//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten // Story: A Turn of Events // by Shadow_Fire //------------------------------// The next day, at Sugercube Corner… “Thanks for bringing us here, Pinkie.” “No problemo, Nick! So what brings you two into town today?” “We’re just going to Twilight’s so we can send some letters to Luna.” “How come?” “You know, trying to set up visits and such. Right Justin?” “…*SNORE*” “Justin!” “AHHHGH! I’m awake, I swear!” Nick facepalmed. Justin had been drifting in and out of sleep since he showed up at Fluttershy’s to pick him up. Pinkie was sitting behind the counter, seemingly thinking about something. “Dude, are you sure you’re okay? You keep falling asleep on me, and I’m starting to get worried.” “*YAWN* Yeah, I’m fine. Applejack just woke me up early so I could help in the orchard for a bit before I left.” “How early?” Justin scratched his head in thought. “I think it was like, four in the morning.” Nick’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Four in the morning?!?” Justin yawned again. “Yeah. I started complaining, but after five hours of carrying heavy buckets of apples into the barn, you tend to stop.” He yawned once more as Nick turned to Pinkie. “Do you have anything to wake him up? Like some coffee? *YAWN* On second thought, could I have one too?” Pinkie grinned and hopped into the kitchen. “Sure thing! You two just sit right there and your auntie Pinkie will fix everything.” She giggled as she heard Nick ask Justin “Aren’t we older than her?” She continued to go further into the kitchen to start making the coffee. As it was getting ready she started pulling out some additives. Milk, cream, sugar, you know. Then, she suddenly got extremely serious. She looked around her to make sure nobody was looking, and then moved to a locked cabinet. Pulling a key out of her poofy pink mane, she unlocked it and pulled out a container labeled “Pinkie Sugar”. Moving over to the now finished coffee, she- “Hey mister author?” Pinkie! What have I told you about breaking the fourth wall! “That…you’d give me a cupcake if I stopped?” *SIGH* What is it? “How much of this do I give them?” You already know how much. “But they’re humans! Do I have to give them more or less than I had?” You figure it out. And please, keep the fourth wall breaking to a minimum. “Okie dokie loki! You’re the boss Shadow_Fire!” Wonderful. Now get back to the story. “You got it!” Pinkie walked over and poured the coffee into two large mugs. She added three tablespoons of Pinkie Sugar into each, and then walked out into the dining area. Justin and Nick both sleepily looked up as she entered. Nick yawned and asked “Who were you talking to?” She giggled and nonchalantly waved her hoof. “Nopony special, just the author.” Nick and Justin looked at each other in confusion as Pinkie set the coffee in front of them. Before they took a drink, Pinkie said “Now if you guys want it to work, you need to drink it ALL, okay?” They both nodded their heads and drained the cups. After a few seconds, they both perked up. Justin shot up out of his chair. “WOW! What the heck was in that? I’ve never been woken up so quickly in all my life! Well, except maybe this morningwhenApplejackburstintomyroomandyelled”RISEANDSHINE!”andIstartedfreakingoutbecausenopony’severwokenmeuplikethatbefore!Ohman,didIjustsaynopony?Whattheheckisgoingon?” Nick’s jaw dropped as he looked at his friend in disbelief. Looking at Pinkie, he asked “Did you put something in our coffee?” “Why do you ask?” Nick reached behind him and pulled out a small rubber ducky. “Rubber duck.” Pinkie giggled again. “Oh, good. I was starting to think it didn’t work,andthenI’dbealllike’Ohno,Iwastedmyspecialsugar!’butitdidwork,soit’sallgood!” Justin looked over at Nick. “Dude?” “Yeah?” “I actually followed all of that.” “Me too.” Pinkie giggled again. “Well that’s because I gave you my special sugar! It makes you as hyper as I am, with almost no side effects!” “ALMOST none?” “Never mind that! You two have things to do today, so get going!” With that, she shoved them out the door and into the street. Shrugging, they started walking off in the direction they were told where the library was. Unbeknownst to them but knownst to us, a small shrubbery with minty green hooves was following them down the street. Every time they stopped to look at something, a scribbling sound could be heard emanating from it. After a few more minutes of walking, they turned around and stared at it. Nodding to each other, they slowly approached it. Suddenly, two golden eyes appeared within its depths, and the two humans took off running. Turning back to look, they saw Lyra jump out and start running after them, causing them to turn their run into a sprint. And I don’t mean any old sprint; I mean a full out Olympic Kenyan sprint. The one that kicks up an almost cartoonish cloud of dust. Ducking into an ally, they watched Lyra continue to sprint by. Sighing in relief, they started walking again. They didn’t get far before Justin yelled “STOP!” Confused, Nick stopped and looked back at him. “What is it?” Walking forward, he bent down and broke a tripwire, causing a flurry of nets to fly across the ally way. Jaw dropped, Nick asked “How did you see that?” “I don’t know, but I blame that coffee Pinkie gave us. I thought that Bon Bon mare was gonna take all of Lyra’s nets away?” Nick shrugged. “I guess she had more.” Laughing, the two started walking again, only to get trapped in the one net laying in plain sight. As they struggled, they heard hoof steps. Fearing Lyra, they looked over at their “guest”. However, the pony who stepped into view was a unicorn colt they had never seen before. He had a black coat with a shaggy white mane, and sported a small equally white vest. There was a watch on his left wrist, and his cutie mark appeared to be an old time antique scale, like you used to see in general stores. He simply sat there and stared at them in confusion. Justin stopped struggling and looked over at him again. “Hey kid, do you think you could help us out?” Putting a hoof to his chin, the child responded “Well that depends. Are you those humans everypony is talking about?” They both nodded. “And did Lyra set this up?” More nods. “Then, yes, yes I can.” Producing a small knife from one of the pockets on his vest, he got to work. After he cut them down, Justin shook his hoof and introduced himself. “I’m Justin, and this is my friend Nick. You are?” “Capitalist Steel. You guys might want to leave before Lyra shows up again.” “Yeah. Hey, do you mind if we come back here to talk later, after our errands?” “I don’t see why not.” “Great! Well, see you later. Oh, wait! Could you direct us to the library?” Smiling, Capitalist responded “Sure thing.” Seventeen minutes later… “And that is why we took so long to get here.” Twilight facehoofed. “That’s why we told you to never come to town alone. Now come here, Celestia sent in your citizenship papers, and you need to fill them out.” Following her into the main room, they both took a seat as Twilight levitated two sheets of paper in front of her. “Ok Nick, yours is first. Question one, how old are you?” “Twenty-four.” “Question two, how tall are you?” “Six foot three.” “Numbers three and four, mane-err, hair and eye color.” “Light brown and hazel.” “Gender?” “Uh, male.” “Have you committed any crimes?” “No I haven’t.” “Alright, you’re done.” “That was fast.” “These types of things always are. Your turn Justin.” Cracking his fingers, Justin sat up and grinned. “Sure thing.” “Do I need to repeat the questions?” “Only the last one. The rest are twenty-four, five foot eleven, dirty blonde and brown, and male.” “Okay. The last one was have you committed any crimes.” “Nnope.” Twilight smiled. “You’ve been hanging around Big Mac, haven’t you?” “Maybe.” She giggled. “Well don’t worry, I’ll send your letter to Luna later tonight when she gets up to raise the moon. In the meantime, you should check back in with Fluttershy and Applejack. See you later!” As she walked out of the room, Nick and Justin looked out the window and saw Lyra trying to hide behind a bench with a notepad and a safari hat. Sighing, Justin muttered “This is gonna be a long day…” A/N----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the next one! And thanks to bladeofthemad for the character Capitalist Steel, who WILL be showing up later. Anyways, comment, favorite, you know the drill. And don't forget to thumb up either! OH COME ON!