//------------------------------// // Ch.16 - Headaches and Stunt Shows // Story: A Change of Weather in Ponyville // by MLPDavester //------------------------------// A/N Alright, so I know a bunch of you have been waiting much longer than I would have liked, so tonight I bring you......The newest chapter to A Change of Weather in Ponyville! It may not be all that terrific given how it's been a while since I last wrote anything for this fic. But it will help me get back into writing again. I make no promises for an exact date for updates anymore however, as work, family, and university around the corner making time for other things slightly tricky on some days. I also don't want this to feel like another thing that I have to do. his story was originally created as a way for me to convey my interest in the show and some of the parts of the fandom that I love, not another thing that feels more like a job or a chore that has to have a tight schedule to be done for. So I will promise to be better about getting updates out compared to the last few months, but it won't be like every day unless I've got a few days off from work and have the ideas for the next chapter clear in my mind. I've got a good chunk of the Adventure tag all lined up, it's simply a matter of working in new characters, wrapping in some arcs for them, and then gradually working towards the Adventure rather than a cliched "Now that you know everyone, let's go do something exciting and dangerous all of the sudden." Enjoy. “Come on Twilight,” Maghus spoke gently as Spike patted Twilight’s back. “So you can’t really use any magic for one day. How bad could it be?” Maghus put on an awkward smile, hoping that Twilight would bounce back quickly instead of having another of her extreme panic attacks that always caused more harm than good. “How bad, huh?” Twilight whimpered as she half-whined, half-snapped at Maghus. “Well let’s see. Discord could break free again, Crysalis could attack Equestria with her changeling army, the apocalypse could happen, or various other catastrophes that I might be needed to stop?” Twilight’s voice had slowly increased in volume, her composure gradually changing from depressed and defeated to angry and determined within moments. “Was that really supposed to be a helpful thing to say?” “O-Ok, first off,” Maghus stammered slightly as he quickly gathered his courage in the face of one of his most intimidating and difficult challenges ever. “Discord won’t break free after how you and your friends froze him in stone; Crysalis was beaten by Cadence and Shining Armor, not you; and as for an apocalypse…yeah I got nothing.” Maghus shrugged as he failed a retort to one of Twilight’s disaster scenarios. “But don’t you think you’re overblowing this juuuust a bit?” Twilight grunted as she crossed her front hooves in frustration. “…Fine. Maybe I was being a little over the top.” Maghus smirked as Twilight admitted defeat, but only briefly as Twilight shot him a glare. “But don’t deny that something different could happen today.” “Alright, alright. You’ve got me there.” Maghus lifted one hoof in defeat. “Even so though, I just single-handedly stopped a crazy weather system by myself. What could possibly happen that I couldn’t do anything about?” Maghus and Twilight eyed each other in a mock competition. Just as Twilight was about to continue their roundabout debate, Spike interjected before the entire day was spent pointlessly arguing. “Hey! Get a room you two!” Spike blurted out the first thing that came to mind, albeit a strange and awkward statement. Luckily, the intention behind the remark stuck, as it shocked Twilight and Maghus right out of their conversation and into an awkward silence that seemed to hang in the air like week-old molasses (not much thicker than fresh molasses, but just slightly thicker than normal). The two of them stared at Spike with looks of shock, Twilight staring daggers into Spike at the choice of words, and Maghus’ mouth open like a void as he failed to remember how to breathe. “Umm…I mean knock it off?” Spike said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head with a claw. After a moment he began to paw at the ground sheepishly as the looks that Twilight and Maghus were giving him were starting to drive him halfway between the roads of floor-laughing and fetal-position-corner-hiding. Not a fun intersection to sit at. Ever. “IthinkimgoingtogolookaroundtownwhileMaghuslooksafteryoutodaybye!” Was what Twilight and Maghus heard a split second after a sudden breeze appeared out of nowhere and the smokey-silhouette of a young dragon slowly faded. “Uh……” Maghus remarked intelligently as he and Twilight just glanced at each other briefly with a look that said ‘Are we dreaming? Or is today just really weird for some reason?’ “Ok. Well.” Maghus stammered with the highest point of his intelligence as he trotted over to the kitchen to get a drink. Who knew that today would be so hot and he would need water so badly already, huh? “…Yeah.” Twilight replied sagely as she cantered over to the nearest bookshelf to find something read. Maybe today she would finally get started on that new magical series Celestia had recommended in her last letter. Maybe it would hold some form of cloning? Or permanent wings? Or gender-changing…wait, why would she need that? Well doing a study between mares and stallions could be interesting and maybe- “Twilight!” Maghus exclaimed as he suddenly dashed into the room to Twilight’s surprise, an empty glass somehow upside on his horn. His face was filled with shock as she looked at him with a puzzled look. It didn’t last long however, as her head suddenly began pounding like a twelve-piece marching band was practicing right next to her eardrums. Just as Twilight was about to get knocked on the head with a rather large tome of magical studies wrapped in a quickly fading purple glow, it stopped inches from her forehead as it sat in a deep blue glow as Maghus gasped for breath after noticing Twilight’s unconscious use of magic. “Twilight. Celestia said to avoid using magic today, what were you thinking?” Maghus stammered worriedly as he levitated the book back on to its shelf next to various other large and heavy looking books. “And how did you manage to lift that book anyways, it weighs a ton!” Maghus grunted as he sat down next to her. “I must have been unconsciously using my magic to lift it down.” Twilight shrugged with one hoof while rubbing her forehead with another. “I guess I just do it so often it comes naturally. That’s not a big deal, is it?” She looked at him through one eye with a puzzled look on her face. “Uh, yeah. That is a bad thing.” Maghus stated matter-of-factly. “If you can do stuff like that without really knowing, then we need to get you out of the house for today so that you don’t push yourself.” As Maghus turned towards the library door, he quickly remembered something and turned back to Twilight, who had by now lost most of her migraine and was now content with just massaging the lump at the base of her horn. “I still don’t know how you managed to lift that book at all, and why it didn’t hurt you till a little after you started. Any explanation for that?” The first question Twilight had a very simple, yet sophisticated way of clearing up with a smarty pants look. “Element of Magic, duh.” The second question required more finesse and clarity to make sense. “My magic isn’t inaccessible today, it just seems like the bump on my forehead,” Twilight shot Maghus a quick glare which he quickly passed along by urging her onwards with a hoof, “acts sort of like a magical block. Anytime I use magic, it causes a magical backlash that spikes back along my nerves to my brain, causing sudden and intense headaches and/or migraines.” She finished with a quick poke to her forehead with a hoof, quickly regretting that choice as she proceeded to once again massage her bruise. Maghus chuckled lightly as Twilight massaged her forehead once again. “Well it’s good to know that the bump on your head didn’t alter your brain at all. Who knows how things would turn out then, huh? Amnesiac unicorn with almighty powers at her hooves.” Maghus laughed as he and Twilight began to trot towards the door to the library. “Yeah, that would end well.” “Oh watch it, mister.” Twilight snapped once again as Maghus politely opened the door with a mock bow. He raised his head with a well-rehearsed look of despair, which almost had Twilight convinced if not for the dramatic antics of one white unicorn mare. She scrunched up her eyebrows in an attempt to look intimidating. “I know where you live.” Maghus faked a gasp of fear as they began trotting through Ponyville. “Surely you jest madam! I had meant no ill by my statements! Surely you must see that?...” Both of them proceeded to continue looking at each other for a few moments before collapsing in a fit of laughter, one that drew the attention of a few passersby, one very distinct one from above who proceeded to fly away giggling slightly to herself before flying off towards a very unique and elegant building. “You never lost that fake Manehatten accent and way of talking huh?” Twilight gasped through her tears as they both up righted themselves. The two of them took a moment to catch their breath before continuing onwards through town. “Born and raised for 10 years.” Maghus stated proudly with a hoof to his chest. “My granddad would always say, ‘Once a Manehattenite, always a Manehattenite!’ Guess it was truer than I thought back when I was 5.” The two of them shared another brief laugh as their journey took them towards Sugarcube Corner. “Oh look, want to get something to eat?” Twilight asked as she gestured to the home of the town’s resident party pony. At a nod from Maghus, the two of them turned towards the swinging doors, continuing their chat as they reached the counter. “Nothing with hot sauce though, alright?” Maghus asked quickly as he held Twilight back with a hoof. “I thought you liked stuff like that?” Twilight asked with a confused look after giving an apologetic look to Mrs. Cake for having to wait on them. “I do, but after taking that hot sauce dare from Rainbow I wanna let my digestion get regular again first.” Maghus said as he rubbed his belly gently to a disgusted look from both Twilight and Mrs. Cake. He caught the looks of both mares and quickly apologized for his lack of manners. “Sorry.” “Fine by me. Never liked the stuff anyways. I don’t see what you, Spike and Pinkie all see in that stuff. It burns!” Twilight exclaimed as they trotted the last few feet towards the counter. “But that’s the best part! The kick that it adds to the flavour! !he satisfying tingle it puts in your throat as you swallow!” Maghus groaned slightly as his stomach rumbled angrily. “Only if you have it in moderation though, ugh.” Twilight rolled her eyes as Maghus rubbed his belly, regretting his moment to go into details about something. “Just be glad you didn’t get offered to do the cinnamon challenge by Pinkie too.” Twilight and Mrs. Cake both shuddered at the memory of Applejack taking the challenge lightly. She would never look at apple cinnamon the same way again after that tragic day. “The cinnamon challenge?” Maghus cocked his head to the side at the sight of the two mares shuddering. “What’s-” Twilight and Mrs. Cake both shook their hooves frantically in an effort to get Maghus to stop his train of thought. Sadly it was met with no success. “-that?” “Celestia save him…” Mrs. Cake whispered lightly as the sound of hooves on wood could be heard from the second floor rapidly approaching the stairs. “Save yourselves! I’ll hold her off!” Mrs. Cake proceeded to brace the door with her body as it rumbled on its hinges. A high pitched giggling could be heard from the other side as whomever or whatever was trying to gain access to the main floor. Twilight and Maghus both gave each other fearful looks before galloping towards the entrance. Yet just as soon as the door had begun shaking, it stopped. Mrs. Cake could no longer feel a weight pushing from the other side, and Maghus and Twilight both froze as they looked to her for any idea as to what was going on. The looks of confusion and curiosity all quickly changed into frozen faces of shock as a pink mare bounced in through the front door in the next moment. “Hiya!” At this outburst, everypony present in the room proceeded to tip over onto their sides like a startled goat, faces frozen like a deer in headlights(whatever headlights are). Pinkie looked around the room with a smile on her face before gasping as she recognized the two ponies frozen right in front of her on the floor. “Twilight! Maghus!” Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled the two of them into a tight hug. “Did you come to visit me today?! I thought Twilight was supposed to be resting? Is she ok? Is her head hurting? Does she need Auntie Pinkie’s help for something? Because I’ve got all sorts of fun little doctoriffic things up in the bathroom!” This last statement instantly snapped Mrs. Cake out of her trance as she looked at Pinkie both accusingly and fearfully. “What kinds of things Pinkie?” She asked suddenly, drawing everyponies attention to the now serious mare on the staircase. “Just some stethoscopes, magnifying glasses, aspirin, mouthwash, floss, toothpaste, toothpicks…” Pinkie proceeded to ramble on and on about things up in the bath, slowly decreasing the space between Maghus’ jaw and the floor and the knowing looks on Twilight’s and Mrs. Cake’s faces. “…and oatmeal!” The last item caught all of them off guard however, as oatmeal served no medicinal purpose whatsoever. The reason Pinkie would even have that in a bathroom would be absurd, even for Pinkie. “Nu-uh! Not if somepony gets hungry while they’re taking a shower or something and wanna heat up some yummy oatmeal with some of the hot water! Oatmeal can be very good in an emergency!” “Umm, Pinkie?” Twilight asked curiously, still a little frazzled about the oatmeal in the bathroom comment. “Who are you talking to?” “Oh, nopony important Twilight.” Pinkie replied gleefully as she snuck a cheeky grin to nothing in particular. Hey! “…Whatever.” Twilight shook her head to gain composure of the few brain cells she currently had at the moment that hadn’t either gone off to Candy Mountain or dropped into her stomach after the horror scene. “Where were you just now?” “Oh, I was upstairs helping Mr. Cake feed Pound and Pumpkin when I had a Pinkie sense that meant somepony doesn’t know about the cinnamon challenge!” Pinkie gasped as she clued in and looked at Maghus, who now wanted anything more than to be back in the treehouse arguing the library to the ground in a blaze of comebacks and rebuttals. “Maghus! You’ve never done the cinnamon challenge?!” “Uh…no?” Maghus answered as Twilight and Mrs. Cake facehoofed. Today was about to get even more interesting. **************************** “Never…make…me…do that…or mention…that………EVER!” Maghus coughed out as little clouds of orange dust constantly pooled out into the air. Twilight was giggling loudly as the two of them trotted through another section of Ponyville, a VERY large jug of water levitating next to Maghus that was already half empty after 10 minutes of torture as Maghus would put it. “Well you mentioned it.” Twilight shrugged with another giggle as Maghus deadpanned ahead, pain written on his face and he chugged another copious amount of water only to spit it out with an orange tinge to it. “You kind of had it coming. It is-” “Pinkie, I know.” Maghus groaned as he spat out the last of the cinnamon in his throat and mouth. The jug was already over half empty, so he decided to simply chug the rest and then pop it back to the counter in Sugarcube Corner, much to the delighted surprise of Pinkie and the shock of Mrs. Cake. “I guess he liked it then! Maybe I should do that again on his birthday!” Pinkie squealed to herself while Mrs. Cake shook her head in amusement. ***************************** “Hey Twilight?” Maghus asked as the two of them were approaching the outskirts of Ponyville, preparing to return to the library since it was already approaching the evening with the sun only halfway above the horizon. “Yeah Maghus?” Twilight looked at her friend with a confused expression before following his line of sight to a large ring of stands and bleachers all setup in what looked like preparations for a show. “What is that?” “That’s what I was about to ask actually.” Maghus replied. The two of them stole a glance at each other before looking back towards the setup. “Wanna check it out? Or gather the others and check in the morning?” Maghus gestured back to town as he finished, a little tired and looking forward to a nice, soft bed at the moment to possibly take a nap in. “No need, look!” Twilight gestured back towards the ‘stage’, where a large group of ponies they had previously missed were filing into the seats around the circular platform laden with all sorts of bars, objects and obstacles for what looked somewhat like a flight course. “The girls and Spike are already gathered over there with a few empty spots for us…and who’s that stallion with them?” Maghus followed Twilight’s hoof to recognize the 7 individuals gathered in the crowd. “Oh, that’s Moonstone.” Twilight’s continued look of confusion made Maghus chuckle slightly as he continued. “The stallion that picked me up at Sweet Apple Acres after the storm and brought me to the hospital.” “Right!” Twilight tapped herself on the side of the head with a hoof, frustrated at herself for forgetting about someone that had saved a close friend of hers. “I wonder what he’s still doing here in Ponyville though. He looked like he was just as ready to leave town the day after the Summer Sun Celebration.” Twilight scratched her chin with her hoof as Maghus chuckled to himself. “I don’t have the faintest idea…” He whispered to himself quietly enough to not catch Twilight’s attention. “I guess we’re going to see what the big fuss is all about then. The girls, Spike and…Moonstone are already waiting…” Twilight and Maghus began trotting towards the group as Maghus sighed in defeat, not gaining access to his comfy bed just yet. “Hey guys!” Pinkie yelled over the noise of the crowd, waving furiously at Maghus and Twilight. “Pinkie, darling, whatever are you yelling for? This is no time to-” Her train of thought was quickly cut off at the notice of the two approaching ponies. “Twilight, darling! You look well! And you brought Maghus with you, how lovely!” Rarity winked at Maghus at the last comment, causing a light blush to appear on his muzzle as he and Twilight slid in next to the group. He breathed a sigh of relief when Twilight didn’t notice the wink and followed to shoot Rarity a glare before turning his attention to the centre stage. Rarity simply shrugged as the others began to calm themselves and all look towards the podium, the crowd beginning to shush as a black pegasus stallion with a grey mane trotted onstage. The black stallion cleared his throat before switching on the headpiece he was wearing and flew up to a good viewing spot for the entire crowd. “Hello everypony!” He waved both hooves as the crowd stomped their hooves in excitement. “My name is Storm Blitz and welcome…to Equestria Tricks!!” Alright, so there it is. It turned into a nice 3000 word chapter, even if a lot of it seemed a bit like filler. I wanted to work something in for a few laughs and just to get myself comfortable with my story once again. Hopefully you all enjoyed it! And for anyone interested in that cinnamon challenge, and for those that have seen various versions on the internet, here's a link to a personal favorite version of mine that makes me laugh every time. Cinnamon Challenge!