Chapter 25: Party of One
(WCDDtEo) Chapter 25: Party of One
In the dreamscape…
Ponyville was in ruins, but for some reason, it looked…wackier than usual. Serious fighting can be heard in the background, compounded with cries of rage and cackles of insanity.
Chronicle knew whose cries those were, they were his. Lately ever since Winter Wrap Up, once every two weeks, he's been suffering strange dreams. In those dreams, something had happened that was so bad that he—usually calm outside battle and focused while in—would completely lose it as far as he can tell. He's unable to see the fight though and it seemed to go away from him whenever he tried to head for it.
As he pondered on that, somepony entered his dreamscape. It was Blue Diary. "Hey, Chronicle," he greeted. "Same nightmare?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it a nightmare," the unicorn replied. "Just a strange dream."
"You know, I've seen you blow your top a couple of times, but I still can't find out what would tick you off so much you would go on something like this."
"Me neither." Chronicle then turned to face his brother, then noticed something around his neck. It was a delicate gold chain holding a large pearl. "Hey, what's that?"
"Oh, this? Just a souvenir from an adventure. In there, we fought salamanders and made an ad-hoc alliance with Diamond Dogs."
"Wait, salamanders? I don't think you mean those small amphibians, do you?"
"Nope. I meant the fire-attribute sort. Tell you another time."
"Okay. So, what does that do, assuming it does anything?" Chronicle pointed at the pearl around the pegasus's neck.
"This amulet can take the magic of another for me to use. Here's an example, although it may hurt. I just hope it works in the dreamscape." Blue put a hoof to the pearl, then extended his other one to Chronicle's horn. The unicorn felt a bit dizzy as his magic was pulled from his horn to Blue's amulet. The pegasus soon let go and allowed him some time to relax.
"That doesn't seem too useful unless you have your target immobilized or willing," Blue's brother said.
"Unicorns aren't the only source I can extract it from. Any source of magic will do, like my swords, which is where I often collect my magic from for my amulet. However, with unicorn magic, I can utilize any spell its owner knows." His hoof still on the amulet, he aimed his other hoof to the sky and launched a salvo of shuriken-shaped shots. And they were blue like Chronicle's aura. Next, he teleported the two of them in a flash of light just like he and Twilight Sparkle often do.
They emerged back into…Blue's own dreamscape, which had large photos of peculiar events all over the black void. One showed him team-tagging with Raindrops against an Ursa Minor. Another showed them beating the snot out of Gilda. Another faced him against Philomena while above a burning house. Another showed him, Cheerilee, and Big Macintosh beating up some thugs to save Dinky Doo. Yet another showed Trixie standing a fair distance from himself, Raindrops (wearing glasses), and Cheerilee, all on the road and placing a hoof over their ear as if using some sort of communication device. One in particular had the white pegasus covering his eyes at the sight of what seemed to be Lyra Heartstrings as a …human?
"Is that…" Chronicle asked as he pointed at the last picture.
"Yes. Very awkward experience when I had to explain why I averted my eyes, given that… well… And worse, it was still winter. As for how that happened in the first place, it was due to Trixie experimenting on zebra magic, although she could hardly be blamed because the spell book she was reading from suffered from severe translation errors."
"Oh." He then pointed at the one with Blue and his friends on the road. "What about the one where you seem to be using earpieces?"
"That? Those items were enchanted by Trixie. Along with the glasses Raindrops has, which is a 'surface thought'-reader. We used them during the Oaton incident and we'll probably have more of these items in the future."
"I see. Thanks for taking me out of that strange dream of mine."
"You're welcome."
Chronicle couldn't be sure, but his brother seemed to be a bit nervous about something. He was doing a good job on hiding it, but when it seemed that the unicorn was about to leave, he let his guard down.
"Is something bugging you?" he asked the pegasus.
Blue's ears seemed to droop upon hearing that. "Yes, but it's nothing you can help me with."
"Why?"
"It's Raindrops. She's all smiles and giggles, kinda like Pinkie Pie."
"Which one, yours or mine?"
He then unexpectedly blew his top, which was rare since Blue was the most composed of them all, though not as much as Mystic Wand; then again, he never tells them what he's up to. "Does it matter? What's worse, it's not even raining!"
Chronicle was now curious; from what Blue told him about her, Raindrops has serious anger issues, and is the closest thing (aside from Cheerilee) to a fighter in the group. He conducts semi-regular exercise routines alongside her and with Trixie. In many ways, Blue's friends were more… normal than Chronicle's.
"Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that."
The pegasus calmed down after a while. "Don't worry yourself with it. It's my problem to handle. And my friends'."
"Okay. I probably shouldn't have asked."
"You're right. You shouldn't have."
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Daytime…
Chronicle took his sweet time getting up, having gotten a good night's rest thanks to his brother. It was a good day today, he could even hear singing outside.
Hold on! Somepony was singing outside! Getting up from bed, he started to head down the stairs and to…the bathroom, where Spike was taking a very long hot water bath. Baths don't come as often as he was used to thanks to being a pony, but good hygiene was still important. Besides, Twilight could tell him later, provided she even investigated.
By the time he was squeaky clean, the song already ended. Luckily as he went down to the ground floor, Twilight noticed him and called for him to come over.
"Good morning, Chronicle."
"Morning, Twilight. What was that song I'm sure you heard?"
"Oh, it was just Pinkie Pie. She gave my a singing telegram advertizing Gummy's first birthday. It's being held at Sugarcube Corner."
"Where is she now?"
"Probably gonna repeat the song to the rest of our friends."
"I hope she's got enough energy for the party. What time is it due?"
"She did not say. Wait." She noticed a small card on the ground where Pinkie once danced. She picked it up with her magic, then flipped it around. "Oh, here it is."
Chronicle walked up beside her and looked at the card. "Okay. Let's be there by then."
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Later, at Sugarcube Corner…
The group of friends were having fun in an upper-story room of the bakery. A lively tune was playing on a phonograph. Twilight and Pinkie were dancing, Applejack and Rainbow were at a bob-for-apples tub, and Fluttershy and Rarity were talking by the refreshment table. Chronicle had invited Mystic Shield, who had just returned from a Request Board request. Skyla wasn't available however (not that they were that close as friends…yet), having decided to try and foalsit the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Right now he was "moonwalking" with his co-teacher, which he found was a bit difficult given he had double the feet required. Mystic seemed to be doing well enough though as he "moonwalked" alongside him.
"Thanks for inviting me to the party, Chronicle," he said.
"Hey, what're friends for?"
The purple stallion gave a bit of a chuckle. "I remember saying that to you twice before."
"Hey, boys!" Pinkie greeted as she joined them in the moonwalk and shortly passed them by.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie!" the two greeted her in stereo, then paused upon realizing what they did, faced each other, and laughed out loud.
At the tub, Applejack dunked her head into the water and quickly brought up an apple in her teeth, which she tossed up and ate in one bite. The pegasus maintained her composure in the face of the workhorse’s smirk.
"Nice one," Rainbow said. "Now let me show you how it’s really done."
Before she can do her thing however, Pinkie walked over as the music ended.
"Hey, girls!" she greeted.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie."
"Howdy!" Applejack greeted, eliciting a little squeaky giggle from Pinkie.
"Just wanted to tell you how happy I am that you could make it to Gummy’s party."
"Are you kiddin’? I wouldn’t-a missed it for the world."
"Me neither," Rainbow added. "When Pinkie Pie throws a party, I am there!" With that, she she bobbed and snagged an apple of her own. "Ta-da!"
"Aw, just a boring old apple," said Pinkie. "Don’t worry. There are plenty of other surprises in there."
Rainbow spit out her apple, which bounced off Applejack’s head. "What kind of surprises?"
"I can’t tell you that, silly! Then it wouldn’t be a surprise!" She then trotted off.
The two players turned to each other, then back at the tub before dunking their heads in. Applejack was first to bring something up: a ball attached by a spring to the bottom of the tub. She yanked at it for a moment before the tension dragged her back in. Rainbow, meanwhile, came up to find a party-hatted Gummy firmly latched onto her snout. One very soggy blond mare had a good chuckle at the sight before the alligator got flung off.
At the refreshment table, Rarity was happily sipping a cup of punch through a straw. When it ran dry, Pinkie stepped over and refilled from a ladle in her teeth, quickly setting it aside. The two stallions have stopped 'moonwalking", taking cups of punch themselves.
"This punch is simply divine," the white unicorn said. "Is this the same recipe you used for your “Spring Has Sprung” party?"
"Nope, something new."
She turned to see that Gummy had landed in the punchbowl. The sight caused Rarity to spit her mouthful directly into Pinkie’s face, which didn't shift her broad smile even a millimeter. "It’s Gummy’s favorite!"
At this, Mystic spat out his punch at Chronicle's face, who in turn just resumed drinking. "Gross!" the self-defense teacher said.
"I've had worse."
Just then, a new tune started up on the phonograph. "Ooh! This is my jam!" Pinkie said as she darted away to fix up the apple bob tub. Seconds later, they heard Rarity spit something out, presumably the punch. The two then decided to dance with Fluttershy and Twilight. They were soon accosted by their enthusiastic host, who joined in.
"Having fun?" she asked them.
"A blast!" Twilight.
"Just the thing I needed after a stressful day." Mystic.
"Strangest reason for a party, not that there's anything wrong with that." Chronicle.
"You always throw the best parties, Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy.
"They’re always the best parties ’cause my best friends are always there!" Pinkie got perhaps a bit too lively with her dancing however, hip-checking all four away. "Come on, everypony!"
Twilight was dazed and partially embedded in one wall, Fluttershy had come loose from hers and was tottering around woozily, Mystic slammed into his horn-first and was struggling to get out, and Chronicle smashed into the tub, spiling the water all over.
"Gummy wants to dance!" The four managed to get their heads clear and return to dance around the guest of honor, who stood in the middle of the floor among the dancing hooves. No part of him moved except for the twitching end of his tail. "Go, Gummy! It’s your birthday! Go, Gummy! It’s your birthday!"
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Twilight (the time, not the pony)…
"Are you sure you don't want to stay a while longer?" Pinkie asked. "There's still lots more to do!"
"Sorry, Pinkie Pie, but I must decline," apologized Mystic Shield, with Chronicle next to him as they stood just at the doorway of the bakery. "The two of us have a busy day tomorrow." With that, they began to walk to the former's Self-Defense Academy for Unicorns. The latter will be staying there for the night.
"Oh, right. Hope you can attend another of my parties soon!"
"Not too soon," said Chronicle. "They can get boring to the average pony if they attend them too many times in a month." He emphasized 'average' to point out that Pinkie was not such.
"Okie-dokie-lokie!"
Once they were out of earshot, Mystic spoke up. "Some of your friends sure are strange."
"I know, right?"
"How do you tolerate them? I certainly wouldn't be able to stand them if it weren't for you."
"I guess it comes from having been born in a similarly quirky family."
"Oh. Mine telling me a bit about them?"
As they reached Mystic Shield's place, entered the door, and stopped at his room, they talked about each other's lives. Chronicle was very careful with what he said so as not to tell his friend of his true origins. He told him mainly about his family (the Timer family), some of his many cousins, and their quirks, but not their mission or what they really do.
As for what he learned from Mystic Shield, he found out the following things: After his teacher Aegis—who had inspired him to set up his dojo in the first place—passed away, he left home and traveled as an adventurer in spite of his cynophobia. There were numerous things he'd seen, acquaintances he'd made, monsters he'd confronted, friends he'd lost, and so on. After a year, he went home, settled down, and married. Unfortunately, something unfortunate happened and now she's no longer with him anymore. He refused to say what exactly had happened, but he did say that after that he decided to follow his teacher's hoofsteps and start up his own academy.
"I'm so sorry to hear about your wife," Chronicle said. "How did you get over it?"
"…I don't wanna talk about that," Mystic replied as he prepared a bed for his co-teacher; a simple mattress. "Let's just sleep now. We have a big day ahead of us."
"Oh, all right."
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The next day…
"All right. Let's get started."
"Mm-hmm."
The two co-teachers of the dojo were awake and standing at one end of the tatami mat, anticipating the arrival of their first students. When the door opened however, the one who came in was—
"Pinkie Pie, what are you doing here?" asked Mystic as she walked across the mat, to his mild irritation. On her head was a wicker basket filled with invitations.
"Here!" She bent down to reveal the invitations. Mystic 'picked up' one, opened it, and extracted a card.
“You are invited to Gummy’s after-birthday party, this afternoon at three o’clock,” he read.
"All our bestest friends are invited, and there’s gonna be dancing and games and cake and ice cream and punch!"
"Hold on," said Chronicle. "By this afternoon, you mean three hours after twelve o'clock noon today?"
"Of course!"
"Sorry, but do you remember what I said yesterday?" asked the purple stallion.
"Yes?"
"Yesterday, I said we have a busy day tomorrow. That means today, which means we'll be unable to attend your party."
"Also, after-birthday parties aren't exactly something anybody would go to," Chronicle added.
"What?!" For some reason, Pinkie seemed to have a problem comprehending this.
"Well, since there was a birthday party yesterday, there wouldn't be as much excitement in an after-birthday party. Unless that invitation is for those who missed the birthday party."
"Oh, all right. I'll make sure to save some cake."
"It better not be a lie." Both Mystic and Pinkie looked at the blue unicorn in confusion. "I was once promised some cake after accomplishing an errand on the Canterlot Request Board, but when I asked them for it they said they were lying. And it was some delicious cake too. At least the bits were real."
"And another thing," Mystic said. "Nobody, especially introverts like Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle, would want to go to a big party the day after they just had one. We all need to work and sleep at some point."
Just then, the door opened wider and a couple of unicorns entered. It was Greatstone, Bullseye, Tricky Books, and Chrono Cards.
"Looks like I better go," said Pinkie. With that, she bounced away, going over the four unicorns as they made their way to the tatami mat.
"What was that all about?" asked Chrono.
"Nothing in particular," Chronicle answered.
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Soon, every student was present with the exception of Twilight Sparkle, who had told him ahead of time during Gummy's birthday party that she wouldn't be able to come.
"All right, class. Let's start with the Recoveroll. Form a line, everypony."
Mystic had renamed the 'quick response' to Recoveroll, a wordplay on 'recovery' and 'roll'. He did not call it Zenpo Kaiten Ukemi since that was an aikido technique; the Recoveroll does not end with the defensive stance taught in that martial art, but with both a barrier spell (with whatever form they choose) and preferrably the magic shot spell. However, many of Mystic's students have yet to master the ability to doublecast, so one of the two would have to suffice depending on situation and preference of the caster.
The ponies formed a line along one edge of the tatami mat, turning the corner where it ended. Heartstrings was first in line. Mystic stood in the center, 'setting down' two long sticks to serve as a representation of a chasm. He would adjust the width accordingly for each pony. "You first."
The mint green mare charged forward. Upon reaching the 'chasm', she leaped over 'it', rolled as instructed, and then—as she turned around—got up on twos and conjured a barrier.
"Nice work, Lyra, although if you feel the getting up on twos is necessary, make the barrier before or while doing it, all right?"
"Okay." Lyra then got down on all fours, dismissed her barrier, and made her way to the back of the line.
Bullseye was next. As he flipped during the jump, he fired a shot from his horn, which hit the corner behind where the front of the line was. His landing wasn't graceful though and he stumbled.
"Try and execute the landing softly first before starting a stunt like that."
Comet Tail followed. "I told you. If your left hoof is forward before the jump, roll on your left side."
Next was Holly Dash. "Good try. Keep it up."
Pokey Pierce's horn ended up puncturing the floor as he landed from his roll head first, rendering him stuck. "Remember to turn your head while you roll. Very important, especially for unicorns."
A new student was next. light spring bud coat, light purple eyes, two-toned light cerulean hair, and a cutie mark depicting something like a closing parenthesis and opening parenthesis bisected by a horizontal line; Chronicle identified it to be the astrological symbol Pisces (curiously, that was also her name), but from what he learned, that particular constellation—as well as others he was familiar with—don't exist in Equestria's skies, replaced by different ones.
"Pisces, you're up." The new pony (well, one of them anyway since there were also two more) ran until she reached the 'chasm', in which she executed the jump well enough for Mystic to mark it as a 'pass'. "Nice job for your first time."
The rest of the students did their turn, succeeding/failing to varying degrees. Written Script seemed to be screwing up lately however, at least in the physical exercises. He hasn't improved in the magic department either.
"Written Script, are you even trying? If you can't find it in yourself to focus and improve, I advise you to leave my class."
"Sorry, Master Shield."
The last ponies in line insisted on going at the same time. The two teachers noted that they were twins; they called themselves the Gemini Twins in fact and were named Castora and Polluxa. Polluxa had a very light aquamarine coat, light purple eyes, and pale, light grayish olive hair with a yellowish white streak. Her sister Castora shares the same eye color and hairstyle, but her hair color and coat color were swapped with that of Polluxa and her hair streak was very pale aquamarine. Their cutie marks were identical as well; something resembling a rectangle but with its vertical sides pulled in closer so that the horizontal ones continued past the corners; the astrological symbol Gemini.
"All right, Gemini Twins. I will not be responsible for any injuries if you bump into one another," Mystic warned. "That's why I insist on one at a time for everypony else."
"Don't worry," assured Polluxa.
"We can do this," said Castora.
The teacher nodded, then said, "Go." As one, the twins ran forth, jumping upon reaching the 'chasm'. However, they screwed up their landing and tumbled somewhat painfully, but they didn't collide with one another. "Another reason why we go one at a time; trying not to collide can result in not concentrating enough on the landing. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master Shield," both twins replied solemnly.
"Okay." He then 'picked' up the sticks and raised one to chest level, putting away the other one. "Now let's do the Recoveroll again. This time, jump over the stick."
Again, Lyra was the first to go. And again after the roll she got up on twos, but this time she conjured her barrier whilst doing that.
"That's better, Lyra."
Bullseye followed, but his hind legs ended up tapping the stick, and this slight made him stumble to the ground.
"During the jump, raise your hind legs higher next time."
Comet Tail followed. This time, he managed to heed Mystic's advice. "That's better."
Next was Holly Dash. "Getting better."
Once again, Pokey ended up jamming his horn into the floor again. At the same spot no less. "I told you to remember to turn your head while you roll. I can't stress it any further that this is very important, especially for unicorns. Again."
Pisces followed up. Again, she executed the jump well enough to for Mystic to mark it as a 'pass', her hind legs having just barely brushed the stick. "Keep practicing, you'll get better. And that goes for everypony."
The rest of the students did their turn, successing/failing to varying degrees. Again, Written Script seems to be having problems.
"Written Script, I will not tolerate you joking around, assuming you are. This is your last warning. If I don't see any improvement, I will have to make you my first expelled student. Are we clear?"
The light gray unicorn paled as he gave a military salute. "Sorry, Master Shield. I will do better."
"You better. And you don't do military salutes here. Standing straight will suffice."
Last were the Gemini Twins. Once again, they insisted on doing it together. Rolling his eyes, Mystic 'raised' the other stick and positioned himself so that they would jump to his left and right. This time, they managed to perform the move smoothly.
"All right, everypony. Now it's time for…" He made a serious expression. "Intermediate techniques."
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Eyecatch (video-type)
[A/N: Due to the video not being available, please look for (and envision) Digimon Adventure's first eyecatch.]
{Seven cards fly in from the right and pile up on one another, depicting the following in the following order: a red knight's shield with a white star inside, an orange circle depicting an open book inside, a lyre, a pale purple space, a six-pointed pink star, a safety pin, and a fireball.}
{The seven cards then shine into white and form together into something else: A picture depicting two rows of seven ponies. The top depicts (from left to right) Lyra, Firecracker Burst, and Pokey Pierce. The bottom row depicts Dinky, Mystic Shield, Chronicle, and Twilight Sparkle. The show's logo shows up on the bottom right.}
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The 'intermediate techniques' turn out to be application of spells while performing specific movement patterns. One example they're doing right now is the magic shot spell while strafing.
"All right, everypony. To the side," Mystic instructed. "Heartstrings, Bullseye, position yourselves in front of me and Chronicle on the opposite side of the mat." The two called unicorns did as told, and once they did, they were positioned so that if one were to draw lines leading from one to the other, it would form a rectangle.
"Now, we're going to shoot you, and you're going to strafe," Chronicle said. "Don't use your shield spell, just step to one side. Go." He and Mystic then fired magic blasts at them, which the two sidestepped with relative ease. Lyra seemed to bend her head more than Bullseye though.
"Good. Now, I want you to implement that sidestep while making your way to us. Move only when we shoot. I doubt you'll actually reach us, but you will be evaluated by distance covered before getting hit. In the event you think you can do it, you can jump forward and make contact with us, but only for that. Otherwise, only sidesteps are permitted. Ready? Go!"
On an invisible cue, the two teachers fired simultaneously, timing their attacks as if timed by a metronome. The two students weren't as synchronous and Lyra was constantly bending her neck to evade Chronicle's shots. Lyra only reached halfway across the mat before she was hit, at which she was told to halt. Bullseye only reached two-thirds.
"Nice job, you two. Comet Tail, Holly Dash, you're next." Lyra and Bullseye walked back to the side while the two called entered the mat. The two of them passed the first step (dodge in place), but they didn't reach Lyra's 'record' on the second step (strafe while approaching), though they were still sufficient.
For Pokey and Pisces, The former was struck as early as the first step, and was hit again in the second step while Pisces reached three-fourths the way. She seemed to be a bit miffed for some reason. "Come on, Pisces. This is just the first time. At least you set a record for the moment. Pokey Pierce, the purpose of this exercise is to evade. Not counter-attack, not defend or endure, evade. Once you all get the hang of the basics in this, we'll then practice with different projectiles, different speeds, and different trajectories." There were groans from a few of the students.
Amethyst Star and Sea Swirl followed. Both covered a respectable distance before getting hit. "Nice work."
Ponet and Chrono Cards failed to cover as much distance as the two similarly-colored mares. "Keep it up."
Next was Lemon Hearts and Twinkle; the both just reached halfway. Then Tricky Books and Greatstone; they reached six steps father than the previous two.
Minuette and Firecracker Burst outdid them all by attempting to outdo each other. Well, only the blue one was, to Chronicle's mild amusement; he assumed the fire-user would be the hothead, but Firecracker seemed to be calm and preppy. They nearly reached the two teachers' faces before both getting struck at the horn. "Now that's a record," the part-time co-teacher mused.
Dinky and Written Script were soon up. Mystic decided to handle the filly while Chronicle tested their screw-up. "This is it, Written Script. Shape up or ship out, matey," Chronicle warned with a serious face, quoting from a book. At least he thought he did.
Written gave a nervous gulp. And then the first step commenced. Mystic made sure that his shots at Dinky were weak enough not to hurt much (all of their shots throughout the entire session were) and low enough not to fly over her head. Chronicle decided to form his magic shots into a regular shape instead of shurikens; he figured maybe its spinning distracted him. The screw-up unicorn successfully dodged it, and did so with the next ones as well.
Just as they proceeded with their next step, something entered the building, opening the door quietly and managing to remain stealthy in spite of their disguise; an incongruous hay bale with a blue-eyed face covered by Groucho glasses, a gray overcoat, and a baseball cap. Of course, those who saw her gave quizzical looks before ignoring it; it was Pinkie Pie after all.
As the class carried on, the hay bale crept along the wall opposite the one where the rest of the students stood. While Dinky and Written sidestep-approached their teachers, the others watched Pinkie slowly make her way to Chronicle, passing by Mystic Shield who didn't seem to notice. She soon approached the blue unicorn as he finally 'tagged' Written.
"All right. You can stay. For now." Before Pinkie could surprise him, without turning around he then said, "If you're gonna ask me what Twilight or any of the others are up to, Pinkie Pie, you're gonna have to ask somebody else. I haven't left this place since yesterday after Mystic and I left Gummy's birthday party early, and she hasn't come to class today. She told us ahead of time."
"Told you what?" asked Pinkie in an interrogating manner as Dinky reached Mystic and bopped him in the muzzle. He gave a sweet smile at the filly.
"That she wouldn't be attending."
"Did she say why?"
"I didn't ask. Didn't think I needed to know."
"What else?"
"Nothing else."
"You sure?"
"Absitively."
"May I check—"
"Chronicle. It's the Gemini Twins' turn," Mystic cut them off.
"May I borrow him for a while?" Pinkie asked him.
After Chronicle summoned a magical clone, the self-defense teacher conceded. "All right. You can use my room for your private talk, but don't mess with anything. And Pinkie, please discard your disguise. You're not fooling anypony here. While I have to admit it covers you completely, we all know only you would pull that off."
With that, the two friends walked to Mystic's living quarters. Once they were inside, Pinkie, having shed her disguise as advised, resumed in a somewhat quieter tone. she leaned in to whisper. "May I check Surveillance?"
Chronicle raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten our Pinkie Promise covering that? If I haven't gotten their consent ahead of time, which I haven't, I'm not allowed to show you. The only exceptions are Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and even then only either Rarity or Applejack can ask."
"What about Scootaloo?"
"If she's with any of the other two, rules go as above. As for her alone time, only I can know. Still, if Rainbow Dash wants to find out through me, all she need do is ask. But don't tell her. She has to figure it out on her own."
"Okay. Speaking of her, can you help me find out what she and the others are up to?"
"Sorry, but unlike you apparently, I respect my friends' secrets not to snoop. Even if I do end up snooping, I don't tell them that I know, and I don't bring it up to anyone other than them. Besides, aside from some other parts in the 'fine print', that's part of our Pinkie Promise too." Before she could speak again, he shut her up. "And I did the uncancellable kind of Pinkie Promise for this, remember?"
"Oh, right. Well, they're up to something, and I'm going to figure it out."
"Do you have to? What if it's a delicate operation that cannot handle an interruption from the likes of you?"
"It's not one of those! I just know it!"
"Care to explain everything? I might need to know this after all."
And that's what Pinkie did.
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Erstwhile, the two teachers fired magic shots at the Gemini Twins, whose synchronicity was simply perfect. Sometimes they mirrored each other's movements, sometimes their movements were identical, but either way they moved at the exact same time. Mystic was tempted to throw them off by shooting out of sync with the magical clone of his co-teacher but decided not to as the twins finally reached the two and—to their surprise—gave them a kiss on the mouth.
The magical clone had enough integrity not to dissipate from such simple a move, but they didn't have the same capability of emotion the real one has so he didn't so much as react. Mystic however felt flustered, as nearly anybody would when kissed. The twins soon broke off and when he spoke, he was cross. "Girls, I don't know what you're taught back home, but we do not kiss indiscriminately here. And you do not kiss the teacher. Now, you two go to the side while I see what my friend is up to. Remember to practice whenever possible. That's very important when learning any spell not under your special talent."
He turned to the door to his room, and opened it to see Chronicle still talking with Pinkie Pie. "Maybe it's supposed to be a surprise for you," he was saying. "And making them tell you would spoil it, and that would be bad. Have you ever considered that?"
Pinkie just put a hoof to her chin. "Hmm. Looks like I won't be able to find out through you."
"Pinkie, have you even paid attention to a single word I said?"
She pointed an accusatory hoof at him. "I bet you're in on whatever they're up to and you're stalling for time!"
"Me? Stalling for time?! You're the one who came in and wanted to talk to me!"
Pinkie just glared at him, which was scary given who she usually is. That, and the grimdark Cupcakes book.
"I promise—no, Pinkie Promise that at and before this point in time I do not know whatever it is our friends are up to!"
Pinkie shoved her face into his. "Are you certain? You do know the consequences if it turns out you've broken your promise, right?"
"You think I don't? I was there when you punished Mystic Shield for breaking one. If that didn't scare me, then I'd be an imbecile." He then performed the necessary motions. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
The party pony pulled away. "All right, then." With that, she walked out, bypassing Mystic and leaving the building. Without so much as a hop, everypony noted.
"I don't really know Pinkie Pie that much, but I can tell that something's wrong with her," Mystic said as his co-teacher returned to the dojo part of his residence where the students still awaited.
"I think we can all agree on that," concurred Chronicle.
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Eyecatch (picture-type) - On the left side, Pinkie Pie is leaving the Self-Defense Academy. On the right side, Chronicle and Mystic Shield turn to each other in worry. In the middle, a crowd of unicorns look at Pinkie in confusion. The show's logo is seen on the top left.
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Classes continued, although the atmosphere seemed to have dampened a bit. Apparently, seeing Pinkie Pie in such a foul mood seemed to have a negative effect on everypony.
Due to this effect, Mystic Shield did not feel in the mood for implementing a new lesson and instead settled for a review on the basics. "Okay, let's review the shield and shot spells. Remember to practice double-casting. We can't advance further in the lesson plan without it."
Groaning, everypony took a partner. Unsurprisingly, the Gemini twins chose each other. Dinky was for a change tutored by her sister Amethyst. Chronicle found himself assigned to whip up Written Script into shape.
"All right. I won't go too easy on you, so you better get serious." Barrier up, he fired at the screw-up unicorn. To his credit, he seemed to be taking things seriously this time. "Your shots are still very measly. Exert more power."
The student did as advised, launching another quill-shaped shot, which hit the barrier.
"You won't be able to even so much as crack a window with that shot. Harder."
Written's next shot was so, but only slightly.
"Harder!"
The next was harder, but still not passable.
Chronicle resisted the urge to shout at the top of his lungs like one friend of his. "Harder!!"
The following shot was still pathetic however.
Finally, he couldn't take it. "HARDER!!"
This not only caught everypony's attention as they stopped and turned to face them, but also startled the student and he charged his horn and finally fired a 'quill', which struck Chronicle's barrier with such force that it not only made cracks at it, but the shot itself was still embedded at the barrier.
Written seemed to be panicked at the sight and began rambling. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't… I shouldn't have…"
"Wow," gasped Bullseye. "That shot was insanely fast, just below half-subsonic speed."
All of a sudden, an image of Pinkie Pie flashed into Chronicle's mind and he felt a jittering sensation behind him. Everypony's reaction was instant; they all, including Mystic Shield, erected force fields over their heads.
Chronicle was bewildered at this. "…What?"
"You do know what a twitchy tail means, right?" asked Written, the exhilaration of his success put behind him for the moment.
"Well, I know that a twitchy tail from Pinkie Pie means that something's going to fall."
"Then what does it mean when your tail is twitching?"
"What?" He turned around to see that indeed his tail was twitching. He was utterly boggled by this. "What?" he repeated, but in a disbelieving manner. Something else then happened; his mane and tail seemed to inflate like a balloon, and then burst as if they were overfilled, even making sounds akin to their air coming out. As such, his mane was drooped down so that the front part of it obstructed one of his eyes.
Nobody made a sound for ten full seconds before Mystic finally broke the silence. "What. In the name. Of Celestia. Was that?"
Chronicle couldn't find an answer either as he thought to himself. What's happening to me? Whenever my body reacts unexpectedly, I see an image of one of my friends. For Fluttershy, my heart beat out of rhythm, and she turned out to be in danger from the hydra. For Rarity, my eyes burned, and then she ended up falling from the sky. For Twilight, my horn sparked magic, then my body went stiff, and she turns out to have been petrified by a cockatrice. Now, for Pinkie, my tail went twitchy, and then this happens. Are there different signs to represent Applejack and Rainbow Dash? If so, why didn't any such sign come from the former's fatigue during applebuck season? Is this a consequence of my partial exposure to the rainbow of light that put a stop to Nightmare Moon all those months ago? I will have to ask Princess Celestia about this.
"Uhh…Chronicle?" a voice asked.
The deep blue unicorn returned to his senses and saw Mystic Shield facing him.
"Chronicle. Are you all right?"
"Uhh, yeah."
"Your mane looks like its lost much of its volume," remarked Holly.
"It's okay." he cast a spell and before everypony knew it, his mane and tail were back to normal. "Nothing a quick spell I learned from Rarity can't take care of."
"But what did that mean?" asked Sea Swirl. "Could it be that…you have something that acts like Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense?"
"If so, It's certainly new to me. I mean, I'm sure even Pinkie had no idea how her Sense worked when it first acted up. Tell me, can anypony recall anything concerning the Pinkie Sense in action in the past? By the past I mean before the Nightmare Moon incident." he turned to Sea Swirl, Comet Tail, Firecracker, Ponet, Written, Pokey, Holly, Pisces, and the Gemini Twins.
"We're sorry, but neither we nor Pisces have been to Ponyville during that incident," Castora answered for herself and her twin.
"We and ten others only arrived in this town a week after this town's Winter Wrap Up," Polluxa added.
"Aries expected them to be late again and was surprised to see it finished on time.
Chronicle beamed in pride. "All thanks to this town's librarian Twilight Sparkle, who is also a student in this class, but is absent today." He then returned to the subject. "Anypony else?" One by one, each of those he addressed shook their heads.
"I was born in Ponyville, but as far as I know, Pinkie Pie has had full knowledge of her Pinkie Sense ever since entering the Cakes' employ," answered Written.
"I see. I guess it was too much to ask. In any case, I'm okay now. Your quill shot sure was strong. We have to find a way for you to tap into that power without panicking."
Some ponies had looks of confusion or worry from his apparent reversal in mood and quick subject-change, but before they could dwell in it further Mystic brought their attention back to him. "Okay, I think that's enough odd incidents for today. While I'm quite lenient in my schedule, could we please resume class?"
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Once again, class continued, although the atmosphere seemed to be more subdued than before. Despite this, Mystic wasn't about to call it a day. He was determined to see this through in spite of the strange interruptions.
One time, there was a second parasprite incident when Lemon Hearts brought some home in her mane. As it was, she—as well as Minuette, who was absent for a different reason—was out of town during the first one.
Another time, Snips and Snails barged in and asked him to "teach them his ways". Thankfully, he didn't have to answer as the latter's older sister—who was also Derpy Hooves's friend—Raindrops, went and took them away, apologizing for the trouble. He said he was fine with it and even gave her a pamphlet about his Academy. Chronicle was absent at that time, having taken a trip with Fluttershy to the Everfree Forest as an escort.
Yet another time, the Cutie Mark Crusaders crashed in through the roof after testing the 'explosive capability of lemons'. He also met their overworked foalsitter-at-that-time Skyla. It was an awkward moment when they talked, and the Crusaders and some of the students teased them about it.
And yet another time, Rainbow Dash crashed through the roof. Again. Which was followed by an accidental lightning bolt from Dinky and Amethyst's mother Derpy. The two of them had been moving a thundercloud for reasons he didn't bother to remember.
Before he could continue in his reminiscence, there came a knock on the door. Mystic grumbled; he should seriously consider investing a magic lock to keep unwanted intruders out. The door then opened and an earth pony poked her head inside.
"Golden Harvest!" greeted Written Script.
"Hello," she returned. "I'm looking for somepony named Chronicle."
The mentioned pony raised his head and called, "Yes?"
"Applejack sent me to tell you that she and her friends are waiting for you at the barn in Sweet Apple Acres."
"Which barn? The Apple family has a fair number of them."
"I'll take you there."
"Hold on." Chronicle summoned two magical clones, one to continue classes alongside Mystic and another to stand by at his room in case anything happens to the first one. "Okay."
"Fine," Mystic conceded. "I'm sure you clones can take over for the rest of the session."
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As Chronicle followed Carrot Top to Applejack's farm, he decided to ask her a few questions. "Say, Carrot. Why did Applejack ask you of all ponies to run this sort of errand? And why did you accept it?"
"Well, while she indeed ask me, it was Rarity who paid me. I needed the bits."
"Why? I didn't think you had financial problems."
"Well, I don't really want to talk about this, but…"
"Did Golden Harvests fall on difficult times somehow?"
"No. It's my father. He suddenly found himself in debt. He had to sell the farm to pay it off. He hopes to get enough money to buy it back, but for the time being, he's leaving it in the care of the…" She seemed hesistant in saying the next two words. "…Apple family."
"Did you have any say in the matter?"
"I was a bit angry at first, but then I realized that my 'rivalry' with Applejack was admittedly childish. While her family isn't exactly the best in business sense, they are the closest ones in the area. Also… I just can't explain it, but I have the feeling that she can be trusted, and not just because she bears the Element of Honesty, that she wouldn't bring my farm to ruin, in spite of the disasters last applebuck season."
Chronicle didn't get what she was saying, and frankly didn't think he needed to know, so he just nodded as if he understood, then asked, "Where's your father now? And if he's not in Ponyville, why and how are you still here?"
"My father's away, that's all I can tell you. And I'm stil here so I can see for myself that the Apples will keep their word. I work part-time at the herb/flower shop."
"Where the Flower Ponies live? Two of them, at any rate?" Rose(luck) had her own house, and Lily (Valley) and Daisy (a.k.a. Flower Wishes) resided in their shop.
"Yes. If you need to ask me anything for any reason, I'll be at Derpy Hooves's."
"Her? But isn't she…"
"Sometimes, she's busy at work in the post office, and she can't find any better pony to trust Dinky with than me."
"How did you even become friends with her, anyway?"
"It all started when I had to deliver a package to Hoofington for her once. Her wing was injured after she crash-landed through the roof while I was about to have breakfast. Deciding to be a thoughtful friend, I decided to go in her stead while she healed up. I—"
"You don't need to elaborate further. Besides, I think we're here."
Sure enough, they were in front of a farm in Sweet Apple Acres. Everything seemed to be closed, as if hiding something. Since it was his friends who were there, the notion of anything dangerous or forbidden (save perhaps an experment by Twilight) was quickly purged from his mind. Surprise party was a viable option, but for who?
His thoughts were interrupted by Carrot saying, "I see. Well, see ya." And with that, he was shortly left alone.
Sighing to himself, he turned to the barn door and knocked. While he could teleport inside, there was the risk of 'splinching' with anything in the spot he would emerge in, and that was not a pretty sight. The door creaked open and before he could comprehend what was going on, he was pulled inside, then was shuffled around in complete darkness. It didn't make sense, there should be some light coming out from the cracks. Then again, his vision needed to adjust to the darkness.
"Shh!" one whispered voice said.
"Let's get him into position!" another voice said.
"Could anybody—" he asked.
"Anypony," a third corrected.
"—anybody please explain what's going on?" he insisted.
"I'm sorry we weren't able to notify you of the plan, we got too busy throwing her off when she began to suspect," a fourth voice.
He quickly pieced everything together, and was angry at what he realized. "Wait a second! Her?"
Before he could be answered, another voice came. "We’re…here…" It was Rainbow Dash.
"Quick!" one of the voices whispered as she strapped a hat on his head, then moved him about. "Try to maintain a neutral expression." Given his bad mood, it was unlikely that he would be able to smile without making it look fake. The door was then opened magically and since he hadn't been in the dark for long, his eyes adjusted quickly as he eyed himself next to the rest of his friends, all wearing party hats decorated with their respective cutie marks (he assumed the one on his head was decorated likewise). All around him, he could see various party decorations. They were planning a party? But for who?
As for Rainbow herself, she had Pinkie Pie in tow. At least he thought it was Pinkie. She seemed to be different. Very different. First, it looked like her general appearance was darker. Second, her mane and tail were completely straight and drooped as if it lost all of its volume. Third, her mood was completely reversed from normal, and it looked like she wanted to murder them all. Oh, and Gummy was there too.
Unfortunately, his friends seemed to be oblivious to the 'danger' as they cried out, "SURPRISE!!"
Pinkie was caught off guard by this, but her face hardened as Rainbow pushed her into the barn. Her silent snarl now put the others on edge, Chronicle most of all. Another phobia of his is adorable individuals turning berserk, psycho, or just plain "scary wrong". He began hyperventilating as he backed away, though he did his best to keep as quiet as possible about it.
Fluttershy turned to Twilight and wondered, "I’d really thought she’d be more excited."
"Excited? Excited?!? Why would I be excited to attend my own farewell party?!?" Pinkie said in a pessimistic tone.
Twilight didn't seem to get it. "Farewell party?"
"Yes! You don’t like me anymore, so you decide to kick me out of the group and throw a great big party to celebrate! A “Farewell to Pinkie Pie” party!"
Her rancor gave way to a low-spirited slouch facing away from the others. Applejack went over to her as Gummy scooted away. "Why in the world would you think we didn’t like you anymore, sugarcube?" the farmpony asked.
Had Chronicle been able to answer, he would've chewed her out on what they did after hearing it from Pinkie herself before…this.
Since he was still scared out of his mind, he didn't as the dejected pony replied with mounting anger, "Why? Why? WHY?!?" As Fluttershy fell backward from the shout, Pinkie did a backflip that left her hanging upside down. "Because you’ve been LYING to me and avoiding me all day! That’s why!" She then touched down.
Rainbow gave a smirk at that. "Uh, yeah, because we wanted your party to be a surprise!"
"We’ve been planning this party for such a long time," Rarity said as she lifted/batted a balloon "We had to make excuses for why we couldn’t attend Gummy’s party so that we could get everything ready for yours."
"If this is a farewell party…" Twilight added as she made her way to a table with a large cake on it. "…why does the cake I picked up from Sugarcube Corner say “Happy Birthday Pinkie Pie”?"
Resentment gave way to confusion as the muted pink pony’s eyes shifted around the room: to a table loaded with presents and a punchbowl, to the overhead decorations, and finally to the cake frosted with hearts, flowers and her own smiling face.
In an instant, her mane and tail fluff back up and her bright pink coloration restored itself, along with her usual cheerful demeanor. "Because it’s my birthday!" she said as she gathered the other six into a giant hug. Oh, how could I have forgotten my own birthday?"
While the other mares sighed with relief, having brought a peaceful end to the crisis, the sole stallion was calmed down but still silent and a bit uneasy as Pinkie let them go.
"And you like me so much, you decided to throw me a surprise party!"
"That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you, darling," Rarity said.
"You guys are the best friends ever!" Her mood chaned do sadness, but thankfully didn't turn 'dim' again. "How could I have ever doubted you?"
Twilight walked over to her and said, "It’s okay, Pinkie Pie. It could’ve happened to any of us." There was general assent from the other four as they gathered around, but Chronicle remained silent as ever.
"I’m just glad I haven’t been replaced by a bucket of turnips," Rainbow said.
"Huh?"
A nervous grin came from Pinkie.
"You don’t want to know."
"If you like, I can show you," Chronicle finally spoke up, getting everypony's attention. "With Pinkie's permission, of course." He turned mildly serious. "Girls, I'd like to talk with you all about something very important, but as I don't want to spoil the mood, I'll do it after the party." He turned to face Applejack, who was now at a side table with a phonograph. "Hit it."
"All right, girls, Chronicle. Enough of this gabbin’." She nudged the needle onto the turntable. "Let’s party!"
The six girls danced and laughed as the music played and confetti sprinkled down over them. Chronicle just stayed at the side, eating cake with Rainbow while Fluttershy and Applejack batted a balloon back and forth over Gummy’s head, who futilely jumped in an attenpt to bite it, which he instantly noted; alligators can't jump.
As the party went on, Rarity dances with Spike briefly before Twilight and Pinkie formed a two-pony conga line, which the others shortly joined one by one. During the conga, Pinkie had a question. "You girls wouldn’t mind if we celebrated Gummy’s after-birthday party too, would you? His party was cut short and he’s pretty upset about it."
Said after-birthday guest of honor had caught a balloon in his mouth and was trying to bite down on it. There were voices of approval of the idea.
"Yeah, why not? Let’s have a party for Gummy," Twilight said before giggling.
"Why not celebrate it right now along with Pinkie's birthday?" Chronicle suggested. I think it's clear to me now that Gummy was a birthday present somehow. Or his egg hatches before her birthday "It's possible to have celebrate more than one event with one party, right?"
Pinkie seemed to like the idea. "Oh, right! That's a wonderful idea!"
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After the party…
Once the barn was cleaned up of party regalia, with his friends' permission, Chronicle showed them all the 'important events' covered by Surveillance. They were impressed with the cameras' excellent pursuit capabilities, Pinkie in particular although that one usually emits "white noise" between unexplainable 'teleports'.
Upon seeing Pinkie's interrogation session with Spike, Twilight was surprised and angry that he spilled juice over one of her books and planned on scolding him later.
"Push somepony hard enough, Pinkie, and he'll tell you he started the great Canterlot fire—now, that don't necessarily make it so," he added to the pink earth pony while they watched that scene. "You could've just asked him what our friends were doing that afternoon, and you wouldn't have entered that…slump."
After that, he gave everypony (save Pinkie) a slapping session (nothing naughty), which he had given twice before, once during the poison joke incident, and once during the ticket fiasco. As usual, he 'went easy' on Fluttershy (just a tap).
"Okay, girls," he began. "Why didn't any of you let me in on your plan? I could have, say, run interference or do some other countermeasure to deal with the fact that Pinkie Pie could catch you setting up." None of them had an answer to that. "You all easily looked like jerks here, you know. I'm feeling very sorry for Pinkie here."
"As I said to you before Rainbow brought Pinkie in, we intended to tell you about it, Chronicle, but we knew she might be stalking about and so we didn't have the time," Twilight said. "Still, you do have a point about running interference. I admit that I never thought of that."
He turned to his charge, then smacked himself in the face with a hoof. "Seriously? Speaking of, how did you fail to notice the tin can telephone dangling just inches above your head until you were ready to leave. Even a curious foal would've noticed that." She just blushed sheepishly at that. "By the way, was Spike in on this? Because I find it rather offensive if he's told and I wasn't."
"He wasn't. The less who know, the better. And I don't think Spike is a good secret keeper."
He gave a strong sigh. "Just so this doesn't have to happen again, if any future birthday parties for Pinkie Pie are to be done, she should be the first to know, okay?"
C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP
“Dear Princess Celestia: I am writing to you from the most delightful party. I am not only having a great time with my friends, but also was given the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson about friendship. Always expect the best from your friends, and never assume the worst. Rest assured that a good friend always has your best interests at heart. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
P.S. (from Chronicle) Just because your friends don't want to play all the time doesn't mean they don't care about you any more. Sometimes, real life takes precedence over partying.”
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'explosive capability of lemons'. LEMONS
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS DONT MAKE LEMONADE GET MAD
3172918 Seriously adamdwarf that is just plain crazy why would somebody make lemonade mad when it's just water with lemon juice and sugar.