> Power Up
>  by Sun Aura
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Experiments
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Hey Twilight! You totally need to check this out!” 
Twilight sighed as Pinkie burst through the doors of her library. 
“What?” she asked, not looking up from her book.
That was when it hit her. Powerful magic thrummed through her body. After the last couple years, she usually would have prepared a defense spell if something that powerful activated near her. Yet she felt herself relax. It felt warm and tingly. And that wasn’t the end of it. It tasted like her mom’s blackberry pie. It smelled like Princess Celestia’s perfume.  It sang to her, almost sounding like the Hearth’s Warming Carol.
She pulled her head up from the book, and her jaw dropped at what she saw. Pinkie Pie was in full Rainbow Power. A blue streak glowed through their mane, which was held back by a star clip, Glowing lines swirled around their body, and even more were in the air around them. They were even floating off the ground, the top of their head level with Twilight’s horn. 
“How did you-?” she began. “What’s going on? Is there some kind of threat or-?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Pinkie giggled. 
“Then what happened?” she asked. “How’d you get all… rainbowified?”
“Well, it’s Diamond Tiara’s birthday,” they explained. “And her dad’s out of town, and then her mom won’t let her have her friends over for a birthday party, so she snuck out to see them. And then all of them ended up at Sugarcube Corner, and told me what was going on and at first I was like ‘Usually your dad has one of his staff order a cake for your party so I was wondering. I thought maybe you were going on vacation this year or something!” 
“After that, I pulled out the emergency Party Canon!” they continued. “And I set up the best last-minute birthday party I could. And they were all laughing and dancing and enjoying cake and smiling! It was wonderful! And then I felt something that kinda felt like downing a bowl of powdered sugar in one go, but I hadn’t even had any of the cake yet because I was too busy with the streamers and making sure Diamond smiled so I eventually figured out it was my magic working overtime and it kinda felt like using the Elements or something and then I felt like I exploded but in a good way and next thing I knew I was all Rainbowified!”
Twilight paced the room, taking a moment to think that out. Meanwhile, Pinkie floated around, managing to flip upside down, but not knowing how to get back up.
“This is weird,” Twilight finally said. “Sunset Shimmer told me how your Dimensional Counterpart could, for lack of a better term, ‘Pony Up’ when channeling the Element of Laugher and making people smile. I thought it was because they were using Equestrian magic, but maybe it’s connected to the Elements themselves?”
“So the pony version of ‘Pony Up’ is “Rainbowified’?” Pinkie laughed, figuring out how to flip back upright. 
“My only concern is how you’ll stop it,” she said. “You make ponies smile all the time, so I don’t think having you be Rainbowified all the time would be a good idea. Not like I can ask you to stop.”
“I think I can control it?” they said. “I mean, like, back when I first felt it, it did feel like a switch to ‘explode’ I could probably power down, I think?”
Their brow furrowed in concentration. Slowly, their hooves set back on the ground. The streak in their mane faded, and their coat turned back to its normal pink. Their magic lessened in its intensity as well.
“There we go!” they chirrped. “Wow, I’m hungry! I could probably eat an entire cake myself! I’ll try to keep my rainbowifiedness in check! I should get back to that party! Er, a whole bunch of ponies saw me on the way here though. Should I tell them what’s going on? Because they’re probably a bit freaked out.”
“That should be fine,” she agreed. “Actually, if it happens again, could you come here? I’ve been wanting to analyze the Elements and Rainbow Power since we first used them, but I’ve never had a chance to. I’d love to collect a magic sample!”
“Would you say that getting to research that would make you smile?” they asked, a wide grin coming to their face.
“Well, of course!” she sighed, a dreamy look on her face. “No pony has been able to completely nail down exactly what the Elements are! To figure it out would be, oh stars that would be amazing.”
“Well since Smiles and Laughter are my specialty!” they giggled.
They started glowing again. Their colors returned, as did the hum of magic in the air.
“Did you just activate that purposely?” Twilight asked.
“You said you’d be happy if you could study it, so I Rainbowified myself again!” they answered. “I think I can do it if I’m making someone smile or if I’m trying to make them smile!”
“That’s interesting!” she said. “Mind if I take a sample?”
“Go ahead!” they said.
Twilight light her horn. She summoned two topazes, two glass jars, and a marker. She picked up one of the blue gems and cast another spell. Pinkie felt their magic slowly drain out of them. It wasn’t like when Tirek had drained their magic, as it replenished itself immediately. Still it felt weird to have it flow out of them like that.
Soon enough, the gem began glowing. Twilight cut off the spell and dropped the topaz into one of the jars. She screwed on the lid and wrote ‘RP:L’ on its side. 
“Actually, can I get a sample of your normal magic?” Twilight asked, picking up the second gem. “I’d like to compare and see if there are any differences between your magic!”
“Oki Doki Loki!” they said.
Pinkie dropped their transformation once more. Twilight repeated the process, but wrote ‘PP’ on the jar instead. 
“Thanks!” Twilight said. “I’d love to keep you to test out if it changes your physical ability, but I probably shouldn’t keep you from your party. But if you see the girls on the way, can you tell them to come here if they power up? I’d really like to test all of us.”
“I’ll be back later then!” they said. “Then you can do all the experiments you want!”
“I can’t wait!” she said. 

> Anything I Can Do
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was a quiet evening at the Carousel Boutique. Rarity had closed up the shop a few hours ago, made her dinner, and was settling down with a romance novel. She checked the clock again. 
Sweetie Belle was supposed to be back from dinner at Applebloom’s by now. Sure, the walk from the farm was fairly long, but usually she’d be home while Rarity was doing the dishes. 
She heard the bell above the door jingle, and set down her book. She walked to the front room, hoping it was her sister and not another tourist who couldn’t read the word ‘closed’. She nearly fainted when she saw the sight before her.
Sweetie Belle was there, her foreleg draped over Diamond Tiara. Diamond was a mess. Her hair was wild, her tiara was missing, her hooves looked as if she had run through Everfree’s rain. The worst part was her face. Across her cheek was a deep cut, blood still trickling and a bruise quickly forming around it. 
“Oh my stars! What happened!” she ran over to the fillies. 
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, but closed it again and looked at Diamond. Diamond didn’t meet her eyes. Rarity reached out a hoof to try and see the cut closer, but Diamond flinched and backed away. She put her hoof back down and turned to her sister.
“Sweetie Belle, I need you to run and get Redheart,” she said.  
“Okay,” Sweetie agreed.
She whispered something to Diamond before running out of the house. Rarity herded Diamond over to one of the couches she usually used for customers. Diamond hesitated, looking at her hooves, then back to the expensive couch.
“Don’t worry about messing up the couch,” Rarity said. “I can replace it or maybe Twilight knows a spell to clean it. Stay here while I get a few things. 
She walked off to her fitting room. The medkit in there hadn’t been used for much more than well-placed pinpricks, but she did keep it stocked just in case. After grabbing a few rags, she headed back to the front. Diamond jumped when she opened the door. 
“What happened?” Rarity asked.
Diamond didn’t answer, but she did let Rarity help clean her up. Once most of the dirt and blood were cleaned up, she opened the medkit. The cut looked a bit too deep for any band aids she had, but she could at least disinfect it before Redheart showed up. 
“This will probably sting a little,” she said, holding up a new rag soaked in disinfectant. 
Diamond flinched before it touched her face. Rarity backed off, waiting for her to nod before trying again. She hissed in pain when it touched her cheek, but otherwise let her help. She used another clean rag and some medical tape to make a makeshift bandage. 
“Are you alright?” she asked. 
“Yeah,” Diamond muttered, sinking lower into the couch. 
Rarity might not be Honesty, but she could see through that lie. She looked around for something else to say. 
“Would you like to see what I’m working on?” She asked. Diamond nodded. 
She levitated a few sketches from the other room. Looking through a few sketches, she picked one out and held it up to her. 
“I think this one would look lovely on you,” she said. “A nice blue to match your eyes, maybe a little silver. I think I have some gorgeous spinels that would complete it just lovely. And I do believe I missed your birthday, so consider it a late present! If you would like the dress, that is.”
“Wait, what?” she asked.
“I’m not going to force you to tell me what’s wrong,” she said. “But I can try and make you feel better. It won’t help in the long run, I know, but it’s better than standing by and doing nothing. Now, while we wait for Sweetie to get back with Redheart, I could get your measurements for your gift. Last time I made a dress for you was your Cute-cenera, and you’ve grown quite a bit since then.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked as Rarity picked up a tape measure. “I was terrible to your sister.”
“True,” she said. “But you’ve changed for the better. And if we didn’t forgive those who regret what they’ve done and try to make up for it, we wouldn’t have Princess Luna, or Discord, or Starlight, or Trixie, or- well, you get the idea.”
Diamond stayed quiet as Rarity continued to measure her. She tried to make her movements more deliberate, hoping to keep the filly from flinching again. Rarity knew she could take a guess at what was going on with Diamond. She knew she could shake the truth out of her, and if it came down to it she would, but for now, she wanted her to tell her because she trusted her.
“I-it was my mom,” Diamond barely whispered. 
Rarity’s magic halted, sending measuring tape, sketchbooks, and a few fabric swatches clattering to the floor. She apologized as Diamond flinched at the sound. She motioned for her to continue.
“M-mom did this,” she gestured to the cut on her face. “And-and more.”
“How long has this been going on?” Rarity asked. 
“Since I became friends with your sister,” she muttered, still not meeting her eyes. “Mom liked how I was before. When I was mean to them. She said they weren’t worthy of my time, that we were above them. Before that she’d just yell at me when I screwed up. When I didn’t get to be flag carrier at the Equestria Games, she screamed for hours. I was grounded for a month. And when the crusaders crashed my Cute-cenera it was the same.”
“But then I realized how terrible I was,” she continued. “So I- I tried to be better. But I wasn’t her ‘perfect daughter’ anymore. So she yelled and grounded me. And every time she caught me with one of my friends she’d do it again. She said yelling wasn’t working anymore, and-and she hit me.”
“The first time, Scootaloo noticed and she wanted me to tell her mom,” she went on. “But I couldn’t. That was about a month after I tried being a better pony. Then tonight I was-we were at Twilight’s castle.”
“We?” Rarity asked. 
“Uh, Sweetie and I,” she answered. “And Spike and Pipsqueak.”
“But Sweetie said-“ she began.
“That-that was the cover!” she cried. “I’m sorry! I couldn’t let mom know I was with them, so I told her I was with Silver and I asked Sweetie to tell you anything else in case mom caught on and asked you about it. Sweetie wanted to tell you the truth, but I couldn’t!”
“And it doesn’t matter anyway,” she continued. “Mom saw us leaving the castle! And that’s when she-“
Diamond stopped talking, gesturing to her face. It didn’t take a genius to guess what happened next. Diamond started shuddering, tears pouring down her face.
“Does your father know about this?” Rarity asked. 
“N-no,” she shook her head. “Mom said I had to keep it quiet around Daddy. She said it’d crush his heart if her heard how much I was screwing up.”
“Diamond, darling, you’re not screwing up,” she said.
Rarity tentatively put her foreleg around Diamond’s shoulders. She pulled her close, careful to not hurt her cheek more. She felt a sob shudder out. 
“It’s alright,” Rarity said, stroking her hair. “None of this is your fault.”
“I could’ve just pretended in front of her,” Diamond sobbed. “I should’ve pretended around her. I could’ve figured out some way to be perfect while still seeing my friends.”
“It’s not your fault,” Rarity repeated. “You’re a kid. And your parents are supposed to be there for you, lead you in the right direction to be the best you can be. But if a parent leads their kid astray, it’s their own fault. Unfortunately, they’re rarely the ones who suffer for it. 
“I know you’ll want to defend your mom,” she continued, “after all, she is your mom. But she’s not a nice pony. Anyone who would treat a child the way she’s treated you- stars I can’t even think of an insult bad enough. But I promise I will help you any way I can.”
“How?” she sniffed. “You can’t make mom better.”
“No, unfortunately I can’t,” she said. “But I can help you get away from her.”
“It’s just another year,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Diamond, you might not last another year,” she insisted. “I know you won’t cut off all ties with her, because you’ll want to see your dad. And even if you did drop her out of her life, you need someone there to remind you that nothing that she did was right. That it’s not your fault. And now that I know this is going on, I’m not just going to sit here and let it keep happening.”
“You don’t have to-“ she tried to say.
”I know I don’t ‘have to’ help you,” she said. “I want to help. I want to get you into a better situation, away from someone like her. And I know it takes time. But until then, if you need anything, you can come to me. If you need someone to talk to, you can come in any time. Or if you don’t want to go home, you can stay here with Sweetie Belle. Even if it’s a school night.”
“You probably have more important stuff to do,” she sighed. “What about your work. You can’t just close shop because I’m having a bad day. And if you got put behind on your dress orders because I kept you from working on them-“
“Firstly, never underestimate my ability to multi-task,” Rarity said. “Secondly, you’re more important. If I run behind because I’m helping someone, it’s worth wrecking my sleep schedule to finish my orders. If there’s anything I can do, I’m willing to give it my all to help out a pony in need.”
There was a change in the air. Rarity was sure it was magical, but she didn’t know where from. It was warm, and rushed through her, making her shiver despite the temperature. It felt almost like the rush of a birthday party, combined with Hearth’s Warming morning. She felt like she could make an entire dress line in a night. 
“It’ll be alright,” Rarity assured her again. “You deserve happiness, and I’ll help you get it. So will Sweetie Belle and the rest of your friends.”
“Thank you,” Diamond said, hugging her closer. 
At that moment, the door burst open. Redheart rushed in, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hot on her tail. The three froze upon seeing the two of them. 
“Rarity, are you alright?” Redheart panted.
“I’m quite fine?” she tilted her head at the question. “I asked Sweetie to get you so you could look at Diamond’s cheek. I cleaned it up the best I could, but I figured you’d want to look at it. For more reasons than one.”
Redheart frowned, glancing between Diamond and Scootaloo. Rarity assured Diamond that she could trust Redheart as well, before letting the two of them walk into the kitchen to talk more. Rarity went back to her sketches, wondering just what to add to make it perfect for Diamond. 
“Uh, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “You might want to look in a mirror.”
“Why?” she asked. 
She didn’t think she could have gotten any dirt on her from Diamond, but maybe her mane was messed up? Honestly, she knew she could be dramatic, but does Sweetie really think she’d be that upset over her mane? Okay, maybe she had a point. She used her magic to pull a full-length mirror to her. Seeing her reflection, she understood why Redheart was concerned about her.
Glowing lines flowed across her, almost elegantly. Her mane had an orchid streak through it. And stars. It looked like she was dumped in a tub of glitter; little twinkles shifting as she moved.
“Oh,” she whispered. “That’s why.”
> Your True Self
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Applejack liked cooking fairly well. Sure, it wasn’t her favorite thing, since other than holidays and reunions it was lonely, but it was simple. It was something to do, and she always felt better when her hooves were busy. 
Though cooking dinner tonight was easier than usual. Granny Smith had gone to visit Uncle Apple Strudel, and Big Mac was out on a date, so she only had to cook for Applebloom and herself. 
Just as she was thinking that Applebloom was a little late, the door opened. She heard hooves on the floor as Applebloom peeked around the kitchen door. 
“Hey Applejack!” she said. “Uh, can I have a friend over for dinner?”
“I would’ve preferred if I had a warning,” she sighed, glad that she had been planning on having leftovers. “But I ain’t going to turn away a friend.”
Applebloom dragged her friend to the table, and she got her first look at which friend. She had expected Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle. Maybe even Diamond Tiara. Instead it was one of her classmates. A Unicorn colt with an orange coat and a turquoise mane. She couldn’t remember his name, and she couldn’t remember Applebloom being that close to him. 
The next thing she noticed, was that the colt was soaking wet. 
“Applebloom, can you get your friend here a towel?” she asked. 
“Er, yeah,” she answered, getting up.
“Sorry to say, sugarcube, but I’ve forgotten your name,” she said. 
“I-I’m Snails,” he muttered, not meeting her eyes.
“Now I remember you,” she said. “Sorry about that. I don’t usually see you around the farm.”
She moved to set the plate on the table. She was about to say something else when she saw his eyes. They were bloodshot, as if he’d been crying recently. Even now his eyes were still a bit watery. And certain parts of his coat looked discolored. 
“Here you go,” Applebloom  said, coming back into the room.
Snails picked the towel up in his magic and began drying his mane. A few colored streaks appeared on the towel as the discoloration on his face went away. She’d seen that before, last time she had to comfort Rarity, there were similar streaks on the pillow she had cried into. Applebloom sat down next to him, putting her hoof on his shoulder. 
“What happened?” Applejack asked.
“Nothing!” Applebloom answered a bit too quickly, with her smile a bit too wide.
“Bloom, I know when something’s wrong,” she said, trying to soften her voice. “I want to hear the truth. I ain’t going to force you to tell me, but I’d be much obliged if y’all told me.”
She knew that if Applebloom wouldn’t tell her, then Snails had probably begged her to keep quiet.  Ponies couldn’t lie to her. She wanted to think it was because she was easy to open up to, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with being Element of Honesty. Even ponies that rely on lies have trouble getting past her. It was almost like Fluttershy’s stare, a compulsion when she looked them in the eye.
Snails wouldn’t meet her eyes. Maybe he knew. He turned to Applebloom, who gave and encouraging nod and a small smile. 
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “She’ll understand.”
After a moment of thought, he nodded and gestured for her to speak.
“Okay,” she agreed. “So about half an hour ago…”



Applebloom was walking home after hanging with her friends. While it was a long walk from the town to the farm, it was usually pretty peaceful. As she rounded the turn close to the river, she heard a noise. 
It sounded like crying. She couldn’t place whose voice it was, but it sounded familiar. She tried to stay silent as she walked toward the sound, closer to the river. She was sure that whoever was there was behind the next tree.
There was a crunch under her. She didn’t look down to see if it was a stick or early fall leaves. It had already given her away. The crying stopped.
“Sorry to bother you,” she called out. “Are y’all alright?”
They didn’t answer. But they didn’t run. They probably figured that she’d see who they were anyway. She took that as an invitation to approach and poked her head around the tree. 
“Snails?” she asked. “What’re you doing here?” 
He stammered for an answer, but couldn’t manage to say anything.  He sat down and went back to crying.
“Hey what’s-“ she got close enough to put her hoof on his shoulder. “Are you wearing makeup?”
“Y-yeah,” he muttered. 
“Why?” she asked. 
“I-I,” he hesitated. “I wanted to know what it was like. But mom came home and she-“
He started crying again. Applebloom tried to be as comforting as she could, rubbing small circles into his back with her hoof. 
“What happened?” she asked, trying to gently get the story out. 
“She wasn’t supposed to be home for another hour,” he sobbed. “So I-I tried on her makeup and one of her dresses. I don’t know why, I-I just wanted to try it. But she saw that and she screamed at me. I tried to explain, but she just-she told me to leave. I-I wasn’t welcome home anymore. And I-I don’t know why I feel this way, and I don’t know why she said that. I’d never seen her that angry.”
“She kicked you out!?” she asked. “How could somepony-Listen, do you have somewhere to go?”
“N-no,” he said. “I thought about going to Snips’, but he and his parents went on vacation. And even if I did, who knows how he’d react if I-“
“You don’t want to tell him because you’re scared to lose him,” she finished. “If you need somewhere, for a while at least, you could stay on the farm.”
“And what if they find out like mom did?” he asked. 
“Hey, I ain’t telling you to get lost, now am I?” she said. “AJ and Big Mac’ll understand a bit. And Granny’s pretty accepting of stuff, as long as it’s not dangerous.”
“Why aren’t you telling me to run off?” he asked. “Don’t you think I’m weird, or-or a freak?”
“Did your mom say that to you?” she asked.
His silence was enough of an answer.
“I won’t say I get what you’re going through,” she said. “But you need someone to talk to, and I think Applejack would help you out. At least come over for tonight. I won’t make you tell her, but I think you should. I promise you nothing bad’ll happen.”
“I guess,” he said. “Do you think we could wash the rest of, uh, this off my face?”
“Well, the river’s here, ain’t it?” she said. 
They walked over to the water, and Snails ended up tripping and falling in.



Applejack was quiet for a moment. 
“Applebloom,” she said, her voice shaking a bit, “Can I talk to Snails here alone for a bit?”
“Alright,” she muttered. 
With one more assurance that it’ll be okay, she slid out of her seat and walked out of the room. No one dared to speak until they heard her going up the steps. 
“Are you going to yell at me?” Snails asked. 
“Kid,” her shoulders relaxed a bit. “I ain’t mad at you. I’m trying to keep myself from chasing down your mom and yelling some sense into her. Family ain’t supposed to abandon family, especially for this kind of thing.”
“I don’t want more trouble,” he said. 
“That’s not what I-“ she sighed. A different approach might work. “This might be awkward to ask, but because of the makeup and the dress, do y’all feel more like a filly than a colt sometimes.”
“I-I guess,” he said. “I’d thought about it, a lot, but I didn’t know. I just-being called a ‘colt’ didn’t feel right. And I always wondered about mom’s makeup stuff.  And when I saw myself in the mirror after I put that stuff on I-“
“You liked what you saw,” she said. “You felt better like that than you had in a while.”
“Until mom came home,” he said. 
“You ain’t in the wrong here,” she said. “You’re allowed to feel this way. Heck, there’s many a pony who feels the same as you do. I know ponies who were told they’re mares but know they’re stallions, I know ponies who feel one gender one day, and another the next. Personally, I don’t really feel much like a ‘mare’ or a ‘stallion’, and all that is normal. It’s okay.”
“Then why did mom react like that?” he asked. 
“Because some ponies don’t know better,” she said. “For whatever reason they think ponies like that are weird, and even Princess Celestia don’t know why. That’s another thing, all of Equestria’s Royalty think you’re normal. And that’s got to count for something. No matter what your mom says, this is okay. And I’ll be damned if I let y’all leave here without making sure you have a safe home to go to.”
“Stars, I shouldn’t have said anything to mom,” he said. “I can’t go back to her. I-I should’ve just stayed away from it all.”
“And keep lying to yourself?” she demanded. “You can’t do that! Sure, that’s safer. This is gonna sound mighty strange coming from me, but if a lie like that can keep you safe from others, then it’s alright to do it. I hate that we’re in a world where that happens.  But y’all can’t keep lying to yourself. Because as bad as lying to others is, lying to yourself is worse. You gotta be who you are, your true self, as much as you can be."
Applejack felt strange. Yeah, she was upset and that tended to raise her temperature, but she shouldn’t feel a strange tingling sensation all around her. It felt nice, actually. Quite familiar, almost like talking with her friends, and very free. 
“You can’t change the past,” she said. “You’re mom knows, and she rejected you. All you can do is decide what you want to do next. Do you feel like a filly more than a colt?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, staring at her in wide eyed shock.
“Say it louder,” she said.
“I-I want to be a filly!” she shouted.
“Not ‘want to’,” she corrected. “If you feel you are a filly, you’re a filly. No matter what anyone says, no matter what your body’s like. You are a filly.”
“I am a filly!” she said again. 
Applejack grinned seeing the confidence in the filly. She looked a bit more free. 
“Uh, are you okay?” Snails asked. 
“Sure am, Sugarcube,” she said. “Feel better than usual actually. Like I could buck an orchard of apples. And I mean that for real this time.”
“Uh, you might want to look in a mirror,” she said.
Applejack tilted her head at the filly, but walked out to the hallway’s mirror. Her reflection made her swear under her breath.
Her mane had a red streak glowing through it. Across her body were glowing lines, almost looking like vines or roots. Her hair ties had turned green, and looked like leaves, and a matching band appeared on her hat.  Her eyes almost seemed to be glowing.
“I told you being honest is a good idea,” she chuckled. 
> Finding Family
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight sat on her throne, staring at the Map as her Cutie Mark kept buzzing. She poured another cup of coffee. She had been planning on getting an extra hour of sleep, but Friendship Problems didn’t care that she was up way too late last night. At least it was a semi-decent hour this time. Last week it pulled Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to Vanhoover at three in the morning.
She didn’t jump when the doors crashed open. She had expected it the moment she saw whose Cutie Mark twirled around her own.
“Morning Twilight!” Rainbow Dash greeted, a little too chipper for this time in the morning. “Who’s going where?” 
“Morning Dash,” Twilight mumbled as she settled into her own throne. “At least it’s a short trip.”
She pointed a hoof to the map. Rainbow followed it to see her and Twilight’s Cutie Marks dancing over Ponyville.
“Huh,” she said. “I didn’t see anypony on the way here. Then again I didn’t pay attention.”
“We can always just walk around until we find them.” Twilight shrugged.
She downed her coffee and walked through the hall. Rainbow followed her out the door. 
“So, what do you think it’ll be?” Twilight asked. “Friendly argument? Longstanding feud we had no idea about?”
“Eh, Ponyville has a lot of gossips,” Rainbow replied. “I think we’d have heard about a feud.”
“Fair enough,” she nodded. 
“That said,” she said, “my bits are on romantic drama.”
“Almost sounds like something Rarity would say,” she laughed. 
“Come on, what else could it be this early?” she said. “Think about it, a couple stays up all night having their own personal ‘fun’, and then one asks the other to do something they don’t want. Maybe it was something ridiculous and they laugh in their face! And now you have nopony to ‘cuddle up to’.”
“And there’s the Rainbow Dash we know and love,” she rolled her eyes. 
They walked around town for a while. Everything seemed normal. No pony looked in need of help. No pony had seen anyone in need of help either. They even stopped and asked Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but nothing came up. 
“How can there not be anypony who has a Friendship Problem?” Rainbow exclaimed. “The Map can’t be wrong!”
“Maybe the ponies don’t want help?” Twilight suggested. “Or maybe they’re suppressing their feelings so that they don’t want to acknowledge the problem?”
“I guess,” she huffed. “But we’re literally magically destined to help them? Who’d give up that?”
“I’m sure we’ll run into them soon,” she said.
Of course, since the universe has great comedic timing, Twilight walked straight into somepony. She looked up, squeaked, and disappeared in a burst of magenta. It took Rainbow a moment to realize that she must have teleported.
The pony she’d run into was almost as confused as she was. He was a Pegasus with an orange coat and blue hair, with a small scar above his right eye. He looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t place exactly where she knew him from. The saddlebags were a hint to him being someone out of town.
Another burst of magenta and Twilight was back. Her mane and tail looked a bit better-brushed, and Rainbow swore she could smell some kind of berry perfume. 
“Hi,” Twilight said. “We really should stop meeting like this.”
“It’s not too bad, is it?” the stallion asked.
“Wait, I’m lost,” Rainbow interrupted. “What’s going on?”
The two of them looked to her, both turning red at having forgotten she was there. 
“Oh, uh, right,” Twilight stumbled over her words. “Flash, this is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Flash Sentry.”
“Oh right, the guy with the interdimensional counterpart,” she said. “I didn’t recognize him outside the armor. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Flash said. “Twilight’s said a lot about you in her letters, so I feel like I already know you a little.”
“Letters, huh?” she said, turning to wiggle her eyebrows at Twilight. 
“I send letters to a lot of ponies!” she defended. “I just got one from Twinkleshine yesterday!”
“Yeah, but you don’t turn the same color as Big Mac when you’re around Twinkleshine,” she laughed. 
Truthfully, Twilight had been only a little red before, but that comment did make her turn a color that would fit into the Apple Family. Flash was a similar color. She snickered as the two of them stammered for a response.
“So, what brings you to Ponyville?” Twilight asked, deciding to ignore Rainbow altogether.
“Did you come just to visit Twilight?” Rainbow suggested.
“Well, seeing you was a bonus,” he said, “but Ponyville being where I needed to go was coincidence. I was planning on stopping by, though it was mostly so you could help me.”
“Really now?” Rainbow asked. “Because we were just looking for somepony in need of help!”
“Not that we wouldn’t help if we hadn’t been looking,” Twilight said. “I’d always help you. I mean, not just because it’s you, but because I like to help. “
“What she means is ‘what do you need help with’?” she asked. 
“I’m looking for someone,” he said. “I know she’s in Ponyville, but I don’t know where. And I don’t think she’d talk to me without somepony to vouch for me and say I’m not some weirdo. Don’t want to scare her or anything.”
“So, you’re looking for someone you never met?” Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side.
“It’s a long story,” he sighed. “But can you help me find her? She’s a Pegasus, a couple years younger than me. Orange coat and a pink mane. Her name was Scootaloo, but it might’ve gotten changed along the way.”
“Scootaloo?” the two mares asked in unison.
“Yeah,” he said. “I guess that means you know her.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow said. “She’s practically a sister to me.”
“As in, adopted sister?” he asked.
“Nothing legal,” she said. “Scoots and I are just really close and I’m helping her learn to fly. She’s been having some trouble, but she can get off the ground for a bit. I was actually going to see her this afternoon to help work on her stamina.”
“That’s great,” he said. “Do you think I could talk to her before that? Wouldn’t want to take away from your time.”
“Wait,” she said. “Not that I think you’re creepy or anything, but what’s this about? You’re not, like, here to arrest her or anything right?”
“No, its well, a bit more personal,” he said. “I’m actually using my vacation days for this. It’s… a long story and I’d really only like to tell it once. But if you’re still understandably suspicious it’s okay if you stay with us the whole time.”
“You’re lucky I trust you,” Twilight sighed. “Dash, where would Scootaloo be around now?”
“Probably at the clubhouse,” she shrugged. “Their group usually meets there Saturday mornings. It’s at Sweet Apple Acres so I think flying there would be quickest.”
“Lead the way,” he said. 
Rainbow took off, and the other two followed her towards the orchard. Buildings were soon replaced with apple trees. Soon they were descending on a pink treehouse. 
Rainbow poked her head in the door as Twilight and Flash landed.
“Hey Scoots!” she greeted. 
“Rainbow!” Scootaloo ran forward to hug her. 
“Where’s everypony else?” she asked. “I thought you were hanging with everyone today?”
“We are, later,” she said. “Applebloom has a few more chores to do and Sweetie’s family went out for breakfast because it’s her mom’s birthday. Diamond’s having trouble getting away from her mom and Silver won’t come without her.”
“I hope she’s okay,” Twilight mumbled. “But in other news, we have a friend who wants to talk to you!”
“Why?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well that’s, er,” she stammered. 
Flash walked forward and sat down to Scootaloo’s eye level. 
“Hello, Scootaloo,” he said. “My name is Flash Sentry. I’m a friend of Twilight’s.”
“And you want to talk to me because…?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. 
“It’s a long story,” he said. “Would you like me to start at the beginning?”
“Uh, sure?” she said, glancing up at Rainbow and Twilight.
“It’s alright,” Rainbow said.
Scootaloo nodded at Flash, asking him to go on. He let Rainbow and Twilight sit and get comfortable before he spoke again. 
“It started many years ago,” Flash said. “When I was five, I lost my memory. Eventually I ended up in the Foster Care system. I switched families a couple times, but I was lucky enough to have the foster families on the better side of what I could’ve gotten.”
Scootaloo shifted uncomfortably. While Rainbow didn’t know all the details of Scootaloo’s life, she did know that she had ended up with the worst side of Foster Care. If he was going to bring up what happened to her, she’d stop and ask Scoots if she wanted her and Twilight to hear this.
“Eventually,” Flash continued," I ended up with a couple for a few years and they did end up adopting me. Soon after I was an adult and wanted to be a Guard, so I moved out into the Solar Guard barracks, then got transferred up to the Crystal Guard. It took a while to get settled. After all, the last year and a half have been a bit hectic.”
“It’s been crazy here too,” Scootaloo said, with a pointed look at Rainbow and Twilight.
Flash turned to give them a similar look, and the two mares looked away as if the corners of the clubhouse had suddenly become the most important thing in Equestria. 
“It’s been hectic for everyone,” he admitted. “But since things have been settling, I’ve taken some vacation time, because I was curious about who my family was, and what had happened, since I couldn’t even remember a thing since before I was five. My file was limited. It mostly had stuff on the stuff that happened after, but the identities of my parents weren’t in there.
“The one thing I found out,” he continued, “was that I had a sister. We got separated early on, sent to different families. I didn’t know about it until I found her name in the file. Can you guess what name was on that file?”
“Since you’re talking to me I’m going to take a wild guess that-“ Scootaloo began.
Her brain seemed to click all the pieces of that into place. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped. Twilight and Rainbow carried similar expressions. 
“Oh. My. Stars!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “I have a brother. A freaking brother!”
“Are you serious?” Twilight asked. 
“That’s what the files said,” Flash confirmed. 
“This is crazy!” Scootaloo shouted. “I’ve gotta go tell Redheart! Come on!”
Scootaloo practically dragged Flash back to town before any of them could think. Rainbow caught up to them fairly quickly, but Twilight opted for teleporting ahead of them and falling into line. 
“So this is, like, real?” Rainbow asked. 
“Yeah?” Flash laughed. “Trust me, I’m still reeling. By the way, who’s Redheart?”
“Redheart’s my mom,” Scootaloo answered, still dragging him along. “Well, adoptive mom, obviously. You’ll love her!” 
Rainbows mind was spinning. Scootaloo had a brother. A real sibling. And it was somepony that she found fairly trustworthy. That was good, great even. So why did it make her feel weird. 
Eventually they made it to Scootaloo’s house. She slammed open the door and dragged Flash in. Rainbow and Twilight followed close behind.
“Redheart! You’re not going to believe this!” Scootaloo shouted. 
“Scootaloo calm down!” Redheart commanded. “What have I told you about slamming the door? And yelling inside?”
“I’m pretty sure you said ‘don’t’,” she answered. “But this is important! I have a brother!”
Redheart looked between Scootaloo and Flash for a moment. Then she turned to Rainbow and Twilight with the same expression she saved for those patients with particularly stupid injuries. 
“I have copies of the files,” Flash said, pulling some papers out of his saddlebag. 
Rainbow peeked over Redheart’s shoulder at the files. While the parents’ names were blacked out, Scootaloo’s name was on there under ‘sibling(s)’.  A second file was for Scootaloo, with Flash’s name under the same category. 
“This checks out legally, as far as I can tell,” Redheart said. “What do you think, Twilight?”
“It looks fairly official,” she said, taking the files in her magic. “And I know Flash well enough to know he wouldn’t fake this.”
“A friend of yours then?” Redheart asked. 
“Er, yeah, he is,” Twilight answered, avoiding eye contact as Rainbow wiggled her eyebrows again.
“And what are you planning on doing with this?” Redheart asked. 
“I don’t know,” Flash said. “I was wondering about my family, and she’s all I could find. It’d be interesting to find our birth parents, but I don’t think I’ll be able to since the records seem blocked. But I have a sister, and I’d like to get to know her. If she doesn’t want me to-“
“Are you kidding?” Scootaloo exclaimed. “I’d love another sibling! And Twilight trusts you, so I know you’re at least decently cool!”
“Thanks?” he said. He turned to Twilight and Rainbow to add, “And thanks for helping me find her.” 
“Actually, I think I can help a bit more,” Twilight said.
“How?” he asked. 
“Well, this is officially a Friendship Problem!” she said.
“Oh stars,” Redheart sighed. 
“Technically it’d be a ‘family problem’,” Scootaloo said. 
“Family is a type of friendship,” Twilight insisted. “And since we haven’t been sent the usual ‘your job is done’ notice, we still have work to do. And I know just what to do! We can help you find your birth parents!”
“That could take forever” Flash said. “Just getting these records had me jumping through hoops, and it seems like their identities were sealed away. We’d have to go through places manually.”
“Usually yes,” she said. “But I am a Princess. Unless Princess Celestia herself hid your records, I have a higher authority than whoever did, which means I can unseal them.”
“Didn’t take you for the ‘abuse of power for a guy you like’ type,” Rainbow snickered. 
“As I said, Friendship Problem,” Twilight insisted. “I am within right to do whatever necessary to solve a Friendship Problem. And these records say we start in Clousdale.”
“Alright,” Redheart sighed. “My shift starts in an hour, and to be honest, being up in cloudhomes makes me sick, so I’d be useless anyway. I’m going to trust you to figure this out and take care of Scootaloo.”
“She’ll be fine!” Rainbow said. “What’s there to worry about?”



An hour later, they were in front of Cloudsdale’s City Hall. Walking in, there was a pale pink Pegasus sitting behind a desk. She looked up as they came near.
“Hello, how may I-“ she gasped when she recognized Twilight. “Oh my! Princess Twilight! How may I help you today?”
“Er, just ‘Twilight’ is fine,” Twilight answered. “But we’re here because we need some records. I need full records for these two Pegasai, along with the records of their parents.”
She used her magic to levitate the two smaller files. The Pegasus skimmed through the files for a moment before looking back up at them. She glanced at Scootaloo and Flash, comparing them to their file photos.
“I can get you the files on the kids,” she said. “But their parents’ records are sealed. I can’t get you much more on their parents than what’s already here. Which isn’t much.”
“I’d like to unseal the records,” she said. “I can sign the paperwork now.”
“Of course!” she said.
The mare led them to a small conference room to use, gave Twilight a few papers to sign, and left to get the files. Flash and Scootaloo sat on one side, talking about each other. Scootaloo was telling Flash about being a Cutie Mark Crusader. Flash suggested buying her some cool gadgets for her scooter, since he’d missed so many birthdays.
Rainbow sat alone. Something felt upsetting. She tried to focus on the files. When she first learned that Scootaloo was adopted, she thought that maybe her parents had died, or couldn’t care for a child and chose to put her up for adoption. But two kids being put into the system with their records sealed, one being a five-year-old with amnesia. She was sure there wouldn’t be any good answers, and the two of them were a bit too optimistic for it. 
Scootaloo laughed at a lame joke Flash made, and the pit of malcontent churned within her. Scootaloo’s happy. That’s all that matters, right? Who cares if she’s ignoring Rainbow for a new brother.
Oh. Rainbow slouched deeper into the chair. That’s what the problem is, isn't it? Scootaloo has a new brother and Rainbow’s no longer in the spotlight. She knew it was stupid, but Flash could do everything she could. 
He could help her fly. Sure, he wasn’t a Wonderbolt, but Spitfire had said that standard Pegasus Guard training involved a lot of similar stuff to the Wonderbolts’, since they were originally a part of the Guard. Plus Guards knew weapons, which were kinda cool in their own right. Scootaloo didn’t need her adoptive sister anymore. She had had a real brother. 
She knew it was dumb to feel like that. Curse her need for attention. Curse that part of her that says ‘back off, this one is mine!’.  
The door opened, and the pale pink Pegasus handed over a few files to Twilight. As soon as she left, the three of them hovered over her shoulders, all trying to read the files. The mare was a Unicorn, her coat a pale yellow and her mane pink and blue. The stallion was an orange Pegasus with a purple mane.
“Here we are!” Twilight said. “Night Watch and Vermilion!”
“Look!” Scootaloo pointed to Night Watch’s file. “She’s a Lunar Guard! And a Unicorn! She’s probably using a cloudwalking spell all the time if she lives up here!”
“And Vermilion works at the Rainbow Factory!” Rainbow pointed. After a look from Flash she added “The actual one, not the campfire horror story from Flight Camp. I know his boss!”
“This is great!” Flash laughed. “Okay, showing up out of the blue is kinda weird, but I think it wouldn’t be too bad right?”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo agreed. “If Rainbow knows Vermi-uh Dad’s? wow that sounds weird. If Rainbow knows his boss, then she can get us to talk to him!”
“R-right,” Rainbow was waiting for the other shoe to drop. 
“Uh, guys?” Twilight said, her voice wavering. “You need to see this.”
In her magic were three items. Two papers and a smaller file. On the file’s cover, was a shield with a star inside it. 
Rainbow looked at the papers first. It was a hospital report. Night Watch had been eight months pregnant when a carriage flipped. They saved the baby, but they couldn’t save her. The page after was a Death Certificate. 
“Guys, I-I’m sorry,” she said.
Scootaloo’s energy plummeted. Flash looked pretty similar. The two of them went back to their seats, trying to comfort one another. Flash looked closer at the second folder, which Twilight was now reading.
“That’s a Guard report,” he said. “What happened.”
“I-It’s an incident report,” Twilight answered. “The charges were dropped, probably by bribing Guards considering the- I-I’ll just read it.”
Twilight was shaking. She looked like she was about to be sick. Rainbow put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder before glancing at Scootaloo and Flash. Twilight was the mare who was ready to go into Everfree alone to fight Nightmare Moon, the one who beat Discord, who saw through Queen Chrysalis, outsmarted King Sombra’s traps like it was a school assignment, who kicked Tirek’s flank back to Tartarus, the one that faced a demon and berserk Sirens and had a time-battle with Starlight. Yet she still looked like another Flight Camper at the firepit on ghost story night. If Twilight couldn’t handle what was in that file, Rainbow wasn’t sure any of them could.
“‘Ten thirty three am: we arrived at Cloudsdale’s hospital’” Twilight read.  “’We had been sent to get the accident report and death report of Night Watch, a fellow Guard. The nurses had us arrest a stallion by the name of Vermilion. According to several witnesses, he and his five year old son, Flash Sentry, got into an argument over the death of Vermilion’s wife, and his subsequent announcement to put both Flash Sentry and a newborn daughter up for adoption. In frustration, Vermilion sh-shoved his son to the floor. The colt hit his head on a waiting room table, and was taken into another room to be looked over by doctors. 
“’Physically, Flash Sentry had a concussion and several stitches’,” she continued, tears forming now. “He seems to have some amnesia. The doctors are unsure of if it will last or not, but are keeping him for observation the next few days. It might be better if he doesn’t remember. We have taken Vermilion into custody under an assault charge, but plan to further investigate at least a Child Endangerment charge.”
She put the file down, still shaking. Flash was absentmindedly rubbing that scar above his eye. Scootaloo looked about to throw up. Even Rainbow Dash, who prided herself on being able to handle anything, felt ready to scream. 
This stallion had abandoned them. Right after their mother freaking died. He hurt Flash.  He was the one pony in the world that should be there for them, and he failed. He was their family, and he just- Rainbow had to hold herself together before she flew off to deliver a Sonic Rainboom right to Vermilion’s face. 
He might not have stood by them, but she sure will. Upset or not, Rainbow wasn’t going to leave Scootaloo or Flash to face this alone. 
“I-I still want to talk to him,” Flash stated once he had recovered enough. 
“Flash, I don’t think-“ Twilight tried to say.
“I’m not getting my hopes up,” he said. “I don’t think everything’s going to magically be okay. I don’t expect us to show up and have him decide ‘hey! Being a dad is a great idea now!’. Honestly, I didn’t expect this. I-I’d thought maybe my parents had died, or that they gave me up because they couldn’t  support a kid. I never thought-I have to finish this.”
“And we’ll be with you,” Rainbow said. 



Another half hour and they were at the Rainbow Factory. Rainbow had already stopped to talk to Daybreak, a lovely mare who runs the red, orange, and yellow sections of rainbow-making. It took a bit longer than Rainbow wanted, but she managed to dodge out by promising that she’d come up for dinner with her and Golden Heart the next time Fluttershy went home for a visit. 
“Vermilion is the head of Orange,” Rainbow said, leading them down the halls. 
“Did you tell her why we want to see him?” Flash asked. 
“Didn’t know if you wanted it told,” she said. 
Through another door, they found the place they needed. Liquid orange poured from various places, sent to join the other colors below. Rainbow saw him. Orange coat and purple hair that was starting to gray. She still wanted to hit him, but she kept it together. Twilight approached him instead.
“Excuse me, Mr. Vermilion?” Twilight called. 
“What is it?” The stallion turned, his face lighting up as he saw her. “Why! Princess Twilight! What can I do for you today? Would you like a tour of the factory? “
“No,” she frowned. “I’m here because a few friends of mine wanted to learn about their parents, and it led us to you.”
His face darkened as the rest of the quartet came up behind her. He practically snarled when he looked at Flash.
“I had those records sealed,” he said.
“I unsealed them,” Twilight replied. 
“Then you can leave with them,” he snapped.
“Hey, I just want to talk,” Flash said. “I’m-“
“I know exactly who you are!” he snapped. “You’re the brat that ruined me!”
“E-excuse me?” he asked. 
“Since you went to the trouble, I’ll regale you with the full story,” he said. “Your mother was just a side girl. I had a fiancé, love of my life, and then your mother comes up to us and tells me she’s pregnant and I’m the father. My fiancé left me, and your mother forced me to marry her. I think she did it on purpose just to trap me. I put up with being miserable for a few years, then I tried to divorce her.”
“And you had a second kid with her,” Flash whispered. 
“I had a fair share of other mares, but she was there,” he scoffed. “Love the one you’re with. You’re a grown stallion now, you get it.”
Flash didn’t answer, but he did step back. Vermilion’s gaze focused on Scootaloo.
“Let me guess, the second coming?” Vermilion sneered. “The bitch tricked me again. When she croaked, I was almost free. I dropped you two into the system and had the file sealed. Then I tried to pick up the six years I lost.”
“You just-you-“ Flash stammered. 
He couldn’t think of a response. Scootaloo was practically hiding under Twilight by now. Even Twilight couldn’t think of something to say.
“Happy now that you’ve dragged this back into my life?” Vermillion asked. “Now, if you would get out of my hair, I need to-“
“SHUT UP!” Rainbow roared, jumping in front of them. “Just shut up!”
“How dare you-“ he tried to defend himself, but she wouldn’t let him.
“No! How dare you!” she screamed. “You cheat on your fiancé, and then blame the ‘side girl’ and her kid for getting your sorry ass dumped? You slept with her again and blamed her when another kid popped up? How in the world can you even try to justify that?”
“And then,” she continued, “you’re happy she dies! I bet you had a freaking party after hearing the news! Then you chuck out the kids like they’re last week’s trash! You’re they’re father! You’re supposed to stick with them no matter what! And you have the balls to act like that’s okay? You’re one of the worst ponies I’ve ever met! One of the most evil! You can go share a cell with Tirek in Tartarus for all I care!
“Do you think I’m going to stand here and take this?” he demanded. “Who do you think you are?”
Her anger reached its boiling point. Yet it felt different. Still fiery and full of energy, but more than that. It was like being miles above the clouds, like when she fought Tirek, or battled with the Changelings. But somehow, it felt like sitting down for dinner with Daybreak and Golden Heart and Fluttershy. She didn’t care. Taking down the guy who hurt her family is more important.
“I am Rainbow Fucking Dash!” she shouted. “I’m the Element of Loyalty, something you severely lack! You may have given up your kids, but they have me! Family isn’t just blood! It’s bonds we choose to have! I chose Scootaloo as my sister! And if she wants Flash to be her brother, then he’s my brother now too! You might have helped create them, but you’re never going to be a part of their family. They deserve better than you!”
She reigned in the temptation to kick him, and herded her friends back out into the hall. She didn’t stop until they were back in the lobby. 
“That was amazing!” Scootaloo shouted. “The way you shut him down like that! And you started glowing! Oh my stars! You’re still glowing!”
“Glowing?” she asked, turning to Twilight.
Twilight had already conjured a mirror for her. She took in her reflection, not sure what to say. Glowing lines raced across her like lightning. Around her was an aura of red magic. The most annoying thing was two small pieces of hair that curled around her ears had turned a light pink. Just another color added to her hair. 
“Sweet!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Hey Twi, you said something the other day about magic samples?”
Twilight had already summoned two jars and two rubies. As she began to work her magic, Rainbow looked over to Scootaloo and Flash. They were still staring. 
“Hey, guys, I meant what I said,” Rainbow stated. “Scoots is my sister, and I’d be glad to have Flash as a brother too.”
“That’s good with me,” Flash laughed. “You’re a lot better than him.”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo agreed. 
“Great!” Rainbow laughed. “On that note, if you’re my siblings now, that means my parents are yours too. We should stop by and introduce you! On the bright side, I’ll be able to pawn off dad’s ‘how’s your love life’? questions to you!”
A faint buzzing came from her side. She looked to her flank to see her Cutie Mark flashing. Twilight’s was doing the same. 
“Another Friendship Problem solved!”
> Spirits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Everfree Forest was dangerous to most ponies. Too many wild animals that could attack. But for Fluttershy, it was practically a walk in the park. Most of the animals respected him, and would steer him away from the ones that didn’t.
Even so, he didn’t want to be here after sundown. Normally he wouldn’t even be in the forest this late, but renovations on Hearthstone Castle had run overboard. And then everyone left ahead of him because he had stayed to help family of raccoons relocate out of the ancient kitchens. 
Fluttershy debated with himself over flying home. It would be quicker and have less dangerous animals. But the winds over Everfree were strong tonight. He didn’t want to risk being blown out of the sky and breaking something in a crash unless he had to.
He heard a rustling from the bushes. It was probably just a bunny, but he was prepared to bolt in case it was something dangerous. The thing that burst through the bushes was a small filly. While Fluttershy wasn’t nearly as familiar with Ponyville’s citizens as Pinkie was, he was sure he’d never seen the filly before.
She couldn’t have been more than nine. Her coat was brown, maybe a little rust-colored actually. And her mane was two shades of raspberry pink. She was an Earth Pony as well.
“Hello, are you lost?” Fluttershy asked.
The filly shook her head.
“You know where you’re going?” he asked.
The filly nodded.
“Do you need help?” he asked. 
The filly nodded again.
“I’ll help you,” he offered. “Do you live in Ponyville?”
The filly shook her head. She pointed deeper into the forest. 
“If you know where to go, lead the way,” he said. 
The filly giggled. She trotted forward, confidently enough to reassure Fluttershy that the filly knew where to go. He wondered why she needed help.
Soon it was almost completely dark. Only a few shafts of moonlight were enough to light up their way. That is, when the wind wasn’t whipping the branches around.
The filly didn’t seem to care about the dangers of the forest. She practically walked off a cliff before Fluttrshy could catch her. She didn’t seem scared of manticores, or even timberwolves. 
Stars that had been terrifying. When Fluttershy heard them growling he had frozen in place, except for the shaking. He wanted to run, but the filly was still walking ahead, as if she hadn’t heard it. He grabbed her and hid behind a tree. He felt guilty when the filly struggled, but knew it was for the best. 
He could feel the timberwolf’s breath move his mane as it sniffed the tree. Somehow it didn’t smell them. The pack moved on. As their steps faded, he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.
The filly looked up at him with an expression of confusion and annoyance.
“Timberwolves are dangerous,” he explained. “They’re terrifying.”
The filly rolled her eyes. 
“I’m sorry I grabbed you,” he said. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
The filly looked surprised. 
The two of them traveled on. Fluttershy lost track of the time. It felt almost like they were going in circles. Every time he began to question the filly, they were at a new landmark. The Castle, the canyon where the Tree of Harmony was, the blocked path to the mirror pond. 
He swore he saw Zecora’s hut out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked it was gone. He must have been imagining things. After all, Zecora’s is in the other direction, right?”
They finally reached an end to the trees.  He could see the Rambling Rock Ridge in the distance, meaning they were on the complete opposite side of the forest from Ponyville. Looking up at the moon, it was quite late into the night, but not late enough to be considered ‘early’. 
“Are we in the right place?” Fluttershy asked the filly.
The filly nodded and pointed in the distance. She saw a group of buildings just a little bit away. It was too small and too close together to be a town. Maybe a campsite of some sort? A lantern was still lighting up the porch of the main building, which meant somepony was awake. They walked up to the cottage. 
Fluttershy hesitated. Sure the light was on, but it was probably just that somepony forgot to turn it off. He didn’t really want to bother them. But this filly needed someone. He took a breath and knocked on the door.  
After a moment, a tired-looking stallion answered the door. He was an Earth Pony around Fluttershy’s age. His coat looked very similar to the filly he had been helping, but his mane was two greens instead of two pinks. 
“Hello?” the stallion asked, tilting his head at him. 
“Uh, hi,” Fluttershy replied a bit too quietly. “I mean, hello. Do you know-“
He turned to gesture to the filly, but she was gone. He spun, looking around for that pink mane. There wasn’t anywhere to hide, unless you were as fast as Rainbow Dash. 
“There was a filly here!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “She was just here! Did you see where she went?  I have to find her!”
“Hold on!” the stallion said. “I think you’ve been led on by a spirit.”
“A-a spirit?” he felt frozen again. He could feel himself shaking.
“One of Everfree’s ghosts,” he said. “There’s a handful of lost souls hanging out in there. They’re lost. Well, of course they are. They aren’t called ‘lost souls’ for nothing. But they tend to have trouble leaving, so they ask ponies for help.”
“That explains why she wasn’t afraid of the Timberwolves,” he sighed. “They wouldn’t hurt her.”
Fluttershy was still looking around, hoping he could see the filly despite his trembling. A Lost Soul. He’d heard Twilight mention them before. Ponies that died but couldn’t find their way to the Underworld. It made him sad when he first heard it, but actually seeing one wander, lost forever, was different.
“Is there anything I can do to help her?” Fluttershy asked the stallion.
“I-I don’t think so,” he said. “You want to help her?”
“Of course I do!” he replied. “She’s just a little filly, lost and alone. Yes, ghosts are scary, terrifying even, but she has to be scared too. I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but somepony needs to do something. I can’t just leave her there!”
He felt something wash over him. Warm and electric. It felt soft, like Mama tending to a scratch he got as a kid, or Mom’s soup when she was sick. Like the softer side of Rainbow Dash, comforting him in the middle of a panic attack. 
The stallion was staring at him, but he didn’t know why. It seemed brighter now. Fluttershy looked up to see the sky hadn’t changed. 
“Uh, I’ll be right back,” the stallion said. 
True to his word, he was only gone a moment before bringing out a small mirror. He held it up for Fluttershy to see his reflection.
His eyes were practically beacons of light. Even more light came from the lines on his body, looking almost like an extention of the butterfly antennae of his Cutie Mark.  His mane had gained some color as well. Thankfully it was only a single streak of a darker pink. 
“Oh my,” he said, resisting the urge to faint. 
Of course, he’d never been very good at that.
> Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Another Summer Sun Celebration had come. Thankfully there were no impending disasters. Some ponies were talking of renaming the day to Reunion Day, in celebration of the two sisters. The actual event was held in the Crystal Empire. Twilight was happier than ever to have all of her friends and family in one place.
Her favorite part had been the play. A local school had put together a reenactment of the defeat of Nightmare Moon. It was terrible, of course. That sort of terrible that only small children could do. Most of the acting was bad, lines were forgotten, and the costumes and sets were obviously made by the cast. 
But they loved every minute of it. Especially when the only good actor, a filly playing both Luna and Nightmare, broke character when her newly earned Cutie Mark shone through her bodypaint. Everypony cheered, but she was sure Luna was cheering the loudest.
It felt so warm, so happy. It was like a constant tingle in her hooves. It reminded her, this was also the anniversary of gaining her closest friends. It reminded her how much she loved them.
After the play was the main event. She watched as Celestia and Luna moved in unison. The sky danced with them as they changed Night to Day. All these years later, and it still filled her with a determination to reach for the heavens. 
Once the sun rose, there was dancing. She still wasn’t much of a dancer, but she’d gotten much better since Rarity insisted on teaching her. She spun through ponies, dancing with each of her friends, with family members, even a few strangers. 
Twilight didn’t stop until she caught a glance at her reflection in a crystal wall. Her body glowed. A streak of yellow was illuminated in her mane, and an aura of magenta exploded out of her. But the glowing lines were breathtaking. 
Small symbols ran across her body, as if she had drawn them on. Except some of them shifted as she stood there. They were Guardian Symbols, used for written magics. She’d studied them, of course. Her translation skills were rusty, but she could do it.
She started with the ones that stayed still. ‘Magic’ curled over her shoulders, and ‘Friendship’ across her wingspan. ‘Self’ was written under her eyes, ‘Family’ around her ears, and ‘Love’ down her horn. Radiating from each of the white stars of her Cutie Mark, were the five Elements that created her own. 
The shifting ones were harder, but once she translated one, they were easy to guess. They were names. Her friends, her family. Everyone she loved and cared about, written into her coat.
She asked her friends when that happened. Apparently it had been during the play, right during the speech to Nightmare about the Elements. Of course it had. 
She pulled them all in for a hug. She was crying, but it was cheerful tears. She started rambling about how much she loves them, how much they mean to her. It only made her happier to see them one by one begin glowing with her.