Metal Bat: Equestrian Adventures

by The reluctant fan

Chapter 6: Celebration Preparations

Badd finally managed to calm himself down enough to be able to talk.

"Heh, sorry bout that. It's just, a dragon? Seriously? Aren't they supposed to be giant fire breathing monsters? Sorry to say kid but ya don't look anything like that."

Spike huffed. "Well for YOUR information I'm still a baby dragon! And I CAN breath fire!"

The little drake took in a deep breath, before letting a small stream of green flame spew forth from his mouth.

"...huh. Neat. Sorry bout that, didn't know dragons came that tiny."

"It's fine, not many ponies have seen a baby dragon before. We cool?"

Badd gave spike a fist/hoof bump. "Yeah, we're cool. Hey, what's up with the unicorn? She's actin a little uptight."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Twilight? She doesn't get out much. Scratch that, ever. The princess sent us to Ponyville to prepare for the celebration, but she also told Twilight to make some friends, and she's not happy about it."

“Well, I mean I wouldn’t be either. I agree that it’s healthy to have friends and all, but forcin it on someone isn't really the best option there, it’ll just make em hate the idea more.”

Spike thought on that. “That… makes a lot of sense actually.”

Zenko looked up her brother in awe. “Bro… did you just say something smart?”

Badd rolled his eyes. “C’mon Zenko, I may not be a genius but I’m not braindead. Everyone can be smart once in a while.”

Twilight had been listening in on their conversation. Her opinion of the red stallion called Badd had started to change again. “At least he understands that I don’t want to be forced to make friends. He’s more observant than he looks.”

“But yeah, as I was sayin, I agree that she needs to make friends, but not that she needs it forced on her. If she wants ta be left alone, then I’ll leave her alone. She’ll figure it out for herself eventually, everyone does.”

“Thank you.”

Badd looked to see Twilight smiling at him. “Uh… fer what? I was just speaking my mind.”

“For being understanding. It’s not that I’m against making friends, it’s just that I’m too busy with studies and other things to have time for them.”

“Man, you sound a lot like Child Emperor.”

Twilight raised a brow. “Who?”

“This kiii-colt I know. He’s a prodigy and graduated college at 9 years old. But he’s so busy with his experiments and his career that he barely has any friends. The only one he does have is equally lonely.”

“He finished his schooling that young?! How haven’t I heard of him?! A colt with that level of intelligence would be a worldwide celebrity!”

“Heh, well he is pretty popular back where we come from, but that’s a looooong ways away.”

“How fascinating! Where did you say you two were from?”

Bass’s eyes darted to the left. “Well… that’s a little complicated. We’ll tell ya once we get to know each other a little better so you don’t think we’re insane or nothin.”

Twilight gave Badd a confused look. “Ooookay? Well, we’re almost to Sweet Apple Acres. Could you lead us to where the food is being-“

“Yee-haw!” Applejack let out a holler, running up to a tree and bucking it’s apples free from the branches.

Badd walked up to Applejack with a smirk. “Hey AJ, we have guests.”

Applejack looked up to see Twilight and Spike standing off to the side. “Well howdy ya’ll, what can ah do ya for?”

“Um yes hi? My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m here on behalf of the princess to make sure that preparations for the celebration are in order. I heard that you were on food?”

Applejack took Twilight’s hoof and shook vigorously. “We sure as sugar are! Nice ta meet ya Twilight! C’mon, Ah’ll show ya where the grub’s at.”

The orange farm pony grabbed a triangle and rang it to garner attention. “Soup’s on everypony!”

Caught off guard, Twilight and Spike were dragged along by the crowd and into the kitchen area of the farmhouse. Applejack began listing off the names of every single pony in the room, and there were a LOT.

“And of course there’s mah brother Big Macintosh, mah sister Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith!”

Applejack gestured to the elderly mare who was asleep in the corner. “Granny, we have guests!” That startled her awake, and she came over to join the others.”

Twilight looked nervously around the room at all the ponies. “Oookay. Well it looks like the food situation is all taken care of, so we’ll just be on our way.”

The collection of ponies, minus Badd all sighed in disappointment. Applebloom looked up at Twilight with her puppy eyes. “Aren’t ya gonna stay fer brunch?”

Twilight gave the filly an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry, but Im really in a hurry.”

Badd rolled his eyes. “It’s barely 11 in the morning. You have plenty of time to check up on everything else.”

Twilight gave him a stink eye, and sighed. “Fine. I guess I could stay a little while.” There was an uproarious cheer at that.

As everypony began to dig in, Applejack pulled Badd off to the side. “Ah hate ya bother ya Badd, but that mare seems a little shy. Maybe if ya were ta be her guide round town she’d open up a tad. Ah’d help her mahself, but ah gotta git the food ready fer the celebration.”

“Uh, I don’t know how well you know me, but I’m definitely not the best choice to help her come outta her shell. I’ve been told I’m scary.”

“Ah’ll admit ya can be, but that’s only when yer mad. Yer a great guy Badd, im sure she’ll get round ta likin you.”

“If I didn’t know better I’d think you were tryin to hook me up.”

Applejack chuckled. “Nah, that’s more Granny’s thing. Ah just think she could do with some company.”

“Sigh. Fine, Zenko’ll probably wanna come along anyway.”

Twilight and Spike had enjoyed the food a lot more than they thought they would. Spike had eaten an entire apple pie, and Twilight had eaten so many fritters she had a stomach ache.

Badd walked up to the two of them and coughed to get their attention. “Hey, uh, if you two need a guide while yer goin around town, me an my sis could help ya out.”

Twilight gave a fake smile. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m sure we’ll be fine on our-“

Spike cut Twilight off. “Of course you can, that’d be a great help!”

Twilight glared at the dragon while Badd stifled a cackle. “Ok cool. I’ll go grab my sis and we’ll meet ya out on the road.”

---

“Ooh, I think I ate too much…”

Twilight and Spike were walking back into town, Badd and Zenko alongside them.

“Yeah, that’ll happen with that family’s cooking. It’s really damn good.”

Zenko was talking to Spike about their personal interests.

“Huh, I’ve never seen a piano in person before. You said you used to play one all the time?”

“Yeah, back home. My big bro would always get emotional at my recitals and cause a scene. It’s honestly really embarrassing.”

Spike grinned. “So he’s one of those ponies that acts tough, but is super soft on the inside.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure my bro can act scary, but he’s super nice! Well, at least to people who don’t make him mad. I’ve heard that he’s actually tried to fight some of his coworkers before.”

“Really? Where did he work?” Zenko shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Spike crossed his arms. “Try me.”

“Well… my big bro worked for someplace called the Hero Association. He protected the public from disasters and monsters. He may not look like it, but he’s super strong! He’s not an S-class hero for nothing!”

Spike stared at the pegasus wide eyed “you’re saying that he’s a real life superhero? You're right, I don’t believe you.”

Zenko shrugged. “I figured you wouldn’t. Stick around town long enough though and he’ll probably do something that’ll convince you.”

Twilight looked down at the list she held in her aura.

“It says here that there’s supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the sky. Well it doesn’t seem like she’s doing a very good job of it.”

Badd rolled his eyes. “She’s probably off sleeping somewhere again.”

“You know her?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool. She’s actually been teaching my sis how to fly. Can’t say she’s a very hard worker at her job though.”

Just then, a cry came from above the two. “Look out below!”

Badd tackled Twilight to the side just as a rainbow blur slammed into where she was walking.

“Good lord Rainbow, do you try to crash into every newcomer to town?”

“Hehe, sorry about that. Here, lemme clean you two off.”

Rainbow brought a raincloud above the two dirtied ponies and drenched them.

“Oh, oops. Here, lemme dry you off.”

Badd grunted and fixed his hair. “No thanks. I’m never experiencing your ‘Rainblow dry’ ever again.”

Twilight sighed and cast a drying spell on herself and Badd. Her hair was a little messy, but she was dry and that’s all she cared about.

“So you’re Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow smirked cockily. “Yep that’s me! What, ya heard a me?”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I HEARD you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

The prismatic pegasus reclined on a nearby cloud. “Yeah yeah, that’ll be a snap. I’ll do it in a jiffy. As soon as I’m done practicing.”

Twilight raised a brow. “Practicing for what?”

“For the Wonderbolts of course!”

Badd groaned and put a hoof to his head. “Oh here we fucking go…”

Rainbow started ranting about how awesome the Wonderbolts were and how she was going to impress them at the celebration.

“The Wonderbolts? You mean the most prestigious flying team in all of Equestria?”

“That’s them!”

“We’ll I doubt they’d be impressed by a pegasus that couldn’t even keep the sky cleared for one measly day.”

Rainbow shot out of her cloud. “Hey! I’ll have you know I can clear this sky in under ten seconds!”

“Oh yeah, prove it.”

Rainbow burst into the sky at a speed only Badd could easily track. She zipped around the sky, busting clouds with bucks and came down in mere seconds.

“Hah.. how was… that?!”

Badd gave a smirk. “8 and a half seconds. You beat yer record.”

“Yes! I knew that extra training was paying off!”

Twilight and Spike were staring slack jawed at the cyan pegasus, and Zenko was laughing at their shock.

“Buh, buh, that was insane!”

Rainbow laughed at the unicorns’ shock. “Hah, you’re a riot Twilight! I hope we can hang out more. I gotta go, I’ll talk to ya later!”

Rainbow took off into the sky. Twilight turned to Badd. “Why are you so calm about that? I’ve never seen a pony move so fast!”

“Eh, I’m used to it. Besides, don’t tell this to Rainbow, but I’ve seen faster. She’s fast, but nowhere close to being Flashy Flash fast.”

“Uh, what? Who’s Flashy Flash? And how fast are they?”

“They’re a ninja/hero. And as for how fast they are, I’ve never seen him go that fast, but he can supposedly run faster than light. I have seen him move fast enough to create afterimages though.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay, now you’re just making stuff up. Nothing can move at the speed of light except light itself. That’s basic physics.”

“We’ll then it probably doesn’t help that I failed physics class in high school.”

Twilight snorted and tried to suppress a smirk of amusement. Badd sighed. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I’m not a genius you know.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make fun of you. I just wasn’t expecting you to say that. Anyway, the next thing on the list are decorations. A pony named Rarity is in charge of them.”

“Huh, I know them too. She actually made my jacket and belt.”

“Really? Well they do look rather well crafted. Hopefully she’s as good at decorating as she is at sewing.”

The group made their way to the Carousel Boutique. Badd still hated that name. As they entered, Spike’s eyes immediately fell upon the white unicorn in the middle of the room. “So beautiful!”

Twilight looked around the room, impressed. “Yes, it is rather elegant.”

“Not the decorations, her! How are my scales? Are they straight?”

Badd groaned in annoyance while Zenko just laughed at Spikes lovestruck antics.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is—oh, Badd and Zenko, welcome! And who is-*GASP!* darling, whatever happened to your mane?!”

Badd rolled his eyes. “We-almost literally-ran into Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight sighed. “Yes. Well, I’m just here to check on the decorations. Once that’s done I’ll be out of your hair.”

“My hair?! But what about your hair? I simply insist you allow me to fix it up!”

Rarity dragged the hapless Twilight into the shop and began to fuss over her mane while fitting her into different dresses. Badd chuckled at her misfortune.

“I’m not here to, hrk, waste time! I’ve been sent from… Canterlot to—“

Rarity dropped Twilight in shock. “CANTERLOT?! Oh I’ve always wanted to live there! The sophistication the glamour! Oh, you simply must tell me all about it!”

While Badd thought the scene was funny, he was feeling a little bad for Twilight. “Alright Rares, you’re kinda freaking her out. Give her some breathing room and let her finish.”

Raity blinked, before chuckling awkwardly. “Eheh, sorry about that darling, I suppose I got a little carried away. What was it you were saying?”

Twilight got out of the dress with a huff. “I was saying that I’m here on the princess’ behalf to check up on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I’m very sorry, but I don’t have a lot of time to waste.”

“Oh, I’m so very sorry darling! Please, don’t let me distract you from your official business. Although may I ask why Badd and Zenko are accompanying you?”

“They’re my guides. I’ve actually been able to make progress quicker because of their directions. So they’ve been rather helpful.”

“Well that’s nice of them. Well, you can go on your way darling. If you ever find the time, I’d love to design a dress for you!”

Twilight gave an awkward smile. “I’ll… think about it.”

Twilight dragged a love dazed Spike along with her as she exited the boutique. Badd and Zenko followed her out.

“Okay. Despite the distractions, we only have one thing left to check up on, the music. It says that a pony named Fluttershy is in charge of that.”

Badd raised a brow. “Why are all the ponies in charge of the preparations the ones in town I know? That’s a really odd coincidence.”

“Yeah, I guess. How long have you been here again?”

“Only a week.”

“Then yeah, that’s a really strange coincidence. Well whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

Zenko trotted up next to Twilight. “Um, I think you should know that miss Fluttershy is really skittish. Try not to startle her.”

Twilight smiled down at the little filly. “Thank you for that information. I’ll keep in in mind.”

The group came upon a cottage on the outskirts of town. A chorus of birds could be heard from out back. They walked around to find a butter yellow pegasus instructing them. Zenko trotted up and gave a soft ‘ahem’.

“Oh! Hello Zenko, you startled me a little. How has Tama been? Well I hope.”

“She’s been great! But that’s not what we’re here for. The unicorn over there is here to check up on how the music is coming along.”

Twilight gave a friendly smile and waved a hoof. “Um, hi! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I just wanted to say that the music sounds great!”

Fluttershy gave a little meep and hid behind her hair a little. “Oh. Th-thank you. My avian friends have been working very hard to get it just right.”

Badd spotted a tiny white rabbit glaring at him from a window of the cottage. He glared right back. He had been over to Fluttershy’s cottage once or twice and had met her little demon of a rabbit she ironically named Angel. If his shy friend didn’t care about the little shit so much, It’d be nothing more than a smear on his bat. The rabbit glared a little longer before hopping away.

“Badd? Badd!”

“Oh! Sorry what was that?”

Twilight sighed. “We’re getting ready to leave. Fluttershy discovered Spike and has been fawning over him ever since. I’m about ready to head to Golden Oaks Library where I’ll be staying. Can you help me with directions?”

“Oh. Yeah sure.”

---

Badd had never taken Fluttershy for a chatterbox, but when she wanted to be, she could run her mouth like no other, barring Pinkie Pie of course. It didn’t help that Spike was talking just as much.

“And that’s the story of my whole entire life! Well except for today. Would you like to hear about today too?”

“Oh yes please!”

Badd was about ready to yell at both of them to shut the hell up when Twilight saved him from the outburst. “Oookay! Well here we are! It was nice to meet you all but I’ve really got to get Spike to bed. He’s super tired.”

“What? I’m not tired. It’s only 5!”

Twilight subtly pushed Spike off of her with her magic. “Aww! He’s so sweepy he can’t even keep his bawance! Thank you for being a guide Badd, I’ll see you at the celebration!”

With that, Twilight grabbed Spike and slammed the door.

Fluttershy went and flew into an open window of the library. Badd looked to Zenko. They shrugged and climbed through the window as well. They got in just as the lights flicked on.

“SURPRISE!!!”

Author's Note:

Sorry that this chapter took so long. I was on vacation, and also ended up starting another story which I was focusing on for a while. I’ll try to update this one more often now.

Comments

[John bostock]

Need more this is great
keep up the good work!

[KarasAdamas]

I need more! MORE!