A box of gems was dumped onto Mirror's desk. He eyed the gems with interest, but the moment his hoof neared it, he felt his mana drain quickly, and he pulled his hoof away. He glared up at the pink mare before him, who bore a small smirk.
"What are these?" He asked, rubbing his head gently.
Hazy Rose laughed softly, and a bit offendingly as well. "They're Saddle Arabian," she snickered. "Drain mana on touch. Bigger ones drain it from a distance, too."
Using a rag to separate his hoof from the gem, Mirror picked up a smaller one and examined it. It had a slight hue of sky blue… but he could see ripples of silver.
"They worked on the big fella," she told him, sitting in a chair by the door. " ‘Bumped’ into him on the way over. Big idiot kept grabbing them to help clean up."
Mirror smirked softly, letting out an amused chuckle. "You're fortunate he didn't think," he said. "The ‘big idiot’ has enough power to turn you into a stain on the pavement."
Hazy's smirk turned into an angry frown. "Well, he didn't, so are you going to stop being a flankhole and listen, or not?" She sneered.
Mirror closed his eyes briefly, letting out a deep breath as his eyes flashed black once more. "What did you have in mind?"
"We can set these up in his home, wait a couple of days for them to do their magic, then take him there," she told him. "He'll be weak enough for us to sink a knife in his neck."
"Considering I watched him fight with a trio of monsters clawing at his flesh, ramming rusted, jagged swords into his body without pulling them out," Mirror deadpanned. "A knife in his neck will kill him after he tears you in half."
Her glare hardened, but at the same time a slight bit of acknowledgement passed over her features. "He'd still be dead," she reminded him. "And besides, we could send somepony bigger than me to get it done."
"Or we could avoid executing him and take him out from afar," Mirror stated. "If these gems really do drain him, it'll make an arrow easier to hit him."
"And tip it with one of these and he'll only get weaker," Hazy smiled. "It's perfect."
Mirror stood up, then pushed the gems into the box. "I'll see what Father Bush has to say about it."
"Where is the old stallion, anyway?" Hazy questioned.
"Out in the Everfree, if I remember," Mirror said. "He's near the old royal palace, looking for any traces of the Nightmare."
Hazy nodded slowly. She gulped audibly, and shifted queasily as she stepped forward. "Do you think she's back?" She finally asked.
Mirror shot her a deadpan, and she growled and rolled her eyes.
"I know YOU brought it to the Fathers' attention," she sneered. "But… could she really be back? I mean, the Elements were supposed to take care of her."
"We know she used necromancy for an entire regime of undead. We know she used her magic to keep the moon from lowering," Mirror reminded her. "And we know she nearly killed Celestia before being imprisoned by the Elements. I think if she's given enough time to regain mana, she'll be able to either restore her old body, or take one."
Using a cloth to cover his hoof, Mirror dumped the gems back into the box Hazy had brought them in. "I prefer we take her out before either of those happens," she said, a determined glare on her face.
"Hazy, for all we know, she might already have either."
The thought shook Hazy. "Then I'll hope we still have time," she smirked. She picked up the small box and turned to the door. "I'm gonna head down to Hammer and Smash. See if they can get these gems turned into arrow heads."
"Make five arrows completely made out of them," Mirror called. Hazy stopped and looked back at him with a confused expression.
"These gems aren't big enough to-"
"Tell them to find a way to meld it down into five completely-gem arrows," he loudly reiterated, getting a suspicious and annoyed look from her.
"I'll tell 'em," she murmured, pushing open the door and stepping out into the hall. "Flankhole."
When he couldn't hear her hooves clopping along the floor, Mirror stood up and went over to the map on the wall to the left. It had several crossed out markings along the Loki'irian's route from his job and back. Now, however, with Winter Wrap Up approaching, they would need to station agents near the road to the orchards. One of their agricultural experts said he'd spoken to the apple family about the planting months. The Loki'irian would be helping her family plant the seeds for this year's harvest.
He still went to work at Sugarcube Corner, though. They knew his usual route by now, and they were keeping a very close eye on him. Mirror decided it would be best not to see him as much, since he could tell he was under watch by the Signa. As such, he had other operatives fill in for him so as to not blow his cover. He still had his part at the stand in the marketplace, in case he ever needed to keep up appearances.
His attention focused on the artwork of the old Royal Palace in the Everfree. A smirk crept over his muzzle as his eyes glowed black.
Just find a way to bring her back, you old fools. I only have a few more weeks before I must leave this place and start the preparations.
The flat teeth sharpened slightly as his eyes became completely black. A tear began at the center of Canterlot and made its way all the way down to the Everfree.
You're in for a surprise, Reku'un.
"Anything?"
Tony sighed and shook his head as the doctor ran his aura over his body. "No," he finally said.
"You sound disappointed," the doctor chuckled. "Is there somewhere you don't want to be?"
A brief laugh left Tony. "Not exactly," he smiled. "But did you find anything unusual? Blood pressure? Composition?"
"We've looked at your blood three times this week, Tony," he sighed. "Aside from having more amounts of minerals and vitamins, there's nothing wrong with you. You're perfectly healthy and perfectly fit, if that isn't already obvious."
Another laugh left Tony as he pulled on his shirt, noticing the hem of it was just a bit higher. "I just need to be sure, Doc," Tony told him. "That's all."
"Any reason why, if you don't mind me asking?" He questioned.
Tony pondered whether or not telling the stallion would be a wise idea. The two months that had passed were strange. He'd had run ins with a couple of ponies. Bumping into some, getting weird questions from others, and catching a few more watching him. Not out of curiosity; he'd been here too long for anypony to be curious about his form. Something felt off… and very wrong.
"Let's just say that… I ran into somepony strange. After that I wasn't feeling too well." The doctor nodded slowly, still unsure as to what he meant. "I'll guess I'll be seeing you."
"Hopefully without any broken bones," the doctor laughed softly.
"I can't guarantee that," Tony grinned, waving goodbye as he walked out of the room. He ducked under the doorway and walked to the waiting room.
"Nothing?" Nurse Redheart asked from the front desk.
"Fit as ever," Tony sighed, leaning on the desk. "I look fine, right?"
"A bit more than fine," she winked, laughing with him. "But why do you keep setting up an appointment? You've never checked in here for a sickness… other than the incident with… you know."
"It's fine, Redheart," Tony chuckled. "When me and Dan passed out and stuff, I know."
Redheart nodded softly. "Maybe it was just a one time thing. There are lots of cases that turn out to be small problems. My cousin felt weak all day once, and when we took her to the hospital the next day she turned out fine," she said. "I'm sure you'll be okay."
The thought eased his concerns… sort of. "Alright. Guess I should just head to work," he sighed. "See ya."
"Don't break anything!" She called after him.
He smiled as he left the hospital and stepped into the morning air. The sun was still creeping over the horizon, and so it was still a bit cool. He started on the path to Sugarcube Corner, his thoughts lingering back to his encounter with the unnamed mare. He still hadn't seen her around town, not even a glimpse of her.
What did she have that caused my energy to drain?
He replayed the moment in his head. She galloped around the corner, he wasn't looking, they collided and fell to the ground. The mare apologized, scooped up the gems as fast as possible, and he tried helping.
Why did she have so many gems… anyway… wait… The gems! It has to be those gems! Maybe Twilight can help me find something about magical gems or something. If they drain mana, then I'm sure they can drain energy just as well.
Making sure to set a mental reminder, Tony hurried a bit as he noticed most of the vendors and stores opening up around the market. It wasn't long before he spotted Sugarcube Corner and several customers going in. He jogged down the street, rushed inside and hurdled over the counter to reach the back, surprising the Cakes.
"Great! You're here!" Pinkie smiled, craning her neck back to smile at him. "Okay, so today we have an extra special order!"
"What makes it so special?" Tony asked, grabbing his apron from the rack near the door.
"Weeeeell," Pinkie giggled, hopping over the table in the center of the kitchen to reach the ingredients. "Not only is it going to be the most spectacularest-most-amazingly-awesome cake ever! It's gonna be the most spectacularest-most-amazingly-awesomest birthday cake ever!"
She grunted and strained as she pulled a bag of flour the size of Big Mac out from the lower cabinet. Tony's brows raised not because she actually pulled the enormous sack out of the small space, but because they would apparently need that specific bag of flour. Pinkie reached down and tossed up more utensils and buckets of icing, which Tony caught as usual.
"How long do you think this is gonna take?" Tony laughed as the pile in his arms got taller than him.
"A couple days, probably," Pinkie hummed normally.
"Whoa whoa whoa, you said ‘days’?" Tony questioned.
"Of course!" Pinkie cheerfully laughed. "This cake is gonna be bigger than you, after all! It's all according to—!"
She shoved a hoof in her mouth before she gave it all away. "According to what?" Tony asked as he placed the ingredients beside the enormous sack.
"Uhhhhhhhhh," Pinkie stammered. "It's all, according to the recipe! Yeah! We have to make it bigger than you! It's called a super-duper-Tony-special! N-Not that it has anything to do with you! Why would it?! Imeanit'snotlikethiscakehasanythingtodowithanythingthatmighthaveto—"
"Okay okay!" Tony laughed, closing her muzzle before she talked the day away. "Let's just get started and we can play ‘talk 'til your blue’ later."
"Right!" Pinkie nodded, hopping up onto the counter to reach the cupboard. "We'll need these!"
A bowl the size of… well, Pinkie, landed on the floor, followed by a comically large spoon, and an oversized wisp.
"Don't just stand there, silly!" Pinkie giggled. "Get crackin'!"
He turned and gasped at the sight of DOZENS of cartons of eggs. "Pinkie, did you go bankrupt on eggs or something?!" Tony exclaimed. "How many-!"
"50 cartons exactly!" Pinkie sang. "There's more in the back in case we mess up the recipe! Now come on! Those eggs aren't gonna crack themselves!"
Tony was covered in white powder when she toppled the bag of flour into the bowl. He grabbed the first few cartons with his hands and rites and started cracking away. When his ecstatic friend was content with the flour, she started dumping in milk by the gallon. Tony had NO idea who wanted or could even EAT this cake. Just the smell of sugar invading his smell, among other sweets, made him remember their incident with the enchanted batter.
After ripping open the last carton and dumping 12 more eggs into the mix, Pinkie bit down on the handle of her enormous wisp and started to stir the concoction. At the same time, Tony grabbed a surprisingly heavy canister of sugar and started pouring it in.
"All of it?"
"Mmhm!" Pinkie nodded, splashing the batter around from her movements. "Okie-dokie-lokey! Ready to put everything to bake?"
"How? This thing's bigger than the oven!" Tony pointed out.
"We're not gonna bake it here! Duh!" She chortled. "This way! Bring it with you!"
She bounced out the back door and into the storage area, while Tony grabbed the bowl and brought it with him. Tony walked, and Pinkie bounced, past boxes of ingredients and back up utensils until they reached the very back. At the very center of the far wall was a brand new-looking oven. An oven MUCH bigger than the one in the kitchen.
"The Cakes used to make cakes for the Minotaur President, Griffon Emperor, and a couple times for Celestia!" Pinkie informed him. "The minotaurs eat almost all of anything they like, and the emperor always asked for an awesome cake, so we used this!"
"Uh huh," Tony murmured, looking to the large pans and pots strewn around. "Does it still work?"
"Yup! Cleaned it out last night!" Pinkie chirped, opening a hinged door beneath the actual oven. "Pass me the coal!"
"Coal?" He glanced around until he spotted the bucket of black rocks. He gave them one by one to Pinkie, who placed them in certain spots before shuffling her way back out.
"There! That wasn't so hard!" Pinkie beamed, coughing away the black in her face. "Okay, now we fill these up!"
They spent another few minutes spilling the batter into five different shapes, then lifted them and placed them in the fiery oven.
"So why didn't you just toss the coal in, anyway?" Tony asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
"This isn't just any oven, Tony!" Pinkie laughed, patting his head softly. "It's a magic oven!"
Hm. Even here, I didn't see that coming.
"Well what makes it so special?" He asked with a grin.
Pinkie put a hoof to her chin in thought, then gasped loudly, a light bulb appearing above her head, which she grabbed and brought with her to the other boxes. She rummaged through dozens of boxes before finding what she needed. She merrily skipped her way back, humming softly before she stopped and smiled exuberantly.
"Close your eyes," she sang.
"Come on, Pinkie, just show me-"
"Close 'em!" She exclaimed.
Tony laughed and did as he was told. "Okay, they're closed."
"No peeking!" Pinkie warned. "Okay, feel anything?"
Tony nodded. It felt like a handle.
"And here?"
"Yep." It felt like another bowl, but one that could fit in his palm.
"Now use them," she snickered.
Tony wondered what she meant, and figured she'd put the ingredients in. When he heard the clank of wood on metal, he rose a brow. "Pinkie, what do you mean-"
"Come on, Tony, you have to try!" Pinkie giggled.
He groaned softly and tried to feel around, hoping he wouldn't touch the lava-hot metal of the oven. He did, however, knock over countless boxes and whatnot before he felt a carton of eggs. He clumsily cracked and dropped them in, then felt around for a spare milk gallon. He prayed he put a decent amount in before grabbing a handful of flour and dropping it in. Three handfuls later, he felt confident enough to start mixing the ingredients.
"Is this good?" Tony chuckled, wondering how bad it was.
Pinkie's snickers and giggles hinted to what he was thinking. "You might wanna… take off… the blindfold," she forced herself to say.
He pushed the cloth up, and looked down at his batter. Aside from being too thick and having strands of yolk still showing, and having egg shells in it, he admitted it was horrible.
"What was the point of that, again?" He asked.
"Weeeell," Pinkie chirped, opening the oven to move the baking cakes around. "Mrs. Cake's great-great-great-great-grandstallion used to work here. THIS, was his personal oven! He made EVERYTHING in here! Chimichangas, cupcakes, muffins, strudels, pastries, pies, and the bestest-tastiest-sweetest-knock-'em-out cakes on the planet! AND he was blind!"
Tony chuckled softly, placing the bowl on a box he'd knocked over. "Who said that?"
"The planet, of course!" Pinkie laughed. "It says it right there."
Tony's brow furrowed and he glanced back. A portrait of a golden stallion with a fiery red and orange mane in a chef's uniform hung on the wall. Behind him was Celestia, a griffon, minotaur, and the dragon king Draco. There was a plaque beneath the picture that said, "World's Best Chef!". Tony took another look at the stallion, and noticed his eyes weren't centered on the camera.
"Wow," Tony said softly. "So… this is his shop?"
Pinkie nodded softly and hopped onto a box, sitting up as Tony came over to do the same. "Mrs. Cake said she wanted to keep this place going no matter what," she smiled. "And I'm gonna be here all the way!"
The fire dimmed, and Tony went over and opened the hatch. The coal had burned away already, and he started placing small chunks in the slots they were in.
"So why is it like this, anyway?" Tony asked.
"Oh, he made all this sciencey stuff about baking and cooking," Pinkie giggled. "I don't really get it, but he said it's better to have the fire all over the place instead of a big, messy pile."
The fire ignited spontaneously, startling the two of them. They laughed as the flames died down, and silence followed. "So… how long will it take to bake?"
"Couple hours, maybe," Pinkie shrugged, swinging her legs back and forth. "This is the biggest order I've ever had, after all!"
He knew that had to be true, since it would take something beyond ridiculous to be bigger than their current cake. "What about the Cakes? And Pound and Pumpkin?" He asked.
"They're with Mrs. Cake's sister," Pinkie smiled. "And they have enough time to make the orders for today, at least. SO, we're gonna be here ALL day!"
While he thought she was joking, as the day went on, he realized she wasn't. They changed the coal, moved the pans, and checked on it every hour. Pinkie's antics, especially her stories, helped pass the time, but Tony gave her a few wild stories of his own. One included Dan and him in a dance contest, which made Pinkie beg him for a performance. Eventually, he finally did, and it made her laugh and cheer the whole time. Dan's dance style, which was a bit ghetto/rave oriented, had rubbed off on him.
When he glanced out the window, he was surprised to see the stars had already come out. Pinkie was doing her best to stay awake, which she and Tony were failing miserably at. She looked worn out. It looked like she hadn't slept for a day.
"Hey, Tony," Pinkie yawned. "Were there… parties on your planet?"
He thought about it for a moment, since he really wasn't sure he could word their celebrations as parties. "Well… we have ceremonies and stuff throughout the cycle," he said, sitting agains the box she was resting on, "but they're meant to commemorate old warriors and battles and… Luna and Celestia."
"Kinda like the Summer Sun Celebration!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"Sort of," Tony chuckled. "We celebrate in the day, and then at night, we have the celebration for Luna. And by celebrating them, we're celebrating their mother."
"Minira, right?" Pinkie giggled, her pronunciation making Tony laugh.
"Right. Hmmm… we… we celebrate the end of our first war, the day we were named… the day of Nera'ak–"
"What about your birthday?" Pinkie interrupted. "They celebrate it, right?"
When Tony shook his head, Pinkie's jaw hit the ground. Literally, too. "What?!"
"We went over this a while ago, remember?" Tony awkwardly laughed. "Loki'irians usually celebrate the day of their birth by taking a day off from training to be with their family… especially those who train away from their homes."
Pinkie's lower lip rolled back up and she nodded solemnly. "Oh yeah…" She slowly sighed, then put on a bright smile. "Well, at least you were with everypony you loved, right?"
A smile worked its way over his mouth as he recalled his life on Loki'ir. "They never forgot to stay with me on my birthday," Tony said. "Jerosh would let me ride his Nera'ak… my dad would take me across the planet… we'd visit my uncle…"
His ear jerked as Pinkie's snores bellowed through the room. Tony laughed quietly as he saw a miniature waterfall of drool making its way out of her mouth. He stood up and opened the oven, looking over each of the cakes to make sure they were baking nicely.
Guess I'm getting a late night shift.
He got his arms under her neck and back legs, then carried her out and into the front of the store. The Cakes were closing up shop while he snuck past them and climbed the stairs. He took his snoring friend to her room and laid her on the bright pink bed of hers. She murmured quietly, grabbing her pillow and sleepily smiling. Tony made his way back down and into the back.
Hopefully I don't royally screw this up.
"Don't worry! Pinkie Pie's probably got him busy with the cake," Twilight assured her guest. "He shouldn't be back for another hour or so."
"Are you sure?" Luna questioned anxiously. "A cake shouldn't keep him busy for much longer."
Twilight laughed hesitantly as she remembered Pinkie's plan for the day. "Well…" She laughed. "Let's just say… Pinkie has other ideas for his birthday."
Luna rose a brow as she followed Twilight around the library. "Define ‘other ideas’"
"I really don't know what to say, Princess," Twilight awkwardly chuckled. "Pinkie's just being Pinkie, and I think she wants to fill you in personally."
"Alright, alright," Luna sighed. "Have you found it yet?"
She scanned through the various tomes on the shelves of the library, hoping to find what they were looking for. "Wouldn't a book on illusions be in the Royal Library?" Twilight asked.
"Normally, yes," Luna answered, sighing as she misread ‘Illnesses’. "But I recall seeing a book on illusions of the mind and subconscious here the last time I'd visited Tony."
"Really?" Twilight questioned. "I thought you knew all about anything to do with a pony's subconscious."
The lunar princess laughed softly and shook her head. "I've been gone a thousand years, Twilight," she reminded her. "Even with my time to catch up, as it were, I still have much to learn."
"Right. Sorry," Twilight smiled nervously. "Hmmm. No… lucid dreaming… insomnia… dream direction… hm… oh! Here!"
Twilight yelped as Luna bumped her out of the way, her expression one of pure delight. "Finally!" She exclaimed. "Twilight?"
"Yes?" Twilight groaned, rubbing her head as she stood back up. Luna's magic helped her stand and brushed off her coat.
"Apologies," Luna smiled hesitantly. "I wanted to do something special for Tony… especially after all he's done. And I shall need your help to do it."
Twilight smiled as Luna started flipping through page after page. "How could I help?" She questioned. "Not that I don't want to, I mean. But wouldn't Princess Celestia be better suited for something you have planned?"
"I'll need to prepare this during the day so Tony won't expect it," she explained. "My sister will be occupied with her duties and Tony won't be here, which means we can work on my gift, if you're willing to help."
"Of course I'll help," Twilight smiled. "But uh… what exactly do you wanna do for his birthday?"
Luna trotted away as she read over the passage, her smile growing wider and wider. "He's gone through so much, and he's done almost as much for me," she said softly, a twinkle in her eyes. "I want this to be the most memorable day of his life."
Twilight came up beside Luna and looked at the chapter cover, her brow furrowing slightly. "How are we going to do that?"
As Twilight read more and more, her eyes widened and she looked up at Luna, who's smile had become a bit contagious. "We're going to make his dreams a reality," Luna announced.
"But he doesn't dream," Twilight nodded, catching on at last.
"Exactly."