In a moment, five ponies, a zebra, and a manticore were standing in a park in Ponyville, carefully observing their surroundings on the lookout for the strange creature called a human.
“It seems the creature has not attacked, for Ponyville is still intact,” Zecora announced. “I would say that this is good; now finding it quickly, that we should.”
“I still think we should split up,” Rainbow Dash asserted. “I bet I could catch it in about five seconds flat if we did.”
“I don’t think we should,” Twilight told the group as a whole. “Honestly, our plan of attack should be meeting up with Fluttershy just to make sure it’s not still with her, and then searching throughout Ponyville for it.”
“Awww, but if we did spit up, I could check Sugarcube Corner and find some tasty treats for Snowy Bumblebees to eat while we found it. Hey! This could be like a game of hide and seek, and everypony knows I’m the hide and seek champion!”
“Yeah right, I bet a hundred bits I could catch it faster than you could, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash replied confidently, a cocky smile forming.
“I don’t know, I doubt you know Ponyville as well as I do! I know all of the best hiding places! I’d totally beat you to it!”
“Oh yeah? You’re on!”
“Wait, you two better not-” Before Twilight could finish her sentence, the two mares were already gone, Rainbow Dash flying quickly away with a hoof on her forehead as she scanned the area, Pinkie Pie hopping like a rabbit, Snowy following her eagerly.
“Of course they just run off,” Twilight commented as she rolled her eyes before turning to the other two ponies with her. “Us three have to stick together. That way we can corner it when we find it. It’s the best plan.”
“Didn’t Discord say that thing was with Flutters?” AJ asked. “Ah’d say it’s best if we start there.”
“I agree with that,” Lyra added. “Didn’t you say something about her being good with animals? I mean, humans aren’t exactly animals in a traditional sense, but if she’s as good as I’ve heard she is, it might still be with her.”
“I guess that’s a good first place to check… I just hope we find it quickly before something bad happens. Who knows what it could be up to…”
“Wow, this place is much bigger than I imagined,” Archard commented as he stepped into the building. “Even bigger on the inside than the outside. I don’t know how they were able to do that.”
“That’s what everypony says about Sugarcube Corner,” Sweetie Belle said as the four of them sat down on the stools in front of the counter. “It’s so big because so many ponies eat here! It’s the best restaurant in Ponyville!”
“Yeah, they have all sorts of deserts here, and some of them are even made with Apple Family apples!” Applebloom announced happily.
“And they serve hay fries and soda here, too!” Scootaloo added, her wings buzzing.
“Haha, it sounds like someponies are trying to earn some free food with their kind words,” Mrs. Cake said jovially as she stood behind the counter to take their order. “What can I get for you three very sticky-looking Cutie Mark Crusaders and… ummm…”
Mrs. Cake was suddenly looking up at a very tall creature, taller than she was, almost as tall as the alicorn princess of Equestria if she gathered correctly. It had long lanky limbs and quite a round head sitting on its neck. Honestly, had it not been for its dopey looking smile as it gazed around the restaurant, she would have thought it was terrifying. Even still, it was very creepy to her.
“Uh, and um…” The mare swallowed nervously and asked, “And what might you be…?”
“Oh! That’s just Arching!” Apple Bloom explained. "He’s a strange creature that Princess Twilight’s lookin’ fer. Er, at least that’s what he told us, right mister?”
“Well, my name is Archard, and I said she’s probably looking for me, but that’s basically the truth. But I was told this is the greatest restaurant in all of Equestria, so naturally I couldn’t decline an invitation here. Plus, I was told first time customers eat for free, sooo… how can I pass up free food?”
“Well, um… I, uh, what- what does a creature like you even eat?”
“I eat lots of things, except mint ice cream. Not even mint chocolate chip, not after that experience. God, that mint ice cream…” He looked off in the distance with a thousand yard stare and shuddered before turning back to Mrs. Cake and asking, “But what do you guys have?”
“Well, why, uh, why don’t we get you started with some hay fries?” the mare suggested, half confused and half nervous about the lumbering creature. “And I already know you girls want ice cream,” she told the crusaders, “but what kind this time? It’ll be on the house for saying such nice things about Sugarcube Corner.”
“I want vanilla, please!” Sweetie Belle said automatically, the flavor she always got.
“Ah want… apple flavor!” Apple Bloom announced.
“And I’ll take lime!” Scootaloo got out eagerly as Archard made a face and stuck his tongue out. “What, you don’t like lime ice cream?” the pegasus filly asked.
“Not that,” he explained. “I’m just suddenly thinking about how gross apple flavored ice cream probably is. Like, it’s probably something that shouldn’t be turned into ice cream.”
“Blasphemy!” Apple Bloom suddenly yelled, causing both Archard and the ponies around her to jump in surprise by the suddenness of her declaration. She had the eyes of Mrs. Cake, her friends, and the human on her as she pointed an accusing hoof at him, glaring threateningly his way.
“You can’t disrespect apples like that!” she told him with authority. “That’s disrepectin’ the great Apple Family name! Apple Family apples are the greatest food!”
“Uh… aggressive…” Archard commented, just a little bit fearful. “I only said apple ice cream sounds gross. I’m sure the apples themselves are good, but apples don’t belong in ice cream. It creepy and unnatural. Maybe even somewhat evil. It sounds disgusting.”
“It honestly does,” Scootaloo told him. “That's why I’ve never tried it.”
“Hey! No it doesn’t!”
“I mean… it kind of is, AB,” Sweetie Belle agreed. “I just want to be truthful to you. I’ve tried it, and it’s not that good…”
“See? It’s probably super disgusting and tastes worse than moldy lemons covered in dirt. It might even be worse than Arby’s.”
“No! Yer probably mind controlling them to hate apple ice cream, aren’t ya!” Apple Bloom accused. “Yer a strange creature and usin’ yer mind powers on them, aren’t you!”
“I’m pretty sure I’m not being mind controlled, AB,” Scootaloo told her. “Have you ever even tried it?”
“Well, no, but it’s probably very good! Anything with Apple Family apples is gonna be great! That’s a fact!”
“I doubt Arby’s would be,” the human said as he was served his food. “That restaurant is gross. But you try it if you think it’ll be good. For now I’m just gonna…” He looked down at his paper tray to see what Mrs. Cake and Scootaloo called hay fries, which turned out to just be a pile of steaming hay. He carefully inspected it, taking a whiff of the food and noticed that not only did it look like hay, it smelled like it too.
“This smells… not appealing.”
“What do you mean?” one of the fillies, Sweetie Belle, asked. “It smells fine to me. Looks good, too.”
“Well then you can have it,” he told her, pushing the tray over to her, “and even though I really don’t want ice cream right now, I guess I’ll take a few bites of yours, if that’s okay… as long as it doesn’t scream at me…”
“Hehe, I don’t think it will,” Sweetie Belle giggled as she pushed a hoof filled with hay fries into her mouth.
“I guess hay fries aren’t your thing,” Mrs. Cake commented as she came back with three bowls of ice cream. “But that’s okay, I know a few other creatures who don’t- whoa!”
Suddenly, the bowls she carried were on the ground in pieces as the human slapped them out of the mare’s hooves, screaming as he did so. He and everypony else in the restaurant stared at it for a long moment, wondering what in Equestria was going on as he breathed heavily, body tense in anticipation of an attack. After a few moments, seeing that none came, he breathed a sigh of relief, seemingly oblivious to the fact that just about everypony in the restaurant was looking his way.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cake,” he apologized. “It’s just I saw you had mint ice cream there, and… I just realized that was the lime ice cream Scootaloo ordered. Uh, oops.”
“Yeah, could you maybe not do that, please?” the pegasus asked, slightly annoyed.
“I’m sorry, but if I see mint ice cream again, I’ll be obligated to. It told me it was gonna take over Equestria and try to kill everypony. I can’t just let that happen, can I? Plus, it had teeth and wouldn’t stop screaming. It didn’t stop. It was awful. I don’t want to relive that experience.”
“Uh, yeah… let me run back and get you girls more ice cream. I hope strawberry is okay instead, Scootaloo.”
“I guess it is, as long as he doesn’t slap it out of your hooves again.”
“I’m sure he’ll be better behaved, because if he does, he won’t be welcome in Sugarcube Corner anymore, even if ice cream did say it was trying to take over Equestria.”
“I mean, it did,” Archard said as the mare left, half to himself. “I’m scarred for life by that horrible, horrible mint ice cream.”
“What do you mean you don’t know where he is, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, exasperated.
“I meant what I said, Twilight,” she responded. “I don’t know where he’s at. He just left after Discord did his usual Discord routine.”
“But you’re supposed to be good with animals! How were you not able to keep it here?”
“Well, Archard isn’t an animal,” she told her friend sternly, “and more importantly, the way you treated him is frankly rude and inappropriate.”
“The way I treated him?” Twilight asked in disbelief. “He led me on a wild goose chase through the Everfree Forest after he ran away! We ran into a manticore in there because of him!”
“Well, maybe he wouldn’t have run away if you didn’t tie him to a table and try to experiment on him, would he?” Fluttershy said, crossing her front legs. “You should know better than that, Twilight.”
“I wasn’t going to experiment on him! I was just gonna run a few tests and take some samples! I wasn’t going to dissect him or something!”
“Well, even still. Every creature deserves respect, even if they’re strange looking like him.”
“I’ll respect him when he- what are we doing? We’re supposed to be looking for him! He could destroy Ponyville if we don’t find him!”
“Well, I hardly think such a nice creature like him would do that. In fact, we had a lovely cup of tea just a little while ago. But I’ll help you find him, seeing as he had such nice, soft hands while he pet me. I hope Discord isn’t up to his tricks with that poor creature again. I’ll have to have a word with him if he is.”
"Wait, that strange creature really granted your wishes?" somepony asked. "You wished to be covered in syrup?"
"Well, we didn't wish for that exactly," Sparky Showers explained as she and Mercure still stood dripping with the sticky liquid as they made their way through Ponyville on their way back home to shower. "But it did answer our wishes in a way... kinda hated it though..."
"Hmmm... I think I'll have to take a look at it myself when I get the chance..." the pony said thoughtfully, a grin forming as he imagined what he was gonna wish for. "I have to tell my friends about this."