"So, you've shown yourself." A green pony with scarlet red moppy mane spoke. He stood just under the spotlight that illuminated the empty streets. A thick fog gathered just below his hooves.
He stood there waiting, his eyes focused solely on a nearby alley shrouded in shadows. His face hardened as he scoffed at the darkness. A set of hooves echoed back to him revealing the presence of something sinister.
A deep laugh erupted from the alley, then two crimson red orbs came into existence which glared at the pony with disgust.
"You are a fool to come here." Another voice spoke. "Foolish indeed John Pierce."
John Pierce the pony took a stance, his mind, and body were both prepared to take on whatever surprise comes his way.
The creature then stepped into the light and revealed a kirin who wore a purple jacket that covered his brown scales. His creamy white coat sparkled under the light, and his silky lime green mane fluttered with the wind. He grinned showing off his rows of sharp teeth which could injure a pony quite badly.
John Pierce scowled. "For what you have done Mercury Kirin, I shall make you pay with the help of my power! Iron Buckboard!"
"Fool!" Mercury laughed. "You are no match to my... Qilin Queen!"
Out of nowhere, a nirik with pink flames appeared behind Mercury and posed intimidatingly. John Pierce tensed up after Mercury's summon was revealed.
"You are a foolish fool who foolishly believes that they can foolhardy defeat me, what a fool." Mercury grinned. "Such foolishness."
"What's going on here?"
Both John and Mercury froze. They turned towards the new arrival, a grey unicorn with a blonde mane and emerald eyes. He wore a red vest over a clean white shirt with his sleeves folded up to his elbows. His forelegs were covered in a wrap of bandages. He gave both John and Mercury a cold stare as he examined them both.
It was at that moment the world shattered revealing that they were not in an empty street, but in a cavern with several props around. Cardboard cutouts of buildings and a tower of paper towel tubes to act as a street lamp. Turns out that Mercury Kirin was just Limelight, while John Pierce was actually an earth pony named Shamrock Clover who is a resident of the town called Mud. And he was a close friend of Quick Fuse.
"We're doing rehearsals for the play!" Limelight said as his friend Minion removed her disguise.
"Right, how is your career going?" Stoic wished to know.
Limelight smiled. "Oh it's great, they loved our debut! Kira And Clair was the talk of the town for weeks!"
"I'm happy to hear that," Stoic didn't exactly show it, but he was. "Forgive me for missing it, I wanted to see who played me and evaluate their accuracy."
"Oh, I played Swain!" Clover informed Stoic. "You can ask everyone, I was like a robot!"
"That is impressive if so," Stoic chuckled. "I'm sure you did great. How are you, Minion?"
Minion shrugged her shoulders. Stoic couldn't help but notice the scar that started on her right brow and ended on her right cheek. It was a reminder of what happened that day in the Hungry Moth restaurant. Something everyone regretted.
"I'm alright," Minion said with disinterest. "Got to feed on the whole town, only bits of their love so don't go attacking just yet."
Stoic hummed in approval. "I'm glad you did not go against your word, I commend you, Minion."
"Yeah, whatever."
"Am I boring you, Minion?" Stoic arched a brow. But then a chuckle escaped his lips. "Then maybe some gift from Canterlot will please you."
"Gift!?" Limelight exclaimed. "That is awesome!"
"Yes, sorry if I haven't gotten you anything Shamrock, I did not expect anyone else to be here."
"No problem mister Stoic! I didn't even expect to get gifts, so it's all good!" Clover was very cheerful and friendly.
"Alright," Stoic's horn glowed, from a flash of light a large plastic box appeared.
It was almost as big as Limelight's head and had a crank on the right side. It was also notable that there was a large camera lens on the front.
"For you Limelight, I bought the latest Sky-pliance hoof cranked box camera. With this, you can create moving pictures. I will bring you some more tools to help you create movies, like a microphone."
"That... is amazing!" Limelight thanked Stoic for the gift. It was deeply appreciated and he promised that he would cherish the camera. "So you're telling me that this doohickey will help me with my dream? This is the best!"
"I am happy you think so my friend." Stoic then turned towards Minion. "As for you, I bought something that isn't as grand as a camera."
Minion watched carefully as Stoic produced a purple scarf and round shades with similar colored tints. Though the pair of shades were a bit too small, it could barely hide her eyes.
"Yes, it is small, but I assure you that this is merely cosmetic. They are not meant to be used as actual shades, simply just for fashion. Though the lenses do work normally." Stoic handed the two pieces of accessories to Minion.
"Uh, thanks..." Minion wanted to just put it away and forget that it exists. But she was trying to be friendly, so it was better to just accept and use the gifts.
She wrapped her neck with the scarf and placed the shades on her snout. As she expected, which didn't surprise anyone, the circular shades were just cosmetic. As Stoic said.
"I'm actually fine if you don't bring me gifts, don't really care about those kinds of things." Minion said.
"Really?" Limelight asked with disbelief. "But you looked so happy when I gave you that rock yesterday!"
"I like rocks," She admitted.
"No, I think you just like Limelight's gifts, even if they are plain rocks." Stoic reasoned.
"Oh shut up, it isn't that!" She snapped at him.
"Aw," Limelight wrapped his hooves around Minion and pulled her into a hug. "love you too!"
"Gah!" Minion yelped.
The two ponies watched as Minion struggled to escape Limelight's embrace. Stoic found her failure amusing in some way.
New opportunities were just on the horizon, and who knows, perhaps Limelight could achieve his dream one day. And with friends like these, nothing is impossible.