S3 E12: Games Ponies Play (What If?)
Twilight, Spike, and their friends were traveling back home to Ponyville. It had been a long day, but in the end they had managed to accomplish what they had set out to do. The Crystal Empire had been chosen to host the Equestria Games, Twilight had learned an important technique for staying cool, and Rarity had learned a valueable lesson about what happens when you try to cut corners.
Despite this, there were still some details that Rarity and Spike weren't aware of. They had spent all their time in the crystal spa, tending to Princess Cadence. Twilight and the others had been busy greeting Ms. Harshwhinny, or at least somepony they had thought was her.
"Well, today was certainly a day for surprises." Twilight commented. She, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, were quite worn out from running all over kingdom come.
"I'll say." Spike replied "It seems like no matter where we go, adventure always finds us."
"Adventure does seem to have a tendency to follow us around, not that I'm complaining or anything." Rainbow Dash agreed "I'm just glad everything worked out okay in the end."
"We were lucky Ms. Harshwhinny was so forgiving." Fluttershy added "For a moment there, I thought we'd completely blown it."
"Good thing that didn't happen. I don't think Princess Cadence would've been happy to hear we were to blame, for costin' the empire the games." Applejack nodded.
"For a moment there, when we got the wrong pony, I thought Twilight was gonna burn up with anger again." Pinkie Pie commented "Like she did when she tried to make sense of my 'Pinkie Sense'."
"You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?" Twilight asked Pinkie Pie.
"You have to admit, it's not everyday you see one of your friends turn into a flaming unicorn out of pure anger." Pinkie Pie replied "In any case, I'm glad you kept your cool. If you hadn't, we probably would've scared poor Ms. Peachbottom half to death."
"Who's Ms. Peachbottom?" Rarity asked.
"She's the pony we thought was Ms. Harshwhinny." Rainbow Dash explained "Turns out, she's a wild mustang from Mustangia. And if there's one thing she loves to do more than anything else, it's run!"
"Just what is it that happened to you girls while Spike and I were helping Cadence?" Rarity asked "From the looks of things, I missed out on quite the experience."
"Well, it's a long story." Pinkie Pie replied.
"I think we've got time for it." Rarity told Pinkie Pie "We're going to be on this train for quite some time."
"Well, you have a point there." Pinkie Pie agreed "Like I said before, it's a case of mistaken identity, hilarious shenanigans, an important lesson, and a whole lot more."
"So, just what was it that caused so much trouble?" Rarity asked "From what little I heard, Ms. Harshwhinny sounded quite upset."
"Twilight knows the story better than I do." Pinkie Pie admitted "After all, she and Rainbow Dash were the ones who learned something from it."
"Is that true?" Spike asked Twilight.
"It most certainly is, and it's a lesson I don't think Rainbow Dash or I will ever forget." Twilight explained. And with that, she began to tell her story.
The story began at the crystal spa. "Mercury" had just delivered the news that Ms. Harshwhinny would be arriving on the next train. Twilight had taken charge of the situation. "Rarity, how long will it be until you have Cadence ready to go?" she asked.
"Hmmmm... I'm sure I can find some shortcuts." Rarity replied, looking at the instruction sheet again "It might take a while, but I'll get it done."
"Can you have her ready to meet us back at the castle by the time Ms. Harshwhinny arrives?" Twilight asked.
"That's a bit of a stretch I'm afraid." Rarity confessed "Even with the shortcuts, I don't think Cadence will be ready until after Ms. Harshwhinny shows up."
"I'll stay with Rarity." Spike volunteered "I have a feeling she's gonna need the help of my extra thick scales and moral support."
"Okay, we'll be fine." Twilight said calmly, and picked up a note from "Mercury" "It says here that we should be on the look out for an earth pony mare, about average height, with red flower print luggage. Ms. Harshwinny refuses to disclose the remaining details of her identity, wishing for them to remain unknown."
"Obviously to keep us in the dark and avoid any chances of corruption." Rainbow Dash concluded "If nopony knows exactly what she looks like, nopony has the chance to bribe her or trick her."
"Unfortunately for us, it also means we won't know who to keep an eye out for at the train station." Applejack added nervously.
"We'll just have to play it by ear and use what information we have to narrow our search." Twilight replied "Come on, let's move it!" And with that, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy, raced out of the spa and headed for the train station.
Now, Rarity and Spike were alone with Princess Cadence in the spa. "Well, no sense beating around the bush. Let's get to work." Rarity said nervously, using her magic to bring up the necessary styling supplies.
"So, what's the plan?" Fluttershy asked Twilight.
"It's quite simple." Twilight explained "We meet Ms. Harshwhinny at the station, bring her back to the castle with us, put on our big welcome committee how-do-you-do and we're golden."
"Couldn't be simpler." Applejack commented.
"Not quite. We need to remember that Ms. Harswhinny arriving early is probably part of a plan to psych us out." Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"What do you mean? I doubt that's her intention." Twilight replied crossly "It was probably just a miscommunication that resulted in us thinking she wouldn't be here for a few more hours. Happens all the time."
"This isn't like the government in Canterlot, Twilight." Rainbow Dash complained "You said it yourself. She's got a rep for trying to catch hosts off-guard, just to see if we can handle the kind of massive pressure that comes with hosting the Equestria Games."
"And you're saying it's wrong of her to be doing her job as Games Inspector?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'm not saying that all." Rainbow Dash replied, and quickly changed the subject "What's important is that we stay one step ahead of her the entire time. We can't fall for her mind games."
"Easier said than done." Fluttershy spoke up "Or did you forget Discord?"
"All the more reason why we need to be ready." Rainbow Dash explained " Anything she throws at us, we just need to remember she's testing us and roll with it. We've only got one shot at this, so we can't screw it up."
"Okay then, from here on out no screwin' up is allowed!" Applejack said seriously "Now relax Rainbow Dash, I'm pretty sure Twilight has everythin' under control."
"Thank you for that vote of confidence, Applejack." Twilight said kindly "Now, if we're all done giving ourselves a pep talk, let's get on with the inspection. The sooner we meet Ms. Harshwhinny, the sooner we can give her the routine we rehearsed, and the sooner we can relax."
Upon arriving at the train station, the girls spread out and searched the platform for anypony that matched the vague description they had been given. Fortunately, they only found one pony who matched it. The mare had a yellowish-green coat, a bright green mane and tail that looked like they had gone a few days without styling, red eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a chicken. This, combined with her rather plain light purple dress, certainly didn't give off a professional vibe. But the girls weren't willing to take any chances. There was only one way to know for sure if they had found the right mare.
"Excuse me, ma'am? Could we talk to you for a second?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Who me? Why, yes, of course." the mare replied.
"Okay then, I just need to ask you this question really quick." Twilight explained "Are you Ms. Harshwhinny?"
Unfortunately for Twilight, the mare couldn't hear the question properly. For at that very moment, the train that had brought her here had blown its whistle. The noise was so loud that it covered up Twilight's question, and the mare misunderstood what was being asked. "Huh? Oh, yes I am. So kind of ya to notice." The mare replied.
Twilight and the others breathed a sigh of relief. They thought the mare had answered their question. "Well, I know you're not expecting us, but we're here to personally welcome you to the Crystal Empire." Twilight told the mare.
The mare was surprised at this statement, but she thought nothing of it. More than likely, this 'empire' greeted visitors in a different fashion from the rest of Equestria. "Well, darn tootin', ain't that just the cat's meow! Y'all didn't really need to do that. Why, I hardly expected anythin' like this." The mare exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement.
"Princess Cadence insisted that we be part of the welcomin' committee. Let's just say, it was a honor we were more than happy to accept." Applejack said happily.
"Princess Cadance?" The mare asked. She couldn't believe her luck, the very princess of the empire was going out of her way to welcome her. She was liking this place more and more by the second.
"None other! And she'll be very happy to meet you." Twilight replied "She's a bit busy at the moment, but she insisted we meet you here and escort you to the castle."
"The castle? Are you kiddin'?! Hot-diggety-dawg!" The mare shouted "Ya'll sure know how to make a mare feel welcome round' these parts."
"Can we help you with your bags?" Fluttershy asked polietly.
"Don't mind if ya do!" The mare nodded "Careful though, they're kind of heavy."
Fluttershy quickly found out that the mare wasn't kidding. The bags were so heavy that Fluttershy found it hard to lift them off the ground, despite all the work she'd done to build up her wing power. "Ooh, I love flower print!" Fluttershy said happily, just before she almost clunked the mare on the head with one of the heavy bags "Sorry."
"That's alright. I've dropped one on my hooves a couple of times." The mare said kindly "Trust me, it's quite painful."
"I'm sure it is." Fluttershy said, as she continued to struggle with the bags.
"If you'll kindly follow us to the castle, we've got a big razzamatazzy welcome planned for you!" Twilight instructed, and she and the girls led the mare away.
"So far so good." Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight.
"My thoughts exactly." Twilight replied "We just gotta roll with it until the Princess gets there and we'll be just fine."
"Easy peasy, pudding in the freezy!" Pinkie Pie commented.
But as Twilight and the others made their way to the crystal castle, the next train pulled into the station. And standing on the platform was an earth pony mare with a brown coat, a brownish yellow mane stylized to look nice and smooth, black eyes, and a purple business dress. The mare glanced around, and frowned. It seemed that no one had bothered to come and meet her at the train station. "The higher ups told me they sent word of my early arrival. Where's the welcoming committee?" she thought to herself.
Twilight and the others led the mare they thought was Ms. Harshwhinny to the outskirts of the crystal castle. The mare seemed rather impressed. "My golly, the crystal castle!" the mare gasped "Why, I've seen a few pictures of it, but I never expected to see it with my very own eyes! From the inside no less, this is certainly an honor!"
"I knew you'd think so." Twilight replied.
"Why does she call herself Ms. Harshwhinny? She's so nice." Fluttershy asked. The mare was too caught up in admiring the crystal castle to overhear.
"You're letting her lull you into a false sense of confidence." Rainbow Dash warned Fluttershy "She's acting nice to catch us off guard! It's all part of the game. We've got to stay alert. Remember what's at stake here!"
The mare followed Twilight and the others into the crystal castle. She was amazed by how breathtakingly gorgeous it looked. "This place is even better than I imagined." she said happily "I've never seen a castle like this before. I'm so excited!"
"I'm sure you are." Twilight replied with a smile "Now, if you'll kindly take a seat we can begin our performance."
"Do ya mind if I take a quick little run outside the castle first?" The mare asked nervously, suddenly she seemed a lot less excited. "It was an awfully long train ride here, and my legs could use a stretch."
"Oh, well... we were just about to start." Twilight told the mare "You can have a run after we've finished if that'll make you feel better."
"Oh! Never you mind." The mare said to Twilight, and sat down on one of the crystal benches "You go on ahead and do your thing. I'm listenin'."
"Just what was that all about?" Applejack whispered to Rainbow Dash. "It's like she suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here."
"She was probably testing us to see if we could remain in control of a complex situation." Rainbow Dash replied "Looks like we passed, but we've got to expect the unexpected if we're going stay ahead of her."
"Fair enough, I guess." Applejack shrugged. It just didn't make any sense for a games inspector to supposedly start freaking out, even if it was some kind of test.
"Don't worry, at this rate we've practically got it in the bag." Rainbow Dash said confidently, and exchanged a secret hoofshake with Fluttershy "Bump-"
"-cha!" Fluttershy replied.
"We'd like to thank you for this opportunity to introduce you to this wonderful kingdom!" Twilight said to the mare.
"Oh, why, the pleasure is all mine." The mare replied with a smile "Now, what is it ya'll wanted to show me?"
"It's a little something we've been working on at Princess Cadence's request." Pinkie Pie explained "You're gonna love it!"
"Oh, I don't doubt that one bit!" the mare said excitedly.
"Okay girls, are you all ready?" Twilight asked the others.
"Ready!" Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all replied at once.
"Good." Twilight smiled "1, 2, 3!" And with that, the five mares formed a pyramid and began to chant:
Two, four, six, eight!
Name a place that's really great!
One, two, three, four!
Keeps you coming back for more!
Two, seven, nine, three!
The place that we all wanna be!
Four, three, two, one!
The Crystal Empire, that's the one!
With a blast from Pinkie Pie's party cannon (and some impressive aerial acrobatics from Rainbow Dash) the five mares broke off the pyramid.
The mare was highly impressed and whistled in approval. "Oooh, yeah! That was amazin'!"
"Glad you think so." Twilight panted, as she and the others stopped to catch their breath.
"Ooh, I tell ya! I have traveled far and wide, but I have never, ever been welcomed anyplace in the fashion that y'all have done here today." The mare said happily "Ya'll are the best!"
"That's fantastic! Princess Cadance would be so glad to hear that!" Twilight replied happily.
"Honestly, I'm surprised she knows anythin' about me at all!" The mare said, sounding rather confused.
"Whatever do you mean? She's been looking forward to your visit for weeks." Twilight asked the mare.
"Really? The princess has been looking forward to seein' me?" The mare asked in replied.
"Of course she has. After all, you're Ms. Harshwinny, the inspector for the Equestria Games Committee." Twilight explained.
"Who's Ms. Harshwhinny? I ain't ever heard of her." The mare replied.
"Are ya trying to tell us you're not Ms. Harshwhinny?" Applejack asked, there was an akward pause for what seemed like several minutes.
"I suppose I am." The mare shrugged "My name's Ms. Peachbottom. I'm just an ordinary wild mustang from Mustangia here to enjoy a little vay-cay. I heard this place was a good tourist destination, so I thought I'd check it out. Sorry if I caused any trouble. I never intended to impersonate some important inspector pony."
"That's alright. It wasn't your fault." Fluttershy said kindly.
"So, if this mustang is with us, then where's the real Ms. Harshwhinny?" Pinkie Pie asked nervously.
"I don't know." Twilight replied "She could be anywhere."
"Well, this is just great." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.
"What are we gonna do?" Fluttershy asked Twilight.
"I don't know." Twilight said seriously "But I'll tell you what we're NOT gonna do! We're not gonna start panicking and run around like crazy!"
"Big words coming from the mare who freaked out when Princess Celestia told her she had to take a test." Rainbow Dash replied.
"That was then, and this is now." Twilight explained, and demonstrated the deep breathing technique Princess Cadence had taught her earlier "It seems I'm not the only one who could benefit from this little trick."
"But Ms. Harshwhinny is out there, and we gave our welcome to the wrong pony." Applejack spoke up "How in Equestria are we suppose to fix of all this?"
Twilight thought for a moment, and no one said anything. Then, an idea came to her. "I'll bet Cadence will know what to do." she concluded "She's obviously been in these kinds of situations before if she has that deep breathing technique. If anyone can think of a way out of this mess, she can."
"Speaking of Cadence, where is she? I thought she was suppose to be here by now?" Applejack asked.
"That's... actually a good question." Twilight admitted "I'll go find out what's keeping her. In the meantime, the rest of you should stay with Ms. Peachbottom and make her feel as welcome as possible."
"But she's not the inspector." Rainbow Dash protested.
"All the more reason why we can't suddenly change how we've treated her." Twilight replied, and explained "We need to show Ms. Harshwhinny how welcoming the Crystal Empire can be. And what better way to show that, then with a tourist who's never been to this place before?"
"I guess that makes sense." Rainbow Dash admitted.
"So, is it alright if I take my little run outside now?" Ms. Peachbottom asked nervously.
"Whatever floats your boat." Fluttershy replied.
"And when you come back, why don't we give you a tour of this castle?" Rainbow Dash added "It's the least we can do for you."
"Ooh, a tour of the crystal castle... I'd love that a whole heap." Ms. Peachbottom said eagerly "I can't wait."
"Are you really sure that's such a good idea Rainbow Dash?" Applejack said, as Ms. Peachbottom took off "We don't really know our way around this place. And it's awfully big."
"The castle can't be that big. I'm sure we can manage." Rainbow Dash replied confidently.
"You girls focus on keeping Ms. Peachbottom happy, and I'll see what Cadence thinks we should do." Twilight instructed, and with that she left the crystal castle and headed for the spa. She hadn't gotten very far, when she noticed an earth pony mare with a brown coat, a brownish yellow mane stylized to look nice and smooth, black eyes, and a purple business dress.
Said mare was dragging her luggage along, and from the looks of things she seemed very cross.
"Hello there ma'am." Twilight greeted happily.
"Hello yourself." The mare replied. "First hello of the day–" she muttered, before a cart came along and accidentally splashed her when it passed over a puddle.
"Oh dear. Do you need any help?" Twilight offered.
"Well, I wouldn't mind having somepony lend me a hoof with my luggage. If that's not too much to ask." The mare said crossly.
"No sooner said than done ma'am." Twilight smiled, and used her magic to lift up the luggage.
"Thanks for the help." The mare replied "Now, if you'll excuse me I have important business to tend to." And with that, she set off to explore more of the empire.
Twilight could've sworn she saw what looked like flower print on the luggage. "Wait! Ma-am!" Twilight called out, but the mare was already gone. Twilight sighed "Might as well just head to the spa. I'm gonna need Cadence's help to find the inspector." she thought to herself, and she set off again.
A short time later, Twilight came trotting into the spa, humming lesiurely to herself.
Rarity was alarmed, and with a gasp raced over to meet Twilight before she could go far. "W-What are you doing here? What's going on?" she asked nervously.
"We finished the welcome committee song, but we've run into a slight problem." Twilight explained "I figured Princess Cadence would know what to do. Is she ready?"
"No, no! Princess Cadance isn't ready. Something's gone terribly wrong!" Rarity said frantically.
"But I need to speak to her, it's urgent!" Twilight demanded.
"You can't! You mustn't!" Rarity pleaded.
"She's right I'm afraid. Rarity messed up big time." Spike explained.
"As a result of my mistake the princess is in the middle of a delicate conditioning rinse that must go perfectly if there's to be any hope at all for her hair!" Rarity added, blocking Twilight's view of Princess Cadence.
"Come on, how bad could it possibly be?" Twilight asked innocently.
"Imagine her mane turned into a porcupine." Rarity explained, using her magic to briefly style Twilight's mane to show what it that would look like.
"Ew. Sorry I asked." Twilight replied, as Rarity returned her mane to normal "But what am I suppose to do? I need Cadence's advice!"
"Why don't you ask Shining Armor?" Spike suggested "Don't you remember, Cadence said he'd be at the crystal stadium coaching the team. I'm sure he can help you out."
"Of course, why didn't I think of that before?!" Twilight gasped.
"You go talk to Shining Armor, and hopefully you'll find the answer to your problem." Rarity said kindly, as she escorted Twilight out of the spa "Princess Cadence still needs my help. I assure you that I will bring her back from the brink of tragedy no matter what it takes, but you have to buy me some time to work a miracle. There's no other way!" And with that, Rarity shut the spa door.
"Well, that was odd." Twilight said to herself, and headed for the crystal stadium. She was looking forward to seeing Shining Armor again, it had been a long time since they'd just been able to meet up and chat.
The crystal stadium wasn't as impressive to look at as the castle or the spa, but compared to most sports stadiums in Equestria, it looked splendid. Clearly, no expense had been spared to give the Crystal Empire a stadium worthy of its namesake.
It only took Twilight a few seconds to find Shining Armor. He was wearing a red sports cap, and had a whistle hanging around his neck. Occassionally, he would use his magic to bring up a clipboard and make notes of something. All the while, various crystal ponies were either running around the track, lifting weights, or participating in one of many different physical activities.
"Twily!" Shining Armor exclaimed happily, and raced over to see his little sister "Long time no see."
"I know, it feels like it's been forever since we've seen each other." Twilight replied.
"Tell me about. It certainly gets lonely when it's just Cadence and I around here." Shining Armor said seriously "If there wasn't still a lot of damage to repair, and mental wounds to heal, I'd come to visit you in a heartbeat."
"I've missed you so much B.B.B.F.F." Twilight said to Shining Armor "Unfortunately, I didn't come here just to talk to you."
"I figured you probably needed my help with something." Shining Armor replied "What's going on? Is everything okay with the inspector?"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Twilight sighed "I'm not sure, but somehow my friends and I ended up giving our welcome routine to the wrong pony. Ms. Harshwhinny is out there, and we don't know where she is."
"Who did you give the routine to?" Shining Armor asked.
"A mare named Ms. Peachbottom. She says she's a wild mustang from Mustangia." Twilight explained.
"Just a second." Shining Armor told Twilight, and he began barking out orders to the crystal athletes "Come on, gang! Are we gonna gallop, or are we gonna trot?!" Then he turned back to Twilight and said "Well, I'm busy coaching our team for the Equestria Games. But I'm pretty sure I can find time to lend a hoof with your search. Do you know what she looks like?"
"Actually, I do." Twilight replied "I think I actually bumped into her just outside the crystal castle. Unfortunately, she took off before I knew for certain it was her."
Shining Armor shouted more orders to the athletes "Let's move, move, move!" he told them, before turning his attention back to Twilight again "Everything's gonna be okay."
"I know, for once I'm not worried. At least, not too much." Twilight said calmly.
"Cadence taught you that deep breathing technique, didn't she?" Shining Armor asked. Twilight nodded, and Shining Armor smiled "Well, believe it or not, but I'm the one who taught it to her."
Twilight was surprised "What? Really?"
"Yes indeed." Shining Armor answered "Being Captain of the Royal Guard can be quite a stressful job. As time went on, I had to learn how to keep my cool so I didn't accidentally blow up in front of the wrong pony. That deep breathing technique was something I picked up from a self help magazine, and it's never let me down. When Cadence found out, she insisted that I teach it to her as well. Which I was more than happy to do."
"That's incredible. I never would've believed it if I didn't hear it myself." Twilight replied.
"If Cadence asks, you didn't hear it from me." Shining Armor said with a wink "Speaking of Cadence, where is she? Shouldn't she be assisting in the welcome?"
"Apparently, today is a day for things to go wrong." Twilight said glumly "Rarity messed up Cadence's mane while working on a new style, and had to start from scratch. She's probably still being worked on as we speak."
"I see." Shining Armor replied, letting the news sink in slowly. For a moment he seemed rather upset, and looked like he was about to freak out. But then he took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. By the time he had finished, he seemed a lot more relaxed. "Well, just give me a minute to make sure everything's in order here, and then we can search the empire for Ms. Harshwhinny together."
"Sounds good to me." Twilight said reluctantly.
Just then, a familiar voice cried out "I'm outside! Feels so good to stretch the old legs!" In the blink of an eye, Ms. Peachbottom appeared.
Shining Armor was surprised, he hadn't been expecting this. "Uh, what the–" he began.
"Turns out the crystal castle doesn't have a gymnasium after all." Rainbow Dash said nervously.
"Watch out!" Shining Armor shouted, just before Ms. Peachbottom crashed through one of the hurdles on the track.
"Woo-hoo!" Ms. Peachbottom shouted happily, she was having the time of her life.
"Make her stop!" Shining Armor said to Rainbow Dash "If this keeps up she could hurt somepony, including herself!"
"So she's a bit on the clumsy side. I hardly think that makes her a danger to anyone." Rainbow Dash replied "If it's what makes her happy, who am I to complain?"
But no sooner had Rainbow Dash said those words, when there was another crash, followed by what sounded like skidding. Ms. Peachbottom had been so caught up in running that she'd forgotten to pay attention to her surroundings. She now had a vase stuck to her forehead, and she was starting to freak out. "Oh! Oh, get me outside for a run!" she shouted, the vase muffling her voice. A second later, there was another crash.
Shining Armor glared angrily at Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, okay, now she needs to be stopped." Rainbow Dash said, and took off to try and catch Ms. Peachbottom before she could do anymore damage.
By the time Rainbow Dash got close, Ms. Peachbottom was frantic. She was yelping something, but the vase prevented anypony else from hearing what she was trying to say.
"Where's she's going in such a hurry?" Fluttershy asked anxiously "It's like she's seen a ghost or something."
"She doesn't seem to like enclosed spaces." Twilight observed "To her, that vase on her head is like a cage. She can't escape, and it's driving her crazy."
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was closing in on Ms. Peachbottom. "I think we got her." she said at last, as she grabbed the vase. Unfortunately, the vase proved to be difficult to lift. So difficult in fact, that when Rainbow Dash finally managed to yank it off, the force flung her through the air. "Yaaaaaaah!" she screamed.
A few seconds later, she hit the roof of the crystal spa with a thud. The glass gave off an audiable squeak, as Rainbow Dash slowly slid down to the ground. "Ow. It's times like this that make me glad I'm a pegasus." she said out loud, feeling quite sorry for herself.
Rarity thought she heard a noise, but she quickly shrugged it off and went back to what she had previosuly been doing.
Ms. Peachbottom, for her part, was relieved and very glad to have the vase removed. "Hoo-eee! Oh, that felt good! Nothin' like a great run to shake the cobwebs off these old bones." she said eagerly.
Rainbow Dash said nothing, she was still recovering from her unexpected flight across the empire.
"Hey there, speedy. Thanks for the help." Ms. Peachbottom said kindly "I tell ya these wide open spaces y'all got here remind me of home."
"Oh! So you're enjoying your visit? Well, I'm so glad for you!" Rainbow Dash said in between pants.
"Just what was that all about?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash.
"What do you mean 'what was that all about?'?" Rainbow Dash replied "You saw what happened just a few minutes ago."
"I'm talking about before that." Twilight said crossly "What was all this about a gymanisum?"
"Well, Ms. Peachbottom kept insisting she needed a place to stretch her legs." Rainbow Dash explained "We were trying to see if we could find the castle gymnasium. How were we suppose to know there wasn't one?"
"And it gets worse." Applejack added somberly "You're not gonna like this Twilight, but each of us took turns splittin' off to go look for Ms. Harshwhinny. We've been over almost the whole empire, and we found nothin'."
"What?!" Twilight gasped, and began to hyper ventilate "Tell me that isn't true!"
No one said anything. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy, all exchanged nervous looks.
"This can't be!" Twilight shouted "She has to be here somewhere!"
"But we've searched everywhere." Fluttershy replied "There's practically nowhere left to check."
"Well, except for the spa, but there's no point in checking there. Because if she was there, it'd be game over, right?" Pinkie Pie spoke up.
Just second after those words had left Pinkie Pie's mouth, the realization dawned on Twilight. "The Spa!" she exclaimed with horror "No one checked there, right?"
Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy all shook their heads in reply.
"Then that's where we need to go!" Twilight instructed "We've got to hurry, if we're lucky we might be able to catch Ms. Harshwhinny before it's too late!"
A short time later, an exhausted Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, arrived at the crystal spa. Upon walking in, they saw what they feared the most. Both Ms. Harshwhinny, and Princess Cadence, were in the spa. But then Rainbow Dash noticed something.
"Oh, there she is!" Rainbow Dash said with great relief "We're in luck! I don't think either of them knows yet that the other one's here!"
"Wonderful news, look! Princess Cadance, better than new!" Rarity happily exclaimed. A second later, Princess Cadence emerged. The traditional royal ceremonial headdress looked incredible on her. Everyone was impressed.
"Princess Cadance? So, this is where you've been all this time!" an unfamiliar voice said crossly "I was wondering why nopony was there to welcome me!"
"What do you mean?! I sent a welcoming committee specifically to greet you." Princess Cadence asked. She recognized the owner of the voice as Ms. Harshwhinny. Sure enough, a short distance away stood an earth pony mare with a brown coat, a brownish yellow mane stylized to look nice and smooth, black eyes, and a purple business dress.
"Oh really, then why was it that not one of these ponies was at the train station when I arrived?" Ms. Harshwhinny demanded "The first time I met them was when this 'Twilight Sparkle' stopped to help me with my luggage."
"What is going on? I want answers." Princess Cadence said crossly.
"I'd like to know that too." Spike insisted "Just what have you five been up?"
Rainbow Dash sighed "It's a long story your majesty."
"Well, I want to hear it." Princess Cadence said seriously.
Rainbow Dash sighed, and explained "It all began when I told the girls that we needed to be ready for anything that the inspector might throw at us."
"And, that's the end of it. You were there to see what happened next." Twilight said, as she finished up her story.
"So that's where that noise came from when I was working on Cadence's mane." Rarity realized "I had a feeling it sounded familiar."
"I'm just glad that spa roof is so sturdy." Rainbow Dash replied, rubbing her wings with a hoof "I'm probably gonna be sore for a couple of days after an impact like that."
"You didn't break anything, did you?" Spike asked.
"Of course not, it'll take a lot more than that to stop me." Rainbow Dash repiled confidently "I just hope I never have to go through that experience again. I like flying and everything, but getting thrown halfway across an entire kingdom is an experience I can live without."
"Well, if there's one thing I've learned from this experience, it's that whenever things go wrong, it's always best to stay calm and not panic." Twilight spoke up "When you panic, you're much more likely to make a mistake. If I'd overreacted the way I normally did, this whole situation could've ended a lot differently."
"So, does this mean you'll stop freaking out everytime Princess Celestia gives you an important assignment?" Spike asked Twilight teasingly, he already knew the answer.
"Maybe." Twilight replied. Everyone laughed. They knew that, while Twilight probably wouldn't freak out as often, she'd never completely stop doing so. Old habits died hard.
"I hope the pets are doing okay." Fluttershy spoke up, as Ponyville came into view in the distance.
"Well, as long as the Cutie Mark Crusaders are staying calm, I'm sure they're doing fine." Twilight said confidently "And even if they aren't, with Cheerilee checking up on them every so often, everything should be alright."
"It's really too bad we had to leave them behind. I'm sure Sweetie Belle would've loved to see The Crystal Empire." Rarity said honestly.
"They'll get a chance to see the empire in all its glory soon enough." Rainbow Dash replied "There's no way we're gonna let them miss out on the games!"
"I just hope Discord doesn't try to crash em' because he wasn't invited." Applejack said nervously "We tried to send him an invitation, but it's kind of hard to send him a letter when he's travelin' all around."
"I'm sure that whenever he's ready to come back and be with his friends again, he'll let us know." Pinkie Pie replied "Something tells me he's going to have something big planned for us. Probably the biggest welcome back party ever."
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5874933
They are both realty warpers so that makes sense. What if they both sang glass of water now that would be chaotic.
She's right.
Hilarious. One l.
Discord is a nigh omnipotent reality warping mind screwing chimeric being voiced by John De Lancie. Ms Harshwhinny is just a normally pony.
Oh dear.
I can imagine this. And it is adorable.
THis is actually pretty nice.
Fair enough.
I suppose I should have seen that coming.
Habits. One B.
Knowing him? He just plans on trolling the buck out of anypony unfortunate enough to cross his path.
5894868 The secret hoofshake takes place in the actual episode itself.
5895468
What, really?
5896712 Yes, really. Observe:
Ooh, they actually thought to ask her name in this version. Too bad about that whistle, though.
Could have been better. Twilight and Fluttershy were still acting OOC.