Today's His BIRTHDAY?!by ThePinkedWonderChaptersChapter 1: The hunt begins!Chapter 2: She will buy it, or her name isn't Twilight SparkleChapter 3: Give Starlight a battle, she will give you a warChapter 4: Solving the caseChapter 1: The hunt begins!“No, no, no, no, NO!! How?! How in Celestia’s name could I have let this happen?! I’m the worst! If only Pinkie reminded me sooner!” Hearing Twilight Sparkle’s yells, Starlight Glimmer and Spike dashed into the library of Twilight’s castle. In the library’s center, the Princess of Friendship furiously paced in circles, sweat raining from her forehead. Her ears were woefully drooped to lie against her head, her eyes were bloodshot, and her lips bore a frown. Twilight swung around to the pair and sped to them. Her sweat rainstorm ceased. “Spike, Starlight, I’m so glad you’re here. We have big trouble! It’s about Eric!” Spike gasped and asked, “About Eric? What’s wrong?!” “Is he in trouble?” Starlight gritted her teeth and scowled. Fire lit in her eyes. “Is it Chrysalis? Because if she took him, I will hunt her down and–” “No, no, Starlight. He's not in danger or hurt," Twilight assured in a calmer voice. "He’s at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack and Big Mac right now.” Starlight’s scowl and fire vanished. Her teeth relaxed, and she blew the remaining worry out with a big sigh. “Twilight, please don’t scare me like that again. I thought something serious happened.” Twilight laid her hooves on Starlight’s cheeks and cupped them, alarm bubbling in her reddened eyes once again. “But something serious did happen!” “Then what is it?!" Spike asked. "Spill it, Twi!” Twilight released Starlight, then took a deep, long breath. Her ears straightened. “First, do you two know what today is?” Starlight raised her head, searching her mind for anything out of the ordinary about this day. “Uh...it's Saturday?” “And it’s Eric’s birthday,” Spike answered. "Oh, so th–" Starlight’s pupils shrank as Spike's words kicked her brain to register them. “Wait, today's his birthday?!” Spike nodded calmly. “Yep. From what Pinkie said, she asked Eric when it was months ago. She was even the one that reminded me three days ago. I thought you two already knew.” “Oh, I can’t believe I forgot it was today,” Starlight said in a mildly disappointed voice. “I can’t believe I forgot it was today!” Twilight shouted, every muscle brimming with anxiety. “How did I miss writing it on this month’s schedule?!” Spike laid a comforting paw on Twilight’s chest, staring up at her with supportive eyes. “Uh, Twi? You don't have princess duties today, so if you need a gift for Eric, there’s plenty of time to grab something. Pinkie’s surprise party for him isn’t until this evening in another nine ho–” “Grab something?” Twilight asked softly. One of her eyelids quivered. A twitch of an ear followed. Spike crept back from the spasming alicorn. “Uh, ye–” “GRAB SOMETHING?!” Twilight screeched, her voice vibrating the library's books, and forced a jump and yelp from both Spike and Starlight. She restarted her pacing and explained, “This will require the perfect gift! I might have to leave Ponyville to get it, and before that, I’ll need to write lists for everything he likes. I’ll also need a list for where to find what he likes, and another one with the previous months’ up and down trends of–” Starlight zipped to Twilight and set a calming hoof on her back, halting the Princess’s pacing. “Twilight? It will be okay. You know Eric: he won’t need you to give him a perfect gift.” “But I do,” Twilight countered in a pleading tone, “because it’s not just the gift itself! Don’t you remember how he felt homesick three weeks ago?” "Yeah, but you cured it the next day when you asked Pinkie to throw a little party and had us play baseball," Spike answered. “You even showed off your…*chuckle*...dancing.” Starlight giggled at the memory of Twilight’s unorthodox dancing. The unicorn was MORE than justified to do so. “I wasn't sure if he would have ever stopped laughing at your ‘moves’. Pinkie almost got jealous of how hard and long you made him laugh.” Twilight placed her hooves on Starlight’s cheeks again. She yanked her former student toward her, their muzzles bumping against each other. “But think about it, Starlight: no pony in Equestria cares for Eric more than the two of us! We’re supposed to be his ‘Equestrian big sisters’, yet we forgot the most important day of his life! If we don’t atone with the perfect gift, how might this make him feel?!” "But...oh." Starlight grimaced. She hadn't thought of it that way. Drops of sweat collected on her brow. “Uh…*gulp*...okay, if you put it like–” “He remembered our birthdays, but we completely forgot his!" Twilight moved her hooves off Starlight and pressed them against her own cheeks, unknowingly pulling down her lower eyelids with the hooves' grip. "What if this makes him think I lied when I told him I think of him as my brother, not just my friend?” She gasped. Her ears drooped for a second time and her frown deepened. “Wait, what if he starts doubting if I really care about him at all?!” She, once again, cupped Starlight’s cheeks and stared her not in the eyes, but in her soul. “What if he thinks you feel the same way, Starlight?! He might never trust us or ponies again!” Spike scratched his head. “Uh, Eric can be a little...paranoid and I think I know the pony he got it from but there’s no way he will–” Starlight's ears flopped. Her growingly nervous frown snapped into a distraught one. She cupped Twilight’s cheeks, so the two were grasping the other’s cheeks. “Oh, Celestia, you’re right, Twilight! What was wrong with me?! How could I have forgotten his birthday?!” “You understand now?! This is terrible!” Spike facepalmed. Why didn't he tell them about Eric's upcoming birthday himself when Pinkie reminded him? The mares’ sea of paranoia wouldn’t be quelled with mere words, which the young dragon learned many times in the past. He let out a defeated groan and said, “Fine. Let’s get started on–” Twilight’s horn glowed magenta. A shower of scrolls fell to the floor; a quill landed by each of the two ponies and dragon. “–The lists.” Twilight and Starlight released each other’s faces. They, as well as Spike, grabbed a scroll and quill and commenced on writing lists. The two ponies rested on their stomachs, but Spike remained on his feet. As they completed list after list, Twilight’s ears reset to their normal non-stressed position. Her red eyes cleared to only contain a faint, reddish hue along the edges. *One hour later* “Okay, now that we finally finished all fifty-nine lists, let’s narrow things down,” Twilight said, staring at a list she levitated with her magic. “I’ll start with this list, the one with Eric's past phrases that might hint at what we could get him. Starlight, you take the one with the trends of his likes and dislikes over the eleven months he’s been in Equestria. Spike, you handle the list of what he overall enjoys. if we're lucky, this won't take too long.” Spike picked up one of the numerous lists lying in front of him. “Lasagna...music...baseball...oh, maybe you could buy him a new baseball glove and bat?” Twilight rubbed her chin, deep in thought at the idea. She shook her head a second later. “A new glove or bat isn’t good enough. He deserves something better.” "They don't scream 'perfect gift' anyway." Starlight gazed more intently at a list floating in her turquoise magic. “He doesn’t search for insects like he said he used to...reads more in Equestria than in his former world...wasn't interested in traveling but does now...ooh, I know!” Starlight smiled, looking away from the list and at Twilight. “How about we take him on a three or four-day trip to Las Pegasus and pay for everything? He always wanted to go there and stay in their hotels.” Twilight considered it, but shook her head again. “That would be a bad idea now. This is Eric’s first birthday in Equestria, so he might become homesick. If it happens, do you think bringing him to a more unfamiliar place would help?” “No, but I doubt he’d get homesick anyway,” Spike answered. “I can’t take that chance, Spike, and that is another reason why I must get him the perfect gift." Twilight’s ears wilted and her chest tightened. "I already let him down bad by failing to return him to his own world after telling him I would, so no way will I risk our brother becoming homesick. Um...I know!” Twilight's chest loosened as she grinned; her ears perking up. “How about I buy him volumes one and two of 'Equestria's beginnings’? We could read them during our next reading session together, and it would teach him more about Equestrian history!” Spike and Starlight stared at Twilight, each raising an eyelid. The library's chilling silence grew oddly louder. Twilight’s cheeks glowed red, her smile melting into a sheepish one. “Okay, I get it. I haven’t rubbed off on him that much. “Yeah, you took him in, but he’s not Mr. Twilight Sparkle.” Spike looked at his list again. “Pranks...games–” As if a lightbulb lit in Twilight's mind, she grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, ‘games’, that’s it! He loves the games at Ponyville’s arcade, so a game like one of them would be a perfect gift!” She set down her list. “I don’t have enough bits to buy any of them, but I could help pay for one,” Starlight said. “You sure?” Twilight asked as she turned to Starlight. “Those games are expensive.” Starlight nodded. “I’m sure.” “In that case, you can buy him one of those games and say it’s from both of you.” Spike put down his scroll. “Then let’s go game-hunting!" Starlight sprung to her hooves. "Wait, where can we find any for sale?” Twilight tapped her cheek. “Hmm. Ponyville’s toy store doesn’t sell them, but Canterlot’s game stores do, so let’s board the Friendship Express before it leaves.” Twilight glanced toward the portal connecting Equestria to the human world Sunset Shimmer resides. “I should also inform Sunset about the party, though I doubt she forgot Eric’s birthday too. She probably already planned her day out to be ready for any possible parties.” Twilight (with Spike) and Starlight sprinted to their respective bedrooms. The mares each grabbed a bag of bits and tied it onto a strap they had wrapped around their torsos. In addition, Twilight sent a message to Sunset about Eric’s birthday party, via a special journal they often communicate with, then activated the portal to allow Sunset to enter Equestria. With their bits and the ever-faithful Spike by their side, Twilight and Starlight departed the castle and boarded the Friendship Express. With smiles on their faces, the friends’ spirits were high, despite some lingering worries from Twilight. Unfortunately, the friends’ quest would be far more difficult than they expected, if not impossible. Author's Note Oh, that doesn't sound good. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike might be in for a wild ride! Chapter 2: She will buy it, or her name isn't Twilight SparkleThe hunt was on. The Friendship Express pulled into the train station of the grand capital of Canterlot. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike sped off the train and onto one of the city’s numerous streets. Despite Twilight’s status as one of Equestria’s princesses, the nearby ponies trotting, talking, or laughing scarcely noticed her presence and went about their business. In the distance, an enormous castle, home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, loomed tall like a guardian of the city. Starlight turned her head back and forth. “Where do we go first?” “We should check Stablemart.” Twilight pointed down a street. “It’s that way.” Twilight, Spike, and Starlight sprinted along the streets in the direction Twilight directed them in. Five minutes later, the friends reached a towering building. It was Stablemart, Canterlot’s largest department store. They charged through one of its several double doors; Twilight and Starlight came a hair's breadth from bumping into a unicorn on the doors’ opposite side. Inside the initial section of the spacious store, clothes, furniture, rows of mops, and many other household items spread throughout. Signs explaining which areas of the store sold what hung high from the ceiling. Twilight directed a hoof toward a sign halfway across the store. “Ooh! That sign says ‘games’, puzzles’, and toys’! That must be where we need to go, so let’s hurry! The three game hunters slowed and merely walked to an area featuring toys, puzzles, board games – such as Dragon Pit – and rubber balls on numerous shelves. Behind a counter stood a blue unicorn salesmare. Her striped mane was of a dark-blue and light bluish-gray. “Hi, welcome to Stablemart!” The salesmare greeted with a friendly smile. “Can I–wait, Twilight?” The salemare's smile brightened to be somewhat more genuine. “Oh, it is you!” Twilight smiled and trotted to the mare. Spike and Starlight trailed her from behind. “I didn’t know you started working at Stablemart, Minuette! You know Spike, but I don’t think you met my former student.” Twilight motioned to Starlight. “This is Starlight Glimmer.” Twilight pointed to Minuette. “And Starlight, this is Minuette. We were friends...more or less, before I moved to Ponyville.” Starlight and Minuette traded cheerful greetings. Introductions over, Minuette focused her attention on Twilight and said, “I was planning to visit you the next time I was in Ponyville, Twilight, but you visited me!” She giggled with a hoof over her mouth. “What brings you here? I didn’t know you were a game-mare.” Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a bashful smile. From how Twilight had been more serious and less inclined for games in the past, Minuette’s assumption was fair. “Well, I’m not quite the muzzle-in-the-book mare I used to be, but I’m here to buy something for Eric. Today's his birthday.” “Eric?” Minuette tapped her cheek but smiled a moment later. “Oh, he’s the, uh, ‘boman’ that lives with you in Ponyville, right?” Twilight nodded, but a hint of annoyance sparked in her eyes. “Yes, that’s Eric, but he is called a human. He also loves games, so do you have any arcade-style games?” The blue unicorn giggled again. As before, she covered her mouth with a hoof. “What?” Twilight, Starlight, and Spike asked in unison. “Didn’t you say you wanted an arcade game?” “Yes?” Twilight answered. Another, louder, giggle left Minuette’s mouth. Twilight leaned her head to the side, wearing a bewildered frown. “I don’t understand. What’s so funny?” Minuette waved her hoof in a "come here" motion to another store worker, a yellow unicorn mare, who was inspecting a shelf lined with jigsaw puzzles. “Hey, Citrus! Come over here!” The unicorn named Citrus stomped over as she let out a groan. “What now? Don’t tell me you want to take another break.” “Not this time.” The giggly Minuette pointed at Twilight. “Get this: Princess Twilight asked if we had any arcade games.” Citrus’s lips quivered, followed by hearty laughter. Twilight alternated her staring between the two laughing workers. “Wait, why is asking for arcade games so funny?” The joker Minuette circled from around her counter, pointed at Twilight, and shouted, “Hey, everypony! Princess Twilight asked if we had any arcade games!” All ponies in earshot, both store employees and customers, bellowed in laughter. Some fell on the floor laughing. Starlight and Spike switched between staring at each other and the guffawing ponies. Twilight growled and yelled, “Okay, that is enough! Minuette, what in Celestia’s name is so funny?!” The store ceased laughing. Minuette frowned and asked, “Wait, you weren’t kidding?” “Of course I wasn’t! Why would I joke about that?” The mare gasped. Despite her personal history with Twilight, Minuette delivered a respectful bow to the frustrated Princess. “Oh. I-I am SO sorry, Twilight. It’s just, they were always in high demand, but with the rumors of a possible Cov-20 epidemic coming, the games have been selling at a far faster rate than normal. We have been sold out for weeks, and even pre-ordering upcoming ones is nearly impossible.” “So not only are you out, but other places are too?” Starlight asked. She nodded, remaining in a bow. “I’m afraid so, and that’s why I thought she was joking." Twilight facehoofed, its smack generating a weak echo. She was aware that some things had become hard to find, but she didn't know video games were one of them. “Of all the birthdays I could have forgotten, THIS had to be the one.” Starlight rubbed her chin. “Well, let’s check the stores anyway. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Minuette straightened herself and crept back to her counter, shame blanketing her; Citrus trotted back to the shelves to resume her task. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike sped out of Stablemart and across Canterlot. They jumped from one store after another that sold arcade games, but they had long sold out. Unlike the playful Minuette, none of the other stores’ employees attempted to use Twilight’s questions as entertainment. However, Twilight grinned at an “Arcade games available here!” sign on the window of a smaller yellow store. “Yes yes, we’re in luck, we’re in luck, they have some!” Twilight quickly shouted. She bolted into the store in an audible zip; a gust of wind blew from her movement. At half the speed, Starlight and Spike ran toward the door. Twilight flashed back out as Starlight and Spike got near the door. Her smile had soured to a vexed frown. “No, we are not buying any games here.” “Why?” Starlight asked. Twilight pointed at two yellow unicorn stallions inside the store. They had red and white-striped manes and tails; one of the pair wore a mustache. “Oh,” Spike said in a low voice. “Them.” Starlight stared at the stallions in question with a confused frown. “Who are they?” “They are the Flim Flam brothers and have conned ponies in the past. Even if they aren’t running a scam this time, their cheapest game cost 8,500 bits!” Twilight glared at the greedy brothers and growled. Twilight is a princess, but even she has a monthly budget and can't buy whatever she wants. “Not only is that extremely overpriced, even if you help pay, Starlight, I don’t have enough bits!” Starlight growled, glaring massive daggers at the stallions. “I hate price gouging. They should be ashamed of themselves!” “I wouldn’t count on it,” Twilight remarked, “and worse, there are no other stores in Canterlot that sells arcade games.” Starlight blew a dejected sigh, but it wasn't over yet. “What if we try someplace that’s out of Canterlot? We still have plenty of time.” “Or you two could just get Eric something easier to find.” “No way, Spike. Let’s try Manehattan next. Their toy and game stores aren’t as well known, so that could work in our favor.” Twilight’s eyes burned with unflappable determination. The young mare’s mane flapped in an appropriately timed breeze. “I may have forgotten his birthday, but I WILL buy Eric one of those games before his party, or my name isn’t Twilight Sparkle!” “Okay, if you say so,” Spike said in acquiescence. “Let’s go to Manehattan.” Their newest plan set, the trio re-boarded the Friendship Express and traveled to Manehattan. After the Friendship Express arrived at the train station of the busy city of Manehattan, Starlight, Twilight, and Spike ran off it and into the city. Spike turned his head to the surrounding buildings and skyscrapers, some seemingly reaching into the heavens. A peculiar sensation of something missing struck him. “Hmm. Feels weird being out here without Rarity. We usually come out here with her.” “We do always visit Manehattan with her, don’t we?” Twilight asked in a cheerful voice, but her lips darkened into a determined frown. They had a job to do. “But nevermind that, let’s hurry and locate a toy or game store.” The trio rushed down Manehattan’s streets. Like in Canterlot, the ponies nearby acted as if Twilight, a princess, was a normal pony, though some did give her friendly hoof waves. Ten minutes later, a store with glowing letters that spelled out “Games R Us” over its door, came into view. The friends picked up their running and zipped through the store’s door. Unlike the huge Stablemart, Games R Us was a small, modest store, brimming with mostly fun-related items, such as board games, toy trains, balloon animals, and dolls. Or, fun-related items for most ponies. They did not sell books, one of the things Princess Twilight Sparkle considers fun. The friends ran to a counter. Similar to the one in Stablemart, a brown earth pony mare stood on its other side. On the wall behind her hung a row of kites. Starlight peeked at the kites, but mentally smacked herself. ‘Not now, Starlight.’ Oblivious to Starlight restraining herself from querying about the kites behind her, the salespony greeted, “Hello! Welcome to–” “Hi, do you have any arcade games?” Twilight asked. The mare nodded. “Yes, we do.” Twilight and Starlight hopped in joy, and they both shouted, “Yes!” Spike turned his head, looking around. “Where are they? Which ones do you have?” “We keep them in the back, but we don’t sell any separately. Our games come in bundles.” Twilight, Starlight, and Spike gasped, mouths agape. None of them even knew arcade-style games could come in bundles. “B-bundles?!” Twilight shouted. “You don’t have any by themselves?” The salespony shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Princess. In fact, the only bundle we have left is a bundle of five that costs 11,000 bits.” Twilight’s wings spread out from shock, her pupils shrinking. “11,000 bits?!” “We don’t have anywhere near that much!” Starlight yelled, also with tiny pupils. They enlarged to their normal size as she composed herself and questioned, “Is there another place nearby that sells them on their own?” “Well, ‘Bullseye’ did, but they sold out two weeks ago.” Twilight groaned in defeat, her pupils also back to normal size. She failed again. “Okay. Thank you for your help.” The three game hunters left the store. Twilight’s and Starlight's heads were tilted toward the ground as they walked. “That is a cheap trick they pulled,” Starlight whined. “Not everypony can afford to pay for bundles.” “I understand it from a business standpoint, but still.” Twilight lifted her head in resolution. “But I can’t start moping. I’m not giving up on finding one of those games.” His eyes showing less sadness, Spike said, “Well, if that Bullseye store is out of arcade games too, we’re–” “Did you two say you’re trying to find arcade games?” a grey earth pony stallion asked. He stood by a nearby building’s wall. “Yes, we are,” Twilight answered. She smiled and dashed to the stallion, eyes oozing hope. “Do you know of a place that sells them?!” “And aren’t part of bundles?” Spike asked. “Yep.” He pointed in the direction he was facing, the same direction the trio was already walking in. “I heard Bullseye got a late shipment not long ago.” “Really?!” A huge grin curled on Twilight's face, reminiscent of a filly on Hearth’s Warming morning. “Thank you so much for telling us! I owe you one!” She lunged for and hugged the earth pony, whose eyes widened from the ecstatic alicorn’s sudden embrace. Twilight's mane flapped forward, inadvertently brushing against an ear of the stallion in her forelegs, and triggered the ear to twitch. After three seconds of hugging, Twilight released her grip and looked at Spike and Starlight, her grin unchanged. “Did you hear that?! Let’s go!” Twilight darted down the street, followed by a smiling Starlight. “Hey, wait for me!” Spike yelled, chasing after Twilight and Starlight. The stallion that delivered the valuable information stared at the running ponies and dragon, or more so at Twilight. His cheeks glowed red, a fuzzy warmness heating his body. “Wow, I was just hugged by Princess Twilight. Dance Fever will be so jealous when I tell him this!” Five minutes later, the three friends, with Twilight and Starlight still ahead, hurried through the doors of Bullseye, a store roughly the same size as Games r Us. Similar to Games r Us, Bullseye was filled with toys and board games, but also different entertainment-related items like balls and scooters. Twilight and Starlight reached the store’s counter, this one with a white earth pony stallion. Shortly afterward, a wheezing Spike caught up to the pair. “Hi, we just heard you received a late shipment of arcade games. Are there any left?” Twilight asked, voice bearing no trace of weariness. The stallion shook his head with a sympathetic frown. “Oh, I’m sorry, Princess Twilight, but you’re too late. We had five, but somepony just came and bought all of them around two or three minutes ago.” “WHAT?! ONE PONY BOUGHT THEM ALL?!” Twilight and screamed shouted in unison. “Yep. I guess they were purchasing for several ponies, since it’s so hard to find even one. We were lucky to have gotten that late shipment at all.” Starlight released a frustration-filled moan. “Seriously?! If they wanted that many, why didn’t they go to ‘Games R Us’?! That place has bundles of five!” “They must not have known they did,” he answered. ‘And I wasn’t going to tell them and risk losing their future business.’ “I-in that case, are there any other stores that do, even if not in Manehattan?” Twilight flapped her wings to hover. She set her hooves together in a begging position, her former bloodshot eyes returning. “Please! We’re desperate!” The salespony rolled his eyes up. “Let's see. Canterlot’s stores have been sold out for weeks. Uh...your best chance would be in Las Pegasus, but the odds are against you.” Twilight thanked the salespony, and the trio departed the store. Once outside, Twilight grumbled to herself. This was just not their day. "At least we're not out of options," Starlight commented with a frown, but hope still burned in her eyes. “We do, but I still can't believe it! If we went to Bullseye first, we could have bought a game in time!” Twilight groaned, but took a deep breath. The redness in her eyes faded. “But, as you said, Starlight, we at least have a chance, so I can't keep complaining.” “Uh-oh," Spike muttered with a sudden frown. "Twi, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but do we even have enough time?” Twilight’s jaw fell. A facehoof followed. “Oh, right, I’m forgetting birthdays and a sense of time today. Even if we find an airship or hot-air balloon right now, there’s no way we could get to Las Pegasus and back to Ponyville in time.” She hung her head and closed her eyes. Her ears wilted. “We failed. I guess you should call me a different name from now on.” Starlight raised her head in thought, then smiled. There was still hope for them. “We don’t need to call you ‘Tara’ or 'Rebecca' yet, Twilight. We might cut it close, but if we cast an Accelero spell on either the balloon or airship, we could travel to Las Pegasus and back in Ponyville before Eric's party. You know how fast that spell would let us move.” Spike scratched his head with a claw. “I don’t know, Starlight. Spells tend to...backfire when you use them to solve your problems.” Starlight leaned to Spike with a sly smirk. “But this isn’t my problem, but our problem. Plus, Twilight's here too.” “But still–” Twilight raised her head, her depressed frown replaced with an encouraged smile. “Normally, I’d agree with you, Spike, but we have no choice this time.” “Fine. I still say you two should buy Eric something that's easier to find, but let’s go.” After a quiet groan, Spike thought, ‘And I wish you two would listen to me more.’ The trio searched Manehattan for the nearest airship or hot-air balloon. Ten minutes later, they tracked down a mare that owned a suitable hot-air balloon. After Twilight gave a princess’s promise to return it the next day, she and Starlight cast an Accelero spell to boost its speed, then the two mares and Spike hopped in the balloon’s basket. The balloon zipped across the sky and headed toward the cloud-based city of Las Pegasus, thanks to a map Twilight acquired while searching for their air-ride. Later, tall buildings and part of a roller coaster, on top of a massive cloud, became visible. Twilight and Starlight cast a cancel spell on the speed-boosting Accelero spell, slowing the balloon to its normal, leisurely pace. The trio hoped with all their hearts that the elusive prize they desperately sought would finally be seized. By them. They only had roughly one and a half hours left until Eric Reed's party. Author's Note Next stop: Las Pegasus! What will be in store for Twilight, Starlight, and Spike? Will they finally be successful in their mission? How many more times will Spike tell those two mares to just get Eric something they can easily find?! Fun fact: this story is partly inspired by my own struggles of finding a Playstation 5. At the time I wrote this story, I was still hopelessly hunting for one. Chapter 3: Give Starlight a battle, she will give you a warIn the cloud city of Las Pegasus, the hot-air balloon containing Twilight, Starlight, and Spike landed onto one of two docking stations for hot-air balloons. The trio hopped out of the balloon’s basket immediately afterward. Spike held the map Twilight acquired in Manehattan. Numerous bridges – just over the clouds – branched across the city; some connected to its stores, hotels, amusement park, and other buildings. A few pegasi flew from bridge to bridge, while other pegasi and the other pony tribes walked or ran along. “Where do we go?” Starlight asked, gazing in one direction after another to both admire the scenery and decide her next move. Spike looked intently at the map. “According to this, we have two choices, ‘Ponyazon’ and ‘Game Whoa’.” He pointed at a large pink building, similar to the shape of a small palace. “That’s Ponyazon.” Spike motioned to a more distant, taller, thinner building, or more like a tower. “And over there is Game Whoa.” “Which store will we try first?" Starlight asked. “This time, we will split up, so we can visit both at the same time." Twilight glanced toward Ponyazon, then Game Whoa. "Because I have enough bits to pay for a game by myself, Spike, Starlight, you two will go to Ponyazon, and I’ll check Game Whoa. That way, if I find a game, I can pay for it, but if Ponyazon has one, Starlight can teleport to me while Spike holds your place in line.” “Okay,” Spike and Starlight said affirmatively. “Good,” Twilight said with a smile. “Now, let’s find a game for Eric!” Spike rolled up the map, and the three friends hurried down the bridges over the clouds and deeper into the city. Twilight soon broke away and flew to the more distant Game Whoa. Spike and Starlight dashed across another of the branching bridges and into Ponyazon. Inside Ponyazon, Starlight and Spike turned their heads, scanning for something to direct them to where to go. Maybe they could ask a nearby pony for directions? Spike said, “This place is like Stablemart. It’s got everything: couches, clothes, mops–” “But we’re here for arcade games. Where is the game area?” Starlight motioned to a red balloon. It was tied high on the wall on the other side of the store; bright lights lit along the same wall. “Maybe it’s over there!” Starlight and Spike sped through the store, passing through crowds of ponies, and to Ponyazon’s game area. As well as more balloons, it contained jigsaw puzzles, toy boats, and board games on several shelves throughout. Lastly, there was a long counter with a green pegasus behind the right half (or Starlight and Spike’s right) of it. However, between it and the two game hunters stood a yellow pegasus mare, staring at the words of what the game section sold, in lights, on the wall. Her hoof was on her cheek. Starlight and Spike went behind the mare and waited for her to move. The mare stayed still and quiet. After about ten seconds, Starlight leaned toward the pegasus. “Excuse me, but if you’re not sure--” The pegasus spun her head to Starlight, and said in a hard tone, “I’m thinking.” “Oh, sorry,” Starlight said meekly, shrinking back. Starlight and Spike held their place in line. The mare in front of them remained motionless, prompting Spike and Starlight to tap a foot/hoof as they waited. Five minutes later, Spike whispered, “Uh, sorry to interrupt, but--” The mare twirled around, bearing a harsh glare. “Didn’t I say I’m thinking?! Ugh, I was about to make up my mind, but you made me forget what I wanted! Now I have to decide again.” “Okay, then let us go ahead,” Starlight pleaded. “That way, you can take all the time you want!” A second mare, an earth pony, stepped to the left half of the counter. “I can assist who is next.” A unicorn stallion that had lined behind Starlight and Spike darted to the freshly-open line. “Are there any arcade games left? I’ve been searching all over for one.” The salesmare nodded with a friendly smile. “Yes. We have ‘Hoof-Out!!’, and it costs 2,800 bits.” “I’ll take it!” the stallion answered with a massive grin, levitating a bag of bits in his magic to the counter. “You can keep the change.” “Thank you!” The salesmare picked up the bag with her teeth and poured most of the bits into a cash register, but moved the extra bits behind the counter. “Will you need 'Hoof-Out!!' delivered?” “I can take it myself, but I’ll need to get my friend to help me carry it. I’ll be back soon,” the stallion answered. He pranced out of the store, laughing giddily. Starlight and Spike ran to the newer salepony. “Do you have another 'Hoof-Out!!' or any other arcade games?” Starlight asked. The salesmare frowned and answered, “Oh, I’m sorry. I just sold our last one.” Starlight’s and Spike’s eyes grew as they both shouted, “WHAT?! NO!” The pegasus that was arguing with the pair, in an almost sympathetic voice, remarked, “Oof, that’s too bad. You would have gotten it if you were quicker.” Starlight gritted her teeth and spun around to the pegasus showing her pity(?), frustration flying from her eyes like daggers. “But I couldn’t because you...UGH!” Spike laid a soothing paw on Starlight’s barrel. “It’s okay, Starlight. Let’s just go.” Starlight blew a sigh and sulked out of the store; Spike followed her from behind. With a disgruntled frown locked on Starlight’s lips, Starlight and Spike walked on one of the many bridges of Las Pegasus, heading to the tower-like building of Game Whoa. “What’s wrong with me, Spike? We had the chance to get one of those games, but I blew it!” “Well, try to look at the bright side: since Ponyazon had one, Twilight might have–” “What?! Not again!” Twilight yelled from inside Game Whoa. “Or not,” Spike said with a sigh. A scowling Twilight stomped out of Game Whoa’s doors and across the city’s bridges. The mumbling under her breath grew louder as she approached, but stopped once she reached her friends. “No luck?” Starlight asked. “No. They did have three, but somepony bought them all ten minutes ago. There should be a rule forbidding ponies from buying more than one of those games at a time!” Twilight let out a groan, releasing as much pent-up frustration as possible, and her scowl softened. In a calmer voice, she asked, “I take it Ponyazon was sold out too?” Starlight closed her eyes and lowered her head in shame. Spike glanced at Starlight and answered, “Uh, we...had some bad luck.” Starlight raised her head, but her facial expression remained unchanged. “What now? We can’t go back to Ponyville empty-hoofed.” “I still say you can pick out something and Eric will be happy.” “No!” Twilight yelled, lowering her head to meet Spike in the eyes. “We can’t ‘pick out something’!" She straightened herself and added, "I doubt he ‘picked out’ the limited edition of ‘The Life of Starswirl the Bearded’ that he bought me, or Starlight’s 1,500 piece jigsaw puzzle and deluxe kite set.” “Nor did he forget our birthdays, but I think we are out of options.” Starlight shook her head, a small but undaunted scowl emerging over her eyes. “No, this can’t be it! I didn’t quit this easy when I wanted to steal Cutie Marks during my...phase.” In spite of the exasperation of the situation, Twilight formed a smile, filling with pride of her close friend and ex-student. “You said it, Starlight. Maybe another store sells arcade games that the map didn't–” A brown pegasus stallion strode to the trio and asked, “Hey, did you say you’re looking for an arcade game?” Twilight answered, “Yes. We already tried Ponyazon and Game Whoa.” The stallion pointed at a lofty yellow building. “I heard that new place, ‘Great Buy’, has one left.” “There is?!" Twilight exclaimed with a huge grin, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you so much, and I'll pay you back someday!” Twilight lunged for and wrapped her forelegs around the informative stallion. His eyes widened during the young princess's unexpected hug. Her mane rubbed against and tickled one of his ears, prompting the stallion's wings to sharply spread out. Once she let him go, Twilight faced Starlight and Spike. “You heard that?! Let’s go to Great Buy before that game's sold!” Twilight, Spike, and Starlight dashed across a bridge and through the double doors of Great Buy. The stallion that Twilight appreciatively hugged blushed. Warmness flooded his body, and his wings continued to stay open. “Oh my Celestia, the Princess of Friendship hugged me. I can’t wait to rub it in Midrock’s face the next time I’m in Manehattan!” On the capacious first floor of Great Buy, red, blue, and yellow lights lined some of the walls and doorways. It was largely empty in objects, as if it had been cleared out. A crowd of ponies had collected in front of a stage with three pegasi stallions standing on top. Two of them each held the edge of a blue bucket in their teeth; the third pegasus held a blowhorn in one of his wings. Twilight surveyed the crowd. “This is odd. I wonder what’s going on.” A mare in the back of the crowd turned to Twilight, Starlight, and Spike, and answered, “We’re waiting for the drawing for ‘Mr. Pac-Mare’.” “Mr. Pac-Mare?” Twilight asked with a puzzled stare, despite the joy of not arriving too late. “Why is there a drawing for it?” “I guess you didn’t hear, but arcade games are next to impossible to find, so the owner of Great Buy wanted to have a drawing to determine who would buy it. The rest was sold minutes after their shipment came in earlier.” “At least we have a chance this time,” Spike commented with a hopeful smile. “Indeed, Spike,” Twilight said, wearing a smile of her own. “Let’s hope our bad luck finally becomes good luck.” Three minutes later, in an amplified voice thanks to the blow horn, one of the stallions on the stage said, “Okay, mares and gentlecolts, we’re ready. As I’m sure you all are aware, we have one ‘Mr. Pac-Mare’ left for sale. Furthermore, the owner of Great Buy wished to get into the Las Pegasus spirit and have luck determine who will buy it. So, you are going to pick a ball with a different number on it. After that, we will hold a drawing, and the winner will earn the chance to buy ‘Mr. Pac-Mare’. Do you all understand?” The crowd answered, “Yes!” “Now, the ponies with the buckets full of balls will come down, then you will form two lines and wait for your turn to pick a ball.” “Spike, Starlight, to improve our odds, let’s each pick out a ball,” Twilight suggested in a whisper. The two pegasi holding the buckets flew down from the stage and stood side by side. The crowd split into two lines, and Twilight and Spike got into one line; Starlight stood in the other. Two by two (thanks to there being two lines), the crowd picked up a ball from a bucket. Each had a unique number. A unicorn mare grabbed a ball with her magic, but directed a hoof toward the ceiling with a fearful frown. “Whoa, what’s that?!” All in the room stared upward. The mare swiftly levitated out a second ball and stuffed it in a backpack on her back. “Uh, sorry! I was...seeing things, I guess,” she lied in an innocent voice. The crowd, including Twilight and Spike, shrugged and went back to selecting balls, two by two. However, Starlight gazed at the lying unicorn and laid a hoof on her cheek in suspicion. She caught sight of part of a yellow ball from the mare’s backpack and pointed a hoof at her. “Wait, she has a second ball in her bag! She’s cheating!” The mare innocuously shook her head protested, “N-no I don't! Don’t listen to her!” An earth pony peeked at the cheater’s backpack and gasped. “Hey, she’s right! There is a second ball in there!” With eyes on the dishonest unicorn, a different unicorn, a stallion, picked up a ball from one of the buckets and levitated it toward a trash can. A pegasus stallion pointed at the floating ball. “Hey, he's cheating too! Give me a ball before some other unicorn tries to cheat!” The increasingly agitated and grumbling crowd broke from their lines and forced themselves to the bucket to pick balls. Some, like Twilight, Starlight, and Spike, stayed calm. The impatient picking of balls devolved into shoving. Balls were reached for more and more frantically. The stallion with the blow horn said, “Okay, everypony, please calm down–” The crowd shoved even more aggressively. The two pegasi holding the buckets finally tossed the balls into the air out of desperation. The balls rained down. Ponies dove for the bouncing balls in all directions. Some ponies dove into each other, some by mistake and others intentionally to knock captured balls free. A few ponies slammed into and bounced off walls from overzealous dives. Some unicorns seized balls with their magic, but the other pony tribes tapped the horns of those unicorns, instantly freeing the balls from their magical telekinesis. Only Twilight, Starlight, and Spike stayed out of the fray. Spike surveyed the mob and grimaced. “Twilight! This is getting out of control! You gotta do something!” “And while you do that, I’m going in!” Starlight leapt toward a ball bouncing to her with all her might. She soared over it and rolled on her back from her momentum. Perhaps she needed to work on her aim. An earth pony snatched the ball Starlight had targeted, making Starlight groan from annoyance of herself. Amid a brainstorm, Twilight tapped her cheek. As the Princess of Friendship, her first instinct was to break up the melee. On the other hoof, her past experiences with unruly mobs had taught her that even her princess status isn’t always enough to quell mobs. A different idea lit in her brain like a light bulb, allowing Twilight to smile and lean her head toward Spike. “I have a plan. Hop on my back, and no matter what happens, stay quiet and don’t jump off.” Spike nodded and jumped onto Twilight’s back. Twilight flapped her wings to hover in midair and observed the crowd quietly. Oblivious to Twilight’s plan, Starlight spotted a loose ball and grabbed it in her magic. “Yes! I got one!” The unicorn mare that first attempted cheating directed a hoof at Starlight. “She’s got two balls! She’s got two balls!” “She’s what?!“ “What’s with these cheating unicorns?!” The crowd glowered at Starlight, who pointed at herself. “What?! No, I don–” A pegasus mare growled and yelled, “Get her!” Starlight turned to run. Four mares pounced on her, forcing out a pain-filled grunt from the tackled pony, and forced Starlight to release her ball. A fifth mare searched around Starlight, then peeked into her bag of bits tied on the strap around her. “Wait, she only had one!” The mare that lied about Starlight pursued the ball knocked from Starlight’s magical grip. Starlight Glimmer’s eyes locked onto the lying unicorn, louring intensely. The aggravating weight of the ponies on top of her further ignited her blood. Her eyes reddened, and her vocal cords emitted a low, long growl. That was it. She may be friendly, but if those ponies wanted a battle, the reformed villain would give them a war! “You all picked the WRONG mare and day. No more Mrs. Nice Glimmer!” Starlight’s horn glowed turquoise. A wave of magic radiated from her body, harmlessly throwing the screaming mob off of her every which way. They asked for it! Free, Starlight sprang to her hooves and dove for the fibbing mare, making the two roll on the floor. Once the rolling ended, the battling unicorns engaged in a magic-based tug-o-war for the ball Starlight previously held. “Give me back that ball, you big liar! This is not the day to mess with me!” “You don’t scare me, sweetheart! Our magic is evenly matched anyway!” “Are you sure about that?” The alicorn-level unicorn smirked. The ball slowly inched toward her. An earth pony plucked the floating ball with a hoof. “Ha! I got–” A pegasus dove at the ball and nabbed it out of its most recent owner’s hoof. Yet another pegasus flew in to steal it. The whole mob, spread out all over the first floor, continued to fight over the ever-spreading balls. With Spike still on her back, Twilight hovered in the air and watched, save for the occasional grimace from her. Four male pegasi, all wearing security suits, ran down the stairs and into the room. One of them shouted in a blow horn, “EVERYPONY STOP!!” The battling ponies froze and stared at the pegasus delivering the order. Starlight’s red eyes cleared, but they retained a slight red hue. “That is enough. All of you that were fighting, leave! No 'Mr. Pac-Mare' for you!” The mob’s ears flopped and the misbehaving ponies moped away, Starlight included. Twilight slowed her wing flaps to land, trotted to the leader of the new pegasi in the lobby, and said, “I’m sorry for not stepping in, but they might not have listened to even me.” The stern look on the leader’s face softened into a friendly smile. “It’s quite all right, Princess Twilight. Even if you are the Princess of Friendship, we can’t expect you to do our jobs and break up out-of-control mobs. What brings you here?” “I came to purchase 'Mr. Pac-Mare'. I will understand if you don’t–” “That so?” the stallion asked in an even more cheerful voice than before. “Well, since you stayed civil, we will allow you the chance to buy it. Wait here while we bring out a clerk to sell it to you.” “Really? Thank you!” Twilight aimed a hoof toward the retreating Starlight. “I know I’m asking for a lot, but can that mare stay with me? She wasn’t the...best-behaved pony, but I promise to keep her in check.” Starlight’s ears perked. She teleported beside Twilight, smiling as trustworthily as possible. The stallion stared intently at Starlight, rubbing his cheek. “Well…she doesn’t seem like a bad pony, but–” “And she’s not and is even my former student! She’s just having a really bad day, but she’s a good pony that’s sorry!” Twilight leaned her head to Starlight. “Say ‘sorry’, Starlight.” “I’m sorry.” Starlight looked down, similar to a filly that was forced to apologize. Although she truly was remorseful for letting her temper get the better of her. “Uh...okay. You’re lucky Princess Twilight is vouching for you.” The four security ponies flew up the stairs they had come from. At the same time, Spike hopped off Twilight’s back. Alone in the lobby for the moment, Twilight asked with a concerned frown, “Are you hurt, Starlight? I wanted to do something when those mares pounced on you, but if you knew my plan, you would have wanted me to stay out of it.” “I’m fine. I went head-to-head with a powerful alicorn in the past, so it’ll take more than that to hurt me!” Starlight boasted with a wink. “Hehe, glad to hear it.” With a knowing smile, Twilight added, "I heard that alicorn you fought was pretty talented in magic.” “We’re lucky you didn’t jump in too, Twilight, or you would have–wait.” Spike gasped and pointed a claw at Twilight. “Was that why you stayed back, so you and I would be the last ones left?” Twilight’s smile curled into more of a smirk. “Oh...you’re good, Twilight. Hee hee, why didn’t I do that instead of fighting with the rest of that mob like an idiot?” A pegasus mare walked down the stairs the security ponies used. With a warm smile, she strolled to the trio. “So, are you the lucky winners?” “Yes, we are!” Twilight answered with a huge smile. “You have no idea of what we have been through to buy one of those games.” “I can only imagine. Arcade-style games had never been so hard to find before, if that mob I heard about didn’t show it already. Anyway, 'Mr. Pac-Mare' costs 2,400 bits.” Starlight looked into her bag of bits. “I got 950 bits. It’s all the bits I have, but this will be worth it. Can you cover the rest, Twilight?” “I can." Twilight peeked into her bag. The sight made her gasp deeply. Her pupils shrank. “Oh, Celestia, what have I done?” “Wha–” Spike’s mouth widened “–oh, Twilight. Don’t tell me you–” “Yes.” Twilight closed her eyes in shame. “I was in such a hurry to leave the castle, I forgot to bring extra bits to cover the cost. I only have about 500.” “What?!” Spike shouted. “NOOOO!!” Starlight fell to the floor, smacked her face against the floor, and left it there. "Oh." The clerk's friendly smile dropped into a sympathetic frown. “Can you go somewhere nearby and collect enough bits? I can hold 'Mr. Pac Mare' for a while.” Twilight shook her head and opened her eyes. “No. I would need to return to Ponyville, and it would take me around two hours to come back. Plus, I have to be somewhere in about an hour and really need to have it by then.” “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry.” “It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Twilight assured, forcing out a smile. It would be unbecoming for an Equestrian princess to make others feel bad over her personal issues. Starlight stood up and, with Starlight’s head down, the three friends left Great Buy. Once the friends were outside, Twilight allowed her false smile to darken into a genuine frown. “UGH! I’m so sorry guys, and I can’t believe myself! Not only did I forget Eric’s birthday, but I forgot to BRING ENOUGH BITS! I’m the worst friend and sister ever!” Spike countered, “Come on, don’t talk about yourself like that, Twi, and even Eric would hate it. You made a couple of mistakes, but you’re far from the worst." “With how I’m going to let him down, again, I might as well be.” Twilight hung her head down, cursing herself Internally. “Thanks to this, Eric might think that I don’t care about him as much as I truly do. I would fight every villain in Equestria alone for him without a second thought, yet I couldn’t remember my brother’s birthday.” “And I’m no better for forgetting it too, and even your dancing might not fix this,” Starlight admitted, her head down. “We really blew it this time.” “I still say you two are overreacting. But, once we’re back to Ponyville, maybe you can buy something he’ll like, even if it’s not ‘perfect’. It will be better than nothing at all, right?” Twilight sighed and said, “You're right about that, Spike. We’ll buy something in Ponyville and hope for the best.” With that, the trio hurried to and boarded their hot-air balloon. After an Accelero spell was cast on the balloon again, they zipped through the air and made their way back to Ponyville. As they did, Spike tried his best to cheer up his disheartened friends. They would have to not only hope the gifts Twilight and Starlight chose to buy would suffice, but hope that something else wouldn’t go wrong. Author's Note Poor mares. They just didn't want to let Eric down. Will whatever last-second gift they find be enough to ease their worries? Will Eric like them, or will their paranoia turn out to be justified? Chapter 4: Solving the caseTen minutes before Eric Reed’s party… The hot-air balloon holding the three ex-game hunters landed near Twilight’s castle. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike immediately hopped out of its basket and hurried to Ponyville’s bookshop. There, Twilight purchased a book called “101 pranks for the ultimate prankster”. The trio then sprinted to Ponyville’s joke shop. Starlight bought a cache of practical joke items, such as fake bits and small rubber balls that can be set to harmlessly explode in green slime. With Twilight’s gift covered in pink-purple wrapping paper, tied in a light-pink bow, and Starlight’s in a blue wrapping paper and tied in a green bow, the trio sped toward Twilight’s castle. “I hope Eric likes what we got for him. This is going to give him a serious edge during his next monthly prank war with Rainbow and Pinkie,” Starlight said in a cheerful voice. “Yep. Pinkie won their last one, so Eric’s going to enjoy what you two bought way more than volumes one and two of 'Equestria's beginnings’,” Spike remarked with a smirk towards Twilight. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Ha ha, Spike. I just hope this will be enough to let him not doubt how much Starlight and I care for him.” Still fighting the nag of regret in her heart, Twilight sighed and added, “If our gifts can do that and prevent him from becoming homesick, I can forgive myself for forgetting his birthday. I will NOT repeat this mistake next year!” The friends dashed to and through the doors of the castle. They rushed through the lobby, down the hallways, but stopped at Spike's bedroom. Spike needed to retrieve his gift, which was wrapped in green wrapping paper. With Spike’s gift in tow, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike zipped through the hallways again and, finally, through the door to the castle’s dining hall. “SURPRISE!!” Twilight, Starlight, and Spike yelped and jumped, the gifts from the trio dropping to the floor. Inside the hall, straight ahead of them, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack covered their mouths with their hooves. As well as others, such as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Maud, Trixie, and even Discord. On the table, multiple wrapped boxes, some small, some large, others in between, lay across it. A bowl full of red-colored juice sat beside a big pink cake. Pinkie uncovered her mouth. “Oops. We thought you were Eric. Rarity went out to get him a few minutes ago.” “And where the hay have y’all been?” Applejack pointed at the gifts on the floor. “Did yer run late gettin’ Eric’s gifts or somethin’?” “Uh...you could say that,” Twilight answered with an uneasy grin. “Oh.” Rainbow chuckled and commented, “With how you plan, Twilight, I figured you stashed him a gift months ago.” Twilight tittered, her face glowing red. Starlight pawed the floor with a forehoof. “What did you get him? Bet it won’t top the Great and Powerful Trixie’s gift: a magician's cape,” Trixie boasted with a hoof on her chest. Twilight and Starlight picked up their and Spike’s gifts with their magic, walked to the table, and laid the gifts down. As they did, Twilight thought, ‘Please let it be that Pinkie reminded Trixie of Eric’s birthday or I’ll NEVER let myself live it down.’ After the gifts were set, Twilight glanced toward Trixie. The edges of the alicorn's lips curled upward, and she gritted her teeth tighter than she meant to. “I got him some ‘Power Ponies’ comics, Twilight picked out a book on pranks, and Starlight brought him some stuff for pranks.” Pinkie and Rainbow turned their heads to each other and giggled. “What?” Twilight asked, cocking her head. “Pranks and a book on them are what Pinkie and I bought him. Or rather, Pinkie got him pranks, I got him a book that has 101 pranks.” Rainbow motioned to a pink and a light-blue wrapped box. “WHAT?!” Twilight and Starlight yelled simultaneously. Twilight spun her head to Starlight with a frantic frown. "Starlight, we can’t give him this now! Maybe there's still–” The door to the dining hall creaked opened, forcing Twilight and her ex-student to twirl around. It revealed both Rarity and Equestria’s lone human, Eric Reed, or "Buggie" as Twilight and Starlight prefer to address him with as a nickname they gave him. He wore a hat with designs of Twilight’s, Starlight’s, Rarity’s, Applejack’s, Rainbow’s, Fluttershy’s, and Pinkie’s Cutie Marks; Twilight’s and Starlight’s were near the top. Around his neck, a necklace with a green geode hung from it. While he generally doesn't care much about fashion – the geode was a past gift – he did enjoy the clothes Rarity personally made for him, such as the white shirt and dark-blue shorts he was wearing. Twilight and Starlight jumped back. Twilight inadvertently flicked a wing behind her, and it slammed into the bowl of juice. The liquid splashed and dumped over them, covering much of their bodies and manes. “Twilight!” Starlight shivered from the impact. She delivered a hard scowl aimed at Twilight. “S-sorry, Starlight! I-I-I just…” Twilight gasped. She forgot Eric was there. Starlight followed Twilight’s lead with a gasp of her own. Both mares forced a smile, faced Eric, and simultaneously said, “U-uh, surprise! H-happy birthday, Buggie!” Eric, the ponies, and Discord all stared at the two suspicious mares in silence. Rarity stepped forward and asked, “Okay, Twilight, Starlight, what is wrong? You two and Spike had been gone for hours, and now you are acting strange.” Discord floated to the wet pair of ponies. "Yes, I thought, as his 'big sisters'" – Discord snapped a claw, materializing hats saying "#1 sister" on it onto Twilight's and Starlight's heads – "you would have been here to help whip up the birthday boy's party, not pull a me and be strange." Discord sneered at Twilight. "Especially you, Ms. Writes-checklists-a-lot." With another snap of his claws, the "#1 sister" hats poofed out of existence. Twilight and Starlight pointed at themselves, spun their heads in random directions, and Twilight countered, “S-strange? S-Starlight and I aren’t acting S-strange! We’re...uh…” Eric raised his hand. "Hold it! Twi, Starie, if I know you as well as I think I do, I bet I can figure out what’s up.” Eric strolled across the room to Pinkie. “Pinkie, can you lend me that detective hat and pipe you use when you’re solving a mystery? Oh, and give me something to wipe the tip of the pipe.” “Sure!” Pinkie reached into her mane with a forehoof and pulled out a checkered light-gray and dark-gray hat, a smoking pipe, and a cloth. Eric took off his hat, gave it to Pinkie, and put Pinkie’s detective hat on. He wiped off the pipe’s mouthpiece and blew into it. Despite it being a smoking pipe, bubbles bubbled out of its chamber, not smoke. “Heh heh, I’ve been waiting to do that. Now, let’s solve this little mystery.” He sauntered to his Equestrian sisters, glanced at their manes, coats, and tails, and gazed into their eyes. “Your coats, manes, and tails look fine, save for the juice, but your eyes are a little red. You both are grinning, and I know it’s one you give when you’re hiding something.” Pinkie Pie waved her hoof. “Oh, and I bet their stuttering proves it!” “Good deduction, my dear Pinkie Pie.” Eric blew into Pinkie’s pipe again to blow more bubbles, rubbed his chin, and paced in circles. “Back to the case. Twi, Starie, I haven’t seen either of you or Spike in the last few hours, which Miss Rarity already brought up." Rarity's lips sunk into an offended frown. "Wait, 'Miss Rarity'? Not that I don't mind the respect, but the way you said it, you made me sound like I'm an old mare!" Eric stopped pacing and glared at Rarity. "I'm in a mindset, so just let me work, Rarity. You and I both know you're far from old." 'But you pulling out that ridiculous fainting couch can get old.' "Sorry," the not-old mare said, biting her lip. "You know how we mares are about our age." Eric's glare softened. "It's okay. Now, where was I? Oh, right, the case." He paced in circles again. "The mares and dragon in question didn’t tell anypony that they were leaving, so it was either because of an emergency or they thought it was.” Fluttershy pointed toward Twilight’s bag of bits still tied to the strap wrapped around her. “Twilight and Starlight have their bag of bits too.” “Right you are, Fluttershy, and today’s my birthday.” Eric blew more bubbles. Once the last bubble popped, he strode to Pinkie to return her hat and pipe, then took his own hat and put it on. “Thanks, Pinkie.” Eric turned to face Twilight and Starlight with a little smirk and strolled to them. “I think I cracked this case: you two forgot my birthday, panicked over it, and had been running either around Ponyville, but stayed out of my sight, or you left Ponyville to get my ‘perfect’ gift. Oh, and Spike may or may not forgot too, but he kept telling you it was okay, but you were too stubborn to listen. Am I right?” “Maybe?” the guilty pair answered together. The human nodded his head in victory. “Knew it. Score one for Eric.” “Wow, yer good,” Apple Bloom said with an impressed smile. Eric proudly patted his chest. “Thanks, Apple Bloom. These two are a cut of work, but I know ‘em pretty well.” Starlight frowned in remorse, her ears flopped to lie against her head, and said, “Fine, we admit it. Twilight and I did forget your birthday, and we are so sorry.” Pinkie laid a hoof along her cheek. “Ohhhhh. I would have reminded you and Twilight about it three days ago, but I thought you two would be the last ponies to–” Applejack bobbed Pinkie on the head and whispered, “Not now, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight’s ears, similar to Starlight’s, wilted. “But we didn’t try to forget and it’s NOT as if we don’t care about you or your birthday! I promise we are going to make up for this! I'll write a pie chart, which I should have started with instead of lists, and–” Eric pressed his hand over Twilight’s mouth. The young man smiled warmly, yet with a trace of amusement. “Oh, Twi. Freaking out badly as usual.” He pulled his hand from Twilight’s mouth. With a friendly sneer, he looked at Starlight. “Same goes for you, Starie.” Twilight’s ears stood up. “Wait, I don’t ‘freak out’ THAT bad!” Starlight’s ears spiked up in turn. “Neither do I!” "Oh, no?" Discord snapped his claws. High in the room, a bubble appeared and played an image of Twilight (as a unicorn) crazily casting the "Want it, Need it" spell on her Smarty Pants doll. A different image followed that was of Starlight running "Our Town"; the town's other residents bore equal signs in place of their Cutie Marks. The busted ponies' faces scrunched up, the ping of embarrassment assaulting them mercilessly. Trixie's eyelids closed half-way and she smirked, her eyes locked on Twilight. "Well, looks like Miss Princess of Friendship has been more devious than I thought!" After Discord snapped his claws again to dismiss the images, Twilight mumbled, "I only let things get that bad one time." "I gotta side with Discord on this one." Eric chuckled and straightened his hat. “Not to mention, if you two weren’t panicking royally, no pun intended for you, Twi, you would have remembered that you’ve proved a ton of times how much you care about me.” “We did?” Twilight and Starlight asked together. “Yep.” Eric’s smile deepened, fondness oozing from his brown eyes. “Twilight, after you found me in Equestria, you took me under your wing and did all you could to help and even protect me. Need I remind you about the time you dove into fire to save my life? Starlight, you’re been just as great to me and I’ll never forget how you got hurt trying to protect me from Chrysalis. Both of you have not only been my best friends, you have taken the roles of big sisters to me and even embraced it.” “We do our best, but with this being your first birthday in Equestria, I was worried you might get homesick. The spell we cast for you to talk to your family won’t work again for another three days.” Twilight’s ears, once again, slumped. “Now Starlight and I, two of the ponies that are the closest to being your family in Equestria, forgot your birthday. You didn’t forget ours.” Eric snapped his fingers in realization. “Oh, yeah, I forgot to spread out when you cast that spell, so I won’t be able to talk to my family today.” Eric lightly slapped his cheek, feeling the guilt and sadness screaming from Twilight’s and Starlight’s eyes. “B-but I can talk to them in three days, which I can do at all thanks to you two. I’m not sad over it or mad.” Eric fiddled with his hat’s brim. He scraped the floor with a foot – a habit he acquired from living with ponies for almost a year. “Besides, I have a little confession to make: I only remembered your birthdays because Pinkie reminded me a few days prior. If anything, we’re even.” Twilight (and Starlight) grinned from relief, the harsh weight of her guilt vanishing into the air. “Oh, I’m so glad you forgot our birthdays too. Now I don’t feel like the worst friend and sister ever for forgetting yours.” “Wait, you thought you were the worst?” Eric shook his head, both from bewilderment and amusement. “You were REALLY losing it bad this time to think that, Princess of Panicking! Just like my two human big sisters, you and Starlight are amazing!” “I agree,” Rainbow said with a nod. “You couldn’t do more for Eric if you tried.” “Yep, yep, yep. Even the rest of Ponyville know how much you care about Eric,” Pinkie agreed while hopping. Happy tears welled in the two caring big sisters' eyes, their mouths quivering. "See?" Eric waved his hand toward himself. “So come here and give me a hug, big sises!” Starlight, Twilight, and Eric embraced in a group hug. Eric seemed to be uncaring about the punch on Twilight’s and Starlight’s coats by not flinching from it during the hug. “I love you two! All of you, really.” ”We love you too, Buggie, and we’re still sorry for forgetting your birthday. I know Starlight and I can be ‘hoofulls’ sometimes, but I’m glad you can put up with us.” Twilight turned her head to Spike. “Same goes to you, Spike. We’re sorry we didn’t listen to you from the start.” “It’s all right." Eric patted Twilight's back, but they remained in a hug. "You and Starie wouldn’t be you if you never had freak-out moments, and I can be a pain sometimes too.” “And if you did listen to me right away, I might have asked, ‘who are you, and what did you do to the real Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer?’ and thought you really went crazy!” Everyone, except for Maud, burst into laughter; Maud laughed hard on the inside, but kept her typical emotionless facial expression. The hearty laughter was comparable to the laughter in Stablemart. Once the laughing calmed, Twilight, Starlight, and Eric broke their hug. Eric looked down at his geode, his eyes widened, and he asked, “Wait, where’s Sunset? I thought she wou–” Faint hoofsteps in the castle’s hallways grew louder and louder. The dining hall’s door flew open in red magic and a gold unicorn, Sunset Shimmer, darted inside and screeched to a halt. Her mane was razzled, her eyes were bloodshot, and she teetered on her hooves while panting heavily. She was levitating a box wrapped in orange wrapping paper, with a pink bow on top; a necklace with a red gemstone covered her neck. All gasped and stared at the room’s newest pony. Twilight and Eric ran to Sunset and Twilight asked, “Sunset! Are you okay?!” "What happened?!" Eric asked, eyes widened. Sunset’s eyelids drooped wearily, her head wobbling. “Yeah, I'm okay…*pant*...just ran late…*pant*...sorry.” The unicorn collapsed to the floor with a soft grunt, but managed to float her gift toward Eric. “The other…*pant*...girls said they’ll have me…*pant*...give you their gifts later.” Spike looked at the exhausted mare and chuckled. “Heh, at least there were more than a pair of mares that forgot birthdays today.” Author's Note Hmm. Looks like Twilight was wrong about how Sunset didn't forget Eric's birthday. Or she just happened to have a totally unrelated bad day.
Chapter 1: The hunt begins!“No, no, no, no, NO!! How?! How in Celestia’s name could I have let this happen?! I’m the worst! If only Pinkie reminded me sooner!” Hearing Twilight Sparkle’s yells, Starlight Glimmer and Spike dashed into the library of Twilight’s castle. In the library’s center, the Princess of Friendship furiously paced in circles, sweat raining from her forehead. Her ears were woefully drooped to lie against her head, her eyes were bloodshot, and her lips bore a frown. Twilight swung around to the pair and sped to them. Her sweat rainstorm ceased. “Spike, Starlight, I’m so glad you’re here. We have big trouble! It’s about Eric!” Spike gasped and asked, “About Eric? What’s wrong?!” “Is he in trouble?” Starlight gritted her teeth and scowled. Fire lit in her eyes. “Is it Chrysalis? Because if she took him, I will hunt her down and–” “No, no, Starlight. He's not in danger or hurt," Twilight assured in a calmer voice. "He’s at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack and Big Mac right now.” Starlight’s scowl and fire vanished. Her teeth relaxed, and she blew the remaining worry out with a big sigh. “Twilight, please don’t scare me like that again. I thought something serious happened.” Twilight laid her hooves on Starlight’s cheeks and cupped them, alarm bubbling in her reddened eyes once again. “But something serious did happen!” “Then what is it?!" Spike asked. "Spill it, Twi!” Twilight released Starlight, then took a deep, long breath. Her ears straightened. “First, do you two know what today is?” Starlight raised her head, searching her mind for anything out of the ordinary about this day. “Uh...it's Saturday?” “And it’s Eric’s birthday,” Spike answered. "Oh, so th–" Starlight’s pupils shrank as Spike's words kicked her brain to register them. “Wait, today's his birthday?!” Spike nodded calmly. “Yep. From what Pinkie said, she asked Eric when it was months ago. She was even the one that reminded me three days ago. I thought you two already knew.” “Oh, I can’t believe I forgot it was today,” Starlight said in a mildly disappointed voice. “I can’t believe I forgot it was today!” Twilight shouted, every muscle brimming with anxiety. “How did I miss writing it on this month’s schedule?!” Spike laid a comforting paw on Twilight’s chest, staring up at her with supportive eyes. “Uh, Twi? You don't have princess duties today, so if you need a gift for Eric, there’s plenty of time to grab something. Pinkie’s surprise party for him isn’t until this evening in another nine ho–” “Grab something?” Twilight asked softly. One of her eyelids quivered. A twitch of an ear followed. Spike crept back from the spasming alicorn. “Uh, ye–” “GRAB SOMETHING?!” Twilight screeched, her voice vibrating the library's books, and forced a jump and yelp from both Spike and Starlight. She restarted her pacing and explained, “This will require the perfect gift! I might have to leave Ponyville to get it, and before that, I’ll need to write lists for everything he likes. I’ll also need a list for where to find what he likes, and another one with the previous months’ up and down trends of–” Starlight zipped to Twilight and set a calming hoof on her back, halting the Princess’s pacing. “Twilight? It will be okay. You know Eric: he won’t need you to give him a perfect gift.” “But I do,” Twilight countered in a pleading tone, “because it’s not just the gift itself! Don’t you remember how he felt homesick three weeks ago?” "Yeah, but you cured it the next day when you asked Pinkie to throw a little party and had us play baseball," Spike answered. “You even showed off your…*chuckle*...dancing.” Starlight giggled at the memory of Twilight’s unorthodox dancing. The unicorn was MORE than justified to do so. “I wasn't sure if he would have ever stopped laughing at your ‘moves’. Pinkie almost got jealous of how hard and long you made him laugh.” Twilight placed her hooves on Starlight’s cheeks again. She yanked her former student toward her, their muzzles bumping against each other. “But think about it, Starlight: no pony in Equestria cares for Eric more than the two of us! We’re supposed to be his ‘Equestrian big sisters’, yet we forgot the most important day of his life! If we don’t atone with the perfect gift, how might this make him feel?!” "But...oh." Starlight grimaced. She hadn't thought of it that way. Drops of sweat collected on her brow. “Uh…*gulp*...okay, if you put it like–” “He remembered our birthdays, but we completely forgot his!" Twilight moved her hooves off Starlight and pressed them against her own cheeks, unknowingly pulling down her lower eyelids with the hooves' grip. "What if this makes him think I lied when I told him I think of him as my brother, not just my friend?” She gasped. Her ears drooped for a second time and her frown deepened. “Wait, what if he starts doubting if I really care about him at all?!” She, once again, cupped Starlight’s cheeks and stared her not in the eyes, but in her soul. “What if he thinks you feel the same way, Starlight?! He might never trust us or ponies again!” Spike scratched his head. “Uh, Eric can be a little...paranoid and I think I know the pony he got it from but there’s no way he will–” Starlight's ears flopped. Her growingly nervous frown snapped into a distraught one. She cupped Twilight’s cheeks, so the two were grasping the other’s cheeks. “Oh, Celestia, you’re right, Twilight! What was wrong with me?! How could I have forgotten his birthday?!” “You understand now?! This is terrible!” Spike facepalmed. Why didn't he tell them about Eric's upcoming birthday himself when Pinkie reminded him? The mares’ sea of paranoia wouldn’t be quelled with mere words, which the young dragon learned many times in the past. He let out a defeated groan and said, “Fine. Let’s get started on–” Twilight’s horn glowed magenta. A shower of scrolls fell to the floor; a quill landed by each of the two ponies and dragon. “–The lists.” Twilight and Starlight released each other’s faces. They, as well as Spike, grabbed a scroll and quill and commenced on writing lists. The two ponies rested on their stomachs, but Spike remained on his feet. As they completed list after list, Twilight’s ears reset to their normal non-stressed position. Her red eyes cleared to only contain a faint, reddish hue along the edges. *One hour later* “Okay, now that we finally finished all fifty-nine lists, let’s narrow things down,” Twilight said, staring at a list she levitated with her magic. “I’ll start with this list, the one with Eric's past phrases that might hint at what we could get him. Starlight, you take the one with the trends of his likes and dislikes over the eleven months he’s been in Equestria. Spike, you handle the list of what he overall enjoys. if we're lucky, this won't take too long.” Spike picked up one of the numerous lists lying in front of him. “Lasagna...music...baseball...oh, maybe you could buy him a new baseball glove and bat?” Twilight rubbed her chin, deep in thought at the idea. She shook her head a second later. “A new glove or bat isn’t good enough. He deserves something better.” "They don't scream 'perfect gift' anyway." Starlight gazed more intently at a list floating in her turquoise magic. “He doesn’t search for insects like he said he used to...reads more in Equestria than in his former world...wasn't interested in traveling but does now...ooh, I know!” Starlight smiled, looking away from the list and at Twilight. “How about we take him on a three or four-day trip to Las Pegasus and pay for everything? He always wanted to go there and stay in their hotels.” Twilight considered it, but shook her head again. “That would be a bad idea now. This is Eric’s first birthday in Equestria, so he might become homesick. If it happens, do you think bringing him to a more unfamiliar place would help?” “No, but I doubt he’d get homesick anyway,” Spike answered. “I can’t take that chance, Spike, and that is another reason why I must get him the perfect gift." Twilight’s ears wilted and her chest tightened. "I already let him down bad by failing to return him to his own world after telling him I would, so no way will I risk our brother becoming homesick. Um...I know!” Twilight's chest loosened as she grinned; her ears perking up. “How about I buy him volumes one and two of 'Equestria's beginnings’? We could read them during our next reading session together, and it would teach him more about Equestrian history!” Spike and Starlight stared at Twilight, each raising an eyelid. The library's chilling silence grew oddly louder. Twilight’s cheeks glowed red, her smile melting into a sheepish one. “Okay, I get it. I haven’t rubbed off on him that much. “Yeah, you took him in, but he’s not Mr. Twilight Sparkle.” Spike looked at his list again. “Pranks...games–” As if a lightbulb lit in Twilight's mind, she grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, ‘games’, that’s it! He loves the games at Ponyville’s arcade, so a game like one of them would be a perfect gift!” She set down her list. “I don’t have enough bits to buy any of them, but I could help pay for one,” Starlight said. “You sure?” Twilight asked as she turned to Starlight. “Those games are expensive.” Starlight nodded. “I’m sure.” “In that case, you can buy him one of those games and say it’s from both of you.” Spike put down his scroll. “Then let’s go game-hunting!" Starlight sprung to her hooves. "Wait, where can we find any for sale?” Twilight tapped her cheek. “Hmm. Ponyville’s toy store doesn’t sell them, but Canterlot’s game stores do, so let’s board the Friendship Express before it leaves.” Twilight glanced toward the portal connecting Equestria to the human world Sunset Shimmer resides. “I should also inform Sunset about the party, though I doubt she forgot Eric’s birthday too. She probably already planned her day out to be ready for any possible parties.” Twilight (with Spike) and Starlight sprinted to their respective bedrooms. The mares each grabbed a bag of bits and tied it onto a strap they had wrapped around their torsos. In addition, Twilight sent a message to Sunset about Eric’s birthday party, via a special journal they often communicate with, then activated the portal to allow Sunset to enter Equestria. With their bits and the ever-faithful Spike by their side, Twilight and Starlight departed the castle and boarded the Friendship Express. With smiles on their faces, the friends’ spirits were high, despite some lingering worries from Twilight. Unfortunately, the friends’ quest would be far more difficult than they expected, if not impossible. Author's Note Oh, that doesn't sound good. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike might be in for a wild ride!
Chapter 2: She will buy it, or her name isn't Twilight SparkleThe hunt was on. The Friendship Express pulled into the train station of the grand capital of Canterlot. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike sped off the train and onto one of the city’s numerous streets. Despite Twilight’s status as one of Equestria’s princesses, the nearby ponies trotting, talking, or laughing scarcely noticed her presence and went about their business. In the distance, an enormous castle, home of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, loomed tall like a guardian of the city. Starlight turned her head back and forth. “Where do we go first?” “We should check Stablemart.” Twilight pointed down a street. “It’s that way.” Twilight, Spike, and Starlight sprinted along the streets in the direction Twilight directed them in. Five minutes later, the friends reached a towering building. It was Stablemart, Canterlot’s largest department store. They charged through one of its several double doors; Twilight and Starlight came a hair's breadth from bumping into a unicorn on the doors’ opposite side. Inside the initial section of the spacious store, clothes, furniture, rows of mops, and many other household items spread throughout. Signs explaining which areas of the store sold what hung high from the ceiling. Twilight directed a hoof toward a sign halfway across the store. “Ooh! That sign says ‘games’, puzzles’, and toys’! That must be where we need to go, so let’s hurry! The three game hunters slowed and merely walked to an area featuring toys, puzzles, board games – such as Dragon Pit – and rubber balls on numerous shelves. Behind a counter stood a blue unicorn salesmare. Her striped mane was of a dark-blue and light bluish-gray. “Hi, welcome to Stablemart!” The salesmare greeted with a friendly smile. “Can I–wait, Twilight?” The salemare's smile brightened to be somewhat more genuine. “Oh, it is you!” Twilight smiled and trotted to the mare. Spike and Starlight trailed her from behind. “I didn’t know you started working at Stablemart, Minuette! You know Spike, but I don’t think you met my former student.” Twilight motioned to Starlight. “This is Starlight Glimmer.” Twilight pointed to Minuette. “And Starlight, this is Minuette. We were friends...more or less, before I moved to Ponyville.” Starlight and Minuette traded cheerful greetings. Introductions over, Minuette focused her attention on Twilight and said, “I was planning to visit you the next time I was in Ponyville, Twilight, but you visited me!” She giggled with a hoof over her mouth. “What brings you here? I didn’t know you were a game-mare.” Twilight rubbed the back of her head with a bashful smile. From how Twilight had been more serious and less inclined for games in the past, Minuette’s assumption was fair. “Well, I’m not quite the muzzle-in-the-book mare I used to be, but I’m here to buy something for Eric. Today's his birthday.” “Eric?” Minuette tapped her cheek but smiled a moment later. “Oh, he’s the, uh, ‘boman’ that lives with you in Ponyville, right?” Twilight nodded, but a hint of annoyance sparked in her eyes. “Yes, that’s Eric, but he is called a human. He also loves games, so do you have any arcade-style games?” The blue unicorn giggled again. As before, she covered her mouth with a hoof. “What?” Twilight, Starlight, and Spike asked in unison. “Didn’t you say you wanted an arcade game?” “Yes?” Twilight answered. Another, louder, giggle left Minuette’s mouth. Twilight leaned her head to the side, wearing a bewildered frown. “I don’t understand. What’s so funny?” Minuette waved her hoof in a "come here" motion to another store worker, a yellow unicorn mare, who was inspecting a shelf lined with jigsaw puzzles. “Hey, Citrus! Come over here!” The unicorn named Citrus stomped over as she let out a groan. “What now? Don’t tell me you want to take another break.” “Not this time.” The giggly Minuette pointed at Twilight. “Get this: Princess Twilight asked if we had any arcade games.” Citrus’s lips quivered, followed by hearty laughter. Twilight alternated her staring between the two laughing workers. “Wait, why is asking for arcade games so funny?” The joker Minuette circled from around her counter, pointed at Twilight, and shouted, “Hey, everypony! Princess Twilight asked if we had any arcade games!” All ponies in earshot, both store employees and customers, bellowed in laughter. Some fell on the floor laughing. Starlight and Spike switched between staring at each other and the guffawing ponies. Twilight growled and yelled, “Okay, that is enough! Minuette, what in Celestia’s name is so funny?!” The store ceased laughing. Minuette frowned and asked, “Wait, you weren’t kidding?” “Of course I wasn’t! Why would I joke about that?” The mare gasped. Despite her personal history with Twilight, Minuette delivered a respectful bow to the frustrated Princess. “Oh. I-I am SO sorry, Twilight. It’s just, they were always in high demand, but with the rumors of a possible Cov-20 epidemic coming, the games have been selling at a far faster rate than normal. We have been sold out for weeks, and even pre-ordering upcoming ones is nearly impossible.” “So not only are you out, but other places are too?” Starlight asked. She nodded, remaining in a bow. “I’m afraid so, and that’s why I thought she was joking." Twilight facehoofed, its smack generating a weak echo. She was aware that some things had become hard to find, but she didn't know video games were one of them. “Of all the birthdays I could have forgotten, THIS had to be the one.” Starlight rubbed her chin. “Well, let’s check the stores anyway. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Minuette straightened herself and crept back to her counter, shame blanketing her; Citrus trotted back to the shelves to resume her task. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike sped out of Stablemart and across Canterlot. They jumped from one store after another that sold arcade games, but they had long sold out. Unlike the playful Minuette, none of the other stores’ employees attempted to use Twilight’s questions as entertainment. However, Twilight grinned at an “Arcade games available here!” sign on the window of a smaller yellow store. “Yes yes, we’re in luck, we’re in luck, they have some!” Twilight quickly shouted. She bolted into the store in an audible zip; a gust of wind blew from her movement. At half the speed, Starlight and Spike ran toward the door. Twilight flashed back out as Starlight and Spike got near the door. Her smile had soured to a vexed frown. “No, we are not buying any games here.” “Why?” Starlight asked. Twilight pointed at two yellow unicorn stallions inside the store. They had red and white-striped manes and tails; one of the pair wore a mustache. “Oh,” Spike said in a low voice. “Them.” Starlight stared at the stallions in question with a confused frown. “Who are they?” “They are the Flim Flam brothers and have conned ponies in the past. Even if they aren’t running a scam this time, their cheapest game cost 8,500 bits!” Twilight glared at the greedy brothers and growled. Twilight is a princess, but even she has a monthly budget and can't buy whatever she wants. “Not only is that extremely overpriced, even if you help pay, Starlight, I don’t have enough bits!” Starlight growled, glaring massive daggers at the stallions. “I hate price gouging. They should be ashamed of themselves!” “I wouldn’t count on it,” Twilight remarked, “and worse, there are no other stores in Canterlot that sells arcade games.” Starlight blew a dejected sigh, but it wasn't over yet. “What if we try someplace that’s out of Canterlot? We still have plenty of time.” “Or you two could just get Eric something easier to find.” “No way, Spike. Let’s try Manehattan next. Their toy and game stores aren’t as well known, so that could work in our favor.” Twilight’s eyes burned with unflappable determination. The young mare’s mane flapped in an appropriately timed breeze. “I may have forgotten his birthday, but I WILL buy Eric one of those games before his party, or my name isn’t Twilight Sparkle!” “Okay, if you say so,” Spike said in acquiescence. “Let’s go to Manehattan.” Their newest plan set, the trio re-boarded the Friendship Express and traveled to Manehattan. After the Friendship Express arrived at the train station of the busy city of Manehattan, Starlight, Twilight, and Spike ran off it and into the city. Spike turned his head to the surrounding buildings and skyscrapers, some seemingly reaching into the heavens. A peculiar sensation of something missing struck him. “Hmm. Feels weird being out here without Rarity. We usually come out here with her.” “We do always visit Manehattan with her, don’t we?” Twilight asked in a cheerful voice, but her lips darkened into a determined frown. They had a job to do. “But nevermind that, let’s hurry and locate a toy or game store.” The trio rushed down Manehattan’s streets. Like in Canterlot, the ponies nearby acted as if Twilight, a princess, was a normal pony, though some did give her friendly hoof waves. Ten minutes later, a store with glowing letters that spelled out “Games R Us” over its door, came into view. The friends picked up their running and zipped through the store’s door. Unlike the huge Stablemart, Games R Us was a small, modest store, brimming with mostly fun-related items, such as board games, toy trains, balloon animals, and dolls. Or, fun-related items for most ponies. They did not sell books, one of the things Princess Twilight Sparkle considers fun. The friends ran to a counter. Similar to the one in Stablemart, a brown earth pony mare stood on its other side. On the wall behind her hung a row of kites. Starlight peeked at the kites, but mentally smacked herself. ‘Not now, Starlight.’ Oblivious to Starlight restraining herself from querying about the kites behind her, the salespony greeted, “Hello! Welcome to–” “Hi, do you have any arcade games?” Twilight asked. The mare nodded. “Yes, we do.” Twilight and Starlight hopped in joy, and they both shouted, “Yes!” Spike turned his head, looking around. “Where are they? Which ones do you have?” “We keep them in the back, but we don’t sell any separately. Our games come in bundles.” Twilight, Starlight, and Spike gasped, mouths agape. None of them even knew arcade-style games could come in bundles. “B-bundles?!” Twilight shouted. “You don’t have any by themselves?” The salespony shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Princess. In fact, the only bundle we have left is a bundle of five that costs 11,000 bits.” Twilight’s wings spread out from shock, her pupils shrinking. “11,000 bits?!” “We don’t have anywhere near that much!” Starlight yelled, also with tiny pupils. They enlarged to their normal size as she composed herself and questioned, “Is there another place nearby that sells them on their own?” “Well, ‘Bullseye’ did, but they sold out two weeks ago.” Twilight groaned in defeat, her pupils also back to normal size. She failed again. “Okay. Thank you for your help.” The three game hunters left the store. Twilight’s and Starlight's heads were tilted toward the ground as they walked. “That is a cheap trick they pulled,” Starlight whined. “Not everypony can afford to pay for bundles.” “I understand it from a business standpoint, but still.” Twilight lifted her head in resolution. “But I can’t start moping. I’m not giving up on finding one of those games.” His eyes showing less sadness, Spike said, “Well, if that Bullseye store is out of arcade games too, we’re–” “Did you two say you’re trying to find arcade games?” a grey earth pony stallion asked. He stood by a nearby building’s wall. “Yes, we are,” Twilight answered. She smiled and dashed to the stallion, eyes oozing hope. “Do you know of a place that sells them?!” “And aren’t part of bundles?” Spike asked. “Yep.” He pointed in the direction he was facing, the same direction the trio was already walking in. “I heard Bullseye got a late shipment not long ago.” “Really?!” A huge grin curled on Twilight's face, reminiscent of a filly on Hearth’s Warming morning. “Thank you so much for telling us! I owe you one!” She lunged for and hugged the earth pony, whose eyes widened from the ecstatic alicorn’s sudden embrace. Twilight's mane flapped forward, inadvertently brushing against an ear of the stallion in her forelegs, and triggered the ear to twitch. After three seconds of hugging, Twilight released her grip and looked at Spike and Starlight, her grin unchanged. “Did you hear that?! Let’s go!” Twilight darted down the street, followed by a smiling Starlight. “Hey, wait for me!” Spike yelled, chasing after Twilight and Starlight. The stallion that delivered the valuable information stared at the running ponies and dragon, or more so at Twilight. His cheeks glowed red, a fuzzy warmness heating his body. “Wow, I was just hugged by Princess Twilight. Dance Fever will be so jealous when I tell him this!” Five minutes later, the three friends, with Twilight and Starlight still ahead, hurried through the doors of Bullseye, a store roughly the same size as Games r Us. Similar to Games r Us, Bullseye was filled with toys and board games, but also different entertainment-related items like balls and scooters. Twilight and Starlight reached the store’s counter, this one with a white earth pony stallion. Shortly afterward, a wheezing Spike caught up to the pair. “Hi, we just heard you received a late shipment of arcade games. Are there any left?” Twilight asked, voice bearing no trace of weariness. The stallion shook his head with a sympathetic frown. “Oh, I’m sorry, Princess Twilight, but you’re too late. We had five, but somepony just came and bought all of them around two or three minutes ago.” “WHAT?! ONE PONY BOUGHT THEM ALL?!” Twilight and screamed shouted in unison. “Yep. I guess they were purchasing for several ponies, since it’s so hard to find even one. We were lucky to have gotten that late shipment at all.” Starlight released a frustration-filled moan. “Seriously?! If they wanted that many, why didn’t they go to ‘Games R Us’?! That place has bundles of five!” “They must not have known they did,” he answered. ‘And I wasn’t going to tell them and risk losing their future business.’ “I-in that case, are there any other stores that do, even if not in Manehattan?” Twilight flapped her wings to hover. She set her hooves together in a begging position, her former bloodshot eyes returning. “Please! We’re desperate!” The salespony rolled his eyes up. “Let's see. Canterlot’s stores have been sold out for weeks. Uh...your best chance would be in Las Pegasus, but the odds are against you.” Twilight thanked the salespony, and the trio departed the store. Once outside, Twilight grumbled to herself. This was just not their day. "At least we're not out of options," Starlight commented with a frown, but hope still burned in her eyes. “We do, but I still can't believe it! If we went to Bullseye first, we could have bought a game in time!” Twilight groaned, but took a deep breath. The redness in her eyes faded. “But, as you said, Starlight, we at least have a chance, so I can't keep complaining.” “Uh-oh," Spike muttered with a sudden frown. "Twi, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but do we even have enough time?” Twilight’s jaw fell. A facehoof followed. “Oh, right, I’m forgetting birthdays and a sense of time today. Even if we find an airship or hot-air balloon right now, there’s no way we could get to Las Pegasus and back to Ponyville in time.” She hung her head and closed her eyes. Her ears wilted. “We failed. I guess you should call me a different name from now on.” Starlight raised her head in thought, then smiled. There was still hope for them. “We don’t need to call you ‘Tara’ or 'Rebecca' yet, Twilight. We might cut it close, but if we cast an Accelero spell on either the balloon or airship, we could travel to Las Pegasus and back in Ponyville before Eric's party. You know how fast that spell would let us move.” Spike scratched his head with a claw. “I don’t know, Starlight. Spells tend to...backfire when you use them to solve your problems.” Starlight leaned to Spike with a sly smirk. “But this isn’t my problem, but our problem. Plus, Twilight's here too.” “But still–” Twilight raised her head, her depressed frown replaced with an encouraged smile. “Normally, I’d agree with you, Spike, but we have no choice this time.” “Fine. I still say you two should buy Eric something that's easier to find, but let’s go.” After a quiet groan, Spike thought, ‘And I wish you two would listen to me more.’ The trio searched Manehattan for the nearest airship or hot-air balloon. Ten minutes later, they tracked down a mare that owned a suitable hot-air balloon. After Twilight gave a princess’s promise to return it the next day, she and Starlight cast an Accelero spell to boost its speed, then the two mares and Spike hopped in the balloon’s basket. The balloon zipped across the sky and headed toward the cloud-based city of Las Pegasus, thanks to a map Twilight acquired while searching for their air-ride. Later, tall buildings and part of a roller coaster, on top of a massive cloud, became visible. Twilight and Starlight cast a cancel spell on the speed-boosting Accelero spell, slowing the balloon to its normal, leisurely pace. The trio hoped with all their hearts that the elusive prize they desperately sought would finally be seized. By them. They only had roughly one and a half hours left until Eric Reed's party. Author's Note Next stop: Las Pegasus! What will be in store for Twilight, Starlight, and Spike? Will they finally be successful in their mission? How many more times will Spike tell those two mares to just get Eric something they can easily find?! Fun fact: this story is partly inspired by my own struggles of finding a Playstation 5. At the time I wrote this story, I was still hopelessly hunting for one.
Chapter 3: Give Starlight a battle, she will give you a warIn the cloud city of Las Pegasus, the hot-air balloon containing Twilight, Starlight, and Spike landed onto one of two docking stations for hot-air balloons. The trio hopped out of the balloon’s basket immediately afterward. Spike held the map Twilight acquired in Manehattan. Numerous bridges – just over the clouds – branched across the city; some connected to its stores, hotels, amusement park, and other buildings. A few pegasi flew from bridge to bridge, while other pegasi and the other pony tribes walked or ran along. “Where do we go?” Starlight asked, gazing in one direction after another to both admire the scenery and decide her next move. Spike looked intently at the map. “According to this, we have two choices, ‘Ponyazon’ and ‘Game Whoa’.” He pointed at a large pink building, similar to the shape of a small palace. “That’s Ponyazon.” Spike motioned to a more distant, taller, thinner building, or more like a tower. “And over there is Game Whoa.” “Which store will we try first?" Starlight asked. “This time, we will split up, so we can visit both at the same time." Twilight glanced toward Ponyazon, then Game Whoa. "Because I have enough bits to pay for a game by myself, Spike, Starlight, you two will go to Ponyazon, and I’ll check Game Whoa. That way, if I find a game, I can pay for it, but if Ponyazon has one, Starlight can teleport to me while Spike holds your place in line.” “Okay,” Spike and Starlight said affirmatively. “Good,” Twilight said with a smile. “Now, let’s find a game for Eric!” Spike rolled up the map, and the three friends hurried down the bridges over the clouds and deeper into the city. Twilight soon broke away and flew to the more distant Game Whoa. Spike and Starlight dashed across another of the branching bridges and into Ponyazon. Inside Ponyazon, Starlight and Spike turned their heads, scanning for something to direct them to where to go. Maybe they could ask a nearby pony for directions? Spike said, “This place is like Stablemart. It’s got everything: couches, clothes, mops–” “But we’re here for arcade games. Where is the game area?” Starlight motioned to a red balloon. It was tied high on the wall on the other side of the store; bright lights lit along the same wall. “Maybe it’s over there!” Starlight and Spike sped through the store, passing through crowds of ponies, and to Ponyazon’s game area. As well as more balloons, it contained jigsaw puzzles, toy boats, and board games on several shelves throughout. Lastly, there was a long counter with a green pegasus behind the right half (or Starlight and Spike’s right) of it. However, between it and the two game hunters stood a yellow pegasus mare, staring at the words of what the game section sold, in lights, on the wall. Her hoof was on her cheek. Starlight and Spike went behind the mare and waited for her to move. The mare stayed still and quiet. After about ten seconds, Starlight leaned toward the pegasus. “Excuse me, but if you’re not sure--” The pegasus spun her head to Starlight, and said in a hard tone, “I’m thinking.” “Oh, sorry,” Starlight said meekly, shrinking back. Starlight and Spike held their place in line. The mare in front of them remained motionless, prompting Spike and Starlight to tap a foot/hoof as they waited. Five minutes later, Spike whispered, “Uh, sorry to interrupt, but--” The mare twirled around, bearing a harsh glare. “Didn’t I say I’m thinking?! Ugh, I was about to make up my mind, but you made me forget what I wanted! Now I have to decide again.” “Okay, then let us go ahead,” Starlight pleaded. “That way, you can take all the time you want!” A second mare, an earth pony, stepped to the left half of the counter. “I can assist who is next.” A unicorn stallion that had lined behind Starlight and Spike darted to the freshly-open line. “Are there any arcade games left? I’ve been searching all over for one.” The salesmare nodded with a friendly smile. “Yes. We have ‘Hoof-Out!!’, and it costs 2,800 bits.” “I’ll take it!” the stallion answered with a massive grin, levitating a bag of bits in his magic to the counter. “You can keep the change.” “Thank you!” The salesmare picked up the bag with her teeth and poured most of the bits into a cash register, but moved the extra bits behind the counter. “Will you need 'Hoof-Out!!' delivered?” “I can take it myself, but I’ll need to get my friend to help me carry it. I’ll be back soon,” the stallion answered. He pranced out of the store, laughing giddily. Starlight and Spike ran to the newer salepony. “Do you have another 'Hoof-Out!!' or any other arcade games?” Starlight asked. The salesmare frowned and answered, “Oh, I’m sorry. I just sold our last one.” Starlight’s and Spike’s eyes grew as they both shouted, “WHAT?! NO!” The pegasus that was arguing with the pair, in an almost sympathetic voice, remarked, “Oof, that’s too bad. You would have gotten it if you were quicker.” Starlight gritted her teeth and spun around to the pegasus showing her pity(?), frustration flying from her eyes like daggers. “But I couldn’t because you...UGH!” Spike laid a soothing paw on Starlight’s barrel. “It’s okay, Starlight. Let’s just go.” Starlight blew a sigh and sulked out of the store; Spike followed her from behind. With a disgruntled frown locked on Starlight’s lips, Starlight and Spike walked on one of the many bridges of Las Pegasus, heading to the tower-like building of Game Whoa. “What’s wrong with me, Spike? We had the chance to get one of those games, but I blew it!” “Well, try to look at the bright side: since Ponyazon had one, Twilight might have–” “What?! Not again!” Twilight yelled from inside Game Whoa. “Or not,” Spike said with a sigh. A scowling Twilight stomped out of Game Whoa’s doors and across the city’s bridges. The mumbling under her breath grew louder as she approached, but stopped once she reached her friends. “No luck?” Starlight asked. “No. They did have three, but somepony bought them all ten minutes ago. There should be a rule forbidding ponies from buying more than one of those games at a time!” Twilight let out a groan, releasing as much pent-up frustration as possible, and her scowl softened. In a calmer voice, she asked, “I take it Ponyazon was sold out too?” Starlight closed her eyes and lowered her head in shame. Spike glanced at Starlight and answered, “Uh, we...had some bad luck.” Starlight raised her head, but her facial expression remained unchanged. “What now? We can’t go back to Ponyville empty-hoofed.” “I still say you can pick out something and Eric will be happy.” “No!” Twilight yelled, lowering her head to meet Spike in the eyes. “We can’t ‘pick out something’!" She straightened herself and added, "I doubt he ‘picked out’ the limited edition of ‘The Life of Starswirl the Bearded’ that he bought me, or Starlight’s 1,500 piece jigsaw puzzle and deluxe kite set.” “Nor did he forget our birthdays, but I think we are out of options.” Starlight shook her head, a small but undaunted scowl emerging over her eyes. “No, this can’t be it! I didn’t quit this easy when I wanted to steal Cutie Marks during my...phase.” In spite of the exasperation of the situation, Twilight formed a smile, filling with pride of her close friend and ex-student. “You said it, Starlight. Maybe another store sells arcade games that the map didn't–” A brown pegasus stallion strode to the trio and asked, “Hey, did you say you’re looking for an arcade game?” Twilight answered, “Yes. We already tried Ponyazon and Game Whoa.” The stallion pointed at a lofty yellow building. “I heard that new place, ‘Great Buy’, has one left.” “There is?!" Twilight exclaimed with a huge grin, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you so much, and I'll pay you back someday!” Twilight lunged for and wrapped her forelegs around the informative stallion. His eyes widened during the young princess's unexpected hug. Her mane rubbed against and tickled one of his ears, prompting the stallion's wings to sharply spread out. Once she let him go, Twilight faced Starlight and Spike. “You heard that?! Let’s go to Great Buy before that game's sold!” Twilight, Spike, and Starlight dashed across a bridge and through the double doors of Great Buy. The stallion that Twilight appreciatively hugged blushed. Warmness flooded his body, and his wings continued to stay open. “Oh my Celestia, the Princess of Friendship hugged me. I can’t wait to rub it in Midrock’s face the next time I’m in Manehattan!” On the capacious first floor of Great Buy, red, blue, and yellow lights lined some of the walls and doorways. It was largely empty in objects, as if it had been cleared out. A crowd of ponies had collected in front of a stage with three pegasi stallions standing on top. Two of them each held the edge of a blue bucket in their teeth; the third pegasus held a blowhorn in one of his wings. Twilight surveyed the crowd. “This is odd. I wonder what’s going on.” A mare in the back of the crowd turned to Twilight, Starlight, and Spike, and answered, “We’re waiting for the drawing for ‘Mr. Pac-Mare’.” “Mr. Pac-Mare?” Twilight asked with a puzzled stare, despite the joy of not arriving too late. “Why is there a drawing for it?” “I guess you didn’t hear, but arcade games are next to impossible to find, so the owner of Great Buy wanted to have a drawing to determine who would buy it. The rest was sold minutes after their shipment came in earlier.” “At least we have a chance this time,” Spike commented with a hopeful smile. “Indeed, Spike,” Twilight said, wearing a smile of her own. “Let’s hope our bad luck finally becomes good luck.” Three minutes later, in an amplified voice thanks to the blow horn, one of the stallions on the stage said, “Okay, mares and gentlecolts, we’re ready. As I’m sure you all are aware, we have one ‘Mr. Pac-Mare’ left for sale. Furthermore, the owner of Great Buy wished to get into the Las Pegasus spirit and have luck determine who will buy it. So, you are going to pick a ball with a different number on it. After that, we will hold a drawing, and the winner will earn the chance to buy ‘Mr. Pac-Mare’. Do you all understand?” The crowd answered, “Yes!” “Now, the ponies with the buckets full of balls will come down, then you will form two lines and wait for your turn to pick a ball.” “Spike, Starlight, to improve our odds, let’s each pick out a ball,” Twilight suggested in a whisper. The two pegasi holding the buckets flew down from the stage and stood side by side. The crowd split into two lines, and Twilight and Spike got into one line; Starlight stood in the other. Two by two (thanks to there being two lines), the crowd picked up a ball from a bucket. Each had a unique number. A unicorn mare grabbed a ball with her magic, but directed a hoof toward the ceiling with a fearful frown. “Whoa, what’s that?!” All in the room stared upward. The mare swiftly levitated out a second ball and stuffed it in a backpack on her back. “Uh, sorry! I was...seeing things, I guess,” she lied in an innocent voice. The crowd, including Twilight and Spike, shrugged and went back to selecting balls, two by two. However, Starlight gazed at the lying unicorn and laid a hoof on her cheek in suspicion. She caught sight of part of a yellow ball from the mare’s backpack and pointed a hoof at her. “Wait, she has a second ball in her bag! She’s cheating!” The mare innocuously shook her head protested, “N-no I don't! Don’t listen to her!” An earth pony peeked at the cheater’s backpack and gasped. “Hey, she’s right! There is a second ball in there!” With eyes on the dishonest unicorn, a different unicorn, a stallion, picked up a ball from one of the buckets and levitated it toward a trash can. A pegasus stallion pointed at the floating ball. “Hey, he's cheating too! Give me a ball before some other unicorn tries to cheat!” The increasingly agitated and grumbling crowd broke from their lines and forced themselves to the bucket to pick balls. Some, like Twilight, Starlight, and Spike, stayed calm. The impatient picking of balls devolved into shoving. Balls were reached for more and more frantically. The stallion with the blow horn said, “Okay, everypony, please calm down–” The crowd shoved even more aggressively. The two pegasi holding the buckets finally tossed the balls into the air out of desperation. The balls rained down. Ponies dove for the bouncing balls in all directions. Some ponies dove into each other, some by mistake and others intentionally to knock captured balls free. A few ponies slammed into and bounced off walls from overzealous dives. Some unicorns seized balls with their magic, but the other pony tribes tapped the horns of those unicorns, instantly freeing the balls from their magical telekinesis. Only Twilight, Starlight, and Spike stayed out of the fray. Spike surveyed the mob and grimaced. “Twilight! This is getting out of control! You gotta do something!” “And while you do that, I’m going in!” Starlight leapt toward a ball bouncing to her with all her might. She soared over it and rolled on her back from her momentum. Perhaps she needed to work on her aim. An earth pony snatched the ball Starlight had targeted, making Starlight groan from annoyance of herself. Amid a brainstorm, Twilight tapped her cheek. As the Princess of Friendship, her first instinct was to break up the melee. On the other hoof, her past experiences with unruly mobs had taught her that even her princess status isn’t always enough to quell mobs. A different idea lit in her brain like a light bulb, allowing Twilight to smile and lean her head toward Spike. “I have a plan. Hop on my back, and no matter what happens, stay quiet and don’t jump off.” Spike nodded and jumped onto Twilight’s back. Twilight flapped her wings to hover in midair and observed the crowd quietly. Oblivious to Twilight’s plan, Starlight spotted a loose ball and grabbed it in her magic. “Yes! I got one!” The unicorn mare that first attempted cheating directed a hoof at Starlight. “She’s got two balls! She’s got two balls!” “She’s what?!“ “What’s with these cheating unicorns?!” The crowd glowered at Starlight, who pointed at herself. “What?! No, I don–” A pegasus mare growled and yelled, “Get her!” Starlight turned to run. Four mares pounced on her, forcing out a pain-filled grunt from the tackled pony, and forced Starlight to release her ball. A fifth mare searched around Starlight, then peeked into her bag of bits tied on the strap around her. “Wait, she only had one!” The mare that lied about Starlight pursued the ball knocked from Starlight’s magical grip. Starlight Glimmer’s eyes locked onto the lying unicorn, louring intensely. The aggravating weight of the ponies on top of her further ignited her blood. Her eyes reddened, and her vocal cords emitted a low, long growl. That was it. She may be friendly, but if those ponies wanted a battle, the reformed villain would give them a war! “You all picked the WRONG mare and day. No more Mrs. Nice Glimmer!” Starlight’s horn glowed turquoise. A wave of magic radiated from her body, harmlessly throwing the screaming mob off of her every which way. They asked for it! Free, Starlight sprang to her hooves and dove for the fibbing mare, making the two roll on the floor. Once the rolling ended, the battling unicorns engaged in a magic-based tug-o-war for the ball Starlight previously held. “Give me back that ball, you big liar! This is not the day to mess with me!” “You don’t scare me, sweetheart! Our magic is evenly matched anyway!” “Are you sure about that?” The alicorn-level unicorn smirked. The ball slowly inched toward her. An earth pony plucked the floating ball with a hoof. “Ha! I got–” A pegasus dove at the ball and nabbed it out of its most recent owner’s hoof. Yet another pegasus flew in to steal it. The whole mob, spread out all over the first floor, continued to fight over the ever-spreading balls. With Spike still on her back, Twilight hovered in the air and watched, save for the occasional grimace from her. Four male pegasi, all wearing security suits, ran down the stairs and into the room. One of them shouted in a blow horn, “EVERYPONY STOP!!” The battling ponies froze and stared at the pegasus delivering the order. Starlight’s red eyes cleared, but they retained a slight red hue. “That is enough. All of you that were fighting, leave! No 'Mr. Pac-Mare' for you!” The mob’s ears flopped and the misbehaving ponies moped away, Starlight included. Twilight slowed her wing flaps to land, trotted to the leader of the new pegasi in the lobby, and said, “I’m sorry for not stepping in, but they might not have listened to even me.” The stern look on the leader’s face softened into a friendly smile. “It’s quite all right, Princess Twilight. Even if you are the Princess of Friendship, we can’t expect you to do our jobs and break up out-of-control mobs. What brings you here?” “I came to purchase 'Mr. Pac-Mare'. I will understand if you don’t–” “That so?” the stallion asked in an even more cheerful voice than before. “Well, since you stayed civil, we will allow you the chance to buy it. Wait here while we bring out a clerk to sell it to you.” “Really? Thank you!” Twilight aimed a hoof toward the retreating Starlight. “I know I’m asking for a lot, but can that mare stay with me? She wasn’t the...best-behaved pony, but I promise to keep her in check.” Starlight’s ears perked. She teleported beside Twilight, smiling as trustworthily as possible. The stallion stared intently at Starlight, rubbing his cheek. “Well…she doesn’t seem like a bad pony, but–” “And she’s not and is even my former student! She’s just having a really bad day, but she’s a good pony that’s sorry!” Twilight leaned her head to Starlight. “Say ‘sorry’, Starlight.” “I’m sorry.” Starlight looked down, similar to a filly that was forced to apologize. Although she truly was remorseful for letting her temper get the better of her. “Uh...okay. You’re lucky Princess Twilight is vouching for you.” The four security ponies flew up the stairs they had come from. At the same time, Spike hopped off Twilight’s back. Alone in the lobby for the moment, Twilight asked with a concerned frown, “Are you hurt, Starlight? I wanted to do something when those mares pounced on you, but if you knew my plan, you would have wanted me to stay out of it.” “I’m fine. I went head-to-head with a powerful alicorn in the past, so it’ll take more than that to hurt me!” Starlight boasted with a wink. “Hehe, glad to hear it.” With a knowing smile, Twilight added, "I heard that alicorn you fought was pretty talented in magic.” “We’re lucky you didn’t jump in too, Twilight, or you would have–wait.” Spike gasped and pointed a claw at Twilight. “Was that why you stayed back, so you and I would be the last ones left?” Twilight’s smile curled into more of a smirk. “Oh...you’re good, Twilight. Hee hee, why didn’t I do that instead of fighting with the rest of that mob like an idiot?” A pegasus mare walked down the stairs the security ponies used. With a warm smile, she strolled to the trio. “So, are you the lucky winners?” “Yes, we are!” Twilight answered with a huge smile. “You have no idea of what we have been through to buy one of those games.” “I can only imagine. Arcade-style games had never been so hard to find before, if that mob I heard about didn’t show it already. Anyway, 'Mr. Pac-Mare' costs 2,400 bits.” Starlight looked into her bag of bits. “I got 950 bits. It’s all the bits I have, but this will be worth it. Can you cover the rest, Twilight?” “I can." Twilight peeked into her bag. The sight made her gasp deeply. Her pupils shrank. “Oh, Celestia, what have I done?” “Wha–” Spike’s mouth widened “–oh, Twilight. Don’t tell me you–” “Yes.” Twilight closed her eyes in shame. “I was in such a hurry to leave the castle, I forgot to bring extra bits to cover the cost. I only have about 500.” “What?!” Spike shouted. “NOOOO!!” Starlight fell to the floor, smacked her face against the floor, and left it there. "Oh." The clerk's friendly smile dropped into a sympathetic frown. “Can you go somewhere nearby and collect enough bits? I can hold 'Mr. Pac Mare' for a while.” Twilight shook her head and opened her eyes. “No. I would need to return to Ponyville, and it would take me around two hours to come back. Plus, I have to be somewhere in about an hour and really need to have it by then.” “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry.” “It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” Twilight assured, forcing out a smile. It would be unbecoming for an Equestrian princess to make others feel bad over her personal issues. Starlight stood up and, with Starlight’s head down, the three friends left Great Buy. Once the friends were outside, Twilight allowed her false smile to darken into a genuine frown. “UGH! I’m so sorry guys, and I can’t believe myself! Not only did I forget Eric’s birthday, but I forgot to BRING ENOUGH BITS! I’m the worst friend and sister ever!” Spike countered, “Come on, don’t talk about yourself like that, Twi, and even Eric would hate it. You made a couple of mistakes, but you’re far from the worst." “With how I’m going to let him down, again, I might as well be.” Twilight hung her head down, cursing herself Internally. “Thanks to this, Eric might think that I don’t care about him as much as I truly do. I would fight every villain in Equestria alone for him without a second thought, yet I couldn’t remember my brother’s birthday.” “And I’m no better for forgetting it too, and even your dancing might not fix this,” Starlight admitted, her head down. “We really blew it this time.” “I still say you two are overreacting. But, once we’re back to Ponyville, maybe you can buy something he’ll like, even if it’s not ‘perfect’. It will be better than nothing at all, right?” Twilight sighed and said, “You're right about that, Spike. We’ll buy something in Ponyville and hope for the best.” With that, the trio hurried to and boarded their hot-air balloon. After an Accelero spell was cast on the balloon again, they zipped through the air and made their way back to Ponyville. As they did, Spike tried his best to cheer up his disheartened friends. They would have to not only hope the gifts Twilight and Starlight chose to buy would suffice, but hope that something else wouldn’t go wrong. Author's Note Poor mares. They just didn't want to let Eric down. Will whatever last-second gift they find be enough to ease their worries? Will Eric like them, or will their paranoia turn out to be justified?
Chapter 4: Solving the caseTen minutes before Eric Reed’s party… The hot-air balloon holding the three ex-game hunters landed near Twilight’s castle. Twilight, Starlight, and Spike immediately hopped out of its basket and hurried to Ponyville’s bookshop. There, Twilight purchased a book called “101 pranks for the ultimate prankster”. The trio then sprinted to Ponyville’s joke shop. Starlight bought a cache of practical joke items, such as fake bits and small rubber balls that can be set to harmlessly explode in green slime. With Twilight’s gift covered in pink-purple wrapping paper, tied in a light-pink bow, and Starlight’s in a blue wrapping paper and tied in a green bow, the trio sped toward Twilight’s castle. “I hope Eric likes what we got for him. This is going to give him a serious edge during his next monthly prank war with Rainbow and Pinkie,” Starlight said in a cheerful voice. “Yep. Pinkie won their last one, so Eric’s going to enjoy what you two bought way more than volumes one and two of 'Equestria's beginnings’,” Spike remarked with a smirk towards Twilight. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Ha ha, Spike. I just hope this will be enough to let him not doubt how much Starlight and I care for him.” Still fighting the nag of regret in her heart, Twilight sighed and added, “If our gifts can do that and prevent him from becoming homesick, I can forgive myself for forgetting his birthday. I will NOT repeat this mistake next year!” The friends dashed to and through the doors of the castle. They rushed through the lobby, down the hallways, but stopped at Spike's bedroom. Spike needed to retrieve his gift, which was wrapped in green wrapping paper. With Spike’s gift in tow, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike zipped through the hallways again and, finally, through the door to the castle’s dining hall. “SURPRISE!!” Twilight, Starlight, and Spike yelped and jumped, the gifts from the trio dropping to the floor. Inside the hall, straight ahead of them, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack covered their mouths with their hooves. As well as others, such as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Maud, Trixie, and even Discord. On the table, multiple wrapped boxes, some small, some large, others in between, lay across it. A bowl full of red-colored juice sat beside a big pink cake. Pinkie uncovered her mouth. “Oops. We thought you were Eric. Rarity went out to get him a few minutes ago.” “And where the hay have y’all been?” Applejack pointed at the gifts on the floor. “Did yer run late gettin’ Eric’s gifts or somethin’?” “Uh...you could say that,” Twilight answered with an uneasy grin. “Oh.” Rainbow chuckled and commented, “With how you plan, Twilight, I figured you stashed him a gift months ago.” Twilight tittered, her face glowing red. Starlight pawed the floor with a forehoof. “What did you get him? Bet it won’t top the Great and Powerful Trixie’s gift: a magician's cape,” Trixie boasted with a hoof on her chest. Twilight and Starlight picked up their and Spike’s gifts with their magic, walked to the table, and laid the gifts down. As they did, Twilight thought, ‘Please let it be that Pinkie reminded Trixie of Eric’s birthday or I’ll NEVER let myself live it down.’ After the gifts were set, Twilight glanced toward Trixie. The edges of the alicorn's lips curled upward, and she gritted her teeth tighter than she meant to. “I got him some ‘Power Ponies’ comics, Twilight picked out a book on pranks, and Starlight brought him some stuff for pranks.” Pinkie and Rainbow turned their heads to each other and giggled. “What?” Twilight asked, cocking her head. “Pranks and a book on them are what Pinkie and I bought him. Or rather, Pinkie got him pranks, I got him a book that has 101 pranks.” Rainbow motioned to a pink and a light-blue wrapped box. “WHAT?!” Twilight and Starlight yelled simultaneously. Twilight spun her head to Starlight with a frantic frown. "Starlight, we can’t give him this now! Maybe there's still–” The door to the dining hall creaked opened, forcing Twilight and her ex-student to twirl around. It revealed both Rarity and Equestria’s lone human, Eric Reed, or "Buggie" as Twilight and Starlight prefer to address him with as a nickname they gave him. He wore a hat with designs of Twilight’s, Starlight’s, Rarity’s, Applejack’s, Rainbow’s, Fluttershy’s, and Pinkie’s Cutie Marks; Twilight’s and Starlight’s were near the top. Around his neck, a necklace with a green geode hung from it. While he generally doesn't care much about fashion – the geode was a past gift – he did enjoy the clothes Rarity personally made for him, such as the white shirt and dark-blue shorts he was wearing. Twilight and Starlight jumped back. Twilight inadvertently flicked a wing behind her, and it slammed into the bowl of juice. The liquid splashed and dumped over them, covering much of their bodies and manes. “Twilight!” Starlight shivered from the impact. She delivered a hard scowl aimed at Twilight. “S-sorry, Starlight! I-I-I just…” Twilight gasped. She forgot Eric was there. Starlight followed Twilight’s lead with a gasp of her own. Both mares forced a smile, faced Eric, and simultaneously said, “U-uh, surprise! H-happy birthday, Buggie!” Eric, the ponies, and Discord all stared at the two suspicious mares in silence. Rarity stepped forward and asked, “Okay, Twilight, Starlight, what is wrong? You two and Spike had been gone for hours, and now you are acting strange.” Discord floated to the wet pair of ponies. "Yes, I thought, as his 'big sisters'" – Discord snapped a claw, materializing hats saying "#1 sister" on it onto Twilight's and Starlight's heads – "you would have been here to help whip up the birthday boy's party, not pull a me and be strange." Discord sneered at Twilight. "Especially you, Ms. Writes-checklists-a-lot." With another snap of his claws, the "#1 sister" hats poofed out of existence. Twilight and Starlight pointed at themselves, spun their heads in random directions, and Twilight countered, “S-strange? S-Starlight and I aren’t acting S-strange! We’re...uh…” Eric raised his hand. "Hold it! Twi, Starie, if I know you as well as I think I do, I bet I can figure out what’s up.” Eric strolled across the room to Pinkie. “Pinkie, can you lend me that detective hat and pipe you use when you’re solving a mystery? Oh, and give me something to wipe the tip of the pipe.” “Sure!” Pinkie reached into her mane with a forehoof and pulled out a checkered light-gray and dark-gray hat, a smoking pipe, and a cloth. Eric took off his hat, gave it to Pinkie, and put Pinkie’s detective hat on. He wiped off the pipe’s mouthpiece and blew into it. Despite it being a smoking pipe, bubbles bubbled out of its chamber, not smoke. “Heh heh, I’ve been waiting to do that. Now, let’s solve this little mystery.” He sauntered to his Equestrian sisters, glanced at their manes, coats, and tails, and gazed into their eyes. “Your coats, manes, and tails look fine, save for the juice, but your eyes are a little red. You both are grinning, and I know it’s one you give when you’re hiding something.” Pinkie Pie waved her hoof. “Oh, and I bet their stuttering proves it!” “Good deduction, my dear Pinkie Pie.” Eric blew into Pinkie’s pipe again to blow more bubbles, rubbed his chin, and paced in circles. “Back to the case. Twi, Starie, I haven’t seen either of you or Spike in the last few hours, which Miss Rarity already brought up." Rarity's lips sunk into an offended frown. "Wait, 'Miss Rarity'? Not that I don't mind the respect, but the way you said it, you made me sound like I'm an old mare!" Eric stopped pacing and glared at Rarity. "I'm in a mindset, so just let me work, Rarity. You and I both know you're far from old." 'But you pulling out that ridiculous fainting couch can get old.' "Sorry," the not-old mare said, biting her lip. "You know how we mares are about our age." Eric's glare softened. "It's okay. Now, where was I? Oh, right, the case." He paced in circles again. "The mares and dragon in question didn’t tell anypony that they were leaving, so it was either because of an emergency or they thought it was.” Fluttershy pointed toward Twilight’s bag of bits still tied to the strap wrapped around her. “Twilight and Starlight have their bag of bits too.” “Right you are, Fluttershy, and today’s my birthday.” Eric blew more bubbles. Once the last bubble popped, he strode to Pinkie to return her hat and pipe, then took his own hat and put it on. “Thanks, Pinkie.” Eric turned to face Twilight and Starlight with a little smirk and strolled to them. “I think I cracked this case: you two forgot my birthday, panicked over it, and had been running either around Ponyville, but stayed out of my sight, or you left Ponyville to get my ‘perfect’ gift. Oh, and Spike may or may not forgot too, but he kept telling you it was okay, but you were too stubborn to listen. Am I right?” “Maybe?” the guilty pair answered together. The human nodded his head in victory. “Knew it. Score one for Eric.” “Wow, yer good,” Apple Bloom said with an impressed smile. Eric proudly patted his chest. “Thanks, Apple Bloom. These two are a cut of work, but I know ‘em pretty well.” Starlight frowned in remorse, her ears flopped to lie against her head, and said, “Fine, we admit it. Twilight and I did forget your birthday, and we are so sorry.” Pinkie laid a hoof along her cheek. “Ohhhhh. I would have reminded you and Twilight about it three days ago, but I thought you two would be the last ponies to–” Applejack bobbed Pinkie on the head and whispered, “Not now, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight’s ears, similar to Starlight’s, wilted. “But we didn’t try to forget and it’s NOT as if we don’t care about you or your birthday! I promise we are going to make up for this! I'll write a pie chart, which I should have started with instead of lists, and–” Eric pressed his hand over Twilight’s mouth. The young man smiled warmly, yet with a trace of amusement. “Oh, Twi. Freaking out badly as usual.” He pulled his hand from Twilight’s mouth. With a friendly sneer, he looked at Starlight. “Same goes for you, Starie.” Twilight’s ears stood up. “Wait, I don’t ‘freak out’ THAT bad!” Starlight’s ears spiked up in turn. “Neither do I!” "Oh, no?" Discord snapped his claws. High in the room, a bubble appeared and played an image of Twilight (as a unicorn) crazily casting the "Want it, Need it" spell on her Smarty Pants doll. A different image followed that was of Starlight running "Our Town"; the town's other residents bore equal signs in place of their Cutie Marks. The busted ponies' faces scrunched up, the ping of embarrassment assaulting them mercilessly. Trixie's eyelids closed half-way and she smirked, her eyes locked on Twilight. "Well, looks like Miss Princess of Friendship has been more devious than I thought!" After Discord snapped his claws again to dismiss the images, Twilight mumbled, "I only let things get that bad one time." "I gotta side with Discord on this one." Eric chuckled and straightened his hat. “Not to mention, if you two weren’t panicking royally, no pun intended for you, Twi, you would have remembered that you’ve proved a ton of times how much you care about me.” “We did?” Twilight and Starlight asked together. “Yep.” Eric’s smile deepened, fondness oozing from his brown eyes. “Twilight, after you found me in Equestria, you took me under your wing and did all you could to help and even protect me. Need I remind you about the time you dove into fire to save my life? Starlight, you’re been just as great to me and I’ll never forget how you got hurt trying to protect me from Chrysalis. Both of you have not only been my best friends, you have taken the roles of big sisters to me and even embraced it.” “We do our best, but with this being your first birthday in Equestria, I was worried you might get homesick. The spell we cast for you to talk to your family won’t work again for another three days.” Twilight’s ears, once again, slumped. “Now Starlight and I, two of the ponies that are the closest to being your family in Equestria, forgot your birthday. You didn’t forget ours.” Eric snapped his fingers in realization. “Oh, yeah, I forgot to spread out when you cast that spell, so I won’t be able to talk to my family today.” Eric lightly slapped his cheek, feeling the guilt and sadness screaming from Twilight’s and Starlight’s eyes. “B-but I can talk to them in three days, which I can do at all thanks to you two. I’m not sad over it or mad.” Eric fiddled with his hat’s brim. He scraped the floor with a foot – a habit he acquired from living with ponies for almost a year. “Besides, I have a little confession to make: I only remembered your birthdays because Pinkie reminded me a few days prior. If anything, we’re even.” Twilight (and Starlight) grinned from relief, the harsh weight of her guilt vanishing into the air. “Oh, I’m so glad you forgot our birthdays too. Now I don’t feel like the worst friend and sister ever for forgetting yours.” “Wait, you thought you were the worst?” Eric shook his head, both from bewilderment and amusement. “You were REALLY losing it bad this time to think that, Princess of Panicking! Just like my two human big sisters, you and Starlight are amazing!” “I agree,” Rainbow said with a nod. “You couldn’t do more for Eric if you tried.” “Yep, yep, yep. Even the rest of Ponyville know how much you care about Eric,” Pinkie agreed while hopping. Happy tears welled in the two caring big sisters' eyes, their mouths quivering. "See?" Eric waved his hand toward himself. “So come here and give me a hug, big sises!” Starlight, Twilight, and Eric embraced in a group hug. Eric seemed to be uncaring about the punch on Twilight’s and Starlight’s coats by not flinching from it during the hug. “I love you two! All of you, really.” ”We love you too, Buggie, and we’re still sorry for forgetting your birthday. I know Starlight and I can be ‘hoofulls’ sometimes, but I’m glad you can put up with us.” Twilight turned her head to Spike. “Same goes to you, Spike. We’re sorry we didn’t listen to you from the start.” “It’s all right." Eric patted Twilight's back, but they remained in a hug. "You and Starie wouldn’t be you if you never had freak-out moments, and I can be a pain sometimes too.” “And if you did listen to me right away, I might have asked, ‘who are you, and what did you do to the real Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer?’ and thought you really went crazy!” Everyone, except for Maud, burst into laughter; Maud laughed hard on the inside, but kept her typical emotionless facial expression. The hearty laughter was comparable to the laughter in Stablemart. Once the laughing calmed, Twilight, Starlight, and Eric broke their hug. Eric looked down at his geode, his eyes widened, and he asked, “Wait, where’s Sunset? I thought she wou–” Faint hoofsteps in the castle’s hallways grew louder and louder. The dining hall’s door flew open in red magic and a gold unicorn, Sunset Shimmer, darted inside and screeched to a halt. Her mane was razzled, her eyes were bloodshot, and she teetered on her hooves while panting heavily. She was levitating a box wrapped in orange wrapping paper, with a pink bow on top; a necklace with a red gemstone covered her neck. All gasped and stared at the room’s newest pony. Twilight and Eric ran to Sunset and Twilight asked, “Sunset! Are you okay?!” "What happened?!" Eric asked, eyes widened. Sunset’s eyelids drooped wearily, her head wobbling. “Yeah, I'm okay…*pant*...just ran late…*pant*...sorry.” The unicorn collapsed to the floor with a soft grunt, but managed to float her gift toward Eric. “The other…*pant*...girls said they’ll have me…*pant*...give you their gifts later.” Spike looked at the exhausted mare and chuckled. “Heh, at least there were more than a pair of mares that forgot birthdays today.” Author's Note Hmm. Looks like Twilight was wrong about how Sunset didn't forget Eric's birthday. Or she just happened to have a totally unrelated bad day.
