CHAPTER 4

Hey everypony, loyal readers and followers alike. I told you I'd be back soon with the next chapter, didn't I? I know this story is a little different than all of the others in the series, and in case you've followed these stories since the beginning and feel that I may be losing my edge on writing these volumes, I assure you, that's not the case. This particular story will be wrapped up two or three chapters after this one, after which I will begin Volume 11, which is just as sordid as Volume 2 and just as dark as Volume 3, maybe more so. Meanwhile, I hope you are enjoying this story, and continue to follow Drake's saga as we near the conclusion. So here's chapter 4, please review.

"You ever been to a big city before, Scootaloo?" I asked as we stepped off of the train at the large metropolitan train station.

"Yeah, like a couple of times." Scootaloo answered. "I went to The Crystal Kingdom during the Games! And I've been to Canterlot before too, for a royal wedding. There was changelings and a big fight and everything!"

"Wow...you're a well-traveled little foal, ain't you?" I chuckled. "Hey Dashie, you never told me your little protege was so...involved in everything."

"Eh, 'course she is." Rainbow Dash replied with a smug grin. "When you hang out with awesome, it tends to rub off."

"Oh, is that how you got so awesome?" I asked cynically. My marefriend shot me a questioning glance, and I smiled. "Hangin' out with me all the time and everything..."

"Oh shut up." She shot back, sticking out her tongue.

"So, we're in Manehattan. Where do you guys wanna eat?" I asked as we passed by some tall office buildings.

"Dunno." My sister answered as usual.

"Where do you wanna eat, Drake?" Dashie offered.

"Well..." I thought. "La Symphonia du Fromage?"

"Ew...that Prench place with all the runny, smelly cheese?" Dash countered. "Yuck!"

"Ain't my fault you lack a taste for Pont l'Eveque!" I returned.

"Is that the crumbly junk that smells like butt and garbage?" my marefriend asked.

"Oui, ma chere." I answered. "Es tres bon!"

"You like the grossest food, sweetheart." She sighed. I should have been paying closer attention to what was going on around me. I always preached about situational awareness, and if I had taken my own advice instead of arguing about moldy cheese, what happened next could have been averted.

"Snake!" My sister exclaimed. The next thing I knew, a long, thin, writhing mass of evil had fallen upon me in all it's horror. The next sound I made was an unnatural, guttural noise that sounded something like:

"Ughhhhhhheeewwwwwwuuhhhhhh!" Followed by my ungracefully throwing the serpent off of my back onto the sidewalk. I leaped to action, ready to grab the nearest weapon and slay the vile wyrm...that turned out to be a yard-long piece of rope. "ARRRGGGHHH!" I growled in consternation. Budder and Dash let out a bout of wild laughter. In anger, I seized the fake snake, and began to viciously beat it against the side of the building we stood beside. I stopped when I realized that I had drawn a small crowd of onlookers, ponies no doubt curious as to why a stallion in a cavalry slouch hat was beating the Hell out of an office building with a piece of rope. I felt my face grow warm, and tossed the cordage away innocently before walking away. My marefriend and my sister laughed even harder.

"I hate this damned holiday..." I grumbled, sulking down the sidewalk.

"Why?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's so much fun!"

"Not when you're the butt of the jokes..." I mumbled.

"Heh. You said 'butt'." Budder snickered.

"Takes one to know one." I shot back. "Maison Crepe! That's where we're eatin'."

"Alright, fine with me." Dash shrugged.

After lunch at the restaurant, which was a Pranksgiving joke on my part (Maison Crepe really meant 'Pancake House', so essentially, we had traveled an hour to eat flapjacks), we went shopping in the city, then headed home. I'd had about enough of Dash and Budder's impractical jokes, and decided to pull one of my own. It took the entire trip home to figure out how I was going to do it.

Once home, Budder, Scootaoo and Dash all went upstairs to put away all of the things they'd bought in Manehattan. I knew Dash would want to take a shower, which gave me about thirty minutes. Budder had bought a new book on ghosts and they each got a set of copper dowsing rods, and I knew my sister would be showing Scootaloo how to hunt ghosts for a little while. As quickly and expertly as I could, I grabbed my materials and spent the next ten minutes getting everything ready. A few minutes after I was finished, Dash came down the stairs. The time had finally arrived.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked.

"I dunno. I think I'm gonna go relax a bit and read." Oh, so predictable, sweetheart...

As I walked into the parlor behind her, Rainbow Dash didn't see me covertly reach down and set the trip wire across the doorway. Once everything was in place, I set my plan into motion. Dash plopped down on her favorite spot on the sofa, and reached for her book on the end table. When she pulled it toward her, the string connecting the book to the table pulled taut, setting off the small gunpowder friction charge I had attached, and making a loud POP. Dash jumped, startled at the sound, then noticed the string hanging from her book. She turned to me with an incredulous look on her face.

"Pranksgiving's a bitch, ain't it?" I smiled.

"Ugh, Drake...nice try and all, but you gotta learn how to play a good joke on somepony." Dash stated sympathetically.

"I thought it was pretty good." I said defensively.

"Well, it did kinda surprise me..." She admitted. "But the delivery wasn't there, ya know? It's all about the technique. Right Budder?!"

"Say what?" Budder asked, walking into the room.

"I was just sayin' that Drake has to work on his technique..."

"OH HOLY CRAP!" My sister cried out as dozens of spiders rained down upon her. She fought the rain of eight-legged attackers, gasping for breath as she batted them off."NONONO!" She screamed.

"Hey sis." I stated. She looked at me. "Happy Pranksgiving, angel." I said with an evil grin. She looked down at the tripwire she'd triggered, and above at the bucket hanging upside-down over the doorway. Tears filled her blue eyes before she let out a keening wail and ran through the house to the formal parlor, where she dove onto the antique sofa and buried herself in pillows. Rainbow Dash looked down at the pile of spiders, and cautiously picked one up.

"Rubber spiders?" She queried, squeezing one of the arachnids. She giggled little. "Geez, Drake...that was a good joke, I have to admit, but you know how afraid of spiders she is..."

"Blowback from the snake offensive." I shrugged. "Get the broom and sweep these things up, and I'll go check on her, alright?"

"I'm gonna go talk to Budder too." Scootaloo offered, trotting off toward the parlor. I nodded. Rainbow Dash walked into the kitchen, where a few seconds later, I heard a mechanism release, followed by Dashie's shocked cry. Budder and Scootaloo came running, and I simply walked to the room, my head held high.

In the kitchen, Dashie was suspended upside-down from the ceiling, a rope holding all four of her hooves as she swung gently, a pissed-off look on her face. When she saw me, the look became more intense, and my grin became larger.

"Drake?! Did you do this?" She demanded.

"Heheheheh..." I chuckled. "Pretty good booby trap, huh? Learned it in military academy." Budder giggled.

"That was a good one, bub." She laughed.

"I know." I replied.

"Get me down!" My marefriend exclaimed.

"Oh alright..." I sighed. "Sis, wanna help me out with these ropes, so Dash will stop hanging around the house."

"Yeah, I'll get a knife." My sister answered, walking to the knife drawer near the sink.

"That's not funny!" Dashie pouted.

"Huh...I thought it pretty funny..." I mused.

"WAAAAHHHHHH!" Budder screamed as she opened the drawer, only to see a creepy-looking doll with holes for eyes staring back at her. She slammed the drawer and turned around, hyperventilating. I shrugged innocently and walked over to the wall beside the cupboard. There, I simply untied a knot in the rope, and using the pulley system I had built, lowered Rainbow Dash to the ground gently. She kicked out of the loop in the rope and stood.

"Sans armes, ni haine, ni violence." I stated philosophically. I glanced between my marefriend and my sister. "Truce?" Dash's look softened, and she scoffed.

"Alright...truce." She replied.

"Yeeaahhh..." Budder sighed. "I think you beat both of us..." She thought for a moment. "Wait...if Dash hadn't hollered for me, then I wouldn't have hit that spider trap..."

"Yeah..." Dash thought. "And the spiders was why you sent me to get the broom, and the broom triggered the booby trap..."

"And the doll..." Budder whispered. "What the crap?! Did you actually plan for all of this to happen like it did?"

"Yep." I said smugly. "I knew everything you two were gonna do, and set my traps based on what you hadn't done yet."

"Dude..." Dash muttered.

"You are so awesome!" Scootaloo said, wonderstruck. "You think you can teach me how to pull pranks like that?"

"Hey!" Dash interjected. "I'm still the queen of Pranksgiving here!"

"Yeah, you totally are..." Scootaloo replied. "But I think Drake's the king."

So ends Pranksgiving day, and after being the victim of so many pratfalls and tricks, Drake finally beat Dash and Budder at their own game. I hope you all liked this chapter, and got at least a couple of laughs out of it. I will try to return with the next chapter tomorrow afternoon. It all depends on how lazy I feel, and what I have to do tomorrow as to when I can manage to get it written. Till then, thanks for reading, everypony. Reviews, please. -Drake