Starlight and Trixie enjoy spending time with one another, and often they will just spend entire afternoons having pleasant conversations together. One such afternoon brings just such a talk, as the two mares decide to finally settle, once and for all, the ultimate question. Who was really Twilight's arch-enemy?

We all hope that nothing but good will come our way, but all of us know this won't always be true. For Twilight, today is, sadly, such a day, as news reaches her ears of something terrible happening to somepony in Ponyville.

Equestria has changed forever, and so too have those who live within it. There can be no denying that things are far better than how they used to be, with friends and allies all across the world. But one afternoon, during tea with her friends, Twilight discovers that one of them sees things a bit differently.

Twilight thought that being around kids his own age would be good for Spike, and for a time this was true. But one day, after having been called in, she finds that he's had a rather rough encounter with some of them, and after talking to her young friend, she discovers why.

She has lost her hive. She has lost her throne. She has lost her army. Chrysalis, former Queen of the Changelings, has been left with nothing but her own life. Having fled from her enemies, the vengeful monarch plots and plans, but before all of that, she must first find somewhere to lay low for a while.

Having spent as much time with the students as she has, Applejack has a pretty good feel for when something is bothering them, and right now, she's definitely getting that feeling from Sandbar. So, when classes finish, she asks him to stay behind to find out what's on his mind.

Pinkie Pie is usually the one known as the morning person among her friends. Always up and raring to go on any given day. But sometimes, she's actually the one who needs a bit of coaxing out of bed, and when those days come, it can be a real struggle to rouse her.

For too long now, the ponies of Equestria have been engaged in a bitter war with the Tyrannical King Sombra and his enslaved army of Crystal Ponies. Celestia, in spite of her great power, has only ever been able to fight the despot to a standstill. Yet in the face of all the fierce fighting, a day comes when there is a lull in the battle, and for the first time in a long while, the beleaguered Princess is able to pause and reflect on just how wrong things have gone.

During her stay in Canterlot, and while she should be making a Birthday dress for Twilight, Rarity is instead mingling with the elites of the capital. But among those prestigious faces is one who, quite frankly, she'd hoped to never meet again.

The past can be a difficult thing to think about, as Sunset Shimmer knows all too well. And it seems as though her adopted home has just as much of a troubled background as she has, if not more so. Twilight, who is perhaps the only friend she has who understands what it's like to make truly bad choices, talks with her about it.