“I’m so excited!” Twinken was walking with his best friends Rumble and Button Mash through Sweet Apple Acres to his big brother’s workshop.
“Yeah, I’ve been looking forward to Midnight Hour all week!” Rumble agreed.
“I still don’t see what’s so great about a lesson from Midnight when we could be at the arcade!” moped Button.
“And spend all your hard earned bits from your weekly allowance?” Twinken cracked, Rumble laughing, Button scoffing. “Button I swear, you’re gonna like this! Ever since he started Midnight Hour, Midnight’s taught me so much more about magic and he’s even helped Rumble with some guard training and exercises. Soon I'll know a heap of new spells and Rumble will be the toughest pegasus in school. I’m sure he’ll have something for you too.”
"Well that does sound cool,” Button considered, “Maybe he can teach me about some game tactics. I'm sure, as a Prince of Equestria, he knows some awesome skills I can use in my games."
"That's the spirit. Now let's see Midnight." Twinken said with a smile, leading the colts up the hill to his brother’s workshop.
However his smile quickly turned into a frown when the group reached the door and they spotted the sign hanging on the door. It read
'Sorry Twinken, Prince Sombra requested me in Canterlot, so I’m sorry to say Midnight Hour is
cancelledpostponed. Be back later tonight, love you - Midnight'.
"Awww, I was looking forward to learning some new guard drills. Midnight was going to teach me how to strengthen my legs so I could tackle properly." Rumble muttered with a groan. Beside him Button looked a little put out, but he cheered his usual ‘YAY’ before he whipped out his JoyBoy.
Twinken however was feeling really upset. After what had happened earlier that day, he had really wanted to get some advice from his big brother during Midnight Hour.
Earlier that day
Twinken, Rumble and Button just watched as Diamond Tiara shoved her butler aside to bask in the praise he had earned from his acrobatic display. The three spotted their female friends over behind the crowd looking annoyed and discussing something between them. Button and Rumble started complaining about Diamond and her annoying habits as they watched the rich pink filly showing off. Twinken was about to join in when somepony caught his eye.
Dinky Doo, the unicorn daughter of the local mailmare Ditzy Doo, was swinging herself on the swing set, laughing as she swung higher and higher. Twinken had seen Dinky around school several times before, but he'd never really spent much time just observing her. She had a lovely lilac coat and a fluffy blond mane that bobbed up and down as she swung back and forth. Like him, she was also a blank flank, but she didn't seem to care, just going about her days smiling and laughing with her friends. She just seemed like the sweetest little unicorn in school.
As Twinken watched her swinging back and forth, he felt something strange. His cheeks started to heat up and his stomach suddenly felt like it was filled with butterflies. Dinky seemed really pretty, and really fun, and really sweet. The young colt wasn't sure what he was feeling right now as he gazed at her, but he really liked the feeling.
Button and Rumble paused in their badmouthing of Diamond Tiara to notice that their friend had a dreamy look on his face and his cheeks were blushing red.
"Uh, Twinken, are you okay? What are you looking at?" Button asked puzzled, prodding his unicorn friend in the barrel to get a reaction. His touch did seem to startle Twinken out of his dumbstruck look, but it wasn't fast enough to stop Rumble from noticing who he had been staring at.
"You were checking out Dinky, weren't you? She's a really nice filly, I can see why you would get a crush on her."
"C-C-C-CRUSH! I-I don't have a crush! Why would you think I have a crush?!" Twinken stuttered, his eyes wide and his tail twitching nervously. Button and Rumble just looked at each other amused before turning back to their friend.
"Seriously, dude?" the earth pony chuckled.
"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with having a crush. In fact I think Dinky would be a good match for you. She's pretty talented at her magic, kinda like you, she's really friendly and outgoing with everypony like you, and I'm pretty sure she might like you back." the little pegasus added with a smile.
"Yeah, she always smiles at you whenever you walk past her. You should see if she wants to hang out after school. You could ask her to Sugarcube Corner for an ice cream or something."
Twinken considered what they said for a moment. The idea of having a crush on the filly didn't seem that bad. But before he could voice in the positive and agree to their idea, he took another look at her. She was hopping off the swing set to let Ruby Pinch have a turn, but that friendly smile never left her face, and she still looked as pretty as ever. But the thought of approaching her and asking her out made his throat close up. The butterflies in his stomach turn into clouds of dread and he started to sweat.
He was way too nervous to approach her. But the thought of not trying made him feel sad. If was too nervous to try, but not trying upset him, what was he going to do? He needed some advice…
Wait, Midnight managed to ask Twilight out. Maybe he could give him some advice!
He knew exactly what he would be asking his brother for help with in today’s Midnight hour, and hopefully he would be able to walk away with the confidence to speak with Dinky.
He couldn't wait!
Twinken sat at the dinner table, picking his food, not really hungry or interested, that it bothered his brother and sisters and grandmother and new sister-in-law as they noticed his apathetic behavior.
“Uh, Twinken?” Fluttershy spoke in her usually kind and gentle soft tone. When Twinken didn’t respond, Applejack cleared her throat and gave it a (louder) try, “Twinken!”
“Huh?” Twinken dropped his fork, finally noticing everypony looking at him. “Uh, yes?”
“Sweetie, what’sa matter?” Granny Smith asked. “You look more down than a kite without a breeze.”
“Eeyup,” agreed Big Mac.
“Whatever’s the matter, Twinken?” asked Fluttershy as she sat beside her husband.
“It’s… nothing,” Twinken looked away.
“C’mon, Twinken!" Apple Bloom assured, "Wer’ fam’ly, if ya cain’t tell us `bout yer troubles, who can ya tell?”
“Apple Bloom’s right, sugarcube,” Applejack nodded as she got up from her chair and went over to put her arm comfortingly around the little unicorn’s shoulders.
“So c’mon, tell yer fam’ly wha’s eatin’ ya.”
Twinken looked at them all in turn and sighed morosely, “I’m not angry at him, but… Midnight cancelled Midnight Hour today… Or he ‘postponed’, I don’t know. Rumble and I invited Button along and we were looking forward to whatever lessons big brother would have for us this week.”
“Oh yes,” Fluttershy remembered, “Midnight told us earlier today that Prince Sombra had a lesson in new magic for him. Did he, Mackie?”
“Eeyup.”
“Oh don’ take it too hard, sugarcube,” Applejack assured. “Midnight’s got responsibilities, bein’ a prince, but Ah know f’sure wha’ matters most t’ him is fam’ly, an’ tha’ includes you, lil’ brother!”
As the others gave their ‘mmhmms’ and ‘eeyup’ of agreement, Twinken gave Applejack a small smile, “Thanks, AJ, I feel a little better. But I am wondering what’s taking him, it’s getting late!”
“Ah’m sure Midnight’s on his way right now, Twinken,” Big Mac assured, “an’ he won’ disappoint you.”
Twinken smiled at his other big brother’s assurance and finally ate. But even as the family returned to their dinner, Twinken still felt a little doubt.
Midnight hurried up to Sweet Apple Acres, his natural night vision catching even the barest of moonbeams and faintest starlight to light his way. He hadn’t expected his master’s lesson to go on for so long, or how hard it would be. It was late, well past the foals’ bedtime, but he hoped, since it was a Friday night Twinken might still be up.
Midnight had felt lousy for cancelling Midnight Hour with the colts and even more so for doing it by note rather than in person.
It’s not much of an apology, Midnight thought as he considered his gift in his saddlebag, but maybe this will be a start.
Midnight landed right on the welcome mat, looking up at the farmhouse and seeing the light in the living room, as well as Applejack’s room. He felt his heart ease a little, thinking, Maybe he hasn’t gone to bed yet.
Just in case, Midnight slowly opened the front door and looked to the couch, his hope quashing to see Twinken asleep, his head resting on the sofa’s armrest. The lamp on the side table was on, with an open ‘Power Ponies’ comic book next to it. Midnight sighed, realizing Twinken had stayed up to wait for him but the little colt’s drowsiness got the better of him. But seeing Twinken sleep, Midnight went over and carefully pushed Twinken’s mane out of his eyes, smiling a little.
Midnight could still remember the day this little colt came into his life. Both of them, when his past self volunteered at the Sibling Revelry and was assigned to Twinken, and when his current self first saw this colt as a newborn in their mother’s hooves.
Mom… Midnight forced the tears away before they could escape his eyes as the thought of his mother entered his mind. He looked again at this one colt who meant so much to him as he thought, You’d be so proud of him.
Sighing, Midnight gently levitated Twinken onto his back and carefully carried him upstairs. Ever since Big Mac moved into the house he and Fluttershy had received from Midnight, Twinken had been given his old bedroom to have his own space. AJ and Apple Bloom had been a little unenthusiastic about it but accepted that even though Big Mac had his own home and wife now he was still a part of their lives.
Entering the room, Midnight took it in, his brother’s bed covered with a quilt Granny Smith had made for him, his toy chest, painted indigo with a blue moon and silver star, his bedside drawer with the crystal lamp he’d gotten from Twilight all the way from the Crystal Empire, his bookcase with his favorite children’s lit, along with a beginner’s spellbook he’d received from Midnight, and a poster of the Wonderbolts autographed by Soarin from before his resignation, a beanbag chair below the window, and the soft carpet covering the center of the floor.
Midnight gently levitated Twinken onto his bed and tucked him in, being extra careful not to wake him up. He then placed his present on the bedside drawer for Twinken to find in the morning, along with another note, before bending down and giving his little brother a kiss on the brow.
“Sweet dreams, little bro.”
Midnight then touched the crystal lamp, dampening its glow to that of a dying ember, and then left the room to go to bed.
The roosters started crowing as Celestia's sun began to rise over Sweet Apple Acres. Twinken gave a groan before slowly opening his eyes and pulling himself into a sitting position. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and yawned as he started to truly wake up, when suddenly the memories of the day before started to come to him. He had waited up for ages for his brother to come home before obviously falling asleep. Somepony must have carried him upstairs to bed at some point.
Realizing he had missed his chance to see his brother, he gave a sad sigh, but before he could further vocalize his disappointment, the young colt spotted something on his bedside drawer. A bold and striking image of a six stallions stared up at him, each of them poised in a heroic stance, looking ready for action. All of them were garbed and armed with bright and colorful suits and weaponry and they looked fierce, as though nothing could stop them. Proudly displayed across the top was the title 'The Bronco Busters!'.
Twinken had read many different comic books, some from his friends as well as Spike, the 'Power Ponies' being one of his favorites, but he had never seen this comic before. The characters looked totally awesome, like heroes completely ready to face the tough supervillains that the Power Ponies had contended with.
"Wow, this comic looks so cool! But where did it come from?"
His answer came when he picked the comic up in his red aura. Underneath it was a note, with the distinctive writing style of his older brother.
Hey Twinken
I am so sorry I wasn't able to help you and your friends yesterday. Sometimes being a Prince can come with some pretty annoying duties that have to be completed. As an apology, here's a first edition of the new Bronco Busters comic, signed by the author! From what I can tell, they just started making them, probably as a counterpart to the Power Ponies, since all the main characters in that comic are mares (not counting Humdrum). I think it's set in the same universe as the Power Ponies, since the picture on the back features a villain from their series.
Anyway, sorry again, bro. I'll be sure to set aside some time for you and your friends when next I get some free time, but I'm going to be pretty busy for a little while now so I don't know when it will be.
Hope you like the comic - Midnight
Twinken finished reading the note and flipped his comic over to see the picture of the Phony Pharaoh, aka Pharaoh Phetlock, on the back, a well known villain of the Power Ponies. This comic definitely had his attention now. The Phony Pharaoh was actually Twinken’s favorite villain, thinking the Mane-iac was overrated.
However, as good a mood as he was in from the comic, knowing that his brother would be too busy to spend any time with him for a while left a bitter feeling inside him.
Was Twinken just not important enough to make time for?
He dismissed the thought from his head. He knew his brother loved him and would always try to make time for him when he could. Still as he left the room in search of breakfast, levitating his new comic behind him, that seed of discontent remained with him.
Later on that day, Twinken was sitting underneath a tree in Ponyville park, contemplating whether he should start reading his new comic yet. He'd been distracted with chores around the farmhouse most of the morning and had only just finished, so he had yet to find the time to open the comic book.
He was currently sitting alone, as Rumble and Button, whom he had agreed to meet with, had wandered off to see why all the other foals of the town had gathered around Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom and appeared to be fawning over them. He had contemplated joining them, but the desire to read his comic had overruled his curiosity and had led him to the tree. However before he could open it, something else had caught his attention.
Seemingly unfazed by whatever was happening with the filly members of the CMC, Dinky Doo was playing with a young bird, laughing merrily as it chirped playfully and fluttered around her head. Twinken sat and watched her efforts, a rosy blush on his face as he saw her smiling and laughing. Dinky really seemed to have taken a hold of his thoughts lately, and his nerves over approaching her had seemed to grow with time.
Twinken couldn't even will himself to take a step towards her. It made him feel rather ashamed of himself, that his usually calm and intelligent disposition was being so easily subverted by nerves over talking with his crush. He knew now he could definitely call it a crush. The odd butterflies in his stomach from yesterday had definitely multiplied over night, and he could feel his heart beating out a samba in his chest.
If only Midnight had been around, then I could have gotten some advice on how to handle this.
The mixed emotions of joy and nervousness that had swirled about him seemed to quell as his feelings of sadness brought about by his lack of time with his brother, were brought to the surface. He really wanted to talk with Midnight right now and get some advice, or even just spend a little time with him.
Well, he said he'd be busy. Still, maybe he could spare a moment for me if I asked him to.
Deciding on a course of action, Twinken carefully levitated the comic behind him as he set out to track down his brother and see if he could get a quick word in.
Surely there was nothing wrong with that?
Midnight sighed wearily as he placed the last scrap of paper in his correspondence pile. All day he'd been busy with royal duties. Practically from the moment he woke up he'd been writing and reading letters, sorting through secure documents and just playing his role in the politics of Equestria. It was frustrating, boring and extremely tiring.
The paperwork had piled up in Town Hall and the mayor had brought it to Midnight’s attention. He’d tried to get out of it but the mayor had gotten to him somehow. He’d gone over financial documents, requests from the Ponyville school board for new study aids and desks, various matters relating to public services, a request for funds from the Ponyville Construction crew to get them started on an expansion to build a new neighborhood, and had to juggle the town’s emergency funds on where the money was most needed, while also checking with some of the town officials.
“Oi!” Midnight groaned as he stepped out of town hall, hissing a bit and shielding his face from the bright sun with his wing.
“Well, somepony’s a hissy mchisspants!”
“Ugh…” Midnight groaned as he recognized that voice and toughed out the rays to see… “Cheese, please not now... I just spent the last few hours doing paperwork and dancing politics, and right now I just wanna relax.”
“Well, you’re in luck, Midnight ol’ buddy, ol’ pal, ol’ friend!” Cheese bounced over and placed a foreleg around Midnight’s shoulders. “The guys and I waited just for this, since today’s when we all have our weekly pizza pie!”
“Oh, right,” Midnight recalled, it was that time of the week. “I dunno, Cheese, I kinda promised my brother some of my time and I already postponed Midnight Hour with him and his friends yesterday-”
“Well you can’t teach those colts some cool new skills all mopey and sluggy the way you are now,” Cheese pointed out. “C’mon, bud! A nice lunch of your favorite pizza, a cup of your favorite colt cola to wet your whistle, Blue’s even bringing over his movie-projector and a reel of the newest ‘Daring Do’ movie!”
“You are not talking about the upcoming movie ‘Daring Do and the Riddle of the Sphinx’!” Midnight stated in a tone incredulous and began to cave when Cheese grinned a cheeky way.
“No. Way! That movie’s not even out yet!”
“Well, Blueblood managed to buy a copy of the reel just before they release it next month!” Cheese explained but then got shifty-eyed, and whispering, “But we’re not supposed to tell anypony else!”
Midnight got that - The moment it got out Blueblood had a copy of the newest Daring Do movie before it was released it would be chaos.
“C’mon, Midnight, you said so yourself you wanted to relax!” Cheese begged with a puppy-dog pout that worked because of his colt-ish face. “What better way than watching an awesome movie with your best buddies, eating the best pizza in town?”
Midnight considered it, and he had to admit that the notion was tempting. In fact, his stomach chose that particular moment to growl quite ferociously that it made Midnight chuckle sheepishly as Cheese said, “Whoa! Sounds like somepony’s up for a slice of Pepper Pony’s!”
Midnight thought about it, and caved, “Oh what the hay, I do need a break, and pizza and a movie sound great.”
“Awesome-sauce-ome!” Cheese cheered, “To the pizza parlor!”
Pepper Pony’s was in sight, as Twinken made his way to the pizza parlor. Earlier, after seeing Twilight at the library, he’d learned Midnight got roped into some work at town hall, and after a quick word with Mayor Mare’s secretary, he’d learned Midnight left town hall with Cheese Sandwich.
Twinken knew Cheese worked at Pepper Pony’s, and recalled this was the day his brother and the stallions got together at the pizza parlor for their weekly pie, to hang out and catch up.
He must have needed to relax a little and grab a bite, Twinken thought as he entered.
He saw a few ponies enjoying some slices and Mrs. Spice at the register, who smiled at him warmly, “Well hello, Twinken, what can I do for you, honey?”
“Hi, Mrs. Spice,” Twinken said kindly, “I’m looking for my brother.”
“Oh, he ‘s upstairs in Cheese’s room,” Mrs. Spice directed Twinken to the stairs in the back. “He and the rest of the boys are watching a movie!”
“A movie?” Twinken echoed in confusion.
“You’re welcome to join `em, sweetheart,” Chili Spice invited. “If you want, I’ll even whip up some cinnamon sticks and icing dip for you.”
“Um, sure, be right back,” Twinken went through the kitchen doors, and looked at where Chili made the magic of pizza happen.
There was a large fridge, shelves holding large containers of ingredients, a vast and open-mouthed stone oven where a couple pizzas were being cooked, the large wooden paddle-like peel set to the side for inserting and extracting pizzas, a table covered with flour and a plastic container set to the side where a mound of dough awaited to be tossed and flattened, and more.
Past the kitchen was a small hall with a door leading to Mrs. Spice’s office and a staircase leading to the residence upstairs. As he ascended the stairs, he began to hear noises that sounded oddly like they came from a jungle. Such as exotic bird sounds, the chatter of monkeys, and some hushed conversation as he approached the door the sounds were coming from. He gave three knocks and waited for somepony to answer. When none came, he quietly and slowly opened the door, and peered in.
He saw his brothers, Midnight and Mac, along with their friends Thunderlane, Blueblood, Soarin, and Cheese Sandwich, a movie projector set up behind them while their eyes were glued to the screen in front of them, showing Daring Do making a trek through a jungle before she stepped through the foliage and saw before her a vast scorching desert!
“Ooh-hoo-hoo!” Thunderlane got excited, “She’s getting closer and closer to the Pyramid of the Sphinx Sorceress!”
“Shh, it looks like she’s being followed,” Midnight pointed out some greedy-looking eyes spying on Daring Do from the jungle behind her.
“Eeyup, an’ if mah eyes’re seein’ wha’ Ah think they’re seein’,” Big Mac added, “it’s tha’ no-good varmint Doctor Caballeron!”
This is what he calls ‘too busy’? Twinken thought, feeling hurt. Watching a movie with his friends and cancelling Midnight Hour on me and mine…?
Twinken sadly closed the door, making sure not to let them know he’d been there and went back downstairs. Coming out of the kitchen, back into the front of the parlor, Mrs. Spice noticed him, “Twinken, honey, aren’t you gonna spend time with your brother?”
“Um, I think I’ll take you up on those cinnamon sticks, Mrs. Spice,” Twinken changed the subject
“Coming right up!”
Twinken sat at a booth in the corner of the parlor, sighing sadly as he brought out his new comic book, thinking, Might as well…
As he waited on his cinnamon sticks, Twinken started reading his new comic, featuring the all-new superhero team, the Bronco Busters! As he got into it, he couldn’t help but smile, his nose completely in it when a clattering sound startled him, Mrs. Spice declaring, “Order up! One dish of my famous cinnamon sticks with icing dip, and an ice-cold colt cola, all for you, honey.”
“Oh thanks, Mrs. Spice,” Twinken had to admit, the cinnamon sticks looked deelish, and now that he thought about it, he could do with a drink,
“Oh please, sweetie, call me Auntie Spice,” Chili insisted when she noticed the comic. “Enjoying a good story?”
“Yeah!” Twinken admitted, “It’s a comic featuring a whole new team of superheroes called the Bronco Busters! They protect the city of Trotham from a new villain in town, the Phony Pharaoh!”
“Phony Pharaoh?” Chili Spice echoed, not understanding when Twinken opened the comic to a page and showed it to her and began the explanation.
“His real name is Phetlock, and he was originally an assistant-archaeologist to a celebrity who stole the credit of finding a pharaoh’s tomb from Phetlock, and fired him so he couldn’t prove that he was the one who made the discovery!” Twinken was getting excited.
“Robbed of the fame and prestige that should have been his, Phetlock began obsessing over the pharaoh and came to believe he himself was the pharaoh’s descendant and vowed to make himself a pharaoh of his own empire!
“But after being thwarted so many times by the Power Ponies in Mare-tropolis, he decided to move his operation to the city of Trotham where he stole some magical artifacts from the Trotham Museum, and gained dangerous magical powers! But what he didn’t count on was that Trotham had its own platoon of pony protectors watching over it… the Bronco Busters!”
“Well, that does sound like a good story,” Chili Spice chuckled, “but why don’t you wanna share it with your big brother?”
Sighing dejectedly, Twinken sat back in his booth, saying, “And get in the way of how ‘busy’ he is? No thanks, I’ll… just entertain myself.”
Seeing the little colt feeling down and realizing his brother was somewhat to blame, Chili Spice looked through the kitchen doors to the stairs, a cross look on her face.
“Nice try, Caballeron, but you’re gonna have to be slicker than that!”
The guys all muttered excitably, having just watched Daring yet again get the better of Caballeron, who irritably reminded his nemesis, “That’s Doctor Caballeron, to you!”
“How this guy got his PhD, I’ll never know,” Soarin chuckled.
“The scoundrel probably faked it,” Blueblood scoffed with a smug tone.
“Ooh-ooh! Looks like she’s about to get the drop on him again!” Cheese pointed out, and the guys all leaned in, watching as Daring Do and Caballeron faced each other inside the pyramid, ready for another round when…!
Blank.
“AUGH!” Soarin, Cheese, and Thunder all yelled at the sight of the screen going blank, Midnight snapping, “Hey, what gives?!”
“AHEM!”
They all startled and looked behind them to see Chili Spice, who’d obviously turned the projector off, and was giving Midnight a real stink-eye.
“Uh, can we help you, Auntie Spice?” Midnight asked hesitantly.
“Not me,” Chili Spice shook no while maintaining her look of disapproval. “But I think a certain poor little colt could do well with some quality time with his big brother.”
Midnight felt his heart tighten as he realized what Chili Spice was saying.
“Twinken?! Is he- Is he here?”
“Downstairs in the parlor, reading that comic you got him,” Chili Spice confirmed, “but still feeling rather lousy that his brother apparently doesn’t have time for him.”
The guys all felt bad as they saw Midnight look even worse. Until a determined look spread across his face, and looked to his friends.
“Sorry guys, looks like I’m gonna have to cut the show short. I should be with my little brother right now.”
“Hold on, haystack,” Big Mac spoke up, “we… kinda got in th’ way o’ you an’ Twinken’s time with each other.”
“So I think it only fair that all of us go downstairs with you and invite Twinken to watch this movie with us,” Blueblood suggested.
The rest of the guys all nodded and said their own words of agreement, Midnight smiling appreciatively.
“Huh, this Timmy Coltson guy’s pretty brave,” Twinken commented as he looked at the panel of a young colt named Timmy Coltson cast a spell that conjured a beacon to the Bronco Busters while he watched a crime in progress.
“Bet the Bronco Busters appreciate him a lot for them to give him that spell to alert them.”
Twinken sighed as he turned the page… and found it blank!
“What the- No… No! That can’t be it!” Twinken flabbergasted. “The story’s not even finished yet! Ugh! Wait… What’s that?”
On the blank page’s lower right corner, something was spelled out, too small for him to make out.
“You can re...retry? No, return… Ergh, it’s too small to read!”
Then Twinken remembered, and looked at his saddlebags, his telekinetic aura pulling out a magnifying glass!
“Good thing Twilight gave this to me for that homework assignment last week.”
Levitating the glass over the scribbled corner, he made out, “‘You can… return to the place you started… when… the Pharaoh is defeated! Take a closer look… to… join the adventure in this book’?”
Putting the glass down, Twinken said aloud, “What the hoof does that mean?!”
As if answering the little colt’s question, he comic book’s blank pages lit up a near-blinding radiance! Twinken was in awe as his horn tingled in the presence of strong magic!
“Twinken!”
Twinken looked towards the kitchen doors and saw his brother and the other stallions, Midnight saying, “Get away from that!”
But before Twinken could do anything, he yelped as he felt a force pull him towards the comic book! It grew stronger and stronger, that he couldn’t defy it, and cried out in panic, “WHAT’S GOING ON….?!?!?”
“TWINKEN!” Midnight leapt over and grabbed his little brother around the barrel, but even with his own strength, he was totally unprepared for whatever magic was pulling the both of them now into the comic, that Thunderlane, then Big Mac, then Blueblood and Soarin, all tried to pulled their friends away from the comic book, only for them all to join them, Cheese diving in as he yelled cheerfully, “WAIT FOR MEEEEEEE….!!!!”
With the magic having done its work, the comic book’s pages blew back as the comic book closed, the magic in the air stilling just in time as Chili Spice came down to check how things were going. Only to find the pizza parlor oddly empty.
“Where’d everypony go?”