He's going to the past, to prevent a threat in the future. The only problem: He has gone way back, so far back, that Twilight is still a unicorn, and My Foal (or Foalie) wasn't even born yet.
To prevent an upcoming threat in the future, My Foal has been ordered to run away... To the past. Our hero is in the universe that takes place during the TV Show! What is it that happens in this universe that caused the threat at the Crystal Empire? Can My Foal stop the event before Twilight's coronation?
I moaned and stirred on the ground. I sat up and raised a hand to block the rays of the sun. When I got to my feet, I found myself standing in the middle of a field. I looked around and saw that there was a village ahead of me. Before I could take step, I stopped myself.
'Ok, don't expect anyone to remember you' I thought to myself. 'And whatever you do, do not mention your family. You're in a different timeline! Pretend you are new here, GO!.' I began to walk a steady pace over to where the village is. Above me was a sign that read: 'Welcome to Ponyville'.
I entered the town, ignoring the stares I've been getting. I could hear stuff like:
"Is that a human?" "The last human that arrived went back home!" "But that was a long time ago!" "How did a human end up here?"
I stopped walking and thought to myself. 'Wait a minute... I don't even know where to begin...' I lost my train of thought when something collided with me from behind. When I turned around, my eyes widened a little bit. In front of me was Twilight. Except she was a regular unicorn, and not an alicorn. Standing next to her was a baby dragon. It was Spike! But then I remembered, messing up the past and altering the future is a really big thing. And I'm not stupid enough to do so. Let alone try it. "Come on Twilight, say 'hi'. I'm sure he'll be glad to be your friend." Twilight nervously stepped up to me. "Uh... Hi?" She asked just as nervous as she approached me "Hey" I greeted. "Twilight, is it?" "It is" she answered. "And this is my assistant Spike." The baby dragon held out a claw and shook my hand. "What is your name, new guy?" Spike asked. 'Should I tell them my name is My Foal or Foalie?' I asked myself. 'No, because 'foal' means 'child'. Ah-ha! I got it. "My name is Foley" I said with a grin. "Foalie? I like that name" she said. "But isn't that what a baby horse is called?" "Yeah, and who cares? It also suits you" Spike said with a smile. The dragon looked down at the list. "Oh hey, Twilight and I are running errands, wanna join?" "Sure" I answered with a smile. As we walked down the street, Twilight stopped, causing me to bump into her, and Spike to bump into me. "What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked. "It may be easy to befriend Foley, but who's to say that the others aren't as friendly?" She asked.
"Don't be silly" Spike said. I heard trotting noises and turned my head. 'Pinkie Pie?' The jolly pink mare was approaching us. I shook the fact that I know her out of my head and stuck with the act. 'First lesson, no matter what happens, act like you're new to this place. Changing the future is the last thing I want to do while I'm here.' "Maybe the ponies of Ponyville have interesting things to talk about" Spike suggested as the pink pony got closer and closer to us. Just then, she stopped and eyed us momentarily. "Come on Twilight" Spike urged. "You succeeded in befriending Foley, try befriending this one." "Uh... Hello?" She asked in the same nervous tone she asked when greeting me. The pink mare leaped in the air and gasped loudly. She then zoomed away. I knew what's about to happen and I decided to keep my mouth shut about it. "Well that was interesting all right" Twilight said in a disappointed tone. Spike and I sighed as she trotted away. "Eventually she'll be able to make some friends" I said as Spike and I followed her. "It's not her ability to befriend her" Spike explained. "It's the fact that she believes making friends is a waste of time." Well that was a giant kick to the ass.
As we walked through Ponyville, I couldn't help but see Spike reading off from a list. Summer Sun Celebration? I remember having that explained to me, but in here, I decided to pretend I never heard of it. "What is the Summer Sun Celebration?" I asked. Twilight stopped and looked at me as if I asked her something offensive. "What?" She gasped. "Hey, I'm new to..." I began clicking my fingers. "What is this place?" I asked. "Why you..." She growled. Spike suddenly got in her way.
"It's ok Twilight, it's always good to fill a new friend's head with information." Spike turned to me and cleared his throat. "This is Equestria and it has a long history." 'Well I know that' I thought to myself. "The Summer Sun Celebration is the celebration where Princess Celestia imprisoned her sister Luna, and restored the sun to Equestria." 'I remember comforting Luna after hearing about that' I thought to myself. 'Just by talking about it makes her almost miserable. Not to mention the fact that the comfort lasted overnight and I was only 10.' Can you imagine a 10 year old comforting a thousand year old ruler of Equestria? I sure as hell can't. The walk led us to some kind of farm. "Ah, Sweet Apple Acres" Spike said. He glanced down at the list. "And this is where we check the banquet preparations." The smell of fresh apples and hay hit me pretty hard. Just by smelling the apples made me crave some. "Yee-haw!" A Southern accented pony yelled. I turned my head and grinned. 'Hey! It's Applejack!' I shouted in my head. The mare charged at a tree and kicked it so hard, that all the apples fell off and landed in several buckets. 'Keep up the good work apple bucking!' Twilight sighed with misery. "Let's get this over with" she said. I held up a hand in front of her. "You were nervous last time" I said to her. "Let me show you how it's done." I approached Applejack and cleared my throat. "Hello, my name is Foley. The pony behind me is Twilight, and the baby dragon is Spike..." Before I could go any further, Applejack grasped my hand and began shaking it vigorously. "Well howdy do, Mr. Foalie" she said. "A pleasure making your acquaintance."
"The pleasure is mine" I said, my voice vibrating. "We ponies at Sweet Apple Acres sure like making new friends." "Uh... Yeah, I can tell" I said with a forced grin and she continued shaking my hand, doubling the pace. After awhile, she let go and smiled. "So, what can I do you for?" She asked, giving me a wink that I wasn't so sure if it was suggestive or not. I was lost in thought because I felt like I couldn't feel my right hand anymore. Twilight stepped forward and explained her purpose of us being here. While she did so, I spotted Spike snickering at me. "You have no idea, how numb my hand feels right now" I said, gesturing to the appendage. "My hand has no feeling, look." I slammed it against a tree. "Ow! Hey look at that, the feelings returned." Spike snickered a little louder, but not too loud. I couldn't help but join him. Just then, I heard something like a bell. "Soup's on everypony!" Applejack shouted. Just then, a stampede of ponies tackled us and brought us in front of a table. "Now..." Applejack said as popped out next to me. "Why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple Family?" I looked at the number of ponies present. "Big family" I said in an impressed tone. Applejack began listing off her family members one by one. With each name said, the pony brought food to the table. I took note that the food they brought, was also their name.
"This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Friands, Apple Cinnamon Crisp..." She inhaled deeply. "Big Macintosh, Applebloom, and..." She ran up to me and Twilight with two apples in her hooves. She stuffed one into Twilight's mouth, and placed the other in my hands. "....Granny Smith." She gestured to a sleeping mare on a rocking chair. "Up and at 'em Granny Smith, we got some guests." The old mare awoke from what I think is a nap and mumbled something. "Well I say, they're already part of the family" Applejack said as she wrapped a fore hoof around me. Twilight spat out the apple she had in her mouth and laughed nervously. "Ok, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way." Two mares looked at her with saddened expressions. "What?" I asked while holding onto an apple fritter. "Aren't you going to stay for brunch?" Applebloom asked, giving us a puppy faced look. "We'd love--" Spike and I said in unison, but Twilight cut us off. "Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do" she said. The Apple Family groaned with disappointment and I somewhat lost it. "Look Twilight" I said as took a bite out of the apple fritter. "This nice family has invited us for brunch, and when someone invites you for brunch, that is particularly the first step into making friends." I swallowed the piece I was chewing and took another bite into the fritter. After swallowing, I continued my rant. "So I say, we stay here, enjoy this nice brunch the Apple Family has to offer, and then you can get back to work. After all, a studious individual deserves a break once in a while and oh sweet Celestia this apple fritter is delicious!" I took another bite into it. "Fine" she said with disappointment. The Apple Family cheered loudly.
"You enjoyed the brunch, didn't you?" Spike asked as we continued down the road. "Were you talking to me or Twilight?" I asked him as I held a half eaten apple fritter. "Because I sure enjoyed it." Spike glanced at the checklist. "Food is taken care of, now weather" he said. Behind us were groans. We stopped walking and turned around. "I ate too much pie" Twilight moaned. I took a bite out of the apple fritter I was holding. "Admit it, you enjoyed the brunch" I said. Twilight responded with a moan.
"Hey Spike" I said. The baby dragon turned his head. I tossed him the apple fritter and watched as he caught it in his mouth. "Hmm" he said. "There should be a Pegasus named 'Rainbow Dash' clearing the clouds" he said as he glanced up at the sky. Twilight and I too glanced up. "Either she's lazy, clearing out another set of clouds, or..." A blur of cyan and rainbow crashed into me, and I crashed into Twilight. I was tackled so hard, that I landed on my back on the grass while Rainbow Dash and Twilight landed in the mud. Rainbow Dash got up and chuckled with embarrassment. "Um, excuse me?" She asked. The Pegasus chuckled again and flew off. She then returned with a gray cloud. And placed it over Twilight. She began to jump up and down on the cloud, making it rain on Twilight. I turned to Spike and sighed. "What's next on the list? I'm going on ahead." The baby dragon looked at the checklist. "Decorations. There is a unicorn named 'Rarity' and she should be in the Town Hall" he explained. "Alright, thanks" I said. I ran off, leaving the three behind. Thanks to my knowledge of the place, I made my way to the Town Hall which so happened to be five feet away from us. I entered the building and glanced around. "Hello?" I asked. "Be right with you, darling" a voice said. Ahead of me, using her magic to go through various ribbons was Rarity. "No, no, no, Oh! Goodness, no." The unicorn then levitated a ribbon and tied it around a pillar. "Ah, sparkle always does the trick, does it not?" "It sure does" I said with a smile. The unicorn had her back towards me. "My name's Rarity, and what is your name, good sir?" When she asked my name, she turned her head slightly around so we were facing each other. It was no use trying to go for the name I want, so I decided to stick with the one the others have been calling me. "Foalie" I answered.
"But darling, Foalie is what..." She stopped and studied me. "A human with a name that means 'child'. Mind if I call you 'Foal'?" "If you want, Ms. Rarity" I said as I bowed in a gentleman-like manner. The unicorn squealed with delight.
"Now my dear Foal, how can I help you--" she let out a frightened gasp. "What? Is there something on my shirt?" I asked. "No, not you, darling. The unicorn behind you! Oh! Look at her mane!" I turned my head and cried out. "Twilight! What happened to you?" I asked. Her mane and tail were as poofy as Pinkie Pie's. "I don't want to talk about it" she grumbled. I noticed Spike was looking at Rarity lovingly. "I'll wait outside" I said to him. "Goodbye Rarity" I said, waving goodbye to the unicorn.
"Goodbye my Foalie" she said, waving goodbye to me. As I left the Town Hall, I couldn't help but recall what she said. 'My Foalie'. Nopony has ever called me that before.
Twilight and Spike spotted me leaning against a bush, waiting for them. "Hey Foalie, what's--" I cut Twilight off by putting a finger to my lips and shushing her, while pointing behind me. As Twilight and Spike got closer, they could hear a number of singing birds. When the two joined me, we saw a yellow mare with a bright pink mane and tail. 'Ah, Fluttershy. The shy, quiet, and innocent Pegasus who has a thing for nature' I thought to myself. The three of us continued to listen to the birds singing. Twilight took a breath. "Wait, what are you doing?" I asked quietly as Twilight left the bush. "I'm going to try to befriend her" she said confidently. I tried to stop her from interrupting the Pegasus, but I lost my balance and fell on my front. I turned my head and saw Spike writing something on the checklist. "What's the final grade of my fall, teacher?" I joked, still lying on the dirt. From where we were, we could hear a soft shriek. I got to my feet and brought my hand to my face. 'She shouldn't have startled her.' "So that's Fluttershy, huh?" Spike asked.
"I don't know is it?" I asked. "I mean, we could be talking to the wrong pony as far as I'm concerned." "Foalie?" I heard Twilight call me. "Foalie, can you come out here?" "Foalie?" I heard Fluttershy ask quietly. I stepped out of the bush, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Twi, you can't introduce yourself by startling a pony. It's just... Not right" I said. I heard Spike come out of the bush and stood next to me. Fluttershy gasped and widened her eyes. "A human! And a baby dragon!" She squealed. She charged forward and pushed Twilight out of the way. Fluttershy spoke to me first. "Oh, please forgive me for being excited, its just that, the last time a human showed up, I was just a filly and I haven't earned my cutie mark yet." When she said 'cutie mark', she gestured to the markings of the pink butterflies on her flank. "Cutie marks are markings that are obtained when a particular pony discovers a unique characteristic and it even shows what they're good at" Spike explained. Fluttershy then turned her attention to the baby dragon. "And also, I haven't seen a baby dragon before. He's so cute." "Well, well, well" he said, nudging me.
"Don't push it" I told him.
"Oh my, he talks" the Pegasus said.
"Someone's popular" I said quietly to myself, trying to stifle a laugh.
"I... I... I didn't know dragons could talk" Fluttershy said as Spike stood in a defiant pose. "It's so incredibly wonderful." 'Oh Celestia, he's going to gloat' I thought to myself. 'I just know it.' Suddenly, a magic aura engulfed me and yanked me back. I cried out as I skidded across the dirt. The same magic aura then grabbed Spike and yanked him away from Fluttershy. The latter gave us a worried look. "We better be going" Twilight said as she used her magic to put Spike on her back. "Come on, Twilight, I just met a new friend" I complained as I got to my feet. Twilight ignored me and trotted down the road. As I followed, Fluttershy hovered next to me. "Your name is Foal, right?" She asked.
"Yes it is" I said with a grin. Fluttershy landed next to me and trotted.
"What is the baby dragon's name?" She asked.
"I'm Spike" the dragon answered before I could even open my mouth.
"Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy" she said in her unique soft voice. Without the two knowing, I quickened my pace and left the two to have a conversation.
Afternoon arrived and a few minutes back, I had found myself listening to Spike's backstory. "And that's basically the story of my entire life" he said proudly. "Well, up until today. Do you want to hear about today?" "And oh what a story it is" I added with a smile. "Oh, he's please" Fluttershy said. Just then, Twilight stopped, causing me to bump into her. I cried out and staggered back. The unicorn turned to the Pegasus. "I am so sorry, but this is where I live." "Oh don't be such a killjoy, what's wrong with making friend?" I asked. Twilight used her magic to open the door and kicked me inside with her hind legs. Once I crashed inside, Twilight used her magic to close the door.
Inside the dark house, I groaned in pain. "Why did she have to do that?" I asked.
"Psst!" I heard a voice say. I glanced around the dark area.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Come here" the same voice whispered. I got to my feet and followed the voice. "Down here." I crouched down and felt a fore hoof wrap itself around my shoulder. "You're that Foalie guy, right?" "Wait, Rainbow Dash? What are you...?" A voice from the other end of the room whispered loudly. "Quiet! I could hear them!" I stopped talking and heard the door open. "Hmph, rude much?" Spike asked, sounding upset.
"I'm sorry Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Night Mare Moon is coming and we're running out of time" I heard Twilight say. "I just need to be alone so I could study without these crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time." Suddenly the lights went on and the two saw the place filled with ponies. "SURPRISE!!!" The party guests shouted. I also noticed that a group of the guests focused their attention to me too. Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie and I threw this party for you and the unicorn! Where you surprised?" "Very much so" I said as I stood up.
"Oh! A human! The last time a human showed up, a lot of us were fillies! But unfortunately he left. So what's your name? Do you like it here? Are you going to stay longer than the last human?" I'm not surprised that she said this under one breath, but I acted like I was getting slightly annoyed but in reality, she is fun to be around. "Foalie, yes, and sure" I answered the questions she threw at me. "YAY!!!" She squealed and rushed over to Twilight. Spike approached me and handed me a cupcake. "Thanks" I said as I took it from him. "So how long will this party last?" I asked. "Don't know" Spike said as he ate his cupcake. "But I do know is that a lot of ponies stay up to watch the sunrise." 'Which I always did back in the universe I came from.'
Hours went by and it was now time to watch the sunrise. The citizens of Ponyville gathered in the Town Hall and waited for Princess Celestia. "Can I ask you something?" Rainbow Dash asked me. "How did you get the name 'Foal'? I mean, it's a young horse." Oh Celestia I wished this question won't be brought up. "I... I don't know actually" I said. Rainbow Dash nudged me in the arm and chuckled.
"Don't worry, I won't make fun of you." Just then, a fanfare blared and Fluttershy lead the birds to sing. A spotlight hit the curtain and lowered onto an old mare. 'Mayor Mare.' "Fillies, gentlecolts, and the human in the back." I want to learn more about this human arriving thing during my stay here, and why that me being here is a big deal for them, but right now, the rising of the sun is more important.
"As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration." The ponies in the room cheered. "In just a few moments, the town will witness the rising of the sunrise and celebrate this, being the longest day of the year." Suddenly, a pain surged through my head. "Gah..." I winced as I grasped my head. I fell on my knees and began to groan in pain. "Foal? What's wrong?" Twilight asked me. I began to groan in pain as the feeling got worse. 'In the coarse of you being here, human..." I know that voice! Illusion! '...you will be haunted by the terrible memories involving you as a child. Not only that, but whenever danger is near, or when trouble brews, I will be the lurker in the dark, the shadows on the walls, the dagger in your back, and the nightmares in your pathetic skull!' His voice echoed. 'What the hell do you want with me?' I asked telepathically. 'I want to prevent your mission to get rid of me! I'll be watching your every move, and I'll make sure that you will fail everyone back home!' As soon as Illusion's voice disappeared, I glanced up and saw a black and blue mare. The mare stared at me. "A human. How long has it been since a human has appeared in Equestria?" I staggered to my feet and began to breathe heavily. "Oh? I hear that this human has troubling memories and nightmares" she cackled. "What say, I give them back to you?" A stream of dark blue clouds formed around me. And without warning, two streams entered through my eyes, and a third stream entered through my mouth. I began to scream in pain as I felt the terrible experiences I had surge through my head. While the streams continued to enter through my eyes and mouth, and as I continued to scream, I heard three things:
The panicked cries of the ponies in the room The cackling of Night Mare Moon ringing through my ears And the villainous laughter of Illusion echoing in my head.
When I came to, I found myself lying on a sofa. The last thing I remembered was hearing the voice of Illusion in my head as well was the flow of every single bad memory. Princess Celestia did warn me they would slowly and gradually return, but some jackass couldn't take me anymore and decided to have them quickly restored into my head. Not only that, Night Mare Moon is on the loose and apparently, Princess Celestia is missing. Great, I just arrived this morning and I'm already dealing with these problems. I got out of the sofa and began to browse through the books. "Foalie?" Twilight asked as she joined me in the library. "Are you ok?" "No" I answered, while I was skimming through a book. "Not only do I have every bad memory from when I was young in my head, but Princess Celestia is gone, Night Mare Moon is on the loose, and no one knows how to defeat her." "Is that what you're looking for? A way to defeat her?" She asked as she used her magic to levitate some books off the shelf. "Because I know how." "No, I'm trying to find out about the last human that showed up in Equestria. What is it that he did to the Eauestrians that made them see me, a human as one of them?" Just then, I spotted something on a page but it wasn't what I was looking for. "The elements fire, water, earth..." I began reading. "Elements!" Twilight cried out upon hearing the word. She began to use her magic to frantically grab one book after another, skimming through the pages. With every book she read through with no luck finding about the 'Elements', she would toss the book aside. "Elements, elements, elements!" She panicked as she repeated her steps: Levitate, skim, toss. The thudding of books as they collided with the floor made so much noise, she didn't hear a thud, and a grunt of pain. "Uh Twilight?" I asked, wincing. Twilight turned her head and gasped, releasing her magic grip on the books she was currently levitating. I stood a few feet away from her, rubbing the left side of my face, in which the book had collided into. "Are you ok?" She asked, worriedly. "I've had worse" I explained. Twilight sighed and continued to levitate more books.
"This is so frustrating" she groaned. "How can be Night Mare Moon be defeated when without the Elements of Harmony?" There was a crash and Rainbow Dash flew in, knocking me aside. "And what are the Elements of Harmony?" She asked Twilight in an interrogating way. "Not only that, how did you know about Night Mare Moon?" Twilight began to back away was Rainbow Dash started hovering towards her menacingly. "I bet you're a spy!" She accused. She quickly moved aside when I threw a book at her. "Quit accusing her" I said as the other four mares entered the library. "She may not be a spy, but she does know what's been going on as of late. Don't you Twilight?" I approached the purple unicorn mare as the others joined me. Twilight looked down in disappointment. "Come on Twilight" I said in a comforting tone. "We can't help you unless you tell us what's going on."
"I've read about all the predictions regarding Night Mare Moon" she explained. "There are mysterious objects called 'The Elements of Harmony' and they are the only things that can stop her." She took a quick breath. "The problem is that I don't know where to find them, where to find them. I don't know what they do!" I'm about to do something drastic. I know where the book is because I've been here before and my eyes may have caught sight of it while I was browsing through the shelf. However, the pink happy mare had beaten me to it. "The Elements of Harmony! A Reference Guide!" She said excitedly. Twilight quickly pushed her aside and looked at the book with shock. "How did you find that?" She asked.
"It was under 'E' wasn't it?" I asked Pinkie Pie.
"Yep" she said happily. Twilight turned to me and glared.
"You knew where it was and you didn't tell me?" She asked, her voice raising a little.
"I didn't know, I saw. Plus, won't it be rude if I interrupted your explanation?"
"Oh... Yeah" she said with humiliation. She used her magic to levitate the book and opened it to a random page. "There are six Elements of Harmony" she read. "Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Laughter. The sixth however is a mystery." I peeked over her shoulder and continued for her. "It is said that the last location of the five known Elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is located in what is now..."
The seven of us stood in front of the mouth of a dark and creepy forest. "The Everfree Forest!" The six gasped. I stared at the forest with a somewhat determined look on my face. "I'm going in" I said as I took a step forward. "No!" The six cried out the same time, all tackling me to the ground. "Hey, get off me" I said as I tried to struggle out of their hold.
"Foalie, do you know what lurks in the Everfree Forest?" Twilight asked.
"Nope. But I do know that the solution to stop Night Mare Moon is beyond the forest. So how about you let me go, so I can aide you in stopping Night Mare Moon?" The six reluctantly released me. I got to my feet and brushed some dirt off me. I straightened my shirt and approached the entrance. The six stared wide eyed as I walked deeper into the forest.
It was then they caught up with me. "Ya look like ya have been to this forest before" Applejack commented. "I haven't" I answered. "This is actually my first time walking through here." I felt something collide with me from behind and hugged me tightly. "Oh my poor Foalie, you're probably scared right now, but you don't want to admit it." There was no mistaking that this was Fluttershy. The soft voice, the comforting characteristic, put the two together, and you get her. I tried to go for 'Foley', but since they thought I was saying 'Foalie', I thought 'What the hell' and went along with that name. "You are so brave" Rarity commented. "I'll stick with you throughout this walk" she said. Rainbow Dash decided to scare me. "Hey Foalie... Do you want to know what happens in this forest?" She asked trying to sound creepy. "Not really" I answered.
"Well I'll tell you anyway" she said, still keeping her eerie tone. "They say that anypony that comes into this forest..." I felt Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie hug me tightly. Not to mention shaking. "...has never come OUT!" She yelled. The three mares cried out and buried their faces into me. Rainbow Dash stared at me, slightly annoyed. "You don't get scared much, do you?" "I get scared all right" I said. "It's just that your attempt to scare me is bad." The three mares laughed as they released me from their grasp. Applejack and Twilight also laughed, but Rainbow Dash is unamused. "Ha ha ha" she faked a laugh. "Laugh it up Foalie, because I can't wait to see the look on your face when I scare you." "Yeah?" I asked as I continued walking. Beneath me, a stream of dark blue dust phased through the ground. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when I scare-- YOU!" I cried out when the ground beneath me gave way. The six gasped with shock. "Foalie!" Twilight called out. I slid down the rocky slope, trying my best to grab onto something to no avail. I continued to slide down until I reached the edge. "Shit" I muttered. I grasped the edge with both my hands. 'Whew, that was a close one' I thought to myself. Suddenly, I felt my grip loosening. Before I could fall however, Applejack grasped my hand with her teeth. I cried out in pain. "Sorry sugar cube" she said, muffled. "It's ok..." I winced. "Now what?" I asked.
"I'm going to let you go" she said.
"Wait, what?" I asked. "I'm hanging over a sheer cliff!" I panicked.
"Sugar cube, trust me. Let go, and you'll be safe." I calmed myself down and stared at her.
"Ok, I'll trust you" I said. I closed my eyes and released let go. I plummeted down the cliff, still keeping my eyes shut. Suddenly, I felt something grab me. I opened my eyes and I saw that I was engulfed in an aura. Looking down, I saw a really worried Twilight. I sighed with relief. "Thank Celestia that's over."
As we continued our walk, I was quiet the whole time. Suddenly, I felt a surge of pain. 'I told you I'd be around when danger lurks, did I not?' Illusion asked. I grasped my head and began moaning. 'Get out of my head!' I yelled through telepathy. 'Oh I wouldn't say that if I were you.' 'Get out of my head!' 'If you say so...' Suddenly, I no longer felt his presence. I began to panic and breath heavily. "Is something wrong, Foalie?" Rainbow Dash asked. "No" I lied. "Nothing is wrong" I muttered. I made my way through the five in front of me. "Foalie, wait!" Applejack called out. I continued to quicken my pace. I can't have Illusion strike me when I'm front of my friends. Suddenly, a scorpion's tail lashed out and stung me in the chest. 'Tsk, tsk,tsk... Should've taken my warning, human.' As soon as Illusion left my head, a creature known as a manticore, struck me, knocking me against a cliff, rendering me unconscious. When I came to, I saw the six ponies gathered around me, each had a smile of relief on their faces. "What happened?" I asked. "A stung like that should've killed me." "Manticore's sting aren't known to have venom" Twilight explained. I found myself still leaning against the cliff. I steadily got to my feet and looked around. "Where's the manticore?" I asked. "All the poor thing had was a thorn" Fluttershy explained. "Showing him kindness did the trick." I walked slowly and steadily further down the forest. "Come on, we got to find the Elements if we want to defeat Night Mare Moon" I said.
Further down the forest, our surroundings started to get darker, and darker. "Foalie?" A voice asked. I cried out in surprise and quickly spun around. "Who's there?" I asked, panicked. From behind me, a felt a hoof place itself on my shoulder. I shuddered and moved away, only to bump into a tree that had a menacing face. Fluttershy screamed at the sight of the tree I bumped into, but my scream sounded like I was more scared than her. I backed away from the tree. All around us were more trees with frightening looks on them. The five mares screamed and they all huddled around me, gripping me tightly. "Oh, come on! Not again!" I groaned as I tried to move. 'Wait a minute, five? Where's Pinkie Pie?' Speak of the devil, she was the only one laughing. I stared at her strangely while the others made a questioning noise. Pinkie Pie was laughing at one of the trees and began to make faces at it. "Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!" Twilight shouted. "Oh girls and guy, don't you see?" She asked. "See what?" I asked as I was still in a tight grip from five mares. "Well Foalie, Woalie, I'll tell you." 'Foalie Woalie? How many nicknames can I possibly get during my time here?' Pinkie Pie then began to sing.
'When I was a little filly, and the sun was going down.' 'The darkness and the shadows would always make me frown.' As she sang, the six of us continued to stare at her. I was still being gripped onto though. 'I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw' 'But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all.' 'She said: "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall. Learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you. Just laugh and they'll disappear." She walked over to a tree. "Ha, ha, ha." As she laughed, the face on the tree had vanished. The five mares released me and gasped with shock. As she sang, we each walked up to a tree, laughed at it, and watched as the frightening tree turn back to its original state. 'So, giggle at the ghostly' 'Guffaw at the grossly' 'Crack up at the creepy' 'Whoop it up with the weepy' 'Chortle at the kooky' 'Snortle at the spooky.' 'And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone, and if he thinks he can scare you, then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing makes you wanna (laughs).'
'Laugh (she held a pretty good long note).' After her song, we all actually felt so could, we laughed along with her.
Making our way out of the forest and over to a clearing, we saw that the water made it almost impossible to cross. "Rapids?" I asked. "How are we going to cross it?" Not far away, we heard crying. Following the noise, we saw a crying sea serpent. "What a world, what a world!" He complained. "Excuse me sir" Twilight began. "But why are you crying?"
"Well I don't know. I was just sitting here minding my own business when this cloud of purple smoke just went past me. Next thing I know, half of my beloved mustache has been sliced clean off. And now, I look simply horrid!" He collapsed into the water, soaking all of us. "Give me a break" Rainbow Dash muttered. "That's what this fuss is about?" Applejack asked.
"Hey, leave him alone. He's sensitive" I said.
"Foalie's right" Rarity said as she stepped up. "How can you be so insensitive?" She then approached the moping sea serpent. "Just look at him" she cooed. "Such lovely luminescent scales." "I know" the sea serpent said, still moaning. "Your expertly coiffed mane" she continued.
"Oh, I know, I know" the sea serpent agreed in such a way that he almost reminds me of Rarity. "Your fabulous manicure" Rarity added.
"It's so true" the sea serpent agreed with Rarity.
"All ruined without your beautiful mustache." The sea serpent covered his face with his hands. "It's true, I'm hideous!" He complained. "I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go I corrected!" She yanked off a scale using her teeth. "Ow! What did you do that for?" The sea serpent questioned. "Rarity, wait!" I shouted. The five mares widened their eyes with shock. The sea serpent's rolled at the back of his head and he collapsed once more. Rarity glanced at her tail which she had cut half of it off. She spat the scale out of her mouth and used her magic to levitate the piece of the tail she sliced off and used it to attach itself to the sea serpent's cut mustache. Truth be told, I actually like the serpent's new look. The sea serpent laughed joyously. "My mustache! How wonderful!" "You look smashing, darling" she said with a smile. "Rarity" I said as I approached her. "I know you wanted to be generous and all, but what about your tail? You seemed overprotective with your looks." "Oh nonsense Foalie Darling. My beautiful tail will grow back. Besides, short tails are in this season." I spotted the water and grinned. The rapids have stopped. "Ha ha! We can cross!" Before I could begin to cross, the sea serpent rose from the water. "Allow me" he said as he allowed us him as a bridge.
"Well that went well, don't you think?" I asked, still soaked. The six nodded with agreement as we ventured deeper into the forest. After awhile, Twilight gasped. "There it is!" She shouted. "The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony!" She exclaimed. She then began to run towards it. "Twilight, wait for us!" Applejack shouted. Suddenly, several large branches quickly sprouted from the ground and separated me from them. "Foalie!" Fluttershy gasped. "Go, I'll catch up!" I shouted. 'No you won't!' Illusion's voice echoed through my head. I groaned in pain and grasped my head. 'It hurts, doesn't it?' 'Screw you! Get out of my head!'
'Now why would I want to leave, human? I'm enjoying your pain and suffering.'
'Get out of my head!'
'No! I won't let you ruin my destiny!'
'What destiny? You're doing nothing but appearing in my head!'
'Years ago, a human entered Equestria and he claimed to be a good hearted man. After living there for 15 more years, he left, never to be seen again! I feel that something is up, and here you are, right on time! A spy for his bidding! He's plotting to start an invasion, and I'm going to prevent that from happening!!!' 'Then why don't you order the Equestrians to kick me out?' I challenged as I tried to ignore the pain.' 'I plan to end your life without the Equestrians knowing! Your plot to rule Equestria, and your death by my hand, will be our secret!' 'And how are you going to kill me?' I challenged. 'Squeeze my brain?'
'No.... this!' The second he vanished, I watched as the branches formed into a giant moving tree... No... I remember having a nightmare involving killer trees when I was younger. 'I'm going to pull random bad memories from your head so you'll snap and do something pathetic and stupid. On the bright side, if you overcome them, they'll disappear from your memories forever, but I highly doubt that you have the courage to do such a thing.' I heard a monstrous groaning sound as the tree attempted to crush me with its branches. I quickly dove to the side. The tree then attempted to crush me again. Thanks to it being moving slow, I can easily dodge its attacks. It's like playing a really boring game of Whack-A-Mole. I'm the mole and the tree is the hammer. The leaves of the tree then began to fire at me as if they're bullets. I curled up as I was pelted my the sharp leaves. I could hear Illusion's voice echo through my head. However, another voice echoed through my head as well. But unlike Illusion, where it's talking right now, it was a memory. And this memory now brought a smile to my face even though I was getting scratched and cut up by leaves.
'Learn to face your fears, you'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and they'll disappear.' I staggered up and faced the tree. I was cut up a lot, but before the tree could attack once more, I did what my memory said. 'So, giggle at the ghostly.' I opened my mouth and began to laugh.
'Guffaw at the grossly.' As I continued laughing, the tree began to writhe and moan.
'Crack up at the creepy.' My laughing caused Illusion to explode in my head. 'WHAT IS SO FUNNY?!'
'Whoop it up with the weepy.' Illusion's outburst caused me to laugh harder. 'IT'S NOT FUNNY!!!'
'Chortle at the kooky.' I watched as the tree began to slowly vanish. 'YOU'RE CLOSE TO DEATH, AND YOU'RE LAUGHING?!'
'Snortle with the spooky.' I eventually stopped laughing and began to take deep breaths. I closed my eyes and focused on Illusion. 'That's it, I'm killing you right now!' 'Take a hike' I said telepathically. 'If you think you can scare me, you got another thing coming.' 'You're threatening me? I can pull out another bad memory from your head, and it's going to be much worse than that tree!' 'Please... That very idea makes me wanna laugh.' I made my way over to a fogged area, where a bridge was attached. 'You may have won this round, but your fight with me is far from over! You hear me?!' I began to replay the song in my head so Illusion could hear it. 'No! Too much happiness! I can't take it! I'm going to kill you, human! I swear to Celestia that I'll kill you, and I'll make sure of it!' Hypocrite. He said he will protect Equestria from the likes of me yet he hates a song that an Equestrian is singing.
I spotted the ancient ruin where the Elements of Harmony was. I crossed the bridge and approached the entrance. Before I could enter, I thought of things through. 'This fight belongs to the six. I can't barge in and intervene.' I stayed outside for a few more seconds. 'Then again, they could have a problem finding the Elements and they probably need my help. What if they're worried about me?' I grasped the doorknob and tightened my grip. Thinking again, I came to a decision. I decided to wait for them... In Ponyville. I turned around and walked across the bridge. When I reached to the other side, I found myself surrounded by bright light. 'What's going on?' I asked myself in thought as I was engulfed. When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a room where the six were. Twilight was wearing a crown and the others each had a necklace. I took note that there was a gem that resembled their cutie mark. "Did you teleport me here?" I asked Twilight. She and the others clearly were as surprised as I was. "No, I did" I heard a familiar voice. 'Princess Celestia!' I turned around and watched as the sun begun to rise. A ball of bright light then entered the room and illuminated brightly. When it ceased, the alicorn that I remember that helped raise me stood in front if us. I got down on one knee and lowered my head as the others copied my movement. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed as she ran towards the alicorn. "Twilight Sparkle" the alicorn said. "My faithful student." I raised my head a little and saw them embrace. "I knew you could do it." "But..." Twilight began. "You told me it was an old pony tale."
"I told you that you needed to make some friends. Nothing more." I got to my feet and listened to Princess Celestia as she continued to explain something to Twilight. "I saw the signs of Night Mare Moon's return. And I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you couldn't unleash it until you allowed true friendship into your heart." She turned her head and saw a young purplish blue alicorn. "Princess Luna." The young alicorn let out a frightened gasp. "It has been 1000 years since I've seen you like this." She then leveled herself to the ground. "It's time we put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together little sister." "Sister?" The six ponies asked in unison. 'And when I heard about this, I went off to find her to comfort her' I thought to myself. How was I suppose to know she got over it? I was only 10 for crying out loud. "Will you accept my apology, and my friendship?" Princess Luna remained silent for awhile. Even though I knew the answer, the suspense is still killing me. The young alicorn got up and hugged her older sister. "I'm so sorry" she said. "I missed you so much big sister!" "I missed you too." I spotted tears running down their faces. I was about to tear up, but a loud bawl ruined it for me. 'Damn it, Pinkie...' Before I could confront her, Princess Celestia turned her attention towards me. "Human..." She began. I got down on one knee and bowed. "What is your name?" She asked as she and Princess Luna approached me. "Foalie" I answered. "But, I figured that should be a nickname. Just call me Foal" I answered. "My Foal..." Princess Celestia began. "I would like to say my thanks for aiding Twilight with her mission." "It was nothing. I would do the same for anypony." I didn't realize the mistake I made. Princess Celestia smiled. "So you would stand by anypony's side no matter what?" She asked. "Sure... I mean, that's what friends are for. Sticking with one another, being there to comfort them, all of that." Princess Celestia smiled at what I said. "Then I have a task for you." I listened to what she had to say. "I don't know how long you'll be here, but while you are, I want you to aide my little ponies. When there is a problem they cannot solve, I want you to help them. Be at their side no matter what. Be there for help and comfort when they need it. Can you do that for me?" "Yes, your highness" I said as I bowed. Just then, Pinkie Pie let out a loud gasp. "This calls for a party!"
"Wait..." I began.
I don't know how it happened, but I found myself standing in Ponyville. Rule #1, never question the randomness that occurs in Equestria. Learned that the hard way. A lot of ponies were gathered around at one spot where a chariot arrived. On said chariot was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I watched Spike work his way through the crowd and embrace her. Staying in the back, I watched the celebration before me. A pain surged through my head, but unlike before, it didn't hurt as much. 'This is only the beginning human.' 'You can taunt and torture me in my head all you want, but one of these days, I'm going to hey rid of you.' 'I'll look forward to that day. In the meantime, I suggest you enjoy your pathetic life in the place I had loved and cherished all my life. Go enjoy plotting your stupid invasion to take over this land!' 'You know nothing of me.'
'Hmph. Screw you, human.'
'Whatever...' The voice then vanished and I watched as the princesses board their chariot and took off. It's time I enjoy what Equestria was like back then. And I tend to make it one of the best exciting moments I ever had.
It has been a week since the defeat of Night Mare Moon. Illusion hasn't gotten into my head since then, and I gotta admit, his reaction when he saw how I got over a bad memory he tried to use as ammunition on me was pretty hilarious.
Not too long ago, Applejack had asked me to help her at her apple farm. After making the promise with Princess Celestia, when a friend needs help, I'm right there on the spot. The task? Help her harvest apples. I was crouching next to a bucket filled with apples. Next to me was another bucket filled with about 10 apples so far. These are the ones that are good for eating. The others, I toss away. I picked up a green apple and examined it. "Nah" I said, tossing the apple over my shoulder. I grabbed another green apple and examined it. "This'll do." I tossed the apple into the bucket next to me. While I continued to dig through the pile, separating the good apples from the bad, Spike approached me from behind, holding a green apple in one hand, and a red in the other. "Hey, Foal. You've been hunched over like that for 15 minutes already" he said. Oh yeah, let me rephrase what I said earlier... I was asked to help Applejack, along with Twilight and Spike. "Yeah, you got a point" I said as I stood up. I cried out and shut my eyes. "Is it your back?" He asked, worriedly. "No. I got a head rush." When my head cleared, I took the red apple from Spike and we both began to eat our snack. "Say, where's Applejack and Twilight?" "Harvesting on the other end of the farm" he said, gesturing behind him. "Say, wanna help me harvest these?" I asked.
"Sure!" He said excitedly. We both crouched down and worked on harvesting.
About 2 Hours Later
Spike was on Twilight's back, digging through one of the buckets of apples she had. I was walking behind her carrying a bucket of apples as well. There were so many apples that I was required to carry them with both my hands. "No, no, no, no" Spike said as he began to toss some apples out of the basket Twilight had. I moved to the side so that I won't trip over the apples that were currently on the ground. "Thank you kindly y'all for helping me out." "2 hours and 15 minutes working out in the field?" I asked. "Time well spent."
"I agree with Foalie, Applejack" Twilight began. "It was no problem at all."
"So what's the plan with these apples?" I asked.
"The goal is to get these golden delicious in the barn by lunchtime" the farmhand pony explained.
"Lunchtime, eh?" I asked as my stomach growled a little.
"Well I'm sure glad the goal is lunchtime. All this hard work is making me hungry" Twilight added.
"I know" Spike agreed. He picked up an apple and stared at it hungrily.
"Spike, you did nothing" I said somewhat angrily.
"What are you talking about? I'm tossing the bad apples out of this bucket."
"For the last 2 hours and 5 minutes, all you did was lounge on Twilight's back while we worked." "You worked so long, I missed snack time" Spike complained.
"Twilight, when you get home, why don't you tuck the cranky baby dragon in for a nap and you and I--?" I was cut off by our stomachs rumbled at the same time. Spike grinned and pulled out an apple. He then tossed the apple to me without warning. I quickly dropped the bucket and caught it. "Give me a warning next time" I complained as I bit into the apple. I grabbed another apple from my bucket and tossed it to Twilight. "Thanks Foalie" she said as she ate the whole thing. Just then, her stomach grumbled again. She laughed nervously. Still hungry, huh? I was about to pick up my bucket of apples, but stopped when Spike belched out green flame. Said flame then vanished and a scroll appeared on the spot. "A letter from Princess Celestia" Twilight gasped as the scroll levitated towards Spike. The baby dragon opened the letter and cleared his throat.
" 'Hear ye, hear ye'," he began reading.
" 'Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot on the 21st day of...' " he stopped there. "Yada, yada, yada..." He said in a low tone. " 'Cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest.' "
Applejack and Twilight gasped "The Grand Galloping Gala!" They exclaimed in unison. "The what?" I asked, confused. "The Grand Galloping Gala!" They exclaimed once again as they were hopping around. I still had a confused look on my face, but Spike's on the other hand didn't share the same enthusiasm as the two mares. Suddenly, he burped out another spark of green flame. This time, two golden tickets appeared. "Look!" He exclaimed. "Two tickets to the Gala!" "Wow, great!" Twilight said with excitement. "I've never been to the Grand Galloping Gala before. Have you Spike?" "No. And I'm planning to keep it that way." "Why not sugar cube?" Applejack asked him.
"I don't want any of that girly frilly frou-frou nonsense." He turned to me and nudged me "And neither does Foalie." "Why am I in the spotlight, now?" I asked, as I placed the buckets in the ground. Spike ignored me and crossed his arms. "We aren't going." "Oh come on, Spike. A dance would be nice" Twilight said. "Nice?!" Applejack asked, slightly aghast with the word.
"It would be more than just nice, Twilight." She then stared at the sky as if she was imagining what the Gala would be like. "I'd love to go. Land sakes, why, if I had an apple stand set up, ponies would be chowin' our tasty vittles 'till the cows came home! Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres? Why, with all that money, we could do a heap of fixin' 'round here. We could replace that saggy old roof, Big Mac could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy old hip." She sighed in a dreamily manner.
"Well in that case," Twilight began "Would you like to..." From above, Rainbow Dash crashed down on me. "Ugh..." I moaned in pain.
"Oh, sorry Foalie" she said. I got up and brushed dirt off me. She then got up and hurriedly went over to Twilight. "Are we talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?!" She asked excitedly. "Rainbow Dash, you told me that you were too busy harvesting apples!" Applejack shouted. "What were you doing? Spying?" "Nope" she answered. "I was busy napping." I glanced up at a tree and saw a pillow and blanket on it. "And I just so happened to hear that Twilight has an extra ticket." "And you expect Twilight to take you to the Grand Galloping Gala?" I asked. "Give us a reason why you should be taken." "Ok. I will!" She said challengingly. Oh, I can't wait to hear this.
"You see Foal, the Wonderbolts perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year" she explained. "I can see it now." She too explained her dream about what to expect at the Grand Galloping Gala.
"Everypony will be watching the sky, their eyes riveted on the Wonderbolts" she explained. "But then, in would fly....Rainbow Dash!' She boasted. "I would surprise them with my Super Speed Strut! Then I would mesmerize 'em with my Fantastic Filly Flash, then for the grand finale, the Buccaneer Blaze! The ponies would go wild! Then the Wonderbolts would insist that my signature moves be incorporated into their routine, and then welcome me as their new member." She sounds like she has idolized this group for a long time.
"Hmm" I said. "Both of these sound like big opportunities for them Twilight" I explained. "What do you say? I mean, Applejack having the money to work up her farm and Granny Smith's hip, and Rainbow Dash joining a group of Pegasus which she idolizes so much? A pretty tough pick I say." "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said. "Foal's got the right idea, which is why you should pick me!" Before she could fly for the ticket, Applejack grabbed her tail with her teeth. "Now just hold on one pony pickin' minute here!" She said, muffled. She spat Rainbow Dash's tail out. "I asked for that ticket first!" "So?" Rainbow Dash asked challengingly. "That doesn't mean you own it!" "Oh yeah? Well I challenge you to a hoof wrestle. The winner gets the ticket!" She turned to me. "And Foal there, is the ref." I facepalmed myself and sighed. "Twi, you and Spike go grab a snack. I'll see if I can knock sense into these two" I said as the two mares challenged each other in a hoof wrestle.
Minutes Later
I made my way back to Ponyville in a slightly ticked off mood. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were so competitive and equally strong that the hoof-wrestling match wasn't getting anywhere. And what did they do? Talk me into helping them get a ticket. For 5 minutes, they each gave me reasons why I should help them even though I heard their fantasies not too long ago. "Can't believe you talked me into this" I grumbled. Hovering above me was Rainbow Dash. "Quit whining. You promised that you'd stay by our side no matter what problem we have" Rainbow Dash said. "And you're going to help us, just like you also promised" Applejack added. "When I promised to help you with your problems, this 'problem' we're in right now is not what I had in mind!" Rainbow Dash ignored me completely and gasped. "There she is!" She then flew off quickly. "Get back here!" Applejack called and chased after her. I sighed and sauntered after them. My movement was so slow, that when I neared the group, they looked like an argument was finished. I was about to run after Twilight, but I found myself surrounded by the five mares. Each of them were shouting over one another. "Please, one mare at a time" I said. "Rainbow Dash, since you were the one that approached me first, you're the first one I'll aid." This will be a long day. I just know it.
"No..." I said as I watched Rainbow Dash push some clouds together. "You're planning to make unexpected heavy rain?" I asked as I put my hands in my pockets. "Come on, Foal, don't be a killjoy" Rainbow Dash said.
"How is making heavy going to have Twilight give you a ticket?"
"I'll keep her dry" she said as she moved another cloud over like a jigsaw puzzle.
"What's in it for me?" I asked.
"Um..." She thought for about a minute. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You mean to tell me that you're so focused on getting that ticket that you didn't bother to think through what my job in your plan is?" I shook my head and turned around. "Where are you going?" She asked as she watched me walk away.
"Going over to Rarity's" I answered. "She's the next one I promised to aid." Rainbow Dash shrugged and continued to move some clouds around.
I reached the Boutique where she lives/works and knocked on the door. Rarity opened the door and smiled. "Oh, thank you Foal for coming" she said as she allowed me inside. "Rainbow Dash is useless" I muttered under my breath. "So, my dear Rarity" I said as I turned to her. "What is it can I do for you?" I asked.
"Well darling, I was working on something, and I want your honest opinion on it."
"Absolutely. What is it?" I asked.
"Here" she said as she drew back a curtain. "These are the clothes I made for Spike." I stared at the outfit she has made. Before I could give her my opinion, she showed me what she has designed for Twilight. "Also, I made an ensemble that matches her to attain" she said in a proud manner. "So, Foal, what are your thoughts?" She asked. I opened my mouth to say something, but her gasp cut me off. "Oh, don't you think Twilight and Spike will like them?" I should go out and ask.
I walked down over to Sweet Apple Acres and sat down on a haystack. "Howdy, Foal" Applejack said. "Why so glum?" "I'm not glum, I'm annoyed... Well slightly." "It's about the ticket isn't it?" She asked.
"Yeah. First they ask for my aid, and when I show up, they become so blinded by the ticket that..." I stopped and narrowed my gaze on her. "Wait... Are you going to do the same thing to me?"
"What are you talking about?" She asked. "Never mind" I said as I got up and headed towards the exit, leading to Ponyville.
"Are you ok, sugar cube?" She asked.
"Yeah. I just uh... Need to catch a break. That's all" I assured. 'I wish the letter went to Twilight when nopony was around, otherwise this chaos wouldn't be happening right now' I thought to myself. I made my way over to Twilight's library and opened the door. I was greeted with something. Fluttershy and her animals were cleaning the library. "Wait a minute, does Twilight know you're here?" I asked. "Oh no, Foal. I arrived not too long ago. Do you want to help? Me and my friends could use some." Unlike the others, Fluttershy was the only one who is willing to hear my answer. "Sure" I said. I walked over to a bookshelf and began to arrange the books. Knowing Twilight, she probably wants her books arranged neatly and alphabetically. And that is what I was doing.
Minutes Go By
I was arranging the books on one of the top shelves while Futtershy and her nature friends continued to tidy up the place. As Fluttershy hummed a song, I heard the door open and when I turned my head, Twilight entered the library. "Ok, I'm not doing this for the ticket" I confessed. "I'm doing it because well, it's Fluttershy and it'll hurt me if I turned down her offer." Twilight nodded with understanding as I made my way back down to the floor. "Oh, well hello Twilight" Fluttershy said as she stopped what she was doing. "I hope you don't mind, but we're all doing a little Spring cleaning." "Fluttershy, it's Summer" I corrected. "Well, better late than never, Foal."
"I guess" I said uncertainly.
"Who's idea was it to enter my library and clean it?" Twilight asked.
"Angel's" Fluttershy and I said in unison. We gestured to a rabbit tossing salad, and then giving Twilight a waving gesture.
"Fluttershy, Foal told me that he was not cleaning the library for the ticket. And I believe him. So I'm asking you, are you and your nature friends doing this for the ticket?" "Oh, no" she said. "I'm doing this because you're my very best friend" she said, innocently. "Right Angel?" She asked. The rabbit crossed his arms and glared at her. Fluttershy sighed with defeat. "Yes, me and my friends are doing this for the ticket." Angel ran up to Twilight and offered her the salad he was tossing. Just then, her stomach rumbled again. "Didn't you grab a bite to eat already?" I asked.
"I never got a chance to because of all these favors!" She yelled as she made her way to the door. "I'm not accepting any more favors until I made my final decision. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave." "Surprise!!!" A bunch of ponies shouted. Fluttershy and I watched as Pinkie Pie yanked Twilight out of her library. I quickly shut the door and leaned against it. "Do you want the ticket so bad?" I asked. "Oh yes, very much" Fluttershy said. I put a finger to my chin. "Bring the others here, I'm going to need to have a word with the five of you."
"Ok, what time do you want us?"
"Tonight. But right now, I feel like we need to continue cleaning Twilight's library.
Night Time
Fluttershy entered the library with the other five and they did not like what they saw. I was standing in the center with my arms crossed. "You have two friends you need to apologize to" I said. "Who?" Rainbow Dash asked. "First there's me. Rainbow Dash and Rarity, you wanted me to help you with things which I accepted, but before I could do anything, you were too blinded by the ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, you didn't even bother to hear what I had to say!" I turned to Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy. "No, no, I'm not mad at you three." "Wait a minute. Why aren't you mad at Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy?" Rarity asked. "Because Fluttershy was the only one who had the patience to hear my answer, and Pinkie Pie was doing what she does best so I couldn't really yell at her for that. And Applejack tried to comfort me when I arrived at her barn. Unlike you two. The second, all of you need to apologize to Twilight for putting all this pressure on her to give you the ticket." "I'm sorry Foal" Rarity said. "I should've heard your opinion about the outfits I designed." "I'm sorry too" Rainbow Dash said. "I wanted the ticket so badly, that when I planned the rain, I forgot that you were there ready to help me." "Apology accepted. Now when Twilight walks in through those doors, you are all going to apologize to her." "Oh! Oh! We should hide!" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"Good idea" I said. "You five stay up there so the first thing she sees when she walks in through that door is you." I headed over to the doors. "Wait, where are you going?" Rarity asked as the five decided to surprise Twilight by standing above the shelves. I recognized the spot they stood at was where Spike and Twilight slept. "Twilight could be approaching her library any--" before I could continue, a flash appeared before me. "Quick!" Twilight shouted. "Lock the doors and turn off the lights!" While Twilight and Spike locked the doors, I turned to the five above the shelves and gestured them to be quiet. I then went over to the main light and switched it off. After completing the task, Twilight and Spike sighed with relief. "No more bothersome ponies and favors" she said. I switched the main light back on. When Twilight and Spike saw the five, she let out a yell of frustration. "I can't decide! I just can't decide!" She shouted as she grasped her head with her hooves. "I know it's important to all of you, and I don't want to disappoint any of you, but giving me gifts or doing any favors won't make a difference..." I took note that she was now starting to run out of breath. Twilight continued her rant while we all looked at her worriedly. I also noticed that tears of frustration were starting to form in her eyes. "...Because you're all my best friends and I want to make all of you happy, but I can't! I just can't!" She practically screamed. "Hey, hey, hey" I said as I ran up to her. "Shh, shh, shh" I whispered as I hugged her. "Just breathe" I whispered as she wrapped her hooves around me. "Just breathe" I said again. Applejack made her way down to us and approached Twilight. "Twilight, sugar?" She asked. "I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you" she said regrettably. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't want the ticket anymore. Somepony else can have it. I promise that I won't feel bad." Next up was Fluttershy. "Me too" she said softly. "I just feel awful that I made you feel so awful." Pinkie Pie just appeared next to Twilight. I learned not to question her... To this day, I still want to question her. But something tells me that it isn't worth asking. "I'm sorry too" she said. "Upsetting friends is no fun." "Twilight?" I heard Rarity ask. I glanced up and saw that she remained at the top. "I know it was unfair for me to try to force you as I did." Rainbow Dash grew excited and flew up in the air. "Yes! That means the ticket belongs to me!" We all gave her an angry look. "You know, I haven't perfected my signature moves for the Wonderbolts anyway. I don't need the ticket either." "We're sorry, Twilight" the five said in unison.
"Feel better?" I asked.
"Much" she answered as I released her from my comforting hug. She cleared her throat and turned to Spike. "Can you take down a note, Spike?" She asked. "Sure" he said as he got a scroll and quill pen ready.
" 'Dear Princess Celestia,' " she began.
" 'I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings. But when there isn't enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning the tickets to The Grand Galloping Gala.' "
"What?!" The ponies asked in unison. "Spike, you may send the letter" Twilight said with a smile. "I see where this is going" I said. "What do you mean?" Applejack asked. "If Twilight can't decide who to take to the Gala, she'll decide that nopony will go. Not even her." "What about you?" Applejack asked me.
"I have to be honest with you. I actually wanted to go to the Gala. But seeing that Twilight was the ticket master, I knew it was impolite for me to walk up to her and ask her. All I had to do was wait patiently for her to ask if I wanted to come." Just then, Spike burped out a scroll. "Oh! Princess Celestia replied quickly" I said. Spike grabbed the scroll and read it.
" 'My faithful student,' " he read.
" 'Why didn't you say so in the first place?' ".
He gasped at what he saw. "Hey, look! Seven tickets to the Gala!" One ticket floated to me, and the other six floated to the ponies. "Now we can all go!" Twilight exclaimed as ponies cheered. Just then, her stomach rumbled.
"Let's celebrate by treating you to dinner" Rarity said as the six marched out the door.
"How come I don't get a ticket?" Spike asked. I bent down in front of him and smiled.
"This morning you said you didn't want to go." I held out my ticket. "I'm seeing that someone has changed his mind." Spike smiled and greedily grabbed the ticket from my hand. Suddenly he realized what just happened. "Wait, what about you? Didn't you want to go to the Gala?" He asked.
"I do" I said. "But you look like you wanted the ticket more."
"But Foal, the seven of us won't have fun without you." I smiled and patted his head.
"It's ok if I didn't get a ticket. By the way, I love it when my friends..." Suddenly, another belch escaped from Spike's mouth. I unrolled the scroll. "Oh, this one's for me" I said.
" 'Foal... I would never forget a ticket for you' " Spike and I stared at the golden ticket that came with it. "Wanna celebrate?" I asked. "Yes!" Spike exclaimed. We stepped out of the library, and after closing the door behind me, we ran to catch up with the six ponies.
It has been 3 days since the whole argument for the tickets. Even though I was given a ticket, I was wondering if I even wanted to go. Something tells me that I should, but on the other hand, there is still Illusion roaming somewhere. He's waiting for the right time to enter my head and taunt me with any bad memory he could find. It's best that I prepare myself for his unpredictable assault. After all, anything can happen. Even in a world that's really friendly.
The rays of the sun shone brightly through the windows of Twilight's library. I lifted a hand to shield the rays as I got up from my sleep. I moaned sleepily as I got up from the sofa I was sprawled on. I made my way to the door and opened it the same time a Pegasus mare knocked. This mare meant to knock on the door, but after I opened it to step out into the morning light, her hoof collided with my forehead. I'm used to it since this is somewhat of a morning routine. Wake up, open the door, get the mail.
"Hey Derpy" I said as I rubbed my forehead. The mare, not being able to answer stared at me with her crossed eyed look. I could see a smile form behind the envelope she had in her mouth. I retrieved the envelope, but before I could hand her the bits for payment and bid goodbye, she flew off. She always forgets to get the bits. I stepped outside and opened the envelope.
'Howdy partner,
I need a favor from ya. Mind comin' over to Sweet Apple Acres? -Applejack.'
I crumpled up the envelope and tossed it in a trash bin, then folded the letter and tucked it away in my pants pocket. Seeing that I was the only one awake in Ponyville as of now, I decided to make my way over to Applejack's farm. When I arrived, Applejack, Big Macintosh (or Big Mac), and Applebloom were snacking on apples. I walked over to a bucket and picked up an apple.
"Howdy Foal, joinin' us for snack time?" Applebloom asked me as she took a bite out of her apple. I looked at her questioningly and turned around. From where I was, I could spot the Ponyville clock tower.
"Shouldn't you be at school? I mean..." Applejack's laugh cut me off.
"Don't you worry non' this Applebloom's routine. She wakes up, has a little snack with me an' Big Mac, then she goes off to school. Ain't that right Big Mac?"
"Eeyup" the red stallion answered. I noticed something about him. His waist has been bandaged and the last time I saw him, he didn't have it on. I assumed that he hurt himself, but I decided not to question about it. From the distance, the clock tolled.
"Oh! I should be gettin' to school" Applebloom said. "See ya sis, see ya Big Mac, see ya Foal." Applejack laughed and stood in front of Applebloom.
"Easy there partner. Ya need an escort to get to your school" she said.
"I'll take her" I volunteered.
"You will?" Applebloom asked excitedly. I nodded and grinned at her.
"Ok then, when you're done, meet us back here in the farm" Applejack instructed. I nodded my head and lead Applebloom out of the farm.
When I returned to the farm, I saw Applejack and Big Mac finishing the last of their apples. "Say Foal, did ya get the letter I sent you?" Applejack asked.
"Sure did" I said as I pulled out the letter from my pocket. "What is this about?"
"Follow me sugar cube." Having to hear Applejack call me 'sugar cube' reminded me of home where even though I was called 'My Foal', or 'Foalie' on a regular basis, there are some ponies in the Crystal Empire that call me Sweet Square. How I got that nickname? Well long story short, it involved me playing games with the fillies and I give the winner(s) candies or treats (Sweet) and I always do it in the Crystal Empire's Square on Friday after the fillies leave from school. That's all I have to say. I'm glad that the name isn't used a lot.
I was lead up a hill and scanned across the horizon. In front of us were hundreds and hundreds of apple trees. Applejack and Big Mac seemed impressed with all the hard work they have done on this farm. "Boy howdy!" She exclaimed. "I got my work cut out for me, that there is the biggest bumper crop o' apples I ever laid eyes on."
"Eeyup" Big Mac agreed. "To big for you to handle on your own."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute" I said. "Are you actually considering on taking on these apple trees by yourself?" I asked. "I mean, that's a lot of apple trees to go through and..." Applejack cut me off by glaring at me. I cleared my throat and moved to the side.
"Foal's right sis" Big Mac said. "You're biting off more than you could chew, and that's just what I'm afraid of." Applejack turned to him and kept the same glare she gave me.
"Are you sayin' my mouth is makin' promises my legs can't keep?"
"Eeyup."
"Why of all the..."
"Maybe you should reconsider about doing this" I tried to reason with her. "I mean, you're just one pony going against hundreds of apple trees. This doesn't add up. You might as well ask for help."
"Don't use your fancy mathematics to muddy the issue, Foal! I said I could handle this harvest and I'm gonna prove it to you. I'm gonna get every last one of those apples this applebuck season all by myself." I gave in.
"Ok, I'm going to trust you. You are the Element of Honesty after all." As I made my way back over to the farm, I could've sworn I heard Applejack gulp.
Making my way back to Ponyville with an apple in my hand, I saw that the whole town is now wide awake. I took a bite out of said apple and decided to take a stroll. But before I could do so, I heard a distant rumbling noise. I made my over to the entrance of Ponyville and walked down a few feet. I then saw a dust cloud in the distance. I took a bite out of my apple once more and put it behind my back as I approached the dust cloud.
"Come on" I challenged as I stopped walking. The rumbling grew louder and the dust cloud got nearer. Behind my back, I gripped onto the apple tightly. The rumbling then became so close, I began shaking as if I was standing near an approaching earthquake. As soon as I saw the first cow leading the stampede, I tossed the apple in the air. Distracted, the cow reared up and gobbled up the apple in one bite. While it was distracted, I had managed to move aside and quickly mounted on it.
"Yee haw!" Applejack cheered. "Well done, Foal!" I turned my head and smiled as I saw Applejack and the family dog Winona join the stampede. To be honest, this isn't the first time Applejack and I stopped a stampede of cows together because those were just drills. This is however the first time I have to handle a real stampede.
"Winona!" I called. "You know what to do!" The dog barked and moved to the side. Applejack and Winona then urged the cows to move together in a straight formation. Ahead of me was Ponyville and I could see the worried looks on the five. "Oh no you don't!" I cried out as I veered the cow to the side, leading the others away from Ponyville. Once we had them away from Ponyville, the cow I was mounted on stopped, launching me off her and landing face down on the grass. I got to my feet and brushed some dirt and grass off me.
"Now what was that all about?" Applejack asked as I joined her. One cow mooed loudly and cleared her throat.
"Oh my! Begging your pardon, Applejack" she began. "But Mooriella here saw one of those nasty snakes" she explained. "And it just gave us the willies don'tcha know."
"We completely understand" I said in an assuring tone.
"Next time," Applejack added. "Try and steer clear of Ponyville."
"We certainly will" the cow said as she and the others began to depart. "So long Winona!" The dog barked happily. I turned to Applejack and shook her hoof.
"Well done partner" I said with a smile.
"You too" she said. As I made my way back to Ponyville, I turned around and saw Applejack and Winona run off back to Sweet Apple Acres. The cheers coming from Ponyville ran through my ears. Gotta give credit to Applejack. She was the one who taught me the routine on how to handle a stampede.
Because of her achievement, everypony in Ponyville decided to throw a ceremony for Applejack right by the Town Square. I watched as the ponies got to work decorating the building, the area, and a banner. "Hey Foal" Twilight said as she approached me. "We're almost ready. Can you get Applejack for us?"
"Sure can" I answered with a smile. "And don't worry. I won't tell her anything about this." Twilight watched as I ran off into the distance. I made my way over to Sweet Apple Acres but Applejack was nowhere to be seen. I then remembered her saying that she was going to knock down some apples. I walked through the acres of apple trees and I did indeed find Applejack. And she did not look energetic. Matter of fact, she looked sleep deprived. I do have to give her credit for knocking down apples from 50 trees. She still has a lot more trees to go through.
"Applejack" I began as I approached the exhausted pony. "You're needed at the Town Square in Ponyville." "Is something the matter?" She asked with a yawn. "No, its just that, everypony hasn't seen you since the stampede and they're wondering where you ran off to" I lied. Normally, Applejack would question me about lying, but she didn't. This is not looking too good. I began to wonder why she is working herself too hard. Before I could question her, the tired pony lifted up her basket of apples and made her way to Ponyville. This won't end well. On our way to Ponyville, I had to wake Applejack 4 times, I had to steer her to the right direction 3 times, and I even had to help her carry her basket of apples for the majority of the walk. We then arrived.
"All right Foal" she said. "Give me them apples" she said tiredly. Not wanting to argue, I shrugged and gave them back to her. "Sorry I'm late, everypony" she said as she made her way through the crowd. I pinched the bridge of my nose, knowing the trouble is just starting. I sighed as I made my way through the crowd and joined the five.
"I found her like this" I said to them as we watched Applejack make her way to the stage.
"Ms. Mayor," Applejack said tiredly. She then pushed Mayor Mare aside and stood in front of a podium. "Thank you kindly for this here award thingy...It's so bright and shiny." She laughed as she looked at her reflection. "I do look kinda funny."
"Ok, this pony's sleep deprived" I said. "I'm going to...." Before I could run up to her, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash held me back as Pinkie Pie and Twilight walked up to the stage. "Let me go!" I began to flail my arms for a few seconds. "Ok, I'm calm... I'm calm..." I said. I tools a deep breathe and pulled myself together.
"Come on, Foal" Applejack said as she dragged her trophy down the aisle. This won't end well. I sighed and obliged. The five and the other ponies watched as I followed Applejack.
After putting her trophy against a wall in the Apple Family's house, I made my way over to the apple orchard and watched Applejack kick tree after tree, knocking down all the apples into buckets. "Applejack, your working yourself way too hard" I said. "Your sleep deprived, you have bags under your eyes, and the entire town is worried about you. Face it, you need help with this."
"No I don't Foal" she insisted as she kicked another tree. She then fell asleep. I sighed and snapped my fingers in front of her. Applejack gasped and shook herself awake.
"Hey Foal" I heard a voice behind me. I turned my head and smiled.
"Hey Twilight" I greeted. "Wanna help me take care of this problem?" I asked as I gestured to Applejack who kicked a bucket of apples over.
"Sure" Twilight answered. "Hey Applejack!" She called. "Applejack!" She shouted once again. I noticed that Applejack was sleeping again. Before I could take a step, I found myself being teleported in front of her along with Twilight. "Applejack!" Twilight shouted. The cowgirl pony shook herself awake.
"Howdy Twilight, howdy Foal" she greeted. The way she greeted me sounded like I just arrived here when I've been standing next to her, watching work herself too hard.
"What is all this?" Twilight asked as she gestured to the hundred remaining trees.
"It's applebuck season" she answered as she walked away. I saw a look in Twilight's eyes. Before I could open my mouth, she teleported herself and me over to Applejack.
"Apple-what season?" Twilight asked. Applejack began to walk away again.
"It's what the Apple Family calls 'Harvesting Time'." Again, we were teleported to Applejack. I was starting to get dizzy.
"We gather all the apples from the trees and sell them." I didn't know whether Twilight was worried or confused, so I assumed she was both.
"Why is she doing this all alone?" She asked me.
"I've been trying to find out for quite some time." Again, teleportation.
"Can't Big Mac help you?" She asked.
"He hurt himself" she answered.
"How about all of those relatives we met when we first arrived?" I asked.
"Yeah" Twilight agreed. "Can't they help?" She asked. Applejack sighed.
"They were just here for the Apple Family Reunion. They live all over Equestria" she said as she walked away from us once more. "And they're busy harvesting their own orchard which means I'm on my own."
"Wait..." Too late, Twilight teleported the both of us once again. This time, I landed on my ass when we appeared in front of Applejack.
"Which means I should get back to work" she said almost impatiently. I got to my feet and crossed my arms. "Ahem... Hint hint?" She asked. "You know, back to work?"
"Fine" Twilight said as we both stepped aside.
"Hey uh, could you guys do me favor and step aside?" Applejack asked as she begun swaying.
"We just did" Twilight answered. "Applejack, you don't look so good" she said. The farmhand shook herself awake.
"Don't you six worry none, I'm all fine and dandy." Twilight readied herself to use her teleportation spell. At this point, I didn't care anymore so I just let it happen.
"Do you..." Twilight began. "Want some help, Applejack?" She asked.
"Help? No way! No how!" She said in a refusal tone.
"But there's no way you could do this on your own. Let Foal and I help you with a couple trees."
"Are you challenging me, Twilight?" She asked challengingly. Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but I clapped a hand over it.
"No, no. She's not challenging you at all" I laughed nervously. Applejack glared at me. "Now I'm gonna prove to you that I can do this on my own."
"Ok" I said with a nervous smile as I released Twilight's mouth.
"Now if you two would excuse me, I've got apples to buck."
"Ok, you... You do that" I said with a nervous laugh as Applejack began walking away. When she was far from sight, I turned to Twilight, keeping my nervous look and tone. "She has a problem."
"Then we have to do something about it."
"You're telling me. What should we do."
"I say we head back to the library and let her do this 'applebuck season' thing and I guess we wait until she admits that she needs help." That sounded like a plan. When we reached the library, Twilight and I gathered a random assortment of books, then she led me to the treehouse's balcony where we decided to read. Twilight turned her head and saw me read a book titled
How to Make a Sleep Deprived Pony Accept Help During Applebuck Season
"This book is getting me nowhere" I said as I closed the book and putting it aside. I picked up a random book and opened it to a random page. Reading it from there, I took note that I was reading a reference guide to Equestria. I closed the book and put it aside. A thought then crossed my mind. Should I find out more about the last human that last set foot in Equestria? Something tells me that I should, but I feel like I should ask an alicorn about this first. Maybe they know more than what the books say. Suddenly, there was a crash. I got so startled, I cried out, and staggered away from the railing.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash" I said. Twilight glanced up from her book and saw the cyan colored Pegasus.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"I think somepony else needs help" she answered.
"Applejack?" Twilight and I guessed at the same time.
"Yup." Rainbow Dash explained. I got up and headed back into the library.
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked.
"I'm going to knock some sense into Applejack. She needs help" I said sternly. I left the balcony leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash behind. I made my way through the library and out the door. On my way over to Sweet Apple Acres, Pinkie Pie cornered me.
"Hi Foalie! Have you seen Applejack? I've tried looking for her but I couldn't find her anywhere!" She said under one breath. Before I could answer, she continued. "Can you do me a favor and find her? I really need her to help bake these muffins. Well goodbye" she bounced back to Sugar Cube corner humming merrily. I was about to follow her, but Twilight teleported in front of me, causing me to cry out. "I hate it when you do that" I said.
"Sorry, Foalie. Anyway, Rainbow Dash told me what happened."
"I was just on my way to see her. I don't care how long it'll take, but I'm going to convince her that she needs help."
We reached the orchard and saw Applejack standing next to a tree looking a little dazed.
"Applejack, can we talk?" Twilight asked.
"Can bees squawk?!" She asked loudly. "I don't think so!"
"No" I said as I stepped forward. "Can we talk?" I corrected.
"Twenty stalks? Bean or celery?" I don't believe this! She's so sleep deprived that her hearing is messed up. Twilight was just about as upset as I was.
"No, we need to talk to you!" Twilight shouted.
"You guys want to walk to the zoo? Well who's stopping you?!" Applejack asked loudly.
"We need to talk to you!" Twilight practically shouted.
"Oh, then why didn't you say so?! What do you want to talk about?!"
"We got a visit from Rainbow Dash today" Twilight explained.
"That's quite neighborly of her!"
"Yes, except she crashed onto my balcony after you launched her into the air!"
"Oh..." She said softly. "I wasn't feeling quite myself this morning."
"That's because you've been working way too hard" I said as I approached her. "Face it, Applejack. You need help." This startled Applejack.
"No, no, no, NO! Why are you trying to offer me help! I'm telling you, I don't need help. I'm goin' to prove to you, and to everypony that I don't need help! I can do this on my own! Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta help Pinkie Pie." She then began to stagger away. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. I turned around and decided to go back to Ponyville.
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked.
"To your library" I said as I released the bridge of my nose and faced her.
"To read?"
"No. To nap. I'm going to get as much sleep as I could before I too get sleep deprived." Twilight watched as I sauntered back to Ponyville. When I arrived, I opened the doors to the library and stepped inside. I closed the doors behind me, walked over to the sofa and sprawled face down on it, groaning miserably. It took awhile for my eyes to fully close and I eventually drifted to a peaceful sleep. I don't know how much time went by, but I felt a pair of hooves trying to shake me awake.
"Foalie, wake up" I heard Twilight say.
"Not now mom" I moaned. "10 more minutes" I moaned sleepily. Twilight sighed and fired a small spark from her horn, jolting me awake.
"Agh! Ok, I'm up, I'm up!" I said, breathing heavily. As soon I was calm, I turned to Twilight. "What's the commotion?" I asked.
"Enough is enough" Twilight said. "Spike and I received a call from Nurse Redheart and we saw several ponies including Pinkie Pie sick. And apparently those 'Baked Goods' turned out to be 'Baked Bads' and now, Ponyville has been invaded by a population of bouncing baby bunnies. This is the last straw, we are going to confront Applejack, and get it straight into her skull. She needs help!"
"Now you're talking" I said with a smile as I jumped off the sofa. "It's about time somepony talks to Applejack about this. I've been doing this all by myself for so long, I wasn't so sure anypony would help me do this." The spark may have woken me, but I was so dazed from being woken, that I didn't realize what I said wasn't true. Twilight shook her head while wearing a smile on her face. She then followed me out the door.
When we reached the orchard, we went atop a hill and saw Applejack weakly kick at a tree. Said kick was so weak, the apples didn't even bother to fall. "Enough is enough, Applejack" I said as Twilight and I approached her.
"Wha--?" She asked tiredly as she glanced up at me.
"Foal's right" Twilight said. "This whole applebucking thing has not only caused you problems, but it has caused other problems to other ponies as well."
"Yeah. You over-propelled Rainbow Dash, poisoned a few ponies plus Pinkie Pie..." I added.
"And you terrorized bushels of brand new baby bunnies" Twilight finished. "And we don't care what you say, but you need to accept the fact that..."
"You Need Help!" We said in unison. Applejack glared at us and gave the tree a hard kick, causing all the apples to fall.
"Ha!" She laughed triumphantly. "No I don't!" She gestured to the orchard before us and we saw that every tree has been cleaned of its apples. "Look, I did it! Just like I said! And I did it without your help! How'd you like them apples?" I turned my head and gasped.
"Amazed by all of this?" Applejack asked me in a boastful manner.
"Um Applejack? How'd you like THEM apples?" I asked, gesturing to the side. Applejack gaped at what I was pointing. She has only cleared out half of Sweet Apple Acres. The mare began to mumble incoherently at the sight and eventually passed out.
"Applejack?" I asked as I lightly tapped her face. "Applejack, can you hear me?" I asked again as I lightly tapped her face some more. Eventually she came to and stared at Twilight and me. "Oh good, she's ok" I said with relief.
"Now Applejack" Twilight said in a calm tone. "Foal and I completely respect the Apple family ways."
"Also you are there to help anypony in need" I added. "So how about you put aside your stubbornness and pride and allow us, your friends, to help you clear out the remaining apple trees."
"Ok guys" she said.
"Wait, come again?" I asked, widening my eyes again.
"Twilight? Foal? Can you please help me clear out the other half of the orchard?"
"We'll be glad to help you, partner" I said as I helped Applejack up. I turned to Twilight and grinned. "Got anything to report to Princess Celestia?" I asked.
"I sure do" Twilight said with a smile.
'Dear Princess Celestia,
My best friend Applejack is the best friend anypony or human could ever have. Even though she's there to help anypony, she's finding it hard to accept help when she needs it. So while friendship is about giving of ourselves to friends, it's also about accepting what our friends have to offer.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.'
"A nice one for the day" I said as I rolled up the scroll after writing everything Twilight said. I handed the scroll to Spike and smiled. "You know what to do." Spike took the letter and fired a blast of green fire and I watched as the scroll float away.
"Hey Foal, want a treat?" He asked as he offered me a 'Baked Bad.' I laughed nervously.
"I'm good" I said as I began to walk away.
"Come on Foal, just one bite?" He asked. The six watched the baby dragon follow me around.
"Spike, it's ok, I don't want it."
"But Twilight said that friendship is about accepting what our friends has to offer."
"Yes..." I said as I turned to him. "And your offering me a 'Baked Bad', and that 'Baked Bad is what made the ponies sick." I turned around and continued to walk away.
"Come on Foal, their not that bad" he said. The six then began to laugh as the baby dragon now chased me.
" 'Dear Princess Celestia!' " I shouted as if she could hear me from where she is. " 'Spike should learn the importance of one's health!' "
Same week, different day. That's how I would like to describe the now. It was tough getting Applejack to accept help, but in the end, it was well worth it. All that time was well spent.
I was walking along the streets of Ponyville alone with my thoughts. Where am I headed? I have no idea. As I walked, I spotted Twilight, as usual, seeing if there's a book she wants to buy for her library. "Hello Twilight" I said. "Nice morning, is it not?"
"Hello Foal" she said with a smile. She then turned her attention back to the selection of books behind the glass window. I walked up next to her and stared at the selection of books.
"Now I know you have that one" I said, pointing to one of the books. "I've seen that one lying on the floor, and..."
"Twilight, Foal!" I recognized the voice. Turning our heads, we both saw Pinkie Pie. "I'm looking for Rainbow Dash, have any of you seen her?" She asked.
"The last time I saw her, she was napping on a cloud somewhere at the park" I said.
"Uh... Isn't Rainbow Dash up there?" Twilight asked, pointing upwards with her hoof. I glanced up and saw a rainbow tail sticking out of the cloud. I slapped a hand to my face and groaned.
"The last place one would look" I sighed. Twilight and I watched as Pinkie Pie bounce away.
"Oh Foal, while you're here, there's something I want to tell you" she said.
"Sure, go ahead" I replied.
"Spike is suppose to be gathering some scrolls at the Town Hall. Can you go and assist him?"
"I sure can" I said with a smile. Twilight watched as I ran off.
Making my way to the Town Hall, I actually ran into Spike as he was going in. "Hey Foal, what's the rush?" He asked as the two of us entered the building.
"Twilight said that I assist you with the scrolls. I mean you can't possibly carry a lot" I said as the two of us began to gather a bundle of scrolls in our arms. As the two of us exited the Town Hall, a loud thunderclap startled us both, causing us to drop the scrolls. The laughs coming from Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie filled our ears. Spike and I were not amused by this prank they had set up. "Really? Really girls? This is your idea of a good time?"
"Relax Foalie, it's only a harmless prank" Rainbow Dash said, still laughing.
"Oh... Harmless. I mean you gave him hiccups and..." The sight of a green flame being blown away caught my attention. "Uh Spike, was there anything written on that scroll?"
"No" he said as he hiccuped again.
"Oh jeez... What will Princess Celestia do if she finds out that you sent a letter without anything written on it?!" I grasped my head and fell on my knees, unaware of the looks Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were giving me. "I don't want her to think that Twilight is failing her with this kind of stuff!" I began to cry in an overdramatic and really pathetic manner. Spike walked up to me and hiccuped green fire at me, causing me to shut up.
"Oh please, Foal. Lighten up!" He then began to pick up scrolls, but as he did, he began to hiccup green fire again, sending the scrolls to Canterlot.
"You're right, I should lighten up" I said, unaware that he was gone. I looked up and saw that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were giving me an odd look. "What?" I asked.
"You didn't seem that surprised with the prank. What are you, hard to fool or something?" Rainbow Dash asked. 'Great! How can I tell them that enjoy pranks without mentioning that they talked me into it in the universe I came from?' I thought. My eyes lit up and an idea popped into my head. "I thought you knew!" I said, acting surprised.
"Knew what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"That I liked pranks."
"You do? Well why didn't you tell us?"
"Oh I knew all right!" Pinkie Pie squeaked. I wasn't so sure if this was her playing along with me, her just being Pinkie Pie, or her using her ridiculously good knowledge. After all, she did tell me that she knew everypony here so well, she practically knows everything about them. Stalker much?
"Wait, you knew, but you didn't tell me?"
"I tried to tell you, but you were so busy practicing for the Wonderbolts, that you've been ignoring us completely" Pinkie Pie said.
"Now if you two will excuse me, I'm going to walk nonchalantly around Ponyville keeping my mouth shut about you two pranking everypony." Before I could leave, Rainbow Dash tackled me to the ground.
"Why don't you prank with us? It'll be fun" she said, sounding tempting. "After all, you do like pranks." Me and my big mouth.
"This is ridiculous" I said as I looked at a container of Sneezing Powder. Behind me, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both had baskets of flowers and other pranking items in their mouths. "You're actually doing this?"
"C'mon Foal, it'll be fun!" Rainbow Dash said as we stopped by Rarity's house. Due to the basket, it was slightly muffled. Pinkie Pie put her basket down and randomly pulled out a vase from beneath it.
"Fine" I said as I poured some powder on the flowers. While the two mares put the flowers in the vase, I made my way to the side of the house and hid. 'I could come up with better pranks than this! Thanks to a certain cyan colored mare and the pink one.' Rainbow Dash knocked on the door and she and Pinkie Pie made a mad dash over behind some bushes. I groaned and put a hand to my face. 'I can't believe this....' The sound of the door opening interrupted me from my thoughts. I peeked around and saw Rarity smell the flowers, eventually getting sneezing powder on her nose. As she sneezed uncontrollably, I moved as far away as I could and laughed. As much I hate to admit it, it was kind of funny.
I met up with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie back to the center of Ponyville. "Ok, what's next?" I asked. I turned my head saw that they were focusing on Twilight's library. I shook my head and raised my hands up. "No, no, forget it, I'm not going to take part on this one."
"Come on Foalie," Rainbow Dash said as she nudged me in the rib. "It'll be fun."
"Fine, but if she does find out about the prank, and I'm questioned about it, I'm telling her that I took no part in it and that you're the one who talked me in."
"Deal" Rainbow Dash said as she flew off, with Pinkie Pie bouncing behind, sharing the same excitement as the Pegasus. Oh Celestia, I feel like this won't end well.
"This is ridiculous" I said as the three of us watched Twilight work on an experiment of some sort through her window. "I can't believe you had me sneak in there and pour disappearing ink into one of her ink bottles."
"Shh, here comes the best part" Rainbow Dash said. As soon as the ink vanished Twilight became frantic. It was then her experiment went awry. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie laughed boisterously. I tried not to laugh, but their laughter overpowered me greatly so I laughed along with them. The minute I saw Twilight smirk, I panicked a little and quickly jumped off the tree. Practicing my run-and-jump using Canterlot as my playground payed off.
Next up, we painted Applejack's apples using washable paint. The second she stepped out, she caught us painting one of her apples. I quickly dropped the apple and ran off, laughing along with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Applejack then began to throw the painted apples at us. I quickly dove head-first into a barrel of water and held my breath. Unfortunately, due to my size, the barrel tipped over, spilling water everywhere. Applejack backed away so her hooves wouldn't get wet. I rolled out of the barrel, coughing and spitting water out. Applejack glanced down and saw the paint being washed away. When she glanced up, I was already running towards the exit of Sweet Apple acres. Little did I know, Applejack found the prank (and the predicament I put myself into) amusing.
Near a lake, I removed my shirt and hung it on a tree branch to let it dry. Was I embarrassed that I was shirtless? Kind of. Because it was either this, or remove the clothes I'm wearing from the waist down also. Screw that! I'm not letting that happen! On the other side of the tree was Rainbow Dash. She was looking through a giant telescope which she borrowed from Twilight. Actually, I'm the one that asked if I could borrow it. I noticed Pinkie Pie had a squeeze toy in her mouth. Attached to it was a long rope.
"Is someone over there?" Pinkie Pie asked, slightly muffled. "Who's it going to squirt? Who's it going to squirt?"
"Fluttershy" Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.
"WHAT?!" Pinkie Pie asked. She then spat the toy out of her mouth.
"I'm gone" I said as I retrieved my shirt and hung it over my shoulder. "This is going a little too far."
"Foalie's right. We can't prank Fluttershy. She's so sensitive. Even our most harmless pranks will hurt her feelings." Before I left, Rainbow Dash backed down.
"Yeah you're right" she said in defeat. She turned to us. "We need to find someone with a more tough personality. So, who shall it be?" She asked. Pinkie Pie and I tried not to laugh. Rainbow Dash had an inked circle around her eye.
"Oh" Pinkie Pie said. "We've got someone in mind" she said with a laugh.
"Yeah, the toughest one around" I added. I held out a hand to which Pinkie Pie responded by slapping her hoof on top of it. This excited Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, awesome! Who? Who? Who? Do I know them?"
"Oh, you know them all right" I said with a smile.
"Well come on, spill the beans, where can we find them? What prank shall we pull?" She asked, even more excited.
"Oh why they're here of course" I answered.
"Oh yes" Pinkie Pie said as she pointed to the lake. Pinkie Pie and I laughed harder when Rainbow Dash looked at her reflection. After I was finished laughing, I watched as the two mares laugh together like they were best friends. I then left the clearing without them knowing, with my shirt still slung over my shoulder.
I made my way back over to Twilight's library, feeling exhausted. By the time I arrived, my shirt has dried and so I put it on before entering. Once I stepped inside the cool room temperature of the library after being out in the sun, I sprawled on the sofa (which was my bed). I began to think about everypony back home. I wondered if I altered their time. What if I completed my task here, but when I return, they won't remember me. The thought engulfed my mind like smoke. I refuse to believe this fact but there is a possibility of that happening. Of course I remember the rule I was given before I arrived here: 'Don't let Twilight know about the relation between me and her.' If I see Princess Cadance, I must not let her know that I'm her adoptive son. The same thing with Shining Armor. I got up from the sofa, staggered out and fell on my knees. I began to breathe heavily. Why didn't these things cross my mind? How much longer must I endure? Worse... When will Illusion strike next? It's like we're playing Cat and Mouse with each other. Him beng the cat, my mind being the mouse.
Time went by and after coming back from my usual routine of wandering aimlessly around Ponyville, I spotted Pinkie Pie and she didn't seem like she was in a good mood. "Hey Pinkie Pie" I greeted. "You're usually cheerful, what happened?"
"Hi Foalie, I met a friend of Rainbow Dash and she's meanest friend I've ever encountered!" I stroke my chin.
"Hmm" I said. I need to know more about this friend of Rainbow Dash. "I'm on my way back to Twilight's Library anyway. She might want to know about this."
"You're right, we should!" She zoomed ahead of me. I've never seen Pinkie Pie this upset before.
"So Pinkie Pie" Twilight said as she levitated a book and skimmed through the pages. "Are you sure this friend of Rainbow Dash is really mean?" While Pinkie Pie ranted, I picked up a book of my own and skimmed through the pages. There's got to be more information about griffons. Despite me being in Equestria for a long time, I've heard of griffons, I just never encountered one. Well maybe once or twice.
"I've never met a griffon this mean!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Well actually, I've never met a griffon at all. But if I had, I bet they won't be as mean and grumpy as Gilda!" I don't know... Griffons can be pretty rude.
"You know what I think, Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked.
"Hmm?" Pinkie Pie responded, giving her a questioning look.
"Well, I think..." She thought for a moment. "You're jealous."
"Jealous?!" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Green with envy" Spike said. I didn't even realize he was here. "Well in your case, pink with envy."
"What?!" I asked. "Twilight Sparkle! I'm shocked."
"I'm sorry Foalie, but I don't want to upset Pinkie..." I cut her off.
"You just did. And if there's one thing I don't like, it's friends upsetting their own friends. C'mon Twilight. Surely Princess Celestia taught you that." I walked over to the door. "Not only did you upset Pinkie, but you upset me too. How dare you say Pinkie is jealous." I left the library.
I walked down the street with my hands in my pockets. "Foalie! Wait up!" I heard Pinkie Pie call out to me. I turned my head and saw her running up to me. I stopped walking and fully turned my body to her. "Maybe Twilight is right" she said.
"Really?" I asked. "How so?"
"Maybe Gilda isn't really a meanie mean grumpy pants and I'm just a judging judgmental jealous jealousy pants." I noticed a sad look on her face.
"What say we stop by Sugar Cube Corner and have some ice cream, or a yogurt..."
"How about a milkshake?" She asked.
"Ok, that'll do."
When we reached Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie had a large glass of milkshake and placed two straws in it. One on my side, and one on hers. I also grabbed some napkins because well, milkshakes are messy. As we sipped the milkshake, we heard laughter from above. Pinkie Pie quickly ducked under the table as I glanced up. "So that's Gilda, huh?" I asked. She nodded, still crouching behind the table. Suddenly, there was a scream.
"A rattler! A rattler! Save yourself!" I turned my head and saw Granny Smith walk away.
"Why that no good--!" Before I could run towards Gilda, Pinkie Pie grasped me with her hooves.
"Wait! Maybe that was a joke and Granny Smith didn't know" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"I don't know, pulling a joke on an old timer? That's just crossing the line."
"But we can't misjudge her." She's right, but at the same time... There's already something about this griffon that I really don't like. We then saw her coil her tail around an apple and popped it into her mouth.
"And what do you call that?" I asked as I pointed to what she just did. Pinkie Pie gasped.
"I did misjudge her! She's a meanie pants, and a thief!" She pounded the table so hard, a small splash of milkshake hit me.
"Still want to give her another chance?" I asked as I used a napkin to wipe the splash off my shirt.
"Yep."
"Alright little ones, this way" Fluttershy said as she led a small family of ducklings across the street.
"Ok.... That does it" I said.
"Where are you going?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'm making myself a barrier. I'm not letting that griffon...." I was cut off with a commotion.
"Hey! I'm walking here!" Gilda shouted. I clenched my fist as I watched the madness.
"Foalie?" Pinkie Pie asked. I didn't answer. Instead, I charged forward and slid between the griffon and Fluttershy. I quickly wrapped my arms around the Pegasus and pressed her head against my chest as Gilda roared loudly.
"Take a hike!" I shouted as I got to my feet. "We don't want any problems here, griffon!" Did I care that calling a griffon by their race instead of their name was insulting? No.
"What was that?" Gilda asked.
"I said griffon. What's the matter? Don't like the name? What else should I call you? Pony? Manticore? Sea serpent?" I asked. I saw her fume. "C'mon griffon" I challenged. Gilda raised a claw up and attempted to slash me, but I quickly evaded it. Gilda continued to slash at me but I kept on dodging her attacks. I then threw a punch at her and collided with her face. I turned my attention to Fluttershy. "This griffon has nothing." Just then, she slashed me in the back. I cried out in pain and fell to my knees, groaning in pain. As Gilda flew off, muttering angrily, Fluttershy remained by my side, comforting me. I had three bloodied claw marks running diagonally across my back. "I'm going to kill her" I said with clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill that griffon!"
At Sugar Cube Corner, Fluttershy was treating my back. Pinkie Pie had an idea to throw Gilda a party which I can't understand why. Well, she is Pinkie Pie. Not far from me were Applejack and Rarity. "Who's this Gilda I keep hearing about?" Applejack asked.
"A friend of Rainbow Dash" I spat. "Some friend she is!"
"Foalie..." Rarity said as she trotted over to me. "How dare you snap at Rainbow Dash like that."
"I'm sorry Rarity, but I can't be friends with a pony who's friends with a bully. Unless things change, I'm not going to be Rainbow Dash's friend. Now if you'll excuse me." I slowly got to my feet. "I don't want to be around Rainbow Dash. Not while she's with Gilda." I walked to the corner, leaving Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy to look at me with shocked faces.
Twilight walked by and looked at me worriedly. "Did those scratch marks come from Gilda?" She asked Fluttershy.
"Well... Yes" Fluttershy answered meekly. "She attacked him while he was defending me."
"But what he said about Rainbow Dash was hurtful. I should talk to him" Twilight said.
"No" Fluttershy said. "Foal has been through enough. Let him relax and calm down. Maybe he'll take back everything he said."
"You're right" Twilight said. Fluttershy walked over to Pinkie Pie.
"Um Pinkie Pie? About this party?" She asked. "Do you think it's a good idea?"
"Don't worry your pretty little head about mean ol' Gilda. Your Auntie Pinkie Pie has got it all taken care of."
"I'm a year older than you" Fluttershy said.
"Gilda!" Pinkie Pie greeted. I really wish I could sneak out of here, but I couldn't. Not with Gilda and Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway and Pinkie Pie standing in front of them. I was going to sneak out the back door, but there are too many ponies in here. I'm not saying it's cramped, but I could easily spotted trying to sneak out. So I have no choice but to stay here and endure the Pegasus hanging out with that damn griffon. "I'm so honored to throw you one of my signature Pinkie Pie parties!" The pink mare continued. "And I really, truly sincerely hope that you feel welcome amongst us pony-folk."
Pinkie Pie extended a hoof. With an annoyed look on her face, Gilda grasped it, only to get x amount volts surged through her body. I cracked a smile when I saw her get electrocuted. But my smile vanished when Rainbow Dash entered the building. "Oh Pinkie Pie, you are a scream!" The cyan colored Pegasus laughed. "The old hoof-shake buzzer!" Her laugh grew a little louder.
"Yeah" Gilda laughed a little. "Good one Pinkie Pie." I can tell she didn't enjoy the prank.
"Come on G, I'll show you to my other friends" Rainbow Dash said as she trotted away. I remained in the corner and turned my head away from her. 'She's just like him' I thought to myself.
"Hey Foalie" I heard a voice say. I turned my head and saw Twilight approaching me. "I noticed that you're the only one not enjoying the party."
"It's not the party that's upsetting me" I said.
"What is it?" She asked. I looked down at the floor and sighed. I leaned close and whispered something in her. Twilight gasped. "Foalie... Rainbow Dash is our friend."
"How am I suppose to believe that? I mean look at them." I gestured to Rainbow Dash leading Gilda over to a bowl of lemon drops.
"Vanilla lemon drops... Don't mind if I do" Gilda said. She popped one into her mouth and swallowed it. Just then she began to heat up. "Hot!" She screamed. Twilight smiled when she saw me laugh.
"See? I knew you would turn that frown upside down" she said patting me in the back. "Just give Rainbow Dash another chance." I nodded with agreement. "By the way, why are you in a sour mood around Rainbow Dash?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now, I'm enjoying watching Gilda make a fool of herself."
"Hey G!" Rainbow Dash called. "Look, presents!" Gilda ran over to a table filled with gifts and grabbed a random one. When she opened it, several fake snakes popped out of the container. Several ponies, including Twilight and myself laughed.
"Spitting snakes" Applejack laughed. "Somepony pulled that prank on me last month." The annoyed look Gilda was giving made me smile even more. Time went by and while everypony mingled, Pinkie Pie rolled in a large cake into the room.
"Cake time, everypony!" She exclaimed.
"Hey! Can I blow out the candles?!" Spike asked excitedly. Seriously, when did he get here? I ought to start paying attention to my surroundings.
"Why don't we let Gilda blow out the candles, Spike?" Twilight suggested. "She is the guest of honor after all."
"Exactly!" Gilda shouted as she knocked him aside. She blew out all the candles but they lit up again. She continued to blow them out but they always lit up again. Just like before, everypony in the room laughed.
"Re-lighting birthday candles!" Spike laughed. "I love that prank! What a classic!"
"Now I wonder who could've done that?" Pinkie Pie asked out loud.
"Yeah... I wonder" Gilda said as she glared at the mare. I saw Spike eat his way through the cake.
"Who cares?" He asked. "This cake is amazing!"
"Spike!" Twilight scolded.
"What?" He asked.
"You can't just eat your way through this cake" I said. "Now how are we going to eat it when it has your germs all over it? Not to mention it's rude."
"Hey G, you're not upset about those silly candles, are you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No way. Like I said, I'm down with a good prank." Ha, bullshit.
"Come on then, let's have some cake" the cyan Pegasus said excitedly. I walked over to the side and helped put up a poster.
"Hey y'all!" Applejack called. "Let's play pin the tail on the pony."
"Oh, my favorite game" Rarity said. "Can I go first? Can I have the purple tail?"
"I'm the guest of honor!" Gilda shouted as she grabbed the tail. "I get to go first."
"Yeah, we should let Gilda go first!" Pinkie Pie said with a smile. Spike approached the griffon with a cloth. "Lets get you blindfolded." While she spun Gilda around, I approached the center of the floor and placed a blob of cake in the middle.
"Laugh at this, Gilda" I said with a smirk. Pinkie Pie led Gilda over to the poster, but the griffon didn't by it.
"This is another prank, isn't it? I'm going this way!" I stepped aside, smiling. She should've kept moving forward.
"Wait!" Pinkie Pie called. Too late, Gilda stepped on the piece of cake I placed on the floor and slid, crashing into a wall.
"You pinned the tail on the wrong end, Gilda!" Pinkie Pie called. The entire place roared with laughter. I was laughing so hard, I fell over. Gilda snapped.
"This is your idea of a good time?!" Yes. "I've never met a bunch of lamer dweebs in all my life! And Pinkie Pie! You! You are Queen Lame-O with your weak little pranks! Did you really think you can make me lose my cool?!" She went over to Rainbow Dash. "Well, Dash and I have 10x as cool as the rest of you put together! C'mon Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene!" Rainbow Dash didn't move, shocking Gilda. "Come on Rainbow Dash, I said, we're leaving!"
"You know, I was the one who set up those weak pranks at this party!" She yelled. I got up from the floor and made my way over to the corner. I can't bear to see this. "So I guess, I'm Queen Lame-O! And those pranks weren't meant for you, specifically. It was dumb luck that you set them all off."
"No way! It was Pinkie Pie!" Gilda shouted. "She set up this party to make a fool of me!"
"What? I set this party up to improve your attitude and turn your frown upside down!" As she said this, she turned her head into a 90 degree angle.
"And you sure didn't need help making a fool of yourself. You know, this is not how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends. If being cool is all you care about, go find some cool friends someplace else."
"Well.... You're just a flip-flop! Cool one minute! Lame the next!" Gilda shouted. I lost it completely. My right hand began to glow a light blue aura.
"I suggest you beat it, and find cool friends now!" I yelled. I fired a blast, sending Gilda flying out of the building. "Don't ever judge anypony again!" Still keeping my hand glowing light blue, I slammed the door and locked it. Thank you home for teaching me magic. When the aura vanished, I turned around and saw several surprised looks.
"What? I spend my time reading books on magic" I said.
"That's not why we're shocked" Twilight said as she approached me. "We all heard that you were so mad at Rainbow Dash, you didn't want to be her friend anymore."
"Yeah well... Where I'm from, we tend to say stuff we don't actually mean when we're upset."
"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"Not as mad as before" I said. "Now I suggest you apologize to everypony" I said.
"You're right. I'm sorry everypony" Rainbow Dash said. "I'm sorry for bringing Gilda here, I didn't know who rude she was. And Pinkie Pie, I'm sorry she ruined that awesome party you threw for her."
"Hey, if you want hang out with party poopers, that's your business" she said with a smile.
"There's one other person who you have to apologize to" Twilight said. Rainbow Dash turned to me.
"Wait, I apologized about Gilda" she said.
"I know you did" I said. "But you need to apologize for what you did to me."
"What did I do?"
"You left me, one of your friends and hung out with a friend who you thought was better than me."
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Abandonment is a really big thing for me. It happened once and I don't want it to happen again. The way you acted around Gilda, struck a cord in my memory. I had a friend who hung out with me a lot. And then he met up with another friend, hung out with him for so long, completely forgot about me. Promise me you won't do it again?"
"I promise" Rainbow Dash said. "No hard feelings?" She asked as she extended a hoof.
"None" I said as I took her hoof but turned it facing upwards, showing everypony the hoof buzzer she has. "Come on Rainbow, I've been your friend for some time now, I know when you're planning to pull a prank on me" I said with a smile. "As for Pinkie Pie..." I grinned. When I shook her hoof, I received volts of electricity. "There's no telling when she'll prank." Everypony laughed along with me.
That Night
"Foal?" Twilight asked after tucking Spike to bed. "Today... Where did you really learn that magic spell?" She asked.
"On nights, when I can't sleep, I read your spell books."
"But... How did you learn them easily?" I still refused to tell her where I actually learned them.
"Oh... It wasn't easy" I said. True, learning the spell before wasn't easy.
"Since you know magic... Can you teach me some of the spells you know?" She asked. I think I made my first strike of butchering up the past. Two more strikes... Then I'm out. And by out... I can never return home.