//------------------------------// // Chapter Seven: A Pure and Innocent Wish // Story: My Little Detour // by Scroll //------------------------------// Chapter 7 A Pure And Innocent Wish Star Breeze rolled onto her father's back as she stared upward with red cracked lines across her father's eyes. She had wondered if sleeping in the noise of a clock tower would be difficult several hours earlier, and now she had her answer. Perhaps if she had a lot more practice, this would be easier. As it turns out, Time Turner's snoring wasn't quiet either. As the hours rolled by, she tried to recall what her father said about the Doctor's snoring habits, and all she could recall on that front was her father having trouble recalling if the Doctor ever slept. Perhaps, as an alien being with two hearts, he never did need to sleep. Time Turner was a true pony, however, and his snoring was not quiet. That, on top of everything else, made sleeping in here feel impossible. There were no guarantees that sleeping in the TARDIS would be better either. It may be that, one day, she'd have to find out anyway. If she really did have a destiny in this time and space machine, then on that day finding out the answers to those questions was inevitable. Attempting to sleep in this clock tower, however, might have been a once in a lifetime chance. After tonight, she decided that maybe that was a good thing. Curiosity was satisfied, and this annoyance might not be something she'd ever have to deal with again, by choice! Star Breeze took a deep intake of breath then let it out slowly. That was a trick both of her parents taught her when it comes to calming down. In fact, Crystal Sage once also echoed that advice. Every respected mentor in her life kept telling her the same things as long as that advice really mattered. Well she knew a long time ago that these things happen during an adventure. Going to a new place was an adventure. Traveling through time was an adventure. Trying out a new dish she never tasted before was an adventure. There was simply no way to tell if gambling her fate on something new would be good or bad before she tried it. All she could really do before hoof was to try it and see how she liked it, and after trying to sleep in this clock tower for at least five hours straight, she came to one inevitable conclusion. This SUCKS! Star Breeze screamed in her mind in frustration. She also felt like actually screaming into her pillow, but she did not want to risk waking Time Turner up. After all, he did nothing wrong. All he did was to be a gracious host by helping escort her and her friends through Ponyville, pay for countless items across the day, and offer her a guest bed in his own home. As a host, his politeness has been beyond reproach. But the fact of the matter was, she just couldn't sleep here. It did not matter how tired she was either. The constant ticking, clicking and snoring kept her up. Star Breeze sat up in frustration and looked around. Being in the darkness for as long as she had been, her eyes were well adjusted to the darkness. It wasn't too dark either. The moon shone pretty brightly through the forward face of the giant clock tower. She looked up at it and noticed the apparent image of her father sitting at the bottom edge of the face of the clock tower, looking outwardly from within the tower. He quickly detected her scrutiny, however, or he simply recalled it. He looked back at her and gave her a soft, serene and loving smile. He said no words. He simply let his facial expression communicate his feelings towards her. Looking at the wall on the opposite end of the face of the clock tower, she saw the giant shadows of the clock's hands. She also saw the shadows of the numbers of the clock backwards. It took her a moment to realize that the one thing that was missing was her father's shadow, but then she realized that a mental projection of him casts no shadow because he wasn't actually physically there. The only reason she could see him was because he chose to project to her mind the phantom image of his presence. On a whim, Star Breeze threw the covers off of her, which momentarily chilled her due to the coldness of the night. It wasn't noticeable before, but without the protection of her covers anymore, she learned just how cold the night air was. This did not deter her, however. Star Breeze felt determined. She wrapped her father's Mist Cloak snugly onto herself then trotted for the exit on the north wall. Once there, she glanced back at her father's phantom image, curious to see if he would make any attempt to stop her. Instead, she noticed how he continued to regard her calmly and otherwise said nothing. She had to remind herself that he did not need to guess what she was doing or what she would later do. He could simply recall all of this. Another reason he did not object was because he didn't want to do anything to impinge upon her personal freedom, unless she was set upon an action which would bring substantial danger. That was fine. Star Breeze did not really want him to object anyway. She only glanced at him just to double check. She noticed he said nothing to oppose her, so she took it as a sign that what she was about to do wasn't too dangerous. It might even be educational. So she left. Star Breeze ignited the ruby crystal around her neck with bright crimson light. It was enough to notice that there was an unlit hoof lantern within the hallway of stairs, but she decided to leave it there because she was resourceful enough to summon her own light, albeit through the Red Crystal. She thought of it before and she thought it again, she loved magic. Star Breeze trotted her way down the stairs then eventually outside the front exit to the clock tower. She did not see her father's phantom image again until she was outside the clock tower. He was just to the right side of the exit. A small part of him stood just in view from beyond the door frame so she wasn't startled at all to see him there. Once she was outside, she paused for a moment to look at him, just in case he had anything to say to her this time. Crystal Wind was still silent as he gazed at her with soft love, but then he used his face to nod upwards at something then followed that up shifting his gaze to look at something above them. Following his gaze, Star Breeze looked above her as well. There she saw the moon half covered by a cool, wispy cloud. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the phantom image of her father wave a hoof above him. A moment later the cloud above quickly started shifting away as if blown away by a sudden gust of wind. “You can still do that within the Red Crystal?” Star Breeze mentally asked her father as she regarded him in surprise. “It's just the two of us standing here, Star Breeze. You can speak verbally if you want to,” Crystal Wind informed and offered. He looked to her. “The answer to your question is yes. I have learned how to tap into my own cutie mark talent from within the Red Crystal in addition to tapping into Crystal Sage's.” He shrugged. “It's simply something I've picked up over time. When you discover your own cutie mark talent and imbue your spirit within this stone, I imagine you'll add your own potential to it until it comes time for this Crystal to serve it's ultimate purpose.” Crystal Wind then pointed upward at the moon. “Check out the moon. Notice anything different about it?” Star Breeze looked back up at it, then smiled. “Yes. It's missing its Nightmare Moon shadowy silhouette. You've already told me about this a long time ago. I've come to expect it here in this time period.” “Yes, but this is the first time you are witnessing it in person . . . sort of,” Crystal Wind countered. “You grew up all of your life seeing that shadowy silhouette on the moon. What do you think of it now that it's missing?” “It's beautiful,” Star Breeze marveled. “More pure, I guess. I'm also happy about its connotation. Without the Nightmare Moon silhouette, it means that Luna is finally free from the moon and no longer suffering from her perpetual nightmare.” She gazed forward at nothing with a slightly haunted look in her father's eyes. “Ever since you told me that, about who she really was and what she would become again, a feeling of pity overcomes me whenever I gaze up upon that Nightmare Moon shadow.” She looked back up at the moon again. “Before you told me that story all those years ago, I used to regard the moon's appearance as downright normal, but now I feel a sense of guilt in knowing that somepony was really trapped up there and suffering. I'm just glad that story has a happy ending.” Crystal Wind nodded in agreement, then he said, “And that's why I wanted to point this out. As I said to you many times before, I don't want your glimpse into a bright future to make you lazy. Both you and every pony of our era has to work to make this fantastic future a reality. It is our responsibility to ensure it becomes so. I just want you to remember this moment, as it is a clear sign of hope. This bright future is possible. You are seeing it before your very eyes right now. Don't ever forget this moment, Star Breeze.” “I won't,” Star Breeze promised. Then, to ensure she would keep her word, she imprinted her feelings into the stone right at that moment and thus saving her feeling of wonder, gratitude and hope in the stone. She then assessed her local area more carefully, trying to get her bearings and attempt to identify which way was Sweet Apple Acres. “It's that way,” Crystal Wind answered her mental thought. He then created a silvery glow around his horn then shot that light forward, becoming a hovering ball of silver light. The glow floated away from her down a certain street. The odd thing was, it seemed to actually illuminate the surroundings as if it were an actual light, and yet Star Breeze remained mentally aware that the silver light was a phantom image as well. Crystal Wind simply simulated the light and projected a mental image of what the surroundings would look like if an actual magical light was there. Knowing that, Star Breeze was confident that the light would not attract the attention of any other pony. Another hint she had that the silver glow was, in fact, a phantom light was because her father's physical eyes remained adjusted to the darkness. Staring straight at the silver light was not blinding either in the slightest. She could stare at it forever and it would never burn into her father's retina. Crystal Wind was literally illuminating her path, and she had every confidence that he knew the way, so she followed the light with utter trust in her heart. * * * Despite the phantom silver light, the trees of Sweet Apple Acres remained in shadowy illumination at first as she made her way down the road to it, but the sunlight rose midway through her journey. It was difficult to fully appreciate just how many more trees there were on the farm during this time period aside from the smell, but as the new morning light touched upon the grove with a soft reddish glow, she began to fully notice just how many more trees there were on the property. She paused for awhile to admire that fact alone. “It's almost a century's worth of progress here,” Crystal Wind said as he looked around as well, “and this is a work of passion. These ponies here tended to these trees really well. They even went so far as tell the trees bed stories at night sometimes. This is actually pretty typical for ponies with cutie marks in such things. When work like this is the indelible mark of family destiny, it becomes a labor of love. They poured their heart and souls into this project. You can feel that in the earth and see it with every tree here. You can even smell it in the air!” “I know. I can tell,” Star Breeze confirmed. “This is not just an orchard. There is magic in this land. A magic that extends from generations of true passion. I love it! This gives the area so much special meaning.” “Indeed.” Crystal Wind then passed his daughter a cunning, knowing look. For a moment she wondered why until she felt a weird magical pulse from within. Pausing for a moment, she noticed that the pulse was actually extending from the Red Crystal around her father's neck. After pouring her attention into the Crystal, she noticed that the Crystal pulsed again as a reaction to sensing familiar magic somewhere within this territory. “That Crystal did something similar to that whenever it sensed dark magic somewhere within the area,” Crystal Wind informed. “The Dark Star rang especially intense within the Red Crystal back then, able to be detected within hundreds of miles away from the crashed meteor. The main difference between that example and this experience is the Crystal is instead reacting to something benign.” “So . . . something good is hidden within this area,” Star Breeze figured. Crystal Wind nodded. “Also something familiar to the Red Crystal for some reason.” He looked at Star Breeze to see if she would decide to check this out, but he wasn't really curious. He already knew what she would decide. Star Breeze returned her father's knowing grin, figuring he knew her well enough to know what to expect from her in situations like this anyway. She knew that he knew that her adventurous heart could not possibly resist investigating this new intriguing mystery. So she went to investigate, which lead her off the paved dirt road. Now traveling off the beaten path, she eventually stumbled upon several remarkable things. The first thing she noticed was a mysterious rock that seemed out of place. It jutted out of the earth and seemed to have no useful functional purpose. In fact, something like this was an obvious flaw to the land. The kind of thing usually dug out because it could impede the growth of another apple tree on its exact spot. Closer examination, as well as the ever increasing illumination of the rising morning light, revealed that there was something special about this rock. Carved on it was a heart and the images of two other symbols within it. One was obviously an apple, and the other was a jar of . . . something, but she couldn't tell exactly what. Both of these images were probably copies of cutie marks, she figured. This was meant to symbolize love between two ponies, both of whom probably worked here before. Once she realized that, she also realized why this stone was not removed. It obviously had great sentimental value for those who worked here. Star Breeze passed a pleasant smile back at the phantom image of her father due to this discovery. He shared that smile right back at her, then nodded ahead of him to indicate something else she missed earlier. Something that was beyond the rock. Following his indication, she couldn't see it at first because the details didn't sink in yet. At first she was looking past the tree behind the stone, but then she started to notice two unusual details of the tree itself. One was the fact that it was actually two separate types of trees woven together, an apple and a pear tree respectively. The second notable detail was there was a gap in between them that had the shape of a heart. OH . . . MY . . . CELESTIA! Star Breeze regarded these trees with stunned awe. “Magic in the land indeed,” Crystal Wind said warmly. “As several of my mentors taught me so long ago, love is the greatest magic of all. When that emotion is used as a power source, it can achieve miracles.” “It's . . . so beautiful! I feel like crying just to behold it!” Star Breeze gasped in awe, then she said with recollection, “Also, I know I've never seen this on the property before. Maybe I have spotted the rock itself, but this tree . . . I'm pretty sure this didn't exist in my time period.” “You're right. It's been planted since then,” Crystal Wind confirmed. “In fact,” he looked about, “about seventy percent of this entire orchard was planted since your time.” While his face remained directed in his left direction, his eyes shifted to look back at the interwoven pair of trees. “These ones among them.” The magical pulse washed over Star Breeze again. It felt a lot stronger this time. Whatever it was, it almost felt like a heartbeat. It physically felt nearly identical, like when she recovered from a hard gallop and her heart raced to calm down again. It felt sort of like that, except there was this glow of positive feelings that washed over her after she felt that heartbeat pulse. Whatever the source of that was, it came from somewhere very close to this vicinity. “What is that?” Star Breeze wondered aloud. She knelt down next to the stone ahead of her and lifted up the Red Crystal with her father's hoof. She waited until she felt another magical-like heartbeat pulse. She carefully paid attention to the fact if the pulse felt stronger or weaker and thus used that as an indication if she was colder or warmer to the source. It took her awhile to ascertain that, whatever it was, it was something buried just beneath the stone here. Once she identified that, a feeling of uncertainty and guilt washed over her at the thought of digging whatever that thing was up and identifying it. The thought of that felt almost sacrilegious, like disturbing sacred ground. “I bet if you slept here, you'd have very pleasant dreams,” Crystal Wind mused. “What is this?” Star Breeze wondered aloud. “Something is buried beneath this stone. Something holy. Something pure.” “It is a seed of an innocent and pure wish,” Crystal Wind answered calmly a short distance behind her. “A seed planted by somepony who wished harmony and good fortune to settle upon this place. Behold!” He gave a grand gesture to the tree behind the stone. “I'd say that wish has been fulfilled.” “Who planted this seed, and why does it feel so familiar?” Star Breeze asked while looking back at her phantom father over her father's physical shoulders (the left, in this case). “This mystery is up to you to discover,” Crystal Wind told her. “I told you that I'd only imprint upon this stone the memories of while you possessed me during this time period, but this seed was planted long before that. Unless you dig up this seed now and investigate it in person, then the answers you seek are somewhen in the past. Perhaps that might shed more light upon this blessed mystery.” “I don't feel like I should dig it up now,” Star Breeze said as she regarded the stone ahead of her. “That feels wrong to me for some reason.” “Trust your instincts,” Crystal Wind advised. “If something feels wrong to you, then don't do it.” “Whomever it was,” Star Breeze touched the stone ahead of her affectionately, “loved this land very much. It was probably one of the farm ponies who grew up in this land. Obviously this land meant a lot to them.” “It wasn't just them that cared for this land,” Crystal Wind expressed. “But they are definitely among those who cared for it. As you saw in the festival yesterday, however, there are and were many others who moved to this town and it became an important part of them, too. The reasons they came are many and varied. Some came to just taste the sweet Zap Apple Jam. Some came here to sell it. Others, over time, came here because somepony else they cared about came here first. Life trickled into this town and breathed more and more magic into it. All of these things started with very small seeds which eventually,” he paused for a moment as he gestured all around him, including the direction of Ponyville, “grew into all of this,” he finished. He then looked at her squarely. “An important lesson to learn, don't you think?” “I started as just a seed before I was born,” Star Breeze mused. “A seed from my mother that was fertilized by you.” Crystal Wind nodded. “A seed which begets another, just as many came before you.” He gazed lovingly at the intertwined trees ahead. “We are, all of us, connected, my dear. Each of us are a leaf from the same branch of life. The same magic empowers us all.” Star Breeze rubbed her hoof across the stone ahead of her, then said, “This feels sacred.” “What feels sacred?” asked a new voice behind her. Whomever it was, it sounded very young and female. Star Breeze whipped her father's head back to gaze at a new young filly that unintentionally snuck up on her. This was a bright yellow earth pony with vibrant red hair which was tied up by a great big red bow tie in her mane. Now that she was looking upon the filly, the filly gestured ahead of her and past Star Breeze at either the stone, the tree, or most likely both a she said, “Do ya mean this place?” she asked with a thick country accent. “Um . . . yes. Yes I do.” Star Breeze confirmed as she looked back at the stone. “The only thing is . . . I'm not sure why.” Star Breeze half looked over her right shoulder, gazing back at the young filly with her father's left eye only. “Do you know why this place is special? I'm curious to know.” “Well, I can only ans'ah that question fo' me.” The young filly gazed ahead at the tree fondly. “Honestly, I don't know much ah-bow this place as well. All I know is it meant something special to mah parents.” Parents who are most likely dead, or at least gone somehow, otherwise this young filly could simply ask her parents directly why this place was so special to them. Or perhaps they are here but choosing to keep their secret for some reason. But, no . . . something in her voice suggested a loss of some kind. A kind of bittersweet acceptance about this place. “I'm sure there are a lot of ponies who passed away over this town's long history,” Crystal Wind pointed out with a delicate tone. “As blessed as Granny Smith has been over these many long years, that is one of the burdens she had to live with that comes with the territory of very senior age. This is just a natural part of life.” “Did you know mah parents?” the young filly asked hopefully. Star Breeze shook her head. “I hadn't had the pleasure, nor is it likely I ever will.” “Yeah,” the filly agreed sadly. “Shame, that. I heard they were wonderful folks.” “I'm sure they were.” Star Breeze smiled back at the filly. “But not all is lost. They're a lingering blessing to this land, besides this place, is you.” “And Applejack,” Crystal Wind added. Star Breeze glanced at her father in surprise as she thought, “Really? Applejack is related to this little one here?” To answer, Crystal Wind merely nodded in confirmation. “I was hoping ya knew something more ah-bow mah parents, since ya seemed drawn to this area fo' some reason,” the filly observed. She approached and sat down beside Star Breeze. “Do ya think that . . . when we die . . . we see them beyond?” The filly looked straight up. “Mah sister says that we find those we lost beyond the rainbow and the stars.” She looked at Star Breeze hopefully. “Ya think it's true?” “I know it's true,” Star Breeze assured. “Ya do?!” the filly asked brightly, hope and joy filling her eyes and making them shine. “Of course. They live on in our minds and hearts. If you listen real carefully, I'm sure you can hear them,” Star Breeze encouraged. She looked at her father. “I know I can hear my father that way.” “Did he pass on?” the filly asked worriedly. Star Breeze shook her head as she looked back at the filly. “No, but that doesn't need to come to pass for me to know this. He already lives in my heart.” The filly gazed at the tree. “Sometimes . . . whenev'ah I sleep 'ere on occasion . . . I think I dream about them. I think I hear them sing to me, telling me how much they love me.” “I'm sure that's true,” Star Breeze said confidently. “You're their foal. Of course they'd want to express their love to you in any way they can.” “Here, I feel closer to them somehow,” the filly said in a warm but somewhat mystified way. “That's how this place is special to me.” She looked at Star Breeze. “Not sure if that's what ya mean.” “Well,” Star Breeze looked at the stone, “there is definitely something enchanting about this place.” “How do ya know that?” the filly asked curiously. “I can sense the magic with this stone.” Star Breeze indicated the one worn on her father's neck. “Also I can feel it in my heart. This place has a magic pulse to it. Kind of like a heartbeat.” “Oh wow. That's neat,” the filly expressed. She looked at Star Breeze. “I haven't seen ya around 'ere before. Ya a friend of the family, or what?” “You can say that,” Star Breeze verified. “Your family and I go way back together.” “Really?” the filly asked as she cocked her head to the side curiously with an absolutely adorable expression on her face. “Yes,” Star Breeze confirmed. “I'm beginning to realize why Dunken Doo said that our family is quite enigmatic,” Star Breeze mentally expressed to her father. Crystal Wind shrugged as he said, “As a member of the Scroll family, sometimes we have mysterious and magical ways to gather and maintain records of history. This just comes with the territory.” “Applebloom!” called another young filly from behind them which drew their attention. There they saw not one, but two new fillies enter this area. One of them was a dark orange pegasus with purple eyes, mane and tail. The other filly was a similar age to the pegasus. She was a white unicorn with two shades of purple mane and bright green eyes. “There you are!” the orange pegasus exclaimed upon galloping here. “Sweetie Belle and I have been looking all over for you! We've got a brand new idea that might just give us our cutie marks!” “It occurred to me yesterday while I saw my sister Rarity set up for the Ponyville Day celebration,” the one named Sweetie bell expressed upon arrival. “Seeing her set up all those things, it occurred to me that maybe we should try it!” Her voice squeaked high when she said the word “we”. “So what do you say? Want to try it?” “Ya mean like . . . plan parties like Pinkie Pie?” Applebloom checked. “Well, kind of,” Sweetie Belle partially agreed. “I mean more like an event hostess. There can be all kinds of different types of parties to plan. We should give them all a shot!” “So wadda ya say? Are you in, or are you in?!” the orange one asked very enthusiastically as she threw her forehooves above her head for a moment. “That does sound like a ton of fun!” Applebloom expressed excitedly as she stood up on her four hooves. “I'm in!” She looked at Star Breeze. “It was swell to meet ya, mister! I sure hope you find what yo' are look'n fo'.” “I think I already have,” Star Breeze said with a soft smile. “It was a pleasure to meet you too, Applebloom. Now you go on and play with your friends.” “Ya don't haff'tah tell me twice!” Applebloom exclaimed as she galloped off with her friends. “Do you mean what you said?” Crystal Wind asked his daughter after the three fillies left. “You found what you were looking for?” “In more than one way.” Star Breeze stood up. “I've seen enough.” She turned her father's head to look at his phantom image. “Ponyville is a nice place to visit, but I've learned important things about my own destiny when I got this sneak peak into the future. We have a responsibility to cause this wonderful future, and we need to preserve a record of it. Imprinting positive feelings in this gem, for example, will help us restore the Crystal Empire. I find it oddly appropriate that some of the positive feelings that I imbued in this gem includes the many wonderful memories I've gathered since visiting this place, but my true destiny is not here. Somepony, and indeed many ponies, need to make sure that this future comes to pass. That is where we come in.” Star Breeze turned to face Crystal Wind fully. “I'm better now. Peace and acceptance settle in my heart. I think I know what I have to do, so take me back home.” Crystal Wind smiled fondly and knowingly at his daughter for a few seconds, then shifted his gaze to some creature past her shoulder as he asked, “Did you get all that?” Star Breeze looked over her father's right shoulder, and widened her eyes in surprise when she saw Discord standing behind a camera set on a tri-pod and aimed at her while manually turning a crank off the side of the camera. “Oh, indubitably!” Discord expressed excitedly as he lifted his head from behind the camera as well as ceased operation of it. His eagle talon pinched together and was brought near his lips which he kissed then blew the kiss away. “Magnifique! Simply magnifique! And to think, we got it all on the first take, too.” Discord snapped his lion paw and a brilliant white flash wiped away the movie camera. In its place was a four foot square movie screen. Twelve feet away from that was a projector aiming at and projecting moving pictures towards the screen. At the same time, Discord materialized beside Star Breeze on a three legged wooden stool and he had a carton of popcorn which he offered in Star Breeze's direction. He also wore curious looking glasses, half of which was shaded blue and the other half red. “I especially like the part where you stood up to your mother!” Discord expressed excitedly. Then a moment later, he suddenly grew quite serious with no warning at all. “I mean it. You stood up to someone you dearly love and look up to, and you did it for me. You did it for a friend. When you invite others to be your friend, you really mean it.” Discord sighed as he dipped his 3D glasses down a bit and gazed at the movie from over them. “There are many in the past that attempted hoof pointing at me and besmirched my name. They had good reasons for it too. I was not always the nicest draconequus, and my powers are capable of a lot.” He looked at Star Breeze sitting beside him, who was looking up at the draconequus herself. “I warn you, my dear, there are plenty of other entities out there who are almost as powerful as me, and who have far more sinister intentions, and yet some of them seem a hundred times more trustworthy than me. You need to keep your guard up.” He looked back at the movie. “Your mother is not the first to accuse me. I'm actually kind of used to it, but those who actually defend me by giving me the benefit of the doubt when nopony else does, who sticks up for me when all the other chips are down . . . that is rare, and I want you to know that I will never forget that, my dear.” Star Breeze looked down for a moment. She blushed happily, then looked back up at Discord when he resumed speaking. “That said . . . it is interesting to note how you defended me by attempting to insult me.” After Discord said that, he lifted a tiny rectangular black box thing that had a bunch of buttons on it. By pressing the thumb of his eagle talon on it, the movie up ahead which originally said “mute” on the bottom corner disappeared, then suddenly sound could be heard in the movie. “As for our free will, believing that Discord's mere existence and all of his great reality-bending powers invalidates any of our choices is giving him far too much credit,” Star Breeze in the film argued to her mother. “How can you possibly believe that someone like Discord is the author of our story when it's so well written? Do you think a being as foal-like as him could possibly write out so many deeply complex characters, stories and situations?” After that comment, Discord muted the movie again with another click of the same button on the tiny black box thing. “Um, well I . . . just . . .” Star Breeze began lamely until Discord pressed a finger into Star Breeze's father's lips which made a squeaking sound. “Before you go ranting on about some sappy apology, first you must become aware that I, in no way, found this to be offensive. On the contrary, I found some of your words to be so accurate that I occasionally found them hilarious.” “Well that is what I do, stick up for my friends, and I'm proud of it,” Star Breeze said earnestly. “I do love my parents, and I have the utmost respect for them and their experience, but I already know that adults are not always right. Just because they are older and way more experienced than I doesn't mean they are always right, nor is my youthful experience always makes me wrong. One thing I have learned from this little detour is to stick up for myself too and defend my opinions as well as my friends. It's my life to do with as I want, and I shall write this story however I want.” Discord passed Star Breeze a rare affectionate half grin while peeking at her above the rim of his 3D glasses, then snapped his lion paw. The movie projector and screen disappeared. Instead of that, he handed a new book to Star Breeze. She took it and read the front cover. It said, “My Little Detour.” “Consider it a souvenir of your journey,” Discord suggested. “Read it at your leisure. I know you already have a copy of your memories stored in that little gem there, but something feels better about holding it in your hooves, wouldn't you say?” Looking upon the book with wonder, Star Breeze opened and skimmed through it. Not only was the story filled with text, but there were animated pictures on some of the pages, likely highlighting certain moments of her most recent story. She then closed the book and looked up at Discord questioningly. “Are there really others out there reading my story?” Star Breeze asked hopefully. “There are some,” Discord admitted honestly. “Probably more over time. “And, with that in mind,” Discord stood up from his chair and snapped his lion paw. The stool he originally sat on vanished within a white flash, “it's time to put a close to this chapter. There is one more that you have to write, my dear.” He briefly flicked Star Breeze's father's snout which made her crinkle her nose and sneeze for a second. “You're welcome to read ahead and find out what you'll do next, but I doubt you'll need to.” “No, I don't need to read ahead,” Star Breeze agreed. “I write my own future.” In response, Discord silently bowed to Star Breeze in respect of that statement, then lifted his lion paw above his head and snapped his fingers which was followed by an explosion of brilliant white light.