//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Larfleeze visits Equestria // by KingDogbertXIV //------------------------------// “Cooking is so fun! Cooking is so fun! Now it's time to take a break and see what we have done!" sang a bright pink mare with a moderate pink mane mane and tail, light blue eyes, and flank markings of three balloons, two blue on either side of a yellow one as she peeked inside the oven. Seeing that the contents of the oven were finished baking, she then chirped, “Yay! It’s ready!” The mare then slid on a pair of red oven mitts, opened the oven, extracted a golden-brown pie, carefully made her way to a nearby table, and set the pie down. “What did you make, Pinkie?” Dash asked as Rarity used her magic to close the oven door and turn the oven off. Making a showy motion, Pinkie said in an admiring manner, “I present to you, The Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie, Sweetie Belle’s birthday pie.” “It looks great, darling,” Rarity said in awe. “So does the cake,” Dash added, eyeing a white 8x8-inch cake with pink and light purple borders and text reading “Happy Birthday, Sweetie” written in cursive letters. “Thank you,” Pinkie nodded. “It’s a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and Sweetie Belle-colored decorations.” “How fancy,” Rarity cooed. “I’m sure she’ll love it.” “I know I will,” said another admiring voice as the voice’s owner trotted into the room from the farmhouse’s front room. All eyes fell upon the voice’s owner: a moderate, dark orange filly pegasus with stubby wings, a fuchsia, feather-shaped mane and tail, and greyish purple eyes. “Hey, Scootaloo,” Pinkie greeted. “How are things outside?” “Sweetie Belle and her parents just showed up. Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh haven’t returned yet, though,” Scootaloo reported before hopping up onto a chair near the table that had the cake on it. “Neat cake,” she added, admiring the cake. “Thanks,” Pinkie grinned. “Now, we need to haul this food outside to the party.” “Can I help carry anything?” Scootaloo asked as she jumped back down and trotted up to Pinkie. “Sure,” Pinkie said as she set a tray on top of Scootaloo’s head. “You can carry the utensils and the candles,” she added as she dumped a number of plastic knives, forks, and spoons as well as a pack of birthday candles onto the tray. “We’ll carry the food and napkins.” “When should we wake up Applejack and Twilight? The party’s getting close to starting,” Dash asked, picking up the pie. “Whenever weird things start happening,” Pinkie answered, lifting the cake onto her head. “How do we know if an event can qualify for being ‘weird’?” Rarity asked as she used her magic to pick up a pile of napkins. “You’ll know it when you see it,” Pinkie said as she trotted to the farmhouse’s front room and towards the front door. “Well, that was cryptic,” Dash scoffed as Rarity used her magic to open the front door for the group. “And, sorry to say, not very helpful,” Rarity added as Scootaloo and Pinkie headed out the door. “Oh, look,” Pinkie said, glancing towards the farm’s edge. “There’s Apple Bloom, Big McIntosh, and a horrific monster wearing orange armor. That might count as ‘weird,’ but is it weird enough to wake up Twilight and Applejack?” “What in the world is that thing?” Scootaloo asked, wrinkling her face in disgust. “I overheard Apple Bloom telling her family and Twilight about an alien named ‘Larfleeze.’ I assume that the repulsive thing near them is Larfleeze,” Rarity answered, trotting outside. Squinting to get a closer look, Rarity said, “It reminds me of the newly-empowered Flim-Flam Brothers.” “Do you think there’s a connection?” Dash asked. Dash only received a gasp from Rarity as Larfleeze whipped his gaze around to face the group, grinned, and started sprinting towards them. In an instant, Larfleeze, ignoring Apple Bloom’s scream of “Larfleeze, no,” was in front of Pinkie, drooling hungrily. “Hi,” Pinkie chirped just before Larfleeze snatched the cake from atop of Pinkie’s head, dunked his face into it, and proceeded to sloppily devour the cake. Running up the group with a livid expression on her face and Big McIntosh in tow, Apple Bloom said coldly, “You ate my friend’s cake even before the party started. You broke your word, Larfleeze. Now, either get in the barn or get out of my sight.” “But I was hungry, small pony,” Larfleeze protested, looking up with sad eyes. “What you just did was inexcusable,” Apple Bloom spat, raising a hoof towards the barn. “I’d get you to go apologize to poor Sweetie Belle, but I’m afraid you’d eat her as well. Now, again, either get in the barn and away from my friend’s party, or get out of here.” Larfleeze then dropped the cake pan onto the ground, sighed sadly, and started towards the barn. Rarity’s gaze immediately honed in on Larfleeze’s visible shoulder which bore a white spot with a black circle with short lines marking every diagonal 90 degrees and a V-shape at the circle’s top inside the white spot. “That symbol,” she gasped. “That outfit,” she gasped again. “Both look very close, if not identical, to Flim and Flam’s new symbol and outfits.” “Huh?” Larfleeze grunted, turning to face Rarity. “Flim and Flam, these outlandish salesponies-turned-thieves, somehow acquired magic bracelets and orange and white costumes. They robbed the Apple Family’s southern apple orchards using their new bracelets,” Rarity explained as Dash set the pie down on a table near the farmhouse’s front exit. “Larfleeze, do you know anyone named ‘Ophidian’? The Flim-Flam Brothers said that they were going to consult ‘Ophidian’ on the matter of how their bracelets absorbed the levitation magic that my friend tried to use to remove them. They then fled towards the west.” Without warning, Larfleeze dashed back towards Rarity, picked her up by the shoulders and demanded, “Where’s my shiny? I need my shiny!” “Unhand me, you brute,” Rarity scolded, wiggling free. “I’ve told you everything that I know about the situation.” “Larfleeze,” Apple Bloom started, causing all attention to shift to her. “Is there a possibility that the Flim-Flam Brothers found your battery and rings?” “The fancy pony described my stuff. The apple thieves have my stuff. The apple thieves have my rings and my battery!” Larfleeze franticly shouted, fidgeting. “I need my stuff back!” Sighing and burying her face in her hooves, Apple Bloom ordered, “Scootaloo, you go wake up Applejack and Twilight. Tell them that Larfleeze will need help getting his stuff back. Rarity, Pinkie, and Dash, you help Granny Smith and Sweetie’s folks move the party to inside the farmhouse and away from Larfleeze and his appetite. Larfleeze, you stay within me and my brother’s sight.” “Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie chirped as the crowd, minus Larfleeze, dispersed towards their assigned directions. “This is taking years off my life,” Apple Bloom muttered tiredly.