//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: 3 Wishes // by Mocha Star //------------------------------// The three fillies were making their way back the same way they came, two riding on Aura’s back. Aura was trotting, nervously glancing around like she was being hunted. “What’s wrong, Aura?” Piña Colada asked.  Aura’s ear flicked suddenly. “I have a feeling something bad might happen. Did you hear what Madam Fortuna said?” “Yeah, that we didn’t know what we’d done. Whatever, she was just being weird. Maybe we undid her wish to be something.” Noi answered. “Yeah, she was a doody head. Let’s just get home and go back to life like normal.” Piña Colada said happily, grinning.  “I just hope you’re right,” Aura said, looking around the plains they were crossing over. SHe yawned. “I’m getting a little tired. It’s almost my nap time.” “You still take naps?” Noi asked, teasingly. “You still suck your hoof?” Aura snarked back, making the yellow filly’s cheeks turn bright red.  “You said you weren’t gonna bring that up!” Noi shouted loud enough for her voice to break.  “You shouldn’t tease a growing mare for her naps, then.” Aura responded. Piña Colada snickered into her free hoof. “You’re both silly.” “Oh yeah? What silly embarrassing thing do you do?” Noi asked. “Nothing. I’m just perfect,” Piña Colada answered with a cocky grin. “Yeah, right. Spill it or I’m not sleeping over at your house anymore,” Aura said as she walked through a small grove of trees, knocking one over. “I can’t…” Piña Colada said, blushing a little. “I’d never live it down. Let’s just say we’re even and leave it at that, huh, girls?” Noi and Aura shared a friendly look. “Nah,” they said in unison. “Tell us or I’m gonna stop carrying you,” Aura threatened. “Hey, that’s not fair. We’re far from home and I’ve got little legs compared to yours. You’d leave me in the dust.” Piña Colada said worriedly. “Yeah, let’s not go too far, Aura.” Aura’s horn lit and Piña Colada was lifted from the filly’s back, screaming and flailing, and moved to hover beside her friend’s head. “I can carry you like this if you don’t wanna tell your secret.” Noi gasped. “Hey, put her back, this isn’t funny anymore, Aura.” Piña Colada hugged herself tightly and curled up. “Okay, I talk in my sleep sometimes! Put me back, put me back!” Aura slowed and set her friend on her back, into the waiting forelegs of Noi, who frowned at Aura’s face. “That wasn’t very nice, Aura. You really scared her. Piña, don’t worry, I’m here and you’re okay,” Noi consoled. Aura looked ahead again, yawning once more. She trotted for another minute until Piña Colada had calmed down and Noi had turned to sit behind the emotional filly. “Girls, I’m sorry I did that. I don’t know what came over me. It’s like being this big is making me feel weird, like I’m the boss for once.” “Well, there’s being a boss, and being a meanie, like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.” Noi replied. “But, I accept your apology, as long as Piña Colada does, too.” Piña Colada nodded and rubbed her forelegs together. “As long as you don’t do something scary like that again, I forgive you.” “Yay, we’re still friends!” Aura cheered and started to rear up, stopping before she got too high to avoid tossing her passengers. “Sorry about that! I almost forgot you were on my back. Ugh, how much farther is it, Noi?” Noi carefully stood up and climbed Aura’s mane to stand on the crown of her head. She looked around and let her eyes follow the path. “I dunno, maybe a couple hours before we get home at this rate. Can’t you gallop again?” “Can’t you gallop again?” Aura mocked. “Why don’t you grow as tall as my living room and carry me around for the day? Then you can ask me about moving faster. Ouch! Don’t pull my mane, Noi.” “Sorry, I’m climbing down to sit beside Piña Colada.” “Oh. Well, be careful, please.” Aura asked. The trek went on and on for the fillies who started to gossip as females tend to do, until they suddenly stopped. “Aura?” “Ugh, my back hurts, girls. Can you get off for a little bit?” Aura complained and knelt down, wincing with each movement. The others hopped off to the ground as Aura seemed to shrink just a little. “Ouch! My everything hurts!” “You’re shrinking, it’s working! The wish is undoing! Yay!” Noi cheered and did a little hop with Piña Colada as Aura grit her teeth and quietly cried. Aura got up on shaky legs and began to trot down the path, her friends quickly following behind her as she quickly shrunk down to her normal size. She fell to her side, panting. Tears matted the fur under her eyes as she looked up to her friends. “Am I… back to normal?”  “Yeah, we did it. Let’s go home and see our parents, okay?” Noi suggested. The others agreed and helped Aura to her weak legs. Aura quickly regained her strength and within five minutes was racing the others down the road to Ponyville. Walking through Ponyville the trio were surprised to see so many adults looking confused or worried as they went. Piña Colada split off once they got to town to see if her parents were home while Noi stayed with Aura to help with her parents’ reaction to the destruction Aura had caused while giant. When the filly got to what was left of the front of her house, Aura shivered. “Noi, I’m scared. What if they know I did it?” “Then I’ll go down with you, because I made the wish, too.” They hugged and made their way up the stairs. “Aura, is that you?!” A mare, Aura’s mommy, called. She turned the corner from the kitchen and rushed to embrace her filly. “Oh, my little angel, we didn’t know what happened to you. One minute we were going to bed, the next we’re standing outside the hospital. “We were so worried about you.” Her father hurried into the room and saw his wife and daughter, then hurried to embrace them both while Noi backed away, out the door. “Noi, where are you going? You helped bring our baby back, at least stay to play for a while while we figure out how we’re going to get upstairs from now on.” The adults shared a giggle. Both fillies looked at them like they were crazy. “What happened in here?” Aura asked, innocently. Her father chuckled and patted her head. “Obviously another creature from the Everfree Forest came into town. We were all lucky nopony was home when it came looking for a snack while we were out. Speaking of which, where were you two? It’s almost three in the afternoon…” “Well, I woke up and you weren’t here so I went out to look for you. I guess the monster came in and made the mess while I was gone. I ran into Noi here and we went looking for you together, then everypony started walking into the streets so we figured you might be home, and here we all are,” Aura rambled.  Her parents shared a look, then nodded and hugged their filly again. “We believe you. After all, this is Ponyville.” Aura sighed and melted into her parent’s embrace and Noi found that the time to leave had come. With a grateful nod from Aura, Noi left to go to her own home.  Once home, Noi found her mother finishing icing a cake. “Mommy! I missed you!” “Noi!” Her mother set the icing down and sat so Noi could run into her open forelegs. “I have no idea why I made a cake, but where were you? I looked around the house and even called your name outside but you didn’t come.” She asked, pulling back to look her daughter over. She flicked her mane and the crystal ball fell out and rolled across the floor.  They both looked at it. “I forgot all about that thing. How’d it get in my mane?” Her mother stood up and went to pick it up. “Did you steal this from the fair?” “What?! No, mommy, I’d never steal. I found it in the woods West of town when I went playing with Aura while we were looking for her parents. Honest, I didn’t steal it.” “Hm, those travelers must have dropped it. Tell you what, wash your forelegs and we can cut into this cake.” Noi grinned and hopped on her hooves, rushing to the bathroom while her mother looked at the orb. She pressed it between two hooves to try to make it shrink like it had been when in her daughters mane, but gave up after a couple tries. “Hmph. Phony baloney hocus-pocus. I wish I had half the bits these ponies make a day, meanwhile these ponies walk around with crystal like it’s nothing scamming innocent ponies out of their hard earned bits. Makes me ill to my stomach.”