Opening Theme:
You can see so many emotions going through the Deadly Six's faces that you back up slightly in shock. You can taste the mixture of happiness, shock, and more thanks to your changelingness, but you wouldn't be surprised if you could still taste it without that part of you.
A tense silence goes by before Twilight shouts,
BrownDog's Comment
PonySpartan's Comment
Master of Shadow's Comment
“You think?!” to your idiotic ice breaker.
"Is... is that really you?" The real Pinkie Pie that's about to erupt says.
“Yeah…Yeah it's me. Okay, I really didn’t expect to see you guys again so soon,” you fib.
“That’s another understatement. How do we know you’re the real Tennant?” accuses Fluttershy.
Your eyes widen in surprise at her question and you try to come up with an answer when all of a sudden your inventory is thrown open and loud music is blaring.
"Daddy, do we have any Allen Wrenches? Mangle's audio loop is stu-" she then stares wide eyed at the Deadly 6 staring at her.
An awkward silence hangs in the air as Mangle's music still blares out of the bag. She then very slowly lifts herself out of the bag and onto your back, and closes the bags, silencing the noise. Silence still reigns in the air, so she whispers to you,
"So...What's the deal? I thought we were saving Pinkies."
"We are Shade, BST and his daughter are the distraction so they can get away," you whisper.
Her eyes widen at that, so she looks up at the still speechless mares.
"Umm...Hi?" she waves awkwardly.
"Nightshade...my student..." Twilight says a little misty eyed.
Nightshade gives an awkward nervous glance towards the bookworm. She did just kill several Pinkie Pies, but another Purple being on her back gets a smile from her.
"I knew it!" Spike yells out as he jumps down and rushes forth.
“SPIKE!” she yells happily as she jumps off your back, rushing towards the dragon.
They both collide in the middle in a big, exuberant hug that seems more like a tackle, before they suddenly start talking a million miles a minute.
"Oh My Gosh, I've missed you so much!" squeals Nightshade.
"Me Too! I knew you weren't dead, I just knew it!" Spike says gleefully.
And they continue chattering fast, both their eyes well up, and their hug gets tighter, you even hear some joints pop.
While the mares in front of you "Awww," at the little reunion, you have a different reaction. You feel the sudden urge to wring Spike’s neck and throw him down a deep dark hole for being all handsy with your daughter... but you resist...barely. You instead look to Twilight and say,
“Proof enough for ya?”
“I…I can’t believe it,” Twilight breathes out.
“We thought you were dead man!” Rainbow rushes forth and hugs you.
Not to be outdone, AJ rushes forth and pulls you into a bone breaking hug.
“Oh Sugarcube!” she cries and buries her face in your chest.
Then they all join in. It’s air depriving and warming at the same time.
“You idiotic numbskull! How are you still alive?” Applejack wails.
“Because I am," you unhelpingly reply.
"That is not an answer! What happened? Where have you been?" Twilight yelps.
"Don't worry, I'll-uh-Tell you. But maybe we can do this somewhere else? Like, why don’t we walk back into town off these railroad tracks and I’ll explain huh?”
"You-You're right. Let's head to the library everypony," Twilight declares, and all the mares reluctantly stop hugging you.
Given some breathing room, you take your opportunity and you pull Nightshade away from the dragon, giving him a glare to which he chuckles at nervously and gets back up on Twilight's back. Nightshade rolls her eyes and crosses her arms at that, but you tell her, "No we don't have Allen Wrenches, just use a regular screwdriver and some WD-40," you tell her as you place her back in the bags with the loud blaring music. The other mares roll their eyes at this, but they each have a smirk on their face as well.
"Yup, definitely him," Spike says to Twilight.
You all then take the short trip back into town, with you in the middle of the group of mares, as if they're afraid you'll disappear if you're not surrounded.
As you enter town and begin to walk time seems to stop for the ponies. Everywhere you look ponies stop what they're doing and stare at you as if they've seen a ghost. You see the Cowardly Trio faint on the spot and even some ponies starting to get teary-eyed. You chuckle nervously as you think,
Guess I had more of an impact on this town than I thought.
If there's one thing I've learned about you during our years together, it's that you always leave an impression. Even if you don't try to, you still do.
I guess....it feels weird though. It looks like they're seeing a dead body walking, and there's not even a speck of flour on my clothes. Guess I can't blame them though since they thought I was dead and everything.
Before Selena can respond you feel a nudge on your shoulder. You look over to see Fluttershy giving you a sheepish smile as she whispers,
“Hoody, I’m so glad you’re alright.”
“Yeah, and it’s good to see you, we’ll talk in private later alright?”
“OK, I still have to talk to that WITCH about what she did in the Crystal Empire,” she growls with a fierce gaze, causing you to shake.
Oh that indignant little-
“Fluttershy, it’s not what you think, she…”
“We’ll talk about it later, right now let’s focus on my friends,” she huffs and walks ahead of you.
Ugh, she is seriously gung ho about hating you Selena.
Oh let that little obsessive strumpet think what she wants. I did nothing wrong. I wasn't even awake!
I know, I know. Hopefully she’ll listen and not freak out too much. But we’ll worry about that later. Right now, everything’s good because the Pinkies distance is even further. I just got to keep stalling...
LATER AT TWILIGHT'S LIBRARY
You all walk to Twilight’s Library, where the door is shut, and they all look to you. Before anyling begins to speak, Nightshade pops out of the Inventory (with no music this time) and says, "Alright, she wasn't very happy with the 40, but it's fixed." She then looks around, "Ah, good 'ol library. Doesn't have nearly as much ice cream as McStabflank's house, but there's been some good times here," she says wistfully.
"Spike," Twilight interrupts, and Nightshade again gives the Unicorn a conflicted look. "Why don't you go catch up with Nightshade upstairs, the girls and I need to talk with Tennant."
"Yeah, sure thing Twi," he says as Nightshade follows him. He gives a glance back at you, and you give him the "I'm Watching You" gesture, to which he gulps at.
This tough guy look dies on your face however, when you turn around and face the expecting faces of the Deadly 6.
“Alright Mr. Tennant, start talking. What happened?” Twilight commands.
“Oh, well, what do you want to know?”
“Everything!"
“Oh, well, first of all, let me start off by letting you know that I didn’t actually die.”
“Well yeah, we figured that much. But how? You ran off into those woods after those changelings and then a forest fire started! Flash only came back with your burnt scarf in an area covered in blood,” Rainbow declares, a horrified look on her face.
“Okay, everypony calm down. Yes, I ran off after those changelings, and when I found them there was…a scuffle.”
“A scuffle?” asks Rarity.
“Yeah, I made them bleed, and they got their licks on me, and in the fighting, I lost my scarf,” you tear up especially at that. That scarf was awesome.
They seem a bit shocked at that description, but you continue.
“And I guess I accidentally set the forest on fire in the process…you know how I get when it comes to flames,” you chuckle nervously.
“Boy howdy we do,” Applejack adds with a smirk.
“So then, I took Nightshade and ran like heck, not even looking back as the forest went up. I didn’t know that you guys thought I was dead, I was just moving on.”
“What? Why’d you do that? Why didn’t you come back to Ponyville man?” asks a sad Rainbow Dash.
“Because I was in hiding remember? I told all of you this on the train last year. I figured things were getting too hot in Ponyville, so I just took the opportunity to move on and go into hiding once more.”
At that, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie Pie scowl at that.
“So you just left without even letting anyone know that you were Okay?! We all thought you were dead! And even if you didn’t know that, you could have written to us at least explaining that you saved your Daughter and moved on!” Twilight scolds in a hurt tone.
“Yeah! When Flash came out of that forest, our whole world dropped!" Rainbow snarls.
"We had a funeral and everything," Applejack declares.
"But we couldn’t even mourn properly because we had to go help Spike,” Rarity declares with runny mascara.
“Exactly, and THAT just came with it’s own problems,” Twilight grumbles.
“I-I’m sorry. Why did you have to save Spike?” you mumble out. You know the story, but you can't let them know that you know.
“He was trying to walk to the dragon lands by himself, so Rarity, Rainbow and I shadowed him. Flash informed us halfway what happened, and we were devastated, but we kept going," Twilight explains, before a look of anger comes over her face as she continues, "THEN we saw the Hooded Offender again. Just like we ALWAYS see him when we don't want to!"
She then starts panting angrily, and Fluttershy places a calming wing on her back. "Anyway, long story short, he did what he normally does, and now I have some freeloading Dragoness living here,” Twilight growls.
“…What?”
WITH SPIKE AND NIGHTSHADE
“Um, Spike? What the heck is this?” Nightshade asks staring at a creature sitting on Twilight’s bed.
“Blarg!”
“Oh that’s just Crackle. She flew me and some of the girls out of the badlands back when we all thought…well, never mind. Anyway, she kind of decided she’d stay here to wait for the Hooded Offender. Apparently she thinks he’s her friend and will come for her.”
“Honk Honk!” Crackle barks with a goofy smile.
“Ooooookkkkaaaaayyyy,” Nightshade says uncertainly, when all of a sudden, she realizes something.
"Wait a minute, Crackle?" she asks.
The dragon smiles and nods at this.
"Did you used to date a guy named Garble?" she asks. That name causes both Spike and Crackle to scowl in anger.
"BLARG! HONK! BLARG!" she declares angrily, before getting up off the bed and wandering into the bathroom, where she slams the door.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes then," Nightshade says sheepishly.
"Yeah, he's a sore subject for her...And how do you know who Garble is?" Spike asks.
"Oh, he's my new playmate," Nightshade responds.
"What?!" Spike declares angrily.
"Yeah, I kicked his butt awhile back," she begins.
"Ha Ha HONK!" laughter comes from the bathroom.
"...Yeah, so now I'm his 'Mortal Enemy' and every time I see him, I buck him up."
"Oh. That's good," Spike smiles, relaxing. "He's kind of a jerk."
"Yeah, but those are the best kinds of punching bags. Though he's always going on and on about finding Crackle again..."
"HMMPH!!!" comes an angry snort from the bathroom
"Yeeeaaahhh, let's not talk about him anymore," Spike says as he leads her away from the bathroom door. "I've got something to ask you..."
Once she and Spike are alone, away from prying ears, Spike turns to her and asks,
“Nightshade…That was you back in the Crystal Empire right?”
She sighs and says,
“Yeah, that was me Spike.”
“I knew it! I mean, everypony said I was just seeing things that day, but I knew better,” he says with his chest puffed out.
“Yeah, sorry about not telling you the truth before that explosion, but great freaking job saving the day,” she says as she bops him on the shoulder.
“Ah, it was nothing…” he says with a hand wave. "You did most of the work anyway."
"Hey, you're the one who was burning Sombra when he was all misty, and YOU'RE the one who got the Crystal Heart Back," she points out.
A look of self confidence washes over Spike. "Yeah, that was pretty cool...But yeah, after I saw you on The Offender nopony listened to me, except Applebloom. She told me she had seen you out in the woods during some spooky stuff and that I was the only one she was allowed to talk to about it. Though I kind of thought she was crazy, what with the whole ‘Undead Town’ thing,” he chuckles.
She gives him a nervous stare and he pales.
“That’s true too?” he says in disbelief.
“Yeah…I don’t really want to talk about that place anymore,” she responds while looking down.
“Oh, alright,” he scratches his head nervously. “But anyway, after she spoke to me, we decided to stop trying to convince the others we’d seen you. She and I still believed and it was enough.”
“Thank you Spike. It really means a lot to me,” she says with a smile.
“But then again, things got fuzzy. How the heck did you get all the way to the Crystal Empire in time to wrestle the Hooded Offender when he went all Beast Mode?”
“Umm…It was a teleportation failure, and I kind of ended up there away from Daddy. When I saw the Hooded Offender I guess I kind of geeked out a bit. I’ve always thought he was cool,” she lies.
“Yeah…I thought so too, until that whole snake jaw thing he did…” Spike shudders along with Nightshade.
“But yeah, after getting blasted into the sky, I was able to get back to my normal Daddy, and his Opinion of the Offender went down significantly.”
“I bet...but another thing, how come you looked like a Pegasus? And Applebloom swears she saw you looking like an Alicorn."
"Well...ever heard of a disguise spell?"
"Yeah."
"Well there you go. I thought I'd try being a different kind of pony when we were in hiding."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," he says with a claw to his chin.
Half Truths Nightshade. Half Truths will set you free.
PonySpartan's Comment
"Anyways," Nightshade starts, "I think daddy would like me to round up all the others that knew we were alive this whole time so we can talk in private later so that we can get our stories straight."
"So Apple Bloom then?" Spike asks.
"Uh-Huh, but don't forget about Fluuuuuuhhhhh," Nightshade catches herself since to Spike there would be no way that Fluttershy knew that BST was alive, without revealing that she knew by seeing the Offender in the Empire. "Uuuuu-Zecora!" She finishes, remembering the Zebra Shaman that took them in after Sunny Town.
"Wait, Zecora knew? Huh. Guess we should have figured that out seeing as how she's the one who carried Applebloom home," Spike thinks aloud.
"Yeah, and along with you we can all talk...but let's go see Applebloom first. I want to give her the run down then see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle."
"You sure your dad won't mind us running off into town?" Spike asks nervously.
"Oh it'll be fine. He'll be talking with the Deadly 6 for awhile," she smiles.
With that said Nightshade and Spike, after a quick shout telling you and the Deadly Six where they're going, head off to find Applebloom.
BACK WITH YOU
"Wait What?! Get back here you two! I didn't give you permission to-"
"Oh forget about them they're fine. Finish the story!" Rarity implores.
“I...Oh alright. So yeah, I was hanging out in Neighsa for awhile, until I got word from somepony back here, and that’s why I’m back here. Now can I please go after my daughter before that Dragon tries to-"
“Wait, you got word from someone? Who?” Twilight asks.
Oh sure, interrupt me again why don't you?
With that indignant thought, you tell her,
SnapDrake's Comment
"Alright, so, uh, you know the Crimson Vengeance?" you ask. At this, Twilight's eyes open wide.
"The Crimson Vengeance? You mean that masked bounty hunter that took down the leaders of the Crimson Knights?" You nod, and Twilight's eyes open even further. "It all makes sense now!" she suddenly declares causing all of you to look at her in confusion.
"What makes sense?" you ask.
"Everything!" she declares with stars in her eyes.
You try to cut off Twilight so you can give her the story you gave Flash, about how the Crimson Vengeance is your brother that you never mentioned before and that he was cleaning up the Crimson Knights while you were off in Neighsa hiding out of paranoia and just didn't tell anyling about it. Unfortunately, Twilight has entered Scientific Epiphany mode and it's impossible to get a word in edgewise.
"It's all so simple girls, don't you see?!"
"No, we don't see. Whatchu talkin bout Twilight?" asks Applejack.
"Well OBVIOUSLY Tennant was the Crimson Vengeance all along!" she declares. Your eyes widen in fear for a moment, as the others look confused.
How the buck did she figure that out just by me saying his name?
"The ponies that were after you, they must have been the Knights! So you ran away, changed your identity again and went to hunt them down, and now that you've finished that, you came back!" she says.
Your jaw is dropped at that nearly correct statement.
"Twilight, are you sure about that?" Rarity asks. "It seems like you're making a lot of assumptions to arrive at that conclusion."
"But you've gotta admit," Pinkie responds, "it's pretty safe to make wild assumptions when it's Tennant we're talking about."
"Hey!" you pipe up. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, you know," Pinkie shrugs. "Terminating machines, pranking Hydras, love-based Armageddons."
"You caused that last one, and I'm sure that you do this kind stuff on a daily basis!"
"And you don't see ponies questioning me, do you?" Pinkie grins.
"Pinkie's got a point," Rainbow adds. "Where Tennant's concerned, you can basically throw reason out the window."
"Well, I hope for his sake he isn't that bounty hunter," Applejack growls. "Because, Mr. Tennant, if you just left without a word and made us think you were dead while running around beating up criminals, then you better have one japering jackanape of an explanation."
"Well, um, uh..." you nervously stutter, as they have unknowingly found you out.
I can't believe this. Twilight's outed me just on hearsay!
Well don't let her know she's right. Otherwise BST will get a visit from that Sun Tramp.
This serves to get your mind steadied, and you do the only thing that you can think of.
"Mr. Tennant? Why are you laughing?" asks Twilight as you continue to laugh.
"Ha ha ha, well. Ha. Because that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" you declare, causing Twilight's muzzle to scrunch up.
"Really, I'M the guy who took down all the Crimson Knights? They've never even met me. Bookworm, I've been touring Neighsa hiding for the last 6 months. Surprisingly it was hard since subtitles don't exist in real life, but I've been far away from this country for my safety. And I'm sorry Applejack, but postage over their is pretty pricey."
"But..." Twilight starts.
"Come on, do you honestly believe that claim when you look at it with a clear head?" you taunt.
You see Twilight's eye twitch as she puts a hoof to her head.
"You know, it does sound pretty silly now that I think of it..." she ponders.
The other girls giggle at her expression, but you decide to nail that coffin on that train of though
Thank You Perception Filter!
BrownDog's Comment
“But yeah, that’s insane that you would think that I’m my brother, we dress nothing alike.”
“Your Brother?!” they all screech at once.
“Yeah, my bro. Crimson Vengeance is his code name. Didn’t I mention him before?”
“No! Why haven’t you ever talked about a Bounty Hunting brother before?”
“Oh that’s the pot calling the kettle black Twi,” Applejack snarks, and Twilight chuckles nervously remembering her reaction to her brother getting married.
“Yeah Twi. Someponies just don’t like talking about their brothers. Like Flutter’s Brother. That guy is just…Ugh,” Rainbow gags.
“Oh, let’s not talk about Zephyr now Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy groans while rubbing her temple.
You feel surprised at this.
Wow, Even Fluttershy’s got a brother that annoys her? Huh. I guess this lie can stick a bit easier.
"But yeah, he wrote to me saying that he just got done with a big job taking down the countries biggest Terrorist Cell, and that he had enough bits to hide me himself."
“Well alright, siblings aside, if you came back to see him, how the heck did you not see him on that train?” Twilight asks.
You widen your eyes in mock surprise at that.
“He Was On That Train?!” you shriek.
“Yes. How didn’t you see him? His coat was very bright," says Rarity.
"And his mask was very spooky," Fluttershy adds.
“Well excuse me! All I saw was a large group of Pinkie Pies and I freaked out thinking the world was ending!”
At that, Twilight’s eyes widen.
“OH NO! We forgot about the Pinkie Clones!” Twilight shrieks.
“Oh, they’re probably long gone by now,” Pinkie mentions.
Twilight groans and facehooves at this.
“OHhhh, I’m going to have to ask the Princesses to put an APB out on them now…”
“Hey, I’m sure everything will be fine. I mean, I got to prove I was the real Pinkie, I got all my friends back, and even had one return from the grave. I’m just tickled even more pink,” she smiles and pats your shoulder.
“Umm, speaking of which, why were there a group of scared Pinkie Pies on that train anyway? Did Discord get loose again and cause chaos?”
Are you still harping on that?
Yes!
"Oh No, Discord would never do that," Fluttershy says with conviction. "I reformed him, we're the best of friends now," she says confidently as the others rub their necks nervously.
"Alright, if it wasn't Discord, then why the heck were there a bunch of Pinkies on that train?"
All the mares in the room giggle nervously at that.
SEVERAL EXPLANATIONS LATER
You give Twilight a blank stare before sighing and saying,
"Moral questioning and possible jail time aside, you should just be glad it was only a couple of them and not all of them. The situation would be far worse if that was the case. Seriously, Clones still have feelings Twilight!" you scold.
Twilight nods her head sadly at this before saying,
"I know, I know. I feel so terrible for what I did. I was just so focused on bringing the real Pinkie back, I didn't even think about what that reversion spell was even doing. I didn't think of it as killing until The Crimson Vengeance yelled at me..." she whimpers, and the real Pinkie places an arm around her, followed by the rest.
"None of us did Twilight," Rainbow admits.
"I rounded them up," Applejack says sadly.
"And Rarity and I just sat there watching," Fluttershy sniffles.
"I'm the one who provided the canvas and paint," Rarity hiccups.
"And I didn't even blink when the others got hurt. I was too focused on myself," Pinkie laments.
The 6 Friends then begin comforting each other, sniffling the whole time, and you stand back awkwardly.
Wow, about time I get to look down at them from a higher moral level. But I should probably cheer them up before the guilt kicks in. Hmmmm...
"I just wish there was something I could do for them to make up for what I've done..." Twilight moans.
*ding*
Getting a idea you say,
"The best way to make it up to them is to pretend they never existed."
Twilight, and the rest of the Deadly Six, give you a confused look, so you explain,
"It's simple really. We all pretend they don't exist so they can live their lives in peace. They become new ponies and live new lives and make their own stories. We forget about them and they will never have to worry about being hauled off to some magic experiment room or something like that. And If you do see one of them, just pretend you didn't. Simple as that."
And I learned that from good ol Quacksalver. Ignore the things that don't exist.
It's unsettling that that moron's advice can be used practically.
The Deadly Six begin to think this over before Twilight says,
"I guess...that could work. For now at least. If I do see one of them I will apologize to her through."
You sigh at this before saying,
"Whatever you say Twilight."
With that said an awkward silence hangs in the air before Rarity asks,
"So...will you be staying around or are you going back into hiding?"
The mares look at you anxiously before you answer,
The Rutherford's Comment
Kichi's Comment
"Well, I mainly went into hiding because of this whole country was getting dangerous with the Crimson Knights after Hearth's Warming Eve Last year...but now that leaders are locked up...."
With the Generals.
"C9," Rutherford calls out.
"You zapped my weather pony. A5. This is such a stupid game," grumbles Solarkness.
"Miss. Well this is the only real game I can easily think of that we could make up by scratching lines into the cell. D3," the Wyvern answers.
"Bingo!" calls out Brown Dog.
"They're not even playing that," Snap Drake calls out.
"Playing? I just remembered a farmer I knew once, and Bingo was his-"
That idiocy is interrupted as sounds of armored ponies approaching breaks out through the corridor, along with the squeak of some wheels.
"OK, put the crazy in the padded one," comes a gruff voice.
"Yes Sir!" calls out two guards.
The Generals all look to see Grey strapped to a gurney in a full body cast get pushed into the cell by Snap Drake.
"By the Gods, what happened to him?!" Rutherford shudders. "I knew he was off his rocker, but it looks like something tried to kill him. Did the Bounty Hunter do this?"
"Heh, if only," the guard snarks. "No, apparently that old white changeling buddy of yours used his blood to control all the inmates in Arkhay Asylum, including this sad sack. Apparently he pushed him far beyond the point of safety. Glad the Bounty Hunter took care of him."
"He won't be the only one..." Changer says aloud within his room.
"Cheese and Rice! That's horrifying!" comes the voice of Candy.
"Yeah, I mean...Jeez!" Silver gags.
"Uh-huh, and people called me and Brown Psychos," Snap Drake adds.
"Wait, if the Bounty Hunter took care of him then where is Erised?" asks Solarkness.
Changer looks through his door window,
"Yes, where is that pathetic monster?"
"Oh he's here alright, he's just still in the ICU. Apparently his old ass is trying to die on us, but with no such luck. We have him on constant surveillance with guards in his room 24/7."
"You won't let him die? Why?" Rutherford asks.
"He still needs to pay for his crimes," the guard answers.
"And we are called monsters and criminals, ha!" Kichi spits. "As far as I know, we did not kill anyling, but oh, some Bounty Hunter brings us in, we must be evil. Give that mask wearing arsonist a medal why don'tcha?"
"Kichi, the guy just said Erised was mind controlling an army of psychopaths, and look what he did to Grey!" Rutherford criticizes.
"Yeah, and don't try to act all innocent! You kidnapped and brainwashed kids for your criminal syndicate!" Changer growls.
"Oh shut up Traitor! It was a legitimate business...mostly."
"Uh-Huh. You know how close you were to having Chris Hayson show up?" Silver snarks.
"Oh Ha Ha and Ha" he laughs apathetically and sarcastically. "Okay, but still noling died."
"He threatened the Princess directly and put several lives in danger," another guard answers.
"Which one?" Kichi asks.
"What?"
"Which Princess did he threaten?" the changeling repeats.
"Celestia of course. The best Princess," the guard answers.
"So you wouldn't care as much if it had been Princess Luna?" Brown Dog asks.
"I didn't say that!" the guard rebuffs.
"But you obviously put Sunbutt before her sister. So you don't care as much about the other one even though she has the superior flank?" Snap Drake adds.
"That's not what I..."
"Then again, what about Princess Cadance? Do you only care about Single Princesses?" adds Solarkness.
"Yeah, why do you hate Love Butt?" asks Rutherford.
"I don't I love all of the butts! I MEAN PRINCESSES!" the guard stammers.
"Oh wow, hope Shining Armor doesn't hear that!" Silver heckles.
"Or does he already know about your undying love-hate relationship with his wife?"
"What is even happening?!"
"I'm surrounded by morons," Changer moans.
"Alright enough of this! Let's get out of here. And Kiteshield," the main guard barks.
"Yes Sir?" shouts the teased stallion.
"You and I are going to have a talk later about your guard oath and what it means."
"Yes sir," he moans.
As the guards leave, all the Generals and the other Knights chuckle at the true game they have been playing...Annoy the Guards.
Back to you.
"...So I should be able to stay for a while. That said I am still hiding from others, so if THAT situation becomes too hectic, I will have to leave, even if only for a few weeks or so. And this time, I promise to write."
Is that half truth enough?
I think it can work.
It is not really a half truth. You were honest with them. They just don't realize that the Other situation is them. I like it....Ooh, a butterfly!
PonySpartan's Comment
Twilight smiles at you. "There's no need for you to hide. We will all have your back. You're our friend."
"That's right!" Rainbow flies and swoops in front of you with a determined face. "We always have each others backs! If you mess with one of us you mess with all of us."
You smile at them and are about to say something when suddenly Pinkie squees before saying,
"I just realized that this is my chance to throw a "I'm The Real Pinkie Pie and Welcome Back From The Dead Even Through You Never Were Dead In The First Place!" party!"
You and the other Deadly Six give Pinkie a confused look as Applejack begins to say,
"Now Sugarcube ah don't th-"
Applejack is interrupted when Pinkie grabs her and the other mares, and with a shout of "We have no time to lose", they're gone.
You stare at the smoke outlines of where they used to be for a good three minutes, alone in the library. Well, not quite alone, you hear what you presume to be Crackle upstairs Honking.
"Okay, glad to see they bought it. Now that the Pinkies are free though, I've just got to visit for awhile and then I can go home to Appleloosa...but first I got to go to another party all about me...Ugh," you lament.
Be thankful Bugze, Your identity could have been outed after all.
"Yeah I know, but still I just want to go home already. But now I'll have to go to a party and let the town know I'm not dead, and that's just gonna be awkward."
Especially if the musicians and masseuse are there.
"...Yeah, especially if Vinyl, Octavia and Aloe are there...And I've still got to talk to Fluttershy later about why she should calm the buck down about getting rid of you, AND Nightshade is out gallivanting around with Spike doing Luna knows what!" you facehoof, before you look up at the wall clock.
"Okay, I have at least a good couple of hours before Pinkie throws the party. But what to do...?"
What do you do?
Outro:
My birthday is on Halloween lol. Never really liked going out for candy so I just stay home and chill.
You stare at the front entrance of the library, and after taking a long, deep breath, you start to trot outside. You decide that you'll have to sneak Crackle out later since it's The Offender she wants and you don't want to be suspicious at the moment.
As you step outside, you remember one thing: Pinkie is Luna damn fast with her advertisement. There are already five banners indicating that a party is happening, but with how she was proven to be the real Pinkie Pie, and that her long lost friend is now found alive, she is probably unsurprisingly happy and excited about it.
You take a couple of steps forward and immediately spot Aloe about to spring out of a bush nearby, most likely going to give you a crushing hug.
"This is going to be a long, tiring, loving day."
At The CMC Clubhouse
Nightshade sits quietly on the floor with Spike to her right. In front of her...
...Is Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo staring blankly at her.
Spike just stands in the middle of them fidgeting while Nightshade stares and waits for their reaction.
And stare...
And stare...
And stare...
And stare...
Then a thought comes to Nightshade's mind. "Why do I feel this is common with daddy?"
Bugzee soon see he have a couple options, he could very well stay with one of the crazy six until the party, find his other friends on Ponyville, maybe even Ditzy/Derpy about clues of The Doctor, or he could just stalk his daughter and that purple dragon and be sure that he don't put his claws in her.
"Let's go after the dragon" Say Selena as Bugzee was thinking of what to do
"Wow, and I thinking you were the voice of reason and all that, from Sombra I could expect this, but from you?" Comment Bugzee surprised
"I'm the voice of reason and I tell you to follow Nightshade, she is too young, I will not let something happen" Answer Selena
Bugzee mutter something akin to 'Mother hen' and decides to follow Nightshade, but first he need to disguise so that they can't see him, that is why he look around for a good disguise.
He catch a costume shop with things at 50%, some shrubbery that he could use to hide inside and a empty tree trunk without doubting he decides to just ignore all of that and search for a big cardboard box somewhere and search for Nightshade and Spike hidden under the box.
Nightshade and Spike a little later
Nightshade and Spike were talking about the adventures and what happened to each other since they separated, as they were talking, they notice a strange box that is following them.
"Why I have the strange sensation that we are being followed?" Ask Spike
"Don't worry, is daddy that was convinced by mommy to follow me, not sure why" Answer Nightshade
---------
Plans for Halloween? The same I do everyday
'Try to conquer the world'7637799 Well, You got a Happy Birthday from me, It's not a present, but it's something
7637862
Thanks!
At the pony spa Aloe was tending to a Thunder lane wings.
"So how did the flying go" Aloe asked
"it didn't go well I pulled of some stunts would put Rainbow Dash to shame but then I lost control and crashed landed on some pony with a black hood." thunder lane said
"Oh deer that sound bad how was the hood pony?"
"I didn't get the chance to say anything he just push me off and ran off."
"Well I hope he's OK?" Aloe reply sadly Just like BST but he is now gone I wish for a miracle right.
Aloe train of thought was interrupted when Thunder lane chuckled
"Any when I was about to head home Cloud kicker popped by and told me that BST is still alive."
Aloe eye's went wide"What?"
"Yeah she told me she spot him walking in town a few minutes ago." Aloes felt rage building up inside and her grab on Thunders left wing was getting harder. "Aloe you so seem to be crushing winnnggg." thunder lane yeilped in pain
If this is some type of joke to mess with a mares broken heart. I will brake every bone in his body and sent to the deepest place of hell and watch him burn. As every choas demon enjoy tearing his soul and I well hang his skull on the skull thrones. Then the blood god Khrone will give me the power to avenge BST deat- Aloes thoughts of revenge and demonic power was interpreted when lotus enter the room.
"Aloe great news BST is alive and we have been invited to the party." Lotus smile fade when she saw Aloe hurting Thunder lanes wing "Is everything alright?" lotus asked Aloe smile and released Thunder lanes wing. "No everything is fine and it is time to closed the Spa." Aloe said picking up Thunder land and throwing him out the Spa and placed the closed sign on the Spa's door. Aloe then happy walk to here room and getting ready for the party and seeing BST again.
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Hi everyone Kropsling66 is back sorry I have been gone a while you know how life is it gets in the way but have to take carry of it otherwise it would bite you in the butt. Any way to answer your question I would watch all of the Tree House of Horror episodes and maybe play some dead space.
Note:
Title error
Reunion*
7637799 Happy Birthday (Even if a little early) My Halloween will likely have me playing more Overwatch. I love the Halloween versions they are doing. That and likely putting on some Halloween classics on the TV while eating candy.
7637862
As you attempt to look for your daughter and dragon, you keep getting interrupted. Most of it is from ponies trying to make sure that you are really you and not dead. The Flower Trio come up and apologize for freaking out. Everything seemed to be fine until...
Vinyl: "Yo! Do my eyes deceive me? BST back from the grave? Do you see this Tavi?"
Octavia: "Yes I do see Vinyl, but I am having trouble believing. Mr. Tennant, is that really you?"
Bugze: CRAP! I was hoping to avoid this. "Um yeah it is me. How are you two doing it has been a while huh?"
Vinyl: "I'll say. We thought you were dead dude. Everypony did. How are you still alive?"
Bugze: *Sigh* As I already explained to Fluttershy and her friends, I did not die after getting my daughter back from the changelings. Although I may have had a small part to do with the forest fire. I decided that it was too dangerous for me and my daughter to stick around so we left. Sorry I was not able to write."
Octavia: "That makes a lot of sense coming from you. But where is your daughter? I figured she would be with you."
Bugze: "She ran off with Spike. I am trying to find her and make sure that boy does not get any ideas."
Vinyl: "I though I saw them running off towards Sweet Apple Acres. But it may take a while to find them in there."
Bugze: "You are right. Too bad I can't just get Applejack's dog to find them for me. Wait a second!"
You pull Mangle out of the inventory and set her down, completely ignoring the shock on Octavia's face and Vinyl looking on in awe.
Bugze: "Mangle, can you help me find Nightshade?"
Mangle nods in affirmation and starts to move parts inside her around. You can only guess that she is either enhancing her scent tracking ability or using a magic scanner attuned to your daughter. Knowing the level of (insane) genius that created her, either option is incredibly likely.
Vinyl: "Wow! Where did you find that? It is totally awesome! It reminds me of the animatronic heads that I use for my Nightmare Night setup.
Mangle looks at you with a worried expression then hides behind you, putting you between her and the DJ.
Bugze: "Please calm down Mangle. Those heads were already dismantled after the restaurant they were at was closed. And besides I won't let anyone hurt you. And you and I both know how Nightshade would act if you got hurt."
Mangle seems to calm down a bit, shuddering in agreement about Nightshade's actions. You then turn to the two music mares.
Bugze: "Sorry, she is not just an animatronic . While she may seem like a toy or robot to you, to Nightshade and I, she is another member of our family. She also possesses an extremely advanced AI that likely will not be seen in another animatronic for who knows how long."
Vinyl: "Crud, I'm sorry, Mangle was it? (You nod) Right Mangle. I did not mean to scare you. I was just surprised. You honestly look pretty cool to be honest."
Octavia: "Well, would you look at the time? Vinyl and I must be going. Pinkie asked us to attend a meeting that we were on our way to when we saw you. Good luck finding your daughter."
Vinyl: "Oh right I forgot about that. See you later dude. See you Mangle. Hope we can all chill later."
With that the Musical Mares walk off towards the Town Hall. You and Mangle start to head towards Sweet Apple Acres when you come across the old costume shop.
my plan's for Halloween are horror movies, creepy stories, horror games, AND CANDY WITH A SIDE DOSE OF HORROR!!
Probably go around in a Continental infantryman costume. I'm not sure what exactly will happen.
Bugze should go and look around town and see what has and hasn't changed.
What time of the year is the story currently set in, if it is close to Nightmare Night it might be a good time for Luna to make another appearance. I don't remember if she said that she would return next Nightmare Night in the story but she did in the show. might be a good episode to have Bugze to interact with her now that they is now on a tolerant frenemy / acquaintanceship with one another.
looking forward to the next chapter
Meanwhile with Braeburn..
Braeburn is having a nice day when a train comes up to the station, naturally he goes to greet everyone when a tidal wave of pink plows through town
With Spike and Nightshade
As the two youglings walk to Sweet Apple Acres, Nightshade let’s a calming sigh overtake her.
The town is just how she remembers it…well aside from all the clean up going around town from the horde of Pinkies. Speaking of which.
“Pinkie, I know you want to get the party started, but we have to make sure that Mirror Pool is never used again,” Twilight Sparkle says from ahead of the two, walking towards the forest. Pinkie Pie bounces beside her with a sheepish look.
“Oh OK, but let’s hurry this up and put a lid on this whole situation, the longer I think about it the more I chance falling into existential dread,” Pinkie chatters.
Between the two mares is Big McIntosh pulling a cart with a giant boulder in the back. He gives his two bits on the conversation.
“Eyup.”
As Nightshade and Spike watch the three ponies heading off into the woods, Nightshade turns to Spike and asks,
“Hey Spike, do you know what the deal was with all those Pinkie Pies?”
Spike stops and stutters for a bit, but then regains his composure.
“W-Well, I don’t know the whole story, but Pinkie Pie somehow found some way to make more of herself, and it got out of hand. Twilight…” he then stops talking and bites his lip.
Feigning ignorance, Nightshade asks, “Did she do something bad?”
“Yeah,” Spike admits in defeat. “That’s probably what they were talking to your dad about, you know, aside from the not being dead thing.”
“What did she do?”
“She…look, I know Twilight alright?!” he gets defensive. “There’s no way she knew that she was killing those Pinkies,” he defends.
Nightshade lets out a mock surprised gasp, but she already knows this part.
“Sh-She couldn’t have known. It was only supposed to be a spell to send the fake Pinkies back where they came from. We didn’t know they had feelings…” he stutters nervously.
Nightshade places a comforting hoof on his shoulder and he stops shaking.
“It’s OK Spike, You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But I just sat there eating popcorn Nightshade,” he says sadly. “I didn’t do anything to stop it. And we could’ve hit the real Pinkie with that spell…”
“Spike, it was a crazy situation, don’t beat yourself up about it.”
The dragon sighs and nods.
Trying to cheer him up, Nightshade asks another question.
“Sooo, are Big Red and Ms. Cheerilee still married?”
This gets a smile and a chuckle out of Spike.
“Heh heh, No. Not anymore. It took a while and Mr. Waddles bad mouthed them the whole time, but they finally got it annulled. Since I’m technically a notary for the Princess, guess who had to be present with their lawyer?”
“No way,” Nightshade says in shock.
“Yeah…don’t let that circle around too much though, I have enough problems dealing with Twilight’s paperwork as it is, I don’t want to be a go to guy for Ponyville’s problems.”
“My lips are sealed,” Nightshade promises.
Back To You
You decide to visit a pharmacy to get some more drugs…unfortunately.
“What do you mean you can’t sell me anything?”
“I’m sorry sir, but I legally can’t products to those that have been declared dead by the government.”
“But I’m clearly not dead wise guy!” you growl.
“I-I’m sorry Mr. Tennant, but I can’t sell you anything until the paperwork says you’re alive.”
“Oh for Pete’s Sake!” you yell.
7637799
A Little Before The Staring
POV: NIGHTSHADE
As Spike leads you up the steps to the Cutie Mark Crusaders Tree House, you can’t help but feel a little nervous.
Calm down Shade, sure it’ll be awkward for a bit, but once that’s over, we’ll all have fun again.
Unfortunately, the plan to talk to Applebloom first goes out the window as you and Spike both hear Sweetie Belle’s and Scootaloo’s voices.
“So when is this cousin of yours coming?” Scootaloo asks.
“In about a week. Oh, I can’t wait to meet her. She’s a blank flank like us,” Applebloom responds.
“Oh, we should definitely make her a member. Heck, maybe she knows some big city stuff that we can try for,” says an excited Sweetie.
“I don’t know, I think we’ll teach her a thing or two. Speaking of which, I think I can safely say that Pinkie Herding is not one of my specialties,” Applebloom remarks.
“Well, I guess we better just get it over with and talk with her alone later?” Spike asks.
“Yeah, let’s do this…”
Back To The Present, With The Staring
“OK, Enough with the wide eyes. No I’m not an illusion, dream, or ghost, it’s really me. Hi Girls!” you shout.
“NIGHTSHADE!!!” they all screech and glomp you.
And the hugs intensify. If any adults were around, they would surely daaww from the excess sweetness of it.
After many hugs, tears of joy, and laughter, finally someone asks something coherent.
“What happened?!” Sweetie asks.
“We thought you were dead!” Scootaloo replys.
“Not all of us,” both Applebloom and Spike whisper under their breaths to each other, a conspiratorial look in their eyes.
“Well girls, it’s a long story, but I’ll fill you in.”
The Abridged/Fabricated Version of Events.
“And then we were on the train to go visit my uncle, when Daddy jumped out, and here I am.”
The girls and Spike have their mouths open in shock.
“So…After you wrestled King Sombra and the Hooded Offender in the Crystal Empire, you teleported into the Everfree and fought Zombies?” Sweetie Belle gasps.
“Eyup.”
They then look to Applebloom and Spike.
“Spike, we’re so sorry we didn’t believe you,” Sweetie apologizes.
“Why didn’t you tell us you saw her there in Sunny Town Applebloom?” Scootaloo accuses.
“Well sorry, a part of me thought maybe I was going crazy after Twilight found no trace of the town. And another part of me realized I did make a Pinkie Promise to keep it a secret…well, except for Spike that is,” Applebloom explains.
“And so THAT’S why you and Spike have been meeting up every so often?” Sweetie asks.
“Yeah, sorry we couldn’t tell you guys. But we did promise.”
“Wow. Nightshade I’m glad you’re alive, but now that I know Sunny Town was real, I don’t think I’m ever going back to the Everfree,” Scootaloo shudders and Sweetie nods.
“I don’t blame you, that place was creepy with a capital C,” Nightshade admits.
“But wait a minute, if you’re alive then that means…” Sweetie thinks before,
CRASH
The door is kicked open, and Baker Sylvester Tennant pops through.
POV CHANGE: YOU
“Alright you little punk, get your damned claws off my…” you stop midsentence as instead of seeing what your overreactive imagination conjured, you instead see Spike, Nightshade and the Cutiemark Crusaders staring at you wide eyed.
You stare at them, they stare at you…and continue to sta-
“NO! No more staring!” Nightshade shouts, causing everyling to get out of their stupor.
“MR. TENNANT!!!” the CMC cry out and glomp you.
“We’re so glad you’re back!”
“HRK!” you cry out as your heart lurches in your chest from the cuteness.
Ah, See. We did have nothing to fear after all. I swear, your thoughts are corrupting me, Selena groans.
You don’t have time to reply to her though as you concentrate on breathing and making sure your heart doesn’t explode.
After that adorable assault, Applebloom steps forth.
“Mr. Tennnat…I just wanted to say. Thank you for saving our lives back in Sunny Town.”
Your eyes widen at that.
“You Knew?!” before glaring at Nightshade. “What did you tell them?”
She chuckles nervously before say,
“She kind of figured it out when we passed out after burying Ruby.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” you say indignantly.
“Um…Whoops?”
“That’s another thing, how come you didn’t recognize Mr. Tennant back in Sunny Town Bloom?” asks Spike.
“He was kind of covered in Zombie Gore…it was gross,” she gags.
“That is so cool that you fought a bunch of zombies!” Scootaloo fans out.
“And Pyramid Head! I watched Button play that videogame, and he is scary,” Sweetie says in awe.
“Alright, Alright you adorable little munchkins, we all need to have a serious talk inside this treehouse about the importance of keeping secrets,” you command.
That get’s their attention.
“Now, repeat after me. I,”
“I” they repeat.
“Your Name,”
“Your Name.”
“…Really?” you say in disbelief till they break into giggles. They then all say their names.
“Pinkie Promise to never talk about Sunny Town, or our involvement in it.”
“But what about Nightshade fighting in the Crystal Empire?” asks Spike.
Your eye twitches at that.
“Honey…?”
“Oh you know dad,” she chuckles, “You know when I accidentally teleported there causing you to panic for a few hours, and I fought the evil dictator and the Hooded Offender? And when I teleported back you were upset and didn’t like the Offender anymore?”
“…Oh…Yeah…that. Absolutely,” you say in a stilted manner. “Also promise that you guys won’t talk about that either.”
After a few groans of protest, the four fillies and 1 drake then go through the motions of the Pinkie Promise. Now that the promise is essentially bound in blood, you breathe a little easier.
And for Halloween, I will dress as Slender Man and take my nephew trick r treating.
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Somehow I can imagine something like this...
7645014 thats exactly what would happen
7645224 Extra points if they run above Braeburn turning him into a pony crepe?
Oh my god finally I'M ALL CAUGHT UP!!!!
Such a great story!