Earthworm Zim Chp. 15

Oscar awoke as soon as his alarm went off. Yawning, he slammed a fist on the device and slowly got out of bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the first thing he saw was Milo.

And he was pacing back and forth with the phone in his hand.

"Milo, what are you doing?" Oscar groaned. It was obvious what exactly his brother was doing.

"I'm calling Benson again!" Milo shouted. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You think Twilight's staying with that grumpy gumball machine?" Oscar rolled his eyes.

"No way would she want to spend the night at the Simpsons'!" Milo replied. He glared hard at the phone. "Come on, candy for brains! Pick up!"

He heard a click on the other line. "I'm sorry, the person you are calling is not available right now. Please leave a message after the-"

"Forget you!" Milo exclaimed before throwing the phone to the ground. He began blubbering as he paced back and forth with a sad posture.

Oscar's look softened as he watched his brother mope. "Hey, come on, bro. Twilight's alright. I mean, she's the most magical pony in Ponyville, she can fend for herself."

"I know! I know!" Milo exclaimed, holding his head in frustration. "But...man, you should've seen the look on her face when she saw Red and Lol kiss! I haven't seen a face that sad since one of the pet store's dogs lost his bone to the cat! I mean, seriously, she was so heartbroken you'd think she'd want to leave forever because of Red being already taken!"  

"Hey, she's not the only one who's gotten heartbroken because someone they love loves someone else," Oscar said quietly, rubbing his hands together nervously. "I mean, look at me," He waved his hands in the air. "Remember when we first met Desiree?"

"Oh, dude, that was an awesome day," Milo couldn't help but smile, reflecting their first meeting with the human, ex-ghost girl.

"Yeah, as soon as I met her, I was in love with her," Oscar went on. Then he smiled to himself, remembering the first time he saw Desiree in all her human beauty. "Her gorgeous eyes...her long, radiant hair...her nice teeth..." He blinked before shaking his head to stick to the point. "But when she got reunited with her family, and then she revealed Aldrin was her boyfriend..." The catfish looked down at the ground, feeling a little dejected. "Man, was I a wreck after that..." He brightened up a little. "But we're all friends now and if she's happy, I'm happy."

"You're still in love with her, bro," Milo pointed out. He remembered numerous times when Desiree had time to be in their tank that Oscar would swoon over her and even go as far as to impress her...trying to be a wonderful "friend".

"Yes, don't remind me that I still like a girl who has a boyfriend," Oscar muttered. "The point is, Twilight will be okay after some time off and she'll turn out the way I did. Hurt but happy!"

"That's not really a great way to describe it," Milo said.

"Look, just get ready for school, okay?" Oscar said with a huff as he made his way to the bathroom.

Milo rolled his eyes before he picked up the phone from the ground.

"And quit calling Benson!" Oscar shouted.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight's eyes slowly opened before she made out where she was. She was in Mordecai and Rigby's room, having slept in Mordecai's bed.

As much as she didn't want to take it away from him, the bluejay had insisted she slept on his bed while he took refuge on the floor next to Rigby. Though Twilight had noticed how uncomfortable the floor was for him, he managed to have a nice sleep before she had closed her eyes and drifted off as well.

Mordecai wasn't in the room; Twilight watched as Rigby kept on snoozing in that little trampoline known as his bed. Careful not to wake him, Twilight extended her two hooves to the floor quietly before slipping out of the covers. Creeping towards the door, she opened it and closed it behind her gently before making her way down the hall.

Coming down the stairs, Twilight made her way into the kitchen where she found Mordecai searching through the fridge.

"Oh, you're awake," he said as he turned to see her. "I was going to bring you up breakfast." In his hands were a carton of milk and a box of cereal. "Sorry, all I can offer is a little kid's breakfast..." He gave an apologetic smile.

"No worries," Twilight said with a smile as she sat herself at the table. "Yesterday's meal was amazing and I'm fine with something plain and simple."

"Okay," Mordecai beamed before he placed two bowls between them. "Milk..." He poured some into her bowl. "Cereal..." He poured that as well. "Combined."

Twilight giggled before he handed her a spoon and sat across from her, using his hands to eat his cereal. 


"Oh, you're not using a spoon?" She asked.

"Actually, it's because I gave you the last one," he told her. "But it's fine, don't worry!" He assured her after seeing her face abashed. "So..." He began as he scooped some cereal using the palm of his hand. "Get a good sleep?"

"The best in a while," Twilight responded, using her magic to move her spoon from her bowl to her mouth.

"You know I love it whenever you use your magic," Mordecai said. "It gives that kind of walking-on-air feeling for some reason."

"Walking-on-air feeling?" Twilight repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, like feeling really happy," he said. "Like a little kid getting a toy with his kids' meal, you know?"

"Oh!" Twilight said in surprise. She tried not to blush.

"Mordecai, please don't eat like that!" Benson's voice boomed as he came into the kitchen and opened the fridge to get a bottle of water. "You're making a mess!" His look softened when he turned to Twilight. "And how are you this morning, Ms. Sparkle?"

Twilight tried not giggle. It seemed so funny that he would sometimes refer to her as 'Ms.'. It was cute even. "I'm doing fine, Benson," she said as she magically placed her spoon back in her bowl. "I'd like to know when work will start."

"Oh, you were serious about that?" He asked, surprised. "Really, Twilight, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"Oh, but I do want to," she said, her violet eyes sparkling. "I'd like to work alongside all my friends here. Plus the work will do some good for me, don't worry."

"Well, if you want to," Benson said with an impressed smile. He turned to Mordecai, frowning. "Where is Rigby? He should've woke up like an hour ago!"

"Someone mention my name?" Asked a tired voice. All heads turned to see Rigby making his way into the kitchen, scratching and yawning. He took sight of Twilight using her magic to eat her breakfast. "Hey, purple princess, how about using that magic to spoon-feed me? I'm too tired to get my own bowl."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"You really care about that pony, you know that, Red?"

Red smiled at Purple as they made their way into Ponyville. Red had decided to visit and see if Twilight was home before they went to work. Still no news of Twilight's return, but Red still kept his hopes up.

"She's important to me, Purple," Red told him as they spotted the familiar library house.

"Like how Lol is important to you?" Purple couldn't help but ask, stifling a giggle.

"Okay, not like that," Red told him. "She's just this very important person in my life suddenly...And, come on, she was the first to offer us a room when we first came to Earth."

"Yeah, you're right," Purple nodded as they came over to the door. "Those s'mores were the best."

Red knocked on the door and waited. Soon, the door opened and there stood Spike. The baby dragon looked up at them in surprise.

"Hey, Spike," Red greeted. "Is Twilight home yet?"

"Uh..." Spike's voice trailed off nervously.

"She's not..." Red said sadly. "Man, where is she? It's not like her to go on like that without a word..."

"It's very private business, sirs," Spike lied, playing with his hands nervously. "But I assure you Twilight is fine and well...wherever she is..." He muttered under his breath.

""Well, if she ever comes back," Red said. "Give her my love."

Spike's eyes blinked before they widened in surprise. "Um, okay?"

"Wow, Red..." Purple laughed. "You made it sound like you're in love with Twilight."

Red scoffed with a laugh. "Not funny."

"Yet you're laughing," Purple pointed out with a playful smile.

As soon as the Tallest said their farewells and headed off to work, Spike was about to close the door-

Then something white and large landed in front of the house. Spike could recognize the figure anywhere, its colorful hair blowing in the wind.

"Princess Celestia!" Spike exclaimed in shock. "Um, uh, welcome!" He gave a polite yet nervous smile.

"Hello, Spike," the princess greeted with a smile. "I just dropped by to see how you and Twilight are doing." She looked around the area. "Twilight's not here?"

"Well, uh, see..." Spike bit his lip.

"You know, the party a few nights back," she began, "she was gone for the rest of that night and my sister and I were wondering why."

Spike felt his forehead sweat. "Um..." He gulped. "Would you like to come in for some tea?"

"Oh, tea would be wonderful," she said as Spike led her into the house.

Spike quietly poured some tea into their cups as they both sat at the table. Princess Celestia used her magic to float her cup up to her lips and take a sip.

"About Twilight, ma'am..." Spike gulped. "See, she needed some time to herself...that's why she's not here right now..." He put a little of the truth as much as he could.

"I see," the princess nodded as she placed her cup down. She was quiet for a few moments. Then she leaned toward him closely. "Tell me, Spike...what is the real reason she left?"

Spike's eyes widened. He could never lie to the princess. Finally, he gave in. "Well, see, it's about Red...and Lol..."

Spike poured the truth out to her, feeling a bit better about finally letting out while on the other hand feeling like he was betraying Twilight. Princess Celestia listened carefully, nodding as he talked.

"And we don't know where she is," Spike concluded sadly.

"Oh, dear," the princess's eyes widened. She placed a hoof to her chin in worry. "Poor Twilight...this has to be the first time she's fallen in love. Always so occupied with her studies and such...I can't imagine how she is right now." She smiled at Spike. "Thank you for telling me, Spike. I'm sure wherever she is right now, she's safe. She has amazing magical abilities, dear one. Just keep hoping she'll turn up soon. I know I will." With a graceful nod, she stood up from her seat and made her way toward the door. "Thank you for the tea, Spike. Goodbye and take care of yourself."

Spike couldn't help but smile as the princess left. He would take in her words and hope Twilight would turn up soon.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Winn poked her head out of her office, looking from left to right of the halls.

Where was Alejandro? Usually he would be sent no later than twelve for either talking back to a teacher or causing chaos in the cafeteria with some wild animals.

"Want one?"

She turned and smiled when she saw Purple, all dressed in his janitorial uniform, smile at her with two cans of soda in his hands.

"I was just getting a soda and the machine spit out two," he chuckled. "I thought you'd be thirsty."

"Thanks, babe," Winn said before accepting the can. Before she opened her can, she came forward and gave her alien in disguise a big kiss on the lips. When she pulled away and saw his flushed expression, she laughed. "Wanted to have something before I drink."

"Right," he said before opening his can. "Hey, uh, the school doesn't really know that we're...?"

"No," she said. "I mean, I don't know what people would think if they learned that a counselor was dating the janitor."

"But I have a feeling the results would not be pretty..." He said sadly.

"Hey, I bet the girls would be pretty jealous," she said with a smile. "Me in love with a strong, sexy man like yourself..." She gave him a wink before giving his bottom a swift pat.

Purple flushed with embarrassment before rubbing his rear. "Thanks..."

"Good morning," greeted a familiar Hispanic voice.

Winn immediately turned around and her eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

Alejnadro. The Alejandro. Was just walking down the hall pass them. No strong quips, no giving the finger, no spray-painting the walls. Just a quick greeting.

The blonde watched as the teen disappeared around the corner. "What the hell just happened?"

"Oh, him?" Purple said with a satisfied smile. "Let's just say a nice man put some sense into him..."

Winn looked at Purple in amazement. He gave her a cocky grin.

"Oh, Purple, you are just too perfect!" She exclaimed before launched herself at him and planted kisses all over his face.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight smiled to herself as she enjoyed the sunshine that kissed her face as she raked leaves alongside Mordecai and Rigby.

And she was even more happy that she was wearing the blue ribbon Mordecai had given her last night.

"Okay, we're done here," Rigby said as he threw his rake down.

"But we haven't finished raking all the leaves yet," Twilight said, her rake leaning against her side.

"Dude, what are you? A work-a-holic?" Rigby said. "You may be some nerdy, geeky chick back in Ponyville who likes to get the job done. But that's not how we usually do it here."

"Oh, man, Rigby..." Mordecai groaned in frustration. "At least Twilight's got it better than you do, Mr. D-in-English."

"Boys, please don't fight," Twilight said.

"Sorry, about that Twilight," Mordecai said with an apologetic smile.

"I'm not..." Rigby muttered under his breath.

"But seriously, Twi," the bluejay said as he threw his rake down. "You need a break. Come slack with us."

The pony's eyes widened. "But what about Benson?"

"He won't even realize we're gone," the bluejay chuckled. "Come on, let's go back into the house and play some video games." Then he gave a playful smile. "Or even read some books."

Twilight's eyes widened and a huge smile was plastered on her face. "Oh, that would be wonderful!"

"Geek..." Rigby muttered under his breath as he followed them into the house.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Thank you, come again," Red said after the customer left with her purchased items.

"Any news of Twilight?" Lol asked as she came out of the back room with bowls of dry food.

"None," Red sighed. "Spike said he still has no idea. You know, I thought he and Twilight were really close..."

"I'm sure she'll call soon," Lol assured him. "What does she do? Writes a letter in the sky or something magical like that?"

"Well, she does send letters using Spike's fire," Red pondered. "But I think that only works for Princess Celestia." He shrugged. "Maybe she'll use a phone..."

Rofl bounded around the corner a dog food stand and leaned against the glass panes of the rabbit area. He barked when one of the rabbits sniffed at him.

"That rabbit really differs from the others," Lol said as she pointed at one of the rabbits looking at Rofl. "He was born with a black spot on his eye."

"Very unique," Red noticed. "I wonder what kind of name the little guy could have..."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Oscar looked up from his work and peered over at Milo's desk. The beta fish seemed to be focused on something he was doing on his piece of paper.

"Drawing Twilight again, Milo?" Oscar couldn't help but ask.

"Am not!" Milo denied, hiding his paper. Then he eyes grew wide. "Dude, Benson didn't even call back and now I'm getting even more worried! We...we should call Vanessa!"

"Tried it," Bea called from her desk. "Said she hasn't seen Twilight either. But she'll keep an eye out for her. She told me to tell you not to worry, Milo."

"How can I not worry?" Milo cried. His eyes glistened with sadness. "Poor, sweet, gorgeous Twilight...out there...probably all alone with nothing to eat..."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Who wants more pizza bites?" Pops announced as he came into the living room.

"Thanks, Pops," Twilight said as she used her magic to summon a few pieces into her mouth. "Mmm! I cannot eat enough! This is so good!" She sat on the couch with a book in her hooves while Mordecai and Rigby were playing video games.

"You sure you don't want to play, Twi?" Mordecai asked.

"Yeah, quit being such a nerd and do something cool for once!" Rigby demanded. Mordecai gave him a punch on the shoulder. "Ow!"

"That's okay," she said as she stuck her nose in her book once again. "I miss my reading."

"Oh, yes," Pops laughed. "It's always nice to sit with a good book. Always feed your brain knowledge."

"Dude, speaking of feeding," Rigby began, his eyes focused on the TV, "what's going to be for dinner? The fridge is, like, totally bare."

"I don't know," Mordecai shrugged. "I thought someone would go to the groceries and buy stuff."

"Well, Muscle Man won't do it," Rigby shrugged. "Skips is too busy." He looked up at Pops.

"Oh, I'd love to," Pops said as he made his way out the door, "but I'm afraid papa needs me to do some business right now. Toodles!" And he left.

"Well, this bites," Rigby muttered.

"Wait," Twilight said. "I'll do it."

Mordecai looked at her. "Oh, Twi, you don't have to."

"I insist," she said with a determined smile. "I mean, you guys have done so much for me. It's the least I can do..."

"Do it," Rigby said simply, which earned him another punch. "Ow!"

"You sure?" Mordecai asked, rubbing his fist.

"Of course," Twilight laughed. "I love shopping here. It'll be fun."

"Okay, let me just give you some money..." Mordecai began as he dug into his pocket.

"No, that's alright," Twilight insisted as she magically summoned her bag with her money in it. "I'll just use mine."

"You sure?" The bluejay asked again.

"Geez, Mordecai, just get the girl going already!" Rigby shouted. "She offered! She'll do it!"

Mordecai gave him a hardened glare before smiling gratefully at Twilight. "Be safe, okay?"

"I will," Twilight said softly as she made her way toward the door. "Thanks." She smiled at the bluejay as she disappeared out the door.

Mordecai smiled to himself, watching her leave. "Man, isn't she great?"

"Isn't that what you said about Margaret?" Rigby asked, still playing.

"Dude, Twilight's different!" Mordecai exclaimed. "She's nothing like Margaret!"

"Meaning you think Twilight's the better kind of lady in your opinion," the raccoon said.

Mordecai opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but then he closed it.

Rigby actually did have a point there. Unlike Margaret, Twilight was definitely not ditzy.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight hummed to herself as she walked down the familiar block she and Mordecai took on the first day she came here. Her mind already set on what she was going to buy, Twilight scanned the areas looking for that specific supermarket.

Mordecai and the others have done so much for her...with the exception of Rigby. Helping with work and buying groceries was the least she could do to pay them back for their kindness and hospitality...

Yet she felt is still wasn't enough...

Suddenly, the pony stopped in front of a familiar dress shop.

Displayed in the window was the red dress.

Twilight's eyes strained as she gazed hard at the material. She was not completely over the fact of what had happened days before...but she felt stronger now that Mordecai had helped her. Still a little hurt, but still feeling strong.

The dress did look beautiful...

Twilight shifted her eyes to the strands of her mane behind her back. She remembered the blue ribbon in her hair. That was even more beautiful...

With a strong smile, Twilight diligently walked passed the dress shop, continuing on her job towards a grocery store.

As soon as she was a good distance away from the shop, two figures emerged from an alley and watched her go.

"I can't believe you want to do this!" Exclaimed Rigby.

Mordecai shushed him before watching Twilight leave. "Dude, just be cool about this for once, will you?" And without waiting for a reply, he pushed his way into the dress shop.

"Oh, you are such a girl..." The raccoon muttered as he reluctantly followed behind him.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight, with a basket atop her back, walked down the aisles of the large market. The cool air conditioning made her hooves shiver a bit and the cries of little kids was giving her a headache.

"Let's see..." Twilight began as she scanned the produce department. "Eggs, milk, chips..."

"Would you like a sample, ma'am?"

The pony turned and was greeted by a woman sitting behind a table. On the table was a plate of tiny pieces of pastry.

"Try this cake," the woman offered. "There' s a wide variety of mixes down here. The flavor you're trying is vanilla."

Twilight sampled a piece before smiling politely, enjoying the taste.

Eating cake reminded her of the cupcakes Pinkie Pie made back in Ponyville...

Thinking of home sent a sudden guilty feeling down the pony's gut. She had taken off without another word to her friends, not even bothering to take in their silent goodbyes as she left. And Spike and Milo...they were hurt by her sudden news to want to leave.

And what about Red and Purple? It has been a few days now, wouldn't they start to wonder where she was this instant?

She knew the reason she left was because she couldn't face Red...but that was no reason to not say anything of where she was.

Perhaps she should call...

The pony let the guilt slide as she enjoyed the flavor of her sample. She remembered one time, before they had all met, Mordecai and Rigby were throwing Skips a birthday party and were delivering his cake. They loved cake, they kept telling her. However, the flavor vanilla was not a favorite for those two...

Twilight suddenly got an idea. Then she looked at the woman. "What other flavors do you have?"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pinkie Pie was stirring cake batter while Vanessa was helping box cookies when Spike came into the kitchen. Pinkie gave her usual happy smile. "Hi, Spike! What's up?"

"Nothing much," the dragon sighed. "Twilight still isn't home..."

"Oh, poo!" Pinkie exclaimed with disappointment. "And Red's worried sick about her!"

"If only she knew how much he does care about her," Vanessa sighed. "Even though she knows he can't love her..." When Milo had told her what had happened to Twilight, Vanessa was very shocked. However, she knew deep in her heart Twilight would recover from her heartbreak and come home soon...and face Red again.

"Care! Love! It's the same diff!" The happy pony pointed out. "Hey, why don't you visit Red and Lol later? Maybe you should come clean with him about why exactly Twilight left."

Spike's eyes widened. "I can't do that!" He cried. "It's called a secret love for a reason, Pinkie! I mean, I already spilled to Princess Celestia! I don't want to spill to the one person that's the reason for this whole thing!"

"Oh, yeah, you're right..." The pink pony pondered. "Still, maybe you should give them a gift!"

"A gift?" Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Like cupcakes!" She giggled. "I'm making a few batches right now! I know I already threw Lol a party, but still! Everyone should get cupcakes!"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. Just no hot sauce, alright?"

"Okey dokey!" She giggled as she set right to work. "Too bad! That's the best thing to add!"

"And I thought Beezy ate weird combinations..." Vanessa muttered.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Oscar opened his locker and took out a few books. Before he closed it, however, he reached in and took out a framed photo.

It was a picture of him and Desiree and Aldrin at the Frosty Mart. Oscar smiled dreamily as he gazed at Desiree's face, and how her arm was around him while the picture was taken.

"Yo, bro!"

Oscar immediately placed the frame back in his locker before closing it shut as soon as Milo came over. "Uh, hey, Milo, what's going on? Still thinking on Sparkle?"

"I am going to Lol's pet shop tonight!" Milo announced.

"What?" Oscar exclaimed in surprise.

"What?" Both turned to Bea swimming over to them, having heard Milo. "You're going to Lol's pet shop? Why, exactly?"

"You're not going to try and beat up Red, are you?" Oscar asked him nervously. "I mean, come on, he didn't even know!" He knew his brother would never do such a thing, but Oscar couldn't be too sure. Twilight was the kind of girl boys would do such crazy things for...

"Nah, man," Milo scoffed. "I'm just gonna come over there and see how she and Red are doing."

Oscar and Bea blinked in total confusion.

"So, wait..." Bea began carefully. "You're going to Lol's pet shop and meet her and Red, the two people that are unwittingly responsible for Twilight's breakdown, just to see how they're doing?"

"Yeah," Milo nodded. "I'm going to see how exactly their relationship is. I mean, how could Red not notice Twilight when he met her first before Lol? I mean, if the relationship is that good..." He pondered a for a bit. "Got to admit, it sounds good by the way Red mentioned it. Anyway, once I get an eyeful of them, I'll talk to Twilight about how happy Red is and try and make her feel better about it!"

"But you don't know where Twilight is," Oscar reminded him.

"I got to try!" Milo cried, feeling hopeless as he swam off.

"Should we go after him?" Oscar asked as he and Bea watched him leave.

"Nah, let him be," Bea replied. "He's the one with the crush on Twilight. Not us."

"Well, um..." Oscar rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I do think she's kind of pretty..." He confessed.

"You are so lucky Clamantha does not know that," Bea told him in a serious, deadly tone.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Night arrived and Mordecai and the others lounged around the living room watching TV. Mordecai, however, seemed a bit tense, looking back at the kitchen every now and then. Twilight was in there.

"Dude, would you chillax?" Rigby told him. "She's not stupid enough to burn the kitchen down."

"You know who else is not stupid enough to burn the kitchen down?" Muscle Man joked.

"Dude, no," Mordecai warned him. "No 'My Mom' jokes when Twilight's around."

"Oh, look at you being her knight in shining armor..." Muscle Man rolled his eyes.

"I still can't believe what you did earlier!" Rigby huffed.

"Dude, you'd probably do the same thing if you had any friends who were girls," Mordecai retorted.

"Wait, what did you do?" Benson exclaimed, getting paranoid.

Twilight emerged from the kitchen, wiping her forehead. "Well, I'm almost done with my little project," she said.

"Geek..." Rigby muttered. Mordecai hit his shoulder. "Ow!"

"Hey, guys?" Twilight began. "Could I borrow your phone?"

"Oh, sure," Mordecai said before picking up the phone next to the couch and handing it to her. "Who are you going to call?"

Twilight bit her lip as she looked at the phone. Then her expression melted into a gentle yet sad smile. "A friend."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Well, closing time," Lol said as she put up the 'We're Closed' sign on the window. She smiled at Red. "Thanks again for your help."

"Hey, I'l do anything for you, Lol," Red said, gazing at her lovingly.

"Aw, you're sweet," she giggled softly as she walked up to him and leaned against his body.

"Not as sweet as your smile," he told her, gazing into her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. "Really, I'm crazy about it."

Lol blushed with embarrassment. She leaned up and was about to kiss him-

The bell of the door dinged and both turned to see Spike standing in the doorway, a box in his hands.

"Uh, is this a bad time?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, Spike!" Red exclaimed as he and Lol quickly pulled away. "What a surprise. Come in."

"Thanks," the dragon said as he came in. "Wow, this is a nice shop, Lol. Fluttershy would love it here."

"Thank you," Lol told him. "What's in the box?"

"Pinkie's cupcakes," he said as he placed the box on the table. "Thought maybe you guys would like some."

"Oh, I love the cupcakes in your place!" Lol exclaimed. "Eating them makes you feel like a kid again."

"Did someone mention cupcakes?"

All three turned and saw Milo waving from the doorway, around his waist was a watersuit.

"Milo?" Red's eyes widened. "Wow, an even bigger surprise."

"Just wanted to visit you guys," Milo said as he looked around the shop. "Where them fishes at? I'd like to see if they're are any girls in them tanks who'd like a piece of the Mi-Man!" He smiled coyly.

"Fishes are over there," Lol said as she pointed to a few tanks. "Sorry it looks empty. A lot of people wanted to buy fish today."

"Cupcake?" Spike offered.

"Don't mind if I do," Milo smiled. He looked up at Red and Lol. "So...how are things going between you two?"

"Oh, us?" Red asked. He smiled at Lol before wrapping an arm around him. "Never been better. I'm happy we've found each other."

"Me, too," Lol said, leaning into his embrace.

"Okay..." Milo gulped.

Man, Twilight may or may not like this...he thought sadly.

Suddenly, Lol's phone rang. The brunette looked at it in confusion, not expecting any calls after closing time. She picked it up. "Hello?"

Her eyes widened. The others looked at her in wonder.

"Lol, who is it?" Red asked.

Lol placed a hand over the phone and looked at Red. "It's Twilight!"

"Twilight?" Red exclaimed.

"Twilight?" Milo and Spike cried.

"Let me talk to her!" Milo demanded.

"No, I want to!" Spike cried.

"I need to speak to her as well," Red intervened.

"Hang on, hang on," Lol said. "I'll put it on speaker."

After pressing a button, Twilight's voice became loud and clear.

"Hello, you still there?" She asked through the other end.

"Twilight!" Red exclaimed. "Great Irk, we've been worried about you?"

"Where the heck are you, woman?" Milo demanded, smiling with joy of hearing her voice again.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight felt a bit uneasy as she looked at the phone. The others watched her curiously, Mordecai looking a bit worried.

"Twilight?" Spike's voice said through the phone.

"I, uh..." She bit her lip. "I'm with Mordecai and the others."

"What?" She heard Milo's voice rang out. "Yeah, take that, Oscar! I told him she was somewhere with the gumball man!"

"Gumball man?" Benson cried, but was shushed by Pops.

"Spike told me you were on business," Red's voice said. "What kind of business was it that you acted so discreet?"

Twilight's eyes widened. "Um..."

Suddenly, Mordecai gently took the phone from her. "We needed some help," he explained into the phone. "And Twilight acted quickly."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Red blinked, hearing another voice on the other end. "Oh, she was?" He asked. "And...who's this?"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Oh, I'm Mordecai," the bluejay said nonchalantly. "You must be Red, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Red said on the other line.

"Awesome, Twilight's told me a lot about you and Purple," the bluejay smiled. "Even Lol and Winn."

Twilight watched in surprise as Mordecai spoke with Red on the phone. He didn't even know the guy yet here he was carrying into a friendly conversation. But she was grateful that he saved her from sounding like a crying fool.

"Yeah, we should totally meet sometime when you guys get the chance," Mordecai said. He smiled at Twilight. "Twilight's told me you work great with animals, of course."

The pony had to giggle at this.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Well, you certainly sound like a good friend, Mordecai," Red smiled as he spoke on the phone. "I'm grateful you took her in while the rest of us were so worried."

"Hey, don't worry, man," Mordecai's voice said through the phone. "Twilight's safe with me. She'll be fine."

"She better be!" Milo shouted at the phone. "I've been worried sick about her!"

"Hello!" Spike intervened. "I'm her loyal assistant! How do you think I felt?"

"Boys, Twilight really appreciates it," Lol told them with a chuckle. "No need to fight."

"Thanks again for calling us," Red said into the phone. "Can I tell Twilight goodnight?"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mordecai turned and saw Twilight was walking back into the kitchen. "Uh, sorry, dude, she's busy at the moment."

"Oh," Red's voice sounded disappointed. "Well, tell her we said goodnight then. Bye, Mordecai."

"Yeah, later, Red dude," Mordecai said before hanging up.

"Smooth, Mordecai," Rigby rolled his eyes. "Getting along with the guy that broke her heart..."

"He didn't mean to," the bluejay retorted. "And he's really nice."

"You know who else is nice?" Muscle Man smirked.

"Hey, guys!" Sang Twilight as she poked her head into the living room.

"Oh, Twilight!" Mordecai smiled as soon as he saw her. "Yeah?"

"I got a huge surprise for you guys!" She said. "It's my way of saying thanks for all you've done for me!"

"Aw, well, glad we could make you happy," Mordecai said, feeling himself blush a bit.

"Come on, what's the surprise?" Rigby demanded impatiently.

Twilight smiled as she slowly walked into the room. Rigby's jaw dropped.

On her back was a huge cake. Painted with pink frosting and iced with blue colors and candy flowers were on top.

"Cake, man..." Rigby drooled.

"Oh, good show, Twilight!" Pops exclaimed. "It looks simply wonderful!"

"Thanks..." She blushed. "I know how much you guys love cake, and I thought maybe this would be a great thank-you gift..."

Though she wasn't much of a baker, Twilight had learned a lot of baking from both Applejack and Pinkie Pie to make some decent desserts. She had baked cookies, cupcakes, and even pies. Baking the cake on her back had been her biggest task yet.

And by the looks on her friends' faces, she knew she had succeeded.

"Wow, Twilight," Mordecai said in awe as he took the plate off her back and looked at it. "It's beautiful. What kind of cake is it?"

"Well, it's not vanilla, don't worry," she laughed. "It's a chocolate raspberry cake with strawberry icing. I put a little bit of coconut in it in case any of you guys like coconut."

"But I hate coconut," Rigby said. Mordecai sent a major punch to his arm. "Ow! That hurt the worse!"

"Oh, Twilight, thank you very much," Benson said with a smile. "This is truly delicious."

"Hey, Mordecai," Skips said as he looked at the bluejay. "Don't you have something for her as well?"

"Hmm?" Mordecai wondered. "Oh, yeah!"

"What?" Twilight asked. "You got something for me?" Her eyes widened.

"Well..." He smiled coyly. "Yeah, I did..." He went back to the couch and pulled something out from underneath the table and held it up to her.

Twilight gasped.

In his hands was a dress that looked like the one she saw displayed in the shop earlier. Except it was a dazzling blue with hints of sparkle all over. It glittered in her violet eyes as she gazed at it in awe.

Twilight looked up at Mordecai, shocked and overwhelmed. "Mordecai..." Her voice trailed off. "Oh, no, you shouldn't have..." He had helped her so much, and she wanted to return the favor.

This was huge.

"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have," Rigby rolled his eyes.

Mordecai ignored him as he smiled at Twilight. "I wanted to, Twi. You're an amazing girl-pony..." He confessed quietly. "And I thought I'd buy you something that would match with your ribbon."

Twilight remembered the ribbon in her hair. That was such a nice thing he had done for her. And now the dress...

"Twilight?" Mordecai asked gently, seeing how suddenly quiet she had become.

Twilight smiled at the bluejay, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Oh, see she hates it!" Rigby interjected. "I told you buying that dress was a stupid idea!"

Before Mordecai could yell at Rigby, he was nearly toppled over when Twilight came over to him. She hugged him with all her might, basking in the sweetness known as their friendship.

"You are such a good friend..." She told him quietly, tears still streaming down her face.

Mordecai smiled down at her, embracing her back. "Same to you..."

The others watched in awe, touched by the moment. Rigby was just fuming with impatience.

"Can we please have cake now?" He demanded.

"Not yet," Mordecai said as he and Twilight broke away. "Twilight should put on her dress first." He smiled at the pony.

"Oh, come on!" The raccoon cried.

"Don't worry!" Twilight said happily, wiping the tears from her face as she took the dress and ran upstairs. "I'll put it on quickly!"

As the others watched her go up the steps, Rigby glared at Mordecai.

"Again," he told him. "You are such a girl."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A few minutes later...

"Oh, goody, here she comes!" Pops exclaimed as he pointed at the stairs.

Mordecai immediately stood up as he turned to see Twilight. His jaw dropped.

Twilight slowly descended down the stairs with such grace, wearing the dress he bought. She looked radiant and her violet skin was glowing. Her eyes sparkled as much as her dress. And her ribbon matched so perfectly...

"Wow, Twi..." His voice trailed off. "You look..."

"Hungry!" Rigby cried pointing at the cake. "I'm hungry! Can we please have cake now?"

"Oh, right!" Twilight laughed as she came over with a knife. She smiled at Mordecai before cutting the cake. "First piece should go to Mordecai."

"Yeah!" The bluejay cheered as he held out his plate.

As the others got their pieces, Twilight stood beside Mordecai, smiling at him.

She looked so lovely...

"Thanks again, Mordecai..." She told him.

"Hey, no prob," he said with a gentle smile. "And hey..." He said quietly. "You look great. A total Ms. It."

She laughed. "I am, aren't I?"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Suddenly, Rofl began to bark as he stood in front of the shop's window. Lol and the others looked at him in confusion.

"What is it, boy?" She asked.

But the dog kept barking.

"Is their trouble?" Spike asked, getting a bit worried.

"This is Quahog," Milo reminded him. "there's always trouble."

"I think he's sensing something..." Red said quietly as he stood beside the dog and looked out the window. "I can't see anything..."

"Me neither..." Lol said as she peered as well.

"Maybe he's just seeing things," Milo joked. "I mean, I must be seeing things as well. All I see is some car coming this way at a surprisingly fast rate..."

Lol's eyes widened in horror. "A car?"

Red's eyes widened as he continued gazing out the window. He kept watching...

Suddenly, the car Milo noticed was coming closer and closer to the shop.

"Everyone out of the way!" Red as he opened the front door and everyone quickly ran out.

As soon as Rofl joined the others outside-

CRASH!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twilight laughed as she enjoyed her third slice. She was quite proud of how she had baked such a masterpiece, and the others kept telling her what an amazing job she had done. It was always so nice to spend time with these regular people, especially with Mordecai.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

"I got it," she said as she used her magic to summon it. "Hello?"

"Twilight!" Milo's voice crackled on the other end. "The shop...*pzzzt*...crash...*pzzzt*...oh, mama!"

And the line went dead.

Twilight's eyes widened in horror as she stared at the phone.

"Who was that?" Mordecai asked her.

Twilight said nothing as she quickly hung up. She summoned her bag with all her things before looking to the others.

"I really need to get going back," she said with an apologetic smile. "Something huge happened. And I'm really needed."

"Thank gosh..." Rigby muttered under his breath.

"Oh, you're leaving already?" Mordecai asked, looking a little disappointed.

She gave him an assuring smile. "I'll be back, I promise."

"Right," Mordecai kept up a strong smile. "I hope we'll meet your new friends soon. And remember, we got grilled cheese night next week."

She gave him a quick nod as she bounded for the door. "I will."

As the others gave their farewells, Twilight was galloping across the field in her sparkling blue dress and ribbon. She panted as she kept on running, the house and her friends far behind her.

"Oh, please be okay..." She kept telling herself.