//------------------------------// // Casting Call // Story: A Moment with Dr Wolf Goes Wrong // by Light Heart101 //------------------------------// Dr Wolf made his way towards the theater just after he finished his lunch. He was a little anxious about the play he was about to join. He did do a few voice acting roles for a couple of radio programs, but this was his first time doing an actual live action play. There were dozens of ways that he could mess up, and since this was a new play based on himself, there were so many other factors that he had to take in. The biggest one was his new director. He was already afraid that Light was stressing out about his position too much. He knew that some ponies could handle such stress, but he also knew that this alicorn wasn’t one of them. He couldn’t handle stress like other ponies could, and it had the potential of overwhelming him. The last thing he wanted to see was Light crying in a corner somewhere. Doc started taking a few deep breaths as he decided to just try to keep an aura of confidence and calmness. He knew that ponies tended to follow his lead, so if he could just try to support Light and show some faith in him, maybe he’d be able to keep calm with this new deadline. He also had the main six helping them, so he was hopeful about this play being decent. “Hey Doc! I’m glad you could make it.” He was surprised as Light called out with a big smile and a wave.  He smiled at his happy reaction as he set his jacket aside and adjusted his vest. “Well, I am sorry that I am a little late, but I am glad that this change of schedule hasn’t ended your play.” “Of course not. All I had to do was make a few small adjustments.” Light explained, trying to make light of what he was to break to the doctor. “W… what do you mean by that?” He asked, wondering what he had to change. The alicorn tried to hide his gulp as he explained the situation. “Well, we’ve only got two weeks before the play now, and now everypony in my main cast but Twilight are unable to help with the acting.” Doc looked a little worried as he was getting ready to comfort him, only to be interrupted. “Don’t worry. Yesterday I got some ponies to come and fill in those roles. Easy fix!” The wolf looked rather impressed as he was following him around the set. “Wow, that’s very resourceful of you.” “Thank you. Now, I was going to have a lot of the school kids take over all of the minor roles, but…” The other day at the school. “Ite, I ant elt u ith or oblen…” Light winced as the muffled sounds before he picked a chalkboard eraser. “How about I clean and you talk? It may make things go smoother.” Cheerilee nodded as she set the other eraser down, once again wishing she wasn’t an earth pony. “Light, I can’t help you with your problem. “What?!? But we had an agreement to let the school kids here have a shot at being in a play.” “I’m sorry Light, but most of the kids won’t be able to put the time in for this play, especially since they will have to dedicate more time into getting ready in such a short time span. They’d also be in larger roles, which is not what we agreed to. Not all of them are able to take on such a responsibility.” He looked desperate as he was following the teacher and helping her pick up the trash. “Come on! I promised to allow the kids to participate in this play. I’ll accept any of them. I’m great with kids! This will be fun.” “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who to give… unless…” She turned to him with a small smile. “I have a couple of kids who have been struggling in class. They are… unique, and they might benefit from working with a... unique alicorn” She said as she wiped some sweat off of her head. “You have always had a way with encouraging kids, and helping them with this play may help them interact more socially and find more self confidence. The catch is that you’ll also need to help them with their schoolwork for the next two weeks since they will be under your supervision.” He had a hopeful smile as he nodded eagerly. “Of course. My parents homeschooled me, and I’m sure the other actors will be more than willing to help.” She nodded to him as she made her way to her deck. “Good. I’ll see what roles they are wanting, and then we can work from there.” She explained as Light helped her finish cleaning. “Also, thanks for bringing up some of the struggles I go through. Not many ponies know how hard it is to be a teacher.” “And that’s where I got my first two actors. They may be young, but I’m certain that they will be a great help to us.” Light finished explaining to the doctor as they saw the two fillies reading their parts. Doc looked intrigued by Light’s choice to cast these kids as part of the main play. “Well, I am proud to see you taking such a stand on your support of the youth. May I meet them?” Light nodded. “Of course. Hey girls! Do you want to meet Dr Wolf?” Both girls nodded as they ran over to him, curious about this wolf-like being in front of them. “Wow, he really is a.. .WOOP!!”  The wolf’s eyes widened as the light blue filly slipped on the ground in front of him. He was rather taken aback by her strange body. This child had a wing on her left side, but no wing on her right. That would have been strange enough if she didn’t have a horn on her forehead. He turned to the teddy bear alicorn with a shocked expression. “Um… I… I want to try to be as sensitive as possible when I ask this…” Light raised a hoof with a smile. “Tell me, have you heard of a pegacorn?” Doc winced as he tried to think about what race that is. “It doesn’t come to mind…” “Well, you get the magic of a unicorn and the wings and flight of a pegasus. It’s a rare case of genes mixing, and it’s easy for them to be mixed up with an alicorn. That’s why you end up getting checked out by some professional doctors now when you have both. Linda is a unique case, having one wing and a magicless horn.” Light explained as he helped the filly up. “At least that’s what I have been told by Cheerilee. I could be wrong...” “Oh? How does that work parentwise…” Light quickly cut him off as he started whispering nervously. “No asking about the family. She has the same amount of relatives as you do.” “I get it, and I’m very sorry.” Doc apologized quickly as he felt rather embarrassed for bringing up such a sensitive topic. “Well, I can understand what it feels like to be unique in such a way.” Doc said as he shook the young filly’s hoof. “It’s okay. I just tend to trip a lot due to my one wing. The doc said that when I get older I should have more balance as my body gets bigger.” Linda said with a hopeful smile. “Light said you were a very nice wolf, but I didn’t believe him when he said you could walk on your hind legs and talk. How did you learn to do that?” Doc’s heart skipped a beat as he thought back to his transformation which was rather painful to say the least. He quickly thought about the best way to explain it without traumatizing her. “Um… magic?” “Cool!” Linda said, looking excited at the wolf in front of her before turning to her friend. “Oh yeah, this is my friend, Schuberry.” The Doc turned to the other pony. “Hi there. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Schuberry was a pegasus who had a grey coat and a green mane. She had a musical note for a cutie mark, a common one for singers. However, instead of talking to him, she started writing on a notepad she had and handed it to him. Doc looked confused as he read the note. The pleasure is mine. You are a nice puppy. Dr. Wolf blinked before he turned to Light. “Um… is she mute?” Light nodded. “And a wonderful piano player. She may not be able to fly yet, but she’s very eager to learn and help. She’s spending a couple of months in town due to her guardian’s having to take some important trip. This will be her first play.” He kept his calm smile up, but he was hiding his cringe as he realized the new problems with this. “Well… I do support the idea of helping her to try acting, but the script has lines for most of the characters. How will…” “Already on top of it.” He explained as he pointed to the sound system at the side of the seats. “I couldn’t get my little brother to help with building the entire set, but he gave me a few toys to help me out with this. One of them is a prototype for a new sound system that will be built into the new theater. You can save hours of recorded audio onto this thing. So Dash promised to record her lines in a sound system and we can play them back for Schuberry.” He raised an eyebrow as Light explained whose part she was playing. “Wait, she is playing Dash? How will she be doing all of that flying? It sounds a lot for a young flyer.” “Oh, she can’t fly yet. Don’t worry! I got another toy to handle that too.” He said excitedly as he pointed to some strange contraption he set up over the stage. “It’s a rig Fuze set up for her. There are wires that we can connect to a small vest we set up for Schuberry. It can lift her up and move her around the room like she is flying. It’s safe and simplistic.” Doc looked impressed again at such ingenuity. “Wow. Your brother is rather clever.” Light nodded happily. “See? Linda even volunteered to play Pinkie Pie so flying and magic isn’t a problem for her.” Doc looked confused as he was glancing at the horn and wing. “Um, how do you plan to hide those?” “Pinkie lent me a shrunken Pinkie body suit that should cover the wing. It’s like the real thing. You won’t tell the difference. Since the mask is too big for her, we’ll just use some makeup and a wig to hide the horn. You see? Any problem can have an easy solution. From ingenuity to simple flexibility.” Light explained as they walked over to a pegasus with a red coat and yellow mane who was sitting on a chair while going over his script. “Hey Golden Flame! Stay seated. I want to introduce you to Dr. Wolf.” Golden instantly stood up, dropping the script on the floor. “Um, it’s an honor to meet you sir.” Doc nodded as he shook his hoof. “I’m flattered. I didn’t know there were more male roles in Light’s play, and I read it a couple of times.” “Well, I am playing Applejack in this play. I have written so many stories that I wanted a chance to break out of my shell and be a part of somepony else’s.” Golden explained, looking a little bashful. Doc looked confused at the stallion that was in a mare’s role. “Um… okay… Light? Was he your first pick or…” He gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well…” The other day, after five hours of looking for cast members. “How is this so hard?!? Is every mare busy in this town?!?” Light whined as he had spent a good part of the day hanging out in the market with a sign that said Casting call for new play. Needs to be available for the next two weeks. He had a few bits, but none of them wanted to join the play. A large part of it was because he had a rather small budget due to him having no time to set up, so he had to ask ponies to donate their time. It didn’t work as well as he hoped since he couldn’t give them enough time to handle their jobs and the play at the same time. It was rather hopeless, and he was on the verge of desperation. As Light was trying to think of some sort of backup plan, Golden walked over to him, looking a little excited. “Um, hi. Do you have positions open for this play?” Light’s ears perked up as he saw somepony interested in his play. “Oh? Well, it’s nice to meet you. Um… what position were you looking for. I have some stagehand positions open if you wish…” “I was actually hoping for an acting role if that was alright with you.” Golden said, looking a little anxious. “Oh… I… didn’t expect a stallion to join a cast for plays that are mostly mares.” Light said, looking a little disheartened. Golden looked a little hurt as he looked ready to walk away. “Oh… I’m sorry… I just wanted a chance to act. I guess with all of the mares in this town you’re already set on your cast.” He said as he started to turn around. Light felt a little hurt about not being able to help this guy, but then he realized that he was still missing a majority of his cast. Beggars can’t be choosers, right? “Hey, um, can you do accents?” Light asked quickly as he stood up. Golden looked slightly hopeful as he turned back towards the alicorn. “Um… I can do a small southern accent.” “And do you have any reserves about playing a mare?” Golden looked shocked by that question, not expecting to be put in such a situation for his first acting role. Admittedly, his desperation for a chance in the spotlight was close to Light’s desperation for actors. “Um… I guess I can play a mare…” Light instantly jumped over to him and shook his hoof. “You’re hired!” “... so he’s playing Applejack.” Light said, trying to hold the best fake smile he could. Doc raised a concerned eyebrow at Light. “A stallion playing a mare?” “You know, before Nightmare Moon happened, a lot of mare roles were played by stallions. I’m sure nopony will mind. Applejack didn’t when Twilight told her.” Light explained, sweating a little from his forehead. “At least, that’s what Twilight told me.” “Then you really are doing this the old fashioned way.” Doc turned in shock at the monotone quip and found himself face to face with a white unicorn with a black and grey mane. “So, is this your first time in theater?” Doc crossed his arms as he looked at the stallion’s blank expression. “Yes?” He nearly scoffed at the wolf before turning to Light. “He’d have to be for this production.” Light rolled his eyes at the pony. “Why don’t you just do your job and I’ll do mine? Test out the wire rig. I want to make sure that nopony will get hurt on that thing.” “Do I look like an electrician?” The stallion raised an eyebrow. “I want the controls to be working smoothly. Fuze doesn’t have time to do the fine tuning on that thing, so you have to test it.” He said before gesturing to the sound booth and the wire rig itself.. “Now, you can be at the controls or attached to the wires. Your pick.” Light offered sternly as he looked rather irritated at the pony’s actions. “Whatever boss.” The stallion said before turning to the mute pegasus. “Get your vest on. You’re going for a flight.” Doc looked at Light with a disapproving glare. “Who is he, and who is he playing?”  “Quillian B. Inkheart.” Light watched the unicorn walk away and sighed. “Another writer, sadly without a real personality as far as I can tell. He’s the secondary stage manager.” He raised one hoof. “Great at taking command,” his other hoof followed, “bad at being friendly about it.” With another sigh he signaled Doc to move on. “I see. I didn’t expect you to hire somepony like this.” Doc said curiously. “May I ask why?”  Light’s nervousness showed as he started to explain. “Well, I needed another stage hoof… and I…” After hiring Golden, and meeting Inkheart… and after allowing the jerk to go over his entire script and point out every flaw... “So, to make a long story short…”  Light groaned, as he was listening to what he would describe as the male version of Maud, if she was a critic. “Too late. It was too late an hour ago.” “Your characters are flat, putting the most focus on Twilight and this pet wolf of yours…” Inkheart started to list off. “Again, not my pet. He’s an actual walking and talking wolf.” He tried to explain before Inkheart cut him off. “Most of the other characters have minor interactions. Your minor roles are pointless and handle minor problems, and we’ve seen Twilight deal with idol worship way too many times for this to be relevant. This play is a mess. Flim and Flam tell better stories than you.” Inkheart said bluntly. “Well if you don’t like it you don’t need to play in my production!”  “Are you nuts? Can you hear my voice? I’m the worst actor you could ever dream of hiring. I just wanted to see how bad this was and how I could fix it as a stage hoof. I’d need at least two months to fix your mess of a script.”  He looked even more ticked as he caught the script in his magic. “The play is in two weeks. There is no time to rewrite the entire script.” “Wow. You are really bad at running a play, aren’t you?” Inkheart asked dryly. Light took a deep breath as he stood up. “I think we are done here. Thanks for your time. I’m taking my auditions someplace else.” Inkheart gave a small wince as he stood up as well. “Listen, I’ll… stay out of adjusting the play… unless it’s really dumb. I have nothing to do with my free time, I have no ideas for a new story, and if it keeps up like this I’m going to go crazy.” “So you just want to volunteer your time to a play which won’t get you any money?” Light asked him. Inkheart shrugged. “Why not? You have your hobbies, I have mine.” “Thanks, but no thanks.” Light said bluntly. “Hey, you had checkmarks on less than half of your cast, and you have no experience with running a play. I can help you keep things organized and flowing. Right now you need to ask yourself one question. Are you desperate enough to hire me?”  “I was.” Light admitted to the doctor. “That’s why he’s here. I made it clear that he’s not to make the kids cry or else he’d deal with me personally, and that the others along with myself will be in charge of their studies. He’s to help assemble the set and manage scene transitions. Besides that, I am in charge.” Doc looked a little worried, but it was mainly because of Light’s main admission. “I understand, but did you say you were desperate?” Light’s eyes widened a little as he tried to fake another smile. “Well… maybe just a little, but I got the cast together, didn’t I?” “I haven’t met them all, but I do trust your decision. After all, a stallion playing Applejack can pass…” Doc was suddenly interrupted by a blue blur that rushed into the theater area, allowing a gush of wind to send several papers flying around. For a second he thought it was Rainbow Dash, but this pony darted across the room, and didn’t have a rainbow streak. The wolf soon saw that this pony had dark blue streaks in his mane, and a shooting star for a cutie mark. He looked a little anxious as well as he started brushing off the doctor. “I’m sorry! I was late coming in and I didn’t see you. I hope I didn’t startle you.” Doc gave a small chuckle, getting used to these surprises. “It’s perfectly alright. I never thought I’d meet another pegasus in this town who flew as fast as Ms Dash.” “I ran actually. I can’t fly anywhere near that fast. The name is Luminous Skies. It’s nice to meet you.” He said as he gave the doctor a strong hoofshake “The pleasure is mine Mr Skies. It’s nice to meet another capable stage hoof.” Doc said with a relaxed smile, glad to meet a pony with manners after his run in with Quill. “Oh, I’m not a stage hoof. I’m an actor. I was a little late to the auditions, so I ended up with a rather… unique role.” Skies said with a light blush. Doc sighed as he turned to Light. “Should I ask?” “Well…” An hour after hiring Inkheart, and five minutes after tearing his booth down. Light was upset as he was walking back to his house. He knew that he was almost out of time. He failed to fill in most of his roles, and now he had to think of some other way to get a few more actors. Maybe he could stop by one of his friends' place and ask him for advice and help.  As he was nearing his home to put his sign and booth away, he was suddenly stopped by a speeding stallion who looked like he was in the middle of a panic attack. “Sweet Celestia! I saw your booth was down and I thought I missed the auditions. Are there any roles left open? I’ll do anything!” Light was startled as the stallion was asking him questions faster than he could answer them. “Um… sorry… who are you?” “The name is Luminous Skies. I just heard you were accepting actors and I jumped at the opportunity to try acting for the first time.”  Light nodded, looking rather curious. “Um… how did you know I was the guy looking for actors?” Skies gestured to Light’s body. “You’re the only teddy bear alicorn in town. So what do you say? I’m in great physical condition, and I’m eager to learn. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll work hard for you sir!” He said eagerly, making Light realize how few roles there are for stallions in these plays. He knew that there were a lot more mares in this town than stallions, so it would be reasonable that plays would be written to account for more mare roles. “Wow… all of the guys in town are wanting the spotlight now. I guess I can use all of the help I can get, but I am low on roles right now. Tell me… do you have any reserves about playing a mare?” Light asked the stallion. “Eh, it could be fun. What kind of play is this?” Skies asked him as a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.  “Um… it has the main six in it…”  “Oh! Can I play Dash? I have some of her colors and I can be fast.”  “Taken. Sorry.”  “Oh… okay… maybe Applejack? I’m pretty strong as well.”  “Taken as well. I think a southern accent is all that actor can do.” Light admitted. “Oh… what roles aren’t taken?” Skies asked, looking a little worried. “Rarity and Fluttershy. Sorry. All other roles are minor, but right now I am desperate for a main cast.” Light explained to him, upset that he couldn’t offer him more. Skies sighed as he thought about his options. “Well… will there be makeup?” “Wigs and fur dye.” Light said with a nod. Skies shrugged as he shook Light’s hoof. “Okay, I don’t think I can do the more reserved one, so I might as well try out the bolder one…” “... so I am going to be playing Rarity. I think I have the style for it, and it will be fun!” Skies said, not looking desterbed by the idea of playing a mare like Rarity. Dr Wolf merely sighed as he rubbed the ridge of his nose. “I see. I hope this will work out.” “Thank you doc. I’m going to go help build the backdrop.” Skies said before leaping off to where the tools were set up. Doc gave a soft groan before turning to Light. “Light, may you tell me how many stallions you casted in mare roles?” “Three, and it’s an honor to meet you.” Doc turned around to greet the new actor only to be shocked by this large stallion. “I have heard great stories about you. You are shorter than I imagined though. Then again, a lot of ponies are smaller than I picture them.” This pony… if he could be called a pony, was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He was about as tall as Princess Celestia. He boasted a bright green and orange mane that flowed off of his large and muscular body. The front of his blue skin was smooth and dragon-like while the back of his torso and his hind hooves had fur growing on it. His front hooves had claws on them along with the ends of his wings which had a few feathers on it, but were mainly smooth. This large pony also had a long horn on his forehead, making Doc wonder if this was some kind of alicorn hybrid.  Doc was speechless as he looked up at the large stallion. “Hehe, I guess a big guy like me is pretty intimidating.” The strange pony said with a small chuckle. “Oh, I’ve seen bigger. You’re just… unique… very unique.” “I take that as a complement. The name is Kirouac, king of MoonRacer.” The stallion said with a rather charming demeanor. “Oh… I apologize your high…”  Before Doc could bow to the king, Light grabbed him to stop him. “Uh… I should warn you that in his culture you only bow to him when he’s wearing his crown. No crown, no bowing.” Doc blushed a little at his cultural mistake, but he nodded to Light. “Oh, I see… by the way, I’ve never heard of MoonRacer before.” “It’s a kingdom out in the middle of nowhere. We haven’t been too open to meeting other nations yet due to past history, but that’s partially why I’m here. I’m hoping that a king taking part in a play will be a sign of good faith to the locals. That, and Light visits every other week with some of the locals.” Kirouac started to explain. “Our nation is one that is founded by outcasts and hybrids, built on a foundation of unity. Most of our population are people who have no real homes or are looking for acceptance someplace else. So somebody like me or you wouldn’t really stand out, even though you are a first as a walking wolf.”  Doc sounded rather intrigued by this place. “Fascinating. And your breed is…” “Part unicorn, part pegasus, but mostly dragon. It’s a bit hard to explain.” “Isn’t that a kirin?” Skies asked curiously. “Nope. I’m a mixed breed. Kirin is its own thing.” “I see…” Dr Wolf paused as he realized what role was left. “So… you are willing to…” Kirouac chuckled a little before nodding. “Yes. I am playing Fluttershy.” Light sighed as he started to explain what happened. In the throne room in MoonRacer, after a long flight.  “... And that’s where I’m at with my play. My friend, FlashTruth, is busy with his daughters, and the theater here is busy with its own production.” Light was explaining to Kirouac as they were having some hot chocolate.  Kirouac was listening carefully to Light as he was expressing his stress to him. He was always comfortable with talking to the one alicorn who wasn’t royalty, mainly because of his sense of humor. Kirouac was impressed by Light’s description of how helpful and respected this Dr Wolf was to the ponies in Ponyville. Light’s lack of joking around showed the king how stressed Light truly was. “So, you’re short a main role and all of your minor roles. That must be rough on you. Especially since you speak of Dr Wolf so highly.” “Trust me, he has helped ponies more than I could ever pretend to. Right now I’m just trying to fix this mess before it spins out of control.” He explained with a deep sigh. “I see. So what can I do to help you out with this?”  “If you can give me somebody to play Fluttershy and the minor roles then I’d have the weight of the world off of my chest.” Kirouac stroked his chin as he thought about it. He didn’t want to have to order anybody to do this due to how busy most of his people were. However, he always wanted to see the city that was famous for its strong foundation of friendship and unity. He also wanted a good chance to talk to Princess Twilight since she was a main symbol of friendship and she’d be a main character in this play. It did seem kinda silly, but it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing a MoonRacian has done or seen. “Well, it looks like an easy fix to me!” Kirouac said as he set his mug down and stood up. “I’ll play Fluttershy!”  “So I’m just going to be handling any official business in the mornings and nights and will open my schedule up to attend the play and also meet with Twilight concerning opening trades with the other nations. You see, MoonRacer doesn’t use currency like other nations, so it’s more of us all having to do a job and do our part to support everybody. Thus we deal in material goods like crops and construction products. Light even exchanges some toys for some materials to make more.” Kirouac said as he lifted a stack of boards. “Basically, I don’t have to be constantly trying to make sure our economy isn’t going to fall apart.” Dr Wolf was astonished at the idea of a nation with no currency. “Wow. Doesn’t such a nation need constant monitoring? I mean, I can see so many ways how such a system can be abused.” “Well, along with a bit of a magical effect on the land, we have a wonderful system that takes people's talents and can allow them to work on an output that when every…” Kirouac started to explain before he was cut off by the princess of friendship. “Um, I think we can wait a while before going over the functions of your nations’ unique economy. I want to make sure I get down all of the details.” Twilight explained as she walked over with some paperwork. “Oh, good morning Princess Twilight.” Doc said politely as he walked over to her. “I was just meeting our… unique cast.” She giggled a little at Doc’s attempt to not offend anybody. “Yeah, it’s not your typical cast, but I see no problem with it considering last year’s cast, let alone the cast for several other productions we’ve had. In fact, we should be thankful that there is a full cast considering those productions and Light’s sudden deadline. Speaking of which, I managed to get us a pony to handle the soundboard.” Light’s eyes brightened up as he ran over to Twilight. “That’s great! I thought I was out of luck when DJPON3 said no. Who did you get?” Twilight smiled as she gestured over to the grey mare walking in. “Derpy. She had enough free time and was more than willing to help. She didn’t like the thought about acting and possibly messing up, but she is more than happy to help with the wire rig and the sound system.” Derpy was beaming as she joined the others. “It was my pleasure. After all, she did say that I was her only hope, so I could tell you wanted my help.” Light seemed content with the cross eyed pony, glad to know he wasn’t the only one suffering to get cast members. “Well, I’m glad to have you here. I don’t have the recordings of Dash yet, but I’ll help set that up for you as soon as possible.” She smiled and nodded. “Thank you Light! I’ll try to do my best.” Kirouac’s head turned as he heard the pegasus talking. “Wow! I thought a pretty mare like that would be having one of our roles.” Derpy blushed at the complement. “Oh… I’m not really good at acting.” Twilight giggled a little before handing Light the paperwork. “As for the other thing, Thorax said that he is okay with placing her in your custody. He thinks that the play may help her adjust to modern society. He just wants us to make sure she’s fed three times a day, and try to be in a good mood when you do. Anger has a bitter taste.” He looked excited as he started filling out the paperwork. “Hey! That’s great! Now I can untie her!” Doc looked scared as he was trying to piece all of these pieces together. “Custody? Untie her? What are you two talking about?” Twilight suddenly looked guilty as she looked at Light. “You tell him.” Light turned to Doc who looked like he was not liking where this was going. “Eh… hehe… a… um… A funny thing happened on the way home from MoonRacer… and I locked her in the theater’s broom closet…” Like he said, on his way home from MoonRacer. Light was tired, almost done with all of the running around he had to do. He managed to scrape together a main cast, counting on Twilight to stay in her role, but he was still stuck on several supporting roles. He was almost out of time, and didn’t know how to break this to the doctor. None of the parts were large or hard, but they were just hard enough to fill. He started muttering to himself while he took a slow walk home “Maybe I should find a way to write them out… or join the other stallions in my crossdressing play. Directing looked so much easier in that book. My mane is going to start going grey before this play is over.” As he was trying to focus on just getting home before dark, he started getting an uneasy feeling, like something was watching him. Before he could look around, he heard a sharp hiss and the sound of hoofprints running towards him. His body tensed up as he swung around, punching the attacker out of reflex. It was times like this when he was glad his family had the tradition of teaching the next generation of their line self defense when they come of age. He managed to see that his attacker was a changeling, an unreformed one at that fact. If he had to make a guess, he’d say it was a female, namely due to how she was groaning as she was trying to get back on her hooves. The alicorn gritted his teeth as he glared at his attacker as she bared her own teeth at him. “What are you thinking? You’re just going around and jumping on ponies!?! Don’t you know that somebody can get hurt like that?”  “You lousy pony! We have taken on alicorns twice your size! You will not be able to simply best me! We have…” As the changeling was ranting off about how she’d be able to take him on, he could only roll his eyes as he looked at this unreformed changeling, a love sucking being who can change into anybody she wants… any PONY she wants.. A large smile crept over Light’s face as he started walking towards the changeling. “Hi there little changeling. My name is Light Heart. What’s your name?” He said in an overly sweet and kinda creepy voice. The changeling paused in shock as the hissed again at the pony who interrupted her. “What… It’s Elytra to you! You may be an alicorn, but I…” “Do you want to be in a play?” He asked as he got even closer. Elytra looked dumbfounded. “No. Why would I…” She stopped as she noticed the slightly crazed look in Light’s eyes, making feel like she was the prey now, and the alicorn was hunting her. “Um… I’m sorry for bothering you. I… I’m just going to go…”  Elytra quickly started running, only to hear the alicorn chasing after her. She was now terrified as she glanced over her shoulder to see a crazed alicorn  jumping to tackle her. “BE IN MY PLAY!!!” “... and then I dragged her back and dumped her in the closet. I told Twilight what happened and she took the matter to Thorax.” Light explained to the wolf who was glaring daggers into him. “So, you tied up a mare and held her as a prisoner?” Doc asked sternly, making the others feel uncomfortable just hearing him talk with such a cold tone. “She attacked me first! I didn’t do anything wrong to her! I just tied her up and locked her in here!” Light exclaimed as he opened the closet to reveal the changeling trying to get out of the ropes around her waist. “Okay! I’m sorry for trying to kidnap you! I’ll never do it again! Just let me go!” Elytra whined as she was trying to get free. Dr Wolf groaned as he rubbed the ridge of his nose again. “Again Light, this feels wrong.” “I needed support roles, and she started it.” He tried to explain, only to be glared at again. Twilight sighed as she stepped forward, trying to ease things over. “Elytra. This isn’t the first time you have been reported for jumping on a pony and draining their love. Thorax has been dealing with a lot of complaints against you. Do you understand the seriousness of your actions?” The changeling rolled her eyes. “Huff. Look, I just want to have a decent meal every now and then. Is that so wrong?” Twilight nodded as she walked forward to the changeling. “Well, Thorax wants to try and help you adjust to finding other ways to find that love you need, but he’s making an offer to you.” “Please tell me it’s not another group hugging session.” She asked with a shudder. Doc raised an eyebrow at that as he looked at Twilight. “They have those?” “They have an interesting culture. They find ways to give each other love through simple acts like hugging and having group talks to express feelings. The thing is that not every changeling has been reformed yet.” She explained before turning to Elytra. “He’s kindly offering to let you be a part of the play we are doing. I can even make sure you get some love to eat while we are working.” Elytra looked confused as she looked at Light. “That’s why you offered to let me in your play?” He nodded with a bit of embarrassment. “Yeah, I needed some supporting roles and you seem like a versatile actor. I was also told that changelings love being in plays.” “And why do you assume that Light?” Dr Wolf asked the alicorn, hoping that his response wouldn’t be racist. “Because of the pure love they get on the stage. I heard that the best part is at the end when everybody stands up and applauds. It’s like a wave of emotions that fills you to the brim and keeps coming.” He explained as Elytra’s eyes widened at the sound of such a feast. Doc actually looked impressed that he'd know something about that. “Really? It’s that kind of sensation?” “I remember Ocellus talking about it after last year’s play.” Twilight said, trying to assure him that Light knew what he was talking about. “She said that the sensation was to die for, and more than worth falling through the stage for. She claimed that she could last a week without any more love after that play.” Doc was impressed at the changeling's ability to absorb love, but he still felt hesitant. “Hmm… I don’t like the idea of forcing her to do something she doesn’t want to…” “I’ll do it! Just… don’t keep me in this closet and I’ll be in your play.” She spoke up, her mouth drooling a little “Umm… There’s only one difficulty.” Light was smiling brightly, seeming happy that she accepted. “What is it?” “I… can’t shift clothing onto me. I’m not the best changeling in the world.” She admitted with a blush. “Thus the ambush tactics…” He didn’t seem to care in the slightest as he interrupted her. “That’s no problem whatsoever. I just need to go through the costume supplies and get what you’ll end up needing.” Twilight smiled as well as things seemed to be working out. “Okay, I’ll take you to my castle so you can have someplace to stay, and so we can make sure you don’t run off and try to ambush anypony else, just for security reasons. You do have a history of this after all.” “Okay, fine. I can live with that. As long as I’m getting fed and get to be in the play.” Elytra tried to assure the princess before turning to Light. “So… What part am I playing?” “Everything that the main cast isn’t.” He explained as he handed her the large script. “You’re basically everybody who isn’t Doc or the main six.” Her eyes widened at the size of the script. “Oh dear… well… I guess I have a lot of work to do. May I please be untied?” Twilight nodded as she undid the ropes with her magic. “Just please don’t run off on us.” “And miss out on a meal… I mean, the role of a lifetime?” She asked as she tried to hide her nervousness of angering the crazy teddy bear alicorn. He didn’t seem to mind as he turned to the doctor. “See? Everything is working out perfectly… more or less.” “Sigh. Light, I don’t want to discourage you, but are you sure you can handle this? There’s only a couple of weeks, and it’s quite clear that you are dealing with some… issues. There is no shame in waiting a year…” “No!” He yelped, gaining the other actor’s attention. “I mean… we have an eager cast, we are getting the stage set up quickly, and we have one shot before the theater closes for renovations. We can do this.”  Dr. Wolf still looked concerned, but he also knew that Light was extremely invested in this play for some reason. He was willing to pick these unique ponies for his cast, so maybe this play didn’t have to be perfect? Either way, backing out may cause more problems than he’d like to handle, especially since the other actors were excited about being in this play as well. At least it was just the questionable casting call that was messing with things, and they can’t be that bad. “Okay. I’ll follow your lead on this, director.” He said politely. Light smiled brightly as he started to think that this play was actually going to work. “Thank you Doc! I promise you that this will go smoothly! Nothing will go wrong.” “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Teddy.” Inkheart called out from the sound both. His eyes widened as he glanced at the unicorn. “May you keep your nose out of this?” Dr Wolf felt nervous as he started to stroke his chin. “Oh dear.” He muttered as he had a feeling that this play was going to be anything but smooth.