//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Problems? // Story: Fillies' Play // by Goldenheart //------------------------------// Fillies Play Chapter 1 -Baltimare, Nighttime- The streets of Baltimare are all lit up and covered in snow as the night life never ceases here and with fillies and colts playing. In one corner of the city however lies an old building with cracks, broken windows, faded paint, a hole from the ceiling, and finished with a sign titled, 'Grifficorn Treasure Hunters'. The letters from the sign are either missing or crooked and are about to fall at some time. Then two figures come up from the street, one a unicorn, and the other a griffon. What is notable about them is that they're covered in mud from head to hoof and shivering in the cold. The unicorn, named Maximus, is a very gruff and mean spirited individual. His coat is colored red with eyes of crimson, and has a brown mane and tail color that are both long, straight and flat; looking like it's been through multiple rinse cycles in the laundry. His cutie mark is of a magnifying glass and two diamonds on each side of the handle. The griffon, named Hairy, is very playful and childish who always speaks his mind. Though playful on the inside, he can look very intimidating since he's larger than Maximus. His eagle side coat color is gray with the wings being gold, his lower half, is also the same color as his wings and has eyes of a piercing yellow, like a snake eye. Both are coming back from a job, but in the process, got dirty and got very little pay for their job. Maximus gets his keys for their building using his magic and unlocks the door. The inside of the building looks even more dirty than the outside. There's trash everywhere, a pile full of letters, one desk and two chairs, a sink with no water flowing, one light bulb from the ceiling with no power, and what appears to be a 'present' from their rat friends. Maximus now in along with Hairy, collapses onto the floor. "I've had it Hairy, I'm done, I'm through, I'm finished with dirty filth of a building!", shouts Maximus. Hairy then shaking the mud off him, talks to Maximus, "But Max, we did a good job today, we helped saved a filly get her pet cat out of a tree, and we got paid too. Even though we tripped on some mud chasing the cat after getting it down.", says Hairy as he hold out five bits in his claw. Maximus still annoyed, smacks his friend's claws and the bits go flying. "That won't help us." shouts Maximus. "Look over there, do you see what I see?". His hoof is pointing to the pile of letters next to their desk. Hairy looks over and sees the letters. "They're letters from our friends?", happily says Hairy. "NO! They're bills, nothing but bills. Bills, bills, bills, bills, bills! I'm sick of it!", shouts Maximus as he then bucks the letter pile and they go all over the building decorating it with even more trash on the floor. "When you and I started this business, we hoped to become the best treasure hunters in the world, now look at us!", shouts Maximus. "After we failed that job back in Saddle Arabia, we never got paid from that stupid blue face of a businessman! Now we have no more jobs, stuck doing odds and ends around the local neighborhoods, and we can't afford these bills. We've hit rock bottom my friend, and if we don't pay everything in four days, we'll be out in the streets. If only we asked for help, if only there can be a sign of some kind. Anything!", says Maximus as he raises his hooves up in a desperate act of plea. "Why don't we ask Daring then to help us with our money problems?", asks Hairy. "You idiot, you don't even....", says Maximus as he turns around and sees his friend holding a newspaper with the cover page showing Daring and five other ponies in a group shot. "Give me that!", shouts Maximus as he takes the paper away from his friend with his magic. With his crimson magic aura surrounding the paper, he then looks at the picture, and checks the date. Dated six months ago, during the Summer Sun Celebration, it shows the ponies who defeated Nightmare Moon in a group shot, Daring included. He then recognizes another pony with a gasp. "This is brilliant my friend, do you know who this is?" asks Maximus as points to the picture. Hairy is looking at the picture, but is having trouble thinking. "Uh, I don't know.", says Hairy. "This is Sherbet Orange, she and her husband Mosely Orange own the Orange Catering Co.", says Maximus. "Think about it, they're rich, and they're good friends with Daring. So what if we try to fool them into giving us their money?" "How do we do that Max?", asks Hairy. "Simple, we act like we're down on our luck and try to get on their good side. We gain their trust and when the time is right they decide to help us, we book a trip back here and we'll be living the good life!", shouts Maximus as his eyes have been replaced by bits. "But aren't we already down on our luck?", says Hairy. Maximus then jumps back to reality and then replies, "Yes of course, but that's not the point, we'll be rich either way. Now it's time to take a bus to Manehattan!", shouts Maximus as he points to nothing. "But we don't have enough bits for the two of us.", says Hairy. Maximus groans, then replies again, "Yes, I know. One of us will hide as luggage so we can avoid paying for extra, now let's move so we can catch the last bus.", says Maximus as he motions Hairy to follow him. "But Max...", says Hairy, but is then interrupted by Maximus. "What is it this time?!", shouts Maximus. "You're still covered in mud.", says Hairy. Maximus then realizes he's still covered in mud and sighs. ------------------------- My Little Pony, My Little Pony Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh… (My Little Pony!) I used to wonder what friendship could be (My Little Pony!) Until you all shared its magic with me Great discoveries! Tricks galore! A rich slice of life, And a heartfelt score. Budding courage It's an easy feat And magic makes it all complete! You have my little ponies Do you know you're all my very best friends? ---------------------------- -Manehattan Library, 5:00 p.m.- Twilight can't believe that she's been in Manehattan for six months after defeating Nightmare Moon and learning the meaning of friendship. So much has happened in that time, stopping an Ursa Minor, going to a family reunion, seeing ancient ruins, and even seeing the Sonic Rainboom in action! Twilight is thankful that this all happened to her. She sometimes also wonders what would've happened if she never came here, or if she was to be somewhere else instead of Manehattan? What matters now is that Hearth's Warming Eve is over and the new year is around the corner, three days to be exact. To celebrate for the new year, she's making a resolution to practice more spells and try to perfect even the toughest of spells and potions. Although she would want to do these things outside and not inside the library where the books could be damaged, outside is not the best place to be in the middle of winter. So she decided to do this spell inside of her private room, in the back of the library on the second floor. Twilight has been setting up this spell for quite some time and needed some peace and quiet, though with the occasional interruption from Spike entering her room. After setting up, getting the supplies, and centering the spell for two days, she's ready. Knowing this may work, she wanted to show off her friends how far she's been working on her spells. She's been skeptical at first showing off, but with Trixie being a performer and not being ashamed for showing off, Twilight figured this wouldn't hurt her friendship. She sent Spike to retrieve her friends, while she prepares for her test. She draws an enchantment circle in her room using a magic chalk, positions six crystals around the circle, and lights two candles on the outside of the circle. Last thing she does is putting a flower in a pot inside of the circle. "Perfect, now everything is ready.", Twilight says to herself. She then hears her door opening as Spike comes in followed by the rest of her friends. Blossomforth, Honey (Daring) Do, Trixie, Octavia, and lastly Orange Sherbet. "Hi everypony, glad you could come." says Twilight with a smile on her face. Spike then shuts the door hard, and Trixie groans as it shut. "Oooohhhh, Trixie's head still hurts.", groans Trixies. "We told you to go easy on the bourbon from the Hearth's Warming party.", says Honey. "Sorry, but when Trixie loves a party, she may get too happy and drink a little too much bourbon, and then steal some for herself.", groans Trixie. ' "We thought you gave up on the stuff?", asks Blossomforth. "Trixie did so she could focus on her performing career, and make a good image of herself, but the need comes by once in a while....", but then pauses as she rubs her temples from the hangover, "Anypony got an aspirin?" "Ahem", says Twilight as to get her friend's attention Everypony then looks back to Twilight and listens. "Now, I know we had some fun at Aunties annual holiday parties, but let's get down to business.", says Twilight. "The reason I called you here is because I want to show you all how far I've come in my magic. I've been living here for almost six months and learned a lot during my stay. So I've made the resolution to advance my studies in magic a bit further.", says Twilight. "Spike, can you come over?", she then gestures for Spike to come forward. Spike then walks up to her and stands in front of her. Twilight then closes her eyes and focuses her magic on Spike. Her horn then begins to glows and her magic aura surrounds on Spike's upper lip. Then with a flash, everypony sees that Spike has grown a mustache. Everypony awes at this and this makes Spike chuckle with glee. "Haha, thanks Twilight.", says Spike as he hugs Twilight. He then immediately gets a great idea in his head. "Now if you excuse me....", says Spike as he then runs over to Octavia. "Hey Octavia, what do you think?", says Spike as he twirls his 'stache around. Twilight chuckles and says, "Sorry Spike, but that has to go." She then lights up her horn again and makes the moustache disappears before Spike can even react to stop her. Spike frowns and moans after his loss, but Octavia chuckles under her breath. "Now to continue where I left off, I plan on completing more difficult spells. Since they can be tricky and a bit difficult for me, I decided to use some magical items for assisstance.", says Twilight. "What spell in particular are you trying to perform?", asks Blossomforth. "An age spell.", says Twilight dryly. Everypony, and Spike, gasp at the realization of their discovery. Then she is bombarded by questions: What does it do, why would you do this, can this actually work, is it safe, etc. "Hold up everypony!", shouts Twilight. Everypony then quiets down to give time for Twilight to answer all of their questions. Twilight then takes in a deep breath, "Okay, first, the age spell is kind of self explanitory. It can progress or regress an object or living subject's age. Second, I want to try and surpass my magical skills and maybe find a use for these kind of spells in the future. Third, this can actually work if all of my concentration is 100% and with no interuptions. Finally, if something does go wrong and it backfires on me or anyone of you, I've made a potion to fix the problem. Specifically, I'm going to regress this flower to its budding stage. So if I regress by accident, that potion will then return me to my original age." As Twilight finishes her explaination, there's nothing but silence. "Anything else?", asks Twilight. "Nothing dearie, just be okay", says a concerned Sherbet. "Okay then, now Spike, do you mind getting our friends some snacks please?", asks Twilight. "Sure thing Twilight.", says Spike as he then leaves the room. "Okay, now everypony, stay quiet and try to not say a word.", says Twilight. The group all nods and then keep silent. Twilight positions herself in her enchanted circle with the two candles lit, all six crystal positioned, and being careful not to smear the magic circle. Twilight then closes her eyes and begins her casting, with her horn glowing and the magic circle now beginning to glow. The circle starts growing even brighter and even gains a purplish hue to it. Also the crystals start shining purple, and even the candle's flames have a violet hue to them. Then when all seems at its peak, a magic barrier starts forming and envelops Twilight inside the circle. Then at last, the flower starts to react and shake. The flower then starts to close up its petals and starts to take its bud shape. Twilight then opens her eyes to see her progress and sees the flower now in its budding stage. "Perfect, its working, it's really working! Nothing can go wrong now!", Twilight thinks. Just as she thought up those exact words, doors to her room then slam open. "Daring, we need your help!", shouts a red unicorn with a griffon right next to him. Honey then looks behind her to see two individuals she thought that she would never see again, the treasure hunting duo, Hairy and Maximus. Twilight then whirls around and sees the source of her interruption along with the rest of her friends. At the same time, her tail then sweeps across the chalk marking of the circle and smears the chalk. Just as she does so, the magic barrier then starts to spark and causes the room to shake. A crack then begins forming in front of her friends from the barrier. "Everypony, run!", shouts Twilight. Then all at once, Twilight is enveloped in a blinding light inside the barrier, then the crack from the barrier shatters as a beam of light hits the group, save for Hairy and Maximus as a wave of magic pushes them back with an 'oomph' from the second floor, to the ground floor into a bookshelf. ------------------------------- Twilight wakes up with a groan and feeling pain all over her body. "Twilight are you okay?! Twilight?!", shouts a frantic Spike. "Yes, I'm okay, but I'm just sore all over.", says an unhappy Twilight. Twilight then sees that the chalk circle is all smeared, thanks to that interruption from the individuals she came across during her trip in Saddle Arabia while searching for the Soluna Stone. Not only that, the crystals are shattered and the candles are all melted till there was no wick left, with all of the wax melted. As she gets up, she noticed the room is a bit bigger and smoke has covered the whole room. She then goes over to her window to open it up with her magic. As the window opens, the room starts to clear. As she turns around she then sees not her friends, but four small fillies, and a teenage mare on the ground. The particular thing is, it's that all of them have the same color and coat as her friends, and even cutie marks. Not only that, Trixie's hat & cape, along with Honey's sweater & glasses are being worn by two of the fillies, but clearly too large for them to wear. Then it clicks in Twilights head that these fillies are her friends! "Oh my gosh Spike, my spell backfired! They're now fillies!", shouts Twilight, but in a high pitched voice. Spike then seeing Twilight clearly, takes a mirror from her desk and goes over to her. "You might want to look at youself.", says Spike as he hesitantly shows Twilights reflection. What Twilight sees is her, but not her. She sees a filly with her same mane and color. She hasn't looked like this since magic kindergarten! She then realizes she got affected by her own spell too! Twilight then screams at the tops of her lungs, that it almost shatters glass. Her friends now, fully awake, see the same result on themselves and panic almost the same. "Twilight, what happened, how did this happen?", asks a filly Blossomforth. "I have an idea, but we must greet our two guests.", says an angry filly Twilight. The whole group and Spike then goes down to the first floor and to the now shattered bookshelf. There, Maximus and Hairy are groaning, as no doubt being injured. Filly Honey, then goes over to Maximus, and punches him in the face. "Hey you idiot, wake up!", shouts Honey. Maximus then brings himself back to reality, along with Hairy. "What happened?", says a now fully awake Maximus. As he gets up, he groans as his head hurts so much, then feels his head and feels that his horn is cracked! "What the flying buck is going on?", says a confused Maximus. "Try saying that to our faces!", says a squeaky Honey. Maximus then sees a filly on top of him with a compass cutie mark wearing oversized clothing, and has the same coat and mane like Daring. "Daring?", says Maximus. Honey shocked to hear that Maximus knows her identity, but now is not important. "How did you...nevermind that, you've got six problems on your hoof.", says an angry Honey. Spike then walks up to them with another unknown individual. "Um, make that seven problems.", says a worried Spike. Everypony then looks to their new guest. It's an adult mare with a peach colored coat, a short, green mane and tail, but what stands out is that she has no cutie mark. Sherbet then realizes who this older mare is. "Tangerine?", says a confused Sherbet. "Mommy?", replies the confused and scared mare. Upon the realization for this, both Twilight and Sherbet then faint and fall unconscious.