> Equestria Girls: It's Showtime--Wallace and Gromit: Cracking Contraptions
>  by PlymouthFury58
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Soccamatic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a fine feeling Saturday.  The kind of Saturday weekend that would make one feel eager to break out into a musical number.

Today was not the case however.

On this Saturday, in the humble city of Canterlot, a young spunky high school sports star named Rainbow Dash was feeling the edge in her body: the edge to get out and move her body in a sports-like environment.  Being that she was the queen of all physical sports activities in her school, some days it was hard to pick and choose which sport she wanted to practice.  Looking around, she noticed her favorite pair of cleats, right next to her only soccer ball, after kicking the first out of existence five weeks back.

Getting on her cleats, she took out her phone to check for any recent developments.  So far, there has not been anything new from the gang, which was a shame, so she added one herself.




Today at 9:37 a.m.
Rainbow: Hey, guys! Happy Saturday. Gonna go practice soccer. Anyone wanna come?


Read at 9:38 a.m.
Sunset: Zzz. Go back to sleep.

Read at 9:40 a.m.
Twilight: Can’t, Rainbow. I’m in the middle of a brand new experiment! Spike, where’s my coffee?!

Read at 9:42 a.m.
Applejack: Can’t come to the phone, sorry.

Read at 9:45 a.m.
Fluttershy: Sorry, Rainbow. I’m looking after Rarity’s cat while she’s out of town and she’s currently got the zoomies.

Read at 9:45 a.m.
Pinkie: Sorry, Rainbow! Can’t come! Needed at work! Okay, bye!



Well, that was a bummer.  Rainbow felt disappointed that she would be the only one on the soccer field that morning, but she still felt the need to get up and punt the ball on the field.

Tying down her laces and holding the ball, she activated her geode which sent her rainbow blazing across town at the speed of light to where her destination was: the Canterlot High soccer field.  It being a public school, normally would have the basic amounts of gear and land for those with the itch for playing sports.  For Rainbow Dash, it felt like her home away from home.

“Aw, yeah,” she beamed.  “Time to get my groove on.”

Once she stepped down onto the field however, she noticed that there were some people already there, and practicing no less.  What was even worse, and completely baffling, was that Twilight Sparkle (not the Equestrian princess) was sitting on the sidelines in anticipation while watching what looked to be a dog guarding the goal, and a middle-aged man in a soccer uniform and brown cleats.  What was even more worse was that the man on the field was Wallace: the crazy egghead inventor who had just moved in town, and Twilight would not shut up about that man all day at lunch.

“Wake up, Gromit!  You’ll have to be on your toes this week, lad,” Wallace said, looking surprisingly springy for his age and build.

“Hey, Rainbow!” Twilight called.

Rainbow walked over to where Twilight was sitting on the bleachers, with a notebook and pencil in hand.  “You said you were busy with an experiment today, Twilight,” she said.  “What gives?”

“To be fair, I was busy, and that was helping Wallace move his invention down here,” Twilight replied.

“And I was helping Gromit with the helping,” Spike, Twilight’s talking because of magic dog, added, “and we did all of the work, by the way.”

“Say, Twilight?  Who’s your friend?” Wallace asked.

“This is Rainbow Dash, Wallace,” Twilight answered.  “Rainbow—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know who he is,” Rainbow interrupted, still feeling peeved.  “What exactly are you doing here, Wally?”

“Gromit and I are simply practicing our football skills,” Wallace replied, still carrying that giant smile of his on his bald head.  “I used to play football as a lad, you know.”

“No, really,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.  She then whispered to Twilight.  “What does he think he is?  This is soccer.  Not football.”

“He’s from Britain, and over there they call soccer football, which makes a lot more sense to me than soccer.”

“Come on then, Gromit,” Wallace said to his dog.  “Let’s show her what we’re made of, eh?”

Gromit, standing on his back legs, tossed the ball to Wallace with his forelegs, now looking like hands.

“Wahey, ha haaa.  Watch out for me nobbie styles, Gromit!”

Gromit seemed caught off guard, and accidentally blocked the ball with his defensive hands/feet.

“Tom Finney!”

This time he leapt up and snagged the ball from his right.

“It’s a rocket from Geoff Hurst.”

Gromit then dove to his left and caught it with one hand/foot right at the post.  He then caught the next ball with a simple jump at the center portion of the goal.

“Shankley!”

Gromit leapt forward and knocked the ball from its momentum before hitting the ground.

“Pongo Waring!”

Gromit jumped up to knock the ball away with his head.

“Stanley Mathews!”

This time, Gromit simply idled by the post, catching the ball with one hand/foot while inspecting his nails on the other, before tossing the ball back to Wallace.

“By ‘eck,” he sighed, out of breath, catching the ball.  “Well that’s you warmed.  I think it’s time we moved up a division.  You stay here while Twilight and I get it ready.”

“I’ll be right there, Wallace!” Twilight replied.  “You’re going to love this, Rainbow!”

“I’ll be sure to let you know when I do,” Rainbow deadpanned, watching her friend bound after the old egghead.

Getting up, she noticed how smug Gromit was looking, and feeling the need to flex, she dropped onto the field getting his attention.  She then placed her ball right at dead center on the field, before placing her foot on the ball.

“So, you think you’re so great at soccer, eh?  Well, you’re looking at the queen around here. Nobody’s yet to beat me in a fair match, so you better bring on the big guns, ‘cause this comin’ in hot!”

She backed up to the other end, then rushed forward at full speed before seizing the momentum into her kick, sending the ball directly above Gromit’s head.

He leapt up to grab it, spinning himself in midair in the process, before landing firmly on both back legs, tossing the ball up and back onto his hand/foot while shaking his head back to a completely floored Rainbow Dash.

“Wha…bu…you…and…just…and I…and you…and…HOW?!!!”

She then angrily stomped right up to the small mutt, before grabbing him by the collar and lifting his muzzle to her eye level.

“HOW could you have CAUGHT THAT?!!  THAT’S MY SIGNATURE MOVE, AND NO ONE’S BEATEN IT EVER FIRST TRY!!!  IT TOOK ME YEARS TO PERFECT IT, AND YOU JUST BLOCKED IT LIKE THAT!!!”

Unbeknownst to her, but knownst to Gromit, a low rumble of an engine could be heard from the middle of the field.  Gromit immediately scrambled free from Rainbow’s grip and out of the way, only for Rainbow to turn around, scream, and leap to the ground covering her head like a tornado drill while soccer balls were launched at the goal and flown around like marbles.

She looked to see Wallace sitting on a chair built into a machine, and holding a pair of binoculars and a book, that launched soccer balls from  a bowl at the top that led into a small slide where it curved into a sudden drop only for it to be launched from a spinning circle of boots.

“Hee heeee, smashing!  How do you like my Preston North End Soccamatic, Rainbow?  I can see you’re enjoying it.”

“This was your project, Twilight?!  A mechanized cheating device for soccer?!” Rainbow screeched.

“It gave me a brain break from studying, and it was fun to build!” Twilight countered.

“Works a treat, doesn’t it, lass?” Wallace grinned with pride.  “Guaranteed all the goals, none of the fuss.”  Looking up from his reading, he then noticed that the boots were now kicking the air.  “Oh heck I’m out of balls.  No need to worry, there’s plenty where they came from.”  He then pulled a lever that caused a set of five tubes to rise up from the rear of the machine, and then each tube dropped about two balls into the bowl.

Meanwhile, Gromit approached a defensive Rainbow Dash with a set of garments, indicating for her to wear them.  It was a green sweater, a pair of red rubber gloves, and an aviator’s helmet.

“What are those for?” she asked with a huff.  He indicated again, this time looking grumpy.  “You expect me to wear those on a soccer field, against that?!  I need a stronger helmet than whatever that’s supposed to be…”

Gromit rolled his eyes in annoyance, before forcing the sweater over her struggling torso.

“Hey!  What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”  She popped her head out only for the helmet to be stuffed on and tightly strapped.  “Ow!  What gives?!”  She felt her arms grabbed and each rubber glove tightly strapped on under the sleeves.

Wallace then took notice.  “Get ready, Grom…ooh!”

“Woah, Rainbow!  What are you wearing?” Twilight asked from the bleachers and her notebook.

“Ask the dog!  He’s the one who stuffed this on me!” Rainbow shouted.  She then noticed Gromit reach behind to grab a string.  “Now what’re you—WAAAGH!!!”

Gromit ran away just in time for the sweater to bulge out and rise like an inflatable, completely enveloping Rainbow’s entire body and sending her exposed head to crash into the overhead pole of the pole.

“Ouch!” she yelped, before noticing that her rubber hands also bulged out.

She felt completely ridiculous.  Although, seeing Wallace and Twilight’s baffled and starstruck faces made it more worthwhile.

“That’s so cool, Rainbow!” Twilight shrieked.  “The perfect guarding device against the perfect soccer-playing device!  EEEEEH!!!”

“Just so you know, this was all on the dog,” Rainbow deadpanned.

“I gotta show the others!”

“No, Twilight don’t—”

“And sent!”

Rainbow groaned with embarrassment.

“Ah, now that’s just not cricket, Gromit,” Wallace complained.  He then took out a racket and tennis ball.  “Anyone for tennis, perchance?”

“Sure thing, Wallace,” Rainbow sighed, “just after Gromit gets out of this thing.  Gromit?  Hey, where’d you go?”

Gromit had disappeared off the field only to reappear lounging in a chair nearby off the field and reading through the latest headline.

Wallace meanwhile sent the tennis ball flying right into the inflated balloon that was once her chest.  “Fifteen, luv!”

Rainbow Dash groaned.
> The Autochef
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day started off to a good start, at least that is what it assumed to be, or perhaps was looking to tease her by beginning with this sort of atmosphere.  Surprisingly, the sun seemed to have a friendly feeling, at least, though that was not enough.

A whiff of the scent from downstairs finally brought young Sweetie Belle out of bed.

She slouched as she trudged downstairs into the kitchen where her older sister Rarity was finishing on fixing the stitching on her apron.  The stove was leaking vapors of smoke and the fire extinguisher was nearby.

“Good morning, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity greeted.

“I thought you were going to make breakfast?” Sweetie asked.

“I’m sorry, darling, but the stove has been out of order for the past few days and I haven’t enough money to replace it.”

“I could make breakfast for both of us.”

“With all due respect, it would be a good idea if that didn’t happen.  I still can’t believe that orange juice could be burned,” Rarity mumbled.

“So what are we having for breakfast?  I’m starving,” Sweetie moaned.

“I’m glad you asked, Sweetie!” her sister suddenly perked up.  “It happened the other day when I went shopping with Twilight.  When we stopped in the appliance section, I told her of my woes, and then she told me not to worry and that her friend would bring it over.”

“Bring what over?”

“I don’t know, but she did appear very enthusiastic about it.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“Hmm, I wonder if that’s her right now.”

Sweetie slumped into the dining room chair, that double right next to the kitchen, doing her best to ignore the rumbling pain in her stomach and wondering what Twilight’s present was, exactly.  Twilight Sparkle was a good friend of Rarity, but between her and the other girls she hung out with, she and Twilight could trade places with the second-most eccentric personality, because no one could even dare out-eccentric Pinkie Pie.

“Just this way,” she heard Rarity say.

“Oh, what a lovely house you’ve got here,” she heard an unfamiliar voice say.  “Is it yours?”

“Oh, no it belongs to my parents.  It’s been in the family for years now.”  Rarity then appeared in the doorway, looking very excitable.  “Sweetie Belle, I would like to introduce to you the man who has come to save me from my distress, Wallace.”

Just behind her appeared the stranger, though the moment Sweetie heard the name Wallace the stranger became less strange and more eccentric.  She heard of Wallace from passersby at school: the cheese-loving happy-go-lucky inventing oaf who had recently moved from Britain with his dog Gromit.  She also heard that Twilight would not shut up about Wallace every day at lunch.  Also, he wore a green sweater over a white shirt and tie with brown trousers and black shoes.

Where was his lab coat?

“Hallo, there, Sweetie Belle,” Wallace smiled as he waved.  Even his smile was as big as his mind for invention.  “Rarity has told all about you.  This is my dog, Gromit.”

Gromit walked up to Sweetie, stood on his hind legs, and quickly passed her a yellow raincoat and hat, wearing an expression of dread.  He wasted no time stuffing the coat over her before plopping the hat on her head.

“Thanks…I guess?  So, Rarity told me you were going to fix the oven?” Sweetie asked.

“Oh, oh, yes.  Well, uh, not exactly.  Actually, I’ve got a better idea for you; better than any old stove,” Wallace explained.  He then pulled out a chunky but basic looking controller, with an antenna.  “Allow me to present to you lovely ladies: The Autochef!”

Rarity took her seat, with Wallace sitting next to her working the controller, and soon enough, entering through the doorway was what looked like a giant fat blender on wheels, with an actual blender mimicking a toque, checkered patterns on the bottom half, dials for eyes, and some sort of indicator for a gaping smiling mouth underneath a hole for the nose.

“Righto!  Two full English breakfasts coming right up.”

“Wow!” Sweetie marveled.

“Beep, beep, beep, beep.  Top of the morning,” the Autochef spoke, robotically like itself.  “Yum, yum, yum.”

“So, what would you two like for breakfast?  It offers the very best of British cuisine, and all from the comfort of your chair,” Wallace grinned.

“You certainly know how to advertise a product, Mr. Wallace,” Rarity complimented.  “How does it work?”

“It’s quite simple, really.  On the left side of the remote are the bases for eggs, tea, and coffee.  Next to them are how you want them to be prepared: scrambled, fried, or sugared.  This lever here indicates what temperature the Autochef is preparing the food at.  And of course at the very bottom is the timer of how long you want your breakfast ready.”

“Seems simple enough to understand.”

“Right then, how do you want to start?”

“I don’t know.  How about you, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie felt a little perturbed at how freakish the Autochef looked, it looked without emotions, and that was a little scary.  “I’ll have some scrambled eggs.”

Gromit quickly placed a plate on the table in front of her, then ducked out of sight again.

“Alrighty then,” Wallace said.  “Scrambled eggs, coming up.”  He pushed the button labeled “Eggs” and then the button labeled “Scrambled”.

The Autochef got immediately to work.  Inside its blender hat, it hastily churned up the eggs like blending fruit, and suddenly the top opened up and the scrambled eggs launched into the air.

“Grubs up,” it said.

Just then, the scrambled eggs landed all over Sweetie instead of the plate and table.

“Bon Appetit.”

“I don’t think this was supposed to happen,” Sweetie deadpanned.

“Uh, I think I’ll have my eggs fried, Mr. Wallace,” Rarity said, worrying.

“Oh, uh, alright then.  Fried eggs, coming right up,” Wallace replied, now frowning with worry.  He pushed the “Eggs” button again, but this time pressed the “Fried” button next.

The Autochef’s head then opened up to reveal a frying pan with two egg yolks neatly placed over a heated surface.

“Mmm!  It smells good enough already,” Rarity grinned.

“Sunny side up,” the Autochef said, before launching both eggs right onto Rarity’s face, attaching themselves to her eye areas effectively blinding her.

“Ahh!” she yelped, falling back off her chair and under the table.  “What just happened?!  I can’t see anything!”  She then got up and accidentally ran into something.  “Oh, no!  I think I just broke my mother’s favorite vase!  Wallace, where did you go?!”

“Uh, hold still, Rarity!  I’ll be right there!” he replied, dropping the remote on the “Tea” button.

Sweetie meanwhile had just finished cleaning off the scrambled eggs, with help from Gromit and multiple spare towels, when she noticed a copper nozzle poke out from the Autochef’s nose area.  What spooked her was that she could hear the whistling and that it was pointed right at her face.

“More tea, vicar?” the Autochef said, firing hot tea right as Sweetie ducked.  “One lump or two?”  Now it was firing boiling liquids in whatever direction it felt was the most adaptable.  “Get off or milk it.”

“Do something, Gromit!” Wallace yelped.

“More stuffing, madam?”

Sweetie, hiding under the table, then noticed the banana that Gromit was holding.

“Quick!  I’m going to need your banana!” she declared.

Gromit hesitantly handed over his banana, and she snatched it before leaping out from under the table, and in one swift move she stuffed it right into its nozzle before ducking under again.  Rarity meanwhile ran into Wallace sending them both toppling under the table, while the Autochef went haywire.

“Yum, yum, cat’s bum.  Something for the weekend, sir?  Careful with that éclair.  Fill up her landlord.  Put it in the curry.”

After spinning its head like a top, it stopped to say, “Knickers,” before exploding its top clean off, leaving behind multiple damaged and scorched surfaces, and exposed wiring from the remains of the Autochef.

All four heads poked out to view the damage, with Rarity going pale at a loss for concentration or words.

“I don’t think we’ll be having the Autochef around the house anymore, Mr. Wallace,” Sweetie said.

“Probably for the best,” Wallace sheepishly chuckled.  “I’ve still got plenty of bugs to work out of this thing.”

Just then, the head of the Autochef dropped from the ceiling, before the nozzle sprang out of its socket still attached to the spring.

Rarity dropped her head into her arms, groaning madly.

Just then, Sweetie Belle noticed the time, and promptly rushed Rarity out of the kitchen.

“Come on, Rarity!  We’re late for school!”
> The Snoozatron
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today had been stressful.

Then again, this line of work was always in some way stress-inducing, especially when dealing with bratty or prissy kids who think they know better, and therefore don't bother with any of the work, and because of that they usually end up taking a visit to the Vice-Principal's office.  Most all students dreaded visiting her office, and those that didn't immediately did when they entered the darkened room.

It was Luna's method of intimidation, and it hadn't let her down before, but sometimes it took virtually all her time and energy just to break one kid, and on a daily basis she had to deal with a minimum of five, and on a bad day close to eleven.

The job was good paying, some students were actually a joy to spend time with, and though her older sister actually running the place as the actual principal was honestly a breath of fresh air, feeling smug that Celestia's job was more aggravating than her own, but some days she just wanted to drop dead asleep right onto her desk and forget about everything important about life.

Speaking of which, she had just arrived at the front porch of her and Celestia's house after taking out her dinner an hour before, then walked from there back home on top of walking to the restaurant, and she was exhausted.  Good thing that it was the weekend, because if Celestia had anything to say about it, she would be sleeping peacefully in dreamland all weekend.

Entering the front door, she kicked off her shoes and hung her coat before heading to the kitchen, hoping to have a nice drink of iced tea before crashing for the day, only to hear the sound of someone humming while pounding something into the ground coming from the dining room.  Hoping to ignore it long enough, she prepared her glass of iced tea, taking sips between the sounds of pounding hammers interrupting her concentration, trying to ignore the fact that each pounding sound also felt like it was pounding into her own head.

Darn migraine pills.

Once she finished her glass, she unceremoniously dumped the ice cubes down the sink and the glass into the garbage, she walked into the dining room to meet the source of the disturbance, now that the pounding sensation had finally stopped.  Once she entered into the doorway, she was met with a man bending over on his knees screwing something into the floorboards while humming a merry tune.  The man wore brown trousers, black shoes, a white shirt and red tie underneath a green sweater, and was bald with large ears and bulbous nose.

"Oh, hallo, there!" he greeted, holding a screwdriver.  This man was Wallace, the crackpot cheese-loving inventor who had recently moved into town from somewhere in England.  "I didn't see you there."

"No need for apologies, Mr. Wallace," Luna yawned. "I'm Luna, the vice-principal at Canterlot High. What are you doing in my sister's and I's house?"

"Oh, well, Principal Celestia came to me after hearing that you have been having trouble sleeping recently.  I was just putting on the finishing touches for my latest invention: The Snoozatron."

Luna raised a tired eyebrow.  "The Snoozatron?"

"Oh, yes," Wallace proudly grinned.  "If you'll follow me, I'll show you how it works."

Luna trudged after the inventor up the stairs, stretching into a yawn, before he led her into her bedroom.  Inside clearly looked like it had been tampered with.  Off to the wall-side of the bed was a large slot machine with a single level labeled "Snoozatron".  Jutting out from inside the wall behind her favorite painting of "Starry Night" was a small record player.  Underneath the bed were two robotic arms with gloves.  Hanging from the ceiling were two robotic soft pressers, coupled with a small claw with a water pouch.

"What is all this?" Luna asked, stargazed.

"I'm glad you asked!  Here let me show you.  So picture this," Wallace explained, "you're lying in bed but are having trouble trying to sleep, so what do you do?  Well, with the help of Wallace's Snoozatron, you will be guaranteed to win back all of that lost sleep.  Simply by pulling this lever," he indicated, "you will activate the machine's various comforting devices: these hands with press the mattress to its former comfortableness, while these pressers with fix the fluffiness of the pillow so it won't feel like a brick.  This claw will then drop a warm water bottle where you can then shift it wherever your joints feel stiff.  And finally, this painting right here will open up to reveal a gramophone on a track that will start playing a nice comforting little tune."

Luna was impressed by the sheer ingenuity and amount of mechanics involved.  "And you're sure this will help me sleep better?"

"Oh, I'm sure," Wallace grinned. "And that's only the first part.  You see that trapdoor at the foot of the bed?"

Luna yelped as she backed away.

"That's for the sheep to count."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, all you have to do is take a sheep, place it directly onto the spring, and once the trapdoor opens the spring will bounce it to your level so you can count it.  After all, counting sheep is guaranteed to put anyone to sleep."

Luna smiled, though was puzzled.  "Where do you expect me to find a sheep?"

Wallace stammered.  "Oh, uh, I'm sure you'll think of something.  And anyway, if you don't feel satisfied with it after the trial run tonight, you can let me know and I'll come around to remove the Snoozatron." He then pressed a button on his remote causing all of the mechanics to retract out of sight.

Luna still found the entire setup and purpose of the machine to be absurd, but it was that kind of absurd that was so absurd it just might work.  "Thank you, Mr. Wallace.  Frankly, anything is better than gorging myself on nighttime prescriptions." 

"Anytime, Miss Luna. Anyway, I must be off.  There's a plate of gorgonzola with me name on it.  Ta-ta!"  Wallace waved goodbye which Luna reciprocated.

Luna then yawned again, and rubbed her tired face, struggling to stand.  Trudging out of her bedroom she decided to skip the shower and go straight to the toothpaste and brush, completely missing the conversation that Celestia was having with the inventor.

"Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to do this for us, Wallace," Celestia said.

"Oh, no need to worry, Miss Celestia," Wallace replied.  "Gromit and I tested this out a few days ago and it was a smashing success." He then grew a face of worry.  "Though, are you sure that the addition for your room is necessary? I'm sure I could find a sheep--"

"Wallace, please.  I understand your concern, but I simply must do this for my sister.  If anything, I owe it to her for myself."

"Whatever do you mean, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all. To he honest with you, Wallace, for the longest time, I've felt like running an entire multi grade level school was a recipe for disaster, and at first I jumped at the chance for adventure, because it felt like an adventure.  But not long after, I felt like something was missing from my life, something that was important.  It wasn't until Luna and reunited that I felt whole again, and her inclusion at the school is invaluable. It felt like a true adventure. And now seeing her in this position, I can't help but feel like I should have been there more for her. I owe her that much."

Wallace was taken aback at Celestia's confession. "Well, uh, good luck then, and don't forget to let me know how it went."

Celestia waved him out the door. "Goodbye, Wallace. See you later."



Night fell across the town and in the home of the principals of Canterlot High, Vice-Principal Luna tossed and turned in her bed, struggling to find her sleep.

"Uugh~" she moaned like a zombie.  "This is ridiculous. I deal with this day in and out, it shouldn't bother me this much." Turning on her lamp, and peering through the haziness, she picked out the lever of the Snoozatron.  "I suppose now's a good time as any to give it a try."

She pulled the lever, causing the four numbered cylinders to spin in rapid motion, while a light illuminated the word "SNOOZATRON".

Meanwhile, in the room of Celestia, the principal was snuggly dozing in her bed, when suddenly a blaring alarm built into the wall at the side of her bed snapped her out of her pleasant dreams and into the waking world. While she knew of her mission, being snapped awake is not comfortable for anybody.

As shown before, a pair of mechanical hands emerged from underneath the bed, packing in the mattress, and the pressers from above packed in her pillow, bouncing her body in an amusing way. "Oh, now that does feel good," she smiled.

Celestia rubbed her tired eyes, trying to hold back from nodding off.

Once the mechanical limbs went away, and Luna laying comfortably in her pillow, Celestia then took out a sheep onesie she kept hidden in her closet that was just her size.

The claw from earlier came down and dropped the hot water bottle onto where her thighs laid under the covers. "Oh, yes...that feels just right."  Just then, another claw from across the room delivered a stuffed animal in the shape of a pig. "Oh! Leonard, I was wondering where you went," she smiled, reminiscing.

Celestia meanwhile trounced downstairs in her onesie through the pitch darkness of her tiredness.

Finally, her painting of "Starry Night" lowered to reveal a small gramophone that rolled out on tracks and began playing soft xylophone music, which made Luna feel comfortably gentle.  "Alright, now for the finale."

Celestia sat on a dining chair, sipping three cups worth of coffee, waiting for the trapdoor to finally open.  She yawned, stood up, placed the hood over her hair, and then the spring sprang her up to Luna's view, praying that her tired eyes wouldn't see through the costume.

"One...two...three," Luna counted, growing more and more drowsy.  "Four...five," she yawned.  "Siii~."

In no time, her head plopped onto the pillow as she peacefully began sleeping away. Celestia meanwhile was still operating on the spring, feeling dizzy and annoyed with the whole procedure. She then noticed the meter on the Snoozatron operator reading "490, 489 Sheep Remaining."

Not wanting to wait all night, she time the spring to catch the ledge of the trapdoor. She then calmly crawled up to Luna's bed, turned off the lamp and lightly kissed her cheek.

"Sweet dreams, Lulu."

Celestia crawled around the area at the edge of the bed, curled up herself, and peacefully went to sleep with the fuzziness of her favorite and only onesie.
> Shopper 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fine day, Sunday.

One would might say it was the best day of the week.

Why?

Some would say it's because the banks are closed on Sundays, some would say because mail-trucks were given a day off, and some could not wait for Sunday Church sermon.

For Flash Sentry, it's because he gets to have his weekly Sunday stroll through town. The purpose of doing so was to rest and recuperate from the week's adventures, get his mind off of the stress, and get some free menial exercise in the process.

Today, he decided to take a different route to start, and began his stroll in the small neighborhood that was a few blocks from the park area.  Passing by one particular house, he heard some whirring noises coming from the driveway.

The small trees parted away, and rising from the depths of the house emerged a large plaid basket with two rear driving wheels, one wheel at the center front for steering, and attached to the giant handle was an antenna, a few indicator lights, and a large camera.  Suddenly, the sides popped open to reveal mechanical arms with white gloves.  Also, attached to the front was a little clipboard with a piece of paper with the number "13" written on it.

Flash opened the gate to allow the Shopper 13 to pass through, before closing it and watching the mechanical being idly roll down the sidewalk.  Flash shook his head while walking away while sighing, "Wallace is at it again."



In the sunny-side of the park, Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie "Bon-Bon" Drops were sitting together on a bench under a tree, feeling happy and lovestruck being together on a quiet Sunday morning.

Just then, they saw the Shopper 13 come puttering past them on the path and out of sight around the bend.

Bon-Bon turned to Lyra.  "Wallace?" she asked.

Lyra nodded. "Wallace."



Inside the grocery store was a group of young friends who were stuck with chores of purchasing the food for the up and coming annual barbeque, or they were hoping to make it an annual tradition, if they could get the first year off of the ground.

Smolder groaned. "Come on! What's taking so long?"

"I'm just trying to make sure our purchases are within our budget," Ocellus spoke up.

"I'm just feeling hungry for the hotdogs," Gallus shrugged.

Just then, the entry/exit doors jingled open, and in came rolling in the Shopper 13.

"Incoming everyone," Sandbar warned. "Make way."

"What's going on?" Silverstream asked, arms full of hamburger and hotdog buns. "OOH!! What's that?!"

"Yona think it look cute," Yona grinned.

The others watched as the Shopper 13 came right up to the cashier's desk, before placing an amount of money onto the counter.  "Aisle two," he waved it off, cashing in the money as the machine began puttering down the designated aisle.

"What's going on?" Ocellus asked.

"It's Sunday," Smolder huffed in response.

"So?"

"So, that means it's 'Wallace sends his latest invention to do his cheese shopping for him' day," Gallus clarified.

"Who is Wallace? Yona not know name," Yona asked.

"Oh, yeah. That's right. You guys are new in town," Sandbar explained.  "Well, sometime ago, someone new moved into town before you guys did. His name's Wallace, and he's a cheese loving inventor from somewhere in England. Every Sunday so far, he's sent on of these little machines to buy and delivery his cheese shopping for him."

"That's so cool!" Silverstream beamed.

"It's stupid," Smolder countered.

They watched as the Shopper 13 reached out its gloved mechanical arms for the stack of Lite Cheese on the bottom shelf, only to suddenly backtrack and reach up for the Giant Edan on the shelf above. Sandbar, Silverstream, and Ocellus watched with nervousness, Gallus and Smolder were only mildly interested, if only to see something explode, while Yona looked confused at the mechanics.  It placed the big cheese and then placed it into the big basket hopper with no problem.

The real problem began with the fact that the Giant Edan was weighing down against the Shopper 13's wheels.

"Yona think big cheese is too heavy," Yona said.

Just then, one of the rear wheels popped right off, leaving the Shopper 13 with it's load to putter around the middle of the bread and cheese aisle in a clockwise motion.

"Uh, oh!" Silverstream yelped. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"One thing about Wallace's inventions: they never go right," Smolder replied. "EVER!"

"And when something does go wrong," Gallus added with a shrug, "well, it gets worse."

The Shopper 13 then stuck out its arm to grab a nearby baguette and used it as a makeshift crutch, using to limp its way out the store and on its way back to Wallace's house.

"Yona think that was funny," Yona chuckled.

"Let's just get our food and pretend that never happened," Sandbar suggested.

"Agreed."

"Aww!" Silverstream moaned.



Granny Smith and Big Mac were walking out of the pharmacy, having picked up their order of medicine for their cow Bessie, when Big Mac stopped his Granny from almost colliding with the Shopper 13 as it limped down the sidewalk with a full load and a baguette crutch.

"Mus' be Sunday," Granny Smith muttered.

"Eeyup," Bic Mac agreed.



Scootaloo was playing a little game of kick the ball around the park, when she reared back and sent it flying right towards the bench where Lyra and Bon-Bon were comfortably resting.

"Heads up!" she cried.

The ball missed the bench entirely, though the Shopper 13 had taken a poor time to come limping by. The ball caused it to lean back, threatening to lose its balance, when Lyra saved face and set the machine upright and on its merry puttering way.

Bon-Bon returned with the ball as Scootaloo came up.

"Sorry about that," she apologized.  "What's going with that thing?"

"It's Sunday," they replied. 

"Huh?"

"Sunday Cheese Shopping."



Flash Sentry felt refreshed from his stroll around the neighborhood, having received a brain wave that would save him from a slump in his grades, and a brand new song to try out on his guitar.

Walking past a familiar looking house, he stopped when he noticed the Shopper 13 limping from a baguette on its way back to the house. He opened the gates just in time to see Wallace's face appear in the parlor window.

"I can see him!" he cried.  "Good morning, Flash!"

"Morning, Wallace," Flash greeted.  "I see you went cheese shopping again. I was just on my way strolling in the neighborhood."

"Oh, well, good luck with that."

Suddenly, Wallace gasped.  He noticed that as the Shopper 13 neared the front porch, there was a heavy and large step right in its path.

"It's just one small step!"

The Shopper 13 puttered up to the porch step, limping its baguette crutch to lift itself up and over the step.

"I knew he'd make it. Ha haaaa!"

Unfortunately, the Shopper 13 took this time to pop off its last remaining rear driving wheel, causing it to tip over and send its load of cheese to roll down the path and stop at the front gate.

"Ohhh!" Wallace exclaimed.  "The Edan is stranded! Gromit, we'll have to launch the probe."

Just then, from a small hatch in the garage door, a baaing sheep in a woolen sweater and probe helmet on a skateboard was pushed out, only to hit the garden path wall which caused the sheep to land right by the Giant Edan.  This was Shawn, Wallace and Gromit's pet sheep.

"Ha, haaaa! That's it boy, bring it here!" Wallace cheered.

Shawn's probe helmet popped open, and the sheep in the woolen sweater made from his own wool took the opportunity to begin making a meal out of Wallace's Sunday Cheese Shopping.

"Oi! Get off me cheese!" Wallace shouted, pounding on the glass pane.  "Gromit!  Gromiiit! Go for him! Gromit!"

But Gromit was feeling to incredulous to even bother with Shawn and the cheese.

"I'll give you what for, you tike! Gromit! Ohhh!"

Shawn innocently baaed while Flash Sentry groaned and walked out of sight pre-emptively.

Sundays were never boring, but they were never again relaxing once Wallace and Gromit moved into town.
> The Snowmanotron
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The winter season had finally settled in for the long haul of the next few months, and the city of Canterlot was blanketed in the heavy freeze of ice and snow.  It wasn't cold like Minnesota, and the sun was shining; it was the kind of winter cold that was squeezed between the Midwest and the West Coast.

In the area of the Canterlot School District, a snow day was issued after the previous night's snowfall blocked off the roads and snowed in the bus depot, leaving the students to have the entire day to themselves.  Either to go sledding, remain walled up in their homes and binge through their studying or online presences, or in general break out the shovels and snow blowers on the driveway.

Inside one particular house, high schooler and self-professed expert performer Trixie Lulamoon was lounging in her living room and scrolling through internet pages on her phone. On her laptop was a blueprint internet website designed to design brand new magic tricks. She was giving herself a brain break from last night's work, having felt that she had been successful with her brain wave.

Being a magician took skills in illusion but also stage presence and endurance, mentally speaking.

Presently, while scrolling through some posts in Instagram (#notsponsored) she came across a recent one that caught her attention.




Canterlot Announcing Annual Snowman Competition:
To counter the roadways being blocked and the buses being snowed in, the city is announcing its seventeenth annual snowman competition for all of the folks snowed in at home to participate in. To enter, simply post a picture of your snowman as a reply to this post, and the winner will receive a reward in the mail.




The moment she read the words "competition" and "reward" in the same sentence, Trixie immediately caught onto the idea of participating in the competition.  What better way to show off and finesse her skills and perhaps strengthen some new ones in snowman building than to enter in a snowman competition?

Once dressed in her winter outfit, Trixie raced out of the front door to the yard.  It was covered in a blanket of snow, and seeing that her dad had just worked the snow blower, the barriers to the driveway were now towered with snow blown clear for the cars to run.

"Okay," she said. "Build the best snowman ever, post it as a reply, and win that reward.  Trixie's got this, she is the best."

As she was rolling up the base of her snowman, she looked across the street to see that the other yards were mostly barren of life, aside from the one directly across from hers, and that was the house she dreaded the most. Sitting in the front yard and working on his brilliant-looking snow sculpture was the dog, wearing a scarf, of that crazy inventor who had moved in a few months ago.  Everyone knew his name: Wallace, and his dog...she had forgotten what the dog's name was.

Grom-bit? Fume-it?

"Hey, Blob-it!" she shouted.

Gromit cocked his head at the attention of the girl across the street.

"You think you can make a better snowman than the Grrrreat and Powerrrful Trrrrixie?! Then you have got another thing coming! Trixie is the master at building snowmen, and she will not back down from her only competition being a dog!"

Mr. Cranky Doodle, who was shoveling snow off his driveway, caught onto the ensuing conversation down the street from where he lived, and decided to end his shoveling early, if anything to sit back and have a mug of hot chocolate to escape from whatever madness his neighbors were about to be up to.

"Hey! Trixie is talking to you, mutt! And when Trixie is talking, you cannot ignore her!"

Gromit shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes, getting back to work chiseling away at the knee of his creation: a life size snowman replica of Wallace, but positioned like the famous statue of the Thinker.

Trixie was infuriated that was being ignored, even by a dog, who had miles ahead of his...artistical looking snowman than her's. She would not stand for this. She hiked past her own yard and across the street to the gated wall of the inventor's yard, when a loud beep caught her attention.

The crazy inventor had decided to reveal himself.  "Wee-heeee! Look out, Gromit!"

The man was wearing his usual attire of a white shirt and red tie underneath a green sweater vest, but he was also wearing a red scarf and a pair of purple earmuffs.  Though what Trixie was staring at was the machine that he was operating: it looked like a fridge attached to the front of a motorcycle sidecar, with a large scooper at the front, two pairs of driving wheels in the rear, one wheel at the front for steering, and a large hopper at the top of the fridge.

"Hoh-hohhh, I'm bound to win this year."

He stopped his machine just before hitting the yard, right as the scooper lifted the snow above his head and dropped it into the hopper.

"Oh, that's enough snow," he grinned.  Then he noticed Trixie. "Oh, hallo there. I didn't see you there, um, Trixie, was it?"

Trixie huffed. "The Grrrreat and Powerrrful Trrrrixie demands to know what you are doing with that machine of yours."

"Oh, I'm glad you asked," Wallace grinned. "It's my latest invention: the Snowmanotron! It's guarantee to help me win that snowman competition."

"What could it possibly do that is better than what Trixie can?"

"Oh, I'll show you! Watch this."

He then put the machine into reverse, with that annoying beeping noise that is customary with all giant machinery, backing up right into the path of where Gromit's snowman was. He held out his arms in protection of his creation, and then the machine stopped moving.

"Ahh, the perfect spot." He pulled a lever attached to the driver's side, then pressed the "Start" button, activating three mechanical mitten-wearing arms that began pounding into the snow from ports on the sides and top of the machine. "Right now, they're packing in all of the gathered snow into the best snowman ever designed by a machine," Wallace proudly explained.

"Somehow, Trixie doubts that," Trixie mumbled.

Gromit meanwhile was holding onto his snowman, protecting it from the vibrations caused by the machine packing the snow, and when the packing stopped, he wiped his brow in relief. Then the head tumbled off, and Gromit crouched down to pick it up.

Wallace then pulled on the "Eject" lever, and the rear refrigerator door swung out, clearing away Gromit's snowman, dropped a ramp, and out slid the best snowman ever created by a machine: three giant balls of snow stacked on top of each other, two long sticks, an umbrella sticking out of its back, and the face looking lopsided, with the eyes angling towards South, and the carrot nose replacing swapping with one of the eyes.

Gromit looked up in surprise to see the snowman where his should have been, while Trixie looked on in confused bemusement.

Wallace came up to add the finishing touch and admire the snowman.  "Ah, not bad for the first try, eh?" he said, placing a garden hat on top of the head, causing the facial features to drop to the ground.

Gromit looked up with a frown.

"Oh, you've decided to start again."

Gromit dropped the head into the snow and his scarf before walking away. Trixie smirked with triumph, knowing that her biggest competition would be too beside himself to bother competing. Taking it a step further, she decided to enter Wallace's yard to analyze his snowman for herself.

"Hmm, I think I've captured the inner snowman.  Well, what do you think, Trixie?" he asked.

"Trixie thinks that your machine has potential," she said, wearing a chastising frown, "but that the finished product is too basic to be worthy enough."

"Hmm," Wallace thought.  "Well, I suppose that's what I suppose I was going for: something simple to start off as my first entry."

"Trixie thinks your skills as a snowman builder are...adequate enough, but it's nothing special," Trixie countered, crossing her arms with her hip out.

What they didn't realize, or outright ignored on Trixie's part, was Gromit entering past the front door and slamming it shut with his leg.  Just as he did, the force of the door caused the snow piled on top of the ledge above the door to loosen and come piling onto the ground below.

Gromit opened the door to check out the disturbance, only to find Wallace and Trixie, still in their poses from before, frozen stiff from all of the snow covering them.

Getting to work, he put the coals and carrot on Wallace's face, and the garden hat and some rocks and a radish on Trixie.

He then took out his phone, took a picture, and sent it to the competition judges online.




And the winner of the seventeenth Canterlot Annual Snowman Competition is Big D 756's Mister and Missus Wensleydale Gardeners!




Gromit laid back in his chair, placing down his phone, having looked at the results, right next to the trophy that was just delivered and picking up his bookmarked book.

Across from him were the modelers for his winning snowmen, shivering in blankets and their feet in hot water.

"Well done, Gromit," Wallace shivered, "but I thought that snowman was abominable."

"T-t-this isn't ov-v-ver, dog. The Gr-r-r-r-r-eat and P-p-p-p-p-pow-werf-f-ful T-t-r-r-rix-x-x-ie will, will, a-a-a-ATCHOO!!" Trixie sneezed. "Oh, forget it."
> The Bully Proof Vest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It was nice of you to stop by, Wallace," Fluttershy said.

"Oh, it was no problem. No problem at all, lass," Wallace replied.

It had only been a few weeks since the cheese-loving Wallace the inventor and his dog Gromit had moved to Canterlot from England, and in that time, people had been going on about rumors of how he was an "idiot genius", a "cheese addict", and all other sorts of rude comments towards the man. Despite that, every time she saw him going around in public, he always carried a large and kindly smile towards everything and everyone he met.

And Twilight of course took an instant liking to his intellect and his knack for inventing, but Fluttershy herself hadn't bothered to introduce herself to him, mainly in part because he was a stranger. That all changed one day when she was visiting some birds in the park when she saw Wallace, and he was walking his dog. She instantly went over to meet them, and he introduced his dog as Gromit. Gromit was a bit stern with the girl, but Wallace connected with the kindness she showed to them.

So, she had asked them if they would have liked to come by her cottage for tea. Wallace agreed, and that evening he arrived, wearing that same white shirt and red tie underneath a green sweater vest, brown trousers, and black shoes, but he was also wearing something metallic and heavy-looking on top of his vest. When she asked him what it was, "What is that you're wearing...um, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, lass," Wallace had said. "This is my latest invention: the Bullyproof Vest."

He didn't say anything else about it, other than to not worry, and he walked inside ready for tea and crackers.

Fluttershy had shown him the parlor and living room, still feeling nervous about Wallace, though his charming smile and quirky positive attitude couldn't keep her down for long.

"It was good timing on my part," Wallace said, looking out the window. "It appears that the storm had arrived early."

A lightning flash and thunderclap startled Fluttershy.

"Eep!" she shrieked.

"Are you alright?" Wallace asked.

"Uh, um, uh...it's just that...storms make me nervous."

"There's nothing to worry about," Wallace said in an attempt to cheer her up.  "As long as the storm's out there, and we're in here, we are perfectly safe."

Just then, another flash and loud clap occurred, and the entire house lost complete power.

"Oh, dear."

Fluttershy began quivering.

"Oh, no," she shivered.  "I don't like the dark. I'm scared of the dark especially during storms!"

"It's quite alright, lass," Wallace comforted, gently patting her shoulder. "Tell you what: I'll get the tea and crackers while you stay here."

Fluttershy nearly shrieked. "NO! I-I'm sorry...it's just that it's even worse w-when I'm a-a-alone."

Wallace thought for a moment, trying to think of something that would put Fluttershy at ease. "Tell you what," he said. He went over to where he took a candlestick off of the mantelpiece, placed on the coffee, struck a match, and lit the wick. "If you only concentrate on the candlelight, then the storm outside won't scare you as much."

"O-okay."

"Trust me on this. I'll be right back."

Fluttershy nervously made her way to the coffee table, where she knelt to level her eyes with the wick, letting the flame dance around in her vision, oblivious to the silhouette in the window.

Meanwhile, Wallace was in the kitchen preparing the tea tray. He found two tea cups and filled them with hot tea that Fluttershy had prepared prior to his visit, humming a little tune to himself.

Suddenly, the kitchen door creak open as it rapped against the door frame, startling Wallace. Now he was feeling a bit nervous, his hand shaking as he placed the kettle and crackers on the tea tray, completely missing the figure watching him from outside.

He made his was down the hall to the parlor, the kettle and cups shaking with his hands, when a shrieking cat from upstairs startled him again. He stepped into the parlor, warming up a bit that Fluttershy was looking less agitated from before, while a figured stalked in the kitchen.

"Feeling better, Fluttershy?" Wallace asked.

"I...I suppose," she replied.

"Don't worry. I've brought the tea and crackers. This should calm our nerves." He sat in one of the chairs, poured both cups full of tea, and took out a cracker as Fluttershy took a few calm sips. "Ah, cracking," he smiled.

"You seem to like crackers a lot, Wallace," Fluttershy said. "Um, i-if you don't mind me saying."

"Not at all, lass. I do like me crackers, especially with a slice of cheese."

"C-can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What's your favorite cheese flavor?"

"Of all the cheese I've eaten, my favorite would have to be Wensleydale. Mmm, just thinking about makes me mouth water for it."

"I'm sorry that I haven't got any cheese with me."

"Oh, I don't mind it really. As long as I've got my crackers by my side and in my hand, nothing can go wrong."

What he failed to notice were two figures lurking behind the window curtains, watching him and his cracker.

A cluttering noise distracted Wallace from his cracker and towards the parlor window, where one of the sills was wide open.

"What was that?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"I'm not sure," Wallace replied, going to eat his cracker, only to find it missing.  "What the?"

"What is it?"

"Someone's nicked my cracker."

Just then, a creak from the cabinet across the room startled their nerves again. It was as if that whoever had broken into the cottage, frightened them to bits, and stole Wallace's cracker, had decided to hide themselves in the cabinet for a final scare.

"Wallace, I'm scared," Fluttershy shivered.

"Whoever this is stole my cracker," Wallace said, gulping. "I'll take care of this."

"Just...just be careful, okay?"

Wallace got from his chair and made his way over to the cabinet.  Taking care, he stuck out his arms and opened the cabinets doors to reveal...a cracker with a bit out of it.

Wallace gasped.

Fluttershy shrieked and dove for cover behind the table.

"Phew. Huhoh, haha. Never mind, Fluttershy," Wallace chuckled. "It's only my cracker-AAAARGGH!!!"

He screamed at the of the two intruders. Dressed like common criminals, one wielding a rolling pin like a weapon, and the second standing on top of the first one's head hopping for a game of fisticuffs.

Fluttershy whimpered.  "P-p-please. Leave us alone and leave."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Wallace said, no longer feeling scared or worried. "Leave this to me."

From the device on his chest, he pressed the button on top of the metal box, which launched a boxing glove that the two intruders flying through the air and crashing through the door that led into the hallway, leaving behind markings of a large dog and small rabbit.

Just then, the power returned, and Wallace smiled with congratulation.  "It's alright now, Fluttershy. You can come out now."

Fluttershy hesitantly emerged from behind the coffee table to see a smiling Wallace standing next to the parlor door with figures implemented through it. There was also a large boxing glove attached to a giant spring protruding from the metal box attached to his metal vest.  She peeked through the opened door to find Gromit and Angel Bunny, dressed like burglars, sprawled against the wall and both sporting black eyes.

"Oh, my goodness!" she yelped. "Are you two okay?"

Angel grumbled.

"Heheee!" Wallace smiled, winding in the glove with a small crank. "This Bullyproof Vest works a treat!"

Gromit rubbed his stomach and Angel held his head while Fluttershy tended tended to their black eyes with ice packs.

"That final test was conclusive, eh, lads?"

That irked Fluttershy the wrong way.

"What do you mean test?" she sternly asked.

The sudden change caused Wallace to become put on the spot, feeling nervous. Angel devilishly smirked.

"Uh, don't take this the wrong way, lass," he stammered, "but Gromit and your bunny volunteered to be test subjects of my latest invention: the Bullyproof vest! The newest method of home security. Simply wear it like a vest, and when in range of the bully, you press this button to launch a fist right at the head, knocking them onto the ground with enough time to call the authorities. It was lucky that you offered to have me for tea when you asked."

"What do you mean?"

"I needed an active testing ground, and while I was thinking of using my own house, it was your bunny's suggestion to use your house instead, complete with a simulated thunderstorm."

Fluttershy turned to glare at the now shrinking Angel Bunny. "Angel Bunny," she scolded.  "I am very disappointed in you, young mister."

"Oh, don't be too hard on him, lass," Wallace said. "It was only-Whoops!"

Unfortunately, Wallace stepped right onto the rolling pin that Gromit dropped, which caused him to land on his face, activating the Vest, and the springing glove then sent Wallace crashing into the ceiling above them.

"Oooh!" Wallace exclaimed.

"Oh, my goodness! Wallace, are you okay?!" Fluttershy panicked.

"I'm alright, lass, but you'd better get a ladder. I think I've cracked me artex."

Angel Bunny facepalmed.
> The Turbo Diner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday evenings were usually used to cool off from the school week, get personally busy with friends and loved ones, or relax to take off of the stress and cool down.  That is what most students would do once the school week was over.

Twilight Sparkle was not most students.

The high schooler was once an attendee at Crystal Prep, where she more than succeeded due to her high intellect and love for studying, which landed her in hot water with the other students for being jealous of her privileges with the nefarious principal, now former.  Once she transferred to Canterlot High, she once again succeeded expectations, only this time she was treated like any other student, which is what she enjoyed more.

She spent her Friday evenings completing any homework she had not yet completed during school hours, or studying for any upcoming exams or tests, even if there weren't any upcoming exams or tests.

"Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Not now, Spike. I'm busy," Twilight dismissed.

Despite being the world's only talking dog, no thanks to Equestrian magic, Spike was still treated like he was any other dog, except this dog had a voice to voice his snarky sometimes grumpy personality. It heavily clashed with Twilight's by-the-books concentration; the moment her nose was in a book or writing up some sort of essay, she tended to forget that the outside world existed.

"But, Twilight, this is important," Spike repeated.

Twilight sighed as she dropped the textbook onto the table.  "What could be so important that I had to lose concentration of studying for my history exam?"

"I was reminding you that Shining and your parents will be home anytime now, and that they need a table to eat dinner at, which is now cluttered with the failure of you recent experiment."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that there was a crack in the bowl the moment the water made contact with the sodium, and DID YOU SAY THAT MY FAMILY ARE ALMOST HOME?!!!"

Spike scratched his ear after the outburst.  "Yeah, you didn't have to scream about it. Anyway, I'm off to bed. Goodnight, Twilight," and he hopped upstairs and out of sight.

Which left Twilight to panic. "Oh, no. My family's almost home, and the table cloth is covered in sodium water stains and broken glass! How am I supposed to clean this all up before--?!"

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Twilight's complete nervous system froze up.

"Now what am I supposed to do?!" she squeaked.

The doorbell rang again, and this time someone knocked on the door.

"Twilight?" her mom, Twilight Velvet, said. "Sweetie, are you home?"

"Come on, Twily, we're starving!" her brother, Shining Armor groaned.

"Now, Shining," her dad, Night Light, said, "I know you decided to cancel your date with Cadence at the last minute, but that's no excuse to snap at your sister like that."

"Coming!" Twilight cried, rushing to the door, almost tripping over the dining chair.

She rushed over to open the front door, as the house didn't have a garage, and terrifyingly threw the door open to reveal her family. Night Light was still dressed in his security guard outfit from the museum, Velvet looked the same, but Shining was dressed in his best-looking tuxedo and had his hair slicked back.

Oh, no. It was his date night, and it looked like it was postponed in the eleventh hour.

"Hey, everyone," she stammered, putting on a faux smile.

"Hey, Twilight!" Velvet said, giving her daughter a crushing hug. "How was you day?"

"Oh, it was nothing special...though," she sheepishly rubbed her neck, "I may have made a mess of the dining room."

Night Light perked up as he hung his coat. "Really? What was it this time?"

"I wanted to find out if reinforced plastic could hold a mixture of sodium and water. Unfortunately...I missed a massive crack in the structure, and it...kinda...sorta ...exploded."

Shining, undressing his overcoat, smirked while shaking his head.

"Oh, there's no need to worry, dear," Velvet comforted. "It's only sodium."

"Say, what's that noise?" Night Light said. "It sounds like someone's hammering."

Twilight flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, yeah.  Heh, heh, about that..."

"All done, Twilight! I've fixed it right up!" a voice cried from the kitchen.

Twilight shrank herself from the accusatory looks from her family.

"Twily, who is in the house with you?" Shining asked, very accusing.

"Well...this, machine I built," Twilight stammered in response, "I had trouble putting it together, so I got a friend of mine to help put it together. But when testing it, we found a slight malfunction, so he was fixing it when you arrived."

"Well, why don't you introduce us to your friend?" Velvet suggested, feeling enthusiastic.

"Oh, uh, s-sure thing."

Twilight led her family into the sodium soaked dining room, only the walls were no longer covered in sodium, and there was a man scrubbing down the walls and humming a tune. He was bald with large ears, wearing a white shirt and red tie under a green sweater vest, brown trousers, and black shoes. He then turned around to face Twilight's family.

"Oh, hallo there, everyone," he greeted, smiling. "I didn't hear you all come in. I'm Wallace."

"Wallace," Velvet thought. "Oh! You're that inventor that moved in to town recently."

"That's right, ma'am."

Night Light sniggered while Velvet flushed red.

"What? Was it something I said?" Wallace asked.

"Ha, ha, ha, nah," Night Light laughed. "It was only the way you pronounced 'ma'am'."

"Is there a problem with that?" Wallace innocently asked.

"No, no, there's nothing wrong with it at all." Night Light sighed. "Looks like we got off on the wrong foot. I'm Night Light. Twilight's told me all about you."

"Dad," Twilight mumbled.

Wallace shook his hand. "Charmed, Mr. Light."

"And this is my wife, Twilight Velvet..."

"Call me Velvet, Wallace," Velvet greeted.

"Sure thing, Velvet," Wallace replied.

"Our son, Shining Armor..."

"Hey there, Wallace," Shining greeted.

"Hallo there, to you too," Wallace replied.

"And of course you know Twilight," Night Light finished.

"Well, it has been a pleasure meeting you all. Oh, I forgot to introduce you all to Gromit. Gromit!"

A dog walked in on two legs at Wallace's call.

"This is my dog, Gromit. He helps me with most of my inventions, but is also my best friend."

Gromit shrugged as he waved a hand/paw.

"Well, Wallace, and Gromit, since you're both here already, why don't you two join us for dinner?" Velvet suggested.

"We would be honored, ma'am. Oh, that reminds me," Wallace exclaimed. "Since your all here, why don't we help you with dinner?"

"Sure, of course you can."

"Very well, then. Alright everyone, you may take a seat at the table."

Wallace moved off a bit while the family looked incredulous at the table. Twilight chuckled with embarrassment.

"We'll need to clear off the table," Night Light said.

"No need to worry, everyone," Wallace said. "You're all just in time for the official test run of Twilight's latest invention. No longer will you need to waste hours waiting by in the kitchen, and you won't need to worry about the food overcooking."

"You built it, Twilight?" Velvet asked. "What's it called?"

"Well, yeah," Twilight replied. "I call it the Turbo Diner, but you helped me with it, Wallace."

"Nonsense," Wallace dismissed. "It was your genius that designed it, Twilight. The honor belongs to you alone."

Twilight flushed with complete embarrassment.

"Alright, everyone. We will now show you how it works," Wallace explained.  He took a coin out from his pocket and then inserted into a box built nearby into the wall. To its side was a slit like the ones on gumball machines, two sets of spinning dials with a dial in the middle, which Wallace turned, and the meter moved from "Low" to "High", lighting up the four indicator lights.

Everyone got into their seats. Velvet and Night Light sat on one side, while Shining and Twilight sat on the other side, with Wallace and Gromit sitting at each end of the table.

"We just top up the meter," Wallace continued, "take a seat and let the machine do all the work."

Suddenly, each person in the chairs were subjected to having both of their arms and legs clamped to the seats, and then a rope pulled the chairs, now on wheels, closer to the table.

"Ready?" Wallace said.

"Twilight, what's going on?" Shining asked.

"It's alright, just...part of the procedure," Twilight replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Are you sure these are necessary?" Velvet asked.

"Twilight said that these are meant to hold you back," Wallace answered.

Just then, a compartment in the ceiling opened up and a large upside-down copper tub lowered down just above the table. When it stopped, it began emitting a huge suction force that completely sucked in all of the clutter from the table. It also pulled the attendees forward, in Twilight's case her glasses being attached by a small chain around her head. The first indicator light darkened, and the lights flickered a bit.

"What is going on?!" Shining cried.

"Wohoh! That's three-hundred horse power of pure suck!" Wallace shouted. "Not bad, eh?!"

"The clamps are meant to keep you from being sucked up accidentally!" Twilight added.

Once the suction stopped, and Twilight's glasses flopped back down, missing her nose, the tub shot back up into the ceiling and another large tub came down and slammed down onto the table, darkening the second light, and emitting a whirring red glow. Velvet caught scent of the food.

"Mmm, something smells good," she smiled.

Once the glow stopped, the tub lifted up and away to reveal an entire meal akin to Thanksgiving. A turkey in the middle surrounded by vegetables, a basket of buns, another basket of potatoes, a cake for dessert, readied tablemats with plates and silverware, and teacups and glasses for drinking.

"Oh, my word!" Night Light exclaimed. "Now THAT is a dinner. Well done, Twilight."

"Hohoh, what a spread!" Wallace added.

"Thanks, guys," Twilight grinned.  "And now, for the finishing touch."

Lowering from the ceiling was the final device. It was a metal orb that had a long tube out the back with a hose that had a small flame attached to it, like a flamethrower, and under the orb was a claw that placed a three-piece candelabra onto the center of the table.  Turns out, the orb was a flamethrower, and it aimed its nozzle right at the candlesticks, and dangerously close to Gromit's seat. It melted the candles low, the stopped, leaving them alit.

"Twilight, what have I told you about playing with fire?" Velvet chastised.

"Sorry, mom," Twilight apologized. "I'll just shorten the burst for next time."

"Well done, Twilight!" Wallace congratulated. "Smashing job!"

"Alright, dinner's on!" Night Light smiled.

Just then, the meter on the wall returned to low, stopping the flamethrower from returning to the ceiling. It then popped up a tab that read "Insert Coins", right before the entire house lost complete power, leaving the attendees clamped shut to their chairs.

"Oh, dear," Wallace grimaced.

"I don't suppose that was meant to happen?" Shining asked with a frown.

"I think the timing's a bit off," Wallace thought out loud.

"I-It's alright, everyone. I've got an idea!" Twilight said, on the verge of another panic attack. "SPIKE!! SPIKE!!"

Spike the dog either ignored her calls, or was fast asleep. Either way, he never answered.

"Well, that didn't work," Shining deadpanned.

"Don't be so negative, Shining, dear," Velvet chastised, keeping a smile. "After all, we're here together, and this atmosphere's very lovely."

Just then, the candle wicks went out, enveloping the entire house in complete darkness, leaving only for their eyes to see each other in the darkness.

"This feels exactly like my workspace," Night Light said. "Only this time, I smell good food instead of day old donuts."

Twilight was on the verge of shameful tears.

"It's all right, everyone!" Wallace declared. "I've got a great idea!"

"If it's about shouting for the police when none of can reach our pockets, then shut up!" Shining snapped.
> The 525 Crackervac
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Weekends are meant to be the time of the week when folks regain their senses, pull themselves together from all of the hard stress of work or school, and just all around have a few days of rest.

Well, that is what Apple Bloom had hoped would happen, although once again it was falsely hoped for.

Her weekends were all the same: rest up from Friday evening, wake up, have breakfast, be given the daily chore, tirelessly work those daily chores, have lunch, continue tirelessly working the chores, have dinner, and go to sleep. Sundays were different: they would go to sermon, come home, work on more chores, rinse and repeat, and before she knew it, it was time to yet again go to school.

Today, she was left inside the farmhouse sweeping up the crumbs from the hallway carpet. Outside was near sweltering, and the air conditioner was just barely doing its job inside. She had just finished up the kitchen and was left with the front room after the hallway.

"'Clean yer room, Apple Bloom,'" she grumbled. "'Sweep the kitchen, Apple Bloom.  Feed the piggies, Apple Bloom. Paint the fence, the barn, the farmhouse, the mailbox. Hey, Apple Bloom, you missed a spot.' UGH!"

She got up and angrily threw down the broom and dustpan.

"It's the same stuff every single weekend: all work and no play. Ah should be hangin' out with Sweetie and Scoots instead of doin' the same damn chores every weekend! Ah don' even git enough tahme to finish mah homework!"

She huffed and stomped over to the stool by the front door where it assists in removing shoes to be placed on the mat nearby. She sighed, placing her head on her hand. "Whah couldn' we git a vacuum? Whah do we have to be stuck in the days before technology was even a thang? Sure would be nahce to have somethin' mechanical romin' about the place."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, startling Apple Bloom. Winona would have yipped and barked madly at the door, but she remembered it was Applejack's turn to walk her, and that Big Mac was out delivering in the truck.

She opened the door with a "Hello, can Ah help you?"

"Oh, yes, uh, is this the um...Apple residence perchance?"

She looked up to see a man with a bald head with large ears and a bulbous nose. He was wearing a white shirt and read tie underneath a green sweater vest, brown trousers, and black shoes. Standing behind him was a dog.  By all accounts, he stood out in the environment of a farm, let alone an apple farm.

"Yea, this is the Apple residence," Apple Bloom replied, recomposing herself. "Sorry, where are mah manners? Ah'm Apple Bloom, and welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, mister!" she greeted in her biggest and friendliest smile she could muster.

"Charming, Miss Bloom," the man smiled back. "I'm Wallace, and this is my dog, Gromit. We should be expected."

"Well, rahght now it's only me, and just Apple Bloom, please. Ah don' want any of this 'miss' business with me. Not tah sound rude er nothin', but ya sound funny."

To her surprise, Wallace laughed. "Hehehehe! That's because Gromit and me just moved here in Canterlot from Wigan, Lancashire."

Apple Bloom cocked her head in confusion.

"Um, in England."

"Oh," she realized, "so how come you don' sound posh-lahke?"

Wallace was about to answer, when the question stopped his train of thought. "Huh. I don't know, really. I suppose it's because I was never raised in a posh manner." He shook his head clear, clapping his hands. "Anyway, now that the formalities are in order, I've come to deliver to this home my latest invention in house cleaning."

That caught her attention, and his friendly demeanor and personality eventually won her over. "Alrigh' then. Come inside. Don' ferget to wipe yer feet, you two."

Wallace and Gromit did just that before entering into the parlor.  "Ah'm sorry abou' th'mess," she apologized. "Ah didn' expect any visitors t'day."

"It's quite alright, Apple Bloom," Wallace beamed.

What was there to smile about a messy house? Apple Bloom thought.

"It's the perfect environment to test out my invention."

Gromit emerged from behind Wallace, placing a strange-looking contraption on the floor. It was in the shape of what Apple Bloom assumed to be a small giraffe. Its main body was cylindrical, with a handle on top and a nameplate that read, "525 Crackervac", it rolled around on what she thought were training wheels, and had a actual vacuum shaped head that was connected with a tube acting as the neck. It also had a feather-duster attached as a tail.

Immediately after Gromit placed it on the floor, it beeped to life. It sprang into action, moving over to where it sensed food crumbs in the vicinity, before placing its mouth to neatly suck them up and out of sight.

To say Apple Bloom was impressed right out of the gate was an understatement.

"EEEEEHH!! This is so cool, Mr. Wallace!" she congratulated, jumping up and down like a hyperactive pogo-stick. "This beats sweeping th'floor any day!"

"Well, I'm glad you like it," Wallace replied.

"How does it work?"

"It's very simple: it works as a regular vacuum, only it has a built-in cracker sensor. Come and have look."

He led Apple Bloom into the parlor, where he took out a cracker and threw it across the room. The Crackervac came rolling in beeping, looked around, then made its way over to where the crumbs were, and in no time flat were gone.

"Wow!" she watched, amazed.

"See? You won't have to fuss any longer with a broom and dustpan. Just simply bring out the Crackervac. No trouble, and no fussing around," Wallace proudly stated.

Just then, the Crackervac looked up and beeped its sensor, eyeing the set of unopened crackers placed on the tea tray. It immediately went right for it.

"Hey!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Those're Granny's crackers! It can't have those!"

"Oi!" Wallace exclaimed as well. "You're not allowed to have perfectly good crackers, only the crumbs on the floor! Put those down!" He grabbed the crackers, tearing them free of the suction. "Geroff!"

As soon as he did, the eyes turned blood red and the Crackervac began chomping its metal and jagged teeth at Wallace, who nervously walked away from the barring mechanized vacuum, scared for his life that one of his machines was after blood. "Go away!" he cried.

Gromit protected Apple Bloom as the Crackervac pushed Wallace to ducked behind the armchair.  "Help, Gromit! It's gone crackers!" he cried again.

Apple Bloom cowered behind Gromit, scared out of her wits for Wallace and of the mechanized vacuum cleaner. Those metal teeth looked like they could seamlessly bite through muscle and bone, and she felt her legs beginning to shake.

She looked up to see her daddy's prized lasso above the mantlepiece, and the a light bulb went off. She turned to Gromit, and whispered, "Gromit, Ah know this sounds crazy but Ah got a plan."

Gromit went into shock, fearing what she was actually thinking.

"Just follow mah lead and do as I say. Wait here."

Gromit could only helplessly watched as the youngest matron of the Apple family move across the room, directly in the vision of the Crackervac, which was still gnawing for the crackers.

"Hey, Wallace!" she shouted. "Toss me the crackers!"

"Have you gone crackers?!" he cried.

"Trust me, just do it!"

Wallace swallowed as he tossed the crackers across the room, where Apple Bloom caught them with ease. He then watched as the Crackervac got into a position where it stared down the little girl with murder in its eyes.

Apple Bloom, being an apple, was stubborn beyond belief and was not one to easily back down from a fight. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, right back at the machine. She then took out a single cracker, letting it roll through her fingers.

"Now when Ah say 'now', Gromit, Ah want you ta throw me the lasso attached to the wall, alrigh'?"

Gromit meekly nodded, stiffly climbing up to gently remove it from its attachments.

Apple Bloom held up the cracker. "You want this, don't cha?"

The Crackervac peered back at her, eye the cracker in her fingers.

"Well, yer gonna have ta go'n git it."

Then everything happened at once.

Apple Bloom tossed the cracker into the air, catching the Crackervac's attention long enough her to shout, "NOW!". Gromit tossed her the lasso, where she prepared it with a few swings. "Come on, papa, don' fail me now." She then threw the lasso noose forward, catching the Crackervac by the neck, which pulled her right onto its body as she rode it out like a bucking bronco around the entire room.

And she enjoyed it. "YEEHAW!! RIDE'EM COWBOY!!" she hollered.

"Ride him, Apple Bloom!" Wallace cheered. "You're doing a smashing job! Ooh!" he ducked in time for the Crackervac to miss crashing into him from behind the armchair.

Apple Bloom rode the vacuum around the room, until the rope lost its hold and she slid off, holding onto its neck but pushing against it from biting and sucking on her face. "Gromit! A little help over here!"

Gromit suddenly tackled the Crackervac, grab its neck, and then neatly tied a hard not right in the middle of its sucking tube. The Crackervac immediately went limp.

Apple Bloom sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off her brow. "Phew! Now tha' was hard work. Who knew hard work could be fun, righ' Gromit?"

Gromit shook his shocked head in silence, before noticing that the Crackervac was violently shaking like a quake.

Wallace then emerged from behind the chair. "Haha, we did it!" he cheered.

Suddenly, the force from the blockage caused the backend of the Crackervac to blow out, splaying the wall, the armchair, several picture frames, and a small table with all of the dust, dirt, and grime it accumulated in it's short lifespan, and Wallace with the wall, giving him a potted cactus for a hat, and leaving his figure to block off the dirt from some parts of the wall.

Wallace was left feeling a little dazed.  He wiped his mouth clean with the clean sides of his hands. "Ohh, Gromit, uuurgh," he grimaced. "I think you better get the dustpan and broom."

Apple Bloom buried her face in her hands. "Applejack's gonna kill me."
> The Tellyscope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aria Blaze was not happy.

She had never really been happy ever since that failure at the "Battle of the Bands" dumpster-fire two years ago. All it took, to best the skills of the three best and most illustrious Sirens Equestria had ever seen and feared and loved, was a rock n' roll song played by a standard collection of high school teenagers and a Princess that was transformed into one of them but without her magical abilities.

The world was right there, on a silver platter, and they were so close to achieving that goal, only to trip up at the final hurdle.

It was enough to make anyone scream in frustration, and she had screamed in frustration so many times that she was nearly hospitalized from shredding her vocal cords.

Without the use of her precious amulet, her singing, which used to be on par with the likes of Mariah Carrey, Frank Sinatra, and even Elvis Presley, now sounded like either a screeching bratty child or sharp nails screeching and groaning on a chalk board. Some days, when she was really unlucky, she attracted hoards of squawking vultures, or, just today, a crow that mistook her for a suitable mate. She ended up in a cockfight with the thing, ending with angrily squawking out of sight, and her face gaining a shallow scrape.

Today, like any other day, brought plenty of reason for Aria to be miserable with this life as a dumb human.

As the sun was setting under the horizon, ending the heat wave that lasted all week, Aria found herself brooding as she walked down the street that led to her house. Just recently, through whatever means they could pull, the Dazzlings had cobbled together whatever money they had gathered and invested in the only house that was affordable within their budget, on the poor side of town where virtually no one lived.

At least that gave Aria a shining beacon of hope for this cesspool. Peace and quiet any day over annoying dumb humans. Gah, they just could not shut up if it meant to save their lives!

Just then, she took notice of one of the very few humans she was tolerant of, and she was also a former Equestrian: the eldest sister of the Dazzlings, Adagio Dazzle.

"Good evening, Aria," Adagio greeted.

"Hey, Adagio," Aria grumbled.

"I see you've had another busy day."

"If you count being chased and attacked by a crow who thought to mate with me, then yes, I have had a busy day, and I'm exhausted."

Adagio snickered. "Really? A crow?"

"The doctor said not to overexert my voice, and I tried not to," Aria sneered. "I couldn't even sing a simple nursery rhyme. A nursery rhyme!" She sighed. "This is an embarrassment."

"Oh, don't be like that."

"How is it going to take, Dagi? I'm impatient! I cannot live like this!"

"It's only for a little while longer. The time will come, don't worry."

"I'm not worried, just impatient," Aria snapped. "You've been telling us that 'the time will come'. Well, it's been more than two years and I've still yet to see when or what that time is!"

"Aria, you need to calm down!" Adagio interrupted. "Save your energy, we don't have much left."

Aria relented in a tired huff. She led her older sister past the garden gate, sulking with her hands deep in her pockets, hoping that her favorite TV show would take the load off her shoulders. Just then, her nose caught a smell emanating from the opened kitchen window.

It smelt of tacos, and it was Tuesday. "Sonata's cooking," she sighed.

"Taco Tuesday," Adagio added, also unenthusiastically.

Every Tuesday, no matter what the circumstances were, Sonata Dusk, the youngest sister of the Dazzlings, and also the most unconditionally jovial, would whip up a batch of tacos for dinner. At first, it was every mealtime, but when finances became scarce, she opted to keep it to every Tuesday dinner, saying that it made the taste of tacos all the more special.

Aria opened the door, taking off her sweater, and was surprised to hear the sound of a power drill. It was coming from the front room.

"Is it almost finished?" she heard Sonata ask, in her usual upbeat manner.

"Nearly done, Miss Dusk. Just a few more adjustments," replied a voice that was unfamiliar to her or Adagio.

Someone was in the house with them. Had Sonata managed to bring someone home on her own?

Adagio smirked as she made her way to the living room. There stood Sonata, overlooking the television on the wall, a flat-screen, where underneath it was a man tinkering with some of his tools. He was bald with large ears and a bulbous nose, and wearing a white shirt and red tie underneath a green sweater vest, brown trousers, and black shoes. He was also humming a light tune as he worked.

"Ah, there we go. All fixed up and ready to go," the man smiled, rising up with a prideful yet friendly-looking smile. Perhaps that's why Sonata chose him.

"Well, well, well, Sonata," Adagio grinned. "I see you've brought someone home with you."

"Oh, hallo there, miss. I didn't see you come in," the man greeted, waving a hand. "I'm Wallace. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Adagio shook his hand, feeling a little perplexed at his mannerisms. He seemed nice, almost idiotically so, and yet he didn't seem taken in by her figure.

"So, Mr. Wallace," she continued, putting on her famous seductive grin, pose, and voice, "what brings you all the way out here?"

"Well, Miss Dusk here has asked me to and repair the television," Wallace replied, still sounding as oblivious as before.

"I met him in the cheese aisle when I was shopping for taco food," Sonata put in. "He introduced himself, and I told him that our TV wasn't working, and he offered to come in and fix it."

Aria, who had heard everything, came into the living room beside Adagio. "Why would our TV need fixing? We just bought it a week ago."

"Every time I tried changing the channel to this show I heard about and can't wait to see, the screen goes all staticky and blacks out."

"Just a simple recalibration was in order," Wallace said. "Though, if you don't mind, I made a few small adjustments to make the viewing experience less tiring."

"How so?" Aria asked.

"I'm glad you asked!" He enthusiastically shook his finger across his body, smiling with dumb pride all the way. "Here, let me show you." He sat in an armchair right across from the TV, which Aria swore wasn't there that morning. He pressed a button on the right-hand side which displayed a glove-like mechanical hand holding a tennis ball. "Simply push this button, reel it back all the way, I've calibrated the trajectory it so that it will launch perfectly through the hole every time," he explained, demonstrating so. He let go of the ball, and went sailing through a hole in the wall above the TV, which hit a target, slid down a few slides before landing on its pressure spot, causing a track to move the TV out from the wall and towards Wallace.

"I forget," he whispered to Sonata, "where are the buttons on this particular TV?"

"On the left-hand side," she replied.

Wallace nodded, and when the TV was right in his face, he reached a hand out to the side and pressed the button that turned on the TV. Presently, it was displaying an ad for a custom-made cheese grater.

"This'll save your legs. It's precision-based technology," Wallace proudly declared. "I call it the Tellyscope."

"'The Tellyscope'?" Adagio incredulously repeated.

"Oh, I get it! It's like a telescope but for the TV, right?" Sonata said.

"Precisely, Miss Dusk," Wallace smiled, getting up and clapping his hands together. "Right then, I should probably be getting home now. There's a lovely plate of cheese and crackers with my name on it. Mmm."

Sonata waved goodbye to Wallace, and he to Adagio and Aria, before humming and walking to the front door. "Have a good one!" he called, leaving through the door frame, letting it close on its own. "They seemed awfully nice."

"That was nice of him," Sonata smiled.

"That guy's an idiot," Aria deadpanned.

"Yeah," Adagio agreed. "There's no way his naivete would let me have my way with him."

"Why would you feel the need to have your way with Wallace?" Sonata asked, moving to the armchair in the middle. "He's a nice guy."

"Too nice, and that was the problem."

Just then, the advert ended, and a voiceover said, "We now return to the Drive-In Channel."

A picture faded in on screen displaying a variety of penguins all gathered together in an arctic environment, and the narrator spoke, "These seemingly placid birds have adapted perfectly to the hostile environment." Suddenly, the voice took a sinister turn. "But explorers beware...few are prepared for the consequences...WHEN PENGUINS TURN!!"

Sonata gasped. "Uh, oh, wrong channel!" She pushed the button to display the now empty hand. "Aw, rats. That was my only ball."

Aria placed two fingers on the bridge of her nose, groaning. "You know we have a remote, right?"

Sonata lit up. "Oh, yeah!" She reached over to the couch where the remote sat, then placed it in the hand, before launching it cleanly through the hole in the picture. "That's more like. Thanks, Ari!"

Adagio facepalmed, while Aria growled, clenching her fists.

"What?" Sonata innocently asked.

Suddenly, a crash was heard overhead, through the walls, freezing the Dazzlings in place, followed by an explosion, a spilled jar of spoons, the smashing of wood, the boing of a spring, the rolling of a frying pan, and the neighing of a horse.

"I didn't know we had a horse."

Just then, the TV screen went static, before displaying another program with a voiceover saying, "Tonight, on Columbo..."

Sonata beamed with excitement.  "EEEHH!! It worked! I'll be right back, the tacos smell like they're ready!" She then got up and rushed into the kitchen. "Alright, brown and crispy, just the way I like 'em!"

Aria turned to Adagio, who nodded. "We're getting rid of that thing," she said.

"Agreed. Help me with this chair."

Then everything happened at once.

Aria went to life the tricked-out armchair from behind while Adagio lifted from the front. They had just managed to lift it off of the ground, when Lt. Columbo said from the shaking like an earthquake TV screen, "Just one more thing," and Adagio managed to duck out just in time for the TV to come flying out of the wall, sending it, Aria, and the armchair to crash into the wall behind them.

Sonata then came skipping back from the kitchen and gasped, nearly dropping her food. "Oh, my goodness, Aria, are you okay?! What happened?!"

Aria Blaze groaned in pain. "I'm gonna murder you in your sleep, Sonata Dusk."

Adagio Dazzle mumbled from where she landed. "This is going to take a lot longer than I thought."
> The Christmas Card-O-Matic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer emerged from the portal from Equestria to be greeted with a light cold shiver and a wet slosh of snow.

Of all the times to return from her vacation, it had to be during the beginning of the winter season, but she had decided to once again spend the Hearth's Warming...actually, Christmas season with her human friends from Canterlot High. The whole backstory of the Christmas holiday was fascinating to read about, even if she herself wasn't a Christian.  Though the traditions remained virtually identical: put up decorations around the house, put up a tree and decorate it in mostly shining lights, set up stockings over the hearth, leave cookies and milk for a jolly toymaker, and open presents from under the tree the following morning.

The conventions between Equestria and the human world didn't end at identical holiday traditions: city and country naming conventions were similar, only without the necessity of a pony-pun, architectures depending on the culture and regions, lifestyles in the city, small towns, and countryside, and the complexity of the emotions and intelligence.

It was fascinatingly amusing to Sunset.

"WELCOME BACK, SUNSET!!"

"AAAAHHH!!!" Sunset screamed, losing her balance and falling into a snowbank. She looked up to see good old Pinkie Pie having hung up a banner welcoming Sunset back from her Equestrian vacation. The others were all there as well, dressed in Christmas-themed winter gear. Sunset couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright, Sunset?! I didn't scare ya, did I?!" Pinkie shrieked.

"No, no, no, you didn't Pinkie," Sunset replied, getting up and dusting down the snow. "You just startled me, that's all."

"Oh, good, phew. I was afraid I clogged your arteries or something. Anyway," Pinkie smiled, "welcome to your 'Welcome Back from your Equestrian Vacation on Christmas Eve' party!"

Sunset gasped. "It's Christmas already?"

"What? Isn't Equestria timed with the...time passage of this world, or something like that?" Rainbow asked.  "Because if so-"

Sunset laughed. "I'm kidding, Rainbow. Yes, it is the holidays over there as well. I just wanted to keep up our tradition of spending Christmas together."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, Sunset," Fluttershy beamed.

"Nice ta see that ya care," Applejack teased.

"Thanks, guys," Sunset replied. "So, what happened while I was gone? And yes, Twilight, I did keep up with my schoolwork. And, Rainbow, I'm sorry I couldn't make to one final game of soccer before I left."

"You dodged a bullet, honestly," Rainbow deadpanned.

"That's good," Twilight replied, "but so much has happened since you've been gone! I can't wait to tell you--!"

"Just a minute!" Pinkie interrupted. "We can't tell her just yet!"

"Well, why ever not?" Rarity asked. "Now would be the most opportune time to do so."

"That's because not everyone's here yet," Pinkie replied. "We can't end the story without a coming together moment without every single character that has been featured in this limited anthology series."

Everyone went completely silent, but shrugged it off. Pinkie had the habit of speaking in a weird context like they were characters in a story or cartoon show, which had become a recent reoccurrence, and of course was never elaborated further than...

"What are you guys looking at me for?" Pinkie asked.

"Absolutely nothing, Pinks," Applejack deadpanned, "but what was tha' whole thang about 'everyone comin' togither'?"

"Well," she explained, "so far, we've got all of us, Spike included, but minus Sunset because neither she nor I were featured so far, so all who we're missing are Sweetie Belle, Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna, Flash Sentry, Lyra and Bon-Bon, Gallus, Sandbar, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder, Scootaloo, Granny Smith, Big Mac, Trixie, Mr. Cranky Doodle, Angel Bunny, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, Apple Bloom, and...

Wait, are they going to be featured here?

Well, considering how I'm setting this in the grand scheme of things...sorry, but no.

That's okay! I read the epilogues already!

"...myself, and yourself, Sunset!"

Everyone was left standing still in the wet snow bedazzled, dazed, and confused all in one package. Seemed that Pinkie had decided to amp up her randomness to whatever number was past eleven, it she was going to spout out names that had absolutely no correlation with each other.

"Pinkie, wha' exactly does mah family have to do with whatever yer talkin' about?" Applejack asked.

"I agree, same with Sweetie Belle," Rarity added.

"I saw Lyra and Bon-Bon in the park one day while Gallus, Smolder and the others were in the background setting up a picnic," Spike put in, "but other than that, I have no idea."

"Oh, yes they do have correlation..." Pinkie rebuffed.

"You never said the word correlation," Twilight argued in the background.

"I didn't, but the author did," Pinkie argued, "and you're wrong, because I just did."

"What was that?!"

"What was what? Seriously, Twilight, ya gotta take a load off sometime. Besides, it's Christmas!"

Pinkie's jovial Christmas smile innocently squeaked while Twilight's wide slacked jawed buggy-eyed expression suddenly made a cracking sound effect like it was a bunch of plates that was just smashed, becoming frozen like TV static.

"Ah'm sorry, wha' were we talkin' about agin?" Applejack interrupted.

"I gave up after the first ten seconds," Rainbow said.

"Oh, yeah!" Pinkie perked up. "I invited all those people I just mentioned to come here for a grand finale photo-op! Isn't that great?!"

"U-um, yeah, sure, I guess," Fluttershy stammered.

"That's the spirit, Shy! In fact, they should all be arriving...now!"

As Pinkie said, strangely working her unexplainable magic, every single person she had listed off before had all arrived on the scene of the Canterlot High statue, though some were more begrudging than others.

"Why did I agree to do this?" Smolder grumbled.

"Ditto," Gallus added.

"Because we were all invited to be a part of a group Christmas photo! EEEEHH!!" Silverstream squealed.

"Yona still getting used to Christmas holiday, but Yona happy for friends," Yona smiled.

"That makes one of us," Smolder groaned.

"C'mon, Smolder it's not so bad," Sandbar said.

"Two."

"Wonder wha Pinkie wanted a picture takin here?" Apple Bloom wondered.

"For the memories of the school? I don't know," Scootaloo suggested.

"You look like hell, Tia," Luna worried. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Lulu," Celestia yawned. "I just didn't sleep well last night."

"You haven't been sleeping well for the past few weeks."

"It's an off and on occurrence. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you wearing bells around your neck?" Lyra asked.

"I just like the way they jingle when I move my head," Bon-Bon smiled.

"Isn't this lovely? Family getting together with friends?" Twilight Velvet beamed with admiration.

"Easy there, mom. Don't get too overexcited," Shining Armor cautioned.

"Oh, let your old mother feel how she wants, Shiny."

"Mom, not in front of everyone," he grumbled.

"Trixie has better things to do than to fenagle with Christmas pictures," Trixie complained.

"Hey, Sunset," Flash Sentry greeted.

"Hey, Flash," Sunset replied, shaking his hand. "What brings you here?"

"Same as everyone else apparently. I got an invite from Pinkie about a Christmas photo-op with friends and I decided to come along."

Then, once Pinkie accounted everyone, she got their attention by standing out in front of everyone's view.

"Alright, everyone! You all know why we're here," she greeted.

"Yeah, we know already. Just get to the point," Smolder grumbled.

"Okie-dokie-lokie, Smoldy!"

"And don't call me Smoldy!"

"So I brought everyone here because I wanted to have a perfect sendoff to commemorate a brand new friend of ours, and appreciate how much he and his best friend have impacted our lives since their recent move here!"

"Who is she talking about?" Sunset whispered to Flash.

"I think I might have an idea," Flash replied.

Just then, an old-fashioned honking sound rang out through the neighborhood followed by a rusty van pulling up to the curb across from the Canterlot High statue.

Pinkie beamed. "EEEEHH!! THEY'RE HERE, EVERYONE!! THEY'RE HERE!!"

Stepping out from the passenger-side door, which Sunset noticed had the steering wheel, making it the driver-side door instead for some reason, was a man she had never seen before. He was bald, had large ears, and a bulbous nose. He was wearing a white shirt and red tie underneath a green sweater vest, brown trousers, black shoes, was wearing a red scarf dotted with pictures of swiss cheese blocks, and had just placed a pair of purple earmuffs over his ears when he noticed the crowd.

He smiled at their sight. Sunset had never seen a person smile like he did, and then she noticed a dog climb out the other side on two legs and wearing a blue and white striped scarf.

"Hallo, everyone!" the man greeted, waving a friendly hand. "I see you all could make it."

Immediately, the mood changed for almost everyone.

"Seriously?" Smolder complained. "That guy?!"

"Trixie was never told he would be here, and if she was she wouldn't have come!" Trixie put in.

"Just when I was hoping to have a rest from him," Shining grumbled into his hand.

At least Angel Bunny and Spike waved to the dog, who waved back.

"Wallace and Gromit! You made it!" Pinkie bounced.

"It was no trouble at all, lass," Wallace replied, still smiling.

"Say, where's Shawn?"

"Oh, well he's already asleep for the flight."

"Going somewhere?" Sunset asked.

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot!" Pinkie cried. "Sunset, meet Wallace and Gromit. Wallace and Gromit, meet Sunset Shimmer."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Shimmer," Wallace smiled, shaking Sunset's hand.

Sunset was a little perplexed at the man's apparent friendliness to complete strangers, but nonetheless found him amusing.

"Just Sunset, please," she said.

"Alrighty, Mi--erm, Sunset," Wallace stammered.

So he's more on the lines of a classic English gentleman, Sunset thought. That's something I never thought to see in real life.

"So, you guys just moved here?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. Gromit and I just moved into the neighborhood a few blocks down, as you might say," Wallace replied. "Your friends have been most friendly and accommodating, especially Twilight."

"Twilight?"

In the background, Twilight blushed.

"Oh, yes, it's been a real treat working on inventions with her. Her intellect even surpasses my own!" he chuckled.

Twilight blushed again, desperate to hide her growing red face.

"You're a scientist too?"

"Well, not exactly. I'm inventing mostly."

"Really?"

She noticed that the dog, Gromit had been nodding throughout the entire conversation. The pair seemed to be very friendly.

"So, what've you been doing since moving here?"

"Not so fast, Sunset!" Pinkie interrupted from out of nowhere. "Now's not the time for storytelling. You've missed it all, and there's no way we can go back now!"

Sunset gave Pinkie a look of terrifying confusion.

"Now that that's out of the way, it's time to take a coming together Christmas photo! Fire it up, Wallace!"

"Oh, uh, oh, yes, right away, Pinkie!" Wallace replied. "Come on, Gromit! Shake a leg and help me with this thing, would you?"

Gromit nodded and went to the rear of the van while the girls and crowd back away, mostly to avoid a crashing explosion. He opened the rear door before Wallace followed suit. The sounds of struggles, crashing, and yelping ensued from inside, before they both emerged carrying a large metal cylinder carted on a hand cart.

"Right," Wallace said, wiping his brow. "That took longer than expected.  Alright, everyone, I'll just set it up and we'll be cracking in no time."

"You have any idea what he just said?" Rainbow whispered.

"None at all, sugarcube," Applejack replied.

Wallace set down the hand cart, unloading the large cylinder flat but vertical on the ground. He then carefully positioned it so that it was facing directly towards the center point of the gathered crowd.

"Right," he said. "Let's get this thing fired up, shall we?"

Off to the side, he pulled a lever and the large cylinder immediately began shaking like a quake, and an audible gasp from the crowd could be heard. Suddenly, it grew a large copper sphere in the shape of a hopper followed by various visible pistons and cubes and all sorts of three-dimensional shapes, ending with a metal pipe snaking above the ground to reveal an old-fashioned camera, the kind with a large lightbulb, button attached by a cable, and lens attached to a foldable surface, and then the whirring stopped.

Sunset noticed that various crevices and metal casings looked rusty.

"A thing of beauty, isn't it?" Wallace admired.

"What is that thang ya got there, Mr. Wallace?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I'm glad you asked! Ladies and gentleman, dogs and rabbit, it gives me great pleasure to present to you all, the Christmas Card-O-Matic!"

Only Twilight could be heard clapping with enthusiasm, while everyone else stood looking at the machine, unsure of what to think of it. When she noticed no one else was clapping, she sheepishly stopped.

"It's one of my oldest inventions, back when I was a lad getting into inventing for myself." Wallace patted the large cylinder. "I'm rather proud of this one, to be honest."

"What does it do?" Sunset asked.

"It takes pictures like any old camera, but once you've done so, simply pull this lever and the machine then converts the pictures into Christmas cards."

"That's it?" Rainbow said. "That's all it does?"

"I know it's not as intricate or well thought out as my other inventions are..."

"Yeah, right."

"...but I suppose that since there's too many memories with this one, I've never really brought myself to throw her out."

"It looks amazing, Wallace!" Twilight beamed.

"Thanks a bunch, Twilight. Now then," he clapped his hands together, "let's get her started up, shall we?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie, Wally!" Pinkie smiled. "Alright, everyone we need to squeeze together so that we're all in frame. You too, Sunset." She grabbed Sunset by the arm and dragged her unto the clump that included the rest of her immediate friend group. "Come on, Wallace! We need you too!"

"I'll be needed to take the pictures," Wallace explained. "The cable's not long enough."

Gromit rolled his eyes before taking out a longer strip of cable.

"Oh, thanks, lad." Wallace patted his head. "Alright, go and get yourself ready. I'll be right there."

"Right here, Gromit! I saved you a spot~!" Pinkie indicated.

Wallace tinkered with reattaching the extension to the shutter button, humming merrily all the way. "Righto, I think I've got it ready now."

The sound of ominous gulping could be heard among the crowd.

"Okay, so, since you and Gromit are featured on the cover-art, you two are going to be front and center," Pinkie explained.

"Oh, yes, yes of course." Wallace moved to the indicated spot next to Gromit and beside Twilight and Spike. "Alright everyone, here it comes. Smile!"

Wallace pushed the shutter button, followed by a bright flash.

"Watch the birdie."

"Birdie? Where?" Fluttershy asked, before nearly becoming blind again from the flashing.

Angel Bunny facepalmed.

"How long do we have to keep this up, old man?" Smolder asked through a forced smile.

"Nearly finished up," Wallace replied, snapping another picture.

"How about now?" Gallus asked.

"One more for the album, then. Say 'cheese!'" Wallace replied. 

"CHEESE!!"

A bright lightbulb flash indicated the final picture. 

"There. I think that should be enough. I'll go and start her up."

Almost everyone sighed with relief that they could finally relax their facial muscles, while Wallace went over to his precious machine.

"Ten bucks it blows up," Gallus whispered to Smolder.

"You're on, bird boy," she sniggered.

"Stop calling me that. I hate birds."

Sunset watched Twilight went over to observe the machine up close as Wallace pulled the same lever, only this time it activated the various mechanical parts of the machine to begin pumping.

"It's amazing!" Twilight admired. "So many intricate parts! How does it work?"

"Well, uh," Wallace stammered. "To be honest, I kind of forgotten, over the years. Too much inventing will do that to a person."

Twilight grimly nodded, watching the visible pumping pistons.

"Righto. Anyway, the pictures should developing nicely right about now." He stood on a ladder overlooking the giant tub that was a hopper. "I'll add a dash of glue, and then a pinch of glitter. That will make the cards really stand out above the rest."

Suddenly, a loud bang sounded out from the machine, nearly shaking Wallace off. Something else cracked, then took something else down with it in a crash, followed by the sound of crunching metal against metal, and finally a springing sound, before the port-side piston was shot out of place and left to dangle outside of its porthole.

"Oh, dear," Wallace grimaced. "I don't think that was meant to happen."

Twilight backed up from the machine as it whirred to a screeching halt, while Gallus ruffled grumpily having lost a bet on Christmas Eve, only for Silverstream to give him a cheery hug. Twilight then noticed the back end of the machine was still operable.

"It's not all bad," she stammered. "Look. Here comes the developed photos."

Lo and behold, from inside the bowls of the Christmas Card-O-Matic, led out on a conveyer belt were about five developed photos printed and pressed onto good old fashioned Christmas cards. Wallace took one for inspection himself, smiling proudly.

"It worked! Look, there's all of us! You did amazing, Wallace!"

"Thanks a bunch, Twilight," Wallace beamed. "After all these years, you still had one left in you old girl." He patted the sides of his machine. "There's not as much as I hoped, but I'm sure you could use that, 'copying machine' of yours," he said, wriggling his fingers.  "Alright then, Gromit! Let's get her packed up! We've got a flight to catch!" He pulled the lever activating the machine to package itself up. "I'll be right back, Twilight. I just need to fetch something from the cab."

Gromit stacked the machine onto the hand trolley, sweating while heaving it back into the rear of the rusty van, then used his all to shove it in with all his might, right as Wallace returned.

"Oh, I see you've packed already. Well done, pooch." Wallace then approached Twilight, holding something behind his back. "I just thought I might give you something, it being the holidays and all."

Twilight beamed with pride, only to flushed red. "Y-you don't have t-to do-do that, r-really."

"Oh, but I must. Happy Christmas," he presented a standard wrapped box in red dotted with blocks of swiss cheese, "you clever girl."

Twilight froze for a second, before leaping into a crushing hug, about ready to choke on her tears. "Thank you so much, Wallace!" she then let go, holding onto her present, "but you really didn't have to do anything for me."

"Hehehe," he chuckled. "There's always an unspoken rule that we inventors must follow at all times, and that is to never sell yourself short."

Twilight perked up.

"In all my years of inventing, I've never met anyone quite like you, Twilight. Not only do you have a brilliant mind and knack for inventing, but you're also not afraid to see me as more than just an old cheese-loving crackpot." He laughed. "You're a good friend, Twilight Sparkle. Never let that spark die out."

Twilight smiled, tearing up again when Sunset appeared to comfort her in a friendly hug. "I promise, I will never let my spark die out, Wallace."

"That's the spirit! Alright, Gromit. We best get a move on if we're to make our flight on time." Wallace climbed into the driver-side seat, waving to the crowd. "Happy Christmas, everyone!"

Sunset smiled, watching them drive away. "You know something? I like those two already."

"Yeah, Wallace is such an egghead idiot," Rainbow remarked. "But even I can't help but love the guy."



"Aw!" Sonata Dusk groaned. "I wanted to be on a Christmas card."

"Shut up, Sonata!" Aria Blaze snapped. "You'll give us away!"

"Shut up, the both of you," Adagio Dazzle declared. "Forget this. Come on, we've got work to do."



Christmas Morning, complete with a new fresh blanket of snow, was a beautiful annual occasion despite all of the world's problems. Twilight and her friends were all gathered around the Christmas tree exchanging gifts.

"This has been the most wonderfulest Christmas ever, guys!" Pinkie enthusiastically declared.

"You say that ever year, Pinkie," Rainbow smirked.

"I know! That just makes them even more special to me, especially when I get to share these moments with all of my friends!"

Just then, Sunset caught sight of one last present buried deep within the bowels of the tree. "Hey, there's one more." It was wrapped in red with images of cheese blocks dotted all over the coloring. "It has your name on it, Twilight." She handed it to her.

Twilight lit up. "It's the present Wallace gave to me!"

"Uh, should I be concerned?" Rainbow worried.

"Yer thinkin' it mahght 'splode?" Applejack said.

"Oh, dear, I hope not," Fluttershy whispered. "It does have nice wrapping."

"Well, it does have a, uh...certain charm to it," Rarity suggested. "Just like, like...all cheese...does. Yes."

"Well, go ahead and open in, Twi," Sunset said.

Twilight carefully ripped off the wrapping paper, while most of the other girls braced for impact for an inevitable explosion. From beneath the wrapping emerged a plain red box with a plastic window to show off the toy inside. Twilight was distracted however from the letter that was taped on top of the box.

It was from Wallace.



Dear Twilight,

I can't thank you enough on all the amazing inventions we got to work on together. The time Gromit and I spent with you pouring over designs for all sorts of machines has been a real treat.

At first, I was a bit nervous about moving into a new home, considering that it's located across the pond from where I was born, but you've helped me through it. And then I got to meet all of your friends. It just brings me joy whenever I show off any of my inventions.

Lots of love, and have a Happy Christmas, you clever girl.

-Wallace.

P.S. To wind up little Tinny, simply crank his head clockwise like a wind-up key, but make sure to place him on a flat and solid surface. I found him in my attic, having purchased him at a tin toy convention Gromit and I visited in Japan a while back, and he's still in mint condition after all these years!



She read it out loud, happy tears forming beneath her glasses.

"That...that was so sweet of him!" Pinkie sniffed, before beginning bawl waterfalls. "I JUST MISS HIM SO MUCH!!"

"There, there, Pinkie," Fluttershy comforted, patting her back. "Don't worry, they'll be back once the Christmas season is over."

"That was so charmingly kind of him," Rarity smiled with tears of joy.

"Huh, never knew he had it in him," Applejack said.

Even Rainbow struggled to properly intake the heartfelt message, especially since that is was from the cheese-loving idiot inventor himself. "Well, it's nice that he wrote a nice-sounding letter, I want to see that toy in action, Twi." She scooted forward with anticipation. "Come on, bring it out!"

Twilight set aside the letter, and carefully opened the box, hoping that when she removed the toy, it wouldn't break immediately.  She was delicate with the procedure, and when she removed the toy, she took some time to admire it.

It was a small one-man band toy dressed up in a marching band outfit, red torso with gold linings on the front, blue legs, and a red hat with a mimicking feather jutting out. The head was the most bulbous shape of the toy, with painted eyes, smile, faint rosy cheeks, and small nose. Attached to its arms was a green accordion with the folds being white. Attached to its back were the majority of its instruments: a drum to keep the beat from a mallet, a drum-set cymbal on top, a small horn with two valves and a squishing valve to push out air, and five xylophone bars colored red, yellow, green, blue, and violet, each one larger than the first, with a single mallet.



"So, now what?" Sunset asked.

"Wallace wrote to rotate the head clockwise," Twilight replied.

"I heard that he named him Tinny," Fluttershy tittered. "I like that name. I think it's fitting."

"Tinny the Tin Toy. Yeah, it does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Twilight carefully cranked the head clockwise four times, before letting go. When she did, Tinny shot forward as all the instruments began playing at once. It should have sounded like a messy mix, yet neither sound sounded out of place. Tinny even spun his body to march in the opposite direction after a while, then repeated for another few rounds until Tinny came to a stop.

"Hoo-doggy. Tha' is one nifty toy," Applejack grinned.

"I know right? Such intricate detail in the mechanics and design in such a small and old-fashioned toy," Rarity ogled.

"Well, yeah, it's a cool vintage toy, but it's...not, as cool as I hoped, considering it came from Wallace," Rainbow stammered a remark.

Then, she heard sniffling coming from Twilight. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Dash," Applejack chastised.

"What did I say?" Rainbow countered.

Sunset calmly placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Twilight? Are you okay?"

Twilight simply replied by throwing a hug onto her friend and laughing while crying into her shoulder.

"I couldn't be more than okay! I'm just so happy! This has been the best Christmas ever!"

Tinny could only happily agree.



"You know what I think, Gromit?"

Gromit looked up from his newspaper to answer Wallace.

"I think that we are going to a smashing good time living in Canterlot. We certainly made a splendid choice moving there. Still, it's nice to spend one final Christmas back here in the old place."

Wallace then reached back to the side of his chair, pulled up and placed his novelty cheese tray, having wrapped a Christmas ribbon around the lid handle.

"So, to commemorate, how about we have one final cheesy meal here in old 62 West Wallaby Street, on the wonderful Island Nation of England, eh, pooch? I saved it especially for this moment, purchased right from my very favorite cheese shop down the road, hehe, mmm."

Wallace, waggling his fingers in excitement, lifted the lid to reveal Shawn the Sheep having eaten the entire block of Wensleydale.

"Get off me cheese!" he sat there, shooing with his arms. "Geroff! Gero... Gromit! Gromit!"

Gromit looked up from his newspaper, seeing Shawn once again at the cheese.

"Go for 'im!"

Gromit simply shrugged and returned to his newspaper, completely content with eating his own cheese.

"I'll give you what for, you tike!"

Shawn swallowed the last chuck of the cheese, and baaed with accomplishment for another successful Happy Christmas.