"Why is this cat circling me? What reason is there for this spree?" Zecora questioned, eyes following NoLegs as he ran around her hooves. The cat stopped in front of her and rubbed his head on her right foreleg, purring with a grin on his face.

"Methinks the cat was evaluating you, seeing if you were worthy of his trust," Fenrir piped up, a small grin on his face.

"Well, if the cat trusts Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor, then… then our supposed salve maker must be a good zebra," Lance sighed, turning to Zecora. "No offense."

Zecora nodded and rose a hoof to pet the cat. She turned to Twilight and began speaking again, "Have you found a sharp blade yet? If not, there's no need to fret."

"Actually, I have learned a new spell of the blade variety, and I was told it was—supposedly—written by Starswirl the Bearded," Twilight answered with a nod. She found herself under the gazes of Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, each of whom looked at her with brows raised.

"Wait, whoa, back up! You mean the Starswirl?" Rainbow asked, garnering little more than a nod from the lavender mare.

"Starswirl? I beg your pardon, but how did he make a blade-type spell?" Rarity inquired, frowning.

"Well… to cut a long story short, I don't know how he made the blade-type spell, nor why. But he wrote a diary when Fantasia and Mythos weren't separated. He somehow went to Fantasia and maybe crafted the spell there, then came back and wrote the book. When I found a copy of that book, I found a scroll with the spell inside it," Twilight replied, shaking her head. "And the funny thing is, one of our guests also knows the spell in question." At the indirect mention, Matt gulped and shuddered.

"That, and something another guest of ours told me… leads me to believe the barrier had been created sometime after Starswirl made his travels," Shining added, a firm frown set into his face. "To be honest, my head's still spinning from all of this information I am now aware of. We don't even know when Starswirl began travelling."

Applejack immediately interjected, turning to Zecora with a thoughtful look on her face, "Now why would you want a blade, Zecora? Hairs and feathers, I can sorta get, but blades just don't seem right."

Twilight answered for Zecora, "She… she found a wraith in the Everfree Forest, and—"

Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack cut her off in a unified shout, all screeching "What?!" in high-pitched ear-splitting volume. This caused Twilight to turn red in the visage on the spot.

"Let me finish, Faust-dammit!" Twilight shouted back with narrowed eyes, immediately and effectively silencing the whole room while drawing the attention of everyone in her immediate vicinity. She took a deep breath and fell onto her haunches, her visage turning to its usual lavender hue. "Sorry, got… carried away there."

"'s fine. We all tend to do that," Anna murmured, noticing a brief smile crossing Twilight's face before it fell.

"Anyway, Zecora has found a wraith—one who is legless. She wanted me to… er, painlessly send the wraith to the afterlife," Twilight finished, ears flicking violently.

"Which is where the wraith's mane comes in," Zecora started, noticing the eyes of the Fantasians and Shining turning back to her. "Since I found her, she suffered, and that's how it's been. But, I moved her to my home where she is safe and sound. Though to this life, she no longer wishes to be bound."

The group exchanged looks, before Katie decided to pipe up, "Did you decide that, or did she tell you?"

"She told me last night, before I went to rest. If you want to come to my hut and verify it, then be my guest," Zecora answered, turning her eye on the disguised wraith.

"I opt that we stay put and relax a while. If anything else, we can spend most of the day unwinding after what went down last night," Sarah interjected, garnering looks from everyone else in that moment.

"I dunno about you, but I'm kinda itching to explore town a bit," Armin piped up, spreading his wings. A few feathers fell off, revealing thin and translucent membrane beneath, only to be covered up when more feathers grew back in seconds thanks to a spark of green magic.

"Your shapeshifting spell's faltering already. I don't think you trotting outside of these walls is a good idea right yet," Anna remarked, garnering a sigh from the disguised changeling before he reverted to his natural form.

"Say, Matt, Anna, wanna trot around town a bit? My legs are starting to ache," Natalie said, garnering looks from the ponies she addressed.

In that moment, the cream-colored mare heard the sound of a stomach gurgling. Matt donned a sheepish grin. "I sure do—let's hope we can grab a bite to eat while we're out," he replied.

Anna nodded, a small smile framing her face. "Of course, we're probably gonna have to grab bites for anyone that doesn't want to run around town," she pointed out.

Natalie's mouth twitched up at the corners a bit. "We can do that—we're unicorns," she stated matter-of-factly.

Lance shifted to lay down, front legs folding under his chest. He let off a yawn. "Don't know about you, but I feel ready to drop," he mumbled, craning his neck to rest his head between his forelegs and closing his eyes. "You guys do whatever today; just let me know if anything went down after I wake up."

"Hey, we can show you three around town," Rainbow piped up, wings flaring wide. "Me, Applejack, and Rarity live here."

Matt's grin widened. "Oh really?" he asked.

"Yes, really," Rarity answered with a nod.

Zecora spoke up, "I really do need to hit the road, as unto you I do not wish to be such a load. Twilight, come with me, please; with your new spell, our task should be a breeze."

Twilight nodded. She turned to Spike. "Can you watch the library with Shining while I'm out? I really shouldn't be gone long," she stated.

"Well… should we hide the rest of the Fantasians while you're away?" Spike asked, a brow raised. "We could put them in the basement."

"Considering I find myself wanting to see the 'legless wraith' Zecora talked about, I think that would be a good idea," Shining sighed, turning to the general as he cracked an eye open. "But, it's simply not my place to make guests hide."

"'m fine with it, as long as I get a fucking nap," Lance mumbled, rising to stand and letting out another yawn. Shining nodded with his horn once more aglow, and he lifted up the table in his magic, revealing the staircase going down below. Katie took the first few steps down before tripping with a back leg landing in a decent-sized crack, prior to flipping inches above the stairs in a full 360 degrees, and landing before skidding down the flight on her ass.

As she skid with the grace of an inexperienced ballerina, the illusion broke a moment before she vanished from sight, followed by a pained and startled scream. Armin rushed in after her, letting loose a string of curses. He was followed shortly by Fenrir and Maria.

"If the wraith has sustained more than simple bruises, then I shall curse the flight of stairs that gave her whatever wounds she has accrued!" the diamond dog shouted as he ran down, only to trip himself and tumble down screeching as well. Sarah and Lance exchanged glances before tottering down themselves, but paused when they saw Maria ducking low, her body flush against a step.

"Big doggy slipped," the foal murmured. She stood up when Lance nodded with an exasperated sigh.

"And nearly ran you over doing so?" Sarah asked, frowning as Maria nodded.

"Oh, for the love of…" Alexander mumbled, flaring his wings and flapping madly. Becoming airborne, he wasted no time in flying over the general and the hippogryph, darting past them into the makeshift tunnel. NoLegs followed suit, rushing down with an alarmed yowl.

Shining closed the hole with the table after waiting for Sarah and Lance to exchange looks, shrug to one another, and descend the stairs. He briefly winced as another couple of cries rang out, though they were muffled by the table. "Okay, that looked painful…" he murmured, flinching again when a series of faint noises that sounded like objects falling and glass shattering echoed into the room.

Natalie released a groan and punctuated it with a heavy sigh, her smile fading as she shared a look with Shining before he lifted the table again. "Sounded painful, too. I'll check and see if she's alright and if she needs healing, and then we can head out," she sighed in exasperation, jumping into a gallop down the stairs and vanishing down the hole.

"I hope nothing got broken…" Twilight grumbled, also jumping down the flight and darting off in a gallop.

Harry let off a growl, catching Fluttershy's attention. "Oh? You want to go down there with them?" she asked. The bear nodded and released another growl. "Well, um, alright… I guess I can go down there with you and see what has and hasn't been broken." With that, the two followed Twilight down the stairs, followed by Angel. The rabbit paused before he shot Matt and Anna a look and gestured with his paw, and the two sighed and went down with him.

"Maybe we should go down there, too. At least, before things get too out of hoof," Rainbow groaned, flapping her wings and flying down the flight, leaving a prismatic trail that faded in her wake. Zecora, Shining, and Applejack sighed in unison, prior to following the pegasus in a single file line.

Rarity hesitated for a moment, and Zecora paused to turn around and motion with a hoof for her to follow. The ivory mare nodded and cautiously descended the flight, catching up to the zebra. As the group went onward, the table gently levitated down and neatly closed the hole behind them.

~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~-—-~

An hour or two passed that very same day, and Dazzle and Carrot stood in the room of the gingerbread building with the door that lead outside, both wiping thin layers of sweat off of their brows with their front hooves. On a nearby table that was perched near the window with the criss-cross pattern, a few basic breakfast platters were set up.

There was food on and around said platters, consisting of toast, eggs, some biscuits, two jars of rainbow-colored jam, and waffles, each of which gave off a different mouth-watering aroma. One plate had a pile of waffles stacked higher than they stood tall, topped off with a glob of chocolate ice cream, a few hefty dollops of whipped cream and plenty of syrup. To one side of the table, two baby seats stood, adorned with milk bottles and bowls of baby food.

"Heh, two hours of making breakfast and setting up the table paid off well, right, Dazzle?" Carrot asked, a wide grin on his face.

Dazzle nodded. "Oh, yes it sure does. I'm certain Pinkie will appreciate it," she replied, rising a hoof and holding it next to her muzzle. She took a deep breath. "Pinkie, breakfast!" she called out loud and clear in a sing-song tone, a smile on her face as she hollered. Her smile faded and her hoof fell when she was greeted with silence. "Strange. It's only…" Dazzle paused to look at a clock, noticing the minute hand on 12, and the hour hand on 11. "... eleven in the morning, and she's usually up and going down the stairs right now…"

"She did say she might collapse watching the foals last night. Maybe she's fallen asleep," Carrot replied, shooting Dazzle a concerned look.

"Could you go check up on her? I'm starting to get worried," Dazzle sighed, turning to Carrot.

"I can do that," Carrot replied with a nod, and he kissed Dazzle on the lips for a brief moment. Once he broke the kiss, he began trotting past her, briskly going around the register counter with the glass display case and going upstairs.

Carrot soon found himself in the hall, and he trotted down one end of it before stopping in front of a door and raising a hoof to open it. He leaned inside, donning a small smile at the sight of the babies in their crib, and Pinkie curled up on the floor next to them. The mare had a quilt covering her body and a pillow under her head. She also had a very frazzled mane, one that bordered on being thickly tangled, though she had a content look on her face as she dozed. "Pinkie Pie," he cooed, his comment causing the mare to stir a bit, but not fully awaken. "It's time for breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Pinkie's eyes snapped open and she shot up onto her hooves, the blanket sliding off of her body as the word 'breakfast' registered in her mind.

"Yes, breakfast," Carrot replied with a nod. "We have waffles with syrup and ice cream today. Oh, and could you wake up the foals and bring them downstairs for their breakfast, please?"

Pinkie nodded back. "Okie dokie lokie," she stated in a chipper voice, a smile creeping up on her face. Carrot retracted his head and vanished from sight, the sound of hooves hitting wood starting as he went before fading into silence. She whirled around and peered over the crib, finding that Pumpkin and Pound were already stirring awake and looking at her with languidly blinking eyes.

The babies blinked some more and started giggling as Pinkie scooped them up into her forelegs, flailing their hooves about as their current holder beamed at them. "Who wants milkie-wilkies?" Pinkie chirped, standing on her back legs with a foal in each foreleg, and Pumpkin and Pound giggled louder and flailed their limbs some more. The mare cantered out on her back legs and into the hall, striding down that and descending the flight of stairs, being careful enough to avoid dropping the babies in doing so.

She stopped on the last step, and took a whiff of the air. A sweet smell similar to cinnamon buns hung thickly, and it was a scent that gave her a sense of freshness and warmth. This smell was accompanied by a secondary scent of cocoa and milk, along with just a tiny hint of maple and honey. Her smile widened, and she darted past the counter before finding the table with the breakfast stuffs. Pinkie put the foals in the baby seats and watched as Carrot and Dazzle took up seats opposite of the foals, and she sat down in front of the waffle totem pole.

She turned to the table itself, spotting a fork and a knife, both utensils within hoof's reach. Pinkie picked them up, and bounced up from the chair to the top of the waffle mound. She thrust the fork into the top waffle and shoveled it into her face, ice cream and all, before landing back in her seat and chewing loudly without spilling a single drop of frozen milk, whipped cream or maple syrup. As soon as the waffle became mushy enough, she swallowed it before leaping up straight, snatching another waffle with her knife, and shoving it in before dropping back down. She did this with such speed it was a miracle she didn't choke.

Carrot and Dazzle slowly chewed their eggs and biscuits and toast, sometimes smearing rainbow-colored globs on the breads. They continued to watch with smiles on their faces as Pinkie repeated the process of jumping, snatching, and landing in her seat. They got done relatively quickly, because their portions, though moderate, were much smaller compared to the golden syrup tower that was rapidly losing parts. Carrot got done first, and went to the foals to help them eat their breakfast. The babies favored the milk over the baby food, though they ate the slush-type mush without much of a fuss.

Dazzle remained in her seat, watching with a content grin on her face as the waffles seemingly vanished off of the plate. Pinkie sat in her chair when she finished, a clean plate before her and her muzzle coated in a mess of crumbs and syrup. She licked her lips and patted her stomach with a hoof before burping loudly. "'Scuse me. That was great; thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," she chirped.

"Oh, it's nothing, dear," Dazzle replied, getting up from her seat and turning to the window. She halted immediately. "Um, Carrot… who's that stallion?" she asked.

Carrot finished feeding the foals and turned to the window. Outside, he saw a black-and-white form with a blond mane peering in with his hooves on the window and his face pressed against the pane, half-slanted eyelids and a frown on his face that was laced with small amounts of drool. "I don't know that pony," he murmured.

Pinkie also turned to the window and gaped. "Oh, I kinda made friends with him," she answered. Carrot and Dazzle turned to her, both raising brows. Pinkie elaborated, "Princess Celestia sent me to Fantasia some weeks ago, and he was the first one I befriended."

"Well, he looks like he's starving… maybe we should open up. It's about time, anyway," Carrot murmured, trying for a wobbly grin as he went to the counter. Dazzle nodded and cantered over to scoop up the foals, awkwardly walking to the kitchen on her rear legs. Both of the foals looked at Matt and waved their little hooves at him. Pinkie cleaned up the table, collecting the dishes and silverware and bottles before walking to the kitchen on her rear hooves.

Once inside, she strode to the sink and carefully maneuvered the dishes into its recesses before turning on the faucet, scooping an 'open' sign and darting right back to the room with the cash register and to the window. She hung the sign up in the window, making sure the 'open' faced out, and jumped to the door and pushed it outward with a hoof. Pinkie was instantly met by Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, who accompanied Natalie, Anna, and the still-drooling Matt.

Dash chortled, rolling her eyes at the half-Clydesdale stallion. "Say, Pinkie, what'd you eat to make him start gushing rivers from his mouth?" she joked.

"A waffle tower with syrup and ice cream," Pinkie answered with a shrug. "Come inside, everypony, there's more than waffles here!" With that, she bounced back inside, followed by her companions and the trio of Fantasians.

Natalie took in the interior's decor, and a content smile spread on her face. She approached the register's perch, but stopped when a pair of giggling noises hit her ears. She looked around, then down, to find Pumpkin and Pound at her hooves, looking up at her with happy grins on their faces. "Oh, hello there," she stated in a friendly tone. "What are you two doing?"

"Oh, they're just being foals," Pinkie answered, her remark causing the infants to turn away from the Fantasian and to her. They tottered over and sat in front of the pink mare's hooves, giggling at Pinkie when she shot them a smile. She turned to Matt, who wiped his muzzle with a hoof and nodded to the babies.

Anna, on the other hoof, cringed at the mere sight of them, though she did smile at the infants nonetheless. She laughed nervously when Pinkie turned her gaze on her. "Um…" she stopped as the foals galloped to her with giggles, though their noises ceased when they actually reached her. Pumpkin and Pound looked at the archer for a moment, as if wary, before they started giggling again. Tiny wings flapped and lifted their owner, and an equally small horn glowed and caused its owner to levitate.

Anna flinched as the foals rose up with magic and wings to meet her at eye level. "Oh, um… wow. These guys are already, um…" she trailed off again as both foals booped her on the nose and babbled in unison.

"They're just having flight and magic bursts. They tend to do that," Pinkie chimed, bouncing over and grabbing the foals with her front hooves. Pumpkin and Pound giggled again, shooting innocent grins at Anna.

Anna nodded back and trotted around Pinkie and the babies, making her way to Natalie's side in an instant. The two exchanged looks and turned to the glass display case, noticing the various baked goods and candies strewn out behind the clear panes for the day. "Those look really well made," the green-maned mare noted, starting to drool from the corners of her mouth.

"Made by hoof, and with plenty of love," Carrot replied, his wobbly smile morphing into a genuine one. "So, what will you ponies be having this dandy morning?"

Matt trotted up to meet with his companions, grinning. "Say, what's that rainbow-colored stuff you had in those jars? I'd like some of that," he stated.

Carrot shook his head. "Sorry, but those are personal jars. That was zap apple jam, and I'm not the pony who makes the stuff," he replied. "But, if you want a pastry with that as the frosting or a filling, I think I could work something out."

"Then… who is the pony that makes the stuff?" Natalie asked, raising a brow.

Carrot gestured to Applejack with a hoof, and the trio of Fantasians turned to the orange mare as he said rather casually, "Standing right there."

Applejack slyly grinned at them. "Don't you worry none; I'll let y'all have a few jars next week," she stated in a chipper tone. The trio of unicorns exchanged looks, nodded, and turned back to Carrot.

"I think I'd like… that one," Anna stated, pointing a hoof at a chocolate cake adorned with whipped cream and shards of chocolate jutting out of the dessert's top.

"That one, please," Natalie chimed, using her hoof to gesture to a platter of hor d'oeuvres that consisted of apple slices and small, seemingly-glimmering magenta berries surrounding what appeared to be a ramekin filled with caramel.

"Maybe something like what she wants," Matt began, using a hoof to gesture to the cake Anna wanted, "except with a rainbow jam filling."

"For here, or to-go?" Carrot asked, grinning.

"To-go, please," Natalie replied with a smile.

"Alright, it'll be done… in a few hours." At the disappointed sighs the Fantasians gave, Carrot added, "Sorry, cakes take time to bake. You could explore other food joints around Ponyville in the meantime; after all, this isn't the only store here." The trio brightened a bit and nodded in understanding. When Carrot nodded back to them and retreated into the kitchen, Natalie turned to Rarity and the other Mythonian mares, who were chatting amiably while they made their order.

Pinkie gasped, and Pumpkin and Pound made soft whinnies as she did so. "Wait, so Twilight learned a new spell?" she asked.

"Well, yes, but she didn't show us until our little pale changeling and diamond dog crashed in the basement," Applejack answered, sighing heavily. "And before you ask, no, they didn't get badly hurt."

"I'm glad the wraith and Fenrir are alright. And who'd Twilight learn the spell from? What book?" Pinkie continued, shaking in place. Her jittery motions caused the foals in her forelegs to jump ship and land on the floor safely, tottering off elsewhere while giggling.

"Starswirl the Bearded," Rainbow Dash replied, rolling her eyes with a huff. "At least, that's what she said."

"S-Stars-swirl? Tha-that's super! S-so, wh-what do w-we do n-n-now?" Pinkie continued in a quavering voice, still shaking—this time, though, her jittering increased such that her mane bobbed up and down rapidly with the rest of her.

"Um, Pinkie, are you alright? You've just started convulsing all of a sudden…" Rarity murmured, and as if her words broke a spell, Pinkie ceased shaking on the spot. The ivory mare turned to the counter and gasped, seeing that Pumpkin had somehow clambered onto it. The baby's horn lit up in a pale blue aura, which embraced the cash register—and promptly tipped it over. While it fell to the floor and landed on its back, its cash drawer did not open, and the hard thump brought Dazzle galloping from the kitchen.

The noise also startled everypony else, who whirled around in unison to the source. Pumpkin smiled at the group and giggled in glee, before grabbing the register in her magic again and lifting it up. Pinkie rushed over and snatched it out of the air, while Dazzle scooped up the baby at the same time. "Ah, ah, ah, no playing with the register," the blue-coated earth pony reprimanded in a motherly tone. Pumpkin turned to her and smiled innocently, waving her hooves and barely noticing Pinkie as she put the register where it was before.

"As much as I'd like to stick around and help cooking, I think I'm gonna have to help my Fantasian buddies with… whatever it is they want," Pinkie chirped, taking a moment to pat Pumpkin on the head. "Now, be a good widdle Pumpkin-wumpkin while your Pinkie-winkie's gone," she cooed. The baby giggled, and Dazzle smiled with a nod.

"Just be sure to remind them to pick up their orders while you're out," Dazzle chirped as Pinkie cantered over to Natalie.

"Can do!" Pinkie called over her shoulder, motioning for the Fantasians to leave the building. The trio obliged and trotted out the door, followed by Rarity and the other Mythonians. Once they were in the street, the pink mare asked, "So, what are you guys up to?"

"Us?" Matt questioned, using a hoof to gesture to himself, Natalie, and Anna. When Pinkie nodded, he replied, "Well, that orange-maned stallion told us to hit another food joint, since our cakes will be a while anyway."

Pinkie beamed, and she hopped over to stand next to the half-Clydesdale on her back legs. She wrapped a foreleg around his neck and said, "I know a few good spots! Just stick with me!"