"Wake up.", whispered Pinkie Pie to Twilight, who was still sleeping. "Hey... hey, wake up!"

  Twilight just moved to the side, and kept sleeping.

  "WAKE UP! This is Pinkie Pie, and I'm your wake up call! WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!"

  Twilight got up and found the Luna Moona statue beside her, shattered to pieces. She then kissed Pinkie Pie's cheek. She deserved it, after all.

  "Hee hee, you're welcome!", said Pinkie, blushing a little.

  "Is everyone awake?", asked Twilight.

  "Yep. Everyone's here.", said Spike.

  "Holy sock puppet in a sausage factory!", exclaimed Derpy. "Did you see that scary ol' fella?"

  "Please do not remind me of it.", said Twilight.

  "Well, you better prepare yourself, Twilight.", said Pinkie. "According to the logic of fiction, we are definitely going to see it again."

  "... what are you talking about?", asked Trixie.

  "Nothing... nothing.", said Pinkie. She knew too much.

  "I think we should go save Fluttershy now.", said Twilight.

  "How are we going to do that?", asked Spike. "Even though Monotoli isn't evil anymore, Snips is still there."

  "Well, if he's really a good guy, he's already fired him."

  "I don't know, Twilight...", said Trixie. "... Snips was smart enough to stop you from going to the last floor. Maybe he bribed the elevator guards."

  "... you're right. And I can't use my magic to blow them away. That would just be immoral. What are we going to do?"

  "How about we get out of this place first?", asked Derpy, feeling claustrophobic once again.

  As the group exited the café, it was almost nighttime. It looked like they had slept a little too much. At least everything made sense that time... except for Pinkie Pie and her twitchy tail, which caused her to go look for someplace to hide.

  "Pinkie, what are you doing?", asked Twilight.

  "My tail!", said Pinkie Pie. "It's getting all twitchy, and that means that something is going to fall from the sky at any moment!"

  "Pinkie, that doesn't make any sense at all.", said Trixie, before Photo-Finish fell down from the sky again, with Angel Bunny on her back.

  "Told ya!"

  "How does she even survive that fall?", asked Spike to himself.

  "I'm not here to take photos.", said Photo-Finish. "Angel has an important message."

  Angel took out a notebook and a pen, and started writing. He was in a hurry, since the moon was already out, and he needed his naptime. He then delivered it to Twilight, and asked her to read it.

  Twist asked me to notify you that she has just come up with another invention. It's called the "Gourmet Yogurt Machine". It's supposed to make many different flavors of yogurt. But it can only make trout-flavored yogurt.

  "Sounds... nice.", said Twilight. "Where is it?"

  Read the other stuff., "said" Angel with a gesture.

  On my way to delivering it to you, I ended up forgetting it back at the desert. I'm not going back that way, so don't ask me to get that package. I mean... it's your package, right? So YOU go get it. Love, Angel.

  "... fuck you, Angel."

  Hey, no need to get offensive., "said" Angel. He had a very special talent in communicating with hand gestures and facial expressions. I WOULD get it for you, if it weren't so late. Wait a minute... where the heck is Fluttershy?!

  "... I think he just realized that Fluttershy's not here.", whispered Trixie to Twilight's ear.

  "Oh, don't worry.", said Twilight. "Fluttershy's not here... but she's doing just fine, don't worry."

  Look, I can't stand living with Twist anymore! She stays up all night, working on her stupid inventions, and I keep having these bags under my eyes! *cue Spongebob-style close-up*

  "That... looks pretty hideous. Why don't you just go live at Silver Spoon's place? Fluttershy won't be home for quite a while."

  At least Twist gives me food. Silver Spoon is too busy trying to find a way to change boiled eggs back into raw eggs... I suppose I can stand a few more days.

  "Right, Angel Bunny.", said Photo-Finish. "I'm done taking photos. We must go home."

  You were taking photos? Anyway, sorry for all the trouble I caused you. It's not my fault.

  "... it's not that bad.", said Twilight. "Do you, at least, know where you left it?"

  Nope. Sorry. Gotta go. Photo-Finish then took off to Ponyville.

  "Great. Just great."

  "Can't be that bad.", said Trixie. At that moment, a monkey teleported out of nowhere. Random, I know, but hey.

  "Um... hello there?", said Twilight.

  Hello! Hello hello hello!, "said" the monkey, through telepathy. I can't remember if we've met... Talah Rama just finished fasting, and wants to meet you at the west end of the Dusty Dunes Desert, in a cave with lots of monkeys.

  "Um... sure, we'll be there. Is that all?"

  Yep. The monkey then teleported out of there.

  "Huh... a teleporting monkey.", said Spike. "Now I've seen everything."

  "Of course you haven't, silly.", said Pinkie Pie. "You're still a baby dragon, there are lots of things you haven't seen yet!"

  "I was just-- ugh, nevermind. I guess we should go to the desert then."

  "Did someone say the words 'trout' and 'yogurt' in the same sentence?", asked Monotoli's maid, who just came out of nowhere.

  "Um... yeah.", said Twilight. "Trout-flavored yogurt. Yeah, we said that."

  "I'm a maid who serves Mr. Monotoli, and I'm looking for trout-flavored yogurt to give to our special guest."

  "You mean Fluttershy?"

  "Oh, that's her name? She's so sweet and understanding... when Monotoli turned back to normal, he begged her for an apology, and she didn't even get mad, she just forgave him and went to sleep. I asked her what flavor of yogurt she liked the most, and she said 'trout flavor'. So, I'm here. Isn't she the sweetest?"

  "Yep. Definitely Fluttershy.", said Derpy. "Um... we don't have the machine with us right now, but we're on our way to get it back."

  "When you get it back, please talk to me. I'll be in my room at the 48th floor."

  "But... how about the guards?", asked Trixie.

  "I told Monotoli about the whole bribery thing. They're both fired. The elevator didn't need that much protection anyway."

  "Thank you so much!", said Twilight. "We'll get the machine back as soon as possible!"

  "Don't leave your friend waiting!", said the maid, followed by a giggle.

  At the desert, since it was nighttime, the group of ponies had a really hard time, struggling through the cold, so they had to walk extremely close to one another. Derpy liked it better that way, though. Much better than the burning sun. Eventually, they spotted a cave near the rocks. There was a monkey outside, waving for them to get inside. They obliged.

  Pretty cold outside, huh?, "said" the monkey.

  Not really., "said" Derpy. She and Twilight were the only ones who could use telepathy.

  "Where's Talah Rama?", asked Twilight.

  I'd tell you if you gave me a Skip Sandwich., "said" the monkey.

  "I suppose I have one in my bag..."

  Twilight searched for a Skip Sandwich in her bag, eventually finding one.

  "Here you go."

  A Skip Sandwich! This way, ladies... and dragon.

  "Darn right.", said Spike.

  The monkey led the group through one of the most confusing mazes they have ever seen. Derpy felt lucky, since she didn't have to figure anything out that time. Just follow the others.

  Eventually, the monkey introduced the group to Talah Rama, the leader of the monkey tribe.

  Talah Rama, these are the ones., "said" the monkey.

  "Good job on finding them, Monkicus.", said Talah Rama. "You must be wondering why I'm here."

  "Well, yeah...", said Twilight.

  "The truth of space and time moves through the universe like a wave... truth speaks through space and matter and makes itself known to ponies all over Equestria. I was waiting for you, and you came. It was destined to happen. In truth, all is pre-determined... Twilight Sparkle, Spike the baby dragon, the Great and Powerful Trixie, Derpy Hooves, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. When all of your powers gather, twisted space will bring peace back to the world. Do you understand?"

  "Well..."

  "It doesn't matter. Proceed as you wish... are you looking for this?"

  Talah Rama pulled out the yogurt machine, and Twilight took it before he could even declare it as given.

  "The adventure that lies ahead won't be easy. I'll give you a special skill that lets you move through time and space as you wish. Learn it from that monkey over there... would you like to learn this special power?"

  "Sounds fun!", said Pinkie Pie.

  "And practical.", said Twilight. "Alright, we're ready."

  Outside, at the desert, the night was colder than ever. It was so cold it made the ponies sick. Nothing they couldn't handle, though.

  OK, I'll do a teacher's demonstration. Stand back., "said" the monkey. He then concentrated and teleported all the way to Manehattan, and then teleported back.

  "That was cool!", exclaimed Spike.

  "But... how did you do it?", asked Twilight.

  It's easy. Just concentrate, think about the place you want to go, and release your magic. The magic should be concentrated on that determined place, and not on anything else. Got it?

  "Got it. Thank you."

  Care for a demonstration?

  Twilight did as she was told, and teleported to Canterlot, and then back.

  "I did it!"

  Easy, isn't it? Now, I gotta go., the monkey went back to his home.

  "Now, we got the yogurt machine AND we know how to teleport.", said Trixie. "Could this get any better?"

  "Fluttershy could be here now.", reminded Pinkie Pie.

  "Yeah, but we're off to rescue her now! Everyone, cheer up! Let's go back to Manehattan!"

  The group teleported back to Manehattan, near the Monotoli building, where the maid was waiting for them outside.

  "I kept asking for trout yogurt everywhere, but no one's ever heard of it.", said the maid. "Maybe it's a different culture..."

  "Yes it is.", said Pinkie Pie. "I've tasted it before, and I know why Fluttershy loves it so much!"

  "... have you got the machine with you?"

  "Yep. Here it is.", said Twilight, pulling out the yogurt dispenser. The maid took it before she could even see what it was like.

  "Thank you so very very very much!", said the maid. "Now I can make trout yogurt for my guests! I'll make some for you too."

  "That would be great. Thanks for the invitation."

  At the elevator to the 47th floor, Twilight noticed that the big-haunched mare was a little afraid of her.

  "Ooh hey, sorry for that.", pretended Twilight. "I caught myself staring at your haunches again... sorry."

  "... you better be.", said the mare, pretending along.

  The group then exited the elevator, straight to the other one, which had no guards that time, for Twilight's relief.

  "Shhh! Quiet!", said the elevator mare. "Aren't you Twilight Sparkle?"

  Twilight nodded proudly.

  "Mr. Monotoli's maid, Electra, told me about you. Are those your friends?"

  "Yes, they are. Can they go along?"

  "Of course!"

  On the 48th floor, the first thing that the group saw was a small, cute robot.

  "Aww, look at him!", said Pinkie Pie. "Such a cute little fella!"

  "DON'T KNOW YOU.", said the robot. "INTRUDER. MUST ELIMINATE."

  "Um... I think you got the wrong idea.", said Twilight. "We're friends."

  "LIARS DETECTED. MUST ELIMINATE."

  The robot fired out a missile at them. He really sounded like he wanted to kill them.

  "MISSILE FIRED. LOW FUEL. FEEDING TIME."

  He took out a bologna sandwich and started eating it. Twilight tried entering the door to Electra's room, but the robot had locked it. When he was finished, he was getting ready to fire another missile, when he suddenly blacked out and fell to the ground. Twilight opened her eyes, to find Vinyl in the room.

  "Looks like I got you out of some real trouble.", said Vinyl, winking at Twilight.

  "Vinyl? What are you doing here?", said Twilight. She could hear a really distant voice saying "Vinyl is here?".

  "I saw you entering the Monotoli building, and talking to Electra. I remember the last time I came here, to take care of show-preparing business. Then this pile of scrap came out of nowhere and attacked me. If Electra weren't here at that time, I probably would've died. He's Monotoli's pet, but Monotoli doesn't know that he keeps trying to kill everyone. Well, I knew that you would face the same problem, and I decided to save you and your friends' lives, as a way of saying thank you."

  "Thank you, thank you, thank you!", said Twilight, hugging Vinyl with all of her strength. "If it weren't for you, we'd be dead, and the world would be doomed in the hands of Discord! But thanks to you... I... I don't know how to say it... we owe it all to you!"

  "Just the hug would be fine.", said Vinyl, blushing a little. "Now, go save your friend, Twilight! I'm sure she's desperate to come back to your group!"

  "I will! Thank you, Vinyl! Thank you VERY much!"

  As the group bust through the door to Monotoli's office, they instantly spotted Fluttershy, zooming like lightning in their direction, hugging everyone with all of her strength.

  "I knew you would come soon!", said Fluttershy, with tears in her eyes. "You don't know how much I miss you guys!"

  "Now, about you...", said Twilight, walking over to Monotoli.

  "No, please! I give up! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!", begged Monotoli.

  "Twilight, it's not his fault.", said Fluttershy. "Listen to what he has to say."

  "... the Luna Moona statue creates an illusion. It attracts evil spirits and weakens your heart. The power scared me so much, I hid the statue in the warehouse at Jackie's Café. I often went there to pray... cryptic words appeared to me while I was in the illusion. Twilight, your name appeared in the cryptic messages."

  "What did they say?"

  "They told me to stop you from going to Sunland... and not let you know anything about the pyramid."

  "Twilight, looks like they don't want us to go to Sunland!", said Pinkie Pie. "Looks like they'd be in real trouble if we actually went there. So, I think we definitely should go to Sunland, especially because they don't want us to go there!"

  "You're right, Pinkie!", said Twilight.

  "You can use my helicopter.", said Monotoli. "I'll open the door to my heliport. Fluttershy, it's time we said goodbye. Take care."

  "I will. Tell Electra that I'm really thankful for the trout yogurt."

  "I will."

  At the heliport, the helicopter looked pretty fancy. Didn't have a lot of space, but it was still pretty fancy. However, the head of a certain pony appeared on the window. That pony was none other than... you know.

  "SNIPS?!", said Twilight.

  "Twilight, you pin-headed idiot!", said Snips. "You were half a step too slow! I'm gettin' outta here! Monotoli has no more use for me, and this helicopter would really come in handy."

  Snips went away with the helicopter, laughing at Twilight's red, angry face. Looked like she was the world-class loser again.

  "... you motherfucker.", said Twilight. "Oh well. Looks like we'll have to find another way..."

  "I know!", said Derpy. "Do you remember when we first met?"

  "At the dungeon back in Spooktown? Yeah, you came in a strange ship thingy."

  "Well, I can fix it, so it can take us back to Winters! My father lives there, and he can offer us a great help."

  "Who's your father, Derpy?"

  "Why, none other than Dr. Peanuts, of course."

  "Dr. Peanuts?", said Trixie. "He's, like, the smartest pony in Equestria!"

  "Yeah, I heard about him.", said Twilight. "Derpy, you sure are one lucky fella!"

  "Indeed...", said Derpy.

  "Alright, everyone. Let's go back to Spooktown."

  The ponies went down to the ground floor, to find Vinyl waiting outside.

  "Hey, Twilight.", said Vinyl. "You're going somewhere?"

  "Yeah, we're going to Spooktown.", said Twilight.

  "For what reason?"

  "We're going to fix Derpy's ship so she can take us back to Ice Cube Land, and then reprogram it to take us to Sunland."

  "Oh... can I take you to Spooktown?"

  "I appreciate your help, but we... don't need it right now."

  "Please! I see you'll start going through a lot of new, distant places, and this might be the last time I can see you during your adventure! Think of this as a goodbye party!"

  "Well, if you insist..."

  While the group didn't arrive at Spooktown, Pinkie Pie decided to play some games with Derpy and Spike. Trixie and Fluttershy kept talking about random stuff, while Twilight was at the seat beside Vinyl's, and they talked about Vinyl's music and Twilight's adventure. When they did arrive, the town wasn't much different than the last time.

  "Yay, this place again!", said Fluttershy, spotting all the cute friendly ghosts.

  "We won't be here for long.", said Twilight. "We'll just fix Derpy's ship and get out of here."

  "Awww..."

  Down at the graveyard, some ponies were already doing their last touches on rebuilding the Sky Walker. It looked even better than the first version.

  "Oh, hello there.", said one of the ponies. "We saw your crash landing a few days ago, and decided to fix it while you were away. We have a nice hobby of fixing everything we come by for no good reason."

  "Well... thanks, guys!", said Derpy. "We don't even know you!"

  "You don't have to.", said the other pony. "As soon as you came out of the dungeon, me and my friend here decided to pay you a favor, since you're going to save the world, and all."

  "Who told you that?"

  "We saw it in your eyes. You look really determined to save Equestria from something really evil."

  "Hey, we're done!", said the other pony. "The Sky Walker is complete!"

  "Thank you, guys! Thanks for the help!", said Twilight.

  "You're welcome. You're helping us out even more."

  The ponies did a really good job on fixing the Sky Walker. It didn't even make a single noise, while on its way through the Dusty Dunes Desert and the city of Manehattan. Eventually, the ship flew above the beautiful Ice Cube Land. The whole group was amazed at the sight of it. It was something they had never seen before. They have heard of a snowy land far, far away, but they never knew it was true. It was simply amazing. Eventually, the ship returned to its home at Dr. Peanuts's lab.

  "Derpy!", said Dr. Peanuts. "You came back... earlier than I thought."

  "Sorry, daddy...", said Derpy. "... but I'm not staying here for long. We just want you to do us a favor."

  "Oh... well... what can I do to help you?"

  "Well, you see..."

  "Doctor!", exclaimed Trixie, as she jumped on top of him. "I'm your biggest fan!"

  "Hehe, thanks.", said Dr. Peanuts. "Now, please get off me."

  "Oh, sorry."

  "Ahem... as I was saying...", said Derpy. "... we need you to reprogram the Sky Walker, so it can take us all the way to Sunland."

  "What are you planning to do there?", asked Peanuts. "... oh wait... Derpy! You didn't even introduce me to your friends!"

  "Oh yeah, sorry about that. Um... this is Twilight Sparkle. She's the chosen one, and that's quite enough to know."

  "Pleased to meet you!", said Twilight, shaking Dr. Peanuts's hoof.

  "This is the Great and Powerful Trixie. She's a nice friend, and makes great use of her magic."

  Trixie was hopping in place, giggling excitedly.

  "She's also a big fan of yours, as you can see. This is Fluttershy. She's the one who actually got me involved into this."

  "Hi...", said Fluttershy.

  "This is Pinkie Pie. She's usually kind of wacky, but sometimes she proves to be really smart."

  "That's true!", said Pinkie Pie. "Like that time when we were at this crazy-dazy place, and everything made no sense, black was white, up was down, short was long, yes was no, and we were all like lost and..."

  "Okay, that's enough. This is Spike, Twilight's assistant. He doesn't stand out very much, but he can kick butt like no one else."

  "Darn right.", said Spike.

  "And I'm Derpy Hooves, daughter of the smartest pony in Equestria, Dr. Peanuts.", said Derpy, hugging her father with appreciation.

  "Awww...", said Pinkie Pie.

  "Okay, Derpy, that's enough.", said Dr. Peanuts. "Stop it before I start crying again."

  "Sure thing, daddy.", said Derpy.

  "Well... it's gonna take a little while for me to remodel the Sky Walker. Derpy, why don't you give your friends a small tour guide while I'm not finished?"

  "Good idea, daddy!... hey, that reminds me of something! Twilight, there's something I want you to see!"

  "Here it is!", said Derpy, while the group felt amazed by the beautiful scenery that is the Rainy Circle. "It may look like a regular ol' water puddle, but what makes it so beautiful is the cloud above it, raining its endless content down to the floor."

  "Derpy, it's beautiful!", said Twilight. "... I feel like singing."

  Twilight tried to sing that song, the one that was so important. She only sang half of it, though.

  "*sigh* Why is this song so hard to learn?", said Twilight. She could usually memorize a song just by hearing it three or four times, let alone a short song like that one.

  "Well, it does have special purposes.", said Trixie. "Maybe you're supposed to learn it really slowly."

  "Well... at least I remember half of it."

  "Twilight...", said Fluttershy. "... could we take a small break for a while, and rest here? I mean, this place looks so relaxing..."

  "I think we can stay here for a few minutes."

  The whole group fell to a shallow sleep, while remembering all the wonderful times they spent together, along with all the difficulties that were waiting for them.

-------------------------------------------------------

  When Twilight woke up, the sun was already out. Looks they had slept a little too much. Good for them, anyway, but Dr. Peanuts was waiting.

  "Hey, Fluttershy, wake up!", said Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy and Spike were the only ones sleeping. "We gotta go back to the lab!"

  Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and yawned, while poking quietly on Spike's shoulder.

  "Uh... oh right. Peanuts. Got it.", said Spike.

  Back at Peanuts's lab, the doctor was sleeping on the table, looking really tired.

  "Poor daddy.", said Derpy. "He must've worked all night..."

  "Nuh, I fine, I'm fine...", mumbled Dr. Peanuts. "The Zgy Waller... itz dun... go to sun..."

  "Just rest here, daddy. We'll take care of the rest. Goodbye."

  Derpy then pecked her father's cheek, and led the way to the Sky Walker.

  "Next stop: Sunland!", exclaimed Derpy, while the Sky Walker took off to the skies.

-------------------------------------------------------

  Arriving at Sunland, the Sky Walker decided to crack up again. This time, it seemed worse than before.

  "Alright, everyone, don't panic.", said Derpy. "We are not going to die. Stay calm."

  Fluttershy was breathing heavily, panic flowing through her veins.

  "The most we're going to suffer is a slight misorientation.", said Twilight. "Nothing too serious."

  The Sky Walker flew above the Sunland beach, and decided to crash land on the seashore.

  "Yeah... this time, looks like there's no way to get it back.", said Derpy, watching as the remaining Sky Walker pieces were stolen by the waves of the sea.

  "Is everyone alright?", said Trixie.

  "Ah ha ha...", laughed Fluttershy. "... ha ha! HAHAHA! HAHAHAHA! Aah..."

  "No need to flip out. Everyone's fine, it seems.", said Twilight. "Snips must have been here recently."

  "What will we do now?", asked Spike.

  "I think we should go to some kind of pyramid?", said Fluttershy. "Like Monotoli said."

  "How will we go to the desert?", said Derpy. "Snips stole the helicopter, and maybe he'll get there before us."

  "Well, I don't freaking care if Snips was there or not.", said Twilight. "He probably doesn't know anything about the pyramid."

  "Let's ask for information.", said Derpy.

  While asking around for information, the group eventually reached the small city of Toto. They saw a few boats they could use to get across the ocean. Near them was a sailor pony, who apparently was taking care of the whole sea-crossing business.

  "Excuse me, sir...", said Twilight. "... could we rent one of your boats?"

  "Oh... sorry, we're closed.", said the sailor.

  "For what reason, may I ask? I mean, it's four in the afternoon."

  "I don't feel like sending a ship out. I'm worried about my wife... I'm not afraid of the Kraken!"

  "Why? What's happened to her?"

  "She's completely ignored her Magic Cake business. These days, she spends her time hanging out at a strange club. We no longer have mutual interests to discuss. Our relationship is starting to end... *sigh*"

  "Magic Cake?", said Derpy. "What's so important about it?"

  "Well, you see... it contains special powers, sort of. And it also tastes really good."

  "Looks tasty!", said Pinkie Pie. "Where is that strange club, so we can talk to your wife?"

  "It's over there, a couple blocks down the street. To enter it, though, you gotta make a reservation by phone. Do you know the number?"

  "Well, of course not.", said Twilight. "Can you give it?"

  "Here it is, the phone number to the Stoic Club, a couple blocks down the street: 555-1337. Make sure you write it down."

  "Don't worry. Now, could you tell me where to find an actual phone?"

  "I got one right here.", the sailor pulls out a receiver phone from his suit's pocket. Twilight took it and called the number.

  Hello, this is the Stoic Club., said the club's receptionist. Do you want to make a reservation?

  "Um... yeah, I would.", said Twilight.

  Name, please?

  "Twilight Sparkle."

  ... a-any friends you'd like to take along?

  "Yes."

  How many?

  "Five... isn't it?... yeah, five friends."

  Okay... hey, aren't you Twilight Sparkle, the one who's looking to saving the world, or something?

  "Yeah, that's me!"

  We're really looking forward to having you here! Just think of all the hype this is going to bring! Thank you, and have a nice day.

  "You too."

  *hangs up*

  "Well, everypony... looks like we've got a reservation!"

  "Would you convince my wife to stop with all that nonsense and keep making her fabulous Magic Cake?", asked the sailor.

  "If it's so important to you... sure."

  "Aww, thanks! You really are heroes!"

  A couple blocks away wasn't a huge distance. Just some ten minutes of walking, and that's it. What made it last so long is the burning sunlight, at least colder than the Dusty Dunes Desert.

  "Looks like we're starting to get famous.", said Spike.

  "I don't know if this is a good thing or not...", said Twilight. "It could mean more bad guys."

  "Or good guys!", said Pinkie Pie, always optimistic. "So they can help us fight the bad guys!"

  "Well, here we are.", said Trixie. "The Stoic Club... looks pretty fancy."

  "Well, what are we waiting for?", said Spike. "Let's go inside!" He then ran to the door.

  "Ladies first!", yelled Pinkie Pie, as Spike was getting really close to the door. He turned around as soon as possible, while the other ones giggled.

  "Not trickin' me this time."

  "Oh, come on, Spike!", said Pinkie. "It's just a joke, after all!"

  The Stoic Club was the classiest-looking place the ponies have ever seen. It was so fancy it put Canterlot AND Manehattan to shame. And apparently, all the members did was look at rocks and talk about intellectually-nonsensical stuff. However, Derpy overheard an interesting conversation:

  - "How I'd like to eat some Magic Cake..."

  - "I know, right? It's absolutely delicious. Too bad the only woman who can make it is now rotting in this club, thinking about the absolute irony and study of self-notification, and blah blah blah..."

  - "I thought this club was only for interesting people? These people are so lame!"

  - "Well, even though you are right, there are still some interesting ponies around here... like that purple unicorn right over there."

  - "Ho ho, dude, did I hear right?

  - "What? It's not like you never fell in love before."

  - "Well, what you waitin' for? Go ask her out! She looks single to me!"

  Derpy went back to Twilight, after hearing some other parts of the conversation I'd rather not point out.

  "Commander Twilight.", said Derpy. "I did some research, and I found out that the target is in this club. Over."

  "Derpy, were you spying on other people's conversations again?", said Twilight. "You're not a secret agent."

  "I'm not? Oh, yeah, I'm not. Anyway, the Magic Baker is in this club. Just thought I'd warn you."

  "... that's nice to know. Now, we just gotta find out which one is the baker."

  "Oh yeah, and somepony here has got his fancies on you." Derpy winked and knocked Twilight with her elbow.

  "Really?... tell you what: why don't you go there and um... try to... find out who's the baker here?"

  "You want me to spy on them?"

  "That is your mission."

  "As you wish, Commander Twilight! I won't let you down!"

  Derpy sneaked through the crowd, trying to be the pony counterpart of Solid Snake. She found a cardboard box in a random corner, and hid under it, and crawled to the two conversating stallions.

  - "Well, if you don't ask her out, you might never see her again. Even though she looks kinda familiar..."

  - "Well, maybe she's not the one for me."

  - "She's not even THAT pretty. That pink one is much prettier."

  - "You're out of luck. That baby dragon talking to her is probably her boyfriend."

  - "Dang it..."

  - "Besides, she's the ugliest of them all. The blue unicorn, on the other hoof..."

  - "I don't think she'd date somepony like us."

  - "I guess you're right... hey, what's this cardboard box with eyes doing here?"

  *!!!* "I give up!", said Derpy, surrendering like a real soldier.

  "Hey, we don't mind it at all, miss.", said one of the conversators.

  "Hehehe... anyway... I miss some Magic Cake... don't you?", said Derpy.

  "I know, right?", said the other conversator. "It felt like rainbows in my mouth, man!"

  "Do you know who's responsible for the wonderful treat that is the Magic Cake?"

  "Yeah, she's right over there."

  "Thanks."

  "By the way, you look pretty cute.", said one of them. "Wanna go out?"

  "Oh, sorry... I'm already taken."

  Derpy went back to the cardboard box, and sneaked into the crowd, back to Commander Twilight.

  "Target acquired, Commander Twilight!", said Derpy. "She's right over there!"

  "Good. Thank you, Agent Derpy. *giggle* Anyway... did they say anything more?"

  "Wha-- oh yeah... they said you looked familiar."

  "Oh... okay. Anyway, I think we should go to talk to her then."

  "Excuse me...", said Twilight. "... wanna talk?"

  "I'm sure we will have a delightful time.", said the baker.

  "Um... how are you doing?"

  "Finer than I've ever been. I've finally awakened the inner me, the true self. The patrons of this club are able to stare into their own soul hard enough to burn a hole in their psyche. I'm now comfortable enough to stare at the real me, the true self, and burn the impression into my super-ego. I want to be in this comfort zone at any time, all the time or at no time. My id is telling me--"

  "Okay, okay, sorry to interrupt, I heard that you're the one who makes Magic Cakes... am I right?"

  "... what? Magic Cake? You came all this way just to eat my Magic Cake?!"

  "... yeah."

  "I see... okay. Why don't you stop by a little cart on the beach later?"

  "Thank you. We never actually tasted your Magic Cake, and since we're here, we might as well try it..."

  "I understand... you didn't even get what I was talking about, did you?"

  "... no."

  "I understand that too. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. You're still a teenager, so it's normal to get bored with this kind of stuff. Now, I gotta go bake the cake."

  "It's done.", said the baker. "Now, which one of you will taste it first?"

  "Me!", said Pinkie Pie. "Me me me me me me me!"

  "Okay, here you go..."

  Pinkie Pie took a piece of the Magic Cake and devoured it in one bite.

  "... delicious! But I don't feel so right..."

  "That's when the magic comes in."

  After everyone tasted the cake, they could agree with Pinkie: the cake was delicious. However, they didn't feel so right.

  "I feel so sleepy right now...", said Derpy, before falling to the floor.

  "Derpy!", said Spike. "What's happening?"

  "Don't panic, guys.", said the baker. "She's perfectly fine, she just fell into a deep sleep... just like every one of you. That's perfectly healthy, don't worry, okay?"

  "I somehow trust you.", said Twilight, before everyone fell into a deep sleep.

  Oh no! What could be the fate of Twilight and her friends? Will they wake up from their cake-induced sleep? Where could Snips be? What does the pyramid have to do with anything? Can this story get any more ridiculous and badly-written? Will this disgrace ever end, so the readers won't have to deal with this pile of junk ever again? (of course not!) Find out the answer to the other questions in the eleventh chapter of EquestriaBound!

  I regret nothing! Next Chapter: The Great Mighty Rainbow Dash Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 19 Minutes