To The End of Drudges

by GWFan

The Drudges

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, though if I did, I would be more than 20% cooler.

To The End of Drudges
By: GWFan (The Softcore Brony)

Chapter 1: The Drudges

Twilight Sparkle looked out into the distance, eager to see her destination. Princess Celestia had not only sent for her and her friends, but had supplied transportation to Canterlot. This wasn’t all cheers and excitement though, this was business. Currently, Twilight sat in the front of a pegasus drawn carriage alongside her friends Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Flying close behind, her other best friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity sat in a second carriage. It wasn’t often that Celestia called for her like this, but the letter Twilight had received sounded quite urgent.

“So what do you think, Twilight?” Applejack suddenly called from the other carriage. “Did the Princess tell you anythin’ specific in her letter?”

Twilight shook her head in response. That was the thing. Celestia hadn’t said anything about why she needed them or more specifically why she had requested the Elements of Harmony.

The Elements of Harmony were an ancient form of magic that Celestia had originally used to imprison Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony. Later, she had been forced to use them to banish her sister Luna, when she had transformed into the wicked Night Mare Moon. When Night Mare Moon had escaped one thousand years later, Twilight and her friends had gone on a quest to find them, only to discover that they themselves embodied the spirits of the Elements through their friendship. It was an incredible power to say the least and to have use for it once again must have meant that something terrible was ahoof. That was why they were on their way to Canterlot now.

“You know, I never thought having somepony else fly for me would be so cool,” Rainbow Dash told her, stretching her own wings as she did. “They could speed it up a little though.”

“We’ll get there in plenty of time, Rainbow. Just be patient and enjoy the elegance of this ride,” Rarity called from the other carriage. Even though she considered herself an upstanding lady, Rarity clearly seemed to be enjoying having the wind run through her indigo mane. Plus, the sunlight reflecting off her unicorn horn seemed to give her an extra shine.

Applejack chuckled a little at Rarity’s display. Because of the wind, she had to hold her cowboy hat to her head as her long blonde braid sailed back in the breeze. Nevertheless, Applejack was not an earth pony to take things lightly. She knew that they would probably be busy when they finally arrived. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof…

Pinkie Pie was holding her head out the side of the carriage and letting her strangely large tongue flail in the breeze like a dog. Despite the wind, her poofy magenta mane hardly flared at all. The saliva from her tongue flung back onto the ever-quiet Fluttershy, who was using her wings to shield herself from Pinkie’s spit. Even though she clearly wasn’t enjoying being spit on, the sense of kindness the yellow pegasus possessed wouldn’t allow her to disturb her friends fun. So instead, she decided to grin and bear it all the way to Canterlot.

Canterlot was already visible from their home in Ponyville, but seeing it up close was something altogether different. Of course, Twilight had lived there for many years being an apprentice to Celestia herself after attempting to enroll in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Going back filled Twilight with nostalgia. The elegant spires of the castle, the beautiful waterfalls pouring into the river below, and of course the wonderful businesses that she had frequented in her youth. Especially the doughnut shop during her late night studies. She wouldn’t mind visiting the shop again if there was time. Nevertheless, duty called first and Twilight’s nostalgia didn’t last long as the carriages made a slow descent down to the castle courtyard. Hopefully, whatever was going on wouldn’t be as serious as say, the return of Discord had been. The memories were still fresh in Twilight’s mind and she couldn’t imagine dealing with another crazy creature like him.

---

His was a simple dream. The selling of quills and sofas. Davenport moved down the streets of Canterlot with a smile. The sells at his store in Ponyville, aptly named Quills and Sofas, had been up by a substantial margin lately. It looked like he finally had made enough funds to expand his store into a franchise. There was a recently closed business right on one of the most frequented streets in Canterlot, busy perhaps because it was right up against the castle walls. Davenport was on his way to see about purchasing the now abandoned building. Location, location, location, after all and what better location than Canterlot?

However, the streets of Canterlot were rather confusing for a simple earth pony like Davenport, who was used to the more tranquil and smaller Ponyville. He had quickly become lost in the maze of streets. In fact, he was pretty sure he had past the pony selling fresh fruit, at least twice already.

Feeling winded from the long trek, Davenport scooted into the shade of a back alley and loosened his blue vest, letting some of the sweat pour from his white collar. There were ponies moving every which way on the street, but back here, things seemed a lot quieter. Actually, Davenport nearly stepped on a couple of white pegasi sleeping on the ground. The funny thing about them was that they were wearing golden armor and looked an awful lot like the royal guards he had seen escorting Princess Celestia the last time she had visited Ponyville. But why would they be sleeping in a place like this?

“Probably just on a break,” Davenport told himself. It was a good place for a break, being away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. In fact, this little nook was pretty much hidden away from any prying eyes. The only thing back here was a small hole in the wall.

For some reason, Davenport found himself mesmerized by the hole, which reminded him of playing adventure games as a young colt. Curiosity got the better of him and he stuck his head in. The hole was easily big enough for an average size pony to slip through. Looking around, Davenport realized that he was inside the castle walls right by some more sleeping guards. Standing where he was, Davenport was right next to the castle.

Then he saw something that made him puzzle. A pony’s rump. Davenport walked over to where the back end of a light grey pony was trying to climb through yet another hole on the side of the castle. Whoever he was, the cutie mark on his flank resembled a key.

“Hey, junior!” Davenport called out. The pony inside jumped and banged his head on the ceiling of the hole. Holding his head, he fell out. Then the pony saw Davenport.

“W-w-w-what? Oh, hey! Hey there,” the pony said rather nervously. Davenport realized that the light grey pony was actually a unicorn. His dark grey mane peaked briefly from underneath the dark green hood he wore that extended into a sort of cloak.

“I… I wasn’t… um…” the unicorn stammered.

“You need a boost?” Davenport offered.

“A boost? Uh… yeah. Sure. Thanks.”

Davenport stood under the hole, allowing the unicorn to stand on him and jump in. For some reason, the unicorn looked around quickly before he did so.

“Well, thanks. See ya later,” the unicorn said before disappearing into the hole.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Davenport called. The unicorn peaked his head back out slowly.

“Yes?”

“Is there a problem in there? You fixing something?”

“Fixing? Oh… oh yes. That’s exactly what I’m doing. Uh…” The unicorn looked back inside briefly. “I’m just fixing a broken pipe.”

“Oh. Sounds serious.”

“Very. The princess needs running water since… you know, she’s a princess and all. Well, I better get to fixing so I’m going.” And just like that, the unicorn scrambled back into the hole and disappeared.

“What a nice guy. Everypony around here seems so dedicated to their work. Like me.” Davenport briefly raised his head to the sky and a tear came to his eye as he thought about his burning passion for quills and sofas. Maybe there were lots of ponies in Canterlot who shared passions like that. “I might have to think about managing the new store myself.”

Just as Davenport was going to leave for the street again, he noticed something sitting on the ground. It sort of looked like a big toolbox. “Poor guy. He forgot his tools. Maybe I should bring them to him.”

Davenport tossed the box, which was strangely light, into the hole and climbed in. There was no sign of the light grey unicorn anywhere, so Davenport grabbed up the toolbox and searched for him.

---

There had been only a brief introduction. Fluttershy had barely been handed a towel to dry off from Pinkie’s saliva when two unicorn guards led Twilight and her friends into the castle almost as soon as their carriages had landed. The guards kept up such a quick pace that Twilight hardly had time to admire the various paintings, potteries, and other relics of the past that adorned the walls of Canterlot’s castle. Whatever was going on must have been very important. The guards walked them into a large, somewhat circular room with several exits.

“Wait here. Princess Celestia will be in shortly,” one of the unicorn guards told them before both of them filed out of the room.

Still wondering what was going on, but having little better to do, Twilight took the opportunity to finally look at some of the ancient artwork and architecture in the room.

There was an amazing tapestry towards the back that depicted the beginning of the story about the two pony sisters prior to Night Mare Moon. There were also some more recent portraits of those same two sisters, Princesses Celestia and Luna, as they were today. It made Twilight happy to see the smiles on both those portraits. She noted another tapestry that depicted the evil reign of Discord before the two sisters defeated him. Other things in the room included golden pony statues, beautiful stones, gorgeous designs engraved in the pillars, a light azure unicorn who was staring at her, a group of palace guards standing in front of some glass cases…

The light azure unicorn who was staring at her… Twilight couldn’t believe it.

“Look,” Pinkie Pie pointed out. “It’s Tootsie!”

“That’s Trixie. The Great and Powerful Trixie!” the unicorn corrected.

Of all the ponies Twilight had expected to see in Canterlot, Trixie most certainly was not one of them. She had once come to Ponyville, boasting of her incredible powers. Twilight had bested her somewhat inadvertently when she stopped an Ursa Minor from attacking. Trixie still wore her purple cape with stars on it, but she wasn’t wearing her hat.

“Trixie? What are you doin’ here you old showoff?” Applejack demanded, asking just what had been on Twilight’s mind.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie was invited here,” Trixie responded, talking in the third person, just as she had before. Then she turned her head away slightly as she added, “Not by Princess Celestia exactly, but Trixie was still invited. What are you all doing here?”

“We were invited by Princess Celestia,” Rainbow Dash answered proudly, trying to rub it in as much as possible.

“What for? This is important and only important ponies were summoned.”

“We are important and certainly more welcome than a loudmouth like you,” Rarity retorted.

“Trixie is not a loudmouth!”

“What is all this racket?” another voice suddenly boomed. An old unicorn walked into the room, his white mane and scruffy beard dotted with streaks of grey. Whatever his cutie mark was, it could only be described as a staff with pixie dust around it. He waved around a sort of wooden staff with his unicorn magic as he said, “Trixie, are you causing a scene again?”

“What!? No! It isn’t like that, dad.”

“Dad?” Twilight and her friends all said at once. The old unicorn was clearly a darker shade of azure and, other than his scruffy beard, more masculine features, and advanced age, looked very much like Trixie.

“I… I was only- Ow!” The old unicorn suddenly rapped Trixie on the head with his staff.

“Stop being such a loudmouth.”

“But-”

“Stand up straighter. Chest out. Look more magical for once in your life.”

“I… I am,” Trixie nearly whined. It took Twilight a second to realize that Trixie hadn’t spoken about herself in the third person during the last few moments.

Trixie’s father stalked around her as if examining her stance when he turned his head to Twilight and her friends. “Well? What are you all looking at?”

Though she was taken a little by surprise, Twilight didn’t want to be rude, so she tried taking up some casual conversation. “So, you’re Trixie’s father?”

“Of course I am. I am the Great and Powerful George.”

“George?” Twilight was surprised. It sounded like something a pony would name a pet. In fact, she remembered having a pet rock named George when she was a very young filly.

“Great and Powerful George. Of course you’ve heard of me?” George raised his eyebrows and smiled a knowing grin.

Twilight looked at her friends. Most of them shook their heads and Rarity shrugged. “No. Not really,” Twilight finally answered.

George’s face fell to a mixture of anger and confusion. “That’s preposterous. How could you have heard of my no-name daughter and not the Great and Powerful George?”

At his belittling mention of her, Trixie lowered her head and sighed. George’s staff immediately tapped her leg. “Straighten up, daughter. You don’t want to look weak.”

Trixie straightened stiffly, sweat beginning to form on her brow.

“Excuse me sir, but don’t you think your being a little mean?” Fluttershy ventured.

Twilight paled. If he was Trixie’s father, then it was none of Fluttershy’s business. The expression on George’s face showed that he was thinking the same thing.

“I’m mean? And who are you, you who don’t even know who I am, like the rude little pony you are. Don’t you know you must respect your elders?”

“She didn’t mean any disrespect by it, sir,” Twilight jumped in. However, now that George’s attention was focused on her again, she sort of wished she hadn’t. Twilight cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’m Twilight Sparkle-”

“Twilight Sparkle?” George’s eyes suddenly lit up. “You’re Princess Celestia’s prized student? The egghead?”

Twilight stiffened, only a little offended that he would so blatantly call a stranger that. “Yeah. I’m the egghead.”

“I see, I see. You’re one of the spirits of the Elements of Harmony. Good, good. We need you then. Come, come, take a look at this. This is what you’ve been summoned for, Twilight Sparkle.” George walked over to the guards who were standing in front of the glass cases. His staff followed him and then pointed. “Behold all you ponies, the greatest evil in all of Equestria.”

The ponies all cocked their heads.

“The guards?” Pinkie asked.

George turned to where his staff was pointing. The four guards stood stock still, looking shocked and terrified.

“But… but sir, we’ve served Princess Celestia for years. We would never-”

“Not you,” George said annoyed. “Get away. Step aside, step aside.”

Though the guards still looked rather confused, they stepped away at his request. That in itself surprised Twilight who didn’t think the guards would listen to anypony but Princess Celestia or Princess Luna.

“Behold,” George said again, pointing with his staff, “the greatest evil in all of Equestria.”

Again, the ponies all cocked their heads.

“They look like bugs,” Rainbow Dash said, not sounding the least bit impressed.

“Eeeew,” Rarity stammered.

Indeed, they did look like bugs. Before them stood three glass cases. In each case was a strange creature none of them had ever seen before. The three creatures were about the size of turnips and appeared to have the shape and shell of a pill bug along with the legs of a spider and two large black eyes. The creatures were definitely deep black, though on closer look, each one had a distinct hue of another color. The first was somewhat reddish, the second was striped with dark blue, and the last was dark purple with a hint of brown splotches.

“These are not just bugs,” George retorted angrily. “These are the Drudges.”

“Those things are the Drudges?” Trixie said with a hint of annoyance. “They still look like bugs,” she grumbled.

“You foolish daughter of mine. Haven’t I taught you anything about the Drudges? These creatures…” George paused when he noticed Rainbow Dash tapping the glass of the blue striped Drudge, trying to get its attention.

“It’s not moving. I think it’s dead,” Rainbow said, tapping the glass harder. George rapped her on the head with his staff. “Ow!”

“Stop that. You don’t know what you’re doing. And it’s most certainly not dead.”

Staring at the creatures in the cases, George’s horn lit up and a brief flash erupted in each case. The ponies all winced when they heard a blood curdling, high-pitched screech, similar to hooves on a chalkboard. The red Drudge started bolting around the case wildly as if looking for an exit. The dark blue striped one, reared up, curled and uncurled its spider-like legs, and opened its mouth, which resembled a leech with several rows of needle-like teeth. The last Drudge twitched a leg or two but otherwise didn’t move.

“Eeeeeeeeeeew. That’s disgusting.” Rarity covered her mouth, trying not to vomit or faint as she stared at the blue striped Drudge.

“You see. Pure evil radiates from these creatures,” George said with a bit of satisfaction.

“Ahhh. Maybe they’re just misunderstood,” Pinkie Pie said affectionately, petting the glass that contained the purple Drudge.

“Maybe they’re just like the parasprites?” Fluttershy ventured.

“Parasprites?” George said with disgust. “Those disgustingly cute little devils are nothing like the Drudges. They don’t even compare. They…” Abruptly, George cut off and looked at them all as if it was the first time he had seen them. “What are you all doing in here anyway? This isn’t a spectator event. Get out.”

“Whoa there. Who died and made you king?” Applejack retorted angrily. “You don’t need to be rude. We’re here on orders from the Princess.”

“A likely story. Are you here to take the Drudges you felons?”

“Excuse me? Why ever would we want to do that? We don’t even know what these… things, are,” Rarity exclaimed and looked disgustedly at the Drudges again.

“See, you’re not even in the loop. Princess Celestia couldn’t trust you with that information could she? These creatures are the epitome of evil itself.”

“We don’t even know that. All we’ve seen so far is that you’re tormenting them in those cases,” Twilight said angrily. “What are they?”

“They are the Drudges, my faithful student.”

Twilight and the other ponies all turned and beheld Princess Celestia herself entering the room. She stood far taller than any of the other ponies and the elegant horn on her head and beautiful wings on her back only magnified her radiance. As usual, two royal guards escorted her, being pegasi in golden armor. Twilight was only a little surprised to see Princess Luna enter the room too. She was a pony of a more normal stature though still tall. She shared her older sister’s unique feature of both unicorn horn and pegasus wings, though of course that was perfectly normal for alicorns. Luna glanced briefly at the Drudges and looked nervous.

Then another creature flew into the room.

“Philomena!” Fluttershy cried in astonishment. Philomena, Princess Celestia’s pet phoenix, landed in front of Fluttershy and nuzzled her neck. “I missed you too, Philomena. I still have the feather you gave me too.”

“I’m glad you all could make it here so quickly,” Celestia welcomed them, giggling briefly at Philomena’s excitement to see Fluttershy. The ponies before her bowed in acknowledgement of her status but Celestia raised a hoof, signaling them to never mind the formalities. “I’m afraid what George has told you is the truth. The Drudges are indeed tools of evil.”

The princess’s statement was met with general shock and pleads of “No way,” and “It can’t be.” Twilight took another look at the Drudges, still wondering as to how these strange creatures could really be that evil.

“Sure. Just because the princess tells you, you believe it now. Never mind what the Great and Powerful George has been saying.” George growled audibly and thrust his staff into the ground.

“Well it’s not like we had any reason to believe ya. We only just met,” Applejack said, though she sounded at least a little apologetic.

“I’m the freaking Great and Powerful George. You should believe me because I only speak the truth. And because I’m great!”

“What’s so great about you, anyway? I bet you’re all show,” Rainbow guffawed.

“Show? Show? I’ll show you show!” George threatened her but Celestia put her hoof up to stop him.

“I assure you all, the Great and Powerful George is as adept as his self proclaimed title suggests. I couldn’t possibly call this gathering without him,” she confirmed.

“Thank you,” George said, sounding quite annoyed. “At least some ponies around here know how to give a little respect.”

Celestia ignored George’s blatant disrespect and continued. “You see, George has been studying the Drudges for decades. At the moment, he is the foremost authority on the subject. He has trained and honed his unicorn magic for dealing specifically with the Drudges and is the only pony of this age to have earned the title of Mystic.”

“See. Told you I’m great.” George smiled a self-satisfactory smile.

Celestia leaned closer to Twilight and whispered in her ear. “Though even I admit he is very difficult at times.”

Though Twilight was a little amused at Celestia’s remark, there was still one question that concerned her. “Princess Celestia, what exactly is so bad about these Drudges? Do they have something to do with why you need the Elements of Harmony?”

Celestia’s serious expression was answer enough. She looked up at the elaborate tapestries Twilight had already noticed hanging on the wall. “By now you all know the story of Night Mare Moon as well as that of Discord. However, there is still one part of the puzzle I have yet to explain. Discord’s creations known as the Drudges, the very creatures you see before you now.”

“Discord’s creations?” Twilight and her friends looked at the Drudges with new interest as well as a bit of contempt and respect. Each of the three Drudges seemed to stare at Celestia, as if they knew she was the opposite of their creator.

“Long before my sister and I stood up to Discord, he used the Drudges to create chaos throughout Equestria, the most notorious havoc being their eventual use in turning Luna into Night Mare Moon.” The ponies went wide-eyed. “That Drudge there in the middle, it is called Isis. That very Drudge created the doubt and hatred in Luna’s heart that turned her against ponykind and aided in her final transformation into Night Mare Moon.”

The Drudge with blue stripes stared wickedly at them, almost seeming to stare down into their soles. Or maybe it wasn’t them. Luna seemed fixated on the Drudge called Isis, the very sight of which seemed to cause her great fear and panic. She stopped trembling when Celestia gently placed her hoof on Luna’s back. Luna breathed in and out heavily, and spoke.

“It’s true. I’ll never forget the anger and resentment I felt for Celestia. I want to say it was all Isis’s fault, but I know she couldn’t have done so if my feelings hadn’t already been there.”

“Luna, that’s enough. You are the only one who has not forgiven yourself.”

“Oh big sister…,” Luna buried her face in Celestia’s chest. Philomena uttered a concerned whine as Celestia took a few moments to comfort her sister before addressing the gathered ponies once again.

“Isis has done more than that one deed and the other Drudges are not much different. Many ponies in the past have died from their actions, not all of them commanded by Discord either. Luna’s transformation was their own choice, since Discord was already imprisoned at that point. Though their very name suggests that they are little more than slaves, they are conscious beings and capable of making decisions on their own.”

“But, if the Drudges are really so bad, then why are they all here? They don’t seem very dangerous now,” Applejack spoke up.

Celestia turned to George. “Would you care to explain what has become of the Drudges in years past?”

George cleared his throat, obviously ready to make a grand monologue of his own. His horn glowed and he raised his staff in the air, creating an image akin to the tapestries on the wall, though this one featured the Drudges. As he spoke, the image changed and matched the story he then told them.

“As Celestia said, the Drudges created a lot of havoc on behalf of Discord. However, when Discord was imprisoned in stone, the Drudges took their own initiative and began seeking ways to free him as well as increase their own power. They aroused quite a gathering of confused and otherwise easily duped ponies to do their bidding and betray ponykind. That’s when they attacked Luna and turned her into Night Mare Moon, effectively neutralizing the Elements of Harmony after they were used to banish her. They must have known that the Elements were powerful enough to stop them and believed themselves invincible otherwise. But then, under the guidance of Princess Celestia, the very first council of Mystics was formed. Combining their strengths, they suppressed the armies of the Drudges and fought the very creatures themselves. They were thought to have been defeated.”

The images in the air ceased and George looked at them all more seriously. “Thought to have been defeated is the key here. In truth, they fooled everypony, even Princess Celestia. Over the centuries, evidence surfaced that the Drudges had actually gone into hiding, the reason being that they had been severely weakened by their battle with Celestia and the Mystics. They slept for centuries, apparently waiting for their creator Discord to free himself of his prison. Their whereabouts were even found, but nopony recognized them and it was thought that they could do nothing in their dormant state so their locations were not reported to Princess Celestia until about a year ago, when Night Mare Moon returned. Truly it was poor judgment and lack of knowledge, the foals.” George shook his head in annoyance.

“Nopony ever thought the Mystics would be needed again. That’s why I’m the only one left. But those foals should have known better. When Discord escaped his stone prison, the Drudges awakened. You have no idea what I went through to capture these things. Clearly, they’ve retained some of their wicked power from before. It was little more than fortunate that the Mystics of the past were not so foolish and created a way to contain them if ever they returned. These cases the Drudges now sit in, they are made of magic glass to suppress their incredible power inside. And if you stop touching it!”

Rainbow Dash turned around sheepishly. She had been tapping on the glass again.

“It might contain them from the inside, but the cases are otherwise as fragile as normal glass. The last thing we need is for them to become free again.”

“Ooooooh. I sense foreshadowing!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, noting her ear flop.

George stared at her. “Seriously, who invited you buffoons?”

“Anyway,” Twilight said, interrupting George’s insult, “if the Drudges have been contained, then what do you need us here for?”

Celestia fixed Twilight with a solemn expression. “The Drudges have hurt many ponies in the past and I am not willing to risk their evil in this world anymore. I need you and the Elements of Harmony to destroy the Drudges once and for all.”

---

Burgle pushed back his dark green hood, getting a better look at the goings on below. From his vantage point in the ventilation shaft, he could see both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna talking to a small gathering of ponies. Most interesting of all were the three glass cases in the room, which contained even more interesting black creatures. There was also a pretty nifty phoenix sitting in the room.

“So those things are the Drudges,” Burgle whispered to himself. To think that somepony had actually contracted him to steal such bizarre looking creatures. Even though Celestia and all those guards were in the room, Burgle didn’t think it would be too difficult to take them. It might be a bit of a struggle, but his quick wits and unicorn magic had never failed him before. He just had to wait for the right moment. Then he could swoop down, put the Drudges in the magic containment box and…

Burgle felt around with his hooves before he realized that the box was missing. Looking around frantically and shining a dull light from his horn, Burgle searched for the missing box, wondering what could have happened to it.

“Curses and mules,” he grumbled under his breath. He must have left it back there where that stupid pony had offered to give him a boost into the ventilation shaft. Burgle silently wondered how he could be so careless. He hadn’t botched a job in years. Celestia had just mentioned destroying the Drudges. If he went back to get the box now, the Drudges might be gone. He didn’t even know that much about the Drudges. He had found his way to this vent just as some old unicorn below had said something about the cases the Drudges were in being fragile. In any case, he might just have to jump down there and cause a little confusion to buy time. This would have been so much easier if he hadn’t decided to work alone.

“Hey, junior!”

Burgle jumped and, for the second time that day, hit his head on the ceiling. Rubbing his throbbing head, Burgle looked back and almost cursed. The same stupid earth pony from before had followed him into the ventilation shaft. Great. This was just great. The darn pony had ruined everything and for the first time in years, Burgle was going to fail.

“Junior, you forgot your toolbox. I brought it for you.”

Celestia be praised! Luck was once again on Burgle’s side. That wonderful, wonderful earth pony. Now if only he could get him to leave.

“Thanks. I was just wondering where my toolbox went,” he whispered.

“Here you go. Glad to be of help.”

“No problem, Pops. Now if you’ll excuse me, I really must get to work.” Burgle gestured with his horn for the pony to leave.

“Pops? I’m not that old yet. Names Davenport. How are you?”

“Good.” Burgle nervously shook hooves with him.

After firmly shaking hooves for a few seconds, Davenport smiled and lingered. “So, I’ve never actually done any plumbing myself. Had a nasty leak in my store just the other day as it happens. Think you could give me a few pointers on fixing pipes?”

“Uh… well… um…,”

“You must understand,” a voice that sounded distinctly like Princess Celestia echoed from the room below. “This is the only solution to our problem. The Elements are the only thing that can destroy them now. The Drudges must be dealt with.”

“Hey, that sounds like Princess Celestia,” Davenport moved over to the vent opening and peered down. “That looks like Princess Celestia.”

“Well… she does live here after all.” Burgle laughed nervously, but quietly.

“This is a ventilation shaft. I may not know much about plumbing but I’m pretty sure you don’t get to it from the vents.”

“Yeah, I sorta got lost back there. Happens all the time in these big castle type places.”

“Wait a minute,” Davenport looked suspiciously at Burgle. “You’re not a plumber at all, are you?” Burgle gulped. His cover had been blown. “Are you peeping?”

“What?” Burgle almost hit his head on the ceiling again.

“You’re peeping aren’t you?” Davenport pointed a hoof at him accusingly.

“Are you kidding me? We’re freaking ponies. What the hay am I going to peep at?”

“Why… intimate moments of course,” Davenport said positively.

Burgle stared at him, more dumbfounded than the time he had accidentally walked into a circus act where a pony was trying to get an elephant to swallow a bag of fruit and barf up a sculpture of Princess Celestia.

“You’re weird,” he finally said.

“You’re the one who’s peeping.”

“I am not peeping. I’m trying to steal some… thing. Crud.” If his cover hadn’t been blown before, it surely was now.

“You’re a thief?” Davenport said, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. “Of all the nerve. I aught to turn you in.”

“Oh, to heck with this.” Burgle’s horn lit up and he pointed it at Davenport. “You know, if you think about it, earth ponies don’t really stand much of a chance against unicorns.”

Apparently, that thought hadn’t crossed Davenport’s mind either. He stared nervously at the horn in front of him. “Now wait a sec there, junior, let’s be rational about this.”

“This conversation hasn’t been rational since it started, so I’m not about to now.”

“Come on junior, I’ve got a business. You need a sofa? How about some quills? I can get you a great discount.” As he spoke, Davenport inched sideways.

“Wait, Pops. Not over there!”

But it was too late. Davenport leaned down on the vent opening. Unable to support the weight of a full-grown pony, the vent gave way and Davenport fell into the room below. Burgle heard the sound of glass breaking just before someone screamed. Then a blue light exploded and Burgle was temporarily blinded. The next thing he knew, a bright blue light of magic energy shot past him, bouncing off the walls of the ventilation shaft and screeching away. What the hay had that been?

“Forget this. The pay’s not that good,” Burgle shouted and scrambled back out of the shaft, praying that no more light shot after him.

Comments

[Final Fantasy BRN]

It truley is a eye opener hearing about Trixie having a father.

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Interesting. George is a jerk, but an amusing one. Nice to see Flutters taking up for Trixie and a nice moment between the Sisters.