“Dude, she's gunna be so mad,” Flutterpriest said, glaring at Wuten as the red stallion packed the last part of his plan.

“Priest, trust me. I know what I'm doing,” he replied. “It'll be hilarious.”

The yellow stallion groaned and sat down on the couch of Wuten's small home.

“I just have a bad feeling about all of this.”

Equestria is a massive place. Sure, there's the royal Canterlot, the bustling Manehattan and the ever-important Ponyville that seems to make the news with it's infamous Elements of Harmony and Princess Twilight, but not every area of this mystical land is filled with important ponies whose fate determines the country's life or death. But, it's often easy to forget that there are little towns that hide from the public eye with their own personalities, talents and drama.

One of these little havens goes by the name of Baltimare. Despite the small population, the town had one trait that made it unique from every other town. Talent in the arts. Every member of Baltimare specialized in writing, narration, acting, drawing, or even creating films. Many of Equestria's greatest artists grew up in or apprenticed out of the quiet little valley that bordered near Crystal Empire territory.

One of these narrators, was a mare that went by the name of Scribbler.

And she was about to have a very bad day.

It started just like any other. She rose from bed when she felt like it, but it wasn't late enough to make her feel groggy and irritable for the rest of the day. She groomed her dark black, velvet smooth coat and somehow managed to tame her beast of a mane in just under 10 minutes. Not that there wasn't any groaning, angry mutters, or words she'd rather nopony else heard uttered in the process, but rather that her purple streaks were managing to stay perfectly in order and not stray into the light blue body. After a quick brush of the teeth and a quick examination in the mirror, Scribbler knew she was ready for the day.

She trotted down the stairs of her humble home, humming a little tune as she did. Would she have toast today? Perhaps a muffin? Or would cereal go best with coffee while reading the morning paper? Scribbler moved to her front door, claimed her paper and went back inside, tossing the light reading onto her kitchen table. After a quick inspection of her, almost empty, cabinets, she opted for an apple. Sitting down at her usual morning spot, she opened the paper without much attention.

Then, of course, there was the coffee. The hot, bitter liquid that provided that sweet embrace of life. It's smell was rejuvenating all on it's own. She took a deep whiff of the aroma, and took a drink of her morning elixir while moving her attention to the paper's headline.

“Scribbler Confesses Eternal, Undying Love for Caitbug.”

Then spews her drink on the pages instantly.

“WHAT THE!?!” she screamed, setting the coffee down and bringing the paper to her eyes. “WHO! WHAT?”

Her eyes immediately scanned the article as it details how Scribbler and Caitbug recently entered an exclusive relationship after having their secret, torrid love affair. Neither Scribbler nor Caitbug were available for comment, as they were suspected to be holed up in Caitbug's home, aggressively holding hooves. Those who could claim pictures or video of further public displays of affection would be rewarded by the writers of the paper. Much to her dismay, there was no writer credited to the front-page article. Scribbler threw the paper across the room in anger.

“WHY? Why would they do this?! Isn't there already enough drama in this stupid town? Instead, the paper has to print lies in order to sell copies?!” she yelled to her cottage, rising from her feet and pacing the small kitchen.

Now what was she supposed to do? She had to go to the market today, stop at the library, and deliver a script to Caitbug too! Knowing this town, they probably all even knew by now and would do almost anything for a few bits.

Anything.

Her appetite ruined, Scribbler downed her coffee and sighed. She stared at the paper, lying in a heap against a wall of her kitchen. She had a few choices. She could try to avoid all of the drama that would be generated from this article, bask in it and play along, or try to just debunk it. That is, if anypony would be willing to listen.

Perhaps, it would just be best to get everything out of the way as fast as possible.

Grabbing her saddlebag, which already had Caitbug's script and her bits for the market, she moved to her front door and paused with her hoof on the handle.

“Here goes nothing,” she said.

With a deep breath, she pulled the door open and closed it behind her.

“Heya, Scribber,” said a familiar male voice. Scribbler instantly groaned.

“Hey, Wuten,” she replied, turning to face her guest.

As she turned, she found herself face to face with the king of spaghetti himself. His eyes were half-lidded and he wore a mischievous smile.

“What's up?” Scribbler said.

“Well, I'm sure you saw the paper today,” he said. “Just thought I'd come by and... oh, I dunno. Discuss current events?”

Scribbler glared at the red stallion with an intensity that could melt ice in seconds. She then turned away and set off towards the market.

“Soooo, does that mean it's true?” Wuten said.

“You know very, very well that it's not true,” Scribbler said.

“That's what somepony would say if it were actually true,” he retorted.

“It's not.”

“Oh really?”

“I don't have time for this today,” Scribbler said, turning on the spot. “I'm not going to entertain some silly gossip article that clearly has no foundation to back itself on. Now, if you can excuse me, I have to purchase groceries.”

Without another word, she turned towards the marketplace as Wuten simply smiled.

“Hiya Scribbler!”

“Oh, hey Xena!” Scribbler said, handing the mare at the apple stall several bits. “What's up?”

“Oh, nothing,” the pink mare replied. “I just wanted to congratulate you on the good news is all!”

Scribbler suddenly found herself curious. Sure, other ponies had been stopping her all day and asked when her and Caitbug began seeing each other, and a few even asked how good Cait was in the sack. Each were given the same answer. An angry, piercing stare. Although, when Lost didn't quite get the hint... well. She should have a bruise for awhile.

“Good news?” she replied. “What good news?”

“Why, the engagement of course!” Xena replied. “I was so happy to hear that-”

“OH GOD NOT YOU TOO!” Scribbler screamed. “WHY?”

“Wait, wha-”

Scribbler's eyebrow twitched as she mentally broke. She stared daggers at Xena.

“Who told you that?!” Scribbler growled.

“Scribbler's engaged?” questioned the ponies in the market in hushed tones, watching the commotion unfold.

“Well, nopony really,” Xena said slyly. “I just figured that since the two of you must have been involved in secret for such a long time, that it would just make sense.”

“SO YOU JUST MADE IT UP?”

“Well, kinda-”

“THEN YOU ARE MAKING IT WORSE!” Scribbler said.

“Well, I mean. It kiiinda makes sense.”

Scribbler groaned and stormed out of the market. Xena eagerly followed behind, keeping up with the black mare's swift pace.

“Does this mean I don't get to be the best mare?” Xena asked.

Scribbler turned around and glared at Xena.

“Caitbug and I are not a thing. We never were a thing. We won't BE a THING. I just want everyone in this town to use a little bit of sense and realize that not everything you see or hear is true!”

Xena looked at her with a blank expression and tilted her head.

“So, you mean, Cait is just... joking around?”

Scribbler's pupils dilated. She never considered how Caitbug was treating this news.

“What?”

“Yeah, Caitbug has been going around, talking about how the two of you are the OTP of this town and that your star-crossed love affair-”

But Xena didn't get to finish as Scribbler turned on the spot and darted to Caitbug's home.

'What was Caitbug doing?!' Scribbler thought. 'Now they'll never hear the end of this!'

As she neared, she saw Caitbug standing outside, talking to somepony. Except, it didn't register who it was until she neared. It was Wuten, surely here to cause havoc once more.

“Oh! Hey, Scribble!” Caitbug called as she mare slid to a halt beside the two ponies.

“Dawww, it's so cute,” Wuten said in a voice that could have been used to talk to a baby animal.

“Caitbug, what in the world are you doing?” Scribbler asked, short of breath.

“Oh, don't worry babe. I'm not flirting,” Caitbug said teasingly.

“STOP THAT!” she replied.

“Oh, is that too much for in public?” Cait asked.

“Daww, the two of you are so cute together,” Wuten said.

“YOU STOP THAT TOO!”

“Hey guys!” Xena said, finally catching up.

“Oooh! Just in time, they are having a lover's quarrel,” Wuten said to her.

“WE ARE NOT LOVERS?!” Scribbler said.

“That's not what you said two nights a-”

“CAITBUG STOP. WHY?!” Scribbler interjected.

The three looked at her intently and Scribbler could feel the spotlight pointing down on her. The three ponies had her in a corner. The wide smiles on their faces showed that they were enjoying every step of this game. That's when it dawned on her. They were just -trying- to get under skin. If she didn't react, they wouldn't get what they wanted.

Scribbler sighed and reached into her saddlebag, grabbing the script for the April 15th practice.

Wait a moment. April. Today was April 1st.

Scribbler smiled to herself. This was a big April Fools prank. And if that's the case. What if she did the one thing they didn't expect.

Play along.

A smile curled on Scribbler's face as she handed the script to the shorter, blue mare.

“Here you go, babe,” Scribbler said sensually.

Xena gasped. Wuten's eyes dilated. Caitbug smiled and reached out to take the script with a shaking hoof, but before she could take it, Scribbler pulled her close, with half lidded eyes. A smile curled on Scribbler's face.

All she did was push her lips to Caitbug's and everything else came naturally. Scribbler relished her triumph. None of them must have expected this. They thought they could pull a fast one on her, get her all frustrated and get the reaction they wanted. Not today.

Then, she pulled away, a small trail of saliva connecting her and Caitbug's lips as she smiled.

“That better?” Scribbler asked.

Silence fell as Caitbug looked to Wuten. Wuten looked to Xena. Xena looked to Caitbug. Then the three looked at Scribbler.

“OHMYGOD. PENCIL! TELL ME YOU GOT THAT!” Wuten yelled at a set of bushes at he next house.

A deep wine-maroon mare with a rose mane popped out of the bushes with a video camera.

“Got it!” she called triumphantly.

“WAIT WHAT?” Scribbler yelled.

“Confused, yet?” Wuten asked, as Caitbug wiped her mouth.

“I thought that this was all a big prank?!” Scribbler replied.

“It was. The paper was fake, only delivered to your house. Some of the people in the town knew of the prank, but were just supposed to pester you about it. But, we expected you to figure it out. It wasn't supposed to be hard. Especially when Cait plays along. We wanted you to think all just to annoy you. Hoping that you played along. Honestly, we didn't know what would happen when you played along, but-”

“I'd have preserved whatever did happen,” Anonpencil said, joining up with the group and handing the video recorder to Wuten.

Scribbler's mouth hung open, staring at the proud group.

“S-so. Now that's...”

“On tape,” said Xena.

Scribbler remained quiet, feeling vulnerable and played.

“Don't worry, nopony's gunna see it,” Cait said. “That'd just be cruel.”

Scribbler looked at each of the ponies, and sat down looking at the ground.

“Welp, you got me,” Scribbler said, a mild hurt in her voice. “I suppose I kinda dug my own grave.”

She chuckled, but the group got quiet. Wuten looked to the other three and shrugged.

“Hey, uh. Are you okay?” Wuten asked.

“Yeah. I'm fine. I just think I need a little bit to cool down,” Scribbler said, standing up and making her way home.

Scribbler suddenly felt tired. Relieved, but tired. The entire town didn't think that she was having some sort of crazy affair with Caitbug. Which was good. Very good. All of this was sure to die down and just disappear and it'll be a thing of the past.

She smiled and raised her head as she approached her home. She had to give credit to Wuten. He played her perfectly. In the end, all she could blame was herself for falling for it. She shook her head and a smile curved on her face, feeling silly for what she did.

She opened the door and went into the comfort of her home. Her eyes moved to the paper that was tossed in a corner and lie still on the floor. She looked away and sighed, making her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Her mind was both filled with thousands of thoughts at once and absolutely nothing.

'It was silly. All of this was silly.'

She went into her room and plopped back into her bed, taking a deep breath and letting the comfort of the mattress gently massage away the aches her body felt.

'It was a great prank.'

She sighed and turned to her side, her tired eyes looking to the other side of her cold, empty bed.

'They really got me.'

She closed her eyes and raised a hoof to her lips. She could still remember what her gentle lips felt like. The taste of her mouth, the way her tongue danced with Cait's. It was something like out of her dreams. Scribbler's heart fluttered.

'How were they supposed to know?'

She pulled her hoof away and stared at the wall of her room, hoping it would provide her some sort of comfort, but it remained silent. The world felt cold and oppressive. She knew they didn't mean anything by it. They couldn't have.

She couldn't have known. Cait couldn't have known how Scribbler felt.

Scribbler sat up on her bed, still staring at the wall.

'But she could. What am I doing?'

Without a moment to spare, Scribbler darted back out of her home and back to Cait's house. There wasn't a better time than now. Her heart was raw. She put herself on the line. She acted upon what she really, actually felt and played their game. Cait had to feel the sincerity in her actions. Cait had to see that it wasn't just a game for Scribbler.

Maybe... it didn't have to just be a prank.

She approached Cait's home, leaped up the steps and rapped on the door three times. The time it took for her to answer the door felt like an eternity. However, she heard hoofsteps on the other side of the door. Scribbler's heart pounded. She felt butterflies in her stomach as her mind suddenly went blank. The door opened,

To reveal a dark, copper red bat-stallion, with a wide smile.

“Heya, Scribbs. What's up?”

“Roy?” Scribbler weakly asked, as Caitbug moved into the doorway.

“Oh! Hey. Didn't expect to see you back so soon, Scribbler. Is something wrong?” Caitbug asked.

Scribbler's heart thumped in her chest as she looked between the stallion and the mare.

“I'm sure you met Roy before,” Cait said. “We met a few nights ago and, well.”

Scribbler could feel an icy knife pass through her stomach as she watched Caitbug giggle and take a step closer to the stallion as he looked down at her with caring, possessive eyes.

“I, uh. Just wanted to make sure that you still had the script,” Scribbler lied.

“Oh! Yeah! I do,” Cait replied.

“Good. Uhm, well, I should be going then,” she said, trying to keep her voice from cracking and trying to hide an expression of pain.

“Alright then. See ya, Scribbler,” Caitbug said.

“Nice meeting you,” Roy said.

“Yeah,” she said to the stallion. “Nice meeting you.”

Scribbler walked slowly home, a new tear from her chest hemorrhaging. She tried her best to smile and keep trudging forward, but she couldn't stop thinking about her.

'She'll be happy now.'

She remembered the way that Cait looked into her eyes as she brought her close.

'It probably wouldn't have worked anyway.'

Her lips were so soft.

'Besides, she wouldn't want to ruin their friendship.'

Scribbler wondered what it would be like to hold Cait in her arms.

With a sharp turn, Scribbler changed her destination.

“Oh, hey-”

“Give me the tape,” Scribbler said to Wuten, after he opened the door to his home.

“What? Wh-”

“Give. Me. It. Now,” she growled, acid dripping from her words.

Wuten took a step back from the mare and went inside his home, coming back with a simple VHS tape.

Scribbler took it, then slammed it in his face.

Scribbler stepped into her home once again, tape in mouth. She moved to her television, and put the tape into the VCR. With a strained smile, she pressed rewind. Turning away, she moved to her kitchen and grabbed the paper, lying in a heap in the corner. She picked it up, sat it on her table and folded it carefully, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. Luckily, the coffee hadn't ruined all the words, and the fake front page picture of Caitbug being wrapped in Scribbler's hooves was still intact.

With a light click, the VCR stopped rewinding. Scribbler moved to her couch, paper in mouth, and sat down. Picking up her remote, she pressed play.

The picture lit into the screen as it showed Scribbler running up to Caitbug and Wuten, with Xena following behind. Most of what was said was muffled, due to the distance of the camera, but it zoomed in carefully, to have herself and Caitbug in the center of the picture. She watched herself go from frustrated, to calm. Then, hold out the script for Caitbug to take. Scribbler raised a hoof to her lips once more.

She watched herself pull Caitbug in, and lock her lips onto the unsuspecting mare. She could feel her body hurt. The edges of her eyes grew hazy as she watched herself pull away from Cait. Scribbler paused the TV and sighed, looking to the floor.

Why was she doing this? She knew it would only hurt her to watch it. Caitbug would never be hers. She never should be hers. It was just the way things worked.

Things just get complicated if you ever get involved with your best friends, no matter how much you feel like you understood them, or how much you cared about them, or if you dreamed about them late into the nights, rolling over and expecting them to be there, but only feeling the cold, empty bedsheet beside her.

No, it was better this way.

She stood up, and moved to the window of her home and looked outside at the sunny day.

Outside, in the beautiful summer day without a cloud in the sky, was Caitbug, walking with her new stallion. Cait looked to her with a smile and waved. Scribbler wore a weak smile and waved back. The brown maned mare then looked away, resting her head on Roy.

Scribbler watched the two walk away, then stepped away, closing the blinds.

The floor felt unexpectedly wet against her hooves as she wiped her face. She stepped to the VCR and hovered her hoof over the eject button. But instead, hit rewind.