she sunk down and backed onto the bed. “There you go,” the doctor said maintaining eye contact as his horn lit up and securely strapped Screwloose to the bed, for her own safety of course. Next came the part that she hated the most, when the doctor would force her to sleep.

“Alright, sleepy time,” he said and his horn started glowing.

She woke up with yelp and gasped for breath as she looked around the room. She was immensely relieved upon seeing that there were bright oranges and reds surrounding her. She tried to remember why she was here when she saw a note on the side table which she picked up and read.

On behalf of all our staff, we are pleased that you have chosen us to stay for your honeymoon. We hope that you enjoy your stay with us.

-The manager of the grand maretron hotel.

‘Honeymoon? I got married? When?’ she thought and set the note back on the side table. She saw a mirror on one of the walls so she got up and walked over to it. Her white mane was messy from sleep, but other than that it looked as well as it always had, providing a nice contrast to her blue coat. She heard that the shower was running so she straightened her mane out before she walked to the door and knocked.

“Hello?” she called. A couple seconds later the water stopped.

“You’re awake?” a voice asked from inside.

“Uh, y-yes.” A couple seconds later the door opened and a purple coated stallion walked out and smiled at her. It took a second for her to recognize him and she smiled at him when she did.

“You’re looking better than you were earlier,” he said and pulled her into a hug, with her shivering a little at the feel of his wet coat.

“Yeah, I just had a bad dream is all. It was…”

“The hospital room again?” She nodded and nuzzled into his neck. “This has been happening more often lately. Are they getting worse?”

“I don’t know. I hate when I have those dreams, they always feel so real.” She hugged her husband tighter and felt him hug her back.

“Hey, don’t worry. We’ll figure something out,” he whispered to her and rubbed her back. “Why don’t you tell me about it over breakfast?” She looked up and smiled at him.

“I’m so glad I met you. I probably wouldn’t have made it this far without you,” she said and brought him in for a kiss, which he gladly returned.

“You don’t know that. You’re a very strong mare you know.” She kissed him lightly and smiled at him.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

The two of them had only recently been married and were enjoying the standard honeymoon thing: enjoying the sights around them, that ‘feeding each other’ thing that some couples do, and generally being a lovey dovey newlywed couple. She had so much fun that she had mostly forgotten about the nightmare. She rested against her new husband’s side as the two of them looked at the beautiful sunset over the distant buildings.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked.

“Mhmm,” she said and nodded. The sun disappeared behind the buildings and she looked up at him, “We should probably get back to the hotel.”

“Yeah, we should.” he stood up and pulled her up as well. “Hey um, if you’re feeling up to it, maybe we can have a romantic dinner later? Maybe with a bottle of wine?” she giggled a little and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’d love it,” she answered and nuzzled against him.

“That’s great, but what about your-?” she placed a hoof over his lips.

“Let’s not worry about that right now ok? I just want to spend some time with you right now.”

“R-right, well we better get back then.” She laughed lightly at her husband’s actions, secretly feeling happy that she could do that to him.

The dinner was as romantic as promised and soon the two newlyweds were back in bed relaxing.

Well, one of them was relaxing.

A couple weeks ago, the mare started having very bad nightmares. The kind where, no matter how hard she tried, she always found herself trapped in a body that will never respond to her will. Now even the thought of sleeping scared her out of her mind.

So she lay there, shaking like there was no tomorrow, when a pair of hooves wrapped around from behind her.

“It’s getting bad, huh?” her husband asked. She turned around to face him and lightly nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just…” she started and hugged her husband closer to her, “just don’t let go of me until I wake up. Please…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here when you wake up,” he said. She nuzzled against him as he started stroking her back and hummed a soft tune into her ear. It was like this that she finally relaxed enough to fall asleep.

Screwloose felt the spell lift from her mind and sprung into consciousness. She saw the white coated pony and, while she would normally have growled at him for entering her territory, but she had learned over time that such actions would prolong the time spent strapped down.

“Well good morning, you seem to be in a good mood,” he said and magically undid the straps. Screwloose stretched her legs and scratched her neck. “Well then, I suppose you’re waiting for breakfast?” the white coated pony levitated a dish into view, which caused Screwloose to jerk to attention and stare at the dish as it was lowered next to her.

“I’ll be back in an hour for your first check-up,” he said as he left the room. Screwloose waited until the door shut before digging into the food. Some small part of her mind recognized some familiar tastes: daisies, lettuce, and the like. She swallowed a mouthful of food and prepared to take another only to be met with a purple face.

“Hi Loosey,” he said excitedly. Screwloose reacted as well as expected biting repeatedly, although Screwball managed to dodge every one and jumped up to a ceiling corner. Screwloose barked and growled at him as he tried to quiet her down. “Hey hey, calm down, I don’t want to think about what will happen if the doctors find me here.”

Screwloose backed toward her dish and lay down next to it, glaring at Screwball all the while.

“Oh, I get it. Well don’t worry Loosey, I already ate today.” Screwball walked along the ceiling until he was in the middle of it and looked down at Screwloose as she ate. “I wonder what brought you here. Everypony has a story for why they’re here. Well except me, but that’s only because I can’t remember why I was here.” He smiled down at Screwloose, but it fell when she growled at him and finished eating. “Oh, you… don’t know, do you?” he jumped off the ceiling and floated down in front of Screwloose, “How much do you remember?”

Screwloose bit at him again and backed against the wall baring her teeth. Screwball sat down on the floor and scratched his head.

“Maybe I’m doing this the wrong way,” he whispered. He spun the propeller on his hat in thought, “Listen Loosey, I’ll come back after your check up. I need to think for a minute.” Screwball hopped onto the wall, lifted the vent cover, and escaped into the hospital’s ventilation systems. Screwloose paid the stallion no mind and started chewing at an itch.

Screwloose’s checkup went about as well as it could have. Thankfully she didn’t bite anypony this time, but other than that there was no change to demeanor or mindset. The white coated pony wrote something down and sighed.

“Well, you’re doing better than yesterday. Hopefully you can improve to the point where we can try some more treatments later,” he said before turning to open the door. “We’ll have your lunch ready in a little while.” Screwloose watched the doctor leave before yawning widely and curling up into a ball for a quick nap. That was brought to a halt when the vent opened and Screwball poked his head out.

“Good, he’s finally gone. These doctors always take forever,” he said and dropped onto the floor. Screwloose started baring her teeth at him and Screwball very slowly walked to her. “Hey, I won’t hurt you, don’t worry.” Screwloose, oddly enough, let him get close and growled lightly as he reached a hoof out to her. He placed the hoof on top of her head and started to lightly scratch her. Screwloose stopped growling and found that she liked the feeling. Her tail started wagging and she lifted her chin up. Screwball understood the gesture and started scratching underneath her chin as well. She started panting and felt her hind leg kicking.

‘Well, good to know this is working. The mind of a dog is such a cheerful and simple thing,’ Screwball thought. He continued scratching behind Screwloose’s ears for a few more seconds, but then she stiffened up and pulled away from him with a curious look. She sniffed the air a couple of times before moving closer to Screwball, sniffed a couple of times and walked around him sniffing some more.

He smelled… familiar to her, although that didn’t make sense since she had never seen him before yesterday. Or was it earlier than that? She neither remembered nor cared. She stuck her nose into Screwball’s mane and breathed in deeply.

“Hahaha hey, that tickles!” he said and backed away laughing. Screwloose would not be deterred though and pressed forward sniffing Screwball hoping to place the smell. Before it could go much farther than a couple sniffs, the door unlocked and started to creaked open. Screwball jerked up at this and quickly jumped into a corner.

“L-lunchtime,” a young intern nurse stuttered and gently pushed a food dish into the room before closing the door. Screwloose walked to the dish and nudged it with her snout to the center of the room.

“Why do they feed you in a dog dish?” Screwloose looked over at Screwball and tilted her head. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I know what it’s like to eat strange things. I mean, I’ve eaten macaroni and cheese.” His eyes then widened and he placed a hoof to his chin. “I have a hankering to eat some Cloudsdale now. We’ll talk later Loosey.” Screwball crouched down and hopped up to the vent system, this time opting to phase right through it. Screwloose looked at the vent for a moment and then at the dish before bending down to eat.

The day passed in a blur. Her next checkup and dinner didn’t even register for her. She didn’t even put up a fight when it was time for bed. She looked up as the doctor’s horn lit up and she slipped into unconsciousness.

She woke up with a gasp and looked around breathing heavily. Memories flowed back to her as a pair of arms tightened around her.

It was a week since she and her husband got back from their honeymoon. Despite their hopes, her nightmares hadn’t stopped, though they were getting a little better. But when they were at their worst it put both of them on edge. Sometimes they started fights over it.

“Another nightmare?” her husband asked. She rolled over to face him and nodded. “Do you remember anything?”

“No,” she said shaking her head, “just that white room and barking. It’s just so frustrating, I don’t know why I keep having them.” She hugged her husband closer to her and nuzzled against his neck.

“Listen, maybe you should see a doctor. These nightmares haven’t affected you in any serious capacity, but if they get any worse…”

“I know I should but… I’m scared. What if I go there and they lock me up? I don’t want my nightmares to come true.”

“That won’t happen and I didn’t say you should do it right away. Just promise me that you’ll go if they get really bad.” She looked up at her husband, sniffed a little, and nodded.

“Of course I will. If it does get that bad, then I’ll go.” She then leaned up and brought her husband into a kiss.

Despite the nightmares, she can always look forward to this every morning.

It was a few hours later and they had gotten ready for the day and gotten to their respective jobs. She was a jeweler by trade, so she spent the time inspecting and giving any final polishing to the gems that came through. Sometimes she got lucky enough to get her hooves on an uncut gem.

She loved it when that happened. The idea of taking something ugly and bringing out its inner beauty, it was… strangely symbolic to her.

So she was ecstatic that today was one of those days. She very carefully cut and shaped the gem, holding it up every now and then to see how it was turning out. She heard the door behind her chime open.

“I’ll be with you in a second,” she said and set the gem down on the table.

“Oh don’t worry, I’m just stopping by.” She recognized that voice and looked to find Rarity.

“Hello Rarity, what do you mean you’re just stopping by?”

“Oh, I’m just wondering how married life is treating you.” Rarity’s statement caused her to blush and look sideways.

“I’m doing alright, even though it gets a little tough.”

“Well of course, any serious relationship is bound to be hard darling.”

“Yeah, but… never mind. How have you been?”

“Oh, I’m doing alright. Even better, I think I’m making progress in my own romance.” That surprised her.

“You have a…?”

“Oh it’s nothing official and honestly I’m not sure how he would react. He’s just too cute when he’s flustered by something.” She giggled a little at Rarity’s gushing.

“Well good luck with that Rarity. I hope it works.”

“I do too,” Rarity said with a nod, “Oh, one more thing. Has he ever called you his ‘Shining Gem’?” Rarity’s question caused her to blush deeply and look at her hooves.

“Well… yes he does,” she said and looked up at Rarity’s smile.

“Oh don’t worry, I think it’s cute. I have to go now, so we’ll talk later.” Rarity walked out of the store with a nod. She waved back and, once Rarity was gone, she held a hoof to her chest.

Shining Gem. Somehow her name sounded better when he said it.

Screwloose once again drifted into consciousness. The…doctor stood over her with a look of professional flatness on his face.

“Good morning, I hope you’re feeling well today,” he said. He undid the straps and Screwloose sat up and shook out her mane. “We’re running a little late today, so let’s eat breakfast quickly.” He set a food dish in front of Screwloose. She sniffed it a couple of times before eating. She was finished in a couple of minutes and the dish was lifted away from her and the doctor motioned to her.

“Come on, you don’t want to miss your time outside do you?” At the mention of ‘outside’ Screwloose barked happily and ran to the door, the doctor managing to open it just when she got there. The doctor rushed after her, glad that she had slowed down, and escorted her outside where she started running around and looking at everything she could, all under close supervision of course. At the moment, Screwloose was very interested in a flower so she didn’t notice the doctor say something to a nurse and walk away.

“Psst.” Screwloose’s ears perked up and she looked around to find the source of the voice. “Up here,” the voice continued and Screwloose looked up at Screwball’s smiling face in a tree, which immediately dropped when Screwloose growled lowly at him. “Nonono, don’t do that. Ponies are watching.” Screwloose stopped growling and deemed the stallion not important before scratching at an itch.

“Listen, I can’t play with you right now, so I’ll stop by your room this afternoon. Until then, have a treat.” Screwball then reached into the tree and dropped a biscuit onto the ground. Screwloose jerked at the sight of the treat and happily ate it. When she was done she looked up into the tree and was saddened a little when she didn’t see Screwball.

“Lunchtime, come on time to go back to your room,” one of the nurses yelled. The prospect of food caused Screwloose to run over to her, the thought of Screwball gone from her mind completely.

Screwloose, despite what most of the medical reports said, could understand some very simple things, such as words and basic actions. That’s not to say she was anywhere close to proper communication, but she did realize when something stuck out to her. She was also got incredibly frustrated when she couldn’t figure something out.

This, more often than not, translated to her becoming violent.

Today, the parts of her mind that could think rationally had been mulling over Screwball. She was certain that they had met before. The way he smelled, his coat color, his voice, all were familiar to her. It was the why and the how of the matter that eluded her. When she couldn’t figure it out, she took to biting and tearing apart her pillow, an act she hadn’t done since her hospital stay had started. When she was done she tossed the remains of the pillow into a corner just as the vent opened so Screwball could enter.

“Is… this a bad time?” he asked. Screwloose didn’t respond in any way, instead curling up into an angry ball on the bed and stared into Screwball’s swirling blue eyes as he swam through the air. “You look like something is bothering you? Care to share?”

Screwloose let out a low growl and looked away from Screwball.

“Alright, suit yourself. I don’t understand why you don’t open up to me, not being able to talk notwithstanding.” Screwball landed on the bed and started to lightly rub Screwloose’s back, her tail starting to wag a little. “I’m a little surprised that I keep coming to you. I guess the world makes just a little more sense when I’m around you. Have you seen the outside world? It’s just so insane out there! The grass is green out there. Green, can you believe it?”

Screwloose stopped paying attention. She could recognize when somepony was going to go on and on about nothing, so she shut him out and enjoyed the feeling of Screwball stroking her back. That struck her rational mind as odd since she would never let the hospital staff touch her. Screwball became more excited about whatever he was talking about which caused him to stroke Screwloose’s back faster. Soon enough, the quick strokes put Screwloose right to sleep.

It was the first non-magically induced sleep she had for a long time.

“I just can’t wait for the world to make as much sense as that time, don’t you agree Loosey?” Screwball asked. After a couple seconds of silence he stopped stroking Screwloose and looked down at her. “She’s asleep? Oh yeah, I haven’t slept at all for the past three months! I better get on that.” Screwball quietly revved up his hat and flew over to the vent. He had gotten into it just as Screwloose’s doctor walked in.

“Is she asleep?” he asked and quietly walked over to Screwloose. She was snoring softly and he could faintly see her eyes moving under her eyelids. “She is. Now that’s odd.” He backed back to the door and left the room, careful not to wake up the mare. He watched her sleep through the window of the door for a moment before rubbing his chin in thought.

“Oh come on, where is it?” Diamond Tiara asked as she dug through her saddlebag.

“What’s wrong?” he best friend Silver Spoon asked.

“I can’t find my lunch! I think I left it at home. What do I- oh no, what’s she doing here?” Silver Spoon gave Diamond Tiara a confused look and followed her friend’s gaze to a blue mare walking toward them.

“Hi Diamond Tiara,” she said with a smile, “how are you doing today?”

“I’m fine. What are you doing here?” Diamond Tiara asked, Silver Spoon noting the bitterness in her voice.

“Well, I came to bring you your lunch.”

“What?”

“Well, I ran into your father earlier and he said that you forgot your lunch earlier. Since I was coming over here anyway, so I offered to bring it to you.” She then opened her saddlebag, took out a lunch bag, and handed it to Diamond Tiara.

“…Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I have to go now, have a nice day.” She waved at Diamond Tiara and trotted away.

“Who was that?” Silver Spoon asked.

“My brother’s wife,” Diamond Tiara answered and set her lunch aside, suddenly not feeling very hungry.

“Your brother got married?! When?”

“Almost a month ago. It was family only though.”

“You don’t sound like you like her very much.” Diamond Tiara took out a sandwich and took a bite.

“No, I don’t. How did a jeweler like her marry into my family? I don’t get it.”

“I… don’t see the problem.”

“Huh?” Diamond Tiara looked at Silver Spoon in surprise.

“N-never mind. It’s just you won’t know if you don’t like her if you haven’t given her a chance.”

“I don’t care.” Diamond Tiara took another bite of her sandwich and refused to continue the conversation.

Shining Gem didn’t even have to be there to know what was being talked about between the fillies.

When she got back home, Shining Gem was glad to find her husband had beaten her home. Even better, he didn’t notice her walk in. She quietly slipped off her saddlebags, creeped over to him, and grabbed him in a hug.

“Hi hon,” she whispered into his ear.

“Hi, did you get home just now?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just had to make a side trip to give Diamond Tiara her lunch.” He blinked a couple of times at the mention of his sister.

“Really, how did that go?” She let go of him and he turned to face her.

“About as well as can be expected. She still doesn’t like me, but I think there’s some progress. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll come around. Diamond Tiara is still young.”

“I know, and I can wait for that.” She felt her husband’s head rest on hers and she nuzzled against it.

“It’s nice to see you so happy, especially after yesterday.”

“Yeah, I haven’t been having as many nightmares lately. I think I might be getting out of it,” she said and looked up into his eyes. “I love you so much, Silver Scepter.”

“As do I,” he said back and kissed the top of her head, “my little Shining Gem.”

Screwloose opened her eyes and sat up, not noticing the lag of restraints today. Something seemed… different about her today. She looked down at her hooves and the sterile white walls as if for the first time. She rubbed her head and growled. Something had changed, tiny little buzzing sounds rebounded in her head. What were they? She couldn’t think for long before the door opened and the doctor walked in.

“Well, you’re up early. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just surprising,” he said and levitated a pair of saddlebags onto the floor. Screwloose thought she saw a strand of purple hair in the vent for a second. “Now your breakfast won’t be ready for a little while, so until then why don’t we start with your checkup?”

Screwloose barely had time to react before a light shone in her eyes. She bit in the direction of the light and growled at the doctor.

“Well, that still works properly. That’s good to know,” he said and wrote something down on a clipboard. Screwloose gave him an angry look, but stopped herself from attacking him. It wouldn’t have accomplished anything anyway. The rest of the checkup went smoothly, which surprised the doctor since Screwloose actually seemed annoyed by this. It must have been his imagination.

“Alright, you might not know or remember, but since today is Saturday we’re going to try and have you draw something again,” he said and took out a couple sheets of paper as well as some crayons. Screwloose stared confusedly at the items as they were set down in front of her. “Try not to eat the crayons this time. They may be non-toxic, but they’re still bad if you eat them.”

Screwloose looked over at the doctor and jumped a little when she saw Screwball trying to climb out of the vent. She of course freaked out, jumped off the bed, and started barking at him.

“Calm down, what spooked you?” the doctor asked. Screwloose pointed up at the vent only to find Screwball had vanished. She gave a confused whimper and the doctor sighed. “Are there rats in the vents again? I’ll have to see if Butterscotch can coax them out.” He looked into the vent one more time before walking to the door. “Please at least try and draw something. Although you probably won’t.” The doctor then left the room leaving Screwloose alone until Screwball came back out.

“Whew, he’s gone. You gotta be more careful, you almost blew my cover,” he said and hopped onto the ceiling. Screwloose ignored him and looked at the sheets of paper. She hated when they brought these things in here, they gave her a headache and she always ended up tearing them apart, though she had no excuse for the crayons since she really did think they were treats.

“Why would they have you draw something anyway? No offense but I don’t think you would even understand how to draw something. It’s like that one pink pony who expected me to not eat his pet alligator at a party! Can you believe that?”

Screwloose growled at him, already annoyed by him, and he wasn’t helping that buzzing in her head either. She stared at the papers and actually had an idea of something. With a look back at Screwball, who playing with his lips, she picked up a crayon and started drawing. Such a simple but complex task. Screwball, curious about Screwloose’s activity, jumped over and looked down at the drawing.

“Is that supposed to be me? I would be impressed but you got my eyes wrong.” He reached a hoof toward her and Screwloose growled angrily at him. “Alright sorry,” he said pulling away from her. The minutes passed slowly as Screwloose very slowly drew on the paper, rubbing her head in frustration. Screwball at first watched her draw, then grew bored of that and tried to eat the bed, then grew bored of that and started banging his head against the wall.

“Ugh, I’m so bored!” he said and rolled over to Screwloose, “Can you try and say something?” Screwloose growled at him and continued drawing. Screwball huffed and stood up. “Fine, I’ll be back later,” he said and walked out of the door.

Screwloose watched Screwball leave and rubbed her head angrily. One of those little buzzes grew louder in her skull until it cleared enough for her to recognize it. She did remember some words, although she could never be able to actually say any of them, and she knew some were more important than others. She couldn’t remember where she heard this one, but it definitely had some kind of importance. She decided to try and say it, so she closed her eyes and forced it out, her voice breaking halfway through from disuse.

“H…hus…band…”

Silver Scepter wasn’t sure what to do, much like the last few nights. It just broke his heart whenever Shining Gem had one of these nightmares where she would cry loudly and all he could do was hold her until she woke up. He had to lay like this for a few more minutes before she woke with a startled gasp.

“It’s ok, you’re safe,” he whispered to her and she started crying.

“They’re getting worse. I thought I was done with this but now… oh what am I going to do?”

Silver didn’t answer right away, instead stroking his wife’s coat to calm her down, which worked as she scooted back into him.

“Maybe you should see a doctor,” he suggested and felt her stiffen up, “these dreams could be part of something bigger.” Shining Gem relaxed a little and turned to face Silver.

“I know, but…”

“They’re not going to lock you up just because you had a few nightmares, and even if they do they’d have me to deal with.” He tilted her head up and looked into her eyes, “Just go get yourself checked up and see if there’s a reason for these dreams. That’s all I really ask.” After a moment of thought Shining Gem nuzzled against Silver’s neck and nodded.

“Alright, I’ll go later today,” she said and gasped a little when Silver kissed the top of her head. She looked up at Silver and nuzzled against him. “I don’t want to get up yet.”

“I don’t either.” Shining Gem smiled and rolled on top of Silver Scepter, his eyes widening in surprise.

“You know, I have trouble remembering. When was the last time I kissed you?” she asked.

“Kissed me? It was last night before we went to bed. Why do you-?” his eyes widened again as he was pulled into a deep kiss. Of course, he started enjoying it after a second and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

Screwloose rubbed her head furiously again. These memories of somepony she never heard of before forced themselves into her mind, all of it started when Screwball first showed up.

She actually remembered his name that time.

She shook her head and focused on the nearly finished drawing. She hadn’t really been paying attention to what she had been drawing, but now she saw that she had drawn Screwball floating lazily through the air playing with his lips. She tilted her head and blinked a couple of times at the drawing.

“Well it’s alright I guess, save for my eyes.”

It was only then that Screwloose noticed that Screwball was laying against her back looking at the drawing. She immediately shook him off and growled angrily at him.

“Oh calm down, it was a compliment,” Screwball said waving a hoof in the air, “What made you want to draw me though?” Screwloose looked at the ground and ran a hoof in a circle. “Oh well, it doesn’t really matter I guess. Your doctor’s gonna come check on you in a little, so I better go.” Screwball started to make his way to the vent and-

“Ma…”

He stopped at the voice and turned back to Screwloose, who seemed desperate to say something. She growled angrily and rubbed her head.

“What was that?” he asked. Screwloose put her hooves down and took a deep breath, only to be interrupted when the door opened and Screwball bailed for the vent.

“What’s got you down?” the doctor asked the crestfallen Screwloose. That was changed when he saw the drawing at Screwloose’s hooves and picked it up magically. “What’s this?”

Screwloose looked at the doctor, who had turned the drawing over for her to see. After a second of looking it over she stood up, walked over to the bed, and lay down on it. She didn’t need to explain it.

“I’m a little surprised that you actually drew something. You’ve made a lot of progress in the last few days. I’m going to keep this, ok?” Screwloose didn’t react, so the doctor took that to mean it was ok with her. He folded up the paper and put it in a coat pocket. “I’ll be back later for your afternoon checkup and dinner,” he said and turned to the door. As he walked out he thought heard Screwloose say something quietly.

“M…mar…ried.”

Shining Gem stood in front of Ponyville hospital, her insides jumping wildly at the building. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and walked through the front doors. The waiting room was of a simple design, white walls with wood paneling and some chairs and sofas for ponies to sit on. Shining Gem took another breath and walked to the front desk.

“Um, excuse me,” she hesitantly said to the mare at the front.

“Yes?” the mare, Nurse Redheart she thought her name was, asked.

“I was hoping to get a checkup done today.”

“Ok, go have a seat over there and I’ll see if a doctor is available.” Nurse Redheart pointed to the sitting area. Shining Gem nodded and sat down on one of the couches. A few tense minutes passed as she either looked around the foyer or flipped through a magazine. After finishing an article, Nurse Redheart called her over.

“Doctor Stable is available, so I can take you to him. Would that be alright?”

“Yes, that’s alright,” Shining Gem said. She stood up and followed Redheart through the hospital. She felt incredibly uncomfortable being in a hospital, with memories of her dreams coming back to her. She took a few deep breaths as they stopped in front of a room.

“If you can wait in here, Doctor Stable will be with you soon,” Nurse Redheart said. Shining nodded and walked into the room, flinching just a little at the white walls. She sat down and settled in for another wait. She managed to distract herself with an anatomy chart until the doctor came in.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw him.

“Good afternoon, I’m Doctor Stable,” he said with a hint of joyful professionalism and held out a hoof.

“Um, I’m Shining Gem,” She said and shook his hoof.

“Nice to meet you. So what brings you here today?”

“Well… I’ve been having some bad nightmares lately, and they’re starting to affect me really bad.”

“Really, and what are these dreams usually about?” he asked and started writing on a clipboard.

“It’s… hard to describe. I’m always in a hospital room, surrounded by white walls, trapped in a body that barely responds to my thoughts. I try to talk or do anything, but I only bark or growl.”

“Like a dog? Any idea why these dreams play out like this?” Shining Gem sighed and looked at Doctor Stable.

“No I don’t. I’m getting really scared because they’re starting to seem more real, like that’s real and I’m only dreaming of being here right now. And… we haven’t met before now, right?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Why?”

“Well, in the dreams… you’re the doctor in charge of me.” That caused Doctor Stable to blink in surprise.

“Huh, that’s interesting,” he whispered and wrote down some more on the clipboard. “Has anyone else you know shown up in these dreams?” he asked once he was finished. Shining Gem closed her eyes in thought.

“…Yes, my husband, but he’s not himself there either.”

“Hmm, why don’t you explain a bit more? What’s the last dream you remember?”

“Well…”

Doctor Stable stared at the drawing on his desk.

“How did she go from no progress at all to being able to speak simple words and drawing in a few short days?” he asked himself. It was mind boggling and it was clear something had changed. But the drawing in particular intrigued him the most. This… unorthodox looking colt looked exactly like…

He made up his mind and folded the drawing up and put it into a pocket of his jacket. He made his way through the hospital halls, taking a second to make some last minute checks on his patients, before he arrived at the front desk.

“I’m leaving for tonight Nurse Tenderheart. Let me know if anything comes up,” he said to the mare at the desk.

“Alright, have a nice night doctor,” she replied with a wave. He nodded back and walked out the doors. He took a second to breathe in the night air and enjoy Luna’s night sky. When he was done he set off toward Ponyville in a light trot. The streets were mostly empty, save for the occasional lone pony and couple. He soon reached a house that was completely dark, save for one light. He knocked on the door three times and waited a moment for the door to slowly open.

“Doctor Stable?” the stallion asked surprised.

“Hi, do you mind if I come in for a minute?” The stallion blinked a couple times before opening the door and stepping aside. Doctor Stable walked inside and sat in a chair.

“Ok, what is it?”

“…It’s about her.”

“And the dream ends with you leaving with the drawing,” Shining Gem finished. She had recounted most of the dreams she could remember as Doctor Stable finished the checkup.

“There’s nothing after that?” he asked and looked at his clipboard.

“No, that was the last one I had. What do you think?”

“Well, there’s nothing physically wrong with you, so the dreams are probably just emotional stress. I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist and keeping an eye on your dreams. If anything else happens let me know.”

“I will. Thank you for your time,” she said, shook Doctor Stable’s hoof, and walked out of the room. On the way out she made a quick stop by the restroom to splash some water on her face. She knew she hadn’t been sleeping well, but looking at her face in the mirror shocked her a little. She vowed to take a long bath when she got and, with a sigh, opened the door.

Which led into a hospital room.

Shining Gem stared in horror at the room, more specifically the mare on the bed. She stirred in her sleep and Shining Gem got a good look at her screw cutie mark. She also saw the mare’s face and let out a small gasp. She couldn’t think more on it as the vent behind her opened and a purple pony crawled out.

“Seriously, one of the few times I come to play with you and you’re asleep?” he said and walked to her. Shining Gem held out a hoof only for it to pass right through him.

“What in the…?” she asked staring at her hoof. The colt jumped onto the bed and poked at the mare, Shining Gem feeling it.

“Come on Loosey, wake up.” When he said that Shining Gem came to a horrifying realization.

“Oh no, please don’t tell me I’m-“

Screwloose woke up with a start and looked around the room, her eyes finally falling on Screwball. She stared at him and his smile for a moment before she got angry at him.

“Hi, how you feeling?” he asked. Screwloose answered by growling loudly and snapping at him, which he barely got away from. He flew in the air as Screwloose followed him on the ground. “Hey calm down, I just wanted to play a little. You do realize its morning right?”

Screwloose didn’t care, she was angry for reasons she couldn’t comprehend and she needed to take it out on something. She had cornered Screwball into a corner and some small part of her mind was a little pleased at the worried look on his face. Just as she was about to bite at him again, there was a knock on the door and Doctor Stable walked in.

“Oh good, you’re awake. That saves us some time,” he said. Screwloose paid him no mind and continued staring at Screwball, who didn’t dare to move between Screwloose’s stare and the doctor’s presence. “You have a visitor.”

That got her attention. Screwloose and Screwball looked at Doctor Stable in confusion.

“I wasn’t sure if you were ready for visitors yet, but he insisted when I told him about you.” As Doctor Stable explained this, another stallion slowly walked into the door frame and stood there looking at Screwloose. When she noticed him she immediately recognized him, mostly because the exact same stallion was hanging from the ceiling.

“What?” Screwball said and fell to the floor staring at the new stallion.

“Well here she is,” Doctor Stable said to the stallion, “Did you want me to stay here?”

“No, I want to talk to her alone,” he answered.

“I can’t leave you totally alone with her, so I’ll be waiting outside just in case. Will that be alright?” The stallion nodded and walked into the room as Doctor Stable walked out and closed the door behind him. Screwloose looked back and forth between Screwball and the new stallion. He took a step toward Screwloose, who backed away in fright.

“I was afraid this would happen,” he whispered and sat down with a sigh, “do you at least remember who I am?” Screwloose blinked a couple of times and tilted her head at him, her eyes glancing over to Screwball now and then.

“Hus…band?” she finally forced out.

“Husband?” Screwball asked and walked over to the stallion, “This is your husband?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” the stallion said and held up his left hoof, which had a gold bracelet with a ruby in the shape of a sparkling gem embedded in it.

“He looks just like me, and… he’s your husband?” Screwball sat on the ground and held his head. “But… what does that mean?”

“I guess I should reintroduce myself. My name is Silver Scepter.” Silver looked at his bracelet for a moment before setting the hoof on the floor and looking up at Screwloose, “I’m not really sure what to say. I heard that you were getting better and I wanted to see for myself.”

“He look same as me, but he no hat, he scientist!”

“Hon…eym…oon?” Screwloose got out.

“Haha, you actually remember that?” Silver asked and wiped away a couple of tears, “Gosh, how long ago was that? About a year or so?”

“What direction on this hat is south?!” Screwball shouted at his hat which caused Screwloose to stare at him angrily.

“That feels like it happened so long ago,” Silver said and wiped away a couple more tears. “I know I should be strong for you, but it gets hard sometimes. Waking up to an empty bed in an empty house, knowing that you’re here and there’s nothing I can do, it hurts so badly. But… I can’t even imagine what it’s like for you.”

Screwloose blinked and for a moment she was sitting at a table as Silver was staring at her lovingly, only to be back in the hospital room with another blink.

“But he can’t be scientist, he look like me. If he look like me… oh.” Screwball’s eyes widened and the swirls in his eyes spun faster than ever.

“You know, no matter how long it will take, I’ll be waiting for you when you get out. I don’t think I’ve even taken this off since that day,” Silver said and gestured to his bracelet.

“Day?” Screwloose asked.

“Yeah, April thirteenth. That’s when Discord got loose and tore the world apart and… I lost you.” The tears were falling freely from Silver’s eyes and Screwloose’s vision also started getting blurry.

“If I’m him, then…”

“I hope you’ll get better soon, I don’t know what I would do if I lost you for good.” Silver sniffed a couple of times and Screwball rolled onto his stomach to look up at his doppelganger. “It hurts too much as it is.” A couple more sobs wracked him at the thought. He stopped only when a blue hoof lifted his face up to Screwloose’s. She didn’t say anything and only licked his cheek a couple of times. The look in her eyes said it all. He rubbed his forehead against hers and stood up.

“I…I have to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can, just… please don’t leave me again.” It broke his heart to see Screwloose-Shining Gem-whimper sadly at him. He left the room, sparing Screwloose one last glance before shutting the door. Screwloose pawed at the door, whimpering the whole time, stopping when Screwball placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“It’s ok,” he said and pulled Screwloose into a hug. She whimpered and cried into him as they moved to a corner, where he just stroked her tussled mane. Offering comfort wasn’t something he was used to, but he still tried.

Anything for his wife.

“How did it go?” Doctor Stable asked Silver Scepter when he came out of the room. Silver wiped his eyes as he heard Shining Gem scratching and whimpering beyond the door.

“About as well as it could,” Silver answered, “She remembered me at least.”

“She still has a long road, but I’m sure she’ll make it with some help.”

“Yes. I want to see her again soon, so…”

“You know when our visiting hours are. We’ll keep you notified on her condition.”

“Thanks.” With a nod from Doctor Stable, Silver Scepter walked down the hallway. Doctor Stable slowly opened the door to check on Shining Gem and found her in a corner of the room hugging herself tightly. He couldn’t remember seeing her cry before, so he decided to let her be.

Shining Gem woke up once again in Silver Scepter’s arms. She had had another nightmare, but something else was tugging at her mind. She rolled to face the calendar on the night stand. She stared at it for a while, maybe half an hour, before Silver woke up.

“Honey, what’s the matter?” he asked. Shining Gem rolled and hugged Silver tightly. “Wha-?”

“Just… hold me please,” she said, nearly on the verge of tears. Silver complied without hesitation.

“What’s wrong?”

“If… something were to happen to me, you’d stay with me wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would, you’re my Shining Gem. Why do you ask that?” The tears broke free and Shining Gem scooted closer to Silver.

“I’m scared Silver. I’m so scared.”

Silver couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he settled for stroking his wife’s back. He happened to glance at the calendar.

It was dated April twelfth.

As always, share your opinion.