//------------------------------// // Bonus Chapter #2 (pt. 3): ...Intrigue? // Story: Epic Rap Battles of MLP // by enigmaMystere //------------------------------// “WARNING! There will be some dark material in this chapter! You have been warned! Now, on-” With the story! “Dude, not cool.” Hey, you did it to me. Anyways, let’s continue! Standing there in the middle of the circle, dancing in a completely carefree manner, was a brown unicorn, his bright green and gold mane swaying with every motion. He seemed lost to the world, having become one with the beat.  As the music started to reach its end, he gradually returned to the here and now. At this point, he finally looked around and realized that a small crowd had gathered around to watch him.  He blushed and started to spit out a non-intelligible string of sounds that one might’ve once heard from Screwloose. “I-I uh um, see I jus-just um... YOLO, am I right?” There was a stagnant pause from the crowd, all eyes on the embarrassed unicorn. “I’d say that phrase is silly...” A burgundy pegasus stepped into the circle, a small smile on his face. “... but I have to admit that those were some nice moves, man.  Definitely better than anything I could’ve done.” “Well thank you very much,” exclaimed the unicorn, glad that the attention was no longer just on him. The feminine stallion chuckled, shaking his head. “No problem.” He extended a hoof, giving a small half-smile. “I’m Enigma. What’s your name?” “My name’s Bronzehearth, but my friends call me Hearth.  Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Hearth said, extending his hoof and shaking Enigma’s. He laughed, even though he really tried not to. “Such formality! This is supposed to be a party, not the Triple G!” He bumped him on the shoulder, his laughter now lowered to chuckling. “Though you’ve definitely loosened up a bit, eh?” “It’s hard not to, I mean just look around!” He pulled Enigma close to him and waved a hoof in front of the scene before them. “A sea of smiling faces, putting their troubles to rest the best way possible. A party!” He shouted as he hoofpumped. “Woah, watch the hooves, there! That’s my stallion you’re putting the moves on!” A chuckle followed the voice, and a white mare came into the little clearing. “Just kidding, dude. You have to admit, though, E’s a little uncomfortable.” She glanced at the pegasus, who was currently trying to squirm out of the embrace, if only due to how his spine was being awkwardly bent. “Huh? Oh, right.  My bad,” he said, finally releasing the burgundy stallion from the hold. “And you must be the lovely bride-to-be, Miss Scratch?” He said while slowly rubbing the back of his head, a sheepish smile on his face. She grinned, pulling off her shades to get a proper look at him. “That’s right, dude.” Her vibrant violet eyes roved over his body for a moment before she continued. “And the name’s Vinyl Scratch, but you can call me Vi or Vinyl. Never ‘Miss Scratch’.” She turned away slightly, a small frown on her lips. “It makes me feel old. I mean, come on! I’m barely in my twenties!” She glanced up at her fiance, who was giving her a bemused look. She sighed, rubbing a hoof through her mane. “Okay, so I’m twenty-four. But still, I-” She paused mid-sentence, her eyes widening slightly. The burgundy pegasus waved a hoof in front of her face, worried. “Vi? You okay?” Hearth squinted his eyes behind his gray glasses. “Wait, Vinyl... where have I heard that before?” He scratched his chin, concentrating. “Canterlot University.” The white mare stepped forward, her eyes still wide in what appeared to be awe. “You were a year ahead of me. I remember that you once got in trouble with the science teacher for taking his ‘Visible Pony’.” “I’m just surprised he didn’t notice for that long! You’d think that by the time prom rolled around he would’ve seen something was off.” Hearth chuckled. “Ah, good ole Mr. Woolsworth.” “Easy to pull the Wool over his eyes.” She laughed, finally breaking out of her trance-like state. “I can’t believe it! You’d think I’d have recognized you sooner!” “No biggie, I’ve just been so busy since high school running the business and all.” “I know, Hearth! You came by my dad’s house once to install a fireplace!” She giggled, winking at him. “You almost broke his favorite guitar, dude!~” “Hey! How was I supposed to know his pickups were super-magnetized by some kind of exotic, foreign magic?” He said, bursting out in laughter. Vinyl stayed silent, awkwardly fidgeting. She’d averted her gaze, almost as if she was embarrassed by what he’d just said. “About that...” He started to calm down, his interest piqued. “That was actually my fault.” She winced, finally looking up back at him. “I’d been messing with his guitar... trying to see if stronger pickups would make it louder, you know?” She sheepishly smiled, shrugging a little. “And you saw how that went... sorry, dude...” He just stared off into the distance with an odd look in his eye, thinking back to that day.  An awkward silence enveloped the room.  He started to speak, but his mouth just stayed half-open with no sound coming out. “Ohhhhhhhh... now that makes a whole lot more sense than ‘gypsy magic’,” he breathed out, a smile starting to reform on his lips.  “Oh well, all’s well that ends well.” She gaped at him in shock. “Y-you aren’t mad?” “Honestly, I’m just glad I got out of there with my pay,” He laughed out.  “I didn’t expect your dad to be so cool about it. So, whatcha been up to these last few years? You know, besides the whole rap battle thing.” She giggled, calming back down. “That’s actually been a large part of what I’ve been doing, recently. I’m a DJ, after all!” She tilted her head, quickly realizing that the playlist was about to end. Her horn lit up, and the needle moved over to the other record, a new song queued up to play. “I’m a little distracted, at times, but it’s still really fun for me.” “Oh, I completely understand,” Hearth said.  When the new song started to pick up, he started tapping his hoof to the beat. The crowd had long since gone back to dancing, having incorrectly deemed their little conversation unworthy of their attention. One pony, however, had been secretly watching, her rose eyes locked onto the brown unicorn. “Well guys, tell you what, if you’re ever in need of a top-notch fireplace, count on me for one, free of charge.” His head starting to bob. The happy couple smiled and, with a quick goodbye, started to leave the crowd. Soon enough, they were out of sight. Hearth started to look around, looking for somepony to dance with. But, it looked like there weren’t any around. A cornflower-blue hoof grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. Its owner, a mare wearing a hat that covered her head, smiled at him as she got closer to him. Her lips came close to his ear, whispering just loud enough for him to hear. “Nopony should dance alone.” The brown unicorn, finally regaining his composure, smiled at the mare and said, “And here I was thinking that I’d have to do it all by my lonesome.  And may I have the name of my beautiful partner?” One of his eyebrows raised, a half-grin on his face   She blushed, pressing her periwinkle mane closer to his cheek. “Call me... Shine...” “Well you can just call me Hearth, but right now I hear the dance floor calling for me... or should I say us?” A little redness starting to form on his cheeks. She blushed, and with that he took her by the hoof and led her out onto the dance floor. A certain white mare on the stage took notice of the two, a small smile forming on her lips. “Cute.” Enigma sighed, moving back up onto the stage with his marefriend. “It’s nice to see old friends, huh, Vi?” He looked at her, finally noticing that she was distracted. He followed her line of sight, smiling softly at the scene. “Heh. I guess somepony else found love, too, huh?” Vi giggled, shaking her head. “I’m surprised. Shine was always such a shy little mare; frankly, I figured she was asexual or something.” She smiled taking the playful burgundy hoof to her side. “Anyways, I think things should be fine, from here on out. After all, nothing else could possibly go wrong.” The feminine stallion just stared at her, a blank expression on his face. “...you did not just say that.” She returned the gaze, confused, her mouth open as if to ask a question. Almost as if the universe was waiting on her to say those words, she was cut off by a sudden loud yell coming from the stage. “What do you mean I didn’t make the cut?!” They jumped in surprise, turning to stare at the source of the voice. Off to the side of the stage, there was a red unicorn, talking into a microphone. He was unaware that his voice was being broadcast throughout the whole room. Everypony had stopped what they were doing to stare at him. “Calm down, Spot Light, the mic is on,” a green pegasus next to him said, nervously tugging at her orange mane. “Not now, Sugar Coat, sweetie,” he said with an annoyed look. “But the mic is on, honey,” “Ahem.” The burgundy pegasus was standing at the edge of the stage, an eyebrow quirked. “I’m sorry, but could you please put that down? You’re disrupting the party for the rest of the guests.” “And who are you, red head?” “Spot Light, calm down.” “First off, my mane is sienna.” He ran a hoof through the brown hair on his head as if to prove a point. “Second, I’m the fiance of the lovely unicorn up there entertaining the guests.” “It looks red to me, and you with her, BA!” he snarled, “We all know she doesn’t swing that way!” “Spot Light, you're making a scene,” Sugar Coat said, tugging at his tail. “You must forgive him, he gets like this when he doesn’t get a role in a play, and that’s rarely.” Enigma looked from the green mare to the red unicorn, a blank expression on his face. “Okay, then... but I’m confused by what he said.” He tilted his head, eyes narrowing dangerously. “What do you mean by ‘she doesn’t swing that way’?” “I don’t need to explain myself, you should just figure it out yourself,” The feminine stallion stood there for a few moments in silence, contemplating whether the rude performer was being facetious. A small smirk planted itself on his lips. “And what are you smirking about now, dummy?” He shook his head, chuckling to himself. “I must say, you’re one heck of a performer. I almost believed that you were really angry.” “I bet you couldn’t act to save you life!” Spot Light yelled, his face redder than normal, “I’m not acting, I really am angry and I need to let it out on somepony or something!” “He really is angry,” Sugar Coat said, still trying to calm down her husband. Enigma smiled, nodding a bit. “I can see that.” He turned to the taller pony, holding a hoof out. “Listen, you and I are reasonable stallions. Why don’t we just talk about this? You know, without the mic?” “Explain! And I didn’t get your name yet.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Good one! It should’ve been on your invite, along with Vinyl’s.” “I still want to know your name. I bet it’s something embarrassing, maybe it is some sort of mare’s name.” The pegasus’ face darkened, his eyes now slits. “What was that?” “Looks like I hit a nerve, ya filly. Tell me your name and I might consider up.” Enigma gritted his teeth, an eye twitching slightly. “Not... a mare...” He turned to the white mare behind the turntables, fighting to keep calm. “Vi, we’re gonna need a rap battle!” “A rap battle? Ok but I would like to know who I am facing it is before we start.” The burgundy pegasus smirked, reaching into the box of microphones and pulling out a headset. “Don’t worry, you’ll find that out soon enough.” He put it on and turned back to the red unicorn, glaring harshly at him. “After this, you’ll remember my name.” “I normally go second to get the advantage, but this time I’ll go first, Mr. Enigma,” he smiled. Enigma blinked, confused. “If you knew my name, why did you act like you didn’t?” “What are you talking about?” He pointed a hoof at himself. “My name’s Enigma. You literally just called me that.” “Oh well, surprise, surprise. Lets start,” Vinyl grinned, fully in her stage persona. As soon as she saw they were ready, she put up her illusions, casting a unique background for each of the combatants. She started the music and shouted out to the crowd. EPIC RAP BATTLES OF THE OC’S! SPOT LIGHT VS. ENIGMA BEGIN! Greetings Enigma, or is it Mr. E? I can't figure it out I've waited long enough for you to battle me, so no need to pout You hooked up with Vinyl, boy that's a surprise I guess you have a thing for Ms. Bloodshot eyes So does she know about your wings going "up and stick out" Now let's not get hostel and there's no need to shout I'm just warning you, I'm no two act page So take up the mic and come on up here on stage Listen to this guy, how does he even breathe? Sayin’ stupid things as he tries to make me seethe In anger, but I won’t have my jimmies rustled. I’m sure you speak like that when you hustle Other ponies because you fear for your fame. There’s only three things that you’ve got to your name - Your sad marefriend, your poor excuse for a show, And your awful habit of being way too hammy, bro. Me being hammy? You don't know the half, You brought up my wife, so prepare to feel my wrath I may have a small job, but I'm a local star It's not like your dates with Vinyl, which never go far You say you’re an Enigma? Well mystery solved Your wings stood up hearing Vinyl, so something there evolved. You are a worthy adversary for the great Spot Light Now get off my turf and Exit Stage Right Shut your mouth right now, Spot, or I’ll muzzle you, tool. If this is your turf then mine’s the whole world, fool! You, a star? Yeah, maybe if you mean that you’ve fallen. Do you hear that? It’s Captain Kirk on the call ‘n’ He wants you to know that he wants his acting back! It must be bad to be called out on that. Though I have to admit you put up quite a fight, This has to end - I’m blacking out this Light. WHO WON? YOU DECIDE! EPIC RAP BATTLES OF THE OC'S! The music ended and the illusions faded, leaving the two rappers standing on the stage. “Sorry for any harsh words I said, I just needed to vent, I don’t care if I lose. It just feels good to get things off my chest,” Spot Light said, now a lot more calm. Enigma sighed, sheepishly smiling. “It’s fine. I’m just glad you’ve calmed down.” “Good. Now we can all enjoy the party,” Sugar Coat said, sighing as well. “Say, Enigma, let’s rap again sometime, when it isn’t like this. And personally, I think you and Vinyl there should hold off on getting married,” Spot Light said calmly. “Marriage isn’t something you want to dive into just yet. Just something to think about. In the meantime,” He cracked his hoofs, “I’m going to give my manager a piece of my mind. Now enjoy the party.” “Here we go again,” Sugar Coat rolled her eyes before turning to the couple. “See you two later.” The two ponies left the stage and blended into the crowd. Enigma stepped off the stage as well, chuckling to himself. “Well, that was fun. I wonder what’ll happen next...” He placed a hoof on his chin, thinking a little. He shrugged, smiling softly. “Probably nothing bad.” Suddenly, there was a crash as a certain cinnamon-colored unicorn went sailing in through a window, and straight into the unprepared pegasus. Both stallions sailed through the room before smashing into the stage, the dark red pegasus taking the full force that the unicorn had been sent flying with. The impact caused the needle to fall, landing on the record once more. Octavia leaped through the broken window, looking at the two stallions as though nothing was wrong. “I know a fight can be tiring, but that doesn’t mean you can just fall asleep.” She was being completely serious, if her neutral expression was anything to go by. “I’m not sleeping, and it will take more than that to put me down. What did I hit, anyways?” He looked down at the almost-unconscious form of Enigma, his eyes displaying swirls. “Oops, my bad, man.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof, embarrassed. “Mommy... I’m sorry I failed my flight test again...” He stood up shakily, staggering away in a daze. “Please don’t take me to the Factory, Mommy...” “Is he alright? I didn’t mean for him to get hurt by our fight.” “He’ll be fine. He’s been hit by worse before.” She walked over, popping the joints in her neck. She stood up on her hind legs, cello bows at the ready. “Shall we continue?” Cinnamon spun his swords, clearly showing off. “Whenever you’re ready, lady.” Smiling, she stepped on one of the stage’s loose planks, causing it to flip into the air. With a little spin, she kicked it at him, obscuring his vision. Growling, he cut the board apart with one of his swords, allowing him to see her again. To his surprise, she was right in front of him. “Check.” She flipped, delivering an axe kick to the top of his head, sending him crashing face-first into the floor. She shook her head, frowning softly. “Oldest tactic in the book. Pity. He was actually entertaining.” She turned away, finding herself disappointed at the turn of events. But the unicorn wasn’t done yet. With his opponent now distracted, he pushed off his swords and launched himself, hindhooves-first, into the back of her head. She was sent flying into a wall, caught off-guard by the attack. “Don’t get cocky! I still have some fight left in me,” he said as he quickly picked up his swords again. “but I intend to end this now.” Octavia recovered quickly from the blow, a small smirk creeping to her face. “I’m glad that it didn’t end so quickly. Let's end this.” She raised her cello bows, ready for whatever he was about to throw at her. Cinnamon lowered himself into a stance, crossing his forehooves in front of him. “I thought I wouldn’t need to use one of my special moves for this. Guess I was wrong.” Someone from the crowd that was watching the scene glanced around, noticing a change in the temperature. “Hey, is it me or did the place just become hotter?” “No, that’s just you, love. You’re always hot.” The mare pushed against her stallion, blushing brightly. “You flatterer!” Of course, everyone else was starting to notice it, as well. They could tell the battle was becoming serious. The area around Cinnamon started to wave, the air around him hot enough that the swords looked like they were bending. Octavia readied herself, keeping a wary eye on the unicorn in front of her. What is he planning? It clearly isn’t magic. He’s too honorable to break his own rules. But that begs the question: what is this unicorn doing to make the area around him warmer? “Enbima Yonezu,” Cinnamon calmly said, looking the sophisticated mare straight in the eye. She stared right back, translating what he said in her head. ‘Charm Demon Sleepless Night’? Why would he say that? She kept her gaze level, noting how far apart they were as she began to plan her next move. He’s about eight meters in front of me. Easily covered, but I have to watch out for those swords of- “Oniiii-” She sighed at having her thoughts interrupted. She tilted her head, thinking of what that one word meant. ‘Demon’... “GIRIIIII!” Almost instantly, he was right behind where she was, though the unseen attack had sent her flying into the air. ...‘Slash’. Maybe I should stop analyzing my opponents words. Octavia looked down, seeing all the shocked faces of the audience, and a few disbelieving look from her friends. I didn’t know Vinyl’s mouth could open that wide... She came back down hard, with enough force to make the stage crack under her weight. Time seemed to stand still as she watched her cello bows fell down towards the floor, only for a sword to catch them. Such speed and power! Indeed, he is a worthy opponent... Cinnamon calmly walked towards Octavia’s prone body, who was still too lost in her thoughts to get back up after such attack, and placed a hoof on her barrel. She couldn’t see any way to get out of this situation, too winded to stand up even if she wasn’t held down. Not to mention that she didn’t have her cello bows anymore. I... lost? I never lose... The unicorn looked right to the mare’s eyes, considering her for a moment before softly smiling and backing away a step or two. His horn lit up and the cello bows were surrounded in his crimson magic, removing them from his blades and holding them in front of the mare. Octavia didn’t understand what this unicorn was doing. He had me pinned and defenseless! Why would he just stop like this? She warily accepted the help and took hold of her cello bows, the unicorn’s magic pulling her back to her hooves. He just continued to smile, nodding his head at her slightly. “I lost to a good fighter  today.” “WHAT?!” The whole audience exclaimed at the apparently random statement. They had just witnessed someone beat Octavia with one move. Why was he admitting defeat? The mare, herself, was just as confused as everyone else. “What do you mean? You had me at your mercy back there, and you’re saying you lost?” Octavia was at a loss. After such a display of strength, this stallion just... admits defeat? “Because you weren’t going all out” He calmly stated, sheathing his swords. When she didn’t respond, he continued. “I have been in many fights, and I know when someone is holding back. And even so, you managed to land more blows on me than I did on you.” Looking closely, it was clear that Cinnamon had, indeed, suffered a large amount of bruises, his whole body shaking a little from the strain of holding himself up. Octavia, on the other hoof, only had a couple of them. Enigma, the first pony other than the fighters to move, stepped forward, curious. “So... all is forgiven?” He tentatively held a hoof out, sheepishly smiling. Cinnamon faced the stallion, giving his own smile and accepting the hoof. “Yeah, all forgiven. It was my fault for overreacting in the first place.” He suddenly became a little glum when a thought crossed his mind. “I just hope ‘Shy can forgive me...” “I think she will.” They turned, staring in surprise at the yellow mare approaching them. She looked over at her brother, smiling softly. “I-it wasn’t your fault... Vinyl just got curious...” She glanced over at the other pegasus, frowning in confusion. “I still don’t know why you started attacking him...” Enigma sheepishly shrugged. “I guess I just don’t like Cinnamon?” He shuddered, shaking his head. “Never again...” Fluttershy stared blankly at him. “I-I’m sorry?” “N-nothing!” He glanced around, trying to find something to distract them. He pointed to a random spot behind the unicorn. “Look, a griffon!” The mare looked over to where he indicated. “Oh, hi, Gilda.” She turned back to her friend, but blinked in surprise when she realized he vanished. “I guess he’s worried she’ll remember those insults?” With that, she gave Cinnamon a hug and left to go backstage. “I hope to see you perform soon... Glaze.” He gave a grin at his sister as she went backstage. A soft sound behind the unicorn caught his attention. Turning to look, he saw Octavia, a small medkit right next to her. “In atonement for causing you so much bodily damage, I wish to help heal your wounds.” She opened the case and pulled out what appeared to be treated gauze. “I appreciate your concern, but I rather take care of my own wounds.” A small blush spread across his cheeks as he looked away from the mare. “There are some parts which are a bit... private.” She stared at him for a few moments in confusion before she realized what he meant. She cleared her throat, trying to ignore the heat in her own cheeks. “I see. Still, I’d feel awful if I didn’t do anything to ease your pain.” “Wooo! You go, ‘Tavi!” Her best friend was standing there, a huge grin on her face. “Show him that romance-novel knowledge!” “Vinyl!” The two ponies froze, realizing that they’d just said the exact same thing. “See? You’re already on the same wavelength! All you need to do is take him out on a date! Maybe...” She leaned in close to Octavia’s ear, whispering. With each and every word, the blush on the sophisticated mare’s cheeks grew more and more. Vinyl pulled away with her trademark grin on her face. “You know what I’m saying?” The mare shook her head, trying to get the mental image out of her head. “V-Vinyl, you know I don’t like you joking about that!” She turned to the stallion, sheepishly smiling. “I’m sorry, Cinn, she tends to get this way when she-” A pair of hooves wrapped around her mouth, cutting her off mid-sentence. The disk jockey was giving her a worried look. “Tavi, what are you doing? He doesn’t want to be called that!” She glanced over at the other unicorn, trying to gauge his reaction. “I actually don’t have a problem with Octy giving me a nickname since we are good rivals now.” Both of the mares stared at him, jaws agape. “You don’t?”  “Yeah, but I’d rather have another one, for some reason I feel it has some strange second meaning to it.” The orchestral pony nodded, wondering why she didn’t mind this pony calling her that nickname. She thought for a few moments before glancing up at him. “How does ‘Zorro’ sound? I seem to recall Enigma referred to you as such during your-shall we say-spat.” “YOU CAN’T! IT’S PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT!” Octavia blankly stared at the hyper pink pony that just yelled at her. “Okay, then. How about ‘Zolo’? Close enough to sound the same, yet unable to be ‘claimed’ by a copyright. Whatever that is.” Cinnamon pondered this for a moment, thinking about the nickname. “Yeah that sounds good. Zolo the swordstallion. Kind of like it.” The gray mare smiled warmly in response, her blush less noticeable than it was before, but still there. Vinyl silently moved over to the stallion, whispering in his ear. “I’m sure you two will be a cute couple. However...” She poked his side, quickly becoming serious. “... if you break her heart, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will end you.” Cinnamon looked into the stare of this mare, feeling that she would be able to do just that if given the chance. Taking a gulp he stammered out a response. “Y-you can t-trust me!” She immediately reverted to her more cheerful appearance, grinning widely. “Good. Now, play nice, you two!” She trotted away, leaving the two ponies in an awkward silence. Octavia, able to guess what was said, gave a sheepish smile. “I apologize for Vinyl’s behaviour. She thinks we’re likely to be dating, and she knows I’ve never done that before.” She shrugged, glancing around, trying to find something to talk about. The music quickly became a slow waltz. Glancing over at the stage, she saw her best friend behind the turntable. “Alright, ponies, time for something different. All you out there find your special somepony and let the romance flow!” A pink-hued spotlight suddenly came on, its light surrounding the two ‘rivals.’ “That includes the new lovebirds in the house~” Vinyl looked up and nodded at the yellow pegasus working the lights, a playful grin on her face. She didn’t even care that the supposed couple were giving her the death-glare. The refined mare shook her head, looking at the unicorn in front of her. “She won’t let it go, you know.” She stepped forward, her blush quickly returning. “Maybe we should just... humor her? After all, it is her engagement party.” “Y-Yeah, just for fun!” He said while avoiding as much eye contact with her, the blush in his cheeks now clearly visible through his brown coat. Octavia moved over to him, gently placing her foreleg on his shoulder. Cinnamon spun her around, blushing deeply. Their movements were synchronized as they followed the rhythm of the music. Octavia closed her eyes, resting her head in the gap between his head and shoulder. She blushed for a brief moment before it faded, leaving the gray earth pony with a smile. Soon, she lifted her head to look into Cinnamon’s eyes, her gaze soft. “Cinnamon, I...” That’s when she realized she’d forgotten to put her contacts in. She averted her eyes, hoping he didn’t realize they were blue instead of royal purple. Cinnamon put a hoof to the side of Octavia's head, making her look back to him. " Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” Octavia’s eyes watered, a small smile forming on her lips. “Thank you.” Cinnamon smiled before leaning his head forward. He gently placed his forehead against hers, enjoying the slow dance with the gray mare. Enigma hid backstage, peering between the curtains. “I can’t believe that actually worked... I guess I owe Cadence fifteen bits.” He shrugged, stepping out from behind the curtains to go mingle with the crowd. “That’ll teach me to disagree with a love-pony...” His favorite white mare soon joined him. They wandered through the throng of ponies, leaning against each other and nuzzling as they went. “This has been one heck of a party so far,” the white unicorn said, pressing closer to her fiance’. It was a miracle that they hadn’t fallen yet. “Oh, yeah. We’ve caught up with a lot of old friends and I think we even made some new ones,” Enigma replied, smirking slightly. “It’s going to be real hard to top all this at the reception.” She grinned, shaking her head. “You kidding? This isn’t even a fraction of what me and Pinks have planned for the reception!” Enigma laughed at this and gave her a playful shove. “Why don’t I doubt it?” “Because you know how crazy we can get.” She glanced at the food table and began to make her way over to it. “Say, I’m kinda thirsty. I’m gunna go get us something to drink.” He waved after her, smiling softly. “...I still can’t believe I’m so lucky...” Suddenly, a chill went up his spine. “...t-that’s strange. The only other times that happened was when-” He stopped mid-sentence, his maroon eyes wide in horror. “...no. Not here. W-why would he be here?!” He glanced around apprehensively, fear starting to set in. “Gotta escape. G-gotta get away from here!” He ran through the curtains on the stage, hoping one of the rooms beyond would be the key to his survival. Sadly, it was not meant to be, and he yelped as a large white foreleg wrapped around his throat. He struggled, shivering as the pony’s warm breath rolled over his sensitive ear. “Here you are, servant. Oh, you didn’t think I recognized you?” The other hoof trailed along the burgundy pegasus’ stomach, making him thrash about even more. “Just give up. No one’s gonna hear you, and no one will think to come back here before I’ve had my fun...” The pedicured hoof traveled lower, and the feminine stallion could just see the sadistic smile growing on his captor’s lips. A needle floated in front of Enigma’s face, the pink-purple fluid inside glowing in the darkness. “...as soon as I use this, you’re as good as mine, slave.” Enigma was completely helpless, paralyzed by fear. Needle! Big needle, huge pain. Do. Not. Want! He closed his eyes tightly, trembling, tears freely flowing down his cheeks. S-somepony. Anypony. Help me! “Hey! What’s going on here?” A voice said, just outside of his field of view. “Stay out of this, you broken-horned freak! This is none of your concern!” His captor hissed at the unseen newcomer. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to drop that needle and let the mare go.” Enigma, at that moment, was too frightened to correct the newcomer. “Help!” he shouted hoarsely, his captor’s arm constricting his throat. At that moment, his captor spun them to face the voice’s owner, keeping the needle hovering near Enigma’s throat. The pony-in-distress took a look at who, he hoped, would be his rescuer as he struggled. Standing before them was a light brown unicorn stallion with a dark blonde mane. He wore a  light blue suit with a black vest and at his side he wore what looked like a gladius. The stallion was glaring at Enigma’s assailant with deep blue eyes. His strangest feature was his horn, which was broken clean in half. “Prince Blueblood?” the unicorn said, “What do you think you are doing?!” “As I said, this is none of your concern! Turn around and walk away. Now!” Blueblood said threateningly, giving Enigma’s neck another squeeze. The pegasus became a little woozy from loss of blood to his brain. ...is that black at the edge of my vision? He blinked, his eyes sluggishly moving around the room. ...yeah...I think that is... “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t do that,” the stallion took a threatening step forward, “I’m going to have to ask you to let the mare go. Final warning, sir.” The gladius at his side became engulfed in a light brown aura and left its sheath to float before the determined stallion. “One step closer and I stab him!” The corrupt pony threatened, bringing the needle even closer to the pegasus’ throat. “You could,” the stranger said, “or this could happen.” When he finished speaking he twitched his head and something encased in his light brown aura shot out of a pocket in his vest. The object shot forward and buried itself in the foreleg restricting Enigma. Blueblood shrieked in pain and let his prey go, dropping the needle as he did so. As soon as he was free, the smaller stallion kicked the needle away with a yelp and dashed away from the imposing prince. The burgundy pegasus coughed, gently rubbing his sore throat as he recovered from near asphyxiation. He glanced at his rescuer, frowning slightly, “...not...a mare...” he said hoarsely, but, of course, his rescuer did not hear. When Enigma was clear of Blueblood, the newcomer rushed forward and swatted the fallen royal across the face with the flat of his sword. The blonde stallion reeled from the impact and when he moved to recover, he found the stranger’s hooves bucking him in the chest. The snooty unicorn flew back into a wall and slid to the ground. The stranger moved closer to Blueblood and the prince struggled to regain his hooves. The moment he was up, the stranger bashed him on the head with the pommel of his gladius. The prince hit the floor hard and became still, aside from the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest. The burgundy pegasus carefully stepped over to his assailant, poking his side with a hoof. “Out cold... thank goodness...” He turned to the stranger, smiling gratefully. “Thank you. I shudder to think what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up.” He kept his mind blank, trying hard not to think about it. “It’s no problem, ma'am,” the unicorn said. “Just happy to help.” The stallion reached down and picked up the object that had stabbed Blueblood’s foreleg. Enigma sighed, trying his best to rub his snout to relieve his annoyance. “Not a mare...” He took a look at the object as the stallion held it, an eyebrow quirking in curiosity. “Is that... a pen knife?” The stallion tucked the object away in his vest and said, “Why, yes. Yes it is.” “Well, okay, then.” He cleared his throat, holding a hoof out and smiling. “Anyways, my name’s Enigma. What’s yours?” The stallion sheathed his gladius and took the offered hoof, “Call me Pen Knife, Miss.” The burgundy pegasus stared blankly at the other pony for a few seconds. “...pardon me one sec, Pen.” He promptly marched over to a wall and started smashing his head against it. After the first few smacks, a dent in the shape of his face had formed. “Miss Enigma, I really don’t think you should do that....” “NOT a MARE!” He rounded on the unicorn, eye twitching slightly. “Do I have to prove it to you by showing you my freaking stallionhood?!” Pen Knife’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh, I am dreadfully sorry. No, there’s no need for that. I believe you!” “Good.” The feminine stallion sighed, rubbing his snout. “...dang, that really smarts...” “Well, I’m glad that you’re ok, Mr. Enigma.” Pen Knife nudged Blueblood with a hoof before continuing. “Well, I suppose that I’d better get this piece of garbage out of here. So much for my vacation...” Enigma winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “...maybe I can get Vi to give you a free front-row seat to an upcoming concert? I mean, she has connections, after all.” “Nope, only get so much vacation time a year,” the stallion said with a disappointed sigh. “And I’m going to have to use it up taking care of this ass.” He gestured to himself. “I work for Princess Luna and, as good a Princess as she may be, she’s not the best employer...” “Ah.” The burgundy pegasus sheepishly smiled. “Sorry I ruined your vacation?” “Not your fault, ma’a-, erm, Sir. Maybe another time.” Enigma nodded, glancing at the unconscious stallion in front of him. Just seeing him caused his anger to flare up, and he kicked the poor excuse for life in the crotch. “Buck you!” Seeing the pegasus about to go for another kick, Pen Knife grabbed his shoulder. “Woah, now! Kind of need him alive if I’m going to take him back to Canterlot to answer to the Princesses.” He sighed, slumping a bit. “...I suppose you’re right...” He moved over to where the syringe had landed, a confused look on his face. “...what was he even planning to do with this thing?” He picked it up and put it in his saddlebag to figure out later. “Well, I’m sure that you’ll figure it out eventually,” Pen Knife said. He walked over to a pile of rope near the curtains and used his gladius to cut a couple of lengths from it. He then trotted back to Blueblood and used the rope to tie his forelegs and hindlegs together. The smaller pony shrugged, heading back towards the curtain. “I suppose you have things settled here. I hope you have a nice day, and, again, sorry about your vacation.” “Again, it’s all right Mis-” He caught himself. “Um, Mr. E. It was fun while it lasted.” And with that, the unicorn picked up the unconscious Blueblood and flung him across his back. With a nod to Enigma, he trotted off over to the gaping hole in the backstage wall. As he disappeared through the hole, Enigma heard him begin to speak to somepony else. “Well, fellas, looks like we’re going back to Canterlot early.” This was greeted by a few groans. “Sorry boys, but this piece of trash was picking on some poor mare and we have to take him back to the Princesses. The mare was a strange one, though. She thought she was a stallion...” A rock promptly sailed through the hole and smacked the retreating stallion in the back of the head. “NOT A MARE!” Pen Knife and several Lunar Guards that Enigma could see had joined him immediately picked up their pace and began galloping towards the train station, shouting back, “Whatever you say, lady!” There was a loud cracking noise from above them and a large tree branch fell in their path. The rushing stallions were unable to stop themselves before Pen Knife and the other lead stallion tripped over the offending branch. The light brown unicorn picked himself up out of the jumble of fallen stallions and looked around for what had caused the branch to fall. At the point where it had broken off, there was a single rock embedded in the wood. “Now where did that come from?” he said, curious. “Ah well, get up boys, we still have to take Blueballs here back to canterlot!” And with that the cluster of stallions picked themselves up and once more rushed off into the night. Enigma shook his head, putting down the extra stone he’d picked up. “They deserved it.” He turned around, about to return to the party when a faint glimmer caught his eye. He leaned down to look at it, curious. ...this is where Blueblood landed...did he drop something? He gingerly plucked one of his less important feathers, using it to lift up the foreign object, not wanting to chance what could happen from touching it. Walking over to a nearby table, he carefully lowered the item onto the desk. He grabbed a small magic-powered lamp out of his saddlebag and placed it near the item, turning it on and casting a light blue glow over his subject. What he saw surprised him. “...this is...wow...” He picked up his feather once more, gently poking at the beauty mark-shaped object. “...so many wires...is this some kind of device? What is this thing supposed to do? And why is it so fami-” He froze mid-sentence, his jaw dropping. “...no way...this is that thing I saw on Blueblood’s cheek!” He frowned deeply, putting a hoof to his chin. “...does this mean that it was a fake mole - something to try and make himself more desirable? If that’s the case, then what’s with all the wires?” Unsure what to make of this, he wrote down as much as he could in a notepad and put everything except the strange device inside his saddlebag. As soon as he was done with that, he turned and walked through the curtains, returning to the party. Enigma looked off into the crowd, scouring the area for anyone else he knew. So far, he’d met a lot of ponies from his past here, and had tons of fun along the way, but the party had only just started. He still had more guests to meet and chat with. He was so busy staring off into the crowds, he didn’t notice a certain white mare walk up next to him. “Hey, E,” Vinyl said as she stopped next to him, her trademark grin on her lips. The red stallion jolted out of his half-trance as soon as he heard her voice, quickly turning to her. “Oh, hey Vi.” He smiled, hugging her close and tenderly nuzzling her cheek. As they separated, he let his eyes drift toward the crowd once more, his previous thoughts still on his mind.  She followed his line of sight to the other side of the room, trying to figure out what he was looking at. “E, what’re you looking for?” Vinyl furrowed her brow in slight confusion. “Eh, I’m just looking for someone we may know.” Enigma shrugged, sheepishly smiling. “Wouldn’t want... to...” His voice trailed off as he noticed the look on his love’s face. Vinyl squinted as she stared intently across the room. She had apparently ignored his words, too busy looking at something. “E, I think I see somepony...” She slowly made her way towards the other side of the room, passing pony after pony as she passed them. The feminine stallion soon followed, curious about who she’d seen. Walking through the crowd, Enigma could only hear bits of congratulations and various greetings from the ponies around. He wished he could stop and chat, but he couldn’t get too far behind Vinyl or else he’d lose her. On the opposite side of the room, a lone stallion stood. His body was a light-brown, and his mane resembled a lightning bolt, except there was a stripe of radioactive green above the yellow. On his flank was a microphone, almost hidden by the saddlebag on his back. He looked around warily for the sight of blue and white. He didn’t know where she could be, and trying to find her here proved fruitless. Confused, he decided to ask the nearest pony he could find. “Hey! Toxi!” Out of the crowd, Vinyl Scratch pushed through the last wave of ponies into the surprisingly empty entrance to the party. She slowly walked towards the stallion, a wide grin on her face. The surprised stallion turned his vision towards the voice. As his eyes met who was coming towards him, his expression quickly turned to one of glee. “Vinyl!” He trotted over to her, the smile still visible on his face. As he reached her, he reached out his hoof, to which she returned with a hoof-bump. “Man, it’s been too long!” exclaimed Toxic as he continued to scan around the room slowly. “Yeah, TOO long!” The white mare took a quick look back, looking for a certain stallion. “Oh, and I got you a gift. And I wasn’t sure what to get, but I also brought... erm...” Toxic managed to stumble out. He wasn’t really sure who the spouse was as he only came to chat up with a friend and congratulate her. “Enigma,” Vinyl stated matter-of-factly, still a little distracted by searching for the burgundy pegasus. “Ahh, yes, Enigma!” Toxic reached his head back towards his bag, pulling out a moderately-sized white box with a red bow on top. He passed the gift to Vinyl before reaching back again and taking out a smaller blue box with a purple bow. “Thanks, dude.” Vinyl took the boxes and placed them on the gift table next to the two, “So, how have things been?” The brown stallion sighed slightly at the question, but regained his composure. “Heh, same old, same old...” Then, as silently as Vinyl had snuck up to Enigma, he did the same too. “Hey Vi, who’s this?” The female-looking stallion pointed his dark red hoof towards Toxic Twist, who in return shared the same look of confusion. Enigma was partially happy to see a new face because to him, a friend of Vinyl was a friend of his. “Oh, this is Toxic Twist, an old friend,” The disk jockey said matter-of-factly before turning her gaze back to the brown stallion, giving him a smile. Toxic gave a slight nod and smirk before turning his attention towards Vinyl’s rust red companion and raising his hoof out to him. “Oh, and you must be...” “Enigma, my fiance” interrupted Vinyl. Twist took a quick glance between the pair of ponies before furrowing his brow and growing confused. Something seemed off to him. He thought he had maybe heard something unusual to him, but he chalked it up to mishearing. “Um, could you say that again?” he managed to stumble out. Vinyl mentally face-hoofed at Toxics’ incompetence. “I’m going to marry Enigma.” This time, he was sure about what he had heard, and he was utterly confused at this point. “Erm, Vinyl... I thought you told me you were...” Toxic whimpered out, afraid of insulting Vinyl or her fiancee. “You never told me you were into mares...” At this remark, Enigma sighed heavily. He had heard that many, many times, and it never ceased. “I’m not a mare.” “O-oh, I’m so sorry,  I-” Before Toxic could stutter out what he had to say, Enigma interrupted him, holding up a hoof. “No, no, it’s fine. I get it a lot...at least four times today, in fact.” Toxic Shuffled his hooves in an embarrassed manner for a few seconds before glancing up to Vinyl, who just stared back awkwardly. He then moved his gaze up to the feminine stallion, who shared the same stare. Enigma, feeling the awkwardness of the situation and wanting to diffuse it, took a good look at the other stallion before him, and Vinyl’s supposed old friend. He took a look at his bag, the place around him, and then... his cutie mark. “Hey,” said Enigma, attempting to start a conversation, “what’s your cutie mark for?” “Ah!” exclaimed Toxic, looking back at his flank. “It’s supposed to be a voice acting cutie mark.” He loved his cutie mark a lot. Ever since he got it, he had been amazing his friends and classmates with all the ways he could manipulate his voice. It was what he had always wanted to do, and he was living the dream. Enigma was pleasantly surprised to see that there was someone known for voice-work, rather than all those singers with microphone cutie marks. Enigma then took a small look around to see if anyone had any microphone cutie marks out of curiosity. Sadly, there was no one around with that mark. “So, do you have a job as a voice actor?” asked Enigma. The stallion thought on this for a moment. He had multiple small jobs, but he did have a daily job he loved very much. “Oh, I host Ponyville Live! I actually had Vinyl as a guest on the show once,” answered Toxic, a smile on his face. He was proud to say he was wealthily living with a great job that he loved a lot. Not everypony could say that, sadly. The burgundy stallion thought for a bit, turning to the aforementioned pony, curious. “When exactly was this?” She shrugged, smiling brightly. “I think I’d just started out, E.” She turned to the other stallion, blushing a bit in embarrassment. “I can’t remember exactly how long ago it was, though...when was it again, Toxi?” The spiky-maned stallion thought on that for a moment. He reached his left foreleg to his chin and tilted his head slightly, allowing his eyes to trail to the air. It had been well over a year since he had had Vinyl on the show, and that was when she was becoming known. He had been the host of the radio show for a little over 4 years, despite his age, and he hadn’t seen Vinyl for years before now. “I’d have to say... close to three or four years...” said Toxic, looking up thoughtfully. “Long time...” It suddenly hit him. He had been so pent up with his work that he hadn’t seen one of his closest friends for years. The brown stallion removed his gaze from the thin air and back down to the white mare before him, ignoring the pony next to her. But as soon as it started, the brown stallion leaped out of his trance. He had been growing slowly nostalgic, missing those old days at the park and in the trash-filled streets playing hopscotch. But he knew that that didn’t matter anymore, because now he was facing her right now, along with a bunch of other ponies and characters around them that he could hang out with after a hard day’s work or a fun weekend. “Hey, Toxi, you okay?” Vinyl said, ripping the mentioned stallion from his train of thought. “You’ve been staring blankly for close to a minute.” Toxic reached his hoof up to back of his neck before scratching the back of his head and smiling nervously. “Yeah, sorry. Just growing a bit nostalgic.” Vinyl smirked in his direction. “Well, you don’t need to think of that now, dude,” she said warmly. “The past is the past. We’re all here now, and we’re all friends.” The brown stallion closed his eyes and looked to the ground momentarily before raising his head and giving a genuine smile. He felt as if he could take on anything now and nothing could put a damper on his parade. He managed to meet up with an old friend, make a new one in the process, and now it was time to meet some more. “Well, this has been a fairly great conversation, but I think I should walk around and meet some people.” said Toxic as he took a quick glance around the area. “It was really great seeing you again, and to meet you, Enigma.” He then finished it off by giving Vinyl a small hug and shaking his hoof with Enigma. Vinyl couldn’t help but smile, seeing her old friend happy, now. “Well it was great seeing you again, Toxi. Hopefully the three of us could hang out more often” The stallion smiled brightly at this before turning away from them and waving as he began to walk away, before stopping suddenly. “Oh, and Vinyl? I think you’ll like your present.” He then continued on his way into the crowd before disappearing into the sea of colors before them. Vinyl thought on Toxic’s words for a moment before looking back to the gift table, and picking up the familiarly wrapped gift. She slowly removed the red ribbon from the box before she noticed her fiance walk away slowly. “Where are you going, E?” Enigma stopped in his tracks, turning back to look at the white disk jockey. “Oh, I was just gonna go say hi to some ponies. I’m sure that present’s personal, anyways.” The burgundy stallion smiled and turned back, continuing his walk and disappearing into the crowd like the brown pony before him. The curious mare continued to unwrap the gift. I wonder what’s in here... As she removed the bow, she placed it on the table next to her. She ripped the wrapping paper off the box with less care, placing it with the bright red ribbon. Sitting before her now was an old cardboard box. On the side read, “Musick” in old, terrible handwriting with what looked like a black marker. For some reason, it seemed to be familiar. Slowly, she used her magic to lift the cover off the dank box. Inside was a simple, worn, white record sleeve, and looked like it had been through a lot of crap in the meantime. On the front read ‘the Vinyl and Toxic Album’ in practically illegible hoof-writing. She knew exactly what this was. It was the album the two of them had made after they had both gotten their cutie marks. She couldn’t remember how good it was or even what they’d recorded, but she knew she had to listen to it sometime soon. Vinyl gave a smirk and a light chuckle before carefully placing the record sleeve back into the cardboard box and putting the lid on the top. She placed the box on the gift table for later, discretely lowering her shades over her watery eyes. “...thanks, Toxi...” The white unicorn turned and mingled with the crowd, determined to make this the best night ever. She was hard-pressed to find a way to make it better, though. A Few Hours Earlier "This is your last chance." growled the dark unicorn, staring down at his restrained guest. Yes, guest...makes me seem more ‘hospitable’ that way. "That what you said the last five minutes ago. And 10. And maybe even 15." The dark red pony smirked, knowing that he was pushing . Sombra blinked. "S-Shut up! I mean this time, little girl." He sighed softly, shaking his head. "Now, you see, I'm not a ma-" "QUIET!" Sombra rose and slapped the poor pony across the face, knocking him down. "Do you realize just how much I have suffered today? Of all the ponies, I had to be stuck with YOU. Do you even hear yourself?" "Yeah. I believe so. What of it?" The pegasus smiled again. He could see that Sombra was losing it. The conqueror marched back and forth, ranting at the pony. "You sound awful! You whine and cry over every stinking thing! The chains! The smell! MY HAIRCUT?!" "I'm not whining. I'm complaining. ThIS Is WhINiNG!!" The feminine stallion purposefully made his voice loud and annoying. He paused a moment, thinking a bit “To be fair, though, your mane is pretty strange for a unicorn. You ever thought of taking a job as an indoor flag?” "AND YOUR DUMB OVERUSED JOKES! See this knife? This one here that levitating?" Sombra pointed his new knife in his guest's face. "Listen here. I am THIS close to running you through. Murdering you right now for your insolence. But. I can't. Because the boss would be mad. So here's something instead." Before the poor pony could even move, Sombra brought down his knife and jabbed it into his cheek. He screamed as Sombra tugged his knife slowly through his cheek, laughing mercilessly as he did. "YES! FEEL IT! FEEL THE PAIN YOU PUT ME THROUGH!! AHAHAHA!! HAAAAAAA!" "You know, I'm surprised." Sombra froze. He quickly pulled the knife from Enigma's face, making the colt scream in protest even louder. "Um, Nightmare. How's it going?" "You were the most collected of all of us and yet here you are, mutilating this child's face. Clearly, you failed at this job. Get some rest. I will handle this." "Rest? REST?! THANK YOU, OH MY GOD! THANK. YOU. SO LONG, YA CRAZY BASTARD!! AHAHA!!" Sombra almost did cartwheels out the room. "I don't even know with that guy. Now then, little mare. I'm going to talk to you." The steadfast pegasus held back his tears. “...not...a mare...” He raised his head, watching as a sphere in front of him lit up, showing him town hall.