Target Acquired: Tickle Time!

by NightFurySpeedey8156

Target Acquired: Twilight

It was a bright and sunny day in Ponyville. Birds were singing, kids were playing and a certain black feline was plotting something dastardly. Night Fury, a Speed Shifter and good friend to the well known Mane Six and princesses, was in his large house, planning his next stint of trickery. Though he never truly admits it (and honestly never has to with how often he does it), he loves to make trouble and give in to his cheeky childish thoughts. It helped him stay young. And with his most recent plan, he was on the verge of a massive spree.

Night Fury knew his friends very well, some saying almost too well. And with that came a trust that no other could acquire without months of effort. With his welcome presence in a multitude of ponies' lives, he's learned a lot of secrets from them. And while some were fairly tame, one similarity stuck out among them all when he moved to Equestria.

It seemed all ponies were extremely ticklish. And he was going to exploit it in every way he knew how, especially on his closest friends.

“Okay, everything is set up for my next leg of trickery. I know to some, this may come off as naughty. But hey, when your coat color brings along a legend that you're bad luck, why not put it to the test?” He said to himself as he put the last pin on his well put together target board. On this board sat pictures of all his closest friends surrounding a picture of himself, less prominent individuals spread out around the board. Each picture came with a set of information written on sticky notes such as daily walking patterns, house layouts and most importantly, the weak spots of the pony.

The “weak spots” weren’t places where he knew he could hurt them, he’d never do that to anycreature. However, he did know his friends were all insanely ticklish, some more than others. And he loved to laugh and make his friends laugh (probably only rivaled by Pinkie Pie).

Looking over his masterpiece of a mission board, he smiled to himself, congratulating his own efforts to make this plan so thorough. But now was not the time to admire his craft. It was the time to act.

“Okay, time to put this plan in motion. Now, who to target first?”

After a few minutes thought, he decided to sneak up on Twilight Sparkle.

“Grape Juice has been working hard all week. She could use a little break, whether she likes it or not. And… laughter IS the best medicine.” Fury said. With his target chosen, he took a red marker and circled Twilight's picture, solidifying his first attack.

“Target Acquired.”

–

A few minutes later, near Twilight's Castle…

Fury looked up at the castle from the path below, taking in the sheer size of the structure. Fury remembered the moment the chest that spawned from the Tree of Harmony sunk into the ground and grew into this castle after Tirek was defeated. It was a beautiful moment, both for the view of the new castle and Twilight finally breaking through the little identity crisis she was having as the newly crowned Princess of Friendship.

Though now was not the time to reminisce about the past, he had a job to do. Walking up to the front door, he snuck his way in and began making his way through the narrow halls of the castle.

Thanks to the color of his fur, he blended with the shadows all too well. He did have to dodge Starlight and Spike on his way through the castle, but they didn't notice him at all.

“That was close! Can’t let them spoil my fun,” he thought to himself, suppressing a childish giggle. “Now… where would Twilight be, right now?”

Remembering how much of a bookworm the mare is, he decided to head for the castle library. If she wasn’t there, the search would be much more difficult. Cracking the door open and peering in through the gap, his mischief tree bore a sweet purple fruit that was currently occupied reading a book on terrain manipulation.

“Oooh! That gives me an idea!” Fury thought to himself, a sly grin spreading across his lips. Taking the opportunity to slip inside, he slowly and quietly closed the door behind him and snuck his way around the massive piles of books stacked around the room. Fury always found it funny that with how orderly and neat Twilight was with acquiring and sorting data, she never seemed to care about how sloppy she could be if she was really into it.

“Well, I think that’s enough studying for now. Maybe some fiction will help me relax,” Twilight said to herself, as she finished her book and went to put it away. As she neared the book’s place on the shelf, she noticed a small black carpet-rug near where she was headed. She thought nothing of it, thinking Spike or Starlight had placed it there. As long as it didn’t harm her books, she didn’t mind. She made a mental note to ask them about it later though, just in case.

She took a few steps over the rug and calmly placed the book back where it was. She turned around to grab another, but she then came to find out that her hoof seemed to be stuck on this strange rug.

“Huh?” She said, surprised, giving her leg a few more tugs. “Was there glue on this? Tar maybe? How’d my hoof get stuck? And… where in Equestria did this carpet come from anyway?”

To answer her question, she did not have to call for anypony or consult a book. The carpet answered that for her.

“From the long lost world of Nunya Business, bookworm!”

“Nunya Business?” She repeated. “Never heard of it, maybe I have a book about… WAIT A MINUTE! I know that voice! Come on out, Night Fury.”

“With pleasure…” In one fell swoop, Fury snatched Twilight's leg from under her, tripping her up and got behind her.

“WOAHHHHH!” Twilight screamed.

“Surprise! Looks like that carpet wasn't all you thought it was!” Fury said with a chuckle.

“That’s for sure.” She replied, giggling. “What brings you here? No friendship issues, I hope. Although, if that is the case, you’ve come to the right place.”

“Oh no no, far from any problems. For I have snuck my way past your student and pseudo brother to bring a gift. A gift that all shall receive on my accord.” Fury said dramatically.

“Oooohhh!” Twilight giggled, clapping her hooves. “That’s very kind, thank you! What kind of gift is it? May I see it now, please?”

“Oh, this gift is very special, believe me. But it's not exactly what you think.” Fury explained. “I've recently come to the realization that you ponies have certain… sensitivities. And one of them I've come to experiment with. Now all I need to do for this is move my paws over here…”

He carefully moved his paws over to Twilight's rear hooves, her weak spot.

“Make contact aaaaaand… coochie coochie coo!”

“What?! Waihihihihihihihihihihihit!” Twilight screamed, realizing what he was doing. “GYAHHAHAHAHHHHAHHHAHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!”

“How does that feel, Grape Juice?” The cat asked.

“AHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! IHIHIHHIHIHHIHIT TIHIHIHIHIHIHCKLES!” Twilight said, bellowing uncontrollable laughter.

“Well… that was my plan,” Night Fury chuckled. His toes scribbled over her rear hooves with vigor, getting to every part of it in a good stretch before he set his sights on her rather succulent looking wings.

“Ok, I think I’m gonna wing it now!” He quipped.

“What?! Nohohohohohohoohoho!” Twilight yelped, as he switched from tickling her hooves to her wings. She knew from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy that Pegasus’ wings were particularly ticklish, and, somehow, her wings were even more so, making her reactions much more delightful for her attacker.

“Awww, look at all those wiggly movements. So tantalizing and cute. You're very smart, but not very strong, even for an alicorn.” Fury said.

“IHIHIHIM STILL TRYIHIHIHIHIHING TO GET MY STRENGTH UHUHUHUHUP!” She managed to squeak out through her laughing fit.

“Well… a strong mare wouldn’t be laughing like a fool. And, for some reason or another, I think you’re enjoying this. Are you, Grape Juice? Huh?” He teased her.

“NOHOHOHOHO!” She tried to get defensive about her feelings about this surprise tickle attack, but Night Fury could see right through her. Not that her already fragile state hid much from plain sight.

“I wonder how many times you received this treatment from Celestia when you were younger. Not to mention Shining Armor, Cadence, and your parents. I bet they absolutely adored tickling you crazy. Especially with how sweet the music of your laughter is.” Fury commented, which made her blush. “I thought so.”

“Okay okahahahahay, I admit it! It does feel a lihihihihitle good!” She squealed.

“Good, that's all I wanted to hear.” Fury said, satisfied with his efforts and finally letting off on his attack to give her some breathing room.

“(Gasp!)… (Gasp!) Wow! That… (gasp) was (gasp)… intense!” She said, trying to catch her breath. “You are an evil tickler, you know that?”

“Oh I know, but it's fun! It always makes me feel young whenever I start causing trouble.” Fury chuckled deviously.

“That’s for sure,” Twilight giggled. “Thank you, Fury. I didn’t realize how much I needed that today. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.”

“Happy to oblige, my Princess.” Fury said, with a bow. Then, his strong hearing picked up the sound of rushing steps and two familiar voices heading this way.

“Nuts, looks like your nerd squad caught the noise. Okay look, I'm making a stretch to do everyone I know and get them good too, you're just my first target. Don't let them know what the deal is! Starlight's already on my list and the last thing I need is a potential opportunity getting blown. Can you keep things silent?” Fury asked quickly. Twilight now understood that this wasn't just some random occurrence nor an act of targeted mischief just towards her. He had a full operation going.

She now knew that he was in a league of his own, setting up every potential target with the best of his smarts to get them where they least expect it.

“I can keep a secret, I'll make sure that your operation is well kept under wraps. But before you disappear, I recommend heading for Canterlot. The other princesses are grouping up there tomorrow and that would be a golden opportunity for a three-for-one deal.” Twilight said.

“Thanks for the tip!” Fury stated happily.

“Before you leave, though, I’d like to ask something from you, in return.” She quickly added.

He turned his head back, a worried expression on his face.

“What would that be?” he asked.

“Another round. And soon, please.” She said with a smile.

Fury smiled back.

“I’ll put it on my to-do list. See you soon, Grape Juice!” He chuckled before leaving. Just as he left, the other door swung open, Spike and Starlight standing in the frame.

“Twilight! We heard you laughing like you'd lost your marbles, what's going on?” They asked.

“I’m not at liberty to say,” she answered, shaking her head, before adding a sly smile. “But I’m sure either one or both of you will find out soon enough.”

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Starlight asked, slightly afraid.

–

Night Fury soon returned home and got back to his mission board in his room. He looked up at the many pictures and began rearranging the three other princesses to be grouped together with a new picture of Canterlot Castle pinned next to them.

“Okay, now that I know these three will be in the same spot at once, I'll be able to narrow down a few things. Thanks to Twilight's brilliance, I can now take out three targets in one go. Looks like I'm headed for the big city tomorrow. But first, I have to make sure I have my information up to date.”

He then looked over to his picture of Twilight, took his red marker and crossed her out, indicating that she had been dealt with. Fury was proud that he managed to pull this off, all of his work coming together in one beautiful web of mischievous acts and friendly games. But he would get to sip on that sweet taste of victory later. For now, he had a trip to plan tomorrow and three new targets to take down. All thanks to Ponyville’s local bookworm.

“Target Down.”