//------------------------------// // Episode 5: Lights, Cameras, Action! // Story: The Mysterious Mare Do Well - Reloaded // by Equinoxx //------------------------------// Thinking. Thinking is what you do when you have something worth thinking about, and boy do I have something to think about! It's been about two hours since my conversation with the mane six and I still haven't come up with a plan to save the mare in the hot air balloon! I mean, what should I even do! I'm not even close to being proficient in magic and I don't have a way to stop her fall! Wait a second... Ohhh for goodness sake. I facepalm at my realization by the way, or would it be facehoof? Never mind that, I finally figured out what to do! Unfortunately it's so obvious that it makes me look like an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. Basically all I need to do is exactly what Applejack did in the episode. Yes, that's literally it. Now luckily, I'm fairly fit so agility isn't a problem, but I don't exactly know how to do parkour, let alone as a pony. Then again, Applejack didn't have any difficulty doing it, so maybe it'll be easy for me too? That's the hope at least. I found the place where the air balloon should drop by spotting Rainbow signing a few autographs. Now it's just a wait- "Aaaahhuahhhh!" Oh boy! Just on cue! "Help! Heeeelp!" The pony screams out as the air balloon plummets. My heart is most definitely racing. "Uhh, don't ya think you should go and help?" Snips asks Rainbow in concern. "Yeah yeah. I've got a good ten seconds to spare, just a couple more." Yeah, sure ya do Rainbow. Even after she said that though, she quickly finished signing an autograph and immediately sped off to save the mare in the hot air balloon. She also began showing off as she flew. "The tension is feral! Will Rainbow Dash make it on time?" Spike narrates as he wrote down what he said. My simple answer to his question would be no, but the funnier answer is watching Rainbow go straight through the deflated balloon, missing the pony inside the basket entirely and taking the balloon part with her. My theory was proven correct at that exact moment. Rainbow would have missed regardless if Applejack interfered or not. Of course that meant I had to immediately jump to action. I made a mad sprint across the rooftops of a few buildings and finally slide down one. I jumped off the building and barely managed to catch the mare in the hot air balloon by her shoulder. I pulled her close to my chest as we landed with a roll. When our momentum finally stopped I was standing above the mare. We somehow didn't have any injuries from the tumble, and even I don't know how that went so well! I heard ponies cheering as I helped the pony beneath me up. I looked around at the crowd and saw Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity in the crowd. Twilight nodded to me and I turned to leave the area. Everything is going according to plan. "Holy turnips! That pony came outta nowhere!" I heard somepony say as I galloped away. "I've never seen such bravery in all my life!" Another pony said as I ran up to the top of a hill to look down upon the crowd. "That's right, Ponyville has a new hero!" Mayor Mare proclaimed. "A mysterious mare that has done well by our fair city today. I dub this new vast hero: The Mysterious Mare do Well!" At those words everyone cheered. I honestly feel pretty proud of myself, but c'mon! Who wouldn't? I jumped down the opposite side of the hill, disappearing from view. I had no need to stick around for whatever Rainbow would say, especially since I probably wouldn't have heard her anyway. Thankfully though, everything went well this time around! Now I just need to meet up with Twilight and her friends again and I'll hopefully be done for the day. Soon after the event with the hot air balloon, I travelled back to Sugarcube Corner. I decided I would wait nearby until noon drew near. I snuck inside using one of the windows, which lead to the kitchen. With the day nearly over I knew that the Cakes were probably not downstairs or in the kitchen. I seem to have arrived just in time as Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy came into the room. Wait, where's Applejack? "M-m-mare do Well?!" Fluttershy said in surprise. She probably didn't expect me to already be here. "Woah, how'd you get in?" Pinkie asked with excitement. "That's not important." I replied. "Not important?! Sorry but this is very important! You should not be sneaking into businesses." Rarity retorted. "I did tell you I'd be back at this time. Speaking of which, where's Applejack?" Seriously Rarity, it's not like I'm gonna watch you in your sleep. "She said she had some things she had to attend to." Twilight answered me. "So, onto the subject of why we're here? "Yes." I suppose that is pretty important. "I wanted to meet with all again to first; confirm that we were successful in introducing me to the residents of Ponyville. And second; to gain any new thoughts on what any of you think now." "That's an easy one! I think you were super duper cool!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounce up and down. "I suppose you did do well..." Rarity immediately realized the pun she accidentally made when she saw Pinkie ginning in her direction. "Uh, pun not intended." She quickly added. "I agree, but I'm worried that you won't be able to do everything." Twilight interjected. "Nopony is capable of doing everything needed of them." "T-true..." Fluttershy agreed. Twilight hit the nail on the head on that one. I don't really think I can do everything myself, especially since in the show Mare do Well was multiple ponies, not just one. Though no one said I had to do it alone. "You're right. I will indeed need help, but I think I know the perfect mare for the job." "Really? Who's that?" Pinkie asked. "Well, technically I know a few ponies who are capable of assisting me." I declared. "Um, d-do you mind if you say wh-who you have in mind?" Fluttershy squeaked. "Of course, but that can wait until I need to." I countered. "And how would you possibly know when you are in need of help?" Rarity asked, a tinge of concern in her tone. "There's no need to worry about that." I assured her. "Aww, does that mean this meeting is over?" Pinkie pouted. "For now." I said as I walked past them towards the door. "I would like to meet up with you all tomorrow at midday." I made my way out the door with those as my parting words. I'm glad that at least Pinkie seems to fully trust me, though the others still seem to have their doubts... Oh well. Trust comes in time. For now though, all I gotta do is go home, then it's straight to bed for me! I just hope tomorrow goes just as well as today. Roll credits.