Never Mind All That!

by EndlessPossibilities58

... And if you break the rules, we're gonna zap ya!

The bus came to a stop, the pneumatic doors letting out a hiss as they opened outward. One by one, a large group of tourists exited the vehicle, stepping out into the open air after their several-hour-long drive.

Once most of them had disembarked, the last passenger made her way to the door, her hooves clip-clopping on the floor. Leaving the bus, the purple alicorn stepped out onto the station, the bright glare from the midday sun causing her to squint.

Twilight let out a relieved sigh as she stretched out her muscles, feeling the tension leave her bones. The bus ride here had been so uncomfortable, It had been cramped and hot, and the guy sitting next to her had been calling himself a hotdog in his sleep and had been chewing on his arm. Thankfully, it was all over now, and she could finally get to the reason she had come to this town.

Walking along with the rest of the crowd, she left the bus station and made her way to the town proper. The first thing she saw was the massive floating cliffs, overlooking the town like a giant monolith. Soon, buildings and roads started coming into view, pedestrians going about their daily lives as she passed them by.

Twilight looked around, trying to understand what was going on here. She was here because Equestria had detected a massive chaotic anomaly centered over a little Town in Oregon known as Gravity Falls. This was extremely alarming because Earth had little to no magic, they asked Discord if he knew anything, and when he told them no, they decided the best course of action would be to send somepony to investigate.

Before arriving in Gravity Falls, Twilight was expecting Some kind of magical fallout or something. But as she scanned her gaze over the mundane town, she failed to find anything out of the ordinary. It looked as if nothing had happened here, so why did the data say there had been an anomaly?

In an effort to get some answers, she decided to start by asking the locals some questions.

"Excuse me?" she asked approaching a man on the sidewalk. "Would you mind answering some questions of mine about what happened here a few days ago?" she said, wiping out a scroll and quill.

The man's reply, however, wasn't what she had been expecting. "Oh, never mind all that!" he said, waving her off as he continued on his way.

"O...kay...?" she trailed off as the man left, leaving her perplexed as to his answer. After gathering her thoughts, she shook her head. Alright, she couldn't force someone to talk if they didn't want to, she could just find someone else.

"Excuse me?" she repeated to the next person she came across. "Would you mind answering some questions of mine about what happened here a few days ago?"

"Never mind all that," she said with a smile.

Twilight blinked, not sure if she heard that right. She watched as the lady continued On her way, seemingly carefree. She said the exact same thing the man had, making her muzzle scrunch up in confusion. After a moment, she again shrugged it off, once more contributing it to the fact they just simply didn't want to talk.

She approached yet another local and repeated her question, and found herself baffled when she still received that same response. What was going on, she wondered. Surely she would have come across someone willing to talk by now, so why were they all saying the same thing?

As she was wracking her brain on why she wasn't getting answers, she wasn't looking where she was going and ended Up bumping into a man on the sidewalk. She found herself falling backward onto her flank, too stunned to do anything but sit on the pavement.

"Oh heavens to Betsy, are you alright?" The man turned around, offering her a hand up. She gratefully accepted the gesture, giving him a fetlock as he pulled her back onto her hooves.

Getting a good look at the man, she saw he had a bit of a rotund build, and he wore a floral print shirt with a sombrero perched atop his head. Standing next to him, was a small child that looked to be around ten years old, dressed in an adorable baby blue suit.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," he said with an accent like Applejack had, an apologetic look on his face.

But Twilight just shook her head. "No it was my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going," she stuck out a hoof Towards the man. "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

The man took her hoof, shaking it vigorously. "It's mighty fine to meet you, Miss Sparkle, my name is Bud, Bud Gleeful. I run the dealership in town, you won't find a better price on used cars anywhere else in Gravity Falls."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Bud," she said.

He indicated to the child next to him. "And this is my son, Gideon. Come on now, hun, say hi to the nice lady now won't ya."

"It's nice to meet ya, Miss Sparkle, ma'am," Gideon said politely.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you too, Gideon," Twilight smiled sweetly at the boy. "Aren't you just the cutest," she said, to which he blushed.

Bud chuckled wistfully. "Yep, he sure is. Why, upon first glance, you'd never imagine That such a sweet boy ever tried to take over the town this summer."

Twilight smiled. "Yeah, it's probably not the first thing that'd come to my... I'm sorry what?" Twilight asked as her brain tried to process what it just heard.

Gideon shuffled his feet awkwardly, a sheepish smile on his face. "It's true, I went a bit mad with power this past summer. I tried to enslave Gravity Falls and take an out-of-town girl as my queen," he stared down at the pavement in shame. "Yeah, I'm not proud of it."

Twilight adopted a forced smile on her face, trying to hide her shock and play it cool. "Heh, well, I guess we've all got skeletons in our closets, don't we?"

"Yeah, I guess we do," Gideon gave a shallow chuckle, clearly feeling just as awkward about the situation as Twilight was.

"So," Twilight began as she addressed Bud, eager to change the subject. "I'm in town on official business, would you mind answering some questions about what happened here a few days ago?" she asked as she levitated the scroll and quill up beside Her.

"Never mind all that!" said Bud, a tension in his eyes that told her he didn't want to discuss it. "It's a beautiful day out, why concern ourselves about that?"

"I understand your hesitance," Twilight started. "But I really need to-"

"Oh, will ya look at the time!" Bud said suddenly, cutting her off. He grabbed Gideon's hand and started to walk away. "I'm afraid we must be going now, those used cars won't sell themselves. It was mighty fine meeting ya Miss Sparkle, enjoy your stay in Gravity Falls, ya hear," Bud said as he waved goodbye, the father and son slowly fading from sight.

After their sudden disappearance, Twilight found herself once again searching for people to question. She made her way through town, asking around about the Events of the last few days, and she kept getting the same exact response from everyone.

"Never mind all that!" said an exceptionally hairy mailman she asked, only to again get the same answer.

"Never mind all that!" said a teenage girl on her phone.

"Never mind all that!" said a man.

"Never mind all that!" said a woman.

"Never mind all that!"

"Taht lla dnim reven!"

"Never mind all that!"

"Never mind your face!" Twilight shot back.

"Mvevi nrmw zoo gszg!"

Twilight was Really starting to get frustrated about this, to the point that she felt she would start yanking out her own hair. Before things came to that, however, she spotted something that gave her hope.

Down the way stood a couple of policemen, going about their own business as they patrolled the town. Twilight's face brightened, if anyone could answer her questions it would be the local law enforcement.

Breaking into a gallop, she sprinted down the road toward the cops, trying to get to them before they moved on.

"Excuse, me officers," she began as she approached them, earning their attention. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and I'm-

"Ooh! Ooh! Are you a uni-ee-corn?" asked one of the cops excitedly, bouncing around on his long, spindly legs.

Twilight was a bit taken aback by his outburst but ended up nodding her head. "Well, I'm technically an alicorn now, but I was born a unicorn, so that would be a yes. Now, as I was saying, "I'm Princess Twilight Spar-"

"I met a uni-ee-corn once," the cop continued, cutting her off again. "We went on a magical journey together through a land of upside-down rainbows and talking trees, on a quest to overthrow an Evil sorcerer," he said as he looked off into space wistfully. "Then, I woke up in the hospital!" He exclaimed, going wall-eyed as a dumb expression crossed his face.

"... Yeah... He overdosed on Smile Dip..." said his companion. He had a darker skin tone than his partner, had a bit of a gut, and was a bit shorter. He also had a bushy mustache and a pair of sunglasses on his face.

"Okay, well as I was saying..." Twilight began, before pausing to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted again. Once it seemed like no such interruption would be coming, she continued. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and I'm here on official business and was hoping you could answer some questions I have?"

"Well then, welcome to Gravity Falls, Princess Twilight." Greeted the shorter cop. "I'm Sheriff Blubs, and this is Deputy Durland. How can we help you?"

Twilight Straightened her posture. "Could you please tell me about what happened in this town about a week ago?" she put forth her question to the cops, holding up her scroll and quill. They shared a look with each other, and from their expressions, she knew exactly what was coming next.

"Never mind all that!" said Sheriff Blubs.

"But why? she stressed. "Why will no one talk about what happened?"

"Listen, we're... not at liberty to discuss it," Blubs explained. "The events you're asking about were traumatic for many of us, and the townspeople aren't too eager to relive them," he adjusted the sunglasses on his face as he continued to address her. "Look, here's a bit of friendly advice, Princess, I suggest you drop this subject, as you aren't going to have much luck with it."

Twilight wilted a bit at hearing that, the prospect that she wouldn't get any answers hitting her hard.

"I'm sorry if that's not the answer you were wanting Princess, I really am, but my hands are tied."

Twilight slowly nodded her head, the Sheriff's words falling on deaf ears to her. "Yes. Um, thank you for your time, Sheriff," she said gratefully. "I should really be going now."

Blubs tipped his hat at her. "Enjoy your stay in Gravity Falls, Miss. And again, I'm sorry we couldn't be of more help."

After once again giving the officers her thanks, she found herself wandering aimlessly through the streets of the town. What was she going to do now, she thought, what was she going to do now that her reason for being here had hit a dead end?

Eventually, she got tired of the town, and the fact that people wouldn't Open up to her. She found herself wandering out into the woods, hoping to clear her head as she left civilization behind.

The fresh air out here was nice, the scent of pine trees filling her nose. Here among the pines, she found herself at ease for the first time since arriving in Gravity Falls. She found it soothing, listening to the wind blowing through the trees, squirrels scurrying over branches, and the sound of pine needles crunching under her hooves, it was all so serene.

As she wandered through the forest, she became surprised when she stumbled upon the most peculiar sight. It was a tiny Man, no more than a foot tall, with a beard and a pointed cap. The two stared at each other for a moment, until Twilight awkwardly waved a hoof, to which the tiny man mirrored.

As Twilight smiled at the tiny man, she thought about how the townspeople weren't willing to answer her questions. But this thing was clearly not from Gravity Falls, so it wouldn't be under the same stipulation the town was under and it wore clothes, which indicated it must be intelligent. So would it be up for talking with her?

"Excuse me?" she began, taking a tentative step toward the creature to avoid scaring it. "Would you be willing to answer some questions of mine about what happened in this area recently?"

For a moment, the creature just stared at her, before finally, it waddled over to a log and sat down, patting an open spot next to it. Right there and then, Twilight squealed like a little filly, giddy over the fact she finally found someone willing to talk. With a pep in her step, she made her way over to the log and sat down next to the man.

"So," she started, pulling out her scroll and quill. "Let's start things off simple. Can you tell me your name?"

"Schmebulock," said the little man.

"Schmebulock..." Twilight repeated slowly as she wrote down the name. Turning away from the parchment, she focused her gaze back on her subject. "Okay, now could you describe the recent Events that went down in this area to me?" she asked.

"Schmebulock," repeated the little man.

Twilight paused, looking at the creature in confusion. "Oh, no I already got your name," she said, showing him the parchment. 'I'm asking about the recent events in and around Gravity Falls."

"Schmebulock," he said again.

"No! Not your name!" Twilight said with growing frustration. "What happened here!"

"Schmebulock."

"Ughh, for the last time! I already have your..." Twilight's outburst died in her throat as realization struck her. "... Schmebulock's all you can say, isn't it?" Twilight sighed as she massaged her temple with her wing.

Schmebulock nodded. "Schmebulock," he said sadly.

Twilight sighed again, pursing her lips as she tried to think about what to do. Finally, her eyes brightened when she came up with a solution to her predicament.

"Okay, easy fix," she said aloud to no one in particular. "I'll just use a simple spell to translate what you're saying into Words I can understand," she said to the little guy.

Focusing on her magical aptitude, she constructed a spell matrix with her Horn and cast it on the creature.

"Alright, so you were saying?" Twilight tested.

Schmebulock spoke his name again, but this time, the spell she cast did its job. She watched as it translated what Schmebulock said into a script that she understood and could read.

Soon, a full sentence had formed before her, and as she read it, she found her prior enthusiasm fading. Her face paled as she looked at the word, a fire starting to rage in her chest as she Examined what it said.

Never mind all that!

Twilight's blood was practically boiling at this point, even out here, she was still getting the same response. Staring daggers at Schmebulock, it took all her willpower to Resist strangling the poor creature.

"Well, thank you for your time," she said as she stood up, putting on a forced smile before she turned around and left the clearing.

After leaving the strange little man behind, she grumbled to herself as she made her way through the woods. she came to the forest to clear her head and get away from all the 'never mind all that's' she kept receiving, but even out here she couldn't get away from it.

As she stalked through the trees, mosquitoes started swarming around her. She tried swatting at them, but she still Ended up getting bitten multiple times. As she scratched at the bites, she paused when she noticed that all together they formed a word.

Never mind all thab.

Twilight's eye twitched as she stared at the slightly misspelled phrase. Even the bugs were telling her to drop it now, what was wrong with this town? She grit her teeth, the feeling of fury in her chest building rapidly.

"ARE YOU BUCKING KIDDING ME!" Twilight bellowed in outrage with the Canterlot voice.

Twilight sat at a booth in a place called Greasy's Diner, mindlessly picking at a salad that barely looked edible. After becoming just as fed up with the woods, she found herself returning to Gravity Falls. She wandered the streets again for a while, until she started feeling hungry, and came here to grab a bite to eat.

As she sat there, the not-so-appetizing dish in front of her, the waitress tending the diner came up and spoke.

"Hey, why the long face?" she asked, a friendly smile gracing her lips. "Get it? 'Cause you're a pony?" The waitress wore an apron and a pink outfit and had her hair done up in a large bun. One of her eyes also looked like it was permanently shut, meaning she would have to manually lift her eyelid to see out of it.

"It's nothing," Twilight shook her head. "I've just had a bad day, is all?" she looked at the woman, wearing a hollow expression. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me about what happened in this town recently?" she drawled flatly for what must have been the hundredth time that day.

"Oh, now never mind all that," said the waitress, giving Twilight the same reply she'd come to expect. "Could I Interest you In one of my coffee omelets? You'll never believe my secret ingredient."

"Um... Coffee?" Twilight asked, hazarding a guess.

A bewildered look plastered itself on the lady's face. "Say... You don't have any hidden cameras on me, do ya?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Um... No...?" Twilight said nervously, unsure of the situation.

The lady continued to stare at Twilight for a couple more moments before her expression softened as she dropped her glare. "Okay then, if you say so," she said perkily. "Enjoy your food there, okay kiddo," she waved in parting as she left to attend to the other parts of the diner.

Twilight looked down at the 'food' in front of her, feeling her stomach turn at the thought of eating it. Deciding she'd rather go hungry, she prepared to get down from her seat, when suddenly a New voice spoke up next to her.

Surprised, she looked to her side to see that another patron had sat down next to her without her realizing it. They wore a large hat and coat that concealed their identity, making it nearly impossible for Twilight to see what they looked like.

"I heard you have some questions?" said the figure quietly, avoiding looking in her direction. "Luckily for you, I can answer them," reaching into Their coat pocket, they pulled out a piece of paper that Twilight saw had an address written on it. "Meet me here, and I'll see to it that all your questions get answered."

With that, the strange figure got up from their seat and walked out of the diner.

Once the stranger was gone, Twilight slowly reached for the slip of paper and pulled it toward Her. As she looked at the address that was written on it, she felt a giddiness overtake her. Finally, someone was finally willing to talk, someone who wouldn't give her that same old 'never mind all that' speech.

Now with a new resolve, she got down from her seat and made for the Exit, determined to find this address.

Twilight checked the slip of paper, looking at the address Written down vs the one she stood before now; it was a match, she realized as she cross-examined them, this was the place she was supposed to be.

The address looked to be for a local newspaper, called The Gravity Falls Gossiper. Steadying herself, Twilight took a breath to calm her nerves and stepped through the door.

Entering the establishment, she found the place to be fairly ordinary: a desk with a computer, a filing cabinet and a closet, and pretty much everything else you'd expect to find in a place like this.

"Hello?" she called Out tentatively as she let the door close behind her. "I'm here, just like you told me."

"Just a moment," replied the same voice as the person who gave her this address. After a few seconds, a door that led to another room of the building Opened up, and a figure stepped through.

Twilight tensed up as soon as she saw it, some horrific beast lurching through the door. The creature had deep, sunken eyes, a set jaw, and a pasty complexion with a disgusting beard, it was the most hideous thing she'd ever seen. She didn't know what this thing was, or how it managed to sneak this far into town, but she did know that she was not going to let it harm the people of Gravity Falls.

She quickly got into a Defensive position, charging a blast from her horn as she fired it at the monster. It shrieked and dove out of the way, narrowly missing her attack. As Twilight prepped another shot with her horn, the monster took cover behind the desk before she could fire.

She was just about to use her magic to throw the desk aside, but she was stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out.

"Wait! Hold your fire!" said the beast, rising up from behind the desk with its arms raised placatingly. Now that she could get a better look at the creature, She realized that it wasn't a monster, but rather just a man.

An ugly man.

But a man nonetheless.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said abashedly once she realized her mistake. "It's just - now don't take this the wrong Way - but you look like a monster from the deepest depths of Tartarus, with a face not even a mother could love."

The man sighed. "True."

"So..." Twilight said, trying to change the subject. "Are you who I'm supposed to meet?"

The man nodded. "My name is Toby Determined, but you can call me Bodacious T!"

"Well, nice to meet you, Toby."

Toby sighed in despair.

"So, you said you'll Answer my questions?"

Toby nodded. "Yes, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Twilight once again brought out her scroll and parchment, looking at Toby as she prepared to write down what he told her. "Okay, so what happened exactly, what happened to cause such a massive chaotic anomaly?"

"Well," Toby began. "It all started when-"

The front door suddenly burst open, interrupting Toby as Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland stormed inside.

"Nobody move! This is a raid!" Shouted Blubs, as Durland started smashing things with his nightstick.

Toby fell backward in surprise. "What Is this? Some kind of raid?"

Blubs started making his way toward Toby, a live taser in his hand. "Toby Determined, you are hereby charged with attempting to defy the 'Never Mind All That' act. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"You'll never be able to keep this quiet, you can't keep me from talking!"

"You know the consequences for this, Toby," said Blubs as Durland brought up a taser. The Sheriff briefly looked away from Toby as he glanced at Twilight, his expression unreadable behind his glasses. "You deal with this Durland," he said turning to his Deputy. "I'll be just a moment."

A sadistic smile crossed Durland's face, as he ignited his Taser, casting him in an eery glow. "ZAP! ZAP!"

Twilight winced at the sound of Toby shrieking as he was tased, convulsing on the ground as hundreds of volts of electricity coursed through his body.

"Miss Twilight," Blubs greeted as he approached her. "Still trying to get answers I see?"

"I'm... not in trouble, am I?" she asked worriedly.

But Blubs gave a chuckle, putting her at ease. "No, you've done nothing wrong, Princess. However, on that note, I do have to ask that you stop disrupting the peace; it's like I said earlier, most of the towns folk don't want to discuss the events you're asking about, and we keep a close eye out for any that do, to be sure they don't break the law passed around it. So again, I ask that you stop searching for something you're not going to find from the people of Gravity Falls."

Twilight sighed in disappointment and slowly nodded her head at the Sheriff. "Alright, I understand."

"I really am sorry about this, Princess, but trust me, the events you want to know about are better left forgotten."

After her talk with Sheriff Blubs, Twilight left the two cops to their work, feeling too distraught to argue. For what must have been the third time that day, Twilight once again found herself wandering Gravity Falls. She didn't know why exactly she was still here, It had already been made clear she wasn't going to get what she came for, so why was she sticking around - maybe she just didn't know what to do next.

As she wandered through town, she eventually came across a sign that caught her interest. It was in the shape of an arrow and pointed down a road that led into the woods.

Mystery Shack
1 mile

Felling slightly curious, Twilight followed the road through the woods, soon coming upon a large run-down shack. Quite obviously a tourist trap, it was covered in all sorts of signs and knick-knacks, which went well with the shacks theme. And most Notable of all, was the massive sign on the top of the building, which read Mystery Shack, although the S for Shack had fallen off.

Approaching the building, she found a small crowd listening to a tubby man wearing a suit, fez, and an eye patch as he showed them something.

"Behold," said the man as he lited a tarp off a pedestal. "The Chin-Chinchilla, The chinchilla with a human chin!" Despite obviously being just a stuffed chinchilla with a human chin attached with an excessive amount of Glue, the tourists ate it up, snapping pictures, and ahhing at the fake attraction.

As Twilight wondered how these people could fall for something like this, she watched as the crowd slowly dispersed, with the man waving them goodbye.

"Thanks for your patronage, dawgs, your contributions to the Mystery Shack are appreciated!"

Twilight approached the man, hoping to ask him some questions.

"Oh, hello there, little lady, and how can I help you on this fine evening?" he asked once he saw her.

"Uh, hello to you too," Twilight said in reply. "Um, what is this place exactly?"

"Well, why this is the Mystery Shack, the finest one-stop shop for mysteries and oddities in Gravity Falls. I'm Mister Mistry, the proprietor of this establishment, but you can call me Soos."

"So, I take it you get a lot of business?" Twilight said, looking at the retreating crowd.

"Ohh, of course, the Mystery Shack has been in operation for over thirty years, having been founded by Stanley Pines, the original Mister Mystery. Would you perhaps be interested in a tour?"

Twilight shook her head. "No thanks, I was just kind of feeling down and was wandering and stumbled across this place."

"Oh, what seems to be the problem, miss?" Soos asked with concern.

Twilight sighed, not too eager to go over this once again. "It's... nothing," she said with a downcast expression. "I came to town hoping to learn about the recent chaotic event that happened here recently, but I've had no luck; I've been asking around all day, but no one will talk to me about it because of some law that was passed, I guess?"

Soos nodded in understanding. "I lived through those events just as the rest of the town, and let me tell ya, it was no picnic."

Twilight sighed again. "I understand people might not be too willing to talk about this subject, but I came all the way out here from Equestria looking for answers, and no one will tell me anything!"

Soos rubbed his chin in thought. "It's too bad you couldn't just go inside someone's mind and look for the information yourself; The 'never mind all that' act keeps the towns folk from talking about those events, but I don't think it applies to stepping into one's head," he said.

Twilight paused, a sly smile etching across her lips as she processed Soos' words. "Say... Soos was it? Would you be willing to help me out with something?" she asked the tubby man.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"There's this little possession spell I know of. When cast, it would allow me to take over the mind and body of my target, taking away all semblances of personality and free will. As long as they remain bound to me, I would be able to view all their memories as if they were my own. And if you're willing, I'd like to cast it on you and see these events for myself. What do you say?"

Soos nodded in contemplation. "That doesn't sound ethically questionable at all! Alright, you got yourself a deal!"

"Yes!" Twilight exclaimed in glee, doing a little dance. After taking a moment to collect herself, she turned to address Soos. "Okay, then, so you just stand right there, and I'll cast the spell."

"One thing first," Soos said, pausing Twilight as she charged up the spell with her horn. "I just wanna give you a little heads up about the events you're about to witness. The events of those few days were pretty intense and terrifying, so you should be prepared to see some scary things in there," he told her.

However, Twilight simply waved him off. "I appreciate your warning, but I'm sure that I can handle it."

"Okay, if you say so, I just-" Soos began but was suddenly cut off as Twilight activated her spell and took him over.

"After all," Twilight said as she watched his eyes glass over. "After everything my friends and I have seen, I'm sure it will pale in comparison."

After a bright flash, Twilight found herself in what she assumed to be Soos's home. She looked out the window, noting how the outside world looked the same as when she arrived.

Suddenly, she watched in horror as the sky ripped open, growing darker as a massive X-shaped tear appeared above Gravity Falls. She felt her heart start beating harder in her chest as she stared at this anomaly, trying to understand what was going on.

"AAAHHAAHHAAA!"

Soon, a horrifying, demonic cackle filled the air, sending a cold chill down Twilight's spine as she was brought out of her thoughts.

"AAAAHHAAAAHHAAAAHHAAAA!"

Twilight shrunk in on herself as she watched a figure emerge from the tear, a glowing, one-eyed, yellow triangle that filled her with dread.

"AAAAAHHAAAAAHHAAAAAHHAAAAAHHAAAAA!"

Twilight shakily made her way through the halls of her castle, still on edge after returning from Gravity Falls. She was about to head up to her room when Starlight came out of a nearby door and greeted the alicorn with a smile.

"Oh, hey Twilight," she said. "I didn't know you were back, how was the trip?"

"It was good," Twilight said forcefully, trying to skirt around the question. "The people were friendly, and the cuisine was.... interesting..."

"Sounds nice," Starlight nodded in agreement. "And what were your findings on the chaotic anomaly?"

Twilight froze on the spot, a knot forming in her stomach at the question Starlight put forward. "Oh... Uh..." she began, trying to figure out a response, and after a moment, she replied.

"Never mind all that!"