tacobob

Then what one would consider a terrifying growl could be heard. A growl that actually sounded like somepony was clearing out her throat. This was followed by a rather familiar voice. “Ah said peaches ahr here! So ope-yn uhp that bag eend let me put thayse cans in!”, Valen knew that pony! It was Applejack! Although, he couldn’t help but notice her accent was a little on the thick side. She probably had a cold. “Why didn’t you just say you found more of those cans Rainbow Dash dropped....Applejack....I swear...”, the other voice was from another pony the colt knew very well. It was Rarity. “This should be the last of the....Erm...”, there was a slight hint of fear in the mare’s voice, “Did you hear something?" The unicorn poked her head out from the large statue of Nightmare Moon. “I believe that is your cousin Valen...” Sure enough, it was Rarity, who was dressed to impress as an rather simplified, but glorified mer-pony. A rather heavy looking bag floated behind her. It appeared she and Applejack were collecting food for a drive. A Nightmare Night food drive. Applejack followed after the fashion mare. “Poor little fella looks like he bee-yn dragged through a hedge backwards.” The farmer wore an lion costume. “Goodness, Valen..” a rather comfortable looking scarf floated from her bag and wrapped itself around the trembling colt. “My cashmere & silk wrap will warm you up....You look like you've seen a ghost.." Applejack could not help but chuckle at this statement. "Well, it is Nightmare Naahyt. So 'es goin' ta see-yn his share awf ghosts.." The unicorn rolled her eyes up, "You know what I mean....er...", she finally took a good look at the little pony, "Valen....", she let out a loud gasp. ""Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the! Worst! Possible! Thing!"

“Our thief must really think my necklace is something special to go through all this.”, normally, a thief would simply toss away his prize when it wasn’t deemed to be ‘worth it’, if his victims were this persistent. This would allow the horrible ne'er-do-well to get away while the others look for their item. Oh, if he dared to toss her grandmother’s necklace into the sewer. That would be horrible! She decided not to think of such things. The crook had it in his little white bag. Probably marked with an Canterlot Bit symbol. Thrilly smiled back at the adorable pony as she posed with her new helmet. “You look like you’re ready to go crawling through a nasty old sewer like a pro.”, she glanced down at the ground. If she had planned to visiting the famous Canterlot underground, she would have at least brought some boots. Oh, how she hated how her big feline nose could pick up every single scent down here. And from where she was standing, she was pretty sure they were not that far from an Mexicolt restaurant. “If I were you, I’d try my best to not get wet.”, she muttered as she checked for clues. “You sure have a lot of bandages on and if you get any nasty water in there....Oooh...” speaking of nasty, there was a bit of cloth....red cloth...Attached to the side of a rusty pipe...And an dent.. “I think our thief must have slipped into this pipe..Or maybe even clipped it and got snagged on this rusty pipe....nail...hatch thing...” No coin needed! “Let’s go this way!”, she pointed to one direction and quickly made her way down into the darkness.....

"Thank you sir." What was worse then hoofing out free water? A tip from free water! Still, the stallion meant well and her shift would be over in....Oh crap. Four more hours. Still, she her other customers to work with. Fire Walker's was simple. Lime juice. Ginger beer. Vodka and lime...and ice....All served in an copper cup. While the kid just got an assortment of juices all in a plastic sippy-cup that was covered with a picture of 'Mister Balderdash' who was a cartoon alligator who wore an monocle and top hat. He would go on adventures with his friend, Mister Dinsdale who was an angry badger that solved all his problems by biting them. The pair appeared on kid's place-mats either trying to navigate easy mazes or as part of a world jumble. She just thought up of one. 'I thae ym lief'. Kids, could you solve that? The red mare smiled back at Grey Shield. Had he been part of the R.E.A? She wanted to ask, but he turned his attention to the mare's sister. She had brought the filly for this experience. Wind could finally hear some interesting stories for a change. After her own adventures slowed to a crawl, she was a full time employee for Ponyville. Training residents to watch out for danger. Maintaining her station at the castle, and sometimes picking up lunch at the local café. The little filly scooped up her cup and made her way over to the now sitting stallion, "Well, I usually like dad's stories..But mom tends to get a little mad when he goes into his little rants. So far, our swear jar this year has already netted us enough bits for a trip to Whinny World.", she paused for a moment, "Fire use....", that was probably not the best word to use, "Is on a story-hiatus." That sounded better. Sometimes she had a decent story or two to tell. But not recently. "I like true stories...But a little fiction splashed in doesn't hurt.", she added with a wink. She knew 100% true stories could be a bit dry. That's why most movies and books that SCREAMED BASED OFF A TRUE STORY were usually full of bumpus! "How about one you enjoy telling?", usually those were either the more popular stories a storyteller would tell, or a very special one they only told on special occasions.

The stallion let out a chuckle, "If that's what you consider unskilled, I could only imagine what you could do once you've mastered your shape-shifting abilities." All of his forms were utter masterpieces. From the wolf, to the dog, and even his pony form. And while his earth pony form was a bit rough and almost reminded him of an rather nasty fella who prefers to himself as 'king', he probably would not have any problems hitting the old 'Pony' Jazz pub in Canterlot and finding more than a few mares that wouldn't mind following him home. "Please feel free to use whatever form you are most comfortable with...Although, would you be able to shorten your tail a bit when we enter this temple?", Pocket Change could only imagine what sort of nasty traps his fuzzy end would set off. The stallion nodded his head. Cantrips were awesome. Where would he be without his favorite 'phantom stirring' cantrip'? Was it just a very simple Air Manipulation spell, or was there a real spirit stirring his beverage? Might be for the best if he never found out. "Great. We should be able to....er...", the unicorn's ears perked up. "I hear something...." Were they already to face an epic battle for the first time? Would they face ancient undead temple guardians? Deadly Cipactlis? Timbersnakes?

Smolder smiled to herself as she walked along the pony. She was rather surprised how much she liked this Valen. She originally had felt some ‘weird nerd’ vibes coming from him when they first met. And that might be slightly true as he was a bit of a nerd, but weird he was not. Just a talented little earth pony with big dreams. And she would soon have a fellow ‘knit-wit’* at her school. “Yeah. We recently learned our resident Yak really could have done without an low hanging skirt as their kind tend to be a bit...er...” Nice word. Nice word. Think of one. “Ungainly.." 'Word A Day' Calendar for the win! Spike's Hearth Warming gift actually wasn't so horrible after all. Hopefully she'll be able to use today's word, which was tergiversation. "And our school auditorium suffered for it." Silence and darkness. It sure was much colder than it was just a moment ago. The young earth pony was also now outside and very alone. An very old statue of Nightmare Night stood in the background. A word could be heard in the background as if the statue was speaking in a hushed tone. It spoke 'Peaches'. Peaches is here.' With the exception of ponies with an birch-pollen allergy, this word would not be considered very 'scary', well, maybe to a certain orange coated colt, it was absolutely horrifying!

Thrilly really thought things should have gone the other way. She had planned to enjoy the air-show. This she missed. She hoped to experience the best Canterlot had to offer her. But now she was heading into the sewers. Ugh. “For whatever reason you have Daze..If you want to give up on finding my necklace...Just ask.”, she glanced over at the Pegasus pony with a smile, “I won’t mind...You’ve done so much for me...” She let out a chuckle at the mare’s ‘super rich’ comment. Considering she was being lead by a small army of bellhops while wearing her little stretch top and sandals....Maybe the thief thought she was one of those eccentric rich types. “I don’t see him getting much out of an little silver necklace with a bell....”, that might be his downfall, as the cat’s very sensitive ears could pick up the ringing sound it would make. “I can see in the darkness.”, the cat slowly made her way down the ladder.. “And if he Is near, I probably will also hear the bell..And still.”, she whispered, “Oooh...This is handy!”, There was an helmet topped with an small glowing white orb that hung from the wall. This was most likely to help a sewer work get about the darken sewers. Apparently there had been a second, but that had been most likely snatched up by their thief. “Here, put this on...It will help you see!”, she handed over the helmet. The poor pony might end up with helmet hair, but she would at least know where she was going... “Now we just need to know where to go...”, there was a path going left and one going right. Which one would they pick?

“Water is free....”, the bar-mare realized she did not have anyone to talk to at the moment, beside the stallion, so she might as well make the best of it. “Old Canterlot law. If you serve alcohol, water has to be free. Mind you, it’s tap water.” They were not hoofing out the bottled stuff for free. That would be crazy. Of course the bottled stuff came from the same source. But the bottled stuff has fancy names like ‘C’est Juste De L’eau’ or ‘Wasser Aus Dem Wasserhahn’. Put that free water into a fancy looking bottle and give it a foreign name and the bits will come. “Eh. We could be busier.", she shrugged her shoulders, "We don't have a story-teller tonight, but both the ‘Uyanazi Room’ and 'The Library' are booked, but I'm not seeing the usual group of drun...er..officers...", she glanced up at two ponies who were now waiting at the bar. "Wow.", she gasped, "Haven't seen you since that whole Blueblood thing..." "Hey Carrot Bun.", an cheerful looking red mare greeted the bar-mare with a smile. She stood next to a filly who also seemed to be enjoying her stay so far. "Give me my usual and give the kid here an 'Balderdash'. Extra Balder.", as the mare turned to work on the drinks, the red mare turned to Grey Shield, "I heard her mention there wasn't a story-teller tonight. Which is a shame....Always loved coming here and listening to the old adventurers tell their stories...Was hoping my sister here could get the full 'Explorers Society' experience.'.", feeling a little on the rude side, the mare quickly added, "The name's Fire Walker..Captain Fire Walker of the Twilight Guard, and this little blue squirt is named Wind Walker." "You look like you've got some stories to tell.", the filly paused to size the older pony up. "My sister says if you wanna tell them, you need to sit by the fireplace."

"Since there were no griffons in the 'Empire' after it was returned to the erm. Present time, I can probably assume those who lived there might have left before it was conquered.." There was another bump. This put an quick end to her sketching. Still, she would have plenty of time for her art. For now, she would enjoy the new company.. "I hope we all manage to learn a few things while here...The art...history...And even your racing event..", she returned her pat and sketch pencil back into her pack. "As for the settlement, he said it was just some random tower, so it was probably really hard to find..." Brrr. It was starting to feel a little colder. Did their cabin's heater break? Zelda scooped up her jacket and slid it on. Much better. With her gloves on, she was fully dressed to be outside. Combined with her natural fur coat, she should be able to handle the outside, even away from the kingdom itself. But this was something she had no desire to try out. She let out a painful squawk as a rather heavy bag fell upon her. "Yow!" Was someone attending a bowling competition? Was someone studying to become a blacksmith and brought their anvil along? She could almost see stars. Oh, there was Songbird Serenade....Sapphire Shores....Baby Snooks...And now a word from our sponsor...Terrible Headache. "Thank you...", She smiled weakly as the heavy bags were removed. Nothing worse than starting a vacation with an bruised beak and an damaged head. She slowly got up from her seat and followed the others. "I may have some brain damage, but I'm pretty sure our train consisted of more than two cabins." While the next cabin was still barely connected, the griffon pointed out that there was no cabin connected to that one! And they were slowly starting to go backwards......

Oh right, her dumb knee was still hurting. How embarrassing! The cat that mastered the dreaded 'Deadly Leap' or triple somersault before her tenth birthday was now some helpless kitty riding on the back of a pony. Still, this felt kind of fun. She was actually flying! No trapeze required. Wow! She believed she could fly! Even touch the sky, and here comes an garbage can. Oh fuzz. The whole thing about 'cats always landing on their feet' might be an old mare's tale, or it could counted for those cats who had four feet. Thrilly only had two, and while she was able to break her own fall by simply curling up into a fuzzy little ball and roll out of the impact. When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring directly at a feral cat. For some reason, she always felt rather uncomfortable with 'normal' cats. They always smelled kind of funny and....they licked themselves clean. Yuck. She only had a moment to think before she was snatched up again. "I'm mostly fine....I think I bruised my er, butt." Once they found themselves on solid ground once more, the embarrassed feline paused to make sure she didn't break anything. "Don't feel bad...You were incredible.", after she was sure there wasn't anything wrong back there, she gave her 'brave steed' a hug. "This thief probably saw me when I was being lead up to my room, as I had my necklace on..And since I was going to one of the fancier rooms, this crook probably I was super rich..And if I was super rich, that necklace was probably worth a ton...Which it's not...It's just super sentimental to me.." With the trail lost, the cat slowly made her way towards a maintenance hole...Its cover appeared to be slightly open..."Oh fuzz.", she groaned. "I think our thief might have gone below..."

Yikes! That was a bit too loud! The dragon glanced around the hallway. Thankfully, the few that were hanging around did not seem to hear the pony's declaration, or they simply did not care. Yes, Smolder was a fashion enthusiast, but still had to keep up appearances of being an tough dragon. Of course this was one of the school's worst secrets. The shared dream her friends recently had, did not help either. Still, it could have been worse, as that was her tamest of recent dreams. And one that did not involve Gallus! At least she was free to show her love of teas. Black. Green. Oolong. And whatever the heck they make over at Sugarcube Corner. Almost tasted like cotton candy crossed with those pop rocks. Nothing weak about enjoying a nice cup of tea! "Thankfully we have students of all shapes and colors, so Miss Rarity will point out some creature and ask to design clothing that would be suitable for said student. Taking in account their body, coloring, and even if they walk on four legs...Or can switch to two...Or just walk on two like myself. If you like a challenge, I'm sure figuring out an circle ruffle dress for a Yak would be enough for anyone..." After a quick look, the dragon deemed the library to be safe. "Not sure intense is the right word." While the pair were the only creatures in the large room, Smolder still felt the need to whisper, "There's usually a good place to read or study when there's too much going on in the dorm.." If the colt took a moment to watch his host's eyes, he would see she was checking out what appeared to be floor grates. "Er, they also normally have a librarian who is super helpful at er, library stuff. Oh..." Something caught her eye. "Could you wait here..I think I see something..", she quickly made her way towards the light...

A rather bored looking bartender slowly made a virgin Kawaiolanonapukanileo for her current ‘guest’. This was not a good night for tips. She made lots of foal-friendly drinks while pony parents pinched their pennies. She had hoped the usual lot of R.E.A officers would be stopping by. Those guys could drink like horses and tipped rather well. But nope! Not today! No wonder ‘Top Shelf’ was more than happy to trade her shift. "Here you go...", she tried her very best to push out a smile as she passed her newly minted abomination to an very happy filly. Her next customer held great promise. He looked like a drinker. But one who would not even consider ordering something as silly as an Kungaloosh or Bongo’s Jungle Juice. This was a fella that was going to order something simple. Whiskey neat. Or even an Old Fashioned. She always enjoyed making those. Made her not regret the small fortune she hoofed over to attend the 'Flim & Flam Brothers Bartender College'. Her smile quickly vanished as she heard the words every bartender loathed to hear. 'I'll have a glass of water, please'. UGH. Free water. Usually no tip. A small glow formed around her horn as she levitated a glass that soon was filled up with cold and very clean, filtered Canterlot water. Her puffy pink brain commanded her to say something snarky, but she had already been written up twice this week. Need to play it cool. "Here you go...", the glass found its way near the stallion. Her eyes shifted towards the fireplace. It appeared there would be no story-teller tonight. What a shame.

Welcome to the Explorers Society! The pub was founded many years ago by an adventurer named Bounder O’ Adventure and his fearless group of like-minded friends. They wanted a place they could hang out and talk about the adventures they had either been on or were about to start. They hoped to create a place they could hang photos and paintings of their adventures and friends. And where they could display mementos of their epic feats. The actual society held monthly meetings in an hidden room on property, but with the disbandment of the actual Society, the room had been unopened for decades. For all intent and purposes, the ‘ES’ was now basically a well themed pub. This pub still allowed story-tellers to sit by the fire and spin their tall-tales. Grateful pub-patrons had been know to send a few drinks towards the narrator, as long as he or she had a good yarn to spin. Two ponies slowly made their way through the pub, only stopping to admire the many paintings of adventurers of the past. The older pony, a red Pegasus coated mare let out a sigh as her eyes fell upon a particular painting. This one consisted of a rather heavy looking stallion adorned with an oversized white mustache that look up nearly half of his face and made him look like an elderly walrus. An neat little monocle and pith helmet completed the scarlet cheeked earth pony's 'uniform'. "This is grandpa and dad's old friend. Merry old 'Colonel Critchlow.", her voice was filled with respect and awe. "Once in a blue moon, we would pop over here and I would listen to the good Colonel's stories while dad would play cards or darts with his officer friends...And while I was told some of his stories were real, he generally liked to 'enhance' his tales....For the listener's sake." The younger pony nodded her head. Hopefully somepony would have a tale of their own to tell.

Fun little episode. We see Twilight do her usual freak out. We see a few old characters pop up. Derpy speaks. And I really like that little sea-town Twilight and Spike visit. The 'Young Six' also are there staying at a little rented house..Probably a short vacation.

In this episode, Twilight Sparkle realizes she never returned a book to the Canterlot Library and may have caused her favorite librarian Dusty Pages to lose her job. This thread is dedicated to discussing the episode before, during, and afterwards. As the thread is now open it may indeed contain spoilers. I ask that potential spoilers talked about or shown before the episode airs stay within the spoiler tags please, after the episode you no longer have to use the spoiler tags, but warning, if you haven't seen the episode yet after it airs, this thread no doubt will have all sorts of spoilers in reviews, images, etc. So tread at your own risk

“Huh?”, the dragon was curious to see what the young pony considered fun. Was it gorge surfing classes? Or maybe buckball? Those both were fun. But it wasn't sports Valen was interested in, but fashion! "I learned how to cross-stich last year. And even how to do Prench knots and three-quarter stitch for detail...It's probably a little easier for me considering I got these.", she waved her claws about. Unicorns could easily manipulate material and needles with their telekinesis magic and Smolder watched as an Pegasus pony was able to use the tips of their wings to make a shirt. Earth ponies had their teeth to work with. Ouch. She also agreed with the stallion. Uniforms would have been nice. Maybe not blue. She preferred the traditional black uniforms she had seen up in Canterlot. Nice skirt to enhance her already awesome hips. Dark jacket. And maybe a little color in an bow that would match her fin. And Valen was interested in Roaman wear? Wasn't that mostly togas? There would be a chance to wear one of those when in collage. Smolder could not wait till she was old enough for that! The sports were better, and the parties were longer and far more involved. As for clothes? She rather preferred Prench rural clothing. Easy, breezy and utterly gorgeous. "Yeah, I have a feeling half of us would get 'em drenched trying to cross the little path to the school." Smolder usually took the flyer's entrance located over the front doors, but sometimes she would use the regular doors when she was with an non-flyer. And that path could be a pain especially when it rained. The crash really bothered her. But could she say anything? Would Valen make a run for the hills if she told him the truth? That the "Tree Of Harmony' while killed by Sombra was not actually really dead and was now a tree house? And it also projected illusions, usually that of Headmare Twilight? "Er, we had a problem with rabbits....raccoons....Rabbits and raccoons..Sneaking in the library and making a mess of things." If one of the grates had opened up, she would simply fix it. Unless the tree had something to say. Maybe she was going to welcome Valen? How would he react to such a thing? Hopefully it would not involve another test. The dragon still had dreams about those creepy mares and their tea kind of sucked. Herbal always tasted too much like medicine for her. It only took a moment before the pair were at the library's door. The dragon tried her VERY best not to look nervous, but something obviously was bothering her. "Just going to poke my head in the doorway..."

The cat was already doing a rather decent job at swinging herself up...Just one more try and she could reach the rope and untie it and then....That part would come.. Oh. Quicker. She was quickly untied and let down rather softly thanks to her new friend. "Oh, thanks.." she managed to blush even harder. While she would have been able to reach her rope and even untie herself as it was rather similar to an old trick she learned a few years ago, she did not dare mention this. Even the fall would have been nothing as her kind always land on their feet. Her keys! She quickly grabbed them, along with an rather convenient stretchy key-chain and coin purse combo that fit around her arm. And while she could run rather fast on four like a pony, there was no way she could move like the mare. "If you can get close....Maybe I could leap at our thief and tackle him!" She was nowhere near as quick as the Pegasus pony, but the combination of the pony's speed, plus the cat's incredible leaping abilities would be more than a match for their necklace thief! Still maybe others could help. "STOP!", she called out. "Thief! Thief!", maybe somepony could get in the way, or even a nearby member of the local police or guard. The shout alone might be enough to startle their running rogue into doing something foolish.

“I am rather surprised you stuck with an Diamond Dog form...As they’re not...Er, I mean they are a bit...” The unicorn tried his very best to find an proper and polite word to use. “Addlepated....You might want to act a little less refined, educated and well spoken around strangers as the first time I met you, I was pretty sure something was a bit odd about you...But I understand your need to conserve magic..” He could see why the poor creature needed to hide away as his real form was rather intense. "Thankfully Equestria has become a bit more open nowadays, so you should be safe...safer to show your true self." Someone wanted to kill and skin him so they could have his coat? That sounded like something from the very old and very bad days. One would simply have to be cruel beyond belief to do such a thing. And while the pup's coat was beautiful, nowadays, clothing makers could make a fur coat that matched his companion's and was also dry clean safe. "The hearts? Oh.", let loose a chuckle, "It's just all very silly. When I think of my beloved...My Moony.....Her beauty....mind....body...everything...I instantly cast little heart illusions....They're not even proper spells. Just what we call 'cantrips'. Probably the same thing a unicorn does when he or she is attacked...They would quickly throw up a shield....Or even teleport...Which I have finally mastered, thanks to my Moony...", he let out a sigh. Thankfully no hearts appeared. "They tend to be released if I don't think about them." Curse was a good word! He hoped this would be one of those life-time curses. Forever in love with his sweet matchless marvelous mare. Pocket Change levitated the map from the dog's bag and let it float over into view. "Since vegetation is usually drastically changed near a temple while its occupied, the sudden change in flora will be a good sign of previous civilization...The nearby trees will also be shorter and younger than those that surround them." The pony waited patiently as his partner checked out his map.

Pocket Change watched as his new partner broke out into a bit of magic. Was he an changeling? Considering those creatures could turn into a new form in the blink of an eye and not require any unique special effects, that was probably not the case. At first it looked like Hogo-Sha simply ditched his jacket and decided to walk around on all four. But his tail was considerably longer..And he appeared more like a feral wolf than Diamond Dog. There were also magic globes. Hurray! This means there would be no terribly awkward conversation where the unicorn would try to ask why his partner was a good deal smarter than all the other Diamond Dogs he had encountered in the past. No casual racism for their little adventure! "You are an Yōkai...Particularly an Bakemono...", he gasped. He had encountered such creatures before. Thankfully, all were positive encounters. "We can walk and talk..If you wish..", he slowly started to follow after the rather large wolf-ish creature. "So, why the disguise?" They had just left an city where all forms of creatures walked the streets. Dragons. Horses. Ponies. Yaks. Griffons. Changelings. Diamond Dogs. Hippogriffs. Minotaurs. There were probably more that he left out. A large dog was probably the more mundane of the bunch.

You don't know how space helmets work!? Everyone knows you just need to slap a fishbowl on your head and you can easily survive the dangers of outer space! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Might be a special anti-magic spell that only stops harmful magic..Or they needed to be turned 'on' to work via a spell.

"Um." The unicorn took a sip from his cup as he imagined other ways they could get into an temple in the sky. There was an catapult. Ouch. Maybe an balloon? The Basin was known to be rather windy. How about a telekinesis spell on himself? He could make himself fly. But there was always a chance a spell can be disrupted. Splat. Maybe befriend a giant bird and have him fly them up? Nope. He wasn't friendly. He was hungry. GULP! "Please just ignore these.", Pocket Change grinned back as he waved away the last of the hard-light magic, "I sometimes get little heart illusions when I think of my marefriend." Thankfully he had yet to suffer from the heart-eyes syndrome. This could call blindness in some cases. "Till then." Once tea was over and the bill had been settled along with a doggy-bag of tarts. The pony left to stock up on supplies. Pocket Change was always prepared, but knowing the hazards of having too much stuff, he packed accordingly. He wore the outfit Javasun had purchased for him awhile back. The light enchantment made the journey a little less steamy. Still, the unicorn DREADED Griffonstone. While things were slowly starting to get just a little better, the adventurer was keen not to stay there too long. Although the perky little 'welcome' griffon with the grey coat was an welcome site. Gal enjoyed chatting and hugging. Pocket's partner seemed to be rather allergic to cats. Gabby's constant need to hug did not help the poor pup. Unlike her fellow griffons, she did not ask for coin when he needed information. If only the dog wasn't so allergic, she would be an idea third companion. She was incredibly gorgeous with her freckles and little pony-tail and sweet Celestia he missed Moony so much. Once they were free of griffons and civilization, the Diamond Dog had something to tell him. Oh no. What could it be? "Yes?", he squeaked as he tried not to let his imagination get the better of him.

It was a fun little episode.. We finally see what Twilight considers Spike to be...Her 'Little brother'. loved the bit with Applejack's previous singing career. Or was it? This episode was basically a bunch of bits the writers and voice actors wanted to do. And seriously. Baby Spike. So dang cute.

In this episode, Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor pit their wits against each other to settle a long-standing sibling rivalry, but they soon discover they are not the only competitors. This thread is dedicated to discussing the episode before, during, and afterwards. As the thread is now open it may indeed contain spoilers. I ask that potential spoilers talked about or shown before the episode airs stay within the spoiler tags please, after the episode you no longer have to use the spoiler tags, but warning, if you haven't seen the episode yet after it airs, this thread no doubt will have all sorts of spoilers in reviews, images, etc. So tread at your own risk

"Wellll..", the cat could not help but grin just a little. "Before the P.T. Barn-Um Circus comes to town, we first hire some creatures to put up signs all over the town..So you know we're coming!", she gave the pony a wink, "And then when the time comes, and after the train is unloaded, there's a free parade where everyone can watch us ride through whatever is considered a 'main street'. There's lots of wagons with animals and clowns...Usually they have my brother and I on top of one of the wagons, and we'll do some simple tricks and moves...Like flips...And leaps...And ol' P.T. will be marching in the front while holding a megaphone thing and he'll be shouting about all the shows to get everyone all excited.", the cat hopped onto the bed and pretended to march...."Then everyone will follow us to where the circus had actually been already set up the previous night and once they purchased their tickets and assortment of food, it's entertainment time! Wooh!", she bounced into the air before quickly regretting it as her knee was still hurting. "Ouch!" "We usually stay for at least a week...Depending on the agreement we have with the town...city..village or whatever.", she paused to massage her lightly injured bit. "And yeah. You're free to stay here...If you want...I really don't know anyone in Canterlot and my parents had convinced me to go...Even if nobody else was able to come along..", her fuzzy ears drooped down even lower. "As for my brother Achille...Well...." again with as sigh. "He was feeling rather cranky the other day when mom got extra naggy...But instead of doing what she said, he got really really snarky. And said something he probably should have not said. Which I can't repeat. Cause the words were really bad. Rhymes with Crumb Witch. Total neva forgive action. And my bro was super-grounded...And even my begging and fake tears didn't fix everything...Like usual." "Since the season was over....My friends had all gone their separate ways...So I couldn't bring one of them along....And even the folks couldn't come...They convinced me that I should still go....Be refreshed...Get out...And also none of the tickets could be refunded. The train. The special hotel voucher. Nothing.... Thank goodness I ran into you..." she felt like she had started to sound just a tad needy. Hopefully Daze didn't mind...And zounds she was so dang adorable. And being the fuzzy type, she also could go au natural. But where the heck would she put her hotel key? Or her camera? The madness with the cloaked stranger really put an end to their happy little day. "Seriously!", she growled at the thief. "It's not worth anything! Well, in bits, but in sentimental it's worth a million!" That probably was not the right word. But nerveless, she charged the sneak thief! Unfortunately the thief had set up a trap for the young cat. A simple rope trap sent the fuzzy little creature up and into the ceiling. "WAAAGH!", she yelped. "Don't worry about me! Please catch that crook! I'll get myself down." "And also turn off the ceiling fan before you leave....", she was not having a very good day.