Episode 68: The Great Escape and Reveal
On a nice, cold winter day, Ms. Pringle made her way through Canterlot to Harmony Street, where she was told she would find Twilight and Sparkler, as well as Kicker. Her mind was racing with thoughts. Family Services receives an anonymous tip-off that something happened to Kicker. And that tip-off comes right after the Yule Ball incident. News of the Yule Ball incident spread like wildfire. Mainly talk of what happened between Sparkler and Silver-Mane. And the fact that this tip-off came right after the incident already had Betty suspicious that Kicker wasn’t actually in trouble and the pony was just trying to discredit Sparkler. She turned the corner onto Harmony Street and walked along the sidewalk, until she was stopped by a pony calling out to her.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Nopony is allowed in this area without just cause.” Said a voice.
Betty raised an eyebrow as she turned her head to the source of the voice and saw a Canterlot Police Officer approaching. “Is there something wrong officer?” She asked.
“Depends. I’ll need to see some ID and ask why you’re here before I let you pass. Orders from the Princess.” The Officer explained.
It took Betty all of a half second to deduce what was going on. Sparkler’s on this street, Nobles hate Sparkler. Betty nodded and lit her horn, showing the Officer her Family Services Employee badge. “Betty Pringle, Family Services, I need to see Princess Twilight Sparkle and Sparkling Medley regarding…concerns with their adopted child.” She explained.
The officer examined the badge closely, before nodding. “Alright. Thank you for your cooperation ma’am.” The Officer said, gesturing for her to continue on her way.
Betty nodded and put her badge away. She turned and continued on her path to the Sparkle residence. “There’s gonna be a guard at their door isn’t there.” She mused.
Meanwhile, inside the Sparkle residence, everypony was gathered around the tree and were opening up presents. Something they were only able to do now because everything had finally calmed down. Trail Blazer tore into one of his presents with his teeth, and smiled when he got all the wrapping paper off. “Whoa! A scooter! Awesome!” He exclaimed as he fluttered his wings cutely in excitement.
“Ooh! Hey I bet you could do what Scootaloo does with her scooter!” Sky responded.
“Imagine if we all had scooters! We could have scooter races all the time!” Lumber suggested.
That got a chuckle out of everypony. “That could be one way to exercise your wings.” Shining commented.
Lumber, Melody, Sky, Crystal, and Lightning opened their next presents next, and were delighted they all got scooters too. “Medley Scooter Races ahoy!” Lightning cheered in excitement.
“Squawk! That would be a sight to behold. Hehe. Squawk!” Flappy commented.
“Yeah. It would.” Twilight agreed. She lit her horn for a horn pulse.
Twilight: Sparkler and I owe you one Cadance. I didn’t even think about what woulda happened if Melody was the only one who got anything.
Cadance: I had a gut feeling that Melody’s siblings would be aged up as well. So good thing I thought of that when getting stuff.
Cadance giggled. Around Hearths Warming Eve, she had realized that Sparkler and Twilight had not gotten anything for Melody’s siblings. And while nopony could blame them for not being prepared, Cadance didn’t like the thought of them having to come up with a lie as to why Santa Hooves didn’t bring them anything. So she went on a little shopping spree and got several gifts that she thought they might like. And so far they were liking all their gifts.
After a few more rounds of gifts. While the kids got more toys, Twilight got books, Sparkler got a new pair of headphones with Twilight’s Cutie Mark on them, Velvet and Nightlight and Aurora and Thundercracker got a framed photo of their kids with their significant others and their children (Pre-sneeze), and Shining and Cadance got a pic of Flurry and Melody playing together (dated back when Melody was still a colt.), Sparkler cleared her throat and smiled at her kids. “Alright you guys. There’s one more present for all of you.” She announced. “And this one isn’t from Santa Hooves, but rather from me and Mommy Twi.”
Melody and her siblings smiled. “Ooh! What is it?” She asked.
Twilight lit her horn and held out an envelope for one of their kids to take. Lightning grabbed the envelope and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper. Confused, Lightning unfolded it, and he and his siblings saw a picture of a…something they had never seen before. “Uh…what is that?” Crystal asked.
“A trampoline.” Sparkler replied. “It’s a thing you can use to bounce high into the air.” She explained. “It’s really fun.
“And when we get home, that same trampoline that’s in the picture will be waiting for you in mom’s backyard.” Twilight said. “It was too big to wrap.”
Their kids listened to their story, and smiled when they finished. “Awesome!” They lunged forward and tackled both their mothers in a big hug. “Thank you Mom! Mommy Twi!” They exclaimed.
While Twilight was able to stay upright from the impact, Sparkler, still being a five year old, wasn’t so lucky as she was thrown back a bit and landed on her back. “Oof.” She let out, after a second, she and Twilight smiled. “You're welcome.” Sparkler said.
“Happy Hearths Warming you guys.” Twilight added.
At that moment, there was a knock on the front door. Nightlight went to go see who was calling. After a moment, he called back into the house. “Hey uh, Twilight, Sparkler, I think Family Services wants to see you.” He said.
Twilight and Sparkler nearly jumped out of their fur when Nightlight said Family Services. They took a quick glance at each other. Worry washing over them. They both knew that there was only one reason Family Services would be here, now.
“They found out about what happened?!” Sparkler asked panicky.
Twilight gulped. “Stay here. I’ll go see what’s up.” She said as she walked to the front door. She saw her dad letting Betty Pringle in. She took a deep breath and smiled. “Ms. Pringle. Hello.” She said. “I hope you had a lovely Hearths Warming.”
“I did thanks.” Betty responded with a smile. “And you?” She asked.
“Definitely not boring.” Twilight replied. “What brings you here?” She asked.
“Unfortunately business. Family Services received an anonymous tip-off claiming something happened to Thunder Kicker. I just came by to make sure everything was alright.” Betty responded. “And while I’m at it I might as well also ask Kicker how he’s doing with you guys.” She added.
While Betty was talking, Sparkler listened in. With the kids confused. “Mom?” Lumber asked.
“What’s going on?” Asked Trail.
“Shhhh.” Sparkler hissed. Urging them to be quiet. She didn’t know why, but she felt the sudden urge to want to hide herself and her six kids.
Back in the foyer, Twilight nodded. “Uh…sure. Yeah sure. But, Uhm, mind if Sparkler and I talk to you first before you see Kicker?” She asked.
“Sure.” Betty replied.
Twilight nodded and horn pulsed Sparkler to come to the door. Sparkler gulped, and walked to the door, letting Ms. Pringle see her.
Betty saw what was undoubtedly Sparkler, but she blinked when she saw that she was certainly smaller than the last time she saw her. She glanced at Twilight, sensing that there was an explanation for this.
Twilight led them outside and once the door was closed, Betty spoke up. “I’m guessing you two have quite a story to tell.” She said.
“Oh you have no idea.” Sparkler responded.
“I’m guessing that my suspicions that the anonymous tip was a false alarm was incorrect?” Betty asked.
“Well…sort of. Kicker is fine, not in any danger or sick or anything like that.” Twilight responded.
“But something did happen to him.” Sparkler said.
With that, Twilight and Sparkler told Betty everything that happened concerning Kicker. How he was sneezed into Sparkler’s womb by Flurry Heart, how Kicker changed genders and species, and how Kicker now had five siblings. They also briefly explained why Sparkler was small.
Betty listened to their story, and while their story was shocking to say the least, she also knew that it was a story you couldn’t make up on the fly. When they finished, Betty nodded. “Well. Eventful would definitely be the word I’d use after hearing about that.” She said. “And these changes to Kicker are permanent?” She asked.
“Sadly, yes.” Sparkler responded. “Celestia was able to age him back up to five, but the species and gender changes are irreversible.”
“Yikes.” Betty replied. “How’s he…or she? Taking it.” She asked, unsure of how Kicker identified now.
“She, and she’s actually taking it pretty well all things considered.” Twilight responded.
“Once she got over the shock, she asked If she could have a new name. She didn’t outright say it but I could see it in those beautiful blue eyes. She sees this change as a chance to detach herself from her hurtful past and truly start anew.” Sparkler explained.
“Really now? That’s wonderful to hear.” Betty responded. Her confidence restored that the tip-off was indeed a false alarm. “Phew. Thank Celestia the tip-off was a false alarm after all. I had my suspicions since this tip-off came right after the Yule Ball incident.” She explained.
“Ugh. I’d rather just forget it ever happened.” Sparkler commented.
“Right.” Betty nodded and cleared her throat. “Well. With this new information in mind, I believe that it would be good to update Kicker’s file. Starting with her new name.” She said.
“Right. Just…one more thing. Whatever you do. Pretend like you’ve met Kicker’s siblings before. Because they certainly think they’ve met you before.” Twilight said.
“Because they have Kicker’s memories.” Betty deduced. “Right.” She agreed.
With that, Twilight and Sparkler took Betty inside and into the kitchen, where Sparkler brought the kids.
Down in the dungeons under the castle, Sparky, one of the ponies whom Sparkler had defended Melody from a few weeks ago, was pacing back and forth in his cell that he shared with Misty. “That brat got us thrown in here. Ooh when we get out we are gonna make him pay!” He said.
Misty, who was sitting on her bed, nodded. “First, he escapes, and then he cowers behind that Alicorn brat—“
“That menace is NOT an Alicorn you idiot!” Called out Silver-Mane from another cell. “She is nothing but a pretender and is not worthy of being called an Alicorn. And she would’ve been gone by now if a CERTAIN group of ponies actually did their job!” He directed towards the four crooks who tried to nab Sparkler.
“We DID boss!” One of the crooks said. “We got her as you wanted.”
“But another Alicorn knocked us out. One we didn’t recognize.” One of the other crooks explained.
Silver-Mane growled. “If that’s true then we have ANOTHER problem.” He said. He reached up and pulled at the horn ring around his horn again. “I swear when I get out of this that Falsicorn is going to pay dearly!” He commented. He was fuming that his plan to get rid of the Alicorn failed. He growled as he twisted at the Ring, trying to get it off. When that didn’t work. He growled and slammed the ring on his bed…only for it to crack on impact and split in two. He watched as the pieces fell onto the floor.
Nopony said a word as the pieces fell to the ground in a clatter. Silver-Mane looked at the pieces, and then at the door to his cell, before lighting his horn and allowing himself to phase through the door, essentially freeing himself.
One of the crooks registered what happened, before smiling. “Uh…you gonna let us out as well boss?” He asked.
“I should let you rot in here for failing at what I hired you to do. But I got a plan. And unfortunately I need you for it.” Silver-Mane replied.
“Great!” Sparky said. “Can’t wait to get-“
“No! Not you two.” Silver-Mane told Sparky and Misty. “It might look suspicious if we all broke out at once.” He explained.
“What? Then are you gonna come back for us?” Misty asked.
“Don’t worry I’ll make sure you can escape. During your trial.” Silver-Mane said.
“And then what boss?” Asked one of the crooks.
Silver-Mane smiled as he reached into his mane and pulled out a feather. “Oh. I got big plans. And when it’s over, all of Equestria will see That Falsicorn for what she really is. Hehe.” Silver-Mane chuckled as he held the feather. The hot pink feather that became dislodged from Sparkling Medley herself.
Later on, well into the night, Celestia and Luna landed in an area of the airship docks that was well secluded. “This is where you felt that mysteriously familiar signal Luna?” Celestia asked her sister.
“Indeed sister.” Luna responded. “I do not know what it is. But something about this signal seemed familiar. Like a presence I hadn’t felt in a long time.” She explained.
Not too long ago, Luna had received a strange signal drawing her and Celestia to the airship docks. For reasons yet to be uncovered, the signal felt familiar to Luna. A signal that she had not received in some time.
After a moment, Celestia and Luna heard wings flapping, and looked up to see Fleur Dis Lee land in front of them. “Fleur?” Celestia asked, confused.
“What are you doing here?” Luna asked.
“I suspect the same reason you two are here.” Fleur responded. “A strange signal drew us here.”
“Indeed.” Luna said. “And if you are here too then this becomes more worrying.”
“I assure you that I come in peace.” Said a new voice. Luna, Celestia, and Fleur turned to see a cloaked figure step out of the shadows.
Luna eyed the figure. “I assume you are the one who sent the signal?” She asked.
“Indeed.” The cloaked figure responded.
“Why?” Fleur asked. “Why did you summon us?”
“Because darkness is coming. And the time for Sparkling Medley to learn of her true destiny is nearing.” The cloaked figure responded.
The three Alicorn’s eyes widened at the mention of Sparkler. “What do you know of Sparkling Medley?” Asked Luna.
“I swear if you’re like those nobles that hate Sparkler-“ Started Fleur before the cloaked figure cut her off.
“I am nothing like those self-absorbed pinbrains who dare call themselves Nobles.” The cloaked figure said. “I am most certainly on Sparkling Medley’s side.”
“Who are you?” Celestia asked.
The cloaked figure said nothing. Instead, they reached up, and pulled the hood down behind their head to reveal their face.
At the reveal of the cloaked figure’s face, Celestia and Luna’s eyes widened and they gasped. They could not believe who was standing before them. “It cannot be!” Luna exclaimed.
“Clear-cut!” Celestia named the figure.
Clear-cut smiled. “Hello Tia, Lulu. It’s been a while.” He said.
To be continued…
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interesting indeed!
and interesting name you got there too.
Kicker though, technically speaking, would that make him transgender? just popped in.
Note that there are many, many hidden alicorns throughout the show. Will all of them appear, resisting the efforts by nobles to stamp out opposition to their rule?
...or will none appear, and the only alicorns to give Silver-Mane and his buddies a bad time will be the ones seen so far?
Beware of The Man Who Speaks In Hands.
11120031
The writers really were lazy in animation were they. Lol.
They might appear. Depends on what my brain comes up with.
great chapter wonder if we get to know how they know clear cut
11120029
Nope. His gender did a complete 180 and he is now a full she.
ooooo boy, things are heating up big time, im ticked Silver-Mane escaped and what his plans are. Also very intrigued with this new character and the mysterious plans set for Sparkler, fabulous and intense chapter, cant wait for more
11120127
You'll notice he possesses one of Sparklers feathers. Got any theories on what he plans to do with it?
11120129
im guessing testing to see if its a legit alicorn feather or using it to somehow harm Sparkler, but if Silver really thinks hes gonna get away with this he might as while been dropped on his head when he was young lol
11120133
Yeah. Lol.
He's just insane.
11120069
okay, was just wondering, given the change. And hope i did not overwhelm, you with Discord, just wanted to keep you up to date
Danged someone got lucky I can only assume the ring was defective in some manner Silver Mane can not be the first prisoner to have banged a suppressor ring against the cell door or cell wall
11120365
Maybe before all of this he had a guard under his payroll get a ring ready that was slightly defective/tampered with to be put on him?
11120455 Not impossible after the way Celestia came down on Silver Mane surprised anyone would assist him. I'm sure she will come down with all four hooves on anypony she catches and Luna is likely to help
Oh wow, what with the sextuletes I totally forgot about Fleur de Lee.
11121331
Eh you should not do that. Fleur'll be playing a major role in the story in due time. :)
Rough times await for Ponyville.
Very. Rough.
We have practically the pony equivalent of the Street Sharks gang going through the roads of Ponyville.
Now with scooters.
...who's gonna tell Scoot?
still getting used to the name change. I was a bit confused at first
"Kicker was... well, technically killed, regressed, cloned, six-time race-swapped, three-time gender-swapped, six-time reborn, five-time obliviated, six-time magically age-grown and... You know what? Scrap that. In one word, he was sneezed."
.... Silvermane could teach Frodo a thing or two.
also what kind of bed do they have in the dungeons??? Are they forged in lava?
you know, you could pretend to be still bound by the ring and stay in the cell, while helping the other escape, if you really wanted to not be associated with them...
Clear-cut.... Oh was he/her their hairdresser? The one who made their mane wavy and sparkly?