A Pony Displaced: Homeward

by NoLongerSober

Bonus Chapter - One Shot, One Grill

It was a beautiful summer day in Vanhoover and Barrier was trotting home from his latest grocery trip. The seaside air was crisp and clean while the sun beamed over the city. The charcoal stallion enjoyed the pleasant warmth as he listened to the tweeting of the birds.

He knew things were going to be rather exciting today since it was Verdant’s birthday and to Barrier’s delight, the shamrock stallion decided to forgo getting a cake. He decided that for today’s little party, he’d be holding a barbeque. Since Barrier enjoyed the taste of many griffin foods far over sugary desserts, this was a pleasant treat for him as well.

Barrier made his way onto the manor grounds as he carried in his saddlebags a wide variety of meaty treats such as bacon-wrapped sausages, turkey burgers, and chicken breasts that were waiting to be drenched in barbecue sauce.

When the obsidian unicorn made his way to the back door, he saw the party was in full swing. Verdant had invited a number of ponies from his cooking classes who were all enjoying the glasses of punch that Winter Gem was serving while Hatty was performing some new tricks for the group.

While Swift was chatting with the guests, Barrier’s eyes fell upon Iron Forge, who was standing in front of the charcoal grill. However, what drew his eye was not the cobalt unicorn himself, but the large metal barrel that was pouring a clear liquid onto the coals.

“Forge, what’s that you’re pouring?” Barrier asked as he cautiously stepped forward.

“Oh, it’s just lighter fluid, sir,” Forge responded as he finished pouring and tossing the barrel causally aside. “Got to get the coals piping hot.”

“While I don’t have any grilling experience, I’m fairly sure that’s far too much lighter fluid,” Barrier said as drew ever closer.

“Oh, trust me, sir. This will be needed in order to get things nice and hot,” Forge said as the grin on his face started to turn manic. “Besides, the fire will be glorious.”

“No!” Barrier barked as his horn glowed, encasing Forge’s horn in his azure aura. “I’m not letting you light this. We’re going to wait for the fumes to dissipate before we light the coals. Understood?”

“Oh, fine,” Forge said in annoyance as Barrier started to pull him back towards the house. “So, what are we going to do until then?”

“We’re going to put the meat in the fridge for a while and… Wait a second,” Barrier paused as he noticed that something was off with the party. He saw Swift at the table while Hatty was nearby, performing his tricks. Gem was pouring herself a glass of punch while Daring, Fleet and Wind Whistler’s focus was on Hatty.

At the table, he saw many guests he recognized like Erica, Storm Cloud, Toil ‘N Trouble, Color Splash, Due Date, Fruity Punch, Spectral Image, Bea Wellington and others, but one particular pony was missing.

“Forge…” Barrier saw there was another grin on the cobalt stallion’s face. “Where’s Verdant?”

Forge took a deep breath.

“TAKE THE SHOT!!!” He exclaimed, drawing everypony’s attention.

Acting quickly, Barrier teleported further into the yard. From there, he saw Verdant on top of the manor’s roof. The shamrock stallion stood on his hindlegs as his one foreleg held his bow while the other let go of the string, firing a flaming arrow at the grill.

Barrier’s horn shone brightly as he started to raise a shield around the grill. Unfortunately, the rising shield came up too late to stop the arrow from striking the coals.

***

In Canterlot palace, Princess Celestia sat upon her throne as she listened to the rambling presentation of the two-toned pink earth pony before her. While she did her best to keep a straight face, she felt the coming of a migraine thanks to the little pony before her.

“So, as you can see from my seventy-eight point presentation, my patented knot cannons will be a great addition to the royal guards’ arsenal,” Pinkie Pie said as she folded up her collapsible pointer and leaned beside her cannon. “It’ll not only stun targets, but wrap them all up, easily capturing them. So, what do you think?”

“Umm… Pinkie, while your weapon has… some merit, I believe that a weapon like this might be difficult to roll into position,” Princess Celestia responded, hoping to wrap up this meeting soon. “It likely would only be viable if placed in the tower parapets.”

“Oh, just you wait! I’ve got plans for smaller versions that are carried on the guards backs,” Pinkie excitedly said as she zipped up to Celestia’s side. “And to get the R&D started, all I needed is a total of—”

The throne room started to shake shortly before a thunderous boom echoed all throughout Canterlot. Before the two ponies could wonder what caused that, one of the stained glass windows was shattered as over two dozen ponies, a griffin and a cow crashed through before skidding to a halt on the floor. All of them had various burnt patches in their fur while being entirely covered in soot.

The princess pressed her eyes several times before sighing. Standing up from her throne, she descended the steps and looked over those who’d landed on the floor. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be seriously injured.

Celestia approached the pony closest to her steps, a light blue mare with a short violet mane and green glasses. The blue coated mare coughed as she tried to stand up. Upon seeing the towering form of the alicorn princess, her pupils shrank and she gave a hard swallow.

“Dr. High Gear,” Princess Celestia sighed in mild annoyance as she looked down at the bespectacled mare. “Tell me, what exactly blew up this time?”

“I honestly have no idea, Princess!” High Gear exclaimed as she tried to brush the soot out of her coat. “I was trying to mod an arcade cabinet by removing the suicide battery when I spilled my soda. The next thing I know, there’s a huge boom and I’m flying a no class flight to Canterlot!”

The princess groaned as she brought a hoof to her snout before looking down at the glasses-wearing mare. “It’s the popcorn incident all over again.”

High Gear groaned as Barrier stood up, his head throbbing as he looked around the throne room.

“Ugh… What happened?” Barrier said as he ached all over. “Last thing I remember, I was in the backyard. Everything after that’s a blur.”

“Apparently, I blew something up and sent us flying all the way to Canterlot,” High Gear responded in frustration as she kicked the floor. “Not sure how much of the city was blown up in the process.”

“You certainly have a knack for costing the crown a great deal of bits. First Beta, and now this,” Celestia replied as she trotted back up the dais to the throne before sighing. “I’ll provide you train tickets back to Vanhoover. We’ll talk further as the damage is assessed. Guards, please escort them to the train station. Tell the ticket master it’s a number four.”

“Yes, ma’am!” A gamboge pegasus stallion said with a salute. “Come along, everyone. I’ll get you guys some Donut Joe’s on the way there.”

As the party guests and High Gear entered the palace halls, Forge cleared his throat. “Well, this day’s been crazy. I know it’s hard to believe an arcade machine caused all this, but that’s definitely what happened. Right, everyone?”

“Oh, yes! That’s definitely what happened,” Verdant said before it was followed by the agreement of his party guests and a suspicious glare from High Gear. “Still, I wish I got to have at least some—”

The door to the throne room suddenly burst open before a pink blur dashed in front of Verdant, where he found himself bumping his snout against Pinkie Pie’s with a cartoonish squeak.

“Pinkie sense told me you’d need this!” Pinkie energetically said as she pulled from her mane a two layered Boston cream pie cake with strawberries and a single lit candle on top.

“Good thing I always have an emergency birthday cake. Happy birthday!” She exclaimed before gently placing the cake in Verdant’s hooves.

“Oh, thanks, Pinkie,” Verdant said before blowing out the candle. “I really appreciate this.”

“No sweat. I’m just glad I got a bigger role in this chapter than the last few,” she said before she bounced away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna make Princess Celestia pay for my cannon R&D by offering discount cakes. Later!”

“Honestly, I can’t say this is the worst or weirdest birthday I’ve ever had or seen,” Verdant said as he started to walk along with the cake. “Still, I’m gonna get some barbecued chicken after we’re home.”

“Alright everyone, let’s keep moving,” Barrier said as he led the group along. “I'd like to get off the screaming metal death trap and back to whatever’s left of Vanhoover before midnight, if at all possible.” The obsidian stallion sighed as he ran a hoof through his mane. “This’s turning out worse than April Fool’s Day.”

Author's Note:

Alticron: Hope you're having a fun April Fools day and enjoyed this short bonus chapter. Not much else to say, so see you at chapter 100!

Comments

[A.P.O.N.I.]

A suicide battery?

[PaintedPony]

Ok this was a fun chapter. I do like April Fool's day.