Friends on The other side

In the Ponyville town square, there are many interesting ponies there. One of them is known as Short Fuze. He’s a pegasus with a bright yellow coat and a red and yellow mane. His cutie mark was a firecracker with a lit fuze. It established his position as the pyrotechnics expert of the area and one of the few construction ponies around.

He was the third oldest out of six in his family, and due to the fact that his dad was a unicorn and his mom was a pegasus, it meant that he had siblings that were either one. The fact that his two older siblings were both his brothers made his life difficult.

His oldest was a successful officer known as Book Knight. Book was a unicorn with a dark grey coat and a dark blue mane. His cutie mark was a book with a knight’s helmet on it. The main thing that helped his career was the fact that he was also the Shadow Knight, a hooded hero that fought crime at night. Ever since he read that comic that Twilight got from the other world Book wanted to be like Batman.

Fuze’s main problem with Book was that he was a know-it-all who liked giving lectures, and long ones at that fact. Even though he and his brothers worked together to help make the Shadow Knight come to life, it was still Book’s suit, Book’s job, and Book’s achievement.

Now having a superhero for a brother would be annoying, but his second brother somehow took it up a notch. Light Heart was once a unicorn with a yellow coat and a blue mane. His cutie mark was a teddy bear, solidifying his status as a toymaker. He was autistic, so it always felt like he got more attention from his parents. Admittedly when he was younger Fuze would make fun of the fact that Light struggled with magic.

Now imagine the day when he walks into his parents' house and finds this autistic pony with a pair of wings. This was only a year or two ago, but it still bugged him. Light would always say that he had no real clue why or how he became one, but it was always hard to believe. How does an idiot become an alicorn?

These two siblings always made him feel like he wasn’t on the same level as them. Fuze was always trying to prove that he was just as important as his brothers, but when you take into account that he’s also in the same town as the main six, it’s hard to stand out. It always seemed like he would never have the spotlight for once in his life.

His feelings were even more bitter when Nightmare Night came around. It started off as a minor inconvenience, but it got to the point where he was on his own with nothing to do. Book was on patrol as the Shadow Knight because he believes that it’s the best time to catch any criminals who’d try to make a move. Light never liked the large crowds, so he’d usually try to work on making some more toys at his house.

Normally Fuze would at least be able to work on the fireworks show, but that ended when Trixie came back into town. Now he was being upstaged by a second rate magician!

He wasn’t in costume because he didn’t find a point in one anymore. He ended up taking a walk on the edge of the Everfree forest.

As he was trying to cool his head off he heard a familiar voice from behind him. “I don’t think it would be wise to be so far out in these woods at this time of night.”

Fuze groaned as he turned around to face the hooded figure. “What’s it to you Book.”

“What did we say about using my real name in public?” The figure hissed at him.

Fuze couldn’t help but roll his eyes at him. “Dude, everybody in town knows your secret identity. Don’t you have a monologue to give to the sky or something?”

“That was one time, and you know it. What are you doing out here?”

Fuze was already annoyed, now he had somebody else to drive him nuts. “What does it matter to you? Nobody needs me because they’ve got the main six and all of the other ponies who get the spotlight.”

The Shadow Knight took a deep breath, signaling that the lecture was going to begin. “When I first put on the mask I thought I’d be against the main six. They had always taken down the major threats in the past. But when I actually started being able to do stuff I realized that I didn’t need the spotlight, in fact, I worked better without it. While those girls took the path of lights and friendship I took the path of the shadows and dealt with the darkness that nopony wants to know about. When you stop trying to focus on what you…”

“AWE FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE! CAN YOU CUT IT OUT! I’VE HEARD YOU TELL ME THIS THREE TIMES ALREADY!”

Book looked a little taken back, but he knew that this was another tantrum from Fuze. Book wanted to try drilling some sense into that thick skull, but he saw a few kids in the distance running into the woods.

Book held up a smoke pellet with his magic as he spoke. “Fuze, as long as your pride is in the way I can’t help you. Now if you excuse me, I’m needed elsewhere.”

Book slammed the pellet on the ground and was out of Fuze’s sight by the time the smoke cleared. Fuze started muttering to himself as he sat down on the grass.

"You don’t see me fitting in
I’m sitting here alone
Hidden by my friends' shadow
Always on my own

If I could share my wildest dreams
Maybe they would see
I’m more than just a firework
There’s so much more to me

I’m Invisible, INVISIBLE
A droplet in the mist
Invisible, INVISIBLE
It’s like I don’t exist

No spot in the pages of history
For me, that’s what you’ll read
I haven’t done much anything
I’m not likely to succeed

A pony with no destiny
That no one wants to find
Maybe I’ll just be forgotten
Until the end of time

I’m Invisible, INVISIBLE
A Droplet in the mist

Invisible, INVISIBLE
It’s like I don’t exist

INVISIBLE, INVISIBLE
A droplet in the mist

INVISIBLE, INVISIBLE
It’s like I don’t exist
"

When fuze turned he saw a green small unicorn with a green hairless tail and he was covered in scales instead of coat leaning on a tree and eating an apple.

“Invisible?” The reptile smiled, “You're not invisible to me.”

Fuze jumped a bit, but once he saw the unicorn better he groaned a bit. “Listen, if you wanna take over Ponyville then I have no clue where the main six is, but my brother is hanging around here if you want a fight. Just shout some crazy threats or something, it’s His job to take care of you. If you want to kidnap me, you’re in way over your head. If it’s none of those options then leave me alone! I don’t want to talk to some random punk that I’ve just met right now..”

“Wow, take it easy,” the reptile said.

Fuze sighed as he tried to walk away. “Listen, if you want to go into town, do it. Otherwise, go away. Go talk to my alicorn brother or my superhero brother if you want to have a good time. That’s what everybody else does.”

“If I wanted to see the ‘shadow knight’ I would have been there, no, I am here for ponies with potential,” the reptile said.

Fuze was now a little confused. When ponies talked about potential they referred to his brothers, not him. Now some guy was saying that there is some for of it in him that wasn’t in his brothers. “What do you want with me?”

“ I want to help you, I am Dr. Mephist, and I am here to find some potential ponies for a plan.”

“What kind of plan?” Fuze asked warily.

The Dr. smile at the confused little pegasus, “A plan to change the world. First, I want you to help me with something at the party that the princess will have.”

“What do you have in mind?” Fuze asked.

“Nothing big, I need you to help me and my friends enter for start.”

“You need inside the city? I can easily pass you for a pony in a costume.” Fuze explained. “By the way, who are these friends?”

“Two other ponies in costumes,” Mephist smiled as two other figures appeared from the trees. One was a purple pony with holes in his body and he had short purple mane, the other was a combination of the back legs & top wings of a pony and the front legs & bottom wings a dragon, he was blue with a green mane with orange tips and he had a horn that gave him the appearance of an alicorn.

“Short Fuze, meet Shifting-Surprise and Kirouac, they will help us in our mission from above.”

Fuze looked a little confused at this sight. “Okay, one, I’m not as dumb as other ponies here, none of you are wearing costumes… and that’s weird. Two, what do you mean mission from above? What exactly are we doing?”

Surpise rolled his eyes about this. “Neither is your brother, really.” He murmured to himself.

"Let's not fight among ourselves boys, that we will leave to the enemy" Mephist tried to calm the angry, "but for now, our friend fuze will help us meet the enemy and learn"

Fuze still had a sense of uneasiness, but he wasn’t willing to count this group out yet. “Okay, who’s the enemy?”

"Soon enough you will know" Fuze did not understood, but before he could ask again the Dr. he heard the voice of his brother calling him.

"Fuze!!!" Book shouted.

Fuze rolled his eyes as he started to turn around. “I’ll handle him. He’s always doubling up on security on Nightmare Night.”

Fuze quickly ran over to Book before he could confront the others. Book looked serious as he was glaring daggers into Fuze. “Who are they?”

Fuze groaned a bit. “Seriously? You’re just going to jump at anypony from out of town? They’re just some tourists wanting to see what Nightmare Night is like around here. You do remember that this is becoming a town for tourists to come and see the princess, right?”

Fuze was a little worried that he was actually trying to lie to his oldest brother, but he actually had a shot at the spotlight for once in his life. How could he give that up to Book?

However, Book didn’t get his hero position for being gullible. “Really? I’d think that tourists would use the train. Seriously! You need to be careful of who you hang around with.”

Fuze glared back at Book. Fuze never liked the feeling of being lectured. “Book, I am an explosives expert and a pretty good flyer. I know how to defend myself. Now let me repeat myself when I say that they’re just from another town. Ponies have wings and hooves. Now, if they cause trouble I’ll be the first pony to let you know. Can’t you trust me for once in your life?”

Book stared at Fuze and the group in the distance for a minute. Fuze couldn’t tell what Book was thinking through the mask that was blocking the view of his mouth. Finally, Book nodded. “Alright. You’re a grown pony, so you can make your own choices. However, I will be keeping an eye on this little group of friends you’ve made, just to be safe.”

Fuze gave a frustrated sigh. “Of course. Anything for a little breathing room.”

Book didn’t bother replying. All he did was teleport off in a poof of black smoke.

Fuze groaned a bit as he turned to the others. “Do you see what I have to deal…” He was cut off when he realized that the three ponies he was talking to were gone. Fuze gave a nervous gulp as he decided to head back to town. “Please don’t let those ponies be a threat to Ponyville! Book will never let me hear the end of it.” Fuze thought to himself.

Unknown to him, Book was watching from a building in the distance. He could feel his instincts screaming that there was something wrong with this group that his brother has now joined. Book didn’t have the heart to say that after sending the “exploring” kids back into town he had watched Fuze’s whole conversation with these strangers.

The only clues he had from reading their lips were their names. The green lizard-like pony seemed to stick out the most as their leader. “Dr. Mephist, who are you and why are you in my city?”

Book did care for Fuze, but his brash nature always made it hard to deal with him. If these new ponies were a sign of a new threat then he had to pull ahead of them. He needed to learn who these ponies were, and currently, his best bet was asking the pony who’s been around the most. Twilight Sparkle.