//------------------------------// // September 2 – 10:11 AM // Story: Flash Fog // by Kwakerjak //------------------------------// When Rainbow Dash returned to the library so Rarity could do some touch-up work on her fog suit, she arrived solo, having left Thunderlane on the Unicorn Ridge to keep watch in case the fog did anything unexpected. The pair sequestered themselves inside the kitchen for “privacy,” leaving Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle in the library’s main room. “Um, do you think it’s a good idea to leave those two alone? I mean, well... actually, I suppose I don’t have any proof of it, but the way Rarity was acting earlier....” Twilight Sparkle sighed. “I know what you mean, Fluttershy. Rarity seemed way too interested in keeping Pencil Pusher away from Rainbow Dash. It’s starting to look like it was a mistake for me to tell her about Rainbow’s crush in the first place.” “It’s just that I never would have expected Rarity to be interested in a pony like Pencil Pusher.” “Well, it’s not like anypony would have expected Rainbow Dash to be interested in him either,” Twilight pointed out. “Maybe there’s something I’m not seeing. I mean, sure, he’s gone above and beyond what anypony would have expected to help us out, but it’s not like he’s the first helpful stallion they’ve met.” Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “Oh, uh, no, I don’t think so,” she said, stumbling over her words somewhat as she tried to make her thoughts coherent. “I mean, everypony is looking for something different in a special somepony, right? It’s not always predictable.” As confusing as the situation was, Fluttershy felt absolutely certain that it would only get worse if Twilight fell for the bureaucrat, too. “Besides, maybe we’ve misunderstood something.” “But what is there to misunderstand?” Twilight asked. “Rarity knows that Rainbow is interested in Pencil Pusher, but she obviously wanted to keep them apart. The only explanation I can think of is that Rarity has a crush on Pencil Pusher herself.” “Well... maybe we ought to stand back and see how it all plays out,” Fluttershy suggested as she idly glanced out the window. “Who knows? It... it could end up working out in the end.” “I suppose you’re right,” Twilight admitted before returning her attention to her wind vector calculations. Somewhere in the back of their minds, both mares knew that this sort of idle speculation was beneath them, but right now, they just needed something to take their minds off the fog until it actually started doing something. Unfortunately, neither of them noticed that on the opposite side of the room, a baby dragon had stopped dusting the bookcases and started to grip the shelves so tightly that claw marks appeared in the wood. September 2 – 10:42 AM Although the party had only been underway for a mere ten minutes, it already seemed that Pinkie Pie had a good shot of achieving her stated goal of throwing the best party ever. At the moment, most of the massive central room was filled with the biggest game of Musical Chairs anypony in Ponyville had seen, which would have been impressive in itself, but Pinkie Pie had upped the ante even further by using her massive budget to hire one of the hottest DJs in Equestria to actually run the game, which was all the more impressive when one considered that the job was offered on such short notice. DJ Pon-3 seemed to be enjoying the diversion from her usual gigs, as she occasionally halted her thumping beats so ponies could scramble to find seats, and equally importantly, the music was good enough that the ponies who were forced from the game early were having a good time dancing. Quieter activities were taking place in the side rooms; most of the bedroom suites had been converted into craft stations where the foals could make homemade toys or gifts for friends and relatives, while the dining room was being prepped for the full buffet that was to be served at lunchtime. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was in the nursery, entertaining the youngest of the foals and the adults who had been charged with seeing to their wellbeing. Mayor Mare was present at the party as well, wearing the same clown costume she wore every Nightmare Night, except this time, she was doing some actual clowning. Apparently, she’d had a job as a part-time clown to help make ends meet while she was earning her political science degree from Oldenburg College. She rarely brought her experience up in ordinary conversation, because she’d gotten tired of jokes about its similarity with her current profession several years earlier. However, as she deftly inflated balloons and twisted them into all sorts of amusing shapes, it was obvious that she was quite skilled at it. She’d even pulled off an impromptu comedy sketch with Pinkie Pie that demonstrated her knack for comic timing, which certainly looked like it would keep the foals amused as they waited in line for the bounce house, which was easily the most popular attraction. This turned out to be an unexpected problem for the Cutie Mark Crusaders when they had first arrived, because upon seeing the inflated building, Sweetie Belle seemed to lose interest in the human trap as she rushed to get to the front of the line. Thus, as Apple Bloom went off to search for a means of escape, Scootaloo was tasked with getting their friend’s attention back where it belonged. Unfortunately, the stallion who was watching over the bounce house didn’t seem willing to cooperate. “Look,” Pencil Pusher said in his most diplomatic tone of voice, “I know you want your turn, but I can’t empty out the bounce house just to rush you in. The other foals inside just started theirs a few minutes ago, and I don’t think they’d be happy if I cut it short just for you.” Scootaloo groaned and shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t need you to kick all of them out of there. I just need to talk to my friend.” “And it can’t wait until her ten minutes are up? I mean, it’s not like you’re going to be going anywhere for the next few hours.” At this, Scootaloo was a bit flummoxed, as the stallion’s prediction could very well prove true if Sweetie Belle wasn’t cooperating, but she couldn’t very well tell him that. She finally settled on dismissing his point. “I don’t think it’ll be that long. I mean, Rainbow Dash is helping out, and she’s the fastest pegasus ever.” Pencil Pusher sighed and rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m sure she’s an excellent flyer, but you don’t really need aerobatic skills to be effective at weather management. Honestly, if this town wasn’t so small to begin with, I’m not sure she’d have been put in charge. She seems like a rather average weatherpony to me.” He didn’t particularly like criticizing ponies when they weren’t around to defend themselves, but if this filly really thought that fancy flying skills were an essential part of a weatherpony’s job, it was probably best to set her straight as soon as possible. “No way! Rainbow Dash is the best around!” “Actually, the best weatherpony around is probably the mare in charge of Canterlot’s climate, but that’s really not important. Look, kid, I’m not saying that Rainbow Dash is bad at her job. She’s just not going to get reassigned to a more prestigious region any time soon.” “Well, she doesn’t need to. She’s going to be a Wonderbolt one day.” Pencil Pusher simply shrugged and took another look at the clock on the wall. “Five minutes, and you can talk to your friend again.” Scootaloo sighed. “I guess I can wait a little longer.” At that moment, Apple Bloom suddenly appeared at Scootaloo’s side. “Hey, Scoots, you got Sweetie Belle yet?” she asked with a wide grin. “Nope,” Scootaloo said with a brief gesture towards Pencil Pusher. “The rules say she gets her full ten minutes in the bounce house, apparently.” Upon noticing that there was an authority figure in the area, Apple Bloom took several steps backwards and rather awkwardly brought one of her hooves to the back of her head, as if she was adjusting her hair ribbon. Pencil Pusher wasn’t certain why, but the action seemed rather odd—but then again, he didn’t know that many ponies who wore ribbons in their manes in the first place, so he decided to let it slide. Apple Bloom, meanwhile returned to Scootaloo’s side and, in a much lower voice, said, “Meet up with me when Sweetie Belle’s done. I think I found somethin’ y’all oughta see.” September 2 – 10:44 AM Spike had spent nearly half an hour pacing around Twilight’s room in the library, and he’d only stopped when his feet started getting tired, rather than because he’d reached any sort of resolution over the current predicament. He never would have suspected that Rarity could fall for somepony like Pencil Pusher—a well-connected aristocrat like Blueblood, sure, but not an ordinary cubicle-dweller. Even now, as he sat slumped over on his bed, he still wasn’t certain how best to react to what he’d overheard Twilight and Fluttershy talking about. Naturally, being the very essence of draconic machismo, Spike’s first thought was to start a fight with Pencil Pusher. He was fairly certain that he’d have an overwhelming advantage if it came down to fisticuffs, because unlike his opponent, Spike could actually form a fist. That said, unless the bureaucrat actually did something really nasty, there was a good chance Spike would come off looking worse in Rarity’s eyes (plus, Twilight would probably ground him until Hearth’s Warming Eve again). Then again, if everypony thought Pencil Pusher had actually done something nasty, a fight wouldn’t even be necessary—Rarity would drop him like last summer’s saddlebag. All Spike needed to do was lure him to a secluded place and... and then... “Uh...” Spike said out loud as his internal monologue ground to a halt. It had just occurred to him that in order to frame Pencil Pusher for something nasty, he had to make sure that something nasty happened in the first place, which meant that he’d pretty much have to be the bad guy. But Spike had already tried that back when Twilight adopted Owlowiscious, and he wasn’t anxious to give it another go, even if it did mean he’d get to have a totally cool mustache. Well, if being aggressive was out, perhaps the opposite path still lay open before him. Spike wracked his brain as he tried to determine the most non-aggressive means by which he might ward off his competition. After a few moments, it came to him: he would fling himself before the stallions hooves, crying like a hatchling whose candied sapphire had just been stolen by bullies, and beg Pencil Pusher to please, please, call off his relationship with Rarity. Doubtless, the bureaucrat would be moved to pity and leave Ponyville, never to return, so that Spike could comfort the heartbroken love of his life. He’d finally have Rarity, and all it would cost him was every ounce of dignity and self-respect he had, which seemed like a pretty good trade to him. However, there was always the chance that Pencil Pusher wouldn’t respond to his heart-wrenching pleas, which would be a problem if Spike didn’t have a backup plan. He supposed he could try stalking the bureaucrat with a camera, waiting for a chance to get photographic evidence of... well, something that would dissuade Rarity from her pursuit. If not any nastiness, then perhaps Pencil Pusher would do something to make it seem like he wasn’t really interested in Rarity. Wait a minute, Spike suddenly thought to himself. Do I even know if he returns Rarity’s feelings? Here was a potential solution that didn’t require any elaborate plans or personal debasement; if Pencil Pusher wasn’t interested, then Rarity would have to turn somewhere else for romance, and with any luck, she’d turn in the general direction of wherever Spike happened to be at the moment. All he needed to do was figure out what Pencil Pusher’s actual opinion was... and to do that, he’d need to do some party crashing.