//------------------------------// // [01] Summer!! // Story: The Expected, Unexpected Twist // by PuckDaFolice //------------------------------// Summer!! "Alright! It's finally time to kick back and relax!" a boy with an onyx-colored hair, dived right at his bed. As he buried himself underneath the covers of his bed, he found himself practically melting and losing focus on his surroundings. Yes, his bed is that comfortable, also there's this breeze he kept on feeling, perhaps it helped in exaggerating his rest. As the boy began his descent to sleep, a sound pierced the silence. "LANCE! LANCE? ARE YOU THERE? GET DOWN HERE!" a voice boomed from downstairs, causing the boy (or Lance as he is known) to flinch. He weighed his options, then decided it would be better to just go down than be barraged by that annoying voice again. As Lance flew off the covers, he decided to back-flip from his bed because he had nothing better to do...don't look at me like that! He's just really bored, I cannot emphasize it enough. As he jumped off the edge of his bed, he suddenly realized that someone had recently installed a Ceiling Fan in his room. "Oh shit" was the only thought he could muster as he propelled himself towards the spinning wood chunks of doom. A crashing sound could be heard from upstairs, followed by a loud "I'm OK!". "What the--..." a woman tilted her head at the sudden noise. "That Lance..." she muttered, placing her face on the palm of her hand. She sighed as she decided to check up on the mentioned boy. Lance was sprawled on the floor, beneath a pile of wood and an electronic motor. His appendages were twisted in an odd manner, if anyone were to observed him, they'd say he broke his bones. Fortunately, he didn't, he's just a contortionist at heart. Lance groaned, not because he was in pain, but because the broken fan was causing his body to itch. As he bent his body one more time to reach his itchy heel, the door swung open, revealing a very displeased woman. "Lance..." she breathed, Lance gulped as he turned his head towards the voice. As he faced the furious expression on the woman's face, he gulped again "Hiya mom, hehe..." ~Meanwhile in a far-away place I'm sure all of you are familiar with...~ "Sister..." a voice rang in the room. "...Dear sister..." it repeated "I'm sure you are aware of the impending 'disaster' that might befall Canterlot--no--whole Equestria? If so what actions shall we take? We should take all precautions--SISTER! Are you even listening?!". The voice was coming from a tall, bluish Pony. The pony sports both wings and a horn, and has a flowing dark blue mane with hints of 'sparkling'. She was talking to (or at least trying to talk to) her supposed sister. A figure directly opposite her. Her sister is also opposite her in other ways. Instead of having a dark coat, her sister is covered in a pearly white coat, as well as being noticeably larger. Her sister's mane also has a more vibrant appearance, it contains multiple light colors as it sways in the air on its own. "Of course I'm listening, dear Luna." the sister spoke in a soothing tone, eyes fixed on Luna. "Liar! You were playing with your mane again Tia!" Luna spat. "Excuse me Luna, I'm not 'playing with my mane', I'm --adjusting it, is all! A princess does have to look presentable, correct?" the larger sister shot back while ruffling her mane with one of her front hooves. Luna stared at her sister as she applied some sort of cream to her smooth mane, when she suddenly burst into giggles. Luna's sister tilted her head at the giggling Alicorn. "Oh--oh--hehehe--Celestia!--hehe--you should--you should see your mane!--hahaha! Your MANE!" Luna chortled. Celestia paused, before reaching up her mane once more. Celestia let out a sharp gasp as she realized what her sister had done. "Lu-Luna--did you really--...h-how could you?!" Luna stopped laughing and looked at a teary-eyed Celestia. A teary-eyed, bald Celestia. A teary-eyed, bald, and angry Celestia. Luna immediately shuddered "Uh-oh, this does not bode well...". Luna looked at Celestia's bare head and laughed again "No! No! Thi-haha-this situation is totally w-worth T-Tia's disapproval--hahaha!" ~Back to Earth~ "I can't believe mom is making me buy another ceiling fan...with my own money!" Lance sighed as he strode out of the front door of his house, fetching his brown jacket on the way. It was almost night, shadows were dancing around the pavement already, as Lance jogged to the Thrift shop. "If I'm gonna buy something that expensive, I might as well try to have some money left to survive summer..." he mumbled to no one in particular. Litter was scattered everywhere on the street, mainly because Lance lived in a sub-urban area. He never did like it there, it was too noisy and stinky, too...sub-urban. He preferred the peace and quiet of villages, where he can walk on the street without fear of being abducted, beat-up murdered, ra--you get the drill. Anyway, as Lance neared the Thrift shop, he felt a disturbing presence. The feeling where you walk in a dark hallway all alone and your brain decides it's a fun time to imagine all sorts of creatures allegedly lurking in the dark. Creatures wanting to know what flavor you are. Creatu--"Enough!" Lance whispered harshly, shaking his head. Lance collected his drifting mind and marched straight into the shop, only to be stopped by a very transparent glass door. Lance huffed as he picked himself up from the cold ground "Dammit..." he cursed. "Get it together Lance..." Lance turned his head to where the door was. It was very visible in fact, there was even a prominent "OPEN" sign hung on it. Lance just shook his head and proceeded to push on the door. As Lance put his foot in the cramped room, a blast of cold, fresh air met his face. Lance winced at the sudden attack of wind, then opened his eyes, not even realizing he closed them in the first place. His eyes explored the room, looking for anything that could have cause such a cold assault. After a few scans of the crowded room, Lance decided that he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Recollecting his thoughts, Lance trudged over what appears to be the counter of the shop. He hit the bell placed near the unattended counter. *ding!* Lance took one more look at the room, this time with a different target in mind. *ding!* Lance hit the bell once more as he found what he was looking for. *ding!* An antique looking ceiling fan, situated between a musty looking crate and a karaoke machine. Lance did a quick view on the machine then declared to himself "Not too shabby". "Quite" a frail voice spoke up. Lance froze, and slowly turned his head to the general direction of the voice...the counter. "Wait, what?" Lance blinked, trying to figure out if the counter had really spoken to him. After a few silent seconds passed, Lance managed to speak out "H-Hello?" "Down here, sonny" the voice repeated in a slightly agitated tone. Lance looked down to see a midget peering at him, a thin smile on the midget's face. "What can I get for you?" the midget waved his hand around the room, demonstrating the piles of stuff, waiting to be sold. "Uh," Lance started "yeah, I guess that fan would be nice." he said, pointing to the mentioned machinery. The midget's face formed a queer smile. "You have...good taste, sir" he rubbed his tiny hands in anticipation. The midget waddled over to the fan and picked it up. As he bent over to grab the fan, Lance swore that the midget looked like a ball when bending.