Mending Heart tossed and turned in his bed, struggling futilely to return to the dream world. He could hear a faint pounding resonating from somewhere far away. How he hated that sound. It was incessant on waking him up and there was nothing he could do about it.
“What the hell do you want?” He groaned. Who dared to wake him up?
“Wow! Come on, Mendy. You can’t be all grumpy all the time.”
Of course it was her. She and her little friends were always bothering him to no end. If it wasn’t some ridiculous scheme to get cutie marks, it was just incessant chatter.
“Go away. I’m trying to sleep. Come again next millennium or something.” He heard their giggling and knew that it wouldn’t be that easy.
“You won’t make any friends, Mendy, if you continue with that attitude.”
He groaned, hooves fumbling around everywhere as he struggled to remove himself from the covers. It wasn’t easy work and he struggled with the bedsheets.
“You aren’t going to leave, are you?” It was a rhetorical question, but he was answered anyway.
“No way! We need our cutie marks, and we figured you could help us.”
Still struggling to remove himself from the bed sheets, Mending Heart threw himself off the bed. It was half-successful. He was able to escape the bed, but he was still caught up in the troublesome trap.
“How could I possibly help you three fillies get your cutie marks? Getting a cutie mark is something that shows up when a pony is destined to do something for the rest of their life. It can’t be forced or pleaded with to show up early, unless you know without a doubt what it is you are destined to do.” He finished this speech as he gave one final tug, finally extracting himself from the bed sheets.
“I was thinking that maybe we could go to that new amusement park that opened up not too long ago. Everypony is always so busy that they can’t take us. Since three young fillies can’t enter such a big place on their own, we figured you could take us.”
“Since when have you three ever cared about being responsible? How can an amusement park possibly determine your destiny, Scoots?”
He heard her giggle as she waited with as much patience as he could expect from her. “What? We can’t have fun every now and then? We can’t spend a day off from trying to pursue our destiny? Life isn’t all work and no play, you know. We have to take a break sometime.”
Finally free from his bed sheets, the stallion walked over to a mirror and lifted his brush in his feeble magical grip. He stared into his reflection as he made himself presentable for public exposure. Despite being a unicorn, his magic was rather weak. He could only focus on one item at a time, and only if it was a certain weight. Too heavy, and he would become exhausted from the exertion on his magic.
He got to looking at himself in the mirror as he continued his slow brushing. Grey streaks over his blue fur were evident everywhere. His horn was trimmed rather short and was barely evident over his long mane. Piercing blue eyes continued to stare back at him.
“You are going to have a big day today, big guy. Running around some crazy park to keep three hyperactive fillies out of trouble? Yeah, a long day is in your future. Might as well get it over with. Maybe I could come back here and sleep afterwards. Yeah, that would be fun,” he said to himself. Finished with his pep talk, he turned around and trotted over to the front door.
Three cheerful faces greeted his. The first was Apple Bloom, the cheerful farm filly whose youthful innocence he wished he still had. She, despite joining the trio last, became the self-appointed leader of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Her red bow, seemingly glued on top of her head, became her typical and constant apparel. She didn’t seem to be aware of her talent for fixing things. He had been at the treehouse, which the three called their hideout, and if the stories were true, that treehouse was virtually dilapidated when they first came across it.
Sweetie Belle was standing next to her. Mending couldn’t for the life of him figure out why she didn’t have a cutie mark yet. The few times he had heard her singing, he had to check and make sure he wasn’t dreaming. She had the literal voice of an angel. Surprising too, since her voice was so squeaky most of the time. She was the cutest one in the trio, and always seemed to be the mediator for when things got out of hoof with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
Speaking of Scootaloo, the more troublesome of the trio was the most frequent cause of his headaches. She idolized Rainbow Dash. She was a bit hyperactive and came up with the most crusading ideas out of the trio. Again, it was a mystery as to why the youngster didn’t have her cutie mark yet. He had seen her practicing on that scooter of hers and despite the amature aspect of most of the tricks, she performed them with a dexterity and enthusiasm that were unbelievable.
He shook his head, hoping to clear his confused thoughts. He may never understand just how these fillies worked. They had attached themselves to him when he had moved to Ponyville about a month ago. He had been living in Canterlot, but found the glitz and glamor of the famous completely unbearable. They had always turned their noses down at him and acted like they were the greatest ponies in existence.
Ponyville was completely quiet and out of the way. Everypony thrived on making sure their neighbors were okay. If somepony wasn’t feeling well or making ends meet, they would put everything on hold and make sure that the pony got the help they deserved.
He remembered the pony who had first greeted him. Some Pinkie Pie character. She had seemingly teleported right up to him, scaring the stuffing out of him.
“Wow, a new pony in Ponyville! This is the best! I love meeting new ponies! They all seem to have the same look that you do though whenever I greet them! Like deer in the headlights.”
He remembered wondering what the hell headlights were. Why would deer be around these headlights?
“I know what you need! A party! A party is the greatest thing ever! It solves all of life’s problems.” She had hopped in the air and giggled loudly. “Now that I remember, I seem to be out of a special ingredient for my party cupcakes. These are different from regular cupcakes, since they have that extra kick that normal ones don’t.”
She stopped and seemingly stared off into space. “There is no way that is suspicious at all.” She turned to look at him and he smiled weakly at her. “Oh, darn, I almost forgot. I will be inviting all my friends to your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party. I hope you don’t mind, because we have so much fun with new guests!”
Such an interesting pony. He had agreed after some slight hesitation. She had such a look of joy on her face that he felt his heart melt. She really seemed to be happy that he could go to a party. Such a thing was rare in Canterlot.
That had been a few months ago. He had met all the mares that made up the fabled Elements of Harmony. Twilight had been standing next to her friends Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and he had already met Pinkie Pie. They had welcomed him for sure that night.
He smiled a little at the memory of meeting the six wonderful mares who became his friends almost instantly.
“Mendy? Hello? Paging Mister Heart! You are needed back in reality.” Scootaloo’s words roused the daydreaming unicorn from his flashback.
“What were you thinking about, Mister Mending?” Sweetie asked. She was looking up at him in childish innocence.
“He was thinking how awesome it was going to be at the park. I can’t wait to ride all the roller coasters and death-defying rides! It will be so awesome!” Scootaloo scrunched up her face and her voice cracked. She straightened, smiling again. “Can we go now?”
Mending Heart sighed at Scootaloo’s impatience. He nodded and closed his door. The Crusaders shadowed him, each containing barely-suppressed excitement.
“So, what ride are we goin’ on first, girls?” Apple Bloom asked with a wide grin.
“Hang on! I still don’t know where the place even is. Can somepony please explain just where we are going?” Mending asked, hoping that it wouldn’t be too far. He really wanted to sleep, and the Crusaders had ruined a perfectly good sleeping day.
“Relax, Mendy. It isn’t that far. About three months ago, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie built an amusement park to reward the coolest town in Equestria with their awesomeness. For only twenty bits per pony, we can get in! It’s near where Rarity’s Boutique was. All of Mane Street has been transformed to a ride.” Scootaloo finished her explanation with a little dance.
Somepony sure was excited to ride the rides. Mending noticed Apple Bloom too seemed excited. Both earth pony and pegasus exuded waves of excitement. Sweetie was oddly quiet compared to the duo. She had a small frown on her face, and didn’t seem as happy as she did earlier.
It probably was nothing. Even if it wasn’t, it was her business. He shouldn’t meddle into other ponies’ business. If she wanted to share, she would already have done so.
As the four ponies trotted off to the park, Mending was busy looking around Ponyville. He noticed that there were hardly any ponies to be seen on the way. Usually, he could spot at least one pony on their way to work or whatever it was they did. Today, however, it was oddly quiet.
He also noticed that there were numerous posters pinned to trees, bulletin boards, and the walls of businesses, which detailed lost or missing ponies that had families or loved ones.
He began reading the names to see if there were any he knew. Carrot Top, Octavia, and Vinyl Scratch were all listed as missing. Filthy Rich’s name could be seen with a caption underneath.
“Come home Filthy! I miss you! I am so sorry, just please come back.” A mare’s name signed this plea.
Then dated about six years back was Diamond Tiara’s name. The filly was said to have been the only missing foal. Her smiling picture was of a filly. Her trademark tiara was oddly absent, one of the few pictures without it . She was estimated to be a mare now.
He shook his head. It was devastating to think about all the disappearances. But there was nothing he could do about it.
Turning around, he noticed that the Crusaders weren’t in sight. He looked all over, but still couldn’t find them. Where had they gone?
A mare with an increasingly-frazzled mane burst out from behind the sign, startling him. Her mane had several twigs in it. Electricity appeared to be running through it. She was a faint grey color with wide, almost frantic eyes.
“Thank Celestia those blank flanks are gone! Listen, mister! Get away from them.” The mysterious mare twitched every now and then at some unseen phantom. She darted quick, almost fearful looks over her shoulder, seeming to panic.
“I can’t stand this anymore! Dear Celestia, those ponies.. I hear them all the time you know.” She whimpered and continued to spasm. He thought she might be on drugs or simply crazy.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, miss. I must be on my way.” He started to pass her, but the mare quickly moved to block his progress.
“Don’t you get it? They are all in this together! Every last one of them. You have to flee! They will ruin us all! It’s gotta be some kind of plot to ruin every last pony in the world! You don’t know what those little monsters are like!”
Getting a little annoyed now, Mending once again tried to move past this mare. Still, she blocked his progress.
“I get it, you know. This happens all the time. Everytime, I try to help, they brush me off, call me crazy. I may not look like it, but I am very sane. This is the cliched bullshit of the ‘crazy’ individual trying to warn somepony, but is ultimately brushed off. Well, do some research, ask about the Elements of Harmony, and then tell me I am crazy. Do not go with them! Please! Won’t somepony listen to me?” The mare twitched and tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to spasm. “It hurts! Oh Celestia, it hurts so much! Everypony in this town is crazy!”
She finished her little rant and ran off. For several moments, Mending Heart watched the obviously-delirious mare scatter off into Celestia knew where. Just what the hell happened?
He was still staring off after the mare, wondering just what to do, when he heard hoofsteps approach him. He turned around, noticing the Crusaders nearby.
“Sorry, Mendy. We didn’t realize you were behind until we were almost there. What were you just doing now?” Scootaloo looked around.
“A real crazy mare just walked past here not too long ago. She looked high on something.”
The Crusaders looked at one another for a bit then turned to look at him.
Scootaloo said, “Geez, Mendy, you have all the fun! Did she hurt you? Some of the ponies in this town are crazy, so you can’t be too careful.”
Mending Heart sighed, relieved that he wasn’t hurt. “No, I’m fine. She didn’t hurt me, but she sprouted a pretty crazy story. So, anyway, what should we ride when we arrive?”
The four ponies walked onwards. Mending tried to put the mysterious mare out of his mind, but still the thought continued to nag at him. She had seemed so sure she was telling her perceived version of the truth, but she also seemed to be mentally unstable.
“We should totally go to the haunted house first! I heard from Dash that it is awesome. It’s supposed to be really realistic and everything.” Scootaloo made her choice.
“We should go on a nice, relaxing carousel ride,” Sweetie supplied cheerfully.
“No way! Nopony rides those rides. Rides should be fast and exciting or daring and scary. Not relaxing.” Sweetie’s choice was negated by her pegasus friend.
“Hey, there are some ponies who like it!”
“Oh yeah? Name one.”
Silence.
“That’s what I thought. Only foals like that ride, and I, for one, do not like going around and around in a circle for twenty minutes.”
For several minutes, there was silence. Then Apple Bloom supplied her choice. “Hey, maybe we can go on a roller coaster. Ah heard those can be fun.”
Scootaloo paused in contemplation, eyes wide with horror. “Oh my Celestia, how could I have forgotten the coolest ride ever? What is wrong with me?” She glared at the apple farmer, muttering dark curses.
Apple Bloom, smug, just chose a smirk as her response. “Hey, ya can’t win ‘em all, Scoots. Maybe we can do yer choice, too.”
Scootaloo had no response to this, but she continued to beat herself up over failing to come up with the coolest ride ever.
“So, we are in agreement then?” Mending asked. He really didn’t want to break apart an argument. They all nodded, with Scootaloo still looking annoyed. “Well, alrighty then, let’s go on already.”
They began their trek toward the park, excitement clinging to everypony. Mending deciding that maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.