Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic

by nightelf37

(NOT) Ponyville Confidential

Special 6: Chronicle's Birthday Party

Last year, Chronicle celebrated his birthday in Hub Equestria with his family. The year before that, it was the same deal. This year however was going to be different, partly because Pinkie Pie had convinced him with much puppy-dog eyes to promise to attend it here. And at the day before his birthday, she made him Pinkie Promise not to use Surveillance for the next twenty-four hours.

Today, it was his birthday, although the party wasn't until later this afternoon. Right now, he was walking with Skyla through the Everfree Forest to the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. He knew that this was just a means of running interference, but at least it allowed for some more getting-to-know-each-other time.

It was a bit ridiculous however when he was joined by Tasty Snack, Graphite (whom he hasn't seen in a while and was carrying a pair of saddlebags), and Big Macintosh. The sole pegasus in the party was at the lead. They all knew whose birthday it was today; this trip was just to kill some time. And some of them had other personal reasons for coming along.

"So, Skyla. Where exactly are we going?"

"I bet you haven't been there before!" she said excitedly. "Mystic Shield and I, as well as some of his class, bypassed that place during their field trip."

"During which those blue monsters attacked Ponyville?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," groaned Tasty. "My sister had quite a field day in selling armor the day after."

"And I was able to sell quite a bit too in weapons," said Graphite as he faced Chronicle. "You haven't been visiting me lately, by the way."

"Sorry, Graphite."

"Eh, it's okay. Your weapon is your own spell. If only I were one of those who can forge special rings to bestow specific classical elements…"

"You know, I've seen such things in the black market."

"Hold on a second! You go to such…"

"Yes. I'm not above such measures when it comes to getting what I need. Of course, I make certain it won't come back to bite me in the tail when I least expect it." He then turned to face Skyla again. "As I was saying, where exactly are we going?"

"We're headed to an old castle. It's rumored that the two Princesses once lived there."

"Oh, that place? Been there already."

This seemed to surprise her. "Really?!"

"Yeah. Found the Elements of Harmony there."

"!—" She tried to figure out what he meant, then started trying to jog her memory.

As she did that, Chronicle turned to the largest pony in the group. "Hey, Macintosh. Why are you here? Don't you have work to do in the farm?"

"Nnnope. All done."

"I find that hard to believe. As far as I can remember, your family doesn't accept hired help in your farm, even though I see Caramel come over sometimes. But your business with him is none of mine."

There was no reaction whatsoever to that statement. "…Applejack insisted I come with you."

"Why? She should know I'm capable of defending myself and these guys. I am a bodyguard, after all."

"It's not that. She says I need to…"

"Get to know me more?"

"Find out why you don't like her that much."

Chronicle stopped walking just as they reached a clearing—the same one where he and his friends confronted the manticore more than a year ago. "Really. She said that, Macintosh?"

"Eeyup."

"Huh. I figured she'd find out by herself." He took a deep breath, noticing Graphite make small talk with Tasty about her sister. "It's just that among the stupid things my friends sometimes do, she has the record for the worst, no offense to her. Still, I'd follow her lead in a heartbeat when her plan's good, and she's a very reliable pony."

Macintosh just nodded before the party resumed walking. "By the way…"

"Yes, Macintosh?"

"Why do you keep calling me that? Why not Big Mac? Everypony calls me that."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. I am never gonna call you that, okay?"

"Why not?"

"A year ago, I was once hired as a bodyguard for a griffon. At that point, I had such a reputation even non-ponies sought my services."

"What was this griffon like?" cut in Graphite.

"It's rude to just interrupt, but I'll continue anyway. Unfortunately, I am not obliged to confer the details to just whoever I like. Ahem. Every day, this griffon always goes to McDonner's, a fast food chain in the Griffon Kingdom. He never stops talking about and eating burgers called Big Macs every hour on the hour while there. Now, whenever I hear 'Big Mac', it just reminds me how annoying he was. So you can guess why I don't want to call you that, right?"

Macintosh remained silent for a moment before replying, "…Eeyup."

Right after that, Skyla finally realized what Chronicle had been getting to earlier. "D'oh! I'm such a dunce!"

C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S

After crossing the river Steven Magnet lived in (and greeting said river serpent [a sea serpent would be in the sea]), the group reached the bridge that separated the rest of the forest from the castle. One by one, they crossed it, and soon entered the castle, beginning at the 'room' where the Elements of Harmony were first seen for a thousand years. They bypassed that and made their way straight into the castle courtyard. It was marked by banners that depicted the two winged unicorn sisters—blue with moon for Princess Luna on the left, yellow with sun for Celestia on the right.

"So…since you've evidently been here before," the sole pegasus in the group began. "Where would you like to start?"

"To tell the truth, my friends and I haven't been here long," Chronicle confessed. "The only rooms I remember are the first one we entered, and then a room in one of the towers. Twilight Sparkle and I got teleported, the rest probably knew a bit more, but since we were in a race against Nightmare Moon, they weren't exactly sightseeing."

"Should we split up in groups?" suggested Tasty. She was answered with a shake of the head from their de facto leader.

"Nu-uh. From my experience, ruins are rife with booby traps. It would be unwise."

"Okay."

"Could we look for the castle armory?" asked Graphite. "I wanna see what weapons they got and if I can restore them or smelt them down for scrap metal."

"Do you really think there'd be any left after a millennium of rust and rot?" retorted the earth pony mare.

"Maybe. Where do you suggest we go?"

"Who cares?" said Skyla. "We're gonna go exploring either way!"

"Lucky it isn't star spider season today," muttered Tasty. "I'm scared of spiders."

C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S

"I'll have to say that this tapestry still looks great even after a thousand years," commented the sole pegasus.

The group of five stood very close to a battered Luna tapestry hanging on a wall elsewhere in the castle.

"We better not disturb it. Who knows if it might fall apart at the slightest touch?"

"I don't know." The ghost white pony went to the center and tapped the tapestry at the center. "Looks pretty sturdy to me." To her surprise, a decidedly un-tapestry-like creaking noise emanated from it. "Uh oh."

"What's happening?" gasped Graphite.

After a few moments, the entire section of wall suddenly rotated 180 degrees on a vertical pivot through its center, whisking all five ponies around it and to the other side.

Everypony gave a harsh look at the one who had triggered the mechanism. Just how do these things still operate even after such a long time of neglect? Chronicle thought to himself.

"At least we're all still together?" said Skyla sheepishly.

While still frowning, Macintosh replied, "Eeyup."

C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S

A trapdoor opened in the middle of a hallway. Thankfully, nopony fell in since nopony was on it. Well, one did fall in but it was just a magical clone. Chronicle had dispatched one just in case and to find out just what's beneath.

"Good call," commented Macintosh.

Skyla stood a long way ahead of them, looking at her companions at the other side as they then approached her, going around the trapdoor.

"When you've traveled the world and experienced all sorts of things, you're bound to be savvy enough to anticipate much of them," Chronicle said as they caught up with Skyla and continued traveling. "That, and I read a couple of Daring Do books in my free time."

"You read the series?" asked Tasty. "Me too!"

"It's an engaging adventure series. Not all of my reading is on learning spells, you know."

"We never assumed that."

"I know that."

(A/N: Just as Chronicle 'follows' the story the 'main show' is about sans these extras, one of his cousins is assigned to follow Daring Do's 'tales' and is likely her traveling companion who wishes to be written out by the author.)

The five of them reached a doorway to the left. Through it was a long staircase that spiraled its way down the inside wall of a very high tower. The group hadn't realized that they had reached such a high floor during their exploration.

"Down?" asked Skyla.

There was an unanimous agreement. "Grr, an anonymous source tipped me that a rare forging material can be found in this castle," grumbled Graphite as they descended the staircase. Well, Skyla just descended via her own wing-power.

"What kind of material?" asked Tasty. "Plan on having my sister make something for you? If I remember correctly, you only sell weapons. It's my sister who's the forger, and even then she doesn't normally make weapons; just armor and shields."

"I thought it was about time we made a collaboration. Build up stuff for a better self-defense effort. Ever since those blue monsters attacked. I mean, the martial arts community, Mystic Shield's school, and the local police force is good, and I think I also heard a rumor of the Mayor taking after her father, who was also a wrestler before becoming Mayor as well of a different city, but… What I'm trying to say is the town needs to be better prepared for attacks. We can't keep holding out for heroes all the time. We live next to the Everfree Forest, for Celestia's sake."

"But didn't you say that the monsters there rarely ever leave the forest?" asked Chronicle.

"I know, but rarely doesn't mean not at all. After all, with the Ursa Minor incident…"

"Wasn't that because two dimwitted colts had the bright idea of luring it over to Ponyville?" said Skyla.

"I know that. I know we have no need for walls, but if that's the case, then at least its defenders must be prepared enough."

"Could you give us any more details about this collaboration?"

"Well, I'm thinking on talking with the Martial Arts Group first. Blades and bludgeons aren't the only things I have for sale. I got staffs, kali sticks, armored shoes, sorry I can't think up of much."

"I'll tell Mystic Shield about this and see what I can do," offered the mare-faced stallion.

"Thanks, Chronicle."

At that time, they reached the bottom of the staircase and found themselves facing a hallway full of…disembodied pony legs. These legs were pointing upward at an angle, the hooves bent downward, and each had a bracket attached to hold an extinguished torch.

"Okay. This is extremely disturbing," remarked Skyla as they stared into the darkness ahead.

"Eeyup," concurred Macintosh as they cautiously walked down the hall. Graphite cast an illumination spell, flaring his horn to shed some light. Chronicle could've done the spell as well, but only he has a weapon that can be brought up at a moment's notice and has range. Graphite hasn't attended any of Mystic Shield's classes.

"Everypony stay vigilant," warned Chronicle. "One can never know what could be creeping in these halls."

Suddenly, as they walked, something made contact with Tasty's body, making her freeze in fright. "Guys, are any of you touching me?"

"Nnnope."

"Nu-uh."

"I'm way over here."

"Uh-uh."

Tasty looked down to see a hoof stretched across her shoulders. It was a deep shade of blue, and it extended from a hole in the wall. She yelled in fear and surprise, throwing off the interloping limb… which dissipated in sparks and caused Chronicle to twitch for a bit.

"Huh," he said. "Looks like my clone fell into an oubliette and found a hole leading to here."

"How do you know that?" asked Skyla as the earth pony mare hid behind Macintosh.

"Because that was my clone that had touched Tasty Snack. I know 'cause when it dissipated from her panicking, its memories returned to me. Still, it's best we leave this hallway as quickly as possible."

All of a sudden, a melancholy minor melody from a pipe organ began to play. This made everypony's fur stand on end, even Chronicle as he went on high alert.

"Something tells me we're not alone in this castle," said Graphite.

"You think?" snarked Chronicle.

"We'd better find that rare material as soon as possible. I don't think we have a very good reason for staying here any longer than we have to, right?"

"R-right." agreed Skyla. "But let's not hurry. We could get lost, and that would take much more time. There aren't many who would come to help us, given what the Everfree Forest is known for." The reality was that Pinkie Pie and the others still needed a little more time to prepare the party. If they went back now, Even when factoring in the time it would take for them to return to Ponyville, it would be too soon.

C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S

Much later…

The group finally managed to locate the armory, but it was nearly empty. Only a few spears remained, and their shafts had already been eaten by termites. There were two books that miraculously survived the times. That, or their pages have a spell on them that protects them from rotting. I'm gonna have to ask Twilight about this.

The first book was merely a log for the guards that were once stationed here. "Well, look at the bright side," Tasty told a disappointed Graphite. "This is an archaeological find."

The second book however had directions leading to said rare material. And they were close by.

The five ponies soon found themselves at one end of a hallway lined with pony suits of full plate armor. "Graphite, do you have a spell that can detect heat signatures?" asked Chronicle.

"No. I'm a weapons dealer. I have no need for such a spell." Since the hallway was dark, he was illuminating it.

"Okay. Stay close everypony, and stay alert. They probably won't come to life anytime soon, but I'm not taking any chances. And don't stand on where the armor suits stand. We saw those flipping walls, there's no telling those could too." As if on cue, the pipe organ played again and one of the platforms whirled toward the wall. Thankfully, nopony was standing on it. "We'd better hurry and find that rare material, then we get out of here no questions asked. And if we ever find the room with that organ, leave its player to me."

At that moment, the organ player decided to stop testing notes and go for a full song. The platforms holding the armors went wild. Immediately, everypony ran, but remained close.

"Graphite, where's this rare material?" Chronicle asked him. "Tarrying here is becoming more and more of a bad idea, and it's my birthday today! I'm not gonna let Pinkie Pie's efforts go to waste."

"It's over here!" He showed him the book's instructions.

"There? Okay, let's go!"

The group managed to make it back to a better-lit and wider hallway…where they'll have to watch out for trapdoors. As extra precaution, Chronicle conjured barriers on the floor for them to step on. Eventually, they made it back to the courtyard, where for some reason the music was louder.

"Hey, I feel we're getting close to the organ," pointed out Skyla.

"Normally, I'd go for it, but not with you guys," Chronicle argued. "I like you all, but we're not that close. And I'm not confident with us right now. Maybe next time. It's not like it's the end of the world if we don't stop that organ, right?"

"I guess not."

"Then let's find what Graphite's looking for, and then get out of here."

Luckily for the group, the place Graphite's rare material was was accessible from outside the castle. It had been stashed at the bottom of the tower where he and Twilight had confronted Nightmare Moon and where they and their friends activated the Elements of Harmony. They reached the tower and located a door. Graphite opened it, cast an illumination spell, and everypony save Skyla went in, the pegasus opting to keep watch.

A minute later, the music was still playing by the time Graphite and the others got out, each with two ingots of the rare material, which were quickly put in the weapons dealer's saddlebags. Chronicle couldn't figure out its name, only that it was yellow in color yet it wasn't gold.

"Got it! Let's get outta here!"

With that, the party of five hightailed it out of the castle, but their leader decided to summon a couple of magical clones and had them investigate the castle without the knowledge of his companions. The organ music continued to play behind them as they fled.

C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S—C—BM—G—TS—S

The group was finally out of the Everfree Forest and Ponyville was in their sights.

"I failed them," lamented Skyla. "It was supposed to be just a simple exploration of the castle. But it turned into a fetch quest for Graphite."

"Which I didn't intend it to be, but I'm thankful for it regardless," said the weapons dealer.

"It was still an interesting trek, am I right?" Tasty asked Macintosh.

"Eeyup." He the looked up at the sky. "Hmm. Afternoon. Isn't it—"

"Oh right!" said the birthday boy. "Now where is it again?"

"I'll take us there." said Skyla. "My present should already be at the venue."

"I'll catch up," Graphite told them as he left. "Gotta drop these off."

Tasty stayed. "My sister should be there. She has ours."

Macintosh turned to leave. "Sorry. Applejack has our gift. We can't all come unfortunately."

"That's all right," Chronicle told the large stallion. "I'm not much of a materialist."

Less than a minute later, the two mares and one stallion were in front of Mystic Shield's Self-Defense Academy for Unicorns. They opened the doors, and then walked into the darkness ahead. The doors then closed thanks to an enchantment by Mystic Shield… after which the lights were opened.

"SURPRISE!"

Once the lights were on, what he saw put a smile on his face. His friends were here in front of him, not just the Spirits of Harmony (and Spike), but Mystic Shield as well, among the couple dozen ponies that were invited to the party. As promised by Pinkie Pie, the party was P3-themed. The banners were colored in pink, aqua, and green, the three colors of its main members. The balloons were shaped in the form of pearls, seashells, and all sorts of undersea creatures that balloons can be formed into; it was P3's prominent theme. Posters of its members were also present, likely owned by Mystic.

Of course, there was also a table full of food, complete with a birthday cake, which was designed to look like a seaside stage, and it had figurines resembling the three members of P3.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" everypony chorused.

"Wow!" exclaimed Chronicle. "This is a better party than my family ever managed to plan! But…" He noticed something missing. "Where's the music? I was hoping for at least a vinyl record."

"Silly!" said Pinkie. "Why settle for just a record…" She pointed at the door leading to Mystic's quarters, which opened and what came out made Chronicle drop his jaw. "…if you can have the real deal?"

The first pony he saw come out the door was a light blue pegasus, and recognized her to be Sound Wave, whom he had dressed up as during his first Nightmare Night in Ponyville. Her hair was the same shade of blue as Chronicle's own coat, very wavy, and had a cross-shaped barrette on her mane. Her eyes were blue, and her cutie mark depicted a surfing musical note.

The second one was a (fuchsia) pink earth pony, P3's leader Sealight Glisten. Her hair was blonde, though a shade darker than Applejack's, and was short, her mane kept in place by two hair ribbons on either side. Her eyes were also blue, and her cutie mark depicted a lighthouse, which she said represents a beacon of hope.

The third pony was a light green unicorn. Her hair was of a darker shade than her coat, and was kept straight and long (both mane and tail). Her eyes were green like her coat, and her cutie mark was a trio of jasmine flowers. Her attitude didn't imply outright gentleness though. In fact, she seemed like the cold sort, although 'defrosting'.

All three of them winged sea shell necklaces colored in their respective coat colors. (Mystic Shield had missed that particular detail and Chronicle had neglected it in his Nightmare Night costume.)

After being at a loss of words for a while, Chronicle was finally able to speak again as the trio stood at the side of the room, where they came from, which seemed to have been cleared as if a stage was to be set there.
"Pinkie Pie… How…" He knew she was capable of doing impossible things, but this was just ridiculous. Just how would she be able to get these idol singers to come just for one pony's birthday party, while making certain they didn't have anything else scheduled?

"Somehow, without even knowing much of who we are, your friend here delivered a message to us," Sealight explained, her voice implying her as a young mare who insists in seeing the world in a positive light. "Of course, we were a bit skeptical. After all, we aren't exactly hired for birthday parties. But when she told us who it was for, Nicole Seacrest and I immediately accepted."

"Nicole Seacrest is their manager," Mystic told everybody else. "And Sealight's mentor."

"We never got the chance to properly thank you for saving us back then, Chronicle," said Sound. Chronicle's impression of her voice when he had cosplayed as her was spot on; high and perky. "Well, not the others, anyway."

"Wait a second," interrupted Spike. "Who did you save them from?"

"That pony was you?" asked Rarity. This made the others turn to face her. "I was there at that performance they mentioned."

"Huh. To think I was in the same place as a future friend of mine," said Chronicle. "Not counting Canterlot." When Twilight Sparkle was nothing but Princess Celestia's student. "And I never went to Ponyville until that fateful day." He thought it unnecessary to tell the P3 about the Elements of Harmony, and in turn spend some more time explaining "Else Pinkie Pie would've recognized me."

"What exactly happened there?" said party planner asked the trio. "Sounds like an interesting story! We've seen Chronicle do awesome things, but we'd like to hear similar tales from others. Know what other ponies thought of him." Her friends didn't actually agree with this, but were interested regardless.

"I guess we can spare some time for that," said Jasmine. She sounded older and more mature than either of her companions. "Although we can't consider it one of our gifts since he was there."

F—L—A—S—H—B—A—C—K

At the seaside stage, the three main singers were facing the crowd that had gathered to watch them sing. Sealight was on center stage, with Sound and Jasmine at either side. Behind them was their band, the Merpony Melody. Back then, that consisted of lead guitarist Firm Riff, bassist Mild Strum, and drummer Soft Beat.

"Thank you all for waiting, everypony!" Sound greeted. "This is the P3's second Seaside Live Concert!"

The audience gave a long and loud round of applause.

"Quick question," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "What does P3 mean, anyway?"

"It was meant to be Pitchi Perfect Ponies, but we changed it to its current title because we didn't want to get sued," explained Sound in a somewhat annoyed manner.

All of a sudden, a rumbling came from the sea. And then a sea serpent made out of water surfaced. Some of the audience weren't as scared of this as they should, as P3 sometimes hired stage magicians who specialized in water tricks.

(On an unrelated note, Trixie was not among those hired stage magicians, as she preferred fireworks and hogging the spotlight.)

The P3 took a step back as the "sea serpent" approached, and everypony could see four figures from atop its head.

"That's them, all right!" a voice came. A black pegasus mare jumped off and landed on the stage. Her mane and tail were styled in dreadlocks and were colored yellow and brown. Her eyes were red and her cutie mark was two tornadoes. According to criminal records, her name was Dual Twister.

"Three Merpony Duchesses hiding in plain sight," said another voice as the "sea serpent" lowered its head. A purple unicorn got off, her horn glowing violet, and leered at the P3 with pale pink eyes. Her crimson hair was very wavy and very long and her cutie mark depicted a sea serpent. Criminal records named her Aqua Scale.

One of the band members attempted to hightail it when a blast of ice dissuaded her, nearly freezing her solid.

"Uh-uh-uh. We can't have anypony leaving just yet. We have something important to tell you all." A snow white unicorn jumped down from the "sea serpent" and flared her horn, which shone in an ice blue aura. Her hair was blond and straight, and she wore two ice-themed hairbands on either side of her head. Her eyes were periwinkle, and her cutie mark was a swirling snowstorm. Her name was Sleet Heart.

This got the crowd murmuring in spite of the clear danger. The reason why no police had come over an attempt to apprehend the intruders was because their corrupt chief was bribed into keeping his forces away from the concert. As for security, they had been incapacitated minutes prior by them and a fourth member.

This member also jumped out of the "sea serpent". This member was a vermillion earth pony with very light green wavy hair, eyes of the same color, a gray bonnet, and a piano cutie mark. She went by the name Short Pitch. Speaking of pianos, the "sea serpent" appeared to gently spit one out; a grand piano to be exact.

The P3 took another step back and clutched a hoof onto their necklaces. Pitch noticed it as she seated herself at the piano, ready to play, and said, "Now, now, now. We wouldn't want to make a scene, now would we?"

"Just come quietly and there won't be any trouble," said Aqua as her "sea serpent" moved in to grab the P3.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

The new intruder's voice confused the criminals but it was soon clear who spoke when somepony teleported right above the serpent's neck. The pony cast a spell and a blade of energy emerged from their horn. They swung it down and beheaded the creature, turning it into simple water again as they landed between the two parties.

"Chronicle!" cried out Sound.

"Seacrest hired him to be a temporary replacement bodyguard after Pocampus, our usual as well as assistant manager, got sick…" Sealight explained.

"For the record, I was already a P3 fan before I entered their service," said Chronicle.

"Who do you think you are, meddler?" sneered Dual.

"Who?" Chronicle entered a battle stance. "I'm their bodyguard, and I'm not sorry to say that the P3 is not going anywhere."

"Oh yeah?" dared Aqua. "You and what army?" From the sea she 'created' another "sea serpent". Dual crouched, ready to ram into him. Sleet charged up for another ice spell. And Pitch prepared to…play the piano?

"Just me. And that's all I'll need." And with that, he charged.

Short Pitch began to play and blobs of water came out from the sea and began to fall onto the stage. As it was, the piano was empowered with water magic. Sleet then froze them into balls of ice before directing them at the pony playing hero.

Chronicle easily cleaved them apart, also smoothly dodging Aqua's "serpent". But then he saw Dual bypass him, and he knew she was headed to the P3.

Speaking of which, it turns out the piano music had another effect; somehow, the three idol singers looked like they were experiencing a mental attack and were clutching their heads, sans Sound who was attempting to pull both Sealight and Jasmine. The same didn't go for the band members though as Dual sped toward the trio. Sound didn't scream, but just continued pulling. Before the black pegasus could reach them, Chronicle teleported right between them with a barrier and stopped her in her tracks.

"Why didn't you just make a magical clone?" Applejack asked, interrupting the story again.

He then fired a couple more shots at the criminals, keeping Aqua and Sleet away. Pitch continued playing even as a few 'shurikens' whizzed over her head or grazed her piano.

"I hadn't learned that spell yet at the time," Chronicle answered.

He flared his horn and summoned a magical clone, which began shooting side-by-side with him, forcing Dual to regroup with the others.

"Oh wait. I had. Just wasn't that very experienced enough with it yet. Hadn't gotten the time to go for complex commands. Back then, it would just do what I do and follow simple instructions."

All the while, the audience was torn between vacating the premises or just staying. Who knew if that mare would turn its "serpent" on them if they did run? It was amazing in itself that not one of them went into a panic, which would've devolved the situation, which would've resulted in casualties. Some of them must've thought it was all part of the act. That or the music from Pitch's piano also had some sort of subliminal effect on them.

"We can't let this punk get the better of us," growled Aqua. "He's just one pony!"

"More like two to me," said Sleet as she decided to freeze the floor.

Chronicle frowned at the sight of the ice, he knew how to fight on it, but he wasn't too confident with his skills at that time, so he and his clone just continued blasting away. His spell arsenal wasn't as expansive back then; all he had was a 'blade', a 'shield', a shot spell, and sometimes sneakiness. Behind him, the P3 were still being 'bombarded' b the music.

Aqua summoned another "sea serpent" but this time it didn't fall apart from the 'shurikens' since she was maintaining it with her magic. "Hmm…looks like I have to get moving." Chronicle then turned to his copy. "Protect the ponies behind us." The clone nodded and he skidded straight for the foe. Ensuring he wouldn't slip, and using his spells to keep the "serpent" from knocking him off course, he made a beeline for Short Pitch, only for a wall of ice to come up in front of him.

He bumped into it and it halted his momentum. As his barrier dissipated from his loss of focus, Dual pounced on him.

"The fight wasn't easy, of course. I was up against four opponents with actual skill, unlike the Dig Dogs. I knew I was in over my head. But I couldn't give up. I had failed one of my charges once and paid for it with her life."

He teleported himself and Dual and they re-emerged up-side down right above Sleet, slamming into her. He managed to jump off, then draw his 'horn blade' mid-air, which he then swung down on the two of them, knocking them both out with the pain. With Sleet out of commission, the water balls raining down on them thanks to Pitch's piano remained just that.

Just then, the "sea serpent" swallowed him and began to ascend as it drowned him. "Let's see you escape this!"

There was a flash from inside the "serpent"'s body and Chronicle appeared right in front of Aqua, drenched and breathing hard, but still okay. His back hooves already glowing, he spun around to buck her in the face, knocking her out cold. "There you go."

"I rarely go hoof melee ever since I used my 'horn blade', which has more range."

Chronicle then turned to Pitch, who had just finished her melody, and had just realized her allies had been defeated. "Want some more?" he dared.

"You…you're gonna pay for this!" Pitch took out an orb of unknown purpose, which would never be known since the bodyguard shot it out of her hoof before she could use it.

"I think not." He then aimed his blade at her neck. "You're under arrest for disrupting a performance, attempted ponynapping, and assault. You technically delivered the first blow. And I know this is not all an act."

And then the crowd was in an uproar.

E—N—D—F—L—A—S—H—B—A—C—K

"In spite of the attack, after the four were successfully detained, we managed to carry on in the concert as if it never happened," Sealight finished the story. "Sound Wave spent a night with him before his contract with us ended."

"Before you ask, she was the one doing the advances, not me," Chronicle then added. "I did not return her obvious affections, especially after learning she has a crush on another of their mentors, a pianist by the name of Cadent Note." Sound blushed a bit as he said that. "My contract and conditions didn't allow me to find love. And don't ask me about what the attackers meant by Merpony Duchesses, I don't know and I don't care. I'm not overtly curious since it seems to be their 'story', and I'm not part of it."

"But now he finally has found love!" said Pinkie as she went over to him, pulling Fluttershy along. "And these two are officially together!"

Unfortunately for Chronicle, word of this had spread from Daisy after he bought flowers from her shop. Now the whole town knew, especially when Gabby Gums, a.k.a. the Cutie Mark Crusaders, released the rumor in the Foal Free Press (he personally preferred Equestria Daily if he ever had to read the news). Said rumor however, was whether or not his special somepony was her or Twilight, the latter based on the fact that he spends all his sleeping time in the same 'house' as her. They were unaware it was just professional and platonic.

And just like Rarity to a humongous gem, Sealight went starry-eyed at this affair. "Really? I'm so glad! Best of luck to you both! And I pray this love is not star-crossed!"

This gave the birthday stallion a pang of guilt he managed to successfully hide. "Well I hope you weren't simply invited so we can reminisce about old times."

"Actually, we also have presents for you," said Jasmine. "Starting with mine. We have a song that has yet to be officially released, and we'd like you to be the first to hear it." She turned to her friends. "Shall we?"

Sound and Sealight nodded and the three of them put a hoof at their necklaces. "We keep our idol dresses in these necklaces, which have a special spell to contain them," the latter explained. "Please stand back." Once the stage area was cleared, the P3 invoked, "Pearl Voice!"

As one, their shell necklaces opened, revealing a pearl of similar color inside, and a bright light emerged from it, engulfing the three ponies. It lasted only a few seconds, and when it faded, they were dressed in their signature idol costumes.

Sound now sported a short dress, with a set of boots to match it. The dress was light blue and the skirt was colored like the sky with two layers and ruffles. The boots were baby blue with pearl bracelets on them. She wore star-shaped earrings, her hair somehow grew longer, and her barrette was now star-shaped as well.

Sealight's outfit consisted of a pink dress with a short skirt, and lacy carnation pink boots, which matched Sound's in form. Her hair was also now in very long pigtails.

And Jasmine was wearing a long halter neck dress with a slit on the side ending at the thigh, long boots with dark green slightly ruffled cuffs to her elbow, and heeled sandals (like the ones in Rainbow's Gala dress), all of them a darker shade of green than her own coat. Just like Sound's, her hair seemed to have increased in length as well.

Everypony was awed at this 'transformation' and voiced their opinions. A few even cheered, being P3 fans just like Mystic. "Thank you, everypony!" announced Jasmine as Pinkie tossed a microphone to her, which she caught with her aura. "Please enjoy the P3 special for today's birthday colt, Chronicle!" Everypony stepped aside to reveal him, even as a party hat was placed on his head by Twilight.

Sealight then turned to a stallion standing by. "Hit it, Tidal Star!"

Tidal Star was a red pegasus with short spiky orange hair and brown eyes. He wore a simple black vest, and his left ear was pierced with a small hoop earring. Hie cutie mark was a surfboard ridden by a five-point star. "You got it, Sealight!" And he nudged the needle onto the turntable, the music started playing.

Now Playing: KODOU (English Fandub) by ChiokuDubs

The P3 bobbed their heads as they waited for the appropriate moment, then as the moment neared, Jasmine began to speak, "Once again, we'd like to thank you all for coming."

"This is our first performance of our latest song, 'Heartbeat'." Sound.

"We dedicate this song for Chronicle, his friends, and the magic of friendship!" Sealight.

As one, all three of them said the catchphrase they always said before singing the first verse. "Pichi Pony Voice Live Start!"

In the distance a dark storm starts to form, and we feel the need to give up♪
But we open our hearts, look deep inside for power…The power of love♪

Will we fight until the battle is won, we will not shatter our promise!♪
Let's bathe in the light that's shining down on our fate! And splash out of the sea♪

We will become much brighter…[much brighter, much brighter] than the sun♪
Our voices will get louder [louder, louder, louder!]♪
It's happening now…It's happening now!♪

Can you hear my heart beating? It's creating a beautiful melody!♪
Coming from the ocean blue, our feelings are profound and oh so true!♪

I take a look at myself in a clear shining mirror,♪
The power of love will fill my heart and it will start to burst at the seams♪
And I'll be born again, in this hot perfect harmony!♪

The entire audience was in an uproar. Although some didn't honestly love the song (without hating it), something in the music just made them feel so happy.

C—TS—S—A—RD—R—F—PP—G—MS—M—TS—SW—SG—JT—TS

After the song…

The phonograph was now playing another vinyl record, which was playing other songs P3 has sang. Currently, Chronicle and Tidal were playing Twister, and they were at each other's limits.

"So, what happened at that performance where you save my marefriend and the rest of the P3?" Tidal asked as he moved his hoof to another circle.

"I'm assuming you weren't there." Another call and he did the same

"If you remember, the concert was at night, and I had to sleep early. There was a surfing competition the day after."

"Not a very loyal coltfriend, are you?"

"I apologized to her as soon as I met her again. Also, even if I was there, what could I have done? Not everypony is as combat-capable as you or your friends."

"How did you know?"

"Sealight mailed me that their next performance is in Canterlot, so I figured I'd stick around for a while here until I hear word of their arrival. Your friend Pinkie Pie found me and hosted a party."

"And for some reason she didn't even invite her friends over."

"I learned my lesson from last time," Pinkie cut in. "Too many parties can really get boring if attended too many times, even if it my parties."

"I see."

"Also, you already lost. I didn't want to interrupt earlier since you were talking with Tidal Star!"

"Oopsie."

C—PP—TS—C—PP—TS—C—PP—TS—C—PP—TS

"And now it's time for the gift-giving!" Pinkie announced.

It was decided that his closest friends were to be the last to give their presents, so Mjölna went up first. Her gift to Chronicle was a helmet made out of a rare metal he identified to be mythril.

Accompanying her was an earth pony the same size as Big Macintosh. His fur was dark red and his hooves were black just like Chronicle. His mane and tail were the color of ash and had no particular style. He had a big chin, wore goggles over his eyes, and his cutie mark was a hammer and anvil.

"Ah, so this is Chronicle," he said as they shook hooves. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"Um, who would you be?"

"Heat Hammer, older brother and mentor of Mjölna." They let go. "I'm also a blacksmith, though I work in Canterlot. You know, you were the first pony to give her a job request of this level. To bring her something so special like a river serpent scale to forge into a shield… I can't thank you enough. Aside from repairing ornamental weapons, there wasn't much smithing for her to do until your request came along. How did you hear of my sister?"

"She was recommended by Graphite, the local weapons dealer."

"Ah, Graphite. I heard the two of them were planning something. Something that concerns the town."

"Yeah. He mentioned it being under-defended and they're likely hoping to better arm the police force, the Martial Arts Community, and maybe even this Academy."

Heat turned to face his sister. "Is this true?" She nodded in response. "I see. Allow me to help you in that endeavor." He turned back to face Chronicle. "Oh, I have a gift for you as well." He took out from his saddlebag a large yellow jewel shaped like a rhombus. "This here is a thunder topaz. One of few elemental-type gems that exist in Equestria. Aside from being absolutely delicious for dragons, if forged into an elemental ring, your magical attacks will attain said element."

"Huh?"

"I heard you're a brilliant fighter, and I figured… well… "

"Oh."

"Unfortunately, while I heard there's a place in Canterlot you can go to for that, I don't remember its location."

"I see. Thanks for the intel anyway."

The two earth pony blacksmiths then left to allow the next one in line to deliver their gift.

Skyla's gift was a pair of standard-issue Wonderbolts goggles. Graphite gave an ornate sword…except the blade was missing, which was all right with him. The Cutie Mark Crusaders shared a single apology letter to him for what they had done to Fluttershy as Gabby Gums (and he had been given an extremely stern word from the Apple family, Rarity and her parents, and Rainbow Dash for his idea of retribution on them). Bon Bon offered a bundle of her best quality candies. Cherry Berry offered a free pass to her Twinkling Balloon Services.

After a couple of other presents, Sealight was next. Her gift was a carpet straight from Saddle Arabia. Princess Celestia had been there a few weeks ago, during the incident with "Trixie the Dictator". However, on opening it, it was revealed that it was a magic one, the sort that can be used for flying as can be seen by a few glowing glyphs on the borders.

"We got it as a gift after we held a performance there," Sealight explained. "However, we found it to be very fickle around anyone who isn't a stallion."

"What about your bodyguard Pocampus?" Chronicle asked her. "You referred to him as a 'he' in casual conversation."

"Pocampus is not a pony."

"Then what is he?"

Sealight put a hoof at the back of her neck and rubbed it. "A diamond dog."

Nearby, Rarity, who had overheard them, spit out the punch she was drinking. She turned to face Sealight and gasped, "Wait, what?!"

"Less than a year ago, Rarity had been ponynapped by one pack of them near these parts," Chronicle explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Nicole took in Pocampus a long time ago before I got my cutie mark," Sealight told the two unicorns. "I don't remember much of the details, but she told me he was found was the same day I had been ponynapped by a pack of diamond dogs just like you, Rarity. Apparently, she had called for a search party and there was a…rough struggle. Thankfully, there were no casualties, pony or diamond dog.

"However, in the chaos of the rescue, Pocampus had ended up coming along. We tried to return him, but they refused since he was the runt of the litter. so Nicole decided to take him in."

"I see. Interesting story."

Up next was Sound, who brought in a long white pillow, carrying it in her hooves. "We're quite popular in the island of Neighpon, not just the East Coast," she said. "And Neighpon has these pillows called dakimakura." She flipped it over to reveal that the other side had a teasing image of herself lying on a large bed mattress, as if tempting him to sleep with her. "Sorry about this, but at that time I didn't know you finally found a marefriend. You looked so uninterested in a romantic life."

"I was. Until I found her."

Mystic Shield's was a photo of the two of them that had been taken a month after the cross-world incident to Solaris Equestria. It was during a certain ribbon-cutting ceremony where his Academy was officially acknowledged by the Mayor as a certified 'school' and part of the Martial Arts Group, which is a civilian group dedicated to the defense of Ponyville against unnatural forces. It's also a vigilance committee, and thankfully vigilantism is not frowned upon at all in Ponyville.

There was also a delivery all the way from Canterlot, the gift coming from Moonbow Peek. It was a small crystal ball, instructions on how to use it, and a letter. Apparently, she had a prophecy for him, but he was going to check on that later tonight. He didn't tell his other friends about it, not wanting them to worry if the prophecy was grave.

And then it was finally his friends' turn to give their gifts.

Applejack's gift was a green checked blanket with an apple pattern. "I know you prefer gifts that have some practical use, but this is the best I could come up with."

"It's okay, Applejack. It's still practical. And the blanket I'm currently using is too thin anyway."

Pinkie's present was…not with her, but already at home, situated somewhere i the basement for him to retrieve. "I couldn't exactly bring it out here in the open," she had explained. He would find out later that it was something called a party cannon. An S & M model ("Whoa, these things are mass-produced?") that mainly fired streamers and banners. He figured these could tangle a target up close.

Rainbow gave him something she bought on a whim while at Canterlot after the blue monster attack; a 'magic conserver' that reduces the amount of magic a unicorn uses when casting a spell without losing any of its effectiveness. It was in the form of a leg band out of cloth and having a small black jewel attached to it. "Wow, I can't believe such a thing existed," he said to her. "Thanks."

Rarity presented a fancy navy blue cloak that was enchanted to resist all sorts of weather, be it intense heat, strong downpour, driving snow, or even hailstones. It's effects are maintained by the user's magical reserves, meaning it was best used for unicorns. And with the way Chronicle's magic operates, it was perfect for him.

Twilight's present was a book titled Advanced Combat Spells for the Royal Guard. "Don't ask how I got it, but I feel you could really use this book. You're not just our bodyguard, you're a friend we can count on."

Spike unfortunately didn't have a gift to give, but the birthday stallion was fine with that; just attending the party at all was enough.

And last but not least was Fluttershy, who was understandably nervous. On her back was a gift box. When he telekinetically opened the box, he saw a woolen scarf. It alternated between pink, two shades of yellow, orange, and blue; both of their hair and coat colors were represented in this scarf. It didn't have that touch of perfection that often came with Rarity's works, yet he could tell that this scarf was hoof-made and not by sewing machine.

Both of them said nothing as he continued to examine the scarf with a curious eye. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "Did you make this?" Fluttershy didn't answer for a while, but before she could, he said, "As my mother always said, as long as you give it with all your heart, it doesn't matter." A scarf is still a practical gift. "Thank you."

He then put his foreleg around her head and pulled her in. He personally thought it was way too early for a kiss, so he just hugged her. The gathered ponies still cheered regardless, and Sealight and Sound squeeing in delight.

C—TS—S—A—RD—R—F—PP—G—MS—M—SW—SG—JT—HH

After the party…

Chronicle was going to bed after that very eventful day, a stack of still-unopened presents still nearby; he was going to open them tomorrow, and Spike would hopefully not peek into them and take them for himself.

Just as he got on it, he took out the crystal ball that was Moonbow Peek's gift to him.

"To Chronicle, From Moonbow Peek," the attached letter had said. "My crystal ball glowed with another prophecy without anybody nearby to read. I don't know why or what's happened, it had also told me where I can find such orbs like this gift to you. After I got one, my crystal ball transferred a bit of its 'power' to it. I could tell that the prophecy regarded you, so I sent it over. If it happens to be your birthday, Happy Birthday, although my present may make you anything but, unfortunately."

Following the instructions, Chronicle activated the small crystal ball and it began to give off a faint glow.

Somebody you haven't seen for a long time will arrive, but with them is somebody known to be a foe, yet at the same time it isn't, Moonbow's voice resounded in his head as the ball showed vague images. This 'foe' will try to turn ponies here to their cause and has a connection to the Elements of Harmony. This 'foe' also perceives the Sun Princess to be a villain.

Thankfully, this matter is quickly cleared up, but a new enemy will rise. It will crave nothing but the oblivion of all. There will be a Mare in the Moon again, and the Sun will also have its own 'prisoner'. When the battle is over, choices will have to be made.

Once the last 'word' was spoken, the crystal ball went dim, becoming nothing more than just that. It left Chronicle confused. "Huh. What could this mean?" he said to himself. "Will I meet Blue Diary again (his world has finally got out of stasis)? Or is it some other relative of mine? And this 'foe'… Nightmare Moon? Discord? Gilda? Rover's pack? Trixie? Some criminal I battled before any of them? What does the future have in store for me?" He continued to ponder it as he went to bed.

Author's Note:

Thankfully, you will have footnotes here because the only thing that would be at the top is the disclaimer, which is already applied in almost every chapter anyway.

1. I know about the Season 4 episode Daring Don't. Don't spoil.

2. Looks like with these events, I'm gonna have to skip the episode "Castle Mane-ia". The reason why is because I decided that Chronicle was way too savvy to fall for the traps in the castle. Which would ruin the episode.

3. As I've said before in "Luna Eclipsed", P3 is based off of the main characters of the animé Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. Just as Sound Wave is my personal expy of "Aqua Pearl Voice" Hanon Hosho, Sealight Glisten is my expy for the animé's main character "Pink Pearl Voice" Lucia Nanami, and Jasmine Trinity is based off of the third member "Green Pearl Voice" Rina Toin.

4. Tidal Star is my expy of Kaito Domoto, Lucia's boyfriend in said animé.

5. Yes. "Magic Duel" will take place before this one, and in the middle of Season 2. Why? Why not? There doesn't seem to be much contradiction. That, and it's 'required' for one of my BONUS chapters, as I've said in the chapter "Lesson Zero".

I decided not to do "Ponyville Confidential" since it was CMC-centric. And I can't find many scenarios for Chronicle to take part in. Well, there was one where he flipped them like pancakes in retribution for something they did. I'll let you guess.

Sorry if this chapter isn't good again. It's quite difficult for me doing these things, you know. And I know I keep looking down on myself in times like this. I know I'm not as good a writer as others, even though these have a lot of description. See ya on Third!

Comments

[Okhlahoma Beat-Down]

I think Shisno is best explained in the form of a Knock Knock joke.

Knock Knock.