//------------------------------// // Epilogue - Two Background Ponies Introduce Themselves to the Mane Six // Story: Two Background Ponies Go On An Adventure // by Piccolo Sky //------------------------------// A couple days later, and everything was “back to normal”. Sam, Carl, Dawn, and Twilight were all back in Ponyville, and more than happy to leave Manehattan behind, shaking the dust off of their hooves in the process. To have a minor “welcoming home” party for everypony…not to mention the fact that ponies typically never turn down an excuse to celebrate…Twilight herself hosted a get-together at Sugarcube Corner for everypony involved as well as whatever family and friends wished to come. Naturally, Dawn and Twilight ended up filling up most of the “roster”, but that was alright. Sam and Carl were just glad to be back. The party was a big success. The decorations were bright and uplifting, the music was nice, Twilight’s own friends were keeping things lively and interesting, and Sam and Carl were simply enjoying being home, miles and miles away from any oral syringes, Pacesian mob members, small-scaled delivery companies, 24 hour bakeries, and sharks. Carl, at the moment, was seated at one of the tables and “trying a milkshake for the first time”. It was freshly made from Sugarcube Corner itself, and he slowly tasted it and sampled it a bit after every sip. As he did so, Sam came over, grunting and straining a bit. Carl looked to him as he came. “Hey Sam, you know these ‘milkshake’ things come in chocolate?” Sam’s response was to set down a massive plate of assorted cookies on the table, causing it to shudder a bit and strain under the massive weight. Carl went a bit wide-eyed. “Whoa…” “Yup…the Cake’s latest creation. ‘The Diabetic Coma’. It’s actually illegal on the West Coast of Equestria. I figured now was a good time to test it out.” “Awesome.” Carl said with a smile. “Well, don’t just stand there, sit down and let’s dig in!” Sam looked around a bit, and seemed to spot something. “In just a minute, Carl…I need to talk to somepony first. But…” He gave Carl a pat. “Don’t eat too much. Don’t want you sugar crashing before you go back to work tomorrow.” Carl did a take, and then looked up to Sam. “…Back to work?” “That’s the favor I asked Celestia for, dude. She visited the horseshoe plant and explained how you were high strung from the whole tainted shakes thing, that you were clean now, and talked the supervisor into giving you another shot. Just make sure to leave it at the door next time, alright?” The green stallion is stunned. “Dude…you still need to pay for that wedding. Why didn’t you ask her to help you get your job back?” Sam gave a shrug. “It’ll be alright. Besides…I’m to the point in my life where I should stand up for myself in things like this rather than try to rely on somepony else to ‘fix it’. I think that’s what the princess kept trying to tell me. Anyway…I’ll be right back.” The blue stallion turned and walked off. Carl looked after him a moment, both touched by what his friend did as well as a bit regretful. In the end, he turned back and grimaced a bit. “Man…now I wish I had used my own favor to get Sam’s job back…” He hesitated, but then shrugged with a sigh. “Well, might as well use it now that I’ve got it...” He looked up a bit and called out. “Hey, No-Neck!” A few moments later, the destructive, sadistic foal nephew of Carl ran up to him with a smartaleck look. “What the hell do you want, butthead?” Carl only stared at him a moment…before lifting up a rubber-gloved hoof from under the table, carrying a mass of electric eels, and jabbed No-Neck in the chest so hard that a sound of crackling voltage went through the air before he was snapped back by the force and thrown across the room into a wall. Carl smiled softly as he lowered the eels and turned to sip his shake again. “Just giving you your ‘souvenir’ from Manehattan…” The reason Sam had broken off so readily from Carl was because the stallion he was looking for had arrived. When he had raised his head, he saw the stern and dark-looking Stonewall Charger enter the store. However, Sam felt only the slightest bit of anxiety on seeing him…nothing like before. Compared to all of the threats that he had been dealing with, this was nothing. Immediately, he rose to go to Dawn’s side, who was standing in the middle of the room and greeting the arrivals as they came. Stonewall himself spotted Dawn and began to go up to her as well. Sam managed to reach Dawn first, however, who was already looking nervous at her father approaching. The blue stallion remained calm and faced him, though, as he darkly marched up to the both of them. He fixed an icy gaze on Sam. “Listens-to-Carl’s-Problems…what the hell is the matter with you?” He snapped. “What have you been doing over the past few days? What in Celestia’s name did you put my daughter through?” Sam, remaining calm and controlled, began to raise a hoof. “Mr. Charger…” “After everything you’ve pulled over the last few days, if you think for one second that I’m about to let my daughter anywhere near-” “Mr. Charger.” Sam stated with surprising force. It was enough to actually make the former Canterlot Royal Guard pause in surprise. Sam, however, soon calmed and continued. “First of all, I believe your daughter is one of the loveliest, finest, most intelligent, and respectable young mares in all of Equestria. So even if you’re her father…if you think at this point you still need to make decisions for her and tell her who she can and can’t interact with...frankly, I think you’re insulting her. “Second…you may not agree with me or tolerate me or think I’m much of anything. And it’s true that I may not be as strong as the ponies you know, or as intelligent, or as wealthy. But the fact of the matter is I relocated to a big city, moved into a firetrap condominium, took a shady overnight job that sent me to the worst parts of town, ran for my life from a gang ambush, got smacked around by corrupt cops, had my nether-regions electrocuted, was given a three hour torturous deep tissue massage, collaborated on a royal kidnapping, was hunted by an invincible, monolithic Equestria ponyhunter specialist, nearly got devoured on multiple occasions by Changelings, went into the biggest high-speed wagon chase in Manehattan history, and was nearly bludgeoned, stabbed, shot, ‘ornamented’, and dropped into a deep fryer the size of an Equestria Games swimming pool…and all for your daughter because I love her more than anything else in the world. I doubt many of 'your friends' would have done the same. “In the eyes of Dawn, that makes me the perfect match for her…and, really, that’s the only pony’s opinion I truly care for on the subject. In short…Dawn and I would love to have your blessing and to see you at the upcoming wedding and have you over for holidays and our first foal and everything else. But if you refuse to grant it…then I’m afraid we’ll just have to ask you not to come to the wedding, because it’s going to happen either way, no matter how many threats you make and how many of your ‘old buddies’ you call up.” Stonewall was actually reduced to silence for a moment. He showed anger, to be sure…but he also saw that Sam didn’t seem to care. He merely stared back. Stonewall looked to Dawn, but she was much the same, if not more indignant, because she had enough of Stonewall telling her how to live her life. “…You really think I control you?” “Yes, dad.” Dawn answered. “And that means that even if you think I’m brave, Sam’s braver…because he had the courage to say that to your face.” Stonewall hesitated a bit longer, then looked back to Sam. His anger abated a bit, and finally he spoke. “You know I could snap your neck just like that, right?” “Yes sir.” “…And yet you just said that all to me knowing this, without hesitating or even so much as a quiver in your voice.” “Yes sir.” Stonewall hesitated a bit more, but finally exhaled. “You must have more brass in your balls than I gave you credit for, Sam.” He finally admitted. “Next spring…I’ll be the first to welcome you into the family.” Dawn lit up. Sam smiled a bit himself. “Thank you, sir.” “Just remember…you ever mistreat my daughter, you’re dead.” “Fair enough. I’ll deserve it if that happens.” Giving one more nod to Sam, Stonewall looked to Dawn one more time, and managed a small smile of his own. “You know how to pick them, Dawn.” He said softly, then exhaled. “I’ll be at the counter. I’m going to get a Hard Shirley Temple.” Turning, he walked over to one side. Sam and Dawn were left standing in the midst of the party, and looked to one another. Dawn smiled at him before leaning in and kissing his cheek. “You did great back there.” The blue stallion gave a shrug. “Yeah…except I forgot to mention about how I still can’t pay for the wedding and I’m still unemployed.” “Well, don’t worry about the wedding.” Dawn reassured with a pat. “You remember how Princess Celestia agreed to grant a request for us?” Sam looked up a bit at that and turned back to Dawn in surprise. She snickered in response. “Looks like we’ll get our ‘fairy tale’ wedding in Canterlot after all. Not in the palace, of course, just one of the chapels that has a nice view of the countryside.” The blue stallion remained stunned for a moment, but as Dawn leaned in and gave him another kiss, his shock gradually gave way to a smile. After it was done, however, he gave another shrug. “Well…now I really need to look for a better job to live up to that.” “Actually…I kind of ‘took care’ of that too.” Sam’s look turned to puzzlement again. But before he could look to Dawn, a paw suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around to look, and nearly yelped in fear. Rex, in a nice suit, sunglasses, and lots of “bling” was currently grinning at him. On seeing his reaction, however, he quickly held up his paws in a stopping gesture. “Hey there, Sam. It’s alright. Be cool. I’m not here to beat the sh’t out of you or anything.” Dawn, on her part, stayed calm throughout, but Sam was so focused on Rex he didn’t notice. Slowly, he calmed down and straightened again, before nervously nodding. “That’s…good to know.” He looked him over a bit. “You…look like you’re doing…well?” Rex grinned wider. “Hell yeah, I am. Thanks to all that sh’t you caused back in Manehattan, Long got whacked along with his extended family, meaning I got to take over the business. Now I’m pulling in more bits a day than I know what to do with. Who cares if the doctors said my o-ring was irreversibly burn damaged? Now I got a prosthetic one made of 24k solid gold!” He began to turn around. “Want to check it?” Now both Sam and Dawn grimaced a bit. “Uh, no, we’re good!” The blue stallion immediately answered while holding up his hooves in a stopping gesture, getting him to cease. “We’ll take your word for it.” Rex turned back around and began to reach into his suitcoat. “Anyway, I only came by to say thank you and give you this. You ever come back to Manehattan, I’ll hook you two up.” He soon removed an envelope, and passed it to Sam. The blue stallion blinked for a moment in confusion, but then accepted it. “Later, you two.” Rex said before turning and walking back out the entrance. As for Sam, he continued to stare in puzzlement at the letter, before looking to Dawn, who smiled back and gestured for him to open it. He hesitated, but then ripped open the envelope with his teeth, got out what was inside, and held it in front of him. “…This is a copy of a letter…sent to upper management of my old company…” Sam stated. He read over it for a moment, and went a bit wide-eyed. “…It’s Pencil Pusher’s letter of resignation…and he’s telling them to rehire me back to take his spot as supervisor?! No way! This has to be forgery!” He quickly looked at the bottom. “But that’s his signature and his hoofprint!” Dawn grinned and put her hooves around his neck. “Congratulations, Mr. Supervisor!” Sam continued to blink and look it over. “How the…when did… What could have made him do that?” “Well, who cares, so long as you have your job back plus that promotion?” The blue stallion looked a bit more, then paused. He blinked a few times and stared more closely at the letter. “Dawn…do these little red flecks look like ink…or blood?” Silence. “...Dawn?” He turned to Dawn in response, who was now looking at the ceiling and trying to appear innocent. Sam stared a bit longer before he began to realize the truth. He looked back to the door, but Rex was already gone, and he looked back to Dawn, who gave him a shrug. “…Daddy’s not the only one who knows how to ‘call in somepony’.” She answered. “Besides, the shi only roughed him up a bit. It’s not like they killed him.” Dawn gave Sam another kiss. He was unresponsive at first, and looked back to the letter. However, after a moment, he simply gave a shrug and put it away. After all, in the grand scheme of things of what had happened over the past few days, what was one more jerk getting a well-earned beating? When Sam walked back over to Carl, he had started on a few of the cookies. Sam soon slumped down into a chair himself and began to help himself to some as well. Carl grinned at him as he did so. “Dude, I think this may be the first time ever I’m further ahead on the cookies than you are.” Sam let out a snicker as he loaded up. “Well…first time for everything, eh, Carl?” “Yeah.” After loading up, Sam ate his first one, and then looked back to Carl. The green stallion, in response, kept eating his own cookies for a bit. After a time, he noticed Sam looking at him, and turned to him. “Something wrong?” “Just waiting for you to start one of your rants again.” “Heh…I think I’m still a bit dry after that trip.” “You know…for years I thought it would be a nice change of pace. Now I think I miss the noise.” “Well…” Carl leaned up a bit and put his cookie down. “This isn’t so much of a ‘rant’ as just pointing out that the one thing I learned from this experience that’s sticking with me is how much I love this town. For everything that’s annoying about it, from the loss of my favorite restaurants to waitresses getting my orders wrong to my sister-in-law nagging me daily…which she still does, by the way…it’s still a great life. Maybe we’re pretty lucky to never have much happen to us. Because when crap does happen…it really ends up sucking.” “Can’t argue there.” Sam snickered in response. “But what I got is-” “Sam? Carl?” Both ponies looked up and behind them. As they did, they saw Princess Twilight Sparkle approaching them, but she was bringing others behind her. Immediately, the two rose from their seats and faced her and her group. Soon, Twilight stopped before them with a bit of a sheepish smile. “I…really thought about what we talked about on that park bench…and I decided to do something about it. Sam…Carl…” She stepped to one side. “This is Applejack…” “Howdy.” “Rainbow Dash…” “Hey there.” “Rarity…” “Hello, dears.” “Fluttershy…” “Um…hello…” “And Pinkie Pie.” “Hihihihi!” “Girls…this is Incarlsistency and Sam Listens-to-Carl’s-Problems…or Carl and Sam.” Both stallions raised their hooves slightly. “Hey.” “Hey there.” Twilight looked back to Sam and Carl afterward. “I was telling the girls about how maybe we should stop and say hi from time to time, as you two seem to notice a lot of things out of the ordinary more easily than any of us do…and that it’s important to keep your eyes open to notice other ponies every once in a while. On that note…” Suddenly, the small dragon from earlier stepped out from behind Twilight. Both Sam and Carl looked to him. However, he started by walking out and over to Carl and giving him a sharp kick in the shin. “Ow!” Carl yelped as he winced. “That’s for kidnapping Twilight and yelling at me, you big bully!” He snapped at him. Afterward, he looked to Twilight while Carl muttered curses at him, and produced a scroll and a quill. “Sorry…I had to get that out of my system.” Twilight winced a bit, but then looked to Sam. “I overheard you just now talking about what you learned from all this…so, how about, since you’re now my friends too, I let you take a crack at handling my letter to Princess Celestia?” Sam blinked in surprise. He looked to Carl, who was still in pain, but likewise stunned. He looked back a moment later, and swallowed. “Er…well, alright… I learned today that…” “Um, you have to tell Spike ‘Dear Princess Celestia’ first. He never remembers it unless you do.” “Oh…uh…” Sam shrugged. “Dear Princess Celestia…” He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He looked to Carl for a moment afterward…and then smiled. More confidently, he continued. “I learned that just because you may find somepony annoying or troublesome or occasionally irritating, it doesn’t mean that this pony isn’t also the best friend you could possibly ask for. Faults aside, a true friend brings out the best in you, is always at your side through thick and thin, and always comes through for you in the end. Nopony could ask for anything more out of the best stallion in the world.” Carl seemed to forget his pain and smiled a bit more himself. “And I learned that when you’re a pony who spends all of his time trying to find secret details and nuances about things…the biggest thing you should never make sure to overlook is all the times your best friend has been there for you, has paid attention to you, and put everything on the line for you. Because none of the other crap matters if you forget the most important thing of all.” The dragon grimaced a bit. “…You mind if I change ‘crap’ to ‘poo’? I’ll get yelled at if I put profanity in a letter to the princess…” The green stallion grimaced. “Whatever…” “Your faithful subjects,” Sam spoke up. “Sam Listens-to-Carl’s-Problems.” “And Incarlsistency.” Carl added. “…P.S. What you did to the Changelings was badass.” Everyone gave Carl a look. He shrugged. “It was.” Twilight grimaced. “I…usually say things like that in person…and without profanity…” “What is this, a ‘Y’-rated TV show?!” Carl snapped. He sighed. “Fine, leave it out.” The dragon finished writing, rolled up the scroll, and gave it a blast of green flame to send it on its way. After that, everyone’s mood brightened again. “Well, it’s finally all over, Carl.” Sam stated with a smile after a moment. He looked to him. “…Unless, of course, you can think of something we forgot.” “I’m still ‘readjusting’, but…I don’t think so…” Carl answered as he looked to the ceiling. “Although, for some reason, I keep thinking of fortune cookies…” Several hundred miles away, in Fillydelphia, a family of ponies who had just finished their meal at a Pacesian restaurant, were each handed a fortune cookie from a freshly-opened box. Each one gave a nod of appreciation, accepted their cookies, broke them open, and looked inside. They all formed looks of grotesque revulsion and horror before screaming. The End