It Started with an Insulin Pump

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

“Izzy, we need to talk about something.” Izzy Moonbow, a unicorn sat in a chair surrounded by her friends. None of them appeared to be very pleased with her as Izzy shrank down in her seat. “It is time we have the talk.”

“Oh you mean, that talk with the birds and the bees? Because Alphabittle -“

“No Izzy, not that kind of talk. Look, we all love you we really do, it’s just that-“

“You need to learn boundaries.” A white Pegasus, Zipp said while interrupting her friend.

“I thought that we agreed to break it to her gently.”

“Sorry Hitch but she needs to know or else we would be getting nowhere.”

“Oh please, since when have I disrespected somepony’s personal space?” Each of her friends started at each other as if trying to remember something. A flashback began as they remembered the time she took Sunny’s electric toothbrush. Then there was another flashback but this time, Izzy was eating some peanut butter and even took Pip’s phone. The next thing she knew was that she slipped and fell causing the peanut butter to splatter everywhere as a result. In the last flashback, Izzy was chasing Posey around for some reason and even tried to steal a sign from Pip’s salon.

“And that was all from this morning.” Said Hitch once the flashback was over.

“Yeah, that’s was pretty bad. I promise that next time I’ll respect everypony’s personal space. I know! I’ll even make an apology gift to show you all how really sorry I am and I will even make one for Posey too! It’s an Izzy promise!” Without any hesitation, Izzy ran off while her friends only stared at each other and even wondered if they should be worried but shrugged it off. Meanwhile, Izzy was wondering around town with the racoonicorns looking for and idea on what to make for her apology gift.

“I saw it!” While Izzy was searching through the garbage, she poked her head out in interest.

“What did you see?” Izzy asked as she approached the strange mare but as for the rest of the town, they seemed annoyed. This particular mare was Minty Red Cross. An earth pony who was the town nurse but also known as the town weirdo.

“Please don’t ask, once Minty starts talking she won’t stop.” Said a random pony.

“Why? I’m a bit curious.”

“Okay, your funeral.” Said the stranger who then ran off as Minty began to tell her tale.

“You better be careful their sir and madam, humans are dangerous creatures. They go after ponies in the middle of the night and go after unsuspecting victims to eat their brains.” As a result this scared the townsfolk and even a few foals that happened to be in the area. Gloomy, another unicorn that happened to be there began reassuring to everyone that everything was going to be fine while at the same time comforting the foals.

“Didn’t we all used to think that the other pony tribes were like that? What if we are wrong about humans and they turn out to be nice. That is what my friend Sunny would say.” For a moment there was some silence and at first Izzy was worried. Once Minty was close enough to Izzy, Misty’s personality changed to a 180 degrees. The next thing she knew was that there was a huge smile on her face.

“Hello new friend! My name is Minty Red Cross and I am a member of the Human Appreciation Society and it is so nice to find another open minded pony for a change. You know the whole crazy Minty thing is just an act. Not only am I apart of the Human Appreciation Society, I am as you are already know, a nurse but not only that I am also an actor. I work part time in the community theatre.” Said Minty as she held up a fake skull while also wearing an artist’s hat.

At first it seemed as though Minty was absentminded but once she snapped out of it, she tossed the fake skull and artist hat. The next thing Izzy knew was that Minty was now rapidly shaking her hoof.

“You know I have been exploring the forest for a while and lately I’ve heard a strange moaning sound. It sounded like a wounded creature. Want to help?”

“Sure, I have no plans but it feels like I am forgetting something.” Izzy then paused for a moment. “Oh well, it is probably nothing important. Come on, let’s go!” Izzy said clearly excited as she bounced up and down with Minty leading the way. Meanwhile, Izzy’s friends were a bit worried since it has been hours since she left.

“I don’t know maybe we have been a bit too hard on her.” Sunny was worried as her mind went through different scenarios as she drowned herself with worry. Hitch who had a baby dragon in his hoof, tried to reassure her.

“Don’t worry she’ll be fine, this is Izzy that we are talking about.” As if on cue, Sparky hiccuped and as a result fire was everywhere and burnt some curtains as a result. “Yeah, that has been happening a lot recently. I just hope it isn’t a bad omen.” Suddenly the duo heard a knock on the door, Sunny then answered it and it was soon to reveal that it was Gloomy.

“Oh hi Gloomy, what brings you to the Rainbow Bright House at this hour. Shouldn’t you still be foal sitting?”

“I’m done for the day and the foals that I am taking care of are already asleep. I came here to warn you that Izzy is out in the Forbidden Forest with Minty. I heard that she was bad news so I came to let you know.”

“Minty? The town wacko?”

“Yup that’s the one and since it now seems like a you problem now, I’ll be out of your mane.” Just as soon as Gloomy shut the door, Hitch called all of his friends in a panic with Sunny following behind him along with Sparky who was now riding on Hitch’s back and was having the time of his life.

“Hitch, this better be important, it nearly startled all my customers when I suddenly had too close down Mane Melody. I almost got hurt and one of my costumers almost got hurt because everypony left in a panic.”

“I’m so sorry Pip, this was an emergency. It’s about Izzy, she’s with Minty.”

“Who’s Minty?” Zipp asked out of curiosity.

“She’s basically the town crazy and she’s dangerous.”

“Hitch, your exaggerating. She’s not dangerous, just a bit eccentric. Plus, she used to be my foalsitter and not only that but she makes the best muffins.” Sunny disagreed by trying to defend Minty.

“This is Izzy that we are talking about! She could be hurt or worse!”

“Dead?” Zipp suggested.

“Zipp, you are not helping.” Pip said scolding her sister. Unfortunately, it was already too late because the sherif was now having a panic attack. Luckily, Hitch always keeps a plastic bag with him just in case his panic attacks gets worse and forgets to breathe. Eventually, the bag broke and Sparky even tried helping Hitch calm down by stroking his mane which seemed to work.

“So have any of you heard of the legend behind the Forbidden Forest?” Hitch asked. “Well it goes like this; many moons ago before MaretimeBay was founded, Earth Pony refugees were looking for a new place to live. One by one, they all disappeared never to be seen again.”

“Oh come on Hitch, like I said Izzy will be fine. Have faith in her, besides I am more worried about the recently discovered radiation that was found in that forest. If it makes you feel better, we’ll make preparations, enlist a search party and go find her.” Reluctantly, Hitch agreed after Sunny’s reasoning. Back with Izzy and Minty, they were still wondering in the woods. That was when Izzy finally took noticed the cooler strapped around her waist.

“So what is in the cooler? Snacks for our long journey.”

“Nope insulin.”

“Insulin?”

“Yup and other supplies. Ever since Earth Ponies got their magic back some of them got this weird instinct. The instinct from what I know is is different for everypony. It is like a spectrum. In my case, I can sense a potential patient in need and it even allows me to know what kind of treatments they need.” For a moment, Izzy was distracted while Minty rambled on about the new phenomena and the explanations behind it. That was when she remembered that she was trying to respect boundaries before this whole adventure started.

“Here’s a lollipop. No worries, this isn’t my first rodeo and in my field of work I have to deal with rowdy foals all the time and sometimes adults who are afraid of needles. I always keep a bag of candy just in case.” Little did Minty know was that Izzy wondered off. At first Minty began to worry until she found Izzy trapped in a net.

“Izzy what are you doing?”

“Oh, I just remembered that I was trying to make an apology gift for my friend, I found this shiny thing and the next thing I know, I’m trapped in this net.”

“Izzy, that is an insulin pump where did you get it?” Just as soon as Minty realized what was going on she said,”Oh no.” Once she realized what was going on, she got caught in a net as well. Both mares passed out after that but when they woke up the duo found that out that they were tied together and in a cave.

“Okay, what are you? Are you one of those creatures that tried to eat me?” Once Izzy and Minty regained consciousness, Minty screamed because what she saw was a human girl with blond hair wearing a pink shirt and overalls. As a result, the human girl screamed after when Izzy tried saying hello to her. Once more, Minty screamed back until it became a contest of who could scream the most. Izzy on the other hand was oblivious to the situation only smiled and bounced along.

“So you to are talking horses?” The girl asked once everyone was calm.

“Actually we’re ponies and Izzy over there is a unicorn.”

“Hi, new friend!” Said Izzy who was still oblivious of the entire situation as make an attempt to wave her hoof.

“So you are not with them. Sorry that I screamed at you.” The human girl said. She then began to free the ponies and even started a campfire. “My name is Megan and today was a really weird day. Honestly, I have no idea how I ended here. I was doing things like normal and the next thing I knew was that I was running away from crazy mutant animals. They looked angry and I think it had something to do with this.” The human girl, now known as Megan, took out a pink heart locket out of her pocket and the two ponies stared at it with awe.

“You don’t say, my name is Minty and I have already introduced you to Izzy over there. I also happen to be a nurse. First off, a question; do you eat brains?”

“Eww, like a zombie? No way! I’m an omnivore meaning that I eat meat and vegetables. We don’t eat ponies, if that makes you feel better and why would I want to eat my new friends?”

“Aww, that’s sweet.” Said Izzy.

“That is good to know, a good nurse like myself needs to know your dietary needs. Magic may have came back but it can’t do everything. Don’t ask, long story. Also, since you haven’t eaten in a while, I am also going to prescribe you some medication when we get back to town. “

“So a pony is prescribing me some medication. That’s a sentence I’d never thought that I would say.” Said Megan. “You know what, today was a really weird day, it’s better not to think about it.” There was a long silence and for a moment, there was an echo of a growl that could be heard through the cave the trio were in.

“Megan was that your stomach?”

“No Minty but I wish that it was.”

“Why is everyone scared all of a sudden?” Izzy asked unaware of the situation. All that she was aware of was that both Minty and Megan were both as pale as a ghost. It took Izzy a moment but when she turned around, she saw a large mutated rabbit. Once Izzy realized what was going on, Izzy screamed after the monster roared and sprayed saliva on her. The group then knew that they all had to run. While they were running they accidentally bumped into the rest of the Mane 5.

“Guys, your here!” Izzy said giving everyone a hug. “Oops, I forgot about respecting boundaries again.”

“It’s fine, we are just glad that you okay.” Said Hitch only to be frozen in fear once he saw Megan.

“Hitch this is Megan, don’t worry she doesn’t bite and she is nothing like those old stories. She is just like us and Minty even asked me to help go and find her because she had feeling that she needed help.” Hitch was now in all and quickly changed his view about the human girl.

“Minty it looks like that I and the rest of the town owes you an apology.”

“No need, I just pretended to be crazy because I liked to annoy other ponies. By the way you and your friends should defiantly visit the local theatre that I also work at. Anyway, what happened to you?” Minty asked pointing her hoof towards Pip who was now covered in mud.

“Don’t ask.” Replied Pip showing no emotion whatsoever. That was when Megan, Minty and Izzy remembered that they were all being chased. When Hitch saw the creature, he was in danger of screaming like a little girl.

“Even though that we’ve just met, I am glad that you guys are now my friends.” Said Megan who was now terrified.

“Well, I did always said that if I were going to die, I wanted to die by being mauled to death by a giant bunny.” Said Minty who was now hugging everyone while also trying not to scream in terror.

“I am too young too die but if I am going, I just want to say that I love you guys.” Cried Hitch.

“Aww, I love you guys too.” Said Pip while Zipp only shrugged and nodded in agreement. While assuming the worst, everyone closed their eyes and continued hugging. Little did they know was that Megan’s locket began to glow and as a result, a rainbow came out of her pocket and aimed itself towards the rabbit. After being engulfed by the magical rainbow, the rabbit returned to normal and hopped along its’ merry way. Once the danger passed, everyone opened their eyes and sighed in relief.

“Let’s dig this to our graves and never speak of this again.” Said Zipp while everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Just when the group was able to catch a breath, Megan fainted and Minty began to panic.

“I am going to keep an eye on her pulse, somepony please call for an ambulance.”

“Don’t worry, I am already on it.” Pip said as she quickly grabbed her phone and did what she was asked. Once they arrived back to town, everypony was shocked to learn that there was a human. As a result Sunny and the rest of the group was surrounded by the paparazzi who kept asking questions about said human.

“So what are you planning to do to get rid of the human.” Asked one reporter.

“Sunny, is it true that humans eat brains?” Asked another.

“Whoa, easy there one question at a time. I would also like to add that Megan is not a monster. Remember when we used to all think that ponies from the other tribes were monsters. She is just scared and confused. I am sure that if I was far away from my home, I would be scared too. I’d say that once Megan is released from the hospital, we should work together as a community and do everything we can to bring her home, so who’s with me?” Sunny shouted while the entire crowd cheered now that they are noticed to help Megan out.

Little did everypony know was that they were all being watched. In another place, in an unknown castle, there was a mysterious alicorn who was watching the entire town through a magical screen. There was also a unicorn who was by her side.

“I should have known that using the rabbit was a bad idea. No matter, this is just a little setback. Misty, keep an eye on the girl. Maybe she might be useful.” The unicorn now known as Misty, tried to hide once she heard crazed laughter from the other mare.

Author's Note

I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me with this story. Please let me know in the comment section on what you would like to see in chapter 2. Also, if you leave a dislike, I would love it if you wrote why you didn’t like it so that I could fix it. Not trying to be mean but I am not a kind reader and I won’t know until you tell me. I want this story to be the best it can be.

Chapter 2

Megan was still in the hospital and it has been a week since the incident. She was still pretty weak but she is now allowed to go to places but the catch was that she now needed to be in a wheelchair with an IV bag and come back to the hospital in order to check on her progress. A week earlier, Phylis came by since Megan needed a personalized wheelchair since the ones the hospital had were too small. Luckily by the time she was allowed to go outside, the wheelchair was ready. Unfortunately, there were still some ponies that were still afraid of her so as a result, it damaged her self esteem and now she didn’t want to be seen.

She still had visits from the Mane 5 and some of the other nurses and doctors who were genuinely concerned for her. However, that still didn’t make her feel better since some of the staff still ran away. Each day she had a different visitor within the Mane 5 and today, it just so happens to be Pip’s turn along with Rocky and her other coworker Jazz Hooves.

“Hello Megan, are you finally ready to get out of this stuffy old hospital? It must be torture to be cooped up in here all day.”

“At least the hospital food looks good.” Said Rocky as an effort to cheer the girl up.

“I think it just moved.”

“Jazz, you are just being paranoid.” As if the universe was out to prove Rocky wrong, the mashed potatoes that were apart of the meal did indeed actually move. Rocky then became afraid and treated the food as if it were a ticking time bomb and even threw it out the window as a result. Once the incident was over, a terrified Pip found Minty and pulled her into the hospital.

“We need to get her out of here, this place is a total nightmare.” Said Pip who was still a bit freaked out from earlier. Minty then pulled the trio aside and sat them down on a nearby couch. Once the trio was calm Minty then said,”Well, that is up to Megan if she wants to go. Medication and treatments can only get you so far, it is up to Megan if she wants to take the next step.” Once Pip and the duo regained their composer, they returned to their human friend.

“You. Mane Melody. Tomorrow.” Pip was stern and both were worried for her but then became relieved once they realized that their friends was still concerned for Megan. It was in her own special way of course. “Please Minty, she needs to get out of here pronto!”

“Technically, she is only allowed to go to the backyard but I think I can pull some strings.”

“Thanks Minty, you are the best.” Pip squealed in delight and even gave Minty a hug who also gave a hug in return.” The next day Zip came to pick Megan up and even though the Mane 5 got permission, Zip still snuck around for the fun of it. She was quiet too and nopony expected it. The guard ponies were too distracted playing chess while the ponies that were in charge of watching the screens were fast asleep. Once Zip arrived, she opened the door to Megan’s room and nearly startled her.

“So are you ready to go?”

“I guess? What if they see me and they run away again?”

“Then that is their problem and beside if I can’t get you out of your room than Pip will drag you out herself.” When they arrived at the salon, they saw Pip selling some instruments to a young colt with his mother. Mane Melody wasn’t just a salon, it was also amusing shop as well as a place for karaoke and to express yourself.

“Trust me the recorder is a great first instrument. It’s like the fundamentals for ..any instrument and someday, with practice, you’ll be able to perform like that.” Said Pip pointing towards another band who was already on stage entertaining the crowd. Once he saw the band, the colt danced to the music. As a result, the young colt then became excited.

“So what do you think?” The mother asked. Without any hesitation, the colt nodded his head while mother brought the recorder before leaving. As if on cue, both Zip and Megan entered the store to great her.

“Hello, Welcome.” Said Pip greeting her friends and gesturing them to come inside. Megan, on the other hand was still nervous and while the ponies weren’t prejudiced against her, she still got a few stares. Pip then tried to gesture her to her on the stage but Megan was nervous and held her phone tightly because she didn’t think that the ponies would like the music that she listened to. Luckily, the lead singer took initiative to make Megan feel welcome.

“Hello, my name is Clover.” Said the stallion. “These guys are my band mates, Chestnut, Star and our newest member Misty.” Clover then leaned closer. “She’s shy.”

“My name is Megan.”

“Nice to meet you, don’t think too much about the stares, they are just curious. We just began to unify.” Clover said pointing towards his band to prove his point. That was when she saw Clover’s band mates who were all different types of ponies. She saw that Chestnut was another stallion like Clover.

Star on the other hand was a Pegasus while Misty was unicorn who was behind Chestnut once she noticed her.

“I’ll think about it, you guys seem like a nice bunch of ponies.” Said Megan who was still nervous. Suddenly, the door burst open. It was Posy and she was not happy.

“Uh oh, here comes the buzzkill.” Said Chestnut who now appeared to be annoyed while Misty continued to hide.

“Unfortunately, there are still those who are not happy about the whole unifying thing.” Said Clover who was now a bit annoyed.

“Clover, what are you doing here and especially with that thing?”

“Posey be nice.” Clover warned. “This was the reason why we broke up.”

“You think that I am still into you? Fat chance! I still blame the Pegasi and unicorns. Maretime Bay was better when it was just us Earth Ponies. First it was a dragon and now that thing!” Posey said pointing her hoof at Megan who was a bit insulted.

“Get out.” Said Pip. She was blunt about and was a bit angry. Luckily Pip was still at the at counter and managed to hear the conversation. Being the gossip mare that she was, she had to know what was going on only to set her eyes on the horrifying display of behavior.

“So what are you going to do? Throw me out, I am a costumer and I have a right to be here.”

“Wow, they even have Karens in Pony Land.” Said Megan who was also horrified at the display of behavior.

“Yeah and I also have have right to refuse service.” Said a now angry Pip.

“Want to bet on it?” Posey challenged and once the mare crossed the line, Pip did just that. The Ponies who were already in the salon getting makeovers were shocked and the ones that had phones on them even recorded the incident and even posted it online for the world to see.

Little did they know was that Misty was following Posey who was now sitting by herself clearly upset. Misty was now hiding behind a tree. Once she was sure that nopony was watching, she turned on the video watch that was tied around her hoof. Meanwhile, the same nameless alicorn was watching the entire scene through a screen. However, she had a guest waiting for her. The guest was a stallion Pegasus and the reason why he was there was because he was a scientist and had an appointment with her.

“You better be quick and you know that I don’t like waiting.” Said the nameless mare who was clearly impatient.

“Sorry your majesty but I think that you would be pleased with what I have to show you.” When the scientist showed the alicorn what he was working on. What the scientist had, was a green slime creature in a small cage that seemed to be a bit too tight for the poor thing.

“Isn’t that a smooze?” The alicorn asked.

“That is correct but watch what happens when I corrupt is with an injection of gamma radiation and dark magic combined.” At first the creature was calm and collect. There was nothing but after a few minutes the creature became violent and was enraged. As a result, this shocked her until the scientist was able to contain the creature.

“Interesting, this thing that you created might actually be useful.”

“Thanks your majesty but in order for your plan to succeed. This mutated smooze must find a victim who has overwhelming guilt. Then it will take over its’ hosts mind turning the victim into a minion for you to command.”

“Interesting but the question is, who would be our first target?” As if the universe was about to answer her question the screen in the room came on. It was Misty who was still spying on Posey and hiding behind a tree.

“Misty, report.”

“Nothing to report madam, expect for a very sad pony over there.” Crystal then pointed her video camera over towards Posey who was still sulking as it started to rain.

“Excellent, you are relived from your duties for the day. Enjoy your time off.” Said the alicorn while Misty ran in a hurry while accidentally dropping her video watch on her way out. Once the alicorn was sure the coast was clear, she signaled the scientist to release the smooze who threw it towards the screen as if it were a bomb. After Posey had her little episode, she decided that maybe she should apologize. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late when the corrupted smooze jumped in and attacked her.

Back with Megan, she was busy watching Clover and his band who was about finished with the performance for the day. Zip was just loafing around while Pip was attending to her costumers needs. Just as everyone was finished for the day, the tv nearby turned on.

“Breaking news, Maretime Bay is being attacked by a strange mutated pony. Maretime Bay is on total lockdown until further notice from authorities.” The tv camera then turned towards Sunny who was trying her best to calm the crowd down.

“Guys, everything is going to be ok, the important thing that is we stay calm and don’t panic.”

“So you said that we should panic?” Said a random pony in the crowd.

“No, I said don’t panic. That was literally the opposite of what I said.”

“She said panic! Everypony run around and scream as if your lives depend on it!” As if on cue, the entire crowd was in a state of panic. This of course gave Sunny a headache. For those that were still watching the event, the viewers were still glued to their screens trying to see what will happen next while the camera crew also ran in a panic. The camera equipment flew all over the place as a result. Meanwhile Hitch and the baby Dragon Sparky tried get everything in order expect Sparky only giggled and waved as he sat on his back.

“Everypony stay calm. We need to evacuate in a calm and orderly fashion.” Sadly nopony listen to Hitch since the crowd was still in a panic. While the crowd was trying to get away, Hitch was worried for his safety and while Sparky was safe, Hitch, on the other hand was not as he was now covered in bruises. “You are enjoying this aren’t you?” The baby then giggled as if trying to answer. Back in the salon, Megan, Zip and Pip we worried about their friends once the tv screen turned blank.

“Our friends are in danger what should we do?” Asked Zip who was now worried after witnessing what she just saw. As if on cue, Minty came by with medical supplies ready just case.

“I heard that something came up, is there something that I can do to help?” The group nodded their heads and the four headed towards the danger in order to meet up with their friends. Clover who was still there followed after them after making sure that his band was ok. His band mates understood since Posey was his ex marefriend. Just because they have broken up didn’t mean that he didn’t care for her. Once Clover was able to catch up with the group, they were surprised to see him.

“Clover, what are you doing here?” Megan asked.

“Yeah, about that monster attacking the town. I think that is my ex marefriend.”

“Dude, she must have serious issues then.” Said Zip.

“Let’s all be nice towards one another, let’s focus on the issue at hoof.” Said Sunny and the duo instantly calmed down. “I be the distraction while everypony else try to think of something.” Sunny then transformed into an alicorn and flew off. Not a moment too soon, Minty’s cutie mark began to glow.

“Ooh, that has never happen before. My cutie mark is glowing and I feel as though I can hear every thought.”

“Hey mine too, do you think that we might be able to help her.” Said Clover who was surprised as well. That was when Clover had an idea. “Hey Minty, you are a doctor, do you think that you can talk to her?”

“I’m a nurse not a therapist but with my limited training, I’ll see what I can do.” Minty then proceeded to walk towards Posey and for a moment she stopped as if she regained some of her senses. “Clover, her thoughts are more clear, I think she needs you too.” Clover then nodded in agreement and proceeded to come closer. At first Clover wasn’t sure what to do until he held onto Minty’s hoof. That was when Posey’s thoughts became even more clear to him especially when both his and Minty’s cutie marks began to glow brighter. Megan was also surprised that her locket began to glow she then took it out of her pocket and saw that it began to shimmer.

“Posey, it’s me Clover.” Posey then came to a complete stop. “Look, I know that you are scared. Change is difficult and scary. I was scared of change to until I met my band mates. They were nice ponies and maybe they could be your friends too if only you can give them a chance. You don’t have to change right away because change is a very hard thing to do and we can figure this out together and change at our own pace.”

Once Clover calmed down, she was finally to fully regain her senses. That was when a rainbow came out of Megan’s locket surprising everyone in the process. Minty and Clover stood back allowing the rainbow to do its’ thing returning Posey to her former self.

“Guys, I am so sorry. I am not sure what got into me. From now on, I will turn over a new leaf.” Posey said as she apologized to everyone.

“Hey I get it, this is all new to me too. To tell you the truth, the stares didn’t bother me that much. I was just scared of being in a new place. It’s scary being in a new place.” Megan admitted.

“You know what maybe I have misjudged you. Whenever you are ready, maybe we can hang out sometime.”

“You know what, I think that I’ll take you up on that offer.”

“Aww, that is very sweet. Group hug!” Izzy announced and everyone did.

Chapter 3

“Sailor, Sailor, don’t be blue Ra Ra’s marching too. Horseshoes that fit her hooves are sore, she wants rock and roll no more.” Hitch sang with Megan and Sparky following behind him with Zip leading the way.

“One, two, my shoes are torn and I can’t take these blisters anymore.” Megan complained. This caused the entire group to stop. Hitch then turned around.

“Megan, what are we doing?”

“Complaining, can we stop now.”

“No can do, Minty said that now you no longer need the wheelchair and that you now need more exercise since your legs are weak. Besides, Minty also said that that your sugar will be on the high side for a few days so we are marching in order to get it down sooner.”

“I hate exercising, can we rest?”

“Is you sugar down?”

“No.”

“Then march!” Hitch demanded while shouting into a microphone that seemed to come out of nowhere. Megan remembered, how this all started, when Minty told her that she could be released from the hospital today, the nurse told her that she no longer needed the wheelchair and the bag. However, her blood sugar will still be high for a few days so she recommended that she should exercise in order to maintain her blood sugar levels. Once released, Megan realized that she had no place to go so when Mane 5 now Mane 7 ever since Minty and Megan joined their group, offered to let her stay at the Rainbow Bright House. Not only that they even allowed Megan to sleep on the couch until a room could be prepared for her. As for why they were marching in the first place, Hitch tended to be a mother hen when it came to children and since the stallion wanted her to have a healthy life style, he made her come along for his daily march.

Speaking of Minty, she was at the local theatre doing her own thing. That thing just so happened to be talking about humans with other ponies who also happen to be fans of humans. Even though, Minty liked to annoy other ponies and act as though she were crazy just for the fun of it, she can be fun to be around if you could get past her wild tendencies. Minty’s group was not only a fan club for humans but it was also a theatre group that would sometimes put on plays in order to fund the groups activities from time to time.

The group was small but sometimes they would have some volunteers when ever they were scheduled to do more shows. Today’s group consisted of Rocky, Clover, Twinkle, Star, Misty, Wendy, Dolly and two new members, Posey and Sprout. You might be wondering why Sprout of all ponies was here in the first place. To put it simply, Phylis wanted to teach her son tolerance and she thought that the best place to do that was the Human Appreciation Society with their leader Minty.

“Hello, everypony. Today’s lesson will be understanding and greeting humans. Have everypony protect in their report.” Minty was on stage giving out a speech while also being in charge of attendance. The few ponies that attended the event, stomped their hooves as if they were clapping as they all began to find a comfy chair to sit on.

“Oh, I brought mine!” The overly excited pegasus was Star who helped herself on stage while at the same time was carrying a large stack of papers. The yellow pegasus then began her speech and said,” In my research I learned that humans great each other differently depending on which part of part of the world that they live in. Some bow, shake hooves like we do and sometimes they even kiss.”

“Excellent work on taking initiative Star.” Said Minty who was now right next to Star and was even giving her more space so that she could continue her demonstration.

“In order to demonstrate the kissing ritual, I would need a volunteer. Clover, would you care to join me?”

“Me?” Clover’s face was now a deep red as a result. “You want to do the kissing ritual with you?” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss Star, it was just that he preferred to do that kind of thing in private. “That is a tempting offer but Sprout said that he would like to try.”

“Coward!” Sprout accused obviously upset. “Plus, it was you who volunteered for me and I never even agreed to it! Also, to make a point, this whole thing is stupid! I mean, have you even met a human? I bet that Minty really is crazy and is still making all this up!” Even though that Sprout was still angry, it wasn’t earning him any favors because all he got in return was a few glares from the rest of the group.

Of course Minty was angry too when Sprout said this so in order to defend herself, she walked off the stage to Sprout and said,”Actually, humans do exist!” Even Minty was giving Sprout a cold hard glare as she looked at him straight in the eye. “In fact, there is one living her now and she is even my patient! The fact that she is living here now is all over the news and if you haven’t heard about it than you must be living under a rock!”

“Minty is right and I even met her not to long ago.” Said Posey defending Minty.

“Yeah but weren’t you kind of a jerk to her before and you turned into this rampaging beast?” The pink pegasus, Wendy asked. However, that was also when the pink mare noticed that Posey was a still embarrassed by the incident. “Oh I’m sorry.”

“Meh, that is ok. I think I deserved that and I think karma was going to get me one way or another.”

“Awsome, it is nice to meet a fellow karma believer.” Posey then forgave her and told Wendy that everything was all good.

“Gross, enough with the mushy stuff.” Sprout was still angry.

“Hey be nice, it was a very sweet moment.” Said Minty trying to defend the two.

“I still think that this is all stupid. Not only that I think that I will still be a better leader than you and instead of this stupid stuff we should be doing more theatre!” Sprout demanded.

“Oh and what makes you think that you would be a better leader than I? The last time I checked, you incited and angry mob!” Minty accused. Star, who was caught in between the argument walked away slowly not wanting to escalated the situation as she finally made it back to her seat.

“Hey, I am no longer that pony! In fact not only I think we need more members but I think we need a tech and lighting crew because those blinking lights up on the stage over their is driving me nuts and I swear that this stage will fall apart any minute.” As if to prove his point the stage indeed began to fall apart almost immediately. As a result, this shocked the other members and the rest of the group began to chatter amongst themselves.

“Well if you are so confident that you would be the better leader than I wager a challenge.”

“I accept and not only that the winner gets to be the leader.”

“Ohhh and let’s make the deal even sweeter. In fact whoever looses has to say that the other pony is the greatest pony to have to have ever existed on stage at Mane Melody.” Minty challenged.

“A chance to make a fool out of you? Oh ho it’s on!” Minty said and she and Sprout shook hooves. Once the deal was made, Minty ran off to find Megan who was now hiding from Hitch.

“It’s on and may the best pony win!” Said Sprout who shook his hoof with Minty. That was when Misty had an idea. As she walked towards Sprout and Minty, she made a small coughing sound in order to get their attention.

“I have an idea.” Misty said shyly.

“What is it.” Minty asked now curious.

“Lately I have noticed that some ponies have magic based on their talent and in my case my talent is contracting and I have invented a spell that might help you out. Would you mind if I have you two be my first test subjects?”

“Of course, I would love to help perfect your new spell.”

“Sure, let’s just get it over with.”

“Thanks but I need you two to shake hooves like you did before in order for it to work.” They then did what they were told. That was when Crystal’s horn began to glow and a see through magical lock began to tie around their hooves before disappearing. “There, the spell is all set now you both have no choice but to honor the deal.” The duo then thanked Misty before leaving. Once the coast was clear and everypony left, she called her queen but instead of the queen it was somepony else.

“Hi Doc what are you doing here? Where’s the queen?”

“I do apologize but the queen is on holiday so she put me in charge.”

“Ok but I just wanted to let you know that everything is set.”

“That is good. I am proud of you Misty because a good scientist should always ask for consent if they are using test subject. As for me, I am not a good scientist.”

“Thanks Doc but what is that? A different kind of smooze or something?”

“You are correct my dear assistant every smooze prefers a different negative emotion. The last one prefers guilt while this one prefers anger.”

“Well, you are in luck doc because one of the ponies that I used the magical contract on just so happens to have a lot of anger. I mean seriously that dude needs to have some sort of anger management classes or something.”

“Excellent, I would like you to keep an eye on them to in case anything happens.”

“Will do Doc.” Said Crystal as she ended the call.

Meanwhile Minty was looking for Megan. At last she found her at the Rainbow Bright House and found out that she was still hiding from Hitch. “What are you doing here?” Megan asked. “I am certainly not eating chocolate behind Hitch’s back.”

“We’ll talk about that later but If you want something sweet, I would recommend a chocolate flavored granola bar. You are still very early in your treatment to have that kind of stuff but as long as you are careful, you should be fine. Anyway I would like you to come with me and to my club. They really want to meet you.”

After agreeing to Minty’s request, they took the trolly and walked towards the local community theatre where the rest of the club members were waiting for both Sprout and Minty to come back with a human. Minty was determined to not loose since her pride was at stake.

“Hello everypony, I am back.”

“Hey Minty, I am so glad that you are here, Sprout was this close to going on another power trip.” Said Star who greeted her.

“Yeah and he kept breaking stuff.” Said Wendy who was a bit frustrated. “We even tied him up so he wont do anything stupid.” To prove her point, the mare pointed towards Sprout who was indeed tied to a chair and tied up.

“Okay but I brought a human just like you requested. Guys, I would like you all to meet my friend Megan.”

“I my name is Megan Trainer. Ask my anything.” She waved hello to the other ponies and they squealed in delight. Not only that but they all decided to take up on that offer and asked her a lot of questions.

“So which part of the human world do you live in and what kind of greeting ritual do you use?” Star asked in excitement.

“I am from America and I greet others with a handshake but I have a lot of distant cousins from Spain and Europe who greet each other by kissing. I have a really large family and family reunions tends to get a bit wild.” She then showed the other club members her wallet which contained photos from said family reunion. Every pony was exited to see the photos of Megan’s family except for Sprout who was finally able to free himself he became a but annoyed since Megan was getting all of the attention along with Minty who was quite proud of herself.

“This is stupid, I think that you are a fake human and Minty is cheating and since Minty is cheating, I win by default.”

“Hey that is not fair, you lost and now you have to honor the bet. You can’t just go around and accuse her like that. Besides, do you have any proof that Minty cheated?” Dolly challenged.

“No but I still think that Minty somehow cheated and that is proof enough because I say so.” The rest of the members booed Sprout as a result. At first it was playful but thanks to Sprout, it turned into an argument. The arguing then continued until a storm began to form outside. The only reason that the argument even stopped was that the thunder was loud and there was even a lightning strike that was dangerously close to the building. Once the group heard the lightning, the ponies stopped and scattered. As a result, the storm stopped once they stopped arguing.

“What was that?” Megan asked.

“Oh that was just the unity crystals doing their thing. Long story, I’ll explain later.”

“Pony Land just keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

“Equestria.” Minty corrected.

“Huh?” Megan asked now confused.

“That is the name of our country.”

“You know, Equestria sounds like America, I wonder if there are other countries out here in this world that have similar names.”

“Nopony is really sure, the three pony tribes have been isolated for a long time.”

“Well, if you ponies ever do get to venture out, I want to see the pony version of Spain because that would be so cool since I have family over there.”

“So, want to go for a smoothie? It’ll be my treat and we can even talk about your theory.”

“Sure, it’ll be fun.” Megan agreed. Once they left, they forgot about Sprout who was still upset and embarrassed over the incident. He was still under a delusion that he still won the bet so he was determined to prove Minty wrong.

“One sugar free banana nut smoothie and a blueberry punch smoothy coming right up.” Said Sunny as she prepared the drinks while Minty paid for them. Once, the drinks were served, they sat at a nearby table. Little did they know was the Sprout was spying on the two while stealing some food along the way. Just as Sprout got to their table, Megan stomped onto his hoof who screamed in pain.

“Ouch, what was that for?” Sprout whined as he grabbed another chair and used his other hoof in order to rub the one that was hurt. It was now Megan’s to become angry.

“Dude, you tried to steal my food! Who does that?”

“That is none of your business.”

“Then buy your own for goodness sake.”

“Ha, buying your own food is poor people.”

“Oh now you done it, do you want to go?”

“Oh, it’s on!” Sprout said after challenging Megan to an arm wrestling contest. The argument then became the center of interest, once an entire crowd saw what they were doing. Once the contest began the crowd began to chant,”Fight! Fight! Fight!” Just as the contest began to commence, Sprouts mother came by and interrupted the scene.

“Oh Sprout darling, you forgot your medication.”

“Mommy, not right now. My pride is at stake.”

“Look, I know that I was a bad parent before but I am trying and I would appreciate it if you would try to help me here instead of fighting against me. You know that if you forget it, you tend to get a little you know what.” The crowd began to giggle since Sprot’s mother was coddling him. There was even some snickering in the background.

“Yeah, I get it now go.” Sprout begging while his eye looked as though they were nearly pleading since he couldn’t handle the embarrassment.

“Hi Phylis, thanks for providing me the wheelchair.”

“Oh it it no problem dearie. I myself don’t have any auto immune diseases but a lot of members in my family does. In fact, my son Sprout over there has type 2 diabetes and sometimes he would refuse to take his medication.” When Phylis left Sprout was very angry at his mother for revealing that embarrassing secret. As a result everyone laughed at Sprout while he ran away. Concerned both Megan and Minty went after him. However, went they finally found Sprout it was already too late.

Both Megan and Minty were shocked when they found out that Sprout has been infected by the smooze.

“Oh no, I didn’t think that it would get this bad. I was just poking some fun at him.”

“Yeah and now we know how that turned out.”

“Hey Megan, do you think that locket of your will work? It helped us the last two times.”

“I am not sure because I don’t know how it works.”

“Maybe there is some kind of motion or catch phrase you have to say.”

“Maybe but let’s find out.”

“Alahamora.” Nothing happened.

“Open sesame?” Minty tried but still nothing happens. The duo was in distress because the infected Sprout was on a rampage destroying things. Both the mare and human tried other phrases but still nothing worked. Just as they were about to give up, they were surprised to see Izzy who was spying on them the entire time and just so happen to be hiding behind a bush.

“Izzy what are you doing here.” Megan asked a bit startled while Minty was breathing heavily thinking that she was going to have a heart attack.

“Well, I was looking for things for to unicycle until I found you guys and wondered what you were up to so no I am here.” Said Izzy with a blank look on her face and was even distracted by a butterfly for a moment. “Oh hey my cutie mark is glowing.” That was when Minty noticed that hers was glowing too.

“I have an idea, Izzy come with me.” Izzy then agreed unaware of what was actually going on. Once the trio got close to Sprout, Minty touched her hoof onto Sprout’s infected one and said,”Testing, testing, one, two, three. Can you hear?”

“Hello, do you remember me? It’s me Izzy.” Izzy waved while still holding onto Minty’s free hoof. “So what did he say?”

“Sprout says hi and it looks like he really isn’t mad at his mother but instead was upset that he never got the chance to fix the theatre. He also said that he really loves acting. Who knew that Sprout was such a theatre geek.” That was when Minty began to feel bad. “I’m sorry Sprout, it’s my fault, instead of being angry with you we should have compromised.

“Yeah and can I have that broken light so that I can unicycle it? I would love to be part of the tech crew. Also why can’t you have both? If you guys did more plays Minty can recruit more members for her human club. Plus, it would be a lot less work if you guys had more ponies. If you guys compromised a little everypony wins.” That was when Megan’s locket began to glow and once the rainbow came out of the locket it hit both Minty and Sprout freeing Sprout from the infection while at the same time freeing them from the contract from earlier.

“I am so sorry everypony. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I promise that I’ll make it up to you some how. Oh and Izzy, you aren’t still mad at me from the first time we met are you? If you are, I am so sorry.”

“No worries. We unicorns have this saying and it’s to forgive and forget and I think that I literally forgotten. Do you want to come over for some tea?” Izzy asked and Sprout agreed. Not too long after the entire Mane 7 and Sprout were at the Rainbow Bright House in the tea room leaving a very concerned Hitch.

“I just don’t get it. That was the third incident this month and not only that, it’s going to leave a lot of paperwork.” Hitch groaned while everyone laughed at his misfortune.

“Do you think that we should be worried?” Megan asked out of concern. However, what they didn’t was the thing that Megan just said should not be something that should be put out in the universe.

Chapter 4

The entire town was empty and the town was quiet. The only thing that you could hear was nothing but the sound of the wind while an occasional tumbleweed floated by. All the shops were empty and the only sign of life was at the Rainbow Bright House were the Mane 7 was watching television. The reason why there were no ponies out and about was that everypony was glued to the screen and was watching a popular TV show called Maretime Bay’s Got Talent. The name of the show says it all and everyone was tuning in.

However in the show, there was a problem; there was almost no winners and the ones that did get on made the show boring for everyone one. The only thing good about the show was the preliminaries were everyone actually got a chance to perform. Little did everyone know was the show was about to get worse. When it was time for the show there were several acts, a singer, a juggling act and a ventriloquist. When it was time for the first contestant to come on, the singer’s voice was decent but barely got a chance to sing due to being voted off by the judges very quickly. The next act was the jugglers who were clowns who were just goofing off with the balls in the end only to be voted off as well.

The last act was the ventriloquist who was barely able to say a few lines before being kicked off the stage. In the end there was no winners. The reason for this was because of the judge Mean Streak. The purple pegasus stallion lived up to his name and was known for never giving anypony a chance. Still, it was an exiting show and when a rare change of somepony actually getting the chance to actually perform came on, it was like playing a game of chance. The act was either really entertaining where ponies would talk about it for months or the act would be so boring that everypony would fall asleep.

The reason why the show was so popular in the first place was because of a judge named Mean Streak. Mean Streak was a purple stallion pegasus who wore a fedora and lived up to his name. The fact that this judge was mean was the reason why the rating were so high. Still, the Mane 7 couldn’t help but dislike this particular judge. Once the show was over, Megan groaned in a annoyance and even asked somepony to turn off the TV while the rest of the group agreed. Ironically, the Mane 7 hated the show for the very reason why the ratings were so high.

“I feel bad for the other acts. I mean seriously, why is this show popular again? There were some acts that I would have loved to see. ” Said Megan who was a bit disappointment. “I swear people love shows with a trashy person. I guess the same logic works for ponies.”

“I know those clowns were so much fun and the way the clowns handled those balls was so funny. Seeing them mess with those balls while watching them trip and fall a lot made it even better! I mean seriously how can somepony not like clowns.”Izzy replied disagreeing with Megan.

“Some ponies just don’t like clowns. I know that I don’t. Too much make up and there were way too many horror games about them that I played as a colt didn’t help either.” Hitch said as he shivered just thinking about the memory.” That was when Hitch heard the microwave go off and that was when he remembered that it was time to feed Sparky. Once Hitch left, the group began to chat amongst themselves.

“Well, I for one would love to see a talent show that would except any and all kinds of talents no matter how weird or outrageous they may seem.” Said Pip and that was when she had an idea.

“You know, I would love to show off some tricks.” Said Zip who also seemed to like the idea.

“I wanna do what those clowns did.” Said Izzy who was excited about the idea as well. “Now where did I put that make up?”

“You know that would actually be fun and I can even recite the police hoofbook without looking.”

“I would like to show ponies how to remove a cavity but I don’t think that would be the best idea since last time I did that there were a lot of angry parents when foals tried to do it themselves but heck I am going to just put out one of those professionals only disclaimer and do it anyway.”

“I know, why don’t we host our own talent show.”

“That is a great idea Pip.” Sunny said while the rest of the group agreed. “I have a large following and I can get my Pipsqueeks to show off their most unique and weirdest talent. It would be so much fun.”

“Yeah and I’ll even let my customers at the smoothie stand know about it too. Izzy, once you are finish with whatever you said that were going to do, how about you go and make some fliers.”

“Sure thing.” Izzy said clearly excited as she bounced merrily on her way.

“Minty would you mind if we borrow the theatre?” Sunny asked and Minty quickly agreed as she ran off to find Sprout. When Minty finally found Sprout, he was busy doing some construction. Last time when they met, he made a mess off things so he said that he wanted to take responsibly by fixing that hole that was still on the stage. Sprout was so focused on his work that he didn’t realize the sudden appearance of Minty.

“Guess who?” Minty said startling the red stallion in the process.

“Minty, warn me the next time you decide to appear out of nowhere.” Sprout was breathing heavily as a result.

“I see that hole is finally being taking care of.”

“What do you want Minty?”

“I was wondering if we can borrow the stage as soon as it is fixed.”

“Why are you asking me? This place is pretty much yours.”

“Well, you did say that you wanted to be in charge of the theatre stuff so I thought it would only be fair if I asked you first.”

“Any reason why in particular?”

“Let’s just say that my friends and I want to teach a certain mean judge a lesson.”

“Will there be humiliation involved?”

“Yes.”

“I’m in. The repairs should be done in about a week.” Said Sprout. As it turns out, Sprout hated the judge as well and wanted nothing more than a chance to humiliate him. While the theatre was being repaired, word has spread out fast. The fliers were made and ponies from all three towns were excited to audition for the show. The only pony who was not happy about the idea was Mean Streak because that meant that his show had some competition.

“You there.” Mean Steak said to a poor unsuspecting pony in a demanding tone and it was clear that the random worker was nervous. “What this about a new talent show in town.”

“Nothing sir and I am certainly not trying to sneak out and try out for an audition.”

“Never mind that, what my main concern in wether or not this other talent show will have any standards and is willing to save other ponies from embarrassment. The reason why I do what I do is that I want to make sure that no pony would have to go through what I have when I was a colt.” That was when Mean Streak had a flashback of his younger self auditioning for a talent show called Pony TV. When Mean Streak was young he, was very passionate about playing the tuba. However, when he passed the audition, it was the day of the primaries the week after. When his turn came, he ended up being a complete laughing stalk once he realized that he wasn’t actually good and that everypony in the audience laughed at him. The pegasus growled in anger scaring the poor employee off once the flashback was over.

Meanwhile back in Maretime Bay, there was a long line at the local theatre where Minty and her friends normally hung out at. The first thing Minty had to do was to convince Sprout since he was now in charge of the theatre stuff. Luckily, it didn’t take much since as it turned out, the red earth pony hated the mean judge on the show as well. To say that the auditions were long was an understatement. Some auditions were interesting while other were down right boring but they all passed regardless since the Mane 7 wanted this to be a show that celebrates all talents. Sunny, Megan and Pip were the judges and while all of this was going on and all three were still fighting to stay awake as a result.

“So how many more acts do we have to watch?” Sunny asked who looked as though she hadn’t slept for days.

“Twenty, I think.” Said Pip with a groan while Megan did the same. As if on cue, Mean Streak showed up and he was not happy as he bust the entrance open while at the same time shoving every pony who was there for the audition out of his way. This startled the three, especially Pip, who was already in danger of falling asleep.

“Who’s in charge here?” Mean Streak demanded.

“I’m awake.” Said Sunny who was now covered in coffee. She had ordered some not too long ago and the fact that her face was over the cup explained a few things.

“Oh, so you are the one in charge. Why aren’t you criticizing everyone who is auditioning today.” Once Megan was fully awake and heard thing, she was angry and began to defend her friend.

“Hey, what you do on your show was not showing criticism. In fact, you were being a troll.”

“Listen here girlie, I am doing every pony else a favor by saving them from embarrassment and since you three are in charge, I would advise that you all do the same.”

“This isn’t a contest to show that you are better than everyone. On our show, all talents are celebrated.”

“Yeah!” Both Sunny and Pip agreed. The duo were also angry as a result. Once the incident was over, the trio went back to watching the auditions. In one audition there were the clowns from before while in another there was a pony who had a gross but cool taken where he could squirt milk out of his eye. However, there wasn’t much to say about the last one was just some questionable dancing. Once the auditions were over, the trio of judges were relieved that the auditions were over.

“Finally, I thought that I was going to die. I want hibernate and wake up, never.” Said Megan who passed out while Pip was about to do the same. The one who was the most awake, just so happened to be Sunny who called Hitch to give them a ride home before passing out. Little did they know was that they were being watched. Once the trio got some rest, they saw that every pony in town was excited for the show and was showing each other some tricks with there friends.

There was defiantly some hype for the show since there would be no winners and it was a chance for each pony to be themselves. The day before the show, the Main 7 were having a little get together before the big day.

“Wow, word catches on fast.” Said Hitch who was actually impressed with how well put together everything was despite the little chaos that was going on outside. Not only was Hitch impressed but he was surprised to see that Sparky was excited for the show too after watching the baby dragon attempting a few tricks or two.

“You know, I changed my mind about showing off one of my talents. Who knew that my talent would stir up so much controversy.” Said a disappointed Minty.

“Yeah that was probably for the best. It sounds painful.” Said Sunny cringing at the idea. The thought was kind of sad but for a moment they were distracted by a young filly performing dangerous stunts in the air. That was when they saw Mean Streak who rushed towards the young filly right on time.

“Thank you mister.”

“It was no problem but please do not attempt any more dangerous stunts ever again until you are fully trained for them.”

“Wow, I had no idea that the stunts I was doing were dangerous. I think I am going to take your advice and wait until I am older and have more experience. I think I want to be a stunt puny when I grow up.”

“I think that is a wonderful goal to have. I heard Zip’s Flight School is now accepting young recruits.”

“Thanks mister. I think I’ll ask my parents.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

“Hey, aren’t you that judge from Maretime Bay’s Got Talent?”

“Why yes I am.”

“I am glad that I have met you and I don’t think that you are as bad as everypony says.”

“Why thank you young one.”

“I can’t wait to tell all my friends that Mean Streak saved my life.” The entire time, the Main 7 was impressed of how Mean Streak’s personality changed a 180 degrees. Sunny was especially impressed because it seemed that Mean Streak took her advice to heart. Little did the rest of the Main 7 and Mean Streak know was that Sunny ran towards the judge and was staring at him with a large and creepy smile.

“Yes, Ms. Starscout?”

“That was awesome, why weren’t you like this when you were at your show.”

“Well I have to admit that my judgement was clouded.” The stallion then stared at Sunny nervously and literally swallowed his pride before saying,”I was wrong.” Sunny then squealed in delight and bounced around showing that she was happy for him.

“This is great, I have to tell everypony.”

“Sunny, slow down. I am still new to this whole constructive criticism thing and I don’t think other ponies would be as forgiving as your friends.” It was obvious that the pegasus was a bit disappointed.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I am sure everypony would love you once they see this side of you.” Mean Streak reluctantly agreed. As soon as the montage began, everypony was scared of the judge once they saw him. It didn’t help when a video of Sunny standing up to him went viral. While they walked through town, it seemed as though karma was begining to kick in for the stallion when the duo realized that when they saw ponies who were not afraid, tended to give him the cold shoulder but were friendly towards Sunny.

“What is the point? Either everypony hates me or is afraid of me.”

“Don’t give up, I am sure that we’ll find somepony who sees you for who you are.”

“Thanks Sunny but I think I want to be alone for a while. I guess some ponies are just too quick too judge.” Sunny then did what she was asked and even felt bad for him. The moment when Sunny was gone was also the moment, Mean Streak was corrupted by the smooze. Meanwhile, Sunny was heading back to her friends who were wondering where she went. Once Sunny returned, they were all relived and even gave her a hug.

“Where were you?” Hitch asked, clearly concerned. “We looked everywhere.”

“Oh, I was with Mean Streak. It turns out that he can be really nice once you get to know him.”

“Woah, really?” Said Megan who was a bit impressed. The get together was then interrupted once the sky turned dark. The group then went outside to see what was going on only to see ponies running and screaming. That was when the entire group turned around to see what was causing all the ruckus. It was then that they realized that the latest victim was Mean Streak who was currently on a rampage. That was when Sunny’s cutie mark began to glow. Not only that but the townsfolk cutie marks began to glow to and they even came in to help.

“Are you ready for this Sunny.”

“Let’s do this.” That was when she, along with Megan and Minty ran towards Mean streak while at the same time. It was if time stood still when Sunny and the rest of the town apologized. As if on cue, Mean Streak was hit by an in coming rainbow before returning to normal.

“I am really sorry everypony. I don’t know what has come over me.” Said Mean Streak.

“No, we should have been the ones who are sorry. We judged you without trying to get to know you first.” Replied a random pony while every pony else agreed.

“Hey did you know that I play the tuba? I can show you if you would all let me but I have to warn you that I am a bit rusty.” That was when every pony became excited and wanted to hear him play so he did. Even though, Mean Streak was terrible at it, all the ponies still enjoyed it all the same. After that, the ratings for his show went down a little but it became more fun to watch as a result.

Chapter 5

It was an interesting day at the Rainbow Bright house today. There was chaos everywhere and the place was a complete mess. In fact, the house looked as though it came from a disaster movie. The Mane Seven were unconscious, laying down on the floor as if they had too much cider. There were even racoonicorns running around having the time of their life. Couches were destroyed and everything was pretty much a mess and to top it all off there was a broken disco ball along with some confetti that was scattered everywhere.

“Is everypony ok?” Sunny asked dazed and confused. As if on Megan came in and was shocked at the mess too and was even covered in goo from a corrupted smooze from earlier. The Rainbow Bright House wasn’t the only place that was in a disastrous state, Mare Time Bay was in a terrible state as well.

“Can someone tell me what the heck happened here and why are your tattoos different than usual?” Said Megan who was clearly annoyed. That was when everypony knew that they were in trouble. No pony dared to speak up for fear that they would face the wrath of Megan. The only pony who was brave enough to confront her was Izzy who stepped up and said,”You aren’t going to believe it but it a crazy story.” Izzy then burped and it was clear that she wasn’t feeling well.

“Clearly you are not ok, I’ll tell the story.” Said Hitch.

“No way, I can tell it better.” Replied Pip.

“I don’t trust neither of you right now so I’ll tell it.” This time it was Zipp who was clearly annoyed. After a while, it became a full blown argument.

“Enough!” Megan shouted. “Someone better tell what the heck happened or things are going to get ugly.” Megan meant it and to prove her point she began to impatiently tap her foot. Every pony else began to scatter until Sunny spoke up.

“I’ll tell it.” Said Sunny, who finally spoke up. “Remember yesterday when you told us to not go through your belongings without your permission?” There was a long pause and while it became quiet, a flashback began. In the flash back the Rainbow Bright House was actually clean and all the ponies were even busy cleaning up the place for today was the start of spring cleaning. That was when Sunny saw a worn bag with an anime character on it and was a bit curious. That was when Megan caught her and freaked out, grabbing her bag from Sunny in an instant.

“Megan, what the hey was that for?” Sunny asked clearly angry.

“Ok, this is how it will work, you guys, one at a time are going to calmly tell me what happened. Sunny, you start first.” As if on cue, a flashback began. It all started with the entire group cleaning up the house while Megan was away. However, everyone was cleaning except for Izzy, who was high on sugar and was drinking what appeared to be a bottle of soda from Megan’s backpack.

“Hey guys, you really need to try some of this Mountain Dew stuff because it is really good. I also found a Coke Zero and a bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos. They were so good but my mouth was on fire.” Hitch who was with Sparky at the time, went over towards Izzy and read the contents of the junk food the unicorn was eating, the sherif became concerned.

“Izzy, are you going to be okay? You know what happens when you get too hooked up on sugar.”

“I’ll be fine Hitch and it is not like I am the only one who has a sugar problem.” Izzy whispered into Hitch’s ear and pointed her hoof towards Zip who was eating a bag of gummy snails which was the pony version of gummy bears in their world. However, once Zip realized that they were talking about her, she quickly hid the bag and pretended that nopony saw it.

“Candy, soda? You guys know what this means.” Pip said with sadness in her eyes. “Megan was invited to a birthday party and never got the chance to go. That is so sad. We should throw her a party instead.”

“But spring cleaning? Remember?” Hitch begged, not liking where this was going and it seemed that the sheriff’s plea fell onto deaf’s ears. Everyone but Hitch was excited for the idea and everypony ran to get some party supplies running over Hitch as a result. The flashback ended and it revealed a very confused Megan.

“I am lost here, what does a party have to do with all this?”

“Oh that was just the beginning, the weird stuff has not happened yet.” Izzy quipped as she let out a large burp.

“What do you mean by weird stuff?”

“Well.” Said Izzy as the flashback continued since it was now her turn to tell the story. As the flashback continued, the scene changed to where the Mane 5 was getting set up for a party instead of cleaning like they were supposed to. Izzy on the other hand, was trying to busy herself by collecting some crafts. While the purple unicorn was trying to figure out what to make, she was too distracted about the candy and sugar Megan had in her backpack. As she worked, she thought to herself about how maybe one piece of candy wouldn’t hurt. However, while the purple unicorn was trying to decide, an angel and a devil appeared on on each side.

“No stop, the candy isn’t for you or your friends and you must tell Megan at once.” Said the angel version of Izzy.

“Hey that candy looks really good and besides how many ponies can say that they had candy from another world. Allow your friends to have this party and the reward would be worth it.” Said the devil.

“I might not be good for you. You body might not be able to handle the contents.”

“Nah, it might only cause a stomach ache. It is nothing that you can’t handle.”

“Okay devil me, you win but first we have to get our hooves on the candy.” That was when Izzy had an idea ad she headed to the kitchen where Hitch and Izzy were. Hitch then left to get some milk and once Hitch was gone Izzy walked towards the baby.

“Hey Sparky. Can you do me a favor and help me get some of that candy?” Izzy asked the baby dragon as she pointed her hoof towards a shelf that was high up and locked. Clearly, the others didn’t want Izzy to get her hooves on it until the party. However, the baby gave Izzy a small pout as if telling the unicorn that he wanted his own cut of the reward. “Okay fine, we’ll share but how are we going to get up there and I don’t think that I can pick that lock with my magic.” While the duo were scheming, the baby dragon hiccuped causing four of the ponies cutie marks to switch.

“So that is what happened.” Hitch asked while looking at his flank once Izzy’s flashback was over. “Now it is my turn to tell the story.” The flashback continues. Hitch was minding his own business while at the same time, he was working with a magician named Hoofdinie. Ever since magic came back, no pony was interested in his trick. The only pony to was actually interested was Hitch, who was eager to to see what was going to happen next.

“Now let’s see what is behind your ear.” Said Hoofdinie who then pulled a coin out from behind his ear. Hitch was ecstatic as a result.

“Rudolph, you never disappoint. Your tricks are amazing.”

“Thanks, I wish other ponies though so.”

“Hey, I have an idea, there is a party my friends are throwing a party and I think you should be the entertainment.”

“You really think so? The others say that I am out of touch, I can’t perform flashy magic like the others.”

“Well, that is why you should be at the party. A party has three elements; music, food and entertainment!” Hitch explained. That was when at that moment the duo was interrupted by Pip who appeared to be in distress. Then came in Zip and Sunny who were also in distress. The trio were still in a panic as they began to talk over each other. Hitch tried to wait patiently until he realized that the arguing was going no where. Hitch then stomped one of his hooves as if to grab the other’s attention.

“Everypony calm down and tell me what happened.” As if on cue, everypony showed the sherif their cutie marks. Hitch then realized that all of their cutie marks have been switched and the yellow earth pony realized that his cutie mark was switched as well. Meanwhile, Misty was busy spying on the four ponies and took out her mirror in order to speak to her boss Opaline.

“It looks like the Mane 5 are in a sticky situation. Their cutie marks have been switched.”

“Well that is an interesting turn of events, on one hoof we should just wait it out but on another I think it would be more interesting if we caused a bit more chaos. Who do you think shall be our next victim?”

“That magician earth pony seems like a good possibility. He says that he feels a bit useless now that magic has come back.” The flashback ended and it soon revealed a shocked Megan.

“Wait, Misty was behind this too but she was so nice when I first met her. As far as I know, she was busy helping out Sprout with the theatre.” Megan said a bit concerned.

“I am sorry Megan but it is the truth. I found out during the sugar incident. I am not sure how to warn everypony else though.” Hitch admitted with a sad smile. The flashback then continued. When the group got back together and went home, they were shocked to see that there was a huge mess. Minty just so happened to be here and was just confused as everypony else.

“I can explain, I got an mysterious call that Izzy is sick. A classic case of sugar overload.”

“Hey you evil dragon, come back here with the princess.” Izzy said with a crazed look in her eyes as she smacked her hoof onto Minty’s face while losing balance at the same time.

“Her body rejected the contents of the candy so she might be a bit insane for a bit.”

“Hey Hitch, why is your mane a sparkly purple?”

“Yeah, it seems like this will be you problem so I better go.” Just like that, Minty left leaving the confusion to the rest of the gang. Not only was Izzy sick but the baby dragon was sick as well as the group wondered how this could have happened.

“Okay so we might have a bit of a problem on our hooves and our cutie marks have been switched.” Hitch said now worried as he began to hyperventilate.

“You know my great great grandmother had a library full of spells, maybe I can find something to help you all figure out whatever this is.” Rudolph offered only to become surprised when the stallion faced Izzy who stared at him with googly eyes and was laughing crazily. “I think I will get on it now.” With that said, Rudolph left and left the group to their own devices.

“So we just need to switch jobs while taking care of Izzy and Sparky until Rudolph gets back. How hard can it be?” Zip asked. However, the white Pegasus should have kept her mouth shut as it was something that she should have not shouted out into the world. The four of them had different jobs while at the same time had to take care of Izzy and Sparky. Normally Sunny worked at the smoothie cart but today the orange earth pony was running around trying to take care of a sick baby dragon and and unicorn. Hitch on the other hand was working at the smoothie cart and was having trouble making said smoothies and exploded everywhere as a result.

Meanwhile, Zip had Pip’s job. She was trying to teach some of the foals how to sing while at the same time was working at the salon. The results were horrible and the older sister was shocked to see that she accidentally tore a large chunk of some pony’s mane. Embarrassed, the mare backed away slowly while whistling as if trying to make it look as though she wasn’t guilty. As for Pip, she was shopping for supplies. She needed medicine but since there was a sale she needed to be quick in order to get her hooves on the last of the items she needed.

There was only one left of a specific item she needed. As a result, she was competing for said item with another customer. However, since she wasn’t used to flying at a high speed, she fell and tripped over her wings as a result. For a moment the other customer looked at the mare with pity before taking the bottle of pills from the shelf. Pip, groaned in defeat as a result.
However, when the group came home, they were shocked to see that the Rainbow Bright House was a mess. Apparently, while they were away both Izzy and Sparky threw a wild party. Luckily, the duo was all better once they calmed down and was now stable.

“So, what did I miss.” The flashback ended and that was the time Megan came in and saw the mess they made. As if on cue, Rudolph came back with a spell in his hooves.

“Okay I am back and to reverse this we need a dragon.” The stallion shouted and was out of breath. Sparky was now ashamed of himself as they all looked at him and realized that he was the culprit. As a way to apologize, he breathed some magical fire and groups cutie marks returned to normal.

“I am sorry guys, I had no idea how hard you work is and Megan, I am sorry that we went through your stuff without permission. Please, let us know is there is anything we can do to make up for it.” Megan smirked and the group became nervous as a result. As it turned out, she made her friends clean up their mess while she sat on a half broken count like a boss.