Alterverse: Welcome to Ponyville

Chapters

Ch 1: Tricky Student
Ch 2: A Rocky Start
Ch 3: Foalnapped
Ch 4: The Plan
Ch 5: Maternal Rage
CH 5.5: Maud's Mission

Ch 1: Tricky Student

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her alicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike.

But as time went on, the elder sister became obsessed with power. The ponies relished and played in her day, but the night, as beautiful as it was, seemed to mean nothing to the ponies. This fueled the elder's ego, and in turn, her obsession with power grew. One fateful night, the elder alicorn refused to lower the sun to make way for the dusk, believing that the ponies would love her more for extending the day. The younger sister tried to reason with her, but power had corrupted the elder's heart and had transformed her into a wicked mare of fire: Daybreaker.

She vowed that she would illuminate the land in eternal light. Reluctantly, the younger sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponykind: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her elder sister, and banished her permanently in the moon…

“The younger sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since!” a boisterous blue showmare exclaimed, using her glamour magic to create visuals, “This year’s Winter Moon Gala will mark the one thousandth anniversary of Princess Luna’s victorious win over the Eternal Light! So it is certain to be a special event. And if anypony is lucky enough to go this year, you just may be lucky enough to see a special performance from the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Cheers are heard around the classroom from the colts and fillies. They always love it when she comes to their school. She always finds a way to make learning fun. Her skill as a showmare, and her tendency to take creative liberties will always capture the attention of the class. And her tendency to include magic to create a performance will even grab the attention of the teachers.

My little pony, My little pony
Ahh ahh ahh ahhh…

(My little pony)
I thought I had all the friends I'd need
(My little pony)
But in Ponyville I found a new lead

Raving music
Flying through the air
A motherly love
Power to share
Teaching kindness
A great and powerful feat
And magic makes it all complete!

You have my little ponies
Will you all be my best friends?

A group of hooves found their way into the air. The teacher pointed to one filly in the front left, a blue pegasus filly, “Uh… Miss Trixie? What are the Elements of Harmony?” the filly asked.

“Great question… uh…” Trixie turns to the teacher in hopes of getting a name.

“Wind Catcher,” the teacher whispers over.

“Great question, Wind Catcher,” Trixie continued, “That knowledge has been lost to time. Some aren’t even sure if they even exist. But because of the nature of harmony, it can be assumed that the Elements of Harmony cannot be wielded to their full potential by a single pony. And they cannot be used by just anypony. The pony has to be chosen by the element. A pony who properly represents that element. Some even say that the ponies that are chosen by the elements are the physical embodiment of those elements. It’s hard to say for sure what’s true or not. But the stories are truly great!”

The teacher points to colt, “Stone Wheel.”

“If the Elements of Harmony can only be weld… wheel… used by multiple ponies, how was Princess Luna able to use them to defeat Daybreaker?” the gray colt asked.

“Another great question, Stone Wheel,” Trixie said, giving a thankful look towards the teacher, “Not even the princess herself knows for sure how she was able to do it. But as I said, one pony cannot use them to their full potential. But that doesn’t mean they cannot be used. And the princess being an alicorn means that she’s a representation of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. So perhaps that is why she could use them as she did.”

Another filly, a thestral, was answered, “Night Wind.”

“Daybreaker was banissed forever, right?” the thestral filly asked, a slight lisp in her speech.

“Yes,” Trixie was confused about such a basic question, “Why do you ask?”

“And Princess Luna banissed her widt teh Elements, right?”

“Yes…”

“But how could see baniss Daybreaker to teh moon forever if see couldn’t use the Elements to their full potensial?”

Trixie was about to answer. But she found her words catch in her throat when she realized she didn’t have an answer, “That’s a good question,” Trixie said, less for show and more in honesty, “I… don’t know.”

“Does that mean Daybreaker wasn’t banished forever?” Another filly said.

“Is Daybreaker gonna come back with the Eternal Light?!”

“Is it true that she eats little ponies like us?!”

Trixie noticed the class beginning to panic. She knew that the likeliness any of them were in real danger was low. But she couldn’t be sure. But the class was panicking, and she needed to get their attention. She shot some sparks from her horn, creating a non-flammable fireworks show, a trick she learned when one of her school performances resulted in the firefighters getting involved.

The show did it’s job in getting their attention, “Don’t worry, everypony. Daybreaker will not be a problem. The likeliness of her return is low. And even if she does return, the likeliness that it will happen in any of your lifetimes is also low,” Trixie said, getting her point across before donning a cocky grin, “Besides, if she does come, and she does want to hurt any of you, she’ll have to get through me! The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

The class cheered once more, music to her ears. Not because of her showmare nature, but because the children were no longer afraid. After a few more questions were asked, Trixie had one final trick up her sleeve.

“As I said before, I will be at the thousandth Winter Moon Gala! And I will be performing a very special show! But I can’t guarantee that you all will be there to see it… Or can I?” Trixie drew a few tickets on the blackboard. They were crudely drawn, but drawn in such a way that made them unique. She then used her glamor magic to modify the image, changing it to an image of the tickets on fire. The image switched again to a crudely drawn image of a history textbook, “It seems the tickets I’ve drawn were transformed into history textbooks. Perhaps you will all find something if you open up yours up?”

Out of curiosity, one filly opened up her history textbook and found a something silver inside the cover. She looks at it and saw that it says “Trixie Ticket” on it. The other children did the same, revealing they all had Trixie Tickets.

“If you come to the Winter Moon Gala and present those tickets, you will be allowed in as my personal invitations.” Trixie explained. The class cheers once more.

The teacher quieted them down, “Now what do you say to the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Thanks, Miss Trixie!” the class said in unison.

“I cannot continue to allow you to keep providing children with Gala vouchers!” an irate lunar princess exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, Princess,” Trixie apologized as she followed the lunar princess down the halls of Canterlot Castle, “It’s just, you know me and children. I told them I would be doing a special show at the Winter Moon Gala. When I realized that not all of them could go… I just invited them.”

“Well, I cannot ask you to return the invitations. That would just break their hearts,” Luna said as she calmed down, “I understand that your heart is in the right place. But sometimes I think your heart is bigger than your head. But then I remember how big your ego is.”

“Hey!” Trixie replied before noticing the slight smirk on Luna’s face.

“Now to address another issue,” Luna continued, getting Trixie’s attention, “Who gave you permission to perform a special show at the Gala?”

“Oh… well… I…” Trixie stuttered.

“And I assume you already have this show planned out, right?” Luna asked, “Would you mind telling me what you will do in your show?”

“Well… I…” Trixie said, “A great and powerful magician never gives away her secrets!”

“In other words, you do not have anything planned,” Luna said.

‘How does she do that?’ Trixie thought.

“I’ll allow the show,” Luna said, receiving a sigh of relief from the blue mare next to her, “That is, if you show a performance that is spectacular and has never been seen before. In other words, I expect to see a new trick from you.”

Trixie tensed up at that, but couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, “I promise, you won’t be disappointed!” Trixie said, accepting the challenge. She then noticed that she was being taken to an unfamiliar part of the castle, “Uh… Princess, where are we going?”

They came up to a door. Trixie took notice that Luna didn’t answer her question. This put Trixie on edge. Luna activated her magic, opening the double doors into what appeared to be a vault of some kind.

“I know this may be a bad time to bring this up. But something came to my attention today,” Trixie said, “When I was at the school today, one of the children asked an interesting question. She brought up the idea that because you couldn’t use the elements to their fullest potential, that you couldn’t banish Daybreaker for eternity.”

“Observant,” Luna said simply. The fact that she didn’t elaborate, and the tone of her voice sent a chill down the showmare’s spine. They came to a case that held five stone orbs, “These are the Elements of Harmony. Even at our best, my sister and I were unable to use them to their fullest potential. Even when I banished my sister to the moon, I could feel my connection to the elements weakening.”

“Wait, so that filly was right?” Trixie exclaimed, “Huh… Smart filly. Wait, doesn’t that mean that… Is Darbreaker going to return?!”

“It was an inevitability,” Luna said, “And though I don’t know when exactly it will happen, I do know that it will be soon.”

“Forgive my bluntness, Princess,” Trixie said, “But I think because of your age, your idea of what ‘soon’ means is a lot different from most other ponies perceptions of ‘soon’.”

“I have not forgotten that fact,” Luna admitted, “That is why I trust that you have enough time to prepare.”

“Prepare?”

“I want you to use whatever time is left to find the Elements of Harmony,” Luna explained.

“But… They’re right here.”

“That is only half true,” Luna corrected, “The Elements of Harmony are not the objects used. These are merely the conduites. The elements are in fact the union between the Tree of Harmony and those which are chosen by the tree to wield its power.”

“And you want me to find the wielders?” Trixie asked, “Why me? How do I find the other wielders? Why can’t you wield them again? Where do I-”

“I have already told you why I can’t wield them again. Because my connection has been lost,” Luna answered, cutting Trixie off, “I may be able to access the power, but it would be too limited. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you more than that. I promise that I wish I could tell you. But if I did, you would no longer properly be able to be up to the task.”

“I don’t understand.”

“All I can tell you is that what you need to learn cannot be taught,” Luna continued, “What you need to learn has to be experienced. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is that where knowledge can be taught, wisdom has to be experienced. If I were to tell you what you needed to do, you would know what was required. However, your knowledge of what to do would potentially hinder your ability to properly experience it. Do you understand now?”

“I think so,” Trixie said, “It’s like how a child can be told that a hot stove will hurt, but will only understand what it feels like if they touch the stovetop and experience the heat for themselves. Is that about right?”

“Good deduction,” Luna praised, “If I’m not mistaken, you’ll find what you need in Ponyville. I’d recommend that you make some friends while you’re there. They will help you to find what you need.”

“But, if I don’t even know what I’m looking for, how could a group of ponies, who don’t even know about the elements, be able to help?”

“You’ll understand why once you find what you need.”

Trixie sighed. She wasn’t used the lunar princess being this vague. But she assumed it had to do with having to experience the answer for herself. But then something occurred to her, “There are six elements, right?” Trixie asked, “So why are there only five orbs?”

“In order to ensure that the elements can’t be wielded to their fullest by the wrong ponies, the Tree of Harmony will only reveal the sixth element when only the worthy are present,” Luna explained, “As you can see, I can’t wield the elements how they are intended because I’m not worthy on my own.”

“It seems like the Tree of Harmony has a mind of its own,” Trixie suggested.

“In a way, it does,” Luna said, “Though, to say it has its own mind is not quite accurate. It more likely assimilates the minds of those who connect to it. And it only takes in that what is pure. When my sister had become corrupt and became Daybreaker, the tree quickly disconnected the elements from her before it could assimilate that corruption.”

“What would happen to the Tree of Harmony if it became corrupted?”

“That is unknown. And I pray that we never find out,” Luna explained before turning to Trixie, “Now, shall we begin getting you ready for your trip to Ponyville?”

Trixie had gotten her belongings ready to be sent to Ponyville. She set things up so that only the essentials were in her saddlebags, while the rest will be sent for when she finds a place to stay in Ponyville. She was wearing her signature wizard’s hat and cape as she headed towards the train. Luna had explained to her what each element represented; kindness, generosity, loyalty, laughter, honesty, and magic.

Trixie was being followed, as a shadow from above went from cloud to cloud. The shadow thought it went unnoticed. But Trixie sensed her stalker.

“You may be a Lunarbolt, but you’re not as stealthy as you think you are,” Trixie said.

The Shadow flew to the ground, revealing a white pegasus with a blond, curly, windswept mane and tail, “Aw, man! I thought I was doing good that time.”

“Your flying was silent, but you’re loud when you land on clouds,” Trixie said with a cocky grin, “Which is strange, considering how quite cloudwalking naturally is for pegasi. Are you sure you don’t have some sort of magical glandular problem, Surprise?”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“No, of course not. But…” Trixie chose to go with it, “You aren’t exactly the thinnest of the Lunarbolts.”

Surprise just replied by sticking her tongue out and blowing a raspberry. After that, the topic changed, “So, what’re you doing?”

“Princess Luna sent me to Ponyville to…” Trixie paused, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“How do you know I wouldn’t understand unless you tell me?” Surprise asked.

“Fine. I’m sent to find the wielders of the Elements of Harmony,” Trixie said, “Luna told me… Can you promise to keep a secret?”

“Have you ever known me to reveal secrets?” Surprise said before thinking again, “Don’t answer that. Yes, you can trust me.”

Trixie sighed, knowing that the likeliness that Surprise would keep the secret was 50/50 at best, “Okay. Luna told me that she thinks Daybreaker will return soon, though she doesn’t know when,” Trixie explained, “So she’s sending me to Ponyville to find the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony, because her connection to the the Tree of Harmony has been lost.”

“So, a villain’s coming, so the old hero wants to find new heroes because the old hero can’t be the hero again?”

“You read too many comic books,” Trixie deadpanned, “But yes, that’s generally it.”

“Can I come too?” Surprise asked, “Maybe I can help you find these heroes.”

“You can come if you want,” Trixie said, “But I don’t know how you can help me find who I’m looking for if I don’t even know who I’m looking for.”

“That’s why I can help!” Surprise exclaimed, “Two heads are better than one, right? Having a second set of eyes will bring a second perspective. What one of us can’t find, the other could.”

Trixie thought about it for a minute, “I guess that makes sense,” Trixie replied, “Well, if you’re coming, then let’s go. The next train to Ponyville leaves in about fifteen minutes.”

Ch 2: A Rocky Start

“I think I already know who the Element of Magic is,” Surprise said. The pair had gotten their tickets and were on the train. Trixie had explained what each of the six elements were.

“Realy? How could you possibly know that?!” Trixie exclaimed. Noticing the looks she got from her outburst, she recollected herself, “Nevermind the ‘how’ for now. Who do you think it is?”

“You!” Surprise exclaimed, “It makes sense. You have the ability to see any magic trick and analyze it. You can break down the trick in your head, then recreate the trick.”

Trixie facehoofed at that claim, “I’m pretty sure stage magic isn’t what the tree is looking for,” Trixie groaned.

“But can’t you do that with spellcasting too?”

Trixie sighed, “If it were really that easy, don’t you think I’d have the Element of Magic by now?”

“Not if you need the other five first,” Surprise said, showing off a cocky grin that could match Trixie’s own.

Trixie gave it a thought, “Huh… Good point,” Trixie admitted, “I just hate being left in the dark like this.”

The train darkened as it entered a tunnel. The artificial lighting then activated, “Okay, that was kinda creepy,” Surprise said.

“I guess this train knows the art of stage performance and the part timing plays into it,” Trixie said with a smug smile.

The two sat there for a few moments, trying to think of what to talk about next. The growling that came from Trixie’s stomach helped to answer that question, “That’s right, I haven’t eaten lunch today,” Trixie said bashfully.

Another growl was heard, this time from Surprise, “I think our stomachs are growling at each other,” Surprise said with a bashful smile of her own, “Should we attempt to soothe the savage beasts, or should we wait to see which of our stomachs tries to eat the other?”

“I don’t think my stomach has the heart to eat it’s friend,” Trixie said. Banter with Surprise always seemed to bring out a more childish side of Trixie, “Then again, my stomach doesn’t have any heart at all.”

“That’s not nice! Stomachs have feelings too!” Surprise said in mock offense. Then another growl is heard, “And my stomach currently feels hungry. Should we go and see if their serving snacks?”

“The train from Canterlot to Ponyville isn’t long enough to warrant serving food,” a monotone voice said. Trixie and Surprise peaked over the back of Trixie’s seat to see a gray emotionless earth pony.

“You’ve been on this train before?” Trixie asked.

“No.”

“Then how do you know that the train ride is too short to provide food?” Surprise asked.

“You can see Ponyville from Canterlot. Unless the terrain is too difficult, being able to see your destination makes it too short of a ride,” the earth pony explained, “Other than the train tracks having to wrap around Mount Canterhorn, the terrain is smooth enough to not warrant a detour.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Trixie said, “So what are you going to Ponyville for? Do you live there? Or planning to move there?”

“No. No.”

There was a pause as the two friends waited for an explanation. Surprise broke the silence, “Are you visiting family?”

“No.”

Another pause.

“Are you moving to Ponyville?” Trixie asked.

“No.”

Yet another pause. Trixie, hating not having information, finally asked, “Then why are you going to Ponyville?!”

“Rocks.”

Pause…

Granted, it was an answer. Not much of an answer, but an answer nonetheless, “Rocks?” Surprise repeated.

Before the pony could answer and most likely add to the inevitable echochamber, Trixie spoke up, “Could you specify? Rocks answers the question of ‘what’. So could you answer the question of ‘why’?”

“I’m studying to receive my roctorate.”

“What’s a roctorate?” Surprise asked.

“A rock doctorate.”

“I love rock! Are you a fan of Crush 40?!” Surprise exclaimed, jumping up and playing air guitar and singing, “Live and learn! Flying on the edge of tomorrow!”

“I study rocks.”

“There’s a degree in studying rocks?” Trixie asked.

“Live and learn! On the wings of yesterday!” Surprised continued.

“It’s an obscure subject,” the earth pony said before looking at the gem clip on Trixie’s cape, “That gem on your cape is a lapis lazuli.”

“Huh. Most ponies just assume it’s a sapphire,” Trixie said, “Even I thought it was a sapphire before Princess Luna corrected me.”

“Live and learn! Will you fly or will you fa-all?!”

“So what’s your name?” Trixie asked.

“Maudilina Daisy Pie,” the monotone pony answered, “But most ponies just call me Maud Pie. Or just Maud.”

“I’m Princess Luna’s prized protege, The Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie introduced herself in her showmare style.

“Live and learn! We will fly into the DAY!”

“WOULD YOU STOP SINGING AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF?!!” Trixie snapped.

“Sorry. I guess I got carried away,” Surprise said bashfully, “I’m Surprise, of the Lunarbolts. I love singing… a lot more than I’m good at it. Me and Trixie Lunamoon here have been friends since we were foals.”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” Trixie said, looking at Surprise, “It’s Lulamoon, not Lunamoon.”

“Meh. Lunamoon is easier to remember,” Surprise said, “I mean, it’s generally easier, and it’s fitting considering that you’re the princess’s personal prized protege.”

Trixie wiped off a layer of saliva that had built up on her face. Trixie knew that Surprise knew that saying it like that annoyed her because she ends up having to towel off after saying it. But she still says it that way for that exact reason. Still, she didn’t mean any disrespect about it.

“You remind me a little of my sister,” Maud said, looking at Surprise, “She’s also obnoxious.”

Surprise smiled at that comment before realizing what she said, “Hey!”

The three continue their conversation until the train ride ended, with Surprise talking about her interests and being a Lunarbolt, Trixie talking about magic and how great she is at it (AKA, boosting her own ego), and Maud talking about rocks and introducing them to her pet rock, Boulder.

The train reached Ponyville Station and the three exited, “Well, Maud, maybe we’ll see you around again sometime,” Trixie said waving to the earth pony.

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll take up rock collecting or something,” Surprise added, also waving.

“Goodbye,” Maud simply said before just walking away.

As they watch her walk away, Surprise thought of something, “Hey Trixie, do you think Boulder is housetrained?” Surprise asked, “I mean, he looks kinda young, so…”

“Surprise, it’s just a rock,” Trixie said with a facehoof, “It can’t be housetrained because it’s a rock and has nothing to train.”

“Oh. right.”

The two walk down the road, passing by the many different sites that Ponyville has to offer. But first things first. Trixie needed to find a place to stay.

As they entered the Independent District, they pass by a few places that open for rent. There was a bakery called Sugarcube Corner with a room for rent. But Trixie wasn’t much of a baker. Across the street was Bon Bon’s Candies. Same problem. None of the eateries were an option, seeing as Trixie wasn’t that great of a cook. An arcade, a few independent markets, a jelly market… Trixie was beginning to wonder what she was getting herself into.

Then she spotted it. Top Hat’s Trick shop, a magic shop. That was for her… until she read the sign that said “Going Out of Business Sale”. Trixie had to at least see what this store was about. When she opened the door, rather than a bell, there was a wind chime setup so that opening the door would hit multiple chimes in a row, causing the illusion of a magical sound. Trixie thought that was creative.

At the sound of the chime, a pony who looked old, but good for his age walked out. He was a gray unicorn with a wavy white mane and tail and wearing a black top hat, “Welcome to Top Hat’s Trick Shop!” the unicorn said, “I’m Top Hat. What can I do for you?”

“I saw the sign outside,” Trixie explained, “Is it true that this magic shop is going out of business?”

Top Hat sighed sadly, “Sadly, yes. It seems that there’s not a big market for magical trinkets,” he said defeatedly, “But most of these are just parlor tricks anyway, much of them can be performed without having to buy the materials at a trick shop.”

Trixie picked up one of the tricks and examined it, a simple magic wand. She gave it a shake, causing paper flowers pop out the end, “That’s the problem. The quality of these items are that of random household items,” Trixie explained, “But the problem aren’t the tricks themselves. It seems that if you put more effort into the presentation, you’d make more sales.”

“As much as I’d like to upgrade the items, better quality material requires bits. And if I’m not making sales, I can’t gain the bits to get better quality material,” Top Hat explained, “You have to spend bits to make bits. But the vicious truth is that if you don’t have the bits to spend, you can’t make the bits.”

“Then provide more than just magic props,” Trixie suggested, “Do shows, or even offer to teach classes.”

“I’d say that great magicians never reveal their secrets,” Top Hat said, “But that’s also part of the problem. I’m not a ‘great magician’.”

“That rule only applies to the more fantastical tricks. Parlor tricks are a different story,” Trixie said, “As for a great magician to perform and teach, look no further than right here. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

This peaked the gray unicorn’s interest, “Am I to understand that you’re asking for a job?”

“And a place to stay… if it’s a possibility that is,” Trixie said bashfully, “I just moved here and need a place to stay.”

“I can’t pay you much, seeing as this shop doesn’t make much,” Top Hat said, “As for housing, the top floor of this building is a studio apartment. I’ll give you the first month without rent for you to get on your hooves.”

Surprise, who had been waiting quietly, wrapped her foreleg around Trixie, “Alright! We got an apartment!”

Trixie looked up in shock, “Wait, WE?!”

“Well, I don’t have a place to stay either,” Surprise said, “So I figured I could get to be your roomie.”

“It’s up to Top Hat,” Trixie said, “And I’m not paying for you. If you want to be my roomie, you’re paying rent too.”

“Aww, man. That means I have to get a job, doesn’t it?”

Top Hat just watched as the two friends bantered.

The next day, Trixie got started early to help Top Hat make his shop more appealing, “First things first. I think a rebranding would be a good idea,” Trixie explained to Top Hat, “‘Top Hat’s Trick Shop’ is too generic and bland. You need something that’s more fun and memorable. How about… Top Hat’s Bag of Tricks?”

“That does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Top Hat wondered as he repeated the name in his head, “Top Hat’s Bag of Tricks it is!”

“Next are the trick you’re selling,” Trixie held up the magic wand from the day before, “You need better quality flowers and not just the paper flowers. Perhaps cloth instead of paper. Is there someplace in town where I could purchase some fabrics?”

“Well, she tends to be a bit picky. But there is a seamstress a few streets down,” Top Hat explained, “You’ll want to look for the building that looks like a carousel.”

The idea of a building that looked like a carouselle seemed strange to Trixie. But she did see a bakery that had a gingerbread house aesthetic.

“I’ve also made a prototype of an upgraded wand,” Trixie pulled out a crudely made magic wand. She then activated the spring loaded feature, making red paper flowers pop out, “It’s basically the same concept. But…” She then activated it again, causing blue paper flowers to come out instead.

“A color change trick?”

“It’s still a work in progress. But if it has fast action function, it can appear like the flowers are changing colors without looking like they’re being pulled in!”

“You have experience with stage magic, don’t you?” Top Hat asked in fascination.

“Ever since I was a filly,” Trixie said, “My father is also a stage magician. He does shows in Las Pegasus. And ever since I was a filly, I could figure out how any trick was performed, which is how I got into it.”

“So that’s how you were able to figure out how these prop wands work without even taking them apart?”

“It wasn’t hard to figure out. Since these are just props being sold to children, it’s unlikely that it would be that complicated to make,” Trixie said, going into analytical mode, “I’m a special case. But the simplicity of these can allow many children to figure out that the trick is that the flowers are hidden in the wand. This color change trick will make an obvious trick become a more fantastical trick.

“As for these magician outfits, there should be more than suits and top hats. As you have seen from what I wear, perhaps you could add wizard hats and capes to the attire. Perhaps the seamstress you mentioned would be willing to work on those as well. I wonder if she’d be willing to work together with your shop with other items as well.”

Trixie spent the rest of the morning explaining how to enhance the other items in the shop. After lunch, she would head out towards the carousel building.

“So Top Hat said to find her on this street, right?” Surprise asked.

“He was vague about the actual location,” Trixie said, “But from how it sounds, it should be easy to spot.”

“Is that it?” Surprise asked, pointing down the street.

From this angle, building didn’t look that special. But Trixie did notice what appeared to be a mannequin in a window.

“It couldn’t hurt to look, I suppose,” Trixie admitted.

The two of them walked over to the shop in question, and saw that when closer up, it does in fact appear to be designed like a carousel. Trixie wondered how Surprise was able to see that from that angle and from that distance. But that wasn’t important.

Trixie opened the door and walked in, hearing a bell ring to indicate the new customer.

“Just a minute,” a feminine voice came from the back room. That’s when a white mare stepped out, “Welcome to Carousel Boutique. My name is Rarity. How may I help you?”

“Of course it’s called Carousel Boutique,” Trixie sighed, more in how obvious the name is than thinking it was bad, “I currently started working at the magic shop in town. And I was-”

“You mean Top Hat’s Trick Shop?” Rarity asked, cutting Trixie off, “I thought that it was going out of business.”

“It was. But I’m trying to help prevent that,” Trixie said, “I have a passion for magic, and want to help get that shop on it’s hooves again. And I came by to ask if you’d be willing to help out a little.”

“Well, I suppose I could help out where I can,” Rarity said apprehensively, “But may I ask how I could help? My forte is fashion, not magic tricks.”

“That’s the thing though,” Trixie said, “I’d like to ask for your help with aesthetics if you can.”

“Well now, that is where I can help,” Rarity said, her interest peaked, “Though I’m still curious as to what I can do to help.”

Trixie reached into her saddlebag and took out a prop wand, “Well, these trick wands have compartments hidden within that hide paper flowers,” Trixie, with her showmareship, activated the wand, causing the paper flowers to pop out, “I was hoping that we could borrow some fabrics to hopefully replace the paper flowers with more realistic looking fabric flowers.”

“It’s not what I usually do. But I have made flowers for a few designs. So this shouldn’t be a problem,” Rarity said, “How many of these do you want?”

“Well, we’ve got a whole crate of these wands we wanna replace,” Surprise said, “And if things go well, we’ll probably sell more down the line.”

“Oh my. An entire crate?” Rarity asked, “How big of a crate?”

“If I were to guess, I’d say about one hundred wands,” Trixie answered, “And we’re also making enhanced versions that will have… well, let me show you.”

Trixie pulled out her prototype wand and activated it. Then showed off the color change idea that it’s intended to have. “This is just a prototype and a work in progress. But I was hoping to have the color transition to be quick enough to appear like the flowers switch colors. We’re still working on these though, so for now, you can focus on the single color wands.”

“If you can have part of the profits go to me, I believe we have a deal,” Rarity said, “After all, the materials won’t be free.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Trixie said, “How much?”

Rarity looked at the price tag of the wand, “Ten bits per wand?” Rarity said, “Raise it to fifteen bits, and I’ll take five.”

“So no loss on our part then?”

“I figure that since they’ll be higher quality, the price should raise with the quality,” Rarity said, “And I figure that I’d get the extra. Will that be all, miss…”

“Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Will that be all, miss Lu…la…” Rarity paused in thought, “Wait, you’re Trixie Lulamoon?! As in Princess Luna’s personal protege?!”

“It seems my reputation precedes me,” Trixie mumbled. Rarity then dragged Trixie to the back to take some measurements.

Ch 3: Foalnapped

Though Trixie wasn’t crazy about having to deal with Rarity’s inspiration manifestation, she was able to take advantage of it. She struck a deal with the fashionista that would allow anypony sent there from the magic shop would have a voucher to get a custom made magician’s suits.

Though she was planning on just wearing her usual magician’s garb, Rarity insisted on designing a dress for the gala. Trixie had agreed that because she would be doing a magic show, that the dress be functional as a magician’s garb. Though Trixie wasn’t fond of frilly dresses, seeing what Rarity had in mind was appealing to her. Though she still thought it was slightly too frilly.

But after an hour, Trixie finally got out of the boutique, getting Surprise, who had fallen asleep waiting.

“So, you think I could get her to make gala suits for the Lunarbolts?” Surprise asked.

“Are you sure you and the other Lunarbolts would even be interested?” Trixie asked, “I mean, I’m not sure how functional a gala dress would be for flying.”

“Well, you were able to custom make a dress to be functional, right?” Surprise pointed out, “So if you can request customs, why not me?”

“You can ask her yourself when you get the chance,” Trixie said, “Right now, I’d like to get to know this town a little better.”

“Would you like a guide to help you around?”

“That would be very helpfu-” Trixie turned around to see the origin of the of the voice to see a gray, wall-eyed pegasus mare carrying a mailbag, “Oh, uh… Hi?”

“Hi!” the mailmare chirped, “I still need to get back to the post office to end my shift. But if you want to come, I can show you around afterwards!”

“Who better to show us around town that somepony who works at the post office?” Surprise asked Trixie.

“Well, there’s not much else for us to do at the moment,” Trixie said, before turning back to the pegasus, “My name is-”

“The Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie!!!” the mailmare said, imitating the showmare’s usual introduction, “My daughter loves your shows! And so do I, even though I’m not as big into magic as she is.”

“It seems my reputation truly does precede me,” Trixie said to herself in fascination.

“I’m Ditzy Doo, the local mailmare!” the pegasus explained as they started walking, Ditzy’s attention purely on Trixie.

“You probably should watch-”

“My daughter, Dinky, loves to try to analyze magic tricks to figure out how they’re done,” This get’s Trixie’s attention, “My husband just says that all magic tricks can be explained scientifically. But it’s so much more than just science!”

“Well, you’re both right,” Trixie explained, getting caught up in the topic, “It is a science if you take into account the trick itself. But it’s also a demonstration of skill, with slight-of-hoof tricks and knowing how to, or being able to perform the tricks. It’s also a performance. You have to make sure to capture the attention of the audience with-”

“Ditzy!” Surprise said urgently, “Watch out for that-”

BONK

“-tree,” Surprise said, warning the pegasus too late about the tree in her way.

“Don’t worry,” Ditzy said in a slight daze, “It happens all the time.”

“As long as you’re okay, I suppose,” Surprise said, “So since you know so much about Trixie Lunamoon, I’m sure you know alot about who I am too?”

Ditzy just looks at Surprise cluelessly, “Uh… who are you?”

“You don’t recognize me?” Surprise said in shock, “You know, a member of the Lunarbolts?”

Ditzy took a moment to think about it, “Fleetfoot?”

Surprise sighed in defeat, “I’m Surprise,” she said, “I guess I’m not that recognizable without my Lunarbolts outfit.”

“Oh… yeah…” Ditzy said, trying and failing to sound convincing, “Sorry. I’m just that much of a fan of the Lunarbolts.”

Surprise noticed that Ditzy’s expression went sour at that mention. Ditzy was not as okay about this as she tried to let on.

“Sorry about my mood,” Ditzy said apologetically, “I’ve just had a… bad experience. But that’s in the past. Oh look, we’re here!” The trio walk up to the post office building.

Ditzy entered the building, followed by the other two. She then took out a punch card and clocked out before getting ready to act as tour guide. She checked the time before offering the two a couple of muffins. Trixie asked if she had a peanut butter muffin. Though the answer was no, Ditzy did spread some peanut butter on a blueberry muffin. Trixie found the combination of flavors quite pleasant.

After their little lunch, Ditzy lead the others out for their guided tour.

Ditzy showed the two around, showing all the eateries, theaters, shops, parks, etc. Trixie was fascinated at just how well Ditzy could navigate around town without a map… save for bumping into things once in awhile. But she assumed it had to do with the fact that she’s a mailmare and has to hand out mail all around. It came with the job.

“So you’re a pegasus, your daughter’s a unicorn, and your husband is an earth pony?” Surprise asked, “How does that work?”

“Well, you see, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much,” Ditzy began.

“I don’t think that’s what she meant,” Trixie corrected.

“Oh. good,” Ditzy said in a relieved tone, “I’d hate to have had ‘The Talk’ with an adult before I had ‘The Talk’ with my own daughter.”

“One time in my life is one too many,” Surprise groaned, “What I meant was, how can an earth pony and a pegasus have a unicorn daughter?”

“It’s complicated,” Ditzy said, “Anyway, you don’t mind if we go by the school, do you? I want to pick up my daughter from school.”

“Well, this is a tour of Ponyville,” Surprise said, “Wouldn’t be a proper tour if we didn’t see the school.”

“That, and I’d love to meet your daughter in person,” Trixie added, “I’m fond of children. Do you think Ponyville Elementary would allow me to come in as a guest teacher once in awhile? I always did that at Luna’s Academy for the Gifted.”

“I’m sure you’d have to set it up ahead of time. But I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” Ditzy said, “What would you do? Teach magic?”

“I’ll actually be doing that at the magic shop,” Trixie said, “I find a way to add a magical flair to any classes I do, often being history classes.”

“If you don’t mind the fact that she does take a few creative liberties,” Surprise said.

“I do not!” Trixie countered, “I mean, not enough for it to impact the actual history. I just make it interesting enough so that the children are interested in the story.”

The three of them head towards the school, where it was just about time for school to get out for the day.

“-And that’s why one of Princess Luna’s nicknames is ‘The Empress of the Night’,” a mulberry earth pony said to her class, “So can anypony tell me-”

DING! DING! DING!

The teacher was interrupted by the school bell, indicating the end of the day, “That’s it for today, class,” she said as the class began packing up, “And don’t forget, the report on the history of the Lunarbolts is due at the end of the week.”

The teacher watched as the students exited the classroom. Once the room was empty of students, the mulberry pony began packing things up herself. Before she left however, a good ten minutes later, three ponies came through the door. Two of them she didn’t recognize, but the third was a friend of hers, and looked worried.

“Hi, Cheerilee,” Ditzy said, “Have you seen Dinky? I came to pick her up from school, but I didn’t see her come out.”

“In all honesty, I was hoping I could’ve asked you that question,” Cheerilee replied, “She didn’t come to school today. I assumed she was sick or something. But apparently not. There are two other students who didn’t come to school today, one of them being my own little sister.”

“Skipping school?” Surprise suggested.

“My little sister isn’t the best influence on others,” Cheerilee said, “But she’s not a school skipper.”

“And if anything, my daughter is a good influence on her’s,” Ditzy added with a frown, “She would never skip school. She’d come home and complain about having a bad day. But not once has she considered skipping.”

“I can vouch for Dinky myself,” Cheerilee added, “She is a good influence, and wouldn’t skip.”

“I can figure there are a couple of possibilities,” Trixie said, “Either there’s a side of them that neither of you have seen. Though that is unlikely. Or they’re growing fillies and are growing into that rebellious phase. I don’t know them well enough to know how rebellious they could be. But often, it’s the quiet ones you need to watch out for.”

“My sister is far from quiet,” Cheerilee said.

“The third option is one that I hope is not the case,” Trixie said, “They are in potential danger.”

“DANGER?!” Ditzy shouted in worry, “What kind of danger?!”

“It depends,” Trixie said, “It could be as simply as a petty criminal or something small, or it could be as serious as an act of terrorism. They are the extremes though.”

“You mean Solaris could be attacking Ponyville again?!” Trixie asked, her worried tone getting more intense.

“Unlikely,” Surprise said, “Solaris is more flashy when they attack. Though it’s not an impossibility. But as Trixie said, it’s more of an extreme possibility.”

“Surprise, you take to the skies and get a bird’s eye view of anything suspicious,” Trixie commanded, “Ditzy, Cheerilee, can you give a description of the children?”

“Dinky basically looks like a younger unicorn version of myself,” Ditzy explained.

“Enough said,” Surprise said as she headed out.

“Wait, what about my sister?” Cheerilee called out. But it was too late.

“Don’t mind Surprise. She tends to act before she thinks,” Trixie explained.

“Also, why should we follow your orders?” Cheerilee asked.

“My name is Trixie Lulamoon, personal protege of Princess Luna,” Trixie said, “And considering the situation, does it really matter who’s making the plans as long as somepony’s making plans?”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Cheerilee said, “So what should we do?”

“Where are the desks of the missing ponies?” Trixie asked, “I can use a scrying spell to hopefully find them.”

“If you can use a scrying spell, then why send that pegasus out?”

“Because I don’t know what could’ve happened,” Trixie explained, “I need an extra set of eyes in the air just in case the scrying spell doesn’t work for some reason. And she is a Lunarbolt after all.”

Cheerilee nods, accepting the answer. She then showed Trixie the desks of the fillies in question. A blue glow ignites her horn as a beam-like spell scans the desks. After scanning, her eyes begin to glow blue. Trixie saw that the residual magic left behind was strong enough to endure a couple days of misuse.

Trixie looked around before spotting something, “I’ve picked up something! Follow me!”

Trixie guides the others out of the school and down the street, following a glowing aura that only she was seeing.

Meanwhile, Surprise was in the skies, observing the surroundings to look for a mini-Ditzy. Being a pegasus, she had advanced observational prowess, keeping her mind on every little detail as she flew.

Her search failed to provide results. She had circled Ponyville a few times already, finding nothing. Wherever mini-Ditzy was, it was either indoors away from any open doors or windows, or she wasn’t in town.

She realized that if the filly were indoors, it was pointless for her to continue. But if she were outside the borders of Ponyville, then searching could still be fruitful. And even if it weren’t fruitful, it would still be smart to cover that base.

With that in mind, she widened her search to outside of Ponyville. If there was anything to take note of, it would be a quicker search, seeing as it’s countryside. One thing she took note of was Trixie and the group. Figuring that she was using a scrying spell, she figured she’d go in that direction first.

Tapping into her inner Lunarbolt, Surprise kicked it into high gear, rocketing through the sky at top speed in a southwestern direction. Past the borders of Ponyville, across a large plain. Then in the distance, she noticed the details of the edge of Whitetail Woods. For the most part, it was what to be expected. But on the grass a few yards from the forest, it had been disturbed in a way that suggested a struggle.

I may not have been much. But it was something to take note of. She didn’t want to return to Trixie’s group just to say she found evidence of a scuffle, she wanted something more concrete. Considering the location and direction, it’s reasonable that their goal was getting to Whitetail Woods. So whoever she was looking for was most likely inside.

Flying over the forest, Surprise analized any detail she could. As she did so, she noticed a small patch of leaves that looked as if they’ve been disturbed. It was subtle, but there. She quietly went over, making sure that whoever may be in the area doesn’t notice her. The patch of leaves looks like they were slightly dryer. And they had a vague scent of smoke, indicating there was a campfire last night. Taking a glance through the leaves, her assumption was confirmed. There was a firepit from a somewhat recent campfire. Not only that, but there were tents, meaning if these ponies had foalnapped mini-Ditzy, then they had been here since at least last night.

Surprise was sure that nopony was foolish enough to leave a campsite like this if they were involved in criminal activity. So that could only mean that they must still be there.

Trixie running in this direction, signs of a struggle near the forest, a campsite, and all in a specific line that signified one after the other after the other? I’d say those are enough pieces of evidence to suggest that the culprit was found. Surprise then headed back to Ponyville at full speed, once again tapping into her inner Lunarbolt.

Trixie’s ground team manage to find the source of the scrying spell. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what they were hoping to find. Trixie walks up to a set of three saddlebags. A light lavender one, a gray one, and an orange one.

“Can I assume these belong to the missing fillies?” Trixie asked.

“Yes, that’s Dinky’s bag,” Ditzy said.

Cheerilee walks up to the orange bag and checks its contents, “I’d believe that my sister would skip school,” she said, “But she would never leave her lunch like this.” Cheerilee holds up a full lunch bag.

Surprise came back from her aerial investigation, landing near the group with a thud, “Hey, guys. I think I found them,” Surprise said, “I’m not sure if it’s them or not. But I found a campsite in Whitetail Woods and signs of a struggle near the entrance.”

Trixie attempts the scrying spell again, this time using the bags. A look of confusion spreads across her face, “Whoever these guys are, they were prepared for somepony using a scrying spell,” Trixie explained, “They must have a unicorn that can cut the connection that a scrying spell relies on. However…”

Trixie goes to the gray bag and takes out glasses and what appears to be a cape of some sort. She then does a scan on the items. Success!

“…It seems they didn’t take into account that each individual item has to be accounted for.”

Author's Note

One of the problems I have in writing is that I tend to be dialogue heavy and have issues with visualizations sometimes. So Surprise's investigations scene was a test to make a full scene with no dialogue whatsoever. As you can see, I can do visualizations. It's just that I tend to have issues practicing the "Show, Don't Tell" policy. My mind just focuses primarily on the dialogue and sometimes don't know how to fill the word count.

Ch 4: The Plan

“Is this another attack from Solaris?!” Ditzy exclaimed, running around in a panic, “Solaris is going to kill my little Dink-”

BONK!

Ditzy, in her panic, crashed into a familiar gray mare, completely unphased by Ditzy crashing into her, “Solaris is primarily straightforward about their attacks,” Maud Pie said in her monotone voice, “The Lunar Core are primarily subtle in what they do… when they’re not loud…”

“Fancy running into you again, Maud,” Surprise said.

“You’re not the one who ran into me…” Maud said, pointing at Ditzy, “She is.”

“That’s not what… nevermind,” Trixie sighed, “Can you help us? There’s a group of fillies who were foalnapped. And we could use the help to find them.”

“…Okay…”

“It it just my imagination, or is that pony’s lack of emotion offputting?” Cheerilee asked Trixie in a whisper.

“Think of it as her having a calm mind and not letting emotions cloud her judgement,” Trixie whispered back as they watched Maud slowly blink, “I assume introductions are in order. Everypony, this is Maud Pie Maud, This is Cheerilee and Ditzy Doo.

“Now that everypony knows each other, let’s get to planning,” Trixie continued, “Ditzy , Surprise, you two scout ahead and keep an eye on the group. But do not engage! We don’t know what these ponies have planned, or if knowledge of our presence could put the fillies in danger. Maud, Cheerilee, and myself should try to find somepony to help. Cheerilee can-”

“I should go with Ditzy and Surprise…” Maud said flatly.

“Are you sure?” Trixie asked, “They’re pegasi. So don’t underestimate their speed.”

“Don’t underestimate my speed…”

Trixie had trouble believing Maud was a fast pony. Everything she did seemed to indicate somepony who takes their time.

“Only if you agree that if you can’t keep up, you are on your own,” Trixie explained, “We can’t waste any time.”

“I’m skilled at tracking…”

Trixie couldn’t deny that a tracker would be beneficial to the team, “Fine. Just don’t slow them down. Now go.”

Surprise lead the way, making sure to keep at a pace that Ditzy could keep up with, which was a rather fast pace surprisingly. Ditzy flew at speeds only a worried mother could fly. But that wasn’t the shocking part. When Maud ran after them, she shot off like a bullet, almost creating a shockwave from her speed. It seemed she wouldn’t be slowing the pegasi down much.

“Cheerilee, you know this town better than I do,” Trixie said after the scout team were gone, “And because we can use the extra help, and because you know this town better than I do, you should lead the way.”

“Is that why you let Ditzy go and not me?” Cheerilee said.

“I can tell that she’s a protective mother, and I only met her today,” Trixie explained, “And it’s because of that that there was no way I was gonna stop her from going. So I made sure that she knows the danger if she tries to engage. Though you have a connection with one of the fillies, you’re not her mother, so I’m sure you’re able to put things in the hooves of others.”

“Are you implying that I’m not worried?!” Cheerilee exclaimed.

“Not at all. Just that, being a teacher, you can keep calm under pressure,” Trixie explained, “You’d be able to think rationally if you had to stay here, while Ditzy would likely be an emotional wreck in worry. I’d choose Surprise as a guide if it weren’t for the fact that she lacks much knowledge of the town, and the fact that she has to guide the others to the fillies. Maud would certainly be calm and composed. But she’s not from Ponyville.”

“I’m not sure who can specifically help,” Cheerilee explained, “But I do have a friend who’s adept with sound related magic. Her name is-”

“Vinyl Scratch!” a feminine accented voice called out, “How many times do I have to tell you not to leave your equipment in the middle of the room when you’re not using it?!”

A white unicorn with an electric blue mane and a bronze metal collar walked out to meet the gaze of the dark gray earth pony mare.

“Come on, Tavi,” the unicorn, Vinyl Scratch, said in a synthesized robotic voice, “So I forgot this one time.”

“You have forgotten several times in the past week, and multiple times in the past month!” Octavia growled, her usual sophisticated voice becoming an uncharacteristic growl, “Is it too much to ask that you just move your equipment to the side?”

Vinyl silently sighed before lighting up her horn and moving the equipment next to the wall at the side.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you like that,” Octavia said apologetically, “I know it brings back bad memories of home. Unfortunately, father’s influence on me is still part of me.”

“How you reacted is his fault,” Vinyl’s mechanical voice said, “But the frustration you feel is real,”

“That doesn’t excuse that I-”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

There was a knock at the door. Octavia went to answer the door. When she opened the door, she saw Cheerilee and another mare, “Cheerilee! What do we owe the pleasure?” Octavia asked before coming to a realization, “And why isn’t my daughter here yet?”

Trixie looked toward Cheerilee, “Is the third filly her daughter?”

Cheerilee nods and turns back to the musician, “That’s why we’re here. This here is Trixie Lunamoon. But introductions can wait,” Cheerilee said, getting Trixie’s name wrong, “We suspect that your her and her friends were foalnapped by the Lunar Core.”

“We’re here to get some help with dealing with the assailants,” Trixie said, “There’s already a group of ponies headed in their direction. And my name is Lulamoon, not Lunamoon.”

Hearing the conversation, Vinyl joined in, “So, my niece is missing? And you need help?” Vinyl said, receiving an odd look from Trixie. Vinyl pointed towards her collar, “Right, you don’t know about my voice. This is an AVS.”

“An AVS?” Trixie questioned, “What’s that?”

“AVS? Artificial Voice Synthesizer?” Vinyl said as if it were obvious what AVS stands for, “I need it to talk. Without it, I’m actually mute.”

“We can talk about that later,” Octavia said, “You came to us to get some help, right?”

“Yes,” Cheerilee confirmed, “To be specific, we came for Vinyl. Her sound manipulation spells would be good for sneaking up on them.”

“Enough said,” Vinyl said, walking out the door, “Let’s tear the manes out of the foalnappers’ heads.”

“I hate it when she just runs into action before getting all the information,” Octavia said, “But I’ll be coming to get my daughter too.”

“Well, we basically already told you everything you need to know,” Trixie said, “Details include going to Whitetail Woods.”

“They’re already at Whitetail Woods?” Octavia asked.

“Then fillies never came to class,” Cheerilee explained, “So they must’ve been abducted before school. And I know they didn’t skip because we found their saddlebags. They never even ate their lunch.”

“But then how will we find them?!” Octavia asked.

Trixie’s eyes began to glow blue, “Scrying spell.”

“Well, we need to get there quickly, right?” Octavia asked before grabbing a capsule and pushing a button. The capsule then opened up and the contents inside came out in a magic field, causing whatever was inside to grow to the size of a small vehicle, “These are an invention of a local scientist. They are simply called capsules. But the details is that they are items that are magically bonded with the capsule itself with a magical compression field for easy transport of large objects.”

When the magical field faded, in its place was a motor vehicle.

“That seems… oddly convenient,” Trixie stated bluntly.

“Everypony get in,” Octavia said, “By the way, my name is Octavia Philharmonic. And my sister there is Vinyl Scratch.”

“I’m the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie!” Trixie boasted, “The personal protege of Princess Luna!”

The group were getting into the vehicle, “You mean the Trixie?” Octavia asked, “The magician who’s practicing under the princess of the night?”

“The one and only,” Trixie said.

They started off, heading towards Whitetail Woods.

Dinky was annoyed. Not because of being foalnapped… well… that too. But she was annoyed that she had a magic nullifier put on her. Her magic wasn’t even powerful enough yet to escape anyway.

Surprisingly, being foalnapped was a lot more boring than you’d think. After the initial capture, it was boring not having anything to do. And after one of them tried to escape, one of her captors placed a paralysis spell on them, so they couldn’t even move.

“I’m hungry,” the orange pegasus next to her whined, “Isn’t it lunchtime yet?”

One of the captors walked over to give the pegasus an apple. But instead of biting into the apple, she bit the hoof holding it, “OW! You little brat!”

Dinky just sighed from that, “Scootaloo, you’re gonna get us into more trouble than we already are,” Dinky pointed out, “Or did you forget who’s responsible for them putting the paralyze spell on us?”

“How is it my fault?” Scootaloo asked, “I’m not even a unicorn. So how could I have paralyzed us?”

Dinky desperately wanted to facehoof. But being paralyzed prevented that action, “They paralyzed us because you tried to escape!”

“I tried to escape because we were being foalnapped!”

“This is why I’m not a father,” the unicorn of the captors sighed.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the only reason,” Scootaloo teased, “Even if you wanted to be a father, nopony would want to be with you.”

Suddenly, a hoof composed of magic slapped Scootaloo on her cheek.

“You know you had that coming, right?” Dinky said, suddenly receiving a slap of her own, “Hey! What did I do?”

“You were just as much a part of that argument as she was,” the unicorn said.

“That’s why you’re not a father,” a griffon said, “Because you can’t realize that they are just foals. Now undo the holding spell.”

“But Gailin…”

“No ‘buts’,” the griffon named Gailin instructed, “We’re not here to hurt the fillies, we’re here to properly educate them. Or would you rather let that school do the job and not teach them to properly worship the Empress of the Night?”

Gailin lit up his horn and released the paralysis spell on the fillies. As soon as this happened, Scootaloo tried to make a run for it. The operative word being “tried”. Scootaloo realized that as she ran, she wasn’t getting anywhere. She was being levitated off the ground to ensure she doesn’t run.

Dinky however went over to the third filly, a gray earth pony with a light gray mane. The earth pony hadn’t been taking this foalnapping well. Now that she wasn’t paralyzed, she was now able to curl up into a ball and shiver. She had been silent the entire time.

“Are you doing okay, Silver Spoon?” Dinky asked.

The filly in question jumped at the sound. She wasn’t taking the foalnapping well for two reasons. The first is that she’s been foalnapped… obviously. But the second is that she didn’t have her glasses. And without her glasses, she was practically blind. Without her glasses, all she could see were blurs. After realizing it was Dinky next to her and not one of the foalnappers, Silver quickly embraced Dinky, afraid that if she let go, she would disappear.

“I want mommy,” Silver Spoon whimpered as tears went down her cheeks.

“Me to,” Dinky said, tears forming in her eyes as well. Dinky wasn’t doing much better than Silver. But Dinky was doing her best to stay strong for Silver. Scootaloo’s reaction to the foalnapping was to act out. When they first were abducted, they all had tried to fight back. But it was obvious that there was no way for them to overpower the assailants. After a few escape attempts, and a few bumps and bruises later, Dinky and Silver stopped their escape attempts. Scootaloo has yet to stop trying, resulting in her getting some scrapes and cuts as well.

Before they entered Whitetail Woods, Scootaloo had tried again to escape, so desperate that she basically had a wrestling match with one of her captors. That was how they were put under a paralysis spell.

The scout team were just arriving at Whitetail Woods. Though they knew not to engage with the enemy, Surprise felt that Ditzy needed a reminder, “Don’t forget, we’re not supposed to try to save them yet,” Surprise told Ditzy, “We don’t want the situation to get worse. So wait for Trixie and Cheerilee to arrive before we do anything.”

Ditzy nods, a sparkle in her eye from the tears forming.

Before they headed into the woods, a motor vehicle arrived, carrying Trixie’s team.

“It seems we got here in time,” Trixie said, “Since we’re all together again, let’s make a plan.”

The pegasi landed, short introductions were made, and Trixie started planning, “Alright, we’ll need a bird’s eye view. I’m sure you know who will be taking that role.”

Ditzy nods and Surprise salutes.

“Octavia and Cheerilee aren’t exactly the fighting type,” Trixie continued, “So Maud will go with them to act as scouts.”

“I’m a fighter…”

“You’re also a tracker, and can act as the muscle for your group,” Trixie told Maud, “I can act as the tracker for Vinyl and myself.

“Vinyl and I will act as the front line,” Trixie continued, “Vinyl can cast a silence spell on the three groups.”

“The silence spell will make it so that anything you say can’t be heard, even by each other,” Vinyl explained with her robotic voice. She then held up several ear pieces, “These will allow you all to hear each other, bypassing the silence spell.”

“And with my ability to turn us invisible, it will be like we aren’t even there, as far as the foalnappers are concerned,” Trixie explained, “Though I could use the invisibility spell on all of you, I’d rather not have to spread my magic that thin. I’d like to be able to focus on other spells if it comes down to that.”

“Because of the nature of my AVS, I won’t be able to speak to you,” Vinyl added, “But these won’t just bypass the silence spell, but will also bypass distance. But to bypass distance, you need to put your hooves to the headset to activate the long range signal.”

“So to sum it up,” Surprise said, “The aerial team will be the eye in the sky, the scout team will be the backup and make sure none of them escape, and the front line team will be the main attackers.”

“Hopefully, we can do this without fighting,” Trixie said, “But generally, that’s the gist of it.”

“For my little muffin!” Ditzy said with determination.

“And beating up baddies!” Surprise added.

“For the safety of the fillies!” Octavia said.

“And my niece!” Vinyl added.

“For my sister!” Cheerilee said.

“…Hurrah…” Maud deadpanned.

“Let’s do this!” Trixie finished.

Vinyl Scratch cast her silence spell on everypony before they put the earpieces in their ears. After a sound check, Trixie used an invisibility spell on herself and Vinyl, making sure to enchant their eyes to see through the illusion. The aerial team took to the sky, the front line entered the wood, and soon after followed by the backup team.

Ch 5: Maternal Rage

Surprise and Ditzy flew into the air, the former leading the latter to where she found the campsite. Trixie and Vinyl head into the woods, Trixie leading the way as she followed the trail of magical energy that her scrying spell relied on. Maud, Cheerilee, and Octavia followed soon after the unicorns, being lead by Maud.

The game of extreme hide and seek had truly begun.

The spell Trixie used for scrying was in fact more than just a simple scrying spell. It was in fact a spell to see magical energy, combined with a scanning spell, to detect a specifical magical signature.

She watched the ambient magic around her. She watched as tree branches created magical ebbs and flows with every wave in the wind. She saw the wind itself flowing like a river. She saw where Vinyl was; a blue magical bubble of the silence spell and a cyan magical aura inside the bubble of her own invisibility spell, as well as the spell matrices of both spells.

Then there was a specific ribbon of magic that she’s been tracking. There were multiple ribbons of magic everywhere that were connected to other ponies and other creatures. But they weren’t that notable. Her scanning spell however allowed the specific magic ribbon to stand out. For this reason, what can normally block most scrying spells don’t affect Trixie’s spell.

This ribbon of magic was a light gray. It was small, which is expected from a filly, seeing as they are still young and have yet to produce much magical aura. But it was enough to track. And the path that the ribbon went through also had a faint disruption to the natural magic around it.

“Let’s go,” Trixie said simply, indicating for Vinyl to follow her. Trixie led the way through the woods, following the ribbon of magic she was tracking.

They followed the path as silently as they could…even though effort was unnecessary, considering their silencing spell. But because of the limitations of the silencing spell, they had to be careful about the surrounding environment.

After spending a little while following the trail, they came to a spot where a campsite had been. It was apparent that it was far to recent, and that it had only been recently abandoned. The magical trail had led to the campsite to a point where a pool of ambient magic had formed, meaning that the filly she was specifically tracking had been here for a little while before leaving.

Trixie saw another ribbon coming from the pool. This ribbon was much stronger and would most certainly lead to the source. She put her hoof to her earpiece and spoke, “They had left the campsite,” Trixie informed the others, “We’ll follow the trail to them.”

“Ditzy noticed this and we’re on the move following them.” Surprise said through the com system, “I don’t know how she knows where to go, since I can’t even see where they are. Maybe she has a Ditzy sense for something?”

“I’m the one with special senses…” a monotoned earth pony said, “The Maud Sense.”

“You mean things like that are a thing?” Surprise commented.

“In Ditzy’s case, there are a few undeniable facts about nature,” Cheerilee said, “One of them is to never get between a mother and her foal.”

Dinky was playing along with her captors. She was staying strong for her friends, but she was afraid on the inside. She needed to keep strong to comfort Silver Spoon. Scootaloo…well…she was Scootaloo. It’s hard to tell her her actions are the result of being defiant, or just her way of coping with the situation.

The unicorn captor currently had a bloody nose. Though he was holding Scootaloo in his magic to keep her from escaping, he was holding her a little too close, allowing her to get a good kick in. This caused enough of a distraction for her to escape momentarily. Now, instead of using a paralysis spell on her or just carrying her, Scootaloo had been magically put to sleep.

For the sake of keeping her away from the unicorn (whether it be for the unicorn’s safety or Scootaloo’s is anyponies guess), Scootaloo was being carried by an earth pony. A second unicorn, a unicorn mare, was leading the other two fillies through the forest as they continued.

“You fillies shouldn’t be afraid of us,” the unicorn mare said in a gentle and inviting tone, “We have no intent to harm you in any way.”

“Then why did you foalnap us?” Dinky asked, her voice having a stressed emotionless tone.

“It was either that or let them neglect teaching you just how much the Empress of the Night should be worshipped,” the unicorn said, “Most schools teach you that she is just a princess rather than the goddess that she is.”

Gailin, who had been flying under the canopy, had just landed with an annoyed look on her face, “We need to pick up the pace,” Gailin said, “It seems we’re being followed.”

“By who?” the unicorn mare asked.

“I saw two pegasi following us,” Gailin said. This caught Dinky’s attention.

“Two pegasi? That’s it?” the unicorn mare asked, “We can easily take on a couple of pegasi. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“FOOL!” Gailin roared, “Do you honestly think they’re alone?! Let’s look at the evidence. For starters, there are only two. If they’re a rescue team, there should be a minimum of three, each of them being a family member. There were only two pegasi, and only one of them looked like she’s related to one of them. And even that’s a stretch, considering she looks like the unicorn.”

If the captors would’ve been paying attention, they would’ve seen that a new well of energy entered Dinky at the mention of a pegasus who looks like her.

“If it’s only the two of them, then they are fools,” Gailin continued, “And though that is a possibility, it’s highly unlikely. Another thing I noticed is that they were silent. And before you ask the obvious question, no, it wasn’t that I just couldn’t hear them, it’s that they weren’t making any sound. Pegasi flying that fast don’t fly that fast without making a sound. So I think it’s safe to assume that there’s at least one unicorn somewhere. A unicorn that can use a silencing spell.”

Silver Spoon suddenly gasped as hope returned to her from hearing the mention sound magic, a trait of her aunt. Unfortunately, her gasp didn’t go unnoticed.

“And it seems that we have a positive confirmation right there,” Gailin continued with a cocky grin, “And if we have a unicorn connected with an earth pony, then I think it’s safe to assume that it’s possible that pegasus is connected to this unicorn here.”

Dinky’s ears drooped at that comment. And unfortunately for her, that was another confirmation for the griffon.

“And with that confirmation right there, either that second pegasus is connected to the sleeping pegasus we have, or we have a whole rescue team,” Gailin deducted, “And at the speed the pegasi are flying, they’ll be able to cut us off before we reach our rendezvous point. We’ll need to restrain the pegasi. Comet Tail, you hold off the pegasi.”

“At least it means I don’t have to deal with that little orange monster,” the unicorn with the bloody nose said. He aimed a spell into the air. Anypony to passed through the area would be caught in a paralysis spell.

As Comet Tail stayed to sustain the spell, the others took the fillies to continue their escape.

“The group is picking up speed! I think they’re onto us!” Surprise said through the com system.

“Well that’s just perfect!” Trixie complained. As she watched the magic around her, she noticed in the distance a navy blue spell matrix cover a wide range of area in the sky. And she saw two cyan bubbles zooming towards it. Trixie put her hoof to her earpiece, “Hold on! There’s a spell being cast affecting the area in front of you!”

One of the bubbles stopped, “What kind of spell?” Ditzy’s voice came through.

The other bubble flew into the area of effect. It then stopped and dropped the the forest floor.

“Ditzy, do NOT follow her!” Trixie commanded, “It’s a paralyzation spell! Flying is no longer an option! Land and find one of the others!”

“I’ll meet up with her…” Maud’s voice came over the com system, “I’m right near her.”

“We’ll deal with how you got ahead of us so quickly and how you know where Ditzy is later,” Trixie said, not wanting to waste time asking questions.

“Maud sense…”

“That’s it!” Cheerilee’s voice is heard, “I’m going after them and getting my sister back!”

“You’re gonna get yourself hurt!” Trixie exclaimed.

“Not before I hurt them first!” Cheerilee countered.

“Not without me you’re not!” Octavia exclaimed, “They’ve got my daughter, and I’m getting her back!”

“Don’t forget that there are three fillies in there that need saving, not just two!” Ditzy exclaimed.

Suddenly, cyan text laser light appeared in front of Trixie saying ‘I’m going too!’.

Trixie sighed, “It seems that we have a majority rule,” Trixie admitted. Let’s at least regroup. Surprise will have to wait. Sorry Surprise.”

Trixie then released the invisibility spell on Vinyl and herself. They headed to the regroup area.

After regrouping, Trixie came up with another plan. This time, stealth wasn’t part of the plan. They did however keep the silencing spell up so that they could talk to each other without being overheard.

“Your combined speed will allow you to get there within five minutes if I’m not mistaken,” Trixie said, finalizing the plan, “So you four will meet up with me and Vinyl there. After that, you know what to do.”

Vinyl Scratch then cast a spell. And with a magical ‘pop’, she and Trixie were gone.

Trixie reappeared in the way of the escape team, “And just where do you think you’re going?” Trixie said after cancelling Vinyl’s silencing spell on herself.

“Get out of the way!” Gailin shouted, “This has nothing to do with you!”

“It does have something to do with Luna’s subjects!” Trixie said, “And being Luna’s personal protege, I, the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie, feel that it is my duty to express her disapproval of your actions this day.”

“If you truly are the personal protege of the Empress of the Night, then why aren’t you helping us?” Gailin asked, “Everything we do is for the benefit of her!”

“Why is it that the group that is the most devoted to Princess Luna is also the group that knows the least about her?” Trixie continued.

As Trixie distracted the group, Vinyl, who had appeared off to the side out of sight, had snuck up, still with her silence spell, to get the fillies to safety.

Sneaking up behind them, Vinyl started by tapping Silver on the shoulder. All Silver could see was a blur. But the color scheme was that of her aunt, Dinky noticed Silver’s reaction and also saw Vinyl, who made sure to put a hoof to her mouth to shush her. Vinyl then looked around for the third filly. Unfortunately, she was unconscious and being carried on an earth pony’s back. And even with magic, she wouldn’t be able to get her off without the pony noticing. Vinyl did however remove Dinky’s anti-magic ring.

Once Vinyl cast silence spells on the two conscious fillies, Silver Spoon instantly hugged Vinyl tightly.

“Do you honestly think that you alone can take on the three of us?” Gailin asked Trixie as their conversation continued.

“Trixie would be a fool to think she could take the three of you one all by herself,” Trixie said, shifting into third person, “But Trixie doesn’t have to. Trixie is just acting as a distraction.”

“WHAT?!” the captors exclaim at once.

“One of the facts about nature is never get in between a mother and her foal,” Trixie said before the three captors were attacked from behind by two earth ponies and a pegasus.

Ditzy tackled the unicorn from behind. But before she could even fall over, Ditzy grabbed onto her and flew her into the air before doing a spinning dropkick, sending the unicorn face first into a tree, impaling her horn into the tree for her to just hang there by her horn unconscious.

Cheerilee’s attack was short but sweet. She grabbed the earth pony from the back and performed a Germane Suplex, knocking the earth pony out at the contact of the ground.

Octavia’s attack on Gailin wasn’t that flashy. But it was painful for the griffon nonetheless. She grabbed onto her wing and pulled until there was a pop and a scream of pain. Octavia had pulled the griffon’s wing hard, dislocating it. She then went to do the same with the other wing.

After the attack was over, Ditzy ran over to Dinky and hugged her tightly as well as planting multiple kisses on the increasingly embarrassed unicorn filly. Octavia ran over to Silver Spoon, setting her glasses on her muzzle before giving the filly a barrage of hugs and kisses to her.

Cheerilee however was worried, “Scootaloo’s not waking up!” Cheerilee panicked as she tried to shake the sleeping pegasus awake, “Why isn’t Scootaloo waking up?!”

“Because the spell she’s under doesn’t need to be sustained,” Gailin said through a clenched beak, fighting through her pain, “The one who cast the spell is hanging from a tree up there. And without knowing what spell was cast, the spell can’t be undone.”

Trixie lit up her horn, causing her eyes to glow blue. After analyzing the spell matrix, Trixie turned to the griffon to make sure she was watching. But she was gone. But that didn’t matter. The fillies were safe.

“I can release the spell. But perhaps we should get out of the woods first,” Trixie suggested, “For now, let’s go get Surprise and...hey, where’s Maud?”

As if on cue, Maud came walking to the group, carrying the other, now unconscious unicorn. Surprise following behind.

“Wait, you let the group here the entire way, right?” Trixie asked Maud.

“Yes…”

“And that trip is five minutes at full speed, right?” Trixie asked.

“Yes…”

“Then how in Equestria did you manage to get from here to where Surprise is, knock out that pony, and back here while carrying that pony… IN LESS THAN TEN MINUTES?!!” Trixie exclaimed.

“I know a shortcut…” Maud said bluntly.

“Wait, if you knew a shortcut, then why didn’t we take that on the way here?” Surprise asked, “We could’ve gotten here sooner, right?”

“It’s not that kind of shortcut…” Maud said, “Besides, how I did it isn’t what matters. What matters is that saved the fillies.”

“This has something to do with the ‘Maud sense’, does it?” Trixie asked.

“Yes…”

“Why do I get the feeling that trying to understand your Maud sense is just going to result in giving me a headache?” Trixie asked.

“Because there are things in this world that some ponies just aren’t meant to understand…” Maud said, “And attempting to understand what isn’t meant to be understood puts strain on the mind, resulting in the formation of a migraine.”

“That was only supposed to be a hypothetical question,” Trixie groaned.

The group had finally gotten out of the woods and were out in the open again. Cheerilee set Scootaloo on the ground, “We’re out of the woods now,” Cheerilee said, “Now wake up my sister!”

“Okay, okay,” Trixie said defensively, “You don’t have to bite my head off.”

Trixie then undid the sleep spell. Scootaloo then let out a groggy yawn, “Woah, what a wild nightmare,” Scootaloo said as she sat up, “I had a dream where me and the other crusaders got foalnapped, and… “ Scootaloo is then aware of the fact that she wasn’t in bed and had several ponies surrounding her, “That wasn’t a dream, was it?”

Scootaloo got a hug from Cheerilee, It was apparent that she was relieved that Scootaloo was okay.

“…And if Dinky wasn’t there to talk to me so that I knew she was there, I don’t think I would’ve gotten through that,” Silver Spoon said to her mother and aunt, tears welling up in her eyes. Octavia made sure to give her daughter a comforting hug.

Ditzy, who was listening in, was proud of her daughter, “Wow! You were really brave in there!”

“I had to be,” Dinky said in a flat tone, “For Silver Spoon.”

Ditzy, noticing the tone of Dinky’s voice, went into mom mode, “Well, it’s all over now,” Ditzy said in a much more soothing tone, “You don’t have to be strong for her anymore.”

With that said, Dinky started sobbing, the emotional damn broken. Ditzy just sat there, holding Dinky and rocking her back and forth to try to sooth her.

Trixie, noticing Dinky’s outburst of tears, just sat there watching. Dinky’s crying was breaking her heart. At the same time, it was infuriating her that those foalnappers would do this sort of thing to them. But that’s not all she notice. She also took note of Scootaloo, who had gone off on her own to sit alone. She seemed to be quivering as if she’s trying to hold in her crying.

“Cheerilee, why is Scootaloo just sitting over there?” Trixie asked.

“It’s just how she is,” Cheerilee said, “She’s a very prideful filly, and refuses to let anypony see her cry. Not even me.”

“Why?” Trixie ask.

“It’s a personal subject for her,” Cheerilee said.

“Well… I’m sure she’ll be happy to see her parents,” Trixie said.

“Yeah…” Cheerilee said, though her tone wasn’t missed by Trixie’s ears.

After getting back to Ponyville, they put the criminals in prison…or they would have if they weren’t put in the hospital first. The fillies, now reunited with their families, needed some time to recover from the day’s events.

Trixie and Surprise headed back to the magic shop. But they were joined by Maud for some reason.

“Oh, hey, Maud,” Surprise said, “What’s up?”

“Clouds…”

Surprise was suddenly reminded of a joke she’s heard before. But she shook that thought off, “That’s not what I meant. What I mean is, how are you doing?”

“Okay…”

“Not to sound rude or anything,” Trixie said, “But why are you following us?”

“The hotel I was supposed to stay at said that my reservation wasn’t in the system, and there are no rooms available…”

“Lemme guess,” Trixie deadpanned, “You were hoping that you could stay with us?”

“I assumed that because we’re friends now, you’d let me stay with you…” Maud said, “That’s what friends do for each other, right?”

How that was worded, something occurred to Trixie. Had Maud ever experienced friendship before? It’s not like she’s wrong about how friends are willing to help each other. But how she said it sounded like she wasn’t sure, like she only knew of friendship from movies and books, and not through experience.

“This is temporary, right?” Trixie said, mental exhaustion evident in her voice, “Again, I don’t mean to sound rude. It’s just been a long day.”

“It’s only the middle of the day…”

“It’s a figure of speech,” Trixie explained, “I mean that if feels like it’s been a long day.”

“You can’t feel time…”

Trixie was sure that if there was an Element of Blunt Literalism, she found her, “We had experienced a lot of activity today,” Trixie tried to explain the colloquialism as best she could, “These activities were also emotionally exhausting. The combination of actions and emotions makes it feel…it makes the experience seem like we’ve done more in that amount of time than what should be done. In short, today’s activities make the experience seem longer than it was, hence the colloquialism ‘it's been a long day’.”

“Okay…”

Maud may not be that expressive. But Trixie at least expected more than that, “Anyway, about it being temporary?”

“Yes…” Maud confirmed, “I can provide for myself otherwise.”

“Yes, you can stay,” Trixie sighed, “When Princess Luna sent me to Ponyville, this was not how I expected things to turn out.”

Author's Note

Do you know how difficult it is to explain something to someone who takes things extremely literally? Common sayings are something you normally take for granted. But you don't take into account that trying to explain a colloquialism to someone who takes things hyper literally, it's not easy.

It's canon that Maud tends to take things literally. So I'm working off of that.

CH 5.5: Maud's Mission

“Do you honestly think that you alone can take on the three of us?” Gailin asked Trixie as their conversation continued.

“Trixie would be a fool to think she could take the three of you one all by herself,” Trixie said, “But Trixie doesn’t have to. Trixie is just acting as a distraction.”

“WHAT?!” the captors exclaim at once.

“One of the facts about nature is never get in between a mother and her foal,” Trixie said before the three captors were attacked from behind by Cheerilee, Octavia, and Ditzy. As they attacked, Maud took the chance to leave through the woods.

She then used what she called a shortcut. About a minute after running through the forest, she arrives at the site where Surprise fell to the ground. That’s where she saw Comet Tail interrogating the paralyzed pegasus.

“How many other friends are with you?” Comet Tail asked, “We know that it’s not just the two of you pegasi. And we have good reason to believe there’s at least one unicorn, considering the silence spell.”

“So we had a silence spell put on us and went out on a fly,” Surprise said, “What’s wrong about wanting to keep our privacy?”

“The longer you lie to me, the longer you’ll be stuck in that paralysis spell,” Comet said, “Besides, you don’t have any right getting in our business.”

“She’s a Lunarbolt…” Maud said, causing the unicorn to jump in surprise and turn around, “Surprise is a member of the Lunarbolts, the pegasi military branch that Princess Luna herself set up.”

The look of shock on the unicorn’s face was soon replaced by that of realization. But then that faded into a smug grin, “You almost had me there, trying to convince me that she’s a Lunarbolt,” Comet said, “The least you could’ve done was pretend she’s a more impressive Lunarbolt than Surprise.”

“HEY!” Surprise shouted.

“I wasn’t born yesterday, you know,” Comet finished.

“Based on how you look…” Maud began, “You were born 22 years, 8 months, 2 days, 7 hours, 46 minutes, 7 seconds…8…9…10…11…”

“…HOW?!!” Comet cried, “Nevermind. I’ll deal with you soon enough.”

Comet turned back towards Surprise to continue the interrogation. But when he turned around, Maud was standing between him and Surprise. “What the… Weren’t you just-”

SMACK!

Before Comet could finish is statement, a gray hoof made contact with his nose, causing it to bleed again, “DAMNIT! I just got my nose to stop bleeding!”

“Do you know why it’s not wise to underestimate the Pie family?” Maud said, “Because we have abilities you’d never understand…”

Comet jumped back and shot magic at Maud that exploded into a smoke screen. The attack would cause damage to her at such close range, but nothing serious. Then there was a tap on his shoulder. He looked to see the earth pony unharmed and completely out of the blast range.

SMACK!

After spitting out a tooth from the attack, Comet jumped back again and, taking her advice to not underestimate her to heart, cast a paralysis spell on Maud, freezing her in place. Then he levitated her into the air before thrusting her to the ground.

CRACK!

Maud was somehow replaced with a boulder?! But how? She was paralyzed and levitated! His magic never let go of her either! But somehow she had escaped and replaced herself with a boulder?!

Before he could think about it further, the air had left his lungs and was flying into the air. Maud had bucked him in the gut from underneath. He was then tackled from above. Somehow, Maud was above him and had kicked him in the back of the head. Landing on the ground had completely knocked the pony out.

Surprise, who had witnessed the spectacle, shook off the shock, “Nice fighting and everything,” Surprise called out, “But with him unconscious, who’s gonna release me from this spell?”

Maud walked over to Surprise, analyzing her before slapping her on the left ear.

Surprise grabbed her ear in pain, “Ow! What was that for?” Surprise cried out before realizing she wasn’t paralyzed anymore, “How did you do that?”

“I hit a weak spot in the spell matrix…”

“But the spell only affects me from the neck down,” Surprise said, “My ear wasn’t even in the spell.”

“That’s why it’s a weak point…”

Surprise was about to argue with her that that doesn’t make sense. But then she realized something Maud had said earlier, “Abilities I could never understand?”

“Yes…”

“I’ll just take your word for it,” Surprise said, “I’m free, and that’s what matters. It’s amazing how easy you made that fight look.”

“It was easy…”

“Well, I’m glad you’re on our side then,” Surprise said, “Remind me never to make you mad. Do you even get mad? It’s hard to tell.”

“Yes…”

“So where are the others?”

“Saving the fillies…” Maud said as she lifted Comet onto her back and carrying him with ease. They then headed off to meet up with the others.

Though the “shortcut” would be a quicker form of travel, Maud couldn’t bring multiple ponies through. So the trip back was to be done on hoof.

“I can release the spell. But perhaps we should get out of the woods first,” Trixie, who was standing over the sleeping Scootaloo suggested, “For now, let’s go get Surprise and…hey, where’s Maud?”

As if on cue, Maud came walking to the group, carrying the unconscious Comet Tail. Surprise following behind.

“Wait, you led the group here the entire way, right?” Trixie asked Maud.

“Yes…”

“And that trip is five minutes at full speed, right?” Trixie asked.

“Yes…”

“Then how in Equestria did you manage to get from here to where Surprise is, knock out that pony, and back here while carrying that pony… IN LESS THAN TEN MINUTES?!!” Trixie exclaimed.

“I know a shortcut…” Maud said bluntly.

“Wait, if you knew a shortcut, then why didn’t we take that on the way here?” Surprise asked, “We could’ve gotten here sooner, right?”

“It’s not that kind of shortcut…” Maud said.

Author's Note

I was originally going to post this as a separate Side Story. But I felt that it's too much part of the main story to do so. And Maud's fighting skills will play a part in the season finale, so I figured it might as well be demonstrated in the main story so that people don't just pass it by.

As a side note, I actually intend on using the Alternaverse to explain the Pie Sense (my blanket term for the inherent senses that each member of the Pie family has), including a way of explaining Pinkie Pie. That's right, I'm going to make the impossible possible. It won't be fully explained until season 2 though. So I hope you're willing to wait.