Five Shooting Stars

by The Infinity Doctor

And I thought Flasher got the munchies

Fawn watched the snoozing weasel, his hat pushed over his eyes and a still-smoldering cigarette hanging out of his mouth
She quietly tip-hooved away from the couch he was sleeping on and towards a window

Staring up at the moon and stars that hung in the sky, she began to softly sing:

"Where have all the good ponies gone?
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery cart?
Late at night I toss and turn and I dream of what's in my heart"

"I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the flight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life"

"Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's somepony reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and going with the grooves
It's gonna take a supercolt to sweep me off my hooves"

"Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there's somepony somewhere
Watching me"

"Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like the fire in my blood"

After she finished, she trotted over to Wheezy and placed a small kiss on his nose
"Goodnight Mr. Wheezy"

She walked upstairs to her own bed

X X X X X X X

The next day, the seven weasels were gathered in a small, two story hut they'd constructed haphazardly

"Alright boys, we got our permit from the mayor" Smart Ass said, hanging a plaque on the wall "Now all we gotta do is get the word out"

"You sure this is a good idea Boss?" Wheezy asked "I mean- after what happened last time..."

"I know! I know- but we gotta whole 'nother chance at this thing, and we're gonna do it right"

The other weasels shared a hesitant nod with each other

"So- what do we do now?" Flasher asked

"Just go and do what ever it is you do, and keep an eye out fer anything strange- then one of us'll call the others to come help; sound good?"

They all nodded

"Good, now git"

X X X X X X X

Psycho and Slimy were wandering around town when they saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders

"Hi Slimy! Hi Psycho!" they chirped

"Gah!" Slimy said, clutching his heart "Too...much...cuteness! Can't take it!"

Psycho and the Crusaders giggled at his antics, then bombarded them with questions

"Hey hey hey, slow down" he said "Now, one at a time"
"What're you doing?" Scootaloo asked
"We're on patrol" Slimy said proudly
"So...y'all are just walkin' around?" Applebloom said
"Essentially, 'yes'" Psycho answered
"What're you doing that for?"
"Looking for any signs of trouble"
"Can we help you?"
"Ah, no-"
"But why not?" they all whined
"Don't look into their eyes! They hypnotise!"
Slimy and Psycho ran away as fast as they could- the energetic fillies following

X X X X X X

Fawn, Wheezy, and Fluttershy were all in a field, trees and flowers in bloom- birds and insects buzzing around contentedly

Fluttershy and Wheezy were collecting flowers in a basket that Fluttershy was carrying as Fawn played with the wildlife

"Tell me again why we're pickin' flowers?" he asked

She was about to answer her when a squirrel hopped up and tugged on Fluttershy's tail

"Thank you little squirrel, remember, these are for Princess Celestia- only the best ones will do" she said gently

The wind quickly blew all the seeds off of the dandelion, and the squirrel zipped off
Wheezy and Fluttershy were about to pick more of the flowers when an odd sound came from behind a small rock and scared Fluttershy, she quickly flew behind a nearby basket of apples; spilling the basket of flowers and spreading them all over the ground.

A small insect about the size of Wheezy's fist popped out from behind the rock, its green eyes staring up at the weasel and the frightened pegasus.

"Hello little guy, I've never seen anything like you before" she said as the little bug flew around her

It appeared to be inspecting a fallen apple

"Oh, are you hungry?"
Fluttershy squished the apple with her hoof, and presented it to the bug
"Here you go"

The bug flew towards the basket and devoured all of the apples inside, leaving a very confused Wheezy
"One of these days- one of these days, I'm going to learn not to question these things" Wheezy said, pinching the bridge of his nose

"I guess you were hungry" Fluttershy said, seemingly not suprised at the bug's appetite
The creature buzzed around and snuggled in her mane
"You're the cutest thing ever- I can't wait to show you to my friends" she said, trotting off

Wheezy picked up the fallen basket, whistled for Fawn to follow, and both of them ran after Fluttershy

X X X X X X X

"Oh, hurry up Spike, this place isn't going to clean itself" Twilight said, hurrying around the library with a duster

Spike grumbled as he stacked a few books

"What's the hurry?" Smart Ass asked
"Princess Celestia will be here tomorrow" Twilight responded
"I thought this was just an unofficial casual visit" Spike said
"Yeah, what's the big deal anyway? If she's your mentor or whatever, won't she mind a little mess?"
"There's nothing 'casual' about a visit from royalty! I want this place to be spotless- and we've barely made a dent in the clutter"
"Maybe...you should start reading them...one at a time" Spike said, struggling up the ladder with a stack of books

He fell off and Smart Ass resisted the urge to laugh

"Everything's got to be perfect, no time for fooling around"
"You know, this would be an awful lot easier if there weren't three of us here getting under each other's feet" Spike said
"Excuse me? I haven't moved from this spot" Smart Ass retorted

Twilight turned back to Spike

"Great idea, you two stay here and clean- and I'll go see how everyponyelse's preparations are coming"
"Maybe I should-"

Twilight was already out the door

Spike and Smart Ass groaned

Twilight trotted down the street, checking to make sure all the decorations were in place
She approached a banner that Carrot Top and Berry Punch were setting up, seeing the words 'Welcome Princess Celest' printed on it
"What happened to the rest of her name?" Twilight asked
"We couldn't fit it all in..." Carrot Top said

That sent Greasy and Flasher into hysterics, the latter laughing so hard he falling off the roof of City Hall.
Twilight rolled her eyes and turned back to Carrot Top and Berry Punch

'Perverts...'

"You can't hang a banner that says 'Welcome Princess Celest'- take it down and try it again"

Twilight ran off and found Bon-Bon watering a bed of flowers
"That looks perfect, keep up the good work"

Not long after, Twilight hit Sugarcube Corner- she walked inside and found Mr. and Mrs. Cake preparing as well
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Cake, how's the banquet coming?"
"It would be coming a little better if-"
Pinkie popped out from behind the table and dove into a chocolate cake, and after finishing, had a whipped cream beard- which she ate
"Pinkie, what are you doing? Those sweets are supposed to be for the princess!"
"I know, but that's why I'm tasting them, somepony needs to make sure that everything is tasty enough to touch the royal tongue" she said, sticking out her own "and I, Pinkie Pie, declare these treats fit for a king- or a queen- or a princess!"
Twilight was about to tell off Pinkie when Fluttershy hopped into the bakery
"Twilight, Pinkie, you won't believe-"

She stopped, then Fawn and Wheezy came into the bakery

"Oh, I'm sorry, but- am I interrupting?"
"No, not at all, come on in and make yourself at home" Pinkie said, swallowing a cake whole

"I'm pretty sure she's a toon" Wheezy muttered to Fawn
Fawn giggled

"What's going on Fluttershy?"
"You won't believe what I found at the edge of the Everfree forest, come on out little guy, it's okay"
The bug poked out of her mane, then flew around the bakery- followed by two more, one yellow and the other brown
"Three?" Fluttershy asked
"They're amazing, what are they?" Twilight asked
"I'm not sure, I'm also not sure where these other two came from"
"I'll take one off your hooves" Twilight said "I've never seen something so adorable"
Twilight noticed everypony watching and blushed
"Besides, it'll be nice to have a companion for Spike so he won't bother me so much while I'm studying"
"Pinkie, do you want the other one?"
"Blegh- a parasprite, are you kidding?"
"A parawhat?"
"How could you not like-"
"Ugh, now I gotta go find a trombone"
'How can they have trombones? They have hooves!'Wheezy thought
"A what?"
"A trombone, you know" Pinkie said, making a trombone sound with her mouth and bouncing out of the bakery
"Typical Pinkie" Twilight sighed
'Typical?'

*Carousel Boutique*

"Hold still, chica" Greasy said, fixing the end of the dress
"Yes, hold still Rainbow Dash" Rarity echoed, sewing into the dress
"Ugh, I caaan't, I need to flyyy! This is waaay too boring for me" Rainbow whined
"Do you want to look nice for Princess Celestia or not?"

"Wow. Rarity, those outfits are gorgeous" Twilight said, trotting into the boutique
"Mmhmm. Thank you, Twilight. Nice to know somepony appreciates my talents"
Greasy rolled his eyes
"Ugh, sooo boooring" Rainbow complained
*Chirp*
"Huh?"
"What's that sound, Twilight?" Rainbow asked

Several more chirps were heard, and the three looked around the boutique to find out what could be causing it

"Wow, what are they?" Rainbow asked, seeing the parasprites
"The better question is, where did they come from? I only had one a minute ago" Twilight said
"Uh, I'll take one" she said
"Me too, oh, they're perfect" Rarity gushed

Pinkie and Psycho bounced into the boutique

"Does anypony know where I can find an accordion?" she asked
Psycho giggled at Rainbow, who was making baby noises at the parasprite

"Girls! Hello! This is important. Durgh! Thanks a lot" she said, leaving with Psycho in tow

"The decorations, the banquet, I really hope everything comes together in time for tomorrow" Twilight sighed

Spike and Smart Ass snored, Spike in his basket and the latter slumped on the table with a cup of coffee in his hands
The parasprite made some small baby noises
"Oh, *yawn*, what's there to worry about?"

"Spike! Smart Ass! Wake up! What happened?"
"Huh? Whaaa! What's going on?" Spike asked, waking

Smart Ass woke with a start and fell out of his seat

"Huh? What's the matter, doll?"
"Where did they come from?"
"I don't know. The little guy got hungry in the night, so I gave him a snack, but... I have no idea where these others came from. Oh no! They're messing our all my hard work!"
"I was asleep"
"The princess will be here in a few hours" Twilight said worriedly
"Ugh"
"Spike, Smarty, help me round up these little guys"
"Ugh, what does it look like I'm doin'? Ooow, waaah! D'oh. I know, I know, 'stop fooling around'"

Several of the parasprites chirped

"Huh? Huh?!"
*Screeech*
"Ugh! *Oooh* Get off me! ahhhh! ouch! Waaa!"

"Not only are you adorable, but you're also quite useful" Rarity cooed
The parasprite purred and grunted
"Oh! Are you okay? Aaah! *Gasp* Eewww. Aaah! Gross gross gross! No creature that behaves so revoltingly is allowed in my boutique!

The parasprite coughed up another one the size of itself Rarity screamed as they multiplied

"Look Rarity, Applejack loaned me a harmonica" Pinkie said, playing the harmonica "Isn't that great?"

The parasprites continued to chirp
"*gasp* And not a moment too soon"
"Ugh, Pinkie, Greasy and I are a little busy right now"
"And I'm not? You know how many more instruments me and Psycho gotta find? A lot, that's how many! Now if we split the list between us, we might just make it in time"
"Please, Pinkie, I don't have time for some silly scavenger hunt- I've got a real problem"
"You've got a real problem alright! And a banjo is the only answer!"

Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow gasped
"I see we're having the same problem"
"Ditto!" Rainbow said
"Fluttershy knows everything about animals, I'm sure she can tell us how to stop them from multiplying" Twilight said

*Chirp*

"...or not"
"Ugh, do something Fluttershy, can't you control them?"
"I've tried everything I know: I've tried begging, and pleading, and beseeching, and asking politely and..."
"Guh"
Twilight and Smart Ass ducked

Somepony screamed

"If we can't get them under control before the princess arrives, it'll be a total disaster" Twilight said
One more parasprite multiplied

"Ew! If you ask me it's already a total disaster" Rarity responded
"Here's all those apples you wanted, Fluttershy, but I still can't figure why y'need so many -HEY!"

Applejack and Flasher were carrying baskets of apples

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked as Wheezy swatted away some parasprites from Fawn
"*Gasp* I got it! No pony can herd like Applejack" Twilight said
"Yeah! We can drive 'em back into the forest" Rainbow cheered
"I'll rastle 'em up, but I need everypony's help to do it. Twilight, you, Smarty, Rarity, an Greasy wait over there. I'll herd the little critters straight at ya like a funnel, Rainbow Dash, you, Wheezy, and Fluttershy stay on top of 'em, don't let 'em fly away"
"Aye aye" Rainbow saluted
"Yeeeeeee-haw!"
The parasprites screeched

"Alright y'all, here goes nothin'. Look out Rarity, that one's fixin' to get away. Keep a lead on 'em, Rainbow Dash. Hold on everypony, we're almost there"
"Pinkie! Psycho!"
"Twilight, we don't have much time" Pinkie said
"You're telling me! The princess could arrive at any moment!"

"Exactly, that's why I need you gals to drop what you're doing and help us find some maracas"
"Maracas? Pinkie, we've got much bigger problems than missing maracas"
"*Gasp* You're right! Getting a tuba has to be our number one goal! Follow me"

Everypony stayed put

"I said, follow me!"
"Pinkie Pie, you are so random"
"And you are all so stubborn!"
Psycho looked to Flasher, Smart Ass, Greasy, and Wheezy with pleading eyes
"Forget 'em ladies, Focus- head 'em up and move 'em out"
"All right!" Rainbow grunted "Ouch"

"Ah!" Wheezy shouted, shaking out his hand "Darn thing bit me"
"We did it, nice work everypony"
"Couldn't a'done it without y'all"
"Now let's get back and clean up the mess they made before the princess arrives"
"Okay, everypony knows what to do, right? We gotta work extra hard to make up for lost time" Twilight said

Fluttershy gasped
"Where did they come from?"
"Well, I may have kept just one. Heh. I couldn't help myself. They're just so cute" Fluttershy squeaked
"Yeah, 'cute'" Wheezy said, keeping Fawn from being lifted off the ground by the parasprites
"We don't have time to keep rounding up these things! What do we do now?"
"We call in the weather patrol!"

Rarity shrieked
"Time to take out the adorable trash, YAAAAAA!"
*Chirp*
"Way to go, Rainbow Dash!"
"Looks like our problems are solved" Applejack said
"They will be with these cymbals" Pinkie said, clashing some cymbals together

*Crash*
*Crash*

"Hey! Give me those back!"
"Whoa. Yaa! Yow! Woah! Wow! I can't hold it! She's breaking up"
Psycho growled as the net broke apart
"Pinkie Pie, Psycho, what have you done?"
"I've lost a brand new pair of cymbals, that's what I've done"
"Will you forget about your silly instruments for one second? You're ruining our efforts to save Ponyville"
"Psycho! Knock it off!" Smart Ass shouted, helping Rainbow
"Us? Ruin? We're not the ruiners, we're the ruin-ees! Or is it ruiness'? Ruinettes?"
"Come on girls, there's no reasoning with those two, they're a few apples short of a bushel"
"Hey! I'm trying to tell you all that the ruining is on the other hoof. If you just slow down and listen to us!"

Parasprites continued to chirp and munch on almost everything

Ponies gasped and ran from the hoard of parasprites
"What do we do? They're eating all the food in town!" Twilight said
"*Gasp* My apples!" Applejack cried
"We've gotta do something. *Gasp* I got it! I'll cast a spell to make them stop eating all the food"
"Can you even do that?"

"Look, tambourines! If you could all just..."
Pinkie screamed and shook the tambourines

Twilight gasped as she finished the spell

*Chirp*
"Whew"

*Munch*
"Heh. Hey, it worked. They're not eating the food anymore" Rainbow said
"Oh no... if they get inside my store... Everypony for herself!" Rarity cried
"Caramba..." Greasy muttered, following her
"My outfits! Go on, shoo! Get out of here, you naughty! Naughty! Eeeeek!"
"I'll save you!" Pinkie said, playing a recorder
"Eeek!"

"No woodland creature's gonna eat the Apple Family's crop!" Applejack shouted
Parasprites buzzed around as she shooed them away
Flasher was holding a frying pan and Slimy was weilding a mallet, bashing as many parasprites as possible
"Brace yourselves, y'all, here they come, *Gasp* didn't see that one comin'"

"Help!" Spike shouted
"*Gasp* They're eating the words!" Twilight grunted
"Help..."
"Ugh. Have you gone mad?" Zecora asked
"No, but I think Pinkie and Psycho have" Smart Ass quipped, batting away the creatures with a pot
"Zecora, these little guys are devouring Ponyville, and the princess is on her way. Can you help us, please?"
"Oh, monster of so little size, is that a parasprite before my eyes?"
"I don't know! Is it?"
"Tales of crops and harvests consumed, if these creatures are in Ponyville, you're doomed" Zecora said
"Just what I needed to hear right now" Smart Ass said, picking parasprites off of himself

"*Gulp*"

"Oh no, here she comes"

Ponies screamed as the parasprites continued to attack
"Okay, here's the plan. Rainbow Dash, you distract them"
"YAAAA!"
"Good. Everypony else, we need to build an exact copy of Ponyville right over there"
"We've got less than a minute. Zecora was right, we're doomed. Oh no, the princess's procession is here. It's all over!"

Pinkie and Psycho came down, playing polka music
"I swear, I don't know what runs through his mind sometimes..." Smart Ass groaned
"Pinkie? We're in the middle of a crisis here. This is no time for your... nonsense?"

"Look"
"Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil" Princess Celestia said
"Hello, princess" Twilight said
"So lovely to see you again, as well as your friends"

*Crash*

"So... how was the trip? Hit much traffic?"
"Ah, what is this? Oh ho ho, these creatures are adorable" Celestia said, noticing the parasprites
"They're not that adorable"
A parasprite bit down on Stupid's ear and pulled
"Ouch!"
"I'm terribly honored that you and the good citizens of Ponyville have organized a parade in honor of my visit"
"Parade? Oh. Yes, the parade"
"Unfortunately, that visit is going to have to wait for another time. I'm afraid an emergency has come up in Fillydelphia. Apparently there's been some sort of infestation"
"An... infestation?"
"Yes, a swarm of incredibly bothersome creatures has invaded the poor town. I'm sorry Twilight, to have to put you all through so much trouble"
"Trouble? What trouble?"
"Before I have to go, would you care to give me your latest report on the magic of friendship?"

Wheezy covered his mouth and jabbed Flasher in the ribs to keep the both of them from having a laughing fit in front of Celestia

"My... report?"
"Haven't you learned anything about friendship?"
"Actually, I have. I've learned that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it. It's a good idea to stop and listen to your friends' opinions and perspectives..."

Pinkie's cymbals clashed together

"Even when they don't always seem to make sense"
"I'm so proud of you, Twilight Sparkle, and I'm very impressed with your friends as well. It sounds like you're all learning so much from each other"
"Thank you, princess"

"Hey, what happened to the princess?"
"Emergency in Fillydelphia"

Flasher and Stupid lost it, rolling on the ground in laughter

"Some sort of infestation" Rainbow said
"Oh no! Have they got parasprites too? Well, have tuba, will travel"
"I think the princess can handle it"
"So you knew what those critters were all along, huh Pinkie Pie?"
"Well, DUH! Why do you think I was so frantic to get my hooves on all these instruments? I tried to tell you"
"We know, Pinkie Pie, and we're sorry we didn't listen"
"I'm sorry, Pinkie" Rainbow said
"So sorry, Pinkie" Rarity said
"Sorry, Pinkie" Fluttershy said
"Real sorry, Pinkie" Applejack said
"You're a great friend, even if we don't always understand you"
"Thanks guys, you're all great friends too, even when I don't understand me" Pinkie said
"You saved my reputation with Princess Celestia, and more importantly, you saved Ponyville"

"...Or not"

A/N: The song at the beginning is 'Holding out for a hero' albeit with a few changed lyrics

Author's Note:

A/N: The song at the beginning is 'Holding out for a hero' albeit with a few changed lyrics...let me know how I did, and I've got a collab going on with Planyx- so please check that out and my other stuff if you want to.

Comments

[Yildun]

I'm... already uncertain about this concept.

But I'll put this story into my massive 'read later' folder, because I would like to offer something more constructive down the road.

[The Infinity Doctor]

3807055 Any help is very much appreciated

[The Infinity Doctor]

3886093 Thank you for your support! I appreciate it.
I think there are some people that think Luna's banishment was either or, but I'll go back and fix it when I have time