The Element of Concord

by Loyal Defender

Every Human For Himself In The Big City

"So, let me get this straight." I said. "The map is FINALLY calling me, and you two. Meaning...I can finally go on a friendship issue-related quest."

"I didn't even know the map could call anyone besides Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and I..."

"Or Starlight. But hey, that's magic for ya. So, where's it pointing to?" I asked.

"Well, let's have a look, why don't we?"

As I peered over the map, our marks seemed to be over....a really, really big city.

"That place somehow seems familiar..." I had learned about the different places in Equestria. Funny enough, they were puns on places on Earth. Appleloosa, like Applachian, South Amareica, like...yeah..same for North America. Canterlot, like Camelot. And like Manhatten.....

"It's Manehatten, right?"

"Right."

"Ooh! I've never actually been to a real city before. Colorado Springs...never really counted. What's Manehatten like?"

"Well, it's a big city. Supposedly it's one of the fashion centers of Equestria."

"Hmm. I bet Rarity's gone there. Has she?"

"Multiple times, actually!"

"...Multiple? What, did they keep calling her back for more of her beauty they couldn’t get enough of?" I joked.

"Not exactly. The first time, we were there for Fashion Week with her. The second, she got called there by the map to solve a friendship problem there, the third she went with Pinkie to find a spot for her new boutique, and most recently, she was there to set up and open the boutique."

"Hmm! I also get the feeling she met with some competition..."

"Did anyone ever try to beat Rarity in fashion?"

"Well... There was Suri Polomare..."

"Well, Rarity generously offered her a swatch of fabric to use for one of her outfits, but Suri took her generosity and ran with it, essentially stealing the fabric and claiming it was her own."

"Hmm...well, surely she's reformed her ways by now, right?"

"....Eh...."

"I know, I know, too plot convenient."

"Oh...what'd she do?" I asked. I had a feeling I was going to hate this Suri before I even met her...I was....Suri of it.

"Well, we've got no time to lose! Let us pack our bags! WE'RE GOING TO MANEHATTEN!"

"Well, Rarity generously offered her a swatch of fabric to use for one of her outfits, but Suri took her generosity and ran with it, essentially stealing the fabric and claiming it was her own."

"Hmm...well, surely she's reformed her ways by now, right?"

"....Eh...."

"I know, I know, too plot convenient."

"Well, we've got no time to lose! Let us pack our bags! WE'RE GOING TO MANEHATTEN!"

*later that day*

Starlight, Twilight and I boarded the train for Manehatten. We found our seats, and as usual, I was assigned the window seat. "I have never felt more excited! I haven't felt this excited since the trip to the Crystal Empire!" I said.

"Well, that's nice! Honestly, trips around Equestria have become sort of routine for me. I spend a lot of time in Ponyville, sure, but I'm off in other places a lot, too."

"I'll have to make sure I don't get lost. If Manehatten is anything like I expect, it'll be quite busy."

"Oh yes, it's very busy."

Just then, the train chugged into motion, and soon, we were off. It was mostly two full hours of trees, plains, and occasional nature creatures on the side. Until....we crossed a big iron bridge. I looked out the window, and....there it was.

"That must be Manehatten!"

It wasn't long before the train chugged into the station. But by this time, it was almost nighttime.

"Goodness...fast day." I said. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure. The map only really tells us where the friendship problem is. Typically, it finds its way to us."

"I meant to stay the night!" I said, laughing a bit. "It's nearly dark."

"Oh! Of course! Umm, there should be a hotel around here somewhere..."

"Do you think you could lead me?"

Twilight nodded and began walking into the city.

As I began to follow Twilight, it really WAS kind of busy. Ponies came from all over the place, and it was kind of hard to avoid them, despite being taller than them. Slowly, it began to get more and more crowded....I tried my best to focus on where Twilight and Starlight were. I tried calling out to Twilight, but she didn't or couldn't hear me. At one point, I tripped and fell. I quickly got up, but...no matter which way I looked, I didn't see either of the ponies. "Oh, no..." I said. "Oh, no, oh, no...this is very bad...not even five minutes, and already....I've been separated!"

I had to force my way through the crowds, until I found a seemingly empty bench booth. I just sat, and watched as the crowd grew, and grew.....and then slowly became smaller and smaller...until I was all alone. I figured I should *try* to sleep, so I lay down on the cold, hard wood, shut my eyes, and...attempted sleep.

About half an hour later, I was almost asleep, when I heard a voice speak to me. It didn't sound like Starlight or Twilight...but a bit like Fluttershy, though not her.

She was an Earth Pony with an off-white coat and two-tone blue mane and tail. She was wearing a brown plaid jacket with a hood. Her eyes were also Sky Blue.

"Umm, excuse me, are you okay? Can you get up?"

I sat up, and rubbed one eye a bit. "Well..honestly, after being separated from my friend Twilight....not...really. Why?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just... Saw you laying there, and... umm... Did you mean Princess Twilight?"

"Y-yeah....do you know her?"

"Well, not personally, no, but I do know where she would probably be staying..."

"This is my first time visiting Manehattan. I...don't know my way around."

"Humm.... W-well, yes, it can be... fairly intimidating, can't it?"

"Y-yeah.....I don't have any money to stay someplace, either.."

"Oh... well, that's... That's a shame..."

"I could TRY to survive the cold...but last time, that didn't work out so well."

"You didn't really interrupt me by approaching me, though. I actually appreciate company."

"Oh, is that so....?"

"Y-yeah..." I replied.

"I'm Loyal, by the way. Who might you be, mysterious cloaked pony?" I felt the need to add that last part.

"...Coco Pommel."

"As in, a reference to Coco Channel, the famous French fashionist?"

"...Ah... what?"

"Erm...nothing, nevermind. So, how did you find me..?"

"I was... just walking and I saw you asleep on the bench..."

"Well...I didn't exactly have another place to go. And I don't right now."

"....Do you.... need a place to stay...?

"Yeah....I kind of do...." I replied.

"...Well.... ....Come with me...."

"Wait....really?"

"Yes. Come with me."

"...Well....alright. Better than sitting here freezing my butt off." I said, getting up.

"I'm sure. I can't stand seeing people suffer."

"Well...thank you, Coco. I appreciate your kindness."

"It's... no trouble."

"Might you please lead the way, then?"

Coco nodded and began walking into the city.

I began to follow Coco. "I hope Twi and the others are okay. They're probably worried. But knowing Twi, she'll probably plan on looking for me the first chance she gets."

"Well, she is the Princess of Friendship... I'm sure she's already got a plan in her head."

"Yeah. So, Coco, what do you ddo for a living?"

"Well... I'm a seamstress. I make costumes for ponies who are in bridleway productions."

"Hmm...sounds like a lot of work."

"Oh, it is, but it's not as if I'm the only one."

"I did hear of someone named Suri Polomare who used to have a similar job."

Coco tensed up. "Yep. Good ol' Suri."

"You know Suri?"

"You could... say that."

"Well, it's not like she was your boss...right?"

"....."

"....Oh. S-Sorry...I didn't..."

"It's okay."

"I don't usually talk about her."

"Well....all we could do is hope she's thought about her ways."

"...Right..."

Eventually, we reached Coco's home. "Looks rather nice." I complimented.

"Thank you."

"You know, I just hope I can get through one night without anything weird happening..a lot of things can happen in one night..magicky things. They tend to follow me around."

"So, how long have you lived in Manehatten?"

"Oh, for a while now... Since I took the job as a costume designer..."

"Actually... I grew up here. But, well, I went traveling for a while, so I guess you could say I'm back home now..."

"Well, so long as you're happy here, that's good."

"So, what was Suri like? Sorry...I just...felt I had to know just how bad she could have been."

"Well, she... she was bossy, and manipulative, and a liar... Not to mention selfish..."

"Huh. You usually don't see that in a fashion pony."

"That's true. I don't know what's up with her!"

"My guess is that her parents raised her like that."

"I suppose it's possible, but really, some ponies just turn nasty and I don't know why..."

"Souls like that, I just feel sorry for."

"I understand completely. It's very tragic, isn't it?"

"Yeah. At least you're not like her."

"I suppose that's true..."

"Wait, I just realized....do you even have an extra room?"

"Why, yes, I do. It's right down the hall there. Not that there's much of a hall..."

"Well, short or long, halls are halls."

Eventually, we reached the end of the hall, which had a door. "Is this it?"

"Yes, this is it."

I opened the door to find a nice, clean storage room. "It's very tidy."

"Yes, well, I don't have company very often..."

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Coco."

"You're very welcome..."

"Do you mind if I get comfortable in here?"

"Of course not, go right ahead."

I nodded gratefully, and headed inside the room, closing the door behind me. Coco gave a smile and turned to head to her own room to get ready for bed.

There was a bed right next to a balcony, with a beautiful view of the city. I just closed the curtains, and took off my clothes, and got into the bed. Within moments, I was asleep.

The dream I had was kind of sweet. I was with Twilight in a hotel room. We were together with Starlight, as well, discussing the friendship problem. That was all I really dreamed about before I awoke. I got up, made the bed, got dressed, and opened up the curtains. "Another day, another adventure.”

I heard the door open behind me. I turned around to see Coco standing there. "Oh, good morning, Coco!"

"Oh, hello... uh..."

"Loyal. Did you sleep well?" I asked, approaching her.

"I slept wonderfully, thank you for asking!"

"I slept rather well, too. It's nice view from the window." I replied.

"Yes, it is. The park across the street looks lovely, doesn't it?"

"Yeah...I didn't realize this place even HAD one."

"Yes, well, it's old... They're trying their best to fix it up though..."

"How long have they been at it?"

I suddenly noticed something about Coco. Last night, she had worn a jacket covering her body, but now...she looked *really* cute.

Noticing this, I began to blush a bit. I tried my hardest not to, but....I failed miserably.

"Oh, umm, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah....I'm fine."

"Well...shall we, uhh....get something to eat?"

"I don't see why not."

"Okay. So, what plarces have good food?"

"Well, there's a nice diner down the street."

"Sounds good to me."

So, with that, Coco and I headed downstairs, and out of the apartment. She lead me down to the diner, which looked pretty good.

"Kinda reminds me of the International House of Pancakes. Man, that restaurant was brilliant." I commented.

"International House of Pancakes? Why would you have a house made of pancakes?"

"It's not MADE of pancakes. It's just the name. They're a very popular restaurant. It's shortened to iHOP."

"It's one of my other favorite places to go, usually. IF I was home."

"Hmm. Sounds like a good place to visit."

"They have fancy ways of serving pancakes to children. Chocolate chip ones with faces designed from whipped cream and cherries, omelets, and hot chocolate...even describing it makes it sound good."

"Well. We're not gonna get any food standing here. Let's go in."

We entered the restaurant, and delicious smells attacked my senses. Smells of pancakes and omelets and other delicious foods filled the room.
"Wow...it smells really good in here."

"The food here is very good. One of the best diners in the city!"

"Or, at least, this neighborhood..."

"Hmm. Well, let's find a seat, shall we?"

"Right."

I nodded, and walked around the restaurant, until I eventually found two empty stools at a counter. I sat on one stool, and motioned for Coco to sit on the other.

Coco followed after me and sat on the stool beside me.

A pony wearing a waitress apron approached the counter. "Why, hello! My name is Debbiah, but you can just call me Deb. I'll be your waitress for today. What can I get you two?"

"Oh, just a light stack of pancakes and a cup of tea will be fine for me, thank you."

"I'll have what the m'lady is having." I said.

"Alrighty, then! I'll be back soon with your orders!" Deb replied, winking and heading into the back of the room.

A voice spoke up next to Coco. "Well...if it isn't my old....assistant. Never imagined you'd come here."

Next to Coco was a pony with a light pink coat with a purple mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was of three colored buttons (purple, aqua and light yellow) in a triangular formation. She wore a two-tone blue crossed scarf and a headband holding up her mane in the back. Her eyes were a grayish-brown.

"Oh boy. Umm, is... Is that you, Suri? When did you start working here? I've... never seen you here before," Coco said, a little uncomfortable.

"I don't work here....I don't work....at all now."

Suri seemed a little depressed. So, this was the pony who was the big jerk I'd heard about. She didn't seem very....jerk-ish. "I'm assuming you're still in business? Succeeding without somepony...like me?"

"Well, umm... I... I design costumes for performances on bridleway, if... If that's what you mean..."

"Oh....well.....that's..that's good..."

Coco could seriously tell something was bothering Suri. She figured she had to ask what, to help her.

"....Is... something bothering you?"

"......I was found out. The fashion ponies discovered that I ended up copying from others' designs, after I copied off of Rarity....so they kicked me out of business, took my money, and.....now I just come here, day and night, eating pancakes and omelets to forget about my troubles. It doesn't really help."

"I've got nowhere to go....no jobs to work at."

I suddenly realized that this must have been the friendship problem. Suri needed help getting into business. Either that...or she just needed help getting over her mistakes so she could move on. "Not to mention that I realize how bad a boss I was to you. All I did was lie, cheat, copy, and disrespect....I don't know how you're still talking to me."

"Well, something seems wrong. I don't think Princess Twilight or her friends would stand to see me ignore somepony that's upset."

"Wait, are they here in Manehatten again?"

"Well, Princess Twilight is, I think..."

Suri sighed. "No matter what, nothing's going to convince me that I can fix my mistakes...I've been a bad kind of pony for too long."

"It's probably best if we let Princess Twilight try talking to her, Coco...once we find her.'"

Just then, Deb came back with our food. She slid a plate of pancakes and a cup of tea onto the counter. "Here's your meal! And don't worry about paying! Considering you're with a hero, it's on me!" She said, and with a wink, and turned and went to the next pony.

"Well, that's lucky for us!"

"Well...I've gotta go...I have some interviews to fail at..." Suri said, getting up and heading out the door, not looking back. "She wasn't exactly like the 'jerkish' kind of pony you described, Coco." I said.

"Well, she was awfully jerky last I saw her..."

"Hmm....well, we should probably think of a way to help her." I replied. After that...breakfast wasn't really that active. It was mostly silent. Eventually, Coco and I finished our breakfasts, and got up.

As I went to leave the restaurant, I opened the door, and at that exact moment.....believe it or not, Twilight walked right in, almost not noticing me. And BOY, was I happy to see her. "Twilight! Thank Celestia I found you! or....you found me. Either way, it's so good to be with you again!"

"Huh? Loyal! There you are! What happened to you last night?"

"......I got lost in a crowd. Kind of embarrassing, considering I'm taller than everyone else. But I think it happened when I tripped and fell."

"If it weren't for Coco here, I would have spent the night freezing nearly to death." I said. "I owe her a huge thanks."

"...By the way, where's Starlight?"

"Oh, her. She kind of stayed up keeping watch for you. She's... still sleeping."

"Keeping watch? From where? She didn't sleep outside, did she?"

"No, no, she just stayed up in case you found your way to the hotel."

"Hmm. Well....is it alright if you could guide Coco and I there? Afterwards...there's somepony I need to help out. Or WE need to help out."

"Well, yeah!"

"Right then, lead the way. And I'll try not to get lost AGAIN." I turned to Coco afterwards. "Thanks, by the way." I said.

"I... I actually kind of did want to get something to eat...."

"OH, right. My bad."

As Twilight had her breakfast, I told her about what had happened after we got separated. "So then, she had an extra room, lucky for me, and allowed me to stay in it. I'll be honest, I'm lucky she even found me."

"How long have you two been looking for me?" I asked.

"We've been looking since yesterday evening..."

"Hmm. Well, I'm sure Starlight will be really happy to see me." I replied. Knowing her...she really would be. "I know I would be."

"Oh, by the way, we found the friendship issue recently, and you'll never believe who it relates to."

"Is that so?"

"Yup. Apparently, it relates....possibly to Suri Polomare. I know, crazy. But she seems really....upset. Said something about being out of business. She seemed pretty sad. So I figure, we might as well help her." I replied.

"Well, as the Princess of Friendship I know it's my duty to help out those in need!"

"...However as someone who was there when Suri did those awful things and knows she lied, part of me wants to believe she can't be helped."

"...BUT, again, it's my duty, so I guess we can at least try, hmm?"

"Better than not helping her. She said she was found out about all of her lies and tricks, and got kicked out."

"Hmm.... I wonder if anyone has seen her maybe...."

A pony wearing a cloak spoke up. "I know where she usually goes. There's an alley at the end of a street that leads to the back door of an abandoned and forgotten bouique. She spends most of her time there, trying to teach herself to make proper fashion designs."

"Well, I guess we've found our destination then."

"Wait...should we get Starlight first before heading out, or will she be fine on her own? We wouldn't want to worry her by you being gone longer than planned, and she doesn't know it.."

"We should probably go pick her up, yeah..."

So, with that, Twilight, Coco and I all headed out towards the hotel I'd meant to go to. She lead us inside, and into an elevator. Everypony in the elevator stared awkwardly at me, as elevator Muzak played. Cliche, but kind of funny. After that, we walked down a hall, to a door marked '233'.

"Is this the room?" I asked.

Twilight nodded. "I don't know if she's awake yet, so let's go in quietly."

I nodded, and gently opened the door. I peeked inside, and saw a rather nice hotel room. The floors looked as though they were recently vaccuumed. The curtains had been pulled closed, and a nice scent filled the air. I noticed Starlight asleep in a bed. It was so nice to see her again.

"She's still asleep." I told Twilight. "She's such a sweetie when she's sleeping.."

"Heh, is that so? Well, I've never really seen her sleep. We don't use our rooms much for anything besides sleeping."

Twilight touched a hoof to her muzzle. "Well, Starlight uses hers for friendship homework sometimes. Not that... all of her friendship studies aren't homework...."

"Well....how are we going to wake her up, if needed?"

"Well, based on when I'm given to understand she heads to bed, and when she wakes up in the morning, she doesn't usually sleep for longer than 10 hours... So she should be waking up sometime soon, unless she was up until, say, 3 or 4 in the morning."

"Wouldn't you be able to tell if she was?"

"Considering I was asleep, no. No I wouldn't."

"Hm. So you're a heavy sleeper, then, right? If you weren't, even some movements or sounds could wake you."

"I'd call myself more of a middle-ground sleeper. I can be woken up, but it's not like someone dropping a hat would wake me up."

"Hmm."

At that moment, like Twilight predicted, Starlight's ear twitched, and she let out a small yawn. She was waking up.

"Looks like she's waking up. Maybe she'll want a bit of breakfast before we go, maybe she won't..."

"Just in case she does, I've been holding a box with some pancakes from the restaurant for her. I don't think anyone really noticed." I pulled out the box I'd been carrying

"Well, that was smart!"

"Well, she probably wouldn't want to walk all the way down there, so I figured I'd make it easier. I just hope when she tacklehugs me out of joy of seeing me, it won't go flying open. And I know she'll hug me because...."

Nopony really ever knew this, but....let's just say Star and I shared something more than a bond. It was...well..it wasn't hard to figure out.

"....because I know she cares about me."

"Twilight? Is that you?"

"Hmm."

"Indeed it is. And....yours truly." I replied. I had never felt more happy to see Starlight. Or hear her.

"...Loyal?"

Starlight pushed the door open, a huge smile on her face. "THERE you are! What happened to you last night?!"

"I got separated. But thanks to Coco Pommel, I'm fine now."

"Oh, that's such a relief..."

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, locked in an embrace. "See, Twi? Told ya." I said.

Twilight chuckled. "So you did. Well, I can see she's wide awake now."

"And possibly with my presence, she seems to be in a fantastic mood."

"Heheh, true! So, as soon as Starlight eats, I guess we can get moving, hmm?"

"Oh, right! Star, to save time, I brought some food from the restaurant down the street."

"Oh, you did that just for me? Well, thank you!"

I slid the box containing the food to my side, to where she could reach it.

Starlight smiled again before opening the box and beginning to eat.

"You know, I don't know how I'm going to be able to help a faux fashion modeler. I'm not a fashionista like Rarity."

"Hmm? What's this about a fashion modeler?"

I explained the entire situation to Starlight, adding good detail.

"Ah, I see... Well, I AM a little confused as to why Rarity didn't get called with us..."

"Probably because the last thing she'd want to do is help the same pony who took advantage of her generosity."

"Mmm, I suppose you're right..."

"Still...how would any of us be able to help Suri?"

"What if we asked her HOW she was found out?"

"I dunno. It could work..."

"Someone had to have spoiled her secret, and we ought to know who. Even if Suri did do wrong, she didn't have to be ruined, right?"

"So, it's settled. We'll find out how she was ruined."

When Starlight finished eating, she got prepared, and then we all headed outside. "Well, shall we try to find Suri?" I asked.

Twilight nodded. "Where are we heading again?"

I took out the map the cloaked figure gave me. "Seems like...an abandoned boutique in the middle of town."

".......creepy."

"Tell me about it..."

"Well, we had to come to something like this eventually. ...Let's go." With that, we began our journey to the middle of town. The entire time, I had an uneasy feeling, like something was seriously wrong. But I paid it no mind. After nearly an hour, we arrived at an old, run-down boutique.

"This is the place. Have you ever seen anything even creepier?"

"Just the castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest. But that's not that scary these days."

I didn't even say anything that time. I just comtemplated what she said, and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened, to reveal Suri inside.

"Can I help you...?" She asked.

"Umm... Hello, Suri... May we... come in?" Twilight asked, awkwardly.

"........yeah. It's not like there's much for me to do anyway." Suri said, stepping aside.

Twilight smiled awkwardly as she and the others stepped inside.

Inside, the room looked even creepier. There were tons of pony mannequins everywhere. "It seems my friends are already enjoying your company.." Suri said to us.

"Oh, is that... Is that so...?"

"They don't often get many visitors...

....except for myself, but I don't visit."

I turned to Twilight, and made the cuckoo signal, implying that Suri was kind of out of it. Which, she actually was.

"Come to think...WHY are you here?" Suri asked, turning to us.

"Oh, well... Umm... We were hoping maybe we could... Y'know... Cheer you up? ...Somehow...?"

"How could you possibly want to cheer me up after everything I did?"

"And I thought I was the crazy-minded one.."

"Well... It's kind of our thing. We're very forgiving. If we can find some way to help you..."

"There's no way you can help me. Not since he won't leave me."

"...Pardon?"

"He never left me after he ruined me. He says he's been...tormenting me."

"Who?"

"I can't say it. He'll hurt me if I tell anypony else, he said. Bottom line....you can't help me...it's not possible."

"Well. I'm sure there's something we can do. Somehow, some way."

"There's nothing you CAN do. All I can do is sit here until I can make a proper outfit..."

"...And we can't, like, I don't know, give you advice?"

"Not really. I already ended up getting decent advice. Although....One other thing you can try....is destroying him. I haven't told him this, but I hate him. He's never grateful, he's always bossing me around, telling me to do tasks I don't know how to do. I just want him gone from this world. He's not like any pony or creature, but destroying him would do well."

"Well... I guess we could TRY if all else fails... But not if we don't know who he is..."

"Well...first we'd have to find him....and believe me, he's VERY good at hiding."

"Hmm...."

"Come on, we should probably try to track him down." Suri said, gesturing for us to follow her.

Twilight nodded, standing up and following after her.

We walked through most of the boutique, looking for....'him.'

"I don't know where he came from, though...one day, he just showed up out of the blue. He wanted a place to stay, and I let him stay here. He's often finding nice comfortable places to hide, though..." Suri explained.

At that moment, I swear I saw a mannequin turn to look at me. "Uhm......Twilight...?"

"Hmm? Did you find something?"

"I'm not trying to sound crazy, but I swear to God I saw this mannequin turn to look at me."

"But... But how could it do that...?"

"Suri...? What kind of creature is he...?" I asked.

Well.....he's........

.....he's kind of a poltergeist."

"A POLTERGEIST?! Like... Like a GHOST? The kind that CONTROLS OBJECTS?" Starlight exclaimed. She had never sounded more frightened.

"...y-yeah.....that poltergeist. He's...not exactly friendly. And he has anger issues."

"...Great, a poltergeist with anger issues."

"Well, it could be worse. It could be a poltergeist with violence issues." I said.

"Oh, yeah, he has those, too."

"Well isn't THAT swell!"

"Well, at least he's not destructive."

"......"

"He's destructive, isn't he...?"

"....yeah."

"He's not really.... nice."

"Well, look at that, Twi. Our first invincible enemy. Lucky us."

"Joy..."

It wasn't long before I got the feeling somepony was watching us. I turned to look one way, and ALL of the mannequins were staring right at us. "This is seriously creeping me out..." I said.

"Twi, have you dealt with ghosts before?"

"Ah... Well, not TECHNICALLY, no..."

"Well, we've dealt with an incorporeal being that couldn't be permanently defeated no matter what we did to it before... Luckily we figured out where it was getting its power from and cut off that source of power."

Twilight scratched at the side of her head nervously. "But that was in the Dream World."

"You've been to the dream world? Huh. I just picture some kind of matrix when I think dream world."

"It's exactly like the waking world except you can do anything there, basically."

"Even if I TRIED doing anything, I'd just wake up. I don't see why it's different here."

"Exactly what DID you fight...?"

"It was this big cloud of nightmares Luna created. She was using it to punish herself for what she did as Nightmare Moon, but things kind of got out of hand..."

"So it was a living mass of guilt?"

"Well, more or less."

"Even for HER that's weird. Thank God people don't know how to do that. THEN it'd be a real nightmare."

"...I walked right into that one."

Twilight giggled at that. "Well, it turned out that the key to defeating it was for her to accept that she and Nightmare Moon are two totally different ponies, and that she's changed. We were able to stop it from escaping into the real world, but only she could defeat it."

"Imagine how terrible it'd be for myself to have something equally as bad as a living guilt-filled nightmare. But to be honest....ever since I defeated Ghaan, I'd felt a lot more courageous than I did before. And I eventually came to thinkWhat if it wasn't just the bonds I formed with you all. What if it was Starlight as well? Not just because she supported me, but because....well...I don't know. But mere moments after she supported me, I felt a lot stronger. And since then, I hadn't been afraid to do anything. I felt like I could take on any challenge thrown at me. And that made me feel like even in a nightmare, there was a lot of hope for me, so I didn't have to fear anything, not even the nightmare itself."

"Hmm. Interesting... It's possible I suppose.... But I'm not sure what would cause it."

"It felt like a feeling you'd get for caring a lot for somepony, but how could that be? She and I are really good friends, but how could it be if we're more than really good friends? It's odd. But I'm sure during some major event when all seems lost, the answer will appear in some cheesy but classic form."

"Because that's totally never happened before."

Eventually, the lights suddenly dimmed, then cut off. "Oh, no, the boutique is being hijacked by robbers looking for thread spools!" I joked, referencing the train incident from last year.

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. "It's the ghost, isn't it?"

Suri sighed. "...Yeah."

"We might need some light to see..." I said. I tried searching my pockets, but...

"I don't have a flashlight."

"Oh, right, I forgot about this!" Twilight tapped her horn, causing it to light up.

"Did you just....light your horn by TAPPING it...? Is it really that magical?"

Just then, an eerie voice echoed throughout the room. "So, Suri.......you betrayed me, and got some accomplices to try to get rid of me...?! Despicable. Despicable! DESPICABLE!"

"Did you girls hear that..?" I said.

Twilight nodded. "Sounds... creepy...."

"Well, how do we find a ghost? Sorry-POLTERGEIST?"

"That's... actually a really good question."

"Well, one other question I'm sure you're wondering might beWho will protect us? Not to worry, I'm up for the job. No poltergeist shall hurt the two sweetest friends of mine!"

"Come at me, demonic poltergeist! I can take anything thrown my way!" I exclaimed. Nothing happened for a few moments. I turned to face Starlight, Twilight, and Coco, and shrugged. Then, with sudden movement, I was thrown at a wall on one side of the room, hurtling into several mannequins in the process.

"...Ow."

"Well. I think we found our ghost. Sort of."

"So...apparently, it used me as a human bowling ball. And I just got a strike." I said, referring to the exact 10 mannequins I knocked down.

"He won't show himself that easily. You've got to lure him out." Suri said. "You'll have to destroy some mannequins, or get rid of them in some way to bring him out. They're like family and friends to him, and he cares about them. So removing them should bring him out, where he'll try to destroy us."

"Wait, isn't it kind of wrong, specifically for Twilight, or someone, to remove a 'friend', when we usually try to MAKE them?"

"That sounds kind of like killing innocent ponies just because you can, just to see if it does anything."

"Well, have you got a better idea?" Suri asked. "We could always try teleporting them somewhere else." I said. "That's a better idea, right?"

Twilight considered the idea. "Well, I do know a teleportation spell...."

"Of course you know one! That's Unicorn Knowledge 101. Or..something. Every Unicorn knows that. Though, Starlight's spells are practically twice as strong as yours, but that's besides the point. So, where are we going to move these things to?"

"....Canterlot?"

"Sounds good. Though whoever sees them will probably be creeped out."

"I was thinking we'd send them to Rarity's boutique."

"Oh, that sounds better!"

I then felt a small blistering pain on the side of my head. I looked in a narby mirror, and saw a medium bruise. "Oh....that looks bad." I commented. "So much for being noble."

Twilight chuckled. "Being hurt doesn't make you any less noble." She then used her magic to lift up a selection of mannequins, then filled her mind with thoughts of Rarity's Canterlot boutique. Then, the mannequins disappeared.

The room shook a bit. "NO! THAT WAS MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS! UNFORGIVABLBE! UNFORGIVABLE! UNFORGIVABLLLLLE!" The eerie voice roared. Then a light appeared in the middle of the room. "Do you think it's working?" I asked.

"Hard to say! Maybe we just made him mad!"

From the light emerged what looked like a mannequin, but with eyes, an elongated nose, and a dismembered body. "How DARE you! You destroyed my family! I'll destroy YOU for that!" It said.

"Now, hang on a minute. Just what is it that you're doing anyways?"

But the dummy didn't listen to Twilight. It turned beet red, before firing a....well...weird, scribbly ball at us. I dunno what it was.

"Well...you were right. We made it mad." I said. The ball missed, and slammed into a wall. "Twilight, how are we supposed to fight an invincibke poltergeist?!"'

"I... don't know!"

The dummy fired another ball, this time much bigger. It was too big to dodge. "Somepony do something!" I exclaimed, trying to find something to block the ball with.

Twilight panicked and raised a magical shield in defense, hoping it would do something to block the attack.

The ball actually bounced back, slamming into the dummy. "OWW!" It exclaimed. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING THAT MAGIC ATTACK!" Then, it thought for a moment. "Uhh...FORGET THE MAGIC PART!"

Magic...? Wait a minute....

"I've got an idea! Twilight, keep the shield up if necessary. Starlight, try firing a burst of magic as powerful as you can make it at the dummy!" I said..

"Heh. This dummy's quite a dummy." I said. "No way we're gonna lose now."

The magic went right towards the dummy.

"Yes......Yes!.........""

And it only did a small amount of damage, not even fazing him.

"......No.....WHAT?!"

"Foolish beings! You cannot defeat me! I AM INVINCIBLE!" The dummy said, before firing another blast, and it just bounced back, hitting the dummy. "OWW!"

"Wait a minute! The only thing that can hurt the dummy is ITSELF. So, we just have to fool it into launching attacks at us, and we just need to deflect them. But the only question is, how do we make him attack us?"

"Err...insult his mother?" Twilight suggested.

".....did....did you just suggest I insult his mother? This is coming from the Princess...of FRIENDSHIP." I said, shocked that Twilight would suggest something like that.

"Well, I mean, it's not like you'd mean it, right...? We're trying to make him mad here, aren't we?"

"Well....I guess it's worth a shot." I said, approaching the dummy, and clearing my throat. "Hey! Your mother was a defective sewing machine!"

Of course, the dummy got super angry, and launched another attack, and it bounced off, hitting him.

"HEY GUYS! Dummies. Dummies! DUMMIES! Remember how I said NOT to shoot at me? Well... FAILURES! YOU'RE FIRED! YOU'RE ALL BEING REPLACED!!! Hahaha. Hahaha! HAHAHA! Now you'll see my true powerRelying on people that aren't garbage! DUMMY BOTS! MAGIC MISSILE!"

At that point, small little armored dummies magically appeared in front of the dummy.

"Oh boy. That's new. And also not good..."

"How are supposed to launch missiles at him?"

"Great idea! Thinking with portals!"

"Right! Hey, you! Bet'cha can't hit me with one of those missiles of yours!"

At this, the dummy growled (don't question), and launched at least 13 missiles at Twilight.

Stealthily, Twilight opened a portal both behind her, and behind the dummy. As the missiles came close, she rolled out of the way.

"DUMMY BOTS! TRY AGAIN!"

The dummies fired again, and they went into the portal, and ended up bludgeoning the dummy.

:black_medium_small_squareDUMMY BOTS! You're awful??? FINAL ATTACK!"

They tried again. Guess what happened.

" (N... no way!) (These guys are even WORSE than the other guys!) Who cares. Who cares! WHO CARES!!! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS!!! I'VE GOT KNIVES!!! " The dummy shrieked, throwing a knife, landing in a wall, just FOUR centimeters in front of me. I could feel my rear clenching in fright.

"....Did.... Did you actually.... throw a knife at one of us....?"

"I felt my butt clenching so tightly..." I commented. "I saw my life flash before my eyes.."

"That's insane! Why would you even do that?!"

"I'm...I'm out of knives." The dummy said, not hearing Twilight.

"Well..that's good.."

"BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER!!! YOU CAN'T HURT ME AND I CAN'T HURT YOU! YOU'LL BE STUCK FIGHTING ME... Forever. Forever! FOREVER!!!!"

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"....Oh.... Oh, I don't know.... I don't know how I'd even make a dress for him...."

"No...you can TEACH Suri." I said.

"Oh... oh! Umm, I guess I can give that a try..."

"Okay. You and Suri head into another room to make a dress, and Twilight, Starlight and I will keep the Dummy busy."

"A-Alright... Come on then, Suri..." Coco took Suri into another room, hoping to succeed in this plan.

"Okay, now, I'll need you two to ensure the Dummy does not get out at any cost.." I said.

"Right.... How do we manage that...?"

"Uhh......should we somehow trap him...?"

"But how do we trap a poltergeist?" I questioned. "Wait....don't one of you know a spell that created a kind of force field or something that not even ghosts can get through?"

"....Maybe?"

"Try it. See what happens."

Twilight shrugged and prepared to cast a spell.

"Twi, if this even works, you'll be one of the most well known female Ghostbusters to ever live! All by using magic!" I said. Believe me, I didn't like the gender-swapped Ghostbusters movie they released before.

"Right. Okay, gotta focus..."

"You're really going to try fighting me again?! Even though it'll do no good?! Pathetic. Pathetic! PATHETIC!" The Dummy shrieked. He then prepared to launch another giant ball attack at us, biding his energy.

Just to ensure I didn't get myself hurt, I backed into the field Starlight was already producing. The dummy still continued to make his attack even bigger.

"Hey, you!" Twilight exclaimed. The Dummy diverted his glaring look towards her.

"What's the matter, think you can hit me? Or are you scared of me?"

"I'm not stupid! I know what you're planning, and I'm not falling for it!"

"Obviously, this means you're forfeiting the battle if you don't want to fight." I teased.

"I'm not forfeiting ANYTHING!!" The Dummy hollered, and launched his attack.

"I think now's your chance!" I said.

"Right!" Twilight cast her spell, releasing a force field around the Dummy, trapping him. The Dummy tried ramming into the field, after his own attack bounced back into him. "LET ME OUT!" He screamed. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

"Heh. Can't believe that worked..."

"You can't do this to me! This isn't fair! THIS ISN'T FAIR!!" At this point, the Dummy began turning a shade of red. "Uhh....is it me, or is he turning a bit red? I think it might be the color of Twi's field, but he seriously looks like he's turning...red.'"

"Okay, now what? We've captured a dummy, and completely pissed him off. Now what do we do?"

"Ah.....No idea."

"Should we just...get rid of him?" I asked, watching the dummy fly around in the field, violently.

"...No, I think we should hang on to him for a while."

"Well, that field can't last forever, and we don't know if he can break it."

"I've got magic to spare. If it looks like it might break, I'll just re-cast it."

"And, I swear, if I have to deal with one more paranormal entity, I'm gonna lose it.." I commented. "Dealing with what would be the cousin of Satan, several evil demons, and now a possessed dummy. I'm starting to see a pattern."

"Well, yeah, it does get old after a while, doesn't it?"

"How do you NOT tire from defeating the same type of enemyPowerful, evil, insane?"

"I guess you go numb to it after a while."

The dummy continued to get even more angry, until, he practically exploded with anger, his entire body red as a tomato.

"You're the worst person I've ever met! I've NEVER been more mad!!! Guooooohhhh!!!! My mannequin levels are going OFF THE CHARTS!!!"

"...? This... This feeling...? Eureka. Eureka! EUREKA! Human. That moment of unbridled emotion. It allowed me to finally fuse with my body! How's that sound? I'm fully corporeal now! My lifelong dream, realized! In return, I guess I won't stomp you. How does that sound?"

I thought for a moment, before getting an idea. "Twilight....lower the field."

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"Just trust me. I have an idea."

"...Well.... alright...." Twilight nodded and used her magic to lower the energy frield.

I approached the dummy, and stood silently for a moment, before grabbing it, and hurling it across the room, slamming it into several other dummies. The dummy just lay there, seemingly 'dead', before vanishing with an interesting pixelating effect.

"Next time, think twice before using me as a bowling ball." I said.

"Wha-?"

"One rule to know about meNEVER, and I mean NEVER! Mess with me like he did."

"Now, as cruel as that might have seemed, to be fair, he was already a ghost. So technically, I brought no harm to him. I merely....dealt with him."

Moments later, Coco and Suri re-entered the room. "We finished the dre--what happened in here?!"

"Loyal...threw the dummy..?"

"And destroyed it. To be honest, I improvised some of this. The idea was that Coco would teach Suri to make a proper dress, while we distracted the dummy." I said. "I don't think anyone saw this coming."

"....That... Uh.... I-I don't know what to say about that."

"I knew somehow, we'd have to simplify things, so a diversion was necessary." I turned to Twilight, wanting to know what she thought. "Well...what'd you think of the idea?"

"I.... I don't know."

"So, that means the dummy is gone. But that still doesn't resolve the problem of how I'm going to be able to make a living again...do you think I....should just apologize to everypony I decieved?" Suri asked.

"Well, that'd be a nice place to start, Suri."

"Well...how exactly should I do it? I need to be sure it'll work."

"Well... Maybe just try saying you're sorry. Maybe give them a gift or treat them to lunch or something."

"And, I have something that'll help you." I said, approaching Suri, and giving her a decent bag of bits. I carried more bags of bits around, for situations like this. "These will help you get a good start in your business."

I walked over to Coco, and did the same with her. "And this is for all the help you've given us, Coco."

"A-are you... sure...?"

"Of course! After all, you've done a lot for us, from what I know."

"Did you think your aisstance would go without gratitude?"

"Well, I.... I don't know, really...."

"I'm a nice person. It's natural that I show generous gratitude. Don't worry, I'll be fine with a bit of charity." I replied.

"I can tell you from experience. Let's just say Starlight tried her hardest to save me. That's a moment I'm never forgetting."

“I really wish your family would learn...”

"Wow... Well, umm, if you're sure..."

"Believe me, I am."