My Little Pony: Twilight's Requiem

by Pika53

Chapter 14

As they exited the elevator for the umpteenth time, Tess sighed and wondered how many more of these inane tests they would have to go through. They’d already traveled through at least a dozen or so of the things; she’d lost count. She was starting to feel exhausted and suspected the others were also. While walking along the newly accessed catwalk, the intercom went off yet again; their host bidding them a fond farewell on a job well done. Tess rolled her eyes as Jaden stopped and placed a cool portal on a section of wall beside a door on another platform across from them.

Continuing onward, the group entered the remains of another plush waiting area. Jaden placed a warm portal on one of the walls and they quickly passed through and entered the adjacent door. The new area appeared to be some sort of pump station with no visible exit. Following the humans gaze, she saw what resembled an alcove of some sort on an upper floor to their right that they couldn’t reach. On the wall across from them was another catwalk at the same height. Unfortunately, the catwalk didn’t appear to connect to anything.

As Jaden turned to them, Tess groaned in exasperation; already dreading what would come next.

“Don’t say anything.” she snapped, raising a forehoof for emphasis.

Smirking, the boy silently turned away and placed a warm portal on the wall in front of them and a cool portal on the wall beside the catwalk. Quickly passing through, Tess could see that they would have to fling to the nearby alcove.

As Jaden repositioned the portals, Tess began to have a new found appreciation for having wings. If she hadn’t injured herself during that fall it would have been a simple matter to reach the distant alcove. As it were, she was beginning to have a new found respect for how ponies without wings, like Applejack, managed to get things done. The earth pony had accepted each challenge as it had come without complaint; despite the fact that mistakes could result in serious injury or worse.

Fluttershy too, had been quite inspirational. Despite her fear and soft spoken demeanor, the pegasus had also accepted each challenge as it had come without complaint; often joining in on the absurd gravity defying maneuvers rather than just flying around obstacles and waiting for them. About the only way they could get the pegasus to do so was if she or the others bade Fluttershy to go on ahead.

If she recalled correctly, many of the chambers they’d past through had been unfamiliar to Jaden also.
Tess was snapped out of her thoughts as Jaden spoke up.

“Here goes nothing.”

The boy then leaped off the catwalk toward the closest portal. Moments later, he shot out of the other one. On the second pass, Jaden repositioned the portals and was hurled into the adjacent alcove. As Tess approached the edge of the catwalk and placed a pair of portals in the same location that Jaden had, she listened in as Applejack spoke to Fluttershy.

“Listen, why don’t you go on ahead, sugarcube.”

“Are you sure?” the pegasus asked glancing between them nervously.

“Don’t worry; we’ll be right behind you.”

Tess meanwhile, gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile and a nod. After a moment of deliberation, the pegasus took to the air and joined Jaden on the alcove as Applejack approached the edge of the catwalk.

Looking on, Tess noted that Applejack was taking a moment to psych herself up before lunging for the portal. As Applejack reappeared, Jaden overwrote her cool portal with a warm one and stepped aside as the orange-coated mare sailed into the alcove. It was now her turn. After replacing her portal, Tess closed her eyes and took a deep breath; mentally preparing herself for what would come. Opening her eyes, Tess leaped from the platform before she had time to mentally debate the issue.

Reappearing from the portal, Tess barely had time to react as she heard Jaden overwrite her portal yet again.
Moments later, she arrived on the alcove; coming to a halt in a barely controlled skid.

“I reiterate my previous position, there has to be a better way to do this!” Tess gasped weakly.

“Don’t you just love physics?” Jaden retorted smugly.

Tess’s eye twitched as she stared at the boy incredulously.

Sighing, she turned away and the group exited the room through a nearby door. They soon found themselves standing on a rather large outcrop within the main chamber. Standing across from them was some sort of building. To their left was nothing but wall; composed of a combination of masonry and rock. The area to the right in contrast, was open to the void beyond. Glancing up, Tess saw what appeared to be a small elevator suspended above the void with a smaller metal platform hovering above it.

How in Celestia’s name were they supposed to reach it?

Before she or anypony else could point out the obvious Jaden turned and regarded her with a flat questioning look; a hint of that infuriating smirk crossing his features. Tess groaned as she realized what had to be done next.

“Before we attempt to access the elevator we’ll need to lower that other platform.” he said.

“Umm… how exactly… uh… do we do that?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“There should be a control panel or something in that building over there.” Jaden answered.

Silently, the group walked over to the building and began looking around. The search however, yielded little more than empty offices; another message began to play during this time, filling Tess with a sense of unease. Unlike many of the previous messages that had often referred to test subjects as athletes, this one had instead referred to them as nothing more than vagrants. She couldn’t help wondering what had prompted the sudden change. Just what the hay was going on here?

“Well, there wasn’t nothin’ in there… so now what?” Applejack asked.

“It’s probably somewhere on the upper floor.” Jaden replied.

Tess gaped at the boy incredulously.

“Why didn’t you mention that before?” she stammered.

“You didn’t ask.” he answered.

“I hate you!”

It was the only thing Tess could think to say. Jaden just stood there with a smirk and shrugged before walking out the exit. Sighing, Tess and the others quickly followed him.

“How exactly do ya recon we’re gonna get up there?” Applejack asked.

“Well, there is one way.” Jaden mused as he placed a cool portal on the ground and a warm portal on the nearby wall beside a catwalk she hadn’t noticed before.

“I really hate you!” Tess snarled.

Jaden merely shrugged and smirked in reply before passing through the portal.

Incensed, Tess attempted to follow but a hoof placed on her shoulder stopped her. Turning, she noted Applejack shaking her head and got the message. Sighing, Tess waited for Fluttershy to pass through the portal before crossing through herself. Minutes later, they were all standing on the catwalk as Jaden repositioned the portals yet again.

“I suppose this proves science is fun.” Jaden smirked, turning to them.

Almost every pony assembled immediately took to plastering their face with a well-placed hoof. They didn't think the boy would even try saying something that corny before leaping into the portal below. After exchanging glances Tess waited for the others to cross before taking the plunge herself. Passing through yet more bland offices minutes later, Tess couldn’t help wondering who would willingly work in a place as strange as this one.

Letting her gaze drift, she thought she saw a door hidden along a back wall by some filing cabinets. Turning, Tess noted that the others had disappeared from view. With a shrug, she decided to investigate. Navigating to the door, Tess thought very little about it when the door opened on its own. The passage beyond reminding her of the one they’d passed through to reach the lemon orchard. Much like that passage, the door at the far end stood partially ajar. Curiosity getting the better of her, Tess cautiously opened the door and entered the chamber beyond.

Inside she saw what could have been a maintenance room of some sort. The walls, corroded though they were, still could be seen in the near darkness. A strange translucent, epoxy-like substance could be seen coating the walls and floor of the chamber. Stalactites of the alien excretion dribbled from the ceiling, occasionally meeting with stalagmites of the same nature rising from the uneven floor. What appeared to be intricate, skeletal carvings dotted the walls. Although nothing moved, Tess could do little more than shake her head before something else caught her eye.

What resembled large oval shaped leathery objects the size of trash cans littered the room. As fascinating as the objects were, Tess couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. She quickly exited the chamber and made her way back to the main area. Tess found the others soon after huddled around a console of some sort with what appeared to be a bird nest on top. Jaden turned and flashed her a grin as she approached.

“Find anything interesting?” he asked.

Uncertain how to answer that question, Tess plastered what she hoped was an endearing smile to her face and shrugged. Although Applejack and Fluttershy gave her curious stares, if Jaden had noticed her discomfort he didn’t show it as he turned away and continued speaking.

“Well, you’ll never guess who we found.”

Tess rolled her eyes; waiting for him to continue.

“It’s your favorite lil’ buddy; rootin’ around and ready to sprout.” he continued.

Sighing, Tess shook her head in annoyance as another familiar voice spoke up from atop the console.

“Look, this potato only generates 1.2 volts. I literally don’t have the energy to lie to you.”

“Even if I were lying you’d still need me to replace him. We’re at an impasse.” it continued.

Nodding, Tess could see the logic behind the argument. Over the sound of Fluttershy’s startled squeak; she couldn’t help looking up at the sound of a distant explosion moments later.

“Whoa nelly, that don’t sound good.” Applejack remarked.

“That little idiot doesn’t know what he’s doing!” POTaTOS grumbled.

“He probably hasn’t made the critical decisions necessary to keep the nuclear reactors from overloading.”

“What does that mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Basically those things are the power source for this facility.” Jaden replied.

“If they go critical and explode then it’ll cause a really big boom and we all die!” he continued before turning and fixing her with a pointed glance.

“Do you wanna take her or should I?”

Tess shook her head; there was no way she wanted to deal with the root vegetable any more than she had to. If it were left up to her there was a good chance the potato could get damaged along the way. Shrugging, Jaden turned and jammed the tip of his portal gun into POTaTOS; prompting an indignant squeal followed by what Tess could only assume was some kind of power surge from the potato. Moments later, he pressed a button on the console and the group watched as the platform slowly began to descend.

The caramel colored alicorn rolled her eyes as POTaTOS began muttering about “scheming” as the group made their way toward the exit. Jaden quickly repositioned the portals and the group made their way back onto the catwalk. Moments later, he repositioned the portals once more so they could reach the distant platform.

“Well, here we go.” Fluttershy murmured before taking to the air and flying toward the platform.

Once the pegasus landed safely, Applejack gave them a curt nod before leaping into the nearby portal. Moments later, the orange mare was hurdling through the air and landed safely on the platform as well. Tess turned and cast a glance at Jaden.

“Why don’t you go first?” the boy remarked.

“Really?” Tess asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Might as well, I mean it must suck to go last all the time.”

Shrugging, Tess took the plunge and felt a familiar sense of vertigo as she sailed toward the platform. Moments later, she let out a grunt as she landed safely on the platform. Jaden followed soon after and the group entered the elevator. Tess struggled to suppress a groan as they arrived at what appeared to be another test chamber a short time later.

“The testing area is just ahead. The quicker you get through it, the quicker you get your sixty bits.” Pimmy Jauntsun addressed them over the intercom once again as they approached.

The group stopped and exchanged glances.

“Tavlena, are the compensation vouchers ready?”

While Applejack and Fluttershy gawked at the continued conversation with the assistant, as POTaTOS repeated the assistant’s enthusiastic reply before demanding to know what was going on. Hoof met face as Tess watched another of those infuriating smirks cross Jaden’s face throughout the exchange.

Entering the chamber, Tess noted that it was similar to many of the previous chambers they’d passed through. Across the chamber from them was an elevated platform with a pole button on top and a nearby funnel. Turning her head to the right, she noticed another awkwardly constructed platform thirty feet away; separated from them by another chasm. Another floor button and what she presumed was a lowered ramp sat near the end of their platform in line with what appeared to be an opening in the middle of the other structure.

Tess blinked momentarily before rolling her eyes as Jaden spoke up.

“Hey, I recognize this chamber. We can get outta here easily.”

She fixed the boy with a pointed stare before speaking.

“Oh, do tell.”

“Well, there are actually two ways we can go about this.” Jaden replied while placing a warm portal on the blank wall to their left.

“The first involves creating another runway with propulsion gel and retrieving a cube from the alcove across from us.” he continued.

“And the other way?” Applejack asked.

“We can cheat.” Jaden replied.

“How?” Tess asked.

“Give me a boost.” Jaden smirked.

Tess blinked incredulously at the boy.

“C’mon, give me a boost.” Jaden reiterated.

After a moment, the alicorn let out a sigh.

Five minutes later, she let out an irritated grunt as she struggled to support the added weight of the human balanced precariously on her shoulders; the boy urging her to lift him higher while she urged him to hurry and place a portal. Gritting her teeth, Tess reared up onto her hind legs; desperately hoping the extra leverage would be enough. Moments later, she let out a startled squeal as Applejack thrust herself between the alicorn’s legs in an attempt to provide additional leverage.

Taking a moment to readjust her footing, Tess ignored Jaden’s startled yelp as she once again reared up on her hind legs; struggling to keep this bizarre pile from toppling over.

“Well, this is fun.” POTaTOS drawled sarcastically.

“Don’t drop me.” Jaden called out.

“I won’t drop you!” Tess growled through clenched teeth.

Casting a quick glance downward, she noted that Fluttershy had griped her hind legs tightly in her forehooves.
Applejack meanwhile, appeared to be struggling to support the additional weight upon her shoulders.

“Look, just hurry up and take the shot already! I don’t know how long AJ can keep this up!” she hissed, tightening her own grip with both telekinesis and her forehooves as she felt the pile begin to sway.

Jaden mumbled something she didn’t quite catch.

“Would y'all kindly hurry it up? Ah recon ya could get a room and work out yer differences later.” Applejack grunted wearily.

Tess’s eyes grew wide as she heard Jaden call out with a surprised “Wait what?”.

“Wha…? Um, I… what?” she stammered.

Applejack could NOT mean that!

Seconds later, Tess let out a sigh as she heard the welcome sound of a portal being fired.
The trio quickly untangled themselves and Tess turned to Applejack.

“Applejack, what was that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“Well…” the farmer replied, amused.

Tess’s eyes grew wide for the second time in as many minutes at the sound of snickers nearby.

“NO! Just no!” she stuttered; shuddering at the implications of what had just been suggested.

There was simply no way in Celestia’s name THAT would EVER happen!

Tess was snapped out of her musings as Jaden spoke up.

“Let’s move on shall we?”

Silently, the group passed through the nearby portal and found themselves on the adjacent platform.
After getting her bearings, Tess noted that aside from a securely locked door the platform was bare.

“What now?” she asked.

“There should be a switch nearby we could use to open that door.” Jaden replied as he searched for something.

“Ah, there it is.” he said moments later as he found whatever he was looking for.

Following the human’s gaze, Tess spotted another one of those poll button-things suspended inside a small nook near the ceiling beside the portal they’d just used.

“How the hay are we supposed ta reach that?” Applejack asked, voicing her own thoughts.

Jaden turned to Fluttershy.

“Could you…” he began.

“Of course.” the pegasus replied with a warm smile before flying over and pressing the button.

Seconds later, the door opened revealing another bland hallway beyond.

“Ah recon we should get a move on then.” Applejack remarked as she headed toward the door.

“Sounds good to me.” Jaden agreed following her.

After exchanging glances Tess and Fluttershy followed them; only to come to a halt as Jaden suddenly turned to her with another one of those horrid smirks.

“After all, it’s not like we have time for anything else.” he said before turning and bolting toward the open doorway.

Over the sound of snickers, Tess’s eye twitched as she gaped at the laughing boy before screeching in fury and chasing him out of the chamber. Upon catching him, she promptly began to pummel Jaden with her forehooves.

“Is there any reason behind what you’re doing?” she snarled.

Jaden merely grinned and shrugged.

“Yeah, if you two were to get together I’m sure it’ll be ugly.” POTaTOS remarked as Applejack and Fluttershy caught up.

“I’m not certain why but I feel like I know that guy.” she continued as the group made their way to a nearby elevator.

“Let me guess… daddy issues.” Jaden retorted.

Tess sighed and rolled her eyes before entering the elevator.

Moments later, the rest of the group entered and the elevator began moving toward the next floor. Upon arrival the group exited onto what Tess presumed was some sort of construction area. Although they were currently standing upon another catwalk, the area had a lot in common with the landing they’d passed through prior to the last test chamber. Letting her gaze drift, Tess spotted dozens of pallets and various other objects scattered across the area. At the far end of the catwalk was what appeared to be an access tunnel cut into the nearby rock wall that lead out of view. Casting Jaden a curious look; Tess wondered if he recognized anything among their new surroundings.

“Never saw any of this before.” he replied quickly.

“The only construction site that was in the game is in an area we haven’t reached yet.”

Tess nodded thoughtfully as the group began walking toward the distant tunnel. Moments later, they stopped and exchanged worried looks as a piercing guttural roar echoed from the tunnel ahead of them.

“Ah, ponyfeathers!” Tess cursed; eyes wide in disbelief at their current situations.

“I’ve got a few choice words you’re welcome to use.” Jaden replied.

Tess blinked and shook her head irritably before speaking.

“As tempting as the offer is… I’ll pass.”

“How the hay did that thing even get down here and why is it chasing us?” Applejack demanded.

“Do you think the others are…” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“I’m sure they’re all okay.” Jaden replied reassuringly.

“The fact remains however, that we’ve got to take care of that thing now.” he went on.

Before Tess could question how they’d go about doing that Jaden continued speaking.

“It’s a shame though that lil’ Dashie isn’t here right now. I could’ve teased her bout her boyfriend bein’ hard on for a date.”

The ponies exchanged incredulous glances.

“Really?” Applejack deadpanned, expressing as much annoyance as Tess felt.

Tess meanwhile, planted her face in a hoof and sighed; unable to contemplate any further excursions into the human’s mental workings.

“And how exactly do you propose we stop the creature?” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“Never fear, as the brains of this organization I’ve got a plan.” Jaden retorted.

Tess cocked a dubious eyebrow, curious about just what the boy had planned.

***************
Making his way along the access tunnel, Jaden questioned the logic of what he was about to do. It wasn’t much of a plan, more of a half-baked scheme than anything else, but it was better than nothing. He was rather grateful that Tess had forced him to take her weapon along before she and the other ponies had taken cover among the various pallets of assorted equipment scattered around the area. It would certainly help.

“This is crazy!” he muttered aloud.

“Most certainly.” POTaTOS chimed in.

“I must be out of my mind!”

“Most definitely.”

“I’m gonna die!”

“Most likely.” POTaTOS concluded.

Jaden stopped and stared at the root vegetable affixed to the portal gun attached to his right arm.
He was beginning to see why Tess had opted out of carrying it.

“Whose side are you on?” he snapped.

“As I recall, you’re no better off than the rest of us.”

“That is a matter of opinion.” the potato retorted.

“Really. You summoned this beast; didn’t you have any clue what would happen if it ever got lose?” Jaden replied as he continued onward and approached a bend in the passage and paused.

“I’m not getting paid enough for this. Actually, I’m not getting paid. I need to be paid.” he whined.

“Duly noted… but unimportant.” POTaTOS countered.

Glancing around the corner, he saw the monster further down the corridor with its back to him. As it continued to trudge along on its way, Jaden knew that what he was about to do was extremely crazy and that the creature’s weapons would be a serious threat. Minutes later, his unease grew as the creature suddenly stopped and slowly began to turn around.

Ducking back around the corner, Jaden took a deep breath and knew that time was up in deciding what to do over the sound of approaching footsteps.

Readying himself and his weapons, Jaden ducked back around the corner and lined up a shot as the creature bellowed at him and raised its rail gun. Jaden fired a round from his launcher at the beast before ducking behind cover as it opened fire. Over the monster’s angry howl and the fast-paced sound of footsteps, Jaden popped out from cover and fired two more rounds from his launcher; staggering the beast slightly before taking cover as it retaliated with another burst from its rail gun.

Darting out from cover yet again, Jaden fired three rounds from his launcher and was silently ecstatic when one of them struck the rail gun. The Nemesis meanwhile, discarded the now inoperable weapon and raised its rocket launcher. Stepping back behind cover, Jaden then turned and ran as fast as he could the way he’d come. Moments later, he rolled to his left at the sound of a closing rocket and felt more than heard it impact against a nearby wall to his right.

Staggering to his feet, Jaden barely evaded a punch from his pursuer that created a sizable hole in the wall beside him. He then began to sprint toward the main chamber again as the Nemesis roared once more. As he reached the main chamber, Jaden turned and opened fire with the sub-machine gun. Minutes later, he dived then dashed for cover as the monster charged out of the tunnel. Popping out from cover, Jaden fired off a long burst of fire at the creature as it stalked toward a group of nearby pallets. He could here Fluttershy shrieking in fright from somewhere nearby as the Nemesis turned and fired another rocket toward him.

Sidestepping the blast, Jaden watched the rocket streak past and slam into the elevator they’d used to reach the current area; demolishing it. Moments later, he was diving out of the way as the Nemesis lunged toward him and attempted to pummel him once more. Rolling into a crouch, Jaden barely had time to react as the Nemesis aimed its launcher at him again. A sudden flurry of motion caught his attention and caused Jaden to shift his gaze behind the creature where he saw Applejack line up and deliver a potent buck which caused the monster to stumble forward and threw off its aim.

Jaden seized the opportunity by targeting and unloading the sub-machine gun’s remaining ammo into the offending launcher. The subsequent explosion caused Applejack to give a startled cry and dive for cover as the Nemesis was blown off its feet.

“Is everypony okay?” Tess called out as she quickly trotted over and helped him up.

The alicorn then accepted her weapon and began reloading it as the pair moved away from the downed creature.

“Is it over?” Fluttershy asked nervously as she stuck her head out from behind another pallet of assorted equipment.

Jaden didn’t reply as he reloaded his launcher. He did keep a close eye on the creature however, and began to get concerned when he thought he saw it twitch. Moments later, the mares squealed in fright and surprise as the Nemesis staggered to its feet and let loose with a savage roar before advancing toward the group once again.

“W-W-Why won’t it stay down?!” Tess sputtered incredulously.

“Looks like it’s time for phase two.” Jaden remarked.

Tess gaped at him in shock.

“What do you mean ‘phase two’?!” she stammered.

Jaden was spared from speaking as the monster charged them. Diving aside and rolling to his feet, Jaden noticed that the Nemesis was currently focused on Tess. Of course it probably didn’t help that the alicorn was firing at it as she backed away. Tess yelped in pain and surprise as the monster suddenly rushed forward and close lined her. It followed up by grabbing the dazed alicorn by the throat and hoisting her into the air before hurling her over its shoulder and into Applejack.

The creature then focused its attention on Fluttershy. Jaden was already in motion as the Nemesis grabbed the butter yellow pegasus in a similar manner to what happened with Tess. Unlike before, the creature’s opposite hand began to pulsate strangely as it held the struggling pegasus in the air. Drawing down and firing as he approached, Jaden noted that it took two rounds before the creature reacted; dropping Fluttershy, who squeaked and scrambled away while simultaneously struggling to breath, and letting loose with another piercing guttural roar before charging toward him.

Sidestepping another close line attempt, Jaden unloaded his remaining ammo into the beast before ditching the launcher and sprinting toward the end of the platform. As he neared the edge, Jaden noticed an angled panel anchored to a wall on his left above the void and fired a warm portal at it. The portal connected and as Jaden leaped from the platform he could hear his pursuer following him. He still couldn’t quite believe he was actually doing this.

As he fell, Jaden spotted a small portable platform below and fired a cool portal at it. The portal connected and as he passed through Jaden began to realize the major flaw in his plan. Catapulting from the warm portal, Jaden saw that he wouldn’t be able to land back on the original platform. Instead, he would likely be tumbling into the void below. His only regret was that he hadn’t really thought this part out. Moments later, Jaden found himself hurling toward another small portable platform he hadn’t seen before.

He was spared from wondering how badly this would end as a cool portal suddenly appeared on the platform in front of him while a warm portal simultaneously passed toward another angled panel anchored to a wall on the far side of the chamber he hadn’t noticed before. Hurling from the new portal, Jaden saw that he was sailing back toward the original platform. Seconds later, he saw another warm portal materialize on a wall panel ten feet ahead and above. Soon after, the Nemesis shot forth from the new portal and tumbled off into the abyss with a shriek.

As his feet once again came to rest on the platform, Jaden felt a surge of emotion, mostly excitement and pride that his plan actually worked but also relief that the ordeal was over, flow through him. This was enhanced moments later by a twinge of fear as the panel beneath him shifted under his weight and he began to tumble backward toward the void. He was spared from falling off the platform by Applejack grabbing the clothing around his waist in her teeth.

“Vhoa padna… can’t vee looven ja dat eavy.” she remarked, voice muffled by the clothing-induced speech impediment as she pulled him further onto the platform.

Jaden mumbled his thanks as Fluttershy approached.

“Are you okay?” the pegasus asked, handing him his launcher.

Jaden nodded as he accepted the weapon.

“I think we lost something.” he remarked, letting his gaze drift around the area.

“I’m right here!” POTaTOS barked.

“Don’t do that again!”

Jaden merely shrugged in reply as he finally managed to locate Tess’s approaching form. The alicorn was stammering and stuttering in disbelief at the astounding feat of aerial acrobatics he’d just displayed.

“That was you’re plan?” she managed over the incoherent babbles.

“It worked didn’t it?” Jaden replied, earning an incredulous glare from the alicorn mare.

Looking on, he wasn’t sure which was funnier; Tess’s look of shock at his awesomeness or the inevitable tirade that would likely follow as a series of strangled noises and half formed words spilled out of said mare’s mouth; and was that smoke rising from her direction?

“Y-you’re certifiable!” she managed through the babble; eye twitching irritably.

“Yeah, well you forgot to mention ‘good looking’.” Jaden retorted; casting a glance to the side and noting Applejack and Fluttershy exchanging bemused looks.

Jaden really did have to fight back laughter as Tess shot him a murderous glare.

“No I didn’t.” she deadpanned.

“Yes you did.”

“No I didn’t!” Tess barked with sudden defensive inspiration.

“You so totally did!” Jaden retorted as the group began walking toward the access tunnel.