While the Flim Flam brothers were devising a devious plan to steal back the Señor G. Echo plush, Sunset was awaiting her food, alongside her students. As Sunset anticipated how her white mushroom sauce pizza would turn out, she had a few other thoughts occupying her mind, including what exactly Trixie was doing here in Hope Hollow. When she had last seen the former magician, Trixie was at her rope’s end as far as performing, and had been convinced to potentially switch her career to foalsitting, especially given her exceptional performances at birthday parties. From all this, Sunset gathered that if anything, Trixie was most likely looking for work, to where she prioritized this babysitting gig, over her duties at the School of Friendship.

“So hey, about Trixie being here?” Sunset said to her students. “My best guess is that she’s looking for anypony willing to hire her as a foalsitter, and what better place to look for that kind of gig, than an arcade?”

“Sounds like you’ve got a keen instinct for figuring everything out, Sunset.” Sunflower commended, as she and Babs sat at a table next to them. “The hotel manager had to drag Trixie out of the guest room, and when she did, you should’ve seen how many residents she approached about a potential foalsitting gig.”

“Since Trixie and I have had history, and we’re at least familiar with her background, we decided to give her a fair chance.” Babs explained. “This’ll be like her orientation day, mostly to see if she’ll be a good fit in the future. In other words, she’ll be tagging along with us for a bit.”

“Well, I hope she finds what she’s looking for, Trixie usually needs that kind of experience when it comes to the opportunities she takes.” Sunset nodded, as she took a sip of her soda. “It can’t be easy trying to make a new start, but I’m sure she’ll map out everything she needs to become a great foalsitter.”

Just then, the aforementioned mare came around the corner to join Sunflower and Babs at their table, feeling confident and satisfied with being given this chance.

“I should’ve known foalsitting’s always been a great way to make a living.” Trixie sat down, eager to begin her new career. “Performing magic doesn’t necessarily make me special, considering how a literal third of Equestria’s population can use magic as well. Either way, I certainly look forward to looking after you in the near future, Babs.”

“Well actually, you technically wouldn’t be foalsitting me, because I’m not a foal anymore.” Babs confessed. “I may look small and young, but I’m actually a lot older than I look, since I got held back a few times. That’s also part of the reason I got bullied quite a bit at my old school, when they learned about my actual age.”

“Wait, so I’m not foalsitting you then?” Trixie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Then why am I tagging along with you two?”

“We wanted to see your performance as a foalsitter, since you mentioned you had no prior experience.” Sunflower explained. “If we’re happy with what we see, we’ll recommend you to the rest of our extended family, who often mention they’re looking for sitters while they’re at work. But just for today, you can treat Babs like the foal you’re looking after, as a bit of a warmup. We all have to start somewhere, somepony’s gotta give you a fair chance, sooner or later.”

“That makes sense.” Trixie shrugged. “I’ll be sure to keep a close eye on Babs and keep her entertained, I’ve always had a knack for keeping the young ones amused with my magic shows, after all.”

“Hey, Guidance Counselor!” Gallus waved from the other table. “Remember us?”

“We’re the students from the School of Friendship, and on a field trip with Miss Sunset here.” Smolder added. “Certainly weren’t expecting to see you here, as well.

“Would you mind explaining why you seemed to panic when you thought Headmare Starlight was here?” Silverstream inquired. “You weren’t… ditching your duties at the school, were you?”

“Oh, goodness no!” Trixie exclaimed, raising her hooves in a gesture of innocence. “I’d never ditch my duties at the School of Friendship! But… I did want to take a little break, just a small one. I’ve been feeling a bit unmotivated with performing magic, and I thought some time off to explore other talents might do me some good. But please, whatever you do, don’t tell Starlight about this! I’m sure she’d understand, but I’d rather not see her chew me out for goofing off again, she’s scary when she gets angry…”

“Your secret’s safe with us.” Gallus nodded. “We don’t have much room to judge, considering we’ve ditched school ourselves, once.”

“Trixie’s just trying to find her way in Equestria, like the rest of us.” Sunset sat back in her chair, reflecting a bit on her own journey. “So, what brought you to Hope Hollow, exactly? Did you have any particular gigs in mind, or was it more of a spontaneous decision?”

“Well I had a few leads, but nothing quite stuck until I saw the ad for Hotel Hope.” Trixie explained. “I read that there’s an arcade here as well, so the chances of finding some foals to look after seemed promising. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of the residents here wanted to give me an opportunity, even after I reinvented my look. How can somepony look at this hip manestyle and groovy hoodie, and say I’m still unqualified for the job!?”

“Your lack of foalsitting experience is a concern, unfortunately.” Sunflower began. “There’s also your previous reputation as a show-off magician, which may turn some away, but we’re all about giving second chances here. I’m sure with your charm and talent, you’ll be booked solid in no time.”

“I know that feeling about giving second chances, considering how I once treated Applebloom and the other Crusaders, when I was visiting for the first time.” Babs sighed. “A little heartache really just drives you to do anything to avoid getting bullied, but I know it’s never an excuse to become a bully yourself.”

“You’re absolutely right about that, Babs.” Sunset said, feeling those words resonating within her. “Everyone’s got their past, but what we learn from it makes us who we are today. I should know, considering how I used to be a resentful bully myself, and it’s still hard to imagine that kind of girl was once me.”

“You, a bully, Miss Sunset?” Silverstream raised an eyebrow. “I just can’t see that, you’ve been nothing but a kind and encouraging chaperone for this entire field trip!”

“Believe it or not, I was once incredibly self-centered and, well, not exactly the nicest pony around.” Sunset opened up. “I didn’t understand the importance of friendship, and it most certainly showed. One of my biggest regrets, but like a good friend once taught me, the pony who never made a mistake… never made anything.”

“Wise choice of words, I couldn’t imagine Babs getting through her depression from bullying without Applebloom giving her a second chance to start over.” Sunflower nodded. “Then again, her big sister is friends with Princess Twilight, so I’m sure she learned it from somewhere.”

“Well, I appreciate the second chance, really I do, but I’m a bit nervous now.” Trixie said. “I overheard how Starlight was at Hotel Hope, so I panicked and hid for a while. Does anyone know if she’s still somewhere around Hope Hollow? I’d hate to run into her while I’m supposed to be on leave.”

“Well, about ‘Starlight’ being here…” Sunset tried her best to explain the misunderstanding. “See, when I was talking to Mayor Sunny Skies earlier, he-”

“He mentioned that Starlight was picking up some kites from the secret kite club that she and Petunia had!” Gallus fabricated.

“Oh, that’s right!” Silverstream began adding on. “Yeah, it’s totally top secret, even the wind whispers about it in hushed tones.”

“What!?” Trixie eyes widened in outrage. “How dare Starlight not let me in on this secret club, we’ve been best friends for so long! Then again, she has a habit of bottling up her anger towards me, but it’s not like it was my fault.”

“Good save, you two.” Sunset whispered to her students, before giggling. “Well Trixie, I suppose to take your mind off of the School of Friendship, we could all indulge in some arcade food.”

“You betcha on that, I can’t believe this place even gives us the option to have peanut butter and chocolate pizzas.” Trixie licked her own lips in anticipation. “I’ve always had a fondness for the greasy, sugary goodness that fuels the soul! Speaking of which, how long must we wait for our food? This arcade looks like it was built on a large budget, so I’d certainly expect some speedy service.”

Back in the kitchen, Juniper Montage was waiting for the food that Flim and Flam were in the process of preparing, as the brothers began to lay out their sinister plan. Flam had already prepared a majority of the orders for the other customers, but Flim was specifically saving one of the pizza pies for Sunset Shimmer. As Juniper was in the process of delivering the food to the remaining customers, Flam stayed behind to notice Flim dumping some sleeping powder on Sunset’s white mushroom sauce pizza. As long as they made her fall asleep, stealing the plush toy would be quite trivial.

“Say, isn’t that the leftover sleeping powder from our Friendship University scheme?” Flam recalled. “How did we plan to use that again, had it not been for that nosy Princess Twilight and Plainity infiltrating our school?”

“We would’ve originally snuck this into our students’ dorm food to throw their schedules off balance, and make it more likely for them to miss class and fail, resulting in more profit for us.” Flim reminded. “Thankfully, we can now use it to put that Sunset Shimmer to sleep. When they’re finished with their food and get ready to play some arcade games, she’ll be too drowsy to play and instead take a nap, which will be the perfect opportunity for us to swoop in and snatch her Señor G. Echo plush from her saddlebag!”

“Hold on, brother!” Flam paused for a second. “Don’t you think it’s a bit risky using that old sleeping powder? It’s not like we can predict how much she’ll eat, nor the right amount to make her drowsy.”

“Oh, come now, it’s not like I’ve never done this before!” Flim whispered, sharply. “We only need her to become sleepy enough as a distraction, and that way, she’ll never know what hit her! Besides, it’s not like she’s going to eat the whole thing by herself, and if she does, well, it’s not our problem if she takes a longer nap than planned, is it? Now how about you stop questioning my brilliant plans, and act fast before she starts asking questions?”

“Alright, it’ll all be worth it for the Señor G. Echo plush.” Flam sighed. “I hear that the latest bid at an auction for such a vintage toy will go up to twelve million bits. We’ll never have to scam or work a day in our lives again with that kind of a profit! Just remember how you wanted to approach this plan, we’ve got to play nice and make her believe there’s nothing fishy going on. She might get suspicious when she sees how much longer her pizza is taking to come out, so why don’t we mark her order as the ‘special’ deal?”

“Oh yes, the Birthday Bash special that this arcade offers.” Flim nodded, before he put on a mouse mascot costume. “In that case, be sure to put on those candles so that it looks more legit, then I’ll bring this special deal to our little Princess’s girl!”

Once Flam added the birthday candles on the pizza and lit every single one, Flim trotted out of the kitchen with the special pizza pie, clad in his mouse mascot costume, which he could see through the costume’s open mouth. He silently snickered to himself as he approached the table, getting ready to initiate their malicious plan towards these unsuspecting fools.

“Hey everyone, look!” Sunflower pointed to Flim. “It’s Mozzarella Mouse, one of the arcade’s main mascots!”

“Yes, that’s me, and I’ve got a special deal for this little mare right over here!” Flim called out in a faux-cheerful tone, his eyes hidden behind the tinted visor of the costume. “Congratulations to you, Miss, and have a cheesy, happy birthday!”

“Oh, well uh…” Sunset stuttered, confused. “I’m pretty sure I just ordered the white mushroom sauce pizza, it’s not my birthday…”

“Oops, it seems like we have a case of mistaken identity!” Flim said with a forced laugh. “But you know what they say, when life gives you candles, you might as well make a wish! Either way, this is still what you ordered, so why don’t you go on ahead and dig in?”

“Well, I suppose so.” Sunset shrugged, as she began reaching for a slice. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a white mushroom sauce pizza from here, so I might as well grab a slice and relive my fillyhood!”

“Hey, wait!” Smolder stopped Sunset. “Since this is a birthday special, don’t you have to make a wish and blow out the candles, first?”

“I mean, it’s not actually my birthday, but I guess I can make a quick wish for good luck.” Sunset leaned over to the pizza, taking a deep breath, and prepared to blow out the candles.

But just as the candles’ flames looked like they had been put out, they immediately relit again, much to Sunset’s confusion. It was at this point that Flim realized his brother must’ve accidentally used the prank relighting birthday candles by mistake, instead of the normal variety. Sunset took another breath, this time blowing with more force, and again, the flames flickered out, only to spring back to life.

“Well, that’s odd…” Sunset said, flabbergasted. “Looks like I’ve got a bit of a stubborn wish on my hooves here!”

“Err, you don’t have to blow out the candles actually…” Flim insisted. “Just… enjoy your pizza as it is.”

“Come now, don’t you know what happens when you don’t blow out birthday candles?” Gallus protested. “Someone’s gotta do it, and I’ve got plenty of experience creating large gusts of wind! Let me have a go at them!”

Gallus leaned back and took a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks before releasing a powerful gust of wind, aimed directly at the birthday candles. The flames immediately all shot out with a hiss, but the power behind his breath was much more than the candles could handle, and the entire pizza, along with the scalding hot cheese, instantly flew off of the plate. The combination of scorching pizza crusts and melted cheese had shot directly into the mascot’s mouth hole, completely covering Flim’s face, as the stallion began to feel a painful, burning sensation on his head.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Flim screamed in agony, as he began running straight back to the kitchen, desperate to get the piping hot cheese off of him. “SUCH HOT CHEESE, GET OUT OF MY WAY, I NEED WATER!!!! COLD WATER TO WASH THIS STUFF OFF!!!!!”

Whilst in the kitchen, Flam and Juniper took notice of Flim scurrying by, covered with melted cheese. As the cheese had ended up obstructing Flim’s vision, it didn’t seem to matter, as his first motive was to immediately get cold water from the sink to wash off the torment and indignity. But as Flim didn’t even hesitate dunking his head into what he thought was the sink, Flam and Juniper spoke up in confusion, unsure if the stallion was right in the head.

“Err, brother?” Flam raised an eyebrow upon seeing what his brother was doing. “Now, I know you said you didn’t want me to question anything you did, but…”

“Would you mind explaining why you just stuck your head into the deep fryer?” Juniper finished Flam’s question, incredibly concerned. “It’s cooking a bunch of fries right now!”

Panicking and blinded by the cheese, Flim hadn’t realized the depth of his mistake until the scalding hot oil from the deep fryer had made contact with his cheese-covered face. He let out a high-pitched squeal of pain, his eyes watering profusely as he jerked his head back up, fry bits stuck to his face, and a faint scent of burnt fur filling the room. He ended up accidentally knocking the deep fryer off of the counter, spilling the hot oil on the rest of his body, and causing him to jump and stumble around everywhere, as if the floor was suddenly lava.

“GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Flim shrieked over and over, before he dove directly into the freezer to coat himself with tubs of ice cream, which all instantly melted as soon as they made contact with him.

“Well, I suppose that’s one way of making fried ice cream.” Juniper tried her best to stay positive. “What even happened out there?”

“It was supposed to be a simple plan, but those birthday candles had to go and ruin it!” Flim said, as he tried to wipe off the cheese with a wet towel. “And now look at me, I’m covered with all sorts of burns! You just had to insist that we had to make this pizza special, didn’t you, brother!?”

“Well, you’re the one who forgot to check the candles, and now we’re going to have to come up with something else!” Flam replied, frustration evident in his voice. “This was just a minor setback, there’s plenty more we can do with the arcade games!”

“You guys aren’t actually planning to do something bad, are you?” Juniper narrowed her eyes at the two stallions, upon hearing their strange choice of words. “Because I’ve noticed that everytime I add up my tips, I’m always short a good fraction of what I earn. You two wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Juniper, I assure you, we had nothing to do with that!” Flam exclaimed, his voice a mix of innocence and panic. “We were just trying to make that pony’s day special with a surprise! Besides, we’re business-ponies of honor, we wouldn’t stoop to theft like that!”

“Uh-huh.” Juniper Montage stared at the two stallions, coldly. “It’s always a coincidence that this happens on days when we all share the same shift, suuuuure. I’ve got my eyes on you two, and I’d better not see you pulling anything funny with our guests, or I’m going to file a complaint to the boss!”

“We were just trying to give the customer a memorable experience!” Flim insisted, as he smeared the remaining cheese off of his body. “We’ll be on our best behavior, I promise!”

Juniper gave the two brothers a cold glare, before trotting out of the kitchen, as Flim and Flam sighed in relief. They were still admittedly frustrated over their plan going south so quickly, but knew there was plenty of time to improvise. Whilst coming up with another scheme, Juniper went back to check in with the rest of the diners, trying to get an understanding of what just happened.

“Hey there.” Sunset noticed Juniper approaching them. “We’re so sorry about that, something was up with those candles, and I’m sure Gallus didn’t mean for that to happen. We completely understand if you’re going to escort us out of the arcade, now.”

“Well, I’m not sure what happened there, but it’s definitely not the first odd occurrence with my coworkers.” Juniper sighed. “But I can see that you’re all okay, so no harm done, right? You’re all still welcome to stay, since accidents will happen.”

“Thanks for being so understanding.” Sunset smiled. “I just don’t understand why he specifically gave me a birthday surprise pizza. It’s not my birthday, and I certainly didn’t order one of those for myself.”

“I’m well aware, I took your order, after all.” Juniper nodded. “Listen, how about I bring out some extra food on the house, to make up for your missing pizza?”

“Oh, but we wouldn’t want to trouble you like that.” Silverstream chimed in. “Here, Miss Sunset. You can have the calzone I ordered, I didn’t really want to eat it, anyways, I just wanted to see what they looked like up close.”

“I appreciate your consideration, Silverstream.” Sunset grinned, as the hippogriff handed Sunset her untouched plate. “Looks like those friendship classes have really been working out for you.”

“Well if you’re planning to bring out some more food, could I get some service?” Trixie requested.

“Sure thing, but it looks like there’s another table in the distance, and they’ve been patiently waiting for a while.” Juniper replied, before trotting off. “I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

As Juniper continued waiting tables, Flim an Flam were back in the kitchen, thinking up their next move. It seemed crucial to at least keep Sunset and her entire group distracted, primarily as a means of seeking the perfect opportunity to go through her saddlebag without anyone noticing.

“Well, what do you propose we do now to steal that toy?” Flam brainstormed. “You already used up what little sleeping powder we had left, so we clearly can’t tamper with her food anymore.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.” Flim formulated his new plan. “You remember that old trick we used to pull at foals’ birthday parties, right? When they put on their blindfolds to play that game known as, Pin the Tail on the Pony?”

“Ah-ha, I see where this is going!” Flam exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. “We can announce an impromptu game of Pin the Tail on the Pony, and when everyone’s blindfolded, we’ll just sneak over and grab her Señor G. Echo plush!”

“Precisely!” Flim nodded. “But the question is, how will we entice them to play our little game? I mean, they’re mostly just here to play games and win prizes… oh, why didn’t I think of that immediately?”

“We could offer up a reward of any prize from the prize booth, or a complimentary item from the restaurant’s menu!” Flam suggested. “The extra cost will be coming out of our wages, but for the Señor G. Echo plush, it’ll all be worth it!”

“But let’s not make it too obvious, we don’t want to raise any suspicion.” Flim’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “How about this, we announce a special ‘Friendship Day’ event where everyone gets a chance to win a prize! And as part of the festivities, we’ll organize a Pin the Tail on the Pony game. We make sure to blindfold all the participants, and when they’re all busy playing, we can sneak over to Sunset’s table and grab the plush, it’s absolutely foolproof!”

“Alright, sounds like we’ve got everything figured out!” Flam agreed. “I’ll go out this time with the other mascot costume, and set everything up, while you grab the toy when the time’s right!”

As the Flim Flam brothers began to put everything together, Sunset and her students were enjoying the rest of their meals. Sunflower and Babs were doing the same, but was now accompanied by an agitated and impatient Trixie, whose plate had been empty for a while.

“COME ON!” Trixie began banging on the table in frustration. “What’s a foalsitter gotta do to get some fast service in this dump!?”

“Please calm down, Trixie.” Sunflower tried to deescalate things. “You’ve eaten a whole peanut butter and chocolate pizza, already.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “It was just an appetizer, I’ll need more peanut butter than that before I’m satisfied!”

“Well one thing’s for sure, you’re certainly going to keep the foals entertained.” Babs giggled. “Speaking of entertainment, since most of us are already finished with our meals, maybe it’s time we start playing some arcade games?”

“That’s a great idea, Babs.” Sunset agreed. “Who knows, maybe we can even convince Trixie to let out some steam and play a round or two with us?”

“Hmph!” Trixie huffed. “Not without my second helping of peanut butter chocolate pizza, I’m not!”

Just then, Flam stormed out of the kitchen with a different mouse mascot costume, ready to give his announcement on the special game event he and his brother just came up with. He picked up a microphone, amplifying the speakers around the arcade’s dining area.

“Welcome to Slice-N-Shake, please gather ‘round for the arcade’s special Friendship Day event!” Flam announced in an overly cheerful tone. “In honor of the friendship that brings us all together, we present to you the classic party game, Pin the Tail on the Pony! Winner gets any prize from the prize booth of their choosing!”

“Well, that’s unexpected.” Smolder finished the rest of her pizza. “But hey, free games and prizes? I’m in.”

“Free prizes, you say?” Gallus’ eyes lit up, his competitive spirit piqued. “Count me in, as well! Maybe I can win one of those giant teddy bears. Err, not that I need one to sleep with at night, or anything!”

“Maybe we’ll all find something new to enjoy today.” Silverstream chirped. “I’ve never been good at these kinds of games, but I’ll give it a shot for the experience!”

“Haven’t really played that particular game in a while, but I guess I’ll join in.” Babs joined in on the bandwagon. “Perhaps it’ll be a nice warmup for the other arcade games!”

“Well count me out!” Trixie scoffed. “I’m not moving from this spot until I get my peanut butter chocolate pizza!”

“Ahem… did I also mention that the first contestant to pin the tail on the pony can also have the choice of a complimentary item from the menu as their prize?” Flam added.

“Wha…!” Trixie’s eyes widened, as she immediately got up from her chair. “Pin the Tail on the Pony has ALWAYS been my favorite activity, even more than spending time with Starlight! No wait, please don’t tell her I said that!”

“Well, I suppose if everyone else is playing, I don’t see why we couldn’t join in on the fun!” Sunset said, enthusiastically. “Where do we go to participate in this little activity?”

“Ah, I’m so glad to see everyone is eager to join in!” Flam announced, as he pointed to a play area off to the side. “If you could all please gather around the designated area over there, we’ll get this show on the road! And remember, regardless of who wins, be sure to have fun! It’s our way of spreading a little extra friendship on this fine day!”

As Sunset, Smolder, Gallus, Silverstream, Babs, Trixie, and Sunflower all followed Flam over to the designated play area, Flam had taken the liberty to wrap blindfolds over everyone’s eyes, and provided darts with attached fake tails. Once the game was about to commence, Flam looked back at the kitchen door, nodding to Flim, who was watching everything from a distance. Flim then realized that since everyone was now distracted, it was his cue to sneak out of the kitchen and raid Sunset’s saddlebag. But just as Flim was about to exit the kitchen, he was immediately stopped by a familiar coworker.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Juniper said, blocking the entryway into the dining area.

“Oh, hello there, Juniper!” Flim grinned nervously, before attempting to butter her up. “You know something, I’ve neglected to mention that your name is so beautiful, Juniper, it reminds me so much of the great outdoors! And your manestyle, so adorable, pigtails have always been a great way to express your soft side!”

Despite his best efforts, Juniper Montage continued staring Flim down, completely ignoring his obviously forced compliments.

“Anyways… my brother is over there hosting a little game with the rest of our guests.” Flim explained. “So if you don’t mind, I’m just going to go over-”

“No you’re not, buddy.” Juniper said, sternly. “You’ve got about eight new orders to fill, and we don’t have any other chefs working in the kitchen today. I’m not getting paid extra to let you two slack off, so you’d better get serious and know your place in this business! Take these orders and make sure you don’t keep our guests waiting too long, right now.”

“But, but…” Flim stuttered, as Juniper’s glare turned even darker, before sighing. “Fine, I guess I’ll start cooking up this… whatever these guests want.”

Flim trotted over to the pizza dough and tried his best to pretend doing his job, mostly to get Juniper Montage off of his back. But as he just blankly stared at the pizza dough, he turned to the side, and noticed Juniper still standing by the kitchen door, glaring at him.

“Erm… I will see you later with the orders.” Flim chuckled, nervously.

“Actually, I think I’ll stick around and specifically watch you fill those orders.” Juniper smirked, as she continued blocking the exit to the kitchen.

Flim’s heart sank as he realized his escape was blocked off, and that his previously foolproof plan had fallen apart almost instantly. As such, he crushed the orders in his hoof out of anger, and grumbled as he began preparing the food.

“The pigtails in your mane actually make you look hideous, Juniper.” Flim insulted. “And that’s an awful name, your parents must’ve really hated you.”

While Flim had no choice but to do his job like a normal employee, Flam continued watching the kitchen door, and noticed that his brother didn’t have a chance to exit and snatch the plush from Sunset’s saddlebag, like they previously planned. Since the game had already commenced, and the participants were all blindfolded, Flam knew he had no choice but to improvise. He looked over and noticed that Trixie was coming dangerously close to finding the pony target poster he stuck on the wall, and quickly ran over to snatch it, in an attempt to prolong the game as much as he could.

Flam then decided that there was only one way to ensure none of the participants would win the game, and stuck the taped poster to his back, realizing it was now up to him to sneak over to the dining area and go through Sunset’s saddlebag. However, Trixie pinned her dart to the wall, but was incredibly perplexed upon realizing she had only pinned the wall, and not the pony.

“What gives, I know this game like the back of my hoof, considering how many times I’ve played this at foals’ birthday parties.” Trixie took her blindfold off, before peaking around, until she saw the poster on Flam’s back. “Oh, so that’s how you want to play, is it? Now I don’t even feel bad for peaking, nobody cheats the Great and Powerful Trixie out of a complimentary peanut butter chocolate pizza!”

Trixie immediately ran over to Flam’s direction, already being able to taste her delicious prize. Just as Flam was about to exit the play area, he immediately felt a sharp puncture from behind, as Trixie’s dart had pierced through his costume.

“Ow!” Flam winced, as he turned around. “What’s going on here?”

“I win!” Trixie boasted, before turning to the rest of her companions. “You can all take your blindfolds off now! But hey, if you all want the satisfaction of pinning the tail on the pony, it’s over here!”

“You heard our Guidance Counselor!” Smolder turned around, before taking off her blindfold, as did everyone else.

“So this is what an arcade game is like, no wonder arcades are so fun!” Silverstream cheered. “LET’S PIN IT!!!”

Flam’s eyes widened upon hearing this, as he began to desperately run away from Smolder, Gallus, and Silverstream, who began to chase him down with their darts. Not wanting to take any chances of sustaining a severe injury, Flam desperately ran back to the kitchen, not even contemplating stealing the toy from the saddlebag. Sunset, Sunflower, and Babs all stood back, enjoying the participation from the little activity, even though they didn’t win.

“Hmm, I didn’t really notice it at first, but does that stallion in the mascot costume sound… familiar to you?” Sunflower pondered.

“Not really, Sis.” Babs replied. “Why, does he remind you of somepony in particular?”

“I just remember this one time back in Manehattan, I bought a tonic from some vendor off the streets, claiming it could immediately cure any ailments or injuries.” Sunflower recalled. “When I used in on my hoof after straining it at work, let’s just say, it didn’t produce the results I had hoped for.”

“Hmm, now that you mention it, I do feel like I’ve heard that voice before, too.” Sunset gave this some further thought. “And I vaguely remember Twilight writing to me about a scheme that involved a fake healing tonic… but it could just be a coincidence. Our food turned out all right, and we’re all having fun, so perhaps we’re overthinking things.”

Over at the kitchen door, Flam desperately banged on the kitchen door, wanting nothing more than to escape the torment of the three students determined to pin the tail on his behind.

“PLEASE, LET ME IN!!!” Flam continued banging, but it was already too late, and he immediately felt the darts pierce from behind. “YOWCH!!!”

Juniper finally opened the door, seeing the now broken Flam stumble back inside to regain what was left of his sanity. Now that the two chefs were finally back together in the kitchen, and more tables had to be waited on, she felt satisfied enough at ensuring the brothers weren’t goofing around. Trixie also dropped by, reminding the brothers of their little bargain.

“A deal’s a deal, you know.” Trixie said through the open kitchen door. “I’ll be expecting my complimentary peanut butter chocolate pizza soon!”

“Alright you two, remember what I said, no funny business!” Juniper began trotting out of the kitchen. “If you take too long on these next orders, well… don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“Ugh, finally, that annoying waitress is going to let us be.” Flim sighed, as he slid several pizzas into the oven behind him. “Did you get the Señor G. Echo toy?”

“No, brother…” Flam continued wincing in pain. “Sunset’s friends got me, instead. Oh, my poor aching flank… please don’t make me go back out there by myself!”

“Well, even though we’ve failed again, it’s not the end of the world, now is it?” Flim tried to comfort his brother. “We still have plenty of time to come up with another plan, and like they always say, third time’s the charm. Any new ideas?”

“Hmm, you remember those old prizes at our previous arcade gig at Canterlot?” Flam reminisced. “You know, where we labeled their price as ten million tickets, used that basketball scheme to entice unsuspecting foals to play into our little game, then sold those extra tickets to desperate prize seekers outside of work hours?”

“Why yes, and out of all those prizes, the only one we have left is the custom-made flame guitar, which we have as a prop here in our storage room.” Flim recalled. “We’ve had to sell the leather jacket and diamond studded collar to make do with our financial struggles, but what are you getting at, brother? How is that guitar going to help us take back our precious leopard gecko plush?”

“It’s not the guitar itself, don’t you remember how the old arcade back in Canterlot used to regularly host auctions for big prizes?” Flam explained. “Our boss instilled this promotion into the business to entice foals into greater competition for more arcade activity, resulting in more profit revenue, at the cost of a luxurious prize, of course.”