//------------------------------// // 20 - Treasure Hunt // Story: Sunburst to the Rescue // by David Silver //------------------------------// They returned to their room. Twilight set aside a small bag of things she had gotten then and there. "It hasn't even officially begun and I already love it here!" Sunburst set down an ornate lamp that looked like a genie could spill free of it at any moment. "You're telling me? We'd better get some rest so we're ready for when it really starts." "We should eat." She hopped up on the bed as her magic grabbed the phone off its hook and pulled it over to herself. "I don't use these that--" She was interrupted with a male voice speaking from the piece she was holding, "Hello, front desk, how can we make your stay even better?" "Oh! That works. Hm, I wanted to order something to eat." Sunburst peered at Twilight speaking to herself. He hadn't used a phone at all before, but he was fairly sure he could guess what it was. Magic? Probably magic. "Who are you talking to?" "If you'd look at the brochure that should be on your night stand, it has our full menu. Once you've decided which tasty option you want, give us a call and we'll speed it over to your room," encouraged the stallion on the phone. "Is there anything else I could help with?" Twilight's eyes darted about, spotting the small book. "I see it. I'll give it a look and call you right back, thanks." She hung up the phone and pointed. "Let's pick dinner." Sunburst saw what Twilight was looking at and willed the book over closer to the both of them. With a flip of a hoof, his magic opened it and he flipped through. "Food, food... Here we are." He turned it so they could both peer at it. "Are those menu numbers?" "Prices," corrected Twilight. She noticed his cringe and put a hoof on his shoulder, easily done with her on the bed and him sitting beside it. "You're my assistant, so I'll cover it." "Right, uh..." Even with her permission, he skipped past the higher numbers. "The light grazer salad looks nice." "Not feeling hungry?" She reached out and down for the menu, tapping. "I'm going to start with an alfafa sub with dipping sauce." Her horn was already glowing, grabbing for the phone. Soon the food arrived, borne on the back of a smiling stallion. As soon as the door was opened, he trotted inside. "Here you are." He bumped himself and the food slid right off of him onto one of the dressers neatly. "If you need anything at all, give us a call!" Sunburst waved at him as he moved to depart. "Thank you." His eyes moved back to the food. Both plates were covered, so he took care of that, lifting the metal trays away to reveal two plates. "There it is." Twilight grabbed her plate with its big sub and sauce, drawing it over to herself in her magic. "Eat up!" Sunburst looked around for a place to sit down. He could sit on the ground, or in the tub, or on the bed, where Twilight was already snarfing down her food. "Handle this like an adult," he muttered to himself, approaching the bed. He hopped up with his plate hovering beside himself and sat down. His head was not removed by an upset Twilight. She didn't even seem to notice his hesitation. "Is it any good?" she asked, pausing her eating. "Mine's really nice." He lifted the plate to his mouth and took a big bite of greens and purples, catching half a tomato along the way. "Mmm, not bad," he decided after considering it. "So when do we need to get up?" With a pop of sparkles, the convention schedule appeared. "The opening ceremonies are the first thing. They're starting some kind of scavenger hunt there." She pointed at Sunburst. "And I expect you to do it." He started. "Me?!" "Well, I'll be busy half the time with my booth," she explained. "When you aren't at a panel, keep looking for the scavenger hunt." She grinned widely. "Think of the prize." Prize? He wrapped his magic around the brochure and Twilight's glow faded, allowing him to take it. The scavenger hunt promised to be challenging and exciting, and there was the prize: A mystery crate containing finds by ten of the most famed treasure finders! It had a list of names, including the stallion they had met earlier that day. "Wow... I do want that..." "So do I," gushed Twilight. "Get it, so we can both pore over it. Please." She cleared her throat. "I don't want you missing any of the events you planned though. If you win, great. If not, let's promise right now to not be upset about it." "Right, not angry." He nodded before taking a bite of his food. Though he was eating slower, his smaller plate of food made him about as fast overall at finishing it as Twilight. "We have a weekend full of things to do it seems." "We sure do." Twilight waved at a few of the lights in the room, banishing them. "Let's try to get some sleep." She was soon settled in, banishing the remaining lights, but she saw Sunburst sitting there, looking odd. Then it hit her. "Oh! I didn't think of that." She sat right back up. "This is like a sleepover, isn't it?" Sunburst blinked softly. He hadn't thought of that angle. "I... guess?" "And you're waiting to play some sleepover games, but we really do need some sleep." She patted the pillow beside her own. "Go on, they're soft." Sunburst took hold of the pillow in his magic and slid it a few precious inches away as he laid down on top of the blanket rather, flopping into position. "You're going to get cold," chastised Twilight. "They keep the air conditioning up fairly high from the feel of it." Her magic dimly grabbed at the corner of the blanket and yanked it out from under Sunburst in a sudden pull, wrapping it over him gently. "Isn't that better?" Sunburst was amazed on two levels. One, she had pulled that so quickly and perfectly that he hadn't even moved. Two, he was under the same blanket as Twilight. He could feel her heat. She was laying down just inches from him. His marefriend was sleeping with him. Well... that is what marefriends and coltfriends do, right? "Yeah, thanks. Um... goodnight." He decided to be bold. He would do it! He leaned in towards her, lips pursed. Suddenly he was headbutted. Twilight leaned up suddenly, sitting up and reaching over for the clock. "I almost forgot to set the alarm. There we are. Are you alright?" She peered at Sunburst, a hoof over his nose. He shook his head quickly. "I'm fine..." He drew his hoof away, the stinging fading. That had not worked. "Get some sleep." She casually planted a kiss right on the end of his suddenly-not-sore nose. "See you in the morning." She flopped right back into position and was out like the lights she had snuffed. Sunburst sank back to the sheets, his head resting on his pillow as he stared at Twilight's sleeping form. Maybe that had worked out just fine. He soon followed her into Luna's realm. Twilight hurried across the street, Sunburst at her side. They were far from alone. An entire crowd pushed in the same direction. Some diverged off, but many had the same destination in mind. They poured into the building where the crowd split again. Some were diverted off towards registration. Others, like Twilight and Sunburst, were already checked in and were swept onwards. Some went off towards the display hall, and others ended up where they wanted to be, the main hall of treasure, where the welcoming ceremony would be held. Both Sunburst and Twilight were wearing their badges which were quickly checked at the door before they were allowed to get seats beside one another, looking up at the grand stage in the front. "Are you ready!" came a sudden voice, an earth pony mare sliding in along a wire from up above to land on the stage. "To find treasure!" A male pegasus came in from the other end, though he didn't need a line and zipped in on his own wings, landing just across from the mare. Their hooves met in a thunderous clop, both grinning. They were dressed as the mascots of the convention and with their silly grins and met hooves, they looked the part almost-perfectly. The crowd exploded in cheers and clops and stomps. Twilight giggled softly at the display. "That looked fun." Sunburst bobbed his head in ready agreement. "I hear they try to one-up themselves every year." "That wasn't--" Twilight's objection was cut off with a sudden bang. Dropping in from the roof, bits of debris falling around the them came four new ponies and a griffon, all dressed as thugs. "There'll be no treasure on my watch!" snarled the griffon, a saber held in his hand. The crowd erupted into boos, but also wild cheering, excited for what was happening. A choreographed battle ensued, with poorly swung punches somehow knocking the bad ponies to the ground. The griffon kept missing until he didn't, drawing his blade dramatically over the stallion's belly. The adventuring stallion collapsed with a yelp and everyone gasped. Twilight leaned towards Sunburst. "He didn't actually touch him with that sword." "I know, play along," whispered Sunburst in return, watching the drama. The griffon was laughing, approaching the stallion with a sneer. "Was that the best you had?" "No... I still have... a friend!" "What?" He turned just in time for the mare half of the duo to lash out her hind legs. She didn't actually make contact with him, but he went flying, flopping to the ground with a grunt of utter defeat. She turned to the crowd, smiling widely as the bad guys scuttled off the stage. "When the adventuring heart remains true, we can't be defeated! Never stop looking for treasure!" The crowd cheered as she helped her partner up to his hooves. "It's good to see you all here," stated the male. "We've got a convention so full of treasure to find, I hope you brought an extra bag for it all! And don't forget, it's not just the treasures that fit in a bag that you'll be hunting." "That's right." She bobbed her head. "The most precious treasures will be right here." She pressed a hoof against the chest of the male and he returned the gesture. "In the hearts of the ponies you meet and in the minds of the ponies you talk with." The hooves raised to poke one another in the head. "Let's not just look for treasure, but make it, here, with all of us!" Clopping came from across the crowd, moods high. "And now that we have your attention." The mare made a dramatic sweep as a chest raised up from below. "We know what you want to hear about. We pulled every stop there was and invented a few more just so we could pull them too." "That's putting it mildly," agreed the stallion with a big grin. "We have a scavenger hunt worthy of any true treasure hunter. The more things you find, the more you'll win, but there can only be one winner of this." He ran a hoof over the big chest. "Inside are ten wondrous items, verified already to be worth the trouble on their own individually." The mare shook a hoof chastisingly at the crowd. "Now, I shouldn't have to say this, but the greatest treasure is already in this room, in the crowd." She waved a hoof at everypony wildly. "So we don't want to hear about anyone being a poor sport about this! If you forget the nature of a good treasure hunter, you will be disqualified. Help each other and lift each other up. If no one finds all the pieces, well, then no one gets the prize, and that'd be sad, wouldn't it?!"