In reply to Pinkie Pie (msg #17):

As his spell seemed to be working, relieved, Keen Eyes slid against the ground as he tried to come to a stop.  He was already panting and trying to catch his breath.  The detective wasn't exactly out of shape; but he wasn't quite used to galloping like that.  He most certainly wasn't an athlete.  The unicorn had to really push himself just to keep the distance he had between he and Pinkie.  His relief quickly disappeared as he watched Pinkie and the two foals suddenly wink out of his spell.  Still trying to catch his breath, Keen Eyes grimaced as he immediately tried to pinpoint where they'd "winked" to.

Keen Eyes looked all over, though it didn't occur to him to look up at the sky.  Why would they be up there, that made no logical sense to him.  Pinkie was an Earth pony, and the little pegasus she had with her was much too small to carry all of them, let alone simply Pinkie.  No, instead his gaze continued to search ground level and he didn't see any hints or signs of them.  The detective pony turned back towards Twilight and Strawberry, obviously confused.

Twilight had been far enough away that she had a better field of vision of the school yard.  Thus she spotted Pinkie when the three ponies reappeared up on the roof and shot into the sky in a truly ridiculous display.  Totally nonplussed, Twilight lit her horn up with a magical glow and swiftly undid the buckle keeping Pinkie's foal-carrier tied around her body, then levitated the whole thing with the babies safely in its grasp.

A moment later another shrill gasp sounded out from overhead.  Keen Eyes would get just enough time to hear it before Pinkie slammed into the ground nearby... and bounced with a sound identical to that of a squeaky toy that had fallen of its shelf.  She boing-boing-boinged~! a few more times before finally settled to a stop face-down in the dirt amongst the gathered ponies.

The twins, still safe in their magically levitated foal carrier, came drifting down light as a feather to settle down once more on Pinkie's back as she laid prone.  Her cotton-candy head pulled up with a dizzy waggle from side to side before she shook her senses clear.

"Whoo~!  Let's do that again!" Pinkie Pie giggled and snorted gleefully.

Keen Eyes still had his gaze on Twilight Sparkle and Strawberry Toast when Pinkie came crashing down.  The sudden sound of her crashing was enough to cause the stallion to jump in fright.  he shifted his gaze back towards the now grounded pony.  It was clear she'd fallen... but from where?  Keen Eyes was completely bewildered by this, but after a moments thought decided there was more important matters.  Trying to regain his composure, the unicorn took a couple steps closer to Pinkie Pie.  He hoped she wouldn't run again, the last thing he needed was another chase.  "Uuhhh..." Keen Eyes seemed at a loss for words.  Realizing he wasn't exactly making any progress, he shook his head, as if to clear himself of all other thoughts and tried again.  "Pinkie Pie, you were at sugarcube corner earlier this morning, correct?  We were told by the Cakes you accepted an order of apples, is that right?  Who was the order from?" the detective asked as he seemed to return to his usual inquisitive self.

Despite the fall, Pinkie Pie seemed perfectly alright.  Further, despite having initially fled from Keen Eyes, she didn't seem at all hesitant to pop up onto her hooves with a playful leap and smile up at him brightly.

"From?  The order was from the Cakes, silly!  How else would they expect to get them in the first place?"  she giggled.  "And of course I was at Sugarcube Corner this morning; I live there~!"
This message was last updated by the player at 20:37, Sat 21 Apr 2012.

Sweetie Belle wasn't exactly paying a whole lot of attention to the events unfolding in the classroom.  She did her best to pay attention to the lesson Cheerilee was giving the class, but Sweetie Belle soon found herself day dreaming.

However, the small filly was forced out of her day dreams when she heard a small thud.  Sweetie looked around, trying to figure out what had happened, all the while hearing the soft giggles of some of her classmates.  Then, Cheerilee spoke up, scolding the class, telling them to stay on task.  Whatever had happened, Sweetie's day dreaming had caused her to miss the excitement.  As Cheerilee regained control over the classroom, Sweetie Belle glanced at the clock, hoping recess was soon, before she began to drift off in thought again.

It was fortunate for all the bored children that time wasn't moving quite as slowly as it seemed to be from their perspectives.  Soon enough Cheerilee finished the portion of the lesson they were on and turned to give her students a bright, beaming smile.

"Alright children, that'll do for now.  I know it's a few minutes early, but let's take recess now so that you can stretch your legs.  Be back inside in twenty minutes~!" she dismissed them for a short break.

The dismissal for recess was met by cheers and happiness for most ponies, of course. Glowbug, however, stayed at his desk and kept reading. Th book wasn't really enthralling, but it wasn't horrible. At least it was educational. That, and he wouldn't be doing a whole lot at recess, considering he'd already been laughed at for the blank flank note.

Glowbug had gotten rather unlucky.  Miss Cheerilee had called for quiet BEFORE she could turn around to see the real prankster, and the little rich pony had decided that he had done the horrid crime of scuffing her tiara.  She approached him as every pony else left, looking at the title of his book while he was reading.  She was feigning an interest, at least at first, but the urge to glare a hole in his book was growing with every second.  However, she forced a kind smile and focused on composing the perfect dressing down.

She cleared her throat softly, as a mare of court might, and hoped that he'd catch on.  Daddy said something about honey and vinegar...

This pranking blank flank would get both, and he would be hit so hard he wouldn't know which one he got...

Diamond Tiara couldn't have had anyone easier to prey upon. The shy pony was hiding behind a book, as if that would somehow keep him from being noticed. Of course, it wouldn't, and soon, Tiara had him cornered. In a corner he'd chosen as his sitting place of all things. Hearing the cleared throat, he timidly peeked above the top of the book, the rims of his glasses, and his bright green irises visible just barely. _{"H-Hello? C-Can I help you?"} This was the one that sent him the note, so he wasn't exactly thrilled. But he had to stay polite.

Glad to get a response at all, Diamond Tiara smiled, "I'm Diamond Tiara.  What's your name?"

The way she stared at him was intense, even if her face was polite and soft.  The pony who had knocked the tiara from her head deserved nothing less than her full attention.

The glare he was getting from Tiara was enough to make him sink into his book more. But he still had to be polite. His parents told him to try and make friends. Ponyville was a nice place full of nice ponies. _{"I-I'm Glowbug."}

"I knew you looked new." Diamond Tiara fixed her tiara upon her head, as if to emphasize 'his' crime.  She stood up tall to look over the book at him, her smile strained into a look that just wasn't happy.  At that moment, she decided to dispense with the politeness.  This pony was too shy to stand up for himself openly.  She'd put things right!

Her tone quickly turned sharp and mean, "So, Blank Flank, did you think your special talent was breaking things you can't possibly afford?  Is that why you threw something at me?  Or are you just too stupid to see when somepony important is around?!?"

_{"W-Wait... What?"} Glowbug sunk in his seat as if he could somehow magically shrink away from the situation entirely. Of course, he couldn't. He wasn't a unicorn like his mother. Instead, all he could do was stay behind the book and pray that it would be over soon. Sadly, Tiara didn't look like the easy-going type. Heck, he wasn't even sure what was going on. _{"I... I didn't... I don't know what you're talking about."} He managed to squeak out.

"Yeah?  Then who did it, Blank Flank?" Diamond Tiara didn't get any closer or pressure him further, but her voice only grew louder.  Most weren't used to an open brow-beating like this from her.  Usually, she went to some level of subtlety.

"Because if you didn't do it, somepony had to do it, and you're the only pony who could have!" Clearly, she had fallen upon her own conclusion and she wasn't about to be taken off of it.  He might be able to count himself fortunate that she wasn't making fun of him in front of the others (again).

Of course, he was also pretty UNfortunate that events beyond his control conspired to make him the target of another pony's bad day...

Even as she seemed to get closer and closer, which she wasn't, Glowbug kept trying to find more and more ways to distance himself. So when the chair stopped him from going further, he felt trapped. Until he thought in three dimensions like a proper pegasus. He slunk under the desk, which put him closer, technically, but it also added another barrier between him and Tiara. Brilliant!

_{"I wasn't watching!"}

"Well I-!" Diamond Tiara tried to continue pressing him, but realized that he was just going to keep clamming up and lying.  So, in the end, she decided to calm down and to tell a few lies of her own to get him to let his guard down.

Her volume lowered, she still couldn't hide her irritation, "If you saw which pony did it, you should tell me; I'll forgive you..."

_{"I-I told you. I didn't see anypony throw anything..."}

Cowering under the desk, it still wasn't enough to get away from Tiara. As if he couldn't get any more pathetically low, he wound up scooting under his chair. There was little space under it, but maybe if he were thinking about more than the pony interrogating him, he'd have realized he might have a talent for limbo.

That continued refusal snapped something in the filly.  She stomped her hooves angrily, likely giving any onlookers a show, and gave a short cry of frustration.

Gathering her composure, she tried to look like this didn't bother her at all, "So that's the story you're going to stick to?  Okay.  That's fine.  I gave you a chance to be smart, but that's all you can expect from a Blank Flank."

Giving him one last furious look, she stomped out of the schoolhouse.  This exchange had been won.  Even if she hadn't won the war, she had won the battle.

And that was all that mattered.

While Cheerilee had stepped along out of the classroom to get herself some peace and gather for the rest of the day, it left the kids to their own devices.  Which was not a good thing for poor Glowbug.  Meadow Lark had hurried along thoughtlessly for recess before something nagged at the back of his head.  Was he forgetting something?  It felt like he was...

The little colt had come back along inside just in time to catch the tail end of Glowbug getting a lashing from Diamond Tiara.  The little Pegasus glowered and stepped back outside only enough for the pink pony herself to come sauntering along a moment later with her head held high.  She got just far enough along in her self satisfaction for a brief buzzing to flit overhead and she'd suddenly go walking straight into Meadow Lark.  The Pegasus was her size, but he'd been the one to set himself up for the impact as he dropped squarely into her path and thus wasn't to be toppled... though the same didn't apply to her.  More importantly -- he'd snatched the tiara right off her fluffy head with his teeth and, with a quick flick, tossed it up to land atop his own head at a jaunty angle.

"Well that was pretty dumb of you, filly-face~!  You shouldn't go picking on ponies, especially the wrong ones!" Meadow Lark stuck his tongue out at the girl as he glared at her sourly.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:05, Mon 23 Apr 2012.

Sweetie Belle hadn't wandered too far before Diamond Tiara lost her cool.  The young filly's gaze watched her and Glowbug curiously.  As she watched, Glowbug looked visibly distraught.  Still, Sweetie Belle wasn't entirely sure if this was the case.  Maybe they were playing a game?  It didn't seem likely though.  Sweetie found it hard to believe that Diamond Tiara would willingly be friends with a pony who didn't have their cutie mark.  She waited until Diamond Tiara wondered off before approaching Glowbug.  "Are you okay?" Sweetie Belle asked as she approached the young colt.

Glowbug had his book over his head like a tent, the rest of him well concealed under the chair. Well, not really well concealed, but it was as good as it got in the classroom. Peeking out from the book, he saw another pegasus making his way in. But there was another pony coming his way, peeking under the desk and looking right at him. Her voice made him cringe instinctively, even though she was there to make sure he was all right.

_{"Er um... I uh... I-i'm fine..."} Obviously not really okay as per the traditional sense of the word.

-Yo dawg, I heard you like edits, so this post is edited in response to editing.-
This message was last edited by the player at 02:13, Mon 23 Apr 2012.

For what it was worth, the little filly was not so bad at righting herself after falling.  In fact, the real 'shock and awe' of the impact didn't seem to hit her until she was staring right at him after she got up off of her rump.  Maybe it was just that she was so fired up that she bounced up and back into the argument that had started.

"It was you?!?" Diamond Tiara might have been embarrassed if she wasn't so mad, and she might have had time to start brow beating him if her tiara wasn't on his head.  That was when she really looked shell-shocked, as she felt her mane and realized it was not topped off.  She gritted her teeth and tried to keep her rapidly fleeting composure.

Where as she hadn't yielded an inch with Glowbug, even when he was in full retreat, she sounded more like the victim than the aggressor, now.  If Glowbug was watching, he'd probably appreciate the slight weakness making its way into her tone, "Give that back!  T-that's not yours, Blank Flank!"

Flustered, she remained where she was instead of pressing any advantage she might have had if she just got in his face.  In fact, he seemed to have found her weak spot and seemed to be pressing her into the corner.  This Blank Flank must have done his homework, or else he had gotten lucky, because very few ponies got to see Diamond Tiara taken aback by a non-adult...

Sweetie didn't seem satisfied with the colt's answer.  "Well... you don't sound very 'fine' to me," the filly said.  "I'm Sweetie Belle, what's your name?" Sweetie suddenly asked.  She hadn't seen him here before, he was obviously new, and Diamond Tiara had obviously not been very welcoming.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 03:14, Mon 23 Apr 2012.

It seemed that Tiara was rather distracted, so Glowbug peeked out some more from the book, a lock of his hair and his nose peeking out. "I... I'm Glowbug." He managed to speak up a little, less scared of Sweetie Belle for obvious reasons. It'd be clear why he had the name from the way his eyes seemed to give of a slight glow under the book.