Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but daydream for a spell when she sifted through her old research materials. She recalled the times she had taken each word, each bit of data down, in the idyllic town of Ponyville. It had been a long while since she had been in Ponyville; it had been a long while since anypony had been in Ponyville.
"Focus, Twilight!" she startled herself back to her senses. Her task was to figure out a way to pry Canterlot, or as it was now, the whole of Equestria out of the stalemate the pony population had perilously been placed in. For everything that was at stake, though, she did not panic, for she knew how well her loving mentor, Princess Celestia, had prepared for situations such as this. The answer to many past disasters had been solved thanks to aspects of Twilight's research, after all. This time was not easy, though, as she found herself going around in circles, so to speak.
There was an aspect of this research cycle that made her pause every time she passed it, though; it was her findings of the time-traveling train and the pass she took from its stewardess.
1- THE PLOT BEGINS, ON-TIME!
Spike took a deep breath and left the library to go grab a bite with the bits he was grabbing. His surrogate sister figure, Twilight Sparkle, had used to make breakfast for him every morning, but ever since the day after his birthday, she had stopped this practice. In fact, she had been a tad distant lately, treating him more like a co-worker than a brother. Spike was a little sad, but he kept his little head high because he had recently become a year older and so he knew in his heart that his pony friend was just trying to wean him into independent life.
In hindsight, perhaps he should not have been relaying the events of the past week to himself as he strolled, because he crashed into an apple stand, sending a couple apples to the ground. Upon recovery from the crash, his feet found ground on the grounded apples, he slipped and so the crashes had been doubled. The small yellow pony monitoring the stand helped him up. She was trying her best not to giggle, trying to maintain a face of professionalism, but due to her age, ultimately lost her composure.
"Apple Bloom!" Spike groaned as he picked the now-bruised apples off the ground. "Is it really that funny?"
"giggle- snort- Maybe!" croaked the filly as she coughed to expel the remaining sillies from her. "Anyway Spike, you bruise 'em, ya buy 'em." Spike groaned as he counted the amount in his hands. Hopefully he would still have enough to go get his intended breakfast. Apple Bloom must have been gunning for a vendor Cutie Mark or something, because her tone of voice had lost its youth; she seemed really serious, faux-mature in the way she was handling it.
"Running the stand alone again?" he asked, handing her the money.
"Yeah... Big Mac's too busy today..." She lost her eye contact with Spike for a split second. "...but I'm doin' a bang-up job, arn' I?"
Spike smiled as he walked away. "Don't worry, Apple Bloom; your apple stand really jump-started my day!" He waved and tucked the apples under his arm as he headed towards Sugarcube Corner. He drooled at the thought of the breakfast pastry selection, and by the end of his trip, there was a handy little river in Ponyville pointing towards the entrance of the sweet, sweet bakery. "Maybe today's the day Pinkie makes her so-called 'bads' again? That would be so great!"
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" he announced as he rushed to the counter. "What can I get for, uh..." He held up his hand to display his finances. "...two bits?" It was early in the morning and Spike was the only customer in the shop, even so, the Cakes, like the professionals they were, were very alert and awake. Still, it seemed too quiet, eerily quiet, even considering the circumstances.
"Good morning, Spike!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed. "They really oughta pay a growing boy more than that!"
"Yeah." piped in Mr. Cake. "Most places, you'd get- oh, maybe a mini-tart or so?"
Spike was about to explain that his money was actually his allowance from Twilight; he did not work at the library for wages. Though he was slightly disappointed that he came up really short today (his allowance hadn't been replenished since he received birthday money, in fact), he didn't want to guilt trip the couple into giving him anything he couldn't afford.
"Oh. It's alright- Anything small is fine anyway, 'cuz you see, I kinda had to, um, buy these apples from Apple Bloom earlier and so I'm good, like, I'll be all full!"
Mrs. Cake was touched at Spike's display of modesty and was about to speak when she noticed her husband going to the back kitchen. It seemed he was getting something? "Why can't he just ask Pinkie Pie to do what he's doing?" wondered Spike. Mr. Cake returned with a steaming muffin.
"For you, young man, a lemon poppy seed muffin." He set the muffin on the counter to wrap it. "It's on the house."
"Oh no..." After his little birthday incident, he was still a little weary about receiving stuff for free, though it would give him an opportunity to test the lesson he learned. It helped to try and see the silver lining of a sticky situation. "...I couldn't!"
"Nonsense!" Mr. Cake pushed the muffin in Spike's direction. "It's just a reheated day-old muffin, and I- we would have given it to the birds anyway."
"It'll put a little meat on those bones!" added Mrs. Cake.
Spike nervously took the complimentary pastry and added a compliment to his gratitude. "You're both all too kind! Thank you a lot, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" As he opened the door to leave, he shouted to them once more. "Say 'hi' to Pinkie for me!" Then he left.
The Cakes blinked with blank confusion blanketing their faces and turned to face each other. "Pinkie?" they pondered.
---
Heading home, Spike unwrapped the muffin, and was careful to make sure he deposited the wrapper in a proper waste bin. "Gotta eat while it's still hot! Look out, belly, here comes the train!" He opened his mouth wide to bite when suddenly, he felt odd. He couldn't move his body and strange sand was emitting from his skin. Spike could only watch as the sandy ingredient was added to the cooling muffin.
"I... have arri- Ooh, a muffin!" He extended his long tongue and swallowed the thing whole, sand and all (though it wasn't that bad; Spike, being a dragon, was capable of ingesting far worse). Noticing the apples, Spike, though he still couldn't control himself, polished those off as well. "I require more sweets!" Was he saying this? He was sure he wasn't making himself say that! Why would he pitch his voice so high? Before he knew it, he was bouncing around town, looking for any unattended sugary foods.
Spike wasn't known for bouncing as wildly as he was now. As such, starting with three easily-panicked citizens of Ponyville, the surrounding population was in a panic, fearing that Spike was starting to rampage. "The horror! The horror!" "Dragon on the loose!" "The mayor must be warned!" "Hide the fillies!" "Do dragons have springs for bones- I mean- HELLLLLLLLP!"
NOM! A cotton candy cart was consumed. SLURP! A jelly jawbreaker entered the baby dragon's maw. CRUNCH! Mistaking Miss Mist's mansion's mechanical box for a macadamia nut cookie, he munched upon it.
Elsewhere in the town, perhaps in response to the frenzied screaming, a unicorn mare stepped out of a door. Levitating a technologically out-of-place belt by her side, she set out. There could indeed be a Hobbler on the loose, so she had to find the Singular Point and fast!
"Oh no! I'm losing control of myself again!" If Spike could control his eyes, he would have been crying. He had just raided a house full of candy canes, leaving a spectacled filly in tears. It felt different than the last time he lost control of himself, and somehow, the resulting confusion only made it feel worse.
---
Back at the library, Twilight Sparkle had just asked a young colt to leave. Food and drink, especially crumbling cake, was absolutely prohibited from the premises. "All rules are in order!" she chirped. "I'm a good librarian!" Just as she punctuated her self-praise, a sweating pony swung the door open, letting in the sound of a young colt screaming.
"The Singular Point will show the ability to repel the influence of a Hobbler." She scanned the purple librarian, looking up and town. No sign of Hobbler dust. In fact, the library was surprisingly sparse on dust or other dirtying elements, such as hair, dirt, or cake crumbs. "Not her." she confirmed to herself as she ran out. Twilight blinked, and because the pony had carelessly left the door open on her way out, she lighted her horn and shut it for her, so as to not let the sound of chaos inside.
"I'd say they're HOT ON OUR TAIL!" said Spike, who, after raiding a donut stand, was on the run. On the sunny side, all this theft wasn't making him grow like last time; on the side of the moon, Twilight might tan his hide for this. He didn't even know where he was going, not that it mattered, given his lack of control over his legs. If he had to hazard a guess, a prime spot for sweets would be- Oh no! Not that! As soon as the location popped in his head, he hurriedly headed to the house of pastries, the bakery supreme, Sugarcube Corner.
A cherry pie in the windowsill! Score! Spike's tongue twisted, ready to go in for the kill. At the front of the shop, the surprisingly-not-out-of-breath-at-this-point pony had confirmed that neither one of the Cakes was the Singular Point she sought.
"No! I can't!" Spike froze. "I'm not a thief! I don't wanna be a thief! Stop, stop, STOP!" An explosion of sand emerged from his body, getting the attention of the searching pony. She ran to the back of the bakery, and sure enough, next to the pie, there was a sandy, wispy being, and the baby dragon that had forced it out. Rubbing his head, Spike moaned. "Oh man... what came over me?"
"Me?" said the monstrous pile of pink sand. Well, that explained- wait, a sentient, monstrous pile of pink sand?
"I've found it- I mean him!" The pony, Obscured Corporal Eve Stropper, was gladder than she had been for the long time. "The Singular P-!"
The yell of a baby dragon cut her off.
2- THE TRAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OPENING
Sugarcube Corner looked as great as ever, as far as its storefront, its facade went. The back was another story, the more interesting one. An O.C. whose face had been wiped of the glee she had experienced seconds prior was beholding the Singularity, a purple baby dragon, freaking out over the presence of the Hobbler, which she knew to be monsters from her time come to lay ruin to the past. The cherry pie on the windowsill was wrought with sand.
Strangely, she was expecting the Hobbler to be rampaging as it was earlier today. It was instead patiently waiting, as if to try and explain itself to the dragon once he pulled himself together. And another thing, she was told that a Hobbler outside of a host would become... well, more solid. Perhaps this was different because it had foolishly tried to possess the Singular Point? Oh well, it was not yet dead, so time was of the essence.
She levitated the belt and pass to the dragon. The Hobbler felt it was a tad rude for this pony to not wait for Spike's shock to subside. "This is for you." The unicorn's voice displayed the utmost form of seriousness; Eve Stropper was a no-nonsense pony. Before Spike knew it, she fixed the belt along his waist and placed a pass in his hands.
"Wha-?"
"Defeat the H- monster before it runs away!" she yelled, hopefully in terms the dragon would understand.
"Monster!?" protested the monster.
Eve let out an annoyed grunt as she forced Spike to swipe the pass over the belt buckle. In an instant, he found himself encased in a magic suit (fabric generated by magic had a different feel to it than physically made fibers, as Spike knew too well), with his chest and shoulder armored and his head shielded in a full mask. On the belt, strange pieces were hung. "Are these building blocks for a weapon?" he wondered.
"What are you waiting for!?" growled Eve. Her mental thermometer grew closer to bursting each second the monster remained not-dead. "Kill it!"
Spike got to his feet reluctantly. This... sandy thing before him did commit a series of crimes, but it wasn't worth killing something over. From birth, he was raised to know this. Indeed, even that despicable meanie Discord was encased in stone instead of sentenced to death! It shocked him that this pony would be so quick to want something like that!
Before he could open his mouth to speak out, the monster itself, er- herself, protested the proposed death sentence. "Wait wait wait! I'm not dangerous, I just wanna have fun! Bounce around, eat treats, and party it up with everyone!" The voice sounded familiar to Spike, but he couldn't quite place his finger on what it was. The unicorn snorted in response; there might as well have been steam emitting from her every facial orifice. "Um..." The sandy spirit would have sweated profusely if it would have been possible. "I'll come quietly?"
This seemed to quell the unicorn, but only just barely. Eve glanced at Spike, disgusted at his inaction, and then addressed the panicking Hobbler. "Very well." Now motioning to include Spike in her auditory sights, she continued. "Follow me."
The costume was not entirely useless; as the trio headed towards the center of Ponyville, it kept anyone from noticing that one of the walkers was the sweets-crazed rampager, Spike. Though, no one was noticing the Hobbler either. The citizens still seemed to be in their spooked stage. Perhaps the scare from Spike's wild ride hadn't quite subsided yet.
Now did not seem the time to make small talk. The unicorn looked far too hair-triggery. Deciding instead to observe his entourage, he first took notice of the unicorn's Cutie Mark. It was a stylized ear taking in a visual representation of sound waves. Perhaps it meant that this pony was an exceedingly good listener? Changing gears to look at her head, he couldn't help but notice that her mane was styled similar to Twilight's. She looked like a Twilight recolor! Of course, most ponies looked like a recolor of some other pony, so this really wasn't an unusual occurrence in the least bit. It was just an easy mnemonic to remember what this character looked like, is all.
He now moved his gaze to look at the weird sand monster. By now, though, she seemed less sandy, like the shifting was done and a definite form was definitely evident. Was she ashamed, or just frightened? Her head was down, so Spike couldn't really see the face. The most he could make out about the head was that she had two draconic-looking horns made out of party hats on her forehead. The body was curiously proportioned similar to what his had metamorphosed into in the early stages of his birthday rampage. Well, the monster did come out of him, so maybe it was reflecting some of his thoughts on the ride into her being.
In the middle of town, there was a train, which was strange, because as far as Spike knew, there were no train tracks in the middle of town, and indeed there... kind of were. The train was on tracks, of course, as all trains were, but a few meters from the front and back of the train, the tracks stopped, so it looked like the train couldn't really go anywhere. Was this, like, a spontaneous museum or something? Why was the unicorn taking them here? Why was he even asking these questions now? It had been established that this day was going to be weird already!
A door in one of the cars slid open as they approached. It made such an odd sound, nothing at all like what the wood it supposedly was made of would make. "Get on." Spike and the sand-thing frowned. This unicorn was such a downer; her dialogue wasn't even fun! Nevertheless, they boarded the train, and found themselves in the train's dining car, nothing out of the ordinary.
A gray pegasus waved to the new passengers. "Hi-hi! Welcome to FriendLiner! Take a seat, I'll get you muffins some muffins!" She opened a door that somehow led to a kitchen that couldn't have possibly fit in a train car. Great, as if Spike didn't have enough questions, now he had to be curious about the illogical space storage of this "FriendLiner". Perhaps some of the cranky, stick-up-the-tail attitude from the unicorn had rubbed off on him as well, as he remained standing. The sand-thing, on the other hand, actually did take a seat, giving herself a chance to at least try to relax.
"Pass?" Spike's eyes shot open, not that anyone could see that under his mask. He, Eve, and the Hobbler turned to face the source of the voice. Before them was a brown Earth Pony with an hourglass Cutie Mark. If Eve was the dark side of serious, he was the paragon of calm seriousness.
"P- p- pass?" Spike sputtered.
"Only those with a pass can board the FriendLiner..." explained the stallion. Nodding, he added, "...or is he on your pass?"
"Oh- well, he has the pass now." she replied, motioning to Spike. Leaning down to where, as far as she could guess under his helmet, his ear might be, she whispered harshly, "The thing you scanned on the belt buckle! You didn't drop it, did you?"
"Oh!" Spike quickly produced the pass, which had been conveniently clipped on the belt. He held it in front of the brown pony's face. "This is the pass?"
"Correct. Is Eve on your pass, then?"
Eve shot Spike a dangerous look. Gulping, he yelped, "Yes!"
"And the spirit?"
"Huh?" Spike didn't realize that this weird monster thing would even be allowed on a train, and he looked into her eyes, completely oblivious to the look of 'you wouldn't dare' Miss Stropper was shooting. The monster was putting on puppy dog eyes, complete with stars and sparkles. Spike realized that perhaps being on this train might act as a safe haven for the thing, and- well... even though she made him do terrible things, she didn't deserve the death he was sure this 'Eve' fellow would insist on if she was to be on the loose again.
"Yes." His voice reeked of resolve.
"What!?" Eve shook Spike before facing the brown pony. "You can't let him do this! That's a Hobbler! We're trying to st-"
"You're trying to hunt down the Hobblers." interjected the stallion. "I am only here to operate my vessel and ensure it performs according to rules."
"I'm back!" sang the pegasus as she emerged with a tray of muffins, one for everyone! She took a glance at the scene and pointed to Spike. "Nice pass!"
"Um, thanks?" That was an odd thing to focus on. Perhaps this pony had a few screws loose. Her wonky eyes certainly supported that theory. Spike pushed that thought to the back burner, though. He had been raised to not judge like that.
"Speaking of rules..." the hourglass pony said, as if the interruption did not just happen. "...full body costumes are are not allowed on board." Spike began to fiddle around with his magic suit, wondering how the heck to get it off; it disappeared once Eve unbuckled the belt. So that was how! Spike made a mental note to remember that little detail.
"Cute! A baby dragon!" Everyone stared at the pegasus who seemed to be making a habit of spurting her stream of thoughts.
"Umm... are there any other rules I should be aware of? Mr.-" asked Spike.
"I am simply the Owner: the Owner of the FriendLiner." said the Owner. "There are no further rules that concern you at the moment." He paused, and decided to get a few other tidbits of information out of the way. "The lady in charge of the Dining Car is Derpy; treat her with respect, and don't ask about the tracks you may have noticed as you approached. You will see soon enough how that works. I will be heading to the front; Derpy, preserve my snack for later."
"Yes sir!" she saluted as the Owner exited the car. Sure enough, the train was in motion less than a minute later and Spike could see that the train generated tracks in front of where it was going through the window. Hopefully it would make a stop again here soon. "Twilight's gonna kill me if I get home too late!" he worried. But for now, things were finally calm.
Sure enough, the calm was fleeting, as an impact called 'Eve's hoof to Spike's face' rocked the car. "You idiot! 'The Hobbler can be on my ticket!?' What's the big idea?"
"Better it be in here than out there, in me, causing chaos!" Spike had not been too pleased with this Twilight recolor being mean to him; he worked in a library, so surely he was second to Twilight herself when it came to prowess in arguing with words. (He wasn't.)
"Hobblers are monsters! Monsters are to be slain! You're a warrior now; you slay it! What is so difficult to grasp?"
"Me!? If you want to slay it so bad, why don't you put the dumb belt on yourself!?"
"HEY!? Can I have a say in this!?" The pink Hobbler yelled. Spike and Eve rubbed their ears; wowsers, could that voice of hers get really high. Derpy, like all seasoned food service workers, was unfazed by the shriek. "I told you, Eve, or whatever Mr. Owner called you, I'm not dangerous and now since I'm on the dragon's pass, I am on here and-"
"Whether he slays you in here or in the car is none of my concern."
"Eve! Fighting's not uh, uhhh-loud? Allowed- on the FriendLiner!" Derpy pointed out.
"Besides, even if I could, I wouldn't!" Spike crossed his stubbly little arms.
The Hobbler cleared her throat. "So as I was saying: I am safe now, Eve, so ha, ha, ha!" Eve's eyes narrowed in response to the monster's smug expression. The tension in the air could have been cut with a butter knife. Luckily, Derpy was using the knife to very lightly spread butter on the muffins. She was the best responsible knife wielder.
Finally, Spike spoke. "Why do you want her dead so badly anyway, Eve? She only stole some food, and mostly junk food at that!"
"Nothing to kill me over!" added the Hobbler.
Eve grimaced. These fools did not realize the danger of the whole situation. Calming herself through deep breaths, she explained. "I was told that when I arrive here, enemies from my time would materialize. I won't explain the magic behind it because none of you look too bright, but basically they materialize as monsters called Hobblers. They're called this because the way they come to the past has disfigurements, in other words, hobbled bodies, as you can see in Little Miss Pink here."
"Hey!" protested the Hobbler. The form wasn't her fault, and it wasn't that hobbled! (Neither she or Spike questioned who Eve got this information from.)
Eve continued. "I came here on this train because I needed to seek out the Singular Point, who is the only one the Friend-O belt will work on." She put extra emphasis on the next sentence. "And that is why I can't put the 'dumb' belt on myself. You, dragon, have to do it, and use it to get rid of the Hobblers so they don't mess up your Equestria the way they messed up mine!"
Woah. As far as Spike was concerned, that last bit did at least win her some sympathy points. "It's- it's Spike." he said with much less venom in his voice than he otherwise would have coated it with.
"Well then why don't I remember having a mission to destroy Equestria?" piped in the Hobbler. The sympathetic sentence didn't work on her the way it did on Spike. "I don't even remember anything that happened before I was inside Spikey-wikey!"
"Dude, that's creepy the way she worded that." thought Spike as he saw Eve sit down and wave her front legs in the air, giving up.
"How should I know?" This was tiring. Maybe her mission was- no! Hobblers had to be bad news! They were destructive monsters that had to be destroyed! The one in this train that Spike had saved? Probably just a mentally defective one or something. Other than this exception, the others had to be evil! Spike would see; once another Hobbler appeared and started wreaking actual havoc, then he would see!
More silence followed. Everyone but Spike ate their muffins. They were delicious.
"Why aren't you eating, Mr. Wikey?" Derpy was sad that he was not enjoying her awesome muffin.
"That's not my name; that pink person just made that up! Just call me Spike! And I'm already stuffed, plus I have no money anyway." He did wish he could eat the muffin, though; it looked very inviting. Maybe when he had more than two measly bits, he could-
"Oh, meals come with your pass! No charge!"
"Woah, really?" Spike perked up.
"Really, really!" Derpy was glad! She was that when time passed and Spike was hungry, he would eat her heart out! (As she did like to pour her metaphorical heart into her muffins, that is.)
The train stopped. Looking out the window, Spike saw the Library and thanked Celestia. He would be home at a reasonable time to finally end this overstimulating day! He was getting up to leave when...
"There's another one." said the pink Hobbler.
"What?" Eve was curious.
"I just sense another one in town!"
"How?"
"I dunno."
"How do you not know; you can't just have a sense that's nonsense! There are rules that magic like that has to follow!"
"I don't think it's magic, I just know!"
Spike facepalmed. This sounded familiar. He slid open the door to go, though he did wave 'goodbye' to Derpy first. She was really sweet.
Eve was able to get her attention off of arguing against the pink one's 'sense' to notice Spike leaving. "Hey, Spike!" She threw the belt and pass his way. "Take these!"
"I don't want 'em!" replied Spike.
"Whether you want them or not does not matter. They are yours, end of story!"
"I'm not going to use it to go hunting!"
"We'll see about that, you little prick." Eve narrowed her eyes. "I don't care, but you still have to take them."
Spike stood at the doorway for a few seconds. Even when he was upset, nay, especially when he was upset, he'd feel like making a show of it. Dramatically, he turned around to look Eve in the eye. "Fine." He picked up the items and departed.
"You shouldn't be such a meanie." said the pink Hobbler softly.
"Shut up." Eve coldly responded.
---
Spike entered the library, too tired to notice the noises going on outside. Twilight noticed him and rushed over to talk. "Woah! Were you just out there in the chaos?"
"I thought the chaos ended already!" protested Spike. Did she not know that he, well, he being possessed by a creature, was behind the snacking spree?
Twilight just stared at her assistant. He usually wasn't this dense. "Nnnnno... it's still continuing." At this, Spike just had to look out of the window to see that indeed, a monster he had never seen or read about was destroying buildings! It must be the other Hobbler!
Spike could not believe his terrible luck! He stared at the belt he held in his claws, knowing that the next decision he made might be one of the hardest of his life. The clear jewel on the front of the belt buckle looked back at him, and he felt for a moment that warmth Twilight had shown him in the past, the times she had told him, "Don't worry, Spike, everything's going to be okay!"
"I hope that everypony still remembers to return their books today..." said the less reassuring, but at the moment, physical Twilight Sparkle.
Next time: Contracts are made as Spike has to face a REALLY mean Hobbler! Can Eve and Spike settle their differences and truly work together? What about the friendly Hobbler? She's in it too, right? Friendship IS magic, after all! Next time, as THE PARTY ARRIVES! PART 2!
Twilight Sparkle knew, from her research and the research of many past prodigal ponies, that there were only two ways to travel back in time. One was a horrible process that would hobble the mind, body, and soul as it flew to the nearest past Climax Point. Indeed, the limitations and disfigurement far outshined any benefits of this method, and so with the exception of high-level research, it was almost never used.
The other way lay in the FriendLiner, and the plan the old purple unicorn was hatching called both into factor.
Throughout time, from recent reports and photographs to the infant days of typesetting, two ponies tended to inexplicably make appearances: a brown pony with an hourglass Cutie Mark and a gray pegasus with weird eyes. Twilight had been one of the few ponies to ever follow the trail these occurrences presented to discovering the train itself. She even kept a pass she had... "acquired" from that little adventure, one of the last she had in Ponyville before it was conquered, and now that pass was about to save Equestria!
The last piece of information she would need to give her mind the greenlight lay in the folder before her. The intelligence in said folder was gathered by none other than Obscured Corporal Eve Stropper, the best S.E.E.U. had to offer. This mole of a mare was very brave, what with her closeness with the enemy forces, but for all the bravery she displayed outside Canterlot, it seemed that she was uncomfortable communicating with friendly forces. Too used to being in hostile territory, under the mask of various disguises, the time to understand friendship would come later, if it ever came at all.
"Poor thing." thought Twilight as she opened the folder. Success! This was the information she hoped was true!
3- FIGHT OR FLIGHT?
Spike could not believe his bad luck. Would he, or would he not, go out and slay that monster, a Hobbler, that was currently causing casualties (of buildings, luckily... so far) out in Ponyville?
"Spike, why are you staring at that belt?"
"Huh?" he quickly, thought futilely, hid the belt behind his back. "What belt? I wasn't looking at a belt! What would I be doing with a dumb belt anyway?"
Twilight was not amused. She lighted her horn and yank the belt out into view. "This belt! Where did you get such a thing? It looks so weird."
"I'm- uh- looking to add pants to my wardrobe!" Spike was sweating; he feared he might be in as much trouble as the town the next instant. To his surprise, Twilight just handed the belt back and returned to- well- library keepup stuff. In a way, Spike felt more hurt by this than how he would have reacted to a stern line about 'not lying' or whatever. After all, his excuse wasn't great at all, and yet she was just letting it slide? He guessed he was now old enough to start weaning away from Twilight, but he felt he should still be worth her time. He looked into the strangely-shaped jewel embedded in the belt buckle again; he wasn't really sure why.
It couldn't quite be explained, but the belt somehow seemed to be urging him to go and save the town. "No, that's silly!" thought Spike. There were no auditory or imagined voices at all, nothing to suggest that the belt was feeding him suggestions! Though he had fantasized about it when he was younger, he was no hero! In fact, if there was a problem in town, Twilight's friends always took care of it! Pinkie Pie would make strange use of instruments to strum the monster to the moon. Fluttershy might come in and lull the monster until it was as harmless as a newborn puppy. Applejack might ride into town and force the monster to leave. Or Rarity, she might... well, Spike wasn't too sure, but not only was she the most beautiful unicorn alive, she had a mind to match her looks, so she'd do something!
But Spike was getting ahead of himself. Looking outside the window, there was no Rarity rushing to the scene, or an Applejack antic, or any of that stuff. The Hobbler was on a rampage and so one was coming to save it. Spike didn't understand this; Twilight's friends would never abandon Ponyville! Why weren't they coming in to save it? Why wasn't Twilight lifting a hoof to save it? Was she expecting him to take a turn being a hero? Was the goal to make Spike take care of a problem for once? Well, that was the explanation the little dragon settled on, as it made the most sense to him. If the town needed Spike to be the hero he had daydreamed about being in happier days, perhaps the time was ripe for him to do it!
Forgoing a verbal message to Twilight that he was leaving the premises (he wasn't too happy to try talking to her at the moment), he slung the belt around his waist and held the pass to the buckle.
---
Meanwhile, the Hobbler outside was furious. His body looked horribly monstrous, not that before he looked much better; those who had told him before that he couldn't be any uglier should have taken a look at him now! Thanks to that darn jaunt through time, he hadn't come back right and so he sought to reshape the town by mangling the surrounding architecture. It made sense to him anyway; it would be a twisted town for a twisted mayor, or if he did a really impressive job, the boss would make him governor of the area!
Spike, now clad in the magic suit, took in the ghastly scene. Ponies everywhere were in panic avoiding debris except for one who emerged from a doorway just before it crumbled with the rest of said building; this pony was a unicorn with a mane like- oh no, it was her!
"Took you long enough." Eve's stare could have bored a hole through an unprotected Spike's face.
"How-?" Spike was wondering what she had been doing inside that random building, but Eve used the dreaded zipper spell (a staple of many a unicorn's arsenal, of course) to cut him off.
"Explanations later!" Downtown Ponyville was in ruins and she would probably kill Spike if he dared let the Hobbler take uptown. She levitated Spike to her back and dashed in pursuit of the northbound monster. "Assemble that weapon on the way!"
Spike nodded and began to fiddle around with the weapon pieces clipped to the belt. It was surprisingly intuitive, and the actual challenge came from trying to assemble it while not falling off Eve. At last, he had a sword! Just in time, too, because as the Hobbler stopped to stomp on a house, Eve stopped and bucked Spike off, sending him flying towards the beast. He himself bounced, surprisingly cartoonishly harmlessly, off of the monster's back, but the sword was not so lucky, as it had stuck itself in the Hobbler's bottom. The young dragon sprang up and charged, to try to get his weapon back, but the anger had reached a boiling point on the thrashing Hobbler, and any attempt to get close only resulted in some kind of limb knocking him back a good few yards.
Eve cursed under her breath. Friend-O was cut off from his weapon and as for her, well, she was a spy, not a fighter. When it came to spells she could competently perform, none came to mind as being particularly useful in this situation. Though, at least with the Hobbler unleashing his anger on the armored warrior, property damage had been reduced to "accidental occurrence".
"Help, please!?" Spike was still experiencing bad luck with dealing with the Hobbler. In fact, it was chasing him around while the panicked crowds of ponies began to stop and watch the strange ordeal.
"I don't know, okay!?" came Eve's snappy reply. "This is my first Hobbler, too!"
"What!?" Spike hit the deck, avoiding his bloody sword as the Hobbler chucked it. He started running towards it; at least now he had his weapon again! He charged again, this time making sure the Hobbler would receive a nice flesh wound for the next limb that would try to smack him around. Sure enough, just as planned, his blade struck the arm that reached for him, and the Hobbler emitted a wicked growl. The crowd was fixated.
---
Elsewhere, the FriendLiner was parked, as the Owner was enjoying a plate of hay in the dining car. Sitting across from the pink Hobbler, he was winning the little eating contest they were having. The challenge was to eat as much of the mini hay bale as possible without causing the flag nestled in its center to fall. The pink Hobbler did not get much of the fibers down before her flag fell, but that was to be expected, as the Owner had the advantage of eons of practice. The pink Hobbler was intently studying his eating technique when the growl reached the FriendLiner. The dining car shook and the flag in The Owner's hay fell as a result.
"Woah! What the hay was that?" she shouted in exclamation, which abruptly shifted to playfulness as she nudged the Owner in the side. "Heh heh, get it? Cause we were just eating hay!"
"Yes." the Owner stoically returned his plate to Derpy, not making any attempt of eye contact with the pink one. "I have heard many 'hay' wordplays through the days."
"Miss Eve and Mr. Spike are out there in the growl, aren't they?" Derpy turned to address the friendly Hobbler. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"I dunno, Eve told me to stay right here in the train, I mean, if I went out, she'd be all like 'you stupid, stupid Hobbler, why'd you go out?' and that would not be nice though I guess she wouldn't know if I went into-" She suddenly gasped. Derpy figured it was because she said all that without pause; the Owner could see that something, something important, had occurred to her.
"Go on." he said softly.
"Mr. Owner! I can still go into Spike, right?"
"Your plan is...?"
"Well, supposedly I'm one of these Hobbler things too, so maybe I can go help Spike with like, how to defeat mysel- I mean- the other one because I... would... er..."
She drifted off and the two ponies stared at her, silently urging her to continue.
"I'm sorry." she said at last. "I think I lost my train of thought. But I have to do something!" Even though she only just met the guy, the Owner struck her as being pretty wise, no doubt having gathered wisdom through different times and all. It would make sense; he ran a time-traveling train! That's the kind of guy who would never lose a train of thought... she assumed.
"You are on Spike's pass. A connection has been made because he sees the help you can provide. This connection will prove beneficial to both parties."
"Huh?" Why did this pony have to speak so funny?
"Test your hunch." This was his fourth sentence to the same person on the same subject during the same conversation. He was flustered as he hadn't gone that far with someone in a very long time, though he did his best to not let it show.
And so the Hobbler thought as she sought to regain her train of thought. There was her hunch, and her goal, to go help Spike (and also, she supposed, Eve). "Aha!" she exclaimed when it returned. "My train of thought is back! Ooh, I've got a party to attend! I'll see you both later!" And then she disappeared.
"Woah." In all her years of traveling through time, Derpy had never seen something quite like that happen. The Owner silently retreated to the engine car.
---
Back in the eye of the "storm", the ponies watching felt that the battle between Spike and the monster could have gone either way. On one hand, he was getting in many hits with his sword. On the other, none of the cuts were particularly deep; they seemed to only further anger the beast (which by now, its anger couldn't be described in limits but more, say, an exponential function) than be causing any harm. "I never remembered the Masked Rider usin' a sword!" shouted a middle-aged audience pony. "Give 'im a good Rider Kick!"
Spike took a split second to decipher the message that stood out amongst all the various noise going on. What in the heck was a Rider Kick? Why was some random bystander being more helpful than Eve? And why did he suddenly feel sandy?
"HELLOOOOOOO, EVERYPONY!" Everyone plugged their ears, and 7 windows broke. "...and guest!" She pointed the sword at the Hobbler.
Eve's eyes widened as she realized what just happened. "Oh no." The pink one was up to something!
"I see you are all gathered here today because someone decided to throw a temper tantrum in the town!" Spike wagged his finger, or rather, she was making Spike wag his finger at the big Hobbler, who had stopped his rampage, due to being partially curious as to why his target was acting so strangely. "What are you doing!?" thought Spike. "I just thought I'd help." he replied, or rather, the Hobbler possessing him made him reply. "The train of thought gave me a hunch, and so, here I am! I have arrived!"
"So what's your plan, 'Masked Rider'?" shouted Eve. "Might as well go with what the onlookers are calling them."
"I have no idea!" shouted the armor-clad hero. The collective sound of jaws dropping peppered the air. She had him puff his chest out and added, "Buuuuuut, unless you're willing to come quietly, Mr. Hobbler, we're about to have ourselves a big bash!" Knowing that their hero was about to get dangerous, the crowd began cheering again, except for one, who exited the scene, as it had finally occurred to somepony to go fetch the police.
Grumbling, the annoyed Hobbler made his position on the proposal clear. "Annoying bug, I will crush you!" Either he didn't possess the quality of eloquence, or perhaps he was just too angry to come up with a better line. No one would ever know which was the case. His deep, gravelly voice sharply contrasted with the high, bubbly voice Spike was currently using.
Possessed!Spike instinctively grabbed the Rider Pass with his right hand, pressed the Friend-O Belt's pink button, and stared up at the hostile Hobbler. "If that's the case, then... let's ride!" He touched the pass to the belt buckle.
Spike's armor was soon accompanied by another set of armor! The pink elements completed overlaying atop his form and even his sword now possessed an aura of vigor to it. The onlookers 'oohed' while Eve was baffled. She hadn't been told about this! The pink Hobbler had young Spike run up to the monster to give it a good, deep strike.
"Let's go, Let's go, LET'S GO!"
4- THE MASKED RIDER RETURNS
A pink-armored, bipedal hero was putting on a show for the ponies of Ponyville. They had an interest in the battle after all, for if this figure, upon whom they bestowed the moniker "Masked Rider", failed to defeat the monster, then family ponies would lose their houses, and the homeless would have their streets littered with the remains of houses! It was a great thing that someone with superpowers came in to intervene.
"Heh, I'm just getting warmed-up!" Slashes, slashes, and more slashes followed from both parties. Amazingly, Spike was displaying some incredible agility. Eve was amazed, as she wouldn't have guessed that the young dragon would be able to dodge attacks with flashy backflips and the like! She would be right of course, as it really was just the Hobbler pushing Spike's body to its limits, but for the moment she was just as much in a trance as the rest of the crowd.
"How... *pant* ...can such a small... *wheeze* ...thing do this to me?" The big Hobbler had regained a bit of his sanity, just enough to come to the realization that he was losing this fight.
The pink Hobbler, giving Spike's speech a slight singe, motioned to the many destroyed and partially-destroyed buildings of Ponyville. "That's easy! Nobody breaks the hearts of Ponyville without paying for it!" Jumping up to his head, the beast found that the Masked Rider's sword was dangerously close to his throat. "Now apologize!"
Blinking twice, the bamboozled Hobbler addressed his attacker. "You can't be serious."
The Rider's sword was now pressed up against his flesh. "I am."
"What are you doing!?" shouted Eve. "He's not going to say 'sorry' and become your friend!" How naive was this Hobbler, or Spike, or whoever was doing the talking for Spike at the moment? "He's here to make this town fall! Finish him!"
"Yeah!" The crowd roared. "FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!"
The pink Rider simply chose to ignore the suggestion, and turned back to facing the beast. Putting on a dangerously quiet voice, she delivered her ultimatum one last time. "Say you're sorry."
Unfortunately, the big Hobbler had taken the opportunity, behind the Masked Rider's back, to put a claw into place, and flicked the small attacker off of him. Calming down a tad had its tactical advantages. The crowd gasped as Spike fell to the ground. His body ached, and Eve was preparing to berate him when the big Hobbler spoke.
"I am taking this town for Grandmaster Vade!" he proclaimed. "My magnificent appearance may have been ruined, but my rewards will be great!" He grabbed the top story off of a nearby hotel, and loomed it over the recovering Rider. "I have NOTHING to be sorry about!"
Luckily for him and the surrounding crowd though, Spike and the Hobbler inside him recovered just in time to, against all laws of physics (not that such things came into play often in Ponyville), use the sword to bat the hotel story back at the jerk. Thus, he and the crowd were saved and the battered Hobbler was now knocked out cold! The crowd was thrilled. Eve allowed herself to feel a little joy at this development. Even the pink Hobbler was celebrating, hopping around in Spike's body, taking in the mirth of the crowd for all it was worth.
Is was then that the police finally arrived. "The monster's over here, officers!" The pony that fetched them pointed. Eve was afraid for a second; after all, Spike didn't exactly have official jurisdiction to be a town warrior or anything like that! Luckily though, they instead moved in towards the big Hobbler, the unicorn police officers using growth spells on their handcuffs to accommodate for the monster's immense size. Eve breathed a sigh of relief.
The sigh of relief was sucked back in as a groan when some of the officers turned to address the still-possessed, still-partying Spike. "Excuse me! We'd like to ask you a few questions."
"What!?"
The crowd began to protest. The more sensible parts of the herd exclaimed that the armored hero had just defeated the monster, and was not one of the monsters. Since they had seen the battle unfold before their eyes, they were sure that this mysterious being (couldn't have been a pony, they could tell he was too bipedal) was a hero, not some gray-area vigilante! As the verbal battle between the crowd and the police waged, Eve reluctantly remained silent. She didn't want Spike to be arrested; he might still be needed if another Hobbler was to attack. Yet, she feared she would get in trouble for not having any ID; she wasn't officially supposed to be here. If only she would have known that Ponyville in this time period was not like that.
The half of the police that were attending to the big Hobbler were sure that he was restrained. Now it should be a simple matter of moving the giant to a prison of some kind and all would be well- actually, even magnified to fit his limbs, the handcuffs snapped as the monster awoke. Instantly, the surrounding officers were smacked around, some ending up sprawled on the street, others now embedded in the neighborhood's remaining walls. The bickering crowds went white and shook in silent terror.
"That's the way it's going to be, huh?" Spike's hand reached for the pass. "What are you doing now?" asked Spike. The pink Hobbler didn't respond, instead having him press the pass atop the belt buckle.
The sword radiated energy as the blade flew off. Swinging the handle, the glowing blade struck the beast. TSSSSSSSSH! Seconds later, the large Hobbler disappeared; a large explosion took his place, blowing back everypony's mane.
Before the crowd's gears turned back to 'cheering mode', the Masked Rider mounted up on Eve and signaled for them to leave. The Hobbler talking through Spike was no longer showing that bubbliness in her voice. "Let's head back."
---
The midday sun shone on Ponyville. The worst was over, though the rest of the day would have to be spent on repairs. It wasn't that bad, though. Ponyville had been through massive property damage before, so the little ponies already had in motion prepared rebuilding plans.
---
Back on the FriendLiner, Spike removed the Friend-O belt. The armor disappeared and the pink Hobbler reappeared in the dining car, no longer inside him. Acting as if that cold-blooded episode had not occurred, the pink one asked Derpy to make her an extra-sugary shake. An exhausted Spike sat next to her. "What was that?" he asked.
"What was what?" replied the Hobbler.
"You suddenly became... very scary!"
"Oh that... I dunno! I guess it's just the way that meanie was all 'OH I AM NOT SORRY BWAHAHA'- but anyway did you have fun?"
"Fun!?" Spike grabbed the strange being by the shoulders. "What was so fun about that?"
"You got to be a hero, Spikey-wikey!" she smiled. This smile grew as Derpy placed the sweet shake before her. She slurped it up in one gulp. Strange thoughts were beginning to enter Spike's head. This kind of behavior was familiar. "I meeh I hel-" She swallowed the contents to continue speaking. "I mean I helped, but it was still quite a ride, wouldn't you say?"
Spike groaned. "I dunno; I'm just tired!" His tiny muscles felt very, very sore. Was this what actually using them was like?
"You'll have to get used to it." quipped Eve. While she was glad that the seemingly benign Hobbler had helped defeat the more malicious one, she was flustered at the pink one's casual attitude and the purple dragon's reluctance. "He'll probably be sending more for us to fight."
"Who will?" Spike, Derpy, and the pink Hobbler asked simultaneously. Now that they thought about it, the unicorn hadn't yet told anyone everything she knew.
"Vade." she replied, not that the answer helped, since none of them knew who Vade was. Realizing this, she added, "I'll tell you later. Spike here looks too tired to be able to remember and I hate repeating myself."
"Way to pin it on me." Spike thought, shooting daggers with his eyes. He was incredibly tired, though. Perhaps it would be better that he hear Eve's explanation when he was more scaley-tailed and bright-eyed.
The FriendLiner stopped again, conveniently a stone's-throw away from Ponyville's library, which, due to its location in the town, had avoided property damage. This was Spike's stop. "Well, I'll see you guys later... I'm going to hit the hay." Slumped, he went to the door.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" The pink Hobbler grinned as Spike blankly looked at her. Was he forgetting something? After a lengthy pause, she decided to help the young dragon out a bit. "It begins with a T~!"
"Oh yeah- uh- thanks- Thank you!" Spike shook his head furiously; he really was quite tired. "Thanks a bunch, Pinkie! See ya!" He left as fast as he could out of embarrassment. He forgot a simple 'thank you'? What a gaffe!
"'Pinkie'?" The previously unmonikered Hobbler tilted her head. "Hmm, that has a nice ring to it, eh, girls?"
"I don't care." Eve breathed, slumping in a seat. Derpy cheerfully nodded.
---
Back in the library, Twilight Sparkle noted to herself that Spike had been gone for quite a while. He was soon coming close to going beyond his allotted time for lunch break. Just as time would have it, the young dragon returned, panting as he came in through the door. He gave a great yawn; he was ready for bed.
"You're finally back, Spike!" exclaimed Twilight. "Hope you didn't get caught up in that chaos outside; I was worried that it would cut into your break too much!"
"Uh huh, uh huh..." Spike wasn't paying much attention as he began dragging himself and the belt upstairs to his quarters.
"I have a feeling we're going to be having a busy afternoon ahead of us, so let's get cracking on sorting the returned books!" She levitated Spike over the pile she was currently sitting in the middle of and handed him a stack. It was then that Spike realized that it was indeed barely after noon! There was still work to do!
"Aaauugh!" he whined as he and Twilight began a sorting session.
Next time: Spike learns a bit about Ponyville's legendary Masked Rider! However, a new, smarter Hobbler has it as his goal to learn about the Masked Rider as well! Frenzied, energetic battling may not be enough to save the day! Can the soft-spoken Hobbler that's been taking Spike's body for a ride really pull through and avenge the razed forest? Never underestimate the unassuming! Next time, remember to KEEP CALM AND MAKE NEW FRIENDS!
"This place is growing too fast!" complained the aged blue pegasus. Indeed the phrase "too fast" didn't sit right with Miss Rainbow Dash as she joined her friend for a chat. This was Canterlot Memorial Garden, where stone representations of those deemed brave, valiant, or otherwise important stood; where the memories of heroes arrived daily, fresh new chips chipped off of the iron block of that accursed stalemate!
"Yes." Twilight Sparkle had that as a sharp reply. The years of siege had been wearing on her as well, but now... now she had some plans to prepare, but she wanted to know if she'd have her old friend's assistance. "The Princesses have had me working on a solution ever since the beginning of this whole thing." she explained.
"Yeah, you told me at the beginning, remember? You've finally got a breakthrough, Twi?" She stared at her grayed-purple friend, and almost collided with a familiar statue, were it not for her friend suddenly stopping. She followed suit. They stood before a set of four memorials, with two empty spaces conspicuously laid out. Keen observers clearly could tell what this was.
After a slight silent bow, as they always did in front of this set of memorials, Dash continued the conversation. "You've been taking a long time, I mean- we could've taken the fifth and sixth and just... y'know? They go and find new elements and- BAM! Problem solved in record time!"
Twilight sighed. She had previously (years ago) explained how the Princesses explicitly stated that that particular solution was out of the question. But she could see what was eating away at her blue friend; by the time they attacked, the elements were broken and in the following years, leading up to the siege, she had become too old to be allowed a front row line in defense. At least Twilight had the luxury of concocting her plan, therefore being useful, and so she could feel good knowing that it was time to include Rainbow Dash in it.
"My plan will do more than fix this stalemate, Rainbow Dash..." she said, placing a hoof on the mare's shoulder. "...this is going to ensure that Equestria is protected forever. In all time, period! And I need to know if you want to be part of it!"
And what else would the Element of Loyalty say but "Of course!"?
5- VENTURE WITH DISCOVERY
The delivery colt had come by the library earlier with the local newspapers. There were five for the archives, four for the public, and one for the staff. Sharing this paper with Twilight over breakfast, Spike saw the results of the previous day's big Hobbler incident. There was buzz over "the monster that started out with sweets and moved on to buildings" (Spike winced a little at this; he was thankful that Ponyville had confused the two rampages as one, but he was still guilty over the crazy candy-chomping all the same) and the recent policepony shortage resulting from the hospitalization of a good chunk of those on-duty officers, but the biggest fervor, the one that really grabbed the attention of the community, was the return of the mysterious Masked Rider!
Spike declared right then and there that this day would be one of discovery. Aside from what he'd be expecting Eve to fill him in on, he would find out about this hero the town thought he and the pink Hobbler (Did he seriously call her "Pinkie"? That was quite a slip!) were. "Hey Twi, do we have a book on, uh- folklore heroes?"
"Are you interested in the Masked Rider?" Twilight replied, hiding her chuckle behind a steaming mug of morning tea.
Spike was visibly surprised. She had guessed it right on the dot! "Yes~?" he replied cautiously.
Twilight put the down the mug and newspaper (held up, of course, by her trademark magic) and for the first time that morning, looked the young dragon in the eye. "Basement, Shelf SGD-95-K!" she chirped. She really loved the act of delivering information she knew well.
Wisely letting his surprise subside, he started thinking up his list on what to do for the day once he was done with whatever chores Twilight would lay out for him.
---
Elsewhere, in the skyward metropolis of Cloudsdale, a Hobbler emerged. It was in the middle of the morning rush at city's general hospital, but this one wasn't for disrupting the work going on. Instead he was looking to devote this day to discovery. There were only two others in this room with him: A heavily-bandaged comatose mare and the trembling pink-maned nurse who had been attending to her.
"Smart girl, you're not running." He smirked. He knew going into this that his physical form would be all messed-up, all hobbled. He figured that the best thing to do would be to enjoy it. "I really love that in a pony."
"Wh- what do you want?" squeaked the nurse. Even as the monster casually sat, making himself comfortable on the edge of the patient's bed, she still found his presence utterly terrifying.
Trying his best to keep up the "cool and harmless" air he was putting on, he replied, "That's not too important, miss. The question that I feel is really worthwhile is: What do you want?"
"Me?" The nurse was used to putting others before her and so what she wanted wasn't something she had been brewing. "Well, um- I'm not sure." She spoke so quietly that the creature asked for her to repeat herself. "I- I guess I don't know?"
"You don't know?"
"I'm sorry."
"You're the one I arrived here through, though..." The hobbler crossed his legs and stared with his eyes half-open. "...I figured I could get to know you a bit."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll think of something to tell you!"
"It's perfectly alright." He shifted his gaze towards the ceiling for a finishing thought. "I guess ponies aren't the same; none of that one chief desire going-"
"A youth hospital!" she interrupted."I guess, my drea- desire would be to well, have my own little hospital in a small town where I'd take care of those who need it most delicately or..." She wasn't even sure if he was even paying attention as he started advancing towards the room's window. "or..." The monster opened the window, preparing to make his exit. After all, he couldn't go out and let the other staff see him. "or... um, what are you doing, Mr.-?"
"A youth hospital, huh? I think I can do that." Would he? It was more to be polite that he even asked the nurse his question, but he supposed his agenda could allow for him to grant her wish. He did have her to thank, after all, for cowering like a good little pony as opposed to screaming for help or something along those lines. With that, he lept and extended his wings, flying beyond sight.
Transfixed at the open window, the nurse blinked, unsure of whether or not that really just happened. When the daze subsided, she finished checking up on the room's patient and went out to continue her workday.
---
It was almost midday, so Spike, with the folklore book, the magical belt, and the Pass in tow, took his timecard and clocked out for his lunch break. He did actually think this was rather cool, like what grown-ups did and all. Fittingly, Twilight started having him do this ever since his birthday had passed. This was on top of a great number of changes when it came to his time at the Ponyville Library and it all pointed to Twilight treating him like an adult worker. He felt proud that she was willing to do that for him, but he wished it could have been done a little more gradually instead of out-of-the-blue.
Did the FriendLiner have a station? It just occurred to him that the strange train didn't have any set station of sorts. Where was he supposed to wait? How did Eve lead him to it? Speaking of, she said she'd explain something to Spike today, but out of his drowsiness, he didn't recall with fidelity what it could be. Hopefully she wouldn't forget. All this and more swirled through the little dragon's head as he walked in uncertain directions.
He passed through Sugarcube Corner; perhaps Pinkie Pie would be there to talk! She wasn't, and Spike could've sworn that the way the Cakes reacted indicated that she no longer even worked there. Did they bother to remember fired workers? It didn't seem like it.
He passed Apple Bloom, hard at work at the apple stand, as usual in recent days. He passed through downtown, where ponies were hard at work repairing the destroyed buildings. It was amazing how the combination of unicorn prowess, pegasi maneuverability, and earth pony might could build new structures in no time at all. The town's facade would be back to normal by sunset!
No matter where he passed, though, he couldn't find the FriendLiner anywhere, and he had already used up one half of his lunch break!
Spike finally stopped in a less developed area on the edge of town. It was quiet and serene here, with nature claiming all but a small cottage and the surrounding yard. Spike recognized this as Fluttershy's cottage, the perfect kind of place for the attuned pegasus. This would be a good spot to read the book if any. Hopefully, she wouldn't mind if he hung around. Walking up to the door, he knocked and announced his presence.
"Fluttershy! You don't mind if I hang around here for my lunch break, do you?"
There was no response. The dust that his door knocking stirred up settled again. Spike commented in his head about the pink-haired pony really letting her house go. It looked much more poorly-maintained than he remembered it being.
"Hey Fluttershy! Are you home!?"
There was still no response, so it was likely that she wasn't here at all. Shrugging, Spike found a nearby tree and curled up by the trunk. He flipped the book open and scanned the Table of Contents for the section on his new given moniker, the Masked Rider.
"The Masked Rider is a folk hero who is alleged to have appeared in the Ponyville area between 1971 and 1973. Although pictures said to be of this figure exist, they are all far too low-quality to determine any authenticity. The most commonly agreed upon story comes from earth pony Cyclone Cycle, who claims to have been the Masked Rider's savior, partner, and steed. According to his account, a deranged unicorn named Shocker was kidnapping ponies and turning them into monsters to raise a world-conquering army. However, when a pegasus biochemist was kidnapped and mutated into a grasshopper-like creature, Cyclone, self-proclaimed fastest earth pony in the world, intervened before Shocker could complete the transformation, the part where the victim's mind is wiped and reprogrammed to obey. Donning a mask to hide his identity, the unknown grasshopper/pegasus teamed up with Cyclone to thwart the plans of the evil-"
The distinctive whistle of the FriendLiner interrupted Spike's reading. The young dragon had to wonder if it had found him specifically. The train stopped, and a large party emerged to meet up with Spike. There was Eve the cranky unicorn, Derpy the kind stewardess, the enigmatic Owner of the FriendLiner, and the positive pink Hobbler. All but Eve were carrying picnic baskets.
"What's this?" Spike questioned as the two got to work in setting up a picnic.
"It's a good time for picnicking!" explained Derpy.
"What are you doing here, Spike?" asked Eve, none of the peppiness of her compatriots rubbing off on her. "Don't you have work at the library?"
Spike blushed. "I don't work there! I mean- I do chores for uh..." His voice trailed off as he remembered the recent way he had been treated there before re-railing. "...but I don't- I live there, Eve, okay? It's my lunch break now!"
"You call it a lunch break..." Eve passed over Spike before taking a spot at the picnic cloth; situated before the biggest helping of food. "...sounds like you're working to me."
Spike rolled his eyes and addressed the Owner. "So... how did you find me, anyway? Is there something I'm needed for?"
"Hm?" The Owner very slowly turned his gaze towards Spike, half-keeping his attention on his plate of hay.
"There's not any other of those Hobbler things attacking, is there?"
"I don't sense any!" sang the pink Hobbler, eating a 3-layer cake in one bite. "And my senses are never wrong!"
"It is simply the time and place for a nice, quiet picnic," explained the Owner, beckoning for Spike to join in. "The FriendLiner is always at the right place, at the right time."
"I don't follow." Spike set the book down, moving in to grab a bite for lunch.
"What Owner means is that the FriendLiner is always at the right place at the right time!" Derpy "explained". Eve shook her head.
"Um... okay?" Spike chose a lovely-looking bunch of apple fritters from the selection of food to begin. "So, Eve? I was looking for you anyway."
"Yeah?"
"What made you think I was a hero?"
Eve blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "You're kind of inattentive, you know that? You're the only one who can use the belt; don't forget that I told you, now."
Spike recoiled. That was rather cold. "You don't think I can do it, do you?" Disappointment practically dripped from his tongue.
"You will do it; Vade and his forces have got to go."
"That's another thing," added Spike, "Who is this 'Vade'?"
Eve put down her food and paused for a bit. Everything went silent, as if in anticipation for what she was about to say.
"Vade is an evil being." Her voice was softening just thinking about it. "He's the 'Grandmaster', the King of Dragons- well, not all dragons, of course, that's just impossible, but... enough to ruin my time, my home." Even the pink Hobbler had stopped her sugar binge; all eyes were on Eve. "His savvy is where the real danger lies. That, or he has incredible luck, anyway. See, from everything Equestrian forces have tried over the ages, nothing has worked to put an end to his army, and the only thing we have left to try is the Elements of Harmony. The problem is, whenever the new wielders of the Elements are found, he and his army vanish and become impossible to hunt down. They only return and make a bid for our country once the Elements break up again. The Princesses know that the Elements might be the only way to put an end to him, but because of his luck in evading them, Vade's been able to come closer to conquering all of us each time. In my time, Canterlot is all of Equestria that is left, and we're locked in a bitter stalemate."
"Woah," was all Spike could utter in response.
"So Vade the invader evades his undoing?" asked the pink Hobbler.
"Yes." Eve picked her food back up as she put her sadness back down, returning to her cold and calculated tone of voice. "So I was sent on a mission to bring the Elements to him. I was told to come to the time of the Singularity, which, that Point is you, Spike, and have him use the Friend-O belt to... um... what's the word I'm looking for-? Ah! Capture: you're capturing the elements while they're here, unwielded, so that we can hop in the FriendLiner, seek out Vade, and defeat him!"
"Sounds like a needlessly complicated plan." Spike was quick to showcase his opinion on what his role supposedly was. "I don't get much of it."
"Of course you don't, you're just a dumb kid!" thought Eve. "So do you know where to begin looking for the Elements?"
"Twilight and her friends have them." Spike replied nonchalantly as he moved on to some sweet rolls.
"But I was told they'd be unwielded! Maybe things aren't what I've been told then." Eve pushed one of her salads towards Spike; his role would need him to be in tip-top shape. "Okay, that's good then! We can go get the Elements from your friends, defeat any Hobbler that Vade sends to try and stop us, then go to Vade and blast him! Do you read me, Spike?"
"Mmhm." Spike dug into a ripe tomato, and, presumably eating it too fast, hiccuped. He could see that the pink one suddenly jolted before returning to her unmatched supreme sweet consumption. Eve also noticed, though her reaction was more extreme.
"What is that!? Is it a Hobbler!?"
"Yeah, but it's harmless!"
"Harmless? Are you sure?"
"I assure you on the name of my name! I 'Pinkie' promise!"
Eve snorted. Wait a second, the Hobbler was just talking about herself! What a way to startle a mare! Spike was more confused by the fact that his slip of a name stuck with the creature. Did she seriously have that stick? He wasn't too thrilled by the prospect of having another "Pinkie" to keep in mind. On top of that, though, he felt weighted down, drifting in sand... getting drowsy.
"So Spike, do you feel good? Isn't it great?"
"Does what feel great?"
"The picnic, of course!"
Eve interrupted between chews. "It would be better if you weren't being annoying."
"I'm not annoying!"
"You are!"
"Am not!"
"I disagree."
"You're rude!"
"I am not rude! Take that back!"
"Please, girls, you can stop-"
"WE'RE NOT ARGUING!"
"But you're-"
The two continued to argue. Petty jabs at each other's shortcomings turned into war on one another's characters. The soundwaves of the two knocked down the flag in the Owner's hay, at which point he stopped eating. He sighed, but he was not flustered, though, and unlike Spike made no effort to stop the feud.
"You're not taking any of this seriously at all!"
"Lighten up! Your sour attitude is raining on me and I don't like-"
"Excuse me, but I am not sour, okay? I actually know what's at stake unlike someone, who forgot!"
Pinkie responded by throwing a pie at Eve. The cat fight segued into a food fight. Spike found it frightening to see Pinkie act maliciously; it was scary when she killed the violent Hobbler, and it was scary for her to be angry at Eve. Somehow, he just got the feeling that being upset was not like her at all, despite not actually really knowing the pink Hobbler much. Meanwhile, Derpy was bemoaning the treatment of her food. "I just don't know what went wrong!" she cried. Yes, the time was quite ripe for the increasingly-tired Spike to intervene. That just clinched it.
"Eve! Pinkie! Stop it! You're going too far!"
Eve scoffed. "I have been through many a tough situation without losing my cool. It takes a special brand to annoy me so."
"Ha!" laughed Pinkie. "That's nothing! You just have a hair trigger!"
"This fighting is like neither of you! Please, make it stop!"
"Pinkie needs to apologize for playing a dangerous prank on me!"
"I wouldn't pull a super-meanie prank! I only pull fun, super-friendly pranks! But anyway, that wasn't even a prank!"
Eve was stunned. "Wait..." The two simmered down as she continued, "...you weren't talking about yourself, then?"
Spike drowsily mumbled, "Eve, do you find it that hard to believe that there's another good Hobbler?"
Pinkie finally took notice of Spike's outward condition. "Uh- Spike? You don't look so good!"
"Yes, I think 'Miss Pinkie' here does have a point, Spike; you look really tired." Eve eyed him with concern.
"Why are you going by 'Pinkie' anyway? I messed up and thought you were-" Spike wanted to change the subject. He had no reason to feel this tired, after all. He made sure he got a long, good-night's sleep after that big battle with the violent Hobbler. It didn't make sense. In fact, he felt as if he was being exposed to a cloud of lullaby or something along those lines. It was unnatural.
"She was whom?"
"I remind you of a friend? That means you think I'm a-!"
"AUGH! Nevermind!" Spike was struggling to stay awake. The conversation couldn't have been that bombastic; why was he feeling so exhausted from it, then?
"Wait a minute! Something just occurred to me!" exclaimed Eve. "Pinkie! Where is this so-called 'harmless' Hobbler?"
"Dunno. My Pinkie Sense doesn't say."
"Ugh, of course it doesn't!"
As if on cue, a burst of sand covered the picnic area, and when it settled, Spike was nowhere to be found. Coughing, Eve looked around for the purple dragon, but couldn't see where he had disappeared to. Her hunch had been correct, and so even with Pinkie's promise that this new Hobbler was benign, she still had a sinking feeling about the situation. The Owner, Derpy, and Pinkie, however, were just concerned with cleaning up the mess. The picnic was as good as over.
6- CONNECTIONS ACROSS TIME
"Oh, you poor squirrels!" cooed a yellow-scarfed Spike in a very soft voice. "What are you doing this far from home?" As the squirrels made squirrel noises, a bunch of other animals are hovering around the baby dragon as well. "I see, it's the same for these little guys too. Don't worry, I found a good replacement home you can use until we get to the bottom of this."
Spike proceeded to lead the posse of fauna towards his home (or was it his workplace?): the grand tree that was the Ponyville library.
---
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle levitated a sandwich by her side. She took extra care to eat it without broadcasting crumbs along the floor. Unlike Spike, she was having her lunch break at the library; someone needed to hold down the fort. She heard the door open, just in time for Spike to be back from is break! Nothing unusual about that, it was expected around... wait- what were those other sounds? It sounded like a bunch of-
"WILD ANIMALS?"
Showcasing a velocity typically unseen in her nonathletic body, Twilight sped from her post to the front door area, Spike's probable location. Sure enough, there he was, surrounded by woodland creatures and pouring seeds on the floor.
"Spike! What are you doing!?"
Immediately, Spike and a fair number of the animals hid, cramming themselves into any cavities they could find in the library. Twilight grimaced, many were now in difficult to reach (and later clean) cavities. Though, Spike was too large to fit in odd crevices; instead he stuck himself up against the other side of a bookshelf.
"Spiiiiiiiike." Twilight was growling now. She began to paw at the ground as if to say "Get out from behind there before I knock that bookshelf over on top of you".
Getting the gist of the cue, the uncharacteristically shy dragon inched out to face the fuming librarian. "Um-" He began to twist the scarf around in his claws as he scrambled for the next thing to say. "This is your-? I'm sorry! Is it alright if these poor little creatures stay here for a while? You see- well-" His demure voice started shaking when he made eye contact with Twilight and saw the disapproving look on her face. "I'm so sorry; I really should've asked for permission before I came in."
"Yes."
The awkward silence wasn't quite a silence, as some of the animals did not pick up on the social cues to give the moment true silence. Spike started staring up, thinking of what next to say. "So, uh- Is it alright if these poor little creatures stay here for a whi-?"
"No."
"Oh." sighed the dragon. His eyes opened wide as a message entered his head. "Aaaough..." yawned a groggy sounding voice. "...hey Pinkie, would you mind not coming in me behind my back? Yaaaaaaawn-"
"I'm not Pinkie; I just had to help out these animals. They called out to me for help!"
"Really, you're not? You must have a similar voice then."
"I- I guess?"
Because Twilight couldn't read minds, she was unaware of one of the sides of the conversation and became confused. Knowing that being confused would only waste time, though, she shook it off and went to go work in another section of the library. Perhaps her little helper would come back to his senses and she could deal with him then.
"What did you do to upset Twilight!?" It only took Spike a second through the eyes he wasn't controlling to see all the animals. "Did you bring those in?"
"I thought a giant tree would be the best spot to take them; they can't go back to their homes right now because they're in danger!" Spike's eyes were watering; the tear floodgates wouldn't hold for much longer.
"Well if it's that serious..." The thought was interrupted by Eve and Pinkie bursting in through the library wall. If the horde of animals flustered Twilight; she'd be thrown into a conniption when she returns. The takeover spirit squeaked in surprise, at which point Spike took the liberty of forcing the Hobbler out of him. Throwing aside the scarf that had been on him during his sleep and possession, he looked at Eve and Pinkie and quipped, "You guys missed the door!"
"Sometimes, in the state of an emergency, drastic measures have to be taken," justified Eve.
Pinkie nodded. "We were running around all over because Eve was all 'OH NO WE HAVE TO FIND SPIKE' and I was all 'Okie-dokie', then she was like 'THE OTHER HOBBLER MIGHT HAVE HIM' to which I said, 'I said it's a harmless one', but then she went all 'IT STILL OBVIOUSLY TOOK SPIKE FOR A JOYRIDE YOU-' followed by stuff I can't repeat on a Y-rating, then 'AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF, YOUR DEFINITION OF HARMLESS ISN'T QUITE SO HARMLESS'! And then that's when the running began and then, of course! Maybe you'd be at the library because I guess the Hobbler would make you go home for some reason and Eve actually agreed, and she was all 'I'M GETTING HIM BACK', then I said 'Look out, use the door!', but then she nay-ed and so here we are now!"
"What a chatterbox," grumbled Eve. "For the record, that last part didn't happen."
"Yes it-"
"No, it didn't!"
They both turned towards Spike, recognizing that descending into another argument was probably not the best way to go. Spike wiped his face free of the tears his body had nearly shed under the new Hobbler's influence. Even as the trio directed their attention towards her, she was not making any effort to slink away. It would be rude to run, seeing as her host likely wanted answers for her behavior.
"I'm sorry." She was very quiet; the others could barely hear her. Already her form was solidifying; the yellow amorphous sand became shaped into a form similar to Pinkie's. The trio soon faced what could be described as another strange being that looked like an adolescent dragon.
"Hobblers take on forms based on what the host's image of a 'monster' is..." thought Eve. "I wonder why Spike thinks his own species is monstrous?" This would be another thing to discuss later, so she filed the thought away and forced herself back into "what's important now" mode.
"Pinkie was right; you're not here to hurt us," began Spike. "So why did you take me over?" He turned to Eve. "Has anyone ever had more than one Hobbler go through them?" Eve shook her head, so as to not drown out the soft-talking Hobbler's response.
"The animals called out to me... they cried for help and I had to do something! So I- well- you were nearby, and I don't know why, but- there was just something about you and I so I started lulling you to sleep so I could use your body to gather everyone! I didn't expect that unicorn to get upset..."
"Or for me to wake up so early?" quipped Spike.
"Yes, that too." The yellow Hobbler was a bit adrift, comparing the physical appearance she took on with the pink one standing nearby. Her train of thought re-railed, though, and she orated her conclusion. "Oh! Again, I'm really sorry! I know now that I should've asked so, um, this wouldn't happen."
"What do you mean when you say that the animals cried for help?" asked Eve. "Is there something that would cause them to need to relocate here?"
"Oh yes." The Hobbler nodded. "Animals have keen instincts; they can sense when danger is soon to come. I helped them all move here because their home is in danger!"
"I haven't felt anything like that," Spike responded. He wasn't quite sure how the term 'animals' was supposed to be applied, really. Was it meant to denote all non-pony creatures, or just non-speaking creatures?
"I'm not sure, actually... I don't really remember any details of anything!"
"Not even any orders to secure footholds in pre-wartime Equestria?"
"Oh no! Nothing like that!"
"Looks like we have another amnesiac, then." Eve grumbled in her mind.
Pinkie twitched and bounced into a sweet spot that intruded on everyone else's sight. "WOOOAH! Hey, speaking of senses, I just picked up another Hobbler!"
Wanting to make sure, Eve pointed to the yellow one and asked, "You mean one besides her, right?"
"Correctomundo!"
"Is it friendly?"
"Outlook not good."
Eve nodded and put Spike on her back. After making sure he had the Friend-O belt on him, she pointed to Pinkie. "Alright then, let's go! Lead the way."
"Woo!" The pink Hobbler happily hopped out the hole in the wall, towards Ponyville's outdoor market.
The yellow Hobbler, though unobligated, decided to follow the group. The animals stayed where they were, just doing their own thing, and presumably Twilight was in the basement or so, downing some medicine to attack her annoyance-headache.
---
"Oh my! What a lovely axe!" The strange customer swung the mentioned object in the air a bit. He was a mangled cross of an unidentifiable creature with maybe a few draconic elements in him. Luckily for him, the shopkeeper didn't care what anyone looked like or if they were even ponies. As long as one had money, there was nothing wrong with such a monster even being there.
"It's a very high quality model," boasted the shopkeeper, describing the middle-quality, mass-produced model axe. "You'll find that the special curvature of the handle will help you get the best chopping results."
"Oh yes! Definitely!" The patron Hobbler set the axe down and took out his wallet. "How much is it?"
"How much you got?"
"Looks like I have a little under 200 bits in my budget..." He looked the shopkeeper in the eye. "...this will cover the axe and burning gel, right?"
Before the shopkeeper could say "Deal!" to that, Hobbler Pinkie and her amazing friends: Eve, Spike, and the benign Hobbler arrived on the scene, with Eve being the one to shout "Halt! Stop right there!"
The patron and shopkeeper both blinked in confusion before the latter spoke. "Uh... lady, wait your turn?"
"No!" Eve shoved Spike off of her back and got uncomfortably close to the shopkeeper. "That's a Hobbler! You can't be selling an axe, of all things, to it!"
"And why shouldn't I?"
"Because he's here from the future to ruin the past!" She pointed to the patron Hobbler and even levitated the axe in front of him to serve as a visual aid. "How can you sell this to a monster!? What if he goes and chops somepony's head off!?"
"What my customers do with their purchases is none of my business." He said so with utmost integrity, as such a non-nosy policy was an important cornerstone of business.
The patron piped in. "Now, now, pretty young mare, I'm afraid you're suffering from a misunderstanding; I am not here to chop off anypony's head."
"Ha! See?" The shopkeeper smugly nodded. "He's not going to chop off anypony's head."
"You can't believe the word of a monster!"
"What if he's not, though?" questioned Pinkie.
"You said 'outlook not good' when I asked if this one was friendly!"
"That's not 100%, though! Sometimes unfriendly just means 'grumpy', not evil!"
"Are you familiar with the King of Dragons, Vade?" asked Spike. He figured that if this was probably the most direct route to find out this Hobbler's motives. Unfortunately for him, the patron Hobbler pretended to ignore Spike's question and focused his attention on Eve and Pinkie.
"First of all, ladies, I would prefer to be called by my name. I am Brawn, as it t'were. My name is a much more suitable label, than, ugh- 'monster'."
"If you're not a monster, then I suppose you wouldn't mind telling us what you really plan to do with the axe." Even though his non-brutish speech heavily contrasted him with the one that had attacked yesterday, Eve wasn't about to take the pressure off of this one.
"I'm going camping," Brawn calmly lied. Hopefully the mare would fall for his bait. "The axe is to procure firewood and the burning gel is to help me start a campfire."
"Is that really it?" the yellow Hobbler said quietly to Eve. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"He isn't showing any of the panic signs typically associated with lying, but as Brawn here isn't a pony, I still can't be quite sure."
Brawn's composure fell; his frustration with Eve was readily apparent. He had failed to reel her into the palm of his hand; perhaps once he captured this area for Vade, he'd be rewarded with the power to really make this mare suffer! "That is quite enough!" He roared and started to poke her on the snout. "Just who are you to be questioning me like this, anyway?"
"The protectors of time, that's who!" Pinkie was nowhere to be seen, but instead, a pink-eyed Spike help up his Pass as he put the Friend-O belt on. "And treating our friends like that is a big no-no!"
"I didn't hear anything about this!" exclaimed the shopkeeper. Was all this really happening in front of his stand just now?
"What do you plan to do about it, baby dragon?" Brawn said, coldly. "Are you prepared to go through and battle me?"
"If you insist!" Pinkie said through Spike. "Let's ride." She had Spike's hand press the Pass on the jewel on the belt.
The magic armor materialized, Pinkie assembled the Rider Sword, and the Masked Rider was ready for action! Eve and yellow Hobbler moved to the sidelines while the shopkeeper went into his storage to find a camera. Brawn threw his wallet, making sure to get the physics just right so that it landed perfectly in the shop's cash register. Now that his payment was complete, he picked up his shiny new axe and stood, daring Friend-O to make the first move.
"You'll find that while I'm much more contained than my fallen compatriot, I won't be a mindless beast to be slain!"
"Enough talk! It's party time!"
Pinkie had Spike rush in to perform a running strike. Brawn simply sidestepped it and delivered a heavy retaliatory strike. The armor, of course, protected Spike from being chopped, but the impact of the force was still there, and it hurt.
"Mindlessly rushing in? My, my, I thought my opponent would be better... Are you truly this time's protector?"
"Of course!" The young dragon swung again, only for Brawn to catch the sword and throw it aside, also twisting Spike's wrist in the process. He and Pinkie "OWWWW"-ed in unison as the shopkeeper returned with his camera started taking pictures.
Brawn then, though it wasn't really his thing, decided to shift to the offensive, chasing after the hero with calculated swipes of his axe. Pinkie was amazed at how each swipe was such a close call! If it weren't for her reflexes, Spike would be in a world of pain! She just had to get the sword back to get the fight back on her track! Thankfully, the sword was on its way; a certain unicorn saw fit to levitate the weapon back into the young dragon's hands. "Thanks a bunch, Eve!"
At the booth counter, Eve nodded back and then turned towards the shopkeeper. "Why are you taking all those pictures?"
"Imagine the demand for prints of the Masked Rider in action! I'll be set!"
"What makes you think he's this 'Masked Rider' hero?"
The shopkeeper grunted. Just where was this mare from? "He rode here on you, he's masked, and he's fighting a weird creature. That's how it was and is!" He resumed his picture-taking.
"The ponies in this town seem to think that he's a revival of some 70's hero... I would've never expected this." She turned to face the yellow Hobbler. "So what's your take on this? You've barely said anything."
"Oh- uh- I don't want to intrude. I- I'm..."
"Okay; not a talker; got it." Eve faced in the combatants' direction again, to see if Pinkie was making any progress. She wasn't. "I've got a shutter-fly on one side of me and a 'flutter-shy' on the other..." "Pinkie has to get her act together; Spike's taking a lot of damage."
"Is that the new Rider's name? Spike?" questioned the shopkeeper.
"Yes. Are you going to sell that, too?"
"Of course not! Nopony knows the identity of the first Masked Rider, 'cept Cyclone, of course, so why ruin the mystique? I'd think it would be bad for my sales, at least right now, anyway."
"That's fortunate. I wonder if I can find information in that Folklore Heroes book Spike left behind... wait, why am I so scatterbrained today? I keep thinking about these things bugging me; perhaps I do need to vent some more out... How's the battle going agai-?"
"Oh no!" The shy Hobbler dashed over to the scene of the ended fight, where it appeared as if Spike was down and out. With his body too bruised and spent, Pinkie couldn't continue. "Are you hurt? He's not answering! No, uh- excuse me, can you come over here?"
Eve, correctly guessing that she was wanted, galloped over and confirmed that Spike was alive, just very badly beaten. Pinkie emerged from the defeated dragon and began freaking out.
"I'm sorry!" cried the pink Hobbler. "I- I- He got me out of my zone, like... nothing that usually occurs to me occurs to me, and then he didn't let up, it's like he knew everything I'd try, how to counter and all that!"
Brawn inched closer to the group, and the three put their bodies over Spike's in anticipation of a final blow. To their surprise, though, he showed no indication of swinging the axe again, but instead, he was scrawling inside a little notepad, mumbling as he approached.
"What are you?" asked Pinkie. "I bet Mr. Vade sent us someone especially nasty!"
"Incorrect," Brawn replied. He looked down upon them with the most piercing gaze he could manage. "Don't oversell yourself. My role in his army is minor. My superiors wouldn't waste their best on a mission like this. The only reason I'm not entirely expendable..." He shut his notepad and waved it around a bit. "...is because I've gathered a rich stew of information from our encounter today. Despite my mediocrity, it appears that I, a dragon, however hobbled, can crush any hero you ponies might pull out your tails. Let me assure you that if you interfere with me again, it will be the end of Masked Rider here!"
None of them were really in much of a state of mind to rebut, or do much of anything as the strong Hobbler packed up his belongings. The most Eve could muster was a guttural "You're wrong."
"Oh, and by the way, the axe and burning gel are for a favor I owe. It's unrelated to my other plans." Then, he flew away.
The shopkeeper ran over to the scene too. "Should I call an ambulance?"
"I don't want to risk it," replied Eve. "We'll press our luck on the Frie- at our base."
---
The mood was somber inside the FriendLiner's dining car. Though Spike was conscious, he was bruised everywhere and in pain. Derpy made some soup to try and help, but in the end, there really wasn't much to do except wait for him to recover. Eve was especially worried about his recovery time, because one of Vade's Hobblers was still at large! She might have to use one of her destination tickets! These were given to her along with the belt and pass she had brought to the past; they would allow the date that was on a sentient being's mind to be directly traveled to, it was a way to control when one wanted to go on the FriendLiner, but the tickets she had were finite. Worst, come to worst, though, she'd have to use one to get back here once Spike was in well-enough condition again. She took a ticket out of the provided case and stuck it behind her ear.
The yellow Hobbler was about to lull Spike to a deep, restorative sleep, when the Owner arrived. "Hold on." He stared at the Hobbler, making her start retreating. "There's a new passenger among us. Does she have a ticket?" This made the shy Hobbler enter the early stages of panic, because she had no idea what he was talking about, much less a ticket. Eve was about to speak up when Spike emitted a strange groan. This turned everyone's attention to him.
"Owner... Eve... she's on my ticket! The yellow- what's her name? She's on my pass, okay? Let her stay!"
The Owner's eyes widened; this was certainly unprecedented. This dragon was letting yet another passenger share his pass? He was certainly collecting a strange crew for his vessel! "Very well then." He started going back to the front of the train to leave the dining car in peace. "Derpy, get Spike and his friends whatever they need."
"Yes sir!" The pegasus saluted.
Now authorized to be on the train, the yellow Hobbler resumed her lullaby. She didn't even know where this innate ability even came from, just that it was finding an important use at the moment. Eve and Pinkie decided to follow the Owner's example and leave to ensure peace and quiet in that car.
"Spike and his friends... I like the sound of that..." Spike thought his last thought and then fell asleep.
The only thing left to do was to wait.
---
The yellow pegasus removed her nurse uniform for it was the end of her shift. It had gone very averagely, and if it wasn't for that weird monster encounter in the morning, there really wouldn't have been anything much memorable about the day at all. Of course, today there were other plans in store to give her one heck of a day. This manifested in the form of the Hobbler, Brawn, flying up to Cloudsale, grabbing her, and diving back down to earth-level Equestria, to an area on the edge of Ponyville. He set her down on a clearing, and she was presented with the sight of an abandoned cottage covered in burning gel! In fact, a good portion of the nearby forest was also chopped down and smothered in the stuff.
"What's this?"
"Oh, I felt like granting your wish!" He smirked. "I wanted you to see it happen."
The pegasus was having trouble balancing, and not just because of her lack of experience on the ground. She attempted to fly away, so she could call the police, all that good stuff, but Brawn wasn't having any of that. Disappointed in her refusal to accept his sick and twisted gift, he found a chair and tied her to it.
"I don't get it!" cried the captive pony. "How is this granting my wish?"
Brawn sighed in a condescending manner and explained himself. "You said this morning that you'd like to have your own Youth Hospital. I'm going to clear some land for you to buy. I'm certain nopony else will want much to do with scorched land, so..." He put his face uncomfortably close to hers. "...it's all yours to make a new beginning out of!"
"But what about the animals in the forest? I- I'm not even ready to start my own business! I can't, I can't!" She attempted to get out of her restraints, but as she wasn't very strong, it was useless. Because he had long lost his care of appearances, he brutally slapped the poor pony.
"I had quite the annoyance setting this all up for you..." His voice was completely stripped of the flair he typically applied. "...You WILL take it, then I'll be on my way... but not until YOU TAKE IT! AAAAAUGH!"
He took a deep breath and exhaled a sickening flame. The burning gel sparked and within seconds that entire section of the Everfree Forest was burned down. Within minutes, it was all ashes.
In tears, the pegasus was asking herself why this hurt so much... the loss of a forest is terrible, of course, but there had to be a reason it felt like a part of her soul had died or so. Had she seen this place before? She'd never been outside of Cloudsdale except for that one ti- of course! That one time! This was the same place, the same forest she landed in as a filly when she got knocked off of a cloud! It was a great time, one in which she took in the beauty of ground-level nature, before, of course, the search party found her and took her back home. And now, it was all gone. That monster that had the audacity to believe he was doing her a favor killed it!
Then, at the moment when she touched the memory, she felt a strange warp manifesting from her body. She was being magically split in half! What was going on? Indeed, the phenomenon caught the departing Hobbler's attention and he returned to examine the strange doorway the pegasus had opened up into. It appeared to be some sort of portal. He flipped open his notepad and wrote down what had just transpired. At heart, even past his twisted, crusty, layers, he had a curious streak and, not knowing if he'd come back in one piece, he jumped into it. As soon as he did, the portal closed, and all that was left was a pony staring into space, somberly.
In the next moment, the FriendLiner arrived at the scene. Inside, Eve stretched, it had been quite a ride today. She noticed by the sun's almost-setting that the time outside the FriendLiner was only a few hours. "Owner, why are we stopping here?" The Owner pointed out the door. She saw the tied-up pony and the ashes before her. "Celestia's wings! What is this?"
Eve ran out of the FriendLiner to help out this distressed pegasus. Pinkie followed suit, while the other Hobbler stayed behind, to attend to Spike's moans. The two frantically began undoing the ropes, and in the fluster, the destination ticket fell out from behind Eve's ear and landed on the despondent pony. It activated, and a date, October 10th, 1998, appeared on it.
"Oh no, it's been used now!" Eve picked it up with her magic and took a look at the date. Why did this pony have this date in mind? Why wasn't she moving or even showing any indication that she and Pinkie were there? Why was she thinking of so many questions today? But the questions that actually did come out were: "Did a draconic-looking monster do all this burning?" and "Does this date mean anything to you?", and the former got no response whatsoever while the latter only caused her to change her gaze, looking at Eve's eyes, but not into them, past them.
"She looks like she needs some cheering-up, bad!" said Pinkie, her voice feeling a little deflated.
"I think we all do, today. It hasn't been very good." Eve stared at the card. She was planning to use it to back to earlier that day, but now it had this old date on it and she wasn't too keen on having to use up another one to do so. Besides, somehow, some part of her was suggesting that, even though what she knew about time-travel magic contradicted the possibility, the Hobbler might be found there. "Come on, Pinkie! I have a good feeling about this!" She then headed back into the FriendLiner.
"Ooh, you're developing an Eve-sense, huh? Sounds neat!"
---
After a couple of days inside the dining car, the yellow Hobbler had nursed Spike back to a complete-enough level of health. Handing him his belt, Eve explained to him about the Destination Tickets, and her hunch about the one that had dropped onto the Hobbler's victim. So, he put the ticket into his pass and headed to the front car.
Inside, there wasn't a steam engine as he thought, but rather, a strange glowing window and a treadmill. The Owner stepped onto the treadmill. "I believe you have a ticket to go to a special sometime?" Spike nodded and handed him the pass. He took a look, nodded and inserted it into an opening in the floor. The date appeared on the strange window.
"Are you ready to embark on a time-tripping ride?"
The odd phrase took Spike off guard, but not enough to dissuade him from his question. "Uh, how does this work? There's no engine here!"
"The FriendLiner is a very special train. Now climb onto my back, unless of course, you'd rather not see it."
Well, it wasn't everyday that one got to see the Owner directing the train to specific time, so why not? Spike shrugged and climbed up onto the Owner's back. He began to gallop on the treadmill, and the strange window showed that as he ran on the treadmill, the train moved, and the tracks appearing in front of the train were taking wild new directions! Then, in a flash, they were suddenly at...
---
---
Brawn emerged from a stringy yellow filly and found himself in the Everfree Forest. He had just burned this place down, didn't he? The portal had definitely taken him somewhere strange. Looking down at the terrified filly, he noticed that it was a younger version of the pony he had emerged from the first time! It seemed that he had somehow managed to go back even further into time through her! It must have been the favor he did! Kicking the filly in the head to knock her out so she wouldn't scream and run for help, he excitedly wrote down his discovery in his notepad.
"To think... I've discovered how to go beyond the limits of the time-travel spell! Ha ha!" His mirth was interrupted, though, by the whistle of a time-traveling train, flying in, down towards him, dropping off a passenger. The baby dragon from before! Spike had arrived!
"I see you're well!" chuckled the Hobbler. "How on earth did you follow me back in time? Was it the train?"
"You don't deserve an explanation, Brawn! You burned down a forest and..." The sight of a filly caught his eye. What's more, he recognized this one, it was a younger version of Twilight's friend Fluttershy! "...and-"
"So I kicked a filly in the face..." Brawn said, coating his voice in faux-innocence. "...does that really subtract points from my, ahem, gentledragon status?"
Spike put the Friend-O belt and dramatically held up the Pass. "Yes." He pressed the pink button, then swiped the pass past the buckle's jewel.
"Aaaaaaaaalright! Now that I've had some R&R, I think you're going to find I'm a bit more savvy this time around! Get ready, this is the Masked Rider versus Bad Brawn, part 2!"
"Show me, then." This time, Brawn went in for the first strike, which Pinkie jumped away. Next, she was having Spike hop from tree to tree, to which Brawn scowled. "If you're trying to annoy me, I'm not going to fall for that!" Without realizing it, he had let his guard down while he said that, and inexplicably, the Rider emerged from the ground for an uppercut strike!
"I'm not annoying; I'm simply beyond compare!" She assembled the Rider Sword and started falling back down to do an overhead strike. "Now let's really begin!"
The fight continued in this kind of fashion for a bit, with Pinkie showing a great amount of improvement from last time. While waiting for Spike to recover, she had been going over the battle in her head until, after eating 39 cupcakes, 5 candy canes, and a mint chocolate, the sugar surged a creative spark in her brain! Ergo, she would have to get crafty instead of relying on her brute force in battle. Now that she was doing it in practice, though, could she see the fruits of her efforts. "And Eve said too much sugar is bad for me! Hah!"
"I take it you've discovered a new part of yourself lately?" Spike asked.
"You bet, Spike! Now if you don't mind, I have a battle to get back to!"
A few more scrapes and bruises later, Brawn had had enough. He felt like he had indulged Pinkie for a bit, but now was the time to really show off the true advantages he had. He flew up into the air and stayed there, shooting fireballs at Spike.
"You don't think I can get you up there, huh?" The Masked Rider rolled to dodge another fireball. "Guess again!" Getting up, she had Spike grab the Pass and swipe it across the buckle's jewel.
"Pinkie's Party Payoff! Part 2!"
The blade of the sword detached from the handle and she began swinging the charged blade around... and kept missing.
"You're not too used to hitting airborne opponents, are you?" jeered Brawn as he flew in confusing formations.
"Maybe if you flew in one place!" She continued directing the blade, but it was no use; though Brawn was a mediocre flier, it was enough to dodge each swipe. She began hitting the sword handle in frustration. "Spike, we need to recalibrate this thing!"
The yellow Hobbler decided that she couldn't sit in the dining car, seeing Pinkie's winning streak fade through the window, and so she took the chance to go into Spike, turning the young dragon's body into even more of a crowded vessel.
"Woah! What is this?"
"I want to help!"
"Are you serious? You don't strike me as the fighting-type."
"I have a good feeling about this!"
"We're all developing hunch senses today! Pinkie approves of this development!"
"Well, if you say so... Pinkie, let's hand the reigns to her, then."
Brawn had taken the opportunity, while Friend-O had stopped, to conjure up an extra-hot fireball to fry the young dragon with. Just as the principle of impeccable timing would have it, though, Spike, now under the control of the yellow Hobbler, dived out of the way.
"You've been a very bad dragon today, Mr. Brawn! I am very ashamed of you!"
"You say this as if I give a flying feather about your opinion, Rider!"
She had Spike press the yellow button on the Friend-O belt. "I think it's time for you to take a time-out!" She touched the pass to the belt's jewel.
The pieces of the magic armor that were associated with Laugh Form vanished, and instead new, pastel-colored defense-oriented pieces took their place. Completing the difference in this form, though, was done via the small wings that grew from the back's armor plate. With the transformation completed, Masked Rider Friend-O took flight!
Brawn's jaw dropped at this development. Now the pesky baby could fly, too? No matter, he was still the more experienced flier. He continued to fly around, shooting fireballs, while Kind Form Friend-O mainly dodged, not attacking just yet, but instead reassembling the weapon parts to something that suited her more than a sword. Soon, she was done, and the weapon was now a Herding Cane!
A look of shock spread across Brawn's face, as he wasn't quite sure how exactly a stick hampered by a hook at the end would be more useful in a fight than a regular cane. Fortunately for him, his question was answered an a flash as the Rider flew in close and caught him in the hook, throwing him to the ground with a thud!
He stumbled back up, only to find himself hooked again, but this time, he was pulled in close. They were so close now that the Rider Mask was the only thing keeping his and Spike's faces from touching altogether. "Now apologize! Are you sorry for your misbehavior?"
"Feh!" spat Brawn. "I'm sorry that I let you live the first time, Rider!"
In response, the yellow Hobbler had Spike press the pass to the belt buckle. It was now time for her...
A sudden intensity hit Brawn as he faced the Rider's eyes. Somehow, even with a helmet between them, the eyes of the yellow Hobbler, showing through the eyes of Spike, were piercing through to Brawn. In fact, the eye-jewel-thingies on the mask actually seemed to be amplifying the effect of the awe-inspiring stare.
Then, the pressure was released. Brawn's heart exploded.
BOOM!
He fell to the ground. This was the end. He had only just managed to travel this far into the past... and already he was dead. That accursed baby dragon had done him in! He moaned as his life drained rapidly from him. Spike, meanwhile, had taken off the belt, and thus the magic armor, and ran to go help young Fluttershy. He, Brawn, the supposedly intelligent dragon, had been careless, and now he would die alone.
Gritting his teeth, he used the last of his energy to seal his notepad. In case he found his mission for information terminated early, he had his seniors create a magic seal, which, when activated, would protect the journal from decomposing in the elements. He shallowly buried it with his final motions and hoped, as he drew his last breath, that his compatriots in the future would find it, and use his findings to slay Friend-O.
He would be avenged. He had to be!
---
"Did I do the right thing?" asked the yellow Hobbler. She was twiddling her claws a bit, and wasn't eating Derpy's celebratory muffins, unlike the others.
"It's your call." Eve said, matter-of-factually. "You followed us into our war, and war sometimes asks that you make tough decisions."
"I had no idea the stare would be that hard! I was... Spike, do you think he could've changed his ways?" Spike stared, unsure what to say. (Well that, and his mouth was full anyway)
Eve spoke up. "I've never known a dragon to change his ways, personally. Rotten beings like Brawn aren't going to change just because you treated them like a foal."
"Geez, Eve. Are you forgetting I'm right here? I'm a dragon too and I'm not evil!" Spike started chewing faster, hoping that they'd stop in Ponyville soon, of course, in the year he came from.
"I just wish I remembered more of who I am, then I could be more true to myself..." she said, as it would be helpful to refer to her by a name instead of resorting to "the yellow Hobbler" or "the shy Hobbler" all the time.
"You helped me recover; maybe my turn will come up to help you!" Spike chimed in.
"...are you sure? Do you mean it?"
"Sure!" Spike swallowed the last of his muffin. Derpy's baking left a good feeling in his belly. "...let's go off of this system, okay? I accidentally ended up coining the name 'Pinkie' for the other Hobbler here because she reminded me of a pony I knew. So, because you're reminding me of another one of Twilight's friends, you can be the other Fluttershy!"
"Fluttershy?" She dived towards Spike to put him in a hug. "Thank you so much, Spike!"
"You can also call him Spikey-Wikey!" exclaimed Pinkie, who was making a fort out of sugar cubes.
"It's Naming-Spree Day, now is it?" Eve thought, looking out the window, but not actually taking in the sights. "Three's company, I suppose. I don't know what to think about all of this. On one hoof, we should still be precarious about trusting Hobblers left and right, but on the other, they obviously augment Spike's power in a way I can't ignore."
Her thoughts were interrupted when she was pelted in the face with a donut. "Pinkie! What the hay?"
Pinkie, Spike, and Derpy held up donuts. Pinkie threw one into her own face and explained, "Donut fight! C'mon, join in!"
Eve groaned. Their mirth was going to be her annoyance, wasn't it?
Next time: Spike finally learns what's behind Apple Bloom's demeanor! It's about time he's noticed that some changes are too big to ignore. But the more things change, the more they stay the same, they say! Can Apple Bloom become stronger? Will a fractured family be brought back together again? Who is poisoning the trees at Sweet Apple Acres? To top it all off, what is the crew to do when Ponyville is plagued by TWO Hobblers? Next time, prepare to witness THE APPLE FAMILY CRISIS!
