//------------------------------// // Splish splash // Story: Prank War! // by Ashfur //------------------------------// Nick awoke groggily as his position shifted.  It was barely light out, which meant it was way too early in the morning for his liking.  He couldn't exactly make out anything else as his tired brain continued to wake up with the relative speed of a dial-up internet connection.  His position shifted again, and some part of his brain woke up just enough to formulate a reply. "Ugh… five more minutes, please…" Nick rolled over hopelessly, his head landing on the pillow with a wet squelch, and he drew his waterlogged sheets back over himself in a desperate attempt to reclaim sleep- wait.  Something wasn't quite right. Why was everything so wet all of a sudden? Nick sat up like a shot, the adrenaline of waking up to an unusual situation giving his brain the jump start he needed to wake up.  As he scanned the immediate area, he realized three things: One, he was still in bed. In fact, all his bedroom furniture was within his line of sight.  Two, he had somehow ended up floating in the moat using his bed like a raft, and had no memory of planning to do so. And three, Gummy, whom he was pet sitting for Pinkie Pie, was latched onto his head again. Oh, and there was a midnight blue alicorn watching from the bridge and practically laughing her tail off, so he at least knew who to get mad at this time. "LUNA!" "Oh, dear Nicholas!"  Luna shouted from the bridge, not quite the Royal Canterlot Voice but rather close.  "Tis no need to be such a… wet blanket over such a minor inconvenience! Thou should be thanking us for waking thou up in such an efficient manner!" "I'm gonna dunk you in here myself once I get my hands on you, you overgrown ungulate!" "Bold words coming from a man wearing an alligator!  Or does thou truly believe thou has even half the power required to stand up to Princess Lu-"  sadly, Luna didn't get to finish her monologue as she was kicked off the bridge and into the chilly moat below.  If she had seen it coming, perhaps she could have spread her wings and recovered in time, but she was too busy gloating to see Celestia sneak up behind her and knock her over the railing.  She surfaced with her smoldering gaze hidden behind the veil of her soaked mane. "WHO DARES TO- Sister…." She growled at Celestia as she realized who had caused her tumble into the water.  "We shall not stand for this!" "You're right.  You're not standing, you're swimming.  And what are you going to do about it, hm?  I'm up here and you're down there!" "Not for long you won't be!"  Celestia, much like her sister, didn't have the chance to react as Nick, having climbed out of the moat and assumed his earth pony form of Nickel Ingot, utilized his natural strength to hoist her over his head and chuck her into the moat at an angle she couldn't recover from.  She hit the water with a satisfying splash, which also ended up drenching Luna and messing up her mane even more. "You need to be on your guard more often, Celly!  You didn't even notice me coming up behind y-" A yellowish glow of magic manifested behind the human/stallion and shoved him back over the railing, plunging him into the moat once more.  Not being able to swim as a pony, he breached the surface of the water as a human once more, and grabbed onto his dresser to stay afloat long enough to catch his breath. Somehow, Gummy had managed to stay attached to his head the entire time.  The croc blinked one eye at a time with his usual absent stare as Nick glared daggers at the royal sisters. "Oh, so that's how you wanna play it, huh? It's on, you two!" Twilight Sparkle was having a great day!  With spike on her back and a dozen bags floating behind her, she was just coming back from a wonderful sleepover in ponyville, seeing her friends for the first time in weeks since moving back to Canterlot. "Uh, Twilight?" "...and Luna's going to flip when she hears about the new Nightmare Night preparations, but I bet she'll want to spend it here this year.  And I can't wait to show Celestia this new book about-" "TWILIGHT!" "Yes, Spike?" "Is the north tower of the castle supposed to be in the moat, or did we miss a memo?" Sure enough, the entirety of the northern tower was floating upright in the moat, slowly spinning as guards desperately clambered up the sides with climbing gear towards the upper floors where the pegasi who dared to come close had been captured in inner tubes.  Atop the tower, Nick and Luna were locked in an epic battle of trying to knock each other off the tower with pool noodles. Also, Nick was still wearing Gummy, and Gummy had inexplicably acquired a hat that looked like a mini-Nick latched onto his head. Celestia was off at the floating snack stand taking bets on who would win. "Twilight?  You there? Helloooo, Spike to Twilight!"  She just looked ahead with a thousand yard stare, her mind desperately trying to piece together an explanation.  "Aw, ponyfeathers. She's fried her brain again. Welp, might as well do something productive. HEY CELESTIA, TEN SAPPHIRES ON NICK!"