> Izzy, Pass Me the Brain Cell > by RunicTreetops > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Izzy, Pass Me the Brain Cell > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Pipp?" "Yes, Sunny?" "Do you... hear something?" Sunny and Pipp sit together in the bottom floor of the Crystal Brighthouse. Sunny sits comfortably on a cushion, her nose buried in an old tome. Pipp browses the contents of her cell phone, most likely scrolling through social media. They both lift their heads and look around. Sure enough, the sound of shuffling can be heard from the floor above them. The occasional sound of a bump or the pitter-patter of hooves on the hard floor fills the space, and the two mares glance at each other. "Yeah, I hear it. Is Izzy still here?" "I guess? I thought she and Anon went into town earlier, though." "He passed through here earlier this morning. I just assumed Izzy went with him, too. Jeez, this has to be the first time this week they've been apart." Sunny chuckles. "C'mon, Pipp. You've seen how happy they are together. Who are we to judge them for that?" "I'm not judging per se, I'm just..." Pipp taps a hoof to her chin as she searches for the right words. "Wondering if their relationship is healthy." "Why wouldn't it be? They're both great friends to have, and I'm sure they treat each other well." "I don't mean healthy for them." "What are you talking abo-" Sunny is cut off by the front door of the Brighthouse suddenly slamming open, revealing your human figure. A frantic smile is on your face as you carefully try to enter the room. In your hands, you push a very large wheelbarrow. Within this wheelbarrow, hundreds upon hundreds of pillows are stacked high above your head. So high, in fact, that a large portion of them are knocked off the stack by the top of the door frame, requiring you to turn around and pick them up before throwing them back on top of the pile. The wheelbarrow is very loud and rickety, easily disturbing the peace of the otherwise quiet room. "A-Anon?! What is all that?!" "A project Izzy and I are working on! Excuse me!" With a spring in your step, you excitedly start pushing the wheelbarrow around the two mares and towards one of the nearby staircases. Getting the darn thing up those steps would be a problem for most ponies, but for a human like you, it's no issue! Before you know it, you're at the top of the staircase and happily pushing the wheelbarrow into the bedroom that Izzy shares with her friends Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp. Of course, the pillows at the top of the pile are once again knocked off by the door frame, so you quickly turn around, pick them up, and hurry back into the bedroom, closing the door behind you as you do so. Sunny and Pipp look up at the top of the stairs with blank expressions. Their gaze slowly wanders down the stairs at the dozens of pillows you unknowingly left strewn about around the Brighthouse until they eventually glance back at each other. "See what I mean?" "Look, just because they're excitable doesn't mean-" Sunny is cut off once again by the bedroom door getting thrown open. Two figures dart from the room and leap from the top of the steps to the floor below. Right before they hit the ground, however, they are enveloped in the light of a gentle magical spell and placed safely on the ground. Sunny and Pipp look at you and your marefriend, Izzy Moonbow. The pretty purple unicorn giggles and glances at you to make sure you're okay before noticing her friends looking at the two of you. "Hiya you two!" "H-hey, Izzy. What's all this about?" "Perfection in progress, my dear Sunny! We're about to make the greatest pillow fort Equestria has ever SEEN!" She dramatically raises a hoof to the air, and you follow suit with a smile. "Want to help?" "I-I'm sure the two of you are having a great time, but I, uh... already had plans today! Yeah..." You speak up on Izzy's behalf. "That's too bad. This is about to be the best thing anyone's ever created. Like, period." Pipp chimes in inquisitively. "Why are you down here instead of up there, then? And while you're here, you should probably pick up those-" "Whatever you're about to say, there's no time!" Izzy interrupts Pipp, causing the short pegasus to give her a half-lidded stare. "C'mon Anon, we're missing three key components!" Izzy begins running out the door, and you happily run after her. "Right behind ya!" The door to the Brighthouse slams shut behind you once again, leaving the two mares in a bewildered silence. "...Do I need to say it?" "Yeah, yeah, I see your point. ...We should probably pick up these pillows. I have a bad feeling they aren't going to." "Ugh." Hitch carefully brings a pair of scissors to the top of Sparky's head. The baby dragon squirms in his spot while the stallion does his best to hold him steady. "C'mon, Sparky. This'll be a lot easier for both of us if you just sit still! I've almost got iiiiiiiiiiiiit..." The door to the sheriff's office slams open, revealing the outlines of both you and Izzy. You confidently trot into the room with determined expressions, only to see Hitch frantically looking around on the floor. "Oh no oh no oh no!" "Hitch? What's up?" "You two surprised me and I dropped Sparky's special scissors!" "Special scissors?" "They're the only scissors he'll let me use to cut his hair!" "Hair?" You give the baby dragon a once-over. He giggles as you lean down to look at him. You don't see a hair on his head. "Does he have hair?" "It's... really short." Hitch blushes and gives you a sheepish smile. Meanwhile, Izzy joins him on the floor. "Hitch, you keep this floor really clean. Are you sure you dropped your scissors?" "What else could have happened to them?" You make a suggestion before Izzy gets the chance. "Maybe Sparky hiccuped on them or something?" Hitch suddenly shoots to his hooves and looks at Sparky with big terrified eyes. "Sparky! Did you do something to the scissors?!" The dragon gurgles and claps his hands together as the color drains from Hitch's face. In the meantime, Izzy wanders over to Hitch's desk while you eye up a nearby shelf. On that shelf, you notice an old mug filled with various odds and ends. Let's see... pencil. Pen. Screwdriver. Marker. Stick of gum. Half-painted Tyranid model. A copy of The Wacky World of Mini-Golf (starring Eugene Pony). An apple core, a pear core, a demon core, an Intel Core I7... ah, here we go! Scissors! What? It's a big mug. With closed eyes and a grin on your face, you saunter over to Hitch and hand him the pair of scissors. Hitch, only somewhat paying attention, grabs them from you without taking his eyes off of the energetic dragon. "Thank you, Anon." You look up at Izzy, who gives you a wink and sneaks out the door. "No problem, Hitch!" You give him a pat on the back and follow Izzy outside, laughing as you do so. "Wait, these are the wrong scissors! Also, why did you two even come here?!" By the time Hitch is done yelling, the door has already closed and the two of you have made your escape. Once you're safely around a nearby corner, you turn to your marefriend. "Did you get it?" "One super-comfortable warm light for the inside of the pillow fort? The best one in all of Maretime Bay? Pssssh, nawwwwwwww." "So, our plan was a bust?" Izzy can't contain her giggle. "I'm kidding! I've got it right here!" She holds out the surprisingly small light she nabbed off of Hitch's desk. "And you're sure he won't be mad?" "Not when he sees that we took it for a noble cause!" "Why didn't I think of that?! Izzy, you're a genius!" "My wisdom is quite impressive, I must say. ANYWAY, ONWARD!" "Yes, Commander Izzy!" Zipp glances down at the fabric in her hooves and sighs. She looks back up at the windows of the nearby buildings, narrowing her eyes as she inspects each and every one of them. Her attention is focused squarely on her investigation, and nothing can break her concentration. "HIYA ZIPP!" "AHHHHHH!" Zipp recoils at the sound of Izzy's enthusiastic greeting. You stand behind her and give Zipp a happy wave. She takes a moment to un-ruffle her feathers, and you get a quick chuckle out of seeing her floof settle back down after it stood up suddenly from fear. "Izzy! Don't sneak up on me like that!" "Sorry about that, Zipp! Anyway, whatcha got there?" Zipp sighs. "The only clue I have for today's big investigation. Somepony stole every single curtain in Maretime Bay overnight. Seriously, who would do something like this?!" Izzy stifles a giggle. "I imagine she must have been really sneaky." "Yeah, she probably... wait, 'she?'" You speak up in place of Izzy in an effort to cover for her. "W-well, Sneaksy comes to mind, and she's a mare. Maybe that's your culprit?" "Sneaksy, huh? Unfortunately, I have nothing to go off of. No evidence points to her. Heck, this curtain is the only piece of evidence I have at all! It's the only one that the thief missed." You hold out a hand with a nervous smile. "Mind if I take a look at it?" "Uhh, sure, knock yourself out." She places the curtain in your hand. Right as you take it from her, Izzy suddenly gasps. "Is that the sudden and inconspicuous arrival of a suspicious clown troupe?!" "Izzy, don't be ridiculous. Do you really think... oh." Zipp follows Izzy's gaze, seeing dozens upon dozens of clown ponies crawling out of a comically small car down the road. "Well I'll be." "You don't see that every day." "No. No you don't. Which makes them suspicious. I bet they could get that car around the bay without drawing much attention to themselves, too. You two hold down the fort, I'm gonna go question them." "All right, good luck Zipp!" The two of you wave as Zipp flies down the street towards the clowns that conveniently appeared at just the right time. "Nice work, Izzy. How did you manage to find clowns to distract Zipp with?" "Oh, that really was a coincidence. I didn't have a plan at all." "Wow. Your luck is incredible." "Isn't it?" "...I love you so much right now." "I love you too, Nonny!" Izzy happily hops into the air to meet you at eye level, planting a quick kiss on your cheek as she does so. "Well, we got the last curtain. Can't believe I missed it last night." "Only one more stop to go." "Onward!" Standing by your lonesome, you knock on the door of a quaint little Maretime Bay home. After a few moments, the door unlocks, and Posey Bloom peers through the doorway. "Hello, Posey!" "Nuh-uh. Not happening." "I'm sorry?" "You may have fooled the rest of the bay, but you can't fool me! I know what you and Izzy are up to!" "We're building the greatest pillow fort ever created!" Posey lets out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, I know. And I also know that you're the ones who stole all of the curtains! Not to mention all of the pillows! I bet your little detective friend Zipp hasn't even realized that part yet, huh?" You feel sweat begin to form on your brow. "I... I don't know what you're talking about." Posey opens the door the rest of the way, angrily glaring at you as she does so. "As if that wheelbarrow full of pillows wasn't the most obvious thing I've ever seen!" "We... bought those legitimately." "Oh yeah? From where?" "Uhhh... P-Pillow Mart." "Pillow Mart?" "Pillow Mart." "That's not even a real thing! Ugh. You two are so lucky the ONLY form of law enforcement in this town is your friend, otherwise I'd- hey, HEY!" Posey is interrupted by a blur that speeds past her from inside of her house. The blur narrowly misses you as it descends further into the bay. "Wh-what the heck?!" "Well, it's been nice Posey, but we have a fort to finish!" Doing your best to replicate Izzy's insane speed, you book it away from Posey's house as she screams at you from her doorstep, never actually making an effort to chase you. "WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME?!" A little while later, you regroup with Izzy in a narrow space between a building and a fence. "Did you get it?" "You mean Posey's comforter? The most comfortable comforter in all of Maretime Bay?" Izzy holds out the large, floral-patterned comforter with a grin. "You did get it! How did you even get in there?!" "Chimney." "Oh. Huh. And not a speck of soot on you." "I clean easily." "So it would seem." The two of you begin to make your way back to the Brighthouse, the three missing materials for your fort finally in your grasp. "By the way, how did you know that Posey's comforter is the most comfortable one in the bay?" "I guessed." "Understandable. By the way, can you believe she thinks we stole all of those pillows?" "Whaaaaaaaat? We bought them from Pillow Mart! They were SUPER expensive." "I know! Who would just go around stealing pillows anyway?" "Yeah, a pony like that would have to be a maniac." Sunny, Pipp, Hitch, Zipp, and Posey all stand outside of the bedroom in the Crystal Brighthouse. The door is shut, and the inside is eerily silent. They each have varying levels of impatience on their faces as they share a glance. "...Let's just get this over with," Pipp mumbles. "Alright everypony, let's get ready to face whatever may be inside. On three. One, two... three." The five ponies open the door together, unsure of what to expect on the other side. What awaits them is something indescribable. A pillow fort, sure, but it's so, SO much more. An unholy monstrosity, a beautiful divine gift from the heavens, a man-made (and mare-made) horror beyond their comprehension, a deep dive into the psyches of some of the most terrific minds this world has ever seen. Truly, the fort's unfathomable nature is almost too much for their foolish mortal eyes to take. "W-why don't we just come back tomorrow? How does that sound, everypony?" "Whatever, I just can't stand to be in here any more!" Posey's voice is a shout despite the fact that the fort's world-changing characteristics don't actually make a sound. Shielding their eyes, the five ponies close the door once more. They let out a collective sigh before Posey speaks up again. "So we're just going to let them get away with this?" "Well, hopefully it's all out of their system by tomorrow," Sunny responds. "Uhh, Sunny?" Hitch looks at his friend with concern. "They've done something like this every single day for the past three weeks." Sunny sighs yet again, suddenly appearing extremely tired. "I know, Hitch. I know." Inside the pillow fort, you snooze in the single most comfortable position you've ever been in. Beneath you are dozens and dozens of fluffy pillows. On top of you is the most comfortable comforter you've ever felt. All around you is what is unmistakably the greatest pillow fort that has ever been created and that ever will be created. But most of all, in your arms is the peacefully sleeping Izzy. Your eyes gently open just a little bit to look at her. She sleeps with her head buried in your neck. Her front legs are wrapped around your torso, and her back legs rest against your own. Her tail is curled around one of your knees. Her coat is extremely soft to the touch, and she smells of lavender. Your left arm is wrapped around her back, while your right rests behind her head. You mindlessly caress her soft, silky mane, occasionally giving her a gentle scratch on the back of her neck. In her sleep, she occasionally gives your neck a gentle smooch, or she lets out a lovely little "coo" noise. You smile to yourself and close your eyes again. With this girl, you work hard, you play hard, and you sleep really, really well. What an exciting, wonderful life you share with her. As you finally drift off to sleep once more, you have only one question on your mind. What will the two of you get up to tomorrow?