Fun Land – said to be the most fun place in all of Canterlot, hence the name. It was an amusement park that had everything one would need for a fun day out with friends or family. Rides, shows, restaurants, a small water park, and even a zoo filled with a wide variety of animals from land, sea, and air.
It was the perfect way for Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer to spend their teacher training day off of school. Accompanying the two were Shining Armor and his girlfriend, Mir Amor Cadenza, dressed in a pink blouse with a blue heart image on the front and a matching pink skirt that reached down to her ankles.
The four had started their fun day out by visiting the water attractions near the entrance, deciding that it was best to get them out of the way and allow themselves to dry off sooner. Cadance wasn’t too keen on water rides and decided to sit them out. Twilight wanted to do the same, but unfortunately for her she had a friend named Sunset Shimmer who wouldn’t let her off quite so easily.
“I’m not getting my hair wet alone!” Sunset said as she dragged Twilight by the arm towards the ride’s entrance. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”
“But Sunset-”
“We came here to have fun together, right?” Sunset asked. “Wasn’t it you who said friends have the most fun when they do things together?”
“Well, yeah, but… What do I know? I’m anti-social!” Twilight argued.
“Well, then, it’s a hypothesis,” Sunset returned, “And as a scientist, that means you have to test it.”
“… Shiniiiiing!” Twilight cried to her brother, who was walking ahead of the two down the line.
“Sorry Twilie, but I seem to remember a certain little sister who dragged me onto the butterflies ride the last time we were here,” Shining said, turning back to give his sister a grin.
“That was eight years ago!”
Shining Armor simply shrugged and turned back to face forward. “Time doesn’t heal all wounds.”
“You guys are mean!” Twilight said as she submitted to her fate, sticking her tongue out at her two tormentors.
“So Sunset,” Shining said, trying not to laugh at his sister’s misfortune, “I hear you and Twilie are going to Germany next month for your studies.”
“That’s right,” Sunset said. “Well, more a vacation than for actual studying. Have you ever been?”
“You went last year on business, didn’t you?” Twilight asked, receiving a nod from her brother.
“That’s right. An old colleague and I went to track dow- Er, I mean, we went to find a retired agent to get some information on a case that he had!” Shining laughed nervously and tried not to let his unease show as he continued to walk forward in a robot-like manner. Close! She could have found out I got injured chasing a wanted criminal to another country! Better change the subject.’
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m fine! Totally fine!” Shining replied.
“… Now I remember,” Sunset said, turning to Twilight. “Your brother’s a total dork, isn’t he?”
“Hey!” Shining shouted in protest.
“Sunset, don’t be rude!” Twilight said, bringing a smile to her brother’s face. “Only I’m allowed to call him that. Well, Cadance too, but only ‘cause she’s marrying him.”
“I-It’s not like that!” Shining shouted, suddenly flustered again, but this time for a different reason. “We’re not ready for marriage yet! We’re not even engaged yet!”
“You’ve been dating for a year now,” Sunset said. “Longer than that, even! A year-and-a-half! If you don’t hurry, she’s gonna lose interest in you real fast and go for some richer, more attractive guy.”
“What?! Who?!” Shining demanded, suddenly looking around with a furious look on his face. “… Uh, I mean… that will never happen! She loves me way too much for that, and she’s totally charmed by my coolness and masculinity.”
“Dorrrrrrk,” Twilight whispered, laughing with Sunset Shimmer as Shining pouted and continued to walk in silence. Eventually the three reached the end of the queue and boarded the ride together, Twilight making sure to position herself behind her older brother to use him as a shield against water.
Cadance watched with a smile as she spotted Shining Armor on the next boat that left the log flume’s boarding station. She couldn’t quite see Twilight or Sunset Shimmer, as they were much smaller than Shining Armor, but she assumed that they were there, which meant that she would not be waiting much longer.
Cadance looked down at her map of the amusement at all of the various features and attractions. “Oh, this looks nice,” she said to herself as she spotted the Ferris wheel in the centre of the park. “It says here that when it gets dark, it’s the most romantic view in all of Canterlot.”
“It’s probably just a ploy to draw in gullible customers,” the woman sitting beside Cadance said.
“Still, it’s nice to dream,” Cadance responded. A few seconds passed before her head shot up and she turned to her side to see who was sitting next to her. “Y-You!”
The woman sitting beside Cadance laughed. Her skin was a heavy jet-black colour, almost the exact opposite of Shining’s albino-white, and her hair was a deep blue. She was wearing a horizontally-striped dress that started as dark-green near the top, gradually became lighter at the middle, and then finally ended as a dark-aqua near the bottom.
“What are you doing here, Chrysalis?” Cadance asked with a frown. “I thought you were working today.”
“Why would you think that?” Chrysalis asked. “I’ll have you know that I came here today for a very lovely date with a fine young man.”
“Oh? Then where is he?” Cadance asked, receiving nothing but silence from Chrysalis. “… You didn’t-”
“Bah! It was his loss!” Chrysalis shouted, stomping the ground with her left foot in frustration.
“You got stood up?” Cadance asked, half-sympathetic for her friend/nemesis and half-containing her laughter. “Oh, poor Chryssy.”
“Well, it wasn’t a total loss,” Chrysalis said as she took her seat next to Cadance, forcing her to shift sideways to make room for Chrysalis on the bench. “After all, it seems you’re here all alone, too. Perhaps we could turn this into a fun day with just us girls.”
“I’m not here alone,” Cadance said. “I’m here with Shining and-” Cadance immediately brought her hands to her mouth.
“Oh, Shiny’s here?” Chrysalis asked, her grin now back with twice its prior fury. “Even better.”
“First of all, Shining Armor is my boyfriend!” Cadance said. Chrysalis simply looked to the side with a bored look on her face. “So stop making moves on him! And secondly, we’re not here by ourselves. We’re accompanying Twilight and her friend.”
“And?” Chrysalis asked.
“And so, if you’re going to stay, you’ll have to be on your best behaviour!” Cadance elaborated.
“How old is Shiny’s sister again?”
“Fourteen. She’s turning fifteen in three weeks.”
“Then what’s the problem? Why, she’s practically a woman already!” Chrysalis said with a laugh.
“I’m serious!” Cadance shouted with a frown. She gasped as she noticed Shining Armor leaving the ride in the distance.
“Oh, there he is,” Chrysalis said as she moved to stand up, but stopped as she felt a hand wrapping around her wrist. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’ll try to watch my tongue around the kids.”
“… Also,” Cadance whispered as she leaned over towards Chrysalis, “Don’t let either of them know what Shining’s real job is.”
“What?” Chrysalis asked.
“If either of them ask, just say he simply has a desk job.”
“Oh, come on,” Chrysalis said in an exasperated tone. “Don’t you think they would find him so much cooler if they knew-”
“Just don’t tell them,” Cadance repeated in a sterner tone. “Shining doesn’t want Twilight to know. He thinks she’d worry too much if she knew, and… I agree.”
“… Well, I guess it won’t exactly kill me,” Chrysalis said as she rose to her feet, Cadance following her. “But you know, it is my belief that lying is the ultimate form of mistrust.”
“Really?” Cadance asked. “The way you always wear those disguises and hit on Shining with my face?”
“I act, not lie,” Chrysalis said with a smug smile. “Though I admit I have told some tall tales to our co-workers, can you think of one time I have ever truly lied to either you or Shiny?”
“… I wish I could,” Cadance muttered. “Anyway, it’s not like Shining intends to keep it a secret forever. He’s just waiting for her to grow a bit, so she can handle it better.”
“Whatever works for you,” Chrysalis said as she waved towards Shining Armor and walked over to him. “Hey there, dear Shinyyyyy!”
Shining Armor felt a chill down his spine and froze in place as he heard the voice calling out behind him. Even as the footsteps came to a stop, he refused to turn around and face the horrible reality he knew was waiting for him.
“Who’s that?” Twilight asked, taking cover behind her brother as she stared at the woman standing before them.
“That would be… Chrysalis,” Shining said with a shiver. “She’s a colleague of mine.”
“She looks kinda… scary,” Twilight said.
“You’re right to be afraid.” Chrysalis chuckled and shot Twilight a toothy grin, causing her to flinch. The fangs likely didn’t help to calm Twilight’s nerves. “I’ve been known to frighten even grown men.”
“Relax. She’s harmless,” Shining told Twilight as he turned to face Chrysalis. He spotted Cadance approaching him from behind Chrysalis. “What is she doing here?” he asked Cadance as she joined his side and grabbed his arm.
“She got stood up on a date,” she said, bringing a smile to Shining’s face.
“You sure seem happy about that,” Chrysalis said as she noticed the smile.
“What?” Shining asked, trying to force the smile away. “No, no. You must be mistaken.”
“… That must be it.” Chrysalis returned her attention to Twilight, who immediately retreated further behind her brother. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
“Uh, sure… This is Twilight, my little sister,” Shining said, attempting to nudge Twilight out of hiding, “And her friend, Sunset Shimmer,” he added, looking over to Sunset, who was staring intently at Chrysalis’ chest.
“… Don’t worry,” Chrysalis said to Sunset with a proud grin and her arms folded in such a way that her chest stood out more. “Yours will fill out someday.”
“Huh?” Sunset blushed as she realised what Chrysalis was talking about. “T-That’s not what I was thinking about!” she shouted.
“Oh? Then what?”
“Well, it might just be me, but… do you have a gun on you right now?”
Chrysalis gave a whistle of appreciation. “Those are good eyes you have.”
“And… she has a knife strapped to her waist,” Twilight added.
Chrysalis laughed. “Yep! You’re Shining’s sister, alright!”
“Chrysalis works in a different field to me,” Shining explained. “Her field puts her life at more risk than mine, so she carries them around for her protection. A stun gun and a self-defence knife.”
“O-Oh,” Twilight said with a sigh of relief. “Just a stun gun…”
“Of course, I hardly need it,” Chrysalis told her. “My skills as a martial artist are usually enough to defend myself.”
“You do martial arts, too, don’t you?” Sunset asked Shining Armor, who nodded.
“My brother is the best!” Twilight boasted, a smile returning to her face. “There’s not a single opponent he can’t beat.”
“… I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Chrysalis said, laughing as Shining grunted and averted his eyes from Twilight.
Twilight gasped as she caught on. “Y-You beat my brother?” she asked.
“She fought dirty,” Shining defended.
“That’s your view,” Chrysalis said with a shrug. “I am a firm believer that the ends justify the means. And I will use whatever means it takes to achieve my goal.”
“And what exactly is your ‘goal’?” Sunset asked.
Chrysalis remained silent for a few moments, before simply smiling and stretching her arms. “I wonder… Anyway, where are we heading to next?”
“‘We’?” Shining asked.
“She’s invited herself along with our group,” Cadance explained.
“What?! Why?!” Shining shouted.
“You would leave a poor maiden like me on her own after her heart has been torn in two?” Chrysalis asked, a sad look on her face and her eyes wide and tearing.
“Of course not,” Shining said. “Don’t see what that has to do with you, though,” he added quietly, causing Chrysalis to frown at him.
“Well, why not?” Sunset asked, surprising her friends and receiving a smile from Chrysalis. “The more the merrier, and I’m kind of interested in learning more about your colleague.”
Chrysalis approached Sunset Shimmer and raised her hand, bringing it down on top of Sunset’s head and patting it as she laughed. “You’re a good kid! I think I’m going to like you.”
“Oh!” Shining shouted suddenly as he looked down at his map with Twilight and Cadance. “The zoo’s near here! Let’s go check it out!”
“The zoo?” Chrysalis asked with a raised brow. “I wasn’t aware that you were interested in watching animals laze about inside small pens.”
“They have a petting zoo, too!” Twilight said, jumping up-and-down on the spot as she turned to Sunset Shimmer. “You know how much I love petting zoos!”
“I can vaguely recall you having a fondness for small critters,” Sunset said with an amused smile at the sight of her friend bouncing about with an excited look on her face.
“And there’s an entomology house,” Cadance said with a sly grin to Chrysalis, whose eyes immediately widened and lit up.
“Well then, what are we standing around here for?” Chrysalis asked as she walked ahead of the group.
“Good thinking,” Shining whispered to Cadance. “Those bugs’ll keep her distracted so we can tour the zoo in peace!”
Cadance gave Shining Armor a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Didn’t I just point out the bug house?”
Now it was Shining’s turn to be confused. “Y-Yeah, but you only said that to trick her into leaving us alone for a bit, right?”
“What? No!” Cadance told him. “I love bugs! They’re so cute and fascinating, and they have such interesting lifestyles and-”
“So… you actually want to see the bugs?” Shining asked.
Cadance gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Shining. I forgot that you’re afraid of bugs.”
“M-Me?! Afraid of little, itty-bitty bugs? Hah! I-I just wasn’t aware you were such a fan yourself, that’s all.”
“Are you sure?” Cadance asked. “I mean, I remember the time you visited my parents’ house and you saw that spider, and then my dad had to take out the newspaper and-”
“T-That was just because I sprained my ankle and the pain suddenly came back to me,” Shining said. “The spider being there was just a coincidence, totally unrelated.”
Cadance smiled. “Oh, I see.” She leaned her head against Shining’s shoulder as they continued to walk. “Of course. My big, brave Shining Armor wouldn’t be afraid of something as cute and cuddly as a tarantula.”
“T-Tarantula?” Shining asked, his face becoming more pale, though it was barely noticeable to those around him.
“Technically not a bug, but an arachnid,” Twilight said as she joined the conversation from her brother’s right. “But then, they also have a snake area in that ‘bug house’, so it’s not entirely accurate.”
“S-Snakes?”
“Are you cold, Shining?” Cadance asked.
“Y-Yeah,” Shining responded in a shaky tone. ‘You’ll be fine, Shining. You’ll be totally fine. Big, strong guys like you can’t be taken down by small, weak creatures like that.'
“I’ll be fine… I’m totally fine… They’re behind glass, they can’t reach me…”
Cadance draped the blanket that Chrysalis had brought to her over Shining Armor as he rocked back-and-forth, curled up into a ball on the bench just outside of the petting zoo.
“Good grief,” Chrysalis said with a sigh. “We barely even got past the hatchery.”
“He told me he wasn’t afraid,” Cadance said with a frown on her face, blushing mildly as passerbys stared at the two of them.
“You didn’t know?” Chrysalis asked. “He has entomophobia. I thought he was just escorting you to the entrance. I didn’t think he’d actually follow you in.”
“Oh Shining… Wait, how do you know about that?” Cadance asked.
“It’s my job to know,” Chrysalis answered. “We often have to work together out in the field, so I need to know his strengths and weaknesses. Just as he knows mine.”
Cadance turned to her boyfriend with a pout. “That’s not fair! Just because you two work together, you know things about him that even I don’t. That really bugs me.”
“Bugs?!” Shining yelped with a start.
“Smooth move,” Chrysalis said with a laugh. “Don’t worry. Just take him down to the medical hut and let him rest for a bit. He’ll be back to normal soon.”
“But the girls-” Cadance began.
“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Chrysalis told her. “Besides, it’s not that far away. We’ll just wait here for you.”
“… Thanks,” Cadance said as she rose to her feet, helping Shining Armor to his. “C’mon Shining. Let’s go get some rest.”
“Crawling… Creeping… Slithering…” Shining muttered as Cadance escorted him away towards the medical hut.
Chrysalis placed her palm to her face and shook her head as she watched the two leave. “And that’s the guy you’re head-over-heels for, Cadance.”
Meanwhile, completely oblivious to her brother’s mental breakdown, Twilight Sparkle was enjoying her time in the petting zoo with all of the baby animals. She was given some feed from the caretaker and made quick work of befriending many animals. Her friend, however…
“G-Go away!” Sunset shouted at the piglet that was approaching her. She backed up until she was against the fence behind her. “Go on, shoo! Twilight likes you, go bother her!”
Twilight laughed at the display her friend was putting on. “He just wants to be friends with you, Sunset!”
“Well I don’t want to be friends with him!” Sunset shouted as she quickly ran past the piglet, only to run into a lamb that bit into her skirt. “Let go! This skirt is worth more than your life!” Twilight continued laughing as she walked over and distracted the lamb with some feed, allowing Sunset to get away from the lamb with her skirt intact, albeit wet from the animal’s slobbering.
“You shouldn’t raise your voice so much at them,” Twilight said. “Just smile and show them you mean no harm.”
“That’s your way of doing things,” Sunset said as she pulled out a napkin and tried to clean her skirt. She shot a glare at the piglet rubbing its snout against her ankle. “… When you grow up, you’re going to become my delicious dinner,” she said with a grin, licking her lips and shaking her foot to get the piglet away from her.
“C’mon, they don’t mean any harm,” Twilight said as she continued to stroke the lamb before her. She stopped and her eyes widened as she felt something pulling her hair, and turned to find a second lamb chewing her hair behind her. “… AAAAAHHHHHH!”
“Get off of her!” Sunset shouted as she ran up to the little lamb, nudging it and stamping her feet to try to scare it away. “Let go, now!”
The lamb eventually did let go and walk away, leaving Twilight to quickly stand up again and examine her chewed hair with tears in her eyes. “M-My hair…”
“Are you okay?” Sunset asked with a concerned look as she spun Twilight around, frowning as she saw the tears running down her face. “Did he hurt you?” she asked with an angry tone in her voice.
“Only a little bit,” Twilight said with a sniff. “But more importantly, look what he did to my hair… It’s ruined!”
Sunset pulled her friend into a hug, kicking her left foot to shake away the chickens brushing against her leg. “Now now, it’s nothing a little makeover can’t fix.”
“What happened?” Sunset and Twilight turned their heads to see Chrysalis waving to them from the petting zoo’s gate.
“It’s nothing,” Twilight said, wiping her tears away. “I think I’m done here now,” she said to Sunset with a smile.
“That’s good. I forgot how much I hated dealing with animals,” Sunset said as she grabbed Twilight’s hand and escorted her towards the gate.
“You’re not much of an animal person, huh?” Twilight asked. As the two approached Chrysalis and left the petting zoo, something caught Twilight’s attention. “Where are my brother and Cadance?”
“They’ll catch up to us. They just had something to take care of,” Chrysalis said. “While we wait, how about we get some ice-cream?”
“Ice-cream? That sounds good!” Twilight said, her eyes lighting up. She heard Sunset laugh beside her and cleared her throat. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise,” Chrysalis said, turning around and leading the two towards the nearby ice-cream vendor.
“Um, you’re in the FBI too, right?” Twilight asked whilst the three lined up, attempting to break the ice with Chrysalis.
“I sure am,” Chrysalis said.
“What kind of work do you do there?”
Chrysalis took out her purse and stepped forward, reaching the front of the queue and ordering three ice-cream cones. “I work in the field, but in particular I’m the head of the espionage department. My talents lie mostly in infiltrating criminal groups and finding the evidence we need to make our move.”
“Sounds dangerous,” Twilight said. “I’m glad my brother doesn’t do anything like that.”
‘Oh, if only you knew,’ Chrysalis thought as she took the ice-creams from the vendor and passed two of them to the girls behind her. “Yes, well, your brother and I actually hold the same rank within the bureau, so we meet quite often inside of work.”
“What about Cadance?” Sunset asked as she followed Chrysalis towards a nearby bench.
“She’s ranked below my brother,” Twilight answered. “So I guess that means she ranked below Chrysalis, too.”
“That’s right,” Chrysalis said. “But enough about that. Tell me a little bit about yourselves. You know, despite how much I speak with your brother, he hasn’t really told me much about you.”
“He hasn’t?” Twilight asked, her smile falling a bit. “Well… there’s not really much to tell…”
“Oh really?” Sunset scoffed. “What about the fact that we’re the top students in our year?”
A blush crossed Twilight’s face. “Okay, there’s that, but-”
“Or that we totally took first place in last month’s National Science Fair?”
“Yes, but-”
“And let’s not forget how popular you’ve become with the boys lately, now that their hormones have started to kick in.”
“Okay!” Twilight shouted, clamping her hand over Sunset’s mouth to stop her from speaking any further. “So we’re honour students and… a little popular… but that’s all, really.”
“What about your dreams for the future?” Chrysalis asked. “What do you aspire to be after you graduate?”
Twilight removed her hand a put a finger to her chin. “I don’t know… I just love to learn new things, but I don’t really have any big dreams outside of that. I guess a job as a librarian would be nice, even if it’s not the most high-paying job in the world…”
“Our bureau’s research and development department is always looking for bright young minds like yours to train,” Chrysalis told her. “Perhaps you might want to consider asking your brother to put in a good word for you? And what about you, Sunset Shimmer?”
Sunset smiled and sat up tall and proud. “That’s easy. I was born to be a leader!”
“A leader?” Chrysalis asked. “Of what?”
“Hmmm… Maybe the world is a bit of a stretch,” Sunset said before pausing to lick the ice-cream dripping down her cone. “I’d settle for President of the USA.”
Chrysalis almost choked on her ice-cream as laughter escaped her. She had to lean back and take several moments to calm down, all the while an annoyed-looking Sunset Shimmer was glaring at her from the side. “Well,” Chrysalis said as she finally calmed down, “I suppose it’s good to aim high.”
“I wouldn’t doubt her, though,” Twilight said, smiling towards her friend. “Sunset’s the vice-president of our academy’s student council, and she’s got a certain quality that just makes people follow her lead.”
“Well, I’ll be full-on president as soon as our current president graduates,” Sunset said, her face beaming with pride. “And my first act will be to get you, Twilight Sparkle, to speak to more people and to make more friends!”
Twilight’s eye widened and she almost dropped her ice-cream. “Y-You can’t do that!”
“President’s orders! Plus I’m older than you.”
“Only by like a few months! Anyway, what you’re talking about is a blatant abuse of your powers, and-”
“Not if I simply merge the Science Club’s clubroom with another,” Sunset said. “Then you’ll be forced into a situation with more people, and the only way to survive will be to get over your anthropophobia.”
“You wouldn’t do that!” Twilight argued.
“Wouldn’t I?” Sunset asked with a challenging stare.
‘I see,’ Chrysalis thought as she watched the two girls bickering back-and-forth, soon leading to the two them getting up and Twilight chasing Sunset Shimmer around whilst the later taunted her friend. ‘One is an aspiring leader who overestimates her own bounds, and the other is brimming with natural talent but convinces herself she’s nothing special. The two of them form a great team together, especially when their minds are in sync as much as they are… Just like Shining and Cadance – a man who would work himself too hard if nobody was there to stop him, and a woman who trust others too easily.’
“Heeeey!” Chrysalis looked away from the two girls to find Shining Armor and Cadance approaching. Shining was looking much better than earlier, though Chrysalis had to wonder if it was Cadance grabbing his hand, or the other way around. “What’s going on?” Shining asked as he watched his sister and her friend running around.
“They’re just having a bit of fun,” Chrysalis said. “All better now?”
Shining blushed and nodded his head. “Y-Yeah… I just needed some time to collect myself.”
“We’re thinking of grabbing something to eat now,” Cadance said. “I suppose you’ll be joining us, too?”
“Why thank you for the invitation,” Chrysalis said as she rose to her feet. “I would be delighted to join.”
Rolling her eyes, Cadance turned to Twilight and Sunset, who were staring each other down from opposite sides of a large rock. “Girls! We’re moving on!”
The two girls heard Cadance’s call and ended their battle… for the time being. “Coming!” Twilight called back as she and Sunset ran back towards the group.
Chrysalis watched as the other four took off ahead of her and followed their lead, her eyes fixing on Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer and a grin crossing her face. ‘Well, the boss asked me to scout out new potential members, and I have a good feeling about these two. I’ll have to keep an eye on them for a while.’