//------------------------------//
// Day 26: All's Fair in Love & Games - Part 2: Sleep is for the Weak! 
// Story: The Problem With Magic 
// by deathtap 
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I woke up with a start and looked around. I was lying on a bench as a steady stream of ponies walked past. Most ignored me, but a few who looked me in the eyes gave me a friendly nod and smile, to which I replied with a smile in return. Slowly, I sat up, my head spinning a little. Once it had abated, I pulled myself from the bench and shook the disorienting feeling off.

“Nice of ya to wake up,” Applejack said.

“Magic?” I asked in reference to why I had suddenly blacked out. I had done this exact same thing at Cheerilee's school.

“Magic,” she replied, nodding sadly. “Wish you weren't allergic to it an' all, but that's just the way it is.”

We both stood there in silence for a moment. I kept expecting her to say something, but she just kept looking towards nowhere in particular.

“Um... where's Twilight?” I asked trying to diffuse the uncomfortableness that was starting to get awkward.

Applejack pointed across the street where she and the rest of the Elements and the Racers were signing autographs on these tiny dolls.

Together, we walked towards Twilight and the others,

“Forest, are you okay?” Twilight asked walking over to me and touched my head. I think she was checking my temperature.

I nodded, “Fine. Just, um, got a dose of too much magic.”

“Oh Forest I'm so sorry for making you sing along with me it was not a nice thing to do especially since you're allergic to magic and all but I couldn't resist because I love to sing because singing is so naturally flowy from my mouth and it's all about having fun and stuff because when you sing you get to change your voice and say things in a melody that rhymes sometimes and-”

A purple orb surrounded the pink mare, “She does love to go on and on,” Twilight sighed shaking her head slightly.

We all shared a laugh.

“Are you listening to me?” Pinkie asked, poking her head outside the bubble.

We all nodded.

“Good. Now, let's go!” Pinkie spun around and led us towards the fair's entrance.

A large white banner with dark blue letters tied to two long wooden poles created a doorway-like entrance. There was little point having it, because you could just walk around and there was nothing to stop you from being able to do so.

As we entered the fair grounds, the first thing that obviously caught my eye were little plastic (or what looked like plastic) toys of me. There was one of Scootaloo, and one of Amethyst... well, two of her. A before and after one. The after one looked so sad, I wanted to take it home and care for it. Suffice to say, hers was the most popular one. For some reason, mine wasn't. I wasn't upset or anything... okay, maybe I was just a little upset.

“You wonderin' 'bout why your figurines ain't seIlin'?” Applejack asked as she followed my gaze from stand to stand. “It's cause that's the one of you without your uniform. The one with it on got sold out almost as soon as the stands opened up.”

“Really? H-h-how did you know that?”

“The mayor told us. She picked a few up to be sure that we all had one. Rainbow's supposed to have yours, but I think Twilight's got it now.”

Twilight nodded, “Here you go!”

I took it from here and looked at it. It looked really cool, but I wanted the one of me without the uniform on as well. Twilight giggled and placed something into my hoof.

It was the second figure, “Twi! How'd you know?”

“I just knew.”

I gave her back the one with me in uniform on, “Then, I wanna give this to you.”

“I already have one.”

I took the figure and put the face on my lips, then gave it to her.

“Did you just kiss yourself?” Applejack asked.

“I kissed it so that whenever Twilight kisses the figure, it will be like kissing me!” I offered it to her, “Will you take it now?”

Twilight was giggling away. “You're so ridiculous. Yes, I'll take it.”

“Oh! I forgot to tell Rainbow something...” That I'm moving out of her place and staying with Twilight.

“So, tell her. There she is,” Applejack said nudging me towards the Pegasus.

Sheepishly I walked over. Why did I feel so... weird about this? It wasn't like I had any obligation to stay with Rainbow, yet leaving her this way seemed wrong for some reason. This wasn't the place, or perhaps I was just feeling really weird about it.

“What do you need to tell her, Forest?” Twilight asked.

I grimaced as I lowered my head slightly under Twilight's gaze, “I haven't told Rainbow that I was moving in with you-”

“I told her already. She said 'finally'. ”

“She did?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh. Thanks, Twi.”

“Are you upset?”

“Me? No! Why would I be upset? No, no. I'm perfectly fine.”

“You sound upset.”

“I'm not upset! Really! It's all fine!”

“You're not acting like it's fine.”

I did a double-take, “What? Of course I'm fine! Just... well, I'm, uh... that is to say... it feels strange, y'know? I mean, did it feel weird?”

Twilight looked at me funnily, “No... it did not feel weird. Why?”

“I'm not sure, I just feel that it's... strange. Like something is missing. I've been getting this really awkward feeling in my gut. I don't know what it is.”

A frown appeared on the lavender Unicorn, “I'm still a little worried about you, Forest. After that thing from yesterday...”

“What thing?”

She narrowed her eyes at me.

“Oh that. Don't worry about that. I've had those all my life,” I lied. “It's nothing. I get them often. Especially after eating a lot.”

The mare remained unconvinced.

“Look, I'm fine!”

The more I insisted the more Twilight seemed unconvinced.

She shook her head slowly, “You do know that I can tell when you're lying, right?”

That made me feel really small and stupid. “Yeah, b-but I'm not this time.”

She looked up at me for a moment before tilting her head slightly, narrowing her eye and nodding once, “Okay. I'm trusting you, Forest. For now.”

I felt like the number one shit in the universe, but what could I do? If I told her the truth, she'd freak out and worry about me. If I had told her that my pain was because my body was reverting to its true form, what would she do? Would she go to the Princess and tell her everything? Would she try and protect me? What would she do? I didn't know. All I knew was that she was trusting me... for now.

“Thank you, Twilight.”

“What are you two mumbling about?” Pinkie shouted somehow appearing between the two of us. “Ooh, are you guys having one of those couple fights? You know, like the one's that Rarity says when you say something and she says something then you both say something and then you have to go make up by going off and-”

“Pinkie!” Twilight moaned interrupting her friend.





“Pinkie! Stop!” Twilight pleaded, cupping Pinkie's mouth with her hoof.

“Okay, Twilight, but everypony knows that-”

Suddenly Pinkie was once again enveloped in a ball of light purple magic. Her lips were moving but I couldn't hear anything.

Twilight looked at me and smiled shyly, “Sometimes she says things without thinking or knowing what they are.”

“I wonder what she was trying to say,” I replied getting really up close to Twilight, “I'm very interested.”

She giggled and pushed me back, “Something that Rarity told her that she misunderstood.”

“Ah. I realize that whatever Rarity told her must be something real juicy for you to blush like that,” I taunted putting my face near hers.

“I'm not blushing. I just had too much cider,” Twilight replied, looking away, a smile on her lips.

“Uh-huh? Are you sure that's it?”

Naturally, I tried to pry every detail out of her. I loved the way her face would grow pinker every time I tried to get more information out of her. She knew that I knew, yet she played along and that's what made it all the more fun.

“Hey!” Pinkie shouted pushing through the magic bubble, “Are you two listening to me?”

“Yes, Pinkie,” We both replied.

“Good, because you know you should listen to me, right?”

“Yes, Pinkie.”

Lance walked over to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Hey, are you with Twilight? I thought you were competing for Applebloom's affection?” He scratched his head, “I'm more than confused.”

“Don't worry your purty lil' head 'bout it,” Granny said. I hadn't realized that she had tagged along too.

“Granny...” Applebloom moaned. She was hanging back, her face had not stopped being crimson. Clearly she was embarrassed of Granny's shenanigans and kept trying to hide her face by lowering her head towards the ground so that Lance wouldn't notice. Lance tried in his own way to not look towards Applebloom, but was failing miserably.

It was so adorable.

“Okay y'all. Listen up!” Granny shouted.

“Yeah, listen up!” Pumpkin shouted. She had somehow climbed back onto my back at that moment, so she was standing at the same height as Granny

“As lil' Pumpkin said: the one who brings me the most toys wins! I'll be over with Big Mac at the Apple family apple stand over yonder by the lake. Ya can't miss it. Y'all got until sunset. Anypony late is disqualified!”

Wow, Granny was strict.

“Right, Pumpkin?” Granny asked my passenger.

“Yes, Granny Smith!”

“You get that?” the old filly shouted at the rest of us.

We all nodded.

“Good. May the best pony win.”

We watched as she hobbled off with Applebloom in her wake. The younger mare kept trying not to look over her shoulder towards Lance, who also tried to avoid eye contact, but both failed miserably. I couldn't help but chuckle a little at their expense and found that I wasn't the only one.



“I think we're going to have to postpone the games for a moment, Rainbow. We've got to head over to the center of the fair right now. There's speeches and stuff, so we need to head to the stage right now. You remember?” Twilight stated as she walked by her mid-air friend.

“Speeches? Oh boo. Snoozeville! I want to have fun!” Rainbow turned to her pink friend, “Right Pinkie? Who wants to go and listen to some boring speech?”

Pinkie nodded so fast, her head became a blur.

“'Sides, nopony actually goes to those things!”

“Come on, Rainbow. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get it over and done with. Let's go.” Twilight pushed Rainbow with her head as she still hovered in the air.

After a few minutes we approached a large stage where a slightly angry looking mayor stood behind a podium with a bunch of other important looking ponies. Guiltily, I looked at the ground trying my very best to avoid eye contact with her, but I could feel her glare trying to burn two holes in the top of my skull.

“Mommy!” Pumpkin called and hopped off my back. She ran into the waiting arms of her mother, while Pound sauntered over and allowed his mane to be ruffled by his father.

The parents gave a grateful nod towards us (me in particular) as we made our way onto the stage. On stage I noticed the family talking and thought it was pretty cute with how they suddenly became enthralled with what the twins had to say. Perhaps they were telling them about me running with the two of them and Pinkie on my back. A part of me hoped that the parents didn't mind.

“Ladies and gentlcolts,” the Mayor began just as poor Amethyst made it onto the stage, “sorry for the delay, but without further ado, please give a warm welcome to the Racers of Ponyville and the Elements of Harmony!”

The crowd cheered. It wasn't as large as the one in the station, but a lot of ponies were still arriving.

“Now, I know that most of you are more interested in having fun at this wonderful fair, which was organized by our very own Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie!” the mayor gestured to Pinkie who stood on her hind legs and waved with her forehooves above her head in the air. “I would just like to take a few minutes to thank our Racers as well as the Elements for their hard work, monumental effort and unwavering dedication to our town and to a grander extent, to us as Equestrians.”

That last part had obviously more to do with the Elements of Harmony than to us as the Ponyville Race team. Still, it was nice to be associated with the heroines of Equestria in general.

“Now I wish to call on the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle, for a few words,” the mayor turned and gestured for the lavender Unicorn to step up to the microphone.

There was a healthy applause as the mare took to the podium. She pulled out single sheet of paper and noted the audience staring at her. She laughed and held it up, “I've finally learnt from the last few times.”

The entire audience seemed to  understand that joke. Too bad I didn't, but to not look liked a complete moron, I laughed too, which earned me a sharp poke in the ribs by Lavender.

“As you all know, things have turned out pretty interesting in our small town the past few years, not to mention the past few weeks and certainly within the last few days as well.” Twilight stole a glance towards us behind her. The few of us knew what she was referring to nodded. The Pit was a pretty unforgettable moment. “Our team participated in the Race with everything they had.”

Oh, she was talking about the Race! Of course she was. Silly me.

Twilight continued. “They flew,” she gestured to Scootaloo, “and magicked,” Twilight pointed at Amethyst, “and ran,” she pointed to me, and although I expected it, I couldn't help but feel shy at the attention, “the race with all their might because they wanted to prove to Equestria that we-”

“Are the best!” Rainbow shouted.

Twilight groaned and shook her head while rolling her eyes. The audience all roared in agreement with the cyan Pegasus.

“That we, as a small town, can work together to achieve something big,” Twilight said over the cheering. The audience quieted down and nodded in agreement with Twilight. “So, it is my pleasure to introduce the Race Across Equestria Racers! Please give a round of applause to our Racers, the Ponyville Team! Scootalloo, Ditzy Doo – otherwise known as the lovable Derpy Hooves, Amethyst Star, Lavender Hoof, and last but not least, Forest Fire!”

The crowd applauded us all loudly. Some whistled, some shouted, some even whooped. It still felt strange to have so many others appreciate me and what I had done, even though it was not that impressive. I could run fast, so what? Still, I couldn't help but feel a little humbled by the fact that these ponies were proud of me.

Twilight stepped back away from the podium and gestured for Scootaloo to come forwards, who walked over and coughed making the mic and speakers squeal from the feedback. “Sorry, sorry... uh, I'm not really used to all this, so I'm just going to thank everypony who supported me and helped me along the way. I want to thank Derpy for giving me the opportunity to take part in the race, although it wasn't exactly according to plan, but most of all, I want to think Rainbow Dash for being such a great teacher, mentor, and good friend to me. I think of you as my big sister, Dash. You are amazing.”

That earned her another noogie and a tight hug. Derpy giggled and floated over to Scootaloo as well, hugging her from behind. They all seemed to exchange some words before Derpy stood in front of the microphone.

“Yay for muffins!” she announced. The audience burst out laughing. “I'm happy we won. Yay! Um... hi Dinky!”

“Hi mom!” a voice shouted from the audience a proud looking Dinky stood there waving at her mother.

Derpy waved back and proceeded to fly over to where her daughter was. They embraced with the crowd applauding around them. It must be so nice to have family like that. I mean real family. Yes, I knew that the Apples had told me that I was an honorary part of theirs, but it wasn't the same. There is something more to it than that, and I'm not talking about blood relations. There was something missing, and that was what Derpy and Dinky had. Something I had missed.

I felt cheated. Where the hell were my parents when I had needed them?

“Thank you, thank you. I just want to thank everypony for cheering us on, and believing in the unbelievable. You might not believe it, but I could've sworn we heard all your cheers all the way in Canterlot. This is really the best town, ever!” Lavender said moments after Derpy had hug-tackled her daughter. “Oh, and I want to also say thanks to Rarity for making us those really radical uniforms.”

Rarity blushed and bowed her head to Lavender and the audience, who were still clapping (clopping?) away.

Amethyst walked over next. The audience all watched her with deep respect. Out of all of us, she had shown the most determination and sacrifice. She could have just as easily given up. No one would have thought badly of her if she had, but she didn't. She put up with unimaginable pain trying to get to me.

“I just want to thank everypony who supported me, but I especially want to thank Forest for pulling off a miracle,” she looked over to me and smiled.

I smiled back, feeling slightly giddy.

“I also want to thank Lavender for her hard work in training Forest, I'm sure it wasn't easy.”

“You don't know the half of it!” the light purple earth pony sighed, earning a laugh from everyone.

“Well, I don't really have much else to say and I'm sure you would all like to hear from our very own hero. Forest?”

Me? A hero? What?

“Go on, they're waitin' for you to say somethin',” Applejack whispered, pushing me towards the podium.

“B-b-b-b-b-but...” I don't know what to say!

“Woo!” a familiar voice called out, “Yay, Forest!”

Spike was waving from the far end of the audience. Seeing him gave me a little bit more confidence and I stepped up to the podium.

“Um... hello. I'm... Forest.”

For some reason the crowd loved that. They all laughed.

Wait a second. Did I just... figure it all out? Did I understand what the true meaning of friendship was? Was that right? Did I actually manage to learn it after all? It seemed so simple. It felt too easy. There had to be something more to it. Was this all there was? Had I been going on about it the wrong way? Had I been learning about it all along, just never realizing it until now?  

No. It can't be this simple!

The thing was... it wasn't. It really wasn't at all. It was so complicated, yet simple at the same time. And still I felt that this was only the very tip of it, that there was much more to be discovered, hidden under a sea of questions. Would I ever get to really discover how deep? Probably not.

“Forest? You okay, honey?” someone said patting me on the shoulder.

I jerked at the touch, and turned to look at the mayor, who was looking at me slightly confused, and maybe a little amused.

“Y-yeah... just, uh, spaced out there for a moment...”

“A moment? You spaced out there for practically a full minute. Are you okay?

“I'm... yeah, I guess... just... yeah. I'm okay. I'm really okay. Really. Just... a little overwhelmed is all. I... I mean I... just... I don't know what to say...'

“That's okay, I think you've said enough. Right, folks?”

The audience nodded practically at the same time.

As I stepped back away from the podium, Amethyst stopped me from actually leaving and held me firmly with her hoof.

“I want you all to remember this face. This is the face of the stallion who made us all very proud.”

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and tried my very hardest to suppress the feeling and get out of there.

“You were the one that won the cup for us...”

“We all won the cup together, Amethyst. I just... helped...”

“Are you trying to be modest, Forest? Because you're failing miserably!” a voice yelled from the audience, which made the others laugh.

“Thanks,” I muttered. There wasn't much else I could say to that, and why I thanked him I had no idea. I didn't even know who made the comment, just felt overwhelmed with everything, especially with my latest discovery.

“I'd also like to thank you, Ponyville, for helping make our dreams come true. We would not have been able to compete in the first place if it hadn't been for the hard work and generous nature of all of you.” Amethyst applauded the audience, who joined in congratulating themselves and each other.

After that the mayor spoke a little more. Apparently we had a couple sponsors for the race, especially one pony in particular by the name of Filthy Rich, which made it hard for me to keep a straight face afterwards. He seemed unperturbed by me, or just didn't notice. Twilight kept nudging me every time I started snickering to the point where she also caught the giggles from me.

Eventually the rest of the Elements had to speak. Applejack said something about being honest to yourself and others, something that had a lot of meaning and weight behind it. Rarity spoke about being generous with yourself and to others, she then proceeded to tell everyone about the latest fashion trends and mane styles and how they should all come to her and her boutiques. Pinkie told a couple jokes, which were funny, and did a dance, which was hilarious. Rainbow literally had a few words to say, which had nothing to do with her Element.

“Keep being awesome.”

I liked that.

And with Rainbow's deliverance of wisdom, it was all over. The parade was done, the speeches were speeched, and now it was time for some 'fun, fun, fun' – as Pinkie would say.

So, there we were, all of us, including Lance, standing next to the stage in the middle of the fair ready to get our game on.

“All right, everypony! Let's get his thing over and done with.” Applejack turned to Rainbow, “I hope you're ready to lose.”

“You must be dreaming.” Rainbow struck a dramatic post, “I'm Rainbow Dash. I don't know the meaning of the word 'lose'.”

“Don't come cryin' to me when you do.”

“Okay you two, let's be nice,” Twilight interrupted them, trying to be the neutral party.

“Nice? Nice! Where's the fun in that? Come on, Twilight! This is about showing off your skills-”

Applejack snickered, “You certainly do like showing off, don'tcha, Rainbow?”

“That she does,” Rarity put in. “I can't believe you dragged me into this silly contest.”

“You wanted to be in this contest. If ya didn't, no matter how hard Rainbow'd push, you'd still say no. We know you better than that, Rare.”

At that, Rarity grinned guiltily, “Oh, you girls know me too well. Well, I just want to let my mane down for a bit. You know after the Sisterhood Social all those years ago, I have developed a little bit of a rough edge, you could say. I thought that this would be a good opportunity. Plus Fancypants has been called for some business in Canterlot, so I-”

“Boring!” Rainbow shouted, “Let's get this thing started!”

“All right. Granny said that the pony with the most loot wins. We can split up and play by ourselves or we can stick together.” Twilight looked at each of us for a moment waiting to hear our opinions.

Lance bowed, “If you don't mind, I'd rather do this on my own.”

“Okay. Then... see you at sun-down,” she replied smiling politely.

With that, Lance nodded and walked off.

“No offense to the colt, but I'm glad he ain't joinin' us. I don't know what Applebloom sees in him. He's so... different to her.” Applejack shrugged, “But, then again, she's always down her own thin', so I guess it's time for me to hush up and let her get on with her life.”

“She does seem a little headstrong.” I nodded sagely.

“You have no idea. The things I could tell ya! What she, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle put us through when they were younger...”

“Goodness knows how we have suffered.” Rarity pretended to swoon, “I will never forget the horrors of those days when they were the dreaded Cutie Mark Crusaders... enfant terrible.”

“Is my sister revealing embarrassing stories about me again?” Sweetie Belle asked as she walked over to our group with Spike in tow. “Ponies here always like to remind me how much of a troublemaker I was growing up.”

“Well, to be honest, you and your fellow Crusaders did rattle this town quite a few times.” Spike stated as he gently placed his claw on her mane, scratching her behind the ears which made her close her eyes and lean into his claw.

Oh man did that look really nice. For a moment I missed my hands. Just for a moment. Sweetie batted away Spike's claw with her hoof after a few more seconds of relishing the feeling.

“Stop that or you'll muss up my mane!” she squealed while backing a few steps away from him.

He gave her a wicked smile, “Oh?” He bared his claws and started closing in on her.

“Spike. Please, Spike. I told you that you'll-”

She squealed very un-angry-like when Spike started going after her and her mane. They chased each other around us for a bit, Sweetie nimbly evading the dragon, but eventually he managed to capture her, hugging her in a tight embrace and then using his mouth to nibble her ear.

“S-s-stop, Spike! That tickles! P-please!” She squeaked as she tried to get away from him. She wasn't trying very hard.

Rarity grinned at the two of them. I wondered what she had thought at that moment. The Dragon that was so in love with her was now flirting and courting her younger sister. Was she angry? Didn't seem to be. Did it bother her that Spike was a Dragon? Didn't look like. Was Rarity okay with it? Seemed like.

Sweetie screamed in a mixture of glee, agony (sort of) and annoyance as Spike began to tickle her by rubbing her ribs with his claws. The two of them seemed so happy and content in their own little world that it made me feel warm and fuzzy.

I looked at Twilight. A thought came to me. She saw me staring at her.

“Don't even think about it.”

“Think about what?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“Forest, please. I know that look. I've seen it enough times. I'm extremely ticklish.”

“Really?” I slowly walked towards her with a huge, evil grin on my face. “You shouldn't have said that...”

Twilight took a step back, “Forest, I'm warning you...”

“I'm not going to do anything... much.”

“Forest, I swear on Celestia's mane I'll... I'll...”

As I stood an inch away from Twilight, I leaned and whispered something in her ear.

“Run.”

The way she screamed and laughed while she ran away from me made my heart skip a beat. There was just something about it. I chased after her and easily caught up and was about to capture her when she promptly teleported out of my reach.

“Twilight! That's not fair!” I shouted spinning around trying to find her.

I heard a familiar giggle coming from above me and saw that she was resting on top of one of the wooden stands, “It is fair. I told you I was really ticklish.”

“Come on. I just want to... hug you.”

“I somehow find that hard to believe with that grin across your face.” She lay down and smiled at me, “Can't catch me up here.”

She was right. I couldn't.

“But I can...” a voice said from behind her.

“Rainbow! S-stop...” Twilight pleaded as the cyan mare started her 'assault' on poor Twilight.

The way she laughed was adorable. Try as she might, she couldn't stop Rainbow as she 'goochie-goo'ed' Twilight till she pleaded for mercy. I couldn't help but laugh along.

Applejack looked up at the commotion with a stern expression. “C'mon y'all. Let's get this game thin' started before I get bored and head on over to my family's stand.”

“Yeah! Let's play that game first.” Pinkie pointed to a nearby stand.

This stand had a bunch of coconuts standing on top of thin metal poles in a formation similar to the ones you'd find in a bowling alley. The pony running it was a skinny lime-green Unicorn. He looked at the bunch of us coming to his stand and put on the kind of smile that you would find on a toothpaste advertisement.

That reminded me. When was the last time I brushed my teeth? How bad was my breath?

“Welcome, welcome,” the guy said, “try your luck at Coconut Shy?”

“How do you play?” I asked.

“Easy! You just roll this big ball here against the coconut sticks and try to knock 'em off. If you knock 'em all off with one ball you win our grand prize! If you knock them all off in two rolls, you get this consolation prize, and if you knock 'em off with three, you get your game free!“ he looked at each of us, “So, who's first?”

“I'll give it a go,” Applejack stated raising her hoof. “How much?”

“One bit.”

She placed her one bit down and was given a large dark blue ball. Taking care, the orange mare carefully aimed and rolled. It hit the first pole square on, the coconut on top falling off knocking down the two coconuts behind it. The other three were still untouched. On her second attempt she knocked one down, and her final attempt she failed at knocking the final two over, the ball grazing the left-most one slightly.

“Aw, horse-feathers. Thought I had that.”

Rainbow thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

“You think you can do better?” Applejack challenged.

“Think? No. Know? Yes.”

“Well then let's see you try!”

While the two mares were bickering amongst themselves, Spike walked up.

“Can I try?”

Applejack and Rainbow stopped arguing to look at the Dragon, but didn't say anything, so he paid his one bit and did his best. On his first roll, he knocked down four, leaving two left. His second attempt knocked one down.

“Oh, phooey. I really wanted that consolation prize,” he muttered. “Okay, last one...”

It didn't fall.

“W-what? I hit that thing with all my strength...”

“Hey, don't let it get you down, Spike. Let me show you how it's done.” Rainbow pushed the dragon out of her way and picked up a ball. She rolled it with all her might knocking... one down.

I couldn't stop laughing.

“Hey! You think you can do better?”

“Probably not. Doesn't change the fact that it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen,” I replied.

Her bland expression made me roar in laughter again, which only got louder every time I replayed the moment in my head. The best part was her shocked face at the end.

She rolled her eyes at me and took the ball for her second attempt.

The next roll was just as hard and she knocked... none off.

I was a going hysterical, and so was Spike.

Rainbow just turned to glare at us and she gripped the ball for her third and final attempt. She managed to knock two off, but that was it.

“This game's impossible to beat!” she announced.

Twilight shook her head, “Not impossible, just difficult. You see you have to-”

“Boring. You think you got it figured out, you try.”

Twilight looked at her friend. Perhaps she was a little annoyed at being cut off like that, or having Rainbow just ignore her lesson. Whatever the case, Twilight walked over to the stand, took the ball and rolled. She had knocked almost all of them off on her first go. Only one coconut remained.

“Impossible! I-I-I got the angle right... and the trajectory... and the power was... that's not-”

Rainbow put her hoof around Twilight's neck, “Don't sweat it. You still got two tries left.”

“Oh-oh yeah.”

Twilight tried twice more, but failed despite hitting the pole square on twice. She looked so confused.

“B-b-b-but... I hit it...”

“Aw, don't worry about it, Twi.” Spike patted her back.

“B-b-b-but...”

“Yeah, Twi. Relax. You did great,” I said, rubbing my head against hers.

“Hey! You guys laugh at me and not Twilight? What gives?”

Spike and I shared a look before bursting out in laughter again. It took her a moment, but Rainbow realized that we were messing with her.

“Very funny,” she stated dryly.

“Don't let those two get ta ya, Rainbow. That's my job.” Applejack walked over and stood by her friend.

The two of them narrowed their eyes at one another.

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow taunted.

“Yeah,” Applejack quipped.

Scootaloo pushed through the two mares and placed her bit down. She gave it her best, but walked away empty handed (hoofed?). She just shrugged and fluttered over to Rainbow, who promptly gave her yet another noogie.

Rarity walked over to the stand and picked up the ball with her magic.

“No, Miss Rarity, please don't use magic.” The attendant took the ball away from her using his own magic.

“I know, I'm just bringing it to me,” Rarity assured him. He nodded and let the ball go.

Rarity didn't even look like she was trying as each attempt failed to hit a single one. It was cute watching her though, as she placed the ball on the edge of the rolling area and pushed with both hooves as hard as she could with a cute little grunt. Each time me, Spike, Rainbow, Applejack and Sweetie had to fight the urge to burst out laughing.

“You do know I can hear your snickering behind me,” Rarity muttered as she walked by us.

It was after that moment that we all lost it.

Except Twilight, who seemed to be lost in though.

“What's wrong, Twi?” I asked, while the others conversed with each other behind me.

“Hm? Oh. It's nothing... just don't understand where I went wrong.”

“You're still hung up about that? C'mon, Twi! It's obvious the game's rigged.”

“What?”

“It's rigged. Games at these kinds of places usually are, otherwise a lot of prizes would be missing.”

Twilight looked at me for a moment, “How would you know that?”

I shrugged, “I thought it would be common sense. You make the games look easy, but make them hard, that was ponies will keep on trying and eventually they might win a prize, but by then you would have paid enough bits that you could've just bought the thing in the first place.”

The lavender Unicorn looked at me as if I had told her the answer to the secret to of life.

“What?”

“Nothing. That actually made sense...”

“Are you making fun of me, Twilight Sparkle?” I placed my head against hers.

“No!” She giggled at me. “Well, maybe a little.”

“Can't you two quit with the lovey-dovey stuff?” Rainbow said, dragging me away from Twilight by my tail, “We're here to play, and I'm here to win.”

“We're here to have fun,” Twilight corrected her friend.

Before Rainbow could reply, Applejack cut in.

“Pinkie, yer up.”

For the next few minutes Pinkie stared at the coconuts with her mouth hanging open. This confused me, and I was quite glad I wasn't the only one.

“Sugarcube, whatcha doin'?”

“Huh? Oh.” She whipped around on us and leaned in making us all shrink backwards a bit, “Coconuts! Coconuts, you guys! I just had a sugary sweet brainstorm! Coconut caramel cucumber kumquat cupcakes! Doesn't that sound appealing?”

“Coconut...”

“... caramel...”

“... cucumber?” I felt a little green at the thought. Cucumbers in cupcakes?

“Pinkie, why cucumbers?” Applejack asked; she didn't seem to like the thought of that either.

“What's a kumquat?” Spike asked.

“It's like an orange,” Twilight replied.

I grinned and poked her ribs with my hoof, ”You're so smart.”

“Please, Forest. Knowing what a kumquat hardly quantifies that sort of compliment.”

“Smart and modest. You just keep on surprising me. You're such an amazing mare, Twilight Sparkle.”

She gave me a coy look, “Am I, Forest Fire?”

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at that as I leaned towards her intent on giving her a peck on the lips, “Yes indeed.”

“Seriously you two.” Rainbow deadpanned putting her head in between us.

The sudden appearance of the cyan Pegasus' head made me pull back in surprise.

“Okay, so maybe no cucumbers,” Pinkie thought aloud.

“Just roll your ball,” Spike said placing it in her hoof.

“Okee dokee lokee!” Pinkie then turned her attention towards the coconuts on the stilts and put a bit down on the counter. She took a deep breath, jumped in the air, did a twist while wiggling her rump and then, with an over exaggerated  flourish with her forehoof, she brought the ball down right to the ramp in a blur before coming to a complete stop as she gently nudged the ball towards the target. It moved so agonizingly slow as it rolled all the way towards the stilts... then promptly knocked all of them over in one shot.

As expected of Pinkie.

We all cheered as the pink mare rubbed her nose a little.

“That's impossible-” the attendant shouted before stopping himself. That made me and Spike roar in laughter. Again. We seemed to have the same kind of humor.

“What do you mean impossible?” Rainbow asked reaching over and pulling him by his chest towards her. It would have looked like she was holding onto his shirt collar if he had one.

“Not bad, Forest. You actually got something right,” Rarity said sweetly.

I gripped my chest, “Ouch. That hurt, Rarity.”

“I just call it how I see it.”

“Twilight,” I whined, “Rarity's picking on me.”

“Oh? I'm sure you can take it,” Twilight replied, but her focus wasn't on me, it was on the attendant, who seemed to be sweating quite profusely.

Guess he screwed himself with that last comment.

“I asked you a question,” Rainbow growled pulling him closer.

“He probably has something that prevents the last coconut from falling. A magnet.”

“A magnet? How?” Twilight asked looking at me with those big bright eyes. I got lost in them for a moment.

She seemed to notice this and lightly slapped my cheek. That snapped me out of it.

“Well... I guess he could use the magnet to attract a piece of metal or something inside the coconut. Then have some sort of mechanism to turn the magnet on or off. No mater how hard you hit the last one will never fall unless he turned it off.”

“How the hay do you turn a magnet off?” Rainbow asked.

“You could use an electromagnet?” Applejack replied.

“Electro... magnet? What's an electro? You mean like electricity?” Rainbow asked.

“We have electricity?” I asked.

Everyone looked at me as if I had said the dumbest thing ever.

“Of course we have electricity,” I muttered to myself.

Twilight looked at me, “Well, you've been in places with Unicorns most of the time since we've found you. Unicorns usually use magic to charge batteries that can be used for common household appliances.”

“Oh yeah!” I laughed nervously. “I forgot...”

“But using magic that frequently isn't convenient, so we find other ways. There's a hydro-electric dam on the south side of the lake facing towards Canterlot.

“I never noticed it before...”

“Maybe we could go and see it later,” Twilight replied.

Rarity laughed and stood by her friend, “Once, when we were younger, Twilight prevented that dam from breaking. Who knows what could have happened if it actually burst! Remember that, Rainbow?”

Rainbow grumbled and lowered her head. “Yeah. I remember.”

The five friends all giggled at the same time. The joke, however, was completely and utterly lost on me.

Eager to change the subject, Rainbow quickly piped in, “Cloudsdale's got these lightning clouds we use to hit these large metal thingies...”

“There are some towns along the edge of the Known Lands that are mostly made up of Earth ponies. They build generators that create electricity for their communities, and it's necessary when magic isn't available.” Twilight looked at me, “Maybe you're from a very far away place, Forest.”

She had winked at me ever so slightly when she said this. Maybe that was her way of protecting me.

“Twi's right. I remember once when I visited cousin Apple Crumble over in Sandy Acres, which at the time was along the border of the Known Lands. They had these windmills that spun around under the winds.” Applejack looked over to me, “If you're from someplace that close to the border, then why come all this way to see the Everfree? Aren't there enough scary things out there? I hear there are some creatures that make Dragons and Ursas look like Fluttershy's cute lil' critters.”

My mouth dropped. How could anything be more terrifying than an Ursa? Wasn't too worried about the whole Dragon thing, not with Spike being a good friend. Maybe he just spoiled me.

I kinda lost track of who knew my secret, so while they were all distracted I just picked up a ball and rolled it at the coconuts. They all, save one, fell over. The attendant was still being shaken around by Rainbow, so he didn't take note when I walked over the offending coconut and tried to push it off. I might as well tried pushing a boulder instead. It was impossible. After repeated attempts at knocking it off, I managed to actually climb on top of the coconut 'precariously' perched atop the stilt.

That was when Spike did a double-take and started hollering in laughter. I grinned back at him and pretended I was a bird by folding my arms in half to imitate wings.



Spike just pointed at me.

That was when the others noticed, including the attendant, who made a sound like a scream. His horn glowed momentarily and I tried to leap off the coconut. Sadly, I wasn't fast enough. The coconut stilt collapsed and I fell on my face against the ground. A sickening feeling rushed through my stomach and my head started to spin, my bracelet burned as if it were on fire.

That was twice in one day!

“Magic... sucks...” I muttered before the world faded to black.





“Ooh. My head.”

“You okay?” a voice asked as my eyes adjusted.

I looked up to the most beautiful sight. Twilight Sparkle's beautiful eyes over my own. She smiled down at me. I was lying on my back with my head on her forehooves on the ground.

“How long have I been out?”

“Not that long. About half an hour.” The way she talked I could tell she was worried.

I sat up slowly, “Did I mention how much I hate being allergic to magic?”

“Maybe...” her mood did not abate. “Forest, tell me the truth. Are you really alright? It's just... you've never been this sensitive to magic before. In The Pit you were able to take quite a lot before you'd... faint.”

“I know, Twi. I'm not sure what to tell you. Maybe my body just needs some time to get used to it. You do know that after you guys pumped magic into me in The Pit, I had all the Unicorns cast spells on me to do that Detection Spell. Didn't Rarity tell you?”

“I know,” she sighed, “and it worked. We saw it all the way from The Pit, but I mean after everything I've learnt about you, and everything I know about you... I just feel that something isn't right. Something is very wrong, and... I can't help but worry, okay?”

I stared down at the ground, “Don't. Worry, I mean.”

“How can you asked me that-”

I kissed her cheek. “Don't. Please,” I whispered.



We both sat in silence for a moment. I didn't know how to respond to that.

“Well, since you're up, wanna go catch up with the others so we can play some more games?”

Her eyes made my heart throb.

Putting my hoof on hers, I smiled, “I got a better idea. Why don't we go together instead. Just you and me. Just the two of us.”

Twilight looked up at me making my heart jump, “You mean like a date?”

“Eeyup. Just like one. Actually, it will be one. We didn't have a very fun date the other day, what with all the Trixie's and Rainbow's and things going on.”

“I-I'd like that, actually. Very much.”

“Me too. But first! I need something to eat. I'm hungry. You?”

“You bet!”

I turned around, pulled out my coin purse and emptied it into my hoof. All that fell out was air.

“Aw.”

“Don't worry, I'll pay,” Twilight replied after giggling at me for a few seconds.

“No, no! Can't have that. I need to...”

“You can pay me when you earn some.”

I can't pay you if I can't be here. I muttered to myself. “I dunno. I'd feel funny.”

“How about I give you some jobs in the library to make up for it?”

That sounded fair to me. “Okay. Fine.”

We went to a stand that made crepes and I ordered a chocolate-banana one, which didn't sound too appetizing but by Celestia's mane it was gorgeous. How was it that food here tasted so good? I saw Twilight staring at me and she noticed and quickly averted her eyes.

I couldn't resist. I lowered my crepe and gave her a coy look, “Were you just checking me out, Miss Sparkle?” I asked, tilting my head to look her in the eyes.

“No,” she whispered weakly.

“Don't lie to me, Miss Sparkle. I saw you,” I tease lowering my head so I could look into her eyes. When she did not respond, I nudged her head with mine. In the process I got a bit of caramel from her caramel-apple crepe on my nose. I looked at it cross eyed and saw her giggle silently.

“You're so clumsy sometimes.”

“I take offense to that. I'm clumsy most of the time.”

She just shook her head. Using her magic, she carefully hovered her crepe in midair while leaning in close to me. I watched as she held my muzzle carefully in her hooves and licked the caramel from its place. The feeling of her tongue sent tingles throughout my entire body and the look she gave me after she did it made my face explode. I couldn't look her in the eye in that moment.

“Can you give me your crepe, please?” I asked.

“S-s-sure,” she replied, obviously not expecting that.

Carefully, I wiped my lips with the caramel and handed (hoofed?) is back to her.

“Oh no,” I sarcastically stated, “I got it all over my lips...”

Again she shook her head and leaned in close. “You're incorrigible, Forest Fire,” she whispered as she held my muzzle like before.

“Only when it comes to you, Twi,” I whispered back, afraid that if I spoke any louder the moment would evaporate.

The sounds of the fair was all round us, but as I gazed into that mare's eyes it seemed to muffle and grow distant. Somewhere I could almost hear my name being called as Twilight leaned in closer and-

“Guys, what are you two doing?”

A cyan mare's head appeared in between Twilight and me. Again. We both squeaked and let go of each other and took two steps apart. I looked over to Twilight, who was looking away from me.

Aw man, Rainbow. You... you... you meanie!

“Were you two going to kiss each other?”

“T-t-t-t-there's some caramel on his lips, I was just making sure that... none of it got on his... nose...” Twilight replied quieter and quieter, her face crimson.

I felt my face flush as well. Why was it so embarrassing? Why? Why?

“Really? Cause it totally looked like you were gonna make out with him.”

“Aw, come on, Rainbow. No need to make them feel any more awkward than they already are.” Applejack walked up to us and put a hoof on her friend's shoulder, “How'd you like it if I did that to you?”

Rainbow shrugged, “Wouldn't bother me. I'd just continue where I left off.”

While the two were talking, I leaned in closer to Twilight. “My lips need you, baby.” I tried to be super seductive. The way she looked at me clearly told me that it didn't work. I put on my sad face. That didn't work either.

Note to self, work on being suave.

Rainbow placed a napkin in my hoof. “Here. You got something on your lips.”

I could not help but pout.

“What are you guys doing over here anyway?” The cyan moment-ruiner asked.

“We were... just eating something.”

“Uh-huh. Anyway, come on. Pinkie's winning and it's totally not cool-”

"Rainbow, you do know I love you, right?" Twilight suddenly stated.

“Wha-? Yeah, so?”

“And you know that no matter what happens, you'll always be one of my very best friends, right?”

“Sure...” the cyan mare answered slowly.

“Can I go with Forest alone? Please?”

Rainbow did a double-take, “What? You mean, like a date?”

I opened my mouth to deny it, but was promptly cut off.

“Yes. Like a date.” Twilight's admission made me so happy. We were now official! Yay!  

“Well, why didn't you say so sooner? Of course we'll leave you two alone.” Rainbow hovered above us for a moment, “Have fun. Remember, the contest's still on and I'm gonna win it.”

“You seem real keen on winnin' that bet, Dash. Wonder who the lucky pony is that you wanna kiss,” Applejack said staring up at her friend.

“Keep wondering, sister. When I win, you'll see who.”

“Oh? So you do have somepony in mind, eh?”

Rainbow just flew further up and away from us, “N-n-no I don't. Just... whatever.” She zipped off.

“Now I'm mighty curious as to who she's thinkin' of.” Applejack looked at Twilight and me standing next to each other, “You two have a good time now, y'hear? I'll see you later.”

That was it. It was finally broken. Not my heart, thank Celestia, but the bond between me and Applejack. I had thought it would have been awkward and painful, but neither feeling crossed my mind. After all this time I finally got it through my thick skull that she would be no more than a friend to me. Or was it family? Like the sister I never had. The pain and hardships that I endured had finally...

Who was I kidding? I still had feelings for her although they were no longer as strong anymore. She and Atom had worked things out. I had to let go.

“Later, AJ.” Twilight turned and pulled me along with her hoof.

“Later, AJ,” I replied as she was swallowed up by the crowd.

We walked together for a bit in silence. Neither of us could think of anything to say or do. At least, I didn't know what to say or do.

“Forest, do you still feel something for Applejack?”

“What? Me?” I'm a shitty actor.

She just looked at me.

“Okay, okay. The truth is both yes and no. Honestly, I don't know, but what I do know is that it's becoming clearer to me that Applejack isn't my special somepony. It's been getting easier seeing her swoon over Atom, so I guess I've finally accepted it.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Twilight stopped and looked down at the ground, “I don't want you to feel that I'm, you know, forcing you to be mine...”

I put my head down so it was level with hers, “Little late for that now, don't you think? Besides, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have let what we have get this far, would I?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

The sparkle in her eyes was indescribable. It looked like Luna had purposely put stars in there. I was so lost in her eyes that she had to shake me to snap me out of my trance.

“Wow. Sorry. I got lost in there.”

“Huh?”

“Your eyes. They were so beautiful, I got lost in them.”

She giggled and punched (hoofed) me lightly on my foreleg, “Silly. So, what game should we play next?”

“How about that one?” I asked, pointing to a non-magical related game off to one side.

The game had all this rubber duckies floating around a large donut-shaped pool of water. In the middle were two light yellow Unicorns that were manning (ponying?) the game.

“No.”

Twilight was very blunt about it.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Why not?” I whined.

“I know those two. They're not the most... honest of ponies.”

“R-r-really?”

“Really, really.” Twilight frowned a little, “You don't believe me?”

“It's not that, Twi. Just wanna know why is all.”

“Well,” she began, “a long time ago they once tried to take over Applejack's farm in a cider making contest. It was us versus them. We won, but, honestly, their machine did a lot more than we did. We had to work extra hard and they had to degrade their cider's quality to win. Just... yeah, it was kinda close call. That's not all. After that we-”

“Why, isn't that Twilight Sparkle?” one of the ponies from the stand shouted.

Twilight groaned and forced a polite smile on her face.

“Why yes, so it is. Well, how do you do? How is our good friend Applejack? Fairing well?”

“Very,” Twilight replied neutrally.

“Good to hear! Care to try your luck at Rope-a-Duck?” Before she could respond the Unicorn continued, “Each duck has a number beneath it. All you need to do is get a grand total that equals one of these magical numbers!”

The second pony pointed to a list of numbers on a pillar in the middle of the 'island', “And you can win their corresponding prizes.”

“No thanks. I appreciate the offer but-”

“How about you? I know you? I know I know you because I never forget a face, isn't that right Flim?”

“Sounds about right, Flam. He never forgets a face.”

I grinned politely, or at least I thought it was polite, and waved a hoof, “Sorry, guys, but my date said no, so no.”

“Date? Well, did you hear that Flim?”

“Sure did, Flam.”

“Well, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'm sure that there are other ponies out there who have the skill, dexterity and technique to beat this game... just none within the immediate vicinity.”

Did they insult me?

“Of course, only a real stallion can fish a duck. Only a real stallion would stay and try to win something for their very own special somepony. No, only a colt would walk away from a challenge like this.”



“Are you still here? I thought you weren't interested in playing. Now, shoo. You're scaring other suckers- I mean customers.”

I made a face.

“Forest?” Twilight asked.

“Yes?”

“You do know that these two are trying to con you into playing, right?”

“Yes.”

“You know that winning this game is probably impossible, right?”

“Yes.”

“You still want to play, don't you?”

“I know it's probably a really, really dumb idea, but I can't help it. As soon as they said 'win something for your special somepony', I was hooked! I'd take on the world for you, Twi.”

“Using my bits, right?”

I blushed and frowned, “I said I'd pay you back...”

My date laughed silently, “Okay. One game.”

“Thanks, Twi. You're the best.” I kissed her cheek and walked over to the stand. “How do I play?”

“Easy. Flim?”

One of the ponies put a fishing rod in my hooves, “Just wrap the noose around the duck's neck, and pull her up. Then we take a look under it. Remember, ducks with red are low numbers, from one to three. Green are middle numbers, four to six, and the blue ones are from seven to ten. The black duckies have negative numbers ranging from minus one to ten. And there you have it! Simple, is it not, Flam?”

“Indeed it is, brother.”

“Good luck, pony.”





Eventually I managed to hook (or hang) one of the rubber ducks and yanked it up. It was a red one with the number one.

“Yes!” I did a fist-pump (or is it a hoof-pump?) and proceeded to snatch another one. After about two minutes of trying, I managed to catch the second one. The number under this was nine.

“That's a grand total of ten,” Flim or Flam (I wasn't sure who was who actually) stated.

I looked at the prize list. There were prizes at random assortment of numbers, the biggest ones were by the numbers five and zero. The one on zero was this huge fuzzy, black bear. I looked at Twilight, “You want that?”

Twilight looked at it, “I'm not really a fan of dolls anymore... bad experience. Still, if you won it for me... I guess that would make it different.”

“Different?”

“You know. Special. Because you won it for me.”

Forest. Note to self: win that bear!

Turning towards the floating rubber duckies, I needed to catch a black one. I had to get a black one. The hard part was that it had have a minus ten on it. I kept looking at the black duckies going round and round. There were few of them here and there, but none of them felt like they had a minus ten on them. Not that I knew they had one, just that there was something about it. Sixth sense kind of thing.

I could have also been completely off. That was likely the right answer.

For a moment I paused over one of the duckies and began to hover my rod over it. I waited for a second and then dropped my noose around it. I couldn't believe that I had got it on my first try! Slowly, I pulled it up and looked underneath...

“Minus one! That's a total of nine! You win... nothing!” one of the two annoying Unicorns announced.

“Tough luck. Was a good effort though, wasn't it Flim?”

“It most certainly was, Flam.”

The two of them laughed out loud with one another. It was clear that they had expected me to lose. It didn't take a genius to see it by the way they were acting.

“See? I told you.” Twilight hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek, “They don't play fair. Don't worry, we'll find another game.”

“But-but-but...”

“Go on. Let your mommy tell you what to do...” Flim and Flam roared into more gails of laughter.

I growled.

“Don't let them get to you,” Twilight whispered in my ear.

“They're cheating. I know they are,” I mumbled back.

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Of course they're cheating.”

“I still don't like it.”

“Come to think of it, only the Apples have an honest stand at these events. Or they used to until Big Mac figured that selling their cider, juice, pies and fritters was easier and more profitable.”

“Mm,” I mumbled throwing daggers with my eyes at Flim and Flam, who were still hooting in laughter.

“You're upset.”

“Not at you.” I continued to glare at the two Unicorns.

She nudged me.

“I just... for some reason, want to beat them.”

“That bear is just bait. It would be impossible to win it because I bet you that no matter how many ducks you pull out of there you won't be able to get a total of zero.”

“You're probably right,” I replied. Still, I wanted to try.

We walked away from the stand, the two stallions still mocking me as we walked away.

After we got out of earshot, I looked around. Off to one side I spotted Lance at a stand. He had a couple of dolls hanging out of his saddlebag.

“Rats. He's winning.”

Twilight smiled at me, “We haven't seen Pinkie's stash yet.”

“Oh right. Pinkie's playing. Well... might as well give up then.”

Twilight gave me a look.

“What?” I whined, “It's Pinkie!”

“Granny said you have to beat Lance, Forest. Plus I want you to try. Come on, isn't it fun.”

“Okay, okay. But I'm not doing it for the contest. I'm going to play for a different reason.”

“Oh? What's that?”

I leaned in close, “A kiss from Twilight Sparkle.”

“You don't need to play these silly games for that,” she replied giving me a peck on my cheek.

I pressed close against her, “Not the kind of kiss I was referring to.”

The way her cheeks glowed was priceless. I loved making her blush like this. “W-what kind then?”

“A very special kind,” I replied.

“I... I can't wait.”

I closed my eyes and hugged her tightly, “I adore you, Twilight.”

“Yech.”

“Yech?”

“Not me, Forest,” Twilight replied, her hoof pointing to a certain cyan colored mare standing behind me with Rarity and Applejack.

“Get a room you guys!” Rainbow shouted.

“Well, hello to you too, Rainbow Dash. I'm surprised that you're not inundated with fans,” I replied coldly. Again she ruined my moment with Twilight!

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “If this fair was in any other town, maybe. But here, everyone's cool.”

“That and the fact that you've probably given everypony here at least a dozen signed autographs, and a complete oral bio-” Rarity was cut off as Rainbow lobbed a doll at her.

“Who's in the lead?” I asked.

“Rainbow and I are tied three apiece. Rarity's got one. You?” Applejack revealed her bounty.

“I have nothing.”

The three mares smiled.

“Hey! I've only played two games, okay?”

“Wanna try that one?” Twilight asked pointing to a stand next to me.

It was one of those shooting gallery things where you got to shoot balloons attached to a wall of some soft material. The fact that there was a gun boggled my mind. Why didn't the Diamond Dogs in The Pit use these things? Surely a gun was better than bows and arrows.

“Step right up. Three shots for a bit. Hit three in a row and win a prize!”

Rainbow zipped over to him and slammed a bit down. The Unicorn (was it my imagination, or were all these attendants Unicorns) used his magic to pick up the gun and hovered it to himself. He cracked it in half and put in three small bullets... well, at least I thought they were bullets. When it comes to guns, I know almost next to nothing about them. Never really interested me.

Picking up the gun in her hooves, Rainbow aimed down the sight and fired. I expected a bang, some sort of explosion, followed by a massive light show, considering that this was Equestria and magic ran everything in some way. There was no smoke or flash or anything apart from a soft cough-like noise. A ballon popped and Rainbow nodded in approval.

“Why didn't we use those at The Pit?” I asked nopony in particular.

“It's because those things are harmless,” Twilight replied.

“Well, this one is... I'm just saying that they could be... made to be... worse?” I didn't know how to put it.

Twilight looked at the gun for a moment, “They're also kind of useless against magic. Most Unicorns can use magic and destroy it before you could even think about using it. Pegasi can just fly away.”

As if to emphasize that point, a filly who was moving another, similar weapon around was promptly disarmed (dishoofed?) by the attendant who them proceeded telling her off about injuring an eye.

Anyway, the girls were right. After what I had seen and done in The Pit, magic was certainly a lot more efficient at causing harm.

“As an Earth pony, I feel somewhat handicapped,” I announced.

Applejack sighed, “Tell me about it...”

Rainbow screamed interrupting us. “That's totally uncool. I hit that balloon square on!”

“If it doesn't pop then you missed. Sorry.”

Before Rainbow could argue further I stepped up to the stand.

“Can I try?” I asked my date as I stood next to a very frustrated looking Rainbow.

“Sure,” Twilight replied. “If you do win, what can you get?”

“Well, how about that quill,” I pointed to a red-feathered one hanging in a plastic bag.

“I'd love it!” Twilight's smile proved otherwise. At least I knew her well enough to know she was lying.

I looked at her with a stern expression, “Nothing else up there appeals to you?”

“Honestly? Not really.”

I looked around a little more and saw something shiny. “What's that?”

“This?” the Unicorn asked using his magic to pull the shiny object out from behind him. I couldn't believe it. It was a camera! I knew that cameras existed in Equestria, just I didn't expect to see one you could win at a game stall in a fair, especially in a small town like Ponyville. “It's one of my top prizes. This and,” he reached behind him with his hoof this time and pulled out a funny looking medallion, “this thing. It's supposed to amplify magical powers, but it hasn't worked on me. Doubt it works.”

Twilight stared at the medallion for a long moment. “That reminds me of something... but what?”

While Twilight was distracted, Applejack started talking to the attendant.

“You're surprisingly honest, mister.”

“You mean compared to the other proprietors? Unlike them, I've learnt that you can't make your game unbeatable. Yes, I will admit that my game isn't easy and that there is a trick to winning it, but it is possible.”

“Now that kinda honesty is refreshin'. Really, it is.” Applejack tipped her hat to the stallion.

“I appreciate that, and coming from the Element of Honesty herself, that is something...”

I picked up the loaded air-rifle and took a shot. I hit the target easily. The sound of the pop got everyone's attention. I took the second shot and saw the next balloon explode in confetti. This was easier than I thought.

“Last one. Make it count.” The stallion urged me on.

I took extra careful aim and fired. I failed. No one seemed very surprised, which irked me.

“See! There is no way Forest would've missed!” Rainbow blurted before folding her hooves in front of her chest. “I smell a rat.”

“If you're implying that the game is rigged, then no, you're wrong. There's a trick to it. That's the way this game's made. You have to use your smarts if you wanna beat it.”

“Why didn't you say so?” Rainbow retorted.

The Unicorn hid a smirk, “Like I said, that's the way the game's made...”

“Are you calling me stupid?” Rainbow replied dangerous slow.

“N-n-n-no. I just said that you need to use your head instead of-”

Rainbow slammed a bit down, “Again!” she roared.

This time she missed the first and second shot while scoring a hit on the third. I was about to crack a joke when she slammed her hoof down with a bit in it.

“Again!”

“Uh... Rainbow, don't you think you ought to take it easy...” Applejack advised her friend.

Rainbow just glared at her for a moment before taking aim. The first balloon exploded easily. The next two did not. That just made Rainbow stick out her lower jaw and grind her teeth. She was about to slam down another bit when Twilight stopped her.

“Can I try?”

The attendant nodded. He looked pretty relieved. “By all means.”

Twilight carefully aimed and fired, then fired the second time, both of which hit a balloon easily. The third time she took aim, she moved the gun upwards and fired practically at the ceiling. The balloon in front exploded. She quietly put it down and smiled.

“How?” Rainbow and I asked at the same time.

“It shoots random elevations depending on how you hold it. If you are patient, the first one shoots straight. The second one shoots lower, so the last one should shoot even lower than that. If you're not patient...” she looked at Rainbow.

The cyan mare folded her hooves and pouted.

“Wow, didn't even begin to notice, Twi.” Applejack put a hoof on her friend's shoulder, “Good job.”

Twilight blushed a little at the praise.

“You're one clever mare,” I said nudging her gently as she set the gun on the counter.

“Thanks,” she responded, nudging me back a little harder.

“Pick your prize. Was it this camera you wanted?”

“Yes, please. I've always wanted a camera... just never got around to actually buying one...”

“You can buy some film from over there. That's my wife's stand. She's big into photography...”

While Twilight and the other Unicorn talked, I saw Rainbow glaring at the balloons. I could almost see her shooting daggers from her eyes trying to burst them all with sheer will alone.

“Rainbow hates losin',” Applejack said before I could open my mouth. “She's always been that way. Ever since we first met. Now, I appreciate a good competition as much as any other pony, but oh Celestia, she takes it to the next level.”

Rainbow snapped her attention to us and shrugged, “Losing sucks, okay?”

“It ain't losin' you hate, honey. It's your inability to brag that gets to you.”

At that Rainbow seemed to snap out of her grouchiness, “You got that right. The day's still young! I'll beat you all yet!”

“Is that so? Well, we better head to another stand then.” Applejack tipped her hat towards me, “We'll be seein' you two around. G'luck.”

“Same to you.”

I watched the two of them walk off followed by Rarity who was content with just hanging around with her friends. I noticed how she kept looking at the stands all the while making faces at some of the stands where clothing was being sold.

Ever the fashionista.

“Hey!” Twilight shouted.

I jerked away and rubbed my ear while turning to her, “Ow. That was loud.”

“Sorry, but I was calling to you and you didn't hear me. What were you looking at anyway?”

“Was just wondering why Rarity kept glaring at the stores.”

“You do realize that you were standing there motionless for about five whole minutes, right?”

“Huh?” I was what?

“Yeah. You were standing there completely still for a while. I went to buy some film for my new camera, had a quick talk with the mare at the stand and came back. You were still here looking spaced out... are you okay?”

I nodded, perhaps a little too quickly, “Yeah. Fine. Just was thinking real hard.”

Did I just insult myself?

I laughed nervously when Twilight's gaze did not falter.

“Are you sure?” she pressed.

“Eeyup. Sometimes I think real-”

“I meant the first part. Are you really fine?”

“Yes, Twilight. I'm fine.”

“O-okay. You do know that I'm worried about you, right?”

“You've already told me that a bazillion times today! Please don't be. I'm fine. I get like this sometimes.”

“I would believe you, but these things have been getting more and more frequent, haven't they? You've been spacing out more and more, and each time it seems to be longer.”

She was right. They have been getting more and more frequent. It was as if time slowed down for me to the point where it passed by differently than usual.

Could Tutela somehow be behind this?

“You're doing it again, Forest.”

“Huh? What? Oh? No, I was just thinking again. I'm not like you, Twi. It takes me a little while longer to think things through.”

“Nopony needs that much time.”

I pouted, “Gee, thanks.”

“I didn't mean it like that, silly.”

“You know what else has been on my mind?”

“Hm?”

“Why I fainted when I started singing with Cheerilee and the others, and again today when I was singing along with Pinkie.”

“It's probably because of magic.”

“Yeah, duh, I know that part. The feeling that makes me want to sing is magical, isn't it? So, yes, I know the reason as to why I fainted, but how did I faint?”

“What do you mean?”

I raised my right hoof and looked at it, “Is my bracelet broken? Isn't it supposed to stop things like that?”

Twilight looked at it in a new light. She nodded slowly, “You know, you're right. That's what it was for. I don't know, but it does sound like it's broken. Maybe your bracelet is full and that's why magic is reaching you. Should we do a spell? Just to check?”

I nodded. As much as I didn't want it to happen, if it helped then it was worth a shot.

“Forest Fire. Show me where you are, show me where you are, show me where you are!”

I felt my hoof burning for a moment. I felt the built up of power around the hoof as the magic reached towards the tip and... nothing happened. Nothing at all. There was no light extending into the sky. The burning sensation did not dissipate and I growled trying not to scream. The pain faded eventually, but it took a little time to do so. Even then there was still a slight sting there.

We both stared at my bracelet for a moment neither of us knowing what to do.

“That's... not good,” I said stupidly.

“Hi,” a voice interrupted us. Up walked Amethyst with four toys. So far, she was in the lead – assuming that Pinkie had somehow not won anything else.

We were glad for the distraction.

“Hello, Star. Four toys already?” Twilight looked at her loot.

“Uh-huh. You?”

“One for me!”

“And Forest?”

My expression spoke for itself.

“Don't worry. You'll get a prize eventually.”

My expression did not change.

“So, have you seen the others? I kinda lost them and it's boring playing games alone. I would join you, but I don't want to interrupt your date.”

Despite being a mature and fully grown stallion, I couldn't help but blush a little at that.

“Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity were here. They played that shooting game. You gonna give it a go?”

“I can't play that, Twi.” Amethyst used her eyes to gesture to her hoof in a cast.

Twilight blushed, “Sorry, Star. For some reason it slipped my mind.”

“Don't worry. If I were on a hot date with my stallion, I'd probably forget too.”

Twilight's face lit up.

Oh gawd! I wanted to kiss her! My expression wasn't lost on her as she blushed harder at my slightly 'riled' up gaze.

“Easy, boy.” Star put a hoof on my head, “Down. Down.”

I sat down on the ground.

“Good boy. Here, have a treat.” She put a piece of candy on my nose. “Stay... stay...”

That made Twilight laugh lightly, “Hey! He's my pet. Get your own!”

“Ooh. Touchy, touchy.” Amethyst giggled. “He's all yours, Twilight.”

With that, she walked, or rather, limped away.

Twilight focused her attention onto me with the candy still on my nose.

“Can I have the candy now?”

“Mm? You want it, huh? I guess you could have it,” she brandished an evil looking smile, “if you prove to me that you deserve it. Can you do that, Forest?”

“I could always try.”

“That's not good enough.”

“Then I will!”

“That's better. So... how will you prove to me that you deserve that candy?”

I stood up and walked towards her. Placing the candy gently on her head, she instinctively looked up to see what I was up to. As soon as she raised her head, I kissed her. Not the tiny little pecks and cute little lah-dee-dah kisses we've been exchanging all morning. I gave her a real kiss. The same kind of kiss she gave me when she knocked me down at the stadium after I had won the Race. That kind of kiss.

She tasted sweet. Like a flower. I wasn't sure what kind of flower, but I didn't care because as of right now this was my most favorite smell. I could breathe in this scent day in and day out, and honestly I knew that I'd never get sick of it.

As our lips parted, I held her close and smiled, “So... did I do-”

She pressed her lips into mine with the same ferocity that I had just done to her. I kissed her with my eyes closed and pulled her in closer with one hoof around the back of her head pulling her towards me as she held me tightly with both of hers around my body, her warmth pressed up against me.

I tried to inhale quietly as our delicious make-out session came to an end, but that failed as I gasped for breath panting hard at the lack of air – and the rising excitement as my body wanted her. I never had wanted anyone so much before and I looked at Twilight who stared right into my eyes.

Calm yourself. Calm down. Calm down...

“Now do I deserve it?” I asked stupidly.

She nodded once. She had not released me from her embrace, “You deserve it. What took you so long?”

“Pardon?”

“What took you so long? I've wanted you to kiss me like that for ages!” She reached above her head to take the candy from there, only to find that it had inadvertently vanished.

Our attention had been somewhat distracted. I looked around the ground and found it just behind her and reached for it. As I looked up I saw half of Ponyville grinning at us, and all around the photographers were going nuts.

How did we not notice that?

“Yeah!” some huge white pony shouted. “Now that's what I call a kiss!”

Twilight looked down at the ground. “Oh no...” she squeaked looking at me through her mane which hid her beautiful eyes.

“Come on, let's go,” I whispered pulling her along. Not that it mattered, everyone in Ponyville would know about how I just made-out with Twilight in the middle of the fair in front of the entire world to see. “Guess I didn't do good then, did I?”

“Hm?”

“I'm sorry for making our-”

Twilight looked at me, the red tinge to her face was still there and by Celestia was it cute. I cannot express it enough.

“I... I didn't mind,” she replied quietly.

I died on the inside from the sheer force of Twilight's demeanor. She was stupendously cute. I held her close to me and kissed her forehead.

“Twilight. There's something I want to tell you.”

“Yes?”

I gulped, “I... just want to say that I...”

“Yes?” she asked, leaning forwards slightly, her eyes wide open.

“That I... I lo-”

“Yes?”

“That I lo-”

“Hi you two! Saw you guys trying to eat each other a second ago. Talk about giving the town something to talk about for the next year. You ought to be a little more discreet about that. They're foals and young fillies here. The Elements have to set an example to the younger generations, and this is not the right sort of example. But dear me, talk about exciting an old lady.” She waved a hoof in front of her face for emphasis.

“Cyan!” I shouted in surprise. Then I hugged her.

The old mare giggled, “I'm glad I found you. I just wanted to congratulate you again. Saying it now makes it feel official.”

“Official?”

“You know what I mean. Congratulating you here in a place that's dedicated to your victory.”

Twilight smiled, “You mean our victory. The race was won by everyone in Ponyville. Even you helped, Cyan.”

“Maybe, but I feel that our racers deserve a little more of the praise, don't you?”

Twilight and Cyan shared a laugh at that.

“Ooh, ooh. Mommy, mommy, I want an autograph from him, mommy.” A little filly pointed right at me.

The mother looked at me, her eyes asking me if that was okay.

Of course it's okay! I wanted to shout. Instead, I nodded and flashed my best smile. I think that was more appropriate.

"What's your name?" I asked.

“E-E-E-Emerald S-S-Sea...”

“Now that's a very pretty name,” I replied, and reached into my saddlebag, only to find that I didn't have a marker. Where was that marker Twilight used to sign those autographs back in Canterlot? I thought I had kept it.

“You want something to write with?” Twilight asked.

I nodded, “If you've got something, it would really help.”

She smirked and walked over to a stand that sold random things and somehow managed to find and buy a writing utensil, “Here you go.”

“That was actually very resourceful, Twilight Sparkle.”

“No more kisses for you, Forest Fire. No matter how many times you flatter me.”

She saw right through me. The only response I could muster was a guilty smile on my face, to which she just winked. That naughty side to her was definitely a turn-on. Big time.

“There you go,” I said as I crossed the last 'T' in my name. My handwriting (mouthwriting?) was still horrible, and I could tell that the little filly didn't think much about it by the way she raised her cute little eyebrow. I couldn't help but laugh lightly. “Don't like how I write?

She shook her head from side to side as fast as she could.

“You better stay in school then.”

“I go to Luna's Magic School in Canterlot,” she confessed. “My mommy sends me there. I come here every vacation.”

“Oh? You're in a boarding school?”

“It's not boring!”

“Er... I meant you live at your school?”

Realization dawned on her tiny face, “Oh! Yes, I do.”

“You're so small...”

“Mommy says that it's so I can be a strong and smart Unicorn like...” the filly looked over to my date and blushed, “her.”

Twilight cooed at the little filly and hugged her.

“Don't you miss your parents? Don't you miss your mom and dad?”

“It's just my mommy and me. Mommy is always working, so she said it was better for me to go away to school. She says that while I'm away she will work and when I come visit she'll only work half the time.”

Curious. “What does mommy do?”

“Gee-aw-law-gee,” the filly said slowly. “It's the study of rocks!”

“I study everything from the movement of the ground to various rocks and minerals found in and around Equestria,” her mother replied. She was a dark gray colored Earth pony with blue streaks in her perfectly straight mane. On her face were a set of half-moon glasses and her Cutie Mark was a diamond surrounded by a circle with a handle. It took me a moment to realize that it was a magnifying glass. “Dr Savannah Quartz.”

She did have a British-like accent on her.

I shook her hoof, “Forest Fire. This here is-”

“Twilight Sparkle. There isn't a pony who doesn't know her. I'm surprised that someone like you managed to woo her.”

“Excuse me?” Twilight replied not amused in the slightest.

Quartz raised her hooves up in defense, “Please don't get me wrong. I am happy you found you're very own special somepony. It's just very unlikely that somepony like him, somepony that's unknown, has no affiliation with royalty, nor has been involved with the military would appeal to someone of your stature. You are, after all, the most sought after mare in all of Equestria. I just found it somewhat strange that you'd settle for an Earth pony like him, much less one whose only talent seems to only be able to run quickly.”

“First off I-”

Cyan put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, “It may sting a little, but it's something a lot of ponies are wondering as well. Don't get me wrong, I love Forest – as a friend, but for him to be able to woo somepony like you... it really does seem incredible.”

I felt so small.

Twilight looked over to me. “There's just something about him, okay?”

Dr. Quartz obviously didn't like that answer. I thought it was perfect.

“Your life, and I don't want to judge, but it does seem like a waste.” Dr. Quartz looked over at me and shrugged, “That's my opinion. Sorry.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You do know that I'm right here, right? Can't you ponies bad-mouth me behind my back instead? Like normal?” I pleaded.

Savannah looked at me for a moment. There was a slightly confused look on her face. “You... bear no hard feelings to what I said?”

“I wouldn't go that far, but I can respect your opinion though I don't like it. As a matter of fact I hate it. I wish you didn't think that. Stop thinking that!”

She paused for another moment before bursting out in laughter. “You... you are one funny pony,” she said barely able to breathe. She looked at Twilight and wiped a tear from her eye, “I... I don't know what you see in him, but... but if he makes you laugh like this... then he's definitely a keeper.”

I frowned, “I don't know if I should feel flattered or offended.”

She managed to regain her composure, “Anyway, thank you for your autograph. Say thank you, sweetheart.”

“Thank you,” Emerald said adorably.

“Any time,” I replied and ruffled her mane a little. She giggled and the two of them walked off together, the little filly showing off my John Hancock to her mother excitedly. “Well... that was interesting. Princess Luna has a magic school, huh?”

“Yeah. It's a wonder how she manages to run a school during the day and raise the moon every night.” Twilight looked at me, “Are you hurt by what she said about you?”

“Hurt? Yeah, a little. But at the same time I'm kinda happy.”

“Happy?”

“Sure.”

“How's that work?” She asked.

“You mean how I managed to have one of the most awesome ponies in Equstria fall for me?” I shrugged, “If I told you, you'd probably misuse that knowledge.”



“Well, at least I know I'm on the right track.”

We both had a light laugh. Still, what Dr. Quartz said actually did get to me. Why was Twilight Sparkle with a stallion like me? Surely it couldn't have been the fact that I won the race. No, Twilight's not into that kind of thing. Was she only interested in me because she was interested in what I wasn't?

“No, Forest. Stop thinking like that,” I muttered out loud.

“Something the matter?” Twilight inquired.

“Uh... no, just worried about what to tell Granny when I tell her that I haven't won a single prize when I see her later.”

“You want to try that game?”

I looked to where she was pointing and saw a bunch of ponies lobbing small hoops at a bunch of toys and stuff. This one looked to be quite easy. We walked over.

“I'll leave you two lovebirds here. Ta, ta.” Cyan walked off humming to herself.

Somehow, I had forgotten she was with us.

“See you around, Cyan!” I shouted after her. She paused, waved, and then continued.

“Forest, c'mere!” Twilight called.

I did so double time.

“It's one bit for three throws, two for six, three for ten.” The Earth pony at the stand shouted before his eyes looked at me. He noticed the mare standing next to me. “Howdy, Miss Sparkle, I see you're having a good time on your date.”



“You're going to play?”

Twilight handed him three bits.

“That's ten hoops for the cute couple. Here ya go. G'luck.”

“Thanks, Sour.”

“Please, Miss Sparkle, please don't call me that. Just Rasp fine.”

“Thanks, Rasp.” Twilight corrected herself.

I couldn't resist asking. “What's his name?”

“Sour Raspberries. He doesn't like being called 'Sour' very much.”

“I can imagine.”

Twilight took a hoop from my hoof and lobbed it at one of the toys. She missed completely. I burst out in laughter for some reason.

“This is a lot harder than it looks, okay? You try.”

I did so and threw my hoop. It did not just miss the toy I was aiming for, but I had somehow overthrown it and it landed somewhere behind stand. Twilight and Rasp laughed.

“Shut up, Sour.”

His laughter died in his throat.

The second attempt was a bit better, but the hoop bounced off the stand and over the back of it. Again, Sour burst out in laughter.

I was about to say something when Twilight gave me a look. It was the 'don't you dare' look, and it worked like a charm. I made a sad face as Twilight took another hoop from me and threw it at the stand. It landed perfectly, but it missed all the toys and prizes landing on an empty space in between them.

“Oh! So close! Quick, try again before you lose that feeling!” I said, handing her another hoop.

And just like that, Twilight won her first prize. A teeny stuffed rabbit. She looked at it and smiled, “Fluttershy would love this. It looks just like Angel.”

My mind we back to that day. When I found poor Fluttershy at the rabbit's grave, the anguish on her face still vivid to me even now. The way Rarity comforted her. The way Applejack was there...

“Forest!”

Twilight pushed me.

“Wha-? Oh, did I space out again?” I asked lowering my gaze.

“Yeah. You did. Again. This one was pretty bad.” Twilight pulled my face towards her, “Forest, I'm really concerned. I think we should go see a doctor right away.”

I looked around. The ponies that were playing the game had all but stopped and were looking at me. Sour was in the middle of handing a filly three hoops. I felt so confused and disoriented.

Sighing, I resigned myself to the inevitable, “Okay. But, only after I win at this game.”

“Forest...”

“Please, Twilight? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?”

She just looked at me.

“I'll do anything you want if you let me.”

“Anything?”

“Anything. Anything at all.”

Twilight smirked, “Okay. You're on. When you win, you said. What if you miss all of them?”

“Losing was never in this stallion's mind.”

“But if you lose, then what?”

“I dunno. You suggest something.”

“If you lose, you'll have to come with me and meet my parents.”

My mouth dropped. “W-w-why?”

“Why not? I want them to meet my coltfriend.”

“B-b-b-bu-bu-bu-b-b-but...”

Wasn't meeting parents supposed to be the next step in a relationship? I mean, meeting parents after dating usually meant that things were going very well. I wasn't ready for something like that, not that I didn't want to meet Twilight's parents. It was just that I wasn't ready.

Yeah, that's it. I wasn't ready. Plus... my future wasn't really...

“Forest!”

“Huh?”

l had zoned out again. This time Twilight did not stop her worried expression.

“I'm just kidding, jeez,” I lied.

“Don't scare me like that. That wasn't funny.”

If only she knew. “I'm sorry, Twi. It was in bad taste.”

“Yes it was. Now, do we have a deal or not? Or is meeting my parents really that bad?”

“I'm just shy, okay? But, fine, you've got a yourself a deal.”

I stood at the edge of the stand and lobbed a hoop over towards one of the easiest prizes. This time I had almost ringed it. I tried a few more times, but each time seemed to get further and further away from my target. I growled in frustration as I realized that I had two hoops left.

“Come on, Forest! Make them count,” Twilight patted my shoulder making me chuckle.

Missed.

“Aw, last one, Forest. You can do this, just keep your eye on the prize.”

Sighing, I just threw the hoop hopelessly without really aiming for anything. It hit the top of one of the toys and bounced off a pole before landing squarely on the top prize of the stand. I didn't move.

“D-d-did that just happen?” I asked.

Twilight cheered for me as the attendant took down a large white, black-spotted, bushy-tailed toy leopard. It was half our sizes.

“Good going, Forest! At least now I know how to make you win at something,” Twilight giggled.

“How?”

“Just threaten to introduce you to my parents.”

I laughed along with her nervously, unsure if she was joking or being serious.

“Now let's head on over to the doctor.”

“Wait, Twilight. On more game then we'll go. Just one,” I begged.

“No.”

“Please?”

“You promised!”

“I know, I know. It's just that I'm on a roll...”

“After one toy?”

“Um...”

“Fine. Let's find another stand, but that's it! After that we're going and that's final!” Twilight stomped her hoof on the ground to emphasize it.

Without questioning her authority, I followed along. We took in the sights and sounds of the fair around us. There were still a gaggle of photographers trailing us, but most of them had gone off by now. I noted that there were plenty of other things to do besides play these games. Although I had noticed them from before, I had not really taken note that there were rides here. Not small ones, but a huge roller-coaster and even a ferris wheel. Every so often there were food stalls, shopping stalls, drink stalls and other stalls. There was even a 'pony ride' place where filly's got to ride on Pegasi through the air. I took note that a couple of them had rainbow colored streaks through their manes.

It was kinda cute seeing all the wannabe Rainbows.

“What about that one?” Twilight asked coming to a halt.

“Which?”

She pointed to a bunch of ponies throwing tiny balls at some cups. They looked a lot like ping-pong or table-tennis balls. It looked easy. Things that looked easy tend to be hard as hell.

“Wanna try?” the attendant, a Pegasi mare, asked seeing the two of us looking at her stand.

We mozied on over.

“How much?”

“One bit for five balls. All you need to do is just keep on trying till you get one to land inside the cup. Each cup has a prize correlating to it so if you're good you can win five prizes.” The mare smiled, “Somepony just did that, as a matter of fact, not too long ago.”

“Was she pink with poofy hair?” I asked.

The Pegasus nodded, “Oh, you know her?”

“Good ol' Pinkie. I guess I ought to just give up at this point. Not like I'd be able to beat her now.”

“Really? Well then, let's go to the doctor right now,” Twilight replied.

“Well, how about I give it a shot anyway?”

She shook her head. “Predictable. You do know that by delaying it you're just making it worse, right?”

“Just this once, okay? Then we'll go.”

The bit was paid and the five balls were placed in front of us. Taking one while Twilight took another, we both threw the balls at two cups. Twilight's went into the cup, bounced up, off another cup, then back into the cup she was aiming for. Mine missed completely.

“And we have a winner!” the attendant announced, placing a tiny cow plush in front of Twilight.

“Wow! First attempt!” I exclaimed.

Twilight blushed, “It was luck.”

“Was it? You stole all my luck!” I turned towards her and grinned, “I'm going to take it back now.”

“Forest...” she warned, “don't you dare...”

I stood about two hoof steps away from her, “Then why'd you take all the luck?”

“I didn't take any-”

While she was pondering my statement, I had pounced at her. She squealed and turned to run but I was already rubbing her sides as she burst out in laughter. I knew she wouldn't teleport when I was this close to her, so I was safe. She screamed as I continued to tickle her tummy.

“S-s-stop!” she pleaded.

Reluctantly I stopped and let her go, although I couldn't help laugh at her expense.

“You're horrible! Horrible!” She shouted, before nuzzling my cheek. “I'll get you back for that.”

I hugged her, “I hope you do.”

“Um... I hate to interrupt a tender moment, but you've got three balls left to throw and there are other customers that would like to play.”

“S-sorry,” we apologized and resumed our spot at the stand.

Twilight was still giggling to herself as she stood next to me shaking her head. “Now I can't throw straight because of you.”

“You say that like it's a bad thing.”

As the third ball bounced off the back board and landed somewhere on the floor, I couldn't help but feel really useless. Why did Granny want me to help when Pinkie Pie seemed like the better choice? There had to be something more to it than that.

Twilight tossed the fourth ball that bounced into a cup, then back out again.

“Okay, last ball,” Twilight said picking it up. “You wanna try?”

I took it and looked at her, “Let's toss it together.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

I put the ball in her hoof, and stood next to her, “Together. One. Two. Three!”

The ball landed nowhere near the stand, which made the both of us crack up.

We took Twilight's prize and headed off towards...

“Twilight, wait. Isn't this the wrong way? Isn't the hospital in the other direction?”

“We're not going to the hospital, Forest. We're going to the doctor. At these events there's always a doctor on duty in case somepony gets hurt.”

Made sense. I followed along quietly.

“Are you mad at me?” she suddenly asked.

That took me by surprise. “Mad? What for?”

“For making you do something you don't want to do.”

I shook my head, “What? Why would I be mad about something like that? You're worried about me! I should be the one asking you if you're mad at me for delaying it.”

“I am.”

“Oh. I'm really sorry, Twilight. You're right. I shouldn't have waited this long to see a doctor. I've been selfish. I should've respected your feelings more.”

“That's okay, Forest. I'm still having a lot of fun.”

Eventually we found the tent in question. A white tent with a red cross on top. We made our way inside and saw a few other ponies sitting there. It looked just like a normal waiting room.

“Well, well, well. If it isn't the famous Forest Fire.”

“Hi Nurse Redheart.”

“I take it that you've hurt yourself again?”

This time Twilight spoke for me. “No, no. We need to see the doctor. Forest's been acting really weird and I'm worried.”

“How weird?”

She explained my long periods of silence and how I would stand there spaced out for short periods of time that progressively got longer and longer.

“Sounds like Sleeping Sickness to me.”

“Sleeping Sickness?” we both asked at the same time.

“You've never heard about Sleeping Sickness?” Redheart asked Twilight.

“No... I've only read a few medical books, so I'm not familiar with that one.”

Redheart nodded, “Well-”

“Oh god I'm going to die!” I shouted before I could shut myself up. I've heard of Sleeping Sickness back on Earth. I remembered that it was serious, even fatal. Some sort of disease that's spread through bug bites that leads to death over a period of time.

“Um... no.” Redheart said bluntly, “Sleeping Sickness is a disease where your body wants to sleep. It's highly contagious, but harmless.”

“It is?” I asked, relief flooding ever cell in my body.

Redheart nodded, “But what made you think that it's dangerous?”

“It sounds dangerous,” I replied a little stupidly. “Plus, I've heard it was... so...”

“You've heard wrong. Sleeping Sickness makes you sleep. Your body is naturally fighting against the infection by making you sleep. Although it is highly contagious, the disease usually goes away in a couple days. Just don't do anything dangerous while you're sick. I can do a quick test to see if you'd like.”

Both the girls looked at me.

I sighed, “Yes please.”

The test was simple. Red took something, rubbed it in my mouth, and then took it to another room. There she must have done something, because she came out about ten minutes later and said, “Yes, you've got Sleeping Sickness.”

“So... I just need to rest?”

“That, and stay out of trouble.”

Once again the two mares stared at me.

I sighed, again. “I'll try to stay out of trouble.”

That seemed to appease the two.

“One thing. We've been walking around the fair all day! Who knows how many ponies he's infected?” Twilight looked at me, “See? We should have come to the doctor sooner!”

“I wouldn't worry about it,” Redheart replied. “It doesn't just happen like that. You feel tired, you're going to naturally find somewhere to rest. When you do, you sleep it off. The end. Sometimes when you fight it, you can get exhausted. Pegasi can sometimes find themselves crashing into the ground if they don't stop to take a quick rest.”

“But Forest was standing in the middle of the street and-”

“Some cases when the infected individual is deep in thought they might take cat-naps. I've seen patients that sleep with their eyes wide open mumbling to themselves. It's not uncommon. It's not dangerous.”

The conclusion in my mind was that, despite the similar names, Sleeping Sickness on Equestria wasn't as dangerous as the version on Earth. At least Twilight no longer needed to worry about me.

“So, he's fine?”

“Yes, Twilight. He's fine. For the last time: don't worry. He should be back to his normal self soon enough. How long have you had it?” Redheard asked.

“I don't know. I don't remember... oh. Oh wait. Yes I do. When I went to jail, there was this pony there. He seemed really, really tired. After we were released, he fell asleep on a park bench almost instantly.”

“Sounds like you caught it from him.”

Made sense.

“The next time you feel sleepy, and this is for you too, Twilight, just let it happen. You'll fall asleep for a few hours and when you wake up you'll be as good as new.”

“Okay, nurse. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you, Red.” I grinned, “Aren't you glad that I'm not here to get patched up?”

“The day's still young, Forest. I'm not going to get my hopes up.”

I just made a sad face.

“You fillies go on now. I've got to see other patients.” She gave Twilight a nod and a knowing wink before taking a colt who was bleeding from the nose behind a curtain.

“Aren't you glad we did this?”

“Yes. Twilight Sparkle, please forgive this fool.”

“I already did, right? Now, let's win us some toys! Woo!”

“Wow. Where'd that come from?” I couldn't help but laugh.

Twilight was certainly a lot happier. She blushed, “Now that I know you're really fine, I can be completely relaxed. Let's go for a ride instead. We can always play more games later.”

“You know what? That sounds like a lot of fun...”