Despite being pranked and far behind his opposition, Steel Blade was not ready to give up just yet. He quickly recovered from his mummy imprisonment and dragged his partners in crime to their next target, specifically the showers for the male guards. The three of them waited just outside, lips curved with anticipating smiles as they waited for their prank to go into effect.

“AUGH!” cried out a voice.

“What the?! Blah!”

“Ewww!”

The three leaned on the wall and laughed hysterically as words of confusion and disgust echoed from the room. They heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from the entrance and quickly rushed around the corner to keep themselves from being spotted. Soon, a few of the guards came out, wearing towels over their lower parts, but instead of water they were covered in mud. One of the guards of higher rank ordered, “You! Go get the plumber and have his flank here now! And you two! Go to the pipes underground and see who sabotaged the water tanks! Let’s be glad it’s just mud and not something from the septic tanks...”

The three tiptoed out of the hall, making sure they weren’t seen, while keeping their lips shut. When they finally made it another hall, only then did they fall on their rears and laugh in hysteria. “Oh man! Did you see their faces?! They looked like they just got caught in a mudslide!” cried out Overwatch.

“That was awesome! How did you gather so much mud in the first pace, Steel?” asked Spike, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Greenhooves owed me a favor from a poker game last week so I called it in,” replied Steel Blade who got up looking ready for more action. “Anyway, let’s get going. We need to get the next prank ready.”

“Slow down there, cowpony,” urged Overwatch, chuckling. “It’s three to two now, I’m sure you’ll catch up to Twilight. It is not like she’s gone on a pranking spree or something," she said with a smirk.

Philomena had to admit, the unicorn picked a good spot for their next prank fest. She watched from her branch on the tree Twilight had teleported them too. From here they could see the market place for all the high class and snippy nobles who went around walking with their eyes closed and their chins faced up. Seriously, how did they managed to walk like that without bumping into each other?

The phoenix’s thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the tiny unicorn climbing up onto the tree with bag of prank supplies levitating over her head, only for the shrunken mare to jump onto the branch as if she was a squirrel. “Okay, this is the busiest time of the market today. That gives us plenty of snobbish nobles for targets. Any suggestions on who should be our first victim?" Twilight asked eagerly with a wide smirk on her face.

Philomena blinked a few times as if she didn't recognize the tiny mare; for the first time seeing the mean side of kind and diligent student. Then again, it was kind of hard not to hate the nobility. With shake of her head Philomena focused, her predatory eyes looking around carefully for a good first target. There was a really good number to choose from, such as a stallion with a monocle so big it covered half his face and a mare whose mane was towering above her head in ridiculous curls. And these were the fashion statements these rich ponies adored so much?

Finally, she spotted the perfect target. A mare with wavy blond mane-style who wore a sparkling ruby covered gown made of a fabric that seemed to shine in the light, making her look like a Hearths Warming tree. The gown was so big it made her rump area look huge. Philomena pointed to the target and nodded to Twilight.

Twilight snorted at the sight of the noble, but nevertheless got her cool together and surrounded herself with a small shield before grabbing the itching powder from the bag. She doused herself with it, but the barrier prevented any of it from getting on her. With a quick farewell salute, Twilight jumped from branch to branch on the tree they were on until she landed on the pavement and made her way towards her victim.

Twilight was really grateful that noble ponies didn’t look down below their hooves or else they would have been curious as to why a tiny unicorn was running around near them. She evaded every hoof that threatened to crush her with quick thinking and reflexes, enjoying the workout she was getting from all of this. Not only was she pranking nobles, a group of ponies she had learned to really dislike over the years, but she was able to hone her physical and magical skills with all this effort.

I really should get involved in April Foals Day more often! thought Twilight as she dashed between all four hooves of a trotting unicorn mare. Finally, she reached her target. She stealthily jumped onto the dress from underneath and started to climb on the inside of the hemline. It was a bit difficult to climb up the fabric and avoid touching the flank nearby, but Twilight was careful in her approach and made sure to stay silent. When she reached as high as she could go, she held her breath and jumped towards the tail of the noblemare, grabbing on to it and climbing up. Already the itching powder was leaving her shield and falling onto the tail.

The mare shook her rear in response, but Twilight held on. It wasn’t long until the mare started to squirm a bit as the itching powder was bothering her to the point where she was shaking her tail around, swishing it against her dress and flanks. This only proved to be a worse decision as she felt the itching spread to her rump.

Without any warning, the mare started to scratch her rear in public, attracting the attention of all those nearby. The gathered nobles made no effort to hide their disgust at such a display. Twilight wished she was watching the whole thing outside, but she was stuck hanging on to the mare’s tail. At least that was until the mare slammed her rump on the floor and started scratching it on the pavement, pressing Twilight in an uncomfortable position, squished between a stone walkway and a mare’s butt.

Philomena was laughing the moment she saw the noblemare scratching her rear like she was possessed, but that laughter stopped abruptly the moment she saw the lady slamming her flank against the ground. Her eyes widened as she realized that Twilight was now being crushed, and she began to panic, her wings flapping against the leaves. She wasn’t a ‘friend’ of the little unicorn and she may have tried to burn and or eat her in the past, but if any harm came to her now, she was going to get it from Celestia.

Philomena was turning her head around in circles in search of a way to rescue the trapped unicorn, small flames ready to strike, but it wasn’t until the pranked noble began scooting on her own behind to get rid of the itch did she spot Twilight. She was laying on the ground, unmoving. Panicking, Philomena flew down as fast as she could, grateful that all the nobles in the area were focusing on the crazy mare and not her or the tiny flattened unicorn on the ground. She swooped up Twilight with her talons and flew back to the tree.

She gently placed the tiny unicorn on the branch, Her eyes were still closed and she showed no sign of breathing. Fearing the worst, Philomena gently lifted one of the unicorn’s legs only for it to flop down with no resistance. With her eyes closed and head lowered in solemn silence, Philomena focused on her magic, her wings flaming lightly, but instead of being hot, those flames were filled with phoenix’s famous healing magic. Ready to-

“Boo!” shouted Twilight, making Philomena jump up in fright. Twilight giggled before getting up herself. “Sorry about scaring you, but after I got crushed and then you picked me up, I thought another bird thought I was road kill and my training with Princess Celestia kicked in.”

Philomena, now calming down, tilted her head as if to ask what was Celestia teaching her. Twilight smiled and went into lecture mode as she said, “Well, it was a few days after my mentor went on an adventure with me when we were small..." she paused upon a weak squawk from the Phoenix who looked at her with confusion." Oh, right, you didn't have the opportunity to see us, but Princess Celestia and I have been adventuring a lot lately." Noticing phoenix's neck to tilt a bit, she added, "It started after I asked her to let me stay shrunken. The princess started to shrink herself almost everyday to play or train with me, something about seeing the world through my eyes..." Suddenly Philomena laughed, holding her one wing close to her mouth with another on her belly as if trying to restrain herself. Twilight had to grab her wing and pull her back before she could fall of the branch. After moment of waiting for her partner to calm down, Twilight continued, "As I was saying... ponies often underestimate me because of my size, so Celestia teaches me a few survival skills, for example: how to play dead if I'm ever in trouble and my magic can't help me."

Philomena nodded, though still resisting urge to laugh at the mental image of her owner at such miniature size. Philomena turned her head and pointed her wing towards another target, or rather, a target and his friends. They were all sitting around a table and talking to one another with their usual snooty accents while a waiter made his way towards them, a cake on elegant tray levitating in front of his head. Like everything with nobles, it was overly decorated with multiple layers of frosting in various designs. The dessert even had jewels on it. Twilight’s eyes lit up and she quickly smirked. “I got just an idea.”

In a flash, the tiny unicorn had teleported herself over the cake and landed on it with a weak thump. Philomena watched with interest as Twilight dug deep into it. The waiter didn’t notice this and continued making his way to the seat where he greeted the party and presented them the dessert. The group of nobles was ready to feast when, in a flash of purple light, the cake suddenly burst. Everypony around the table, including the waiter, screamed as chunks of the cake splattered all over their clothes,. Even their faces were not spared from wearing the creamy make up. The nobles screamed either in anger or horror at the fact that their get ups were completely ruined; some of them had even fainted. Funnily enough most of them were stallions.

Philomena was cackling like a hyena, ignoring Twilight who blinked back to the tree, covered in cake herself but in much more joyful spirits then the nobles were. Twilight even took a chunk of the cake off her mane and put it in her mouth before licking her lips with pleasure. “Mmmm, I taste good.”

The two of them sat down on the branch and enjoyed the show as the cream and cake covered nobles argued with one another, at least until owner of the restaurant interfered. Yelled upon, the nobles left in a huff with their noses held high. Twilight chuckled, taking pleasure at the sight of those snooty jerks being talked to for a change. Raising her head she looked at the sun in the sky, only for her eyes to widen. "Oh shoot, we need to hurry before Fancy Pants leaves his residence!"

Twilight was about to jump to the next branch below them, but stopped herself as an evil grin stretched across her face. “But before I go. A little illusion spell for some lasting effect.”

Twilight’s horn glowed a large aura and immediately a bunch of horrific cries rang out in the streets. Philomena was really starting to like this side of the tiny unicorn. With a few illusion spells she had made everypony in the area believe that the entire wardrobe and mane style of at least a dozen nobles had changed into embarrassing clothes. Those whose outfits had been changed were running around like headless chickens, trying to cover themselves up from embarrassment. There was a lady dressed like a clown, a stallion who suddenly was bald, and one mare who was running around in a bikini.

Philomena turned to a grinning Twilight, who was covered in sweat and leftovers of the cream. “It will only last for a few minutes. But I imagine the papers printing this story will be out sooner. Now let’s go!”

Twilight flexed her legs and waited until Philomena spread her wings and launched into air. With one solid jump she landed on the Phoenix’s back who dashed towards their next destination.

“So let me make sure I understand you two, officers...,” asked a noblestallion by the name of ‘Top Hat’, who was a brown earth pony that was well known for carrying such a signature item. However, if any of his colleagues were to look at him now, they would be stunned and confused as to why he was dressed up like a mime. “You say I have an assassin after me and the only way I can stay safe is by playing as a mime in the open?”

“Yes, sir,” said Steel Blade in the most serious tone he could manage. Both he and Overwatch were dressed in their uniforms, and Spike was right behind them with a scroll in his hands. Overwatch quickly summoned it while showing it to the noble quickly before he could get a good chance to read it. “Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor himself recommends this strategy while our forces try to route out the assassin. For now, we’re spreading rumors that you’ve gone to see a sick relative out in the country. We suggest you to keep up the mime act and use the money you earn to stay at a cheap hotel. Going to your mansion could be dangerous unless you want to end up sleeping six feet under.”

“And I suggest staying silent like you’re suppose to be, Mr. Mime,” hinted Overwatch.

The noble grumbled to himself before turning back to the growing crowd as he did his best to fool the tourist that he was, indeed, a mime. Steel Blade, Overwatch, and Spike all continued wearing their serious expressions until they were out of sight of the noble. Once they were safe, they felt free to let out a few laughs “How long do you think he’ll keep doing that before he realizes there is no assassin?” asked Spike, claw covering his smirking mouth.

“I give him a few hours,” commented Overwatch who high hoofed her partner. “I can’t think of anything better than pranking nobles. Can you?”

“The circus maybe. I just love the taste of candy-floss. Plus clowns and acrobats are so entertaining,” answered Steel Blade as the three of them wandered into the market district. “That makes nine targets for yours truly. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve caught up to Twilight and jumped right into the lead.”

Spike’s eyes widened as he pulled both tails of his pony friends and pointed to the commotion in the center. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

Both guards looked towards the where the dragon was pointing, and their jaws dropped at the chaos they saw. Nobles were running around in fright, wearing outlandish dresses from chicken outfits to more provoking ones. Another group was covered in cake and was protesting outside of a restaurant. And there was this one mare who was scratching her rump against a tree over and over again.

“Twilight?” asked Steel Blade with a whimper.

“Twilight,” answered Spike and Overwatch at the same time.

Inside a spacious and well decorated mansion, two sets of parents were enjoying their time together, talking about their experiences raising children that had both been blessings and curses at the same time. Of course, if there was one thing all parents liked to do when their children weren’t present, it was talking about them. Specifically, the embarrassing moments, scrap books in their hooves.

“Really, Shining Armor didn’t stop wearing those knight PJ’s until he was fourteen?” laughed Fancy Pants as he struggled to keep his tea cup still.

Twilight Velvet grinned, remembering all the times she had watched her son roleplay as a knight trying to save his younger sister. “Oh yes, I spent a fortune on laundry detergent to get rid of the ketchup from his monster slaying.”

“That’s nothing. It took us ages to finally teach White Path to eat with his mouth closed,” moaned Fleur, rolling her eyes. “Of course he still does it from time to time, but he’s improving.”

After accepting a custard pastry from Fancy, Night Light leaned back on the comfy couch next to his wife as they looked around the living room of the most noble of all unicorns. He had to admit, he never thought he would see himself hanging out at one of these mansions. His poker buddies were always impressed by how he had such good fortune ever since Twilight became Celestia’s student. Still, none of these connections compared to how happy his tiny filly was despite the risks she always faced.

“Thanks again for inviting us. It’s nice to catch up with friends every so often,” said Night Light, taking a bite out of his pastry. He stopped eating the moment he saw the confused look on his hosts faces.

“Invite you? My dear fellow, you said you were coming over for a visit. We never sent any invitation,” commented Fancy Pants.

Both Sparkles looked at each other before Velvet pointed out, “But.. we just got a letter this morning...”

“Actually, that was from me.”

Everypony turned around and saw White Path stroll in, but it wasn’t him who said anything. It was the tiny unicorn perched on his head. Above their heads, Twilight was levitating a scroll. White Path soon sat down across from the adults while Twilight jumped down and landed on the table in front of him. In an unexpected move, the colt lowered his nose and, quite affectionately, nuzzled Twilight who cooed upon feeling his touch. The grown-ups blinked in surprise.

Twilight’s father raised an eyebrow while asking, “Um, Twilight? Not that we are not glad to see you, but why did you call all four of us here?”

Twilight bit her lip and looked down with a blush on her cheeks before White Path carefully patted her on the back and looked at her with caring eyes. She smiled at him and nodded before clearing her throat. “Mom and Dad? Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis? As you know, ever since that encounter years ago when Fleur helped me back when I was scared and lost somewhere in Canterlot, our two families have grown very close. We’ve had a lot of good memories and our friendship is strong and firm,” Twilight said as her smile widened. “Princess Celestia thinks that it’s in both our and Equestria’s best interests to strengthen the bonds between our families and so she’s decided to enact an old law.”

Avoiding looking at her parents’ faces, Twilight unrolled the scroll and read it out loud. “I, Princess Celestia, Sovereign of Equestria, have decided to enact an old marriage law between the two heirs of House Sparkle and House Fancy. From this day forward their friendship shall now turn into family and be one house by blood. On the day of his eighteenth birthday, White Path, son of Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis, shall marry Twilight Sparkle, daughter of Night Light and Twilight Velvet, and together their union shall be stronger than ever.”

Sillence penetrated the room. Only the ticking of the clock was heard in the background. At least until tea cups crashed onto the floor as four voices shouted out at once.

“WWWWHHHHHAAAATTTT?!”

"Ow!" Twilight scowled as the strength of combined shout pushed her off the table, slamming against the belly of the colt who caught her just in time between his hooves. With shake of her head and buzzing sound in her ears, she shouted, "Careful on the ears!" while quickly holding them down.

“Twilight! Tell me you're joking!” shouted Velvet as she snatched up the decree with her own magic and read it, her mouth dropping lower with each sentence. Once she’d finished she looked at the other adults in the room. “But she... she can’t do this! Can she?!”

“Actually, in the old days, Princess Celestia would often join houses that she felt would benefit with one another. I mean, she hasn’t done it in two hundred years but still...”

“Not helping, Twilight!” growled her mother.

Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow and looked at both his son and so called “daughter-in-law” before looking at a calendar nearby. His monocle almost popped out of his eye before he gave a sly grin to the two, winked at them and turned to Night Light who was holding his hoof against his chest as if he was about to have a heart attack. “Well, Night Light, looks like you and me are going to become brothers. I must say, it will be nice to know that my son is going to be well in your daughter’s hooves.” After a closer look, he chunkled and added, "Or should I say, she would be in our son's hooves."

All the other adults stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Fleur was ready to slap him as she screamed, “Are you mad, Fancy?! My little boy is only fifteen years old! He can’t marry at that age!”

“Now, now, dear,” answered Fancy, stroking her mane. “Remember? It said when our son reaches at the proper age of eighteen. And doesn’t it look like our White Path is smitten already?”

Fleur looked at her young colt who was blushing and showing Twilight a certain warmth in his eyes while pressing her lightly against his soft embrace, which made her wonder if the crush her son had on the older mare was indeed a honest one. “Mom, Dad. I know this is rushed, but Twilight and I have always felt there was something special between the two of us. I don’t know if this is love or not, but I want to take care of her and I’ll do my best to make her happy on our big day.”

“Oh, White Path,” cooed Twilight as she hugged his hoof and nuzzled it.

“Besides,” said Fancy Pants, whispering into his wife’s ears. “Think of the wedding dress you can put on Twilight when she becomes your daughter-in-law. Imagine how cute she would look.”

Fleur's eyes lit up like flashlights as dozens of designs, each cuter than the last, began popping up in her head. From warm and soft winter shoes and scarf to a thin and elegant ballet costume, maybe a hat with cat, no, bunny ears which would look wonderful alongside a little work on that tiny mane and tail of hers. “W-well, if the princess demands it...”

“You can’t be serious! Twilight’s too young or old or whatever to be marrying your son! Do they even understand what they are getting themselves into!?” cried out Velvet who growled as her eye twitched, and her tail and mane turned into a frizzled mess. She approached the pair and lowered herself slightly, looking first at Twilight and next towards White Path, "How do you both even imagine to dating one another? With the size difference and all?"

Night Light nodded his head and added, "Yeah, eating in a restaurant will be very awkward." His eyes focused on White Path, "And what if you take our daughter to a cinema or theatre and sit on her in the darkened room by accident."

White Path blushed and covered his face with a hoof, "Awww... but I already apologized for that, it won't happen again. I promise."

Night Light and Velvet blinked as their daughter, still held between a hoof and colt's belly said, "And I’ve forgiven him." Twilight looked at Fleur and scratched her neck nervously, "And to be honest, your son wasn't that hard to levitate off me."

Twilight Velvet stomped her hoof against the floor and frowned, "That's it, I'm going to find Princess Celestia and give her a piece of my mind! Control my daughter's love life? Dating at such young age! I am going to... what's so funny? I'm being serious!"

She stopped the moment she noticed both Twilight and White Path snorting before they let out a bellow of laughter. The colt fell on his back and slammed his hooves against the floor while Twilight was pounding his belly and laughing. Fancy Pants joined in as well, though without breaking his regal composure. The remaining clueless ponies were confused about what was going on until they saw Fancy point to the calendar. They turned around and noticed what day it was. The realization of what had happened kicked in quickly.

Fleur started giggling alongside her husband while Twilight Velvet sighed in relief, looking a few years older than she already was. Twilight teleported to the nearby coffee table and lowered her head in front of her mother. “I’m sorry I pranked you, Mom. But it’s a long story and... well... I hope you’re not mad.”

Velvet sighed and took her daughter in her hooves before nuzzling her. “No, Twilight, I’m not mad. More like relieved. I don’t want you to think of stallions until you're a bit older.”

Twilight smiled before turning to her father. “And you, Dad? Did I get you good?”

He didn’t answer as he was lying on the couch, unconscious with his tongue hanging out.