The Golden Oaks library was quite calm this morning. Twilight and the pony who was once Brad the human were enjoying some bagels, when Spike waddled down the stairs.
"Letter for you Twilight." Spike said as he presented the familiar parchment in his outstretched claw.
Twilight while unfurling the letter with her magic said "Let's see what Celestia wants today." Her purple eyes begin to scan the page before she recites for Brad and Spike.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I am pleased to hear that the adventure into human culture has ended with few changes to daily life.
I am sending you this letter to inform you on how one of those changes
The artificial stallion, Brad I believe was his name, will have to report to the crystal empire for royal guard training under your brother Shining Armor.
With this message comes with a train ticket from Ponyville to the crystal empire scheduled for later today.
Don't worry Twilight, I have plans for this stallion. I would just prefer them to be a surprise.
Signed,
Princess Celestia
"Well here's your ticket" Twilight said levitating the stylized blue slip to her guest with more than a hint of hesitation.
"I'm sorry that I have to go so soon" Brad blurted out trying to please Twilight.
"Oh it's fine" Twilight said with a sheepish forced grin. "If the princess says she has plans you just have to trust her."
"Still," Twilight continued. "If you're going to the Crystal empire you are going to need a more pony name."
They both pondered. Brad first to speak extended his hoof from his chin to pointing at Twilight and offered "How about Vincent, yeah I like that name."
"Well," Twilight started, wondering how to phrase this without offending him. "Pony names are usually just some abstract nouns. Maybe we might get some ideas if we take a look at your cutie mark."
They both looked down. "Hmm." Twilight said as she analyzed. " a blue shield with a lightning bolt."
Brad chimed in with "How about lightning shield?"
"That's a bit too basic" Twilight responded.
"Thunder guard?" he offered.
"Thunder is kinda common" she responded
"Electric Armor" he suggested
Twilight quickly turned that down saying " Oh please don't use armor, that's my brother's name."
Seeing Brad disheartened by her diction, Twilight presented a starting concept "As for the bolt, what do you think about Flash?"
"I like it" Brad said reenergized.
"Still," the mare thought aloud as she cantered towards her window. "What name should the shield represent?"
It was in this moment that inspiration literally hit Twilight like a partially rotten apple.
"Sorry, Sugar cube." Applejack apologized as Twilight used a nearby napkin to remove the apple bits from her face. Applejack continued to explain "I'm trying to get this darn apple sentry to work again, but it must've misfired." The orange mare then pointed to a red rotating turret that seemed to be able to fire rotten apples.
"Applejack," Twilight said with a small magnitude of ill-will, after cleaning her face. "Why do you need an Apple Sentry."
"Well ya' see," Applejack began to explain. "Some of the vampire fruit bats have started to wander offa' that lil' zone we built for 'em." "So I needs my Apple Sentry to remind them just where they is supposed to be."
"Fine." Twilight said disgruntled. "Just make sure it doesn't malfunction again."
"Not a problem, sugar cube" Applejack confirmed before biting into a wrench and swinging it at no particular point on the sentry. This motion somehow fixed the machine.
Twilight ignoring this crime against proper mechanical engineering, returned to the breakfast table mumbling angrily "mhmunh Apple Sentry mnunhnm."
"Wait that's it!" She exclaimed as she celebrated by bringing Brad into a flying embrace.
"What's it" Brad said mainly surprised but with less than a smidgen of annoyance.
"Your name," she proclaimed with much enthusiasm. "It can be Flash Sentry!"
"Well, I mean I like it it's just" Brad half mumbled as the couple descended back to ground level.
"What?" Twilight said, surprised at the hint of disapproval
Brad explained "It's just I just realized how much I liked being called Brad."
Twilight looked compassionately at the tangerine stallion "it's okay, Flash Sentry is only for other ponies. You'll always be Brad to me."
The two then moved close in a neck hug, made more intimate by the lack of a hoof on the opposite shoulder. They then deeply exhaled.
Suddenly, suddenly Rainbow Dash came barging through the door with a frantic look on her face. "Twilight, You've got to see this!"
"What is it Rainbow?" She inquired
"Just come to the town square!" answered the cyan pegasus as she darted out of the library.
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After racing for the town square, the couple found firstly that they had lost their guide and secondly that there seemed to be a mass of ponies trotting through town.
Brad asked Twilight "is there some sort of parade going on?"
Twilight answered while scanning the crowd "I don't think so, and Pinkie would have told me if there was going to be a party of this size. "Aha!" She exclaimed as she spotted the dark blue and silver man, blue coat and hourglass cutie mark of her friend Colgate.
The pair ran up to the pony, but as they got closer Twilight started to think Colgate look bigger today. When they finally got within speaking distance Twilight yelled half-heartedly "Colgate.."
The pony turned around with a slight grunt as if to say "do you mean me." By turning around the face of a stallion was shown, shocking Twilight. This stallion clearly resembled Colgate, same coat, same mane admittedly shorter, he even has the same cutie mark. "That's too close even for siblings. Twilight thought.
The stallion spoke "My name's Crest." "And if I may say you have a lovely smile."
Twilight thought " hmm that certainly seems like something Colgate would say." Then Twilight began to examine the crowd. If it wasn't for the flattened snout she could've sworn that the maroon stallion over to the left was Berry Punch, and the tan mar off to the right looked uncannily like Caramel.
"Um, Crest was it," Twilight began. "Where are you all coming from."
"Oh just the basement from that house over there" Crest said as he pointed over to Lyra and Bon Bon's. Before Twilight and Brad could run off, Crest asked this of Twilight "Hey do you know my friend Dusk Shine?"
"No." Twilight responded not recognizing the name "Why do you ask?"
"It's just that you look just like him." He said as the couple ran off.
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Once they made it to the house they asked a violinist stallion who went by Octavian where Lyra was. He responded saying "Oh Harpo, I think I saw him and Dulce Dulce go up to the bedroom with two mares."
Brad and Twilight trotted up the stairs, but when they found the door there was a sock on the knob.
Twilight stood puzzled at this sock. She turned to Brad to ask "Does your human knowledge have any idea as to what this means?" While Brad accessed his memories Twilight stuck her ear to the door listening in. "I hear a lot of grunting and furniture moving."
It was at this point that Brad realized what the sock implied and quickly ushered his mare away from the door saying "You don't want to go in there."
"So what do we do now?" Twilight asked.
Brad answered "I guess we just wait."
TWO HOURS LATER
"Hey I think they're coming out." Twilight said as a result of the noise dying down
The door opened to reveal the elated foursome of Lyra, Harpo, Bon Bon and Dulce Dulce. Lyra was the first to speak noticing her guests sitting outside the room. "Oh hey Twilight, what's up?"
Twilight shot up almost immediately "There you are Lyra, you have some serious explaining to do. First off who are these two?" Pointing to Harpo and Dulce Dulce.
Lyra then gave Twilight the general overview she gave Bon Bon.
Twilight took a breath, absorbed the information and responded with "While I understand your concepts, I thought you were banned from large experiments for at least another month."
Lyra looked confused "What do you mean by large, I only brought two stallions across." At this time a grey pegasus stallion came crashing through the wall revealing the town square.
"Herp-Derp, what're you doing here?" Harpo asked
The stallion brushed himself off and began explaining "Well I went inside to deliver a package, but then I noticed a light coming from your basement. I went down there to check it out and I guess I walked through the portal. I guess when I went through other ponies saw the light and followed.
"How many came?" Bon Bon asked
Dulce Dulce took a look out the hole Herp-Derp made and exclaimed "By Solaris's beard! The whole town must've crossed over!"
Herp-Derp looked up at the six apologetically "Sorry about the wall. Can I leave now?"
"Sure" said Lyra
"Thanks" the grey pegasus said as he left, but as he started to fly off, he crashed head first into another grey pegasus flying the opposite way. They both apologized in unison " oh sorry, I just don't know…" before they could finish their phrase they became lost in each other's lazy eyes.
"Hey" Derpy said in a sensual manner. "Y'wanna go eat muffins together."
Herp-Derp replied with "MUFFINS!!!" Then both glided off to Sugar Cube Corner.
Back in Lyra's house, Lyra tried to explain herself "Well it's not too bad."
Twilight responded sternly "We can argue that point later. " Twilight softened her speech "But before we have to leave for the train station, what were you four doing in there, some sort of rigorous flexibility work out?"
"Oh we found them to be very flexible. WINK WINK!" Lyra said in a tone that seriously implies innuendos.
Twilight stood flabbergasted "but, you, and..." At this point the full effect hit Twilight causing her eyes to roll back into her skull.
Brad began waving a hoof in front of her face saying "twi twi, Twi Twi" he then turned to troublesome green mare "I think you broke her."