//------------------------------// // With Friends Like Those, Who Needs Enemies? // Story: Book 1: A New Element of Friendship // by Medley of MLP //------------------------------// A New Element Of Friendship With Friends Like Those, Who Needs Enemies? Dear LaurFastia, it seems that my idea of a curse put on me to have beds hate me still holds true, as I was sleeping peacefully before being awoken by a pail of cold water, resulting in a knee-jerk reaction of rolling off the bed and landing with a thud on the ground. I was disoriented for a bit before realizing that I was pranked if the sound of quiet giggling was anything to go by. I had thought about going out there and ‘yell’ at them, but something inside me thought different and I instead smirked a bit and snuck around behind their hiding spot. Once in position, I did a small jump-scare that I saw once in a video game back home. The result was a bit hilarious, as I saw Rainbow and Pinkie both jump high into the air, screaming a bit. I had a small laugh at that as they soon realized it was just me and they giggled a bit as well. “Nice one Med! I couldn’t even tell you were close by!” Pinkie giggled. “Yeah, that was a nice way to get the drop on us!” Rainbow laughed. “Heh, I still have a few tricks up my vest in case somepony decided to prank me,” I replied with a small smirk. I soon bid them goodbye as I went off to teach, still smiling a bit. “Man are those two pranksters. Hopefully, they won’t try and become the next Marauders or Weasley Twins,” I humorously prayed. It was the next day that was a bit more interesting, though not in a fun way. It was after school and I made my way to a cafe that I quite liked only to discover Pinkie Pie already occupying a table, looking a bit glum. I froze a bit at that, as the last time she was feeling sad, a demon had nearly come alive and I was the first victim. I quickly made my way over to her table and made my order before turning my attention to Pinkie. “Heya Pinkie. Something bothering you today?” I asked politely. She sighed a bit. “Oh… it’s just some mean old griffon that’s hanging out with Rainbow Dash instead of me. I had a full day of pranking ahead of us too...” I looked a bit relieved. “Sorry for thinking otherwise Pinkie. I just remembered the last time and… well, I just wanted to check up on you.” She looked a bit mad at first before slowly nodding. “No, she’s been laying low and not bothering me at all…”         “I… I’m sorry Pinkie. I’m just worried about my friend,” I smiled back a bit sadly. She nodded a bit before perking back up a bit. “Hey Med, wanna do some of those pranks I planned?” I smiled a bit brighter and chuckled a bit, a small mischievous glint in my eye. “I think that would be a lot of fun.” I frowned a bit though, despite the fun that would soon come. “Though what exactly did this griffon do? I must admit, I’ve rarely met a griffon. The only one I met was on… the night… my voice…” I trailed off, looking a bit saddened. Pinkie Pie reached out across the table and pulled me into a hug. “It’s alright Med, you don’t have to worry about that mean old pony. Plus, you got better? Can you imagine if you couldn’t talk? Can you imagine if I couldn’t talk? Where would that funness go?” I laughed a bit, cheering up some more. “I’m sure we’d all miss you talking, no matter what.” She giggled a bit as well. “Well if you couldn’t sing anymore, then who would I go with on Karaoke night?” We both then laughed a bit more, our moods lightening up. We eventually settled down and she began to explain what had happened. “Well, this griffon, who’s Gilda by the way, she kept on making me go away! First, she had Rainbow Dash leave me behind when I used a trampoline to talk with them, then she popped my balloons to make me sink back down, then she messed with my flying contraption, making me crash land after telling me to buzz off!” I listened with more and more anger at what this Gilda did to Pinkie. I liked reading up on other cultures though, so I wasn’t entirely angry. “Normally Pinkie, I’d say you were being jealous of Gilda taking up so much time with Rainbow Dash, but that’s not entirely the case. Yes I think you are being a bit jealous of her, but you also have to understand that griffons are fiercely loyal to their closest friends and family, often not trusting anypony else near them. I do have to admit though, she was being a bit excessive on trying to keep you away.” “Oh wow Med! That’s like something Twily would say! How are you this smart?” She looked at me in wonder. I sheepishly grinned and waved a hoof. “Oh, I just spent some time as a foal learning about other cultures. Equestria is a land of many cultures and races, so I figure what’s the harm in learning about them? Heck, the only ones I couldn’t find much hard information on, even at Twilight’s library and my short time in Canterlot was on dragons and draconequus’.” “Oooo! What’s the second one? What’s the second one?” She bounced excitedly. “I don’t really know. It was just mentioned briefly and not in detail on what exactly they were. However, I think it’s time we got to pranking,” I grinned at her. She gave a similar grin back and soon we were galloping (or in my case, flying near ground level fast) off to the prank shop. We slowed down a bit though when we saw Gilda in town. I have to admit, from how Pinkie described her, she fit it spot on. However, the opinion soon started to sour more and more, as she purposefully scared Granny Smith, insulted a vendor, stole from a different vendor, and roared at Fluttershy when she accidentally bumped into her. Both Pinkie and I, along with all the townsfolk around us, gave her glares as she gave one last insult before flying off, not seeming apologetic in the least. “She’s a grump, and a thief, and a bully, the meanest kind of mean meanie pants there is! I can take it, but no one treats Fluttershy like that! No! One! This calls for extreme measures: Pinkie Pie style!” She angrily said, channeling the look of Pinkamena, without really becoming her. “I agree with you 100% Pinkie Pie. I think I may join you in that,” I said with a bit of cold fury. She nodded with an evil grin as we both began to plan a party. I must admit though, it was a delicious irony that Rainbow Dash was the one who had plans on setting up some pranks hidden in the party, as she said that it was going to be a good surprise for Gilda. We both sweetly smiled and nodded, causing her to give a strange look at both of us, me more so than Pinkie. Before we started, though, I closed my eyes for just a small moment. It was extremely odd to open them to find the whole party set up, as Pinkie and Dash both thanked me for helping out. I ignored it for now as we waited for guests to come. It was now time that guests were coming in for the party for Gilda. It was quite interesting hearing the small bits of conversation that I did before Fluttershy stealthily made her way over to me and Pinkie. “Um, Pinkie Pie? About this party for Gilda? Um, do you really think it’s a good idea? I mean…” She quietly stammered out before Pinkie tried to dissuade her. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about mean old Gilda,” She drew Fluttershy in what was her mind a comforting way but came off as patronizing. “Your Auntie Pinkie Pie got it all taken care of.” As Pinkie Pie walked off, I stepped in a bit, looking at Fluttershy’s glare at her. “You know that Pinkie Pie is trying to cheer you up a bit there. Plus she did mean what she said: Don’t worry about it. Pinkie wouldn’t throw a party for someone who roared at you without good reason.” “Pinkie better… Besides, I’m older than her…” She sighed with a bit of irritation as Pinkie Pie welcomed Gilda to the party. I do have to admit, it was hilarious seeing Gilda set off all the pranks that Rainbow Dash had hidden, though it was less so when she started glaring at Pinkie, believing that she did it instead. It came to a climax after Gilda tried playing Pin The Tail On The Pony and ended up splattered with cake and a mustache tail. She roared in anger and immediately started yelling at Pinkie Pie. It was after accusing Pinkie Pie of pulling all those pranks on her did Rainbow Dash step up and glare a bit at Gilda. “You know Gilda, I was the one who set up all those ‘weak pranks’ at this party.” Gilda was stunned for a moment before surprisingly stating, “What?!” “So I guess I’M Queen Lameo,” Rainbow Dash sarcastically stated as well, walking directly in front of Pinkie and glaring at what was soon going to be her former friend from the looks of things. “Those pranks I set up weren’t meant for you specifically. It was just bad luck that you happened to set them all off,” Rainbow looked down a bit dejectedly as I looked away a bit in confusion. Those pranks were too synchronized to be merely bad luck and coincidence. Though I do remember closing my eyes once before waking up to find I had helped Rainbow and Pinkie set up the party. I have no idea what the Tartarus is going on… I wondered as Gilda tried to backpedal on her words, failing at it miserably. It soon reached its finale as Gilda stormed off, calling Rainbow a dweeb before leaving. I could see that both were glaring at each other, yet I got the feeling I wouldn’t be seeing the last of Gilda. “I’m sorry everypony,” Rainbow apologetically said a bit after Gilda left, “For bringing Gilda here. I didn’t know how rude she was. And Pinkie Pie… I’m really sorry she ruined that awesome party of yours.” Pinkie looked up at her with a small smile. “Hey, if you want to hang out with party poopers, that’s your business.” Rainbow smiled at her. “Actually, I’d rather hang out with you. No hard feelings?” “No hard feelings.” She shook Rainbow’s hood, only for the joy buzzer to go off once again, this time revealing that they both had joy buzzers. Everyone laughed at that before dispersing back into the party, the mood brightening more. I talked a bit with Pinkie after everypony dispersed. “Looks like there was more to her than I thought. Sorry for the misjudgment there Pinkie.” She giggled before waving a hoof, brushing it off. “It’s alright, Med! Even you can’t be like Twily and be a super smart super smarty-pants all the time. Now come on! There’s still a whole lot of party to finish!” She then jumped into the party as I joined her with a small shake of my head in amusement. I saw Twilight writing her letter to Princess Celestia and smirked a bit when I saw that she sent over some invisible ink along with her usual letter. The party soon came to a close as it was starting to be time for everypony to head back off to bed. Soon almost everypony was gone, except for the Mane 7, as I like to call ourselves. I walked up to Twilight with a bit of worry. “Hey, Twilight? Something… strange has been going on with me and I don’t know what it is,” I nervously said. She looked a bit puzzled before the whole group got together and listened in. “Well, we’re all here for ya, ain’t we? You can tell us,” Applejack put a hoof on my back with a supporting smile. “Exactly, darling. We’re all friends here and friends help each other out,” Rarity added with a small smile. I smiled a bit as well before taking a deep breath to calm myself down. “Well, it’s just that… I don’t remember helping Pinkie and Rainbow set up this party at all. It was one moment I was walking in and I shut my eyes for what felt like a moment, only to discover that once I opened my eyes, the party had been set up and Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had thanked me for helping them. Plus, those pranks were too well-timed to be merely coincidence and bad luck,” I explained. The group looked at one another with confused and curious expressions before Twilight looked back at me. “I have to admit, I never heard of this kind of thing before. I’ll have to check and see if there’s such a thing in the books. In the meantime, don’t worry about it, alright?” She smiled a bit at me, though this smile felt a bit different from before. It had felt… warmer. Like she was trying her best to help and comfort me. I smiled back a bit, feeling a bit better than before. “Thanks, everypony. I’m gonna head off to sleep now, alright?” “Of course, Medley. Good night,” Fluttershy softly said. “I think it’s time we all head off to bed as well.” The group had nodded and we made our way back to our homes. As I lay in bed, I still can’t help but wonder about what had happened. I don’t remember helping set up the party, I was speaking strangely beforehand apparently and I have a missing gap of when I was over at Pinkie’s trying to help cheer her up. Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad… With that final thought, I drifted off to sleep, wondering if my life was about to get any stranger. Well, as they say, be careful what you wish for. Good night everypony! End of Chapter 7