Derpy happily trotted down the dirt road, an empty paper bag in her mouth. Birds chirped in the trees around her, and she gave a slight wave to a yellow Pegasus pony that was pulling a cart full of frogs.

“I think her name’s…um…Shutterfly,” Derpy said. She’d always found it easier to speak aloud to herself than to just think in her head. “Nice frogs!”

As she kept moving toward the town proper, Derpy heard a familiar voice calling her name from behind.

“Derpy! Hey, Derpy! Wait up!”

She turned around and looked curiously over her flank. She smiled widely in recognition. “Carrot Top!”

The orange mare nodded, coming to a stop and panting lightly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Carrot Top said.

“What for?” Derpy asked, tilting her head to one side. “I just saw you last night.”

“You mean last week.”

“Same difference!” Derpy cheered.

“Not exactly—argh, never mind,” Carrot grumbled.

“Time travelers,” she muttered under her breath. “Anyways, I found something I wanted to show you. Come on. It’s by the Apples’ farm.”

Derpy’s ears drooped. “But…I was going to get muffin cupcakes…”

Carrot groaned. “I’m sure the Cakes will have plenty left for you later. I’ll even buy you one myself. Now, come on!”

Derpy smiled again. “Okay! What are we waiting for?”

Carrot watched her speed off. “Wait! It’s…the other…way…” She gestured somewhat limply with her hoof off in the opposite direction.

Within moments, a grey dot re-appeared on the horizon. Derpy sped forward, swooping down and snatching her from the ground. “Okay, Carrot Top! This way!”

“Derpy, put me down—ack!”

Carrot Top landed on the ground next to the Apples’ barn, coughing and wheezing. Derpy spiralled down beside her. “Derpy…did you have to fly into that weathervane?” Carrot asked weakly.

“Nope!” Derpy said. “But it helped to know which way the wind was going!”

“…I’m not even going to bother to respond to that,” Carrot muttered. She shook her head, trying to pull herself together. “Okay, it’s over here.”

She trotted over to the barn door. Big Macintosh, the ostensible Apple Family patriarch (though everyone knew his sister Applejack ran the place) was waiting there. He gave her a silent nod, and tilted his head a bit to the side when he saw Derpy.

“Big Mac, this is my friend Derpy Whooves,” Carrot Top began.

Big Macintosh chewed on a piece of straw. “Eeyup.”

“She’s going to take a look at that thing that fell into your barn.”

“Eeyup.”

Carrot frowned. “You could say something more than two syllables long, you know.”

“…Eeyup.”

Carrot rolled her eyes and stormed into the barn. Derpy beamed at Big Macintosh. “Hi, Big Mac! How’re the Zap Apples? Still doing well with that Alfafreyan fertilizer?“

“Derpy!” Carrot shouted from inside.

“Coming!” Derpy fluttered into the air and attempted to give a short bow to Big Mac. She quickly flew sideways into the barn after her friend. “Away!”

Big Mac watched her go with some apprehension and then turned away, chuckling quietly. “Guess she really is as bubbly as everypony says she is,” he said to himself, thinking aloud. “Sure hope she can figure out what that thing is.” He ambled slowly back down to the apple orchard.

Derpy stared up at the giant hole in the roof of the barn. “So …what made the sky come in the barn?” she asked Carrot Top,squinting slightly.

“It’s a hole,” Carrot answered exasperatedly. “And it was made by something falling out of the sky yesterday morning—something that’s in this crater here.” She pointed down with a hoof. Derpy’s vision slowly lined up with what her friend was pointing at.

It was a large crater in the ground, perhaps about ten hooflengths deep. Slight wisps of steam rose from its surface, and shattered and twisted metal lined the bottom. Derpy found her left eye drawn to a dark, sooty shape lying near the bottom of the crater. A metallic glint shone through the ashes covering its surface. The object seemed to be roughly egg-shaped, though much larger than one.

“What’s that thing?” she asked with wide eyes, pointing it out to Carrot.

Carrot shrugged. “I was hoping you could tell me.”

Derpy paused to think for a moment. “Hm…I don’t think it’s a Blarggy pod.”

“A what pod?” Carrot Top asked.

“A Blarggy pod,” Derpy said seriously as she poked and prodded at the object. “I think the Doctor called it something long and complicated, like a Blagragftha.”

“Are you sure you should be doing that?” Carrot asked, watching Derpy poke the egg-like object with a stick.

“Probably not,” Derpy said, focusing intently. “Ooh! I see!”

“What?” Carrot asked, her pupils dilating. She flinched away. “What is it?”

“It’s a Granyar probe,” Derpy said, nodding with a satisfied smile. “Yep, it’s definitely a Granyar probe…or maybe a Prarbyar Grone…”

“Urgh…” Carrot groaned. “I thought you were supposed to deal with this sort of thing all the time!”

“I do,” Derpy said, frowning. “Hrm…maybe if I poke it here…”

A burst of steam shot out of the side. Carrot leapt back, her eyes wide. “Whoa! Be careful with that!”

“I know what I’m doing.” Derpy sniffed, offended. “Now Carrot Top, if you would—”

“What’s it doing now?”

Derpy whirled around and gasped. “Ooh...”

Another jet of steam burst forth from the top of the object, and was soon joined by another. The room was filled with the whirring of unseen gears. Carrot eyed the sphere nervously, sweat dripping down the side of her face.

“Derpy” she whispered, watching a long, thin crack appear down the side of the object. “We should probably leave—”

“You say something, Carrot Top?” Derpy asked absentmindedly, watching the now clearly alien object in complete fascination. Carrot gritted her teeth and eyed it with suspicion after making sure that she had a clear route to the door.

The crack slowly widened and thousands of tiny creases emerged from its surface. They folded back in a shimmering array, revealing a dark cavity within. The air in the room stilled.

Derpy slowly wandered over and peered inside the object. Her eyes lit up. “Aha! So it was a Blarggy pod!”

“Huh?”

With what sounded like a soft wheeze, a small, spherical creature popped out of the pod’s central cavity and turned toward the two Equestrians standing before it. It hummed quietly.

“Boop.”

“Derpy,” Carrot murmured, eyeing the thing’s metallic green hide. “What is that?”

“Beep,” the creature repeated, poking at Carrot with a long tentacle.

She slapped it away, flinching slightly. “Not interested.”

“Blarggy, meet Carrot Top!” Derpy said happily. She blinked. “Oh, and Carrot Top, meet Blarggy!”

“His name isn’t actually Blarggy,” she stage-whispered to Carrot. “But most of his kind don’t mind being called that.”

Carrot Top swallowed, staring at the “Blarggy.” “Nice to meet you?” she said uncertainly, holding out a hoof. The small creature looked at it for a moment, and then eagerly took hold of it with one tentacle, shaking it quickly.

“Aw, look, he likes you!” Derpy cheered. Carrot smiled weakly.

“Well, it doesn’t seem so bad,” she said. “Problem solved, I guess. Once we help Big Mac fix up his barn, do you still want to get those muffin cupcakes?”

The room instantly went silent. Derpy’s mouth hung open, her left eye staring at Carrot with shock.

“What?” Carrot asked. “What in Celestia’s name could possibly be wrong now?”

“You said the c-word,” Derpy mumbled quietly, watching her and trembling.

“Huh? What, ‘cupcake’? What’s so bad about saying cupca—” Carrot struggled to speak around the hoof in her mouth. “Mmf! Hmphgrf!”

“Look,” Derpy said, pointing at the alien. Carrot gulped, and slowly turned to face the creature.

The small alien, previously a shimmering green, was now a dark crimson. Black stripes ran across its torso, criss-crossing with lines of deep blue.

A low hum filled the room, and Carrot Top realized with some alarm that it was coming from the “Blarggy.”

“Cup...cake. Cup-cakes. Cupcakes.”

“Oh, no,” Derpy said, slowly backing away. “Oh no, oh no, oh no.”

“Mmrph?” Carrot demanded frantically, shoving Derpy’s hoof out of her mouth. “What’s going on?”

“Um...remember how I already knew what it was?” Derpy asked. Carrot nodded slowly, and Derpy winced. “Well, the last time me and the Doctor visited the Blarggy planet, things got kinda messy.”

“In what way?” Carrot asked dangerously, slowly backing away from the growling alien.

“Nothing! Nothing!” Derpy protested. Her flank hit the side of the barn, and she paled. “I mean...look over there!”

“You mean look right here!” Carrot said, eyes wide. “It’s coming toward us!”

“Cupcakes,” the alien moaned. It took a single small step forward, its shadow stretching along the length of the floor.

“Now what?” Carrot hissed.

Derpy shrugged. “Beats me.”

“You’re supposed to know about these things!” Carrot shouted, growing frantic.

“Oh, look! Blarggy’s doing something else!” Derpy said quickly.

Carrot spun around. “So now what do we—what in Celestia’s name is that thing doing?”

“Beep. Cup. Beep. Cakes.” The alien was visibly shaking now, having stopped in its advance to stare up at the ceiling.

There was a deafening silence.

“Cupcakes!”

With a crash of glass and the splintering of wood, the alien flew up into the air, fiery jets shooting out from its “feet” and into the roof. It smashed through the structure, leaving only a telltale hole behind. Carrot watched in shock as the creature quickly became nothing more than a tiny dot in the sky, disappearing toward Ponyville.

Carrot Top’s jaw dropped, and she ran around the barn in circles. Small flames still licked the ground near the blast radius of the creature’s takeoff. “It’s headed toward Ponyville! We have to stop it!” Sweating wildly, she galloped toward the barn door—and was stopped by Derpy’s hoof on her side.

“Oh, c’mon Carrot Top!” Derpy said, giggling nervously. “I’m sure it just wants to say hi to everypony!”

Mr. Cake’s panicked shriek was quite clearly audible, even from half a mile away.

Derpy quickly picked Carrot up in her hooves and flew into the air, holding the other pony over her head. “Right! We’re off!” Without a moment’s hesitation, she shot upward and through the roof, leaving a third hole right in the middle.

“What the heck are we doing?” Carrot shouted at the top of her lungs. Her mane whipped around her face, blown by the wind.

“Shush, missy!” Derpy commanded, swerving to avoid the schoolhouse’s bell below. A few fillies and colts in the schoolyard waved to them excitedly. “We’re going to stop this alien invasion, and you’re going to like it!”

“It’s hardly an invasion,” Carrot yelled back over the wind. “And don’t call me missy!”

“There!” Derpy said as she pointed to a tall building with her back hoof, spinning about recklessly. It was wide, pink, and decorated like a candy—Sugarcube Corner! Above it, a small, crimson shape hovered over a stream of fire, repeatedly slamming into the shop’s roof. Small flames flickered on the shingles. Outside by the door, the Cakes watched in horror, a few shopping bags lying on the ground beside them. “I can see it right there!”

“Derpy, don’t do that! You’re going to make us—AHHHHHH!”

Falling in a wild and uncontrolled spiral, Derpy managed to keep hold of Carrot long enough to set them both gently on the ground.

“Carrot Top! Mrs. Whooves!” Mr. Cake said, galloping over to them. Sweat poured down his forehead and he gestured wildly to the small flames bursting up over his roof. “This thing suddenly started destroying our shop! We have no idea how to stop it!”

“Derpy, why is it doing this?” Carrot said through gritted teeth.

“Well, um.” Derpy paused. “They were having some problem with shedding their skins, so I found out that cupcakes work pretty well as a kind of stimulant for that.”

“Really,” said Carrot flatly. Derpy nodded with a beaming smile.

“Yup! And we apparently helped make cupcakes the national currency…which didn’t work out because we also may have gotten their race addicted to them by mistake.”

Carrot slapped her forehead. “Okay, wow. We don’t have time to deal with that right now. How do we stop it?”

Derpy frowned, her wings falling to her sides as she screwed her face up in complete concentration. “Hm…”

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie ran up, her mouth hanging open at the burning building. “Oh, no! Gummy’s still in there!”

“I’ll get him.” Carrot said, narrowing her eyes.

“But—“

“I’ll be fine,” Carrot said. She looked at Derpy. “You’d better find some way to stop that thing before it causes any more havoc. Got it?”

Without even waiting for an answer, she dashed into the house, narrowly avoiding a stray blast from the small alien above.

Mrs. Cake trotted over to her husband and Derpy. “Oh dear, oh dear. What are we going to do?”

Derpy was silent for a moment, tracing her hoof in the grass. She then gasped loudly. “Aha!”

“What is it, dear?” Mrs. Cake asked, looking concerned. Derpy held up a hoof proudly.

“I’ve got it!” she declared. “Mrs. Cake, do you still have that huge vat of whipped cream?”

“How did you know about that?” Mrs. Cake asked with wide eyes.

“And Mr. Cake—do you have any extra ovens downstairs?”

Mr. Cake blinked. “Well, yes I do. But I don’t think that—“

“Alrighty!” Derpy said loudly, pumping her hoof in the air. “I’ve got just the solution to this problem! Pinkie! I need your help!”

Pinkie Pie happily hopped over. “Okie-Dokie-Lokie!”

The two of them dashed into the undamaged first floor, dodging any falling debris from the roof. The Cakes watched them go in wonder.

“Do you have any idea what they’re doing, honey?” Mr. Cake asked his wife. She shook her head.

Not five minutes later, Carrot Top came galloping out of the house, Gummy’s teeth clenched tightly around her mane. She quickly shook him off and panted, sweating furiously.

The alligator happily waddled over to the Cakes, and sat on his head. Mrs. Cake leaned forward worriedly.

“Are you okay, dear? Did you see Pinkie in there?”

Carrot shook her head. “No; I thought she was out here with you!”

Mr. Cake gasped and pointed to the shop. “What’s that noise?”

A loud rattling sound had begun to emanate from Sugarcube Corner. The building itself shook slightly. The Cakes backed away with wide eyes.

Carrot blinked. “What the—“

With a crash, the front door burst open. Smoke filled the doorway, causing Carrot to cough slightly. When she managed to clear her vision, she immediately noticed Pinkie Pie standing in the entrance, but with what looked to be a giant cupcake behind her, perched on top of a wagon.

“Help me get it out, help me get it out!” Pinkie shouted frantically. Carrot wasted no time in dashing over and seizing one end of the wagon, and slowly but surely removing the gargantuan treat from the bakery.

Mr. Cake exchanged a worried glance with his wife. “But how is that going to help?”

“Hey, Blarggy!” shouted Derpy’s voice from inside the bakery. “The cupcake is served!”

Immediately, the small alien froze in its assault on the Cakes’ shop. It hovered for a moment, and then sped toward the giant pastry treat. Carrot dove away out of reflex, only coming up to watch in awe as the creature began to devour the cupcake, piece by piece.

With a cry, Derpy flew out of the second-floor window, her wings flapping madly to keep her aloft. In shock, Carrot realized that she seemed to be carrying something behind her, a large container of sorts.

“Everypony, clear!” Derpy shouted, and flew a loop above the roof, causing the container to flip upside down. Time seemed to stand still…

A half-ton of milky-white whipped cream poured out from the vat, and over the burning roof.

With a tremendous hiss of steam, the fires slowly started to go out. The bubbling whipped cream slowly dripped down the sides of the bakery, small bits of foam coming off and landing on the ground below.

Mrs. Cake gaped. “What—how—?”

Mr. Cake’s eye twitched.

Smiling happily, Derpy landed lightly on the ground and rested the empty vat beside her with a loud clunk. “That seems to have solved the problem!” she said with a wide smile.

Mr. Cake chuckled nervously. “Heh… Yes. Of course.” He swallowed, looking at the charred roof of his bakery.

Mrs. Cake put a hoof on her husband’s side, looking worried. “At least the twins were at the daycare today.” He nodded in silent agreement.

Carrot looked at the pacified alien (still munching on the cupcake), and then to Derpy. “So what do we do now? Get back its pod and tell it to leave?”

Derpy nodded. “Sounds about right!” Carrot moved to leave.

“Oh, but wait!”

Carrot paused. “Yes?”

Derpy grinned. “When you’re on your way back, make sure to try and get as many ponies as you can to come with you.”

Carrot frowned. “What for?”

“What do you think?” Derpy giggled, taking off and gliding over to the Cakes. She put her hooves around them. “We still have to help clean up! We can’t leave it all to the Cakes, right? That’d just be mean!”

Carrot Top looked thoughtful for a moment, and then smiled. “…Of course, Derpy. I’ll make sure to get every able-bodied mare and stallion helping out.”

“Sounds good!” Derpy shouted, hovering a few feet in the air as Carrot trotted away. “We’ll see you in a few minutes!” She landed, lopsided smile broadening.

Mrs. Cake trotted over to Derpy. “Thank you for that, Miss Whooves,” she said earnestly. I’m not sure where the little thing came from, or why it started attacking our shop, but I really do appreciate you helping us out.”

“One question, though,” Mr. Cake interrupted, quirking an eyebrow and frowning slightly. “Where did you get the idea for the giant cupcake?”

Derpy snickered. “It was obvious, silly! It wanted a cupcake, so I gave it one!”

Mr. Cake looked confused. “But how did you make it in the first place? We don’t have ovens that big.”

She gave him a wink as Pinkie Pie happily hopped over, her mane flopping from side to side. Derpy opened her mouth to speak, but Pinkie’s hoof shot out and covered it.

“Shenanigans,” she said grimly.

“But—”

“Shenanigans.”