Masquerade

by AlkapwnZ

Chapter 6: Complications

You stammered as you shook the hoof of one of your personal icons, still in shock over the fact that he was your friend's step-father. How could this be?

You managed to remind yourself of your alibi as you finally spoke. "Y-you're Professor Test Tube!" You could barely hold in your mix of excitement, nervousness, and fanboy joy. "I-I..."

Venture gave a loud, annoyed groan. "Oh, Celestia, it's Princess Twilight all over again..." He facehoofed.

The professor gave a merry laugh. "Venture, please, don't make a fuss," he turned to you with a smile. "So you've heard of me? Do you have an interest in Arcane Studies as well?"

You nodded rapidly, quickly stopping yourself so your mask wouldn't fall off. "Yes, sir! I-"

"No need to call me "sir", it's just Test."

You gulped and nodded, mentally berating yourself for calling the professor "sir". "Yes, erm,Test," it felt awkward for you to casually refer to your hero by his first name. "I've had an interest in studying magic since I was in middle school. I read your book ‘The Ethereal in a Walnut’, and I was blown away by your theories on the expulsion of magic from earth ponies!"

As you and the professor entered conversation over recent discoveries in the field of magic, you thought carefully about the situation you'd been thrust into. The professor was your friend's step-father, and now he too saw you by your alibi. You bit back a sigh as you realized how this made everything even more complicated. The professor thought you were some Trottingham stallion named Ember Topaz, and if you revealed your true self to him, it would mean revealing yourself to Venture. You'd lose Venture as a friend if he found out, and now it seemed there was no way to avoid it. Dear Celestia, now what're you going to do?

Suddenly, Venture walked up with a chuckle. "If you two are done chatting, there's something I need to ask ya, pa."

The professor frowned and nodded, rolling up with his wheelchair. "What is it, Venture?" He headed towards the exit.

Venture trotted alongside his stepfather, and you struggled to keep up. The stallion grinned as he spoke. "Ember here got lost in Luna's Labyrinth, and got separated from his date. A white mare in a red dress, I believe. Green eyes, orange mane. Am I right, Ember?"

You couldn't quite remember what description you had given him, but it sounded close enough. "Yeah, that's right." You nodded.

Venture smirked and nodded. "Yeah, I was right. Seen anypony fitting that description, pa?"

The professor gave a sigh and shook his head. "Apologies, but no, I'm afraid I haven't." He rolled out of City Hall and moved down the nearby concrete ramp, using it to get down onto the street.

You and Venture quickly followed, and you faked disappointment. "Aww. Oh well, perhaps I'll have better luck searching for her elsewhere then?" You had to get away from these two for just a little bit, at the very least, so you could have some peace and quiet to figure out what you were going to do next.

Venture grinned widely and tapped your shoulder, pointing towards the Ponyville outskirts. You remembered that that was where the Masquerade rides were set up, due to the outskirts' fairly flat landscape. You saw several towering machines, such as the Skyscreamer roller coaster, the Rainboom drop, and the Brainshambler Ferris Wheel. You felt queasy at the very sight of them.

Venture gave a smirk and turned to face you. "I say we go on one of those famous rides! C'mon, Ember, it's not too long a walk!" With that, Venture headed off, pulling you in tow.

Seriously, what was with ponies these days dragging you around by your hooves?
You protested against Venture's decision as he dragged you along, desperately trying to get him to let go. Despite your efforts, he constantly replied with "Relax, it'll be fun! You'll thank me later!"

The professor rolled alongside the two of you, chuckling at the conflict quietly.
Soon enough, the three of you reached the outskirts, and you all stopped in front of the Rainboom Drop. You craned your neck to view the top of the ride, butterflies in your stomach. You couldn't believe the height of the monstrosity, you swore it was reaching up to Luna's Moon. The line leading up to the ride was several yards long, and a sign at the very back of the line said the wait was about thirty minutes. Venture ran over to the end of the line, and you sighed reluctantly as you joined him. You gulped as you heard the screams of the ponies falling with the ride, the fear building up inside of you becoming unbearable. Finally, you pulled back. "Sorry Venture, but uh, I'm no fan of these kinda things..." you quickly leapt away before Venture could pull you back, sitting back with the Professor.

Venture groaned with annoyance. "Oh, come on! It's not that big of a deal!"

You shook your head rapidly, rooted to your spot. "I'm sorry, Venture, but I can't do this. I can't go on one of those things..."

Venture rolled his eyes and sighed, moving forward in line. "Alright then, have it your way. Have fun sitting by the sidelines." With that, he continued moving up in line, vanishing from your sight as more ponies joined the line.

You sighed, and turned to the Professor, smiling underneath your mask. Finally, you had your first chance to just chat alone with your idol! You didn't think it'd be this easy, but here you were!

Now you just had to just impress him with your knowledge of his field and be as charismatic as possible. If that would even work.

You opened your mouth to speak, but you were stopped dead in your tracks when the professor suddenly jolts up, pulling out a small phone from a pocket inside his wheelchair. He sighs and turns to you. "Apologies, Ember, but the princesses require my assistance. It was a pleasure to meet you!"

Before you could respond, Test Tube rolled away in his wheelchair, pulling on his racing helmet as he vanished into the crowd. You groaned and stood up, kicking a nearby stone in frustration. Dammit, you were that close! You were so close to your goal; now you've lost him again!

Relax, it's not that big of a deal, you told yourself. You knew what costume the professor wore, so it wouldn't be too tough to try to find him again. You still had another six and a half hours until the Masquerade ended!

You stood up and stretched, heading off towards the nearest water fountain. Your mouth was as dry as a desert from your long chat with the Professor earlier. As you moved along, you noticed a few ponies glancing at your costume, a somewhat impressed look on their faces. You tried to ignore them as you reached the fountain and began to drink, silently hoping your costume wasn't attracting any more attention. You hated it when you caught the eyes of others around you, even when they were impressed; it made you nervous and feel like a show-off.

As you wiped off your lip after the refreshing drink, you turned around only to suddenly face a violently pink blur tackle you into the dust, nearly knocking away your mask. You cried out as you came tumbling down, cushioning the fall of the pink mare. You heard Pinkie's wild giggle as she bounced back up and sat on your chest, peering down at you with her wide, blue eyes. "Found yooou!"

You looked back up at Pinkie, your own eyes wide with surprise at her appearance. "P-Pinkie! Where did you come from? Where in the hay have you been!?"

As you looked upon Pinkie, you realized she now wore a green dress designed to look like alligator scales, despite being clearly fake. She had a strange hood for the dress pulled down at the back, and you swore you saw a gator snout sticking out from it.
Pinkie grinned widely at your questions, and took a deep breath before starting to speak. "Well, I was following my Pinkie sense when you disappeared, and then I smelled chimichangas, and I followed the smell until I reached the exit and started nomming on all the chimichangas I could eat then I ran into Applejack and we started having an apple dunking competition I won of course and won this gator costume that reminded me of Gummy then I realized you were still missing and started searching the whole town for you and then I saw you walking around with Venture and waited until you were bothseparatedbeforetacklehuggingyou—“ She cut herself off, taking another enormous breath. “—asIhadjustafewminutesagoandstartedexplainingsohereIam!"

Your back ached from the crash, and thanks to the mach speed explanation you now had a headache. You decided not to think too hard on figuring out what Pinkie had said and pulled yourself up, adjusting your mask and dusting off your now dirtied costume. "I'm just glad I found you again. Venture-"

"Oh, really?" Pinkie gave a sly grin, leaning in.

You stopped in your tracks for a second and gulped, feeling the skin under your mask grow warm. "Y-you know what I meant, Pinkie. Anyways, I need you to listen. I ran into Venture while we were separated, and..." you got into a quick, brief explanation of what you had been doing while they were separated, about how you had fooled Venture with your false identity and met his step-dad, who turned out to be Test Tube himself.

Pinkie nodded, thinking for a moment before grinning. "No problem! I know where we can find a map of the whole festival! All we have to do is scope the place out for your professor! Just leave it to Pinkie!"

Before Pinkie could dash away this time, however, you quickly grabbed her hoof. "Wait! Pinkie! We can't get separated again. The Masquerade is too big for us to coincidentally find each other again. Besides, what'll you do if Venture sees you? Surely, he'll try to tag along with his friend!"

Pinkie suddenly pulled up her hood and over her head, revealing it was a zip-up hood as she masked herself. "Nanananana... GATORMARE! He'll never be the wiser!"

You couldn't help but crack a grin at Pinkie's costume, amused by her solution. "Okay... if we're both playing dress-up, I don't think we'll get caught. But even if we get a map of the Masquerade, how is it gonna help? It's not like it's gonna show us where Venture and the professor are."

"Nope! But it offers the next best thing!" Pinkie grins. "The festival events schedule! You said the professor left to help the princesses, right? So we'll just go to the next event they'll be participating in! He'll be there with them!"

Your eyes lit up with excitement, and you gave Pinkie a tight hug, lifting her in the air and spinning around with glee. "That's perfect!" You cheered, quickly putting her down and pulling away from her. "Alright... time isn't our friend here, so where do we get the map and schedule?"

Pinkie took a moment in silence, and you couldn't see her face under the gator hood while it was zipped up. Before you could open your mouth to speak again, however, Pinkie suddenly jolted up, bouncing with her usual energy. "O-oh, I know where we'll get it! Just follow me!" With that, she darted off, and for once you wished she had been dragging you along.

You quickly ran through the crowd, careful not to crash into anypony while struggling to keep up with your date. You ignored the protests of the ponies you passed, focusing only on keeping up with Pinkie. You could still see the gator hood bouncing up and down among the crowd, the snout flopping irregularly with it.

As you kept moving, you suddenly slipped and fell forward, tripping over the hooves of a pony to your left. As your body met the ground, you weren't able to prevent yourself from faceplanting against the concrete sidewalk, and as your head collided with the ground, you heard a loud snap that rang around the immediate vicinity for all to hear.
You groaned and sat yourself back up, rubbing your sore face. Good thing it had been cushioned by the mask. Wait...

You looked back down at the ground, and you found the mask lay where you had fallen, broken into two.

Before you could even react to your sudden disaster, you heard a familiar voice behind you carry a worried undertone.

"You alright, kid? You took quite the fall there."

You pulled down your hood over your face as much as you could, anxiety wracking your gut. Of all the unlucky situations where you ran into your Uncle, it had to be when your mask broke.

Thoughts rapidly darted in and out of your head, your only strategy while you panicked was to keep your face hidden from your Uncle. You felt your mouth go dry, and you stiffened as you felt his hoof grab your shoulder.

"Hey, you okay? What's wrong? Lemme see if you broke anything."

You felt him exert force against your shoulder to try and get you to turn around, and you instinctively yanked away and grabbed both pieces of the mask, before just flat out bolting. Adrenaline from the fear of being discovered by somepony who knew you filled your bloodstream, and you ran off in the general direction of Pinkie Pie. At least, where you thought she was. You stopped at a bench and sat down, looking down at the broken mask in your hooves. Perfect. Just perfect. What were you gonna do now? Without a mask to hide your face, it'd be even easier for you to be caught by Venture or Uncle!

You looked up carefully, keeping your hood down as you scanned the area for Pinkie Pie's gatorhead. Your heart fluttered when you saw her hopping away from a small concessions stand, a folded piece of paper held in her costume's snout. You quickly got up and shoved both pieces of the broken mask into the interior of your costume, galloping towards her and stopping her in her tracks. "Pinkie... we... I need your help..." you gasped for air, still exhausted from your fleeing.

Pinkie gave a childish giggle, pulling out a map as she unzipped her hood. "Got the map! Hope you're- wait. Where's your mask?"

You sighed and reached into your costume, pulling out the broken pieces of the mask. Pinkie gave her signature gasp and suddenly dragged you into the nearest alleyway, doing her best to keep your face hidden from passing ponies. "How'd you break your mask?!"

You gave a brief explanation as to what had happened when you had tripped while trying to keep up with her, and about your unfortunate encounter.

Pinkie suddenly looked down as you finished your explanation, guilt spread across her face. "I'm sorry... "

You were taken aback, confused by the sudden apology. "Sorry? What in Equestria for?"

Pinkie looked back up, suddenly smiling brightly. At that same instant, she suddenly dashed off into the crowd, moving rapidly as she yelled, "WAIT THERE!"

You almost instinctively ran after her, but you gave a sigh and sat back in the alley, waiting as she had said. What in Equestria was with this mare?

You began to grow impatient while you waited for her, but sat back and took the time to take in your surroundings. This area was set up to be some kind of food court for the Masquerade, stables set up for ponies to sell all kinds of junk food and drinks. There was also a small gift shop just a few yards away, a few young ponies looking around curiously. The crowd here wasn't as thick as the rest of the town, but it was still busy enough to get lost in. You only hoped Pinkie wouldn't get lost in it herself.

Suddenly, you saw the familiar gatorhead bouncing around over the top of the heads of the crowd, and you gave a short sigh of relief as Pinkie returned. Before you could ask what she had been doing, she snatched the mask pieces and pulled out a small bottle of superglue, quickly setting the sticky adhesive and pushing the pieces together. "Now I just hold it here for twenty seconds..."

You couldn't help but smile gratefully at Pinkie, knowing she had just saved you a load of trouble in grabbing the superglue. Come to think of it, this wasn't the only time she had saved your flank from trouble. She gave you the fun lessons to help you blend in the crowd, got Rarity to hook you up with the incredible costume, not to mention her quick thinking helped you improvise your plan after losing the professor. You began feeling guilty of all the times you had tried to avoid her, for considering her a nuisance until you needed her. And she still helped you out after all that.

Pinkie smiled as she finished holding It together, putting the repaired mask into your hooves. "There we go! Good as new!"

You smiled thankfully and paused a moment, before leaning in and giving Pinkie a tight hug. "Thanks, Pinkie. For everything. You've been a great help."

Pinkie stiffened in your grasp, and you noticed her breathing grow shallow for a moment. "Of course... it's been no... no problem!" She returned the hug happily, and after a few moments you realized you were letting the hug linger. Feeling that familiar warmth spreading across your face, you quickly put on the repaired mask in the middle of the hug, eventually pulling away. The mask still fit you relatively well, but the ridge of dried glue that ran over the broken crack dug slightly into your skin, but not enough to be noticeable.

You smiled beneath your mask and turned to Pinkie, who suddenly pulled out the map of Ponyville's Masquerade set-up. "Lookie here, we got the events, the entire town's set up, we may as well be pegasi in the sky!" She smiled excitedly, moving over a bit to let you look. You were surprised by how much the Masquerade had going on all over the town, recognizing many of the decorated locations, from the streets that had become Luna's Labyrinth to the outskirts turned Fairgrounds, where you had escaped Venture while he had been lining up for the rides earlier. You also found many other unique set ups around the town's hot spots, including Sweet Apple Acres getting set up as a smaller Fairground for fillies and colts, the local pavilion set up as the dancefloor for the traditional Masquerade dances, due to its flatter landscape, and the Midway, where Venture had gotten you out of Luna's, was set up not too far from where you were, the entirety of it set up along Manestreet.

You looked over the events set for the night and felt yourself grow dizzy from all the different things planned by different groups, some going on at the same time as others. All kinds of things were set, from a hoofbag race by the farm, to a super-concert featuring multiple popular bands, and even a special star-watching event out over by an open meadow in the outskirts, a ways away from the rides taking up most of the immediate vicinity.

Pinkie suddenly pointed her hoof at one of the events, grinning excitedly. "Look! The princesses are going to be attending the Everfree Scavenger Hunt! That looks like a lot of fun!"

You turned the paper quickly to look over the event's description, seeing that all the princesses were attending as referees, including Princess Twilight. If you were lucky, the reason the princesses needed the professor's help was because it had something to do with the Scavenger Hunt.

You give a brief nod, folding up the map and tucking it into your nearest pocket. "Alright, Pinkie, we're going to the Scavenger Hunt. But we're not going to play, okay? We never know if we might be wrong, and the professor turns out to not have anything to do with this."

Pinkie groaned, leaning back anxiously. "Oh, come on! Its a Scavenger Hunt! Can't we play for just a little bit?"

"Ugh..." you gave a low groan, thinking it over. Pinkie had been a huge help in the last few days, especially in the last couple of hours. You turned to the map in thought, seeing the hunt was taking place in the Everfree's edge, the safest part of the forest. It could be fun, but you couldn't let yourself get distracted...

After a few moments of debate, you finally caved when Pinkie started giving you puppy-dog eyes. Her wide blue eyes seemed to stare into your soul, begging for just a few minutes of playtime... Gah, screw it. "Alright, alright, fine, we'll play the darn hunt..." You sighed, hoping you wouldn't regret the small waste of time.

Pinkie, on the other hoof, immediately cheered and zipped up her gatorhood. "Hurray! Let's go, it starts in ten minutes!" With that, she grabbed your hoof, and quickly she dragged the two of you at record speed towards the meeting spot by the Everfree, while you struggled to warn her not to attract any attention. Your uncle had already seen your costume, if you ran into him he'd certainly try to figure out why you had bolted. Despite your warnings, Pinkie constantly assured you wouldn't be caught as she led you along, her path of choice annoyingly lengthy and elaborate, and by the time you two actually reached the clearing, you could hear somepony was already a few minutes into their speech. Finally, she released your hoof, stopping a few yards away from the gathering group of ponies near the small stage set-up, and you saw the announcing pony was none other than Princess Cadence herself, the shine of her artificial knight's armor glinting in the moonlight.

You and Pinkie set yourselves up near the edge of the crowd, close enough to listen but far enough not to be noticed. You saw Princess Celestia was only a few feet behind Cadence on the stage, accompanied by four guards as they all listened politely. You didn't quite pay attention to what was being said, more curious as to why Luna wasn't with her sister. You could see many creative costumes, from panthers to robots, and from television characters to mock celebrities, but you could see neither the professor's racing helmet nor the princess of the night among the sea of heads that was wedged between you and the stage. You turned to Pinkie, who was silently listening to the speech, and whispered into her ear. "I can't see the professor anywhere around here, Pinkie... I think we might have misjudged."

Just as you spoke, you were surprised when Cadence had suddenly ended her speech and stepped back off the stage, and the genius himself rolled up from backstage, pulling off his helmet as he accepted the mic Cadence offered. "Hello, my little ponies! As Princess Cadence just said, this scavenger hunt won't be any pushover!"

You gave a grin at the sight of him, but you quickly turned to Pinkie as she suddenly bounced. She squealed in excitement, shaking you a bit. "Oooh, this scavenger hunt looks so fun! I can't wait!"

Before you could correct Pinkie that their goal was to join the professor, Test Tube continued his speech. "This scavenger hunt is a free for all, but you can work in pairs! Keep in mind, while the lists may be short, each item will be difficult to find! You all have one hour to collect, and if you and your partner succeed in collecting everything on the list and bringing it to Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence, and myself, the referees, then you'll win one of the Grand Baskets!" He stepped back and allowed Celestia to show off the basket prizes lined up on the table behind them.

As the princesses took over the stage and allowed the professor to sit back at the referee table, Pinkie was bouncing with excitement, quivering with the energy of a shaken bottle of soda pop. You eventually lost your patience and shook Pinkie's shoulder, finally grabbing her attention. "Pinkie! I know you're really excited about this whole Scavenger hunt, but we don't have the time for it. We came to find the professor, remember? I don't have an hour to spare, if I'm going to have any chance of impressing him."

Pinkie groaned, disappointment in her eyes. "But... we've been at the Masquerade for hours now, and we haven't participated once in anything around here! Can't we do just one fun thing? Together? Pleeeeaaase? You already said we could!"

You frowned and shook your head, knowing you had to stand your ground. "I can't risk getting separated again from the professor, Pinkie. We were lucky it turned out he was at this event..."

You began to trail off as Pinkie gazed at you with wide, pleading eyes, begging. "You said we could, though..."

You mumbled the rest of your protest, but guilt started to fill you in the core as her unrelenting gaze froze your lips. Here was a party animal, at the greatest party of all time, and here you were depriving her of her own fun. No! You can't back down. You're so close to your goal, you can't give it up now!

But what would you do next, hm? How do you plan to impress the professor? And even if you did, how would that improve your chances of getting into Coltminister? And how would one hour of fun with the mare who got you this far do any harm?

No. You need to use your time effectively! You know how damaging time wasting can be to your goals! Remember the last time you let others pull you into this limbo? Remember what you told your own uncle? The temptation is too great to... But it's just an hour of scavenger hunting. It’s not anywhere near like the situation you were in last. Besides, you already said you would. You can't back out after that. The professor himself is one of the referees. This could help out immensely in the long run.

Finally, you caved in. "Alright, we can-"

The next thing you know, you hear Pinkie's excited squeal as she tackled you in a flurry of pink, giving you a peck on the cheek. "YAY! C'mon, we'll work as a pair! Let's grab our list!" With that, you were pulled back onto your hooves, still in a daze. Did that all just happen? Did Pinkie actually...

Before you could ponder further on the subject, Celestia sat at the referee table and Cadence had the stage once again. "Remember, everypony, this is just a game! Everypony participating will still win at least one of the Small Baskets, and this whole game is set up to be a fun challenge. The lists are all unique, so it's up to you and your partner, if you have one, to find your own items! You'll find the lists set up on the table over there! Good luck, and have fun!" With that, Cadence stumbled back over to the referees’ table, the armor hindering her movement.

As the crowd of ponies started grabbing their lists from the table, Pinkie hopped away and into the crowd, eventually coming out with a list in mouth. She quickly hopped over and sat before you, putting the list down and spreading it out for the both of you to see.
Pinkie grinned as she began reading it aloud before you could look for yourself. "It says we have to find two apples, at least a gram of any pewter object, a plastic crown, a blue plant, a baseball, and a red tie. This is gonna be so much fun!" Pinkie giggled as she looked up at you from the list. "Don't you think?"

You looked back at Pinkie and shrugged indecisively, for once unsure of what you thought. "I... guess... I'm not really sure."

Pinkie smiled and put her hoof around your shoulder, giggling. "Remember my lessons? Always try something new! You'll never know what you like until then!"

You paused and sighed, knowing there was a grain of truth there. "What're we waiting for, then?"

Pinkie grinned happily and bounced away, for once moving at a pace you could match. "I know where we can find the apples, easy-peasy! Follow me!"

As you followed Pinkie across the flat landscape of the Ponyville outskirts, you took this time to enjoy the sights, looking out at Ponyville from the outskirts. The lights danced in the moonlight, the sounds of the festival in your ears. You saw the Rainboom Drop towering over the whole town, the decorative lights dancing along its structure. Suddenly, the machine finished bringing its riders to its peak, and you shuddered as their screams met your ears as they fell. No way would you ever get on that thing.

As you brought your attention back to Pinkie Pie, you saw that Sweet Apple Acres wasn't too far away now, the landscape around the farm set up as the miniature fairground for fillies and colts described on the map. You could detect the faint scent of caramel and warm cider as you approached, your hooves sinking slightly into the fertile ground around the farm. You could hear the laughter of the young ponies playing around the farmland, noticing a small roller coaster specifically for younger ponies in action. There were games and laughter everywhere around you, from an apple-bobbing game to a paintball targeting ring; everything a young filly or colt could want out of a celebration. As you and Pinkie walked past the childish games and attractions, and towards the farmhouse in the middle of it all, the wind rustled your cape and the apple trees nearby. You turned to Pinkie and nodded in understanding. "I gotcha. We're gonna borrow two apples from Granny Smith, right?"

To your surprise, Pinkie shook her head. "Nope! Not exactly!"

You stood there, confused as you stumbled a bit forward. "Uh... what do you mean by ‘not exactly’, then?"

Pinkie grinned as she hopped away into the farmhouse, giggling. "You'll see! C'mon!"
You walked on inside beside Pinkie, worry and stress starting to take its toll. You knew that you'd get to have an excuse to talk with the Professor again after this, but you still felt something was nagging at the back of your mind, as if you had forgotten something and a part of you was trying to remind you of it. Yet no matter what, it couldn't be done...
You shook your head and pushed the feeling into the back of your mind, looking over the farmhouse interior. You found the farmhouse was just as large on the inside as well as outside, lanterns lit and hanging from its ceiling over the ponies below.

You saw the building was set up with several makeshift attractions. In one corner, you saw several fillies were playing in a fairly large ball pit, the colored spheres occasionally bouncing out and rolling into a corner. At the very end of the farmhouse, a concession stand was set up, a large, red stallion with a split green apple for a cutie mark attending it. He seemed to be selling apple-themed foods and desserts, as well as souvenirs. At the very center of the farmhouse, there was empty space except for an old-fashioned radio on a stool, playing Cotton-Eye Joe. This was where most of the partying in the farmhouse took place, and many costumed visitors dancing to the rhythm of the music. At the corner nearest to you, chairs and tables were set near a water fountain, a place of rest for the tired dancers.

Suddenly, you felt Pinkie place a hoof on your chest, stopping in place. "Wait here and I'll go get my friend! Don't go anywhere; I'll be back in a minute!"

You nodded at Pinkie and sat yourself down on a wooden chair in the resting area, watching as Pinkie hopped away towards the concessions stand to talk with the large red stallion.

As you waited patiently for Pinkie to return, you watched the dancing ponies with intrigue as the song played on loop. None of them seemed to get tired of it until the last second, when they were gasping and gulping down a drink in the resting area. Ponies smiled and laughed as they danced with their partners all around, and you had to wonder how such erratic and chaotic movements could appeal to anypony. As you watched silently, you noticed a mare in a jester's costume dancing around the radio with the others, doing a strange dance. She seemed to be mimicking the movements of some sort of bird, her navy blue fur and mane moving in flow with her dance. Wait...

You froze in place as you realized you recognized the mare as one of Venture's friends, who had been sent on a wild goose chase for your false date! If she saw you with Pinkie, it could ruin everything!

You quickly got up from your seat and started heading for the door, trying to hide in the crowd of ponies that were walking in and out of the farmhouse, quickly getting outside. You had to find someplace to hide out at until Pinkie noticed you were gone and got out of the farmhouse. You quickly ran towards the nearby apple orchard, stopping by a nearby tree. The hill you were on let you get a good view of the farmhouse, and you'd easily be able to pick out a bobbing gator head among the ponies.

As you waited quietly in the orchard, you noticed there were a few other ponies moving about among the trees. Some were couples trying to get some privacy, others having a midnight picnic of sorts, and some just hanging around. You didn't care necessarily, as your focus was on the farmhouse for Pinkie Pie. But you'd soon regret ignoring the nearby ponies.

As you were camping out at the hilltop, you heard the sounds of hoofsteps coming up behind you, and your blood froze as panic and anxiety took you.

It was your Uncle, dressed up as some sort of doctor as you now saw. You cringed as he looked down at you. "Hey, I remember you. Back over near the concessions stand. You fell over yourself and ran away when I tried to help. Why'd you do that?"

Why. Why does Lady Luck despise you so much. Out of the quarter million ponies at this insane celebration, you had to come across your own damn Uncle twice?! Calm down, think, you can get out of this... You felt your mouth beginning to go dry as you fought to speak, your anxiety from possibly getting discovered getting the better of you.

Suddenly, you realized you were only standing there, Uncle looking at you expectantly.
Curse your weakness. You quickly spun around and found yourself trying to flee from your uncle once again as you sped through the apple orchard, stumbling over yourself. The costume Rarity made for you, as great as it looked, was not something to be galloping in.

Suddenly, as a final spit from karma, you tripped over your cape and ran face first into the trunk of an apple tree. Your vision began to blur as you looked up at the night sky, fully aware the glue on your mask had been shaken loose and allowed the pieces to fall apart. You gave a low moan as the pain spread over your forehead, and through the blur you could see your Uncle's concerned face as he bent over you. "Why do you always run from your problems, boy?"

You could only groan as darkness surrounded your vision, a warm liquid trickling down your face.

Author's Note:

Alright guys, first off I'd like to thank my friend Wooden Skittles, for helping me update this chapter when I forgot my laptop charger. We wish you a merry Christmas, filled with beating the crap out of others and emptying your bank account to buy things for people who may or may not return the favor. Happy capitalism everybody/pony/alien/whatever.

Capitalism will be the downfall of us all. in the meantime, we should go shopping to console ourselves. - Banksy

Edited by Pyro1101, to fix the errors purposely put in via 'Wooden Skittles'. Changed several instances of the word Tart to Test, and removed three instances of the word Potato. Alkapwnz would like to apologise for the errors.

Comments

[AlkapwnZ]

3625208
Heh, thanks. XD
I'm glad you like my fic! I hope you'll continue to enjoy future updates I have planned. :D

[Xerzes]

Read as far as "you'v" in the description. Pass.

[Zaphod]

3625425
Little harsh, yeah? One spelling mistake and you won't even give it a chance?

[AlkapwnZ]

Everyone reading chapter 6, I am SO sorry about all these odd edits in my story. Including the Tart Tube, Luna's Potato Labyrinth, etc. These will be fixed as soon as I am able.