Tuesday passed almost without comment. Apple Bloom said she would be happy to join the gang at the movies, especially considering the free ticket from Rainbow Dash.
“Y’ gotta promise yah won’t go sneaking snacks into the theater like last time. Y’ almost got us kicked out!”
“That was a fluke. I’ve got it all figured out. All I need to do is leave out the peanut brittle—”
“Scoots!”
“I mean ‘yes, ma’am.’”
The day’s rain made farm work that much harder, but it was nothing compared to Wednesday’s deluge. For one day, maybe once a month, an unrelenting storm was necessary to balance out the pressure system, return moisture to the soil, and blow off a little of the bleed-over Everfree magic all in one go. When the weather schedule required it, it was astonishingly easy to put together a storm. Just pack up a bunch of clouds, bunch them together over the town, and let one end touch the boarder of the Everfree Forest. The chaotic magic in that patch of land would do most of the work.
Unfortunately, the storm was easy to start but impossible to control.
Outdoor activities were kept at a minimum by the townsfolk. Gardens were worried over from a distance. The market was as barren as a ghost town. The outdoor tables of restaurants were gathered up and ushered into storage closets. Anypony who needed to go anywhere wore heavy coats and boots at the least.
So the Apples gave Scootaloo Wednesday off.
She spent most of the day in her room, listening to the rain beat against her window and flipping through the new Daring Do novel. She tried to help her father in his shop for about an hour, before she realized that nopony was gonna go sofa-shopping on a day like that. Princess Twilight did stop by to purchase a bulk order of quills, but they hardly needed Scootaloo to help with that. They’d done it so often she wouldn’t have been surprised if Twilight ordered new quills in her sleep.
“I’m gonna need double this time,” Twilight said. “I’ll be conducting an experiment in writing two papers at the same time. It’ll no doubt cut composition time in fractions once I manage it. And if the first time works out, I’ll continue to increase the number of quills in flight.”
Davenport blinked. “You’re not going to be writing while flying, are you?”
“What? No. ‘Flight’ meaning the quills will be in the air. In my magic. Writing. While I’m planted firmly on the ground.” Twilight’s wings extended, lifting her heavy coat a little. “I won’t be able to fly while writing for at least another year of practice.”
“That’s just asking for trouble,” Scootaloo mentioned from a nearby couch seat. “Rainbow Dash always says that a pegasus that isn’t looking where she’s going is going to end up someplace she wasn’t looking for.”
Twilight pouted. She pulled a checklist from Nowhere (1) and scribbled a quick note. “I could have some sort of collision detection spell in effect to prevent running into the odd windmill or two, but I do suppose I can’t account for cross breezes from blowing me off course enough to send me flying over the Everfree or somewhere else I’d rather not go. Perhaps a compass spell to make sure I always point in the same direction. That way I can travel as the bird flies, literally.”
Images of a purple alicorn covered in a cloud of scrolls and surrounded by a swarm of quills, flying her merry way over hill and dale, oblivious to the air traffic accidents she was causing, flew through Scootaloo’s mind. “This is assuming you don’t cause some sort of magic explosion by splitting your concentration between that much calligraphy.”
“The worst that could happen is that my magic would fritz out and the quills would drop.” Twilight smiled. She frowned. “Sending a million sharp objects tumbling down to Ponyville, landing atop a few dozen innocent bystanders.”
Davenport patted the box of quills. “Will you not be needing these anymore, your Highness?”
“Oh, no, I’ll need them.” Twilight passed him a bag of silver pieces (2) while she took the box in her telekinetic grip. “This experiment is just gonna… remain grounded.”
She nodded to Scootaloo. “I guess I still need somepony to bop me on the back of the head now and then. Thanks for the advice.”
“No problem, I only charge a bit for wisdom.” Scootaloo smirked. “But the first is free.”
“Very reasonable.” Twilight Sparkle settled the box between her wings. “So the scuttlebutt around town is that you’re training to fly again.”
Scootaloo scrunched up her nose. “Did you actually hear that from Mister Scuttlebutt, or do you mean—?”
Twilight snorted. “Come on, I’m the Princess of Friendship. Give my social awareness some credit.” She tilted her head and knitted her eyebrows. “How’s that coming along?”
Scootaloo tapped her forehooves together. “About like you’d expect, given the last few attempts.”
Twilight blew a breath through her nose. “You know, at this point I’d almost recommend a full magic examination. Something doesn’t fit. What I’ve gathered from your magic output is astounding; there’s no reason I can see that you shouldn’t be—”
“Easy. It’s not like I’m giving up anytime soon.” Scootaloo rolled onto her back, leaning her head over the armrest. “Those docs won’t find anything you haven’t seen already. I’m sure of it.”
Twilight lowered her eyebrows. “You know, if you wanted a little help, I know a spell that can conjure up a pair of nice—”
“Butterfly wings?” Scootaloo snickered. “Thanks for the offer, Twilight, but wings of gossamer and morning dew won’t hold up to a scooter ride, much less the kind of flying it takes to keep up with Rainbow Dash.”
Twilight closed her eyes and chuckled. “Fair enough. But it would go with your cutie mark.”
Scootaloo looked at the crazy purple butterfly on her rump. “Well, you got me there. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Twilight pulled a pocket watch out of Nowhere. “Two o’clock. Three hours until the city council meeting tonight. Can I expect to see you in the audience, Davenport?”
The stallion had gone back to attempting to organize his stock. He marked off a ticket for Silver Spoon with the pencil in his mouth, then turned to Twilight. “Yup. Me and Rose are gonna be listening in as usual. We brought tomatoes to throw in case Miss Mare gets uppity.”
Twilight grinned. “I’ll have Big Mac standing by to escort you from the premises.”
She looked over her shoulder. “How about you, Scootaloo? Planning on supporting your town?”
“Naw, I’m babysitting.” Scootaloo jumped over the side of the couch. “I’m staying with the Cake kids so that their parents and Pinkie can attend.”
“Fair enough,” Twilight said. “Then I’ll see you tonight, Davenport, and I’ll see you later, Scootaloo.”
She paused at the door, hesitant to step out into the blustering wind. “And I’m rooting for you, Scootaloo.”
“Thanks,” Scootaloo said. “That means a lot.”
With the princess departed, Davenport turned to Scootaloo. “I’m sorry, Kid. We’d get you a full exam if we could afford it, but—”
“But the insurance won’t cover it without some big disaster.” Scootaloo hugged him from the side. “I know, Dad. Besides, what would it be able to tell me besides ‘You’re overflowing with magic, but still can’t fly’?”
“Well…” Davenport shrugged. “There’s always a hope.”
Scootaloo smirked. “I’ve got more than hope, Dad. I’ve got a goal.”
Scootaloo winced as the wind blew another splash of rain into her eyes. She held her hoof up and held back a smattering of the globs with magic, but most of them were moving too fast. Despite the rain cloak, the hefty hood and hat, and the big, hulking, Apple family-style galoshes, she was still getting soaked to the bone.
Lightning flashed a little too bright, and thunder boomed a little too close.
She huddled against the door to Sugarcube Corner and pounded it with her hoof. She saw somepony run across the street a few feet from her, almost carried aloft by the gale. He grasped a streetlamp and dragged himself into a nearby shop. She shivered for a moment before thumping the door again.
“Sorry! Sorry!” a bright voice said from inside. “I’m coming! Rice, don’t eat that! Pound, get your brother off of the cash register! The silly goof doesn’t know that those coins aren’t chocolate!”
The door opened outward, and Pinkie Pie beamed at Scootaloo. “Oh good, you’re alright. I was starting to worry. Come in before you melt!”
Scootaloo ducked into Sugarcube Corner’s dining area with a laugh. “I’m not made of sugar, Pinkie.”
Pinkie Pie rushed to a mirror she’d hastily set up on a table. She daubed her eyelid with mascara, but not before poking herself with the brush. “Ouch! C’mon, muscle memory, don’t fail me now.”
Without looking up from her makeup, Pinkie rattled off to Scootaloo, “Pound’s done with his homework, but Pumpkin still has a dozen or so problems to work through. Story problems. Nasty stuff. Patty plans on whupping a dragon tonight, so you’ll wanna look through the dress-up stuff. Gummy can help with that one. I whipped up a casserole, and you’re welcome to help yourself at suppertime. Rice’s bottle is in the fridge. You know how to heat it up. I’ve picked out a few appropriate titles for bedtime story time, so we don’t get another week-long nightmare.”
Pinkie Pie turned to Scootaloo, narrowed her eyes, and pointed a hoof at the pegasus. “I will know if you read them Daring Do, this I swear.”
Scootaloo gave her a half-grin. “Pound and Pumpkin thought it was cool…”
“So did Patty,” Pinkie sighed. Her lips parted as she checked her teeth. “Wild death traps are still a little much for a four-year-old at bedtime, though. She’s a tough little pegasus, but…”
“I know,” Scootaloo said. “It won’t happen again. Don’t worry about it. I usually only make a mistake once.”
Pinkie’s ear twitched. “Pound, Rice is trying to eat the bits again!”
“On it, Pinkie!” Pound shouted from the other room.
“And keep him with you this time!” Pinkie’s muzzle scrunched up. “By my guestimate, Rice is approximately three weeks until a full-blown magic burst. Batten down the hatches, my friend. You may see some silly stuff tonight.”
Pinkie Pie gave herself another once-over, nodded in satisfaction, and hugged Scootaloo close. “And thanks.”
“Hay, no problem, Pinkie.” Scootaloo squeezed back. “You know I love watching them.”
Pinkie held her at leg’s length. Her smile sparkled. “I know. I love them, too.” Her grin grew lopsided. “I just wish I could spend more time with them nowadays.”
She pulled an overcoat, colored bright pink, around her shoulders. “But alas, I must go. My people need me!” She shook her head, causing her bouncy curls to bob. “Or at least Applejack does. Really, really does. Bye, kids!”
The Cake children stampeded into Sugarcube Corner’s storefront. Pound hopped over the tables with his little brother on his back. Patty skidded on the tiled floor at a gallop. Pumpkin walked through a wall, her horn glowing bright blue. One by one, they embraced Pinkie.
Pinkie Pie, Personal Aide to Lord Mayor Applejack, rushed out the door and into the storm.
Scootaloo staggered as she was tackled by the four Cake foals. “Whoa! Hay, guys! What’s happening?”
“Can we play dress up?” Patty Cake asked. “Can we play it right now?”
“I wanna show you how good I’ve gotten at the exercises,” Pound said.
“Can you help me with this really tricky problem?” Pumpkin scraped a hoof along the floor.
Rice sucked on Pound’s ear.
“Tell you what,” Scootaloo said. “Patty, you go get a couple outfits picked out for us while I see if I can help Pumpkin. Pound, you look after Rice until I get a chance to check out your techniques.” She winked at him. “But I’m pretty sure you’ve aced them.”
Pound blushed beet red. “Y-yeah, I hope so.”
Pumpkin led Scootaloo to the kitchen table while Patty rushed up to the playroom. She walked through the door. Scootaloo wasn’t quite watching where she was going, so she bumped her nose against the wood.
Pumpkin opened the door with a sheepish grin. “Sorry. I keep forgetting that other ponies need to do that.”
“Geeze.” Scootaloo tapped the door, noting that it was still as solid as it ever was. “Where’d you learn to do that, anyway?”
“Where do you think?” Pumpkin said. “Playing with Pinkie Pie. I guess I just wanted to see if I could do it. And I did.”
They pulled chairs up to the kitchen table. Scootaloo looked over the papers. “So is this your last week for the summer?”
“Nope, next week is.” Pumpkin leaned back in her seat. “Then we finally get summer vacation.”
“Sweet.” Scootaloo read the problem that was giving Pumpkin trouble. She read it again. And again. “Uh huh. Uh huh.”
Pumpkin read the problem aloud. “‘Manehattan and Baltimare are sixty miles apart. Train A goes fifty miles per hour. Train B goes thirty miles per hour. If the two trains leave Manehattan and Baltimare at the same time, at what distance from Baltimare do they pass each other?’” She let her chin drop to the table. “Never, because the stupid conductors let them get on the same track so they collided and exploded.”
Scootaloo picked up a pencil in her mouth. “It’s gonna be a long couple of weeks, huh?”
“Yup.”
Gummy had grown a bit over the years. He was about a meter long, but still didn’t seem to have a single tooth in his maw. He survived off the wet dog food Pinkie purchased from the pet supplier in town. He sucked on it before gulping down the remainder. Ponies had expressed concern that the poor dear was going to have problems if he couldn’t chew his food, but Pinkie remarked that his stomach juices were strong enough to digest metal. That tended to end the conversation.
The alligator lay on his back, his toothless mouth hanging open, as little Patty Cake stood atop his belly. Her dress was made out of a variety of discarded bits of sewn-together cloth, leaving her a patchwork princess. She held a wooden wand in her mouth, which she pointed at his head. “Now you’re my friend, you big, bad dragon! You have to help me put the castle back together!”
Scootaloo cheered from among the wooden blocks that the “dragon” had knocked down. The feather on her conical hat wafted to and fro. “All hail Princess Patty! Hero of the land!”
Rice giggled as he sucked on the knight’s shield he’d carried into battle.
Gummy rolled over and picked up a block in his mouth. He set it gently on top of another as Patty rode on his back. “We’re gonna build it bigger to keep out the Booze!”
Scootaloo choked on her own spit holding back a guffaw. “Don’t you mean ‘the Smooze,’ my lady?”
Patty jumped off of Gummy, ran up to Scootaloo, and flared her wings out. “The Booze is a jillian times worse than the Smooze! I stopped the dragon so that he could help fight it!”
Scootaloo looked at the alligator that was dutifully rebuilding the castle. She bopped the little cardboard horn on Patty’s head. “Even the princess needs help to save the kingdom, huh?”
“Uh huh!” Patty held her head high as she stared into the misty, unknown world of the playroom. “If she doesn’t have friends, a princess can’t do her job to protect her kingdom! Pinkie said so.”
“Pinkie’s a very wise pony,” Scootaloo said. “I think she knows what she’s talking about.”
Patty turned around. She tilted her head and pouted her lips. “Do you wanna be a princess when you grow up?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “Nah, I always wanted to be an awesome flyer like Rainbow Dash.” She ruffled Patty’s blue mane. “Besides, I already am grown up.”
She knelt down to the filly’s level, her hat’s feather covering one eye. “Why? Do you wanna be a princess when you grow up?”
Patty performed several rapid nods. “Uh huh! I wanna wear pretty dresses and live in a castle and fight monsters!” She tilted her head. “Or maybe a firefighter.”
She waved her wand at Gummy. “Higher, dragon! We have to keep out the gross, smelly, evil—”
Scootaloo whipped off her hat and covered herself with a blanket. “Nothing can stop… the Booze!”
Rice squealed with delight and wacked her with his shield.
Patty yelped and jumped to the top of Gummy’s tower. She lifted her wand and shook sparkles off the end. “Go away, Booze! The Princess of Cake banishes you!”
“Without friendship,” Scootaloo growled, “you are nothing against me!”
Thunder crashed outside the window. The inside lights dimmed as lightning flashed through the curtains. The house was plunged into near-darkness in an instant.
Patty screamed at the top of her lungs and fell off the tower. Scootaloo scooped her out of the air with her wings. She reached out and held the weeping Rice close to her chest. Gummy trundled between the ponies and the window and growled quietly.
Scootaloo rocked the foals until they quieted down. “Hay, it’s okay. The storm’s not gonna hurt you. Easy. Easy. I’m right here, and you’re safe.”
Pound opened the door to the playroom and shook his DoubleJoy Boy. “Hay, what happened to the magic? I was in the middle of level ten!”
Scootaloo shushed him with a hoof to her mouth. “Lightning must have disrupted the magic flow through the house. You know you’re not supposed to use that stuff during a storm.”
“Well, there wasn’t that much lightning.” Another bolt flashed, causing Pound to jump. “Until now.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. She set the little ones on her back and covered them with her wings. “Whatever. Get your sister and we can have supper.”
Patty’s pink wings trembled. “Don’t wanna have supper.”
Scootaloo smiled. “A princess needs to eat to keep up her strength. You can’t fight monsters if you’re not big and strong.”
“Not big and strong.” Patty buried her head in Scootaloo’s neck. “Little and scared.”
Scootaloo’s mouth dipped down. She shooed Pound ahead with her hoof, and then nuzzled Patty. “Hay, it’s okay.”
“No, s’not.” Patty pulled her tail to her chest. “Scared of thunder.”
Scootaloo looked at the little pegasus for a long moment. “Did you ever hear the story of how to giggle at the ghostly?”
“No.”
“Rainbow Dash told me about it. It was just after they met Twilight.”
“Princess Twilight?”
“Well, she wasn’t a princess, yet.”
“Oh.”
Scootaloo tilted her head. “All of them—Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity—were traveling through the Everfree Forest to try to find the Elements of Harmony.”
Patty tilted her head. “How could Twilight go into the Everfree if she wasn’t a princess?”
“She had to,” Scootaloo said. “Otherwise Nightmare Moon would make the night last forever!”
Patty gasped. “That’s mean!”
“Yeah, it is. They were walking through the forest, when all of the sudden, a tree opened its mouth and growled at them!”
“Trees don’t have mouths.”
“They do in the Everfree.”
“Whoa.”
“Everypony was scared! They all ran away to hide, but there were scary trees everywhere! Rainbow Dash screamed, Twilight covered her head, and they all gathered together in a group hug.”
Patty hugged her tail tighter. Scootaloo reached over her to pick Rice up in her foreleg. “Do you know what happened?”
Patty’s head came up. “Princess Twilight beat up the trees?”
Scootaloo giggled. “No. Pinkie Pie started making faces at them.” She stuck her tongue out and made a “ffrt” sound. “The trees were just a spooky trick, and Pinkie showed the other girls that if you just laughed at the scary thing, it wasn’t so scary anymore.”
Rice sucked on his hoof. Drool dribbled down his cheeks as he stared wide-eyed at Scootaloo. She ticked his horn, and he giggled.
“Pinkie saved them,” Patty said. Her forehead wrinkled. “Did they beat up any monsters?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “Nope.”
The house shook as another thunderbolt struck. Patty covered her eyes. “I’m still scared.”
“Maybe we need to do like Pinkie does.” Scootaloo forced a laugh, “Ha, ha, ha.”
“Ha, ha—” Patty squeaked as lightning flashed.
“Boom!” Scootaloo blew raspberries into Patty’s stomach. The filly giggled.
“Boom!” Rice said. He pressed his lips together and blew bubbles.
Scootaloo and Patty both laughed at him. The next time a shockwave hit the house, they all wiggled their tongues and blathered.
Pound and Pumpkin sat at the table. They stared quietly at the grown pegasus mare and the two young foals making faces at each other. Pumpkin leaned on her hoof. “Well, it finally happened. Time to contact the institute.”
“Pumpkin!” Pound hissed.
“Cool it, you two,” Scootaloo said. She set Patty down in her chair and strapped Rice into his highchair. “I’ll get Rice’s milk fixed up and set out Pinkie’s casserole.” She grinned at Pound. “You can show me your progress after supper.”
Pound puffed his chest out. “I’ll help you in the kitchen.”
“Sure, why not?” Scootaloo tilted her head at Pumpkin. “Keep an eye on these two?”
Pumpkin threw a mock salute.
Scootaloo and Pound walked into the kitchen, where the colt took to the air. He wheeled around the room easily, pulling plates out of cupboards and stacking them on his forelegs. Scootaloo lit the stove and set a pot of water on top. Once it was warm, she pulled it off the stove and stuck the bottle of formula inside.
Pound flicked the stove off. “Have you figured out how to fly, yet?”
“Nadda.” Scootaloo squirted her foreleg to test the bottle’s temperature. She nodded, satisfied. “Not gonna stop me trying.”
“Nah.” Pound gathered up some silverware. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”
“Me, too.” Scootaloo looked up as he winged by overhead. “Doesn’t look like anything’s slowing you down!”
“N-nope.” Pound stuttered. “Your instructions are really awesome.”
Scootaloo waited until he’d returned from setting the table. “Maybe you’re a future Wonderbolt, huh?”
“Oh. Um. Probably not.” He pulled the casserole out of the oven. “I kinda wanna be a baker like my mom, dad, and Pinkie.”
“That’s cool,” Scootaloo said. She grabbed the other side of the casserole when it wobbled in his grip. “That’s really cool. What do you like to bake?”
“Doughnuts.” Pound walked backwards towards the table. “Doesn’t get any better than doughnuts.”
Scootaloo shifted the weight of the pan to lean more heavily on her end. “I hear doughnuts make it hard to fly.”
Pound’s ears tilted down for a second, before jumping back up. “Ha. But if you eat enough doughnuts to drag you down, you clearly aren’t savoring them enough.”
She laughed. The windows rattled, drawing her ear to them. “I think we’d better set up sleeping bags in the basement. I don’t like how the wind sounds against the windows.”
Pound nodded as they set the pan down on the table. “Do you want me to get the stuff ready?”
Scootaloo waved a hoof. “Naw, let’s eat. Then we can see your exercises. Then we can get the stuff set up. Priorities, man!”
Scootaloo sat at the head of the table and clasped her hooves together. She bowed her head while the kids mimicked her stance. “Blessed are You, the Creator, King of the Universe, who taught us to bring forth bread from the earth.”
Pound flapped one wing. “Never mind that none of us here are earth ponies.”
“Old habits die hard, dude.” Scootaloo reached towards the casserole with a knife and cut out large slices. “Dig in, guys. Pinkie made it, so you know it’s the good stuff!”
Some time of quiet eating was broken by Patty speaking up. “Do you love Rumble?”
Scootaloo’s tail flicked. “Why do you ask that?”
“’Cuz Lackadaisy said she saws you kiss him.” Patty’s wide, innocent eyes sparkled. “Are you gonna marry him?”
Scootaloo took a big bite. “We’re barely even dating. It’s way too early to say.”
“Mommy says only kiss somepony you wanna marry,” Patty said. “Do you wanna marry him?”
Scootaloo slowly, steadily, carefully took a bite and chewed it one hundred times. She smirked as she watched the little filly squirm. “Maybe,” she said at last.
“That’s not an answer!” Patty squealed.
“It is for now.” Scootaloo twirled her spoon in the air. “It isn’t like the storybooks where a guy saves you from the monster and you live happily ever after. It’s learning about each other.”
Pound gave his plate a glum look. “Yeah. We figured.”
Scootaloo lifted an eyebrow. “So you put Patty up to this.”
“We did,” Pumpkin said. “You know nopony tells us anything. We have…” She squinted. “Ways of finding things out. Direct interrogation is just one of them.”
Scootaloo leaned her elbow on the table. “Oh really? What are the other ones?”
Pumpkin patted the bottom of her poofy pigtails. “Oh, you know; eavesdropping, bribery, generally being really darn cute, but that part’s just me and my sis.”
“I help!” Patty said.
Scootaloo looked from Patty to Pumpkin. “What about Rice? He’s cute.”
“He’s ‘baby’ cute.” Pumpkin swallowed her casserole. “We’re ‘little girl’ cute.”
“They tell me it’s a big difference,” Pound mumbled.
Scootaloo leaned back in her chair. “Alright then. When we’re done eating, the ‘little girl cute’ girls can help me clean up while Pound watches the ‘baby cute’ baby.”
“What?” Pumpkin slumped in her chair. “Fine.”
She picked at her food. “Since you’re changing the subject, I think I know how to get you to fly.”
Scootaloo stuffed her half-chewed mush in her cheek. “How’zat?”
Pumpkin tilted her fork back and forth on the table. She nibbled her bottom lip. “Do you think Discord would help?”
Scootaloo laughed right from her belly, until the food in her cheek got caught in her throat. She hacked and coughed until she could breathe again. “Discord? The Discord?”
Pound scowled. “Gotta say, Sis, that isn’t the best idea you’ve had all day.”
Pumpkin crossed her forelegs. “I’m serious! The guy has magic like you wouldn’t believe, maybe even more than the princesses. He can do all these crazy things and he’s just sitting in Fluttershy’s cottage, twiddling his thumbs. He’d probably be happy for something to do.”
“Yeah, but…” Pound waved his spoon around. “He’s Discord. Asking for help is asking for trouble.”
“Mommy says Fluttershy says he says he’s a nice guy, now,” Patty piped up. She sat back, satisfied with her contribution to the conversation.
“Well, he is nice.” Pumpkin stared at her hooves. “He fixed my squeaky chicken when she lost her squeaker.”
The table was silent for a good, long moment.
“You talked with Discord?” Pound asked. “Did you tell anypony?”
“No.” Pumpkin shuffled in her seat. “He said something about keeping his charitable deeds secret. Whatever that means.”
“It means he’s sneaking around, like usual.” Scootaloo shrugged. “I dunno, Pumpkin. It seems like a pretty iffy thing.”
Pumpkin shoveled a large bite into her mouth. “He never shuts up about the time he took off Rainbow Dash’s wings. If he can take them off and put them back on again, can’t he do the same to help you?”
Scootaloo swallowed hard. “What you’re talking about is both crazy and scary.”
Pumpkin shrugged. “Aren’t you running out of other choices?”
“I think I gotta run out of all my other choices before I choose that one.” Scootaloo spread her wings. “I mean, it’s Discord!”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Pumpkin tilted her head back and waited. “You can’t think of any other reason besides ‘It’s Discord,’ can you?”
“Sounds good enough to me,” Pound said.
Pumpkin turned her chair and glowered at the wall.
Scootaloo watched her pout, tapping the table idly. She leaned her head back and gave the ceiling an accusing glare. “Alright, you know what? You’re probably really actually right. A little.”
Pumpkin looked at Scootaloo out of the corner of her eye.
“I appreciate the thought, Pumpkin,” Scootaloo said. “I think… I’ll talk to him about it. I’m gonna be seeing him tomorrow anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to get his perspective, would it?”
A smile tugged at Pumpkin’s mouth. “You mean it?”
“Sure! What could it hurt?” Scootaloo folded her wings against her back. “It’s not like he can do anything to me without permission. He’d have to answer to the princesses for that.”
Patty Cake’s wings fluttered. “They’d beat him but good!”
“Yeah, totally.” Scootaloo stacked her plate on top of Patty’s. “Who knows? This could be a good thing.”
Pumpkin wiggled down into her sleeping bag as Pound performed wing-ups. Scootaloo circled around him, examining his posture.
“Keep your back straight or you’ll hurt it. Make sure your wings don’t twist. You’re doing great! Keep it up!”
Pound reached the peak of his wing-up. “Twenty!” He slumped to the ground. “That’s… about it.”
“Great improvement!” Scootaloo set him on his hooves. “You’re on your way to being one of the best fliers I know. Go on, get your teeth brushed.”
He trotted away, a big grin on his face.
Scootaloo looked over at Patty, who was wrapped head-to-tail in blankets and sleeping soundly. A little further away, she had set up Rice’s cradle, where he was babbling in foalspeak to the ceiling or anypony who would listen. Occasionally, whenever he heard a rumble of thunder, he would shout “Boom!” and giggle.
Pumpkin hugged her squeaky chicken tight. “Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo sat next to the filly. “Yeah? ’Sup?”
“Why do you want to fly so bad?” Pumpkin asked.
Scootaloo pursed her lips. “Huh. Huh, you know, that really should be the easiest question in the world to answer.”
Pumpkin squeaked her chicken. “It’s not?”
“Well, it kinda is.” Scootaloo brushed her mane back. “Long story short: It’s super-awesome. Short story long: It’s…”
Her eyes unfocused. “Every time I saw a pegasus wing by overhead, I got this feeling. This need. My heart… my magic wanted to be up there. I need to go fast. I need to fly high. I need that rush.”
“So you’re an adrenaline junky.”
Scootaloo snorted. “How do you even know what that means?”
Pumpkin shrugged.
“Anyway,” Scootaloo said, “it really is the coolest thing ever. When I first saw Rainbow Dash fly into town, it was like, ‘I wanna do that.’ I want to do those tricks, to fly that fast, to be that awesome. Now, though, I don’t wanna be exactly like Rainbow Dash.” She winked. “She can’t ride a scooter to save her life, after all.”
Pumpkin giggled. “You’re the best at that.”
“Don’t forget it. But I guess the long answer is the same.” Scootaloo spread her wings. “How awesome is flying? Way awesome.”
Pumpkin yawned as she settled into her bag. “I really hope you get to fly. It’s no fair if you don’t.”
“Me, too.” Scootaloo patted Pumpkin’s head. “And you know what? I’m gonna keep believing until I finally get up there.”
Pound walked down the staircase into the basement. “So that’s the big inspirational speech, huh? ‘I love flying because flying is cool.’” He gave her a sheepish grin.
Scootaloo chucked his shoulder. “Good night, Smarmy.” She rubbed her eyes as she trotted past him. “Sweet dreams. I’ll keep an eye out for your parents.”
Pound’s smile faltered as he nodded. “Good night, Scootaloo.”
And from the mouth of foals comes wisdom. Twilight should hear that and make it a Friendship Report!
Hmmm, seeing Discord... this could be interesting. I do think Boredom would convince him to at least try to help.
Oh lordy.
I dunno, Scoots, I think that the full magical examination might be a good idea at this point. And I bet that the personal connection with Twilight might just help with the cost. The good 'ol boy network may be unfair when you don't have it, but if you do you might as well use it.
Heh, like I said, use it if you've got it.
Princesses fight monsters, clearly.
Talking to Discord might not be a bad idea. At the very least there probably won't be any lasting negative consequences.
Slice of Pony Life! Completely honest here, I was having flashes to that comic for most of the chapter.
Very cute chapter, I agree completely that Slice of Life is best headcanon for older Cake kids. I do like the idea that they tried to mail off Patty and Rice to Zebrica at some point though.
HA! Who's laughing about wearing clothes now ponies! Wait- where DID Scootaloo hid that peanut brittle?
What's the conversion rate for the Gryphon thingamabob?
Oh Snap, when did that happen?
I assume at every meeting, Mary just says "Rabbble rabble rabble" over and over again.
Nice try, but you're not getting that song in stuck in my head again. I just watched Rainbow Rocks, and Daniel Ingram is my master now. Anyway, this threat doesn't need an Utter Flutter to stop it, just Berry Punch!
derpicdn.net/img/2012/10/15/123155/full.png
Aww, I would think after living there for ~10 years, ponies in ponyville would have warmed up to him more. And Discord helped the CMC try and get their cutie marks in the past! You'd think Scootaloo would be less suspicious of him. I can't imagine Discord could really fix the problem, it seems to me that most of his magic only lasts a day or two, unless he binds it into a plant or something. Nevertheless, by doing the magical equivalent of popping Scootaloo's hatch and tinkering around with the engine, Discord may be able to help Scoots figure out what the problem is.
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They have quite a bit to say if you're willing to listen.
Maybe ten years ago... Makes me wonder if they're still writing journal entries?
Not if he's still in a relationship with Apathy. Though I think he gave her up for Mischievousness long ago.
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It might if she bothered to ask, but I don't know that's she'd be too happy being a "charity case" in her own mind. Plus, it's not like Twilight is family or anything, not really.
Four-year-olds are very focused individuals when they want to be.
Probably isn't a word you want to use around the King of Chaos.
Croquembouche!
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Maybe they're visiting Uncle Gateau?
She was washing it out of her wings for weeks afterward.
Time to pull a number out of my hat.
Griffon Rupees and Equestrian Bits used to be at about a 5.75-1 conversion, but after the "discovery" of gunpowder, it's edging up towards 4.15-1.
Yeah, those numbers look pretty good. Griffon economy's improving.
Lord Mayor Applejack, Chapter 1:
Now she's got her own honest-to-gosh political office.
Maybe. Maybe with a "Party, party, party" thrown in, too. Just for good measure.
Hail Lord Ingram, dark master of highschool bands!
Haven't seen it yet, but I'm looking forward to it so that I can add Adagio, Sonata, and Aria to my stories. Maybe even to this series? Maybe I've even been setting them up?
"No needsh t-tah *urp* rewarrrrd meh. A shhhhh... A job well-dun ish i-i-itsh *hic* itsh own reweeerd."
Oooh boy. Friends Forever comic series, perhaps? An issue I haven't read at all?
Le sigh. Either they had a falling out, or this series is gonna stick closer to the Cartoon-Only Canon than the Everything-is-Included Canon.
I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that his magic is anything but permanent when he wants it to be, unless you have examples?
Wearing a greasy mechanic's uniform, of course. Maybe tightening her fairy strings with a wrench, unscrewing her ears that are too tight, and oiling her joints.
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Did he give the Cake's
surrogate daughternew apprentice a baby alligator?Can't have been much Peanut Brittle then!
Makes sense, griffons are excellent inventors after all. In fact, I believe it was a Griffon (like many, named after a bird of prey) who invented skateboards and scooters for young cubs to perform cool tricks with. By strange coincidence, his fur was the same color as Scootaloo! Yes, our Scoots owes a big debt of gratitude to Tawny Hawk.
Man, my memory is weak, I read every chapter of that twice and I still forgot!
Oh god... if she can't get Pinkie on her side, Mary's just going to have to be Pinkie! ...Badly. I bet she's stopped dying her mane, and every once in a while she tries a really strained rendition of "Smile" that no one else sings along with.
Not sure if your icons are a coincidence, or a reference to best song ever "Trix up my sleeves." Anyway, I will now be watching to see if there is a magical gem appearing in Mary Mare's cravat. And as someone who always liked the Misfits on Jem, it was great to see them in the FiM universe.
Great news for Berry then, in my experience the reward for a job well done is another job!
Nooooooooooooo! It was a Friends Forever #2, and he was named an honorary member of the CMC. But make it a falling out! There's no need to do something as drastic and terrible as cutting off comic continuity!
I admit that's more of a fanon theory really, based on the fact that he works in a generally cartoony fashion, often like a souped-up Pinkie Pie. Although in the same comic issue, his main magical construct disappeared as soon as he got distracted. I always figured it had to do with the inherent instability of chaos. Although of course, if Discord really wants to he can make things permanent, especially by doing things like tying his chaos magic into the DNA of something, which is how things like Plunder Vines and Poison Joke are still around.
This is going to end with Scootaloo's scooter becoming sentient and riding her around town, isn't it?
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As far as I know according to Slice, no. Or did I miss something?
Hush, you! Her wings grew in long enough to cover her face, at the least.
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Indubitably. He's also the star of a video game series Button Mash enjoys, which are made in conjunction with the Zebra game development company, Nevertrough.
Twice? I'm flattered! It sounds like it's time for round three, though.
"Come on everyvoter, smile, smile, smile!
Fill my ballot with green marks, green marks,
All you need to do is vote, vote, vote
And I'll give you all you wa-ant!
"Yes, my every little promise
Is as good as fulfilled, honest,
Just give me taxes everyday...
Smile, smile, pile, pile... PILE! Gigantic pile! Of bits and smiles!"
TRIXIE HAS A SONG!? Squeeeeeeeeee.
It may not be as obvious as a tiny insignificant detail that doesn't get explained. It may be as subtle as a giant plot twist that's already run its course, as far as anybody knows.
Yeah, you'n me, both. The price of being dependable.
But... but... but... But that's awesome. I can't break up the band like that, it's uncommon horrible! That's just too adorable.
I mean, I never even set up for them having a previous friendship. You've seen how Ponyville treats Discord! If I follow the new continuity to conclusion, something more dreadful than... Aha!
Okay, since I typed all that already I'll leave it. I'm gonna say that the events of Friends Forever #2 happened... before Tirek. He reconciled with the Six, kinda, but the rest of Ponyville is still not happy.
Ah, there we go. Canon is satisfied.
I'd say he works on rule of funny, but then, he's Discord. He don't need no stinking rules. So there you go, Discord rejects your theory on grounds of being too reasonable.
Also, yes. Chaos is a truly unstable thing. Very, very unstable.
No, but now I wish I'd thought of it.
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That might have been a fic, but look at it this way: Now that you're not sure, you have an excuse to read through the Slice of Life archives again!
I think I'd take the time to read through the adventures of the twice-crowned prince of Equestria instead.
has some sort of cabaret/rock fusion beat that is as awesome as it sounds.
Great, time to get out the yarn and tin-foil hats again.
Awwww, you're the loyalest and most dependable of authors.
Hooray! Makes sense, BTW, Discord never gave them a bouquet of apology flowers
But with a crazy-long half-life, I guess.
I must say, as cute as Scootaloo babysitting the Cakes was, Patty's game about "the Booze" being a terrible monster really had me concerned. Perhaps I'm just reading too much into things, and this isn't really the poor kid's way of coping with some yet to be revealed domestic problems. Still a fun chapter even with my overanalysis!
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It was prrrrobably a fic, then. I had just finished a stroll down memory lane before writing this chapter.
I'm told that those are good, too.
I will be strong and resist the temptation to look it up. Strong!
Why'd you ever put them away in the first place?
Not nearly, but I'm trying!
Man, it gives their meeting in chapter three all sorts of new kinds of sad.
Well... we'll get to see how long next chapter.
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Exercising the power of Word of Author, I'll assure you that the Cakes are not performing any sort of substance abuse (unless you count sugar). If anything, Mrs. Cake just informed her yesterday that alcohol is potentially dangerous, and impressionable young minds tend to be fantastical. Where she heard the word "booze" being mentioned, well, she lives in a hip and happening meeting place for the townsponies, and little pitchers have big ears.
No, the Cakes are not the ponies with problems in this story.
I Pinkie Promise it doesn't spoil the movie, unless you thought a key plot point would be Trixie being non - powerful and non - great. This is a soundtrack clip, since they only play about 10 seconds of the song in the movie.
Now you just have to work on your eyebrows.
Yeah. Thing is, I think Tirek and Discord never drained foals without cutie marks. And that actually makes it worse. I think it's a lot easier to forgive someone for hurting you, than for not hurting you, but hurting your big sisters and other people you love instead.
I'm assuming from this that, as a politician, Pinkie was forced to drop her bubbling habit. Good riddance, that kind of behavior may be acceptable for mailmares, but a Vice - Mayor is a role model!
How about an alternative explanation: Patty overheard Pinkie complaining to Mrs. Cake about Mary Mare and her followers disrupting every speech she or Applejack try to give. And Patty seized on the response from her mom that "nothing can stop the boos."
Question: how do you put in those embedded footnotes?
Sounds like it's gonna be a good one next chapter.
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Wha? They cut her song?
Who's more evil, the editor or the Dazzlings?
No, no. If you hurt children emotionally by smiting their parents, all you get is a whole generation of chosen ones assaulting your castle to get revenge. Tirek is smarter (and eviler) than that. When he said he drained all the magic, he meant all the magic.
Dude needed that smack-down.
While Pinkie never had a Tolkien-esque enjoyment of soaping, she did indulge from time to time (r.e., when she had to do some heavy deductive thinking).
Because "booze" is a funnier word.
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[right_insert ] [/right_insert ] Put the stuff you want to embed between the tags, and place the tagged paragraph before the one you want it to appear next to.
Let the footnotes reign!
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That's the plan! I hope you like Discord, because by golly you're getting Discord!
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That depends, have you ever seen Jem and the Holograms? How evil did you think the Misfits were?
I suppose, I just assumed the way ponies lost their cutie marks, draining their magic has something to do with draining their destinies or something, so I figured Tirek couldn't do it, and was planning to wait for foals to get their cutie marks and do it then. (Worst cuteceñera ever!)
It definitely is, but I assume that Patty's ability to verbally distinguish between homophones and understand context is limited. For all we know, she overhead Buttonmash complaining about Mareio World and how, whenever you turn your back on them, nothing can stop the Boos.
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I haven't seen that (at the time it was on TV I was more a Transfomers person myself), but I expect they were either pure evil, or just a bunch of pains in the butt.
Speaking of that, Jem is getting a movie. How bizarre is that, and when can we expect MLP G1 to get the same treatment?
As far as Near-Future Ponyville goes, and I really need a better name for this series, he drained everypony. The cutie marks disappeared because they are a product of the magic flowing out of a pony's heart. No magic, no cutie marks (and if given enough time, no heart ). Also exclusive to this series, destinies are less of a "you must do this" and more of a "this is what I chose to do," so it's less something to be removed and more something to be... forgotten.
The Super Barley-Oat Bros. do run into the occasional invincible ghost...
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As a huge fan of 80s glam rock, I am highly in favor of this movie, but it will probably be a less magical version of Rainbow Rocks. Of course, if they just have Jem and other bands playing modern generic pop, you can consider my jimmies severely rustled.
I think Hasbro thinks EqG covers a lot of the same areas as G1, so I doubt we will see more from that era, though I hope they bring back more villains. (Though Sombra was obviously cribbed from Grogar). Thinking about G1 though, I realized that the key story there: Human girl goes through magic portal to different dimension, befriends magical ponies, and helps them defeat villains while the ponies teach the human lessons about friendship. It's like a reversed version of EqG, with Sunset representing Meghan Williams. Gonna have to think about that more.
Jeez, that's even darker than canon Tirek! Not that it really matters. I've read several interesting "what if Tirek won" stories where he rules a conquered empire, but people seem to have forgotten Celestia saying that if the earth ponies have their magic drained, they won't be able to grow food. Makes sense, you would expect as a society over time Equestria would have a population/farmer - cultivated crop ratio that depends on earth pony magic. In the end, whether foals have their magic or not, it won't matter when everypony starves...
I thought that was only for the game where Luis I became jealous of his older brother, turned into Nightmare Plumber, and tried to trap his brother in a haunted mansion forever?
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I fear your worst dreams shall be confirmed, but that's just my gut talking.
That is some beautiful symmetry there.
A bit. This whole series is a little darker than canon in ways. You should see the backstory for Sombra (when it becomes relevant ).
See, I think he was several flavors of evil genius. Now that he's got the power of all the ponies, he's got the power of all the ponies. It was he who would grow the crops, change the weather, and raise the very sun! They would have to bow to him or starve and be smite-ified!
Plus, other races grow food just fine without earth pony magic. I'll bet the griffons think it's an obnoxious luxury.
You may be confusing the story of Squeegee's Mansion with some folk story or another.
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I am also a fan of rock operas with Disney - style villainous expository songs or soliloquys or...Sonatas or what have you.
I think the difference between Sombra and Tirek is Sombra is classic Lawful Evil, he wants to rule over a bunch of slaves. In contrast, to me Tirek is actually Neutral Evil, he doesn't care about others even to the extent of wanting them to grovel before him. Sombra sought magical power to give himself political power, for Tirek magical power was the end goal. I think his plan was just to suck up all the magic and then run around laughing and blasting things as everyone else died.
Man, if I was an earth pony and Tirek took over and was like "Ha ha ha, you can no longer labor in the fields for 14 hours a day, for I have taken your magic, and I will grow all the food and to get some you must bow to me," my head would hit the dirt so fast I would get a migraine. Then in the end when Tirek is defeated and Celestia's all "Wonderful news my little ponies! We've defeated Tirek and given you your magic back! Now hit those grain fields hard, 'cause I worked up a powerful appetite in Tartarus, so after 5 minutes raising the sun, I'm going to spend the rest of the day gorging on cake." I'd be like "Yay, the good guys won, everything is back to normal that's... great I guess. "
Dang, I did try to come up with a ponified name for Luigi, nice work. Oh loyalest and most dependable of authors, what is the name of Squeegee's older brother?
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Aw, gorsh...
Sonata's backstory is at its core very similar, though many details are different. Different takes on the same interpretation of the character. We'll find out more in the Button Mash, Sweetie Belle adventure.
I have to agree with your Lawful/Neutral Evil call. My thought is that yes, power was Tirek's end goal, but not just magical. I've heard it said that there's not much reason to be a god if you're not god of anything. I think the big guy just enjoyed power for the sake of power, whether it came from tearing mountains apart or grinding powerless miniature horses under his cloven hooves.
Hay, if you can swallow your resentment at being a pet bug for all eternity, don't let me say you're wrong.
They are the Barley-Oat Bros. Therefore, he is Barley-Oat. Barley-Oat and Squeegee.
Although, about Luis I...
From Wikipedia:
I might like yours better for the irony.
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That is a sweet quote. You're probably right about what Tirek's intent was, but then again Nightmare Moon's intent was that everypony go "Gee whiz, now that I've been staring at the night sky for 24 hours, I realize the day sucks and we are better off without that superficial showboat Celestia. Let's agree Luna is best/only Princess and start farming mushrooms."
One of the big downsides of being incredibly selfish is it's really hard to anticipate the consequences of your actions. I think Tirek would get real tired of magic farming fairly quickly, and he would have to choose between doing a boring chore, giving power back to some ponies, or letting everyone starve. I think he'd choose option 3.
Oh, and magical farming may be a luxury to others, but A) That's probably why Equestria is a major food exporter (Sweet Apple Acres must be selling those pigs to someone. B) The economy and infrastructure in Equestria depend on magical food productivity. In the USA, if all gas-powered farm equipment stopped working, we'd have a huge famine, even though farmers in developing nations get by without such fancy equipment.
And they're still plumbers. I know it's crude, but I suspect Squeegee feels like he's always cleaning up Barley-Oat's messes.
Hilarious. I feel like the character of Luigi was based on a stallion that used to date one of Scootaloo's aunts (not Roseluck). Maybe she has flashbacks to that haunted mansion, and the horror-the horror!- she endured there.
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It's what the road to Tartarus is paved with, after all. Literally.
You gotta believe he'd only do it after the requisite twenty hours of groveling a day, during which he would play "kick the pegasus" and "pin the unicorn on the dragon" and "dirt pony dynamite." And if he got bored, well, too bad.
I think the power of a kingdom's worth of earth ponies would make farming so ridiculously easy he wouldn't have to lift a finger. Maybe an eyebrow.
Too true, too true, I was just getting at it being possible.
For every stray fireball that passes Barley-Oat, there's one that smacks Squeegee square in the face. He doesn't even rate on Wowser the Kappa King's radar as a threat.
That answers so many questions about Daisy, and raises so many others...
And, you know, if Daring Do is a real pony who has a fictional character based on her, who's to say...?
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I thought that was enormous doggie-plop?
Exactly, which is why sooner or later everypony starves.
I think you and I disagree on how Tirek's magic-stealing works. I think when Tirek steals someone's magic, he adds their raw power to his energy reserve, and his stature grows in size, but that's it: He doesn't gain their actual abilities. He doesn't fly after he drains the pegasi, and after he drains Discord's power he doesn't stomp Twilight flat with all of Discord's versatile tricks, he just gets bigger and fires off basic magic bolts and shields. Maybe he could eventually learn the proper spells for things (or he may have known them from before he was imprisoned) but I don't think he is automatically able to do whatever the creature he drained magic from can do, even if that creature can use their abilities untrained.
Now I have an idea of who Garble's dad is.
This is why I love those fics where Ditzy is Daring Do's sister. Makes me realize that Daring Do is probably her given name, and A.K. Yearling must be the fake identity. And you know whenever Button Mash walks by the Flowershop playing his Game-Colt, and that Super Barley-Oat music fills the air, Daisy gets that thousand yard stare...
Still better off than Barley-Oat's girlfriend though. I heard she got hit by one of those fruit-transformation spells and was eaten by Twilight!
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Well, again, just as far as this series goes and not necessarily my headcanon, unicorn magic is always unicorn magic, no matter where it is or who uses it. Same with pegasus, earth, and alicorn magic. It can be channeled different (explosive) ways, like Scootaloo's waterbending, but it's ultimately Magic A doing what Magic A does.
And no, not automatically able, but the raw farming power is there.
Plus, he'd have to grow himself a pair of wings to fly.
Oh gosh, of course! Ahahahahahaha!
I have a couple responses to that.
1: Twilight doesn't eat Toadstools. She doesn't even like mushrooms!
2: Twilight eats a peach will never die, will it?
3: No, you're getting confused. Barley-Oat's first girlfriend, Paulina, got kidnapped by a giant mutant donkey named Kong. Their final confrontation atop an unfinished skyscraper ended with Kong dead and Paulina hospitalized. She left him soon after for fear it would happen again. It made Barley-Oat into the hero we see today, as he strives for a world where there's always a horseshoe to stomp evil in the face.
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So...Scootaloo is a centaur? I gotcha!
...considering how often I still make chicken jokes, I'm guessing no.
you say "dead," I say Crankey has a history that's barely been explored.
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...Yes.
Touche. Granted the chicken thing is still funny, despite what people say. I think the funniest thing about the peach is its origin.
An untapped history... in cart racing!
Well, if Manehattan and Baltimare were eighty miles apart instead of sixty, then the two trains would obviously pass each other after one hour, thirty miles from Baltimare. But they only have to go 3/4 that distance, so it only takes 3/4 the time; so Train B travels at thirty miles/hour for forty-five minutes before it meets Train A, which puts it 22.5 miles away from Baltimare.
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A+, which is about ten points more than Pumpkin got. Story problems are evil, I'll tell you what.
Next chapter time.
While an interesting concept, I think you meant "border".
Correction, Nowhere is only accessible to high level unicorns and Pinkie Pie.
I nearly decided to use bits and pieces myself, but then I remembered a unicorn in SSCS6000 saying he wouldn't pay one cent. Pity, it was absolutely hilarious.
Nice to know that her hydrokinesis has some limits. I would've suggested creating an umbrella out of water, if it's thick enough it should disperse the kinetic energy of the individual raindrops.
Pinkie Pie putting on mascara?
pre00.deviantart.net/2228/th/pre/i/2012/273/4/9/mascara_by_edanarose-d5gd8nb.png
The things she puts up with for Applejack.
So, has she developed a Pinkie Sense for that, or is that just good hearing?
This is where you reintroduced Pumpkin's phasing ability. That's the cool thing about unicorns, you can give them all sorts of unique spells. I wonder if she would freak out if Twilight asked her to teach it to her?
Well lets see, given the distance and the speed of the trains, and assuming it's train A that leaves from Baltimare, then 37.5 miles away they will crash into each other.
I'm not sure if alligators can actually digest metal, so much as it can stay in their stomach indefinitely without harming them. Of course, this is Equestria, and furthermore this is Pinkie's pet, so the normal rules don't need to apply.
See, now this is what I love about the Equestrian government, pretty princesses whose qualifications are how well the kick monster rump. Seriously, after all this time this line is still so awesome, and even helps with world building to boot.
The DoubleJoy Boy is the equivalent of a Nintendo DS, huh? Good thing the real ones are supposed to use a stylus anyway, otherwise I'd be wondering how they'd use a touch screen. Who do you think was the first in town to get one, Button Mash or Zecora?
Again with this view of Twilight. It's quite fascinating to see how the younger generation who've grown up with Princess Twilight think about her. I'd watch out Celestia, it won't be long before people start swearing by her name instead.
Wait a minute, are none of the Cake foals earth ponies? Man, pony genetics really are weird, and I just know that some of the meaner ponies in town *coughDTcough* are probably spreading nasty rumors about Mrs. Cake as a result.
Finally, the moment I've been waiting for since starting this series of reviews, the moment that made me decide this story absolutely had to go into my favorites, the moment you ponified the Jewish bread blessing! Neither words nor emoticons can express just how awesome I find this! I mean, a reference to Jewish culture alone is a rare sight, but to see it remixed for the My Little Pony universe? *collapses onto the floor with a huge grin on his face*
I'm okay. Wow, those kids are perceptive, both for trying to figure out the intricacies of teen dating to suggesting the one idea that actually works to asking about Scoot's motivation for learning to fly. Never underestimate the intelligence of the young. Learned that the hard way when my sweet middle brother totally tricked everyone else into teaming up against the youngest brother in Risk Legacy only for him to steal a win for himself.
So yes, this is probably my favorite chapter, mostly for the princess job description and the ponified bread blessing, but the rest of the chapter was pretty solid too. Till next time, shalom.
P.S. I apparently need Tumblr in order to view that blog. Nuts.
Well this was a cute chapter.