• Published 4th Apr 2015
  • 659 Views, 22 Comments

The Puppetmaster - XSomeGuyX



Having found Professor Tall Tale, the Mane Six are a step closer to reversing Spike to his proper age. However, somepony continues to work in the shadows and manages to steal some of the most valuable items in the Kingdom of Equestria...

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Colt in a Conundrum

It was the start of a new morning for Cloudsdale and the start of the workday for the Cloudsdale Couriers. Their jobs involved making deliveries all over the cities, villages and even lone cottages of Equestria. There was nowhere too obscure or extreme that they would not deliver to. Unfortunately, this also meant their workday would always start early in order to ensure that the sterling reputation of the Courier Service stayed intact with their promise of next-day delivery. This, of course, included the beige stallion, Cloud Slider.

As usual, he and the other couriers were waiting in the Cloudsdale Post Office for their assignments for the day. While the other couriers were about ready to leave, Cloud Slider waited attentively for their manager—or as a few of the couriers jokingly called her—their “Wrangler” to give him his haul for the day.

“And… Cloud Slider…” Wrangler said. “Looks like it’s your lucky day, you have only one package to deliver today.”

“Where to?” he asked.

“To…” the mare paused and stared wide-eyed past the beige pegasus. “Derpy!?”

“Hi, Miss Wrangler!” the grey pegasus greeted the manager.

Derpy had made it a habit to accidentally visit the Cloudsdale Post Office every now and then. The higher-ups of the office were always lenient on her and chalked up these visits as a force of habit from her days of living in Cloudsdale. Even if she occasionally made a mistake or two, they could not deny she got the job done more often than not. However, her visits were always seemed to foreshadow some bad luck, whether that meant she would do something to physically harm the office or just bad luck would follow the deliveries for the day.

The two other couriers working that day had taken off as soon as they heard Derpy’s voice. Unfortunately for Cloud Slider, he had not received the location of his delivery for the day nor the package itself, and could not just leave as easily as they did. He waited for his manager as she attempted to deny Derpy entrance into the office. Unluckily for her, Derpy was deceptively strong and busted through the doors that the manager attempted to barricade with her body.

“Ready for my mail for today!” Derpy exclaimed with a smile as she looked down at the couriers’ fallen manager. “The doors didn’t wanna open again? Don’t worry, I think I fixed them!”

“Yes… ‘fixed,’” the managerial mare sighed. “As we’ve told you before, Derpy. You don’t work here anymore. You work at the Ponyville Post Office!”

“Oh yeah!” Derpy said, after taking a moment to register the thought. “I always forget!”

“Too often, if you ask me,” the mare whispered under her breath.

“Whatcha say, Miss Wrangler?” Derpy asked, curiously craning her neck.

“Oh nothing!” the manager faked a smile and waved the question off. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes! Cloud Slider, your delivery is listed right here and it is in Canterlot,” she said as she handed the stallion a package and a small scroll. “Please take Miss Derpy here and point her in the right direction back to Ponyville. Afterwards, you may go on to make your delivery. And be sure to keep an eye out for those renegade pirates!”

“Wait, why do I have to…” Cloud Slider began, taking a big step away from the klutzy pegasus.

“You will take Miss Derpy with you and you will go on to make your delivery for the day!” Wrangler ordered as authoritatively as the young courier ever heard her. “Did I make myself clear?”

The frightened stallion nodded as he trembled violently.

“Now, Derpy,” the manager continued, readjusting her clothes after her outbreak. “Please follow Cloud Slider, if you will.”

“Okay!” the carefree mare boomed as she followed the stallion through the damaged front doors. The manager sighed and went on to find a cloud-shaper to repair the office’s doors.


The six mares and Spike had waited an entire day after visiting their knowledgeable zebra friend to go off and find this “Cloud Slider” who, Spike claimed, knew a pony that was currently researching dragons. Not only was the trip to Cloudsdale a long one, but Twilight had quite worn herself out in her attempt to fix Spike’s age and simply did not have the energy to cast the cloud walking spell or even make the trip. They had decided to set off early to have the best chance of catching the courier before he left to make his deliveries.

“Are you sure about this, Spike?” Twilight asked the dragon as the ground bound ponies climbed into the hot air balloon. Due to his size, they were forced to leave him behind.

“Yeah, he said he knew a pony that was researching dragon, but he didn’t tell me where,” Spike answered. “He did tell me that he worked for the ‘Cloudsdale Courier Service.’ You might still find him there.”

“Ugh… he’s one of those overrated delivery colts,” Rainbow Dash commented.

“Whaddya know about the Cloudsdale Couriers, Rainbow?” Applejack asked her.

“All I know is that they go around and deliver packages and if they don’t report back in on time, they get in trouble,” Rainbow Dash answered. “At least on the Weather Team, as long as I got my work done, they didn’t care when I got it done.”

“Fluttershy?” the rest of the mares turned to the other pegasus in their group for clarification.

“She’s just a little cranky… they got mad at her for losing a lot of packages when she practiced her tricks, and for sleeping on the job,” Fluttershy explained softly.

“Hey! I gave them a show with their delivery!” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Not my fault if the packages couldn’t take on my level of awesome! And after a long day, I think I deserve a little nap!”

“Let’s hope that this courier is a little like you then, Rainbow, and doesn’t show up on time for work,” Twilight laughed.


“Ok…” Cloud Slider stopped as the two pegasi reached the outskirts of the floating city. “Ponyville is that way… okay, Derpy?”

“Alright!” Derpy nodded.

“You got that, right?” he asked. “Just fly that way and you should find Ponyville in no time.”

“Okay!” she exclaimed.

“Okay…” Cloud Slider paused for a second. “Bye, Derpy.”

“Bye!” Derpy waved.

As he began his long flight to Canterlot, he looked back to where he had left the grey pegasus. To his relief, she seemed to have taken his instruction. She was no longer there. Though she was nowhere to be seen, he did not bother lingering on it, preferring to focus on his delivery.

However, flying through the open air above the plains that separated Cloudsdale and Canterlot, the young stallion could not help but feel as though he was being followed. However, every time he would turn around to try and catch his stalker, there was never anypony there, only the occasional bird or cloud. About half way through his journey, the feeling became unmistakable and unshakeable, but not matter how often he looked behind him, he found no one. Not until his flight slowed to a paranoid pace did he finally receive a tap on his head from above.

“Why are we flying so slow?” Derpy asked.

“I… what…” Cloud Slider found himself at a loss for words. “Derpy, why didn’t you go back to Ponyville!?”

“But Miss Wrangler told me to follow you…” Derpy answered, her smile drooping.

“I-I’m sorry, Derpy,” he apologized with an exasperated sigh. “I didn’t mean to scream. I just thought somepony else was following me.”

“Like who?” the grey pegasus asked, perking back up.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “But I’ve been hearing stories about sky-pirates stealing stuff from ponies wandering around the plains like this.”

“Oh…”

“Let’s just get you back to Ponyville,” the stallion said as he changed directions.

“Or we could just ask them for a ride!” Derpy shouted as she pointed towards an airship hovering above them. Cloud Slider’s ears drooped as he saw the skull and cross bones that the ship had imposed on their black flag. Before they knew it, the two pegasi were surrounded by the ship’s raggedy pegasi.

“Bring them aboard! A courier should have booty aplenty! ARRR!” a dirty bearded pony ordered from the helm. He seemed to be the captain of this ship. His large, red, three-corner hat and mostly intact, red overcoat standing almost like symbol of authority among the rest of the tattered-clad crew.

“See!” Derpy exclaimed. “Told you they would help and we didn’t even need to ask!”

In the blink of an eye, the two mail handlers found themselves stripped of all their belongings, securely tied up, and being brought into the lower deck of the ship. Cloud Slider did not bother trying to explain what was actually happening as both were dropped carelessly on the floor.

“This is all he had on him, Cap’n!” one of the crew ponies handed the dirty bearded pony the courier’s saddlebags. “The mare had nothing to plunder!”

“ONE MEASLY PACKAGE!?” the captain yelled. “ARRR! It matters not! We shall fetch ourselves a mighty price from the ransom of these two ponies!”

“Wanna sing a song while we wait?” Derpy asked her fellow captive. “OH! One hundred barrels of cider on the wall, one hundred barrels of cider! Take one down, pass it around, ninety-nine barrels of cider on the wall!”

“This is going to be a long kidnapping…” Cloud Slider moaned as he hit his head against the floor.


“Alright… it should be right around this corner…” Rainbow Dash said as she led the group through Cloudsdale.

“Ya said that the last three times,” Applejack complained.

“Uh… darlings!” Rarity stopped the group as she turned her head side to side. “It seems that we have lost Twilight.”

“Where did she go?” Fluttershy asked.

“She’s over the~re!” Pinkie gestured behind her as she happily took a bite from an inexplicitly obtained snow cone.

A stallion dressed in well-pressed suit and tie began, “If there is anything else you need during your visit, Princess, please do not hesitate to ask. We are at your service, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Actually… could you point us to the Cloudsdale Post Office?” Twilight asked the bowing stallion. “We’re a little lost…”

“Of course, Princess! If you need a guide as well, one can be arranged,” the stallion answered.

“No, no,” Twilight shook her head. “We just need directions to the Post Office.”

“As you wish, Princess,” the stallion bowed once more as he led the alicorn to a street and pointed out the city’s mail center. “It is right there, Princess. Straight down Nimbus Boulevard.”

“Thank you very much,” Twilight replied as she offered a hoof to the stallion. However, to her surprise, he kissed it instead. Twilight gave the stallion an awkward smile until he finished and walked away. She immediately ground her hoof against the clouds below before walking over to her group.

“What was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, it started when a few ponies noticed me and wanted to shake my hoof,” the purple alicorn began. “I didn’t mind. Did a lot more hoof-shaking back in Canterlot, but then the mayor’s assistant found me and wouldn’t let me go unless I asked for something. He wanted to apologize about not welcoming their ‘new princess’ properly.”

“Whatcha ask for, Twilight?” Applejack inquired.

“Pinkie was the one that actually asked for something,” she answered.

“Yup!” Pinkie affirmed as she swallowed what remained of her snow cone.

“Do be careful with cold foods like that, darling,” Rarity advised. “They can easily give you a brain freeze.”

“A what freeze?” the pink pony asked as giddy as ever.

“Somethin’ tells me that she ain’t gotta worry about that, Rarity,” Applejack said, sharing a light laugh with the dress maker.

“Come on, girls!” Twilight called. “We’ve already wasted enough time with our little tour of Cloudsdale.”

It was short walk to the post office. As they approached, they noticed a few pegasi working on the entrance of the office with a mare overseeing them. The mare had a very authoritative voice and it made her seem to be the one to ask about such matters as finding one of the couriers that worked for the office. However, as the group closed in on her, they realized that the mare was not in the best of moods as she barked angrily at the pegasi to work faster and gave a stern look to any pony who dared approach her. After one extraordinarily brave pegasus pointed behind her, the mare turned around and immediately relaxed her furrowed brows when she saw Equestria’s newest princess behind her.

“My apologies, Princess!” the mare immediately fell to the ground with a bow. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I’m likin’ the new perks that comes being a princess, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash said as she smiled cockily and elbowed the purple alicorn.

“Uh… Yes,” Twilight coughed. “We are looking for a courier that works here.”

“But as a Princess,” the managerial mare told her, “you have access to the Royal Courier Service we provide to the Princesses in the royal family! You did not need to come all the way to Cloudsdale to find a courier!”

“Well… I’m not looking to send anything,” Twilight explained. “We just needed to speak to a specific courier.”

“Oh… if that’s the case, I believe I can help you,” the mare said. “Do you know the name of the courier you wish to speak to?”

“Uh… yes… I think Spike said his name was…” Twilight paused, trying to recall the name. “Nimbus Rider…?”

“No! That wasn’t it! It was… uh…” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Tornado Dancer…?”

“That wasn’t his name, silly Dashie!” Pinkie said as she cut in front of the blue pegasus. “It was Sky Walker!”

“Oh, don’t tell me y’all forgot his name already!” Applejack scolded.

“Okay then, why don’t YOU tell us what his name is!?” Rainbow Dash shouted back, pushing her forehead against that of the apple farmer.

“I… can’t remember either…” Applejack said, hiding her red face under the brim of her hat.

“Rainbow Dash, there’s no point in fighting about it. No pony can remember his name, only Spike knows it. Unless…” Twilight intervened as she slowing turned her head towards the two silent members of the group.

“Yes, Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“Unless, either of you remember,” Twilight continued, looking to two members of the group that had stayed quiet until that moment. “Rarity? Fluttershy?”

“Hmm… let’s see,” the unicorn thought out loud. “I do believe Spike had said something about ‘clouds.'”

“Uh… I think it was…” Fluttershy spoke. “Cloud Sl… Slammer?”

“Well, we have a ‘Cloud Slider’…” the mare finally interrupted their desperate name search. “Is that the pony you were looking for, Princess?”

“Yes! That was it! That was what Spike told us!” Rarity confirmed.

“Unfortunately, Princess, he has not checked in yet,” the mare admitted after checking a nearby clipboard. “He only had a single package to deliver today. He should be back soon enough, Princess. That is, if you feel like waiting.”

“I think we can wait,” Twilight answered for the group. “If it means helping Spike.”


“One barrel of cider on the wall! One barrel of cider! Take it down pass, it around! No more barrels of cider on the wall!” the crew and Derpy finished the last verse of their hours-long song.

“Is it finally over?” Cloud Slider asked, letting out another deep sigh..

“Are we there yet?” Derpy whined. “I didn’t think Ponyville was that far away. If I don’t get back soon, who’s going to give Dinky her muffins!?”

“I don’t really think they were planning on taking us to Ponyville, Derpy,” the courier told her.

“Oh… Oh well!” Derpy smiled. “I can just fly back home!”

Just before he was about to explain how their wings and bodies were cocooned in rope, the binds that held her simply slipped off her body with no effort at all. It had become quite clear that they had not tied Derpy’s ropes and she had in fact been able to leave at any time she chose. She could have even quietly left for help or even untied Cloud Slider herself and helped him escape without the pirates being any the wiser. However, through her own aloofness, here they were half a day later.

“YOU…” he shouted but immediately adjusted his voice to a harsh whisper. “You weren’t tied up all this time!?”

“Nope!” Derpy continued smiling. “Why?”

“Okay… listen carefully Derpy…” Cloud Slider whispered. “Try and untie these ropes… we can sneak away from one of these windows.”

The cross-eyed pegasus ambled over to the still trapped courier. Fumbling with the ropes’ ends, it became painfully apparent that she had no idea what she was doing. Instead of freeing him, she only managed to increase the tightness of the ropes around his body, causing his eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets from the sheer pressure.

“S-sto-op…” Cloud Slider struggled to say as the blond pegasus released her grip on the ropes. “Okay… new plan! Go to Cloudsdale and tell Miss Wrangler that sky-pirates kidnapped me! You got that?”

“‘Kidnapped?'” Derpy echoed. “That’s silly! If anything, they ‘coltnapped’ you! You’re not a goat!”

“That’s not the poi-” Cloud Slider sighed. “Can you just go and tell Miss Wrangler that I’ve been ‘coltnapped’ then?”

“Okay!” Derpy replied.

For a moment, the courier felt relieved, finding hope in the form of the clumsy mailmare. However, that feeling soon faded as she flew to the deck above and began to bid everypony farewell. By some stroke of luck—or more accurately, stroke of stupidity on the part of the pirates above—Derpy was able to casually fly away from the airship without so much as order to stop as most were busy giving her warm goodbyes. Eventually, though, the captain realized their mistake.

“Arrr! You bunch of knaves let the airheaded lass get away!” the captain shouted at his crew.

“But captain, she did keep us entertained while she was here,” one of the crew spoke up.

“AH! That be true…” the captain agreed, scratching his beard contemplatively. “Then we shall let the young lass go, me maties! We still have the courier lad down below in the bilge! I’m sure we can still bring a hefty ransom for his return!”

“Bye, guys! It’s been fun!” Derpy said as the crew gave a final wave goodbye to grey pegasus.

“I’m doomed…” Cloud Slider said to himself as he banged his head against the wooden floor once more.