> A Case of Mystery and Love
>  by cheerful9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch.1-A Wedding Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.1-A Wedding Day


It begins one sunny day at Canterlot as ponies were bustling around doing stuff. During that time, Babs Seed, Applejack and Apple Bloom’s cousin from Manehattan, had already arrived. The reason why she was here was because she was going to help her cousins and friends get ready for an important wedding for their friend, Fluttershy.

As she got out of the train, Babs Seed looks around for her cousins and friends until a familiar voice caught her attention saying, “Babs Seed!”

Turning her head and smiling, Babs Seed saw her cousin, Apple Bloom who had spoken, and her friends the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, rush up to her with Applejack walking right behind them. As the CMC approached Babs Seed, the four fillies all got into a group hug and starting chatting until Applejack walked up to them saying, “All right now y’all. It’s great that Babs Seed is here, but we gotta head to the castle. We gotta get things ready for the wedding!”

With that, the ponies headed for the castle as they rushed to help get things ready.

Nearby, in an alleyway, all was quiet, except for the sounds of stray cats and insects buzzing around. In one corner, a figure poked his eyes around the bend. It was an unusual looking thin earth pony. He had a light green coat, wide yellow eyes with small pupils, wore a large brown coat with stitches and patches, a dark green tail, a white cap that covered his head and parts of his eyes. His cutie mark was a bag of stolen valuables. His mouth always seem closed. From a distance, somepony might mistake him for a large green lizard. This pony was simply known as The Thief, as his real name was unknown. Little was known about him except that he was a thief. He was a pony of few words but many thoughts. A huge swarm of flies always followed him wherever he went, and this constantly irritated him.

The Thief peered his suspicious yellow eyes around the corner. He thought, “Good morning, Equestria.” He turns his head around the corner to make sure no one was about as his eyes turned the other way. “I’ve had my coffee, I’ve read the paper, and now it’s time to get to work.”

As another pony passed by, he slinked out of the alleyway and hid behind a large potted plant. Once he was sure that no one was looking, he grabbed a frying pan from a nearby window as he thought, “Mine.” He then hurried along and hid behind another large object and grabbed two bits from the backpacks of some young fillies. The Thief took his job very seriously. He would steal anything; especially anything gold.

Nearby, Granny Smith was walking through the street, singing one of her songs and carried a basket full of several items. The Thief was looking around until he spotted Granny Smith with her bundle and thought, “There’s something gold right now.” Once he made sure that no one was looking, he sneaked toward the old earth pony, who had no idea that the Thief was behind her. She kept on singing, “Ohhh dee doo dah day, ohh dee dum dah day.” As he approached, he thought, “What does that old prune have in that basket?” Once he got close enough, he reached in and thought, “Is it a gold statue? A golden bowling ball? No, it’s- Apples?!” Once he had his hooves on the basket, Granny Smith immediately sensed it and turned her head. She saw the Thief reaching into her basket.

“EEEEEEEEEKKKK!!” she screamed. “A HORNSWOGGELER!”

Before the Thief knew what happened, he found himself being lifted off the ground by the old pony and was slammed back into it. Within seconds, Granny Smith began beating up the Thief as she said a whole lot of gibberish.

“Why ya dirty no-good hornswoggling varmit! I oughta…!”

As she was saying this, she began jumping on the Thief’s back and swinging him around by his coat, causing all of the items he had stolen to go flying everywhere. The Thief mumbled and yelped in surprise.  Nearby, a female Pegasus and her colt soon took notice. The young colt was delighted to see an old mare beat up a strange pony, while the mother wasn’t so sure about it. She soon covered her young colt’s eyes and they soon moved along.

Granny Smith began to twist the Thief’s left back leg in a very painful way as she said, “Sneak up on an ol’ mare, will ya? Why I oughta-!”

Pretty soon, she began to beat the Thief up in a very large dust cloud. Once she was done and the dust had cleared, she smiled, picked up her basket, and walked along as if the whole thing had never happened. “Ohhh skip to mah Lou, mah darlin’... ”

The Thief was revealed to be tied up in knots reminiscent to a pretzel by his own legs. He slowly got up with a dizzy look and thought, “Urgh...I think... she used to... work in my school cafeteria. Ow.” He soon got up and hopped along to find another place to steal from, only he hoped that it was relatively free of old mares.



It then shows the castle as Applejack and the CMC walked through the halls before they entered a room. Inside the rest of the Mane Six, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer were busy getting things ready. Rarity had already finished designing the dresses for Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, the CMC, and herself. She was now working on Fluttershy’s wedding dress while Twilight looked through a list of things and checking things off. They turned their heads and saw Applejack and the fillies before they happily greeted them while the Mane Six’s pets were nearby as they watched.

“It’s so great that you came!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. “We need all the help we can get for this day!”

Rainbow Dash nodded with a smile. “Yeah. We need help styling Fluttershy’s mane while Rarity is working on her wedding dress. Think you can help with that?”

“Sure thing. That’s what my cutie mark and talent represent.” Babs Seed said as she showed her cutie mark with a smile. “I would be honored to help style Fluttershy’s mane.”

As Babs Seed styled her mane, Fluttershy said, “I’m glad that you volunteered to be one of the flower girls at my wedding.”

“I wouldn’t miss this big day without my cousins and friends.”

The mares and fillies noticed that Spike was looking antsy for some reason. He was looking through a window as if he was anticipating something.

“Something on your mind, Spike?” Twilight asked.

Spike pulled his head back and looked back at them with a concerned look before he said, “Sorry guys. It’s just that I’m worried about the new statue outside.”

Rainbow Dash tilted an eyebrow. “You mean the alicorn statue that’s in the castle garden with the emerald gem on the crown?”

“Yep. That one.”

Starlight Glimmer shook her head with confusion. “I don’t see what you’re so worried about.”

Twilight nodded and said, “There’s nothing to worry about. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Spike twiddles his claws in concern as he said, “I don’t know why, but I have the strangest feeling that somepony will try to steal the emerald.”

As she continued to design the dress, Rarity assured him with a smile. “Now don’t you worry, Spikey-Wikey. You’re probably nervous about being the ring bearer.”

“But what if-?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and said, “For crying out loud, Spike! That statue is taller than the one at the Grand Galloping Gala! No pony could get up there!”

Pinkie Pie popped up out of nowhere and said, “Except maybe a pegasus, a unicorn or an alicorn!”

Twilight turned to Spike and said, “The point is that you’re overreacting, and I’m pretty sure that somepony will notice if it gets stolen and report anything suspicious right away.”

Spike sighed and said, “I guess you’re right. Although I’m still worried that the emerald on the statue might get stolen.”

Twilight just gives a sigh of frustration.



While they were busy getting things ready and getting Spike to calm down, out in the palace garden, the Thief was lurking about in the shadows. He was looking for more things to steal, but the guards patrolling the castle made it more difficult.

“Now then.” He thought. “What should I pilfer next?”

Just then, he noticed the same statue with the emerald nearby. Never in his life has he ever seen an emerald the size of a basketball. As he looked at it, his eyes immediately reflected the image of the emerald and he thought, “Hellooooooooo BETTY!” As he blinked, a cash register chime was heard and his eyes went back to normal.

He looked around and, with a smirk, slowly backed away into the shadows.

“I have a plan that’s so cunning, you could tape it to a gopher and call it a squirrel.”



Back in the room, Rarity was done with Fluttershy’s wedding dress. Once Fluttershy had put it on, her friends were in awe as they looked at her. Her dress was white as winter snow and was decorated with pink roses. Her veil also had roses, as did her necklace.

“You look beautiful, Fluttershy!” said Sweetie Belle with a smile.

Fluttershy blushed and said, “Thank you.”

“I must say, this is one of my best designs yet, if I do say so myself.” Rarity beamed with pride.

All the ponies commented that it was the best wedding dress they had ever seen in their life. Spike, however, was still glancing back at the statue, as if something was getting closer and closer to it.

“...I must say, Rarity, you've really outdone yourself. Don't you agree, Spike?” Starlight Glimmer said, waiting for a reply. Spike just kept looking at the statue until Applejack got his attention.

“Spike? Y’all ‘right there, sugarcube?”

Spike jumped in surprise with a yelp and quickly responded. “Who, what? Oh, uh yeah. I’m okay! What were we talking about?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow and said, “Spike, will ya please take yer eyes off that there darn statue fer a minute and help us get ready?”

“Sorry guys. I can’t help it! I really think that some pony will just try to steal that emerald!”

Scootaloo put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder and smiled. “Relax, Spike. No pony’s gonna try to steal the emerald.”

No one noticed Angel Bunny looking out the window as Spike said,”Are you sure?”

“Sure I’m sure!” replied Scootaloo, puffing up her chest.


 
Meanwhile, right outside, the Thief had returned and was carrying a long wooden pole. Angel was watching from up above with curiosity and immediately knew who that pony was. His owner, Fluttershy, and her friends had encountered him many times before. Angel Bunny could only presume that he was after the emerald on top of the statue. He silently sat down and watched.

The Thief held up the pole in both hooves and thought to himself, “Alright sport fans, we switch you now to the Equestria Games champion pole-vaulting event.” He looked upwards at the statue. “Marv, it’s an excellent day. The field’s not too wet.”

The Thief then lifted his pole upwards and thought, “There’s a light wind blowing from the east. Our champion is ready for the challenge.”

He then began jogging towards the statue and got his pole ready. “And if he doesn’t get his smock caughtin the pole, he could really go for the gold.”

The Thief began to run faster and faster towards the statue to launch himself upwards as he thought, “Here we go!”

Unfortunately, he ran too fast and passed the statue. Instead, he ran into the wall and the pole slammed into his belly. After he ran into it, he grunted loudly and held his stomach while hopping around. “He blew it.” he thought in a strained voice.



Angel watched the whole thing and laughed hysterically when the Thief collided into the wall. His squeaky laugh caught the ponies attention while they were getting things ready.

“My, Angel Bunny certainly is in a good mood today.” Fluttershy said without turning her head.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Pinkie Pie said while smiling. “After all, his owner and best caretaker is getting married!”

“That reminds me.” Babs Seed said, “Who are you getting married to, Fluttershy?”

“I’ll tell ya! She marrying-!”

Pinkie Pie didn’t have a chance to finish because Twilight covered her mouth and said, “Uh, I think I should tell her.”

Angel continued looking out the window until Winona walked by. She looked at Angel as if saying, “What are you looking at?”

Angel pointed downward and Winona looked down and saw the Thief.



Back outside, the Thief was getting ready to pole-vault again. He was a little shaky after the last mistake he made and thought, “Oh, I tell you, he’s something else.”

He raised his pole and and began to run while he thought, “The fact that he’s hurting, every bone in his body broken, look at him move, look at him move. Oh yeah.”

Soon, he managed to pole-vault himself up. “There he goes! He’s up! He’s up!”

As he got closer to the statue, he thought, “Oh, look at that form, Marv. He’s reaching, stretching.” He reached out his hooves to get a hold of the statue and thought, “His long, bony, but beautiful hooves are grasping for the brick.”

But as he got closer, he started to fall backwards and thought “Oh, no” as Angel and Winona watched. As he started to fall down, he thought, “Rats.” He then fell, making a large crash.



Winona barked excitedly while Angel Bunny rolled on the floor with his squeaky laughter.

“Winona!” Applejack said. “Quit yer yappin’! We’re telling Babs Seed somethin’ important here!”

But Winona just continued barking and Applejack just sighed. “I just don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

Twilight had already told Babs Seed who Fluttershy was getting married to as Babs Seed looked completely shocked with a surprised look on her face.

Finally, breaking out of her stance, Babs Seed turned to Fluttershy and said, “You’re getting married to Discord?!”

Fluttershy meekly nodded her head and said, “Yes.”

Not believing what she had just heard, Babs Seed answered, “You mean THE Discord, who is the Master of Chaos and Disharmony?! The one who tried to take over Equestria twice?! That Discord?!”

Fluttershy nodded her head again. “Yes. That is correct.”

“But why?” Babs Seed said in disbelief. “Why would you marry him?”

Apple Bloom placed a hoof on Babs Seed’s shoulder and said, “It’s a long story, cuz’.”

“Perhaps it would make you feel better if we told you the whole story.” Starlight Glimmer reassured Babs Seed.

“But what about the wedding?” Babs Seed said with concern.

“We have plenty of time before the wedding.” Twilight said.

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping up and down with joy. “Storytime!”

Spike slowly turned and was about to look at the statue again until Twilight saw him.

“Spike! Will you please stop looking at that statue for just one minute?!”

“But I’m serious you guys!” Spike said. “Someone could-!”

“Oh, Spikey-Wikey.” Rarity said, pinching his cheek with her hoof. “You and your crazy imaginations.”

“But, but, but-!”

“Spike, ask yourself this:” Rarity said while the rest of the pets were looking outside and no one noticed.


 
It switches back outside where the Thief is, Rarity’s voice is heard in the background saying, “What freak of nature could ever get up to the top of that statue?”

As the Thief pole-vaulted himself again, he thought, “Well, Marv, his father, a firepony 20 years on the force, instilled him the attitude of ‘Never say die.’”

As he got closer to that statue, the poled wobbled a bit and he had to hold onto it to keep his balance.

“Whoa. Although frequently say, ‘Help!’”

He started to twirl down the pole.



All of the Mane Six’s pets watched as he continued twirling down the pole saying, “EEYAAAAAAHHH-OOOFFF!” He then promptly landed with a loud crash and the pole also fell on him.

Surprisingly, nopony seemed to notice this, except for the Mane Six’s pets. They continued watching with amazement.

Tank turned to Angel as if saying, “Do you think we should let them know?”

Angel Bunny shook his head. “No. There’s no need to do anything.”

Owlowiscious turned his head to Angel as if he was saying, “Well, what do we do then?”

As they thought this, the Thief once again pole-vaulted to the statue and tried to reach it with one hoof. Angel looked at the Thief and to his fellow animals as if he was saying, “There’s only one thing we can do.”

“And what would that be?” Opalescence looked while sitting on the pillow she was on with a raised eyebrow.

The Thief fell over once again with a loud crash. Angel Bunny hopped away and came back with a small chair and sat in it as if replying, “Just sit back and watch the show.”

Gummy smiled as if saying, “I got the popcorn.”

The ponies, who had taken no notice of the animals, were getting ready to tell the story. As Fluttershy was finding somewhere to sit, she could have sworn that she heard something like a crash somewhere but shrugged it off.

As they all sat down eagerly, Spike began to turn his head back towards the statue, but Rainbow Dash made him turn his head back around.

Twilight smiled at her friends as she said, “It all started a few months back in Ponyville….”
> Ch.2-Urgent Message
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch. 2-Urgent Message


It all begins one morning in Ponyville as ponies were bustling around doing their daily things. What was different this time was that there were draconequuses in Ponyville too and the ponies didn’t seem to mind them.

The reason why there were draconequuses in their town is was because of what happened a month ago, Twilight and her friends found out that Discord wasn’t the only one of his kind. They traveled to the Chaos Realm, which was the home for the draconequus race, and Discord was reunited with his family. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna met and spoke to the rulers of the Chaos Realm, King Disconcert and Queen Disarray, who were also Discord’s parents. They agreed that since Discord had learned to use his magic for good and learned about friendship, then other draconequuses should be friends with ponies too.

Ever since the agreement, ponies and draconequuses have been able to live in peace and harmony. In fact, some of the draconequuses chose to live in Equestria and use their magic for good to help ponies.

During that time at Friendship Castle, the Mane Six, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, and the CMC were discussing important things. Twilight was telling the CMC the story about what draconequuses were like long ago.

“Long ago, before ponies lived in harmony, before Star Swirl the Bearded, Celestia, or Luna were ever born, the draconequuses were not the same way they are now.” Twilight said as she showed the ponies and dragon a history book with a picture of some draconequuses who looked vicious and bloodthirsty. “They were once savage, ruthless creatures that killed and ate whatever they could get their paws on. They had instincts similar to timberwolves and other predators here in Equestria. During that time, they had no idea how to use magic because their brains hadn’t developed yet. Even without their magic, they were still pretty dangerous.”

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash popped up behind the CMC’s and said, “ROARRRRRR!” The CMC screamed in surprise and Rainbow Dash pretended that she was attacked while rolling on the floor.

She held out her tongue and said, “Bleah. Blood, blood, blood! And... death.” She pretended that blood was squirting out of her stomach and then laughed at the CMC. “Ha ha, ha! You should have seen the look on your faces!”

Applejack rolled her eyes while Rarity raised her eyebrows in surprise at the display that Rainbow Dash was putting on. Pinkie Pie seemed to be enjoying the whole scene as she also pretended that she was being mauled by a savage draconequus and that her guts spewed everywhere. Spike’s eyes were wide with amazement and terror after everything Twilight had just said.

Fluttershy covered her mouth with both hooves in shock as Starlight Glimmer looked at the CMC, who were trembling in fear.

Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash. “This isn’t a joke, Rainbow!”

“Aw come on, Twilight! It was just a bit of fun.” Rainbow Dash said while smiling.

“As I was saying-”

However, Pinkie Pie still kept acting like she was being ripped limb from limb. She had her tongue sticking out while her eyes rolled around and made choking noises.

“Pinkie! Will ya knock it off already!?” Applejack said while frowning.

“Sorry! Just getting in the mood.” Pinkie Pie said before sitting back down as Twilight continued.

“As I was saying, draconequuses were pretty monstrous back then. However, as time passed, they evolved beyond their primitive instincts and began to use their magic. Now they are the creatures we know today.”

Once she was done, the CMC stopped trembling as Fluttershy sat beside them, trying to calm them down.

Apple Bloom smiled with relief as she turned to her friends and said, “I’m sure glad that the draconequuses are no longer savage.”

Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I knew draconequuses were terrifying with their chaos magic, but I never knew that they were that scary.”

Sweetie Belle smiled and said, “I’m glad that ponies and draconequuses are now living together as friends.”

Pinkie Pie excitedly said, “So now that we’re done, can we go do something fun now?”

Just then, Spike looked like he was about to throw up. He then belched a letter in a torrent of fire.

Spike handed the letter to Twilight, who opened it and read it carefully as the others watched.

“What does it say?” Starlight Glimmer asked.

Twilight finished reading it and said, “It says-”

All of a sudden, Pinkie Pie popped right up between Twilight and the letter. She looked at the letter with an eager grin. “What does it say?! What does it say?! I wanna see!” she asked as she tried to read the letter.

Rainbow Dash had to push Pinkie Pie down so Twilight could tell them what it was.

Twilight says, “Princess Celestia has asked us to come to Canterlot right away.”

Confused, Rarity asks, “Whatever for?”

“The letter says it’s really important and she would like to discuss it with all of us.”

Once Twilight finished, her friends all looked at each other and realized that something important was happening and that Princess Celestia has summoned them to report to Canterlot immediately.



As they traveled to the train station, they noticed ponies and draconequuses selling goods and talking to each other in the marketplace. The draconequuses were in all different shapes, sizes, and animal parts. A young filly and a draconequus cub run by, laughing as they played a game of tag. Fluttershy smiled as she watched.

“Isn’t it so nice to see young ponies and draconequuses get along so well?” she asked.

Rarity nodded in agreement and replied, “Oh, certainly. It’s great to see them getting along without a problem.”

Just then, they saw a female draconequus unpacking some belongings. The draconequus had the head of a cheetah, emerald eyes, the body of a snake, and the tail of a fox. Her right arm belonged to that of an amphibian, while her left arm was similar to that of a mongoose. As for her legs, the right one was a goat leg and the left one was of a white wolf. Her right wing was a dragon’s wing and the left wing was a vulture’s wing.

Pinkie Pie gasped in joy and immediately rushed up to the cheetah draconequus, who yelped in surprise.

“HI THERE!!” Pinkie Pie shouted with a huge grin. “I’M PINKIE PIE!! ARE YOU NEW HERE?”

The ponies and baby dragon quickly rushed up to them and pulled Pinkie Pie aside.

“Sorry about that.” Twilight said to the cheetah draconequus. “She gets excited when new visitors come to town.”

The cheetah draconequus smiled. “Oh, that’s all right. No harm done.”

“Well, I’m glad that there’s a new resident in Ponyville.” Twilight said before introducing herself. “By the way, I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

Rarity gracefully walked forward and said, “My name is Rarity.”

Rainbow Dash smiled as she said, “I’m Rainbow Dash.”

Applejack shook the cheetah draconequi’s hand as she said, “Mah name’s Applejack. It’s a pleasure to meet ya.”

As Pinkie Pie was about to introduce herself again, Rainbow Dash covered her mouth with her hoof and said, “And you’ve already met Pinkie Pie.”

After Starlight Glimmer, Spike, and the CMC introduced themselves, Fluttershy was the last one to introduce herself, although she said it in a hushed voice.

The cheetah draconequus playfully pinched Fluttershy’s cheek as she cheerfully said, “Oh aren’t you the cutest thing?” Fluttershy blushed at the compliment. “My name is Antic. Discord has told me a lot about you guys.”

“You know Discord?” Fluttershy said with surprise.

“Of course I do. I’m one of his sisters.” Antic said as she unloaded more stuff.

The ponies and baby dragon were surprised when they heard this. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up. “Now wait a minute,” Rainbow Dash said. “You’re one of Discord’s sisters?”

After unloading a tea set, Antic replied, “Yes. Is there something?”

Rarity, trying her best not to be rude, said, “Well, it’s just that you don’t look anything like him, or the rest of his family.”

Applejack nodded and said, “Yeah. Most of his family have the head of the pony and you have the head of a cheetah. Now how’s that possible?”

“Well,” Antic said as she unloaded a box with medical equipment. “Dad’s great, great, great great, great grandfather was a tiger draconequus. And mom’s third cousin’s brother’s wife’s step-niece’s great-aunt twice removed was a cheetah draconequus. And that makes sense, right?”

The other ponies were trying to figure out how that worked, but Pinkie Pie understood apparently. “Yep! Makes sense!” she said with a smile.

“So what brings yah to Ponyville, Antic?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Oh, I’m here because I’m applying for a position at the Ponyville Hospital. I’ve been learning how to use medical magic and healing spells so I can help patients. Right now, I’m working at a desk job. But they told me that if I do well with my job, I’ll become a full doctor.” Antic said with glee.

“Gosh.” Fluttershy said. “That’s sounds great.”

“Aw, thank you.” Antic said. “I can see why Discord likes you as a friend. He did say you were cute and beautiful.”

After Antic said that, Fluttershy looked up as she raised her eyebrows. “Discord said what?”

Realizing that she said too much, Antic covered her mouth with her left paw before she said, “Oops! Sorry about that! I have a tendency to blurt things out like that-”

“Oh that’s okay.” Fluttershy said while blushing.

Twilight, realizing they had somewhere important to be, spoke up. “We would love to stay and chat, but we have to go somewhere important.”

Antic shrugged and smiled. “I understand. I have things I have to take care of too.”

“Be sure to tell Discord I said hi!” Fluttershy said as they left.

“Sure thing.” Antic said with a smile before unpacking another box. Once the ponies and baby dragon were out of sight, she sighed. “My brother totally deserves her.”



As the ponies and Spike walked to the train station, they passed a male, light brown earth pony. He wore a brown tweed suit, a white shirt, and a red tie. He had brown eyes, short and neatly combed black hair, a long black tail, a small mole on his upper cheek, and a 5 o’clock shadow beard. For his cutie mark, it was a brown teddy bear.

“Good morning, Mr. Hoof.”  Twilight said with a smile,

The pony, who was Mr. Hoof, turned to them and smiled. “Ahhhhh. Goodmorning,” He said in a mumbling voice. Mr. Hoof was an odd pony and was rather eccentric. He had a tendency to cause a bit of trouble wherever he went (sometimes intentionality or by mistake). He always spoke in a low mumbling voice, but everypony could understand him.

A minute later, they arrived at the train station. The train to Canterlot had not yet arrived, but it would be there any moment now. As they waited in line to get their tickets, nopony noticed the Thief slinking around the station. He was looking for loose bits or other things ponies might have dropped.

“Okay, Rarity. You got the money?” He heard Twilight say to Rarity.

“Indeed I have,” Rarity said holding up a purse filled with several accessories, which she didn’t really need. The Thief poked his head around and saw the ponies and baby dragon. He noticed that Rarity’s purse was open, and he saw what was in it.

“A sack of bits!” He thought to himself in joy. “This must be my lucky day.” He slowly crept up behind the ponies and the fact that they were at the end of the line so nopony could see him steal was an extra stroke of luck.

Twilight and her friends didn’t notice the Thief creeping up behind them. Once he was right behind Rarity, he almost fainted from the smell of all the perfume Rarity had in her purse. The moment he grabbed the sack of bits, which Rarity was going for at the same time. Soon the two of them touched hooves.

Rarity gasped in surprise when she saw that the Thief was trying to reach into her bag. “Oops.” the Thief thought to himself. Rarity screamed in surprise just as the Thief managed to snatch her entire purse and make a run for it.

“HelloNicetoseeyougoodbye!” He thought as Rarity made a swipe at him.

“What the hay is going on here?” Applejack said with a surprised look.

“Stop! THIEF! HOOLIGAN! Do you how much that shampoo cost me?!” Rarity shouted angrily.

Spike recognized him at once. “It’s the Thief!” he shouted.

Starlight Glimmer said, “He’s got all our money!”

“And all my accessories!” A distraught Rarity wailed.

“I’ll get him!” Rainbow Dash shouted before she flew after the Thief.

“Hurry, Rainbow!” Twilight called back. “The train will be here any minute!”

The Thief saw Rainbow Dash right on his tail. He ran as fast as his long skinny legs could go.

Nearby, Mr. Hoof was taking a getting ready to take a picture of his teddy bear, who was sitting on a stool. One of the the tripod’s legs was replaced with a plunger that he had 'borrowed’ earlier. Even though he was often idiotic, Mr. Hoof was very resourceful.

Just then, as he turned around to get something, the Thief ran right past him, grabbing the camera. Mr. Hoof didn't seem to hear the Thief or Rainbow Dash, who zoomed right past him. As soon as he turned around, he placed his hoof where the camera was only to realize that the it wasn't there.

He immediately looked around to see where his camera had gone. He then saw the Thief running off with his camera and gasped in horror before running after him. But first, he went back to his teddy and said, “Stayrightthere.” He then ran after the Thief again. “OI! That’sMYcamera!”

The Thief ran down the Ponyville marketplace with Rainbow Dash and Mr. Hoof in hot pursuit. He managed to ditch Rainbow Dash by sneaking through an alleyway.

As the Thief congratulated himself, Mr. Hoof tackled him and they both rolled down a very steep hill in a tangled up mess.

“Oof! Ow!”

“Camerathief!”

As they tumbled down the hill, the camera took snapshots of them as they tumbled on each other.

Finally, they both crashed into a bush.  The Thief decided that stealing a purse was much easier than stealing a camera from an eccentric nut. Mr. Hoof was dizzy, but he was glad to have his camera back.

Soon the Thief was running away from Rainbow Dash again, who had caught up with him.

“Come back here with our bits, you little weasel!”

“Pant. Pant. What does this pony eat to make her go so fast?!”

Finally Rainbow Dash grabbed a hold of the purse and began to fly. The Thief, however, wasn't going to give up that easily. While in the air, he grabbed a branch of a nearby tree and held on.

Rainbow Dash came to a stop, seeing that the Thief was holding onto the purse strap and to the tree branch. “Hey! Let go! Let go of the purse, you crook!” She said. Rainbow Dash pulled harder and the Thief held on tighter while the branch began to bend.

Finally, the Thief lost his hold onto the purse and was sent flying from the end of the branch. Rainbow Dash fell backward with such speed that she flew past the marketplace and was back at the train station with a thud on the ground as her friends watched in surprise.

“Alright, Rainbow Dash! You got our money back!” Scootaloo said with glee.

“And my accessories as well!” said Rarity, happy that all her stuff was back.

“I just wonder where that Thief went.” Apple Bloom replied.



Elsewhere, the Thief, still flying through the air, flew towards the lake.

“WHOAAAAAAAAAA!!” He skipped across the lake as if he was a stone and landed with a large splash, sending ducks, geese, swans, and other birds flying away in surprise.



Back at the station, they all got their tickets, just as the train had arrived.

Spike sighed in relief. “That was a close one.”

Rainbow Dash muttered angrily. “I only wish I gave that good-for-nothing thief a nice punch in the snout.” She pounded her hooves together angrily.

“Never mind him, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “We got our tickets. Now we can go to Canterlot.”

Pinkie Pie jumped with glee. “Yay! Train trip!”

“All aboard!” The conductor called out as they boarded the train and it started on its way to Canterlot.



Some hours later, they arrived in Canterlot. The first thing they did was head straight for the castle. As they entered through the hallway, Twilight heard a familiar voice.

“Twily!”

Twilight turned her head and saw Shining Armor, followed by Princess Cadance, and two other guards. Cadance was carrying a baby alicorn filly, who had a white coat, and a blue and yellow mane and tail. It was baby Pure Heart, the daughter of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, not to mention Twilight’s new niece.

Cadance smiled, before handing baby Pure Heart to her husband and rushed up to Twilight. “Twilight!” The two alicorns hugged each other in joy before clapping their hooves together.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” They both laughed as they finished their secret hoofshake. Baby Pure Heart giggled as she watched the whole thing happen.

“How’s my favorite sister-in-law?” Twilight asked.

“Never better.” Cadance said with a smile.

“And how’s my favorite niece doing?” Twilight said as she and her friends turned to baby Pure Heart. The baby alicorn clapped her hooves happily just as Pinkie Pie came up close.

“AWWWWWWW!!” Pinkie Pie said in joy. “Look at the cute little baby-waby. Did you miss aunt Pinkie Pie?”

Baby Pure Heart babbled in joy at the pink pony in front of her. “Oh, she’s such a cutie patootie-wootie! Who wants a snuggly-wuggly hug?”

Shining Armor gave baby Pure Heart to Pinkie. As she held up the baby and made goofy faces, along with Rainbow Dash, the guards just looked at each other awkwardly.

“Anyway,” Twilight said. “It’s great to see you again. Everything going okay in the Crystal Empire?”

“Going great!” Cadance said with a smile. “Sunburst has been taking his role as the new Crystaller very seriously.”

Starlight Glimmer crossed her hooves shyly. “Um… speaking of Sunburst, how has he been doing?”

“He’s doing fine.” Shining Armor replied. “He’s put his magic to good use helping the empire.”

Cadance turned her attention to the others. “I guess Aunt Celestia had summoned you?”

Applejack nodded. “Yep. She said it was very important. We had ta come right away as soon as possible.”

“Follow us.” Shining Armor said. As he and Cadance led the way, the ponies and baby dragon followed them. Pinkie Pie continued making funny face as she carried baby Pure Heart while walking with her friends.



Once they entered the throne room, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were there waiting for them.

Princess Celestia smiled as she saw the arrival of her faithful student. “Greetings, Princess Twilight.” Princess Luna said. Twilight and her friends approached the two sisters before Twilight spoke. “We received your message and came right away.”

“And I’m glad you did.” Princess Celestia said. “I have some very urgent news.”

“And what might that be, your highness?” Rarity asked.

“Mutant doughnuts are going to take over the world?!” Pinkie Pie gasped in horror while baby Pure Heart climbed on her head joyfully.

“No.” Princess Celestia replied with a calm voice. “As you all know, ponies and draconequuses have peacefully coexisted for quite some time now.”

“However,” Princess Luna said. “We have received dire news from King Disconcert.”

Apple Bloom and her friends looked worried. “And what might that be?”

“He has informed us that several of his subjects, who have come to reside in Equestria, have mysteriously vanished.”

“Vanished?!” The ponies said altogether in horror. It was hard for Pinkie Pie to say it because baby Pure Heart was clinging onto her face. It came out muffled, “Vhonissht?!” Princess Cadance pulled baby Pure Heart from Pinkie’s face and she let out a huge gasp for air and leaned on Spike for support while panting for breath.

“Yes. Fourteen, to be exact.” Princess Celestia continued.

“He asked us to help him find those missing draconequuses.” Princess Luna said.

Shining Armor spoke. “Several of my best guards have been dispatched across Equestria to find them. But, so far, we’ve had no success.”

“That’s terrible.” Fluttershy said with concern.

Twilight looked up to the princesses. “What you have us do, Princess Celestia?”

“I want you and your friends to go to Manehattan. Many of the disappearances have occurred there. The police there need all the help they can get. Do you understand, Twilight?” Princess Celestia asked her student.

Twilight looked at her friends and they all nodded, especially Rainbow Dash. She then turned back to Princess Celestia. “We understand, princess.”

“Oh yeah!!!” Rainbow Dash cheered.”We get to be in a crime case!”

“Hooray!” Pinkie Pie said in excitement. “Does this mean I can bring my special crime investigation party cannon?”
> Ch.3-Welcome to Manehattan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.3-Welcome to Manehattan


Later on, Spike and the ponies were already on a train that was already heading for Manehattan. The Mane Six and Starlight Glimmer watched through the windows of the train as things outside passed by them while the CMC and Spike were spending their time playing ‘I Spy’ looking for things around them.

Just then, Pinkie Pie asked, “Are we there yet?”

“No, Pinkie.” Applejack said.

“Oh.” Pinkie Pie was quiet for a moment before she asked again. “Are we there yet?”

“No. We’re not there yet, Pinkie.” Rarity replied.

Pinkie Pie asked the same question again. “Now are we there yet?”

“NO, WE ARE NOT!” Rainbow Dash said with annoyance before taking a deep breath. “We’ll get there when we get there. Just try to be patient.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “Sorry. I’m just so really bored right now.”

Twilight pondered this for a moment. “Maybe we should listen to some music to keep us occupied while we wait.”

Starlight Glimmer nodded in agreement. “Great idea, Twilight. Listening to music sounds good.”

“But what music should we listen to?” Spike asked.

“Um, maybe we could listen to one of Singing Diva’s songs?” Fluttershy asked with a sheepish smile.

The others looked at her for a moment before they all agreed together. “That’s a great idea, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash said. “Yeah!” Sweetie Belle said. “I love Singing Diva’s songs!”

Singing Diva was one of Equestria’s famous pop stars and everypony really loved her singing.
Apple Bloom replied, “I reckon that we listen to her song ‘Try Everything’.”

“Great idea! I love that song!” Scootaloo said with excitement as Twilight choose the music cd, put it in a cd player, and they began to listen.

As the train continued on its way to Manehattan, pop music began playing in the background.



The ponies and baby dragon were enjoying the song as the train continued the journey as Singing Diva’s voice sang.

Then they looked outside through the window and saw a bunch of earth ponies and draconequuses running beside the train as they were racing together.

When one of the earth ponies was about to fall, a nearby draconequus used its tail to help it up. The earth pony smiled at the draconequus as they continued running with the others.

Next, they saw some unicorns who were trying to use their magic to make some plants grow. But by the looks of it, they weren’t having any luck. Some draconequuses used their magic to help out and the plants immediately sprouted out of the ground and grew into tall trees with the unicorns on the branches. The unicorns cheerfully waved back to the draconequuses, who waved back as well while the train passed by.

With happy looks on their faces, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all pointed a hoof outside the window. The others looked at what they were pointing at outside. In the sky, some pegasi ponies and draconequuses were making the clouds rain water for the plants and things. When they were done watering, some pegasi and draconequuses high-hoof each other before flying away.

Just then, Twilight and her friends looked out the window and saw that they were almost arriving at the Manehattan train station.

As the train came to a complete stop, they immediately got up and headed out, except for Pinkie Pie, who was still dancing along to the song. Rarity grabbed her by the tail and dragged her along as Pinkie yelped in surprise.

Once they entered out of the train with the other passengers, they all looked around their surroundings. Draconequuses and ponies were moving all about. Some were at stands selling foods while others arrived in their own vehicles, which fit the draconequuses’ size. The ponies looked around with amazement. It was great to see ponies and draconequuses learning to get along so well.

With smiles, they all departed from the train station. As the song came to an end, the gang looked at each other and knew that they did it: They had made it to Manehattan.

Up on a huge screen in front of them stood a beautiful unicorn with a pink coat, lovely blue eyes, and her mane and tail were both golden yellow that were both braided at the end. As for her cutie mark, it was a microphone with stars around it. It was Singing Diva, the same pony who had composed the song they had just listened to.

“I’m Singing Diva. Welcome to Manehattan.” Singing Diva said with a warm smile.



Soon they arrived at the hotel they were staying at. A hotel pony worker showed them to their room as she opened the door.

“Welcome to the Grand Hoofington Hotel,” said the pony worker, as she stepped aside as they looked inside. The room had water beds that had exotic fish swimming in them. The floor was made up of soft carpet the color of blue. “Luxurious hotel with charm.”

Turning to Twilight, she continued. “Complimentary housekeeping once a week. Don’t lose your key.”

“Sure. No problem.” Twilight answered after receiving the hotel key from the pony worker, who then left.

Just then, two stallions walked by them. One was an earth pony and the other was a pegasus. Pinkie Pie greeted them with a cheerful smile. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie and these are my friends! We’re your new hotel neighbors.”

“Yeah, well, we’re loud,” said the pegasus.

“Don’t expect us to apologize for it,” blurted the earth pony.

After they went into their room and slammed the door, Fluttershy flinched nervously at the slam of the door. They all wandered further into their room and admired how great it was. Rarity gasped in joy and ran to some elaborate, fancy curtains. “Sweet Celestia! What simply fabulous curtains! The ponies here have exquisite taste.”

Spike smiled and went up to one of the water beds. “Hey,” Spike said. “Check out the beds!” He laid down on the water bed and sighed as it wobbled back and forth. “Ahhhhhhh. Now this is comfortable.”

Pinkie Pie smiled and said, “Oooh! I wanna try it too!” She immediately jumped into the air (and almost hit the ceiling) and prepared to land on the bed. “CANNONBALL!!!!!!”

Spike yelped in surprise as Pinkie Pie was about to land on the bed. Thinking fast, Twilight used her magic to slow her down and set her on the bed. However, once she landed on the bed, she caused the whole thing to shake uncontrollably, causing Spike to go flipping and land on the floor.

The fish in the water bed swam about like crazy. Fluttershy rushed up to the rubber mattress and spoke gently to the fishes. “Oh, I’m so sorry about my friend. She can’t help it when she sees a water bed. We’ll try to be more careful next time.”

Applejack and Rarity walked up to Spike, who was still lying on the floor. “Ya alright, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked while Rarity had a concern look on her face. Spike lifted his head up with a dizzy look and said, “I’m fine. The floor’s also comfy.” With that, he fell back onto the floor with a thud.

Pinkie Pie smiled as the water bed wobbled to and fro. “This water bed is superiffic!”

Rainbow Dash laid back on another bed. “Yeah! This place has it all!”

Twilight and Starlight Glimmer looked around. “Comfy water beds, elaborate curtains…,” Twilight said.

Just then, loud voices came from the other side of the wall: “Shut up!” “You shut up!” “No, you shut up!” “I said shut up!” It was the pony neighbors they saw earlier.

“...Loud neighbors,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I LOVE IT!” Pinkie Pie shouted with a smile and laid back on the water bed, which wobbled a bit. The ponies and baby dragon all smiled and began to settle in.



The next day, they all departed from the hotel (they had some trouble pulling Pinkie Pie from the snack table). From what Princess Celestia had told them back in Canterlot, they needed to find a pony officer by the name of  “Inspector Fantastic.”

“So how exactly are we supposed to find this Inspector Fantastic pony?” Scootaloo asked as they walked down the streets of Manehattan.

Twilight thought back to their time in Canterlot.



“Now once you have arrived in Manehattan and find a place to stay, you must find a pony called Inspector Fantastic,” Princess Celestia explained to them before they were getting ready to board a train that was heading for Manehattan.

“And why is this pony very important?” Starlight Glimmer asked.

“Inspector Fantastic is a detective who works for the Manehattan Police Station.” Princess Celestia continued.

“What’ll happen next after we find him?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Once you find him, he will take you the the Manehattan Police Station. There you will receive your assignment. I have already sent a letter to Inspector Fantastic to let him know that you are on your way.” Princess Celestia finished.

“Um…Princess Celestia? What is Inspector Fantastic like,” Fluttershy asked as the alicorn turned her attention to the shy pegasus. “Exactly what kind of a cop is he?” Fluttershy was often afraid being around big scary police officers.

“Yeah. Is he a great officer, or what?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Princess Celestia smiled warmly. “Well, I think he is a very great officer.”

“Really?” asked Apple Bloom.

“In his own way.” Princess Celestia replied. “He’s quite eccentric and a little hard to understand. But when he puts his mind to it, he’s the perfect officer for any case.”



“She could have at least told us what he looks like,” Rarity complained.

Spike says, “He could be anywhere in Manehattan.”

Just then, several ponies rushed past them. They watched as the ponies rushed inside a bookstore where more ponies and draconequuses were gathering.

“Hey. What’s all the ruckus?” asked Applejack.

Twilight looks over at the bookstore. “It looks like something is happening at that bookstore.”

“Maybe we’ll find Inspector Fantastic in there!” Starlight Glimmer said.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash rushed up ahead and the others followed right behind her.

Inside the bookstore, they found that the place was overflowing with various ponies and draconequuses. Many of them had cameras and microphones.

As the Main Six, Starlight Glimmer, Spike, and the CMC made their way through the crowd, Rainbow Dash and Rarity both noticed something and gasped. Twilight and the others caught up with them and notice them both staring in awe.

“Rarity? Rainbow?” Twilight asked.

“What are y'all looking at?” Apple Bloom asked.

“It’s him.” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s actually him!” Rarity added.

“Who? Who is it?” Pinkie asked.

“Is it Inspector Fantastic?” Twilight asked, hoping that is was the pony that they were looking for.

“No. Even better!” Rainbow Dash said in excitement.

The others got up closer and saw what everypony was looking at. In front of the crowd was the most handsome pegasus any of them had ever seen. His coat was red, his mane and tail were both a different shade red. His eyes were orange and his cutie mark was a golden horseshoe that was shining bright. He wore a blue business suit and a red tie. He was obviously a fan of red. When he smiled, his teeth sparkled a little bit.

Next to him was a female unicorn. She was even more marvelous looking than the pegasus. Her coat was a dark purple while her mane and tail were sky blue and violet that was styled gorgeous. Her eyes were magenta and as for her cutie mark, it was a blue mirror that had sparkles around it.

“It’s him! It’s him! It’s actually him!” Rainbow Dash squealed as she put her hooves to her cheeks, trying to contain all her excitement.

“In the flesh!” Rarity said in full delight.

“It’s Mayor Flashhoof!” They said in perfect unison.

Twilight and the others gasp in surprise and looked at the handsome pegasus.

“The Flashhoof?!” Twilight asked in awe.

Starlight Glimmer’s jaw dropped in amazement. “I’ve never seen him up close before.”

Sweetie Belle looked confused, along with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Spike, and Pinkie Pie. “Who’s Flashhoof?”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash both turned their heads around at Sweetie Belle and gasped in disbelief. “Who’s Flashhoof?!” Rarity asked.

“Yeah. Who is he?” Scootaloo asked.

“Only the most greatest pegasus in all of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash said before continuing. “This guy was once a member of the Wonderbolts! He pulled off spectacular stunts that no pegasus ever done and succeeded every time! He graduated from the Wonderbolts academy at the age of 14! The youngest pegasus ever to graduate because he was so awesome!”

“Not only that, he’s absolutely gorgeous,” Rarity replied, her eyes wide as she looked at Flashhoof’s wavy mane and sparkling teeth. “He’s the absolute ponyification of perfection!”

Spike, however, was starting to feel jealous. Rarity was practically falling in love with this pony, whom she had never even met before. Pinkie Pie just tilted her head. “I don’t see what’s so awesome about him.”

Twilight explained. “From what everypony says, he’s the mayor of Manehattan. Not only that, he’s in charge of ‘The Pony and Draconequus Friendship Initiative’. He’s made it possible for draconequuses and ponies to coexist in Equestria.”

“And he’s super awesome!” Rainbow Dash said in excitement.

Then they heard one of the pony reporters talking to Mayor Flashhoof. “Mayor Flashhoof, how will your Pony and Draconequus Friendship Initiative convince the ponies in Fillydelphia to get along with draconequuses?”

Mayor Flashhoof just gave a chuckle before he spoke. “Well, it’s really quite simple actually. We-” He stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed something in the crowd. “Sweet Celestia, can it really be,” Flashhoof said in amazement, looking at Twilight and her friends. “Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”

The ponies and draconequuses turned their attention to the ones Flashhoof was referring to. The alicorn and her friends looked at them in confusion. “What’s everyone looking at?” asked Scootaloo.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” said a photographer, before grabbing her hoof and pulled her where Mayor Flashhoof was, with her friends following while Rainbow Dash and Rarity had exciting looks on their faces.

“What’s goin’ on?” a confused Apple Bloom asked.

Flashhoof smiled as he put his arm around Twilight. “Hey, wha-?!” Twilight began to speak, but Flashhoof interrupted her. “Smile for the camera, Princess Twilight. Everyone loves it.” Flashhoof said. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were both beside Flashhoof: the pony of their dreams!

One of the photographers set Fluttershy right next to the unicorn that was with Flashhoof. She accidently bumped into the unicorn. “Oh! I’m so sorry.” Fluttershy nervously said. The unicorn simply smiled gently.

“It’s alright. No harm done.” Her voice sounded very elegant, yet had a hint of humor in it. Rarity noticed the unicorn’s mane and gasped. “Sweet Celestia! Your mane is absolutely magnificent!”

“Oh, it’s nothing really.” The unicorn stated.

“Oh, but it is! I’ve never seen a mane styled in such a fabulous way!”

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie popped out of nowhere and almost landed on Spike. “It’s super duper shiny!”

The unicorn blushed before she brushed her mane back with a hoof. “Oh, you flatter me. My name is Shimmering Beauty, the assistant mayor of Manehattan.”

“I’m Fluttershy. Nice to…um…” The shy pegasus didn’t feel very comfortable with several other ponies taking pictures of her all at once. To be honest, she didn’t like it when ponies took pictures of her without her permission. Shimmering Beauty noticed this and stood beside Fluttershy and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder to comfort her.

Rarity continued looking at Shimmering Beauty’s mane in awe. “I’ve never seen a mane sparkle like that! How do you do it!?”

“Well, it’s not difficult really,” Shimmering Beauty said. “I simply use-.”

Before she could finish, Mayor Flashhoof pushed Shimmering Beauty aside. “Shimmering Beauty, make room will you?” Flashhoof said before turning to the ponies and baby dragon. “All right, girls. Let’s see those teeth!”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash got right next to Flashhoof and smiled in utter joy. As the photographers continued taking pictures, Fluttershy saw that Shimmering Beauty was trying to be in the picture as well. So, she moved aside and Shimmering Beauty stood right beside her as the cameras were flashing.



Later, they had already left the bookstore and decided to go with Flashhoof and Shimmering Beauty. Photographers kept following Flashhoof. Rarity was right by his side, completely lovestruck. Rainbow Dash was flying right next to them, barely able to control all the excitement coming from inside of her.

Twilight and the others followed close behind, with Shimmering Beauty and Fluttershy talking to each other. Spike was struggling to carry a heap of books that were all about Flashhoof and autographed by him as well. Rarity insisted that they should get them and Spike couldn’t say no to the beautiful unicorn. He was able to peer out of the book pile with one eye and glared as Rarity kept fawning over the mayor of Manehattan.

The CMC also helped Spike manage all the books and they could tell that even from under all those books, the baby dragon was seething with jealously.

“Oh, Flashhoof! You’re simply the most handsome, charming, sophisticated stallion in all of Equestria,” Rarity sighed as she placed her head next to Flashhoof’s. Flashhoof smiled back, his sparkling teeth glittering in the sunlight. “Oh, it’s nothing really. Although, I am handsome.” Flashhoof said.

Rainbow Dash flew right next to them. “And you’re the most coolest, fastest, and flashiest pegasus that’s ever been!” She said, squealing in joy. “Did you really win the Nation Tri-Hoof games in 13 seconds?”

“Why, yes.” Flashhoof stated. “Although, I did give them a head start. I have heard that your skills are quite amazing from what everypony tells me.” He then turned his head to Rarity and said, “Might I add that you’re even more beautiful than all the glittering stars in the sky and diamonds in the earth?”

Rarity felt that she might faint in utter happiness. Flashhoof was the ultimate gentlepony! “Oh, Flashhoof!” She said. “You’re everything any mare could ask for! The ultimate Prince Charming!”

“The greatest daredevil!” Rainbow Dash said, as she flew in a loop.

“The biggest fathead.” Spike muttered from underneath the pile of books, which celebrated his newfound rival. The smiling pictures of Flashhoof fueled his anger.

“Yep. He’s jealous.” Sweetie Belle told her friends as they walked.

Fluttershy and Shimmering Beauty were being swarmed by reporters and photographers, who asked Fluttershy multiple random questions that made her rather uncomfortable.

“Miss Fluttershy! Is it true that you looked King Sombra in the eye with your famous Stare and said ‘bite me’?” asked a male pegasus reporter with a microphone.

“What? I never-.”

“Miss Fluttershy! Is it true that the reason you can communicate with animals is because you were bitten by a wild dingo as a filly?” a female earth pony asked next.

“No, I-”

“Miss Fluttershy! Is it true that you are at the mercy of a small, adorable, yet demanding and conniving rabbit that is your own pet?” asked a male unicorn.

“What?! What are you talking about?”

Shimmering Beauty finally spoke up. “Alright everypony. Give her a rest. She’s got enough on her hooves already.”

“Awwww.” the pony photographers and reporters groaned. They all went up to Flashhoof to see if the stallion could answer their questions and get the latest gossip from Rarity.

Fluttershy turned to Shimmering Beauty and smiled. “Thanks.” Fluttershy said. She didn’t how much pressure she could have taken from those reporters. She was grateful for Shimmering Beauty’s help.

“Oh, it was nothing really,” Shimmering Beauty said before continuing. “Not used to crowds?”

“No, not really.” Fluttershy sadly admitted.

“I know how you feel. I wasn’t used to crowds either when I was a filly.”

“You do?”

“Of course. I was the first one in my class to get my cutie mark and nearly everypony couldn’t leave me alone. They would constantly follow me, admiring my looks, and asking me how they could be just as beautiful as me.” She gave a small sigh of frustration and a small chuckle. “They rarely ever gave me a moment's peace.”

“Oh my.” Fluttershy said. This pony had it worse than she did ever since she was a filly. “So, how did you get over it?”

Shimmering Beauty gave a warm smile. “Well, for starters, I just ignored those who were jealous of me. Eventually, they let me be. I also socialized with the more friendlier crowds. As I got older, I was more used to crowds looking at me. Also, being next to an important pony like Flashhoof has made it so much easier to get used to crowds.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened! She had never thought of ignoring ponies before. She thought it would be too rude. She replied, “If only I was more calm like you.” Shimmering Beauty gave another warm smile. “Don’t worry. You have your friends to help you.”

Fluttershy smiled. This was somepony who could relate to her and ask for advice. They both continued talking. Twilight and the others were amazed that they were walking with the one and only Flashhoof. However, they had an important task to do and an important pony to find.

“So, what brings you and your friends to Manehattan, Princess Twilight?” Flashhoof asked. “Did you come to get my newest autobiography?”

“Uh, not really,” Twilight said, seeing that Spike was already overburdened by a small mountain of books. “We’re here on official business assigned by Princess Celestia. She has asked us to find a certain pony officer by the name of ‘Inspector Fantastic’. Do you know him?”

The mayor raised an eyebrow. “Inspector Fantastic? Why yes, I do know him. Why do you need to find him?”

“I’m afraid that’s our business.” Twilight replied.

Flashhoof just shrugged. “If you say so. I didn’t mean to pry. I’m not entirely sure of his whereabouts, but I do recall seeing him and his assistant doing some police work in the intersection of lower Manehattan. Said he was doing some important work to take care of. You might be able to find him there.

“Thank you.” Twilight said.

“Well, I would like to stay and chat some more, but I have important business I must attend to. The Pony and Draconequus Friendship Initiative can’t lead itself.” He said, before turning to Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “I do hope we meet again, my sweet Rarity. I enjoyed our time together.”

He then held Rarity’s hoof in his hoof before he kissed it. Rarity’s eyes sparkled and smiled in delight. Spike saw the whole thing and growled angrily. “Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!” Finally he couldn’t take it anymore and let the books fall over him. It was official: he now hated this super, charming daredevil.

As Flashhoof turned, he called for his assistant. “Shimmering Beauty!” Shimmering Beauty gasped, realizing that her boss needed her. She turned to Fluttershy. “I have to go now. But I did enjoy our conversation.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Me too. I hope we can get together sometime and talk some more.”

“I hope so too.” Shimmering Beauty said with a smile.

With that, Shimmering Beauty turned and walked alongside Flashhoof. A huge swarm of reporters and photographers rush after them, leaving the ponies and baby dragon all by themselves. Finally, Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“YAAAAAAAAA-HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” She burst into the air and did several loops while soaring through the air. She almost flew into a t.v. antenna. Rarity was still standing and looking at the hoof that Flashhoof had kissed in absolute awe.

Rainbow Dash flew back onto the ground and stood right next to Rarity. “Can you believe it?! I don’t believe it!” She could barely conceal her happiness. “We walked and talked next to Mayor Flashhoof! The greatest daredevil in all of Equestria!”

Rarity smiled as she looked at her hoof. “He actually kissed my hoof with his lovely lips,” She said in utter delight. “I’ll never wash this hoof again.”

“Gee, I hope not.” Spike muttered to himself as he and the CMC picked up the books, although he was tempted to burn them all to a crisp. He couldn’t stand the sight of Flashhoof.

“Wow!” Scootaloo said as she picked up a book. “We actually met the famous Flashhoof!”

Starlight Glimmer turned to Twilight. “So, what did you think of him?”
Twilight responded. “He certainly was interesting. It’s good to hear that he supports Princess Celestia’s idea of ponies and draconequuses living and working together in harmony.”

“He certainly was handsome.” Starlight added.

Rarity sighed in joy. “Handsome isn’t even enough to describe him. He’s absolutely gorgeous. He has a face as if it was carved by angels.” She almost fainted, but Applejack caught her and lifted her up.

Applejack shrugged. “I don’t know. He seems kinda full of himself.”

Spike chuckled sarcastically. ‘Full of himself’ sounded like a compliment, comparing it to Flashhoof’s ego. Rarity didn’t seem to notice as she was still sighing.

Pinkie Pie popped up and caused Spike to fall over, spilling books everywhere. “Did you see that pony, Shimmering Beauty? Her mane is shinier than that rock Maud dug up at the rock farm.”

Hearing Shimmering Beauty’s name, Rarity came to her senses before turning to Pinkie with a smile. “I know!” she said. “I’ve never seen another unicorn with such astounding beauty such as that!”

Fluttershy replied, “I thought she was very nice. In fact, I think she and I have a lot in common.”

Applejack smiled as she put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Sounds like you got yerself a new friend there, Sugarcube.”

“Come on, everypony.” Twilight said. “We have to find Inspector Fantastic as soon as possible.”

Hearing what Twilight, the others nodded and followed her as they headed for lower Manehattan.



A little while later, they reached lower Manehattan and began to look for the pony called Inspector Fantastic. So far, they asked the ponies in the area, but none of them knew where he was.

“How do we know where to find him if no one knows where he is?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I wonder if he’s handsome like Flashhoof.” Rarity said.

“I certainly hope not.” Spike grumbled to himself as he carried all the books. He had just enough of handsome, charming, and charismatic ponies like Flashhoof for one day.

Before anyone could reply, somepony bumped into Spike and made him fall over, spilling all the books he was carrying. The pony rushed past him and the others, pushing aside Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

“What the hay?” Applejack explained in surprise.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, pal!” Rainbow Dash said angrily.

The pony was an earth pony who looked very familiar. He was lanky, green, and wore a dirty brown coat.

“Hey.” Sweetie Belle said, noticing the pony and raising a curious eyebrow. “Have we seen that pony before?”

Immediately, Twilight recognized who it was and gasped in surprise. “Wait a minute! It’s the Thief!”

“Oi, you! Stop!”

The ponies turned around to see where the unfamiliar voice had come from.Behind a corner, two Earth ponies appeared. The first Earth pony had an orange coat, red eyes, and a black bushy mustache that matched his mane and tail. He wore a gray duffle coat with a blue tie and a brown detective hat. His cutie mark was a magnifying glass. In one of his hooves, he carried a black umbrella. He waved it around his head as if he was conducting an orchestra.

Next to him, the other Earth pony was younger. He had a light blue coat while his mane was green and curly. His eyes were pink. He wore a similar duffle coat, except his was orange and his tie was dark green. He wore a small black bowler hat and his cutie mark looked like a notepad.

“Quick!” The first pony said in a cockney accent. “After 'im, Number 2!”

“Yes sir!” The pony, presumably Number 2, said in a slightly more posh accent.

Rainbow Dash turned her head back at the Thief and glared angrily. “Come on, guys! Let's get him!”

Just then, the Thief turned around the corner and turned his head as he continued running. “Whew! For a pony carrying an umbrella, he sure is fast.” He didn't see where he was running and fell right down a sewer hole.

“Whoops!” He landed in the sewage water with a splash. “Dang it.” He gurgled to himself.

The two Earth ponies stopped as they could no longer see where the Thief went.

“Blast it!” The Earth pony with the umbrella said. “ 'e got away.”

As the other ponies caught up with them, the other Earth pony panted for breath. “That didn't work right, sir.”

“Well, we’ll just 'ave ter find the bugger later.”

“Um, excuse me,” Starlight Glimmer said, getting the two Earth ponies attention.

“Yes? Can we ‘elp yer?”

“Yes. My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends. We're looking for somepony called Inspector Fantastic.” Twilight said.

“Do you know him?” Fluttershy asked.

The Earth pony smiled before he spoke. “Know 'im? Well, of course I know 'im.”

“You do?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Yes. 'e’s me!” He pointed at himself with his umbrella.

Once he said that, the gang was surprised! “You're Inspector Fantastic?!” Asked Apple Bloom with a surprised look.

Rarity looked the most surprised. Inspector Fantastic wasn't the charming and handsome pony she thought he would be.

“The same!” He said proudly before to the Earth pony next to him. “And this is me sidekick, Number 2!”

The Earth pony, Number 2, lifted his hat and greets them with a smile. “Honor to meet you.”

“Wot can I do for yer, Princess?” Inspector Fantastic said.

“We're here on orders from Princess Celestia herself. She sent us to help in finding the missing draconequuses. She said you could help us get to the Manehattan police station so we can receive our assignment.” Twilight explained.

Inspector Fantastic stroked his bushy mustache and smiled. “Well, yer’ve come ter the right pony, mate! There's no other copper in Mane’atten 'oo knows these bloomin’ streets better than me.”

With the two ponies leading the way, the others followed. As they walked, Applejack noticed Inspector Fantastic’s umbrella, which he was twirling around.

“I'm just wondering, why do you carry that there umbrella anyhow?”

“Yeah,” replied Rainbow Dash. “It's not even raining.”

Inspector Fantastic turned his head to the two ponies. “Why, this 'ere is me trusty, lucky, crime-fightin’ brolly. It's been in me family fer as long as I can remember. I’ve always 'ad it wif me through thick an’ thin. Yer never know when it might come in 'andy. It can be a cracking good weapon and a shield when things is gettin’ 'airy.”

He showed by opening the umbrella and placing it under the CMC just as a soda can was about to hit them. The can bounced off the umbrella and landed on the ground with a clank.

“Wow!” Cried Pinkie Pie as they continued walking. “Who knew that umbrellas could be so useful as police weapons?”



Soon they finally arrived at the Manehattan police station. As they walked inside, ponies were bustling around doing stuff. One pony cop was leading another pony, who was hoof cuffed.

“Come on! He kickd his hooves at me first.” The hoof cuffed pony complained as he was being dragged away.

The group approached the help desk. The pony sitting at the front desk was a rather chubby Earth pony eating doughnuts. He didn't seem to notice Twilight and her friends.

“Uh, excuse me?” Twilight said, hoping to get the pony’s attention.

The Earth pony just continued eating, not paying attention to the alicorn.

Twilight cleared her throat and spoke louder. “Excuse me!”

The Earth pony stopped eating and noticed them.

“Yeah?” He said, with a mouth full of doughnuts.

Inspector Fantastic spoke. “These ponies was wonderin’ where the bullpen was. Says they got important business ter do 'ere.”

The Earth pony lifted a hoof and pointed while speaking a mouth full of doughnuts. “Mrstdurtmmdaluftt.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash said.

The pony swallowed down the doughnut and spoke clearly. “First door down to the left.” He pointed down the hallway with his hoof again.

Fluttershy then noticed something odd with the Earth pony. “Um, sir, you kinda have a little something at the fold…uh,” she stammered as she tried to figure out how to explain it to him.

The Earth pony felt around his fat neck and pulled out a half eaten doughnut. “There you are! I was wondering where you went.” He happily ate the doughnut while the others watched, to which they were all disgusted, except Pinkie.

“Thank you!” Twilight said as they headed down the hallway the pony had just pointed at.

As they walked past the help desk, Inspector Fantastic's umbrella accidentally hooked the doughnut that the Earth pony was about to eat. He was reading a book, so he couldn't see what happened. When he noticed that his doughnut was gone, he looked around, shrugged, and picked up another doughnut.



Once they entered the bullpen, the ponies saw that it was brimming with activity. Pony officers were talking with each other, some drinking coffee, reading, or playfully punching each other. At one table, they saw an Earth pony and a pegasus hoof-wrestling. The earth pony slammed the pegasi’ hoof  with a loud thud while the cops nearby cheered. At another table, two unicorn stallions were playfully punching each other on the shoulders and laughing.

“I love this place!” Rainbow Dash said with excitement as they got to their seats. As they sat down, she noticed a large male pegasus sitting right next to her. His name tag said ‘McHoof.’ “Hey, Rainbow Dash!” She said, pointing to herself. The pegasus just looked at her as she held a hoof out. “Ready to make Equestria a better place?”

McHoof just looked at her and simply hoof bumped her in return, almost knocking her out of her chair. She smiled.

“ATTEN-HUT!” A unicorn officer said just as the door opened. Coming in was a burly earth pony stallion. He had a blue coat, an orange mane, tail, and mustache, and light orange eyes. He had the basic police outfit and his cutie mark was a police badge. His expression wasn’t exactly friendly. All the officers stood to attention while some pounded their hooves on the tables, chanting, “Gruff! Gruff! Gruff! Gruff!”

As the officers were chanting, Sweetie Belle turned to Number Two and whispered. “Who’s that?” Number Two whispered back to her. “That is Officer Gruff, the toughest police officer in Manehattan and the chief’s second in command.”

Spike watched as the stern earth pony officer walked up to the front of the room. “He doesn’t look quite happy,” he stated.

“He’s always like that,” Number Two explained. “He’s strict, short-tempered, and absolutely no-nonsense. He’s absolutely terrifying if you upset him.”

Fluttershy nervously crouched in her chair. “He sounds scary.” The shy pegasus said as she looked at the grim officer.

Inspector Fantastic patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Oh, don’t yer worry. ‘E’s quite alright once yer get ter know ‘im.”

Once Officer Gruff reached the front of the room, he said, “All right. Everypony sit.” His voice was deep with a strong sense of authority. Everypony sat down in their chairs as he continued. “I have three items on the list from the chief this morning.” He pulled up a folder and a checkpad. “First, we need to acknowledge a certain pegasus in the room. Officer Millicent.”

All heads turned to an orange female pegasus officer. She looked nervous for a moment before Officer Gruff said with a small smile, “Happy birthday.” Immediately, Officer Millicent sighed in relief while the other officers cheered for her. She smiled and gave a male pegasus next to her a noogie. “Oh yeah!” she said with joy.

Twilight and her friends clapped their hooves in appreciation while Pinkie Pie gasped in surprise. “It’s your birthday?!” She smiled in excitement. “Oh, this is so exciting! I gotta get my party cannon!” She jumped out of her seat and was about to dash off, but Applejack grabbed her by the tail, causing her to run in place. “Hold yer horses, Pinkie. Sit down.” Applejack said as she made Pinkie Pie sit in her chair.

“Second: with us today, we have Princess Twilight Sparkle herself and her friends, whom I should introduce…,” Officer Gruff said while Rarity and Rainbow Dash beamed with excitement. They always love being the center of attention. “...but I’m not going to, because I don’t care.”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash’s jaws dropped in disbelief while all the pony officers chuckled. “Well, really,” Rarity huffed frustratingly.

“And finally, we have fourteen missing civilian cases,” Officer Gruff said, pointing to a map. On there were pin marks of locations in Equestria, along with pictures of draconequuses. “All draconequuses, from a giant polar bear draconequus to a tiny otter draconequus. King Disconcert and city hall are right up the chief’s tail to find them! The royal guards are already searching the rest of Equestria while we search in Manehattan. This is priority number one.”

Holding up some folders, he said, “Assignments! Officers, McHoof, Trotters, and Mareington: you search the outer areas of the city. Officers Lugger, Bridge Hoof, and Green Burst: your team scouts through inner Manehattan.”

“Inspector Fantastic, Number Two: you both investigate the areas where the victim's have vanished.”

“Right! We’ll get ter it, Gov!” Inspector Fantastic said, saluting before he and Number Two took the folder and headed out. He noticed that there was a doughnut on his umbrella. “Cor! Wot a stroke of luck!” He took it off his umbrella and ate it.

Officer Gruff then held up the last folder. “And finally, Princess Twilight Sparkle and company-”

Rainbow Dash interrupted him as she flew out of her seat with excitement. “Are we gonna take on some bad guys?” She punched her hooves in excitement. “Are you gonna send us on a super secret mission? Are you gonna-”

“Your assignment,” he said, irritated that the pegasus had interrupted him. “will be asking the citizens of Manhattan if they have seen or know anything about the missing draconequuses. If you find anything, take note of it and bring it back to us.”

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said, a little disappointed. She had really hoped that she and her friends were going to go after a dangerous villain or something else exciting. “Dismissed.” Officer Gruff said as he got ready to leave.

“WAIT!!! Wait a minute!”

Officer Gruff turned his head and saw Pinkie Pie rush up to him. “Nopony told me that it was somepony’s birthday today!”

Officer Gruff just looked at her. “I don’t see why that’s any concern of yours.”

“Well it means a lot to me!” She said, while smiling. “I’m Ponyville’s number One party pony!”

“I see. Just don’t care.” His face was still grouchy.

“Of course you should care!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I-”

“Don’t you have an assignment to take care of?” Officer Gruff asked, his voice getting impatient.

“Uh… yes, officer,” Twilight said nervously. “We'll get to it right away.” She didn’t want Pinkie Pie to irritate the stern officer anymore.

As they headed out, Pinkie Pie still tried to talk to Officer Gruff while Applejack pulled her along. “Could you at least tell me if there’s anypony’s birthdays coming up?!” She shouted back as Applejack yanked her through the door.

Officer Gruff rolled his eyes and moved along.
> Ch.4-The Mysterious Stallion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.4-The Mysterious Stallion


Later on, the ponies and Spike were walking through the streets of Manehattan, doing their assignment Officer Gruff had given them earlier.

“Boy, that Officer Gruff is quite the grouchy pony.” Spike said.

“And I can't believe it was somepony's birthday and I didn't even know,” pouted Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy was relieved that Pinkie Pie hadn't upset the surly pony officer any further. Twilight was also relieved that Pinkie Pie didn't make the situation any worse or otherwise they might have all ended up in prison.

Pinkie Pie, however, continued to complain. “How can that pony not care if I'm a party pony! I’ve heard that police ponies from Manehattan are tough, but this pony takes the cake! And not the good kind either!”

Rainbow Dash replied while rolling her eyes. “Aren’t we supposed to be doing something?”

“Sorry.” Pinkie Pie said.

“All right, girls,” Twilight said. “Let's get to work.”

Twilight then looked at all the ponies and draconequuses bustling about in Manehattan before sighing. “It's going to be a long day, guys.”

Soon, they began asking ponies and draconequuses in Manehattan about what they knew, regarding the missing draconequuses. Unfortunately, no one seemed to know very much.

One draconequus seemed to know a lot about one of the missing draconequuses. However, the information she gave wasn't very helpful.



One hour later, they decided to take a break.

“Well,” asked Applejack. “How much information do we have so far?”

Spike showed Twilight and Starlight Glimmer his notepad. The only information they had was only a few lines of notes.

Starlight Glimmer shook her head. “Not much, I'm afraid.”

Just then, they heard Pinkie Pie yell. “I got! I got it”

“What do ya have, Pinkie?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Is it useful information?” Twilight asked.

“Even better! My letter from Cheese Sandwich!” Pinkie waved a letter in her hoof and danced in joy.

Her friends rolled their eyes. They were hoping that it was something important about the missing draconequuses.

“Pinkie Pie.” Rarity said, trying to explain to the earth pony, without getting frustrated. “Don't you remember what we are supposed to be doing?”

“Of course I do! We're suppose to find information about the missing draconequuses. Only thing is that we haven't had any luck yet so far,” Pinkie Pie said with a cheerful smile.

“Who’s Cheese Sandwich?” Starlight Glimmer asked. “I’ve never met him before.”

“He’s a party pony like me! Once, he came to Ponyville and we both competed to see who could plan the best party for Rainbow Dash! In the end, we became close friends! We like to write to each other now and then.”

“Sounds like he’s sompony you really like.” Starlight Glimmer said.

Pinkie Pie smiled and said, “Yeah! I really really really really really really really really-”

“We get it,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes. “You really like him.”

“-Really like him.” Pinkie Pie finished very quickly.

“Speaking of special someponies, Starlight, back at Canterlot you asked about how Sunburst was doing in the Crystal Empire.” Scootaloo said with a smirk.

“Well, why wouldn’t I? We’re very close friends.” Starlight Glimmer said while looking at the three fillies.

“Yet, but you seemed anxious to hear.” Sweetie Belle said, agreeing with Scootaloo

Starlight Glimmer felt her cheeks blush red and replied, “Like I said… we’re close friends.”

“Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Since we’re talking about special certain someponies, Applejack has a crush on Caramel!” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie!” Applejack said, unable to hide her blush.

“Oh, sorry. Was that suppose to be a secret?”

“Well, it’s kinda true.” Applejack smiled admittedly. “That stallion certainly know how ta work around the farm and don’t mind getting his hooves dirty. Not only that, we both usually hang out at Appleloosa with with my cousin, Braeburn.”

Apple Bloom turned to Rainbow Dash. “What about yer special somepony, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash looked nervous. “W-what are you talking about? I don’t have a crush on anypony!”

“Not even Soarin?” Applejack said with a smirk.

Rainbow Dash began to blush. “N-no! We’re just good flying buddies! That’s all!”

“Wow!” Pinkie Pie said. “You must really be good friends, since you have so many secret posters of him in your room!”

“PINKIE!” Rainbow Dash blushed angrily before the other ponies giggled.

“Oops.” Pinkie Pie smiled nervously. “Was that suppose to be a secret as well?”

“But I thought you have a crush on Flashhoof,” Apple Bloom asked.

Rainbow Dash turned to Apple Bloom after calming down (a little bit). “Flashhoof is absolutely awesome! Soarin, however, has caught my eye.”

“What about you, Rarity? Who’s your special somepony?” Sweetie Belle asked her older sister.

Rarity smiled and sighed. “Oh, my dear little sister, I think the answer is pretty obvious. It’s Flashhoof!”

“Gee, what a surprise,” Spike grumbled to himself.

“He said I looked absolutely beautiful! It’s a sign I tell you! A sign!”

Just then, they saw Mayor Flashhoof and Shimmer Beauty across the street, followed by a bunch of photographers and reporters. He winked at the ponies once he saw them. Shimmering Beauty waved a hoof at Fluttershy, who waved back as well.

Rarity squeaked in joy. “He winked at me! Did you see that?! He winked at me!” Rainbow Dash squealed in joy as well. “He’s so awesome!”

Fluttershy wanted to talk with Shimmering Beauty more, but it looked like the unicorn was preoccupied, so maybe another time.

Rarity sighed and fell back before Spike caught her. “Oh, Spikey-Wikey, Flashhoof is going to be my one true love for sure!”

Spike just glared at the handsome pegasus. He felt like puking…on the pegasus.

“What about your special somepony, Fluttershy?” Scootaloo asked.

The shy pegasus rubbed her forelegs nervously. She wasn’t used to talking about this kind of subject. “Well….I don’t have a special somepony.” She admitted sadly.

The other ponies gasped! Fluttershy didn’t have a special somepony!

“You don’t have a special somepony?!” Rainbow Dash said in pure shock and disbelief.

“Um...no.” The yellow pegasus said nervously.

A surprised Pinkie Pie popped right up next to Fluttershy. “But you’ve gotta have a special somepony!” Pinkie Pie grabbed the pegasus around the neck. “Somepony to hug, to snuggle with, to ruffle your hair, and to smooch!”

Fluttershy stammered a little bit. “Uh, Pinkie Pie, my personal space.”

Pinkie Pie wasn’t listening. She hugged Fluttershy even harder and began to sob in a comical way. “How could you not have a special somepony?!”

“Can’t...breathe…” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Pinkie Pie! Let go of her! She needs air!” Twilight said as she pried Pinkie Pie off of Fluttershy with her magic. Once Pinkie Pie was off of Fluttershy, the pegasus gasped for air until she felt better.

Rarity walked up to her friend. “What Pinkie Pie is trying to say is that having a special somepony is what you should have. Why, you ought to have a special somepony who is almost handsome and charming as Flashhoof.”

After she spoke, an unpleasant thought came to her mind. “You don’t have a crush on him, do you?! PLEASE TELL ME YOU DON’T!!”

“No, of course not.” Fluttershy said.

Rarity sighed in relief. “Oh, thank goodness.”

“Darn.” Spike thought angrily to himself, hoping that some other pony would be Flashhoof’s marefriend and Rarity wouldn’t keep fawning over him.

“But, if I did have one, I would want him to be gentle, patient, and self spoken just like me. I would also enjoy it if he likes animals as much as I do.”

“Well, there have been a lot of stallions in Ponyville who have been trying to ask you out on a date for quite some time.” Twilight noted.

Pinkie Pie said, “Yeah! Stallions like Banana Top, Bookbug, and Sparkle Tooth! You’re so pretty that stallions can’t stop admiring you!”

“If only Flashhoof could only pay attention to her instead of some other pony,” Spike muttered to himself.

“Well, the thing is, I want my special somepony to love me for who I am, not just for my looks.” Fluttershy sadly replied.

Starlight Glimmer place a hoof on her friend to reassure her and gave a gentle smile. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure that you’ll find the right special somepony someday.

Fluttershy smiled as she gave the unicorn a hug. Soon the others joined in and got into a group hug.

After they broke out of the group hug, Rainbow Dash spoke. “How about we end this conversation and continue our assignment?”

Hearing what Rainbow Dash said, they went back to their assignment.



A while later, they were busy asking ponies and draconequuses. Fluttershy had already approached one pony. She got out her quill and was ready to ask the pony some questions.

Just then, a gust of wind blew the quill out of her hoof and was blown away.

“Oh!” She said in surprise. The pegasus immediately ran after it. The quill kept blowing away and Fluttershy kept pursuing it. As it blew out of her reach, she stumbled through ponies and draconequuses walking nearby

“Oh, excuse me. Sorry! Excuse me.” She said nervously as a bear draconequuses growled at her angrily.



A while later, Fluttershy had finally given up on the chase. The quill had flown out of her reach and she decided that it wasn’t worth the effort. “Oh, Fluttershy. You’re such a butterhoof.” She muttered sadly. As she turned around, she made a horrible discover and gasped.

She was not in a familiar part of Manehattan. The chase after her quill had gotten her separated from her friends. She was now in a series of alleyways that darted to and fro, up and down, and back and forth.

She decided that maybe it was time to go find her friends. As she kept walking, she curse herself for being so careless about her surroundings.

One hour later, Fluttershy found herself right back where she had started. By now, she was lost and bewildered. She had a good feeling that her friends were worried sick. She saw a stray cat nearby with a fishbone in its mouth. It hissed at her before running off. She flinched and wished she was back with her friends at the hotel where it was safe.

Then, all of a sudden, she bumped into somepony and gasped. The pony she had bumped into was a pegasus stallion. He looked at her with a friendly smile. “Well, well, well.” He said. “Looks like a little mouse lost its way.”

Fluttershy nervously backed away. “Er…sorry. I-I’m not lost.”

She then noticed that another pegasus stallion was nearby, only he had a nice looking moustache.

The first stallion said, “This little mouse looks kinda thirsty. We should take her for a cup of coffee.”

Fluttershy wasn’t a fan of coffee, but she had a bad feeling that these two ponies didn’t really have her best interests in mind. Fluttershy wished she had Inspector Fantastic’s lucky umbrella to defend herself.

“Um-uh…” she stammered nervously. “N-n-no thanks, I kinda have someplace to be and my friends are probably worried about me.”

“Well then,” the second pony said. “Come with us. We’ll help you find your way back. You know, you are pretty cute for a mouse.”

Fluttershy didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or feel insulted. The first stallion spoke up. “How old are you? You live around here?”

“Um, uh, no,” she replied nervously. Were these stallions flirting with her? “Um, I would really appreciate it if you would leave me alone.”

“You see?” The first stallion said to his friend. “Your moustache scares all the girls.”

“So?” His friend replied. “She’s even cuter when she’s scared.”

Just then, an unfamiliar voice spoke out. “There you are, my dear.”

Fluttershy turned around and saw another stallion right next to her. The stallion was a unicorn with a gray coat and a jet black mane. His cutie mark was a tornado. What really made him different was his horn and eyes. His horn was blue while his eyes were yellow and his pupils were red. He placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder as he continued. “I have been looking everywhere for you. Sorry I’m late.”

“Hey, buddy. We’re busy here.” The first stallion said with a frown.

“Yeah. Buzz off.” The second one said.

The unicorn stallion just smiled. Fluttershy could almost sense a hint of mischievousness appear in those yellow eyes. “Oh, really?” he said calmly. “It looked to me that the two of you were just leaving.”

His horn glowed and the two stallions began to move against their own will. As Fluttershy watched, the two stallions began marching away shouting in surprise and shock until they were completely out of sight.

“Don’t hold it against them.” Fluttershy turned to the stallion as he smiled calmly. “They’re actually not all that bad once you get to know them.”

“W-what did you do to them?” Fluttershy asked with a worried look.

“Oh, just a small spell. It’ll keep them marching for the next half hour or so. They’ll be alright.”

Fluttershy protested. “That wasn’t very nice! You forced them to do that against their will.”

The stallion raised an eyebrow before he spoke. “It looks to me that they were going to force you to do something against your will. It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

Fluttershy didn’t know what to say. This pony had turned out of nowhere and saved her life.

“So,” The stallion asked as he and Fluttershy walked together. “What’s a beautiful mare like you doing out here? This is a dodgy place.”

“I noticed.” Fluttershy said nervously. “I lost my quill when it got blown away, and now I’m lost from my friends.”

“I see. Someone beautiful like you deserves better.”

Fluttershy replied nervously, “What are you talking about? Are you just saying that just to get me to like you? Most of the stallions in Ponyville always say that to me because they think that I will like them.”

“Of course not. I’m saying this because you’re a natural beauty and I have an admiration for beautiful things.”

Fluttershy blushed when he said that. This pony not only saved her from those two flirting stallions, but he also likes her for who she is instead of her looks.

For some reason, she felt her heart beat faster than before. She first assumed that it was because of what happened earlier, but she then realized that it was for a different reason. Could it be that this stallion could be her special somepony?

“Well, all I want to say is thank you for helping me back there.” She said, looking at the stallion with a gentle smile as they walked out of the alleyway.

“It’s the least I could do for for a sweet thing like you. Just remember to never let them see that they get to you. And one more thing.”

His horn began to glow and a flower pen appeared. The flower pen tip was a red rose. He then used his magic to levitate the pen to Fluttershy and she held it in her hooves.

“Here. To replace the quill you lost.” He said with a smile.

Fluttershy looked at him and the pen. “It's a wonderful pen. Thank you so much.” She said, looking at the gift he had given her.

The unicorn stallion smiled. “I’m glad you like it,” he said as he began to leave. “Take care, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy kept looking at the pen with awe. “Thank you, I-” She stopped. “Hey wait. How did you know my-”

When Fluttershy looked up, the mysterious stallion had disappeared. “-name?” She started to wonder if she imagined the whole thing. But the flower pen she was holding in her hooves said otherwise.

Who was that stallion?

“Fluttershy!” Fluttershy turned around and saw her friends rushing up to her.

Pinkie Pie was the first to hug her.As she did, she squeezed Fluttershy very tightly. “We found you!” she sobbed. “I was so afraid we would never see you again and never in such a long, long long, time!”

“Can’t…breathe,” Fluttershy squeaked.

“Pinkie Pie, let go of Fluttershy! She can't breathe with you hugging her like that!” Apple Bloom said, her friends nodding in agreement.

Rainbow Dash pried Pinkie Pie off of Fluttershy so she could have some air.

“Where have you been?” Twilight asked as soon Fluttershy could breathe again.

“We’ve been lookin’ all over for ya!” Applejack said with strain in her voice. “Where the hay have you been?”

“I-I’m sorry. My quill got blown away and I went after it.”

Twilight just sighed. “Just don’t go running off like that again.”

Rarity then noticed the flower pen Fluttershy was holding. “My goodness!” she exclaimed. “What a lovely pen! Wherever did you get that?”

Fluttershy told them what had happened. She also told them about her encounter with the two stallions and how they tried to take her somewhere.

“Those creeps,” Rainbow Dash said with anger. “If I was there, I would have given them a pounding they’d never forget!”

Fluttershy then told them about the mysterious stallion who rescued and gave her the pen.

“...And he was so nice. He even gave me this-”

Rainbow Dash interrupted her. “Fluttershy, what were you thinking?!”

“Huh?” Fluttershy said with surprise and confusion.

“You mean to tell us that you let some stranger escort you without your permission?!”

Rarity said in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? He could have been a dangerous criminal!”

“You know better than that, Sugarcube! He could have hurt you! Or worse!” Applejack said with concern.

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?” Rainbow Dash said.

“But…but he was so nice…” Fluttershy said, feeling guilty.

“It doesn’t matter if he was nice,” Twilight said seriously. “That’s still no excuse to go walking off with him and letting him-”

“By the way,” Pinkie Pie said, interrupting Twilight by popping up in front of her. “What did this pony look like? Was he fat? Was he super skinny? Did he have a beard that went all the way down to his hooves like those ponies who work at the Nature Conservation Committee?”

“Actually,” Fluttershy said. “He was kind of handsome looking with that gray coat, blue horn, and yellow eyes. For some reason, my heart beat faster when I walked with him.”

Her friends were about to scold her when Starlight Glimmer stopped them and said, “Wait. What kind of horn did he have?”

“A blue horn.” Fluttershy said.

The other ponies were silent for a moment until Twilight spoke up. “That’s impossible.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Okay, Fluttershy. I think you’re making this whole thing up!”

“What?” Fluttershy said in surprise. “But I’m not making it up! I wouldn’t lie about this!”

Applejack put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Okay, Fluttershy, I think you’ve had quite a shock from being all alone. Why don’t we head on back to the hotel and get some rest?”

Fluttershy tried to protest. “But, but, but-”

Fluttershy couldn’t understand why her friends couldn’t believe her.

The stallion was real, wasn't he?



They return to the hotel, tired from a long day of work. All they wanted to do now was rest. So far, their day had been mostly unsuccessful.

Spike was tired from carrying the new Flashhoof books Rarity had bought. They served only to fuel his rage that pompous stallion and he desperately wanted to get some sleep.

Fluttershy was quiet the whole time. She was sad that her friends didn't believe her. She sat down and turned on the radio, hoping to hear some music that might cheer her up. She pressed a button and a song began to play.

Singer: Everybody hurts…

She sadly pressed the button.

Singer: Accidentally in love…

She pressed again.

Singer: Love you, love you…

And she pressed again.

Singer: By myself…

For a moment, Fluttershy listened to it before she pressed it again. Was the whole world against her?

Singer: You can't do nothing right, babe…

She pressed again.

Singer: I'm a loser…

She immediately pressed the button again. This time, she found a station that played soft piano music.

As it played, Fluttershy sadly sighed. Her friends were busy doing other things, like relaxing, reading, or talking. Pinkie Pie wanted to jump and down on the water bed, but Twilight did not want her to. Whoever ran the hotel would not be happy to hear that some guests just had ruined a good water bed.

Rainbow Dash, however, was bored out of her mind and disappointed with how the day had gone for her and her friends. “Well, this has turned out to be a pretty crummy day. I was hoping that we would get a very important assignment, like investigating a crime scene.” She said pouting angrily.

Scootaloo turned to Rainbow Dash. “Tell me about it. I'm starting to think that Officer Gruff just sent us on a wild goose chase.”

“He could have at least told us who to ask!” Rainbow Dash said, waving her legs about angrily.

Sweetie Belle then noticed that Fluttershy had been quiet during this time. “Fluttershy?” She asked. “ Are you okay?”

Fluttershy turned her head and looked at the little filly. “I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle. I'm just thinking about that stallion I just met today. For some reason, he looks very familiar, almost as if I have met him before. But I can't quite remember where.”

Rarity approached the pegasus. “Fluttershy, this pony you're talking about does sound dreamy, but it sounds quite impossible.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Rarity’s right, Fluttershy. There has never been a pony like that in the history of Equestria.”

Fluttershy looked at her friends in disbelief. “But he was real, Twilight. The way he spoke to me and treated me was real too.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah right.” Rainbow Dash hadn’t intended her comment to sound mean, but she was having a really disappointing day.

“He gave me this flower pen, you guys! Isn’t that proof enough?”

Twilight spoke up. “You probably found that on the ground and forgot about it.”

“But I-”

Applejack sighed and shook her head. “Maybe you should get some rest, Fluttershy. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Fluttershy looked down in sadness. She wished that her friends would believe that she was telling the truth.

Starlight Glimmer was quiet the whole time as she looked at Fluttershy. She knew her friend was telling the truth. The reason she could tell was because of the way Fluttershy had described the stallion she had met and realized that she was falling in love. She was the only one who believed Fluttershy’s story.

Starlight Glimmer wanted to tell Fluttershy that she believed her, but she was worried what the others would say. She was worried that they would say that she’s only taking pity on Fluttershy to make her feel better.

Soon, everypony in the room was silent. The music from the radio kept playing. Finally, a voice shouted out from across the other room through the wall. The earth pony stallion blurted out, “Hey, pegasus, turn down that depressing music! I’m trying to sleep here!”

“Oh! Sorry!” Fluttershy said. She quickly turned the radio off. As she did, the pegasus stallion spoke up. “Leave the pegasus alone! Didn’t you hear their conversation? She met somepony and her friends don’t believe that he exists!”

“Aw, shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

“You shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

As they argued, Spike and the ponies looked at each other before Twilight rolled her eyes and muttered, “College students.”

Rainbow Dash covered her head with a pillow, trying to drown out the pony’s senseless bickering.

“You shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

“I said shut up!”

“How about you shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

Finally, Rainbow Dash couldn’t take it anymore. She angrily tossed the pillow aside and yelled: “SHUT UP!!!!”

Finally, it was silent. The bickering stopped and the ponies could relax. Twilight turned to her friends. “Don’t worry, guys.” she said. “Tomorrow's another day.”

“Yeah, but it might be worse!” the pegasus from the other room called out.
> Ch. 5-Taking the Case
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.5-Taking the Case


The next morning, the ponies and baby dragon were already up and were out and about asking ponies and draconequuses the same questions as yesterday.

Their first stop was at the dentist. They were busy talking while the dentist was in the process a of removing a pony’s tooth. He said, “Sorry, I don’t know anything. You could try asking my dance instructor.”

Pinkie Pie was chewing some bubble gum. She blew a bubble and it made a large pop. It startled the dentist, who pulled out the other pony’s tooth in surprise. The patient yelled in pain. “OWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!”



Later, at the dance school, they talked to the dance instructor, who was in the middle of teaching some young fillies and colts a complex dance move. Pinkie Pie was trying to imitate them.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about the missing draconequuses. Ask my friend from book club.” She said as she continued doing her dance pose.

Pinkie Pie then fell over with a yelp, knocking down a whole line of fillies and colts like dominoes.



At the book club, they found several ponies and draconequuses reading books and talking. They found the pony they were looking for. Unfortunately, she was too busy talking, so her daughter spoke for her.

“My mommy says you should ask my barber.” The young filly said.



By this time, they had already asked the barber, who was a monkey draconequus, and he was busy sweeping all the clipped hair out of the door with a broom as they walked out with disappointment on their faces.

He called out saying, “Sorry I wasn’t any help to ya’s! You’s should try asking someone at the post office or somewhere!”

As they stopped, Rainbow Dash finally let out a frustrated growl while her friends watched.

“Grrrrrrrrr!!!” she growled. “Isn’t there anyone in this whole city who knows anything about the missing draconequuses?!”

Rarity was equally frustrated as she sighed in distress. “Oh, I can’t take this anymore!” She whined while placing a hoof on her forehead. “Nopony told me that this assignment would be that difficult! How long have we been doing this? I can’t stand it!!”

Sweetie Belle replied, “We’ve only been asking questions for half an hour.”

“Oh.” Rarity said, quite embarrassed.

Fluttershy, on the the other hoof, wasn’t thinking about their current situation. She held the flower pen and sighed sadly.

Her friends all looked at her and knew what she was thinking about. Earlier this morning before they left the hotel, she didn’t eat anything at breakfast and barely spoke as they went about asking questions.

“Um, Fluttershy?” Starlight Glimmer said.

Starlight’s voice snapped Fluttershy out of it. “Huh? What?” She said in surprise before she looked at her friends.

Applejack frowned. “You alright there? You’ve barely said anything or ate anything this whole morning.”

“Um, I’m fine.” She muttered.

Spike spoke up. “Are you still thinking about that mysterious stallion?”

Pinkie Pie also spoke up. “You mean the one that you mentioned yesterday, who saved your life from those two stallions and gave you that flower pen, but it turns out that he doesn’t really exists?”

Fluttershy looked at her friends desperately. “But he was real! I swear! I saw him with my own eyes and he even touched me!”

Starlight Glimmer was still thinking about last night and was starting to feel guilty that she had not stood up for Fluttershy.

Before she could say anything to Fluttershy, Twilight spoke. She tried to sound as reasonable and friendly as she could. “Fluttershy,” she said, “For the last time, there just can’t be a pony like that in all of Equestria.”

As she was telling Fluttershy this, neither her or anypony noticed a figure running out of a nearby floral shop, except for Spike and the CMC. The owner of the shop, a frantic earth pony, came running out of the shop and stopped right next to Twilight and her friends.

“Hey, hey, hey! You, ponies!” He called out to them frantically.

Rarity sighed with a frown before she turned to the stallion, who was trying to get their attention. “Sir,” she said, trying to be polite. “Unless you have any useful information regarding the whereabouts of the missing draconequuses, I suggest you wait until Princess Twilight Sparkle is done talking.”

“What’re you talking about?” shouted the stallion, before pointing to his store. “My shop! It was just robbed!”

“What?” Twilight and her friends said in shock and surprise to what he said.

“Look, he’s getting away!” the pony said while pointing to the culprit. The culprit was an earth pony with a light umber coat and an even darker umber mane and tail. He had red eyes, black freckles on his face and wore a white gym shirt. His cutie mark was a dollar sign. They saw that he was carrying a bag that appeared to have something in it.

“Don't just stand there!! Call the police!” the owner of the shop said.

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Finally, some action!” She turned to the shop owner. “Don’t worry, sir! We got this!”

She immediately dropped her quill and clipboard and then flew after the pony. Her friends watched in surprise before Twilight shouted, “Rainbow Dash, wait! We don’t have time for this!”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t listening. She continued chasing the criminal. Twilight sighed with frustration before turning to her friends and said, “Come on, guys! We better go after her!”

They quickly followed Rainbow Dash, who was still flying after the burglar.

“Stop!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Huh?” The earth pony turned his head and saw Rainbow Dash flying after him.

“Stop, in the name of Princess Celestia!”

“Catch me if you can, Featherbrain!” the earth pony called back as he began running through larger crowds.

“Rainbow Dash, stop!” Twilight called out. “Let the police handle this!”

As he ran through crowds of ponies and draconequuses, the crook saw that his way was barricaded by several police ponies. Among them was Inspector Fantastic and Number Two.

“Oi! You! Stop, in the name of the law, yer bloody plonker!” Inspector Fantastic yelled, waving his umbrella as if it were a lasso.

The pony crook was smarter than he looked. He grabbed a skateboard from a nearby colt. “Hey,” the young colt said.

Riding the skateboard, the crook skated right over the police barricade, leaving the officers dumbfounded. “Whoa! Coming through!” he said as he kept riding the skateboard.

Inspector Fantastic scratched his head with his umbrella for a moment before saying, “Alright...err...don’t stop.”

Officer McHoof quickly grabbed a radio from one of the police cars. “This is Officer McHoof, we got a 10-31!” he said through the radio.

Just then, Rainbow Dash flew past them, with her friends trying to catch up. “I got dibs!” she shouted at the surprised police officers. “Rainbow Dash is in pursuit! Whoo-hoo!!”

“Rainbow Dash, you come back here this minute!” Rarity called out.

“You get yer backside back over here!” Applejack said angrily.

“Sorry! Excuse me. Pardon me,” Fluttershy said as she made her way through the group of police ponies.

Inspector Fantastic shook his head. “Blimey! More trouble I’s got ter deal wif no doubt! I tell yer, Number Two, it never ends.”

The earth pony kept skating past citizens while Rainbow Dash knocked them aside to catch him.

Nearby, the Thief was in the marketplace when he spotted a female upper class pony wearing a silver pocket watch. “Well, this must be my lucky day.” he thought to himself as he snuck towards the pony. Once he made sure no one was looking, he reached out with a long hoof. “Hello there, my dear. Wanna come home and sit in a chair…in my pocket?”

Just as he was going to grab the pocket watch, the crook on the skateboard ran into him, and the Thief was pulled onto him.

“What the-?!” The burglar was surprised that some strange earth pony, that bore a strange resemblance to a green lizard, was sharing the skateboard with him. They continued skating, only now they were more out of control.

“I think we just passed a red light.” the Thief thought to himself.

“Hey,” the crook said in annoyance. “Go find your own skateboard, will ya?!”

He pushed the Thief off the skateboard and the Thief rolled down a steep street until he finally landed in a huge manure wagon. The older pony, who owned the cart, wore a small pair of glasses and had a clothespin on his snout. He didn’t seem to mind that some strange, dazed earth pony had landed in his manure wagon. He just continued shoveling fresh manure into the cart.

Elsewhere, the chase continued. Now that the criminal had a skateboard, it gave him a distinct advantage to escape Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash would not give up. She sent bystanders flying everywhere and crashed through carts selling different things.

“Hey, you! Freeze!” she called out to him.

Twilight and the others were trying their best to catch up.

“Rainbow Dash, stop!” Starlight said in concern as they ran.

Officer McHoof and other cops followed behind them, but stopped to catch their breath. “Hey, you ponies!” Officer McHoof said while he panted with frustration. “Wait for the real cops!”

The criminal skated past a melon stand. Rainbow Dash, however, crashed into it, sending melons falling and splattering everywhere. She took no notice and continued flying after the criminal.

“Hey,” the owner of the demolished stand called out. “What have you got against the melons?”

The burglar skated underneath a water barrel while Rainbow Dash crashed into it. The force of the crash sent the water barrel tipping over. The others saw that it was about to fall on an elderly pony walking across the street.

The others gasped in horror. Thinking fast, Twilight and Starlight quickly used their magic to stop the water barrel and lifted it back up to its original place. All this time, the old pony hadn't noticed anything.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash still gave chase, flying faster and faster. She headed for a construction site and shouted, “Incoming!!”

She crashed through the construction site, almost sending two workers falling. One was a thin unicorn and the other was a fat Earth pony. One of them screamed before the unicorn grabbed ahold of the edge while the earth pony grabbed onto his friend’s back legs.

Finally, the burglar jumped off the skateboard and ran into an alleyway. “You can't hide from me!” She yelled angrily, before going after him.

For an earth pony carrying a bag, this guy was fast. Rainbow Dash pursued him while he darted to and fro through the alleyways. She flew faster and faster to try and catch up with him.

Finally, he turned a corner and Rainbow Dash saw that it was a dead end. She smiled triumphantly, thinking that she had him now. She charged at him with full speed. However, he gave a smug smile.

Once Rainbow Dash was a few feet away from him, he promptly stepped aside. Behind him was a wooden billboard. Rainbow Dash realized this too late. Her triumphant smile turned into a surprised look as she gave a yelp.

CRASH!!!!!!

The pegasus woke up with a sore head. She groaned before realizing something.

“Huh?! What the-?!”

Rainbow Dash soon realized that she was stuck halfway through the billboard. The earth pony smirked. He had tricked Rainbow Dash into flying too fast, and she had fallen for his trap.

As she struggled to get out of the billboard, the earth pony chuckled. “Impressive. But speed ain’t nothing without control.”

He leapt on the backside of Rainbow Dash to jump over the fence. “Ow! Hey!! Come back here!” Rainbow Dash said angrily.

“Thanks for the lift, Rainbow Crash!” the earth pony called back before running off.

“You’ll get yours!” she shouted at him while shaking a hoof. Nearby, a female unicorn and her three children, a colt and two fillies, noticed the whole thing as they stared at the pegasus stuck in the billboard.

“Look, mommy,” the youngest filly said, pointing a hoof at Rainbow Dash. “That pony is stuck!”

The colt laughed. “She looks funny!”

The three siblings laughed while the mother tried to hush them up. Rainbow Dash snarled angrily. Now she had a real reason to dislike that burglar.

“Rainbow Dash!”

The pegasus turned her head and saw the others rush up to her. “Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said with concern. “Are you alright?”

“Does it look like I’m alright?” Rainbow Dash snapped.

“No. It looks like you’re stuck in a billboard and you’ve publically humiliated yourself.” Pinkie Pie said.

“Well, thank you, Captain Obvious!”

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile, not understanding that her friend was being sarcastic.

“Hold on, Rainbow!” Applejack said. “Try not ta move! We’ll get you out of there in a jiffy!”

“Never mind me! Stop that pony! He’s getting away!” Rainbow Dash pointed in the direction where the crook just went.

Rarity said, “Rainbow Dash! We don’t have time for-”

“Don’t worry, Rainbow! We’ll get him!” Pinkie said before she and the Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped over the fence. “Come on, girls! Let’s get him!”

Twilight sighed. “I guess there’s nothing for it. Come on!”

Rainbow Dash called out to her friends. “You go on ahead! I’ll catch up!” She grunted as she struggled to get out of the billboard.

Twilight and the others went in the direction Rainbow Dash had just told them where the burglar went.

“Where’d he go?” asked Apple Bloom.

“He could be anywhere,” Starlight said as she looked around.

Twilight said, “Keep looking! He’s got to be here somewhere.”

As they looked around, they heard a train whistle. They turned their heads and saw a train coming for them. On top of it was the earth pony burglar they were looking for. They screamed and yelped in surprise as they narrowly dodged the incoming train.

“Bon voyage-e, losers!” the earth pony said with a chuckle as he rode away on the train.

Twilight turned to Applejack. “Applejack?” she said with determination.

Applejack knew what Twilight meant and nodded. “I’m on it!”

Applejack then began to pursue the train. On the train, the crook chuckled, thinking he finally managed to lose his pursuers. But as he turned around, he saw that he was heading straight for a flying pegasus, who yelped in surprise when he saw the other pony. He immediately dodged the pegasus and narrowly to dodge a draconequus.

Soon, he began dodging more and more of them until he thought he was getting the hang of it. After he dodged the last one, he laughed in amusement, thinking that his problems were finally over. However, he soon noticed something, and that something was Applejack! She was standing on a bridge right above the train and was swinging a lasso. She threw it and the rope began to wrap itself around the culprit. She pulled the rope and yanked the burglar off the train.

She swung him and he went flying into the air as he screamed. “WAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

He then fell to the ground and landed next to a doughnut shop, where the owners of the shop were going to put up a large doughnut for a sign.

He got up with a dizzy look on his face and groaned before he heard Spike say, “There he is!”

“Huh?” He snapped out of his dazed look and saw Twilight and her friends heading straight for him, the alicorn saying, “Hey, stop right there!”

The earth pony saw the large doughnut sign and had a sneaky idea. “Have a doughnut, princess!” he shouted before kicking the doughnut sign off its platform using his back legs. The gang yelped in surprise as they saw the large doughnut bounce right for them. They quickly ducked just as the doughnut missed them.

Nearby, three small unicorn mares had just walked out of a department store, carrying bags with stuff they had just bought and were chatting. One of the unicorns had a white coat and her mane was black and was styled in a fashionable way. Her eyes were a cerulean blue color and her cutie mark was a purple shoe that looked fashionable as well. “Sweet Celestia, did you see those diamond-styled shoes?” the unicorn said to her friends in glee while using her magic to carry her bags.

Just then, her friends noticed something and screamed before they ran away in fear. The small unicorn was confused as to why her friends ran all of a sudden. She turned her head and saw the doughnut bouncing towards her. She dropped her bags and screamed in terror. “Aaaaaaaaaaagh!”

Fluttershy heard the small unicorn scream and gasped in horror as she looked up. She quickly opened her wings and flew faster than she thought she could. The small unicorn closed her eyes and braced herself for what was about to happen. For a second, she didn’t feel anything. She opened her eyes and saw right above her was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane holding the doughnut sign while giving her a friendly smile. It was Fluttershy! She had just saved this pony!

Fluttershy looked at the unicorn with a smile and said, “I love your hair.”

Awww… thank you,” said the unicorn gratefully while twirling a bit of her hair.

Meanwhile, the earth pony crook looked around to make sure no one was watching. Once he was sure it was safe, he laughed as he picked up the bag and said, “Come to papa.”

“Hey, buddy.” A female voice said.

The earth pony turned his head to where the voice came. He yelped in surprise when he saw who it was. It was Rainbow Dash. She had finally got out of the billboard. She looked a little beaten up, and she was glaring at him. In her hooves, she had the same doughnut sign that he had kicked at her friends.

She raised the large doughnut over her head as she angrily said, “Have a DOUGHNUT!!” Then with a growl, she brought it down and everything went black.



Meanwhile, at the Manehattan police department, the whole place was bustling with activity. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance were there to see how things were going with the search and to check up on Twilight and her friends.

There was a long line of ponies and draconequuses at the help desk. Antic was there at the front while another female draconequus was with her who seemed quite worried. The draconequus was small and slender. She had the head of an otter, her eyes were green, her tail of a brown squirrel, and the body of a fennec fox. She wore a periwinkle shirt with a lavender sweater over it and black pants. Her right arm belonged to a prairie dog while the left arm was a koala. As for her legs, her right leg was a raccoon while her left leg resembled a beaver. She was right next to Antic. Antic had come to the police department to tend any injured officers or criminals.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Otterus, but I have to be fair to the others in front of you.” The male earth pony from yesterday said at the desk, trying to be patient to the otter draconequus, now revealed as Mrs. Otterus. “You’ll just have to wait your turn like everypony-”

Just then, the doors burst open. The princesses, police officers, arrested criminals, and the others watched in surprise as a doughnut, as large as a tire wheel, came bouncing in with an earth pony inside of it. It finally rolled up to the help desk, bumped into it, and rolled around before coming to a stop. The earth pony criminal inside of it groaned.

The doors opened again as Rainbow Dash, followed by her friends, came in. She flew up to the doughnut and stood triumphantly on it. She smiled. “We caught the bad guy!”

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie cheered. She hopped around the doughnut chanting, “We caught the bad guy! We caught the bad guy! We caught the bad guy!” She stopped hopping and took a large bite out of the doughnut. She swallowed, licked her lips, and smiled before she added, “And in a very tasty doughnut too!”



As two cops hoofcuffed the earth pony and led him away to be hoof printed, he muttered angrily, “Grrrrrrrr. Stupid pegasus.”

Later, Twilight and her friends, along with the princesses, were all in Officer Gruff’s office. Officer Gruff’s face was still grim and stern looking, but not as it usually was.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said to her pupil with a smile.

“Pursuing and apprehending a burglar in one day. Now I see why Celestia said you should help in Manehattan.” Princess Luna said, absolutely thrilled.

“I’m just curious,” Spike spoke up. “Who was that pony we caught, anyway?”

Princess Cadance answered Spike’s question. “His name is Bootleg.” She pointed to a wanted poster on the wall, the same earth pony they chased and caught was on it. “He’s a notorious crook who’s wanted in seven cities. He’s known for stealing and selling illegal products and items for a whopping price. With the police and the royal guards busy trying to find the missing draconequuses, he’s been more active than before.”

Spike and the ponies looked with astonishment. Then, Officer Gruff spoke up. “I must say, I’m impressed.” He still had his grim expression but he raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Not only did you stop a master criminal, you also saved a young unicorn from being crushed by a large doughnut.”

“Well, it was Fluttershy who saved her.” Applejack said with a smile.

Fluttershy blushed with a smile. “Oh, it was nothing, really.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said, beaming with pride. “We were all pretty awesome! Especially me!”

“Say,” Sweetie Belle said, looking at the bag that Bootleg had stolen which was now on Officer Gruff’s desk. “I wonder what he stole.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said, agreeing with her friend. “It must be something very valuable.”

Rainbow Dash smiled in excitement. “I’ll bet it’s some kind of treasure! Maybe some jewels or diamonds! Maybe it’s a top secret plan! Or maybe it’s the newest, unreleased issue of Daring Do!”

She flew over to the desk and began to unzip the bag. “Or maybe it’s...” Once she unzipped the bag, she looked inside eagerly. However, her smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of shock and disbelief. She took a step back, her jaw dropped and said, “Moldy onions?!” She shouted in disbelief.

Her friends looked in the bag and saw that it was indeed filled to the brim with radish-shaped plants.

“Well,” A disappointed Pinkie Pie said. “That was a rip-off.”

“Wow,” Spike said, looking into the bag. “All that trouble, just for some onions?”

Rainbow Dash just stood still, her jaw hanging and her left eyelid twitching in disbelief.

Applejack looked into the bag and spoke up. “Actually, those ain’t moldy onions. Those there are called Midnicampum holicithias. My family uses them fer-”

Rainbow Dash interrupted her. “I went through all that trouble, got stuck in a billboard, publicly humiliated myself, caught a bad guy, and for what?! Moldy onions!!” She threw her hooves up in defeat.

Applejack frowned. “I just said those ain’t moldy onions.”

“Like I said,” Officer Gruff spoke up, putting the bag aside. “I’m impressed. However,” His face became completely stern again. “There is something else I have to bring up.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “You gonna congratulate us on how cool we were? Was it the way I threw the doughnut down on that creep?”

“No.” Officer Gruff said, picking up a yellow card. “I’ll have to give you a citation.”

Rainbow Dash’s smile disappeared as she looked at the officer in surprise. “What?!” she exclaimed in shock. “For what?”

“For reckless endangerment of civilians and destruction of property.” Officer Gruff said sternly.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t understand. “What are you talking about?”

Officer Gruff picked up a remote and turned on a nearby television screen. The screen showed the whole chase with Rainbow Dash pursuing Bootleg. As she pursued him, she knocked aside ponies and draconequuses in her pursuit. She crashed into stands, sending the vendors flying in several directions.

As she watched, Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped in disbelief and she blushed nervously. She had no idea that she had been so careless. Officer Gruff paused the video and turned to the pegasus angrily. “I’d hate to agree with that criminal, but speed is nothing without control.”

“But, but, but…” Rainbow Dash stuttered.

“Aw, don’t worry, Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie Pie said, trying to cheer her friend up. “Everypony makes mistakes.”

“You’re getting a citation as well.” Officer Gruff said sternly at Pinkie Pie.

“What?” Pinkie Pie said in surprise. “What did I do?”

Officer Gruff played another video and this time it showed Pinkie Pie standing in front of Bootleg. “Hold it right there!” The recording of Pinkie Pie said. “Don’t you move, or you’ll get it big time!”

The recording of Bootleg scowled at her. “Outta my way, Puffy!”

“Okay, you asked for it, pal!” Pinkie Pie pulled her party cannon, only it was filled with watermelons. The recording of the CMC rushed up as Scootaloo shouted, “Pinkie Pie! Wait! Stop!” But it was too late as Pinkie Pie fired her watermelon-filled party cannon. Bootleg screamed briefly before he jumped aside as watermelons went flying everywhere. Instead of hitting Bootleg, the melons crashed into several ponies and draconequuses, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Did I miss?” The recording of Pinkie Pie asked.

Officer Gruff paused the video again and glared at the pink earth pony. Pinkie Pie stood there, her face looking guilty and embarrassed. “Ohhhhhhh…..” she said before giving a weak, nervous smile. “I guess I overdid it with the party cannon.”

Cadance turned to Rainbow Dash. “What Officer Gruff is trying to say is that you acted too recklessly, and you have to be more careful next time, Rainbow.” She said calmly, yet trying to be serious.

Just then, the intercom on Officer Gruff’s desk clicked as Inspector Fantastic’s voice came through. “Oi, Gruff. Mrs. Otterus is ‘ere ter see yer again.”

Officer Gruff sighed angrily before pressing a button on it and spoke. “Not now.”

The intercom clicked again, only this time it was Number Two’s voice. “Er, alright, sorry sir. I just didn’t know if you wanted to see her. She looks rather upset, and we thought that maybe-”

Officer Gruff rolled his eyes before pressing the button again and yelled, “NOT NOW!!”

Fluttershy nervously flinched at the tone of the officer’s voice.

Officer Gruff then turned back to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, his face stern like before. “Luckily for you two, nopony was severely injured. So, I’m letting you off this time. But if this happens again, I will have to deal with you more severely.”

Just then, the door opened and the same otter draconequus from earlier, Mrs. Otterus, came in. “Officer Gruff, please,” she pleaded. “Five minutes of your time. Please.”

Behind her, Inspector Fantastic and Number Two followed and stopped at the entrance of the office. They both panted and wheezed.

“Sorry, sir.” Number Two said, gasping for air. “We tried to stop her, but she’s too slippery.”

Inspector Fantastic leaned on his umbrella, panting with his tongue lolled out like a dog. “Urgh, oh, lumme, I needs a breather, I does. Oi.” Number Two helped him up as they both walked away, hoping to get some rest from all that running.

Officer Gruff turned to Mrs. Otterus, only he sounded as if he was trying to calm her down. “Ma’am,” he said, trying to be as patient as he could be. “As I’ve told you, we’re doing everything we can.”

Mrs. Otterus held up a family photo. “My husband has been missing for ten days.” She said with a concern look. “His name is Nelson Otterus.”

“Yes, I know,” Officer Gruff said.

“He’s a florist,” she added. “We have two beautiful children. He would never just disappear.”

As she was telling Officer Gruff all this, Twilight and her friends glanced at the picture. In the picture was Mrs. Otterus, her husband, and their children. They all had the head of otters.

Nelson Otterus had the body of a leopard, tail of a gray squirrel, the right arm of a black wolf, left arm of a red panda, right leg resembling a bobcat while his left leg was a weasel. He had amber eyes, wore red framed glasses, a light green shirt with a green sweater over it, an orange tie, and dark green pants. The ponies recognized him as one of the missing draconequuses Officer Gruff had mentioned yesterday.

As for the kids, the son had the body of a panther, his tail of a black squirrel, right arm of a gray wolf and left arm of a badger, and his right leg of a white tiger and left leg of a brown bear. The daughter’s body was a snow leopard, her tail of a brown squirrel, her right arm was a chipmunk and left arm was a mountain lion while her right leg belonged to a cheetah and her left leg was a black bear cub. They all looked so happy together in that picture.

Fluttershy looked concerned when she saw the picture. She imagined how worried the two children must be right now, wanting their dad to come home.

“Ma’am,” Officer Gruff said. “Our detectives are very busy.”

“Please,” Mrs. Otterus begged. “There’s gotta be somebody who can find my Nelson.”

“Mrs. Otterus…” Officer Gruff said, trying to be reasonable.

Princess Celestia then spoke up. “Actually, there is. Twilight and her friends will find him for you.”

Twilight and her friends turned to Princess Celestia in surprise. “What?!” They all said.

“What?” Officer Gruff said, trying not to sound angry.

Twilight whispered nervously to her mentor, “Uh, Princess Celestia, what are you doing?”

The graceful alicorn turned to her pupil and smiled. “Mrs. Otterus is very worried about her missing husband.” she whispered. “Since the guards and police are very busy, I want you and your friends to try and find him. Promise me that you will take the case.”

Twilight looked unsure for a moment before she nodded and turned back to Mrs. Otterus saying, “Mrs. Otterus, we will find your husband.”

“Oh, thank you!” She rushed up to Twilight and Fluttershy, hugging them both. “Bless you, bless you, your highness!”

Twilight noticed that Officer Gruff was glaring at them and she smiled nervously. Mrs. Otterus gave Fluttershy the picture. “Take this, find my Nelson.” She said, filled with hope. “Bring him home to me and my babies, please.”

Fluttershy looked at the picture and smiled. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll find him.”

“That’s right!” Applejack said, agreeing with her friend. “We’ll find him and bring him back home, safe and sound!”

“You can count on us,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

Rarity put a comforting hoof on Mrs. Otterus, saying, “Don’t you worry, Mrs. Otterus. We will find him. We promise.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. “And to seal the deal, it’ll be a Pinkie Promise! Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes! Right guys?”

Twilight and the others did the same thing as Pinkie Pie, only Starlight was a little confused.

“Uh, I’m confused, what’s going on?” Starlight Glimmer asked.

Apple Bloom said, “It’s a kind of a promise that ya have to keep, no matter what.”

“Yeah.” Sweetie Belle said. “Or Pinkie Pie will go crazy and come after you.”

“Uh, your majesties, Mrs. Otterus.” Officer Gruff spoke up. “Could you all step out for a moment? I would like to have a word with Princess Twilight and her friends.”

“Of course,” Princess Celestia said.

As the three alicorns and otter draconequus stepped outside, Mrs. Otterus thanked Officer Gruff by saying, “Oh, thank you all so much.”

Officer Gruff smiled, saying, “Of course. Just one second, please.”

Officer Gruff closed the door. His friendly smiled disappeared as he glared back at the alicorn and her friends.

“Oh, yeah!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “We finally get to do something interesting!”

“Yay, we’re taking the case!” Pinkie Pie smiled.

“I'm sorry, but you’re not taking the case.” Officer Gruff said, frowning at them.

They all looked at him with disbelief. “What?!” They shouted in surprise and disbelief.

“But…but why?” Starlight Glimmer asked the officer with a confused look.

“Because, after the display your two friends showed earlier, I don’t trust your judgement.”

“Aw, come on!” Rainbow Dash said in annoyance. “So I made a little mistake!”

“You almost killed somepony!” He added angrily.

“Yeah, well,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to think of a good comeback.

Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But we have to. We promised Mrs. Otterus.” She said, trying to reason with the grim officer.

Officer Gruff just glared back at them. “Whatever promises you made are none of my concern. I’m not going to hand over this case to you just because Princess Celestia holds you in high regards.”

“But, Princess Celestia-!” Twilight began to speak before Officer Gruff interrupted her. “Do you think the princesses asked what I wanted when they assigned you to help me?” He said angrily.

“Uh, no.” Spike said. “When you put it that way…I guess not.”

Pinkie Pie couldn’t believe it! This pony was forbidding her to keep a Pinkie Promise! “But, but, but, but, but, we Pinkie Promised!” She whined.

“I don’t care.” Officer Gruff said, trying not to lose his temper.

“But, but, a Pinkie Promise is a Pinkie Promise!” She said before she began to recite it. “Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our-!”

“I...DON’T...CARE!!” Officer Gruff shouted at her, making her shrink down as he stared angrily at her. Twilight and the others were afraid that their friend would go ballistic and get them in even more trouble, but it looked like Officer Gruff was a force that Pinkie Pie had not reckoned with.

Pinkie Pie gulped nervously. “Number Two was right,” she thought to herself. “This pony is scary when he’s angry.”

Officer Gruff then turned to the door while Pinkie’s mane deflated. “Now,” he said. “I’m going to open this door, and you are going to tell the princesses and that otter draconequus that you have other things to attend to…”

“But…but...but…” Pinkie Pie stammered, her lips trembling while her friends looked at each other with disbelief and sadness as the officer continued.

“...And you will not be taking the case.” Officer Gruff finished as he opened the door. Right outside was a familiar-looking unicorn talking to the princesses and Mrs. Otterus. It was Shimmering Beauty!

“I just heard that Twilight and her friends are taking the case!” She said in joy.

Officer Gruff smiled nervously when he saw who it was. “Assistant Mayor Shimmering Beauty.”

Shimmering Beauty smiled at Mrs. Otterus as she got out a cellphone. “The Pony and Draconequus Friendship Initiative is starting to pay off.” She chuckled before she began texting with her magic. “Mayor Flashhoof is gonna be so thrilled!”

“Uh, let’s not tell the mayor just yet-.” Officer Gruff said nervously.

“And I sent it, and it’s done, so I did do that,” interrupted Shimmering Beauty as she sent her text message. After she said that, Officer Gruff slapped a hoof on his face while Pinkie Pie gave a small smile. “Well, I’d say the case is in good hooves!” Shimmering Beauty smiled at Fluttershy. “After all, us ponies gotta stick together! Right?”

“Yep! Like pie!” Apple Bloom responded, giving a warm, friendly smile to the unicorn.

Shimmering Beauty laughed at Apple Bloom’s joke. “Good one. You’re so cute.” She said with a smile, playfully pinching the filly’s cheek.

Fluttershy looked at the unicorn. “Um, Shimmering Beauty, I was thinking about how you helped me out yesterday. I wish there was someway I could repay you for what you did.” She said.

Shimmering Beauty smiled. “Oh, you don't have to anything for me, Fluttershy,” she replied. “You have friends who are there for you.” Fluttershy smiled as she gave out a blush. The pegasus was glad to have good friend like Shimmering Beauty.

“Call me if you need anything. You’ve always got a friend at city hall, girls. All right, bye-bye!” Shimmering Beauty said as she walked away smiling.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Twilight called back.

As Shimmering Beauty, Mrs. Otterus,  and the princesses walked away, Princess Celestia noticed something. Officer Gruff was more frustrated than ever before. “Is there something wrong, officer?” She asked in concern.

“You seem quite tense,” Princess Luna added.

“No. None whatsoever.” He grunted.

“Excellent.” Princess Celestia said with a smile. “Have Twilight and her friends start with the case immediately.”

Officer Gruff closed the door before taking a deep breath and angrily sighing. They looked at him, waiting for an answer. “Alright,” he muttered. Pinkie Pie’s mane went back to its normal, poofy self as she smiled with joy. “You can take the case.” Officer Gruff grunted.

Pinkie Pie could fulfill her Pinkie Promise! “YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!” She squealed as she jumped into the air.

“But you have to stop doing that.” Officer Gruff said, obviously annoyed.

“Awwwww….” Pinkie Pie whined as she dropped on the floor.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash said, smiling.

“BUT,” Officer Gruff said more sternly. “If I hear about anymore reckless behavior or otherwise, you’re off the case. Do I make myself clear?”

The pegasus frowned. She didn’t like being called reckless.

“Do I make myself clear?” He asked a second time.

“Yes,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“I assure you, officer, it won’t happen again,” Rarity assured the stern cop. “Or at least I hope not.” She thought to herself.

“Good.” Officer Gruff said as he opened the door. “Inspector Fantastic will show you the case file.”

“Well, we better get going.” Applejack said to her friends.

As they were heading out the door, Officer Gruff spoke. “And one more thing, princess.”

Twilight turned her head. “Yes?”

“Be careful.”



“‘E’re yer go!” Inspector Fantastic said, holding up the case file of Nelson Otterus. Number Two and Antic were there as well. “One missing otter draconequus!”

Twilight looked at the file with a smile and said, “Good! Now let's get started!”

She opened it and took a look. Her smile disappeared as her jaw dropped in disbelief. The case file only had one photo of Mr. Otterus where he was last seen before his disappearance.

“You gotta be kidding me!” Rainbow Dash said in disbelief.

“Blimey!” Inspector Fantastic said, equally in disbelief. “ That's the smallest case file I's ever seen! Don't tell me yer blokes is taking this case!” He said with a mouthful of doughnuts.

“Sadly, we are.” Starlight sadly replied.

“How the hay are we supposed to figure out anything with just a photo?” Applejack said with frustration.

Number Two looked at the picture and pointed out by saying, “Leads: none. Witnesses: none. And Officer Gruff hasn't given you permission to use the system. Sorry.”

“Gee,” Rainbow Dash muttered sarcastically. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”

“I know, right?” Pinkie Pie said, unaware that Rainbow Dash was being sarcastic. “We caught a bad guy and we're gonna solve a case with just a picture for evidence! We're on a roll!”

Scootaloo turned to Twilight, the pegasus saying, “There has to be something here that can help us!”

The alicorn looked back at the picture. “Well, the best thing to do right now is to search for some clues in the picture. All we need is a magnifying glass.”

“I got ya covered.” Antic said with a smile. She conjured several magnifying glasses and gave one to each of them.

“That was convenient.” Rarity said before they began looking at the picture to see if they could find any clues that could help them.

As she looked through her magnifying glass, Twilight then noticed that Mr. Otterus was eating something while walking. “Guys, look at this!” She called to her friends and they saw it also.

“What's he got there?” Sweetie Belle asked while looking at the picture.

“It looks like he's eating a sandwich,” Twilight explained before she took another look at the sandwich Otterus was holding. “And by the looks of it, it appears to be a cucumber sandwich.”

While they were looking at the picture of Otterus, Fluttershy was still looking at a different part of the picture until she spotted something that made her gasp in surprise.

“It can’t be.” She whispered.

“Something wrong, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.

“Look!” Fluttershy pointed to a corner of the picture. They all looked at what she had spotted and gasped as well. In the picture was a familiar stallion with a gray coat, jet black mane, yellow eyes with red pupils, a tornado for a cutie mark, and a blue horn! He was pushing a stand with cucumber sandwiches.

“It’s…it’s impossible!” Twilight said in amazement.

“No way!” Rainbow Dash said, her jaw dropping.

“Sweet Celestia and Luna put together!” Rarity exclaimed.

Applejack couldn’t believe it either! “Fluttershy was tellin’ the truth!”

Pinkie Pie slammed her hoof on the table with an angry look. “I told you guys that he was real!”

Rainbow Dash looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean you told us? You didn’t believe her either!”

“Oh, did I?” Pinkie Pie smiled, raising an eyebrow.

“No, you didn’t.” Twilight said sternly.

“Oh.” Pinkie Pie said sheepishly.

Twilight and the others turned to Fluttershy, apologetically.

“We’re sorry we didn’t believe you.” Twilight replied sadly. The others apologized as well.

The shy pegasus gave a smile and said, “It’s okay. I forgive you guys.”

Starlight Glimmer remained quiet. She was glad that the others believed Fluttershy.

“So,” Apple Bloom said. “Who is this pony?”

“You got me,” Scootaloo shrugged.

Rarity looked at the picture and said, “Hmmm, you know, for an odd looking pony I’ve never met, he is pretty handsome.”

She continued looking at the picture in awe. Spike rolled his eyes. Now he had another rival.

“There has to be something that could tell us who he is.” Twilight said.

Antic looked at the picture. Once she got a good look at it, she shrugged and rolled her eyes.

“Oh, that’s just Discord disguised as a pony,” She replied.

The ponies and gasped in surprise. “Discord?!” They said in perfect unison,

Rarity’s lovestruck face disappeared when she heard. “That’s Discord?!” She backed away from the photo and hugged herself as she shuddered in utter disgust. “Bleaaahughughugh!”

Spike smiled to himself. He was glad that he didn’t have to compete Discord for the affections of the fair Rarity.

“Wait a minute,” Twilight said to herself. “Cucumber sandwiches.”

“Yes. Cucumber sandwiches,” Inspector Fantastic said, nodding. Then he looked confused. “Er, wot does it mean?”

“It means,” Twilight said, before she and her friends all looked at the stallion, which was really Discord in disguise. “We have a lead.”
> Ch.6-Finding Clues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.6-Finding Clues


A while later, the ponies and Spike had already left the Manehattan police station and were now scouting around for Discord.

After a while, they then spotted a familiar unicorn stallion with a blue horn walking by and realized that it was Discord in disguise as a pony. They ran up to him as Fluttershy called out, “Um, excuse me. Sir, remember me?”

The stallion, who was actually Discord in disguise, heard her voice and stopped as he turned around. He looked at them with a smile as they rushed up to him. He looked at Fluttershy and grinned as he said, “Oh, it’s you. I was wondering when I was gonna see you again. And I see that you brought your friends too.”

Fluttershy’s friends looked at the stallion before Twilight spoke up. “We know that it’s you, Discord. Your sister, Antic, told us.”

The stallion just looked at the alicorn with a relaxed look on his face. “Whoops, caught me by surprise.” he said in a different voice. His entire body changed in a flash and standing in the stallion’s place was Discord, just as they thought. As he was stretching his mismatched arms and legs, he said, “Well, I must say this is a pleasant reunion. What brings you ponies to Manehattan, anyway?”

“We’re here to ask you some questions about a case.” Twilight replied.

Discord smiled and raised an eyebrow. “What happened, princess?” he asked. “Did somepony steal a briefcase? If you’re pointing hooves at me, I can assure you that my evil doing days are far behind.” An angel halo appeared on his head.

“Not that kind of case.” Rainbow Dash said as Spike held up a photo of Otterus with the cucumber sandwich.

“You sold Mr. Otterus this cucumber sandwich. Do you know him?” Rarity asked.

Discord took a quick look at the photo and said, “I know everyone. But tell me, what does that have to do with me?”

“Nelson Otterus has gone missing,” Applejack said.

“Oh, has he now?” Discord said.

“You were the last one to have seen him, so we need you to help us.” Starlight Glimmer said.

Discord sighed sadly before replying, “Sorry, but I’m afraid that’s out of the question. I have other important things to attend to.”

“But this otter draconequus is missing!” Rainbow Dash replied angrily. “I’m pretty sure your 25 bits worth of cucumber sandwiches can wait.”

“Actually, it's 13 bits.”

Spike turned to the CMC and said, “25 bits seemed pretty outrageous.”

“But we Pinkie Promised!” Pinkie Pie said desperately.

“I’ll bet you did.” Discord said, rolling his eyes.

“We did!” Pinkie Pie said. “Cross our hearts hope to fly, stick a cu-!”

Applejack covered Pinkie Pie’s mouth. “Well, ya get the idea.”

“As sad as this sounds, I can't help you.” Discord said before shrugging off with a smile. “Good luck with the search though.”

Applejack took her hoof off of Pinkie's mouth and the pink pony screamed, “-pcake in our eye!” She then gasped for air.

The ponies looked at each other before Twilight spoke. “Okay, then.” The alicorn said. “Guess we'll have to go to Plan B.”

“Whatever happened to Plan C?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“We don't have a Plan C, Pinkie.” Apple Bloom explained.

“Oh.”

Turning to Discord, Twilight said, “Oh well, then. I guess we'll have to tell everypony back in Ponyville about how you think of Fluttershy.”

Discord turned around, raising a suspicious eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Well,” Starlight Glimmer said. “Antic did mention to us that you thought Fluttershy was beautiful and cute.”

Fluttershy blushed, her cheeks turning red. She thought that it was cute how her friend thought of her.

Discord, however, wasn't happy at the moment. He crossed his arms. “Of course.” He muttered before he angrily thought to himself. “Leave it to my siblings to blab everything to the whole world. Why did I even tell Antic that secret in the first place?”

He turned to the ponies, replying, “Well, it's my word against yours.”

In reply, Fluttershy held up the same flower pen Discord had given her yesterday. She pressed a button and it made a rewinding noise before she played it.

“And when Discord had those letters Fluttershy gave him, he got all mushy before putting them in a chest with a heart on it. I thought it was so adorable!” Antic’s voice said from the pen.

When it stopped, Discord was more frustrated than before. He was starting to think that he shouldn't have given Fluttershy a pen with a recorder.

“By the way,” Applejack said with a smile. “Antic allowed us to record that.”

“I’ll bet she did.” Discord thought to himself. He took a deep breath and regained his composure. “Well, I'm sure that anypony will find that hard to believe if it's lost in Bugbear territory!” He said with a smug smile. He snapped his fingers, expecting the flower pen to disappear.

But for some reason, the flower pen remained in Fluttershy's hooves. When Discord saw that the pen was still there, he couldn't believe his eyes. He snapped his fingers again and again, but the flower pen still remained intact. The ponies and Spike just watched this whole scene with smiles on their faces.

As Discord looked at his hands in confusion, Twilight said, “In case you're wondering why you can't teleport the pen, I put a protection spell on it. We couldn't have you do the same thing like you did with the Elements of Harmony.”

Discord tried to grab the pen from Fluttershy, but the pegasus pulled it back.

Starlight spoke to the draconequus. “If you want this pen, you'll have to help us find this missing otter draconequus. And only then will we give you the pen.”

Discord scoffed in shock and disbelief as his jaw dropped to the ground. Spike just gave a smug smile at the draconequus. “Sorry, buddy. It’s called a hustle.” He said, pointing a claw at Discord.

Discord looked at the baby dragon with a frown before snapping his fingers. Instantly, a zipper appeared on Spike’s lips and zipped his mouth all by itself. Spike's smug look disappeared once he realized what Discord did. He shouted out some muffling words as he tried to speak. Finally, he managed to unzip the zipper. As he gasped for air, Spike decided that maybe taunting Discord wasn’t the wisest decision.

Fluttershy, on the other hoof, didn’t like the idea of blackmailing Discord. But he was the only one who had a lot of vital information that could be very useful if they wanted to find Otterus.

“So,” Twilight asked. “Do we have a deal?”

“Please?” Fluttershy asked with a gentle voice.

Discord was steamed up with anger as he growled before taking a deep breath. “Fine. We have a deal.” He said, crossing his arms with an annoyed look on his face.

“Okay. Start talking.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Look. I. Don’t. Know. Where. He. Is.” Discord said with a frustrating glare. “I only saw where he went.”

The ponies faces didn’t change. “That’s close enough.” Twilight said. “Let’s go.”

Then Discord had an uncomfortable look on his face. He raised an eyebrow. “Um, I’m not sure you want to go there. It’s not a exactly a good place for ponies like yourselves or for those like me to be there.”

“Aw, stop being a baby and let’s go, Romeo.” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. Her friends laughed at her joke.

As they were walking, Discord materialized a pencil, glasses, and a notepad. He began writing in the notepad and he thought, “Note to self, stitch Antic’s mouth shut when she becomes a full-fledged doctor.”



Soon, they arrived at a place called the Soothing Springs.

As they walked inside, they looked around until they saw a male draconequus at the front desk. He had the head of a yak that had orange flowers covering his bushy hair, his body was a turtle, tail of a llama, right arm of a moose and left arm of a camel, and his right leg belonged to a lizard while his left leg resembled a mountain goat. Around his neck he wore a beaded necklace and buzzing around his hair were swarms of flies.

When they approached the desk, they noticed that he was meditating and chanting, “Oooooooooohmmmmmmmm...”

“Who’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked, pointing at the yak draconequus, who was still chanting in his meditation.

“That’s Mental,” Discord replied. “He runs the place.”

Twilight approached the desk as Mental continued chanting. She cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me, hello?”

Mental didn’t appear to have heard her as he continued chanting. “Oooooooooohmmmmmmmm...”

Starlight tried to have a go. “Um, excuse us, sir? Hello?”

“Oooooooooohmmmmmmmm...”

“Hey, buddy! Can you hear us?” Rainbow Dash said, trying to get him to notice them.

“Oooooooooohmmmmmmmm! Oooooooooohmmmmmmmm!”

Then Pinkie Pie got up close to him and held up a megaphone. “Hello?” She yelled and her voice came out of the megaphone in a louder voice. “Hello! HELLO!”

It was silent for a moment and Mental just continued chanting. “Oooooooooohmmmmmmmm…Oooooooooohmmmmmmmm...”

As they watched him continue his chant, Twilight looked at Spike with a confused look on her face while she pointed a hoof at the yak draconequus. Spike just shrugged. He didn’t know what was going on.

Finally, Fluttershy spoke up.  “Um, excuse me?”

Surprisingly, Fluttershy's soft, gentle voice got the yak draconequus’ attention. He shook his shaggy hair before he pulled the bangs in front of his eyes aside and saw the ponies.

Noticing Discord, he smiled and chuckled as he said. “Hey, Discord. My main draconequus.” He gave Discord a small fist bump, leaving some sweat on Discord's paw.

Discord rolled his eyes while he continued staring at the yak draconequus. “Yes, it's good to see you again, Mental,” he said while shaking the sweat off of his paw.

Twilight then spoke up. “Excuse me, my name’s-”

“Oh, you know, I'm gonna hit the pause button right there, cause we're all good on Pony Scout Cookies.” Mental said with a friendly smile.

“We're selling Pony Scout Cookies?” Pinkie Pie asked with a surprise look.

“Uh...no.” Twilight said before she continued. “I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. My friends and I are on a missing case and are here to ask some questions.”

“We're looking Nelson Otterus, who might have recently been here.” Fluttershy said before handing Mental the picture of the Otterus family.

Mental looked at the picture for a moment. As he gasped, his eyes widened, as if he was about to say something important.

“AH-CHOO!”

Mental sneezed, spraying mucus on the nearby ponies. Rarity twitched in disgust. Flies scattered everywhere before returning to their place, hovering around him.

“Oh yeah, Ol’ Nelson.” He said with a chuckle before giving Fluttershy back the picture. “Haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks. But hey, you should talk to his yoga instructor. I’d be happy to take you out back.”

“Er...yes. That would be just fine.” Rarity said, trying not to sound disgusted while Spike used a handkerchief to wipe draconequus snot off her.

Mental walked from behind the counter and stopped at a door entrance. “Just one minute, folks. I gotta unlock the door.”

He picked up a key ring with a bunch of keys around it and began to look through each one. They watched as he said, “No. No. No. No. Ye- no. I know I saw it somewhere.”

Apple Bloom spoke up. “Couldn’t ya just unlock the door with your magic?”

Mental turned to the young filly. “Huh? Oh, no can do, little dude. We’re an Anti-Magic Club.” He said nonchalantly before chuckling and continued rummaging through the keys.

The ponies and baby dragon look at each other with confused faces. “Anti-Magic Club?” Spike said, raising an confused eyebrow.

“I thought all draconequuses use magic,” Scootaloo said.

“We do,” Discord said. “Some of us, however, think that using magic is ‘unproductive’.” He said the word with quotes. “They believe that hard work will give them what they need. And they also like to…uh…engage in different kinds of stuff.”

“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Discord sighed sadly. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Mental had finally found the right key and unlocked the door. “Kayla’s just on the other side of the pleasure pool,” he said. “Right this way, folks.”

He pushed the door open and showed them the way. Once the ponies and baby dragon looked outside, their jaws dropped.

The courtyard was filled with draconequuses and some ponies. Many of the draconequuses had their fur completely shaved off and were sunbathing. Others, like bear draconequuses were rubbing their backs against trees. Some were doing activities without using their magic, such as sawing wood, playing the game Twister and getting all tangled up. There were some monkey draconequuses picking at each other for fleas and tick, which they ate with their feet and their mouths open.

The ponies felt as if they had wandered into another planet. Now they knew why Discord didn’t like this place.

It was no picnic for Discord either. He looked at the ponies and said, “Oh boy. Is this bothering you as much as it’s bothering me?” They didn’t respond, presumably from the shock. “If so, there’s no shame in turning back.” Discord wanted to leave this place as much as they did.

Twilight frowned and gulped very hard. “Yes, there is.” She said with determination, although the alicorn sounded disgusted at the same time.

As he watched them walk into the courtyard, Discord muttered, “Boy, that’s the spirit.”



Meanwhile, outside the building, the Thief was looking around. So far, he hadn’t managed to steal anything all day. Ever since, the wild ride earlier, he was sore all over; not to mention he still smelled of fresh manure and it had attracted even more flies.

“What an idiot I am!” He thought to himself as he walked along. “All that trouble for a stupid pocket watch!” He stopped once he noticed the Soothing Springs. “Soothing Springs.” He thought as he read the sign. “I think I might have a look around. I could use a nice bath.Ugh, these flies are driving me crazy!” He thought as he climbed up the wall.



Back in the courtyard, Mental continued to lead the ponies, Spike, and Discord around. By that time, the Thief had finally managed to reach the top of the wall and looked into the courtyard.

He saw all kinds of strange things. Three orangutan draconequuses were doing the strangest stretching exercises he had ever seen. One had its legs behind its head. The second one had its arms underneath its legs. The third one had its head underneath its rear end.

“Well,” The Thief thought. “This is certainly all kinds of wrong. My eyes hate my brain for saying this.” Suddenly, he lost his grip. “Whoops!” He fell down and landed in a dumpster. No one seemed to notice.

As they continued following Mental, the ponies noticed a panther draconequus licking its leg before it looked at them. “Yeah, some draconequuses say the anti-magic life is weird.” Mental said while the others looked around, trying not to looked disgusted. “But you know what I think is real weird? Using magic to give you everything you want when you can work hard for it.”

They spotted a group of lemur and raccoon draconequuses in a huge tangled pile, each one grabbing each other's throats with paws or feets while stretching their limbs. When they noticed the ponies, they all smiled and waved with whatever free limbs they had. Pinkie Pie smiled and waved back, while Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack covered Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle’s eyes. They just looked at the strange formation with raised eyebrows.

“Here we go.” Mental said. Twilight and her friends looked straight ahead before the alicorn gave out a disturbed moan.

What they saw was a female draconequus leading some ponies and draconequuses a yoga move, to which they were doing it also. The female draconequus had the head of an Indian elephant while her body was a bear and her tail was a tiger. As for her arms, her right arm was a panda while her left arm was a gorilla. Her right leg belonged to a hippo while her left leg resembles an orangutan.

“As you can see, Kayla's part elephant, so she’ll totally remember everything.” Mental told Twilight and her friends. He then turned the the elephant draconequus, who was still in her same yoga pose, and said, “Hey, Kayla, these dudes have some questions about Nelson the otter draconequus.”

“Who?” Kayla asked, opening her eyes and looking at Mental.

“Uh, Nelson Otterus,” Mental prompted. “Been coming to your yoga class for like six years.”

“I have no memory of this beaver draconequus,” Kayla stated while in her yoga pose. Pinkie Pie seemed interested in what she was doing that she tried to do the same thing, only she fell down backwards with a yelp.

“Uh, he’s not really a beaver draconequus,” Applejack corrected her.

“Um...yes, he’s actually an otter draconequus.” Fluttershy added as she showed Kayla the Otterus picture.

“Oh,” Kayla said before she continued. “I have no memory of this otter draconequus either.”

“He was here a couple of Wednesdays ago. ‘Member?” Mental prompted Kayla.

But the elephant draconequus just shooked her head while she stood up and stretched downwards as she said, “Nope.” The students copied her pose while Pinkie Pie tried doing the pose too before she fell down again with another yelp.

The ponies looked at the yak draconequus with amazement. Kayla didn’t remember much, but Mental has an impressive memory!

Twilight nudged Spike with her leg and whispered, “Spike.”

Spike looked at her before he realized what she wanted him to do. “Oh, right. Got it!” He said before grabbing a notepad and pencil. He began writing down everything Mental was saying as fast as he could.

“Yeah,” Mental continued. “He was wearing a green cable-knit sweater-vest and a new pair of corduroy slacks. Oh, and a paisley tie, sweet Windsor knot, real tight. Remember that, Kayla?”

In another pose, Kayla replied “No.” Once again, Pinkie Pie tried to copy the pose the elephant draconequus and the others were doing. Unfortunately, she felt herself wobbling a bit and yelped as she fell over. Again.

“Yeah, and we both walked him out and he got into that big ol’ white car with the silver trim. Needed a tune up. The third cylinder wasn’t firing. Remember that, Kayla?” Mental said.

“Nope.” Kayla replied while she was in her next pose with her students.

“Um…you didn’t by any chance see the license plate number did you?” Starlight asked, hoping they could get something from the yak draconequus that could be very useful to them.

“Oh, for sure,” Mental nodded. “It was 35NV1L7.”

Kayla and her students were standing upside down and spreading their legs apart, doing their next yoga pose while Pinkie Pie tried doing that also. However, she couldn’t stand in her position for long and fell down with a yelp. Again.

“-L7. Got it.” Spike said as he finished jotting down the license plate number on his notepad.

Looking at the notepad, Twilight smiled and said, “Wow. This is a lot of great info.”

Turning to Mental with a gentle smile, Fluttershy said, “Thank you so much, Mental.”

“Told ya Kayla has the mind like a steel trap.” Mental said with a smile as he looked at Kayla and her students, who were now meditating. “I wish I had the memory like an elephant.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie said as she got up with a frown. “They’re so lucky!” Her friends looked at her in surprise. She probably didn’t know what happened this whole time.



Outside, Discord, Spike, and the ponies walked outside the building.

“All right!” Sweetie Belle cheered. “We got our first clue!”

Discord looked at Fluttershy. “Well, I had a fun time.” He said with a smug smile. “You are all very welcome for the clue. And seeing how anypony can easily run a plate, I’ll just take that pen off your hooves and bid you all adieu.” He held out his claw, hoping Fluttershy would give him the flower pen that had the recording of his secrets about having a crush on her.

Before Fluttershy could give him the pen, Twilight realized something and stopped her. “Wait a minute...the plate. We can’t run the plate...Officer Gruff hasn’t given us permission to have access in the system yet.” Her friends looked at each other, realizing that they had a problem.

“Now what’ll we do?” Scootaloo asked with a frown.

“Give me the pen, please,” Discord said, still holding his claw out.

Looking at Discord, Starlight Glimmer gave a smile said, “What was that you said? ‘How anypony can easily run a  plate’?”

The others saw what Starlight was up to and each gave a smile. “Gee...if only there were someone around who was up for the task…,”Rarity said, looking at the draconequus.

Discord gave a frown. “Look, I did what you ponies asked; you can’t keep me on the hook forever.” He said.

“Actually, we can.” Rainbow Dash said.

Fluttershy looked at the draconequus. “Please, Discord? We told Mrs. Otterus that we would find her husband and bring him back home to her and the kids.” She said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Discord looked at the pegasus. He couldn’t say no to the sweet face of the pony he had feelings for. He sighed and gave in. “Fine.”

Smiling, Twilight said, “So, can you run the plate or not?”

Discord looked at the alicorn. “Actually, I know a guy at the DMV.”



A while later, the ponies, Spike, and Discord arrived at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles).

As they walked through the doorway, they saw a long line of ponies and draconequuses, who were waiting to be helped.

“George is the fastest guy I know. You need something done, he’s on it.” Discord said.

“I hope so, because we’re on a tight schedule.” Starlight said.

Just then, Twilight realized something and said, “Wait. They’re all part sloth?!”

At the desks, the employees all had the same head of a sloth but different animal body parts.

At one desk, a draconequus watched as a sloth draconequus stamped a paper very slowly before slowly moving it aside to stamp the next sheet. The draconequus, who was waiting, just face palmed.

At another desk, an earth pony was impatiently watching a sloth draconequus slowly staple some paper.

A pegasus was at another desk waiting to have her picture taken while the sloth draconequus slowly pressed the button to take the shot.

Twilight looked at Discord in disbelief. “You said this was gonna be quick!” She exclaimed.

“Hey! I'm not the one who gave them the job!” Discord said innocently with a shrug.

“Aw come on, Twilight. Are you saying that just because he’s part sloth, he can't be fast?” Spike said.

“Don't worry. George will run that plate as soon as possible.” Discord said before deciding to give them a warning. “A word of advice, don't get him into any other conversation.”

“Why not?” Asked Scootaloo.

“Trust me. Just don't do it.”

As they approached the desk, behind the counter was George, a sloth draconequus.

“George, George, good old George!” said Discord, greeting the sloth draconequus with a smile. “Buddy, it's nice to see you.”

George just looked at Discord for a long time. “Nice to...see you...too,” he said slowly.

“George, I like to meet my friend, Fluttershy, her friends from Ponyville, Spike, the CMC, and…,” He stopped when he looked at Starlight Glimmer. “Darling, I seem to have forgotten your name.”

The unicorn looked at Discord for a moment before turning her attention to the sloth draconequus. “Starlight Glimmer. How are you?”

George looked at her and didn't respond for ten seconds. “I am... doing...just-”

“Fine?” Fluttershy asked, trying to be quick and polite at the same time.

“...as well...as...I can...be. What-” George continued.

“Hang in there,” Discord told them, trying to endure the slowness of the sloth draconequus.

“...can I...do…”

Twilight then spoke. “Well, I was hoping you could run a plate-”

“...for you…”

“Well I was hoping you could-”

“...today?” George asked, finally completing his sentence.

The alicorn waited for a moment in case George was going to say anything else. When he didn't, she said, “Well, I was hoping you could run a plate for us. We're in a really big hurry.”

George waited for awhile before he began to respond. “Sure. What's the...plate-”

Twilight began to speak. “Three five-”

“...number?” asked George.

Twilight repeated again. “35NV1L7.”

The sloth draconequus slowly moved towards the computer and began pressing the buttons. “Three...five…”

“NV1L7,” said Twilight, her face getting impatient as well as her friends. Rainbow Dash didn't know how much more of this super slow draconequus she could take.

“N...”

“V1L7.”

“V...”

“1L7.”

“1...”

“L7.”

“L...”

“7.” Twilight said with a hint of strain.

Just as George was about to punch in the last digit, Pinkie Pie couldn't hold it in anymore and interrupted him. “Hey! You wanna hear a joke?”

“No!!” Her friends yelled at her.

It was too late. George replied, “Sure.”

The others frowned at Pinkie Pie as she began to tell the sloth draconequus her joke. “What do you call a four-headed dog?”

“I don't...know. What do...you call...a-”

“Four-headed dog,” Rainbow Dash said with a growl.

“...four-headed...dog?” said George.

“Gifted.” Pinkie Pie answered before laughing while her friends just looked at her with annoyed looks.

“We know, Pinkie.” Apple Bloom muttered.

“Yeah. Heard that joke before.” Spike said, annoyed as well.

At first, George didn't show any reaction until he slowly raised his head as a smile crept upon his face. “Ha...ha...ha...ha…”

As they watched him laugh slowly, Twilight spoke up. “Ha, ha, yes, very funny, very funny.” They wanted him to hurry up with the license plate number. They had no time for all of this. “Can we please just focus on the-”

Just as he was done laughing, George began to slowly turn to a female sloth draconequus next to him as Twilight said, “Hey, wait, wait, wait!”

“Hey, Bernice…,” he said.

The female sloth draconequus, who was Bernice and wearing glasses, lifted her head up slowly and looked at George as Starlight Glimmer said, “No, no!”

“Yes...George?” answered Bernice, just as slowly like George.

The gang watched in shock while George slowly said, “What...do-”

Rarity watched with a horrified look on her face. “Noooooo!” She sobbed as she slammed her head on the desk.

“....you call...a-”

“A four-headed dog? Gifted!” Rainbow Dash shouted nervously, hoping that if she finished the joke, George would get back to running the plate. “Okay, great, we got it! Can we please just-.”

“Four…headed…”

“Aaaaaaaaaagh!” Rainbow Dash growled in frustration, banging her head on the counter while Twilight, Starlight, and Applejack just watched with looks of disbelief. Fluttershy, Spike, and the CMC just watched while Discord just face palmed his face with his claw. Pinkie Pie just smiled and laughed while George continued to tell Bernice the joke very slowly.

Pinkie Pie still laughed at her own joke. “I can't stop! I'm gonna throw up! Ha, ha ha ha!”



Hours later, a paper for the address of the license plate number began to print out of a printer until George slowly pulled it out.

“Here you…,” said George, handing it to Twilight.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…thank you!” Twilight said, taking the paper from the sloth draconequus with her magic.

“...go.”

“35NV1L7,” said Twilight, frantically reading the printout. “It's registered to…Manehattan Limo-Service? A limo took Otterus and the limo is close by! Come on!”

As they rushed to the door, Discord looked back the sloth draconequus. He already knew what had happened. “Way to hustle.” He said as he followed the others. “I owe you.”

By the door, Twilight called out to her friends. “Hurry, we gotta beat the rush hour and-!”

Fluttershy then noticed something and tapped her friend's shoulder to get her attention. “Um...Twilight.”

The alicorn looked outside and her jaw dropped in disbelief. “It'snight!” She shouted, her voice echoing throughout the parking lot.

“Echo! Echo! Echo!” Pinkie Pie said happily as she heard the sound of her own voice.
> Ch.7-Mr. Big Daddy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.7-Mr. Big Daddy


The ponies, Spike, and Discord headed through a part of Manehattan until they found the Manehattan Limo-Service. Unfortunately, the gate was locked up tight for the night.

“Closed,” Twilight said, looking at the the lock on the gate with a frown. “Great! Just great!”

To make things worse, the gate had a sign that said ‘Anti-Magic’ so they couldn’t use their magic to unlock it.

Discord looked at the alicorn. “And I bet you don’t have a warrant to get in. What a shame.”

“Couldn’t you use your magic to unlock the door?” Apple Bloom asked him.

The draconequus looked at her and said, “Well, first of all, I can’t because of the anti-magic on there. Second, even if it didn’t have anti-magic, I still wouldn’t because Mother always told me not to use my magic for anything illegal.”

“Well, that didn’t stop you from taking over Equestria.” Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk.

“Hey! I thought we were over that!” Discord said before he continued. “You know, we could have been here hours earlier if someone hadn’t told George the sloth draconequus that joke!”

He looked at Pinkie Pie with an annoyed look. “What?” Pinkie Pie asked, raising an eyebrow. “I just wanted to see how he would react.”

“I said, no matter what happens, don’t get him into any conversation. Didn’t I say that?” Discord said with a frown while raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you didn’t tell us that they would get distracted that easily.” Spike said.

“Ooh! Ooh! I got an idea! We’ll blast the gate down with my party cannon!” Pinkie suggested.

“Pinkie, don’t ya remember what Officer Gruff said?” Applejack said, sternly raising an eyebrow.

“That eating police’s doughnuts without asking gets you a citation?”

“No. He said not to use the party cannon after what happened earlier.”

“Awwww…,” Pinkie Pie said. “That Officer Gruff is such a killjoy!”

“Tell me about it,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Well,” Discord said. “Since you don’t have a warrant or anypony’s permission, I guess we’re done here?”

“But we haven’t solve the case yet!” Scootaloo protested.

“Well, we can’t enter the gate and since you’re out of options, I suggest you hand over the pen now.”

Starlight Glimmer sighed, defeated. “Fine. We are done.” Fluttershy handed her the pen. “Here’s your pen.”

Discord smiled as he reached for the pen. “Why thank you, I-.”

Suddenly, Starlight used her magic to toss the pen over to the other side of the gate.

“Hey!” Discord said.

The pen landed on the ground into the lot as they watched.

Discord glared at Starlight Glimmer, the unicorn smiling innocently.

“First of all, you throw like a filly. Second, you ponies are sore losers.” Discord said. Then he began to climb over the fence. “See you later, ponies. So sad this is over. I only wish I could have helped more.”

The draconequus jumped down to the other side to get the pen. However, he saw the ponies and baby dragon right beside him, Fluttershy holding the pen. A hole had been dug by Pinkie Pie, who was holding a shovel. Discord’s jaws dropped when he saw them smiling at him.

“The thing is you don’t need a warrant unless you have a probable cause.” Starlight said.

“And I’m pretty sure we saw a draconequus climbing the fence without magic, so you’re helping plenty. Come on.” Twilight said.

As they headed down the parking lot, Discord frowned for a moment before following them.

After a while, they found a car and Twilight checked the plate to see if it was the one they were looking for.

“35NV1L7,” Twilight read. “This is it, guys!”

Discord used his magic to open the two-side doors and they poked their heads inside.

“Um...Twilight?” asked Fluttershy, her tone sounding uncertain. “Are you sure we should be breaking into somepony’s car? Couldn’t we just find whoever owns this car and ask them if we could have a look around?”

“We don’t know who owns this car, and it would take even longer to find the owner.” Twilight said. “We’ll just have a quick look around for clues and leave the car as if it was never touched.”

Fluttershy nodded, although she still didn’t like the idea of breaking and entering someone else's property.

Inside, they began looking around for clues, Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, and Rarity using their horns to light up the place. Just then, Rarity and Applejack noticed something on the floor. Rarity picked it up with her magic and looked at it closely. “Cat hair.”

“Yeah, orange cat hair.” Applejack said while Rarity put the hair in a plastic bag as evidence.

“Whoever owns this car must have a cat.” Fluttershy said as she noticed more orange cat hair on the floor before picking some up. “A tabby cat, by the looks of it.”

Discord nodded before opening a glove compartment. His eyes widened and he gasped. ”OH MY GOODNESS!!”

“What? Did you find something?” Twilight asked as she and her friends turned to see what he had found.

Discord reached in and pulled out several cds. “Dizzy Blue’s Greatest Hits!” He said with a smile as he pointed at the cd cases.

The other ponies rolled their eyes, except for Pinkie. “Ooh! Can we listen to some?”

“No! Put them back!” Twilight said sternly before she and the others went back to collecting real clues.

Discord shrugged. “Classical music. Didn’t know ponies still listened to it.” He said before putting the cds back where he found them.

Pinkie Pie noticed something. Next to her was a compartment. She opened it and gasped. Inside was a vast array of chocolate bon-bons in tin jars. “Chocolate bon-bons!” she whispered in joy as she took one out and prepared to open it.

Applejack, however, intervened and quickly grabbed the jar from Pinkie. “Pinkie!” she whispered angrily. “What th’ hay is wrong with ya?! Ya can’t just go around eatin’ other ponies food!” She put the jar back and closed the compartment.

Pinkie Pie’s lips trembled sadly. “But I like the bon-bons...”

Discord then spotted the back partition and lowered it. He looked inside before his eyebrows shot up. “Guys, if your otter draconequus was here...he had a bad day.” He said in a worried voice.

Spike and the ponies looked at the backseat. As Twilight shined her horn, they saw that it had been shredded everywhere!

“Those look like claw-marks,” Spike said nervously, noticing violent-looking claw marks all around.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” Twilight asked.

Discord shook his head, actually concerned. “No.”

Just then, Fluttershy spotted something on the floor. “Wait. Look!” She went into the backseat and the others followed her. They watched as she pick it up and saw that it was a wallet.

Fluttershy opened it and inside the wallet was Mr. Otterus’s driver license and beside it was the same picture of the Otterus family that Mrs. Otterus had given her.

Looking at the wallet, Applejack said, “That’s him! Nelson Otterus!”

Twilight nodded and said, “His wallet proves that he’s definitely been here!”

“But what do you suppose happened here?” Fluttershy asked with concern, looking at the claw-marks around them. Discord shook his head, stumped. The others were stumped as well.

“Something really bad I bet,” Sweetie Belle answered, not liking what she was seeing.

Just then, Starlight Glimmer spotted something else on the ground. She picked it up with her magic and saw that it was a fancy cup. She took another look at it and saw that it was etched with the letters B and D styled fancy was well.

“Wait a minute,” said Starlight Glimmer suspiciously. Her friends watched as she began to remember what they found. “Cat fur...Classical music...assorted sweets...fancy cups…” She then realized something as her eyes widened before she gasped. “I know whose car this is! We gotta go!” She immediately put the cup back where it belongs and began sorting all the other cups and bottle in place by using her magic.

“Why? Whose car is it?” Spike asked.

As she rushed to put everything back in order, she said, “One of the most feared crime bosses in all of Equestria! They call him Mr. Big Daddy, and he does not like me!”

Discord’s eyes widened. “Mr. Big Daddy?” He said in surprise. “I’ve heard of him, but I’ve never seen him before.”

“And you don’t want to!” She grabbed a fancy cup from Sweetie Belle and carefully placed it on a shelf. “We can’t leave any evidence that we’ve been here! If he finds us here, he’ll-!”

Just then, there was a munching noise. They all turned to where it was coming from. Pinkie Pie was eating some of the bon-bons and had chocolate all over her lips.

“Pinkie!!” Starlight Glimmer gasped in horror while trying to keep her voice down.

The pink earth pony stopped eating and looked at the others. “Oh. Sorry.” She was silent for a moment before she spoke up. “Did you want some?”

“Pinkie!! What are you doing?!” Starlight Glimmer asked.

Pinkie gulped down the bon-bons and smiled. “You guys should try these bon-bons. They’re delicious!”

“Put those down and let’s get out of here!” Starlight Glimmer said as she reached for the jar.

Pinkie held it back angrily. “No! They’re mine!” She held it tightly as if it were her own precious teddy bear.

“What do you mean they’re yours?! Give me those!”

Starlight and Pinkie Pie began grappling over the jar, arguing, until Starlight finally pried it from Pinkie Pie’s hooves with her magic. She then put the lid back on to make it look like the jar hadn’t been touched and put it back in its place.

“But I haven’t finished it yet!” Pinkie Pie whined before licking the chocolate off her lips.

Starlight turned to Pinkie with a serious look. “Listen to me! Mr. Big Daddy is super sensitive about his stuff, and if he finds out that you’ve eaten some of his precious bon-bons,” She stopped and gulped nervously. “Oh, I shudder to think of it. So we gotta go! Now!”

“We can’t leave.” Rainbow Dash said. “This is a crime scene.”

“Oh, trust me, if Mr. Big Daddy finds me here, it’ll be an even bigger crime scene!” Starlight Glimmer said anxiously while using her magic to lead her friends to one of the doors. “So, we’re leaving right now!”  She used her magic to open the door so they could leave.

However, once she opened the door, she stopped and gasped in horror.

Right outside were two tall white identical looking earth pony stallions. They both had brown shaved manes and short mustaches, wore black sunglasses that covered their eyes, and black suits with matching ties.

“Jacques!” Starlight Glimmer said, smiling nervously. “And is that Pierre?”

The two stallions remained silent as statues while they looked at the unicorn and her friends.

“L-long time n-no see,” she stammered. “And, uh...speaking of no see, how about you forget you saw me or my friends? Huh? For old times’ sakes?” She gulped nervously.

Just then, the car door behind them burst open, revealing two unicorn stallions wearing the same uniforms, only they weren't wearing sunglasses, revealing their angry expressions. They both aim their horns at the group, using their magic to capture them all in a magic beam.

“That's a no.” Discord said before they were all pulled out of the limo.



A while later, they all found themselves sitting in a car on its way to this ‘Mr. Big Daddy’. Beside them were Jacques and Pierre, along with some other thugs, to keep them from escaping. Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Discord each had an anti-magic collar on so they couldn’t use their magic.

“Who knew these fellas came prepared.” Applejack commented to her friends.

As opera music played through the car speakers, everypony was silent. Pinkie Pie looked up at two thugs sitting next to her and smiled. They just looked at her with blank expressions. Her smile disappeared and she looked away.

Spike, Fluttershy, and the CMC noticed Jacques (or was it Pierre? They both looked alike.) pull out a phone and began looking at some photos until he pulled up one with him and another stallion thug with a skinny pegasus. One of the thug stallions had his arm around the pegasus in a friendly hug, only the pegasus seemed to be squeezed. He chuckled as he continued looking at it

Spike then turned to Starlight, who looked extremely nervous. “So, uh…” He whispered. “What exactly did you do to make Mr. Big Daddy so mad at you?”

Starlight gulped. “I...uh...may or may not have sold him a very expensive wool rug that was made from the fur of a rare and exotic beast’s...butt.”

Fluttershy gasped while Rarity’s jaw dropped. She knew all about rugs. “Oh, sweet Celestia.” She muttered nervously in surprise.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Twilight said with a frown.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and the CMC were snickering to themselves.

Sometime later, the car began to slow down. They saw that they had arrived at the home of Mr. Big Daddy.



Once inside, the gang was led into a room. The lights turned on, and they saw that they were in an office. As they looked around, they saw that the office was lavishly decorated. There were scented candles, fancy drapes, shelves filled important items, and pictures of different ponies.

Rarity looked around and said, “For a mobster, this Mr. Big Daddy certainly has good taste. I must get his decorator.”

Starlight Glimmer, however, shook with fear. She recalled being here and she desperately didn't want to be here now. Of all the cars in Equestria, why did it have belong to Mr. Big Daddy? Why?!

Just then, a door opened. In came a large unicorn with green sideburns that matched his mane. Right behind him were four stallions who wore the same black suits. Some had the same sunglasses, but with different mustaches.

“Is that Mr. Big Daddy?” Apple Bloom whispered, referring to the unicorn.

“No.” Starlight squeaked.

In came an pegasus that was bigger than the unicorn. He had a mustache. Behind him came three more stallion thugs.

“What about him? Is that him?” Sweetie Belle whispered.

“No.”  Starlight gulped.

Finally, in came an even large earth pony that would make Bulk Biceps seem like a toddler. He had a beard on his chin and an angry expression. Behind him were two ponies that resembled the same ones that had brought them here.

As they walked into the room, Scootaloo frowned as she looked at the large earth pony. “Okay, that's gotta be him.” she stated in a whisper.

“Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking!” Starlight whispered as the three ponies approached the desk.

The big earth pony stood behind the desk. For a moment, he stood there before stepping aside. The two ponies behind him stepped forward.

There, sitting in the chair behind the desk, was the shortest unicorn Twilight and her friends had ever seen.

He was practically the same size as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The unicorn had a white coat, a bushy brown mustache that matched his mane and eyebrows, and wore small spectacles over his eyes, which were closed. He wore a black tuxedo and a red beret. In his mouth, he had a cigar holder with a cigar in it and for his cutie mark, it was a cigar.

On his lap, he was stroking a cat. The cat had orange fur and yellow-orange stripes on its back. The hair on its head was neatly combed. Around its neck, it wore a fancy collar that was blue and had rubies on it. Like the unicorn, the cat’s eyes were closed as well. It looked like it was asleep or just resting.

Twilight and the others stood there for a while, silently. Discord raised an eyebrow. He imagined Mr. Big Daddy looking a little more...intimidating. Starlight Glimmer was practically shaking with fear. Even though Mr. Big Daddy was smaller than her, Twilight had a feeling that Mr. Big Daddy was a force to be reckoned with.

Finally, Pinkie Pie broke the silence.

“That’s Mr. Big Daddy?!” She said in surprise, pointing at the short little unicorn while Starlight looked horrified.

“Shhhhh!!!” Starlight Glimmer hushed nervously.

“Wow! You really had me frightened there for a minute, Starlight! I thought that Mr. Big Daddy was going to be a huge, mean, and scary thug with a scar across his eye. Now that you see him, he’s an old little unicorn!”

“Pinkie, be quiet!” Starlight tried to hush up her friend, but Pinkie was on a roll.

“Awww, look at him, guys,” Pinkie Pie walked up to Mr. Big Daddy’s desk, acting all cute with Mr. Big Daddy, who still remained silent. “Look at him in his cute little chair and his cute little outfit and his cute little hat!” She turned to her friends, smiling. “How many small ponies do you know that wear small outfits like that, honestly?”

“Pinkie Pie, no! Stop!” Starlight tried to tell her, but Pinkie wasn’t paying attention.

“Awww, look at him sitting in his little chair. He’s so cute, and small, and-!”

Before Pinkie Pie could finish her sentence, a pony thug grabbed her by her poofy mane and lifted her up to his face. Even though his sunglasses hid his eyes, Pinkie Pie had a feeling that it said, ‘Keep talking. I dare you.’

Pinkie Pie got the message and gulped nervously. “Uhhhhh...did I say cute and small? I meant...uh...very handsome and, uh...larger than life!” She gave a nervous smile with a squeak.

The thug remained silent before he finally let go of her mane and let her fall to the floor. “Whoa!” She landed with a thud.

“Hey, look!” Sweetie Belle said. “He’s got a cat!”

“Well, I guess that explains all the cat hair we found,” Apple Bloom said.

The three fillies walked over to the desk and reached out to pet the orange tabby. Suddenly, the cat sprang to life. Its eyes opened as the Cutie Mark Crusaders got close. The cat hissed angrily at them and gave a vicious swipe. They all gave a yelp before they rushed away and hid behind Fluttershy, who was equally startled by the cat.

The CMC poked their heads out. “Kinda reminds you of Opal, doesn’t it?” Scootaloo said nervously. The cat went back to its original position and closed its eyes.

Finally, Starlight Glimmer spoke up. “Mr. Big Daddy, sir, this is all just a simple-.”

Mr. Big Daddy gave a small sigh and lowered his head. On his horn was a diamond ring.

Starlight knew what it meant. “Oh! Yes! Sorry.” She said nervously as she rushed to the desk. She leaned and kissed the ring on the small unicorn’s horn before stepping back as she continued. “This is all just a simple misunderstanding. I-!”

Mr. Big Daddy waved a hoof for her to be silent and finally spoke up. “Starlight Glimmer.” He said with a puff of smoke. His voice was small and scratchy. Yet, Twilight and the others felt a sense of authority coming from it. “You dare show your face to me? You come here unannounced, on zee day zat my daughter is to betrothed?”

“Actually, we were brought here against our wills.” Spike said. Twilight elbowed him to be quiet, not wanting to get them into anymore trouble.

“Th-the point is, we didn’t know it was your car, and we certainly didn’t know about your daughter’s wedding.” Starlight gave a nervous smile.

Mr. Big Daddy ignored her and sighed sadly. “I trusted you, Starlight Glimmer. I welcomed you into my home. We broke bread, poured zee champagne together. Grand-mama made you her famous ratatouille.”

Mr. Big Daddy gestured to a picture over the fireplace. It showed a white old mare with glasses. She also a white cat on her lap.

“And how did you repay my generosity? With a rug. A rug zat was made from zee butt of a rare and exotic beast. A beast-butt rug.”

Rainbow Dash snickered a little bit, but stopped when two thugs began to glare at her. She gulped nervously.

Pinkie Pie, however, couldn’t hold it in.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“Pinkie! Stop!” Starlight said, trying to get the pink earth pony quiet.

“I can’t stop! I’m gonna throw up Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Mr. Big Daddy just looked at her. “You think there’s something funny about a beast-butt rug?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said, still laughing. “I mean, come on! It’s a rug made from the butt of a rare and exotic beast! It’s hilarious! Ha, ha, ha, ha,-!”

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped laughing and found herself being lifted up again by another pony thug without glasses. He growled angrily. She looked at the thug and then nervously gulped. “I-I mean, there’s nothing funny about a beast-butt rug! Nothing funny at all!” She gave a nervous smile to Mr. Big Daddy.

The small unicorn's expression didn't change, but he said, “You are correct. There's absolutely nothing funny about a beast-butt rug.”

The pony thug released Pinkie Pie, causing her to fall to the floor again. “Waa!” She landed on the floor again with a thud.

Turning to Starlight Glimmer again, Mr. Big Daddy said, “You disrespected me. You disrespected my grand-mama, who I buried in zat beast-butt rug.”

The big earth pony thug bowed his head in respect, trying his best not to cry. The unicorn next to him cried and hugged the pegasus thug, who patted him on the shoulder for support.

“I told you to never to show your face around here again. Yet, here you are, snooping around with this bunch, to which your pink-haired friend ate some of my newly imported chocolate bon-bons.” He was obviously referring to Pinkie Pie, who gave a nervous smile, before he continued. “Not only zat, also this uh…”

He looked at Twilight and raised an eyebrow. “What are you, a performer from a freak show? What’s with zee wings?” He asked, looking at her wings.

Twilight looked at him in surprise. Had this pony never seen an alicorn before? She began to answer. “Sir, I am a-!”

“Mime!” Starlight Glimmer shouted, interrupting Twilight. “She is a mime!”

Her friends looked at her in confusion as she made a gesture with her head. What was she doing? Discord then realized what the unicorn was trying to do. She was trying to get them to play along so they could get out of this situation.

“Uh, yes! Yes, she’s a mime! In fact, they’re all mimes!” He said, playing along with Starlight’s idea, while turning to the others. “These mimes can’t speak! You can’t speak if you’re a mime!” He gave a nervous smile, hoping the small unicorn would believe them.

“I’m not a mime!” Pinkie Pie said, raising an eyebrow. “If I was, I’d be doing this.”

She did a demonstration be pretending that she was trapped in an invisible box while accordion music was playing. The others turned their heads and looked at one of the henchponies, who was playing an accordion until he stopped.

Turning her attention to Mr. Big Daddy, Twilight said, “Actually, I’m Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship!” Discord groaned in frustration while Starlight Glimmer watched with concern as Twilight continued. It wasn’t exactly the wisest choice to go around telling everypony that you’re a princess, especially if that somepony is a well-known crime lord.

“My friends and I are on the Nelson Otterus case and our evidence puts him in your car!” She gestured a hoof at Fluttershy, wanting to her to come up. Fluttershy walked up to the desk with a scared look on her face as she showed the unicorn the picture of the Otterus family, not wanting to invoke the wrath of the small unicorn and his cranky pet feline.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said furiously, placing a hoof on the desk while Mr. Big Daddy’s cat hissed slowly at her. “So intimidate us all you want, bub, ‘cause we’re gonna find out what you did to that otter draconequus if it’s the last thing we do!”

Mr. Big Daddy’s face remain unaltered. Starlight Glimmer watched with a horrified look on her face while Discord just placed his paw on his face in annoyance. They both had a feeling that a kidnapping and a ransom was already in order.

But Mr. Big Daddy didn’t say anything. He then sighed and said, “In zat case, I have only one request.”

Rainbow Dash raised a curious eyebrow. “Really?” she asked, looking at the small unicorn. “What’s that?”

For a moment, Mr. Big Daddy was silent. Then, giving an evil smile, he said, “Say hello to Grand-mama for me.” Turning to his henchponies, he ordered, “Ice zem!”

Just then, a earth pony thug grabbed Rainbow Dash. “Wha?! Hey! Get your hooves off me! Let me go!” She yelled, trying to break free.

Starlight Glimmer went white with horror. “No! Not that! Please! Anything but that! I’m begging you!”

“Too late.” Mr. Big Daddy said.

Twilight got grabbed by an earth pony thug. She turned to Mr. Big Daddy. “Wait a minute! Wait a minute!! Let’s discuss this like reasonable ponies!!”

The unicorn simply stroked his cat and said, “Did I mention zat I’m a reasonable pony?”

Discord got grabbed by two pony thugs. “Hey! Take it easy!”

Pinkie Pie got scared as a pony thug with sunglasses and a beard walked up to her. She clucked like a chicken and began to run. At first, it looked like she was running. But when she turned her head, she saw that she was only running in place and the pony thug was holding her tail. She clucked again and just continued running in place as she yelled, “Faster, guys! They’re gaining on us!”

As a pegasus thug with sideburns grabbed Fluttershy, the shy pegasus gave a terrified squeak as she was picked up.

Just as a unicorn thug with a mustache was about to grab Rarity, the unicorn said “Wait!”

She rushed up to Mr. Big Daddy’s desk, hoping to use a one-last resort to get them out of this. “You wouldn’t ice a beautiful face like this now, would you?”

She looked at the small crime lord and batted her eyelashes, hoping that her good looks and charms would convince him.

Mr. Big Daddy sighed, as if he really was sorry. “I’m sorry, ma petite fleur,” he said. “You are indeed zee loveliest of unicorns I have ever seen. But alas, I cannot leave any witnesses.” He waved his hoof.

“Noooooo!!!!” She wailed as the unicorn thug grabbed her. “Please! Ice is bad for my complexion!!” She desperately held onto the desk until the unicorn thug finally tugged her off of it.

“You can’t ice my sister and her friends! They’re just fillies!” Applejack explained as an earth pony thug grabbed her and picked her up while another pony thug had Spike and the CMC. “Let me go, ya hoodlum!”

“They’re young, cherie. They’ll heal.” Mr. Big Daddy said.

“Wait! We didn’t see any of this! We won’t say anything!” Starlight Glimmer said just as a pegasus thug picked her up.

“And you never will.” replied Mr. Big Daddy.

“No, no, no!” Starlight begged as one of the pony thugs pulled out a rug that was in front of Mr. Big Daddy’s desk, revealing a trapdoor. He opened the trapdoor and inside it was a freezing pit with ice and water.

Starlight Glimmer pleaded, “If you’re mad at me about the rug, I got more rugs!”

They all screamed as they were about to be lowered into the pit.

Just then, the door opened and in came a familiar small unicorn. She was Fifi, the daughter of Mr. Big Daddy. She was the same size as him and was wearing a wedding dress.

“Oh, daddy!” she said as she approached the desk. “It’s time for our dance.”

Then she turned her head and saw the ponies, Spike, and Discord looking at her. Even the thugs were looking at her as well.

There was an awkward pause.

She scoffed and turned to her dad with an annoyed look on her face, saying, “Oh! What did we say? Noicing anypony at my wedding!”

“I have to, babycakes. Daddy has to.” Mr. Big Daddy said with a shrug before turning back to his henchponies. “Ice zem.”

As the pony thugs lowered them down even further into the pit, they all resumed screaming.

Just then, Fifi took one good look at Fluttershy. “Wait. WAIT!” She shouted. The thugs stopped what they were doing before she pointed a hoof at Fluttershy. “I know her. She’s the pegasus who saved my life yesterday! From that giant doughnut.”

Mr. Big Daddy raised an eyebrow while his cat opened its eyes in surprise. “Zis pegasus?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Fifi said before turning back at Fluttershy and waving. “Hi.”

“Oh...hi.” Fluttershy said with a sheepish smile, not knowing what else to say. She was surprised that the pony she had saved was in fact the daughter of a ruthless crime lord.

Rarity noticed her dress and said, “Oohhhhhh! I love your dress.”

“Aw, thank you,” Fifi said, blushing.

Mr. Big Daddy was quiet for a moment as he stroked his mustache. “Hmm…put zem down.”

The thug closed the trapdoor while the other thugs put the gang down. The thug, who had Spike and the CMC, muttered as he put them down. “Aw. I never get to have any fun.”

As for Fluttershy, one of the thugs pulled up a chair in front of the desk while the thug, who had her, placed her on it. She yelped in surprise as she landed on the chair before turning to Mr. Big Daddy. His face still had no emotion in it.

“So, you are zee one who saved my young flower from being squashed by a giant pastry, yes?” Mr. Big Daddy asked.

Fluttershy meekly said, “Um...yes sir.” She was scared of what Mr. Big Daddy might do to her, since he seemed pretty unpredictable.

“Child, you have done me a great service. I will help you find zee otter draconequus.” Mr. Big Daddy said. “I will take your kindness...and pay it in full.”

He smiled as he gestured Fluttershy to come closer. When she did, he kissed her on both cheeks and she blushed. His cat rubbed itself against her and purred while she pet it.

Her friends all watched in surprise as it happened. Discord and Starlight Glimmer's jaws both dropped as they watched in surprise and disbelief.

Spike was absolutely terrified from this experience before he sighed in relief and fainted. “Ahhhhh.” The CMC watched as he fell to the floor with a thud.



A while later, they were all at the wedding party for Fifi and her husband. The thugs had already taken the anti-magic collars off of Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, Discord, and Sweetie Belle.

There was dancing and feasting while accordion music was being played.

At a table, waiters began to bring food. Pinkie Pie was eating cake after cake. There was a whole line of waiters ready to bring her a new slice of cake.

Rarity was being served tea and biscuits. She was enjoying this.

Spike stopped eating for a moment when he saw a diamond right by Mr. Big Daddy's cat, who was now sitting on a pillow. It had been playing with it earlier as a toy. Feeling hungry, Spike began to reach over for the diamond. The cat, however, was not totally asleep. It hissed angrily at Spike before it swiped at him. The baby dragon backed away nervously. Maybe this diamond wasn't worth it after all.

Twilight and Fluttershy were sitting next to Mr. Big Daddy as he was telling them about Nelson Otterus.

“Otterus is my florist. He’s like a part of zee family.” He said. “He said zat he had something important to discuss about. Zat's why I sent zee car to pick him up. But he never arrived.”

“Yes,” Twilight said with a grim look on her face. “Because he was attacked.”

“No, princess. He attacked.”

The alicorn and her friends looked at him with disbelief on their faces when he said that. Even Pinkie Pie heard what he said while her face was covered in frosting.

Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “What?”

“You mean to tell us that Otterus was the one who attacked?” Applejack said.

“Oui,” the small unicorn said, his voice becoming more serious. “He went crazy, ripped up zee car, scared my driver half to death, and disappeared into zee night.”

Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was hearing. “But...he’s a sweet little otter draconequus.”

Mr. Big Daddy sighed and said, “My child, we may be civilized, but deep down, we still have our ancient, primitive animal instincts.”

The ponies, baby dragon, and draconequus all looked at each other in concern and confusion. There was something else going on with this case.

“You want to find Otterus...talk to zee driver of zee car.” Mr. Big Daddy said. “His name is Juan Rico. He lives in zee upper part of Manehattan. Only he can tell you more.”
> Ch.8-Juan Rico Attacks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.8-Juan Rico Attacks


Later on, the gang were walking to the upper part of Manehattan, looking for the home of Juan Rico, the last witness to have seen Otterus before his disappearance.

“Well, it’s a good thing Mr. Big Daddy forgave you for what happened, Starlight.” Spike said.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash. “Once you get to know him, he’s not that really bad.”

“Yeah! And his mustache is pretty cool too!” Pinkie added.

Fluttershy nodded. “He and Fifi are both really nice.”

“And did you see Fifi’s wedding dress? It was absolutely gorgeous! For someone who’s the daughter of a crime lord, she has an absolute sense of fashion.” Rarity said with glee.

“So, what do ya suppose this Juan Rico fella looks like?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Well, Mr. Big Daddy did mention that he is a draconequus.” Twilight said, reminding what Mr. Big Daddy told them earlier.

“I just hope he can tell us what happened to Nelson Otterus.” Fluttershy said with concern. “I’m starting to worry about where he could be right about now.”

Discord turned to his friend and smiled. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. We’ll find Otterus once this Juan Rico fella tells us everything he knows. Besides, if anyone suspicious tries to do any harm, I’ll take care of them!”

As they turned the corner, they heard a familiar voice. “ Gotcha!”

“Yipes!!!” Spike yelped in surprise.

In front of them were two familiar ponies: Inspector Fantastic and Number Two! Inspector Fantastic was holding a magnifying glass while looking at a rat that, holding what seemed to be part of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Number Two was holding a notepad with notes while carrying other items as evidence.

Inspector Fantastic looked at the rat with an angry stare. “Alright, where were yer on the day before yesterday, lad?”

The rat just squeaked and continued nibbling at its piece of peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“Don’t yer play games wif me, yer bugger! Lives is at stake, they is!”

“Um... Inspector Fantastic, what are you doing?” Starlight Glimmer asked.

The pony cop looked up and smiled at Twilight and her friends. “Oh, ‘ello, girls. We was just continuing the search for the missing draconequuses!”

“Have you found anything yet?” asked Fluttershy

“Yes!” Inspector Fantastic said with a smile.

Then Number Two spoke up. “Um...we haven’t actually sir.”

“Oh. Right.”

Then he pulled something out of his duffle coat and pulled out a popsicle stick. “But we is doing our best. This popsicle stick looks pretty suspicious ter me.” He put the popsicle stick back in his pocket and pulled out an acorn. “And so does this acorn!”

After putting the acorn back in his pocket, he said, “And after I’s done talking wif this rat, I ‘as a few questions with this cockroach.”

He pulled out a jar with holes on the lid. Inside was a cockroach who looked upset and chattered something unintelligible. Fluttershy had a feeling it wasn’t something very polite.

After putting the jar away, he turned to the others. “I ‘ope you girls ‘ave ‘ad more success then we ‘as.”

Twilight spoke up. “We have. We’re now on our way to see a draconequus named Juan Rico. He was the last one to have seen Nelson Otterus.”

“Look, sir! Over there!” Number Two pointed at a firefly that was fluttering nearby.

“Cor!” said the inspector. “Oi, yer there! Yer’s a witness of a crime scene!”

The firefly simply started to buzz away.

“Don’t make me come over there! Lumme, they never sits still!”

Turning to Twilight, he gave her a radio. “In case there’s trouble, use this ter call us!”

Inspector Fantastic then turned back to the firefly. “After ‘im, Number Two! The chase is on!”

Inspector Fantastic chased after the firefly, waving his umbrella while Number Two followed behind while carrying a jar.

It was silent for a moment before Discord spoke up. “Um...who might those two be, exactly?”

“That’s Inspector Fantastic and his sidekick, Number Two.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Those two work for the Manehattan police.” Scootaloo said.

“Indeed,” Discord said as he watched Inspector Fantastic and Number Two continued their chase. Inspector Fantastic stumbled over for a moment before getting back up. Discord wondered how this pony had become to be known as Inspector Fantastic.

Rainbow Dash shook her head in annoyance as they watch the chase continue. “It’s amazing how he even joined the force.” The firefly now began to chase Number Two and Inspector Fantastic.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy said with a frown.

“Never mind them,” Twilight said. “We have a case to solve.”

As Twilight produced a map, Fluttershy, Spike, and the CMC watched as Inspector Fantastic began to duel with the firefly, using his umbrella as a dueling sword while Number Two followed behind.

When she was done looking, the alicorn smiled. “It should be right about this way!”

Her friends followed her while Inspector Fantastic and Number Two began to gallop away in terror from a gigantic swarm of fireflies, taking the shape of a shark with its mouth open. One firefly trailed behind.



Sometime later, they arrived at a house. It was the home of Juan Rico. Twilight rang the doorbell and it rang.

When it was done ringing, she said, “Mr. Juan Rico? This is Princess Twilight Sparkle. We’re here to ask you some questions.”

Spike and the CMC then noticed something on the ground before Spike picked it up. They saw that it was a mouse toy.

“A mouse toy?” Spike said.

Taking a good look at it, Sweetie Belle said, “This guy must be part cat.”

“He’s part cat, you say?” Discord said, getting an idea. He turned his attention to the door. “Buddy, I got a can of tuna out here. Open the door and we’ll talk it out.”

Rarity huffed and said, “Not every cat likes tuna. Even Opal has standards.”

“Oh, right,” Discord replied before turning back to the door. “Buddy, I got a ball of yarn out here-. OW!”

Applejack stomped her hoof on Discord’s tail. He picked up his tail and rubbed it with a frown. “What?” he said innocently.

Twilight rolled her eyes before speaking up again. “Just ignore our friend. You’re not in trouble, sir. We just want to know what happened to Nelson Otterus.”

It was silent for awhile. Finally, the door opened, but stopped halfway. They could see that the door had a chain on it.

“You should be asking...what happened to me,” they heard a voice say.

Peering through the crack of the door was the face of a black jaguar with yellow eyes.  They also saw that he had the body of a crocodile and the tail of a tasmanian devil. His right arm was a leopard while the left arm was a crocodile. For his right leg and left leg, they were a komodo dragon lizard and an ocelot while his right wing and left wing both belonged to a hawk and a crow. That could only mean one thing. This was Juan Rico and he was a jaguar draconequus.

He peered out of the crack even further and revealed his entire face to them. They saw that he had a black eye on his right eye and scars were on top of it.

They all gasped when they saw the horrible display.

“Ouch.” Spike said, not liking what he just saw.

“Whoa...a teensy otter draconequus did that?” Discord asked in surprise.

Fluttershy looked in complete shock. “ Oh, you poor, poor thing.” She said, taking pity on the poor draconequus.

“What happened?” Starlight asked in horror.

“He was an animal...” Juan Rico said, explaining what had happened.



It was nighttime as Juan Rico was driving the limo to Mr. Big Daddy’s mansion. He then heard some noises from the back. He turned the rear view mirror and saw Otterus tearing up parts of the backseat while snarling.

“Down on all fours…” Juan Rico’s voice said in the background.

Curious what was going on back there, the jaguar draconequus turned his head to take a look. But for some strange reason, Otterus wasn’t there. Then, as he looked closer…

“He was a savage!”

Suddenly, Otterus lunged at him, his mouth wide open and teeth bared, snarling like crazy. 

Outside the limo, Juan Rico was heard screaming as he barely dodged another car before forcing the car to stop off the side of the road. He quickly jumped out of the car and landed on the ground, placing a hand on his right eye that was badly bruised while he looked absolutely terrified as he listened to the otter draconequus continue to snarl. Then Otterus climbed to the top of the car and looked at Juan Rico with a snarl before he scurried off into the night.



Juan Rico’s face was stricken with terror, as if he was reliving the whole thing all over again.

“There was no warning.” He said as they listened. “He just kept yelling about ‘the night howlers’. Over and over! The night howlers!!”

The ponies just stood there silently. Pinkie Pie gave a nervous gulp that broke the silence.

“Super, super scary.” She whispered to Applejack.

“Night howlers?” Apple Bloom asked.

“This case is getting stranger by the minute.” Scootaloo whispered to her friends.

“So, uh...you know about the night howlers, do you?” Discord said before he continued. “Good. Good. The night howlers are what we came here to talk about.”

Spike and the ponies looked at him with confusion. But then they got the idea.

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash said, playing along. “Been talking about it the whole time.”

Pinkie Pie, however, didn’t catch onto the plan. “Huh? What are you guys talking abo-?”

Rainbow Dash nudged her friend and gestured her to play along.

Realizing what her friends were doing, she gasped. “Oh yeah! Yeah! That’s what we came here to talk about. Yesyesyesyesyes! We can’t even stop talking about it. Night howlers this, night howlers that. Night howlers, night howlers, night howl-!”

Rainbow Dash finally covered Pinkie Pie’s mouth.

Twilight turned back to the jaguar draconequus and said, “So, you just open the door and tell us what you know and we’ll tell you what we know. Okay?”

Juan Rico looked unsure, both eyes trembling.

Fluttershy walked up to the door. “Please?” she said. “If you help us, perhaps we can help you.” She looked at him with an honest smile.

Juan Rico’s face still remained the same, only he seemed to have slightly calmed down. It was probably due to how Fluttershy spoke to him in her kind and soft voice.

“All right. Okay.” he sighed before closing the door. They listened as he began to unlock the door.

“Nice choice of words.” Discord said to Fluttershy, the pegasus blushing to what the draconequus told her.

Just when the door was unlocked, a crashing noise from inside was heard, followed by a scream from Juan Rico.

“That can’t be a good sound.” Spike said nervously.

Curious, Twilight approached the door and used her magic to open it. “Mr. Juan Rico?” she said, slowly poking her head inside.

On the floor, Juan Rico was thrashing about as if something was wrong with him. Twilight’s friends all looked inside and watched in concern.

“Buddy? Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked as she nervously raised an eyebrow in concern.

Suddenly, Juan Rico stopped panting and turned his head towards them. His eyes looked huge and yellow with anger, like a wild animal. He began growling as he started to prowl towards them.

Twilight realized that something was really wrong. She quickly turned to her friends. “Run. Run!”

Immediately, they began running from the house. Juan Rico ran out through the door as he began snarling while chasing them.

As the jaguar draconequus continued to chase them, Applejack turned her head to Twilight as they continued running. “What in the hay is wrong with him?!”

“I don’t know!”

Rainbow Dash flew next to Discord after dodging a vicious swipe from Juan Rico. “Discord! You’re a draconequus! Couldn’t you ask him why he’s trying to kill us?!”

“What do I look like? A multi-therapist?” Discord snapped with an annoyed look. He then turned his head while running as he looked at the savage jaguar draconequus, who was still chasing them. “Hey buddy, uh...why are you trying to kill us?” Juan Rico just snarled at him. Discord turned his back to the others with a scared look. “I don’t think he’s in the mood for talking!”

“N-now, let’s not jump to conclusions,” Fluttershy said nervously as she flew fast. “We don’t even know that he’s trying to kill us.”

Juan Rico snarled as he snapped at her tail. Fluttershy squeaked in fear. “He’s trying to kill us!”

“Ooh! Maybe I can distract him!” Pinkie Pie suggested. “Do you think he likes card tricks?”

Juan Rico snarled at them again, the pink earth pony looking absolutely scared.

“I don’t think he’s up for entertainment, Pinkie.” Rarity said with a worried look on her face, stating that Juan Rico didn’t seemed interested right about now.

Sweetie Belle looked back as the jaguar draconequus was gaining on them. “Why isn’t he using his magic to capture us, Twilight?”

“I think he’s gone savage!” Twilight said.

“What?” Rainbow Dash said. “What the hay are you talking about?”

“Remember what I said back in Ponyville? Draconequuses didn’t know how to use magic back then. They only relied on their hunting instincts long ago to-!”

Spike interrupted her as he had a worried look on his face. “Hey, can we discuss this some other time?!”

Nearby, the Thief was walking through the streets, looking for more things to steal.

“Ay-ay-ay.” He thought to himself. “I haven’t had any luck so far today. I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

Just then, he heard several voices screaming. He watched as several ponies, a baby dragon, and a draconequus came running past. They looked scared beyond belief.

“Run away! RUN AWAY!!” The pink pony squealed in terror.

The Thief watched as they ran for their lives. “Hey, what’s all the commotion?”

Just then, he heard a snarling noise and turned around to see a ferocious jaguar draconequus heading straight for him.

“WHOA!”

The Thief immediately remembered his hooves and began galloping after the others.

Soon, the Thief was running right behind the others with Juan Rico in hot pursuit. None of them seemed to notice that the Thief running behind them. As he ran, his tongue lolled out like a dog as he gasped for air. “This is not what I had in mind when I wanted to have an exercise!”

Juan Rico snapped angrily at the Thief, who dodged swipe after swipe. “Nice kitty! Nice kitty! Heel, sit, stay, roll over, play dead-! No wait, that’s for dogs.”

Suddenly, the Thief slipped on a banana peel and went sliding down a narrow street. “Oops!”

He landed in some young colt’s toy wagon and sped down the street even faster. Finally, he landed in a dumpster with a large metallic thud.

THUD!!!

“Ow.”

Back with the others, the chase continued until they reached the park. They dived into a hollow log, that had been put there for young fillies and colts to play in, while Juan Rico jumped on top of it.

Inside, everyone struggled as Juan Rico shook the log back and forth, trying to grab them.

“Heads down!” Applejack said after dodging a swipe from Juan Rico.

Twilight quickly pulled out the police radio Inspector Fantastic gave her earlier.

“Inspector Fantastic!” she called into it. “Where are you?!”



Elsewhere, Inspector Fantastic and Number Two had stopped running. They both stood there as they gasped for air.

“It’s not use,” Number Two said sadly. “He got away.”

“Blast it!” Inspector Fantastic said. “I told ‘em that fireflies is tricky little blighters.”

“What do we do now, sir?”

“Well, let’s ‘ave a breather and then continue the search.”

They then sat down on the edge of the sidewalk. Inspector Fantastic then switched his detective hat with a black bowler hat. Whenever he wasn’t doing police or detective work, he like to switch hats.

As they both looked at their phones, Inspector Fantastic chuckled.

Number Two heard him chuckle. “What’s so funny, sir?”

“Oh.” Turning to his sidekick, Inspector Fantastic said, “Are yer familiar wif Singing Diva, Number Two?”

“You mean one of Equestria’s greatest singers? Angel with voice that sounds like it was blessed by greater angels? Yes, of course. I’m a huge fan.”

“I is too.” Inspector Fantastic said before showing him his phone, not noticing a red light blinking from his radio. The screen showed Singing Diva dancing with one of her dancers. “ ‘Ere, take a good look at ‘oo’s dancing wif ‘er.”

The dancer, who was dancing with Singing Diva, had Inspector Fantastic’s face on it that was smiling. “Wow. You are one hot dancer,” Singing Diva’s voice started, finishing with a robotic-like voice, “Inspector Fantastic.”

Inspector Fantastic laughed his head off and still didn’t notice that his radio was going off. “It’s me! Ha, ha, ha!”

Number Two didn’t exactly know what to think.

“Did you fink it wos real? It looks real ter me. Well, it ain’t. It’s just a new app I got. Yer should try it.” Then, he looked in his duffle coat and saw that his radio was going off. “ ‘Old this fer me, Number Two.”

He handed his phone to Number Two, who looked at the app with a bit of interest. Inspector Fantastic picked up the radio and spoke into it. “This is Inspector Fantastic speaking.”

“INSPECTOR!!”

Twilight’s voice from the radio startled Inspector Fantastic and he almost dropped the radio in the process. Number Two almost dropped the phones as well, but they managed to catch them all.



Back inside the log, they were still moving inside while dodging Juan Rico as his paws broke into the log.

“Inspector, listen to me!” Twilight said as she dodged another swipe from Juan Rico. “We have a major situation!”

“I’m too young and beautiful to die!” Rarity wailed.

“Where’s the grassland?! I wanna visit the grasslands!” Pinkie Pie screamed as one of Juan Rico’s hands came close to her.



The two officers looked in concern as they heard the racket from the other end of the radio.

“There’s a jaguar draconequus that’s gone savage!” Twilight said through the radio.



“In the upper part of Manehattan!” Twilight finished as they reached the end of the log. Juan Rico took another swipe at Twilight, causing her to drop the radio.

While they continued running from Juan Rico, Twilight’s radio fell to the ground with Inspector's Fantastic’s voice coming from it. “Okay, we’ll get ‘elp! Just stay right where yer are, princess! Princess? Princess?!”

After they ran past a construction site, Twilight spotted a staircase that led up to a train station. “There!” she said. “Head for the train station!”

They ran up the stairs until they reached the top, hoping to get aboard a train so they could escape Juan Rico. Juan Rico lunged at Spike and the CMC, who managed to get out of the way. But they slipped to the side of the bridge. Luckily, Spike grabbed onto the edge and held on for dear life. Apple Bloom quickly grabbed Spike’s tail while Sweetie Belle grabbed her friend’s tail and Scootaloo did the same with Sweetie Belle’s tail.

The Mane Six and Starlight saw that the baby dragon and fillies were in trouble and immediately rushed over to the side of the bridge.

Discord didn’t know what was going on when he got to the train station. “Quick! Come on!” He said, quickly turning his head.

He saw that they weren’t beside him and looked up with a worried look. “Guys?” he said. He saw them by the edge of the bridge, trying to pull Spike and the CMC up. “Guys!”

Starlight Glimmer lifted her head up while trying to pull the baby dragon and fillies to safety. “Go! Run!”

Juan Rico slowly moved towards Discord while growling, like a predator stalking his prey. Discord yelped in surprise. Even though he could use his magic to fight back, Discord was absolutely terrified. He had never seen a fellow draconequus act like this before. Giving a nervous chuckle, he looked at the jaguar draconequus and said, “Hey, buddy, one draconequus to another. If you’re upset about the tuna and ball of yarn, I can assure you that I meant no disrepec-.”

Juan Rico wasn’t listening. With a snarl, he ran towards Discord. Fluttershy looked up and gasped. She then gave an angry glare. “How dare you!”

She immediately flew in between the two draconequuses and gave Juan Rico the Stare while Starlight Glimmer watched the whole scene.

“How dare you!” Fluttershy shouted. Juan Rico immediately stopped when he saw the yellow pegasus glaring at him. His face was still savage and angry, but it looked like Fluttershy had managed to stop him.

“What is wrong with you?!” Fluttershy said angrily. “Attacking your own kind?!”

Discord watched the whole thing in surprise. He would never say this to anyone, but Fluttershy looked pretty cute when she was angry.

“We came all this way to ask you for help in an important case! We might have been able to help you as well! And what do you do? You go savage and chase us all over the place!”

Juan Rico’s lips started to curl, revealing all of his teeth. This yellow pegasus was starting to irritate him.

“Now,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t know where this attitude of yours is coming from, but I do know that it is not okay for you to take it out on the rest of us! So, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Juan Rico roared loudly at her. Fluttershy stared at him even harder. “Don’t you take that tone with me, mister! I-!”

Juan Rico finally out an even greater roar of pure anger. Fluttershy’s angry stare disappeared and she went back to her meek self.

Finally, the jaguar draconequus began prowling at her, snarling more than he was earlier.

“W-wait! I’m sorry!” Fluttershy stammered nervously. “I-I-I didn’t mean to make you upset! I w-was just trying to-!”

Juan Rico leapt at her and Discord. They both shielded themselves in terror.

Before he could attack them, Juan Rico stopped in mid-air and landed on the ground. Fluttershy and Discord both opened their eyes and saw why. Starlight Glimmer had found a nearby chain and used it to tie it around Juan Rico’s back ankle and chained it to a nearby lamp post.

As Juan Rico laid on the ground panting angrily, Discord carefully picked up Fluttershy and began to slowly walk away.

“Okay, now, we can tell that you’re a little tense.” Discord said nervously while Fluttershy nodded in agreement. She decided that maybe some creatures needed to cool down on their own. “So, we’re just gonna give you some…”

When Discord was saying that, Juan Rico got back up and tried to swipe at them. “...PERSONAL SPACE!”

“Eep!!” Fluttershy squeaked.

They narrowly dodged his attack. They then bumped into the others, who had just managed to get Spike and the CMC  to safety.

They all fell from the bridge before Twilight grabbed hold of a rope from the construction site. The others held on as well. As they swung, Juan Rico snarled angrily, trying to grab them. It was have been comical, if it wasn’t dangerous.

“Oh, geez! This day just keeps getting better and better!” Spike muttered nervously.

“Everypony, whatever you do, don't look down!” Fluttershy nervously warned her friends.

Pinkie Pie looked down and saw that they were a long way down from the ground. “Guys, I'm looking down! AHHHHH!!!”

“She said not to look down!” Rainbow Dash said in frustration.

Twilight looked around while Discord said nervously, “Twilight, whatever you do, do not let go!”

The alicorn spotted a nearby tree branch that was long enough for them to hold on to.

“Guys! I'm gonna let go!” She declared.

“What?!” Discord said in disbelief.

Rarity gasped. “She wouldn't!”

“One…,” Twilight counted.

“She would,” Applejack said nervously.

“Two…”

“No! No! Don't!” Her friends all shouted.

“Three!” Twilight let go of the rope and they all went swinging through the air until they all landed on the branch.

Safely on the branch, they looked up and saw Juan Rico, the jaguar draconequus still thrashing about while still chained to the lamp post.

“Never do that again!” Rarity said, with her hoof over her heart in surprise.

Discord looked at Fluttershy in astonishment. “Fluttershy,” he said. “You tried to save my life back there.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Of course. That's what friends d-.”

All of a sudden, they heard a cracking noise. They all saw the branch beginning to break underneath their weight.

“Oh, boy.” Spike said nervously.

Finally, the branch snapped and they all went tumbling down, screaming in terror.

Rainbow Dash could have taken this opportunity to fly and grab her friends. This isn't easy to do, however when your friend, Pinkie Pie, is grabbing on to you for dear life, which was exactly what she was doing.

Just as they were a few inches from the ground, something caught them. They opened their eyes. Pinkie Pie and Spike, however, were still screaming. Pinkie Pie noticed it and stopped while Spike continued screaming. After a while, Spike opened his eyes and his screaming slowly faded away.

They all saw what had saved them. A magical force field was around them.

Approaching them were the three princesses and Shining Armor. Princess Celestia had used her magic to save them.

They all smiled as Princess Celestia gently lowered them to the ground.

“Is everyone okay?” Shining Armor asked in concern.

“We're okay, thanks to Princess Celestia.” Twilight said.

“I'm just glad that you are all safe and sound.” Princess Cadance said, relieved that her sister-in-law and friends were safe and didn't have a scratch on them.

Then Princess Celestia spoke up. “Inspector Fantastic told us that you were in trouble and we came here quickly as we could.”

Right next to them were several police officers and royal guards. Among them were Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and Officer Gruff. Gruff’s face was stern and grim as usual.

“Well, this should be good.” He grunted.
> Ch.9-Discord's Past and Another Lead
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.9-Discord’s Past and Another Lead


A few minutes later, Twilight and her friends were leading the princesses, Shining Armor, police, and royal guards up the stairs, taking them to the train station where they had Juan Rico chained to the lamp post.

“We thought this was some missing case, but it’s way bigger than that.” Twilight said.

Fluttershy nodded before she spoke. “Mr. Otterus didn’t just vanish. We believe that he and this jaguar draconequus, Juan Rico, both went savage.”

“Savage?” Princess Luna said, with a raised eyebrow. “That’s impossible. Draconequuses haven’t gone savage in thousands of years; not since they discovered how to use chaos magic.”

“We thought so, too, until we saw this.” Twilight explained as they were getting closer to the train station.

“Wait until you see this!” Rainbow Dash said with a smile to Officer Gruff, his expression still the same. “Behold!” She gestured a hoof where they had chained Juan Rico.

Everypony just stared blankly. Finally Number Two spoke up. “Um...I don’t see anything.”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash said, confused. She turned around, and her smile was replaced with a shocked look. Her friends also looked surprised.

Juan Rico wasn’t there anymore! Even the chain that tied him to the lamp post was gone as well!

“What?! B-b-b-but he was right here!” Rainbow Dash said in disbelief as she flew around.

“He pulled a Hoofdini!” Pinkie Pie said in shock.

Twilight turned to Princess Celestia. “Please, princess! You have to believe us! He was real! He nearly killed us!”

Princess Celestia looked at her pupil with a calm smile. “We believe you.”

“Wait, you do?” Twilight said in surprise.

Shining Armor approached his sister. “You and your friends aren’t the only ones who have seen this happening.” He said.

“Say, what?” Apple Bloom said.

Officer Gruff spoke up with a sigh. “I was hoping that this wouldn’t go any further. You see, for some time now, witnesses have made reports about these same missing draconequuses. From their description, the draconequuses displayed dangerous behaviour. Just when it looks like we finally have them, they disappear without a trace.”

“Oh, blimey, yer right about that, gov.” Inspector Fantastic said. He was obviously frustrated. “Just when we’s got ‘em right where we wants ‘em, they’s gone wif a bang, they is! One minute, they’s there, and the next minute, they ain’t!”

Turning to what looked like Rainbow Dash’s mane up close, he continued. “They’s so close, I can almost taste it!”

And then he licked. It then revealed that Inspector Fantastic was actually licking a popsicle that was the same color as Rainbow Dash’s mane. Number Two and Pinkie Pie each had the same kind of popsicle. Pinkie Pie smiled as she licked hers loudly.

“Blimey, crime-fightin’ is ‘ard work, and these rainbow popsicles ‘it the spot! Right, Number Two?”

“They sure do, sir.” Number Two replied happily.

Officer Gruff rolled his eyes and continued. “As I was saying, they just keep disappearing. We think that somepony or something is abducting them.”

“So that’s why you told us to be careful.” Twilight said, remembering what he said before they took the case.

“Yes. At first, I thought you didn’t have what it takes, but it seems that maybe I was wrong.”

Finally, Princess Celestia spoke up. “I think the best way for you to find Mr. Otterus is to find a lead as to what happened to Juan Rico.”

Twilight and her friends smiled before they noticed a train stopping at the train station. Finally, Twilight spoke. “Thank you, princess.”

The princesses, Shining Armor, police, and royal guards watched as they boarded the train before it began to move again.

Inside the train, they all sat down and were all quiet as it continued moving. Then Starlight Glimmer spoke up. “Fluttershy, you were risking your own life to protect Discord from Juan Rico. Why did you do it?”

“Well, Discord is my friend. I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.” Fluttershy said. “I will admit, I was scared. But I was willing to stand up to protect my friend, despite how scared I was.”

“Never let them see that they get to you.” They all heard Discord say as he just sat there quietly. Fluttershy looked at him in surprise. That was the same thing he told her when he was disguised as a stallion.

The ponies and Spike were silent for a moment before Starlight finally spoke up. “So, things do get to you?”

“I mean, not anymore.” Discord said. “I was small and emotionally unbalanced like you once.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and snorted. “Yeah, right”

“No, I mean it. I was just a little draconequus cub. I heard many stories about Equestria and all I wanted to do was go to Equestria and meet the ponies who lived there.” Discord said as he told them what happened a thousand years ago.



A younger Discord was with his parents as they watched him perform his magic. When he was done, Queen Disarray gave her son a hug and he laughed in excitement while King Disconcert looked at him proudly.

“So, after months of practicing my magic, I was finally ready to go to Equestria, because, I was finally going to meet the creatures called ponies.” Discord’s voice said as he continued.

A while later, Discord appeared out of a portal and found himself in Equestria. As he looked around, he saw a bunch of young ponies gathering around a young colt. The colt was a unicorn with a green coat, brown eyes, a blond mane, and a wand for a cutie mark. The young draconequus watched as the colt performed magic for the other ponies and got excited. He then rushed up to them with a smile.

“Even though I was different from them, a draconequus, I was going to make new friends anyway.” Discord said.

A few seconds later, after introducing himself and saying that he wanted to be their friend, Discord followed the young ponies into a cellar, the young unicorn colt leading them. Discord was so happy! He was finally gonna become friends with the ponies!

“I was so excited.”

Just then, the lights went out before a bright light shined in front of Discord. He shielded his eyes for a moment, but then opened his eyes. The unicorn colt was using his magic to hold up a flashlight.

“Okay, raise your right paw and deliver the oath,” the colt said.

Discord smiled as he raised his paw. “I, Discord, son of King Disconcert and Queen Disarray, promise to be a good friend that is brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy.”

Once he finished talking, the unicorn colt looked at his friends before looking back at him with a frown. “Even though you’re a draconequus?” He said.

Discord looked confused when he said that. “What?”

Then the unicorn colt turned the flashlight off and used his magic to lift up Discord and send him flying into a wall. After he slammed against the wall, Discord groaned as he began to get up.

Suddenly, two of the young ponies, a pegasus and an earth pony, held him down as the draconequus cub looked horrified.

“No, no! What did I do wrong, you guys? No! Please, tell me what did I do wrong!” He begged as a pegasus colt handed the unicorn colt a muzzle. Then the unicorn colt strapped the muzzle onto Discord. “What did I do?”

 “If you thought we’d ever trust a draconequus without a muzzle, you’re even dumber than you look,” the unicorn colt said cruelly as the two ponies, that were holding down Discord, finally let go of him. Discord backed away in fear as they were laughing at him.

As the young ponies continued laughing, he ran out of the basement in complete shock.

“Run, monster child!” One of the ponies said as Discord continued running.

The draconequus cub kept running into the forest and hid behind some bushes.

While he sat there panting, he heard one of the ponies say, “Aw, is the freak gonna cry?”

Looking at the muzzle that was still strapped to his face, Discord struggled to get it off his face. When he finally succeeded in getting it off, Discord looked at the muzzle in fear and tossed it to the ground.

Finally, he broke into tears and cried as he sat down. His dream of becoming friends with ponies were crushed. These ponies only thought of him as a monster and a freak.



After Discord had finished telling them what had happened to him long ago, they looked in surprise. Now they knew why Discord took over Equestria long ago. He wanted to get back at the ponies who had mistreated him pretty badly when he just wanted to be their friend. Finally, Rainbow Dash finally spoke up.

“Those little twerps!” she said angrily. “If I was there, I would have given them a good whooping they’d never forget!”

“Rainbow Dash, that happened long before we were even born.” Rarity said.

“I know, but, ponies like that just...just... make me sick!”

Discord nodded, still thinking about the terrible memory. “I learned two things that day. One: I was never going to let them see that anything would ever get to me.”

“And two?” Fluttershy asked.

“If the world's only gonna see a draconequus as shifty and untrustworthy, and as a monster, there's no point in trying to be someone else.”

Fluttershy looked at the draconequus with concern. There was something else that she was feeling, but she couldn't quite figure it out what it was.

“Discord,” she said, gently placing a hoof on his paw. “You're more than that.”

Starlight Glimmer looked at this and she knew what her friend was feeling. Fluttershy was starting to fall in love. It's just like how she is feeling about Sunburst.

Discord looked at the pegasus before he looked at the window. Outside were a bunch of cars in traffic.

Trying to change the subject, Discord said, “Boy, look at the traffic out there. How about we go to Chuck on Traffic Central?”

Then he pretended to be a radio reporter. “Chuck, how are things going with the Jam Cams?”

“Discord, I'm glad you told us.” Fluttershy said while Discord realized something.

“The jam cams.” He said.

“No, really. It's okay!” Applejack said.

Pinkie Pie spoke. “Yeah! If somepony ever did that to me, I would-.”

“No, no, no. Shh-shush. There are traffic cameras all over the area.” Discord pointed out the window. Outside on the poles were traffic cameras. “Whatever happened to that jaguar draconequus…”

“The traffic cams would have caught it!” Twilight said, realizing what Discord meant. Her friends all looked at each other in excitement.

“Bingo!” Discord said, glad that Twilight was getting the picture.

“Way to figure it out, Discord!” Rainbow Dash said, giving the draconequus a friendly shoulder punch.

Then Discord gave a frown. “However, I do recall you mentioning that Officer Tightwad hasn't given you permission to have access to the system.”

Spike and the ponies frowned after he said that.

“Well, he has a point there.” Spike said.

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle added. “And we don’t know when we’ll get the chance.”

“You're right,” Twilight nodded before an idea came to mind. “But we have a friend at city hall who might.” She added as the train continued moving.



Meanwhile, at Manehattan City Hall, Mayor Flashhoof was walking down the hall. Shimmering Beauty was following him, struggling to carry a huge stack of files with her magic.

“Uh, sir, if we could just go over these very important-. Sir?” Shimmering Beauty said before she bumped into a pegasus on accident.

“Oh, sorry,” she said before trying to catch up to Flashhoof and get his attention. “Sir? Sir!”

“Okay! I heard you the first time, Shimmering Beauty!” Mayor Flashhoof said as he turned around with an annoyed look. “Just take care of it!”

He then added another file to Shimmering Beauty's load before he took a deep breath and put a hoof on his forehead. “Please. And clear my afternoon, I'm going out.”

As he headed into his office, Shimmering Beauty spoke up while carrying the stack of files. “Oh, no, no, but sir! You do a have a meeting with the Senior Pony Committee! Sir, if I could just-!”

Mayor Flashhoof, however, slammed the door right in front of her face and it caused her to fall down and all the files and paper she was carrying went flying everywhere to the floor.

“Aw, flanks,” Shimmering Beauty muttered to herself.

As she began to pick up all the scattered pieces of papers, a familiar hoof approached and offered itself towards her. It was Fluttershy. Shimmering Beauty looked surprised at who it was.

“Assistant Mayor Shimmering Beauty, we need your help.” She said as all of her friends looked at the unicorn.



A few minutes later, they were all in Shimmering Beauty’s office, which turned out to be the boiler room.

“We need access to the traffic camera database.” Twilight said while Shimmering Beauty began typing on her computer.

“Sure thing,” she said as she typed.

While the unicorn continued typing, Fluttershy said, “It was so nice of you to help us, Shimmering Beauty.”

“Oh it’s nothing really. I’m glad to help a friend; especially a close friend.”

As Shimmering Beauty turned her attention back to the computer, Pinkie Pie looked at the beautiful unicorn’s mane. She raised her hoof and slightly touched it.

She smiled. She began to touch it some more. “Sooo fluffy.” She whispered.

Shimmering Beauty didn’t seem to notice. Twilight and the others, however, did.

“Pinkie!” Twilight whispered angrily. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“You guys gotta try this!” Pinkie whispered excitedly. “No wonder she’s called Shimmering Beauty. With hair like this, I’d give her that name any day!”

“Pinkie! You can’t just touch another pony’s mane!” Rarity said seriously while trying to keep her voice down.

“Ponies never let me get this close.”

“I can see why,” Spike whispered to the CMC.

“It’s like cotton candy, only hairer!”

“Cut it out!” Rainbow Dash said as she swatted Pinkie Pie’s hoof away and tried to fix Shimmering Beauty’s mane.

Then the unicorn looked at them. “Where to?” she asked. Rainbow Dash quickly moved away before Shimmering Beauty noticed anything.

“Um...the upper part of Manehattan.” Twilight said.

The alicorn and the others watched as Shimmering Beauty brought the upper part of Manehattan onto the screen. “There! Traffic cams through the whole area.” Shimmering Beauty said. “Oh, this so exciting, actually. I never get to do anything this important.

Applejack looked at her in surprise. “But you’re the assistant mayor of Manehattan.”

Shimmering Beauty shrugged. “I’m more of a glorified secretary. I think Mayor Flashhoof just wanted the unicorn vote...But he did get me that nice mug.” She said as she gestured to a mug right beside her. The mug had ‘World’s Greatest Dad’. The ‘Dad’ had been crossed out and was replaced with ‘Assistant Mayor’.

The ponies tried not to say anything, although they couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Fluttershy, however, thought that even though the mug had been meant for somepony’s dad, it was at least nice for Flashhoof to get something for Shimmering Beauty.

Shimmering Beauty gave a sigh. “Ah, feels good to be appreciated.”

Just then, the intercom beside them beeped. “Shimmering Butt!” Mayor’s Flashhoof’s voice shouted through the intercom.

When they heard him say that, they looked surprised, especially Rarity.

“Shimmering Butt?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, yeah, that’s a little nickname he likes to use.” Shimmering Beauty said while cringing. “I called him Flushhoof once. He did not care for that. Let me tell you, it wasn’t a good day for me.” She then pressed the button on the intercom while Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo snickered. “Yes sir?”

“I thought you were going to cancel my afternoon!” Flashhoof yelled.

Getting up, Shimmering Beauty said, “Oh dear. I better go.” As she began to leave, she added, “Let me know what you find. It was great for me to-.”

“While we’re young, Shimmering Butt!”

The unicorn immediately rushed with a yelp and closed the door behind her.

It was quiet for a moment until Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and the CMC laughed.

“Shimmering Butt! Ha, ha, ha!!” Rainbow Dash said while rolling on the floor.

“It’s not that funny,” Rarity said, annoyed by their juvenile behavior.

“You’re right! It’s not funny. It’s hilarious! Bwaaaa-ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!”

Pinkie Pie was laughing so hysterically that Spike had to hold her up, although he could barely stand up as well. He was laughing as much as Pinkie Pie.

“Hahahahahaha, ha, ha, ha!” Pinkie Pie took in a large gasp of air before she went back to laughing again. “Hoohoohoohoohoo! Hahahaha! That’s the second butt reference I’ve heard all day! Hahahaha!”

“Can we please just focus?” Applejack said with an annoyed look.

The ones who were laughing stopped and looked at the computer. “Okay,” Twilight said. “Here we are.”

They watched the screen as it played when Juan Rico had chased them all to the train station. Rarity then saw something and gasped. “Wait! Stop!!” she screamed.

Twilight paused it and looked at her friend with a worried expression.

“Quick, rewind it!” Rarity said.

Twilight rewinded it.

“PAUSE!!” she yelled.

Twilight paused it. The video showed them running from Juan Rico. As Rarity looked closely at it, she raised an eyebrow. “Is that really what my hair looks like in the back?” She asked.

“RARITY!” Her friends all said angrily.

“Oh, sorry.” She said nervously. “Carry on.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued playing the clip until it showed them after they swung from the rope, leaving Juan Rico stilled chained to the lamp post. Then a black van appeared and skidded to a stop where the savage jaguar draconequus was.

They watched as three Diamond Dogs came out of the car.

“What are those creatures?” Starlight asked, who had never seen a Diamond Dog before.

“Those creatures are called Diamond Dogs and they enjoy digging for diamonds.” Rarity explained.

Spike nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we ran into them before.”

Discord just looked at the screen. “Oh boy, just look at these dums-dums.”

On the screen, the Diamond Dogs approached Juan Rico, who tried to swipe at them. Suddenly, one of the Diamond Dogs shot a net out of its gun and trapped Juan Rico in it! The ponies and Spike gasped in horror, but Discord just shook his head.

“Bet you a bit one of them’s gonna howl,” Discord said.

As they were heading back to the van while carrying the net with Juan Rico inside, the Diamond Dogs lifted their heads and began to howl. However, the howling on the screen was silent.

“And there it is. What is it with Diamond Dogs and the howling?” he asked.

“Yeah. What do they think are, Timberwolves or something?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Wait a minute,” Twilight said, getting a realization. “Howlers. Night howlers! That’s what Juan Rico was afraid of...Diamond Dogs! The Diamond Dogs are the night howlers! If they took Juan Rico-”

“I’ll bet they took Otterus too,” Starlight said, getting the picture.

“All we have to do is see where they went,” Twilight said as she watched the Diamond Dogs drive away in their van with Juan Rico inside as well.

As the van drove through a tunnel, it didn’t come out the other side.

“Hey. Where’d they go?” Rainbow Dash said with a confused look.

Discord looked at the screen for a minute. “You know, if I wanted to avoid surveillance because I was doing something illegal, which I never have because of my mom, I’d use the maintenance tunnel 3B, which would put them out…” Discord said as he clicked multiple camera footages until he stopped at a tunnel, which the Diamond Dogs’ van emerged out. “Right there.”

“Wow!” Pinkie Pie said in awe. “It’s almost like you could predict the future!”

“So, where do you think they are know?” Fluttershy asked.

“Let’s keep watching and find out,” Discord said as he turned on another recording.

The van kept on driving as they watched.

“Looks like they’re heading outta town.” Applejack said.

“But to where, I wonder?” Rarity inquired.

Watching the van drive down the road, Twilight said, “Where does that road lead to?”

Looking at the ponies, Discord said, “I think I know where our gem-loving canine friends are heading; Hoofside Asylum.”
> Ch.10-Hoofside Asylum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch.10-Hoofside Asylum


Later on, an old building was seen perched by a cliff with a waterfall beside it. It was the Hoofside Asylum. This building had once been a facility for patients who were severely, mentally ill. However, due to low funds and budget costs, the asylum went out of business a long time ago and the building had been long abandoned.

Until now…

Diamond Dogs were all over the outside of the asylum. Some were on guard-duty while others sat around lazily. Several groups of them were stationed outside to keep an eye out for any unwanted visitors.

Nearby, Spike, Discord, and the ponies poked their heads from some bushes and saw the building. Outside the asylum were Diamond Dogs on patrol, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

Then they spotted three familiar Diamond Dogs that were by the guarded gate. The ponies saw that they were the leaders of the Diamond Dogs, Rover, Fido, and Spot.

They quietly approached the gate and watched as the Diamond Dogs leaders were busy looking for intruders. Looking at the ponies, Discord began to gesture with his hands. They just silently looked at him in confusion, not knowing what he was doing. Only Pinkie Pie seemed to understand and she nodded before she began to do the same thing, only way more goofier. Discord nodded as he gave her a thumbs-up and quietly began to slink through the gate while the others looked at each other, wondering what just happened.

After sneaking past the Diamond Dogs, Discord motioned for the others to follow. First, Pinkie Pie went, then Twilight and then Starlight.

After Spike made it through, he poked his head out to the others. Just then, Spot, the smaller dog, caught a whiff of Spike’s scent. The baby dragon quickly ducked his head back before he looked at the others and quietly placed a claw near his lips as a way to tell them to be quiet. Spot continued sniffing as he was getting closer to their hiding spot until…

“Awoooooooo!”

Spot instantly turned around once he heard howling. In their hiding spot on the other side, Apple Bloom was howling, hoping it would get his attention. Spot looked with curiosity as to what that sound was.

“Awoooooooo!” Apple Bloom howled again, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo helped their friend out by howling along as well.

As they howled, Spot smiled as he panted in excitement. He couldn’t help it, so he began to howl.

“Awooooooo-!”

Rover and Fido quickly rushed up to Spot. “Spot, quit it!” Rover, the middle sized dog said.

“Yeah,” Fido, the taller dog said. “What’re ya trying to do? Start a howl?”

“I didn't start it.” Spot said, shrugging innocently, claiming that he wasn't the one who started howling.

“Well, cut it out!” Rover said with an annoyed look.

“I can't help it!”

“Awoooooooo!” The CMC howled together again.

“Awoooooooo!” Spot began howling again. As he howled, Rover and Fido couldn't hold it in either and both began howling as well. The other Diamond Dogs nearby heard them howling and joined in. Soon, every Diamond Dog in the area was howling.

“Awoooooooo!”

“Awoooooooo!”

“Awoooooooo!”

“Diamond Dogs.” Rainbow Dash whispered, rolling her eyes.

“Come on!” Twilight whispered to her friends.

They ran while the Diamond Dogs continued howling, who surprisingly didn't see them. They all had their heads raised up and didn’t notice them running by.

After hiding behind a wall that was near the waterfall, Discord looked at the CMC, impressed with how they got the Diamond Dogs distracted. “You three are clever little fillies.” He said with a grin.

The CMC smiled.

“So, how do we get in?” Fluttershy asked, wondering how they were going to get into the building.

They looked around until they spotted a pipe. “Ugh. We’re not going through there, are we?” Rarity said, not liking what her friends had in mind.



In a room, everything was quiet. Then a lid on the floor began to move and was moved to the side. Out of the hole came Twilight and her friends. Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight used their horns to light up the place. As they looked round the room, they saw that it was full of old, rusty medical equipment, beds, medicine cabinets, and other stuff.

“What is this place?” Apple Bloom asked.

“It looks like this was a hospital once,” Applejack said as she looked at the old equipment.

“More like a looney bin.” Rainbow Dash added, looking at a bunch of straitjackets that were all hung up and had dust on them.

Just then, there was a scratchy metal noise.

“WHAT’S THAT?!?!” Rarity shouted in terror as she grabbed hold of Spike and held onto him for dear life.

They look around to see where the noise was coming from. Starlight Glimmer turned her head and her horn revealed Pinkie Pie happily jumping up and down on a bed.

The others sighed in relief. Rarity gave a huge sigh and released Spike. Spike fell over and gasped loudly, as Rarity had almost squeezed all the air from him.

Twilight frowned at the pink earth pony. “Pinkie!” She whispered angrily. “What the hay are you doing?!”

“99 ponies jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his bed.” Pinkie Pie happily sung to herself as she bounced on the bed. As she jumped on the mattress, clouds of dust sprayed out.

“Will ya get down from there?” Applejack whispered with frustration.

“I can’t. I still have 98 more ponies to go.” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity whispered sternly. “We are on a serious mission. We do not have time to be jumping up and down on old beds!”

“Aw, come on, you guys.” Pinkie Pie said as she jumped even higher. “You should try it out!”

Fluttershy noticed something. “Uh...Pinkie, I think you should stop doing that. I don’t think that bed is very stable.”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. It’s as solid as a rock.”

All of a sudden, there was a creak from underneath the bed and the moment Pinkie landed on the mattress, the bed gave in. Pinkie Pie fell through the mattress and there was a large cloud of dust. Springs and old stuffing went flying everywhere.

Pinkie Pie was stuck in the middle of the mattress, all four of her legs pointing upward, leaving her in an awkward position. She gave a nervous smile.

“Uh...a little help?”



After they finally got her out of the mattress, they continued their search. As they were looking around, Pinkie Pie pulled a stray spring that was in her mane. She looked at it for a moment before she began squeezing it.The spring made a creaky noise when she did. Smiling, she began doing the same thing over and over again.

Rainbow Dash, who was right next to her, was getting pretty annoyed by the noise. Finally, she walked up to Pinkie and angrily whacked the spring out of her hooves. Pinkie Pie frowned before the blue pegasus dragged her along.

Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight continued lighting up their horns until the alicorn spotted a metal door at the other end. Curious, they approached the door.

Discord then slowly approached the door and reached for the handle. Then he turned to Twilight and moved her near the door. “You know, after you. You’re the princess after all.”

Twilight frowned at the draconequus before using her magic to turn the handle and slowly opened the door.

She then poked her head through the door and saw that it lead to another room while she looked around. Soon, everyone else began poking their heads out, their heads on top of the other. After making sure the coast was clear, they entered the room and began to look around.

Twilight and Starlight Glimmer shined their horns and saw some medical equipment.

“Twilight, all this equipment...it’s all brand new.” Starlight said, taking notice of the equipment that looked shiny and modern.

Twilight nodded before noticing a screen showing what seemed to be an x-ray scanning a brain. “And by the looks of this screen, somepony has been doing some studying on something.”

“But for what exactly?” Applejack asked.

“Uh...guys?” They heard a nervous Spike say. They turned their heads and saw Spike nervously pointing to some scratches on the floor that were near a cell.

“What are they?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Fluttershy took a close look at them and gasped. “Claw marks.”

Feeling a little scared, Spike began to back away from the cell nervously. “Yeah, huge, huge claw marks. What kind of animal could have-”

A growl interrupted him and a locked-up tiger draconequus appeared and began clawing at its door while it roared, terrifying the baby dragon.
“YAHHHHH!”

Spike quickly ran from the cell and hid behind Twilight, who was absolutely terrified as well.

They all watched as the tiger draconequus paced around its cell while it growled at them.

Looking at Twilight, Scootaloo asked with a nervous look, “Is that a tiger draconequus?”

Twilight nodded and said, “Definitely is.”

Rainbow Dash turned her head and saw something. “Guys,” she said, looking a bit nervous. “I don't think it's the only one here.”

They turned to where Rainbow Dash had looked and their eyes widened. In front of them were more cells with red eyes and animal noises coming from them.

They quietly walked along the corridor and looked in the cells. A large bear draconequus growled, making Fluttershy and the CMC back away.

Just then, a tapping noise was heard.

“What's that?!” Rarity gasped.

They all turned and saw Pinkie Pie tapping the glass door of a wolverine draconequus, who snarled angrily.

“Pinkie! What're you doing?!” Starlight said angrily.

“Tapping on the glass.” Pinkie Pie replied happily.

“Knock it off!” Rainbow Dash hissed angrily.

“There's no sign that says I can't.” Pinkie Pie replied back in a singsong voice as she continued tapping the glass.

Pinkie Pie wasn't trying to be mean. She only wanted to see what would happen if she did tap the glass. Of course, she had no idea that she was only irritating the already savage wolverine draconequus. The wolverine draconequus finally snarled and charged at the glass door. It scratched at it furiously, determined to break out of its cell and rip apart the pink intruder.

“RARARARARARARA!!” The wolverine draconequus snarled furiously, scratching at the glass and fogging it up with its breath. Saliva dripped from its mouth. “SHARARARARARARAGH!! ARGRARARARARARA!! SHARARARARARARAGH!!”

The wolverine draconequus stopped snarling for a moment as it breathed loudly to catch its breath.

After some silence, Pinkie Pie gave the glass a small tap.

“ARGRARARARARARA!!! SHARARARARARARAGH!!” Immediately, the wolverine draconequus went back to clawing at the glass. “RARGHRARGHRA!! SHARARARARARARAGH!! RARRGH!! RARRGH!! RARRGH!!!”

Pinkie Pie smiled as she was about to touch the glass yet again. But Rainbow Dash and Spike stopped her.

“Let's go, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash said nervously as she and Spike pulled her away from the cell.

“Yeah,” Spike gulped nervously with an equally worried look. “I think you’re just making him angrier.”

“But...but...but...awwww.” Pinkie Pie pouted as they left the cell.

As they continued walking, several draconequuses in their cells growled at them.

Just then, they heard a roar coming from the cell next to them. They gasped before Rarity shined her horn at it. Inside the cell was a familiar jaguar draconequus growling at them, his eyes glowing red as he paced around. It was Juan Rico.

“Mr. Juan Rico.” Rarity said to Applejack.

“Well, at least we found him.” Applejack said in relief.

As they continued looking at Juan Rico, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle walked to the next cell and took a look.

They saw something inside that made them gasp before turning their attention back to the others. “Twilight, guys! Come here! Come see who we found!” Apple Bloom said.

Twilight and the others approached the cell the fillies were at, wondering what the fillies had found.

“Right there. Look.” Sweetie Belle said, pointing a hoof.

Twilight shined her horn in the cell to take a closer look. On the ground were a pair of broken glasses and right beside them was a feral otter draconequus wearing only pants as it was hissing. Twilight moved her horn a little bit closer at the otter draconequus. When the light flashed at him, the otter draconequus snarled as he hid under the bed, his eyes flashing red.

Twilight gasped when she saw who it was. “It's him,” she said. “We found our missing otter draconequus.” That was Nelson Otterus.

“Finally.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling in relief. They finally found the otter draconequus that they were looking for.

Fluttershy approached the door and spoke to the otter draconequus gently. “Mr. Otterus, my name is Fluttershy and these are my friends.” Otterus poked his head and looked at the pegasus curiously, almost as if he could understand what she was saying. “Your wife sent us to find you. Don't worry. We're gonna get you out of here now-”

Suddenly, Otterus screeched and lunged at the glass door, almost as if he was going to attack. The gang yelped in surprise as they backed away in fear and landed on the floor. Otterus snarled at them before he began to scurrying around his cell as they watched.

“Or not.” Scootaloo said nervously.

“I guess he’s in no rush getting home to the family.” Discord said, startled as well while getting up.

“Now I see why Juan Rico was absolutely terrified.” Sweetie Belle said, remembering how terrified Juan Rico was when Otterus attacked him.

As she spoke, Otterus savagely tore up the pillow on the bed.

Spike nervously nodded in agreement. “Yeah. You usually don't see that in cute little animals.”

Starlight began counting all the cells in the corridor with savages draconequuses in them. “...11, 12, 13, 14, not including Juan Rico,...Twilight, they all add up to fourteen!” She said in surprise as she turned to the alicorn.

Twilight thought for a moment before she remembered something. “Guys,” She said. “Back in Canterlot, remember what Princess Celestia told us?”

“Whether chimcherry is better than cherrychanga, or the other way around?” Pinkie Pie asked randomly.

“Wha-? No!” Twilight said in annoyance before she continued. “King Disconcert told her that fourteen draconequuses had gone missing.” She then looked at all the imprisoned draconequuses. “They’re all here...All the missing draconequuses are standing right here.”

Her friends all looked at her in surprise after she said that. Finally, Rarity broke the silence. “Then...that would mean that we found all the missing draconequuses.” She said, finally realizing what Twilight was just talking about.

“Oh, yeah! Score!” Rainbow Dash cheered quietly while doing a small fly in the air.

“But there’s something here that don’t make sense.” Applejack said, trying to figure something else out. “Why would Diamond Dogs be bringing them here of all places?”

No one couldn’t figure that out either. Before anyone spoke up, they heard a beeping noise and turned their heads at a door in front of them. They saw the head of a pony through the window of the door.

“Somepony’s coming!” Twilight whispered. Looking around, she spotted an empty cell close to them. Pointing a hoof, she said, “Quick! In there! Hide!”

Twilight dashed inside the cell and the others ran after her. Pinkie Pie just stood there smiling until Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the tail and quickly pulled her into the cell, the pink earth pony said in surprise, “Whup!”

Inside the cell, they all laid down very quietly so that the figure from the door wouldn’t see them in the dark.

Pinkie Pie lifted her head up to take a look. She spotted somepony very familiar and she smiled before she began to speak. “M-!”
Rainbow Dash quickly covered her friend’s mouth and pulled her back down, not wanting Pinkie Pie to blow their cover.

“ENOUGH!” A familiar voice shouted, getting their attention. They slowly lifted their heads up to see who it was.

Coming inside was a familiar pegasus...Mayor Flashhoof! Walking beside him was a female unicorn carrying a clipboard with her magic. Her coat was light green, her eyes yellow-orange, her mane was black and light gray, and her cutie mark was a stethoscope. Around her neck was a stethoscope. Based on the outfit she was wearing and the stethoscope she had for as a cutie mark and the one around her neck, this pony must be a doctor.

Flashhoof looked tense and his eyes were tired. “I don’t want excuses, doctor! I want answers!” He said to the doctor, sounding very serious.

“Mayor Flashhoof, please,” the doctor said, trying to calm him down. “We’re doing everything we can.”

“Oh, really?” Flashhoof said sarcastically while Twilight used her magic to record their conversation. “‘Cause I have a bunch of Diamond Dogs outside who are howling like there’s no tomorrow. Not to mention I have a dozen and a half draconequuses in here who’ve gone off the rails crazy, and you can’t tell me why! Now I call that awfully far from doing everything.”

“Sir, it may be time to consider their...biology,” the doctor said.

“Biology?” Flashhoof rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Spare me, doctor. What do you mean biology?”

“The only creatures going savage are draconequuses. We cannot keep it a secret. We need to come forward.” The doctor explained.

Flashhoof put a hoof on his chin, pretending to consider it. “Hmm. Now that’s an idea. Yeah, let’s tell the public that I, the mayor of Manehattan, have been secretly hiring Diamond Dogs to go around secretly capturing any draconequuses who have somehow gone insane, to have them be brought here to this abandoned asylum, only to be studied and locked up against their will.” Then he glared at the doctor and shouted, “ARE YOU CRAZY?! Do you know what’ll happen if the press gets wind of this?! I’ll be ruined!”

The gang looked at each other when they heard him say that.

“Well, what do the princesses say?” the doctor asked.

“The princesses don’tknow.” Flashhoof said with a stern look. Then Spike began to feel his nose starting to twitch and found himself starting to sneeze while Flashhoof continued talking. “And we are going to keep it that way.”

“ACHOOO!!”

Spike sneezed so loud and the CMC quickly covered his mouth, hoping that the two ponies didn’t hear that. Unfortunately, that loud sneeze blew their cover.

Flashhoof looked up, startled. “Somepony’s here!”

“Sir, you need to go now,” the doctor said. As they headed for the door, the doctor said, “Security, sweep the area!”

After she closed the door, the alarm began to ring. Inside their hiding spot, the gang saw the door to their cell automatically close. They tried to pull it open, but it didn’t work. Those who had magic tried to use them to unlock the door. But the door was anti-magic, so they couldn’t use magic to open the door.

“Oh no! We’re trapped!” A terrified Rarity said. Just then, they heard barking and saw heads of Diamond Dogs through the window.

“Great, we’re dead. That’s it. I’m dead. You’re dead. He’s dead. She’s dead. Everypony’s dead.” Discord said before he laid his back against a toilet and crossed his arms in frustration.

Looking at the toilet, Twilight got an idea. “Can you swim?” She asked the draconequus.

Looking at the alicorn in confusion, Discord said, “Yes, I can swim. Why?”

Suddenly, the door burst open and the Diamond Dogs entered into the room, lead by the Diamond Dog leaders as they began to search for the intruders while barking and growling. Then one of the Diamond Dogs heard a flushing noise and turned its head to see a toilet in a nearby cell flush. It just watched before raising an eyebrow in confusion.



It turned out that Discord had used his magic to shrink himself and the others to the size of breezies and flushed themselves down the toilet.

As they slid through the pipe, twisting this way and that, they all screamed in terror, except for Pinkie Pie, who was enjoying this thing as if it was a water slide. Except for the slimy sewage part.

“NOT A WORD OF THIS TO ANYPONY!!!!!!!” Rarity wailed as sewage water ran through her hair.

Finally, they were shot out of the pipe. Unfortunately, they found themselves falling down the waterfall and continued screaming.

It was all quiet for a moment until Twilight and her friends emerged out of the water and were back to their original sizes. Pinkie Pie, however, splashed around in terror as she held onto Spike.

“Help, help, help!! I’m drowning! Somepony, please save me!” She screamed.

Her friends, however, just looked at her as she continued calling for help. They were all standing in shallow water.

Then Applejack spoke up. “You can stop splashing, Pinkie.”

“I can’t stop splashing! I’m drowning! I’m drowning!”

“We’re in shallow water.” Rainbow Dash said.

Pinkie Pie stopped splashing and looked around before giving a sheepish smile and released Spike, who coughed up as Pinkie Pie nearly drowned him.

Starlight Glimmer looked around and saw that there was one pony missing. “Guys! Fluttershy’s missing!”

Hearing Fluttershy’s name, Discord and the others looked around frantically, hoping that nothing bad happened to the pegasus. “Fluttershy? Fluttershy? Fluttershy!” Discord said.

Just then, Fluttershy emerged out of the water and gasped for air. Discord sighed with relief. His beloved Fluttershy was okay.

“Are you okay?” Starlight asked.

The pegasus nodded. “I’m okay.”

Turning to all her friends, Twilight then spoke. “Come on! We gotta tell the princesses!”

“Um...could some of us take a shower first?” Rarity asked with a sheepish smile.



A familiar app with Singing Diva and one of her dancers was seen dancing together, only the dancer’s face was revealed to be Officer Gruff’s this time. “Wow. You are one hot dancer,” Singing Diva’s voice said, before finishing with the same robotic-like voice. “Officer Gruff.”

As he sat back on his desk, Officer Gruff smiled as he was watching the app on his cellphone. Just then, he heard the door and placed his phone down. In came Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and Antic. “Officer Gruff!” Antic said.

“Uh, not now!” Officer Gruff said.

Number Two then noticed the app on Officer Gruff’s phone. “Wait, is that...Singing Diva?” he asked.

Officer Gruff placed his hooves on the phone. “No!” He immediately said.

“I’m Singing Diva and you are one hot dancer.” Singing Diva’s voice said. The pony officer looked embarrassed as he looked at the others.

Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and Antic just stood there in surprise.

“Yer ‘ave that app as well?” Inspector Fantastic asked. Then he smiled before he chuckled. “Oh ‘ohohoho, Gruff, yer sly old dog, yer…”

Officer Gruff just looked at him with an annoyed look on his face. “Inspector, can’t you and the others see I’m working on the missing draconequus cases?” He said, pointing to a poster right beside him that had pictures of all the missing draconequuses.

When she heard him mention that, Antic spoke up. “Oh, about that. I just received a message from Princess Celestia about Twilight and her friends. They say that they found all of them.”

Once he heard Antic say that, Officer Gruff’s annoyed face was replaced with a surprise look while the Singing Diva in the app said, “Wow. I’m impressed.”



Hours later, the Manehattan police and the royal guards arrived at Hoofside Asylum. All the Diamond Dogs had already escaped by the time they had arrived. The same could not be said, however, for Mayor Flashhoof and the ponies working for him.

As police officers and royal guards swarmed and overtook the abandoned asylum, Officer Gruff and Inspector Fantastic led a hoofcuffed Mayor Flashhoof out of the building. Next to them were Twilight, her friends, and Shining Armor.

“Mayor Flashhoof,” Officer Gruff said angrily. “You are under arrest for the kidnapping and imprisonment of draconequuses and illegal recruitment of Diamond Dogs.”

“You have the right to remain silent.” Shining Armor said. “Anything you say will be-.”

Mayor Flashhoof interrupted them. “You don't understand!” He said frantically. “I was trying to protect Equestria!”

“That's a lie!” Starlight Glimmer said. “ The only thing you were trying to protect was your job.”

“To think, it wos yer the 'ole time.” Inspector Fantastic said. “I wos starting ter think that it wos the last pony I would expect. I even thought that some’ow, it might of been me. But it wos really yer I wos lookin’ fer! It's the perfect bloomin’ crime!”

Rainbow Dash angrily glared at the pegasus she had once worshipped. “I can't believe this! Everypony in Cloudsdale looked up to you! You liar!”

Rarity was also equally angry at the pegasus she had completely fallen for.

“You fiend!” She growled. “Have you no respect, deceitful one?!”

“No, listen! We still don't why this is happening! It could destroy Equestria!” Flashhoof said, trying to explain everything.

“You have the right to remain silent.” Twilight said angrily. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

Then Flashhoof turned to the princesses, who glared at him disapprovingly.

“Your majesties!” Flashhoof begged. “Please, let me explain-”

Princess Celestia waved a hoof, cutting him off. “No, Flashhoof. No more lies.” She said sternly, with a hint of sadness. “We trusted you to improve the relationship between ponies and draconequuses. Yet you went behind our backs and kidnapped the draconequuses that were missing.”

Princess Cadance then spoke up. She was equally angry and disappointed. “You kidnapped these mentally unstable draconequuses and locked them up in unsafe conditions, when they needed proper health care.”

Princess Luna shook her head, in disapproval. “Thou has brought nothing but shame upon thyself.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said, poking her head in front of the pegasus and glaring at him. “You're a liar! Liar, liar! Plants for hire!”

“Um, it's pants on fire, Pinkie.” Applejack said, correcting her.

“Oh.” Pinkie Pie was quiet for a moment before she angrily looked at Flashhoof again. “Liar, liar! Fire in the pants!” She said as she pointed a hoof close to Flashhoof's face. “And to think that I was going to throw you one of my random surprise parties next Tuesday!”

“Take him away, boys.” Rainbow Dash said furiously to some pony officers.

“Yeah, yeah. We know that we're supposed to take him away. You don't have to remind us.” An annoyed pony officer said.

“Please!” Flashhoof begged. “Just let me explain-!”

“Yeah, yeah. Tell it to the judge, pretty boy.” A pony officer with sunglasses said as he took the former mayor of Manehattan to a police car that the doctor and other ponies that were working for him were already inside.

Flashhoof tried to speak as the pony officer tried to push him into the car. “No, please, listen to me! You’re making a mista-HEY!!” He was interrupted when the pony officer finally managed to push him into the car and closed the door all the way.

“So long, yer bugger!” Inspector Fantastic shouted while waving his umbrella.

“So it was Flashhoof all along.” Scootaloo said, still surprised by the former mayor of Manehattan’s actions.

“I still can’t believe this.” Rainbow Dash snapped angrily.

“My nephew is a big fan of Flashhoof.” Number Two said sadly. “He’s going to be rather upset when he hears about this.”

“I always knew he had a big ego, but I never thought that he would stoop so low as this.” Applejack said.

“And to think that I had a crush on him” Rarity said with disgust. “The injustice of it sears my heart!”

Fluttershy was not happy with what Flashhoof had done to Mr. Otterus and the other draconequuses. However, the way he pleaded desperately made her wonder if there was something else he had to say.

“He sounded pretty concerned about something.” She said.

Starlight looked at her friend and said, “You, know, come to think of it, he did say that they still don’t know why this is happening.”

Rainbow Dash just scoffed it off. “He was probably trying to think of some lame excuse to make himself look innocent.”

Spike didn’t know if he should feel sorry for the pegasus or be glad that he got what he deserved.

“There’s something that still doesn’t make sense.” Twilight said.

“What’s that?” Spike said, turning to Twilight.

“Why would Flashhoof capture and imprison savage draconequuses just to preserve his job?”

“Because he’s a dirty, no-good, traitorous crook! That’s why!” Rainbow Dash said furiously.

“Yes,” Rarity said, agreeing with her friend. “And a rather handsome and charming one at that!” She sounded really disappointed.

Pinkie Pie was equally angry and said, “He’s never invited to any of Gummy’s birthday parties EVER AGAIN!!”

Nearby, Discord was wearing black sunglasses and drinking a chocolate milkshake. A royal guard and a police officer just looked at him in confusion. Discord simply looked at them and shrugged before going back to drinking his chocolate milkshake.



The next day, pony and draconequus reporters arrived in Canterlot for a press conference to get the info about the missing draconequuses that had disappeared recently, who were now found.

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance were standing on a platform in front of the reporters. Behind them was a screen with pictures of all the missing draconequuses. Officer Gruff and Shimmering Beauty were right beside them before Princess Celestia walked up to a podium and spoke up.

“Citizens of Canterlot,” she said to the press. “Fourteen civilians had gone missing and all fourteen have been found by my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends, who will speak to you in a moment. But first, Officer Gruff would like to say something important first.”

She moved to the side and let the pony officer take her place at the podium. Bowing to the princess, he said, “Thank you, your majesty.” Turning to the press, he said, “First of all…”

While he was busy talking to the press, the Mane Six, Starlight Glimmer, Spike, the CMC, and Discord were off to the side as they watched.

“I can’t believe that we finally solved the case!” Sweetie Belle said happily.

Apple Bloom nodded in approval. “Yeah, and it’s a good thing that Shimmering Beauty took over as the new mayor of Manehattan.”

“Yeah. I’ll bet she’ll do a better job running as mayor than Flashhoof did.” Scootaloo said.

“Hey, Twilight! After this press conference, can we celebrate a ‘We Solved The Mystery’ party when we get back to Ponyville?” Pinkie Pie asked the alicorn with an eager grin.

“Of course, Pinkie,” Twilight said with a smile.

“YAY!!!” The pink earth pony cheered as she jumped into the air.

Rarity was all worked up as she applied various makeup and eyeliner with her magic. Spike was holding several accessories while he held a hand mirror in between his teeth.

“Oh, sweet Celestia! How do I look?” asked an anxious Rarity. “Do I have enough makeup on? Is my hair combed correctly?” She then gave a horrified gasp. “Is there a smudge on my cheek?!”

“Roo rook frine, Rarity,” Spike said, still holding the mirror between his teeth. What he said was ‘You look fine, Rarity’.

“Oh, thank you, Spikey-Wikey. You always say simply the nicest things.” Rarity said with a smile while playfully pinching his cheek. This almost caused the baby dragon to fall over, but he regained his balance. Just then, Rarity looked in the hand mirror and gasped. “Oh no! My hair is not brushed well enough! Where’s my hairbrush? WHERE IS IT?!” She shrieked.

“Would ya calm down already?” Applejack said with an annoyed look.

“I have to look my best when we go up onstage.” Rarity said as she brushed her hair, using the hairbrush that she found.

Fluttershy, however, didn’t look excited as the others.

“You alright, sugarcube?” asked Applejack.

“Oh, I'm fine.” Replied Fluttershy. “ It's just that…”

She gulped nervously as she carefully chose her words. “...I'm not used to speaking to crowds.”

Starlight Glimmer tried to comfort her friend. “Don't worry, Fluttershy. It won't just be you. You'll be with us also.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie said as she hopped in front of Fluttershy. “It’ll be fun!” Pinkie Pie smiled. “You’ll be up there with us, basking in front of the cameras! One of the centers of attention! A shining celebrity!”

Fluttershy nervously wrinkled her muzzle in fear as Pinkie Pie continued. “Everypony will be taking pictures of you, staring at you, and asking you questions that you can't answer quickly enough!” At that part, Fluttershy stepped back in shock.

Pinkie Pie continued talking happily, unaware that she was making her friend uncomfortable. “Not to mention that they’ll be seething jealous of you, thinking that they could be way better than you! ‘Why wasn't it them?’ ‘Why wasn't it them?!’ ‘Why couldn't they get chosen by the princess to solve a dangerous mystery?’ ‘Why didn't they get the chance to be chased by a savage jaguar draconequus and live to tell the tale?!’”

Tears began to form in Fluttershy's eyes as she trembled in fear as Pinkie continued. The pink earth pony was on a roll. “And then,” she said. “When you fail to answer a question and you choke, they’ll turn on you, becoming aseething, angry mob!”

Fluttershy was on the verge of crying her eyes out as Pinkie said, “They’ll drive you out of Canterlot, and you’ll be so horribly, humiliated that you’ll lock yourself up in your cottage, NEVER ABLE TO SHOW YOUR FACE IN PONYVILLE AGAAAAAINN!!!” Pinkie Pie finished the sentence as if she was a deranged lunatic.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity scolded her friend angrily before whacking the pink earth pony on the head with her hairbrush, making a conk noise. “You're not helping!”

“I'm not?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Discord looked at Fluttershy, the pegasus horrified from hearing what Pinkie Pie just said. He decided to help her by giving her some advice. “Okay, Press Conference 101,” he said. “You wanna look smart, answer their question with your own question. Like this.”

They watched as he conjured up a reporter's tie, a microphone, and a reporter's hat. Pretending to be a reporter, he held up the microphone and said, “‘Scuse me, miss Fluttershy. What can you tell us about the case?’”

Then he teleported to another spot. He no longer had the tie, microphone, and hat as he now pretended to be Fluttershy. “‘Was this a tough case? Why, yes. Yes, it was.’”

Turning his attention to the pegasus, he said, “See, simple as that.”

Fluttershy and her friends looked at the draconequus in surprise. Scootaloo turned to her friends and said, “Wow, I didn't know it was that easy.”

Fluttershy, no longer trembling, looked at him. Discord's advice helped calm her down. Smiling, she said, “You should be up there with us. We couldn't have done this without you.”

“Well, am I one of the Elements of Harmony?” The draconequus said with a smile and shrugged. “Sadly, I'm not.”

“Oh, I just remembered.” Fluttershy said. “I spoke to Twilight the other day and I have something for you.” She then held up a familiar flower pen while the draconequus looked at her. “Twilight already took the protection spell off of it.”

Discord looked at the pegasus in surprise. “You're...giving me the pen?” He asked her.

“Why, of course.” Fluttershy replied happily. “A deal’s a deal after all.”

Placing the pen in Discord's paw, she looked at him and said, “Here. In case you want this for something to write.”

Discord looked at the pen in his paw and looked the pegasus, who was looking at him with her gentle smile. He smiled back at her.

As she watched them, Starlight knew what was going on between the two. They were becoming more than just friends. They were falling in love.

Just then, they heard Shimmering Beauty calling them. “Girls, it's time.”

Twilight and her friends looked at Spike, Discord, and the CMC. “Wish us luck, guys.” Said Rainbow Dash

As they walked up the stage, Scootaloo said, “Break a leg, guys!”

“Was that a figure of speech or was she being serious?” Pinkie Pie asked Twilight while Officer Gruff was still talking to the press

“...And nopony is more surprised or more prouder than I am.” Officer Gruff said. Turning to the Mane Six and Starlight Glimmer, he said, “So now, I turn things over to the ponies who cracked the case, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her fellow ponies.”

He stepped aside as the ponies each stood behind a podium that had their cutie marks on them.

As they looked at the reporters, who were all shouting their names at once with multiple questions while cameras were seen flashing at them. Fluttershy silently took a deep breath and became calm.

“Miss Applejack!” An earth pony reporter said.

Turning to the pony who said her name, Applejack pointed a hoof at the stallion and said, “Uh, yes?”

“What can you tell us about the victims that went savage?” The earth pony reporter asked as he held up a microphone.

“Well, the victims in question...uh,” Applejack said nervously. She turned her head at Discord, not knowing what to say. Discord gesture a hand at the earth pony, reminding her what he just told Fluttershy.

“Oh.” Applejack remembered what he told Fluttershy and turned back to the press. “Are they all different creatures? Yes. Yes, they are.” She said.

Once she said that, pony and draconequus journalists wrote down what she just said. Spike, Discord, and the CMC smiled, impressed how Applejack handled the situation. Apple Bloom smiled, happy for her big sister. Discord then summoned a piece of paper and began to use the flower pen to write something on the paper.

“Okay, what's the connection?” A female pegasus reporter asked.

Rainbow Dash turned to her friends with a smile as if she was saying, ‘Hey, this is easy’. Turning to the press, she said, “Well, all we know is that they're all members of the draconequus race.”

Scootaloo smiled once Rainbow Dash said that. Her hero nailed that one!

“So, draconequuses are the only ones going savage, is that correct?” A unicorn stallion asked.

Rarity answered that question. “Yes, that is indeed accurate.” She said while Spike and Sweetie Belle watched with smiles on their faces.

“Why? Why is this happening?” An earth pony stallion asked.

“We still don't know…” Twilight replied sadly.

The reporters muttered in disappointment. Turning to her friends, Rarity whispered in concern, “We’re losing them!”

Fluttershy looked around nervously as she tried to figure out what to say until she thought of something. “But...um, it may have something to do with... biology!” She said.

Once she said that, everyone looked at her in surprise. Even the princesses were surprised.

Discord, who had also conjured a bouquet of flowers, was reading the letter he had just written until he heard Fluttershy say that and looked up in confusion. Spike and the CMC looked concerned as well.

“Biology?” A pegasus stallion reporter asked. “What do you mean by that?”

Fluttershy said, “You know...a biological component in their DNA.”

“In their DNA? Can you elaborate on that please?” A female earth pony asked.

“Um...yes.” Fluttershy nodded as the screen behind her changed to reveal some of the draconequuses who had gone savage that were now being muzzled by the police and royal guards. “What I mean is...from what Twilight told me, thousands of years ago, before discovering how to use magic, draconequuses survived on their aggressive hunting instincts. For whatever reason...they seem to be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways.”

Spike turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “I don't like the sound of this.” He said in concern.

“That can't be the reason.” Sweetie Belle said in concern.

“But what's making them act this way? Scootaloo asked.

“I don't know.” Apple Bloom said before turning to Discord, seeing if he might know. “What do you think, Discord?”

She waited for the draconequus to answer, but he didn't reply. Apple Bloom looked at him in confusion.

“Discord, can you hear me? Discord?”

Discord didn't hear her. He put the letter and bouquet of flowers down, walked up, and looked at the screen. As he looked at the savage draconequuses wearing muzzles, he looked in horror as he began to remember that horrible experience he had encountered as a draconequus cub.



A younger Discord was hiding in the bushes, wearing a muzzle that the young ponies put on him. As he was trembling in fear, the ponies cruel laughing and mocking filled up his mind.

“Aw, is the freak gonna cry?”



Discord snapped out back into reality as he then looked concerned about something.

“Could it happen again?” A unicorn stallion asked.

“Uh...It may be possible...so we must be well prepared for what might happen.” Starlight Glimmer said nervously, still thinking about what Fluttershy said.

“Y-yes.” Twilight quickly said. “That's why me, my friends, the police, and royal guards are here to protect everypony.”

“Miss Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie smiled and turned her head to the pony who just said her name. Now it was her turn to answer the reporter's question!

“What does the Pony and Draconequus Friendship Initiative have to say about this?” The unicorn stallion asked.

Pinkie Pie’s smile disappeared and she frowned nervously. “Um...Uh…”

“Will more creatures go savage?” asked a female unicorn.

“Um...Uh…”

“What is being done to protect us?” A male pegasus said.

“Um...Uh…”

“Have you considered a mandatory quarantine on draconequuses?” A female pegasus asked.

“Um...Uh…” Pinkie Pie stammered. “Um...Uh…”

“Miss Pinkie Pie, we need an answer!” A male earth pony said.

“Um...Uh...Um...Uh…” Pinkie Pie's mane deflated as she continued spazzing out.

Her friends looked at her in concern with raised eyebrows. “Er...Pinkie, are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie just continued stuttering. “Um...Uh…” Her right eye twitched while the pupil in her left eye slowly moved about in random directions. “Um...Uh...Um...Uh…” Pinkie couldn’t understand a single word the reporters were saying. It was like they were speaking in another language. To be honest, they lost her at the word ‘initiative’.

“Um...Uh...Um...Uh…”

“Oh boy.” Spike whispered to the CMC. “She’s caught in a loop.”

Spike was right. Pinkie Pie just kept saying ‘Um...Uh…’ over and over. Ironically, Pinkie Pie was the one getting nervous instead of Fluttershy.

Seeing that this was getting out of hoof, Shimmering Beauty rushed up to the stage. “Uh, ok. Thank you, girls.” She said before turning her attention the the press. “Uh, that’s all the time we have. No more questions!”

The reporters grumbled disappointedly. Twilight smiled at the unicorn and whispered, “Thanks, Shimmering Beauty.” Then, gesturing to the others, she said, “Let’s go, girls.”

Her friends followed her, except for Pinkie Pie, who was still nervously spazzing out. “Um...Uh...Um...Uh…”

Applejack nudged her friend. “Come on, Pinkie. Time ta go.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head and her mane went back to its poofy self. “Huh? What? What’d I miss?” She asked as she looked around in surprise, unaware of what happened.

“We’re done now. We can go.” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed Pinkie’s hoof and pulled her along.

“But-but...but I haven’t answered anypony’s questions yet!” Pinkie Pie protested as she tried to grab and reach out for the microphone.

“Come on.” An annoyed Rainbow Dash said, still holding onto her friend’s arm.

The stage was silent for a moment. Then, Pinkie Pie, once again, tried to grab the microphone, while Rainbow Dash tried to pull her back. They both grunted in frustration before Pinkie Pie said, “I didn’t even get to say ‘hi’ to my family!”

“Come...on!” Rainbow Dash grunted angrily as she pried her friend away from the microphone.
The stage was silent once more, before Pinkie Pie managed to grab the microphone for a brief moment as she shouted with a smile, “HI MAUD!!!” She screamed before Rainbow Dash finally pulled the determined earth pony away from the microphone. “WHAUGH!!” Pinkie Pie yelped as Rainbow Dash pulled her along.

While the reporters were busy discussing stuff, the Mane Six and Starlight got off the stage, followed by Shimmering Beauty. “Awwwww……” A disappointed Pinkie Pie pouted, upset that she didn’t get a chance to answer anypony’s questions all because of her nervous breakdown.

Unsure of how she had done, Fluttershy looked at Shimmering Beauty. “Was I okay?” She asked.

“Oh, you and your friends did fine,” Shimmering Beauty assured her with a friendly smile, which Fluttershy smiled back as well.

Twilight approached the princesses, who looked rather worried. “So, how were we?” Twilight asked.

The princesses looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Finally, Princess Cadance spoke up. “Well...it was...interesting.” She said to her sister-in-law.

“Y-yes.” Princess Luna said. “You all did good. The odd behaviour from your friend, Pinkie Pie, was quite...unusual.”

Princess Celestia, however, looked rather concerned. “I’m just a little concerned about what Fluttershy said. I’m worried how it will affect the friendship between ponies and draconequuses all over Equestria.”

Twilight looked at her mentor. “Don’t worry, Princess Celestia.  I’m pretty sure it won’t have any effect.” She said.

The alicorn looked at her pupil. “If you say so. I will inform you if something happens.”

“Yes, Princess Celestia.” Twilight said before leaving to join her friends. The three princesses then looked back at each other, worried about what they feared might happen.

The alicorn and her friends walked to Spike, Discord, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Fluttershy turned her attention to Discord. “Oh, my.” She said. “That went so fast. I didn’t get a chance to mention you or say anything about how we-.”

“Oh, I think you said plenty.” Discord interrupted her, looking rather upset.

The pegasus looked at him. “What do you mean?” She asked, confused what he just said.

“‘Clearly there’s a biological component,’” he said sarcastically, repeating the same words she had said. “‘These draconequuses may be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways.’” He then looked at her, his face looking rather hurt and not believing what she said. “Are you serious?”

“Fluttershy was just stating the facts of the case.” Twilight said, trying to explain what Fluttershy was doing.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. “It’s not like a pony can go savage.”

“Yeah, but apparently, a draconequus could, huh?” Discord replied angrily.

“Discord, stop it. You're not like them.” Fluttershy said.

“Oh. So, there's a them now?”

“You know what I mean. You're not that kind of draconequus.”

“Oh, then what kind am I supposed to be?” Discord asked angrily. “The kind that needs to be muzzled? The kind that makes you cringe in fear when you see the picture of one on a stained glass window before getting a chance to know them? Yeah, I saw how you reacted the first time we met.” He said, reminding what happened after he broke free out of his stone prison.

Then his face looked rather worried as he looked at the shy pegasus. “But that's not it. The thing is...I'm scared. Okay?” He admitted sadly. Fluttershy looked at him in concern.

“Scared?”

“Scared that I'll go savage.”

Looking at the worried draconequus, Fluttershy tried to comfort him. “Discord. You don't even know that it’ll happen. And if it does, I’ll be there to make sure it doesn't happen.” She lifted up her hoof and tried to place it on his paw.

But Discord pulled his paw back, still unsure. “But what if it does happen and you can't stop it? What’ll you do then?” He asked her, the pegasus looking at him, not able to answer his question. “Will you be afraid of me if I go nuts? Or if I go savage? Will you wanna be near me if I try to...eat you?!”

He lunged, like he was going to attack her. Fluttershy gasped as she shielded herself and flinched in fear as she hid her face. She whimpered as she was trembling in fear.

Discord looked at her while she trembled in fear and at his hands. He realized that she was afraid of him. She would never love him if he did become savage and attacked her. Even if she did say she would be there for him, he couldn't risk the chance of it happening.

And after everything she had said onstage, it tore his heart into a million pieces.

He looked back at her while she was still whimpering. He wanted her more than anything else in the world, but he didn't want to hurt her. He then knew what he had to do.

“I knew it.” He calmly said. Fluttershy stopped trembling and looked at him. “Just when I thought somepony finally understood me, huh?”

As Fluttershy and her friends watched, Discord said, “Probably best if you don't have a draconequus as a friend.”

He then walked away while they just watched.

It was quiet for a moment until Pinkie Pie spoke. “Was it something we said?” She asked her friends.

Then Spike and the CMC approached Fluttershy, the baby dragon holding the letter and bouquet of flowers that Discord had earlier. Fluttershy took the two items from him and looked at the letter. Discord's letter was for her, telling her about his feelings he had for her.

As he walked, Discord still looked upset until he stopped. His face then changed to a face of sadness as he thought of Fluttershy. His head was telling him to keep going and leave, but his heart urged him to go back to the pony he loves. Although he was heartbroken from what Fluttershy said, he still had feelings for her. Sadly, he just couldn't risk himself to go savage and hurt her. And what she said about his race going savage hurt his feelings even more.

As he hung down his head, he quietly sobbed and began walking again.

By the time Fluttershy had finished reading the letter, she watched as Discord walked past the reporters.

She then gasped, realizing what she had done. “No. Wait!” She ran after him, her friends following her as she said, “Discord! Discord!”

But before she could get to the draconequus, pony reporters turned their heads and saw her.

“There she is!” A pony reporter said, spotting Fluttershy.

Soon a whole bunch of pony reporters surrounded Fluttershy and the others.

“Miss Fluttershy! Were you just threatened by that draconequus?” A male pegasus asked.

Fluttershy looked at the ponies. “No. No. He’s my friend!” She tried to explain.

“We can't even trust our own friends?” A female earth pony asked.

“No! That's not what I said! Please-!” Fluttershy said as she tried to get through the crowd and get to Discord.

“Hey! Outta the way! Let us through!” Rainbow Dash said, trying to get past the reporters.

“Do you mind?” Rarity huffed angrily as reporters crowded her and her friends.

Unfortunately, they couldn't get past the reporters. Fluttershy watched as Discord kept on walking until he was gone while the reporters were busy asking questions.

“Are we safe?”

“Have anymore draconequuses in Ponyville gone savage?”

As they continued asking questions, Fluttershy just looked on with a sad look as one horrible thought appeared in her mind.

What have I done?
> Ch.11-Feeling Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch. 11-Feeling Love


After Spike and the ponies returned to Ponyville, things have not been going so well.

At the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were inside, thinking about what was going on as they were about to write a letter to Apple Bloom’s cousin, Babs Seed, telling her what was going on in Ponyville so far.

With a sad look on her face, Apple Bloom wrote first.

Dear Babs Seed,

Hope things are going alright in Manehattan as they are in Ponyville. Well…to be honest, things aren't going fine in Ponyville or anywhere else in Equestria. If you've heard about the rumors about draconequuses reverting back to their primitive, savage ways and wonder if they're true...they are. 

Ever since the press conference in Canterlot, things have been getting a lot worse. More draconequuses are becoming savage each day and attacking ponies left and right in the blink of an eye. We still don't know why it is happening.

She handed the pencil to Scootaloo and the pegasus wrote next.

Just yesterday, we heard that an earth pony in Vanhoover was attacked by a savage polar bear draconequus and is in critical condition. This is the 27th attack that has happened this week.

As Scootaloo wrote what had happened, the scene switched to Vanhoover where two ponies were rolling a stretcher with an earth pony stallion on it to an ambulance truck. It then shows police ponies and royal guards holding down a savage polar bear draconequus, who was now muzzled as it thrashed about. Then the scene changes back to Scootaloo as she continued writing.

Because of what’s been happening, ponies from all over Equestria are becoming distrustful of draconequuses. Some of them even think that draconequuses shouldn’t be in Equestria and should return to the Chaos Realm.

Scootaloo then gave Sweetie Belle the pencil and she wrote next.

The princesses have been trying to bring order back, but haven’t had any luck in doing so. From what we’ve heard, a peace rally led by one of Equestria’s famous pop stars, Singing Diva, was marred by protest. Our sisters and friends were there with the police and royal guards to restore order, but to little success.

The scene changes again and shows the peace rally Sweetie Belle was talking about. Leading the peace rally was Singing Diva, who was holding a megaphone with her magic and speaking through it. With her were her dancers, some draconequuses, and ponies, who believed that the two races should be friends, holding up peace rally signs as they stood on a platform. Around them were ponies of different kinds protesting while the Mane Six, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, the police, and royal guards were trying to calm things down.

As the protesters continuing shouting, a pegasus was arguing with a female draconequus. “Go back to the Chaos Realm, amphibian!” He said while Fluttershy was between the two, trying to break up the argument. The female draconequus was shocked from what the pegasus said. “I’m part reptile!” She retorted, saying that one of her animal body parts belonged to the reptile family.

As the two continued arguing, Fluttershy tried to stop them. Then the scene changes to Singing Diva, who was now talking to a reporter. “Equestria is a unique place.” She said. “It’s an amazing, beautiful, diverse land where we celebrate our differences and the magic of friendship.”

Turning to the crowd of ponies and draconequuses, she said, “This is not the Equestria I know.”

Fluttershy was trying her best to stop the pegasus and draconequus from arguing, but didn’t have much luck. Her friends weren’t having any luck with the protesters either. Inspector Fantastic waved his umbrella at the protesters before he quickly used it to protect himself, Spike, and Pinkie Pie when one of the ponies threw an empty soda can.

“The Equestria I know is better than this.” Singing Diva’s voice said as it happened.

Later, the gang were riding on a train, heading back home in Ponyville while they were feeling very glum about what was happening.

“We don’t just blindly assign blame.” Singing Diva’s voice said as Fluttershy lifted her head up and saw two unicorn sisters, an older one and younger one, sitting together in front of them. Then a tiger draconequus sat down beside the two ponies and read a magazine he had with him. The younger unicorn looked at him and smiled. Her sister, however, looked very concerned. She pulled the little filly close to her, not wanting to risk the chance that the tiger draconequus will go savage and attack her little sister.

Fluttershy just watched sadly as Twilight tried to comfort her.

“We do not know why these attacks keep happening, but it is irresponsible to label all draconequuses as savages.”

At the Ponyville hospital, Mrs. Otterus and her children looked through the window of a room and watched Nelson Otterus, who was restrained to a pole as he paced around in circles, sniffing and growling as they watched with sad looks on their faces.

“Mommy, will daddy be okay?” The daughter asked her mom.

Mrs. Otterus looked at her child. “I don't know, sweetheart.” She replied sadly before looking back at her husband, still in his savage state. The ponies and baby dragon approached the otter draconequus and her children as they all watched Mr. Otterus.

As she watched him, Mrs. Otterus sadly said, “That's not my husband.”

She and her kids looked at each other with sad looks while the ponies and Spike just looked at each other with concerned looks while Singing Diva’s voice was heard.

“We cannot let fear divide us.”

The scene shifts back to Singing Diva talking to the reporter as she finally said, “Please...give me back the Equestria I love.”

Finally, the scene returns to the CMC as Apple Bloom wrote in the letter.

Those were the exact same words that Singing Diva said.

Scootaloo wrote next.

Like Singing Diva, we also want the Equestria we love back as well.

She then gave Sweetie Belle the pencil.

We’ll write back to you as soon as things calm down...although they might not.

The three of them finished the letter together.

Your friends,

The Cutie Mark Crusaders



Meanwhile, at Fluttershy’s cottage, the pegasus was inside while sitting on her couch as she thought about today's events. On the table beside her, she looked at a vase that had the flowers Discord was going to give her at the press conference and right beside it was the letter.

It had been a month since she and her friends had return home from their trip in Canterlot and the ponies in Ponyville had already started to hate the draconequuses living in their town.

But she wasn’t thinking about that right now. She thinking about Discord. After he had left the press conference, she hadn’t seen a sign of him anywhere in Ponyville. He even didn’t show up for their usual Tuesday teas. She thought about how he felt when she said all that stuff about his race, going savage and reverting to their primitive, savage ways. The letter that Discord had planned to give her told about his feelings for her and how she was the most important thing to him that he truly loves. Even more important than chaos itself. She was even starting to regret to have said all that stuff at the press conference. As she kept thinking about him and her huge mistake, tears came running down her cheeks. Not only did she lose a good friend, but one who truly loved her.

As she continued crying, Angel and the other animals watched in concern. Ever since she came back from her trip, she had not been herself lately. They decide that one of them should go and try to cheer her up. And that someone was Angel Bunny.

The other animals pushed him and he glared at them while they just waved at him.

Taking a sigh, he approached his owner, who was still in her depressed state. He hopped around as he began dancing, hoping to get her attention. She didn't say anything. He thumped his foot while he frowned.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Fluttershy didn't get up to open the door. Looking at his owner, Angel gave a sigh before hopping to the door. He gave a jump and grabbed the handle. Once he was able to turn the handle, the door opened and he finally let go of the handle.

The knocker was Twilight Sparkle. With her were the rest of the Mane Six and Starlight Glimmer.

Looking at Fluttershy, Twilight said, “Fluttershy.”

Hearing her name, Fluttershy snapped out of her depressed state and looked at the alicorn, curious what her friend wanted. “Hmm?”

“The princesses, Officer Gruff, Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and the new mayor of Manehattan want to see us. They're waiting for us at my castle.”

Surprised by what her friend just said, Fluttershy asked, “Why?”

“Well, it must be something very important or they wouldn't want to see all of us.” Rarity said.

Looking at her friends, Fluttershy got up and followed her friends to Twilight's castle.



As they arrived in Ponyville, things were quieter than usual. Ponies closed the shutters from their windows while others shut their doors. Because of these events that have been happening recently, the ponies in Ponyville were taking precautions in case any of the draconequuses become savage and might attack them.

As they continued walking, they walked by Antic's house. Fluttershy saw the cheetah draconequus packing up her stuff and putting them in boxes.

Confused by what she was doing, Fluttershy approached the cheetah draconequus. “Antic? Wha- what’re you doing?” she asked.

As she closed up a box, Antic seemed a little hesitant, not knowing how to explain it. “Um, they thought it would be best if a draconequus such as myself wasn't the first face you see when you came into Ponyville.” She said.

After hearing what she said, Fluttershy looked absolutely horrified. “What?” She asked.

Antic waved a hand and most of the boxes disappeared. With a disappointed look on her face, she closed the door before locking it and said, “The princesses and Mayor Mare were able to convince them to let me keep my job.”

Picking up the last box, she said, “So, they're gonna have me move to records. It's downstairs...by the boiler.”

With a sad look on her face, Antic carried the box she had and left for her new destination. Fluttershy just watched in complete shock.

“Antic…” she quietly said, feeling as if her whole world was falling apart.

Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “Fluttershy?” She asked.

Looking at her friend, Fluttershy sighed before following her friends to their destination.



At Twilight's castle, the alicorn and her friends were looking at a pamphlet. It showed the Mane Six with smiles on their faces that read ‘Heroes of Equestria, Ponies You Can Trust.’

“Well, wot do yer fink?” Inspector Fantastic asked.

Looking at it, Rarity said, “Well, I do look rather lovely in that picture.”

“I don't know,” Pinkie Pie said with a frown. “I think they got my mane wrong.”

Confused, Twilight turned her attention to Mayor Shimmering Beauty, the unicorn sitting across of her. “We...don't understand.” She said.

“Our towns and cities in Equestria are 90% ponies, Twilight,” explained Shimmering Beauty. “They're really scared right now. You are heroes to them. They trust you, girls. That's why Officer Gruff and I want you girls to be the public face to every town in Equestria.”

The ponies looked at her in surprise. The princesses, Officer Gruff, Inspector Fantastic, and Number Two watched.

Finally, Rainbow Dash was the first to talk. “We...don't know what to say.” She was utterly speechless.

“We’ll do it!” Pinkie Pie said in a cheerful tone.

Twilight placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “Wait a minute, Pinkie. We have to think about it first.”

Fluttershy looked at the pamphlet and back at everyone.

“I'm...I'm no hero.” She said sadly.

Everypony looked at her in surprise.

“Not a hero?” Number Two said in confusion.

“Why, of course yer an 'ero! I’ve never met a more braver pegasus in all me life.” Inspector Fantastic said, giving Fluttershy a pat on the back. The yellow pegasus gave a weak smile and blushed.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash spoke angrily. “What about me?!” She had a feeling that the clueless, bumbling inspector had forgotten about another certain brave pegasus.

“Is somethin’ bother you, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, who had noticed that something was bothering Fluttershy.

“I don't know. It’s just...that we're suppose to spread friendship in Equestria. But...I think I've broken it. Not only that, something inside of me feels like it's been broken as well.” Fluttershy said as she laid a hoof on her heart.

As they looked at her in concern, she started to sob. Everypony was silent until Pinkie Pie leaned over to Twilight and whispered, “Is this a bad time to bring out the party cupcakes?”

Fluttershy continued sobbing until she said, “I've broken everything.”

“Don't give yourself too much credit, miss Fluttershy,” Officer Gruff said softly. “Equestria’s always been a broken place. That's why we need ponies like you and your friends.”

Fluttershy looked at the surly officer who had always been so strict, grim, and tough. Now he was less scary, and more willing to understand the pegasus and her friends.

Looking at the pony, she said, “With all due respect, a true friend is supposed to be there for another friend. To help, support, and lead them on the right path. Not drive them away.”

She then got out of her throne. “I don't deserve to be the Element of Kindness or be in the Council of Friendship.”

Everypony turned towards her in disbelief and shock.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said.

“But, Fluttershy. You're the Element of Kindness. One of the Elements of Harmony that brought you girls together in the first place and saved Equestria time and time again. You can't leave...” Shimmering Beauty said.

“Thank you for the opportunity.” Fluttershy said. She began walking as they all watched. Finally, she began running and crying until she was out of sight.

Everything was quiet in the room as nopony responded. Finally, Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

“What...just happened?”

“Poor Fluttershy.” Spike said.

“I can't believe she walked out on us.” Applejack added, shocked that their friend left just like that.

“What's gotten into her?” Twilight said in concern.

“Maybe she's not feeling too well.” Pinkie Pie said.

“With all that's been going on recently, I'm not surprised that it must be too much for her to handle. The poor darling.” Rarity suggested.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “But there's something else I don't get.”

Pinkie Pie looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow.

“And what might that be?”

“She mentioned about something inside of her broken as well.” Rainbow Dash said, confused by what her friend had said. “What the hay does that mean?”

Starlight Glimmer, who had been quiet this whole time, stomped her hoof. “You still don't get it, do you?”

The others just looked at her, surprised at her sudden outburst. With a frustrated grunt, the unicorn stormed out of the room.

Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and Officer Gruff watched in surprise as she ran out.

“'Ere!” Inspector Fantastic called out to her. “Where do yer fink yer bloomin’ goin’?”

“Starlight! Wait!” Twilight said as she got out of her throne to go after Starlight and Fluttershy. However, Princess Celestia stopped her with one of her wings.

“No, Twilight. Leave them be.” Princess Celestia said.

“But…” Twilight protested before Princess Cadance walked up to her sister-in-law.

“Aunt Celestia is right, Twilight.” She said.

Then Princess Luna spoke up. “They both need time to themselves.”

Finally, Twilight said nothing, but agreed with the princesses.

“I don't like where this is going, sir.” Number Two said sadly.

“Aye.” Inspector Fantastic said, equally sad. “Cor, wif all these strange things goin’ on, everypony is losin’ their minds. Even me own nanny’s goin’ potty.” He said with a sniff.

Pinkie Pie looked around to see if there were any smiling faces, but she saw none. She sadly plopped down on her throne and pouted.

Spike gave a sad sigh. “The gang’s falling apart.” With that, he sadly took a bite out of a party cupcake.



Fluttershy just walked through Ponyville. As she walked, she noticed Mr. Hoof and his marefriend sitting at a table eating spaghetti together. The mare looked like him, only she wore glasses and her cutie mark was a teddy bear with a ribbon on its head. Beside them was a smaller table with Mr. Hoof’s teddy bear and his marefriend's teddy bear with a ribbon.

As Mr. Hoof and his marefriend slurped on a strand of spaghetti, their lips touched each other. The two ponies were surprised for a moment before they both chuckled.

Fluttershy watched them before she continued walking. As she walked, she spotted a pair of giraffe draconequuses, a male and a female. The two of them looked at each other before twirling their necks around and nuzzling each other.

Sounds of laughter got Fluttershy's attention and she turned her head. Across from her, the pegasus saw Big Mac and Cheerilee. The two ponies were sitting together on a bench, watching the sunset.

“It was nice of you to spend some time with me, Big Mac,” Cheerilee said.

“Eeyup.” The stallion said.

Looking at the sunset, Cheerilee smiled. “Beautiful view, isn't it?”

“Eeyup.”

Looking at Big Mac, Cheerilee said, “I'm glad to see this wonderful sunset with you.”

Looking at the mare, Big Mac gave a smile and said, “Eeyup.”

The two ponies looked at each other for a moment before they smiled and rubbed noses.

As she watched, Fluttershy felt very lonely right now. She had seen different couples spending time together, sharing feeling for each other, and falling in love. She wished that Discord was here right now so that they could enjoy the same thing as well. When she reached the middle of the marketplace, she stopped and stood there. As she stood there, tears started to form in her eyes and finally, she sat down and wept.

This went on for a while. She didn't care if anypony was watching her. She let it all out.

“What is this I see?” A familiar voice said. Fluttershy stopped crying and looked up to where the voice had come from. Right beside her was Zecora, the zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest. “Why it's Fluttershy who weeps before me.”

Fluttershy gave a sniff before rubbing the tears from her eye with a hoof. “Oh. Hello, Zecora.” She answered sadly.

Zecora looked at the yellow pegasus. “Out in the open, here you cry. Could you please tell Zecora why?”

Fluttershy didn't know what to say. “I don't know where to start.”

“Why don't you come to my hut with me? There we can discuss and have some tea.”

“Yes. That would be nice.” Fluttershy said as she slowly got up.

As they walked along, Fluttershy tried her best not to cry.

“There, there.” Zecora said, stroking Fluttershy’s mane to comfort her. “Dry your tear. Tell me what it is you fear.”

As they walked along, neither of them saw the Thief popped his head out of a metal trashcan. The lid was on top of his head like a flat hat. He listened as Zecora spoke to Fluttershy in her unique dialect.

“Hmmmm.” The Thief thought as he looked at the zebra. “Must be hard to say all that talk and rhyme.”

With that, he grabbed a newspaper and a half-eaten doughnut before disappearing back into the trashcan.



Later, at Zecora’s hut, the zebra and the pegasus sat at the table, drinking herbal tea that Zecora had just made.

“Are you feeling better now, Fluttershy?” Zecora asked. “If you’re still sad, please tell me why.”

Fluttershy put down her cup of tea and took a deep breath, “Well,” she started. “It’s like this…”

She told Zecora what had happened in Manehattan, how she and her friends asked Discord to help them search for Nelson Otterus, and finished when Discord left after hearing what she said at the press conference. The zebra nodded as she listened.

“Ahh.” Zecora said. “Much woe in your tale, I must admit. Though, something else just doesn’t fit.”

Looking at the zebra, Fluttershy asked, “What is it?”

“You said that Discord left because of what you said. Can you explain why he fled?”

Fluttershy seemed hesitant of what to say, but she had to tell Zecora why. “He was upset because I made it seem like he would go savage like those draconequuses. I didn’t mean to say all that stuff. He was even planning to give me this bouquet of flowers and a card that said about his feelings about me.”

As she mentioned that part, Fluttershy’s head dropped down. “He loves me. And because of my carelessness, he’s already gone.”

She felt almost as if her whole heart was breaking as tears began forming from her eyes. “Everytime I think of him, I wish that he was here with me. Not just as a friend, but somepony who I would want to spend my whole life with.”

As she began sobbing quietly, Zecora handed her a handkerchief. Using the handkerchief, Fluttershy wiped her eyes.

“You are in love with him, despite of his looks on the outside.” Zecora said. “Like yourself, it is you he wishes to be beside.”

Looking at the zebra, Fluttershy dried a tear from her cheeks. “I know. But I drove him away because of my actions. Now that he isn’t here beside me, the tears just won’t stop.”

Zecora lifted Fluttershy’s face with her hoof. “It is sadness you now feel. But in time, it will all heal.”

Fluttershy looked at the zebra before she sighed. “Thank you, Zecora. I just wish that I knew what to do.”

“It is not up to me to solve, I’m afraid to say. The rest is up to you to find a way.” Zecora said, giving a smile to the pegasus.

Giving a weak smile, Fluttershy got out of her seat. “Thank you for the tea, Zecora.”

Smiling, Zecora decided to tell the pegasus something that might help her. “One more thing before I forget. Here is some advice that may help you yet.”

Fluttershy looked at the zebra, wondering what advice she wanted to give her.

“Others may not understand it at the least, but there is no greater love than of a beauty and the beast.” The wise zebra said.

Finally, Zecora opened the door to her hut and Fluttershy headed out.



Elsewhere, Starlight Glimmer was still running, upset that her friends didn’t understand what Fluttershy was talking about. She knew that Fluttershy missed Discord and that her heart was broken. Tears of frustration ran down from her eyes to her cheeks as she continued running. She didn’t see where she was going and bumped into a pony. The two ponies fell on the ground before they both got up.

As she got up, Starlight Glimmer lifted her head and saw who she bumped into. The pony was a unicorn stallion with brilliant gamboge with light apple greenish splotches spots, brilliant & vivid vermilion color short mix mane & tail & moderate arctic blue color eyes. He had a goatee that matched his mane, wore glasses, and a blue wizard’s cape. She didn’t need to guess who this pony was. It was Sunburst, her old childhood friend!

As he got up, Sunburst saw Starlight Glimmer. “Starlight?” He asked.

Embarrassed about earlier, Starlight nervously said, “S-Sunburst?!”

Getting up, Sunburst said, “Sorry I bumped into you. I didn’t see you in front of me-.”

“No, it wasn’t your fault!” Starlight quickly said as she blushed. “I was the one who wasn’t looking. If there’s anypony who should be apologizing, it’s me.”

Looking at his friend, Sunburst said, “Guess I wasn’t the only one who decided to come out at a time like this. I’m surprise to see you out here also.”

Rubbing her forelegs, Starlight said, “I could say the same thing about you. Aren’t you suppose to be at the Crystal Empire doing your job as the Crystaller?”

“Well, with what’s been happening recently at the Crystal Empire, I haven’t been able to do it.”

It didn’t take Starlight long enough to figure what her friend was referring to. “Oh, you heard it too, huh?”

“Yeah.” Sunburst said, nodding in agreement. “News in Equestria spread quickly. With many of the draconequuses going savage, ponies in the Crystal Empire have been arguing whether draconequuses should be in the Crystal Empire or not.”

Starlight watched as he continued. “Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are trying their best to restore public order. Many of the ponies think that they’re siding with the draconequuses. In fact, some of the ponies have been calling them ‘draconequus sympathizers’. Princess Cadance thought it would be best if I took a break from my work in the Crystal Empire until everything calms down.”

Starlight looked at the stallion in concern before she replied, “Me too. I wish that things would go back to the way they were before this whole thing happened.”

Looking at Starlight, Sunburst asked, “What about you, Starlight? Why were you running so fast? Did something happened?”

Starlight seemed unsure how to explain it to her friend. “I...I was just upset from something earlier.”

“Why don’t we walk together?” Sunburst suggested. “You can tell me on the way.”

Starlight looked at the stallion before she walked alongside with him. Like Fluttershy, Starlight told Sunburst what had happened.

When she was finished telling him, Sunburst looked at her. “But that doesn’t explain why you were running so fast.” He said.

“Well, I was upset because Twilight and the others didn’t know what Fluttershy meant when she said that something was broken inside of her. Only I did.”

“What was it?”

Starlight looked at him. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Her heart was breaking. She was in love. Sunburst, it may sound crazy, but Fluttershy was in love with...Discord.”

She looked at Sunburst, expecting him to be horrified and disgusted by what she just said. But he didn’t. Instead, he just looked at her in surprise and said, “She is? How did you find out?”

“Well, it started like this.” Starlight began. “See, Discord had disguised himself as a pony and saved Fluttershy from two stallions that were flirting with her. After that, he gave her this flower pen. When she told us what happened, the others didn’t believe her. I knew she was telling the truth because the way she thought of him and looking at the flower pen. I soon realized that she was falling in love.”

“But...why didn’t you say anything?” Sunburst asked.

“I wanted to say something. But I...I was scared. See, I was worried that Twilight and the others would think that I was only taking pity on Fluttershy and that I was just trying to cheer her up. So, I just kept it to myself. However, I began to feel guilty that I didn’t say anything to support Fluttershy. I even saw that Discord loves her as well.”

As she lowered her head, Sunburst looked at his friend. “But...how? How did you know that they were in love?”

Starlight looked nervous when he asked that. She didn’t know how to explain her feelings to him, but she had to reveal it now. She looked at him and said, “Because...I had feelings for you when we were little. After you got your cutie mark and went to Canterlot to study magic, I was all alone.” Memories of that time came into mind before tears began forming in her eyes. “Each day I thought of you...missing all those fun times we had together...wishing I had the chance to tell you that...that...I love you.”

She lowered her head and began crying. As she cried, Sunburst placed a hoof on her shoulder and she looked at him.

Looking at the unicorn, Sunburst said, “Starlight, there’s something I have to tell you. When I arrived in Canterlot, I was happy at first. But, as the weeks passed, I felt something inside of me feeling empty. I didn’t know what it was at first, but I finally realized what it was. Something that not even magic could fix.”

Curious what it was, Starlight looked at him. “And what was that?”

Smiling at her, Sunburst placed his hoof on her hoof and said, “You.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeuFEgjdsLg

Sunburst: Look at the sky
Tell me, what do you see?
Just close your eyes
And describe it to me

The heavens are sparkling
With starlight tonight
That's what I see through your eyes

Starlight dried her eyes and looked at him before she sang next.

Starlight: I see the heavens
Each time that you smile
I hear your heartbeat
Just go on for miles

And suddenly I know
Why life is worthwhile
That's what I see through your eyes

Starlight smiled before she and Sunburst both looked at each other, both starting to fall in love.

Starlight and Sunburst: That's what I see through your eyes

As the night sky shined with stars, the two unicorns walked side by side as they continued singing.

Here in the night
I see the sun
Here in the dark
Our two hearts are one

It's out of our hands
We can't stop
What we have begun

And love just took me by surprise
Looking through your eyes

As they walked together, several different animals were seen together as a couple. A stag and a doe both pranced around while a rabbit couple rubbed noses together. On a tree branch, two squirrels wrapped their tails together while two birds were on another branch.

I see a night
I wish could last forever
I see a world
We're meant to see together

Then the bird couple flew off the branch and flew together as the two unicorns watched as they stood by a nearby lake. Then Starlight and Sunburst’s horns both began glowing. They used their magic to pick up some water in the lake before using it to twirl it around them.

And it is so much
More than I remember

Sunburst: More than I remember

Starlight: More than I have known

Then they released the water as it fell back into the lake.

Starlight and Sunburst: Here in the night
I see the sun

As they walked, fireflies flew around them, lighting up the entire area, perfect for a romantic moment.

Here in the dark
Our two hearts are one

It's out of our hands
We can't stop
What we have begun

And love just took me by surprise
Looking through your eyes

They both walked up to a hill and sat down, looking at the beautiful view right before them.

Looking through your eyes

As they watched the view together, Starlight placed her head on Sunburst’s shoulder and he placed his hoof around her.



Fluttershy had already arrived at her cottage and was sitting on her bed. She was thinking about what Zecora had said earlier and trying to figure out what it meant.

As she was pondering this, Angel Bunny hopped up to her, hoping that his owner was feeling alright. When he hopped onto her bed, the pegasus was surprised at this.

“Oh. It's only you, Angel.” She said, looking at the bunny. “Sorry that I didn't get a chance to feed you today. I have a lot of stuff that I’m thinking of right now.”

As she looked out through the window, the pegasus gave out a sigh. “I can't stop thinking of Discord.”

Angel Bunny frowned at her. Although  he wasn't very fond of Discord, the bunny couldn't stand to see his owner feeling so depressed.

As she petted the bunny, Fluttershy said, “And that advice Zecora told me, I wish I knew what it meant.”

Looking at the window, she sighed. “Oh, Discord. I wish that I could see you again. I can’t stop thinking of you.”



Little did Fluttershy know that Discord was thinking about her as well. At the Castle of the Two Sisters, the draconequus was sitting all by himself. In his paw, he was holding the flower pen that he had given Fluttershy before she gave it back to him. He had been thinking of getting rid of it, but for some reason he didn’t.

He also thought of using his magic to cheer himself up, but couldn’t think of anything to take his mind off of what had happened. After he had left Canterlot, he went to this old castle to hide himself, hoping that no one could find him as he waited until he would become savage.

But he wasn’t just thinking about that. He was thinking of Fluttershy, thinking that she was glad that she wasn’t with him. But the memory of her still lingered in his mind and it made his heart ache. He wanted to see her again, wishing that he would take her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. That he would hold her close to his heart and with no intention of letting her go.

But he couldn’t risk it. After what he heard what she said at the press conference, he didn’t want to find himself go savage and attack the pony he loves with all his heart.

As he thought of this, tears began falling down his face. “I was a fool.” He said, wiping the tears from his face. “I actually thought that I actually had a friend. Even one who could love me. But I was wrong. She’s just like everyone else.”

“Then why did you stop for a moment before you left?” An unfamiliar voice said, coming from out of nowhere.

The draconequus turned his head and saw a draconequus cub right beside him. The draconequus cub looked exactly like him. Discord didn’t need to figure out who it was. It was his conscience.

Looking at the cub, Discord said, “I don’t know. My mind was telling me to keep going...but something in my heart was telling me to stay and go back.”

Discord’s conscience looked at him as if it knew the answer. “You were still in love with Fluttershy. Despite how hurt you were when she said that, you wanted to be right beside her.”

Discord looked at his conscience before looking back down in sadness. “Even if I knew that, I can’t risk myself hurting her if I did go savage.”

“But didn’t she say that she would be there with you in case it did happen?” The conscience inquired.

“Well...she did say that...But I wasn’t sure if her being with me could stop me from becoming savage. And the way she looked at me...I had to find some way to keep her safe from me. She’s probably glad that I’m no longer near her.” Discord said.

“Your mind may be telling you that, but your heart tells you in a different way.” The conscience said.“It’s telling you that you love her. You have to let go of the past and move on.”

“But what am I supposed to do?” Discord asked.

The conscience smiled before it said, “The choice is up to you to decide.”

Discord turned away from his conscience for a moment before he turned his head to ask it something, but his conscience had disappeared.



Getting up, the draconequus looked back the flower pen and sighed. His conscience was right. Despite how upset he was at Fluttershy for what she said, he couldn’t stop thinking of her. Little did he know that she was thinking of him too.



Meanwhile, Fluttershy was still in her bedroom on her bed, humming romantically. Like Discord, she was thinking about him. She was in love with him. She started to sing.

Fluttershy: I close my eyes and see his eyes
So soft and warm and clear

At the old castle, Discord joined in her song as he went to the window and looked out at the night sky.

Discord: I dream awake of holding her
I dream that she's right here

Fluttershy got off her bed and then stared out the window as Angel watched.

Fluttershy: I sense in all his silences
More than his words could say

Discord: Don't fight your feelings
Says my heart, a heart I will obey

Fluttershy and Discord: Am I feeling love?
Am I feeling love?
Can it really be
Happening to me
Am I feeling love?

Discord looked out the window and saw a fox couple together as they nuzzled each other.

Discord: For sure, a most unlikely match
Implausible and strange

Fluttershy smiled as she looked at Angel Bunny, accepting the fact she is in love with Discord. She went to the window and gazed at the sky.

Fluttershy: But when it seems my heart and I
Refuse to rearrange

Fluttershy and Discord: Am I feeling love?
Am I feeling love?
Can it really be
Happening to me
Am I feeling love?

Finally, Fluttershy sat down on her bed and sighed. She got into her bed, and tucked herself in while Angel Bunny went to his bed and slept. Looking at the window one more time, Fluttershy whispered, “Goodnight Discord.” Soon she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
> Ch.12-The Truth Comes Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch. 12-The Truth Comes Out


The next morning, Twilight, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. As they walked, the CMC’s friends, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Snips, Snails, Twist, Featherweight, Rumble, Tender Taps, Dinky Doo, Button Mash, and Pipsqueak, ran by them, playing a game of tag and laughing.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were running right behind their friends until they stopped when they saw the alicorn, unicorn, and baby dragon.

“Hey there, guys.” Apple Bloom said, greeting them with a smile.

Twilight then noticed Applejack, Caramel, Cheerilee, Big Mac, and Granny Smith. Granny Smith was sitting in her rocking chair while the two mares and two stallions were busy taking care of some of the chores.

The five earth ponies lifted up their heads when they saw the alicorn, baby dragon, and unicorn. Cheerilee was the first to greet them. “Morning, Twilight, Spike, and Starlight.” She said, greeting them with a smile.

“What brings you guys here?” Applejack asked.

“Have you seen Fluttershy? I need to talk to her.” Starlight asked. “We were at her cottage earlier, but she wasn’t there.”

“Oh, Fluttershy came by here a little earlier,” Caramel explained. “She brought some blueberries she had in her saddlebag to share later. She also asked if she could help out with some of the chores.”

“But for some reason, she seemed kinda down.” Cheerilee said with a concerned look.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said, nodding his head before pointing his hoof in a direction.

The others turned their heads to the direction that Big Mac was pointing at. There, right beside a tree was Fluttershy. The pegasus just stood there with a blank look on her face. Then she raised a back hoof and tapped on the tree very softly. All that came out of the tree was a single leaf. It slowly fluttered down until it landed on the ground. Fluttershy didn’t pay any attention to it as she continued to stand in her position with the same expression on her face.

The others just watched in concern before looking at each other.

“Poor Fluttershy. I’ve never seen her this sad before.” Cheerilee said.

“Eeyup.”  Big Mac agreed.

Concerned, Caramel looked at Applejack. “Is she okay?” He asked.

Applejack gave out a sigh. “She's been like that ever since the press conference in Canterlot.” She said, explaining Caramel what had happened.

As she looked at the pegasus, Twilight said, “Come on. We should go talk to her.”

They approached the pegasus as she was still brooding.

“Hey Fluttershy,” Spike said with a smile, trying to get into a conversation with Fluttershy. “It was a rough day we had yesterday, huh?” The pegasus didn’t say anything. “So...how are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” Fluttershy said, her voice sounding rather depressed.

Applejack frowned at what her friend said. “Fluttershy, ya know that honesty is mah element, and I gotta be honest with you, you ain't okay.”

Fluttershy gave a sigh.

“Why did I do it?” she muttered. “Why did I have to go and say all of that stuff?”

Starlight Glimmer approached the pegasus. “Fluttershy,” she said. “I know how you feel. I’ve also made terrible mistakes that I'm not proud of.”

“You mean like taking everypony's cutie mark and replacing them with equal marks and travelling back in time just to get revenge on Twilight and her friends, which almost destroyed the fate of Equestria?” Spike asked.

Starlight blushed sadly while Twilight glared angrily at him. “I'm not really helping am I?” he asked nervously.

Turning her attention to Fluttershy, Twilight said, “What Starlight is saying is that we all make mistakes and we can learn from them.”

Fluttershy just continued feeling depressed. “Oh, I learned from my mistake. I learned that I'm a horrible, unsupportive friend who messed everything up. It caused so much trouble for innocent draconequuses.” Tears began to form as she to sob. “Not only that...but I have caused a rift between ponies and an entire different race!”

Finally, she let out all the tears she had been holding in. Her friends tried to comfort her while she continued sobbing.

Granny Smith, who was still in her rocking chair, lifted up her head and saw something. Seeing what it was, the old pony smiled. “Well, not all different species.” Approaching them was a pioneer wagon. “Speak of th’ devil, right on time.” Granny Smith said.

Pulling the wagon was an earth pony stallion with a light gold coat, his mane gamboge with amber highlights, eyes the color of pistachio, and his cutie mark of a red apple. He wore a light brown vest and wearing a cowboy hat.

Beside him was a young female buffalo with a light bright tangelo coat, her mane a light brilliant gamboge, and her eyes were dark grayish reddish brown. She wore a tribal headband with two feathers on it.

As she took a look at the stallion, Starlight realized something. “Applejack, isn't that your cousin Braeburn you've been telling me about?” She asked, turning her attention to the southern pony.

“It sure is.” Applejack said, bewildered as well.

Spike was looking at the female buffalo with Braeburn. “And is that Little Strongheart with him?” He asked.

“What are they doing here all the way from Appleloosa?” Twilight asked.

Big Mac looked at her. “Didn't Applejack tell ya?” He said. Twilight looked at him in confusion.

“Tell us what?”

Applejack then realized something. “Oh! With all that's been happenin’ lately, I guess I forgot to tell y’all!”

“Tell us what?” Sweetie Belle inquired.

Looking at her friends with an excited look, Applejack said, “Braeburn and Little Strongheart are gettin’ hitched!”

The others looked at her in surprise. Finally, Fluttershy was the first to speak after she stopped crying.

“You mean they're…engaged?”

“Yep, they sure are!” Applejack said, still smiling.

“When did that happen?” asked Scootaloo.

“Well,” Applejack began. “Ever since the ponies in Appleloosa and the buffalo tribe started workin’ together, Braeburn and Little Strongheart have been startin’ ta fall for each other, runnin’ about like two lovesick jackrabbits on a hot summer day. I even received a letter from them about their engagement.”

Apple Bloom looked at her older sister in amazement. “Golly! How did Braeburn ever get to fall for somepony like Little Strongheart?”

Applejack smiled at her younger sibling. “Well,  Little Strongheart did mention in the letter that not only would she have a husband as a member of the buffalo tribe, she’d also become a member of the Apple family.”

Fluttershy looked at Applejack. “That’s...really wonderful, Applejack.” She said, finally giving a smile.

Twilight and the others smiled. It was great to see Fluttershy smile again...At least for now.

As Braeburn unhitched himself from the wagon, he turned to his relatives. “Howdy there, Applejack!” He gave his cousin a hug. “It’s great ta see ya!”

Smiling, Applejack said, “It’s great to see you and Little Strongheart as well!”

The stallion and buffalo turned their heads and noticed Starlight Glimmer.

“And you must be Starlight Glimmer.” Braeburn said. “Applejack has mentioned about you in the letters she sent us.”

Little Strongheart shook hooves with the unicorn with a smile. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you both too.” Starlight Glimmer said.

Fluttershy approached the couple. “So...Applejack told us that you two are...engaged.”

The two of them looked at her in surprise. Then they both smiled.

“Why, of course.” Braeburn said. “Little Strongheart and I had been hangin’ out together for quite some time and before I knew it, I found myself proposin’ to her. And she said yes.”

Little Strongheart spoke next. “When we told Chief Thunderhooves, he was surprised at first, but he then saw how much we loved each other.”

Braeburn nodded in agreement. “Soon Chief Thunderhooves and the rest of the buffaloes made me an honorary member of the tribe. Even mah parents were all excited about it.”

As the two looked at each other with smiles, Little Strongheart spoke up. “It doesn't matter if we're not the same species. What really matters is that we were made for each other.”

Braeburn looked at the buffalo before they touched hooves and said, “That’s right! And we stick together…”

“...Like pie!” They said together.

Fluttershy looked at them for a moment before she remembered something and sulked again. “Oh, I know a thing about love.”

Her friends looked at her sadly, thinking that maybe it wasn't such a good idea for her to be here after all.

“We brought something to share with everypony to celebrate the occasion.” Little Strongheart said while Braeburn was getting something out of the wagon.

He pulled out a basket of freshly baked pies. “We brought y’all these pies,” Braeburn said. “All the way from Appleloosa!”

The other young colts and fillies rushed up when they heard something about fresh pies. All of a sudden, Granny Smith saw that they were heading towards some blue flowers beside an apple tree. She got up out of her rocking chair and shouted, “Oh, hey, ya whippersnappers! Don't ya go runnin’ through them Midnicampum holicithias!”

The young ponies immediately stopped with Snails holding up his hooves in front of the others while Snips gulped nervously.

“Now that there’s a four dollar word there, Granny Smith.” Braeburn commented with a smile. “Back in Appleloosa, we just call them night howlers.”

Fluttershy snapped out of her depressed state, and gasped when she heard what he just said.  Her friends also gasped when Braeburn said that word. Turning her head, the pegasus looked at him and said, “Wait. What did you say?”

Braeburn looked at her for a moment. “Night howlers. The buffalo tribe told us about them.”

“That’s right.” Little Strongheart said, nodding in agreement. “In fact, we were the ones who first gave them that name.”

Scootaloo looked at the two with a raised eyebrow. “Give what that name?” She asked, confused what they were talking about.

“Oh, they’re just talkin’ about them flowers over there.” Big Mac said. He gestured a hoof towards the same blue flowers while the other fillies and colts carefully walked past them. “We use them to keep bugs off the produce, but Granny Smith don’t like the little ones going near them on account of what happened to Uncle Apple Strudel.”

“Why? What happened?” Apple Bloom asked.

Granny Smith looked at her granddaughter. “Well, it all started in my youth a few months after my discovery of zap apples.” She explained as she was about to tell them what happened long ago in her youth.



A younger Granny Smith and her family were taking care of their apple farm until they gasped in horror at something.

“Things was goin’ fine until them pesky bugs started ta get into our harvest.” Granny Smith said in the background.

Swarms of insects were all over the farm. The family was doing their best to keep them away from the apples. One of the ponies was being chased by a swarms of bugs in the shape of a piranha.

Granny Smith chuckled a little bit. “Yep. Those varmints nearly ate all th’ apples. So, ta solve th’ problem, we used some seeds that we had to do the job. Midnicampumholicithias. Or as others like to call them, night howlers. We planted 'em ta get rid of the critters.”

The family plants some seeds near all the trees. Once they blossomed into familiar blue flowers, the insects around the tree stopped, paused, and then flew away in terror.

“Worked like a charm. Then, one day, while we was all busy mindin’ our own business, your Uncle Apple Strudel ate one whole."

The family was taking care of the farm, doing chores and stuff. A young Apple Strudel noticed a night howler. He walked towards it and ate it.

“Don't know why he did it. Probably musta been hungry or somethin’.”

Young Apple Strudel was busy eating the flower when his eyes open in surprise. Seconds after eating it, a look of shock comes on Apple Strudel's face. 

“But once he did, he went crazier than a Timberwolf with its tail on fire!”

Young Apple Strudel neighed like crazy before he began running about, kicking his hooves in the air. Young Granny Smith and the others watched in complete surprise at the young Apple Strudel’s sudden behavior.

“It took th’ whole family ta hold him down. As we did, he bit th’ livin’ daylights outta me!”

As they held Apple Strudel down, he bit the pony that was closest to him: Young Granny Smith! She yelped in pain as he bit her. 

“Luckily, I managed ta survive that.”

Young Granny Smith had her bitten leg bandaged while the now crazy Apple Strudel was now tied down to a table.

“It took a whole week ta make an antidote. After we gave it ta him, he went back to his normal self again. He didn't even remember a doggone thing.”

Young Granny Smith and her family worked on making an antidote to cure the crazed Apple Strudel. When they finally made it, young Granny Smith gave Apple Strudel the antidote. When he opened his eyes, young Granny Smith and the others hug him. As they continue to hug him, Apple Strudel looked in confusion, wondering what was going on.



Once she had finished telling them the story, they all looked at her in surprise.

“And that's why I don't want you or your friends goin’ near them night howlers.” Granny Smith said sternly to Apple Bloom and her friends. “Don't want anymore little ponies goin’ crazy all over th’ place.”

After Granny Smith told them her story, Twilight and her friends realized something. Then Fluttershy turned her attention from the old mare as something in her mind came to place. “A pony can go savage…,” She said.

Cheerilee looked at her in surprise. “Savage?” She said. “That’s a strong word.”

“Well, of course it’s savage!” Granny Smith barked angrily. “There’s a sizable bite mark on mah leg here!” She held up one of her front legs. On it were slightly visible bite marks. “Now I call that there savage!”

Putting the pieces together, Twilight said, “Night howlers aren’t Diamond Dogs. They’re flowers. The flowers are the ones making the draconequuses go savage!”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said with a smile before he looked at the alicorn, confused what she just said. “Wait. What?”

Grabbing Spike and shaking him fast, Starlight said, “That’s it! That’s what we’ve been missing!”

After she was done shaking him and released him, Spike looked at Twilight. “What do we do, Twilight?! What’d we do?!”

“Uh...Right!” Twilight turned to the CMC. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle! I want you three to find Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Tell them that it’s very urgent and meet us back at my castle!”

“Sure thing, Twilight!” Apple Bloom said before turning her attention to her friends. “Come on, girls!”

As the fillies ran to do what Twilight just told them, the alicorn and her friends got ready to head back to the castle. Spike rode on Twilight’s back.

Confused what was happening, Caramel looked at Applejack. “Uh, Applejack, wha-what’s going on?”

“No time, Caramel! But we’ll explain everythin’ later!” Applejack said before turning her attention to Granny Smith. “Thank you, Granny Smith! I love you, bye!” She gave the old mare a kiss on the cheeks, who replied saying “Eh?” Applejack then ran off with her friends while Granny Smith, Big Mac, Cheerilee, Caramel, Braeburn, and Little Strongheart watched them leave until they were out of sight.

Everything was quiet for a moment before Cheerilee looked at Big Mac. “Did you get any of that, Big Mac?”

Big Mac just shook his head.

“Nnope.”

“Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better. I thought they was talking in tongues or somethin’.” Granny Smith said before she sat back in her rocking chair with a smile.



At the Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was busy decorating a cake she was making for the next peace rally. Mr. Cake, Mrs. Cake, and the Cake twins were helping her make it. Mr. and Mrs. Cake also believed that ponies and draconequuses could peacefully coexist. In fact, some of their best-paying customers were draconequuses.

Pinkie Pie was almost done writing the icing on the cake while smiling. It said ‘PONIES AND DRAKONECUESEZZ ARE FRIENDS’ (She spelt draconequuses wrong, since she didn't know how to spell it in the first place).

Just then, Apple Bloom burst open the door and said, “Pinkie Pie!!”

The sound of Apple Bloom’s voice surprised Pinkie Pie and she sprayed out a whole bunch of icing. Most of the icing landed everywhere in the room, including the Cake family. Everything was quiet for a moment until the Cake twins began laughing cheerfully and clapping their hooves in delight as they played in the frosting.



Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was sitting on a cloud, moping over what has been happening. Just then, a familiar voice got her attention.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Below the cloud was Scootaloo. “Not now…,” Rainbow Dash muttered, not moving from her spot.

But Scootaloo wasn’t about to give up that easily. “No, you have to listen! It’s very urgent!”

Hearing what Scootaloo just said, Rainbow Dash looked down from her cloud and saw the pegasus filly flapping her wings as hard as she can to get her attention.



At the Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle had just told Rarity the news. Rarity, however, was busy working on a piece of fabric.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle,” She said. “But I simply must work on this new design.”

“But...but this is urgent!” Sweetie Belle said frantically.

Rarity turned her attention from the fabric and to her little sister. As she did,  Opalescence walked towards the fabric and promptly began using it as her own scratching post.

Rarity took no notice of that as she was busy talking to Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle, I am very busy on this design.”

“But...But-!”

“I don't care how important it is. I’ve spent all day making it, and I am not leaving until it is done. So there.”

She turned her attention back to the fabric, pulling it up, and her jaws dropped when she saw that half of it had been ripped to shreds.

Turning back to Sweetie Belle, Rarity said sheepishly. “So…what was that urgent news you wanted to tell me?”



A little while later, the outside of Twilight’s castle was seen.

“WHAT?!” The sound of Rainbow Dash’s voice was heard from inside.



Inside the throne room, Twilight and the others had just told Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity what they had found out at Sweet Apples Acres.

“So you’re saying that the night howlers really aren’t Diamond Dogs, but are really toxic flowers?!” Rainbow Dash asked, surprised by what she just heard.

“That’s right,” Applejack explained. “The same kind that we use at Sweet Apple Acres.”

“I KNEW IT!!” Pinkie Pie shouted, raising a hoof in the air. Rarity looked at her in astonishment.

“You knew?!”

“No. I just like saying ‘I knew it’.” Pinkie explained. Rarity just gave an annoyed look at the earth pony.

“Ugh! How could have I not realized this!” Twilight said. “Juan Rico was talking about the flowers! Someone must be using the night howlers to dart draconequuses on purpose so that they can go savage!”

“But what about Nelson Otterus? What does he have to do with any of this?” Spike asked.

Rarity then remembered something. “I just remembered something! Before we took the case, Mrs. Otterus mentioned that her husband was a florist.”

“Really? I thought she said that he was a dermatologist.” Pinkie Pie said with a raised eyebrow. A rim shot was heard in the background.

After the others looked at her in confusion, Starlight turned to Twilight and said, “Rarity’s right! He is a florist!” The alicorn nodded in agreement.

“Correct! And a florist is able to identify all kinds of flowers!”

“Now that I think of it,” Fluttershy said. “Mr. Big Daddy did mention something about Otterus wanting to talk to him about something important.”

“But about what exactly?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I think I know what it was.” Twilight said. “He must have realized what was really happening and wanted to tell Mr. Big Daddy.”

The rest of her friends caught on what she was getting to as the alicorn continued.

“However, the criminal behind this scheme must have realized that Otterus was close to figuring it out.”

“Yeah. And whoever's doing this wanted to keep it a secret!” Apple Bloom stated, her friends agreeing as well.

“That’s right, Apple Bloom.” Twilight said. “If Mr. Otterus told Mr. Big Daddy, then everypony else in Equestria would know about it as well!”

“So, in order to make sure it would stay a secret, the one behind it decided to…” Fluttershy began to say before she stopped as she finally realized what must have happened next.

Twilight solemnly nodded. “Yes. To make sure that Mr. Otterus wouldn't tell his boss, he had to be darted, just like the rest of the draconequuses that went missing and the ones that went savage lately.”

Spike spoke up next. “But he must have been able to tell Juan Rico about the night howlers.”

“That's right, Spike!” Sweetie Belle said.

Finally, Fluttershy spoke up. “So, despite having been darted, he must have decided to warn Juan Rico about it before he went completely savage!”

Getting out of her throne, Rainbow Dash said, “Well, what’re we waiting for? Let's go tell the princesses!”

“Wait, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said before using her magic.

Rainbow Dash got ready to fly out, but was stopped by Twilight's magic and placed back on her throne.

“Even if we told the princesses, we still don't know who's doing it or where to look.” Twilight told her friend in concern. “And by the time we found out who, more draconequuses will have already gone savage by then.”

“So, what should we do?” Rainbow Dash asked as she slumped down on her throne in defeat.

“I don't know.”

It seemed like no one else had an idea of what to do.

“We need to find Discord.”

They turned their heads and looked at the one who just spoke. Fluttershy.

“Say what now?” Scootaloo asked.

“We have to find Discord.” Fluttershy said once more. “He helped us when we had to find Mr. Otterus, now we need his help for this. Not only do I want to apologize for what I said, I want to tell him that I...I...,” She looked unsure whether or not to tell her friends about her feelings for Discord.

“You're in love with him.” Starlight Glimmer said.

“WHAT?!” The rest of the ponies and baby dragon said in disbelief.

“Wait a second.” Pinkie Pie picked up a cup of water and drank it. Then she sprayed it out of her mouth and it hit Spike, causing the baby dragon to fall off his throne while she shouted, “WHAT?!?!”

“That’s a good one, Starlight!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Fluttershy in love in Discord?” Turning to Fluttershy, she said, “You’re joking, right?”

The shy pegasus looked at her friend for a moment. “No. I’m not.”

Rainbow Dash and the others looked in shock after she said that. The blue pegasus felt like she was about to throw up.

“But...how did that ever happen?” asked Rarity, still shocked about Fluttershy’s feelings for Discord.

Starlight Glimmer finally decided that she had to tell them. Turning to Fluttershy, she said, “Remember when you saw Discord when he was disguised as a stallion and how we didn’t believe you?” The pegasus nodded before Starlight continued. “Well...I was the only one who believed you.”

Fluttershy and the others gasped in surprise when the unicorn finally revealed the truth. “You knew?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yes. I also saw that Fluttershy was falling in love.” Starlight admitted.

“But...but if you knew she was telling the truth, why didn’t you say anything, Starlight?” Spike asked.

With a deep sigh, Starlight continued. “I wanted to say I believed her, but after seeing how the rest of you didn’t believe her, I was worried that you guys would say that I was only taking pity on her, that I was just trying to cheer her up.” They all watched as she continued explaining. “Even though I kept it to myself, I began to regret my decision.”

Turning to Fluttershy, she said, “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I should have been supportive, should have been a better friend.”

As she looked at the unicorn, Fluttershy gave a gentle smile and said, “I know.”

Twilight and the others approached the two ponies. “And we’re sorry too.” She said. “For not understanding how you were feeling.”

As she looked at all her friends, the yellow pegasus said, “Oh, I forgive you guys too.”

Pinkie Pie hugged her with a huge grin on her face as she said, “GROUP HUG!!!!”

They all got into a group hug and hugged each other. Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Hey, it’s great that how we’ve forgiven one another, but isn’t there something else we have to do?” She asked.

Getting out of the group hug, Twilight looked at her friends. “We’re going to look for Discord.” She said. “Fluttershy’s right. He helped us find Nelson Otterus, now we need his help to find who’s darting the draconequuses.”

Looking at the alicorn, Fluttershy said, “Thank you, Twilight.”

“But how are we going to find him?” Scootaloo asked. “He could be anywhere in Equestria!”

Twilight pondered this. “Well, we may not know where to look, but there has to be someone else who can.”

“Somepony who knows every single spot.” Applejack added.

“But who?” Rarity asked.

Twilight and her friends were stumped. They don't know anyone else who could be able to help them find Discord. As they began to think who might help them, Spike had an idea.

“Hey! I know who can help us!” Spike said. The ponies looked at Spike, wondering what the baby dragon had in mind. “The Thi-!”

Realizing what he was about to say, Rainbow Dash quickly flew to the baby dragon and covered his mouth before he could say it.

“Oh no! Nonononono! Don't say it! Don’t say that name! Do not say that name!” She told Spike.

“Who? You mean the Thief?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

“D’oh! You said it!” Rainbow Dash said in frustration as she glared at the pink pony after hearing what she didn’t want to hear.

The ponies looked at the baby dragon, horrified at what he was suggesting to help them find Discord.

“That great stinkpot?!” Rarity said with her eyes wide and her jaws dropped as she looked at Spike. “That...slimy, scabby, stinky, sticky-hoofed reptile?! That THIEF?!”

“Um...Yes.” Spike sheepishly said.

Rainbow Dash just shook her head angrily. “Uh uh! No way!! The last time we ran into that guy, he stole my latest Daring Do book! It took me hours to get it back from him!”

“Rainbow…” Twilight said with an annoyed look, although she was also surprised about Spike’s suggestion.

“Forget it!” Rainbow Dash said as she crossed her hooves. “There is no way that we’re asking that walking garbage bag for help!”

Fluttershy flew up to her friend saying, “But, Rainbow Dash, we don’t know anypony else who could help. Please? For me?”

As she looked at Rainbow Dash, the blue pegasus realized that Fluttershy was about to do what Rainbow was unable to resist: giving her the puppy dog eyes! As she tried to ignore it, Rainbow Dash squinted angrily with one eye open as she said, “Oh! With the face, and the eyes and the...”

Fluttershy continued to give her the puppy dog eyes as she smiled until Rainbow Dash finally gave in. As she groaned in defeat, she said, “All right...All right. We’ll ask him for help.”

Fluttershy smiled before Rainbow Dash spoke again. “But if my new books go missing, I’m taking action!”

“Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash! Thank you!” And with that, Fluttershy happily hugged Rainbow Dash, who just had an annoyed look on her face.

“You’re welcome.” She muttered to herself.



Later on in Ponyville, the ponies and baby dragon approached a dumpster before Applejack tapped on it. They heard some mumbling and rustling coming from inside the dumpster as they waited.

The dumpster lid opened and the Thief lifted his head up. One of his eyes was closed while the other was half open. On his head was a banana peel. As he looked around, he thought to himself, “What? Is the pizza here?”

He then noticed the group looking at him. Both of his eyes opened all the way as he stared at them. Rainbow Dash was glaring at him sternly while Rarity just stood there, disgusted that the Thief was taking his afternoon nap inside a dumpster.

Pinkie Pie, however, just gave a friendly smile and said, “Hi there!”

The Thief gasped and quickly took action by getting ready to make a run for it as he jumped out of the dumpster.

“No! Wait!” Twilight quickly used her magic to stop the Thief and placed him on the ground. He was about to take off again when she said, “Wait! We just want to talk to you!”

Hearing what she just said, the Thief looked at them. Fluttershy approached him.

“We need to find Discord.” She said. “Please. Innocent lives are at risk.”

Then she did the same thing with the puppy dog eyes that she did with Rainbow Dash earlier. The Thief, realizing what was happening, placed a hoof under his chin and mentally sighed. “Well, so much for that pizza.” He thought to himself in annoyance.



Guided by the Thief, they found themselves at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Once inside the castle, they immediately started to search for Discord.

As they searched for the draconequus, Fluttershy called out for him. “Discord? Discord!”

Just then, Sweetie Belle turned a corner and saw something. Smiling, she turned to the others and said, “There he is!”

As they looked where she was pointing, they saw him. He was sitting on a lawn chair, wearing sunglasses while drinking chocolate milk through a straw.

Once she saw him, Fluttershy smiled, glad to see him again. “Oh, Discord. I’m so glad we found you!” She approached him as he just sat in his chair, his expression still the same as she continued. “Night howlers aren’t Diamond Dogs. They’re toxic flowers.”

“We think somepony’s darting draconequuses on purpose and making them go savage.” Twilight explained.

“Well,” Discord said sarcastically as he put down his drink. “Isn’t that interesting?” He got up and put down his sunglasses before walking off.

“Hey, we just told you what we found out!” Rainbow Dash said, shocked how Discord didn’t seemed interested. “Where do you think you're going?” The draconequus stopped walking for a moment, but didn’t turned around.

“Apparently, we draconequuses can’t be trusted because we’re too ‘savage,’ and 'unpredictable’.” He said, finishing both words with quotes. He began walking again as they just watched.

Realizing what she had to do, Fluttershy followed after him while her friends followed behind.

“Wait, listen! I know you’ll never forgive me and I don’t blame you.” She said to him. Discord stopped walking as she continued. “I wouldn’t forgive me, either. I was ignorant and irresponsible and small-minded. But draconequuses shouldn’t suffer because of my mistakes. My friends and I have to fix this, but we can’t do it without you.”

Discord just stood there, still not looking at her.

“And after we’re done, you can hate me as much as you want,” Fluttershy said as tears began running down her cheeks. “And...and that’ll be fine, because I was a horrible friend and I hurt you...And you can walk away not believing what I’m about to say, but it’s the truth. I...I...I truly love you.”

Once she finished saying that, she began to sob while Discord was silent. Her friends just watched.

It was quiet for a moment until a rewinding noise was heard.

“I truly love you.” Fluttershy’s voice was heard.
Hearing that just now, the pegasus and her friends looked at Discord. The draconequus held up a familiar flower pen and pressed a button as it made a rewinding noise before he played it again.

“I truly love you.” Fluttershy’s voice said from the pen.

Discord turned around and smiled as he looked at Fluttershy. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you erase it if you want...in forty-eight hours.”

Fluttershy smiled as her eyes welled up in tears and she sobbed happily. As she walked towards him, Discord smiled and said, “All right, get in here.”

She swung her hooves around Discord and hugged him tightly. Discord smiled as he stroked her mane. “Aw, you ponies are always so emotional.” He said as he hugged her back.

The others smiled as Discord, a draconequus, and Fluttershy, a pegasus, continued hugging. The two of them had finally confessed their feelings for each other and were back together again.

As she watched this scene while smiling, Pinkie Pie’s eyes began to water while her lips were trembling. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and let it all out.

“WAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Huge tears came out of her eyes as she was crying tears of joy as they fell on Rainbow Dash and Rarity. “I...I...I can’t help it! I’m...I'm...I’m so...happpppppppyyyyyyy!” She said through her tears.

Nearby, the Thief peeked his head behind a pillar and watched. Then he turned his head away, pointed a hoof at his mouth, and made a gagging sound. Finally, he quietly slinked away, knowing that his work here was done.

Back with the others, Fluttershy nuzzled in Discord’s fur as she let out all the tears while the draconequus patted her gently as he said, “That's it, deep breaths now.”

Still smiling, Fluttershy continued hugging him as she tried to take the pen. Discord noticed this and smiled. “Are you just trying to steal the pen? Is that what it is?” He said as he playfully held the flower pen while Fluttershy was giggling.

Then he winced in pain because of Fluttershy hugging him tightly. “You are hugging me too tight, though. Off, off, off, off.”

Realizing her mistake, Fluttershy broke out of the hug. “Oh, sorry.”

A few seconds later, they had already left the castle and Discord was with them.

As they headed out, Discord noticed Fluttershy’s saddlebag full of blueberries and said, “Ooh! I thought you only grew flowers at your place.”

He snapped his fingers and some of the blueberries appeared in his hand. As he and Pinkie Pie popped a few of them into their mouths, the draconequus looked at Twilight. “So what's the plan?” He asked.

As Spike rode on her back, the alicorn  smiled and said, “We’re gonna follow the night howlers.”

As he conjured a handkerchief and put some of the blueberries in it to save for later and poofing it away, Discord asked, “Okay, how?”

“You know this pony?” Spike asked as he held up a newspaper article with a picture on it. It showed a familiar face: Bootleg!

Looking at the picture, Discord smiled and said, “Uh-huh. I told you, I know everyone.”



Elsewhere in Manehattan, Bootleg, who had been released from prison, was at a street corner, selling movies.

“Ah, ha! Well, hello, step right up!” A female earth pony approached the stand as he continued. “Anything you need...I got it!” The pony looked at the movies. “All your favorite movies! I even have movies that haven't been released yet!”

The pony just shook her head, not the least interested in what he was selling and just continued walking. “Hey, 15% off! 20! Make me an offer!” Bootleg said, trying to get the pony to buy something. “Come on!”

“Well, well.” A familiar voice got his attention. Turning his head, he saw the ponies, Spike, and Discord, who had just spoken, approach his stand. “Look who it is. The duke of scams. Business not going too well, I see.” Discord added as he looked at the pony.

“What's it to you, Discord? Shouldn't you be making it rain chocolate milk or something?” Turning his head, Bootleg recognized Twilight and her friends. “Hey, if it ain't Princess Freakshow and her band of Merry Stooges.”

Twilight and her friends ignored the earth pony’s rude words; he wasn't the target of their anger, although they were already glaring at him for his insult.

Looking at Rainbow Dash, who was glaring at him, he smirked and said, “How's the headache coming, Rainbow Crash?”

Rainbow Dash growled furiously. She had not forgotten how he had tricked her into flying recklessly and crash into a billboard. “Rrrrrrr! Why I oughta-!”

Before she could get ready to beat him up, Applejack stopped her. “Easy, Rainbow,” she said before turning to Bootleg. “We're not here ta cause any trouble. We just came to ask you some questions.”

“Yeah.” Pinkie Pie added, her face looking rather serious. However, her serious look disappeared when she picked up two movies from the stand. “So how much for these two movies?” She asked with a smile.

“20 bits,” Bootleg said.

“Sold!”

“PINKIE!” Her friends shouted.

“Sorry.” Pinkie Pie said with a sheepish smile as she put the two movies back. She had almost fallen for Bootleg's scam.

“That's right. We know those weren't moldy onions we caught you stealing,” said Rarity as she walked up to Bootleg. “Just what were you planning to do with those night howlers, Bootlip?”

“It's Bootleg! Bootleg.” Bootleg corrected her. “And I ain't talking, sister. And ain't nothing you can do to make me.”

He then flicked a toothpick at Rainbow Dash’s face. After it bounced off harmlessly, Rainbow Dash's left eye twitched a bit. Then the ponies, baby dragon, and draconequus all looked at each other, getting the same idea.

Twilight let out a sigh. “Well, we tried to do this the easy way. Guess we're gonna have to do this the hard way.” Turning to Applejack and Pinkie Pie, she said, “Applejack, Pinkie Pie! Grab him!”

Bootleg just scoffed. “Oh! What's Little Miss Hick and Sugar Rush gonna do? Hold me down against my will and tie me up?” He asked with an obnoxious sneer.

“I'll get some rope!” Applejack said. Bootleg’s smug smile disappeared and was replaced with a worried look when he heard her say that.

“I’ll hold him down!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Bootleg’s eyes turned to the pony who just said that. Just then, Pinkie Pie tackled him as he screamed in complete shock.

“WAAAGGHH!!!!”

After she tackled him, there was a crashing noise and some of the movies went flying from the stand.



Later, the scene changes to Mr. Big Daddy's office. The small unicorn was sitting at his desk, stroking his cat while he held a glass of wine. His two identical bodyguards stood right beside him.

“Ice 'im.” Mr. Big Daddy said calmly.

A pegasus bodyguard with a goatee opened the trapdoor to the icy pit while a unicorn bodyguard was using his magic to lift Bootleg over it.

As he was dangling over the icy water, Bootleg shouted in terror as he looked down into the frozen pit. “Aaagh! Agh! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!!”

As he struggled to break free, the ponies, Spike, and Discord were beside Mr. Big Daddy, watching the whole scene. Rainbow Dash had a smug look on her face. Rarity was drinking from some tea being served by a thug who was holding a plate with cups of tea. Pinkie Pie was happily eating cupcakes that were also being served by another thug.

Glaring at the small unicorn mob boss, Bootleg said, “You dirty rat!” He said before angrily pointing a hoof at Fluttershy. “Why are ya helping her? She ain't nothing but a goody two-hooves!!”

“And zee godmother of my future petite fille.” Mr. Big Daddy answered.

As he spoke, a servant wheeled in a pregnant Fifi into the room.

“I'm gonna name her Flutter Bloom.” Fifi said happily as she rubbed her pregnant belly.

“Awwwww.” Fluttershy said happily. Not only was she going to be the godmother, the baby filly would be named after her.

Mr. Big Daddy chuckled a bit before waving a hoof with a smile. “Ice zis pony.”

The unicorn thug got ready to drop Bootleg into the icy water.

“AHHHHH!! All right!! All right!! Please! I’LL TALK!!! I’LL TALK!!!” He shouted. The thug lifted him up while another one closed the trapdoor. “I stole them night howlers so I could sell ‘em. They offered me what I couldn't refuse.”

Licking the frosting off of her face, Pinkie Pie looked at him. “A lifetime supply of doughnuts?!” She asked with a surprised look.

“No!” He said with annoyance before he answered with a guilty look. “Money.”

Pinkie Pie just silently looked at him for a moment before she asked, “To buy a lifetime supply of doughnuts?”

Ignoring what Pinkie Pie said, Starlight looked at the earth pony. “And to whom did you sell them?” She asked.

“A unicorn named Sniper. He never told me why he wanted them.” Bootleg said as he continued. “We got a drop spot underground in Downtown Manehattan.”

Twilight turned to her friends with a determined look and said, “Then that's where we have to go.”

“Just watch it.” Bootleg said, giving them a warning. “Sniper ain't exactly friendly. He’s the opposite of friendly. He’s unfriendly.”
> Ch.13-Battle on the Subway Car
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch. 13-Battle on the Subway Car


Following the directions Bootleg told them, they found the stairway of an old abandoned subway station in Downtown Manehattan. When they reached the bottom, they spotted an old subway car. “That must be it.” Starlight said.

“It could really use a new paint job,” Spike said just as another subway car drove by.

After it passed, Twilight looked at her friends. “Come on,” she whispered to them. They followed her as they crossed the railroad until they reached the other side.

Using his magic, Discord teleported them all inside the subway car. Once inside, they gasped at what they saw: rows and rows of night howlers being grown in fertilizer. “Look,” Sweetie Belle said quietly. “This place is filled up with night howlers like the ones at Sweet Apple Acres.”

“That pony wasn't lying.” Applejack whispered as they looked at the flowers.

“Yeah, looks like this Sniper guy’s been cornering the market on night howlers.” Spike added.

Just then, they heard the door across the room of them being opened. Entering the room was a unicorn stallion wearing a yellow hazard jacket and a gas mask that he was just putting on. The color of his coat was a dark gray, his eyes were dark red, his mane was a dark blue, and his cutie mark was a scope with darts around it. By the expression of his eyes, this pony didn't seem very friendly at all. He looked rather cynical.

As he turned around, deep, labored breathing came from his mask. But for some reason, the gang was not there. As he used his magic to picked up a pot that was filled with night howlers, the good guys were seen hiding under a table.

They all watched as he dumped several flowers into a vat. After closing the lid, the unicorn's horn began to glow with a dark red aura. As he did, he began to charge up his magic on the machine to power it up. Then the night howlers started to liquefy as they went through a pipe to the other end of the room.

As the gang watched from under the table, the unicorn approached another table that had a chemistry set as the liquid got sent into it. After making a few tweaks and modifications, the unicorn’s horn glowed as he levitated a small paintball-like pellet and the enhanced night howler was inserted into it.

As he was examining it, a cell phone at a nearby desk began to ring. He used his magic to carry the serum as he walked to his cell phone. The ponies, Spike, and Discord quietly snuck under a different desk and watched as he removed his gas mask. He used his magic to pick up the cell phone and held it to his ear while carrying the serum.

“Yeah? You got Sniper.” The stallion said, who was now revealed to be Sniper, as he spoke into his cell phone. His tone of voice was rather grim and dower. “What’s the mark?”

He levitated a dart gun up as he listened to the unknown caller while the heroes watched from their hiding spot. “Yeah? Cheetah draconequus in Baltimare.”

After loading the pellet into the dart gun and cocking it, he said, “Got it.” On the wall was a map with various draconequus targets in front of Sniper. “Serious?” Sniper continued. “Yeah, I know cheetahs are fast, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

He listened to his caller for a moment before he gave out an annoyed sigh. Fluttershy took another look at the map and saw that the pictures of the draconequuses were the same ones that had gone missing before they found them at the Hoofside Asylum. She then spotted a picture of Nelson Otterus before he had become savage. “Look, I shot a tiny otter draconequus through the open window of a moving limousine. I'm​ pretty sure I can easily shoot a cheetah draconequus doing push ups on a park bench.”

Once she heard him say that, Fluttershy quietly gasped as she looked at the picture of Nelson Otterus again. She then realized what had happened to Mr. Otterus before he vanished that very night!



As Nelson Otterus anxiously sat inside the limo by an open window, waiting to meet up with his boss, Mr. Big Daddy, and tell him about what he think is going on with the disappearances of the missing draconequuses, he didn’t notice someone targeting him through the open window. And that someone was Sniper, who was perfectly hidden, using his magic to hold his dart gun while he was aiming it at the otter draconequus. Then, using his magic, he pulled the trigger and shot out a dart of night howler serum.

The dart flew through the open window until it shot its target: Mr. Otterus! After he got hit by the serum, Otterus lifted his head up with a horrified look on his face. He had been hit by a dart filled with night howlers! 

He then went berserk as he attacked Juan Rico with his mouth wide open and teeth bared, snarling like crazy.



Fluttershy turned her head and saw a picture beside the picture of Otterus. The picture showed a familiar black jaguar draconequus with a bruised eye: Juan Rico! She recalled what had happened when they came to his house to ask some questions and what they failed to have seen.



Inside his house, Juan Rico was busy unlocking his door, getting ready to tell Twilight and her friends what he knew. As he did, he failed to notice that outside his window, Sniper was out there, holding his dart gun as he got ready to shoot his next target. He shot out a dart and it hit its target just as the jaguar draconequus was opening the door.

Once it made contact with him, Juan Rico screamed in pain. “Aagghhh!” 

Once he became fully savage, he growled at the alicorn and her friends.



Returning back to reality, Fluttershy turned to her friends. “Guys, it’s him,” she whispered.

“What?” Twilight asked, confused what her friend was talking about.

“He’s the one who’s been darting all the draconequuses.” Fluttershy explained, pointing a hoof at Sniper.

“Him?” Starlight whispered.

After hearing what Fluttershy just said and looking at the yellow pegasus with a horrified look, Rainbow Dash turned her attention to Sniper and glared at him. This pony was responsible for making draconequuses go savage and the injuries of even more ponies!

“That...dirty...COWARD!!!” She growled quietly as she was about to jump out of their hiding place and give the unicorn a good thrashing. However, Twilight and Applejack held her down and quickly covered her mouth while the pegasus made angry mumbling noises, not wanting her to have their cover blown.

Luckily for them, Sniper was still on his phone and didn’t hear the angry mumbling noises from the blue pegasus. “Yeah, I’ll buzz you when it’s done,” he said as he put the dart gun away in a case. “Or you’ll see it on the news. You know, whichever comes first.”

Bam! Bam! Just then, a knock was heard from the door across him, getting his attention. “Hey, Sniper, open up!” A voice said from outside the subway car. “We got your latte.”

Heading for the door, Sniper finished his conversation with his mysterious client saying, “Alright, Walter and Jeff are back, so I’m leaving now. Out.”

As they watched him head for the door, the Mane Six and Starlight Glimmer got out of their hiding spot. Spike, Discord, and the CMC watched from their hiding spot, confused what their friends were doing.

“Hey, hey, where you going? Where you going?! Get back here!” Discord whispered to the ponies as they looked around. “What are you doing? He’s gonna see you!”

The seven ponies turned their heads and noticed the conductor's room. “Guys? What are you looking at?” asked a confused Spike.

“Hey! Whatever you ponies are thinking, stop thinking it!” Discord whispered. When they didn’t reply back, he hissed, “Guys! Guys!”

Twilight turned her attention to Rainbow Dash, who was glaring at Sniper as he was approaching the door. She nodded her head, telling Rainbow Dash to do it. The pegasus nodded back and got ready to do it as she unfurled her wings.

Once Sniper approached the door, the unicorn unlocked it with his magic and opened it. Outside were two stallions. The first stallion was an earth pony with a dark brown coat, an orange mane, and dark green eyes. He had a scar on his face and for his cutie mark, it was a red boxing glove. This pony was Jeff, the same pony who spoke up earlier. The second stallion was a pegasus with a violet coat, purple mane, and crimson red eyes. Across one of his eyes was an eyepatch and his cutie mark was a pair of scissors. This other stallion was Walter. They were both carrying coffee cups.

“It better have the extra foam this time,” Sniper said as he looked at his two assistants. Just then, Rainbow Dash charged into the unicorn and shoved him out the door. Sniper fell on the other two stallions while the coffee cups splattered coffee everywhere.

Looking up, Walter saw Rainbow Dash. “What the-?!” He said.

Rainbow Dash just glared at them before she slammed the door. Inside, Applejack locked the door while some pounding noises were heard from outside as Jeff shouted, “Hey, open up!”

As he, Spike, and the fillies came out of their hiding spot, Discord shouted, “What are you doing?! You just trapped us in here!”

“We need to get this evidence to the princesses! Now!” A serious Twilight said to them.

Surprised by what she just said, Spike grabbed the case with the dart gun and night howler serum. “Uh...okay, Twilight,” he said.

“Okay. We got the evidence. Now let’s go!” Discord added, his face looking rather nervous.

“No! All of it!” The alicorn said as she and her friends headed for the conductor’s room while the surprised draconequus and others followed them.

“Wait! What?!”

“All of them?!” Scootaloo asked, surprised what Twilight just said.

As they entered the conductor’s room, the mares immediately went to work on getting the engine to start.

“Oh, great. Now you think you’re conductors now, huh?” Discord said in annoyance while he, the baby dragon, and fillies watched. “Look, this thing hasn’t worked in years and it would take a miracle to get this rust bucket to move!”

Then, surprisingly, the subway car started to move. “Well...hallelujah,” the draconequus said, surprised that it was moving.

Outside, Sniper was sitting down as he picked up his cup to drink whatever was left of his latte. Walter had his cell phone and was talking to their unknown client. “We, uh...kinda got a situation at the lab…” he was saying. As he did, Jeff turned his head and did a quadruple take as he saw the subway car driving away, afterwhich he gave a horrifying gasp.

Sniper and Walter looked up with equally surprised looks on their faces. “Oh, it just got worse!” Walter said through the phone before hanging up. Then he and Jeff took off after it. Sniper was about to get up and follow them, but he hesitated and looked back at his latte. He looked back at the moving vehicle and to his drink, deciding whether to follow or finish his drink. He gave a shrug and sat back down to drink the rest of his latte. The two stallion ponies gave chase to the subway car as it continued moving.

Inside, the gang smiled as the vehicle kept on going. They were on their way to Canterlot!

“Well, mission accomplished.” A proud Applejack said to her friends with a smile.

“I’m surprised. This was easier than I thought it would be.” Rarity added.

Noticing a train whistle near her, Pinkie Pie turned her attention to Twilight. “Hey! Is it alright for me if I do a victory toot-toot? Please!” She pleaded.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she smiled at her eager friend. “All right, Pinkie.” She said. “One toot-toot.”

“YAY!” With an excited look on her face, Pinkie Pie happily pulled on the train whistle.

Toot! Toot! Outside, Walter and Jeff finally got close to the subway car and climbed aboard it.

Back inside, Pinkie Pie released the train whistle and looked at her friends with a huge smile. “I’ve always wanted to do that!” She said.

“Well, I guess we can cross that off the bucket list.” Rainbow Dash said with a confident smile as she laid back on the conductor’s chair.

However, her confident smile disappeared when she and her friends heard some thudding noises coming from outside. They turned their heads and looked outside the door. Just then, Jeff broke in from the roof and charged at them at full speed.

“YAHHHHH!” Spike yelped in terror before rushing to the door and closing it. Jeff ran against it, leaving a large dent in it, and slid down very slowly. Spike quickly locked the door and looked through the window. On the other side, Jeff was trying to open the door, but couldn’t because Spike had locked it. Looking up, he saw Spike looking down at him through the window. The baby dragon gave a nervous smile as he chuckled nervously.

Glaring at the baby dragon, Jeff turned around. Using his back legs, he tried to break down the door. Spike quickly ducked down and said, “Whoa!”

As he continued hitting the door with his back legs, Jeff shouted, “Open this door, you little-!!”

Back inside the control room, the CMC were huddled close together in a corner while the others looked worried.

“I may have to rescind that victory toot-toot.” Pinkie Pie said nervously before crawling underneath the control panel.

Just then, a thumping noise was heard above them. “What was that?” Sweetie Belle asked as she and her friends watched from their hiding spot.

“Maybe that’s just hail?” Scootaloo guessed nervously, although she had a feeling that her guess was wrong.

Suddenly, Walter broke through the window, although he got stuck halfway, and tried to grab the pony closest to him: Fluttershy! “Come here, you!” He said as he lunged at her. Fluttershy yelped in surprise as she tried to avoid being grabbed by him.

Seeing that his beloved Fluttershy was in trouble, Discord rushed over and grabbed the stallion’s arm. “Hey! Back off!” He said as he held onto Walter’s arm, only to get knocked off and sent flying against the door. “Whoa, oof!”

As he watched Fluttershy trying to avoid Walter, Discord tried to think of some way to help her. Just then, he felt the door behind him kick. Looking through the window, he saw Jeff charging towards it again.

Thinking fast, he turned to Fluttershy and said, “Incoming!” He quickly snapped his fingers and the door immediately was unlocked and opened. Jeff just kept on charging at full speed. Walter had just managed to grab Fluttershy, only for him to look up in surprise as Jeff rammed into him. It resulted with the pegasus stallion and Fluttershy getting pushed out through the window and out of the train while Jeff was stuck through the window.

“Oh!” Fluttershy yelped before she clinged onto an outside handle of the train. While Jeff was stuck through the window, briefly falling unconscious, Fluttershy whimpered in fear as she held on for dear life.

Discord rushed to the window and saw the shy pegasus holding on to the handle outside. “Fluttershy!” He said in a worried voice.

“We’ll get Fluttershy!” Twilight told him. “Just don’t stop! Keep going!”

“No, no! Please stop!” Hearing Walter’s terrified voice, they all looked outside and saw the pegasus stallion in front of the subway car, flapping his wings as fast as he can.

“Do not stop this car!” Twilight repeated before she and Rainbow Dash flew out of the vehicle and flew right beside it.

Walter continued flapping his wings until he screamed in absolute fear as he jumped to the side of the wall, just as the train, alicorn, and pegasus passed him. The good news was that he was able to avoid getting run over by the train. The bad news was that the top of his mane had been shaved off by the train brushing against him. After it passed him, he looked at his mane in complete shock at what had happened. “Ohhhhhhhh!!!” He screamed.

Back on the train, Jeff had just gained consciousness and saw Fluttershy beside him. Glaring at her, he was about to harm her when Twilight and Rainbow Dash flew beside them. “Sorry. She’s with us.” Rainbow Dash said.

She and Twilight grab Fluttershy and flew up while Jeff raised a hoof at them saying, “Hey, come back here, you!”
The ponies flew to the roof of the train car and sat down. After ducking to dodge from getting hit by a subway tunnel light, they found themselves coming out of the subway tunnel and out of Manehattan.  As the train speeded up, Jeff punches through the window next to him as he tried to attack Discord, who was driving the train.

“What’ll we do now, Twilight?!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“I don't know!” Twilight explained worriedly. “I didn't think this one through!”

Inside the train, the others were having a harder time conducting the train while Jeff was kicking and thrashing at them through the window.

“Hold still, ya varmint!” Applejack said angrily as Jeff kicked at her.

“This is not what I had in mind!” Rarity said as she shielded the CMC.

“I don't know how things could get any worse!” Sweetie Belle said.

Just then, Spike noticed something. He peered out a side window and squinted. He gasped in horror when he saw what it was.

“It just did!” He gulped nervously.

Up ahead, a black freight train was coming along the same railroad that Twilight and her friends were on. Earth ponies were on it, shoveling coal and managing the engines.

At the front of the train, the engineer, an old earth pony with a white mustache and white coat, noticed something. He peered out. “Huh?” He muttered as he squinted. What he finally saw what it was, he gasped in horror.

“EGAD!!!” He yelled. The other earth ponies on the train also saw it and were equally terrified as well. The engineer reached for the train whistle and yanked it, making a loud TOOT-TOOOOT!!!! As he did, he yelled, “E-E-E-EGAAAAAAAAAAAADD!!!”

Hearing the train whistle, Starlight said, “Quick! Somebody get the brakes!”

“I got this!” Pinkie Pie said, still hiding underneath the control panel. She crawled from her hiding spot to where the brakes were located. There was a loud sound of screws and pieces coming apart. Pinkie Pie popped out, and to everyone's horror, she was holding the brakes that she had removed.

“Okay, here are the brakes!” She said happily. “What next?”

“We're doomed.” Spike whimpered.

Outside, Twilight and the others has noticed the freight train also. Looking around, Fluttershy saw that up ahead was a switch that connected to the railroad. She had an idea. “That’s it.”

She flew to the hole where Jeff broke into earlier. Discord was busy driving the train while dodging Jeff's attacks. Poking her head down, Fluttershy said, “Speed up, Discord! Speed up!”

They all looked at Fluttershy as if she was insane. “Are you crazy?! We're heading right at it!” Discord said.

“Trust me! Speed up!” Fluttershy lifted her head to go tell the others her idea.

Realizing that Fluttershy had an idea, Starlight turned to Discord. “Just do it!”

The draconequus sighed in annoyance before he pushed the switch to make the train go faster.
Jeff was still struggling through the window when he saw the freight train and gasped in horror. “Stop the train!!” He shouted. Now he had a real good reason to be out of the window.

“We're all gonna die!!!!!” Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs.

As both trains were getting closer, Jeff screamed in terror.

“Hey, buddy!” Jeff looked up and saw Rainbow Dash above him, the blue pegasus giving him a smug smile. “Need some help?”

With that, she flew towards Jeff and kicked him out of the window. He landed on the track switch, causing it to move back while he had a dazed look on his face.

Just as it looked like the trains were about to collide, the railroad tracks shifted. As both trains passed each other, the engineer from the freight train gave a sigh of relief.

Although they managed to avoid getting hit by the freight train, the subway car was going too fast. Since Pinkie had removed the brakes, there was no way of stopping the train. As it turned, it began to derail while Starlight said, “Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no! Too fast! Hold on!”

The train car crashed on the railroad and continued speeding up while Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash flew inside. Discord would have used his magic to stop the train, but the train was shaking about so violently that he couldn’t focus.

“This is almost like a carnival ride!” Pinkie shouted. “Only way more life-threatening!”

As it sped up to an abandoned train station that was near Canterlot, the car tilted over on its side as it scraped along the pavement. Inside, they were all doing their best to hold on. They watched as the entire room began creating sparks that caught on fire.

Apple Bloom and her friends turned their heads and saw something else.

“Up ahead!” She shouted.

The others all turned their heads and saw what the earth filly and her friends saw. In front of them was a bridge that was blocked.

“I do believe this is our stop!” Rarity said.

“JUMP!” Twilight shouted.

They all jumped out of the train car and landed on the platform. They looked up and watched just as the subway car crashed into the blocked bridge.

They all just sat there, not a single one of them spoke.

Finally, Pinkie Pie was the first to speak.

“That...was...AWESOME!” She said with a huge grin as she looked at her friends. “Let’s do it again!”

Apple Bloom, however, noticed that the train car was completely damaged. Pointing at it, she said, “The train car! It’s all banged up!”

“Oh, no! The evidence!” A worried Twilight said with worry.

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said optimistically. “I’m sure that some of the evidence survived.”

But moments after she said that, the train exploded while they all watched. It then stopped and everything was quiet for a moment.

“Um...maybe a little bit of the evidence survived.” Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile, hoping that she was right.

However, the train made an even bigger explosion than the last one, sending parts flying everywhere.

A stray propane tank bounced out of the vehicle and landed a few feet behind them before it exploded as well.

“Eep.” Fluttershy squeaked, flinching at the sound of the explosion. It was silent for a moment before Pinkie Pie spoke up again.

“Okay, none of the evidence survived,” Pinkie Pie said with a frown.

“Everything’s gone.” Twilight said with sadness and disbelief as she and her friends looked at the destroyed vehicle. “We’ve lost it all.”

“Yeah,” Discord nodded before he held up a familiar case.

It was the same case that contained the dart gun and the pellet filled with night howler serum! “Oh, except for this.” He said before laughing. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

The ponies and baby dragon looked at him in surprise as they smiled. He had managed to grab the case before they jumped off the train!

Rainbow Dash smiled as she looked at the draconequus. “Oh yeah, Discord!” She said before giving a good whack on his shoulder. Discord’s face winced in pain.

“Ow,” he muttered.

“Sorry.” Rainbow Dash said.

Getting up, Twilight said, “Come on!” Let’s get this to the princesses!”

Fluttershy carried the case as she and the others followed the alicorn.

As they ran up the stairs, Twilight said, “We’ll cut through the Canterlot Museum!”

After reaching the top of the stairs, they made their way to the Canterlot Museum, which also was a shortcut to the castle. They passed two statues of the Royal Sisters as they ran inside. They now had their evidence to show the princesses.
> Ch.14-The True Mastermind
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch. 14-The True Mastermind


Inside the Canterlot Museum, the gang ran faster and faster. As they ran, they passed thousands of historical replicas and monuments from long ago. But they didn’t have time to look at stuff now! They had to get this evidence to the princesses and tell them what was really going on!

As they continued running, Twilight saw the exit in front of them and outside was the castle.

“Oh! There it is!” She told her friends.

“We’re almost there!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Twilight!”

Hearing a familiar voice, they all stopped running and turned to where the voice was coming from. Arriving was Mayor Shimmering Beauty and two police ponies with her. The police pony on her right side was an earth pony stallion with a light blue coat, a dark blue mane, and light green eyes. His cutie mark was a 2+2 that equaled a magnet. The other police pony on her left side was another earth pony stallion with an yellow-orangish coat, a light brown mane, orange eyes, and a vacuum cleaner for his cutie mark.

“Girls!” Shimmering Beauty said. Fluttershy smiled when she saw her. She was glad to see a familiar face!

“Mayor Shimmering Beauty!” Twilight said with a smile. She looked at her friends before they approached the unicorn and the cops.

Sighing with relief, Applejack said, “Boy are we glad to see you!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash added. “You won’t believe what we’ve been through today!”

“We found out what’s been happening. Somepony’s darting draconequuses with a serum. That’s what making them go savage,” explained Fluttershy as she showed her the case.

“Oh, I’m so proud of you, girls! You did a super job!” The unicorn said with a smile as she looked at the pegasus. Fluttershy beamed a smile back at her.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Finally, Starlight Glimmer spoke up. “There’s no time to waste! We have to get this case to the princesses and tell them what’s going on as soon as possible!”

“You’re absolutely right.” Shimmering Beauty said in agreement as she nodded. “Why don’t I take that case for you and deliver it to them myself?”

Fluttershy smiled as she was about to hand Shimmering Beauty the case.

“Why, thank you. We-.” Rarity was beginning to say when she stopped in mid-sentence and realized something. Fluttershy stopped herself from giving Shimmering Beauty the case with the evidence and turned to her friends. Then the pegasus and her friends all looked at each other, getting the same feeling that Rarity did.

“Wait just a doggone minute.” Applejack said. She raised a suspicious eyebrow as she looked at Shimmering Beauty and asked, “How did ya know where to find us?”

The two pony cops looked at each with worried looks while Shimmering Beauty just gave a nervous smile. “I’ll go ahead now and take that case,” she said as she tried to take the case from Fluttershy, but the pegasus backed away from her, holding the case close to her.

“Um...actually, we’ll just take this to the princesses ourselves.” She said.

“Uh, yeah. What she said.” Discord said nervously. The others nodded as well as they backed away and head for the exit. The way Shimmering Beauty was acting right now was making them feel uncomfortable.

But once they turned to head for the exit, they saw something blocking their way. In front of them was an earth pony stallion wearing a police uniform. His coat was gray, dark red for his mane, fiery red eyes, black hooves, and a one-thousand dumbbell for his cutie mark. He was the same size as Big Mac, only his expression was anything far from pleasant.

“Rrrrrrrrr.” He growled as he turned his neck, which made a cracking noise when he did.

At that moment, the ponies, Spike, and Discord realized what was going on. Shimmering Beauty wasn't here to help them! And those ponies that were with her, they weren't really police ponies at all! They were only pretending to be police officers!

As they stood there, they all had the same idea.

“RUN!” They all said in unison. Immediately, they ran through a curtain that led into a corridor while Shimmering Beauty and her cronies watched.

The unicorn just stood there with an angry look on her face. “Get them.” She ordered the two ponies beside her and the two stallions ran after them.

Inside the corridor, the ponies, baby dragon, and draconequus kept on running. As she flew, Fluttershy turned her head to see if they were being followed. However, she didn't notice the statue of a royal guard that was holding a spear in her way until she flew into it.

Once the sharp point of the spear slashed against her wing and one of her legs, the pegasus screamed in pain as she fell to the floor and the case landing beside her. “Ahh! Ahh!”

Hearing her scream, Discord stopped running and saw her in her injured condition.

“Fluttershy,” he said before rushing to her.

The pegasus moaned in pain as she held her wounded leg as the draconequus approached her. “Here, I got you. Come here, come here.” He said as he carefully picked her up while Fluttershy grabbed the case.

He carried her to a pillar where the others were hiding.

“Quick! Over here!” Scootaloo whispered.

Once they reached the pillar and hid with the others, Discord placed Fluttershy down gently. As she groaned in pain, he said, “Okay. Now, just relax.”

He snapped his fingers and a familiar handkerchief appeared. When he opened it, the blueberries fell out of it before he caught one. “Whoops. Uh...blueberry?” He asked, offering a blueberry to the pegasus.

“Pass.” She said, not feeling up for blueberries right now.

Discord ate the blueberry while Pinkie Pie ate one too. Rarity pulled a scarf out of her saddlebag. She had been planning to wear it after they showed the princesses the evidence, but seeing how badly hurt Fluttershy was, she felt that her friend needed it more than she did. She wrapped the scarf around Fluttershy’s wounded leg while Discord wrapped the handkerchief on her wounded wing.

As they did that, Fluttershy tried to endure the pain. Just then, they heard Shimmering Beauty’s voice coming from outside the corridor.

“Come out, girls.” She said in a sing-song voice as her shadow was seen approaching the curtain. “There’s nowhere to hide.”

“She’s coming this way,” Sweetie Belle whispered, her voice sounding rather scared.

Twilight and the others couldn’t believe this. Shimmering Beauty was the real criminal mastermind. All this time they thought that Flashhoof was behind it all, when it was really Shimmering Beauty!

Fluttershy couldn’t believe it, most of all.

Knowing that her injuries would slow down her friends, Fluttershy turned to Discord. “Take the case.” She whispered, passing the case to him. “Get it to the princesses.”

Discord looked at her, not believing what she was doing. “What?! I'm not gonna leave you behind! That's not happening.” He said. He wasn't gonna leave his beloved Fluttershy behind.

“Discord, you have to!” Twilight insisted. “Fluttershy can't fly or walk.”

“Just…we’ll think of something!”

“But what’re we gonna do?” Spike asked with a concerned look. Fluttershy can't keep up with her friends in her injured state, but Discord didn't want to leave her behind so that he can take the case to the princesses. But they had to find a way to get the case to the princesses while avoid being captured by Shimmering Beauty and her henchponies.

Looking at the blueberries on the ground, Fluttershy thought of something. Turning to her friends, she said, “I have an idea!”

“We're on the same team, girls!” They heard Shimmering Beauty say.

The unicorn and her two cronies had already entered the area, the stallions both carrying a flashlight as the unicorn spoke up again. “Underestimated. Underappreciated. Aren’t you sick of it?” She said in an annoyed tone.

She motioned a hoof at the two stallions, telling them to spread out and search for them.

“Draconequuses; They may think they're strong and powerful with their chaos magic.” She said in a sarcastic tone as she was looking at a statue of a draconequus and frowned at it just as the tough earth pony came in before she continued. “But ponies outnumber draconequuses ten to one.”

Turning her head, she saw a shadow of a pegasus peeking from behind a pillar. She gestured a hoof at the blue earth pony and he saw the shadow of the pegasus.

“Think of it,” she said as the blue earth pony nodded, turned off his flashlight, and smiled as he walked towards it. “90% of the pony population, united against a common enemy. With your skills and my brains, we’ll be unstoppable.” She finished with an evil look on her face.

As he was getting closer, the blue earth pony tried to look serious, only he seemed to look more comical. “Aha!” He said as he jumped out, getting ready to pounce on the pegasus. But when he saw the pegasus, he saw that it wasn’t really a pegasus at all. It was actually a mannequin of a pegasus.

He looked at it in a confused look. “Huh?”

“NOW!”

Hearing Twilight’s voice, the blue earth pony turned his head and yelped when he saw the alicorn and her friends jump out from their hiding spot and tackle him. Shimmering Beauty and the other two ponies watched as the good guys were beating up the dim-witted earth pony.

“What are they doing?!” A furious Shimmering Beauty asked.

Just then, a loud clattering noise got their attention. Turning her head, Shimmering Beauty saw Discord running past them, carrying the case in his claw and Fluttershy in his lion paw. Shimmering Beauty realized what was going on! The ponies were trying to distract them so Discord can sneak past them with the case and Fluttershy.

Turning to the tough earth pony, Shimmering Beauty pointed a hoof and said, “Over there!” Immediately, the big earth pony chased after them.

As she was busy helping the others take care of the blue earth pony, Starlight Glimmer lifted her head up and turned to Fluttershy and Discord saying, “Run you two! Run!”

The two rushed out of the corridor and headed for the exit while the earth pony was after them in hot pursuit. Despite being big and all, he could run really fast.

“Oh!” Fluttershy yelped, almost slipping out of Discord’s arm. The draconequus quickly prevented that from happening by lifting her up into his arm again as they continued running.

Unfortunately, the tough earth pony was catching up to them. When he got closer to them, he got ready to charge at them as he said, “Rrrrrrrrrraggh!” With that, he headbutted them really hard. The force of the stallion’s headbutt knocked the case out of Discord’s hand while he and Fluttershy fell into a nearby diorama pit. The pegasus and draconequus landed on the ground. The case slid onto the floor until it came to a complete stop before a shadow of a figure approached it.

As they were getting up, Discord groaned. Looking around, they found themselves trapped in the diorama pit.

Just then, they heard a familiar chuckle. They looked up and saw Shimmering Beauty and her cronies as they stopped at the edge of the pit. The blue earth pony had regrouped with them, only he had a black eye (courtesy of Rainbow Dash).

“Ha, ha, ha, ha. Well, well. Isn’t this sweet? ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Too bad this ending won’t end so happily.” Shimmering Beauty said with a smirk as she looked at the couple.

On the other side of the pit, Twilight and the others appeared. They looked down as they looked at their friends in concern.

“Fluttershy! Discord! Are you okay?” Starlight asked.

“We’re okay,” Discord replied, letting her know that they were fine.

Fluttershy, however, just looked at Shimmering Beauty in disbelief. She didn’t understand why Shimmering Beauty, the pony whom she could relate to herself and thought of as a friend, would do something horrible like this.

“Why?” She asked Shimmering Beauty. “Why are you doing this? What have the draconequuses ever done to you?”

“Oh,” Shimmering Beauty said. “They’ve done absolutely nothing to me. I just don’t want them ruining the perfect Equestria that I’m trying to build using their chaos magic!”

Once she said that, the ponies and baby dragon looked at her in confusion.

Looking at the unicorn, Applejack asked, “What in th’ hay are ya babblin’ about?”

Looking at the western earth pony, Shimmering Beauty continued. “Isn’t it obvious? Ever since Princess Celestia allowed draconequuses to live in Equestria, our perfect harmony has started to become impure. So, it’s up to me to cleanse away that tainted harmony and restore it. To do that, I just have to get rid of draconequuses. Celestia is a fool to let them live among us! Equestria is better off without these freaks!”

The gang looked absolutely horrified when she explained her intentions.

“So you’re darting draconequuses just because they’re an entirely different race?!” Twilight asked in disbelief, glaring at the unicorn.

Shimmering Beauty just gave an evil smile. “You catch on pretty quickly, don’t you princess?”

Then Rainbow Dash realized something else before glaring at the unicorn with an accused hoof. “Then...you framed Flashhoof!”

“Of course.” Shimmering Beauty admitted before she continued. “Did you really think a pompous buffoon like Flashhoof was capable of orchestrating a grand scheme such as this? I had to find some way to throw myself off the trail so that you, or anypony else, wouldn’t know that it was me. Flashhoof’s foolhardy crusade to help those draconequuses was the perfect alibi for it.”

“Very soon, my dream will become a reality! Soon, every draconequus in Equestria will be darted and go completely savage. The damage will be so severe that the princesses will have no choice but to send them all back into the Chaos Realm! Equestria will finally be cleansed of the filth that clots it's gutters! And I have you all to thank. You all played your parts perfectly. None of this wouldn’t have been possible without your help.” She said, grinning evilly.

They all just glared at her in disbelief, barely able to comprehend this pony’s existence.

“You used us to do your dirty work!” Starlight Glimmer angrily said.

“Well, duh. What was I supposed to do? Reveal my plans just so you could tell the princesses and all of Equestria?” Shimmering Beauty asked sarcastically.

“I can’t believe this. We trusted you!” Applejack said.

“You’re nothing but a big, selfish jerk!” Sweetie Belle added.

“Yes,” Rarity said, agreeing with her sister as she frowned at Shimmering Beauty. “You may be beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, you’re a monster!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said as she glared at the unicorn. “You really are a Shimmering Butt!!”

Hearing that name, Shimmering Beauty’s evil smile disappeared as she made a rather angry face. Evidently, she still didn’t like being called that little nickname.

“Rrrrrrrrr...DON’T CALL ME THAT!!!!” She shouted at the top of her lungs as she glared at them. Their faces didn’t falter as they just continued to glare back at her.

“But...I thought you were my...friend.” Fluttershy said as she looked at her, her eyes filled with concern.

Staring back at the pegasus, Shimmering Beauty looked at Fluttershy, almost pityingly, as if she was disappointed.

“You know, I thought so too. In a way, you were kind of like the little sister I never had.” Her disappointed expression and tone turned to disgust as she continued. “But then you started to hang out with the master of Chaos!”

Then she relaxed herself. “You should have just stayed home tending to the need of your little animal friends. It’s a shame, really. I did like you.”

“What are you gonna do? Kill me?” Fluttershy asked.

“Who, me? Of course not. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.” Shimmering Beauty laughed. Then her horn began glowing as she lifted up the dart gun from the case with her magic and aimed it at Discord. Giving an evil grin, she said, “...He is.”

Using her magic, she pulled the trigger and the dart gun shot out the dart until it hit Discord on the neck, leaving a stain on it.

“Ooff!” Discord said after getting hit by the serum as he laid on the ground. After seeing her beloved Discord get hit by the serum, Fluttershy rushed up to him.

“No! Oh, Discord!” Fluttershy said as Discord started to grunt and groan in pain.

Spike and the ponies were horrified as they watched Discord shake violently.

“Discord’s been hit!” Apple Bloom said in concern.

“We gotta get in there!” Rainbow Dash said, getting ready to fly into the pit and save Fluttershy.

But before she could get in there, Twilight’s voice stopped her. “No, Rainbow Dash! It’s too dangerous!”

“Well, what’re we supposed to do? I can’t just sit here and watch our friend get torn to pieces!” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I know, Rainbow Dash. But we’re no match for a savage draconequus!” Twilight explained.

Just then, they all heard Shimmering Beauty’s voice. “Yes, princesses! Guards! Police!” Turning their heads, they saw the unicorn talking on her cell phone. “There’s a savage draconequus in the Canterlot Museum! Fluttershy is down! Please hurry!”

They all gasped in horror. Not only did she dart Discord on purpose, she was going to have him attack Fluttershy and then frame him for it!

Fluttershy placed a hoof on Discord’s shoulder. “No! Discord, don’t do this! Fight it! Please!” She pleaded as Discord was shaking and panting, the effect of the night howler running its course.

Putting away her cell phone, Shimmering Beauty looked at the pegasus. “Oh, but he can’t help it, can he?” She told Fluttershy mockingly. “After all, draconequuses are just biologically predisposed as savages. Remember?”

Just then, Discord's panting began to change into growling as Fluttershy watched. Opening his eyes, the draconequus looked straight at Fluttershy menacingly, as he fully became savage. Then he let out a roar of a ferocious lion. Fluttershy backed away from him in fear while she yelped in surprise.

Outside the pit, Twilight called out to her friend. “Fluttershy, run!”

Hearing Twilight’s voice, Fluttershy quickly got up and started to limp away while Discord was on all fours, stalking her like a wild animal, while growling and baring his teeth.  Finally, Discord chased after her as she tried to run away. But with her wounded leg and wing, she wouldn’t be able to get away in time. Thinking fast, Fluttershy grabbed a pony mannequin and threw it at the draconequus just as he was about to strike, hoping that it would slow him down. The mannequin landed on Discord and held him down as he grunted.

With the pony mannequin holding him down, Fluttershy quickly dove into the grass to hide. Shimmering Beauty just laughed evilly, enjoying every second of what was happening. “Ha, ha, ha, ha. My, my. Just think of the headlines: ‘Element of Kindness Mauled to Death by Savage Draconequus,’” said Shimmering Beauty, pleased with herself. Fluttershy nervously backed up to a wall, gasping in fear as she watched as Discord was snarling as he began tearing the pony mannequin and stuffing started to come out of it. Then, grabbing it with his teeth, the draconequus began to tear the fake pony until it was all in pieces. Discord growled as he stared at Fluttershy, the fake pony still in his teeth.

“So that’s it?” Fluttershy asked, looking straight up at Shimmering Beauty and glaring at her. “Ponies fear draconequuses, and you stay in power?”

“Yep. Pretty much,” she said calmly.

“It won’t work!”

“Fear always works! And I’ll dart every draconequus in Equestria to keep it that way and silence anypony who tries to stop me!” Shimmering Beauty said.

Suddenly, Fluttershy heard Discord growling and gasped as he poked his head through the grass.

“Oh, Discord…” Fluttershy said before he began to slowly close in on her, like a predator does to its prey, as she backed up more against the wall. “No...No...Ohhh.”

As she watched this, Shimmering Beauty chuckled. “Ah, ha, ha, ha.” Then, giving a glare, she added, “Bye bye, little pony.”

When he finally cornered the frightened Fluttershy against the wall, Discord growled at her before lunging at her, biting her on the neck as Fluttershy let out a fearful scream.

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

“FLUTTERSHY!!!” Her friends shouted from above the pit. Pinkie Pie raised her head into the air, her hooves over her head screaming, “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Shimmering Beauty just smiled, pleased at her own work while the blue earth pony just placed a hoof over his mouth, horrified at the terrible event that was about to happen.

However, instead of Discord killing Fluttershy like Shimmering Beauty anticipated, something else happened.

“Ohhh…” Fluttershy said in a dramatic voice before Discord let go of her neck and backed away, revealing his normal, mischievous face as the pegasus began to do a familiar act. “Blood, blood, blood!” As Fluttershy pretended that she was being mauled to death, Discord chuckled at her playful act. “And...death!” Fluttershy finished with one hoof on her head and the other in the air before she laid back against the wall, both hooves against it and her tongue sticking out.

“All right, you know you’re milking it,” Discord said with a smile as he started to get back up on his feet. Shimmering Beauty’s evil smile disappeared and a shocked look replaced it while all three of her goons gave equally surprised looks. The others on the other side were all smiling as they watched. “Besides, I think we got it.” Discord said as he stood up. “I think we got it. We got it up there, thank you, pretty pony! You laid it all out quite beautifully.” He gently picked up Fluttershy with his lion paw as they both placed their arms around each other. As their friends came down into the pit, they were laughing before they joined their two friends.

“That was a great performance you two did!” Starlight Glimmer said a smile.

“Yep. It was like watching a play!” Applejack said.

“Quite right,” commented Rarity. “In fact, I would give this act five stars!”

“Yeah! Watching it almost made me think it was all real!” Spike added.

“What?!?!” Shimmering Beauty shrieked in disbelief, looking at the dart gun in confusion and back at them.

Finally, Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold it in any longer as she laughed, along with Spike, Pinkie Pie, and the CMC. “Ha, ha, ha, ha! You should see the look on your face! Priceless! Ha, ha, ha!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said, agreeing with her friend as she smiled. “It was all like, ‘Huh’ ‘What’ ‘But-but-but-but-but-but’!” She showed different faces that Shimmering Beauty made.

“Wha-? Bu-! How?! But-but-but-but-but-but!” The unicorn stuttered in disbelief.

Pinkie Pie just smiled. “Yeah, just like that!”

“But...but I just-! He...he was-! You were-! How did-?!” Shimmering Beauty said, dumbfounded to what was going on.

“Oh, yeah. Are you looking for the serum?” Discord asked before snapping his fingers and a plastic bag appeared with a ‘Caution’ sign on it. Inside it was the serum. “Well, it’s right here.” He said before snapping his fingers, poofing the plastic bag away.

“What you got in the dart gun there? Those are blueberries. From my place.” Fluttershy said with a smile as Discord held her in his paw.

“WHAT?!” Shimmering Beauty opened the chamber of the dart gun and looked inside of it. Instead of a pellet of night howler serum, there were a couple of blueberries in it.

Discord licked the blueberry he had been hit with earlier with his fingers. “Mwah! They are delicious, you should try some.”

The dim-witted earth pony took a blueberry from the dart gun and ate it. After eating it, he smiled and said, “Hey, he’s right! These are delicious!”

Shimmering Beauty, however, growled furiously as she closed the dart gun. “I framed that idiot, Flashhoof! I can frame you all too! It’s my word against yours,” she said evilly, thinking she still had the upper hoof.

Fluttershy just smiled. “Oh! Actually…” She pulled out a familiar flower pen and pressed a button. It made a rewinding noise before she played it.

“...And I’ll dart every draconequus in Equestria to keep it that way and silence anypony who tries to stop me!” Shimmering Beauty’s voice came out of the pen as it played back what she said earlier.

“Hey, Fluttershy. Can we hear my favorite part again?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Why not? It’s my favorite part too!” Discord added. With a smile, Fluttershy pressed the button to rewind it and played it once again.

“...And I’ll dart every draconequus in Equestria to keep it that way and silence anypony who tries to stop me!” Shimmering Beauty looked absolutely horrified as she heard what she said come out of the pen. All three of her goons each gave each other worried and nervous glances.

When it stopped playing, Fluttershy looked at the unicorn. “You see, it’s your word against yours.”

Shimmering Beauty’s jaws dropped as she just stood there in shock and disbelief. “Huh?”

As she, Discord, and the rest of their friends smiled at her, Fluttershy said with a friendly smile, “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

“Boom.” Spike added, snapping his claws and pointing at the unicorn with a smug smile.

Shimmering Beauty backed away nervously and tried to make a run for it. However, as she turned around, she found herself being surrounded by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Officer Gruff, Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, the police, and the royal guards as she gasped before dropping the dart gun. They were all glaring at her.

They had heard everything from Fluttershy’s flower pen and they were not happy with what the unicorn had done. Shimmering Beauty’s henchponies, seeing that they were both outnumbered and outmatched, immediately raised their hooves in the air and surrendered. Inspector Fantastic had his umbrella ready as if he was going to give those criminals a good whacking.

Defeated, Shimmering Beauty slumped to the ground. She groaned and muttered, “Oh no…”



At the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse, the three little fillies were writing another letter to Babs Seed. Only this time, it was good news that they were writing and they were feeling quite cheerful.

Taking the pencil, Apple Bloom wrote in the letter first with a smile on her face.

Dear Babs Seed,

You’ll be happy to hear that we finally found out why draconequuses were going savage. Turns out that they really weren’t reverting back to their primitive, savage ways. They were under the effect of some flowers called midne...mideecap...midda...Night howlers. The same kind of flowers that we use at Sweet Apple Acres.

And the mastermind behind it all was none other than the former mayor of Manehattan, Shimmering Beauty! Because of this, she and her cronies are behind bars today for their crimes against Equestria.

As Apple Bloom wrote that down, the scene shows a police car with reporters outside. Coming out of the car was Shimmering Beauty and all six of her henchponies, including Sniper, Walter, and Jeff, all wearing orange jumpsuits while Shimmering Beauty and Sniper wore anti-magic collars around their necks. Shimmering Beauty just looked angry as cameras were flashing at her. As he was walking, the blue earth pony noticed the camera in front of him. He waved a hoof at the camera and smiled.

The scene changes back to the clubhouse as Apple Bloom handed Scootaloo the pencil. Scootaloo began writing next in the letter.

Her predecessor, Flashhoof, denies any knowledge of her plot. He claimed that he was just trying to protect Equestria. Reports say that once he’s been released from prison, he’ll be reinstated back to being the mayor of Manehattan again. Of course...he has to spend some time in jail, since what he did was still illegal.

Then the scenes shows Flashhoof talking to a pony reporter in jail. “Did I falsely imprison those draconequuses against their will?” Flashhoof said, asking what the reporter asked him. “Well, yes. Yes, I did.”  Then flashing one of his charming smiles at the reporter, he said, “It was a classic ‘doing the wrong thing for the right reason kind of a deal’. Know what I mean?”

Back with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sweetie Belle wrote next in the letter.

Thanks to some help from Granny Smith, doctors say that the night howler antidote has proven to be a great success in curing all those draconequuses affected by the night howler serum. Including Mr. Otterus!

The scene changes to the Ponyville hospital in a patient's room. Resting in the bed was Nelson Otterus, cured from being darted by night howlers and becoming savage, until he started to come to.

Opening his eyes, the otter draconequus came to his senses. Sitting right beside him was Mrs. Otterus and their children. Seeing her husband waking up, Mrs. Otterus smiled, happy that her husband was back.

“Nelson.” She said as she got out of her seat. “Oh! Nelson!” She then hugged him as the children watched, happy to have their dad back.
“Dad!” the son said as he joined his parents in the hug.

“Daddy!” said the daughter, joining as well.

The family continued hugging, finally glad to be back together again. As she hugged her husband, Mrs. Otterus turned her attention to Fluttershy and her friends.

“Thank you,” she said to them with a smile.

The pegasus and the others smiled as they watched, glad that the Otterus family was finally reunited.

Finally, the scene shows Ponyville as Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were seen walking, heading to the post office to deliver their letter as Apple Bloom’s voice was heard.

Because we solved the mystery, things are now back the way they were in Ponyville and the rest of Equestria! Ponies and draconequuses are friends once again!

Turning their heads, the three fillies watched as ponies are apologizing to draconequuses for how they had treated them. They also saw a unicorn filly and a draconequus cub running and laughing as they were playing tag together.

As they arrived inside the Ponyville hospital, Scootaloo’s voice was heard next. They watched as Antic was seen unpacking her work supplies and helping a young earth pony colt that had a bruised leg. Using some medicine, she rubbed it on the colt’s leg and wrapped it up as the young colt smiled.

Also, at the Ponyville hospital, Discord’s sister, Antic, no longer has to work downstairs in the records by the boiler anymore. She’s now working back at the hospital, only she’s not working at a desk job. To make up for their mistreatment, the ponies at the hospital apologized and promoted her as a full-fledged doctor!

Finally, Sweetie Belle’s voice talking next as the unicorn and her friends left the hospital.

Singing Diva was right about one thing: Equestria is a unique place! Not only do we celebrate our differences, we also celebrate the magic of friendship! 

Hope you’ll write back soon!

As they approached the post office, they put the envelope in the mailbox as all three of their voices were heard together.

Your friends,

The Cutie Mark Crusaders
> Ch.15-Happy Ending
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ch. 15-Happy Ending


The scene switches back to the present time as Twilight finished telling the story and looked at her friends. Babs Seed just sat there, smiling in awe to what she had just heard.

Finally, she spoke. “So, if Granny Smith hadn’t told you about the night howlers, you never would have saved Equestria.”

“That's right!” Applejack said with a smile. “Good ol’ Granny Smith told us all about them night howlers!”

Wiping the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief, Rarity said, “Oh, telling this story always gets me crying every time.”

“ME TOO!!!” wailed Pinkie Pie as she cried in joy. Her tears came rushing out like a fountain and got all over Spike.

Fluttershy smiled. “And I finally understood what Zecora meant when she gave me that advice. Despite how Discord looks on the outside, it is the goodness of his heart and feelings for me that I love. I’m proud to say that I’m glad to have a wonderful friend like him and someone I would like to spend the rest of my life with.”

Starlight Glimmer turned her head to a clock and gasped. “Oh my goodness!” She said. “Look at the time!”

Twilight and the others saw it too and they gasped.

“Sweet Celestia! It's almost time!” Rarity said.

“We better get ready and fast!” Rainbow Dash said.

They all rushed out the door. As Starlight followed her friends, she didn't see where she was going and bumped into someone. When she looked up, she gasped in surprise. It was Sunburst.

“Sunburst?” She said in surprise.

Sunburst looked at her in surprise before he smiled. “We have to stop bumping into each other like this.”

Starlight smiled before she replied, “I'm surprised that you are here as well.”

“Well, when I heard that my best friend was going to be the best mare, I just had to come.”

Starlight Glimmer blushed when he said that. It was true that she was the best mare. Since she was the one who knew that Fluttershy and Discord were falling in love, she offered to be the best mare.

Looking at the unicorn, Starlight said, “Well, I'm glad that you came.”

Rubbing his foreleg, Sunburst said, “Hey, I was wondering, after the wedding, if you would like to share a dance with me.”

Looking at the stallion, Starlight said, “Of course! I would love to share a dance with you!”

The two of them looked at each other for a moment until Rainbow Dash’s voice called out them.

“Hey, you two lovebirds! Hurry up! The best mare has to be ready in fifteen minutes!”

They both looked at each other before they smiled and followed the others.

As they hurried along, Spike and the CMC were the last ones to leave. Spike didn't seem as worried as before.

Scootaloo looked at him as they ran along. “You feeling better, Spike?”

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. “You were really nervous earlier.”

“Yeah,” Spike replied happily. “Listening to the whole story all over again made me forget what I was so worried about. I wonder what it was.”

“Well, whatever it was, it must not be important.” Sweetie Belle added.

In the room, the Mane Six’s pets were still sitting at the window, only they all had bowls of popcorn. They sat back and continued watching the 'performance’ going on outside.



Outside, once again, the Thief lifted up his pole, which was much longer than any of the other poles he had used. It would have been long enough to knock over 50 ponies all at once.

By now, the Thief was tired, bruised, aching, and frustrated. Despite all this, he wasn't going to give up just yet.

“Alright, folks.” The Thief thought to himself. “It all comes down to this.”

The Thief stared at the statue to gain his focus. “After 999 failed attempts, he’s gonna make another move.” 

He lifted up his pole and began running. “Will he make it? Alright folks, here he goes!”

With that, the Thief pole-vaulted himself off of the ground. He went up higher and higher. He was only a few inches away from the statue and the emerald. Finally, he was close to the shining emerald.

“Yes! Yes! Yeeesss, yes!” He thought to himself as he desperately reached for the emerald, smiling in joy. Unfortunately, it was out of his reach by only a few inches. With that, he began falling downward.



The pets watched as the Thief tried to grab the emerald, only to fail for the thousandth time.

“Ooh! So close.” Angel Bunny thought.



The Thief then fell downwards from the statue and down towards the buildings below.

“Whoa!”

Instead of crashing into the building with a large splat, he slid down the spiral stairway, mentally mumbling and shouting to himself. “Where-Wha-Whoa!” He slid off the end of the stairway and landed straight into a fabric awning and bounced off of it. “Oof!”

He bounced right into another one and went straight into a pole holding the flag of Equestria, only to twirl around it and go flying once again. “Ahhhaa! Whoa!”

He landed against a clothesline and headed straight for an open window that a female earth pony was using to water her plants. When she saw the Thief, she yelled in surprise and slammed the window shut. The Thief landed against it with a thud before falling downward.

“Hello to you too,” The Thief thought as he continued falling down. His snout caught on another clothesline and he did a twirl before crashing and twirling into another clothesline.

“So many awnings.” He thought after bouncing yet another awning, only to bounce into another one.

“Whoa! Whoo!! Whoo!” The Thief thought nervously as he fell downward.

Down below, a royal guard was trying to reason with a delivery pony setting a trampoline that would have made Pinkie Pie all giddy in two seconds.

“Look.” The royal guard said, trying not to get annoyed. “For the last time, we did not order a giant trampoline for the wedding.”

The delivery pony just looked at the guard with an equally annoyed face. “You know, pal, you could have told me that before I set it up.”

Neither of them noticed a familiar silent, green earth pony in a brown cloak land in the middle of the trampoline. “OOF!!” The Thief then bounced right back up to land up against an awning and to bounce against another one and go flying.

As he went flying, he twirled around a pole holding up a stand and went flying in the other direction. In slow motion, he passed by a window where inside he briefly noticed a baby unicorn, who babbled happily at him before he continued flying by.

The Thief began to crash through a window and go right through a building right out the window.

“OOF!! Ow! Hey! Oops! Ah! Whoa!

The Thief sailed through building after building and out through every window. As he did, pony voices could be heard in each building.

“Ahhhh!!!”

“WHYDONTYALETMEOUT?!”

“My leg!!”

“D’oh!”

As he did, he was holding a potted plant for every window he went through. The last one he went through, he had a rose in his mouth and a female pony’s voice was heard screaming.

“Ooooohh,” The Thief thought as he looked back. “Naughty.”

He then bounced into an awning and slid down a longer one. Once he was back on solid ground, he stumbled about dizzyingly.

“Well, Marv,” The Thief thought to himself in a dizzy, goofy tone. “This concludes our pole-vaulting event.”

He continued stumbling about before he thought, “And now let’s move on to the floor exercises.”

With that, the Thief, tired and worn out, collapsed to the ground with a thud.

“OOF!”

As he lay there, a mother duck and her ducklings waddled by, quacking as if it were an ordinary day.



At the altar, everypony was already in position for the wedding. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were lined up beside the bride’s vacant space, Starlight Glimmer stood beside Discord, Spike holding the pillows with the rings, and Twilight was standing in the middle, underneath the arch of roses. The Mane Six’s pets, who had just finished their popcorn while watching the Thief, were there as well.

The guests had arrived as well. Some of the guests that were there were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Sunburst, most of Applejack’s relatives, including Braeburn with Little Strongheart and a light blue earth pony with a dark blue beard and a goofy grin called Sloppy Joe. (But that's another story). Others that were there were Fluttershy's family, Pinkie Pie’s family, including Maud Pie, Twilight's and Shining Armor’s parents, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance holding Baby Pure Heart, Rarity and Sweetie Belle’s parents, the Cakes and their toddlers, Zecora, Mayor Mare, Cheese Sandwich, Caramel, Soarin, Spitfire, Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda, Bulk Biceps, Derpy, Cheerilee, Sweetie Drops and Lyra Heartstrings, Doctor Whooves, Mr. Hoof and his marefriend, their two teddy bears, Officer Gruff, Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, Antic and the rest of Discord's family, Mental,  Mr. and Mrs. Otterus and their kids, George, Bernice, Juan Rico, Mr. Big Daddy, Fifi, a dozen different-looking pony thugs wearing black suits, the CMC's friends, and many other ponies and draconequuses.

Discord stood there, feeling nervous.

Starlight noticed this and said, “Don't worry, Discord. It's gonna be alright.”

“Easy for you to say.” Discord said. “You're not the one getting married. I'm worried that I’ll mess it all up.”

“Just take deep breaths.”

Discord did, only he did it faster than he should have. “I'm trying. It's not helping.”

Starlight remembered how Discord helped Fluttershy at the press conference and said, “This is a very important day for you and Fluttershy. Fluttershy wouldn't want you to be nervous.”

“How would you feel if you were the one standing at the altar, about to make the biggest decision of your-?!”

He was interrupted when the bird chorus began to sing the bridal march, which Angel was directing them. The doors opened as Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed hopped down the aisle, scattering flowers petals as everyone watched.

Finally, Fluttershy entered in the altar, looking beautiful in her wedding dress. When he saw her, Discord's nervous face faded away as he looked at her with a smile. Starlight noticed this and smiled. She knew that the draconequus wasn't feeling nervous anymore, now that he has seen his beloved Fluttershy looking more beautiful than ever before.

As Fluttershy walked passed them, Inspector Fantastic and Number Two smiled as if they were about to cry. Just then, Number Two noticed something. Sitting right beside them was Officer Gruff, who looked like he was going to cry.

“Officer Gruff, sir? Are you crying?” Number Two asked.

“Huh? Uh, no no.” Officer Gruff said, wiping away the tear with a hoof. “I just got...something in my eye, that's all.”

Inspector Fantastic, however, was on the verge of bursting out tears of joy. “I...I promised meself that I wouldn't...that I wouldn't...Oh, lumme, 'oo am I tryin’ ter kid?!” With that, Inspector Fantastic burst into tears of happiness while Number Two patted him comfortingly. Officer Gruff rolled his eyes and smiled.

As she walked up the steps, Fluttershy looked at Discord with a smile. After they gave each other loving looks, they turned to Twilight.

“Citizens of Equestria,” the alicorn said to the guests as she began to speak. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Fluttershy and Discord. These two have shown us that no matter how one might look on the outside, we can see who they are on the inside if we try to understand one another. The love of these two have proven to us all that no matter how hard things were up ahead, no matter how many trials they faced, the feelings they have for each other was strong to overcome them all.”

Turning to Discord, she said, “Do you, Discord, take this mare to be your lawfully wedded wife for as long as you both shall live?”

Looking at the pegasus, Discord said, “I do.”

“And do you, Fluttershy, take this draconequus to be your lawfully wedded husband for as long as you both shall live?”

Fluttershy looked at the draconequus with adoring eyes and smiled. “I do.”

Twilight smiled and turned to Spike. “May we have the rings?”

Spike approached the alicorn with the pillow and she used her magic to levitate the two rings. One that was attached to a gold chain was placed around Fluttershy’s neck while the other ring slid onto Discord’s eagle claw.

“By the power invested in me,” the alicorn continued. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Discord lifted Fluttershy into a dip and the two of them kissed. As they kissed, the guests gave out a cheer.

As the cheering continued, Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash.

“Uh, Rainbow Dash?” she said.

The blue pegasus looked at her in confusion for a moment, but then realized what she was trying to tell her.

“Oh, right!”

She zoomed out of her gown and raced outside. Once outside, she took to the skies and launched a sonic rainboom as everyone watched in awe.

“BEST...WEDDING...EVER!!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

As she watched the couple, Starlight Glimmer smiled. Fluttershy and Discord were now together, forever. Just then, she felt a hoof touched her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Sunburst standing right beside her.

As he looked at her, Sunburst said, “Hey, I know it’s kind of early, but all I want to say is...I love you.”

Starlight looked at him and smiled in return. “And I love you.”

Finally, the two unicorns looked at each other romantically and nuzzled their noses.



“And I love big distractions like weddings.” The Thief thought to himself as he once again got ready to pole-vault himself to the statue again.

The Thief launched himself into the air and went towards the statue. However, he went right through the legs of the statue and fell downward.

“Eeeeeyoooooooooowwwwwwwww!!!!! WWWWHHOOOAA!!!!” The Thief thought as he went flying once again.

Angel watched the whole thing and rolled his eyes.



Nighttime came, and everything was dark. Suddenly, bright lights flashed on and a stage appeared. The stage was surrounded by thousands of ponies, draconequuses, buffaloes, griffons, and yaks. On the stage was none other than Singing Diva herself, wearing a beautiful purple dress with stars decorated on it! Around her were four pony dancers.

Then the music began to start playing.



Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

“Good evening, Equestria!” Singing Diva said to the audience as they were cheering.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

“Come on, everypony! Put your hooves up!” She said as she used her magic to hold up a microphone before she began to sing.

Singing Diva: I messed up tonight
I lost another fight
Lost to myself but I’ll just start again

Singing Diva’s voice was like an angel with a spunky voice. As she sung, she danced about while the pony dancers danced along with her.

I keep falling down
I keep on hitting the ground

Among the crowd was Snips, Snails, and Bulk Biceps, who wore ‘I love Singing Diva’ t-shirts and they were overjoyed at seeing their favorite idol up close.

But I always get up now to see what’s next

Singing Diva continued singing as Twilight and her friends danced along to the music. The CMC and Babs Seed smiled as they joined in as well.

I won’t give up, no I won’t give in
Till I reach the end
And then I’ll start again

The gigantic crowd danced along to the upbeat music. Lights of different color flashed around, illuminating the entire area.

No, I won’t leave
I want to try everything
I want to try even though I could fail

As Lyra and Sweetie Drops danced, Sloppy Joe came as he did a goofy country dance and his long, bushy beard went out and tickled the two mares. They both yelped in surprise and started laughing hysterically.

I won’t give up, no I won’t give in
Till I reach the end
And then I’ll start again

Big Mac and Cheerilee danced while Mr. Hoof and his marefriend were doing their own goofy dance. BraeBurn and Little Strong were square dancing.

No, I won’t leave 
I want to try everything
I want try even though I could fail

Antic was dancing while Zecora did a tribal dance next to her. Nearby, the Mane Six’s pets were dancing together with the beat.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!

George and Bernice both danced as well, the sloth draconequuses dancing extremely slow.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

The two identical pony thugs just stood there. But they moved their heads to the beat at the same time while Mr. Big Daddy and Fifi, who was still pregnant, moved along to the music. The cat was on Mr. Big Daddy’s lap and purred affectionately.

Try everything!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

Pinkie Pie’s family was dancing very slowly, completely opposite to the way Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich were as they danced together.

Look how far you’ve come
You filled your heart with love
Baby, you done enough
Take a deep breath

Among the enormous crowd, the Thief was there as well. There were so ponies and other creatures dancing about that they didn’t seem to notice the wanted pony. He was smiling a wide grin while he did his own strange dance, which was having his hooves up in the air and pulling them back down while he moved his legs back and forth randomly.

Don’t beat yourself up
No need to run so fast
Sometimes we come last
But we did our best

Mental was also doing his own strange dance while Granny Smith was tap-dancing like crazy next to him.

I won’t give up, no I won’t give in
Till I reach the end
And then I’ll start again

Officer Gruff, Inspector Fantastic, and Number Two seen were all dancing along as well. Since all three of them were big fans of Singing Diva, they were at the concert also. Even Officer Gruff seemed happy as ever.

No, I won’t leave
I want to try everything
I want to try even though I could fail

The scene shifted to the Manehattan jail where the whole concert was being shown on a small t.v. Beside the t.v. was a security guard on duty. In front of the t.v. were several ponies criminals watching as they were sitting in chairs. Sitting in a chair was Shimmering Beauty frowning angrily while her thugs were sitting nearby. Sniper still had his grim expression while drinking a latte while Walter and Jeff were sitting nearby. Shimmering Beauty watched as her other three thugs were tapping their hooves to the beat. The dim-witted pony seemed to be happier than the others. Shimmering Beauty just glared at him before the scene shifted back to the concert in Canterlot.

I won’t give up, no I won’t give in
Till I reach the end
And then I’ll start again

Rainbow Dash was smiling as Soarin joined her dance. They both flew around in the air along with many other pegasi.

No, I won’t leave 
I want to try everything
I want try even though I could fail

Caramel joined Applejack in her dance and they square-danced together. Even Rarity was enjoying her dance with Spike. The baby dragon was also enjoying his dance with his crush.

I’ll keep on making those new mistakes
I’ll keep on making them every day
Those new mistakes

As she danced with her friends, Starlight Glimmer spotted Sunburst and he did as well. Finally, the two unicorns danced together.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

The audience continued dancing as Singing Diva and her dancers danced together.

“Come on, everypony!” Pinkie Pie said in excitement. “Shake those tails like you mean it!”

I’ll keep on making those new mistakes
I’ll keep on making them every day
Those new mistakes

As Singing Diva continued singing, everypony cheered. Fluttershy hugged Discord, who was surprised for a moment before he smiled and stroked her mane as she nuzzled, while Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed gave each other a high-hoof.

Split scenes show Officer Gruff, Inspector Fantastic, Number Two, and Antic still dancing while Shimmering Beauty was still frowning in prison. The dim-witted pony smiled as he began to softly touch her beautiful hair. When she noticed this, she swatted him away and crossed her hooves angrily while he sheepishly smiled and shrugged.

Another split scene show Shining Armor and Princess Cadance as they danced with a happy Pure Heart. Celestia and Luna smiled as they listened to the song while Mental nodded his head in rhythm with the beat with a goofy smile.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!

The next split scenes show Mayor Flashhoof, who was still in jail, as he was reading a magazine and smiled. The Otterus family danced happily as Mr. Otterus twirled around with his wife.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!

The next split scenes show Mr. Hoof and his marefriend as they continued dancing goofy. The Thief was still smiling as he continued his own dance until he saw a necklace from the corner of his eye and snatched it before he continued dancing. He didn't know that it was his own necklace that he stole. Bootleg was was moonwalking to the dance when he spotted a pony with money in a pocket. He smiled and grabbed it before he continued dancing.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Try everything!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

As the song was coming to an end, Singing Diva's dancers stopped right next to her and striking poses. Singing Diva smiled to the audience before she sang one more time.

Try everything

Fireworks lit up the night sky as everyone cheered.


THE END