Ghost Intelligence: Insect Investigation

Tempest slept soundly as the train he and his brother were on made its way through the mountains towards Ponyville. With one final blast of the whistle, Tempest woke suddenly and saw their destination in the distance.

"Ah good, you've awakened at last brother. I was fearing that I would be forced to wake you myself." Tempest was greeted by the surprisingly calm tone of voice that his brother used. He then remembered that Mind Trap helped himself to a cup of tea from his thermos and quickly gained a look of pride for his Mind.

The two ponies felt the train slow down as they approached the platform. They then made sure that they had their respective belongings near them as the train finally came to a stop. With their supplies in hand, Tempest and Mind Trap disembarked and made their way into town.

Upon reaching the square, Tempest turned to Mind as a thought occurred to him. "Perhaps we should use our time in this vicinity to top off our provisions and other supplies. I would have suggested doing so in Canterlot but..." Tempest trailed off as his brother caught on.

"Say no more Tempest. Had we stocked up in Canterlot, we likely would have gone through our budget within mere minutes." Mind Trap then surveyed the surroundings as he nodded and turned back towards his brother. "Alright, I shall acquire our expedition supplies and leave you to gather our provisions. Shall we agree to meet with one another in approximately two hours?" As Mind Trap relayed the plan, Tempest showed a look of surprise towards his brother. "Tempest? Are you alright?"

Tempest shook himself out of his stupor as he registered his brother's question. "Yes, yes I am. I am merely surprised that you are taking this much responsibility. It seems that my tea has had a bigger effect on you than I had initially thought."

Mind Trap gained a smug look on his face. "Well dear brother, you should have more faith in me. Besides, you shouldn't be so quick to judge one based on how they carry themselves." Mind Trap then gained a minutely crazed smile as he teleported around the immediate area briefly before heading off while continuing to teleport short distances along the way.

Upon his disappearance into town, Tempest shook his head in amusement before heading off in his own direction.

Two Hours Later

Tempest and Mind met back in the square with carts full of supplies. Tempest's cart had all sorts of energy bars, dehydrated meals, extra canteens and thermoses, and even camping dinnerware. In Mind's cart, he had sleeping bags, an all-weather tent, first-aid kits, climbing gear, and even multi-colored glow sticks. "My, it seems that you've not improved as much as I had hoped."

"Well it is as they say brother, you either go big or you go home. And I have no intention of returning home this soon into our journey." Mind Trap stoop proud as Tempest looked on impressively.

Suddenly, Tempest's stomach began to rumble loudly. "Well then, I suppose after a day of shopping like this, it's only right that we stop for something to eat. I located an interesting-looking bakery during my excursion. Perhaps we could stop there for a spot of lunch."

Mind trap's stomach rumbled as well. "Indeed, I quite agree. Lead the way dear brother."

Tempest smiled as he lead his brother into town towards a bakery that looked like a life-size gingerbread house, complete with candy decorations. The two walked into the door to find the establishment suspiciously quiet. Not even two seconds after they entered, the lights suddenly came on and revealed a huge crowd of ponies gathered within. "SURPRISE!!!" Yelled the crowd as Tempest and Mind reeled back in complete shock as one pony with a light pink coat, deep pink mane and tail, and three-balloon cutie mark emerged and greeted the two. Tempest recognized her as Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter

"Hi there, I'm Pinkie Pie. I saw the two of you around town and figured that you guys must be new, so I decided to throw this party for you. I saw you two come into town before splitting up. I wanted to through a party for each of you, but then I thought why have two separate parties for two different ponies when I can throw one big party for both ponies?!" Pinkie finally took a breath before gaining a somewhat terrifying grin on her face.

Tempest expected this type of greeting due to the information provided to him and his brother from Princess Celestia, but pretended otherwise so as to not arouse suspicion. "Well then thank you for this celebration Ms. Pie, but we only stopped by for a quick snack before finding a place to stay for the night."

Pinkie's grin did not leave her face. "Well then don't worry, you can meet some new friends and get a good meal while you're here. Besides, I'm sure your friend here would like to stay. He doesn't seem the same as when I saw him with you." She gestured to mind trap as Tempest turned to look at him as well. What he saw surprised him greatly.

In Mind Trap's place was a pony with the same build and cutie mark, but his coat was orange and he had peach-colored hair that covered most of his body. He also spoke with a dull tone in his voice. "Sure, I could stay for a bite to eat. Just as long as you make sure that I don't eat the building we're currently in."

Pinkie found herself laughing quite hard at this new pony's joke while Tempest looked on in confusion. "Hahahahahaha! That's a good one. Come on, I'll show you to the sweet treats table." Pinkie lead the new pony to the confection table as Tempest stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Thank you Ms. Pie. By the way, my name is Lunch Box, so if you have any fillies that want to bring their meals to school, have them get me to carry it for them." Pinkie let out another burst of laughter as the other ponies in the vicinity stared blankly in confusion.

Tempest finally snapped himself back to reality as he followed Pinkie and Lunch Box to the table where cupcakes, cookies, punch, pies, and other various sweets. Tempest grabbed a plate in his mouth and carefully observed the table lined with confectionaries. Looking to make sure no one was watching, he fluffed his wings and created a gentle breeze over the table. As if by levitation, cookies, cupcakes, and other treats floated off the table and onto the plate. As Tempest filled his plate, he heard Lunch Box ask Pinkie why the cupcakes weren't in cups followed by another fit of laughter from Pinkie.

After filling his plate, Tempest found an empty table to set his plate and sat down. He was about to take a bite of one of the cookies when he heard two voices behind him ask the same question in unison. "How in Equestria did you do that?!"