> My Little Pony: Equestrian Quest
>  by KHXhero
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Equestria and the Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue: Equestria and the Dream

Equestria...  a place in which the three pony tribes, Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth ponies roamed for almost eternity, ever since the dawn of time, probably before our world...  Now some of you probably know about it, but if not it's time you knew how the founding of Equestria came.  It was a troubling time, for the three tribes.  The Pegasi were the stewards of the weather, but demanded food that could only be grown by the Earth ponies, and the Unicorns demanded the same, in return for magically bringing forth day and night.  Soon, mistrust between the tribes festered, until one day, it came to a boil.  A mysterious blizzard overtook the land, toppling the tribes' precarious peace.  The blizzard led to famine, due to the Windigos... creatures that were causing the storm by feeding off of hate.  Soon, the tribes, well, the Leaders' assistants created the magical Fire of Friendship which drove off the windigos and ending the snowstorm.  The three leaders then decide to join forces and found a country shared by all the three tribes, naming it Equestria.

Equestria, was, well still IS a place of peace, and happiness, a world which all of us in our world today wish to be like, but ironically, I don't think we're getting close to that yet.  But as I was saying, Equestria was peaceful, that is until Discord, the Master of Chaos wrecked havoc among Equestria...  But then, two magical princesses, the two sisters; The eldest, Celestia, the Goddess of the Sun and Day, and the youngest, Luna, the Goddess of the Moon and Night, defeated the evil Discord, turning him into the stone. And then there was... well to sum up the rest of the events, the two sisters ruled Equestria, then there were other events after that, such as the Great Celestia/Luna Rift, the coming of Nightmare Moon, Nightmare Moon's return a thousand years later, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the defeat of the Changelings and King Sombra and the Newest Princess Twilight Sparkle...  It appears we all know about Equestria.  But the biggest mystery of all, what if Equestria wasn't the only land in the whole world.  What if there were other places, other lands, that were far out from Equestria, inhabited with ponies and other creatures... like us?  And hey, what if someone actually went to them?!

It was a cold stormy night, somewhere in the streets of Canterlot, there was a tall cloaked pony, galloping her way in the streets.  It was the middle of the night, no other pony was about, no pony outside, except her.  The pony, was carrying something on her back, which was covered by the cloak.  She soon came close to a house, and then suddenly hid within the bushes...  She then placed something on the steps, carefully placing a box in front of the door.  She then rang the doorbell and then took off galloping.  The door opened, revealing a blue skin adult unicorn colt with a darker blue mane, known as Night Light.

"Hello?" Night Light asked, and then he looked at the ground, seeing the box.

"Well what in the name of Celestia?" Night Light asked as he brought the box covered with a clothe inside the house, and placed it on the living room table.  Coming into the room was a white unicorn with some light purple and white lines in her hair, known as Twilight Velvet.

"What was it honey?" Velvet asked.

"Some pony placed a box on our doorstep." Night Light said.

"And you had to bring it in?" Velvet asked.

"Well, yes, since we might have some use for it." Night Light said.  "Did you take Shining Armor to Kindergarden?"

"Yes, I did." Velvet said.  "He was so excited when he got there."  She then hugged her husband.

"Can you believe it?" Velvet asked.  "Our little boy finally starting Kindergarden?"

"Yeah... it's so shocking, but also amazing... our son is growing up." Night Light said.

"Oh... I wish we could make another foal..." Velvet said.

"Me too." Night Light said.  Velvet then moved her head, as if she was listening.

"Did you hear something?" Velvet asked.

"Hear what?" Night Light asked.

"No listen... what was that?" Velvet asked.  They kept quiet for a minute and then heard the noise again.  It was the sound of a baby crying.

"Oh, that's just a baby crying honey." Night Light said.

"Oh." Velvet said, but then, both of them stopped for a second, and looked at each other.

"Baby?!" The two said in unison.  They then looked at the box they brought inside.  They slowly removed the cloth covering the box, and they couldn't believe their eyes...  It was a small little baby pony...  Baby ponies are mostly known as Foals, just to clarify.  The foal had a beautiful lavender skin, and her mane and tail had blue with a bit of violet and pinkish red in the middle, and she had purple eyes, and a horn on her forehead.  It was a unicorn foal alright, and it was crying.

"It is a foal!" Night Light said.

"How did it end up in here?" Velvet asked.  "Oh, somepony must've left her here in the box on our porch."

"What kind of jerk would just leave his or her own Foal on our doorstep?" Night Light asked.  Velvet slowly picked the baby foal up with her hooves.

"You poor thing." Velvet said, and then felt her forehead.  The little foal's forehead's was burning hot.

"Oh my she's burning up!" Velvet said.  "We need to take her to the hospital!"  Soon the two went to take the foal to the hospital...  An hour later, they were in the hospital, waiting outside the room.  Soon, a unicorn doctor came out of the room.

"How is she?" Night Light asked.

"She's alright." The doctor unicorn said.  "Good thing you brought her here when you did, otherwise that fever of hers would've taken her life.  How did you even find her anyway?"

"She just appeared in a box upon our doorstep." Night Light said.

"Some pony must've abandoned her there... how terrible." Velvet said.

"Are you sure?" The doctor asked.  "Because we used a DNA test to see who she belonged to... but, there's no pony in the system that matches the foal's."

"So you think.... she came from somewhere faraway?" Night Light asked.

"Yes... that's what we think." The doctor said.  "We recommend that you find this foal a home."

"Can we see her?" Velvet asked.

"Yes..." The doctor said as he used his magic to lift the little foal and place into Velvet's hooves...  The foal was sleeping sounding... and peacefully.  Velvet couldn't help but smile.

"She looks so peaceful..." Velvet said.

"She sure does." Night Light said, and then he looked at Velvet, who then looked at him.  He was looking at her, with a weak smile.  She knew what that smile meant.

"Night Light, I know what you're thinking." Velvet said.

"Let's keep her." Night Light said.

"Oh I don't know Night Light." Velvet said.

"Oh come on." Night Light said.  "She's adorable.  We can't just leave her here.  Besides, you said you wanted a daughter."
"I know but-" Velvet said.  But then she stopped.  He was right.  They already have a son, who just began kindergarden.  And they decided that they wanted another child, a daughter most likely.  They tried for a long time, but they couldn't.  And now, a little female foal just appears in a box on their doorstep.  This was probably a gift, almost like a gift from Princess Celestia herself, their golden opportunity to have a daughter.  Velvet looked at the sleeping infant, and smiled.

"Oh ok." Velvet said.  The two then headed outside.  Although the sky wasn't clear, itwas wasn't raining anymore...  The storm passed while they were inside the building.

"She's so beautiful." Velvet said.  "What should we call her?"

"How about we name her after me... or something unique." Night Light said.  "Maybe, Violet... or Hope?"

"Doesn't sound unique enough." Velvet said.

"How about Twilight?" Night Light asked.  "Twilight... Sparkle?"  Velvet looked at her husband and smiled.

"Yes... Twilight Sparkle is a perfect name for her." Velvet said.  They soon got into the taxi, and they headed home...  Unknown to them, a cloaked shadowy pony was hiding in the alley of Canterlot... seeing the taxi drive by.  She made a smile and then took off out of Canterlot, flying into the sky, revealing herself to be an Pegasus, until she made it into the Everfree Forest...  She slowly made her way inside, but then was grabbed by a shadowy figure, and covered her mouth.

"Where is it?!" The voice said with a wicked female voice.

"Let Me Go!" The pegasus shouted as her hood was taken off, showing her with a Unicorn's horn, making her Alicorn, and with almost the same color that the little foal had, but much darker color, and then flew past the cloaked pony, who then gave chase after the pony.  The two flew high into the air, deeper into the Everfree Forest.  But then the Alicorn was grabbed by the cloaked figure, and they both fell into the area of the Badlands.  The Alicorn attempted to get up, but couldn't, and she was held down by the cloaked pony.

"I Won't Ask Again!  Where Is It?!" The wicked pony asked with her green eyes glowing.

"She's safe... Far From You and that monstrous Tyrant!" The Alicorn said.

"Oh is she?" A male voice asked.  The alicorn then leaned her face upward to see a shadowy figure above her, and then was horrified.

"You...." The Alicorn said...  Then the figure raised his spiked sword into the air and swung it downward.  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Soon, everything changes from that dark stormy night to a beautiful morning.  At Rainbow Friendship Kingdom, in which Twilight Sparkle opens her eyes from a dream she had, though it felt like it was so real.  But it was a dream.  Only a dream.  She then moved her head a little bit, and then closed her eyes.

"Uhhhh...." Twilight moaned as she moved face up.

"What is with that... strange dream..." She thought.  "It's already the sixteenth time I've had that dream for the past 3 weeks...."

"Twilight?" a voice said behind her.  Someone was moving her a bit too.  She slowly turned her head to see a little purple baby dragon with a green underbelly and oval horns and spines.  It was her assistant... or I should say, number one assistant, Spike.  Feeling a bit better, she yawned and sat up on her bed, moving the covers a bit, allowing her to spread her wings a bit.

"Morning Spike..." Twilight said.  "You're up early today..."

"Twilight, I only woke up an hour and a half ago." Spike said.  "You overslept... on the most important day of your life."
"I did?" Twilight asked.  "What Time is it?"

"It's 10:00 AM." Spike said.  Twilight never overslept that long before.  Hearing this shocked Twilight.

"OhMyGosh!" Twilight shouted as she quickly got out of bed, galloped into the bathroom, trying to fix up her mane.

"I Can't Believe I Overslept!" Twilight shouted.  "I Never Oversleep!  OhMyGosh, I can't let Princess Celestia wait on Me!"
"Twi, you do know what day it is right?" Spike asked.

"The Day Princess Celestia Is Coming To Visit For A Meeting?!" Twilight asked as her comb was stuck in her mane.  Then Spike held up a calender, showing today's date, which was marked with two words: Twilight's Birthday.  Twilight looked at the calender date, with a bit of confusion.

"Oh... Today's my Birthday?" Twilight asked.

"Well yeah, it's your birthday today." Spike said.  "You're already a year older than you were last year."

"Oh Yeah!" Twilight said.  "I almost forgot."

"At least you didn't forget like Pinkie Pie forgot about her own birthday." Spike said.

"I think I should take a bath."  Twilight said.  To Spike's notice, Twilight was somewhat feeling a bit uneasy, probably from getting worked up for nothing... again, or was it something else?

"Hey Twi, are you ok?" Spike asked.

"Yes I'm fine." Twilight said.  "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you were moving around in bed this morning... were you having a dream?" Spike asked.

"Oh... that... don't worry Spike, it's nothing really." Twilight said as she turned on the water.

"Are You sure?" Spike asked.

"Yes." Twilight said.

"Are you absolutely positively-" Spike said.

"YES!" Twilight shouted.  "Why doesn't anyone understand Yes all the time!?"  Spike was a bit startled by Twilight's response, but he's used to this most of the time.

"Um... I'll just leave ya to your bath." Spike said as he walked out of the door and closed it, only to see a pair of eyes staring at him, startling him.
"WHOA!" Spike nearly jumped, but to his relief, it was only Owloysius, who was on the tip of the chair, looking at him.

"Ok, seriously, you need to stop that." Spike said to the Owl.

"Hoo." Owloysius said.

"Uh, you of course." Spike said.

"Hoo." Owloysius said.

"You." Spike said.

"Hoo." Owloysius said.

"I Said You!" Spike said, only leaving himself to grumble in frustration.  Twilight heard the whole thing outside.  She couldn't help but chuckle.  She then turned the water off as the tub got full, and she gently placed her hooves into the tub.  She winced a bit as she got inside the hot water, but luckily she slowly sank into the water feeling relaxed.  As she rested her head on the side of the bathtub, she began thinking about the dream she had...  Sometimes, she has some dreams that can sometimes turn into a reality, which rarely happens.  Like the time when she had a crazy dream, and after she woke up, something bad began to happen, like when Spike began to mature into a greedy monster.  It rarely happens, but this dream wasn't like the other ones she's had.  This one felt like a nightmare, and that something was wrong... like the history was messed up in someway...  Her parents were there, she was there, and some other alicorn was there.  Before she could think about it more, she realized that she was sinking more into the water, right where her face hit underwater.  She lifted her head out of the water.  She sighed in relief, since she was lucky she didn't even choke on bits of water.  She just looked at the ceiling as she used her magic scrubbed herself with a brush.  She finished washing herself as she began to drain the water, and get out of the tub, wrapped a towel around herself and finished drying herself off.  She then opened the door and left the bathroom.  She just took a deep breath and let it out, and looked around.

"Wow... it's already been months and I still keep forgetting we're living this castle." Twilight said.

"Yeah, I've been feeling the same way." Spike said as he came into the room.

"Thanks..." Twilight said.

"For what?" Spike asked.

"For agreeing with me about forgetting that we live here." Twilight said, and the two chuckled, as Owloysius hooed once more.

"So... I suppose Pinkie Pie's is planning your party again." Spike said.  "Since she's the Party-type pony... and since you're a princess, I guess she's gonna make it more... surprising."

"Well, not really that much surprising." Twilight said.

"What?" Spike asked.

"I already told Pinkie Pie not to make my birthday party a special occasion, even though I'm a princess." Twilight said.  "I just want it to be a wonderful, but normal party.  You know, not out of control, not partying all night, just a regular party."

"Oh... Ok." Spike said.  "You do know that we're going to Canterlot to celebrate it right?"

"Yes, I know." Twilight said.  "Come on, let's go get our friends."

"Um... about that Twilight, they already left for Canterlot." Spike said.

"Oh... right." Twilight said.  "I almost forgot about that.  We're suppose to meet them this evening.  Man, my dream must've made me forget all that."

"What was the dream about?" Spike asked, feeling curious about it.

"I don't feel like talking about it." Twilight said.

"Oh... ok." Spike said, and then looked at the clock, seeing that the clock was now hitting 10:27AM in the morning.

"Well, it's gonna be a long night coming back to Ponyville." Spike said.

"Actually we're just gonna stay at my parents' place this weekend." Twilight said.  "That way we don't have to sleep on the train-ride home."

"Oh ok." Spike said.  "So... who's gonna be there?"

"Most likely everyone we know." Twilight said.  "All our friends are gonna be there, And you know what else, they even invited Ditzy to come."

"Uh... Don't you mean Derpy?" Spike asked.

"Spike, don't call her that." Twilight said.  "Just because she has a derp face doesn't mean we can call her that."  Then there was a boom at the window.  The two turned to see a grey pegasus with yellow hair and crossed eyes.  Yeah it was Derpy... or Ditzy Doo.

"Ditzy?" Twilight asked.

"Hello!" Derpy said, and then pulled out a letter from her bag.  "Letter For Ya Princess Sparkle!"  Twilight then took the letter with her magic.

"Um... Thanks Ditzy... and by the way, you can just call me Twilight." Twilight said.

"Ok!  Happy Birthday!" Derpy called as she flew out the window, crashing into a couple of shops and houses.  "My Bad!"  Twilight opens the letter and reads it, and a shocked but happy face appears on her head.

"YES!" Twilight said repeatingly as she began jumping and hugged Spike.

"What does it say?" Spike asked as she hugged him.

"It's a letter from my brother!" Twilight said with a smile.  "He and Cadance are coming to the party!  YES!"

"Well, I don't know why you're too excited about it." Spike said.  "I mean, you have the right to be excited, but why would he not come, especially since he is your brother after all."

"Well actually Spike, he wasn't sure if he and Cadance were coming this year." Twilight said.

"Why?" Spike asked.

"Because, Shining told me that Cadance was going to have their foal anytime." Twilight said.

"Whoa... Wait, Cadance is pregnant?!" Spike asked.  "For How Long?"

"For about 10 months...  She's already hit the 11 month today and- wait, didn't I tell you?" Twilight asked.
"Uhhh no you didn't." Spike said.

"Heh... I thought I did." Twilight said.  "Anyway, I told them it wasn't gonna be a problem if they didn't come, but they said they didn't want to miss it."

"Wow, you're pretty lucky." Spike said.

"Guilty pleasure." Twilight said.  "Now come on, let's get ready."

"Ok." Spike said.  Twilight began going into the other room...

"Spaaaarkle...." A voice says behind her...  Twilight turns around.

"Spike, did you say something?" Twilight asked.

"Uh, no." Spike said.

"Oh... must be hearing things." Twilight said.  She then began to go into the Library room of the castle, hoping to wonder what books to bring with her on the Train ride to Canterlot... but little did the birthday mare know, that her biggest adventure was about to begin.
> Chapter 01: Preparations and Reunions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 01: Preparations and Reunions

It is a beautiful day in Canterlot... with the birds singing, clear skies, the temperature is again not too cold, but not too hot either.  One of the birds flew down and landed on a hoof of a pony, who soon petted the little creature.  The yellow pony was a pegasus, with long pink mane, and her cutie mark consists of butterflies.  After she petted the bird, it flew off her hoof and took off flying.  The pegasus, who is very well known as Fluttershy, watched the bird fly back with its family, with a smile on her face.  But her little peaceful moment was interrupted after hearing a voice coming from below her calling to her.

"Fluttershy?" the voice called.  Fluttershy then flew to the ground, toward a building where some ponies were moving stuff in, and hauling stuff out.  They were moving tables and chairs in, as well as some confette and decorations...  As the yellow pegasus flew past them, she spotted a orange Earth Pony pulling a cart holding a ladder and some hammers.  The orange pony also had a yellow mane and tail, both with a ponytail, like a farm girl would wear.  She also wore a brown cowgirl hat too, and her cutie mark were of apples.  Fluttershy knew this farmpony, in fact it was her that called her name.

"You need me Applejack?" Fluttershy asked, seeing the Earth farmpony coming to a stop.

"Where were ya girl?" Applejack asked as she stopped by the building.

"Oh, I was tending to a bird." Fluttershy said.  "Do you need me for something?"

"Well, not at the moment." Applejack said as she pulled the latter out of the cart, and placed on the side of the building.  

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked.  "I could take one of those boxes in, help with the decorations, or maybe... unless, you don't want me to...  I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

"Girl you don't have to be sorry." Applejack said, trying to open the latter, but it was stuck.  But the earth farm mare turned around and then kicked it with her rear hooves, causing the latter to open perfectly.

"I know... but I... well..." Fluttershy said.  "I want to help, but yet I'm afraid that I'll do something wrong and well... Oh, I'm beginning to feel frustrated again...  I need to kick something." Fluttershy then lifted her right rear hoove and kicked the cart... softly.  The cart didn't move, nor was it affected by her kick.

"Fluttershy it's alright." Applejack said.  "If it makes you feel better, you do whatever makes you comfortable."

"Oh, thank you Applejack." Fluttershy said with a smile and relief.  She then walked toward the cart and placed a box of decorations on her back.  It was a medium size box, but it was light enough for Fluttershy to carry.  She then walked inside, humming on her way in.  Applejack then grabbed a hammer from the cart and climbed up the latter.  She looked at a nail that was a bit loose on the side, and began to tighten it back on with the hammer.  But suddenly, unknown to Applejack, a blue pegasus with magenta colored eyes was slowly approaching her from below.  The blue pegasus had a rainbow colored mane and tail, and her cutie mark was of a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt.  She slowly approached the Earth pony.

"Hey Applejack!" The pegasus called, causing Applejack to jump back as she dropped her hammer, which was falling to the ground.

"Oh, I Got It!" The rainbow maned blue pegasus called as she quickly flew down at lightning speed and grabbed the hammer.

"Got It!" She called.  Applejack just sighed in relief.

"My, that was a close one." Applejack said as she took the hammer.  "Thanks Rainbow Dash."

"No problem." Rainbow Dash said.  "Just your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash here to help."  Then Applejack tapped her hammer on Rainbow Dash's head.

"Ow!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Hasn't anypony told you never to scare somepony like that?!" Applejack asked.  "Seriously, you almost gave me a heart attack."  Rainbow Dash couldn't help but sighed.

"Oh come on, you gotta admit that was funny." she said.

"Well sometimes you pranks can hurt people." Applejack said.  "I remember what happened when you scared Fluttershy."

"Please, don't bring that up." Rainbow Dash said.  "She pranked me back, almost scaring the living hay out of me."

"And you deserved it." Applejack said.  "Look, enough with that, I need you to help me with some of the work for Twilight's Birthday Party, can you handle that?"  Rainbow Dash gave a determined salute.

"Of course." Rainbow Dash said. 

"Well good." Applejack said.  "Now I need you to pull that wagon filled with decorations into the building please."  Rainbow Dash looked at the wagon, and looked at Applejack as if she saw something that was... how do you say it, oh yes, too easy and not something more challenging or dangerous.

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked.  "Just pull that, with no flying, into the building?"

"Yep." Applejack said.  Rainbow Dash again sighed in disappointment.

"Fine." Rainbow Dash said as she flew to the Wagon and then Applejack attached the handle bars on Rainbow Dash's sides, and securing it tight.

"Have fun." Applejack said as she continued to her job, leaving Rainbow Dash to grumble and move the stuff inside.  As she went inside, she saw somepony looking at various straps, throwing some away to the side.  She was tossing them away with her magic, revealing herself to be a unicorn.  Her skin was snow white, and her eyes were blue, and her curly but stylish hair was bluish purple, and she was... beautiful.  Her cutie mark was of three blue diamonds.

"No.  No.  Oh goodness no." The unicorn said.  "No that one won't do."  She accidently and unknowingly threw a strap in Rainbow Dash's face.

"Hey, watch it Rarity." Rainbow Dash said.  The unicorn, who is well known as Rarity turned her head.

"Oh sorry dear, I didn't see you there." Rarity said.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm trying to see what colors go well with the decorations..." Rarity said.  "Since it is Twilight's birthday, Pinkie Pie asked me to find colors that match Twilight's color scheme, which includes her mane, eyes, and skin."  She then used her magic to pull a lavender strap.

"Oh no, that's not good either." Rarity said as she discarded it.  Rainbow Dash looked at the strap, seeing it matches Twilight's lavender skin.

"This one matches Twilight's skin." Rainbow Dash said.

"But it's not lavender enough." Rarity said, and then continued to another lavender string.  "Oh, That's Too Much Lavender!"  She throws the strap in Rainbow Dash's position and then pulls out another lavender strap.  She then gasped with a smile.

"Oh this one is perfect." Rarity said as she hung it up at the ceiling.

"Ok...." Rainbow Dash said as she walked away seeing how everypony else is working hard on the decorations and setting up everything.  She turning her head toward Fluttershy, who placed a box of decorations on the ground.  "Gee, don't ya think their getting carried away?"

"Well as long as nopony gets hurt, I'm ok with anything." Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, but I feel like everypony is trying too hard, just like Twilight always does..." Rainbow Dash said, and then begins to feels a bit paranoid.  "Just hope everypony in here doesn't become eggheads like she is."  Fluttershy looks all around herself and smiles.

"Oh I hope that Twilight is surprised by the surprise party." Fluttershy said.

"Well, that IS the point!" Rainbow Dash said, annoyed.  "And it's not just a surprise party, it's her birthday party."

"I know, but I just hope that she isn't startled by the surprise." Fluttershy said.  "Because Good Surprises are good, but startled surprises are really startling...-"

"SURPRISE!" a voice shouted above her, causing Fluttershy to fall on her back.  The pegasus looked up and saw a pink Earth pony with blue eyes, with a light red wacky bushy mane and tail with her cutie mark representing balloons.  It was Pinkie Pie... yeah it was Pinkie Pie alright, because when anypony see a pony with that color and wacky hair, and she loves to shout Surprise, It's definitely Pinkie Pie, and as everypony knows, she loves to throw any kind of parties.

"Oh Pinkie, you startled me..." Fluttershy said.

"Sorry about that Fluttershy, I'm just practicing my surprise entrance, when we surprise Twilight for her Birthday party." Pinkie Pie said.  "SURPRISE!"  Her second shout caused Fluttershy to fall backwards again.

"Pinkie Pie, can you please stay quiet while we finish the decorations?" Applejack asked as she came inside.  "And aren't ya suppose to be overseeing the whole operation?"

"But I am overseeing the operation." Pinkie Pie said.  "In fact, I'm actually running the operation.  I check on everypony who's working on the decorations, the baking, the music, and most importantly, the balloons and sounds!"  She then pulled out a birthday party horn and blew into it, making a funny sound right in Rainbow Dash's face.

"Um hello, more working, less messing around Please!" Rainbow Dash said.  "I want to get done setting up the party as quickly as possible!"

"But I am working on the party Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said.  "I'm seeing if this party horn is working, and it does!  Oh, and we're gonna need some music!  For Example!"  She then ran out of the building and came back in with a small cannon.

"Oh my..." Fluttershy said.  "No offense, but do you always bring that with you?"

"Fluttershy, that's a number one rule I follow everyday on my schedule." Pinkie Pie said.  "Never Leave Home Without My Party Cannon."  

"Oh for the love of pete-" Rainbow Dash said, but then Pinkie Pie then pressed the button on the top of her cannon, and then it fired confette, balloons, and other small party decorations.  "TA-DA!"

"Wow, the room looks perfect." Applejack said as she looked and saw the room was nearly complete.

"Heh, guess it is gonna go faster than I thought it would." Rainbow Dash said.

"Nice, oh time for some nice fashion music!" Pinkie Pie said.  She then ran out the door and came back inside, holding several instruments, consisting a banjo, cymbals, a tuba, a tamborine, a harmonica, a bass drum, and an accordion.  She then began to play them while dancing around.  A pony walking behind Applejack looked at Pinkie Pie.

"Uhhhh... is she ok?" the pony asked.

"Don't worry fella." Applejack said.  "That's just Pinkie Pie bein' Pinkie Pie."


Meanwhile... at the Canterlot train station, the train approaching the town began to slow down, and within a few seconds, it came a complete hault at the station.  The doors began opening, as a few ponies exited the train, and two of them was Twilight Sparkle and Spike.

"Well, almost feels like home sweet home again..." Twilight said looking at the town and the castle.

"Wow... is it just me or does Canterlot feel a bit new everytime we come here?" Spike asked.  "Because whenever I come back here, it looks a tiny bit smaller, or the castle just looks more shiny.  Twilight?"  Twilight wasn't paying attention to what he was saying again...  She was thinking again, about the dream.

"Twilight?" Spike asked as he snapped his fingers.

"Huh?" Twilight asked coming back to reality.  "Oh right, the castle looks pretty as always... right?"

"Are you sure you're feeling ok Twi?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Twilight said.  "I'm just feeling a tiny bit off today."

"Hmmmm... maybe you need some time at a spa." Spike said.

"Spike, Day Spa is all the way back at Ponyville." Twilight said.

"Don't they have a spa here in Canterlot?" Spike asked.

"I don't think they do-" Twilight said, but then the two then turned to their right to see a sign that said Canterlot's New Spa and Sauna House, Come Today!  Twilight and Spike were a bit surprised, since last time they came to Canterlot, there wasn't a spa, but now there is.

"Well I stand corrected.  There is a Spa." Twilight said with a smile.  "Come on Spike."  Spike then felt a tiny bit paranoid.

"Wow... Canterlot is getting new everytime we come here." Spike said as he followed her inside the building.  After a few minutes, Twilight was just a foot away from the hot tub.  She then placed her hoof inside it, feeling the hot water touch it.  She gasped a couple times as she stepped inside, but then, she felt more relaxed.

"Ahhhhhh...." Twilight said as her body sank a bit deeper into the hot tub until the water reached her neck.  "That feels much better."  Soon Spike got into the tub as well, and soon sank in, and placed his hand and arms on the edge.

"Feel better now?" Spike asked.

"A little bit." Twilight said.  "Finally got my mind clear again..."

"So, what are we going to do after this?" Spike asked.

"Well, we're going to see my parents first, see how well they've been doing, have lunch with them, then we're meeting Shining and Cadance at the train station, and then we head for the party." Twilight said.

"Wow, still remember the checklist method?" Spike asked.

"Always follow it, ever single day." Twilight said.

"Hello, welcome to Canterlot's Spa and Sauna House!" a voice said behind the two.  The alicorn mare and baby dragon turned around surprised to see a young pony filly.  The filly was a light gray unicorn with a mane mixed with graysih mulberry with pale light grayish rose streaks, and her eyes were a pale light grayish harlequin.  Twilight and Spike recognized her, for she was Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister.

"Sweetie Belle?" Twilight and Spike asked.

"Twilight? and... Spike?" Sweetie Belle asked  "What are you doing here at the spa?"

"Just to get a bit relaxed before we go to the party." Twilight said.  "What are you doing here?"

"We're trying to get our cutie marks." Sweetie Belle said.

"We?" Twilight and Spike asked.  Then they see two fillies running out of the manager's office, as a broom is thrown in their direction.  The first on that ran out was an light gamboge pegasus filly with grayish purple eyes and a moderate cerise mane, named Scootaloo, and the other was a pale light grayish olive colored pony with gamboge eyes and her mane was an amaranth color, and she had a large crimson bow on her head, who was Applejack's little sister Apple Bloom.

"You Girls Are Terrible Spa Ponies!" The Manager's voice shouted.  "You're All Fired!"

"Awww, but we were only here for about ten minutes!" Apple Bloom said.

"Wow, it's been ten minutes already?" Scootaloo asked.

"Time flies when we're crusadin'." Apple Bloom said, who turned her head to see Twilight and Spike in the hot tub.

"Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked.  "What are ya doin' here?"

"Just relaxing for a while until we head for the party..." Twilight said.

"Well, I was feeling relaxed... until now." Spike said.

"So... doing your little crusading again?" Twilight asked.

"Yep." Sweetie Belle said.  "We were hoping to be Cutie Mark Crusading Spa Ponies, but I guess that didn't work either."

"Don't worry girls, you'll get them eventually." Twilight said.

"Well, at least it didn't end as crazy like the last ones we attempted." Scootaloo said.

"Last ones?" Spike asked.

"Well Last week we tried to be Cutie Mark Crusading Constructo Workers." Apple Bloom said.  "But it didn't turn out so well..."

"Let Me Guess." Twilight said.  "You girls lost control of one of the vehicles?"

"Yes." Sweetie Belle said.

"And you guys accidently tore down a tree?" Twilight asked.

"No." Sweetie Belle said.  "Scootaloo accidently ran us over."

"What?!" Twilight asked.

"Well, I am just a filly." Scootaloo said.  "I don't even know how to drive a tractor."  Spike couldn't help but snicker, as he was imagining the whole thing in his mind.

"Ummm you're parents know about it right?" Twilight asked.

"Mmmmmaybe?" The three Cutie Mark Crusaders said at once.

"And then we tried to be Cutie Mark Crusading Balloon makers." Scootaloo said.

"Pinkie Pie let us borrow her Balloon Machine." Apple Bloom said.

"That didn't sound... dangerous." Twilight said.  "Of course what Pinkie Pie does and whatever she has can be... unpredictable.

"Well it wasn't fun for me." Sweetie Belle said.  "We were tryin' to figure out how the machine worked, but we were inside the machine, and then it turned on, and me and the girls got inflated!  Inflated like Balloons!"  Twilight looked at the little crusading fillies.

"Really?" Twilight asked.  Spike then began to laugh, also re-imagining the Crusading fillies as inflated balloons in his mind.  "Spike, it's not funny."

"Aww come on, you got to admit, it does sound funny." Spike said.

"Well, I thought it was pretty fun being inflated like a balloon!" Apple Bloom said.

"That and I was able to fly!" Scootaloo said.

"Even after all that, we're not getting anywhere close to getting our Cutie Marks." Apple Bloom said.

"We're probably never gonna get our cutie marks." Sweetie Belle said.

"Hey come on girls." Twilight said.  "You shouldn't give up."

"But we've been tryin' so hard to get 'em, and we tried almost everything we could think of." Apple Bloom said.

"Well, have you girls thought of anything you ARE good at?" Twilight asked.  "Like, dancing, or singing, or designing and painting?"  She is actually referring to what the crusaders ARE actually good at.  You see, Scootaloo has great painting skills, Sweetie Belle has a wonderful singing voice, and Apple Bloom is good at corpentry and decoration.  But what is ironic is that the crusaders don't even realize it.  The girls began thinking about it, and then they smiled.

"You know what, You're Right Twilight!" Scootaloo said.  Twilight smiled.

"Yeah, we can think of things that we Could be good at and try those things to get our Cutie Marks!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Ooo, Let's Try Being Cutie Mark Crusading Gliders!" Apple Bloom called.

"YAY!" The girls called.

"Girls, that's not what I-" Twilight said.  But the little fillies ran off happily, singing their Cutie Mark Crusaders Theme Song.  Twilight couldn't help but sigh, but then she smiled.  Spike looked at her.

"They didn't take your advice correctly did they." Spike said.

"Nope..." Twilight said.  "heh, they'll figure it out someway."  Soon, the two were done at the spa, got dried off before leaving, and then headed straight for Twilight's parents' house.

"Must be nice to be back at your old house huh?" Spike asked.

"Sure feels like it." Twilight said as she knocked on the door.  The door opened, showing a tall grayish azure stallion unicorn with moderate amber eyes and a neat dark phthalo blue mane, with his cuite mark being two crescent moons, one big and one small.  It was Twilight's father, Night Light.

"Hi Dad." Twilight said.

"Twilight you're here!" Night Light said as he gave his daughter a big hug.  "Welcome back sweetie.  Velvet, she's here!"

"I'll be right down!" A voice called from upstairs.

"Mom busy as always?" Twilight asked.

"Yep." Night Light said.  As the three came inside, a light grey female unicorn mare with light arctic blue eyes and a mane mixed with moderate purple and white, came down the stairway.  It was Twilight's mother, Twilight Velvet.

"Hi Mom." Twilight said.

"Twilight, you're back!" Velvet said as she came down and hugged her daughter tightly.

"Oh it's so good to see you again." Velvet said.  "I always tell your father, how much I miss you."

"I missed you too mom." Twilight said with a smile.

"How's our little princess?" Velvet asked.

"Good as always mom." Twilight said.  "And You?"

"Oh fine as usually dear, but I'm a lot more happy now that you're here." Velvet said.

"Hello Velvet." Spike said.  "Hello Night Light."

"Great to see you too Spike." Night Light said.  "Keeping our daughter out of trouble?"

"Yep." Spike said, but then they heard a sound, as if something was growling in the room.   Everypony looked at Spike, and then Spike looked down at his stomach, which was making that sound.

"Guess I'm hungry again." Spike said, as the others laughed.

"Good thing I made some sandwiches before you guys came." Velvet said.  "Oh I almost forgot your present."

"My present?" Twilight asked.

"I was going to wait until we get to the party but what the heck." Velvet said as she went into the room to get the present.

"Mom, it's ok, you guys really didn't have to get me any-" Twilight said.

"Happy Birthday Twilight!" Velvet said as she held out a book.  Twilight looked at the cover, seeing that it was some sort of How to book.  It was called How to be a Princess.
"How to be a Princess?" Twilight asked as Velvet gave her the book.

"Well you are a princess after all." Velvet said.  "We knew you were trying to figure out more on how to be a princess so, with Princess Celestia's premission, I was allowed to give it to you for keeps.  And besides, you sure do love to read."

"It was my idea too." Night Light said.  Twilight opened the book and flipped through the table of contents, and began to form a smile.

"Wow, this has everything I need to be a great princess!" Twilight said, and then hugged her parents tightly.

"Thank You Guys!" Twilight said.

"You're welcome kiddo." Velvet said.

"Velvet, please don't call her kiddo." Night Light said.  "She's a young adult mare now."

"You can say that, but she'll always be my little girl." Velvet said as she hugged her daughter, as Twilight giggled.

"Say, did my friends pay you guys a visit?" Twilight asked.

"Yep, they're were in such a hurry." Night Light said.  "Probably getting your-"  But then Velvet covered his lips with her hooves.

"Now Night Light, we don't want to spoil the surprise." Velvet said.

"What surprise?" Spike asked.

"I think I'm beginning to imagine." Twilight said.  "Oh, did you guys hear from Shining Armor yet?"

"Oh, we just got a letter saying that he was coming." Night Light said.  "I'm surprised that he is, especially since Cadance is due very soon."

"Well we better get to the train station to meet them." Velvet said.

"But their train isn't coming in a couple hours yet, and I haven't eaten anything too." Spike said.

"Really?" Velvet asked as she looked at the clock in the room.  "I must be losing time again."

"Ok, we better eat first." Night Light said.

"Good idea." Twilight said as they headed into the kitchen.

"Hey Twilight, did you happen to bring any cooking books?" Night Light asked.

"Why, what happened to yours?" Twilight asked, and then there was silence.

"Uh Oh..." Twilight, Velvet, Night Light, and Spike said.


Later that day, the family decided to go out to eat, after Twilight and Spike realized that her parents accidently lost their other cooking books.  But the good news it they had money to go out to eat at one of the restaurants in Canterlot.  When they were done, they headed straight for the train station.

"Ok, so back to the cooking books." Twilight said as they got to the station.  "You guys lost them?  How?"

"We were cleaning out the house a couple days ago, and after that we realized that they were missing." Night Light said.

"Let me guess, you threw them out by accident?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I didn't throw them out." Velvet said.

"Hey, here comes the Royal Train!" Spike said, pointing at the tracks.  The ponies turned around to see a royal train, from the Crystal Empire arriving.  Soon, the train came to a hault, and the doors opened, revealing a stallion coming out of the train exitdoors.  His skin was white, and his mane was moderate sapphire blue with moderate cerulean with dark phthalo blue streaks, and his eyes were moderate cerulean as well.  His cutie mark was of a shield with three stars over it, and on the shield was Twilight's Element of Magic star on it.  It was Twilight's big brother Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard and of course the Co-Ruler of the Crystal Empire.

"Twily!" Shining called with a smile.

"Shining!" Twilight said as she hugged her brother.  "How's are you doing?"

"Same as always." Shining said.  "You?"

"Always the same too." Twilight said, unaware of Spike's muffling from beneath the bags.  But her attention was then drawn as she saw another taller pony exiting the train.  The pony was a pale light grayish cerise colored alicorn, with beautiful light purple eyes, with her long mane colored with moderate violet with moderate rose and pale gold streaks.  The edges of her wings were faded with purple as well.  Her cutie mark represented a sky crystal heart.   She bore a yellow crown with a purple small diamond.  She had a yellow gold collar, as well as yellow glass slippers on her hooves.  But not only that, she was also 11 months pregnant.  It was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the princess of love, co-ruler of the Crystal Emprie, Princess Celestia's step-niece, Shining Armor's wife, and also Twilight's former foalsitter from years ago.  But some ponies, such as Twilight and Shining, know her as Cadance.

"Princess Cadance." Twilight said as she approached her.

"Twilight." Cadance said with a smile as the two bowed to each other.  Since they're both princesses, they both respect each other, but they're actually close friends, well actually they're sister-in-laws.  They've known each other since Twilight was just a young filly, when Cadance used to foalsit her long ago, always having fun together.

"Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs Awake.  Clap Your Hooves and Do the Little Shake." Both of the alicorns said doing their little silly cute nursery rhyme dance and embraced each other as they laughed.

"It's really good to see you again Twilight." Cadance said.

"Good to see you too." Twilight said.  "Sorry you guys had to come all the way out here, especially since..."  Twilight points at Cadance's stomach, which as swollen due to her being in the final stage of pregnancy.

"Oh it's alright." Cadance said.  "I can manage.  Besides, We really didn't want to miss the party."

"That and we really wanted to see you again." Shining said.  "Say, where is Spike?"

"Oh he should be around here." Twilight said.  Then Spike managed to get the suitcases off of himself, and he got back on his feet and brushed himself off.

"Oh sure, nopony noticed me under that pile of suitcases." Spike said as he grumbled a bit.  Shining couldn't help but laugh.

"See you're doing fine." Shining said as he hugged the baby dragon.  "Keeping my sister out of trouble?"

"Well, we haven't gotten into any trouble since that Centaur almost tried to destroy us almost a year ago." Spike said, referring to the time when Tirek almost destroyed all of Equestria but was soon defeated by Twilight and her friends.  "How have you been doing?"

"Just fine." Shining said, as Cadance stood beside him.

"Hello Spike." Cadance said.

"Hi Princess Cadan- WHOA!!!" Spike called as he examined Cadance, but looking straight at her tummy.

"Wow... guess Twilight was right about you hitting your eleventh month." Spike said, resulting to Twilight placing her hoof on her head, with Shining couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ummm... Thanks Spike." Cadance said.

"Does it really get that big?" Spike asked.

"Yes it does..." Cadance said as she blushed.  Spike moved his head closer looking at her pregnant stomach.

"It does look... very mysterious..." Spike said as he reached his claw out to rub it, but he was soon pulled by the tail by Twilight, who began pulling him away.

"Spike, don't start acting weird in front of a princess." Twilight said.

"What?" Spike asked.  "I can't help it!  The whole where baby ponies come from and circle of life is just really interesting."

"I'm surprised you are interested in the circle of life." Twilight said.

"I never said I was interested in it." Spike said.

"Well that's not what I see." Twilight said.  "I think it's cute you're actually interested-"

"Hey, I'm not being cute!" Spike said, as Shining and Cadance chuckled as he blushed.

"Ok ok, no fighting you too." Velvet said.  "So, how was the train ride?"

"It wasn't that bad." Cadance said.  "I didn't feel sick this time."

"Why would you feel... oh." Spike said, remembering that sometimes pregnancy can cause nausea and morning sickness.

"Oh, I just realized that I left that book for Twilight back at the house." Velvet said.  "Twilight, would you mind go getting it for me?"

"Sure thing mom." Twilight said.  "Come on Spike."

"Ok, meet you guys at the-" Spike said, but then was quickly pulled by Twilight as she dashed off back to the house.

"Come on Spike." Twilight said.

"Why do I have to go with you?" Spike asked.

"Because, you're my number one assistant." Twilight said.  "And not only that, the Assistant Guide for Dummies said you have to stick with me."

"How did you know I was reading tha-" Spike asked.

"Because you fell asleep with it a few nights ago." Twilight said.

"Oh... Ok." Spike said as they headed back to the house, as Night Light, Velvet, Shining, and Cadance waved.

"Well, that should keep them busy for a while longer." Velvet said.

"We better head to the party." Shining said.

"You think they're done setting it up?" Cadance asked.

"I hope so." Night Light said, as they headed to the party, hoping to see if it's well and done.
> Chapter 02: Happy Birthday Twilight!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 02: Happy Birthday Twilight

It wasn't long for the four ponies to get to the building where the Surprise party was talking place.  They went through the backway, since the entrance way is where they're going to surprise Twilight, that way they won't waste surprising whoever opens the door.  The four went through the backdoor and looked around.  The place was well decorated, with lots of balloons, confette strips, table clothes, balloons, drinks for the guests, a sign that said Happy Birthday Twilight, more balloons...  Yes, there are lots of balloons, why?  Because it's a party.

"Wow... they did a great job." Night Light said.  "They even have some strips that match Twilight's colors."

"Hey sugarcubes!" a pony called from the crowd of mares and stallions.  It was Applejack.

"Aw Applejack, good to see you again." Velvet said.  "How have you been?"

"Just came back from pickin' up my little sister." Applejack said, who was followed by Apple Bloom.  "Apple Bloom these are Twilight's folks."

"Hello..." Apple Bloom said in a tired tone.

"Yeah, she was off with her friends crusading for their cutie marks again." Applejack said.

"Aww, I think that's so cute." Velvet said.

"Are the others here?" Night Light asked.

"Yep." Applejack said.

"Applejack, can I go sit with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo please?" Apple Bloom asked.  Applejack looked at her sister and smiled.

"Ok, but don't get into trouble again." Applejack said, as Apple Bloom cheerfully headed to the table where her friends were at.

"Hey Applejack!" a voice called from behind her, revealing to be Rainbow Dash.  "Where did you put the cups again?"

"They're near the front side of the room." Applejack said.

"Ok..." Rainbow Dash said, but then turned toward Night Light, Velvet, Shining Armor, and Cadance.

"Rainbow, these are Twilight's folks." Applejack said.

"So you must be Rainbow Dash?" Night Light asked.  "Twilight told me that you were a legend of some sort."

"Yep, I'm a legend alright." Rainbow Dash said.  "She told ya about me saving four ponies, that I did the Sonic Rainboom, and that I'm such a skilled flyer?"

"Nope." Night Light asked.  "But she did tell us that you saved a friend of hers from falling out of the sky."

"Oh." Rainbow Dash said a bit disappointed, but she shrugged.  "Yeah, I did..."  She then turned toward Shining Armor and Cadance, with a bit of surprise on her face.

"Shining Armor and Princess Cadance?" Rainbow Dash asked.  "I thought you two weren't coming."

"Well, we did." Shining said.

"Hello Rainbow Dash." Cadance said.

"Hey... there's something different about you..." Rainbow Dash said looking at the Princess of Love.  "Wait wait, don't tell me.... you gained some weight."  Cadance couldn't help but blush.

"Are you calling my wife fat?" Shining asked.

"No, I just said she gained some weight." Rainbow Dash asked.  "Why?  Is she pregnant or something?"  Shining Armor was about to say something, but then began to stammer his words a bit, until Rainbow Dash's face grew with shock and looked at Cadance.

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait... You're Pregnant?!" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes." Cadance said with a smile.

"HUH?!" Rainbow Dash asked.  "Wow, I didn't know Shining Armor actually had it in him."  Applejack then punched Rainbow Dash in her hoof.  "OW!"

"Don't be disrespectful Rainbow." Applejack said.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Say, why don't you go check at the entrance to see if Twilight's coming." Applejack said.

"Ok." Rainbow Dash said as she flew fast to the entrance door and peeped her head out.  She then spotted a shadow cast from the otherside of the room, of a pony coming from that direction.  It must be Twilight.

"She's Coming!" Rainbow Dash called, signalling Pinkie Pie with both hooves.

"Got It!" Pinkie Pie called.  "EVERYPONY HIDE!!!"  Then everypony in the room hid behind some of the chairs, the tables, and somepony covered himself with a table cloth.  The entrance door opened, as a shadowy unicorn came inside.

"Hello... anypony?" The voice asked.

"SURPRISE!" Pinkie Pie and Hundreds of other voices shouted... but it was actually a surprise to them, for it was NOT Twilight Sparkle.  It was a different unicorn, who was a yellowish white unicorn with gradient purple glasses, with a moderate cobalt blue mane with brilliant cyan stripes, and her cutie mark was a beamed music note symbol.  The unicorn was musician DJ Pon-3, otherwise known as Vinryl Scratch.  

"AHHH, Oh Thank You So Much, This is the Best City in All of Equestria!" Vinryl said.  All the other ponies just sighed or some replied with an awww.

"Ok... this is not the kind of party that mare told me it would be." Vinryl said as she just came in and talked with one of the other ponies, with Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity looking at her, and then at each other.

"Well, that was a bit... awkward." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah... way to waste the energy on the surprise." Pinkie Pie said.

"Well I suppose we should return to our hiding spots again." Rarity said.

"I Hear Somepony Coming!" One of the guests shouted after peeping through the door.

"EVERYPONY HIDE!" Pinkie Pie shouted as everypony in the room ran back to their hiding spots.  One of the ponies, who couldn't find a hiding spot, suddenly ran to the side of the doorway and froze, hoping he wouldn't be recognized by Twilight.  The pony that walks in, was again not Twilight.  It was a goldish gray earth pony with a dark gray mane with a lighter tint, and grayish mulberry eyes.  It was musician Octavia Melody.  She turned her head to see the pony freezing in place.

"What are you doing?" Octavia asked.

"SURPRISE!!!" Everypony shouted as they jumped out of their hiding spot, nearly startling her.

"Um... it's Not my birthday." Octavia said.  Everypony just sighed again in disappointment.

"Oh, Hey Octavia!" Pinkie Pie said as she jumped from the crowd.  "Say did you see a lavender alicorn before coming in here?"

"No." Octavia said as she went to talk with one of the other ponies.

"Awww." Pinkie Pie said.  "Where Is She?!"

"You don't think that she's lost... do you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Flutters, there's no possibility of that happening." Rainbow Dash said.

"Well, we can't even start this party without her!" Pinkie Pie said.

"What's going on?" A voice asked behind them.

"Waiting for Twilight to come to surprise her." Pinkie Pie said. 

"What?" A voice asked.  This caused everypony in the room to stop and freeze a bit. They then turned toward the main entrance to see Twilight Sparkle and Spike standing there, watching the whole thing.  Everypone was nervous of what to do...  They accidently spoiled the surprise, and Pinkie Pie was the most nervous of them all.

"Uhhh... Surprise?" Pinkie Pie said with a high voice.

"Surprise!" Everypony said nervously.  Twilight looked at the room, seeing the decorations, the balloons and confette with the purple, lavender, dark pink, and blue colors, and of course the banner at the top that said Happy Birthday Twilight! on it, hanging down.  She then looked at everypony inside, Her family; Shining, Cadance, Velvet, Night Light, and her friends; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, and of course several other ponies inside.  Twilight couldn't help but twitch, and then her eyes began to water up as her face squeaked.

"Uh oh." Rainbow Dash said as the mares approached.

"Um... now Twi... don't cry." Applejack said.  But then Twilight just started crying.

"Awww we ruined it..." Pinkie Pie said.  "And I put so much work into planning this whole party."  Spike felt a bit nervous as Twilight kept crying, so her approached.

"Oh Twilight, please don't feel sad." Spike said.  But Twilight soon grabbed Spike and hugged him, as she made a big smile on her face.

"I'm Crying because I'm Happy." Twilight said.

"You Are?" Spike asked.

"You Are?" Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy asked.

"You Are?" Shining, Cadance, Velvet, and Night Light asked.

"You Are?" Everypony asked.

"Well of course." Twilight said with tears still coming out, but smiling very happy.  "You guys put so much work on this party.  I Couldn't Be More Happier!  Thank You Guys So Much!"  She hugged her five other friends, who replied with a relief sigh.
"Oh, I Need to Bring In The Cake!" Pinkie Pie called as she dashed out and began pushing the cake inside, as the ponies inside the room began to sing.


	Oh she's a jolly good fello

Oh she's a jolly good fello

Oh she's a jolly good fellooooooo... which nopony can't deny!


Twilight couldn't help but smile as she blushed.

"Oh you guys..." Twilight said.

"C'mon, you liked the song." Rainbow Dash said.

"Ok, I guess I liked it." Twilight said, and then she looked at the cake, and noticed that the cake was frosted with lavender and blue coloring, with the candle sticks were Purple and Dark Pink.

"Wow... the cake's frosting are exactly the same color as my skin and hair." Twilight said.

"Well of course it is." Pinkie Pie said.  "After all it is your birthday."  The two chuckled...

"Um... should we be getting back to celebrating?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"She's Right!" Pinkie Pie said.  "Oh, can I do that new trick I showed you guys last week Twilight?  Pleease?"  Twilight looked at the party pony, and she smiled, seeing her happy hyper friend always love starting a party.

"Go ahead Pinkie Pie." Twilight said.

"YES!" Pinkie Pie said as she quickly brought out a pink jetpack that she straps on her back.  She then pressed a button, and within only seconds, She took off to the air, blasting a hole through the ceiling, into the sky.

"LET'S PARTY!!!!" Pinkie Pie called as she pulled a string, and her jetpack let out balloons that allowed her to float back to the ground.  Right after that, the party began as everypony danced on the floor, as DJPon-3 was behind the DJ stand, raising her hooves in the air.  Half of the ponies danced as the other half talked with each other.  Twilight and Cadance were talking to Rarity and Fluttershy.
"This party sure is a blast." Twilight said.  "I guess Pinkie Pie did a really good job on it."

"She sure did." Fluttershy said.

"Well, we all chipped in too." Rarity said.

"Thanks guys..." Twilight said.  "I really appreciate it..."  She then turns toward Cadance.  "And again, thanks for coming."

"Well, I didn't want to miss my sister-in-law's birthday." Cadance said.  "Oh, and Twilight, I also talked to your parents, asking them if me and Shining could stay at their place for a while."

"Oh, well that is a surprise." Twilight said.  "I'm pretty sure that way you don't risk going into labor on the train ride home tomorrow."

"Yep, I'm taking precaution, for our foal's sake." Cadance said.

"Oh I've got to know, how are you feeling with well... you know." Rarity said.

"Oh, I'm feeling pretty fine." Cadance said.  "My first couple months into pregnancy was... well, I can't say it was a huge disaster.  The only negatives I have toward it is the craving for... strange foods, such as the hot fudge banana split sundae I had a couple months ago.  The other con is feeling nauseous and having to...  what's the word?"

"Barf?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, barf unexpectedly." Cadance said.

"It's only a temporary side effect Cadance." Fluttershy said.  "Everypony experiences that during almost any stage of pregnancy.

"My... well that doesn't sound that bad." Rarity said.  "My worry is has everypony been treating you differently lately?"

"Not much actually." Cadance said.  "Except that reporter who was trying to take photos of me last month."

"Was it almost the same way Spike acted?" Twilight asked.

"Well Twilight, someponies can't help it, wanting to know much about pregnancy." Fluttershy said.  "The circle of life is very interesting, and yet mysterious."

"Okay?" Rarity said.  "Anyway as I was saying, everything is alright with your pregnancy?"

"Oh yes, besides the side effects, and that situation with the reporert, it's continued without complications." Cadance said.  "Besides, I'm beginning to enjoy this pregnancy experience."  Then she looked around for a minute, and spotted Shining Armor talking with some of the ponies.

"Would you girls excuse me?" Cadance asked as she quickly slipped away, leaving Twilight and the mares a bit confused, but then she smiled, as if she knew what Cadance was doing... oh wait she knew.

"Where she going?" Rarity asked.

"Oh probably to find my brother." Twilight said.

"For what?" Rarity asked.

"Oh just for some time together." Twilight said with a smile.  With Shining he was talking with some of the ponies he knew from home.
.
"The Crystal Empire is beautiful, but it's sort of... predictable when ruling it-" Shining said, but then Cadance placed her hoof on his shoulder.

"Shining, can you please excort me to the bathroom please?" Cadance asked.  Shining, who was a bit confused, nodded his head.

"Um sure... why?" Shining asked.  Before she could answer she pulled him with her toward the bathroom.  She opened the door with her magic, and the two slipped inside.  She turned on the light very quickly.

"Cadance, what's going o-?" Shining asked.  Then she quickly approached him, causing him to back away until his back hooves hit the wall.

"Shining... I just want us to be alone for a while..." Cadance said as she leaned her head closer to his, resulting with both their horns touching each other's.

"Couldn't wait?" Shining asked as he smiled.

"No..." Cadance said as she pulled Shining Armor toward her.

"Cadance...." Shining said.

"Shining...." Cadance said.  The two then leaned toward each other and kissed passionately.  But then Cadance silently gasped.

"What's wrong?" Shining asked.

"I just felt the baby kick..." Cadance said.

"R..Really?" Shining asked.  He moved his hoof on Cadance's tummy, feeling the slow movement from the outside.  Shining smiled, as did Cadance.

"We're going to be family..." Shining said.  The two smiled and kissed each other on the lips, romantically and passionately.  But then suddenly the door opened, causing the two to stop what they were doing, and move their heads, looking at a pony with some reading glasses on, looking at them for a few seconds.

"Uhhhh..." Shining and Cadance said.  "Privacy?"

"Don't worry, I Come Back Later." The pony said with a japanese accent as he closed the door.


Meanwhile... back at the party, Spike began checking around, looking through the crowd of ponies at the party.  He was looking for somepony near the table.  He soon stopped as his eyes spotted Rarity talking with one of the pony guests.  His eyes filled with hearts as he smiled and walked through the crowd and toward her.  But suddenly, he tripped on the floor, dropping his drink, and flat on his face, knocking him unconsciously.

"Spike?  Spike, are you alright?" A voice asked him.  He suddenly opened his eyes to see Rarity looking down on him, with him in her hooves, quickly resulting with him blushing.

"Oh, uh... yeah, I'm fine Rarity." Spike said as he quickly jumped out of her hooves and blushed.  "Just slipped and fell that's all..."

"Are you hurt?" Rarity asked as he grabbed his chin, and examined his face.  "Oh my, you got some dirt on your face!  Here let me clean your cheek."  She quickly took a white napkin and began to rup his face with it, causing him to blush even more.  Probably from embarrassment, but mostly because he was liking it.  As she finished up, he smiled happily.

"Thanks Rarity." Spike said with another blush.  Rarity suddenly noticed his cheeks getting red.

"Dear, are you blushing?" Rarity asked.  Spike then suddenly realized and tried to cover his cheeks.

"Uh... No, No I'm Not!" Spike said trying to hide it, but Rarity did spot his cheeks getting redder and redder.

"Oh My, Spikey-Wikey, you are blushing!" Rarity said.  "Awww, you are such an adorable dragon."  She hugged the baby dragon.  This time he wasn't blushing because she was hugging him, he was blushing because he was embarrassed.

"Wh... I'm Not Adorable!" Spike said as he quickly pushed her away.  But quickly his embarrassment and anger soon stopped as he became shocked that he pushed Rarity like that, especially her.

"Well, that was very rude Spike." Rarity said.  "Hasn't Twilight taught you about manners?"  Spike couldn't help but grumble and just walk away, leaving Rarity looking at him go outside, with some of the ponies looking at her.

"My My... looks like the dragon got his tongue bit by a cat." Pony #1 said.  But her insult only resulted with Rarity turning around and look at her with an angry look.

"Now, you listen here missy." Rarity said with a strong voice.  "Nopony insults Spike like that, especially you."  She then walks away, and to her luck, she spots Twilight speaking with Fluttershy.

"Twilight?" Rarity asked, getting her attention.

"Yes Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"I think I accidently embarrassed Spike again." Rarity asked.

"Trying to be cute with him again?" Twilight asked, seeing that this is the second time it happened, with the first was when they were watching the Dragon Migration.

"Yes... he went outside." Rarity said.

"Ok, I better check on him." Twilight said as she headed for the back door.


Luckily it didn't take long for Twilight to find Spike.  He was looking down, seeing the river flowing down the stream.  He was looking at a gemstone, which was a gift from Rarity after he helped him work around her office back in Ponyville.  Dragons are very fond of gemstones, especially since gems are what most dragons eat.  But he never ate the one he's holding now, since it was a gift from Rarity, with love in every sparkle.

"Spike, are you ok?" Twilight asked.  The baby dragon turned his head to see Twilight approaching him.

"Oh, hey Twilight." Spike said.  "What are you doing out here?  Aren't you suppose to be at the party?"

"Yeah, but I came looking for you, after what Rarity told me." Twilight said as she sat next to her number one assistant.  Spike couldn't help but sigh, and continued to look at the gemstone.

"This was a gift from Rarity a couple weeks ago..." Spike said.  "She said it had love with every sparkle..."

"I see." Twilight said, but noticed that the dragon wasn't smiling.  He was thinking about Rarity, and he always has been thinking about her most of the time everyday, ever since the day he met her.  Soon a question rang in his mind, hopefully it could be answered by Twilight.

"Twilight, does Rarity like me?" Spike asked.

"Well of course she likes you Spike." Twilight said.  "You're her best friend-"

"No, that's not what I mean actually..." Spike said.  "I'm talking about... you know... the way your brother likes Cadance?"

"Ahhh..." Twilight said then she realized what Spike was talking about... Love.  "Well, I don't know Spike...  But I can tell you that she knows that you like her a lot though."

"Yeah... but you know the way she acted toward me, you know, the whole me blushing and how adorable I am..." Spike said.

"What about it?" Twilight asked.

"Is she really doing that because she feels the same way, or is it because she's just doing it for my own sake?" Spike asked.  Twilight was first speechless, since she wasn't a good expert on romance, despite that fact she has felt it many times and still does.

"I don't know Spike..." Twilight said.  "Look, Spike, I know you like her, but isn't she a bit... old for you?"

"Twilight, do we have to go through this again?" Spike asked.  "We already been through it... three times."

"I know Spike..." Twilight said.

"Oh just forget it..." Spike said.  "Who am I kidding... Rarity isn't probably gonna feel the same way I do..." Spike looked at the water near the bridge, feeling lonely inside.  But he (and Twilight) are completely unaware of a light gray skined mulberry and grayish rose maned and light grayish harlequin eyed cutie mark crusader watching from a far distance, with a weak smile on her face.  She sighed and walked back into the party building.

"Well, sometimes it takes time for a pony- or a dragon to find love Spike." Twilight said.  "You'll find it one day, or maybe somepony will like you too." Twilight said.

"Then why haven't that pony told me yet?" Spike asked.

"Because it takes time." Twilight said.  "Just be patient... ok?"  Spike looked at Twilight, and smiled, seeing that she was right.

"You're right Twilight." Spike said.

"Ain't I always?" Twilight said.

"Most of the time." Spike said.

"Most of the time?" Twilight asked.

"Well, sometimes you can't be right all the time.  Right?" Spike asked.  Twilight thought about it and then smiled, seeing that he was right.  She may be right most of the time, but not all the time.

"Ok, I guess most of the time would work." Twilight said, as both of them laughed and giggled.  But then suddenly, Twilight felt something, not on her body, but something deep inside.  She slowly moved her head, as if she heard someone call her name, much to Spike's notice.

"You ok Twi?" Spike asked, with Twilight responded by turning her head towards him.

"Huh?" Twilight asked.

"I asked if you were alright." Spike said.

"Oh.. yeah... I think so." Twilight said, but then suddenly a worried face grew on her face, especially since sometimes, she feels worried.  Whenever something good is going on, she always has that impression that something is going to happen.

"Spike... do you ever get that strange feeling that something terrible is gonna happen?" Twilight asked.

"You mean like you always do?" Spike asked.

"Yeah." Twilight said.

"Twi, you worry too much." Spike said.  "Remember what you said during your coronation?"

"You mean, Everything is going to be just fine?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah." Spike said.

"Yeah, I did say that, but then I crashed into that tree after I flew into the sky." Twilight said.  The two then startled laughing.  
"Well as long as you don't worry too much, everything will be fine." Spike said.

"You're right Spike." Twilight said.  "Man, I need to learn to take my own advice."

"Happy Birthday Twi." Spike said as he hugged her, and she returned the hug.  Although the day is over, it has only begun, for Twilight is gonna be in a big surprise tomorrow... 
> Chapter 03: Special Somepony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 03: Special Somepony

As the lavender alicorn began to move her head slowly, she opened her eyes...  But when she did, something was not right at that moment.  She was not in her bedroom, but in the middle of the street, where she saw houses destroyed, and some fires emitting from them.  Twilight eyes widened in shock and confusion.  She quickly got up on her hooves and looked around, seeing the destruction that has happened.

"Wha... What happened here?" Twilight asked.  "Was Canterlot under attack while I was asleep?"  She then turned her head to see the castle, which was on fire.

"Oh My Goodness!" Twilight said with horror.  "The Princesses!"  She then galloped toward the burning castle and then inside, looking for the princesses.

"Princess Celestia!  Princess Celestia!" Twilight called.  But then she heard a noise, as she slowly turned around to see something very tall in front of her.  It was a shadowy figure, with an axe sword in his hand.

"Oh no..." Twilight said.  The monster raised his axe sword in the air and then prepared to swing it down on Twilight.

"AHHHH!!!!" Twilight shouted as she closed her eyes, but as she opened them, she began panting.  She quickly looked around, and noticed that she was in her room...  She turned her head left and right.  She was in her room, safe and sound, no flames nor ruins, nothing wrong.  Everything was alright.  Twilight sighed in relief, but then groaned as she laid her head on her pillow.

"These nightmares are really getting annoying... litereally." Twilight said.  She then trned her head to her right to see the time on the clock, which said 10:12 AM.  She overslept again.

"Overslept again..." Twilight said as she rolled to the over side to see the calender... Which showed today's date, after Twilight's birthday, and recognized the date.  Her eyes opened more with surprise, but also happiness.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Twilight said to herself as she quickly got out of bed, and ran into the upstairs bathroom, quickly took a bath, fixed her mane, and headed downstairs.  There she saw her brother, sister-in-law, mom, dad, and of course Spike speaking in coversations in the living room...  Twilight couldn't help but smile and come into the room.

"Morning everypony." Twilight said.

"Morning Twilight." Velvet said, a bit surprised by Twilight's happy mood.  "You look happy today."

"Just feeling so cheerful..." Twilight said, as she kissed Spike and Night Light on the cheek, surprising them both.

"Well, somepony is in a happy mood." Night Light said with a smile.  "Planning to go out with your friends somewhere?"

"Actually, I already have plans today." Twilight said.

"You do?" Velvet asked.

"Yes... I'm spending the day with somepony." Twilight said.

"With somepony?" Night Light asked,

"Ooooh... I know who she's talking about." Spike said.  "You're going out with your boyfriend aren't ya?"

"Spike!" Twilight said as she blushed, as everypony in the room was even more surprised, with her brother startled.  Apparantely, she hasn't told them about her 'boyfriend' yet, and Spike just ruined it for her.

"Boyfriend?" Night Light and Velvet asked.

"Boyfriend?!" Shining asked a bit startled and confused.  Spike couldn't help but feel surprised himself, and smiled nervously.

"Oh, sorry... it was suppose to be a secret, and she was gonna tell you... I thought... she did... but I guess you all know now..." Spike said nervously.

"Thanks Spike..." Twilight said, with her happy mood fading, replaced with irritation.

"A Boyfriend?" Velvet asked with a smile.  "Well, no wonder why you're happy."

"Y...You Never Told Us You Had a Boyfriend!" Shining said.

"I was going to tell you all but Spike sort of ruined it..." Twilight said.

"Oops... sorry about that Twi." Spike said.

"Who's the stallion's name?" Night Light asked.

"Flash Sentry." Twilight said.

"Flash Sentry?" Cadance asked.

"Who?" Shining asked.

"Flash Sentry." Twilight said.  "You know, that orange pony with blue spikey hair, the recent member of the Crystal Guard, the one you should know because you were there helping train the recruits!"  Shining looked at her and sighed with realization.

"Oh yeah... the New Guy." Shining said.

"Oh, you mean the Pegasus guard you introduced to us months ago?" Velvet asked.

"Yep, same one." Twilight said.

"Aww, our daughter finally has a Special Somepony." Velvet said as she hugged Twilight.

"Oh mom." Twilight as she blushed.

"Aw come on Twilight, you should feel happy." Night Light said.  "First you're Celestia's student, then a princess, and now you got a boyfriend.  You're such a lucky mare."

"That's what I told her yesterday morning." Spike said.

"Awww I'm not that lucky." Twilight said, and then looks at the clock.

"Well, I better get going." Twilight said.  "He's coming from the train station, and I'm gonna meet him there."

"Twilight, I'll come with you." Shining said as he quickly got out of his seat, causing Twilight to turn her head.

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"Uh... just to be sure you get there safely." Shining said.  Twilight on the other hand looked at him with suspicion, because she also knows that sometimes when a mare is dating somepony, one of her family members isn't happy, and for Twilight, she knows Shining might have a problem.

"Shining... are you having a problem with me dating him?" Twilight asked.

"Uhhh... no." Shining said, trying to be innocent, but Cadance couldn't help but place her hoof on her forehead.

"Shining, please don't." Cadance said.

"Don't what?" Shining asked in response.

"I know what she's referring to Shining." Twilight said.  "You do have a problem do you?"

"Well, yes..." Shining said.  "For a good reason."

"We're listening." Twilight said, as the other ponies, and Spike began to listen.

"Well, I..." Shining said.  "I can't... I can't explain it."

"Well that sure is not a good reason." Night Light said.

"I'm just looking out for her." Shining said.  Twilight couldn't help but sigh, knowing that Shining is getting over protective again.

"Shining please, I'm not a little filly anymore." Twilight said.  "I can look after myself."

"I know you're an older mare now." Shining said.  "I... Look, you know I'm always worred about you ok.  And it's my job to worry about you.  I...  I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Relax Shining ok?" Twilight said.  "I am a smart mare ok.  Besides, you know I'm good at judging people now, especially with the help of my friends."  Shining couldn't help but sigh once more.

"Ok, I suppose that's true." Shining said.

"Now Shiny..." Cadance said as she pulled her husband back into his seat.  "Twilight is old enough to look after herself ok?"

"Ok." Shining said.

"Well, I better go see my special somepony." Twilight said.  Her mom walks toward her and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

"You have fun." Velvet said.  "And don't be out too late ok."

"Don't worry I won't." Twilight said as she happily walked out the door, and magically closing it behind her.  Velvet looks at her husband and they both smiled, happy that their daughter has finally found love, with Cadance and Spike chuckling, and Shining looks toward the window, seeing his sister leave.


Within a few minutes, Twilight finally made it to the Canterlot Train Staion, as she happily waited for the train from the Crystal Empire come...  She looked at the sky, happifully imagining how the whole day is going to go out.

"This is going to be so great..." Twilight thought happily.  "Just me and Flash, spending the day together... sigh...." She then heard a train whistle, which caused her to open her eyes, to see a train coming to the station.  It was definitely a train from the Crystal Empire.  It opened, as ponies and tourists from the city came out of the train.  Twilight then began scanning through the crowd of exiting ponies.  Her curiousity grew as she moved through the crowd looking for him...  As she looked and looked, thoughts ran into her head.  What if he missed the train?  What if he didn't come?  What if he forgot the date?  But then suddenly, she was brought back to reality as she accidently bumped into somepony right in front of her when she didn't look.  As she lifted her head, she saw what was in front of her.  It was a brilliant gamboge stallion pegasus, with vivid cornflower blue eyes, with his spike hair two tones of moderate sapphire blue, and his cutie mark was a two-toned sapphire blue shield behind a yellow lightning bolt on it.  Twilight smiled as she saw the pegasus.

"Flash!" Twilight said with a smile, as the stallion helped her up.

"Hello Twilight." Flash said.  "Sorry if we keep bumping into each other everytime we meet each other."

"It's ok." Twilight said.  "It's actually a good way to know it's you."  The two couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Flash said.  He then grabbed his saddlebags and then pulled out a bouquet of roses and handed them to Twilight.

"For you my lady." Flash said, as Twilight magically took the roses.

"Aww, you're such a sweet heart." Twilight said.

"Sorry I couldn't come to your party yesterday." Flash said.

"It's ok." Twilight said.  "There's no harm done.  So I guess the date and the roses are the best way to make up for it?"

"With love in every stitch." Flash said, as Twilight blushed with happiness.  She couldn't help but nuzzle him in the neck, as he did the same.

"So... what do you want to do first?" Twilight asked.

"Whatever you wanna do." Flash said.  Twilight was a bit off guard, though she did have the date planned out already.

"Ok then." Twilight said.  "I was hoping both of us could see the National Dessert Competition, see one of the flicks at the theater, see the art gallery, and... well, see the whole town."

"Sure, I'm all up for it." Flash said.

"Well come on!" Twilight said as she grapped on of Flash's hooves and the two headed into town.


For the three hours of their time together, The day was perfectly amazing for both ponies.  The two explored the entire town of Canterlot, enjoying it's magical wonders, as well as each other.  They managed to see such great events that took place that day, such as the National Dessert Competition.  They watched a short romantic movie at the theater, and they also explored the city's art gallery.  Soon, the two were at the Canterlot coffee shop, where the place, not only serves fresh coffee, but also serves pancakes.  The two love ponies were reflecting on the wonderful day they had.

"Wow... today has just been terrific." Twilight said.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe that earth pony managed to beat that unicorn and pegasus in the Dessert Competition." Flash said.

"And the artwork at the gallery, it just gets newer and newer everyday." Twilight said.

"And the Romantic Movie, It was Romantic..." The two of them said at the same time, which resulted with them chuckling and looking at each other's eyes.

"This is truely the best day of my life..." Twilight said.  "I'm so glad that I spent it with you Flash..."

"And I'm glad I spent the whole day with you too." Flash said.  Twilight couldn't help but look at the pegasus's eyes...  Not only he was so handsome, but he was so cute and dreamy...  Twilight felt herself moving closer to him, and soon, she closed her eyes, as she began to slowly pucker her lips up-

"Twilight?" Flash asked, as Twilight opened her eyes, looking at the confused stallion.

"What are you doing?" Flash asked.  Twilight was indeed confused herself.  Was she imagining the whole kiss thing.  She didn't realize it until her eyes looked down, and she then noticed that she was puckering her lips on the pancakes that were served to her.  In the moment of hesitation, she quickly took a bit out of her pancake, pretending to enjoy it.

"Sorry, I just didn't realize how hungry I was..." Twilight said nervously as she chewed on her food and swallowed it.  Flash couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"It's ok Twilight." Flash said.  "I know how you feel...  I did the same thing too, except it was licking the frosting on the cake..."  The two smiled and looked at each other.

"I hope that we can do this again next time this summer." Twilight said as she took her boyfriend's hooves and smiled.  Flash then turned his head a bit nervously.

"Um... actually Twilight, there's something I need to tell you... and you're probably not gonna like it." Flash said.

"Wh...What is it?" Twilight asked, and then gasped.  "Ohmygosh, Did I do something wrong?"

"What?" Flash asked.  "No, it's not that..."

"Oh.... ooook then...  well what is it?" Twilight asked.

"Well, you see...  I don't think I'll be able to see you for a few weekends..." Flash said, surprising Twilight a bit.

"Wh...Why?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"You see, I'm going to Baltimare for a few weeks." Flash said.  "There are some new recruits who signed up as part of the Canterlot and Crystal Empire guards and are going to start training and the camp is there and the Head of the Crystal Guard asked me to accompany him and assist him."

"Well, that's sounds great." Twilight said.

"Yeah, but that means I won't be able to see you every weekend though..." Flash said.

"Oh..." Twilight said, knowing that she won't be able to see him for that long.  "But that's ok Flash.  This is such an opportunity for you, and I really don't want you to miss it."

"I know it is." Flash said.  "I'm sorry."

"It's alright Flash." Twilight said, and then she looked at his eyes and smiled.

"I'm going to miss you..." Twilight said.

"Yeah." Flash said.  Twilight couldn't help but look at him, still with the same look on her face...  Yeah wasn't the word she was expecting...  She was expecting him to say that he'll miss her too...

"Yeah... what?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing... that's it." Flash said.

"Yeah?" Twilight asked, in a tone of happy and confusion.

"What?" Flash asked.

"Sorry, it's just that that's when you're suppose to say 'I'm going to miss you too'... right?" Twilight said.  Flash then sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his hoof.

"Look, Twilight, here's the thing." Flash said.  Twilight then frowned... somehow knowing that this wasn't a good sign.

"Uh oh..." She thought to herself.

"Twilight, it's just that I'm gonna be away for a while and... well...  I don't want to be tied down." Flash said.

"Wait... you're... you're breaking up... with me?" Twilight asked.

"Um... well... not literally..." Flash said.  "It's just that when boyfriends and girlfriends go away at times, they begin thinking each about each other, which causes them to do crazy things, and well, not focus well on their work so... I don't want that to happen to me so..."  Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing...  He didn't want to think about her during the trip, so therefore, He was indeed... breaking up with her.

"Oh... I see." Twilight said.  "You're just breaking up with me for only a few weeks, am I right?"

Yes." Flash said, believing that she's understood.

"Ok then, so that way you don't to get too worried, or too worked up." Twilight said.

"Yeah, that's exactly right!" Flash said.  "And when I come back, we can pick things back up and get back together again!"  Twilight looked at the pegasus with a weak smile, but then she frowned.

"No Flash... we won't." Twilight said getting up as if she was going to leave, something the pegasus didn't expect.

"Twilight, there's no reason to be upset..." Flash said as he stopped her.  "You're not upset are you?"  Twilight looked at him.

"You just Dumped Me in a restaurant after we just had a wonderful time together, and Now You're Wondering If I'm Upset?!" Twilight asked with an angry voice, leaning her head towards him, causing him to slupe into his seat.

"Yes?" Flash said with a quiet voice.  Twilight then just scuffed and grabbed the surup with her magic and turned it upside down over his head...  but nothing came out, which caused her to grunt.

"Ok, This Would Be Nice If This Surup Wasn't So Thick!" Twilight shouted.  She saw a waitress pony walk by with a glass of water.
"Here's your drink of water your highness-" The pony said.  But instead of taking the small glass, Twilight grabbed the entire jug with her magic, and then splashed it all over Flash Sentry, which caused the other ponies to gasp.

"That's What You Get Heart Breaker!" Twilight shouted as she stormed out of the restaruant, but yet she turned around, bringing out the roses that he gave her from her saddlebags.

"And You Can Take Your Roses Back Too!" Twilight shouted as she threw the roses at him, and then turned around, exiting the coffee store.  Flash couldn't help but watch her leave.

"Wow... she's so awesome when she's mad... only when it's not me getting her on her badside." Flash said.  He then looked at the waitress.

"I messed up did it." Flash said.

"Oh yeah... big time." The waitress said.  "You just dumped a Princess... and from I know, that's not a smart move."

"So you're saying it's gonna get worse?" Flash asked.

"I didn't say it was gonna get worse." The waitress said.  Flash just laid his head on the table, knowing that he screwed up big time... literally.


Velvet was sitting on the couch, continuing to write her next book...  She had just finished her latest one a couple months back and has decided to work on a new one...  This time she wanted to work on a book inspired by one of her daughter's adventures.

"Thinkin' about what to write?" a voice asked behind her.  Velvet moved her head to see Night Light looking at her.

"Yes." Velvet said.  "Tryin' to figure out what to write about...  maybe write something inspired by one of our daughter's adventures."

"Really." Night Light said.  "Never seen you take that direction before.  Which one?"

"I don't know." Velvet said thinking.  "Twilight's been on so many adventures with her friends.  Maybe I could do one about that wedding incident, or that one when she stopped that monstrous Tirek...  But there's just so many, I don't know which one would be the best."

"Maybe you should ask her first." Night Light said.

"That's probably a good idea, since I'm gonna need a lot of sources." Velvet said.  Then Night Light put his hooves around his wife.

"You know... I've been thinking." Night Light said.

"What?" Velvet asked.

"Well, first off I know you're gonna say no, but-" Velvet said.

"No." Velvet said.

"But you didn't even hear me say it." Night Light said.

"But I know what you're going to ask." Velvet said.  "And my answer is no."

"But Velvet, we promised that when Twilight turns 18 we were going to tell her... the truth." Night Light said.

"But you know how she is when she's told of something shocking..." Velvet said.  "She'll go crazy, like that time when she got so stressed out when she forgot to write a letter to the Princess about her lessons on Friendship.  And not only that, it could scar her for life. Can't we wait until she's at least Shining's age?"

"Well, we can't hide it for the rest of her life." Night Light said.  "And you said when Twilight is old enough, which she is, we'd tell her the truth."

"But you know what happens when we try to tell her something." Velvet said.  "Nighty, can't we just wait one more year... please?"  Night Light looked at her, doing the puppy dog pout face, but not using her lips, only her eyes.  The blue unicorn sighed and then kissed her.

"Alright... we'll wait one more year." Night Light said.

"Thank you honey." Velvet said.

"But just to let you know, we can't keep the secret forever." Night Light said.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Velvet said.  Then the two heard a sound coming from the front door, as if it unlocked.

"Twilight's home." Velvet said.  "You better go upstairs."

"Ok." Night Light said as he smiled and kissed his wife once more.  He then went upstairs to check on Spike, as Velvet got her things back on her couch as she continued to work on her story...  She then heard the door opening, and then closed softly...  She heard hoofsteps.

"M...Mom?" Twilight's voice called weakly.  Velvet moved her head to see Twilight coming into the room.

"Oh hi honey, how was your date with... Flash?" Velvet asked, but then noticed something wasn't right...  She was expecting her daughter coming home with a happy smile on her face.  But instead of a happy face, Twilight had a really sad face on, and her eyes were wet...  Velvet slowly got up from the couch and approached her.

"Twilight... are you alrigh-" Velvet asked.

"Oh Mom..." Twilight said softly as tears came down her eyes and she hugged her mother.  Velvet was a bit startled at first, but then she put her hooves around Twilight, comforting her.  She realized now that Twilight is now going through that phase...  when a boyfriend dumps the girl and ends the relationship... her first breakup.  Twilight continued to cry softly.

"It's alright Twilight...  It's going to be ok..." Velvet said, continuing to comfort her daughter, who continued to weep in her mother's shoulder.
> Chapter 04: Arguments and Diamond Dogs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 04: Arguements and Diamond Dogs

Later that day, the mares, and Spike were outside of Twilight's room.  Apparently they heard of her breakup very quickly, after she locked herself in her room.

"How long has she been in there?" Fluttershy asked.

"For a couple hours." Spike said.

"Man... ya think Twilight is gonna be ok?" Rainbow Dash asked.  "Because I don't want some breakup event ruin our day."

"Rainbow, keep your voice down." Applejack said.  "She's could hear you from inside."

"Well I hope so." Rarity said.  "This reminds me of that time when I didn't come out for days, when everyone started having bad comments on my dresses."

"Oh, and like that time when I was so terrified of being teased by everypony during that flying competition." Fluttershy said.

"Don't worry guys!" Pinkie Pie said.  "Twilight can't be sad forever.  I know what it's like when you get dumped by somepony, though I never had a boyfriend of my own before, but I've seen the flicks and stuff.  A mare becomes heart-broken, but in the end she feels all better about everything and moves on with her life!"  Then suddenly a part of Pinkie Pie's body began to twitch.  It was part of her Pinkie Sense.  Whenever something strange happens to Pinkie Pie's body, such as a twitchy tail or a scratchy back, several series of events, or omens, will happen.  It's like a sixth sense, though it only predicts immediate events, but not the actual future.  It is very hard to understand, but most of Pinkie Pie's friends, including most of the residences in Ponyville know and believe about Pinkie Pie's unique predictions.  This time it was a sign that's been never shown before.  Her right rear hoof was wiggling.

"See, my right rear hoof just wiggled." Pinkie Pie said.

"Well, what does that mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It means a depressed pony gets over his/her breakup!" Pinkie Pie said.  "But it only does that when I'm near a pony in that situation."  Then they heard the locks on Twilight's door unlatch, and the door magically opened, showing Twilight, with a weak smile.

"Are you alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, I feel a little bit better." Twilight said as she rubbed her eyes.

"So... how did the breakup ha-?" Rainbow Dash asked, but then Applejack stomped on Rainbow Dash's hoof.

"OW...." Rainbow Dash quietly shouted.

"It's alright girls, I'm fine." Twilight said.  "I am perfectly fine..."  The ponies and Spike sighed in relief.

"Well that's good to hear." Spike said.

"Come on girls, let's head down stairs." Twilight said.  They all headed downstairs, to see Night Light, Velvet, Shining, and Cadance downstairs in the living room.

"Hello Twilight." Cadance said.

"Hi everypony." Twilight said.

"Nice to see you finally out of bed." Velvet said.

"See Velvet, I told you she'd be alright." Night Light said.

"Why would she be not alright?" Shining asked.  "What Happened?"  Velvet and Night Light looked at each other.

"Well.... um." Velvet said.

"Don't worry Mom, I'll tell them." Twilight said.

"You sure?" Velvet asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." Twilight said.

"Ok then." Velvet said.  Twilight looked at Shining and Cadance.

"Shining... Cadance..." Twilight said as she took a deep breath.  "As you can see... I have just been through a phase in which a mare goes through when she is dating a wonderful stallion."

"What phase?" Cadance asked.

"Well... it's what everypony calls... a Breakup.." Twilight said.  "I was dumped."  Cadance gasped, but Shining didn't respond.

"You Were?" Cadance asked.

"Yes... But.... I am prefectly ok with it." Twilight said.  "Because I am now done going through that phase and I am willing to continue on with my life."

"Oh... ok then." Cadance said with a weak smile...  Shining then smiled, as if he was happy.

"Oh, so you're finally over with... what's his name?" Shining asked with a smile, as Velvet and Night Light just make a hoof-face look.  Twilight looked at him, and then she lowered her head.

"Uh oh... Left rear hoof wiggling..." Pinkie Pie said, oblivious to what's happening.  Just for a heads up, when Pinkie Pie's right rear hoof wiggles, a pony feels better, but if her left rear hoof wiggles, it's quite the opposite.

"His name is Flash Sentry..." Twilight said.  "Flash... Flash..."  Then suddenly she quietly broke into tears.

"Oh not again..." Rainbow Dash said, which resulted with Applejack stomping on her hoof again.  "OW..."  Velvet approached Twilight and hugged her.

"Uh... sorry?" Shining said.

"Oh Twilight..." Velvet said.  "It's ok... it's only your first breakup... and there's plenty of fish out there in the sea."

"Fish?" Pinkie Pie asked.  "How can a pony date a fi-"

"Pinkie Pie, that's just an expression." Rarity said.

"Oh... I don't get it." Pinkie Pie said.  "Is that a fat joke?"

"No." Rarity said.

"Your mom is right Twilight..." Cadance said.  "It'll be ok."

"But he was my Special Somepony..." Twilight said.  "And he dumped me so he could go to that stupid trip..."  She hugged Velvet tightly.
"Well, I knew that he would dump ya." Shining said.  "I told ya he wasn't the right one for you."

"SHUDDUP!" Twilight shouted with anger as she stomped toward her brother, surprising everyone, including him.  "I Don't Care How You Thought About Him!  Flash Sentry Was My Special Somepony!  He Was The Best and Greatest Stallion I've Every Met!  And Just Because He Dumped Me Still Doesn't Give You The Right To Be... Right!"

"Hey Don't Start Gangin' Up On Me!" Shining said.  "The Only Reason You Like Him Is Because He Reminded You Of That Guy You Met Back In That World You Visited!"

"Oooooo..." Rainbow Dash, and Rarity said as they covered their mouths with their hooves, and Fluttershy gasped.

"Oh No He didn't..." Applejack said.

"Why did everypony say Ooooo like that?" Pinkie Pie said confused.  Shining's defense sentence only angered Twilight, even further...  Without hesitation, Twilight jumped on Shining armor, and prepared to enter her Rage-Shift, which is when she turns into some kind of fire-pony, resulting with her mane and hair going up in flames.  Everypony was scared by this, including her parents, who hugged each other tightly.  Shining quickly closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.  But Twilight then stopped.  Her horn's glowing halted and disappeared.  She got off her brother, and then just marched out of the house.

"Oh dear..." Velvet said.

"I better go check on her." Spike said as he ran out of the house to go look for Twilight.  Everypony looked at Shining.

"What?" Shining asked.  "All I did was ask a question!"

"Everypony, would you mind if me and Shining talked... alone?" Cadance asked, showing a stirn look on her face toward Shining.
"Uh oh..." Shining said.

"Yes, we will leave you two alone to talk." Velvet said as she left the room, pulling Night Light by the tail, and the other mares went out of the room, but Pinkie Pie just sat there watching with a smile on her face.

"Pinkie Pie that includes you too." Cadance said.

"But I want to see the drama." Pinkie Pie said.  "I Love Watching Drama scenes."  Then Rainbow Dash came in and pulled Pinkie Pie out of the room, leaving Cadance to look at Shining, and she was NOT happy.

"Why did you say that?" Cadance asked.

"What?" Shining asked.

"You Know What I'm talking about!" Cadance said.

"All I asked was if she was over with Dash Sentry." Shining said.

"Flash Sentry." Cadance said.

"Whatever His Name Is, All I asked if she was over with him!" Shining said.

"Well, You Didn't Have To Say That He Wasn't the Right One For Her!" Cadance said.

"Don't Blame Me, I Didn't Know How She Was Going To React!" Shining said.

"Seriously Shining, What Do You Have Against Him?" Cadance asked.

"Oh Do We Have To Talk About This Again?" Shining asked.

"SHINING!" Cadance asked.  Shining looked at the ground, and then sighed.

"Ok, I Technically Don't Have A Problem With The Rookie." Shining said.  "But I Don't like it when stallions hit on my sister."

"Shining, We had a talk about this!" Cadance said.  "You promised that you wouldn't let yourself be Overprotective of your sister when she hangs out with a Stallion!"

"Hey It's Not My Fault That I Have To Be The Big Brother Here!" Shining said.

"Well You Still Shouldn't Have Ha-" Cadance said, but then she stopped, and silently gasped, much to Shining's notice.

"Cadance, are you ok?" Shining asked.  The alicorn looked at her husband.

"I just felt another kick." Cadance said.  Shining's eye widened.

"R...Really?" Shining asked.  He lifted his hoof and gently rubbed it against Cadance's stomach.  He did feel it move a tiny bit inside her.

"Something tells me it doesn't like us arguing." Cadance said.

"I was thinking the same thing..." Shining said.  The two looked into each other's eyes.  The two lovers never argued like that before.  Sure couples would argue, but not these two.  Deep down, they knew they were both sorry.  Shining moved closer to Cadance, as she nuzzled her head on his neck.

"I'm Sorry..." Shining said.

"Me Too..." Cadance said.

"Why am I such a bonehead?" Shining asked.

"Oh, you're not a bonehead... well, most of the time you are, but I know you don't mean to be." Cadance said.  "You're just trying to look out for your sister... and I can understand that.  But there are times when you have to know that she's growing up."

"What should I do?" Shining asked.

"Go talk to her." Cadance said.  He looked at the pink alicorn and smiled.

"Ok...  I'll go talk to her." Shining said.

"Then go." Cadance said as she nudged her husband, and he took off outside, to find and apologize to his sister.


Back outside, somewhere outside the town of Canterlot near the woods, Spike was looking around, hoping to find Twilight.

"Twilight?!" Spike called as he looked around.  "Where did she go?"  He then saw somepony near the small pond, staring at it.  Spike recognized the place, where Twilight used to go there when practicing her magic skills when she was just a filly.  Spike knew it was Twilight alright as he got closer to her.

"You ok?" Spike asked.

"No." Twilight said as she looked at the pond, as Spike too began to look at it as well.

"I remembered when you used to come here?" Spike said.  "When you used to practice your spells a long time.  Sure brings back memories huh?  Twilight?"

"I'm sorry Spike, but I'm just not in the mood to go down memory lane right now." Twilight said.  Spike knew that she was a bit angry with Shining, but he knew he had to help her to coop with it.

"Twi... you know your brother didn't mean what he said." Spike said.

"Why is Shining always protective of me?" Twilight asked.  "I'm Not a little filly anymore.  I can look after myself.  He needs to stop doing that whenever a stallion is around me."

"I don't blame ya Twilight." Spike said.  "But you can't blame Shining either.  I know he can be a bit... overprotective of you, but he's just looking out for you.  Fluttershy once told me that brothers are suppose to look after their sisters whenever they're in trouble or not."

"I know... I know." Twilight said as she began to calm down.  "I know he's only looking after me...  But I don't see why he has a problem with stallions around me."

"Well didn't you feel like that when he was getting married?" Spike asked.  Twilight then began thinking, remembering the way she acted when she heard that Shining was getting married.

"Yes, I did..." Twilight said.  "I thought that somepony was going to take him away from me.  But I quickly got over it after he said that the pony he was marrying was Cadance.  The only reason I was ok with it was because she was my foalsitter, and she was like an older sister to me."

"Well, Shining is acting the same way you did, except this time you're were in love with somepony that he isn't comfortable with." Spike said.  "Look, all I'm saying is that you should be thankful to have him as a brother.  He really cares about you Twilight, just like you care about him."  Twilight looked at the small pond, looking at her reflection.  She wished he was wrong, but she knew deep down, Spike was right.  Shining Armor never means any harm.  He was just doing his duty as a brother, looking out for her.

"You're right Spike." Twilight said.  "What should I do?"

"Tell him that you're sorry?" Spike asked.

"Yes." Twilight said as the too began to leave the pond area, turning back the way Spike came from.

"Think I should also tell him that he's still my Big Best Brother Friend Forever?" Twilight asked.

"Isn't he always?" Spike asked.  But then suddenly Twilight stopped for a minute and began thinking...  

"Spike... I don't mean to sound rude, but... I feel like he's not my brother at all." Twilight said.

"What?" Spike asked.  "What are you talking about?"  Twilight looked away for a minute, thinking about the dream she had the other night, and the dream from last night...  something wasn't right at all about them.  Maybe it was best that she told him what was going on with her.

"Spike... I need to tell you something..." Twilight said.  "But, you need to promise me that you can't tell anypony... ok?"

"Ok Twi..." Spike said.  "Do you want me to Pinkie Pie Swear?"

"Uh..." Twilight was about to say no, but she grew hesitant...  She didn't want Pinkie Pie to know about, especially since whenever a Pinkie Promise is made, Pinkie Pie has the urge to stalk on those who made it, and she also knows about the promise in one way or another.  But Twilight let out a sigh.

"Ok... Pinkie Promise..." Twilight said.

"Yep, Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Spike said.  "So... what's been troubling you Twi?"  Twilight looked around, seeing that nopony is around and leans into Spike's ear.

"I've been having these weird dreams..." Twilight said.

"Dreams?" Spike asked.  "About what?"

"Well, I can't really explain it..." Twilight said.  "But to be truthful I've been having these dreams for the past several weeks...  But they don't feel like dreams...  They feel like nightmares, and the most scary part of it, is that they feel real too."

"Think Luna's just doing that to be funny?" Spike asked.

"No... I didn't sense Princess Luna in my dreams at all." Twilight said.  "But what's more strange about the dreams is that they seem... wrong.  Like the History is mixed up.  It doesn't match up everything about me, like I wasn't born here..."

"What makes you think that?" Spike asked.  Twilight looked at the sky, thinking, and just sighed, trying to get her mind off of something, most likely the dream she had.

"Oh nevermind." Twilight said.  "I don't even know what I was thinking.  My dreams are making me feel off again.  Let's just forget about it."

"Are you sure?" Spike asked.  "If you need to say something-"

"Spike I already told you, I'm done talking about it." Twilight said, trying to end the conversation.

"Ok... You know... I think Luna is probably trying to sca-" Spike said as he shrugged, but then something quickly ran toward them, and Spike was snatched off the ground.  "AHHHH!"

"SPIKE!" Twilight called as she chased after the tall figure.  Soon, the big fello disappeared into the bush.  Twilight jumped in after him, but as she came out, she stopped.  Surrounding her were several Dogs with armor on and carrying lances.  They were Diamond Dogs... vicious dogs that have a thing for gems... since they're referred as Diamond Dogs.

"What the..." Twilight said.

"Well, what do we have here?" a high squeeky voice asked.  Twilight looked at the top of the cliff in front of her, seeing three Diamond Dogs, which were the head of the pack.  There was Rover, the medium sized dog, Fido, the larged sized one, and Spot, the small bulldog-like one.

"A little helpless pony." Rover said.

"You guys again!" Twilight asked.  "What do you guys want?!  They're aren't anything Diamonds or gems around here for you."

"Oh no no... we're just here to get what we want...." Rover said.

"And what's that?" Twilight asked.

"Revenge!" Rover shouted.

"YEAH!" Spot shouted.

"Oh come on, what did we ever do to you guys?" Spike asked.

"Wait, actually we were paid some gems just to get rid of yous." Fido said.

"By Who?" Twilight asked.

"We don't know actually... it was some pony dressed in some cloak, oh who cares... Guards, Get Her!" Rover shouts, as the Diamond Dog Guards charged toward Twilight, who quickly dodged them with ease, using her magic to teleport from spot to spot...  Back in Canterlot, the mares are outside, looking for Twilight.

"She's not at the castle." Rarity said as Rainbow Dash flew to the ground.

"I checked the sky, but there was no sign of her either." Rainbow Dash said.  Then suddenly, Pinkie Pie's head pops out of the ground.  She was looking underground.

"She's not underground." Pinkie Pie said.

"Hey!" Somepony called.  The mares all turned to see Shining Armor approach them.  The mares quickly turned their heads away from him, remembering his arguement with Twilight back at their house.

"Have you seen Twilight?" Shining asked.

"What would you like to know?" Applejack said sarcastically.

"Girls come on." Shining said.  "Are you really mad at me too?"

"Yep." Applejack said in the tone of her older brother Big Mac.

"Why would you want to know where she is?" Rainbow Dash asked as leaned her head toward the stallion.

"I want to tell her I'm sorry." Shining said.  "I didn't mean to argue with her..."

"Even if we could tell you, we don't know where she is." Fluttershy said.  But then suddenly, Pinkie Pie noticed that her own mane beginning to sway back and forth, without her doing it herself.

"Uh oh..." Pinkie Pie said.  "My Pinkie Senses are tingling again..."

"Oh for the love of pete, what is it now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Swaying Mane." Pinkie Pie said.

"What does that mean?" Fluttershy asked.

It means... a Pony is in Danger!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Oh Pinkie Pie, how can you be serious-" Rarity asked, but then they heard a voice coming from the woods...  The sound was a cry for help.

"HELP!" The voice called.  Shining recognized the voice, as did the mares.

"That's Twilight's Voice!" Shining said as he charged into the woods.

"Hang On Twilight!" Rainbow Dash called as they went into the woods as well...  Back with Twilight, she managed to dodge the Diamond Dog Guards pouncing from all over, but then tripped and fell down, causing the Dog Guards to jump on her and keep her down on the ground.

"Let Me Go!" Twilight shouted.  Spike began to struggle as Spot attempted to hold him down on his knees and stomach.

"Let Me Go you Overweight Puppy!" Spike shouted.  Then Spot held the Dragon down on his back, as Rover and Fido approached him.

"Time to show an example why Diamond Dogs are not to be messed with!" Rover shouted.  "Squish Him Fido!"

"Gladly!" Fido said as he raised his hands in the air, ready to squeeze Spike.

"Spike!" Twilight shouted.  "NOOOOOOOO-!!!!"  But then suddenly, Twilight's eyes began to glow, and so did her entire body.  Her wings began to flap, allowing her to float off the ground.  She then began to scream No once again, but more louder than before.  She then suddenly shot a Fireball, from her Mouth!  Twilight never did something like this before.  The Diamond Dogs jumped back, almost shocked.

"WHOA!" Spike shouted as he ducked out of the way.  "Was that Fire?!"

"AHHH, That Pony Breathes Fire!" Spot shouted.  Twilight was also shocked herself.

"Whoa... did I just do that?" Twilight asked.  Rover then looked at the other Diamond Dogs.

"Don't Just Stand There Idiots!" Rover shouted.  "Get The Pony!"  The Diamond Dogs slowly approached her.  Twilight looked at them, and then noticed her own hooves were glowing, with the color red, as was her horn.  She then stood her ground as the Diamond Dogs charged toward her.  But then, Twilight aimed her horn, and began to shoot fireballs, hitting the dogs, hurling them to one of the trees.  One of them then grabbed ahold of Twilight by the hooves, but then her hooves were glowing red, emitting a powerful burning sensation to the dog's paws, causing it to runaway.  Twilight soon began to breathe out fire too, to keep some of the more cowardly Diamond Dogs away.  Soon, the rest of them then charged toward her and began to leap.  Soon Twilight, closed her eyes, and when the dogs got close enough, she opened them, and then suddenly her whole body let out of energy wave, sending on the Dog Guards to the ground, and not only that, the grass below her began to burn and some of the trees fell over.  The smoke from the wave was not big, and couldn't been from outside the forest...  But it was enough for Shining to see from inside the forest, as did the other mares.

"Whoa... is that smoke?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's too big to be from a camp fire." Applejack said.

"Come On!" Shining called as he began to gallop to the source...  As the smoke cleared, Twilight opened her eyes, wondering what happened, and to her shock and surprise, the Diamond Dog guards were on the ground, moaning in dizziness, Spike on the ground with his jaw hung open, and Rover, Fido, and Spot shocked and then terrified.

"She's a Psycho Pony!" Spot shouted.

"And Scary!" Fido shouted.

"Let's Get Out Of Here!" Rover shouted as they and the dog guards ran for their lives, leaving Twilight amazed, yet confused.  Was that her using her rage-shift again, or was it some kind of spell she just tapped into.  Still what matters is that she scared them off, and she and Spike were safe.  She soon approached Spike who was brushing some of the dust off his scaly body.

"You Ok Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah I'm fine..." Spike said as he finished brushing himself off.  "Man Twilight, that was so cool, you doing all that Fire stuff!... Wait... YOU BREATHED FIRE!  How Did You Do That?!"

"I don't know!" Twilight said, confused herself.  "I didn't know how to do that stuff!"

"Twilight!" voices called.  Twilight and Spike turned to see Shining Armor, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie galloping toward them.

"Are you alright Sugercube?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, we're fine." Twilight said.

"Twily!" Shining called as he hugged his sister tightly speaking very quickly.  "OhIwassoworried, I'msorryifImadeyoumadlikethat! PleaseDon'tBeMad!"

"Shining... you're... squishing me!" Twilight said with a gasp.

"Oh, sorry..." Shining said as he released her, but then his attention was taken from the sight of the burned up area, with the ground covered in soot, and some of the trees burned up.

"Oh My!" Fluttershy said as she looked at some of the burnt ground.  "What happened here?"

"Ask Her!" Spike said pointing at Twilight, who blushed nervously.  Shining, and the mares looked at her.

"Whoa... that's the last time I ever tick you off again." Shining said.


Within Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia was reading a letter she received this morning.  But then suddenly, she stops and then gasps, as if she felt a disturbance in the Balance of the Elements of Harmony...  It wasn't Discord no... but something else...  She turns from her letter and looks outside through the window, sensing a strange energy coming from somepony she didn't expect...  Her former Faithful Student. 
> Chapter 05: The Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 05: The Truth

Later that day, Twilight and Spike were explaining to her family everything about what happened back in the woods.
"So, there we were, just looking at the flowers on the edge of town, and then suddenly I get snatched by the Diamond Dogs!" Spike said.  "Twilight came to rescue me, but then the Dogs tried to literally squish me!  And then suddenly, Twilight somehow breathed fire from her mouth and scared the Diamond Dogs off!"

"What?!" Night Light and Velvet asked.

"It was a good thing she did, though she almost roasted me alive." Spike said.

"Hey, I was just trying to help!" Twilight said.

"I know you were, but you could've watched where you were going." Spike said.  "Look, nobody got hurt, I'm just trying to make my point clear.  Twilight literally breathed Fire, Like Me, except that her hooves were also on fire too!"  Night Light and Velvet looked at each other, with a shocked look on their face, and a worried one...

"You don't believe me?!" Spike asked.  "Twilight tell them!"

"It's true!" Twilight said.  "They were about to hurt Spike, and I just got mad and then boom, it was like Flame City!"

"It's not that Twilight, we believe you, both of you." Velvet said.

"I'm sorry... it was an accident." Twilight said.

"Oh Twilight, we know it was an accident." Night Light said.

"Has a Pony ever learned how to breath fire like that?" Twilight asked.  Nopony was noticing but Velvet began to cough quietly.

"I don't think so Twilight." Night Light said, noticing Velvet's strange movement.

"Yeah, I think Dragons are suppose to be the only ones breathing fire." Spike said.  "I should know since I'm a dragon myself."

"Or maybe what I did was some kind of Fire-Attack Spell from the old ancient times that allows ponies to breathe fire-" Twilight said.  But then Velvet began to almost faint and wheeze.

"Mom!" Twilight said as she and Night Light catched her before she hit the floor.  Velvet soon quickly regain conciousness.

"Honey... are you alright?" Night Light asked.

"I'm fine... I'm fine..." Velvet said.

"I'll get you a glass of water-" Spike said.

"No Spike, I'm ok." Velvet said.

"Spike, why don't you go upstairs... me and Velvet need to tell Twilight something." Night Light said.  Spike looked at them, and at Twilight.

"Somepony's in trouble..." Spike said.

"Spike, please." Twilight said, and then looked at her parents.  "I'm not in trouble am I?"

"No." Night Light said.  "We just need to talk with you in private."

"Ok." Twilight said a bit confused, since her parents were acting a bit cautious and worried for some reason.

"I'll just... head upstairs." Spike said as he went left the room, closing the door.  Twilight looked at her parents, who were talking quietly.

"Night Light-" Velvet said.

"Honey... she's old enough... she needs to know." Night Light said.  Velvet looked at him and then sighed.

"Ok... we'll tell her." Velvet said.

"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" Twilight asked.  Night Light looked at Velvet, who gave a nod.

"It's just that, well... your mother and I knew that this day would come..." Night Light said.

"Wh...what day?" Twilight asked.

"The day... we told you the truth." Night Light said.

"What truth?" Twilight asked.

"Well, first off Twilight, we want you to try to take this in calmly, and keep your head together." Velvet said.  "Because... it may shock you completely."

"Why?" Twilight said, and then she gasped.  "Wait, Mom... Did you Lose your Job!?"

"Wh... No." Velvet said.

"Oh, wait Is Shining and Cadence divorcing?!" Twilight asked.

"No, it's not that." Night Light said.  "Look, you don't need to guess."

"Well, then what is it?" Twilight asked.  Night Light looks at Velvet.  

"Tell Her!" Night Light said.

"Why don't you tell her?!" Velvet asked.

"You're the one who didn't want to, so you tell her." Night Light said.

"Ok!... fine." Velvet said, and then cleared her voice and putted on a weak smile.  "Twilight...."

"Yes mom?" Twilight asked with a smile, with her happy face one.  Velvet's smile then turned to a frown.

"You're adopted..." Velvet said.  Twilight's smile turned to a huge shocked face.  Her eyes slowly shrank to the size of pencil tips, and her mouth was hung open...  Then, after a few seconds, Twilight fainted to the floor.  Night Light and Velvet looked at her and then at each other.

"I think she took it well." Night Light said smiling.  Velvet looked at him with an angry look and then punched him right in the hoof.  "OW!"  Twilight soon regained conciousness, and opened her eyes, with her parents standing above her.

"Twilight?" Night Light asked.

"Are you alright?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah... I'm fine... I'm ok." Twilight said as she got up.  "I just passed out for a sec-" but then, she remembered what her mother said before she fainted.

"I'm ADOPTED!?" Twilight shouted with confusion, shock, and anger.

"Yes." Velvet and Night Light said with guilt.

"No... No, that's not possible!" Twilight said.  "It Can't Be Possible!  Please Tell Me You're Joking!"

"We're Not." Night Light and Velvet said.  Twilight began circle herself around the room, panicking, just as Night Light and Velvet feared.

"But, the birth certificate said that I'm your daughter!" Twilight said.

"Actually, we had someone forge a birth certificate so it says that." Night Light said.

"What?!" Twilight asked.  "Is That even Legal?"

"Uuuuhhh..." Night Light said.

"Let's just say we kept this under raps for a while... until now." Velvet said.

"But I thought I was born in the hospital!" Twilight asked.

"Well, you were in a hospital, but we only took you there because you were having a fever." Night Light said.

"What?!" Twilight asked.  "I Was Almost Dying?!"

"Well... just let us explain." Velvet said.  "You were not born in a hospital.  We actually found you in a box upon our doorstep.  It was only 17 years ago..."

"Um... 18 years ago." Night Light said, correcting Velvet.

"So... somepony just left me on your doorstep?" Twilight asked.

"Yes." Night Light said.

"We didn't know who brought you." Velvet said.  "When we found you, you were crying, and you had a fever."

"We took you to the Hospital to see if you were gonna be alright." Night Light said.  "Good thing we took you there when we did."  Twilight just looked at them, still shocked.

"So... You found me in a Cardboard box, abandoned by somepony?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight, we were shocked ourselves, but we couldn't just leave you there." Velvet said.  "You were so adorable...  Besides, we always wanted a daughter, so... that's why we brought you in, and raised you as if you WERE our real daughter."  Twilight looked at the window.  Lots of thoughts were going through her mind.  Sure she understood that the two ponies she thought were her parents brought her in and raised her as part of the family, but deep down she was still angry, because they kept this secret for all her life.

"Why did you keep this from me?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight, We wanted to tell you the truth." Night Light said.  "But Somepony (Velvet gives him the glare, and he hesitates).... I mean, we decided to wait until you were your brother's age... sort of."

"Besides, we all know how you usually get stressed out and over-react over something like this and-" Velvet said.

"Huh?  But I- What?!" Twilight asked.  "I Don't Over-react or Get that Stressed Out!"  Velvet just gave her the look, a look any parent would give to their child when they say they don't do thing, though they do.  Twilight looked at the ground.  "Ok, maybe I do get stressed out."

"Yeah well, you're not the only one who gets worked up for nothing." Night Light said pointing his hoove at Velvet, who then gave an angry look at her husband.  "Well, it's true."

"Yeah, that is true, I always get stressed and worked up all the time." Velvet said.  Twilight just turned her head from them.

"Well look on the bright side, It's not as bad as it seems." Night Light said with a smile, trying to cheer her up.

"What Are You Talking About?" Twilight asked facing the two ponies again, with her voice getting louder and angrier.  "You Guys Been Lying For the Past 18 Years, And Now You Just Tell Me That I'm Adopted, That I'm Not Your Real Daughter?!"

"Ok... maybe it is a tiny bit bad..." Night Light said.

"Look, Twilight, you ARE our real daughter, Not Biologically, it just that, you came from somewhere far away from here... most likely far out from Equestria." Velvet said.

"Far out from Equestria?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, a place that's far from Equestria." Velvet said.  "A place which no other pony in Equestria has ever visited before..."

"So... I came from a far away land?!" Twilight asked.  "So I'm Not Even an Equestrian Pony?!"

"Well, that's what we think." Night Light said.  "We checked the records to see if there was a pony out there with your blood type and DNA match, but there was no pony in the system, so, we figured that you weren't born here in Equestria... and your family doesn't even live in Equestria..."

"So... I came from some place far away?!" Twilight asked.

"Yes." Night Light said.

"Twilight, we're really sorry we didn't tell you this..." Velvet said.

"No!" Twilight said still upset.  "Don't even talk to me!  I don't know If I could forgive you for lying to me my entire life Mom and Dad- oh I'm sorry, I should just say Night Light and Velvet!"

"Twilight!" Night Light and Velvet gasped, as if an spear shot right through their hearts.  Twilight turned her head.

"I'm Sorry, but..." Twilight said as tears come out of her eyes.  "But This Is Too Much To Bare!"  She gallops out of the room, pass the doorway, passing Shining Armor and Cadence, who were listening to the whole conversation.

"Shining?" Night Light asked.

"Uh... we weren't listening." Shining said innocently.

"Right, we just came in an-" Cadence said.  But the two sighed.

"You heard everything?" Velvet asked.

"We heard everything." Shining and Cadence said in unison.

"So... you told her the truth?" Shining asked.

"Yes... but she didn't take it very well." Night Light said.  

"I knew this was going to happen." Velvet said, but then tears come out of her eyes, and nudges against Night Light, crying.

"Well, she was going to know sooner or later." Night Light said.

"But not this way..." Velvet said still crying as he husband tries to comfort her.  Cadance looked at Shining Armor.

"You didn't have anything to do with this did you?" Cadance asked.  Shining looked at his wife.

"I... I was told about it after I got suspicious of how she came to be." Shining said.  "I promised never to speak about it."  He lowered his head.

"I'm sorry Cadance..." Shining said.  Cadance looked at him and sighed, and hugged him, knowing that he gave an oath never to tell...


Meanwhile... outside, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack were waiting by the bench in the Town Square.

"Man... you don't think Twilight caused that fire do you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Now Rainbow Dash please, it wasn't her fault." Rarity said.  "She and Spike were ambushed by those filthy Diamond Dogs.  She did what she had to do in the most difficult situation."

"Wow, you got to admit that was pretty cool!" Pinkie Pie said.

"How was that cool?" Applejack asked.

"Well we all know Twilight is pretty good at magic." Pinkie pie said.  "She's so good at it she also learned combat and defense magic.  She probably wanted to try out those new magic skills of hers..."

"Oh, here comes Twilight now." Fluttershy said, seeing Twilight from afar.

Twilight was stomping her hooves on the ground as she walked into town square.  She was upset alright...  but this kind of upset is way worse, much to her friends' notice.

"Just act normal..." Applejack said as the mares nodded.  They soon approached Twilight.

"How are you doing Sugarcube-?" Applejack asked.

"Oh No, I'm Fine!" Twilight said with rage.  "I'm FINE!  Never Been Better!"

"Uh... ok?" Applejack said.

"Geez what got you so ticked off now?" Rainbow Dash asked.  Twilight turned her head at made an angry look.

"Do You Even Start With Me Rainbow!" Twilight said.  "I'm Not Really In a Mood!"

Whoa... you almost sound like my mom when she's cranky in the morning." Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh Yeah, Your Mom, Your MOM!" Twilight said.  "You All Are Pretty Lucky to Have Parents, Parents Who Don't Lie To You Throughout Your Entire Life, And THEN SAY THAT YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY THEIR REAL CHILD!  ARGH!!!"  She was ready to entire Rage Shift Mode once again, as he friends took a few steps back, with some shock in their eyes.  But then she began to calm down...  What was she doing?  What was she saying she thought...  She knew better than that, not to let her anger out on everypony she cared about.  It wasn't right for her...  She just sat down, with some tears coming out of her eyes...  Her friends noticed this quickly.  They were a tiny bit terrified, though they've seen Twilight get stressed, angry, and sad...  But they've never seen her like this before...  Fluttershy was the first to step forward, and put her hooves around Twilight, who then hugged her tightly, as the other mares came forward too.

"I'm Sorry...  I'm Sorry." Twilight said.

"It's alright Twilight...  It's alright..." Fluttershy said.  "You're among friends here...."  Soon The two ponies let each other go.
"I'm sorry..." Twilight said.  "It's not right of me to let my anger out on all of you."

"Aw, it's alright Sugarcube." Applejack said.  "We know you don't mean any harm toward us."

"Yes, I can see that you're still upset about Flash Sentry." Rarity said.

"No, it's not that actually..." Twilight said.

"Oh... well what is it?" Rarity asked.

"Well... have you ever had that kind of feeling that you've been lied to throughout your entire life?" Twilight asked.  The ponies looked at her and then at each other.

"You mean like somepony promised something to you but aren't really making that promise?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, she means that you think you're who someponies made you believe you are but then they tell you that you're not?" Pinkie Pie said.  "Her parents basically told her something that's made her upset, and she now knows that she's been living a lie her entire life!"  Twilight looked at the Pink party pony.

"H...how did you know?" Twilight asked.

"Uhhhhh... that was just a guess actually." Pinkie Pie said.  "Wait, your parents told you something that they kept from you for a long time?"

"Yes... but please, don't call them my parents..." Twilight said.

"Why not Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.  "What did they tell you that made you so upset at them?"  Twilight looked at her friends, and then sighed.

"Ok... I'll tell you, but it may shock you." Twilight said.

"Well, what is it?" Pinkie Pie asked.  They waited a few seconds until Twilight said anything...  Then she said the words that came out of her mouth.

"I'm adopted..." Twilight said.  Soon, all five of her friends' jaw dropped open, with the pupils in their eyes shrank ot the size of a pencil tip.

"YOU'RE ADOPTED?!" All five of them asked.

"Yes..." Twilight said.

"Oh My Stars!" Rarity said with a shock.  "That Is Just Horrible!  Of All The Worst Things That Could Happen, That could possibly be The. Worst. Possible. Thing!"

"Awww, I thought she was gonna say she was an egghead." Rainbow Dash said, causing Applejack to punch her in the hoof.

"How is that even possible Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.  "Didn't you say you were Night Light and Velvet's daughter and that Shining was your brother?"

"Yes I did..." Twilight said.  "At least I thought I was their daughter.  But they now just told me that they only found me in a cardboard box on their doorstep when I was born, left by some pony who probably didn't want me, and that they adopted me the day after they found me.  All this time they kept this whole thing from me..."

"Oh My... that's very... um... what's the word?" Fluttershy asked.

"Shocking?  Sad?  Terrible?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Let's Not Forget Twisting." Rainbow Dash said.

"Girls please." Applejack said.

"Well, I must say it does sound a bit sad." Rarity said.  "I mean seriously, what kind of a jerk just leaves a foal on their doorstep?"
"Probably it was just some helpless teenage mare who got pregnant by accident, and she was so scared she probably didn't want the foal, who was Twilight, and decided to leave her at somepony's doorstep so that some pony couple could take her and love her as if-" Pinkie Pie said.

"Um... Pinkie Pie, two words, ok?" Rainbow Dash said.  "Shut.  Up."

"Rainbow Dash that's very rude of you to say that." Pinkie Pie said.  "You just don't tell somepony to be quiet-"

"No seriously Pinkie, please." Applejack said.  "Stop talking."

"Why?" Pinkie Pie asked, and then moved her head.  "Oh...."  The five mares saw Twilight, who was laying her head and hooves on the edge of the seat.  She was very sad, from everything that just happened.  This was most likely the worst day of her life.  Not just because she was dumped by her special somepony, the one who reminded her of the boy she met back at the other world, but mostly because of the truth she was told...  Her friends just watched her cry softly some more.  Fluttershy approached her and placed her hoof on the alicorn's shoulder.

"Twilight..." Fluttershy said.

"I Was hoping that everything was going to be fine!" Twilight said.  "But now everything's going downhill for me!  First I get dumped by my Special Somepony, and Now I just found out that I'm adopted and not from here!  I've been living a lie for my entire life...  I Can't Take Anymore of This!"

"Twilight, don't feel like that." Fluttershy said as she moved toward her and petted her.  "Sure, things aren't going well for you, but it will get better somehow."

"Fluttershy, I don't think it will..." Twilight said.  "I don't think that I'm ever going to get over this."

"But Twi-" Fluttershy said.

"Please, Just leave me alone..." Twilight said.  "I just want to be alone for a while..."  Her friends looked at each other, and then sighed.
"Ok..." Fluttershy said as she and the other ponies walked away.

"If you need us, we'll be at your parents' house." Applejack said.  The five ponies then walked away.

"Wow... I've never seen Twilight so sad before..." Rainbow Dash said.

"Kinda reminds me of that time when she was stressed out about not sending a letter to the Princess." Pinkie Pie said.  "But instead of feeling sad, she just went all looney and crazy-"

"Pinkie Pie, please, she could hear you back there." Applejack whispered.

"My... isn't there anything we can do for her?" Rarity asked.

"I just hope she feels better..." Fluttershy said.  The five ponies just walked back to the house, as Twilight just laid there, shedding the last of her tears.  As the girls headed back, Pinkie Pie turned her head, seeing her still crying...  The others turned their heads, seeing Pinkie Pie think.

"Wait, what are we even doing?" Pinkie Pie asked.  "We can't just leave her like this."

"Pinkie what are ya doin'?" Applejack asked.

"You know what I'm doing." Pinkie Pie said with her smile.  She then headed back to Twilight, with the girls sighing, but smile.
"There she goes, doin' her own thing." Rainbow Dash said.  Twilight was still crying softly... until-"

"Hi Twilight!" A Sock with a pair of googly eyes said appearing toward Twilight's face.

"AHH!" Twilight shouted as she fell on her back.  She then just sighed.

"What are you doing Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not Pinkie Pie." The sock puppet said, though Pinkie Pie is actually using a sock puppet, and hiding under the seat.  "I'm Mr. Wrikkles, Pinkie Pie's Sock puppet friend!  Why so glum?"

"I Don't Want To Talk About It." Twilight said.

"Awww Come On Twilight, tell me." Mr. Wrikkles said.

"No." Twilight said as she turned her head away.

"Look Twilight, I know that today was going all downhill for you." Mr. Wrikkles said.  "But you can't just be miserable and sad all your life.  You just got to see the bright things in life.  Always know that tomorrow will get better.  Now come on.... give me a smile."  Twilight didn't respond, which caused Pinkie Pie to come out from below the seat and look at her with a frown.

"Man, she's a tough one to bake." Pinkie Pie said and then looked at her sock puppet.  "I think you didn't do well this time."

"Hey, don't you be givin' me that tone missy." Mr. Wrikkles said.  "I'm a trained professional!"

"No you're not, you only did this for about a year." Pinkie Pie said.  "Come on, you used to be so good at this!  Oh, Let's try telling a joke!"

"Yes!" Mr. Wrikkles said.  "Hey Pinkie Pie, why did the chicken cross the road?"

"Dunno." Pinkie Pie said.

"To get to the other side!" Mr. Wrikkles said.  Pinkie Pie looked at the sock puppet.

"That doesn't make sense." Pinkie Pie said.  "A chicken can't cross the road to get to the other side."

"Yes it is, because you see, chickens have to lay eggs, and when they're trying to get back to the barn, they cross the road to get to the other side of the road to get to the barn and lay those eggs!" Mr. Wrikkles said.

"Ohhh... that would make sense..." Pinkie Pie said.  The other four mares looked at her making a complete fool of herself...  She was definitely doing it on purpose, because not only Pinkie Pie's loves to do and make various types of parties for ponies, but she also loves to make people laugh, and Pinkie Pie never fails at that.  But it didn't look like it was working.  Rainbow Dash then smiled.

"Come on, let's join the fun." Rainbow Dash said as she approached Twilight too.

"Hey Twilight." Rainbow Dash said.  Twilight turned her head, to see Rainbow Dash begin to make a funny face, pushing her hooves into her cheeks, forming a smile, the same face when she said "So Awesome".

"Guys please, I'm not-" Twilight said.

"Um will you excuse us for a minute?" Pinkie Pie asked as she pulled Rainbow Dash away from her.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"What are you doing?" Pinkie Pie asked as she approached Rainbow Dash.  "You know the cheering up thing is suppose to be my thing."

"Well I wanna Help ya do so." Rainbow Dash said.  Pinkie Pie looked at the pegasus and then at the sock puppet, and then smiled.

"Well I suppose I could use some help..." Pinkie Pie said.

"Shall we do ...The Trick?" Rainbow Dash asked.  Whatever The Trick is, it made Pinkie Pie smile.

"Yes!" Pinkie Pie shouted with excitement.

"Hey Gals, Need some Help Here!" Rainbow Dash called.  Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack galloped to the scene.  Twilight had no idea what was going on, since she was too sad to noticed.

"What is it?" Rarity asked.

"Let's do ...The Trick!" Pinkie Pie whispered.

"Oh... you mean-?" Fluttershy asked.

"You bet your feathers it does." Rainbow Dash said.

"Ok Applejack, remember what to do?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yep." Applejack said.

"Rarity, Pump!" Pinkie Pie called.

"Got it right here." Rarity said using her magic to lift a pump, and stick the hose into Pinkie Pie's mouth.

"Fluttershy, chicken suit!" Pinkie Pie said.  Fluttershy looked around.

"Where is it?" Fluttershy asked.

"In the suitcase right here!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing to the suitcase next to the sock puppet.

"Got it!" Fluttershy said as she opened it, pulling out the chicken suit.

"Rainbow Dash, Put It On Me!" Pinkie Pie called.

"On It!" Rainbow Dash said as she helped Pinkie Pie put it on.  It was the same chicken suit that she wore a couple years ago, and it still fits.

"Ok, quick, get on my back!" Pinkie Pie said.  Then Rainbow Dash jumped on Pinkie Pie's back.

"Grab my hooves girls!" Pinkie Pie called as Fluttershy and Rarity grabbed Pinkie Pie's hooves as Applejack stood in front of Pinkie Pie.  Whatever they were doing, will it be able to help cheer up Twilight, who was confused at this?

"Start Pumpin'!" Pinkie Pie called with the hose in her mouth.  Then Rarity started using her magic to pump the air right into Pinkie Pie's mouth and into her tummy region.  Then suddenly, Pinkie Pie's body began to inflate, like a balloon!  Then Pinkie Pie's body began to get bigger and rounder every second, until Rainbow Dash called.

"That's Enough!" Rainbow Dash called.  Soon the hose was removed from the ball shaped Pinkie Pie's mouth.  Twilight was confused, but yet shocked.

"What... is that?" Twilight asked.

"The Inflatable Flying Chicken!" Pinkie Pie called.  "Now Applejack!"  Then Applejack turned around, and then with her rear hooves, kicked Pinkie Pie, sending her flying all over, with Rainbow Dash commandeering her, zip-zagging across the sky, until she hit the ground.  As Pinkie Pie's inflated body hit the ground, she reverted back to her original size and figure, and landed and standing with only two hooves.

"TA-DA!" Pinkie Pie called as the other four mares appeared beside her.  They looked at Twilight, who didn't respond.  She just stood there watching.  There was just... silence...  The trick... didn't work.  The trick always work on the most depressed pony.  But this time... it... didn't.  This brought a frown onto Pinkie Pie's face, and she lowered her head, and her mane was ready to deflate and drape.  But then, there was a sound... a sound of chuckling.  Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack looked to see Twilight, who couldn't help but beginning to smile and chuckle... and soon her chuckling turned to a laugh, a happy laugh.  She turned over as she laughed, with a smile on her face.  Pinkie Pie looked at her with a smile, as her mane reverted back to its funky and puffy shape again, and then she began to laugh too.  The other four mares watched too... and soon their were laughing...  Soon the laughing died down as Twilight's frown was turned to a smile again.

"Oh Pinkie Pie, you sure know how to make a pony smile." Twilight said.  Pinkie Pie smiled as she looked at Twilight.

"Glad to see you well again." Pinkie Pie said.  

"I can't believe you did that for me... even after I said to just leave me alone." Twilight said.

"Aww come on Twilight." Pinkie Pie said.  "We couldn't just let you feel all gloomy and depressy.  Besides, that's what friends are for right?" Twilight smiled as she remember.

"You're right Pinkie Pie..." Twilight said.  "It is a friend's job to always make sure that their friend is ok, and always cheer them up anyway they can.  Thank you.  All of you."  Soon the pink mare hugged Twilight, as she hugged her back.  The other four mares approached them.

"You feel better now Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah... I feel a little bit better..." Twilight said.  "But I'm still mad at my parents though... I don't how I'm gonna live with myself now, after everything that's happened..."

"Don't worry Twilight... It'll be ok." Fluttershy said.  "It's just gonna take some time that's all."

"Exactly." Rarity said.  "Besides, when stuff like this happened to us, we felt better too."

"Just always know that there's a brighter tomorrow." Rainbow Dash said.

"That's right." Pinkie Pie said.  "You got a whole life ahead, so enjoy it."

"Yeah, you're right..." Twilight said.  "Thank you guys...  you all are truely the best friends a pony can ever have."

"Awww, I hear a group hug coming on!" Pinkie Pie called.  The six ponies hugged each other with smiles.

"C'mon, let's head back to your place Twi." Applejack said.  The ponies began heading back, but Twilight just stood there, and looked at the sky.

"You comin' Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You girls go on ahead... I'm gonna take a few minutes." Twilight said.

"Ok...  don't be too long." Rarity said.  They soon headed toward Twilight's home, and Twilight just stayed in her position and looked at the sky, noticing the sun going down.  Twilight looked at the Castle of Canterlot, seeing Princess Celestia going into the castle, which Luna comes back outside, to raise the moon, so night would come.  Twilight began thinking...  Since she couldn't talk more about her shocking discovery to her friends, maybe she could tell somepony who she trusts most... somepony who always listened to her when she didn't have anypony else to talk to...  Her former teacher Princess Celestia. 
> Chapter 06: The Journey Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 06: The Journey Begins

Soon, in the castle of Canterlot, within the Princess's chambers, Princess Celestia, the ruler... I mean, Co-Ruler of Equestria, was looking at her To Do list, checking everything off.

"Let's see, new carpets... check." Princess Celestia said.  "Banners cleaned, check.  Ate Bananas, Check.  Why do I always have a strange craving for bananas?"  Then one of the guards came in.

"Your Highness, you have a visitor." The guard said.

"At this hour?" Celestia asked.  "Well bring them in."

"Yes your highness... Presenting Princess Twilight Spa-" The guard said as he opened the door.

"You don't have to do that." A voice said.

"Oh sorry Princess Sparkle..." The guard said and then turned to the door.  "You may enter."  Soon, Twilight Sparkle slowly came into the room.

"Twilight?" Celestia asked.

"Hello Princess Celestia." Twilight said.  The guard looked at her and at Celestia.

"I'll uh.... leave you two alone." The guard said as he went left the chambers.

"What a surprise Twilight." Celestia said.  "I didn't expect to see you this even-"  But then Celestia knew that Twilight wasn't feeling alright.  "Are you feeling ok?"

"Not really." Twilight said.  "I thought it was best If I came to see you."

"What seems to be the problem?" Celestia asked.  Twilight turned her head.  "It appears that you were heartbroken..."

"Well yes...  I was dumped by my boyfriend... Flash Sentry." Twilight said.

"Oh... the new guy?" Celestia asked.

"Yes..." Twilight said.  "Thought he isn't technically new but... yes."

"Ahhh... the old heartbreaking emotion." Celestia said.  "It gets to everypony I believe."

"Yeah..." Twilight said.

"Oh Twilight, I can understand what you're going through." Celestia said.  "I felt heartbroken one time as well..."  She looked at a mirror, which showed her reflection, but in her mind, she saw a black handsome pony, a pony from another dimension, a pony she fell in love with.

"Well, that's not what's been bugging me the most Princess." Twilight said.

"Go on." Celestia said.  "I'm all ears."

"Princess... I've made a shocking discover... about myself." Twilight said.

"You have?" Celestia asked.

"Yes... I learned that... that I'm Adopted." Twilight said.  "I'm not Night Light and Velvet's daughter...  They're not my real parents..."  Celestia looked at her, though the princess would feel some kind of shock by this, only a tiny bit.  But she did show some surprise...
"Really... I should say that surprises me but..." Celestia said, but upon hear that, Twilight looked at the princess...  Did she know about it all along too?

"Let me guess, you knew about it?" Twilight asked.

"Yes..." Celestia said.  "But they never told me about it.."

"But how did you know?" Twilight asked.

"Because I figured it out." Celestia said.  This definitely got Twilight's attention.

"How?" Twilight asked.

"It was the day when you first became my faithful student." Celestia said.  "When Night Light and Velvet said that you were their daughter, at first I believed it.  But I began to feel a bit suspicious when I saw your raw power, when you performed such powerful magic."

"Oh yeah, when I accidently turned my parents into cacti and caused Spike to grow big." Twilight said.  "But how does that have to do with anything?" 

"You see Twilight, while Night Light, Velvet, and Shining Armor's magic is strong, your's is much more powerful then theirs, and also way more stronger any other pony's magic, almost matching mine and my sister's.  While I managed to help you control it during your time as my student, I began to check your family records, only to see that there was no record of you ever listed born in Canterlot, nor Equestria."

"No record of me ever born..." Twilight said.  "But they told me that I was born four weeks before the Summer Sun Celebration.  Well, I guess they lied about that too.  But you found out on your own."

"Yes, I did." Celestia said.  "During that time, I asked your parents about you, and as I began to ask about the magic and the family records...  They confessed that you weren't their biological daughter, only adopted."

"Well, Why didn't you tell me back then?" Twilight asked.

"You were just a filly back then Twilight." Celestia said.  "Seeing a young filly like you who had determination for a great purpose, I didn't want it to ruin your life  And Velvet requested that I wouldn't tell you and so... I kept it a secret."  Twilight turned her head in a way of both disgust and shame.

"So they had you lie to me too." Twilight said.  The Sun Princess just looked at her and then at the ground.

"Twilight, please don't hold a grudge toward your parents-" Celestia said.

"They're Not My Parents!" Twilight said in a loud voice of anger, almost startling the princess.  Twilight was more surprised herself.  Sure she's a bit mad, but she never yelled in front of the princess before... not in her whole life.  Twilight lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry Princess..." Twilight said, only to feel a hoof on her shoulder.

"I don't blame you Twilight." Celestia said.  "You do have the right the be mad... but is blaming it on those you care about going to help you?"

"No..." Twilight said as tears formed in her eyes. 

"I'm sorry Twilight..." Celestia said.

"It's not that princess." Twilight said.  "It's just that...  I'm just going through a terrible phase right now..."  Twilight couldn't help but shed tears, and cry again softly.  Celestia hugged her former faithful student, in hopes to cheer her up.

"First, I was dumped by my boyfriend... and now the whole secret about me being adopted is just... just....  Oh it's so hard."  She just sighed and turned away, for she couldn't figure out what to say anymore.  Princess Celestia could see that she was sad.

"Listen Twilight, I don't want you to think terrible of your adopted parents." Celestia said.  "They didn't want you to feel bad about the whole thing, especially since you became such a wonderful mare." Twilight looked at the ground.  She knew that Celestia was right, that Night Light and Velvet couldn't leave her when they found her.  They just wanted her to be happy, so she can have a life.  Twilight formed a weak smile.

"I know princess." Twilight said.  "I know they didn't mean any harm...  They brought me into their home and raised me as if I was their real daughter."

"And not only that, many good things came out of it." Celestia said.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Well think about it." Celestia said.  "If they haven't brought you into their home, you would've never became my student, nor would you have friends, or stand in here right now."  Twilight looked at the princess and then began thinking.

"You're right princess." Twilight said.  "They gave me a home when nopony couldn't.  And not only that, I became your student, I made so many friends, I have a wonderful brother and sister-in-law, and I'm also a princess... and I had you as not just a teacher, but as a friend as well."

"See?" Celestia said with a smile.  "Everything did turn out well for you."

"Yeah, well except for what happened between me and Flash, but heh, I was getting over him anyway." Twilight said.  She looked at the Sun Princess once again and hugged her.

"Thank you Princess." Twilight said.

"Anytime Twilight." Celestia said.  But as Twilight released the hug, she began thinking again.  There was just one thing that she hadn't figured out... where did she come from?

"There's one more thing I haven't figured out..." Twilight said.  "Where did I come from?"

"That is a very interesting question Twilight." Celestia said.  Something else hit Twilight's mind... her dreams, which was another thing she wanted to tell the Princess.

"Princess..." Twilight said.  "There was also another thing I wanted to tell you."

"Then speak my friend." Celestia said.

"I've... I've been having these dreams..." Twilight said.

"Dreams you say?" Celestia asked.

"Yes..." Twilight said.

"What dreams?" A voice asked behind Twilight, startling her and causing her to flap her wings with enough force to send Twilight high in the air and bump her head on the ceiling.  She turned her head to see an alicorn pony.  It wasn't Cadance, it was a different pony, who was a bit taller than Cadance, but a bit shorter than Celestia.  Her skin was dark blue, and her glowing flowing mane was blue, and her cutie mark was of a cresent moon.  It was Celestia's younger sister, Luna, the Princess of the Night.

"Oh, did I startle you again?" Luna asked.

"Um... Yes." Twilight said as she decended to the ground.  "Could've gave me a heads up when you came inside?"

"I didn't want to disrupt the conversation." Luna said.

"Sister, I thought that you were still outside raising the moon." Celestia said.

"I did already." Luna said.  "Now what's this about dreams?"  Twilight looked at Celestia.

"Um... Princess, no offense, I didn't count on Luna comin-" Twilight said.

"Twilight, I think it's best that she knows too." Celestia said.  "Everything I know, Luna must know too."  Twilight lowered her head.

"Ok, before I begin, do you want the short version, long version or the medium version?" Twilight asked.

"All of it." Luna said.  Twilight sighed once more.

"Ok, medium version." Twilight said.  "Ok, today I was on a date with Flash Sentry and apparently he dumped me to go on a trip, and so I felt depressed and my brother accidently made it worse, resulting with me leaving and going into the woods, where me and Spike were ambushed by Diamond Dogs, and all of a sudden, I begin to use these fire-based abilities, which includes shooting fireballs from my mouth.  So I scared off the Diamond dogs, we went back to tell my parents of what happened, and they told me that I was adopted, and so I came here to speak my troubles with your sister... there, I'm finished."  Luna looked at her with surprised, as did Celestia.

"Well... for once, I am sort of speechless..." Luna said.

"Yeah, a lot has been happening to me lately." Twilight said.

"But you did leave out these magical powers you developed..." Celestia said looking at Twilight, who then felt a bit nervous.

"Oh... yes, I was also gonna tell you that too." Twilight said nervously, with Celestia looking at her with some suspicion.

"Twilight, it seems there are some things you're not telling me." Celestia said.  "What of these powers you've been having?"

"Well I can't really explain the new magic spell I tapped into." Twilight said.  "All I did was get mad because the Diamond Dogs were trying to hurt Spike...  but then I just fired out a fireball, and my hooves were also glowing, emitting fire as I attacked them..."

"So, you don't know how you obtained them?" Celestia asked.

"No... not a clue." Twilight said.

"And the dreams you've been having?" Luna asked.

"Well, the dreams are also a bit hard to explain..." Twilight said.  "But truth be told, they didn't feel like dreams, they felt like nightmares." Twilight said.  "The one I had two days ago was of how Velvet and Night Light finding me in that cardboard box, and there was some pony, being chased by another pony.  It's still a bit blurry though.  And the dream I had last night was just, more crazy than the last one."  Luna looked at her and then at her sister.

"As much as I know about dreams Twilight, is that sometimes dreams can be created from past events and memories from the past." Luna said.  "The dreams you had may be memories of the past."  Twilight looked at the Moon Princess.

"So, you're saying, that I had a dream of the past?" Twilight asked.

"A dream made from a memory that was locked away inside your mind." Luna said.  Twilight looked at the ground, seeing a connection.  Velvet and Night Light confessed to her that she was their adopted child, and those dreams made from the memories of her past were trying to tell her that.

"So the dreams were trying to tell me that I was adopted..." Twilight said.  "Is that really possible?"

"Yes..." Luna said.

"Strange..." Twilight said.

"And what of the dream from last night?" Luna asked.

"Last night?" Twilight asked.  "Well, last night's was more scary.  The entire city of Canterlot was...  in ruins... and this monster..."  She closed her eyes...  "There's nothing more."

"Tell me Twilight... Did you have any other dreams like this before?" Celestia asked.  Twilight opened her eyes in some sort of realization.

"Now that you mention it... there was one dream I had a week ago." Twilight said.  "It was of another alicorn...  But it wasn't either of you two, nor Cadance...  I think it was me...  flying across the sea, toward some place.  It didn't look like Equestria, nor was it Canterlot.  It was of a different Castle, in a far away land." Twilight said.  Hearing this made Celestia silently gasp.

"The Lost Lands." Celestia said.

"The what?" Twilight asked.

"Sister, do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Yes." Celestia said as she quickly went to her dresser, and pulled out a scroll.

"Sister, would you kindly leave me and Twilight alone please?" Celestia asked.  Luna was a bit confused by this request, but nodded her head as she left the room, leaving Twilight and Celestia the only ones left in the room.

"Princess, what are these... Lost Lands?" Twilight asked.

"The Lands that are far out from Equestria." Celestia said.  "Lands never visited before by anypony.  These lands are not like our own.  Though they do have different lifestyles like we do, they still differ from Equestria.  Many stories about them were told, that there is forms of violence, vicious monsters populate the lands, and magic unlike our own.  One day there was a herde of pony explorers who have set sail to see of their existance, but no pony came back...  Some say they were lost, and there were no survivors..."

"No... survivors..." Twilight said.  "But where do the stories come from?"

"Well, it could be theories produced about the islands, but... there isn't much evidence." Celestia said.  Twilight began thinking...  her parents and doctors said that there was no pony in the system that matched her DNA...  Could Twilight have come... from those Lost Lands?  Twilight's curiosity built up...  she knew what she had to do.  It could be a foalish move, but she had to know.

"I'm leaving." Twilight said.

"What?" Celestia asked.

"I'm leaving Equestria to find out who I am... and where I belong." Twilight said.

"Twilight, You can't be serious." Celestia said.

"Sorry to disappoint you Princess, but I'm dead serious." Twilight said.  "These lost lands outside of Equestria may be my only link for me to know where I came from."

"But Twilight, no other pony has ever went across the borders of Equestria before." Celestia said.  "In fact, no pony has ever saw the Lost Lands and Never came back.  It's too dangerous."

"I know it is... maybe it is..  but My gut tells me that I came from those outlands." Twilight said.

"Twilight-" Celestia said.

"Princesses, Please hear me out." Twilight said.  "I just found out that I'm an adopted pony.  How am I going to live with myself without knowing who my real parents are?  You're the one who told me that there is a time when a pony must take a quest to learn more about him or herself, and that everypony has a path that they must choose.  I need to do this princess...  It isn't just something I want to do, it's something I have to do.  This is the path I must and will walk, and nothing is going to change my mind."  Princess Celestia looked at her once faithful student, who turned into a princess not long ago.  The Sun Princess then sighed.

"Are you sure you want to take this quest?" Princess Celestia asked.  "No matter how dangerous, or how much the truth could affect you, even if you might never come back?"

"I'm sure." Twilight said with confidence.  "I'm ready to know the truth of who I really am, who my real parents are, and where I came from."  The Princess couldn't help but smile, knowing that Twilight is ready to face the trials up ahead.

"Very well Twilight." Celestia said.  "You can go see what's out beyond Equestria, and you can learn your beginning."  Twilight smiled and bowed.

"Thank you Princess." Twilight said, and then she left.  Princess Celestia soon turned toward from the door and then looked out the window.

"She's ready to know the truth, but will she accept it... and will she face the trials ahead?" Celestia thought.


The next day, Twilight had her saddlebag packed with things she might need along the way.  Some toothpaste and a toothbrush, some food, and of course, a couple books.  A survival guide, a journal to keep her records on what she'll see out there, and a book that contained some stories in them, which included Nyx of the Night, her favorite story.  She told everypony, her family, and her friends that she was leaving Canterlot... well, she said that she was leaving Equestria.  Her friends were a bit startled, but they knew that she wanted to do this, and that she wanted to learn where she came from.  Night Light and Velvet were a bit reluncted at first, but they knew that this was probably for the best.  Since they told her the truth, it's probably best that she head off to know who her real parents are.
"My, you're off to go beyond Equestria?" Applejack asked.  "That's amazing Sugarcube!"

"Yeah." Twilight said.  "It's kinda exciting."

"I bet it's gonna be so cool that you're going to see what's out there!" Rainbow Dash said.  "I bet it's gonna be Mysterious, in a Radical Way!"

"I Do Hope you find the place where you came from!" Pinkie Pie said.  "But then again, you probably won't find your home and probably die trying, or you might discover your parents are actually crazy lunatics, or farmers, or monsters, or vicious evil-"

"Pinkie Pie Please, don't get carried away with that." Rarity said.  "There's nothing to worry about Twilight."

"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm sure." Twilight said.  "It's not that I don't want you guys to.  It's just I don't want you girls to get hurt.  This is something I have to do by myself."  Her friends looked at her, and then at each other.

"Don't worry, I'll come back soon... hopefully." Twilight said.  The girls sighed in relief.

"Well, we're happy for you Twilight." Applejack said.

"Oh, just be sure you take care of yourself." Fluttershy said.

"Thanks girls..." Twilight said.  "You all are the best friends I've ever had."  They then shared a group hug, of course Pinkie Pie pulled them all in for a hug.  As she let them go, Twilight turned to see her brother, who had his head down.

"So... I guess this is goodbye?" Shining said.

"It's not goodbye Shining, at least I don't believe it is." Twilight said.  "I'm just going on a little quest to learn who I am..."

"I know... but..." Shining said.

"But what?" Twilight asked.

"Look, I'm really sorry about yesterday." Shining said.  "I didn't mean to say that whole thing about... you know who..."

"It's alright Shining..." Twilight said.  "And I do respect you looking out for me."

"I know, I know... but It's just that you're going on your own." Shining said. "First you become Princess Celestia's private student, then the Bearer of the Element of Magic, and now a Princess..  You're growing up so fast."

"I know... I know... but I'm not the only one." Twilight said, poking her brother in the hoof, and the two laugh.  "And don't worry, you'll always be my BBBFF."

"What?" Shining asked.

"It's Best Big Brother Friend Forever...  geez, ponies don't understand Acroynams anymore." Twilight said.

"Oh, I knew that." Shining Armor said.  "And you'll always be my BLSFF."

"Huh?" Twilight asked.

"You know, Best Little Sister Friend Forever." Shining said.

"Right!" Twilight said as she hugged Shining, who returned the hug, but it was tight.

"Um... you can let go Shining." Twilight said.  Shining soon quickly released his sister.

"Sorry, kinda wasn't myself there." Shining said with a smile.  He quickly turned away, lowering his head.  Twilight knew that he wasn't feeling ok...  Seeing that he'll miss her, Twilight gives him another hug.

"I'll miss you." Twilight said.

"I'll miss you too." Shining said.

"I'll always be with you." Twilight said.

"Thanks Twilie." Shining said as they released the hug, and he soon went back to the house.  Princess Cadance approaches Twilight.

"You stay safe now." Cadance said as she hugged Twilight, and she returned the hug.

"Thanks... be sure to keep an eye on my brother." Twilight said.  "I bet he's not gonna be focused while I'm gone."

"Hopefully with our foal coming very soon, he'll probably won't worry about you too much." Cadence said.

"Right." Twilight said.  The young alicorn turned to see Spike slowly approaching her.

"So... you're leaving huh.." Spike said.

"Yeah... I'm leaving." Twilight said.  Spike lifted his head toward her.

"I wish I could come with you." Spike said.

"Me too, but I have to do this myself Spike." Twilight said.  "And you need to stay here, where you truely belong.  Besides, I want you to look after my... well... my adopted parents... for me."  Spike couldn't help but lower his head.  He was going to indeed miss her very much.  They were friends for like ever since he was born.  She hatched him out of the egg, she took care of him, and she made him her number one assistant.

"Ok..." Spike said.  "Just promise me that you'll be back."

"I will." Twilight said as she hugged the baby dragon, who hugged her tightly.  "Um... Spike, you can let go now."  Spike then released the hug.

"Sorry..." Spike said.

"It's ok." Twilight said.

"Well, good luck Twilight." Spike said.  He then walked away, with a sad worried look on his face.  Twilight noticed this.

"Don't worry about him Twilight, he'll be fine." Velvet said.  She then noticed that Twilight was looking at the ground.  "What's wrong Twilight?"

"What's wrong is that I'm leaving you all." Twilight said.  "I just have a gut feeling that I might never see you guys again."

"Don't be daunted Twilight, we know you'll come back." Velvet said.  "As long as you believe in yourself, you'll see us again."  Twilight looked at her and made a weak smile.

"Yeah... You're right." Twilight said.

"Now you take care of yourself, and use that new power of yours wisely." Velvet said.  "All gifts can come with a price."

"Oh don't worry about her, you know how so concerned she is." Night Light said.  "You take care now."

"Thank you." Twilight said as she hugged them both.  She then turned to see Princess Celestia, and then bowed before her.

"Princess... I just wanted to say that... that I am honored to have had you as a teacher..." Twilight said.  Celestia smiled and gave her former student a hug.

"Take care now..." Celestia said.  "I expect the journey to be long."  Twilight nodded.

"Twilight..." Celestia said.

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"I just want to say...  I'm really proud to have had you as my Most Faithful Student." Celestia said.  Twilight was touched, and then she gave the princess a hug.

"Thank you Princess." Twilight said.  Soon, the two released the hug, and Twilight headed off to where her journey took her... mostly to the edge of Equestria, to start her real journey to the Lost Lands to learn who she is...  Celestia watched Twilight leaving, as her sister Princess Luna stood beside her.

"You think Twilight is ready for this?" Luna asked.  "To go to places that we've never went to ourselves?  To find out who her real family is?"

"She's ready Luna." Celestia said.  "Twilight was ready to be my student.  She was ready to learn about Friendship, she was ready to defeat Discord, and even stop King Sombra.  She was ready to be a Princess and defeat Tirek.  She's ready to know the truth of her real parents and who she really is...  But accepting the truth will be her greatest challenge of all."

"But what if she doesn't accep-" Luna said.

"She will..." Celestia said.  The two watched the sun rising in Twilight's direction.


It took almost a whole day for Twilight to get to part of the edge of Equestria.  She decided that the best way was to take the train and ride and hike all the way to Tall Tale.  She took the morning train, heading to her destination, passing the Unicorn Range, stopping at Yanhoover, and then hiked all the way past Smokey Mountain, and making it to Tall Tale.  Soon, Twilight managed to reach the edge of Tall Tale,  She is standing on part of the cliff, looking at the ocean...

"Well, made it to the edge of Tall Tale... now to use that Magic Balloon spell..." Twilight said.  Then her horn began to glow as she picked up materials to make a a hot air balloon.  Not to her notice, high from a distance at the top of Smokey Mountains... a strange looking creature was looking down at a check list... checking things off one at a time.  The creature was technically speaking a Draconequus.  It was Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and one of the biggest threats to Equestria, or at least he was until he had a change of heart after one of Twilight and her friends' adventures.

"Now let's see... Breakfast with me, Check." Discord said, checking off everything.  "Making singing Chocolate Rain clouds?"  Discord looks to see a small cloud over the mountain raining chocolate, which was singing Chocolate Rain.

"Check." Discord said.  "Made some skeletons walking and singing and having some pony in a Bat suit fight them... Check.  Now for tonight's schedule."  He then threw the check list aside, which exploded with an old 1940s sound explosion.  He then pulled out a schedule book.

"Ok let's see..." Discord said.  "4:00, bring some of the Unicorn Range flowers alive.  4:30, stare at the Caves of the Abyss.  5:00, go the Manehattan... oooh the Big Apple.  6:30, exercise.  7:00, dinner with Fluttershy, oh I hope I don't have to cancel that again.  8:00, wrestle with myself naked... though I'm not wearing any clothes right now... looks like I'm booked."  He then began thinking.

"Now that I mention it." Discord said.  "Of course, I could just move the wrestling at 9:00, and I'll still have more time to bring flowers to life, stare at the ceiling, go to Manehattan, exercise and still eat with Fluttershy early."  Discord then got a bit frustrated, throwing his schedule book aside.

"Oh Come On, Can something interesting happen Already?" Discord asked.  He then heard his schedule book explode.

"That's not what I meant!" Discord called.  But soon, he turns his head to see Twilight finishing her Magic Hot Air Balloon...

"Well my my... what do we have here?" Discord said to himself.  "What is Twilight Sparkle doing all the way here at the edge of Tall Tale?"  Then suddenly he heard something behind him.  He turned his head to see something straight at him.  It was... a Firework!

"WHOA!" Discord shouted as he flew out of the way and the Firework missed him.  Back at the ground, Twilight's horn then stopped glowing as she smiled, with the magic balloon finished.

"That was easy." Twilight said.  "Now to get on an-"

"TWILIGHT!" someone called.  Twilight turned her head to see the giant firework coming toward her location.

"What the..." Twilight thought.  Then the Firework a few yards in front of her, and admited a small explosion, that sends a creature right on the ground, right in front of her.  It was Spike!

"Ow... I'm ok... that didn't go as expected." Spike said.

"Spike?" Twilight asked.  "Wh...what are you doing here?"

"I... I wanted to make sure you didn't leave yet." Spike said.

"Wh... How did you get here anyway?" Twilight asked.

"Ok, allow me to explain." Spike said.  "You see, I saw that you already took the train, heading to Tall Tale, so I had a little help from one of the Pegasuses that came to Canterlot with Dr. Whooves.  They were in Canterlot looking for somethin-"

"Spike, back to where you were saying how you got here." Twilight said.

"Oh right." Spike said.  "Anyway, He and Derpy helped me find a way to get here.  Of course Derpy strapping me to a large Firework that sent me blasting all the way here.  And That's how I got here."

"Spike, does everypony know your out here?" Twilight asked.

"Maybe." Spike said innocently.  "At least Dr. Whooves and Derpy knows."

"Ditzy." Twilight said.

"Well whatever her name is." Spike said.

"Spike, can you please tell me why did you come all the way here?" Twilight asked.

"Look, me and your parents, well, your adopted parents had a talk and I convinced them that, well..." Spike said.

"Adopted?" Discord thought from a distance.  "Twilight's an adopted filly?"

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"Let me come with you Twi." Spike said.  Twilight was stunned, and didn't know what to say.

"I.... I don't know Spike, this is something I have to do alon-" Twilight said.

"I know, I know, but I really want to come with you." Spike said.  "I'm your number 1 assistant, and according to the Assistant for Dummies guide, I'm suppose to stick with you where ever you go... no matter how crazy or dangerous it could be.  Besides, somepony, or somedragon has to make sure you'll be ok... and... we're friends, right?"  Twilight looked at the baby dragon, who she raised ever since he hatched out of the Dragon Egg, and well, though technically he is 12 years old... or is he 13 now... I don't know, they never confirm the characters' ages in the series so... yeah.  Anyway, Twilight knew that he wanted to come, so she sighed and smiled.

"Ok you can come." Twilight said.  "But if we come back and anypony asks where you were, you owe me, ok?"

"Deal." Spike said.  Soon, Twilight and Spike hopped into the balloon.  Soon, the balloon began to fly into the sky.

"Well, here we go... off to the Lost Lands..." Twilight said.

"This should be exciting right?" Spike asked.

"I guess it should..." Twilight said.  She then looked at the ocean.

"Don't worry Twilight, we'll find your real parents..." Spike said.

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Twilight said.  "What if my real parents are not what I expected... what if they're lunatics, or don't even like me?"

"Twilight, don't spiral ok?" Spike said.  "Everything's gonna be just fine."  Twilight looked at her friend and smiled.

"You're right Spike..." Twilight said as she hugged her little dragon friend and watched the ocean as the Balloon flew into the skies...  Unknown to them, Discord was watching the whole thing from the mountain.

"Oh my... so Twilight learned that she is actually an adopted child and is traveling to the Outer Lost Lands outside of Equestria to find out who her parents are and who she really is?" Discord asked.  "They Don't Tell Me Things Anymore!"  But then he began thinking.

"Hmmmm.... now this may be absolutely interesting..." Discord said, as he does a sinister laugh.  Sure Discord has a change of heart, thanks to Fluttershy, but he still likes to play tricks and cause a tiny bit of mayham sometimes...  What crazy thought does Discord have in that brain of his?  What does he have planned for Twilight and Spike?


Meanwhile... at a mysterious place...  The place was some sort of throne room, except the windows were destroyed.  The place was dark and looked scary at the same time.  Soon the doors opened up wide and then a tall pony-figure, at the same height as Celestia, was entering inside the room.  It didn't look like Princess Celestia, nor Luna at all.  It was a black creature, with a crooked horn, two front fangs like a vampire, her back was blue as her belly was scaly dark green, she had insectoid like wings Her eyes were green with blue dark-pupils in them, and her mane was long and dark blue as well.  It was the vicious Changeling Queen Chrysalis, one of the biggest threats to all of Equestria, for Changelings are nasty little demonic monsters that feast on love, and will, at times, suck their victim's love until they're dry.

"Please, come in..." A voice said.  The Changeling Queen obeyed and came inside the room, and bowed.  She never bowed to anypony, nor anything.  Who was this voice she was bowing toward.

"I am at your service master." Chrysalis said.

"Have you anything to report?" a voice asked.  "And be quick about it."

"Affirmative..." Chrysalis said.  "My last attempt to invade Canterlot was a complete failure...  My Plan... didn't go as predicted."

"You were not given permission to make... plans." The voice said angrily.

"I was only doing it for you sir." Chrysalis said.  "The Princess didn't saw us coming."

"So... you let that Sun Princess Defeat You?!" A voice shouted.

"It Wasn't My Fault!" Chrysalis shouted.  "Her Faithful Student of a Foal Saw Through My-"

"ENOUGH!" The figure shouted as he rose from his seat.  He slowly approached the Changeling Queen, revealing himself to be some kind of Minotaur...  He was almost Chrysalis's size, but more taller.  His skin was Brown with his lower Horse legs black.  He had clothing on him.  His hair was also grey with his horns black.  He was wearing a red robe, and wore a cape, as if he was an evil king, though he had no crown on.  He was nothing like Tirek, no... he was more... sinister.

"I gave you refuge into my kingdom, and you were following my command, and yet you fail and bring me incompetence?!" The Minotaur asked, startling the Changeling Queen.  "For a Queen who commands an army of Changelings, you aren't doing a good job at it...  just like your brother..."

"I AM NOTHING LIKE THAT FOAL OF A BROTHER OF MINE!!!" Chrysalis hissed loudly.  The Minotaur looked at her with an angry look.

"My lord... I didn't mean harm." Chrysalis said.  "I would never..."

"Unwise your move was..." The Minotaur said.  "But yet, I cannot complete my conquest without you...  I will give you another chance."

"Thank you my lord... I will do what I can-" Chrysalis said, but then figure turned around and looked at the sky, as if he sensed something.  "What's wrong?"  The Minotaur looked at the sky suspiciously.

"It's a presence... a presence I haven't felt since... since..." The Minotaur said.  "It seems this unexpected presence may be a problem..."

"What presence?" Chrysalis asked.

"Two outsiders, coming the Lost Lands..." The Minotaur said.

"Well do not worry sir..." Chrysalis said.  "You're army are scattered all over the other islands.  They'll find those outsiders, and then..."

"They will capture them, bring them to me, we will torture them for a matter of days, and then and, I will eat them alive..." The Minotaur said as a thunder flashed outside, and some of the flashing light shined over his face, revealing a scar over his right eye.
	
> Chapter 07: Into the Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 07: Into the Storm

Though it didn't feel really long during the day, it had only been hours since Twilight and Spike got into the balloon and left Equestria, as the sun was setting over the horizon.  Twilight looked as the sun went down, and the night began to fall upon them.

"Looks like Night time's coming." Twilight said as Spike peeped his head over the basket.

"Wow... time sure flies when you don't expect it." Spike said.  "Funny."

"What's funny?" Twilight asked.

"What's funny is that when somepony is worrying, it feels like time moves slowly, but when you don't even expect it, it feels like time moves faster." Spike said, seeing how Twilight is feeling calm about this.  But deep down inside the alicorn, she was beginning to wonder, remembering all the times when she was still Princess Celestia's private student when she was a filly, practicing her magic, and her time with her brother and parents, and sighed.

"What's wrong Twi?" Spike asked.

"I was thinking back... at the times when I was just a young filly, from the day my magic went all crazy, becoming Celestia's personal student, my time with my parents, and... everything." Twilight said.

"And what about it?" Spike asked.

"It all makes sense." Twilight said.  "All the times with my family.  Why I had differences from my parents, why I never inherited the interests they had and why they were keeping it from me.  I should've noticed the signs."

"The signs?" Spike asked.

"Yes." Twilight said.  "There were lots of things I should've noticed when I was growing up, why my parents nevered let me look into their secret safe that contained their family records, or why my magic was way powerful then there's, and the blue cheese!"
"What?" Spike asked.

"You know, Blue Cheese." Twilight said.  "The classification of a-"

"I know what blue cheese is." Spike said.  "But what does that gotta do with it?"

"Spike... Blue Cheese is one of my Favorite food." Twilight said.  "I Love Blue Cheese, and They Hate It!"

"Oh Yeah... I noticed it when you ate blue cheese at the dinner table on your fifteenth birthday, and your parents were feeling a bit... uncomfortable." Spike said.

"Exactly." Twilight said.

"But Twi, they did accept it that you love Blue Cheese." Spike said.

"That's not the point!" Twilight said.  "My point is that sometimes when I have interests in some things, either it's attending a book convention or joining a Reader's Club, and my parents are surprised and a bit worried about it, I feel like I'm with...."

"Complete Strangers?" Spike asked.

"Right." Twilight said.

"But I'm around ponies all the time, and sure some are a bit off guard, but I'm still accepted into the pony community." Spike said.

"That's because you're not like the other dragons." Twilight said.

"Twi, it's not the differences that shows you that-." Spike said.

"I know, I know." Twilight said as she just placed her hooves on the edge of the basket, laying on her arms, looking at the sea.  "But still... it makes sense... the times when I felt different from them when I got older, and the dreams I've been having... but there are some things about it that is still a bit confusing...  I don't know what's going to happen or what I'm gonna find out."

"Twi..." Spike said as he placed his claw on her shoulder.  "It'll be alright.  Sure things may look a bit unknown, and I know you still want to find the answers of who you are and where you came from.  But don't let it get the best of you.  Twilight, I just wanna let you know this.  No matter what happens, no matter what you see, no matter what you learn about yourself...  I'll always be there for you."  Twilight looked at the baby dragon, who was smiling right at her, and she too decided to smile.

"Thank you Spike." Twilight said.  "I'm glad to have you as my number one student."

"Your welcome Twi." Spike said.  "I'm just glad you brought me into the world."

"Oh Spike..." Twilight said, as she looked at the baby dragon and gently stroke his spines.  "I... I'm so surprised that your so smart... and getting more mature."

"Well I was raised by one of the most smartest ponies in Equestria." Spike said, pointing to Twilight.  "You did a great job."

"You bet I did." Twilight said, as she quickly tickled his underbelly, causing him to laugh.  "But you haven't outgrown your childish behavior yet."

"Twi, do you really think that I'm a baby dragon?" Spike asked.

"Well you may be getting more mature... but you're always be my little dragon." Twilight said as she gaved him a nuzzle, and he gave her a hug.

"I'm just looking adorable... and handsome." Spike said, as he and Twilight gave a chuckle.  Their chuckling soon died down as the two looked at the sky, seeing the moon rising up, thanks to Luna's magic.  Twilight let out a sigh.

"Well, here begins the biggest journey of my whole life..." Twilight said.  She then suddenly heard snoring right next to her.  She looked down to see Spike already sound asleep, sucking on his own thumb.  Twilight couldn't help but form a smile on her face upon the sight, as she too rest her head on her pillow, covering Spike and herself with a blanket.  It's a good thing she brought her blanket and pillow with her too.  And, as Twilight said, so began the biggest journey of their lives.


The Night slowly turned to day, but the sun was not up in the sky... the sun was blocked by some dark black clouds, which the balloon was approaching to.  There was the sound of thunder in the air, and although it did not wake Twilight and Spike, it began to drizzle, with a raindrop falling onto Twilight's cheek, causing her to slowly wake up.  She looked around as she was still a bit sleepy, but then a thunderclap came, causing Twilight to wake up a bit startled.  The alicorn looked around, seeing that they were approaching a storm.  She looked down to see that Spike was still asleep.

"Spike... Spike wake up..." Twilight whispered and she nudged him, but he didn't wake up.

"Come on Twi, it's Saturday..." Spike said.

"Spike, Wake Up!" Twilight called, causing the baby dragon to wake up very fast and stand on his feet.

"No, I'm Awake, What What What?!" Spike shouted startled, but then looked at Twilight.  "What's happening?"  But his question was cut short as another thunderclap came down.

"A Storm is coming." Twilight said as she moved to the edge of the basket, seeing the rain coming down harder, with the wind picking up.

"Uh oh... what are we going to do?" Spike asked.

"Don't worry Spike..." Twilight said.  "Luckily I managed to add some new mechanics to the balloon."  She then used her magic to summon two ropes that were attached to the balloon.

"What's this?" Spike asked.

"These ropes will allow me to steer us around the storm." Twilight said.

"Well, I hope you know what you're doing!" Spike said, feeling the storm is getting worse.

"Don't worry, I do!" Twilight called as she turned around and pulled the rope on the left side, moving to balloon to the left side, and pulled the rope on the right side, moving the balloon to the right side.  But then the balloon began to shake.

"Uh oh..." Twilight said.  "Spike, check the balloon latches!  Make sure that they don't rip off!"

"On It!" Spike called as he ran to the latches on the right, making sure that they're tight.  "They look tight!"

"Ok Good!" Twilight called, but then as Spike turned around, he saw that one of the latches tore apart, causing his face to shift to a worriesome face.

"Uh oh..." Spike said softly, but loud enough for Twilight to hear.

"Uh Oh What?" Twilight asked.  "What happened?"

"One of the latches tore apart..." Spike said a bit nervously as he turned around.

"Tore apart?" Twilight asked.  "How?"

"I Don't Know!" Spike shouted.  "I Didn't Even Touch Them!"  But then suddenly to his surprise, a thumber bolt came down and almost striked him, but it did strike the latches, ripping and tearing them off, causing the basket to tilt over on its side, causing Twilight and Spike to almost fall out of the basket.  Luckily, Twilight grabbed the edge of the basket with her hooves, with Spike clinging onto her tail, pulling it by accident, causing Twilight yelp and grunt in pain.

"Sorry!" Spike called.

"Now What Just Happened?!" Twilight asked.

"The Lightning ripped the latches off!" Spike shouted.

"I just noticed!" Twilight said, hanging on for dear life on the top edge of the basket, which was dangling down.  Twilight lifted her head up to see the latches on her side.  The latches were getting lose and lose by the second.  They were going to detach as well!  The alicorn's eyes shrank to the size of pencil tips.

"Uh oh..." Twilight said.

"What's Uh Oh?!" Spike asked as he looked at Twilight, but soon came to realization.  "Scream in Terror?"

"Scream in Terror..." Twilight nodded, and within a second, the latches ripped off the basket, causing it to be separated from the balloon and fall down the sky!  Twilight and Spiked screamed as they clinged onto each other.

"I'M SORRY TWILIGHT!" Spike screamed as he hugged her tightly.

"It's Alright Spike!" Twilight said as she clung onto Spike.  "I Should've Made The Balloon Storm Proof!"  The balloon basket was still flying through the sky, and then suddenly, it turned upside down, causing Twilight and Spike to slide out and fall through the stormy sky.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!" Both of them screamed as they decended down through the sky.  It looked like it was going to be the end for them... but then, they stopped.


"I Don't Wanna Die... I Don't Wanna Die..." That was all Spike was thinking about in his thoughts and he kept shivering, believing that he was still falling to their death.  But he then realized that he wasn't falling at all.  As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was still in Twilight's hooves, and both of them were still in the air... but the storm clouds were not violent and the wind stopped.

"Wha... what's happening?" Spike thought, but as he looked at Twilight, he knew something was different.  She was glowing, like when she was back in the woods, and when she was just a filly when she tapped into her magic and was losing control of it.  But this time she wasn't losing control.  She opened her glowing eyes and her horn began to flare up with energy, and then, she sent out a wave of magic around her and Spike, causing the dark clouds become white, and the wind began to calm down more, and the sky was clearing, showing Celestia's sun just over the horizon.  Spike couldn't help but feel amazed, by how Twilight managed to do that.  Of course, Pegasi are technically the masters of weather, but only a powerful spell, or at least Celestia's magic could calm a big storm like that.  Soon Twilight blinked her eyes once, as he white glowing eyes reverted to normal.

"Wha...?" Twilight asked coming back to reality, and was also impressed herself.  "Whoa..."

"Wow Twilight, that was amazing!" Spike said.  "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"I have no idea." Twilight said surprised.  "I don't even know how I did that."

"Think it was your magic doing it on its own again?" Spike asked.  "Like back in the woods?"

"I think so..." Twilight said.

"Well, at least it calmed down the storm-" Spike said as he turned his head to face the downward, but then he stopped speaking as his mouth dropped opened and his eyes widened.  Not of fear due to them very high in the sky, but of amazement.

"Spike?" Twilight asked as she looked down too.  "What are you looking a-"  She also stopped talking too, as she saw what Spike was seeing, also with surprise and amazement.

"Spike, I don't think we're in Equestria anymore." Twilight said.

"I was thinking the same thing." Spike said.  "We must be over the rainbow..."  The two were still in the air, as they saw the fog clearing below them.  With their own eyes, they didn't see just the sea, no.  They saw land, a huge island, at least 3/4 the size of Equestria...  For Twilight and Spike, it appears that things, though lesser than Equestria's size, was just beginning to get bigger.