> Time Traveling Kids of the Mane Six
>  by ShrapnelLeader
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Andromeda's Discovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Scattered pages and dusty old books filled the study in a cluttered mess as Andromeda Sparkle slept among the debris of her own project. Unconscious after a long night of work, her mind only left dreamland when the amber beams of the rising sun shone on her face. With a groan, she slowly rose to her feet, heavy eyelids still drooping. Various loose documents clung to her face as she stood, unnoticed by her until their delicate forms slipped from her lavender cheeks and fluttered towards the blanket of weathered volumes that lay on the floor around her. Once the blur of sleep had finally faded, she turned to see the silhouette of her mom standing against the wall across the room, following a disarrayed chain of manuscripts as if casually searching for survivors.

Twilight Sparkle hadn’t turned the corner yet, but once she did, the purple mare wouldn’t be able to recognize the room. Andromeda’s expression burned from embarrassment at the thought, but cooled gently with the sound of her mother’s humming. Twilight’s melodic tune flowed through the house like a gentle breeze and illuminated the room as vividly as the sunshine outside. Caught in its trance, Andromeda nearly forgot what was happening and suddenly shook herself awake while her eyes scoured the floor around her in worry. 

“She’s going to kill me if she sees this!” she whispered aloud. 

While Twilight’s shadow was temporarily distracted with gathering up the breadcrumb trail of books and placing them into a neat stack, Andromeda began to frantically tidy up the war zone around her and prayed she would be able to clear the catastrophic remains of her private study in time. With a push of her amethyst-colored bangs out of her tired eyes, Andromeda charged her horn with a yellow glow and began cleaning up as quickly as possible. While she was normally not the disorganized type, she was nowhere near as orderly as her mother. Then again, she had never met anypony as obsessed with order as her mom. Hearing the sound of Twilight’s hooves growing closer, Andromeda panicked and shoved a large number of the leftover books inside a nearby chest and nervously faked a large smile just in time to see her turn the corner. 

As Twilight walked in, the glow of the morning sun sparkled in her silky hair with a serene radiance, painting the nearby bookcase in its violet sheen. Andromeda gazed as even the very world that surrounded the famous mare seemed to become magical by her presence. Her mother had a look of confidence and responsibility that one would expect from an Equestrian hero, but all that mattered to her children was her loving compassion, which Andromeda could always see in her eyes. Regardless, Andromeda put on her best poker face and hoped her mother wouldn’t see past her façade.

"Morning, mom," she said happily as her hind hoof subtly pushed the last book on the floor behind the chest. “Did you have a nice rest?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow with a lighthearted smirk. Her daughter’s fatigued eyes did not match the bouncy greeting.

“Yes, I did. How about you, Andromeda? You look like you’ve had a long night. Did you sleep okay? I see you made a mess again.” 

“I slept like a baby. And what mess?” Andromeda bluffed. “Sure, I dropped a few books, but it’s not that bad, right?”

“Uh huh. Take a look at your desk. See anything out of the ordinary?”

Andromeda spun to look at her workstation and winced. She had spent too much time organizing the books and not enough time clearing the desk, and the mistake in priority showed. Empty vials lay strewn around and several books were still open. Wrinkled note papers were scattered so thoroughly that one couldn’t even see the wood surface anymore. Andromeda shrugged innocently.

“Organized chaos?”

“Is that so?” Twilight replied, toying with her daughter. “Then I’m assuming the black hair is organized chaos too?” 

Andromeda’s eyes grew wide. 	

“Black hair?” 

Scurrying to the nearest hoof-held mirror, she pointed its reflective surface towards her to see a large section of the top of her mane blackened. The dark hue spread through her hair in long gnarled streaks like angled branches of a barren tree. Touching the mysterious color, it felt oily and wet. 

“Aw man!” she groaned. “Ink? Are you kidding me?” 

Twilight grinned with amusement. 

“I warned you about falling asleep in the middle of writing new magic formulas. Nothing tires the mind more than scientific research at four in the morning.”

Andromeda picked up a rag with her magic and began to wipe the black liquid out of her hair with a sigh.

“Alright, fine. You caught me. I dozed off in the middle of my work and the room was a wreck when I woke up. I did sleep like a baby, though!”

“Obviously,” Twilight said with a smile as she took the rag and wiped the last bit of ink from the back of her daughter’s mane. 

Andromeda looked at her mom sheepishly.

"Sorry about the mess. I’ll clean it up."

"It's okay. I understand you've been busy and sometimes research can get messy. You may think I’m a neat freak but,” 	Twilight said, stopping in mid-sentence to straighten a nearby book on the shelf, “I’ve had plenty of disorganized nights of study as well.”

“Uncle Spike always did say you had a tendency to throw books around when you were in a panic.”

“Which was all the time,” Twilight joked.

The two giggled lightly and began to clean up. As they worked, Twilight found the chest that was hastily crammed with books and shook her head.

‘What am I going to do with her?’ she thought to herself while shifting through the piles of encyclopedias and textbooks.

As she started organizing them, a feeling of nostalgia came over her when she began to take notice of what Andromeda had been reading. At closer inspection, she recognized most of the books and documents that lay before her. Though many of the covers were old and worn, their contents remained in her mind like a fresh memory, piquing her curiosity once again. As she scanned them with purple eyes twinkling, warm sentiments of the many hours she spent reading while under the tutelage of Princess Celestia returned to her. She could tell that they had come from Canterlot.

"I see you’ve been scoping the palace’s library,” she said without looking away, “and quite fervently too. I recognize all of these books except for the ones with the jeweled hearts on their covers. Did you actually travel all the way to the Crystal Empire to get these?”

“Sure did!” Andromeda replied. 

“Wow, even I have rarely used so many books for one project! What is it that you've been working on that has you in such a reading frenzy anyway?”

Andromeda immediately dropped what she was doing and grinned widely. 

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” she said. “I wanted to show you something!” 

With a sudden bolt of speed, she began searching in the heaps with bright eagerness until she finally came across an old book and lifted it with her magic horn. Its leather exterior was rough and its paper had been yellowed from age as well as torn loose in several places. Bringing it to Twilight, she laid it down on the table with glee.

“I was working on improvements to the teleportation spell, when I ran into this in the Starswirl Wing of the Royal Canterlot Library.”

When she lifted the thick cover, a slight musk of old pages filled Twilight’s nostrils in a familiar scent. Many a time had she smelled that musty old aroma from the hidden reaches of the library. Andromeda wasted no time and immediately pulled one of the loose papers out and displayed it while she pointed at its contents. 

"Take a look! There's a spell in here that will allow the user to time travel to any moment in the past! Did you know about this?" 

Twilight’s eyes glided from one side of the page to the other, quickly scanning it as if copying its print in her mind for later use. When she finished, she looked back at her daughter and smiled.

"Of course I know about this,” she replied. “I’ve time traveled myself.” 

Andromeda's sunset eyes glistened with vivid excitement as if a whole new world had opened before her. The world of science and magic was one of her greatest loves and it showed in every fiber of her being as a million questions ran through her head.

"Really?” she cried. “You actually time travelled? What was it like? Where did you go? Who did you meet? How far back did you time jump? Why..."

"Whoa there, filly!” Twilight laughed. “One question at a time! Yes, I've traveled before. I’ve done it several times, in fact. Did I never tell you about this?” 

Andromeda shook her head.

"Well," Twilight continued, "the first time I tried to go back in time was to warn myself of a danger that ended up happening anyway. It's a long story that I promise to tell you and your brother another day. The next few time jumps were made when I was testing out my improved spell.”

"Improved spell?"

Twilight lifted the book and spun the pages quickly until a page filled to the brim with notes and formulas appeared. Turning the book towards her daughter, she beamed with pride at her work.

"See the initials?"

Andromeda leaned closer to better focus on the tiny lettering. At first glance it seemed like there wasn’t an empty spot left, but at the bottom of the ink-filled page stood out two letters in bright red ink--T.S.

"T.S.," she read aloud. "Twilight Sparkle! You wrote all this?"

"Of course! Remember who you're talking to," Twilight replied with a wink. "When I first used the spell, it only allowed the traveler to go back in time once and just for a few moments at most. At some point I secretly spent months working on ways to improve and lengthen the period of time the user could stay in the past. I knew it could be done and after countless hours of work, my intuition paid off. The last time I cast it, I was able to extend the trip from mere seconds to as long as thirty days or possibly even more!"

Twilight stopped talking when she began to see the wheels in her daughter's head spinning. She could tell when Andromeda was concocting a breakthrough in her busy mind. It was in her body language. Whenever a big idea sprang into her head, Andromeda's horn would momentarily spark with a dim pink glow, a unique trait that Twilight had never seen before, especially considering the fact that Andromeda's eyes were sunset-yellow. 

“Thirty days, huh?” Andromeda asked softly, not really speaking to anypony in particular. 

Andromeda was brilliant and, to the shock of most ponies, was actually more so than her mother when she was her age. Princess Celestia herself said that where Twilight proved to have a special talent in magic, Andromeda showed the same potential through her intelligence and scientific analysis. Like her mother, she was made a pupil of the Princess and even managed to impress Luna, who often spent time with her when work carried on into the night. Twilight knew Andromeda was inventing some kind of idea in her mind from the way she continued to decipher every word, note, and formula written in the book with eagerness.

“I know that look,” Twilight said, catching the rapid flash of the pink spark. “You’re on to something, aren’t you?” 

The young mare said nothing, consumed in the new revelation that had just been shown to her. While magic was not her special talent, she nonetheless had a keen curiosity for its wonders. She was nowhere near as powerful as Twilight in that department, but with a lucky bit of heredity, she had gotten some above-average magical ability. This often proved useful for her experimentation with old spells. Seeing that she was checked out for the moment, Twilight began to pensively return to cleaning until Andromeda spoke up again.

"Wait," Andromeda said with a tinge of confusion, "these notes are incomplete. It seems you were on the brink of a breakthrough. Why did you stop?"

Twilight paused in rumination and the once shimmering glow of her hair seemed to dull before her daughter’s eyes. Twilight remained quiet for a moment as if carefully weighing her next words.

"The spell was too unstable to continue working on,” she said plainly. 

Andromeda waited for a continuation, but received none when Twilight began organizing the sheets again. Impatience nudged her to keep asking questions.

“What do you mean? What happened?”

Twilight sighed.

“The more I 'improved' it, the less control I had over it. Sometimes I would end up several hundred paces away from my intended target, even going as far as aiming for my house and ending up in Froggy Bottom Bog. At some point I realized that casting the spell was taking its toll on my body. Each time I cast it, I grew sicker and sicker. Even returning home started to become more difficult. I kept trying to mend the problem, but every time I fixed one issue, another would take its place. After six or seven time jumps, I finally quit. I haven’t used it since.”

Seeing Andromeda’s perplexed expression, Twilight lightened the mood with a smile.

"Besides," she said sweetly, "after I met your father, I stopped obsessing over spells I couldn’t control and eventually I focused on having a family. Ponies think my becoming an alicorn princess was my proudest moment, but really, the greatest accomplishment I ever achieved was having you and Orion. Even if I had fixed the time travel spell for good, I wouldn’t change a thing in my life.”

Andromeda felt warm from the sentiment, but the fact of near-scientific breakthrough still proved too much to let go.

"But you were so close!" she exclaimed. "You could have perfected it and still had a family! Why didn’t you just fix the spell over time?” 

Twilight sighed and picked up the book and notes again, examining it gently like a mare who had just found her old fillyhood doll. For too many years, she traded friendship for knowledge and even though she had raised her own family along with her friends and their children, she could see the same unquenchable drive in Andromeda. With the combination of her close relationship with Celestia and her brother’s marriage to princess Cadence, Twilight knew she could have remained in Canterlot and lived a life of royalty. She could have had the world if she wanted, but she knew that deep down, the life she chose was far greater than any kind she may have had before coming to Ponyville. Looking at Andromeda waiting patiently for an answer, Twilight shook herself out of her internal daydreaming.

"You may not understand it now,” she said, giving her inquisitor a hug, “but I learned long ago that relationships are more important than these things. You can't spend all of your time alone in a lab or a library. It took me years to figure this out, even after I moved to Ponyville. I know you have true friends here, but please don't let them fade away or lose contact with you. Make sure you keep them. Promise me?"

Andromeda felt confused from the “dear princess Celestia” response, but went along with it and hugged back.

"I promise."

Giving her daughter another squeeze, Twilight let go and continued her cleaning.

"Good. Now go get ready. I need you to run some errands for your father while he’s out. I'll take care of this mess for you."

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. And don’t forget to wash your hair!”

"Okay mom,” Andromeda replied. 

As she made her way to her bedroom, her mind continued to spin. The idea of a perfected time-travel spell seemed too much to ignore, especially considering the way her mom acted when asked about it. Andromeda had grown up listening to her mother’s many stories, but why Twilight would not tell them about this one was odd. The more she thought about what she said, the more curious she became of her mother’s decision to put aside months and months of work permanently. There was a piece of the puzzle missing and she had no intention of letting the mystery slide.

“Mom never leaves anything unfinished," she said softly. “There has to be more to what she said than stopping to raise a family.”

Glancing back at Twilight, she grinned with a newfound sense of purpose.

“And I'm going to find out!”




(End of Chapter 1)

> Chapter 2: Orion's Big Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	From the moment the first rays of sunshine flowed through his bedroom window, Orion Sparkle woke up without a single ounce of hesitation, threw off the warm covers that enveloped him, and jumped out of bed. The room was cold and the world outside looked even more frigid, but instead of returning to the toasty embrace of his dreams, he only felt more awake than ever. His sister Andromeda often joked that it would usually take nothing short of magic to pull him out of the peaceful comatose he called sleep, but this was no ordinary day. 

Life and enthusiasm rushed through his body in great vigor this morning because today was his birthday. Even more important, though, was its significance. All night long, he dreamed of finally getting his cutie mark and showing it to his friends. The “oohs” and “aahs” still reverberated in his mind as he rushed to a mirror, unable to contain his excitement any longer. With a quick turn, he spun his flank towards it to see what he got. 

When he saw his reflection, a feeling of unforgiving disappointment rushed through the blue-violet colored unicorn’s body like icy water. There was no cutie mark to welcome him this morning. Instead, all he could see was the cruel nickname of the merciless teasing from other colts and fillies; "blank flank." Orion blinked a few times to be absolutely sure, but upon seeing that his mirrory doppelganger was telling the truth, the wondrous joys of last night’s dreams began to come crumbling down to the rocky earth of “reality.” His heart broke in devastation at the sight. Everything in him wanted to just look away and move on, but his eyes remained fixated on the empty patch where the invisible tombstone of his hopes now lay. It was as if he was physically unable to move on from the depression.  

"It's not fair," he grumbled to himself. "Another year and still nothing! Why don’t I have my mark yet?”

A light creak of his bedroom door interrupted him and saved him from the hypnotic trance of the mirror when he turned to find the source of the sound. At the doorway stood his mother, whose deep purple eyes watched his enthusiasm with love and affection.

"Good morning, Orion," Twilight said sweetly. "Happy Birthday."

Orion made his way to her and gave her a hug. Part of it was out of habit, but this time, he really needed it.

"Thanks mom," he sighed as she held him in her arms.

Twilight could sense his unhappiness and saw the shattered look on his face. She knew what it was because she once shared the same feeling of failure. It was the same despair she felt when she nearly flunked her magic entrance exam on the day she applied for Princess Celestia’s School of Gifted Unicorns. What he needed was somepony to console his anxious impatience.

"It’s okay if you still don’t have your cutie mark,” she said soothingly. “A lot of colts and fillies don’t find out their special talents until they’re your age or older. It took me a long time before I discovered mine.”

Orion pouted pitifully. He heard, but didn’t listen, and Twilight hated seeing him like this. She remembered her obsession over getting a mark, but despite her own experiences, there was no way she could train him to get one of his own. They were entirely dependant on the host pony, so all she could do now was encourage him.

"But it’s just not fair!” he cried. “All of my classmates keep calling me ‘blank flank!’ It's embarrassing! I got mad last week and I told everypony at school that I’d get my cutie mark on my birthday, but since I didn’t get my mark, now all the other kids will laugh at me when they see! I feel like I’m the only one left.”

Twilight twirled his navy blue hair with her magic while she listened, just as she used to do when he was just a foal. It was a motherly tendency of hers, but he didn't mind as long as it was in private. Ever since he was little, the feeling calmed him, but only when she did it. As he began to relax, Twilight smiled.

"What about Applejack's boy?” she asked. "Bucky doesn’t have his cutie mark yet.”

Orion thought for a moment and did feel relieved that he at least still had his oldest friend to understand what it was like. Just as Applejack and Twilight had been remarkably congruent in their own friendship, it was clear from foalhood that Orion and Bucky would be best buds forever. They had stuck with each other through thick and thin all of their lives and there wasn’t anypony in the world who could change that. Both were born with a love for fun and adventuring and, together, they were an inseparable duo.

“Yeah,” Orion reluctantly admitted, “I guess he doesn’t have one either.”

“And don’t forget Peach Cobbler,” Twilight added. “She’s just as impatient as you are to get hers, if not more.”

Peach was Orion’s other best friend. Despite being the daughter of Fluttershy, her tomboy personality hid any connection to her mother’s timidness. After months of bugging Orion and Bucky to be a part of their team, she finally got in. Taking it a step further, she proved to them that she could run with the colts by being “one of the colts” and had a fire in her unlike any filly they knew. Bucky joked that it was because she didn’t act like one in the first place, a statement that would often warrant a patented Peach Cobbler “love tap” on the shoulder. Being some of the last ponies their age to get their marks, the three had become a close-knit group and eventually formed the newest Cutie Mark Crusader club, just like Bucky's aunt Apple Bloom had done years ago. 

“Besides,” Twilight continued as she walked towards his closet, “if you had your cutie mark by now, you wouldn’t need to go out and get yourself in trouble time and time again anymore, would you?”	

Pulling out a red cloth with her magic horn, she lifted it towards him. Though somewhat worn, the sapphire blue and gold CMC emblem of Sweetie Belle’s old cape still glimmered like pure gold upon a sea of ruby-colored cloak. Twilight kneeled down to his eye level and tied it lightly around his neck.

“You may not have discovered your special talent yet, but you do have two of the best friends a colt could ever ask for and a mother who loves you no matter what.”

Orion looked down at the red cape and began to feel a bit better. If nothing else, at least he had his family and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"I guess you're right," he said, giving her another hug. “Thanks mom.”

"Any time," Twilight winked lovingly as she let go and stood back up. 

While Orion started to get ready, Twilight picked up the updated “to do” list that she would post on her children’s’ walls each morning.

“Now then,” she said, characteristically switching back to business mode, “we’re going to have to prepare for your party tonight. We need to hand out the invitations, check on the birthday cake, make sure the snacks are ready, and ready the house for the guests.”

Orion jumped up and down excitedly like Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush.

“Oh! Oh! Can I do it? I can go into town and do all that stuff!” 

“You’re going to do all the errands by yourself?” Twilight asked with a lighthearted smirk. 

“Yeah! I’m old enough. I can do it!” 

“Without getting distracted or forgetting?”

“Well,” Orion said, pondering on it another moment, “maybe could you decorate for me? I’m not very good at it. I can do the other stuff, though! Can I go by myself this time? Please?”

Ever since he was a baby, Orion was always a do-it-yourself kind of colt, even when he had no idea what he was doing. If his older sister Andromeda was Twilight made over, then Orion was a smaller version of his uncle Shining Armor, minus the foresight. He had an endless supply of spirit and courage, but tended to get in more trouble than he bargained for, which unfairly labeled him by some ponies as a troublemaker.

Whether it was the romantic stories of Canterlot knights of old that had intrigued the young colt from an early age or the immense admiration and awe he had for his uncle, a fire for adventure burned within him like nothing else Twilight had ever seen. Worse for her, when he had his mind set on something, he was not so easily deterred. Still, it was his birthday and running errands for her hardly seemed like asking for much.

“Oh alright,” Twilight answered softly. “You can do it by yourself, but not before breakfast.”

"But I’m not really hungry,” Orion whined. “Can’t I just get some cookies at Sugar Cube Corner?” 

Before Twilight could say no, Orion widened his red eyes to the size of saucers, hoping to catch a moment of pity. Even she had to admit that it was hard to resist.

“Pleeeeeeeeaaaaase?” he begged, adding a small lip quiver for the final effect.

Twilight merely pretended to ignore him and turned towards the door.

"Nice try,” she chuckled, “but birthday or not, you’re not going to guilt-trip me into giving you cookies this early in the morning. You’re not leaving without eating first, either. I’ll get you a bowl of cereal since you’re not very hungry.”

The will of the mother was absolute and Orion knew this battle could not be won, birthday or not. Instead, he sighed and followed after her, mumbling something inaudibly. Not long after Twilight had left, the sound of hooves pattered from the hallway, followed by a loud thud and the fluttering sound of flying papers. Orion ran towards the source of the crash to find his big sister picking herself up slowly. Seeing that her amethyst hair was a chaotically tangled wreck of unbrushed confusion, he tried his hardest to hold back a big grin, but failed as he giggled at the cluttered sight. Andromeda was not amused.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said as she began picking up the spilled sheets off of the floor with her magic. “My hair looks absolutely ridiculous.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Orion replied, his eyes struggling not to give away his true opinion on the matter. “Your hair doesn’t look that bad. It’s very…”

Andromeda raised a sarcastic eyebrow and waited for his “compliment,” but words escaped Orion as he tried to pull one out of thin air. With a shrug, he gave up.

“I’ve got nothin’,” he said in a very Spike-like manner. “Sorry.”

“Well, that was pathetic,” Andromeda teased before returning to cleaning up. “Now would you mind helping be out here? These are important documents that I’ll be bringing to the Canterlot Academy later today and I don’t need them disorganized.”

Orion nodded and began gathering up some of the sheets. Watching Andromeda levitate the numerous documents while she scanned them for correct organization, he decided to follow her lead and use his magic instead. While some young unicorns were indeed capable of very basic magic, full telekinesis was uncommon for his age group, a limitation that frustrated Orion to no end. Planting his legs firmly at his sides like Twilight taught him, he focused all of his energy into his horn and grimaced at the recoil magic created. Andromeda stopped what she was doing to watch as red sparks flickered at the end of his horn. With a mighty push of strength, Orion was finally able to lift a single piece of paper off of the ground for a few seconds. 

“You did it!” Andromeda exclaimed, impressed by his determination. “That’s pretty good for somepony your age. Perhaps magic will be your special talent.”

The words “special talent” echoed through Orion’s ears, leaving him in a thrilled state once again.

“Really?” he asked excitedly. “Do you really think so?”

“Why not? Mom got hers in magic and I’m not too shabby at it either. You very well could get a cutie mark in magic.”

Orion’s crimson eyes grew larger and larger with every word. 

“That would be awesome!” he nearly shouted. “Maybe it is my special talent! I have to tell Peach and Bucky!” 

While her brother bounced up and down once more, Andromeda spotted one last sheet and went to pick it up. 

“By the way, happy…”

Turning back towards where Orion was standing, she realized that he had taken off without another word.

“Birthday,” she finished.

Seeing that he was gone, she returned her attention to the final draft of her time travel spell and sighed.

“Why do I feel like I just made a mistake?”

In the kitchen below, Orion’s breakfast was a messy blur. Milk and cereal flew to the sides of the clinking bowl as he hastily ate and ran out the kitchen with a quick "love you mom, gotta' go, bye!" Before Twilight could protest, he was gone like a flash, bowl still spinning from the force of his exit. 

Twilight's teeth ground together in mother’s aggravation softly as she looked upon the disaster of a table before picking up a rag and cleaning the mess. With a deep breath, she exhaled and decided to remain calm for his sake.

'He's just a colt,' she thought to herself. 'He gets a free pass today because of his birthday, but that's it.'

Despite her frustration, Twilight felt more forgiving today because she knew exactly why he was behaving this way. Her boy was approaching the age to get his mark and he was determined to get it, now more than ever before. Looking out the window, she could see Orion happily running in the distance with a book bag full of invitations around his neck. 

The morning was still young and the deep blue sky seemed extra azure on this particular day, with only a few cottony clouds covering some of the early sunlight of dawn. Long trails of warmth and light spilled through their cracks and bathed the earth in a warm glow. Applejack often said how Ponyville could never change and would remain as beautiful as it had years earlier. Even Orion, who preferred the excitement of Canterlot to the monotony of his hometown, had to admit that there was always something about the small town that was...magical. 

Reaching his destination, a light ring-a-ling of the doorbell chimed when he entered Sugar Cube Corner. Right away, the smell of cakes and pastries hovered in the air, each scent tantalizing him with their savory aromas. If Pinkie Pie hadn’t already represented the Element of Laughter, Orion would have thought that she was the first example of the Element of Baking. He always loved dropping by to visit and rang the counter’s bell in happy anticipation.

"Hello?” he said loudly. “Is anypony here?” 

"Just a minute!" a bouncy voice that was unmistakably Pinkie Pie called out from another room. "Berry, can you get that for me? I've got my hooves full right now. And I need some help with this cake, too! Can you help me, Cherry?"

"Okie dokie lokie!" two simultaneous voices rang out somewhere in the house, bringing a smile to Orion's face.  

Though Pinkie Pie no longer lived with the Cake family since she had gotten married, the crazy pink mare still worked the shop just as she had for years. Business was very good thanks to her twin children, Berry and Cherry, who helped in their mother's work. Along with the Cakes, the two families’ combined efforts proved to make quite the pastry and desert delicacy team. Though they had become regular caterers to the Canterlot palace, they still held that small-town hospitality that made visiting a delight to colts and fillies everywhere. 

A few moments after Orion had rung the bell, Pinkie's son Berry arrived and made his way to the other end of the counter. If anyone knew anything about Pinkie Pie or her reputation, they would spot the family resemblance in her children immediately. In the most ironic of coincidences, where Pinkie once babysat the twin son and daughter of the Cake’s, she herself would have fraternal twins of her own. Both looked like slightly darker versions of their mother, complete with pink coats, wavy magenta hair, and sky blue eyes. 

"Hi-ya Orion! How are you doing?" Berry exclaimed in his characteristic happy attitude. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Berry. I’ve been good. And you?” 

“I’m pretty good, though some weird things have been happening.”

‘Weird’ was always a relative term when speaking about Pinkie Pie’s family, but the sound of Berry’s tone intrigued Orion. 

“Really? What is it? What happened?” 

Berry grinned. 

“There’s been a strange new trend of naming the things we’ve been baking here. Today I had a big chocolate cake called ‘Orion.’ The name was funny, but the cake was delicious!” 

“Nooo,” Orion laughed, “that was my cake!”

Berry placed his hooves onto his pink cheeks in playful shock.

“Wha? It was yours? Oh, I’m so so sorry! I’ll give it back, I promise.”

“You can’t give it back because you already ate it!” 

“Sure I can. You may have to wait for, oh…”

Berry looked at his invisible watch. 

“A few hours or so. It’ll be ready in time for your birthday!” 

Orion let out a long “eww” and giggled at the pink stallion’s over-the-top goofiness. Berry always was a jokester from the day he was born and there was nothing in the world he loved more than making others laugh. Whether it be his impeccable wit, endless supply of jokes, or his ability to turn any situation into a more pleasant one, he truly was the physical embodiment of the Element of Laughter. 

“We haven’t made your cake yet because we have a big order that needs to be taken care of first,” Berry explained, “but it’ll be ready in plenty of time before your party.”

“Okay, that works. Thanks,” Orion replied. “By the way, where’s your dad today? I don't hear him singing."

"He's helping Mr. and Mrs. Cake with a big delivery to the palace today. That’s the tall order I was just talking about. There's some kind of big event happening soon, so the princess asked for our help with the events! Since they’re gone and will be busy until late, they asked me to say happy birthday for them."

As the last words left his lips, Berry's face suddenly lit up.

"Oh!" he said. "I almost forgot! I thought I'd give you your present early, if you don't mind opening it now."

Orion bounced with excitement. Berry and Cherry always had fun and creative ways of giving their gifts, which Orion loved regardless of the gift itself. 

"What is it this time?" he asked, wide-eyed. "Where is it?"

"It's already in your satchel," Berry replied with a playful smirk, referring to Orion’s book bag. 

“Satchel? What’s a satchel? Isn’t that a purse?” Orion asked, embarrassed at the thought of him being in public with a mare’s hoofbag. 

Berry shook his head leaned back towards the kitchen.

“No, no, no,” he laughed, speaking loudly for his sister to hear. “A satchel is not a purse at all! It’s kind of like a book bag for anypony to use!” 

“Daring Do wears one!” Cherry shouted from the backroom. 

Berry chuckled at his sister’s ability to catch the pop culture references he loved so much and beamed with a look of pride. The twins’ randomness often confused Orion, but he had learned not to question things when it came to the Pie family, so he instead rummaged through the bag with his hoof.

“I don’t see anything in here. All I have in here is a bunch of invita…”

He stopped for a moment when he began to feel something underneath the letters and spun his head back up at Berry.

"How?” he exclaimed in surprise. “How did you do that?” 

"Shhhhhh," Berry hushed with a wink, pretending that somepony was listening at that very moment. "Trade secret. I am very very sneaky!” 

Orion hastily opened the bag, pushing though the invitations to find a small, tightly wrapped present. Ripping the outer layer apart, he came across another layer of paper. Ripping through the second layer, there lay a small wooden box. In the box was stuffing and finally, after digging through the stuffing, a small note with two words scribbled on it was found.

"Look up," Orion read aloud. 

Hanging above his head, a big bag of various hard candies, chocolates, jawbreakers, gummies, and other sugary items dazzled brightly before Orion’s eyes. 

"I didn't see that there when I got here!” he exclaimed with mouth agape. “How did you...?"

"Trade secret!" Cherry yelled from a back room.

"I do believe he underestimates our sneakiness, sis!" Berry shouted back.

"I'd say so," Cherry replied, suddenly standing next to Orion.

The shocked colt jumped so high in the air, he ended up clinging onto the brass chandelier that hung from the ceiling above and looked down at the two twins below with a baffled expression.

“Okay, now you guys are just showing off!” 

“It’s what we do,” Berry said, acting like it was no big deal.

Cherry stood below him, ready to catch him. 

“I’ve got you, Orion. Just let go.”

Orion plucked the candy bag that was hanging from the lights and let go, falling onto her back with a surprisingly soft landing. The young mare turned her head towards him and smiled brightly. There were few ponies in the world that Orion knew of that were as joyful and caring as she was and he had a particular affinity for her because she was once his foalsitter. Even now, the two remained just as close as ever, partially because there was something about her aura that just brought joy to things. 

"Happy Birthday,” she said in a voice as sweet as the frosting that caked her nose and ears. 

Orion lowered himself from her back and placed the candy into his bag.

"Thanks, Cherry,” he replied. “And thank you for the candy. You guys know me too well.” 

“So what are you doing here by yourself?” Cherry asked. “Are you preparing for your party all by yourself?” 

“Mostly. Mom is getting the house all ready, but I’m doing everything else. By the way,” Orion added, reaching into his bag, “I was going to give you guys these.”

Pulling out two hoof-drawn invitations, he gave them to his friends with glee.

“You’re both invited, of course. I hope you guys aren’t too busy to make it tonight.”

The twins looked at each other for a moment and then back to Orion and smiled. 

“We’ll definitively make it,” they said simultaneously as Pinkie Pie walked in, covered in flour.

"Happy birthday, you crazy colt!" she said with a hearty exclamation. "Don’t worry about us. We won’t be baking for much longer, so Berry and Cherry will have plenty of time to enjoy your party. Sorry about the delay. I’ll let Twilight know when your cake is finished, okay?”

"Thanks Pinkie Pie," Orion said, giving her a big hug. "You're the best!" 

The grown-up nature of Pinkie’s words wouldn’t seem out-of-the-ordinary for a young colt or filly in Ponyville, but anypony who had known her for a lot longer would immediately see the maturity she had acquired over the years. While still the happy, party-loving, random earth pony that she always was, having children of her own brought out a responsibility in her that few ponies knew existed.

"You’re very welcome!” Pinkie giggled. "So then, are you headed over to Sweet Apple Acres now?"

"That’s exactly where I was going next,” Orion responded. “How did you…” 	The bluish colt stopped in mid-sentence when he remembered who he was talking to. Sometimes he wondered if Pinkie senses also included mind-reading. 	"Never mind. Yeah, I'm just about to leave to pick up some food for the party and give Bismarck and Bucky my invitations!"

“Perfect! Give me just a second.”

Pinkie Pie disappeared behind the counter for a moment before returning with a small bag of bits. 

"I borrowed a little money from Applejack last week, but she’s been sick in bed recently and I've been way too busy to drop by. Could you bring this to her for me?”

Orion's eyes widened as if Princess Celestia herself had asked him to do the task. 

"You really mean it?" he asked in excitement. 

"Of course. You're old enough and I trust you. You think you can do this for me?"

Orion stood at attention and saluted with a loud “yes ma’am.” Placing the money in his bag, he felt like a heroic explorer, ready to set sail for the great unknown. With his final goodbyes, he trotted out the door with a sense of grown-up pride and took off towards the green acres of the Apple family farm. 

So far, everything was beginning to look up for him and now the possibility of discovering his mark seemed closer than it had ever been before. Maybe this would be his big day after all. 

> Chapter 3: Country as Apple Pie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Beads of sweat poured down Bismarck's orange coat and chestnut mane as he made his way through the spanning acres of the Apple family orchards and gazed at what he considered the most beautiful place in all of Equestria. Having been working since the crack of dawn, he watched in admiration as the emerald and ruby hues of the apple trees began to glow a bright orange with the rising sun until the slowly approaching afternoon brightened the world around him. 

Though the morning air was still somewhat crisp, the heat was greater than usual. Pulling the tip of his hat down to cover his eyes, the rugged stallion faced away from the apple tree, reared back, and kicked it with a tremendous force. A loud boom sounded from the shaking trunk and seemingly echoed through the orchard while vibrations from the impact shook the tree like a maraca until every single crimson apple fell towards the ground and into a large wooden barrel at the base. Bismarck smiled at the reward of his labor.

“Ninety-six down,” he said to himself as he moved on to the next tree, “several hundred to go.”

Wiping the constant flow of sweat from his brow once more, he readied himself to repeat the process. Though it didn't take much effort for him, as he was quite strong, the dead heat of the beating sun was making the hours of constant work become exhausting. Worst of all, both of his parents were sick and his brother Bucky wasn't old enough for serious apple bucking yet. For the time being, the harvest depended on him. Still, the sky was a beautiful shade of azure today and was quite serene. 

Deciding it was about time for a break, Bismarck took a deep breath of the clean air and sat in the shade for a moment while the light breeze soothed him. Its cool touch gave him a feeling of tranquility that flowed through him like water. Closing his eyes for a short moment, Bismarck’s rest was quickly interrupted by a muffled call in the distance. His eyes snapped open from the sweet sounding voice he heard.

"Biiiiiismaaarrrrrrck," the voice called out, nearly inaudible.

Bismarck lifted his ears, listening carefully to confirm whether or not it was just the wind. A few seconds of silence passed before his name rang out again. This time he heard it clearly. 

"Biiiiiismaaarrrrrrck," it repeated. 

He could recognize that voice anywhere. It was Applejack. Bismarck knew better than to keep her waiting and took no time in sprinting back towards the barn, nearly spilling the newly filled apple barrel in his haste. With a powerful burst of acceleration, he returned home as quickly as possible.

"Comin' mom!" he yelled in reply.

It wasn't often that he was needed while he worked. By the sound of her calls, there must have been an important reason why she was outside and not inside resting. Bismarck weaved his way through the vast orchards and apple barrels as he made his way back. It was a bit of a trek home even though he hadn’t even reached the half-way mark of their property’s boundaries, but as he climbed over one of the last hills, he could finally see his destination. Sweet Apple Acres stood before him, the barn's radiant red glow from the sunlight warming him as he slowed down to catch his breath. 

"Home sweet home," he said to himself happily. 

Nowadays it seemed like he was able to spend less and less time in Ponyville, and he missed it dearly when he was gone. Ever since he had discovered his talent as a rodeo cowboy and set off into the world to live his dream, life was never quite the same. He had a natural aptitude for what he did and it wasn’t long before he began to get attention for it. As a dark horse competitor who not only found success in a niche event, but also began popularizing it further in the East, he was beginning to become the face of the sport now. 

The idea was admirable. He was an unknown stallion from an obscure town competing against the long-standing domination of the west, such as Appleoosa. Bismarck had traveled all over Equestria, moving from competition to competition, and had been everywhere from the crowded towers of Manehatten to the grandiose majesty of Canterlot, but nothing in the world made him feel more at peace than returning to plain old Ponyville of no particular reputation. 	

The town and farm was his sanctuary. It was calming and the inhabitants of Ponyville were actually genuine, unlike Canterlot ponies who were more preoccupied with their own wealth than true happiness. Sweet Apple Acres was his home, his heritage, and his nostalgia, and despite being famous now, he would never trade the quiet country life for anything. 

Bismarck spotted his mother standing by the barn and slowed as he approached her, still trying to catch his breath.

“Ah’m here, mom!” he called out.

Applejack was not a pony who would call in sick due to her stubbornness, but upon inspection, Bismarck could immediately see why she and his dad were remaining in bed for the day. Her silky orange coat now looked as bleached as her short blonde hair and her eyes looked dull and baggy. Bismarck shook his head and smirked. 

“What are you doin’ outa bed this mornin’?” he asked. “You look awful!”

Applejack pushed her bangs out of her eyes and ignored his statement.

“Have you seen yer brother?” she inquired, getting straight to the point. "Was he with you?"

Bismarck took his charcoal-brown Stetson hat off and shook his head. 

"Nope. Why?"

"Ah haven’t seen him all morning!” AJ replied worryingly. “Ah’ve been lookin' everywhere fer him and ah can't find him. Ah went to check up on him this mornin’ and he was gone! He didn’t leave a note or nuthin’! He just up and left!”

Applejack began pacing as she continued.

“You and ah know that Bucky is not the type to go sneakin’ out of the house like this, wild as he may be from time to time. He always leaves a note or somethin’ if he goes out without tellin’ us first.”

Bismarck reached out, stopped his mother’s shuffling.

“Hey now,” he said, “take a deep breath. It’s okay. Ah’ll look for him. You go back to bed, alright? You and dad need yer rest. Bucky is probably out in the clubhouse. Ah’ll be back with him soon.”

“Thank you, Bismarck. Don’t forget to come inside when you find him. Lunch will be ready.”

Bismarck shook his head at her refusal to get her rest.

“Yer so stubborn, you know that? Is there anything in the world that will force you to just take it easy for once in yer life?”

“Afraid not, sugarcube,” Applejack replied softly. “Now git goin’ and find yer brother, please.”

Bismarck nodded and put his hat back on. He had a feeling he knew where Bucky would be. The chances of him being in the old Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse were higher than others, as it was a great place to have privacy. At least that's where Bucky usually hung out. It was a fun treehouse that had been in the family since Applejack was a filly and was later redesigned by Bismarck's aunt, Apple Bloom. A founding member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a three-member group dedicated to discovering their special talents, Apple Bloom would eventually hand down the tradition to Bismarck and later to Bucky. The new generations of crusaders even kept the original capes. 

Bismarck remembered the fun times he once had with his two crusader sisters, Andromeda, the daughter of Twilight Sparkle, and Flora, Fluttershy’s daughter. Memories of the many times he and his friends got into all sorts of trouble made him wish he was still a foal. 

'To be free again,' he thought to himself, 'without the stresses of life, work, and the stupid paparazzi. What ah'd give to be go back in time and be a colt again with mah friends."

As he drew closer to the treehouse in a nostalgic daze, the sound of singing warbled through the trees above. The soothing melody was powerful yet soft, uncommon for such a small tyke like Bucky, but Bismarck could recognize his brother's voice anywhere. Bismarck slowly and quietly climbed up the ramp of the clubhouse and peeked his head in the corner of the window to see what his little brother was doing. Unaware of his hiding observer, Bucky continued to hum while he erased a few words on a small piece of paper, wrote some more, and started singing again.

"There's still a rope burn on that oak branch
That hands over the river, Ah still got the scar
From swingin' out a little too far
There ain't a corner of this hallowed ground
That we ain't laughed or cried on
It's where we loved, lived, and learned real life stuff
It's everything we're made of."

Bismarck grinned wide at the sight. It was not often that he got to hear his brother sing. Bucky was always deathly afraid of singing in front of others, despite his talent. To Bismarck’s knowledge, he didn’t even know if Bucky’s crusader partners knew about his gift or not. It was kept a complete secret from just about everypony. Only his family ever heard his voice and even that was rare. 

Bismarck chuckled, knowing that if Bucky knew his big brother was watching him, he'd probably panic. For now, the young colt looked happy and Bismarck was content enough to sit against the outside of the treehouse wall and listen as Bucky continued.

"It sure left its mark on us
We sure left our mark on it
We let the world know we were here
With everything we did…..”

He paused again.

“Yeah, that sounds good, but how can ah finish it?” 

His green eyes glimmered towards the ceiling as he tried to think. His love for lyrics was a deep one. Rubbing his orange hair, he grunted from a lack of ideas until, in a sudden jolt, he straightened up and quickly scribbled onto the piece of paper in front of him. After a few seconds of writing, he read it out loud first and then read it out in the tune that he had composed. 

“We laid a lot of memories down
Like cutie marks on this town!"

Looking down at his work, he grinned with a look of contentment and continued. 

“That boy’s a good writer,” Bismarck whispered to himself. “How in the hay does he do that? He writes the lyrics and notes with no more difficulty than any other foal writes a diary.” 

Bismarck could understand why he himself took so long to discover his talent in rodeos. Adults always said that bull riding and lassoing were just games and nothing of importance, but he eventually learned to tune their comments out. Bucky, on the other hand, had a clear talent for writing lyrics and was not a half-bad singer either, but somehow he still hadn’t fully realized his ability.

‘He’s such a smart kid,’ Bismarck thought to himself, ‘but sometimes ah wonder how in Equestria he hasn’t picked up on it yet.’

Despite his country accent and looks, Bucky was quite intelligent. He was calm and laidback and usually let others do all the talking, but nopony really knew what was really going through his head. Writing was easy for him and whenever he had a private moment, he would often write new songs. Applejack said he reminded her of Sweetie Belle, a fantastic singer who had no clue just how talented she was, though he was more private about his abilities than her. As a poet, he was quiet and verbose, but when he played with his friends, he had a wild sense of adventure. It was a perfect trait for a Cutie Mark Crusader. While Bucky remained engrossed in his newest song, Bismarck peeked in the window and watched with a sense of enlightenment.

‘He's gonna be a country star, ah just know it.’

Realizing that we was distracted and remembering what he came for, Bismarck knocked on wall of the treehouse. Inside, Bucky spun with a shocked look, knocking his notes into the air. 

“Oh no!” he cried as he tried to grab them. 

All around him, the pages fluttered in the room like butterflies while he plucked each one out of the air. Bismarck opened the door and walked in to see his brother in a panic and chuckled a bit. Bucky’s face grew red from embarrassment.

"Whadcha hear?" he asked nervously with a look of panic in his emerald eyes.

Bismarck leaned down to pick up a few lyric sheets and handed them to his brother.

"Relax, Bucky," Bismarck laughed, "it'll be our secret."

Bucky tense shoulders dropped a bit as he exhaled in relief.

"Thanks."

“No problem. Ah’ll help you clean up.”

As they cleared the mess, Bismarck scanned the scribbles that Bucky had written. 

"Yer really good, by the way,” Bismarck added. “Did you write all these songs yerself?"

Bucky looked around at his scattered notes. Pages of crossed out sentences, added verses, and personal notes surrounded him in a giant mess. No point in hiding now.

"Yeah," he answered with timid embarrassment. “They’re mine.”

Bismarck shook his head with a grin. Bucky may not have realized it, but he had a gift. Picking up some of the remaining papers, Bismarck stacked them and gave them to his little brother.

“C'mon, Mozart. Let’s go. Now that we’ve gotten this taken care of, you need to come home with me. You just about put mom in a panic when you left without a note.”

Bucky’s eyes widened. 

“Ah forgot to leave a note!” he repeated. “Is she mad at me? How mad is she? Will she…”

“Cool it down, bluegrass,” Bismarck laughed. “She’s not mad at you. She was just a bit worried that you snuck out without her knowin’ and that she’s too sick to go lookin’ for you.”

After he was finished talking, Bismarck realized what he just said.

“Huh,” he chuckled, trying to give Bucky a good scare, “maybe she is a bit upset.” 

Bucky sank even lower in regret, but Bismarck laughed and rubbed his brother’s orange hair. 

“Ah’m kidding! You’ll be fine! Now let’s go! Mom’s cookin’ lunch and ah’m starvin’.”

Making their way out of the old treehouse, Bismarck led them back to Sweet Apple Acres. It was hard to believe that, not too long ago, he himself was walking up and down that same ramp as a crusader. Now the tradition had passed on to Bucky, who was just as eager to discover his talent as Bismarck was when he was his age. Fortunately for him, he had a big brother to help guide him, and as brothers, they were very close. Applejack always said that strong sibling bonds ran in the family and Bismarck could see why. Bucky looked up to him as his own personal hero. He was a rodeo star and the best brother a colt could hope for. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Bismarck admired his little brother’s spirit and abilities. While having to remain physically fit and push his limits was still no small feat, he envied Bucky’s natural creativity. Together, the two Apple boys had a respect for each other that few siblings shared. 

Hitching a ride on Bismarck's back as they returned home, Bucky laid against his neck and looked up at the beautiful blue sky with a pensive gaze.

“Bismarck,” he said suddenly, “can ah ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

"Ah’m getting tired of waitin’ for mah cutie mark. Do you think ah’ll discover mah special talent soon?" 

Bismarck continued to walk on for a moment and smiled.

“Eeyup.”

“Don’t do that, Biz. Don’t give me an Uncle Macintosh answer. Do you really think so?”

"Sure ah do," Bismarck replied. "In fact, ah think yer closer to yer talent than you even know."

Bucky straightened up with excitement and leaned his head next to his brother's. 

"Really? Do you really think so?"

"Ah know so."

Bucky laid down again and closed his eyes. It may have been the same answer given to him every day, but it was still comforting nonetheless.

'Maybe there's hope after all,' he thought to himself.

As Bismarck carried his brother, the two stayed quiet for the rest of the walk home and chose to enjoy the beautiful day. Something about this day was special, but neither one could quite put their hoof on it. The very grass itself seemed to sparkle in the luminous sun like precious gems beneath them. Though Bismarck knew he needed to get straight back to work as soon as he was done eating lunch, he appreciated the moment of tranquility while he could. Once they finally arrived at the house, they saw Orion talking to Applejack and handing her a small bag of bits. As they grew near, they could hear their conversation.

"Well now, that was awfully nice of ya to bring this to me all the way from Sugar Cube Corner," Applejack said appreciatively with tissue in hand. "Thank ya kindly, Orion."

Orion smiled and turned to see Bismarck and Bucky coming.

"Happy birthday, Orion!" Bucky and Bismarck said simultaneously. 

"Hey guys!" Orion called out. "I've brought you the invitations to my birthday party!"

While Bucky and Orion gave their Cutie Mark Crusader brohoof, Applejack raised an eyebrow at her son.

“You made me worried sick about you,” she said. “Why would you sneak out of the house like that without lettin’ me or yer father know?”

Bucky cowered. 

“Ah’m sorry mom. Ah didn’t mean to. Ah forgot, honest.”

“He was fine, mom,” Bismarck added, taking some of the heat off of his brother. “He was just in the treehouse. He won’t do it again.”

“Yer too young to be wanderin’ off without a word, Bucky. Yer not in trouble, but just don’t do that again, alright?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. Thank you fer findin’ him, Bismarck,” she said as she made her way to Orion. 

“Sorry about our little conversation here, sugarcube,” she said to the unicorn colt. “What else can ah do fer you today?”

Orion pulled out a “small” Twilight-written to-do list out of his bag, which took some time. After a few seconds of pulling, he finally made it to the party favors section and read it aloud.

“Mom wanted me to also check on the party preparations. It says here that she ordered a bunch of caramel apples and she wanted me to check up on them. Will they be ready?" he asked.

"Sure will be!" Applejack replied. "Tell Twilight ah've got'em all right here waitin' fer ya. Ah can't touch’em with me bein' sick and all, but Bismarck will bring’em with him when he goes to yer party tonight."

"Thanks, Applejack!” Orion grinned. “You’re the best. Oh, and Bucky, you want to help me hand out the invitations today? I just got done handing them out to Berry and Cherry and now I’m going to Tempest’s house. You can come if you want!"

Bucky looked up at his mother.

"Can ah go mom?" he asked in a pitiful voice. "Please? Ah'm not even hungry right now and ah’m sorry for leaving this mornin’ without tellin’ you or leaving a note. Ah won’t do it again, ah promise!"

Bucky’s emerald eyes grew larger as he spoke and Orion had to admit that the yellow colt was better at it than him. 

Applejack fought to resist, but Bucky was a good colt and she trusted him. With a sigh, she gave in.

"Yer killin' me," she said, shaking her head. "You two can go have fun, but don't ya'll be gettin' into trouble, ya hear?"

"We won’t!" the two colts yelled behind them, already running as soon as Applejack said "fine."

As they ran towards Rainbow Dash's house, Bismarck chuckled aloud. 

"You know, ya shouldn't hold'em to promises they can't keep, mom," he said jokingly.

"Somepony's gotta," she replied as she returned to the house, "otherwise who knows what kind of mayhem those two would cause?" 

Bismarck nodded and followed her inside while Orion and Bucky disappeared from sight. Tempest was always a lot of fun to be with, just like his mother Rainbow Dash. No party was complete without the daredevil diver himself. 

"So," Bucky started as they made their way towards Tempest’s, "do ya think today will be the day you get yer mark?"

"I don't know," Orion said. "Maybe I'll get it when I make my birthday wish."

Bucky elbowed him in the side. 

"Well don'tcha be gettin' it before me. Ah am older after all."

"By two months!" Orion laughed. “I’ll bet you one bit that I get mine first!”

“Yer on!”

In typical competition between the two, Orion and Bucky began to pick up the pace and in a few moments, they found themselves racing towards Rainbow Dash's house at the edge of Ponyville. Built on a cloud high above them, there was no way a unicorn or an earth pony could just waltz right in. Fortunately, it was within shouting distance. Once they arrived and took a moment to catch their breath, Orion called out for their friend.

"Tempest!" he shouted. "Are you home?" 

There was no reply. Orion shouted again.

"Rainbow Dash? Are you there? It's us, Orion and Bucky!"

Once more, there was no answer. Orion turned towards Bucky and shrugged.

"I guess he's not..."

Before he could finish his sentence, giant rings of multiple colors swept through the sky in a ripple effect high above them, painting it with dazzling rainbows. Distracted by the beauty of the rings, Bucky and Orion were nearly thrown to the ground when a thunderous boom tore through the valley. 

Heavy gusts accompanied the echoing roar in force, making their manes stick out straight like cats in a dryer. One ring after another flowed high above the town until they gradually died down, leaving the two colts in wide-eyed shock.

"Well then,” Bucky said, pushing his now-crazy hair back down, “ah guess we found Tempest.”

> Chapter 4: High Fliers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Orion and Bucky looked up into the deep blue sky in amazement as the last ripples of the rainbow shockwave slowly dissolved high above them, their vivid hues shimmering in a dazzling spectrum before their very eyes. Though both colts had grown up knowing very well what a sonic rainboom was, their familiarity with the great spectacle still never ceased to amaze them. Before the last waves of light finally faded into the azure atmosphere, one more echo of powerful thunder roared around them, as if announcing its departure. Even after the sky returned to normal, the two colts continued to stare upward with a sense of intrigued wonder.

"Was…that," Orion stammered, still in shock, "a sonic rainboom?"

"Yeah, but it was huge! Ah've never seen a one that powerful before!"

Looking at each other with wide grins, they raced past Rainbow Dash’s home and towards the far away woods to see what was happening. Though the phenomenon was nothing new to the citizens of Ponyville, it was still a somewhat rare occurrence to see or hear one. Bucky could only recall a dozen or so times he had seen it in his entire life.

“What do ya think is goin’ on?” he asked as they sprinted. 

Orion ran alongside him and did his best to shrug as he did so. Before he could answer, another explosion of color and sound echoed through the valley, nearly throwing them off-balance once again. The blast was even more powerful than the previous one. After regaining control for a second time, Orion brushed off the dirt that covered his coat.

“I have no idea, Bucky, but RD and Tempest will know!”

Though he didn’t voice his thoughts, Orion felt a curiosity about the location of the booms. Looking back at Ponyville, which was now far behind them, he could tell that the source was far enough away to avoid damaging the town. Tempest had become notorious for unintentional property damage.

“We better find them quick,” he said, continuing his thought.

Ten minutes passed before they were finally able to make it to the origin of the rainbooms. Once there, they found themselves on the edge of a wide-open area of the woods that stood at a great distance from their home, while high above them, they could see Rainbow Dash and her son Tempest inspecting the damage of the boom. Their light blue shapes glowed in the warm sun, making their wings look like those of angels. Below their celestial appearances, however, lay a hellish no-mares-land of massive craters and deep gashes from brutal crash landings. It was clear that the ground, once green and beautiful, had now become a testing sight for them.

“Look at this place,” Orion said with astonishment. “They’ve really torn it up out here. Fluttershy would have a fit if she saw this!”

Continuing to gaze upward, Bucky and Orion could see that Rainbow Dash and her son were in the middle of a heated discussion, so they quickly hid in the bushes and to watch undetected. Seeing one or both of them angry was always a recipe for disaster. Even from a safe distance, they could easily hear Tempest's frustration.

“I can't believe it!" Tempest yelled with a booming voice of annoyance. Bright red anger flushed through his blue face as he inspected the results of his last attempt. "I put everything I had into that boom and it still wasn't enough! I'll never hit mach 2*!”

"Mach 2?" Bucky and Orion whispered to each other.

As Tempest flew around, Rainbow Dash remained stationary and looked at him with a mild temperament. He was fired up and only she could calm him down at this moment.

"You'll never break the second barrier if you think that way, Tempest," she replied calmly. "Sonic rainbooms aren’t just some fancy trick you can pull off on the fly. It’s a difficult achievement that took me years to practice and eventually perfect. You’ve already figured out how to do it, thanks to me, so maybe you should listen to your mom if you want to learn how to take the next step.”

Tempest snorted hot air from his nostrils.

"But I've tried a hundred times and the same thing keeps happening! I get so close to the second barrier, but I always lose control. I'm going nowhere fast and it’s getting annoying! This is a waste of time! It’s obvious that I’m not good enough!" 

Rainbow Dash sighed. Part of her just wanted to throw his frustrations back at him, but as a mother, she had matured. Her demeanor no longer fully fit the stories of the hotheaded and overcompetitive pegasus that foals like Orion and Bucky had grown up hearing about. Though still a mare with unbelievable talent and a renowned temper when pushed, it was clear to all who had known her for a while that she was a lot more patient than she once was. Perhaps raising a son who was just like her when she was younger had played a role in that.

"You’re so impatient!" she said with crossed arms. "You seem to forget that you're already leagues above my abilities when I was your age. You were even accepted to the Wonderbolts, until you left, and while you may claim that you left because you didn’t like all the rules and regulations, I know you left because you wanted more of a challenge. That's not just a skill, Tempest! That's a gift! I would have given almost anything for your raw ability and training! I’ve pushed you to push yourself ever since you could fly because I saw so much potential in you from the moment you were born. You need to remember that."

Tempest still brewed in his frustration, but he was listening.

"But,” Rainbow Dash continued, "despite your natural skill, you’re still undisciplined at times, which is why staying with the Bolts would have done you some good. You focus so much on speed that you lack finesse. Quit trying to go faster and focus on control! Even the slightest misplacement of your head, arms, or wings will create drag that you can’t afford to have if you’re going to fly at this kind of acceleration."

Lowering herself into the most recent crater, she scooped some dry dirt onto her hoof and inspected it.

"And I think we both know the consequences of misplacement."

Tempest's magenta eyes constricted. What little patience he once had was now gone. Twilight Sparkle always said that Tempest was aptly named for the temper he had acquired from his mother, and Orion and Bucky looked at each other nervously as he took a dive and landed next to his mom with a powerful thud. The impact of his rapid descent cracked the hardened ground below him like shattered glass.

"I am doing that!” he yelled, though not directly at her. “My form was exactly like you told me and I still crash and burn! I'm giving it my all and it's not enough! What am I missing?"

Steam seemed to fume out of his ears from irritation, but Rainbow Dash could see that his feelings were more out of defeat than anger. Placing her wing around his neck, she turned his head to face her and looked her son in the eyes with a soft gaze.

"Remember the story of my second rainboom?" she asked him. "The one at the flying competition, when I was your age? When Rarity was falling to the ground after her wings failed, I was scared. At the time I would never admit it, but… I had never been so afraid in all my life. The thought of her dying was more terrifying than any stage fright I had that day, and it fueled me. Even then, I barely saved her in time. I would have lost one of my best friends if I was just one second too late."

She paused and continued to hold him with gentle care. Slowly, his eyes dilated and returned to normal.

"But I overcame that fear and replaced it with courage. When I attempted a Mach 2 rainboom later in my life, I was discouraged just like you are now. I had no idea if I would be able to do it. Heck, Twilight thought I was crazy for trying it. She even had some kind of egghead explanation about why such speeds would be both impossible and dangerous, and that’s when I realized that personal drive and form wasn't enough to accomplish what I was attempting, and neither was bravery. It wasn't until I removed all possible doubt and fear did I achieve it. That is what you must do.”

Tempest looked down at the dirt below him and kicked at it.

"I'm not afraid," he mumbled quietly.

"No, but you feel like a failure. You're betraying yourself, Tempest. If the sonic rainboom is the physical aspect of flight, then the mach 2 boom is the mental. If you want to do it and do it right, you can’t rely on one or the other. You need both for it to work."

Tempest fell down onto his back and grunted. All of these teachings were beginning to sound more like martial arts philosophy than flying instructions. With a loud sigh, he peered up at his mother and grinned with a light smirk.

"Since when did you become an all-knowing flying guru?"

Rainbow Dash laughed.

"Same time I became a mother. Mothers know everything," she said as she started flying towards Orion and Bucky in the distance. "Now take a break before you break something yourself, and don’t forget to wash the dirt off in the creek. We have some visitors."

Tempest nodded and made his way to the creek while Rainbow Dash landed next to the bush Orion and Bucky were hiding in. The two colts tried their hardest to keep quiet and hoped she hadn’t spotted them, but with a quick pull of the branch covering them, Rainbow Dash found them.

"Well well well," she said with a raised eyebrow, "it's a regular Cutie Mark Crusader reunion, isn’t it? Happy birthday, Orion.”

With their hiding place discovered, Orion and Bucky squeezed their way out of the constricting bush, nearly falling to their faces in the process.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash," Orion replied, looking up at the lovely pegasus.

Her long, rainbow hair draped around her neck and shoulders like a river of many hues, each color glowing bright.

"So,” she said, leaning against a nearby tree, “what brings you two partners in crime this far outside Ponyville? You guys on the run already?"

Bucky and Orion giggled.

"Nooooo,” Orion laughed. “We came to give Tempest an invitation to my birthday party."

"But we got distracted by the rainboom," Bucky finished. “Ah’ve never seen two on the same day before!”

“You saw the fireworks, huh?” Rainbow Dash replied with a grin. “How did you like them?”

"It was so cool!” Bucky nearly shouted. “The way the sky was like ‘booooom’ and the wind was like ‘whoosh!’ Ah just wish we were closer to see it!”

While Bucky voiced his excitement, Orion did not share his friend’s enthusiasm while he spoke to her. Instead, his face showed an impression of concern.

“We heard Tempest yelling while you guys were up there,” he said anxiously. “He looked really mad. Is he okay?”

Rainbow Dash’s smile flattened. Young as Orion was, she could see that he was more perceptive than his age let on.

“He’s going through some things right now,” she replied assuredly. “We’re working on them.”

“Do you think he’ll do it? The mach 2 boom, I mean.”

"Yes,” Rainbow Dash answered. "Yes, I think he will. Tempest doesn't realize it yet, but he's a lot closer to a breakthrough than he thinks. I've never seen anypony with that much raw talent. Not since myself, at least."

“Is he faster than you, Rainbow Dash?” Bucky asked with wide eyes.

Rainbow Dash smiled. It was a question even she was beginning to ask.

“Right now, no. I’m still the fastest around, but he has a lot of potential, so we’ll see.”

"Ah've never seen a mach 2 rainboom before, either,” Bucky continued. “Ah didn’t even know it existed.”

"That's because nopony has ever done it. Well," Rainbow Dash said with a proud look of confidence, "nopony except me, of course. In fact, Tempest is the only other pony alive that I know of to achieve a regular sonic rainboom."

“Is that why Tempest is so mad right now?" Bucky asked, watching Tempest washing up in a creek. “He’s trying to be as good as you?”

Rainbow Dash turned to look at her son in the distance. He was rash, hot-tempered, over-competitive, and wild, but so was she when she was his age. Despite it all, he was a loyal friend and a good stallion to others, and she knew his heart was in the right place. Rainbow Dash wasn't a patient pony by nature, but she understood Tempest as only a mother could.

"That’s exactly it,” she said softly. “Everypony already demands perfection from him because of me and his time as a Wonderbolt, and it’s my fault. I’ve put so much pressure on him to be the best since he was a foal. Sometimes I feel like I’ve pushed him too hard. He has a lot of expectations on his shoulders because of me.”

The word "expectations" sank deep into Orion's heart. Being the son of Twilight Sparkle made that word a frequent term in his vocabulary. If anypony could understand the vexation Tempest was going through, it was him. He hated being on display for others to measure up as the son of an Equestrian hero.

"Yeah," he said half to himself, "I know the feeling."

"Wait an apple-pickin’ minute," Bucky said, changing the subject, “ah just realized…you said 'Cutie Mark Crusader reunion' earlier, but there's only two of us here."

"Three, actually!" a voice chimed in from the tree above them.

Looking up, Orion and Bucky saw a peach-colored pegasus filly hanging on the branches high above them. It was Peach Cobbler, Fluttershy's daughter and the third member of their group.

Had it not been for sharing her mother's greenish-blue eyes and light pink mane, one would never guess that she was the child of the shyest mare in Ponyville. Where Fluttershy was timid and girly, Peach Cobbler was a tough, loud-mouthed tomboy with a love for excitement. It was believed that her growing up hanging out with colts had made her want to prove that she could not only keep up with them, but do even better. Despite being a girl and the youngest of the three, she had earned their trust and respect. Once she landed next to her CMC teammates, she gave them both a heavy punch to the arm, a trait of affection for her.

"What's up, guys?” she said nonchalantly. “Took you long enough to notice me!”

"Peach!" Orion exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Catching the show, of course. I got here not long after you did, so I thought I’d mess with you guys a bit. What about you? Same thing?”

"Well, that was part of it,” Orion answered while he rubbed his sore arm. “I'm handing out my birthday invitations today. You’re invited, of course.”

"Awesome!" she said. "By the way, happy birthday Orion."

“Thanks, Peach. When Tempest gets here, I’ll give him his.”

"Give him his what?” a new voice asked.

Orion turned to see Tempest, who had just returned from cleaning up. With the dirt and mud freshly cleared from his mane and coat, his blue hair and coat shined as bright as Rainbow Dash’s, and if his personality wasn’t already an indication of whose son he was, his appearance certainly made it clear. He shared the same spectrum mane-style as his mother, though not the same color. Where her hair was an assortment of several different hues, his was a variation of three different shades of blue. Coupled with his light blue coat, the blue thematic seemed to fit his name.

“I came to give you…” Orion started to say before an eager Peach Cobbler interrupted him with a bouncy excitement when Tempest showed up.

"You were awesome, Tempest! You made those sonic rainbooms look easy! I wish I could fly like that," she said with joy.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but chuckle whenever she saw Peach Cobbler light up when he arrived. The peach-colored filly looked up to Tempest in a way that reminded RD a lot of how Scootaloo did the same with her. He was the big brother she never had and Peach Cobbler wanted to be just like him. Fortunately for Peach, Tempest had little problem with being her personal hero.

"Sure you can," he said tranquilly. "You’ll be able to fly really fast someday. I just know it. Maybe I’ll show you some tricks sometime.”

Peach’s aquamarine eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Really?!?" she squealed. “You mean it?”

"Of course," he replied. "You're my wing filly, right?"

“Right!”

Realizing that he was ignoring the other two foals, he turned his attention back to the previous conversation.

"So, Orion,” he said, “I heard it was your birthday. Happy B-day, bud! Can’t believe you’re getting so big. I’ll bet you’ll be getting your mark any moment now.”

Orion sighed.

“If I ever get it.”

“You will,” Tempest responded firmly. “Don’t worry about it. Sometimes it’s just luck that you discover it, so don’t worry yourself too much over it, alright?”

Tempest gave him a grin of clear confidence that always made Orion feel like he knew what he was doing. Orion couldn’t help but return the infectious smile and nod.

“Okay, Tempest. I won’t.”

“Good. So what brings you guys this far outside of Ponyville, anyway? Wait, Cheerilee isn't still mad at me for shattering the school's windows, is she? I already told her that I had no idea how much distance was needed to safely use the sonic rainboom!"

"That was the fourth time you shattered some pony's windows, Tempest," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "When are you going to learn?"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders laughed as he shrugged sheepishly.

"We're just here to invite you to my birthday party," Orion answered, giving him his invitation. “Hope you can come!”

Tempest picked up the crude, hoof-made invitation and inspected it. Though he was nearly twice Orion’s age, the small unicorn colt always considered him a close friend, for which Tempest was both flattered and grateful. With a smile, he tucked the small paper under his wing.

"Thanks, champ. I'll be there, but first I've got to meet the Wonderbolts about something this afternoon, so I may be a little late to the party, but I’ll get there as soon as I can. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.”

“Cool. Well, I’ve got to take off. See you guys tonight. And mom,” he said, turning towards Rainbow Dash, “I’m…sorry.”

Rainbow Dash drew him closer and gave him a big hug.

“What am I going to do with you?” she asked with a smirk.

Tempest shrugged again.

“I dunno."

“You can’t keep getting frustrated like this when things don’t work out,” Rainbow Dash continued. “You’ll drive yourself crazy that way. Remember when you had to wait for your cutie mark, and how upset you were when you were Peach Cobbler’s age?”

“Yeah,” he answered grimly.

“I don’t remember how I was able to accomplish my first sonic rainboom, but when I tried to copy it a second time, I failed over and over. You’re going through the same thing right now, but the mach 2 will come when it does, just like a cutie mark. You just need to wait for that moment when it all comes together.”

Tempest didn’t like the idea of having to wait for the “moment” like he did his cutie mark, but he appreciated his mother’s help.

“Okay, mom,” he replied. “I will. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now get going. You and I both know that Spitfire isn’t the patient type, so try not to get on her bad side today, alright?”

With an acknowledging nod, Tempest crouched down and leaped into the air, taking off with great speed until he quickly disappeared in the deep blue of the sky. Once his blue speck had finally faded away in the distance, Orion returned to business.

"Okay then," he said excitedly, "I’ve invited Bucky, Tempest, Peach, Bismarck, Berry, and Cherry. That means I've only got Flora and Radiance left! Want to come with us, Peach?”

"Yeah,” Bucky added, “we can go to yer house together and give the invitation to yer sister.”

"She's not there," Peach Cobbler said, rolling her eyes. "She's with Rarity, Radiance, and my mom. They're having their 'girl' time at the spa. I don't get what the fuss is about."

"Great!” Orion smiled. “That just saves us the trip to both houses. Let's go!”

Saying their goodbyes to Rainbow Dash, the three kids began walking back to Ponyville. As they drew closer to the small town, they began reminiscing on their time together as crusaders.

It was hard for all of them to believe, but another year had come and gone. Now impatience was at an all-time high as each day of being a “blank flank” was another day of having to face all the other fillies and colts who had their marks already. Had it not been for the CMC club, the three ponies would have had a much harder time waiting for that moment. Peach Cobbler pondered this while they directed themselves towards the Ponyville spa.

"So what happens when one of us gets our marks?" she asked.

"What do ya mean?" Bucky said.

"You know, what's going to happen to the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Are we going to split up one-by-one or are we going to stick together until the last one gets a cutie mark?"

"Well, the last CMC was Bismarck, Flora, and Andromeda, and they stuck with each other to the end, even though mah big brother got his mark long after the others did."

As soon as Bucky finished his sentence, a somber look blanketed his face. His legs began to slow down until he stopped altogether and looked down at the ground. Realizing that he had fallen behind, the other two turned around and stopped beside him.

"What's the matter, Bucky?" Peach asked. “Is something wrong?”

Bucky continued to stare at the grass and flowers at his hooves. His eyes winced lightly while his face crinkled into a frown.

"Every…” he began, still caught in his thoughts, “everypony in mah family was the last one of their friends to get their cutie marks. Mom, dad, Bismarck, uncle Macintosh, aunt Applebloom.....all of them. What if ah get mine last too?"

The only ones in their class to not have their marks yet, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders had become a target of ridicule from the other foals, but Bucky knew Orion and Peach would get theirs before him. It was inevitable. It was genetic.

“Ah don’t want to be the last one last one to get mine,” he murmured, fighting tears that welled in his eyes. “Ah don’t want to be alone.”

Seeing their friend in distress, Peach Cobbler and Orion both placed their hooves on the country colt’s shoulders and looked at 	him encouragingly.

“You won’t be alone,” Orion said. “We’ll wait for you.”

Bucky looked up from the ground and sniffed. He was lucky to have friends like them, and for that moment, he felt better. They gave him hope.

“Promise?” he asked.

"We promise.”

Before they continued their journey, Peach Cobbler gave him a pat on the back and winked.

“Crusaders stick together."




> Chapter 5: A Day at the Spa
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Lowering herself slowly into the steaming hot tub, Fluttershy let out a long, content sigh while she sank into complete relaxation. Once she had adjusted to the rapid temperature change, she could feel every muscle in her body loosen while she closed her eyes and laid her head back. She needed a day where she could just unwind without having to worry about picking up the kids from school or anything else, and the spa was just what the doctor ordered.

“This feels more amazing every time I come here,” she told Rarity, who sat across from her. “I didn’t even realize I was this tense.” 

“You never can,” Rarity replied. “It’s just the stresses of life, I suppose. Sometimes you get so busy in the chaos of the day that you forget how much pressure you’re building up inside. That’s what the spa is for!” 

Fluttershy could easily agree on that. Even though it was hard to believe that they had each been parents for over twenty years and best friends for even longer, days like this one always made their age seem like an insignificant detail. Before the birth of Rarity’s daughter Radiance, the two mares made a pact to go to the spa together at least once a month. Parenthood may have kept them busier over time, but they were still as close as ever, and to their great joy, their daughters would share that same bond with each other. 

“It’s so nice for Radiance and Flora to be here with us today,” Fluttershy added. “It’s good to spend some quality time with them, especially now that they are old enough to go out on their own.” 

“You’re quite right, dahling,” Rarity agreed. “At least they’re both still living in Ponyville for now. Oh, and by the way, just how is Flora doing? I’ve heard that her recent paintings have been quite successful.” 

A stark opposite to Peach Cobbler’s tomboyish and wild nature, Flora was the gentler one of Fluttershy’s two daughters. If there were any siblings more opposite than them, the residents of Ponyville had yet to see them. While her little sister was the outdoorsy one, Flora preferred the peace and tranquility of the indoors, where she spent much of her time painting, sketching, and sculpting.

"Oh yes," Fluttershy beamed, "she's doing wonderful! Her art is going to shown in one of the new art gallery events in Canterlot next week. You should really see some of her newest works. They’re just lovely!”

"Just like her mother,” Rarity complimented. “I always knew she’d be an extraordinary artist! I could see it in her ever since that time she drew pictures all over that wedding dress I was making when she was just a tiny little foal.”

Fluttershy blushed lightly.  

“I still don’t know where I was at the time. I’m so sorry about that.” 

“It’s fine, dahling! Don’t worry about it! Mark my words, though… if she ever had any interest in fashion design, I’d be the first one to hire her!” 

“Aww, thank you Rarity. That’s so sweet.”

“You’re very welcome,” Rarity replied. “And what about Peach Cobbler? How is she doing? Did she not want to come with the spa with us?"

"I’m afraid not,” Fluttershy answered. “She’s not much of a spa filly, but she has been doing very well. She got good grades at school last semester and she takes part in every outdoor activity she can find. She seems to excel in sports and she’s already a talented flier. When I was her age, I could only dream about being that athletic. I can hardly catch up with her even now! Flora was always quiet like me, so she was easy to raise, but Peach Cobbler has been a little difficult."

Rarity sat up slowly as she saw her friend’s proud smile fade slightly. Fluttershy paused a moment to think before she continued.

"She's so rough and wild, and sometimes I feel like I have no control. Her father does a better job handling her, but it’s difficult for me, Rarity. I often feel like I’m either too hard on her or not hard enough. Does that make me… a bad mother?” 

"Of course not!” Rarity exclaimed. “Dahling, how could you even think that? You are one of the best moms I have ever seen!” 

Fluttershy hung her head a bit. 

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I just don’t feel like it. She was mad at me this morning because I didn’t want her flying to Rainbow Dash’s house all by herself without telling me. She said I was being unfair, but I worry when she does that. I know Ponyville is a safe town, but anything can happen to a young filly who’s by herself, you know?”

Rarity nodded in agreement. 

“You’re just looking out for your little girl,” she replied. “I understand completely. I felt the same way when Radiance was her age.”

“She’s a good filly and I do trust her, but she’s unpredictable. Half the time, I don’t even know where she is! Flora was so well behaved that I rarely had to get on her, but now I feel like I’m always hovering over Peach because she’s always running off. How do I handle that without pushing her away?”

“The same way you took care of Flora, of course. She may have turned out to be a lot like you, but you didn’t know that for a long time. When she was Peach’s age, she had a wild streak to her as well. Remember her Cutie Mark Crusader days with Bismarck and Andromeda?” 

Fluttershy felt a wave of nostalgia warm her heart at the mention.

“I remember.”

“Then think of that as an advantage,” Rarity suggested. “With Flora, you had to learn how to be a mother from scratch, but with Peach Cobbler, you at least have an idea of what to do. I know it’s difficult, but you’re still doing a splendid job. Flora may be a lot more independent and free-spirited than you were, but the important thing is that both of your daughters are kind and caring young fillies who love their parents. That’s all any mother can hope for in her children.”

Fluttershy could feel the weight of worry and self-doubt wash away in the water’s rippling mirror as Rarity spoke.

“You’re always there for me when I need advice,” she said. “I’m lucky to have you. Thank you.” 	

“Anytime, dahling!” Rarity exclaimed with a wink. “That’s what friends are for.” 

"And what about your beautiful Radiance?” Fluttershy asked, returning the interest. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a young mare as gorgeous as her! Not since her mother, anyway.” 

Rarity laughed.

“Oh stop it! You’re making me blush!” 

“Is her modeling doing well? I saw her picture in a magazine the other day and she looked stunning in that blue dress! She was as elegant as a princess at the royal ball.” 

Rarity's eyes sparkled. To speak of fashion or her daughter was to discuss two of her greatest loves in the world, but to mention both together was always the way to get her at her most excited in conversation. 

“Oh I know!” she exclaimed. “It was such a breathtaking dress, was it not? I truly wish I had created it myself. Still, I do believe that Radiance did it some favors, though perhaps that’s just me being biased.”

“She can make anything look good,” Fluttershy said sincerely.

Rarity stretched a bit and sank back into the tub with a deep sigh.

“Ohhh, it’s just too bad she’s been gone for most of the last few months,” she said regretfully. “She’s been so unbelievably busy this summer that we had to buy her a small apartment in Canterlot just so that she could be close to her work! I’ve had a hard time keeping her in Ponyville ever since they decided to fall in love with her."

"They’re not the only ones who have fallen in love with her," Fluttershy said with a giggle. "A young mare like her must have lines of suitors just waiting for a chance with her.”

Rarity contemplated at the thought for a while and smirked with a look of confusion.  

“You know, I haven’t really seen or heard from her going on dates in a long time. I know she’s often busy, but sometimes I worry that she’s become so attached to her work that she doesn’t even take the time to stop and enjoy the other things in life.” 

“Maybe she’s holding out for somepony special,” Fluttershy suggested. “With all the stallions who pursue her, wouldn’t you rather her end up with a good one instead of wasting her time with a dozen rotten ones?”

Rarity thought about it for a moment. 

“I suppose you’re right,” she said lightheartedly. “Luckily she has a good head on her shoulders, so at least I don’t have to worry about that.”

“How does she even get away from them all anyway?” Fluttershy asked excitedly.

"Simple,” Rarity answered with a chuckle. “Twilight taught her how to teleport!” 

While the two old friends laughed louder than they seemingly had in ages, Radiance and Flora made their way to the hot tub as if on cue. Seeing their mothers in an unusually humorous fit, they couldn’t help but be curious as to why. 

“Uh oh, Flora,” Radiance joked. “Our moms are giggling like school fillies. Should we be worried?” 

“Maybe,” Rarity answered with a coy grin. 

“Leave them alone for a few minutes and this happens,” Flora added. 	“Maybe we’re better off not knowing.” 

“Are you girls here to join us?” Fluttershy asked. “There’s plenty of room.” 

“Sorry, but we can’t,” Radiance said. “It's Orion's birthday today and we haven’t gotten him a present yet, so we need to get that done soon. We only needed to get pedicures this time anyway.” 

Rarity stretched a bit and closed her eyes again.

"That's fine dahling. If you see him, tell him I said ‘happy birthday.'"

"Same here," Fluttershy added. “We’ll see you later, girls!”

With a quick goodbye, Radiance and Flora left the spa and made their way to the nearest stores. As the two walked, they ran into a group of young stallions. With the effects of the spa making them extra sparkly and fresh, they had no difficulty getting looks and whispers. Flora blushed at the attention. Despite her natural beauty, she often felt awkward when stared at. Radiance, however, reveled in it, and it wasn’t long before one of the earth stallions approached them.

“So Radiance,” he said with a look and voice that screamed sleazy, “you want to go to the big party at the pond tonight? It’s going to be sick. We got music and ‘cider.’ It’s exclusive, but uh, if you go with me, I can get you in.” 

Radiance smirked and continued to move on. 

“Sorry. Not interested. Flora and I are going to a friend’s birthday party tonight, so we’re busy.” 

The stallion looked at her as if he did not comprehend what she said. It was clear that he was not used to rejection.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up,” he said, jumping in front of her and stopping her with his forearm. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise!”

“I said that I’m not interested.” 

“You’re kidding, right? You serious?” 

“Yeah, I serious,” Radiance said mimickingly while she pushed his arm out of the way. “I’m not going to the big party with you or anypony else. End of story.”

Seeing that he was going nowhere, the stallion snorted and smirked back.

“Whatever. Enjoy your cake and ice cream.” 

“Thanks, dahling! I will!” she said with a Rarity-like accent. “Ta-ta!”

As he returned to his posse, Radiance tapped Flora on the wing and motioned at them with her head. 

“Ah, that felt great. Can you believe that guy? Why I ever had a crush on him in high school is beyond me.”

Flora said nothing and continued walking, leaving Radiance standing. Seeing it as an obvious nonverbal statement, the white unicorn mare trotted a little faster in order to catch up to her pegasus friend. 

“Hey now,” she said, “what’s going on? What did I do?” 

“Nothing,” Flora muttered. 

“But if I did nothing, then what’s wrong?” 

Flora shook her head.

“No, I mean you did nothing. You didn’t have to do anything!” 

Radiance stared at her as if she had grown a third eye. Her friend was not making any sense.

“Flora, sweetie, I’m not getting what you’re saying. I want to understand, but you need to just tell me what’s on your mind.” 	

Flora stopped abruptly, forcing Radiance to turn back. 

“When we passed those boys, they weren’t looking at me! Not really. They were looking at you!”

Radiance wanted desperately to roll her eyes, but this was not the time.

“Oh come on,” she scoffed. “You’re gorgeous!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Flora shrugged. “I may be pretty, but I’m still invisible compared to you.” 

Radiance hated being compared to others.

“Hey now,” she retorted, “that’s not fair.”

“Not fair? Who got invited to the party while I stood watching? I didn’t hear an invitation for me. Did you? Did you see him even look at me?” 

“Wait,” Radiance laughed. “Let me get this straight. You’re mad because some dirtbag guy didn’t invite you to his overrated party? If you want him so bad, you can have him.”

“That’s not the point, Radiance. You’re a career supermodel! You’re the most gorgeous thing to come out of Ponyville since…your own mom! You are a literal superstar! I’m just some mare who likes flowers and painting. I’m a side dish compared to you.” 

The two friends drew quiet for a moment. Radiance’s face crinkled with a sad expression while they stared at each other. After a few seconds, she spoke up. 

“Is that how you see me?” she asked, deeply hurt. “A threat?” 

Flora felt guilty. She never opened up like this, but something inside her just wanted to get it out now before she let it fester any longer.

“You know I don’t mean it like that,” she said. “You’re my best friend, but it’s hard being your best friend sometimes because you get all the attention. I’m not mad at you. Honest, I’m not. I’m just… jealous of you.”

Radiance’s heart broke at the thought. Even her own friends were insanely jealous of her. It was always like this, ever since she was a filly. 

“You’re jealous of me?” she asked. “The one who is hated by practically every mare merely because of her looks? The one who is considered a spoiled filly by adults and a trophy to be won by stallions? Do you think I like being treated like another pretty face by everypony I meet?” 

“No,” Flora murmured. “I guess not.” 

“I’m really sorry you feel this way, and I’m not just saying that. I am truly sorry, but to be honest, I’m jealous of you too. You’re beautiful, but still considered smart and artistic by others. I wish I had that combination of beauty and respect.”

A tiny smile cracked on Flora’s face. Never in a million years would she think that Radiance was jealous of her. Forgetting her frustration, she gave her friend a hug. 

“I’m sorry too,” she said. “You didn’t deserve that, especially not now.” 

Radiance smiled as they let go.

“I don’t know,” she joked. “I might have a little bit.”

Both felt a bit awkward at the moment and tried to move on and pretend nothing even happened. There was plenty else to talk about and they had time while they walked around town to shop for Orion’s birthday gift. Finding what they was looking for, Radiance decided to stash their presents in Rarity's boutique, since it was a little closer to Twilight's house. As they left and turned the corner, they could see Bismarck approaching in the distance, pulling a wooden cart of food. No doubt it was for the party. Flora began to shift her direction to say hello to him, but Radiance began to walk in the opposite direction, ignoring him entirely.

"That was Bismarck over there, in case you didn’t see him," Flora said, trying to keep up to her friend’s faster pace.

“Yep,” Radiance replied. 

“So you’re not going to talk to him?” 

“Nope.”

Flora sighed. Playing peacekeeper between these two was hard enough without the grumpiness. 

"I heard you and Bismarck had a bit of an argument again." 

“Oh yeah? Who told you that?” 

“Bismarck did.”

“Of course he did,” Radiance huffed.

"He told me his side of the story,” Flora said, attempting to goad her into talking. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“What’s to talk about? Just take what Bismarck told you, flip it around, and you’ll have my opinion on the matter.”

Flora shook her head. It had always been this way. Like their mothers, Bismarck and Radiance’s personalities clashed the most of their group of friends. For years, they had been good friends, but they usually got in each other's faces more often than not. Fluttershy always said that Rarity and Applejack were the same way for a long time. Even after they resolved their differences, they still remained total opposites. Flora knew that her friends were mad at each other right now, and she prayed that they would stay civil when they saw each other at the party. 

“Nice to see you air out your feelings today,” Flora replied. “Good talk.”

Radiance glanced at her friend with a raised eyebrow. Was she hearing things?

“Look at you,” she said playfully. “Flora’s adding a little sarcasm to the menu!”

Flora shrugged with an innocent expression. 

“I’m here if you need me. Whenever you and Bismarck get into it, somepony needs to make sure it doesn’t go too far.” 

“Well I appreciate the gesture, Flora. Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome,” Flora replied with a smile.

Reaching the house, the two friends took their presents and hid them away for retrieval later. No sooner did they leave that they ran into Orion and his friends. 

"Hey Flora. Hey Radiance. Whatcha doing?” Orion asked inquisitively. 

Nearly caught with the presents already, Radiance knew she’d have to keep it cool. 

"Oh nothing really,” she answered. “We just got back from the spa. What have you three been up to?

"Just here to give you the invitations to my birthday party. It's tonight."

Radiance and Flora took the cards and looked at them. Arts and crafts were not Orion’s forte, but they knew that it was the thought that counted. 

“These are really nice,” Flora said cheerfully. “Thank you very much, Orion.” 

“So will you guys be there?” Bucky asked. “We already have Tempest and Bismarck and Berry and Cherry coming!” 

"We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Flora answered.

"Great!” Orion replied, crossing off the two names on a list that he kept in his bag. “You guys are the last ones, so I’ll be going home to help my mom. See you then!"

And as quickly as he appeared, Orion bolted away with Peach Cobbler and Bucky giving close chase. Just as they left, Radiance and Flora let out a long sigh.

“You know, we’re not kids anymore, Flora,” Radiance said as they watched the young foals take off. “We’re getting older.” 

“Yeah,” Flora replied quietly. “Scary, isn’t it?” 

“Sure is. I mean, what do we do with our lives now? What’s going to happen? Are we going to stay in Ponyville forever or will we all split apart?”

“I have no idea. I don’t like to think about it.” 

“I mean,” Radiance said, leaning against her house, “I’m spending more time in Canterlot these days than in Ponyville, you may end up on an art tour soon, Bismarck is often on the road with his work, and I’ve heard that Tempest may be moving to Cloudsdale at some point! Will Orion’s birthday secretly be the beginning of goodbye for some of us?”

Flora made her way to Radiance’s side and rested against the house wall as well.

“I have no idea. Hopefully we can stay in Ponyville a little longer. Even if we all leave soon, we should enjoy the time we have together. Let’s not worry about it.” 

Radiance believed in what Flora said, but there was something going on deep inside of her that felt wrong. Something in her gut felt uneasy about the future, but she couldn’t pinpoint just what it was. Even stranger, it didn’t feel like fear of the future or mere nerves. The only way she could explain it was a deep pit in her stomach that felt like, whatever it was, it was going to happen soon. Seeing it as possible lack of sleep or too much stress, she chose to ignore the premonition, though she could not forget it. 

“Yeah,” she said in a daze. “Let’s just have a good time tonight.”

> Chapter 6: Swords and Spells
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Andromeda sat in her room alone, reviewing the final draft of her work for the tenth time. For several months, every word, formula, and footnote had been analyzed to the most minor detail, but she continued to hover over it. She knew that this kind of obsession was unhealthy, but there was something inside her that compelled her to keep going, like a whisper in the deepest part of her mind. 

In the old scrolls that she had found seemingly forever ago, the work of Twilight Sparkle laid before her, daring her to do better and live up to the expectations the world had for the daughter of an Equestrian legend. No matter how hard Andromeda worked to become a respected scientist, it was never enough. In the Academy, many resented her for her relationship with heroes and royalty, and most of her colleagues said that she had only been inducted because of her connections rather than her intelligence and skill. Even her own professors seemed unfair in their criticism of her work, showing little to no lenience in anything she did. It went without saying that she was not a class favorite.

“But it’s almost over,” Andromeda mumbled to herself bitterly as she reviewed her notes. “Once I finish perfecting this time travel spell, they’ll see that I’ve deserved everything I’ve been given.”

Everything in her cried out for this opportunity. She had worked for so long to make a name for herself as an individual, but she began to fear that she had been unfair to her mother. She loved Twilight with all her heart, but the purple mare had a presence to her that demanded attention and respect. It was not an unkind or unloving aura by any means, but there was something about it that Andromeda somehow resented, whatever that unknown attribute might be. With a deep sigh, she leaned back in her chair. 

“Andromeda,” a voice said behind her, “we need to talk.”  

Andromeda hid her notes as she spun around in a panic to see her mother, who held some papers of her own. As she approached, Twilight’s amethyst eyes continued to scan the pages quickly but carefully, absorbing every scribble. Andromeda knew exactly what they were. 

“I found these formulas hidden away in your library,” Twilight said, glancing up from them with a hurt look. “Would you like to explain why you’ve been working on the time travel spell behind my back?” 

Andromeda’s heart raced. Somehow she knew this moment would come and had even prepared it to a degree, but it scared her nonetheless. Her ankles trembled slightly while her mom spoke.

“They’re just what-if scenarios, that’s all,” she lied. 

Twilight focused her gaze on her even more intently, not faltering for a second. She could see right through it, but said nothing for a few seconds, as if to see if Andromeda would break under the pressure. The young mare stood her ground.

“You know,” Twilight continued, “the first time you showed me the old time travel spell, I thought that it was just something that sparked your curiosity, so I did not make a big deal out of it. When I later discovered that you were actually working on it, I sat you down and told you how hazardous and unstable it was. I told you how I barely made it home and that it nearly took my life. I thought that I had been very clear that I didn’t want you touching this spell ever again. It’s a ticking time bomb that is too volatile to control.” 

Andromeda said nothing as she spoke.

“And then I found these notes this morning,” Twilight said, holding up the sheets of paper. “You promised me that you would never work on this again, and I trusted you! I believed that you would make the right decision and put it behind you, but now I see that you lied to me. The dates on some of these papers go back several months while others only a few weeks. What do you have to say?”

“I don’t know,” Andromeda answered with a weak, raspy voice.

“I can’t believe you’d betray my trust like that, but I think the thing that baffles me the most is why you would keep doing this. Why? Don’t you realize that you’re playing with fire? Do you not remember me telling you the horrors I experienced when the spell failed? The things I saw when I tried to do the same thing …” 

Twilight stopped herself, regulated her emotion, and restarted.

“When I returned home from my last experiment,” she began after finding her voice again, “I didn’t think I would make it. You were just a tiny foal when it happened, so you couldn’t remember all of this, but I thought that I’d never see you or your father again. I…” 

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“I was scared,” she cried. “I was scared that you’d grow up without a mom, and I was terrified that I’d never hear your first words or see you take your first steps!”

Twilight’s sorrow pierced Andromeda’s heart, releasing tears of her own.

“Mom,” she said somberly before Twilight cut her off. 

“I thought that I had hid that spell long ago, but there you were… studying it with bright yellow eyes, looking up at me with such a grand excitement that I hadn’t seen in you since you had gotten your cutie mark! It made telling you that I didn’t want you working on it more difficult than you could even realize. Of course, you didn’t follow those instructions, did you?” 

“No,” Andromeda whispered with a sniffle.

“For months, you’ve hidden this from me. When I told you how dangerous the old spell was, you ignored me, and now you’re gone behind my back and worked on it again!”

Andromeda’s eyes fell to the ground with guilt, her still tears now streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry.” 

“What’s so important that you would lie to your father and me like this? How could you do that to us? Didn’t you believe me when I said this spell was too unstable?”

“But it’s not dangerous! Not anymore! Look at the notes!” Andromeda sobbed. “Look at them! I fixed it, mom! I fixed it!” 

Andromeda handed her final work to her mother, who scanned it quickly. Sure enough, Twilight began to see that she was telling the truth. The difference between the old notes that she had found hidden and the newer ones that Andromeda was reviewing was astronomical. Brand new details flew off the pages in an amazing manner. Whatever breakthrough Andromeda had achieved, it wasn’t just some fluke discovery. The implication of what she had just done was off the charts. However, it seemed too good to be true.

“How long ago did you discover this?” Twilight asked. 	

“About two weeks ago.”

“And have you tested it, yet?” 

“Yes.”

Twilight looked up from the notes with a panicked expression.

“How many times?” she asked. “How far back did you travel?”

“Three times. They were all short trips of only a few days.” 

Twilight rubbed her eyes in frustration. Part of her was angry and disappointed that her daughter had hidden a dangerous spell from her for so long, while part of her was impressed at the work that she had done. 

“Andromeda,” she said reluctantly, “I can see that you’ve accomplished something amazing here, but you still don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. I’m sorry, but you can’t keep working on this.”

Andromeda didn’t know new tears could flow down her cheeks, but they did just that when Twilight said those words.

“I can’t quit now!” she exclaimed. “The spell is already done! Didn’t you look at the notes? I’ve discovered what went wrong! It’s been fixed! I just did something incredible and the only thing you can think of is how it hurt you in the past? You don’t care about me or what I’ve done! You should be proud of me, not mad at me!” 

Twilight just stood there a moment to let Andromeda calm down. She knew that she would have to go about this as delicately as possible.

“Andromeda,” she said with genuine softness, “how could you think that? I am so proud of you! I always have been, and what you’ve done is extraordinary! You solved a riddle that even I couldn’t figure out, and I admire that, but without having tested any longer and further time jumps, you can never know for sure just how devastating the consequences could become. There are some risks in science worth taking, and you know that I realize that, but this is not a risk worth gambling. I’m sorry, Andromeda, but as a scientist and as your mother, I cannot allow you to continue.” 

In that instant, rage flooded through Andromeda’s veins. Countless hours of work and passion were about to go up in flames, burned by the very one whose shadow consumed her professional career. She couldn’t take it a moment longer.

“You can’t do this to me, mom!” she sobbed. “This is my work! My own work! I was going to submit this to the Academy! Please, just let me submit it!”

Twilight’s heart broke. Everything in her hated seeing her little girl distressed like this, but deep down, she knew that she was protecting her, even if Andromeda didn’t see it. 

“I’m sorry,” she replied, “but I can’t. The spell is too unstable to be fixed. I should have destroyed it long ago.”

“Like how you’re destroying my dreams?” Andromeda yelled. “Once again, Andromeda isn’t good enough for the great Twilight Sparkle! She’s just a kid! She doesn’t know what she’s doing!” 

“Hey!” Twilight snapped back. “I am your mother and you will not talk to me like that! You got that?” 

Andromeda shut her mouth. She was angry, but she was also smart enough to know when not to go nose-to-nose with her mother. Regardless, her cheeks still burned red with anger.

“What’s wrong with you?” Twilight asked in shock. “What have I done to deserve this?” 

“Nothing,” Andromeda grumbled, clearly saying what she thought Twilight wanted to hear. 

“That’s what I thought,” Twilight replied, taking a deep breath. 
Save for the occasional sniffle of Andromeda’s nose, the room became deathly silent. The young purple unicorn stood before her mother with teary sunset eyes and slightly trembling hooves. Whether they now shook from fear or anger, Twilight couldn’t tell.

“This isn’t about you,” Twilight explained. “I can see how much work you’ve put into this and I am unbelievably proud of you, but you should have consulted me about this first. All of your formulas and theories are valid on paper, but this spell is already beyond fixing! You think I’m just being overprotective, but I know from experience that it is a disaster waiting to happen.”	

Andromeda shook her head. 

“You’re wrong, mom,” she said quietly, but defiantly. “It works now. I have fixed it, but you refuse to believe it. You just look back at it in fear. Please… give me a chance to prove myself! To prove that I did it!” 

Twilight looked away gravely.

“I’m sorry, Andromeda, but I just can’t.”

Andromeda’s jaw clenched. She couldn’t believe how unfair her mother was being. 

“Fine,” she growled. “Punish me. Ground me! I don’t care! You’ve already punished me enough!” 

With one last sniff, she marched out of the room, leaving her mother standing alone. 

“Andromeda!” Twilight called out, taking off after her. “Andromeda, you get back here this instant! Andromeda!” 

She was already gone. Twilight knew that it was little use trying to chase her down. Instead, she left her to simmer down. Hearing the racket, Orion turned the corner not long after his sister stormed out. 

“Why did Andromeda leave?” he asked his mother. 

Twilight sighed. Ever since Andromeda had gone to the Academy, she had become more distant than ever before. Twilight worried for her daughter and just wished she would tell her what was really going on, but answers eluded her once again. Glancing at her son, she forced a happy face.

“She just needed to get some fresh air, that’s all. She’ll be back when she has calmed down.”

“Is Andromeda going to be in trouble?” he asked worryingly.

“I don’t know, Orion. Right now, I just want to talk to her, but she seems very sad about something that she’s not telling me about.”

“Will she be back for my birthday party tonight?”

Twilight smiled and gave him a hug. 

“Don’t worry. She’ll be back in time for your birthday. In the meantime, I’ll be leaving you and your friends here while your father and I are busy working, so you’ll get to have the whole place to yourself. Do you think you can handle it?”

“Totally!” Orion exclaimed. “I’m old enough!”  

“Yes, you are,” Twilight laughed, “but don’t forget that your sister is the one in charge. I told her that your bedtime could be pushed back since it’s your birthday, but no staying up past eleven. I’m trusting you to be responsible, and that means not giving your sister a hard time. You can have fun, but just try not to burn the house down while I’m gone, okay?” 

Orion smiled. 

“Got it.” 

“Oh, and by the way,” Twilight said with a grin, “Your Uncle Spike sent me something that I think you might like.”

‘Uncle Spike.’ That was what the kids called the now very-large dragon. Though he was not related by blood, Spike was just as much a brother to Twilight as Shining Armor.

“Is it my birthday present?” Orion asked, his face lit up with excitement.

“Yes it is.”

“Can I open it early? Pleeease?” 

Twilight thought a moment. Seeing that Spike wasn’t going to be there to give it to him personally, she figured why not.

“Alright,” she said with a smile. “Just this one.”

Pulling out a small scroll she had hidden in Andromeda's shelf, she handed it to Orion, who quickly unraveled it. The paper was worn and had a hint of smoky smell to it. No doubt it was dragon breath.

"Dear Orion," the blue-violet colt read aloud, "it's hard to believe how fast you’ve grown, from the little foal I once knew to the smart and kind young colt you are today. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there on your birthday. I’ve been sent on an important errand for Princess Celestia, so I won’t be back in Ponyville until the day after your party. Since I won’t be there, I’ve asked your mom to give you my present early. I hope you enjoy it. See you soon. Love, Uncle Spike” 

Orion kept reading. 

“P.S. Tell your perfectionist mom that I know she rewraps my gifts. If the wrapping paper on this one isn’t green, then you’ll know too.”

Orion spun to see the gift that Twilight was now holding. It was wrapped in blue paper. 

"He's such a smart aleck," Twilight sighed, shaking her head. “What am I going to do with him?” 

Orion giggled, but then felt disappointed that he wouldn’t see Spike.

“It’s too bad he couldn’t come,” he said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it," Twilight replied. “He'll visit tomorrow. Besides, you wanted tonight be a party with just you and your friends, so even if he were here, he’d only drop by to tell you happy birthday anyway. He wanted you to have your present early, so why don’t you open it instead?”

With a glint in his ruby eyes, Orion rushed to the small present and grabbed it excitedly. Ripping the wrapping paper in eager anticipation, he let out a "whoooah" when he reached the prize. A crystal dagger of vivid beauty glistened in his hoof. It’s sturdy design and small size looked perfect for an adventurer like Orion. Picking it up gently with his magic, he inspected the aquamarine-colored weapon and its excellent craftsmanship.

"Wow," Twilight said, "dragon smithing! This is a very special gift, Orion. Dragons don’t often make weapons, so this is a rare gift.” 

“Cool!” Orion exclaimed, his pupils growing even wider. 

As he looked at the blade, they seemed hypnotized by it. Its shimmering center seemed to glow in the shining sunlight beaming in through the window. It was the best present ever.

‘But why a sword, Spike?’ Twilight thought to herself as she threw the wrapping paper in the trashcan. ‘He's already a wild thing. I don’t think I can handle a sword-wielding colt! “

Turning to tell Orion to be careful, Twilight’s eyes met an empty spot where he once stood. When she saw that he was no longer in the room, her heart began to panic, and as she ran into the library, she caught sight him swinging the dagger around. He was practicing with it and pretending that he was fighting villains.

"Take that, Chrysalis!" Orion said with a thrust of the blade. "Back to the depths with you, Sombra!"

Spinning around, he raised it and brought it down right into a table. Not noticing that it was behind him, he found that it was too late to stop the force of the blow, and with shocking ease, he cut a gash straight through it. 

"Uh-oh," he whispered to himself in both terror and amazement.

Inspecting the table, he could see that he had sliced through it like a knife through butter. No sooner had he touched it, however, did a shadow cover his view of the laceration. A cold chill ran through him.

"That's it!" Twilight said with stern anger. "I knew this wouldn't end well! Give me the dagger, Orion!"

Orion spun around and looked up at his mother hovering above him. Though her face did not show the intensity of rage, her eyes did. He knew that he had really done it this time. 

"This is not a toy, Orion!” Twilight scolded as she took it away from him. “This is a dangerous weapon! Look what you’ve done to our table!"

Orion sheepishly obeyed. The sturdy oak table was now ruined thanks to his recklessness. Guilt weighed on him at the sight, but Twilight wasn't finished yet.

"You could have hurt somepony! What if that was your sister? Or your friends? Or you father and I? Have you any idea what would have happened if you did that to any of us? Could you ever forgive yourself?"

"No," Orion whimpered as he stared at the ground.

Twilight groaned at the day she was having with her children. She hated being the ‘big bad mother’ who had to put her hoof down when they did wrong, but they gave her no choice today. Even worse, she had to punish both of them on Orion’s birthday. Andromeda’s case was still to be determined, as it went much deeper than mere disobedience, but fortunately for Twilight, Orion’s situation was more black and white. Though she didn’t want to do it, she could not let such recklessness and damage to their belongings go unpunished. Taking the knife with her, she proceeded to take it to the basement. 

"Because you don’t have the common sense to not swing a sharp weapon around in the house, you’re grounded from having this until I say you can again,” she said. “Am I being unreasonable?"

Orion sighed. He knew he did not have the freedom of choosing his own answer. 

"No," he mumbled, not really believing what he was saying.

Twilight knew that the answer was forced, but she accepted it anyway.

"As much as this event makes me very worried about leaving you here tonight, you’re lucky that I have very important business to attend to, so I’m still letting you have your birthday party with your friends. Consider yourself lucky.”

"Yes ma'am."

"Good,” Twilight said as she mentally ran through a checklist. “Applejack and the others will be waiting for me, as well as your father. I’ll be back late tonight, so Andromeda is in charge while I’m gone. I’ve already bought food for the party, but if you’re somehow still hungry, there is some leftover lasagna in the fridge.”

“Okay, mom.”

“Oh, and make sure you clear up the plastic plates and cups when you’re done. Don’t worry about the tables and decorations. I’ll take care of that tomorrow.”

“Okay, mom,” Orion said again. 

“I know I’m being a micromanager,” Twilight replied, “but I can’t help it. This is your first birthday party without me and I’m just nervous about leaving you alone. Are you sure you’ll be good?”

“Mooooommmm,” Orion whined, “Andromeda’s old enough to be by herself and she’s going to be here all night! I’m not even going to be alone.”

Twilight let out a deep breath.

“You’re right. It’s my fault that I’m leaving and I wish I could be here, but it is very important that I meet up with the others and head to Canterlot right away. I’m not trying to smother you. I just get worried, that’s all. Can you forgive your silly mom for that?” 

Twilight looked at him with a soft look of warmth, leaving Orion unable to not smile back. 

“It’s fine,” he said.

“Lastly, if anything happens, don’t hesitate to go to Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s house. I’ve let them know that we’ll be out of town, so go to them if there is an emergency. Got it?” 

“I’ve got it,” Orion replied. 

Twilight smiled, pulled Orion in for a hug, and spoke with a soft voice.

"O stars, and dreams, and gentle night; O night and stars, return."

She stopped and waited for Orion, who looked up and finished the stanza.

"And hide me from the hostile light, that does not warm, but burn;"

‘Stars’ by Emily Bronco* was one of Twilight's favorite poems, and it was a fitting one considering her family’s penchant for astronomical names. Though most ponies thought it was merely a family habit, the poem was actually a password, known only to Twilight and her family. It was a way of asking and telling other family members that everything was alright and that they loved them. 

Twilight stood back up and made her way to the front door, saying goodbye to Orion as she opened it. She knew that Andromeda was more than capable enough to handle herself, especially with Bismarck, Tempest, Flora, Radiance, and the Pie twins there to be the older and responsible ones. Still, she couldn’t help but feel anxious about leaving her boy.

“I’ll be back at midnight or so,” she said to herself, trying to calm her mind after she closed the door behind her. “They’ll be fine.”