//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Things calm down // Story: The Misfits // by Cyber System //------------------------------// "Come on, come on," Cyber said anxiously as Dusty came closer and closer until he fell into the funnel. "Got him!" he said with slight relief. "What is this thing?" asked Applejack. "It's a device I made in case Dusty were to fall from a high distance, I never thought I'd use it though. It works by forcing Dusty to drill into the ground where he is most comfortable and controlled." Mixy was worried. "Will he be alright?" Fang answered with worry as well. "I hope so, he's my best friend out of the Misfits." That was when Rainbow Dash flew in. "Is he alright? Is Dusty alive?" "We're not completely sure, Dusty needs to calm down first," answered Cyber. "And even that may take some time. Especially since he just went through a traumatic event like that." As Cyber explained, Applejack viewed Rainbow with concern. "Hey, why are you all beat up?" Rainbow Dash hesitated. Although before she could explain, the distinct sound of teleportation was heard and Twilight appeared. "I saw Dusty, is he alright?" Twilight asked. "That's what we're waiting to find out about," answered Mixy. "Uh, Cyber?" Applejack asked. "How hot can your gizmos get?" "Well I've never had any of them overheat before, but I'd say they shouldn't get any hotter than a piece of metal that has been sitting out in the hot summer sun all day." "So it's not normal for them to be melting?" Cyber's eyes went wide. "Did you just say it's melting?" Cyber looked at the machine to see it actually start to droop down as drops started to fall from it, one of them hit Cyber in the forehead. "What is this stuff, Mercury?" "No, it's vanilla," said Mixy. Cyber was skeptic at first but decided to allow a drop of his melting machine fall into his mouth, tasting just like vanilla ice cream. "How'd you know that, Mixy?" "I accidentally swallowed some." "Speaking of swallowing," said Fang. "Anypony else feel queasy?" shortly he gagged and threw up... ribbons? "What the heck is going on?" asked Cyber. "I think I know," said Twilight. "Discord, what are you doing here?" Cyber looked toward where Twilight was facing to see the god of chaos and disharmony himself. "Oh, I'm just here to meet these misfits, also I'm bored, and you know how I get when I'm bored," Discord said as he pulled the rest of the ribbon out of Fang's mouth. "We know how you get when you're not bored too," said Applejack as Discord used the ribbon like a lasso, wrapping around the melting device. Then he pulled, making it bend like a melting chocolate bar before turning into a giant puddle which flowed into Discord's mouth, much to Cyber's confusion. "Anyway, I thought that maybe now would be a good time to get to know you all." "Did you do anything with Dusty?" said Fang, baring his teeth at Discord and growling, but then was hit by a rolled up newspaper. "Don't be so paranoid, Fang, your friend is fine, in fact..." Discord then pulled out a large toilet plunger out of the newspaper, then placed it onto the hole Dusty was in and started pumping. In no time at all he finished and lifted the plunger off the hole, and standing in its place was Dusty, who was very confused. "What just happened?" Dusty said. "Now that the whole party's here," Discord said as he pretended to roll up his sleeves. "Let's get them warmed up to me with a little bit of chaos." "Discord, they've been through a lot lately, so please don't try one of your shenanigans," Twilight said. Discord scoffed. "You princesses always ruin my fun. If anypony needs me, I'll be with Fluttershy," and just like that he disappeared. "Well, I have absolutely no idea what happened," said Mixy. Rainbow moved up to Dusty. "Hey, Dusty, sorry about the whole incident that happened earlier," she only got a look from Dusty that showed he was in no mood to talk. "Dusty..." said Cyber. "What is she talking about?" "And why are you both injured?" added Twilight. Rainbow hesitated. "Well... I um..." "She's the reason I fell," Dusty said, causing most of the ponies there to gasp. "Rainbow, is this true?" asked Twilight, making Rainbow Dash slump down in regret and sorrow. "Yeah, I did, I'm sorry. He tried to tell me, but I thought he was fooling around and didn't listen, I'm really sorry, could you forgive me, Dusty?" Dusty glared at Rainbow before digging back into the ground. Cyber put a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder for sympathy. "Rainbow Dash, as part of a group that has been picked on and teased a lot, we live by the phrase 'forgive and forget'. Although Dusty sometimes holds a grudge and has a hard time forgiving certain events. Though in his defense I would have a difficult time forgiving somepony that nearly killed me, even if one of those times gave me my cutie mark." "What the hay does that all mean?" she asked. "It means that we may forgive you, but it's going to be tough for you to get Dusty to talk to you tomorrow," clarified Mixy. "And just so you know," snarled Fang. "If you ever do that again, you get to find out the hard way why my cutie mark is a bear trap, if you get my drift." Rainbow shakily nodded to show she understood Fang's threat, then turned to her friends. "And you forgive me too, right?" After a moment of thought, the two mares smiled and nodded. "Also, could you please Pinkie promise to keep this whole mess a secret from the other girls?" "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," the two said as the mimed out the movements accordingly. "What was that?" asked Cyber. "It's this thing Pinkie invented that ensures a promise will be kept, no matter what." "Right, anyway, with all that aside, let's resume our previous activities and pretend none of this ever happened," said Cyber. Meanwhile, Luna had just arrived at a place of unknown location and origin, darkness in every direction. Luna felt alone, but she knew that she wasn't. "I know you're here, show yourself," she called out, but no response came. "Moonlight Shadow, please do not make this hard on yourself." A very melancholic sigh rang through the area. "I guess I have no choice," then shortly a mare rose up from the shadows in front of Luna, wearing a black robe that covered most of her body but her equally black hooves while her face was completely shrouded out by her hood, save for two blank, white, very depressed eyes that seemed to glow within the hood. "What do you want?" Moonlight said, her voice as depressed and melancholy as anypony could get. "I have extraordinary news, you don't have to live like this any longer," Luna answered. "Why not? It's the only place I can be, alone. It's been the same for years, ponies see me, then my power, then they run away. It's who I am and who I always will be." "But, Moonlight, nopony wants to be alone, believe me, I've been alone for a thousand years." "Lucky you then, but I'm just going to stay with the one thing that can't run away no matter what, shadows. Shadows always stay with me, and I stay with them, even becoming and controlling shadows." "Moonlight, you know that Celestia and I want to stay by you." "You're different, you're princesses, you have to do it." "It doesn't matter, you may actually make some friends now." "Give me a good reason why and I will go." "You won't be lonely," Luna said, though it made no effect in changing Moonlight's mind. "I said a good reason." "Please, Moonlight, you know very well that both me and Celestia want you to be happy." "Is that supposed to make me feel better? I lost happiness a long time ago, same time I lost my belief in making friends, you know that. So thanks for visiting, now leave me alone," and with that, Moonlight seeped back into the darkness. "Moonlight, please," no answer. "Very well, I will leave you, but I will be back once I get more information on the misfits," and then Luna flew away, leaving Moonlight Shadow alone... again... just the way she wants. Mixy trotted over to where Twilight said she would find Pinkie Pie, a large shop that read 'Sugar Cube Corner'. The smell of freshly baked goods that came from inside lured the hybrid in, where she saw nopony there. "Hello? Anypony here?" she called out before shortly a mare appeared from behind the back door with poofy hair and completely covered in flour. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" the mare said. "Aren't you one of the new ponies in town?" "Yes, I'm Mixy, have we met?" "I think so," Pinkie said before remembering that she was completely white from flour. "Oh yeah, sorry about this. I'm busy watching twins and they like it when I do this, hold on," Pinkie then quickly shook off the flour and cleaned herself, regaining her normal pink color that Mixy recognized. "Wait a minute, twins? Are they...?" Mixy asked, making Pinkie giggle. "No, silly, they're not mine, they're the Cakes'. I'm just watching their foals while they're away, but it's really hard to bake for a party and watch foals at the same time." Mixy had an idea. "Do you think I could watch the foals for you while you work?" "Really? That would be super-duper nice! Thank you!" "It's no problem, Pinkie." "Okey dokey lokey, Mixy, righty this-ey way-ey," Pinkie bounced into the back and upstairs with Mixy following as she was led into a room with a crib and a few toys scattered about the room. Pinkie showed Mixy to the crib where she saw a filly unicorn and a colt pegasus, both looked at the changeling hybrid in confusion. "Their names are Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake, if they start crying, just dump flour all over yourself," Pinkie informed as she bounced back to the kitchen to resume her work. Mixy smiled and nuzzled Pumpkin Cake. "You two are just so cute!" "Oh and be careful, Pound Cakes a grabber!" Pinkie called out. "He's a what?" Mixy said before her horn was grabbed by Pound Cake. "Aah! No, Pound Cake! Let go!" Mixy pulled back to try and free herself from the surprisingly strong toddler. Finally Pound Cake let go and sent Mixy flying across the room and into the wall. Then she used her wings to straighten herself as she returned to the twins, who were giggling at Mixy's expense. "Alright, you might just be a problem, Pound Cake, but Pumpkin may not be so hard," almost as if to prove her wrong, Pumpkin's horn glowed before Mixy was hit on the head by a barrage of wooden toy blocks. "Spoke too soon," she muttered as she rubbed the pain and the twins giggled and cooed again. "Well let's get you to something to play with." Squeak! "That you can't use to hit me on the head with this time," she growled. Mixy searched around the playroom and brought various toys to the twins, but each of them didn't work. A toy train, Pound Cake broke that; puppets, Pumpkin wouldn't stop chewing on them; a boat, Pound Cake broke that too; blocks just got launched at her head like last time, until Mixy couldn't take it. "Enough! Jeeze it's hard taking care of foals, they just make a mess, so if you're going to do that, I'm not going to tolerate it." Mixy's temper subsided as she saw the twins scrunch up their faces on the verge of crying. "Oh no, I'm sorry, I just... please don't cry." only it was too late as the foals instantly burst into tears and sobbed, Mixy looked for a bag of flour to follow Pinkie's advice, but she had a possibly better idea that she should've tried at the very start. Mixy hid her face from the twins by looking away. "Ladies and gentlecolts," she said through the twins' crying. "May I present to you... the amazing Mixy!" then Mixy shot her face back at the crying foals, only it wasn't an ordinary game of peekaboo. Using her changeling powers, Mixy changed her face into twisted, grotesque, but humorous shape, which got the foals' attention before she did it again, and again, and again each time with a rather hilarious look and sound effect, which caused the twins to laugh at the hybrid. Mixy continued until she heard Pinkie's voice behind her. "Aw, no fair, how come it didn't work when I tried funny faces?" Mixy turned to face Pinkie to see that she was with another mare that was a white unicorn with a purple, neatly curled mane. The sight of Mixy's face made Pinkie break down laughing and the other mare grimace. "Darling, I'd hate to be a bother," the white unicorn said. "But I believe there is something wrong with your face." that made Mixy realize that she still had her changeling powers were still in effect, and she almost looked like she had the face of a pig in serious need of a dentist appointment. Mixy shook off the transformation. "Better?" The other mare nodded. "Yes, quite." "Mixy, this is my friend, Rarity. Rarity, Mixy," Pinkie introduced. "Nice to meet you, Rarity," Mixy said. "Likewise, Mixy," Rarity said. "And may I ask how did you do that without using a spell?" "I'm part changeling," Mixy said, which shocked Rarity while Pinkie was too happy to care. "You're joking," Rarity said with a gasp, but Mixy shook her head. "Nope, Mom's a unicorn and Dad's a changeling." "Does that mean you can shapeshift?" Pinkie asked eagerly. Mixy shrugged. "Sorta?" "Ooh! Do me! Do me!" Mixy smiled as her mane and coat changed pink and her cutie mark matched Pinkie's, though several features remained the same. "Hmm, your kinda right, but I'm pretty sure I'm not an alicorn." "I'm only part changeling." "Oh, can you do voices?" "Of course, silly!" Mixy answered in Pinkie's voice. "It's my favorite thing about being a changeling hybrid," she finished her Pinkie impression with a big toothy grin. "Does Twilight know about this?" Rarity asked. "Of course, darling, in fact she was the first pony I've ever gotten to know here in Ponyville," Mixy replied this time mimicking Rarity, who gave a disapproving look. "Please don't do that," Rarity said, making Mixy give an apologetic smile and return to normal. "Sorry, I just love doing that so much that sometimes I get carried away." "Who wouldn't?" said Pinkie. "I can think of a few," Rarity muttered before taking out a small knife from her saddlebag. "Anyway, here's that carver you requested, I want it back as soon as you're done with it." "Okey dokey loki," Pinkie said as she took the carver from Rarity, who left shortly. "Now, Mixy, why don't you tell me about your friends you came into Ponyville with." Celestia arrived at a place that she has only visited once before to drop off a certain stallion, but now was the time to search for this stallion. Using magic to protect herself from the sun's heat and radiation, she began to scan the area. "Solar Eclipse, are you here?" she called out, though she already knew the answer as a teenage voice was heard behind her "Well, well, well, if it isn't Princess 'I care about the land I rule more than my own adopted son'!" Celestia turned to the voice to see an albino unicorn stallion, with a red and orange mane that glowed and flickered as if made of fire, and a cutie mark that looked like a black sun that had a bright yellow corona around it. "Solar Eclipse, we already discussed that your pyromania and temper has gotten out of control and you were placed here for your own good, be grateful I haven't let you die." "Why should I? Nopony respects me, they look at me and run away. They're just jealous, jealous that I can control fire and heat with a single thought, jealous that I have the sun's heat at my will, jealous that I am your heir." Celestia shook her head. "You are mistaken, it is not that they are jealous, but in fact, they are afraid. They are afraid because you turn into a flaming ball of burning fury and rage because of a mere insult, afraid by the fact that you burn everything that you touch, and afraid that if nothing was done, you would have burned all of Equestria." "What makes you say that?" Eclipse demanded. "When I found you, you were just a foal, motherless and alone, I tried to help, but all refused after most of them saw the blanket you were wrapped in burn into ash at the touch, others nearly got third degree burns for the same reason." "And you agreed with them, I was young, I wanted somepony to love, somepony to call 'Mom' and you almost had it, I almost trusted you, but because of some damage, you decide to do what you did to your sister and sent me to the sun." "You burned over half of Hoofington when you were just a juvenile, if action was not taken immediately it would've gotten worse, and I regretted doing that decision just as much as what I did to my sister, but she's back now and completely changed." Solar Eclipse scoffed. "Well, wooptie-doo, thanks for the trip down memory lane. Now what's the real reason you came here?" "I recently gotten information about a group that would appreciate a pony like you." "What do you mean?" "They are called 'The Misfits'." Eclipse began to flare up with anger. "Are you saying I'm some kind of outcast?!" "No, Eclipse, please listen-" "I think I've listened enough from you!" Eclipse shouted as his entire body became enveloped by fire that emerged from his horn. "If you insist," Celestia sighed. "But once I meet these misfits, and you calm down, I will be back." "FINE, JUST LEAVE ME! JUST LIKE YOU DID BEFORE AND EVERY OTHER PONY THAT'S SEEN ME!" Solar Eclipse shouted as Celestia flew away. 'I wish you would understand that this is for your own good and safety,' Celestia thought Celestia and Luna both arrived at Canterlot castle, both with the same news to tell. "Eclipse refused," Celestian said, her head drooping ever so slightly. "As did Moonlight, perhaps we left them for too long." "No, Moonlight Shadow volunteered to be put there so she can be alone, and Solar Eclipse was put on the sun for the protection of himself and Equestria." "Perhaps if they were introduced to the Misfits, they would reconsider." "That may just be a wise decision, Luna, I would like to know about these Misfits anyway," Celestia used her magic to take a quill and paper, then instantly began writing a letter to her former pupil. "Except that the train is broken," informed Luna. "Which gives us enough time to have Moonlight and Eclipse 'lighten up' before the Misfits arrive." Celestia said as the letter rolled itself up and suddenly burst into flames as the ashes made their way to Ponyville. Lyra began wandering around Ponyville, she became bored sometime after giving those apples to Bon-Bon, maybe she could find Cyber, or maybe the other Misfits. They shouldn't be hard to find, Mixy was part changeling and Fang must have sharp teeth, Dusty might be a problem. Continuing her walk, the sight of the blue, armed unicorn caught her eye outside of Sugar Cube Corner, sitting with Twilight and three other ponies, she saw one of them had green mane and black hide, plus she looked like an alicorn, obviously it was Mixy, maybe the others were Fang and Dusty. "Hey, Cyber!" she called out, gaining her friend's attention, who waved as she approached the table. "Hey, Lyra," said Cyber. "Lyra, these are the rest of the Misfits, Mixy, Fang, and Dusty. Guys, this is my friend, Lyra." "What's up, Lyra?" greeted Mixy, smiling. "Hey," said Dusty. "Any friend of Cyber is a friend of mine," said Fang with a smile. "Wow, you two are already friends?" said Twilight. "That was fast." "I know, I'm surprised how very few ponies are staring at us too!" said Dusty. "Well, we have had quite a few misconceptions around here." "Like what?" asked Mixy. "Well, there was this time when a zebra named Zecora was thought to be some kind of witch that cursed us, when really it was just some poison joke that my friends and I stepped through." "I've heard about those plants," said Cyber. "Once we accidentally stepped through some, you should've seen what it did to us. If I recall correctly I kept sneezing so hard I would be launched against the wall, Mixy changed color and voices so many times and so fast I can't even describe it, Dusty could only talk backwards, and Fang-" he was cut off by Fang waving his hoof at his neck, telling Cyber to stop talking. "-Fang... would rather not talk about it," he finished. "What, what happened? Tell me!" said Lyra. "He sounded wike a cute, widdle, fiwwy," Dusty spoke up pressing his hooves on his cheeks for a childish picture, making the two non-misfits giggle at the thought of what Fang would sound like. Fang tried to hide his blush. "I told you to never bring it up." he muttered. "At least you could recognize your own voice back then," said Mixy. "Did he actually talk like that?" said Twilight. "Uh-huh, and he even said wouds wike dis too!" Dusty said again with the same childish tone, which made the girls giggle again. "Alright, yeah we get it, I sounded funny," said Fang as they heard the familiar sound of the purple and green baby dragon. "Hey, Twilight!" Spike exclaimed, holding a rolled up paper in his claw. "Celestia sent you a letter, and it's urgent!" "Well, what's it say?" said Twilight eagerly as Spike opened the letter and cleared his throat to begin. "My dearest Twilight," he started. "I apologize for the delay, but I had to check up on important matters. Anyway, I have not heard of these misfits, but I would like to meet them, perhaps they could help me with something I am having trouble with, have them ride the next train to Canterlot whenever possible. Sincerely, Princess Celestia." "Princess Celestia wants us?" said Mixy, excited. "This is amazing!" said Cyber. "When's the next train?" "It's a few days from now," answered Twilight, much to the Misfits' dismay. "Sorry, but the engine broke down and it's having repairs." "Why don't I fix it?" said Cyber. "Its still in Canterlot so it might already be fixed by the time you arrive, sorry Cyber." "Well, later is better than never," said Mixy. "Speak for yourself," said Fang, slumping down. Twilight looked at the time, almost six thirty, and almost time for the party. "Hey Fang, if it makes you feel any better, we could go by my house for a party," she said. "Really? What kind of party?" said Dusty. Lyra chuckled. "That would ruin the surprise, you have to see it for yourself, come on."