> The Equestrian Wildcards: Doughnut mess with the baker.
>  by JitteryDragon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1: The one where a filly investigates.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Equestrian Wildcards,


Doughnut mess with the baker.





'Our differences make us stronger.'
- Serenity




In the midst of an embittering winters night, the filly detective stalked her prey. The mark was Sunny Days, local mysterious stranger. She cantered down the main street with cheerfulness in every step, leaving a trail of prints in the snow that even a blind pony could have found.

Sunny was lightly clothed, a brown coat wrapped around her green fur, thick and ruffled. Her dark green mane loose in the breeze, but wings tucked tightly to provide warmth. As out of place as an orange in an apple eating contest, and yet not a care in the world. It was obvious she was not from around here, and little did this animated pegasus know that she was being watched. Cased in the distant shadows by Ponyville's greatest private eye.

No disturbances as of yet, thankfully. If there had been, notes would have to be taken, but the young earth pony had left her notebook in the second right draw in the desk right alongside a pencil, three bits and half a packet of chewing gum. Funny how she could remember all that, and yet forget to actually bring the notepad. Shame, too... some gum would have also been nice. 

On the bright side, she had brought the most important tool in any good detectives arsenal, a light brown detective's hat, for which she had been the owner of for as long as it could be fit on her head.

Oh, and there was also a camera, nearly the size of the little filly's head, that hung from a strap around her body. For so many years it had been nothing more than the family antique, destined to lay unused and unloved on the dressing table with all the other fancy discards of yesteryear... such as the vase, and that other vase. But now, with the aid of a few carefully stacked boxes, it would soon find a new use.

A hoof upon her blue scarf, she tightened it around her neck as the winters chill became less elusive. The chilly gust of wind bit at her thin purple coat, ruffled, as she began to shiver slightly with the warmth of her bedroom fire all but in a memory. Thank goodness for her leather jacket or she'd have been more exposed than Princess Celestia in that cake eating newspaper article several years ago. 

With the pressure of unpleasant weather, the wait for something to happen was beginning to feel eternal. Short patience was a fatal weakness of many a young pony, no doubt, but the filly encouraged herself to be patient knowing that the reward would be ever so sweeter. Sweet like that pack of gum in her drawer, which she really wished she had right now.

The detectives quarry rounded the corner of the street, an intersection of houses just a block behind the mayors manor, and she followed from just a short whisper behind. Light flickered from lampposts along the road, and she jumped from the shadows in between them whenever the distance became to great. 

Rounding the corner, she was met by the front of the local bakery, the large sign of a pie and fork hung from a pole and swung gently back and forth. Though no produce lay on the shelves behind this windows, a splendorous array of bakery themed decorations covered the walls of the building like it was Hearths Warming Eve all day, every day of the week.

Having stopped, the pegasus reached into a saddlebag with a wing, scrummaging for just a second before producing a ring of keys. One piece of the puzzle was answered then and there, for it was Sunny Days who had pilfered Puff Pastry's keyring. The filly detective edged closer, one hoof at a time, hugging the walls so tight she might fall through them. 

Her heart was beginning to drum rapidly, excitement filling her with the warmth she so desired. Evidence of her targets wrongdoing was unfolding neatly, and there was not an ounce of doubt in her mind she was about to receive more.

There was no way Sunny would be foolish enough to use the front door, the detective knew. No surprises then, when the pegasus rounded to the back cellar door. Armed with the whole set of keys, she had an all access pass to the bakery, and the smarts to know how to get in without drawing attention. What fun was there in pursuing a pony doomed to be caught from her own stupidity?

Sunny Days one mistake was trusting the darkness, no light could shine from lamps on this side, blocked by the wall of the building next door. Of great benefit to the would be thief, but with a cloak of shadows the detective could stalk ever closer. Her ears raised as the miscreant muttered under her breath. Needing more of something, she had said, and that something the little detective already knew.

A slight click, and the door now wide open and all inviting. Sunny Days descended the stairs, out of sight. 

The filly detective needed to know, she needed that last crucial piece of proof, but now her chest was pounding. No longer feeling the embrace of winter, but the nerves were like daggers coursing through her blood. 

What if she was seen? It was all too real a risk weighting inside her head. What would her family think of her being out in the middle of the night, chasing thieves? What would Sunny do to her? In the end it didn't matter, for she glanced down and saw her front left hoof upon the third step down. With not even one glance behind her, she continued, the thrill of the chase was too much.

Nearly pitch black, nothing more than imagination could paint a picture of the room, but her eyes were slowly adjusting. Stacks of boxes the size of a full grown pony lied in rows, giving just enough room to pass in between. The tapping of hooves in rhythm with the creaking of old wooden floorboards directed the detective like a noisy compass. Slow and purposeful with each step, she did not wish to alert her prey, especially when she didn't even know where she was.

Aha!

A small pip of light directly ahead, followed by a growing glow from a small lantern. The smell of a lit match struck the fillies nose just as the pegasus ahead of her placed it upon the floor, standing before a stack of flour bags neatly packed upon a row of shelves. You could have seen the gleaming smile that appeared on her face all the way from Canterlot.

The detective waited, still as a statue. Sunny Days was giving her everything needed, nicely packaged and wrapped with a little bow on top. From behind a wooden column she watched with one eye as the pegasus placed front hooves upon the second shelf and reached for a bag of flour. 

This one was different, the bag was striped red down the middle whereas the others were pure white.

Just like all the others that had gone missing...

The detective readied her camera.

A clanking of hollow metal sounded throughout the cellar, two times. Ears raised, she glanced down and saw the lens and shutter upon the floor, slowly rolling away from her. They certainly didn't make old antiques like they used to.

'Oh horseapples,' she snapped to herself. There would not be many happy faces at home if her family found one of their prized possessions was now in multiple pieces, and running away. The detective leapt forward and snatched the rolling lens between hooves, and an eye watched as the shutter slid rather inconveniently into a small hole in the floorboard. There were those icy daggers in the blood, again.

Being so young, the filly detectives legs were short and thus fishing for old camera parts in crevices was not a specialty, but it was either that or have to explain why the camera was now missing half of its front when it hadn't a few hours ago.

She poked out her tongue and stuck her hoof into the tiny hole in the floor, knowing almost instantly but just a little too late that this was a bad move. Pulling from the shoulder, her hoof remained in place, stuck.

'Oh double horseapples,' she said to herself, or so she had thought. When the first green hoof landed in front of her she couldn't help but slowly look up and hope it wasn't attached to anything else.

Unfortunately, it was. Sunny Days gazed down upon her with a half glare, and just a little hint of surprise. The filly sighed. 'Make that triple horseapples.'

The pegasus raised a brow. 'Oh, yes... I thought you looked familiar, you're the little girl who was following me around yesterday.' She paused, and looked sideways, then back at the filly. 'How did you even know I was going to be here?'

The detective grinned slightly. 'Oh, I put two and two together. You seemed very inquisitive about what the bakers used in their special Ponyville pastry. Then, two bags of the secret special flour just happen to go missing that night.'

She continued, pointing with unstuck hoof just behind Sunny. 'Also, you still have some flour in your tail.'

The pegasus turned back to her tail and groaned. 'Oh, typical. Scrubbed for several minutes and I still miss a spot.' She was right, though contact with water would have turned the flour into a sticky mess that would take more than a brush to pull out. A pair of scissors would be more ideal.

'Not exactly the perfect thief, are we?' The detective asked.

'You can certainly talk about professionalism, missy,' Sunny Days replied, biting her lip. Trotting back into the shadows, she returned a few seconds later and slid a bag of the red striped flour in front of the filly. 'I hope you can explain your way out of this one, you nosey little pony.'

She paused, meeting eyes with the filly detective. 'I never even got your name, will you at least indulge me? I won't tell, I promise.'

'Oracle.' She returned a cold glare as best she could to her new arch nemesis.

Sunny chuckled. 'Cute.' Then, she shrugged her shoulders. 'Well, you tried I guess. Have a nice night, don't be a stranger sweetie.' With a final wink, she dashed past the detective and up the stairs, taking two more bags of flour and the only light with her.

The door slammed shut like a cracking whip, loud enough to probably wake up half of Ponyville. Not that is mattered much, right now she was stuck in a dark cellar with her hoof stuck in a hole in the floor, carrying half of a camera, and there was now what sounded like hoofsteps one floor above her.

She calmly brought her hind legs forward, and pushed against the ground. With a light "pop", the stuck hoof slid free with a jolt that sent the little filly tumbling backwards, where the soft embrace of flour bags waited. No camera lens in hoof, and now also locked in a cellar just waiting to be caught with absolutely no explanation capable of getting her out of this one. Well, maybe some sort of explanation, but she was never very good at improvisation.

This only made her laugh. She'd gotten out of tougher spots. There was no light, but her eyes had once again adjusted and she could see an opportunity. She felt for her hat, yes, still upon her head. 

The hoofsteps were getting louder, time was growing short. Now or never.

She licked her lips, and smiled to herself.  'Let's do this.'

The door to the main part of the house burst open, light from the next room over pouring in. 'Aha! I have you this time, thief!'

Puff Pastrys eye's rounded the cellar, her face became a mixture of confusion and relief. She slowly lowered her triumphantly raised foreleg.

'Oh.'

Another earth pony poked his head in. 'Oh what?' He asked.

'I was hoping to catch someone in the act.'

'Stealing flour? Yeah, sure honey.'

'Well, I keep asking you, how else do you explain the two bags going missing?'

'Rats?'

Puff Pastry turned to her husband with a disapproving stare.

He looked left and right. 'Really big rats?'

She sighed. 'C'mon, let's take a look, at least. I swear there was a noise from down here.'

'Uh, okay. You first.'

The two earth ponies could hardly be called thorough, as the filly watched perched between the cellars wooden roof beams, all four legs holding her above and out of sight. No pony ever seemed to bother looking up these days.

Puff Pastry let out an excited squeal. 'Look, there's flour on the floor!'

'Where?'

'Over here, doofus. It leads right out the door too. I knew it, I just knew it!'

In her overconfidence, Sunny Days had left a trail of flour dust right out the door. Considering how she left some of it in her tail previously, all it took was a little luck to assume she would make another slip up, one that could be used to the detectives advantage.

Puff Pastry's husband pressed at the door with hoof. 'Hey, the doors still locked, how did they even-'

She pushed past him, unlocking the door latch and trotting outside 'Right, let’s get out there and see if we can find anything. No one steals my flour and gets away with it... for the second time, I mean.'

'Right you are, honey. Uh, you first.'

Oracle loosened her grip, and slid down the columns landing on a pile of flour bags almost like a feather if said feather was a small pony. She slid on her behind the rest of the way down, and carefully approached the steps, eyes darting between the two earth ponies just out side.

She waited, and when the chance was there she went for it without a second thought.

Out the door she sprang, right past Puff Pastry in a blur, leaving her twisting around in a circle of confusion. 'What was that?'

'I knew it, it was a giant rat! Don't worry honey, I've got them.'

Turning her ears back, Oracle could hear the earth pony gaining on her. Tiny legs had a rather large disadvantage over those of the full grown pony. Older and faster, yes, but there was no way he was as acrobatic as she.

She darted around a corner, quick to turn, even as the camera clattered against her side. More pieces falling off, but not even a chance to think about picking them up. She could only begin to imagine how many rolls of sticky tape she was going to need to fix this mess, if there was any left at the end.

It gained her a moment of respite, but she knew there was a trail of prints in the snow to follow (and camera parts). The shadow of Puffs husband loomed like a ghost over her, this pony on her tail was not giving up. Taking a deep breath, she pushed on.

Taking a detour through a small gap between two houses where the snow was scarce, she saw her salvation ahead. A tall fence erect before her and a tree resting beside it. A plan formed faster than she could actually make it up in her head. Her breath was running short as she found herself halfway up the tree. With a last mighty push, she kicked out her legs. Into the air she flew, right over the fence beside the tree with almost enough grace to be called a pegasus for just a second in her life.

The grace didn't last long enough, for as even though she tried to orient her hooves for the landing she could not do it in time. Too much to ask of her still growing body, she landed awkwardly and tripped over her own legs... feeling a sudden pain strike like a bolt of lightning through them as she proceeded to roll forwards into a pile of snow.

Oracle could hear the earth pony marching up to the front yard, and stopping suddenly. 'Oh, shoot,' he said, the detective could hear the confusion his voice. She had eluded him, now all she needed to do was wait.

'Don't... ever... do.. that... again,’ emerged another gasping voice. Puff Pastry was no athlete, that was for certain.

'Oh, but I almost had that giant rat.'

'Really, you're... going to stick with that?'

'Well dear, what else could have it been?'

'Well... it could... have been... a... um, badger.'

There was a long pause. 'A what?'

'Oh I don't know, it's cold and we are in some other ponies front yard.'

'Ah yes, so we are, honey.'

'Let's just go home and see if they took anything, if anything at all. I'll speak with one of the watch ponies tomorrow morning.'

And thus off they trotted, defeated once again by their flour pincher.

Oracle knew better, and she wouldn't let that dumb green pegasus get away so easily. Okay, maybe she would let her off this time. She felt like she had run a marathon, and the snow she had found herself in was cold as... snow. Tired and shivering, she made the call. Time to go home, and make plans for her next move.

Pulling herself out of the snow, she sneezed, covering her mouth a little too late. She hoped no pony had heard, but she doubted it. Unlike her leap of faith, her sneezes had grace. Her real concern was that she was likely to catch a cold. That warm, comfortable fire in her room sounded truly inviting right about now.

She took a step and the pain returned to her front left hoof. Must have twisted it slightly on that not quite perfect landing. Nothing serious, at least that is what she thought to herself for comfort. It hurt, it was cold... she felt miserable.

And thus the young pony hobbled home, having achieved nothing but a broken camera, twisted ankle, and probably also a cold. All in all a pretty successful night for Oracle, filly detective.

'I hate this stupid weather,' she muttered angrily to herself, sneezing a second time.

- - -

The following morning arrived too soon. That always seemed to happen to Oracle, the less time spent asleep the quicker the sun rose. As the young earth pony lay in bed with tired eyes watching the clock on the wall tick ever closer to seven she knew that spending those few hours out in the dark had been a regrettable idea.

Naturally, she had developed a slight case of the sniffles. Stick your nose out in the cold and you can always expect trouble from the fickle beast that is winter. It wasn't as bad as she had thought it would become, luckily, for a warm room and comfortable blankets were enough to prevent the onset of something more serious.

The real issue was her leg, perhaps not the actual injury itself for that was thankfully minor, nothing more than a slightly unpleasant limp and perhaps limiting her pace to a canter at best.  The problem was that she now had a healthy deep purple bruise and the unusual gait which were both bound to arouse suspicion, and if there was one thing Oracle hated it was garnering the wrong kind of attention... which happened to her all the time, now that she thought about it.

The clock struck seven, and out sprang the little grey crow. 'Caw, caw,' it muttered mechanically, caring little about its place in the world, before returning inside. She found stepping out of bed more a problem of unwillingness rather than being unable to. So warm and cozy her bed had become in the last few hours she found herself like any young filly would act when they had one hour to school and were still tired.

Yet if she had known all this was going to happen beforehand, Oracle still would have done it all the same. Well, except for the part where she failed, that bit needed some adjustments.

No point in delaying. She forced herself out of bed, stretched a little, and finally threaded out into the hallway. Down the rugged stairs, through the lounge room and into the dining room the  went. To little surprise of Oracle, she found her mother at the table with breakfast ready to go for the entire family. Said family consisted of herself, her mother and father and thus three bowls of oatmeal lay steamy and ripe for consumption.

'Oh, you're up on time.' The unicorn whom was Oracles mother already seated at the table, and looking relieved to see the young filly up. The chair meant for her moved out from under the table, mother working her magic upon it with a light purple glow. Fitting for a purple coated unicorn, one would think. 'Here I was thinking I'd have to drag you out off-'

She stilled her tongue, and tilted her head slightly with one raised brow. 'Are you alright?'

'I'm fine, mum,' Oracle replied with her tiredness very obvious. Just a little too late for the moment, she lifted herself up and tried to look fresh and ready for the day.

Her mother was more than happy to be skeptical. 'Let me guess, you were up reading most of the night again?'

'Yes, that's exactly what I was doing,' Oracle lied, seating herself at the table. 'My bad, I guess.'

Shaking her head, Oracles mother sighed. 'What did I tell you about staying up late on a school night?'

Oracle recalled not paying attention during that lecture. 'Um, don't do it?'

Mother rolled her eyes in reply. 'There was a little more than that, but you're up now and that’s good enough for me.'

Being scolded lightly for supposedly staying up late was a far better outcome than what Oracle had expected. She realized that the only thing really out of place in this little white lie was the camera, which was under Oracles bed in as many pieces as she could have recovered.

That was about the point where Oracles father trotted into the room. The white unicorn was looking slightly confused. 'Morning all,' he began cheerfully. 'Quick question, have either of you seen that camera that was on top of the cabinet?'

Oracle dropped her spoon, and her mouth stayed wide open. From home free to in deep trouble in ten seconds flat.

- - -

What remained of the old fashioned photographic device lay upon the table. If you hadn't known what it was in the first place, you may have been mistaken for thinking it was just scrap metal from some crafting experiment gone wrong. That, or modern art.

Her parents waited, all eyes on Oracle who was seated like she was in a courtroom, except without the jury to judge her fairly. 'So, care to explain?' Her mother asked.

Oracle stammered. 'So, um... maybe I wasn't up late reading.'

Mother crossed her hooves. 'Go on.'

'Maybe I was, um... outside.'

Her mother waited for her to continue, eyes seeming to bury themselves deep into her own. It seemed wiser to just avoid her gaze, lest she be turned to stone. Though, that would actually be preferable right about now.

Oracle sighed, and her head stooped low. 'I was outside... investigating.' The one word she didn’t want to use slipped out like it had many times before.

'Again?' Her mothers hoof reached her face in record time. 'Of all the things you could have been doing, you were playing pretend outside in the cold at night, when you should have been in bed. On a school day no less.'

Pretend, yes... she decided to roll with it. 'That pretty much sums it up,' Oracle replied, head still low and eyes averted.

Her mother took in a deep breath and let it back out with relief. 'Well, at least you're okay.'

Oracle looked up at her mother, confused. 'You... you're not mad?'

She took a worrying amount of time to reply. 'No, I am not angry, but I am very disappointed in you.' She leaned in close, head shaking with disaproval. 'You're such a bright little pony, Oracle. I've told you time and time again that going outside at night is not only silly, it's dangerous. You could have gotten sick in the cold, thank goodness you only have the sniffles. Worse still, you could have hurt yourself.'

Oracle placed her right leg over her sore left hoof, covering it neatly.

'There is all day after school, and the weekends, to be out playing in the sun with other ponies-'

She stopped, and looked at Oracle, who had started to bite her lip. Her mother knew full well that the little filly was not very sociable.

Mother might have said something about that, but what point was there? It had all been said before. It wasn't Oracles fault she didn't mix well with other fillies. They always seemed to avoid her, the little purple earth filly who liked to play detective by herself. Totally a normal thing to do, right? Other ponies played pirates, or pretended they were heroes in dungeons slaying dragons (as silly as that sounded). 

Then there was Oracle, “that weirdo who hangs out by herself, pretending to solve crime, and wearing that ugly hat”, to quote one particular filly in her class. That was just the beginning, too. Throwing around big words like an adult, always getting in trouble with crazy schemes and not to mention the several times when she might have gotten a little too in character with the whole thing.

There were some fillies that could be called friends, maybe. When you helped a younger pony find out who stole their lunch with a combination of clues and clever questioning. Or, when you helped another retrace their steps to find the glasses they had misplaced only a few minutes ago. It was little acts like that which got you in the good books.

And sometimes in the bad books, too, if they were suspects.

But it just wasn't easy to change a pony who just liked to be alone, doing her own thing. She'd spent so much of her life by herself, it just felt right. Being with others just made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like hurting other ponies feelings, even if they were a suspect in a mystery. And, there was no better way to avoid doing that then ensuring you never had a chance to hurt said feelings in the first place.

She shied away, avoiding both her parents gazes.

'Oh, Oracle. I know it's hard, but you need to learn to be more sociable. You can't go your entire life like this.'

Her body started to feel a little bit numb. These moments always made her feel unpleasant. 'What if I don't want to be?' Oracle replied.

'One day, you might not be able to. One day you'll be grown up, working, helping others. I know you like to think the world works your way, but unfortunately it isn't all rainbows and butterflies.'

Oracle kept quiet.

'Especially if you're running about doing this.' She pointed a hoof at the camera remains. 'You can't be breaking rules which exist to keep you safe, and not to mention breaking property.' Her mother smiled weakly, leaning towards Oracle. ‘The camera can be replaced, but you can’t. I worry about you, Oracle, truly I do.'

Of course she had to bring that up. 'I know, mum.'

'Was there anything else you wanted to say?'

She knew that was her cue, might as well humor them. 'Sorry I sneaked out at night, and broke the camera, mum. I won't do it again, I promise.'

'I hate sound skeptical of you, Oracle, but your promises are hardly trustworthy. I guess I'm just not harsh enough, even though I don't like having to punish you.'

Oracles eyes met her mothers, and the filly saw a clever smile upon her face.

'You're free to go, Oracle. Go get yourself cleaned up, and get back to bed. You can have the day off if you're sick.'

'I'm okay, mum. It's nothing serious.'

'Are... you sure?'

Oracle nodded.

'Alright, I trust you. You can head off to school soon, but your father and I need to have little discussion.'

Oracle didn't like the sound of that one bit, but she obeyed. She maintained her composure right until she closed the door into the living room, where she proceeded to hold back breaking down into tears.

She had failed, miserably.

'Oh, I've really done it this time,' Oracle managed to say, between a sniffle. 'Ponyville's worst detective, back at square one.'

She wished they could understand, but her parents never really did “get it”. Oracle tried so hard, but in the end she had still wrecked everything again.

You couldn't count with all the pebbles in the garden how many times she had been cooped up in detention for her many heroic exploits, like getting Dewdrop stuck in her own locker (it was supposed to be a distraction while she looked for clues to her having "borrowed" another ponies lunch), or that other time where she helped get that beehive down off the big tree out the back of the school yard. All that effort climbing, leaping from branch to branch with a small stick in her mouth, and Candy Heart just had to be standing directly under the hive.

There was even that one time she broke out of detention early, and how exactly did they get her for that one? Detention, of course. Because a little bit of creativity is just too hard for some ponies, apparently. It did, however, help her realize she was rather good at breaking rules.

'Rules keep you safe,' Oracle said slightly mockingly, repeating what her mother had said moments ago as she paced about the lounge room. When she had tried to obey rules (and she did try, sometimes), she just got bored so quickly. Where was the fun in just being another boring obedient filly?

How many times had she heard those very same words, now? She recalled, as cloudy as those memories were, the good old days when they never mattered at all.

The little troublemaker, that is what ponies used to call her. A more fitting nickname for a more fitting time.

They just couldn't handle the awesomeness that was Ponyville's greatest detective.

And thus she slid on the loose fitting jacket, and donned her brown hat. She had fallen down once more, but she had picked herself up and was ready to try again. Never give up, never.

Then when she finally got her cutie mark, she will have finally proved once and for all, that she had been right all along.

A minute later, she was bored. Curiosity getting the better of her once again, she placed an ear next to the closed door. Catching the end of one sentence, she listened for the next.

'Well, there is the pony that moved into the library a few days ago,' Oracles father was saying. 'I think she was asking around for an assistant. Some pony to help with getting stuff unpacked, I believe.'

Oracles interest was piqued, she remained in place.

'It wouldn't hurt,' her mother replied. 'Do you think she'd be up for Oracle, she's quite the handful.'

'That's what they said when we first asked about her.'

'It didn't stop us, did it?'

There was a shared laugh. 'No, no it didn't. It was totally worth it, though, wasn't it?'

Things went quiet for a few seconds. 'Yeah, yeah it was.'

Oracle rolled her eyes, parents always liked to be nostalgic, and also very boring. 
> 2: The one with the strange pegasus.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With absolutely no surprise, school was uneventful. The continuous cold days of winter had a way of killing productivity and draining attention. Though, even on a good day there was no cure for the pure disinterest of an easily distracted filly. 

The best Oracle could manage to prevent herself from falling asleep was such fun activities as stare at the paintings on the walls, watch a fellow filly pass a note to another, or take a quick glance out the window. Rinse and repeat for an hour for best results.

Outside, the snow blanketed the entire grounds. The exception was the road to the school, kept fresh by the groundskeeper so the young ponies wouldn't get wet hooves. A small well stocked fireplace warmed the room from the back, and there was always a struggle for seats closest come winter. The only time you will ever see fillies actually arriving early to class was this season. Naturally, Oracle had not won this contest today. 

Despite her best efforts, she still fell asleep at her desk twice, which only helped to remind how little sleep she actually had. Both times were in the maths class, just the word itself was enough to put you in a trance of boredom. With only the light crackle of burning wood to drown out a dull discussion about division, she planted her face into the desk and snoozed until she was rudely awoken by an understandably annoyed teacher, though the rest of the class found it amusing. She found the following class of history far more intriguing, a combination of interest in Equestria's event filled past and the fact that she liked Cheerilee, the teacher of said class.

Apparently she used to teach more classes, but the years had gotten to her and now she taught only one class, letting younger fresher ponies take up her stead. It was clear she loved her job, and the fillies she taught. Regardless of her behavior, Oracle was no exception.

One time whilst staying back in detention for putting gum in Dewdrops hair (another distraction), Cheerilee told the young earth pony about a handful of fillies about her age who were also blank flanks. They had banded together and would constantly get in trouble as they tried in vain to earn their cutie marks. They shared a good laugh when she told Oracle about the time they tried to fix her up with another pony for hearts and hooves day, using a love potion. It made some of Oracles schemes seem quite tame.

'I suppose they eventually got their marks?' She had asked.

'Of course. When it came down to it, all they needed was patience. With a bit of time, they figured out what made them special and eventually they all earned their marks.'

Patience. It was something Oracle wished she had just a little more of.

The last class of the day was outdoor sports. She also quite enjoyed this one, given she was an earth pony and had a lot of stamina in which to push herself, though she had to admit the joy on the faces of the young pegasi as they took to the air was always going to be more entertaining.

Today was different, thanks to her twisted ankle. She decided to play up her injury to the supervising teacher, and easily managed to get out of doing any activity. Rather than sit on the sidelines however, she waited till there was not a single eye upon her, and disappeared.

Her first destination was the general store, where she picked up the days newspaper. You'd have thought the owner a little skeptical of a filly running about when school was still supposed to be going, except Orange Rush was used to seeing Oracle nearly every day.

The unsurprisingly orange earth pony looked down over the counter. 'Afternoon, Oracle. Bit early than usual. Got the chills or something?'

'Yeah, you could say that.' She reached up on her hind legs and placed two bits on the counter.

'That's no good. Well, here's your paper dear. Try and get yourself some rest and hopefully I'll see you in good shape tomorrow, eh?'

'Hope so. Good day, mister Rush.'

The second destination was a quiet place to get to work.

On the edge of the south of Ponyville was a small mountain. The trees grew thicker down here, their leaves withstanding the harsher weather, and the shade brought with it piles of snow untouched by the afternoon sun. Lead by a small winding dirt path barely visible, Oracle carefully made her way to her second home, the tree-house.

The years had not been kind to the old place, the white paint had peeled and the roof couldn't hold rain if it tried, but it was Oracles all the same. No other filly seemed to care about it, perhaps because of it's dilapidated nature, or perhaps because it was so far away from anything of interest. Oracle really didn't think about it too much.

The front door creaked open, having seen better days in it's life as a... well, a door. Throwing the paper upon the desk where it unfolded stylishly, Oracle laid back into the chair right behind said desk, relieved to finally take a load off her sore leg. Then and there, the little filly could have fallen asleep, but she had work to do.

She opened the second right draw, and retrieved her notebook and pencil. The chewing gum beckoned, but she decided against it. The first right draw was next, where she pulled out a stuffed toy white rabbit. A bit beat up, but well dressed with a small hat and employed with a most important task.

Oracle slid the notebook to the rabbit, and stuck the pencil in-between his paws. 'Take a note, mister Hoppykins,' the filly said as she began to pace about the room, 'this is day three of my investigation of Sunny Days.'

The toy rabbit fell over.

'I have made a small mistake, and now she is well aware of what I am up to.' She trotted over to a curtain window, and opened it. A beam of afternoon light gave life to the room. 'Definitely a poor move on my part, but hopefully it will buy me more time as I suspect Sunny will be more careful in her actions. Hopefully, she will wait a few days before making another move. Make a footnote, the way she had asked so nervously about the flour in the first place does suggest a cautious nature.'

She stopped, and place hoof on cheek, tapping. 'Yes, underline that. Cautious, I could use that to my advantage later. Right, now I need to consider what she was-'

An eye fell on the front page of the paper. "Local bakery has been robbed of flour once again" the headline read, "giant rats suspected" it read underneath. Ponyville was not the place for thrilling news stories, so anything out of the ordinary instantly hit the front of the paper, leaving the article about Silver Spoons latest shoes somewhere in the middle once again. 

Perhaps a clue could be gained from this front page article.

As she seated herself and begun to read, there was a knock at the door. How inconvenient, and a little strange considering it was still school time. Even so, she swore to Celestia if it was Red Rose coming to ask if Oracle could help find her glasses, which were likely on her head...

'Door's unlocked,' the filly said with a raised voice.

The door opened. 'Oh hey, um, good day,' replied a funny accent. Oracle waited, eyes glancing sideways. 'Are you the filly detective, by any chance?'

'Didn't read the sign, did you?' She replied.

'There's a sign?'

Oracle sighed, it must have fallen off again. 'Yes, yes I am. Oracle, filly detective at your service.' She turned around in the chair to face the doorway. 'And you-'

Oracle raised her brows, what she had expected was a filly, not a young adult pegasus. A light brown coat that seemed unkempt and a little bit ragged, the winged pony wore some sort of red scarf around his neck with a... yes, it was a backward question mark, how odd. The winged pony gave a rather silly grin in return, the glasses on his nose slipped slightly with the gesture.

'Name's Cookie Crumble. A pleasure to meet you, miss Oracle,' he said with a slight bow that was a little out of place for such a... different... looking pegasus, it made the filly chuckle a little on the inside.

She was used to dealing with younger clients. 'So, somebody steal your sweet roll or something?' Oracle asked jokingly.

Cookies mouth fell open. 'W... why yes, that's exactly what happened!'

Oracle bit her lip.

Cookie Crumble was impressed. 'Wow, you are good! When that mare by the fountain said there was a filly that was actually a detective, I was totally like... yeah sure, pull the other wing, but lo and behold! An actual detective.'

'Oh stop it, you're making me blush,' Oracle said dryly.

'She said to look for the old tree-house out near the south of the village. Still took me forever to find you,' he looked around the room, 'strange place to set up shop but I guess that's how they do it in those detective movies. Only, you know... with more smoking and stuff.'

'So, about that missing sweet roll?'

'Oh yes, right. Sorry, I wander off easily, silly me.' Cookie cleared his throat. 'Okay so this morning I went to the bakery and got a roll, because I was hungry.' He trotted across the room, as if to re-enact the scene.

Oracle stared with eyes half shut, resting head upon her right hoof.

'Then I went to the park, to eat the roll. I remember,' he tapped a hood upon his chin, 'yes, I remember putting it on the bench for just a second whilst I adjusted my scarf. It was on backwards again, I'm always doing that.'

The filly detective decided not to point out it was still on backwards.

'Then I turned around and gasp!' Cookie dramatically gasped as if to climax his rather odd performance. 'It was gone!'

'In a few seconds? Just like that?'

'Yeah, just like that.'

'You realize it was probably a pigeon, right?'

'A... pigeon?'

'Yes, it's a small bird, they like to pinch unguarded food.'

'Oh I know what they are, silly... but, really... that's it?'

'Seems like the best bet.' In all honesty, Oracle did not feel like running around the park looking for clues when the answer was more than obvious. Her leg ached enough as it is and she did not want to be moving around more than necessary, especially if it was just for bird hunting.

Cookie Crumble's head stooped low. 'Oh, well gee... that sucks.' He gave a little kick with a front leg against the ground. 'It was a really special roll, too.'

'Did it have sprinkles on it or something?'

'Oh how I wish it had. It was the only one in the store, standing upon a little white marble pedestal.' You could almost hear the music start up in the background as the pegasus turned professional food connoisseur for a brief moment. 'It looked real nice and was lovingly crafted, a twisting mountain of cream and sparkling marbles of sugar... I just had to offer her an extra bit for all the effort she must have put into her work. She was so happy she even told me about how they make the rolls using their special flour.'

Oracle's heart skipped a beat. 'Wait... special flour?'

Cookie fell back onto his rear and placed both front hooves on his mouth. 'Oh no, I was totally not supposed to tell anyone about that. She asked me to promise not to mention the special flower. Aww haystacks... I've done it again.'

Could it be? There was only one way to find out.

When Cookie Crumble's eyes glanced down, Oracle was inches from his face with a wide grin. He let a little scream in surprise.

'This case of yours just took an interesting turn. Let's go for a little walk, mister Cookie.' She faced her toy rabbit one last time. 'Mister Hoppykins, keep an eye on the place for me.'

- - -

Winter had never been a kind soul to the Ponyville park. It spent most of the year rich with color and activity. Walkways winded over open patches of grass, where fillies would often play. When the time came to bring in winter, the cheer of young ponies was replaced with silence and the vibrancy was now replaced only a shade of white. Mounds of snow had left the ground bare dirt and fall had long turned the trees into nothing more than branched remnants of better seasons past. The only reason to visit this time of year was either for your morning walk around the worn out village trail, or perhaps to admire the statues of harmony.

So many times had Oracle been told the proud story of the wielders of harmony, the six ponies that had brought peace back to the troubled times. That was long past, the filly detective hadn't even been born yet. Seemed to her nothing more than an excuse for another school trip to these marble statues that depicted six mares standing side by side with heads held high. That would have been during warmer days, you'd have hardly noticed them with all the glowing white snow under the weak evening sun.

Oracle was here with her newest find, the pegasus Cookie Crumble. An odd fellow, but that was not a special quality in Ponyville, though he tried hard to prove otherwise as the two trotted along. He spoke with an accent that the young filly had never heard before. Somewhat pitched and slangy, not native to Equestria Oracle was more than certain. She'd have dug deeper, but feared hearing his entire life story. It was enough of a shock when he had passed Oracle on the way out of the tree house, having gestured with a “mares first” gallantry, and she had spotted his cutie mark.

There wasn't one.

The fact that his rump bared no mark at all got Oracles attention more than anything else. All grown ponies had a cutie mark, that's a fact she had learned in school. Well, supposedly it was a fact. She remembered asking about if there were ponies without marks, and had received a half-hearted answer about how you earned it as long as you tried. She always suspected it was because the teachers didn't want to spook young ponies who were still waiting for their marks, and the last thing they wanted to hear was that it was possible not to earn it.

Questions popped up faster than flowers in springtime, but she shook it all out of her head. There was work to do, and that came first.

The filly detective looked this way and that way, attempting to avoid the gaze of her partner as he continued to drone on about something to do with his stay in Manehatten. The land around her was bare, you'd have easily seen another pony amongst all the white if they had bother to show themselves, but for all she knew they were in their homes where they should be. Just a little, she wished to be, too.

Oracle sniffed to clear her blocked nose once again, cursing the cold under her breath. Bitter winds were picking up from the east, and the filly detective was lacking a scarf. Only her trusty hat and jacket kept the worst at bay. Thankfully, the sun at least offered respite, whereas the moon had not been so kind last night.

'Oh, oh,' chirped Cookie, pulling Oracle out of her own thoughts and back into reality. 'Here, over here was where I was standing.' He parked himself next to a green bench by the walking trail as an angered white pigeon flew off the corner. He landed himself in the large tree that was firmly entrenched next to the seat.

'I suppose you placed your roll on the bench itself, yes?' Oracle asked.

'Yeah, then I turned my back for just a second to adjust my neckerchief, like this... oh my, it's on backwards again!'

Oracle ignored him, giving a quick circle of the seat. The tree that stood by the old bench's side was without a single leaf, but her roots reached out of the ground like waves in the ocean. A time tested old beast, she was, but more to the point an easy place to conceal oneself. The trunk was thick with its age, and no doubt was still the home of many native animals with hollowed out holes and twisted branches that could hold nests.

She trotted around the other side, and began to feel a little odd. There it was again, that feeling she always got when something felt out of place. It manifested as a small tingle in her nose that grew sharper the more she focused on it. It was an itch she knew how to scratch.

Putting her mind to work, she thought about Sunny Days. She would have seen Cookie with his back turned, and got closer. Seeing an opportunity, she then would have snatched the roll, and shot into the air.

The feeling became stronger, and she could almost see Sunny doing as she had just described in her head. But, there was something else, something she hadn't been thinking about. She had been too quick, and left something behind.

Oracle stuck out her two front legs and began digging through the snow.

'Ah, there you are,' said Cookie Crumble, joining her on the other side. 'Thought I'd lost you. Say, this would be a good tree to play hide and seek behind. Um... what exactly are you-'

The filly detective had stuck her face into the snow. Seconds later, she pulled her face out, covered with powdered white with a green feather between her teeth. She spat it out, and it floated awkwardly to the ground.

'Tada, mystery solved.' Oracle grinned, brushing off the snow on her face and leaning casually upon the old tree. She slipped, and fell back into the mound.

Cookie scratched his chin. 'A green feather. But that could only mean...' his eyes widened, '...no.'

'Yes, oh yes indeed,' Oracle replied, standing back up as if nothing had happened. She took off her hat and swiped off the snow.

'I can't believe a green pigeon would steal my sweet roll!' Cookies eyes widened even further with fear. 'I didn't even know there were green pigeons.'

Oracle slapped her forehead with a hoof.

- - -

The two sat at a table at the nearby cafe, one of the few to use actual wooden stools, rather than just a pile of hay. A far cry from its neighboring park, the cafe was teeming with ponies out for an afternoon snack, or just a place to kick up their heels after a hard days work. Cookie Crumble happy munched on a lettuce sandwich whilst a small mug of warm cocoa sat next to Oracle on the opposite side.

'Her name is Sunny Days,' Oracle began after sipping a little of her drink with both hooves on the mug. 'Very thoughtless of her, leaving behind a feather. I suspect she made off into the air, which might explain why you never saw her.'

Cookie tilted his head. 'How so?'

'Did you bother to look up?'

'Ah.'

Oracle shook her head. Ponies never bothered to look up.

Cookie finished a bite of his sandwich. 'Does she live here? In Ponyville, I mean.'

'No, it's doubtful. I had never seen her before. She just showed up a few days ago out of nowhere. No pony in Ponyville really cares about who comes and who goes, I've noticed, it just happens all the time.'

'Oh, okay. That kinda explains why no pony seems to pay much attention to me when I trotted through yesterday. Everyone always looks at me funny, I think it's because I'm always getting my scarfy on backwards.'

Oracle placed the mug on the table and slid it to one side. 'I have to ask,' she said with hooves clasped together, 'what is with the question mark scarf?'

'I'll tell you, but only if you answer me a question too.'

'Fair trade. You first, though.'

Cookie leaned back in his seat. 'Well, I found it many, many years ago, when I was young. In a hallway, go figure. Kinda dirty, but I washed it and decided to try it on.'

'And I suppose you've worn it ever since.'

He nodded playfully. 'Uh huh.'

Not really much of an answer. She realized it would have been better to have asked about his lack of cutie mark, no doubt the answer to that would be more fascinating.

So she did.

This made Cookie excited, as he jumped slightly in his seat. 'Oh, does that mean I get two questions, too?'

'Yeah,' Oracle replied with a slight roll of the eyes.

'Okay, fire away!'

'Where's your cutie mark?'

Cookie just stared in return, meeting Oracles own stare as she waited for an answer. 'I... don't really know.'

She raised a brow. 'Surely there's more than that?'

Cookie Crumble smiled nervously. 'Well, I mean I was traveling these last few years without a... um... cutie mark, I just... well, got used to not having one.' He took a brief glance at his rear. 'Is... is it important to have one?'

'Not that I know of.'

Cookie settled down, his raised posture easing back. 'Phew, that's a relief.'

Oracle also eased back, but more in disappointment, having leaned in closer out of interest. 'Not much of an answer, but an honest one, I guess. So, how old are you?'

'Oh, does that mean I-'

'Yes,' Oracle grumbled.

'Cool!' He tapped his head for a second, you could almost hear the gears in his head turning. 'I'm twenty two years, I think.'

'Really?'

'Yeah, um... is that a problem?'

'Oh, not at all. I was just curious.' Oracle thought he was a little more childish than his age would suggest. 'I'm only nine, by the way.'

'Wow, you seem so smart for a nine year old filly.'

She waved a hoof. 'Oh please, I get that all the time.'

'Here I was thinking I was super smart.'

Oracle gritted her teeth, trying not to laugh. 'What makes you say that,' she asked, having regained some composure.

'Oh, I've been wandering around for so many years  I kinda just pick things up as I go along. Been to nearly every continent, and-'

She leaned in. 'You can't be serious. You've been around the world?'

'Oh yeah. Learned a lot of stuff, too. My mentors taught me everything else I needed to know before they sent me on my way, too.'

Oracle looked away from Cookie, did she hear him right? 'Mentors?'

'Oh yes, I was born in a secret ninja pegasus monk sanc... sanctu... tu... uhhhh,' he paused, trying to find a word he could pronounce, 'big temple thingy.' Looking proud of himself, his face suddenly became one of shock. 'Oh... um. Actually, forget I told you that... it's supposed to be a secret.'

Oracle rolled her eyes, once again, not believing a word he had said. 'I'll try my best.'

'Yay, thanks miss Oracle. Okay, my turn.'

'Your turn? For what?'

'Questions.'

'Oh right. Well, go ahead then.' She took another sip of her cocoa.

'How many do I get, again?'

'I lost count, to be honest. Just ask me anything you want'

'Alrighty. Um... well, I don't know what to even ask.'

'Go for what's on the top of your mind then.'

'That's a good idea! Okay... um... hm... uhhhhh.'

'Before tomorrow, please.'

'Ooh, ooh, I know. How did you get that?' He pointed a hoof right at the bruise on her left leg.

When she actually bothered to look at it, she noticed it had gotten bigger and more obvious than it had been this morning.

'Ah, this. Well-' for a moment, she thought of lying as she had with her parents, but since Cookie already knew about Sunny she decided to try and be just a little bit honest for once. 'I got this after I jumped a fence. Was trying to get away from the bakers after Sunny Days tried to lock me in their cellar.'

'You jumped a whole fence?'

'Ran up the side of a tree, and shot off right over it.'

'Cooool.'

'Um, yeah, I guess. Unfortunately, the landing was rather poor, and I twisted it. Doesn't really hurt that much, just kinda feels a little off when I put weight on it. Thank goodness I'm just a little filly huh?'

'Yeah, thank goodness. Last time I fell, it was off a cliff after kicking a hydra in the face a few times.' He proceeded to go back into explaining his actions with motion. 'Shows up out of nowhere, and nips me on one of my wings as I'm trying to get away. Then he has the nerve to bowl me off the side of this cliff where I landed kinda funny on my back leg. Felt fine for a while, just a little bruise like yours... then it suddenly got really swollen up a few days later and I couldn't walk on it for weeks.' He laughed. 'I thought I'd have to get it cut off.'

Cookie paused, and tilted his head slightly. 'Are... you okay?'

Oracle had whitened up a few shades. 'Oh, I'm fine. I think I better get going, parents would be getting worried if I don't show up soon.'

'Oh, but what about Sunny Nights?'

'Sunny Days, and we'll do that tomorrow. No school, so how about I meet you here square on lunchtime?'

'I'll be right here, well, not right on this spot.'

'Excellent. Then, a good day to you, Cookie Crumble.' Oracle slid gently off her chair, and faced the brown pegasus one last time, giving him a little bow just like the one he had given her.

Cookie watched the filly waddle off with a slightly odd limp. 'What a strange little pony,' he said to himself with a chuckle. Gazing down, he gasped in sudden realization. 'Gadzooks! I'm holding a sandwich!'

- - -

The filly detective had lost her nerves. What a nice little coincidence, meeting that pegasus, Cookie Crumble. Though a feather wasn't much proof, it was enough in Oracles mind to pursue further. Sunny Days was clearly desperate, resorting to stealing rolls. Perhaps, Oracle wondered, she'd been spooked by last night, and was resorting to an easier target. That, or she was just hungry.

This roll supposedly had the same ingredient as the flour she had been stealing before. Maybe even just a little was enough for what ever she was doing.

That begged an even bigger question that Oracle hadn't even really thought about. What was she doing?

Having just come into view, Oracle saw her father standing by the front door of their two story house. He had already spotted the young filly as she trotted over the last hill to match eyes with him. It didn't take more than a second to realize that she was in trouble, again.

'I know what gave it away,' she began as he approached with a canter, stopping him is his tracks. 'It's nothing serious, I just fell on it a little funny as I-'

She bit her bottom lip, then let out a sigh with eyes to the ground. 'You're not going to buy it this time, I'm guessing?'

'Not one bit,' her father replied. 'There's someone here who wants to talk to you.'

'I see,' she said with nerve thick in her voice. 'Whom?'

'Puff Pastry, the local baker.'

Oracles brain seized for just a moment, and the words dribbled out. 'Horse apples.'

So there sat Oracle with the gaze of both her parents, joined by the blue earth pony Puff Pastry. She wore a set of trimmed glasses on her nose, something that Oracle had noticed often when Puff was working at the counter.

Oracle didn't even wait to be asked. She spilled the beans like they had just tipped out of a fallen water tower full of them. The entire story so far of Sunny Days, and how Oracle has sensed something odd about her daily habits, then followed her just the other night to try and get evidence of her wrongdoing. It took everyone else at the table back about how honest the young filly was. She explained with vivid detail, as if to prove that she was telling the truth for once in her life. Not a single detail was left missed as she spoke with stutters and nerves as only a filly could when put in the spotlight.

'Well,' her mother began with a long breath, 'at least you're being honest.'

'I'll say,' said her father. 'You could have written a nice long book with all that.'

Puff Pastry adjusted her glasses, and Oracles eyes fell on hers. 'Well, now things kind of make more sense,’ she began. ‘When you leapt out the cellar I was certain it was you I saw. I wasn't entirely sure, since you sped by so fast... but I knew only one little purple filly that wears a hat and jacket.'

Oracle took a personal note to wear her hat less often on stakeouts.

'I had no idea why a filly of all things would be in our cellar at night, so after we cleaned up in the morning I came by here to ask. Just to ask, mind you, not probe or make accusations... or anything like that.'

'Yeah, it was me... and I'm really sorry,' Oracle said.

'Oh, don't be. No harm was done on your part. My husband and I are going straight to the watch so we can see about this Sunny Days. It's good we know who it was at the very least, that's more than I could have hoped for.'

An eye fell on the watch upon her front left leg. 'Goodness, it's getting late. My poor husband will be stuck behind the counter with no idea what he's doing.' She unseated herself, and gave a small nod. 'Thank you for the tea by the way, Heartfelt, we should do this more often.'

Oracles mother smiled. 'If you have the time, of course.'

'I can always make time for a friend. A good rest of the evening to you all.'

Puff Pastry gave one last wave as she left out the front door, looking as though she had gotten a load off of her shoulders. Oracles father closed the door, and returned to the table. Now the filly knew things were going to get serious.

'I want to know one thing,' her mother said, 'and that is why you thought it was a good idea to go out into the cold and chase after a thief in the middle of the night by yourself.'

'I didn't know she was a thief, mom. I needed evidence to prove it, there was nothing but suspicion before last night.'

'And of course your first instinct was to not tell a watch guard or perhaps... oh, I don't know... your parents?'

Oracle felt cold inside. 'Mom, I just-'

'Then you go and injure yourself, and try and hide it? What were you thinking? Seriously, Oracle-'

'I JUST WANTED TO DO SOMETHING RIGHT, OKAY?!'

The room was silent for several seconds after the burst of sound from the young filly's mouth echoed through the room. Tears began to stream slowly from her face.

'No one ever listens to me,’ she continued. ‘You all think I'm just a little trouble maker. I try and do things right, and I just get in trouble anyway. I try and tell the truth, and no pony listens to me.'

She wiped an eye with a hoof, staring at the floor. 'I hear what everypony says behind my back... oh, that little Oracle is just making stuff up. I can't do anything right.'

'If that's the case, why are you the highest graded student in your class?'

Oracle looked up at her mother.

'You think don’t I bother to ask how my own daughter is doing at school? You don't think I bother to make sure she's okay because I love her?'

'But...'

'It's not about doing right, is it Oracle?'

She didn't say a word.

'I talked to Cheerilee. She says you're the best in the class. You're smart, always get your work done on time... and you stop to help other fillies with even the most trivial issues, even if your methods are sometimes, well, a little poorly thought out.'

Her mother looked at her father, and shortly after the two of them back to Oracle. 'We talked, and we know why you do what you do. You want to be a detective, and earn your cutie mark.'

Oracle did not speak, she didn't need to. They were right.

'You do everything you can to earn it, it's why you work hard and help others. It's why you go out at night doing such silly and dangerous things. You think that doing so will somehow earn your mark. And then, when they don't, you try harder and more dangerous things.'

'Mom...'

'Yes, Oracle?'

'Why me?'

Her mother raised a brow, looking puzzled.

'Why did you pick me?'

'Oracle...'

'You could have had any filly, and yet you chose to take me home. What made me so special?'

Her mother was quick to answer. 'Because when I looked at you, and you looked back at me... well, I just felt you were the one. I know it's not much of an answer, but it's honestly what I felt. Your father was a little concerned of your rough around the edges nature, but any issue we may have had was long lost when we brought you home.'

'We'd never seen you as happy as the day we brought you here to our home,' her father said. 'I guess a better question might be why you wanted to be here?'

It was a good question, but one Oracle didn't really know the answer to. She remembered just how much joy she felt inside having first arrived. Any nerves as the wagon had pulled up to the house were lost when she first set eyes upon the two story wooden house. New opportunities, a new life. Freedom.

But even more, Oracle finally had a mother and a father. She had felt that she was finally loved.

It was enough to make her smile, though weakly.

'Do you understand, then?'

'I do, mom... sort of.'

'You're still just a filly, Oracle. You have a lot of life ahead, and you should really be making the most of what you still have as a young pony before the big world catches up to you.'

Her parents looked at each other, and shared a nod. 'We've made a decision.'

'About what?'

'A fitting punishment.'

'Oh, right... that.'

'There's a unicorn that moved into a house up by the observatory about a week ago, and has been looking for someone to help with simple chores and some other minor work.'

'I know where this is going,' Oracle sighed.

'Consider it a way to make a friend and get out some more. Her name's Sparky Scamper, and she was very intrigued when we told her a bit about you. Said she'd loved to meet a filly detective, and maybe even had a few jobs for her.'

This made the young filly come to attention. 'Truly?'

'You'll have to find out for yourself.'

'Tomorrow, I guess?'

'Yes, around lunch time she said would be the best time.'

Midday? Shoot... that was when Oracle was supposed to meet with Cookie Crumble.

'Oh, but mom-'

'No buts, I'm afraid. This is still supposed to be a punishment, after all... though one we feel would be better suited for you.'

'Yeah... I know, mom. I understand.'

'Now, I know you're a little hard to trust, especially recently, but if it would make you feel more comfortable you can go by yourself or have either me or your father accompany you.'

Oracle appreciated the choice. 'I can go by myself. I'll be careful, of course.'

'I know you will be, you're a bright filly for your age... it's time you made the most of it.'
> 3: The one with the astrologist unicorn.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wait for morning felt eternal. As cliche as it might sound, there was no ignoring the slower passage of time that night brought. Oracle stared at the roof, lying in bed, unable to sleep. She thought endlessly about how things could go wrong tomorrow, as the hours passed by. Would this unicorn, Sparky, like her? What about Cookie, she had promised to meet him at the cafe. And, of course, Sunny Days was still roaming free. Trivial issues, no doubt, but that didn't help her fall asleep. So much for being tired.

Starting her second day feeling less than energetic, she ate a readied breakfast, donned her hat, buttoned up her jacket and shortly after decided to head off early rather than wait. The filly bid her mother farewell with a hug and a kiss.

She adjusted her hat, the breeze trying its best to steal it away. A plan was formed in her mind, deciding her first priority should be to find Cookie Crumble. She hoped that with a little luck she could bump into him at some point, given that she had left early for that very reason. Perhaps that was asking a bit too much of good fortune, but it was better than nothing. Oracle had to admit, though, she was not on good terms with lady luck.

It felt good to be outside. The air was bitter as she took a breath through her nose, but clear and fresh. A cloudless sky, and the warmth that came with it, was putting the little filly detective in a good mood. She started to skip a little down the road as her imagination wandered into more positive territory.

Her leg felt much better. The bruising had settled, and blended in well with her purple coat. Before she had left. father had applied a small swab of bandaged cotton with some sort of ointment upon it that warmed the spot, numbing away any bad sensation that would have been there otherwise.

With plenty of time to spare, she decided to get the morning paper. The weekend Equestrian Times was thicker than the weekdays, filled with smaller magazines and topical pieces... and as such, a good read for a bright young mind that liked to stay in the loop.

'Morning, Oracle,' Orange Rush said as the filly trotted into the store. 'Bit earlier than usual... oh, but hey, you're looking a lot better than yesterday.'

'Indeed I am, mister Rush.' She placed the usual two bits on the counter, and was away with the paper in mouth. Oracle left with the sound of a bell ringing as the door closed behind her.

'That filly is so unusual,' Orange said to himself, head shaking slightly. 'Looking so miserable one day, then happy as can be the next.'

The same cafe as yesterday served as a good place to read. Not only that, but to her it seemed the best place to spot Cookie Crumble given its centralized location. She could see over to the park, and Cookie had made mention of being one to walk through it occasionally.

Another fun little activity was always making eye contact with other ponies sitting about. The way they tried to avert their gaze, fix eyes on their meals or even hide behind a wall of printed paper was entertaining to the filly detectives young mind. Even better, it was only helping to keep her in the cheery mood she was in.

Odd though, how that one pony across the cafe was buried so deep in her newspaper that only green hooves stuck out the side. Oracle watched as she unseated herself and yet maintained that barrier between the two of them. How strange.

Strange right up until the hidden pony bumped into another table, knocking a cup of hot coffee into a seated ponies lap, and let the paper slip from hooves.

Sunny Days stared back at Oracle awkwardly. The filly detectives jaw swung open, the rest of her completely frozen in place as it tried to catch up with her brain.

The two enemies shared a long distance stare down. The pony next to Sunny screamed, 'My pants! Hot coffee on my pants! Bonbon is going to kill me!' It drew the attention of other ponies. A small crowd was gathering to help, a crowd that would soon separate predator from prey.

Oracle made the first move. Springing over the table, she landed on another, sending the breakfast upon it into the air. Then, she leapt to another, letting her back legs do the work.

'Oh bother,' Sunny cried out, 'not you again! Don't fillies ever learn not to get involved in adult affairs?'

'Not until I get some answers, Sunny.'

The green pegasus gave a wicked grin. 'Okay, I'll play. Gotta catch me first, though.'

Oracle gave a mighty leap from the last table separating the two, just as Sunny Days shot into the air like a launching rocket, leaving the filly detective to grab at nothing but air, and shortly after bury her nose in the ground.

'Horse apples,' Oracle muttered, spitting out dirt.

'Goodness, are you okay?' Asked a familiar sounding voice. Oracle lifted her face, looking up at Cookie Crumble.

It seemed to her at that very moment luck was on her side, finally.

Cookie reached out with a hoof. 'There was all this co... comm... ot... uh... stuff happening over here, whilst I was out for a little walk. Didn't think I'd see you of all ponies hopping across tables.'

Oracle picked herself up with the aid of Cookie, and immediately circled him so she could hop onto his back.

'Oh, um... what are you doing?'

'We need to catch that green pegasus up there.'

Cookie Crumble looked up, and spotted the green blur flying into the distance. His eyelids focused, and then he turned to Oracle.

'Aye aye, captain. Hold on tight.'

Oracle suddenly regretted this plan. The regret only grew stronger when she found herself in the air a split second later, hooves clutching to Cookies sides as hard as they could. She couldn't help but scream loudly as this happened.

Cookie noticed that Sunny Days was not moving at full speed, possibly not expecting an aerial surprise. She was vulnerable, and he decided to make the most of it.

'Wait, Cookie!' Oracle shouted over the growing howl of wind past her ears. 'COOKIE, NO!'

Sunny Days' own ears shot up, and she turned to see Cookie flying towards her like an arrow shooting for its target.

Her face drooped. 'Oh, what the-'

Her right wing was just clipped by his front right hoof, and it was enough to knock Sunny out of her careful glide and into a spinning dive, leaving only a small batch of floating feathers where she was moments ago.

Cookie Crumble slowed down until he was merely hovering, with the filly detective clasping for dear life on his back. 'Did we get her?' He asked to his companion.

'Down there,' Oracle pointed, seeing Sunny Days recover from her spinning and dart in-between two houses on the main street. 'She's going to try and lose us in all the buildings. Stay above her, Cookie.'

'Roger that, Oracle. You right back there?'

She felt like a filly who had only recently eaten breakfast and now was being tossed about in the air. 'I'm fine, let's go.'

At a more appropriate speed, Cookie Crumble scanned across the main roads and then through the backstreet behind the mayors office.

Glancing forward, Oracle spotted a green blur, moving north. 'There she is, heading for the mountains.'

'It's misty up there, and there's trees too.'

'Yeah, I think she wants to lose us in the fog. Are you any good at clearing fog. Cookie?'

'Not really, I'm sorry.'

'Just keep trailing her, and we'll take to the ground when we have to.'

'Okay, miss Oracle. I'm on it.'

As she left through the last of the alleyways and out into the open north of Ponyville, Sunny Days bolted back into the air and up through the last houses. She was fast, Oracle noticed. Too fast, Cookie might not be able to get a second chance.

'She's too fast. Dive Cookie, dive!'

'Oho! Watch this!' Cookie Crumble suddenly dived, and he picked up incredible speed. It took Oracle by surprise so much she had no time to grab hold,which was enough to send her flying off Cookie's back. With a loud scream, she lashed out with hooves, and grasped tightly to the first thing she touched.

Cookie Crumble shot through the air and down towards Sunny with the filly detecting hanging onto his tail. She saw the two of them coming, and dodged sideways between two houses. Cookie hit the ground, legs out and hooves burying into the snow. It took him a moment to build up speed again, with wings flapping frantically.

'You're good, you two,' Sunny shouted from just about twenty yards ahead of them. 'Let's see how good you really are, come and get me.'

Sunny galloped up the mountain, and towards one of the last houses on the edge of the town. She turned suddenly, shooting through an open window.

'Aha, we got her now!' Cookie shouted.

'Wait!' Oracle screamed, with one hoof barely grasping to Cookies tail, and the other to her hat. 'Don't do it! Oh horse app-'

Cookie fired on through the open window and towards another open window on other side of the room. A rear leg clipped the table in between, and sent the unlucky brown pegasus downwards face first into the wooden floor. He slid the rest of the way across, then came to a sudden stop with his head inside a cupboard, cereal from an open packet pouring all over his face.

Oracle felt a little dazed, having let go just in time for a lighter crash landing, but quickly regained her composure when she saw the now sideways table she had slid under tipping down upon her. Rolling out of the way, the table crashed into the ground with a loud bang. As the room fell quiet, she let out a deep breath, and just lay there with eyes on the roof.

A light grey unicorn sat in her wheelchair, with a spoon still hovering in place where her breakfast had been just moments ago. She looked sideways awkwardly, then focused on Oracle. 'Well, you're certainly early,' she said, 'but the door is on the other side of the house.'

'Ow,' moaned Cookie from underneath the sink. 'I think I booped my noseykins...'

- - -

The day hadn't even really begun, and there was already much work to do. For a start, Oracle was once again defeated by the green pegasus, Sunny Days, having been eluded by nothing more than an open window... and perhaps, as much as she didn't wish to admit it, a clumsy mount.

Said mount, Cookie Crumble, sat in the kitchen corner with a neatly packed ice bag over his nose. He hadn't really said much since putting his head into a cupboard and bleeding just a little from his nose, leaving droplets scattered about the floor, but the filly detective knew he felt terrible. It was a little less obvious of whether it was because of having failed Oracle in the chase, or because he had managed to bring mass destruction to some ponies kitchen.

And of course, it just had to be the new pony she was supposed to be meeting.

The grey unicorn, Sparky Scamper, wiped the last of the mess from the now righted table. It had taken the combined effort of all three ponies to bring it back around after having been stylishly tipped over. With a little bit of elbow grease and time, the room looked almost as though it hadn't even been touched. Except for the cupboard near the sink, that looked like a pegasus had ploughed through it face first.

Sparky clasped her hooves together. 'There, all done,' she said, the cloth hovering in mid air with the aid of her magic was tossed aside and landed in the sink with perfect accuracy. She leaned back in her wheelchair, looking relieved. 'That was some breakfast,' she continued with a chuckle.

Oracle pinned her lips. She had already apologized several times, and had been told every single time not to worry, which didn't make her feel any better.

'Speaking of which, coffee any pony?' Sparky asked. 'By Celestia, I need a fix if I'm ever going to wrap my head around what happened.'

Oracle opened her mouth, but Sparky shot out a hoof. 'Relax, champ. I know what you're going to say, and it's fine. Really, it is. If anything, that's the most entertainment I've had all week. Well, except when your friend over there bled all over the floor.'

'It was only a little,' said Cookie innocently, muffled from behind the ice pack.

'I know I've apologized like crazy, Oracle said, 'but I feel as though I've made a terrible first impression.'

Sparky nodded, and started tapping her chin in thought. 'Okay,' she finally said, 'here's how we'll fix that.' She rolled over to Oracle. 'Head outside to the front door, and then go ahead and knock.' She then looked over to Cookie, 'you two, big guy.'

'Can I keep the ice?'

Sparky rolled her eyes, 'yes...'

Oracle did what she was told, and Cookie and herself stood outside Sparkys house at the now closed front door.

She tapped a front hoof on the frame, three times. 'Just a second,' came the call from inside the house. Not long later, the door open, and there sat the grey unicorn Sparky scamper in her wheelchair. A glowing brush ran through her purple mane, which ran past her neck. She played with a chained necklace around her neck, a small skull hanging off it.  'Oh hello there,' she said in false surprise, looking up at the two ponies, 'you must be Oracle, please come in. Ah, and of course you too... Cookie, was it?'

Cookie nodded, accidentally dropping the ice pack on the ground as he did. 'Oh fiddlesticks.'

'Could I help either of you to coffee?'

'I don't really like coffee,' Oracle said. Truth be told, the last time she had a cup, she was bouncing off the walls like a rubber ball.

'Well, you must be exhausted from helping me clean up... er... I mean trotting all the way up here.' Sparky had opened up the fridge, and stuck her head right in. 'How about some milk? Orange juice? Wait a sec, how the hay did the peanut butter get in here...'

'I guess some juice would be fine.'

'Thank the heavens, I didn't really want to list off everything in this house just to try and get you a drink. You realize you look pretty darn tired, right?' As she said this, the lid to a jar of peanut butter held in her left hoof whirled off with the green aura.

'I didn't sleep well,' Oracle admitted.

'It wasn't because you were so excited to meet me, was it?' Sparky stuck her right hoof into the jar, and a dollop of caramel colored peanut butter was quickly shoved into her mouth.

'There was a lot of reasons.' The filly paced about the room, turning her back to the others. 'So much happened yesterday, then just this morning,' Oracle's face tightened. 'I almost had her.'

Sparky swallowed the mouthful of peanut goodness. 'You mean the other pegasus that went through my window?' Her hoof went straight for a second scoop straight away.

'Yes! Sunny Days, I've been following her for the last few days because I suspected she had been stealing the bakeries flour... and I was right!'

'Aha!' Sparky shot out with her left hoof, spattering peanut butter over Cookie Crumbles face. 'That's right, you're a detective. And here I was thinking the hat was just for decoration.'

'Yeah, I'm supposed to be a detective... oh my...' Oracle glanced sideways to see a glass of juiced slide across the table towards her. She hadn't even noticed Sparky pouring the glass. 'You're really good at that.'

'The telekinesis? Yeah, I get lots of practice, go figure.' She shrugged. 'I can do all sorts of things without even paying attention,' she laughed, 'it's great. There isn't a jar in the world that I cannot undo, especially if it has-' she shoveled another scoop of peanut butter into her mouth. 'Oh yeah, that's good.'

Oracle smiled.

Cookie Crumble brightened up, having wiped off most of the peanut butter off his face (and putting it in his mouth). 'Oh, oh! Can you do any other tricks?'

'You bet your hide I can. Check this out.' With a flash of brilliant white, Cookie Crumble and Oracle unshielded their eyes to see that Sparky had disappeared.

A voice echoed from upstairs. 'Teleportation, baby!'

Another explosion of white. 'Boom, and back again.' Sparky extended her arms. 'That's right, shower me with applause, go ahead.'

Cookie Crumble stamped the floor with his two front hooves. 'Again, again!'

The wheelchair mare half closed her eyes, and looked to Oracle. 'I get the feeling I'd get the same result if I just played peekaboo with him.'

Oracle spat out her juice, laughing.

Cookie, on the other hand, looked mildly offended. 'Oh please, I'm a real grown up... I swear!' He decided not to ask what peekaboo actually was.

'I might need proof of that, but I'll take your word for now.'

'I must admit,' Oracle began, 'I've always been fascinated by unicorns. My mom and dad are too, I suppose you know that already though. Always wished I could just move things with a wave of a horn.'

'It's great and all, but it wears you out real quick if used too much. I mean like, you get headaches and everything. Earth ponies have the advantage of being real goers I've heard.'

'Oh, yeah, I guess. I can trot around for hours. Well, I mean I could, but right now I've got this.' She nosed her injured leg.

'Hah, that's nothing, I'm sure you'll walk it off. As for these two-' Sparky pointed to her own rear legs, '- this I can't walk off.'

Oracle and Cookie stared at her, and the unicorn rolled her eyes. 'Oh relax, I make fun of myself all the time.'

The filly detective couldn't help but take the occasional glance at Sparkys wheelchair. It was similar to ones she had seen in the hospital, albeit this one was obviously modified. The seat, a light green, looked handmade with the occasional small tear. The back wheels were as tall as the filly, dark green tires were thick but well worn. A metallic skull attached to the center of the wheels on each side, a nice artistic touch from its occupant, undoubtedly.

Oracle finished the last of her juice, and placed the glass back on the table. 'I guess I might as well ask now, since it is inevitable anyway.'

Sparky was way ahead of her, leaning an elbow on the table. 'I was eight when it happened. It was a nasty fall, I can tell you that much.'

Oracle took a moment to compute. 'Only eight? You were just a little filly. Oh my, wow. That... well...'

Sparky waved a hoof, looking away from the detective. 'I got over it years ago. Life moves on, nothing more, nothing less.

The room was quiet for a moment, until Sparky continued. 'And this is why I'm not a big fan of talking about it, it just makes everyone feel awkward.'

'I'm always awkward,' Cookie said.

'It's been firmly established,' Sparky replied, before turning back to the filly detective. 'Now, if I remember correctly, I actually asked you here for a reason, Oracle.'

'You needed help with chores and such, I was told?'

'That's an understatement. I needed help moving stuff from the lounge room to the basement. Not heavy things, just a lot of bits and pieces I never got around to touching since I moved in last week.'

'I'm guessing constant back and forth teleportation was not a good option?'

'Not if I wanted to spend a whole week with a throbbing headache, then no. I also get nosebleeds if I jump around too much, or if I teleport too far in one shot. Mind you, it's also been a busy week for me.'

'How so, if I may ask?'

'I came here to make use of the observatory on behalf of furthering my studies in Canterlot. I'm an astrologist, go figure, huh? Ponyville has one of the best views of the stars in all of Equestria.'

'I've been told that about a million times at school. They like to brag about it, quite a lot.'

'Well, it's true. No light pollution, and the pegasi here have a tenancy to keep the cloud cover scarce... or so I've been told. Couldn't turn down an offer to work at a place like that. Affordable rent, too, and also I must admit, there's the peace. Not that I've gotten much quiet around here. The first day I arrive this pink pony shows up and throws me a party in my own house. Now that... that was a weird day.'

'You get used to the weirdness,' Oracle said.

'I'm not one to judge others, but I certainly need some sanity in this place, no offense,' Sparky looked over to Cookie Crumble.

'None taken,' he replied with a grin.

'You'll have me for a while,' Oracle began. 'Kind of got in trouble a few times, and this is  my... repayment, so to speak. Not that I...' she looked up at Sparky, whom had raised a brow, '...I mean, I'm glad to be here.'

'Oh, you break my heart!' Sparky placed a hoof on her chest, stretching out like she was in some sort of dramatic play. Oracle stared nervously, and the wheelchair mare had to wave her off again. 'Oh, I'm kidding. Lighten up, champ.'

'Sorry. I'm just a little on edge, from all that's happened the last few days.'

'Yeah, fair enough. Tell you what, Oracle, why don't we get this work of mine out of the way? Then, you can tell me all about your adventures.'

'Oh,' chirped Cookie, 'can I help too?'

'Well, since you're here. Every little bit counts, I guess.'

He have a little jump of excitement. 'Just you watch, I'm the bestest worker in the whole world.'

- - -

Cookie Crumble lay upon the lounge room couch, fast asleep. The only couch, mind you, a unicorn that was permanently seated had little use for such fancy furnishings, and thus this part of the house felt quite bare. There was a fireplace, of course. You couldn't get a house without one these days thanks to the uncomfortable winters, it was basically a construction requirement.

Oracle sat close to the warmth of the burning wood, rubbing her numbing front hooves together. Sparky, meanwhile, sat in her chair next to the fire, but facing Cookie on the opposite side of the little room.

'He's certainly a hard worker,' she said. 'Even if he's... uh... not all quite there, in the head. Where in all of Equestria did you find him?'

'He found me,' Oracle replied. 'Lost a sweet roll, and it tied in with my investigation of Sunny Days.'

Sparky raised a brow. 'He lost... a sweet roll?'

'It was stolen, actually. To be fair, Sunny is quite quick on her wings. When I saw her flying this morning, she was... incredible.'

'Considering she made a perfect dive through my house, I might be able to agree on that. Afraid I can't give the same praise to your friend here.'

Cookie Crumble turned over, and scratched an ear in his sleep. 'But, I don't want to feed the dragon,' he mumbled to himself.

The other two stared for a moment.

Oracle faced Sparky. 'He tried, that's all I can say. Suppose I should have been more shocked that he so willingly followed my orders after hopping onto his back. Any other pony would have just looked at me funny.'

'Well, that's what friends do, I guess,' Sparky said.

Oracle placed a hoof against her chin. 'He's more of an acquaintance, really. We only just met yesterday, and I'm just helping him out.' She paused, and thought for a moment. 'He... helped me out, too.'

A friend indeed.

Sparky shrugged her shoulders. 'Well, he seems nice enough.' Though, honestly, she found his childish nature a little inappropriate, even if he was a surprisingly hard worker. Still, Ponyville was a new experience for her, and thus so were its odd inhabitants.

Sparky turned her head away, and when Oracle faced her she could swear that Sparky was looking distant, for just a moment.

'Is something wrong?' Oracle asked with head tilted.

'Nah, nothing. Just a little worn out.' Sparky stretched her upper body, forelegs in the air and yawning loudly. It seemed just a little fake to Oracle, but she ignored it.

The filly detective looked up at the clock above the couch, three hours had passed. 'It really didn't feel that long, I must admit.'

'It really wasn't when you think about it. Getting all that stuff down there would have taken me days.'

'I felt a little useless, though, given that you two could carry so much more than me. And my leg made it a little harder, even if it really isn't that bad any more.'

'Oh, come off it. You did a good job for your age, Oracle.'

The filly smiled in appreciation. 'Thank you, Sparky.'

'However, you do look absolutely wrecked. I think you should get home and have a rest before you pass out on the floor, and start babbling in your sleep like your friend here.'

'Yeah, I probably should. Mom and dad might get worried if I'm not back soon. Not sure how long they even expected me to be out for, thank goodness we got an early start, right?'

'Agreed, because now I can spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping.'

'I like that idea very much, to be honest.' Oracle looked over to where Cookie lay, a hoof now firmly stuck in his mouth. 'What about him?'

'Oh, he can bunk here for a while, I don't mind.'

The filly paused for a second. 'Now that I think about it, there was something I wanted to ask of Cookie, but I guess it can wait till tomorrow.'

'Good idea. Now go home before you fall asleep.'

Oracle yawned. 'Yes, right.'

Sparky waved goodbye to the little filly as she donned her hat once more and waddled off down the path that led back to Ponyvilles center. 'What an awesome filly,' she said to herself. Tapping a hoof to her chin, she thought deeply. 'Sunny Days, that name sounds familiar, but why?'

'Oh no, watch out for the giant rolling cheese,' Cookie cried out in his slumber, pointing a hoof into the air.

'I regret that decision already,' Sparky said with eyes half closed, shutting the door behind her.

- - -

When he woke up the next morning, Cookie felt really good. He'd spent a few hours passed out on the wheelchair mares couch, and then snuck out a back window shortly after he awoke. The rest of the day was spent rolling in the grass, flying around, and making faces at the clouds... which was always a fun thing to do. Clouds were always so understanding.

As the sun had set, he had found a nice quiet spot underneath the roof of Ponyvilles old bell tower, flying in through the massive archway windows that stretched across all four sides. Ponies rarely came up here, only on special occasions. Apart from the massive brass bell that hung from a horizontal column in the middle, there wasn't much else in the room bar some discarded boxes and a small pile of rubbish. Tired once more, he laid his head on a small pile of discarded hay inside a small wooden box tipped sideways.

The sound of a distant rooster picked up his ears, and eyes opened to witness the sun crawling over the horizon. Cookie stretched his back legs like a cat, then his front, and finally gave his whole body a little shake. Reaching out with a hoof, he grabbed his pair of glasses from the floor and placed them neatly on his nose.

The last task was tying on his red neckerchief, the right way around of course. He'd feel so silly if he got it backwards, again.

A hatch in the floor burst open, having been concealed by the rubbish, and Cookie jumped from the ground with a girlish cry. Unfortunately he had forgotten he was still inside the sideways box, and crashed his head into the top.

Oracle waited with an elbow leaning from out of the hatch on the floor. 'You're a hard pegasus to find, you know?'

'Ow, my head thingy.'

'Even the ones that sleep on clouds are easier to locate then you. I came up here totally on a hunch alone.'

'Please don't do that again, I scare easily.'

'Next time I'll be sure to knock, would that help?'

'Probably not.'

Oracle rolled her eyes. 'I've been looking for you for nearly an hour now, I wanted to ask a favor of you.'

Cookie brushed around the ground, finding the pair of glasses once again and placing them back on his head. 'Go on,' he said.

The filly hauled herself up from out the hatch and onto the floor. 'Last night I was reading a map of the northern area of Ponyville. I know a little about the geography-'

She glanced back up at Cookie, who returned a face of confusion.

'- what the land looks like, that better?'

Cookie nodded, tongue poking out slightly.

'Anyway, the area is full of caves and there's plenty of trees too. It's the perfect place to hide... both oneself and what you've stolen.'

'Oh, so you think Sunny Nights is hiding up there?'

'Sunny Days... and yes, I think she is. Given that was the direction she was headed yesterday morning and the fact the only other good place for hiding is-' she shuddered, '-the Everfree Forest. So what I want of you, Cookie Crumble, since you are supposedly a wanderer and thus likely have an eye for things-'

'You want me to go up there and have a scout around?'

'Precisely! Do you think you can do that for me?'

'Of course I can! I'll be back before you know it.'

Oracle's eyes widened. 'Wait, not now...'

Too late, Cookie shot out through the archway and into the air, quickly turning north towards the mountains.

'What a weirdo,' Oracle said to herself.

- - -

The Sunday markets were always full of life, even in the midst of a cold winters day. Oracle trotted alongside Sparky as they made their way through the middle of the stalls, a mild cacophony of clattering and shouting coming from all sides as seller battled for customers. Farmers pushed passing ponies to buy their fresh produce, crafts-ponies gleefully showed off their latest creations to all that trotted by. Every step you took was met with new colors, sometimes even smells, tents and stalls of various sizes and quality either side of the two ponies.

'Quite tame compared to the Canterlot markets,' Sparky said aside to Oracle. 'That place is so full of color and flamboyance it almost makes you feel a bit sick. That, and the fact you can't get from one side to the other in less than an hour.'

Oracle didn't look too interested in the whole thing. 'You see it once, you've seen it every other time, really.' Not to downplay the effort and love of the ponies that made use of the markets, but the filly had seen it all before many times. Stalls hardly changed at all, every pony here had done the same thing many times over.

She glanced up at Sparky, who was looking a little unnerved, her head held low and long purple hair covering half her face. 'You alright?' She asked.

'Not a big fan of being stared at,' Sparky admitted. 'You'd think a place like this would be used to strange sights.'

'Oh, it is slightly unusual to see a unicorn wheeling about. It's been a few years since I've seen one myself, to be honest.'

'Yeah, makes sense. We're a rare breed, us cripples.'

Oracle looked disapprovingly at Sparky, whom replied with a chuckle.

'Oh relax, I'm just making fun of myself again.'

'Fair enough,' Oracle said. 'Do you get out much, Sparky?'

'Oh, plenty. I need to get up to the observatory and back, for example.'

'I meant further than that.'

Sparky went quiet.

'You're the indoor type, huh?'

'It just a natural thing for a pony who can't trot around on her own back legs to be like that. Sometimes I do wish I got out more, had more adventures than just the occasional shopping trip, but, you know.' She shook her head. 'Let's get this over with, shall we?'

Oracle nodded. 'I understand. So, what do we need, anyway?'

Hovering slightly in front of her, a piece of parchment unrolled. Oracle hoped it didn't reach the ground, and was relieved when it only reached halfway. 

'Alrighty,' Sparky began, 'I've got my shopping list ready, just tell me where I need to go. Let's try the vegetables first. Actually no, where's that pony you told me about before?'

'The one that sells homemade peanut butter, right?'

'Yesss.'

'Down this way,' Oracle pointed, holding back a chuckle, 'we just have to take a right at the next corner and... hey wait up!'

Hooves to her wheels, Sparky had set off already. There was no doubt she was faster in that thing than any casual pony on legs could go.

As she prepared to follow her companion, there was a sudden shadow over her eyes. Before she could even make sense of what was happening, a light brown pegasus had crashed into a small stall selling oranges, which proceeded to roll around on the ground in all directions.

'Oh no, not again!' Cried the stall keeper, a small red unicorn.

'That was totally one of my better landings,' Cookie Crumble said, brushing himself off as he stood back up. 'Oh my, sorry about your funny colored apples.'

'Cookie, what in the world are you doing?' Oracle cantered over to her companion, whom quickly faced her.

'Aha, I thought it was you I saw, can't miss that little hat of yours for miles.' He happily trotted out of the mess he had made as if nothing had even happened, leaving a handful of rather confused ponies to tend to it instead. 'I bring good news.'

'Wait, you don't mean you've already-'

'Found her, up in a small cottage house just past the main mountains and over the tree line. A bit hard to spot from the air, but I got a good eye for odd sights. So I took a closer look, and behold!' He waved a hoof in the air, upon it a small roll with a mound of cream. 'I have found my sweet roll!'

Oracle's mouth hung open. It stayed that way as Cookie shoved the confectionery into his mouth whole. 'How did you even-'

Cookie quickly swallowed the remains. 'Oh it was totally just sitting there, inside the house, on the table. So, I kinda wandered in through the window, and then I took it.' He jumped a little into the air. 'Oh, that reminds me, there was a book on the table, too.'

Oracle regained her composure. 'W...what was it?'

'I knew I wouldn't remember to tell you about it, unless I took it. So, I took it.' He then proceeded to shove a leather covered red book into Oracle's face.

“Baking and summoning evil spirits: a beginners guide to the world of confectionery conjuration” it read in bold print, with a small picture of some sort of ghostly like cupcake with an evil grin upon it. Below that lay the authors name, “D. Bakerus”

'Oh... my,' Oracle said.

'I can't read, but the pictures look cool. So, I kinda just guessed it was important. It's important, right?'

'Uh... excuse me for a minute, I mean... probably a bit longer, actually.' Oracle swept up the book and shoved it into her saddle bag upon her back, which would have carried some of Sparkys goods, but now had a new purpose. 'Go find Sparky, please. Tell her I'll meet her either here or at her house.'

'Can do,' Cookie replied with a salute.

It took a moment, but Oracle had to do a bit of a double take when her brain caught up to her. 'Wait, Cookie, you can't read?'

Too late, Cookie was gone. He was good like that, Oracle was starting to realize.

Turning, she sped out of the market as fast as her legs could carry her. The bakery closed earlier on Sundays than it did other days, and Oracle knew she probably only had a few minutes left. Just ahead of her she could see Puff Pastry closing the two front doors, but with all the effort she could muster, the little filly threw herself through the door.

Puff Pastry could only watch in utter confusion as the jacket clad earth pony tumbled through the door and slid across the floor. Oracle's hat floated gently in the air, and landed finally by her side.

'Oracle?'

'Miss Pastry, thank goodness...' the filly detective said between deep breath. 'I have to ask... a question.'

'Uh... sure, what do you need?'

Oracle jumped back to her hooves, and equipped her hat. 'The flour... I mean, the special flour, what is in it?'

Pastry shook her head with confusion. 'I'm sorry Oracle, but that's supposed to be a family secret-'

The filly detective slid the red book across the floor. Puff Pastry's eyes widened as she read the title of the book before her. 'Oh... oh my.'

‘That’s what I said.’ 
> 4: The one with the gingerbread dragon.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sparky and Cookie waited for Oracle in the wheelchair mares lounge room. Only the sound of the crackling fire held the awkward silence at bay. The two hardly traded words, Sparky unable to think of anything to say that would invite an interesting conversation, and Cookie mostly thinking about cheese.

About half an hour of silence, and finally to the relief of both ponies, was there finally a knock at the door.

Oracle stood on the welcome mat, hoof leaning on the doorway, looking as though she had just run a marathon.

Sparky placed her hooves on hips. 'Well, at least you're starting to use the proper method of entry now. Where in Equestria did you go? You kinda just left me there with your, uh... friend.’

'Hi Oracle,' came the shout of Cookie from the lounge room.

'I'm really sorry, Sparky,’ Oracle said, looking genuinely apologetic, ‘but, I had a bit of a revelation.'

'Do come in and tell me all about it,' Sparky moved back, gesturing the filly in with wave of a hoof.

She certainly did. It started with the strange red book being laid upon the lounge room floor for all three to see. 'Wow, they really do have something for everyone, don't they?' Sparky joked. 'Strange name for an author though... “D. Bakerus?”'

'Might be a fake name. At least, it would be the most sensible thing to do.'

'I suppose you really wouldn't want to give your real name on a book about evil spirits and such.'

Oracle nodded. 'Yeah, that's true.'

'So, who does it belong to anyway?’

'It belongs to Sunny.'

'How do you know that?'

Cookie raised a hoof, nervously speaking. 'I kinda borrowed it.'

Oracle nodded. 'I was skeptical, though, that it belonged to Sunny. I had to get confirmation after I started putting two and two together in my head. So, I went straight to the bakery, where Sunny had been pilfering the flour from a few days ago.'

'And?'

'Well, I got Puff Pastry to talk. She told me how she makes her special homemade flour.'

The other two waited, prompting Oracle to continue.

'It's from a rare wheat that could only be found in the Everfree Forest.'

Sparky tilted her head slightly, brow raised. 'Could? As in, you can't find it there any more?'

'Yes. Puff told me her father perfected growing it outside from the forest. He passed down the techniques on how to properly grow and harvest it at a young age. It’s called moonshade. The thing is, though, the flour Puff mixes only contains about a quarter of the stuff, since it's so hard to grow. The rest is a combination of spices and traditional sun grown wheat.'

'At least it explains why my sweet roll tasted so good,' Cookie said, the other two looking at him. 'What? It really was yummy!'

Using the tip of her nose, Oracle opened up the book. 'Look, here.' She placed a hoof on a page before turning it around to the other two.

'Oh, interesting,' Cookie said, staring blankly at the page. 'So uh... what does it say?'

'It's an index of common ingredients for the creation of various cake monsters. Moonshade is listed as one of the most important.'

'So it is,' Sparky said. 'Says here at the bottom that you can substitute it for others, but looking at the alternatives...'

'Yeah, on this page here.' Oracle flipped the page over a couple of times. 'Nightshade, witches eye, black wart...'

Sparky raised a hoof. 'I know for one that nightshade can only be gotten from the Canterlot schools on a per pony basis.'

Oracle stamped the ground. 'Yes, exactly. That’s the thing with all the alternatives. They're all hard to get, especially if you want to go about all of this without drawing attention.'

Cookie tapped his hoof on chin. 'Okay, so does this mean Sunny Nights is trying to bake up a monster?'

'Sunny Days, and yes... yes I think she is. But, why? Not to mention, how did she know where to find something like Moonshade?'

'I think I know,' Sparky said. 'One second,' and thus she disappeared in a flash of white light.

'That is so cool,' Cookie said.

A few seconds later, Sparky returned a few hooves in front of where she had left. She proceeded to throw another book on top of the first.

'Ooooh,' Cookie awed. 'What's it say?'

Sparky raised a brow at Cookie.

'He can't read,' Oracle said to the unicorn.

'Oh, I see,' replied Sparky. Her eyes glanced this way and that, then she tilted her head. 'Wait, what?'

Looking down at the book, Oracle read the title. 'Two dozen delicious cupcakes. Huh?' Oracle glanced up at Sparky with a slightly confused face. 'What does this have to do-'

Sparky just pointed a hoof back down at the book with a grin. Oracle scanned the text, until she reached the bottom, where the authors name lay.

'Sunny Days.'

She was a baker, too.

'It's an old book,’ Sparky began, arms crossed, and looking rather pleased with herself. ‘About four or so years old now. Apparently it was a bestseller back in its day, at least if the back of the book is anything to go by.'

'Okay, so Sunny was an author of an old cookbook. That explains how she knows where to find the flour, she's an accomplished baker, and knows her stuff.'

'That's not the best part, read inside the front cover.'

Oracle did just that. Just inside the book was a short description of the author.

'Writer of many best selling cookbooks and is the proud owner of the Golden Doughnut, a well loved bakery in Canterlot.'

'Here's the thing, though. I don't know of any Golden Doughnut in Canterlot, at least not when I was there last.'

'So, maybes she's a phony,' Cookie said.

Oracle shook her head. 'No, that can't be it. Not if she's going this far. She has to have a reason for doing this. Maybe she had to close down.'

Sparky scratched her chin. 'That sounds like a motive.’

‘Maybe, I have to find out more, I need to go see her.'

Sparkys mood was suddenly deflated. 'You can't be serious,' she sighed.

'I am serious. If she's going this far, there must be a good reason, and I want to get to the bottom of it.'

'Wait just a second, champ,’ Sparky replied, holding up her front hooves. ‘There's no way I'm letting you go wandering off when I'm supposed to be looking after you.'

Oracle nodded in agreement. 'Yes, I agree. That's why you're coming with me.'

Sparky bit her lip. 'Come again?'

'Ooh! What about me?' Cookie asked Oracle excitedly, pacing on his hooves. 'I can fly you there if you wanted.'

'As much as I appreciate the offer, I've seen first hand your ability to crash into the ground at high speeds twice now.'

Cookie's head lowered. 'Oh, yeah...'

'It's okay, Cookie. I just think right now the ground is a safer approach.'

'I understand, miss Oracle.'

Sparky shook her head. 'I don't suppose you have noticed yet, but I can't use my legs and have to get around in a wheelchair.'

'That shouldn't be a problem, you said yourself that you wanted to get out more, right?'

'Yes, but this isn't what I-'

'Why not, Sparky? Here's a chance to get out and have a bit of an adventure.'

Sparky placed a hoof on her forehead, and ran it down her face. 'I don't think you quite understand.'

'Oh, don't worry. I'll let my parents know I'll be going out with you for a while. They'll understand, they always do.' That was probably a bit of a white lie, but Sparky didn't need to know that. 'I understand if you don't want to come.'

Sparky couldn’t believe that she was being entrapped by a little filly, she need a moment to get over that. 'Just... just give me a few minutes to think, okay?'

Oracle nodded, watching as Sparky closed her eyes and was once again gone in a flash of light.

Oracle turned to Cookie Crumble. 'I need to let my parents know what I'm doing, I won't be long. Tell Sparky we'll meet at the town square, okay?'

Cookie gave a little salute. 'Can't wait, I'm a little excited.' Though, that was readily obvious given the way he danced in place.

It didn't take long for Oracle to arrive at her home, and It took even less time to explain what she was going to be doing to her parents. She had formed the whole lie on the way to her house. She was going to have a sleepover at Sparky's house, and then go to school the next day from there. Her mother thought it was cute, saying that she was glad to see that Oracle had made friends so quickly. That's all the evidence she needed apparently, because she bought it without question.

Oracle felt a little bad for lying again, but this was the last time she'd have to. She was going to finally prove who she was and what she was capable of doing.

Sparky, in the meantime, sat at the edge of her bed staring across the room. Her wheelchair stared back at her. ‘Well, to be fair,’ she mumbled to herself, ‘her parents did say she could be a handful.’ On the other hand, it had been a few years since she had met a pony, young or otherwise, that didn’t just judge her by appearance. Still, this was a rather stupid idea, but in all fairness Sparky had done stupider things. She sighed, eyes looking down at the floor.

She had promised her mother she would make friends, and not just sit in her house all day. So far, she had succeeded at the first task, rather quickly too. Sparky couldn’t wait to tell her mother via letter about Oracle. Now she felt compelled to go along with the little detective, and do something really crazy. That would be quite the thing to add to the end of the letter.

‘I can’t believe I’m about to do this.’ She looked over at her chair, and smiled. ‘I hope you don’t fail me, old girl.’

Cookie, meanwhile, had bought a sandwich and was in the process of finishing it off. Having pretty much completely forgot what he was supposed to be doing, he decided to go chase a cat he had seen near a house. Lying low behind a small tuft of grass, he waited for the right moment to strike. Just like the good old days, he remembered, before an eye caught the sight of Oracle wandering into view. ‘Oh, right!’ He said, leaping up and out of the bush. The nearby cat screamed, and ran into a window.

- - -

'We're supposed to be having a sleepover, huh?' Sparky said, sitting in her chair with the other two just outside of the town hall. 'Did you bring a nightlight?'

'Hilarious,' Oracle grumbled sarcastically.

Sparky won in the grumbling department, however. 'I still think this is a silly idea, just so you know.'

'It's only because you're not used to getting out. Trust me, it'll be fun, Sparks.'

'Sparks? That's real cute.'

'Just one question, Sparky. How much did you pack?'

The unicorn turned her head to the backpack saddled to the seat of her wheelchair, which looked fit to burst. 'Just the necessities.'

'Just the necessities?'

'Food, water, bandages, spare tires, a bedroll, headache tablets...'  

'You're really nervous about this, aren't you?'

'Was it not obvious enough?'

Cookie Crumble looked to his little read saddle bag and back to Sparkys backpack. 'Wow. All I packed is a few sandwiches.'

'It's okay if you don't want to come,' Oracle said. 'I don't want to seem like I'm forcing you to.'

'No,' Sparky replied bluntly, with hoof raised. 'I'm committed.’ That was a lie, mostly. The last thing she wanted, however, was to let some young filly go off on her own, Cookie didn’t count as a guardian. ‘On the bright side, guess I could use some exercise, and this baby-' she patted the side of her wheelchair, '-she could use a bit of it too.'

Now the filly detective looked a little worried, eying the chair. 'It won't break or anything, will it?'

'She's a tough beast, we've been through a lot together.' She sighed, 'not really built for all terrain insanity, but I think she can handle it. I've done stuff like this before, a long time ago mind you. Still, things can happen... that's why I brought some spare parts, mind you, just in case.'

'It's good you're thinking ahead, I guess. Shall we then?' Oracle said, gesturing with a hoof to the right.

'Yes, let's... before I start getting filled with regrets.'

'We'll be fine,' Oracle said reassuringly.

- - -

When the first storm clouds gathered, Oracle wished she hadn't said anything at all. Just past the carved pathway that led into the northern mountains, there was the sign of darkness gathering from the east, ready to sweep terrible weather across all of Ponyville.

'I regret everything,' Sparky finally blurted out, with a hoof catching the first droplet of water. It felt cold to the touch, but being this high up could do that.

'The forecast said only mildly cloudy,' Oracle complained, face glancing upwards, and quite disappointed. 'This is so unfair.'

Up a few paces ahead was a call. 'Hey, guys! There's a cave up ahead!' Shouted Cookie Crumble from the air, with a wave from the distance.

'That's good enough for me,' Sparky said to herself, and begun pushing herself forwards in haste as more droplets began to fall. Oracle followed from behind, until over the hill she could see the opening that Cookie had just mentioned. Vines covered the top of the entrance, which hung close to an edge of the mountain, a small drop to the other side into a muddy gorge.

Eyes following the path, Oracle could see a fallen tree up ahead close to what had seemed to be the remains of a waterfall when the rain had been more frequent. She feared the path ahead would be worse for wear on hooves, and would hardly be suitable for Sparky, something which the young filly decided to keep to herself as she followed into the cave.

There was a beam of light, a globe hovered from Sparkys horn. Gently, it floated upwards into the air, until it hung over them like the sun itself.

'Full of surprises, aren't we?' Cookie said.

Sparky rolled her eyes. 'Well, I don't see you carrying a lantern, smarty pants.'

'Point taken.'

Their words echoed down a long cavernous hallway, silencing as it reached into the darkness. Where the globe now hovered, it provided light to the nearby area surrounding the group, but did not reach far into the distance. It gave the feeling they were on a stage, with a spotlight on them. Thankfully, no eery red eyes stared from the shadows, which was a good start.

'Do you think it goes all the way, to another exit?' Cookie asked Oracle, his voice sounding somewhat nervous.

'Maybe,' Oracle replied. She trotted over to the nearby wall and brushed it. 'I'm no cave explorer, but these walls look carved.'

'A passage way from back in the ye old days,' Sparky said, in a slightly mocking accent. Eyes were constantly glancing around, expecting bats at any moment.

'Wide enough to handle a wagon, could it be early explorers?'

'Most likely, but we're not here for archeology, are we?'

'Certainly not, let's keep moving.'

'I'll go first,' Sparky pushed ahead of Oracle. 'I have the light source, and I'm bigger.'

Oracle gave a little disgruntled snort, of course a grown up would think a filly to be a poor leader. Just let Sparky have her way, she thought, no point getting into an argument when she already looks like she would rather be at home.

Cookie Crumble, on the other hand, was a little less brave but soldiered on from the tail end, constantly watching his behind.

'Does it actually end?' Sparky asked, to herself mostly. She leaned back in her chair, letting the other two move ahead of her. The climb hadn’t done her front legs any favors. The passage had widened into a circular cavern, large stalagmites reached out from the ground nearly hugging the walls. Small drops of water fell from the roof, flowing down from mossy stalactite tips.

'We have to be close,' Oracle said with her ears picking up. 'I think I can hear the rain again, means we're close to an exit.'

Cookie's ears also shot up. 'Anyone else hear that?'

'Yes, it's rain... that's what I just said.'

He thought he could hear a thumping sound from the rear. It sounded a lot like a more frequent thunder. 'I hope it’s not thunder. I don't like thunder,' Cookie continued.

'Oh don't be such a baby,' Sparky said, waving a foreleg in good humor.

His eyes fell on Sparky, but quickly moved up to the growing shadow on the wall. 'Uh, guys?'

'It's down this way, I think,' Oracle said, tapping her chin. 'The exit.'

'That's all well and good,' Sparky began, 'but it's still raining, yes?'

'We can wait here for some time if that pleases you?'

'I'd rather be at home by my fire, but inside this cave is good enough.'

'Uh.... guys?' Cookie said with a stutter.

The other two turned to him with annoyance written all over their faces. 'What?'

That's about the time when all three of them sighted the giant gingerbread dragon towering over them with gleaming sugar teeth showing from an open mouth. The creature breathed deeply, watching them with biscuit eyes in return as they could only stare completely frozen in place.

'I think I found something,' Cookie said, a little too late.

Though it would have been better suited lying motionless upon the table of a local baking competition, before the three adventurous ponies stood a house sized monstrosity made entirely out of pastry... living and breathing before their very eyes as if it were the perfectly normal thing to do.

Oracle had taken the initiative and begun to back away, only to find herself grouped with the other two. She stared into what she thought to be the eyes of the dragon, and her mind began to sharpen. Any fear in her heart would have to wait for later, now was not the time to be afraid. Time to be smart.

'It can't see us,' she said from the side of her mouth to the others. 'The eyes are just biscuits, it must have been using sound to find us.'

'Great,' Sparky snapped, though quietly to suit the mood, 'so we just sit here like statues until it decides to eat us?'

'If we stay still, it can't find us. If we run, it'll know where we are.'

'Well thank goodness I don't do running,' Sparky replied, filled with that same bitter sarcasm that Oracle was beginning to love.

'Just back away, slowly. It's the best we can do.'

'Well, lucky I brought my stealth chair.'

'Way ahead of you,' Cookie said from behind the other two, having managed a fair bit of distance between him and prey. Several previous encounters with horrifically large monstrosities had built into him the ability to back away slowly with a grace you normally would find in an activity that was a little braver. However, with eyes staring directly at the creature, his rear end met with the cold stone of a wall, and he let out a cry like that of a suddenly frightened dog.

Sparky Scamper slapped her forehead with a hoof. So much for stealth.

As if it were given life anew, the dragon raised it's head and hissed. The smell of cinnamon filled the air with it's breath. It faced the brown pegasus, and jaws opened wide.

Cookie's ears flattened, and his eyes opened fully. 'Uh... oh,' he managed in a slightly higher pitched tone.

Like an arrow made of gingerbread, the dragon homed in on Cookie with a roar, claws tearing across the floor and kicking up dirt. The unfortunate target looked up, planning his escape, but saw the sharp spikes of the ceiling and knew it was too much of a risk.

A brilliant ball of green. The dragon seemed to angle sideways to Cookies left, stumbling into a wall and crashing with full force. Water began to spill from the ceiling, flowing through newly formed cracks.

Sparkys horn glowed green and steamed slightly, pointed at where the creature was once standing. 'That's my other trick, for dealing with big nuisances like you.' She turned to the others, her face becoming less serious. 'Right, let's get moving, before it-'

The delicious dragon reared its head, uncoiling from it's previous impact and seemingly with renewed vigor.

The grey unicorn sighed. 'Oh, come on.'

Knowing her usefulness in a confrontation like this was minimal, Oracle made for the exit. 'This way!' She cried, only to realize it had fallen on deaf ears. No pony was behind her, prompting her to groan. 'So much for teamwork.'

It didn't matter, for now she set her mind on ideas. Any idea would be great right about now, just had to have one pop into her head. From what she could see of the slowly growing light of an exterior, it seemed to her the way out would be too small for the dragon. She begun to form a plan, feeling not so useless after all.

Sparky brushed her front hooves together, and grinned. 'Alright, you wanna do this, dragon?'

The gingerbread dragon roared once more, a new target for its teeth and claws had made itself known with the sound of its voice.

'You really want to do this?'

With strength enough to shake the very foundations of the cave, the creature launched forward.

Forelegs shot out. 'Bring it on!'

As it charged towards her and gave a great leap into the air with front sugary claws reaching out, Sparky flashed white. Where she once sat, there was now nothing but thin air, and thus the massive baked monster ate dirt.

Its launch into the air had torn several stalactites off the roof, and sent them soaring in all directions. Cookie split his rear legs apart as one speared into the ground right in front of him, and then tumbled backwards when another landed the other way up where he had been just a second ago. With a moment to finally breathe, he let out a little whimper and very nearly fainted.

Sparky emerged from the shadows of the other side of the cavern, and laughed. 'You tangled with an angry unicorn. Not so bright, are we?'

Having picked itself up, the dragon wheeled around to face the unicorn once again.

'Want another try, sweetie? I can do this all day.' Truth be told she probably could only go a few more times, but it didn't really need to know that.

Ripping up part of the ground beneath it, the creature charged Sparky with vengeance in its mind, and just as before she disappeared with flash of white. A split second later, Sparky appeared behind the dragon.

This time, the creature stopped instead of meeting with an immovable object, and Sparkys eyes widened when its tail lashed out, straight for her.

'Smarty pants-' she managed just as she was struck with an uppercut from the very end of the tail. The force of the whip like blow was enough to send her soaring out of wheelchair and almost high enough to meet face to face with the pointy end of a stalactite.

She took a breath of relief, and then realized she was falling.

No, not again...

Sparky closed her eyes.

Feeling the embrace of hooves, she opened her eyes to see Cookie Crumble with front legs wrapped around her, and wings open wide.

'I got ya, Sparksie,' he shouted, just as they both crashed into the ground. Cookie took the full brunt of the impact, and groaned. 'No I don't.'

'That hurt a lot lot less than expected,' Sparky groaned, lying on the floor, staring at the roof.

Cookie opened his mouth to speak as he dusted himself off, but turned away to the right. 'Uh oh, here it comes again!'

'Hey you, big ugly thing,' came a shout from down the cavern. The dragons head shot sideways, baring down at the little filly that stood there. 'Yeah, I'm talking to you, ya big over sized piece of poorly prepared pastry!'

Said pastry snorted, and gave a roar in Oracles direction.

Oracle blew a raspberry at the creature, complete with unnecessary tongue poking out. This was seemingly enough to insult the dragon, or at least get it's attention. Oracle knew that as long as the other two kept quiet, it would stay on her.

With this in mind, she turned tail and fled, making as much noise as her hooves could on the way out. The filly need not turn her head, for she could hear the monster right on her rear, right up until its head met with the top of the cave exit.

The dragon lurched backwards, letting out a cry of agony as it tried to recover from the sudden blow. Pieces of gingerbread and icing fell to the ground, like the crust of a flaky pastry.

Standing outside in the drizzling rain, Oracle let out a hearty laugh. 'Ha! Didn't expect that, did you?'

What Oracle herself probably didn't expect was the part where the dragon then proceeded to try and tear through the cavern exit, sending stone flying outwards as it did.

'Oh, that's not fair,' Oracle said with ears flattening.

'You hear that?' Cookie asked, trotting over to Sparky. He was covered in dust, and feathers splayed out in all the wrong directions. It was almost as if he'd been tossed about in a cave.

'The sound of an angry dragon trying to get at the filly I'm supposed to be looking after? Yes, yes I do. Now help me back into my chair.'

Cookie tilted his head. 'Are you alright?'

'No, I can't feel feel my legs,' Sparky replied sarcastically.

'I'll take that as a yes,' the pegasus replied as he paired Sparky back with her wheelchair. It took some effort on the admittedly not quite strong Cookie, but hauling her on his back was enough to get the job done in record time. Well, record time considering it was the first time he had ever needed to do that.

'Thanks, I appreciate it,' Sparky replied, checking herself over. 'Go on ahead, get to Oracle.'

'On it,' Cookie said with a salute, and he shot off towards the exit. Sparky took in a deep breath of relief, and let her magic fade from her horn. The magic light dimmed until the room became close to dark, and she rubbed her forehead. 'Best day, ever.'

She joined Cookie Crumble at the light of the caverns end. 'I thought I told you to... oh.'

The exit looked as though a dragon had decided it needed to be larger, and had succeeded in doing so. All around her was broken flakes of gingerbread, and a trace of icing ran along the floor and also around the edges of the exit combined with slivers of freshly torn away stone. The trail led outside, slightly washed away with the dying rain where it continued out towards a small trail.

Sparkys hooves tightened against the armrests of her chair. 'It didn't...'

'I couldn't find her, Sparks. I'm sorry.'

The unicorn took another deep breath, any more and she might hyperventilate. 'Smart girl, but she got way in over her head.' She faced Cookie. 'You know the way, yes?'

Cookie nodded.

'Then go ahead of me. That monster more than likely belongs to Sunny, and if so Oracle’s going to be in trouble if we don't move quickly.'

'What... what about you?'

'It's Oracle who's in danger, not me. Go, now... I'll catch up.'

'But you don't know where to go, and-'

'Now, Cookie!'

Cookie took a step back, unnerved a little. 'I'll do my best.' With those words, he shot into the air, and started to fly away into the distance with only one short glance back at Sparky.

She sat there in the droplets of rain. Rocking back and forth in her chair, her ears picked up. A slight creaking sound, she concluded rather quickly that the wheelchair had taken the blow of the dragons tail for her, and had likely paid the price.

'Definitely my best day ever,' she said with a groan.

- - -

'What a pleasant surprise seeing you here,' Sunny Days said, just a little bitterly. 'Like some tea?'

Oracle glanced around the room, anywhere but directly at Sunny. The room she was in was not what she had expected for a shack out in the wilderness. The walls well decorated with paintings, most of which were typical landscapes one might find in market level art, though a few stood out with good detail and high quality frames.

There was a lot of the same building, painted in black and white. A two story rounded brick building that stood out amongst several others in a street. A street filled with carts pulled by colts, and bustling with well mustached individuals and dainty dressed mares.

They weren't paintings, Oracle realized, they were photos.

Sunny smiled, facing the wall. 'Do you like it? That was my great grandfathers bakehouse, located in Canterlot. It's a little funny how much that place has changed over the decades.' Sunny gave a sigh, and turned to Oracle. 'Now, about you.'

'What about me?' Oracle asked.

'Well, there's the fact you've been a nuisance, and not just the childish kind that goes around nosing around in business that doesn't concern her. No, you're a little beyond that.'

'It is my business, Sunny, if it threatens the safety of other ponies.'

'How charming. You still think you're a little detective, don't you?' Sunny, trotting up to Oracle, gave her a little pat on the head. 'You did pretty good, admittedly. Right up until you got caught by the dragon, that is.'

Said dragons gave a purr at the mention of its namesake.

'Yes, you're a very good dragon, dear. Well, except for all the damage you've done to yourself.' Sunny clicked her tongue. 'It’ll take hours for you to fix yourself up, could you maybe try and be a little more careful?'

Oracle could see the smile on her face, even if she wasn't even facing the young detective. Well, right up until she did, with said smile on her face.

'It's quite a creation, isn't it? But I suppose you know all about it, hm?'

'I read every last sentence of that book, so yes... yes I do.' Oracle grinned in return. 'I also know that the recipe is quite complicated. So many rare ingredients, and rituals, too.'

'Indeed, little filly, you are right. It's a shame that some pony broke into my house and took the one thing I needed to remember how to make these things. Did you know that breaking into other ponies houses is a naughty thing to do?'

'That didn't stop you, did it? Several times, I might add.'

'True, very true. So I guess I can say I deserved to have it done to me in return. Unfortunately there is just one little problem. Your friend is good, I'll give him that, but he's not too bright.'

'How so?'

'Well, considering how far I've come with my plan, you didn't think I would... oh... I don't know, keep a spare book handy?'

'Ah.'

'It was a two for one deal at the bookstore that week. Quite lucky, who would have thought such a small shop would have two copies of this incredibly hard to find book. I couldn't turn down such a great deal, and it certainly has paid itself off. Mind you, I had both locked away and sealed. I still have no idea how he did it.'

'Who did?'

Sunny moved face to face with Oracle. 'Don't bother trying to lie, you know just as well as I that it was that crazy brown pegasus that did it. The way he moves, I saw it with my own eyes. No pony should be able to do the things he does.'

'Like what? You need to be more specific.'

'The way he...' she paused, and chuckled to herself. 'So, I guess you don't know either?'

'If I did, would I be asking?'

'Funny, that you think you are in a position to be asking questions. All I know is that he is trouble, just like you are. And that's why I need to have him dealt with.'

Oracle raised a brow. 'Dealt with?'

'Oh, I forgot you were so young... but I didn't think you were so naive.' She leaned close to Oracles ear and whispered. 'I'm going to make your pegasus friend kick the bucket.’

Oracles blood ran cold. 'What? You would never even-'

‘No, no I wouldn’t,’ she replied, laughing, which didn’t make Oracle feel much better. ‘I have more important things to worry about, but I at least want him where I can see him.’ Sunny raised hoof, and turned to face her dragon. 'Dear, I have a task for you.'

The dragon responded with a growl.

'You need a rest, but fetch the others. They have a mission.'

Others. Oracle suspected there would be more than one. But why only send one in the first place then? Maybe she was being cautious, not trying to raise any alarms.

'How many are there?' Oracle asked.

'Only one dragon, the rest are merely smaller copies I quickly baked up. However, I am in the process of creating a second large dragon, and once that is done I think I'll be ready for the next phase. And no, before you even ask, I'm not going to tell you what I mean by “ready”... that would be spoiling the fun.'

‘Besides,’ she continued, ‘you are such a great detective, which means you should figure it out yourself. By the way, did you still want some tea?’ 
	
> 5: The one with another gingerbread dragon.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sparky muttered under her breath. ‘This was a stupid idea.’

The rain had cleared, leaving about half of the sun to peek over the thinning clouds, but that didn’t magically change the fact all around her was a muddy mess. The aftermath of her favorite kind of weather had slowed the wheelchair down to a crawl, and she might as well have been crawling at this rate.

Sparky had already run out of hooves to count how many times she had become stuck. When she said her wheelchair was not built for all terrain, she had meant it.

‘Of all the stupid ideas in my history of stupid ideas, this is possibly the stupidest,’ she said to herself, with head resting on her front legs, eyes staring at nothing in particular in the distance. Though, admittedly, that one time she went cave climbing was probably a dumber idea. ‘Go on Sparky, go have an adventure, it’ll be fun... they said. No need to be paranoid... they said.’

Better still, it was getting cold. Sparky had packed for the end of the world, but for some reason that had failed to include a blanket. She remembered back to a few hours ago, when packing for this most exciting trip to Ponyville, to forgo the old patterned quilt her mother had made back when Sparky was only a little filly, out of some personal regard for its sentimental value. Such thoughts made her wonder if she was qualified to ever leave her house at all.

Thankfully, something brought her out of her self depressive thinking. Her ears raised from the sound of rustling just over a small bushy hill in the distance.

Sparky raised herself in the chair. ‘Cookie, is that you? Please be you.’

It wasn’t. A crumbly clawed wing of gingerbread reached out of the bush, and pulled along with it a grinning beast of delectable deadliness, smaller than the one the unicorn had met with before, thought that didn’t help her morale much.

‘Well great,’ she sighed, ‘there just had to be more of you ugly things.’

The draconic mound of baked goods, about three times the size of Sparky, faced her with a sneering gaze of buttoned candy eyes.

‘What? Did I offend you?’ Then but a few seconds later, it hit her like a brick. ‘Oh... right,’ she gritted her teeth, ‘can only follow by sound, I should probably shut up right abo-’

The dragon threw itself at Sparky with wings open to stabilize itself in its charge. The unicorn threw her arms up at the creature with instinct. Her magic kicked in just in the nick of time, and a large shimmer of energy formed in front of her.

Suddenly and painfully halted by a translucent green wall, the dragon screeched in frustration. Sparky too felt like she had been pushed back as the energy of her force field rebounded from the impact, thank goodness for wheels.

A small crackle of pain emerged from the tip of her horn down to the skull, but disappeared with her concentration of keeping something magical between herself and the thing that wanted to make a meal out of Sparky. Even though it was a spur of the moment, she reassured herself it was a better idea than teleporting, considering how she could only make short jumps, and it was noisy enough to wake ponies from the next town up in the middle of the night (perhaps a slight exaggeration), which wouldn't help her against a creature that relied heavily on sound.

The delicious monster reared its head, candy ears shooting forward. The shimmering force field was certainly not quiet, but It gave her time to think of a plan.

Well, it would have, if she hadn't needed to concentrate on the spell so much.

Then there was the sudden problem of the dragon throwing itself against the field. Not bright enough to try and go around (though Sparky would likely adjust accordingly), the creature simple used old fashioned brute force, and also the occasional swipe of its confectionery claws, which was worse, as it made a terrible song of high pitched squealing like scratching a blackboard.

Sparky could feel herself losing hold on her magic, like a heavy stone slipping slowly out of your hoof... slipping... falling... just like she did.

It flashed by so fast, the memories of falling, and then the impact and the pain and the tears. She froze in shock, the field collapsed.

Claws latched onto her wheelchair, and she stared wide eyed into the maw of the terrible dragon as both of them rolled onto the muddy ground backwards. She slid a few paces, the gingerbread monster pinning the pony with its sheer mass.

'Well,' she began with bitterness in her voice, 'what are you waiting for, big fella? Savoring the moment?' Sparky raised her front hooves in a fighting motion. ‘Come on, you fat load of cake, I can still fight.’

The dragon stopped for a moment, raising its head as if looking into the distance. Sparkys own ears picked up, the sound of whistling in the distance. Whistling that was getting closer.

A sudden blur, and the dragon disappeared from in front of the grey unicorn as if it were never there at all. It took Sparky a moment for her brain to catch up, but when her eyes looked to the right, she saw the creature buried halfway into the ground with its legs sticking up into the air, and a fluffy brown pegasus standing on top.

Cookie Crumble looked quite pleased with himself, right up until one of the monster legs kicked in retaliation, throwing him off. He rolled a few times in the mud, clumsily regaining his balance and circling over to Sparky looking worried. ‘You okay, miss sparkster?’

Sparky looked up to the cloudy sky from where she lay. ‘Oh, I am fine. Just stargazing... in the middle of the day... with clouds blocking my view, and a giant cake dragon thing trying to eat me. The usual problems, you know?’

‘We’ve gotta get moving,’ Cookie replied, ‘here, let me help-’

‘Nah, it’s alright. That’s twice now, and I should make myself useful. Not that I don’t appreciate the offer.’

A pillar of wet dirt was thrown into the air like a gooey geyser, bathing a large area around where the dragon now stood in a rain of mud. Roaring, the dragon stepped out of the crater looking mildly displeased about the whole thing.

Sparky grumbled. ‘Well, they certainly are tougher then they look.’

Cookie turned to face the monster. ‘And tougher, too.'

'That's what I just said, Cookie.'

Cookie turned back to Sparky. 'Oh, sorry.'

The dragon, meanwhile, had decided the best course of action was to charge the chatty pegasus. At this, Sparky pointed with a hoof, ‘uh, Cookie...’

He faced the dragon, who sped towards him carving a path in the mud, with more of the stuff flying in all directions. He then let out a girlish scream, wings beating, and falling backwards into Sparky.

‘COOKIE!’

Sparky threw herself around Cookie as best she could, and in her mind was only the thought of the not being in this spot at this time.

When she could still feel the breeze on her hair, there was a sigh of relief as the world came back into existence. Opening her eyes, she could see her legs dangling limply, and the ground about a hundred paces below her, which immediately prompted her to start screaming. 

‘OH WHAT THE HAY!’ She cried.

‘I got ya,’ Cookie said from about her. She flicked her head around to see Cookie was now carrying her with his front legs linked around hers like a chain.

That didn't comfort her at all. ‘I’M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!’

‘Roger that, captain. Down we go.’

When she looked down again, the dragon stared back up at her. The shouting had pinpointed their location, and the creature snapped at the air with it’s sharp tasty teeth.

‘NO, BACK UP! TAKE US BACK UP!’

Cookie groaned. ‘You’re so heeeavy,’ he complained.

Sparkys brain was in overdrive, which is what happened when she started to go into panic mode. ‘Back, fly backwards!’

Her helpful pair of wings did just that, bringing them above and in front of the dragon.

The gingerbread dragon made its move, and leapt into the air towards them, throwing wings wide open.

Sparky made her move, and fired a beam of green energy strait at the dragon, which struck it in the head. Then it kept going, as the dragons upper head came off in pieces, button eyes flying both ways. Stumbling sideways, a leg found the edge of the cliff and slipped off as part of the rock broke off under the weight, and the rest of the dragon went with it.

Five second later a crumbly thud echoed back up to the two flying ponies. ‘Oh, that was a really good shot, miss Sparky.’

She didn’t reply, instead breathing in and out heavily.

‘Did we get it? Is it still alive?’ he asked.

She, rather dumbly, looked down. ‘AAAAHHHHHH!’

‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Cookie replied.

- - -

Cookie trotted nervously up to Sparky as she lay beside her wheelchair, ‘Y... You sure you’re okay?’ He asked, with a little bit of stutter.

‘I’m fine, Cookie,’ she replied with exhaustion in her voice, raising a hoof as if to ease his conscience. ‘She placed it on her head, which reminded her it was covered in mud. 'Well... except for the whole nearly having a heart attack, because I’m deathly afraid of heights.’ This whole time, her other hoof was pressed tightly against her chest.

This hadn't reassured Cookie one bit. 'Well... um... at least we got the dragon thingy.'

Sparky gave a halfhearted nod, having become more interested in removing pieces of drying mud from her hair, which had become absolutely frayed with the stuff. ‘There was that part where you darn well struck it like a missile!’

‘He he, I know right?’ Cookie paused for a moment, looking directly at Sparky. ‘By the way, what’s a missile?’

Sparky ignored him and continued to play with her hair. ‘Great, I’m never going to get all this out. I suppose it’s like what my mother always said, that trying to look pretty only got you so far.‘ She glanced over to Cookie, who just stood there with his eyes staring back at hers. ‘What are you even doing back here? I thought I told you to go ahead of me and find Oracle?’

‘Oh, I found her. She’s being held in that cottage house I went to the other day. But, there’s all these scary dragons out the front, and I can’t get past them on my own.’

‘I see. You sure she’s alright though?’

‘I’m positive. Sunny Nights and Oracle were just kinda... talking, I think. I couldn’t really see too well, cause the windows were really small, and I didn’t want to get nipped by the scary dragons if I hung around too long. So, I left back the way I came, then I looked down and saw that dragon and you on the ground.'

‘I’m glad you did, Cookie.' She stopped playing with her hair. 'It wasn’t looking good for a moment there, and I didn’t really want “eaten by animated cake monster” on my tombstone anyway.’

Cookie's face brightened with a slight shade of red. ‘He he, it’s okay miss Sparky. It’s what I do.’

‘What, beat up monsters?’

Cookie nodded playfully.

‘Uh huh... whatever you say.’

The two ponies fell silent, but this time Cookie wasn't one for silence. ‘Um... why did you put us in the air, exactly?’ He asked curiously.

Sparky closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. ‘I panicked, okay?.’ She replied bitterly.

Cookie looked towards the ground, kicking some mud with a hoof.

Sparky sighed. ‘I’m sorry Cookie, I’m not usually this jumpy.' She took in a deep breath, and tried to exhale her frustrated thoughts. 'Usually I know exactly where I want to go, but ever since we came out here. Well, I’m really out of my comfort zone.’ She placed the tip of her front hooves together and ground them. ‘I knew... I knew I should have just said no to this whole idea.’

‘It’s okay miss Sparky, I won’t let anything happen to you.’

‘I... appreciate you saying that, Cookie. But, you have to understand, I’m a loner by heart. Being like... well, this,’ she waved over her whole body, ‘it makes a pony self sufficient, and it’s a bit of a shock to the system when you suddenly need another ponies help.’

Cookies tail wagged. ‘I understand.’

‘Do you?’

Cookie paused. ‘Nope, not really.’

She rolled her eyes, then her body. Facing the wheelchair, she flipped it over so that the bottom was facing her. ‘Then I'll explain it like you're five. Imagine for a moment that you couldn’t use you rear legs, not since you were a little filly.’

‘Okay,’ Cookie quickly replied, and sat his rear onto the ground. ‘Can’t move, check.’

‘Then pretend your friends and family suddenly helped you all the time, because you couldn’t do even the most simplest task without the help of another pony.’

‘Like, for example, I can’t put on my scarfy?’

‘Close enough.’ Poking around underneath the workings of her chair, she found the problem. ‘Okay, so now every day and night some other pony has to come and help you put on your... scarfy, right?’

‘Uh huh.’

‘Except if you want to go somewhere, say... your friends house.’

‘But my friend is in the room next to mine.’

‘Well, lets pretend they live several houses away, a long distance. But you can only go if somepony comes with you, because you can’t put on your scarfy.’

‘Okay.’

‘Are you getting where I’m going yet?’

‘I think so. So, if I go somewhere another pony always has to come with me because I can’t put on my scarfy cause I can’t move my legs.’

'Getting warmer.'

Cookie tapped his chin, gears in his head grinding hard. Then a light in his head lit up brightly... well, more like a candle, but you get what I'm saying. 'Oh! Oh, I think I get it. You didn't like needing help, because you never got any alone time, right?'

She turned her head and faced Cookie. ‘Bingo! I guess we are getting somewhere after all. Uh, what are you doing?’

‘I’m sitting down because I can’t use my legs.’

‘Oh, right, of course. Makes complete sense.’ She had to chuckle to herself, this pegasus really was quite unusual. She returned to working on her wheelchair. ‘So that’s what it used to be like for me. Always had to be some other pony with me at all times to look after me, especially if I wanted to do something fun, then suddenly it was every ponies problem, and it started to annoy me.’

Poking one of the hinges that held the main wheels axle in place, she quickly concluded she had found her problem. A few too many hard knocks had caused some of the screws to come loose and eventually fall out, which in turn was making the whole center of the wheelchair wobble. It probably didn't help that the last time she had bothered to actually check underneath her chair was several months ago, though she could have sworn she had done the once-over just before boarding the train to Ponyville.

‘So I decided to do the only thing I thought was right to do... to learn to do things all by myself. I'll admit, it took time and a lot of effort, but it payed off. I learned to teleport, taught myself how to move about without having to use my rear legs, and I adapted all the cool little tricks the doctors had taught me in rehab. Heck, I even put on the skulls on my wheels without help... or,’ she chuckled, 'without permission.'

Cookie looked pleased with himself. 'Okay, now I understand.'

‘Hm, could you make yourself useful and grab the screwdriver from my bag?’

‘Sure, okay!’ Cookie immediately rose to all fours and happily trotted over to the bag which lay beside the chair, and then stuck his head into it. 'But, miss Sparky, how did wanting to do things yourself make you a loner?' His voice echoed from inside the bag.

'I guess the problem is, even though you've become independent, that hasn't stopped other ponies from assuming you can't look after yourself... because Celestia forbid losing use of everything from the waist down suddenly renders you as capable as a brick.' She said the last part mostly to herself. 'I turned down help whenever it was offered, and eventually other ponies just stopped asking, I always assumed it was because they finally realized they didn't need to interfere with every little thing I tried to do.'

Cookie raised his head from the bag, with a screwdriver in his mouth. 'Ohm, knshta lshk thsk tme mhr cmpranrion-'

'Might want to drop the tool there, buddy.'

Cookie opened his mouth, and said tool dropped onto the ground, covered with a nice clear globule of spit. 'Okay!'

Sparky grimaced. 'Ew.' She made a note to thank whoever invented telekinesis later.

With Sparky proceeding to get to work with her hack job, Cookie repeated what he had said, this time without a screwdriver shoved into his gob. 'Kinda reminds me of this one time, when my companion broke one of his wings. They got really sad not being able to fly, and because I had to carry him every place, and then carry him back to home.'

'Hm, yes... I guess that is kinda close. That's how I used to feel. Sad, I suppose. Also, sometimes angry.' She quieted for a moment, stopping what she was doing. 'Not that I really meant it, I mean... it wasn't my fault, or any other ponies. I couldn't help but get frustrated whenever another pony offered to help me.' Turning to Cookie, she shrugged, 'it seemed they got the point, or at least understood. My mother was the one who said to try living by myself instead of with my parents. She even payed for the ticket to Ponyville, and the first months rent for the house.'

'Do you like it here?'

'Ponyville? Yes. It's... quiet. I've always liked quiet. Not being well known is a big plus, I was kinda famous back in my hometown as that one unicorn in the wheelchair. A bit of a rarity, you'd think.'

'Well, I've never even seen a chair thingy before.'

'It's pretty cool. I've had her for the last two years, an up-sized version my old one from when I was a filly. Same look, but that one was much smaller, and cuter, even kept the skulls.' She sighed, 'it has seen better days, you may have noticed. Considering bits are starting to fall off, there's all those tears in the seat cover. Not to mention the tires are worn out pretty badly.'

She looked up into the sky, making a note in her head that she wasn’t trying to tempt fate.

Cookie didn't know what half the big words coming out of the unicorns mouth meant, so he just smiled and nodded at (hopefully) appropriate moments. 'Well, it's still pretty neato. I wish I had something cool to show off.'

'What about your scarf? That's... well, different.'

'Oh... well, not as cool as a big metal wheel thingy with skulls on it.'

'Heh, thanks.' She had to at least smile politely in return, it wasn't often she received a compliment for her strange taste in decoration. However, the topic of strange decoration had got her curious. 'I have to ask, what's with the scarf, anyway?'

'Oh, I always get in on backwards.'

'No, silly. Why do you wear it?'

'Um, I found it when I was little in a hallway. Was kinda dirty though, so I washed it. Thought it looked kinda silly first but then Butterscotch said I should wear it... because it looked nice on me.'

'Who's Butterscotch?'

'Oh, that was my companion... um, special friend pony, I think that's the word ponies use for it, right?'

'Yes, I see. So you wear it just because you think it looks nice?'

'I think so. Does... does it not look nice?'

'It looks fine, buddy. I'm not judging your fashion sense, I mean... come on, I like skulls. Lots of ponies have found that strange.'

'Many ponies find me strange, I don't really know why.'

'Me neither,' Sparky replied, somewhat jokingly.

'I think it's because I always get my scarfy on backwards.'

'You already said that, and I might as well break the news to you, but I think you are wearing it the wrong way right now.'

'Oh no! Am I?' He reached underneath the red scarf and pulled it upwards, trying to get eyes on the question mark. Sparky raised a brow, her own eyes quickly spotting a large deep scar on Cookies chest. Dark pink skin opposed his light fluffy brown coat, it looked almost as if some pony had ran him through with a lance something fierce. A thousand questions jumped into her brain right at that moment, but she decided for her own sanity not to attempt to delve any deeper than she already had.

Cookie looked relieved. 'Nope, it's on the right way... I think.'

To help her not ask anymore questions, Sparky had returned to fixing her wheelchair. Cookie sided up to her and watched with interest, despite having no idea what was actually being done. With half the screws from the good hinge placed into the damaged hinge, she checked the tightness of the axle once again. Significantly less give, at least enough to not break off. That was assuming she didn't suffer any more knocks by angry gingerbread dragons.

'There,' she said, wiping forehead with hoof, and realizing a few seconds too late she smeared her face with grease. 'I moved a few bits from one side to the other, and it should hold until we actually have some time where I can sit down and fix it proper. Shame I didn't bring actual spare parts for under the chair, but that's the way the world works.'

'You're pretty good at fixing things.' Cookie said. 'I couldn't do anything like that.'

'That's one benefit of wanting to do things by yourself,' Sparky replied, 'you get a lot of practice on all sort of stuff you normally wouldn't try. I can’t use real fancy magic to save my life, but I can fix nearly anything, even without the right parts.' Pulling herself back into her chair, she gave a quick rock back and forth to double check. The wobble was much less noticeable, and it helped to renew a bit of confidence in Sparky. 'Right, we should get moving, I've already wasted enough time getting this poor thing back into somewhat working order.'

Cookie gave a deep nod. 'Okay, miss Sparky. What should I do?'

Sparky looked puzzled. 'Do I look like some sort of leader to you?'

Cookie replied by tilting his head sideways.

'Just... do what you do best, which I'm supposing is flying.'

'Okay miss Sparkster. I'll fly up above you and keep you posted on any scary dragon sightings!'

With that, he shot into the air with remarkable speed, Sparky could almost swear she could see an outline where Cookie had been seconds ago.

She shook her head, and rolled forward. 'No pony has called me Sparkster in years.' 
	
> 6: The one with the fight scene.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Your friend is taking his time,' Sunny Days grumbled, proceeding to take another sip from her cup of tea.

Oracle obliged her, and took a sip of her own. It had a smooth texture, with just a hint of mint. Apparently, Sunny was also a good tea maker, though that might have been obvious considering the cupboards were packed with about twenty different kinds of flavor.

The two sat at a small round table by the corner of the kitchen, where they had done so for the last half an hour. There was a clock on the wall, on the opposite side, but Oracle hadn't payed attention to the time beforehand. Only now had it grabbed her attention with continuous ticking in the midst of silence, reminding her she was supposed to be waiting for a rescue. She had become too interested in divulging every last piece of information from Sunny to even remember that she was supposed to have been kidnapped.

Not that Sunny had really helped reinforce the situation, having become loose with her words about five (yes, five) cups of tea into their conversation. Oracle had seen her mother have perhaps half of that at most, at her worst moments, but Sunny Days was going through the stuff like it was out of fashion. She observed the across the table pegasus carefully, especially as she poured each new cup, noting carefully how each time she reached for a bottle that looked to be filled with caramel or something similar.

Oracle had started carefully at first, gathering little tidbits and trading small talk. Things quickly snowballed until the two ponies were telling each other about their lives.

'I had run that place for nearly a decade,' Sunny had begun a few minutes ago, talking about her bakery. 'My father had run it for half his life, and his father had run it for all of his before that. I was the first Mare to take charge, and I had big boots to fill.'

'So, what happened?'

'Business was good, as it always had been. Long lasting businesses get a reputation that fits them. Heck, you can make a few mistakes here and there, and you'll remain fine.' She took a good long drink from her glass, and continued. 'So with that in mind, I took some risks. New recipes, new ideas, new designs and stuff like that. Some worked, some didn't, but my father was always there to help. He was old by then, but mother had passed many years back, and the only thing he had left was the place he had run for so many years. And so, he lent a hand wherever he could, and through good or bad times I enjoyed every minute of it.'

This kind of story never had a happy ending, Oracle thought. 'But it didn't last, did it?' She asked.

You could almost see Sunny go cold at this point. 'No, no it didn't. A few years pass, and this new business opens up next door. Big bakery, three times our size. They use machines rather than hand making, and sell stuff for cheaper too because of it. We couldn't compete with that, but I had faith ponies would choose the more natural choice.'

Canterlot ponies were notorious for adopting the newest trends, even Oracle knew this. 'They didn't, did they?'

'For a time, they did. But slowly ponies were moving over to the new business, and as they got more money they only grew while we shrunk. I could see it coming, but my father saw it earlier, and... it broke his heart.'

'Wasn't there something else you could do? Sell something else?'

'That place was founded on love, not bits. My family lived a modest life, and the bakery was all we had. The only viable option was to sell the place, and at the same time get rid of all the expenses. That's the route I chose, but father disagreed. We argued for nights, until one night I got the letter.'

'Letter?'

'My father was hospitalized, and very sick. The whole ordeal had taken its toll on him, and he paid the price.' Sunny took another stiff drink, finishing the cup off.

'I'm sorry to hear that, truly I am.'

'Of course you are,' she said bitterly, slamming the cup down on the counter. 'Everypony was sorry, but being sorry doesn’t pay the bills. Still lost the business, in the end. Most of the money went to keeping my father well.'

She spoke darkly. 'That's all in the past now, because I have been given a second chance.'

Oracle raised a brow. 'Second chance? By who?'

'Someone who was willing to give me his time, to listen to my plight. More than any other pony was willing, that is for sure.' 

‘And I suppose I’m not allowed his name?’

Sunny shook her head. ‘Of course not, because even I don’t know it.’ She seemed a little uneasy at the mention of this, her voice cracking just a little. ‘All I know is that he wanted me to help make some dragons, and in return I would receive enough bits to buy back my business, and then some.’ She sighed, though there was a hint of a chuckle. ‘There’s no point in hiding that fact, anymore, since you’ve already seen them.’

Oracle’s warm demeanor was fading, and she started to feel uneasy. The fact some mysterious figure was asking for a small army of dragons, doing so in private, didn’t bode well for anypony, at all. Especially her, considering she was caught in the middle of it.

She had to admit, though, being in the center of all this was her fault. She was the one that wanted the questions answered. Now that she had those answers, Oracle wished she had stayed home.

Too late for that, far too late. She wished, deep inside, the other two would arrive soon, and safely.

Sunny raised her head. ‘Your friend is taking his time.' 

And thus here they were now, in the present.

'You'll have to excuse me for a moment,' Sunny said whilst biting her lip, 'I have to use the bathroom, go figure.'

Sliding out of her chair, she gave a wink to Oracle. 'Now don't you go anywhere, dear. Wouldn't want the dragons to eat you or anything.' Then, she wandered across the room and down a hallway, not in a straight line. 

Oracle leapt out of her own chair, and climbed up to Sunnys. Front hooves on the table, she leaned in to what remained of her captors tea and sniffed. Her nose was met with a sharp unpleasant smell that stood out from all the other aromas. She knew enough about adult ponies and their odd habits to figure what she was smelling was likely alcoholic.

That answered more questions than she had hoped for, and it made her grin from one ear to the other. She immediately knew why the pony had been so talkative, but it was more than that. She knew Sunny was stressed, this whole ordeal was bothering the pegasus, and had only been getting worse as time had passed.

The window near the kitchen beckoned her. Outside, she could see the large gingerbread dragon that had brought her here in the first place, nicely curled up under a makeshift tin roof. A length of rope tied around a nearby tree helped to hold the metal upright, and the occasional drop of light rain struck loudly. She tried to peer closer, nose pressed right up to the glass. 

Eyes widening, she noticed that the dragons... the damage…

No way! It was nearly all gone! Oracle looked away, back inside the room. How was that even possible? Sunny had remained indoors the entire time, so she had nothing to do with it. Could it be possible, that it had merely repaired its own damage?

Shocking, yes, but given the fact that it was a giant gingerbread dragon. Sensibility had gone right out the window, so there really wasn’t much point tried to justify a reason when the answer was probably magic.

She worried though, and quite rightly so, that the other two probably had no idea this was even possible.

- - -

‘Cold, hungry and tired,’ Sparky muttered dryly to herself. ‘Yep, this exactly what I wanted in an adventure.’

‘Here it is!’ Shouted Cookie from over a small hill. Sure enough, when Sparky finally managed to push herself up said hill, she could see the cabin over in the distance. From this viewpoint, it was a little difficult to spot directly, with several pine trees sprouted around it and winding their way up the side of a small cliff, with exposed roots reaching out the side like angry claws. A pillar of smoke rose from a small chimney, which was the best giveaway that the cabin was even there. There was no clean trail leading to it, worse for sparky was that the way down was rugged and quite steep.

She turned in her seat to Cookie. ‘So, we have a plan?’ Silly question, she thought a little too late, given how sharp in the brainpan Cookie seemed.

‘Um, sure,’ he replied, which did surprise Sparky just a little, but she waited for the answer, which she dreaded. Cookie continued, ‘I should go scout around for those dragons, we can try and find a way in without drawing their att... atten...’

‘Attention?’

‘That’s the word! Thanks. Anywho, we get inside and we can rescue miss Oracle and those dragons won't be able to get us, because the cabin’s too small for them.’

‘That... that is actually a decent plan. Problem though, how do we both get in?’ She scratched her chin with a forehoof. ‘I mean, sure, you can fly and from what I’ve seen are pretty stealthy, I’m not.’

‘But you can teleport, right?’

Sparky nodded. ‘Well, duh. Only short distances, though, plus I need a pretty good idea of where I’m actually porting into. If I don’t know what the inside of the cabin looks like, I could end up inside the wall or something.’

Cookie responded with widened eyes. ‘Really?’

Sparky waved a foreleg in reply and chuckled. ‘Hasn’t happened yet, but my teacher always told me to use caution, and so far so good.’

‘Okay, okay... then I’ll help you get you close enough. We’ll be super dooper quiet so they don’t see us with their ears.’

‘Right, it’s the best we got, and saving Oracle is all that counts, so it will do.’ She paused, bit her lip, and faced Cookie again. ‘I hate to admit it, but I’m nervous as all heck. This is way out of my comfort zone.’

‘I know, but you’ll do fine.’

‘Thanks. That’s very reassuring and all that, but... well, aren’t you even a little bit worried?’

‘Oh, I’m close to fainting in fear,’ Cookie replied a little too cheerfully.

‘That’s not reassuring.’

Cookie placed a hoof on Sparkys chair. ‘We’ll be fine, miss Sparkster. I’ve done this sort of thing before.’

‘What, rescue ponies from an angry baker armed with a small army of dragons?’

‘Well, not that exactly, but-’

A shriek echoed from behind, pulling both ponies ears up. It sounded a little too familiar to the both of them.

They exchanged worried glances. 'Was that?' Sparky asked.

Cookie didn't even need to answer, for the gingerbread dragon the two had fought only an hour ago appeared in the sky, flying towards them. This immediately prompted Cookie to leap a few feet into the air and right into the waiting arms of Sparky. Well, that's what should have happened, but Sparky was facing the other way, and thus Cookie landed flat on the ground.

'Quiet, Cookie!' Sparky said from the side of her mouth, with her wide eyes staring on the creature. She tried focusing on its head, looking for the damage she had done to it. As difficult as this was, she managed just enough of a glance at the creatures head to see it was still partially missing half of it.

'That's also not reassuring.'

However, to her relief, it didn't notice the two of them, as they stared in silence (the most quiet Cookie had been for quite some time). Flying overhead, a rush of wind waved over the ponies as the creature passed surprisingly close to them, messing up Sparkys hair. 

Letting out a final roar, the dragon disappeared behind the trees, to where the cabin lay.

Cookies head raised beside Sparky. 'Is it gone yet?'

Sparky had turned slightly lighter in shade. 'I... we... how did it even-'

Cookie stuck a hoof halfway into his mouth. 'That was pretty scary.'

'We have to get moving Cookie.'

He took the hoof out. 'Huh?'

'That dragon didn't look very happy. I can only begin to imagine what's going to happen next, especially when Sunny sees what we did to said dragon.'

'What did we do?'

Spark sighed heavily. 'L... let's just go.'

Cookie gave a salute. 'Aye aye captain!' Then, he shot into the air like an arrow launched out of a bow.

Sparky reached out at nothing. 'Hey, hey wait!' She tried to shout, before biting her tongue, trying not to be too loud. 'You were supposed to help me get there quietly, you silly pegasus.' She then looked down at the precarious path before her, and grumbled. 'Aw, shoot.'

The grey unicorn could have just taken the easy route of teleporting down, except for the fact that it was incredibly noisy and she preferred to have a clear head for what lay ahead (and in her mind, it wasn't pleasant). Naturally, she found herself about halfway down already as she thought, leaning backwards to let the large back wheels of her chair do all the work.

'That filly so owes me.'

The trees passed slowly, her arms were growing weak with exhaustion, but she pressed on. There was a small ragged pathway, with overgrown roots jutting past and rocks gathered in clumps where rain had washed away the dirt. It could barely be called a path, but it was better than either side of her, where the trees were thick.

Though, it really wasn't much of a big deal. In fact it made her remember an old route back in her hometown, a shortcut between her house and the local candy shop that had become overgrown with weeds after years of disuse, and bad weather had roughened up the surface. Such good times she had racing as a filly though that place, gaining small amounts of air in her tiny wheelchair as she shot over hills and roots at just the right angle. It may have cost her several tires in the process, but those times where she forgot every little silly worry she had, and found herself in the moment... the moment of pure adrenaline rushing joy.

And she remembered the day when they paved over the old path with a new fresh cement, and the thrill was all gone. Back to the same old boring life once again.

She smiled to herself in sync with the thoughts in her head. For a moment Sparky forgot why she was even here, how nervous she had felt. Afraid, even. Now all she could think of was why she had finally decided to come along on this little trip.

To feel alive.

There was a desire to ride this pathway like the old days. Oracle mattered more, though. She threw her arms forward with renewed vigor. With that crazy pegasus Cookie Crumble by her side, they'd get the filly detective back safely and deal with this mad baker and her little army of dragons.

Then she'd go home, sleep, and then go down the hill from the observatory to her home at unsafe speeds, several times, giggling like a filly over and over again.

'Hey Sparkster,' emerged a voice suddenly from slightly above and behind.

Sparky jumped out of her seat slightly, and turned to face the hovering Cookie with a glare.

Cookie looked nervous. 'Oh, um... sorry?'

'Did you ever have a career in scaring mares half to death, or something?'

'Um...'

'I'm just messing with you, ya weirdo. I'm fine, what's up?'

'Oh, I scouted ahead, and we have a problem.'

'Surprised, I am not, but go ahead and explain anyway.'

'Wellll...' Cookie began as he turned this way and that, giving an unnecessary pantomime as he explained, 'lot's of little scary dragons just gathered together with a bigger one, and I think I say Sunny Nights there too.'

'Sunny Days, I think you mean.'

'Yeah, that pony. She didn't look very happykins.'

'Figures. She knows we're coming, and that we can put up a fight, too. Not too good for us, since one dragon is annoying enough. Now the question remains. How do we get inside?'

'I'll distract them, and you get close enough to tele... te... teleport inside.'

Sparky went back to feeling nervous, and worried. 'You thought that up awfully quick, you sure that will work?'

Cookie grinned confidently. 'Nope!'

In response, Sparky closed her eyes. 'We're going to die horribly.'

'Don't worry, I've done this before, too!'

'Sure... sure you have.'

'Really, I have! It was a long time ago, Butterscotch and me were-'

A branch fell beside them, and Sparky jumped a few seconds afterwards. Cookie screamed like a mare, again. Both ponies looked up, and saw the dragon perched in the tree. The corners of their eyes caught other shapes moving. There was more than one, all on different branches in different trees, but all focusing on one object. 

Them.

The two ponies looked at one another.

'Plan B?' Sparky asked.

'Plan... B?' Cookie replied with head tilted.

Sparky glanced up for a split second, her horn began glowing. 'Plan B.'

Cookie nodded. 'Plan B.'

The dragons dived. The ponies dived. A ray of green flew out, struck a dragon in its wing, and it banked sideways into a pine tree. Splinters and leaves exploded into the air as the very ground shook. Roots carved through the ground as the tree gave way. 

Another dragon rushed past its fallen comrade with claws reaching out towards Sparky. Driving herself as fast as she could towards a stump, the dragon was forced to change course to avoid a collision. With barely a moment to breathe, the next dragon landed in front of her, agitated and ready for a brawl. Her eyes fell beside it, seeing Cookie striking another with extended hind leg, spinning about as it recovered to grab it by its own leg.

Her attention was refocused as the dragon before her charged. 'Not this time!' She shouted and threw up a force field. As the gingerbread monstrosity collided, she pushed the field forward and down, crushing the dragon into the ground as hard as her magic could muster. For a moment, her vision seem to tunnel as she pushed harder and harder, waiting for something... anything, to give way.

A sudden and painful sensation ran through her body as a tail struck her from the side. The face of the attacker came into view for just a moment as she backed into the side of a stump, somehow still in her chair. She had no idea how... no time to even think, more dragons landed.

'Little help, Cookie!' She yelled.

Cookie dropped what he was doing (tying the legs of his victim in a knot), and sprung into action. A wing clipped a dragon from the side, and he barely recovered in time to crash sideways into his new target, bowling the both of them over into a small damp ditch.

The dragon he struck thrashed about, trying to stand up. Sparky aimed her horn and fired, the beam passing by the deadly baked good just a few inches to the left.

'Shoot,' Sparky muttered. She aimed again, but the sound of crunching to her right turned her attention, and the glowing horn pointed at two dragons.

She let out a groan, letting her horn dim as she looked all around her. The dragons surrounded them from but a horses length.

Cookie coughed, speaking from underneath the talons of the dragon he had taken with, who in turn had the pegasus pinned to the ground. 'Plan B kinda didn't work.'

'Plan B sucked,' Sparky replied. 
	
> 7: The one with a basement.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Ah, look who finally decided to arrive,' Sunny Days said cheerfully, the first time she had been lifted to such a mood for the last two hours.

Oracle, unfortunately, wasn't of the same enthusiasm. 'Great...' she muttered depressingly, her heart having sunk deep into chest.

The two captured ponies were shoved right on through the front door with encouragement from the dragons outside. Cookie tripped on his own hoof and fell sideways into a stool, causing the whole room to shake briefly. A painting on the wall straightened.

Sparky Scamper, on the other hand, saw Oracle and immediately looked significantly more happy, considering the circumstances. 'Good to see you're okay, champ,' she said with relief.

'Same of you,’ Oracle replied, sincerely. ‘I was starting to think the worst.'

Sparky waved a hoof. 'Shouldn't have. The two of us had everything under control. Right up until the end there,' she glanced sideways at Cookie, whom replied with a grin.

Sunny gave a hearty laugh. 'I didn't actually think it would be this easy. Oh, joy is me!' She clapped her front hooves together. 'Alright, now that I have you all here and under control, I can get to work finishing up my last dragon.'

'On that topic, what happens to us now?' Oracle asked, to which Sunny just gave an evil smile.

When the door slammed shut, the basement fell into complete darkness. A loud click echoed through the room as the lock was set, and afterward the room quickly became silent.

'That was rude,' Oracle pouted, breaking said silence.

'I didn't even think a place like this would have a basement,' Sparky said.

'You and me both.'

'Did somepony touch me?' Cookie asked.

'I'm not even near you,' grumbled Sparky.

Cookie gave a shout. 'AH! SPIDER! SPIDER ON MY FACE!' There was a crash shortly afterward and what sounded like sticks falling over one by one.

'Everypony be quiet for a second,' Oracle said. 'We need to think.'

'Well, how about some light?' Sparky said. With that, her familiar green light touched every  corner of the basement.

'Thank you, Sparky,' Oracle said. Her eyes danced around the now green colored room. There really wasn't much in it, covering perhaps thirty feet square. The stairs reached down from the side of the room, the ponies having been ushered down one by one. Sparky, of course, had to be carried. Thus, Cookie obliged, against mild protest from the unicorn.

'This is very awkward,' Sparky had said, as she sat on Cookies back, wishing she had just teleported. Then again, might as well keep Sunny in the dark about that little trick.

'I'm not usually this good with stairs,' Cookie chirped, rather proudly.

'Don't tell me that now!'

Apart from the stairs, several bricks lay in a corner in a heap, a log sat against another wall alongside another slightly shorter one, similar to what had been used to build the walls of the cabin. Cookie lay on his back on the opposite side, still as a rock, with several dry mops over the top of him.

Sparky coughed, the air was filled with dust thanks to Cookie dancing around the room. 'You'd think she'd have been a little more hospitable, eh?'

'To me, she was. Considering I'm just a little filly, though, and you two actually have... er... had... the ability to stop her. Then again, I really don't know what's going through her mind right now. She's a bit drunk,'

'With power?'

'With alcohol.'

'Ah, well that's interesting, to say the least.' Sparky wished she was slightly intoxicated right about now. It would at the very least lighten her dimming mood.

'She's nervous, which shouldn't be a surprise given what she plans to do.'

'Do you know what she is planning?'

'Somewhat. She was loose of tongue, and told me she was making these dragons for some third party in return for bits.'

'That can’t be good, but why go that far?’

'So that she can buy back her business,' Oracle replied, to which the wheelchair mare simply rolled her eyes playfully.

‘Typical,’ Sparky began, ‘always gotta go with the strangest option, couldn’t have just taken a loan or something.’ She crossed her forelegs. ‘Nope, bake giant scary dragons for money.’

‘Her father is also sick, and the bits would likely cover that too.’

‘Ah.’

Still didn't make much sense to her, though.

'I didn’t learn what this other fellow really plans to do with the dragons, but it can't be for nice reasons. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to go to all this effort with regards to secrecy. What type of pony wants a small army of dragons, anyway?'

Cookie butted in. 'An evil pony, that's who!'

'Wow, you should be a detective!'

Sparky nearly choked on her laughter.

Oracle continued, regardless. 'What really matters at the moment, though, is getting out of here and stopping her before she does anything or hurts anypony. We have to talk her out of this.'

'I'm thinking of a way to get out,' Sparky said, 'I can teleport to the other side of the door and open it from there, but there is the risk of the noise my porting makes, and... well, that looked like a keyhole on the handle, I don't think it'll open without a key.'

'You're thinking very intelligently, though, Sparky,' Oracle replied. 'How about an unlocking spell of some sort?'

Sparky shrugged. 'No, sorry. I never had any use for such a spell.'

Oracle nodded. 'Fair enough. How about you, Cookie,' she turned to the fluffy pegasus, 'any ideas?'

This brightened him up. 'Well, maybe I can try something.'

'Something?'

'I have a special door opening trick.'

The other two looked at one another, then back at Cookie. Oracle tried to form words. 'W... what?'

'I learned it back in my secret temple place I'm not really supposed to tell you about.' He played with the dust on the ground with a hoof, looking down. 'That is, if you want, of course.'

'Is it quiet?'

Cookie nodded with his tongue poking out.

'Good enough for me. Go right ahead.'

Sparky crossed her arms, turning back to Oracle. 'And once the door is open, then what?'

'We grab Sunny and get answers from her, quietly if possible. If we can find a way to take out the dragons, that would be even-'

BANG!

Both Sparky and Oracle jumped. Eyes focused on Cookie, who had a foreleg pressed up against the door, his face slightly twisted.

Oracle struggled with her words, again. 'Did you just... punch the door?'

'Ow...' he replied with a whimper, 'I think I just broke my hoof.'

Sparky yelled up to him. 'Was that supposed to be your version of quiet? How does punching a door even-'

Said door opened with a slight creak.

Sparkys mouth fell wide open, and so did Oracle's at that. 'How...'

Cookie returned a sheepish grin. 'Has a silly name, I just call it the door opening trick.'

Oracle shook her head, regaining her composure. 'Well, it worked, I guess that's what counts.'

The trio immediately made for the other side, Cookie once again carrying Sparky up the stairs.

‘This isn't any better,’ she grumbled.

Once that was done, the hallway awaited them. There was no sign of life, and it was also scaringly quiet here. The kind of silence you really didn’t want to hear (or not hear, I guess). Oracle felt something could jump out from around a corner at any minute, though in the back of her mind there was little chance of such a thing happening considering the size of the dragons. She hoped at the very least they weren't into renovating a house, by stomping all over it.

Sparky, meanwhile, had turned around to face the door from this side, and had taken a moment to get her brain to start working again after what she saw. 'Uh, Cookie?'

'Yes, miss Sparkster?'

She pointed her hoof at handle, and the disengaged lock.

'Door opening trick.'

She decided to not to even try pressing any further. However, she did take point, considering her wheels were quieter than hoof steps on this wooden floorboard. Carefully peering into each open room, she saw no pony whatsoever, nor did her ears pick up a sound. Finally, they made their way back into the main lounge room next to the kitchen, and Oracles ears shot up.

'Sounds like she's outside, talking to... some pony else?'

'Another pony, are you sure?'

'She can't be talking to herself, can she?'

Oracle tried to look out the window in the lounge room, but lacked the height to get any real view. Sparky took her place and placed her elbow along her head as she looked out, the sun was starting to poke out through the clouds, and a small stream of light needled through the trees along this side of the house.

Leaping onto the mares lap, Oracle looked through the window. 'Maybe she's around the back side of the house.'

'You right there, missy?'

Oracle gave a sheepish grin. 'Heh, sorry.'

'Alright, so maybe we should go the other way,' Sparky said, after Oracle had jumped back down to the floor.

Cookie was way ahead of them, having made his way to the bedroom at the back of the house. Apart from the typical bed, there was also a cabinet with several pictures. One of these pictures grabbed the attention of Oracle, a black and white photo of two ponies together with arms around each other. A young looking pegasus smiled back at her, with messy hair reaching around her neck. She stood upright and professionally like you might expect a pony to when their photo was being taken, but she was angled slightly, and Oracle could just see the cutie mark. It was clearly Sunny, though the lack of color had thrown the filly detective for just a moment.

Next to her, was an older pony, lacking wings and quite more rounded than the slender mare he hugged closely. Oracle assumed that this was Sunnys father, though that was only a guess, since it seemed a bit odd that whilst Sunny was a pegasus, the other was an earth pony.

It was likely her mother was a pegasus too, since Sunny Days had talked so much about family, but the fact she couldn't see a photo of another pony apart from those too suggested her mother...

Poor girl. No wonder she valued her father so much.

Cookie gave an excited little jump. 'There she is!'

This got the attention of Oracle, and also Sparky who was looking through the window on another wall.

'She's with those scary dragon things,' Cookie continued, 'in a big circle. Wow, there's a lot of them, isn't there?'

When Oracle had a chance to get a view, she had to agree. There was at least ten small dragons, in addition to the large dragon that had brought Oracle here in the first place.

No sign of the other big dragon that Sunny was talking about, though. Must be putting the final touches on it. Strange she would have none of them keeping an eye on the cabin just in case the three of them broke out of the basement (which they had), but maybe Sunny was just overconfident... and there was also the fact that three ponies weren't much of a match for eleven dragons.

'What do we do?' Sparky asked Oracle.

'I... don't know.'

'Good plan.'

'I know, I know... but the three of us-'

Sparky waved her hoof and gave a chuckle. 'Yeah, a cripple, filly and loony aren't much of a match for what’s outside. However, the plan was to get you out of here, and since we have you safely we can probably get a move on.'

Oracle shook her head. 'We still need to find out what's going on, we have to confront her.'

'And if she wants to just lock us up again? Or worse this time?'

Oracle paused, and thought about such a circumstance for a moment. 'I honestly don't know what we could do. There's still a chance, though, that I can talk her out of this. If she truly is doing this to regain her business, there has to be an easier way.'

Deep inside her gut, however, she knew that Sunny had likely exhausted every other option. There was another reason she was doing all of this.

Sparky nodded, and gave a sigh. 'I guess there's no turning back now, is there?' Reflecting Oracle own thoughts exactly.

'Let's just talk to her, okay?'

'Okay. I'll be right behind, champ. I won't let anything happen to you.'

'Thank you, Sparky.'

Cookie tapped his chin, deep in thought. 'So, am I the loony?'

The three ponies made their way to the front door. As they made their way outside, Oracle pulled Sparky aside, leaving Cookie to wander off on his own, humming a tune to himself as he did.

'Sparky...'

'Yes, champ?'

'Thank you.'

'You already said that, several times I recall.'

'I mean... for all of this.'

Sparky tilted her head, raising a brow as she did.

'You could have just said no, but instead you tagged along on my crazy little mission.'

Sparky shrugged in reply, unsure of herself in what to really say. 'Well, I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Okay, so there was a couple of moments, but,' she thought back to that exciting little moment she had on the trail to the cabin, where she had felt like a little filly again, 'it's been quite a rush, something I've missed for a long time.'

Oracle smiled. 'You're a good friend, Sparky.'

This made the unicorn smile. 'Heh, and you've been a big load of surprises since I first met you beside my upside down table.'

They shared a short laugh together, before remembering what they were here for.

'Shall we? Before Cookie blunders into those dragons by himself?'

'Lead on, champ.'

- - -

Sunny looked surprised as she turned to face the three ponies. The dragons had moved either side to reveal her standing in the middle with a large pile of dough that was roughly shaped like a dragon. For their part, the three had done a poor job of stylishly approaching the crowd, so much so that the triumphant music appropriate for such a moment hadn't even started.

'You're earlier than I expected you to be. These days you just can't keep a bunch of ponies locked up, can you?'

'I just wanted to talk, that's all,' Oracle replied.

'Yes, I'm sure. There's little else you can do, but you really would have been better off staying inside and letting me do my work.'

'You have to stop this, Sunny.' Oracle waved a hoof at all the dragons. 'There has to be an easier way than this... insanity.'

Sunny did not look pleased at this, her smile turning upside down. 'Insanity?! Is that what you think it is?' She began to laugh, slowly at first, but quickly becoming more boisterous in tone... which didn't help her image one bit. 'Of course you think it is insanity, dear. Why didn't I just try something simple, like work a job or sell cookies?'

She approached the ponies, close to where Oracle stood, and looked grimly upon the young earth pony. 'Oh, I tried, believe me. Every... single... day, I tried. As hard as I could, and what did I get from it? A handful of bits and a father who was getting sicker every day.'

'And you think this is the best way to get your business back? An army of dragons to cause all sorts of havoc?'

'Havoc?' She began to laugh again, but held herself back this time around, 'no dear, they're not for that sort of mischief. I'm just making them for someone else, who offered a large sum for the work, that is all.'

Oracle raised her brow. 'What kind of noble minded pony orders an army of gingerbread dragons?

As Sunny opened her mouth to speak, a thin shadow loomed over all of them. The sky seemed to turn red through the trees, a streak of bloody ink cutting through them. Her eyes peered upwards, and then back at the trio. 'Why don't you ask him yourself?'

In what was becoming a regular trend, Cookie was terrified and frozen still. Then again, if you saw a sliver of red snaking its way down to where you stood, chances are good you'd also be a little spooked.

It struck above the dragon much like a drop of ink touched water, slowly absorbing itself into the lifeless creature. The last signs disappeared as the head of the creature raised from the ground.

Sunny smiled to herself, turning to face the rising dragon. It stood tall over the seemingly insignificant ponies in front of it, three times larger than the other dragons, and slightly bigger still than the other large gingerbread dragon. 'So it is done then, is this enough for you?'

And then the dragon spoke, with a dark gravelly voice. 'This will do,' it said down to Sunny Days.

No pony went colder than Oracle. 'It talks?'

The dragon lifted it's head past Sunny, blank biscuit eyes staring at the filly detective. 'And who is this... that speaks?'

Sunny stepped forward. 'No pony special, just a troublemaker. Not a very successful one mind-'

'The question was not directed to you, pegasus,' the voice spoke like ice daggers. Sunny went still and quiet, head down, as the dragon repeated the question.

'My name is Oracle, I am the filly detective.'

'I see, though I am afraid I have not heard of you before. Where are my manners, though... I am knows as Diabolicus Bakerus, have you heard of me?'

A thought clicked in Oracles mind, thinking back to the book that Cookie had stolen. 'D Bakerus, you wrote the book on baking and summoning spirits.'

'I'm glad you have heard of my work, though I must admit I did not truly write it. I merely advised a pony of this world to write for me.'

'Then that makes you a spirit, a creature from another plane of existence.'

'Perhaps a formal introduction might better explain myself. I am the embodiment of all that is bakery, the great spirit lord of Bakerus, the plane of eternal dough.'

Sparky tilted her head with a mixture of confusion and surprise. 'You can't be serious, that's... well-'

'Ridiculous? Stupid? From your perspective, perhaps it is. But, I would say the same of your world. So many strange things, a landscape made of crushed rocks, clear liquid floating about in large quantities, sometimes even in the sky. And all around us,’ the dragon gestured wide, ‘an invisible substance that you creatures need to survive. Now that... that is ridiculous.'

'If it is so strange a place, to you, then why did you come here?' Oracle asked. 'What is so special about Equestria?'

'It is a focal point of magic, far stronger than the smaller planes of existence that lie close to it.'

'And what is so important about magic, to you?'

'It would make me, and my plane... stronger.'

Oracle was already beginning to dread the answer to the next question. 'How do you intend to get your... claws... on this magic?'

'By taking over Equestria, of course.'

She didn't really like that answer, but then again neither did any of the other ponies, who shared confuse looks upon one another. Even Sunny seemed a taken aback, though she said nothing.

'A little cliché,' Oracle replied, returning her eyes from the other ponies back to the dragon, 'but even so, you expect to win with just this many dragons?'

'Yes, actually. I don't expect you to understand, little one, but things are never as simple as they seem. I've been preparing for years on my plane, all that was needed to complete my plans was someone from this world willing to help me.'

'That wasn’t part of the deal,' Sunny Days said nervously, 'all I was asked to do was make some dragons, and I was promised a reward in return.'

'Ah, yes you were, and you shall receive it as promised, my dear. But, for now, I need you for one final task.'

'W... what do you need?'

'Your body.'

As Sunny opened her mouth to reply, a whip of reddish light struck out from the dragon and around the pegasus. So bright was this light, Oracle and the others covered their eyes with hooves, and when it had finally died down, Sunny Days faced them.

She checked a foreleg like she was looking for the time on a watch. 'Squishy,' she said, still using her own voice, 'small frame, hearing is a little weak, too... but to see this world as it is supposed to be seen is a nice advantage.'

Oracle had taken a moment to realize what had possibly happened. 'What... what have you done?'

'Possession, little one. You really should read up on your evil spirits. It's what we do, it's what we have to do if we wish to have a true, physical, effect on this world.'

Sparky had backed off slightly, siding next to Cookie. 'We have to do something, right now,' she said from the side of her mouth.

Cookie replied by shaking his head. 'No, not now.'

'Why? What the heck do you mean with no? You're seeing what I'm seeing right?'

The possessed Sunny sighed. 'I'm a little disappointed to be honest. I was expecting some form of resistance, like perhaps a wizard or some knights from Canterlot. I guess this pegasus was actually pretty good at hiding her intentions, my own fault for underestimating I suppose. Still, very little magic flows in this place we now stand in. Unfortunate, but expected.’

Looking over the three ponies, he scoffed. 'I must apologize, you're not worth my time, since I have work to do, and every second in this world is dangerous to me.' She walked backwards for a few steps as she spoke, before turning around and hopping on top of the large dragons head... whom had bowed down low so that it reached the ground. 'It'll take time to get used to these tiny wings.'

As the dragon raised once more, and wings spread out wide, Sunny gave a wave. 'Also, thank you for not doing anything stupid to try and stop me, I didn't really want to waste my time and energy on you, both are precious. Still, once I've begun the conversion of this world, you'll be glad I spared you. Bakerus really is a nice place, you'll quite like it, I promise.'

With that, the dragons, all of them, lifted off, and took into to the air directly upwards.

Oracle faced her allies, and her calm demeanor broke down, becoming  the equivalent of five years old. 'Oh my goodness what do we do what do we do?!'

Cookie stepped forward and hushed her with a hoof, placed gently to her mouth, still looking up in the air. 'We have to knock out Sunny Days.'

Sparky butted in. 'I think you mean Sunny... oh wait, you said her name right that time.'

He continued. 'Sunny willingly gave her body as a vessel when she accepted that reward. She didn’t know it, but spirits like that one create binding deals, and this one had fine print she didn't read. But, it's still a contract, and it can be broken. If we knock out Sunny, Bakerus will be separated, and in his power weakened.'

'And then what, smarty pants?'

He wheeled around to face Sparky. 'A spirit form is extremely weak, and vul... v... vuln... um... it's very weak to being struck with magic from  our world. He's not used to it, and has little protections against its raw power. We have to wait for the right moment though, because I think I know what he is going to do... and if he does it, we can send him back to his own world.'

‘What is he going to do?’ Oracle asked, stuttering slightly.

‘Open a portal to his world, and bring his army into ours. I’ve seen it done before, you need magic and some sort of way to connect the two worlds.’

‘Like, for example, those dragons?’

‘Yep!’

'I think I see where this is going.'

Taking a moment to breathe, Cookie then faced Sparky again. 'I need your help, miss Sparky. I can knock Sunny out, but I need the help of your magic skills to take out Bakerus.'

She nodded. ‘Alright, I’ll do my best.’

'What about me?' Oracle asked. 'What can I do?'

'No offense, champ, but this is something for the big kids.' Sparky focused back on Cookie. 'So, what are we waiting for? How do we get back to Ponyville?'

'I have no idea,' he said.

'Wonderful,' Sparky replied, deflated.

Oracle looked up. 'I think I have an idea,' she said. 'But, I don't think you're going to like it.' 
> 8: The last one.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunny Days felt like she was living inside a nightmare. All around her a blue sky passed, clouds above, clouds below. It was just the sort of dream a pegasus would have any other day of the week. Now, however, it felt like she was trapped, buried under invisible sand. Unable to move, she tried to scream out. But, there was no voice, only the one she could only imagine in her head. It didn't even feel like she was thinking in her own brain, but rather that her thoughts were all around her, with the world merely passing by in the background.

She began to panic, all sense of stability shutting down. Or were they? She didn't know. What was going on? What was happening to her! She cried out once again. 'Help! Please!'

A flash of light to the corner of what felt like her eyes, and then an ear piercing crack.

Bakerus, in possession of Sunnys body, turned his head, behind him the whole length of the gingerbread dragon running down to the tail, and right at the end a grey unicorn hung from the spikes that aligned across the creatures back.

'You have to be joking,' the spirit grumbled, mostly to himself, as the wind carried the words away.

Sparky, meanwhile, had lost her mind realizing what she had just done. 'Oh sweet Celestia I can't believe I'm doing this!' She cried. Her eyes were shut so tight that it would probably be easier to open a reinforced safe door.

Bakerus turned to face this mild inconvenience, and slid down the neck of the dragon, hooves extended and wings keeping the body in balance. His connection to his creatures, of which he had been responsible for bringing to full life, allowed him a great degree of control and grace.

'You realize that I am significantly more powerful than you, and not to mention at a greater advantage than you... and yet you still decided to follow me?'

'I'm not here to fight you,' Sparky shouted, eyes still shut, trying everything she could to stay in the moment and not think about the fact she was several hundred paces in the air. Well, except for that moment right then.

'Out of your comfort zone, unicorn? Should have stayed on the ground, because now I have to deal with-'

A loud crack, a pain that Bakerus could barely feel in this strange body he had inhabited.  Barely time to refocus before he realized he was tumbling off the side of the dragon and into the clouds.

'I'm just the distraction,' Sparky replied to nothing, with a laugh. Eyes open, Sparky saw Cookie pass by giving a salute, Oracle riding on back.

'That... was incredible, Cookie,' the filly on his back said. It was the same technique she had seen him do before, but now this time she had been given a better view of it. An outstretched hoof had struck the front shoulder and then brushed Bakerus' wing, throwing him sideways and overboard.

'Now what do we do, captain?' Cookie asked.

Oracle thought back to her plan. 'Okay, just like you said we should. We have to get down to Sunny and... Cookie, above us!'

He didn't have enough time to react, for shortly after the words had reached his ears, one of the smaller dragons had struck, and struck hard. He felt the whole weight of the creature smash into him. His mind immediately went to Oracle, and her safety. He spun with wings wide open, trying to expose his front to protect her from the blow, and saw her fly off his back with hooves outstretched. 

Trying to grab her with a hoof, he saw the claw of the dragon directly in front of him, and then felt it as it raked across his left shoulder, scarf nearly sliced off. A painful sensation peaked in his left wing, and the air seemed to reach out and pull him out the sky like he had become a rock.

Oracle screamed, her word matching her thoughts. 'Cookie! No!'

A force nearly yanked her foreleg out of its socket, eyes darted upward to see that Sparky had grabbed her. In the thick of it all, she hadn't even realized in which direction she had been going.

'I got ya, champ! Hold on tight!' Oracle was too busy looking down at the fact she was dangling for dear life, even if she was technically safe. She glimpsed something small and disk shaped falling, her hat floating away into the clouds and quickly gone from sight.

'Nice try,' Bakerus shouted from atop his new mount, the dragon that has attacked Cookie. 'I have trouble feeling things in this body, but I know your friend has disabled my wing. Luckily I have plenty of those.' He gestured with hooves to all of his dragons.

Looking down, he laughed. 'Ah, looks like we are on the outskirts of a village. Ponyville, I believe that is what Sunny called it. A center of activity, and a focus of magic. Just what I need. I guess, after all, you will get to see my great spectacle!'

'Not today,' Sparky replied. Her horn glowed, and she fired.

Bakerus pulled at the dragon he now rode, trying to force it backwards. Its wings bat forward of it, and one received the full blast of energy. A thick green flame exploded outwards and across the dragons body, as pieces of wing scattered in all directions.

'Alright, that was a better try,' Bakerus said, as he and dragon fell from the sky, falling into a spin. Several dragons followed, trying to reach their master.

Sparky looked down at Oracle, still clinging for dear life. 'Don't scream too much, okay?'

'I know!'

Sparky let go, and the two quickly dropped.

Sparky remembered. The fall that had felt like an eternity. Nothing she could have done but think about everything and anything. Her mother and father. Her two brothers and sister. She loved them all. This time was different, she was ready.

A searing light of green formed above them, catching the air in a dome like shape. They continued to fall, and fall... and fall. Oracle could not bear to watch, she hugged the unicorn tightly as she could.

The ground was approaching, though slowing down as it headed for them. The final impact still felt unpleasant, and Sparky tumbled across the grass, rolling several times before finally stopping upside down a few paces short of an earth pony. Oracle found her hooves, but still skidded across the ground... and finally found herself looking up into the sky.

'Oh my goodness,' shouted a pony in the street, 'are you alright?' Her head appeared over Oracle, as others began to gather around to two ponies whom had suddenly fallen from the sky.

Oracle hopped to her feet, brushing herself with a hoof. Her clothing was quite dirty thanks to the controlled crash. Mom would certainly be a little bit unhappy about that, but that was a worry for later. 'I'm okay,' she said quickly in reply, before breaking into a canter over to where Sparky lay.

The unicorn turned her head to Oracle as she lay on the ground. Blood was slowly dripping out of both her nostrils, but still she held a weak smile. 'That was quite possibly the most stupid thing I've ever done.'

'Are... are you okay, Sparky?'

Shortly after, Sparky broke out into a fit of laughter, or at least that is what it seemed to be. Her eyes were full of tears. 'I have no idea!'

The filly detective looked all around the two of them, as ponies that had been going about their lives were now drawn to them. 'Um, nothing to see here?' She blurted out, which probably didn't help. This was also a lie, since Sparky was making a spectacle of herself, babbling constantly.

'I mean, I never ever thought I would have to use that spell for the rest of my life... and... oh my goodness, did I just shoot a dragon out of the sky? Wait till dad hears about this! Ha!'

'Wait here, Sparky, I need to see if Cookie is okay.'

'I'm not going anywhere, champ... I can't use my back legs. Ha ha ha!'

Without a second thought, Oracle shot into the crowd, and backtracked the direction she thought they had traveled. She bumped shoulders with a curious earth pony, and then another as she found herself out of the crowd. 'Cookie!' She yelled as best the little voice she had could carry. 'Cookie, where are you?'

There was no reply, though she didn't expect one so quickly. So, she continued, but deep inside she already started to feel her heart sinking.

A shadow floated across her, and she immediately glanced upwards. Her heart dropped out of her chest as the gingerbread dragon flew over a large building and towards the gathered crowd. Roaring loudly, ponies began to scatter in all directions. Panic had taken them over the moment a dragon shaped creature had landed right in the middle of the street... and certainly only got worse when several others appeared over the horizon of buildings.

The last dragon to fly over carried a green pegasus on top of it, and Oracles heart sank so low it traveled to the other side of the planet. 'Oh...'

'Hello Ponyville,' Bakerus boomed, though his audience was a little too busy running for their lives. 'Such a wonderful place you have here, so full of magic, I can feel it in the wind, thick as cream on a cake.' Patting his draconic partner, he slid off the side and onto the ground.

Only one pony remained to oppose him, and that was because said pony couldn't really go anywhere. Sparky used to her front legs to push herself up, now like a sitting pony.

'You almost had me, I'll admit. You did a very good job for what you had, but it wasn't enough.'

Sparky ignored him, and put all her might and mind into pushing her back legs, until she found herself nearly standing. Under such pressure, they shook terribly, barely able to hold the weight put upon them. She knew it was the best she could do, but anything to look just that little bit braver.

Bakerus continued. 'You are a strange pony, it's a shame I'm going to have my dragon here squash you like a bug.'

'Sunny!' The shout of Oracle echoed across the open street, grabbing his attention.

'Oh, you too? Should have run away like all the others.'

'Stop this madness, you still have a chance!'

'What?

'Sunny Days, I know you can hear me in there... you have to be able to hear me! You still have a chance to make this right!'

'Stupid little one, I am in control of this body now. You bore me with your attempts to win, when you have lost... now please excuse me.' He raised a hoof into the air and shouted so loud the voice seemed to come from the sky. 'Begin, my champions!'

The dragons all acted in perfect unison, as if they had been practicing many times. They flew into a circle, so that each head met the tail of another. Oracle opened her mouth to continue, but her eyes were drawn to a large flash of red and white that grew out of nothing. Slowly but surely a large mass of energy formed inside the circle, until it formed what seemed like a watercolor painting. A painting of another world.

Sparky fell upon her rump, gazing upwards. 'Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Oracle?'

The countless creatures that stared downwards from the other side of this portal above them, all some sort of twisted bakery creation. 'Yeah, yeah I do.'

A portal to another world.

'And now you see my confidence come to fruition. Not even your petty princesses and heroes could hope to stop the entire army of Diabolus Bakerus!'

Her mind felt like it had lost control for a brief second, as Oracle realized just what she had gotten herself into. A far cry from find lost pairs of glasses, or solving a case of missing peanuts. Now, she stood as the first pony to witness to invasion of her home by an evil spirit of baked goods.

There was certainly no turning back now, might as well try.

'Sunny Days,' she shouted as loud as she could, 'I know you can hear me! Please! You still have a chance to make this right!'

'Not again! Stop yelling or you'll be the first to get eaten!'

'I know this was all a mistake! I know that in your grief you let yourself be consumed by this evil creature. You had no choice but to obey him until the end. You can still make this right, you can still be forgiven! You have hurt no pony, done no true damage that can not be fixed. But, but you must do this now! You have to hear me, you have to break free!'

Sunny Days realized something at that very moment. She knew her father was lying in a bed right now, sick. What would he think of all this? What would he say when he saw that his daughter had helped bring the end of Equestria, all over a stupid little bakery. Was there still a chance to make things right? Did it really matter to her anymore? No, no it did not matter. They could take her, and throw her in a cell, and she wouldn't care... it was the least she deserved.

But she would not let it be some ugly excuses for baked goods be the one to do it. She screamed, and threw herself at nothing. She felt something, a sensation. She could feel her own body, the mist was clearing. She kept trying to throw herself, imagining it like trying to break open a door... a brittle, rotten door.

'Break, Darn it! BREAK!'

And when it broke, there was a white light... and finally Ponyville in all its glory.

Sunny cried out in agony as the binding was cut like a silver cord. Sunny shot forward, and the spirit of Bakerus flew backwards, unshaped and chaotic. A massive tooth filled mouth opened up in the body, screaming loudly. 'Impossible! Kill them, kill them all now my dragons!'

The large dragon that had carried his master roared, and now taking action. Sunny Days found her head, vision clearing and senses restored. The first thing she finally saw clear headed was the claws of the baked dragon falling upon her.

She closed her eyes, and accepted her fate. That is, she would have, but it never seemed to come. There was another a roar, and what sounded like stumbling.

Oracle cried out in shock and relief. 'Cookie!'

He held tight to the creatures neck, kicking furiously with rear legs at its face. 'I got this fella! Some pony get Bakerus!'

Bakerus had formed arms, long slender arms with large claws the size of a whole pony. 'Come forth, my army! Turn this world inside out! The time is now!'

From the portal, they spilled out in waves, shooting out in all directions, shrieking as they did.

Bakerus gave his biggest, strongest shout of victory. 'It is done! At last I have- ARGH!'

Sparky focused with all the strength she had left, a beam of green flying across the street straight into the red spirit. It wrapped around him, washing over like a river of water.

'No, I think not!' More arms flew out of the body, dividing and throwing aside the beam. It flew in all directions, taking out windows and blowing small holes in walls. A tree in the far distance exploded in a flurry of wooded shards.

'Yes!' Sparky fired again, yelling with exertion. This time, the beam was met with a red one, as Bakerus' many arms coiled together a formed one massive cannon. The force of the two beams meeting shook the grass around them like a strong breeze. Windows shook violently, and a streak of light flashed all across Ponyville.

'You can not win! I am the god of a whole realm, and you are nothing but a miserable little PONY!' The last word boomed across what might have been half the continent, and at the same time his red beam tore into Sparkys, pushing it back towards the unicorn.

Above them, creatures were pulling themselves out of the portal, like ponies pulling themselves out of a swimming pool... an upside down swimming pool. Some had begun to crash into buildings, others trying to chase fleeing ponies. Others, they headed for the four ponies underneath them.

Sparky screamed. 'ORACLE, COOKIE! ANY PONY, DO SOMETHING NOW!'

Oracle then did something stupid. Utterly stupid and completely out of character. She would wonder what she was thinking at that moment, and all she could remember was that she would not let her friends suffer. Anything but sit back and watch.

So she charged at Bakerus, jumped into the air and lunged out with a rear leg. It struck the spirit in what could have been called a head, right until it shattered like thin glass. The god of baked goods reared backwards, and his beam of energy rebounded, resulting in a violent explosion, that sent the ponies flying in all directions. The shock wave climbed upwards, and struck the circle of gingerbread dragons. They didn't just get knocked away, they broke apart like a delicious flaky pastry.

Bakerus didn't even have time to speak his final words. The portal imploded as the connection was severed, and as it did everything that was even a little bit related to the pastry family was sucked towards it, including the spirit himself. The remains of the gingerbread dragons were dragged screaming, and so were the creatures that had just crawled out. A pegasus in the distance was shocked to see his croissant fly from his hoof, while cake impacted with the wall inside the nearby bakery. Puff Pastry barely dodged a baguette that speared past her head and through the front window of her shop.

The god of baked good let out a final shout, but his words were lost as they too were drawn into the collapsing portal. With one final flash, the void closed, and a crackling echo sounded through Ponyville. 

And then, silence.

Sparky fell to her side with a sigh. Her head throbbed horribly, and her entire body felt fuzzy.

A head appeared in her vision, though not the one she expected to see. Sunny Days looked down upon her, shock written all over her face. 'Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?'

'Had better days, but I'll be fine. Where's Oracle, is she okay?'

'I'm okay, Sparky!' Shouted Oracle. She stood a few paces from the other two, though very shaky in the legs, deciding to not mention the fact she felt sick in the tummy. Her concern fell to the other pony in their little party of three. 'Cookie, where are you?'

'Right here,' Cookie replied, from right behind Oracle, which made her jump into the air.

She faced him, anger in her eyes. 'Don't do that, you... oh my goodness, Cookie, you're hurt!'

Cookie looked down at his shoulder, where a claw shaped gash ran across from just below the neck right across the wing joint. He held his front left hoof close to his chest, blood running down his side and staining his fur. He returned back to Oracle, and gave his best happy face. 'Had worse, it doesn't really hurt that much.' He grinned, trying to look as positive as possible, and failing. 'Okay, it hurts a lot.'

'Join the club,' Sparky said, having sat up once again. 'Is it over, is that crazy spirit thing gone?'

Sunny sat beside her, looking down at the ground. 'I... hope so.'

'It is over,' Oracle said. 'He's gone.'

'There's ponies staring at us, guys,' Cookie said, limping over to where the others were. Said others were inclined to look, and indeed there were many ponies looking at them as they sat casually in the middle of the street with bits of pastry raining all around them. The occasional large chunk struck with a large wet thud, breaking apart.

More ponies were exiting their homes, and others who had hidden in corners, or behind anything in sight, were finally emerging.

'Mom is so going to kill me when she finds out about this,' Oracle said.

'On the bright side, you can tell her you flying kicked a god so hard it sent him back to his own dimension.'

'Do you think she'd believe that?'

'Not one bit, but that doesn't stop the fact that you saved Ponyville.'

'We... we saved Ponyville, Sparky. Cookie too.'

'Just doing my duty, I think,' Cookie chirped.

Oracle turned to Sunny Days. 'And you too, Sunny. Thank you.'

She looked up at the little filly, and simply smiled weakly.

Sparky laughed heartily, at least a little more honestly than she did before... and certainly less loopy. 'I'm just glad that's finally over with, now I can go home and sleep for several days. Also, uh, I need to pee.'

- - -

'Oh, good morning Oracle,' Puff Pastry said, with head appearing just above the counter, having just heard the bell ring. 'What can I do for you?'

'The usual, please.'

'Of course, dear. One butter biscuit, one peanut butter roll, and one sweet roll coming up.' Being the worker bee she was, Puff had already disappeared into the cabinet as she spoke.

'Hello, you,' said Sunny Days from around the counter.

'Ah, hello Sunny,' replied Oracle, giving a little bow. 'How's work?'

'Pretty good. A bit quiet, but it pays the bills, you know?'

'Yeah, it's always like that down here in Ponyville, save for special occasions. But, it's good to hear you're enjoying it. How is your dad, by the way?'

'Getting better.' She looked away for a moment, pondering, but returned back to Oracle still looking cheerful. 'I think hearing that I got another job eased his heart quite a bit, and I suppose that's one thing less to worry about.' She sighed. 'Still...'

'I know, you have a lot of work ahead of you to get your business back, but you're doing well.'

Sunny gave a nod of appreciation. 'The Canterlot bank is willing to give me a loan if I can maintain this job for a bit longer. That will be a huge boost to my progress. I would be able, and to buy it all back in a few months. I must admit,' she continued, leaning over the counter and closer to Oracle, 'I'm a little excited, but I'll be sad to leave this place. Puff and her husband have been very helpful.'

'I'm glad to hear it, and also that you're so positive.'

Puff Pastry finally returned. 'Here you go, Oracle.'

'Thanks, Puff,' she replied, passing the bits over the counter whilst standing on the stool in the corner. She sunk her teeth into the bags, and carried them out the door, trotting almost like a skip.

'She's a strange filly,' Puff said.

'Strange,' Sunny replied, 'but sincere. She'll go far.'

- - -

Sparky was too busy stuffing her face with peanut butter roll to speak, which was the norm. Cookie had better manners. Slightly better, that is, as he took timely bites from his sweet roll, sitting up in his hospital bed, glasses lying on the table next to him.

'The pony in the funny suit said I could be out in a few days,' he managed between bites, covering the other two in crumbs.

'That's the doctor, sweetie,' Sparky finally said, though slightly muffled with all the food in her mouth, rolling her eyes as she spoke.

'Well, he's really nice.'

'That's why he's a doctor.'

'It's about time you got out, Cookie,' Oracle said. 'It's too quiet without you around.'

Cookie stared at her with a smile on his face.

'That's a compliment.'

'Ooooh.'

Sparky had been taking the occasional glance at the clock on the opposite wall of the room. Sparse, what with the other bed unoccupied, but the patient had been insistent over moving to another room after Cookie had shown up. Something about talking too much. 'I think I best be going soon. Fellas up in the observatory have a lot of patience for me being late, but not a whole hour late.'

'That's okay,' Cookie chirped. 'Thanks for coming to visit, miss Sparkster.'

'You're welcome, ya weirdo,' she replied with a chuckle.

'See you around, Sparky,' Oracle said.

'Tomorrow morning, champ. Remember you're still grounded, and working for me.'

Oracle pursed her lip. 'Ah yes, right.'

'Heh. See ya around, my little slave. Mwa ha ha.' She wheeled out the room, continuing her mock evil laugh all the way down the hall.

'She so nice,' Cookie said.

'Yeah, she is a good friend. I can't wait till you get out, Cookie. She's got tons of video games at her house. We opened one of her storage boxes, and they just spilled out.'

'What's a video game?'

'You'll love them, trust me on that one.'

'Okay, I trust you.'

The conversation went quiet for awhile, Cookie returning back to his lunch.

'Cookie...'

He looked at Oracle, mouth full and chewing.

'Can I ask you a personal question?'

He seemed confused by this, for a second, but then gave a nod as he continued to chew his food.

'Are... are you going to stay here?'

He tilted his head. 'Huh?'

She looked away. 'You said you were a wandering pony. That means, you wander places, never really staying in one place... which means-'

'Nope.'

It was Oracles turn to say, 'huh?'

'I'm staying here.'

The young filly became still. 'R... really?'

Cookie nodded playfully. 'Yep, sure am.'

He almost had the wind knocked out of him when Oracle launched up and wrapped her arms around him. 'Yes! Yes! YES!' She cried cheerfully. 'I'm so happy to hear that. You're a good friend, Cookie. I really didn't want you to leave.'

'But... I wasn't going to.'

There was a sign of tears forming in the fillies eyes. 'You're... well, um... you're kinda my first true friend, you know.'

'I... am?'

She sniffed, wiping away the tear with a hoof. 'Yeah. Funny, huh?'

He chuckled in reply. 'That is pretty funny, I think.'

'Oh, I better get going too. Mother worries about me so much, though I'm not really surprised at all about that.' Though, she still hadn't told her parents the full story of what had happened. Then again, word had been rather confused. No pony other than the four that had been there in the moment really knew what happened, the rest was speculation on the part of gossiping ponies. Dragons made of bread had shown up from the sky, and disappeared shortly after, no pony really knowing why. Word was confused on who had defeated them, if they had been defeated at all. Some said Celestia had appeared, others the elements of harmony. Some even boasted they had done something, like try and hit a dragon with a chair, which is why they disappeared.

And then, there was a handful of ponies that knew who really were responsible, the ones who had seen it with their very eyes. But, even though they knew who did, it was hard for many to believe a filly and a unicorn in a wheelchair were the heroes. Thus, this version of the story began to fade. Oracle liked it that way.

There had been an investigation by the Canterlot guard, but that was mostly related to Sunny Days and the flour she had stolen. In the end, she was forgiven by Puff Pastry and her husband. She was even offered a job as a sort of way to repay for what she did, with a few extra benefits.

As for Bakerus and his dragons, well... Oracle was unsure. She thought she had seen some ponies around the location where it happened. Ponies that really didn't look like they were in the guard, or belonged in Ponyville. They took some samples of the bread pieces, some grass, and were gone a few days later. Considering how often something like this happened in Ponyville, no other pony really payed attention. Princess Celestia showed up at least once, and reassured every pony that things were okay, and they moved on.

Oracle felt a little uneasy about the whole matter. She wanted to do more research about this Bakerus fellow, but could not find any books in the library about him, and the book she had acquired on baking and summoning spirits was of no help. One day, she took the book to a river, and threw it in. Good riddance.

She worried this wouldn't be the last she saw of him, especially since it was her who delivered the final blow.

Worse still, she worried that some ponies from Canterot might appear at her doorstep, wanting to ask questions. Sparky and Cookie had both told her that they had yet to see any Canterlot or really any ponies of that type come to them. A little mysterious, but at the same time she was glad she could go back to being a normal little filly again. Having found herself in such a crazy situation had showed just how tough the real deal could be. Maybe finding mundane objects for other fillies was the best way to go.

For now.

She left Cookie with a wave goodbye, still happy that he wasn't leaving. She had so many questions to ask him, and all the time in the world now. Why did he want to stay here? For her? Because he had found some friends? Or, did he have another reason?

And, that scar on his chest. He wore a white gown that covered it up right now, but she had caught a brief glimpse of it. He was a strange fellow to say the least.

Cookie thought the same of Oracle. Funny little filly, always wearing that hat and jacket, and so smart, too. At least he took comfort in the fact he would be getting to know her better over the next few months.

And that funny unicorn in the wheelchair. What a strange contraption that thing was, he wondered why she needed it. Maybe he'd ask her. If he remembered to, that is.

Cookie leaned back in the bed, sliding back into the sheets. After so many months of traveling, he had finally found Ponyville. 

He felt kinda bad for lying about the fact he was a wandering pony. He really wasn't, well, not as much as he had been telling. Only those few months, until he finally arrived here. He had promised not to tell any pony about the cloud temple, and so far so good... at least he thought so. 

It was a nice place, Ponyville. Quiet, friendly ponies, tasty food. Just like Butterscotch had described. If only he was here, too.

There was a knock at his door, that nice doctor fellow was there. 'Oh, hello mister doctor pony.'

'Hello Cookie. I just arrived back from getting some more scans on that injury of yours.' He trotted into a room, bag attached his side by belt.

'Oh, cool. What's the news?'

The doctor was quiet for a moment. 'I'm afraid it's not all good news.'

- - -

Serenity watched the filly detective canter happily down the road, leaving a clean cut path through the snow behind as she did. His good eye watched her until she had reached the house she lived in, and went through the door. He scratched an itch next to his eye patch, sniffing slightly as he did.

'This weather is unpleasant,' the changeling muttered to himself, with a sniff. 'Still, I guess catching a cold is a good trade for finally finding the diviners daughter.'

To Be Continued.