The night before Babs Seed returns to Manehattan, Apple Bloom asks to talk.

Really talk.

About everything.

There are many magical books in the world and all kinds of magic in them, not everything should be shared and harnessed. Somtimes it's better for things to be forgotten, left behind and abandoned. But for some ponies, their curiosity makes them do foolish things.

This story is a sequel to The Gemmed Satyr

The third episode of the Gems Trilogy. Rated Teen for sexual implications, minor violence, and some dark themes.

It’s been three months since the events of The Sweetest Gem and The Gemmed Satyr, and everypony is in emotional turmoil.

Can Fluttershy stomach up the courage to take her relationship with Rarity to the next level? When Rainbow Dash finds out a dark secret about Applejack’s boyfriend Caramel, can she hold a promise not to tell her friend, or will her conscience make her do the right thing?

Does Sweetie Belle really have good reason to worry about her and Spike's future together? And just why has Pinkie Pie been so keen to hang out with Twilight lately, and what does she mean by the "prophecies" coming true'?

But their problems are only beginning. Trouble is brewing in Equestria. Strange things are happening all over the land: one of the royal sisters has mysteriously disappeared, a familiar evil is about to rise again, and the fate of all the hearts in Equestria will lie in these six ponies’ own troubled hearts as they search for a mystical place talked about only in myth.

Whether by the sword or the slow decay of time, Shining Armor will die.

Twilight Sparkle brings the plagues unto Canterlot when Celestia turns the others of the mane six to stone.

Fluttershy's always hidden a secret from her friends. It's not a horrible, dark secret. In fact, it's nothing out of the ordinary, at least to everypony else: she's got an older brother.

Her brother, though, has always seems to best her when it comes to, well, everything. Tempers flare when he visits Ponyville, and Fluttershy finds herself wondering if she'll ever manage to be as good as him.

Spike loses a bet to Snips and Snails. The consequence? Ask Scootaloo out on a date. But what starts off as a frivolous punishment for the baby dragon ends up becoming much more rewarding than he ever expected.

Manehattan is a sad place, far away from any magic and where happiness is not a given. Follow the life, and perhaps death of a yet unnamed pony, whose cheerfulness is made impossible by other ponies constantly complaining to him.

Will be updated as fast as possible, and will eventually be finished.
Will contain rather mature themes and language but nothing too explicit.

The challenge? Daunting. The reward? Worthy. Failure? Not an option. For Big Macintosh has accepted the bet, and thus begins A Ballad of Eeyup and Nope - in which he isn't allowed to say either.

Twilight Sparkle has always admired Princess Celestia. Her fortitude, her wisdom, her eternal grace and love for all her subjects. Twilight has often fantasized about what it would be like to be in Princess Celestia's horseshoes. She never imagined those fantasies would come true.

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Events take place a short time after the Crystal Empire's return (early S3).
Proofreading from chapter three-onward provided by Daemon of Decay.
Cover image used with permission from TexasUberAlles, thanks!
Inspiration for Sunny Skies from PhantomFox.