Flurry Heart's Story: The Perfect Storm Streak

Chapters

1. Off to a Bad Start
2. Be Thankful for Who You Are
3. The Hourglass of Kronos
4. Trouble for Stormy
5. Lesson Learned

1. Off to a Bad Start

The door to Rainbow Dash and Thunderhead’s bedroom burst open. Storm Streak rushed in and began jumping on the bed as he excitedly tried to wake his parents up.

“Mommy, Dadddy, get up!” he shouted.

“Ugh…just a few more minutes, Dad,” Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“Mommy, it’s me! Stormy!”

“Alright, kiddo. Settle down,” Thunder said, getting up and patting his son on the head. “I know you’re excited about the Ponyville Fair, but it’s going to be going all week you know.”

“Yeah, but we gotta get there soon cuz this year’s gonna be even better! I’m finally tall enough to ride on the greatest, awesomest, most radicalest ride of all time: THE LEVIATHAN!”

Stormy flew into the air and struck a pose as he pretended to play a guitar.

“Alright, squirt,” said Rainbow Dash, “but you can’t go to the fair until you’ve had your breakfast, made your bed and-”

“Already did it!” Stormy said as he saluted his mother.

“Uh…what?”

“I already ate breakfast and made my bed!”

“Reeeeally.”

Rainbow Dash looked suspiciously at Stormy as he smiled, showing traces of milk from the cereal he ate earlier. Stormy’s younger brother Lightning Flash then entered the room.

“Mommy, Daddy, Stormy made his bed and it looks really good!” he told his parents.

Rainbow Dash and Thunderhead looked at each other in amazement. Stormy would normally not eat breakfast before them, nor would he make his own bed.

“Wow. He’s really pumped for that ride,” Thunder said.

“So, can we go now?” Stormy asked.

“Just a minute now. You know we gotta eat our breakfast first,” Rainbow Dash reminded him.

“Awww. Okay, I’ll wait.”

Stormy frowned in disappointment as his parents both giggled.

A while later, Stormy and the rest his family all walked towards a park outside of Ponyville reserved for the annual fair that would go for one week every summer. Stormy stared in amazement at the fair as he watched one ride in particular. His eyes were huge and had stars in them.

“There it is! The Leviathan!” he crooned.

“Can I go with you, Stormy?” asked his little brother.

“I wish you could, Flashy, but you gotta be tall enough.”

“Aw.”

“Don’t worry. If you eat plenty of leafy greens like I’ve been doing for the past year, you’ll be as tall as me someday!”

“But you should eat your leafy greens regardless,” Thunder told his sons, teasingly.

“I know, Daddy,” Stormy replied.

“Alright, there’s the troupe, everypony,” Rainbow Dash said as she carried baby Misty Blitz in her arms.

Near the entrance were all of Stormy’s friends. Spike and Buttercream joined Flurry Heart, while Apple Chip and Annie Smith were with their father Tex, and Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were with Mr. Cake. The fathers had all agreed to join their kids for this fair since the mothers had been chaperons for the trip to Southern Equestria a few weeks prior. Rainbow Dash walked with them to say goodbye and then go off to spend some time with her friends. Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich’s wedding would be held in a few days and she was one of the maids of honor, so she had things to prepare for.

“Hey guys!” Stormy shouted as he landed in front of all his friends.

“Stormy! Who’s excited to go on the Leviathan this year?” Pound Cake said, nudging him.

“I AM!”

“The Leviathan? What’s that?” Flurry asked.

“It’s the ride Stormy really wanted to go on last year but couldn’t,” Annie told her.

“But this year, I’m tall enough to ride! The Leviathan is going to be so awesome!”

“How is it you can pronounce ‘Leviathan’ but you can’t pronounce Anatankha’s name?” Chip asked Stormy.

“Shush, Chip,” Stormy said, placing his hoof over Chip’s mouth. “This is gonna be the most awesomest day of my life!”

“You know ‘awesomest’ isn’t a real word, ri-”

“LEVIATHAN, HERE I COME!!”

Stormy jetted up into the air as his parents rolled their eyes and laughed.

“Somebody’s been preparing for this day for quite some time,” Mr. Cake snickered to Thunderhead.

“Couldn’t stop talking about it for the past few days,” Thunderhead replied.

“Hey, everypony. Sorry we’re late,” said Melody Heartsong as she walked in with Cozy Glow.

“Cozy! You made it!” said Buttercream.

“Hey guys,” Cozy said, bashfully.

“Cozy wanted to get to know the town a little better after the other day. Do you think the ponies here will be alright with us being around?” Melody asked.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Spike said, “I think everypony’s done their best to get over what happened with the Sorceress. They said they all saw how bad it was for Cozy inside that prison realm. I’d keep her close though.”

“Oh I’ll stay close. I’m never leaving my baby again.”

Melody wrapped her arm around her daughter and nuzzled her tenderly.

“Thanks for letting me tag along, everypony,” Cozy told them. “I feel a lot better now that I’m actually trying to actually make friends.”

“No problemo, Cozy!” Pumpkin said, cheerfully. “There are a lot of cool things you can do in the fair. It’ll be your first big introduction to Ponyville culture!”

“Well, kids, if everypony’s ready, I say we head on in,” Tex told them all.

“Aright. I’ll see you, kids. Take it easy, Storm!” Rainbow said as she waved goodbye and left with Misty.

“Bye, Mommy! Alright, let’s go!” Stormy shouted, leading the way.

Everyone followed him to the ticket booth. The parents paid, everyone got their hooves stamped and they continued into the fair grounds. There were concession stands all around and tents pitched for shops with tons of merchandise. They all looked around, admiring the scenery, but Stormy was getting impatient.

“Come on guys! We gotta get to the Leviathan!” Stormy whined.

“Now now, Storm. Let’s let everyone get the lay of the land first,” Thunder told him. “We’ll ride the Leviathan first and then I guess we can split up and find things to do.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“This sure is a nice little fair,” Flurry said, looking around. “I’m surprised my parents never suggested I come to visit in the past while this was going on.”

“Well you picked a good first year to come,” Pound told her. “I think we have more concessions this year than we did last.”

“It’s my first year too and I’m loving it so far!” Buttercream said, looking around at some of the items in the gift shops.

“You like rock candy at all, Butter?” Spike asked his sister.

“YEEEES. YES I DO,” she said as her pupils dilated and her mouth watered.

“They have some down in the lower meadows at this one stand.”

“I WANT ONE!”

“Alright! Here it is! The Leviathan!” Mr. Cake said.

Everyone looked up to see the ride before them. The Leviathan was a group of several cars shaped like a snake-like dragon with the front car being the head. It would spin around counter clockwise from the center, connected to a large rod that would help it to ‘slither’ up and down as it went. It would run for about two minutes and then go backwards for the same amount of time. It wasn’t quite as rough as a roller coaster nor was it the biggest ride in Equestria, but it was the most sought-after ride in the Ponyville Fair. The kids all stared in awe at the massive ride. Stormy put his hooves up to his cheeks and squealed with delight.

“Stormy was right! This is quite a ride!” Flurry said.

“It’s cool how they fashioned it after an Eastern Drake!” Butter told everyone. “Did you kids know leviathans are a type of dragon?”

“Wow, really?” asked Annie.

“No way!” Pumpkin exclaimed.

“Yup! The Easterns are also known as ‘longs.’ First there are the wind longs, which can levitate without wings and breathe fire. Next there’s the water longs or sea serpents, which have only two arms and live in the water and breathe ice. The great longs or leviathans are the biggest ones. They can swim or fly and breathe fire, ice, wind and all sorts of other elements. They can also grow to be over a mile long. Emperor Antirrhinum is one of them. Oh, and then there’s the wyrms which are tiny legless longs that make good pets.”

“This place sounds so awesome!” Stormy beamed.

“They sure are! Nighty and I went to their homeland a while ago and made some good friends there. I gotta take you there some time, Spike. I think you’d really get along with Lily and Aster!”

“I have been itching to see what the Easterns are like,” Spike told her while stroking his chin.

“Enough talk! Let’s get on it!” Stormy shouted.

Everyone else except Lightning Flash and the dragons got in line for the ride. There was a young mare working at the entrance to the ride that was checking everyone’s hooves for the stamp and asking them for their age. Stormy noticed there was no ‘you have to be this tall to ride’ sign now, but it didn’t seem important at the moment. He finally got to the worker mare and showed her his hoof.”

“Hey there little guy,” she said with a smile on her face as she checked his hoof. “And how old are you now?”

“Seven and a half years,” Stormy said with a smile on his face.

“Oh dear. Sorry, but you’re gonna have to sit this one out. You gotta be at least eight years old to ride on the Leviathan.”

Her words hit Stormy like a ton of bricks. His smile slowly turned into a frown and his eyes widened.

“Wait…WHAT?!”

“Yep. It’s the first rule.”

The worker pointed to a sign next to her that read “Must be 8 years or older to ride” on the first line.

“Are…Are you serious? I thought we had to be tall enough to ride!”

“I know. That was the original rule, but they changed things. Now you have to be a certain age.”

Stormy’s ears drooped down and he looked very sad. Thunder did the best he could to find a way around this.

“Miss, would it be okay if I rode with him?” he asked the worker.

“They have to be at least eight. You don’t even need an adult to be with you as long as you’re the right age. If I let him on, I could get fired. They’re being pretty strict with these rules.”

“Pleeeeease? I’ve been waiting to go on this ride all year,” Stormy begged.

“Sorry, buddy. I wish I could let you on, but I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.”

The mare did her best to cheer him up by smiling, but Stormy grimaced and stomped out of the booth. His friends and their parents all looked at him in sorrow.

“Sorry, Stormy,” Flurry said.

“Cheer up, Stormy. There are still other rides,” Pumpkin told him.

“Yeah, we can still catch you at the bumper cars or something,” Chip said.

“Or the carrot dog stand. At least you can enjoy all the food regardless of age,” Annie added.

“I wanted to ride the Leviathan,” Stormy said through his teeth.

“Well, we’re all eight and older, Miss,” Pound said as the rest of them put their hooves up to show their stamps.

“Alright, you kids enjoy the ride,” the worker told them as she undid the rope and let them in.

The rest of the kids, Mr. Cake, Tex and Melody all entered to pick seats in the cars, while Thunder chose to stay behind with his son. Stormy watched woefully as they all strapped themselves in and another worker pony came by to check their belts. The ride then lurched forward and the head in the front spewed out sparks and made a roaring sound. The cars moved up and down repeatedly as if the creature was slithering like an Eastern Drake flying through the sky. The passengers all put their hooves in the air and whooped excitedly. Stormy did his best to think more about the fact that his friends were having fun, but he could not ignore what a great disappointment today was. He couldn’t take it any longer and walked away from the ride. He stopped and sat down next to the sign for the Leviathan. Butter, Spike, Flashy and Thunder all came over to cheer him up.

“Stormy, if it makes you feel any better, Spike and I are too fat for the ride so we can’t go on either,” Butter told him, patting her belly.

“And being Northern Drakes, we aren’t going to grow any smaller over the years, so unlike you, we’ll never get to go on it,” Spike added.

“It’s okay, Stormy. I can’t go on, either,” Flashy said, putting his arm around his brother.

“It’ll be fine, Storm.” Thunder told his son. “There are still plenty of things you can do here at the fair and other of rides to go on. Don’t let this ruin your day.”

“I really wanted to go on that ride, Daddy,” Stormy said, grouchily. “This was supposed to be my big day and now it’s ruined.”

Stormy got up and walked away miserably as they watched. Thunder then turned back to the other three.

“Spike, Butter, would you guys mind watching over Flashy while I try to cheer him up?” he asked them.

“You got it, Thunder,” Spike told him.

“Come on Flashy,” Butter said, picking Flashy up in her arms. “Let’s go get some rock candy. You’ll love it!”

“Is it made out of real rocks?” Flashy asked her.

“Naw, but it’s really sweet!”

Thunder watched them leave and then turned back to follow after Stormy. Meanwhile, at the sign for the Leviathan, the image of the serpent began to move. The pupils in its eyes looked in the direction Stormy had left.

2. Be Thankful for Who You Are

Stormy walked through the fairgrounds with his father next to him. Thunder did the best he could to cheer up his forlorn son, but it was hard for Stormy to be positive.

“Stormy, look, to take your side, I don’t think that was fair what they did either,” Thunder said. “It’s a real shame they had to change the rules with the timing they did. I don’t think it was even necessary.”

“Daddy, if you agree with me, can’t you do something about it?” Stormy asked.

“Well there’s nothing I really can do, buddy. These things just happen. Maybe there was a good reason for it. Maybe there have been more injuries on some rides lately, so they brought the age up to avoid getting sued. You gotta remember, they make these rules for a reason. It’s for your safety. They don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Daddy, I can handle myself on the Leviathan. I’m less than a year behind Chip and Annie and they’re still allowed to go on it. It just isn’t fair!”

Stormy sat down on a nearby bench and crossed his arms. Thunder sat next to Stormy and put his arm around him.

“I know, buddy. Life isn’t fair. I believe you can handle the Leviathan too, but it is what it is. There are all sorts of rules in life you just gotta follow. Rules are there for a reason.”

“Yeah, well rules are dumb!”

“That’s what I once said. Did I ever tell you about the time I broke my wing when I was at junior flight camp?”

“No.”

“I wanted to fly with the older, more-experienced fliers and prove my worth, so I snuck out to try their training course while no one else was watching. Turns out, the reason I wasn’t allowed to go with them was because the course they were on was really tough. I ended up getting myself hurt and spent the next few days in the hospital. See, Storm, that’s why we gotta follow safety rules. Maybe the Leviathan would be fine, but if you just keep breaking rules, you could get yourself hurt, or even worse: one of your friends.”

Stormy sighed and hopped down from the bench to keep on walking as Thunder followed after.

“I’m still mad, Daddy. I waited so long to go on the Leviathan and they ruined it for me.”

“This is just part of life as a kid, buddy. We all gotta grow up at some point.”

“I wish I could just grow up right now. I hate being a kid.”

“Well there are times I don’t really like being an adult either. We have to follow a lot of rules too, you know.”

“Yeah right.”

Stormy continued to trudge along. Despite his crankiness, Thunder smiled, patted him on the back and began singing to cheer him up as they traversed the fair.

VERSE 1

Life is never easy

No matter who you are

You just gotta take it in stride

Moping will not get you far

We’ve all got rules to follow

Yes, I know it’s a pain

But you’ll never see a rainbow

If you don’t have some rain

CHORUS

Not gonna mince my words

Waiting isn’t fun

But you’ve got a life ahead of you

You’ll get there one day, my son

You can’t have everything you want

It’s cliché I know

Just hang in there, be patient

And most of all

Be thankful for who you are

As Thunder finished the first verse, he joined Stormy in watching a nearby water slide over a bridge. The ride came down under the bridge and sprayed water all over them before Stormy had time to fly away. Thunder got to the other side of the bridge, still smiling and singing, while Stormy was angry to be sopping wet. Thunder dried himself using a large fan, but Stormy’s hair was quite frazzled in the process. He kept following his father as Thunder moved through the fair, not missing a step and handling everything in his path like a professional. Stormy did his best to keep up, but nothing seemed to go right for him. Thunder could tell his son was still very unhappy with everything, but he did his best to cheer him up by winning a game for him. The prize was a small hat with a picture of a leviathan on it. While it was a nice trinket to make up for missing the ride of the same name, it did little to make Stormy’s day better, but Thunder continued singing regardless.

VERSE 2

We all have those days

Where we’re told what to do

It’s not something we want to hear

But I’ve got news for you

It’s a sad reality

That we must face each day

How do you think your old man

Brings home all that pay

CHORUS

Not gonna mince my words

Waiting isn’t fun

But you’ve got a life ahead of you

You’ll get there one day, my son

You can’t have everything you want

It’s cliché I know

Just hang in there, be patient

And most of all

Be thankful for who you are

Thunder took to the skies with Stormy following him, until he came across a pegasus security guard with a sign that alerted about flying in the rides zone of the fair. Thunder nodded his head in compliance and pointed the guard out to Stormy to remind him about rules that need to be followed. Stormy rolled his eyes and followed his dad, as they both landed on the ground to continue on foot. Thunder took his son on the Ferris wheel as he got through the second chorus. As the ride was finishing, they hopped off and Thunder began to reminisce about his own youth.

BRIDGE

Stormy, I was just like you

Rules were not my thing

Got into all sorts of trouble

That’s how I once broke my wing

But I learned my lesson

Now I finally see

I grew up, swallowed my pride

And now look at me!

FINAL CHORUS

Not gonna mince my words

Waiting isn’t fun

Enjoy being a kid right now

Cuz it won’t last that long, my son

If you keep getting what you want

You’ll never find what you need

Just hang in there, be patient

And most of all

Be thankful for who you are

As they cleared the rides zone of the fair, Thunder took to the skies again to get a bird’s-eye view of the whole fair. He put his arm around Stormy and held him close while finishing the final lines of his song. After Thunder was done, they both landed near some concession stands.

“Feel any better?” Thunder asked.

“Not really,” Stormy grumbled.

“You’re gonna do fine, champ. There’s always next year and there’s always a few more rides around here you can enjoy or some games to play. Why don’t you walk on a bit and find something to do. I’m sure Flurry and the others would love it if you’d join them.”

“Alright.”

Stormy left while still wearing the hat. Thunder smiled and headed to a nearby stand to order lemonade. Stormy still couldn’t crack a single smile on his face, but he did his best to ignore everything and try to find a way to keep himself busy. He kicked a small can on the ground to pass time, but as he got closer to the center of the fair, he found Flurry, Pound, Pumpkin, Chip, Annie and Spike.

“Stormy!” called Flurry.

“The Leviathan was awesome!” Pumpkin blurted out before Pound covered her mouth.

“Yeah, let’s not talk about the Leviathan around him, Pump,” Pound suggested.

“Hehe…sorry.”

“Cool hat, Stormy! Where’d you get it?” asked Chip.

“My dad won it at one of those games,” Stormy replied, flatly. “Too bad I can’t go on the real Leviathan though.”

“It’s okay, Stormy. The Griffon Glider looks pretty cool. You wanna give that a try?” Spike asked.

“Come on, Stormy. We’ll all go with you,” Annie said.

“Okay,” Stormy sighed.

“There you go, Stormy,” Flurry said, putting her arm around him.

They all got in line with Spike. He was actually allowed to go on this ride since the cars were big enough for him to fit. The Griffon Glider was a huge futuristic jet that had a griffon painted on the side. Inside were over a dozen seats. Stormy smiled as he looked at the ride. He finally started to get his mind off of the Leviathan until he heard the last thing he wanted to hear from the ticket pony.

“Alright, kids! Please line up single file, make sure you have your hooves stamped, and don’t forget that you have to be at least 8 to ride the Griffon Glider!”

Stormy’s face immediately turned red with anger. He sounded like a kettle letting off steam.

“Oh, shoot!” Flurry said. “Sorry, Stormy. We’ll do another ride.”

“Yeah, the Griffon Glider kinda looks weird anyway,” Chip said, trying to downplay the ride to help Stormy get over it.

“The bumper cars! Come on guys!” Pumpkin said.

“Yeah, that one has an age limit of 5. You can go on it, Stormy,” Pound said, patting Stormy as he walked by.

“Alright, this one looks good Stormy…Stormy?”

Flurry looked back to see Stormy had already stomped off furiously. She wanted to go after him, but it was no use.

“Poor Stormy. I hope he finds something to enjoy here,” she said, despondently.

Elsewhere in a less congested zone, Stormy began spouting off about how bad his day was.

“It’s not fair! It’s just not fair! I’m a pegasus and they won’t let me ride on the darn Griffon Glider?! How does that make any sense! UGH! Being a kid is so stupid! I wish I could just turn myself into a grown-up even for just one day! All my problems would just disappear!”

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared not far from where he was standing. Stormy looked up to see Discord dressed up in an old detective costume with a huge magnifying glass. He slithered around, using the glass to inspect various objects in the fair.

“Uh…Discord?”

“Oh, Storm Streak! Bonjour!” Discord said cheerfully before returning and doing his work. “Don’t mind me. I’m in the middle of a very important investigation right now.”

“An investigation? What are you looking for?”

“A powerful artifact.”

“An artifact? Like something Daring Do would look for?”

“Oh I’m sure she would. Ever heard of the Hourglass of Kronos?”

“Uh…the Hourglass of Kronos? I don’t think so.”

“It is a device with great capabilities. Even Starswirl the Bearded is mystified by it. It is said to have the ability to manipulate time around one’s body, thus transmogrifying one’s appearance.”

“Uh, what?”

“In layponies terms, it can change your age. All it takes is for a pony to touch it and then they will turn into whatever age they desire. Ancient villains of the past have used it to deceive their adversaries and get certain favors. If my calculations are correct, it should be hidden somewhere right where we now stand. I would do some digging, but I have to be respectful of the fairgrounds, so I’ll have to look around here first.”

As Stormy listened to Discord, his eyes widened and his smile grew to both ends of his face. He finally had the answer to all his problems.

“So you’re saying if I touched this thing, I could wish myself to be an adult and go on some of the rides here that I’m too young for?”

“Definitely. Its powers are great, but it doesn’t take that much to…oh dear. I’ve said too much, haven’t I?”

Discord looked back at Stormy and could already tell he wanted the hourglass for himself. He put the magnifying glass aside and hunched down to Stormy’s level to talk to him.

“Storm Streak!” Discord said sternly, snapping his fingers in front of Stormy.

“Huh?”

“Look, I know what you’re thinking, and I highly recommend you stop. The Hourglass of Kronos is too powerful for a little colt like you to handle.”

“But Discord, you don’t understand: I really wanted to go on this one ride and I’m like just a few months away from being the right age! If I could just make myself older-”

“AH-AH-AH! No, Storm Streak. You must stay away from it. Using the powers of the Hourglass could lead to disastrous results if you are not careful. Magic will not solve all your problems.”

“But I-”

“No.”

“But-”

“AH!”

Stormy tried begging, but it wasn’t getting him anywhere. Discord seemed serious and could not be convinced. Finally he gave up and groaned.

“UGH! Fine, I won’t go touch the Hourglass of Kronos!”

Discord smiled and patted him on the head.

“Excellent! I can see your parents have taught you to be patient with growing up and not do foolish things to get your way. That is the mark of a good family. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an hourglass to find. Arrivederci!”

In a split second, Discord shone with light and disappeared. Stormy looked around to see if anyone was looking. Only a few ponies saw Discord, but none of them appeared to know what he was talking about or give it much concern. A smile returned to Stormy’s face and he went airborne, pumping his hoof.

“YES! Finally! I’m totally gonna find that hourglass and turn myself into a grown-up! Then I’ll be able to ride the Leviathan and all the other rides here! I’LL BE UNSTOPPABLE!! Whoops, better keep it to myself. Don’t want Discord to find out. Hehehe…”

Stormy then turned around and rubbed his hooves together while smiling devilishly. His quest to locate the Hourglass of Kronos began.

Author's Note

Click here to listen to the tune for “Be Thankful For Who You Are”: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oB65yP9PzzjdbtP_09zc7HKmgR9Lcwv2/view

3. The Hourglass of Kronos

“Step right up, fillies and gentlecolts! We’ve got pocket watches, sundials, hourglasses; you name it! Stop right by for all your time-related needs!” called the renowned scientist Doctor Hooves from his sales booth.

Several ponies stopped by to purchase some hourglasses, leaving a few bits on his table.

“Thank you, good sir, and you too, madam. Always wonderful to have such fine customers!”

He then turned to Stormy who was hovering in front of his stand. The twinkles in his eyes were shaped like hourglasses.

“And you there young lad; what can I get you?”

“Do you have the Hourglass of Kronos here?” he beamed.

“Hourglass of Kronos? Peculiar name. I’m sorry, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of that.”

“You don’t have anything magical that can change a pony’s age?”

“What?! Oh heavens no! I’ve been searching for the answers to such technology for years and cannot figure anything out! I would use the Alicorn Amulet, but I don’t fancy turning into a villain, nor do I want to rely on a centuries-old artifact to do it with. What you’re looking for, my boy, is probably something from-”

“Doc, I’ve found it! The Hourglass of Kronos!” said his assistant Derpy Hooves. She popped out from behind the table, holding a small box with an hourglass inside.

“Um…that says ‘Kronox’, my dear. That’s a company that makes hourglasses.”

“Oops. Sorry, little guy. Maybe you’ll find something like that at the antique shop.”

“UGH!” Stormy grumbled, leaving Derpy and the Doctor as they looked confused.

He flew on to the antique shop, but there were no hourglasses in there. Stormy grew tired of searching all the sales booths and figured he was getting nowhere, looking where everyone else would be. He flew out into a small grassy area between several of the tents. It was an empty vacant spot that he could be alone in since none of the sales ponies needed to use it. He landed on the grass and started looking around carefully to see if maybe it was buried underground.

“It’s gotta be around her somewhere. Maybe it’s underground. Daring Do usually looks in temples or something, but there’s nothing like that around here.”

Stormy began sniffing the ground and tapping his hooves to see if there were any signs the hourglass could be beneath him.

“Discord said it was in this area. I just hope it’s real. I hope Discord isn’t up to more of his-AAGGHH!!”

In an instant, the ground caved in and Stormy fell through a hole. He was caught off guard and barely had time to open his wings to fly before hitting solid ground, and the dirt falling down on top of him kept him from taking off. The dust settled and he opened his eyes carefully. After regaining his composure, he shook his head and dusted himself off. He had fallen about ten feet into an underground cave. The cave was mostly just stalactites and stalagmites, though it appeared to be carved out in some areas to look almost like a temple. The only light coming through was the hole he had just fallen through and several other smaller ones dotting the ceiling. Stormy thought it resembled something Daring Do would come across or a secret room in a video game. Suddenly, he looked to his side and saw a small pool of water with a stone pedestal in the center and a glowing object suspended right above it. Sure enough, it was exactly what he was looking for.

“THE HOURGLASS OF KRONOS!”

Stormy squealed with delight as he flew over to the hourglass to examine it. He noticed it had inscriptions written all over it. The hourglass kept turning itself slowly, allowing the sand to move back and forth between the hole in the center.

“I found it at last! Now if I touch this I could…er, wait…”

Stormy then flew back and landed on the shore beyond the water and thought for a second.

“Should I really do this? Discord did say if I use the hourglass it could cause trouble. I really wanna go on that ride though.”

Stormy looked back and forth at the hourglass and the hole in the ceiling of the cave. He wasn’t sure if he should proceed with his original plan or leave this place. His conscience was telling him this was a bad idea, but his desire to get what he wanted was too great. Finally he decided the hourglass was worth it and flew back to the pool.

“Eh, it’s no big deal. Besides, if it can turn me into a grown-up, then I can just turn myself back obviously. I’ll just use it to go on the Leviathan and have some fun and then I’ll come here and change myself back. Easy peasy!”

Stormy hovered in front of the hourglass and touched it. The hourglass stopped spinning and a glowing light surrounded him. The runes on the ends of the hourglass glowed with light. Stormy felt a tingling sensation all over his body. The hourglass sounded as if it was powering up. Now was the time for him to make his wish.

“I wish…I was old enough to ride the Leviathan…actually, how about make me like 20 years old or something. That way I’ll be able to go on all the rides and everypony will finally treat me like-”

Before he could finish, light burst from the hourglass. Sparkles flew around Stormy and he felt his body start to change. In a moment, he was blinded by light and felt himself move backwards and land on the ground with a thud. A few seconds later, he woke up on the shore, groaning. His eyelids opened and he saw the pool with the hourglass still floating above it. His hat had fallen off in the middle of the spell and was lying right next to him. He slowly got up and rubbed his head. He noticed he had been standing taller and his voice sounded different. He had the voice of a youthful stallion, but it sounded far more grown-up than his voice from before.

“Uh…my…my voice! My legs! I’m bigger!”

He flew over to the water under the hourglass and looked at his reflection. He now had the build of a young adult stallion. His legs were longer, his wings were bigger, and his mane and tail had even grown a little bigger too. He resembled Thunderhead but retained his own coat, mane and eye colors. He was no longer a seven-year-old boy. The hourglass had done its job and turned him into a stallion just like he wanted.

“It worked! I’M ALL GROWN-UP! YES!! HAHAHA! In your faces, ticket ponies! Now I’m old enough to ride on the Leviathan! This is so cool! I can’t wait!”

Stormy began to flap his new adult wings and jetted up through the hole. He flew out and soared through the air, whooping as he went. The other ponies in the tents didn’t see where he came from, but they were startled to see a rather excited stallion shouting like this. Stormy flew off to the rides with a smile on his face.

“LEVIATHAN, HERE I COME!”

Back inside the cave, Stormy had completely forgotten his hat and left it behind. The hourglass stopped glowing and spinning. Finally, it disintegrated away like dust and landed on top of the pedestal.

Stormy flew threw the air, performing acrobatic moves that were much easier to do in his new adult body. The ponies below watched him, wondering why a random pegasus stallion was showing off like this. Stormy then came to the pegasus guard that was holding the “NO FLYING ZONE” sign. The guard put his hoof out and stopped him.

“Whoa there, pal! No flying in the rides zone!” he called.

Stormy felt belittled by these words, but he quickly remembered he was an adult now. A mischievous smile appeared on his face.

“I’m sorry. Oh wait, what’s that over there?” he called pointing behind the guard.

The guard turned around to look and Stormy zipped right by him, causing him to spin around uncontrollably. He was so dizzy he could not see Stormy.

“Heh! Sucker!” Stormy snickered as he landed not far from the Leviathan and got in line.

As he got to the ticket pony, he didn’t notice it was the same girl that was there when he got in line earlier. He put his hoof up to show his stamp mark, which was still visible.

“Hey there, sir…wait a second. Do I know you?” she asked.

“What? Uh…no, I don’t’ think so. What, have we met before?” Stormy said, nervously.

“I could have sworn I saw you in line earlier, but you looked…younger.”

“I…uh…you must have seen…my…my little brother! Yeah, I have a kid brother who looks a lot like me. Yeah, pretty weird, huh?”

The ticket pony looked suspiciously at Stormy as sweat dropped from his forehead. Something felt off, but she wasn’t sure how he could possibly be the colt she saw earlier. Shrugging her shoulders, she undid the rope.

“Well alright then. You’re obviously old enough to go on the ride, so have fun.”

“Oh I will!”

Stormy hopped joyfully into the entrance to the ride and sat himself in one of the seats. Another worker pony walked by to check everyone’s seatbelts and the ride lurched forward.

“Yes! I can’t believe I’m actually here!” Stormy said excitedly.

The cars to the ride started to move up and down as the Leviathan ‘slithered’ along. Some of the kids on the ride shouted and put their hooves up in the air. Stormy did the same, not caring about the fact that he was an adult that was behaving like a kid. The ride’s movement made him feel like he was flying, but he imagined he was riding on a real dragon. Some of the large decorative clouds and mountains placed around the ride made it look like he was actually flying high in the sky. Since he was sitting down and had his wings closed, this was a different experience from flying, but still a fun one for any pegasus. The look and feel of the Leviathan was just as amazing as he expected. Stormy continued to holler to the top of his lungs in his new adult voice.

“WHOO! YEAH! WHOOOOO!”

The other kids looked at him confused, but Stormy paid them no heed. He continued to wave his arms around and let the wind blow through his mane. His day may have gotten off to a bad start, but he was finally happy again.

“See, there’s nothing wrong with a little magic to solve your problems! I dunno what the hay Discord was all worried about.”

For the next hour, Stormy went on several other rides that he would have been too young for if not for the Hourglass of Kronos. He did not get hurt on any of them, nor did he get queasy and vomit from the very rough ones like the Zipper. He was able to go on the Griffon Glider and even got to ride the Leviathan a second and third time. He still tried other rides he was old enough for like the bumper cars, though he got rather cocky and pushed the other cars around a bit too much. Other ponies were visibly annoyed with his behavior, but nothing could stop him from enjoying life now. He was having such a good time, he had completely forgotten about his father or any of his friends that came with him.

“Oh man, today’s been great!” he told himself while flying around the tents in the concessions area. “Being an adult sure beats having to wait another year to ride on the Leviathan. I wish I could just be an adult all the time. I can get away with anything like this!”

He then flew down to a concession stand to order a meal.

“Hey there, Miss. I’ll take one carrot dog and some soda pop,” he told the mare who was turned away, working on an order.

“Alright, I’ll have that ready in just a second, sir,” said the mare.

Stormy noticed her voice sounded somewhat familiar, but he didn’t think much of it. He sat down on the stool in front of the bar and relaxed while looking at the menu. Suddenly, it dawned on him that he would need to pay for the food. He didn’t have any money with him since he relied on his father for that.

“Oh, horse apples. Now what?” he said to himself.

Stormy was tempted to sneak some money out of the tip jar, but he knew someone would see him and he’d get in big trouble. He turned around and started searching the ground to see if he could find any stray bits somepony dropped. He found one bit when the mare turned around to give him his food.

“Alright! One carrot dog and one soda…er…sir?”

“Hey! Sorry about that. I just realized I only have one bit left. I guess I’ll just have to take the…soda…”

Stormy locked eyes with the mare behind the stand and got a better look at her now. She was an orange pegasus with purple hair and eyes. She was wearing an apron, t-shirt and hat, making it hard to recognize her at first, but Stormy now realized who he was talking to. It was Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo? Er…I mean, heeeeey! You must be that one girl named Scootaloo! I’ve heard of you! Hehehe…” Stormy said, trying to act cool.

“Storm Streak? Is that you?!”

“What? No! Who’s Storm Streak?”

“Right. Show me what your cutie mark looks like, pal.”

“My…my cutie mark? Uh…”

Stormy looked around nervously and saw a small pack of ketchup on the barstool next to him. He smashed it with his hoof and let it splatter onto his flank. He then turned to the side to let her see it.

“This is my cutie mark! I’m…uh…really good at eating ketchup!”

Scootaloo had an unimpressed look on her face. Stormy smiled nervously, hoping she would buy it, but she saw right through him.

“Stormy, I know it’s you.”

“Darnit! How could you tell it was me?”

“I’m your babysitter, buddy! I’ve seen you dozens of times! Your coat and mane colors gave it away!”

“Well what are you doing working at the fair?”

“This is the School of Friendship Food Booth. We do this every summer and I applied to help with them this year. So, you gonna explain this or what?”

“Um…well I sorta changed myself into a stallion.”

“Let me guess: with some magical artifact?”

“How did’ja know?”

“Because I did it once.”

“You…you did?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and picked up a glass to clean as she continued.

“I knew I should have told you about the time me, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all wished we were adults so we could go to some festival without needing chaperons. A magical flower did it for us. It didn’t go so well.”

“Sorry, Scootaloo, it’s just last year I couldn’t go on the Leviathan ride because I was too short. I’m tall enough now, but now they say you have to be eight years old and they won’t let me on since I’m still seven. I had to do something!”

“You couldn’t just, oh I don’t know…wait till next year?”

“I didn’t want to. Daddy’s all like ‘Oh, it’ll be fine, son. You’ll just have to be patient. There’s other rides.’ but I came to ride the Leviathan and I couldn’t help it!”

“How did you even do this to yourself? What is this artifact you used?”

“It’s something called the Hourglass of Kronos. Ever heard of it?”

“Nope. In any case, I hate to do this, but I have the mind to tell your parents what you’ve done. They aren’t gonna be happy to hear you’ve been breaking rules by changing yourself into a stallion.”

“NO! Please don’t tell Mommy or Daddy! PLEEEEEASE!”

“On one condition: you go back to that hourglass and you turn yourself back into a colt right now. Understood?”

“But I…alright, fine. I’ll turn myself back.”

“At’a boy. Trust me, Stormy; being an adult might sound great, but you’d be surprised how boring it can be. There are times I wish I could go back and be a kid again, you know.”

“Why though? You aren’t allowed to do anything as a kid. There’s all sorts of rules.”

“Yeah, but there are some things for kids that I’m not allowed to have. I can’t swim in the kid’s pool and they don’t allow you to get bite-sized meals at some hayburger joints. Adults have to miss out on some things too.”

“Yeah right. Being an adult hasn’t gone wrong yet for me. If I were a kid, no one would let me do anything.”

“You’ll be fine. Now go back and be a kid again and enjoy it.”

Scootaloo smiled at him, doing her best to cheer him up. Stormy paid for his drink with the bit he found and trudged out of the tent. Scootaloo watched him leave and went back to work while shaking her head back and forth.

“That little colt’s gonna get himself into trouble, I just know it. If I see Rainbow Dash or Thunderhead walking around, I’d better let them know anyway. Sorry, Stormy.”

Once Stormy was far enough away from the tent, he took one sip of the drink and then went airborne while smiling impishly.

“I’m not changing myself yet. I’ve been having too much fun to let this all go away. I’ll change myself back later, but for right now, I’ve got a lot more to do here before-”

“Look, there she is!” shouted a voice below.

“You! You took our parents the other day!” shouted another.

Stormy stopped flying and looked down to see three colts in front of Cozy Glow. They were in an area that didn’t have much traffic at the moment and none of the colts’ parents seemed to be around, but neither was Melody. They had her cornered against a wall and she had nowhere to run. The biggest one was a pegasus so she was afraid to even take off flying.

“What?! No, wait! I’m sorry! I never wanted to do that! It was the Sorceress!” Cozy replied.

“Yeah right! My mom was supposed to take me to the arcade that day and I missed out because of you!” said the third colt, scowling.

“Again, I’m really sorry. The Sorceress had control of me and it got to a point where I couldn’t-”

“You hear that, guys? She’s making excuses again!”

“What a little brat! First she stole all the magic in Equestria, then she destroyed half of Canterlot, terrorized our town, stole our parents and now she expects us to just forgive her like that!”

“Guys, please, I’ve been going through a rough time.”

Stormy watched in horror, as these bullies closed in on Cozy. He wanted to fly down and stand up for her, but he was afraid of revealing himself in his adult form. The bullies then started kicking dirt at Cozy and laughing at her. Cozy closed her eyes and began to cry.

“Aw, you gonna cry? The same way all those kids cried when they lost their parents?”

“Go ahead and cry for Mommy now!”

“PLEASE, STOP!”

Stormy’s face turned beat red and his anger built up. At this moment, he completely forgot how Cozy would see him like this and only cared about getting these bullies out of the way. He threw his drink away and flew down between Cozy and the bullies. He landed in front of them, causing a small shockwave that knocked them back. They all landed on their backs and then looked up in surprise at the angry stallion before them.

“Oh, so you like picking on someone your own size? WELL HOW ABOUT PICKING ON ME?! LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!”

Cozy smiled warmly at the stallion defending her, but noticed how familiar he looked. She then glanced at his cutie mark and gasped in surprise as Stormy continued hollering at the bullies.

“She might’ve made mistakes in the past, but she said she was sorry! You saw her on TV and saw how she just wanted somepony to love her and she changed as soon as her mom came back! You think she’s a bully for what she did; well you’re the bullies now! You wanna pick on Cozy Glow, you’re gonna have to get past me first! NOW SCRAM, YOU LITTLE TWERPS!”

Stormy put his hoof down on the ground and snarled at the bullies. They laid on their backs, scared to death of him. Finally they got up and ran off, crying for their mothers.

“AND DON’T COME BACK!” he called one last time, smiling proudly and brushing off his shoulder.

“Sorry about that, Miss. Those jerks won’t ever bother you a…gain.”

Stormy turned around to see Cozy looking shocked. He then realized he had revealed himself to her and froze still.

“Storm Streak?” Cozy asked.

“Uh…hehe…”

“How in Equestria did you become a stallion?”

“Sorry, Cozy. I just really wanted to ride on the Leviathan so I used magic to make myself older.”

“Don’t tell me you used the Alicorn Amulet. I don’t want to be reminded of the time I used that thing.”

“Nah. I used the Hourglass of Kronos.”

“The Hourglass of Kronos? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“Neither did I until Discord told me about it.”

“Ah Discord. Always up to his shenanigans.”

“Well anyway, are you alright?”

“I’m better now. Thanks for standing up for me like that, Stormy. I really don’t deserve it after the way I treated you when we first met, but I appreciate it.”

Cozy smiled and nuzzled against Stormy as he put his arm around her.

“Any time, Cozy. I just can’t stand bullies. If I were a kid, I don’t know how well I’d hold up against them. Good thing I got that hourglass to turn me into a grownup.”

“Yeah, but you really should turn yourself back now. Your dad’s gonna be really mad if he sees you’ve done this.”

“I know, I know. Please don’t tell Daddy or any of the others about this.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Cozy Glow? Where are you?” called Melody nearby.

“Oh shoot! I’ll catch ya later!” Stormy told Cozy one last time before flying away.

“Mom?” Cozy called back to her mother.

“COZY!”

Melody turned a corner and rushed over to embrace her daughter. She had already started crying before she arrived.

“Oh, Cozy Glow! Half Note! My baby! My precious, I’m so sorry! I thought I’d lost you again!”

“It’s okay, Mom. I just got lost in the crowd.”

“Did something happen to you?”

“Well, yeah. These bullies were picking on me.”

“You ran into bullies?!”

“Yeah, but I’m fine now. A really friendly stallion stood up for me and scared them off.”

“Oh, thank goodness! I wish I could meet him and shake his hoof. Who was he?”

“Uh…he didn’t tell me his name, but he was really nice.”

Cozy glanced in the direction Stormy had flown off in. She smiled at first but then look worried.

“I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid,” she said under her breath.

4. Trouble for Stormy

Stormy hovered above the concessions, deciding what to do next. In his excitement to go on all these rides, he had already forgotten what Cozy and Scootaloo said earlier about changing himself back. He flew towards the rides zone, ignoring the guard pegasi that wouldn’t allow him to fly there.

“Alright, I guess I’ll do the Leviathan again and then maybe the Griffon Glider,” he said, as he got closer to the rides. “I’m enjoying this adult form way too much. There’s no way I’m changing back into a kid right now. Actually, if I do change myself into a kid again, it doesn’t mean I have to stay that way forever. I might as well just take that hourglass for myself. I can use it any other time to-”

“There he is! That’s the guy that flew into the rides zone right past me!” said a voice nearby.

Stormy turned around to see the pegasus guard he disobeyed earlier with several security officers behind him. Stormy looked around as if they were talking about someone else.

“Uh…are you talking about me?”

“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to return to the ground right now,” said one of the officers.

Stormy was scared at first but then grew angry over hearing this.

“Hey, watch it! I’m an adult, you know!”

“Sir, this is your final warning! Anymore arguments will be met with a ban from this fair!” barked the other officer.

Stormy and turned around and flew away from the officers, as they chased after him. As he flew, he couldn’t believe how much faster he had gotten as an adult. He might have been nearly as fast as his mother. The effect of the hourglass’s spell had made him more athletic. It gave him a rush and made him enjoy the chase. The guards had a hard time keeping up, but Stormy still needed to get rid of them. Thinking quickly, he led them down to a nearby tent and then took a sharp turn upward, sending one of the officers crashing into the tent and bouncing off to the ground. The other officer barely missed the tent and was still behind Stormy, continuing the chase. Stormy then came to a halt and shot backwards, flying right past the officer. He flew so fast; the officer spun around uncontrollably and was too dizzy to go after the speedy stallion. Stormy looked back and stuck his tongue out.

“HA! Let that teach you to mess with-UGH!”

Not paying attention to what was in front of him, Stormy flew into a flagpole. He was flung backwards and bounced off of several tents. Finally he was thrown towards the Leviathan. He hit the car at the end of the ride with the tail and ricocheted into the large wooden backgrounds depicting mountains, knocking them over. He stayed on the ground for a few seconds, groaning as he tried to get up. Dust had been kicked up in the air from the crash, so he was able to make a quick escape without anyone seeing him, but several workers already started complaining.

“HEY! Who was that?!”

“Somepony’s flying around the rides!

“SECURITY!”

Stormy hid between two nearby tents and backed up slowly.

“Phew! That was a close one,” he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Stormy?” asked Flurry behind him.

Stormy turned around to see Flurry, Pound, Pumpkin, Chip and Annie staring at him. Pumpkin was holding an ice cream cone with her magic, which fell into the dirt, as she stood with her mouth hanging open. Pound buried his face in both hooves and shook his head back and forth. Stormy could do nothing but give a blank, nervous stare.

“Stormy, what did you do this time?” Flurry asked, angrily.

“And how are you an adult?!” Pound added.

“Hey guys…hehe. Funny thing: I found this magic hourglass and…well, it turned me into an adult,” he said.

“You mean you turned yourself into an adult on purpose using the hourglass?” Chip corrected.

“Uh…well, yeah. Yeah, I did.”

“Stormy, look at all the damage you just caused! We saw the whole thing from here!” Flurry barked.

“Okay, maybe I’m taking it a bit far, but it could’ve been worse, right?”

“Could’ve been worse? Stormy, you’re going to get yourself into lot of trouble!” Annie joined in.

“Yeah, can you change yourself back before you get arrested or something?” Pumpkin asked.

“Well yeah, I can go back and touch the hourglass again. Maybe it’s time I did it.”

“What is this hourglass anyway?” Flurry asked.

“It’s called the Hourglass of Kronos. Discord told me it’s some powerful artifact that a villain could use, so he’s been looking for it to keep away from them.”

“Discord told you that? Did he tell you not to touch it I hope?”

“Yeah, but it’s not like I was gonna listen. I really wanted to ride the Leviathan. Come on guys. You saw how mad I was back there.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t think you’d go this far. Let’s get the real Storm Streak back, pal,” Pound said, crossing his arms.

“UGH! Alright, fine! I’ll go turn myself back! For real this time!”

Stormy walked past them but then shimmied up against the tent as some officers flew overhead. He knew they’d be looking for him.

“Oh shoot,” he said.

“Are you really surprised they’re looking for you after all that damage you caused?” Chip asked.

“It’s okay, I’ll just turn myself back and they’ll never find me again.”

“Well, you’d better hurry up, Stormy. We don’t want you getting caught,” Annie warned.

“Just don’t tell Daddy. I don’t want him to know. Or Mommy…especially Mommy.”

Before any of them could respond, Stormy had already left. He slowly crept behind the tents to avoid detection. All five of his friends were left shaking their heads and groaning.

“I know he’s only seven years old, but that kid’s gonna get himself hurt one of these days,” Chip said.

“I mean he really was mad about not being able to ride on the Leviathan,” Pumpkin said before finishing the cone she was able to salvage.

“That Hourglass of Kronos really intrigues me though. I’ve never heard of such an artifact,” Flurry said, stroking her chin.

“You guys think maybe we should have gone with him?” asked Annie.

“Maybe, but this is his responsibility. He needs to own up to this and he should apologize to all those security officers after he’s done,” said Pound.

“Kids!” shouted Thunderhead behind them. “Hey, where’s Stormy? I thought he’d be with you guys!”

All of them looked nervously at Thunder, trying to find a way to answer his question.

“Stormy?” asked Flurry. “He’s…uh…”

Pumpkin nervously tried to back Flurry up.

“He went over to the…um…”

Chip rolled his eyes and then finally spilled the beans.

“He got mad about not being old enough for some rides, so he went off and found some crazy magic artifact to turn him into a stallion.”

Flurry, Pumpkin and Pound all looked at Chip as if he said something wrong.

“What? You guys do know my mother is the Element of Honesty, right?”

“My son turned himself into an adult?!” Thunder shouted.

“Yeah, we just saw him earlier. He’s been causing a lot of trouble and now some of the guards are looking for him,” Flurry said.

Thunder put his hoof over his forehead and grunted angrily.

“What was he thinking?! I told him to wait until he’s an adult, not make himself an adult!”

“To be fair, we tried getting him to go on the Griffon Glider and that one also has the age limit. Must’ve made him extra mad,” Pumpkin pointed out.

“Everything okay?” Spike asked as he, Butter, Lightning Flash, Tex and Mr. Cake all arrived on scene.

“Daddy, what happened? Where’s Stormy?” Lightning Flash asked as he walked up to his father.

“Flash, we’ve got a situation,”

“Uh oh. Stormy did something bad, didn’t he?”

“Yup.”

“Stormy’s an adult now, everypony,” Pumpkin told them.

“An adult?! How did he grow up all of a sudden?” Buttercream asked.

“He used magic,” Flurry said, flatly.

“And if you combine being an adult with being Storm Streak, well, you get a recipe for disaster,” Pound added.

“Is that why those officers are patrolling the skies?” Mr. Cake asked as he looked up.

“Yeah. He said he’d go change himself back and he’s on his way to get the hourglass right now.”

“He used an hourglass to do it?” Tex asked.

“Stormy called it the Hourglass of Kronos,” Flurry replied. “I’ve never heard of such a thing, but I guess Discord warned him not to touch it. It must be something from thousands of years ago that only Discord knows about. Unfortunately Stormy got to it first.”

“Yikes. Not being able to ride the Leviathan really had that bad of an effect on him, did it?” Buttercream asked.

“Guess so.”

“Well whether he changes himself back or not, he’s in big trouble. Excuse me one minute, guys,” Thunder said as he walked over to a pay phone.

“What are you doing, Daddy?” Lightning Flash asked.

“Calling in the big guns.”

“Oh boy. Stormy’s in for it,” Spike said.

Thunder put a bit in the phone, dialed a number and waited a few moments until there was an answer.

“Yes, can I get Rainbow Dash on the line? Tell her it’s urgent.”

Everyone else waited as Thunder continued to speak once he heard Rainbow Dash was on the other end.

“Thunder, what’s going on down there? What’s this I’m hearing about Stormy?”

“You knew?”

“I just got off the phone with Scootaloo earlier and she said he’s an adult now or something. What the hay is going on down there?!”

“Oh, so Scootaloo already saw him. Well yeah, apparently the Leviathan changed the rules and he has to wait till he’s eight. He got all mad and then found this thing called the Hourglass of Kronos and turned himself into an adult so he could ride them.”

“Wonderful.”

“It gets worse. He’s caused a ruckus and now security’s looking for him.”

Thunder instinctively covered the upper half of the phone in preparation for what would come next.

“STORM NIMBOSTRATUS STREAK, JUST WAIT TILL I GET OVER THERE!!”

Stormy slowly walked through the lower meadows. There was less commotion there, and the officers weren’t looking for him. He decided it was time to disguise himself, hoping he would go unnoticed. He wore a red clown wig and two stickers on his flanks that he found lying on the ground. So far no one had noticed him.

“Dangit! I really wanted to try the Leviathan one more time, but I guess I’ll have to come back later this week. After I’m done with the hourglass, I’m gonna keep that thing at home under-”

He then bumped into somepony, causing the wig and stickers to fall off.

“Oh! I am so sorry, sir!” said the mare in front of him.

“That’s okay, Miss. I’m just...”

Stormy looked to see the mare was in fact Somnambula wearing her old nemes headdress she was known for. He still had feelings for the Element of Hope and was very happy to see her. Even better: since he was an adult now, he had stallion charm. In all his excitement over the rides, he hadn’t realized he would be closer in age to his crush. He was instantly smitten just like when he first met her several weeks ago.

“Som…Somnambula!” he said, as hearts floated out of his head.

“Storm Streak? Is that you?” Somnambula asked, shocked.

“Yeah, it’s me. As you can see, I’m a little more grown up than when we last met.”

Storm Streak put his hand behind his head and moved his eyebrows up and down. Somnambula was perplexed but knew right away what happened.

“You…you used the Hourglass of Kronos, didn’t you?”

“Ah, so Discord told you about that too, did he? Yeah, I used it. Pretty handsome, aren’t I?”

Somnambula rolled her eyes and covered her face as she blushed.

“Storm Streak, I know you have feelings for me, but was it really necessary to turn yourself into an adult?”

Stormy’s love-dazed expression quickly changed to a shocked one.

“What? No, I didn’t do this to impress you…er…not that that’s a bad idea. I did this so I could ride the Leviathan. It’s one of the rides at this fair and they said I couldn’t go on because I’m too young.”

“So that is why you did it. Well Discord said that artifact is not to be toyed with. Did he tell you the same?”

“Yeah. I didn’t listen.”

“I can see that. Storm Streak, look, I know it is hard to deal with such rules, but that is part of growing up. Adults are not free from having to follow rules themselves.

“That’s what everypony else keeps saying, but why are rules so dumb?”

“Rules are there for a reason. Perhaps it is not a great rule, but there are still other good things in life you can enjoy.”

“But it’s so much easier being an adult.”

“Oh really? Then why are you wearing that wig and covering your cutie mark?”

“Uh…well, let’s say I might have caused some trouble over by the rides earlier, and now I have to wear this disguise so they don’t find me.”

“Well you just proved yourself wrong. Adults have to still follow rules and now it has gotten the best of you.”

Stormy’s ears slowly dropped. He looked down and drew circles on the ground with his hoof as Somnambula spoke.

“I mean…yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“You have to change yourself back right now.”

“I know. You’re the fourth pony to tell me that. I guess it’s time.”

“Show me where the hourglass is. We will use it to turn you back into a child.”

“Alright. It should be somewhere over there between those tents.”

Somnambula turned to walk where he pointed. Stormy put the wig and stickers back on and walked up closer to her. He did his best to flirt while being respectful.

“So…did I make a good impression this time?”

Somnambula nodded her head back and forth while smirking.

“Storm Streak, you may have the body of an adult, but you still have the mind of a child. You are still young and were not meant to grow up this quickly. I will admit you are quite handsome for a stallion, but I don’t want any harm to come to you and would like to see you as you truly are.”

“Sorry.”

Somnambula giggled and patted him on the back.

“It is all right. Come now. We will get you back to normal.”

“So what are you doing here in Ponyville anyway?”

“Pinkie’s wedding is in a few days and I am one of her bridesmaids. We are preparing, but I decided to come to the fair to experience Ponyville culture.”

“Ah yes…the wedding…that makes sense…”

Stormy followed Somnambula to the hourglass as hearts continued to float above his head. They reached the hole and he pointed it out to her. Looking around to make sure no one could see them, Somnambula flew down the hole first with him following after. Once they got to the bottom, she couldn’t help but observe the cave.

“Interesting. I wonder how old this cave is. It is a wonder no one ever found this when the fairgrounds were built,”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when I fell down it,”

“In any case, where is the hourglass?”

“Right over there, above that…rock…”

Stormy pointed to the rock in the middle of the water, but the hourglass was nowhere to be seen. He stared for a few seconds and then flew above the water to see if the hourglass had fallen into it.

“Where…where did it go? It was right here floating above this rock!”

“Did you see it after you used it?”

“Yeah, I think I saw it, but I was too busy looking at myself and then I flew away to get to the Leviathan.”

Stormy landed in the water and waded around, looking for the hourglass as Somnambula looked around the cave for any traces of it. She noticed the hat on the ground that Stormy left behind.

“Where is it?!” Stormy said, frantically.

“We will find it, Storm Streak. Is this your hat?”

“Somnambula, forget the hat! I need that hourglass!”

Stormy got out of the water and started zooming around the cave, which caused his wig and the stickers to fall off. He landed back in the center near the hole and started freaking out.

“WHERE DID IT GO?!” he screamed.

“Storm Streak, calm down!” Somnambula told him as she grabbed him by his cheeks. “You didn’t notice anything different about it after you were transformed?”

“No, it was right there! It was still floating above the rock! I didn’t see anything happen to it! Oooooh, I should have stuck around a little longer or brought it along with me or something!”

“SHHHH! Listen!”

Somnambula put her hoof over Stormy’s mouth. They both heard voices above the hole. Stormy instantly recognized them as the officers from earlier.

“Did they see him anywhere around here?” said the first officer.

“Somepony said they saw a blue pegasus wearing a red, curly-haired wig but it fell off and he fit the description of the one we’re looking for,” said the other one.

“Well when you catch that guy, arrest him. We got reports that the exact same stallion was picking on some colts earlier.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the talking stopped, Somnambula gave Stormy a stern look. She did her best to whisper so the officers would not hear them.

“Storm Streak, is that true?”

“No! I wasn’t picking on them! They were bullying Cozy Glow, so I stepped in and told them to bugger off!”

“Well I believe you, but I am not the one you will need to convince.”

“I can’t do it now! The hourglass is gone! I can’t change myself back! I’m gonna be stuck like this forever!”

Storm Streak was already hyperventilating as Somnambula had her arm around him, trying to calm him down and fan him with the hat.

“Hey, is everything alright down there?” asked a voice from above.

Stormy yelped and zoomed out of the hole, forgetting the wig and stickers. He flew far away from the lower meadows and out of the fairgrounds. The ponies above the hole were so surprised; they didn’t even see which direction he went in.

“STORM STREAK!” Somnambula called back as she took off to go after him.

Carrying the hat, she ascended from the hole, but Stormy was already gone.

“Lady Somnambula? What were you doing down there?” asked one of the officers.

“Officer! We need to find that pegasus that flew out of here just moments ago!”

“You mean the blue pegasus stallion that’s been trashing the place? Yeah, we’ve been looking for him!”

“Sir, he is not a stallion!”

“He’s…wait what?”

“That is Rainbow Dash’s son, Storm Streak. He found a magical hourglass in a cave down this hole and turned himself into an adult.”

“Rainbow Dash’s son? I could’ve sworn he looked familiar. Why would he do that?”

“A ride he really wanted to go on would not allow children under eight years of age. He is very young and it has clearly gotten to his head.”

“I’ll say.”

“Well we can’t arrest the poor kid, but he’s caused a lot of trouble here,” the other officer stated. “How do we turn him back?”

“That is just the thing: we looked for the hourglass in the cave and now it is gone. I suggest we keep an eye out for Discord. He was around here earlier and told me about it. If anyone can help, I am sure he can.”

“And what about those kids he was bullying? That doesn’t sound like Rainbow Dash’s son.”

“That is because he would never do that. He was simply standing up for a friend of his that they were bullying. I know the boy. Storm Streak is naïve and brash, but he is a kindhearted little colt deep down. I promise you.”

5. Lesson Learned

At this point, word had already gotten out about the naughty, blue pegasus stallion that was causing a ruckus at the Ponyville Fair. Thanks to Somnambula, all the security officers were now aware of his true identity, but other ponies had already begun to worry when they heard what happened with the three bullies. They had twisted the story to make it sound like Stormy was the one doing the bullying and left out Cozy being involved.

All of Stormy’s friends and his father were worried about him. They looked everywhere and shouted his name, but he never came back. Stormy was hiding on a large cloud just outside of the fair. He peered out over the edge of the cloud, watching as the guards kept flying around, looking for him. He could just barely hear his name being called over and over again, but he was not brave enough to go down there; not after hearing he could be arrested.

“What have I done?” he said, as he paced about. “I screwed up big time. I never should have touched that hourglass. UGH! Why am I so stupid?! I just wanted to ride the Leviathan and now look where it’s got me!”

Just as he finished speaking, a loud explosive sound could be heard off to the side. Stormy turned to see a bright flash of light and a glowing object, zooming forward at high speeds. It missed him and drove right into the cloud, leaving behind two trails of fire in the air as if they were tire tracks. It spun around as it skidded to a halt. Stormy stood back up and saw that the object was a sleek, silver, sports car. It had ice building up on the outside of it like it had just come out of a freezer. There were jet engines in the back, spewing out steam. Around the car was a hodge-podge of cords and other custom mechanical details. Suddenly, the driver’s gull-wing door opened up and out stepped Discord. He was wearing a long, yellow coat, a red Hoofwaiian shirt, a clear neck tie, two watches on both arms, and a reflective visor over his eyes. His hair was white and frazzled. Lifting the visor, he looked around carefully at his surroundings. He did a double take after noticing Stormy.

“GREAT SCOTT! Storm Streak, is that you?!” he gasped.

“Uh…Discord? What’s with the get-up?”

“How are you older? What year is it?”

Discord then stretched his neck back into the car and looked at a console on the dashboard with three sets of dates in glowing digital letters.

“1989 A.H.? Wait a minute, I’m still in the present! If I’m in the present then that means…”

He then turned back and looked angrily at Stormy.

“You used the Hourglass of Kronos, didn’t you?!”

“Heh. Surprised?”

“Surprised? Of course I’m surprised! I told you not to use it!”

“Well I really wanted to go on the Leviathan, Discord. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

Discord slapped his face with his lion paw and stretched his eyelids down, while groaning. He then snapped his fingers on his eagle talon and made the car and outfit disappear.

“Well I hope you’re happy. Judging by the look on your face, I’m guessing you regret it now.”

“Yeah, I caused a bit of a scene down there. I tried to turn myself back, but the hourglass is gone!”

“Oh, that’s right: the hourglass was on its last use. After that, it disappears.”

“It was on its last use? Why didn’t you tell me before?!”

“I forgot to mention that one little detail, but does it matter? I specifically said it was dangerous and would cause you trouble, but you didn’t listen!”

“Well you can change me back, right?”

“I can’t change you back! The hourglass was the thing that turned you this way, so you have to touch it again. My magic will not suffice.”

“WHAT?! Are you sure there’s nothing you can do?”

“I’m afraid not. I mean I suppose I could rebuild the hourglass, but its magic is quite foreign to me. Maybe if I could harness its spell…of course then I’d have to summon the power of nearly 1.21 gigawatts…”

“What the hay is a gigawa-”

“SHHH! They’ll hear you!”

Discord pushed Stormy down into the cloud and crouched as several officers flew close. After the officers were far enough away, they both got back up. Stormy watched them leave, sat down on the edge of the cloud and sighed.

“Guess I really am gonna be stuck like this forever,” he said. “Before I learned about the hourglass, Daddy told me to be thankful for who I am. I should’ve listened to him. I just wanted to go on a stupid ride at the fair, now I’m gonna go to jail.”

“Just what did you do that would make them send you there?”

“Well I didn’t follow the rules that you can’t fly in the rides zone, so the cops chased me around and then I wrecked part of the setup for the ride. They also think I was picking on these dumb kids earlier, but that never happened. All I was doing was standing up for Cozy Glow cuz they were picking on her.”

Discord sat down next to Stormy and did his best to comfort him.

“I suppose there’s a lesson to be learned here. Remember how I said magic won’t solve all your problems?”

“Yeah, I remember. You were right, Discord. Now I wish I hadn’t done it. That stupid hourglass made me like this, but I could’ve just left it. I wish it was never left down in that hole where I found it.”

“Stormy, there’s something you need to know.”

“Yeah?”

“Well you see, the hourglass is-”

“HEEEEELP!!!”

Discord and Stormy’s ears perked up and they looked out of the edge of the cloud. The wind had blown them closer to the rides and they saw where the voice was coming from. The last car of the Leviathan that Stormy hit earlier had come undone and was dangling while the ride had come to a halt in midair. A colt was hanging by both hooves from the car with his friends holding on behind him.

“Oh no, those kids are in trouble! Er…wait a minute…” Stormy said as he looked closer at the colts.

“You know these guys?”

“Yeah, they were the ones picking on Cozy! Still…I should save them…”

“Well you’d better hurry up or I’ll have to use my powers to do it.”

“SOMEPONY SAVE US! WE’RE SLIPPING!”

Stormy looked at the colts and thought hard about what to do. They may have been bullies, but they were in trouble, and if he didn’t save them, he would be no different. He had been an adult for several hours just to have fun; it would be a shame if he ended the day as a bully too. Discord was about ready to snap his fingers to save the kids himself, but Stormy finally got up and took off from the cloud at blinding speeds. The colt hanging from the car finally slipped and began to fall, but Stormy swooped right in and caught them just in time. He flew through the air and turned back around to let them down in front of a crowd of cheering ponies.

“PHEW! That was close!” said one of the colts.

“Thanks, dude! We could’ve…wait…you’re that guy from earlier!”

Stormy looked firmly at them as they all noticed who he was.

“But…you saved us.”

“Yeah, but only because I had to,” he said. “I almost didn’t save you guys after what you did to Cozy Glow, but since I don’t like bullies, I didn’t want to be one either. You know she didn’t used to be very nice to me back when we first met, but I still stood up for her, cuz she said sorry. Maybe you guys could do the same?”

The colts all lowered their heads. One of them scratched the back of his head nervously while the other poked around in the dirt.

“I guess you’re right.”

“We’re sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” Stormy said as he pointed behind them.

The colts all looked back and saw Melody with Cozy hiding behind her. They all looked bashfully at her and finally made their apologies.

“We’re…we’re sorry,” said one. "We just weren’t happy with what happened to our parents the other day.”

“Can you forgive us?” asked the other.

Cozy smiled and slowly stepped out from behind her mother. Melody happily watched her daughter, as she did her deeds of making up to those she once wronged.

“I forgive you guys,” Cozy said, softly. “And again, I’m sorry for what I did as the Sorceress.”

“It’s okay. We know it wasn’t really you that kidnapped our parents.”

Stormy smiled as the colts and Cozy spoke to each other. He looked back to see Discord giving him thumbs up. Unfortunately, Stormy forgot he was out in the open and did not see everyone else arrive on the scene.

“STORMY!” Flurry shouted as she rushed in with all her friends.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Annie told him.

“Hey guys,” he replied, bashfully.

“We see you still haven’t followed our advice about turning yourself back,” Chip added.

“Sorry, but the Hourglass of Kronos disappeared. I don’t think I’ll ever turn back now.”

“WHAT?! You’re gonna be like this forever?!” Pumpkin shouted.

Discord then walked in to calm down the children.

“Actually, kids, there’s a simple solution to this,” he started saying before being interrupted.

“STORM NIMBOSTRATUS STREAK!!” shouted Rainbow Dash behind Stormy.

Stormy tensed up and he felt goose bumps all over his body. He felt a presence behind him and slowly turned around to see his mother mad as ever. Thunder was next to her, holding Misty in his arms. Lightning Flash was standing behind Thunder, scared to see his mother react this way. Scootaloo was also next to Rainbow Dash. Clearly she had already told her everything.

“AGH!” Stormy squealed as he jumped back and covered his head. “Mommy, Daddy, hey… I…uh-”

“Just what makes you think you can turn yourself into an adult and ride these rides you’re not supposed to be on?!” yelled Rainbow Dash.

“Scootaloo, you told her?” Stormy asked Scootaloo.

“I said on the condition that you turn yourself back into a kid, but I saw you still flying around like this, so I called up your mother.”

“Well how did Daddy find out I was an adult now?”

“We told him,” Pound said.

“Well mostly Chip with his brutal honesty,” Pumpkin added, nudging Chip.

“Wait, you’re actually a kid?!” one of the colts asked.

“Yup, only seven years old.” Rainbow Dash told the colts. “And now he’s in big trouble!”

“Storm, I told you to be thankful for who you are! That doesn’t mean using magic to get what you want!” Thunder added. “Just what is this hourglass thing you found anyway?”

“Oh, that would be the Hourglass of Kronos, Thunderhead,” Discord told them. “It’s an artifact which can change somepony’s age, but it’s actually-”

“And to top it all off: you disobeyed the guards and caused a scene!” Rainbow Dash continued.

“I don’t know who made that hourglass, but you should know better than to touch something like that! Just what were you thinking!” Thunder continued.

“Stormy, will you be like this forever?” Lightning Flash asked.

While everyone was talking, Discord looked back and forth at them nervously. He couldn’t take it any longer and finally revealed everything.

“Oh for goodness sake! I DID IT! I MADE THE HOURGLASS OF KRONOS!” he hollered.

Everyone stared at Discord with their mouths open wide. Discord calmed himself down and continued.

“I created the artifact and cast a spell on it that would turn anyone that touches it into their desired age. The magic was my own this entire time. I wanted to wait and see when he’d learn his lesson to admit this.”

“Wait, that was you that did all this?!” Stormy asked.

“DISCORD!” Rainbow Dash bellowed.

“Oh come on!” Thunder joined in. “Discord, you don’t just do this to our son without our permission!”

“Look, I meant no harm!” Discord said, raising his hands. “I was hanging around the fair, saw what happened to him with the Leviathan and thought I’d help teach him a lesson. I didn’t mean for it to go as far as it did. It’ll be fine. I can still turn him back. The hourglass vanished like that, just so he could know he made a huge mistake using it in the first place.”

“Let me know when you feel like teaching my son a lesson, or just don’t do it at all if it could become this much of a catastrophe!” Rainbow Dash said, getting up in Discord’s face.

“Mommy, Daddy, it’s okay,” Stormy said, hanging his head.

Everyone else then turned their attention to Stormy as he came clean.

“Discord was right to teach me a lesson. I should’ve known better than to touch the hourglass and cheat my way into riding the Leviathan. I wish I never did any of this. I should’ve just waited till next year to ride it.”

Rainbow Dash flew down and landed in front of her son. She appeared more concerned now than angry.

“Storm, you gotta just get used to things being like this when you’re a kid, buddy,” she told him, putting her hoof under his chin. “I wasn’t always satisfied with things when I was your age either.”

“Did you do the things I did today?”

“Not exactly, but I did some pretty stupid stuff back then. Your dad’s had his fair share of mischief too, but we both grew up, and that’s not something some magical hourglass is going to change for you.”

“Well… I’m sorry. I really am. I promise I’ll never use magic to make myself older or anything ever again.”

“And do you promise to not disobey the rules next time or wreck the rides?” asked a voice behind him.

Stormy looked behind to see the security officers that were chasing him earlier. He was shocked but quickly responded to the authorities before him.

“Er…yeah, I’m sorry, officers. I was just really enjoying being an adult and thought I could get away with anything. I really am still seven years old.”

“And we’re sorry we lied to you about what he did. He was just scolding us for bullying his friend. We got what we deserved,” said one of the colts.

“Apology accepted, boys,” said the other officer.

“Wait, you guys knew about that too?” Stormy asked.

“I told them everything, Storm Streak,” Somnambula said, landing next to him.

“Thanks, Somnambula,” Stormy replied, bashfully. “Well everypony, I’m glad we’re all okay now. I guess adults really do have rules to follow after all.”

“You mean like what I told you before in my song?” Thunder said, nudging Stormy.

“Yes, Daddy. You were right.”

“And Discord, I know you’re the Lord of Chaos, but be a little conservative about it. Next time you wanna do something like this, you ask us first. Got it?” Rainbow Dash said firmly to Discord.

“I promise,” Discord said.

“Well we got here just in time. Glad that was all taken care of,” Spike said, with Buttercream, Tex, and Mr. Cake next to him.

“Hey guys. You saw that too?” Stormy asked as he realized they were off to the side all the while.

“The whole thing, kiddo,” said Tex.

“That was awfully brave of you to rescue them, Stormy,” Buttercream said, rubbing Stormy’s head as he blushed. “You’re one hunk of a stallion, but I think we would all really like our little friend back now.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but before I do…there’s one more thing I need to fix.”

Stormy looked back at the Leviathan where he had caused all the damage. He crouched down and then took off flying to the backdrop in a heap on the ground. Using his newfound speed, he zoomed around, putting the entire set back together in just a few seconds. After he was done, he fixed the last car of the ride by pushing in a small lever that had come undone. The worker ponies below cheered for him as he flew back to his family.

“Hey now! Look at you, taking after your ol’ mom!” Rainbow Dash told Stormy, elbowing him playfully.

“I am gonna miss seeing him like this, but thankfully we’ll see him again one day,” Thunder said, putting his arm around his wife.

“You guys want me to take a picture for the book of memories?” Spike asked, taking out a camera.

“Yeah, I guess just one,” Stormy responded, as he and all his family members posed quickly for a photograph.

The camera flashed and printed the photo out of the front. Spike held it in his claw, waiting for the picture to fade in. Stormy then walked back to Discord.

“I’m ready, Discord.”

“Alright, Stormy. I was lying of course when I said I couldn’t do anything about it. The spell isn’t that difficult for a creature of chaos like me; I Just have to do it the same way by reconfiguring the object I created that cast the spell. Are you ready?” Discord asked.

“Yup. I think I’m getting tired of being like this anyway. Fire away.”

Discord then held out his hand and the Hourglass of Kronos reappeared hovering above it.

“Go ahead and touch it and make your wish,” Discord said as he lowered his arm down to Stormy.

Stormy touched the hourglass once again, and the aura encompassed his whole body. He began to make his wish.

“I wish I was seven again…er, seven and a half...no that’s wrong too. Seven years and…uh…nine months? Okay, I wish I was the same age I was before I touched you the last-”

The hourglass already understood Stormy’s wish and began to cast its spell. Stormy shone brightly, and then the light faded out. He had shrunk back down to his original self and landed gently on the ground. He was dizzy at first, but he suddenly opened his eyes widely and smiled.

“YES! I’m a kid again!! WHOOHOOOO! Thank you, Discord!” Stormy squealed, as he hugged him.

“Oh, it was nothing. Just doing my job as the Lord of Chaos. I’ll take it easier next time though,” Discord said.

“Good to have you back, squirt,” Rainbow Dash, said, patting Stormy.

Somambula walked over to Stormy and put the Leviathan hat back on his head.

“And I must say you are a lot more grown up now than you were before,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Stormy blushed and hearts floated out of his head. He then walked over to his parents with his ears down.

“So, should I be punished for everything I did today?” he asked.

“Well you did repair the damage you did and apologized to everyone,” Thunder said.

“How about we say that all the humiliation you went through today was punishment enough. We can all see you’ve learned your lesson,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Okay. Thanks, guys,” Stormy said as he smiled and hugged both of his parents with Misty Blitz and Lightning Flash joining in.

“Just one more thing,” Flurry said, standing next to Stormy. “I think a little friendship report to Twilight is in order.”

“A friendship report?” Stormy replied. “But this is the first time someone else does it on their own. You sure it’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay, Stormy. Just speak from your heart.”

“Well, alright then.”

As Spike took out a quill and parchment, Stormy began to report on his lesson to Princess Twilight.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Today I learned that even though we have to miss out on a lot of things when we’re kids, there’s still a lot of rules adults have to follow too. I tried being an adult today, literally, and it didn’t go so well. Now I wish I had just listened to what my father told me: that I need to be thankful for who I am and not just wish myself into an adult just so I can have this or that. I promise to be more careful and think before I act. I’ll enjoy being a kid for now, cuz someday I won’t be any longer.

Incerely,
Storm Streak

“Great job, Stormy! Also, it’s pronounced sincerely,” Flurry told him.

“Er, yeah, what she says.”

Everyone around them laughed, as Spike rolled up the scroll and blew fire on it to send it to Canterlot.

“Alright kids, there’s still some time left at the fair before we head home,” Mr. Cake told them.

“Who’s up for some peach shortcakes over at the School of Friendship Food Booth?” asked Scootaloo.

Everypony cheered and walked over to the food booth for refreshments. Cozy walked back to the colts and welcomed them to join her and Melody. They smiled and followed her in. Stormy watched them happily. He stopped and looked back at the Leviathan as it started up again with kids riding in it. He was going to miss riding on it for the rest of the week, but he knew he’d be old enough for the next fair.

“I’ll see ya next year, old friend,” he said.

He turned back to the food booth to see his dad give him a wink. Stormy winked back and flew over to join everyone.

In Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle had just finished reading Stormy’s letter.

“That little Storm Streak sure is something else,” she said. “He really is a lot like Rainbow Dash: brash and reckless at times, but still good at learning from his mistakes.”

The door then opened and a royal guard entered with two changelings next to him. Twilight put the letter in a chest full of other friendship reports and closed it to direct her attention to the visitors.

“Your highness, I have excellent news: Starswirl the Bearded has finished the Changeling Necklace,” said the guard.

“Perfect, Lieutenant! Just in time for Pinkie and Cheese’s wedding!” Twilight said as she got up to meet them.

“This is Antenna and Pronotum. They’ve volunteered to help you test it.”

Antenna, the small, fuzzy female changeling that resembled a bumblebee stepped forward with the necklace.

“We worked carefully with Starswirl on this, Princess,” she said. “Anyone who wears the necklace will be gifted with the ability to see through changeling disguises.”

“If you see anyone with a green aura surrounding them, that’s how you know it’s a changeling,” said Pronotum, the taller male changeling that resembled a shiny green scarab beetle.

They held the necklace out to Twilight and she put it on with her magic. Both Antenna and Pronotum then transformed into ponies while Twilight used the magic of the necklace. In her vision, the royal guard did not change, but both of the ponies before her were covered in a green light, indicating that they were changelings.

“It works wonderfully,” Twilight said. “I think Pinkie’s wedding will be fine, but since I’m going to be there, I will most definitely be using this to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“King Thorax hasn’t received any reports about Chrysalis’s activity lately. Whatever she has planned, it’s probably not going to happen for a while,” said Pronotum.

“Nonetheless, that necklace will definitely come in handy should problems arise,” Antenna added.

“Thank you both for coming to help me test it.”

Twilight bowed respectfully as the changelings did the same and turned around to leave. The guard escorted them out of the throne room and closed the door behind him.

“That will be all for now, Lieutenant. Thank you for the escort,” said Pronotum.

“My pleasure,” the guard replied as they left to go through another door.

He turned around to reenter the throne room to discuss things with his princess. Suddenly he felt a blunt force against his back and he fell to the ground, unconscious. A black changeling had attacked him. It was none other than General Scutellum. He used his magic to move the guard away. Several other changelings were hiding behind a pillar and hid the guard while one of them gave Scutellum a small insectoid device with a hologram of Chrysalis being projected.

“My queen, we have just successfully infiltrated the castle. I’m on the move.”

“Excellent,” said Chrysalis on the other end. “Me and my drones are entering Ponyville right now to seize the others. I need that necklace or our plan is doomed to fail. Get me that necklace, Scutellum.”

“I will not fail you.”

Scutellum transformed into the guard he just attacked. He slowly opened the doors and entered the throne room.

“Princess Twilight?” he said.

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

“Apologies if I am interrupting anything, but here’s something we need to discuss.”

The doors were locked behind Scutellum, as he walked forward to confront Twilight.

THE END

To be continued in “My Big Fat Pink Wedding”