Twilight Sparkle
Twilight and her friends trotted back with Thromnambular shifting and muffling loudly inside of Twilight's satchet. The lavender bookworm looked around "Alright, so we found Thromnambular. Now all that remains is to find Time Turner and Derpy so we can sort this whole ordeal out!"
Spike looked around and frowned "You'd think they know where we are?" He looked at the shifting satchet and hummed "Since we have Thromnambular, shouldn't we make a wish to end all of this nonsense instead of waiting for the others to find us?"
Twilight stopped and thought about this "Spike's onto something! We already have him, and we can easily end this right now!"
Applejack frowned "Aren't y'all bein' a might hasty 'bout this? Ah mean, that thing turned th' Doc int' a walkin' talkin' cookie! We end up makin' a wish an' we'll probably make things worse!!"
Twilight flinched and looked down dejectedly "Darn it, you're right, Applejack! But we'll have to hurry and find the others if we can put a stop to all of this senseless wishing!"
Coming towards the trio was a pink blur that showed itself to be Pinkie with her usual ecstatic grin "Twilight! Applejack! Spike! Thank Celestia you're here! Have any of you found Thromby at all?"
The group stared at Pinkie, then traded glances before looking back at the party pony quizzically "You've encountered Thromnambular earlier, Pinkie? Why haven't you told us about this sooner!?" Twilight snapped irritably.
Pinkie whined "I'm so sorry! I wanted to go out and tell you all, but he granted me such a good wish back then! He gave me Deadpool, Twilight! Deadpool!! Do you know how hard it is to find another guy like him somewhere in the vast universe!?"
_____
In the darker reaches of Gotham City, two burglars ran away from the authorities with bags of money locked in their fists as they took refuge in an alley with their deft movement. When they thought they were safe, they sat down and caught their breath after running so much. While they were taking deep breaths, a third deep breathing sound was heard, only more foreboding and spine-chilling. The two stopped and looked around, then looked up to see a yellow-skinned and green-haired man broadly grinning down at them, wearing a green and black striped speedo and a large red boa on his back "Heeeeeere's Creeper~!!" He said in an insanely chipper voice.
The two burglars screamed for their lives as the Creeper leaped down on them.
_____
Twilight glared "Pinkie, that shouldn't even matter right now! Do you not realized how much damage he's caused just by being here in Equestria!?"
Pinkie pleaded "Deadpool, Twilight! He's the best in the Marvel franchise!"
Applejack glared as well "Y'all 're speakin' nonsense again! We're takin' Thromnambular with us t'-"
Pinkie gasped "You have Thromby!?" She leaped at Twilight, but was stopped in her tracks by Applejack as she struggled to pushed her back. The party pony did not relent while flailing her forelegs "Quick! Give'im here! I gotta make my wish again!"
Twilight took a step back "No, Pinkie! We're going to find Time Turner and we're ending this chaotic day!!"
Pinkie stopped pushing and pouted "Oh, fine! But at least lemme come with you so we can work together as friends! Maybe we can see if Fluttershy's around! Or if Rarity can-"
"NO!!"
The three mares instantly turned to Spike after he blurted out his opposition fearfully and stared at him in confusion. The purple dragon froze before he drew himself back sheepishly "U-Um, I mean, let's go find Time Turner and Derpy ourselves, alright? We can't waste too much time with a wish-granting skull!" He grinned nervously.
Twilight, remembering the important matter at hoof, nodded to Spike "Right! Let's get moving, everypony!" The group, now numbering four, went to find Doctor Time Turner Whooves and his wall-eyed assistant.
_____
Derpy frowned while she flew around, looking for Twilight and her group "Doctor, I'm hungry! Can't we stop for a muffin or something?" The mailmare complained.
The Doctor shook his head as he squinted his eyes and looked down at Ponyville "Not now, Derpy! Skull first, then muffins! We'll even have them with butter, just like you like them!!"
Derpy brightened up with a smile "Goody!" She then dutifully looked around below her while flying. The mailmare grimaced when she spotted Big Macintosh being chased by a stallion battalion and tried looking elsewhere. She perked up when she saw Twilight galloping with her friends "Doc! Down there by City Hall! I see them!"
The Doctor looked down and grinned "Excellent work, love! We'll see to the end of this disaster yet! Take us down please!" Derpy then swooped down vigorously towards the others, landing in front of them.
Twilight noticed the two and sighed in relief "Good, you're here! Now we should fine a secure area so we can figure out how to solve this problem completely!"
Pinkie frowned "What? Couldn't you have figured out where to go BEFORE you thought about meeting up?"
The Doctor frowned "I'm afraid not, Pinkie. Times like these call for both quick thinking and quick acting! I can't call the TARDIS in the middle of town, especially in my current state, so that's out of the question! Our best bet is gathering back at Twilight's library and plot our next move from there!"
Applejack nodded "Sounds like a plan! Let's get movin'!"
Pinkie groaned "But you said that times like these call for both quick thinking and acting! If we're gonna end this thing, we're gonna end it with the biggest wish of all!!" She quickly fished out Thromnambular from Twilight's satchel, oblivious to the lavender bookworm's yelling protest. Holding the skull in her forehooves, Pinkie went to speak "Thromby, I-"
Her sentence was cut short when Applejack quickly pinned Pinkie down on the ground, Thromnambular bouncing in the dirt. Spike picked it up while Applejack glared down at the party pony "Have ya spit yer bit or somethin'!? We're tryin' t' put a stop t' all this wishin', Pinkie!!"
Spike stared at Thromnambular "Couldn't there be some way to alter all of the damage he's done to Ponyville through wishing?" The skull chuckled.
"Feel free to wish for whatever you desire.
It's not my fault if your wish will backfire!
It's down to you, and it's down to me...
One more wish..and I will be free!"
A scream was heard, and the group turned to see Big Macintosh running towards them with a desperate look on his face. His spirits were instantly lifted and mixed with his desperation when he noticed Thromnambular resting in Spike's claws "Spike! Give me th' skull so Ah can wish fer these damn stallions t' stop chasin' me!!"
Thunderlane, who headed the pack of Apple-hungry stallions perked up "Did he just say that that skull Spike has can grant wishes!?" He grinned "I can wish for Big Macintosh to love me!!" The other stallions instantly caught on to the tempting offer of wishing and resounded a cheer, their sights now on Thromnambular as well.
Spike yelped "Everypony run!!!" The purple dragon hopped on Twilight's back and the group galloped away fearfully, the stallions catching up to them.
Pinkie looked back while she galloped nonchalantly "Wow! I haven't seen THIS much want since Twilight hexed her Smarty Pants doll!"
The Doctor stared back at the approaching group of stallions while resting on Derpy's back as he muttered curiously "I swear, the more I look at Big Macintosh, the more I want to be with him...Is that normal?" He looked at Derpy "Is it?"
Derpy replied "All I know is I don't want him near me! We gotta ditch these guys or we're gonna be up to our necks in stallions!!"
Applejack grunted while she galloped "Too bad they only wanna ride my brother int' th' sunset thanks t' some stupid wish!!"
_____
Octavia trotted out of her front door after cleaning herself earlier and sighed "Me and my big mouth...I really want that skull back so I can make my wish!" She looked up to the sun with a glum expression"Maybe it's for the best, I suppose...I mean, would I honestly want to give up my sanity for one lousy wish?"
While she stood, Twilight and company ran from the large group of stallions chasing after them. She noticed Thromnambular resting in Spike's claws and stared blankly for a moment before galloping after the large group "Come back here with that skull!!" She barked out ambitiously.
Pinkie looked back and noticed Octavia joining the chasing group and stared while she galloped "Hey! Is that my si-"
Twilight yelled "Pinkie, focus!! We have to find a place to hide from these folks before everypony knows about Thromnambular and his wish!!"
To Twilight's misfortune, the entire group reached the market district the moment she yelled out her words. Several merchants and customers turned to them as they parroted the word 'Wish' and began converging with the rest of the ponies wanting Thromnambular to themselves. Spike could only hold a deadpan stare at the lavender bookworm and say "Smooth..." with an unamused tone.
Diamond Tiara heard as well and yelled "Daddy! We gotta get that skull!!"
Filthy Rich nodded with an eager grin "Duly noted! C'mon, Diamond Tiara!" The wealthy businesscolt dashed with his daughter after she dropped her azure fan. The fan gave a pained grunt as it hit the ground.
Applejack felt fatigued with the growing numbers of wish-hungry ponies "This ain't lookin' good, y'all! Th' library's outta th' question with how badly these ponies want that skull!!"
At the park, Magnum and Pearl were trotting peacefully on a route while the latter pushed a carriage containing a bitter Rarity with her forelegs crossed and a pacifier stuffed in her mouth. Magnum looked over and noticed Twilight and her friends running from a mob "Hey, look over there, honey! What could be goin' on to get everypony all riled up?" He asked, slightly oblivious to the chaos.
Pearl hummed "I don't know, dear! Whatever it is, I think it might have something to do with that skull being held by that dragon!"
Rarity perked up and instantly spat out her pacifier, then undid the straps on the carriage as she leaped off and galloped after the others. Pearl gasped "Oh no!! Rarity!!" The married couple abandoned their carriage and chased after their daughter "Rarity, come back!!" Pearl urged fearfully.
Rarity noticed Spike as she joined into the group "Spike?" Soon, the purple dragon's wish began to take effect again as she grinned sadistically at Spike "So nice to see you again~!!" She spoke in a happy, yet insane tone and picked up the pace.
Spike looked over and noticed Rarity catching up and yelped as he turned to Twilight "What do we do, Twilight!? They're gaining on us!!"
Pinkie focused her gaze on Rarity "Is it just me, or is Rarity super happy to see Spike? I'm talking SUPER happy!"
Applejack looked back as well and winced "She looks plum loco with that smile o' hers!!"
Derpy was galloping, and she yelled "Banana!!"
Twiligt turned to Derpy "This isn't a time to be thinking about food, Derpy!!"
Derpy yelled again "Banana!!"
Twilight groaned "Is a banana really more important that almost being buried alive by almost everypony in Ponyville!?"
Derpy shook her head "No!!" She pointed ahead "Banana!!" The lavender bookworm looked ahead and noticed a random banana peel resting in front of her. Sadly, she was so close to it that when her right forehoof made contact with it, Twilight slipped and tumbled along with Spike as Thromnambular slipped out of his claws and bounced in the dirt.
Twilight looked and gasped "Oh no!!" Before she could get up, She and her friends were trampled by the legion of ponies wanting Thromnambular, with the exception of Derpy and The Doctor hovering over them.
Derpy looked down fearfully "Madness....Madness!!"
The Doctor sighed sadly "Tis the power of greed that can easily corrupt a pony..." He looked over and noticed Thromnambular displaying looks of surprise and fear as he was being tossed around and caught continuously by other ponies. He then looked down to see Twilight, Pinkie, and Applejack laying battered in the ground "Derpy! Down there!!" She swooped down and landed near the groaning mares as they picked themselves up "Are you all okay? We have to get that skull away from everypony or who knows what might happen!"
Twilight shook off her pain "If only we could-" She then looked around with widened eyes "Wait a minute! Where's Spike!?" A scream was heard, and the group looked to see some of the ponies in the crowd being flung upward in a trail.
Inside of the mob, Spike was pushing past the mob while Rarity gave chase and flung away each pony the purple dragon pushed through "Spike~! Come back~!!" She spoke with a mixture of feigned hurt and insanity.
Spike shook his head as he pressed on "No way! I learned my lesson!! I promise to stay away from you as long as I live!! If I truly love something, I have to set it free!! PLEASE don't kill me!!" He noticed the skull in his sights, but he was then pinned down by a magical aura courtesy of the crazed fashionista behind him "No!!" He looked back at Rarity as she advanced "NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Rarity went to strike at her 'lover', but was then caught by two sets of foehooves "Wha-!?" She was hugged and nuzzled from both sides by her parents.
Pearl smiled "Oh, thank Celestia we found our little Rarity before she could get hurt!!"
Magnum chuckled "She's pretty energetic for her age, isn't she?" He chimed in.
Spike stared, and then remembered he was free as he ran towards Thromnambular.
He noticed the skull was being fought over by Filthy Rich and Octavia as they tugged at him with their forehooves. The businesscolt grunted and gritted his teeth "Why don't you just give up that skull, lady!? I need it for me and my daughter!!"
Octavia growled as she gritted her own "You have enough in your life!! I need the skull more than you do!!" She then quickly rushed forward and rammed Filthy Rich hard as Thromnambular slipped out of his grip. She grinned triumphantly as she held the skull "At last!! The wish is mine!!" The cellist voiced with pleasure as she went to speak "I wish for-" Her sentence was cut short when Spike leaped and snatched the skull from her hooves. She glared at the purple dragon "Hey!!"
Spike ran, and held Thromnambular as if he were a football "Twilight!! Go long!!" He threw the screaming skull as he spiraled into the air and towards the lavender bookworm as her horn glowed. Twilight successfully caught the skull and went to run away, only to be stopped by an advancing crowd of ponies. Twilight and her friends gathered down as they stared death in the face with fear. The lavender bookworm held Thromnambular in her forelegs as she and her friends bundled up.
The Doctor looked around, then his look of fear worsened as he blurted out "I don't want to go!!"
Derpy cried as she held the cookie in her hooves "I never even got my muffins~!!"
Pinkie looked around, oblivious to the danger, and smiled "Well, with how we have a skull and a truckload of ponies coming after us, I guess you can say that we're..." She randomly pulled out sunglasses and put them on her face "Boned to the core...YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!"
Applejack stared at Pinkie with a twitching eye, then proceeded to strangle the party pony when she knew that there was no hope for them at all.
Twilight darted her head around at the advancing group of ponies while she perspired many bullets of sweat. Under her stress, she clenched her eyes and gritted her teeth with a frustrated moan, then finally yelled "I wish we never found this skull!!!" Thromnambular held a look of surprise as he began to glow. The '1' on his head projected a larger holographic image of itself as the two '1's' shifted into '0's'. While he was held, everything was enveloped in a blinding flash as indescribable magic happened.
_____
Twilight trotted through the forest with her assistant and de facto little brother Spike sitting on her back after collecting some herbal tea from their resident zebra friend Zecora. Twilight smiled while she made her way back home "I can't wait to brew this tea when we arrive at the library! If what Zecora said was true, this would possibly be one of the best brews of her kind."
Spike inspected the closed satchel over Twilight's midsection as he scratched his head "Do you think it might have a pungent aftertaste like the other teas we've been drinking lately? Don't get me wrong, I love tea, but I'm looking for a little variety in flavor!"
Twilight looked back to Spike "I'm sure it might be as different as you claim, Spike. All that matters is getting this back into Ponyville and maybe inviting our friends over for a cup or two!"
Spike hopped off of Twilight's back and his smile widened "Yeah! Especially Rarity..." And as expected from Twilight, the mention of the alabaster unicorn's name caused Spike to drift into a romantic euphoria and out of his world as he swayed about. He neared a bush, but then held up his claws over his head as he spun away from it in a graceful pirouette, posing in front of Twilight afterwards with a smile.
Unimpressed with his display of ballet, Twilight nudged Spike along "Come on, Casanova. We can worry about that later! Let's get moving!" The two then trotted out of the forest when they reached the entrance.
While they were gone, a strange skull with rubies for eyes and a '9' on its head sat in the bushes. There was a rustle, and a skeletal hand covered in a black cloak reached down for it and brought it out of the bushes.
The hand belonged to none other than the Grim Reaper himself as he stared at the skull with a sigh "I gotta remember t' keep an inventory check on dees tings..." He muttered in a thick Jamaican accent. The skull scoffed.
"Primitive fool with no eye sockets!
How could you have emptied your pockets!?"
Grim rolled his nonexistent eyes and replied apathetically "Yeah, yeah, you're good at rhyming! C'mon, now, Thromnambular! We have to get back to Endsville before Mandy notices we're gone..." He walked deeper into the forest brush, passing the many trees as a song was ominously beginning by different voices.
"When you wish upon a star..."
"Makes no difference who you are..."
"Anything your heart desires..."
"Will come to you..."
"If your heart is in your dream..."
"No request is too extreme..."
"When you wish upon a star..."
"As dreamers do..."
Strangely, one of the many tree branches carried a lighter as it flicked on.
"Faaaaate is kiiiii-oh-oh-OH-OH GOD! OH GOD!! OH MY GOD!!!"
The trees in the Everfree Forest began to burn up as the fire began spreading quickly.
"AUGH!! THE FIRE!!! IT BURNS!!!"
"OH CELESTIA WHY!!?!?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
"THIS IS WHAT TRUE MADNESS MUST FEEL LIKE!!!"
"Finally, we can die..."
Grim and Thromnambular looked around in surprise "Well dat escalated quickly!!!" He grabbed his scythe and swung it as he carved open a portal and jumped through it with the wish-granting skull in his grasp.
And everything turned out for the better...I think...