//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Contract I, Stallion Of Her Nightmares // Story: The Dark Brotherhoof // by CelestialScribe //------------------------------// "Miss!" Discord yelled as another pie fell short of his body. "So close, yet so much farther!" And another. "Oh, really now, Twilight, are you sure that you're not the element of athletics?" Twilight had been lobbing pies unsuccessfully for some time now. She was determined to get some practice without her horn, which proved far easier to hit with, but in an emergency she might need this training. She had woken up around eight o'clock, but was feeling refreshed none the less, indicating an early night's sleep, something she desperately needed. It was around ten o'clock now. Twilight had thought back to Rainbow Dash saying something about 'revenge pies', and decided to hover Discord over to the targeting range, then place him next to the middle target. Peculiarly, Discord relished this opportunity, and didn't put up a fight when Twilight told him, she only now understood why. "Twilight, you are TERRIBLE at this! Haha! If only I could facepa-..." Discord was cut short by a well placed apple pie to his face. "Ha! Take that!" Twilight clapped her hooves together in delight. She almost couldn't wait to try it on somepony moving, if she were being chased. Am I really enjoying this? "Finally! Even I was getting bored standing there!" Discord paused to taste his cheek. "Hmm, not bad." "Thanks Discord..." "Oh no, not you Twilight, you just as awful as before, but this apple pie..." Discord managed to extend his tongue a bizarre length, to drag two pies resting on Twilight's back into his mouth, before swallowing them greedily. "...Gross. Well thanks for being a good target anyway. I mean, you didn't have a choice, but..." "Yeah, yeah, don't remind me. It was better than being stuck in that room, take me to the living room?" "I'm not sure the others will like you being out there, but I can't see a problem... yet." "Again, Twilight, stone body, ring any bells? I'm kinda stuck here, thanks, but no trouble from me." Twilight regretted bringing Discord with her as he assaulted her with a barrage of questions, he didn't seem that interested in the answers, just the growing anger waiting to unleash from Twilight. "Sooo, Twilight, who's the target? Gotta' plan?" "Not telling you, and yes." "Any hints?" Discord managed to twist his head around Twilight's shoulder, with the grace of what you would expect from a part pony, part dragon, goat, manticore- none. "No." He was now hanging his head upside down whilst still in front of Twilight, his smile resembling a frown. "Aww, come on Twilight, no secrets amongst best friends!" "Do you really consider me your best friend?" Twilight offered tactlessly. "Good point. No. But c'mon Twilight this is the only bit of fun I get around here!" "Fine. He's a prince, apparently." Twilight had hoped it would end his questions. "Blueblood! I win! Next!" Discord remarked quickly. "How did-...?" "In my short time as all supreme ruler of New Discordia, I felt the many ponies of Canterlot were a bit too... pompous for the chaos I would force them to accept. So, naturally, I converted them with the power of talking marshmallow houses first, 'Prince Blueblood Manor' was quite a laugh. Somehow Blueblood didn't see it that way." Discord explained with a sincere look of confusion. "Right. Talking marshmallow houses. Interesting." Thank Celestia we stopped him. With all the destruction my library endures regularly it must be exceptionally mad... Twilight arrived at the living room before Discord's remaining sanity was further questioned. Spike must have been told that Twilight would be staying the night, as he was no longer here. In fact, it seemed as though nopony were here. How do I get out? Nopony showed me the exit. Twilight was interrupted by Discord's laughter. "Twilight! Look at Zecora's copy of 'Hut Renovations'! I've changed it to 'butt'! Haha, who says you can't have fun trapped in stone? If Celestia could see me now." He thought aloud before laughing once more with a pen in his mouth. "Discord, aren't you thousands of years old? And you're still as immature as a colt. Or, whatever young draconequus are called." Twilight said unamused. "Twilight, age is just a number my dear! The sooner you realise that the sooner you can enjoy life and embrace the chaos it has to offer, instead of being stuck inside those books all day! Bleugh." Twilight couldn't think of a sophisticated rebuttal, such a thing would be pointless against Discord anyway. He would probably pick up the 'butt' in rebuttal. A simple... "Whatever, Discord." ...seemed to suffice. She still needed to find an exit. Discord would have probably lead her into another maze, he had a knack for that. She picked the door the CMC first entered and decided to wander around. Probably not the best idea in hindsight. Twilight's stroll turned out to be much darker than the sleeping room passageways, the multiple paths spread off into dead ends. The entire subterranean base could use redecoration and many paths isolated; there was no point in corridors that lead to a wall. "Well howdy, Twi!" Abruptly broke the silent explorer, causing her to jump back in distress. "AH!" Twilight shrieked as she fell backwards onto the cold, hard, stone floor. Twilight raised her head to spot the familiar orange pony look at her in concern. "Ah'm sorry, Twi, ah'm kinda new here as well. You get lost too?" "Yeah, somepony should really fix up this place, there's so many pointless routes to take." Twilight said as she shook off the centuries old dust and dirt from her coat. "Let's head back to the living room, I haven't made much progress here, no exit." Applejack perked up. "Oh! Y'all are lookin' fer' tha' exit? Ah' can show you that! I was just lookin' fer' mah room, gotta get some stuff before ah' leave too. Y'all got that fancy contract today ain't ya'?" "Yep, I can show you the rooms as well, I thought Pinkie said you've been here for a while? You followed her back with Rainbow one day?" "Yup, but ah' don't come here alot. Its mainly just fer' competition with her. Ah'd be lying if ah' said ah' didn't enjoy embarrassin' some of these ponies as well." Applejack said as they both headed back towards the living room, following the warmth and very faint light back. "Howdy Discord!" Applejack said warmly her and Twilight re-entered the living room. "Howdy-do AJ!" Came Discord's muffled response from his position on the floor. He was faced down on the stone floor with his face flattened against it. "Don't suppose you could help a friend out?" "Sure, ah' guess." Applejack replied. "AJ, how is everypony so accepting of Discord's presence?! He was our enemy!" Maybe Twilight could get a fairer answer from Applejack. "Was, Twi, he was our enemy, we defeated him an' he's no longer a threat as long as the elements of harmony are together! Besides Twi, it probably gets a might depressing being trapped in stone. He's learnt his lesson, and even if he still would prefer chaos reigning over Equestria, he seems content with us doin' it for him. I guess we have to 'love and tolerate' our enemies, it shows who the stronger pony is when you accept their trouble and ignore it, better yet when you counteract it with the opposite of their intended outcome." "Wow, AJ, that was really wise, best answer I've had so far!" "Just 'cos ah' spend ah'll mah time on a farm, doesn't mean I don't pick up things along the way. You'd be blown away at some of Big Mac's psychological hooey." Applejack retorted as she finished lifting Discord's statue, another prime example of her strength. "That'd be fairly exciting to listen to, I never took Big Mac as a therapist." "Ah' wouldn't go that far, an' ah' don't think he prides 'imself on it either." "Sounds too modest, a bit like you AJ." Twilight said tenderly. "Ha! You kiddin', Twi? I can be as boastful as that 'Great and Powerful Trixie' sometimes!" "Nope, I think Rainbow's got that title." Twilight said which induced a laugh from them both. "Oh, Celestia, you ponies are so boring sometimes! Where's the chaos? The fighting?" Discord scowled at them. "That's not what friends do Discord, you should learn that." Twilight acknowledged. "Gag. Pass." Discord said as he mimicked himself throwing up, his tongue lolled out at his side. The two mares resumed the walk to the room area, Twilight leading Applejack. While Applejack collected together her things, Twilight decided to check on her room, she didn't want to have to come back for anything she missed. Twilight gathered her cloak and a set of saddlebags to carry it discreetly. Atop the saddlebags rested a map of a section near Ponyville, marked 'Twilight'. The map was of a route to the target location from her library. It was a fair distance from the town square, but not nearly as far as Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight made a final sweep of the room and met up with Applejack to finally absorb real sunlight and get back to the library. Twilight forgot about the wonders that Celestia's sun brought everyday, until it almost blinded her as she emerged from Pinkie's basement and then from Sugarcube Corner. Twilight and Applejack made their way to their respective homes like normal, nopony aware of Twilight's hysterical feeling of anxiety and dread. What Rainbow Dash had said had definitely helped, but the reality was this 'attack' still had the probability of failure, something Twilight was not renowned for coping with well. She thought the best way to handle this was something she usually used to get through these experiences. Books. Perhaps if she immersed herself long enough she could pass the time quickly enough to get this 'mission' over with. It felt absurd to refer to it as that. Fortunately, Twilight still had some unfinished books, and Spike was not feeling very bothersome today. Maybe she co- "Hey, Twilight? You ready for that contract?" Yeah, that anxiety? There it was, greater than ever. "Ugh. Spike! I was trying not to think about it." Twilight's head collapsed into her book. Somehow, advanced cosmology and astrophotography didn't seem very interesting right now. "Oh, sorry." Spike grinned sheepishly. ... ... "So, you ready for the contract anyway?" Twilight didn't bother with a negative reaction. "I suppose. I don't really feel confident enough though. One slip up and everypony knows everything about the Pinkie's group, and worse of all that she's harbouring Discord." "Well thats why you have Rainbow Dash! Y'know there's a skylight directly above the room the Blueblood will be in?" "There is?" "Yeah! Didn't you have a look at the place before you came here?" "E-er... well. N-no, but..." Twilight couldn't hide her stammering. "Tsk tsk tsk..." Spike shook his head. "So much for being organised Twilight." Twilight groaned. She was being condescended to by a baby dragon. "Spike, please. Just get some chores done or something, I just want to get this over with." Spike gave a sincere look as he spoke. "Fine, Twilight, but trust me. It'll be fine. I felt the same about my first contract." Twilight's eyes popped open wide. "You did a contract?" "Yeah, of course, we've all done at least one. I'll tell you about it some time!" It was time. Seven PM. Twilight had half an hour to get into the kitchen, then another half an hour until Prince Blueblood made his appearance. Currently, Twilight was making her way to the... ball? Was it? Spike was right, so much for being organised. Outside she would meet with Rainbow Dash and while everypony was moving in, then they could sneak into the kitchen. Twilight would need to be cautious, however, they needed to enter without being recognised by anypony. The only real threat was Rarity discovering her, it would be tough to talk her out of inviting her in. Twilight was stationed behind a closed stall, wearing simple clothes to hide her coat colour, just in case. The time for the cloak would come when they were in the kitchen. As far as anypony was concerned she was just admiring the night, maybe fixing up 'her' stall. She was growing tense with the lack of Rainbow Dash, but at the same time had a feeling of serenity. What she was about to do had yet to come, for the moment, there was simple peace. "Hey Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted from aloft the stall. The amount of exposure to the fright Twilight had recently must have aged her ten years, and she was still not evolving a defense for this. "AH-!" Twilight had to hoof close her mouth, out of fear to cause a scene. She began whispering. "Rainbow! Keep your voice down! Lets not attract any unnecessary attention." "Lighten up, Twilight! Most of these snobs are from Canterlot, they won't care what a couple of mares from Ponyville are talking about." Twilight glanced back to the forming groups around the building, without question, they were far too wrapped up in conversation amongst themselves. "See? Er, what's with the clothes?" Rainbow was clad only with a set of saddlebags. "Well, I thought somepony might recognise me, like Rarity." "Buzz! Sorry, wrong again, egghead! Canterlot ponies won't recognise you, and Fancypants is keeping Rarity well out of the way until showtime." "So this was pointless?!" Twilight asked loudly, pointing at her simple outfit. "Yep! Relax, Twi, this'll be a breeze." They both checked back to the building. It looked like somepony's mansion, definitely. Maybe a Canterlot's Ponyville summer house? Fancypants must have been friends with them. The building was large, but had impressions of older architecture, grey walls lined around the rectangular building, ponies waiting at the bottom of the steps that lead to two bulky doors. It would seem segregated from all other buildings, had their not been a warehouse neighbouring the mansion. The warehouse looked very low rising from the floor. Between the warehouse and masion were a few formally dressed ponies carrying boxes betwixt them. Twilight assumed that was where the supplies were kept for the... party? She should probably ask Rainbow about it. Swiftly, however, both mares caught a glimpse of Fancypants and Rarity. She was being lead up the stairs as Fancypants turned to spot them staring back. He smiled wittingly before making sure that Rarity had not herself looked back. "Well, I guess that's our cue!" Said Twilight with overtones of nervousness. "Ok, follow my lead." Rainbow Dash said before taking off into the air and landing on top of the warehouse silently, the quickness was astounding. "But I can't...fly." She quickly trotted closer to the warehouse, not able to think of anything else. She was just around the corner from the back of the kitchen, about to come to vision with the entrance, when a large earth pony stallion wearing a black tuxedo stopped her dead in her tracks. His coat was a burgundy colour, mane jet black and slicked back to one side. It was a shame they were on opposite sides, Pinkie could use someone this daunting. "Excuse me, miss, but I'm going to have to request you to leave, Prince Blueblood has requested extra security at this event. You need a reservation to access, please go to the front entrance if you have one." His voice was intimidating, or maybe that was just how Twilight envisioned everything at this moment, she was unable to form words that didn't come out an incomprehensible mess. "Oh! R-righ- erm, I-..." She was brought to a verbal standstill as she eyed Rainbow Dash swooping rapidly in their direction. Twilight ducked instinctively as the large stallion was plundered from the ground, vanishing from view. Twilight turned her head to see the stallion dropped into a large open waste bin, squealing like a filly on the way down, to then close on him much like Pinkie's wardrobe on Twilight. Rainbow flew back smoothly up to Twilight. "Ha! See? Not a problem when you've got me around." Rainbow beamed vainly. "Phew, thanks Rainbow, I thought I messed up already. That pony said Blueblood requested extra security, do you think he's onto us?" "Nah, Blueblood probably hates the idea of Ponyville in general. I'm guessin' he doesn't want anyone but Canterlot ponies in." "So that means there'll be more further in?" Twilight asked timidly. "Only one way to find out!" Rainbow asked as she trotted towards the kitchen entrance. The ponies transporting boxes must have finished as it was vacant around the door. It was a large double back door, so they both peeked through the circular windows into the kitchen. To say it was big was an understatement. This kitchen could've easily rivalled the Princesses'. It was completely immaculate, polished silverware hung from countless cupboards and railings, a long strip of ovens lined one side, while fridges, counters and sinks lined the other. In the middle row were occasional protrusions, like another counter or utensil storage. It was, characteristically, a corridor of cooking paradise, representing nothing the outside made it look like. Twilight spotted two other sets of doors, one at the far end of the corridor, the other halfway down- leading into the main hall. She assumed the far end doors were what lead to the upper deck, where her vantage point would be. Sadly, that meant getting through the chef ponies working the kitchen. There was at least three in sight, many more would come through shortly once orders were made. They needed to handle them quickly before more came back. "So, how we gonna handle them?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You're asking me?" "You're the brains, I'm just here to look awesome!" She retaliated boastfully. "Ugh. Erm, I guess we could make a distraction?" Twilight hoped Rainbow could expand. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door. "Rainbow!" Twilight shouted in a hushed tone. "What are you doing?" Rainbow didn't reply, but instead grabbed Twilight and kept her and herself pinned to the side of the door. "It's open!" Cried one of the voices inside. Rainbow simply knocked again, being the one closest to the door. "Oh, for Celestia's sake, do you guys need help again?" The voice was now understandable as a mare, hoofsteps developing in volume. Twilight's heart rate was threatening to be louder, and faster, when the door swung open, another earth pony, a coat of green, attired with a traditional kitchen staff uniform. "Hey, where ar-...". The mare was pummelled into the ground and almost fell into the main street had Rainbow Dash not been boldly subduing her. She was forcing her mouth closed to suppress any shouting with her hooves, while obtaining a rope from her saddlebags with help from the tips of her wings. "Huh? What was that noise?" Came a faint voice from inside the kitchen. They were now on opposing sides of the door as Rainbow whispered with effort, "another coming!" before resuming to tie up the ill-fated mare. The rope was large enough to act as a gag, but Rainbow was still trying to get her to stay still, leaving Twilight with the remaining foe. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! Twilight frenziedly felt through her saddle bags, failing to find anything that would be appropriate for the situation. If only I had the cloak on! Negligently, the cloak had all of her 'tools' like the Clairifier or tater-tots. She was forced to use her magic as the blue unicorn buck trotted through the doors. For once, Twilight was not immobilized, instead running off adrenaline as she cast a magic neutralizing spell with quick thinking. Unable to do much but stagger, the stallion was then shot-gunned back in a torrent of wind flowing from Twilight's horn. He would have certainly fell into the street, exposing the brawl, had not Rainbow Dash caught him and began the restraining process. Her work finished with the other mare, Rainbow proceeded to tie up the next victim using the excess of the first rope for a gag, and a smaller second rope for his arms and legs. Staring at the two, still fidgeting, chefs, Twilight could hardly believe what had happened. It had all seemed so quick, and better yet, easy. Her heart was still pumping, except not out of fear, but pride at her skills. Is this why Rainbow Dash is always so pumped, so energized? The defeated ponies were being dragged by Rainbow Dash as Twilight speculated her new-found rush, and then were boxed by her. Literally. Hidden by a large cardboard box that once contained table parts. "Nice job Twi-... er, T." Rainbow said as she glanced at the shuffling box and dusting her hooves after stacking the furniture components to one side. Twilight thought about Rainbow's words and understood. It would probably be best to not use their real names, the working class of the mansion were almost certainly from Ponyville. "Right, thanks, one more right?" Twilight was baffled that nopony somehow didn't investigate, she was convinced that she didn't exactly have the most stealthy of take-downs. "How did you learn to knot like that anyway? AJ?" "Yep! Taught me a few ways to tie up ponies, I always needed it. You should ask her sometime." The duo cantered back along to the door and peered inside. There he was. Unmoved. The odd-looking pale green coat, orange mane combo was casually checking through a storage closet next to the upper deck door, their target. He seemed strangely oblivious to what had just happened, Twilight's actions were not subtle, why did he not seem to care, or notice? His cutie mark of a triple set of gym weights may have had something to do with it. The stallion was bigger than their previous encounter with the security stallion. This buck also had a more prominent muscular physique, neither of the mares wanted to get in a fight with him. However, they soon spotted an edge they may have over him as he dropped the tools he was removing, stubbed his toe and banged his head off of the hanging equipment before falling face-first on to the ground. "I have a feeling he may not be too bright." Twilight said as the heavy stallion clumsily re-gained his footing. "Ya think?" Rainbow retorted. "I think I have an idea. Well, maybe more of a 'lets see what happens if...'." "Are you su-..." Rainbow walked into the kitchen haphazardly, pulling Twilight with her. "Follow my lead... again." Rainbow said, gently muffled. As they walked up to the large pony, Twilight noticed the complete lack of anxiety she was feeling. Was she really getting used to this that quickly? Twilight was relishing the excitement the job brought, rather than hoping it would end. This was what Applejack meant, am I really in this for the book anymore? "Wassup broseph?" Rainbow Dash inquired as Twilight cringed at her language. "Err. Hey! Noponies 'sposed to be here." Was the deep and slow reply, his name-tag was labelled 'Dumbbell'. "Naw, it's cool, we're the extra security for Fancypants' reserved top deck. Just goin' up there now, running late." "But tha boss said Fancy-pony ordered it off-limits to everypony." He was still remarkably dim-witted, but he could follow orders, and had a good point. "Ok, you got us, we're actually running late for our light show, we're on in ten minutes! We're really sorry, but this audience is gonna' be real riled up if they don't get their show, right, er... Spectrum Sparkle?" "Huh? Oh, right..." Twilight caught on eventually. "...yep, we've got a, er, a r-rockin' time for those ponies, wouldn't want them to miss out!" Twilight, or 'Spectrum' briefly flashed a prismatic spread of multi-colours onto the dark ceiling. Applejack once again was right, being talented with magic aided her mission an awful lot, and Dumbbell seemed convinced. "That looks awesome! Hurry on up! I'll be cheerin' for ya'!" Dumbbell guffawed, failing to contain his enthusiasm for the fake show. "Thanks!" The two happily said in unison as they trotted through the door and began up the stairs, leaving Dumbbell in his state of cheerfulness. "I kinda want to give him the light show now." Twilight said honestly. "He seemed really nice, a little goofy, but friendly." "We'll give him a show all-right!" Rainbow Dash said as they reached the top of the stairs, opening up into a secluded, but fairly large top deck. There were a few rows of seats overlooking down on the main hall, as well as several tables scattered around, likely for meals during the show. It was carpeted red, a calm ambiance settled over the area. Rainbow whistled, "Fan-cy. We still got some time left, lets take a look at the hall." Twilight nodded and walked over to the low wall that acted as a barrier to prevent falling. They both carefully looked over the wall and took in the spectacle before them. A wide stage was the most eye-catching sight, laid directly ahead of them. It held multiple instruments and some ponies tuning and preparing their instruments. A slate-grey earth pony mare with a black mane held a large cello on one side, a mint green unicorn with a lyre adorned the other, both lightly plucking their strings to test the sounds. Twilight almost regretted having to ruin such an amazing looking line-up. Twilight and Rainbow began putting on their cloaks and preparing their equipment as they continued to observe. In front of the stage were more regular set out tables, except these had ponies on them. The venue was relatively full, everypony sat, some drinking or talking with friends, enjoying the vibrant atmosphere and bright mood. The stage was small by comparison to the main floor, especially as the full floor wasn't visible. Twilight could see Rarity and Fancypants sitting at a table, one closest to the stage. As far as Rarity knew, Fancypants was simply invited to attend, and did not have a hand in setting it up. To her it was completely by chance that they were both invited, even if she suspected something, she wouldn't want to risk her friendship with Fancypants over such accusations without proof. "Fillies and gentlecolts, I am pleased to have the honor of presenting to you, your beloved Prince Blueblood!" An unknown voice called through the speakers either side of the stage as an easy tune from the small ensemble of musicians accompanied Prince Blueblood's progression to centre stage. Twilight swore she heard a scoff. He was dressed much like how Rarity described him at the Grand Galloping Gala, very formal attire, if one could look past his personality he would be quite the Prince Charming. "Show-time." Whispered Rainbow, the outfits were complete and it was time for Blueblood's atonement. Befriending Dumbbell proved useful, he may have been keeping the staff from 'bothering the important light-show ponies'. Twilight now needed to figure out how she would handle this. "Greetings, my loyal subjects," Blueblood announced royally, then clearing his throat to read the next card of text. "It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this..." Blueblood paused with a look of disgust on his face. "Charity fund-raiser?!" Blueblood exclaimed questioningly and loud. "Y-yes, fund-raiser for..." He spoke through gritted teeth. "...charity..." He composed himself and resumed as Twilight devised a plan. "Rainbow! Take these," Twilight said as she handed her an assortment of tater-tots, "...place them in some of those apple pies you've got, fly above Prince Blueblood and stick to that patch of darkness above the stage," Twilight pointed to the pitch-black area, just beyond the skylight. "When I give a signal, release them from under your wings onto Blueblood, then it'll be my turn." Twilight smiled, patting her self on the back mentally. "All-right!" Rainbow smiled with joy. "You can count on me!" With that, Rainbow shot off promptly, but smoothly. She hugged the more shaded areas of the walls as she stayed high and moved towards the stage roof. As soon as she reached the target zone, she poked her head out of the darkness and winked before receding back. She was perfectly hidden, now it was up to Twilight. Clairifier out, eclair loaded. Twilight had a single remaining tater-tot, red, and indented a hole in the eclair to place it in. One shot, one chance. A single miss would lead to Blueblood escaping to protect his image, as he had when using Rarity as a shield for another oncoming foodstuff. Twilight cast a very faint light from the tip of her horn. Would Rainbow understand that this was the signal? She waited. She held her breath. Then it was as if time stood still. Two pies jutted out of the darkness, faced down in perfect accuracy. One landed on his rump, as the other soaked his neck, shortly after they blazed his coat with smells, colours and substances. All alike, yet different in their own way. His entire torso had a new coat of dripping wet, putrid essence. Those stink tots sure were powerful. Blueblood could barely contain his trauma, almost breaking out into a fit of sobbing. He was lashing around, trying to free himself from his new second-skin. No luck. The sticky growths only dispersed further as he struggled. All in three seconds. But it wasn't over yet. Twilight aimed at Blueblood. Directly at his horn to compensate for minor drop from range. One eye closed, telekinetic grip steadied. She breathed. And forced the trigger backward, holding her shoulder against the recoil as the tot-enhanced eclair propelled at its target. That was the worst time Blueblood could have chosen to look up. His image was completed as the very instant the eclair kissed his nose, he was cemented with a mix of red and white- paint and cream. He was cocooned in layers of nauseating goop. His movements were restricted as the layers hardened, causing him to stumble over and slip on the same texture, hitting the floor. Then Blueblood's anger was only contained by his anguish. "My mane! My perfectly groomed mane! Dishevelled and sloppy! I'm no better than a common Ponyville urchin!" Blueblood ran around, never deciding on a decision as he kept falling. The audience's responses were more somewhat jovial. Laughter from every corner of the room pierced Blueblood's ego like shards of ice, tearing away at his ego. Yet, no matter how badly Blueblood wanted this nightmare over, the next most worst possible thing happened. The press. Journalists, photographers and rowdy reporters alike were hurdling up onto the stage, snapshots taken, pointless questions asked and all the while, the laughter would not cease. Insults were thrown, a higher concentration coming from Fancypants' table, mixed with the most blatant laughing from a certain mare. Then Blueblood snapped. Straight down the middle. "STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!" Blueblood broke into tears to partner his rage. "You delinquent punks know nothing of my image! My intelligence! My power! Do you know what I could do to you all?" Blueblood coughed from the abusive smells and tastes. "This so-called 'Canterlot Elite' are degenerate shams of ponies! You don't deserve a pony so elegant, refined and cultured as me as your Prince!" The laughs did not stop. Canterlot's finest cherished the opportunity to ridicule the one that many had always wanted to. They finally had an excuse, and a piece of fun in their usual impervious feeling lives. Rarity was rolling on the floor, laughing despite how her mane was being treated by the floor. Fancypants was helping to support her, but could not suppress his own amusement at how successfully it had turned out. And then time restarted. Blueblood had spotted the cloaked Twilight and her empty weapon. "There! Get that pony!" Security!" Twilight quickly ducked behind the low wall, disassembled the weapon to better fold it into her cloak. She turned her head at the sound of the kitchen doors bursting open, ponies charging up the stairs. The thunderous booming of hooves acting as a chorus that would lead to Twilight's imminent downfall. "Hey! Jump on!" The sound of Rainbow's voice washed relief over Twilight, and she quickly sprung onto her back after turning to her. She used a minor levitation spell to lessen the load Rainbow would have to carry, and held on to Rainbow's neck for dear life. Instantly she felt the wind through her mane, adding to the release of tension. But then it was back. Twilight spotted a single pegasus security pony, clearly Blueblood preferred the company of earth and unicorn's only, some sort of qualm with Cloudsdale? She tried to call to Rainbow to warn her, but the ever-increasing wind would not let up, raising to an almost deafening volume. "RAINBOW!" She would not be able to get her attention, there was enough turbulence to let Twilight's shaking of her go unnoticed. All the while the security pegasus closing the gap between them. That nostalgic feeling of dread returned, all cold and sharp. And then there was Derpy. The mailmare emerged from the clouds, rising valiantly as a true knight in shining armour for Twilight. That was until she smacked into the pursuing pegasus, knocking them both out of the sky, tumbling down gracelessly. Well, that works. Rainbow finally turned back to check on her, lowering the altitude and slowing, easing the wind resistance. "You say something Twilight?" "Oh, er, just: mission accomplished!"