//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27 - Birthday Surprises 
// Story: A Gizmonk in Ponyville 
// by Moheart7 
//------------------------------//

A week had now passed since Trixie had left for the Crystal Empire and to say the least Goggles had certainly missed having his assistant around. For the past week the Gizmonk had felt a certain isolation whilst working in his lab, granted he got the occasional visitor but it wasn’t really the same as having some pony around to talk to while they worked together. What made it worse was the fact that even outside the lab, Goggles had felt that every pony was being more reticent towards him than usual, everywhere he went ponies seemed to be extremely doing their own thing, even while he was making deliveries of his inventions, ponies would tell him to either leave it by the door or have him set it up without their presence in the room. After the fifth day, it had to take a lot of grovelling to Applejack in order to get some time off from his punishment, basically Applejack had also decided to keep Googles from his weekly tea visits to some of his friends since she didn’t want to risk any of them giving him the very substance he was banned from. Thankfully, Goggles had managed to convince Applejack to allow him to visit Zecora as long as he promised not to drink any tea.

“Hey Zecora,” he said as he entered the Zebra’s hut one afternoon. “Did you do something with your hair?”

The Zebra chuckled at that as she closed the door behind the Gizmonk.

“I see your charm was not wavered my friend,” she said with a smile. “Would you care for your favourite blend?”

At those words, Goggles knew what the Zebra meant, and although it made his stomach turn to deny it, Goggles had to keep his promise.

“Oh no thanks,” he said politely. “I’m actually trying to restrict myself from tea, after a while I figured I might be drinking too much of the stuff.”

Granted this may have been a lie, but it’s been something he had been telling other ponies since the whole kidnapping incident, after all if they had found out the real reason why he wasn’t allowed any, then that would have led to many complicated questions. Upon hearing Goggles’ reason, Zecora looked at him with concern.

“Are you sure you don’t want even a small one?” she asked, receiving a head shake from Goggles in response. “I must say even now you are an odd one.”

“Oh?” Goggles said. “How so?

“Well it never really occurred to me, that you of all creatures would deny a nice cup of tea,” Zecora replied with a smile.

Goggles couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by that, had he really turned into that much of a stereotype by now?

“Oh well you know how it is,” he said sheepishly. “Sometimes it’s nice to have a change once in a while. Besides I really think that a little time without tea could be a good thing for me.”

Zecora smirked at that as she pulled something off one of her nearby shelves.

“Oh then it is a funny thing that I were to find THIS on my shelf,” she said, instantly grabbing the Gizmonk’s full attention as she showed him the big bag of her special tea leaves. “But I suppose if you don’t want any then I should drink it all myself.”

Upon seeing the glorious leaves that brewed his favourite beverage, Goggles eyes shrunk into his skull, after being denied this drink for so long, all of reasoning simply vanishes from his mind and he suddenly sprung for it like a wild animal. In a mere fraction of a second Goggles jumped towards Zecora, snatched the bag of leaves from her hoof and grouched on the floor, stroking it in a seriously creepy manner.

“MY PRECIOUS!!!” he screamed in high pitched, almost disturbing rasp of a voice. “Nasty Zebrases wants to keeps it, we must not let her, no, no!”

Upon seeing this display Zecora couldn’t help but laugh, suddenly after a few moments Goggles quickly returned to his sense upon realising what he had just done.

“Uh… sorry about that,” he said, feeling extremely stupid at this point. “Got a little crazy there for a second, guess I’m not over tea just yet.”

However Zecora only continued to laugh.

“There is no need to feel that way,” she giggled. “Applejack told me that your tea-ban had been lifted yesterday.”

Zecora KNEW about the tea ban!?! Just what else did she know? And what’s more, Applejack told her that it had been lifted YESTERDAY!?! At this point Goggled felt like he was going to develop a blood-clot in his brain. Needless to say Zecora picked up on the Gizmonk’s frustration.

“Perhaps NOW you would like a cup of tea?” she asked. “Come now, relax and have a pleasant afternoon with me.”

Upon hearing that Goggle instantly accepted Zecora’s offer, after all, that was what he came here for anyway. After Zecora poured them both a nice, relaxing cup of tea, Goggles spent a great deal of time talking with the Zebra. He wasn’t really sure at first, but it seemed as though she wanted the Gizmonk to stay with her as long as possible, every time Goggles thought about leaving the hut, Zecora offered him another cup of tea, it was almost as though she was trying to keep him from something.

“Is everything alright Zecora?” Goggles finally asked.
“Of course little monkey,” Zecora answered with a smile. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“It just seems like you really want to keep me here for something,” Goggles pointed out. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Zecora was taken aback at that, this had to be the first time in her life that she was at a loss for words, luckily she didn’t have to say anything because right at that moment, something began ringing from Goggles’ vest pocket.

“What the?” he said as he pulled out the ringing pocket watch and saw what time it was. “Oh Scrap-bunnies! Sorry Zecora, I really gotta go, for some reason Trixie insisted that I was supposed to be the one to pick her up from the Train Station.”

Goggles half expected Zecora to once again offer another cup of tea, but this time she didn’t, in fact she didn’t even hesitate to lead him to the door, something which Goggles found a little odd.

“Be sure to give Trixie my regards,” she said, seeing Googles out. “And please, try not to work too hard.”

With that final word Zecora close the door behind the Gizmonk, not even allowing him the opportunity to wave goodbye.

“That was weird,” Goggles remarked, briefly shrugging it off. “Well anyway, I better get going otherwise my assistant’s gonna kill me.”

At those words, Goggles then rushed off back towards the edge of the Everfree Forest. As he ran through the snow-covered streets of Ponyville towards the train station Goggles soon began to notice another oddity, with every street he passed, he noticed that there was barely a single soul outside, in fact if it weren’t for the occasional bystander walking by, Goggles would have sworn that Ponyville had turned into a ghost town.

“Where the scrap is every pony?” he asked himself, scratching his head with confusion.

However that was a question that had to be answered later, right now Goggles needed to focus on getting to the train station, by the time he arrived, Trixie’s train had already come and gone, and the Unicorn herself was still waiting on the platform, a suitcase at her hooves.

“You’re late,” she said with a slight huff. “Trixie has been waiting for you for about 10 minutes.”

“Sorry I was delayed,” Goggles responded, trying to catch his breath. “So how was your trip?”

At those words, Trixie’s scowl turned into a gentle smile.

“Oh it was simply fantastic,” she answered happily. “Trixie has now been refreshed and glamoured to every limit the Crystal Empire could offer.”

Goggles couldn’t help but feel relieved at that, at least her trip to the Crystal Empire managed to calm her down enough so that she was now somewhat easily forgiving.

“Well in that case, I want to hear all about it,” he said with a smile before turning his back towards her. “Let’s make our way back to Sweet Apple Acres and you can tell us everything.”

However while Goggles walked away, he failed to notice that Trixie wasn’t following him, she merely stood where she was as her horn was soon engulfed by her magical pink aura. 

“My apologies in advance,” she said bluntly.

“Apologies for what?” Goggles replied, not even bothering to turn his head.

Suddenly before Goggles could even take another step, he felt something brush against the back of his head and found himself blacking out.


#


When Goggles Finally managed to open his eyes again, his vision was a first slightly blurred as he sat up from what felt like a bristly surface. 

“Ugh… my head,” he groaned, his vison slowly coming back into focus. “What the heck…?”

But before Goggles could say another word, he was cut off by the sound of several loud voices screaming a single words at once.

“SURPRISE!!!”

Upon hearing this Goggles quickly snapped back into focus and he jumped back in terror, after a few brief moments, he was finally able to absorb what was happening around him. Upon looking around, Goggles saw that he was back inside the barn of Sweet Apple Acres, but it was completely different from the last time he saw it, not only was the mess he usually left after inventing all cleaned up, but the entire room was filled with balloons and streamers of every colour he could imagine, not only that but somehow confetti seemed to be falling all over the place like the snow outside, but the biggest change of all was the fact that the entire building had been entirely filled by a great number of ponies, and even more waiting outside the open barn doors. Goggles then blinked as he tried to figure out what was going on, listening to every pony singing a happy tune as he did.

For he's a jolly good fellow,
For he's a jolly good fellow,
For he's a jolly good fellow,
And so say all of us!!! 

Upon finishing the song, every pony cheered and stomped their hooves in applause. Needless to say Goggles remained confused, however this didn’t last long due to one particular mare emerging from the crowd to clear things up.

“Happy Birthday Goggles!” Applejack said with a cheerful smile as she, followed by Trixie and Zecora helped Goggles back up to his feet.

Goggles tried to respond to Applejack’s statement, however the entail shock of the whole situation made him only spurt out a bunch of random gibberish.

“Bu… but… whaaaaaaaa!?!” he blurted out, much to Applejack’s amusement.

“Hehe, guess we got you good, didn’t we?” she chuckled. “Good job Trixie, you too Zecora.”

“Was there any doubt of our abilities?” Trixie responded with a smirk.

However that only made Goggles even more confused.

“What is she talking about?” he asked, still reeling from the shock.

“I was to keep you busy while every pony organised,” Zecora explained, trying to makes things as simple as she could. “That way this Birthday Party would have made you that much more surprised.”

“And Applejack may have instructed me to knock you out just as an extra precaution,” Trixie added sheepishly. “Again, sorry about that.”

At those words Goggles knew that Applejack told Trixie that so it would be a little extra payback for what happened with her and Spike, however that fact was nothing compared to what these three mares were trying to tell him. As he once again looked upon his surroundings, the reality finally managed to set in, with all the decorations and the tons of ponies here, then this must have been a party, a Birthday Party… for HIM!?! It sounded so insane to him that Goggles couldn’t believe it.

“So all this is really… for me?” he gasped, still trying to accept that fact.

“Yes-indeedily!” Pinkie shrieked, once again bouncing out of nowhere, needless to say Goggles had come to expect that sort of thing by now. “After Applejack heard that you never had a Birthday Party, she came to me to ask to help organise one, and then when she told every pony else, they were more than happy to help out.”

“Most of Ponyville was in on the whole scheme,” Zecora added. “I’ll bet having such a party now must feel like a dream.”

Upon hearing that Goggles’ heart felt like it was about to explode, never in his life would he have thought that any pony would have done something so nice for him, after all only a week ago he didn’t even remember his own birthday and now most of Ponyville was throwing him a party for it? As the realisation of how great these new friends of him truly were sunk in more and more, Goggles could keep up his composure any longer, in fact at this point he was on the verge of breaking down.

“Goggles?” Applejack said, her voice full of concern. “Are you… crying?”

That was an answer that was obvious to everyone, Goggles felt no need to hide the waterfall of tears flowing down his cheeks, he felt no shame in crying, in fact these tears were the very ones that needed to flow for a long time.

“I can’t help it,” he finally said. “I’ve never been so happy in my entire life!!!”

That last part he wailed so loudly that every pony, even the ones outside could hear, needless to say they were all happy to hear him say that. After Goggles had finally managed to get a few tears out one particular rainbow-maned Pegasus from the crowd spoke up.

“Yeah, well save the tears of joy for later Monkey-boy!” Rainbow Dash screamed “Cause we got a party to throw!”

At those words every pony cheered, all of them eager to get the party started, Goggles felt no restraint whatsoever in joining in their enthusiasm. As he finally managed to wipe away the last of his tears, Goggles was just about ready to have fun with every one of his friends, however there was one thing he felt he needed to do first.

“Okay, but before we get started I just need to say something,” he said, grabbing every pony’s attention. “Since me and Trixie now share a birthday, I think it’s only fair that we both share this incredible party you guys set up.”

Every pony was definitely taken aback upon hearing that, but none her more so than Trixie, who looked back at him with a stunned expression upon her face.

“R… really?” she stuttered, not really knowing what else to say.

“Really,” Goggles replied with a smile. “After all, what are best friends for?”

It was that sentence that really made Trixie stare at Goggles with astonishment, never in her life had she considered anyone even referring to her a friend, but BEST friend!?! Now Trixie felt like she was on the verge of tears.

“My… my best…” she stuttered before rushing over to her Gizmonk employer and embracing him in a tight hug.

“Trixie… ribs cracking!” Goggles wheezed, his eyes popping out of his sockets as Trixie squeezed the air out of him.

“Oops,” Trixie gasped, quickly releasing the Gizmonk. “Sorry, guess I got carried away.”

Upon seeing this unusual display of affection from the former show pony, Applejack chuckled and turned back towards the crowd.

“Alright then y’all!” she called out. “Let’s get this shindig started right!!!”

“HIT IT!!!”Pinkie Pie screamed in addition.

Upon those words, the white DJ Pon3, Vinyl Scratch, set her turntables to maximum volume outside the barn and started up the music.


#


To say that the party was incredible would have been an understatement, if anything it had to have been one of Pinkie Pie’s best parties yet, some would even say that it was just as epic as Rainbow Dash’s recent birthday and anniversary of her move to Ponyville. Everyone Goggles knew seemed to be there, the entire Apple Family, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Silver Lining, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Zecora, Trixie, Ditsy Doo, the Cakes, even the Diamond Dogs managed to get an invitation to the event, and they were enjoying not just the party itself, but also each other’s company. 

Not only was there epic music played by Vinyl Scratch but thanks to Pinkie Pie’s numerous connections the entirety of Sweet Apple Acres was decorated from top to bottom and every corner was filled so many wonderful things, there was a large stage set up outside the barn where Vinyl and many other musical ponies played to their hearts content, there were balloons as big as the apple trees they were tied to, all of which seemed to be either in the shape of Goggles face, or the many inventions he has come up with ever since he arrived in Ponyville. To top it all off, there was also several long tables of food, most of which were Goggles favourite confections, such as Banana Jelly, Banana Whip Cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner, and all other kinds of delicious commodities such as an Ice Cream Cherry Garcia made especially for the party, something she called Chunky Monkey, Goggles didn’t know whether the name was meant to be a joke but none the less he appreciated it. Of course there were also a few odd things as well, particularly the size of the Birthday Cake itself, according to Pinkie Pie, each layer represented a lost birthday that he might have had, unfortunately that meant that the entire thing was bigger than the Apple’s barn, but despite its size, it still looked incredible, the frosting was a sweet, golden toffee glaze drizzled with hundreds of sliced bananas, some of which acted as bases for some of the candles.

As another oddity, since most of the guests were outside in the snow, Pinkie Pie took the liberty of setting up a bunch of torches, all of which surrounded a series of hot tubs filled with warm Camomile Tea instead of water, it may have been weird but Goggles wasted no time in diving headfirst into one of the larger tubs. After a couple of weeks without his favourite beverage, he had almost went insane and started to drink the entire thing dry, luckily Apple Bloom and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were apple to pull him out before he went too wild, however judging from their faces Goggles could tell that they were troubled with him about something.

“Something wrong girls?” he asked.

At first neither of them said nothing, but then as usual Scootaloo was the first to point out the trouble.

“So Trixie’s your best friend huh?” she said, her voice stern with disappointment. “Care to explain that?”

Goggles probably should have guessed that his little statement would come back to bite him in the tail, especially since it was actually these four fillies that he felt the closest to due to the fact that he was their mascot before he became the town’s local inventor, luckily he knew exactly how to respond to Scootaloo’s question. 

“Yeah well I figured she needed something along those lines after what she’s been through over the time she’s been here,” he said, trying to reassure the four fillies. “Besides, she may be my best friend, but you four are like my little sisters.”

All four fillies instantly smiled at that.

“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“You’re not joking?” Silver Spoon added.

“Of course I’m not joking,” Goggles replied with a smile. “So don’t go feeling jealous because of one little thing I’ve said, okay?”

They may have been hesitant at first, but after giving each other a look of reassurance, all four fillies then nodded in response, indicating that they understood completely.

“We understand Goggles,” Apple Bloom said, nuzzling him against his cheek. “Now what do ya say we continue this shindig?”

“No arguments there!” Goggles said cheerfully. “Let me just take one for dip in the tea tub.”

“NO!!!” all four fillies screamed, once again pulling him away from the hot tub.


#


After he was finally dragged away from the gigantic masses of tea, Goggles was finally able to re-join the party, everywhere he looked, he could see ponies enjoying themselves, but none seem to be more so than Trixie, who at that moment was speaking with Rover. Goggles couldn’t really hear what either of them were saying but judging from her smile, he could tell that she was truly happy to be at this party. As the party continued over the next hour, Goggles eventually found himself being flocked by a great number of the guests, many of which bearing a great assortment of birthday gifts. If there was anything that made Goggles first Birthday Party even better, it was receiving his first presents from his friends, and each one was better than the next. He received a small stack of books from Twilight and Spike, all of which were new copies based on his favourite subjects, Rarity gave him a brand new vest, something simple and practical, and yet still had a sense of glamour. Fluttershy gave Goggles a new small set of tools to fit neatly inside his new vest, Rainbow Dash gave him a new, contractible Bo staff to use for their martial arts sessions. And this was just to name a few of the many presents he received. But the best gifts of all had to have come from Apple Bloom and Applejack, both of whom gave him something that reminded him of just how great his friends truly are, it was clear to see that they both shared the same idea since they both gave him a similar gift, Apple Bloom gave him a photograph of him and the Cutie Mark Crusaders officially welcoming Silver Spoon into their group, while Applejack gave him a photograph of him and the entire Apple Family when they travelled to visit Goldie Delicious. Both photos were beautifully framed and were placed in toughened glass, as he gazed upon both images upon the photographs Goggles tears began to dampen with tears again, only this time he was able to wipe them away before he became too dramatic.

“Thank you guys,” he said, wiping his eyes. “I… really don’t know what to say.”

Suddenly before another word can be said, the music suddenly stopped and everyone turned their heads towards the stage. As expected Pinkie Pie, as the main organiser of the party, had decided to say a few words.

“Hi everypony!” she said, through the microphone. “Is everyone enjoying the party?”

The crowd cheered in response to that.

“Fantastic!” Pinkie Pie said with a cheerful smile. “Now you’re probably all getting the goosebumps and eager to get back to the party, but before we do I would just like to say a few words to the birthday boy himself!”

Goggles was somewhat disappointed that Pinkie Pie hadn’t included Trixie into her speech, especially since he basically declared that it supposed to be a shared party, however he soon realised that this was one of the rare moments where Pinkie Pie actually planned something ahead and at this point was too late to change anything. This became evident when Pinkie nodded towards Vinyl Scratch, instructing her to put on a new song, before anyone knew it, Pinkie was singing:

PINKIE:
Now you’re the king of the gizmos,
Oh, a techy VIP,
A drinker of tea, a crazy monkey,
But something’s bothering me,

You say you’ve never had a birthday,
Well I tell you, that’s a mistake,
So make a wish, it’s yours! True dish,
And have a slice of your cake!

Oh, oobee doo,
Happy Birthday to Y-O-U,
I wanna sing with you, dance with you, 
You’re so cool,
You'll see its true-oo-oo,
A pony like me-ee-ee,
Wants to celebrate the birth of guys like you!

As the crowd laughed and danced to the beat of the crazy song Pinkie Pie was singing, Goggles couldn’t help but feel both embarrassed and flattered, as he witnessed Pinkie Pie dance along to the song up on stage, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. In a matter of moments, he soon found himself being caught up in the music and jumping onto the stage with her.

“Gee thanks Pinkie,” he said. “Now allow US to take the next verse…”

At first no pony knew what Goggles meant by “us” but this was soon clarified when he urged Trixie to come up on stage with him, there was no way that Trixie was gonna miss out on this. It may not have been part of the original plan, but none the less Pinkie Pie allowed this change in tempo, in fact being Pinkie pie she enjoyed every minute of it as she bounced off the stage to allow the two to sing to their hearts content.

GOGGLES:
Now Apple Bloom you’re a sweetheart,
Oh yeah, I’m glad I stayed with you,
You and Applejack, Trixie and Big Mac,
And dear old Granny Smith too,

TRIXIE:
To stand here in Ponyville,
Hear and now, with all our friends,
No more toil and strife, it’s the best day of my life,
Now the party never ends!

GOGGLES:
Oh, oobee doo
Today’s a total dream come true,
It’s better than tea, don’t ya agree,
I fell so free,

TRIXIE:
Oh Goggles, you-oo-oo
Are royally-ee-ee
The Birthday-boy we all want to see!

“Take it home Goggles!” Apple Bloom shouted from the crowd.

GOGGLES:
They all love you, my best friend Trixie!

“One more time!” Rainbow Dash screamed.

GOGGLES + TRIXIE:
It’s my Birthday, and that’s fine by me!!!

And with that the music stopped and every pony screamed with applause at the two individuals on stage, allowing them both to bask in the affection that both of them had desired for so long.

“Happy Birthday Trixie,” Goggles said with a grin.

“You too, Goggles,” Trixie replied, returning the smile


#


The party had to have lasted well into the evening, and it was still going on. Even as Celestia lowered the sun and Luna raised the moon, every pony at the party was so hyped up to even notice the colder air, even with their hooves in the now, slushy snow, however in any case heaters were still set up all over the area so that ponies would still be able to keep warm. However while Trixie and every pony else carried on with the party below him, Goggles on the other hand sat upon the roof of the barn, gazing up at Luna’s radiant moon and reminiscing of how wonderful today was. Looking back down to the now lit parties grounds of Sweet Apple Acres, Goggles just couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have so many friends, suddenly his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a large clunk coming from behind him. Turning his head towards the noise, he saw Applejack climbing up out of the entrance to the roof he made weeks earlier, he must remember to install an elevator one of these days. Applejack had always known that Goggle liked to come up here whenever he needed some time to himself, ever since Apple Bloom brought him home, Applejack would sometimes spot the Gizmonk looking down at her from his usual perch.

“You feeling okay Goggles?” Applejack asked, taking a seat next to the Gizmonk. “We haven’t seen y’all at the party for a while.”

Goggles sighed happily at that.

“I’ve never felt better actually, do you want to know why?” he said, receiving a shrug from Applejack as her answer. “Because now I finally really know that I’m loved.”

At those words, Applejack, for a moment didn’t really know what to say in response.

“Really?” she finally replied with a raised eyebrow. “Cause there’s just about most of Ponyville back at the party that should have told ya that long ago.”

“No, not by the ponies of Ponyville AJ,” Goggles retorted, shaking his head slightly. “By you.”

Now Applejack REALLY didn’t know what to say, she was so taken aback by what Goggle had just said that her mouth simply hung open for a few seconds.

“I know that I can be hard to deal with at times,” the Gizmonk continued. “Heck, we didn’t have the best of first introductions did we?”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“If ah recall correctly you spat a bunch of raisins in my face after ah found you in the kitchen cupboard,” she said with a slight smirk.  “And ah admit, you can be annoying, and a little mischievous at times but that’s what family is at times.”

Now it was Goggles’ turn to be taken aback, upon hearing those words he went so wide-eyed with shock that he almost fell off the roof, luckily Applejack was there to catch him by his tail.

“You… you really consider me family Applejack?” he asked, looking up at her with a curious stare.

Seeing the pleading look upon Goggles face, Applejack couldn’t help but let out a small giggle.

“Would ah have given you this party if ah didn’t?” she asked.

That at was the sentence that made Goggles’ heart feel like it was about to burst again, he may have felt like the Apples were family for a long time now, but to actually hear Applejack say it made it even better. At this point Goggles felt like he was gonna burst out crying again, luckily he had already let out all the tears he had for the day earlier, so instead he only looked back up at Applejack with a glimmer in his eye and another huge smile on his face. After that the two simply continued to sit there on the roof, looking up at the stars in the sky, both of them admiring the wonder and magnificence of the sparking blanket above them. After a few minutes, Goggles finally spoke again.

“Can I tell you something Applejack?” he said, grabbing the Earth Pony’s attention. “I never would have thought I would ever feel like this… to have a family. Sometimes I’ve felt like I would always be alone, to spend each and every day thinking about the most important thing missing from my life. But now…”

“…now you can stop your fussing,” Applejack said reassuringly, cutting off the Gizmonk mid-sentence. “Ah promise you, you’ll never be alone again.”

At those words, Goggles couldn’t think of anything better to say, Applejack had just given him the much wanted words that he needed to hear for a long time.

“Now come on,” Applejack said, rising to her hooves. “The party ain’t over yet.”

With that Goggles gladly rose up to his feet and followed Applejack back down through the roof entrance to the barn, happy to re-join his friends and family for his birthday.


#


Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the residents of Ponyville, there was another figure lurking around the outskirts of town, hidden amongst the shadows and sniffing the air around him, someone who wasn’t what one would call a pleasant visitor. Suddenly the figure’s eyes widened with realisation as one scent in particular caught his nostrils.

“Oh-ho snap!”  he exclaimed. “This is the place! I better call HQ!”

At those words the figure then rushed away from the town with a vast amount of speed, had any pony have been taking a stroll at the time, they probably wouldn’t have even noticed he was there save for a slight gust of wind and the extremely light paw-prints left in the snow, paw-prints that were practically invisible amongst the darkness. When the figure reached the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, he took something out of his vest pocket, at first glance it appeared to be nothing more than a regular sapphire, but then with a slight tap against the crystalline surface, the sapphire began to glow with a faint blue arua. The Figure then brought the strange jewel closer to his mouth and began to speak to it.

“Yo Icy-baby,” he said in a suave, high-pitched voice. “I’ve found him.”

If anyone were to witness this, they would say that the strange figure must have been crazy, but then they would have had second thoughts if they had seen what happened next.

“You’re sure?” said a cold, feminine voice emanating from the gem, echoed with the strange aura producing from it.

“No doubt about it yo,” the figure said excitedly. “I distinctly smell Aroma-de-Gizmonk.”

It was then that a faint laugh began emerging from the sapphire, followed by another sentence.

“So that is where that piece of filth has been hiding eh?” it said. “Well then I think it’s about time the little one comes home don’t you?”

At those words the figure laughed and turned back towards the down of Ponyville, placing the gem pack into his pocket as the glow faded away.

“Oh yeah baby,” he chuckled, once again reaching into his pocket and pulling out a sharp pair of sunglasses. “No doubt about it. By the time we’re done, that fool ain’t gonna no what hit him.” 

The figure then began to laugh inanely as he stared back down at Ponyville, soon to be joined by several other pairs of eyes looking at him from the depths of the Everfree Forest.