//------------------------------// // One Bad Apple // Story: A Ray of Dusk // by AlphatheGriffin17 //------------------------------// It was amazing how fast this town could recover from the strange events that seemed to occur on an almost daily basis, Ray thought to himself. Only a week had gone by and things had settled down after Pinkie's iteration of Attack of the Clones. Then again, they did live with the one and only party pony every day, so maybe that explained it. Even so, it was still quite amazing. He could still picture it clearly. An ocean of pink bounding closer and closer on the horizon, accompanied by their incessant chanting. He could almost feel the ground rumbling from the sheer mass of mares, bouncing up and down, up and down, chanting fun, fun, fun, fun, fun- He blinked suddenly and shook his head. He lived every day with an angry demon in his head, how was this inciting terror in him? He briefly considered that maybe he should see a therapist, but quickly dismissed the idea. That hadn't worked out well the first time either. At least things had been rather peaceful since then. He'd just done his usual day-to-day stuff on the farm, put off doing his usual day-to-day stuff on the farm, get bucked by Applejack for putting off his day-to-day stuff on the farm, the usual. Meanwhile, he had reset his mental clock for when the next potential crisis would find its way to Ponyville and he thought it would have ended a few days ago when Applejack told him she had some news. After she'd managed to convince him that there was no imminent threat, she told the family some news that a family member would be coming from Manehattan to visit for a couple of weeks. In honesty, he only found out about it because he happened to be present at the time. Still, it had been nice they had let him stick around to hear it. It was nice to be part of a family… While the news had been received positively, Apple Bloom was especially excited as the family in question, one Babs Seed, was the same age as her. The following days were spent preparing for the Manehattan filly's arrival...well, for Granny Smith and Applebloom at least, the latter practically a whirlwind of activity and enthusiasm whenever Ray saw her. He, of course, along with Applejack and Big Mac, were still working the orchard as usual. Until today, as Ray was now standing with Applejack and the Crusaders at the train station for Babs's arrival. The latter were all leaping around in excitement while the former looked like she was on the very edge of her patience. She had apparently waited until the last minute to tell her little sister a very important detail about her cousin: she didn't have her Cutie Mark yet. This was the result. Hence, Ray was trying very hard not to burst out laughing at Applejack's face while the fillies jumped and bounded around her excitedly. "So," he leaned in and whispered, unable to resist, "is this why you brought me along?" "Ai-yup." Her teeth were gritted and she stared straight ahead. "Wow, imagine: me as a tether for another pony's sanity," he gasped dramatically. "I didn't know you valued me so much, AJ." "Mouth shut, eyes front, got it?" "Yes ma'am." He snapped his mouth shut. He was silent for a bit. Then he snorted. Applejack glared at him. "What was that?" "Nothing, nothing," he replied quickly. "That's what ah thought." She returned to her deadpan frown and Ray kept his mouth shut. The Crusaders weren't paying much mind to them. They were all far too excited to focus on anything else. Except for the sound of the train whistle and the tell-tale steam of an arriving train. Apple Bloom's eyes lit up. "Is that the train from Manehattan?" "Yep," her sister answered. No sooner had it pulled into the station and ponies began to disembark, the filly was dashing from window to window to catch a glimpse of her cousin. "At least you can't fault her enthusaiasm," remarked Ray. Applejack gave him an incredulous stare. "Where the hay have you been standin' fer the last fifteen minutes?" "Only because you made me come along." "Yeah, ah'm yer boss, ah can do that." "And I'm an invaluable addition to the farm you couldn't be without," he added proudly. "You don't have to say it, I know." Applejack rolled her eyes, but still managed a laugh. She looked at her sister. "Apple Bloom, you've never met Babs Seed, remember?" "Oh..." She laughed sheepishly. "Yeah." "Ah, that's her!" Ray followed Applejack's gaze. A filly with dull orange fur and a bright red mane and tail had just stepped off the train, a brown suitcase at her side. Her tail was short, but her mane was combed over one side than the other. Ray shook his head a little. Never understood the point of a comb, he thought. Your mane was going to get messy anyway, why waste time making it neat? "Babs! Babs!" Within a second, the three fillies were right in her face. "It's me, your cousin, Apple Bloom! And this is Sweetie Belle, and this is Scootaloo, and we are so, so, so glad you're here!" When she spoke, her Manehattan origins clearly came through in her accent. "Thanks, I'm happy to–" "This is gonna be the best week of your life!" added Sweetie Belle. "Sure hope it's gonna be–" "Seriously, we are gonna have a blast!" finished Scootaloo. Babs stood there, looking unsure whether to be pleased or scared. Both Applejack and Ray laughed, the stallion flashing her his best grin. "Believe me, my welcome here was pretty much the same, although with two less ponies and plus several years. And probably a few other things besides," he added. "Heh, right." Babs didn't look very reassured. "Don't ya worry Babs, yer in good hooves," Applejack said. "Ma sister an' her friends are gonna make sure ya feel welcome an' if ya ever need anythin', jus' find me, ma brother or Granny Smith. If ya can't find us, check in with Ray, he'll point ya the right way." "That's me, hi," he waved. He stopped Applejack when she went for Babs's suitcase and levitated it. "You need to find somepony or get somewhere, I'll have you there…" He paused, teleported her bag with him to the house and was went right back. "In a flash." "Whoa!" Babs leaped about a foot in the air. "W-w-what was that?! How the hay did you…?!" "They teach you that kind of language in Manehattan?" He chuckled. "Don't worry, it's just my teleporting abilities." He vanished and reappeared on the top of the train. "As you can see." Then on top of the station. "I'm quite good at it." And back again. "Nothing to it." "Oh… okay." She managed a smile. "Cool." "Yeah, 'bout the only thing more impressive'n that is how much he likes ta show it off," put in Applejack. Ray huffed. "You're just jealous." "Ya want me ta kick ya upside the head again?" "Only if you can catch me first." She rolled her eyes again. "Come on, let's git movin'. No sense hangin' 'round here." They started to make tracks back to the farm, the Crusaders filling their newfound friend on everything they had planned. "The Summer Harvest Parade's going on while you're here! You'll get to ride in a float!" Sweetie announced. Babs perked up. "Really? I've never been on a float before." "And we've got a really big surprise for you!" added Scootaloo. "Yeah... uh... a surprise?" Babs murmured as her eyes were covered. Then, in a quieter voice, "So uh, is that guy your sister's coltfriend or something?" She probably thought they couldn't hear her. They did and their hooves went for their foreheads at the same time. They passed the rest of the walk back to the farm just allowing the Crusaders to let out their excitement on Babs. Scootaloo was still covering her eyes, even though they were nowhere near the clubhouse. "Well, duh," the filly said when Ray pointed this out. "We don't wanna ruin the surprise!" "Yeah, but wouldn't it make sense to do it when your closer?" he countered. Scootaloo frowned. "I guess that makes sense." She removed her hooves. "Sorry about that Babs." "Don't worry about it," she shrugged. Ray couldn't help but notice that Babs still looked a little uncomfortable, even though the Crusaders couldn't have been more welcoming. She was still glancing around unsurely with a nervous smile on her face, which now and again flickered to an expression that almost bordered on fearful. It would be easy to just put it down to nerves, a little filly moving all by herself to a new place. What kid wouldn't be nervous? Except for himself, of course. But with Babs, he had a small suspicion that it was something different. Something deeper… either that or she was just freaked out by the Crusader's overenthusiastic reaction to her. They split off when they arrived back at the farm. Scootaloo covered Babs's eyes again and set off to show her the 'surprise' while AJ and Ray headed back to the orchard off to the west. The next few minutes were spent bucking the trees with Ray slipping in the occasional wisecrack, earning his reward in the form of glares from Applejack and orders to get back to work. It only changed when Applejack approached him with a large cart of assorted apples right after Ray had tried impersonating her accent again. "Oh dear." He eyed the cart warily. "I'm going to pay for that last one, aren't I?" "Ya guess right." "Is this the part where you stuff my body into the cart and run it off into the river to make it look like an 'accident'?" "Nope. This is the part where ya take these here apples and put 'em in the barn," she told him. "Now go on, git." "No problem," he grinned. "I'll just hook myself up and zap 'em here and back in a-" "Don't even think about it, hotshot," she warned. "These apples are especially high quality an' they're gonna be shipped outta Ponyville. They're not ta be fooled with in anyway, so that means no magic, zippy." His grin vanished. "So… that means I have to do this… the slow way?" "Nope. It means ya have ta do this the right way," she corrected smugly. "But…" He looked across the farm. "It's so far…" "Then you'd better git a move on then. They ain't gonna move themselves." "Can't I just levitate a few?" "Not even one. Yer doin' this the earth pony way." "Why can't Big Mac do this?" "Two reasons. One: he's workin' the east orchard taday, so it ain't much point botherin' him. Two: like ya said, ya gotta pay fer yer lil' stunt." "Man, you really are sensitive about the accent, aren't you?" "Get yer lazy flank in gear!" Ray knew better than to continue arguing once Applejack had reached the point of yelling, so he quickly saluted, hooked himself up to the cart and hurried off. Well, as fast as anypony could lugging a cart full of fruit five times their own weight down a dirt path. He was almost tempted to try and teleport once he was a good distance away, but decided against it. Even from here, he could feel Applejack's gaze burning into him. She would find out. Somehow, she always did. While he walked, his mind drifted to the Crusaders, offhoofedly wondering how they're getting along with Babs. He thought back to the giddiness they were all displaying around the, frankly, unsure-looking Manehattan filly. At least she didn't seem like one of the snooty-types around that city, so hopefully she wouldn't have too much trouble settling into life in such a rural setting. Still, once they'd gotten back to the farm, the girls had immediately whisked Babs away to 'show her around', excitement clear in their eyes. Thinking about them, Ray felt a smile tug at his lips. Seeing them running around and playing day in and day out, getting up to their shenanigans, happy and carefree... it always just made his day brighter. Though it also came with the smallest tinge of sadness. His own foalhood had been nothing like theirs. His was full of loneliness, confusion, and hate. He was just that kid who everypony's parents said to stay away from, with no reason as for why. Even now, he could still see them sometimes... always avoiding and shunning him... surrounding him on all sides everywhere he went... countless eyes all trained upon his lone form... Those cold, hateful eyes... He quickly shoved those thoughts aside and focused on the present. Things had changed for him since arriving in Ponyville, in more ways than one. Not just his friendship status, but also his outlook on life. In any case, it was refreshing to know that there were kids in the world like Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, with friends and family to support them. However, he refocused on his task when he came around a bend and into a small rolling field, with the barn and house both visible just up ahead. Moving on, to keep himself going, he thought encouraging thoughts to himself. Once he got these apples there, he would be free to use his wonderful skills again to get back. To more work… On second thought, not all that encouraging. Until he heard a shout, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground up ahead. Looking up, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary... for about a split second, until a giant yellow-orange shape, which Ray recognized as the Crusaders' pumpkin float, came tumbling out of the barn doors. Without its wheels. Rather fast. Straight for him. Panicking, his initial thought was to teleport out of the way, which he was about to do, when he realized that he still had the cart of apples hooked up to him, and what Applejack said to him... but she wouldn't mind if it had been to save himself. Then again, she'd been very adamant. She'd kill him if anything happened to these apples. But this pumpkin might kill him if he didn't move. And why was it getting so dark? He looked up. It was right on top of him. Almost literally, as it happened. He hadn't left himself any time to move out of the way. The dangers of indecision, he thought grimly. Then it hit him. Apple Bloom stared in shock at the wrecked debris that used to be their float that scattered the field outside. Sweetie and Scootaloo stared with her, still disbelieving that Babs had done such a thing. They just didn't see this coming. They'd been nice to Babs from the minute she'd pulled into town. They'd shown her their clubhouse, offered her a place in the Crusaders, told her she could ride the float with them in the parade. Sure, she'd been rather shy but she thought she would have become their friend. Then, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had showed up with their usual taunting and teasing and just like that, she stood with them now. She'd kicked the wheel off their float and deliberately made it crash like that. What for? Why would she do that? "Looks like somepony's pumpkin just got squashed!" she sneered. Diamond and Silver sniggered cruelly behind her. Apple Bloom glared at her. "When ah tell Applejack–" She ended up backing away when Babs loomed over her, staring her down. "You gonna tell Applejack what?" "W-well, y'know, uh..." Suddenly, she lost her resolve. "What're you, a snitch?" threatened her cousin. "Come on, Babs, you should hang with us!" offered Diamond. "Y'know, the cool ponies, not these bab-!" She screamed as a sudden bright flash of light cut her off. Silver shrieked while Babs looked around fearfully, while the Crusaders were startled by the green stallion who stood before them. "Okay, who the HECK was responsible for that?!" demanded Ray fiercely. All six fillies were rendered speechless as they just stared up at him, wide-eyed. Conversely, Ray was casting his gaze over all of them slowly, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Apple Bloom, in the midst of her stupor, noticed something. Ray looked incredibly dishevelled for some reason. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, his coat was covered with dust and grime, his mane and tail were even more of a mess than they usually were, and he had numerous splinters of various sizes poking out of him here and there, including - and Apple Bloom cringed at the sight of this - a particularly large one digging lengthwise into his side. He almost looked like he had just crawled out of a wreckage of some sor- Suddenly she blinked, and her eyes wandered over once again to the remains of the float some distance away. Looking back at her friends, she saw that they had arrived at similar conclusions, as both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were also glancing out at the area with identical wide-eyed expressions. The silence was broken by Ray's angry tones again. "Hello? I asked a question! Would anypony care to answer me?" His gaze fell on their two tormentors and their new recruit, making them all back up slightly. "...What?" Diamond's voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke. Ray let out a mixture between an agitated sigh and a groan. "Okay, let me make this nice and easy to understand," he growled. "I was just outside, hauling about half an orchard's worth of apples back here with explicit instructions to handle them with care. I was doing a pretty good job too, then something happened. Do you want to know what it was?" "U-um…" Silver stammered, but Ray ploughed on, his volume rising. "A pumpkin float starts tumbling towards me, from this very barn! I didn't have the time to get out of the way before it landed, quite painfully I might add, on top of me! And by some miraculous coincidence, who should I find in this very barn, but you lot! Reputed causers of mayhem even more so than the Lord of Chaos himself!" He was practically shouting now, almost exerting a force that had the three fillies quivering in terror. Even the Crusaders were backing away a little now. "So, I'm going to ask one, last time before I really get mad: WHO-?!" He suddenly stopped. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He spoke again in a calmer, but still dangerous tone. "Who here was responsible for almost filling me with more wood than the cart I was pulling?" Apple Bloom noted, as he calmed down, a growing pressure she felt in the air was lifted. She hadn't even really noticed it was there until it was gone. She glanced curiously at her friends, who all returned the same puzzled look. The other three were now able to stand without shaking in his presence anymore. Ray was still gazing around at them, but his eyes were no longer filled with blazing anger. They instead looked almost… apologetic? Apple Bloom would have found this curious, but out of the blue, she realized what Ray was asking. Again looking over at her two friends, she could see that they understood too. Sweetie Belle returned her gaze with a small smile, and Scootaloo, for her part, was even grinning. They wouldn't have to go tell Applejack about the float, and they wouldn't have to just sit back and let Babs get away with it, either. Ray was here now, and he'd practically just caught the perpetrators red-hoofed! This was their chance! Scootaloo ventured an explanation. "Well, what happened was-" She was silenced by a quick glare from Babs. Since Ray was looking at her now, he didn't see it. "Yes, Scootaloo?" he asked. "W-what Scoots was trying to say," Babs took up, "is that they were in here showing me their float, you know? I wanted to uh, get a better look at it and um… I guess I got a little too worked up. Accidently hit the wheel and sent it tumbling. It was a cool thought, riding a float and all. Guess I should have had better control of myself. Sorry about that." Ray's expression didn't change. He kept his eyes locked on Babs, who smiled uneasily. They travelled over to Diamond and Silver, who nodded rapidly by way of confirmation. He looked at the Crusaders and suddenly began scowling for some reason. He turned back to Babs, scepticism dripping in his voice. "You accidentally knocked the wheel off? Because you got over-excited?" "Yep," she said without hesitation. "Sorry, won't happen again. Well, it can't really 'cause the float's in bits." "I know," he growled. He sighed and stood aside. "Alright, since it was just an accident. Off you go." They nodded nervously and hurried out. While they were leaving, Applebloom spotted Babs giving her a cold smirk over her shoulder before looking in front again, and walking out of sight. Anger, betrayal, despair, all of these and many more were raging inside Apple Bloom's head. That was their chance and they let it slip through their hooves! Ray could have torn them apart if they'd let him and he'd just let them walk away?! That was so unfair! How could this have happened? Why to her and her friends? While she tried to work it all out, she saw Ray poking his head out the barn door, presumably watching the other girls leave. Eventually, he stepped back into the barn and looked down at the three fillies, all of whom have their heads hung in either sadness, disappointment, or disbelief. "She was the one who broke the float, wasn't she?" he asked after a few moments. The three of them were caught way off guard by this question. Hadn't he just bought their story? Why was he asking them this? Ray was like her sister in that he could always seem to tell what somepony was thinking or feeling. Even lying… Then she realised what he had done. He had let them go so they wouldn't be scared to tell him the truth. In that moment, all apprehension in Apple Bloom's mind about telling somepony and "being a snitch" vanished in an instant. "Yeah, she did," she answered. Ray listened while, along with the other two girls, told him everything that happened. He nodded at the end of it. "I thought so…" "If you did, then why did you let them go?!" Scootaloo yelled. "How come you didn't do anything?! You had them right there!" "I didn't 'know' anything," he replied. "I just had a hunch and even then I couldn't try to call her out or bring her in for punishment without solid proof." Scootaloo backed down, grumbling silently. Sweetie approached. "How did you know in the first place?" she asked. "Why the hunch?" "It was rather obvious," he answered. "You three kept looking at each other during my questioning, and when Scootaloo was about to say something, she stopped as soon as Babs looked at her, at which point Babs began speaking instead." "How did you see that? You were looking the other way," noted Apple Bloom. "Corner of my eye," he shrugged. "Not only that, but the mean looks that the three of them were sending Babs also kind of gave it away. Who were the other two though? I've seen them around sometimes. What were they doing here? Friends of yours?" "Anything but," replied Sweetie. "Diamond Tiara, the pink one and Silver Spoon, they're always together because I think they're the only two that can stand each other." "Yeah, they're real jerks!" followed up Scootaloo. "They make fun of all the time, usually because we don't have our cutie marks yet. They tease us, call us names, they're just all around mean. Not just us, but anypony at school who's not good enough for them." "That was why they came here taday," finished Apple Bloom. "Ah don't know why they're such bullies all the time, they just are. Always have been an' now there's one more-a them an' it's ma own cousin…" She looked and saw that Ray had gone unusually quiet. He cast his gaze downward and she caught a glimpse of a lingering pain behind his eyes that he seemed to be trying to hide. Had what they had told him upset him somehow? "Is Babs gonna get in trouble fer what she did?" she asked. Ray slowly looked up again. "...No. Not yet," he said slowly. "What does that mean?" asked Scootaloo. "Yeah, can't we just tell Applejack or somepony about this?" put in Sweetie Belle. "I don't think that'll cut it," he said. "I think I have a better way of teaching those three a lesson." Scootaloo's face lit up. "Now this I like the sound of." "Okay, what we do is…" He trailed off and swooned a little. "Hey, are you okay?" Apple Bloom ventured. "Huh? Oh, fine, fine," he said a little groggily. "Why do you ask?" "You uh…" Scootaloo. thought for a moment. "You really don't look so good." "You got a uh… a something in you there." Sweetie tried to call attention to it without trying to look too much at it. "Really?" He looked himself over, his head swaying and his eyes lingering on the big splinter in his side. "Oh, I guess so. I am in pretty bad shape, now you mention it…" He laughed a little, earning looks of confusion from the girls. He stopped suddenly. His eyes widened while his pupils shrank. "Girls," he began slowly in a deceivingly calm voice, "I think that the adrenaline was wearing off now...and I have realised I'm actually in... incredible pain..." "Is there anything we can do?" asked Sweetie hurriedly. "Do you want us to get help?" "I um… I… I don't think I'm going to keep standing now…" His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he careened onto the floor. Thankfully, he didn't land on the big splinter in his side. "Oh no!" Scootaloo ran up to him and forced open an eyelid. "What do we do?" "Okay, um, you two stay here with him, ah'll go get a cart!" instructed Apple Bloom. She hurried off, praying to Celestia that Ray would wake up soon. Dusk frowned in slight annoyance when the shadow he was manipulating was extinguished by the light orb he was generating at the same time. He sighed and let the light orb, trying to think of how else he could go about it. Even though he was on a break, he still wanted to experiment with this new idea he had of combining his two different magic types: light and shadow. However, every time, he seemed to encounter the same problems. Either the shadow was so dark in drowned out the light or the light was so bright it banished the shadow. There didn't appear to be any middle ground. He knew that such a thing should be impossible, as anypony else would have told him. But he'd learned a long time ago that there was no darkness without light and light was meaningless without darkness. His abilities were practically a living example of that. Even though they seemed unable to exist together, believed that there had to be some way they could. It was just finding it that would be a challenge. "Dusk! Dusk! Hey, Dusk! Check this out!" And it would be even more challenging when he couldn't concentrate properly, he thought with mild annoyance. He put on a polite smile, quelled the annoyance and turned to Spike who came dashing up excitedly. "What is it, Spike?" "It came!" He held up something rectangular with bright colours on it. "It finally came!" "What did?" Dusk pulled out his glasses. "What's this?" "Look at the cover!" he urged. Dusk did so, his eyes coming into focus on the title. "'The… Power Ponies?' Aren't those the comics you like to read?" In all honesty, he hadn't read very many. While his parents were fine with his reading books, his father considered comics to be 'trash' and he hadn't had a lot of access to them. Spike had said about lending him a few issues sometime when he'd brought this up. "The very same," he confirmed. "But this one's a special issue. Check out the rest of the title!" He squinted. "'Introducing a new hero'… wait a moment…" His eyes moved to the area below the cover. On it was the illustration of a group of six, heroic looking mares in bright costumes. Behind them, the area was bathed in darkness, with a very familiar silhouette emerging from it, dressed in a fedora hat with yellow oval-shaped eyes. "That's not…?" "Yeah, it is!" Spike cheered. "Congrats, Dusk! You're in a comic book!" "Well, the Spectre is," corrected Dusk, feeling his cheeks turn red. "He and I… we're nothing alike." "Yeah, you do act pretty different when the mask goes on," commented Spike. "Doesn't mean the you that puts on the costume is any different from the actual you." "How philosophical of you," he murmured. "How did this even come about? When did this happen?" "About a month ago," he answered. "See, the creators heard about some kind of super hero that had appeared in Ponyville a couple of times and they came here to check it out. In the wake of the changeling attack, they wanted something that would help lift everypony's spirits again, give them hope and stuff." "And they found you, I take it?" "Yeah, they were looking around and they were like 'does anypony know the Shadow Spectre' and I was like 'I know the Shadow Spectre' and they were like 'you know the Shadow Spectre' and I was like 'I totally know the Shadow Spectre!'" "Great story, Spike." Twilight remarked sarcastically from the next room. "Anyway," he continued, "I told them you'd be okay with using the Spectre in the comic and gave them the go-ahead. They promised once the first issue featuring him was done, they'd send me and you a free copy and here it is." "Why didn't you say anything?" "I wanted it to be surprise for you." He stood back proudly. "So, what do you think?" Dusk looked back at the comic. It was strange, thinking that there would be ponies reading about the adventures of his alternate persona with a group of superheroes like this. Himself on the cover of a comic. He felt both uncomfortable and embarrassed by the idea at first. Then again, it wasn't him. Really, only those in Ponyville knew who the Spectre was underneath the mask. The girls had gone to the effort to not let the word spread beyond the town, in case he was ever needed again. The town seemed to take a sort of pride in keeping the secret of their town hero's identity, so it didn't take much persuasion. There couldn't be any real harm in it. In the end, he smiled and handed the comic back to Spike. "I only hope it's going to be enjoyable for you," he wished. "And that the fans will accept this as part of the established canon. Dedicated ones often don't respond well to change." "They should do. They've been crying out for a more positive and serious male involvement in the team to counteract Hum Drum's comic relief factor," he explained. "It should work. They're giving him a cool backstory, all the powers I told them he has. They're even gonna feature some romance in it." He leaned in to whisper. "I hear they're planning to pair him with Masked Matter-Horn." Dusk chuckled again. "Tell me how that turns out." He looked at the hero in question. "Hm, she looks a lot like Twilight…" "I'm sure that's just a coincidence," shrugged Spike. "Right, I'm gonna go read it. I'll lend it to you when I'm done." Dusk nodded and watched him run off upstairs. He smiled at the young dragon's enthusasim before turning his mind back to the task at hoof. "Psst!" He shot his head up. He looked around, his ears twitching. The library was empty except for the faint sound of Twilight's magic from the other room. He could have sworn he'd heard something… "Psst!" There it was again. It sounded like it was coming from the bookcase next to him. He cautiously approached it, trying to determine what it was. "Down here!" He followed the sound. It was coming from a rather large book that had managed to be squeezed on the bottom shelf. It didn't look familiar. He heaved it out and saw the words 'Not A Pony: The Book' blazed on the cover. Before he could have time to ponder this mystery, the cover shot open and something pink burst out and pulled him inside. Complete darkness curtained his eyes and he was about to cry out when a hoof pressed against his mouth. "Don't panic Dusky, it's only me!" the bright voice assured. "Mind shining a light?" "Pinkie?" He did so and saw the party pony's beaming face. "What the wide, wide world of Equestria are you doing?" She frowned at him. "Isn't that obvious?" "Not really, no," he deadpanned. "Are your psychic powers on the fritz?" She rapped his head. "Come on, this is a secret meeting I set up for us for a very important discussion." "A… secret meeting?" "That's right, yep." "If it's secret, then I can hardly be blamed for not knowing what's going on, can I?" he countered. "Oh." She nodded. "Good point. Sorry." "That's fine. But why like this?" he asked. "Why inside of this… fake book?" "Because it has to be secret!" she whispered. "I can't risk word of this getting out! I had to get myself in here in the way that would involve the least suspicion." "I… see." He knew he shouldn't have expected any less from Pinkie. "So… this is a secret meeting that you arranged? To talk to me?" "Not just you, I've got one set up for all our friends," she replied. "They're all gonna get involved on the project, but it needs to be kept secret, so I'm seeing you all one at a time in the most covert way that I can for each of you." "Why not tell us as a group?" "Because that might draw the wrong kind of attention. I couldn't risk that!" "What kind of attention? What suspicion?" This was getting too much, even for Pinkie's standards. "What is this all about? What project?" "The best kind of project." She leaned in closely and whispered. "A party." "A… party." Of course, he thought. "Not just any party though: a birthday party!" "I see…" "But not just any party: a surprise birthday party!" "Right…" "But not just-" "Let me guess. It's not just any surprise birthday party." "There's your powers back in gear," she beamed. "You're right. It's Ray's!" "Wait…" He took a moment to process this. "Ray's birthday is soon?" "You betcha!" she said excitedly. "Didn't you know that?" Rather guiltily, Dusk realised he didn't. All of the times he had spoken to Ray and he'd never even thought to ask him when his birthday was. Then again, Ray hadn't mentioned it either. At least, not to him. If it was so near, why hadn't he brought it up? Had he told anypony else? "Did he tell you?" he asked Pinkie. "Nope, I just know," she answered. "What? I know everypony's birthday." "Of course you do," he murmured. "So, you're meeting us all individually and in secret to get us on to plan this party so that Ray doesn't pick up on what we're doing." "Right on the nose!" she said, bopping his. "I'm gonna make it the best surprise party he's ever had, even better than his Welcome party! I know it'll be tough, but I think I can pull it off." "And… I was the priority?" "You're his best friend," she said simply. "Why wouldn't you be?" "Why indeed," he agreed. "Well, I'll do whatever I can to help you with this, Pinkie. Just tell me what you need me to do." She threw herself in a hug. "I knew I could count on you! Thank you so much, Dusky!" "Of course, Pinkie," he replied. "You can always count on me." "I know. And don't worry about finding me," she added in a conspiratorial tone. "I'll find you." Now it was his turn to frown. "I know where you live, Pinkie." "Yeah, but we have to make sure he doesn't!" "I'm fairly certain he knows-" "Meeting's over, good luck, Dusk!" With that, he was catapulted out of the book and landed back hard on the wooden floor of the library. He shook his head to clear it and began to thank Celestia there was only one of her again. "Dusk?" Twilight arrived from the other room. "I thought I heard something in here. What's going on? Why are you on the floor?" "I was just…" He looked at the spot where the book had been. It had vanished. He groaned internally. "Nothing, I just tripped and fell." "That's it?" She gave him a curious look, which soon left. "Okay then. Be more careful in future, okay?" "Right," he said, picking himself up. "Sorry for disturbing your studies." "It's fine," she assured. "Your safety is a little more important than my studies." She smirked and added. "But just a little." "Good to know," he laughed. "Hey, Twilight!" Spike came from upstairs with a scroll. "The Princess just sent you a letter, says it has to be opened in private by you alone." "In private? Only by me?" She dashed up and took it from Spike. "It must be very important. You two stay down here, I'll be right back." "What do you think it is?" asked Spike, joining Dusk. "I think I have a good idea," he replied. It was silent for a bit while they listened. A few seconds later, there was a loud scream that was Twilight's. "Pinkie?! How did you even do that?!" The sun streaming in through the windows, the sound of festival music coming from the town and the comfy bed were several things that were helping Ray along with his recovery. Even if the food wasn't great, he felt he wouldn't have to put up with it much longer, even though it had only been a couple of days since the float incident. The nurse, one Redheart, had just come in to check up on his current condition and the two of them got chatting. After all, she'd treated him the last two times he was in hospital, which was really why he'd ended up learning her name. They must have assigned her as his regular nurse now. It was nice to see they remembered him, even if it might not be a good thing. This was a hospital, not a restaurant. The food certainly proved that. "Well, this is good news, Ray," she was saying. "You'll be out of here within an hour or two. Whether or not you'll be back in within another hour will have to be seen." "Come on, Red," he said. "We both know you'd miss me if I were gone for too long." She giggled. "I suppose we wouldn't want your bed getting cold." "Nurse, while I am flattered, I think we should keep our relationship professional." "Oh hush, you," she blushed. "I must admit, you're a lot cheerier than most of the other patients I have to deal with." "That and you don't have to deal with me for long before I'm out, right?" "Yes, but with how quickly you're back in again we might as well make you a permanent resident," she returned. "I have to say again, it really is amazing how quickly you recover from your injuries." He shrugged. "Must be the healing power of laughter." "Even if you seem to take splitting your sides a little too literally." She glanced at the bandage on his side. "But it's not just this time. Every time you've been here, no matter what the injury, you always return to peak condition consistently faster than any other pony who might have similar wounds." "I do hang out with the Elements of Harmony a lot," he commented. "Maybe some of their magic rubbed off on me." Of course, he knew the real reason for his accelerated healing. Said reason caused a faint tingling sensation in his head, as if in response to his thoughts. Ray ignored it easily and kept his smile, which Redheart returned. "With the trouble I hear those ponies get into, I think it's fair to say you'll need it." She patted his hoof. "But know that I'm always happy to help send you on your way again." "Maybe that's what does it," he replied. "Constant care from the hospital's best nurse." She giggled and blushed again and quickly removed her hoof from his. "Excuse me, Mr Strike." Dr Stable approached his bed. "Excellent to see you're making another consistently speedy recovery." "You know, we were just talking about that. Anyway, what's up doc?" he asked. Stable frowned a little at the remark. "I merely came to inform you that you have a group of visitors to see you." "Really?" Now it was Ray's turn to frown. Who could it be? All of his friends had been by at least once since the incident. Fluttershy had been especially worried and had asked a storm of questions to Stable about his condition, what had happened and how long it was going to take him to recover. He wasn't sure what he was more surprised at: how worried she was about him or how calmly Stable had been able to handle it. He must have had practice with it. His curiosity was soon put to rest with the arrival of Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The former had only been able to manage a brief visit due to a heavy workload and the latter hadn't been by yet. "We'll leave you to it then." Redheart and Stable vacated the room, the nurse offering one last look before she left. "With your rate of recovery, you should be out soon and I hope next time we meet, it'll be in more healthy circumstances." Ray replied with his most innocent smile and looked to his boss and friend. "You hear that, AJ? You won't have to miss me for too much longer now." "Ah wouldn't say 'missed', sugarcube. Big Mac an' ah easily made up yer workload on the farm." She chuckled. "But it'll be good ta have ya back." "Be good to be back," he replied. "I get to trade being yelled at for not sleeping enough to being yelled at for sleeping too much." As they talked, Ray cast his glance to the Crusaders. They were behaving rather awkwardly, shifting on their hooves and plastering on fake smiles. Applejack didn't seem to notice, even when she turned to go as well. He had a pretty good idea as to why though. "Fresh air'll do ya good," she countered. "Speakin'-a which, ah'd best be gettin' back now ah brought the girls here ta see ya." "But coming to see me was a nice bonus too," Ray put in. "Whatever makes ya feel better," she returned. "See ya soon, slacker. You look after these girls, ya hear?" "Pinkie promise!" he called out. He kept his smile on until she left, then looked to the fillies as they approached his bed. "Now, I'm guessing by the looks on your faces and general demeanour that things with Babs have only been getting worse, right?" They nodded mutely and began to tell Ray about what had been happening. No matter where they went in Ponyville, no matter where they tried to hide from her, Babs along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, were always right behind them. Stealing their milkshakes, deliberately soaking them with puddles, pelting them with tomatoes, everything on the bully checklist. Ultimately, it had all culminated in getting kicked out of their own clubhouse and all the while they hadn't told Applejack nor anypony else about what was happening. It was only after they'd finished telling him that Ray noticed that he had been grinding his teeth and silently seething in anger right until the end. And it wasn't at them. "So," he began quietly, "I'm the only one you've told?" "Uh huh," nodded Apple Bloom. "We've been waitin' fer ya ta come outta hospital an' help us, but… we just can't take it anymore. We need yer help Ray, please…" He managed a small, comforting smile. "Girls, you already had me at the crashed float." "Awesome!" cheered Scootaloo. "I knew you would help us!" "I still think we should tell Applejack," muttered Sweetie Belle. "Whatever, we got Ray now," dismissed the Pegasus. "So, what's the plan?" "Tell her parents?" asked Sweetie. "Nothing like that," Ray said, with a maniacal glint in his eye. "No, the way we're going to do this is by revival of an old hobby of mine: pranking!" "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Scootaloo grinned. "You're a prankster?" "Oh yeah," he nodded. "I haven't really pulled any for a while but today sees the return of Ray Strike: Ultimate Prankster!" "I thought Pinkie was the ultimate prankster," brought up Apple Bloom. "And Rainbow Dash too," added Scootaloo. Ray laughed lightly. "Oh, I've heard them pull some things they think are pranks. But believe me, those pranks pale in comparison compared to what I can do." He almost missed the slightly giddy and dark undertone his voice had taken and even then ignored it. Though the fillies looked a little unsure at the prospect now, that didn't seem to stop them agreeing, Scootaloo especially. Well, two of them anyway. "I don't know about this…" murmured Sweetie Belle. "What else can we do?" asked Apple Bloom. "We can't tell Applejack or we'll be snitches." "Yeah, this is the only way to get back at them and to get our clubhouse back," added Scootaloo. "Come on, Sweets. Let's fight back!" "If you say so." She still didn't look very sure about it. "Excellent!" He clapped his hooves together. "Okay, let's think for a bit how we're gonna go about this. We want to really get back at her, really make her pay for what she's done." They all silently contemplated all the possible ways they could get their own back on the bullies. As they did, they all became more aware of the festival music outside and it was Apple Bloom who broke the silence. "Ya know, we haven't done anythin' ta fix our float since Babs wrecked it," she said. "Here's what ah reckon we could do…" As she explained her idea, Ray had to give her credit: it was a pretty good plan. This was going to be good… Later in the evening, with the sun beginning to descend low to the horizon, Ray was hiding in a bush near the CMC's former clubhouse, which is soon to be theirs again, if he had anything to say about it. Even now, he could see those three girls from days before in the small treehouse through the windows, strutting around like they owned the place and talking to each other obnoxiously, occasionally screeching with laughter in a way that made him want to shred his own eardrums. They were all blissfully unaware of his presence... as well as the presence of the "welcoming gift" he'd set up for them. Even better, he'd managed to get everything together without alerting them once, despite the entire setup being literally right under their noses. Though there had been a couple of close shaves, notably when Babs had gone out for some fresh air while he'd been, er, modifying the entrance ladder. Still, she hadn't been looking in his direction, so he'd remained safe. All he had to do now was wait for the Crusaders. He'd told them to meet him here in three hours after leaving the hospital once they grabbed everything they needed for their plan. They'd been nervous at the prospect of going back to the clubhouse and when they'd asked why, he'd replied: "You said those bullies took your clubhouse, right? Well, we're just gonna give them an appropriate welcome to their new abode..." It had been in the sort of tone a comic villain might take when coming up with a plan to take over the world. Of course that had been all he'd divulaged before teleporting off. He didn't want to spoil the surprise for them. Thinking back on this whole thing, he began to wonder if maybe his little setup is being a tad too extreme... but he quickly crushed that doubt in his mind, resolving himself with the knowledge that these fillies were mixtures of two of the things he hated most in life; extremely preppy obnoxious and annoying upper-class folk, and bullies. Bullies who'd been picking on three fillies who'd done nothing wrong to them to deserve such treatment in the first place. Bullies who simply believed that they were better than everypony else. Ergo, they needed to be taught a lesson, Ray-Strike-style. He started to remember his childhood once again, to his old pranking habits back when he was a foal. Back then, if ponies weren't actively resenting him, they were always trying to avoid or ignore him. He'd never had any friends, and he'd never had anyone to rely on other than himself. Therefore, he'd needed to come up with his own ways to keep himself occupied, to pass the time and entertain himself. Problem was, without friends or family, there was never any positive reinforcement, never any positive attention. Scratch that, never any reinforcement, period, and hardly any attention at all. Back then, he'd needed both of those things; it was who he was, a lonely soul who just wanted some attention, be it good or bad. It was a little more than to stop himself being bored. And what better way to accomplish both of those things at the same time than by consistently pranking those who scorned him? Sure, it didn't exactly help his image, but nothing would have at that point. He'd just wanted, needed attention. And hey, over time he got better and better at it, to the point where whenever something outrageous of a certain nature happened to somepony, they'd all know who was responsible. They'd just never be able to prove it. Of course, sometimes there were incidents he really wasn't responsible for. Random unfortunate events that, unfailingly, he'd always be blamed for. Some would say that he'd brought it on himself for being such a deliberate troublemaker in the first place, making him a target for the blame, but he knew better. Those ponies would have always blamed him for every little misfortune in their lives anyways, regardless of his pranking career. If he was doomed to be the scapegoat one way or the other, then why not make the most of his predicament? Nevertheless, he'd hung up his metaphorical pranking cape once he'd left his hometown for good, but now... now seemed as good a time as any to re-don the old mental garment. He heard rustling behind him, and he turned to see the Crusaders stumbling through the bushes. Quietly, he called them over. "We got all ya got us to get," whispered Apple Bloom. "Why are we-?" "Sh!" he silenced sharply. "Just watch closely. Those three are about to experience a welcome they won't forget in a hurry." He raised a thin rope in his hooves that appeared to lead up through the floorboards of the clubhouse, and suddenly yanked on it, hard. All four of them instantly heard a dull THOOM within the clubhouse, the sound muted by the walls. At the same time, a strange green cloud became visible in the clubhouse through the windows, obscuring everything else within. They all still heard the initial screams of shock, and moments later, of disgust, along with the shrieking voices that came with it. Enough that they could clearly hear them. "Ew, what is that smell?!" shrieked Diamond. "It's like Pinkie whipped up another batch of baked bads then left them to rot for a few days!" "More like years!" coughed her lackey. "Was that you, Silver?!" "I-I didn't do that!" she stammered. "M-maybe it was Babs and her city funk!" "You sayin' that was me?!" demanded Babs. "It might have been," she squeaked. "I don't care who it was!" yelled Diamond. "Just get a window open before we suffocate!" There was a moment in which the windows rattled desperaltely. "It's no good! I can't get 'em open!" she cried. "Let's just get outta here!" The door burst open, with Babs, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon all barrelling out, the latter two covering their mouths and noses entirely while visibly tearing up from the stench. Babs, meanwhile, tried to get the ladder down so that they can all get away from the clubhouse. However, instead of dropping first and extending as it fell toward the ground, this time the ladder shot straight out, hitting and knocking down a particularly large beehive before the ladder itself falls off and breaks entirely. "I don't remember that being there," whispered Sweetie. "Who cares? Just watch!" squealed Scootaloo with barely concealed mirth. The beehive, after hitting the ground, broke open, with an entire angry swarm of bees emerging moments later, targeting the three fillies closest to it. In response, the girls all shrieked in fear and started running in circles around the house's encompassing balcony while the bee swarm chased them relentlessly. "We're trapped up here!" screamed Diamond. "What do we do?!" "I'm too young and pretty to be stung!" cried Silver. "There might be a way!" yelled Babs. "There's a secret emergency exit at the back! Come on!" They stopped at the back, Diamond fidgeting while Babs picked up a thick rope and tossed it down. Silver was still being chased around the house by bees. Babs wasted no time in sliding down the rope and fell to the ground below... where she promptly fell right into a conveniently placed foot-deep mud puddle. "What the… when did…?!" Growling in anger and confusion, she looked back up. "Come on, get down here!" "Are you insane?!" Diamond looked disgusted. "I'm not diving straight into a mud puddle!" "It's either that or you stay behind in a treehouse that smells more like an outhouse with an angry swarm of bees coming at you!" she countered. "Lemme down!" Silver decided to cut her losses and grabbed onto the rope, sliding down into the mud and leaving Diamond to deal with the bees. "Oh, uh…" She took one glance at the angry swarm and made up her mind. "Wait for me!" With a loud shriek, she slid down into the mud after them. But even as she pulled herself out of the mini-pit, the other two fillies looked up to see that the bee swarm still wasn't done with them yet. All three of them ran screaming off into the distance with bees on their tail. The Crusaders and Ray stared after them. For many, many moments there was complete silence. Then, all four of them burst out laughing. Even Sweetie Belle was rolling on the ground, clutching her gut. "Oh man, that was the best!" cried Scootaloo. "When she couldn't open the windows…" Apple Bloom couldn't finish her sentence from doubled up laughter. "Wonder how many baths Diamond'll have after that?" chortled Sweetie. "See, what'd I tell you? Ultimate Prankster," repeated Ray, wiping away a tear. "How did ya do all-a that?" asked Apple Bloom. "Simple. I hid a homemade stink bomb in the clubhouse, and fixed it to blow when activated by the special contraption I'd set up with the rope. Then I went and nailed the windows shut, to achieve the desired result and get them outside. After that I rigged the entrance ladder and hung up a real active beehive on a branch in the ladder's path. Finally, I simply dug up a large hole in the ground where the rope would be, and filled it with freshly-made mud, sticky and wet, as a nice final surprise for those fillies when they tried to escape." "Wow, that's pretty elaborate," remarked Scootaloo. "How'd you pull it off without them seeing you?" "Now, now girls," he said slyly, "I can't go around sharing my trade secrets." "Okay, so it was all really well set up and it was pretty funny," admitted Sweetie. "But… don't you think you may have overdone it a bit? I mean, did you really need the bees?" "Yes," he said at once. "Look, if what you guys have told me is accurate, those two have been bullying you for the longest time now, simply for not having Cutie Marks yet. What I did was far from overdoing it." She stared at him sceptically. "Really?" He rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, there may have also been payback for the pumpkin float thing. I mean, have you ever had a piece of wood stuck in you before? Because it hurts." "Yeah, lighten up Sweetie Belle," sniggered Scootaloo. "They've totally had this coming for a long time now." "And," added Ray, "you guys have got your clubhouse back!" They all glanced up at the house. The ladder was still stuck out, some of the floorboards were gone and they could still see the green smoke billowing out of the door. "Okay, so there are a few damages, but I can fix that," he dismissed. "But that was just the appetizer for what's to come. Once Celestia's done lowering the sun, we'll gather together for tomorrow's main course." He nodded approvingly to Apple Bloom, who beamed. "Alright, let's head off for now and meet in the barn at night once everypony is asleep. Then we get to work. Got it?" "Yes sir!" they saluted. "Excellent." He let a smile grow. "Gotta say, I think it's good to be back in the saddle."