//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: The anomaly 
// Story: Magical and Beautiful stories of Anguish 
// by La Clown 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4: The anomaly



At the heart of Happy Town, the place called Plaza Central, stood a certain blue house. And in that very house, a certain pony opened the door of a bedroom and entered it. Now the first thing that was striking about this bedroom was that it was… barren. Empty, some would even say. Just a simple bed on a corner and a desk close to the window. The only thing that could be considered special was a piano resting beside the wall. As well, a peculiar object resting on the desk.

That object was contrasting with the barren bedroom. It was a jewel of a vivace blue, attached to a white fabric. A pretty accessory. The pony eyes gazed at it intently.

Thoses eyes were even more empty than the room.

They drifted from that jewel to take a view at the outside across the open window. There, it was brief, but a faint sparkle shone in the pony iris as it saw something catching its interest. In the distance, two mares were walking the street, seemingly having a good time. A lavender alicorn along with a lilac unicorn. They were coming closer and closer toward the house, making clear it was their destination. 

That pony reached out and grabbed the accessory. 

That gray pony then went toward the piano, sat on the bench and he put his hooves on the keyboards. But he didn’t play them. It was not yet the time.





Turning back to Twilight and Starlight, their walk into town had managed to stay relatively peaceful. It was actually so quiet, that had they known, the rest of the group likely would’ve been extremely jealous and more than a bit angry.

Like they had promised, they had decided to finish their exploration with the blue house in Central Plaza that was serving as a boutique of some sort. Of what, they didn't know, but that was part of the reason people went on vacation.

‘’There it is. We had promised Flo that we would take a look. I can’t wait to get my hooves on some books.’’ Twilight practically bounced with excitement, not unlikely Pinkie Pie with Starlight had to reign her in somewhat.

‘’Relax Twilight. I know you’re excited but you’re starting to make a scene.” 

As the duo drew closer, Starlight’s eyes drifted from the building to those surrounding it with a curious glance.

“Hey Twilight, did you notice this building is, well, way different from the others?”

Breaking out of her excited prance, Twilight found Starlight words were a little justified. 

The boutique in question appeared to resemble a two-story house with blue walls. Though looking closer one could see the paint peeling in several spots. The wood also had many fissures and although its appearance did not give the impression the building was neglected, yet it seemed the building was quite aged and in serious need of repair. And that age seemed to be what Starlight was referring to given how prestine and the other buildings were.

However, Twilight seemed undeterred.

‘’Oh Starlight, you should never judge a book by its cover. We should at least go inside and see what it has to offer.”

They went climbing the wooden stoop to the door. It had a little window so opaque that it was impossible to see inside. 

Unbothered, Twilight went to knock on the door but no answer. She went to knock a second time, still nothing. Refusing to give up, she opted to try the nob and found it opened with her magic, being greeted by a welcoming bell as they entered.

The instant the door shut, all the sounds from the outside were muted. It was complete silence. Like if the world of Happy Town never existed. But it was not the only thing that was slightly off-putting for them. The inside was full of various things that were giving some sort of… vibe, that neither pony could properly place. 

It was subtle and hard to describe but it was like this place had a different air about it from the rest of the town. It was as if they had entered a completely separate world. And then they understood why they were feeling strange. For one moment, they thought they had gone to an all different world.

‘’Hello. Anypony here?’’ Twilight, still brave as ever, decided to break the ice and hoped for a response.

But instead of a greeting, what welcomed them was a sweet melody. The music of a piano was playing and it seemed to come from upstairs. It was a simple and sweet song that gave a gentle feeling. The pony who was playing it was pushing the keyboard at a leisurely speed, apparently not having noticed the two mares.

‘’Should we go upstairs to tell the clerk that we are here?’’ Starlight pondered, still feeling more than a little uneasy about the store.

“I mean, whoever they are, they are occupied and the door was unlocked. And… it’s such a beautiful melody. I will feel ashamed to interrupt it. Let’s just browse for now, I’m sure they'll come down eventually.”

To their right was the counter, empty of course, with a little bell for customers to signal the clerk. To their left was simply a mess of books, left haphazardly in piles. Which for the studious and organized Twilight, made her grind her teeth in irritation.

Past this, it was a jumble of various things but mostly of musical instruments. On the wall were hooked two violins, and on the corner there was a mini organ. There was also a big harp which Twilight could not resist waving her hoof at the cords and making a sweet sound that brought a smile to her face.

At the north wall, which was facing the main door, there was an entryway to the u-shaped stairs to the floor. Beside it, the wall was covered in shelves who although not full, were still well garnished with books. Properly stored this time

‘’Ah, now we are talking.’’

Twilight went to them while maneuvering between the stacks of things. She lit her horn to take several and went to take a quick look at their pages. 

“Interesting, they seem to be all novels written by somepony named Melancholia. Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that author before.”

As Twilight continued to dig into the novels, Starlight was more interested in the west wall where there was an entryway with no door but a white curtain separating. 

Feeling curious, she entered, finding the inside was actually a small corridor. To the side were metal shelves with various canvases. And at the end was an easel with a half finished canvas, seemingly unused for some time. 

Starlight went to see what the others looked like, and it was easy to say they got a reaction from her. One was an abstract image of strokes and spirals composed only with taints of black and red that gave a creepy feeling. Another one was a portrait of a pony with a face in the deepest despair, even though the pony was drawn on a sunny and vivid landscape. 

Just seeing the first two left Starlight with not enough courage to examine the others as thoroughly. She did give each a quick glance and saw that they had all something in common. They were all… powerful Starlight would say. Powerful in the sense they radiated strong emotions. They were so palpable she could actually feel them in her very guts.

‘’Heeesh. Okay, this place is starting to give me the heebie-jeebies. I propose that we tell the pony upstairs that we are here and hopefully leave really soon.’’

Twilight didn’t respond immediately, too engrossed in her book, prompting Starlight to drop another book, jolting her back to reality, before gesturing upwards.

“Right, we should probably let the clerk know we’re here. We are kind of taking advantage. I wonder how he didn’t notice us.”

Opting for the stairs they headed up, again noticing the music which hadn’t stopped playing since they arrived. 

However, right before they even touched the first step, the player upstair interrupted his music by crudely stomping his hoof on the keyboard, sending the now scared mares nearly tumbling all over.

‘’Ah, visitors. It has been a long time since I had one. I don’t know who you are but please, welcome to my humble shop.’’

Was what the pony musician was saying from where he was as he waved its hoof on all the keys of his piano in one swift gesture.

Our duo could hear the pony descend downstairs, taking each step slowly. Once he reached the floor and was under proper lighting, they could fully see his appearance. 

Unlike the aged building, the pony was a young stallion close to their age, if not, a little more. His fur was of a gray color with an almost white cyan mane, arranged so a bag covered his right eye. Speaking of his eyes, they were also of a dull gray. On his neck, there was a white necktie scarf with at its heart a hexagonal blue jewel that was used as a brooch, an accessory Rarity would’ve likely fawned over, was thinking Twilight.

The pony went to them and made a reverence to the two mares.

‘’Greetings, I am the clerk of this shop. My name is Melancholia. But everypony calls me simply… Mel.’’ 





At first, our two mares were at a loss on how to react. That sudden meeting caught them off guard and the greeting of that pony was sure, peculiar. If not odd. Yet, they couldn’t deny that, ironically, his greeting was almost normal compared to the rest of the town. As for the pony in question, he raised his head and once he properly looked at the pair, an interest seemed to awaken in him. 

‘’Oh… my! Oh my oh my. I recognize you. You are Twilight Sparkle and you are Starlight Glimmer. The Princess of Friendship and her apprentice, in my shop! How wonderful. I must presume that you are here to investigate on the mysterious happenings on Mount Heaven, I am right?’’

‘’Oh, hum, well, no need for introduction I suppose, hehe.” Starlight’s words tumbled clumlily at the introduction. “This is awkward” was what she’s thinking. That Mel was speaking with enthusiasm but one that was… subdue. Right from the start, she could tell that compared to the other Happy Townians they met, there was something different about him.

Upon seeing their silence and discomfort, he seemed to pull back his excitement somewhat. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, I’m just not used to speaking to celebrities. Please, what brings you to my humble little shop?” 

Twilight, also was having difficulty feeling comfortable with him. His voice was soft and polite, but she detected a small hint of emotional detachment in his tone.

“Oh, well, a little filly called Flo recommended we come here, after we asked if there were any book stores in town.”‘

‘’Did she? I’m not surprised she would do that. At the state I’m in, she may as well be my only supporter. But I digress. It’s such an honor to have you here. And if you find anything that picks your fancy, tell me. I could even give you a generous price.’’

Again despite the friendly display and tone, Twilight still couldn’t shake the strange feeling she had about him. There was something in his eyes. It was like they were seeing what was in front of him but instead… gazing at the images inside of his head for lack of a better word. That was the impression this Mel was giving to her. 

Noticing the disorganized pile Mel moved to organize them allowing Twilight to see his cutie mark. It was an intricate design of blue lines forming a raindrop. At least… she thought it was a raindrop. Wanting to shake off the malaise, she decided to change the subject.

‘’Soooo, Mel, you have quite a variety of interesting articles but I’m afraid I’m lost on what kind of shop is this.’’

‘’Ah, I can blame you for being confused. The truth is managing this shop is just a secondary job for me. My true profession is to be an artist.’’

‘’Really, you are an artist! In what domain?’’

‘’Well, in all kinds actually. I paint on canvas, I play music, I write, oh especially writing. This is where I take the majority of my time. And then I sell what I create.’’

Hearing that, all the worries of Twilight melted in an instant. In her dictionary, anypony who was writing could not be bad. Starlight, who was feeling a little left out, decided to burst into the conversation.

‘’So, did you really write all those books! That's impressive! What are they about?’’

‘’Tragedy. That is mostly what I write.’’ The mirth in his voice seemed to dim slightly at the mention of his books. 

‘’Oooh! I… I am surprised, I… didn’t think to find that here.’’

‘’Hahaha. Already familiar with the locals I see. Easy now to understand that I'm considered like the black sheep of Happy Town.’’

Recalling the borderline cult-like obsession with joy, it was easy to believe such a thing. “And you still manage to sell things to those…happiness fanatics?”

‘’What do you think? Of course not!.” Mel had said with casual jest. “Those ponies have an allergy to anything that isn’t dripping with sugar, and pleasantness. All that is depressing and disturbing, they avoid it as if it was disease. They wouldn’t read my stories even if they were free. Even after I wrote so many and converted them in book format myself, I have never sold a single copy one.’’

Twilight was left positively aghast at such a thing. Even though tragedies was not a genre that she often went to, she, who has great love for literature, could not help but find it so unfair that all those efforts were not rewarded.

‘’Mister Mel, I… I just don't know what to say. It is just so sad.’’

‘’Gotta love the irony there,” Mel chuckled. “It’s the same for my paintings. They find them too creepy so they just accumulate dust. As for the music I wrote, apparently it bummed them out too much so nopony wants to listen to them. In the end, I had given up and decided to sell my instruments but as you can see… guess they don’t even want to come close to me.’’

Twilight didn’t look convinced. Was he really talking about the same welcoming Happy Townians?  ‘’Come on… you cannot be serious.’’

‘’It’s sad but it’s the truth. I am afraid that they tolerate me just because Flo is my little sister.’’

‘’What… … WHAAAAT!!! FLO IS YOUR LITTLE SISTER!’’

‘’Oh, she did not tell you? This place is our house. We both are living here.’’

‘’But… but… you…’’

‘’Look nothing alike. Sometimes I wonder to myself why our destiny was to take two paths so opposite of each other. By the way, I presume that you know about our parents. Oh mayor Paternal must have at least told you about them. He loves to speak about them. They were pretty well lived so when they died, they had left us in inheritance a good fortune. Not enough to live in luxury but well enough to live decently without troubles. Even though my shop is a disaster.’’

Still this just left both mares with more questions. “Wait, I can understand why it is not working in Happy Town, but why not try outside? I am sure that many publishing houses would love–

Mel placidly raised his hoof to cut her off. “You honestly think I didn’t try that. Every publisher I tried told me no. They said, humm how was it? That my stories were too intense for everypony. You know, the problem ”

Twilight and Starlight remained silent as it looked like Mel, under his quiet attitude, was letting out more than a few bottled upped emotions. “You know, this problem isn’t just limited to Happy Town. Oh sure, this place takes the cake, but Equestria itself has a tendency to treat the sad aspects of life as things that must disappear for that only beauty can be. But I do think that pain and ugly feelings are important. That we must not forget them and that we can learn so much from them. That’s why I cannot work on any other subject, even though I know it’s basically a lost cause.’’

Our two mares were at loss for words. What he was saying was in a word, world shattering. Yet, neither pony could exactly argue at the idea. True enough Equestria was a land of peace, harmony and goodwill, they’d never considered it a place where negativity as a whole is outlawed. On paper the idea sounded outlandish.

And yet, even so…

‘’Hooo, there I go again, breaking the mood. A bad habit of mine. Please, ignore what I said and let’s get back to the subject at hoof. If my adorable Flo had proposed this place, then best I show you the whole package. Come, follow me.’’

They didn't notice it but on the north wall in the right corner, there was a door. Once inside Mel pushed the switch that lit two simple light bumbles hanging from the roof. The first thing they saw was a writing desk with all the essential tools.

‘’My workshop. When you write, it is always better to do it in a corner. It help to focus.’’

‘’I see you  taking your passion very seriously.” Starlight muttered looking over what seemed like pages from different story drafts. ‘’Shame all this hard work goes unrecognized…wait what’s that?”

At their right there was a small corridor that held a small stove that Twilight imagined Mel used during the cold days of winter. The hatch of its belly was open and Twilight saw there were ashes inside that looked recent. She also noticed a piece of burned-out paper. The corner that was not blackened had a white border, suggesting that this piece was the left out of a photo rather than a discarded book page. But of what? No way to know.

However, even beyond that, what was really catching the attention of the alicorn was the shelf at the end. It was full of bundles of paper, parchment and other objects. Most eye-catching was an arch odeon, a carved wooden box, a weird clock and others bric-à-brac.

‘’What are those?’’

‘’That? Just some old stuff. The papers are mostly my drafts that were bad ideas and the rest… well, they are from my grandad. I never knew him personally but my dad told me that apparently, he loved to tinker and make inventions. Most of them don’t work by the way. Guess we know where my artistic side came from. Wait! This make me think.’’

Mel abruptly left to go to the lobby. Perplexed, Twilight and Starlight followed him. He was at his library, pulling out a book.

‘’Miss Twilight, would you be interested in some of my books? If there are some that took your fancy, you could take them. Gifts from me. Nothing would make me happier.’’

‘’Oh, well…sure, I’d be delighted.’’ Twilight only spoke half heartedly, while she was genuinely intrigued, the entire encounter so far had left her a little unbalanced. 

‘’Splendid. I must go back upstairs. There is some work I must do. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves with anything you like. Celestia knows no one else will.’’

‘’Hum… al… right.’’

He went back up the stairs, leaving the two mares alone.

‘’Well, Twilight. I must say, he is quite the fellow.’’

Eyeing the books on the shelves, Twilight nodded. ‘’He sure is. You know, for a moment, it sounded like he was trying to change the subject. Like there was something he didn’t want to talk about.”

Starlight seemed to shrug somewhat. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious the guy isn’t crazy about discussing his personal life. Still…” She levitated a book to Twilight’s face. “Since he gave us permission, might as well check a few out and see what all the fuss is about.”

Nodding again, Twilight opened-up the book, speed reading through the pages at a frightening pace. In mere moments she put it down and immediately began devouring another, then another and so on. It was a sight that, even after her time as Twilight’s student, still amazed her on how fast her teacher could read.

Opting to try her own luck, Starlight quickly opened up a book herself, though opted for quick checking and skipping, lacking her mentor’s superhuman love of literature.

Twilight then slammed shut the book .

‘’Ouff. He certainly wasn't exaggerating. What he is writing is quite heavy. Shocking even. And I thought I was the queen of dark thoughts. Still, I can see he's not just being tragic for the sake of it, there’s something he wants to say. I can tell.” 

Putting her book down, Twilight picked up another and tried her luck. “And if nothing else he’s certainly talented. The way he describes places and ponies, makes you think you're there. And he has a gift for telling how his characters think and feel in a poignant way. That's just a quick review mind you. I’m sure I could appreciate them more if I properly read them. But I am not sure if I would be able to since they… no, maybe it’s me who is unfair. You know Starlight, this makes me think. Maybe Equestria literature is lacking in some more thought-provoking content.’’

Her thoughts were interrupted when they heard the bell of the boutique chiming. Curious, they looked at the front door to see who had entered. It was two diamond dogs transporting a crate. Mel had also gone down the stairs to meet the two who immediately greeted him.

‘’Hello Mel. The delivery you wanted so much is here.’’

‘’Wonderful. Take it upstairs.’’

He turned his attention back to the mares, both with books still floating in front of them.

‘’Oh sorry. These two are the brothers Dirt and Dust, my favorite delivery boys. So did you enjoy your time?’’

Still shook up seeing Diamond Dogs above ground and acting friendly, the two simply nodded.

‘’That was, hummm, a unique experience. But I see it is getting late and we  promised to meet all at the plaza.’’

Mel offered the pair his usual plastered smile. ‘’Then I wish you all a happy day. It is our specialty after all.’’

They had said their thanks and were preparing to go away, but Twilight stopped in her tracks before turning around and propeling herself in front of Mel.

‘’Mister Mel, when my job is done I will come back to purchase several of your novels. Then I will make sure to talk about them with everypony of my literature circle.’’

For the time, Mel frozen expression got a genuine reaction as his eyes widened. ‘’That’s very nice of you but I think it’s too much honor.’’

‘’No, I insist. It is just unfair that you have no recognition simply because the personal preferences of others don’t match with what you choose to write. Even with just a glimpse I can already tell that you have a lot of talent and it should not go to waste. Believe me, I am kind of an expert on this. And when art and literature are looked down upon, then it becomes personal for me. So please, let me do that for you. At least between two lovers of literary works.’’

She was not sure but it seems to her that the permanent smile of Mel just got slightly bigger.

‘’It is… very nice of you. I appreciate. … Sorry, I can’t quite seem to offer a proper thank you. I just… I guess I always resigned myself to the idea that I will be the only appreciator of my craft.’’

Twilight merely took his hoof on her own and looked at him with honest eyes. ‘’Well the very least I can promise is that you you will have another appreciator.’’

‘’Even though my style might be too gut-stabbing painful for you?’’

That got Twilight to chuckle. ”Heh, you will be surprised but I’m actually more attuned to pain than you think. Besides, it might be true that I may need more, humm, gut-stabbing as you call it. Hahaha.’’

‘’Glad to hear it. Very glad.” Mel had said with a peculiar tone. “I think you’ll be in for quite an experience. You may even learn new things.’’

After all was said and done, our two mares opened the door, making a soft chime, and exited  with their hooves waving a goodbye to Mel who responded in kind.

Even after they were gone, Mel continued to wave at no one, until he stopped and mechanically let down his hoof.

‘’Learn new things… … or maybe start to finally learn something.’’

He then slowly walked to the window and looked at Twilight and Starlight happily talking to each other with smiles on their faces. At this sight, Mel tilted his head to the side with his usual vacant stare devoid of any kind of spark.

‘’You know… I was sincere when I wished you a good day. These are important to make your life more beautiful… But you know… good days can be a reminder that things have changed for good and that they are never coming back. A reminder… of what was forever lost. See you soon… Twilight Sparkle.’’





‘’Ah Miss Sparkle, Miss Glimmer.’’

‘’Mayor Paternal!’’

The mayor happily waved down the two approaching mares.‘’It’s good that you are here. I just had a great idea. We should take a photo of you so that we could keep a keepsake of your stay in our town. We could put it in our town hall so that everypony could see it for generations and generations.’’

Both mares, more Twilight, had to force up smiles at again being reminded of the town's rather unhealthy obsession with them.

‘’(Oh boy, here we go again. Seriously, these ponies are even more over-welcoming than… well, than my first time in Ponyville. Which is saying a lot…still don’t wanna seem impolite.”) 

Still smiling Twilight bowed her head, lightly elbowing Starlight to follow suit. “Oh we would be happy to do that, as a sign of thanks and of friendship to the town.’’

‘’Splendid! There is already a camera and a photographer posted in front of the clock tower.’’

“Already, seriously?” Starlight again looked aghast at how prepared the town seemed to be.‘’You… sure seriously don’t lose time.’’

“Of course, why not take advantage when the situation demands it? Let not waste a second and let go there.’’

Even though it was just a few walking steps away, the mayor was so ecstatic that he was pushing our two mares behind.

‘’Wo wo, calm down, slow down!’’

‘’We can walk by ourselves you know!’’

But it seems he was too overjoyed to hear them. He brought them before a unicorn with brown fur who had already made the adjustments to his tripod camera. Twilight and Starlight then went into position and gave their biggest smiles, a little too big to be naturel. Then they even went to speak under their teeth to each other.

‘’You know Twi, I know they are nice ponies and that it is not their intention but this is beginning to look like coercion.’’

‘’Just smile. It will be over soon.’’

Starlight was trying what she was asked but a shadow was cast on her face. A literal one. She lifted her eyes and saw a huge kelpie. Her eyes were wide as saucers.

Part of this form of face freeze was due to something yellow with a pink tail and a butterfly cutie mark currently in the creature’s mouth. Even more odd, was that it seemed to talk inside the creature.

‘’Humm…have we arrived? Did we make to the plaza?’’

The kelpie answered with an affirmative nod.

‘’Thank you very much for having brought me here, it was very nice of you Mr. Kelpie. Oh hum… now… could you please… you know… release me?’’

The kelpie had gently obeyed and opened his mouth, freeing Fluttershy, who descended slowly to the ground. Starlight side-step in-extremis before being touched by the covered in saliva pegasus. The kelpie waved his arm in a goodbye salute and went back in the direction it seemingly came from. 

Fluttershy, possibly in reflex, waved at the creature, looking more than a little lost as a result of her experience.

‘’Thanks again. See you later… … Wo. That, hum, that was intimacy.’’

‘’Fluttershy, what has happened to you!’’ Twilight asked, somehow again not breaking her smile.

‘’I… am not even sure myself.’’Fluttershy merely responded with a somewhat vacant stare, still mentally processing the last few hours.

‘’PLEASE, ANYPONIE COME RESCUE ME WHAAAHAAAHAAA!’’

‘’That voice! Rarity!! And... Pinkie!!’’

At the horizon they saw that flying in the sky, going right to crash into them, was Pinkie Pie sitting in a paraglider and Rarity hanging for her life on a rope.

‘’Ooooh, hello friends. Don’t mind us, we just… hanging in there.’’

‘’PINKIE THIS IS HARDLY THE TIME FOR JOKES. FIND A SOLUTION AND QUICK… oh no… NOT THE CHIMNEY, NOT THE CHIMNEY!’’

There was a chimney ejecting a thick cloud of smoke right in their path. Rarity was shaking her legs  like crazy to stay away but it was simply hopeless, she flew right in the cloud and the white unicorn had become a black unicorn. 

Seeing herself covered in soot, she let out a massive scream of horror. This made her let go of the rope she was holding and she felt. And screamed even more But Starlight was fast. She grabbed her with her magic and put her gently on the ground beside her. 

But, even though she was now safe, the soot-covered unicorn Rarity had been emotionally shaken by the ordeal. First her lips were shaking and then, overwhelmed by her emotion, she let them explode  and she bawled like a baby, crying torrents of tears. 

As for Pinkie Pie, a sudden gust of wind changed her trajectory and was sending her flying right at the clocktower. Say tower still had that giant banner of the Mane 6 attached to it. Having an idea, Pinkie detached her harness.

‘’I hope it works. Here go nothing.’’

She jumped from the paraglider and grabbed the giant poster of the Mane 6. As the paraglider went flying away, Pinkie could finally breathe a sigh of relief to be at last safe. Relatively speaking. Twilight exasperated, flipped her wings to go up and lighted her horn.

‘’Pinkie, how the hay did you and Rarity manage to… to lead to this?’’

‘’Well Twi, it’s a long story but to make short, a series of improbable happenstances were thrown at us both and it built up and led to this comedic punchline moment.’’

‘’On second thought, maybe I’d better not know. Alright Pinkie I am going to take you safely down and HEY!!! … What’s that at the distance? It’s that… Rainbow… on a rolling barrel!?‘’

‘’EVERYPONY, GET OUT OF OUR WAYS, NOW!.’’

Indeed the other mares saw it was Rainbow fast running on the rolling barrel with bound wings. And she looked utterly exhausted, with all the ponies on the street doing what they could to avoid her running them over.

‘’You know AJ, once this is over, remind me to work on my legs…assuming I can still feel them after this. I clearly neglect those muscles.’’

‘’Ya not the only one in pain. Ah’m starting to have a serious need to puke. Can’t you find something soft for us to crash into? Something that can stop our track?’’

“Oh, I just saw a standpipe. Does that count?’’ Rainbow said between breaths.

‘’What! No no no no, ah say something soft, something soft. How it can be counted as soft.’’

‘’Ah listen, right now I am so tired that I even wish sweet death would come to release me. Besides, I see nothing else on this road. We will just have to take a small trip at the hospital, seem a small price to pay to pay.’’

Using her legs to change course, Applejack could feel exactly what Dash was planning to do, and responded accordingly.

‘’RAINBOW DASHHHHH!’’ 	

The barrel had hit the standpipe and exploded in a burst of splinters, ejecting Rainbow and Applejack in the air. 

Applejack immediately crashes face first into the dirt, sliding along the ground until she joins the group in front of the camera. Her head was supporting all her body and her legs were facing forward, ironically making her look somewhat like a tree. Ponies can be very flexible creatures, was what AJ was thinking in a fit of irony. 

As for Rainbow Dash, who still had her wings tied up, was going to land on Starlight who quickly ducked to the ground, making Fluttershy the next target of the blue missile. 

The still dazed and cover of saliva pegasus had managed to wake up and, in an impressive show of reflexes and strength, caught, in extremis, Rainbow… putting them in a strange dance position. 

Twilight looked down at this pandemonium, sighing as she glanced at Starlight with a knowing look. “Guess we aren’t the only ones who had a crazy day huh?’’ But then, she heard a not so reassuring noise. Effectively, the giant poster that Pinkie was grabbing, was starting to ripe itself more and more at the chagrin of poor Pinkie.

‘’Oho! Oho! OHO!’’ The fabric tore up and she felt. ‘’AAAHHHHH BOMB AWAY!’’

She did not fall for long as Twilight quickly levitated her. But this distracted Twilight from the Mane 6 poster failing on her. And when she looked up, it was too late.

‘’Oh no, crush by the weight of my own success!’’

Twilight was completely covered by the image of… Twilight, and fell. She could have landed on Starlight, but she teleported one second before she could have been used as a landing cushion. Since the princess wasn’t that high, she did not hurt herself. But when her levitation spell broke Pinkie fell right on her head... that was another story. As for Pinkie, she was just fine.

‘’Ohhhh! I’m not hurt? Seem not! Thank a lot Twilight.’’

‘’Happy to help. Happy to… *sigh*… help.’’

Starlight reappeared and looked at the mess that was her friends. Pinkie was sitting on a Twilight trapped in a poster. Applejack was in a weird and embarrassing position. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were covered in drool and looked like they were dancing the tango. And Rarity, still half covered in soot and locking like a whining black cat of misfortune.

‘’Yeah, that will make a nice photo. *sigh* Seriously, why do you girls always manage to get into those embarrassing situations? At least I always make sure to not never lose face ATCHUM!!!’’

*SNAP*

That was the moment the camerapony chose to take his shot. And so that was how the most embarrassing photo of the Mane 6 was born. Including Starlight, immortalized with her sneezing face, the mouth wide open and coughing so much dribble.

Of course Mayor Paternal didn’t seem to mind, holding out the photo with shaking hooves as if it was made of pure gold.

‘’Oh my Celestia! You just have given us the most unique photo ever possible. This could very well become the greatest treasure of Happy Town. Oh I must quickly install it in the town hall.’’

Offering the girls a bow, Mayor Paternal went running at top speed to the clock tower, leaving behind the Mane 6, stunned and embarrassed that they will be remembered that way. 

It was at this moment that Flo decided to walk into frame. Like any sane individual she was surprised at the scene before her, but being a resident of the town, immediately understood what happened.

‘’Huh. I see. Hi-jinks?''

Twilight came out from under the poster with annoyed eyes.

‘’Yeah. So many hi-jinks.''

‘’You really seem to have the gift for attracting them.’’

‘’Well to tell you the truth, we never had them like today. It really takes the cake. …Pffft. Heheh. Bwahahahahahaha.’’

Twilight just exploded in laughter. So much that she pressed her arms against her stomach and tears were dropping from her closed eyes. 

Her laugh proved contagious as  soon, all of her friends followed suit and burst into uncontrollable laughter. Flo conversely was left looking at them let they had just gone crazy.

‘’Why do you find that funny? By the look of things you all had a pretty horrible first day?’’

Despite how accurate that statement was, they all found that it was precisely why they should laugh. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity. Each one had their own reason and each one gave them to Flo.

‘’Yes hahaha, it was horrible for us all, I can tell.” Rarity laughed, despite coughing a bit due to the loose soot. “It was easily one of the worst experiences I’ve had in a while. But it’s strange,  likes it has not importance.’’

‘’Yeah, ah never had so much bad luck in my life.” Applejack chuckled hard as bits of gravel and dirt fell from her mane. “But when you look back on them, the worst experiences tend to be the funniest.”

“Heck yeah,” Rainbow seemed to speak with a bit more pump than the others. “I have experienced so many things today that I would rather forget. But I have the strange impression that it is already done.’’

‘’Everypony was looking like a true loonie. Hum I mean relatively, relatively.” Pinkie’s own explanation was as hyperactive as expected. “But after everything else, I just don’t mind any more.’’

‘’There were moments where I was very scared, yet I got to experience something new and exciting. I think it was worth it.” Fluttershy chimed in, squeezing saliva from her mane.

But this was making Flo even more perplexed.

‘’... How do you do it?’’

Starlight decided to answer that particular question.

‘’It took me time to understand the same thing. But the answer is simple. Friendship.’’

Flo practically rolled her eyes at that. ‘’Of course, the classical answer.’’

‘’And for a good reason. By sharing our bad moments with our friends, it’s like the weight becomes lighter. And when they share theirs with us, we feel less lonely even at our lowest. Also it might be a little cliché to say that but the love and warmth between friends can help us overcome our darkest emotions. We aren’t pretending they don’t exist, rather turning a negative into something else. Like into something funny.’’

Flo momentarily mused over this and seemed to agree with the sentiment. ‘’I guess there is a reason why you’re our role model. Not that we did not know it already.’’

Amongst the group, Twilight was finally able to get out of her fit of laughter and was wiping the tears with the tips of her wings.

‘’Yeah about that. We may have been chosen by the forces of harmony but, I don’t think we are that special.’’

Flo however disagreed. ‘’I am not so sure of that. I only meet you for a moment and already you've confirmed that you have something that inspires other.’’

‘’If you say so. On another subject, I think, or more we all think that we had enough excitement for the day, and it’s getting late. We need rest if we want to explore those ruins. We must not forget that the reason we here.’’

“Guess I’ll need to warn the mayor. The housing lodge you’re staying in is just to the west, behind those buildings at the outskirts of the town.” Flo quickly pointed in the distance at the buildings in question. “It was used as a temporary settlement for workers during the founding. It is rather old but it is still very comfy, I can assure you. And all your things should’ve been moved-in.’’

The group immediately seemed to all collapse somewhat, exhaustion of the day's events finally setting in.

“Ugh finally, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to move for the rest of the night.” Rainbow moaned, unable to even move her back legs now, several others sharing her grief.

‘’Don’t worry. After all that, I am sure that tomorrow will be a day far less strenuous.

“So long as it’s less crazy than today I think we can handle it.” Twilight muttered out as she and the others started walking. 

And it is with these words that they headed to their lodging for a rest well deserved. The rays of the sun were warm and soft and a refreshing breeze was blowing on their manes. And they all were feeling confident that tomorrow would be a beautiful day.

… … If only, they knew. But… nothing could have prepared them for what to come. No. It is more like all Equestria could not prepare.

Prepare for the worst show ever.

 





Ponyville: the Grassy Pentagon



The park was now filled with so many ponies. And they were all gathered around the strange cube with… strange windows. An object so curious that appears suddenly in such a public place is bound to be noticed. And once a few passersby saw it, it went to hear and it quickly spread like wildfire. 

Very soon, all the town was aware of the existence of this strange device and the weird things it does. Ponies of all kinds and ages were surrounding the cube out of pure curiosity. And of course, everypony were talking about the even stranger message that this thing was giving. 

At first they were afraid of the statistics and each time the split-second image appeared, they were startled. But after seeing it several times, they recognized the letters and could read the message concerning a game. They were still afraid but now, even more intrigued. This intrigue only grew because the message seemed to change every hour. Indeed, the number of hours before the game was supposed to begin went down as time passed on. The ponies quickly realized that it was a sort of countdown. Countdown to what? That was the true mystery.

Even Lyra and Bon-Bon could not have resisted the urge to see this strange cube. Bon-Bon was looking at it with suspicion but for Lyra it was the excitement to see something new.

‘’Whoa, that's cool. This… this thing. I don’t know what it is but I already like this thingamajig. I wonder if it does something else. Pssst, Bon-Bon. As a secret agent, do you have any idea of what it is?’’

The candy mare glared at her best friend/girlfriend, but still eyed the strange cube cautiously. ‘’I have never seen anything like this in my life. I have no idea how it works or how it shows those images, whatever they are. Why show them that way? So creepy. And what about this message? ‘’The game will begin in four hours.’’ What does it even mean?’’

‘’Huuuumm… it looks like… something important… will happen… in four hours. Some kind of game. … What game? A sports game? A gameshow? Is this a game where we can participate?’’

‘’I really don’t know. But I don’t like this.’’ Bon Bon mentally debated whether to report this to Celestia and call in backup. 

‘’Don’t be paranoid. What can this thing do to us?”

‘’I don’t know but it gives me goosebumps.”

”So, when the four hours have passed, will you come?”

”Well, I have the feeling  that nearly all Ponyville will come to watch it. Better keep an eye on it.’’

Indeed. Though you can hardly blame the other residents. What you would do if you were at their position. Would curiosity not be a temptation too strong to resist? But there is something that these ponies ignore. Something important. You see… Ponyville was not the only place where these giant ivory cubes were. They were dispersed in nearly every corner of Equestria. Attracting all manner of curious bystanders.

In Appleloosa, the recently formed town of western ponies, one of these cubes was right in the middle of the only alley. So of course, no ponies could take their eyes away from this anomaly that was so blatantly contrasting with everything. The citizens just didn’t know what to do with that.

‘’What is that thing? How did it get here?’’

‘’It came by delivery. But it was just saying to bring it here. Not what it was.’’

‘’Delivery! Who ask for this?’’

‘’I don’t know. But the important thing is what we are doing with this? And what will happen in four hours?’’

‘’I don’t know. I guess… there’s just one way to find out. Wait until the timer reach zero.’’

It was also the same for Manehattan, the great metropolis. A cube was placed at a busy crossing where it was impossible to miss it. Many could not look away because they thought it was an elaborate publicity stunt.

‘’What will they invent next? Though I must say, it is very creative. Even though I don’t know what it is about.’’

‘’That’s why it is so fascinating. Such a mystery!’’

‘’But why give this… countdown this way? Each time it appears for a split-second it jump scares me.’’

‘’Yes, I know. That's why this countdown did not leave my head for all day. I could not think of anything else even if I wanted to. That brilliant.’’ 

Even Cloudsdale, the floating city of pegasus, was not spared. Right in the middle of a marketplace, another cube was placed. And once again, so many pegasus were captivated by this thing and its message. With both wonder and worry. And they could not explain why this cube was giving birth to those two feelings. Not completely.

‘’Have you seen that sister? What do you think will happen in four hours?’’

‘’I don’t know. But I find it so creepy. The way this message is displayed is… unsettling. It makes me a little sick.’’

‘’That much! So guess you would not be there when the four hours will be spent.’’

‘’Oh no, I definitely be there.’’

‘’Why? You say it was creepy.’’

‘’Morbid curiosity I suppose. Because I dread to see what will happen I can’t stop staying here so that I can see what I dread so much.’’

‘’Yeah, I kinda understand your feeling.” 

But these were far from the only places. The truth is in nearly every major’s city of Equestria there was a giant white cube showing static and then occasionally for a split-second the letters. And each was successfully doing their job to attract the masses. And each one was showing to them the same and ominous message:

The game will begin in 4 hours