//------------------------------//
// Cake Walk 
// Story: Eclipse: Poets and Pests 
// by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof 
//------------------------------//

	Cup Cake -- known to most as Mrs. Cake -- laid in bed, propped up against a pile of pillows.  She held a book in her hooves, reading from it aloud.

"'I will do anything to prove my love for you,' the young stallion proclaimed.  I will face down Diamond Dogs to find the biggest diamond any pony has ever seen.  I will travel through the deserts of Saddle Arabia and bring back the best and rarest spices.  I will go to the Griffon Kingdom and find the finest thundersteel.'

"What would I possibly want with thundersteel?' Oak Purity asked, giving a shake of her head."

Mrs. Cake stopped as she felt a kick.  Smiling, she set the book aside and placed a hoof onto her stomach, waiting to see if she could feel it again.

After the events that happened during Winter Wrap-up, there had been some complications with the pregnancy.  The doctor said that the foals (foals!  She was having two of them) were fine, but she would need to try to keep relaxed and avoid as much stress as possible.

Easier said than done.

It was a little better now that Sugarcube Corner had been repaired enough for them to move back.   Granted, it would still take some getting used to since it was not exactly the same, but it was still home.  Plus, as much as she loved her sister and brother-in-law, she was grateful to no longer be using their guest room.  Once the smell of fresh paint had faded and the fresh stock of supplies arrive, they could begin baking again.  The familiarity of working in the kitchen -- even if she had to limit herself and rest often -- and the aroma of baked sweets would really make the place feel like home again.

A loud thump echoed from downstairs, followed by the sound of her husband shouting.

"Get away from there!  That is not for you.  You... you... thing!"

"Carrot?" she called out.  "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, sweet cream," her husband called back.  "Just stay where you are.  I'll be up with --" there was a loud metallic clang of something being slammed against something else "-- our lunch in just a minute."

For her part, Cup Cake was skeptical, but chose to let her husband deal with it until he said otherwise.





As she was about to return to her reading, a faint sound reached Mrs. Cake's ears.  The sound made her pause, listening a moment longer.  Sure enough, there was music, and it was getting louder.

Setting the book aside, she carefully climbed out of bed and onto her hooves.  She continued to listen, walking around the room to see if she could figure out the direction it was coming from.  Eventually, she made her way toward the window.  Pushing it open, she stuck her head out and looked along the street.

Soon, a group of ponies were walking past.  Mrs. Cake recognized the pony in front as Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle.  The unicorn marched -- quite literally -- down the street, her steps matching the beat.  Immediately behind her was a group of ponies playing instruments.  After that came a group that was being pulled along on some sort of platform, almost like a float.  Mrs. Cake could guess why, based on the size of some of the instruments and how some of the ponies were positioned to play.

"Honey bun?" her husband called out from the doorway.  "Is something wrong?"

"No, sugar drop," Mrs. Cake replied.  "It just seems that there's a parade going right past us."

"A parade?"  Curious, Mr. Cake set down the covered tray he carried and walked over to the window with his wife.  The two watched as the ponies walked past their shop, playing a song as they went.

Then came the insects.  Not far behind the ponies was a massive group of what looked like a bunch of balls with wings attached to them, of all sorts of different colors.  They bounced up and down in the air with the music, following after the ponies.  As the couple watched, more of the creatures joined the rest.

After watching the group of musical ponies move down the road -- and who knows how many of those creatures -- the couple turned and looked at each other.  After sharing a mutual shrug, the pair turned from the window and went to enjoy their lunch.

As soon as Mr. Cake lifted the lid, four of the little round insects flew out.  The bolted up, the just sort of stopped.  Turning, they started to bounce along with the music as they flew out the window, joining the others that were still passing.

The couple looked down at the tray, devoid of even crumbs of food.

"Why don't we go have lunch at the cafe?" Mrs. Cake suggested.

"Yeah," Mr. Cake agreed, looking rather disappointed.


*****


The train pulled into the Ponyville station, letting out a hiss as it came to a stop.  Three figures disembarked, two of which were ponies.

Fluttershy smiled as she stepped off the train and looked at Ponyville.  Admittedly, she did have a tendency to smile (or at least try to) most of the time, but it felt a little more relaxed and real.  It was nice to be back in Ponyville.  The citizenry seemed friendlier and politer than most other places.  Fluttershy also felt a little more attached to the place after all that had happened.  It really felt like a place to settle down and call home.

Which is exactly what she and her husband were planning to do.

Stepping off the platform, Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  Her wings stretched out as she felt the warmth of the spring sun against her bright yellow coat.

"Well Ponyville is still here," Iron Will said from beside her.  "Looks like it wasn't completely destroyed while we were gone."

"That's good to know," Fluttershy replied, turning to grin up at the minotaur.  "It would be very awkward to be buying a new home in a town that no longer exist."

"I told you everything was fine," Iron Will stated.

"I don't know if I would go that far."  Fluttershy turned to him, smirking.  "At least, not until we talk to our friends and find out what we missed."

After all their years together, Iron Will knew his wife pretty well.  She may have been trying to make light and joke about it, but he knew that Fluttershy was actually worried about her friends.

"Just because a couple of unusual events have happened recently doesn't mean something is going to every week," he said gently, placing a hand between her wings to rub gently.  "Why, I bet that absolutely nothing unusual has happened while we were gone."

"The usual?" Fluttershy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"You're on."

The two gave a nod and went to collect their luggage. As they headed toward the edge of the platform and street, the sound of music began to reach them.  Iron Will and Fluttershy both shifted, looking to find the source of the sound.

"Is that a parade?" Iron Will asked, looking at the approaching forms coming up the road toward them.

"Looks like one," Fluttershy answered.  "I guess we came just in time to watch."  She set her bag aside and sat down.  After giving a shrug, Iron Will joined her, letting his legs dangle off the platform.  As he got comfortable, his wife moved to lean against him, grinning gently.  The two shared a quick kiss before watching the approaching parade.

Soon, a familiar purple pony parade marched right in front of them.

"Hi, Twilight," Fluttershy called out, waving a hoof.

"Hello, Fluttershy," Twilight stated, keeping her head and eyes forward.  "Iron Will.  I can't really stop and talk at the moment.  We're in the middle of dealing with an infestation."

"Infestation?" Iron Will repeated, eyes going wide.  "What kind of infestation can be stopped by a parade.  That just seems odd."

"Some would even say 'unusual,'" Fluttershy said from his side, and Iron Will could hear the smirk in her voice.  Iron Will let out a snort, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to look away from her, watching the parade instead.

"I still stand by my earlier statement," he huffed, getting a giggle in reply.


*****


Sweet Apple Acres was currently under a Code V, which was basically based on Granny Smith shouting about "dadburn no good apple stealing varmints."  When the alarm was sounded for a Code V ("Varmints!  We've got varmints!  Protect the orchard!"), all ponies that lived and worked on the farm were expected to drop what they were doing (not literally as had been pointed out after an incident that resulted in a barn fire) and prepare to protect the apple trees from the threat.  And while Granny Smith may not have known exactly what the thing was called, "I know a no good varmint when I see it."

"Get away from those apple trees!" Applejack shouted.  Or tried to.  It was rather difficult to shout clearly while holding a net handle between her teeth.

Rearing up on her hind legs, Applejack swung her net as she dropped back down.  A whoop of excitement escaped the orange mare as she managed to catch three of the creatures.  It was hard to stop the grin, but she could not help but prance a little as she brought the captured little pests to the box they were currently being stored in.

"Good work, Applejack," Granny Smith said with smile.  "Glad to see you haven't lost that skill."

Applejack felt a slight twitch at her grandmother's words.  It was intended as real praise and a compliment.  Granny Smith was proud of everything Applejack had done, and she knew that.  All the same, in light of what happened with her sister, and everything about the farm she realized she missed (like the old tree house), that statement made her feel guilty.  Admittedly, it was more her own fault than her family's.  After coming back, she was realizing how much she had missed them.

"For crying out loud, Caramel!" Granny Smith bellowed, stomping a hoof.  "You're supposed to be a Ranger trained to deal with all sorts of critters.  You should be doing a whole hay of a lot better with a few apple stealing pipsqueaks."

"I'm trying," Caramel grunted back around his own net.  "This wasn't exactly something we trained for."

Which was really a surprise now that he thought about it.  Under Lieutenant Sparkle, they had been training for all sorts of scenarios, no matter how unlikely they seemed (seriously, what were the chances of a volcano erupting near Ponyville?), and matters had become even more extreme and unusual after recent events (although it was impressive that he now had a plan if he should be in danger of a lightning strike), so it would make sense that there was some eventuality for an infestation.

For a moment, Caramel wondered if he would hear when Twilight's head exploded at the realization there was something she had not actually planned for.

With a shake of his head, Caramel pushed the idle thoughts aside and tried to focus back onto what he was supposed to be dealing with at the moment.  There were still creatures trying to get at the harvest to deal with.  Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to mimic the actions he saw Applejack used to catch them.  Caramel reared up on his hind legs and swung the net as he came back down on all fours.

There was a vibration along the handle as something caught in the net.

"I did it!" Caramel shouted, dropping the net.  "I did it.  I caught them."

"Enope."

The deep resonant bass that voiced that single word caused Caramel to jump slightly, opening his eyes.  Standing in front of him was a very large red coated stallion, with the net covering his head and neck down to the yoke.  The ensnared stallion stood staring passively, but Caramel knew him well enough to catch the faint indication of irritation.

"Big Mac," Caramel yelped.  "I'm so sorry.  I didn't mean for that to happen.  I really thought I--"

"Just get this off me," Big Macintosh said in his low steady voice as he cut off Caramel's rambling start.

"Right.  Right.  Sorry."  Taking a hold of the net handle once more, Caramel lifted it to free Big Macintosh.  Macintosh let out a snort and picked his own net back up.  Without a word, he moved to a slightly different part of the orchard and tried to catch more of the creatures.

Mentally, Caramel kicked himself.  How could he do something so stupid as that?  He was a ranger, for crying out loud.  He was getting married soon.  He should have grown out of doing stuff like this by now.  Granted it had been a while -- which should be a sign of progress -- but it sure did not feel like it at the moment.

Stop it, he told himself, taking a deep breath.  Remember what Fiddle told you.  "Acknowledge, accept, move on.  Everypony makes mistakes.  It's best to learn from them and try not to repeat them, but don't let it keep you from trying."  He would have to tell Fiddlesticks about it later.  She would probably get a laugh out of the fact he caught her cousin in a net.  She did have a tendency to laugh when Caramel told her about what happened, but it was never in such a way as it felt like he was being mocked or teased.

His mind began to wonder what it was she was doing right now.  Apple Bloom and her friends seemed to think it was pretty important that Fiddlesticks show up at the cafe as soon as she could with her fiddle.  What could possibly be going on that could be seen as a music related emergency?

For a moment, Caramel thought it must have been something major, because he swore he could hear music.

Wait... he did hear music.  Not just one single instrument playing either.  It sounded like an entire ensemble was heading right for Sweet Apple Acres.

Setting the net aside, Caramel headed toward the road to see what in Equestria was going on.  He was quickly joined by Big Macintosh and Applejack, and not so quickly jointed by Granny Smith.  As the music continued, others came to the fences as well: including Winona, several of the cows, and -- surprisingly -- some of the creatures that they had not caught yet.

As they watched, the group began to along the road in front of the farm.  Musicians of all types from all over Ponyville were there, playing with all their might and passion.  With two exceptions.  One was Lieutenant Sparkle, who led the parade with the same look of grim determination she used whenever she tackled an objective.  The other was Vinyl Scratch, who seemed to be fiddling with wires and leading a massive set of speakers with wheels.

One particular performing pony drew all of Caramel's attention as soon as she came into sight.  A creamy yellow mare with dark blue mane stood on one of the platforms.  Her eyes were closed tight as she concentrated on playing her music.  Her shirt shifted and swayed with the rhythm as she slid her bow along the strings of her fiddle with practiced ease.

It was a little surprising to hear her playing it.  Caramel had never really put much thought into his fiance's musical talents.  He had heard her play and knew she was good.  It was just that he was so used to hearing her play in her country and western style, it never actually occurred to Caramel to imagine Fiddlesticks playing any other type.  Now that he heard it, Caramel imagined that she could have become as well known at classical as her cousin.

Something... bounced seemed the best choice of words for it.  Yes.  Something bounced past his head, bobbing up and down in mid-air as it moved forward.  It seemed to be moving in time to the music.  Then came another.  Then another.  Soon a line of those strange little bugs were bouncing right past them, leaving the orchard and farm as they headed to follow the music.

"What...in..." Applejack started, staring at the scene in disbelief.  "How... what..."  She gave a shake of her head.  "Does anypony know what is going on?"

Caramel's ears perked up as he saw the lines of creatures following the musicians, something in his mind seeming to fall in place.

"I think I know enough."  Turning away from the fence, he started running across the farm.

"Where are you going?"  Granny Smith called out.

"To open the box," Caramel shouted back as he kept running.

For a moment, the three members of the Apple family all stood there, waiting to see which of them would die of shock first.


*****


Twilight had never been so glad to see The Everfree Forest.  If she saw the forest, that meant they were almost to the forest, which in turn meant that they were almost done with this entire crazy plan.

Granted, it was effective, but she still could not deny that it seemed incredibly outrageous.  Even if there was some sound scientific plausibility to it (which Twilight made a mental note to talk to Dewdrop about any possible books about for later research purposes), it was still hard for her to comprehend that they were essentially fighting an invasion of parthenogenetic insects -- or insect-like creatures that were more likely a minor type of fae -- by invoking an involuntary auditory stimuli response.

More importantly, she would be done with leading this parade.  Despite what others would believe, Twilight was quite certain that this was not the same as having the rangers parade march in formation.  Plus, she would be grateful for getting away from the music.  It was a nice enough song, and she had enjoyed it at first.  After listening to it for Celestia knows how many hours while walking all around and through Ponyville, it had given her a throbbing headache.  Especially this one spot just above her eye, it felt like it was going to explode.

As for the musicians, they deserved some sort of award.  Not only had they been playing non-stop since the entire thing started, but some of them had to maintain awkward positioning, hold a heavy instrument a specific way (and Twilight knew that holding up something that was even light could be straining after an extended amount of time), or possibly both.   Whomever started the stereotype that musicians tended not to be athletic was clearly mistaken.  She was pretty sure that even her brother -- captain of The Royal Guard -- would feel the strain of standing on his hind legs with forelegs extended to hold two or more pounds for more than an hour.

Now they were in the home stretch.  Not only could she see The Everfree coming closer, but she could see the ranger station as well.  As she got closer, she caught sight of movement around the station, and felt a smile tug at the edges of her mouth.  Word had reached the station ahead of them -- as she expected -- and everything was being set up.

"Alright everypony," Twilight shouted out.  "Just a few more minutes, and we'll be at the edge of the forest.  Then we just need to keep the song going..."

She turned to look behind her, trying to figure out how long it would take to lure all of the parasprites into the forest.  Unfortunately, she could not see all of them.  Without knowing the full population they have captured and their speed of travel (if constant), Twilight could not accurately calculate how long it would take to have them all enter The Everfree before the music could end.

"...until all the parasprites have been cleared," she finished instead.  "Once that's done, we can all rest and enjoy some refreshments."

"Wooh!" cried one of the few ponies that could talk without disturbing the music, throwing her front hooves over her head.  Twilight shook her head, saying nothing.

After an additional seven minutes, Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle reached the station.  With a hard right, she stepped off the path she had been following and moved aside.  The first musician immediately behind her turned in the opposite direction, stepping to the left side.  The next followed Twilight, and the one after the opposite.  One by one it continued, the musicians moving to one side of the path or the other until they had all moved off.

Then came the moment of truth.  The group continued to play, watching and waiting to see whether it would work or not.

The parasprites kept going straight forward.  They did not turn left or right, nor did they stop.  Instead they just kept bouncing forward, moving at the set, steady rhythm of the music as they headed into the forest.

Twilight wanted to let out a deep sigh and sag in relief.  Unfortunately, that was not yet an option.  First, she could not relax until all of the parasprites had evacuated the town.  Second, there were subordinates about, and Twilight felt it would be inappropriate for them to see their leader show weakness (even if they had seen her at her most neurotic and panic stricken, which did not cross her mind at the moment).   For now, she just had to maintain her discipline until the final few had passed.  Then she could relax, recover, and move on to her favorite part: the paperwork.  Although now that she thought about it, how was she going to classify this?