Authors Speech.3,371 words

Chapter 17: "A Pop Star Comes, A Prisoner Goes."

Author's Note:

This is the seventeenth chapter. The eighteenth chapter will be up sooner or later...I hope. I plan to make this story into parts for anyone wanting to do a dramatic reading of this.
Note that this chapter has videos linking to songs that Sapphire Shores sings in the story, even though she doesn't sing them and it's unknown what songs she sings in the series, and that they are from somewhere else. So no copyright intended.
Enjoy!

The Next Day...

Sugarcube Corner was beginning to be crowded with many ponies. Virtually all of the townsfolk were gathering at the bakery. A large cart was stationed outside full of Sapphire Shores's "I tune in to you" records, posters of Sapphire Shores were decorated inside and on the outside, and a large banner that read "Welcome Sapphire Shores" was positioned outside the bakery. Pinkie Pie and Cup Cake were greeting the ponies coming in.

"Welcome." Pinkie Pie said.

The two ponies Pinkie Pie greeted were Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon. They nodded to Pinkie Pie as they entered into the bakery, before talking to each other. "Oh, I'm so glad the word spread around town and in the newspaper to confirm that Sapphire Shores is coming to meet the filly, Apple Bloom here. Aren't you, Bon Bon?"

Bon Bon nodded. "You bet, Lyra. I can't wait for Sapphire Shores to get here, and get her autograph."

Pinkie Pie continued to welcome many ponies who came into the bakery with her trademark smile.

"Absolutely not."

Pinkie Pie turned her head in the direction of where Cup Cake was talking. There, Pinkie Pie saw that Cup Cake was talking to a certain pale magenta colored earth filly that was covered in little red spots, and was preventing her from going into the bakery.

"You are not setting a hoof inside, young lady." Cup Cake said.

"But Mrs Cake..." Diamond Tiara said.

Cup Cake shook her head. "No. You have chickenpox, and we don't want to start a epidemic in our bakery, especially since we have other foals coming, and we don't want our twins to get sick either."

Diamond Tiara scowled. "But that's not fair! Apple Bloom has chickenpox, and she's going to be coming here."

"That's because she's not infectious anymore, while you still are." Cup Cake turned her head. "Besides, you're still banned from entering here."

Diamond Tiara began to beg. "Oh, please, Mrs Cake? Please let me-"

"Diamond Tiara?"

Diamond Tiara turned her head to the sound of a stallion's voice saying her name behind her, and froze for she knew it was the voice of her father, Filthy Rich. "Daddy."

"What are you doing here?" Filthy Rich asked. "You're sick and you should be in bed."

"But daddy..." Diamond Tiara started, but Filthy Rich held up a hoof to silence her.

"You know you're suppose to be in bed resting. Other children are going to be here too. And think of Mr and Mrs Cakes babies. You don't want them to get sick, do you? I promise that I'll get Sapphire Shores's autograph for you." Filthy Rich pointed in a direction. "Now go home and get back in bed this instant, young lady."

Diamond Tiara pouted sadly and angrily, and walked away back towards home. Filthy Rich cleared his throat and straightened his tie, as he turned to Cup Cake.

"I apologize for the trouble my daughter might have caused you, Mrs Cake."

"That's okay, dearie." Cup Cake said.

Carrot Cake walked over towards Filthy Rich with a tray of treats balanced on top of his head. "Well, hello there, Mr Filthy-" He stopped when Filthy Rich looked chidingly at him to immediately corrected himself. "Sorry. I mean, Mr. Rich." He lowered the tray of treats towards Filthy Rich. "Care for some treats? Complimentary to this event."

Filthy Rich smiled. "Don't mind if I do."

Pinkie Pie watched around her with Cup Cake at all the ponies that came to Sugarcube Corner with a smile. Another pony, a pale light grayish magenta colored unicorn came up to Pinkie Pie and Cup Cake.

"Hi there, Amethyst Star," Pinkie Pie said. "Welcome to the party."

"Hello, Pinkie." Amethyst Star stopped in front of Pinkie Pie and Cup Cake. "Is it true Sapphire Shores is really coming to see Apple Bloom here at Sugarcube Corner?"

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yes, indeedy! Applejack got a letter from her yesterday telling her that she's going to meet Apple Bloom here at Sugarcube Corner at one o'clock precisely."

"Amazing!" Amethyst Star looked at the clock on the bakery wall. "It's 10:15 now, so that makes three hours."

"Two hours, 44 minutes, 51 seconds, and 45.25 microseconds." Pinkie Pie stopped due to the awkward looks Cup Cake and Amethyst Star were giving her, and grinned awkwardly. "...to be precise."

Carrot Cake came over to where Amethyst Star, Pinkie Pie, and Cup Cake were standing. "But until they arrive, do help yourself to complimentary snacks and treats, and enjoy the activities while you wait."

Pinkie Pie bounced with excitement. "Ooh-ooh-ooh! You'll just love the activities here! We got muffins, cupcakes, ice-cream, punch, candy, pies, Pin the Tail on the Pony, dancing, singing, KARAOKE, IT'S GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!!" Pinkie Pie paused suddenly as if she forgot something. "With Sapphire Shores, the pony of pop coming as well too, of course."

Amethyst Star nodded with an awkward look at Pinkie Pie's randomness. "Oookay... I think I'll go have some punch, I know the wait for Sapphire Shores is going to be worth it."

"Oh, it is, dearie." Cup Cake said.

Carrot Cake nodded. "Enjoy yourself, Amethyst Star."

Amethyst Star walked away to a punch bowl on a nearby table, leaving Pinkie Pie and the Cakes alone with each other. Pinkie Pie, Cup Cake, and Carrot Cake then leaned in and deviously winked at each other at what they said to everyone who came. As the Cakes walked off to tend to other ponies at the party event, Pinkie Pie chuckled quietly to herself while holding up and looking at the latest local newspaper that had the front page title "BIG PARTY AT LOCAL BAKERY FOR PONY OF POP" written on it.

At the same time at the Golden Oak Library, Twilight Sparkle, Lawful Eye, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike were looking at the very same newspaper, with Rainbow Dash and Spike laughing.

"I can't believe that everypony in town bought it!" Spike said.

Rainbow Dash laughed with impressiveness. "I know. It's too rich. Spreading a false rumor around town about Sapphire Shores coming to meet Apple Bloom at Sugarcube Corner, and creating a false letter to prove it to give to the local newspaper." She laughed as she turned to Twilight. "You maybe an egghead, Twilight. But you do come up with the best ideas."

Twilight smiled with pride. "Yes. I do, don't I? And while Pinkie Pie and the Cakes are keeping the town busy, we can fulfil our plan."

"It's a great relief that Mr and Mrs Cake can be trusted enough to go with this plan," Fluttershy said. "They were so understanding."

"And the best part about this plan, is that it's so simple, it even scares me." Spike suddenly began to scratch his head. "Although... There's something I should say."

Twilight tilted her head. "What's that, Spike?"

Spike thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not against the plan or anything, but wouldn't it have been better if we contacted Princess Celestia to help us with Abacus instead?"

Twilight sighed. "Spike. Princess Celestia has more important things to do, than to be called upon for just one pony. Besides, this hasn't become a princess matter as of yet. But if it fails, and if those police ponies from Cloudsdale do go through with their threats to get a federal court order, then we might consider it. Asking Princess Celestia for help is to be only used as a last resort after all. That's why I didn't call upon her first."

"Okay," Spike said doubtfully. "But I still think we should've asked for her help right off the bat. I don't think she would've mind. You are her most faithful student after all."

Lawful Eye placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "Twilight is right, Spike. Sometimes the best way to handle a situation is to handle it yourself."

Spike muttered. "But what if that situation suddenly became something beyond even your control?"

Suddenly, the sound of the library's front door slamming open caught the attention of everyone inside the library. The others turned around to find Lock Down standing at the opened entrance of the library's front door. He was panting out of breath, and from how very worried he looked, the others knew something was wrong.

"Everypony," Lock Down said. "You've got to come to the hospital. Now!"

Lawful Eye's eyes widen. "Oh, no. Are those police ponies back?"

Lock Down shook his head. "No! It's Abacus! He's missing!"

Everyone gasped with horror. "WHAT?!"

Warden Rehab was standing outside the hospital with Dr Stallion, waiting for Lock Down to bring the others back with him. They stood there worrying, for every minute they had to wait that ticked by, their situation could get worse. They turned their heads as they heard the loud sound of hooves of Lock Down, Lawful Eye, and Twilight Sparkle galloping towards them, with Spike riding on Twilight's back, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flying behind them.

"Rehab! Dr Stallion!" Lock Down said.

"Lock Down, you got the others. Good." Warden Rehab turned to the others. "I'm glad you're all here."

"Rehab, where's Abacus?" Lawful Eye asked. "What happened?"

Twilight caught her breath. "Lock Down told us that Abacus is missing from the hospital."

Warden Rehab nodded. "Right. About an hour ago, somepony threw a large rock and broke the window of Abacus's room."

Dr Stallion came forward. "I was in the room at the time examining Abacus, when I heard the window break behind me. I looked out the broken window, and saw a small group of kids running off round the corner of the hospital."

"Kids?" Lawful Eye asked. "What did they look like?"

"Sorry, but I don't know. They moved too quick for me to get a good look at them, but I could tell they were kids from the size of them." Dr Stallion showed the stone the children threw, along with a piece of folded paper by levitating it with his magic. "Those bloody little buggers attached this to the stone they threw."

Lawful Eye took the paper and unfolded it for everyone to see. The note had the words "Get rid of Abacus Scum, the murderer!" formed from words or letters cut randomly from magazines and newspapers on it.

Fluttershy put a hoof over her mouth. "Oh my gosh!"

"About half an hour later after that incident, we checked on him, and found that Abacus was gone. He escaped through the broken window." Warden Rehab levitated another note. "And he left this."

Lawful Eye took the note Abacus wrote and read it out loud. "I have nothing to loose, nothing to live for, and everything and everypony I once had in my life is gone. So I can't live my life with the pain anymore. I'm not going back to prison to suffer again, so I must end it."

Everyone's eyes widened at the words of Abacus's note, with a look of shock and worry appearing on their faces.

Fluttershy gasped with shock. "Oh, no!"

"This is not good," Spike said. "You realise what this means?"

"Oh, no! Abi! He's going to take his own life!" Lawful Eye turned to the others. "Come on! We've got to find him, before it's too late!"

"Lock Down and I will search Froggy Bottom Bogg." Warden Rehab said.

Rainbow Dash hovered closer. "Me and Fluttershy will search the Everfree Forest."

"I'll even ask my animal friends for help." Fluttershy said.

Twilight turned to Lawful Eye. "Lawful Eye. You come with Spike and I to search White Tail Woods."

Dr Stallion cleared his throat. "I wish I could help search for him too, but I can't due to other patients. But I'll be standing by here in case you need me, mates."

"Sure, thanks...mate." Spike said.

Twilight nodded as she looked at the others. "Alright guys! Let's spread out and try to find him!"

Everyone went in different directions to begin their search for the stallion who had gone suicidal, hoping that they could find him before it was too late.

At the same time, Rarity, and Scootaloo were at Sweet Apple Acres just finishing up with helping Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith get prepared for when Sapphire Shores arrives. She was due at anytime from then. Applejack was with the family dog, Winona, and was tying her to her dog house. Winona moaned sadly as Applejack finished tying her collar to a length of rope to the dog house. Applejack patted Winona's head.

"Ah'm sorry, Winona," Applejack said. "But Abacus is gonna be comin' over, an' ah don't want ya scaring him again. Ya need ta stay here, an' be a good dog. Ah'll let ya off later."

Applejack turned around, and went inside into the barn house, leaving Winona alone. Inside, Rarity was in the living room just finishing giving Big Mac a little make over. She had combed his mane neatly, and his ploughing yoke was replaced for a black and white tuxedo top with a black bow tie, and a red apple shaped bow tie pin in the center.

"There we are." Rarity levitated a mirror in front of Big Mac. "Oh, Big Mac. You look so dashing."

Big Mac smiled and nodded proudly. "Eeyup."

Scootaloo began to giggle. "He looks like he's ready for going out with somepony on a date than seeing a pop star."

Applejack turned to Rarity. "Yeah. Don't ya think it's a bit much, Rarity? Ah mean it's not like Sapphire Shores wants everypony ta look like they're goin' ta the Equestria Music Awards or somethin'."

"Oh, Applejack. You don't know how much first impressions are so important to a famous Equestrian star such as her." Rarity levitated a hair brush, and different make-ups with her magic. "And now that I've finished with Big Mac, you're next, dear."

Applejack stepped back, shaking her head protestingly. "Oooh, no! There ain't no way ah'm gonna be frou-frou-y fer this. No way, no how."

Rarity scowled. "Now look here, Appleja-"

"She's here!" Everyone looked at Scootaloo, who was standing at the door, pointing outside. "Sapphire Shores, she's here!"

Rarity, Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith looked out the door to where Scootaloo was standing and pointing. Outside was a blue and white colored stretch limo carriage. It was decorated with shiny, blue sapphires that formed love hearts and ocean waves on the sides. It was coming up towards the barn, while being pulled by two large earth pony stallions. Applejack quickly went upstairs to tell Apple Bloom that Sapphire Shores was here, as the limo carriage pulled up and parked outside.

Rarity and Scootaloo just stepped outside the door, when one of the ponies pulling the limo carriage walked over to the carriage door, and opened it. Out stepped Sapphire Shores, her manager, Ocean Blue, and a unicorn stallion. The stallion had a dark olive colored coat, an orange and red patterned mane and tail that was spiked styled like an 80's rock star mullet, and wore a pair of shades, a tiger stripe headband on his forehead, and a blue bandana.

Applejack came back down quickly, and went outside with Big Mac and Granny Smith to greet their guests. They came towards Sapphire Shores, Ocean Blue, and the stallion, with Rarity and Scootaloo leading in front of them. The unicorn stallion brought out a portable keyboard piano out of the limo carriage with his magic, and placed it on his back.

"Sapphire," Rarity said. "You made it."

Sapphire Shores turned to Rarity and Scootaloo. "Rarity. Scootaloo. Hope we didn't keep you darlings waiting?"

Applejack came forward past in between Rarity and Scootaloo. "Of course not, ma'am. Ya right on time."

Sapphire Shores turned her attention to Applejack. "You must be Applejack." She introduced Applejack to Ocean Blue. "This is Ocean Blue, my manager."

Ocean Blue shook hooves with Applejack. "Hello, Applejack."

"Nice ta meet ya." Applejack said.

Sapphire Shores then pointed to the unicorn stallion with them. "And this is Rad Ballad, the talented keyboard/piano player of my tour and studio recording band. He's also my co-songwriter."

"Yo, what's up?" Rad Ballad said, his accent was of a mix between British and Australian.

Scootaloo's face beamed with admiration at Rad Ballad. "Oh, Rad Ballad! I saw you at the concert in Manehattan! You're awesome on that keyboard! You're the best keyboard musician I've ever seen!"

Rad Ballad smiled. "Thanks, kiddo. I'm glad you think so."

Applejack directed Sapphire Shores, Ocean Blue, and Rad Ballad to Big Mac and Granny Smith. "Y'all might as well meet the whole family right here." She directed her to Big Mac. "This here's my older brother, Big McIntosh."

"Howdy." Big Mac said.

Sapphire Shores looked impressively at Big Mac. "Well, hello handsome. You look like you're ready for a date, darling."

Rarity came over to Sapphire Shores. "Oh, yes. I got him ready for when you arrived." She glanced at Applejack. "I'm sorry I didn't get the others ready, Sapphire."

Sapphire Shores waved a reassuring hoof at Rarity. "Not to worry, Rarity. It's fine." She winked. "Besides, I like the rustic looking atmosphere this farm and this pony family has."

Rarity blinked. "Oh..."

Applejack directed Sapphire Shores to Granny Smith. "An' this here is Granny Smith."

Sapphire Shores turned to Granny Smith. "Well, hello there, Miss Granny Smith."

"Ah'll never understand the modern "Boopity-Boop" music youngin's listen ta these days." Granny Smith said.

Sapphire Shores, Ocean Blue, and Rad Ballad blinked awkwardly at Granny Smith's comment for a moment. Sapphire Shores then cleared her throat. "Speaking of which, where is the sick, little darling I'm here to visit?"

"Oh, Apple Bloom's upstairs in bed waitin'." Applejack said.

Sapphire Shores smiled. "Well, let's not keep her waiting. I'll even sing her a few songs, and take a few pictures with her to remember this day by."

"Just remember you have a concert in Canterlot to perform at later tonight, Sapphire," Ocean Blue said. "You can't stay for too long."

Sapphire Shores turned to Ocean Blue. "Don't you worry, Ocean, darling. We have plenty of time before that." She turned to Applejack. "Please lead the way, Applejack."

Applejack nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Ah know for certain that Apple Bloom will be so happy ta see y'all here, Miss Shores."

"Oh please, do call me Sapphire." Sapphire Shores said.

Applejack began to escort everyone inside up to Apple Bloom's room for her to meet them, knowing that Apple Bloom was going to have the best time of her life.

The large gathering of ponies back at Sugarcube Corner were enjoying the treats, food, and activities as they still waited for Sapphire Shores to arrive. Pinkie Pie and the Cakes tended to and welcomed more ponies while they kept them occupied. Pinkie Pie was welcoming other ponies when Derpy came in. "Oh! Hi there, Derpy! Welcome to the party."

"Hi, Pinkie Pie." Derpy said as she came in. She turned her head, left and right a few times around the bakery. "Hey Pinkie? Is Abacus going to be coming?"

Everyone at the party gasped, spat out punch and food, and stopped everything of what they were previously doing, making a record player playing music scratch the record. The whole party fell into a deathly silence, as they all looked at Derpy and Pinkie Pie at the mention of Abacus's name being said.

Pinkie Pie shook her head and smiled, completely oblivious to the reaction of everyone in the bakery. "Oh, no. Abacus is in hospital. He can't come."

The sound of everyone sighing with relief spread around the bakery at Pinkie Pie's answer. The ponies at the party continued to socialize and have fun, as Derpy frowned with disappointment. "Oh, that's too bad. I was really hoping to see him here. Oh, well. I guess I'll pay him a special visit in hospital later on today. I hope he's alright."

"Do enjoy some muffins while your waiting, Derpy," Pinkie Pie said. "We have your favourite, chocolate chip and cinnamon."

Derpy smiled. "Yay! Thank you so much."

Derpy went to the closest table to help herself to some muffins. As the party continued, some of the ponies at the party talked to each other quietly.

"It's a relief Abacus Scum isn't here. Can you imagine how horrible it would've been otherwise?"

"I know what you mean. Especially after what I heard about what he did yesterday."

"What did that monster do this time?"

"He assaulted Storm Dasher and Coco-Nut, and went completely nuts."

"Coco-Nut? As in Honey Blossom's husband?"

"The same one."

"As if assaulting their daughter, Buttercup in the park wasn't good enough for him. Not even our children are safe from that monster."

"What's more, he smashed Tiger Lily's tombstone in the cemetery as well."

"That scum! That shows how evil he really is. I hope that scum goes back to prison."

"Me too, Ponyville will not be save until Abacus Scum is gone...forever."

"Well, let's just at least be glad he's not here at this party to ruin everything."

Pinkie Pie continued to smile and greet guests coming in. Another of the guests that was coming in was Caramel and Sassaflash, with Sassaflash holding a copy of Sapphire Shores's "I tune in to you" record that they bought from the cart outside.

"Hi, Caramel," Pinkie Pie said. "Hi, Sassaflash! Welcome to the party."

Caramel smiled. "Hey, Pinkie."

"So is Sapphire Shores going to meet Apple Bloom here?" Sassaflash asked.

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yes, indeedy! At one o'clock precisely. Do help yourselves to all the food and punch, and the party games while you two wait."

Sassaflash nodded and turned to Caramel. "I guess we could have some food and punch while we wait."

"Sure. It's 11:30 now, so we got 90 minutes to spare." Caramel walked with Sassaflash towards a table with food on it. "Besides, those pies look real good."

Pinkie Pie giggled to herself, as Caramel and Sassaflash walked passed her to join the party. She turned back to greet more ponies coming in to Sugarcube Corner to wait for Sapphire Shores to arrive. Standing next to a nearby table, two young colts who came in earlier were standing there waiting. The two colts were Snips and Snails. Snips stood there thinking, like if he just had a suspicion of some kind, as he watched and heard what Pinkie Pie and the Cakes kept saying to everyone who came to the local bakery.

"They keep sayin' that, but shouldn't Apple Bloom be here first to wait here as well?" Snips rubbed his chin, and turned to Snails. "Snails. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Why do they call it babysitting when they don't really sit on babies?" Snails asked.

"Yeah, uh... I mean no..." Snips shook his head in frustration. "I mean doesn't something smell fishy to you?"

Snails tilted his head, and began to sniff himself. "It's not me. I took a bath today."

Snips blinked, before he groaned in frustration. "No, I don't mean that. Come on!"

Snips and Snails began to walk towards the door, catching the attention of Pinkie Pie's keen eye. "Snips, Snails! Where are you going? Don't you want to play Pin the Tail on the Pony?"

"Oh, me and Snails have got somethin' to do first," Snips said. "We'll be back before Sapphire Shores and Apple Bloom get here at one o'clock."

Pinkie Pie blinked and looked at Snips and Snails for a moment, before she nodded and smiled at the two colts. "Okey-dokey-lokey! See you soon."

Pinkie Pie stood at the entrance, and waved Snips and Snails goodbye, as they walked out the door of Sugarcube Corner, and walked outside. Snails came closer to Snips to talk, as they walked down the street.

"Snips?" Snails asked. "Where are we goin'? And what's this somethin' we got to do?"

Snips turned to Snails as they walked. "We're goin' to Sweet Apple Acres. I have a hunch."

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom was having the most amazing experience of her life, with Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Rarity, and Scootaloo. Sapphire Shores sang and performed in her bedroom with Rad Ballad playing on his keyboard.

The first song Sapphire Shores sings to Apple Bloom. Please play and listen to the whole video below before continue on reading.

Everyone began to clap and cheer, as the first song Sapphire Shores performed ended. Sapphire Shores smiled. "Ow! That was a good one."

"Wow," Apple Bloom said. "Ah can't believe ya're here. It's almost too good ta be true."

Sapphire Shores walked over to Apple Bloom, and stood next to her on the side of her bed. She stroked Apple Bloom's mane. "Well, Apple Bloom. There's no way I couldn't let the winner of Pop Pony magazine miss out. I remember how unfortunate I was to get chickenpox when I was about your age. I missed out on seeing a talented dancer at my school because of that. I couldn't bare to have that same thing to happen to one of my fans. In fact, my very first song I wrote, 'Contagious Affection' was base on my chickenpox experience as a filly."

Apple Bloom blinked. "Really?"

Sapphire Shores nodded. "Really."

Scootaloo's eyes widened with amazement. "Wow! I didn't know that."

"So that's why ya decided ta visit Apple Bloom when ya heard she had chickenpox," Applejack said. "It's ta do with a personal thing that happened ta ya in yer childhood."

Sapphire Shores turned to Applejack, and smiled. "That's right, darling."

Rarity smiled touchingly. "Why, Sapphire. That's so sweet of you."

"Thank you." Sapphire Shores turned back to Apple Bloom. "Well, how about I sing you another song. It might make some of those itchy spots go away."

Apple Bloom smiled. "Oh please do, Sapphire."

Sapphire Shores nodded. "Alright. We have a song that Rad Ballad and I wrote a few weeks ago that I plan to release on my next upcoming record. And I would like all of you, especially you, Apple Bloom, to be the first ones to hear it. Would you like to hear it?"

"Would ah?" Apple Bloom said. "Oh please, please."

"Alright, darling." Sapphire Shores turned to Rad Ballad who was standing at his keyboard. "Let's play the song, Rad, baby."

"No prob." Rad Ballad said, as he began to play the music of the next song on his keyboard.

The second song Sapphire Shores sings to Apple Bloom. Please play and listen to the whole video below before continue on reading.

Apple Bloom, and the others smiled with a entrancing, magical feeling that went throughout each of their bodies from after hearing Sapphire Shores's new song. Sapphire Shores sighed happily as she finished singing her song.

"Oh my star apples!" Apple Bloom said.

"Did you like it, Apple Bloom?" Sapphire Shores asked.

Apple Bloom's spotted face beamed with happiness. "Ah loved it. It was a great song, the best ah've ever heard."

Sapphire Shores smiled proudly at the little filly's compliment on her song. She had a feeling that that song would be a new hit for the Equestria music charts. "Thank you, darling. I'll take that as the nicest compliment."

Meanwhile, at the same time elsewhere, Twilight, Lawful Eye, Spike, Warden Rehab, Lock Down, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy regrouped just outside town after trying to search for Abacus.

"Did anypony have any luck?" Twilight asked.

Warden Rehab shook his head. "No trace of him at Froggy Bottom Bogg."

Rainbow Dash landed. "There's just no sign of him. We even asked Zecora, but she hasn't seen him or anypony in the Everfree Forest recently."

"I even asked some animals I know if they've seen him," Fluttershy said. "Sadly they haven't seen him, but I asked them to come tell me if they did find anything."

Lock Down turned to Twilight, Lawful Eye, and Spike. "What about things on your end."

Twilight shook her head. "Nothing. He wasn't in White Tail Woods."

Lawful Eye groaned worryingly. "We can't give up. We have to keep looking."

"But we've looked everywhere for him," Spike said. "Where else could he have gone?"

Lawful Eye dropped her head. "I don't know, Spike. I just don't know."

Suddenly, Lawful Eye began to feel something. She mysteriously began to picture in her mind a long deep gorge, and she was standing on the edge of the highest peek of the gorge. A sign that had the name 'Ghastly Gorge' written on it stood nearby. She did not know why it was happening, for it was like it was magically appearing in her mind by something, or someone. Then the images in her head suddenly stopped. She shook her head in confusion at what happened, as the others notice her.

"What is it, Lawful Eye?" Twilight asked.

Lawful Eye turned to Twilight. "I think I know where Abacus is-"

The group was interrupted by a screech cry. They looked in the direction of where the sound came from to see a falcon coming down, and landing on a large rock next to Fluttershy.

"Oh, what is it, Jack?" Fluttershy asked.

The falcon named Jack screeched and cried at Fluttershy as he was trying to tell her something. Fluttershy put a hoof over her mouth, looking rather distressed. "Oh, no!" She turned to the others. "Jack says that he's just spotted Abacus standing at the highest peek of Ghastly Gorge."

Everyone's faces jolted with shock. "GHASTLY GORGE?!!"

"So that's what I was seeing in my mind a moment ago!" Lawful Eye said.

Spike tilted his head. "Huh? What do you mean you saw it in your mind?"

"Sorry! There's no time to explain!" Lawful Eye rushed the others. "Let's go! Hurry!"

Twilight turned to the others. "To Ghastly Gorge, everypony!"

Everyone began to rush to Ghastly Gorge as fast as their legs and wings could carry them. Lawful Eye was so worried for Abacus's well being, as she galloped with her hooves running faster than she had ever gone before.

Lawful Eye thought inside her head. "Hang on, Abi! I'm coming! Oh, I hope we're not too late!"

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Silent Echo

Silent Echo #1 · Nov 11th, 2016 · 1 · ·

Cliffhanger my old nemesis!
Great work tho Love it still.

Raptormon132

Raptormon132 #2 · Nov 11th, 2016 · · ·

7713496
Thanks. Cliffhangers is what makes the thrill. And with where Abacus is, it sounds like a pun when you look at it that way. LOL!

BTW How did you like the songs that Sapphire Shores sings, and the character of Sapphire Shores's keyboard player, Rad Ballad? And let's not forget about the short, but the well deserved karma of Diamond Tiara at the start?

Bronycommander

Bronycommander #3 · Feb 21st, 2017 · 1 · ·

Good chapter but the situation is not good!

Raptormon132

Raptormon132 #4 · Feb 21st, 2017 · · ·

7966413
Not good indeed. But hopefully the events happening during it like the characters, a couple of gags, and the songs Sapphire Shores sings is a good distraction?

Truthseeker