My New Life as a Pony

by Banshee531


Episode 12: Attending a School Festival, as a Pony

A mighty roar filled the air, as a beast exploded out of a lake.

This beast was a giant blue lobster monster, which was somehow walking on the surface of the water without falling through it. The beast looked down at the adventurers on the water and thrust its claws forward, a blast of water exploding out of them.

The water slammed into the ponies and sent those not flying in the air tumbling out of their boats and into the water. The avians dived down, some firing ranged attacks whilst others attempted to slam and smash the opponent. But the ranged attacks were repelled by more water attacks whilst the short ranged fighters found their weapons bouncing or even breaking off the lobster's shell.

The avians tried to retreat, but one was grabbed by the monster and lifted into the air. They cried out, as the pincer started squeezing him. Any second now, he would be snipped in half. However, that didn't happen.

"Blazing Slash!" A blur of orange shot past the pincer, as something cut into the shell and sliced right through it. This made the beast roar as it opened its claw, the avian falling out of it and into the water.

The lobster then turned to what had slashed it and saw Flash, gauntlet claws in hand, ready for a fight. And he wasn't the only one.

Soarin shot across the lake, pulling a boat along behind him. In it, Springer, Trixie and Wallflower were waiting.

"Let's get this thing!" Trixie cheered, as Wallflower dove into the water.

The formerly terrified terran sank into the water without issue, her gloves transforming into a pair of shell spirals that she spun to propel herself through the water. At the same time, Soarin let go of the boat and drew his bow back.

"Aero Shot!" He fired and the compressed air slammed into the beast's head, its shell cracking.

"Super Freeze!" Trixie unleashed the icy lightning, which hit the water and caused a ramp of ice to grow up from it. "Go!"

"You got it!" Springer leapt off the boat and ran up the ice, not slipping at all as his Steel Paws activated. He leapt off the end and flew towards the lobster, whilst Flash dived down with his claws ready. They both roared as they shot past the beast and slashed at it, whilst Trixie fired a laser towards its eyes.

The beast roared at these attacks, right as Wallflower shot out of the water and thrust both her drills into its shell. It couldn't take any more and launched blasts of water in all directions, knocking Wallflower and Springer back. Luckily, Flash and Soarin caught them and returned the pair to the boat. As they did, a blast of water shot towards them.

"Incoming!" Flash cried, as Wallflower stepped up to the front of the boat.

"I got it!" She slammed her hands together and in a flash of light, her gauntlets morphed into single device. It was an oval shaped purple shield with a red gem in the centre of it. The water smashed into the shield and Wallflower was almost blow back, until Trixie and Springer pushed into her back to keep her stable. Flash and Soarin pushed the back of the boat, keeping it from being pushed backwards.

Eventually, the water pressure ended and Wallflower raised her shield.

"Now!" Trixie and Springer fired a laser and Aura Blast, hitting the spot between the lobster's claws and its arms. This caused them to crack, as Soarin shot forward.

"ACCEL!" He accelerated forward and in the blink of an eye, shot past one of the claws and slashed at the cracked part of its shell. This caused the claw to be sliced clean off, Soarin then repeating this attack and cutting off the second claw as Flash shot towards the beast.

"Hellfire Spiral!" He roared, as he spun around and was consumed by flames. The blazing drill slammed into the lobster's chest, cutting right through the shell and burrowing all the way through it.

He exploded out of the back, the flames exploding off of him as the lobster fell into the water and exploded. Team Relic cheered at their victory, as Flash glided down towards them. Moments later, the area around them was consumed with light and transformed into the powered down training room.

Cold Steel and Skybreaker were standing with a bunch of students that had all been eliminated, the teachers looking impressed. "Well done," Cold told them. "You all showed teamwork and decisive action." Skybreaker nodded in agreement, as the students started whispering about how strong the five of them were.

Team Relic smirked as the class ended, Springer reverting back to his younger form. The five of them headed out of the training hall, all the while thinking about everything that had happened to them over the last few weeks.

Ever since returning from their big expedition, the team had proven that the experience had really shaped them into a stronger group of ponies. They had been behind their fellow students when returning, due to missing so many classes, but the teachers had helped and given them extra classes to help get them up to speed. But whilst their classroom grades had needed extra work, their field work proved how strong they had gotten.

Springer had quickly gotten used to life at the academy. Many ponies expected Flash to return him to his amulet between classes, since esprit weren't meant to be in non combat training, but Flash had told them Springer could do whatever he wanted.

Since the range Springer could travel away from Flash was larger than the entire campus, the jakhowl could do anything he wanted whilst Flash was in class. He often spent his days either in Flash's room, reading comics Soarin had given him, or at the bakery helping Mr and Mrs Tart in serving customers. And when he wasn't doing that, he was exploring the place and making sure to stay out of trouble.

Team Relic had become something of minor celebrities in the school, the lot of them having become the talk of the academy with the stories they had told about what had happened during their adventure. To say the students were amazed by them all was an understatement, but others believed they were just making some of it up.

The five were currently heading to the main building, since dinner was about to be served. The five were all starving and they needed to recharge if they wanted to be able to study for a big test they would be taking the next day. But as they arrived at the school's great hall, they spotted a large crowd gathered around something.

"What's this?" Trixie asked, the lot of them being reminded of what had happened when they first learned of the expedition with Luna. They wondered if maybe there was another contest like that one, the lot of them waiting as the crowd slowly split and allowed them to take a closer look.

"What's going on?" Springer asked as they found a large poster on the wall, the lot of them reading it and smiling.

"The school festival!" Trixie cheered, the lot of them getting really excited. Springer didn't seemed to understand what that was, making them all realise just how little of the outside world the jakhowl esprit had gotten to learn about the world.

"The school festival is basically a big party," Flash explained. "There are a bunch of booths that let you do a bunch of fun things. Most of the time, it's a food booth. But there are other stuff like games, puzzles and sporting events. It's great." The others nodded and Springer looked just as excited.

"That sounds awesome!" He jumped up, "let's go."

"We're not just gonna go," Trixie told him. "I say Team Relic opens its own booth. Show the school our team's talents don't just involve fighting." The others nodded, all liking the sound of that. And as they headed into the hall, they started brainstorming.

"There's gotta be something we can do," Wallflower stated as they sat down. "Something the other students will all enjoy."

"Like what?" Flash asked before getting an idea. "Hey, what if we put on a performance?" The others looked at him, "there are a bunch of different things we could do. Maybe do a skit routine."

"I don't think so," Trixie told him. "Those kind of things are usually cringy unless they're done by professionals."

"We could always do a magic show," Wallflower pointed out. "You could dazzle everyone with your tricks." Trixie thought about this, but Soarin didn't seem all that enthusiastic.

"No offence, but I feel like Trixie would end up stealing the show there. Even if she could teach us some tricks, she'd outclass us all."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I think I'd wanna do something the lot of us would end up enjoying and getting credit for." The girls nodded, understanding perfectly. "What if we did a musical performance?" They raised their eyebrows, "I know how to play the guitar. What instruments can you guys play?" But none of them gave an answer, "seriously?"

"Never really felt the desire to learn one," Soarin told him.

"Same," the girls agreed as Flash sighed. The five began to dig into their food as they tried to think of something, but nothing they did seemed like a good idea. It was either something they couldn't make work in time, had no idea how to do or just didn't like the sound of.

"There has to be something," Flash sighed as he swallowed a bit of sausage. As he did, he was reminded that he was still able to eat meat despite being horse descended. As he munched on the piece of sausage, he thanked the god that sent him there his species had evolved into omnivores. "Maybe we could do a food based booth. I'm a pretty okay cook." It was at that moment that Springer remembered something.

"Hey, what if you did a maid cafe?" They looked at him, "like in those comics I read." Trixie turned to Soarin.

"What kind of comics have you been showing him?" Soarin held his hands up in defence.

"Nothing inappropriate, I swear." He then looked at her and Wallflower, as if imagining something. "But you know, he might have a great idea. You two dressed as maids would be great." He, Flash and Springer all imagined the girls dressed up in the traditional black and white maid's dress, carrying plates of food and smiling at the customers.

Trixie and Wallflower frowned, then looked at one another. Trixie shrugged, whilst Wallflower thought for a few more moments. "Okay," she sighed before turning to them, "but the costume better be tasteful. If the skirt doesn't go past my knee, you'll be on the receiving end of my Soundwaver's loudest blast." The three nodded, Flash suggesting using his relic to make the costumes since all he would need is their measurements.

"So we've got a plan," Trixie smirking. "Maid cafe. Shouldn't be too hard."

"So what do we do now?" Soarin asked, "I'm guessing we can't just show up on the day and set up a random booth somewhere for people to sit and eat at." They realised he was right and as an avian second year walked by, Flash leaned over and tapped her on the arm.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Sorry, but do you know who we speak to about setting up an attraction?"

"Oh," she nodded, "You need to talk to Professor Bloom. She usually organises those things." They nodded and all smiled at one another, knowing who they were going to be talking to when they had the chance.


"A maid cafe?" Heather asked, the Herbology teacher smiling at the five currently standing on the other side of her desk. "Of course. You can open one during the festival."

"Yes!" They cheered, as Heather took out a binder labeled 'Festival Prep'. She opened it up and flicked to a section showing a map, the terran taking it out and holding it up. "Area five."

They took the map and saw it was an overview of the school and courtyard, which had been divided into multiple sections. The one labeled with a five, located in the corner of the map, was a medium sized area that looked big enough to accommodate multiple equestrians and some cooking equipment. "This looks great," Trixie smiled.

"Good," Heather nodded. "Now, the festival starts at ten and ends at five. You'll be assigned this section from ten to one. That means you'll be working during the lunch rush. You sure you'll be okay with that?" They all nodded, as Heather gave them a serious look. "You realise if you don't make back what the school will spend for your cafe, the lot of you will need to pay it back yourselves. You sure you wanna risk that?" Suddenly, they were all feeling very nervous.

"We'll be fine," Flash assured her. "With our idea, we'll make back the bits the school will spend and then some. Just watch." The others smiled and nodded, all confident they would be able to make serious paydirt."

"Okay then," Heather nodded. "But you should be careful. You won't be the only maid cafe running." This statement caused their eyes to go wide. "I put you at the other end of the map from them, so you won't be in direct competition. But the second years doing this managed to make a lot of bits last year. Just be careful you don't get overshadowed." Team Relic suddenly felt like this whole situation wasn't gonna be as easy as they thought.


"This isn't good," Trixie frowned as they walked back to their dorm room. "If we're doing the same thing as a group with experience at this, how are we supposed to compete?"

"Why do I get the feeling this other group are actually gonna go the whole sexy maid angle?" Wallflower frowned, since she really didn't want to do that but was worried about what would happen if they didn't make back what they would end up spending.

"Come on guys," Flash told them. "We can do this. We've faced off against monsters, deadly labyrinths and an omni enhanced golem. We can run a cafe for three hours and make enough bits to pay back the costs, even with another group doing the same thing. Now are you guys with me?" They all shared a look, then nodded. But Flash could still tell they were feeling a little unsure. "If we're worried that that other group are gonna overshadow us, then let's not try and copy them. Let's do a maid cafe and have a twist of some kind."

"Like what?" Soarin asked, though Flash was unsure what that could be.


That night, Flash was in bed thinking about what they could do to make their cafe better than the other one.

He tried to think of all the things that made an eating establishment great. 'Since the girls don't wanna do anything to resque with their costumes, not that I can blame them, we need to come up with another reason ponies will come to our place instead of the other one. But what?'

All this thought about the cafe caused Flash's stomach to growl, the avian getting up and moving over to the kitchen fridge. As he opened it up and looked inside, he stared at all the stuff there and huffed. Whilst he loved the world he lived in now, the one thing it tended to lack in compared to his old one was the snacks department.

Whilst the world did have sugary sweets, the sugar used in them were about ten times less then in his world. He was healthier because of it, but that meant they weren't as sweet.

As Flash grabbed a rice cake and began to eat it, he returned to his bed and thought back to all the amazing food he would never get to eat again just to being...there. His eyes went wide as he realised what he could do. "That's it!"

"Huh?" Soarin's voice made him look up and see his roommate was now awake, the annoyed avian turning to him. "What was that? Did you wake me up?"

"Sorry," Flash smirked, "but I think I know what we've gotta do to make our maid cafe a success." Soarin raised an eyebrow, Flash grabbing a notepad and pen to start writing with. It had been years for him, but all those recipes he had learned growing up in his first life were still fresh in his head.


The next day, Trixie, Soarin, Wallflower, Springer and the Tarts were out in the bakery, waiting to see what Flash was so excited to show them. Trixie turned to Soarin. "What's this about?"

Soarin just shrugged, having no idea what Flash was planning. "He said something about special foods that would blow everypony away. But what kind of food would he be able to make that nopony else would know about?"

"And even if he could make something, is it gonna be any good?" She got her answer when Flash stepped out of the kitchen, carrying three plates that he flew over to them.

"Thanks for waiting," he smirked. "Alright, here's some of the food I thought we could try and sell at the cafe. it's not hard to make and when done right, it's really good." They all looked down at the plates, staring at the weird looking pieces of food that none of them had ever seen before.

"What do you call these things?" Trixie asked, as Flash pointed at each of them.

"This is takoyaki. These are called potsticker dumplings. And lastly, we have dangos." They all wondered where the heck he had come up with these names, or the recipes. They simply stared at them, unsure what to do since they weren't sure they would want to try them.

However, Springer didn't seem to have this problem and reached out to grab a takoyaki ball. The jakhowl gave it a sniff before throwing it into his mouth, everyone watching as he munched away before moaning in delight. "Yum, chicken." Flash smirked as he turned to the others.

"Come on, just give them a try. I promise, they won't kill you." They all sighed before each taking a takoyaki and throwing it into their mouths. And when they started chewing, their eyes went wide.

"Wow," Trixie moaned, "these are great."

"So good," Soarin sighed.

"What are in these things?" Wallflower smiled.

"I got the recipe written down," Flash explained. "But wait until you try some of the other stuff. Try a potsticker." This time, they didn't hesitate and all grabbed one. Taking a bite, their reactions were the same.

"I'm getting pork," Mr Tart stated. "And...is that cabbage?" The teen nodded as they all enjoyed it before moving onto Flash's final creation. "You said these are called dangos?"

"Yup. They're sweet on their own, but you can dip them in a bunch of stuff to enjoy yourself." They each took a stick and pierced the colourful spheres, then all popped them into their mouths. Springer's eyes filled with stars due to the taste, the others being just as delighted as they enjoyed the gooey yet still firm texture of the treat.

"These are amazing," Mrs Tart cried. "So sweet, so delicious. I can't believe someone with no formal baking training is able to do something like this."

"Where did you learn to cooks stuff like this?" Soarin asked, the others wanting to know how their team's all rounder somehow knew how to cook delicious meals like this that none of them had ever heard of.

"Well," Flash scratched the back of his head, "a...travelling pony once came through my town. He set up a small booth and sold stuff like this. He was also willing to give anypony who liked them the recipes."

"Well I hope you're willing to share that recipe with us," Mr Tart smiled. "Especially the one for these dangos." They kept eating the three different foods, "I bet my cousin in Ponyville would love to try this." Flash smirked as everypony continued eating until they were all gone.

"Alright gang," Flash smirked. "So, we all agree to have these be the special foods we use at our maid cafe?" They all nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. If food this good, how could they not sell them. "Then we've got work to do." They looked confused, "I won't be able to make all of the food on my own. So until the festival is here, you guys are gonna learn the recipes for these things until you can recite them in your sleep. You ready?"

"YEAH!" They all cheered, Mr and Mrs Tart also happy to help as long as they got to learn the recipes as well. Flash smirked, knowing their maid cafe was gonna be a hit.


Several days past and eventually, the day of the school festival was there.

Team Relic had arrived at their designated area at nine o'clock, with everything they needed to make their cafe a success. Their area was a large space covered by a gazebo, with fifteen tables located inside it along with the cooking location next to a small tent they could use to store ingredients and get changed. Flash, Soarin and even Springer were dressed like traditional butlers, something Wallflower and Trixie had demanded in exchange for them having to wear the maid uniforms.

Speaking of Wallflower and Trixie, the pair of them were inside the tent getting ready.

The time for the cafe to open was getting close, since ponies were already starting to appear. Flash looked out and saw a bunch of different booths scattered around the area, along with some over by the beach of there had even been a couple on the town's streets.

"You girls ready in there?" He heard Soarin call to the girls, Flash and Springer turning to them.

"I'm not sure about this," Wallflower's voice called out. "These still seem a little...revealing."

"How?" Flash asked, "I made yours so you practically wouldn't show any skin. It's better than what that other group did." Flash had gone over to check out the other cafe and sure enough, the mares there were dressed more sexy than cute. Their costumes showed off a bunch of skin, having the tops of their chests, shoulders and upper backs completely bare. Their skirts and socks had also been really short, allowing anyone to get a good look at their legs. They were really pulling out all the stops.

"Come on!" Trixie cried as the pair stepped out of the tent. Doing so revealed that they were wearing more traditional maid costumes, being mostly black with white aprons and red bows tied around their necks. They were both wearing frilly white headbands, with Trixie's hair up in pigtails. Wallflower's skirt went to halfway between her knees and feet and had a pair of elbow length white gloves. Trixie's skirt was a little shorter and her gloves only covered her hands. She was willing to show a little more skin, so long as it wasn't much revealing. "How do we look?"

The three stared at them for a few moments, then smiles and each held up a thumb. "You look great," Flash stated. "Really great."

"Yup," the other two nodded as Wallflower still looked embarrassed.

"Don't worry," Flash assured her. "Your normal clothes leave less to the imagination than this. Let's just get everything ready so we can serve out customers."

"If we have any," Trixie frowned as she looked around. Ponies were beginning to file into the area and look around the many booths, Flash quickly heading over to the kitchen and started getting all the ingredients they would need ready.

As ten o'clock arrived, they all finished their preparations. Now they just needed somepony to arrive and sit down. So they waited...and waited...and waited.

Ponies continued to walk around the festival and seemed to be interested by everything. But as they reached their cafe, the males noticed the sign and looked excited. But then they saw how Trixie and Wallflower were dressed and appeared disappointed. They then noticed the food being served and looked confused.

"Try the takoyaki," Trixie told them. "I can assure you, it's like nothing you've ever tried before."

"I don't know," the stallion frowned. "Sounds like something you'd find weird stuff inside. I'd rather not risk food poisoning." The others agreed and walked off, Trixie crossing her arms in a huff.

"I can't believe those guys. They're talking like it'd have something gross inside. What do they think they'd find, octopus?" Flash decided not to mention that was supposed to be a key ingredient of this dish. Instead, he focused on keeping the food fresh.

Time passed, but nobody gave their cafe a second look. When they saw what was on the menu, they all turned their nose up at the idea. "You know," Soarin told somepony who walked off. "Adventurers are meant to dive into the unknown. Maybe you should think about a change in careers if you can't even handle some foreign food.

"Let's face it," Wallflower sighed. "The food may be delicious, but it's too new for anypony to wanna possibly waste their bits to try."

"Ahhh!" Flash growled, "this sucks. I was sure the interesting food would give us an edge over that other cafe."

"What's this about interesting food." They all looked around and when they did, Flash was greeted to the sight of one of the hottest equestrians he had ever seen. She was a tall pink mare with a mane and tail that were a mixture of three colours, the blue and white dress clinging to her in ways that left little to the imagination.

Flash's entire body froze at the sight of her, fearing that she would suddenly vanish if he even blinked. But when he finally managed to tear his gaze away from her most alluring features, he noticed the wings and horn she had. This could only mean one thing.

"An omni," Trixie whispered before they all noticed the tiara on her head. "A princess." The omni smiled at them, whilst many ponies around her were also staring. It wasn't everyday an omni princess came to their school festival.

Then, somepony stepped up beside her. Somepony they all knew. "Hey," Shining smirked. "Long time no see."

"Shining Armor?" Flash was finally freed from the spell this goddess of beauty had him under, allowing him to focus on one of his mentors. "What are you doing here?"

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Shining asked, "I was told you guys were throwing a party and I had to see what one of my favourite adventuring teams were planning on doing." He looked around, "a maid cafe? Interesting choice." The five felt a little embarrassed, only for the omni to clear her throat.

"Shining," she told him, "aren't you forgetting to introduce me to your friends."

"Oh yeah," Shining smirked. "Sorry." He turned back to them. "Everypony, allow me to introduce you all to the Princess of Love. Mi Amore Cadenza."

She sighed, "you know I don't like that name." Shining laughed as she stepped forward, "call me Cadance."

"Yes princess," the five bowed.

"Just Cadance, please. I get enough of that when I'm working. Cadance will be fine." They nodded as the pair looked around. "So, a maid cafe? And you said something about having interesting food."

"Yes," Trixie nodded, "would you both like to try some? I can assure you, it's delicious." The pair shared a look and nodded, Trixie quickly showing them to a table as Flash started making them some of the food. As he did, everypony around them watched with interest as the princess sat at this strange cafe.

Flash quickly finished the food and placed it all on a plate, Trixie taking it over to the pair.

"Please, enjoy." The two looked over the takoyaki, potstickers and dangos. They were clearly interested by the unusual food, Cadance picking a chicken dumpling up.

She gave it a sniff, that took a bite. Team Relic stood with baited breath, knowing that her liking this was probably gonna be what decided how the rest of their cafe's life would go. She seemed intrigued by the taste before letting out a moan, "this is absolutely delicious." They all smiled as the omni took another bite, Shining grabbing one and having it to.

"Wow!" He whispered, "this is great." They moved onto the potstickers and dangos, loving them just as much as they did the takoyaki. "Anypony who passes this up is an idiot."

"The biggest idiot," Cadance agreed. That seemed to make those watching jump into action, the lot of them filing into the cafe and grabbing whatever table they could find. Each of them ordered the same thing as Cadance and Shining, Flash quickly finding himself needing to work double time to make all the food.

Trixie, Wallflower and Springer began rushing around the place, taking orders and delivering the food to the tables. Soarin helped Flash make the food, their avian speed and dexterity proving useful in cutting up the food and getting it cooked just right.

Though the ponies were only eating there because a princess was, they quickly found that the food was more than worth it. They loved every bit of it and as soon as they finished one plate, they ordered another.

Outside the cafe, ponies who hadn't seen Cadance eat the food were spotting the large group of ponies ordering seconds and realised whatever they were serving must be good. Soon enough, there was a line for the cafe and Team Relic managed to make back everything they had spent on the ingredients in an hour.

As such, the rest of their time with the cafe was purely making profit. As soon as a table was cleared from the last pony, another or two would sit down and order their food. At one point, Professor Cold Steel, Skybreak, First Aid and Heather Bloom even sat down and got to enjoy the food.

"This is great," Skybreaker hummed. "Wish the school could serve these potsticker things."

Trixie heard this and smirked, "I'm sure Flash will be willing to give you guys the recipe." They turned to the pony still cooking, the avian looking and smiling at them and smiling as he finished up another batch of dangos.

"Flash," Soarin showed Flash several ingredients, "we're down to the last few ingredients. We're gonna have to close up soon."

"That's good," Wallflower walked over to put a plate down. " It's almost the end of our allotted time."

"Really?" Flash looked at the time and was surprised that it had flown by. They only had about fifteen minutes before they had to close down the cafe. "Well, better tell the customers." Soarin and Wallflower gave him a look, telling him he was the one who would have to do it. "Really?" He sighed and stepped out from behind the cooker, "attention everypony." They all turned to him. "As amazing as this has been, I'm afraid our kitchen will be closing." Everypony moaned, "I know. But our time is almost up and we're almost out of ingredients."

This statement got the ponies who were sitting to understand, the lot of them finishing the food they had before vacating the cafe. As they did, Flash and Soarin made one final batch of takoyaki and dangos. Alas, there were no more potstickers. Even so, they looked around and saw Cadance and Shining were still sitting at their table.

"Here you go," Flash placed the last of the food down. "First customers might as well by our last."

"Thank you," Cadance smiled as the others started cleaning up the table. "I hope you won't mind giving me the recipes for these delicious foods. I'm sure my aunts will love this."

"Aunts?" Flash asked.

"Princess Celestia and Luna," Cadance told him. "I believe you've met them. In fact, Luna had nothing by high praise for the lot of you." Flash smirked, glad the Princess of the Night respected him so much.

"So," Trixie stepped up to them, "sorry for being forward. But I'm interested in hearing how you two know each other so well." The others were just as interested, as Shining smirked.

"We were on the same team together," Shining explained. "Back when we were in the academy together."

Cadance nodded. "But before that, I used to babysit his sister when he and his parents weren't around." This surprised them, since they had no idea Shining had a sister. "You'll probably meet her eventually. She's the same age as you and is attending her first year at the Ponyville Adventurer's Academy. With your skills, it's likely you'll end up competing against her."

"Competing against her?" Flash wondered what she meant by that, but didn't get the chance to ask. Another group of ponies arrived.

"Hey, are you guys finished?" A terran asked, "we've only got an hour before we're supposed to open up." Team Relic realised these ponies were the ones taking over for them here, the ponies and jakhowl nodding as they had managed to just finish cleaning up.

"Give us a few minutes to get changed," Flash told them. They nodded and began to set thing up for their shop, as Trixie and Wallflower headed into the tent to take off their dresses. Meanwhile, Flash Soarin and Springer pulled off their bowties and removed their blazers.

Flash let out a huge gasp of air, as he unbuttoned his top button and was finally able to take a breath without being choked.

Shining laughed at this sight. "I remember the first time I had to wear something like that. Almost choked myself as well."

Flash groaned as he pulled his shirt out of his pants, "I'm never wearing this again. Next festival, let's come up with a plan that doesn't involve us needing to wear these horrible clothes."

Shining smirked. "Well if you ever manage to become a high level adventurer, you'll end up getting invited to galas and other events that'll require you to be dressed up." Flash groaned as the tents opened up, Trixie and Wallflower stepping out in their normal clothing.

"Wow," Soarin whistled, "that was fast."

"Those dresses are a lot either to take off then they are to get into," Trixie stated as Flash and Soarin stepped inside. A few minutes later, they to stepped out dressed in their regular clothing.

"Now we just have to take this stuff home," Flash held up his tux. "Beats carrying it around the place the whole festival."

"I think I can help with that," Cadance smiled before her horn glowed. She pointed her finger at the suits and the magic flowed through her horn into her finger, then out to Flash's suit. The next thing he knew, the suit and its hanger suddenly shrank down until it was small enough to fit on a doll.

"What did you do?" Flash asked in shock.

"Clothes shrinking spell," Cadance smiled. "Useful for when you need to carry a lot of clothes and don't want to carry a lot of suitcases. It'll last about twelve hours unless I recast the spell again."

"Wow," Trixie whispered as Cadance cast the spell on their clothes. Soon, the tuxes and dresses were safely stored in their pockets. "You think you can teach me that?" Cadance said she was more then happy too, as Shining gestured to the rest of the festival.

"Shall we start enjoying ourselves?" Shining asked, the others nodding as they all headed out to look around the rest of the festival.

When they reached the beach, they found found a bunch of cut out stands they could stick their heads through. Everyone laughed when Flash stuck his head through one showing a knight standing near the rear of a farting manticore. Wallflower and Springer became an octopus and a shark, whilst Soarin and Trixie stuck their heads through one of a mouse chasing a cat. Even Cadance and Shining stuck their heads through one, everyone laughing when they saw Shining was a princess and Cadance was a knight. It was hilarious.

After that, they found an obstacle course of such. You started at one end of a long hallway and had to make it past the obstacles to get other side, where a buzzer was waiting to record your time. Whoever managed to get the ten highest scores by the end of the day would win a special prize.

Soarin, of course, wanted to test his skills and ran through the course as fast as he could. He did quite well, until he got to the section with foam padded shields that flew back and forth. He ended up getting knocked around quite a bit. But even so, he managed to reach the buzzer and hit it to get into fifth place.

Flash, Springer and Shining all tried their hand at the course as well, though found it to be quite difficult since they weren't allowed to fly, use magic or any esprit abilities. Each of them got slowed down by one or two of the obstacles, resulting in their scores not being in the top ten highest.

They had fun though, whilst the mares all had a laugh seeing them getting beaten up by the course.

Afterwards, they grabbed their own food due to missing lunch as they worked at the cafe. There were many different types of food, but they were a lot more basic then the food Flash had introduced to them. Flash ended up enjoying a jumbo hotdog, Springer and Soarin had a burger, Trixie and Wallflower both had a salad with chicken nuggets. The other two only had a light snack, having had their fill at the cafe.

When they had their fill, they checked out a haunted house attraction that the males expected to make the girls hug them for support. As it turned out, they were the ones who ended up terrified and needing to be pulled out by the girls.

They then found a sumo game, where ponies dressed up in giant padded sumo costumes that they wore as they tried to push their opponent out of the ring. Flash and Soarin ended up facing off, with Flash managing to use a backwards roll toss to catapult him. Trixie and Wallflower went next, though it barely lasted ten seconds thanks to Wallflower's strength.

A little while later, they came across a booth that was set up to be a make your own desert station. Anypony could use it to make any sweet treat they wanted with the ingredient provided. The lot of them decided to try, grabbing some apples and use them to make candy apples. It was a messy experience, but the lot of them had fun as they did it.

As the day got late and the sun was starting to go down, they snacked on juice boxes and found a karaoke station. Everypony was excited to try that, the lot of them laughing when Cadance pulled Shining up to do a couple's duet. When the song ended, an announcement was sent over a loudspeaker to announce the winners of the obstacle course.

Turns out, Soarin had been knocked out of the top ten a couple of minutes before the course closed. Soarin was bumped at this, but he quickly perked up when Flash suggested he would just have to train harder and get the top spot next year.

Five o'clock was coming fast and as it did, the booths were beginning to close down. But that didn't mean the festival was over. In fact, music was beginning to be played over the loudspeaker as the day grew darker. And as it did, Shining suggested the lot of them head up to a balcony in the school.

Team Relic wondered why, but didn't argue and they all headed up there.

By the time they reached the balcony, the sun was almost completely set. As such, the seven of them were greeted to an amazing view of the school and lake bathed in the orange glow of the sun's last rays. "Wow," Trixie whispered, "this is amazing."

"It sure is," Shining smirked as he put an arm around Cadance. "And it's only gonna get better." Team Relic looked confused, as they wondered what Shining was talking about. However, they soon got their answer when the sun completely set and the moon began to rise.

As it did, a whizzing sound filled the air coming from the lake. It grew quieter and it got higher, only for a loud boom to pop in the air as the night's sky was filled with colour and light. "Fireworks!" Wallflower cheered, as another firework was launched. Then there was another and another, all different mixtures of colour.

They all watched in amazement, loving the display in front of them.

As they watched, Flash thought back on the great day he had had. Then he realised, he had had tons of great days since coming to the academy. He couldn't help but think back to the time he had met the god after his former life had been extinguished.

It was still hard to believe sometimes, that he had once been someone and something entirely different. Once, he was just an ordinary human teenager that happened to run out in front of a truck. Now, he was a humanoid pony with amazing powers, awesome friends and an entire world of adventure.

Shining looked over at Flash, who was only half paying attention to the fireworks and seemed to be in his own little world. "So," Flash turned to him, "is being an adventurer all you thought it was gonna be?"

Flash thought about this, remembering everything that had happened since regaining his memories. Meeting Shining and unlocking the ancient relic. Being given the chance to enter the adventurer's academy and meeting his future teammates. Training and bonding with Soarin, Wallflower and Trixie. Going on adventures with Shining and Luna, meeting Springer and saving the Princess of the Night from being turned back into an evil villain. And so many other moments he couldn't even list.

"No," he shook his head much to Shining and the other's shock. Then, he smiled at turned to them. "It's even better than I could have hoped." They all smiled, as Flash looked around at the friends he had made.

Flash had come to this world because he had wanted to be a hero. And despite everything he had been through, he couldn't say that he was that hero yet. But if he got to keep having adventures with the ponies he cared about, he was happy to continue with life he was on.

"Faust," he looked up at the sky, "thank you for this new life. I'll keep living every day of it the best I can until the day we meet again. My new life...as a pony."