//------------------------------// // A sextet of foals // Story: Foalish Misadventures // by GrassAndClouds2 //------------------------------// “Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Dinky. They couldn’t put the tiny zebra in Twist’s house, because Bonbon and Honeydew were still there and would try to get them all to eat gross candy. They couldn’t use Snails’s house, because it seemed to have been turned into the world’s largest bug hive. Bee Bop’s parents wouldn’t let her use Vinyl’s amplifiers in their house anymore for some mysterious reason, and Bee Bop was pretty sure that they would stick to that even if they were as silly as the other adults. And they couldn’t use Dinky’s house because it was above the post office and Dinky didn’t want to disturb Silver Script and the other workers, in case any of them had shown up that day. So they ended up in the school. “Of course!” Bee Bop began hooking up the amplifiers. “Just have the zebra speak into the microphone, and we’ll be able to hear her through the speakers!” Dinky approached the little ‘jail cell’ – a repurposed hamster cage – that they’d put the zebra in. “Can you hear us?” The zebra nodded. “What’s your name?” The zebra said something, but Dinky would never know what, because as soon as she began to speak the amplifiers and speakers spat out a huge blast of sound that sent all the foals flying into the walls. The remaining windows shattered. A lightbulb fell from the ceiling and smashed, as did the chalkboard. Dinky lay on her back for a moment, staring at the ceiling and wondering what that funny ringing sound in her ears was. Twist groaned. “That hurt!” “That was fun! Let’s do it again!” said Snails. “Too loud?” asked Bee Bop. She alone didn’t seem disturbed by the loud noise. “Maybe a little,” managed Dinky. * Bee Bop managed to get the sound system working at a reasonable level, and they could finally talk to the zebra. “What did you do to the adults?” demanded Dinky. “Why are they acting so weird? You need to tell us right now!” “Foal, you’ll get nowhere with your pouting, no matter how desperate your shouting,” responded the zebra through the speaker system. “That’s not very nice,” said Bee Bop. Twist approached the hamster cage. “Can’t you tell us how to turn them back? Please? You cast it, you have to know how to uncast it!” “Blame the unicorn, not I; she wrecked the spell that I let fly.” The zebra shook her head. “I’m not certain how to remove the spell, but free me and, what I know, I’ll tell.” “Okay!” said Snails. “Wait! What if she leaves without fixing it?” Dinky groaned. She wasn’t good at this kind of thing; that was why they had Trixie, who had described herself as a political expert who always made sure that the mean nobles didn’t hurt the town. “She should tell us how to fix the spell first!” “I cannot show what I don’t know,” said the zebra, somehow managing to sound smug despite being about six inches tall. “You need to let me get my books. While trapped in here, I cannot look.” “Trixie told me once there’s spells that reverse zebra magic in general, not just specific spells.” Dinky didn’t know everything that had happened during Lyra’s first big performance in Canterlot, but Trixie had let some details slip later. “Can’t we use one of those? The zebra paused, and Dinky got the feeling that she’d been assuming that Dinky didn’t know that. “The shortest of those takes six hours; they are beyond foalish power. But the cure for my small size – you could cast that, I surmise. Once I am restored to height, I can lend your friends my might—“ “Or she could just leave!” whispered Twist. “I know,” said Dinky. “Snails, how long does Poison Joke last?” “A week,” said Snails. “And it’s been three days… I know! Here’s what we’ll do!” Dinky smiled. “Zebra, you’re going to tell us how to cure our friends, or we’ll take you on the train to Canterlot and tell the guards what you tried to do. It’ll take less than four days to get there, so you won’t be able to turn back to normal before we arrive!” The zebra seemed very surprised that Dinky had thought of that, and didn’t say anything for a moment. “Okay,” said Dinky, a bit happier now that she seemed to have made some progress. “You’re going to tell us what the spell was supposed to do and how to fix it! And we’ll make the fixing-spell work, even if it’s hard, because we’re friends, and friends can do anything!” Snails frowned. “Snips and I tried to fly one time, but even though we’re friends, we couldn’t do it.” Dinky sighed. “Friends can do almost anything!” “As long as it’s not flying,” Snails added. “… can you please let me talk?” * The spell, the zebra (named Zecora) had claimed, had only been supposed to make all the adults fall asleep for a few days. She wouldn’t say anything at all about why she’d been casting it, trying to play it off as a prank or something. But Dinky wasn’t stupid, and she knew how dangerous even a simple mass sleep spell could be. Regardless, the spell hadn’t gone off as intended, and now all the adults were in some kind of perpetually drunken state. Zecora had also given them a recipe that, she said, might be able to reverse the spell. Dinky wasn’t sure if she could trust the zebra, though. What if that spell only reversed the Poison Joke’s affect on Zecora? If she were big, she’d be able to escape the foals and get out of town. But the zebra had told them one thing that Dinky was certain of. The spell was affecting the adults through the ‘adult drinks’ in the town. Dinky wasn’t quite sure how it was affecting all of them, but it at least told her why the foals weren’t being hit too. “As long as we don’t drink any of that stuff, we should be fine,” she told them. “So what should we do?” asked Twist. “First, let’s tell the other foals. Next, we’ll go all over town and get the ingredients for the counter-spell. Then… uh… I guess we’ll have to find a unicorn that can cast it.” “What about Zecora?” “I have an idea.” Dinky smiled. “But first, let’s warn the other foals!” They decided on ringing the big school bell to try to get the other foals to come to them. The rope was heavy, so Dinky and Snails bit on it together and jumped up and down to tug on it. When that only produced a soft ringing sound, Twist and Bee Bop tried to help. They all bit on the rope at the same time and jumped in the same direction. BONG It wasn’t quite as loud as Bee Bop’s speaker setup, but it was close. “My ears hurt,” complained Twist, as they all got up from where the sound had blasted them. Dinky went back to the rope. “We need to clang it a few more times! Like for school!” Several ‘bongs’ later, though, only a few other foals had showed up. And some of them weren’t looking very steady. “You didn’t drink anything, did you?” demanded Bee Bop of Featherweight, who was humming something off-key. “Trixie said that she was having a special party and she’d let us all have some of her bourbon!” cheered Featherweight. “I always thought she was kind of a jerk, but she’s really nice!” “Trixie let you have her bourbon?” Dinky blinked. “Really?” Featherweight nodded. She must be worse off than I thought! thought Dinky. “Hmph. I think you’re overreacting,” announced Diamond Tiara, who had arrived last but at least seemed to be her normal self. “So what if the adults are being a bit silly?” She tilted her head to show off her new diamond necklace and pearl broach. “My daddy’s finally treating me right.” “But what if he never gets back to normal?” “I hope he stays like this forever!” Diamond Tiara smiled brightly. “He’s just spending all day with my mom and giving me money.” “But if all the adults are being silly,” Dinky pointed out, “You won’t be able to buy anything because the stores will be closed.” Diamond Tiara paused. “Uh… maybe, but that’s what mail-order is for.” “Unless you try to get an Ursa,” complained Snails, though the other foals ignored him. “The mail isn’t working either,” said Twist. “Silver Script gave us Pinkie Pie’s mail today.” She frowned. “Did you know there are ten different magazines about cake?” Diamond Tiara waved this off. “Hmph. I’m not worried. In fact, I’m going to find Silver Spoon and we’ll have a little tea party.” “Hey, that’s right – Silver Spoon’s not here!” said Dinky. Silver Spoon – along with a bunch of other foals, including Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, were absent. “What if she doesn’t know not to drink the adult stuff?” “We have to find her!” said Bee Bop. “No you don’t! Silver Spoon has better things to do than to play with you.” Diamond Tiara turned up her nose. “Especially you, Snails. All you do is dig up bugs.” “Hey, bugs are an important part of the Equestrian ecosystem,” Snails complained. “Let’s go!” said Bee Bop. “We have to save Silver Spoon!” The three foals took off, Diamond Tiara running after them and complaining all the while. * Silver Spoon wasn’t at her home, but they found her at Diamond Tiara’s. And she was looking quite silly. “Silver!” wailed Diamond. “Did you drink that stuff?” Silver Spoon had a lampshade on her head, like Berry Punch when they’d last seen her, and had apparently dyed her coat berry-punch purple, also like Berry Punch. (In fact, she seemed to have dyed it with berry punch, judging by the smell). “Spoonie wanted to see what the big deal was.” She grinned. “Your dad gave Spoonie a glass. He’s a nice dad. Can I borrow him sometimes? My dad—“ “No! You can’t! And – and – that lampshade does not accessorize with your jewelry or your coat!” Diamond Tiara ran over to her friend and began trying to wrestle it off of her, but Silver Spoon proved to be a bit stronger, and knocked Diamond Tiara away. “Do you want some too? We have extra!” “No, I – wait, we?” Sweetie Belle came out of a side room, her cheeks bright red. “Hi everypony! I’m getting my cutie mark in having tea parties!” She grinned. “Hey Diamond Tiara, want to join us? Silver Spoon said that we should hold it over here so that you could find it! It’s really cool!” Dinky looked at the little glass she was balancing on her back. “Isn’t that wine?” “Then I’m getting a cutie mark in having wine parties! Like Berry Punch!” Sweetie grinned and poked Dinky on her nose. “Beep!” “No!” Diamond Tiara looked horrified – whether at Silver’s addled mind, appearance, or her hanging out with Sweetie, Dinky didn’t know – and took off into the dining room, the other sober foals trailing behind her and stopping just short of the door. “Daddy! Fix this!” Filthy Rich and his wife were dancing in the dining room, having roughly shoved the dining table to one side. Dust Buster was at one side of the room, waving her dust rag over everything (and mostly just breaking stuff, though none of them seemed to care). “Later, sweetie,” said Filthy Rich, before hiccupping. “Your mother and I are busy right now.” “No! Fix it now! Fix Silver Spoon! Just – just pay somepony to make her better!” she wailed. Dust Buster had wandered over to Diamond Tiara and looked down. “You look…” she said, slowly, as if from a great distance. “Dirty.” “I’m not dirty! I’m--” “You’re filthy! And not like Mr. Rich. You need a heavy dusting,” said Dust Buster, raising her duster like a sword. “You can’t dust me! You work for me!” Dust Buster began to dust Diamond Tiara, backing her against the wall so she couldn’t escape. “S’okay, Mister Rich,” she slurred. “I’ll get her nice and clean!” “Hey! Stop!” yelled Diamond Tiara. Dinky wanted to help, but Dust Buster saw her watching and bucked the dining room door shut. Dinky blinked. “Now what?” “Maybe there’s another way in?” offered Snails. “Maybe we should just wait.” Twist giggled. “Diamond Tiara was really mean to me until I got my cutie mark.” “We shouldn’t be mean to her,” said Dinky. “We should all be friends!” “Yeah, but she’s not a nice friend.” Bee Bop had wandered into the living room and found an old record player. “Oh, hey, it’s one of those things that Vinyl says are for ‘old fogies.’” She paused. “What’s a fogie?” Dinky tried to get them back on track. “Okay, we have to get Diamond Tiara out of there. Let’s come up with a plan—“ “Want some wine?” Sweetie Belle had ambled back over into their little group. “It’s really good!” “No, thanks.” “Are you sure?” asked Silver Spoon. “If you have some you can join the best tea party ever! The three of us are having lots of fun!” “Three?” Dinky blinked. “Who else is there?” Silver Spoon didn’t answer but turned and went back through the side door. Sweetie followed, and after a few moments, so did the other foals. They were in a small parlor. A foal-sized table had been set up with a fancy bottle of wine in the center and fancier little snacks – bits of expensive cheese, crackers, fresh mangoes and grapes – had been set out too. In one chair was Silver Spoon, busily drinking another glass of wine. In another was Sweetie Belle, who seemed to have set one of her crackers on fire and was trying to douse it with a cup of something or other. In the third chair, tied securely, was Scootaloo. “Help! They’ve gone crazy!” the pegasus yelled. “I don’t want to do a stupid tea party!” Silver Spoon shook her head. “So unrefined. Good thing we’ve decided to civilize her!” Sweetie Belle nodded enthusiastically, and put a bonnet on Scootaloo’s head. “Yeah!” “I thought you didn’t care about that, Sweetie,” said Twist. “You told me that you argued with your sister about it.” “I didn’t,” said Sweetie Belle. “But Silver Spoon said that, if I do what she wants at this tea party, she’ll get more wine from her daddy’s secret drawer!” She paused. “I was gonna drink my sister’s, but it kinda burnt up. Besides, this is a lot funner than I thought!” Silver Spoon put a second bonnet on Scootaloo’s head and giggled. “It’s a ‘let’s make Scootaloo lady-like’ party!” “YAY!” the two cheered. Scootaloo screamed in terror. Dinky blinked and turned to Twist, Snails, and Bee Bop. “We have to rescue Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara!” she whispered. “We could fill the house with bugs,” offered Snails, as the two drunk foals began to sing about something or other. “That’s your solution to everything!” said Twist. “Well, it’s a good one!” “What’s a fogie?” repeated Bee Bop. Dinky shut her eyes and tried to think. “Okay. Bee Bop, you help me rescue Diamond Tiara. Snails, Twist, can you get Scootaloo untied?” “Sure!” said Snails. “You can count on us!” Bee Bop followed Dinky back to the door to the dining room. “What are we going to do? There’s three adults in there!” “I have an idea.” Dinky whispered a few sentences to Bee Bop. “Ready?” “Okay…” Dinky and Bee Bop bucked the door at the same time, knocking it open. The Rich adults were still dancing, and Dust Buster was still dusting a huddled Diamond Tiara. Dinky ran into the room. “Now!” Bee Bop took a deep breath. “HI DUST BUSTER!” she boomed. Dust Buster responded the same way all adults did the first time they met Bee Bop – she stumbled backwards, clapping her hooves over her ears. “Oww!” Dinky hurried over to Diamond Tiara. “Run!” The rich foal needed no encouragement. She hurriedly dashed towards the door. “Hey!” Dust Buster tried to pursue, but she stumbled into a shelf of fancy plates. As the plates began to fall, and Dust Buster dove under them to stop them from breaking, the foals escaped. Dinky was first to the front hallway. “Snails! Twist! Are you—“ “Yuck!” Dinky turned to see Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon running away from the parlor in a panic. Dinky hurried in to see Twist, Scootaloo, and Snails giggling. “What happened? Did you summon some giant bug at them?” asked Dinky. “I wanted to, but my magic’s not that good yet.” Snails shrugged. “So I just stole Silver Spoon’s plate and ran around with it, and then Twist put that yucky candy in their drinks while they were distracted.” Twist giggled. “Mom put some in my saddlebag before I ran away with you guys this morning. Guess it’s good for something. One sip and they were running to get something to wash the taste away!” Dinky blinked. Well, that… worked, she supposed. * Dinky coughed when they were all outside. “Okay. Now we—“ “Uh, Diamond Tiara? What happened to you?” asked Twist. Dinky turned, and got her first good look at the newly ‘clean’ Diamond Tiara. Her coat had been poofed up in various places and styled with ribbons. She looked kind of like a large, grumpy poodle. Momma says it’s very mean to laugh at how other ponies look, thought Dinky, struggling not to do anything mean. Even if they look as goofy as that… And then she couldn’t resist anymore, and giggled. The others did too, except for Scootaloo, who seemed to be trying to hold it in. “Stop!” whined Diamond Tiara. “I’m still more fashionable than any of you!” “You’re all poofy!” Twist said. “I’m a pony! Ponies are not supposed to be poofy! That’s for dumb pets like Rarity’s stupid cat!” Scootaloo finally gave up and burst into laughter. “You look like you got stuck in a dryer!” Diamond Tiara blushed, a deep reddish hue. “Come on!” she said. “We have to save Silver Spoon!” She paused. “And Dust Buster. I need her to clean my room.” “What about your dad?” asked Dinky. Diamond Tiara shrugged. “He can stay like this. He said he’d buy me a--” The others stared at her. Diamond Tiara sighed. “Fine. We’ll fix everypony.” “Yay!” said Snails. “Let’s go!” said Dinky.