//------------------------------//
// The Pharaoh's Curse: Part 2 
// Story: The Alternate Adventures of the Power Ponies 
// by DisneyFanatic23 
//------------------------------//

"You can get lost, pretending to be someone you're not."

- Karen Hawkins





Though still thoroughly bored, Delancey took in the surroundings of the museum. In truth, he'd always been curious to see what lay beyond the sculpture gardens.

Just as dull as I imagined it, he thought.

Only perk was having Fluttershy at his side. Her attitude, in contrast, was very enthusiastic as she pointed out all the ancient artifacts. He wasn't really paying attention, especially as they passed through the Ancient Gracian section.

Been there, done that.

Instead, his mind was on the super heroine he had encountered last night. He'd spent half the night in his realm exploring one of his favorite modern inventions called "the internet" to find out whatever he could about this "Saddle Rager." From the news clips he'd uncovered, the meek little pegasus didn't seem to do much in battles. That is, until by some trigger she grew into an enormous giant! Before joining the Power Ponies, she had gone on a blind rampage laying waste to half the city!

I haven't seen a mare this destructive since Demeter froze the planet, he had thought excitedly.

At that moment, his spectacled clone had appeared. "Have a new obsession now, do we?"

Discord had slammed his laptop closed, his cheeks just as red as his laptop. "I'm not obsessed! I'm just…researching our opponent, trying to find her weakness so that next time we battle I can win and get my amulet!"

His reasonable side had given him an incredulous look.

"Okay, so what if I'm impressed with her powers? Can't I appreciate some good, natural chaos? That doesn't mean I'm obsessed with her! You know I'm loyal to Fluttershy!"

And yet here he was, with the love of his life while thinking of another mare.

"Fluttershy, darling!" called Rarity's voice as Fluttershy and Delancey reached the Anugyptian exhibit.

Gasping, Fluttershy grabbed Delancey's hoof and dragged him over to join the waving unicorn in the crowd.

"Rarity, hi!" Fluttershy said, giving her friend a hug. "I didn't think you'd make it today."

"Well, when I explained to Suri how perusing ancient artifacts could produce the right inspiration for a new line, she was more than compliant!" Rarity's eyes narrowed. "Unfortunately, it appears I was a little too convincing."

She glanced sideways at Suri Polomare, who was admiring the wall of hieroglyphs.

"Yes, yes," Suri said in thought. "This pattern would look just lovely on a gown!"

"Uh," Coco Pommel said, looking at the placard. "It says here that these hieroglyphs describe an ancient blood ritual involving six maidens and—"

"Blood-red hemlines! Ingenious!" She started scribbling in her notepad. "Glad I thought of it, 'kay?"

Rolling her eyes away from her boss, Rarity finally noticed that Fluttershy hadn't come alone.

"Well now," she said, sizing the stallion up, "who is this?"

"Oh," Fluttershy said, taking his hoof. "Delancey, this is my friend Rarity. Rarity, this is Delancey."

"So, this is the Delancey I've heard so much about!" Delancey stiffened as she circled him. "I approve."

"Yeah, he's real cute!"

Delancey yelped as he suddenly found a pink mare with spectacles standing behind him.

"Where did you—?" he asked, glancing around to figure out where she'd come from.

"Hi!" Pinkie said, shaking his hoof rapidly. "I'm Pinkie Pie, one of Fluttershy's best friends as well as her roommate's business partner at least we will be as soon as we open the bakery which we will once Applejack gets back from her family trip in Appleloosa and then we'll be selling pies and cakes and muffins and cupcakes—do you like cupcakes? I love cupcakes! I could eat cupcakes all day I could eat chocolate cupcakes and carrot cupcakes and banana—"

"Pinkie!" Rarity cried, severing the hoofshake by stepping between the two. "You shake him any harder and you'll shake him to death!"

Delancey was still jittering from the encounter. Fluttershy had to hold him steady to get him to stop.

"Sorry," she whispered, turning him slightly away from the two mares. "My friends can be a bit…eccentric."

"No problem," Delancey said, clearing his throat. "I like eccentric."

Glancing down at his still shaking hoof, he thought, But even I have my limits.

At the end of the hall was a mic and podium in front of a red velvet curtain. Stepping up to the podium, Mr. Fetlock tapped on the mic to get every pony's attention. The room went quiet as the audience focused to the curator.

"Afternoon, every pony," he said. "Welcome to the unveiling of our latest addition to our exhibit on Ancient Anugypt. I'm sure you've all heard the rumors that we've had artifacts delivered straight from the tomb of the legendary pharaoh, Amenhooftep! Well, I am here to put those rumors to rest."

He smiled slightly. "They are true."

The audience buzzed with excitement.

"Amenwhotep?" Delancey whispered to Fluttershy.

"For those of you who are sadly ignorant of the story of Amenhooftep," Mr. Fetlock said with a twinge of annoyance in his tone, "you shall hear it soon. But first, let me give thanks to Miss Twilight Sparkle, CEO of Sparkle Labs, for funding this exhibit. Unfortunately, Miss Sparkle is away on business at the moment, but she is with us in spirit."

There was a humph from the audience. Rarity spotted Starlight Glimmer a short distance away, looking boringly at her hoof.

"She's probably sipping a mojito in Puerto Caballo or something," she muttered to herself.

"And now," Mr. Fetlock said, turning to Rainbow in the front row, "my assistant, Miss Rainbow Dash, shall tell you of the history of King Amenhooftep."

Rainbow's eyes widened in surprise as the audience clapped. Mr. Fetlock had never called on her to make a speech. She was completely unprepared! But he had his hoof outstretched to her and was looking at her expectantly, so she couldn't say no.

Gulping, Rainbow stepped up to the podium, not accepting his hoof. Despite this, he politely stepped aside, giving her the microphone. Rainbow started sweating as she looked out at the audience.

Be cool, Rainbow, she thought, tugging nervously at her tie. You've seen Twilight do this a million times. How hard can it be?

Twilight…that's it!

Clearing her throat, Rainbow put on a big smile and straightened up.

"A little over two thousand years ago, Amenhooftep, one of Anugypt's last pharaohs, ruled his kingdom with an iron…" She shook her head. "He ruled, uh…cruelly and inconsiderately."

"Why is she talking like that?" Pinkie whispered to Rarity.

"I think she's simply nervous," Rarity replied.

"King Amenhooftep," Rainbow said, wiping the sweat off her brow, "is, uh, most famous for taking so many wives. Little is known about his first six except for a few, uh…accounts describing their personalities and, err, social statuses."

Pinkie cocked her head. "Is it just me, or does she sound a bit like Twilight?"

Rainbow looked to her boss for help. She wasn't sure why, as she expected to receive a condescending look. Instead, he held his hoof up, encouraging her to press on. Glancing back at the audience, she caught Fluttershy's eye. The smile she gave her was even more encouraging.

Then she remembered when she and Fluttershy were foals and they used to tell each other stories at sleepovers.

You can do this, Rainbow thought, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Just act like you're telling Fluttershy a story.

When she opened her eyes, her smile became more genuine and more confident. "His first wife had been his sister." She stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, I know, what was with the pharaohs and incest?"

There were chuckles among the audience. Delancey only blinked.

"I don't see what the big deal is," he murmured. "The gods did it all the time."

"And she was very beautiful," Rainbow said, "but she was very conceited. Translation: she was snotty. And demanding. She would order the slaves around like…well, slaves."

"Reminds me of some pony I know," Rarity whispered to Coco, glancing at their boss.

"She made the mistake of ordering her husband around too," Rainbow continued. "Eventually, Amenhooftep's affections turned to one of his wife's servants, who soon became his second wife. You know, after he," she made a slashing motion across her throat, "his first wife. But after meeting a mare who was even more beautiful, he," she made the motion again, "the old servant girl. Stallions, right?"

Many of the mares laughed while several stallions grunted.

"The third wife was intelligent and strong, but her ideas were too forward-thinking for Amenhooftep's taste. She wanted the slaves to be treated as equals."

"And what's wrong with that?" Starlight asked aloud.

"Nothing, of course," Rainbow said, hearing her comment, "except the old kingie didn't like it when he found one of the male slaves in her bedchamber."

"Ooh," the crowd said collectively.

Rainbow made the slashing motion across her throat again. "So Amenhooftep took a wife who was even more beautiful, another one of the servants to the queen. That is, until he set his sights on a high priest's even more beautiful daughter." Slashing motion again. "But the high priest's daughter was also vain and greedy. Even more so than him. When he discovered she was stealing his treasures under his nose, he…well, you get the picture by now, right?"

There was a chuckle from Mr. Fetlock, which did not escape Rarity's notice. He watched Rainbow from the side, his eyes fixated on her. Rarity could've sworn those eyes were getting bigger from every second he watched her.

"The sixth wife had been a girl from the village. The pharaoh spotted her one day and ordered that she be brought to the palace as his next bride. This poor girl had been the shyest and quietest of all, which, of course, was no problem for Amenhooftep. But the sixth wife's childhood friend, Neighfertiti, who was also the village's greatest warrior, laid siege to the palace and demanded that her friend be returned! Amenhooftep met her in battle personally, and their duel went on for days, weeks some say! When Amenhooftep realized he had met his match, he bowed before Neighfertiti, declared her his equal and asked for her hoof.

"Neighfertiti accepted, for some reason," Rainbow muttered this part under her breath. "Something about no pony being able to resist the pharaoh's gaze or something like that. The sixth wife was released and thankfully was spared from execution. As his seventh marriage progressed, Amenhooftep learned to appreciate Neighfertiti not just for her good looks, but her mind and strength. She taught him to see the beauty in all things, not just gold and jewels. But, as karma would have it, Neighfertiti became sick and…well, died."

Fluttershy sighed. "So sad."

"Serves the guy right for being so picky," Delancey murmured. "Why didn't he just devote himself fully to one mare and be done with it?"

"Amenhooftep placed a curse upon himself," Rainbow said, "that he would never find peace until he was reunited with Neighfertiti. As part of this curse, he refused to undergo the mummification process so that he would still look good even as a dead guy wrapped in cloth. Even today, his body is still in perfect condition."

Mr. Fetlock joined her at the podium. "And you can all see for yourself." He nodded to a unicorn security guard standing off to the side. "Every pony, give a warm welcome to…King Amenhooftep!"

The curtain magically fell away, revealing the open sarcophagus. There were several "oohs" and "ahs" as the audience applauded.

"Note the jewels he was put to rest in," Mr. Fetlock said, pointing.

The mummy wore a blue and gold neckpiece with a red stripe in the center, blue and gold bracelets and a matching artificial beard and headdress. In the center of the headdress was a golden cobra head with green jeweled eyes.

"It is said that Pharaoh Amenhooftep never took these accessories off," Mr. Fetlock said, "not even in sleep. Some legends say the cobra headdress has magical properties, with the power to—"

Suddenly, pink magic enveloped the headdress and it poofed out of sight. Every pony gasped.

"What?" Mr. Fetlock cried. "Where did—?"

"There!" Rainbow cried, pointing to a dark-cloaked pony heading for the doorway to the next exhibit.

"Stop, thief!"

Alarmed at being caught, the thief tripped over, her hood falling back from her face.

"Trixie!" Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow exclaimed.

"Now things are getting interesting," Delancey said, making a bag of popcorn appear.

"No food in my museum!" Mr. Fetlock shouted from the podium.

Yelping, Trixie scrambled to her hooves, picking up the headdress with her magic.

"Do you even know what that thing does?" Rainbow said into the mic.

"Who cares?!" Trixie shouted over her shoulder. "It's shiny, it's potentially powerful and Trixie wants it!"

"Told ya!" Pinkie whispered to Rarity.

"Uh, Fluttershy," Rarity said, turning around. "We should get somewhere…Fluttershy?"

But Fluttershy had already gone off to change.

"Hey, let's get going before she gets more of the action!" Pinkie said.

Fortunately, the crowd was in a hustle after the thief, allowing for Rarity and Pinkie to slip away. Rainbow, on the other hoof, could not get away so easily, as Mr. Fetlock had grabbed her hoof.

"Come, we mustn't let that thief get away!"

"But Boss," Rainbow cried as she was whisked into the crowd, "shouldn't we let the Power Ponies take care of—?"

"This is my museum and I'm not letting another one of our exhibits get destroyed!"

Meanwhile, Trixie was dashing through the sculpture gardens, laughing at the distance between her and the crowd. Suddenly, something obstructed her path, forcing her to stop and fall to the ground.

"Hiya, Trixie!" Fili-Second said, looking down at her. "Ya know, I thought ya already did the cursed Anugyptian artifact thingy, but hey, can't beat a classic, right?"

"Humph!" Trixie grunted, jumping to her hooves. "Your superspeed doesn't intimidate the Great and Powerful Trixie, Fili-Second! It doesn't matter if you're fast enough to catch her. You have to find her first!"

Before Fili-Second realized what she was doing, Trixie threw a hoof-full of smoke bombs to the ground. Usually, these only produced a small cloud of smoke, but this time, the cloud was big enough to fill the entire garden.

"Whoa!" Fili-Second coughed as she squinted through the smoke. "Did ya get an upgrade from the Evil Gadget Store or something?"

"Something like that!" Trixie cackled through the smog.

Deciding she'd have an easier chance of finding Trixie this way, Fili-Second started zooming blindly around the garden. Unfortunately, this only led to her colliding into statues.

As Mr. Fetlock, with Rainbow in tow, approached the fogged-up garden, he stopped upon hearing the sounds of smashing stone.

"No!" he cried, dropping Rainbow's hoof and rushing into the smog. "Not my statues!"

This was Rainbow's chance to slip away and change into Zapp.

In the meantime, Trixie had snuck out of the fog and into the Reneighssance Art exhibit.

"Not so fast, Trixie!" Radiance called, flying in on her pink carpet. "That exquisite headpiece does not belong to you!"

"The old geezer's dead!" Trixie shouted. "He's not using it!" Using her magic, she placed the headdress on her head. "Looks better on me any—whoa!" She had to stop running a moment to rebalance herself. "Heavier than it looks."

"Here," Radiance said, pointing her glowing bracelets at her to summon a hook above Trixie's head. "Allow me to lighten the—ah!"

As soon as the hook appeared, her carpet vanished from beneath her hooves. She had to summon a trampoline to catch herself.

"Pardon me," Radiance said sheepishly. "I still haven't quite figured out how to summon multiple constructs at once."

Snickering, Trixie turned around to make a run for it, but Zapp was hovering in her way.

"The sign said," Zapp said, swiping her back hoof beneath Trixie's legs to knock her off-balance, "'Do Not Touch!'"

"And the sign on the door said," Trixie said, illuminating her horn to entrap Zapp in her magic, "'This Museum Is Open to the Public!'"

Using her magic, she flung Zapp across the room, right into one of the paintings. Zapp gasped when she saw what her wing had torn through.

"Aw man, not a Bridlecelli! Fetlock's gonna kill me!"

"Don't worry, Rainbow!" Saddle Rager called, stomping into the room. "I won't let her hurt any of you!"

By this time, part of the crowd had come through the doorway, Delancey included. His pupils dilated at the sight of Saddle Rager. When Zapp saw Saddle Rager's eyes glowing red, she gasped, knowing what a transformation in a building of fragile historical artifacts would entail.

"Saddle Rager, don't!" Zapp shouted. "Don't get…"

Saddle Rager roared as she grew in size.

"…mad," Zapp squeaked.

Remembering what had happened last time Saddle Rager had transformed in front of her, Trixie squealed and scrambled into a run. The giant caught up to her in just a few steps, picked her up and started tossing her from side to side like a ragdoll.

"What a mare!" Delancey exclaimed, shoving a hoof-full of popcorn into his mouth.

"Okay, okay!" Trixie said, using her magic to hoist the headdress off. "Uncle, uncle!"

Gasping, Zapp rushed to catch the headdress. She sighed in relief as it landed in her hooves in time.

But Saddle Rager wasn't done with Trixie. Pressing her into a tiny ball, she threw the thief through the doorway leading to the next exhibit.

"Saddle Rager, no!" Zapp cried. "That's the—!"

She winced at the sound of shattering glass.

"…Ancient Chineighse glassware exhibit."

The security guards ran down the hall to apprehend Trixie. Mr. Fetlock soon followed. As soon as he saw the state of the painting and the glassware, his mouth fell open in shock.

"W-W-What…?"

Zapp flapped her wings. "Mr. Fetlock, calm down."

"What…?"

"We got the headdress, don't worry! And we caught the—"

Spinning around, he shouted in her face, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MUSEUM?!"

Zapp jumped back. "W-We're sorry! But hey, we stopped Trixie and, uh, look! We got the headdress!"

He snatched the headdress out of her hooves, his glare as sharp as daggers.

"Get out," he said through his teeth.

"Mr. Fetlock, I—"

"GET OUT!" he bellowed, pointing to the doorway. "GET OUT OF MY MUSEUM!"

The Power Ponies didn't have to be told again. Zapp picked up Radiance while Radiance used her bracelets to create a tow truck to drag the still transformed Saddle Rager away. Fili-Second zipped into the room.

"Hey! Smoke finally cleared! What did I miss?" Mr. Fetlock's eyes darted towards her. "Uh, okay, guess our work here is done. Bye!"

As the heroes made their hasty exit, Delancey laughed at how Saddle Rager writhed to get out of Radiance's tow cable.

"Oh, ho, ho, that was so chaotic!"

He reached into his popcorn bag only to discover that he'd eaten it all. Shrugging, he popped the bag into his mouth and began to chew.

"Wasn't that amazing, Fluttershy?" he asked with his mouth full.

When no reply came, Delancey swallowed and looked around.

"Fluttershy? Fluttershy?"

After a few minutes of searching for her in the crowd, he realized what must've happened.

Fluttershy, frightened of the thief, had left the museum. He slapped himself in the forehead for not having kept a closer eye on her. He'd been too engrossed in the spectacle. Engrossed in Saddle Rager.

And the award for worst boyfriend goes to…





"Well," Rainbow said, slamming down her beer, "that could've gone better."

After Saddle Rager had calmed down, the four mares had decided to reconvene at a bar and drown out their most recent failure in a bit of drink. Fluttershy, who didn't drink, was satisfied with drowning in a club soda.

"Admittedly, it could have," Rarity said, sipping her martini, "but at least we caught Trixie before she could get away with the headdress."

"And destroyed half the museum!" Rainbow flopped her face onto the counter. "It's times like this I'm glad we have the whole secret identity thing, otherwise I'd be fired right now. I've never seen Fetlock so upset! I mean he's always been cranky, but he's never kicked ponies out of his museum like that before!"

"Sorry I broke those statues," Pinkie said once she'd finished chugging her beer.

"And I'm sorry I broke all that glass," Fluttershy said softly, twirling the umbrella in her club soda.

"I don't blame you guys," Rainbow said. "You couldn't see where you were going, Pinkie. And Flutters, you're never conscious during your transformations. I should've led you guys better."

"This isn't your fault either, Rainbow," Rarity said. "It's certain that we were a little…disorganized, today, but we were in an intense situation and didn't have much time to think."

Rainbow groaned. "Kinda missing Mare-velous' lectures about being more careful and thinking before you act. I just hope Mr. Fetlock cools down before our dinner tomorrow."

Rarity paused with the rim of her glass only an inch from her lips as she looked at her friend. "Dinner, you say?"

"Oh, yeah. Boss invited me to dinner to go over some ideas for new exhibits. I'll bet he's gonna wanna talk about fixing them too."

Rarity turned her head towards her curiously. "Your boss invited you to dinner?"

"Yeah, at some restaurant. Hisan's, I think it's called."

Spitting out her drink, Rarity nearly dropped her glass. "Hisan's? That Mountiterranean five-star restaurant? Rainbow Dash, that place is expensive! I should know, Coco used to make reservations there for Suri!"

"Really?" Rainbow said, reaching for her beer. "Good thing I'm not paying then."

"Darling, your employer is taking you to an expensive five-star restaurant. I don't think you understand what this means."

Rainbow shrugged. "It means I'm getting a free dinner."

She was about to sip her beer when Rarity grabbed her face and turned it towards her.

"Rainbow," Rarity said, locking eyes with her, "let me speak plainly. I believe Mr. Fetlock has romantic intentions towards you."

After keeping her gaze for several seconds, Rainbow burst out laughing.

"Mr. Fetlock?" she said, slamming the counter with her hoof. "Romantic intentions? Get out!"

"I'm serious, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, annoyed at her response.

"Have you met the guy? He doesn't have a romantic bone in his body! He doesn't even like the Romantic period, with a capital 'R!'"

When she saw that Rarity wasn't laughing, Rainbow finally stopped.

"Aw come on, Rarity! The guy hates me!"

"Not with the way he was looking at you today," the unicorn said, sipping her drink.

"What are you talking about?"

"He couldn't keep his eyes off you during your entire speech."

"Every pony was looking at me, Rares! I was giving a speech! So what if he was looking at me? That doesn't mean he loves me or anything! Besides, he's like twice my age!"

"You're both adults, that's all that matters. Now, it is not my place to interfere in your love or work life, but I would advise you to exercise a little caution when getting romantically involved with your employer."

"I'm not dating him! We're just having dinner! To talk business!"

"That may be how you see it, darling, but how does he see it?"

"Business! He's my boss, and he's not in love with me! End of story!"

Sighing, Rarity replied, "If you say so."

"Mr. Fetlock in love with me," Rainbow grumbled, taking another swig of her beer. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."





Due to the severe damages, the museum had to close early. The building was empty, save for a few security guards and a cleaning crew. In the Anugypt exhibit however, Mr. Fetlock was all alone. He sniffed as he carefully replaced the headdress atop the mummy's head.

"My sincerest apologies, your majesty," he said, taking a step back. "That thief had no respect for your treasures." He snorted. "Neither did those neglectful, vandalizing, so-called heroes!"

He stomped away and looked wistfully down the hall of artifacts and hieroglyphs.

"No pony values this place like I do," he said softly. "Except maybe Miss Dash." He sighed at the thought of her. "You know I never quite realized how…enthusiastic she was about history until yesterday. She reminds me a bit of myself when I was her age."

Hanging his head, he said, "Of course, that was back before I realized that so few ponies treasured history the way I did." He turned back to the mummy. "Do you have any idea how many vandals I've had in here? How many thieves have broken in? How many curious little brats have reached out to touch my beautiful exhibits?!"

Grunting in anger, he prepared to stomp his hoof on the floor, but stopped as he was afraid he might crack the beautiful finish. Sighing, he set his hoof gently down.

"And now I have those Power Ponies to deal with. They come bursting in to stop a robbery, only to make it worse! A Bridlecelli masterpiece, five thousands-year-old statues, twenty priceless pieces of Chineighse glass, destroyed! If I had power like theirs, I would try to protect this museum rather than destroy it!"

His eyes focused on the mummy's headdress. "I would not have another one of these beautiful treasures taken from me."

Just then, the emerald eyes of the cobra carved into the headdress started glowing. Thinking he was seeing things, Mr. Fetlock stepped closer to the headdress and squinted. He heard a voice in a foreign language. He recognized it as Coptic, the spoken language of Ancient Anugypt. His Coptic was a bit rusty, but he could've sworn it was saying: Give me life and share my soul.

There was a flash of green light, causing Mr. Fetlock to shield his eyes, cry out and step back. He was still for a moment, until he lowered his hooves. The whites of his eyes flashed green as his lips curled into a malicious smile.





That evening, the employees of Polomare Fashions were enjoying Happy Hour at a bar. Suri sat with Coco Pommel in a booth in the corner, her eyes searching the room.

"Where is Rarity?" Suri demanded. "I wanted to go over her latest designs for the new Ancient Anugypt line! Coco, you're her roommate, where is she?!"

"Oh, um," Coco said, biting her lip. "She was, um, traumatized from the incident at the museum that she, uh, needed some time alone to recover."

Of course, Rarity was really on monitor duty at Headquarters.

Suri rolled her eyes. "Some ponies can be so lazy, 'kay?" She slammed her hoof on the table. "Now get me a scotch, on the rocks!"

Coco jumped. "B-B-But…I'm not your assistant anymore."

Suri's eyes narrowed. "But I'm still your boss and still get to decide who at my company keeps their job and who doesn't. So, I will say again," she thrust her muzzle into Coco's face, "get me a scotch, on the rocks!"

"Yes, Miss Polomare!" Coco squeaked, leaping up from the table.

Groaning, Suri leaned her elbow onto the table and placed her chin in her hoof. A second later, a glass of scotch with ice was placed in front of her.

"That was fast."

But when she looked up, she found a server rather than Coco.

"From the gentlecolt over there," he said, tilting his head towards the bar.

Suri looked over to the bar and locked eyes with the stallion sitting there. Liking what she saw, she grinned and stood up.

A few minutes later, Coco returned with Suri's scotch, but was surprised not to find her employer there.

"Miss Polomare?" she asked, looking around. "Miss Polomare?"

"What a shame," said a voice.

Gasping, Coco spun around to find a stallion holding out some bits to her.

"So sorry your employer was troubling you. This should cover the drink."

With a blush, Coco accepted the bits.

"It can be stressful when your mistress doesn't appreciate you."

Coco looked down at her hooves. "I wouldn't call her my mistress, but…yes, it can be a bit…difficult."

"Why don't you join me for a drink and tell me all about it?"

Once Coco met his green eyes again, she found that she couldn't say no.





At Glimmer Industries, Starlight Glimmer was at her desk, giving orders to a white earth stallion wearing a headset and holding a tablet.

"Double Diamond," Starlight said in a commanding yet gentle tone, "move my appointment with Dr. Hugger to Monday and call the prison in Canterlot, make sure the bail money went through."

"I'll get right on it, Starlight," Double Diamond said, making notes with his stylus while keeping up his big smile.

"And did we get those body wash lawsuits taken care of?" Starlight asked, leaning back in her chair while playfully levitating some pencils.

"All twenty-seven of them, Starlight!"

"And the…unexpected side effects?"

"No leaks to the press, Starlight!"

"Excellent work." She put down the pencils and started stapling some papers. "Once you've made those calls, Double Diamond, you can take the rest of the night off."

His smile became wider as he left the room. "Thank you, Starlight!"

The double doors automatically slid open to let him out.

"Starlight!" a sweet voice said through the intercom on Starlight's desk. "There's a Miss Abacus on Line One for you."

Starlight pressed the button. "Thank you, Sugar Belle."

She heard a small giggle.

"Is there a joke you would like to share, Sugar Belle?"

"No one!" Sugar Belle replied hastily. "I mean nothing, Starlight!"

Shrugging it off, Starlight picked up the phone. "Hey, it's me."

Her usual cheerful tone had dropped to a more serious one, as did her expression as she listened to her caller.

"Not to worry, I've taken care of Miss Sweet," Starlight said, turning her chair towards the wide window to look out at the cityscape. "She'll be out soon."

She was so focused on the conversation that she didn't hear the automatic doors slide open.

"Yes, we're quite sure. The doctor is sure. She's even admitted it on the news. When? Oh, it'll be soon. Unfortunately, the only ingredient we need hasn't been seen for days," she said, turning her chair back, "and the Blood Moon isn't for another—hey, who let you in he—?"

She trailed off as she locked gaze with the intruder.

"Hello?" a female voice asked on the phone. "Are you still there?"

Smiling, Starlight said, "I'll call you back," and gently lowered the phone back onto the hook.





Trixie sat in her cell in Balkham Asylum, reading an article in the evening paper about her failed heist. Furious, she crumpled the paper into a ball with her magic and threw it against the wall.

"Stupid Power Ponies," she grumbled. "Why must they always foil Trixie's brilliant plans?!"

Just then, the alarm sounded, causing Trixie to jump. Sounds of confusion were coming from the other cells.

"What is going on out there?" Trixie demanded, peering through the glass. "Excuse me! But some of us are trying to lament here!"

"You won't have to lament for much longer," a male voice said.

To her surprise, the glass door went up and her savior stepped into view.

"Well," Trixie said, cocking her head. "You're the last pony I'd expect."