MLP: Seeds of the Past
Chapter 4 - Stranger Things, Part 2
Author's Note: "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" belongs to DHX Media and Hasbro
That same night...
The cloaked pony stared through the window of the Canterlot eating establishment, spying on a certain group of five who were eating within it.
"Hey Beckie! Where are you?! Listen, you won't believe what just happened. I just got two tickets to the Hoofball Championship! Call me back as soon as you can so we can plan out the best day ever! Alright, I gotta go! Bye!"
As the audio recording on his communicator device finished, the five unicorns - Moondancer, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Lyra Heartstrings and Twinkleshine, if he remembered correctly - emerged from their seats to begin their way back home.
'Well, here goes nothing,' the cloaked pony thought as he strolled after them.
He followed the mares from a safe distance for a while before they approached what looked to be one of their homes. All in one place… perfect!
"Thanks so much for tonight, ladies," Lyra said. "I always love it when I get the chance to visit you all."
"No problem, Lyra," Lemon Hearts replied. "Glad to hear thought that things are going well with Bon Bon."
"Yeah, you go filly," Twinkleshine added. Lyra's reply was only a blush. Moondancer only giggled at the exchange.
'It's nice to finally have friends,' she thought.
As soon as she thought that however, she heard five blows and something prick her flank.
"Owww… what in the…" she muttered. The rest of the group echoed her phrasing in rapid succession.
"What was that?" Minuette said, rubbing her flank with her hoof, only to find a small thin object imbedded in it. Before she could voice her find to her friends however, darkness began to overtake them.
"Why… everything… dark?" Moondancer slurred before she and her companions fell onto the stone ground, with the four of them unconscious. "I… have to…"
However, she stopped after noticing the cloaked pony that was making his way over to them.
"Better hope your little marefriend notices you're gone, Lyra," the cloaked pony muttered. "Otherwise, this'll take a lot longer than I'd want."
When he and Moondancer shared a look with each other, she asked, "W-who… are…"
"You'll learn eventually, little pony," he replied, and as the young mare closed her eyes, the cloaked pony added, "Just as your beloved friendship princess will learn what it's like to take something special away from somepony."
Ponyville - Twilight's Castle
It's a festival of friendship
And together, we are-
"Oh, hiya, Casey!"
A look of confusion appeared on the young pony's face as he made his way into the kitchen, and he asked, "Hey, Pinkie… um, why were you singi-"
"Sooooooooo, somepony has a birthday coming up," replied Pinkie, giving him a sly smile, and Casey let out a chuckle.
"Yeah, and I'm guessing that a certain pony is probably gonna throw me a party, right?"
The young and pink-colored quickly became shocked as she gasped, and cried, "Who told you? Was it Twilight? She and I made a pin-"
An amused Casey shook his head, and replied, "No, she didn't tell me anything… I just figured that it wouldn't be an awesome birthday without somepony like you throwing some type of par-"
Knock-knock-knock!
Suddenly, there was a knock at the castle doors, and Pinkie said, "Huh… that usually never happens. Ponies usually just make their way inside."
So, the two of them began heading over to the main floor of Twilight's castle, and once they got there, they found their alicorn friend having a conversation with Scootaloo.
"... sure she just had something important to deal with," said Twilight. "I mean, not that you aren't important to her, it's just that unexpected things happen sometimes, and we can't do anything about it."
The young pony let out a sigh, and she replied, "Yeah, I get what you're saying… thank you, Twilight."
As Twilight nodded her head, Pinkie happily bounced her way over to Scootaloo, and said, "I can walk you home, if that's okay."
"Sure, Pinkie… good night, Twilight," replied the little Pegasus, and while she followed Pinkie out of the castle, Casey gave his special somepony a confused look.
"She and Rainbow Dash were supposed to have a quick race or something with each other, but Rainbow never showed up."
Casey's eyes went wide with surprise, and he said, "Wow, that's strange… maybe she had some unexpected Wonderbolt stuff to deal with?"
"That's what I was telling her," replied Twilight. "And I'm sure that Rainbow will make it up to Scootaloo somehow tomorrow… I mean, it's not like she's in danger or anything."
Casey let out a chuckle, and said, "Yeah, I'm sure all or one of us would know if Rainbow was in some kind of trouble."
As he dragged his burlap sack up to another house in Canterlot, the cloaked pony stopped for a moment to relax, and take a few deep breaths.
"Huh… so this is where they came from?" He said, moving the burlap sack that contained the unconscious forms of Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette into a bush.
Then, the cloaked pony trotted up to the door, giving a swift knock, and it was answered by none other than Night Light, the father of Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor.
"Oh, hello, sir… is there something I can help you with?" He asked.
"Indeed you can," the cloaked pony said before striking.
###############
Twilight Velvet, Night Light's wife, had been enjoying a nice night with her husband watching the stars… but the knock on their door had, quite honestly, annoyed her.
'Who would be knocking at this hour?' The mare thought.
However, when Night Light didn't return for a few minutes, she got curious, so the mother of Twilight and Shining went to check the door, as well.
She entered through their home's front door and to the grey pony's horror, her husband was laid out on the floor, unconscious.
"Night Light!" She screamed before she felt a prick on her flank, and a few seconds later, everything went black.
###############
With tonight's goal now successfully completed, the cloaked pony started to carry his burlap sack back to his lair, but he was having some slight trouble with that.
'Why did I think nabbing this many at once was a good idea?!' The cloaked pony thought to himself in anguish, but although he was suffering now, he knew his goal was all the more closer to being realized.
"I'll deal with the two sisters later," hemuttered. "Which reminds me… note to self - only put two ponies inside of this thing."
Twilight's Castle
As Casey and Twilight looked at the malfunctioning world-travel machine, he said, "It's times like this when I wish I still had my wristwatch communicator."
"What happened to it?"
Casey made a gesture over to the Crystal Mirror, and replied, "That one version of Rainbow Dash still has it after… eh, never mind, too confusing… all I know is that it's gone, and it would take me almost forever to make a new one."
Noticing the sad expression on his face, Twilight asked, "You miss him, don't you?"
"Well, obvi… I mean, yes, I do," replied Casey, not wanting to sound rude. "But my friends in this world come first… and l haven't really been doing so well in that department."
Remembering all of the invitations that she had sent out earlier today, Twilight started to smile, and she said, "Don't worry… I'm sure you'll be doing great, in no time."
Taking a quick moment to yawn, Casey replied, "That's the idea… well, I'm off to bed… night, Twilight."
"Sweet dreams, Casey," said the young alicorn, and as her special somepony left the library, she took another look at the Crystal Mirror.
Why do I have a strange feeling that something bad is going to happen?