//------------------------------// // Pains, Trains and...Well, you get the idea // Story: My Little Homie // by Lock Target //------------------------------// SOMEWHERE, IN THE TRAIN STATION IN CANTERLOT...! The train makes a stop the next day. Our heroes exit the train and begin their search for the Battletram. While looking, the girls decide to give the Aquabats a brief tour until they're stopped by a brown Earth Pony with a lite-blue mohawk in a dark-blue humanoid robotic suit and matching helmet with red eyes through the vizor and his flank area sporting a police badge Cutie Mark. "Hault" said the Earth Pony pointing to a yellow line at his metalic feet, "This area is off limits to civilians" He then notices Twilight and kneels down. "Twilight?" he asked. "Um...yes" replied the nervous unicorn, "Do I know you?" Removing his helmet, the Earth Pony smirks revealing his brown eyes as well as the rest of his face. "Murky?" she asked looking into his face. "Yes" he replied. Twilight took a moment to look at him before asking "...What happened to you?" Murky sighed and began to explain. "Two years ago before you left, I was on my first mission with the girls. We were taking down a snake oil operation. The gang used a spell that made my front and back legs and tail disappear from existance. Then their leader knocked me out. For the remainder of that year, I was-" The Commander stops Murky and asks him "So, why is this area off limits?" in a slight mockery of his voice. He snickers at this before he notices Jimmy glaring at him. "A strange foreign object has materialized in town square yesterday" replied Murky in a slightly offended tone putting his helmet back on, "Investigations on it's nature are currently in progress" "Might the 'foreign object' in question happen to look like this?" asked Jimmy holding up a picture of the Battletram. "Yes" he answered. "THE BATTLETRAM!" yelled the Aquabats. The Commander ran past the line with glee. "COMMANDER, WAIT!" cried EagleBones. Jimmy runs after the Commander followed by Crash. "HALT, RETURN TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LINE!" shouted Murky taking a stun gun out of his right leg compartment, "YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO COMPLY!" He then looks back at Ricky and EagleBones. "Uh...Heh, don't look at ME!" said Ricky sheepishly. Just then, a voice said "Let 'em through, Murky!" Murky stands down as the others follow the eager Commander and they find the Battletram on top of a kiosk. Several ponies and an adlet are investigating the area. A red alicorn with aquamarine hair in a braided ponytail, gold eyes and a yin-yang symbol Cutie Mark wearing a pair of white pants, black shoes on her back hooves and a yellow tank top approaches Twillight. "Twilight!" "Oh, hi Hay Flower" Rainbow Dash walks over to the two as Jimmy climbs into the Battletram. "You know her?" "She was another student under Celestia's teachings. I was hoping to introduce her at Shining Armor's wedding if we ran into her" "I would've come to it, but as you may have experienced, we were in the middle of a crisis. I was put on a wild gosse chase-" "HONK!" shouted Pinkie Pie making Twilight glare at her. She gives an apologetic grin and sits down. The Commander scoots over to Rainbow's right. "You were saying?" "Ahem...Princess Celestia sent me on a quest to prevent Queen Chrysalis from carrying out her plans. I went alone as it was too much pony power for anyone in the original four of us to go. I let my confidence get the best of me, but I was later joined by some of the newer members, but it turned out to be a...Fluke" Hay Flower finished remembering Pinkie's outburst. "So, what brings you here?" "It's an important task we must do, we must speak to my nephew" "Oh, Zulu? He's back up in the cabin. Fizz! Slicer!" Just then, a cloaked, yellow, brunette, blue-eyed male Earth Pony with a hat similar to AJ's and a red and white spotted bandana on his face and a blue purple-eyed female one with a red mane braided into a more ninja-like ponytail in the same fashion of her tail show up. "Escort our guests and their party up to the cabin while we finish up here" "And while you're at it, can you get this thing off my kiosk?" Pleaded Doughnut Joe. Hay Flower uses her magic to move the Battletram. "One of us will have to stay down here while Jimmy recharges" said the Commander. "I'll do that" said Bones walking over to the Battleram. "No need" sang one an afroed pony "I'll take care of your friend until he's rested" "Thank you, Hussle" said Hay Flower. "...SWYSD?" asked Twilight. "His mother listened to too much funk when she was pregnant with him. Everypony's had the decency not to bring it up so much" Our heroes began following the two Earth Ponies up the grassy hill on the outskirts of Canterlot. "So what's SWYSD?" asked Crash. "Sing What You Say Disorder" replied Twilight. "It's a disorder where your voice sounds like it's singing nonstop. This gets to be a nuisance for those who wish to be taken seriously" Continuing up the hill into a forest, Dash walks up to the male Earth Pony. "So...Slicer, huh? That's a pretty cool name" "Must be" replied the male Earth Pony. "Wait a minute" said AJ making everyone stop, "Slicer? As in APPLE Slicer, my long-lost cousin!?" She looks over at the female Earth Pony "Our cousin Braeburn told me you were abducted by desperados!" "I was" replied Slicer, "They sold me to a slave trade in Clop Kick City. I was supposed to work in the orchards of the ones that bought me, but with many others, I was rescued by a group of ninjas from the Oataku Clan. I took up ninjutsu to defend myself. Turns out it was my primary talent, hence my Cutie Mark" "So wait" scoffed Rainbow, "YOU'RE Fizz?" "That's merely a shorter nickname then what I prefer to go by. My real name I do not wish to reveal yet, but you may refer to me as The Pony With No Name. I prefer this because of my days in the desert" "...Fizz it is" "Hey, that rhymed" giggled Pinkie. She then proceeds to sing a song related to Fizz's long nickname. "So you've been through the desert Mr. Pony With No Name" She continues from there. "Oh for Pete's sake!" muttered AJ. "Does a mild case of SWYSD involve writing a song off the bat and singing it right away?" asked Ricky. "No, she just likes to sing" replied Twilight. "LAA LAA LALALALALA, LALALA LA LAAA!" "PINKIE PIE!" shouted Rainbow Dash making her stop. "If that's done" said Fizz, "Shall we continue?" "We're almost there, just need to get up this mound in front of us" Our heroes follow the two Earth Ponies up the mound to a big cabin complete with a pool-hot tub set, osen and some other stuff. "Whoa, this place is so rad!" said the Commander. "You guys must be really rich!" "Actually, her majesty had this built for us under Hay Flower's request" explained Fizz. "A lot of this stuff is for either training or recreational purposes when we're not out on missions. Feel free to partake in some of this stuff while you wait" "I am sure you have many things we could do, but I must speak to Zulu" "I'll take you to him" said Fizz, "He should be up at his brewing station at this time" Moments later, our heroes are in a lounge. AJ and Slicer are talking amongst each other, the Aquabats are over at the ping pong table and everypony else is walking around taking a personal tour of the place. "And that's how I wound up joining the Knights" "Land Sakes, I can't wait to tell your folks that you're alright" "I prefer that you didn't" "Why not?" "I don't want them to worry more then they already are. Being abducted by desperados was bad enough to make them worry, but if they found out I've been risking my life to keep Equestria safe, it might just give 'em a heart attack! So please, let ME tell them in time" "...Alrighty then" Spike falls between them. "Spike, what in the name of all things that grow on trees are you doing?" "Well, I saw some gems in that chandelier up there. I jumped for them and...I fell" "Ooh, y'all better not touch those without askin', that's Hay Flower's stash" AJ, Spike and Rainbow give Slicer a quizical look. "...She's part dragon...Also part phoenix, part griffin and part minotaur...She has a very convoluted family tree" Meanwhile, Zecora and Fizz stop at a door in the upper level where Spike fell off of. "Well, here we are" said Fizz knocking on the door. "Hey Zulu, you have famlily visiting!" "Send them in, I have a big order I need to fill out for the Hospital!" Zecora enters the room. "Greetings my dear nephew, there is a favor I need to ask you" "Aunt Zecora, what brings YOU here?" "Just one thing, listen to me, it is an emergency. Eight beings not of this world, were found by Twilight and the girls. Three of them run amuck, I wanted to help, but there was terrible luck" "What happened?" "The remaining five and what they've done, one threw a rock in my cauldron" "So you and the others came here for my help. What about the other three?" "To get them all home, there is a lot to do, do you know the proper brew?" "I think so...Just let me finish bottling up this batch and we can get started on it" Just then, a bell goes off. "Oh my!" "That's the debriefing alarm, come on!" Everyone gathers in the lounge. The Knights are all present. Jimmy enters and takes a seat next to a familiar face...To Pinkie. "PARADISE!" squealed Pinkie giving a hug to the green-haired, tan Earth Pony with the flower in her long mane and a coconut tree Cutie Mark. "It's been so long! What brings you to Canterlot?" "...I will explain later" "Thank you for your patience, everypony" started Hay Flower. "As you may know, we have guests here from out of world. Our first course of action is to do everything in our power to help them get home-" she belches out some fire at the same time as Spike and the scrolls they dispensed show up at the opposite dispenser. Spike unrolls the scroll that came out of Hay Flower. "Attention Knights of the Triangular Table; her majesty has requested Hay Flower, Apple Slicer, Murky Hill, Paradise, Fireball and Fizz to report to her ASAP, a moment of great urgency has occured" Twilight uses her magic to get the letter in front of Hay Flower. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, by now you may be dealing with three strange creatures. I've dispatched a special team that should arrive shortly...What could that mean?" "Only one way to find out" said Hay Flower. "We need to get to the castle" "We'll take the Battletram" said Jimmy. "We'll fly it to the castle" Spike dashes out of the door to wait for the others. "Thank you for your assistance. LET'S RIDE, KNIGHTS!" "COME ON, GIRLS!" "AQUABATS, LET'S GO!" After shouting this, the Commander and the other Aquabats get stuck with the other groups who are stuck in the door. Fluttershy's right back hoof is stuck in the cluster, Fizz is standing behind them and Spike, Twilight and Hay Flower are clear outside. "Um...Maybe come out one at a time?" asked Twilight. Moments (And one time-consuming untangling) later, our heroes arrive at the castle and make it into Celestia's throne room. Celestia is looking out a window. "Girls, gentlecolts, thank you for responding to the message. This assignment is very important" she said turning around. "My student- Twilight Sparkle?" she exclaimed in surprise, "I didn't know you were visiting. And who are your friends?" The Commander walks over to Celestia. "Dear Princess Celestia, we are the Aquabats, we come in peace. We-" he then pauses. "...You..." "...Sorry, it's just that the last time we wond up in a realm ruled by a equine, we were almost thrown into a lava pool" "My goodness...Well, I wouldn't dream doing such a thing" "...Just checking. Anyway, this problem you have, would it happen to involve a mad scientist who specializes in mutant filth, a giant ant and a unusual-looking griffin?" "Why yes, actually" "I thought so, rest assured majesty, we WILL bring them to justice!" Just then, a chrome cart carrying a hooded figure, the cakes and their kids, a cyborg resembling Angel dressed like an Aquabat, a brain in a jar with a poorly drawn version of the Commander's face on it with a mask and hat and a blue band with the A logo around the bottom of the jar and look-alikes of Rickie and Bones with their respective bodies viloently sewn togeher to make one two-headed one being pulled by a pegasus dressed like Kenshiro baring a Cutie Mark of the North Star and a unicorn in a zero-suit-esque outfit with a Cutie Mark of a set of teeth both resembling teenaged versions of Pound and Pumpkin respectively arrives. "GET IN THE CART!" shouted the pegasus. "Do as he says" pleaded Carrot Cake, "We'll explain later!" "We'll go with our former selves" said the brain in the Commander's Voice. "Aquabats, to the still-intact Battletram!" "Still intact?" asked the Commander. Everyone gets into the vehicles and rides off. "...Um...Good luck to all of you?" What's going on here!? Who are these newcomers? Tune in next time, readers!