The Mandate

by Mod On Death

Pizza to Ashes

It was early in the morning when Sound arrived home with Tina and Cathy after a long night of partying. The three hadn't had a night like that ever since they started working at the hospital. It was just what they needed.

"This was great! Thanks for doing this, girls," Bloomheart said, carrying her bags behind her. "Didn't think that things would go that well. Glad you convinced me to go with it."

"No prob! Just knew you would need something and this seemed like it'd get you out of the dumps," Cathy said while Tina followed, dragging both of their bags along.

"Honestly, I thought I'd be too old for this, but I actually felt pretty energized while shopping. Dancing was pretty neat as well."Tina said.

"Well, I'll definitely be turning in as soon as I get get home. Glad I don't have a shift tomorrow." Bloomheart was getting close to home when she saw smoke and glowing over the houses. "What's going on?"

"I dunno. Maybe a bonfire?" Tina's guess made Bloomheart's adrenaline rush through her veins as she rushed around the corner to see what was causing the glowing in the night sky, only to come across the burning remnants of her restaurant and home.

"SOUND!" she yelled out as she dropped her stuff to see what remained and to find out if her daughter was safe. She looked around and saw a crowd looking at the firefighters hosing the place down. "Sound! Where are you!"

"Mam, are you alright?" a guard asked.

"This is my home. My daughter was working here. Her name is Sound Barrier. Have you seen her?"

"I think so. Let me check." Bloomheart's heart was pumping as she waited for him to come back with the news. She worried about all the things she'd had on her mind for the past week. She worried about her husband, her daughter, her home. She thought that these things were already solved, but now they were back with vengeance. The guard soon came back, a stern look on his face.

"Come with me, mam. I'll bring you to her." Bloomheart couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing due to this guard's reactions. Led to the ambulance. There she saw a pony covered in soot with a blanket wrapped around them.

"MOM!" Sound cried out, dropping the blanket and galloping over to her mother. The two hugged instantly, both grateful to see each other safe. "I was worried when you hadn't come home when you should have."

"You're worrying about me?" her mother asked incredulously. "I think you've gotten confused. about what should be going on.
The two laughed in relief at the knowledge that the two were safe. The relief soon fell away as the reality of the situation revealed itself to the two. "Uh, Sound?"

"Yes?"

"HOW THE BUCK DID YOU BURN DOWN OUR HOME?!" Compared to the burning in Bloomheart's eyes, the fire looked look a sizzle.

"Well, I was making pizzas for a large group of ponies when suddenly a soccer ball got kicked into one of the ovens."

"And you didn't notice that?"

"I was really busy. Anyway, what happens is that the oven closes and the ball end up blowing up with the heat and air stuff. It breaks the pilot light and I open it up to replace it but forgot to turn off the gas. Took me time to actually replace it with all the customers I had. Well, when I finally replaced the light and lit a match," she motioned over to their house.

"How'd you get away from that unharmed?" her mother asked.

"Turns out that the same guy that placed the spell on my hair also made it flame retardant." The two were grateful that the spell that Sound's former bandmate used when he did her hair finally had some use. "Anyway, i tried to fight it with the extinguisher, but it wasn't enough."

"Well, at least you didn't just throw it at the fire," Bloomheart said, hugging her daughter. Sound's eyes widened when she realized that she had used the extinguisher incorrectly.

---

"Maybe he could smash it?" Heyfield suggested to Malarson as the two worked on his story. "After all, that's not punching."

"I guess you're right," he replied, looking over the script. "He could also bite-" Malarson stopped as he looked over to hear the door slamming with Sound coming in with another pony following behind her. She looked as if she had come out of a burning building the way her coat looked.

"Sound? You not working at the restaurant today?" Cloverbud asked. She then noticed that her mother was with her as well.

"No, Clover. I'm not working today at the restaurant. I can't work today at the restaurant. The restaurant is currently in a state of disrepair. Guess why." Sound hoped that the state of her appearance would explain what happened.

"Your place was swarmed by a sandstorm?" guessed Heyfield.

"A mutating virus spread to the customers and made them destroy the place?" Low Web asked, wondering if the time had come for his secret bunker to be used.

"A fire. It was a freaking fire. I'm covered in ashes, alright? I got freakin' singed also. My mom's here since she doesn't have work today and the firefighters say our house isn't safe yet to return to."

"Geez, Sound. Sorry to hear," apologized Queso. "You guys need a place to stay for now?"

"Yeah. We're looking for any places to take us now. Don't wanna bother any of you with us staying with you." Sound told them, hoping not to get any other offers from her coworkers. "Hopefully we get the okay to stay in the upper part of our place. That's where our rooms are."

"Okay then," Heyfield accepted. "Hey, you wanna see what we've managed to make? Got something going with our main character now."

"Sure. Mom, just try to find someplace comfy to stay while I'm working, okay?"

"Okay." Bloomheart was still in shock from what had happened earlier that morning. She was okay initially, but as she saw the state of the restaurant she and her husband had created her mental stability started to slip. Right now she was quiet and barely moving, almost as if she were in a dream.

"So Malarson, how's it looking?" Sound asked as she sat down at their desk.

"Well, we've got a basic premise that seems to be working. Our story focuses on a super-tough stallion who's trying to adjust to society with the help of an organization." Malarson continued his synopsis while Bloomheart wondered around, checking out her daughter's workspace.

"Anything I can help you with, mam?" Golden Bell asked as she saw the guest moving around.

"No. Just...checking things." Bloomheart looked around, her face gloomy and with no energy to it.

"Aww. I wish I could fix things for your family right now. Can't begin to imagine how difficult it must be for all of you."

"It's...not good," she said quietly. "Wish things would return to normal."

"Well I know that things should get better soon as your husband gets released. I know that you guys are looking around for a place to stay, but you can always stay with either me or Heyfield. He has a pretty big place and will definitely help you out. It'd also be good for him to work on his new project with Sound while she's there."

"Thanks," she replied quietly.

"No prob! Say, why don't you join me and Cloverbud when we go over to see the new toys today?"

"That sounds interesting." This was probably the first real positive thing Bloomheart had said since the disaster.

---

Cold Mold was feeling nervous as he examined the new toy he hoped to present to the comic book ponies today. He'd personally looked over the toy's creation in order to determine if it was what he had in mind. With only a couple minutes left, Mold looked over his notes and rehearsed it all in his head.

"Mr. Mold," the intercom blared, "three mares are here to see you."

"Okay Mold. You've got this." He decided to greet the three mares as they entered through the doors, this time the toy already with him. He didn't want that one spunky mare to end up fainting from the fumes again. "Hello, ladies! I've decided to cut to the chase and bring the toy right here for you to see. I'm really certain that you'll enjoy this one."

"Is it expensive?" Golden asked.

"Retail at twenty bits."

"Is it faithful?" Cloverbud inquired.

"As faithful as I could make it." Mold waited for the third pony to speak up, but she just stood there.

"Oh. Don't mind me. I'm just a guest of theirs," she explained.

"Alright. Well, here it is!" The cover was removed from the toy, revealing a small action figure that had all the main details down correctly. The expensive fabric had been replaced by the plastic painted mold that now consisted of the entire figure.

"This does seem decent," Cloverbud said as she analyzed it.

"Say, what's that winding thing in the back for?" Bloomheart asked, turning the tool. Cold Mold started holding in gleeful laughing as he awaited their reaction.

When wound up, the doll's forearms started swinging around. While doing so, the microphone inside of the toy let out "ATATATATATATATA!" stopping only when the swinging stopped. Bloomheart was memorized by this and turned the knob for another two times. At the end of the third she started laughing wildly.

"Oh my goodness! This is so awesome! It's actually got the whole punching thing with it and the scream also! Can I just have this for a bit longer?" Cold Mold's smile was just as big as Bloomheart's when he saw how happy one of the series' fans was with the toy.

"I'm sorry, but that's the working prototype. I'll be sure to save you one for when we finally start producing them however," Mold promised.

"Well, it looks like our work here is done," declared Cloverbud. "Come on, girls. We need to attend that party, remember?"