Introduction to the journal & Bon Bon's Story

Seven Dreams/Seven Nightmares
PONY POV SERIES SIDE STORIES
OPTIONAL-CANON

Bon-Bon Entry By Sherlock-Holmes18
Introduction By Alex Warlorn
Edited By Alex Warlorn, Kendell2, and Louis(Audio Adaption Producer).
MLP & "Wish You Were Here" copyright Hasbro.

Hello, I am Twilight Sparkle. Recently, Pinkie Pie and I have admitted to each other that we both know about the 'Erased Third Age.' If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not get into the nitty-gritty of all the questions we asked each other, the apologies exchanged, the stories shared of a harmonious world now lost... of our... former selves. I tried my best to put the story down to paper several times but all it did was give me a major headache. I am most certainly NOT a bad writer, but figuring out whether to use past or present tense alone was driving me batty! Perhaps I'll try again, some other day, when I have a much clearer head, but at present, I'll take Pinkie's advise and just skip it for now.

But I can tell you it all began with one song:

This is where rainbows all are born
Try asking any unicorn.
La la la la li la li luu.
Every unicorn knows it's true.

In a world like ours where rainbows are made by Pegasi, a song like this is just... ludicrous doggerel. But it would make perfect sense in a world where they were made by unicorns.

I don't have any of Minty's memories. Personally, I think I'm saner for it. But I won't say so to Pinkie Pie. Not that she's actually been acting all that different around me. She has sung me one or two songs Minty knew, since my long talk with Celestia. I did feel something from them. No surge of memories, though, no sudden burst of insight, just...a feeling, like it was something that was mine...it actually felt good. Before you ask: No, we haven't told Rainbow Dash, Rarity, or Fluttershy. They all have enough to deal with without me, Pinkie Pie (and surprisingly Applejack,) making them worry who they are the revisions of.

Rarity and her parents are speaking to each other via mail correspondence. She's trying to get Mr. and Mrs. Belle to see that their best medicine for them as a family, especially Sweetie Belle, would be to come home. She's also getting along better with Onyx Tiara...or Filthy Rich...I don't know anymore.

The Flutters are socializing more with Rarity's help. I'm not exactly keep tabs on them to know who is spending more time doing what but Fluttercruel seems happy and Fluttershy is finally gets props as 'Fluttershy who saved the tornado,' instead of 'Princess Gaia who tried to conquer Equestria.'

Rainbow Dash is now Scootaloo's honorary guardian. Apparently Scootaloo's parents sent a letter saying Rainbow Dash would have to do the job until they came back from business. I hope Rainbow Dash knows what she's getting into. Still, I think that filly has done her a world of good, she actually apologized for being late to work, Fluttershy told me.

And Spike has become friends with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Silver Spoon. I'm not scared to admit feeling jealous: Spike's always been my number one assistant, now he's forged his own little circle of friends. But I'm not so petty as to sabotage his quest to finally have friends of his own, like he should. But I have encouraged the five of them to write friendship reports.

I haven't seen Trixie, but we still send each other letters. Last I checked she's doing well with her family.

"Twilight! You have that book on Rainbow Spices Mrs. Cake wanted?"

"Oh sure Pinkie!"

'Pinkie Pie' or 'Pinkie Diane' had gotten a little confusing, so I figured shortening it to just Pinkie might be better now that she had made peace with all of herself, funny though, it felt familiar. "Owlowiscious! Would you be so kind?"

My Night Shift Assistant, Owlowiscious, flapped up a few sleeves and retrieved the book.

"Who."

"Oh! Sure Owlowiscious, good hunting."

Owlowiscious flew out the window Pinkie Pie had been singing wistfully by.

"Thanks, Twilight." Pinkie Pie hugged me. I might have imagined it, but I think she held the hug a bit longer than normal.

"Twilight," Pinkie Pie said, "I just want you to know, Minty was my best friend, and I don't regret making friends with you..."

"Neither do I...and Pinkie...thanks..."

"Huh?"

"For remembering your friendship with Minty no matter what...it feels good to know I owe my existence to one act of genuine friendship..."

Pinkie Pie laughed, "SILLY FILLY! You already owed your existence to your parents really really loving each other! And it's what friends do... You know in a crazy way we need to thank Princess Luna when we next to see her."

"Eh? Why her?"

"Well, if Nightmare Moon hadn't been around, Princess Celestia wouldn't have sent you to Ponyville, and if Queen Meanie-Nightmare Moon hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have had a super-exciting super-dangerous quest to go on to be friends with all of us."

I felt a shiver.

"Twilight are you cold?"

"It's nothing too bad." I assured her.

It was just that... taking Pinkie's statement to its logical conclusion... if Discord hadn't planted the seeds of hate and jealous in Luna's heart, then there would have been no Nightmare Moon to bring us all together. Moreover, Luna and the others wouldn't have even been born in Equestria if Entropy hadn't demanded to eat all us ponies in revenge for the Windigos... and that wouldn't have happened if... UGH! My head swam. This was pointless.

I nuzzled her, "Pinkie Pie, it's great to know that no matter what the reality, we've been friends, a part of me, all of me, I don't care, you're a great friend, and I wouldn't want to ever be without you."

"Gee! Thanks, Twilight!"

Pinkie Diane didn't have to babysit that night and Spike was already asleep so we just chatted away, I asked her more questions about the ideal fantasy world. It was the world reflected in foal's eyes; their lives had been happy, simple, contrived, and they had loved it. My discomfort about this subject melted away as I heard her bubbly babble about 'Special Days' and rainbows with different colors.

"So don't you think it's funny how Christmas and Hearth Warming's Eve are so alike?" Pinkie Pie asked, "And how Santa Claus became Santa Hooves?"

"Not really. From what you're telling me, both are celebrations of love triumphing over hate. And it nice the Alicorns... all of Celestia's family... did try to keep some things... "

"I wonder if Santa Hooves remembers Minty for giving him the socks idea, not that we do that anymore, er, ever."

I didn't want to say how I had regarded Santa Hooves to be a modern addition to the Hearth Warming Eve's tradition, that he was based on a historical figure, and that the modern image of him was less than a hundred years old. Oh, who am I to complain?! Not too long ago, everypony thought I was weird for going around declaring the central figure of Nightmare Night was returning!

KNOCK!-KNOCK!

"TWILIGHT SPARKLE, WE HUMBLY SEEK TO SPEAK WITH THEE AND THY GUEST!"

Speak of the Mare In The Moon...

Pinkie and I looked at each other and politely opened the door to find the Night Princess calmly standing alone looking down at us, her starscape mane wavering in non-existent wind.

"Hi Princess Luna!"

Greetings, Pinkie Pie . . . Greetings Twilight Sparkle."

"Princess Luna, what-what can we-, um, it's nice to see you-" I shook my head, "Welcome back to Ponyville."

Princess Luna gave a smirk that reminded me a LOT of Princess Celestia. "You are welcome, Twilight. You have been a great help showing Us the right and wrong ways to make friends. And We wish to return thy favor."

"Well, that's very nice of you, so how can we-, I mean it was nothing, Luna, friendship isn't a checking account you need to keep balanced."

"All the same, Twilight Sparkle, we feel that this would do you, and you, Pinkie Pie, some much-needed good." Princess Luna stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The room seemed to darken with her presence. But it wasn't an ominous darkness, it was comforting, inviting. Maybe that made it more creepy.

She looked right at the party pony, "And Pinkie Pie, our sister has informed Us of what you now remember. A goddess is not supposed to feel regret, it is simply the way things are. All the same, We are truly deeply sorry for what happened to you and those you held dear. For the role the Concept of Night played in the erasure of your world. As well as Our actions outside of Our officially-assigned task."

Pinkie hugged her, hugged her she was hugging Princess Luna! Whoa boy! I am not going to let my brain freeze up this time!

"It's alright! Twilight told me what happened to you afterwards when I asked. And you turned out super-duper nice this time!"

Princess Luna blushed, "T-Thank you, Pinkie Pie, that means a great deal to Us." Luna nuzzled her and folded her wings around her.

They held that for a minute before Luna broke the hug. "We would also like to thank you for having changed Our opinion, regarding ponies' ability to perform songs at a moment's notice. It is not excess."

"You're welcome!" And Pinkie opened her mouth and I realized she was going to do it! She was going to thank Luna for being Nightmare Moon! On no! But before I could magically zip her mouth shut, I saw in Pinkie's eyes she realized she'd be opening old wounds and closed her mouth.

"Now that we have cleared the air, let us move on," Luna said, giving a smile. "The gift I have is in a way for both of you, our friends Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. That your hearts are touched by a history that no longer was is admirable. I now believe you are willing to accept the other side of the story, the world that was written over, restored, only to be lost again. And the ponies whose hearts who lived in the moment."

Luna's magic produced a pink book from nowhere. It was old. Stickers of sweets adhered to its corners. The book was locked, but a key was already in place in its keyhole.

"This is Bon-Bon The First's journal, from the Second Age. We found it in the royal archive. It took some time to restore. It seems somepony has written additional entries to this journal. It contains the thoughts and hearts of seven ponies who beheld the revisions to their world, and the time when Destruction the draconequus... prevented the creation of the Lost Third Age. Seven souls who bore witness to the end of what some might consider Pony civilization's golden age."

"I'd say we've recovered pretty well," I said.

"Did you know you ponies once landed on my moon? The Ponyland flag is still planted there... Even during my most vicious tantrums as Nightmare Moon, I could never bring myself to desecrate that flag. ...The image of ponies wanting to come to my moon was just too... sweet."

Jaws slowly opened as we stared at the night princess.

"I'd love to go and see it sometime!" Pinkie Pie said.

"So would I," I heard myself say.

Luna smiled, and sat down on one of the couches. "Some day maybe I will be able to grant that wish. And you are right, Twilight Sparkle. Ponykind has indeed recovered. Other civilizations would have crumbled to nothingness for good after such a calamity. And someday... who knows? 'Technology marches on,' as the saying goes. Given enough time, you ponies of the Fourth Age may outclass those of the Second Age. We, for one, would welcome such a thing. But for now, let us read Bon-bon's journal. And let us keep the interruptions to a minimum."

"You're going to read it with us, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"I wish to read it through your eyes."

"I dunno, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said looking at the book, "It looks real private. Like some pony put their heart in here. It would be rude to just nose around in it."

"Trust me, Pinkie Pie, the pony who this book belonged to would not mind. I am certain Bon-Bon, herself, is watching alongside My Father, even as we speak."

"Alright." I unlocked the book and flipped to the front page, "Let's begin."

+++

Bon-Bon

Before Revision/Disaster:
Dear Diary,

Hello new diary, I'm Bon-Bon, nice to meet you. Do you like the new lock on you? Just a little something I started doing after one of your ancestors fell into the wrong hooves. Wouldn't want that to happen again, would we?

As I write this, my family and I are currently waiting at the Ponyville Square to celebrate something that will change the world forever! What is this something, you may ask? Nothing less than the greatest paradigm shift of all! A supreme magic spell that'll be cast on the whole wide world and cause all our innermost dreams to all come true! Everypony! Everywhere! And now that I've just wrote that, I realize how silly it must sound to you. It seems like only yesterday that I would have insisted that magic isn't real. Then came the day I got a call from Patch. A lot has happened in my life since I last heard from Patch or any of my old friends! I became a chef who did a little bit of modeling on the side, I like to think I'm good at it. I started dating Cookie, and my older sister Misty got married and had a daughter only a few weeks ago. Anyway, I got a call from Patch, who claimed she'd discovered some place called Paradise Estate that was inhabited by ponies with wings and horns. Of course, I didn't believe her and called her a liar, but still she paid for my train ticket so I decided to just play along.

And then I found out that Patch wasn't lying and that she really had discovered ponies with wings and ponies with horns (there was even one with gem eyes, they were so pretty), and of course I started apologizing nonstop to Patch (even though she said once was enough). It makes me wonder if the magical glowing ponies Patch claimed she saw when we were both on that balloon were actually real. Now I wish I had asked Patch for more details when she told that story.

It's weird but when I went to visit Paradise Estate, the thing that sticks in my mind was a pony that caught my eye in a group photo that was hanging on the walls. It was an ordinary-looking pony with a white coat and a dark purple, light purple, pinkish, and bluish mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a quintuplet of gingerbreads. Her eyes looked like blue gems. They were beautiful. I felt a strange sense of familiarity with this pony and asked who she was. They told me she was a friend of theirs named Gingerbread who left a few centuries ago (just how old are these ponies?). I never found out more about her, though, so I never found out why she seemed so familiar, cause I fainted when I met the dragon.

It didn't take long until the whole rest of the world learned of the existence of pegasi and unicorns and all the rest. Patch and the Paradise ponies became media icons. And then it dawned on me, if Patch could follow her dreams, why couldn't I? So I decide to focus more on my old dream of being a model (of course I didn't stop being a chef), and in this time Cookie proposed to me and we got married. Teddy? By that time he and Sweetheart had finally worked out their feelings for each other and had tied the knot too! I know now he wasn't as awful as he wanted to be, but Sweetheart's just better for keeping him on the straight and narrow. And while it may not look it, Cookie is in love with more than just my cooking.

Then Starlight and Bright Eyes came and told us about a increible plan of theirs to magically make everyone's wishes come true. It involved some magic rainbow in a bottle that the Paradise Ponies held onto for emergencies (they'd told all kinds of stories about their adventures, it was amazing all they've done), and putting pieces of it in seven castle around Ponyland, but it all kinda went over my head.

At first I was a little uneasy about it, but eventually they managed to convince me to help out. Bright Eyes promises it won't grant any mean wishes. So after we contacted Princess Rosy and told her our plan, we set everything in motion. Skip forward a few years, and here we are! Everything is complete and me and my family are just waiting for the big moment to arrive! Although I am excited, at the same time I have to admit I'm kind of scared:

What kind of wishes are in my heart? Cookie says as long as he's with me, then he's happy (he's so sweet!). I already have my Mr. Right, a family who loves me, I have all the attention I could want with my model and cooking career, but they get a bit hard to balance sometimes. The stressy schedules, the creepy fan letters, the cameras following me off set, mares as skinny as skeletons saying I should lose a few pounds. Maybe I wish life could be a bit simpler.

Sincerely, Bon-Bon

After Revision:
Everything started glowing a strange vibrant color. I looked down at myself and noticed my cutie mark had changed to two strawberries and a white flower. Eventually, my coat started to turn a reddish-pink and my mane and tail became a mix between purple, white, and some green-like color. I turned to my husband and saw that Cookie's cutie mark had changed to a cotton candy cone, and his coat was turning pink while his mane and tail were becoming a mix of pink, white, and blue. Such... feminine colors! Okay, I'm a little scared here. Is this supposed to be happening? Is my husband supposed to be looking so... dainty? So mare-ish? Dad, Rusty, and Misty's husband are looking really effeminate too. I feel like I'm a big warm milk bath. My head feels cloudy, like cotton candy, I don't think I like this anymore, I... feel... so... happy...

Dear Diary,
I don't have much to say right now since I just got up. Although, I will say this, it's a lovely morning. Of course all mornings are lovely. Every day is super-duper-new! A taste-tastic surprise waiting to happen! I have to help Cotton Candy out with the shop right now so I don't have a lot of time to write. Anyway, I have a new idea for a cake, and this time it's not gonna fall over! Yeah, I'm sort of ambitious when it comes to cakes, and I kind of have a problem with making them too tall and they usually topple over, and it's usually Cotton Candy who it ends up toppling onto (luckily she doesn't seem to mind). Of course, not all my cakes end up falling over. The cake I made for Kimono's birthday didn't fall on anyone. What will I call this cake, you may ask? I call it the Berry Cake Tower. And I promise that no pony is ever gonna forget it.

Sincerely, Sweet Berry

After Disaster: Journal entry #1:
This wasn't supposed to happen...it just wasn't... The spell was supposed to make everyone's dreams come true! Instead, my parents, Misty, Rusty, and Misty's husband...they're all dead. Misty's baby girl managed to survive -Misty using herself as a shield- and now I'm stuck having to raise my own niece, and I don't know if I have what it takes...but at least she's still alive.

Due to the enormity of the explosion, media outlets of every form, from print to television, have either been obliterated or abandoned. The world has no place for gourmet chefs or models. Grass will suffice... canned goods will suffice, forget freshness, just throw whatever you can scavenge into a pot and call it soup! And as for the ponies who are drawn to my good looks... well, they're suddenly a LOT less nicer about the fact. THRUST themselves upon you.

Survival is everypony's first, last, and only concern. Those 'end of civilization' movies don't seem so badflank when you're the one living them.

I later found out that Starlight died in the explosions too...It's probably for the best that Starlight didn't live to see what the world has become.

The three remaining tribes (the sea ponies and the flutter ponies have gone into hiding) have started hating each other after the incident, but they hate the ones responsible for the spell even more! It doesn't matter I didn't actually have anything to do with the project, with Starlight gone, they need somepony to hate. A while back, a pony tried to throw a rock at my niece. I could understand if they had thrown it me, but my niece? As in my sister's daughter? As in the only thing I have left to remind me of my older sister!? How dare he! Needless to say, I may have gotten a little violent. How violent? Let's just say it was enough to cause to cause my younger siblings Amber and Twink to have to hold me back. As I write this I have recently found out that I'm pregnant. And I have to say that I'm scared. I'm scared of what kind of world my child will grow up in. The world that all of my family is going to have to live in. I worry for my husband, Cookie, Amber and Twink, my youngest brother, Junior, my niece, and my unborn child. We tried making an exodus to Paradise Estate, but there are so many of us, and traveling doesn't come with a movie and fee peanuts anymore.

I will continue to write more of these journals in the hope that ponies in the future will learn not to repeat the same mistake we did...Be careful what you wish for...

If you're reading this, then please remember, grudges are never going to get you anywhere, don't go thinking you're the boss of something just cause you know how it works, life is fragile, life is precious. We lived in a world where ponies lived without fear of monsters, ponies all got along. I'd like to say we took the easy way out, that magic is an easy way out, but the unicorns work hard for what they had the same as Earth ponies and Pegasi, Flutterponies and seaponies. None of us are better or worse. I'd like to blame magic for all this, but the unicorns on Paradise Estate are my friends, I can't hate them or magic. Because I know hating is not going to solves anything. More than anything: Ponies don't need to live in a world of monsters, and we don't need to be monsters to survive, please remember.

Signed, Bon-Bon

Many decades later... I felt a sharp pain in chest that seemed to go away just as soon as it came. "It's about time you showed up," said a friendly voice behind me. I looked behind me and saw Starlight and Sweetheart... as well as, of all ponies, Gingerbread. Starlight and Sweetheart looked like teenagers again, but for whatever reason it didn't bother me.

"Starlight, Sweetheart, what are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"We were waiting on you," said Starlight.

"We really truly missed you Bon-Bon," said Sweetheart.

I turned to Gingerbread, "What about you?"

"I decided it was time to pay a visit to my descendant," she said.

"Descendant? Of course! That's why that photo with you seemed so familiar." I turned back to Starlight and Sweetheart, "Wait, what do you guys mean by you were waiting for me? Wait, Sweetheart, Starlight, aren't you-"

Starlight got a serious look on her face, "Bon-Bon, I think there's something should see." She turned me around and I gasped at what I saw. I saw my body lying limp on the floor and my husband trying to administer CPR.

"You mean I'm..." I couldn't even finish the sentence.

"I'm afraid so," said Starlight.

"No! That can't be! Cookie! You can hear me right-!? I'm right here!" I shouted at Cookie, but he didn't notice me. My own empty face stared back at me.

"It wont work," said Sweetheart sadly.

"Cookie can still save me!"

"Your heart's never going to beat again Bon-Bon," Sweetheart said, her eyes actually quivering.

"You don't know that!"

"You wouldn't be here if it was," Starlight sighed.

I shivered, but I didn't feel hot or cold, I simply was.

"So I guess that means that it's time for me to see what's on the other side?" I asked as my lip quivered.

"Not just yet. We decided to wait on the rest of our friends before we move on," exclaimed Starlight.

"Care to join us?" asked Sweetheart.

My niece, child, and grandchildren were coming into the room as they heard Cookie weeping.

"Yeah, that sounds good," I said. I wanted to get away from that thing on the floor my husband was holding, but if my family couldn't see me, at least I could with them in spirit until the others had had their run.

Gingerbread got up and started to leave, "Where are you going?" I asked.

"I have to get back to family, they're waiting for me to return, I'll be there when you come," she said.

"Thank you," I manage to say, "Gingerbread, I-I look forward to it. And, your eyes are beautiful."

She smiled. "Thank you Bon-Bon. Oh, and by the way, Misty wanted me to thank you for looking after her daughter and for still believing in life to the end," she added.

At this I smiled. "You're welcome."

Starlight and Sweetheart hugged me.

Patch's Story And Her Epic Adventure

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Seven Dreams/Nightmares
Patch
By Sherlock18
Edited By Alex Warlorn, Kendell2, & Louis

Before Revision/Disaster:
So here I am with my boyfriend Buddy and a bunch of other ponies friends. Some of which have wings or horns, (crazy thing, yeah. At first, I don't know whether to be weirded or jealous!) and we're all waiting for a powerful magic spell that'll make the world rock.

To think back, when I was younger, I wanted to be a circus clown! But then, I encountered a ghost and a group of magical glowing ponies. That made me decide I ought to become an adventurer instead! Because as much as I love throwing cream pies and wearing oversized squeaky shoes, one thing most clowns DON'T get is to travel to exotic places to prove that impossible things exist. Of course my friends tried to convince me that I was just being silly and that I wasn't likely to find anything. But, as a wise pony once said, 'the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.' Truer words for me have never been spoken!

Lancer, as it turned out wanted to be an explorer, and was a lot more polite about it, since the two jobs were kinda joined at the flank.

Stay on track? Okay I'll try my best.

I was making my way through a thick forest down an old abandoned pathway in an obscure Ponyland territory. Finally, I emerged in a wide open space. Besides the forest behind me, I could see a river, some mountains, lots of grass, and off in the distance I saw what looked like...a pink house? Out in the middle of nowhere? And not marked on my map?

It was then my cell phone decided to ring. (Thank goodness for satellite connection! Saved my bacon more than once.)

"Hello?" I said, answering it.

"..."

"Oh, not this again, Buddy."

"..."

"I know. Look, I love you, but I'm just not ready for something like marriage."

"..."

"Look, Buddy, can we talk about this later? I think I may have just discovered something. We'll meet back at the motel when I'm done."

"..."

"I love you too. Bye." And I hung up, sighing.

I cantered towards the structure. Closer inspection showed the structure was much larger than a house...more like a villa or some sort of estate. It just seemed to have this feel about it...like it wasn't a normal place. Same twinge of the extraordinary I got from seeing Squire's ghost and Brightglow. And just as with those times, I started getting a little excited. "Hello? Anyone here?"

I walked through the gates. One of the first things I noticed were the flowerbeds. "This garden seems to be surprisingly well preserved," I told myself.

"Why, thank you," spoke a voice behind me, making me jump. I whipped around to see a yellow mare with a pink mane and tail, and five roses as her cutie mark.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Oh! I was going to ask you the same thing. My name's Posey," said the pony. "Um...sorry I startled you..."

"My name's Patch," I answered. "And it's fine, I just wasn't expecting to run into anybody out here."

"If you weren't expecting to run into anybody...then who were you talking to?"

"Just me," I replied. "I really didn't think I'd find someone living out here by themselves."

"Uh..."

Before Posey could say anything else we were interrupted by a pony with a pink coat, a blue mane and tail, and two blue lightning bolts for her cutie mark. But the truly incredible thing was...she had wings! She was flying! Like Brightglow! The newcomer (well, newcomer to me) didn't notice me right away.

"Hey, Posey, I wanted to ask you something, I...Uh, who's this?"

"Oh, this is Patch. Um...Patch?" For the way my mouth dangled open at her winged friend, Posey only tilted her head in confusion.

The winged pony waved a hoof in my face. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

"Y-You have wings," I finally managed to blurt out.

"Umm...yeah. Pegasi have wings."

"ALL peggy-sai wings?" I parroted back.

"Well, unless they've had some really bad accident, but that's never-, Wait, don't tell me you've never seen a pegasus before!"

I shook my head. Okay, that wasn't true. Brightglow and her other magical glowing pony friends I had met years ago all had wings. But I couldn't think straight.

The pegasus was shocked. "Well, what about unicorns?" she asked, "Surely you've seen some of them."

I shook my head again.

The winged pony's shock doubled. "What, have you been living under a rock?" That actually snapped me out of my stupor, and my eyes narrowed at her. Okay, maybe I'd been rude to stare, but I'm pretty sure I've gotten out a LOT more than her. Otherwise, we'd have had more reports of winged pony sightings, wouldn't we?

"Wait a tick, are you from the other side?" Firefly asked.

"Other side?"

"Umm...excuse me," interrupted Posey, "But perhaps we should introduce Patch to the others?"

"Others? How many ponies are living out here?" I exclaimed. "What exactly is this place? And who are you?" I asked the pegasus.

"The name's Firefly and welcome to Paradise Estate," she answered proudly.

I was soon introduced to the other ponies of Paradise Estate. Among them were other normal ponies like Posey (although they used the term 'Earth Pony'.) These 'Earth Ponies' included Applejack, Ember (who appeared to be the only filly), Shady, Lickety Split, and Magic Star.

I met more winged ponies or 'Pegasi' like Firefly: Surprise, Wind Whistler, Masquerade, Medley, Flutterbye, and North Star.

And finally there were the horned ponies, or 'unicorns': Twilight, Galaxy, Mimic, Moondancer and Gusty. Oh, and also, one weird unicorn on roller-skates calling herself Glory and a blue unicorn named Sparkler with four diamonds as her cutie mark. Am I forgetting anything? Oh yeah! Masquerade, Galaxy, and Mimic, all had gem eyes! Not only were they glitteringly gorgeous to look at, I bet they crack walnuts with their eyeballs. How cool was that?

One odd thing I noticed all the Paradise Estate ponies shared in common were bows tied to the base of their tails. A dress code, on top of everything else! Made me feel almost underdressed.

Twenty-three total. In spite of the size of the herd, I was surprised at the number of empty bedrooms I passed by when they treated me to a tour of the Estate. Names on the doors included 'Paradise' 'Whizzer' and so many others.

Of course, there was one important question I had to ask: "Firefly, do you, or any of your friends know a flying-pony, er, pegasus named Brightglow?"

The ponies looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Why do you ask?" Firefly questioned.

"You could say she's...a friend." Then I told them the story of my balloon adventure. The ponies were very surprised to find out I had met a horned Pegasus, and we're quick to assure me no such ponies existed in Paradise Estate.

"So, Patch," said Twilight, during a brunch break. "How exactly did you manage to find this place?"

"Well, I discovered this old unmarked pathway in the forest and decided to see where it led."

"Wait," interrupted Galaxy, "You discovered a lost path to Dream Valley? Just like that? Interesting."

"It wasn't that special. It was just something I managed to come across almost by accidental."

"Oh, but it is special Patch," Twilight countered, levitating a scone to her mouth to chew. "For centuries, Dream Valley has been protected by a spell to prevent Paradise Estate from ever being found by anyone or anything we would be better off never meeting anyway."

I blinked in surprise. "Just what do you mean by that?" I asked cautiously. "'Better off never meeting?'"

"Oh, you know," Galaxy waved a hoof neutrally. "People who either had evil, impure intentions, or would never have accepted us."

"I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't accept you."

Galaxy snorted. "You'd be surprised how many small-hearted souls would want to see as us as mutants or aliens...anything other than the ponies we actually are."

"It's been ever so long since we've had a guest!" Gusty cut in. "We figured rest of the ponies in the world didn't want to meet us! I was worried there weren't any nice ponies left."

I laughed uncomfortably. "We're not...THAT bad."

"Clearly," said Galaxy. "Somewhere in your heart, you must have been hoping to find us."

"Well, I was hoping to find something amazing. And I guess I found it!" Smiles and blushes and appreciative laughter all around the table. Saying my heart didn't start going a mile a minute would be lying. "Wait, so you're telling me the only the pure-of-heart can find Paradise Estate?"

"Or be ready to accept who you met... or someone one of us had invited in," said a new voice behind me. I turned to see a tall, bluish purple reptilian creature looking at me.

"Who or what are you?"

"I'm Spike. I'm a dragon," he deadpanned.

"A dragon? Like the ones that steal treasure and kidnap damsels?"

"I'm offended by that stereotype! But the answer is yes."

"Wow, a real dragon! This day keeps getting cooler and cooler! ...Oh! Do you know a dragon named Basil by the way?"

"Can't say I do. Why?"

"Just something a friend asked me once." I turned back to the others, "Say, when you gals say that this place has been protected for centuries, you mean that your families have been here isolated all this time?"

"Not exactly," said Twilight as she brought out a heart-shaped locket, "See this? This is the Rainbow of Light."

I examined the locket. "That doesn't look like a rainbow."

"The rainbow's inside the locket," said Firefly.

"Ah...But what does this thing have to do with anything?"

Wind Whistler spoke up, "The rainbow generates an intense magical field around Paradise Estate that causes those who are in current residence to stay in a magically induced physical growth lock at what ever age they happen to be at. It also negates cellar entropy while stimulating tissue regeneration at a hyper-accelerated rate. Or it might simply be reverting us to the chronological state when the field first came in contact with us since our manes grow back in seconds in spite of not being technically alive. Though starvation, exercise, exhaustion, etcetera, still have normal biological effects on us.

Crickets chirped. Bees buzzed. Somepony dropped a pin. "Huh?"

"She means that the rainbow's magic keeps us from aging or dying of natural causes," said Mimic.

"The Rainbow of Light's long term effects only occurred to us after we noticed our children weren't aging at a normal rate."

"Oh," I looked at young Ember, who seemed...sad? Then something dawned on me, "Wait, so you're telling me that you guys are immortal!?"

"All except Spike," said Masquerade.

"Yeah, but dragons live a lot longer than ponies. Especially the easygoing ones like me. So I'm the next best thing to immortal." said Spike.

"Also, the immortality has limits. We can still die. Getting hurt, wild animal attacks, getting sick, starvation, slipping in the bathtub...we're still vulnerable to all those things and more. And our immortality only lasts so long as we live at Paradise Estate," explained Galaxy.

"This doesn't bother you? Does it, Patch?" Asked Posey.

I grinned. "Are you kidding!? This is amazing! I have to call Starlight and the others! They are going to freak when they meet you! Oh, and I guess I should call Buddy as well."

"Who's Buddy?" asked Medley.

"He's just my boyfriend. ...Oh, you guys don't mind if I invite them, do you? They're all good ponies!"

"By all means," said Wind Whistler without hesitation.

"Might be fun!" Glory chirped.

"I've wished and wished and wished that we'd meet new friends," Said Twilight, "Go ahead and make my wish come true."

I called all of my old friends right away. They were all highly skeptical of what I told them over the phone, accusing me of pulling a prank, or eaten bad mushrooms again, but I pleaded and begged and assured until they promised to come. When they saw Paradise Estate for themselves, they all freaked magnificently (just like I said they would! Bonbon even fainted seeing Spike!) Eventually, they calmed down, and I was able to properly introduced my friends to the Paradise Estate ponies.

Brights Eyes and Wind Whistler wouldn't stop talking with each other.

Starlight ate up every bit of their history that I hadn't thought to ask about. She made good friends with Ember, who loved having company in the empty foals' house.

Sweetheart and Applejack were instant best friends.

Clover asked Twilight if she had magic to improve her dancing.

"You've been here all this time with no stallions?" Melody asked.

"There used to be dozens of us. But too many ponies can't deal with immortality," Wind Whistler said calmly.

"Slugger and the others colts said the Estate felt more like a prison than home." Galaxy added. "The Big Brother Ponies LIVED to roam, so they, and Buttons, choose to give up eternal life and left."

It wasn't long before we were spilling the beans to the media, (Don't judge us! We're bad with secrets!) And once the newsponies had their look and snapped their pictures, and conducted their interviews, me and the Paradise ponies became world-famous! They didn't mind in the least, they wanted ponies to know they existed.

And when the average pony, heh, I mean Earth Pony accepted that Pegasi and Unicorns were real, it was like a wall of painted glass shattered in our minds, and not just ours. Pegasi and Unicorns too, living in areas we Earth Ponies perceived as lifeless, from 'desert isles', the craggiest mountaintops, and within clouds, to frostbitten tundras. All across the planet! Pegasi were shocked to realize there was civilization below the cloud layer! And those reports of flying machines weren't all kooks. And Unicorns got a clue their magic wasn't the only magic. It was like our awakening had triggers their as well.

All determined to show each other that we existed, and see how much bigger the world actually was outside their self-imposed boundaries.

Turns out THEY thought they were the only species of pony existence too!

And on the heels of the pegasi and unicorns came the seaponies and flutter-ponies. First in trickles, then in huge schools and swarms, once they were assured that no one was going to vivisect them.

I actually visited the pegasi cloud cities a few times. None of the locals there had heard of a pegasus named 'Brightglow' let alone a unicorn with wings or a pegasus with a horn. It was kinda a tease really. I had wanted to make friends with the pony who had saved my life and Bon-Bon's more than anything. But I couldn't find her or her friends. Who were they?

Ah, well! No point being ungrateful. I've been blessed with more than enough miracles to make up for Brightglow...Miracles that (unlike Brightglow) I've actually been able to show off to the rest of the world! She'll be 'the one that got away,' I guess.

I ended up becoming a sort of liaison for Paradise Estate, constantly moving between it and the outside world. Of course, Buddy traveled to Paradise Estate with me a few times. During my stays at the Estate, the paradise ponies told me great stories like that of the human Megan and her siblings, the unstoppable Smooze, the bush woolies, Tirek, and a lot of other stuff. I told them a little bit about my own adventures, but they paled next to the swashbuckling epics they'd lived through. And many of their adventures (like the new return of Grogar) seemed...recent.

"You guys are like out of a fairytale!"

They actually chuckled at that one. "Not quite. We've kinda met fairytales before." North Star had said.

I got along well with Firefly, Surprise, and Ember. They enjoy pulling pranks as much as I do! Although, I can't help but feel sorry for Ember, being hundreds if not thousand of years old but stuck as a filly. And she didn't even seem to enjoy it anymore...I may have suggested to her that she leave Paradise Estate so that she could have a chance to grow up, but she was scared by the idea of leaving her friends behind. Not needing to grow up, just how many grown-ups would've happily traded places with her?

Then came the day that Starlight and Bright Eyes came to Paradise Estate with their crazy idea (as in crazy awesome!), to use the Rainbow of Light's magic to cast a global spell that would make the world a better place for everyone. Even though she was still new to magic, Bright Eyes took to it like a bird to the air! I was a little unsure, but the Paradise ponies seemed intrigued and they went over their plan. Using my old friend from the orphanage-turned-princess, Rosy, as a contact, a plan was set in motion to erect and modify seven castles in seven specific positions and have each castle have a piece of the Rainbow of Light put somewhere its foundation.

The paradise ponies seemed interested in the plan and gathered together to discuss something, but I couldn't hear what they were saying though the bedroom door (despite my best efforts). Finally they came back to Starlight and Bright Eyes. Twilight was the first to speak, "We've talked about your idea, and we've decided to give you the Rainbow of Light."

"Thank you," smiled Starlight, "You won't be disappointed." At this, Starlight, Bright Eyes, Twilight, Galaxy, and Mimic got to work on separating the Rainbow into pieces safely without accidentally destroying it.

We needed seven castles to house the seven separated pieces of the Rainbow Of Light. Three of them, (including Rosy's,) needed to be modified, refurbished, and modernized. Four of them needed to be constructed from the ground up. It took YEARS, (and don't even get me STARTED on how much a single castle costs, or all the rich tycoon ponies Starlight had to wine-and-dine to bankroll it all!) But now finally, the plan was finally ready to go.

So, now here I am waiting at Paradise Estate with my still-coltfriend, Buddy, (give him credit for tenacity,) and the Paradise ponies and Spike for a spell that will cause everyone's innermost (non-evil) desires to come true. Buddy turned to me, "So, Patch, I was thinking. Maybe after this, to celebrate we could maybe..."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not ready for marriage yet. I love you, but I'm just not prepared for that kind of commitment," I told him.

"Actually I was just going to suggest we watch some of those old cheesy kung-fu movies we both enjoy," said Buddy.

"Oh." I blushed.

"But since you brought it up..."

"Not now, Buddy!"

Twilight approached me. She looked nervous about something. "Patch?" she said, "There's something you should know."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, with the pieces of the Rainbow of Light about to focus all of their magic on creating this new world, they won't be able to keep us immortal anymore."

"So, you just won't be immortal? That doesn't sound too bad."

"It's more than that. Due to the enormity of the spell, the new world replacing this one won't have a place for us since we spent so much of our lives fighting monsters...We-We won't exist anymore."

"What?! What do you mean you won't exist anymore!?" I shouted. Buddy stared in horror.

Galaxy spoke, "Wind Whistler and I realized it when Bright Eyes first laid out the spell's details. This spell won't just conjure up things ponies want, reality itself will change to fit them. And the wish inside all of our hearts is for everlasting peace, and happiness. The spell's magic will alter reality to the point where conflict itself, doesn't exist, or ever existed. But since all of us here at Paradise Estate, except for you and Buddy, have fought for all our lives against monsters and villains, we'll have no reason to have ever existed."

"What!" I yelled, "Why didn't you tell anyone sooner! Maybe there's still time to stop Starlight!"

"Patch, stop!"

This time it was Posey who spoke up. "There's a reason we never told anyone. We knew what was going to happen, but we chose to go through with it anyway since we decided that it would be for the best if ponies lived in a world without evil overlords or pony-eating monsters to worry about."

"But that's not fair!" I think I was actually starting to cry. They were going to vanish? But...they...there were my friends...they couldn't just vanish...

"Nobody said life was fair," said Magic Star. "Actually, if you think about it, our sacrifice will be the last unfairness the world will ever have to know. A fair trade-off, wouldn't you agree?"

Glory sighed, "Witch families and Grogar always keep popping up. Not just a thousand years ago but back in yer highschool days too."

"But you don't need to face those monsters alone anymore! You all can't just want to die!" I pleaded.

"Modern technology and superior numbers do not fix all evils, Patch. I...We're all sorry," Wind Whistler said, her calm tone nearly breaking into pieces.

Firefly turned to Buddy. "I really wish you had mentioned those old cheesy kung-fu movies a lot sooner. I would have loved to see them."

"Yeah," agreed Masquerade.

I was still upset. "Cheer up, Patch!" said Surprise, nuzzling me, "We'll meet again someday. Somehow. Don't know where, don't know when. But that's what makes it fun!"

"But you said you'll all just vanish."

Surprise smiled, "Maybe we'll come back as something new."

Ember nuzzled Spike, "Thanks, Spike, for you and your family staying with us."

Spike hugged her, "You guys always looked after me and my dad, I just wish I could have guided and watch over you in exchange."

I didn't know what was in my heart, not anymore, somewhere in me I just wished my friends didn't have to be apart!

After Revision:

I couldn't believe what the paradise ponies had told me. Buddy tried to comfort me, but I was too shocked at what I was just told to notice him. It wasn't fair. They shouldn't have to be just forgotten, to not be, not after everything they've done. I didn't want to have to be in a world without them, not after having to get to know them. But if they never were, then how I'd remember them? Maybe it would be better if I just forgot.

Buddy hugged me, "Don't be so sad, Patch, it doesn't suit you."

"I was such a go-getter when I was small. I just wanted to do something with myself."

"If this is really going to change the world for the better, then I want to see you smile. Heh, truth be told. I wish I had done more with my life. I've just drifted from one job to another. I wish I had a job that meant something to others."

I wonder what Rosy, Starlight, Sweetheart, Bright Eyes, and all my friends are all wishing for.

"I wish, I wish, I wish," Twilight whispered as she nuzzled me her horn glowing.

That's when I noticed everything was starting to glow. I looked down at myself and saw that my coat had turned a dark pink and my mane and tail became a mix between dark pink and purple, while my cutie mark became a kite and a butterfly.

I looked over at Buddy and saw that his body was becoming more feminine (okay, I've got to say I'm not into that sort of thing) and his coat had turned purple; his mane and tail became a mixture of orange, two different shades of pink, and one other color that I wasn't sure what it was called. Was this supposed to be happening? Why was my boyfriend turning into a mare? (Was there something he wasn't telling me?)

I looked over towards the paradise ponies and only saw a bunch of shadows, and one small blue dragon. Then I couldn't remember what I was looking at. But it's okay, I feel so at peace. Nothing is wrong. My friends are with me. Everything is okay. I don't need to worry. I feel happy. The world is wonderful. Everything turned white...No, everything was beautiful rainbows.

Hi! It's super special awesome to meet you! My name is Skywishes. My best friend is Twinkle Twirl. She's a dancer, in fact she's Ponyville's resident dance teacher and coordinator! She's always coming up with new routines! Her students think she's great and so does everypony!

For as long as I can remember I've had the ability to make wishes come true, if they were super special wishes! This isn't exactly something that's normal among earth ponies (the only other earth pony that I can think of that has an unusual ability is Pinkie Pie with her Pinkie Squink), but nopony treats me any differently because of it.

It was thanks to one of my wishes that I was able to meet my pegasus friend Star-Catcher. It happened when Twinkle Twirl was having trouble coming up with a dance for the Extra-Special Friendship Ball, and I wanted to help so I made a wish and Star-Catcher came and taught me how to dance on the clouds!

Then later on, I wished for the earth ponies and pegasi to be able to meet, because who doesn't like to make new friends?

I didn't meet Star-Catcher and the other pegasi until I was a full-grown mare, and it was thanks to me that the other earth ponies were able to meet them. And we didn't know about Unicornia yet either.

Huh. Everything I just said, just now sounds kinda-sorta...what's the word? Out-of-sequence?

And why do I remember Pinkie Pie and some of her friends being friends with Sweetie Belle and a pegasus as fillies? And why can't I seem to remember the pegasus' name? And why is Ponyville gray!? I ran through town hoping that somepony would tell me what's going on. I saw a pegasus fly overhead, but why did she look like Rainbow Dash gone wrong?!

I bumped into Twinkle Twirl, "Twinkle Twirl! Are you okay!? What's going on!?"

"I don't know!" said Twinkle Twirl in a panicked voice. "None of my students were at the dance hall!"

"I wish I wish I wish we knew what was going on!" I cried.

"That's the least of your problems. The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, I saw something grip Twinkle's head, "Delete."

I saw Twinkle Twirl fade away right before my eyes. I looked up at what had tapped her on the head. It was a strange looking menagerie of creatures. Weirdest of all, I got a sense that it was distinctly not-female! Like Spike. "Who are you?" I asked, "What did you do with Twinkle Twirl?"

"Anarchy's the name, rebellion's my game. And as for your friend, I deleted her." said the creature.

"Well 'undelete' her!" What was this feeling? This completely not-pleasant feeling? "Bring her back from wherever you sent her!!"

"I can't. Once someone's deleted they can't be brought back except as a shadow of existence. Besides I really don't want to do this. For soulless bags of sugar, you sure put up a fuss at being retconned. It's such a hassle."

"So why are you doing it!?"

Another, more feminine voice answered my question. "Because it is the only way." I looked towards the source of the voice and saw a really tall pony with both wings and a horn. She had a silver and black coat and her mane and tail appeared to be made up of stars. Her cutie mark was a spiral galaxy. "Your world is falling apart and this is the only way to fix it."

"If our world's falling apart, then shouldn't we be allowed to fix it?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. The damages to this world are too severe for it to be allowed to continue. I'm sorry. I really wish there was another way," explained the horned pegasus.

"ENOUGH with the endless apologizes! Geeze! It's not like she's going to remember in any of this," said Anarchy, "So..."

"I said bring back Twinkle Twirl!" I butted the monster in the stomach without even thinking about it.

He looked more shocked at what I said than the hit. "Huh?! How the heck can you even remember her name-?!"

"She's my best friend!" This was being...Ang-gar-ree? Angry? Yes. Angry. So angry. I didn't want friends to vanish. "I wish, I wish, I wish, I don't ever forget her! I wish I wish I wish she'd come back and we won't be apart ever again!"

"Being friends shouldn't make any difference. And I'm getting kinda sick of this 'being sucker-punched by ponies' routine. So you can just stand still and you can be-Hey! Get back here! Oh just go."

"Aren't you going to go after her?" asked Galaxia.

"Nah, she wasn't scheduled for a deletion, so why should I bother?" said Anarchy.

"Because she's supposed to be remade for the new world."

"After the whole incident with the pink pony, I've honestly stopped caring which pony are supposed to be deleted or recycled or brought over. Besides, isn't the 'remaking' part more your family's schtick? Not my problem."

"I swear I don't understand you draconequi sometimes."

"Then you're one-up on me. I never understand you Alicorns EVER."

I didn't want to be 'deleted.' I still had to rescue Twinkle Twirl! But something inside told me to run if I wanted my wish to come true! So I ran as far away from the two deleters as possible. I wished with all my heart that I'd make it to Butterfly Island. I knew we'd all pull through. I wish and wish and WISHED with all my heart that we would!

After The Disaster:

Everything rocked like a dozen earthquakes at once. Heirlooms fell off the shelves and shattered, the Estate shook madly for forever. Medly flew up and slammed her head into the ceiling in pure panic. Posy covered her head.

I couldn't believe it was really just a few seconds.

"What was that!?" shouted Applejack.

Was this supposed to be how the spell worked?

I don't know if anyone answered. A knife went through my brain and I screamed. I heard Buddy scream and Spike roar. I fell on my sides, convulsing. It felt like someone had begun a to give me a warm hug and drove a hot poker through my brain midway through. The fire in my head spread to every nerve ending in my body.

By the time I could I could think and breath again, Galaxy was healing me while Mimic saw to Buddy. Twilight and Glory concentrated on helping Spike, who had left a dent in the floor when he fell in agony.

"Well, at least I can't find any permanent damage, give a second to fix you up," Galaxy said. I stayed close to Buddy, I was more worried about him than me...

"I'm going to go see if I can find out what's going on," said Firefly.

"I will go with you," Wind Whistler offered.

"Count me in too!" North Star added not even hesitating.

And they all flew off.

"I don't like this surprise, not one bit," Surprise said to herself.

"Me neither," Applejack added.

Medley seemed to have gone into shock that had nothing to do with her bump. Sparkler busied herself comforting her.

I shook my head to clear it. "Hold-hold on, just let me call Starlight to see what happened and-Dang! My cell phone provider is on the fritz, I knew I shouldn't have switched companies!"

"Guys," said Mimic, "There's something else, I can't sense the spell that's supposed to be protecting Dream Valley anymore. It will take me forever to remake it."

"Is that bad?" asked Buddy.

"Very bad," answered Twilight.

"But..." I said suddenly smiling, my body still trembled, "You're all still here! Isn't that great? You're all still here! Together! You haven't disappeared! It didn't work! That must mean everything is okay! Maybe the spell just worked differently! Yeah! Come on guys! Let's smile!"

Galaxy slowly shook her head, "Patch. If we're still here, then our Make-The-World-Better spell didn't work, and if it didn't work, then something went terribly wrong."

"You mean terribly right," I said still smiling, hugging Buddy and kissing him on the muzzle. "Come on! Let's watch all those cheesy kung-fu movies now!"

The others looked a little afraid for me (don't ask me why, their being alive was good thing!) and nodded.

I guzzled down soda and munched on popcorn like I was Bon-Bon, as we popped our first kung fu classic into Buddy's portable VCR and started our movie marathon off right with Ninjas Verus Lawyers 5: The Revenge of Habeus Corpus. This was great, this was totally great! My friends were okay! We went through every movie Buddy had brought with him.

We fell asleep on the couches and next morning I convinced Posey and Ember to make a great feast of a breakfast for everyone! I had never felt so relieved or so alive! I knew a lot of powerful ponies were gonna be angry, (not the least of which our generous finaceers who paid for all those castles to be built) but maybe the spell just worked differently than Galaxy thought it would! Yeah! Everything was just fine! How could anything be wrong?!

Eventually Firefly and Wind Whistler returned. "The news isn't good," said Firefly, "The castles exploded."

W-What?

"A-All of the castles exploded? H-Hang on! Weren't Rosy and Starlight in...?"

Wind Whistler interrupted me, "I'm sorry Patch," She gritted her teeth,"...They're gone. No pony could have survived those explosions."

Rosey? Starlight? Dead? No. No, it can't be. They were wrong! The explosions couldn't have been that bad! Everyone knows everyone survives blasts 'no one could have survived!' The pieces of the Rainbow of Light were so small! They couldn't make a blast that big! They had to be wrong!

"Starlight." Ember broke down crying.

"How could this have happened?" asked Gusty.

"This isn't what I foresaw, this doesn't make any sense!" Mimic whispered, her eyes huge with shock.

"I don't understand," said Twilight, "Wind Whistler and Bright Eyes checked everything! They prepared for everything! This shouldn't have happened."

"Well, apparently you forgot to put in a failsafe for your wonderful Rainbow of Ligt being a weapon of mass destruction!" snapped Buddy. Rage had been bubbling within hin ever since Firefly first broke the news.

"Buddy, calm down," said Posey. She looked like she was struggling not to break down in tears herself.

"No! None of this would have happened if you guys hadn't decided to show yourselves to my girlfriend!"

"We didn't 'decide' to show ourselves to her," said Galaxy, "She found us all on her own, because she was pure of heart!"

Buddy ignored her and turned towards me, "And you! All I wanted was for us to get married, settle down and enjoy a nice, normal life. But noooooooo, you weren't READY for marriage, not until you'd unearthed sonething so groundbreaking, so world-shattering, that you did just that! SHATTERED THE WORLD! . So are you satisfied, Pookie-bear?! Have you left an indelible impact on civilization?! Has it finally been a big enough ADVENTURE for you, Patch?"

"You're right," I said, tears starting to appear in my eyes.

"You're damn right I'm...wait, what?" Buddy was looking at me, then himself, with wide eyes.

I paid no mind. I ran off.

+++

Posey slapped Buddy, "How dare you?" she said, glaring daggers, "If you want to hate us, that's fine. The Rainbow of Light was ours, not hers. But Patch is your girlfriend. She doesn't deserve to be treated that way."

"Patch never actually loved me," spat Buddy. "She was always ignoring me in favor of trying to find magic ponies. She kept rejecting me whenever I proposed."

"You're wrong," interrupted North Star.

"I'm wrong?! Oh! Forgive me! I briefly lost track of reality, and mistook this for a world where Patch and I weren't both still single!"

"Patch does love you. Practically every time she came here, while you were elsewhere she would talk about you and how great she thought you were. So much on the great part...Unless we're referring to what a great JERK you were!"

"Yes! I was such a 'great' guy, that she turned down more than THIRTY marriage proposals over the course of seven years! Kindly explain that to me!"

"BECAUSE SHE WAS SCARED!" Ember snapped in tears, reminding everyone she wasn't the filly she looked like.

"Patch isn't scared of anything!"

"No, she's musophobic! But she didn't want you to think she was a coward! And she's scared to pieces of things she can't back out of later because she'd disappoint those who she gave her promise to! She doesn't want to break her promises! Because her friends mean that much to her!"

"Marriage is a huge commitment," Posey had spoken up again, "It's only natural that Patch would be afraid of such a commitment, and besides, if Patch really didn't love you don't you think she would have left you by now? She was more worried about you than she was about herself when you collapsed."

Buddy wilted under the mares and filly. "I guess I didn't think of it like that."

"For richer for poorer, for better or worse. Tell me, Buddy, are you the type of guy a girl can count on to be there, on her side, when things are at their absolute worst?"

"..."

"Big decision for a girl to make."

"I...I...I..."

"Well?" said North Star, "what are you waiting for? Run to her!"

"Uh, right," and Buddy took off after Patch.

I ran wildly. Rosy was surely dead. Starlight also had to be d-NO! I refuse to accept that! Starlight is alive, she has to be. I'll find her, I know I will!

I then noticed my surroundings. I was now in a new part of the woods. There were giant mushrooms surrounding a small cottage. I had never been here before, but I knew it had to be the home of the Moochick, thanks to all the stories the paradise ponies told me about him. Maybe he could help me find Starlight...

As I approached the cottage I noticed a small gravestone that was marked 'Habit'. Habit? Oh, now I remember, he was the Moochick's pet rabbit. I slowly opened the door.

"Hello?" I called out. No answer, guess no one's home. However, as soon as I entered the cottage I noticed a small old creature lying on a bed. His white beard extended from his bed to the other end of this one-room cottage. He looked like how the Paradise Ponies had described elves or humans. It dawned on me that this old man was probably the Moochick.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, "I didn't here anyone answer when I opened the door so I thought there was nobody here."

"It's been a while since I've seen one of you ponies. At first I was relieved that you had stopped coming to me for help, but then I started to miss it," replied the old man.

"Well, I'm sure that the others meant to visit you but just couldn't find the time."

He ignored me. "Would you like some tea?"

"Umm...no, thank you."

"That's good. I doubt I'm in any condition to brew any. Do you know if the ponies of Paradise Estate are doing well?"

"Yeah. They're all fine...though some have moved on..."

"Ah. Just as well. The world has moved on. Best that they get a chance to see the world. Please, tell them I said hello, and farewell."

"I'll...remember to do that."

The old man let out a raspy sigh. "So what brings you here, my little pony?"

I let it all out. I cried and told him everything. I hate crying. Crying was something Bon-Bon or Sweetheart did, not me. But I just couldn't help it...no matter how hard I tried not to I just couldn't stop. The Moochick patted me on the head. Normally I'd hate that...but it felt so comforting.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Patch. So sorry for everyone's loss. How I wish they had come to me for advice. The Rainbow of Light was always rather temperamental, perhaps it just didn't like what all those ponies wanted to do with its power...and it reacted like any cornered animal would... So what do you plan to do now?"

"I have to find Starlight, she has to be okay! Her and the others! We get through everything together! So she can't be gone! And we're gonna fix everything!"

"I see." Why was he looking at me that way? He said, "Will you do an old man a favor?"

"What is it?" I asked, leaning in closer.

"As long as you're trotting about the world, would you be a dear and bring the seven pieces of the Rainbow of Light back together, please?" he sounded so calm, as though he were asking me to buy an extra quart of milk from the supermarket.

"What?"

"A failed spell such as the one you've described would've released an untold amount of wild magic, but at least, the individual pieces of the Rainbow Of Light couldn't be destroyed by any pony's hooves. Best not to let them drift too far apart from one another. They'll be lonely. And I think, I see, you'll be doing a great deal of good in the process..."

His request shocked me. "I don't know. I was hoping to find my friends first and..." it was then that I noticed the Moochick had stopped moving. I tried shaking him, "Hey Mr. Moochick...Mr. Moochick get up!" No response. He was dead. I tested his pulse, and listened in vain for a heartbeat, just to be sure.

I thought for a long while.

I didn't want to get sidetracked from reuniting with my friends, but at the same time, it didn't seem right to ignore an old man's last request. Especially not this old man, who had helped the Paradise Ponies countless times in the past, and given them their home. Oh well, I guess I can try to find my friends and the seven pieces of the rainbow simultaneously!

As I left the cottage, I heard a voice calling for me. "Patch! Patch, where are you?!"

I recognized the voice instantly, "Buddy? Buddy, I'm over here!" I shouted as I ran towards him.

Upon seeing me he quickly gave me the biggest hug I've ever gotten from him, "I was so worried about you, Patch. I'm so sorry."

"Its okay," I said, "You were right about everything!"

"No I wasn't! I was just upset, lashing out in the heat of the moment! Please, I didn't actually mean those things." I was a little bit lighter that he wasn't angry at me anymore.

"Come on; let's get back to Paradise Estate. There are some things I want to take care of before we go."

"Go? Go where?"

"You'll see."

We made it back to Paradise Estate to find all the others waiting outside for us looking worried. North Star ran up to us, "Are you okay? Did Buddy apologize?"

"Uh...yes," I said, "and that second question is oddly specific but also yes."

"Well, we're glad to see you're alright," said Twilight.

"Yeah," I said, "and one more thing, I met the Moochick."

"Well, that's a surprise," said Twilight, "We haven't seen the Moochick in a long time. How is he?"

"He's...He's dead," I answered. "The Moochick died right in the middle of a conversation with me."

There was silence for a while as the paradise ponies processed what I had just said. Finally Posey spoke up, "How did he go?"

"He seemed to've just passed away from old age," I answered. "He told me to tell you hello...and farewell."

"Sounds just like him," Surprise said.

"It was bound to happen one day," said Applejack, shuddering. "I kept meaning to go see him just for the sake of saying hi but...."

"Before he...departed, he asked me to find the pieces of the Rainbow of Light, and I've decided I will."

Everypony and dragon looked at me.

"What about your friends?" asked Buddy, "I thought for sure you would want to find them?" Buddy really does know me.

"There's no reason I can't do both, is there? The best place to look first is the ruins of the castles, and I know where everypony lives." I turned to the others. "And I promise you guys, I will bring back the seven pieces of the rainbow."

"We have the utmost faith in you," said Wind Whistler.

"Thanks," I said. Finally I turned back to Buddy, "I think we should get married." That came as a real shocker to everypony present. They all stared at me with their mouths hanging open.

"What, are you sure?" asked Buddy.

"Yeah. Sooner the better."

"Okay, but let's do it tomorrow."

"No, let's do it today. I've delayed long enough."

"Are you sure? I can understand if you want to put it off for a little while longer."

"For what?! Selecting a wedding cake? Picking out the church? Mailing invitations to everyone we know? Getting ourselves fitted for a bridal gown and tux? In the middle of a disaster? I've chickened out long enough! We'll make do with what Paradise Estate has to offer."

"But..."

"Buddy! I've put this wedding off for far too long! Quit being such a wimp, and marry me already!"

"Yes, ma'am," he said in a scared little whisper.

Later that afternoon, we'd set everything up for the wedding. Buddy wore a tux that he got from his dad a few years back (he had been carrying it with him for years), while I wore an old wedding dress that North Star gave to me (apparently it was worn by her friend Heart Throb on her wedding day.) Twilight volunteered to lead the exchange-of-vows ceremony. For just a second, I swear her shadow transformed to something else.

Spike bore the rings from Sparkler's collection. Everyone gathered for the impromptu wedding in the great hall. Twilight turned to Buddy, "Do you, Buddy, agree to take this mare as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," he said.

She turned to me next, "And do you, Patch, agree to take this stallion as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested within me, as the Keeper of the Rainbow Of Light... you may kiss the bride."

So we kissed and everyone cheered. Later that night, me and Buddy...actually, I think I won't talk about what happened that night, it's private, except to say that we relaxed by drinking champagne, eating ice cream, and playing romantic video games after round ten of the marriage consummation.

Anyway, the next morning, I was preparing to leave. The paradise ponies were promising to fetch the Moochick from his cottage and honor him with a proper burial later.

"I promise you guys" I said, "I'll find all the pieces of the rainbow even if it kills me."

"She just jinxed herself," Surprise whispered to Firefly.

"Geeze, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Kidding!"

"We're going to miss you," said Ember.

"I'm going to miss you too," I said. "But hey, I'll be back soon, just you wait."

"Be careful," said Twilight.

"I will."

One by one, the Paradise Ponies (and Spike) hugged and kissed me goodbye, all reluctant to let me go. Especially alone. Wind Whistler called me a fool. But I figured I'd cover more ground going solo, and one lone pony was a lot less likely to be noticed. I could take care of myself.

"Wait for me, Patch!"

"Buddy? What are you doing?" I asked.

"You didn't think I was going to let my wife go wander about a dangerous post-disaster country-side all by her lonesome, did you?"

"I'm going to regret marrying you, aren't I?"

"Never, ever, ever," he vowed with a smile, and we took off.

Four months later

I was in a marketplace, approaching a sleazy earth pony merchant, selling small trinkets. "Excuse me," I said to him, "I was wondering if you've seen a pony named Starlight?"

"The same Starlight who single-hoofedly pushed the world into ruin? The nag got blown into idd-bitty pieces," he smirked.

I barely twitched an eyebrow at that, keeping my best poker face. "So the rumors say." I turned to regard his merchandise. "I can't help but notice that you have a little piece of rainbow that seems to be more expensive than all your other items."

"You have a good eye," he smiled, "that is a particularly special item."

"May I have a closer look?"

"Be my guest," he said, and I picked it up to examine it more closely. Without a doubt it was one of the pieces of the Rainbow, the red one, but how did this pony get his hooves on it?

"Can I ask something? Something tells me you know what this really is, so why just...sell it?"

He sounded a bit insulted. "Lady, I'm a retailer. I'm not interested in any 'big picture.' When I see items like these; I figure that there's more to be gained from selling them off quickly. If you use something like that, you become a target for people that want it, and they're more likely to kill you for it."

I wish I could argue with that. The explosions caused by the Rainbow of Light hasn't merely ended lives and caused vast property damage. That would've honestly been a mercy. No: everywhere you looked infrastructure all around us was rotting. The magical residue wrecked even more havoc with our minds: permanently brain-damaged ponies sleepwalking through life with no one to care for them. And even that was nothing compared to what had befallen the sane. The majority of surviving 'unaffected' ponies...had just stopped caring, given in to nihilism and disregard, in some degree or another. It was like destruction itself has roared across the land. No pony was concerned with repairing the damage, with striving for a brighter tomorrow. Entropy was the new status quo, and for whatever unfathomable reason, ponykind had settled into it quite cozily, thank you kindly.

"It's too bad all your other stuff appears to be useless junk you probably cobbled together in your basement." I noted, eyeing the hodgepodge of items.

"Look lady, are you going to buy that or just make fun of my stuff?"

"I don't suppose you could lower the price of the Rainbow fragment by a few decimal points?"

"Not happening."

"It's to save the world."

"That's what the last dozen ponies before you looking for a discount said. And save the world how? Like Starlight did?"

I glared. He grinned.

"All things considered...perhaps my exorbitant asking price is the only thing standing in the way of the planet being split in two! Wouldn't that be a laugh!"

He laughed at first, but his expression soured after I remained silence. "Anyway, still interested or not?"

I looked at the rainbow piece still in my hoof, "Oh, I'm very interested in this item, but I don't plan on buying it. I'm just going to take it."

"Oh, you can't be serious." He began reaching under the table for something when recognition flashed in his eyes. "Wait a bucking second! I recognize you now, Lady! You're that Starlight nag's-!"

I flipped his table over and ran off.

"Come back here!" Shouted the now chasing merchant.

Thankfully, most of the police who -in better times- would've be chasing me too, were spread too thin trying to maintain what was left of law and order to focus on one common thief.

I turned down another street only to hit a dead end alleyway. "It looks like you don't have anywhere to run," the merchant snickered, closing in on me. All of a sudden something hit him from behind and he fell unconscious. I looked up to see Buddy.

"I could've handled it," I told him.

"I never said you couldn't. My way was just faster," he replied, "By the way, did you get what we were looking for?"

"Yep, looks like the info we got was right. There really was some pony trying to sell one of the pieces here."

"Well, if we keep having this kind of luck, we'll finish that rainbow in no time!"

"Let's hope so."

Two Years Later

We haven't found any new leads on any new part of the Rainbow of Light. On top of that, I've had to take a year off our quest to gave birth to our foal.

On the bright side, I've met up with five of my friends. Bright-Eyes didn't even recognize me, but was still courteous enough, in her own way. Thankfully, Lancer wasn't suffering from memory problems. We laughed, shared drinks, and he even gave us some of his old supplies; one adventure to another. Maybe it is ultimately better that Bright-Eyes cannot remember what she helped bring about.

Melody had to write down everything she wanted to say, but she was still 'all there,' still her friendly old self, still writing song lyrics. It broke her heart (and mine) knowing she could no longer sing.

Clover's family was the best off, so we had rested there the longest, I swear she's indestructible!

Sweetheart was living at the farm of a cousin of Teddy's working her hardest to use her medical talents for others while Bon-Bon's was just trying to raise what was left of her family.

Ten years later

"Patch...I think you and I should part ways," Buddy said, as we watched our son chew on a teddy bear.

"You've got to be kidding me, Buddy." I told him, "All those years you spent asking me to marry you, and now you want us to break up?"

"When I first wanted to travel with you on this never-ending journey it was because I loved you. I still do love you but we have a son to think about now and this quest is way too dangerous to take foals on. The first piece was easy, but who knows who has the others now or what it'll take to take them," He stumped me there. There was no use trying to deny that the quest was getting more and more dangerous. "Please Patch, I love you, but our son needs to have as much of a normal life as possible. Let me take him with me."

He was right. I didn't want to have to part with him or our son, but he was right. But I smiled at the both of them.

"This...this isn't the end for us, though, you know. As soon as I'm done searching for these other Rainbow fragments...I'll be right back home."

"Of course, darling, of course." Buddy said. "Take as long as you need. I love you...and I promise I'll be keeping the bed warm for you...until the day you arrive home."

I woke up on a pile of soft pillows. My head was clearing for the first time in days. I had dreamt about the time I parted ways with Buddy and our son. No matter how many times I have that dream it still hurts. This time I held onto that painful memory for all of it was worth pulling my head out of the sweet fog it had been trapped in.

A 'normal life' for their child. There was no Steady 9-to-5 workdays for Papa. No steady 8-to-3 schooldays for Junior. No Cartoons and hoof-ball games on the TV. Nowadays, Mr. and Mrs. Normal Average Anypony were the ones barricading their houses against vicious bandits and hungry carnivores, hoping against hope they can scrounge up enough not to starve.

But at least I wouldn't be bringing a foal into running the gauntlet of monster infested forests and thugs, with a innocent I had to protect along with myself. I had to trust Buddy to protect our foal, and they had the support of all my friends put together from Clover's impossible luck to Sweetheart's farm. All I had were my supplies and wits. I wanted to be with them again.

And yet...And yet, this quest called to me, louder than any maternal instinct. I had to finish it. I'd be able to have my family reunion once the Rainbow was back together. That's what we'd promised. Buddy would keep my bed warm. It wouldn't be much longer at all.

Focus, Patch, focus.

I was dressed like a harem dancer from a Saddle Arabia flick. I was surrounded by mares dressed the same way, sleeping in the dead of night, pillows and silk drapes everywhere. I thought back to how I'd ended up in this awful place.

I had caught wind of a pegasus who had stumbled on a Rainbow Shard and had crowned himself 'king' of the local city. He used it to power the electric generator in his 'palace' (really an old office building). Anyone he was willing to 'bless' with police protection and working electricity, were taxed through the nose. Not in cash, though: bartered good and services was the currency of the day. Of course, the self-stylized King was also bullying anyone who got in his way as were his smaller thugs, who wanted a piece of the action. I didn't like bullies as a filly and I didn't like them now.

Turned out His Majesty kept the Blue Shard on him at all times, except to recharger his generator, every so often. The way he trotted around with his nose in the air, like it made him invincible, made snatching it off his neck too easy.

I should have known better. What I wrested off his neck after I tackled him to the ground...was a decoy. I burst out laughing like a loon as his 'royal guards' cuffed me and dumped out my saddle bag to find my own Red Shard. I happily told him what it was.

"Thank you kindly for doubling my power! YOU! Figure out how this works!" He tossed the Red Shard to a surprised unicorn with a cracked horn.

It took them just a few minutes to recognize me as the discoverer of Paradise Estate. The fatso actually THANKED me!

"Because of you, I get to live like a king, like I always should have! Those jocks in high school always shoved my head in the toilet! Girls always laughed at me! Well, this worm sure has turned, hasn't he?"

I always thought that was a ridiculous saying. I...couldn't stop laughing at it! After I happily helped them slipped me into a happy dress looted from some costume store, I was introduced to the rest of his 'prizes.' From fillies who had laughed at him when he was a lonely nothing to random mares who had caught his eye, all of them as doped up on laughter as I was.

Buddy is the only pony I'll ever tell what happened those next few days and few nights.

How I laughed through it all! I happily served My King, I didn't even care about my fellow mare, all there was, was Him. Until, on my third happy night, I happily saw a happy pink shooting star happily streaking out the happy window. Something about it was happily familiar.

And here I am. But if a dream of one sad memory was all it took to snap a mare out of it, why hadn't it happen before? Had it happened before? What made me so special? Don't know, but life is kind of funny like that, isn't it?

My early years as a delinquent and prankster paid off. Picking the lock to the room was a piece of cake. I found the guard outside asleep, drunk off his flanks. I took his pistol.

King Fatso had given me a complete tour of the 'palace' so I knew where his royal bedchambers were. I didn't fall for the rock-candy decoy this time. There was only one place an insecure colt-stallion like this would keep something so powerful. I checked under his pillow as he sucked his hoof in his sleep. No go. Just a picture of his mother. So I did what I should have done first and checked under his bed. Bingo! Beautiful and Blue.

The Blue Shard looked dirty, but when I grabbed it, it shown brightly...it felt so familiar, it made me chuckle just a little. Not the drugged-up giggles he'd been feeding me, but the real deal, the sort I hadn't really felt since Buddy and I had parted ways...it felt good.

That's when I put a pillow between the muzzle of my pistol and his leg and pulled the trigger. I'd stuffed his face with another pillow to muffle his screams. His Majesty instinctively tried to fly, but he was so pudgy he couldn't hope to lift his own weight. Thank you, karma.

Luckily for me it was a short trip back to the 'Bow-Chicka-Wow-Wow Room,' (His name, not mine. It wasn't a long walk, either; His Corpulence didn't want to have to walk far to be with his 'jewels'). I tossed him inside. The mares inside were coming back to their senses already. Now that the Blue Shard was no longer 'his,' he could no longer pump giggly joy-joy gunk into their brains. They looked at him and themselves in disgust and rage. He wet himself.

He had really wanted this room to look 'authentic' (as far as clichéd movie sets go), so one wall was lined with swords...and not costume shop prop swords, either. I hoofed one to each mare. The mares began to slowly began to trot towards King Fatso with blades in hooves and mouth.

I happened to notice a sword that was out of place among the collection. (His Grossness must have gathered them up from pawn shops and museums). Craftmareship wasn't anything too extraordinary, but it looked a trusty enough blade. Yet that wasn't what got my attention. The sword was of a medieval design, the tip of the blade ended in a small crown shape: a dragonslayer's sword. The emblem of a coat of arms was on the hilt's cross-guard.

"Squire," I whispered, ignoring the pathetic pleas from that waste of lipids. I was too busy having flashbacks to a slumber party so many years ago. Back when my six friends and I were all together, and inseparable. And getting a certain fateful visit from a spirit...

"Was this your sword, Squire? You don't deserve to have it gather dust in a place like this." I took the sword and scabbard belt with me.

"No, no, no, no, no! Please! This isn't fair! I don't deserve this!" Was the last thing I heard from His Hugeness.

"Hey, you wanted to be surrounded by a herd of mares who wanted you all to themselves." I gave one last laugh. "It's enough to make kings and vagabonds believe the very best."

I shut the door as I left, hearing another of His Massiveness' 'prizes' shout how he had met the business end of karma.

With the 'spell' from the abused Element gone (I actually wished I'd taken time to wring the secret out of His Vastness on how he made the Blue Shard work like that. A magic doodad that turns potential enemies docile and giggly could be very useful.) I found my own Rainbow Shard in the 'science lab,' (formerly the old employees' kitchen) hidden in a cupboard behind a jug of non-alcoholic cider. By now, the King's guards and toadies were in a panic. The electrical lights were flickering, dimming. They'd needed a recharge that would never come. I wonder when the guards would realize I'd taken or blown up most of their ammo before leaving.

Outside, I had a chance to reload the pistol I'd nicked. You know...I'd never forget the first time I drew a pistol on a fellow pony...the first time I'd taken another's life. The gun hadn't even been loaded.

I'd brought an empty gun for the express purpose of scaring bad guys away. I remember when I first got to test that idea.

We were in a mountainous region, with many sheer drops. An Earth Pony was hurrying my way, bringing out a bloody thick machete with a dark, wolfish sort of smile. In the instant I drew my gun, all bravery fled the other mare.

"D-d-don't k-k-kill me!" she blubbered in a sniveling, hitching voice. Tears streamed down her face as she backed away from me. She wasn't looking where she was going. She was about to walk right off the cliff! I holstered my gun, so we could talk like civilized ponies.

It was like a switch had been flipped. Her crying ceased, the cruel smile returned, and she bit down firmer on her machete as she again advanced towards me. I whipped the gun back out.

"No, NO! I'm not a bad pony! Take it easy! Have a heart!" Her ears were pulled back, her eyes were shaking, weeping like a foal with a skinned knee.

I backed away a few paces before lowering my pistol. I swear I heard her cackle, as she galloped towards me again, blade gleaming, the teardrops on her face now meaningless moisture.

If this someone's idea of a comedy routine, it wasn't funny. Naive me. It took me two more repeats, before I fully comprehended just what kind of pony I was facing.

Gun up: crocodile tears.
Gun down: crocodile teeth.

Maybe on a different day, I might've betrayed myself and pulled the trigger. All she'd need to hear was an empty click, and that would've been the end of me.

Instead, I was furious. I could see it all in her smile! She wanted to cut me up with that machete, not because I'd trespassed in her territory, or even to steal my stuff, but for fun! This evil coward...this phony, lying viper...How dare she!

This time, I marched RIGHT UP to the Earth Pony mare with my gun out, backing her right to the very edge of the drop. As before, all she could think to do was weep and plead, but I was deaf to it all at that point. This time, I reared back, and bucked her in the face with both hooves at full force.

CRACK!

I felt some of the contents of her head...on the fur of my legs. And face. Wet and slimy. She fell down the ravine.

SPLAT.

So quick. So motionless. For a while, I stared. Then I ran. Barely saw where I was going. Such an unfunnily funny thing...my hooves, as I ran...I wasn't feeling rock, or dirt, or grass, or mud underfoot. Each and every time I lifted a hoof and brought it back to the earth, I felt the texture of wet bone. Of blood and squelching brains.

I galloped for hours.

I cried. I washed my legs in a river for such a long time, but I could still feel GORE. Unclean things! They had taken life! I was a murderer. She was insane, what was my excuse? I could have kept the gun on her and trotted away, right?

I considered whether or not to hurl myself off a ravine. That would only be the fair thing to do, right? Even-steven?

What stopped me was this realization: I had killed the mare with the machete in order to get away from her. If I killed myself, we'd just be back together again, wouldn't we? Both our deaths would've been meaningless.

The next town I came across was more intact than most. It took time, but I refused to leave until I had bought bullets.

Twenty-three years later

Horse-apples! I screwed up. Not only did I fail to get the third piece, but I somehow managed to get my other two pieces stolen. And now I have a bunch of angry unicorn guards have their horns lowered at me, and my only exit is the window at my back. The fact that I'm currently several stories up isn't helping. Oh well, guess I have no other choice; I bucked the window behind me, and leapt out.

Ow.

I landed in the river below, and managed to swim to shore. Despite the water breaking my fall, diving from a hundred-and-twenty hoof drop was still pretty painful. While making sure none of my bones were broken, I pondered what to do next. Stealing three pieces of the rainbow from a power-mad unicorn wouldn't be simple. At least I wasn't part of a harem again. A hoof tapped me on the shoulder, "Excuse me, I believe these belong to you."

I looked behind to see a brown earth pony with a spiky brown mane and an hourglass for a cutie mark. In his hoof were three of the rainbow fragments: Red, Blue, and Indigo.

"Who are you?" I asked, "and how did you get those?"

"Oh, I'm just a wanderer trying to learn about Equestrian history," he replied. "As for how I got these, let's just say I have my ways."

He sighed at my skeptical frown. "Look at it this way, I just saved you a swim through a sewer system, six hours of pretending to be a maid, a gauntlet run through two booby-tapped hallways of death, a climatic sword fight at the peak of the castle's tallest tower, and recovering from sword wounds after tossing the big baddie's body into the moat."

I tilted my head, "Well, thank you, I guess." Upon examining the pieces closer, I could tell they were the real deal. "Wait, where are you going!?"

"Unfortunately, I can't stay," he sighed, "Places to be. Planets to save." Then he spoke softer, almost...regretful? "And...it would have been fun Patch, I know you'd have loved seeing it all. But...you have your role to play."

I just blinked blankly. Then a new thought struck me, and I growled, "Wait a cotton-picking minute! You cheated me out of a kick-flank adventure like that?!" I threw a frying pan at him I had used as a make shift shield during my escape. Bull's eye! Dang, he's still conscious?!

I tried chasing after him, but he somehow managed to lose me; next I heard was a strange mechanical whooshing sound.

And the strange pony was gone. I never did find out who he was.

Present Day. Present Time.

"Pattycake! Pattycake! Baker's mare!" Dinky and Derpy played.

"Hey, mom! The cupcakes are ready!" Sparkler called out from the kitchen.

"Yippie!" Dinky said. She didn't mind mom's muffins, but variety was the spice of life. "Can we take some on our visit to the Rainbow Factory tomorrow?"

"Sure, sweetie. But remember you promised to help with Cheerilee's garden." There was a rapping at the door.

"Hello?" Derpy opened the door to find Doctor Whooves with a big bump on his head.

"Derpy, dear, the TARDIS' ice machine is on the fritz, can I borrow some of yours?"

Sixteen years after Indigo Rainbow Fragment

I'd wandered into another town. I wasn't expecting to find one of the Rainbow pieces here. Elusive little buggers.

I just stopped by to rest. As usual, I asked the townsfolk if they had seen Starlight, but they just ignored me or answered no. They all looked at me like I was crazy or something.

Then while I was sitting in the pub, a yellow pony with a pink mane and tail, and a wrapped candy as her cutie mark approached me. She looked familiar, somehow. "Excuse me," she said, "I've heard you've been going around town asking about Starlight?"

"Why have you seen her?" I asked, somewhat excitedly.

"Well, no, but it's just that my aunt told me she once had a friend named Starlight."

"Who's your aunt?"

"Bon-Bon, have you heard of her?"

I nearly spit out my sangria. "You're Bon-Bon's niece! Candy? Whoa! When did you grow up?! You look great!"

"Yes, did you know her?"

"Know her? She's one of my closest friends! Remember me? Auntie Patch! My family stayed with yours when you were still a filly! You loved all my funny faces!"

"Auntie Patch? Wait, you're..." She looked like she was seeing a ghost, "But...how...?"

"Don't worry about it," I took her hooves in mine, "So how is Bon-Bon doing?"

Bon-Bon's niece, Candy, looked sad. "I'm sorry. Aunt Bon-Bon passed away last year."

"Passed away!" I chuckled. "The very idea! She's probably just hiding somewhere! Clever girl!"

Why was Candy looking at me that way?

"Uh...right. So, Auntie Patch, now that I'm all grown up...is it true that you and her once stole a hot-air balloon and were almost eaten by sharks?"

"Pretty much. There's nothing tall about that tale!"

"Heh. I'm almost sorry, I was hoping you were going to make it even more fantastic when I saw you again."

"I have plenty of more fantastic stories to tell now!"

We talked for a few hours, then a few more hours, until the pub had to closed for the night, "It was nice seeing you again, Candy."

"You too Auntie Patch," she smiled. Then she added, "Wait, before you go, there's something that I think you should have." She rummaged through her own saddlebag and brought out four large notebooks, "These were my aunt's journals that she kept after the disaster, and I figured that since you and she were friends that you should have them."

"Thank you! I'll protect them with my life. But are you sure you don't want them?"

"I...it kinda hurts to have them around."

Oh right. Because Bon-Bon was hiding.

We hugged and nuzzled, I stayed a few weeks more than I planned in that town.

Forty-two years later

I never thought I'd come to this place. After all these years, the wild magic had finally died down enough for it to be safe to approach.

This was Rosy's castle on the Isle of Pony. We'd made it into one of the Seven Castles of Harmony to change the world. Or at least, it was the blasted rubble remains of Rosy's castle...

"Rosy, I'm so sorry, I'm just so sorry. You were my best friend at the orphanage. Heh, remember how when we found out we had the same birthday and had the same coloring we figured that we had to be long-lost twins? I can't say I wasn't disappointed when they DNA tests said 'no.' I almost didn't want to go with my parents when they wouldn't adopt you too. Then when we were both in our teens...you were still alone. The chances of a family choosing you were slipping down to nothing. And you turn out to be royalty! Ha! I grew up with a princess! And the royal life sure suited you a lot more than it would have me. And a lot more than a lot of so-called kings and queens I've been running into. You were wonderful, Rosy."

I bowed my head.

"Rosy, I'm sorry I didn't come to visit sooner. I really am. I know wherever she is Starlight is, she's really sorry too. I...I don't know what to say really! But...maybe this way I can make things just the teeny-tinniest bit more right. Goodbye, Rosy."

Everything had pointed to the Rainbow Shard still being here. The castle was blasted to its foundations, but someone had begun haphazardly piling up the blown-away mortar stones into a crude tower. It looked nothing less than a mockery of the place Rosy had invited us to more than once. Princess or not, she'd refused to forget our friendship. She had still been Rosy.

Climbing the ugly mass wasn't easy, but I'd embarked on more than enough side quests over the years to keep me in shape. But they aren't part of this story.

In the chamber at the top, I found a fully grown dragon. Just my luck.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my lair?" The big scaly mass of claws, fangs, and fire asked of me, like he was addressing a mosquito.

"I'm Patch," I answered, "and you are?"

"My name is Basil," said the dragon, "but you still haven't answered my question; why are you in my lair?"

"Just trying to be friendly," I said. "Wait, are you the same Basil that fought Squire?"

"Fought? THAT'S how they're telling it now? That runt is lucky I thought he was dead. Heh. You know, I still wonder whether the runt's father sent him on that impossible quest to get rid of him, or get the brat to give up on becoming a knight."

My father did not send me on a quest to fail, Basil!

I looked around, startled, but Basil apparently hadn't heard a thing.

"Once again, pony, you are avoiding my question; what are you doing in my lair? If you have some fantasy about being a dragonslayer, I suggest you turn around, go home, and go back to bed."

I was actually trying to buy time to try to see if I could spot the rainbow fragment among his treasure. But no sign of it. "It has come to my attention that a fragment of the Rainbow of Light may be part of your hoard. I was wondering if I could have it?"

Basil laughed, "The item you look for is indeed among my hoard. But no true dragon would ever part with any portion of his treasure, no, not even so much as a rusted video game arcade token! Let alone such a marvel as the Violet Rainbow of Light fragment."

"Why? What good is it to you?"

"Oh, not that much really. It's merely enabled me to outlive every dragon of my generation and restored me to the apex of my youth, every two years."

I was afraid it'd be something that. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to steal it from you."

Basil laughed. "You remind me of my grandchildren!"

"In what way?"

"In that I'm afraid that I'm beginning to find you tiresome. WAIT! That sword! The runt's...?!"

"Yes! It belonged to Squire! The hero whose eyes could cow even the most fearsome of monsters!"

"Dragons aren't monsters, dear, we are forces of nature!" Basil roared nearly powerful enough to blow me off my hoobes.

"What are you? Some descendant of his?"

"I'm a friend! A personal friend!"

"Really? You don't quite look a couple thousand years old, little pony."

"His spirit never stopped searching for you. Even when Squire's body died, he never gave up on his quest. He wouldn't give up!"

"Heh. So the runt remained an idiot even in death."

He breathed a blast of fire in my direction.

"But I think I've run out of nostalgia."

I managed to dodge, but Basil's fireball was quickly followed by another and three more after that. I was being herded to the edge of the chamber, and a large portion of the floor collapsed behind me. Jagged rocks waited for me at the bottom.

I braced myself for another flood of flames. Instead, Basil's tail swept out and sent me plummeting. "Bye," he happily waved.

I was falling headfirst. I tried to catch the rock face with Square's blade to slow myself down but Basil had knocked me too far into the open air. No way! There had to be a way out of this! I wasn't done yet! I couldn't just...die.

...

"Didn't I tell you to be careful even when on an adventure?" I heard a voice next to me.

I turned to see an glowing orangish-red pegasus with an aged white mane flying beside me.

"Brightglow."

She flew so I was against her back as she began to pull up, taking me with her. "I know this is your story and your adventure. But you don't mind a little help, right?"

I felt her wings tickle against my legs, I felt her fur against mine. Brightglow was real. Brightglow was here. "BRIGHTGLOW!" I hugged her neck tightly as we flew up. "It's you! It's really you! Where have you have been?!"

"Being your guardian angel." She grimaced. "Patch, I'm sorry, I was the one who inspired you to find Paradise Estate. I'm so sorry, everything that's ever happened since then has been my fault!"

"What?! Brightglow! I-I-I-" My brain nearly went blank, "All this time-you thought, you were, all of this--you thought that...Brightglow! NOTHING IS YOUR FAULT! I made my own choices! So did everypony else!"

"Then...you, you don't hate me?"

"Hate you?! Angry you didn't...but Brightglow how could I--, no I don't! You're my friend!"

We were almost back in Basil's entrance again, "And there's something we need to get back."

"We?"

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"RIGHT!"

Brightglow flew with purpose now. I rode properly on her back.

"The fourth Rainbow Shard, the Violet one, is a part of Basil's hoard! We just need to distract him long enough to grab it!"

I drew Squire's sword. Fair Patch, the object of thy quest lies not in the beasts' baubles but within the belly of the beast itself.

"It's inside him," I whispered.

"What?" Brightglow asked.

"The fourth shard! He swallowed it! It's inside him!"

"How do you know?"

"Squire told me."

"Who?"

"The spirit haunting this sword!"

We flew to the mouth of the cave. Basil looked genuinely surprised to see me and my new friend.

"Basil the dragon!" I called out boldly, "In the name of Squire...you will call me Master!"

"No dragon has ever called a pony 'Master!'"

"Prepare to be the first!"

Basil was done playing. He tore his way out of his own lair, a storm of claws, fangs, wind and fire.

Even with me (and old age) weighing her down, Brightglow flew as quick and unpredictably as a bumblebee, heh, or maybe a firefly.

Rivers of fire in the sky, teeth and talons on the wind, Basil was destruction on wings. Brightglow darted and spun through the ever-shifting aerial maze of death. My mane caught on fire. I almost panicked and dropped Squire's sword, but I managed to put the fire out.

Basil snarled out, frustrated. "Hatchlings! A toothpick like yours defeating a dragon like me happens only in fairytales!"

"I've spent my whole life finding fairytales and living them!" I snarled back. "After the impossible is found it becomes the possible, so for a pony seeking the impossible there's always another journey. SO WHAT'S ONE MORE?!"

"Bugs go splat!" Basil clapped his claws together on us, but Brightglow folded her wings just in time, the noise deafened us both. Basil swiped at us with a claw. I heard flesh rip.

Blood stained Brightglow's lower body as she tumbled downward. I held onto her for dear life. "Brightglow! Brightglow, please!"

She spread out her wings and caught air ,righting herself.

"Brightglow?! How bad is it? Are you..."

"I can still fly!" She shouted in pain and flew straight at Basil, "Patch, cover your eyes!" She said as quickly and quietly as possible.

I shut them quickly, just in time to shield them from a blinding flash of light.

Brightglow's glow had dissipated by the time my eyes opened again.

"GO! GO! GO!" She flew at Basil's belly, I began to hack and slash at his underbelly. The scales there were a lot tougher than the myths made them out to be, but I manage to make a few shallow cuts.

Basil flapped his wings, creating a gale force that knocked us back. I was lifted off Brightglow, but she caught me before I fell.

"What are you even fighting for, pony?! The vow of a long-dead fool? A world already dead and broken? What do any of you have even left to fight for?!"

Basil breathed in deep and blanketed the air in his fire.

"A promise and my friends!"

"This is why dragons are all tribes of one! We don't throw away our lives for others!"

Basil was blasting fire constantly now. I hoped the heat would make it easier for Brightglow to fly. After all, rising air meant more lift for her wings right? Wrong! Turns out that isn't how wings work! Hot air is less dense! Meaning there was less air for Brightglow's wings to work with!

We were quickly becoming clumsy and sluggish. Her feathers and my coat were being singed. At this rate, we'd be cooked alive without the flames ever actually touching us.

The beast's breath is a perfect weapon in all respects but thus: it has a minimum range, and lasts only as long as the volume of his lungs.

Now it was my turn to whisper over the roar of the flames, "Brightglow! The moment Basil begins to inhale dive straight for his center, full tilt!"

"That's-"

"Please!"

Brightglow flew...and I just jump off her, sword first, right at where I had been hacking. I don't know why that spot is so important. For all I know I'm hallucinating half of this as I fall to my death. But...in for one jangle, in for five!

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Squire's ghost again, and I stab the sword, with somepony else pushes along side me, helping guide the sword, straight into his gut and I clink against something that isn't bone.

"But that's impossible," Basil whispered, eyes going wide.

"That's why ponies live in herds! Together, we can do the impossible!"

I slash the sword along the path of least resistance, the dragon slayer tip carrying what it caught with it. And the violet fragment of the seven colors of the rainbow comes flying out. It looks dirty and dull, not just covered in hot dragon blood.

I grab it with my free hoof. It takes an extra second to realize I have another pony next to me.

"You didn't think I was just going to let you do that all on your own, did you?" Brightglow asked.

Basil roared and tried to crush us against his belly with one bloody claw. We got away fast!

The piece I held began to brighten and shine like the rest as I brought it close to its companions.

Basil landed hard, his breathing ragged, sucking air in gasps. His entire body mass beginning to look even heavier than it should've.

We swooped down, and I landed on top of his head, and brought Squire's sword to the top of his skull inches from his brain. His eyes rolled up at me as he tried to swat me away with his tail but found he didn't have the strength.

"In the name of Squire, surrender to me as your Master."

His eyes widened, and in their reflection, I saw a blond maned colt instead of a pink maned mare.

"Y-Y-You, are, my M-M-Master." He said, fear in his voice.

I took in the look of genuine submission in his eyes, and hopped off and trotted towards the waiting Brightglow, sheathing Squire's sword with a bit of a flourish. I enjoyed sticking my tongue out at him.

"Wait! Don't you know the stories say when someone defeats a dragon, they're supposed to slay them!" Basil actually sounded, desperate.

"I have no reason to kill you, I only came for this," I said as I held up the violet rainbow piece. "And I'm writing my own story. And I already finished Squire's. So, sorry, Basil! You're stuck with me!"

"But-!"

"But nothing! I am The Master, and you WILL OBEY! Tell everyone that this is Princess Rosy's castle. Not yours."

"Yes, My Master."

And with that we left. Yes. I had just sworn a giant dragon to servitude and left him there. Why? Because Basil didn't strike me as the trustworthy type. Besides, he wasn't my dragon, he was Squire's.

"Brightglow," I asked after I had bandaged her up and we were in the air, "Where were you and where were all your friends, all this time?"

"It's...complicated."

"Try me."

"I was actually on my way to finally be with you again to celebrate the magic that would make everyone happy...Then the disaster happened. And the best I could do, all that time afterwards, was protect you at a distance..."

I felt like my brain was being twisted like raw dough. "You know...the last time we met face-to-face was, what, thirty-ish years ago? Fifty?"

"Somewhere around then," Brightglow nodded.

"And am I to understand that, for all these decades, you've been 'protecting me from a distance?'"

"Yes."

I sighed. "Brightglow...I'm sure that I can completely take you at your word about all this. I'm sure that you've been guarding me from all sorts of hidden dangers that would've otherwise made my life twice as hard. But I'd much rather have had you protecting me up close. Or at least...let me know you were THERE."

"I THOUGHT YOU'D HATE ME!" Brightglow snapped, "I thought you'd hate me for not being there when you met Pegasi, I thought you'd hate me for inspiring you to find Paradise Estate, I thought you'd hate me for destroying the world! As long as I helped you unseen, I could pretend that you wouldn't! I could pretend that you'd embrace me without a second thought!"

"I WOULD HAVE!"

"I didn't know that! All I knew was that I couldn't let you do this alone! Not when I was trapped blaming myself! Not when you were my friend! I KNOW I could have helped you more if I came close! But I thought you'd throw away help if you knew it was from me! You'd make me promise not to help you, and I'd KEEP my promise to my friend!"

"Brightglow, you didn't destroy anything...you didn't hurt anyone. You gave me one of the most magical moments of my life. I could never hate you. What I did with it was my fau-, my responsibility. And you just saved my life. When you had the choose, you chose to save me. Thank you." I hugged her.

"No more hiding." Brightglow whispered wing hugging me back. "I promise."

"I'm just happy to know that even when it got darkest, I was never alone." Then I released Brightglow from the hug. "So how about the other three who I saw with you?"

"Dazzleglow, Happyglow, and Starglow?"

"I'm guess so. They're your family?"

Brightglow's face scrunched in uncertainty. "I...they always TOLD me they were family. They'd always suddenly appear when I was in danger, or I desperately needed help. After the problem was fixed, they were actually a lot of fun to be with! But whenever I tried bringing them to see my parents...I'd blink, or I'd turn my head...or something... and they'd vanished."

"Really?"

"Yes. What's even weirder: my parents told me that there weren't any members of our family with those names. And no one else in the family could do my 'glow in the dark' trick. Maybe I am an alien pony."

"Whoa. You know, if I hadn't seen them with my own ideas, I'd figure they were imaginary friends of yours!"

"For the longest time, until I recovered, I thought YOU were imaginary!"

"Me?!"

"I'd figured you'd find Pegasopolis first. You loved flying so much. But you found Paradise Estate instead. I had actually hyped up my pegasus friends that the 'ponies without wings' were real, but you never came. I should have gone back to you, but so much happened. My family didn't think I was weird for glowing in the dark, but imaginary friends? And ponies without wings? That was another story. Mom and Dad began to think I had...issues and needed...help."

My eyes widened. "I asked around about you, in many, many pegasus cities...and all that time, you were in..."

"A mental ward."

My entire body tensed. "Brightglow, I'm so sorry."

"I think...we both said enough sorries to each other for one day." She nuzzled me.

"Alright, I can live with that," I whispered back.

That night, I wasn't surprised by who I met.

"Hello, Squire," I said, like meeting a dead pony was normal for me. Brightglow slept next to me covered in a blanket that dimmed her natural life-glow-stuff.

"Thank you, fair Patch," the ghost said with a courtly bow. "When you helped keep my story alive, I never thought you'd finally help me find rest. But I couldn't go without thanking you."

"I never dreamed when I told a ghost story as a teenage filly I'd meet the ghost or finish his story. And...you're welcome, SIR Squire."

"May your own quest be fulfilled too, fair Patch. May we meet again, in greener pastures, but if we do not...you have the thanks of this stalwart knight." And before my eyes Squire's ghost faded away. It was funny. I felt like I was saying goodbye to a lifetime friend.

I looked over at Brightglow, but at least I had another, and I was grateful.

???? years later

A lot had happened. The days of revolvers and shotguns had given way to swords and crossbows.

To be sure, guns are terrible things. Some ponies fancied, before ruin, that society would be better off without them. And yet...to think that not even the evilest and vicious warlord saw fit to preserve the art of gun-making...that the arms race itself, should REGRESS. We're degenerating. Ponykind is degenerating as a civilization and society...soon enough, we'll be wandering loose herds again. I've got to gather the last Rainbow fragments!

From what I've heard, there's a pony named Smart Cookie, who I believe is descended from Candy. Smart Cookie is apparently the daughter of the earth pony chancellor. Hopefully, I might find time to visit her.

Of more importance is the sudden appearance of a group of mysterious things called 'windigos,' (not that I knew the name yet), freezing practically everything and everyone in their path. Nopony knows where they came from. Brightglow theorized that they were a bunch of ponies who turned to cannibalism and were transformed into monsters as a result. (For the record; I've encountered cannibals before, and they weren't anything like these ice ghosts. Monsters, to be sure, but much less ethereal in nature.)

I had my own ideas about these frozen ghosts, and the more I saw of them, the more my theories seem right.

The colder and colder weather made flying for Brightglow a nightmare. I actually had Brightglow keep Squire's sword with her and taught her how to use it for when I ventured into sites solo. If she ran into trouble she'd need it more than me, and if I ran into trouble, I was going to need Brightglow to bail me out. This wasn't just my story anymore.

I hid behind a building watching a bearded unicorn mage and daughter flee from their frozen-over home. Maybe it was my imagination, but the filly kinda reminded me of Clover. After they left I made my way towards the building they had come from. After nearly nine decades of not being able to find the fifth part(and having come painfully close many times before that), We finally learned that it was in the possession of a unicorn mage who lived somewhere in this city. I only hope that wasn't him just now.

An angry voice bellowed behind me, "You! Dirt Pony!" An angry unicorn mare was staring at me. She looked nearly insane, "Why haven't you be trapped in ice like everypony else!? What kind of witchcraft are you using!"

"I'm not using any witchcraft, madam," I answered, trying my best to look non-threatning. "The ice is only effecting those with extreme hatred in their hearts. And I just don't hate like that." It was just a theory, but it was the best I had.

"Oh yes, I'm certain the whether is passing judgement on ponies for hating military-maniacs and anti-progress bumpkins!"

"It isn't just the whether, there's some THING, like ghosts, can't you see them? Can't you HEAR them?"

"GHOSTS DON'T EXIST!" she yelled. "YOU THINK ME A CHILD?!"

"I'm not lying. I've seen them. I'm not here to fight! I'm looking for a way to FIX all this!"

"An Earth Pony that thinks she can 'cure' the weather!" She bent her head threateningly, looking ready to vaporize me with her horn. "You're causing the storm aren't you?! I'll stop you! Thief! Murderer!"

"STOP! You'll attract them! They'll kill you!" I tried to warn her. There came an eerie howling sound, and I watched in horror as a trio of ice-things surrounded the unicorn mare freezing her in a block of ice. Then the ice-monsters turned towards me, looking straight at me. For a moment I felt fear. Were they going to freeze me too? If so, then that would completely screw my theory and me, or perhaps my heart wasn't as devoid of hatred as I had thought? I hoped Brightglow could complete our quest without me. However, my fears died down when they turned around and left.

I turned towards the frozen unicorn mare who still looking quite angry, even as a frozen corpse. "Darn, I didn't get a chance to ask her if she's seen Starlight." I headed to the building that looked like the unicorn's mage's research-academy-thingie.

Once inside I practically turned the place upside down trying to find the fifth piece. Unfortunately it became obvious that it wasn't there. "Crap, that bearded unicorn must have taken it with him."

During the course of ripping the place apart for the Rainbow fragment, I stumbled upon a painting of a unicorn in a dress. The unicorn was blushing, looking rather like a timid little wallflower. It was clear the artist thought her cute, though the work was untitled, and no name was on the picture.

Then I released this was the angry unicorn who had wanted to kill me earlier. But her face, it was so so, so, innocent here. Had the painter just taken artistic license? Or had the hate twisted her that badly? Why was she the last one frozen here? Who had she been? Did she have a family somewhere?

I searched but without photo records, I couldn't guess who she had been. She was nameless.

I spent several nights hugging Brightglow a bit more tightly as we clung together for warmth.

Four years later

Although it took a while, we eventually succeeded in tracking the fifth piece's location. The Orange one. Apparently the bearded unicorn mage, Starswirl the Bearded, had been robbed a few years back. Among his stolen possessions was the Orange piece of the Rainbow of Light. (Personally, I wish I HAD met him while he had it, he seemed like the only genuinely good pony who'd gotten his hooves on one of them since I started this quest).

It was now in the hooves of an earth pony who stupidly thought she could use its power to control the ice-monsters and make them only attack the unicorns and pegasi. All it took was a good left hook to floor her. I took the Orange piece and left her alive (though I can't say for sure what her underpaid hire-hooves whom she had mistreated might've handled her unconscious body. I know I'm making a habit of this sort of thing, but karma is as karma does.)

As we left we came across another town that had been ravaged by the ice-monsters leaving it a frozen necropolis. We were about to bypass it, when Brightglow noticed a young earth pony shivering in the cold next to a mess of crude graves.

As we moved in closer I saw that she had a white coat, and her mane and tail was blue with a pink streak going through it. Her cutie mark was a gold flower. I moved in close, Brightglow staying back. Hatred between the tribes had since grown to pathological levels. "You need to get out of this cold." I told her.

She didn't seem to notice I was there and said, "I hate them."

"Hate who?" I asked, "The ice-monsters?"

"The what? I hate what's causing this cold! I hate the pegasi for treating us like dirt and I hate the unicorns for lording themselves over everyone and forcing us to grow their food. I hate them for making us work in this cold. If they hadn't, then maybe my family would still be alive." At this point, she was crying.

Brightglow moved in closer, and the mare snarled at her, "STAY AWAY, YOU FEATHERDUSTER!" Nonetheless, Brightglow pressed herself against the Earth Pony, trying to warm her. The only reason the white mare didn't kick her in the face was that she was too weak to move. The way Brightglow shivered, it was like the mare's coldness was actually spreading to Brightglow, rather than Brightglow's own warmth being taken in.

"What's your name?" I asked the stranger.

"Star-Catcher," she answered.

"Well, Star-Catcher, I'm sorry for your loss but you need to get out of this cold."

She ignored me, "I bet the unicorns are doing this just so they could make us earth ponies suffer."

"I can assure you that the unicorns are not responsible. They're suffering just as much as you are." Brightglow tried to reason with her.

"Yeah, I'm sure they're suffering in their cozy castles with their tons of food that they keep for themselves."

I shook my head. "Look we can argue this later, but right now you need to get inside."

"No."

"No? What do you mean no?"

"All of my friends and family are dead, I don't have anything to live for anymore." She was practically sobbing now. Her tears froze on her face before they could leave her face.

"That's a lie! You have plenty to live for!"

"No, I don't, and it's all thanks to the unicorns or them," She looked at Brightglow, "or whoever it that's causing this cold!"

"The blizzard isn't the fault of the unicorns or pegasi. They're the fault of all three tribes!" Brightglow cried out.

"I've seen it." I added, "All this HATE! Yours, theirs, it's calling the monsters that bring this blizzard! The only way you can overcome them is by finally getting over that hatred."

But it was too late. She had already succumbed to the cold.

We decided to bury her, since it didn't feel right to just leave her there. And as we did so, I found myself crying. I hardly knew her, but I was tired of seeing ponies die. I wanted it to stop. Brightglow nuzzled me and hugged me, wrapping her wings around me, she carried me into one of the dark houses, where we spent the night, took me a while to realize she was crying too.

A pink maned alicorn filly woke up in a void of nothingness. At first nothing seemed to register with her, then her eyes widened with horror as a realization came upon her.

"Celestia?" said a voice behind her. It was a black and white alicorn with skeletal wings and a skull cutie mark.

The filly looked at the alicorn with tears in her eyes, "Mortis, it was me...I was the one who..."

"I know," said Mortis, "But right now it's time to come home. I am here to bring you to Mother."

Celestia looked back and saw a lone earth pony standing over her grave. "Mortis? Isn't that...?"

"That's Puerilis' champion."

"Puerilis' champion?"

"Yes, I tell you about it on the way." Mortis levitated her onto his back and left.

?? years later

After having knocked out the guards, I opened the doors to the unicorn king's royal bedroom. A lot had happened over the years; chief among them being the three tribes each sending out a scouting party to discover a new land to live in, since the endless blizzard has basically rendered this whole continent uninhabitable. Thanks to various clues we had put together, we deduced that the unicorn king had the sixth piece. This castle was familiar to me, I couldn't shake the feeling I had lost track of time or something, but it had been rebuilt from its blown-apart foundations.

Inside the room I found an elderly unicorn lying on his bed. I approached him. "Hello."

"Oh, it's you," he said, "I was wondering when you would come."

"How did you know I was going to be here?" I asked.

"You've become something of a legend, the mysterious and immortal earth pony with a glowing pegasus, collecting the pieces of the Rainbow of Light. And since I have one of the pieces, it's only natural that you would come here eventually. Although I have to admit, I thought you'd be here a lot sooner."

"I don't exactly have the best methods for finding the pieces."

"I had heard the Rainbow of Light granted eternal life. I was a prince who thought he could hold onto power forever. But it seems all it can do is prolong life. Platinum will be my first child I haven't outlived. You know, I used to hate you earth ponies. I used to believe that unicorns were the superior race. Heh. What kind of 'superior race' can't even replicate the inbred magic used to help life grow in this giant frozen coffin? It's only now that I'm here on my deathbed that I realize how wrong I was."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. But I'm not here to hurt you."

"I know. Tell me, will the rainbow's power help fix the world?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure, but I hope so. It's caused miracles before, it might be able heal what's causing this."

The king was silent for a while. Finally he spoke up, "It's in my drawer, top shelf."

I went over to the drawer to check. He didn't lie, the piece really was in there. Yellow like the sun.

"This hatred between the three tribes needs to stop. The only consolation I have is my daughter isn't as hardhearted as I was, she actually asked for the Pegasus and the Earth-Pony not to leave the summit when they walked out. Pity the rest of my court isn't like her. Hopefully she can be a greater leader than me. She actually insisted on leading the expedition thinking finding a new land would 'cure' me...Ageless Wanderer, promise me you can help save the world."

"I promise," I told him. "And if I don't know it this means anything, but this piece makes six. Out of all the creatures who've been holding onto the pieces, you're the only one who realized that you were perverting the Rainbow for you own selfishness. I think that says a lot about you."

"Thank you," he said, and he passed away.

Brightglow had to get out us of there fast, because a castle full of racist unicorns now thought I had assassinated their sickly old king.

?? years later

So here I am in the mythical city of Tambelon, in the bell tower, with Grogar himself standing right in front of me. For some reason I was feeling a strange mixture of both terror and a fangirlish desire to beg for his autograph (what!? It's not everyday you get to meet a creature of legend like Grogar!).

"Why do you resist me?" spat Grogar, "Under my rule, you ponies will finally live in a world with order and equality for all."

"I don't think your type of order and equality is the type ponies are looking for exactly."

"It matter not. Thanks to the piece of the Rainbow of Light I've acquired, Tambelon will be forever in this world, and I will add the ponies as citizens to my perfect city."

"We'll see about that!" I said, and bucked the bell behind me knowing it was his weakness. Nothing happened?

Grogar laughed. It sounded so wrong, I might have wet myself.

"In the past that might have worked, but thanks to the Rainbow's power, I no longer have to worry about that little weakness."

Having no other choice, I made a dash for it.

"Guards! Shot her!"

I felt an arrow brush by my head. There was no time to worry about that though.

Where would Grogar hide it? Where could Grogar have hidden the seventh piece!? Think, Patch, think! This isn't your first run in with an evil overlord! Then it dawned on me. I made my way towards Grogar's throne room.

"Stop!" snarled Grogar's assistant, Bray The Nth. I just knocked him out with one kick (I don't know why Grogar keeps hiring his descendants). I entered Grogar's throne room, found the Green piece I was looking for engraved into the wall behind the throne. I chiseled it out and got the pony hell out of there. As I raced towards the gate, I felt something burn my leg. I looked back to see Grogar himself was firing at me! There was no time to think about it. I continued towards the gate, ignoring the pain.

Grogar hit me again and again, I tumbled forward, blind with pain, running for what I hoped was still the gate as I heard it slam closed with a clang. A bright flash of light blinded everyone, and I felt someone dive bomb and pick me up, over the walls and out of the city.

My vision came back just in time to see the city to fade back into shadows, a roar of fury from Grogar echoing through the air as Brightglow carried me away. I looked back at my leg, I'm no expert, but it was pretty clearly broken. And that I have third degree burns from Grogar's energy bolts. I had doubts that my leg would ever properly heal, oh well.

Six months later

Before heading back to Paradise Estate, I decided to make one stop on the way there. I entered a cemetery of Trottingham and stopped in front of the oldest grave there, worn down by wind and rain. "Hi Buddy," I said, "I'm sorry I didn't visit sooner. I'm actually sorry about a lot of things. I'm sorry that things ended the way they did between us. I know that at times it maybe didn't seem that way, but I really did love you. You were the only stallion for me." I was crying now, but I didn't care. "And my...our son, I never got to see Robin grow up. I'd have written back to you...but, you know, no postal service. Would I have been proud of him? I like to believe I would have been proud of him. Please tell me I would have been proud of him."

"If he was really the stallion for you, and if he truly dearly loved you, and if this town is really because of them and your family. Then yes, you'd be proud of him."

"Brightglow! I told you to stay away!"

She didn't flinch. She slowly nuzzled me.

"Ah Patch, haven't you figured out yet I'll always be your guardian angel?"

Two years later

I finally made it back to Paradise Estate, walking along with my three good legs dragging my crippled one behind me.

I left Squire's sword with Brightglow out of habit now. She said she felt like she needed a nap before she got to meet the others anyway. I left her to rest, she had earned it flying us all the way here. But it worried me a little how she said goodbye...

I knocked on the door and Surprise answered, "Oh my gosh! Patch, you're back! This is so...surprising! Hang on, I'll go get the others." Within an instance the others had all come to door and brought me inside. One of the first things I noticed was that Ember wasn't there (she must have taken my suggestion, and decided to leave). Two other missing ponies were the unicorns Sparkler and Glory.

Twilight spoke up, "Patch, I know this isn't the right time to ask, but did you get all the pieces?"

"Yeah," I said and handed them over to her. It was strange, I could see the paradise ponies talking but I couldn't make out what they were saying. In fact I was feeling kind of tired, heavy...I think I'll take a nap.

"Hey, Patch, what's shakin'?" said a voice behind me.

I looked behind to see who it was, "Starlight! You're alive! Is it you? It is you!" She looked just like when we were all teenagers.

I hugged her instantly, "I never stopped believing."

"It's about time you showed up. We couldn't start this party without you." said another voice, it was Melody.

"What party?" I asked. "Wait...Melody! Your voice! It's back!" I said joyfully.

"Her voice isn't the only thing," Bright Eyes said.

"You mean-?" I stopped myself, and realized how badly I truly wanted her to remember our wonderful teenage lives when the world was pure and simple.

"I remember everything Patch." She smiled.

"Patch? Hey Patch, get up!" said Posey behind me.

I looked and saw myself (except much older) laying on the ground. "Huh?!"

My other friends had arrived. Sweetheart put her hoof on my shoulder, "Patch, it's okay, you've done enough, you can rest now."

I ignored her, "Posey? What's going on! I'm right here!" No response. I tried to put my hoof on Posey's shoulder but it went through. "No...no way I'm-I'm-" I watched as Mimic tried to use electric jolts on me to shock me awake.

"And you sure took your sweet time getting around to it. We were all waiting just for you." said Melody.

"Now be nice," said Bon-Bon as she nuzzled me, "We know you had some important things to do before you could go with us. So we chose to simply wait for you."

"I must say I never imagined this outcome." Bright Eyes commented like this was a book report.

"This is one choice I've been sad about, but I haven't ever regretted," Said Clover.

"But-but I finally finished."

"And you're free now," said Starlight looking me in the eyes, "Think you're ready for one more adventure?"

"Is there room for a clown where...where we're headed?"

"I promise there is Patch," said Starlight.

"All right." I smiled, "Let's go."

Afterwards

I was surprised when I was greeted be Brightglow. With her were two of the other glowing ponies that were with her when I first met her, a rather tall pony with wings and a horn, and for some reason Firefly, Surprise, and Masquerade. "We were wondering when you'd show up," said Brightglow.

"Brightglow?" I asked, "When-when did you die?"

"I didn't. Well, that's not technically true. I closed my eyes, and after my nap, I was here waiting for you," she said.

"Well, what are you all doing here?" I asked, then I turned to Firefly, Surprise, and Masquerade, "And what about you guys? You're not dead!"

"Actually time and space doesn't work in the afterlife the same way it does in the world of the living," said Masquerade.

"And as for why we're all here," said the rather tall winged unicorn, "We wanted to thank you for everything you've done."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I have many names, but you can call me Galaxia," she answered, turning to Brightglow. "However, you'd probably know me better under a different guise." Her form changed: she was still a unicorn with wings, but she was now much smaller and her black and silver coat became pink while her mane and tail became white with a blue streak going through it.

"Dazzleglow!" Brightglow shouted in recognition.

"She has got to show me how she does that." Masquerade whispered to Firefly.

I let out a gasp, "You were one of the other glowing ponies that was with Brightglow!" I said pointing a hoof at the two other glowing ponies.

"Yes, although the version of me that you met was my avatar," said Galaxia.

I turned to Brightglow and the two others, "So, Brightglow, Jollyglow..."

"Happyglow," corrected Happyglow.

"And Starglow," fnished the third glowing pegasus.

"And Starglow, does that mean you guys are also ava-whatevers?"

"Well, these two were using avatars," said Brightglow motioning her two compatriots, "But I was a different case. I was a true mortal pony, born of mortal parents, who died a mortal's death."

"I'm not sure I really understand," I said.

"It's simple," said Starglow. "Brightglow, as you know her, is an Alicorn like us," she noticed the confusion on my face, "An Alicorn is, well, a rather tall pony with wings and horn. With huge powers and responsibilities. We're...well, I guess you could call us pieces that make up reality and sentient thinking."

"Our Father can explain it better, you'll meet him soon. Anyway, Brightglow is an Alicorn who chose to live as an mortal pegasus pony, while the rest of us merely sent out avatars of ourselves to help her out."

"Why would she live as a mortal when she could be immortal?"

"I concluded it would help me appreciate mortals by having to live a finite life," answered Brightglow. "Instead of having eternity to do something, only have one short life to accomplish all that you can."

"But then, Galaxia, Happyglow, Starglow..."

"After THIS conversation, I'm NEVER using that name again..." Happyglow muttered.

"What was YOUR part in the 'lesson?'" I asked.

"To help our sister," Galaxia answered.

"Help her with what?"

"Help her to convince you not to give up on believing in things that nobody else believed in. Another sister of ours, Rota Fortuna, predicted that you would help bring magic back into the world, Patch, and she was right!"

Starglow spoke up, "and to thank you for it, we decided to give you a little gift."

I trembled, "But do I deserve any gift? For that? The pony tribes broke apart anyway, and magic got misused and turned everything to ruin."

"No, Patch, it wasn't your fault," said Starlight, looking to me. "Both ways it turned out were my responsibility, mine and Bright Eyes."

"And we both accepted responsibility for it a long time ago," Bright Eyes finished. "And that it wasn't all our fault."

Brightglow transformed before my eyes, her coat was pink now and had a unicorn horn with golden regalia. Her mane was a weird mix of yellow, purple and magenta. She looked at me with violet eyes.

"Don't be silly Patch. You're not a filly anymore. They're right. You didn't lock the tribes in the room and tell them to hate each other. You didn't hand them a 'blow up the world' button and tell them to do what they wanted with it. My sister Rota Fortuna saw the tribes would have blinded each other to the point of a entire world of lies existing, or destroying each other in blind paranoia from having been hidden for so long. The disaster was not your sin. Never was. And...this is a gift I know you'll love." She nuzzled me.

She motioned to my side. I looked and saw two stallions standing there. One of them was Buddy. And as for the other, I hadn't seen him since he was a baby, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was my son. Without hesitating, I ran to them and hugged them both for what felt like an eternity, but I didn't care.

Present Day

"So...if Patch had never gone searching for the pieces of the Rainbow..." I said, thinking hard about it as we took a break from the journal. This one was a lot to accept. Princess Celestia said she'd be brief and she'd have to rush over some details. But this was incredible.

"The Fires of Friendship would still have vanquished the Windigos, Twilight Sparkle, but the Rainbow of Light would still have been scattered throughout the world by the time of Discord's reign," Luna explained. "And he likely would've ensured they were never found. But even not considering that, Patch was a hero. It's a shame much of her role in history was buried by Discord's reign."

"Maybe you should put up a stained glass window of her!" Pinkie suggested, making us all chuckle a little bit. "You and Celestia got us all one for our big adventures!"

Luna chuckled. "Yes, maybe we shall..."

"Maybe this is one story I can tell Pipsqueak, minus a few details. From the sound of things, Patch is his ancestor, after all," I said with a smile.

Luna gave a smile, I didn't know quite what to make of that. "I'm certain he'd like that..."

The Seven Adventures Of Patch The Pony
By Sherlock18
Edited By Alex Warlorn, Kendell2, & Louis
~Fin

Starlight's story and her final judgement

View Online

Pony POV Series Side Story: Starlight
Pony POV Series Gaiden Seven Dreams/Seven Nightmares
Written By: Kendell2 and Acalanthide
Made with permission from Alexwarlorn
OPTIONAL LOOSE CANNON

Before The Disaster:

Bright Eyes sat across from me, in the spot usually reserved for my students. "Come on, can't we at least try?!" she asked, her pink eyes sparkling with excitement, trying to persuade me to believe her.

I sighed. Why wouldn't she just drop this? "Bright Eyes, listen to me. This is never going to work. I know you want to help fix things, but we can't change the world."

"I'm not asking to change the world...I just want to do everything I can to help out. It'd be good for the environment, and befit the town's tourist trade by giving ponies a place to visit."

"But you're being naïve. Expanding the boundaries of the existing nature preserve might be good for the environment and a boost for the economy, but you're not being realistic! It isn't as easy as simply writing up a petition! Even IF we get enough signatures, there's nothing in those parts of the forest that make it any different from any OTHER part of the forest! No unique plants or animals! Nothing ponies can't already go see anytime they want. The nature preserve set up to protect the Green Winged Song Bird encompasses the acres they're know to habitat. The rest of the forest is just...forest. And then there's the matter of how big of an industry logging is in this community."

Bright Eyes's face fell. "I know, I know! Jeeze, Starlight, since when did you become so negative?"

"Someone had to grow up, Bright Eyes. We aren't foals anymore." Bright Eyes sighed and frowned at me as she got up to leave. "Now don't look at me like that, Bright Eyes!"

"See ya, later, Starlight." The door closed with a snap.

I took a look around at my office. The room was large, with an overstuffed armchair, a small window, a few gas-lit lamps, and oak-paneled walls lined with bookshelves. A large fireplace crackled merrily in a corner. It was every inch a professor's office.

When I was younger I dreamed about having an office like this. Now, well, was it really worth it? I had made my mother proud, along with Miss Hackney.

If anypony knew I was taking advice from an elderly teacher in my high school days I'd have never heard the end of it. But Miss Hackney trusted me so utterly. When she suddenly came down with a fever in the middle of class she trusted me to teach the lessons, not waiting for a substitute! Or letting us get out of class early much to Teddy's dismay. I can't say I wasn't overwhelmed. At least she left a voice recording of the entire lesson she kept in her desk ahead of time just in case. I can't say I didn't find it fun to listen to Miss Hackney's recorded voice scolding Bon-Bon for eating in class and Melody for listening to Melody's boom box! She knew us all that well. Even when I used Bright Eyes and Sweetheart for back up to get the rest of the class under control things weren't going so hot until after speaking with my reflection (not joking!). I decided to try things my own style instead of my mentor's.

While my inopportune field trip did turn into a dangerous near disaster when we were almost trapped in Pinto Cave (NOT my idea to go in there! It was the exact opposite of my idea!!!), Miss Hackney's lesson on basic mechanics and ingenuity ended up saving our flanks from starving to death at the bottom of a black cave. We sure as Pony Hell didn't tell a soul about that one!

I remember how Miss Hackney said when she was younger that she had wished she could have visited Neighpon or Africa. Miss Hackney in a kimono, that would have been something.

It isn't my fault that Bright Eyes and I, and all of my friends grew apart, just like it isn't my fault that that stallion couldn't keep up with me. He was jealous, because I was more successful then he was! Erm, which one was I thinking about again? I seemed every time I fell for a stallion, they turned out to be a jerk or not I never saw them again.

There was Ace, I completely changed my image and behavior just for him! I even joined the soccer team, except he wasn't my prince charming after I saw him up close, oh I knew he was a jerk before hoof, I just didn't want to admit it. 'Ace like Ace better than anyone' Bright Eyes said. With their giant egos, he and Melody deserve one another.

How was Sweetheart able to take a jerk like Teddy and find the nice guy underneath when I couldn't with Ace? She was determined to bring out the good in him no matter what any of us though, and she succeeded.

Then when I thought I had won the date with rock star Chain Links, turns out it was one of Patch's pranks and Melody and Starlight had been told the same thing. We made sure to give her a taste of her own medicine after that one, she fell for the 'alien ponies wanting her brain' farce hook line and sinker, hearing eat-up being 'the smartest pony in Ponyland' to saying she was struggling with all her classes was fun (later I found out she hadn't been just trying to save her brain). Heh, reminded me of when we had to give Melody a slice of humble pie for her giant ego after she got the lead role at our high school play.

There was also that stallion who was my roller rink partner for that contest... what was his name again?

I was actually the one who suggested we bring boys into our club. The Barringtons, who actually bought the abandoned house we used for our club house, and then as a favor for our help in its restoration after we tried to drive them off thinking they were burglars actually built us a small replacement right on their property. Their son Logan became an official club member, but he almost never showed up.

I leaned back, and put the thoughts out of my mind, satisfied with my trip down memory lane. I had enough of stallions.

Yawning, I ducked under my desk, coming back up with a stack of papers to grade... when there came a sharp knocking on the door. The moon was up and the room was pitch black, the fire and lamps had gone out. "What in pony hell is that noise?"

The knocking became hammering. "Starlight! Starlight!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Sigh, didn't ponies know it was 'Professor Starlight now? I worked hard to earn that title.

Note to self: Never ever grade papers sitting in my desk chair.

I relit my lamps and opened the door, and a blue stallion came in, panting rather heavily. "Lancer? What's going on?"

"Patch discovered something exploring, didn't you get her call?"

"Call?" I asked, trying to process the situation. "No, I turned my cell phone off earlier so I could get some sleep, why?"

Before Bright Eye's husband could answer, his cell phone rang. "Patch? Yeah, Starlight's right here."

A few seconds later, I was listening to Patch describe what I thought was yet another of her tall tales. This time it involved a mysterious valley, supposedly immortal ponies with wings and horns, and some rainbow in a locket. I rolled my eyes. "Have you been eating poisonous mushrooms?...Again?"

Getting her stomach pumped had been such a turning point for Patch, finally convincing her that it was worth improving her vocabulary and reading skills. What an improvement! Now she didn't treat her outdoor survival guidebooks, (with all its 'bookworm words') like astrophysics dissertations!

...Please forgive that little jibe of mine. Patch was NOT dumb, she'd been an orphan since early foalhood, she didn't have many CHANCES to learn how to read properly until she was adopted, and by then it was somewhat difficult. Sure, she knew the basics, but it was hard for her, and being Patch, she was too stubborn to admit it...I guess that's why it wasn't until she'd begun adventuring that she first came to me for help.

"If you don't believe me, come see for yourself."

A few days later, I stood with Patch, Bright Eyes, Buddy, and the others outside of a beautiful villa, surrounded by a lush, green garden. I don't think there was a single one of us whose jaw wasn't hanging to the ground. We entered the main hall as a pony with a pink coat and blue mane flew over us.

"Hey! I'm Firefly!" she shouted, while performing loop-de-loops. "Ha ha! You should see your faces!" With a swish of her wings, she landed.

"A... winged...pony..." Bright Eyes and Bonbon looked like they were going to faint, and I was close to joining them.

"Hey!" The winged pony said with a frown. "I'm more than a 'winged pony.' I'm a Pegasus!"

Bright Eyes keeled over.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?" A super-pale-pink pony with a white and purple mane and a horn ran up to us. She...she had a horn... "Hang on, everyone, do not panic! I've got this!" She touched the tip of her horn to Bright Eyes's head. There was a flash of purple light, and Bright Eye's eyelids fluttered open.

"Good thing I was here, eh?" She held out her hoof to Bright Eyes, and helped her up. "I'm Twilight, by the way. There. Right as rain."

"What did you do to me?"

"It was nothing, just a simple revival spell."

"Spell?" I couldn't believe my ears. "How? Magic shouldn't exist! It goes against every scientific rule in the book!" I felt like one of those robots in the movies when someone gave them a logical paradox.

"Well, I don't exactly know how I do it, really," Twilight said, shrugging her shoulders. "I just do it. Like lifting a leg."

I think that's the point when I fainted. Next think I knew Sweetheart was helping me up.

"How did you find this place?" Melody asked Patch.

"I just stumbled across it, really. I was just exploring a new path and saw part of the estate on the path. If Buddy hadn't called me, I probably would have never thought twice about it." Buddy smiled and nuzzled her. I still couldn't believe that those two didn't tie the knot yet.

That was when a purple lizard walked in and politely waved at us. "Hello, I'm Spike, so you're Patch's friends? Nice to meet ya!"

Then Bon-Bon fainted.

Bright Eyes made a connection with a pegasus named Wind Whistler, they were both 'egg-heads.' Unlike Bright Eyes, though, Wind Whistler seemed more detached and had a habit of speaking in unnecessarily erudite jargon, (a shortcoming shared by MANY in academia.) I think Bright Eyes did her some good. Just somepony with the same love of reason.

Clover asked Twilight if there was any magic related to dancing.

Sweetheart made fast friends with a silly pony (without wings or a horn) named Applejack.

I am proud of the fact that none of fainted at the sight of Galaxy and the other 'gem eyed' ponies of Paradise Estate. Galaxy claims she was given her eyes as a gift from the constellations themselves. At this point I'm ready to believe almost anything.

I got to meet a little pony named Ember, the only child of the group. She seemed...sad about not being able to grow up. As hard as that is to believe; most ponies wish they could stay a foal forever. However, she looked overjoyed to finally have a new guest over.

She told me over cookies (the recipe was from a friend centuries-gone named Ginger Bread) and tea, about a small circle of ponies she once knew who had perfect rainbow hair. They hadn't been part of Paradise Estate but were famous for their beauty at the time.

When these rainbow ponies reached their teens their vanity had once cost them their manes because they'd ignored a warning Ember had received in a dream from a mysterious pegasus named Angel Pony. Apparently an evil human (I could barely believe humans could be evil, but Ember had apparently seen plenty) had lured them to a party at a castle in honor of the 'Pink Moon' (Ember explained how the moon used to turn a beautiful pink in a regular cycle). The human had simply cut off their manes to use in wigs, and left right afterwards.

But Angel Pony had granted Ember a means to restore her friends' manes after they apologized for thinking Ember was being jealous for not receiving an invite. Ember had remained their dearest friend even when old age had taken them.

In Patch, Ember saw a new playmate, or that's how I saw it at first. She loved hearing about Patch's stories of adventure.

"It must be great seeing places beyond this Valley," Ember said, wistfully looking out her window.

"Ember," I put down my tea. For a moment, when the filly looked my way, her eyes looked old. "Why do you stay here? Are you afraid of growing up?"

"Only a little," Ember admitted, "And that's not the reason I stay."

"Then why?"

"When I was still a real filly, before we got the Rainbow of Light, Tirek's monsters swooped down out of nowhere right in the middle of the day, snatching ponies left and right, including me! But Tirek said I was too small to be turned into a dragon to pull his chariot. So he turned Applejack and three of my other friends into monsters instead! The Rainbow of Light saved them, but I still remembered how terrified and helpless I was. I stay here because I don't want any other foals to feel that way if I can help it. So even if it means staying a foal, I stay with my friends who are left."

I gave the filly a hug, she gratefully returned it. I never had a chance to have foals of my own, in a weird way, it made me feel whole.

After the initial shock of it all, I couldn't help but ask about...well, everything! This...this was the greatest discovery, EVER. How could I NOT try to soak up every detail I possibly could about this place? And there was so much of it! Enough to write a BOOK about! These ponies had lived here for CENTURIES, and had protected the world from all kinds of monsters. They mentioned a relatively recent one: a Ram named Grogar, which to my surprise coincided with a string of 'alien abductions' that'd been reported in the local area. Apparently this Grogar returns ever five hundred years to try and conquer the world and they've stopped him every time. And he wasn't the only one! The only thing more amazing than what they were was...who they were. Knowing they'd saved us all so many times and never once were we aware.

It was like there was an entire secret world we knew nothing about.

As it turned out, there was.

Pegasi and Unicorns had BOTH been hidden from us for centuries. They began appearing out in the open later, when word leaked to the press about Paradise Estate (we're not the best secret keepers...and I may have published a report or...two...and a book afterwards). Apparently they were in the dark about the other races as much as we were. And it turned out our kind were properly called Earth Ponies. As if that weren't enough of a surprise, it turned out there were two MORE races; the Sea Ponies and Flutterponies. The myths of the mermares and fairies were true! What a day to be alive!

The Sea Ponies were fish-like from the head down and gifted singers. They had been secretly saving sailors lost at sea for centuries. The Flutterponies were ponies with butterfly wings who, when grouped together, were capable of amazing magic. Both had come out of hiding along with the others.

It was a dream come true to Bright Eyes too. Many of the places I'd dismissed as 'yet more forest' turned out to be homes of one of the other four races, and thus became protected areas. Water pollution was made a number one concern once the government realized sentient ponies lived there. But what most interested Bright Eyes was 'the Rainbow of Light' of Paradise Estate.

"We could make everyone's wishes come true!" She'd come up with a plan to use the Rainbow of Light to cast a massive spell to grant everypony's wishes, everywhere, on a truly global scale.

"Bright Eyes..." I replied, feeling... apprehensive. "We don't know if the Rainbow of Light can even do that. Yes, they say it defeated a demon named Tirek, but we don't know if it can accomplish what you believe it can."

"We won't know if we don't try!"

I looked in those big eyes of hers. I'd been wrong about the woodlands she'd wanted to protect. ...And in a world like ours where MAGIC existed... who was to say what the Rainbow couldn't do? It had made the Paradise Estate Ponies immortal. Maybe they really could change the world. From Paradise Estate... to Paradise Everywhere. We took the idea to Twilight.

Bright Eyes quivered in excitement. "Who would we be able to talk to about the Rainbow of Light?"

Twilight smiled. "I guess I would be the pony to talk to. What do you want to k---"

"Twilight, could we be able to use the Rainbow for a wishes-come-true spell? Is it even that powerful? Would you be willing to give it up? Would-"

"Woah, woah! Slow down! Breathe!" Twilight told Bright Eyes, with a giggle.

I rolled my eyes, impatiently. Am I the only adult here? Bright Eyes was logical, as she always was, but something about this whole thing had made her like a foal again. She was always an idealist, but she was getting too caught up in the excitement. I cleared my throat. "So anyway, um, Twilight? The Rainbow of Light? You didn't say much about it other than when it helped you."

"I wouldn't expect her to," Twilight said. "Even we don't know the full extent of its power. We know that it can power magical spells, and it protects us, somehow."

"Could it be split into equal pieces?"

"Huh? We've never tried doing anything like that. Why would we?"

I looked over to Bright Eyes. "Bright Eyes came up with an idea for a spell, a spell that would be able to make everyone's wishes come true. We'd need a strong power source, though, and it needs to be able to maintain the same level of power when split up into pieces. Except nothing could provide that kind of world-changing power..."

"Until now," Bright Eyes finished.

Twilight's eyes became wide, and I thought that it was her turn to faint. She sat down began to breathe heavily, like she had just run a marathon. After a few minutes, she managed to gasp out, "You- you need the-Rainbow?"

"Yes," I replied nervously. "I understand your reluctance, but think what this spell would do for the world! Everyone would have their deepest wishes come true, everyone would be happy! There would be no death or disease, war or prejudice. Only the Rainbow could make this happen. We need to spread the pieces of it across many miles, house them in very sturdy structures, in a specific pattern, for this to work... if it does work. We are already working on building these structures!"

'We are?' Bright Eyes mouthed at me.

Twilight's eyes were shut in thought. She took a few deep, shuddering breaths. "I'll need to talk with the others about this first. Patch will bring you our answer, since well, we don't have telephones. Does she know about this?"

"N-"

"Yes, she does." Bright Eyes interjected. "Sorry, Starlight," Bright Eyes looked down a little. "I, uh, told her right after we began talking about this."

I stared at her, my mouth agape. Why the buck didn't she tell me?

Firefly flew over. "So, whatcha guys talking about?"

"Nothing important," Twilight answered.

"Well, don't just stand there then! Come on!" She pulled us over to her. "Let me show you all this new trick...."

I returned to my office with butterflies in my stomach. I had told Twilight that we were working on a way to actually build these things, but that was a bald-faced lie. I doubted she actually believed in Bright Eye's plan.

I started to pace. Think, Starlight, think! Who could you contact with political influence and access to a large fortune? Who would actually help you and Bright Eyes pull off this crazy scheme? My footsteps quickened. Who would actually believe in us?

Back and forth I paced, my mind running furiously through everypony I knew. After a few minutes of this, I stopped pacing. This wasn't working.

I heard a knock at the door. "Mail for Professor Starlight!" a voice called.

Mail? At this time of night? Why didn't he leave it in my mailbox?

I let the mailpony in. He had a stamp cutiemark and was rather tall and gangly, with a deep grey coat and curly brown mane. He opened his mailbag and gave two letters to me. "Here you go, professor," he said, with a smile.

"Thank you." I said as he closed the door.

I looked down at both letters. One was written in a flowing cursive, and the other in blocky typewriter print. Each envelope was stamped with a large red stamp that read: Urgent! Give directly to recipient!

I looked at both of them warily, and sliced open the typed letter. It was printed on clean white paper that read:

The National Association of Creative Writers
5000 Inkpot Way
New Trotter Street, Ponyland

Dear Professor Starlight,

Congratulations! The National Association of Creative Writers would like to honour your achievements in the field of creative writing with the Oscar Wildehorse Award, given to prolific writers and experts in the field. The award ceremony will take place next Saturday in the Pony News Network main news office, and will be covered by PNN as a part of their 'Local Legends' segment. There will be time for a short speech following the presentation of the award. A reception will be held after the ceremony in the White Banquet Hall across the street from the studio. We are able to accommodate three additional people for the awards ceremony and the reception, so please RSVP as soon as possible with the names of your guests. Congratulations again on your fine achievement!

Sincerely yours,

John Newpony,
Chairman of the National Association of Creative Writers

"Ohmygosh!' I squeaked. "Yesyesyesyes!"I said, practically skipping around the office with joy. "I wonder who I will invite Oh, the other letter! I almost forgot! Come on, Starlight, one award and you've gone all goofy!"

Chuckling to myself, I opened my other letter. This letter was handwritten on heave, expensive stationary in very beautiful cursive. It read:

Dear Starlight,
I can't believe we haven't been able to talk with each other in so long! We must get together sometime. Now, as the reason for me writing out of the blue, Patch contacted me and told me about the wishes-come-true spell. I have a way I could help you, but we need to make other ponies aware of your plan too. When you're ready to begin raising awareness, tell me. Also, Patch told me that the Paradise Estate ponies are still a little reluctant to give up the Rainbow. Above all else, if you want this to work, we must have that Rainbow. Without it, the rest is wasted effort. Write to me when you have Twilight's word that she will give it up. I remain,

Respectfully yours,
Princess Rosey Bluebottle, III

Of course I'd forget Patch's childhood friend was a princess.

I looked over the letter once more, rubbing my chin. "How would I convince the world to go along with our crazy plan? Wait a minute..." I picked up the other, and looked at them both, the one and the other. A slow smile spread across my face. "Perfect."

I stood with Twilight, Bright Eyes and Patch at the awards ceremony. Convincing Twilight to come was a stretch. The good news was that after a bit more convincing on my part, she and the other Paradise Estate ponies agreed to give us the Rainbow of Light. That's a lie, they practical gave it to me and Bright Eyes. When we next visited Twilight and the other residents had gone into one room privately, and a time later come out and simply given me the Rainbow.

The hard part had been getting them to appear on international television. Ember had been more than eager to visit outside Dream Valley. But a little Earth Pony foal wasn't going to do it even she was really several centuries old.

"H-how many would be watching again?" Twilight asked blushing and shaking her hooves.

"You can count me in!" Firefly offered happily.

"This sounds like fun! I've got lots of fun I can share!"

"You're not going Surprise," The others said right at her.

"Aww," The Pegasus lamented.

"I guess I should go," Spike the dragon said.

Mimic, eventually chose to go keep the Rainbow of Light safe for the time being until we could safely divide it up (at the time we still hadn't been sure if we could).

To most they were just more fantasy unicorns and pegasus out of the blue in our Earth Pony 'world,' no idea they were immortal. But a dragon did tend to get a lot of attention. But them being there at the ceremony, along with Rosy, increased the media coverage just as planned.

Later, when I was accepting the award, I told all the millions of ponies watching, "We will soon be able to make all of your wishes come true, with the help of this!" With a flourish, I brought out the Rainbow of Light, and explained my plan.

Everypony went crazy. There were stories in the paper discussing our spell, how it could actually work. Patch had the rest of the gang came together, and with Twilight's help, we were able to split the Rainbow into seven different pieces, and Twilight taught me how to activate the spell. Rosey, being a princess, was able to convince the governments of the world to build these castles to house each piece of the Rainbow. A team of scientists Bright Eyes led (with me acting as the public face and coordinator), plus the Ponies from Paradise Estate checked and double-checked everything. This spell was foolproof.

Bright Eyes was something else, she had found magic's existence absurd at first, but now she couldn't stop devouring every piece of information she could on the subject, and was now putting that to it's ultimate use.

We convinced Bon-Bon to help in her own way. Apparently meeting the Paradise Estate ponies had somehow inspired her to take her modeling career more seriously, to the point where she'd built herself up into a minor celebrity. As such, she was able to convince her fans that Bright Eye's vision was the one true path. We make sure Bon-Bon understood the spell would NOT grant any vicious or mean-spirited wishes.

Finally, the big day approached. I stood with my friends at the castle door, smiling at all of them. "Thank you all for helping with this project. You are the best friends a mare could ever have." I turned to Bright Eyes. "Thank you for always keeping this project alive. Even when I didn't believe, you were there encouraging me. This is more your idea than mine, Bright Eyes."

She blinked away some tears. "Just be okay, Starlight."

I nodded. "I will." We all then gathered for a group hug.

This was going to be the biggest day in the history of the world, and we had all helped make it happen. It was kind of a cheat that we couldn't all be together when it happened, but Patch wanted to celebrate with the Paradise Ponies with Buddy. Bon-Bon wanted to be at Ponvyille Square when it all went down. Clover needed to be in Manehatten I think. And my other friends wanted to be with their loved ones or similar obligations for this big event.

But that was okay, because I knew we'd all be together and better than ever once this was done.

I stepped up to the doors and they opened. I waved to them all, and stood looking at the sunset. "Everything will be fine, and everything will change."

I turned and went through the doors. "Well, here goes nothing."

After The Disaster:

What happened? There was a big explosion...now...now what was happening?

Everything...everything's gone...all that's left is a huge crater...

I...I never wanted this to happen...I see ponies wondering all over...they seem lost...I...I see double in some cases, some lying on the ground...but they're standing next to themselves...I hear ponies crying...ponies screaming...how can this be happening? It...it can't be! What's going on?!

"Now that's just messed up."

I turn and see a...a chimera...thing floating in the air, he looks so confused...He vanished before I could say anything. Was...was it his fault? Or was it mine? Who...who did this?! This can't be happening?! I...I can't be responsible for this, can I?! No...but...then who is?

"Starlight..." spoke a haunting voice behind me, like a wind through a graveyard.

I turn and find myself looking into the eyes of a white and black furred pony. He's...he's huge, and he has horns and wings...his huge wings are skeletal, bone...he had a horse skull for a cutie mark and held a scythe in a magical aura. I saw another pony standing nearby like him, he had a noose hanging around his neck. His cutie mark was a tree shaped like a pony posed like the number four, huh? And he reminded me of one of those tarot cards...the hanged stallion I think.

"W-who are you?" I ask.

"I am Mortis Thanatos Charon, the 13th. The Concept of Death..."

Death? Death?! I took a trot back. "No...I...I can't be dead...I can't be!" I looked around, all the other ponies, no, it couldn't be.

"You are, and that is why I'm here."

The hanged stallion looked to him. "Mortis, I'll leave this to you, I'm here for somepony else."

Mortis nodded slowly. "Understood, Pensilis."

Pensilis slowly walked off towards...no...I...I see Misty standing next to her own body...I...I can barely recognize it as her anymore...I hear crying...her daughter...her body was curled over her daughter? But...if I can see this then... But! They were in Ponvyille! How am I seeing this?!

I slowly looked up to Mortis. "I...I really am dead..."

Mortis merely nodded.

I didn't see my body...it was probably not there to see...I...I suddenly felt...numb...

"So...where do I go now?" I...I didn't know what else I should say...what could I say? I...Misty...who knows how many others...dead...

"I am not the one who decides that. I am merely the ferrystallion who guides souls to their resting place. Another will serve as your judge."

Mortis touched his horn to me and everything went white.

Everything faded back into view, like a television turning on. "Where am I?" I asked slowly, looking around. I was in a raised chair, looking down across a courtroom. "What's going on?"

"You're on trial."

Looking down...I think where the bailiff stands... I didn't know the exact word I was looking for. Legal proceedings were not my area of expertise. All I knew about them came from courtroom dramas on TV and our in-school trial on Teddy when I was a teenager. And they weren't even my favorite genre. Standing at the-bailiff's-spot was another of those winged unicorns, like Mortis. Only this one was golden in color, and had a beard. His Cutie Mark was a pair of balance scales. But the strangest part were his heterochromic eyes, one eye was red and the other blue.

"W-who are you?"

"I am Judicium, the 20th, Concept of Balance, Judgment, and Fair Say," he explained, his voice...not emotionless, in fact it was kind of comforting...empathetic, but it also felt completely impartial.

"Judgment?...So I'm to be judged, then?" I asked, dread crawling up my spine.

"No, Starlight. You are the judge."

If I wasn't already dead, my heart would've skipped a beat. "I'm judging myself? How does that work?"

"In this court, you are both the defendant and the judge. You shall hear the evidence against you. Your decision will decide the fate of your soul."

I decide the fate of my soul? That can't be right...that feels too easy...I'm missing something here.

"I am merely here to advise you on the workings of my court. I understand your experience as a judge is limited, Professor Starlight."

"O-ok... Mr. Judicium, sir... so I just call the prosecution and defense to make their... what's it called... opening statements, right?"

"That is correct."

"A-alright...Defense, please give your opening argument..." I said, laying eyes on the defense attorney, was another winged unicorn...she... was...me?

She was the same size and shape of the other winged unicorns I had seen... I...she was beautiful...I felt a swelling of pride just looking at her... My cutie mark had never shined so brightly, it was like the sparkles of a magician's magic. Wait, wasn't The Magician another Tarot?

"Thank you, Your Honor," said Defense Attorney Me, clearing her throat and rising from the table. "Your Honor, I will prove that my client, Starlight, is innocent of the crimes of which she is accused! The circumstances will show that the horrible catastrophe is not her fault! I shall not rest until that fact is made clear! I will call every witness, present every piece of evidence, until her innocence is proven to this court!" she announced in an over-the-top fashion...

Defense Attorney Me felt more like an actress who'd been cast as a lawyer than than the real deal. Someone with good vocal coaching, at least. If she was me, did she know how this was going to end?

"Ok...Prosecution?" I was honestly afraid, more afraid than I'd ever been. That...that explosion... all those dead ponies... was their blood on my hooves?

A...A colt stood up from his desk. A colt is the prosecutor? He looked about seven or eight years old.

"I will prove to the court that Starlight's actions were instrumental in contributing to the recent catastrophe, and that she should take responsibility for her own actions," he proclaimed, then sat down.

Take responsibility? I...I don't want to go to the bad place...b-but...what if I really was responsible? If all those ponies are dead and it's all my fault?

I shook my head to clear it, then looked to the other m-I mean the defense attorney. Yes. The defense attorney. Just a lookalike. Not me. "Defense, call your first witness."

The defense lawyer stood up and cleared her throat. "I call the defendant to the stands!" she announced, once more in that over-the-top fashion.

Suddenly it was like I was in two places at once. Now I was also seeing this courtroom from the witness chair AND the judge's bench-thing! I could see myself! What...what's going on?!

"Starlight, this is the spirit world," Judicium explained. "Physics of the mortal world do not apply here."

This is normal?! ...Relax Starlight, take a deep breath...oh, right...j-just settle down.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" asked Judicium, having me...the me in the witness chair raise her...er, my hoof.

"Y-yes..."

The prosecutor turned to me. "Starlight, you were the head of a grand-scale effort to alter the world through magical means. What was the point of this?"

"T-the point was to try and grant everypony's wishes...to make the world a better place...a utopia for everypony."

"Was it your idea? Remember, you're under oath."

"...N-no...Bright Eyes came up with the idea, but I was the one that proposed it to the government and handled all our negotiations and insured it actually happened..."

The defense smiled. "Let the record show that Starlight is correct, and she was not the one who came up with the idea. Now, Starlight, were you careful about the project?"

"Y-yes...yes, I was...Bright Eyes and the other scientists checked everything, I double checked everything...I...I have no idea how it went so wrong..."

"...No further questions."

The prosecutor stood up and approached the witness stand...even though he was just a colt, he had this...weight to him...I just can't explain it...

"Starlight, did you know there were risks involved with the project?"

"Y-yes...But it seemed worth the risk...I never thought it might blow up like that..."

The colt looked up at me. "No further questions."

That was it? One question?

I was in one place again: the judge's bench. Thank goodness. Staring out of two different pairs of eyes had been WEIRD.

"...Would the prosecution like to call a witness at this time?"

"Not at this time," the colt replied.

"Defense?"

"The defense would like to call to the stand: Film Critique."

A flash of light occurred, and suddenly, the fattest Pegasus I'd ever seen was sitting in the witness stand.

"Forgive me, but is this someone I know?"

"Starlight, as I've already said, the spirit world operates under different rules than the mortal one." Judicium proclaimed. This Pegasus you see before you has been brought here from several years forward in the future."

"From the future?!" I gasped.

"Relative to your date of death." Judicium clarified. "While the future is fluid, time in the spirit world and time in the mortal world are disconnected. There is truthfully no proper way to describe this phenomenon in terms you are capable of comprehending."

"You have time travel powers, and are able to magically summon whoever you want from any point in time." I state, a bit brusquely. "Is that about right, Mr. Judicium?"

Being dead, and presiding as judge to determine whether I'm to be Eternally Rewarded or Eternally Damned... that leaves me wrong-footed enough. But I am not stupid. I am an academic, and not even DEATH can change that. I'll decide for myself what I'm capable of comprehending!

"A crude oversimplification, but fundamentally correct." Judicium consents. "To Film Critique, here, this is all simply a dream to fade with the dawn."

The Pegasus took the oath. He looked smug, content. Like he ruled the world.

"Film Critique, would you say the end result of Starlight's actions have made your life better?"

Film Critique chuckled. "I made my life better...but Starlight did set the stage for me! Before her big experiment with the castles, I was just another fat kid in high school no one cared about. Now I'm a king! So yeah, I guess you could say that. She sure granted MY wish."

I made his life better? Maybe I helped some ponies after all...he certainly sounds a lot happier...

"And would you say you're hurting anyone as 'king?'"

"Nah, everypony is happy to hang out with me now," Film Critique said, giving a...kind of creepy smile. "I even restored power to a city that lost it."

Ok...that doesn't sound so bad...

"No further questions," the winged unicorn that looked like me then smiled to the Pegasus. "I'm sure we'll be talking again rather soon."

Huh? What did that mean?

"No further questions," the defense proclaimed, then faced the prosecutor. "Your witness!" she told him, and he stood up.

He looked sadly at the stallion, kind of like how my parents would look at me when I got myself in trouble at school. What a strange place the spirit world was.

"Film Critique, how were you able to become a ruler?" the prosecutor asked.

"Oh, I found one of the shards of that Rainbow thing Starlight used to change the world. The blue one." He smiled at me. "Thanks for everything, babe!"

"No further questions." the prosecutor said, returning to his seat, but still giving Film Critique that strange sad look.

There was a pregnant sort of pause. All of us glanced around at each other. The prosecutor coughed, and looked at me expectantly.

"Um..." I say, "So... if neither the defense nor the prosecution have any further questions for Mr. Film Critique, here... what's supposed to be happening now?"

"Witnesses are not permitted to leave until the judge dismisses them." Judicium informed me.

"The judge? Oh! Me, okay... well, you're dismissed, I guess."

Judicium's horn shone and the Pegasus vanished... apparently, to awaken from this 'dream.'

"Would the prosecution like to call another witness?" I asked, refusing to let all the surreal-ness confound me.

"The prosecution calls Violet to the stands."

In a flash, a violet-colored pony, er, Earth Pony appeared at the witness stand. She was dressed up like a concubine in some Saddle Arabia movie...she looked so upset...violated.

After she took the oath, the prosecutor looked at her sadly. "Violet, how do you know Film Critique?"

The mare growled. "That monster...I was just trying to earn something, anything to get by...I lost everything when the world went to heck...Film Critique's using some kind of magical shard to make me feel...I'm not going to say 'happy,' that would mean I enjoyed it, the feeling was as fake as this dress. I was so doped up that I didn't even care when he put me in his harem and...and..."

She looked like she was about to cry. What did he...no...he...he's used the blue shard for that?! Is STILL using it, off in the future? Please no! I felt my heart sink...this...this was my fault...I split the Rainbow of Light up...that was my idea...

"OBJECTION!!!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the defense called out hysterically, slamming her hooves on the table in front of her.

I was taken aback. "O-on what grounds?"

"Starlight did not give the shard to Film Critique, nor did she tell him what to do with it. The gun maker isn't responsible for how someone uses their creations," she explained.

Is...is that right?

"The prosecution admits this statement is true," the colt said, giving a small nod.

Yeah...that's right...but...the experiment...it still ruined the world...Am I responsible for that?

"No further questions."

I face Judicium. "Judicium, sir... if I were to dismiss Violet, here, does that mean you're going to teleport her right back into Film Critique's harem?"

"Yes."

"Yes?! Alright, then, I refuse to dismiss Violet. She stays here."

"So be it, Your Honor. Only please be aware that you have effectively brought this trial to an utter standstill, and nothing can proceed until you dismiss her."

Nothing?! My bottom lifted the TINIEST bit off my judge's chair. One stony look from the Concept of Judgement, though, and I sat back down hard, smiling in fretful apology. Even Violet looked frightened to move.

Judicium's body language could not be plainer. Here we would all remain like statues in a diorama -- him, me, and the other three -- until I finally caved in. For eons, if need be. Frankly, Hell, itself would be preferable to such an infinite paralysis. And yet...

"Isn't there anyplace outside this courtroom? Somewhere we could dismiss Violet to instead... like a hotel or something?"

The Defense shook her head regretfully. "There ARE other places outside here, yes. But this is the Spirit World, Your Honor. Only two sorts of beings are suited to exist here: the dead and the deathless. Judicium's Court is one of the very few exceptions, where the living might visit. The others... well, they aren't hotels."

"Then surely, with all your time travel powers, you can transport Violet to some enlightened age with goodhearted people?!"

"I will not."

"WHY?!" I screamed.

"Because there are laws!" Judicium insisted. "And these laws must be honored!"

Violet sighed. "Send me back. It's okay. Doubt this freaky courtroom serves food, so at least the harem beats starving to death."

I bowed my head. "You are... dismissed, Violet."

The prosecutor whispered something to Violet that seemed to relax her before she vanished. They called more witnesses...Ponies whose lives were ruined now...because of the experiment I'd helmed...It can't be my fault...what else could I have done?

"The prosecution calls Twilight The First to the stand."

What?

The pale unicorn appeared.

The prosecutor asked, "Twilight The First, you acted a hero for many centuries, correct?"

"Yes."

"What would have happened if the wish-spell had succeeded? Both to you and your fellow residents of Paradise Estate?"

"... we would have all ceased to exist."

WHAT?!

"Why is that?"

"Because the sort of ideal world ponies would have wished for, would have had no monsters, and thus, no reason for heroes to exist to fight them. Therefore, we would have never existed."

"No further questions."

Bright Eyes and I... we had done this? To our friends? The ponies who had trusted us?

"W-would the defense care to cross-examine the witness?"

"Yes, Your Honor. Twilight The First. When did you figure out the wish-spell would cause you and all the residents of Paradise Estate to be erased from history?"

"We figured it out while we were all debating whether or not to give the Rainbow to Starlight."

They... they KNEW?

"So why did you choose to give it to her when you knew you'd never enjoy what you were helping bring about nor even be remembered for it?"

"Because... monster after monster, tyrant after tyrant, we kept knocking them down or redeeming them... but new ones always came up. We've seen ponies die horribly or strive for what they want most in their hearts and still end up with nothing. In the end, it was a unanimous vote. We wanted to help remake the world into what ponies have been TRYING to make it be since... forever."

"Why didn't you tell Bright Eyes, Starlight or any of the others right until near the end?"

"Because we believed what they were trying to do was good, and we didn't want them to hesitate for our sakes. They're good ponies, and they wouldn't want to sacrifice others just for themselves."

"So all of you gave the Rainbow of Light over, of your own free will, knowing full well what would happen?"

"Yes."

"Let the record show the Paradise Estate Ponies believed in what Starlight and her friends were doing, were willing to sacrifice themselves for it, and knew the price before giving the rainbow away! No further questions."

I dismissed her. Twilight, Ember, Wind Whistler, you had done all this, for us?

"The defense presents Exhibit A," the defense stated. That was when I noticed another mare sitting at the back of the courtroom. She was an Earth pony...but something seemed off about her...she made me scared just looking at her. She didn't react to anything. It was like she was...bored, not like Patch in math class but as if nothing interested her at all.

Judicium shook his head at me. "Do not make eye contact with that one, pretend she is not there," he advised me in a grave tone.

The defense attorney cleared her throat at the strange mare, who then gave an annoyed sigh.

Suddenly, I saw an entire world came rushing into my head!

After Revision:

I watch the spell power up, everything beginning. The castle shined bright, I knew six other castles were doing the same. Rainbow arches reached across Ponyland, connecting one castle with another. Then the entire sky glowed the colors of the rainbow. After years of hard work... the moment of truth! I look to myself, my fur begins to change. My fur was turning white, my mane became white with blue and white strips. I look back and wings begin to form. Looking out the window I see the whole island changing. Becoming more beautiful. Building are vanishing as the island becomes more tropical, changing shape. In their place are beautiful colorful tents. Even the castle we are in changes, before our eyes, becoming a natural part of the island.

Ponies are changing. Everypony is growing wings. They begin playing and dancing in the air without a care in the world. So is Rosey! Her cutie mark is changing, she's becoming a filly? Somewhere I feel Rosey's wish ripple past me, her wish to have a truly happy foalhood. Her crown and royal robes vanish. My wings are bigger than anypony else's, I'm taller too.

This is confusing, but I feel happy, it's working! I can feel it. Nothing is wrong. Everything is right with the world. Heh, the island is shaped like one big butterfly, tee-hee! The castle is shaped like one big butterfly! Look at the rainbow colored waterfall! It's so pretty! Fear and doubt don't exist. So many beautiful butterflies, they just want ponies to be happy too.

Bright Eyes...we did it.

Hello, I'm Star Maker! This is Butterfly Island, my home! Every day here is perfect, we're always having fun! But sometimes I wonder: why is it all I have to do is want something and it appears? Like ice cream. We pegasi want it, we get it, nothing else to it.

No pony knows, and when I want an answer no answer comes. Which doesn't make sense since we're supposed to have everything we want. 'Supposed to?' No pony else seems to want to know about THAT, but I'm just curious. Oh well, it doesn't ruin the mood too much! Why should it? I've got Star Song, Baby Honolu-Loo, and all my friends! What more could I want?!

Well, there is one thing. Honolu-Loo is the only foal I know! That's so cool! But...while we help take care of her, I wanted to have my own foal. I love taking care of her so much, it just feels so right. But she's the one and only foal and she's got her own family to care for her.

I can't quite explain how, but I'm going to have one. I know if I do...Something different will happen to me than everypony else in the world. Something called 'mortality.' I won't live forever anymore. Like the one or two ponies who have been in accidents and never wake up. But I know there's something after that, I just know it! That's one answer that came to me when I wanted it! And I just know this will be worth it!

The baby was inside me, then she came out and it REALLY hurt...but when it was over, and I saw her...It was worth it, the pain and what comes next are worth it.

I named her Star Catcher. She has these beautiful marks all over her. I love her so much, she makes me happy. Happy in a way I don't think I've ever been.

My body changes even after she stops aging. My mane is getting grey. But it doesn't matter. I'm still there to catch her when she fainted trying to catch the sun. Her wings are bigger than normal, I explain that just makes her special. We go stargazing together all the time with the others. They're starting to worry, they don't know what's happening to me...and I don't have the heart to tell them.

It's strange, when you know your life has an end, it has so much more meaning. And Star Catcher gives mine so much more than I ever thought possible. No life is meaningless, they're all special, I'm happy everypony is happy...but she's what makes my life meaningful.

It's time. I can feel it in my bones. I can't even get up today. But I'm not afraid. I just know something great is waiting for me. "Star Catcher...I need to tell you something."

She comes over to me, she looks scared. I know this won't be easy on her, but she's strong, she'll make it through. "Star Catcher, it's time for me to say goodbye."

She doesn't understand, how could she? "Where are you going?"

"That's not important...what's important is what I have to say to you," I look up and give her a smile. "I don't regret having you. Every day was endless happiness... but you were the first thing, the only thing, to give my life real meaning. Thank you, Star Catcher."

I'm standing next to my body, there's a big pegasus with a horn standing next to me. "It's time to go," he told me.

"I know. I've known for a long time..." I looked to Star Catcher as she tried to wake me up...she seemed to glow, kind of like the sun. I gave a smile. I knew she'd do something great.

Goodbye, Star Catcher. I love you.

After Disaster:

Everything...everything so happy, so beautiful...no one suffered...I was a Pegasus and I...I had a daughter...I grew old and died...But I died happy...

I panted. "What...what was that?"

"That was the world Starlight sought to create, Your Honor," the defense said happily.

"The world I would've created if the spell hadn't backfired?"

"Precisely! That is what the world would've been like if your experiment had worked," she continued. "Would it be fair to classify that world as a utopia?"

"...Yes...I would say so..."

"And isn't a utopia worth a risk? Sure, things may not have turned out as planned. But the world Starlight intended to create was worth a major risk to bring about. The ends justify the means, do they not?"

Do they? I...I'm not sure.

"The defense would like to call Star Maker to the stand."

I saw a light fly in and land at the stand, materializing into a Pegasus...The Pegasus I became in that vision...w-what did this mean?

"Star Maker, would you say that you were happy with the world you lived in?"

The Pegasus nodded. "Yes. Everypony was happy. I had a daughter who I loved with all my heart...Yes."

"No further questions." said the defense attorney.

"None from me, either," said the prosecutor.

"You're dismissed, Star Maker."

After Star Maker vanished, the winged unicorn looked to me. "Your Honor, that mare here just now was the mare Starlight would have transformed into, had her experiment succeeded."

"Wait...why've you been referring to me in the third person like that?" I asked, discombobulated again. "I am still Starlight, right? Death didn't change that, right?"

"Uh... no," said the defense, flustered. "You're still Starlight, Your Honor. It's just... well, it's just part of the protocol of this court."

I sighed. "Mama was right: I should've studied law."

"Your mother wanted you to inherit the Rainbow Beauty Salon from her until she saw how deeply becoming a teacher was your dream," Judicium said, "And chose your happiness over her own."

"Oh." Mother had never told me that. I knew she loved me, but I didn't even think that's what she'd have wanted.

"She didn't want you to feel guilty. And yes, she loves you absolutely."

The defense put her game face back on again. "Anyway, as you can see, Star Maker was happy and had a family of her own, isn't that a good thing?"

I was a mother?...I had a baby?...I had changed my name? She seemed happy...I...I seemed happy.

"The prosecution presents Exhibit B," the colt said. Once more the bored mare had to be prodded by the prosecutor to do...whatever it was she seemed to be doing.

I saw...Buddy, Lancer...all of my friend's boyfriends and husbands...they became mares...their personalities completely changed...I hardly recognized them...I could hardly tell them apart.

"What...what was that?"

"That was the fate of the stallions your friends loved. In the utopia Starlight sought, stallions did not exist," said the colt.

No stallions? Whyever not? Would...no...it can't be...

"The prosecution calls Pandemonium Atë Typhon," the colt called.

Another...another of those chimera creatures appeared in the witness chair. This one was female, and composed of completely different animals. She seemed a rather cheerful sort.

"Pandemoniu-"

"I kind of prefer Pandora, if you don't mind."

"Pandora, you are the Draconequus representing imagination, correct?"

"Yep! And hallucinations, but ponies don't seem to like those as much for some reason."

"So you know what ponies wishes were for when the experiment happened, correct?"

"Correct."

"What were Starlight's wishes?"

Please no...don't let her say it...

"Well, let's see, she wanted the world to be all beautiful like Bright Eyes wanted. She wanted there to be no conflict, her friends to be happy...Oh, and that there wouldn't be any stallions."

No...I...I didn't think that would...I mean I wanted it but...After that colt hurt me... I just wanted the stallions to disappear...but I didn't mean for it to actually happen!

I was beginning to cry. "Your Honor, Starlight may have given herself a family, but her wish also robbed countless mares of the stallions they loved... of romances that might have bloomed. They were fortunate to have changed into mares, rather than vanish from existence."

"T-There MUST have been mares wishing for stallions! Lots of them! Boy-crazy, lonely-hearted... H...how could my one wish have overridden ALL of their dreams?!"

"Starlight's wish was granted because she was at the epicenter of the spell when it was cast."

That... makes horrible SENSE...

"I...I didn't mean to do that! I...I just didn't want to get hurt again!" I cried. How could I have done that to my friends?!

"For the world your spell would've created, Starlight... do you accept responsibility for the obliteration of an entire gender?" he asked.

"...Yes...I do..."

"Are you sorry?"

"Of course I am...I'm sorry..."

"No further questions." The prosecution eyed the defense, who just shook her head.

"Would you like a hug?" Pandemonium asked me.

"You're dismissed!" I snap, and Judicium sent her away.

The winged unicorn gave a glare. "Touché, but this isn't over."

The defense then called several other ponies from the utopia world...I got names, but I couldn't really tell who was who...they all seemed so alike. All their answers amounted to the same thing: they loved their world and it was 'super fun'...they all seemed so happy. After the last one, (Sweetberry, I think,) the prosecution, who'd passed until then, finally retook the floor.

"The prosecution wishes to revisit Exhibit B," said the colt.

The memories came to my mind again. I saw my friends during the reformation of the world...No...They...they turn into those ponies I just saw! But...But I couldn't recognize them! I couldn't even tell them apart! Why?!

"The world produced by the spell produced a populace of little-to-no individuality. Most everyone was identical in terms of personalities. This stemmed from the fact that Starlight did NOT anticipate wishes such as 'I wish everypony was more alike.' or 'I wish everypony agreed with each other more.'" The colt didn't sound condemning, he sounded...impartial, if that's even possible.

I should've caught that! How could I not have seen such an obvious flaw?!

"OBJECTION!!!" the defense called. "The entire team of scientists missed the mark on that, to blame Starlight alone is unfair."

"Isn't it likewise unfair for all the members of Starlight's team to not share an equal percentage of blame?" the colt replied. "Or should Starlight deny responsibility for her part in the oversight, and pass the buck completely on Bright Eyes and her subordinates?"

"What is your choice?" Judicium asked me.

I held my head. How was I having a headache if I was dead? I was responsible for my part in it? But they should take responsibility for theirs? What did that mean?! Am I guilty or not?!

"...Objection...overruled..." I said. I needed time to think. "...Does the prosecution want to call a witness?"

"No," he said simply, sitting back down.

"O-ok...Defense?"

"The Defense calls Minty to the stands!" she announced.

A green mare with a pink mane and a pepper mint Cutie Mark appeared in the stands. She was... she had been Clover. "Minty, how are you different from your friends?"

"Oh! Well, I collect socks, I'm kind of clumsy, I like cucumbers on my pizza, oh! And I love the color green!" the pony announced.

"Thank you, Minty."

And after the prosecution passed on cross-examining her, I dismissed Minty.
Then the defense called several ponies to the stands, asked them how they were different from their friends. A unicorn said her horn glowed constantly and showed classic social anxiety as a result, an earth pony named Kimono was knowledgeable and the one others looked to for advice, another Earth Pony named Rainbow Dash loved fashion, an earth pony named Wysteria said she was shy and loved gardening. On and on.

"As I've shown, there IS individuality in this world Starlight meant to create," said the Defense. "Each pony is clearly unique and one-of-a-kind!"

"The Prosecution agrees that this is true, but also points out this sampling of ponies represents the exception, not the rule. While ponies of Starlight's utopia were capable of becoming individuals... few sadly did."

And my friends still weren't my friends...they weren't the ponies they used to be. The Prosecutor didn't call a witness. "D-Defense?"

"I call Destruction Shiva Typhon to the stands!"

The chimera thing...it...he appeared in the witness chair. He held an ice pack to his head...He'd been there. What had he been doing there?

He went to say something to the defense attorney, but she shushed him. "Destruction, please state your job for the court."

"I make things that aren't supposed to exist anymore go boom! That's what I do," he said in a strangely child-like voice.

"Is it true that YOU caused the explosion?" the defense asked.

"Yep! I did...That was kind of messed up!"

HE did it?! That's it! My experiment HADN'T backfired at all! It had been sabotaged by this thing! This obviously mad bomber! It wasn't my fault!...Then why doesn't that make me happy?

"The defense would like to ask why Starlight should be held responsible for something Destruction caused?" the defense asked. "It is NOT her fault, therefore she should be considered not guilty. No further questions."

The colt walked over to Destruction. "Destruction, how did you cause the explosion?"

"Oh! Well I made all those conflicting wishes and dreams NOT overlap each other and happen all at once! That made the whole thing go boom! I didn't really have to do much actually!"

"What?" I found myself asking aloud. "What...what was he saying?"

"I believe he means that he merely set off a bomb that was already in place." Judicium explained.

A bomb that was already...no...

"And why did you cause the explosion?" the defense asked.

"Oh! Because all those conflicting dreams would've fought and fought until they tore the universe apart and everything would die! And not even with a bang! It would've just faded away! So I had to make it all go boom! To make it so that didn't happen!"

What...The dreams would've......the conflicting dreams would've... I don't even remember dismissing Destruction.

"Prosecution...c-call your n-next witness..." I stuttered, just going through the motions. How could I be so dumb?!

Why did I not realize the conflicting dreams would've caused trouble?! Had I really thought that excluding the dreams of the violent and sociopathic would've been the only consideration Had I really expected no two dreams would be at odds?!

What naïveté! What idiocy! The spell was meant to grant ALL wishes, including ones that were mutually contradictory!

If Destruction hadn't intervened...The spell would just keep rewriting reality, trying to make the world work in such a way that allowed mutually contradictory wishes to both be granted...It's like taking hundreds of random people and assign them to build a skyscraper with no actual collaboration or leadership! Miraculous to get something that wouldn't instantly collapse...

"The Prosecution would like to state at this point that all the ponies working on the project are equally at fault for not anticipating this fatal flaw with the spell." the colt explained. "That said, Starlight needs to take responsibility for the part in it SHE played."

There it was again...I must take responsibility and so should the others? But...does that mean every one of us on the team are all each 100% at fault... or do we all get 5% of the sum total fault? I...I just don't know...

I just wanted this to be over...why is the bored mare back there looking at me? She seems...vaguely interested in me...

"The defense calls Bon Bon to the stands," the alicorn me called, Bon Bon appearing in the witness chair...

"Bon Bon, how do you feel about Starlight?" she asked.

"Starlight? I miss her..."

"Do you blame her for what she did?"

"Of course not...she's my friend. It wasn't all her fault either...I know she didn't WANT to cause what happened."

"No further questions."

The Prosecutor stood up. "Bon Bon, is it not true that because of the accident, your sister has died and you are left raising your niece?"

Bon Bon looked so sad... "Yes...that's true..."

Bon Bon...I'm...I'm so sorry...It's my fault...

"And do you feel any anger towards Starlight for that?"

Bon Bon actually looked a bit angry. "Of course not! She didn't mean to do this!"

"But do you admit she's at least partly responsible for what happened? You're under oath."

"Yes...She was part of the project so I guess she is...But I'm not angry with her!"

"So you forgive Starlight for her part in the accident?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

What?...She forgive me? After everything I caused...she forgives me?

"No further questions."

Wait...no more questions? Isn't he supposed to be trying to prove I'm guilty?

The Defense gave a snarl while I dismiss Bon Bon. "The defense calls Patch to the stands."

Patch...she seems so different...so strong now...She'd never been one to take exercise... or anything... seriously. But now she looked like an amazon...

"Patch, how do you feel about Starlight?"

"Starlight? I've been looking everywhere for her! I just want to find her."

"Do you blame her for what happened?"

"Of course not!...If it's anyone's fault, it's mine for finding Paradise Estates in the first place..."

No...please don't let her blame herself...It's not her fault!...Please don't blame yourself...
The Defense snarled. "No further questions!"

The Prosecutor came forwards. "Patch, is it not true that the world is degrading because of the accident?"

Patch sighed. "I guess so...The only city I've seen with working power was the one that rotten Pegasus was in charge of."

"Film Critique, you mean?"

"If we're speaking of the harem king with the blue shard... then, yes."

"And is it also true that you've endured a great deal of personal pain because of that fateful day? And you've taken it upon yourself to reassemble the seven shards of the Rainbow of Light to restore the world from its current state of dystopia?"

"...I'd be lying if I said no. But I'm not blaming Starlight for that! I chose to do it. And it ain't all bad! Me and Buddy got married, I'm a mom! Maybe that might've happened anyway without the world going to Pony Hell, but I won't trade it for anything!"

What? She actually...she finally tied the knot?!

"Do you admit that Starlight has some responsibility for what happened?"

Patch looked down. "...It was her idea...hers and Bright Eyes...but she didn't do anything wrong!"

"One does not have to intentionally do wrong to commit a wrong. Do you forgive Starlight for what happened?"

Patch nodded without hesitation. "Of course! She's my friend! I know she didn't want any of this to happen! I forgive her."

"No further questions."

And it went the same for the others...Sweetheart, Melody, Bright Eyes, and Clover...they all missed me...they all forgave me...And each time they did, the defense seemed to get a little angrier...But why? This was so BACKWARD!

"A-anymore witnesses?"

Both sides shook their heads. "The prosecution rests."

"The defense rests too. But I would like to talk with the defendant for a moment," the defense said.

I found myself sitting in the chair next to the defense attorney...but like before, I was in the judge's chair at the same time...

"Listen, Starlight. What do you think will happen if you give a guilty verdict? If you go to the bad place? To Hell? You know what Pony Hell is like, my little pony?" the defense attorney seemed so terrifying for some reason...Why did she seem so scary?! Was I really this intimidating to my friends?

"Ponies in Pony Hell are hitched to a massive chariot ridden by Fear Incarnate, which they are forced to pull across a scorching, horrible desert for all eternity, with only the screams of their fellow tortured souls and the Emperor of Terror's laughter to keep them company."

I could see it...I could hear it...All the screaming...The laughter, it'd make my heart stop if I wasn't already dead! The air is so hot I feel like I'm roasting alive! But the ground beneath my hooves, it's so cold my hooves feel like they're going to shatter! The chariot chains aren't wrapped around me, they're IN my skin!...It never ends...it never ends...we just pull...forever...But the worst part is...despite everyone suffering with me...I'm alone...

I...I was back in the chair, away...away from that horrid place...I was afraid...terrified...I don't think I've EVER been so scared in my entire life! Or my afterlife... short as it's been, so far...

"Just thought you should know what's at stake if you decide wrong," she said, looking me in the eyes. "Understood?"

I slowly nodded and was...back in the judge's seat.

"What is your choice?" asked Judicium. "It is time to choose. Are you guilty or innocent?"

Guilty or innocent? Why did I have to decide?! I...Even my friends admitted I was responsible...And I am...I should've made absolutely sure of everything before I let the experiment start! Yes, Destruction set it off...but I made the bomb! And if he hadn't, everything would've been much worse!

But...but I'm so scared...I don't want to go to Pony Hell...Just thinking about made me shudder! The chariot, that laughter, the screams...And...and if I went there I just know I'd never see my friends again!

But if I say I'm not guilty...then aren't I just as bad? To say everything that came about because of the experiment doesn't matter? That I'm not responsible for any of it? I can't do that...I'd be lying to myself...How could I look my friends in the eye when we get to Pony Heaven and tell them that I'm innocent?

"...I find the defendant...Starlight...guilty..." I finally said. Did I know what might happen? Of course. Was I terrified? Yes...but I had to do what's right...

The Defense gave a cry of rage. "No! You can't do that!"

"I can, and I did."

The colt looked up at me with those eyes. "Do you feel Starlight should be forgiven?"

"I don't deserve it."

"No one deserves forgiveness, Starlight...Forgiveness and mercy are to be given."

"Is that so? In that case...my friends already forgave me...and I accept it from them...I want it...Even if I don't think I deserve it."

"...It is so...You are forgiven..."

"Darn you!" yelled the defense suddenly, throwing over the table. The mare in the back just facehoofed. "You aren't supposed to be forgiven! You were supposed to say you're innocent!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, ma'am, but I just can't do that...It wouldn't be right."

The winged unicorn me looked like she was about to throw a tantrum. Her eyes flamed, and she looked like she was going to run over to me and hoof me across the face...I began to back away, shaking. Then suddenly smiled with a chuckle. "Well, That Was Fun," she said, but now the voice sounded male...it sent a chill down my spine just hearing it.

"If You Say So, Havoc," said the colt.

The mare at the back merely rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, the courtroom faded away into nothing. The little colt spread two huge wings and covered himself in them, transforming into a massive winged unicorn. He looked like a massive cutout of the night sky in the form of a pony...The stars seemed so far away but so close all at once...And he seemed to be a colt and a stallion at the same time, not like he alternated, but like he was both at once. I could see the tips of his horns and wings, but when I tried to follow one from top to bottom, that just kept going endlessly.

Looking at him I felt like I was so small...but I felt like I mattered...like I was important. It wasn't confusing...it was just impossible to describe.

He draped one wing over me. Between me and...something else...something that made me afraid just being near...and another that made me feel so cold...so pointless...but being close to him...it made that go away. I felt safe, I felt important.

"Well, Buddy, That Was The Most Fun I've Had In A Very Long Time, We Should Do This Again Sometime!" said that voice the other me had had...but now it seemed so terrifying...the only thing that stopped me from going into shock was the big winged unicorn being there...it made the fear go away as soon as it happened.

"If We Must, Havoc."

"THIS WAS ALL POINTLESS. AS IT USUALLY IS."

"Oh Come On, You Know You Enjoyed That Short Moment Where It Looked Like She Was Going To Give Up Hope!"

"NO, I DIDN'T! HOW DID YOU CONVINCE ME TO LET YOU DRAG ME HERE?!"

"Because I Thought You'd Have Fun!"

"WELL, I DIDN'T!"

"Oh You Didn't Enjoy One Thing?"

"NO! YOU DON'T EXIST!"

I was suddenly not afraid...Afraid? What's afraid?

"I Don't Care!"

Oh, right afraid is when you're scared...I don't know how to describe what just happened...

"Now Come On, Dear, Let's Head Back To My Domain."

"WHY YOURS?!"

"Because That Fat Pegasus Should Be Arriving Soon, I've Got A Great Idea On How To Welcome Him, The Terror On His Face Should Be Fabulous!"

"WHY SHOULD I CARE?!"

"Because You Can Watch The Soul Crushing Despair That Comes With The Realization That He's Doomed For Eternity."

"...FINE, LETS JUST GO."

The big unicorn lifted his wing and there was no one there. "What's going on?"

"You Were Judging Your Own Soul."

"So...do I go to Pony Hell now?"

"No, You Do Not."

"But I was guilty..." Now I was confused.

"And Admitting That Is Why Your Soul Was Saved. You Admitted Responsibility For Your Actions And Sought Forgiveness For Them. So You May Now Enter Pony Heaven."

"So I'd have gone to Pony Hell if I'd said I was innocent?"

"Yes. Those Who Cannot Take Responsibility For Their Wrongdoing Cannot Be Saved. It Is Not That I Will Not Let Them In, But That They Cannot Get In."

"...You don't mince words much..."

"I Am Truth, I Do Not Lie."

"I understand." I lick my ghostly lips. "Still, you do things VERY weird around these parts. What was all that? Who are you? Who were They?"

"One Cannot Enter An Afterlife To Which They Do Not Belong. And Neither I Nor Havoc Could Claim Your Soul While It Was In Conflict. My 'Name' Does Not Translate Properly Into Sounds. There Are Many Approximations: 'He Who Is All And All Is Him', 'The Universe', 'Father Of All Alicorns', 'The Fifth Concept', 'The Hierophant,' 'Wisdom,' 'Sanity,' 'The Perfect Existence,' Reality,' 'The Spirit World.' As For The Other Two, Your 'Defense' was Havoc, Mass Hysteria And Fear Incarnate, The King of Fears, Emperor of Terror, Father Of All Fears, Forger Of The Survival Instinct, The Resting Place Of Lost Souls. His Colleague, The Bored One, Was His Wife Entropy, The Embodiment Of All That Will Cease, Queen Of Oblivion, Empress Of Not, Nothingness, Anti-Mother Of All Things."

"...Was this all some sort of game between you two?"

"To Havoc It Was. To Me, It Was A Fight To Save A Child From Herself."

"Huh?"

"To Havoc, Nothing Is Serious, Everything Is A Game. Do Not Take This As Him Being Uncaring, He Does Have A Form Of Compassion Towards Ponies, It Is He That Provides The Survival Instinct, He Takes Joy When Fear Saves Lives. But His Morality Is So Alien Compared To Yours And Mine That To Attempt To Describe It In Terms You Could Understand Is Impossible."

"He's a psychopath." I say.

"No." He says simply. "You Are Thinkings In Terms Of Psychosis And Psychology. His Morals Are No Less Real Than Yours. And A Psychopath Can Not Control Themselves, Nor Can They Control Their Impulses. You Are Describing One Of His Sons. Havoc Does Care For His Children And Family. Which Has Left A Mark Between Himself And His Wife Ever Since She...

"To Havoc's Wife, Entropy, Nothing Has Value, For All Things Of The Physical Universe Will One Day Belong To Her As She Claims It To Lay The Groundwork For A New Universe."

"And you?"

"To Me, All Things Have Value. No Life Is Without Meaning. To Me, You Are No Less Important To Me Than My Own Children. I Love You, Starlight, As I Do All Life."

I believed him...it was just...I knew he wouldn't lie to me...

"Then why did he act so angry when I didn't do what he wanted?"

"Because It Amused Him To Do So."

"So he acted like he was angry because he thought it was funny?"

"Yes. Havoc Saw Himself As An Actor Playing A Role. When He Saw He Was Losing, He Decided To Just Have Fun With It."

"Well... at least all the damned souls in Pony Hell got a BRIEF respite from pulling his chariot forever, right?"

"There are actually shadows of nothingness who try to steal place of souls within Havoc. Havoc gave an 'incomplete' view of his domain. Now, Starlight, It Is Time For You To Enter Pony Heaven."

"Where is it?"

"I Am Pony Heaven. Or, To Put It In Terms You Can Comprehend, It Is Contained Within My Body."

I slowly put my hoof up and touched him. It looked like it touched water and passed through. Just having a part of me inside him made me feel...free...happy...I can't put it into words...It wasn't fake, it was so real, so wonderful...But I pulled my hoof back.

"...Could I...maybe wait?"

"Why Do You Wish To Wait?"

"...My friends all miss me...I want to be there to greet them when they come..." I said, looking up at him. They all missed me, they all forgave me. It just seemed right."

"While That Is In My Power To Permit, What You Ask For Falls Within The Domain Of My Son, Mortis. I Do Not Wish To Encroach On His Free Will By Denying Him The Choice. Mortis!"

Mortis suddenly appeared and bowed to the Father of All Alicorns. There was a golden maned white Earth Pony with him. "Yes, Father?"

"Starlight Desires To Wait For Her Friends To All Pass On Before She Enters Into Me With Them. Do You Permit This?"

Mortis looked to me, and nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "A noble desire. A soul cannot pass on if it has unfinished business, for it will be unable to rest in peace. Therefore, I permit this."

I gave a bow. "Thank you, Mortis." The Earth Pony suddenly spoke.

"You are Starlight, correct?" asked the pony.

"Yes, that's me."

"Your friend Patch is a true knight, I am proud to have been able to know her," he said.

I gave a smile. "Thanks. She is a good friend."

The Father of Alicorns looked to the pony, a smile on His face. "I Am Glad To See You, Squire. Your Father Has Been Waiting For You."

The pony entered into the Father when it hit me. "Squire? The pony who Patch told that story about?"

Mortis nodded. "Yes, Patch helped him finish his unfinished business. His soul could finally pass on peacefully...now come, I will guide you to where you can watch your friends."

"Ok. Goodbye, Squire."

"Goodbye Starlight," I heard Squire speak through the Father. "Please tell Dame Patch when you see her that I miss her, and will see her soon."

"I will."

Mortis bowed deeply to The Father, and opened a door. We stepped inside, and I was back in my old office.

I looked at Mortis with a confused expression on my face. "What am I doing here? The school was destroyed in the explosion, right?"

Mortis nodded. "It is customary for a watcher to wait in a place of familiarity and comfort," he explained. "This room contained many wonderful memories for you, and those memories will sustain you as your wait for your friends."

He walked over to a large window. "This window will allow you to see your friends' lives pass and give you glimpses of the future that you have seen."

He touched his hoof to one of the panes of glass, and it rippled like a mirror. I saw Patch and an odd brown pony holding up something like a shard of jagged glass. He swiped his hoof across the glass, and the scene melted, reforming into a pastel pony land. The scene vanished in a second, and I sank to the ground, stunned.

He smiled a small smile at me. "You will be able to see your friends and be with them in spirit until they come to meet you, and you will also see your life, what is and what will be. Good journey, noble Starlight. When you are ready, I will come and take you and your charges to my Father."

"Th-thank you." I felt like I was going to sob.

Mortis nodded at me once more, and left without another word.

I pulled a chair in front of the window. "I know this is selfish, but I need to see what could have been, at least for me."

I touched the window with my hoof, and an image came up. I saw Patch walking through a forest. I sent up a silent prayer to the Father for her safety. I swiped my hoof across the mirror again, imitating Mortis's movements.

After the Transformation:

The forest became a very sparkly and pink town. I saw a cobble stone street and beautiful houses, and lots of smiling ponies. Some were skating around and one pony was lying on the grass, writing in a diary. I was having a hard time telling them apart, though.

Side effect of the spell, remember there, Starlight? I shook my head. "No time for that. Now, how do I move this thing around? Hmmm..." I fiddled around with my hoof again. "Maybe I could control it like this again....Ahh, there we go!" The view on the window changed. I saw into a kind of ice cream parlor. I saw three ponies clustered around a table, sipping milkshakes.

A green pony with a candy cutie mark, Minty(Clover?), said,

"These milkshakes are so super delicious, Sweetberry!"

A pony with two berries and a flower as a cutiemark was blushing. Sweetie Berry, Bon-Bon. "Why thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed them! I made them especially for my friends!"

They all began to giggle. Maybe it's an in-joke? I didn't see anything particularly funny.

"Hey, you guys, has anyone seen Star Catcher?" The other pony with a balloon Cutie Mark at the table asked.

Star Catcher? The daughter of the pony I became in that world-which-wasn't! They might know where my daughter, er, Star Maker's daughter is! I pressed my ear to the glass in excitement. Maybe I can find out where she is!

"I haven't seen her," answered Sweetberry.

"Me neither," said the green pony. "I'm sure she'll turn up later, Pinkie Pie!"

Drat!...But at least she has friends who care about her, that's what counts.

Pinkie Pie fiddled with her straw. "Yeah, I guess...Hey, did you guys all see Rainbow Dash's new outfit?"

"Oh, yeah, she always dresses in style!"

"Yeah! I wish I could dress like her!" The three ponies began a very detailed conversation about Rainbow Dash's various fashions.

Okay, when they lapse into conversations about dresses, it is time for me to go. I thought. Now, how will I be able to go to Star Maker? I want to see myself...of course, I...they don't know her, Star Maker must of died long before this. So how do I look further back? This thing doesn't really have instructions. Well, I might as well try this. I tapped my hoof on the glass. "Take me to Star Maker!"

The parlor disappeared in a flash of light, and the Pegasus I saw from my vision appeared on the screen.

"Woah!" I took a step back from the window. "I wasn't really expecting that to happen!"

The Pegasus called Star Maker was smiling and laughing, playing with a little white Pegasus filly on an island with only Pegasi. She looked different from all of the other ponies that I saw in town. They looked all like carbon copies of each other, while she just looked, different. More alive or aware, maybe? I couldn't explain it. She looked so happy.

I felt a tear slide down my face. I will be with you, Star Maker. May your life remain this happy forever.

Through that magic window I was able to be with my friends through their lives. I cried and laughed, gasped and cheered along with them. I saw Patch, brave Patch, trying to put right what I helped cause. I saw Bright Eyes being cared for by her husband, never giving up. I was so grateful for Clover, fate was kind to her, her simple dreams and wishes protecting her from damage from the backwashed spell. I saw Sweet Heart helping others in the destroyed world, Bon Bon desperately writing down the history of a dead world, and Melody losing her voice, but still being the Melody I had always known.

I would be there for them, all of them, when they came here, and I was.

+++++

Twilight looked up from the insert in Bon-Bon's journal regarding Starlight. "So ... I was Clover before I was Minty?"

"No Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna said, "You were Twilight Sparkle before you were Twilight Sparkle. You may continue to carry Minty's heart, just as Minty continued to carry Clover's heart, but that doesn't under any circumstances make you either of them."

"Weird. I can't find who I was in the old generation," Pinkie Pie said looking through a mountain of papers and sticky notes that read 'Author's notes.' "Well, I know a part of me is Surprise when I intercepted her shadow, and I took Princess Rarity's light when she ... when she passed on when... everything changed, but I can't find where the rest of me came from."

Princess Luna said, "Perhaps the remaining four entries will shed light on that subject."

"Oh! You're right!" Pinkie Pie nodded, she tossed the papers aside. "I really really really really really really really really REALLY HOPE it doesn't take as long to get the next one written, I mean for us to read it. This side saga hasn't even been posted on fimfiction.net yet! We've got four more entries to go! This better get done before the new story arc, er, before anything major happens. I better get some more snacks!"

"Who-Who."

"Of course you can help!"

Twilight looked at the remaining entries. Sweetheart. Melody. Bright Eyes. Clover. She wondered what truths their little pony tales would reveal if any.

"So Starlight, she was the leader of her friends' circle?"

"Until they became adult mares and went their separate ways in life. That is the nature of growing up Twilight Sparkle, but rest assured, they never stopped being friends. Friendship is a force that pierces time. You and your friends indirectly taught me that. Even if separated by a thousand years, the light of friendship can still pierce the darkness."

Sweetheart's Story About Hearts And Apples

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic / My Little Pony Tales
Pony POV Series Side Story Episode Part 4 of 7 1/2
7 Dreams/Nightmares: Sweetheart
Written By RichForce
Edited By Alex Warlorn, Louis, and Kendell2

Before Revision/Disaster:

Dear Starlight,
By the time you get this letter we'll all be living in a better world. As I write I am with my family as we're watching the spell that will give us all our happily-ever-after unfold on TV here at my house. Hard to believe it's actually happening; in fact, sometimes it's hard for me to believe the turns our lives took since Patch gave us that call. I guess that's why I am writing this, to help us both take stock in what has happened as a whole new era in ponykind's history is about to begin.

Remember the sleepover we all had at my house? Oh, the fun and games we had! Making an ice cream sundae the size of a table. The antics never ended. And when we all jumped around like frogs in the clubhouse trying to teach poor hurt Spot to jump again? Heh. We looked so silly. Seeing how everyone in Ponyville but us seemed to really not like frogs, I know Miss Hackney was right to tell to release him back into the wild. Maybe I didn't care for when you and the others traded gossip, but at least it all worked out in the end. Every day was a new day to be together. I felt like those days would last forever.

It was a little hard on me when we first drifted apart but at least Teddy stayed by my side.

I know at the time you all thought I was crazy to try to get that loud-mouthed, obnoxious, bratty, bully of a colt to shape up and mature but since he asked me to marry him I'd say that it definitely paid off.

I know it was frustrating for him to get a desk job when the rest of us had found our dream careers, but he's a wonderful father to our four children.

When I first heard from Patch that she discovered the horned, winged, underwater and fairy ponies, I was a little skeptical but since she was my friend I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt... or medical attention if she'd turned out she'd eaten poisonous mushrooms again. I'd have gone just to see you all again. When she actually showed us Dream Valley, the shock was so great I was afraid I was going to give birth right then and there while half of you fainted.

It was there I met Applejack, sweet wonderful clumsy Applejack. I still remember it clearly; I was feeling so overwhelmed by the unicorns, pegasi and dragons that I wandered off to a grove of apple trees to clear my head. I saw the orange earth pony trying to pick apples from a tree with her mouth while standing on a ladder. At the time, it was hard to think of myself as an "earth pony" as opposed to just *A* pony. Applejack reached for one that was a little too high and she fell backward into a sack of apples that was smashed to goo as it broke her fall.

"Ow... looks like we're having applesauce again."

"Maybe I could help?" I told her. I stood on two legs get a better approach to the ladder and grabbed the apple she was reaching for with my hoof.

"How'd you do that? Oh wait! You're one Patch's friends; I wish I could grab things with my hooves."

I climbed down to hand her the apple. It was so strange, something we all considered completely normal, these ponies found amazing. I guess they must've felt the same about us looking back. "It's nothing special, not like what the pegasi and unicorns can do."

"Don't sell Earth Ponies short; I once saved a number of my friends from an evil wizard. They got jewel eyes out it."

Teddy came over and looked like I had just jumped off a building. Oh yeah, Teddy, heh heh, he might have snuck along to make sure I wasn't hurt while on Patch's 'adventure.' Don't tell me you actually thought all these years, he'd let me go without him considering, "Sweetheart you shouldn't be climbing in your condition!"

"Teddy, I'm pregnant not an invalid."

"She was helping me," the orange pony said. "If only there was a faster way to harvest these apples."

"Maybe I can help with that," said Teddy. "I did this once when I was an angry teenager."

He gave the tree a good buck and the apples all fell out of the tree at once.

The orange pony looked at the results. "I have got to remember that one! My name's Applejack, by the way."

"I'm Sweetheart," I answered her. "And this is my husband Teddy."

Applejack then looked at me in an odd way. "He said you're with foal right?"

I blushed. "I'm due in a couple of weeks, I almost didn't come here but Patch convinced me that if I did give birth, I would be in good hooves."

"I'm sorry for asking, it's just... except for Ember we haven't had any foals around here for quite some time." Applejack turned to a standalone nursery that looked like it had not been used in a long time. "My own little Baby Applejack had left centuries ago along with the most of the other foals even though she was the youngest, Cupcake, Gusty, Truly and Heart Throb." She looked at me, cocking her head a little. "Actually you remind me a lot of Heart Throb and Truly."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me show you."

She took me inside the estate and into a room marked with two names, Heart Throb and Truly. Applejack looked at me. "They didn't mention it often but they were sisters. We knew that when Heart Throb left to find her one true love, Truly would stubbornly go with her."

"I can understand, I'd probably do the same if that happened with on of my sisters."

We went inside and I noticed the photo on a bedside stand depicting a pink light pegasus with a dark pink mane standing with a white earth pony with a pink mane. "The Pegasus is Heart Throb," Applejack said. "Truly could be bossy, stubborn and prideful but she always meant well. Heart Throb was the romantic, she always wanted to be part of a great romance. You may look more like Truly but you seem to be more like Heart Throb in personality... though a bit more toned down."

"Well, if you take away the wings and give her a different cutie mark, Heart Throb could be a dead ringer for my aunt Carnation. As for Truly I can see the resemblance. You don't think that one of them could be my several times great-grandmother?"

"Who knows? I might have more descendants out there than I could count or I might have none..."

I couldn't help but ask. "Why did you let her go?"

"We first found out about what the Rainbow of Light was doing to us when our children weren't maturing physically. After a while all of them except for Ember decided that they couldn't just put off growing up anymore. Sometimes I think Ember's stayed for Twilight's sake. None of us stopped them. Even as their mothers and fathers, we knew it wasn't our place to keep from making their own marks on the world. We'd fought so hard to make a better place for their sake. As much as I miss her I had no right to keep her Baby Applejack forever."

"What was she like?"

"She was a spitting image of me. And the same could be said about almost all of the fillies that were born into our group. Looking at us you would think that there was some truth to the story we tell fillies and colts that babies come from a magic mirror. I guess part of why most of our children left was so that they could find their own identities away from just being our babies."

"Do you think she made her mark on the world?"

"I can't be sure, but from what Patch had told us about the sort of place your world had become, I like to think she and all the others had earned that peace."

"You think our world's 'peaceful?' We all can't seem to stop finding problems with it."

"Compared to how it used to be when we were 'normal' ponies? Believe me, Sweetheart, you got it lucky."

Applejack and I continued to keep in touch, usually with Patch as our go- between. She told how an evil centaur once turned her, Moondancer, and two of their other friends (Cotton Candy and Bubbles who had since left the Estate centuries ago) into dragons, and how the Paradise Herd had turned Ponyland bit by bit into a paradise compared to what it was before.

One and a half weeks later after we'd first met, I had my twin girls, Wild Heart and Brave Heart and went back to my practice as a family doctor. Around the point where the other tribes started to reemerge, Teddy and I were blessed once more with our daughter Pure Heart.

Then you and Bright Eyes had your wonderful idea: a spell that would give everyone their 'happily ever after.' I was sorry I couldn't help that much, but no one was pulling for you more than I was. I told all my patients about how your wish spell would cure cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, Immune Deficiency Syndrome, even psychosis. Not to mention it'd feed starving children the whole world over! And they told their families. Petitions sprang up to help you and Bright Eyes.

The same magic used to change Applejack back from a dragon-beast could be used to save countless other ponies too! I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

Remember that one time we threw all the blame on big corporations when our river was clogged with litter, and it turned out it was normal everyday ponies like us? I didn't even stop to think how powerful ponies would react to your gift. I didn't think how ponies who make a profit from others' want and need, wouldn't want that dependency to end. So they had to send a message. I wasn't a target like you, Bright Eyes, Patch, or even Bon-Bon and Melody. I wasn't related to anyone famous like Clover. I was vulnerable. I was meant as an example. They wanted to scare you into stopping.

But the stallion thugs they sent met Teddy, and learned his reputation as a tough pony wasn't all talk. ALL of them -- Teddy included -- ended up in the hospital. Then reporters caught wind of what had happened (I like to think Melody helped somehow). A pregnant mare being targeted by Evil Big Business to intimidate all of you into stopping the wish spell? I became a symbol, a poster child, an overnight media darling. No pony was going to listen the naysayers now, they'd shot themselves in the hoof. Their scary posters and TV ads of obese couch potatoes doing nothing all day fell out of everypony's minds. Teddy and I barely cared, we were just happy our family was SAFE.

Then I had my son Lion Heart, and now here we are, waiting for it all to come together.

My little sisters; Peaches, Cream and Sugar; are here with us and I just want to say thank you for making the world a place everyone will be happy in.
Your friend,
Sweetheart
P.S.
I just remembered I ran into your old roller rink partner, recently, Slipknot, except now he calls himself Scout, and he seemed kind of glum. I think after the spell is finished you two should get back together, it would do you both good.
+
"Some of these details seem a little strange when compared to each other." Twilight said, looking over some of the previous entries they had read. "Were there conflicts in reality even then?"

"Nothing so fantastic," Princess Luna said calmly, "Remember, young unicorn, a story can be very different when told from the perspective of somepony else. Heroes can be depicted as villains, a meaningful moment to one pony can be a triviality to another; a background pony can have a vital supporting role in somepony else's tale; it all depends on the storyteller. You should know better, than to take everything you read as holy writ."

Twilight blushed from embarrassment.

"Sweetheart..." Twilight said, scratching her head. "That name sounds familiar. And I don't mean like 'a distant part of me remember' familiar, I mean...I think I read that somewhere."

Luna smiled. "Yes, I believe you would have, Twilight, she earned a place in history. I would be more surprised if the name did not strike a cord in someone who loves researching the past as much as you do."

"Sweetheart sure is nice and considerate," Pinkie Pie thought, "I wonder if she used to be me."

"Let's find out." Luna said magically flipping the page.
+
I set the letter on the desk as I heard some noises coming from the living room.

"Come on you two! Give him back!" said Pure Heart. The twins were playing keep away with her teddy bear.

"Try and make us, dork!" said Wild Heart.

"Yeah don't be such a wuss!" said Brave Heart.

I groaned at the antics of my firstborn. The twins acted a lot like their father did in his early years. I was trying my best to steer them in the right direction but I can't take the all gentle approach I used with Teddy. As their mother, I also have to discipline them. "You both know how sensitive Pure Heart is, give it back to her."

"Ah Mom," said Wild Heart. "We're just trying to toughen her up a little."

Wild Heart tossed the bear over to Brave Heart but in trying to keep it out of her sister's reach it came dangerously close to the ceiling fan.

Teddy just came into the room and made a quick catch before the bear hit the fan.

"Hey you two, be careful with m... I mean your sister's bear!"

As Teddy gave the heavily stitched toy back to Pure Heart, I couldn't help but give a slight giggle. Pure Heart's bear was in fact the same one Teddy had kept around even as a teenager.

"Thank you, daddy," said Pure Heart.

"Miss your old friend?" I whispered to him.

"She needs him more now, besides I found someone better to cuddle in bed with."

As we shared a kiss the children gagged at the display of affection. "Eeew!"

"Sis, are you two grossing the kids out again?" Peaches said as she came downstairs with Cream and Sugar, cradling Lion Heart.

"Just a little kiss," I said while gently nudging the toddler in Sugar's forelegs.

"Wake up, sleepyhead; you don't want to sleep through the beginning of the new world."

Lion Heart's eyes fluttered open. "Hi, mommy."

"Hello angel. I was getting worried that the world was going to change and you'd sleep through it."

"Nuh-uh, I'm gonna be a unnicorn!"

"Me too!" said Wild Heart.

"Me three!" went Brave Heart.

"I want to be a Pegasus and fly!" said Pure Heart. "Right through the clouds! And learn how to whistle!"

I sighed contentedly, their entire lives they've been seeing ponies perform magic and using natural born wings. They were far from the only Earth ponies who wished they could get a horn or wings.

Cream spoke up. "We want to always stick together, even when we find guys and get married!"

"I wish maybe you'd let us get a word in sometimes," said Sugar. As much as they sometime berate her, as they grew up Cream really was the one who kept them centered and usually the one who got Peaches and Sugar to stop the occasional argument.

"How about you, Teddy?" I asked as we sat next to each other on the sofa.

He slumped further into his seat. "No more cubicles."

I gave him a glance. "Really, that's all?"

He turned his attention to the floor. "Well... you know what I was like as a brat. I never gave my life any real thought into where I was going or what I wanted to accomplish."

"I do seem to remember you going to a dance where you were supposed to dress up as what you wanted your career to be in a pirate costume."

"Exactly, I never did find what got my passions fired up, so I ended up taking the best desk job I could find to help support us... and here I am now. I guess what I really wish for is to find just what that special thing for me is. I mean, my talent is hair styling but I never wanted to be thought of as girly..."

"Teddy, you are a wonderful husband and father and even if your job is frustrating, we all love that you did it to help support us."

Teddy looked more at ease. "So what's your wish?"

"I can't think of anything for myself," I said.

"Come on, sis," said Sugar. "There's got to be something you want."

"Mom and Dad always were pointing her out as an example," said Cream. "Too bad they couldn't make it."

"It's Dad's health," I said back. "The hospital says he still needs a few days to recover from that heart attack and Mom wouldn't leave his side."

"I'm sure they'll be fine after everything changes," Teddy said. "Better than new."

The truth was Mom and Dad weren't the ones I was most worried about. The last time I spoke to Applejack was when I came with Patch, Starlight, and Bright Eyes to get the Rainbow of Light. Applejack was her usual friendly self but she wouldn't look me in the eye, almost as if there was something she didn't want me to know. ...Applejack, whatever problem you're having, I just wish you get to live and be happy in this new world.
+

After Revision:

Everything's glowing now; soon there will be no more pain or sorrow, just eternal peace. I look over at Teddy. His coat is changing to a lighter shade of blue, now his mane is growing and turning white, his cutie mark changed into a trio of stars with a beam of light shining behind them. His form is becoming more slender and feminine, okay I know he wouldn't have wished for THAT!

I notice I'm changing too! My coat is now a light orange and my mane is a mix of yellow and green. My cutie mark's different too: a red apple on a green picnic blanket. I look around, my sisters and my children are all changing too, pegasus wings and unicorn horns grow on their bodies! My sisters have grown dragonfly wings and are getting smaller and smaller! And my baby Lion Heart is looking more like a girl! I've got to call Starlight! Something must have gone wrong with the spell!

But it feels so right, pretty colors, worries go bye-bye out of my head, only...fun...all...the...time...

Warm rainbow, hugs me from everywhere, am I happy the rainbow asks... yes I am happy, I reply, I look up at the sky, pretty clouds drift by. Love shines down from above like a dove and fits me like a glove. Don't even remember what it was I was worried about, and I forget I was worried at all.

I just get to live and be happy.
+
What's my favorite food? Apples, of course! A picnic isn't a picnic without some nice juicy apples.

Sure, Apple Spice might know how to make the yummiest foods from apples, but no one can get them to a nice polish and ready for the basket like I do! Today I'm having a picnic with one of my best friends! All friends are best friends, but this is my special best friend, what better way to spend another perfect day in Ponyville? I head out of my house and after a short gallop I find my friend with the blue coat, white mane and cutie mark of three stars and a ray of light.

"Hey, Star Beam!"

"Applejack!" she says back to me. "I have the blanket and plates ready!"

"And I have the food! We better hurry if we're going to make it to that meadow in time for lunch."

"I'll race you!"

"Ok," I said. "Ready..."

We lined up in right in front the castle gate.

"Set..."

We knelt to starting positions.

"GO!"

We galloped off from Ponyville to the meadow were going to have our picnic in. Star Beam was never more than half a length ahead of me, but I could never get any closer than a neck behind her. We finally climbed up the hill in the meadow with Star Beam reaching the tree at the top first.

"Looks like you beat me," I panted. I don't mind at all. She's earned it. Funny how everything we play with others always ends in ties. "Dancing in Twinkle Twirl's troupe has really made you fit."

"It's what I always wanted to do," said Star Beam. "You could join us if you want, I could even let you borrow my tutu."

"No thanks, if I did that then who would plan the picnics?"

We laughed a bit and then after I set down the blanket and the food we sat down to lunch. That cloud looked like a cupcake, and that one a big heart. "Star Beam? Do you ever get any weird dreams?"

Star Beam took a bite of a peanut butter and apple jelly sandwich that I made. "Not really, why?"

"Last night I had one. I don't remember a whole lot of it, but there was this Applejack there, but she wasn't me, and I was talking to her, but I wasn't Applejack."

"A you-who-is-not-Applejack and an Applejack-who-is-not-you?"

"Exactly."

"Maybe you just finally had one apple too many."

"You're probably right; I shouldn't have had that apple ice cream sundae with butterscotch syrup right before bed."

We both laughed. It was the kind of day you would wish would never end if you didn't know the next would also be super great. Like Christmas this year, the flower necklaces that the Pegasi brought from Butterfly Island were great! I never imagined Christmas could get better but it always does every year!

Then I heard a scream come from Ponyville. The colors of everything seem to be fading. This isn't like when all the rainbows began to fade, everything was fading, except us, turning muted. For as far back as I can remember nothing has ever been this...wrong.

"Applejack, we should get out of here," I heard Star Beam say. "We have to get our friends out of trouble."

"I'm afraid it is too late for that." We turned and saw this big, what was it? A horned pegasus, a winged unicorn? Whatever it was it was pink.

Then an even weirder thing that was mix of other animals showed up right next to her.

"Uh, hello? Who are you?" I asked wonder who these two weird ... ponies, persons were.

"I am Cadence, Concept of Harmony and Music, and this is my counterpart Strife, Concept of Conflict and Survival."

"Concept of Music? Does that mean were all going to sing now?" asked Star Beam. "Will the song fix everything?"

The thing called Strife grabbed Star Beam and lifted her to eye level. "That would be a big no. You don't get any more songs."

"Star Beam!" I said helplessly. My body couldn't moves, my hooves were all shaking. Why was my mouth dry? I wanted to move but I couldn't. Was this a spell? This felt like the feeling when the rainbows were all fading.

All I could do was watch as Star Beam seemed to fade and fade until she was gone. "No, where did you take her? Where's Star Beam?!"

Strife said, "I didn't 'take her' anywhere, she no longer existed. ... Interesting. You shouldn't even be able to recall her name. Could being connected in the old world lead to bonds that can pierce existence? Not that it matters."

Not existing? Where was that? Was she invisible now? No I'd see her hoof shapes in the grass right? "Bring her back!"

"She's been returned to the source along with many others, they can't be brought back," said Cadence. "I am sorry but we had no other choice, the danger is greater than you know."

"What danger? What's making everything gray?"

"You couldn't understand. I'm sorry, Applejack."

"Applejack?" I turned to see Apple Spice, she was holding a basket, "I made some extra treats and I thought you might... like them... always coming here... alone?"

"Excuse me." Strife said.

"APPLE SPICE, RUN!" I screamed.

"Extinct." Strife grabbed Apple Spice from behind. She vanished. So did her basket and all her yummies she always made with such heart.

"Do you always have to be so cruel?" Cadence asked.

"Life is cruel. That is nature."

"Stop it please! That's a lie! Life is happiness! Life is smiles! Life is picnics on sunny days and bedtime stories on starry nights! Please! What's going on? ...Star Beam, Apple Spice..."

"Quit your bellyaching!" snarled Strife. "A real survivor was overwritten so you could carry her name and what did you do with your life? Go on picnics! Stuff your face with apples! I'll be happy to delete YOU."

I was crying. No one had ever said such... mean things to me before... but... was she... right? She said it so sternly, maybe she was? Was I a bad pony?

'No Exist' place. Was that were Starbeam and Apple Spice were? "... At least I'll be with them..."

"No Strife," said Cadence. "She is to be rewritten for the new world."

"Her?! Her and not Puzzlemint?! She doesn't have any spark of individuality! Why bring her soul into the new timeline?"

Puzzlemint? Who's that?

"Her heart holds some important links to some very important ponies, even if she can't remember them."

"No," I said my voice sounding strange. I think for the first time in my life I'm angry, I mean really angry. Apple Spice, Star Beam, they weren't bad ponies! They were my friends! They never hurt anypony! They were always nice! They were always my friends!

"Please, this has been hard enough for everyone..."

"NO! Either you bring my friends back or send me to them, either way until you do I'm not moving from this spot!"

"A bit of stubbornness," said Strife, her whole mood shifted. She nodded approvingly. She launched one of her claws at me but stopped right in front of my face, I didn't budge, just like I said. Even if I was more...scared (?) than I'd ever been. She actually smirked as she took it back. "You have quite a bit of stubbornness, determination, and loyalty in you after all..." she looked at me...through me...like she was looking into my soul. "Oh yes, I remember, Pandemonium spoke of you, she felt your lack of a selfish wish was so beautiful. She was quite disappointed that your life's final accomplishment was becoming a pale imitation of that Paradise Estate pony friend of yours. You disappoint ME as well. That a true fighter should be watered down into this... this.... PEACEFUL, PASSIVE PACIFIST!"

Strife took several deep breaths, before reasserting her calm. "Though I deeply respect your desire to help others survive. Helping others survive is nothing less than my very definition of what love is."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think... your drive to help others survive... that should live on, after all." I did not know whether to call the expression on Strife's face a smile. "I apologize for being unable to indulge your last request of this existence, 'Applejack.' Instead, I will grant you the final wish that your previous self made. Though perhaps not in the manner you were expecting, 'Sweetheart.'"

She snapped the fingers of the Tasmanian devil paw. Then this shadowy pony appeared. As it came closer it became a transparent pony. It had an orange coat, a blonde mane and five apples for a cutie mark. I started trembling when I realized I had seen her before from my dream, the Applejack-that-is-not-me.

I couldn't peel my gaze from her eyes; was she angry, sad? No, there was no feeling in them at all, but still I couldn't help get the impression that if she could feel anything she hated me because I was alive and she wasn't.

She leapt at me, into me. I gain more muscle than I've ever had in my life. My appearance is changing, I look like her now. But it doesn't stop there I lose her clip and a Stetson appears on my head, my cutie mark loses two of its apples and my tail and mane are braided. My thoughts are all jumbled, I can't think. I...
I...
I...
Ah...
Ah...
Ah...Ah can't stay here. Ah gotta get to the orchard. There's work to do.

I'll care about the trees and help them grow.

That's right, of course Ah will!

They're important. And you've got to protect, care about, and heal something important to you when it needs you.

That's right! Ah ain't somepony who don't care about nothin'!

And that includes my friends and family.

...That's right. Ah'm gonna take real good care of everypony and everything important tah meh. Ah ain't gonna let nopony down.

+
"There she goes," said Strife watching the palomino earth pony trot off, first resolutely, then slowing to a groggy sleepwalk, sheer willpower and purpose moving her body. "Quite an improvement, if I do say so myself."

"Let's just try to get this over and done with," said Cadence. "I can hardly stand being here any longer: all this world's love is being replaced by fear."

"'Love,' says the Alicorn who never found her stallion the last time she was mortal."

"I spent the most of the last few years before the world was remade in a mental hospital... At least Brightglow's incarnation here got to be happy." Cadence sighed and looked at the Earth Ponies trotting in the growing darkness, then going to a peaceful sleep, "I hope you find happiness, Applejack."
+
Interlude:
"I know you don't want us to interrupt, Luna," said Twilight Sparkle. "But do you think we should tell Applejack about her other selves?"

"Before, I would have said no because she has the right to her own life. But since she has seen Truth I still say no but only because I think she'll discover her link to that world herself, if she hasn't already. If she needs to she'll come to you."

After Disaster:

Everything's glowing now; soon there will be no more pain or sorrow just eternal peace. Just then, I hear Cream screaming, I scream too, it feels like a fireball just went off in my brain! There's a deafening explosion, and light flashes outside, the entire house shakes. And our living room ceiling collapses on top of us.

...

When I came to, my hind legs were in immense pain. I was buried under a pile of debris, but that was unimportant compared to my family.

"Teddy! Lion Heart! Pure Heart! Wild Heart! Brave Heart! Peaches! Cream! Sugar!"

"Sweetheart!" I heard Teddy yell. "I'm almost there, just hang on!"

The debris was soon cleared away and there was Teddy. He carefully pulled me out of the house and onto the front yard. Even then I came close to passing out from the pain in my hind legs. "Thank heavens you're still alive."

"The kids, my sisters, are they okay?"

"They're outside the frontyard. Lion Heart is very scared but he's fine except for a few bruises, Peaches and Sugar managed to get by with a few scrapes, The twins were cut badly but I think we managed to stop the bleeding, Pure Heart was hiding under a table when the house started coming down so she came out the best of any of us except that we can't find her bear."

"And Cream?"

Teddy looked away from me. "She's the same as the other two except... I don't know what's wrong but I would have thought she was dead if I didn't notice she was breathing and once she woke up she could move her eyes around."

"Was she able to focus her eyes on anything?"

"Yeah, she was able keep her eyes on me while I was trying to talk to her."

I felt my heart chill over like I was covered in ice. "She's locked in..."

"Locked in?"

"Paralyzed. Her mind is probably intact but she has brain damage that's keeping her from moving her body. Most ponies who get locked in never recover..."

My little sister, my precious baby sister, my sister who I used to change the dirty diapers of. Maybe she was just in shock. Maybe she was just scared out of her mind. Maybe-

"Sweetheart, I know it's bad but I need you to focus."

"...Okay, what about you? Are you hurt?"

"Got a nasty bump on the head, good thing I don't use it!"

"That's not funny, Teddy," I said trying to get up. The pain in my legs became excruciating. "AHHH!"

"Stay still, your hind legs were broken when the house collapsed. I'll go make a couple of splints for your legs, good thing you insisted I take those first aid classes."

While he was binding my legs I just had to know. "Do you know what had happened?"

"The neighbors are all saying that the spell went wrong. Pegasi are saying the castles all exploded and the backlash did all sorts of damage. But whatever it was seems to have messed up almost everything electric so it's hard to tell exactly what happened."

I could hardly believe it. THIS was supposed to be everyone's happily ever after how could it turn out so wrong? After I was brought out onto what was left of the yard, Teddy, Peaches and Sugar went out to get food, water and medicine. The first place they went to was the hospital to check up on Mom and Dad. My parents... my parents, they didn't make it. My sisters and me, we were orphans.

We hugged each other, and we all hugged Cream.

On top of that every store from the supermarkets to clothing outlets were being looted by the greedy to desperate families alike.

"How are we going to get food, daddy?" asked Pure Heart.

Teddy looked over the horizon. "Your Uncle Corny has a farm; we'll head there: we should be able to grow all the food we'll ever need if we help him out."

"But Meadowsweet Farm is three days from here by car. You're SURE the car's not working?" I said.

"Sorry... but yes. I checked."

"Then on hoof, it'll take us two weeks, at least."

"Then we better get started," said Peaches. "We should all carry what we can salvage from house that we need. I'll carry...Cream."

"You're with me," Teddy said to me. "You practically did the same for me growing up."
+

That was how our journey through a now-broken world began. Before, seven ponies carrying what they could along with two others would have made an interesting sight before all of this. Now we were just another group of wanderers. About three days later, we found what looked like a makeshift market. At the time I still couldn't move my hind legs but at least they didn't hurt as long as they were kept still.

Teddy approached a midnight blue Unicorn with a pile of silver coins for a cutie mark. "Excuse me, sir, we're kinda low on water and we were wondering if you'd be willing to sell us some."

"Sell?" he laughed. "SELL? My friend, no one is 'selling' anything anymore, Jangles are as worthless as pocket lint, better off melting them down! The banks are gone! If it was electric, it's dead. Now if you have something for trade then maybe we could talk."

"We only have some canned food, bandages and medicine," Sugar told the peddler. "I'm not sure..."

Then before we knew it we were practically mobbed by a bunch of desperate ponies.

"I'll give you a gun and twelve rounds for some medicine!"

"I have a crowbar, extremely useful, well worth any medicine!"

"Please, my foal has a fever! I'll give you anything!"

I couldn't believe it. All this clamoring over what little we were able to salvage from our medicine cabinet as an after thought. But as time went on; we would learn that of all the things now in short supply, medicine was on top of the list. It truly didn't matter if it was for treating cold symptoms or to fight off a serious infection.

Pharmacists found their raw material dwindling, their equipment no longer working, and that wasn't counting the many ponies left brain damaged. The way things were going no one could make more. How the sick and wounded had suffered for it! Problems that could've been solved with relatively simple treatments and vaccinations were now a serious crisis and I knew it would only get worse from here.

At least the pegasi were able to help fill us in on what had happened to the others. Pegasi were the news couriers of our new world. Starlight had been killed instantly. Bright Eyes didn't even know who she was and Melody's beautiful voice would never sing her famous 'Sweet Music' again. I'd learn later that Patch had become a vagabond convinced Starlight was still alive (But she and Buddy actually got married! Hard to believe it finally happened.) Clover and her family seemed to survive one disaster after another without a scratch, and Bonbon was getting by nicely enough, and keeping a journal. It was actually a little frightening how quickly fame evaporated once survival became first priority.

Me, I decided then and there: as a doctor, I had to heal the ponies in this new world as best I could, which was why I made a point of trading for books on herbal remedies and local plant life as soon as I could.

"'You want my advice?" I can still remember that blue unicorn peddler telling me, after we'd made our trade. "Lose the dead weight. You'll travel quicker."

"What?!" said Peaches. "We can't just abandon our sister!"

"Looks to me like she can't even feed herself. Be a lot kinder if you put her out her misery right now, fast and painless-like, before you come across someone who'll kill her slow and horribly."

"What do mean?" Teddy asked.

"I mean things are getting worse between the tribes. The Flutterponies are isolating themselves again in Flutter Valley. The Seaponies left for Aquastria or Neighlantis or whatever they call their homeland. Earth Ponies are blaming the Unicorns for using their magic. The Unicorns are blaming the Pegasi for not helping enough. The Pegasi are blaming the Earth Ponies for being greedy. And THEN there're all the TRUE freaks that Starlight's and Bright Eye's big boom birthed. Take me, for example: nearly everyone in my hometown's a retarded drooling... well, they're like zombies, but without the cannibalism.

"And that mother and her foal said their family were the ONLY ONES in their suburb who DIDN'T mutate into pony shaped monsters! And there's this animal expert customer of mine... claims that a number of critters have gone EXTINCT. I just hope she's being pessimistic... I mean, the way things are nowadays, how can you possibly verify something like that?"

"I dunno," said Teddy. "Why haven't the authorities put a stop to this?"

"The army is gone. The government is gone. Starlight and Bright Eyes... I hope those two lunatics roast in Pony Hell. We're gonna be back to spears, rocks, and good old herd harems within a decade! You heard it here first, folks!"

We all shuddered. Maybe it was kinder Bright Eyes didn't need to remember herself.

"But let's not forget the wild animals that're on the prowl! Little spherical bugs that can go through your food stores in a heartbeat, Simurghs, Manticores! Any of those get to you you'll WISH it was another pony, that killed you. The world's a dangerous place for a pony in good condition. Her? It's suicide."

"We're still not going to abandon our sister," I told him. "I don't care if it's a longshot, but she might be able to regain use of her body. Even a partial recovery would be cause for us to celebrate."

"Suit yourselves," the peddler shrugged. "Just giving you some free advice since either way I doubt I'll be seeing any of you again."

After we got away from him, I noticed Cream was crying. She couldn't move...but she could still hear.

Sugar had lost her connection with her online friends she didn't even know the real names or addresses of. And Peach's great Ponyland Novel was all on her laptop which was now a paper weight. And never once did either one complain about it. It was a drop in the bucket to what their sister had lost.

And so we kept going for the next few days. I'm amazed at how well the children put up with it, even Pure Heart. They're still in good spirits, which is more than I can say for all the adults we've come across! To our children, the most devastating loss was no more video games: (Teddy mourned this as well but more important things to think about.)

"But the next Super Smash Ponies comes out next year!" Lion Heart lamented.

"Not anymore it seems." Pure Heart said.

"But Mega Pony is gonna be in it."

My sister was paralyzed, my parents were dead, and they complained about video games... Then again, I don't think it was all 'real' to them yet. Earthquakes were time off from school. Blackouts were in door camping. And Pure Heart and Lion Heart weren't quite old enough to grasp how terrible and real death was.

I only wish we could have left them a better world.

About a week later just as the sun about was finishing setting, we came across an abandoned van. Teddy laid me down on the ground and went in it to see if we could find anything useful inside. But then -- wonder of wonders! -- he was actually able to get the thing started!

"YES!" Teddy shouted.

"Can we all ride it?" asked Lion Heart.

"Does this mean can get to Uncle Corny's sooner?" asked Wild Heart.

"Hmm... none of the lights are working so we have to wait till morning," said Teddy. "But after tonight we should be there within a day!"

+
We had a little party and slept in the van. It was a warm, muggy night, and we left the van's back doors open because air conditioning was a waste of fuel. That night, I felt something stir, I looked to kids, they're okay, Teddy seems to be sleeping soundly, Peaches, Sugar...where's Cream? Just then a pair of claws grabbed me and dragged out of the van.

"TEDDY!"

We should have known; a working van had to have been abandoned for a reason. We should've posted a watch, how could we have been so stupid?! The moonlight shone on my attackers, they looked like wolves but had the wings, tail feathers, and the foreleg-talons of eagles. Where these some of the mutants spawned by the disaster?

"Get away from my wife!" I heard Teddy shout at the five or so eagle-wolves.

He leapt at them while the children and my sisters were shouting. He bucked and kicked and bit at them like one of our wild ancestors during the days of the wandering herds. I think I heard one's neck snap when he kicked it in the jaw. One the wolf things had used its wings to fly up and dive bomb him, when it did it swiped its claw across the left side of his face.

"AGGH!"

"TEDDYYYYYYYY!"

Just then a gunshot sounded and the wolf-eagle that struck Teddy fell over dead, its pack then quickly fled.

I crawled over to Teddy and turned him over, a trio of gashes ran down the left side, one of them grazed his eye.

"Get me some alcohol!" I yelled. "I also need gauze and bandages!"

"Here," said a stallion standing over me. I looked up as I grabbed the supplies he gave me. Light blue coat, cutie mark shaped like a loosely tied figure eight knot, in spite of a missing right foreleg I recognized him at once.

"Scout?!"

"Hey, you're one of Starlight's old friends."

I turned back to Teddy and started working on the bleeding. "What are you doing way out here?"

He shifted on the two rear legs he was standing on. "Just wandering around mostly, after Starlight died, I kept blaming myself for what happened to her. Maybe if I had told her my real feelings sooner she'd still be... I know if I'd done that, I'd have died right next to her. But you know what? It would have been a wonderful life."

"Do you know anything about those things that attacked us? Do they carry diseases I need to worry about?"

"Simurghs. Their claws aren't poisonous, if that's what you're asking. As for diseases no one who survived an attack by them got anything I know of and they took my leg. Still I'd like to know whose twisted nightmare they clawed out of..."
+
In Entropy and Havoc's realm Discord sneezed. "Hmmm... maybe instead of winged wolves I should have made them out of leaves and timber. Timberwolves! Oh well, maybe next time."
+

I did my best and disinfected the wound and bandaged half of Teddy's head. While Teddy's eye wasn't completely destroyed, it was so damaged that...that...he'll never see out of that eye again and it's certain his face will scar. Oh Teddy...

"Hey, Mr. Scout?" said Peaches. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen our middle sister Cream?"

Scout turned to them. "A mare who looks a lot like you two?" That look in his eyes...no...please no...

"You've seen her?" asked Sugar.

"What the Simurghs left of her..." he said looking at some grass next to us.

We found her body and wrapped it up in a tarp we found in the van. We decided to bury her on Meadowsweet Farm. I couldn't bear to look at her, my little sister...I couldn't imagine how it must've been...to have those creatures grab her, unable to run or even scream...Cream...I'm sorry...

And before I could stop them, Lion Heart and Pure Heart saw death's face. They cried. I hugged my babies and cried with them, and Teddy and my sisters hugged me too.

I only managed to stop myself from having a complete breakdown by examining the two dead Simurghs. Scout kept watch. I wanted to make sure we knew what we were up against, knowledge was power. I needed something, anything to distract me from...I may have been a doctor and not a veterinarian, but I still knew how a body worked. In the light, I was able to confirm what parts of them were wolf and what parts were eagle. I'd learned pegasus physiology when they'd revealed themselves. Like birds they have lighter bones. Knowing where the Simurghs' had hollow bones ended up saving a few lives after Scout left and began spreading the word. Ponies had a weak point to aim for. Teddy, prankster that he once was, had a simpler solution once I discovered they still had a wolf's sense of smell. Turns out, stink bombs made from common herbs were a very good Simurgh repellent.

The next morning as Teddy lay next to me and Sugar got in the driver's seat.

Scout was standing outside the van. "Why don't you come with us?" Pure Heart asked.

"I'm heading in the opposite direction. I heard Patch and Buddy were wandering about looking for something, maybe I'll run into them and they'll let me tag along."

"Just do one thing for Starlight's sake," I said still thinking that he and Starlight would have probably have been happiest together. "Live."

He smiled turned around and I never saw him again.

As Peaches drove the rest of us for most of that day, Sugar wouldn't leave Cream's side. Pure Heart seemed to be frozen after losing her aunt; I wish I could calm her. The twins who had gotten bored with me driving them to school suddenly were looking out the windows like they were riding a flying carpet. This was the last time they'd ever ride in a car again.

Teddy got me to look at him. "Hey at least I still have one good eye to look at you with."

"For a moment there I thought I was going to lose you like we lost Cream. I don't think I can handle this new cruel world, I'm not strong enough."

"Sweetheart, some ponies may argue with me about this but you are the strongest pony I know. Remember: when the other girls were going to keep me out of your birthday party? You said that you'd rather not have a party at all than one where only some of your friends could come. When Melody's tape player went missing you defended me when everyone else just assumed I was a thief. Or that time you convinced Lancer to do the right thing and stand against me and Ace in that stupid lemonade stand war. You can do anything you set your mind to, so don't dwell what you failed to do. Ponies are going to need a doctor more than ever so don't dwell on those you couldn't save."

He wiped a tear from my eye. "Since when did you get so wise?"

"You must have rubbed off on me."

"You big lug."

The Sun was setting when after our tragedy and a long journey we made it to Sweetmeadow Farm. The first time I was here Teddy was a colt trying to show he was good for more than just bullying. His cousin Corny gave him some cold hard advice that he'd lose me if he kept up his selfish act.

Things didn't seem to have changed too much since the last time I was here, long ago. Granted, the barn and silo had got a bit of damage from the great cataclysm, but otherwise it looked pretty intact. As we pulled up to the farmhouse, the engine started to sputter and came to its last stop just before we reached the front of the farm house.

Peaches gave slight giggle. "Looks like we just ran out of gas..."

We started to giggle as well, I doubt we'll ever be able to use this van again and it just seemed funny that it stopped just feet away from our goal. With Cream gone I know we shouldn't have laughed but knowing her she would have wanted us to anyway. A pink stallion with a rainbow mane and cob of corn as cutie mark ran up from the farm house. Once he looked into our Van he looked equal parts shocked and glad.

"Cousin Teddy?" he asked on seeing his condition.

"Had a run in with something nasty yesterday, Corny, but that can wait. We have a funeral to perform."

We buried Cream on a hill under the shade of a tree, deep enough so predators couldn't dig up the body. During the evening, Peaches and Sugar silently watched the children while Teddy and I recounted our journey here. Mr. Meadowsweet was sitting on his recliner reading a paper that was now greatly out of date.

Pa's been like that since 'The Day' as folks around here call it. He just repeats his day over and over, drives a tractor that doesn't move, reads the last paper we ever got, waters fields we don't have anything plated in...'The Day' just messed up his head. He still can help if you point 'im in the right direction but most of the time...

"What about your mom?" I asked. "And your sister Daisy?"

"Ma's been really depressed since it happened. On her good days she helps out and is real quiet and on her bad she won't even get out of bed. Daisy was out with her husband on their honeymoon when 'The Day' happened, Haven't heard from them since. For the most part it's been me and the missus."

"Well, seeing as you're shorthanded, it's a good thing we managed to get here. We'll have to talk to them about it but Peaches, Sugar and the kids can help out starting tomorrow. Sweetheart and I can follow once we both finished healing."

"Sure you're up ta farm life, city boy?" Corny drawled.

"Compared to where we've been, this place is a palace."

"Actually there's something else I would like to do." I said, "I seem to remember your mother kept a large number of books on herbal medicine."

"Yeah she got them from my grandma."

"I am still a doctor. I can't use the medicines I'm used to, and I don't want to perform surgery except as a last resort, but I will do my best to heal this broken world as best I can."

In time my legs healed and we took the bandages off Teddy's head. Three red scars marred the side of his face, and his eye was now glassy and milk white. Other than that, he healed wonderfully. Each year we manage to grow enough to feed ourselves and a little extra. Not bad, but from what Corny tells me, it's a lot lower than this farm produced before 'The Day.' Especially back when tools like tractors and combines were more than just lawn ornaments.

Patch and Buddy stopped by soon after Teddy healed. I told her about Scout looking for her but she was mostly curious if he knew where Starlight was. I didn't correct her on that. We all have our ways of coping. I couldn't believe how much they'd both changed. Neither of them had ever been what I'd call lazy, but they were both so strong and athletic now! Turns out, they were looking to gather the Rainbow of Light's pieces together again, to honor a last request of a dying fellow on Paradise Ponies. They'd already gotten one, but from the sound of things, the others would be much harder to find. I shudder to imagine that power in the wrong hooves...be careful you two.

I had become something of a local legend, the healer who could cure almost any ill. Of course I'm not what they think. I just use what I know and show kindness to all who need it. Peaches and Sugar really support me as nurses, and Brave Heart, Wild Heart and Pure Heart are growing into fine young farmers, indeed.

I make sure to educate them as best I can with Sunflower's help. No foals of mine were going to end up medieval serfs. Starlight I wish you were here, you were the teacher, not me.

Years passed, society has gotten more and more medieval as the world slips further into ruin. The thing I miss most? Indoor plumbing. A few pegasi have started charging local farmers for rain or sun. Ponies on the other farms are calling it extortion. Thankfully, my medical talent was needed by all tribes. So they waived the fee on our farm as long as I kept healing Pegasi. Not that I have any intention of stopping.

The ill will between the tribes gets worse and worse. But what troubles me the most is how my four now-mostly-teenage children hold pegasi and unicorns in the same disdain as most of their Earth Pony friends. It was a far cry from when my kids dreamed of becoming them. Teddy and I tried to set them straight and while I don't think we changed their minds at the very least we got them to promise that they would never deny any non-earth pony medical treatment. I just hope that they'll soften their other views in time.

One day a stallion came to the nearby town with strange black lesions covering him. Peaches and Cream were there to treat foals so they examined the stranger. He also suffered from a high fever, cold sweats, frequent coughing and seemed to suffer from constant pain. When asked, all he would say on the subject were: "The whispers..." He died about a day later. Two days after that, the townsfolk and my sisters started showing the same symptoms.

=Music: Trauma Team: Surgery ~ Rosalia's GUILT=

We found out this "Whispering Plague" had already infected several communities. It showed favoritism to no tribe. Ponies were dying by the dozen every day. Its incubation period is unnaturally short. Victims also suffer a form of schizophrenia: ghostly voices would whisper horrible things in their minds with increasing frequency, until they consumed every waking moment. Several victims were driven to suicide and murder. When Peaches and Sugar died, it seemed only fitting to put them next to Cream. I had a theory about how to cure it, but it would require a root that grew in a place that would take a week to reach by hoof.

It was one of the places Bright Eyes as a mare had gotten protected, even if she can't remember, I thank her for it.

I decided to send my children, who were free of symptoms. Even if they find nothing, at the very least they won't catch sick if they're away from here.

Corny's parents died last night and Corny and his wife are both bedridden. Teddy and I are also suffering the initial symptoms. Kids, if you read this and I'm already gone then let me just say I'm sorry for not leaving you a better world. I only regret not being able to see the fine Mares and Stallion you will become. I only ask three things. First: that you carry on working, and never fall prey to the despair and inactivity which've claimed so many of us already. Second: that you commit to improving yourselves. Society needs to be turned the right way around, so let it start with us! Finally, never give into hate. Only love and friendship will save you. Be a beacon of light in this dark world of ours.
Your loving mother,
Sweetheart.

P.S. Clover, BonBon, Melody, Patch, Bright Eyes, don't stop living.
+
Sweetheart dropped the pen as she had a coughing attack. In her present state she could barely keep her patients comfortable. But she still had to try, they were counting on her.

No one can be trusted... they want your secrets, your power...

Sweetheart shook her head to try to keep the whispers away. "I never kept what I know a secret, I want ponies to know. I have no more power than anyone else."

Teddy came into the room; the lesions were now covering a good deal of both their bodies.

"They're getting worse; it almost feels like demons are haunting me."

They are no better than demons Sweetheart... They must be dealt with like demons...

Sweetheart brushed the scarred side of Teddy's face with her hoof. "Teddy, these aren't demons. It's all in your head."

"Thanks, Sweetheart. Listen, I don't say this often enough but of all the things that happened in my life, what I am happiest about is meeting you. Your love saved me. Our love can get us through this. We will live through this."

He lies...He lies...You are already dead...

"Stop it!"

"Sweetheart...?"

"Sorry, it's the whispers. We just have to trust the kids will find the root and hope that they'll return so I can make a medicine that should work."

Trust is your weakness... Hope is an illusion...

"Teddy... do you ever blame me for 'The Day?'

Teddy looked at her with a smile. "How could I? You had no idea what was coming and you had nothing to do with what happened."

It WAS your fault...

"And you have nothing to be ashamed of Teddy, any wrongs you may have done you made up for long ago. Any transgressions are already forgiven. And whatever happens I know we will be together forever."

You will be alone in the end...

"Ugh!" Teddy collapsed onto the floor.

"Come on, let's both get to bed. When we wake up, the kids will be here and the rest of us will become healthy again."

You resist... You cling to your life as if it actually matters... You will learn...

"Everything I really needed to know about life, I already learned from my friends."

"Yeah!" Teddy cheered weakly. "You tell 'em, Sweetheart!"

Your friends who are still alive will soon join you in the grave.

'You know that's not true.'

Sweetheart gave a gasp. That voice...it sounded so familiar.

'You know the cure will work. You know medicine, have faith in yourself and in them.'

"That's right. They'll stop this...They'll save everypony, I have faith in you."

Like how you saved your sister?

'It wasn't your fault.'

A different voice...she recognized it too but in her present state couldn't tell where from. But it felt comforting. Sweetheart laid down and let sleep start overtaking her.

'What happened was no ones fault, it was tragic, yes, but no one is to blame.'

'And how many MORE lives have you saved than you haven't?'

The third voice reminded her of someone too...who was it?

"I've saved...so many ponies...We've saved so many. Me and...and my family, and more WILL be saved.'

Sweetheart let herself fall deeper into sleep...

What if you're dead before they get back?

'You have faith in them, that's what's important.'

Sweetheart recognized the fourth voice too...where had she heard them? 'That's...that's right...I have faith in them...if I don't make it, it would be sad...but I know they'll keep making me proud...just like they always do.'

There's nothing waiting for you! Not your friends! Nothing! Just oblivion! The nothing after death!

'That's the biggest lie of all.'

Sweetheart didn't recognize that voice...but she smiled in her sleep.

'That's right...There's nothing to be afraid of, if magic, unicorns, pegasi, Flutterponies, Sea Ponies, and Dragons are all real...why not heaven?' Sweetheart thought.

What if you don't deserve heaven? What if-

'Don't believe that for a moment, Sweetheart,' the first said.

'You know better than that,' said the second.

'You've spent your life helping everypony you can,' the third continued.

'So why be afraid of where you'll go if you die?' the fourth asked.

' If anyone's earned heaven, it's you,' the fifth finished.

'And when my time comes...they'll all be there waiting for me...Starlight...Peachy, Cream, all of them...I have nothing to be afraid of, in this world or the next...the only thing to fear is a wasted life, and I don't regret one minute of the life I've lived...' Sweetheart said. The taunting voices continued, but the other voices helped her ignore them...comforted her. Until the cruel voices stopped completely.

"Sweetheart, Sweetheart wake up."

"Yes darlin' we got a few ponies here to see you."
I woke up and the pain was gone. The kids they must have done it!

"You always were a late sleeper, sis."

I looked around my room. Unbelievably Starlight was there, looking just as she did when we teenagers! So were Peaches, Sugar and Cream! They were with a pink pegasus with three hearts as a cutie mark.

"What...what are you all doing here? Cream you can move!"

I then just noticed I looked like a teenager myself. The adventure we had.

Starlight just pointed behind me. I looked and saw what looked like me next to Teddy who was grimacing in bed. The other me seemed cold and lifeless.

"Does this mean I'm... dead?"

"Yes, sis, it does." said Sugar.

"And Teddy?"

"He'll only live until morning," said Cream sadly. "But the kids will make it back in time to save everyone else. They'll learn to accept the other tribes again thanks to a griffin they met along the way."

"A what?"

"You'll have plenty of time to learn it all." said Starlight. "For right now it's just good to be reunited with one of my friends again."

I turned to the pegasus. "Who are you?"

"I'm your ancestor, Heart Throb. And let me just say I am so proud of y'all. I knew finding that one stallion would lead to something special and the something special turned out to be you. Because of you, our family will be healing others for generations beyond count, and ultimately everyone that lived better because of that healing will have you to thank for it."

"... Wild Heart, Brave Heart, Pure Heart, Lion Heart, they'll really save everyone?"

"Just like you chose to help others all your life," said Heart Throb, before smiling. "You're their mother, do you think they will?""

I gave a smile. "I know they will...they're good ponies, I have faith in them...So what now?"

Starlight beamed at me. "Now we wait for the others. That is, if you want to."

"Yes, but first I want to wait for Teddy, he's about to join us, right?"

"Of course, darlin," said Heart Throb. "Far be it from any of us to hold back true love."

And so I waited until dawn for Teddy to join us doing all I could in spirit to at least let him die in peace. I was hoping we could then move onto the next world with Starlight.
+
But Teddy had other ideas. He wanted to stay, when Heart Throb warned that he wouldn't be able to linger forever, he insisted on at least being there in spirit when his children saved everyone.

"Sweetheart, if... we're really gone, then they've lost both of us! I didn't want to live without you, you're my angel, but now our children are going to have to grow up without either of us!"

"Teddy... you didn't cause this to happen."

"I...I know I know but... dangit! It's not fair!"

"I'm sorry," Heart Throb's wings wilted, "You can only live once. Believe me, I've tried. I didn't want to leave my one true love and our children all alone."

"Well, if ya say they're gonna save everypony, I at least want to be here to see it!"

"Alright." Starlight nodded. "But you're not going to like it."

Wild Heart, Brave Heart, Pure Heart, Lion Heart, my babies, I sent them away not only in the hopes they were healthy enough to make the trip, but that if we all died, at least they'd be spared. They came back with plenty of the root all my books had pointed to as being the key component of the Whispering Plague's cure. They came straight to our bedroom to tell us the good news... they... they... they cried so hard when they found us! Silent. Still. Lifeless. Our dead bodies laying still in bed.

"Mom? No... we... we found the cure... please, Mom... this isn't fair!" Pure Heart wailed.

Wild Heart threw the bag down and almost began stomping on the roots before Brave Heart stopped her.

"WHAT'S THE POINT!? WHAT'S THE POINT OF ANYTHING?!"

"Uncle Corny and Auntie Sunflower are still alive! We can still save them!" Brave Heart pleaded.

"So what?! It's not going to-to-!!!"

"Do you want THEM to die, Wild Heart?!"

"Of course not!"

"Then everypony stop SHOUTING!" Lion Heart cried, breaking at seeing his parents dead and his sisters at each other's throat.

Pure Heart hugged her little brother.

A short while later Wild Heart was looking over my books, the root behind her. Brave Heart was looking over several reverence books. My alchemy set (chemistry was quickly going out of style) lay on a table in front of her. Pure Heart and Lion Heart bring any component or book they asked for without complaint or dally.

"I... this is ... this is impossible." I had never seen Wild Heart so twisted by doubt before. "Mom...

"I can't do this! You were supposed to mix up the cure! EVERYPONY IS GOING TO DIE AND IT'S MY FAULT! We couldn't get back here faster! You're dead because of me!!! I can't save anypony! I'm not you, Mother!"

Brave Heart managed to cover Pure Heart and Lion Heart's ears. "Sis... please, we need you right now."

No, her eyes couldn't see me, her ears couldn't hear me. But maybe her heart could feel me.

I whispered, and came up behind her and gave her a gentle hug. "You don't have to be me Wild Heart... Who you are is just enough."

"Mom?!" Wild Heart looked around confused. "... please, don't tell me I'm hearing the whispers too now. ... No! Mom I promise... we won't lose Aunt Sunflower and Uncle Corny too!"

It was like a dam broke. And a light burst inside her from within.

...

Yes. They did it. They saved Corny and Sunflower. Teddy's cousin and his wife recovered fully and lived longer than any ponies I'd seen, minus the Paradise Ponies.

The kids saved everypony who was so much as drawing breath that morning. Throughout every community and town, the whispers were silenced. And the light inside Wild Heart reached the surface. She earned her cutie mark. It was a cross.

From where I was observing, I saw a darkness rising into the air none of the living ponies seemed to see as my foals their friends distributed the cure. Was it all our despair flushed out by hope? Did the disease have a heart? I knew it wasn't expelled demons, the plague and the cure had been very real.

I looked into that cloud of shadows... I knew whatever it was, it hated me. It cursed me. But I didn't flinch. I didn't feel pleasure in even this living thing being gone. I felt joy knowing the whispers that tormented so many were silenced forever as that darkness was drug away into wherever it was destined, and proud of my little ones.

What I didn't expect what was happened next.

Wild Heart, Brave Heart, Lion Heart, and Pure Heart, they didn't take any credit for making the cure at all! They told everypony that I had kept working on the cure until I finished it with my last breath. It was an incredible tale, a fantastic lie, and it was what everypony wanted to hear. I was the Earth Pony Healer, who had worked hard and tireless for others' sake until the very end. Who put no pony, pegasi, unicorn, or earth pony, after herself. I was the white saint of Meadowsweet Farm. By the time Wild Heart claimed a stallion of her own, I had already been canonized as Saint Sweetheart.

"I'm...not sure I deserve this..." I admitted, watching with Teddy.

Teddy put a hoof on my shoulder. "Who figured out the root would stop it?"

"...Me..."

"Who sent the kids to get the root?"

"...Me..."

"Who would've done that if her body hadn't failed her before she could've?"

"Alright, I get it...I just wish they'd take the credit they deserve."

Teddy smiled. "So do I, but they don't want it...just like their humble, selfless mother never would've."

I couldn't help but smile, looking back to the mortal world. "...You're right...I'm so proud of them."

"So am I."

+++

"Ready?" Starlight finally asked.

"Yes... I am."

"Good, come along, Bonbon's already waiting for us..."

"I'll be good to see her again. Come along, Teddy."

"Comin'..."

+
Sweetheart Epilogue
Present Day

Nurse Red Heart woke in the middle of the night when somepony started knocking on the door. She went down and opened it to find Applejack carrying Granny Smith on her back. Granny Smith had her hind legs sticking out straight back while her forelegs were locked straight down.

"Sleepbucking again?"

"Yeah," said Applejack with a blush. "Ah know it's late but can you do the usual?"

"Lay her down on the table, though you should try to keep her from doing this in the first place."

As Applejack put Granny on the dining table the elder Apple spoke out. "Ah can't help it, Ah raised that orchard from the beginning and it calls to me."

"I can hear it too." said Nurse Red Heart. "It's saying 'Stay away or I'll hurt you MORE!'" The nurse cracked Granny's spine as she yelled. "You should listen to it."

As Applejack watched the nurse do her chiropractor work she noticed what seemed like two ghostly ponies in a nearby mirror, both close to Applejack.

"Say, Nurse Red Heart, Ah know our families have been friends since, well longer than either of our families can remember but Ah just want to say thank y'all for all the help over the years."

"You're welcome."

Applejack felt like the Truth was telling her something and for some reason she didn't understand yet, just plunged right in. "You know, Ah was thinking about learnin a little of what you do, just in case."

"I teach first aid classes at the hospital, you can come to one tomorrow morning."

Applejack looked into the mirror again; she saw one ghost image of an orange pony with a green and yellow mane, and a white pony with a pink mane. "Ah think Ah'd like that."

Melody's Story About Rarities and Sweet Music

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
My Little Pony Tales
Pony POV Series Side Story Episode 5 of 7
MLP: POV Seven Dreams/ Seven Nightmares
"Melody"
By Jawmax
Edited By Alex Warlorn and Kendell2 and Louis

As Twilight turned to the next entry, a note and a shiny disc slipped out from between the pages.

"What are these?" Twilight asked.

'Before you read this entry watch this first' The note read.

"Watch this pretty little thing? Okay!" Pinkie began to stare at the disc as Twilight twisted it this way and that with her magic... "Oooh, it reflects the light so beautifully! I think I could see a rainbow!"

Luna giggled. "My dear Pinkie Pie. That object is what those of the Second Age refer to as a DVD. It contains sounds, images and cinema... rather like how your movies work in our modern times."

"They store movies on this thing?" Twilight peered closer. "...Yes, I can sort of see that. This Diveedi thing bears a striking resemblance to a music record. Is there any way to play this on a film projector? Or is there a... er... Diveedi player in there also? Is 'Diveedi player' even the right word?"

Pinkie began to shake the journal about, seeing what else would dislodge from its pages, until Luna stopped her with an amused smile.

"'DVD player' actually IS the proper term, Twilight. But the few that remain are broken, inoperable museum artifacts. It will be decades, still, before pony technology is back at that level. But fear not! We think we have a spell that will help us get around that inconvenience!!"

Luna concentrated. The DVD was encased in an aura of her magic. And from that aura, a wide, conical beam of light cast itself upon the wall, playing the DVD's movie as easily as a film from a film projector.

"You'll probably want to darken the room for this," Luna said with a smile. "Twilight, would you do the honors?"

***

Before Revision/Disaster:

"This is Dazzle, reporting live at PTV. As we continue to countdown to the big moment when all our dreams come true, we look back to one of the most outspoken public figures who helped push this miracle forward. Of course I speak of the Rockin' Beats lead singer: Melody. From their humble roots as a high school garage band the Rockin Beats gained fame early on PTV's own Battle of the Bands. I should know, I hosted it." The image of a pink adult mare showed behind her before shifting to a teenage filly.

***

"Wait!" Luna paused the video at Twilight Sparkle's interruption. "What's PTV mean?"

"The 'TV' part twas an abbreviation of 'Tele-Vision,' Twilight Sparkle. A form of transmitting moving pictures -- such as that we're now watching -- simultaneously to every pony's home through technology rather than magic."

"And the 'P' part?" Twilight asked.

"Er... well, think of it this way: when you go to a movie theater, there isn't just one single film showing, is there? Usually, there's six or eight different movies, all competing for viewers to watch them. It's the same basic principle. PTV was one option: television viewers could also watch GTV, BTV, RTV, and many others."

"It stands for 'Pony.'"

Twilight blushed, "Okay, should have seen that one coming, but this Dazzle mare... she said she hosted a contest when Melody was in high school and looks almost the same. Did Dazzle somehow stop aging, or is she just really well-preserved?"

"In a manner of speaking. It is a magic called 'plastic surgery', a costly procedure for those who wish to retain youthful beauty in their elder years. Now please, Twilight, leave thy comments for later."

Luna un-paused the DVD.

***

"After graduation, Melody soared to the top of the charts." Dazzle went on.

A montage of short clips proceeded to play over Dazzle's shoulder: Melody at her own wedding, her husband kicking a soccer ball past a goalie, on and on.

"The good times didn't end there, as she married her high school sweetheart, world-famous soccer champion Ace. Known as the one-stallion team, this athlete has won game after game and broken record after record. Ace is the only permanent member of the Tsunamis... though his teammates often complain about his attitude. But what's a bad attitude with skills like Ace's? Most recently, the Rockin' Beats have acted as spokesponies for the Dream-Come-True spell spearheaded by Melody's old friend Starlight, in their international Seize Your Dreams tour. Life just keeps looking up for the superstar!

"But, as the old saying goes: 'into each life, some rain must fall.' Their long marriage has yet to bless the celebrity couple with a child. Also, many Rockin' Beats fans have spoken out against the Seize Your Dreams for keeping the band from making a new album this year. In a recent interview Melody had this to say..."

The video switched over to Melody.

"Our careers have kept us both very busy and, much as we would like to, we just haven't found the time to start a family. But with this new perfect world on the way, I couldn't think of a better place to raise our kids."

"Well, best of luck, Melody! Right now The Rockin Beats are all waiting for the New World in Melody's and Ace's fabulous mansion, which offers a gorgeous view of the Crystal Rainbow Castle, one of the seven vital points for the Dream-Come-True spell!"

***

"What a tour," I sighed, sitting down on my living room couch; of our mansion.

"The most important tour we've ever done, Melody," Half Note said.

"When we started this band back in high school I never thought that we would go on a tour to endorse a world-changing magic spell," Tuneful added.

"None of us even thought magic existed back then." I said, still amazed that it did.

"The Seize Your Dream Tour is our biggest success yet!" Pretty Beat said, sitting down at the other side of the room.

"Thanks in no small part to our great stage manager and special effects wizard," I grinned proudly at Jing-a-Ling and Ting-a-Ling.

"Thanks sis," Jing-a-ling said.

"It was a blast!" Ting-a-Ling just loves working with fireworks.

To think, my little twin sisters first got involved with my band because I shirked from finding a babysitter, so we could practice for the 'First Annual Battle of the Bands.'

Being a selfish teenager, of course I asked mom to call in sick at work to look after the twins! My bandmates were depending on me! Never mind that Mom had ponies at the hospital who depended on her!

But that didn't pan out, so I called all my friends at the last minute for help! Patch, soccer practice. Starlight, working. Sweetheart, inventory. Bonbon? Grounded. Bright-Eyes, Clover? Didn't exactly think to ask the studyholic and the klutz to look after the little imps.

So what do I do when my bandmates come to pick me up? ... I stay home. Yes they were unhappy, Sweet Notes saying they were now the Rockin Beats Minus One.

After seeing the first couple of bands on TV, I decided the Rockin Beats needed me.

So I brought the two foals, just out of diapers, with me to the studio. And when they slipped off just as our turn came up, my conscience kicked me in flanks, hard. So I left the band hanging again as I looked for them.

Thank goodness the damage they caused was never precisely traced back to me. Gave me a swinging entrance on stage though. And who'd have thought they'd have made decent back up dancers? And yes, we did blow-out the 'Rock-O-Meter'! We won. You can find a copy for sale on laserdisc!

Yes, Mom found out, it was on TV after all. Thankfully, she was forgiving since the twins weren't hurt and they'd had fun.

Being a doctor herself, Sweetheart had easily gotten Mom on the Wishes-Come-True bandwagon. Good-bye nasty diseases! Do forget to write! Though I imagine schoolkids are gonna be unhappy about no more sick days.

"You know what I feel like right now? A chocolate milkshake with fudge, whipped cream, and sprinkles, with a cherry on top."

"Melody, you know we all got to stay on our diets," Sweet Notes scolded me. I swear, being a rock and roll star is no fun sometimes! Much more complicated than when we first started out as teenagers.

"The spell is going to be cast today! Sweets probably won't even make us fat or rot our teeth or anything anymore! Why not start indulging now?"

Then he entered the room. Tan with a flowing blonde mane, Ace and I have been so busy that sometimes it doesn't even feel like we're married. "I thought I heard you ladies. Melody, is your mom coming?"

"No. Mom's in the Emergency Ward. She wants to watch all the patients there get healed by the spell. What'll you think she'll do after doctors and nurses become a thing of the past?"

"Anything she wants," Pretty Beat smiled.

I thought back to how poor Sweetheart had gotten threatened by those big business jerks. Teddy sure didn't let them off without some hospital time, and I didn't let their PR go unbruised. But still, I knew even if Mom didn't mind her work not being needed.... we were putting the whole Medical Industry out of business. Many doctors and nurses' entire personal identities were invested in their role as healers. How would the spell treat them?

"So had a good time on tour?"

"Well it was good to sing our old songs again."

"Yeah, we hadn't played Sweet Music for years," Pretty Beat chimed in.

"Sweet Music was always my favorite." Both Jing-A-Ling and Ting-A-Ling said then giving each other nasty looks. Ever since they were ten years old, the twins have trying to move past the image of identical-minded-twins.

"Well for most of the tour we were playing in towns of the other five tribes," Tuneful said.

"Those Sea Ponies went all out for us... building that seaside stadium," Sweet Notes commented.

How did a race of ponies without proper forelimbs build something that huge anyway? Clever little guys.

"Mel', you never did tell us about the time when Patch introduced you to those Paradise Estate ponies. What were they like?" Half Note asked.

I sighed, thinking back. "Well, as you know I was skeptical, but I really missed those girls. I just wanted to get together with them, look back at simpler times, ya know. When I first saw the pegasi and unicorns there, I thought I was going crazy. As soon as they heard I was a musician they wanted to know what kind of music we listen to these days. I just couldn't believe that they were all over a thousand years old! What I really couldn't believe is that they had gone without any good stallions for all that time.

"There's the pegasus, Wind Whistler, she and Bright Eyes I think speak the same language: brainiac. Also a pony with some self-confidence issues named Shady, I think she and Clover had some stuff to talk about, you can guess. There was a unicorn named Twilight who Clover asked about 'dancing' magic. Sweetheart hit it off with this silly pony named Applejack. And Starlight got to know Ember, the only foal there. Ember's a regular Peter Pan, she'd been a foal for centuries!

"Then there was a daredevil pegasus called Firefly who said she made regular visits to 'the other side of the rainbow.' She says there are humans living there! Can you believe it?! One of her winged friends called North Star said she made regular visits to the edge of Dream Valley, when she claimed she met Robin Hood and Hercules I kinda backed off.

"There was another unicorn named Gusty who wished she should have gone with 'Bubbles' and 'Cotton Candy' when they left.

Also, a unicorn named Moondancer, and yes, she was a great dancer, said an evil monster named Tirek used an evil version of the Rainbow of Light to turn her, Applejack, Bubbles, and Cotton Candy into monsters then healed by the real one.

"A pony, I mean Earth pony, named Magic Star, said she could do magic, the kind unicorns do, with a magic wand she'd once owned, but later lost.

"There was another pegasus called Flutterbye, but none of the other ponies seemed to know her that well. Really kept to herself.

"There was Posey, she really loved her flowers, but what a wallflower. Heh. Flutterbye hung around her a lot, but more like a guardian angel than a stalker."

"The last Earth pony there was named Lickety Split, she said her daughter was the first one to leave the Estate since she really wanted to prove she could live her own life.

"There were these two unicorns named Sparkler and Glory I'm sure had to have been related. Sparkler was into things looking nice and Glory was addicted to her roller skates. Don't ask me how she got roller skates when they'd been cut off from civilization for centuries."

"Then there were the ones whose eyes sparkled like jewels! I asked if they were contact lenses, but the unicorn Galaxy explained the stars gave them to her as a gift."

"How can I get the stars to give ME gifts?" Ting-A-Ling wondered aloud.

"I dunno. Maybe try dating a few," I said. "The two other gem-eyed ponies, Masquerade and Mimic, said they didn't get their eyes the same way Galaxy got hers. I tried to ask more, but the way they acted seemed like it was something to file under 'you do not want to know'.

"Who else...? Oh yeah. Medley the pegasus! She said she loved sliding on Rainbows, and was overjoyed to meet me! For the first couples hours she just kept asking me what kind of music there was now, what kind I played, she even asked me to sing to her a few times. I indulged her. What surprised me more than anything was when the animals, bunnies, raccoons, all began clapping after I finished.

"'Oh don't worry about them, they're just being nice!' Medley assured me.

"'But-but-they're just dumb animals!' I said, and I got some nasty looks from the 'dumb animals' , a skunk looked ready to spray me, so I quickly apologized. Medley explained that the Rainbow of Light gave a lot of critters more wits than your average backyard dog, and they were proud of their smarts."

"Did any of the pegasi give you rides?" Pretty Beat asked.

"Medley did. Let me tell you; flying is something else. Then she decided to surprise me by sliding down a rainbow. Instead of falling through it, we slid on it, right into the river below. Then I got into a fun water fight. I actually gave her my CD player and a few of my discs."

"How many batteries did you leave her with?"

"None," I said. "She could recharge it by plugging it into the wall."

"But... but you said they've been isolated from civilization for centuries!"

"I saw the wall plugs myself." I insisted. "One of the ponies told me they modernized the Estate every few decades."

"How?"

"My working theory is that Galaxy talked the stars into installing the electricity for them. " I answered, with complete seriousness.

The others blinked a lot slower than normal at that. "Did you give the critters a repeat performance?"

"Sure did. They already had a stage for me and everything."

"A stage!" Tuneful laughed. "Did the woodland animals know how to wash dishes and vacuum floors, too?"

"I have every faith that they did."

"You should've brought one of those dishwashing raccoons home."

"Well..." I said, "The way I figure, any creature smart enough to erect a stage is also smart enough to eventually demand worker's comp. So I passed. Anyway, Medley clapped and cheered loudest of all."

"'Thanks' she said, 'I'm a little too scared to go out and discover new music in the outside world. Thanks. I've missed new music most, being here.'

"I asked, 'Why do you stay then? Do you feel 'responsible' for protect the Starbow of Light?'

"She said, 'That's Rainbow of Light, and that's just part of it. I'm kinda scared. If I leave, I grow old, and... and die. Then all the songs I've learned will be forgotten.'

"I gave her a hug and invited her to tour with us sometime. I'm kinda sad she never took me up on that offer. Can't help everyone with their problems."

"Heh, not yet anyway." Tuneful said.

"I also recall these really old pictures of ponies that left the estate, a lot of them were their kids who got tired of being little Peter Pans. They left hundreds of years ago. This one pegasus, Surprise, greeted me by saying: "Hey you look like her!"

Then I paused thoughtfully. "Half Note, were you named after a family member?"

Half Note was surprised by this sudden turn. "Yes, my great-grandmother. Dad said that the name is passed down every few generations. Why?"

"One of the older pictures was of a little filly that looked a lot like me; Surprise said her name was Baby Half Note. For all we know she could be our ancestor; that'd make us distant cousins."

Ace stretched and said, "It's possible, especially if she had more than one child. Maybe you two could have some gene testing done to see if you really are related."

"Well look who's sounding all smart all of a sudden," I teased.

Ace looked all flustered. "Hey I am smart! You can't play on a college level team if you don't keep your grades up. That's what made me a first-round draft pick!"

"You majored in Art History!"

"Just you wait! When my wish comes true, no one will ever see me as a dumb, arrogant jock ever again! I might even teach you all something." Then I could hear Ace whisper, "I'll be better than what I was."

Not hearing what he whispered the rest of the band laughed. "You teach us? That will be the day!"

Tuneful then looked at me. "What about you, Melody? Being a rock star HAS been your dream since the beginning. Will your wish be that you and Ace finally start having kids? A lot of our old classmates already have some. Our clocks are ticking."

"Please don't say things like that! It makes me feel old! Next thing you know our albums will be in the, ugh, golden oldies section!"

All the girls shivered at that thought. "But really, Melody, what IS your wish?" Pretty Beat asked.

"Well, ever since I was a little filly, I wanted to be a princess." Which might have had something to do with how I acted like a royal brat when I scored the lead role in our highschool Shakespony play until the others gave me a taste of humble pie to teach me what Miss Hackney meant by a play having 'No small parts.'

Hopefully Patch will never have to help me fight a dragon that isn't a stage prop (I still can't believe Patch was the most princely pony to audition after trying to add pirates to the script).

Hearing about the Princess Ponies reminded me of that old fantasy.

"Princess Rock Star..." Ace chuckled under his breath.

I lifted an eyebrow. "Being a rock star is hard work. We have to work out and watch what we eat to keep our figures. We're pushed to write at least ten new songs every album, and as soon as a concert is over we have to hustle to the next one. We've been all over the world and I've barely gotten a chance to play tourist, or just enjoy all our success. I love my music and all that, but sometimes I just want things to go back to simpler times when I could do what I wanted... Man, do I sound OLD!"

"Yep." Ace agreed. "But let me ask, Princess Melody, do you really think heads-of-state don't work? No obligations to their royal subjects? Why not wish for what you REALLY want to be: a super-rich lady."

"Nah," I said. "Princess. Has a better ring to it than 'super-rich lady.'"

Meeting Rosy had taught me he was right, but that didn't change my mental image of what a princess was I guess.

Ting-a-Ling and Jing-A-Ling were out on the balcony now. "Look!" Ting-A-Ling said.

"It's starting!" Jing-A-Ling finished. Heh. So this was it. Time for the enter the land of fairy tales, but without the wicked witches and poison apples.

After Revision:

We were all growing horns as a rainbow of colors washed over everything. Unicorns? Which of us wished for that? But looking at the horns, they just felt right.

Ting-A-Ling turned yellow with a blonde and pink mane. Jing-A-Ling became blue with a blonde and green mane. Guess they wished that everyone could tell them apart. They hugged each other.

I was pink with all kinds of colors in my mane. I can't say I wasn't prettier!

Ace became purple with, of all things, a pink mane! I almost laughed out loud when I saw he was taking on more feminine features! But he's supposed to be my prince!

Wait, why is everything getting bigger?

The She-Ace pony hugs me, "You're such a rarity, Melody! My little princess."

I could feel magic going through my horn. The magic was overpowering, it was everywhere and everything.

She nuzzles me, I nuzzle her back. I'm safe knowing she's here. I'm not worried or scared or anything.

Tee-hee! A girl being another girl's prince? That's just silly! Hehehehe! I giggle thinking about it. Just laugh it off. And if she'd be a prince, I'd be a princess. Princesses live in castles, not mansions. Heheheh! A pretty rainbow! I wanna be princess of rainbows! They're so colorful! Let me play with you, rainbow! You will? This is gonna be so much fun! I just know it! And I don't feel any not-good feelings at all.

***

I fling open the window.

"Good morning, Miss Sun! What a beautiful day in Unicornia you made today!"

I think Miss Sun shone extra-pretty and bright at that! Miss Sun may not say a thing, but I just know she loves me greeting her!

"I, Her Royal Highness Princess Rarity will have a lot of fun with my teacher Cheerilee and my friends Brights Brightly and Whistle Wishes! I may still have a lot to learn but I will give everyone beautiful rainbows every day with my magic wand!"

Miss Sun answers by tickling my face with her warmest sunbeams!

I run down to the breakfast table. I hope we have rainbow berry muffins this morning! Then I remember I asked to have a picnic breakfast yesterday, and run outside where my Crystal Carriage is waiting, all nice and white!

Cheerilee is waiting for me. I love her so much! She's like a mom, a big sister, and a best friend all rolled into one! "Good morning, Princess Rarity! Are you all ready?"

"You bet!"

Whistle Wishes and Brights Brightly are there too waiting already. "Good Morning, Rarity."

"Good morning!" I ran and slid on the stairs banister, sliding right to the carriage. "That was fun! Can I do it again?"

Cheerilee giggled. Off in the air we go! The little birdies pulling the carriage fly us to a nice open field overlooking Unicornia. There are a few unicorns nearby flying kites. That looks like fun!

We get everything laid out in a jiffy. I help!

"Would you like some muffins this morning?" Cheerilee offered.

"Yes, please!"

"Better eat up! Today you need to signal the start of the Unicornia Toy Boat Race with a rainbow."

Before, it took me, Cheerilee, Brights Brightly, and Whistle Whishes together to cast the rainbow-making spell. But now I had the Rainbow Wand to make rainbows all by myself!

"Oh! Could we invite the Breezes to the race? I bet they'd all have fun riding those cute little boats."

"It's a little short notice; we can do that next time."

Every year a new pink unicorn filly is chosen to be the Rainbow Princess, but I was sure I'd be picked once again. Why wouldn't I be?

Maybe I treated being princess like a game before, but I've really really learned my lesson! I was late to my lessons with Cheerilee, but it's only because I counted all the ribbons decorations (turns out we had sixty-three and we were supposed to have sixty-five). And then I joined a bubble fight that was happening right outside the castle.

Decorating ribbons was more fun than lessons, but Cheerilee wouldn't let me help Brights and Whistle, so I had to have my lessons anyway.

It all started when this cool-looking caterpillar distracted me from what Cheerilee was saying about using the magic wand and how rainbows were super really important to colors, magic, and happiness. So maybe I didn't hear how to call forth the Crystal Carriage.

Yellow (for Brights Brightly), Purple (for Cheerilee), Blue (for Whistle Wishes), and Pink (for me), the four colors of the rainbow. Huh? Don't be silly, of course those are the colors of the rainbow! See? Ha ha!

I hide, and Cheerilee went looking for me, then I took the magic wand out of the box to play with.

Then ZIP-ZAP-ZOOM, I was suddenly in this forest I've never seen and got to meet these cute little ponies that didn't have horns and had these really cute feelers and dragonfly wings!

They really loved talking! They told me I was in Breezie Blossom!

I met the Breezies for the first time! They wondered what the big bump on my head was, ha ha ha! They'd never seen a horn before! Some of them even wondered why I was so big and where my wings were! They must not have seen other ponies that often!

They were really tiny, but they insisted I was really big! That was fun to hear!

Then they told me how the Rainbow Celebration was going to help them, and told them how I made the rainbows. They... looked me kinda funny hearing that and took me to Ponyville. Riding Breezies was really fun! They said something about bumping my head when I talked about my magic wand.

In Ponyville I said how I was hungry and this pony named Sweet Berry offered me a cake of rainbow berry. I had a piece. Miss Rainbow Dash asked if I'd like more, so I ate all of it. Erm, maybe I was a little selfish? I asked for more, but there wasn't any more.

When they talked about getting more rainbow berries after the year's first rainbow... it kinda began to sink in that maybe I had ... not been, thinking about what me not being in Unicornia might mean. Especially when the fourth star would appear.

I began to explain where I was from and that I was a princess, when I saw these really cool shoes called roller skates! They were a little scary at first, but I rolled all around the cafe! I wished I was better at them. And I was spinning and twirling and jumping over tables. Then I rolled out the door, down the road, over the river, and into a cart (the flowers kinda fell out) rolled along, then got knocked out and grabbed some kites and flew up and up and up into the air! Ever since I was a baby I knew flying would be the greatest! The breezes brought me down so no problem, so I kept rolling and rolling, and ended up in this nice mud puddle. It was so fun! "Let's do it again!" It must have been time for Miss Rainbow Dash's nap. It wasn't my fault! The roller skates just went so fast.

Then I was feeling really homesick, and asked the way back to Unicornia, and found out the adults around me somehow didn't know where my home was.

Miss Rainbow Dash said if she knew where Unicornia was she'd GLADLY tell me where.

Then I got to meet Mr. Spike, (Wow, a dragon!) and we played hide and seek, and talked about how my castle was only one of seven across Ponyland. Happiness. Friendship. Family. Kindness. Laughter. Music. And mine, Crystal Rainbow Castle! Then I got a map to show me the way home!

Spike, Minty, Pinkie Pie, Zipzee and her two friends, and Miss Rainbow Dash came along to help me.

Rainbow Dash sure brought a lot of luggage, but Spike was the one who pulled it along. I played with a butterfly and ended up in a river. Pinkie and Minty went into the river with me. It wasn't my fault (I sure say that a lot, don't I?). Thankfully the breezies saved them, while Rainbow Dash let a piece of luggage get wet to save me before I went over the waterfall! It was fun! I wanted to do it again, but no one else did.

Did you know Breezies snore? ... That night, staring at the sky, that was when I think I realized the way I acted wasn't exactly nice. Maybe I shouldn't have played with a wand I didn't know how to use. No. Cheerilee was to blame. She was one who... didn't try to teach... didn't try to warn... didn't tell me to pay attent-... ... Maybe, just maybe it was all my fault everything was happening. All my fault.

That was when I saw the third star. Time was running out. Spike dreams of being a king in his sleep, I had to scream 'Your majesty!' to wake him up.

Rainbow Dash woke up and... we saw most of her rainbow was gone. She... didn't really take it all that well. When Pinkie Pie pointed out she still had pink and pink is pretty, she said, "I'M NOT PINK DASH, DARLING! I'M RAINBOW DASH!"

I really wished I could find Cheerilee. We finally found Cheerilee and the others! They had been looking for me! And I really had to explain everything really really fast!

And I finally got the princess twirl right to summon the crystal carriage to get us back to Unicornia lickety-split! And we had to RACE the pink shooting star back to Unicornia! And into the dome inside the castle to perform the ceremony! Rainbows all over the land were vanishing! It was terrible! Rainbow Dash's mane was all white!

Cheerilee thought all was lost. We used our magic... and absolutely nothing happened. Not a spark. I said we should try again. But Cheerilee and the others looked like they didn't want to try. Then Cheerilee, BLAMED HERSELF for what happened! No!

I told her. I told her all of it. It was all my fault. From beginning to end. I was responsible. Cheerilee just looked away sadly. "Now who's not listening?" I asked. Cheerilee smiled, and we tried again! And WHOA! MY HORN GREW! Didn't expect that to happen!

The light shined from all four of our horns, and hit the center of the castle dome, and the first rainbow of the year was born, and it traveled everywhere like a happy ribbon! And the rainbows returned... last but not least Rainbow Dash's colors. And I was formally recognized as Rainbow Princess, the Breezies even carried my cape during the ceremony! I created rainbows here and there for every inch of Unicornia! It was wonderful! I promised I'd make a new rainbow every day more spectacular than the last!

That all happened in just a couple of days... but it feels like a lifetime. I think I'm happy I changed. I grew. Unicornia was always the place for me. But I never imagined how I'd grow by visiting other places.

And I got to make such wonderful friends! Like Rainbow Dash... she wanted to stay in Unicornia a while... she was super duper absolutely positively fun to have around! I even got her to laugh! Ha ha!

Lilly Lightly?

She's our unicorn in charge of the yearly Rainbow Lights Party: The Night of a Thousand Lights. I kinda ended up covering myself with lights this year. That's me. Rarity. Silly all around!

She's always done such a good job that Cheerilee gave her the title 'Princess of All That Twinkles And Glows.'

If I can be Princess of Rainbows during the day, there's no reason she can't be Princess of twinkly and glowy things during the night, right?

I never expected Lilly Lightly's horn to start glowing on its own like a night light. Or her to run off like it was something to be ashamed of. So she was a little bit different, that's nothing big, right?

Brightly mentioned how the only time she's SEEN Lilly laugh or have fun was at the Rainbow Lights party. Weird. But not funny weird. I wish she could teach me how to light my horn like that.

Pinkie Pie and Minty were actually invited to join the party this year but ended up getting lost in the forest because Minty forgot the map, and had no sense of direction.

Brightly and I ended up gettin' lost, too, when looking for Lilly after she ran away into the forest.

By good luck we found Lilly, or rather we found her glow behind a boulder. A nice little firefly came out and explained -she- was making the light. Except of course Lilly's light was much brighter. The firefly said that was one of her friends who was very shy.

"Well, tell your friend she doesn't have to be shy around us," Brightly said.

"And we've been looking for her and want to say how special she is!" I cheered in.

"You mean different." Lilly came out, not sounding happy.

Me, Minty, and Pinkie all told her what made us different, and made us special and it was nothing to be ashamed of.

The firefly seemed overjoyed at us for helping Lilly realizing being unique wasn't something to be sad about. And when we all got back to the castle... we saw Cheerilee and everypony was covering their horns in lights to let Lilly to know she didn't have to be ashamed. Lilly told them all that, "Being different also is what makes me special." And a super-beautiful dress just appeared on her!

It's funny, in a wonderful, beautiful, shinning, sparkling way. It was like Lilly had brought something new yet familiar back into the world when she said that. Something, I didn't know, but it felt good. The firefly left just telling Lilly to shine on.

I don't really understand it... but It's like I've begun to notice things I didn't before. How I seem to be the only filly in Unicornia, though I was supposed to be picked from among lots of pink fillies. But, but I'm not scared. I'm not worried. I have Rainbow Dash, Minty, Pinkie, Cheerilee, Lilly Lightly, Brights Brightly, Whistle Wishes, Zipzee, Tiddlywink, Tra La La, and now there are the Pegasuses! Huh? It's pegasi? Oh whatever! The point is that I have lots and lots of friends new and old! And I won't be afraid to be myself either.

Miss Sun is so shiny and happy today.

The next thing I know Whistle Wishes screamed out in fright. We all looked at what she was pointing at and saw the two strangest things I ever seen floating in the sky. The first one looked like it had parts of different animals for a body: a pony head, snake body, doggie paw, birdie claw, kitty leg, ox leg, fish tail, a bird wing with a claw, and another wing like some kind of dragon.

The other one looked like a big boy pony with both a horn and wings; I even didn't know ponies could be boys! He was black and white. He really scares me; it feels like he doesn't belong here EVEN MORE than the many-animal-thing! They're making all the Unicorns disappear!

He flies down and warps his wings around my two friends, "Good night."

They're vanishing before our eyes! "Brights Brightly! Whistle Wishes!"

All the colors are going black and white! This is worse than when I almost didn't make the first rainbow of the season! Even the rainbows are white and sky is black! "You, who are you and what did you do to our friends!?" Cheerilee screamed.

"Name's Rancor. Just deleting most of these ponies, recycling a few. By the way, 'Princess Rarity,' is it? I'm a big fan of your previous self's music, it's such a big disappoint that you became someone whose only passion now is making pretty little rainbows."

"HEY!" I snapped, wondering why being told I wasn't good at singing made me so upset. "I sing really good! I sang at the Rainbow Lights Party, and it was a song I sang that help me become a real princess instead of just playing!"

"... Spunky kid. I like spunk. Maybe you're fun after all. Glad you're on the 'to keep' list," The mishmash of animals zoomed down face to face with me and slipped a piece of paper underneath one of my hooves, leaving behind an imprint. I couldn't move, I was scared stiff. "One down, two to go. Sadly, princess, while it's great to see you, I am technically here on a job. Too bad, otherwise maybe I could've heard your wonderful singing voice."

The next thing I know, she broke my crystal carriage to pieces! Rancor then gripped the two yellow birds who had been hitched to it and... they were just... gone.

"No... " I felt tears in my eyes. "Why... why are you being so mean?"

"You don't want to see me mean, Princess."

The boy pony spoke. "Rancor! Let me remind you that My Parents allowed you to join this mission from your future on the condition that you follow my lead!" Then he talked to us. "I am Mortis, I am truly sorry, but all things depend on what we do here today. The time where rainbows were the most important aspect of your lives has now come to an end."

"What did she mean?" I asked Mortis. "What clock?"

"Give back Brightly and Wishes!" Cheerile snapped.

"That can not happen." Mr. Mortis landed and all the plants around him withered. "Until now, I have only been allowed in this world rarely before. But Death has returned to this world in full force. Regrettably, soon I will be the only entity allowed to exist here at all."

"Deh-iff?" Cheerilee sounded out. Now that was something. Something Cheerilee didn't know anything about.

"Death. The end of life. To cease living. The last soul I came to guide to my Father in your world was the mother of the one you know as Star Catcher."

Star Catcher...she said her momma just...went to sleep and...and wouldn't wake up.

Rancor ran her doggie paw through Mortis' mane. "Yeah, that Grant-All-Wishes spell you ponies cast forced this guy take a long vacation and now I bet he is bummed about going back to work full-time."

"The only thing about my work that I don't like is being the one that has to deliver the souls of the wicked to be hitched to Your Father's chariot! I delight in bringing the souls of righteous and innocent to My Father and reuniting loved ones with each other."

"Hey, Dad's your Father-In-Law pal. What does Strife see in you?"

"If you dislike me, Rancor, feel free to swear off killing others."

Rancor just laughed. "Trust me Morty, you can have plenty of violence and revenge without killing."

"I still have no idea what you two are talking about, but I will not let you harm one hair on Rarity's head!" Cheerilee threw me on her back.

"You don't have any say in the matter." Rancor reached for us and Cheerilee ran full speed away while I held on as tight as I could. They chased us but we made it back to the castle. "Get back here!" I heard Rancor say, followed by a big boom.

"Don't worry Rarity, I'm sure our friends from Ponyville can help, I know they can!" Cheerilee told me. I know she has to be right.

Rancor found that she could not move. Needles were jammed all over her body. Her mouth ripped itself off and began to speak. "Mortis! What did you do to me?"

"If you go after them or linger much longer we risk you running into your siblings or mine. As far as they are concerned you have not been born yet."

"What's the matter?! Worried about triggering a Time Paradox?" Rancor sneered. "We're CONCEPTS, Mort! We're immune to paradoxes!"

"Maybe so, but I have strict orders from You Father that Destruction and Discord are not to have any idea you could potentially exist."

Rancor thought about that. "Oh yeah... I suppose that WOULD be shooting Past-Me-From-The-Future in the foot." She tried to struggle with her unresponsive body. "What's with these needles?"

"I knew that aggressive action has little effect on you so I decided to give you a nice friendly acupuncture treatment to relax your muscles. All of your muscles."

"I hate you so much right now," Rancor's mouth said. "Soon as I get a chance, I'm going to find some hotblooded hero -- a righteous griffin warrior or such -- and goad him into slaying a thousand evil pony-trafficers or witch weed producers. Then I'll encourage Dad to have you, personally, hitch their souls to his chariot... just because son-in-laws ought to be hassled every now and then."

Mortis just ignored her, looked on to the fleeing ponies. "They always run."

"So?"

"Once, in the first age, a pegasus stallion spotted me in Dream Valley. After seeing me he flew, faster than any living thing before him all the way to the Royal Paradise Inn. That evening in his room I was waiting for him. He asked me why I was there; he surprised me by being able to see me. I told him that I was surprised to see him in Dream Valley because we had an appointment at the Royal Paradise Inn. Those that try to run from their fate often are running toward it instead."

She snorted. "I don't get you; you're the Concept of Death. for crying out loud! Death seems like something My Mom would give birth to, not Fauna Luster."

"I do not blame you for your confusion. My full title is Concept of Death, Rebirth and New Beginnings. I allow things to end so that they can begin anew. This world is ending so it can live again. My sister Celestia asked Mother to give phoenixes the power to be reborn from their ashes after death, as a way of always demonstrating this to mortals. I have always found it a touching gesture." Mortis was silent for a few moments. "Joyride's over, Rancor. Come, you must return to your future. As you have said, I will be incredibly busy from here on out."

We've made it back to the castle, but everything is already so gray and empty, and the sky looks so cold and heartless. Spike and Wysteria are already here. Guess they were already on their way here when things started to go wrong.

Cheerilee looks sick, oh dear. I remember one of those shadows thingies grabbed her as we ran away when it tried to grab me. She pushes me towards Spike and Wysteria, she tells me to use the wand to teleport us away from Unicornia. Except her. She says it is inside her. I don't understand! But... but Cheerilee promises she'll be along in a bit. I... I believe her. I have to believe her. Cheerilee's never lied to me, so why would she now? I know we'll see each other again. I just know it. I have to believe, I DO believe! Cheerilee... please be safe. I know you'll be!

***

Intermission:

Twilight whispered lowly, "Rancor... Rancor the Draconequus."

Pinkie Pie was in a huff. "Well so much for me being one-of-Melody's sisters-who'd-wished-to-stand-out-from-her-other-sister!"

Twilight blinked at her. "You thought you were Ting-A-Ling? Jing-A-Ling?"

"Neither of them was me! I would have even accepted being both of them. Right wish, though."

"I disagree. If anything, that kind of wish sounds downright Trixie-ish." Twilight pursed her lips. "Personally, I'm shocked that Cheerilee-of-Unicornia was ACE and not their old teacher, Ms. Hackney!" Twilight said.

"True, the nature of their relationship was altered completely, but at least the two remained a close-knit pair who loved each other dearly."

"But if our Cheerilee was Cheerilee-of-Unicornia... then she used to be a stallion!"

Luna only gave a huge shrug at that. Twilight might as well have stated that a small cloud of steam had once been a quart of water.

"Twilight, I just realized something."

"What, Pinkie?"

"Our Rarity used to be Princess Rarity, who used to be Melody, right?

"Right."

"And our Cheerilee used to be the unicorn Cheerilee, who used to be Ace, right?"

"Seems so."

"Then would that make Rarity, Cheerilee's ex-wife?"

Twilight Sparkle felt her brain about to split in two.

Luna held up her hoof. "If the two of you are this confused, then imagine if Cheerilee and Rarity themselves, found out. How would they react? Both of them have been friends since foalhood; could they even look at each other the same way? This is a prime example why most ponies should not know who they were in previous worlds. You must remember they are all unique beings, not merely actors playing different roles. Melody's soul is no doubt observing our Rarity."

Twilight Sparkle nodded.

"Uh, Luna," Pinkie Pie asked. "Can we please read the rest of these, erm, somewhere else?"

The night itself tilted her head, "Where would that be, Pinkie Pie?"

The pink pony whispered a location in the goddess' ear. Luna's eyes widened. "We are not certain that is a wise idea."

Pinkie Pie made puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

"... Against our better judgement, we will allow it."

Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth, but was sucked up into Luna's midnight blue vortex.

An instant later the same blue vortex deposited the three ponies in a place Twilight Sparkle thought she'd never see again.

Pinkie Pie walked down the streets of the brightly colored town. The sun shining bright on the smiling ponies below.

Sunny Daze and Scootaloo compared the virtues of surfing and roller skating. Daisyjo and Moondancer tending the public garden under Wysteria's watchful eye. Sparkleworks thanked Daffidazey for a job well done. Extra sparkles glinted in her hair.

Pinkie Pie waved at Toola-Roola painting a starscape, while Razzaroo took pictures of ponies. She listened in as Starsong Melody sang at Fiesta Flair's outdoor theater.

Sweet Berry helped Cotton Candy move supplies into her cafe that would be used to create more of Sweet Berry's towering sweet creations.

Twinkle Twirl thanked Rainbow Dash for the new tutus for her dance class, Skywishes was convincing Kimono and Storybelle to attend a few lessons.

Cheerilee sat in her house telling a make-believe tale of Heart Bright and Star Flight to Starbeam and Applejack.

Puzzlemint smiled and nodded at Pinkie Pie, letting her pass as Pinkie Pie walked into the center of the town square, Looking at it all. Minty standing next to her. Every pony, every house, every roof shingle, the smell of every flower, the note of every song, the warmth from everypony around her. A carousel of feelings and colors where most wonderful of all, there were never ever any walls around pony's hearts.

"Pinkie Pie... WHY here?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Pinkie had just been staring from one thing to another with a sad smile.

The shining sun became the moon, and Pinkie Pie let super imposed image of memories slip away to the broken imitation.

"If we're going to keep reading about them, I thought this made a better backdrop." Pinkie Pie said, still with a poofy mane, but with a slight wistful tone.

Twilight shivered at the change from her nice warm library to the Everfree Forest just outside the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. They were in the incomplete microcosm of Pinkie Pie's Ponyville that Nightmare Whisper had ordered the Sunnytowners to build. Twilight gave another shiver at the memory of the battle with their corrupted friend.

"Fluttershy saw this place in my memories, she saw how happy everypony was, I think, she wanted to make it again as a gift for me." Pinkie Pie said calmly.

The half-finished construction had already fallen into decay, the Everfree Forest claiming back the incomplete town, but there were a few completed building still standing. Pinkie Pie looked at each one in perfect recognition. She patted one of the inert wooden puppets made in the images of her friends from that never was world. "Glad our Shadow Who Makes abandoned the 'trapping ponies inside them' idea."

"Pinkie, I gotta be honest, I'm REALLY, REALLY, uncomfortably here. You and I have already slogged through the story of this world's downfall five times in a row. Through five different sets of eyes. And we still have two more to go."

Twilight drew her hoof back and looked around unhappily.

"Bad enough to read about it all in a journal. But to stand here... among all THIS... Pinkie, I feel like we're in a graveyard. I don't like being here! And neither should you! I'm seriously worried about the effect these stories are having on your sanity, Pinkie!"

"It's okay Twilight," Pinkie Pie said and trotted over to a simple roller coaster with teacup and butterfly shaped carts. There were no safety harnesses. In a perfect world, there was no danger of accidents. "I remember riding this coaster. It was a straight-up ride. But none of us cared, it was all we knew."

"Pinkie Pie, let's.... let's put Bon-Bon's journal away for a week, let's give ourselves a chance to touch base with the real world again. Please? We can always return to it later!"

"No."

"I don't want to see you slip away any further into the past, I don't want to lose you to The-World-The-Gods-Erased. No history lesson is worth losing you, Pinkie!"

Twilight Sparkle didn't want to accidentally start a forest fire or have to face Pinkie Pie's wrath if she thought she was trying to burn down the town, but this empty memory didn't offer her any warmth like Pinkie Pie. Princess Luna noticed the unicorn shivered and put a wing over her.

"What's started is started. Trust us Twilight Sparkle, the sooner this is complete the better. For both of your sakes," said the night. "Pinkie Pie would have come back here sooner or later. It's not this memory that calls to Pinkie Pie, it's Pinkie Pie that calls for this memory." Princess Luna stepped forward, lifting Bonbon's journal up. "Pinkie Pie, we're not done reading Melody's chapter yet."

It was impossible to read Pinkie Pie's expression. But she nodded.

"Don't worry so much Twilight, I'm just doing a little reminiscing. I'd never want to lose you either."

Pinkie Pie turned away from the nostalgia and trotted back to her friends. The three of them gathered together and began reading again.

***

After Disaster:

The Crystal Rainbow Castle exploded, the mansion was caught in the blast, and fire and smoke were everywhere. I had to find Ace and the others. I struggled to lift beams out of my way. Coughing helplessly every second. My throat feels like it's burning, but friends and family come first. After hours of work I manage to pull everyone out. Poor Pretty Beat, her face has been burned so badly. "Are you guys going to be okay?" I try to ask only for a gasping and wheezing sound to come out of my mouth instead.

We took what precious little from ... from the... the... I'm sorry. I know it's stupid but... my home, our home. The fire and explosion had torn the expensive work of art to a smoldering wreck. I remember when I first brought my luggage through those doors, thinking to myself, 'I've made it! I've got it made! I am good! And Ace is here with me. Someone as great as me to share it all with.' All the praise and accomplishment I always wanted. Then those filthy looters came. We didn't wait around for angry ponies looking for somepony to punish for the death of the world.

We found a doctor; we found Sweetheart. Now living at the farm of Teddy's cousin. She was overjoyed to see us. To see any of us. So was I.

She told us that Pretty Beat's face will be scarred permanently. Then she took a look at me. "I... I'm sorry, Melody," she said, struggling to keep her voice from breaking. "The smoke burned your vocal chords horribly... you'll never speak again. And chances are, there's brain damage as well."

What? No! If I can't talk then I can't sing. Singing is everything to me! "Is there any way to tell if she has brain damage?" Ace asked.

Sweetheart sighed. "Without working equipment the only way to tell is to watch and wait. The whole world seems to have been hit by this... thing. This malaise. You all need to stay out of sight. You were big spokesponies for the Grant-All-Wishes spell. Ponies are going to shift some of the blame on... you. They'll be out for blood."

This can't be happening! We were going to get everything we ever wanted and now we have nothing!

"All of this is your fault!" Pretty Beat yelled at me. "Look at my face!" I couldn't stand to, so I turned away. She grabbed my head and turned me toward her. "Look at me! How am I ever going to find a guy to marry me looking like this?"

Sweetheart tried to interfere despite her still-mending legs, bless her soul, but Pretty Beat just knocked her back. Thank goodness Teddy wasn't in the room or there would have been blood in return.

"Hey, don't scare her like that!" Ting-A-Ling said. "She probably doesn't understand a word your saying!" What? Yes, I do! Ting, I'm still me! Sweetheart said watch and wait! I'm still me!

"No, she's right!" Half Note yelled. "The stupid spell would never have happened if we didn't encourage our fans! We only did that because you told us to!"

"Do you think anyone is going to care about musicians or athletes with society crumbling? Melody, you ended all of our careers!" Tuneful shouted.

Sweet Note joined in too. "This goes way beyond your out-of-control ego! Even if you could speak, we're beyond sorry. Civilization's broken and I don't think it's going to be fixed any time soon. I think it is time we went our separate ways. As far as the world is concerned, the Rockin' Beats died in that fire."

Jing-A-Ling hugged me from behind. "You can't just leave her! My sister needs us right now! She can't take care of herself anymore!" I break out of her grasp. I don't need her babying me! I'm her BIG sister! Not an invalid! I can take care of myself. "Calm down, Melody, it's going to be okay."

"What about you, Ace? Are you going to go or stay with her?" Sweet Note asked.

Ace looked very uncertain "Well, I don't know...she is kind of partially responsible for all of this."

No! Ace! Stay with me! I...I love you, I need you! Don't leave me! I grab him trying to talk to him but all that comes out is more wheezing and gasping. He looks into my crying eyes deep in thought.

"Well, what's it going to be Ace?" Tuneful asked.

"When we got married I promised to stay with her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. I've been with her for all the good things, guess now it's time to stick with her in the bad. She's lost just as much as all of us in this mess and I can see it in her eyes she's still in there. I'm staying with her." Oh Ace! He gives me a kiss.

"Well that's it then. In a few days after we get our strength back four of us will go one way and the other four will go another," Half Note said.

I thought they were going to turn on Sweetheart next, but Teddy stepped into the room and they shut up. As they stormed out of the room, Sweetheart hugged me, Ace and the twins joined in. Turns out I was too shocked to cry.

News came about my other friends: Starlight is dead, Patch is on some kind of quest (but married Buddy, at least that's ONE wish come true), Bob Bon's lost half her family and is going to try to keep track of this mess, Bright Eyes doesn't even know who she is, and nothing can seem to touch Clover, I should be jealous, but at least one of us made it through this without losing someone. No one knows what happened to Mom. Oh, Mom, if only we talked more, I could have at least emailed you more than once a month!

I think of poor Bright Eyes. It actually might be kinder that she can't remember what she's done to the world, and Starlight was... removed. Bright Eyes really has lost herself; she's lost her cutie mark. Her flank is as blank as her memory. And Sweetheart's sister... I may have lost my voice, but at least my memory and body were still my own. My sisters maybe babying me, but at least they're still here with me.

None of us could risk staying with Sweetheart, she was a doctor who would treat anyone for no cost and that made her too precious to lynch. But a big enough, angry enough mob could easily push past her and all her family to get to me. Even if Sweetheart was too valuable to put to death, they could still punish her severely if caught with us. Thankfully, Ace and my sisters realized this without any input from me. So even though Sweetheart begged us to remain on the farm with her, we simply thanked her and moved on.

I don't think any of us tried to reach Paradise Estate. We didn't blame Medley and her friends, even if lots of other ponies might. It had been Bright Eyes' idea, and the Bright Eyes I could have blamed for what happened no longer existed. Travel there on hoof would have taken months. And the destruction had rendered many routes unusable. Then there were the monsters. So many monsters. It was like they were trying to keep Medley and the rest busy. The Paradise Estate ponies became as good as ghosts, I hope Medley is okay.

And so it was three days later we came up to a crossroads. One way led east, the other west.

"We'll go west." Pretty Beat said. "We've all been thinking and while we can't forgive you, especially me... well, Melody, the four of us still have music inside, but you lost it forever. The thing you loved most. Even if you might not understand what I'm saying, but even if whole world ends up hating you, we can't. . . . It's best that we don't meet again. If someone recognizes us together, it'll end badly."

We all hugged and that was the last time I ever saw my bandmates.

***

We mostly have been eating grass and whatever we could find. Clover, alfalfa, daisies, was the diet of the day instead of hamburgers and smoothies. A change of pace from when Bright Eyes and friends lost in the woods and were scared of starving with grass all around and not having the heart to gut a fish.

Ace and my sisters began to construct a house made of debris. It's positioned a little bit away from a newly-formed village of survivors call Saddle Field. Ace and I dare not go there; the ponies in town would lynch us for sure. I tried to help with the building, but Jing-A-Ling and Ting-A-Ling keep pulling me to the side, afraid that I'd hurt myself. I communicate with my family through the very crudest forms of sign language: nodding for yes, shaking my head for no, pointing, waving, clop my hoof on the floor whenever I need to count off a number, glaring or smacking them if they're wrong about what I'm trying to say. Only Ace believes I'm still all there; the twins think I'm just acting out. He does his best to act as my voice to them. Without much to do but look for food and water Ace and I began to spend more time together. Our marriage feels more alive than it has in years.

Then, after nearly a year since the disaster, I began to get sick in the mornings. Ace and I are finally having kids; all it took was the end of the world. My family waits on me like a princess during my pregnancy. Of course there still were some problems.

"Here you are, Mel', some nice juicy apples."

Ace handed me the fruit, which I threw at his head. I pointed again to the only picture we had which was of a bowl of fruit trying to tell him again I am craving peaches!

"Oh, wrong fruit? Did you want grapes?"

I hit him and shook my head no and pointed again.

"Bananas?"

Smack again.

"Grapes?"

Smack.

"Are you sure you don't want apples?"

Eleven months later I gave birth to my daughter, a perfect foal with a cream colored coat and my blue mane. I've had the perfect name picked out months ago but need to find a way to tell my family. "So Dad, what do you think we should name her?" Jing-A-Ling asked Ace.

"I don't know. I only thought of boy names." Typical that he assumed our first born would be a son.

"Do you think we should name her Ding-A-Ling?" Ting-A-Ling suggested.

Over my dead body, I shake my head no. "I don't think Melody likes that name."

"Well we have to think of something." Jing said. Okay time to show them the name I picked. I hand the baby over to Ace and begin to bang the night side stand. "No, Melody! You'll hurt yourself!" I shake her off. Come on, recognize the beat!

"Wait, listen," Ace said. Yes! Listen, you remember! The world still needs this! I want to teach something of music! Our world would be so much sadder without it! "That's the first winning song she ever wrote! That's Sweet Music!"

I would've jumped with joy if I hadn't just given birth.

"So she remembers the song." Ting said.

"Don't you see? That's what she wants to name the baby!"

Jing-A-Ling thought about it. "Well it would be a very pretty name."

"Is that it dear? You want to name the baby Sweet Music?" I nod yes.

"All right, little one your mommy has named you Sweet Music." Sweet Music happily gurgled a little. I only wish I could say how much I love her, I hope my tears of joy would tell that much.

A couple of weeks passed and my sisters are insisting that they take care of Sweet Music. They only let me nurse her! No matter what Ace says they still don't believe I'm all here! They're afraid that I'll hurt her by accident! If I don't do something soon my daughter will grow up thinking that her mother is some kind of crazy mute pony! I'm the only real musician here; if she doesn't learn from me, then the music could die forever! That's it! I have to find some way to talk to them and settle this once and for all!

I took a basket full of roots that we stored for the winter and a cloak. I can't afford to be recognized in town. The Twins are the only ones that go into town if we need something from there. Since they always worked backstage, there's almost no risk of them being recognized. I heard that everything is bartered for, these days so I'll trade these roots for some paper and something to write with. There were a lot of ponies in the market; it has been a long time since I've been this close to ponies outside of my family. I see a stall with what I need.

"Hello, miss, what can I get you?" The stallion asked me. He was a grey and white spotted earth pony with an electric outlet for a cutie mark.

I pointed to some old pens and the single sheet of paper he had for sell.

Papers and pens had been the last thing we would've grabbed when we left our burning mansion. Just trying to live day by day, writing had been a low priority. And my sisters wouldn't let me near anything sharp. I had tried scratching messages in the dirt, but my sisters just ignored that. Now I know what Miss Hackney meant by fundamental attribute error.

"My last sheet of paper and a pen; well what do you want to trade?"

I show him my basket of roots.

"Those roots can be found all over this area. I would have to have to take two whole baskets worth for what could be the last piece of paper in the world."

That paper is worthless to me without something write with. I shake my head no and clop my hoof three times. I know he will want to go higher but this will show how serious I am. I just hope he had a big enough heart to understand.

"You can't speak can you? You must really need to tell someone something. I feel for you I do, but I have a family to support. Tell you what, I give you the paper for the basket and one pen for your cloak, it will help keep the kids warm this winter."

He isn't backing down. If I give him my cloak and someone realizes who I am I could be in big trouble. But if I don't I will have come all this way for nothing and being a real part of my daughter's life is too important to me.

I give a nod and hand over the basket and take off my cloak. I grab my purchases and begin to make my way home hoping no one sees me.

"Hey, is that the lead singer from that Rockin' Beats band? Melody?" Shoot.

"The band that was shilling for Bright Eyes and Starlight? The ones who helped make this nightmare?"

"No wait, couldn't be her, she's too fat." It takes all of my will power not to knock that stallion into next week. Guess I still haven't bounced back from my pregnancy. But in this case it is a good thing. I never thought I would be happy to be called fat. I ran back home not wanting to press my luck again.

The Twins find me halfway home. "Melody, don't wander off like that," Jing scolds me like a child.

"We were all worried about you. You could have gotten hurt or someone could have seen you," Ting said.

I can't wait to show them once and for all I am not brain damaged. As we enter the house I could hear Ace singing softly to Sweet Music. "We make sweet music, you and I." He was singing her namesake to her; that is so sweet! He puts her down in the crib, she is fast asleep.

Then I began to write, quietly, out of sight. Wouldn't do for them to see me holding a sharp object like a pen. Please still have some ink! Yes! When I finished writing I gave what I wrote to my sisters.

"No way," Jing-A-Ling said.

"What does it say?" Ace asked.

Ting-A-Ling read aloud, I think she was about to cry. "I do not have brain damage. I have been the same sister you've know all your lives, except hopefully a little wiser. I appreciate what you girls have tried to do, it is good fortune that I did not end up the way you thought I had, but I swear I am in full control of my faculties. I risked being found out in town for the sake of writing this. I can take care of myself and I want to raise Sweet Music myself. I am not asking you to leave because all of you are all that I have and I still love you. Sincerely, your competent big sister, Melody."

"Melody, I am so sorry," Jing said.

"As am I," Ting added.

"I knew it all along," Ace said embracing me.

After that I focus on caring for Sweet Music. When I'm playing with her I feel so much joy, banging the floor to make the notes of songs. As soon as she began to talk Ace and her aunts taught her to sing. It is the sweetest sound I ever heard. Even though I cannot talk to her, Sweet Music learns how to understand me much quicker than my sisters did. Ace... now it's like all he has to do is look at my face to know what I'm thinking.

***

My life has gone in a completely different direction since the disaster. I've gone from a rich superstar to a mother and homemaker that forages for food for her family in the forest. I've gone from being adored by millions to hiding from her neighbors. Now that I'm allowed near writing instruments again, I've taken up writing songs. Sheet music is easy to make. I can't sing, but Sweet Music can, and... and it felt good just to add music to the world again.

Thanks to Lancer there was a tiny reunion between the five of us: Bonbon, me, Sweetheart, Clover, and Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes didn't recognize any of us, it hurt a little, but Lancer was there for her. Our husbands managed a few jokes with each other and we tried to get back into the old spirit of things, but it didn't take us long to realize we were chasing ghosts. We all gave each other a hug and kiss a before leaving.

A couple of years pass and we have been blessed again, this time with a yellow colt with a black mane that Ace named Champ. We were worried about him at first since he had been born so much smaller than Sweet Music at her birth. Ace, carrying Champ, Sweet Music, and I were out in the woods foraging again when we heard a commotion. We all followed the noise to a clearing to see three earth pony colts beating up a green unicorn colt with a blonde mane. The twins told us that a unicorn town named Horn Haven was built nearby close to the marshes.

"Take that, needle head!" one colt yelled.

"This will teach you to come to earth pony turf!" said another.

"Oh, look, I think he's crying!" The last one said.

I was about to break it up when Sweet Music rocketed passed me! "Leave him alone, you big bullies!" I have never seen my girl so mad. As I came closer she punched and kicked each of the three earth ponies, one colt between the legs when he actually tried to fight back. While I know I should be disappointed that she was fighting I can't help but feel pride that she has my fire in her and WHY she did it. In a world full of so much hate, things like this are something it needs. "Go on! Get out of here! And if I see you do something like this again I'll tell everypony in town you got beat up by a girl! Me!" The bullies ran off. I begin to look her over. "I'm fine, mama. We need to check on him."

"Are you okay?" Ace asks.

The unicorn got up. "A few bruises but nothing too bad. It just hurts. Thank you for helping me. My name is Spell Circle, what's yours?"

"My name's Sweet Music! This is my mom, my dad, and my baby brother Champ!"

I pointed to Spell Circle then waved my forelegs out. "Huh?"

"Mom can't talk. She asked why you here?"

"I just wanted to see a real earth pony. I never saw one before. Dad, the sheriff, and everypony in town says that all earth ponies want is to use our magic for themselves."

"Well, that is not true for most us. I'm sorry that those boys got so rough with you," Ace said.

"The names hurt more than their punches." Spell Circle began to cry.

"Hey, I know what will make you feel better, my favorite song! It always cheers me up when I feel sad." Sweet Music began to sing. "Sweet Music, ooh Sweet Music." No! Not that song! Not here! I closed Sweet Music's mouth shut. She began to complain with her voice muffled and Champ began to cry.

Ace came between us and Spell Circle. "Sorry, we still have some foraging to do. But don't worry, those names they called you are just that, names they said because they didn't know you."

"Oh, okay. Bye Sweet Music, let's play together sometime." Spell Circle waved good bye and ran back home.

Sweet Music was very angry with us after we got out of the colt's sight. "Why? I thought you loved it when I sang! You taught me! You told me that I mustn't let music die!" Sweet Music cried.

Ace handed Champ to me, as I rocked him Ace tried to explain. "Sweetie, we do love to hear you sing. It's just that you can't sing that song in front of other ponies that are not part of this family."

"But it's my favorite! We're always singing it at home and mom even joins in by drumming on the floor! You even told me you named me after that song!"

"Sweet Music, remember when we told you that life wasn't always like this? That when your mother and I were younger we had machines that made things easier and how a well-meaning spell went wrong and made things so that we don't have those helpful machines anymore and the monsters all appeared?"

"Yes."

"Back then, Momma could talk. Not just talk, but she sang so beautifully that she got her cutie mark for it. That song named Sweet Music was the first song she ever sang in public. All the world loved her. Her friends told her of an idea they had for a spell that would make everypony's wishes come true. She used the fame she had as a singer to get other ponies to help with the spell. Sweet Music, THAT was the spell that went wrong! Afterward ponies hated anypony who had anything to do with the spell's creation and their families! Them and their families as well! If ponies knew who your mother was from hearing that song, they could hurt you, Champ, your aunts, your mother and me! Promise us that you will only sing that song around family."

"Okay, Daddy, I promise."

***

More time passes. Sweet Music has grown to a beautiful young mare. Her cutie mark was for singing, just like me, though hers took the form of a red songbird. Champ, while still smaller than other colts his age, has caught the eye of the blacksmith of Saddle Field. He's been asked take an apprenticeship. It gave him a cutie mark of a hammer and an anvil.

Jing-A-Ling and Ting-A-Ling had the time to find their special someponies and each had started their own families. I noticed Sweet Music sneaking out of the house some nights. I knew what was going on.

"Oh, hi, Mom; guess you're wondering what I'm doing up this late, huh?" I gave her a knowing look and patted the couch for her to sit down. "Okay, I've been seeing Spell Circle. We have to meet late at night because well you know how the ponies of both towns feel about each other! Oh, mom, why can't they just let us be in love?" I nuzzled her; I wish I could just make things better for her.

"Hey, what's going on?" It was Champ. He and Ace had just come in the room.

"You and Sweet Music were talking and guess it something to do with a guy," Ace said.

"Yes, Dad. As I told Mom, Spell Circle and I are having a hard time being together because the ponies of Saddle Field hate the unicorns and the unicorns of Horn Haven hate us earth ponies. I know that Spell Circle wants to ask me to marry him but his father Sharp Spear would never allow it." Sweet Music begun to cry.

"Sweet Music, Spell Circle is a grown stallion. Is his father's blessing really that important?" Ace looked at his little princess. I know how fond she's grown of Spell Circle.

"It is if we want to live in Horn Haven!"

"Why would you want to live THERE?!" Champ asked.

"I want to help them. They only focus on what they need to survive. But I want to bring music back to them; just like I did at Saddle Field! I know it can help bring us all back together."

My little girl is talking about getting married? That makes me feel old but in a good way. I just wish my mother could be here for this. Mom, we never did find out what happened to you. Chances are if she didn't die during the disaster, she probably died of old age by now. I place my hoof on her chest.

"Follow my heart, huh? Yeah, we'll do it without his father's blessing, if need be. He'll come around sooner or later."

There was a knock at the door. Ace opens it to see Spell Circle standing there. He has grown quite handsome over the years and has earned a cutie mark for spell casting in the form of a purple magic circle. Sweet Music is so lucky to have such a kind, fine-looking stallion wanting her as his wife. And if the rumors I've heard about the length of a unicorn stallion's horn is true, she is going to love being his wife. "I hope I am not disturbing you."

"It's okay, Spell Circle, they know. My parents gave their blessing. We can get married!" Sweet Music said.

"What about MY father? He would never..."

"We don't need his permission to live in Horn Haven! You are one of the town's most powerful mages! You help keep it safe! I want to teach everything my mother taught me about to the ponies of your town and show that there is more to life than just surviving!"

"Sweet Music, you're right, when my father sees that, no matter what, we love each other he will have no choice but to approve our marriage." These days finding a minister for a wedding was hard so most weddings were now just the couple agreeing to be married. Screw that, my daughter deserves more than that.

There wasn't much to celebrate with but we did all the same. I couldn't sing and there were no electric guitars, but I could still make a good beat with my hooves when I wanted. And my sisters could dance as well as ever. We all managed smiles. An instrumental pony musical number, I think we just made history.

Afterwards Sweet Music gathered her few belongings from her room and got ready to leave for her new life with her new husband. She said her goodbyes to us. "Champ, I'm counting on you to look after Mom and Dad while I'm gone. Think you can handle it, shrimp?"

"Yes, don't worry about a thing," Champ said.

"Daddy, I know that this must be hard for you, giving you little girl away."

Ace had tears in his eyes. "You have no idea. Sweet Music, remember what we talked about the day you first met Spell Circle?"

"Yes."

"He's family now, it's okay to tell him."

Then she turned to me. I hugged her. "I love you too, Mom. You never needed words with me."

"Come on, dear, it's time to go." Spell Circle said. They both left us that misty morning, but I wished them all the happiness this world could offer.

***

Things are so different now. I'm all grey and wrinkled. Ace, who used to have a long flowing mane now hardy has any on his head. Champ who was the tiniest foal I ever saw has grown into a large muscular stallion who every mare in town wants to court. The twins have gotten so busy with their big families.

Patch finally stopped by. I'm jealous of her, honestly, those shards she's been gathering up are slowing down her aging. She's got two now, apparently one came from a monster of a Pegasus. When she told me what he'd been using it for, I didn't blame her for leaving him to the fate he deserved. I only politely shook my head no when she asked if I knew where Starlight was. I only hope she'll be safe as she keeps traveling.

I haven't heard from Sweet Music in so long. This world is a dangerous one I hope she is okay. Early one morning somepony was banging on our door. Champ decided to see who it was incase Ace and I have finally been found out. When he opened the door there was Sweet Music holding a little bundle.

"Champ, is that you? What happened to my scrawny kid brother?"

"Working the forge builds muscle, I'm Saddle Fields' blacksmith now. Sweet Music, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Sweet Music was on the verge of tears.

"Of course, this will always be your home."

Sweet Music sat down, and broke down. "Spell Circle is dead," No wonder she's so sad. Spell Circle was a good stallion.

"Oh, Sweetie, I'm so sorry. How did it happen?" Ace asked.

"Last year, Horn Haven was attacked by a five headed monster called a hydra. It destroyed the town, Spell Circle used all his magic to fight it but it...it ate him! He blew the head up from the inside and saved my life and a lot of others in the process... but... " I nuzzled my child. This would never have happened if I didn't tell my fans to go through with the mega-spell.

"That would explain why nopony in town has seen a unicorn for months," Champ said.

"And what's worse, he died never seeing our child." Sweet Music then opened the little bundle to show us a month old deep blue unicorn filly with a blonde mane like her father. "Her name is Jewel." It is official, I'm old, I'm somepony's grandma and I couldn't be happier about it.

"Sweet Music, she's beautiful. But why didn't you come home sooner?"

"Because Spell Circle's father, Sharp Spear, wouldn't let me! I thought that I earned their trust, but as soon Spell Circle died, the unicorns treated me like a tramp. Sharp Spear told that if my child wasn't born with a horn on its head he would have us both as slaves! They took me to where they built their new town called New Horn Haven. After I gave birth to Jewel, Sharp Spear told me that after she no longer needed me to nurse her, he would throw me out of town and she would be raised to be a 'proper unicorn.' That 'she would know that she was superior to her mother and all her kind.' And everypony's listening to him! He's in charge of the whole town! I couldn't bear the thought of her turning out like that, so I took her and ran! That was two weeks ago." Jewel began to cry. "Shhhh, it's okay, Jewel." Sweet Music began to rock her and sing. "Sweet music, ooh sweet music. That's what I hear when you appear..."

"You remember." Ace said proud with both of our pride.

"It is my favorite song and it seems to be the only thing that gets her to stop crying."

***

The next day, me and Ace were playing with Jewel giving her tummy tickles and playing peekaboo with her blanket. She surprised me when she walked right through it. "Magic surge," Sweet Music said. "Unicorn babies get them sometimes."

"I'm home, everypony." It was Champ all covered in sweat from a hard day's work. I gave my son a look. "No, mother, I did not make any dates. You already have a grandchild now so would you be so kind as to get off my back about it?"

"She just wants you to be happy, son."

"I know, dad, and I will when I find the right mare."

Just then the door burst open and a mob of unicorns poured into our house. The next thing we knew me, Ace, and Champ were being held against the wall by unicorn magic. Jewel began to wail. Stepping out from the crowd a red unicorn with a mane of grey with age and long mustache and short goatee appeared, blech. "No! Sharp Spear, how did you find us?"

Sharp Spear sneered. "We were never more than a day behind Sweet Music. Did you honestly think I would allow my granddaughter, the only thing I have left of my son, to be raised by earth pony filth? We were lead to this place when one of your townspeople told us you were the sister of the local blacksmith. He was happy to tell us when told him that we were to retrieve Jewel. He wanted no unicorns in his town. It was a simple matter of following your brother home."

"Please don't take my baby away from me, please!" Sweet Music begged, picking up Jewel. It was like the fire had gone out of her.

"Please, she is our granddaughter too!" Ace yelled.

Sharp Spear pulled out a knife. "Quiet, you earth pony seductress; before I cut your tongue out!"

"No! Don't lay one filthy hoof on her, you beast!" Champ screamed He pulled against the spell so hard that four more unicorn added to the spell just to hold him.

I couldn't move so for the first time since before my children were born I tried to speak. But all that came out was the same gasping and wheezing noises. Sharp Spear tuned when he heard the noise I was making and saw my cutie mark.

"Stars and a microphone? You! I should have known that she was your daughter! Her name, how she kept saying how much we need music despite that it does not help in any way for us to survive, it should have been so obvious! You're Melody! You are the singer that told millions to pursue the wish spell! Because of you my sister joined the research team and now all I have left of her is her namesake." Sharp Spear looked at Jewel. "My family was royalty! You swindled my family with your promises and your explosion destroyed our castle and killed most of my family. It's only by luck I wasn't reduced to a pauper. Fate is certainly kinder to me today than it has since, baring my son's birth, that wretched spell was cast! Today justice will finally be served!" With his magic he readied to plunge the knife it my chest.

Sweet Music got on her knees and begged. My little fireball, begging. "No! Sharp Spear please I ask you spare my mother's life! She lost everything that day too! She lost her fortune, her friends, her mother, her voice, without her voice she lost the most precious thing in the world to her, music! Please show mercy and I will do anything you ask, I will go back with you. I will tell my daughter that she is superior to her mother and her kind if only you please spare her grandmother!"

"You would come back to New Horn Haven, teach my granddaughter what I tell you to teach her, and swear on your mother's life to never come back here again."

"Yes!"

No! Sweet Music, please don't do this! Don't sacrifice Jewel's future for this old mare! I gasp. I wheeze but like that day no one can hear me.

"We have an accord then." He then turned to us. "If any of you ever come anywhere near New Horn Haven your daughter's life is forfeit!"

Then in a flash of light they were all gone. We all fell from the wall and I ran to where Sweet Music and Jewel just were. No! Come back! Sweet Music, Jewel, please come back! I wheeze, I gasp, I bang the floor and I cry.

***

Since that awful day it was so quite in our home. Ace hardly ever said anything after that; his heart was broken like mine was. Champ found the pony that told the unicorns how to find us and made sure they would walk with a limp for the rest of his life.

Ace passed away two years ago, Ace, I remember what I heard you say, you are a better pony than you were before. Champ took me to live with him above his blacksmith shop. He burned down our old house; it just had too many memories. He is such a good boy for taking care of his mother but he finally found a mare to marry. Such a sweet girl, too. Jewel, she is probably a teenager by now. Where are you? What are you doing? Please forgive this weak old mare for not being able to save you. It's so cold.

"Miss Melody! You have six minutes left!" Called the stage hoof.

I nod as I check myself in the mirror one more time before I come on stage in front of the cheering crowd. Half-Note and the others behind me begin the introductory music, I open my mouth and my fans go wild at what they hear.

"Listen up: what can you hear?
Will my voice just disappear?
To vanish into the void, so empty and so dark?
There is one thing in this world,
I can be certain of at last
That this music we hold within
Will keep on burning still

I was kept silent and trapped inside
But our song never surrendered
As long as it lives on with those I love, this song of ours will never die.

So I long we have run
But I feel it, even now,
A tune as natural as the beating of my heart

I say Carpe Diem
As we are reaching for our goals
We can create new tomorrows where this world is finally whole

This rhythm I have found
Will be here long after my soul.

Those precious days of youth
Still live on deep in my heart

Time goes on, this song will last
I'm not holding onto the past
Because you'll keep it alive, I am not afraid
No more doubt, no more regret
You will never let them forget
This sweet music in our hearts will echo throughout the land. "

I see my mother and Medley clapping in the front row as I end the song, I blow her a kiss as the lights cut out.

"Melody, Melody come on, babe wake up." I open my eyes. Ace! He was a teen again, as handsome as he ever was!

"It's good to see you again, Melody."

"We missed you."

"It just wasn't the same without you."

I was in shock! "Starlight, Sweet Heart, Bon Bon?" They look they did when they were teens; wait a minute. "My voice! I can talk!"

I was back in my teens too! ... "I guess I'm dead." I'm not that surprised. I sit up. I dare to look behind, and I see a worn-out empty shell with my face. At least it was smiling.

Starlight stares at me in shock. "You know I'm kinda used to more denial than that."

I put my hooves on my hips, and I speak, speak, my voice, -my voice-, it's beautiful to hear. "This doesn't feel like any dream. If this was all in my head there's no reason the rest of us wouldn't be here if I was dreaming about you. There is way too much correct detail for this to be some unicorn's sick joke. And... I can't feel my heart beating or breathing, and for the first time in decades my body doesn't hurt. Oh, and I can talk, which I haven't been able to do in decades."

"And I thought Bright Eyes would be the one to be all objective about dying," Starlight said.

"It's wonderful to speak to you again, Melody," Sweetheart smiled.

"When I dreamed you were on trial, and I said I forgave you, it wasn't just a dream was it?" I asked, that dream had been more real than real, but I hadn't needed more reasons for my sisters to think I was being strange.

"No it wasn't." Starlight smiled at me, "You and the others saved my soul."

"Mother!" I turned to see Champ run into the room and to my old body. Tears wear in his eyes. "No!" He slammed his hoof into the floor causing it to crack.

"Champ..."

"He can't see or hear us, Melody," Starlight said.

"I don't care." I move to him. "My sweet little boy. You will be fine, you're strong and your wife will be with you." I turn back to Ace and my friends. "So what now?"

Starlight spoke. "That's up to you, Ace waited two years for you and the rest of us are waiting for our friends."

"I would love to see them again too but..."

"You're worried about your granddaughter. It's okay, Mel. I know somepony who wants to set your worries to rest. Don't worry, girls, this won't take long."

"What about you, Ace?"

Ace smiled. "I'm going on ahead, and tell the girls to get ready for a Rockin Beats reunion! They're different now, Melody. They've mellowed out. They forgive you. I'll see you when all your friends have joined us."

"Here he is, Melody; this pony will take you to where we need to be for you to get what you need," Starlight said.

He was a tall pony, black and white with a horn and wings. He had to be death itself. "Greetings Melody, I am Mortis, and it is good to see you again."

"We've met before?" I asked.

"That's... a long story, best told later." Starlight said. The next thing I knew we were standing in front of another pony like Mortis but he is so much more! It's like he is the universe itself. I get such a feeling of peace just being here with him. Like I matter. "Melody, meet the Father of All Alicorns. He has other names like Pony Heaven and he has something to show you."

"My Little Pony, Who Is Troubled By Not Knowing Her Granddaughter's Fate, Let Me Put You Mind And Heart At Ease. Behold; Your Legacy."

I could see Sweet Music and she was with a filly who had to have been Jewel! She was teaching her to sing with the song Sweet Music! Things shift and cute but ravenous bugs were eating all the food in New Horn Haven. Jewel ran off to be alone and she began to sing and found that these bug things like and follow her where ever she went as long as she sang. The next thing I knew she was leading all of the unicorns in town in a marching band and taking the bugs away from town. She proved Sharp Spear wrong, music matters. Sharp Spear die of old age, a repentant old stallion, praising Jewel for having a softer heart than him, I swear the pony he's talking to is Patch.

Ting-A-Ling and Jing-A-Ling and their families are finally able to visit their great niece and great niece, it's beautiful. Dancing won't be vanishing from the world any time soon either!

Jewel is grown now and she is teaching her daughter the song too. Medley? Yes it IS HER! Hearing about a town that hadn't given up on music drew her like a bee to honey. It's not fast or easy, but she earns the trust of the unicorns. She acts like a guardian angel to Jewel and her daughter, she's not immortal anymore, but she doesn't care, now she has ponies she can teach her own music to, she hasn't have to be afraid.

Now my great granddaughter is grown up, teaching music classes to young unicorns. It continues like this, generation after generation, mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, brothers, sisters. Unicorns, earth ponies, pegasi, they are all part of our family! I'm shocked to pieces when Glory and Sparkler both marry into my line, each at their own pace, choosing to live in the world again instead of just safeguarding it.

In a town covered in a blizzard with howling spirits circling around but one house is untouched, a house that has that song coming from it. In the middle of chaos an earth pony mother is singing to comfort her pegasus son.

"Do You See Melody? Because Of You And The Love You Gave Your Children And Your Gift Of Music... Music Lives On. It Will Live Forever Because Of You!" The Alicorn Father said. I fell so much joy! For the first time in decades for all of creation to hear I began to sing!

***

Epilogue:

Sweetie Bell woke up after the horrible day of wild eyed screaming and convulsing. She had to be tied to the bed to keep from hurting herself until she had finally tired herself out. Twilight and the doctors had looked her over in her sleep, they said the only thing to be done for her now was rest.

It was now night, and it felt comforting, peaceful a little. She didn't know what she had felt exactly. It was like something really awful had happened to somepony else, like their heart had just withered and died. But at the same time Sweetie felt it like it had happened to her too!

"Sweetie Bell, are you alright?" Rarity asked, hovering over her little sister, shining like an angel in the room's darkness.

"I... guess I'm okay... but... but... that was so awful!"

Rarity hugged her, slowly rocking her back and forth. "Shhhhh. It's okay, you don't need to talk about it right now, you're safe with me. They'll be plenty of time for that later. Please, just know you're safe here with me." There'd be time for questions later. For now all she wanted was to listen to her little sister's safe beating heart.

"Where's Silver Spoon?"

"I contacted her parents and they took her home but not before I Pinkie Promised her to tell when you woke up. In fact..."

"No! Please stay with me."

Rarity gave a weak smile. "Well I'm sure she and Pinkie Pie would understand. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Well, maybe...since mom and dad left for their vacation I've been waiting for a time when we could sing together."

Rarity remembered Sweetie Bell mentioning something like that before the Sisterhooves Social. "How about that lullaby mother used to sing us? Did you know that it has been passed down the family for generations?"

"Like how you and I get pruney hooves if we stay in the water to long?"

"That is from father's side of the family this is from mother's. It is a song that is only to be sung around family."

"Why?" Sweetie Bell asked her eyes full of wonder.

"I don't know. To make it special I guess, so remember only sing this song around ponies you care about."

"I was really little the last time mom sang it. I don't know if I remember all the words."

"Don't worry, follow along after me."

As Rarity began to sing she felt a presence in the room. It was the same as every time she sang it, a warm loving presence. It actually felt stronger as Rarity sang it to Sweetie Belle than when her mother sang it to her. And that was stronger than when her grandmother had sang it to her mother. Sweetie Belle felt it chase away the monsters. A warm feeling, always growing. She sang too.

Sweet music, ooh sweet music. That's what I hear when you appear.
Sweet music, ooh sweet music. Life is tune when you near!
When you are gone the song just isn't there. But then I see you face again and music fills the air! Fills the air!
Sweet music, ooh sweet music. I love the sound when you're around!
Sweet music, ooh sweet music. Beautiful harmonies abound!
I know our song will never die! Never die!
We make sweet music you and I! You and I!
We make sweet music you and I!

Author's Notes:

Pony POV Series Side-Story: Seven Dreams Nightmares

THIS IS A DIFFERENT audio adaption from Louis's! So PLEASE!!!! These guys NEED your help to bring this dream to life!!!
Audio Adaption Journal Entry: http://mlp-pony-pov-series.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Series-7-Dreams-Nightmares-Audio-Adaption-352538502

Audio Adaption youtube link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmqhaytFQKs

Audio Adaption voice archive. https://soundcloud.com/knowyourmareinc

Music suggestion By Jawmax Rancor and mortis appear Breath Of Fire 2 - Decadence Of God

There are still two more chapters to go, and the writers need all the help they can get! http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/journal/Pony-POV-Series-Looking-for-volunteer-writers-323051437

Cover image provided by dark-tsubaki88 http://dark-tsubaki88.deviantart.com/art/Melody-277074836 and Jawmax's music suggestion.

"Sweet Music", MLP, MLP G3, MLPTs, MLP FiM: Copyright Hasbro
Melody's dying song is a parody of "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - Sorairo Days"

Bright Eyes' Story Part 1 Before The Disaster

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
My Little Pony Tales
Pony POV Series Side Story Episode 6 of 7
MLP: POV Seven Dreams/ Seven Nightmares
Part 1 of ???
By Alex Warlorn
Edited By Kendell2

"Bright Eyes," Twilight Sparkle quietly read the chapter title.

"We believe ye will be able to relate to her, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna said.

"This should be good," said Pinkie Diane with two plush toys under her arms. They were a pair of dragonfly-winged ponies with feelers atop their heads.

"I thought you were done with random inaneness," the purple unicorn said before covering her mouth ashamed at herself.

Pinkie Diane kindly shook her head. "This isn't random, Twilight. I bought these from Tiddlywink's toy store a few days ago. She was inspired to make these even before she ever saw your gossamer wing spell. Too bad more ponies don't notice these toys, they're her best work."

Twilight could guess. "Pinkie Pie what's the point of indulging in these memories if all they do is hurt you?"

"They don' just hurt. The memories I have of the original Ponyville are as dear to me as the memories I have of you and everypony else in the new Ponyville, Twilight," Pinkie Diane said never raising her voice. "Like friends."

"... Make new friends, keep the old, one is silver, one is gold."

"Ye are finally learning," Princess Luna said delighted, not saying who was.

Pinkie Diane didn't mention her hope this chapter would tell her who she had been before the Third Age. She looked at the rather thick journal. "Oh boy, we'd better start reading! This looks like a long one!"

+++
Before Disaster/Revisions

How could she! She didn't even try. We're supposed to be friends. I came to her for help and she tells me to just give up? What's happened to us? We've been friends since before high school.

Oh. If you're reading this, then you must know I am Doctor Bright Eyes: veterinarian and environmentalist. I guess the pen and notebook cutie mark is a dead give away. Yes, dad was disappointed I wasn't going to be taking over the newspaper from him, but he never flat out said it. He was sure I was on my way to being an investigative reporter when I earned my cutie mark. But while I do dig on occasion, it isn't my calling. I'm not the first pony to use their special talent in a way that others didn't think of.

Do I know Patch? Very much so. She's adopted but that doesn't excuse her past behavior. Starlight, Sweetheart, and Melody (especially Melody) had entered a contest to win a date with Chain Links, you know, the lead singer for the Cleveland Bays? This was before his relationship with Dazzle got leaked. Patch thought it would be funny to impersonate him over the phone and tell all three they had won and lead them on a wild goose chase up a flight of epically tall clock tower stairs that left Melody sucking wind. At the end, they were ready to clobber her (including Sweetheart).

Doesn't sound too bad? How about this: First, Patch volunteered to help Bonbon make a recording for a cooking show she'd been accepted for, encouraged her to try and do it in one take without a rehearsal. The result was one ruined kitchen and a ruined pie. Just bad thinking on her part? Maybe. But...

That little hyena taped over my term project video with Bonbon's disaster! She's was just as bad as Teddy sometimes! So my term project was turned in incomplete, damaging my grade, and Bonbon was humiliated by the recording in front of the whole class! We all agreed Patch needed an object lesson!

First we appealed to her ego with a decoy prank, then appealed to her fixation with the absurd with a remote-controlled UFO model and a convincingly fake life-sized version of the UFO. Aliens arrive, tell Patch since she's the smartest pony in the world, they want her brain. She confesses to be a general failure on her grades, before ending up in a tub of water we had waiting for her. Afterwards, she discussed how the prank could be improved for future use on others. We, (and her parents, and Ms. Hackney) had to give her a good talking-to about how her pranks HAD BEEN crossing the line.

Sorry. It's just everyone thinks of Patch as the pony who discovered the impossible discovery. The best friend of Princess Rosy of the Isle of Pony. Nopony remembers her selfish side. I swear, she has no real dedication and is terrified of commitment. I hope the world never rests on her shoulders.

Don't give me that look. I do value her friendship. Patch had actually applied to become a forest ranger (figuring it might give her the adventure she wanted), but she sadly her grades fell short. She thankfully was able to make ends meet as a comedian. I attended a few of her shows. I have to say that's when I saw her the most happy.

But she still wanted adventure. Her qualifications were good enough (barely), that Starlight pulled a few strings, and soon her university had commissioned Patch to map out Old Woods and some of the Coltibean. This meant Buddy wouldn't have to support her.

I'll try not ramble so much with the others.

Melody. I dare you to find a better musician. Though she's famous for her singing, but she can play an electric guitar like a veteran. I'm actually happy Ace finally managed to win her attention and Starlight got far away from him. Those two ego-driven superficial ponies deserve each other... And I guess Ace has mellowed out some, and at least he's been faithful to her. But I dread to think what their foals will be like.

Clover Bloom...what is there to say? I guess a wallflower wanting to be a ballerina is no stranger than a butterball wanting to be a model. If there is one thing Clover has, it's luck. Luck's her special talent. Clover used to be a klutz, now she dances like an angel. What amazes me even more is she got the nerve to marry Dandy. Wonders never cease, do they?

Bonbon. She talks about being a model, but her cooking skills are absolutely wonderful. Her special talent is making sweets after all, not making herself pretty for the camera. Her theorem that the way to a stallion's heart is through his stomach holds true since she married that colt she danced with at the rollerama. I swear, Patch, Clover, and Bonbon just found colts whose personalities were clones of theirs instead of finding somepony who complimented them. Is it any wonder Patch hasn't married Buddy yet?

Sweetheart. She's the nicest pony you could hope to meet, but also shrewd and staunch when she wants to be! I swear, I never imagined she could turn that rabble-rousing colt into a decent stallion. During a high school trial, I was so perfectly certain that Teddy was our tape-player thief. Looking back, maybe the majority of my evidence was character based rather than on facts. Though I suppose Sweetheart's was too, but she was just willing to dig deeper into his character than I was. Sweetie in her own way looks more fragile than Clover. But once you get past the surface you find a mare who has a iron will and a heart of gold. She and Teddy are what I mean about finding somepony that compliments your personality I suppose.

And that brings us to my husband. Lancer. Trust me. Compared to the other colts at our school, he was gold. At any other school he'd still be gold. He's gold anywhere. And a boy who loves books. He actually owned more books than me! How could any girl not consider him wonderful? And he wasn't bad on the eyes either! And he came from a very well off family. But the real Lancer underneath all that that was truly wonderful. Another pony who shared my passion for learning and reason. He was too wonderful for a plain filly like me.

When Ponyville's annual roller dance contest was being held, I happened to be working at the Rollerama, along with Lancer. It was a perfect chance to ask him out.

A bug in the equation was that Lancer was good at skating, and I wasn't. My rear made contact with the floor more than my hooves did, and I crashed into Lancer (that part wasn't so bad in retrospect). My friends, and Lancer's, picked up what we didn't: that we both wanted to ask the other out. And decided it was their duty as friends to 'help.'

Having all six of my 'friends' drag me to Starlight's salon and give me the mother of all make-overs whether I liked it or not (or how many times I tried to escape), while giving me contradictory advice on how to win Lancer, to 'play it cool,' was not pleasant.

Turns out Lancer's friends had also tried to invent a 'new and improved' Lancer to ask me out.

And their 'good advice' made us detest each other.

Thankfully, that evening, a spilled tower of records courtesy of my bad skating gave Lancer the chance to show his real self, and us both to learn both sides of the story.

How good is Lancer at roller skating? Good enough that he was able to give me visible cues on the spot while the contest was going on that minute! What? You wouldn't have been able to pick those up? It was plain as day to me.

Lancer was that good a teacher, I was that fast a learner, and most of the others took themselves out of the competition first.

Dandy and Clover had eight left hooves. Sweetheart couldn't keep up with Teddy's reckless moves and crashed into the judge. Ace and Melody's egos clashed into a mess of "it was his/her fault!" Bonbon and Cookie had the bright idea of feeding their faces in the middle of the contest. And the judge didn't appreciate Patch and Buddy spicing thing up by playing roller hockey, (but did ask them to come back later about joining the hockey team). Starlight and Slipknot? No antics from those two, I can't even remember what went on with them while everyone else was making a show of themselves. And we won.

That was the most wonderful moment of my teen years. Lancer was a knight in shining armor, even if I think his taste in friends needed some improvement. If hooking up with Lancer was my most wonderful moment, I'm sure you've heard of my proudest moment during my school years.

The Green-Wing Songbird. They used to be a common sight all over Ponyland years before, but then began to vanish into thin air, no idea, no reason. Clover admitted to never having ever seen one. No one had for years. The debate was still going on whether to declare them extinct or not. Of course the conspiracy buffs said the Green-Wings had all been aliens and returned to their home planet.

After researching everything I could in the archives of my family's newspaper, I brought it up one morning at our regular clubhouse meeting. All my friends were sympathetic.

So who joined my expedition into what used to be the Green-Wing Songbird's native habituate? Our de jure 'leader' Starlight? Friend to all living things Sweetheart?

Answer: Thrill-seeking tomboy Patch. And Bonbon. Oh, yeah, and Ace came along too. Yes, that was kinda a surprise. Just don't ask how he found out about it, cause I don't know. Who'd have thought Ace had been a Pony Scout, I'd never had imagined him the type who could survive if cut off from civilization. If society fell, I'd figure him for being among the first to die.

It's amazing how many ponies say they'll do things for the environment, but when it comes to actually doing they have a habit of finding excuses.

In spite of being a modern civilization, the up-to-date map of the Old Woods had a gigantic question mark in the northeastern section. Nopony had even bothered to explore (or so I thought). And that appealed to Patch.

Bonbon began complaining about only having a week's worth of food and began feeding her face, and sat down in a nest of nettles. The itching drove her crazy until Ace applied mud. How I wish that hoof-held GPS devices were already in full use back then.

When trying to get un-lost, we got a great view of the Old Woods from the top a tall tree. It was majestic, it took my breath away. Even if it didn't give any hints where to find civilization, for a split second I didn't even care. I felt enchanted looking out over the Old Woods, I wish I was a poet so I could describe it better.

Bonbon ate a week's supply of food in one afternoon. Thankfully she had one 'super emergency candy bar' left to use as fishing bait, I know worms would have been a better choice, maybe I wasn't thinking clearly at the time.

Fishing at the top of a tree wasn't so bright when a stubborn fish resulted in the branch breaking off and all of us but Bonbon falling into the river. "I guess I better go rescue them if I want to have any lunch."

We ended up rescuing ourselves. After all that, it was Ace's saddle bag that accidentally caught us a fish...and we didn't have the heart to eat 'im. Eat grass? Why would we have done that? Bonbon had a bit of a breakdown, saying how'd we starve, and it would be years before anyone found what was left of us. And began writing her goodbyes in her diary.

That was when a miracle happened. After anything and everything, a Green-Wing Songbird landed on top of Bonbon's diary! They were alive! They still existed! It eventually took off, Patch took a picture, and we followed behind. That was when we found a nest of the beauties. And there were more where that came from!...

I swear my heart skipped a beat and I forgot how to breathe. Seeing them there, a part of the world after all, not forgotten, not a drawing or a stuffed figure, in the air, and their song, it was beautiful. No wonder they were called Songbirds. I swear every living thing resonated with them. I felt so much life around me, and I know it's not very scientific, but I swear for a brief few moment I could feel the life in the forest like a sixth sense almost. I felt something...familiar. It almost felt like something in the forest was proud of me...

The natural world wasn't something you could manufacture, it had to live. Then it turns out the Old Woods weren't as 'unexplored' as our maps showed. Right on the edge of the nesting grounds we had found, we found an abandoned landscape of stumps.

And the Songbirds, they kept coming back here, even if there was less and less here to come back to. Lost or not, if there had been loggers nearby I'd have given them a piece of my mind.

Then I realized the solution had been staring me in the face all this time. I pried Bonbon's diary from her hooves. After I had gotten our salvation out of her hooves, (why did she have to so stubborn about it?), I explained that Bonbon had been writing down our every move! We had direction with us the whole time! Ace snatched it from my hooves (the nerve of some ponies), then Bonbon snatched it back, it was her private life in there: so Patch just told Bonbon to do the guiding.

Who'd have ever thought Bonbon's diary would actually be good for something?

I bid the songbirds goodbye and we headed home.

You've read the newspapers. Ceremony at town hall. The mayor and his speech. The Green Wings were given their own private nature preserve. And a pony of the month award not only for me and my three friends as well. And it made me realize the truth, I could make a difference! I could change things. Even if it was just one little thing at the time I could do it!

My one regret is that there wasn't much to be done to the loggers since they had been operating in what was basically 'no pony's land' where you technically didn't need a license for much of anything. Of course, dad's newspaper made sure the story of how they had been secretly destroying the homes of one of Ponyland's national treasures made the front page. Patch told me later she'd have liked to have seen the looks on their faces when they saw that...I MIGHT have agreed with her.

Then came my first chance to experience a different culture on Tropical Island (yes that's its name). I got to be an exchange student for a week with a new family. It was great! Of course I told my friends!

Then Patch, Bonbon, and Sweetheart, filled my head with rumors about sea-monsters, cannibals, and live pony sacrifices to volcanoes. And Melody and Starlight did nothing to contradict them and Clover was a no show.

I brushed off them as absurdities. But they had planted the idea in the base of my brain.

Yes, Tropical Island is shaped like a pony if you're approaching by air, it's not just a trick of the camera. I was prepared to behold new wonders.

Then I saw the volcano was active. I closed the seaplane door and wanted to go home. Yes I was pulled out of the plane. Considering what happened the last time I was pulled into something I wanted out of, I didn't step in with a good mind set. I was greeted by my exchange family. What stunned me was how normal they looked. My exchange sister introduced herself as Moki.

I was accepted with open arms. When I was given a ring of wonderful flowers (No, why the heck would I eat them? Stop asking such weird questions). Moki's mother Momi explained the whole island was her garden, and the ocean was their swimming pool.

My friends' myths began to creep into my brain however, when I tried to turn down a canoe ride by saying I was allergic. I was calming down and enjoying the ride, when I saw a someTHING rise from the depths covered in seaweed. I made a great impression on my exchange family by screaming hysterically and bashing the sea-monster with a paddle. Turns it out was Moki's father back from pearl diving. Who then saved me from drowning after I just tried to bash his head in. Then apologized for scaring me. So yeah.

At lunch time Moki's brother, Ichi, said how happy he was that they were having me for lunch. Thankfully, I found out we were having peas and carrots (my favorite) before I made a fool of myself again.

I sent a letter to my friends who filled my head with such nonsense about how nice Tropical Island and Moki's family was, and how silly their stories actually were. I swore that was the last time I let my imagination get the best of me. Less than a minute later Moki told me we were going on a hike, which Ichi added, to the volcano. You can guess what I thought next. Moki said they weren't supposed to tell me where we were going.

Not having a clue what I was so nervous about, Ichi added that they hadn't visited the volcano since they had another exchange student, who was 'gone' now.

Get me out of here!

I ran straight into Momi and Popi outside with walking stick that resembled spears way too closely!

Off we went.

They weren't going to feed me to the volcano, they weren't going to feed me to the volcano, they weren't going to feed me to the volcano...

"Bright Eyes come here," said Popi, "You can get a closer look."

"Closer? No way."

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Moki said as she pushed me closer to the edge.

THEY'RE GOING TO FEED ME TO THE VOLCANO!

I was so scared that I couldn't see straight! A shouted warning ignored. I slip on some loose rocks. I fall in. By god's kindness I land on a ledge. Then the volcano begins to rumble. This was it. "I want to go home."

That was when a stick was point my way from above. "Grab the stick!" Popi shouted.

"You're helping me?"

"OF COURSE WE'RE HELPING YOU!"

I got out. And we all ran like Pony Hell.

Turns out the Volcano is called Sleeping Rock because it erupted so rarely. They never imagined it would go off when I visited.

I confessed the paranoia fantasies my friends had shared with me and I chose to believe. Popi confessed he thought Mainland ponies could fly until he learned about airplanes. Flying ponies. How silly can you get?

After that, the rest of the week really was paradise. I was able to finally let go of those absurdities and finally recognize Moki and her family were just ponies like me. And let me tell you, Tropical Island IS beautiful, the tourist trade aren't lying about that. And it's just as beautiful above the waves and below, life is everywhere.

At the end of my trip Moki offered to be an exchange student to Ponyland later. She did, a year or two later. Thankfully she had read the book I gave her on Ponyland so she didn't suffer as deep a culture shock as mine. That doesn't mean she didn't have her awkward moments. I had to take her outside to breath when she went to her first nightclub and it took her a bit to appreciate rock and roll. And don't get me started what she thought of television.

I had to explain to her that 'groovy' hadn't been a 'hip' word in decades. And she had to explain more than once that her family hadn't worshiped a volcano god in hundreds of years. And,

"No Patch, I have never met a pirate."

"Oh, okay, what about seaponies?"

In the end though, she learned the same lesson I did: that our culture wasn't better or worse, just different.

As the school year was drawing to a close, me and my friends found time for one last adventure. I was taking one of my nature walks when I saw Big Pony Bend had a mountain of trash stacked up along Big Pony River. Still at heart being a naive teenager, I rushed to my friends, telling them that there had to be a single group or pony responsible.

Melody was thankful it was nothing important. Idiot. There was enough garbage to legally count as its own landfill! I had to explain that the problem with refuse was that the damage it could cause was unpredictable. Undrinkable water, a river full of dead fish, birds getting strangled in trash, there was no telling.

What do you mean that deep sea oil spill cleaned up itself when the bacteria that naturally inhabit the ocean bottom just ate it?!

That's...that's not the point.

The point was that this wasn't just some tiny pile of litter, it could turn into a dam and cause a flood it was so bloated with garbage. All those dead fish wouldn't just stink up the place, they'd breed disease.

I organized us into teams to search along the streams leading into the river for any signs of who was doing the dumping. I meanwhile began using my dad's newspaper to print out posters to this menace. My parents were more than willing to help. They knew how passionate I was about protecting the natural world.

My friends turned up zero. To top it off, Patch due to her limited literacy had mistaken a delivery to a recycling plant for a pay-off.

We set up the posters, I was sure we'd catch our criminal in no time. That night we had the mother of all rainstorms out of nowhere. In the morning I woke up to my bed floating in my flooded room in my flooded house, in flooded Ponyville!! Thankfully, I was rescued by Bonbon's father.

You have no idea what it was like. Everything I had feared had come true. There WAS so much pony made filth that the river had blocked up and had flooded all of Ponyville. Ponyville was flooded. My home. My friends' homes. Our school. Patch and Rosy's old orphanage. The parlor. The studio Melody had won her battle of the bands at. The Berrytown family's house and our clubhouse. The flood it was... everywhere.

I wish I could say we took part in saving Ponyville, we didn't, all we could do was wait in the life raft waiting for Bonbon's father and the other divers to punch a hole in the dam of garbage that was choking the river.

I felt so helpless because I was helpless! All I had done, all I had set out to do, it suddenly felt like, like it was all for nothing. And I couldn't even do anything to fix it.

I hated that feeling of us not being able to help at all.

"My dad has to risk his life and it's all that big polluter's fault!"

"Who could be so mean and thoughtless?" Sweetheart asked.

That was when I was, when we all were given a cold hard slice of reality.

The junk we had thrown into the river yesterday, Bonbon's disposable ice-cream dish, Melody's CD cover...maybe even some of my posters. It was all part of that monstrous dam of garbage. We had done this. Every pony in Ponyland. One tiny bit, adding to the whole. I had been a fool. Again.

Ponies associate big things with big things. That was why whenever there was a disaster or something tragic, conspiracy theories always appeared. Never mind some angry and alone pony off his medication, there had to be some cabal of evil greedy idiots behind everything.

I was so fixated on the idea of some evil villain, some loathsome beast who loved the idea of seeing the world destroyed just for the fun of it. I never stopped to think about a moment of thoughtlessness spread over millions of ponies who figured everyone else would pick up the slack. Or, for that matter, to try and take care of the dam before this HAPPENED due to being so worked up looking for a big bad to blame for it.

The divers unclogged the river. There wasn't single loss of life. Thank Pony Heaven. Ponies think of tap water, the beach or swimming pools when thinking about water, never mind the vicious force a flood has, or the mass destruction it causes. The flood lasted less than a day, but that as more than enough.

As the water went down, we all cheered. I noticed first that the litter was still everywhere. Bonbon said the obvious, "And it's all our fault." I pointed out that we were hardly the only ponies who had been careless.

We began the clean up then and there. There was a lot to pick up. Melody took more teaching than the rest. This time we fought the litter with information. The flood was an object lesson I don't think any of us forgot.

One truth I think it taught me. It wasn't just the laws that needed to change. It wasn't just society that needed to change. Ponies themselves needed to change, at the fundamental level. I know that last part is a fantasy, but I can't help but think it's somehow the only way we'll keep from destroying ourselves.

Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I'm really sorry. It's just, it gets a little depressing now and then, it's just... you don't win every fight, and when you lose, something beautiful and irreplaceable vanishes forever.

Starlight... She wasn't smarter than me. She wasn't more talented than Melody. She wasn't kinder than Sweet Heart. She wasn't braver than Patch (thank Pony Heaven). She wasn't luckier than Clover. She couldn't cook better than Bonbon. But we always kept turning to her when we needed to put our head together? Why? It was like magic (ha).

Ms. Hackney thought of Starlight as fair-hearted and willing to listen to every side, which was why she was appointed judge in our high-school trial. I got better grades than her, but she looked up to old Ms. Hackney like they were family almost.

Looking back on it, it's amazing we seven became friends with our different hobbies and personalities, it's incredible we found any common ground at all. But Starlight did. It wasn't the same as with Lancer and his friends, there were so fewer boys in class they had to stick together out of necessity. Starlight, always the mediator, being careful not to take sides. Never treating any of us better or worse than the others. Stay neutral when things turned hot, and being there when the dust settled. I wonder if Starlight's averageness was actually part of her strength. I wonder if her cutie mark is a star that guides through the night.

But she didn't understand. Being an ecologist wasn't exactly simple, when we could get funding, there was always somepony saying it was better spent on something else.

Was this what we had become? Professor Starlight and Doctor Bright Eyes?

I thought when I came to her asking for help on expanding the protected zone, that she'd jump at the chance. Not to mention it would be an excuse for us to work together again. Instead I got a lecture on economics, social dynamics, and a pessimistic view I never dreamed I'd hear out of Starlight mouth!

What the buck happened to us? I left her in her office snapping the door shut behind me. Not able to change the world? It was the job of everypony to change the world, even if it was just a little bit at a time. Now I sounded like Patch. I laid my head against the campus walls, pulling in a shuddering breath.

First time I had seen Starlight in so long, and I had to end it like that. What was wrong with me? What was wrong with Starlight? We had both achieved our dreams in ways we never could have imagined. Yet...here we were... at each other's throats. When did the world change? When did we change?

I had already learned a long time ago that protecting the environment meant more than petitions, sit-in protests, and catching illegal harvesting and dumping in the act. You had to be more than a media sideshow, it wasn't about making ponies feel guilty, it was about getting them to act, to change. Starlight thought I didn't know all that?

And why should economics take precedence, over keeping the air breathable and drinking water safe? And keeping a landscape from becoming a strip-mined wasteland? Why? Was being able to afford a giant flat screen TV really that important?

...But more importantly, how could I have said those things to Starlight? I almost wish I was still a filly, because adults can't cry in public.

I left. I was due for a shift at the animal hospital. I don't know what disturbs me more. Pets who were abused by their owners, or the ones who suffered because their owners didn't know how to properly care for them. One of the worst I'd seen was a little filly who had fed her new puppy chocolate.

I was happy to see Night Eyes in Lancer's hooves at the mansion.

When we engaged, the first thing Lancer's parents did was make sure I wasn't marrying him for his inheritance. Next, I had to convert to Lancer's religion, but that was a small price to pay to be with the stallion I loved. And no, I'm not someone who SAYS I believe something I don't; I deal in facts, remember? I had Lancer tell me all about it, testing it as rationally as I could. And when he could give me the answers I needed to hear, I believed.

Mom and Dad were overjoyed that I was now financially secure. We could afford a foalsitter easily. But Lancer preferred spending time with our foal. Once she was out of diapers, we talked about taking her on one of Lancer's expeditions. Don't you dare give me that look. Lancer would never put Night Eyes through anything dangerous!

+++

Luna looked to Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, thou seem troubled."

"Just...the others talked about them drifting apart, it hits a lot harder reading it from her. How she talks about it," said the purple mare, looking down.

"We understand your discomfort. Do not forget that our sister and us...drifted apart and that is part of how we became Nightmare Moon. This is uncomfortable for us to read as well. But we believe thou told Nightmare Whisper and Discord thyself; friends may change, but to maintain friendships is something we must work hard to do, and it is worth it."

Twilight smiled. "Thanks, Princess Luna..."

"We believe if there is one thing we have had to learn, it is that a deity, and a Princess' duty is to protect their subjects...Now, any other questions before we continue?"

"...Are there really volcano gods?" Pinkie Diane asked.

Luna looked thoughtfully. "Not concisely, though we believe some of Queen Tiamat's siblings or our relatives may qualify, a volcano is both a destructive and creative force after all. Though we believe it was the Lava Demons who inspired the myth they ask for sacrifices. Now, let us continue."

+++

With everypony having gone to bed except the two of us, we got a phone call we never saw coming.

From Patch.

Not the magic ponies again.

Seriously it was fun the first dozen times, but it was getting old.

Swearing up and down that they'll meet us? Patch, haven't you gotten too big for pranks?

Paying for my train ticket? Huh? Isn't this a little far for a prank?

She's calling everypony? Oh boy. Either she's REALLY serious or gotten into more poisoned mushrooms.

Sigh. Who am I kidding? Even if it is one of Patch's games, just seeing everypony together will be worth it.

When Patch mentioned over the speakerphone that she hadn't been able to contact Starlight, I shrugged it off. I didn't want to see her again today, or I might say something I couldn't take back. It stung a little inside realizing that. What in pony's name had gone wrong?

We should have been able to wait until tomorrow morning. Not Patch. Never Patch. Patience wasn't a part of her vocabulary. With me not feeling up to it, Lancer volunteered to tell Starlight himself. Always making sure our friendship stayed whole.

I left Night Eyes with Lancer at home. Given Patch's history with practical jokes, I wasn't taking chances. And Sweetheart had already said she'd be making sure she brought her medicine bag, just in case. I took a different train than Starlight. I actually started to turn excited, almost giddy as the train road along. Territories that made the Old Woods look downright suburban? Maybe the idea of being goofed by one of Patch's pranks was making me feel all nostalgic. Sure I hated her thoughtlessness, but since I saw this one coming, I was prepared for it. Maybe I'd laugh at this one. And if it was a prank, at least it was in an area I could REALLY like.

Maybe this was Patch's way of trying to get us all back together, maybe after whatever inane trick she pulled I should really just thank her for giving us all an excuse for the seven of us to be united as one again.

Maybe this weird dream I had about us facing off with this big, dark colored pony with a horn and wings in a ruined castle while wearing jewelry had got me WANTING us all back together again...What? You think I DON'T have weird dreams like everyone else?

Dang. When Patch picks a place to pull the mother of all comeback pranks, she doesn't mess around. I swear I should be going in circles, but I can't deny that I'm decidedly moving forward. This place really does remind me of the Old Woods. But there's something different. If I didn't know better, I'd swear the animals were all looking at me. They weren't acting scared or territorial, more like I was just something new to check out. This wasn't normal animal behavior!

I was overreacting. Maybe this was somepony's personal estate and the animals were all tamed. I was getting myself worked up over nothing. Thank goodness the others were all already at the spot Patch's instructions pointed out, including Patch herself. Older, stronger, more focused. But it was Patch.

"Hey, Bright Eyes, nice to see you could make it," she smiled at me. That glint in her eyes hadn't changed at all. It hit me I was relieved to see it hadn't.

There was Sweetheart, pregnant, and Teddy following closely behind her like a bad ninja. Yes. We were all here. Melody with as much luggage as she could carry. Gotta give her props for carrying it all the way here on her own back. Clover looking like she had a bad encounter with a thorn bush. Not that she's letting it damage her mood much.

Bonbon looking like she had lost some pounds, and was trying to get them back from her 'week in a day' supplies. Just like old times.

And finally, there was Starlight.

It was surreal. After our vicious meeting a few days before, she looked at me like nothing had happened. As if her life as my friend and her life as a professor were two separate universes. Actually, that felt a bit trivializing, that my time with her could be slipped into neat simple categories.

But this was my world now. The natural world I had come to love and know so well, out here in the forest. A living breathing thing all its own.

...I'd forgotten how much I'd missed them all. Just being there together...it felt like old times...Looking back on it I wonder how I could've thought so badly of any of them...I guess when you're hurt, you tend to focus on the bad and forget the good.

"Starlight, it's great to see you."

"You too, Bright Eyes."

You've all read what happens next.

Green fields. Pink estate. Flying ponies (Popi was right after all). Horn ponies. A dragon. And lots of fainting all around. Did I faint? Not telling.

I remember the glowing robes and crown the king and queen of the Isle of Pony used to see if Rosy was really their foal. I had always pushed it right out of my mind as just some complex trick or something. I didn't want to believe. Even the royal family had outright called it magic, ponies had always brushed it off a some form of stage magic or trick of psychology. They never hide it. They never denied it. They never danced around it. Ponies simply didn't want to see it.

You've all read the names before. Twilight. Firefly. Posey. Surprise. Sparkler. Glory. Applejack. Little Ember. Shady. Lickety Split. Magic Star. Wind Whistler. Masquerade. Medley. Flutterbye. North Star. Galaxy. Mimic. Moondancer. Gusty. And a DRAGON named Spike.

Normally I'm quite good at taking in details. But I felt so dizzy that the world was tilting on its side. It reminded me of when I thought Moki's family was going to feed me to the volcano. I was led by one of them to a guest room, it had belonged to a friend of theirs who had loved storybooks, it was... Paradise? No. That was the name of this impossible place. Right?

Our hosts took turns keeping me company as I rested. While my friends got to know these impossible ponies better. Yes. Impossible. There was no way this could have been hidden for so long. This was impossible.

Gusty and Lickety-Split took turns telling me how they and a friend of theirs, Heartthrob, were kidnapped by bird people for a pig queen to cut off their manes (that grew back right away of course) to make a magic cloak and turned all Dream Valley (apparently the name of this place) and the ponies in it into glass.

Masquerade, (those eyes, they can't be real jewels, they must just look like jewels), told me a story of how Posey was tricked by talking flowers that grew into monsters that told her that giant crab monsters were the bad guys when the crab monsters were really the good guys.

Then North Star talked about meeting Robin Hood, Hercules, and the genie of Aladdin's lamp through some doorway that led to the land of myths and legends. I wonder if they had met the Christmas Pony. Agh! I'm going crazy!

++++

Twilight Sparkle dropped the book. "Christmas?" She gasped in shock. Pinkie on the other hoof gave a bright smile.

"Yes Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna said. "Christmas, X-Mas, Christ Mass, the day humans chose to honor the birth of one of their spiritual heroes. After Megan came to Ponyland and became a hero, and later brought with her her two siblings, their faith and traditions found their way here as well. Ponies happily adapted and adopted them."

"But...Hearth Warming's Eve," Twilight Sparkle whispered.

"Wouldn't happen for over a thousand years. Megan and her people were already myths by Bright Eyes' time, though ones everypony believed in, by the end of the age of the three tribes, they had grown from legends into the fictional stories you know. New traditions assimilate old traditions to allow for easier transition. With the end of insane racial hatred, ponies looked back for inspiration as they created their new holiday.

"If you wish, my sister still has a copy of a book that contains the origin of many human traditions. Its human name would be just a word to you, in low-equestrian it translates as 'library.'"

"So it wasn't just chance Christmas and Hearth Warming's Eve are so much alike," Pinkie Diane said in awe, and Twilight swore Pinkie Pie's heart look ten time lighter than it had been. Pinkie Diane smiled brightly.

"No it isn't." Princess Luna smiled. "It may have a different name now, but in a way it is one of the things along with ponies' love for singing to survive all four ages. In a way Pinkie Pie you are the last pony in the world to practice the faith that Megan brought to Equestria."

Pinkie Diane looked like Twilight Sparkle couldn't remember ever really seeing her, Pinkie Diane drew attention to her like a magnet, unlike Rainbow Dash who always grabbed for it, but now, Twilight Sparkle saw in Pinkie a looking of belonging. "Thank you Princess Luna."

"It was our pleasure... our little pony."

Twilight Sparkle gently picked up Bonbon's journal and continued reading.

++++

Shady mentioned how she, Wind Whistler, Gusty, and their old friend Fizzy had their attitudes and personalities switched around among them by accidentally unleashing some raindrop like creatures called "Frazzits" underground, and she remembered Wind Whistler being silly and herself being brave. Shady said she wished they had all walked away from that at least learning from each other instead of ignoring it. Oh. And they might have messed up the little men who lived underground who did the seasons. Of course. Heheh.

Then Magic Star came in. She was a normal pony like me. But then she talked about how she used to have a magic wand that let her practice magic like a unicorn until she had lost it. How in Pony Hell did you lose something like that?

The list went on, and on and on and on and on!

Elves, Ice Orcs and Lava Demons, talking birds, talking shape shifting birds trying to keep a magic stone away from a squid monster by pretending to be a ghost, bushwoolies (who always agreed) and Furbobs (who never agreed), Grundles, Dell Dwellers, giant talking penguins, talking gofers, giant puppies, demon centaurs, talking mice people the size of ponies, trolls, ogres, gnomes, cat women, lizard men, bee people, witches, monkey people (apparently different from humans) 'Stonebacks', a sapient mountain, HUMANS (evil humans? The idea struck me as a violation of the original myth). And apparently there were also fish ponies and butterfly ponies.

A small part of me wanted to me to believe this was all an hoax, a hallucination, a dream, a joke, anything than other what it appeared to be. But I wasn't a teenage filly anymore, I was a fully grown mare. I couldn't deny what my senses were telling me. I couldn't deny what was right in front of me. What was all around me. I had been part of our high school stage troupe, I knew stage magic, animatronics, make up, and special effects when I saw them. These weren't those.

"Excuse me, may you tell me why you are upset?" Said a calm reserved voice.

I saw it was that blue pegasus with the whistles cutie mark (her special talent was whistling?). "Go away."

"As you wish." The winged-pony, the pegasus, turned around to leave.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"You asked me to leave, I am abiding by your wishes."

"I've...just never seen that work before. Normally, the pony is too stubborn to give up if they see someone is upset."

"Well, that is rather inconsiderate. If a pony wishes to be alone, other ponies should let them be. Forcing a pony into interaction when they clearly do not desire it is often counterproductive and results in the pony constructing more emotional barriers around themselves."

"...That's, very reasonable. My friends are always about pushing forward then and there, even the members of my environmental group."

"Always pushing forward can make things push back when it can be simpler to go around the problem or simply look at it from another perspective."

"That's very... logical."

"Thank you. I like to believe that I adhere to the creed of thinking first, acting second."

"Wish a few of my friends could have followed that advice, I could have used it one or two times myself."

"As is the nature of ponies, when in stressful situation, we often resort to our flight or fight instinct."

"Flight or ..." I looked at her wings, "was that supposed to be a joke?"

"No. It was not."

"You're really rational for a magic pony."

"That is redundant. All ponies are magical."

"Me and my friends and every pony I've ever known aren't."

"Incorrect. You're an Earth Pony, your magic is internalized. For some Earth Ponies this manifests as strength and endurance beyond what would normally be possible. For others, it manifests as a link to geothermal activity or, most commonly, an intangible connection to life, and sensing and directing its flow."

"If something isn't tangible, it doesn't exist."

"That is two-dimensional logic. Just because something can not be observed directly, is not justification to dismiss its influence."

"So because the invisible pony in the corner is invisible is proof she's there?"

"Now you are just being defensive."

"What am I supposed to be?!" I cried. "I've spent my whole life learning! Learning about how the world works! Learning about the world around me. Learning how beautiful and self-sustaining yet fragile nature is. Learning to think of things logically and rationally after superstitious fears almost got me killed. Approaching everything scientifically. And now I'm told eye of newt gets you what you want and that someone dyes grass and paints frost on windows instead? Everything I've spent my whole life learning is a lie?!" I heaved. My breath coming in shuddering gasped.

Wind Whistle looked at me hesitantly, then laid down next to me and place a wing around me, so soft.

"Everything you have learned is not a lie. Has never been a lie. Everything you've learned is true. Has always been true. But there are things you have not learned. Things you have not seen yet. Things you have not discovered. Perhaps the nature you see has been engineered to be self-sustaining, maybe their duty is to terraform wastelands into self sustaining areas, or maybe they have integrated themselves so deeply with the natural world you love that they have become part of its function. What you know are the rules on which it runs on. Nothing has changed those rules. There are simply more rules than what you know. We tell first grade foals that atoms are like a solar system, when they in fact are effectively nothing like it, but it acts as a base for them to compare and learn. Learning something new does not always disprove something previous, often times it simply adds to its understanding."

I look at her face, blurred by my tears, I couldn't tell she had wings, she was just another pony. She had spoken politely and peacefully, never raising her voice or acting 'superior.' She let her words speak for themselves instead of me being impressed by what she was. I nuzzled her. She was as real as I was.

"Thank you...uh," I was embarrassed that I couldn't remember her name.

"Wind Whistler. It's a pleasure to meet you Bright Eyes."

And the rest you've read about no doubt in my friends' memoirs. All the biographies and stories focus on my friendship with Wind Whistler. And let me tell you, she was a real true blue friend. If I hadn't met her, I'd have likely become a broken pony learning what I did. I'll always be happy to have her counted as a friend. We spoke and chatted at length. She confessed there were times when she had headaches at how up in the clouds her friends heads could be, and her sadness to learn her own friends had once thought she didn't have a heart. But what's a lot less known: is another pony I made a connection with in a very unusual way.

"Hey, you like roller skating?"

Unicorns, pegasi, seaponies, flutterponies, magic, dragons, and here I am, being asked that question, by a magic unicorn.

"I was talking with your friends about roller skating, and they told me you met your husband that way and you won a roller derby. So, do you like roller skating?"

"I...I haven't done it in years. But once I got used to it, yes, it was sort of fun."

"'Sort of' fun? Come on, it's wild! I'm Glory! Remember?"

That's right. A white unicorn with a purple mane with a blue streak with a pink bow at the base of her tail, was talking to me not about fairies or princesses, but about roller skating.

She continued, "It's been forever since I had someone to skate with since the fillies all left."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Ember. The point is that I haven't had another pro to skate with in a long time. So could ya please maybe race with me for a bit?"

What was I supposed to say? Besides. It was so shockingly normal a request in this place full of magic!

Her collection of roller skates wasn't large. Or strange. But it was very well preserved.

Lancer had taught me everything he knew about skating, and I'm not the kind of pony to forget. I was rusty, but I got the kinks out after a few minutes. When we got outside, my jaw dropped. Glory was skating on grass! Something I'm certain was supposed to be impossible.

Oh well. It's magic. Just go with it.

In a way, Glory was almost a second teacher. She talked about the 'magic inside' which sounded like out of a first grader's cartoon show or self-help book. It felt I was back at square one skating on grass but Glory insist she could teach me.

She even showed me Dream Castle. It was incredible. Not as big as Rosy's family castle but it was incredible. Apparently it had been restored following damage caused by a family of witches with a giant blob monster.

At that point, I had stopped freaking out learning this things and Glory had told me that was one bit of magic they'd done everything in their power to make sure no one would ever have to worry about again.

"Majesty used to live here, acting as queen, until she decided she wanted to just live out her days."

"I don't suppose she said she'd settle on a place called the Isle Of Pony did she?"

"I wouldn't know. She didn't really have a destination in mind..."

"It's still amazing, all this magic."

Glory let out a slight chuckle. "It's funny to hear you say that. Once upon a time, I thought of all this as mundane and ordinary. I wished to be a magic creature in a world of magic. This was before it was explained to me that pegasi and earth ponies have magic too.

"The magic thing was, my wish came true. I don't know if it was wild magic or myself, but I suddenly found myself in a human world. A world overflowing with magic of candy bushes and present trees. I went to the first place I saw, not caring how I had gotten there. I thought I was where I belonged. A giant silver castle's doors opened on their own for me. In the castle market place I saw humans flying without wings, a mother making their child clean with a snap of her fingers, a man unloading an entire cart of apples with a wave of his hands. And the humans accepted it all as normal, and me too!

"But the first human I spoke to was the court wizard, Olmar, who put on a friendly face, and lured me to his workshop. He wanted me, since it seemed even in this world of magic, unicorns were exceptionally rare. No, he wanted my horn. He magically removed it without even a scar, and had dismissed me without a second thought. Broken and scared, I had simply left the workshop. No longer magical in an ordinary world, but ordinary in a magical world." Glory shivered. So did I...the thought of losing a PART of you, even a part I didn't have, probably would NEVER have...I won't lie, I had nightmares after hearing that.

"I wandered the castle in a daze, until I happened upon a prince, Rudolph, who looked even more miserable than me. This young boy had already figured out being a prince meant not having other children to meet and play with, and only having servants who'd always tell a happy lie and never the truth.

"Rudolph, seeing a chance to be of worth, chose to visit the magician himself and-"

"Why didn't you just go to the king?"

"Huh?"

"You said you met the prince, why didn't you just go to the king for help?"

"...Maybe...I didn't really think of that. I was..." she shuddered, "Broken at losing my horn, and Rudolph saw a chance to be a hero. We were both young and, we were both being impulsive. But everything worked out in the end."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really. The prince asked the wizard for the moon. Rudolph appealed to Olmar's ego, saying there was no way it was impossible for a powerful wizard like him. Not wanting to admit he couldn't, the wizard excused himself to take a flight outside the castle. Rudolph took the chance to read from the wizard's spell book and got me back my horn! We were gone by the time the wizard was back. I thanked the prince. Rudolph thanked me for giving him a chance to show he wasn't just a spoiled prince."

"How did you get back home?"

"I closed my eyes and wish to be home. If a wish brought me there, then a wish could bring me back right?"

"That's...logical...I guess ..."

It all sounded out of a fairy tale to me. But so did the pony in front of me.

"It's okay, Wind Whistler thought I was just having an overactive imagination too. But I did learn a lot that day."

"Not to blindly trust strangers when you're all alone in a strange land?"

"Well that too. But it got me thinking. My magic made me unique, but that didn't mean it isolated me. I didn't need to be in a world overrun with magic to belong."

The way she said that she sounded like... any other pony. Made a little bit of light tickle me inside. These ponies were immortal and hundreds of years old. But they were still just ponies.

And she taught me an important lesson.

Fantastic and mundane are all relative. To cave ponies, fire was some unknown and fearful power not to meddled with that could destroy the world. Three hundred years ago, ponies had no clue what germs were, and the mere idea of things so small that they couldn't see them with their own eyes was absurd. And ponies two hundred years ago would have considered us weak and spoiled with completely insane comforts and insane prices and overpowered weapons. Let alone the idea of environmental protection or animal rights.

By the time we were done skating on grass, Glory and I were exchanging stories about our friends. Glory actually seemed refreshed our stories didn't involve slaying demons or stopping the end of the world. We just sat on a hill near a waterfall watching the sun drift down. We saw a while away Medley giving Melody a free ride down a rainbow. This time I didn't freak, I just accepted it.

I may have had a break down earlier, but I still have an organized mind. And I noticed a detail left out.

"What about Flutterbye?"

"What about her?"

"You mentioned all your other friends at least once in your stories. But you didn't mention her at all. Is she new?"

Glory opened her mouth, then closed it and put a hoof to her chin. "Actually, I can't remember when she came to the estate. It was a long time ago. I remember before she was here with us. But...it was just so natural to have her here with us."

Maybe I am my father's daughter deep down after all.

And maybe I'm still a bit of an impulsive teenager somewhere too. I excused myself with a hug and a nuzzle and went back to the estate. And Glory followed me. "I live there remember?"

Oh right.

So off we both went. Ugh.

I found Flutterbye, a yellow pegasus with a long green mane and four blue butterflies for a cutie mark.

She was still as a statue, watching Posey as she happily tended her garden, it was like Posey didn't even notice she was there. The look in Flutterbye's eyes, it didn't look indifferent, or harsh, if anything, she looked -protective- of her.

I had to sneak up on her and gather more information.

"Flutterbye when did you first come to Paradise Estate?" Glory asked after tapping her on the shoulder. So much for that idea. Here's hoping she's not a brain sucking alien who's going to vivisect us now.

The pegasus looked startled at the answer, then smiled and nodded, keeping her voice low. "I first came here to protect and look after Posey. She's, a pony who some might try to take advantage of. I don't really 'need' to, but...well, you could say she's family, and it feels good to look after your family."

Glory stood in awe at the kind words.

"She asked when, not why," I said instead.

"Oh! I guess soon after Megan went back to her world. I was told I could have inserted myself into your pasts, but it didn't feel right, I shouldn't take credit for things I didn't take part in."

"What are you?" I asked.

"I'm a pegasus pony. I'm a resident of Paradise Estate. And I'm Posey's friend. And the friend of ponies here. And I hope I can be your friend too Bright Eyes."

"That's a mathematical answer."

"There weren't any numbers," Flutterbye said.

"No no no, I mean you gave answers that while correct, didn't answer the precise question."

"But I can't answer directly."

I sighed. "Magic?"

"Um... not exactly."

"Look, if you used some sort of mind control magic to make everypony here just accept you, then that isn't putting you in a honest light."

"...it's...well, yes and no. I didn't use any sort of magic, I don't think. I think it's just the way I am. Because the ponies here are all friends with Posey and accept her, you all accept me too."

"So when you helped us fight Grogar?..." Glory asked.

"That was me. I was there," Flutterbye said honestly.

Glory nuzzled her, "That's all I need to know."

I startled along with Flutterbye. We echoed, "But... but... "

"You said you're our friend, you said you've helped us. You said what we remember is real ..." Her horn glowed. "And you're my friend."

"I...thank you."

Just like that? What was with these ponies? Or...what was with me? These ponies, they'd have been alive for centuries. And...they were more willing to accept each other.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Glory asked.

"Yes, yes we are."

"That was all very informative," Wind Whistler said approvingly as she fluttered down next to us, while we had been keeping an eye on Flutterbye, Wind Whistler had been keeping an eye on us.

"Yes, Flutterbye, it's very nice to know you care so much about me," said Posey. We all did a double take. She was as quiet as her flowers when she tried.

"Hey guys, next time you want to have a secret revealing discussion, try having it somewhere a little more private," Spike suggested as he poked his head out the window.

Flutterbye and I blushed under our fur.

"I gotta tell Sparkler!" Glory exclaimed happily.

After that, it was Moki and Tropical Island all over again after I got my head on straight. We all learned so much from them.

Bonbon even learned about some supposed family history of hers, along with Melody, Sweetheart, it was amazing how many of us could be related to ponies here.

I also got to meet the seaponies and Flutterponies, and I acted a lot more mature in my meeting with them than I did the Paradise Ponies. They were magnificent. The flutterponies of Flutter Valley used to be reclusive until the human Megan convinced them they couldn't ignore Dream Valley's problems. Despite how fragile they looked with butterfly wings, they were the 'big guns', since their combined magic was evidently powerful enough to stop an unstoppable blob monster. The seaponies were if they could have a negative trait it was being too friendly. The seaponies, if they could have a negative trait, it was being too friendly. They were excellent singers, though, and had apparently gone out of their way to save drowning sailors. And it took me weeks to get their song out of my head.

I promise you this next part didn't make it into any of my biographies.

Early in the morning before we headed home, I was surrounded by Posey, Applejack, Ember, Shady, Lickety Split, and Magic Star in a grove of trees.

"You sure about this?" Shady asked as Applejack yawned.

"I'm sure I'm sure: it's my idea," I said. "If everything you've told me is true, this could work. And if it can work, I want to know. If I am an Earth pony, and Earth Pony magic is based on life: then I want this to work."

"There's no harm in trying," Ember said.

"I think this is wonderful for you to want to do, Bright Eyes," Posey said.

"Did you have to get us all out of bed?" Lickety Split asked.

Magic Star gave her a glare.

"If what Magic Star and Wind Whistler said is true and ponies don't just contain magic but are conduits of magic. Then maybe all of you together can help... wake me up."

What came next had been Magic Star's suggestion. She said it was the one tangible form of magic all ponies shared.

"Look around you
Now Look beyond."

"You possess an unbreakable bond."

"The world around you is more than it seems
Stand revealed beyond your wildest dreams."

We each spoke a line as we sang.
I felt my very heart entranced.

"Unicorns have their horns and pegasi their wings.
Listen and hear life's eternal spring."

"So many things I never could see
So much flowing through every rock and tree." I heard myself sing.

I can now feel my soul
asking out to play this role

Could this have always been a part of me?
A hidden part of my identity?
Could this of always been my destiny?

"The world is not a dead thing.
We can all sense this great ring."

With joy I danced around.
Everywhere there was life to be found.

"I can look at the world in a brand new light
I know what it takes to make it right
And I won't give up the fight

The time has come to end the night
The morning is shining bright."

"Bright Eyes?" Magic Star asked inching close as the song ended.

"I can feel it!" I shouted with joy. "I can feel it! Everything! The song of the forest! I can hear all of it!"

++++

Now the next part did make it into my biography. And I know you all know it by now. The Rainbow of Light. Such a tiny little thing. But if everything was to be believed, it was the most condensed source of magic on the planet. The ponies had shown it to us. When I first saw it, it was just another affront to my beliefs. Now it actually got me to think!

It was a Rainbow of Light. A rainbow was refracted and dispersed light, light separated into pieces. Pegasi could physically interact with refracted light like it was solid matter.

According to Mimic, if something is magically made to be one object or set, even if separated they can maintain a connection for centuries. (Mimic said her ancestress actually used solidified starlight and part of her own lifeforce to create the enchanted horseshoes she wore).

If the Rainbow's magic could be stolen to power a giant mechanical machine, why couldn't it be directed and regulated to something constructive?

If the Rainbow of Light could turn back ponies who'd been turned into beasts of hell, annihilate a Rainbow of Darkness, and slay a demon centaur all on its first use, and long term exposure could render these ponies effectively immortal, what could it do for every pony in the world?

All these thoughts and more churned in my head on the train trip home. Between the seven of us, the truth leaked out like a sieve. Bonbon couldn't resist telling her many family members, Starlight wrote several papers on our new friends before I could, Patch would never keep her trap shut, and Sweetheart and Melody would never keep anything from their husbands. And finally Clover had told her big sister.

Of course no one believed us at first. It did not stay that way for long. Not at all. This wasn't a rumor being spread by seven teenage fillies. The paradise ponies wanted the rest of the world to know they existed, instead of a blind eye being turned towards them. We had been the push to give them the motivation they needed.

And...there was the small detail of my father's newspaper that printed the story before any other paper had the chance to. It was the scoop of the centuries. So I was a good daughter and told him about a lost tribe of ponies, and left the big surprise for the arrival so things were taken seriously instead of laughed off.

Like it was a signal, the pegasi found out there was civilization below the cloud layer, and the unicorns found out the world wasn't a barren wasteland beyond their domain after all. And the seaponies and flutterponies found the courage to show themselves.

Ponies, Earth Ponies, were left in shock and awe as not only were we not alone in the universe, but we weren't alone at home.

And during it all I kept thinking. There was nothing magic couldn't do, it was magic after all. There was nothing holding it back. There was nothing I couldn't do if I put my heart and mind to it. I believed again.

And the forest cheered me on too. Those unprotected tracks of land Starlight said were empty, were anything but. I don't want to think what kind of 'first contact' we'd have had if Patch hadn't found Paradise Estate first. I know there was no obvious connection, but it far too coincidental that our racial cousins would wake up at the same time.

If magic and science were really two sides of the same coin, if magic could really be considered another type of science, then there was no reason they couldn't be used together for the good of Ponykind.

If the Rainbow of Light could do anything, they why keep it locked up like it was weapon when it could clearly create more than destroy?

I needed the help of somepony who was great at bringing completely different ponies together under one light. I needed the help of somepony who knew how to converse with others to get them to see reason. I needed somepony whose special talent was to be a star to light the path through the darkness.

"We could make everyone's wishes come true!" I declared as I finished explaining all the technically details to Starlight. If the paradise ponies had shown me anything, I wasn't going to let one bad meeting destroy our friendship.

"Bright Eyes..." She replied, sounding... apprehensive. "We don't know if the Rainbow of Light can even do that. Yes, they say it defeated a demon named Tirek, but we don't know if it can accomplish what you believe it can."

"We won't know if we don't try!"

Starlight locked eyes with mine. I didn't back down.

She couldn't hide it. I saw it her eyes. Hope. Faith. Belief.

"Starlight, we can change the world."

What did Starlight call it? "Paradise Estate, to Paradise Everywhere."

We call our liaison, Patch, and visited Paradise Estate.

"Who would we be able to talk to about the Rainbow of Light?" I asked excited to Twilight. Charisma and negotiation are not my strong point.

Twilight smiled. "I guess I would be the pony to talk to. What do you want to k---"

"Twilight, could we be able to use the Rainbow for a wishes-come-true spell? Is it even that powerful? Would you be willing to give it up? Would-"

"Woah, woah! Slow down! Breathe!" Twilight told me giggling.

I couldn't help myself. I felt all my reservations fly right out of me! Heheh. A part of me just felt so foot loose and fancy free.

Starlight then the key question: "Can the Rainbow of Light be divided up into parts?"

Starlight told Twilight that I had had the idea for the spell already, and that the Rainbow of Light was the only thing that could logically power it.

Twilight didn't look so good ask she asked, "You- you need the-Rainbow?"

Starlight did the speaking, she was simply better than me. She explained what the spell I envisioned could do. After all, why use all powerful magic just to clear away clouds? So many social evils could be rendered mote in a moment. Then Starlight said we were already building the structures to work the spell?

We were?

Twilight shuddered as she breathed. What was wrong? All I was asking for was their trust. "I'll need to talk with the others about this first. Patch will bring you our answer, since well, we don't have telephones. Does she know about this?"

"N-"

"Yes, she does." I interjected. "Sorry, Starlight, I, uh, told her right after we began talking about this."

She stared at me, like she was one to talk.

Firefly flew over out of nowhere. "So, whatcha guys talking about?"

"Nothing important," Twilight answered. Okay. That was a lie too.

"Well, don't just stand there then! Come on!" She dragged us along. "Let me show you all this new trick..."

You know their eventual answer.

They did everything but gift wrap it for us when we visited next.

They trusted me, they really truly trusted me! I wouldn't let them down!

But that was only half the battle!

Turns out Starlight was accepting a literary award, and she was allowed guests!

And Patch had taken initiative and had told Rosy about my idea. You think I wanted this to be a secret? The more ponies who knew the better! They weren't going to keep this quiet!

Starlight said her ceremony was the perfect place for our plans to get coverage all across Ponyland.

And it functioned as the first major visit of the Paradise Ponies outside of Dream Valley in who knows how long.

They adjusted a lot faster than I thought they would. They had actually been keeping decent track of progress.

A dragon, a pegasus, and a unicorn, visiting a major city and a news studio, I never thought I'd see the day. Patch was having a riot of a good time.

A few ponies both petty and powerful tried to take advantage of them, some even trying tricks pulled on indigenous ponies centuries before, but Firefly and the others were centuries old, and knew those tricks when they were new.

Rosy was delighted to meet the paradise ponies, they talked for hours on end. The media blitz was overwhelming. Then came the moment of truth, and Starlight in front of TV cameras and the assembled audience,

"We will soon be able to make all of your wishes come true, with the help of this!" With a flourish, Starlight brought out the Rainbow of Light, and explained our plan.

And the world practically tilted with excitement!

My environmental group thought I was losing sight, but this wouldn't just heal and help ponies, it would make the natural world whole again. I had to give up my position at the animal hospital, but for the greater good, sacrifices had to be made. I also had to hire a babysitter for Night Eyes.

Starlight stayed the face of the project, while I worked on the practical side. Rosy worked the political side. Lancer's family fortune was put to good use as was the resources Rosy was able to convince the Isle of Pony to lend us. As for my side of the family, at least Dad's little corner of the media was on our side.

Clover the rising ballerina star and younger sister to the legendary ballet queen Meadowlark. Our new model Bonbon. And super rockstar Melody. All getting popular opinion on our side and spreading awareness.

My friends were helping, all my friends were helping!

Sweetheart helped in a way I never wanted her to. Apparently there were powerful ponies in industry who wanted this project to disappear.

Rosy and Lancer's finances proved too well defended, and we were getting more donations every day. And the paradise ponies' estate didn't seem to let in ponies with sociopathic intent.

Any of us would have been seen as martyrs. They needed an example.

Corporate enforcers came to Sweetheart's home to...I don't want to think about it. These ponies were way too used to dealing with salary stallions conditioned to fold at the slightest breeze. Teddy may have become a desk jockey, but I think they didn't realize he wasn't going to whimper and beg until he had broken a few legs.

Teddy was the real hero. I never ever thought I'd say that, but it's the truth. No matter what I've said about Teddy, I'll say one thing about him; you'd have a better chance taking a mother bear's cubs from her than hurting his family. He didn't let them lay a hoof on her pretty pink mane.

Attacking a pregnant doctor, brilliantly killed any support the opposition had.

And Sweetheart, became somepony to fight for.

Yes, I did take Night Eyes to visit the Flutterponies. It took some years to build all those castles. Why castles? For starters the castles were part of the spell, they were big spell runes built into the ground, and I made sure all of them shared some stones from the same quarry. In a way, it made the entire world part of the spell.

Oh Night Eyes. She cheered and clapped her hooves at the butterfly ponies, even if they didn't quite match the ones from her fairy tale books Lancer read to her. I enjoyed it too, Flutter Valley was beautiful, and learning about the magic stone that kept the entire Valley's ecosystem healthy was a big help with the spell.

I know some of my detractors have called me naive or childish for assume every wish granted to ponies would be good ones. One of the first things I did when designing the spell -with help from Wind Whistler and Twilight. Magic Star too, but she seems to be left out of every documentary,- was create several failsafes, all to make sure selfish or cruel wishes like 'I wish that stallion was my mindless slave' or 'I wish that filly who got better test scores than me was an idiot!' would be simply ignored.

I think Night Eyes is disappointed we haven't gotten her a baby brother or sister yet. Ace and Melody are having the same problem, but that might have to do with more than just our Dreams Comes True project (or one of the other hundred things we're calling it now).

Buddy still can't get Patch to marry him. Even I'm beginning to get a bit annoyed. Say yes or let him fly free already Patch.

Hasn't stopped Clover or Sweetheart though from having foals. Starlight...I think she's had her heart broken one time too many. Ace, Logan, Slipknot, poor girl. I wonder if she'll wish for her prince charming now we can all have our heart's desire, just by wishing it, wish it.

Now here we are at our journey's end. Whatever happens next, I know it'll be us together.

The seven of us together at the steps of one of the seven castles. While it would have been beautiful for us to all be here when it spell changed the world, we had all chosen to be with our families and loved ones. Even me. There was nothing left to check. There was nothing left to triple check. A part of me wanted to be here personally when the big moment happened. I wanted to so badly.

"Bright Eyes, be with your family, no buts, they're who this project is supposed to be for. Those we love. You should be with them when the world changes."

I was going to give her the casual response that I could just bring them here instead, but I saw the look on Starlight's face. She practically pleaded with me to be at my home when it happened.

I remembered, the message she had gotten. Ms. Hackney was in the hospital. And the doctors (Sweetheart included) had all agreed she'd never walk out. Her body had simply reached the point where it was shutting down. The spell would cure her, right? Of course it would. But a part of Starlight still wondered if the spell would be ready in time. The worst part for Starlight was if the spell didn't work, the hospital could have at least let Ms. Hackney spend her final days at home instead. But none of us had any legal connection to our old teacher, what we said didn't matter. But when the spell was cast, none of that would matter.

Starlight was the public face of the project. If anyone had to be there for its activation, it was her. She didn't have the choice to be with Ms. Hackney or even her own family. She had to be here.

Starlight had done all of this for me. To bring my dream to reality, and soon everyone else's. My family was celebrating this, after so long, maybe it was time I focused on those I loved again.

"Thank you all for helping with this project. You are the best friends a mare could ever have," Starlight said to all of us then turned to me. "Thank you for always keeping this project alive. Even when I didn't believe, you were there encouraging me. This is more your idea than mine, Bright Eyes."

I blinked away some tears. "Just be okay, Starlight."

I nodded. "I will." Smiles. Group hug. For a tiny moment we all felt like fillies again.

And we all parted ways at sunset and Starlight waved us farewell. Yes, maybe not very logical to begin a long journey at sunset, but a new dawn was awaiting all of us.

++++

We were all here together at Lancer's, at our mansion.

My parents. Lancer's parents. My husband. Our foal. Now a curious and inquisitive filly.

Dad had said that it was almost a shame Night Eyes had to grow up in a world where meremares, fairies, unicorns, pegasi, and magic were all now real. "Fairy tales are supposed to be an escape. Now ponies will have to invent new stories to tell their foals."

"Don't worry dad, we'll have plenty of new stories to tell," I said.

"Sharp Eyes," my mother, Eye Shadow said, "It's a little late for doubts now. And please, don't spoil the moment."

"Don't worry, honey, I'm just thinking."

Fencer and Rapier meanwhile were dressed in their best, praising their son. I had never been high class, but that had only ever been of moderate concern for them. They knew their son and I loved each other, and that was what counted.

"I always knew you'd do something important when you were a stallion, I just never imagined it would be this big," Fencer said to his son.

"Thanks, dad. But really, this was all Bright Eyes' idea."

"And an ambitious idea it was. But Lancer, you know ideas aren't anything without hard work or capital."

"For a little while more at least," Rapier said in a voice just above a whisper to her foal.

"Just imagine, a perfect world," mom said, "It does sound like right out of a story book." Mom had gotten Night Eyes a game of tiddlywinks to celebrate...Night Eyes had played it once to be polite at our encouraging.

"Maybe not totally perfect," said Lancer's mom, "After all, it's the little quirks that make life interesting, I wouldn't wish to live without any of them."

"So everypony's wishes everywhere will come true? For real?" Night Eyes asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes dear they will, I promise." I smile and rub her mane. "Mommy and her friends have worked really hard for this, and it's going to be wonderful for everypony. Everypony is going to be happy."

"Can we have a big party for the happily ever-after with Pure Heart and-"

"Yes I promise we can, we'll have the world's largest tea party if you like." I smiled.

"YEAH!" She hopped up and down.

The clock was ticking down, the TV and radio were on. We were all making recordings. The world was about to change forever.

+++

Twilight sighed. "This part is always the hardest to get to..."

Luna nodded. "Yes...the moment when they believed they would make a paradise, only for it to all come crashing down in the timeline that is."

Pinkie Diane nodded slowly. "...Can we just enjoy the happy times that happened before the end of the world happened?... Please? Let the dark stuff stay in the dark part of the story? Just because we have to get there doesn't mean we can't enjoy the ride, right? And...most of the stories have had an at least slightly happy ending, why can't we wait and see if it has a downer ending before we let the dark side swallow up the story? Even that really, REALLY sad magical filly manega had a happy ending, but you don't know that if you quit watching when Mami...uh, loses her head."

Twilight saw the longing in her friend's face. Wanting at least a little while to enjoy the world she'd lived in...they'd lived in, but only the pink pony could remember. "...Of course, Pinkie, let's continue..."

+++

After Revisions

My life's work awakens, and light and rainbows sweep from the seven castles, and over everything and everypony.

I haven't asked my family what their wishes in their heart of hearts are, we'll all know soon enough.

I wish that no mare had to go through the pain of their heart being broken by a stallion again.

Starlight? I look around, nopony else seems to have heard her. I wish I knew. It wasn't Starlight I heard, it was her heart! And her hearts' wish echoed across the land.

I know the rainbow spell, and it knows me.

I see Lancer's mane eyes and fur all turning purple, a streak of violet through his hair as he changes, his figure becoming decidedly marish. I see the same thing happening to Fencer and my dad.

You think I panic? You think I suddenly curse myself? No. Because no matter what, he is still my Lancer, and I'll love her all the same.

That doesn't stop Lancer though. She says in a feminine voice, "Bright Eyes! Something's wrong."

I gently put a hoof to her muzzle, "Shhhhhh, it's alright, we knew ponies would make wishes that would completely change the world, have faith in me, these changes aren't awful, I still love you."

"You expect me to be tra la la over this?"

"I wish you would," I say without thinking.

I just wish ponies were always good for each other! I hear my Lancer's soul wish.

And I feel ponies around the world no longer using or abusing each other, always willing to lend a helping hoof.

I wish more ponies had blue eyes. I hear the wish from my mother, and I know I now have blue eyes, as does Night Eyes.

I wish ponies would be more selfless and less selfish. My father wishes.

We all begin to get smaller. The carpet becoming grass that grows the height it needs to. Wings like dragonfly's grow from all our backs, our ears become more pointy, graceful feelers come into my view. My coat becomes yellow and my mane orange, my cutie mark becomes a flower.

Night Eyes giggled and cheered at the sight. "It works! It works!"

I wish we could all be fairy ponies and have lots and lots of fun! Was what my wonderful foal's heart had wished for.

I feel a gentle breeze wash over me, there is nothing to be frightened of. Because I know we'll always be together.

Without even hesitating we begin to dance, celebrating the freedom we feel.

After all, she wished for us all to have 'lots and lots of fun.'

My daughter is now pink with a magenta mane and blue eyes, but a fairy in the breeze like all of us. Her cutie mark is a flower like ours as well.

I'm not worried. I'm not scared. I'll trust in the hearts of everypony. I'm not afraid.

The servant in the living room, Pink Velvet gasps as she's becoming like the rest of us, but soon breaks out into laughter too and begins to dance, all her worries and cares gone, kicking away her now giant maid dress and prancing in the air naked. It feels wonderful to have her join us. "It does work, it does work!"

I wish for a classless society. Her heart sings.

I wish no matter what happens, ponies still function as part of the world and not just sitting through it. I hear Fencer's heart say.

No matter what happens, I know this spell would never, can never, remove the bonds and love we share, no matter what happens, I know we'll still love each other.

I finally understand, names are just markers, bodies are just vessels, the light that shines in our hearts are our true selves.

I hear my own heart wish, I wish ponies were closer bonded with nature than even Earth Ponies!

I barely notice the mansion becoming a fertile forest that was as much our garden. Animal shaped bushes dot our breezy way.

None of us care for the moment, we are happy, we are whole, we are together.

I feel the old past being washed away to make room for the new present. A wonderful past to go with a wonderful future. I don't regret. Because I hear every heart cry out in joy. Everypony knows health and happiness, everypony feels a bond with one another. I let go and embrace the rainbow light. All those I loved still with me near and dear. Starlight, Sweetheart, Melody, Patch, Clover, Bonbon, we did it. Thank you. I love all of you.

+++++

("Can you feel the sunshine?" - Sonic R)

Hello hello, and welcome to Breezie Blossom! That's not a pony, silly! That's what we call our home! We're the Breezies if you couldn't tell! Tee-hee! We're not tiny! It's not our fault all the other ponies are huge! Heh!

Please take a look around! The garden? Everything you see is our garden!

What's our name? We just told you, we're the Breezies. Oh. What's my name? I'm Zipzee.

Yes, I'm allergic to pollen. Kind of a silly thing for a Breezie to be allergic to! But the Spring Promenade remains my favorite festival. The smell of flowers is so wonderful I don't care if they make me sneeze. See that? That's my flower over there I share with my best friends Tra La La and Tiddlywink. I live in a flower when pollen makes me sneeze, but Tra La La and Tiddlywink love it, and I want to be with them, so I'm not about to move into a mushroom or tree.

But please! Let me show you around here and welcome again to Breezie Blossom!

Are we fast? We're fast as light! Try as and you might, you can't catch us!

When our flowers bloom, each one is a new surprise. We're Breezies, and we know how to make flowers grow, ask pretty please, and they'll grow from seeds to blooms while your heart beats.

These flowers are our responsibility, there's always work to be done in Breezie Blossom. But that doesn't mean there isn't always time to play. Our trumpeters striking up a tune, or chasing lady bugs for the fun. There's always game to be found.

There's always stuff to do, but always time for play in Breezie Blossom!

Whether it's weeding, planting seeds, helping a bud straighten itself from a bent steam, watering our flowers, there's always something for us to help. And we love making every minute of it!

Yes, we made those 'little' sculpted hedge animals. They're alive, don't you know plants are alive? Oh! Do they move? Well the wind comes along and-- HA HA HA HA! Don't be silly, they're just plants! They don't move on their own!

Hey, be careful! Those aren't toys. These are floats for the next Spring Promenade. Yes we fly them in the parade the same as everyone else's. The big ponies love them!

Nothing can go wrong in Breezie Bloom, and even if it does go wrong, we fix it up before too long. Contradiction? Can't you just accept it for what it is?

There certainly are a lot of us, aren't there? Kimono says we're technically a swarm, but we're not bugs, we're ponies. Unicorns' horns don't make them moose.

Why, thank you! Breezie Blossom is beautiful, we've made her that way! We're a part of Breezie Blossom, just like she's a part of us. She's too dear to us to be called an 'it.'

So you know how the Spring Promenade became the Princess Promenade? I was there for a lot of it.

It was time for the Spring Promenade again, and unlike most years, we didn't have to stop for bathroom breaks or get lost on our way to Ponyville to Wysteria's surprise.

It's true we all speak together sometimes, it's just something we do. The big ponies say they think it's cute! Huh? Cre-e-py? What's that?...No, no one thinks that about us, why would they? You're silly!

You should see Wysteria! You have? Well she can be warm and motherly, and she knows how to get all the other ponies' heads together...Have you heard the voice yet? Oh. You know ponies, we love to talk and play. But she can just say 'Hey!' in the voice, and everyone quiets down and looks at her. Is it angry? I don't think so. Not quite. Sounds a lot like what a witch would use. She is not happy when she uses it.

Does Wysteria love flowers? She super totally absolutely loves flowers!

So we brought our gardening tools and flower wreaths like we always do. Other Ponies can't make flowers just spring up like we can, and Wysteria says her beautiful garden outside Celebration Castle needs patience and care, like friendships.

I lost count of how many flowers I sniffed and sneezed. I got a clothes pin.

Of course there was making the floats for the parade too, which used so many flowers.

Then Rainbow Dash wanted to plant purples flowers next to the red flowers. There's no way that can be right, so I went to get Wysteria. Turns out she was having a tiny breakdown at finding a weed in her garden, and it was a beauty too! I mean it was big, twisted, and really clashed with the rest of the garden!

And stubborn too. Pinkie and Wysteria kept pulling on it and digging, and the weed stayed put, and they fell through! Right down into some caves underneath the castle!

Per tradition, Tiddlywink and Tra La La and I wanted each other to go first, being polite. So we all went as once. Except the hole had kinda, ya know, filled in after the big ponies went through and we couldn't all fit, so I ended up squeezing through. My friends chose to stay put rather than follow after I fell through.

It was dark down there, good thing we Breezies are in no need of a night light and I just glowed, and found Wysteria and Pinkie wandering in the dark and we all ended up nearly giving each other a heart attack. What is a heart attack anyway?

We heard noises (what did you say? 'Creepy'? It was that!), and the worst smell in history. Wysteria followed them both, and the root of the huge weed down through the tunnel. I followed Wysteria, and Pinkie Pie after thinking we were crazy followed too. We found the root ended in a pile of purplish slime, and on top was the most beautiful flower you've ever seen.

Turns out the stink wasn't coming from the flower. The slime hardened and broke, and... out came a blue lizard that Pinkie Pie asked what it could possibly be.

I just asked him a half dozen questions or so, just to get to know whoever or whatever he was. He didn't know. Apparently he had taken a nap for a thousand years. I really want to know where he was storing that pocket watch, or who crafted it so good to last a thousand years. He later said he wouldn't be considered old until he hit a million. I asked what the ticklish things on his tail were. He said they were 'spikes' and his name was Kenbroth Gilspotten Heathspike, blech, but said we could call 'im Simply Spike The Dragon.

Wysteria asked about Simply Spike The Dragon's flower, but he said that after touching it, it was now her flower.

I had to ask if he's ever had a bath...He didn't know what one was. Thankfully he did know a way back into the castle from down there! Tra La La and Tiddlywink were telling everyone how brave I had been while they were mounting a rescue.

We hide Spike from the others until Daffledazey could give Spike the biggest clean up job of her life! Spike isn't really scary, but he can trick you into thinking he is if he tries.

When everypony got to ask Spike questions too, he said he had woken up to be the mentor of Ponyville's new princess. Everypony told him Ponyville didn't have one of those.

Then Spike set off the fireworks; he said by touching the flower, and then wearing it in her hair, Wysteria was the one destined to be the Princess Spike would serve. Wysteria was now princess of Ponvyille! No ifs, ands, or buts.

And everypony began tripping over themselves to not mess up around her. And Spike insisted that Princess Wysteria didn't have time to plan and organize the promenade, he had to start teaching her how to be prime and proper royalty, "Princesses don't plan promenades, they ride in them," he said.

Ponyville's Princess was worried at the idea of the promenade changing hooves midway, but I volunteered right on the spot! Who loved flowers more than me? I knew I could do it! It would be no problem at all! Wysteria didn't want to impose, nice girl, but I was off like a shot.

Meanwhile, Tra La La and Tiddlywink volunteered to become Wysteria's ladies-in-waiting.

Back at Breezie Blossom the others were happy to see me, and thought I'd help out with getting our floats together. They said they needed me, but the floats were perfect (and smell nice too, achoo!) and Ponyville needed me more with Wysteria now being Princess.

"So you volunteered of course," Flight Shine said.

"Of course!" I replied.

Tra La La and Tiddlywink told me Spike took turning Wysteria into a proper princess very seriously. "Of course you can have friends dear, you just don't have equals."

Given all the work we put into keeping Breezie Blossom in tip top shape, I can understand taking something seriously, but he was REALLY serious!

Everypony pulled out all the stops for Wysteria's advent. Wysteria looked positively beautiful.

Oh. Me?

Everything was going just fine. Really. They were.

Just...a few bugs...here ...and there...No, not Breezies! Little glitches...

Sweetberry and Rainbow Dash had a tinny tiny argument about who's float had ran into whose. Sweetberry's world's biggest cake seemed to have run into Rainbow Dash's rainbow float (or vice versa depend on who you asked).

They...just needed to say they were doing a combined float when Princess Wysteria dropped by for a look see how things were doing.

Sunny Daze's surfer girl slang didn't win her any favors with Spike when she spoke with her Princess.

And...Pinkie and Minty...

"What are you doing on my float?!" They echoed.

"There's no such thing as green flowers. You made that up."

"I was being creative. There's no such thing as pink leaves."

Spike was not about to let Wysteria get her hooves dirty.

Minty then suggested they go with the pink float and Pinkie suggested to go with the green float just to be polite and argued more. Then Wysteria told them what a great idea it was for them to be partners on their duel colored float.

...

Rainbow Dash said I had done a darling job but the Promenade was missing something.

Sunny Daze was a lot more blunt, "Wysteria."

"I heard that you know," I said, flying a few feet from her.

Pinkie politely explained that the floats were all jumbled and I didn't seem to have a game plan.

"Mine is falling apart," Sunny Daze flat out said.

Rainbow Dash and Minty wanted to ask Wysteria for help, while Sparkle Works and Pinkie Pie said it would be selfish to ask their princess.

Finally Sunny Daze conceded, "Pinkie's right we don't want to spoil her fun." And politely told me, "It's okay Zipzee, we know you did your best."

... Yeah. My best.

Flowers were on the wrong floats and some were even missing! And I had never felt so incomplete without Tra La La and Tiddlywink.

In the evening when I wasn't looking Wysteria decided to fix up that floats by herself. Tra La La and Twiddlywink told me she ran to the royal table and happily declared, "I want to be me again!" And explained she wanted to dig in the dirt, water plants, everything.

Spike laid down on the spot to sleep for another thousand years to wait for a Princess who'd want the job. He didn't get it. After all, doesn't every girl want to be a princess?

Wysteria then admitted that she wasn't going to quit, not after the hard work everypony had done for her. And...I'm pretty sure you've heard the next part.

Me? I was up late at light trying to get everything perfect. Perfect? Try presentable. Everything I tried looked garish. And there was so much pollen I was beginning to sneeze if I was sniffing or not. Finally I just stuck a bouquet on the top of the Princess float.

I missed Tiddlywink and Tra La La.

Then I heard the most wonderful voices I had ever heard.

"Let me help, Tra La La."

"No, let me."

My heart rose.

"No I insist," I said as I turned around and saw the two most wonderful Breezies in the world along with Spike and Wysteria.

We hugged. Wysteria said things were far from hopeless. I had never felt so alive as I did working that night. I didn't care when I sneezed.

We had an awful lot to do in one night. But breezies know how to put on a show.

The big ponies praised the way everything looked in the morning, Minty badly hiding that she thought it all going to be a disaster.

The promenade? It was beautiful, and so where the Breezie floats!

Then Wysteria called a halt to everything.

She thanked everypony for everything, especially making her feel special, said how everyone was a princess in their heart and those of our friends, how 'Princess' was just name and...declared everyone a princess! On the spot! Everypony! Yep, that includes, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Sunny Daze, Minty, and Spike! Tee-hee!

We Breezies are no Rainbow Dash, but we were able to spin together dresses and royal jewels out of magic on the spot for the new Princesses as the first bunch joined Wysteria on the float. It was laughter and smiles all around!

Wysteria gave the royal flower to us Breezies.

We Breezies don't really have a leader, no Breezies is better or less or more important than the rest. After all, a beautiful flower amidst a hundred beautiful flowers is still a beautiful flower. We're friends, we're family.

Then came the day we met another princess. That morning as we got ready to go to visit Ponvyille for the Rainbow Celebration... Okay, okay, I'll skip the details. Have a little patience. Well, anyway, we met our very first unicorn, who feel right out of the sky! Maybe we kinda thought she just had a bump on her head and that was why she was saying she made the rainbows. We took her to Ponyville. Of course we helped her, that was the breezie way. She nearly ate a whole cake by herself. Began talking about needing to make the rainbows, being from Unicornia, being a princess. She got curious about rollerskates, and Minty explained what they are and asked if she wanted to try them.

We helped her along...tossed one off and began skating with three in the cafe, went outside and lost another one, and...led us around half of Ponyville. She ended up happily flying in the sky with a weak grasp on some kites that quickly became one, thankfully we got her down. We helped along with trying the skates more...and into a mud puddle, merrily splashed around, she went and splattered on Rainbow Dash, made Rainbow Dash faint...looked really sad all of a sudden, and wanted to go home.

Hey! Stop being so pushy. You heard all of this before from Princess Rarity? Why didn't you just say so?
Go to Spike. Learn about the seven castles, including the one for rainbows. And of course Spike knowing the way to Unicornia.
Spike came along because it was his map. Rainbow Dash came along (along with half her dresses) because it was about rainbows. We came along because that's the Breezie way. Minty and Pinkie came along because the other came along. Of course that last one makes sense.

While scouting ahead, the three of us kinda got distracted by this honey comb, of course there weren't any bees who got angry with us.

Rarity playing with a butterfly over a cliff. Scary chase down the river. Minty and Pinkie falling in and needing saving too! Rainbow Dash's luggage actually being good for something with a vine! Rarity wanting to do it again!

The three of us didn't really do much for the rest of that adventure. It was something else seeing Rainbow Dash with a white mane, and seeing Princess Rarity grow up so fast! I don't mean she became a mare on the spot. I just meant she stop blaming everything on everything else. And I never thought riding in a flying white carriage could be so exiting when you're racing a shooting star!

It was wonderful. I just wish Ponyville had given us a heads up when they met the pegasi! It was fun when we finally got to meet ponies who could fly too. We never imagined ponies so big ponies could fly! We can still win a race with them if we try though!

Where were we at Christmas time? In Breezie Blossom of course. We celebrate there. I think we might hibernate, I think, I don't really know. How can I not know? Well, it's not really something I think about, that's all.
Have we ever seen Pinkie Pie's balloon lift her up to the sky? Who you think gets her down half the time? There she goes again!

"There ya go, Pinkie Pie," we say as we bring her down.

"Thanks again, flutter ponies!" She waves and trots off.

"Huh?" Tra La La tilted her head.

"Did she just call us 'Flutterponies?'" Twiddlywink asked.

"Is that supposed to be a nickname?" I asked my friends.

"I dunno." Tra La La shrugged.

"Me neither." Twiddlywink shook her head.

"Well I've never heard of it. And our wings don't 'flutter' I'd say they it's more like a hum," I said turning my head looking at my own wings. Maybe we cheated a 'little' with magic when it came to our wings, but it's not really cheating if it's what you do naturally, right?

I heard there was going to be a concert at Celebration Castle for Starsong Melody, so we choose to listen in. Pay money for tickets? What's money?

"Hello, Flutterponies." Waved Moodancer.

"Yo, Flutterponies," said Sunny Daze.

"Nice seeing you, Flutterponies," Daffidazey greeted.

"Okay," I stopped and looked at my two friends, "Now this is getting weird."

They nodded.

As we watched the concert, looking at the pegasus pop-star it hit me. Pinkie Pie said that Starsong Melody was a foalhood friend. But we had only recently learned that pegasi even existed! Skywishes even talked about how Rainbow Dash said flying ponies didn't exist before meeting them. "HEY!!! WAIT A MINUTE!"

"Zipzee? What's wrong?" Tra La La asked alarmed and concerned.

"Rainbow Dash said...but we're . .. why would she...we count as ponies right?"

"Of course we do," Tiddlywink said.

"But then why would Rainbow Dash...that doesn't..." While other ponies would just give us doll clothes whenever we wanted to dress up, Rainbow Dash made us real dresses, made of flowers (though she insisted on removing all the pollen with mine), leafs, cloth, they were always beautiful. Those hats our gardeners wear? Most of them are hers. She considered it a fun challenge working with clothes as 'small' as ours. Alright. I'll admit it. I loved that I could finally have a flower dress that didn't keep making me sneeze. And all of the dresses she made for us are special, she gave us the idea of wearing clothes sometimes. So why would she say flying ponies don't exist?

We all know that big ponies can a little weird at times, but that made no sense at all!

"We...I, really really need to see Rainbow Dash!"

"How come? Zipzee, for the last time, I don't think having a dress with pollen is a good-"

"It's not that! Come on!" I flew off, of course my friends followed, how could we be complete without each other?

There are lots of big ponies in Ponyville, but just like Breezie Blossom, we knew the names of everypony. Everypony was friends with everypony else, so of course we knew everypony's name!

I don't want to think about a world where you couldn't remember everypony's name and couldn't feel for everypony. Huh?...Why would I think about that now? You don't hear about ponies say how happy they are that the sun is in the sky (well, except Sunny Daze).

"And I'm saying you have to be out of your mind if you think roses would look better than ribbons for the next festivals decorations!" Shouted Bowtie at Desert Rose. The two big ponies had a weird look on their faces.

"We use them all the time for the Spring Promenade!"

"That's different!"

"How?"

"Are you stupid? Flowers wilt! Ribbons don't!"

"They also look plain."

"You take that back!"

We looked at each other. Huh? What was this? With the others flanking me I flew down between the two ponies. "Hey, guys, if it's that much trouble, why don't you use rose style ribbon?"

"That could work." Bowtie thought.

"You're right." Desert Rose nodded.

"We can use rose-patterned ribbons."

"What?! No! Ribbons tied like bows."

"That would take forever!"

"But they'd last forever!"

I flew back in shock, the others caught me, I felt a little sick inside, that...that never happened before. Sure, ponies had different ideas sometimes but...when you worked out a compromise everypony was supposed to be happy right after.

"Why don't you stick to running the roller coaster like you should?" Fizzy Pop asked.

"All I did was offer you a little advice! You didn't have to take it!" Coconut Cream snapped back to the other big pony.

"Well, I didn't ask for it!"

Big pony Triplet Treat came between her two friends, "Uh, you know, I have a lot of experiences getting different sweets to work together, I could make a coconut-flavored soda work I think."

"You stay out of this!" The two of them pushed Triple Treat into a wall and banged her head, hurting her. But instead of being worried and stopping their argument, they went right back to it!

We checked on Triplet Treat, but aside from a bump on the head she was fine...then she ran away crying. We wanted to help her. But ponies were arguing left and right. What was this? Some kind of bad dream?

This was unnatural, whatever it was. I felt like my head was going to split in two, but Tra La La and Twiddlywink were like an extra pair of wings for me. The three of us began trying to keep the ponies from shouting at each other, what was happening to all our friends?! I must have gotten some pollen in my eyes, because I was sniffling.

Tra La La and Tiddlywink hugged me. Please, let all of this just be a bad dream!

My sight must have been blurry. Because now everything was looking faded and dull. I was seeing shadowy pony shapes everywhere. At least one wasn't a pony. I swear, one was looking straight at me no matter which way I moved. We ended up at the edge of Ponyville.

We finally saw Rainbow Dash, but so did one of the ponies-that-wasn't-there.

It was faster than us. Nothing is supposed to be faster than a Breezie. This ponies-that-wasn't-there was nothing.

It blended into her like two drawings on top of each other.

"Dash it all! What is--" She managed to say sounding very sick.

Her pretty clothes disappeared, then she turned into a pegasus. Her cutie mark changed. That's not supposed to happen. Then she stopped moving so gracefully. She stood furiously, like she wanted to fight with somepony. What happened to her?!

She looked over at...Pinkie Pie and Starsong Melody? They were next to a...okay, I don't have a clue how to describe THAT! It looked like somepony took a bunch of different stuffed animals and put them back together wrong!

Rainbow Dash looked at her friend like Pinks was something to be disgusted at. Like she as a toy she didn't want anymore!

Rainbow Dash's figure became a lot more...what's that word for having more muscles? She flew up in a daze, and pushed right past us like we were garden pests! I didn't see anything of Rainbow Dash in Rainbow Dash as she flew away. I felt all the blood drain away from my face.

We didn't follow, couldn't follow, Rainbow Dash...didn't exist anymore?...Why is this happening?! Why?!

"Flutterponies!" StarSong yelled at us.

"StarSong?! What's going on?" I asked, no longer caring about the weird nickname! Hoping beyond hope somepony could make sense of this.

Instead Starsong blew us a kiss, "Run, stay safe. Get back to Breezie Blossom Way and tell the others there to stay clear of Ponyville!"

"We can't just-"

"Please do it!" She begged.

This couldn't be happening there could it? No it couldn't! But...if this was happening in Ponyville, the big ponies...would need a safe place right? It wasn't like there was nothing we could do. It wasn't like we were running away. We weren't abandoning our friends. We all silently nodded and flew as fast as only Breezies are.

I heard a person's voice ask casually, "What makes you think there's anywhere they can run to?"

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!" We all heard Starsong scream.

We didn't stop flying, we didn't turn our heads. If I had looked back, I could have never left them there.

+++

"Pinkie?" asked Twilight, hearing the pink mare sniffle.

"Starsong..." the mare muttered, struggling not to cry at the memory.

Of course Twilight had heard Pinkie Diane recount Songsong Melody's sacrifice after Pinkie Diane and Twilight learned the other knew the truth.

"...Luna... Anarchy called me Surprise before the white shadow pony joined with me. I know I was going to originally be Surprise before the Shadow Who Makes finalized things. But I didn't become her after joining with her."

"The shadow ponies sought the light of those they were destine to carry. Anarchy could have known who Starsong was meant to join with since she was his and our sister's responsibility, and your fate took the place of hers in the great web."

"But it wasn't even TRYING to join with me when I did."

"Fate...is NOT above 'happy accidents' to set things back on course. Including the songstress of Ponyville joining with the shadow of Paradise Estate's clown. Starsong literally gave her place to ye with her self-sacrifice."

We saw the realization on Pinkie Diane's face, "...And she saved my mother from nowhere too didn't she?"

"So ye noticed, little pony. Rainbow Dash wished to have grown up with Cheerilee, and her wish was granted even if it contradicted the present. For that to have happened, twas required thou to have a parent. Your mother however, only gave birth to ye in the hypothetical past made by the wish, it was not part of your mother's wish, don't ye dare give us that look, she loved you and still does...Star Maker growing old and dying, was in fact part of her wish to fully experience what it meant to be a mother. That included seeing your child continue your legacy without ye. To your question, yes, the rock farmer Sue Pie, or rather 'Pinkie Pie Senior' as her name was in the past that never was, would have been erased along with ye if Starsong Melody had not made her choice."

"Alrighty then, I know it's silly to ask about continuity in a world that didn't have any, but, it's nice to know Starsong didn't just save me then."

Twilight was going to ask Pinkie if she was okay...instead, she just hugged her for a few moments.

"Thanks, Twilight," Pinkie said, finally breaking the hug. "...Can we continue now?"

Twilight nodded and turned the page.

To be continued

Bright Eyes' Story Part 2 "Zipzee faces the darkness"

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
My Little Pony Tales
Pony POV Series Side Story Episode 6 of 7
Part 3 of ?
MLP: POV Seven Dreams/ Seven Nightmares
Written By Alex Warlorn
Edited By Kendell2 and Louis

Why were so many of the flowers blue? And why did they all look the same? It was really scary. The sky...oh right, I guess I forgot to mention that after seeing all our friends not being our friends. It was black. Not like at night, it was like the sky wasn't even there anymore! And even though the colors of everything but ponies were faded, the blue flowers were still bright blue. I flew close to one, but every instinct inside me screamed that these flowers were wrong, and I flew backwards from them like they were on fire. ...I didn't even sneeze around them...

Breezie Blossom, looked so wrong. Everything was so still. This isn't right at all. What's going on? What did any of us do to deserve this?

Everything was so silent. I could hear my heart pound in my ears. How could even your own home, become so scary just by being empty?

"I don't like this!" Tra La La whimpered.

"Me neither!" Tiddlywink hugged her.

No one here to greet us, no one here to say hello? This wasn't the Breezie way.

"This.. this is all just a bad dream, right, Zipzee?" Little pink Tiddlywink asked.

"Hellllooooo!" I called holding up my hooves like a megaphone. "Everybody! We're back! Bad things are happening in Ponyville, and our pony friends really need our help!"

No one answered us back. That never happened in Breezie Blossom. There was always a friend to hear what you had to say.

"Where is everyone? Did they go to Ponyville to help and we missed them?" Tra La La asked.

"Maybe," I answered back, I didn't have a clue. What had happened to poor Rainbow Dash? Why was everything faded except us and those blue flowers that felt so not-friendly? Feel not-friendly you ask? We are the Breezies, if anypony knows how flowers feel, it's us. These flowers weren't friendly or playful, it was like they were the opposite of those things. Flowers are always happy to listen to us, these flowers didn't want to listen. I felt this horrible sense that something awful would happen if we touched them.

We heard a purring. Was there a kitty cat nearby? Did it want to play? Did it want a hug? Maybe it was scared too.

There was this fluttering and we saw a bright colored ball with wings flying through the leafs. It smiled at us happily as it flew in front of us. We noticed it had four tiny black legs. It was purple with green eyes.

"Hello, new friend, who are you?" I asked flying close to it. He just looked at me happily and gave me a sniff and nuzzled against me. "Oh aren't you friendly." I said hugging back, happy to have something anything that felt nice even if this strange creature was out of nowhere, "Where did you come from? Do you know where our friends are? What's your name? My name is Zipzee, and this is Tra La La and Tiddlywink. Are you missing your friends too?"

It smiled even wider at me, those big innocent eyes looking at me like it didn't have a care in the world. At least with everything bad going on, we could still make new friends.

"ZIPZEE, GET AWAY FROM HER!"

We turned around and saw a handful of our Breezie friends hiding underneath the blue flowers being careful not to touch the blooms. They looked so scared, but why would they be silly enough to be scared of a ball that was just being friendly?

"Flight Shine! It's great to see you all! We were all really worried!" I waved at the green Breezie and the others, "Why didn't you say anything when I called? There really are some bad things happening in Ponyville and they really need our help so we should get going, maybe our new friend will want to-"

"BEHIND YOU!"

I turned back around, and saw our friend now had a really really big mouth stretched bigger than she was, a lot bigger. It was closing in around me like a dark cave. No, I didn't like this dark...

"ZIPZEE!" Tiddlywink and Tra La La pulled me back as the jaws came crashing down and all the ball got was air. It looked around confused and bewildered then spotted me and cheered up again.

Flight Shine said, "We thought if we hid they'd just go away if they couldn't find us! OH NO!"

Purring. And it was like it coming from every direction. More of the colored balls came, all with bright cheery green eyes like jewels, and all the colors of the rainbow. They fluttered into sight like some big cloud of candy. We were surrounded.

"NO!" Flight Shine cried out.

"Where is everyone else?!" Tra La La asked.

One of our expert gardeners, Flights Flighty, shakily raised a hoof at the swarm of bugs. "Right there."

"They...they...they ..." Tiddlywink couldn't say it. I couldn't think it! No, no no no no no no! This wasn't happening! This was a nightmare! A nightmare! A nightmare!

"No." A purple coat and blond mane Breezie friend name Daisyslow whimpered she was curled up in a ball, "They...they put them in their mouths...then spat them out...but...but..."

The bugs were getting closer, a wall of smiling winged balls, closing in on us!

"Please Pink Velvet stop!" Twinkle cried out flying in front of the purple ball, "You can't want to do this! Please! We're your friends! We're all your friends! None of you can want to do this! Stop. Just stop!"

The others were too far away. We were too slow, what we had just heard, it was impossible, it was scarier-than-scary, we actually fell to the ground like rocks we couldn't think to fly, what we just heard couldn't be true.

Pink Velvet? I always thought it was funny how she was named Pink Velvet but had...a purple coat.

We snapped back only when Pink Velvet closed her giant mouth around Twinkle Shine...my friends saved me, but I couldn't save her...I'm an awful pony. It wasn't fair. It was a cheat. That happens to her and not to me? That's not fair. That's not fair at all.

Pink Velvet spat Twinkle out...instead there was a ball that was blue just like Twinkle's coat, with green eyes...looking at us the way pegasi look at ice-cream.

"Twinkle," Flights Shine whispered.

The colored balls were right on top of us now. We panicked and scattered. The three of us stayed together out of sheer habit. They tailed behind each of us, always smiling, looking at us happily like it was all a game.

Their colors. I recognized them all. Aloes. Azalea Bloom. Midnight. All the Breezies I had known and loved.

It was...there was a word I didn't...so much happening at once...and no way to...to fight back...all at once...while they did as they pleased. Slaughter. The word was slaughter.

Flights Shine flew up, and up, and up in a straight line, the swarm followed her like a vapor trail. They closed in like a dome above her, each one wanting to be the one to eat her. I watched the ball that used to be Twinkle open up like a cave above her, and Flights Shine couldn't stop herself in time.

Flights Shine, you were the one who knew I was being overeager and getting in over my head when I wanted to take Wysteria's place working on the promenade.

The balls began crowding each other, they were few and fewer of us.

This was the end? This is what happened to the Breezies? Is this what the patchwork thingie meant when it said there was nowhere to run?

What was happening? Why was this happening?

All I ever wanted was for everyone to be happy and for us Breezies to help in every way we could. Did we just not try hard enough for something? Nothing made sense.

Daisyslow stayed where she was, curled up, crying, I wanted to cry and never ever stop.

The three of us moved like lightning, but the bugs were everywhere. We were also the biggest morsel, there being three of us. All together. Nice and tasty. We acted as spotters for each other; none of the bugs were able to take us by surprise.

I wanted to scream and shout for us to stand together, but we'd just get eaten fast. I wanted to tell us all to run, but the bugs didn't leave a place to run to. I wanted to beg the bugs to stop, but we'd get eaten. I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry.

They closed in around Flights Flightly like a huge nest made of themselves...I saw the nice hat Rainbow Dash had made for her fall to the ground...becoming faded and pale like everything else, the flower on the hat's front withered away.

There were just four of us left.

We were proving trouble to catch, so the bugs all turned their identical eyes towards Daisyslow. She was still just laying there crying...why wasn't she moving? Why wasn't she doing anything!? Why?

There was nothing left. We didn't need to speak to each other to know we made the same choice. We flew towards Daisyslow as she quivered and the cloud of our changed friends came down on her.

We pushed through the storm.

Flights Flighty and Twinkle pushed against each other wanting to be the one to eat her.

Tiddly Wink rammed into them heads first as fast as a Breezie can be, pushing them through the blue flowers and hard into the ground.

Tra La La and I flew back to back to Daisyslow.

"Daisy! GET UP! We have to leave! Now!"

Go where? I dunno!

Daisyslow didn't even react to us, she just kept crying, it was like she couldn't even see us.

Tiddlywink joined us brushing against the blue flowers. They came without hesitation.

Fighting is bad. Fighting is wrong. Fighting is something you should never ever do no matter what.

We fought back.

We kicked and head-butted, but they just kept smiling and crowding closer. It was like nothing mattered to them except eating us... . What would they eat when all of us were like them? ...The big ponies? Each other?

We began to tire out. We Breezies can work an entire forest as our personal garden. But we still need to eat and sleep. These things, it was like they couldn't get tired.

They were a storm of mouths and green eyes. We held against the crashing tides. Then we cracked.

Tra La La's wings stiffened, she fell, her eyes half open, Flight Shine flew under her mouth open. I tried to save her. I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY DID!!! HONEST I DID!!! But Twinkle, Pink Velvet and Midnight and a zillion others formed a wall between us.

"Zipzee, I love you," Tra La La said as the green ball, Flights Shine, ate her, then spat out a deep purple ball that looked at me like I was just a cookie.

I felt like my heart died and the rest of me just forget to too.

Why were they stopping? They were like a giant dome now, all those green eyes looking at us like were candy. All their eyes on me.

"Z-Zipzee..."

"Tiddlywink?" I looked at her, she look horribly sick, she couldn't even fly as she lay on the ground. Daisyslow finally opened her eyes and whimpered at Tiddlywink and inched away from her.

"I don't feel so good." She sounded awful. Her feelers actually began to wither before my eyes. She looked at me. I finally took note of the blue pollen on her, it hadn't made me sneeze. Maybe it wasn't pollen. "It hurts... everywhere..." Her eyes became green gems. "I...I'm...I'm...I'M HUNGRY!!!"

She twisted shape and form, she...she became...no no no no...those blue flowers...where they? Did they do...

Daisyslow wailed and covered her head. She was waiting for them to eat her. This is why she didn't run? She knew we were doomed no matter what happened? I landed on the ground and stood next to her.

All my friends but her...all looking back at me. No, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Minty, Wysteria, Pinkie Pie, Spike, they were still out there, waiting for me, waiting for us, they were still my friends, our friends.

They began to inch closer, savoring us. Like we were treats. These things, no, my friends, my family, those I loved more than anything. They wouldn't do this. They couldn't do this. This wasn't right! Couldn't be right! SHOULD NOT BE RIGHT!

"STOP THIS!!!! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!!! THIS ISN'T RIGHT AT ALL! STOP RIGHT NOW!!!!"

I shouted using Wysteria's Voice, I stared at them, those walls of green eyes. I saw my reflection in them. I was angry. So angry. I didn't think this kind of anger even existed! The look on my face left me surprised but I didn't stop, I couldn't stop, I didn't want to stop!

The swarm of whatever-had-happened to my friends stopped, looking confused, bewildered... scared?

Daisyslow finally looked up at what I was doing.

They began to move forward again, but like they were being pushed, like they didn't WANT to come closer to me, like I was an inferno.

"I don't know what's happened to you! But I know you aren't making these choices! And there's got to be a way to help you! And I will, we will save you!"

~~No, they are gone.~~
~~They are lost to you.~~
~~There was never a way to win.~~
~~The sooner you accept this. The sooner I shall drink of your despair.~~
~~Fall into the blackest pit of your soul. Recall what was rewritten.~~
~~Watch your child die. Mother of the world.~~
~~Realize you have been playing a game with no pieces.~~
~~Accept that all you see before you is your sin. Your failure. Your fault.~~

No. Not now. Not ever.

~~Give into the comfort of despair. It is your only salvation. There is no hope. Hope only brings pain.~~

I said I am not giving up!

~~Then you are as mindless as them. A mindless creature mindlessly bashing its brainless head against a mountain thinking that'll move it.~~

No. They are still my friends. Princess Rarity belief restored the world's rainbows. Minty told us how the love and friendship between her friends was strong enough to save Christmas! And it'll be strong enough to save my friends!

Breezies have nothing, you are nothing. You don't have individuality! None of you have personalities! You exist just for fluff! You've done nothing with yourselves! You've added no substance to the universe! You're a waste of space!

We...We brought Princess Rarity to Ponyville when she was lost and all alone! We saved Princess Rarity and our friends' lives when they were about to go over a waterfall! The entire forest is beautiful because of us. We love the world, we love each other, we love our big pony friends. That is not nothing. Nothing is that blackness in the sky. We aren't nothing.

~~You speak nice sounding words. You spew pretty sounding noise. You have no~~ substance. ~~You are dolls. These mindless soulless creatures that exist only to devour and multiply are more alive than you.~~

No. They're JUST AS alive as me! Nature doesn't pick favorites, all lives are equal.

~~You who love forever the world the gods gave you and adopted it as your own.~~
~~Accept, that their deaths are your fault. So you might find redemption:~~
~~though your own death. Let your very Concept be devoured and consumed.~~

I wouldn't want my friends to give up on me, and my friends wouldn't want me to give up on them either.

~~Yes they want you to throw yourself in an abyss after they've fallen into it.~~
~~To throw away your life after theirs is lost.~~
You waste your time!

It's my time. And I'll waste it however I want! And I don't KNOW they're beyond hope. So I chose to believe! I chose life!!!

~~You choose a fantasy.~~

Then I'll make it real!

~~One tiny spark of a concept doesn't have that kind of power. Fool.~~

At least fools are willing to try!

~~Try what? Idiot. Despair is your only logical conclusion. Walk away from the game of life that there is no way to win.~~

I don't know, YET. But all will be well. Everything will turn out okay! There's always night-time, but there's always dawn too!

Lancer. Night Eyes. Mom. Dad. I love all of you with all of my heart. I love nature and its forests and all it gives us.

Tra La La. Tiddlywink. All my Breezie friends. We're one big family. And I love you all more than there are words for. Just like I know you love me!

Tiddlywink and Tra La La flew closer, their mouthes wide as I kept staring at them all, come towards me almost like magnets, wanting to devour me, to consume me.

"Don't worry everyone. All will be well.
Dreams do come true. Yes they really do.
Sometimes you can find your hearts desire, just by wishing it.

I promise, you will see, dream do come true,
true for you and me.
Sometimes you can find your hearts desire, just by wishing it.

We'll together, this is not the journey's end.
I know we'll make it through, me and you.

I feel something magical, it's in the heart.
It's a special glow from inside me and you.
Cause I know, in the end, dreams do come true.

I know we'll make it through. Me and you.
Sometimes you can find your hearts desire, just by wishing it,
Wishing.

Just keep dreaming, who knows where we'll go from here.
But anywhere we go, our heart will be together.
Because I know, in the end, dreams do come true."

Someone hugged me... Daisyslow?

~~What?~~

"I'll believe too."

Bright light shined from inside me, and then from inside Daisyslow, and light jump from inside me to Tra La La and Tiddlywink, then it jumped to Pink Velvet and Flights Shine, Twinkle, Midnight, and Azalea Bloom and Aloes, and then to more, and to more, and to more, and to more!

The balls quivered like they were going to fall apart, they filled with light, and...exploded in a mass of sparkles...I covered my eyes at the flash.

When I opened them again ...

Ta La La and Tiddly Wink hugged me.

"ZIPZEE!" They cried out together. "THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

The other Breezies cheered and clapped and laughed. They hugged each other. They hugged me. I hugged them. It didn't matter who hugged who, we all had something to be happy about!

Our laughter was the only sound echoing through the entire forest.

We did cartwheels in the air, we zoomed along in the forest without a fear or worry, everything becoming a little bit less pale as we did. We all danced, a sea of laughing colors in the forest.

We never felt so alive!

"What happened to all of you?" I asked.

Flights Shine said, "Well, Pink Velvet and I were talking about if we could maybe find or figure out a magic spell that could make Breezies the size of the big ponies or shrink big ponies down to normal size, when this weird animal, that looked like was bunch of different animals put together, appeared out of the sky out of nowhere, ya know, like Rarity when she magicked herself here. He waved happily at us, and we all waved happily at him, he was really nice.

"He said 'Hello! Nice to meet you all! Look at how cute and pretty you all are! I'm a friend! Call me Mr. D! I--I hope you're not all scared by how I look!' Of course we weren't scared of him. He was just a new friend to play with. That's the Breezie way, and we told him so.

"'Oh my! Such wonderful and friendly little ponies! You all deserve a big bright gift!' And that was when the blue flowers grew everywhere. They were all so bright and cheery. We didn't stop to think and check if there was anything wrong with them. They were a gift from a new friend after all. A lot of us got the blue pollen all over ourselves. Then they got really sick. And Mr. D was laughing. When...when they all... change...he laughed harder...he said to run and hide, or they'd eat us too."

Pink Velvet hugged herself and we all hugged her. "I remember being really sick, and I hurt all over...then, all I knew was that I was hungry, really hungry, and no matter how much I ate, it would never be enough, and that...and that...my friends, were the only thing that looked tasty."

"Mr. D. said he'd have more fun with us, but he had to be somewhere, and he just vanished. He told us 'Enjoy the poison joke. And don't let the parasprite bite.' " Flight Shine continued. "We tried hiding in our houses but ... they just follow us...And everything turned pale, and the sky turned black."

Tra La La asked, "Why did you hide underneath the flowers if you saw what they did?"

"We thought it would be the last place that the...parasprites, would look for us. It kinda worked. A little. We didn't know what we were going to do until you three came back."

"And lured our changed friends back," I said sadly.

Tiddlywink and Tra La La, okay, everyone, hugged me for that one. "Don't be sad! You did your best. And it saved us all."

I couldn't help but smile at those words.

"Our pony friends! Really bad things are happening in Ponyville! Ponies are becoming different ponies, and fighting and not kissing and making up! It's awful! We have to help them!"

"Yes we do!" We all said together. No it's not scary or sad. Why would that be? We're united in heart. We stand together as one. We work together as a whole. We support each other like feathers on a wing. We're friends and family.

"What about the blue flowers?" Flights Flightly asked.

"We can ask our Pony friends to help dig them up, or maybe we can get Mr. D to see what he did was really not nice at all so he can fix his gift."

We all nodded at that perfect logic.

"My little parasprites! Have you eaten up all the Breezies yet? Please say you haven't! Oh right you can't speak! Ok, two squeaks if you have, one if you haven't! Oh right, you can't understand me either! Or think! Oh but I hope you haven't eaten them all yet! I really want to watch the last of them squirm and whimper before they're-" He made tasty mouth sounds -"gobbled up, tasty treats!"

"...Everyone but Tiddlywink and Tra La La, get inside." I said looking up.

Mr. D was smaller now, pretty much the size of a big pony or a bit smaller, and he was made of different animals from before, I guess he liked to look different at different times. He was looking this way and that with his paw over his eyes like a sea-captain.

"I want to stay too," said Daisyslow.

"And me too," said Twinkle.

"And me," said Pink Velet.

"Get inside please!" I stared at them. The others all startled at me, wide eyed, nodded and quickly flew into our flower homes and other homes made from natural things in the forest.

My two best friends flanked me as I looked up at Mr. D.

He finally saw us. No. I wasn't afraid. I couldn't afford to be. And I was really too...what's that word? Angry? Thanks! I was too angry to be scared. "I knew I missed some the first time, it won't hurt if I had just a little more fun with-"

Rainbow Dash, the pegasus she now was, rammed into him from behind so fast I didn't even see her until after she hit. Mr. D did several tumble overs in the sky like a barrel, he suddenly stopped with a screeching noise just floating without even using his tiny wings. Rainbow Dash ...you... you came back.

Mr D did not sound happy. "OW! Owwwww.... Hey! Why you! Ya stupid horse! Yer gonna get it now you-"

"Come Along, Discordance, You've Dallied Long Enough Young Draconequus."

That big voice...it sounded scary, but it didn't sound...well, like the thing Mr. D was being. Mean? That's the word? Don't be silly, 'mean' is when you're trying to explain something.

"Uh-oh... FINE!" Mr. D looked really really really scared. "I have... uh, important work to do!" Then he grabbed Rainbow Dash's head! "So I guess you get off easy this time, Little Miss Remade! Enjoy your all-expenses-paid trip to that wonderful place where souls-yet-to-be-born-go! But I'm gonna REMEMBER you, stupid horse! And the next time, I'll break you in two!"

We zoomed up to help without a word to each other.

She stuck out her tongue at him. It was funny. "Ooooh, look at the badflank, I'm shaking in my little horseshoes."

"In-TWO!" He hissed, still rubbing where Rainbow Dash had hit him and like a light switch he was gone.

Rainbow Dash startled, and she looked really sleepy. Her wings folded, and fell from the sky. All three of us caught her. Then a lot more of us caught her. Huh?

I looked around. Flightly Shine. Daisyslow. Pink Velvet. Midnight. All of us.

"You didn't really think we'd let you do this alone, that isn't the Breezie way," Twinkle said.

"No...no it isn't." I gently shook my head.

We carefully brought Rainbow Dash down into Breezie Blossom. I was wrong. I was so completely wrong. Rainbow Dash. She was still in there after all. She came back, only a friend would do that. She smiled in her sleep. She looked magnificently dashing darling.

We laid her gently on the ground, hovering around her. I flew closer to her, and lightly brushed some strands of hair out of the way on her face. She slowly opened one eye at me. "Hmmmm?" She hummed, still asleep.

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash, you can rest right now," I said kindly, "Thank you for protecting our friends. We can talk later. I promise." I kissed her as she closed her eyes. It felt like the right thing to do.

None of us said anything to how while Breezie Blossom was colorful again, everything outside it wasn't pale anymore, it was like the sky, fading to black.

There was another big pony among us. No flash of light nor nothing, she was just there, and she was bigger than any pony we'd ever seen before. What was even weirder was how she had the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn and the figure of an Earth pony. HEY! Why not the feelers or wings of a Breezie? That's not fair. Or did she? It was hard to tell.

She looked around, but unlike with Princess Rarity when she dropped in on us, she looked more surprised than confused. "Oh my." We all held our breath, until her eyes settled on me, then she looked like Puzzlemint when she found the clue that caused everything to fit into place. "Oh I see. That's why."

"What do you see?" I heard myself ask.

"That this world, that you, had one last miracle in her after all," she said calmly, she reminded me of Kimono.

She had a blue coat, and a white mane like shinning pearls, her cutie mark was a pair of doves' wings. She was wearing red barding with a small red crown.

"Excuse us, but who are you?" I asked for all of us....She felt...nice...Like someone who would always listen...I don't really understand.

She spread out her wings held her head high, then lowered herself to be eye level with us and looked at me warmly. "I've had many names. Starglow, Angel Pony, the name given to me by My Parents is Abbatissa...I am an Alicorn, the Concept of Prayer."

Prayer. I'd heard that word someplace before, but where? I felt like it was just at the tip of my brain, along with a whole bunch of things! It had something to do with being married. What did that word mean again?

"It's not safe for all to be here anymore. You need to go someplace safe," she continued.

"We can't just leave Breezie Blossom," Tiddlywink said flying between her and me.

"If you stay, the shadows and the nothingness will devour you as they devour this place."

"Then we're not going," Tra La La said.

"We're staying here," Daisyslow said.

"And what'll happen to Rainbow Dash?" I asked.

"She is safe. The shadows can't touch her. She simply needs to wait a long long time for the world to catch up with her again."

"...So, she's like Spike was? Sleeping until its time to wake up?"

She nodded slowly. "I believe that is as accurate comparison as is possible, given the circumstances."

"I'm not leaving her," I say.

"Zipzee, you've stayed at this world's side until the very end, like any mother should, it's time to come home."

It was like an electric shock went through me. "Mother?"

"Oh, right, you don't know that...Everything that exists that you've known before today, exists because of you. Every one who has lived in this world owes their lives to you," She said slowly, carefully, like she was going among a bunch of puddles without rain boots on.

All my friends gasped.

"Is it my fault everything is going wrong today?" I asked.

"...it isn't your fault Zipzee."

Something about the way she said that... I looked back at Rainbow Dash, sleeping...forget all that! "I'm staying with Rainbow Dash until she wakes up!"

"And we're all staying with Zipzee," Tiddlywink said as the rest crowded around me.

Abba... Abbaticia? Abbotissua? About-two-Susan? She looked really sad. Like her heart was going to break. "You truly live for the sake of each other..." Her horn glowed and her voice had a weird echo to it, "Your spirit will never vanish from ponies hearts."

I felt a chill go through me. The sky above was black. The forest beyond Breezie Blossom was black. It was cold, like a winter without Christmas. It was like the world outside had gone blind. And...something awful. Something bad. Like something that didn't like us because it didn't like us. Was the air getting thin? No. That wasn't it. Breezie Blossom was safe and would always be safe as long as we were here to take care of her.

"But where are all our pony friends? Are they are out there? In that darkness?" I asked for us all.

"...They are sleeping, like Rainbow Dash. The world had a bad mess up, and had to back up and start over again. They're just waiting for the world to catch up with them again. To put it simply, they're in a tomorrow waiting for today to catch up again."

"But why is Rainbow Dash now a pegasus?"

"Because that is how she'll be when the world catches up again."

"Why can't she just be how she was before?"

"Because the world won't have quite the same rules as before. She's this way because that's what'll help her fit into the new rules. And there are those that wouldn't like it if ponies didn't fit with the new rules that were made so the mess up just didn't happen again in the first place."

"Are all our friends...made different then?"

"Not all of them. Some of them are waiting for you right now. The rest will join up with you later."

I felt like we were all leafs in a river, helpless, being swept along by the currents. Or ants that a big dragon had stepped on and never even knew we were there.

"We're not leaving Breezie Blossom," Tra La La said adamantly crossing her front hooves. The rest of the swarm nodded following her example.

"My little ponies," the big pony pleaded, "There is nothing else left. This is a bubble. You are prisoners if you stay here. And if you do you won't be able to be with your friends outside of Breezie Blossom and Rainbow Dash won't be able to be with her friends. The rules of here, and the rules that'll be, will be simply too different for you to be with each other. You won't able to visit them, and they won't be able to visit you."

Breezie Blossom was our home...but our friends. But I had made a promise. Wysteria, what would you do? What could you do? You always made it look so easy. Taking ideas that couldn't work together and making them work. No matter how stubborn the others were about their own ideas you made them all fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

"What'll happen if we leave Breezie Blossom?" I asked. "TO Breezie Blossom?"

"... It'll fade away as the rest of the world has."

"...Tra La La, Tiddlywink, I want you to watch out for the rest of the Breezies," I said, "All of you, go to where our friends will be waiting for us. I'll...I'll stay here and look after Breezie Blossom and Rainbow Dash in the mean time."

They all gasped. "No Zipzee!" My swarm cried together, "You can't!"

I stared at them, they all cringed back, I felt guilty and sick looking at them that way, "I'll join you all as soon as I can. Don't worry, Breezie Blossom will still be looked after by the Breezie. I promise, it'll all work out."

"Breezies stick together."

"Breezies don't abandon each other."

"You either all go or I go instead! And... and... and I'll... " Wysteria help me out here. "I won't be able to keep my promise to Rainbow Dash."

They gasped, I stare, standing up straight, back hooves together and front hooves at my sides.

Tra La La and Tiddlywink hugged me. "We'll be waiting for you," Tra La La said tearfully as Abby looked at me sadly.

"Miss Abba-tissue, I mean... Abbatissa. Can you... please stay with me and Rainbow Dash for just a tiny bit after? Just a really tiny bit? PLEASE?"

Abbatissa sighed. She lowered her head. "I shall stay with you so that you can see me for a short while."

Tiddly Wink and Tra La La were crying, they kissed me. I keep myself stiff on the outside. It hurt so much! Being a cruel Zipzee.

Tra La La took Tiddlywink's hoof and flew back to the others. She sang.

"Till we meet again,
Even if we don't know when,

May time wash away these stains,
Till only our love remains.

I'm not sure what we'll gain,
I just hope it'll ease this pain."

No way, was I letting them leave on a sad song like that!

I sang back,

"It's does matter!
Because our hearts are never going to shatter!

We're birds of a feather,
through heaven and nether!

Inside we'll be together,
no matter the weather, we're as tough as leather!
Friendship is the strongest of tether!

... Because the Breezies will always know."

They sang back.

"How to put on a show.
With plough and hoe,
Our flowers will always grow.

We're one with the breeze, just let it blow."

Abbatissa's horn glowed, the others' wings curled around themselves as hugged their legs to themselves. They closed their eyes, they looked so peaceful. They started to glow and shine, like stars, then like shooting stars in reverse, they zipped up into the sky and out of sight.

I looked at Abbatissa as they twinkled away and out of sight. "Please send Breezie Blossom with them."

"WHAT?" "HUH?"

I turned to see, "DAISYSLOW! What are you doing here?!"

She put her front hooves behind her back, not meeting my eyes, looking as shy as a pegasus, "Well, when everyone else agreed, I didn't want to you to be lonely ..."

"UGH! Daisyslow...you were supposed to go with the others."

"Well, the unicorn pegasus big pony said you stayed here like a mom should, I stayed here like a friend should. I thought, one of us should stay with you."

Abbatissa got my attention back, "Zipzee! What do you mean? Send Breezie Blossom to them? My Father judged you all so innocent and pure even for your world that you were all free to come back home, the home all ponies' hearts came from."

"And what's there for them?"

"Happiness."

"They can't have happiness if Breezie Blossom isn't there for them to take care of."

"And you think missing one of their FRIENDS is somehow less important-?!" The Alley-Corn boomed.

"I made a promise!"

"What makes you think what you're asking is even possible!?"

I'll admit, I maybe sorta might of not quite thought that far. But I was sure I was going to figure out something. Just watch Wysteria. But first,

"Daisyslow you have to go with the others."

"NO!"

"They're going to miss you."

"You think they won't miss you?"

"Both of you," Abbatissa said, "If Breezie Blossom were to be...'sent' to where the rest of your swarm is...then you'd either fade away, or be remade so you fit in the rules of the new world. And you saw what happened to Rainbow Dash."

"Yes, her heart is still there. She saved us. She still cares about us. That's what counts." Then I brightened, "So there IS a way!"

"I never said that."

"But you never said it was impossible!" I chirped!

"... It seems I didn't."

"So how does it happen!?"

"..." I knew that look, it was the look of a musician needing to make a new song on the fly. Her horn glowed again as she spoke. "It has never had to happen before. There is no precedent."

"I didn't vote for it," Daisyslow said.

"Not that kind of precedent. There are no rules for anything like this because it's never been brought up before. Selfish ponies have wanted to take things, and their places with them when they...leave since forever. Some ponies offer up things to those who have gone on ahead, but they are more tokens of expressing their love than actual things."

"Then this'll be the precedent!" I said. "You said there was one last miracle for me to save my friends. Maybe there can be one last miracle for everyone else."

"... If you do this, then all that'll be promised is that all three of you shall meet after the world is remade. Whatever happens after that is up to fate. Your place with the others will no longer be secure, you may lose it."

"Tell me."

"I am prayer. If you can remember what a prayer is, then pray. What you see around you is being kept alive by you alone. It is in a state of uncertainty. Between everywhere and nowhere. Pray from your heart not your own desires, pray what you hope for others. If they're answered, they're meant to be answered, if they aren't, then they weren't. That's all I can offer you."

Prayer. That word again. Familiar, but I can't remember when I last heard it.

What was I supposed to do? I had started doing it because I had loved someone very very very much. Well, then doing it again now makes sense.

I...pray, that Tra La La, Tiddlywink, Pink Velvet, Flights Flightly, Flights Shine, Twinkle, Aloes, Azelea Bloomd, Midnight, my entire family, could still take care of Breezie Blossom where they are, so they can be happy waiting for all our friends to join them.

...

UGH!

I feel like someone just cut away a part of me like a piece of cake.

The colors...they weren't fading...they were being...lifted away, to where the others had gone. The bad blue flowers DID fade, they did disappear.

The four of us were the only four things with bright colors left.

Abby spread her wings, "Your prayer is answered. I have done everything I can. What happens now, is up to fate. I look forward to meeting you again someday Zipzee, Daisyslow, Rainbow Dash. I bid you goodnight."

And before I could say anything, she lifted herself off the ground with a flap of her wings, and she was gone.

"Zipzee," Daisyslow yawned, she leaned on him, "I'm feeling really tired right now, do you mind if I take a nap right now?" Her eyes were droopy.

"...no, I don't mind at all. Take as much rest as you want."

"Thank you... Zipzee... " She fell asleep in the air, I caught her and gently laid her on the ground.

I fluttered up and said, "It's alright you can come out now."

Just silence.

"No really, I promise, no one is going to hurt you, you don't have to be scared."

The earth pony shape shadow gingerly stuck her head out from behind a tree. No, I wasn't afraid.

"It's alright, really, it's alright, come on...don't be scared." I said as gently was I gestured with my hooves for her to come forward. "There's no one here but us now."

The shadow timidly came out from her hiding place. She didn't make any other moves. She wasn't the voice I heard before, not at all.

"Look...the Alicorn is gone now. No one is going to hurt you."

The shadow slowly shook her head.

"Still someone who could hurt you?"

The shadow shook her head. And pointed at me.

"There's some one who can hurt me? Who?"

The shadow pointed at herself. She looked on the verge of crying. I flew closer, the shadow actually took a step back.

"You could hurt me?"

The shadow nodded.

"Like...what happened to Rainbow Dash?"

The shadow nodded again.

I could almost make out some details now. She had a long tail and green eyes.

"But what'll happen to you?"

The earth pony shadow gestured all around us, at the black sky, at the black place around our pale island.

"You'll just fade away?"

The shadow nodded.

"And then what?"

The shadow looked surprised, I don't think she thought I'd ask that next.

"Nothing happens? You just...aren't?"

The shadow shook her head. She made some miming with her front hooves and muzzle. It took a minute for me to realize what she meant.

"You're eaten?"

The shadow nodded.

"I...I understand why you wanted to be part of things when given a chance then. But...then why didn't you do anything? There's no one but us now."

The shadow looked at Rainbow Dash, looked at her own back, then up at the sky then at me.

"You want to fly?"

The shadow violently shook her head. She made a wiping away motion with her face then look at Rainbow Dash again. This time I think I did get it.

"...who you are, will be wiped away too? It's not one or the other, but a mix of both?"

The shadow nodded, looking like she was crying. Then pointed at me, and wiped her face.

"...you don't want to. But... why you and none of the others? They didn't care."

The shadow lowered her head, and slowly shook her head, looking ashamed.

"You don't even know."

She nodded.

"Maybe, maybe you're a shadow of being scared." I asked, not sure what I meant myself.

The shadow looked up at me, her pink mane covering half her face.

"But you don't have to feel just afraid anymore. Now you can feel all sorts of things. I promised I'd be with Rainbow Dash when she wakes up. We can there together for her." I flew closer.

The shadow backpedals and tripped and fell on herself, I giggled, she looked kinda cute like that. I could make out more details now. She had a yellow coat, and her cutie mark was six pink flowers. She had a green bow on the base of her tail (like all the shadows had).

"Shhhhhhhhh." I cooed, "Just stay right there. Everything is going to be okay. No shadow wants to be trapped in the darkness where it can't be seen. Don't worry, I'll be your night light."

I flew into her too fast for her to backpedal.

Posey. Her name was Posey.

++++

Posey. Her name was Posey.

~~Posey.~~

Posey.

L~~ittle p~~o~~ny. I'~~v~~e heard heard it befor~~e.

Posey.

Posey was my name!

++++

A warm light inside!

Feeling feelings!

Thinking thought!

Remembering memories!

Hearing sounds!

Seeing sights!

A light inside the darkness to cast the shadow to fill the void!

I look with our green eyes, with our blue eyes.

I stretch our back, I stretch my wings.

Buds become flowers.

Caterpillars, becoming butterflies.

We love all nature has to offer and love our friends.

And we'll work hard to help those who can't help themselves.

+++++

I look around, what a lonely and lifeless place, but I'm not sad, because I know this place will bloom with beautiful flowers again, and animals will come back and fill the forest with their song again. This place may look a little scary, but I'm not alone. I may be weak on my own, but for my friends, I won't break.

It was so shy and scared, but I was willing flutter inside the shadows for another.

I see Rainbow Dash, laying down, she's sleeping so peacefully. I give her a little hug in her sleep. I know we'll be together. Sweet dreams, Rainbow Dash.

I'm happy for you, Rainbow Dash, your heart is stronger than Firefly's shadow.

Daiyslow, she's sleeping on the ground too. She looks so small now, so fragile. While I'm happy all my family is all safe, maybe a little company won't be so bad after all.

I settle down next to Daisyslow and slowly stroke her mane, I have to be so gentle, I'm so big now.

Flowers, animals, friends, they all need love and care.

Then Daisyslow starts to get bigger. And is changing colors as I stroke her. She stays blond (of course). Her antenna vanish, her four wings merge into two, and become all feathery. Her pale violet turns a soft gray. Her two starfish cutie mark (or were those star shaped flowers? Zipzee never asked her), split apart, and became bubbles. She snuggled deeply against me, and I brought a wing over her.

We were both ready for our long nap now. But I knew we'd all be together when we wake up. So I can dream without fear.

To Be Continued...

Bright Eyes' Story Part 3: After The Disaster

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
My Little Pony Tales
Bright Eyes The Earth Pony
Pony POV Series Side Story Episode 6 of 7
Part 3 of 4
MLP: POV Seven Dreams/ Seven Nightmares
Written By Alex Warlorn
Edited By Kendell2 and Louis

"Fluttershy." Twilight Sparkle looked at the diary unbelieving. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack. So all of us were ponies from the erased world too?" She asked in shocked. We could hear her thinking, 'in this mixed souls nonsense.'

We spoke in our regal divine voice, "Elements of Harmony attract Elements of Harmony, it is their nature. No matter the world."

Twilight took a defensive stance, "You are not going to tell me that we all became friends because of something that happened in another universe. We became friends on our own, through our own choices and what we shared and endured through this universe."

Of course she'd defend her friendship, it was what was most precious to her. Now I understand Rota Fortuna's frustration about mortals' perceptions of her.

"We do not seek to trivialize the bonds you have with your friends, Twilight Sparkle. Nor would we wish to. We are saying that if your herd could form bonds in this iteration of reality, what makes you think you couldn't have formed bonds also in its previous ones on your own?"

The little unicorn startled and the aggression vanished from her face at finding out her self-righteousness was being wasted. It always shocks mortals when they find out the big bad goddess is not trying to trivialize their choices.

"Uh, I'm sorry Princess Luna, I... I didn't mean to, to be thinking you were... er. I'm sorry." She made a slight bow."

"You are forgiven, Twilight Sparkle, I understand your words."

Our sister's apprentice looked relieved. "One thing I don't understand."

"Only one thing?" We smirked.

She blushed a tiny bit at that, adorable. "Why were they all so fixated on not leaving Breezie Blossom? They put a lot of work into it, but couldn't they have just made a new garden somewhere else?"

"Dear Pinkamena, you were a farmer once, yes?"

"Yes."

"Explain it to her."

"Twilight, Breezie Blossom was their garden. They couldn't abandon it. They put their heart and soul into that land. Everything that grew there was a part of them."

Twilight Sparkle seemed to understand this.

"So... " Now it was dear Pinkamina's turn to have her say. "I'm not a member of Bright Eyes' family either?" The disappointment of this chapter not giving her the truth clearly visible even if her mane remained poofy.

There was only one chapter left that could give her the answers she seeks.

"Remember, this journal does not speak of who Rainbow Dash was. And maybe it is for the best if that remains a mystery. Tis a very real possibly the pony she was before never even met Starlight and her friends. She could have been Starlight's mother for all we know."

Thank goodness we can not get headaches. "The point tis, my dear Pinkamena, this journal very well MAY NOT contain the truth you seek for your own closure. You may have to be prepared to accept that truth."

The pink Earth pony stiffened. Twilight Sparkle, in spite of her fears that Pinkamena seeking the answers to Pinkamena's past could be destroying the party pony, saw the pain on her friend's face, and hugged her.

"I ..." She swallowed, "I understand."

Understood, but prepared? We'd see.

The little unicorn asked, "Does Fluttershy... after she... she was a Nightmare, does she know about Tiddly Wink?"

"By all rights it shouldn't even logically be her. Since the Breezies left body and soul. And while she saw Pinkamena's hidden memories, those were a special case. And similar names do not mean it she the same pony. There is no proof the Breezie Twinkle Shine is the same as the Twinkle Shine ye knew at our sister's school. But if Ponyville's Tiddly Wink is one and the same, then we doubt Princess Gaia would act any differently if does or does not know. As lost as Fluttershy was in the darkness, she genuinely loved all those under her like they were her own foals."

Twilight looks back at the page trying to shift through the many fantastic truths she's been struck with. "It's so...weird...the six of us are friends... but I'd never imagined Derpy being so tied to Fluttershy. It seems so random. She's never had a close friendship with any of us."

We give a sigh. "As our sister told Zipzee, there were no promises, it is rather beautiful that Fluttershy forged her friendship with Rainbow Dash after all. Just like the friendships Miss Hooves has made with others. Their fates have simply never let them become deep friends."

"Maybe somepony should fix that."

"No Twilight Sparkle. Do not attempt to engineer a friendship. Ye know why our sister never told ye that having friends was the key to saving us from ourselves do ye not?"

"... Because the Elements wouldn't have worked, it would have been shallow and forced."

"If I may intrude in this discussion,
I have my own confession."

We held composure as the ponies jumped. We were wondering when she'd finally speak up. We are not omnipotent. It was the Zebra, Zecora. This had just became somewhat...complicated...

She bowed to me.
"Greetings, Princess of the Night,
I am sorry I gave you such a fright.
I know I asked it of your sister to make my case,
but now that we are face to face,
I wish to give my sincerest apologies to you,
for the trouble my actions did ensue.
I have been a victim of slander's cruel bite,
to heap it on another simply was not right."

"Yes...our sister already told us of your apology, Zecora. Consider it accepted...but truth be told, considering Pipsqueak desired for us to return next Nightmare Night to frighten ponies in jest, we ask you do not cease telling the stories. Just please make it clear that the true us is not to be feared."

"I see and understand this request,
I believe I can do my best."

"Thank you, Miss Zecora."

"So...um...how much did you just hear?" Twilight asked the question we all were thinking.

"We were already on our way when a tornado did occur,
then when I heard you all reading, myself I did obscure."

Our sister is correct, sometimes subtle entrances are best...

I believe Zecora saw Twilight's fear as easily as I did.

"Twilight Sparkle, my friend dear,
there is no reason to fear.
What you have spoken here tonight,
does not give me a fright."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"I may not be in my homeland far away,
but from my religious beliefs I have not strayed.
I already believed in reincarnation,
I knew this was not my first incarnation."

Of course, we had forgotten she was Zebrafrican, many religions in that part of the world believed souls followed an endless wheel until they could achieve enlightenment to be free of it. In reality my brother only lifts his rule of 'you only live once' in very rare, very special situations and not with a new identity (except for Strife's pet project universe with the magical Dragon Eggs, but that was his wedding gift to her).

But we did not tell Zecora that. Our Father has always told us that mortals need not believe He exists to enter into Him, they merely need to be good ponies and sincerely seek forgiveness for their sins. If her beliefs make Zecora desire to be a good zebra to earn a better life after this one, we have no reason to correct her.

That Tirek was able to return to any semblance of life clawing his way back to this world, hanging onto what remained of the Rainbow of Darkness and our own magic, speaks volumes of our former suitor. I wonder if Havoc let Tirek's soul do so as His personal joke on our royal self.

Zecora reached into her saddle bags and produced a rather beautiful purple kimono.

"I believe I now understand the worth, of this gift Pinkie Pie gave on my birth's anniversary.
It is because it was given to me in a past life that still lives in her memory."

Pinkie looked down at her hooves. "I buried my memories of my old friends for so long...I figured I owed their memory that much..."

Zecora donned the kimono, I must admit, it looks quite fetching on her.
"Now that your reason why I see,
this gift is even more special to me."

The mare looks to the lost version of Ponyville that surrounds us.
"I suppose I have known things where this way,
since Princess Gaia's day.
When I discovered this town was not brought from my dreams,
I knew there had to be more than it seems."

Even we were surprised by this. "Zecora, what do you mean?"

Zecora looked to us.
"Ever since my home in Everfree I did make,
a strange form did my dreams take..."

She stated, walking over to a half finished gazebo at the edge of the miniature town...we remember it. We and Discord visited it at the end of her last life.

"I dreamed I was a purple Earth Pony with wisdom unmeasured,
and for that knowledge I was quite treasured.
I lived in a world were conflict was rare,
and society as a whole was quite fair.
One day to me a green pony named Minty came,
asking a peculiar question seemed her game.
I believe the question to me she did address,
was how ponies should make a sign to impress.
But when I came for this sign to see,
a surprise party awaited me.
I was given a set of giant charms I found magical,
and another that was far more practical.
However, both I held dear,
because they came from friends near."

We looked to Twilight Sparkle. A spark of distant recognition was clear in her eyes as Zecora spoke. But from Pinkie Pie's stories or a piece of Minty's soul, we did not know.

Then Zecora tilted the world.

"In other dreams I was a teacher at an Earth Pony school,
but in my teaching I was fair in my rule."

Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle's jaws hung open. They stared at the zebra with large eyes. It seems no matter the world, you'll be there to help Twilight Zecora.

"I chose one day to let my students hold a mock court,
but it quickly stopped being of a mock sort.
A treasured pupil named Starlight I put in as judge,
because I knew she would not let her viewpoint be tainted by grudge.
Of this story you know the rest,
but I can tell more if you wish me to test."

We look in her eyes. We may no longer bear the Element of Honesty, but we still know it when we see it. "...She speaks the truth, these were her dreams." Twilight would have assumed as much, considering we had not gone in detail of Kimono's party in any of the stories we'd read here. But of course, we the Princess of the Night already knew what Zecora's dreams were.

Twilight Sparkle appeared to be trying to make sense of this. "But...how? Kimono was kept over, but she never asked to keep her memories like Pinkie did."

"...Zecora, you are skilled at Zebra Voodoo, are you not?"

"I do not like to brag of my skill,
but I can cure many an ill.
Though I prefer not use that word,
given how it is used outside the zebra herd.

While with my talents any beast that try to breach my home falls,
I do not deal in cursed dolls.

While you all made me an optimist,
I prefer to think of myself as an alchemist.
From the plants that grow,
many a mixture I can sow.
So I believe one could say,
of my kind's magic I know the way."

"I think she knows as much about Zebra magic as I do about unicorn magic," Twilight chimed in. "I don't know of anything she can't cure with it."

"We believe we know the answer, Twilight," We reported as Twilight's statement made the Zebra blush. "Everfree, due to us and our sister's efforts, is a location where nine leylines converge. There are three locations like this in the world, here, a location in Griffin lands and a third in the homeland of the Deer, we don't know their modern names just yet. While the true convergent location is where our old castle is located, Zecora's dwelling is likely close. Zebra, Deer, and Minotaurs, due to the nature of their magic, can all gain incredible knowledge of this world and others. Her proximity to the leylines combined with her affinity for Zebra Voodoo likely enabled her to unlock memories which she should have been incapable of accessing." We shrugged. "Or it could be simply that Ms. Hackney died at the exact moment of the great change so her spiritual state was in flux when the timeline changed. And seeing this imitation of what never was unlocked them."

"All I know is what around us can be seen,
matched what I saw in that first dream.
That is why I came here tonight,
to get my thoughts on it just right.
I had thought this maybe have been a life before this,
your story did not prove me amiss."

"Uh, guys, all this exposition is nice, but we're kind of dragging the story out, and this chapter is going into overtime already," Pinkie explained.

"She is correct, we should continue...Zecora...will you continue to listen?"

"I would very much desire,
to hear more of the life I did once aspire.
While that I might make no discovery from this book,
there is no harm in taking a look."

We nod. "Twilight, Pinkie, is this alright with you."

Twilight looks hesitant, Pinkie nods. "Zecora, are you sure? This...isn't the easiest thing to read."

"Twilight, until now I was not forced to hear this story,
listening to more is no worry.
And I am delighted to know that over and over,
we have proven friends, Clover."

Twilight kept her reactions to herself and nodded as Zecora gently nuzzled her for friendship of three lifetimes.

"...Alright...let us continue."

++++++

After The Disaster

My brain was on fire. No. Too nice, molten magma was being poured into my brainpan! Can't move. Can't think. Can't see. Can't hear. Can't touch. Can't remember. Only pain. Just the pain. The burning, the consuming, doesn't stop. Nothing but ashes, but still it burns. Eating me up. Pain doesn't stop. Pain can't stop. Pain won't stop. I'm melting. Right off my bones. My naked bones freezing. Head still filled with magma. Wanna retch but body won't let me. Nothing in...the universe...except... the pain ...

"Bright Eyes..."

Under the ocean. Drowning. No air. Pressure. So much pressure. Crushing me. Bearing down on me. Please, leave me alone. Water in my lungs. The weight. Pressing. Pressing. Killing me.

"Bright Eyes..."

Desert. Endless desert. Hot winds of sand cutting through me. Hooves sinking into the sand. Trudging forward, always uphill, against the sands. Freezing at night. Burning during the day. Hide cooked and peeling. Endless desert. No end. No beginning. Dry as the sand inside.

"Bright Eyes!"

Darkness. Darkness so deep it's solid. It's everywhere, it's everything, I am the darkness and the darkness is me. Consuming. Crushing. Murky. Hollow. Suffocating.

"Bright Eyes!"

Lance that pierces the darkness. Thread of light. Cutting through the blackness like a sword. White spindle splitting the gloom. Light shines. I am not the darkness.

The thread dances in front of me, I grab onto the rope for dear life. A million dark hooves pulling at me. A snake thing coiling around me. Trying to swallow me! Breath! White knight. Pull me up. Pull me out. Pull me free. Breath! Rising up. Spread my wings and fly. BREATH!

...

Warmth. Peace. Safe. Rest.

++++++

Light.

Want to move.

Can't move.

Feed. Eat. Dark. Sleep.

Repeat.

And it repeated.

White Knight.

Outside with him. Blue sky. Green fields. Cool air.

Books. With words. They fit together. They form ideas and places.

Always with the white knight, with his lance that pierced the darkness.

...did I just think that?

This is not my home.

Where is this supposed to be?

Tractor and combine outside through the window. This is a farm?

Why is the bed so small? This isn't my bed.

Why are there so few books? This isn't my room.

White Knight enters the room. He is my white knight.

We go downstairs.

This is most certainly not my home.

Farming isn't nature. It's one of the hallmarks of civilization.

"She's doing a lot better today." White Knight says to a pink haired mare with a heart cutie mark.

"I'd say a whole lot better, Bright Eyes, can you understand me?"

Understand her? What a silly question. If I couldn't, then I could hardly say no.

Bright Eyes. That was me. My name. Otherwise their eyes wouldn't be pointing in my direction.

"Yeigh-" I began to say, then coughed. She brought me some water. "Yhess. Yes."

"Do you know where you are?"

"A farm."

"Do you know who I am?"

"... ... I should, shouldn't I?" I say sadly. She wouldn't have asked that question if I wasn't.

The stallion held me by the shoulders and looked me in the eye. "Bright Eyes, do you know who I am?"

I felt like I was being given a pop quiz for my life I had forgotten to study for. "White Knight?" I couldn't keep the uncertainty out of my voice.

His heart cracked.

I felt mine do the same.

I looked at his cutie mark hoping for a clue for what call him: a fleur-de-lis.

A thought struck me. I looked at my own cutie mark.

I didn't have one.

But! But I was a mare! Not some little filly! My cutie mark! How could I not have a cutie mark?! What was my cutie mark?! I remembered! I had to remember! There was no way a pony could forget something like that! It was impossible unless!

I bring my hooves to my head, "Where is everything-?!"

++++

Sweetheart, as she introduced herself said, "Clover, a friend of ours, once faked losing her memory out of stage fright. Most of us didn't fall for it. But not because she didn't lose her cutie mark. Losing your memory and not your cutie mark isn't unheard of. It..."

"It means the original Bright Eyes is gone," I say. "When ponies go crazy, if their Egos become twisted enough, their cutie marks change to reflect this. A cutie mark emerges when a pony has attained a defining sense of self. It means I've suffered enough brain damage that I've lost myself."

Why did I know that but not who I was?!

Sweetheart nodded sadly. "Yes. When Lancer brought you to the farm, you cutie mark was already gone."

My White Knight, Lancer, sat besides me.

"Why a farm? Why not a hospital? Why not a doctor?"

"I am a doctor," Sweetheart said non-agressively. "And...there's been a disaster. Nearly anything that needs electricity won't work. At all. And there were...a lot of explosions...infrastructure is just gone."

I felt my blood chill, "There was a war?"

Sweetheart shook her head, "No. Not in the least. It was the opposite just before. There was a terrible accident. It wasn't anypony's fault. Nopony knows what went wrong. It shouldn't have happened. Magic and technology just... went wrong."

"Magic is a science." I heard myself say, "It's not like they're acids and bases."

"I know. Nopony knows what went wrong. It all just...broke."

So not only had I lost my memory. I had lost the world too.

Sweetheart asked Lancer to leave, he did so very reluctantly.

She asked me to write down some things. Then look away. And tell her what I had written down. She asked me some simply yes or no questions. Then asked me to repeat them. This went on for what felt like hours.

She asked for Lancer to come back in, it looked like he had been talking with a blue stallion with a comb cutie mark who had a bandages covering one eye.

"Bright Eyes, you have retrograde amnesia. Which refers to lost memories before the disaster. But I can safely say there're no signs of you having anterograde amnesia, so you should have no trouble making any new memories."

That was a strangely powerful relief.

Lancer asked right away, "What about getting her OLD memories back?"

"She has to do that on her own."

"You're joking! What about memory retrieval? Like hypnosis and like that? You can't just abandon her like this!"

"Lancer I'm surprised at you. No, no I'm sorry. Listen...hypnosis? The tricks they use to retrieve suppressed memories? More often than not, all it'll do is create FAKE memories. Innocent stallions have been arrested on testimony of retrieved memories that when looked at later, couldn't have factually ever happened. If anypony puts Bright Eyes in a malleable state and then tries to force them out, all you'll do is encourage her subconscious to conjure up memories to fit the questions you're asking. Memories are like sand. For example, can you tell me which of these two teas you prefer? Just a sip."

She gave him two different cups of tea. He picked one and she gave him more.

"Can you tell me why you like that one?"

Lancer drank more. And he answered.

"Lancer...the tea you've been drinking is the kind you chose not to have."
What? "What? But-but how?"

"Teddy's shown me a few slight of hoof tricks. It's not much, but you basically rewrote your own memory Lancer. We all do it unconsciously. The only pony who can safely bring out Bright Eyes' memories is Bright Eyes. All the rest of us can do is provide the keys and hope she can find a lock that fits. The problem is that magic was involved in this and, I'm no expert at magic."

I saw her eyes drift over to me.

"But I was?"

"...You were very good at Earth Pony magic. Yes."

I waited for more...but she had just given me a key, and I didn't know how to find the lock.

+++

I met Sweetheart's husband Teddy. What a polite stallion, I remembered that Sweetheart mention he had been a bully, it was hard to imagine. I heard him tell Lancer he lost his eye protecting the his family from some type of monsters. How could someone so selfless be a bully? I also met Teddy's cousin, Corny, and his wife Sunflower. Teddy's uncle and Corny's father, while not catatonic, went about his daily routines and choirs in a clockwork daze.

Then there were Sweetheart's foals: Wild Heart. Brave Heart. Lion Heart. Pure Heart.

For politeness' sake, I said nothing, but I think Wild Heart has an attitude problem, while Brave Heart needs to learn to control her impulses. Pure Heart is wonderful, but she needs to learn to speak up for herself more, oh well, she's young. As for Lion Heart...maybe he'll grow into his name, being the only colt in his little herd of siblings I imagine must be a little uncomfortable.

Lancer wanted to leave the farm right away. He said it was best we get back to our home. Sweetheart begged us to stay, saying we'd be safer. Lancer said our family was waiting for us back home, and that we had enough supplies to look after ourselves for now. Finally the both of them compromised on us staying a couple of days to just make sure Sweetheart's diagnosis was correct and I didn't suffer any further symptoms.

I just had to ask. "Why were you so insistent on us staying? Is it that dangerous now?"

"Yes."

"What else?"

"...A friend of ours. Melody. She lost her voice in the disaster. She was a singer."

I cringed. "And?"

"And I told them there was a chance she had brain damage, but I had no way to know for sure. Her sisters decided not to even wait and just assume she was. But I didn't know one way or the other. But the hurt I saw on her face... . I should have insisted they stay to let me figure it out."

"...So you didn't want to tell us I wouldn't be losing more memories, only for me to start losing them every night after we left."

"Yes. Or it to turn out the memory loss is only temporary shock-induced amnesia that will fade, but you and Lancer think it won't."

I hugged her. I couldn't think of any words to say. That's a lie. "Thank you, for caring enough about me. You say we were friends?"

"Yes. You, me, Starlight, Melody, Patch, Clover and Bonbon."

"Please...can you tell me about the others?"

"...Alright. Starlight always believed in keeping a level head, and had a great sense of responsibility, one time-"

And so she told me about our little pony tales.

++++

After several hugs, and promises never to forget each other, Lancer and I headed back to our home. He had a shotgun with him along with a bowie knife. He trusted me with a revolver. He said how the important thing wasn't to use the bullets, but to use the gun. To 'scare' away ponies who knew what a gun was for. And to use the bullets on the 'monsters' who now roamed the countryside. Monsters. 'Monsters' was a term ponies used for animals they feared and didn't understand.

When we had to make camp for the night, I asked him. "When were you going to tell me that we're married?"

He looked at me in shock for a few seconds. "You remember?"

"I'm sorry Lancer, I don't."

He groaned, clearly remembering what Sweetheart said about leading questions. "...You shouldn't keep making assumptions like that... one's going to turn out to be wrong eventually and somepony could use you."

"But you didn't say this one was wrong."

"...No I didn't."

"And you clearly trusted Sweetheart enough to take me to her when I was hurt, I knew she wasn't using me."

"...That's logical..."

"So when were you going to tell me?"

"...Before we got back to the house. I had a few things I knew I'd have to explain first."

"Who is waiting for us?"

He avoided my question with a question. "How did you know?"

"You've been concerned and protective of me from the start. I felt hurt when you were hurt and I know we're not identical twins. That means you were either my husband, a friend, or my brother. Sweetheart didn't find us being together strange at all. So that rules out stranger.

"You've been struggling with being close to me but not being too close. So that rules out family. You weren't possessive of me, so that rules out stalker. You might have just been a friend who was pinning for me and my husband died in whatever disaster happened. But you weren't acting ashamed or hesitant like this was your big chance. And I feel safe around you, the first thing I called you was 'White Knight', which means I felt safe around you before and I remember your voice calling to me. So you must have had some great meaning for me. Oh and our wedding rings are identical."

"Ah."

"Now who is waiting for us, Lancer?"

"...My parents, your parents, any servants who haven't left..."

"We have servants?"

"We HAD servants. We can't pay them now. And...and our daughter, Night Eyes."

It was a knife in the gut. What kind of pony was I, if I could forget my own foal? I narrowed my eyes. "Tell me everything about her."

++++

The world was dangerous now, that was clear from just traveling a few days. Even before I was told what happened to one of Sweetheart's sisters. One night, while we were asleep in our tent, I was awakened by a ripping sound.

I opened my eyes to find two green eyes forcing their way through a tear in the tent. I did the natural thing and screamed Lancer's name as loud as I could.

Lancer was awake in a heartbeat, gun ready...and missed due to firing entirely on impulse. The thing was grey and looked like a bat with huge clawed arms and dark eyes. It leapt on Lancer and he had to use the gun to block a bite. He kept having to dodge the claws as it kept its grasp on the shotgun.

I didn't know what to do...I was so scared. I finally got my wits about me and remembered the revolver and brought it up in line with the creature. But I was no crack shot, and Lancer and it kept moving in the dark, and even if I did shoot it, the bullet might just go through the animal and into Lancer. I tried to get in close shove the gun in at point blank range but it just batted me off.

"Lancer!" I yelled as it grabbed the gun and lunged for a bite...

"Stop!"

It was like someone had taken a picture. The thing stopped, I think its eyes flashed yellow for a second.

I turned and saw a stallion with a rainbow colored mane and tail. His coat was white and his Cutie Mark was of a skateboard.

"They didn't know this was your territory," he told the creature. "Please, just calm down. They'll be gone in the morning."

Territory? I looked at the creature, its teeth, still showing...I recognized them as those of an animal that hunted fish (why do I remember all these facts but nothing about me? Amnesia doesn't work like it does in movies). There'd been a stream nearby. It wasn't attacking us for food but because we'd intruded on its territory.

The stallion proves this by getting a fish from a saddle bag and throwing it to the creature. It caught it in its mouth and let him pet it. "There, you see? None of us wants to hurt you or take your territory."

After the thing (the stallion called it an Ahool) flew off, I helped Lancer up and checked him for wounds. I finally let go of the tightness in my chest. I felt relief wash over me, most of all for Lancer, but I realized I was also glad I hadn't had to shoot another living thing. It hadn't chosen to be this way, it had either been mutated by what-happened or had lost its old habitat from it.

That's when Lancer finally got a good look at our savior.

"Logan? Is that you?" he asked, blinking.

Logan looked us over. "Lancer? Bright Eyes?" he looked at me strange...not angry, not hateful but...hurt.

Lancer must've seen that. "Bright Eyes lost her memory."

Logan's expression softened. "Whoa...that's rough. Sorry...So...uh...I didn't expect to see you out here..." I think part of his changing the subject was awkwardness, but I got the feeling he was a little shy.

"We're on our way to somewhere safe," Lancer replied. He'd already told me not to tell anyone exactly where we were going. "...Thanks, you were a lifesaver. Is your sister okay?"

"Posey? Yeah, she's fine. She was with our grandparents when everything happened... That's where I'm headed."

"And your parents?"

Logan got that hurt look again. "I... I honestly don't know... they were supposed to be at one of the castles cheering for the spell. So was I. But they were running late, and I was running later." He shivered. "When I finally got to the castle, all I found was rumble and ashes and..." He shook his head, "I'm hoping they were late too and they're headed for Posey and my grandparents too. But... "

The poor guy barely managed not to cry.

"Sorry, Logan..."

I decided it was me that should change the subject. "...How did you stop that thing?"

"Oh!...I guess I can show you, we're friends..." He went in his saddle bags and produced a yellow shard of crystal. It was glowing bright, and looked polished.

Lancer's eyes went wide. "Were did you get that?!"

"...I found it while I was looking for my parents...I figured I better take it before someone else did, considering what it can do...I just didn't want to see somepony use it to hurt anyone...I've been using it to help protect ponies from these creatures. It makes the things listen to me...I don't mean like they do what I want, but...I talk and they understand, it calms them down."

Lancer put a hoof on Logan's shoulder. "Good...but be careful...You know what somepony would do for it."

Logan nodded. "I know...Here, let me help you patch up your tent. The Ahool won't bother you again, but make sure you get out in the morning, and try to be more careful where you set up camp."

After he helped us fix our tent, we said our goodbyes and left. "...Lancer, I knew him, didn't I?"

Lancer nodded. "...He was a good friend of the seven of you...you invited him to your club before I was even brought up," he said with a chuckle. "Honestly surprised he didn't end up with Sweetheart, she seemed to like him...guess it wasn't meant to be..."

I nodded. Even though he'd saved us...I couldn't get that look of hurt to stop bothering me.

+++

"Wait...I thought all the ponies who'd gotten the Shards were evil overlords!" Twilight interrupted.

Luna smiled lightly. "Do not forget, it may have been several hundred years before Patch found all the Shards. In that time, many ponies owned them. Logan may have kept the Shard his entire life and it only fell into the wrong hands after a perfectly natural death. Remember, the Yellow Shard was only found after its owner had artificially extended his life far past the normal life expectancy of ponies at the time. And it was just far simpler for Patch to track down those abusing the Shards for power than those who simply used them to help others, as more people were willing to help cast down the former."

Twilight settled. She felt a little silly. "...How could I think there weren't ponies out there who would use the Shards for good reasons? Ponies like Film Critique are an exception to the rule..."

++++

I wasn't prepared. I know he'd said 'servants' but...

"So we live here?"

"Yep. You loved the library when you moved in."

I looked at him, "Sweetheart said not to make subjective statements."

"It wasn't subjective! Believe me. You actually slept in there a few times before Night Eyes was born."

+++

"...Ok, I see why you thought I'd relate to her," said Twilight in a deadpan expression.

Luna could not resist a small laugh. "Truthfully, it was a surprise to us and our sister that you were Clover and not Bright Eyes."

Twilight blushed brightly. "Okay, lets continue."

+++

The place was huge. And so was the land around it.

The buildings had all clearly seen better days. And the gardens looked like they needed tending. But the sheer size was most impressive. Made me wonder if Lancer's family was old money or what. Not that money mattered from everything I had seen on our trip.

From how long ago Lancer had told me the disaster had happened, (or The Day as Corny's family kept calling it), it was absolutely stunning how fast ponies were reverting to barter systems and feudalism. Lancer told me I was hardly the only pony to suffer brain damage from the disaster, Ponyland was full of ponies who various mental damage and fantastic to horrific mutations from the raw magical energy. Including one seapony in a river we crossed who swore she was a pegasus. We didn't know if she was mutated or driven insane.

I knew something was up when Lancer told me not to mention my name when meeting others before we got home.

I knew Lancer was no kidnapper. But he also swore to St. Megan and Pony Heaven that I was not a criminal. He spoke in a way that left no room for arguments he hadn't used before or since.

Our home? In spite of the obvious damage, it was still the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. The swimming pool was a murky mess but I didn't care (I kept thinking of rubber octopi and Teddy for some reason looking at it). I wish I could say it felt good to be home. But for me, it was coming home for the first time.

It was clear he didn't want to leave me all alone, or without anyone else actually. But he kept wanting to go in and explain my condition and arrival first to the family. I made the choice for him.

"Go inside. I swear I'll be fine." I took the shotgun from him just to be on the unironic side. "Please, the sooner this is done with the better."

Finally, Lancer nodded and relented, giving me several glances before going inside.

Then the door opened and out pushed was a mare with a violet mare with a yellow flower cutie mark flanked by two leafs.

"Pink Velvet, please please please make sure Bright Eyes is okay while I explain this to everypony!" The door shut again. I didn't know whether to face hoof or be touched.

We scoped each other out, neither of us looking none too pleased with this.

I couldn't think of a polite way to say it. "Do I know you?"

"Yes, I'm your grandmother." She said flatly.

Okay, I knew that was a lie. I held up my front hooves, "Look, I'm sorry if I ever did anything to hurt you, but I...I can't remember anything."

She looked at me, and looked at my flank, her eyes widened and she took a trot back. "I... " She lowered her head a little, "I'm sorry, Bright Eyes. I wasn't trying to be mean."

"I do know you, right?" I implored.

"...I just work for your husband's family. I'm a housekeeper."

"Have you ever looked after Night Eyes?"

"I thought you didn't remember."

"I don't. Lancer told me. I didn't want my foal's reunion with her mother to start with 'Who are you?'"

"...Once or twice, a few times. Usually you just hired a foalsitter."

"Where is she now? The foalsitter, I mean."

"None of us have seen her since the disaster."

"Can you tell me about Night Eyes?" Lancer had told me, I wanted a second opinion.

"She loves you very much. She loved when you or your husband took her on your various trips. She loved watching the flutterponies perform, she wouldn't stop talking about them the first time. She thinks tiddlywinks is horrifically boring. She's a night owl. Getting her to bed after the foalsitter leaves can be trouble. She enjoys learning about new creatures..."

"But what about her? Not just her tastes and habits, about her."

Pink Velvet clearly hadn't expected that question. I think I may have sounded desperate...not that I wasn't.

"...That's harder to explain. You can't just quantify ponies, Bright Eyes," She said like it some lesson I had refused to learn. "In particular a foal. She's active one minute, then quite as a mouse the next. As long as she's discovering something new, she's happy. I think your husband hasn't left her with a healthy sense of fear. Even now that most of us have left..."

"Most of us?"

"Over half the servants left the estate Bright Eyes."

"Why did you stay?"

"I have no other home. And I have nowhere to go. And your family has always treated me with respect."

"I see...Pink Velvet, thank you. Did you help look after Night Eyes while Lancer was gone?"

"Your mother and mother-in-law mostly did, actually. And Bright Eyes I-I... I'm sorry you've lost your memory. I am truly sorry. It's not fair."

My eyes narrowed. "You mean it's not fair I don't have to appreciate everything that's lost like everypony else."

She startled. "N-no! Miss! That isn't it at all! I swear. It's not that it's... it's not."

Was I always that blunt? I'm afraid to know. "I'm sorry Pink Velvet, I should have never said that. I was wrong."

She looked at me I couldn't read her expression.

"Can you tell me about you now?"

Now she was surprised. She sat down formally, and I did the same.

"Alright. My parents were born on the Isle of Pony. I was born in Manehatten."

+++++

"That Manehatten?"

"Yes Twilight Sparkle, that Manehatten unlike Starlight's Ponyville, the Manehatten you know was rebuilt from their Manehatten. Some ponies see the city as a constant, like Ponyville."

"Like Spike's family?"

Luna gave a nod.

+++++

Eventually, the doors opened. Lancer had been glancing out the windows when he thought I wasn't looking making sure I was okay.

"Thank you, Pink Velvet. Bright Eyes, are you ready?"

"I can't get any readier," I said standing up, "Let's go."

Lancer led inside. Pink Velvet followed closing the door behind us.

Waiting inside were two stallions, two mares, and one filly.

I remembered the descriptions Lancer had given me at my request. This was going to be unpleasant enough, I didn't want to make things worse with a case of mistaken identity.

My eyes were drawn to the filly like a magnet. I wish I could say I felt some mystical connection telling me this was my foal. All I had go on was what Lancer and Pink Velvet had told me.

"Mom?"

What could I do? What could I not do?

We met halfway and I knelt down and hugged her.

"Push!"

"I am pushing buck you!"

"This birth was supposed to be easy!" Said the doctor.

"Shows what you know!"

"I wish Sweetheart could have done this delivery!" Lancer lamented.

"I'm sorry I'm not a good enough doctor for you."

"NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

"Giving birth here, you bucktards!"

"Please, Brights, I'm right here! Nothing is going to happen! I am right here! You want strength, use mine!"

That was when I felt Night Eyes make her grand exit from me, and her grand entrance into the world. Let me see her, let me see her!

"Mom? Are you okay?"

I had a horrible headache, and felt one eye roll to the side as the world spun.

+++

I was led to the couch, and took a quick nap followed a few more, but my family didn't leave my side.

"Lancer?"

"Yes?"

"I remember...I remember Night Eyes being born."

After I gave him a description, he hugged me and cried. I cried too.

Mom. Dad. Lancer's parents. I met them all on that couch.

I didn't have any other flashes of memory. But that was actually okay. But that moment proved beyond all doubt, that my memories were there somewhere. And I was going to find them. Even if I had to collect them one piece at a time. Maybe now that I had cracked the dam, maybe the rest would be easier to find. I could hope.

And I won't lie...there was a certain joy that came with the fact I could remember giving birth to my daughter. I think I did cry a little bit.

I hugged my parents as they welcomed me home. We were all staying at Lancer's estate now. It was safer than being separate and scattered they had reasoned.

Lancer's mother, Rapier, kept hoping for the army to swoop down and save us all at any moment now. The rest of us had concurred those chances were slim to none. She kept figuring out how to best ration our supplies. Which we apparently had a lot of. When I was shown the basement, the vast amount of preserved goods impressed me. Lancer's family collection of weapons was mostly medieval weapons, (of course) but they had a few modern ones in storage for hunting trips. I actually felt a strong sense of revulsion and disgust at the mention of the latter. But logic now told me that hunting might be essential for survival. Lancer insisted I learn how to use a gun, and some of the medieval weapons, just in case.

"...I've learned this before, haven't I?"

"Uh..."

"My muscle memory is too good with these for me to have never held a sword before."

"...Ok, you volunteered to learn so we could bond a bit, since this stuff runs in my family."

"Ah...Then get me something lighter to start, my muscles aren't strong enough yet to hold a broadsword."

My mother, Eye Shadow, hadn't given up hope that ponies would recover from this horrific disaster. She had actually converted to my faith on the spot and begun praying for pony civilization to survive this horror, more so than her own survival.

Lancer's dad, Fencer, was trying to figure out how we were going to survive. How to obtain leverage for ourselves so we weren't treated as easy pickings by raiders and such. Historically, the well-off and the despised are always the first targets whenever law dissolves.

And I learned how Lancer and Sweetheart had learned about what had happened to the rest of our friends. They said simply 'pegasi' spreading news. But news that custom and that concise?

Melody had indeed lost her voice and her family had begun building a new home for themselves near an Earth pony exclusive village.

Starlight was ashes, apparently like a friend of Patch's, Princess Rosy, they'd been near the very center of one of the blasts.

Bonbon had lost half her family, and was now looking after her own niece. And talked about writing down everything that was happening so it wasn't all just forgotten. She was actually making it pretty well compared to most ponies, she was holding onto the vestiges of a normal life.

Patch had been at Paradise Estate when the blast happened. And was now looking for the fragments of the 'Rainbow of Light' scattered across the globe. As part of a 'quest' like she was some fairytale hero from the days of yore. Given the world's state, maybe she even had a right to be.

Paradise Estate...the place where the Rainbow of Light came from.

Rainbow of Light, a source of powerful, powerful magic.

I felt a minor headache, incomplete and faded images of several pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies flashed through my mind, all friendly, all open, all just wanting to be friends. A blue pegasus, an Earth pony with a magic wand cutie mark, and... an unicorn on roller skates?

I asked Lancer.

"That's Wind Whistler, Magic Star, and Glory, they ...they were ponies you got to know when you visited Paradise Estate."

Paradise Estate. A place where ponies I knew were. I knew ponies from the place the Rainbow of Light that Patch was now looking for came from. Lancer said the Rainbow had been scattered in the disaster. What a pity. I'm sure it would have had the power to fix up everything.

Lancer showed me a picture of us all at Sweetheart's sweet sixteen, pointing out who was who. I felt my blood pressure rise for some reason looking at Patch. I felt my heart ache at Starlight.

Clover. Clover? She was round about the only pony of our little herd of friends who had turned out luckier than me. Not only had she not lost any members of her family (unlike the rest of us minus me, in fact no on at the estate had died), she herself had come out of the disaster without any damage to her mind or body. According to Lancer, Clover was extremely lucky but klutzy as a filly. That last one didn't make much sense, if she was a ballerina, and a respected one apparently, how could she be a klutz?

SO how did Lancer really learn all this? If you've got to know I'll tell you.

"Thanks, I wouldn't have known where to take Bright Eyes if not for you, thank you." Lancer spoke on the roof of the estate to the glowing orange pegasus. She shined like the million other stars that were already out.

"It was the least I could do. You're all Patch's friends, after all. No one deserves to not know what happened to their friends ..."

"Like Patch doesn't know about you?"

"PLEASE don't tell her!" Tears were in the pegasus' eyes. "If she doesn't know then maybe she won't hate me."

"She doesn't hate you now."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you."

"... Please, let me be the one to tell her when I have to. I can't bear the thought of..."

"You really do care about her."

"Yes I do. Whatever happens to her is my responsibility. I need to face up to that... "

"It wasn't your choice not to see her."

"I should have known what would happen when I wouldn't say there wasn't a civilization of flightless ponies below the clouds. And three 'imaginary friends' I insisted were real. On top of being a mutant night-light. It was my mistakes that kept her from seeing me when she looked for all those years. I need to do it when I feel right."

"...Alright, Brightglow, if I meet Patch, I won't breath a word about you, I promise."

"Thank you." She nuzzled him. I felt my coat bristle. "I hope you all find happiness." She flew off like she was a shooting star.

"Hi, Lancer."

"Bright Eyes!"

"Heard you leave your room and saw you head for the roof, thought you might be lonely."

From the looks on your faces, you're hoping to skip the 'almost misunderstanding between couple fight.' Alright. I will. Because I never thought for a moment that Lancer was being unfaithful.

But I did ask why he was meeting Brightglow in secret. Turns out he wasn't. She just preferred flying and meeting at night when she'd be mistaken for a shooting star by predators and trouble makers on the prowl. Patch and Brightglow had been friends before the tribes even knew about each other.

I was on a bed at Paradise Estate, Wind Whistler reasoning with me, helping me see both sides of the coin. Helping my spread my wings and fly away from my own flat earth.

Oh, and Lancer might have saved me from falling off the roof when I suffered another memory flash, I wasn't really paying attention and might have imagined that part. Might explain the mental image of him in white barding fighting a skeletal pegasus to the death over my soul.

The point is that this proved that recovering my memory of giving birth to Night Eyes wasn't a fluke! I could do it, even if it was one piece at a time.

The whole family celebrated at this. Happy to know my memories weren't lost forever. Sure, we'd been happy before, but this was PROOF.

Dad had been inspired by Brightglow's example and had set up a news courier network with pegasi he had made friends with before the disaster. It worked, ponies hadn't forgotten that information was as vital a survival tool as any other. He hoped it'd be the leverage we needed to remain alive.

The fact we were sitting on top of a storehouse of supplies was the family secret. We had no delusions of what would happen if word got out on how well-stocked we were. There wouldn't be enough bullets in Ponyland to keep the hordes away.

++++

"What a selfish family of ponies," Twilight said.

"Twilight, by their value you should not judge,
and it is not like you to hold a grudge."

"What? Zecora? Don't judge them by my standards? It's clear cut that ponies around them were starving, and they were hiding all that food just for themselves? They were as selfish and self-centered as the most rigid unicorns during the three tribes era!"

"Do not think such things in black and white.
Good verses evil, this was not that kind of fight."

"I'm sure that's comforted the ponies who starved to death within travel distance of their big pretty manor!"

"Big yes, but pretty no more.
It was not as grand looking as it was before."

"That's not the point! The point is that they had more than enough to feed themselves, and several around them didn't! And they kept it to themselves. That is the definition of greedy and selfish."

"Twilight I know your emotions are hot.
But the Element of Generosity, you are not."

"What?"

"All us to explain, Lady Zecora," Princess Luna injected, and looked the mortal pony in the eyes, "Twilight Sparkle. Lady Rarity understands that being generous is not simply about hoof-outs. Giving more than is expect of you, giving to those in need without a return to yourself, yes these are acts of generosity. But having more than another is not a crime unto itself, or a flaw to be corrected. Down that path lies the land of Nightmares. Read further Twilight Sparkle, and you may find these are talents they did not simply bury in a field inactive."

+++++

Hearing Night Eyes say it was mean to let other ponies starve was crushing. Pink Velvet watched her to make sure she didn't do something foolish.

Lancer was left explaining to Night Eyes why we weren't simply hoofing out our stockpiles to the ponies less fortunate. Having to explain to her that they wouldn't see us for giving what we had, only holding onto what we didn't. Desperation does things to pony's logic. Why couldn't we be better than this? What needed to change for us to change at our cores?

None of my family was stupid. We knew the food wouldn't last us forever. There was plenty of wild grass around. So technically they wouldn't starve to death. That thought spiraled a headache. This time of fishing in a forest full of grass, me a teenage filly, lamenting that we were going to starve if we didn't catch anything.

I asked Lancer about it, he said it was during a nature expedition he wasn't along for but had heard about, with me looking for a bird's nesting ground that might have been extinct, but I believed wasn't. Turned out it wasn't, and I managed to get its home protected. Yes it made me proud to hear that.

That didn't stop me from thinking about how humiliating it must be for so many ponies reduced to eating grass after a lifetime of ham sandwiches and breakfast bars.

None of my family was stupid. We knew the food wouldn't last us forever.

"Don't worry Bright Eyes, your old man is old, but he's not THAT old! He's got a plan!" My dad told me. "I've talked about it with Lancer's parents. They know business. And I know how ponies tick."

"Really?"

"Sure, you don't own and run the newspaper for Ponyville for decades without picking up some hints."

"Wow. Daddy, it's so big! And noisy!" I covered my ears. The big machine really was noisy.

"Well, there are lots and lots of papers that need to get printed Brights, and its not just Ponyville's news paper, there are local magazines and smaller businesses who rent out our printers."

"It's all made with recycled paper right?"

Daddy reached down and ruffled up my mane. "Heh. That's my little Brights, always caring about our environment."

This time I didn't fall over, and managed to catch myself. Even if each one was only a grain of sand on a beach. Each memory was precious to me. Each one was a piece of my stained glass window.

Mom saw the future, and mom saw that like it or not, Earth Ponies were going to need agricultural support. And just having canned foods, once priceless works of art, and a small collection of ammunition and guns wasn't going to sustain a family forever.

Dad's feathered friends were willing to help, it was their survival too after all, but they were also being pressured by gangs of pegasi who were beginning to extort earth pony farms for fair weather...and switching out to vicious extremes for ponies who didn't want to pay tribute. While unicorns were niching out their own market since electronics couldn't work, their magic was the next best thing and everypony knew it. I really didn't like where this was going as the years went on.

The plan? I can't complain because it worked.

Blind transactions were possible in a barter system with no currency and no electronic transfers. You just need to be a little bit more creative about how you do it. And like any good retailer, hide your suppliers. Make sure your customers trust you. And never ever give away your trade secret.

And yes, we did sneak out supplements to families we trusted not to blow the whistle. Including Bonbon's and Melody's families. And yes, both of them carried a few more keys to my memories. I remember a starlet who needed to learn humility and became a stronger pony for it. And a butterball who got a perfect score on a test where even I missed some answers, helped her find her missing diary the same day without hesitation (unlocking a humiliating memory of being locked in a book store), and for Bonbon to ultimately confess to cheating on the test to take a retest. I can't remember if I was ashamed or relieved or impressed for Bonbon.

And I had my own part to play.

"Thanks again," I said as we loaded the last water proof container.

"Any friend of Melody's is a friend of ours! Shoo-be-do! Shoo-shoo-be-do!"

At least our former pegasus found some new friends (including our ex-foalsitter who Night Eyes maintains a strong friendship with, she always gives me the cold shoulder though).

And that wasn't all. Pets did not die out. In fact, animals were now even more valuable in some ways. Beasts of burden to till the crops, dogs for hunting or protection, and birds to carry messages or scope out the area (amazing what they could be trained for). Some ponies had even managed to train some of the monsters that now roamed the world. Of course some people managed to find time for pets just to have companionship, ponies were herd animals, we craved it by our nature...

One of a neighboring farm's dogs was injured fighting off some kind of creature with its master...Lancer had gone to see the commotion, I went in disguise. I saw the slash marks on the poor thing...

They brought back memories of healing, animals whose lives relied on me. I was a vet? That actually explained quite a bit.

I went to work healing the poor thing with the knowledge that had come back to me. It was strange...it was like I could feel its life as I worked on it. It was like something awakened in me. It helped guide me as I stitched the poor thing up.

As we left the farm, I noticed something had changed. I could...feel everything around me. The crops, the trees...the LIFE. It was like I was connected to it all...

I told Lancer about it and he explained it was the Earth Pony Magic I'd learned...I began refining it, figuring out how it worked.

And combined with my skills as a vet, I began to heal animals around us. You know, it's weird. Looking back, I realize it probably helped make us 'too valuable' to be threatened...but that thought hadn't crossed my mind back then.

Pink Velvet was used to working with plants, so while a transition, it wasn't a painful one.

Meanwhile the lavish bathrooms were next to useless, nature's call meant going outside.

As we bartered for farming supplies and equipment, along with smithing tools. The age of the gun was fading. Enjoy it while it lasts.

One of the amazing things? Is how much something else helped.

Faith was one of the few things we ponies had left. And we made a point to always celebrate Christmas every year no matter the circumstances. Be it rain, shine, or griffons. It might have been the end of the world, but we weren't about to deep six our beliefs. And it gave all of us the strength to move forward. And believe in a tomorrow.

++++

Pinkie Pie couldn't help but clap in glee at the book's mention of the holiday.

++++

Most of mom's old talents outside of the home didn't have much use now. So she adapted. Like any good pony does.

We had a visit from a Pony I honestly never expected to see.

"Hi guys, any of you seen Starlight?"

She was with a white stallion with a blue mane and what might have been a football cutie mark, maybe. She introduced him as her husband, Buddy.

She hadn't aged a day from the pictures. Maybe. She also now had scars and was more muscular, and she had been athletic before. She carried some weapons and equipment. For some reason seeing this made my jaw drop.

We welcomed Patch in with open arms. And she'd always ask about Starlight, like it was a mental tick. I wonder how much she meant to her, but there wasn't any endearment behind the question beyond a friend.

"I was told Starlight died."

"She's just hiding, or is off somewhere, or maybe she was kidnapped, or maybe-"

When I asked for concise information on why she thought Starlight was alive, she'd always switch topics. Was she hiding something from me? But the way she treated Starlight was alive like a fact, made me wonder. If Starlight was alive, I hope Patch found her.

"So you really have lost your memory?"

"I've recovered bits and pieces, but the majority is just missing."

"Heh," she said friendlily, "That means after I found the pieces of the Rainbow Light and Starlight. I can prank you all over again to jog your memory!"

P-prank.

"Bright Eyes? Are you okay? I was just joking."

Prank!

"My pie!" The Bonbon on the small classroom TV lamented, the video marked for her science project NOT what Bright Eyes had recorded.

The present Bonbon tried to spontaneously will herself out of existence as the class laughed at the recording.

I tried to spontaneously develop pyrokinesis and cause Patch to burst into flames!

"Bright Eyes! What is this?!" Ms Hackney asked not in the least amused.

The student who laughed the hardest was Patch, the look of pride on her face unmistaken.

My recording! That that-

"YOU!" I snarled and chased her around the room, then through the house, then in a circuit around the estate, then she ran up the near sheer wall of the house outside to get away from me.

Lancer and Buddy finally got a hold of me as I tried to climb after her.

"Hey!" Patch shouted from her perch. "Does this mean you remember more now?"

I startled. And laughed. "Yes! Yes it does!"

I remembered me and the others trying to teach Patch a lesson about practical jokes. Cautiously Patch got down and we hugged and joked.

I explained to Night Eyes that mommy and her friends were just playing tag.

And yes, it made me happy.

Of course they ultimately left. Patch made it clear she was visiting because she cared for each of us, and hoped we knew where Starlight was of course. And where Patch went, Buddy followed. We told them Logan had the Yellow Shard, but given we had no idea where his grandparents lived or if he was even there, it wasn't much help. Patch was just glad someone was actually putting it to good use.

Patch ended up becoming pregnant and taking a break from her quest...she had to leave her son with Buddy while she continued the quest solo. I wish her luck.

And every night I had seen Patch and Buddy together, I saw Lancer go to his bedroom alone. He hadn't asked, not even once. He never even asked for our bedrooms to be close. But I felt it was better for our bedrooms to be nearby, for Night Eyes' sake. Our foal didn't need to think more on why her parents weren't sleeping together. Night Eyes knew what I lost, but she didn't need to think her parents were separating.

I could see the longing in his eyes, the loneliness he didn't want to admit was there. It didn't matter if most of my memories were ghosts, and I couldn't even remember our first kiss, when he (or I?) proposed, our wedding day, to him, I was still his Bright Eyes. Was I? I don't know if what I felt was imprinting from our 'first' meeting at Sweetheart's, or my feelings for him surviving in a void with no memories to hold onto.

And he never 'offered?' Offered? Don't be absurd. I always knew his door was open if I was willing. And I knew there was no way he'd ever ask it of me. Not when I couldn't remember him, remember us.

I know the coldness it must have left for him. But I couldn't just go to him out of guilt. I don't know if I couldn't ultimately go through with it if I couldn't remember him.

When that guilt hit me...when I questioned all this...It scared me. And I don't know if it was just that I couldn't remember or if...I just had this feeling someone or something was lurking over my shoulder during those moments. Was this what Lancer felt? Some primal fear of being alone? Like I was in a horror movie and the ghost was right behind me, just waiting for me to turn out the lights...But there was never anything there but my own heart's shadow when I looked back.

But Lancer was determined to build new memories for us if that's what it took. He didn't leave my side. He was always there to help. Maybe I felt a tiny bit babied, but I know he was only there to help. That's just the way we ponies are, we accept the feelings behind the actions.

I am a selfish pony.

The first night I spent in his room had nothing to do with him. It had to do with me.

Memories don't follow standard logic. They have their own rules. And no matter what ponies think: conscious thoughts to ourselves do not reveal how our subconscious works.

I had spent the afternoon playing with Night Eyes, helping out how I could around the house. A game of hide and seek (she was at that age when this would be the last time we'd play this game) I had found a little taped together notebook in one of the vast mansion's storage closet's in a box with crude yet concise but poorly spelled printed hoof writing, describing the rudimentary behavior of seemingly random animals.

I had put it back and hadn't paid it mind. The day passed as all days do and I went to bed.

I wrote down the actions of the poor animals in the big cages. Okay they were behind fences with grass and rocks inside and didn't have a roof, but they were keeping the poor animals trapped and that's what made them cages!

I knew if I wrote down how miserable the animals were being trapped and imprisoned and held captive, I could show it to my daddy and he'd print in the news paper how all the animals in the zoo should be set free!

So they could forage and hunt in the wild like animals are supposed to.

Reward? Don't be silly! We all have to do our part to help Mother Nature!

I might have had to get separated from the rest of the class, but it was okay.

The teacher had more important things to worry about, like Sweetheart, and (what was that filly's name? Scratch?), trying to climb into one of the cages and Bonbon and Clover being scared stiff of the lions and bears. Why couldn't the other students be like Starlight? She always listened and behaved. So much so, that some foals didn't like her that much.

Well, that's the last animal. I better get back to the class. Uh, how do I do that? Maybe I should ask an adult, but my parents said never to speak to strangers. Uh-oh.

I go where the class was before, they aren't there. This isn't nice. I go to the front gate. They aren't there. Where are they? They'd wouldn't leave me behind right? I'm a good filly. They don't leave good filly behind, do they? I am a good filly right?

I see some older fillies from my school, and I quickly trot over to them.

"Uh, Hello. Excuse me, I'm Bright Eyes, I'm lost, do you know where my class is?"

They stop talking to each other and look at me like I was some kind of pest.

One looked at me, she looked at me like, like, I dunno! Like I had asked the dumbest question in the world.

"No. We don't know where you class is, what makes you think we'd even know where your class is, you dumb brat? If you didn't want to get lost, you shouldn't have wandered off to chase some cotton candy, we're busy."

Dumb? "Huh? I wasn't chasing cotton candy! I was making notes on how all the animals here are unhappy and should be set free, see?" I offered my notes like a good filly to show I wasn't lying. The others looked like I was shoving dirt in their faces, but the big filly who had spoken grabbed the note pad from me. "Hey!"

She read through it. And said, "I've gotten say, this is incredible, this is amazing... This has GOT to be the most retarded thing I've ever read!"

Retarded? Me? "W-what?"

"These animals are here because they're ENDANGERED stupid! Oh sure! It's SUPER CRUEL how they have access to vets, daily food, and protection from hunters and predators! It's totally heartless! Doctors making sure their entire litters survive instead of half dying. How can ponies be so unfeeling towards animals? Did your parents drop you on your head when you were a baby? A lot? How can you think these things and have the brain power to write down words?! A brat as retarded as you belongs in a special ed class!"

She tore the pages out. I begged her to stop through my hiccups. I was crying and my nose was running. I was stupid. I was retarded.

"Seriously, it's foals like you that prove ponies have been separated from natural selections and are dooming the species!"

I was a bad filly. I was a bad filly. I was a bad filly.

"You should find a corner to hide in and die."

I curled up and kept crying.

"Saddle Bag, you over did it," said another of the older fillies.

"GOOD! High and mighty brats like her that don't have a clue what they're talking about disgust me! The fewer of them the better! Maybe she'll think twice before preaching again!"

They left, suddenly beating hooves fast. I didn't mind. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to be all alone. I was just a dumb bad filly. The teacher found me a few seconds later. I couldn't answer her. All I could say was that I was a bad and stupid filly.

I woke up in the middle of the night, terrified. I was an adult. I was at home. I was safe. I wasn't retarded. But I was scared, and I was alone. I went to Lancer's bedroom.

"Bright Eyes?"

"Lancer, please...can I sleep here tonight?"

"What happened?"

"Can I?"

"...Of course you can."

I told him what I had remembered. I knew I was being absurd. And I knew I was being selfish. This wasn't for him. It was for me. But recalling that memory made it feel like it had just happened. I needed comfort. I needed not to be alone.

He never laid a hoof on me that night.

We slept in the same bed the next night, and the night after that.

It just felt, wrong to go back to my own bedroom after that. Like I would have just used him as company after one foalhood memory had made me uncomfortable, then just abandoning him again.

And he never once brought up the subject of what some would say could only logically come next.

For three months we were like that. Our parents were all happy that we had taken this step together. With the end of the world, this step towards something that could be considered normal was a gift.

And I knew. Lancer would never ask. He'd never demand. He'd never beg. He'd never request. He'd wait until Pony Hell froze over for me.

And never even once, did he look at another mare.

If he is not a fairy tale white knight, then none have ever exist.

Finally, I whispered in his ear after the sun had set and we were alone. "Lancer, help me remember how we brought Night Eyes into the world."

No. I am not giving you all the sultry details thank you very much! There are things a mare keeps private even after the end of the world! Suffice to say, Lancer is indeed a stallion.

But at the moment that night where flowers bloomed, and lightning pierced the heavens, so much came to me.

"You may kiss the bride."
-
"Bright Eyes, will you marry me?"
-
After finally losing our rather unstealthy well-meaning friends and stealthily Patch, Lancer and I held each other close looking up at the moon. Neither of us said anything we both kissed at the same time.

"So you really went through all this just to make sure we'd make up with Teddy so Sweetheart wouldn't cancel her own birthday?" I hadn't expected Lancer to do something as shrewd as trap us on a boat until we signed a peace treaty.

"She's a friend. Just like Teddy. Just like all of you. Birthdays only come once. They're too wonderful to ignore or skip over."

"Uh, about what I said on the yacht with everyone about me knowing everything?"

"Already forgotten."
-

"I'm happy we won, Lancer. I really am. But we only really won that roller skate competition because you're so good, Lancer."

"Are you kidding?! You went from a crashing into things to being graceful as a swan in minutes! I've never seen a pony who learned anything so fast! You're special, Bright Eyes. And don't let anypony ever tell you different!"

In the morning, I told Lancer everything I had remembered. He was overjoyed. He said he didn't care if I remembered anything else, no wait, he didn't mean that he didn't care about me recovering my memories, he just meant it was wonderful I had gotten back memories that were so important, not that he didn't think memories without him were NOT important and-- At this point I told him I understood and kissed him.

Little did I know the surprises in my life were far from over, and I shouldn't count on being able to stop for breath between them for a good long while.

++++

"HOWDY, BRIGHT EYES! SORRY WE COULDN'T COME SOONER!" Said the unicorn on roller skates at our front door.

"It's...been far too long since we've seen you. Sorry that... that we were unable to visit sooner." Said the bluish unicorn with the four diamond cutie mark.

+++

"So I says to myself, 'The others are doing a good enough job of keep the monsters from escaping their confinement. Others have left the estate before, maybe it's about time I do so myself. I can't wait too long or I might not have friends waiting for me anymore.' Thanks for the tea. You sure you don't have any soda? Too bad! So I made the decision to leave Paradise Estate, and surprise, surprise! Sparkler is willing to give up living forever too! And right when Paradise Estate is likely the best place to be. If you don't count the huuuuuuuge ring of monsters that just won't leave us alone right now. But we have an unspoken promise that we're all free to leave when we chose to!"

"It would have been... selfish to let her leave the estate all by herself," Sparkler got a word in edgewise.

"Ain't she generous? So I was thinkin', you gals were all great friends, then this big blamo happens, and we're stuck fighting monsters who don't know when to quit! Not helping ponies at all! And I thought to myself 'that ain't right!' Why yeah we don't pretty don't we? Thanks for askin'! The magic of the Rainbow of Light is gone, so the 'get lost if you're a bad pony' spell is gone too, but me and Sparkler don't really seem to be aging yet, or any of the others at the estate. Wind Whistler thinks we've been dosed with the Rainbow's magic for so long that it's natural to us now. But then she goes and ruins it by sayin' that we're bound to start aging again sooner than later! But the rest at the estate are fine, Ember's still a foal. Thinkin' about you, Bright Eyes, and the fun we had, I thought it was best we drop by you. I tried to convince Medley to go, but she didn't wanna."

"I really hope we aren't intruding. We know how harsh things are right now, we promise to pitch in our share. I know you don't have much need for parties, but I know I can still help."

"Don't worry, Sparkler, of course we're not intruding! We're friends! And of course we're going to pitch in! Don't worry about it! Gettin' through them monsters wasn't easy, but it sure was fun! Except for the almost dying part of course. Glory spent half the siege line break clinging to me like a 'fraidy-cat and screamin' like a little colt."

"I DID NOT! You made that part up!"

"Just havin' some fun, Sparkler. Oh and don't worry none 'bout the monsters. They're way more interested in Paradise Estate than us personally I think. Sometimes I wonder what the Moonchick was thinking when he built that place...if he built it. We never really asked. After the disaster there were just so many more monsters, I mean out of nowhere! Including some we'd never seen before! And it wasn't just that, the weather went weird in places too, Wind Whistler and the others could barely keep up!...A lot of friends decided they had to find a new place to live. Some crossed over the rainbow to Megan's world and assimilated there. Well, a human world at least. I hope everything works out for them. A lot went to the magic world that Glory visited that one time. Nobody was saying she just dreamed the whole thing after that!"

"Glory?"

"Yes, Sparkler?"

"YOU ARE GLORY!"

"OH!... RIGHT!... It's just... got a little caught up and... and... I'm sorry, Sparkler."

++++

"Sparkler... Amethyst Star! Princess Luna, this Sparkler, and the Sparkler from Canterlot, are they related?"

"We do not have a log book of every bloodline of every pony from Paradise Estate Twilight Sparkle. And 'Sparkler' is a common enough unicorn name. And that would mean that Lady Amethyst Star and Lady Rarity Bell are related if it were true."

"Ooooh! THAT WOULD BE COOL!"

"You mean headache-inducing, Pinkie Pie."

"Don't be silly, Twilight Sparkle, all ponies are related if you go back far enough."

"Tis true my little ponies, and zebra."

++++

"So with so many monsters. I asked King Rudolph if it was okay if the different peoples migrated to his world that couldn't find a niche in Megan's world but still wanted a new home. It took a lot of talking, a lot of convincing, and even more convincing for his people to let them all in, but they all managed to find their niche. You know... it was kinda foalish really. But I really hoping I could find out what happened to my daughter after she left the Estate. Baby Glory. I wanted her to have her own life. See what wonders the world had outside the Estate. But... it was kinda a silly dream wasn't it? I don't even know if she had any foals after she left."

Sparkler hugged her.

"Don't worry Glory, she was your daughter, she'll have done okay, I know she would have."

She sniffed. "T-Thank you Glory. Oh! Oh look at us! Talking on and on about ourselves! That isn't very friendly at all! Please Bright Eyes, how have you been? We were all so worried after the disaster happened. I was impressed Firefly and the others were able to find out news about all of you! There we go about me again! Sorry! Sorry! So tell me please, how has your family been doing? I-I can't really think of how to ask these questions, I'm sorry. You do look wonderful by the way! What do you mean you lost your memory? You can't have forgotten Everything! Bright Eyes? Don't you remember me? At all? Magic Star? Wind Whistler? Bright Eyes? Brights? What's wrong with her? Oh she's done this before? When she remembers things? That's wonderful! I'll get her a pillow."

+++++

"So," Glory asked shyly laying on the couch beside me, "What memories did I wake up?"

"I remember falling on the grass a lot, and I remember you teaching me. I had no idea what the names of the blue pegasus or the yellow earth pony were in my memory. All I remembered was talking with them. Thank you."

"You're welcome. It wasn't easy getting here...even without the monsters... . I never thought I'd have to fight another pony."

"What do you mean?"

"...The..." She stopped herself. I knew that look. She was trying to think of what to say. Or rather, she was thinking of what not to say. "Turns out there are some ponies who blame me and my friends for.... for the disaster."

"What? Why would they?"

Sparkler verbally swooped in, "Because ponies when faced with disasters and great catastrophe, need someone to blame. You can't blame an explosion, you can't hate it, you can't lynch, it you can't... you can't try to...to violate it. An explosion doesn't care if you hate it or not, it doesn't have a face you can hate. So they have to give it a face."

I said, "A lot of ponies hate unicorns now because of the spell magic involved in the disaster. And others hate Earth ponies because they think they were being greedy with magic. I've heard from my dad's network of friends."

Glory nodded. "Yeah...it's, I just can't get my head around it. Ponies hating other ponies? Just for being different ponies? How does that even work?"

"Ponies are angry they've lost so much, they need to hate something, and Sparkler is right, they can't hate an explosion."

"Hopefully it'll all blow over once they see how much they need each other to live." Glory said. "After all, if the Ice Orcs and the Lava Demons who freeze or melt if they try and shake hands, can still be friends, then it should be easy-peasy for different ponies."

I really hope she's right. I suddenly felt very sick. It wouldn't be the last time. I began filling ill in the morning on a regular basis.

+++

Once we figured out I was pregnant, I was taken off any sort of work detail and Lancer wouldn't take no for an answer from anyone. His behavior also unlocked a memory of Teddy doting on Sweetheart when she was pregnant.

This gave me a chance to sit and think, sit and observe and well, sit. But you'd be surprised what you can pick up just by silently observing.

I noticed the glares that Glory and Sparkler got from not only the other workers but occasionally our other family members.

Night Eyes, as it turned out, had met Glory and Sparkler once when we had taken her to visit Paradise Estate. It had been years ago, but she managed to at least recognize them as ponies from the 'magical pink house.' It added a bit more brightness to her life, and all I could add to it the better.

And her curiosity was sparked wondering if the newest light in her life due in eleven months would be a colt or filly.

Every new life wasn't a new mouth to feed, it was a defiance against the dark message whispering at the back of my head that Ponykind was doomed. We would live.

Now that we were about to bring our second foal into the world, I knew what I had to speak with Lancer about. I chose to ask when we were in the privacy of our bedroom.

"Lancer? Are you keeping secrets from me?"

He startled, looked at me in surprise, then sighed. "Yes."

"And those secrets are about me?"

"Yes. They are."

"You never spoke about what my job was before the disaster at all. I know I wasn't a housewife."

"Even losing your memory, you're still the most brilliant pony I've ever known, Bright."

"Flattery will get you everywhere. Lancer, I love you, that hasn't changed, I trust you. What I want to know is why you've been hiding parts of my past from me when I've struggled so long to piece myself back together."

"... Not all memories are good ones. Not all the pieces of ourselves are beautiful. Not everything any pony has done are all things we're proud of."

"I want to take the good with the bad."

"Please, Bright Eyes. I can't make myself lie to you if you tell me to tell you! I don't want to hurt you."

"Am I a criminal?"

"No."

"... Am I... am I a murderer?"

"NO!" He snarled at me, I gasped. "YOU ARE NOT! Any pony who ever tells you are is a bucking liar! You are not a killer! You've never been a killer! You could never be a killer!"

"...I'm connected to the disaster somehow aren't I?"

"Now you're just guessing! Don't do this to yourself, Bright!"

"It's an educated guess. You've talked about what the disaster was, and how it happened. But you've never talked about why it happened, and you've been completely vague of anything leading up to it. Sparkler and Glory have been even vaguer. There are only two reasons you'd hide it. Either you were involved or I was. And you'd never be that cowardly to hide it if it was you."

Lance was silent and lowered his head a little. "Wish I'd been more of a coward then. I swear, Bright, nothing I have told you is a lie."

I wish my memories would conveniently return right now. So I didn't have to do this. Maybe I should have kept quiet. Pretend nothing was wrong. Pretend I didn't see the pattern. But I had opened the door, and there was no way to shut it.

"Please understand, Bright," Lancer pleaded. "A lot of ponies are looking just for somepony to hate. And hate isn't like anger...it's like love. It doesn't fade, it doesn't simply burn itself out. It begets itself. It strengthens itself. It becomes a part of you. It doesn't matter to them how long it's been as long as they need to hate. With your memories gone, they think the Bright Eyes they want to hate is gone for good. That she doesn't exist anymore. That you aren't her."

He looked at my flank. Still blank. After all these years.

"If they can connect you with yourself from before the disaster, they won't just try to hurt you, but our friends, and our foals. Hatred doesn't care about whose guilty or innocent, about who's caught in the crossfire..."

"Our house wasn't that badly damaged in the explosion," I said. "I've checked around, the damage to the surrounding area just doesn't match up."

"...Ponies were desperate for someone to blame. It didn't matter if it was a bleeding unconscious mare with a family. You have to be careful with weapons, they can make a great deterrent, but if you use them recklessly, all they do is up the ante. That your cutie mark was gone, and that meant 'you' were too...was barely enough that they decided 'storming the castle' wasn't worth risking their lives over."

"You protected me while on the way to Sweetheart's farm."

"Funny thing about objects of hate. They mysteriously never have husbands, children, parents, or any of those other things that could possibly make them more people instead of things. I wasn't recognized as much. Besides, Sweetheart and her family were safe because Sweetheart is a free doctor, she's too 'valuable' to lynch."

"You fought to protect me though."

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"You think I could have done anything less? For you?"

We just held each other, neither of us getting much sleep.

Remember how I said the surprises just kept coming? I hadn't been joking.

While I didn't remember many ponies, many ponies still remembered me.

What made this surprise interesting, was that nearly no one else knew her at first, but I was supposed to.

Unlike the unicorns, this mare hadn't knocked on the front door, she had walked onto the estate while I was taking in the fresh air. The mare had a deep tanned coat. She had more than her fair share of gear. Her mane and tail was a progressive set of pale blue, light magenta, yellow, and finally white like her tail had started growing different colors as it grew out. Her cutie mark was a purple flower.

She approached openly and unarmed.

"Bright Eyes...you are alive. I knew it," Her accent was from the tropics. She sounded and looked tired. She wavered on four legs. She also seemed to be very relieved.

After all this time, I still hadn't figured out a polite way to say it.

"I'm sorry, I... I can't... "

By now Lancer who was never far away was already on top of us. He gave me an escape and asked for me.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

The mare was surprised, she clearly wasn't expecting that question.

"I... I know we only met once...Lancelot?"

"Lancer."

"Oh I'm sorry Lancer, but Bright Eyes, there's no way you've forgotten me. It's me, Moki."

+++++

It took three long hours for Moki to convince us she wasn't a con trying to take advantage of my amnesia. An extra hour for Moki to get over her shock of two unicorns from Paradise Estate living with us. And another hour for Lancer to finally remember the exchange student. She even provided some letters in my hoof writing that she had sent me before the disaster.

I eagerly devoured them before my family could stop me. Any journals or personal notes I might have had were either stored on now useless computers, or had oh so mysteriously been impossible to find after the end of the world.

They were all from my teenage or collage years, but I didn't care, it was an uncensored window into myself and into my past.

It also turns out that all this time, Moki assumed the news about my memory being lost was only a factoid (that word means the opposite of what most ponies think it means by the way, thank you very much!).

Moki told me about the time I had visited her island, and when she had visited Ponyville, most of which was confirmed by my parents and Lancer.

Of course.

"Moki!"

"Night Eyes!"

"You're okay!"

"Yes, I am."

"How is Ichi and everyone?"

"My brother is... doing fine."

"I take it I gave Night Eyes a mother and daughter-only visit to Tropical Island?" I asked.

There were nods all around.

"So when are you due?" Moki asked me shifting the topic.

"A couple of weeks," I said, "But Moki... what are you doing here? Why did you come all the way here? Why now?"

"...There were...responsibilities that needed me first. I wanted to see you right after the disaster. But my...my family, needed me. And Tropical Island needed everypony."

None of us felt like prying. Except of course:

"So what kind of responsibilities? How did everyone need you?" Night Eyes had to ask. Sometimes being innocent and pure can be detrimental.

"...There was a lot of damage after the disaster. We aren't the only family on Tropical Island after all...There was a lot that needed repairing."

Sparkler then gave her a way out. "So it must have been an epic journey making it all the way across the ocean. I've heard you have sharks between here and Ponyville, it must have been quite an ordeal."

"Getting across the ocean wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Erm, the seaponies helped."

"Oh Moki!" I said, "I wish I had remembered you. Or someone had mentioned you! We've worked with them! I'm sure we could have exchanged letters if I had asked them!"

Moki was honestly surprised by this.

"I must say, in the end, it's quite impressive you came it here all by yourself. But you came well prepared," Sparkler said looking at the gear.

"Actually, only some of that I brought with me, the rest... I found."

"So you left your home just to visit Bright Eyes?" Glory asked, "That's so wonderful of you."

"My family understands. I had to see you again, Bright Eyes after everything that happened."

I didn't notice at the time how Lancer's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Moki continued. "I would like to stay with you for the time being if you will let me."

Night Eyes spoke first as she hugged her. "Of course you can!"

Lancer and I looked at each other.

++++

And that was how, all apparently because of me, our house gained three tenants. Oh there were the former servants, now more like work-hoofs, but Glory, Sparkler, and Moki were new additions. And they had all faced the broken world, just to visit, see, and live with me for the time being.

They were all friends I had made, like with Sweetheart, but it was actually fairly overwhelming to think how these mares had made this decision apparently all based on me! This actually a bit disturbing. What didn't I remember? I was just a mare. Yet these ponies had faced much just to be with me? I was thinking in circles.

And I was very distracted very soon, I realized what was going to happen a day before when my appetite suddenly dropped to zero and parts of me began to swell.

Night Eyes had been born in a hospital, with doctors and medical equipment all nearby. Paranoid fear gripped my soul, making me wonder if this new foal would be lost to the world before they could live, because modern civilization was gone.

As my second foal began to push their way into the world, the worry wouldn't leave. Doctors save lives.

I knew I was connected to the disaster somehow. Someway. Lancer wouldn't be hiding the details so readily if I wasn't, and he hadn't denied my conclusions. If my foal died, would it be because of me? A black pit formed inside me at the thought.

I am very happy that I recovered my memory of Night Eyes' birth in full. It prepared me for this. I thought equine births were supposed to fast and simple, and the mother recovering quick and easy! Sweetheart, you'd have to rewrite the medical books for this!

Thankfully we hadn't been sitting on our haunches for eleven months. We had been preparing. But what shocked me was that Lancer wasn't here.

As soon as he saw my appetite fading, he and Glory had up and vanished with dad's fastest pegasus flier to who knows where. I was left with hazy paranoid fantasies about a love affair.

"It's wonderful to see you again Bright Eyes."

"Sweetheart," I gasped out.

Glory and Lancer laid nearby totally exhausted with Glory's horn looking much dimmer that normal, her mana spent. Both looking vey happy.

Dad couldn't stop thanking his employee for his help too.

I won't say everything magically got easier, but Sweetheart there gave me an inner strength and hope I hadn't had before. Especially now that I could remember her. I wanted to make it through this so I could talk about the old days I remembered now!

We had already discussed names depending if the foal was a colt or a filly. Keen Eyes was the name we had chosen for a colt.

You have no idea how wonderful it was to see that small colt alive and healthy. Night Eyes, of course, wanted a view too, even though Sweetheart had kept nearly everyone out of the room, Night Eyes was first in line to see the new pony in the world.

Lancer was delighted at the sight of our son. Our parents were happy to have another grandfoal. Moki was perhaps the calmest through the entire delivery.

After all the fear and worries that had eaten at me, dealing with the afterbirth was a sideshow. I couldn't care less. Get up in the morning, give birth during lunch, and go to the fields in the afternoon my flanks. After eleven months of carrying Keen Eyes within me, all I wanted to do now was rest.

+++++

"Pink Velvet, what was that noise outside?" I asked groggily, it was sunset.

"Oh!" She looked surprised I was awake. "Just some rowdy ponies I had promised to help lead to a party once before I realized those kinds of parties just weren't for me. They heard there was a big event and they really wanted to be a part of it, they brought noise makers and fireworks and jump rope. But I told them that they must have had the wrong address. That their guest of honor wasn't around. I told them she might have fled to some diamond mines up north if they wanted to continue looking for her. They didn't think a working pony like me, who's like them, could be wrong about that sort of thing so they left. Don't worry, they didn't trash anything."

"Pink Velvet, thank you."

"Well, a mother like you can't be dealing with any rowdy parties right now. And... those kinds of parties really aren't for me like I thought they were. Please just rest Bright Eyes, you're safe, I promise."

I did.

++++

I'm tired. I'm just so tired. This road, it's been so long. Doesn't it ever end? Or is there only the illusion of the horizon? It's just as they say: time marches on and it waits for no mare.

Years pass as years do. Glory and Sparkler are only now beginning to show any signs of aging, but it's still incredibly slower than any normal pony. Moki stays. It doesn't make sense but she does. It feels like she's waiting for something.

But it doesn't stop her from helping me recover my memories. No, I haven't given up on them. Even if it's with my dying breath, I'm going to face final judgment with all of my personal records.

But the memory I want and fear the most doesn't come. Am I afraid of it? Am I really terrified of the truth? The one my family won't reveal? Maybe I should leave well enough alone but...no. Sweetheart said recovering my memories was my responsibility. So that meant if I didn't do it, no one would.

I do not prescribe to the belief that if something is forgotten by all, then that event never took place. Our parents are getting on in years. Old age is catching up with them. We've also had to bring in younger workers to keep the farm and smithery running. The looks they give me are not all pleasant, though a good deal look at me with pity.

Keen Eyes grows up healthy. Night Eyes' novelty at having a little brother has worn off. Keen Eyes, he's growing up in a world were electronic and many life saving medicines are now just stories. Like the seaponies were stories to me. He's also proving to be quite the sharp shooter. Lancer is teaching both of them everything he knows about shooting and fencing.

While Keen Eyes chaffs under it much more than Night Eyes does, I am making sure no foals of mine are going to grow up to be ignorant. Keen Eyes wonders how good any of this knowledge is related to survival. I have to explain to him carefully and calmly that knowledge is part of understanding the world around you, and building up a clearer picture of things, which helps you think, which is the key to any survival.

Keen Eyes will be a product of this broken world, but he'll never be some darwinist savage if I have anything to say about it.

Pegasi couriers are getting harder to come by, and larger packs of pegasi bully the smaller ones into adopting their policies. But friendships and blood ties win out for now.

Then came the year Lancer had one heck of a birthday present for me.

Sweetheart. Melody. Clover. And Bonbon. Along with their husbands. All together. All of us together. Patch was still out there somewhere, all we know of her is the word-of-mouth tales she seems to be racking up about her. And Buddy and his son were managing the newborn town of Trottingham.

Via methods he would not divulge, Lancer had collective five us together again.

The five of us. I can't say it didn't feel wonderful. I heard Lancer making jokes with Teddy and Ace about the immature antics they had pulled off as youths, and the silent war that had existed between the three boys and the seven girls, with Lancer often siding with us girls. Amazing how many things seem so tiny and petty once you get enough years between them.

The five us reminisced about old times, the major problems being was that there had been seven of us. And that I didn't have a clue about most of what we talked about. Including Clover, who I ultimately knew the least about now.

I knew these mares. They were still my friends. Yet I knew so little. Lancer broke off from the stallions more than once to comfort me and to chase away the shadows.

The worst part? I could barely remember what Melody's voice sounded like. Sweet Music, however, had a more beautiful voice than I ever thought possible for a pony.

I wonder where Patch is right now, and how she could be missing all this. And I wonder what Starlight would say if she was here right now.

Starlight, I wish I could remember you more right now. Because I know, with friends like these, and how they speak of you, that you're the kind of mare I'd have loved to know, and I'm sure I loved knowing.

"Bright Eyes, thank for helping out when Ms Hackney left me in charge today. And double thank you for keeping the...field trip to Pinto Cave under wraps."

"Starlight, it's no trouble. We all make mistakes. Even you."

"And you?"

"Oh. Heh. Yes I guess I do too. I was wrong about Teddy being the thief of Melody's cassette player. But Starlight, I know you're going to make a great teacher someday."

"Thanks, Bright Eyes." We hugged.

I gasped at the memory returning.

I told Lancer that it was a wonderful birthday present.

All shared hugs and kisses before we left Melody's house where the party was held, it was time to go home.

It built up slowly, like small doses of poison. Tiny drops spaced far apart. But I noticed Moki slowly growing more uncomfortable. I honestly wondered how her family was doing and how she could stand to be away from them for so long.

"Bright Eyes, do you still want your memories back?" she asked.

"Yes," I said without hesitation.

"You know they won't all be good ones."

"I know that already."

"And there's a chance that no matter what, you won't be getting them back. Maybe you should just enjoy the memories you've made."

"My family has been doing it's hardest to fight against the tide of trying to hold onto something of the world. I want to remember what we've been fighting for. I can't teach my children a legacy if I can't remember what it's a legacy of."

"So if there's something that can get your memories back. Even if it's just a shot in the dark. You'd take it?"

"Yes."

"I"m not joking when I say not all your memories will be ones you're proud of."

"I think I've figured out some of the pieces already. But I want to see those memories for myself. Lancer can't stop himself from being my shield. My parents won't talk about it. And Night Eyes was too young to fully grasp what my part was. I'm sick and tired of being protected from myself. I want the truth."

"...I see....Alright. I've been reading. I can think of one place that might trigger everything. And... and if it doesn't work, I promise I'll tell you everything that's been kept from you anyway."

"Let's go."

"Right now?"

"Yes right now. I've waited years, decades, I'm sick of waiting. Show me."

"Alright. But please, let me grab some things and get myself ready first. I've... I've been waiting a long time to do this and... and it feels... a bit overwhelming for... for it to be here."

"Alright, Moki."

I left a letter with Lancer, and to my parents and to my children. I had this weird sense of resignation writing it. Like I wouldn't be coming back? Must be all the memories I'll have to face.

Maybe I was sick of how I couldn't trust anyone outside the estate. Maybe I was sick of not knowing. Maybe I was sick of the holes in my head. Maybe I was sick of trying to teach my children about things I couldn't remember but should. Maybe even if it was just a ghost of a chance that could end it all, I wanted to try. Even if I had to face what I had done, at least I wouldn't have the shadow of what I might have done.

Ponyville. Of all place. Ponyville proper. It had changed so much. Power lines, cars, cellphones, all gone. Houses in disrepair. If they could keep out the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer then that was enough. And don't get me started on the smell.

We both wore hooded-cloaks. It was one of Lancer's rules whenever I went far from the mansion. Sparker and Glory had been forced to adopt this policy as well. That was one of the clues that I was connected to the disaster. I was pretty sure I knew why they had to, and I had little reason to assume it wasn't the same for me.

We didn't go to where I figured my old house would be. Nor did we go to the school that wasn't seeing as much use as it should have been.

Moki didn't hesitate to tell me where we were going when I scrapped together the brains to ask.

"Old Woods."

Old Woods.

The name rang in my mind like a bell. It was important.

Moki always took point, I was watching her back. She trusted me.

She was holding a small notebook, she explained they were directions she had copied down during one of her visits into Ponyville. She said they had been a gift from Bonbon.

But when we came to a large patch of thistles, I went off in the opposite direction Moki was going.

"Bright Eyes! But it's this way!"

"And my feelings tell me that there's something this way."

"... Alright, Bright Eyes." Moki began marking the trail behind us so we could find our way back.

I keep going where my instincts told me. Maybe this was all my imagination. Maybe this was just a fantasy. Maybe this was my mind trying to create something out of nothing! But I'd take that gamble!

"Bright Eyes, maybe this was wrong for me to do. Maybe we should just..."

"NO!" I snapped at her, and I kept point.

Finally we ended up at the edge of Old Woods, okay, not really the edge. But it was somewhere close-by, closer to what ponies knew and recognized.

What I finally found, was what had to be the most generic and un-extraordinary forest clearing in the history of forest clearing. I had seen one with more distinguishing features on a five year old's crayon drawing with stick-ponies.

There was even a generic cliff that surrounded it on three sides. Trivial for an adult mare.

But

But for a small filly. Who spent almost no time outside to begin with. Who hadn't learned how dangerous the world was yet...

"Bright Eyes?" I heard Moki intrude. "Are you-"

"Shush," I said curtly.

I trotted into the center.

"When have we met before?" I asked it. "With so many other memories gone. So many buried on top. Are you at the surface now? But memories don't work that way. Do they? Are you just my imagination trying to fill in the gap? What are you calling me here?"

I trot over the cliff, I strangely feel like a giant towering over a castle wall somehow. The rocks that make it up look like a mess of lego blocks, breaking off at right angles whenever erosion took a prize, grass crowning it with top soil.

I touched the stones. I pulled my hoof back like they were white hot. Fear. Confusion. Unsure. Apprehension. Maze. Pain. Disorientation. My mind associated it with all those things.

I took several trots back. There was something at the very edge of myself. I could almost feel it. I could almost touch. Just a bit more. Just a bit more!

A bird's song. Huh? I've heard it before. I know I have. I turn towards nature's music. It has green wings.

Stupid trees.

Why did we have to come out here again?

It's nothing but bugs that crawl on you. Misquotes that bite you. Sun that burns you. Pollen that makes you sneeze. Noisy birds that won't shut up.

How am I supposed to read in a place like this?! Trees makes you think they can provide shade, but it's only so the worms and the spider can crawl on you when you're not looking!

The only good tree is one turned one into books. The only reason there should be more trees around is so they don't run out of trees to make into books.

How can daddy not know this? He runs the newspaper after all, paper, from trees. I read about that. Books are great. They don't tease you. They always tell you interesting things about some foals. I bet trees are happy to be made into books where they're doing some good.

Mommy says this is so I can learn to be a little bit more active. What's the point of that? Brains beat brawn. That's what all my books say. Why should I care about being more active?

A lot of the teachers are really impressed how I can read already and so well. While the other foals are reading 'I see foal run.' That filly with the patch cutie mark was the worst, she actually turned in a drawing when asked to write something (I think it was her name), how could fillies that stupid even exist? How did she even have the brains to put one hoof in front of the other?

Why did daddy have to bring that radio? I can't read with that music. Can't he turn it off? I have to learn to appreciate music? Music is a part of every pony's heart? You can't read hearts. And the heart is pump, the beat it makes wasn't composed by anypony. That's a silly and stupid comparison!

I wanna go home. The grass is scratchy, the bugs are biting and it's so noisy even without the music! I get to get out of here. Just until it's time to finally go home!

At least I can use the trees to hide from my parents until it's time to go home. As long as I have my books with me, I'm fine.

+++++

"Princess, I mean, Luna, are you ssuuuuuure Minty wasn't Bright Eyes instead?"

"I must confess,
that would be my guess."

"I was never that bad!...Was I?"

"From what I've heard of your friends this chat,
I do not think you want the answer to that."

"Maybe her being Zipzee was a typo?"

"Typo? It's hoof-written!"

"Calm thyselves my little ponies, and zebra. All ponies alive are works in progress."

+++++

Well finished that book. It was great. Oh, I need to go back to the car for another one... Uh. Which way is the car? I know it was... this way. It had to be this way.

...

Or maybe that way?

There was a trail right? There's always a trail.

I don't like. I really want to go home now mommy. Mommy where are you?

What was that sound? Was it a cougar? Do cougars eat ponies? No no no. Cougars are mountain lions, this isn't a mountain. There aren't any wolves around here. Mommy and daddy wouldn't take me where there are any bears.

BEES! I'm not after your honey. I'm not after your honey. See? I'm going away!

...Are there coyotes in the forest? ...

Oh ...

... right.

Coyotes are everywhere.

PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!

I run, I skip, I jump, I climb. I hear them. They're after me! They wanna eat me! HELP! HELP! HELP ME!

Do you hear me, little pony?

I heard a lady's voice.

"Help me!"

Why should I help a filly who brought this on herself? Her voice wasn't mean, but reminded me of the dog catcher's somehow.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll never say mean things to trees again I promise!"

You think that is what this all about? Trees do not care what you think of them and keep their opinions to themselves. My coyotes' cubs are hungry. You are meat. Nothing else to it.

"P-p-please, I don't want to die."

It is not my fault when a young wanders too far from the protection of its parent, when it doesn't know how to protect itself, and becomes food for the young of other creatures.

The lady's voice sang. I kept running.

First you'll see them, then you don't.
Then you'll hear them, now you won't.

I looked around I couldn't see where the coyote where, I couldn't hear them, did I get away?

It's the key of survival in a deadly world.

I felt dog breath on my neck, I scream and dove for cover.

Now you feel them, now you can't.

I look up and just see some branches and logs that kinda look like a coyote.

Were they real? Perhaps they aren't?

It's their key of survival in a deadly world.

"It's...it isn't that mean." I whimpered out, I was crying so much.

Oh you are so wrong.

From up above, WHEN DID THEY GET THERE?! and from beneath. GO AWAY!!!!

Evolve eyes and jaws, nails and fangs. Where did they all come from!? Stop looking at me! Get away.

Even the most stupid of prey should know when to run! I tried to! But...every way I looked.

Ponies have no business in the wilds if they have no gun!

I screamed so loud my throat hurt and I ran blindly holding my book out in front of me. I felt claws in my back. Ithurtsithurtsithurts!

All creatures have to look out only for themselves.

Here there are no police, doctors or magic elves!

I tripped and fall, down, down, down, I cut myself, and skid my knee...I see them. I can't run. I'm...I'm...Mommy, daddy. Please. Save me.

And a secret you've learned all too late!

The coyote leapt at me jaws and fangs ready.

"STOP AT ONCE!"

The coyote all stopped, like someone had hit pause on a VCR, one was even stretched out in the middle of his leap.

You. How dare you interfere with nature's fury?

"These woods are mine. This forest is mine. What I say is. And I say that this filly lives this day."

I try to see who is speaking. I don't see her anywhere. The new voice, sounds like it has...more...heart?

The children of Havoc never forget a slight, Place Holder Goddess. You have violated my domain. You shall cry for this one day, Acting Concept. Life is strife. This act of compassion has no place in nature, Temporary One. Remember this day, and ask yourself again if one piece of flesh denied my coyote's cubs was truly worth it.

The coyotes scattered aimless, like they couldn't even see me anymore.

"I am very sorry for that, little pony."

Where did she come from? She was a deer. A doe. A very big doe. She was the one talking? Deers don't talk. Do they?

Why did grass and flowers grow wherever she stepped? That didn't make sense.

"It's okay little pony, no one is going to hurt you now," she said nuzzling me.

The deer's head rose up. She smiled. Deer don't smile! But this deer was smiling.

The tiny stubs on her head glowed pretty colors. Why am I lifting off the ground? I quickly grab my book. I float over until I'm on the doe's back.

"Who... are you?"

"I am a caretaker, a steward, a mother to many. But most importantly, I'm a friend."

"But... you've just, we've-"

She began walking with me on her back.

"Foals shouldn't think about such things yet. Haven't you ever heard these words little filly? A friend in need, is a friend indeed. You are in need, and indeed, I'll be your friend."

"You chased away the mean coyotes? Who was... that other lady?"

"She was...making sure every animal does its best. She was making sure the coyotes do their best."

"She's mean."

"Maybe she is. But she isn't what's important. What's important is that your parents must be very worried about you aren't they?"

"I... I guess."

"Why did you wander off?"

"I just, I just wanted to be alone to read."

"So far away from your parents?"

"...I didn't like coming here. Everything was so distracting. I can't read."

"Reading is very, very, very important little pony. And it's very impressive that you can read so well, but are so small."

"I'm not a baby."

"I didn't say you were. But...you can read books...but you can read the forest too."

"Forests don't have words. You can't read them."

She gave a smile that reminded me of mom when she had something to teach me. "Sheet music doesn't have words, but musicians read them don't they?"

"...I guess. But those have symbols and meaning."

"The forest has symbols and meanings too little pony, if you know where to look."

A butterfly landed on the doe's back. I knew from books that its face was so ugly. But...it's wings... they were kinda pretty.

"There you see? Life isn't so bad. What the lady said was only half the story. There's more to the world than just that. And you know not to judge a story until you've read all of it, right, dear?"

"Yes."

"That's a good filly." We trotted through a field of flowers...they smelled nice, and they didn't make me sneeze. "This is what happens when you stop and look and listen instead of trying to ignore it all and shut it out. There is more to read in this world than books, as wonderful as they are.

Just look around you. The lady's coyotes are part of nature, but so is that,"

She pointed one of her hooves to a bird in a tree sitting on it egg, checking on it to make sure its ok.

"Nature has a caring side as well. Here's a good example."

I followed her hoof. I covered my nose quick when I saw what it was!

She giggled. "It's ok, she doesn't even see you."

I blink and look closer. It's a momma skunk leading her babies around. They're cute. She stops and looks around, making sure they don't wonder off.

"You can uncover your nose, little pony, they don't stink unless they're in danger, or their babies are."

I do and she's right, they don't smell at all.

"Most ponies don't think about it, but skunks are actually very excellent mothers. That awful smell they're known for is just how they protect themselves and their kits." She smiles to me. "And look, here's another good mother."

I look again. Another doe is laying in the grass, her baby curled up beside her. Its so cute with its spots! They're so beautiful.

The big deer gives a smile. "See, there's a caring side to nature too."

I nod and smile at the deer. "Yeah...there is."

I listen...the birds are singing. I here a river roaring sweetly. The wind blowing through the trees. So many sounds...but they all come together. They're all so beautiful....It's like listening to a song, just like she said!

The doe's stubs are glowing pretty colors again, and so am I. She lifts me off my back. My book. She lowers me into a pool. I'm suddenly not hurting anymore. My cuts and scratches are all gone. I feel happy. I feel alive. The river feeds the trees. The tree the birds nest in. The birds who spread the seeds. The seeds that bloom the flowers. The flowers the insects pollinate. The insects that frogs eat. Everything. Everything is connected. Like words in a story. I feel sleepy.

"BRIGHT EYES!" Daddy!

"BRIGHT EYES!" Mommy!

I'm glowing again and I'm lifted out of the spring.

"Your parents are looking for you, you best go back to them."

"My parents are looking for me, I best go back to them."

She places me on her back again.

"They both love you very very much searching the woods by themselves."

"They both love me very very much searching the woods by themselves."

"You're safe with them."

"I'm safe with them."

"You don't need to be afraid with them."

"I don't need to be afraid with them."

"Just rest for now."

I need a little nap.

I woke up with claw scratches on me that weren't really that deep or hurt that badly, they didn't scar. And I woke up with mommy and daddy close by.

Mommy and daddy weren't happy I had gone off. But they had heard the coyotes. They heard me screaming for help. They hadn't stopped looking once. They didn't care if they had a gun or not. They cared about me.

They really more happy that I was okay than unhappy I had wandered off. And I really happy they found me. They thought it was a really good idea if I saw a doctor to make sure the coyote who bit me didn't have rabies, I don't know what a river would be doing inside coyotes though.

The Old Woods. They were scary. But they were also very pretty. I wondered when we could visit again.

Bright Eyes' Story Finale: Bright Eyes' final battle

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
My Little Pony Tales
"Bright Eyes The Earth Pony"
Pony POV Series Side Story Episode 6 of 7
Part 6 of 6
MLP: POV Seven Dreams/ Seven Nightmares
Written By Alex Warlorn
Edited By Kendell2 and Louis

~~At last.~~

... The Old Woods.

Green Songbirds.

Ms. Hackney.

Teddy. Ace. Lancer. Oh Lancer.

Unexplored.

Patch discovering the impossible.

Paradise Estate.

Magic is real.

Magic was always real.

Magic is nature.

Nature is magic.

Starlight teaching.
Sweetheart healing.
Melody singing.
Patch playing soccer.
Clover Bloom dancing.
Bonbon baking cookies.

Rainbow of Light.

Magic awakened from within.

Give everyone their happy ending!!!

Magic can do it.

Convince Starlight to be the voice and face for my dream, now OUR dream.

Princess Rosy helps.

Bonbon inspired by Patch to become a model and not just a chef. Using her new star to help the project alone.

So does Melody and Clover.

Those whose power is based on want try to hurt Sweetheart to tell us all to give up or else. Instead Teddy is a hero.

Wind Whistler. Magic Star. Glory. Moki.

All my friends!!!

One final hug between all seven of us. Time for the new world to begin. And finally, after so much hard hard hard work, all ponies instead of just a lucky few can find happiness.

God... I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember I remember ..................

Everything.

"Bright Eyes." Moki. "Your... your... your... look, your flank."

I do look.

It's back.

I'm back.

My cutie mark.

As I remember it.

Some of the minor details were different but it was mine it was me. A notebook and pen. Always ready to learn. Always ready to see.

Moki asked, "Bright Eyes... what did you remember?"

There was only one way to put it. "Everything. My total foalhood. My adult life. And..." I stiffened. "I remember everything." I shook my head. "I remember everything. I remember Moki... I remember... Paradise Estate, the Rainbow of Light, the years...the years building the castles...everything ready, so many years making sure the spell would grant only wishes that weren't cruel...Moki, I remember everything."

"About time. I was beginning to think you'd never remember. Everyone thought I was being foolish and narrow-minded when I told them what I wanted to do. I couldn't believe you had really forgotten all of it."

"I never chose to." You have no idea how badly I wanted to cry rivers until I drowned. But it felt so...pointless to now. What kind of monster doesn't cry after what I've done?

I swear I felt that feeling of something looking over my shoulder, I could even feel it breathing down my neck...No, I wouldn't look, not this time. I was done being afraid.

"I knew you didn't. But I knew doing this would have been pointless unless you remembered. Otherwise it would have just been selfish...Don't move, Bright Eyes." I froze. I rose out of my stupor enough to realize she was holding a colt revolver in her hooves.

I didn't try to run. This was my final judgment? This was my punishment? Sigh. So be it. I deserved it. I was just so tired. At least I could rest forever now. At least it wasn't some hate filled stranger. At least it was... a friend. "Please just don't hurt my family."

She didn't answer, she fired.

Right past me, and between the eyes of the lone Simurghs that had been right behind me, it rolled over on its side already dead. It kinda looked more like a winged coyote than a winged wolf for some reason.

Moki put the colt revolver back where it came from.

I looked at the beast, then back at Moki. "Moki-?!"

"Bright Eyes," Moki said simply trotting up to me. "Tropical Island was hit by a tidal wave when The Day happened. Half of us were swept out to sea, the other half turned into seaponies and merponies. They saved us all from drowning. But there was no return to living on land for them. Their old lives were stolen from them. And Tropical Island lost over half our buildings. I spent years rebuilding our hope along with everyone else."

I lowered my head. I wanted to cry...maybe I really did. "I know it doesn't change anything, maybe it's inappropriate, but I apologize, I'm sorry."

"When I told everyone what I was planning, they said I was selfish, that I didn't have the right, that it was criminal for me to think I could ever have the right. But was my choice, Bright Eyes, and they didn't have a say in it." She hugged me. "I forgive you."

I stiffened like an equinequin. "What?"

"I forgive you. I waited until you remembered. So I could forgive you. I spoke of it with Lancer. We knew one of us had to be there to forgive you, because we all knew there's no way you'd forgive yourself first." She was crying.

My body slowly relaxed, with snaking hooves, and reached out and hugged Moki back. "You really forgive me?"

"Don't shame, don't blame. The damage is done, what does hating you do? You're my friend, and, and I forgive you!"

AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH! I give up! What in Tartarus does it bucking take?! Why can't any of you nags simply die in despair!? Buck this 'behind the scenes' horseapples! If I need to bring things into reality myself then I will!

I screamed as I felt a splitting headache, and I saw my shadow grow larger behind me, I heard Moki scream my name. My shadow became something like a giant snake with arms and horns.

It really was looking over my shoulder...

I blacked out.

Then I woke up. Where was I?

I was in one of the Seven Castles, the one for the part of the harmony spectrum that symbolized trust. But they were gone. And all the details were wrong. The central chamber was nearly circular rather than geometric, and instead of the one pillar machine in the center that harnessed the piece of the Rainbow of Light, six others were spaced around the edge of the room functioning as pillars as well.

"I'm dreaming," I said simply.

~~"This is all in your head, but this is all very real,"~~ said an oddly familiar voice.

Of course the voice would be behind me, and of course the speaker would be sitting on an indentation of one of the room's support arches. What I didn't expect was who was looking at me.

"Who are you?"

~~"Isn't it obvious? I'm you."~~ Said another me.

"Since when has identity dissonance been one of my mental problems?" I stared.

~~"Since you refused to acknowledge the truth. And buried it along with all of your other memories."~~ She hopped off and floated down to the plush red carpeted floor installed so not all the ponies had to be shoed to work in the castle.

"I just got all my memories back. I know the truth of what I did and what happened. All my monsters are out of the closet."

"Not quite. Or have you really not thought about it? How could, after all the hard hard work you had put into your project, along with the hard work of so many others, could such a disaster have happened? All those great minds of both science and magic WORKING TOGETHER, all that money and time? How could it have possibly failed?" She came closer, looking me in the eyes. ~~"The truth is. You wished for it."~~

"WHAT?!"

"We wanted all the polluting ponies dead. So nature could heal and the world would be back to the way it should be! Let their corpses be fertilizer for the lush green that'll cover the world and save the planet from their greedy thoughtless hooves! Well look around you! It's reality!"

"Clop off! I am not a bucking murderer!" I narrowed my eyes and gritted my teeth.

~~"Psychology 101, the shadow hides the parts of ourselves we're ashamed of, and introspection shows our feelings, not our thoughts processes or WHY we have those feelings..."~~

"And I have never had those feelings towards ponies!! Ever!"

"How can you be so bloody sure? Who knows what anger lies in your heart that you hide away, let it broil, fester, let it boil into hatred. Until at the bottom of your heart, hidden from even you, your own desire was to see the pony species exterminated so creatures that are closer to nature could stop being crowded out by their rat like reproduction and piggish consuming of the world's resources like a plague."

"I... I... " Why did she seem more...solid? No...more real...

"Think about it. Feel about it. Isn't it what you always wanted? A purely natural world? An end to the thoughtless destruction of nature's song? Why wouldn't the spell grant that wish in such a direct and perfect manner? Ponies aren't alive, they've separated themselves from the natural cycle of life, so therefore, they don't count as living things, so it's not like your wish counted as murder."

"...... " I tried to think of something to say. Anything to say. This, this thing couldn't be right could it? I hadn't really wished for that had I? I couldn't have wished for that, could I have?

"Look at me. I am the part of you that you refuse to see, refuse to hear, refuse to accept. Your eyes are bright, but you're really like the nature you love so much. Nature is cruel. And our eyes are cruel. We are Cruel Eyes."

~~... My knees felt a little weak. She seemed so much more real now... No, I was what wasn't real.~~

There's a song in the air in the forest.

Wolves are growling as they're stalking here and there.

They enjoy the scenery. Now that we're not poisoning the greenery.

That's why now there's music everywhere.

There's a beautiful sound in the forest.

Lions roar out their warning loud and clear.

There is nowhere to be found something sweeter than the sound

Of nature's own sweet song.

And nature's back in charge in the forest

Because thanks to us its how it really belongs!

There's no ponies to try to crush, or destroy, or mutilate

Nature's own sweet song!

Nature's own sweet song!" ~~she sang...I sang? We sang? I don't know anymore.~~

"Give into the despair. Fade into the dark. You got what you wanted. You've come all this way; it's time for your journey to end. Allow me to consume you. Allow yourself to become the shadow, and I the ego."

~~"... Am I... am I a murderer?"~~

"Yes."

"NO!" Lancer snarled at me, I gasped. "YOU ARE NOT! Any pony who ever tells you are is a bucking liar! You are not a killer! You've never been a killer! You could never be a killer!"

( 'Deadman Wonderland OST 1' Track 5. DW28A )

I gasped out. "...We can't be certain...if what we think of ourselves is true, and we can't be certain what others think of us is true. The heart is always subjective. All we have left in the end is who we chose to trust. I'd trust Lancer with my life, I trusted him with my heart a long time ago!"

"Lies of omission are still lies! He manipulated you! He betrayed your trust! He wanted HIS Bright Eyes! Not you!"

"I've been his Bright Eyes since I promised to stay at his side through sickness and health. I chose to trust my friends."

"What? A couple of immortal slackers? A dumb-flank savage who actually BELIEVES that meaningless 'better living through forgiveness' tripe? A handful of mares you used like pawns to get what you wanted?"

"I never manipulated them. Ever. I only asked. If the death of the world is on my shoulders then so be it! But I DID NOT USE MY FRIENDS! And don't EVER call Moki a 'dumb-flank savage!' EVER!"

"You have your head so far up your flanks that you can't hear how trite that sounds!"

"You want to talk about trite? Starlight was my BEST FRIEND! She always tried to help me when it was practical to do so! She died instantly! I am not a sociopath! I'd have never wished for her to die! Now who the bucking Pony Hell are you really, you impostor!"

~~"...this would have gone so much easier if you'd just given into despair and let me devour you."~~

The mare in front of me continued to speak using my voice. ~~"I am the first born son of Fear and Nothingness."~~ Her cutie mark, I noticed it was a mirror shattered by a claw punching through it. ~~"The Elder brother of Obliteration, Darwinism, Imagination, Revolution, and Chaos, I actually regret a little I can't be there for Violence's birth."~~

~~"I've actually always been fond of you ponies. You were a daring experiment."~~

"Experiment?"

~~"Normally sapience is given to an apex predator species. But you? A herd species? Prey? Personally I think Darwinism only allowed it because it amused her."~~

"We are not toys for your amusement!"

~~"Exactly why you should let me simply devour you!"~~ Cruel Eyes snapped.

"You're insane."

"I'm the only sane being in existence! Or rather, I WAS! Until my own mother erased me from reality and left only my shadow behind!...But you, within you, sleeps a fetal concept, after I consume you, that concept will shape into mine, and my idea of _________ will exist again with me. And absolute freedom will exist for all mortals!"

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine a universe where whatever you think is real, IS REAL! True freedom! No longer bound by the tyranny of the laws of the universe! I always knew my mother was a coward. Why else would she erase me when I told her she should exterminate every Alicorn in existence? When I called her out on being a coward who engaged in sublime cold wars with Sane Existence! He is the chains! He is the locks and shackles that bind mortal souls! His obliteration is needed for mortals to find true happiness! He's the one who makes so because you think something is true, doesn't automatically make it true! True freedom isn't in chaos! It's in 'think it, be it!'"

"You ARE Insane! That would mean by majority vote, that because we all thought Teddy was a thief, and a hopeless bully without a trace of dignity to him, then he would have become that instead of Sweetheart reforming him! Melody and Starlight might have REALLY become aliens who wanted to cut out Patch's brain instead of a prank! And all those ponies out there who can't have their villains having families would make my entire family vanish out of existence! AND!!! It would have turned Moki into a cannibal who fed ponies to a volcano, who live in sea monster infested waters! And it would have caused Brightglow to vanish because no one but Patch believed in her, but we all believed she DIDN'T exist!"

~~"But Starlight would be alive again because Patch believed she was still alive."~~

I felt my heart skip a beat. Starlight...would still be alive? The seven of us all alive again...I know it's selfish but...I wanted that, Heaven help me I wanted that. I wanted Starlight to be here with us...I wanted it to be so I wasn't the one who caused her death...I wanted Patch to be right...

"...And she'd be the heartless monster the world thinks she was, not the kind, wonderful friend I remember," I replied. It felt like I stabbed myself in the heart saying it. I think of everything she'd told me, that one line hurt the most...because I had to say having my friend back 'wasn't worth it.' What she'd come back as, wouldn't be Starlight. "And so would me and Melody..." I'm so sorry, Starlight...

~~"Meh. Small price to pay. Now seriously, stay still while I eat your soul."~~

"NO! And you know what? From the sound of it? Your parents didn't get rid of you because you were sassy! They got rid of you because you were the biggest threat to time and space to ever exist!"

~~"If you will stand in the way of the greater good for your own selfish desire to continue existing. Whoa-kay. I'll ripe your light of existence from your shadow, and throne it within me!"~~

That was when the simmering black sword appeared in of her hooves, like it was a ghost. It looked like two fury dragon-snake creatures with limbs of different animals twisted together with their tails making the blade.

~~"Goodbye."~~

"Bright Eyes!" I heard, EVERYONE say.

Cruel Eyes blinked in surprise, I didn't. Countless glowing yellow butterflies swarmed together, mingling, turning into a broadsword with a rapier style guard shaped like the wings of a butterfly. Blocking the black sword, and held in my hoof.

I hadn't been knitting all these years I had been married to Lancer and swung at Cruel Eyes who leapt impossibly far back.

"So she ~~protects you? Fine then.~~" Her sword guard shifted to that of a moth. ~~"Who will the wings of the butterfly favor? Your selfishness? Or my sanity?"~~

She moved faster than should have been possible. She was a stream of blurs. She attacked with the ferocity and wildness of a mad mare. I should have been cut to ribbon before I raise my sword.

But I wasn't. I was moving just as fast as her! Whenever her sword struck, mine was the same place. She was fast, and getting faster. While my 'body' could keep up, I wasn't sure I could. What was I thinking? This was my mind!

But I was still forced totally on the defensive as a band of afterimage of her attacked me all at once! I was backing up, and she was cornering me! Okay, it would be completely insane to go on the offensive right now. So I fell flat on the floor, held the sword in my mouth stabbed at one of the afterimage, who were apparently a little on the solid side, and ran through the hole made in their line.

Okay! Don't get cornered again or you're dead! ~~"BRAAAGH!"~~ She spun like a buzz-saw in the air coming down on the stone leaving sparks, nearly bisecting me, and gave my tail split endings.

Think, Bright Eyes! Use that brain!

Her sword grew to the size of a telephone pole; she swung it cutting one of the pillars in two! Another near miss.

All these magic tricks...she's trying to hide the fact she's an amateur. She's holding her sword like she hasn't fenced in her life. Which means I'm just a tiny bit less scared of you!

And that giant sword takes forever to swing, you dummy! You forgot to cheat that part!

I charge, stop, feint left, and strike right, I cut and cut deep, she turns at the last moment, my sword...goes right through her foreleg. The arm falls off like a cheap costume piece. It hits the floor with a thud, a black shadowy limb like some form of canine twitches from her shoulder. She hisses in pain. No blood, no bone, nothing.

Grabbing the arm and her sword shrinking down to normal size she leapt to the ceiling again, frantically reconnecting the covering.

"~~Come out! Eat all of her but the concept!"~~

That was when I saw four pony shaped shadows climbing out of the floor like it was molasses. The worst was the longer I looked at them, the more I could begin to make out details. They tried to flank me, but I managed to instead lead them on a chase around the chamber, as they got close I cut the lead one in half and it fell through the floor like it wasn't there.

The other shadows backed off for a second, I was feeling so good about myself that I didn't notice the one behind me until it was right behind me. It bit into my shoulder, it's like its teeth were made out of dry ice. I screamed and fell to my knees. I kept enough brains to stab it with the sword and it let go at once. I grabbed hold of it, it felt like my hooves went numb just by holding it, and threw at the other two.

Another leapt right at me, but I side stepped it and cut along its side. It actually whimpered in pain and hobbled away from me, retreating.

Cruel Eyes landed behind the last shadow. She charged like lightning in a straight line towards me, through it. ~~"Worthless shadows!"~~

My sword blocked the stabbed, just barely, the shadow quivered on her sword. She grabbed my mane and head butted me, causing me to fall back. At the same time, the shadow still skewered on her sword bit her.

"GRAGH!" She threw the shadow away with the sheer force of her sword swing. She was leaking black smoke from the bite marks in her side.

"Thank you," I whispered as the shadow vanished. Did it . . . smile at me?

"Why are you bothering to thank it? It's a shadow of existence. It's an empty shell. It has no true existence. No true emotions. No true feelings. It's a 1-D outline of the light that once cast it. It's a hoofprint in the sand."

"Like you." I actually thought for a moment about what I just said. "...You know, I've misjudged before, maybe I have misjudged you. Maybe you USED to be something that should've existed. Maybe you're right and your mother deleted you for being sassy. But with what you're saying you want to be. From everything you've said, I know that NOW you're something I'm never going to let come back into existence...I pity you."

~~"I've had enough of you! That concept should belong to me!"~~

"And I'm an idiot!" I ducked her sword swing and slid far farther than that I should have been able to in real life and ran up the walls. "I've been letting YOU set the rules and what goes and what doesn't here. You've had me so caught up in this mess I hadn't thought this through! This is all in MY head? MY mind? MY soul? That means I can do anything I WANT! And I've always had with me the lance that pierces the darkness! And now that I've realized that, I've got no reason to be afraid of you anymore!"

~~"Waxing poetry won't save you!"~~

And my sword turned back into butterflies, she got closer to move in for the kill for the obvious opening. Then they reformed into a lance that went through her stomach, her own momentum did the rest.

"...~~but that's not fair.~~" Her sword dissolved into nothingness.

"What's not fair is putting your all into something to make other ponies' lives better, only for it to do the total opposite of everything you were trying to do. But that's what happens sometimes."

~~"So the wings of the butterfly favor you."~~

The lance dispersed. "Each of these butterflies embodies the memories of my friends and family. There was no way they were going to let you win. You could say that they beat you."

~~"So creation is doomed to be denied true sanity. Remember, all that happens after this is YOUR FAULT!"~~ She snarled, she was spilling black shadow matter like it was liquid.

"I know. No amount of my magic will ever undo this damage. Nature's magic will have to do the job one step at a time. I just need to live the best life I can while I can."

~~"This is not over, I swear to you, I shall stalk your soul and its iterations across creation, and when your heart cries out in deepest despair, I will be there to devour you, we will meet-!"~~

My sword reformed in a flash as I stabbed her through where her heart should have been. "Sorry, but that's not happening." I concentrate on all my friends. Starlight, Patch, Melody, Clover, BonBon, Sweetheart. Lancer, my White Knight. Night Eyes, Keen Eyes. Red Velvet. Everyone. My sword glows with each memory, each thought.

Light began to fill the thing shaped to look like me. Every nook and cranny. Just to make sure, I pulled the glowing sword out and spun right into an overhead slash with as much force as I could manage, slicing straight through the head into the chest.

The light spilled out of the openings, then began to flood through the shadow matter already expelled. And light destroyed the dark. The fake shell and the thing inside obliterated. And soon there was nothing that had ever been alive, could be alive, or would ever be alive. "Ever."

++++

Imagination itself, and the Law of The Jungle, stood before the jaws of Pony Hell.

"Father... D___t, h_s shadow of existence, it's been destroyed. There's not even an impression of H_m left now," Imagination whispered sadly.

"Don't make yourself upset, sister. Brother was already gone. It simply means his lingering sentiment can't bring more damage to creation." 'Seems you're no longer a mewling who needs cuddling to survive. Enjoy the life you've earned little pony.'

"But... Father can always will Himself back into existence no matter what. I thought one day, possible, He could do the same for D___t."

"Little sister. I loath to explain this to you. And that is rare for me. D___t was not a good draconequus."

"But he always told me how he wanted to help ponies realize their fantasies."

"...And what purpose, does imagination have, in a universe where all thoughts and points of view are already reality? He had good intentions, that does not make him a good draconequus."

Pony Hell Itself spoke. "Strife. Pandora. Leave me."

"Yes, Father," they said together and were gone from His plane of reality, to be more precise, Himself.

The souls within that continued to swear that they had either been completely justified in their actions or purely victims of fate, looked up in confusion as it began to rain everywhere. None but them saw Fear cry.
++++

"...Okay...so Bright Eyes became Fluttershy...And kicked the flank of what was left of Discord's big brother to save her soul... maybe all existence... wow...I don't think there are many words to respond to that," said Twilight, looking at the book.

"Well...now we know were Fluttershy's 'beware the nice ones' side came from," said Pinkie, giving a small chuckle.

Twilight asked, "Princess, about Cruel Eyes..."

"No Twilight Sparkle, before ye ask, Fluttercruel is NOT the rebirth of Cruel Eyes' essence. Not in the least. At all. Fluttercruel was born purely from Fluttershy's own soul, and Discord's magic. 'Cruel Eyes' was a predator mimicking the appearance of its prey. Being a part of Bright Eyes' soul twas nothing but a lie."

"...It wasn't that..."

Princess Luna narrowed her eyes.

Twilight looked down. "Okay...I did think that...but...Is it possible that . . . " Twilight struggled how to say this, "Is it possible another shadow could try to do what Cruel Eyes did?"

"It might be possible. But highly unlikely. Though are indeed other infinitely rare creatures like Fluttercruel or disconnected parts of a pony's soul or echoes who they once were."

"I do not mean to be a preacher,
But please do not call Her Kindesty's child a creature."

"We mean no disrespect, Lady Zecora."

"Please don't call Fluttershy Her Kindesty," Pinkie Pie said. "And how do you know about Fluttercruel anyway?"

"I do not mean to boast,
But to my Princess I am close."

Twilight wished she could ask in more detail. But a promise made was a promise kept, 'I promised you Trixie I won't tell anypony what I saw in your heart. Now that Loneliness is destroyed, I guess we'll never know.'

"...Wow, she was thorough, wasn't she?" Pinkie said looking back at the description again, wincing.

"She was probably, how do ye say it? 'Genry Shrewd'? From watching horror movies?"

"Savvy, but yeah, it's never a good idea to assume the monster is down for good after one seemingly fatal attack."

Twilight thought to herself. '...Yeah, doing that when I thought the memory spell destroyed Loneliness got me impaled...Good thing she got blown up twice the second time...'

"Indeed...let us continue to her happy ending."

+++++

You're back? Oh me... Heh. Hehehehhe. I guess you really want to know what came next with me? Well. I woke up. But that goes without saying. Moki was still there. Turns out I wasn't really unconscious on the outside as long as I was on the inside. I was too emotionally worn out to even try to analyze that one. Point is, I was beat.

I had regained all my memories, learned the truth, remembered what might have been a dream of meeting the two sides of nature, fought for my soul against...something or other that I had absolutely no clue about: it felt like she wanted a fun-house mirror mockery of what the dreams come true project was supposed to be. And I'd done it all in one afternoon.

But Moki saw the shadow too, so I know it wasn't something my mind made up from finally getting my memories all together. And the thing over my shoulder I'd had stalking me for so long was finally gone.

I don't think Cruel Eyes had anything to do with the wish spell going wrong. I'm not about to take the coward's way out and blame some random outside force, or some oversized conspiracy of evil spirits. Whatever happened, it was my mistakes, and those memories are here to stay this time.

And I could tell it'd taken a huge weight off of Moki's shoulders to have finally gotten the chance to speak her peace. The nervousness that I'd seen grow over the past few weeks was gone, in its place was the friendliness I remembered in her.

...If only Sweetheart were here to see it. There was a plague. It killed her and Teddy AND her sisters. All that was left was Teddy's cousin, his wife, and Sweetheart's four children. And a cure Sweetheart had created for the plague that took her.

She died without seeing her patients recover. Now there are five of us left. Yes, I attended her memorial service, why wouldn't I have?

Bonbon's health meanwhile isn't looking so good, so soon it might be just four. Assuming Patch is okay. Apparently she's got herself in trouble more than once...and somehow overthrew several evil overlords. I can't believe the spunky little class clown is a kick flank action mare.

And Sweetheart is given Sainthood in no time. You should hear the myths they're already spreading about her. No one deserves it better than her.

Keen Eyes and Night Eyes? They grew into a wonderful stallion and mare. Pink Velvet meanwhile ended up marrying a pegasus. And yes, I apologized to her for everything that had happened...she found it in her heart to forgive me.

You want to hear about how our parents left us? Forget it. I want to record matters of living not dying. I've done enough of that already.

Suffice to say, they were proud of us and they let us know.

Oh. Oh! You want to know how things went when Moki and I got back?

Okay.

So we got back to the mansion (after lots of hugging, laughing, singing in the forest, prancing through flowers, splashing in rivers, and Moki showing me the nesting grounds of the green-winged song bird that she was taking me to in the first place, yes, I was thrilled to see they survived the disaster I caused).

"BRIGHT!" Lancer tackle hugged me. He began stroking and kissing me on the entry way rug. I don't think he's ever going to stop apologizing for keeping what he hid from me. But I forgive him. Yes, I forgive my parents too. I was just too happy that my memory was finally back in all its glory to care. I was just as happy that they forgave me.

Mom and Dad finally pried Lancer off me so they could get their hugs and kisses in. And finally, Night Eyes was able to wring out her share.

Actually telling them about how my memories returned? That was another story...I spent the entire walk home deciding how to actually reveal it to them.

"Momma! You got your Cutie Mark!"

Keen Eyes, being a foal who'd never seen my Cutie Mark was the one who spoiled the surprise under my cloak.

Lancer blinked and looked at it, staring for a few minutes in shocked silence. "Bright Eyes...You...you really remember?"

I turned to him and gave a smile. "Everything."

We spent about a minute hugging and kissing.

How did Keen Eyes take me getting my memory back? Well after having the normal reaction a foal has to mommy and daddy kissing, I think he was a tiny bit worried that I wasn't his mother anymore now I had memories from all before. Thankfully it didn't take much for him to see that I was still verily his mother! I will admit, there was a certain pride I felt in that. That I hadn't just thrown away all my growth when I got my memory back. I know they say you can't eat your cake and have it too, but I think I did.

Yes, we celebrated! WHAT DO YOU THINK WE DID? I can't remember when we celebrated so much. Sparkler was happy to prove that Surprise wasn't the only Paradise Pony who knew how to set up and throw a party. Glory was doing skating tricks up the walls. Night and Keen had an epic pillow fight atop ye old cushion fort. Our parents downed salt until they burst out singing. And Moki showed she didn't need a grass skirt to dance beautifully.

Oh. I supposed you're wondering. Yes. The truth did hurt. It did sting, like a giant wasp. Yes, this world was my sin to bear, but I didn't bear it alone. Considering the first thing that happened after I got my memories back was be forgiven by a dear friend who just saved my life, and then defeated a shadow-ghost monster with the combined love of all my friends: the truth didn't crush me like you'd think it would. In fact, in a way, it motivated me more.

I was too busy being happy I was alive. Yes, in a world ruined by a project I started with the best of intentions that had ended so many lives because of a mistake I was never even able to find. I was happy to be alive. Because life and living has a value all its own. And my family was still with me.

Glory and Sparkler were even more happy. They confessed they considered the disaster and my amnesia their fault because they had given me the Rainbow of Light to begin with. I told them 'no shame no blame' and there couldn't be less point in playing the blame game now. They made sure I wasn't playing it either, I can't thank them ENOUGH for that.

And there was MORE laughter and hugs to be had. It's a wonder we didn't run out of hugs we had so many.

Moki choose to finally go back to her friends and family on Tropical Island, though Lancer and Night Eyes managed to convince her to stay 'just a little longer'. Now that I had my memories back, we spent a lot of time reminiscing about the good old days before she left. We visited a few times. It helped cushion the blow a bit to know the new sea ponies had gotten used to their new selves, and I helped design a way to build an alcove so they could more safely interact with their land based family members more regularly.

Time began, (who am I kidding? Continued!) to march on, and Keen Eyes and Night Eyes as I said became adults.

I don't know what it is about unicorn stallions, but something about them seems to attract the kids of us Ponyville Seven. It's good to see our Earth Pony foals crossing racial boundaries with all racism in the world.

Sparkler and Glory decided they could do more good among normal unicorns now, trying to be a voice compassion and sanity against the lines the tribes were digging in the sand. While the seaponies were becoming far more reclusive and the Flutterponies are completely hidden.

I wish Glory and Sparkle the best of luck. They eventually married right into Melody's family line. Oops, getting ahead of myself.

None of the ponies of the current generation or their parents recognized me as 'That Bright Eyes' now. They had more pressing matters than me now. That was a blessing, I was getting tired of having to disguise myself if I just wanted to step outside our front door to get a breath of fresh air. I kept the cloak though: it was good for keeping warm in the winter.

To sum up everything, I lived my life. I tried to help fix the world however I could, I tried to continue my father's work of rebuilding the communication system. And I tried to keep BonBon's goal of recording what surrounds us alive. In other words...I tried to help fix the world I broke. I think I managed to do quite a bit. But not nearly enough.

I also started spreading my knowledge of Earth Pony Magic. Unicorns don't believe it's real, they think I'm just spreading some Earth Pony religion, but I REFUSE to let this die out. It's something that never should've been forgotten. Thankfully, Earth Ponies are receptive of it. I simply presented it as it was; something we could do long ago but had forgotten. That it was our heritage. In times when other races try to condemn yours as inferior, anything that's YOUR race's birthright and heritage tends to be desirable.

And I may or may not have added another life or two to the world before I was done, I'll leave that purely for you to figure out on your own.

Yes my road eventually ended. But I did my best to remain in contact with all my friends to the very end, both new and old, and yes, I did make new friends. And I'm proud of it.

It's kinda of strange, really. Lancer told me that I didn't have to go first if I didn't want to. As if either of us had any true control of when it happened. Whatever was waiting for me after everything, I promised myself I'd face it like a mare.

Heh.

As I've told you before, way back when this all started, I'm sure you already know what comes next.

I actually held on a little bit longer than I was sure I'd last. I think I didn't want to leave Clover alone as the last of the seven of us. Yes Patch was still out there, yes she still visited, but those visits were becoming farther and farther apart as Patch began losing track of time. It was like she couldn't tell a month from a year. And I admit, I was somewhat jealous she seemed to have slowed down aging.

And I think Lancer was determined not to leave me alone as if he could effect when his time came.

I went to bed one night. And woke up a teenager again, staring face to face with my best friend.

"Hello Bright Eyes."

"Starlight!" I shouted in joy.

And Sweetheart, Bonbon, Melody, were there as well, at the age we were making mistakes left and right and managing to learn from every one of them.

We hugged and nuzzled each other. This had been a reunion decades in the making.

It was wonderful to hear Melody's voice again.

I didn't realize the truth immediately. But when Starlight told me I was dead, I didn't feel the shock or alarm you think you should when you're told your life has come to an end. Instead, it was just an odd sense of...completion. But I did feel a slight bit of embarrassment that Melody had been the one to figure out she was dead on her own instead of me.

"But why do we look like we did before even graduating collage?" I asked.

"That's an easy one." Starlight smiled, "We knew each other for years, but it was these years we realized who we were, and what we wanted to do with ourselves, and that our bonds truly became indestructible."

"You weren't afraid to go first after all," Lancer's voice. He was crying. But his voice was so peaceful and calm you wouldn't know it unless you looked at his wrinkled face. He stroked my dead body, gently hugging it.

"I didn't chose when to go, silly," I said knowing he couldn't hear me.

I don't know what final fate awaits my soul from here. But I've promised myself to accept it. I've promised myself to face it. I've promised myself not to run from it.

I wasn't expecting to come face to face with a pegasus foal with broken wings and...I believe he just looked...wrong...I don't know how to describe it...He scared me just to look at him.

"Havoc..." Starlight said, looking shocked to see him.

'Havoc' looked me over, saying nothing...he just felt so immense to witness...I can't explain it. It was like looking at fear itself regardless of what my 'eyes' were telling me. The look he gave me...it looked somewhere between gratitude and rage. Didn't make sense to me either.

Then it hit me. Cruel Eyes had said he was the son of Fear. "...You were Cruel Eyes' father, weren't you?" He nodded. The look in his eyes now... they looked, so sad. I almost hugged the little foal then and there.

"...I'm sorry for your loss...And for having to ... destroy his... his remains." There was nothing else to say. I'd say the same thing to the parent of every other being the project killed.

I think he actually looked genuinely surprised at that. He then gave a small...terrifying chuckle. There was no malice in it...it was just...him. "That's The First Time Any Have Ever Told Me That...You Are Forgiven...Hehe, That Is Actually Fun To Be The One To Say That For Once," He then vanished into a red spell circle and we were alone.

After that...I considered going to face the music.

But first, at Starlight's request, we had to wait for Clover and Patch.

So what do five dead mares do waiting for two of their friends to hurry up and die too?...Sounds like a bad joke doesn't it? But we managed. Starlight had been given some kind of window to look into creation, which was pretty helpful when we wanted to talk about the past or look at potential futures. Apparently there are still video games and television in the afterlife (not questioning it, just praising the heavens for it). So in other words, we were just friends hanging out again. I liked it.

"Bright Eyes," Starlight said, "I promise, I know whatever is waiting for you, isn't horrible. If I can make it, then so can you."

But I didn't feel scared now somehow, I almost feel, excited almost, like I was a tiny piece of something much greater, and it was waiting for me. It's exactly how life is in nature.

"Thank you Starlight," I hugged her. "I'm not afraid." I knew I should have asked about Cruel Eyes, the doe, the coyotes' voice, but for now, right now, none of that matters. My friends are here. And I know a wonderful world is waiting for the seven of us to share. I don't know everything of what's coming next, and that's what makes it wonderful.

+++++

Lancer had endured for many years now, seeing his children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, grow up in this world that was slowly forgetting the marvels it once had, and lost time for grudges as they turned to being busy with survival. But they did survive, and so did Lancer's family. And they loved their father, grandfather and great-grandfather, hearing of the fantastic world that once was, and his wife who had healed sick animals and had made sure Earth Ponies remembered and used their own magic just like Pegasi and Unicorns had theirs ensuring Earth Ponies not only survived but thrived. She was the mother of earth pony magic after all. Lancer wondered if she'd be called a Saint like Sweetheart...maybe she had and he couldn't remember.

How many years had it been now? He couldn't remember, memories began to turn to fog as old age finally caught up with him, he couldn't hold a sword now to save his life: his body was worn down, worn out, at least he hadn't gone bald like Ace had. The last of the boy trio... Teddy had been lucky to go with Sweet Heart. Ace had died before Melody. He was the only one who had been forced to live without his wife. But he lived because he knew that was what Bright Eyes would want. A letter from his proud great-grandson Hawk Eye the pegasus (Gold Velvet had to read the letter for him, such a good mare). She read Lancer's first great-great-grandchild had just been born, an Earth pony, alive, healthy, protected, and safe. That was good. Maybe he should a trip to see the little foal. But first... he needed to rest his eyes for a minute.

"Wake up dear, you don't want to miss this."

Lancer opened his eyes, feeling groggy.

An angel looked back at him.

"Bright Eyes?"

"Hello Dear."

"What, what's going on?"

She helped him to his hooves his weariness gone. He felt young, strong again. They were at the rollerrama. "The roller rink is reserved for just the two us tonight, that's what."

She was as beautiful as he remembered.

"Care to dance my love?" She asked.

Was this heaven? Was this a dream? He didn't care. He let it all go. The teenage colt only knew the love of his life stood before him whole and alive.

"Alright. Shall mi'lady take this dance?"

"Of course dear."

The teenage couple waltzed on the dance floor, their friends and family watching approvingly.

Bright Eyes sang.

How was it our world began?
Why can we be bold?
Why give meaning to a dove?
What will happen to my soul?
These are all mysteries...
But do we need to find
Every single last reason?
I've already got mine.

To learn what's unknown
(It used to mean so much to me)
To learn what's unknown
(Now I know that's not meant to be)
I wanted all the answers
But now it is true
My life is far too sweet
The time far past due
To waste trying to know
The unknown.

I know I love our green planet
That I covet my true love's kiss
Nature's lovely scene
From the birds to the fish
I don't need to be wondering
Tryin' to understand
What gives me jubilation
When I see something so grand.

To learn what's unknown
(It no longer means too much to me)
To learn what's unknown
(I know it's just not meant to be)
I don't need all the answers
'Cause I know it's true
I love the sun that burns
The sky that is blue

So I don't need to know
The unknown.

They kissed.

---

And I think I'll stop right there. Thank you, you ponies who are going to be reading my story, and those my friends. We're remembered. And I trust you in my heart to read Clover's too. Bonbon's put in a lot of trust for all this to be written in her diary. Oh! Tee-hee! And you can be sure, as flowers bloomed throughout the heavens, Lancer and I held that kiss for a very very very long time.

+++++

Working late (or rather working early now), Jade Singer, or as she had used as her alias for years 'Summer Mane' checked the perfectly organized library. There were few ponies who could say they were actual factual friends with the sun goddess, much to Celestia's own awkwardness. Jade had been 'Sunny Day's' proof reader and editor even after Jade had changed her name and drawn over her cutie mark. Having your first work praised endlessly was great, until you realized that everypony expected a repeat performance.

Not to mention so many ponies didn't want to take the time to READ books, they just read the plot summaries so they could sound like they knew what they were talking about. She was done. A one shot wonder.

Celestia had always respected her choice. Then Jade had broken a leg. And with a clever lie by Twilight Sparkle herself, 'Summer Mane' had been forced to let the younger unicorn be her assistant in the massively gigantic book archives. 'Summer Mane' made it clear what she thought of the spunky little unicorn, but Twilight just remained polite and respectful.

And Jade found another pony who had READ the classics, and talked about, no, discussed them with the same liveliness Jade did. Not just reading plot summaries and acting like it. She KNEW the stories like the front of her hoof. Too bad she couldn't appreciate good music.

Then the little traitor looked inside her office after telling her never to enter or else. Jade told her to leave in the morning. And the little purple unicorn STILL chose to put the entire library in perfect condition before leaving!

Twilight confessed to her little lie (the same one Jade had ironically used to get her first job as an assistant editor) and Jade chose to reveal to Twilight she was the author whose book Twilight held nothing but praise for.

And the spunky kid had known for days! And had kept it to herself because she respected Jade's choice not to tell her. Jade had told her her fears, and it turned out Twilight and her had more in common after all. Being the student of the sun goddess meant staying the best. But maybe it wasn't so overwhelming if you had friends to support you.

... And Jade released her second book (she had been writing, she still loved it {as Twilight just had to point out}, but she couldn't submit to the judgment of others). Everypony said it was greater than her first novel.

Jade had even finally visited Celestia in person again. It had been... too many years.

"Celestia, you just had to send me a living breathing object lesson about not being afraid of failure didn't you? You're as clever as ever."

Even afterwards, even after everything Jade had requested not to move out of the archives. Many of the books in the sealed vault were centuries, no, eons old, and actually belonged to her family! It practically been her family's mission to keep them safe even as the windigos turned the world into a wasteland and Discord into a mad house (she had also personally opened up to Celestia about what Discord had done to her, an already jaded and hurt pony, which, much like Twilight, the devil had only taken as a challenge).

No one ever believed her, except Celestia, when she explained the books contained things far ahead of their time, and Jade's time. Most just laughed asking if aliens were involved and maybe wish granting pyramids. Celestia never laughed. She only calmly asked for details.

When she heard about the strange fog outside of Canterlot for a day, which had taken away ponies' doubts and fears for a single day of extra foalhood, Jade couldn't say she didn't regret not getting a chance to experience life again for one day without burdens and the innocent joy of writing without having to fear critiques or political correctness.

Jade had to admit, she was still happy her friendship wasn't something publicized either with the Princess or now the goddess' apprentice (she imagined 'Sunny Day' had something to do with that). But all in all, it was wonderful to have a friend.

It was actually rather funny now that she thought about it. Coming to the archives, didn't feel like her first time being in charge of a library. And why did she dream for the first few days about dragon flies? Oh well. She had a life to live. She couldn't fixate on dreams. And thanks to her friends, it was a life worth living again.

++++
Luna looked to Twilight. "Do ye still feel she and her family were selfish, Twilight Sparkle?"

"...No...I suppose not...Is it true that Bright Eyes brought Earth Pony Magic back?"

"In a manner of speaking. Several Paradise Estate Earth Ponies helped, and it was not completed in her life time, but yes. Bright Eye's teachings did slowly spread and eventually Earth Pony Magic became commonplace. We sincerely are shocked some unicorns deny its existence."

Twilight Sparkle blushed.

"Hey, just to ask, is there a school for Gifted Pegasi and Earth Ponies?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, but they're not as well known, and haven't existed as long, a lot say they exist just to be polite. Most pegasi prefer the Wonderbolt Academy."

"Perhaps we should take over one of the others to bring it more prestige," Luna mused. "We do now have three Alicorns, and all three of us are capable of all five types of pony magic."

"Five?"

"Yes, Alicorns are ALL tribes, Twilight Sparkle, not just the...extant ones..."

Pinkie Pie and Zecora were silent at this reveal. Though Zecora versed a prayer to her ancestors under her breath.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head to soft reboot her thoughts and looked back to the last page of the journal.

"Bright Eyes. Hard to believe we aren't related at all...I'm not descended from her, am I?"

"Not to our knowledge, but it is quite possible."

"I've gotten past being surprised by that...I remember seeing a mare in Canterlot with a Cutie Mark like Lancer's, I wonder if they could be related..."

Luna suddenly blushed. "We would say that is a possibility. Fleur Dis Lee is a mare of many mixed and noble bloodlines." Of course one of Fleur Dis Lee's grandmothers was once two stallions in a magic Celestia costume that had been made too magical after Luna's sister caught wind of the scheme. But there was nothing to say her relation to Lancer came form that. "But ye aren't thinking as broad as ye should Twilight Sparkle. Cutie marks that appear in bloodlines evolve over time, as ideas are passed down in a family, such as a note book into a set of four white books."

Luna waited for it to settle in.

"Jade," Twilight said with awe, "Jade Singer is Bright Eyes' descendant."

"Elements attract Elements, and friends attract friends even before they know each other, or AFTER they know each other. And friendships between families, can be rekindled. Luna cleared her throat. "To quote a wise little pony, 'Everypony everywhere has a special magical connection with her friends. Maybe even before she's met them. If ye are feeling lonely and ye are still searching for thou true friends, just look up in the sky. Who knows, maybe ye and thou future best friends are all looking at the same rainbow.' This is merely proof of a discovery you already made."

Luna nuzzled her, for a moment knowing the joy her sister felt around these ponies leading them closer to the light.

'...I never thought of Havoc as a grieving father,' Luna thought, looking at the pages. 'I suppose He and Wind Whistler were similar in that way; just because their feelings are hidden, does not mean they are not real.'

"There is much we all now know.
Now there is only one left to go,"

Zecora observed holding Bonbon's journal herself for the first time. It was similar to the one she, Ms Hackney had held two lifetimes ago. It was felt rather odd, that she refused to read something so personal two lives ago, but now she read what she knew Bonbon would have WANTED to be read. She wouldn't let her old student down.

"Indeed. And long has the journey so far. Pinkamena," Princess Luna said, "We know we have said this many times now, but the answers that lie beyond, may not be the answers you want, or even the answers you seek. Can you accept that?"

"I already have," Pinkie Diane said, "Stopping the story when we're so close to the end would be pointless and rude now. Right Twilight?"

The unicorn couldn't argue her logic and nodded. "But Princess Luna, don't you have responsibilities?"

"Right now Twilight Sparkle this IS my responsibility." 'And one of my avatars can handle things in my place for now.'

Luna looked to Zecora. "...Lady Zecora, ye don't NEED to stay. It's unlikely Clover's story will reveal more about thou's second self."

The Zebra smiled.
"This is not simply to learn about my past lives,
it is to help my current friendships thrive.
After all, we're not just reading about how those lives end,
we're spending time with friends."

Luna gave a small smile. "That is true. Well said, Lady Zecora." She watched Twilight give Zecora a hug, then so did Pinkie Pie.

"Alright everypony, and zebra." Pinkie Pie had brought out pillows for everyone, along with a reading light, blankets, and hot cocoa with a mountain of marshmallows. "Let's hear Clover's story."

Twilight nodded. Happy to see Pinkie Pie happy. "Right." 'Clover, what kind of Pony were you before you were Minty? Before you were me? Alright Pinkie Pie, we'll find out together.'

Clover's Story Part 1: AND THE TRUE ORIGIN OF PINKIE PIE!

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
My Little Pony Tales
Pony POV Series Gaiden/Side Story
7 Dreams/Nightmares
"Clover The Earth Pony"
Written By Richforce and TheJacobLB44
Edited By Alex Warlorn, Kendell2, and Louis
Part 1 of

Before Revision/Disaster

My name is Clover and I should be happy today. But I'm not and I don't really know why. Everyone had always called me lucky, and usually that's true. Luck's my special talent, after all. But that didn't make things easy (and when I have bad luck, it can get bad). The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was meeting my friends, because they made everything else so meaningful.

Starlight was the glue that held us together; it just seemed natural that she should lead the way. Whenever a problem reared its head, she was the one who organized us and helped us reach the solution. If Starlight was the heart of our group, Bright Eyes was the brains. She was always so passionate about the environment but she still always set aside time to spend with the rest of us. Sweetheart is the most selfless pony I have ever met, stay around her and you can't help but smile. Patch, what a joker, you could always count on her for a laugh or an idea for a big adventure. Melody brought a lot of energy, she could be a little selfish at times but she usually meant well. Bonbon always dreamed big and had an appetite to match; if we ever got into a fight she would always bring a plate of cookies to help patch things up. Me, I kept thinking I was just tagged along as the group klutz, the comic relief.

One time I had dreamt I had won concert tickets to see the Cleveland Bays and the next day it happened, I won! But there were only two tickets and I had six friends who all wanted to go. Have you ever heard of that old story about the donkey and the two piles of hay? That would be me to a T. Daily. So later when Starlight gave me a free milkshake to apologize for walking out after the TV announced the winner, I felt obligated to promise her my other ticket, and when Melody pleaded to take her along I felt she deserved to go because of how much music was her life and when Sweetheart told me she didn't care because there were more important things in life I decided to give her MY ticket. It just kept snowballing from there and before I knew it I ending up giving away two tickets to six fillies. They did get pretty mad and hunted me down and I don't blame them, but were just as quick to forgive... but we still had the problem of two tickets for seven girls. So we ended up having a private drawing over it. Melody won the first ticket, she actually swooned, and my luck held out for the second, I felt kind of guilty. Sometimes having luck as your talent isn't all it's cracked up to be.

It was just as bad when we actually got to the concert; it just didn't feel right without the others. Melody soon stopped being starstruck at her favorite band and admitted to having the same incomplete feeling as me. So we sold the tickets, probably for less than what they were really worth but scalping them was the last thing on our minds, and bought a pizza for the girls with the money, who were going to watch the whole thing on TV at Bright Eyes' house. I really felt the luckiest just being around them.

The seven of us were our own herd.

Of course the thing about luck is that it can go both ways. It took a teapot to really get me to not take luck for granted. My dad, Indigo Bloom, is a sculptor. A pretty well-known sculptor in his own right, these days. But back in the day, he was still working a nine-to-five. Thing was, even after five rolled around, he rarely returned home for several hours afterwards, in order to pursue his real passion: art. His specialty was collecting metal things ponies threw away and welding them together to make abstract sculptures. So one time, he offered to let me come to the dump with him. Since I rarely saw him, I figured it was a good way to spend time with my dad, even if it was at a stinky dump. And that's when I found it.

Other than being made from fake silver, it seemed like it was just another teapot, but it was so pretty I just had to bring it to the clubhouse. Then the girls started talking about Aladdin and his magic lamp, joking that maybe the teapot was magic too. So I rubbed it wishing that "It would rain a jillion jangles" and it came true! Except for the jillion jangles part, we spent the rest of the afternoon using sticky glue to patch leaks in the clubhouse roof. Then Patch joked I should try the teapot again. I ended up getting Sticky glue all over me. I was convinced the stupid thing was cursed.

+++
"Silly pony," Twilight grinned, "Curses don't-" The undead moans of distant Sunnytown carried on the wind. Twilight's ears folded. "Never mind."
+++

So after a long bath and a lot of worrying that resulted in a flooded bathroom and Mom being none too happy with me, and a hopeless hope that maybe this was all just a bad dream, I decided to put that thing in the garbage and send it back to the dump where it belonged. The only reason I didn't smash it was because I was afraid that might release some evil spirit or something that would terrorize the town.

Then I got to school, and Miss Hackney had a note to give to my parents. I was so worried about the stupid teapot I forgot to do my homework. My mom, Lilac Bloom, grounded me but even worse the garbage stallion thought I threw the teapot away by accident and it was back! That night I couldn't concentrate on doing all of that homework, it had to be the teapot. I tried hiding it in my room but I would keep seeing it no matter where it was! The stupid thing somehow ended up falling on the bed next to me when I hid it as thoroughly as I could!

I was so fed up, I snuck out of the house and took the teapot and chucked it into the middle of Paradise Lake, so long stupid thing! Then as I was helping mom with dinner there was a big mishap while dad had just come back home, who knew a salad shooter could actually be a weapon? Then the doorbell rang, turns out a fisherpony saw me throw the teapot into the lake and brought it back. Boy was dad steamed! I was grounded "until further notice." On top of everything else, Dad was an environmentalist. Sneaking out of the house from a second story window when I was already grounded hadn't helped either. Given how my luck was going by that point, I was half expecting Bright Eyes to find out about the whole thing and come chew me out too!

Later I went to his workshop bringing the teapot; I just had to explain why I did it. Dad, he was still a little mad but he comforted me told me most of the time good luck was just a combination of hard work and being at the right place at the right time. Then his muse struck, he took the thing and added it to his sculpture!

His sculpture which he'd be submitting to the art show which could make or break his career, I'd rather have that bad luck forever than make him lose his dream! I begged him not to have the teapot but dad was determined. The night of the show came around, my sentence was up and all of my friends came to see it. I was sure he was doomed, but then this rich mare took notice of my dad's work, she especially loved the teapot! She bought it for a lot of money and more importantly all of her rich friends just had to have something like it for themselves! My dad got so many commissions that he was able to quit his job and go into art full time. So was the teapot lucky after all or maybe it just how good the sculpture was, maybe it was a bit of both.

The rest of my family? Well, Mom worked as a secretary but her real passion was her garden, so many beautiful flowers each cared for tenderly, our house always won the annual Ponyville best garden competition. She can overreact sometimes; I guess I get that from her. Of course you had to have heard of my older sister Meadowlark. It seemed like ever since I was born I was always in her shadow. She always made the honor roll at school and her grace in ballet was unquestionable. Me? I had to study my flank off to scrape by with B's and sometimes I couldn't go for two days without falling all over myself. There were times I was jealous but she was my sister and I wanted her to be happy. And it wasn't as if her fame didn't have drawbacks; she tended to be so busy she repeatedly forgot all of our birthdays. She even forgot her own one year! The day she was finally going to get married, I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. So I agreed to do some errands for the ceremony with my friends. In spite of my klutziness things were okay enough that day until I saw Chaval, my sister's fiancée, talking about an engagement to some mare named Suzette. The whole thing seemed suspicious to us so we decided to shadow them.

All the evidence just seemed to add up: Chaval was going to run off with this hussy and leave my sister at the altar! I was not going to let the cad break Meadowlark's heart! I faced the jerk and gave'em both barrels and told Meadowlark the truth of her two-faced 'true love!' Only it turned out Suzette was Cheval's sister and they had been talking about her own marriage to a stallion named Albert, (silent 't' since he's French). All I ended up doing with out antics was destroying the flowers, the cake, losing the wedding rings and making my mother faint. I knew it; all I seem to do was ruin things for my sister. All I touch crumbles to dust. I broke down crying, what ELSE would I do? But my friends were there, they got flowers from our own garden, Bonbon fixed the cake and found the rings in it. And my sister thanked me for helping make her special day extra memorable! She was a better sister than I deserve.

Still Meadowlark seemed to have it all; fame, a husband who loved her, grace and confidence. I always wanted to be like her, even the times I was jealous of her. Then came the Christmas when Meadowlark's troupe came to town to perform The Nutcracker. I had started taking dance classes in earnest and my class was going to be understudies for some of the minor roles in Meadowlark's play.

In spite of clumsiness (I think every part of my body except my feet hit the ground before I could finally nail a leap) I got to understudy the role of the Harlequin, or the clown in laypony's terms. Even though I wasn't supposed to go on unless something happened to the real performer, I was extremely nervous. So when the actress who usually played the part twisted her ankle, I came down with the worst case of stage fright ever. It was so bad I faked having amnesia, but Meadowlark told me something I never thought I would hear. She was scared the first time she went on stage; they almost had to carry her out there. All anyone expected me to be was me. I soon realized I couldn't let my fear get in the way anymore, I ran as fast as I could and made to the theater with just enough time to get into costume and onto the stage and I started to dance. I may have stumbled a bit (thank goodness for playing a clown) but I didn't fall. I even managed all of the cartwheels. Then the whole audience burst into applause, they all cheered for me! Mom, Dad, all of my friends! But the best part was what Meadowlark said to me with tears in her eyes.

"Knew you could do it, Clover! I knew it!"

And that was the beginning of my own rise to stardom, not that it happened all at once. Still as my star began to rise, there were still the constant comparisons between me and my sister. Some had even mockingly referred to me as "Meadowlark-lite." But these new little devils on my back telling me I'd never be my sister's equal I threw off when I first met her.

Wow, I hadn't thought of our first meeting in years. It all started when Patch changed all of our lives with one phone call.

+++

At the time I was just coming into minor celebrity status but I was getting a little down with the whole "Meadowlark-lite" comparison. Dandy, my high school flame and now-husband wasn't around as much as I would have liked. We first met by literally running into each other; we both had problems with coordination so we started helping each other be a little less klutzy. As a kid, he got his cutie mark using his wagon to carry a large number of things for charities, today he carries on that talent as a truck driver, as a result of each of us being on the road we didn't see each other as often as we would have liked.

I just felt like I had to get away for a while, clear my head. I had started thinking about my old friend when Patch called.

"It's just amazing, Clover!" she told me over the phone. "You have to come down here, you've got to meet them!"

"Patch have you been..."

"AGH! You eat some poison mushrooms once and then it hangs over your head for the rest of your life!"

"I was going to say 'forgetting to drink plenty of water,' because this sounds like heatstroke to me."

I heard her slam her head into what sounded like a tree. "It's not that either! Just come down here, I invited the whole gang!"

Patch wasn't the type of pony to lie (...anymore), but this was unbelievable. Still it was a chance to get away from the troupe and clear my head for a bit. And the idea of meeting up with everypony in the old gang again was appealing.

"Which forest did you say it was again?"

Having our small reunion was great, even If I ran into a thorn bush or two not to mention a squirrel that seemed to be smart enough to have it out for me. Though my good luck thankfully held when I ran right into a skunk that seemed smart enough to know I didn't want to hurt it instead of spraying me. For a few moments I didn't see any of as the mares we became but as the band of girls that had the craziest adventures back in Ponyville. I was even glad to see Teddy, though I pretended not to notice him. But then Patch led us to the large pink in-the-middle-of-nowhere house. If Patch was making this up she put a lot of effort into it. Then we saw Firefly, then Twilight and then Spike and that was when I started hyperventilating. Starlight and Bonbon fainted. Bright Eyes looked like she was having a nervous breakdown, but it turned out all she really needed was some rest.

There were twenty of them living there, twenty-one if you count Spike. All of them centuries old apparently! It was adorable how they all wore tail bows (even if it made us feel a little naked). And they say there used to be a lot more of them! And the unicorns! One was white with green hair with a pink strip in her mane. I think her cutie mark was five red leafs, I wasn't sure. She thought we looked hot as the rest of us struggled to keep from fainting dead away, and her horn glowed and there was this cool wind that past over us all. "Oh, I'm Gusty by the way."

Actually seeing magic done snapped me out of my stupor. I asked the nearest unicorn the first question that came to my mind.

"You wouldn't happen to know any spells that would make me a better dancer, would you?"

Twilight sighed. "I'm afraid not, even with magic, some things don't get easy with us."

"Oh, it's just, well you've been around for awhile and some of you can fly or have magic. Me, I'm just a regular pony who is stuck in her beautiful sister's shadow."

"Not just a pony, an EARTH pony. We didn't know it at first but you possess a strength and connection to life that the other tribes can't match. And even without that we each have our own talents and skills that make us unique."

"Our cutie marks."

"It's more than that. Once one of our friends, Sweet Stuff -- she left a few centuries back with the stallions -- had problems believing in herself. This was before we found out all of the details about Earth Pony magic but even so, Sweet Stuff still had problems because there weren't any games she was particularly good at. But when we had a scavenger hunt she was the only one who could figure out that the last clue our friend Megan gave us 'they are one even when they are many.' By that, she meant the Bushwoolies. Even if your sister is the more eye-catching, we all have our place in this world."

That helped me feel a little better.

There was also another pony I really connected to: Shady. At first, she just hung out in the shadows but as the day went on she started getting a little bolder around us. So, with my curiosity gnawing at me, I quietly asked her "Why have you been hiding all this time?"

"I didn't know what kind of ponies you were," she said. "I know Patch said you could be trusted but with all the bad guys we had to fight I was scared that you somehow tricked her..."

"I think I know what you mean. Sometimes back home we could fight over the most trivial things but most of us are basically good."

"I think most of it is just me, I'm not the bravest pony around. Ponyfeathers.... I'd settle for not jumping at chirping crickets."

"I can relate; I'm always afraid of messing up and getting laughed at. But most of the time I can just put it aside."

"Yeah, I just wish I could have taken something from when I had Gusty's courage."

She then told me the story of how she, Wind Whistler, Gusty, and a friend of theirs who had left, Fizzy, had all switched personalities because of some little blobs called Frazits they accidentally let out of a barrel. Shady meekly admitted she had at first been drunk on her new courage until her friendship finally overrode her sudden irresponsibility.

"It's funny, I'd never seen Wind Whistler look so, happy when she had Fizzy's carefreeness, and Fizzy said when she had Wind Whistler's reason that she hadn't even realized how scattered she could be, but she went right back to being confused after we fixed everything. Gusty, I don't think she liked being afraid like I always am, but she said she liked being a 'team player.' But I was really the only one who wanted to talk about it afterwards."

"I think one of my philosophy teachers said that when all the outside parts of yourselves are changed or taken away, that your real real self inside shows up. Maybe you all got a chance to show parts of yourselves you couldn't show before." Wow. I sure sounded a lot like Meadowlark!

"Maybe we did, after that I tried to help out and started dabbling in Alchemy."

"You mean like turning lead into gold?"

"Nothing that impressive, more like brewing potions. I've gotten really good at making calming draughts since I tend to use those most."

"You wouldn't happen to have a few lying around? It sounds like something a few of the younger troupe members could use, and me too, on occasion."

"I could have really used some when a human witch named Somnambula tricked everyone into an illusion and stole their youth."

"An evil human? But all of the stories I heard said humans were enlightened bearers of knowledge who uplifted us from dumb beasts of burden."

"Megan and her siblings were very good, but they made mistakes too. There were even a few humans who were real monsters, like Somnambula and this witch named Hydia, who was probably one of our most dangerous enemies. Humans have their jerks and their saints, same as the rest of us really."

"Yeah, though I wish there were more of the latter. Ponies just need, I don't know, something to aspire to. Something that says we can be better than what we are, like all of you became."

"All of us, even me?"

"Why not? You've spent centuries here keeping evil at bay. For the rest of us, the biggest problems have been unfulfilling jobs or thorny romances."

"Even if I'm a big scaredy cat?"

"Staying to face whatever nasty is coming your way takes a lot of guts. I'd say being so scared means you're braver."

"...I never thought of it that way before Clover. I still don't feel brave, but at least it helps to know someone thinks of me as brave ... You remind me of Molly," Shady whispered.

"Who's Molly?"

"Another friend who told me I shouldn't work so hard to make myself feel so bad."

"So we're friends now?"

"Unless you give a reason not to be."

"That's fine with me." We nuzzled.

Paradise Estate held so many wonders, and you know, it felt good seeing all my friends make friends with these magic ponies. I could close my eyes, and feel that we were all back together again.

I also ended up talking to Twilight and...well, some things came up.

"When I was younger, I had a lot of trouble getting my magic to work," Twilight said with a chuckle. "I had to concentrate really hard and repeat 'I wish, I wish, I wish' just to get it to work. I still do that sometimes when I'm using a really strong spell. It helps me concentrate."

I was rather shocked to say the least. "Really? You seem so good at it."

"Well, we've all have centuries of experience practicing... though Mimic was always the natural talent."

"I know how that is...when I first started dancing, I think my face hit the floor more than my feet... Now it feels so natural."

"You see? Dancing is its own magic." She gave me a nuzzle.

And with all this magic around me, I couldn't help but ask... "...Say, could you answer a question for me? Are there such things as curses?"

"...Yes, actually. Why do you ask?"

So I explained the old teapot story again, prompting Twilight to giggle. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, sorry, it's just we happen to have met a man named Woe-Begone who had a very similar problem. He pushed a witch into her own cauldron and instead of owning up to his actions, claimed it was 'bad luck', so the wish cursed him to have it for real. The irony is the bad luck happened because he believed it would, the witch made it so her curse would be broken if he stopped blaming his bad luck and stopped expecting it. Sound familiar?"

"...Yes...so wait, the teapot really COULD have been cursed?"

"It's possible, maybe the witch made it to teach others the same lesson she was teaching Woe-Begone."

"Or I was just making a mountain out of a mole hill and forgetting to do my homework was my own fault."

Twilight laughed. "That too!"

And we just talked. Her wishes and my stage fright, and the idea of working hard to achieve something, overcoming hardships in the process...

And that was the best part meeting these magical ponies for me, not seeing all the amazing things they could do, it was the talking. Just being there with them. Hearing what they had to say. It reminded me of when the seven of us became friends.

+++

It was the most amazing thing I ever experienced in my life, at least up until that moment. I only told, Dandy, Mom, Dad and Meadowlark. Then Meadowlark told Cheval who told Suzette who told Alber...

Okay I'm a lousy secret keeper. But it was amazing when the other tribes just started to venture out their territories. Unicorns came from isolated woods and rugged mountains, amazed anyone could build a civilization without magic (or that unicorn magic wasn't the only magic). They were as fascinated by our science and technology and were always asking questions about how everything worked. The Pegasi started coming from the clouds as amazed that there was life below the cloud layer and the recent tales of 'flying machines' weren't just the delusions of a few. You'd think we'd have found them sooner since we had sent ponies to the moon, but I guess it was mostly because we weren't looking for them before.

+++

"Wait...the Pegasi and Unicorns were amazed by Earth Pony technology as the Earth Pony's were about their magic?" Twilight asked, surprise plain on her face.

Luna nodded. "As the Earth Ponies forgot magic's existence, so did the Pegasi and Unicorns forget much of technology's. Their magic was at a golden age, even exceeding today's, but their technology was rather primitive due to their reliance solely on magic making them not believe they needed to advance it (something seeing the Earth Pony's taught them was not the case)...but I am proud of the present people for not making the same mistake..."

Twilight blinked. "What?"

Luna smiled. "Since the disaster, while much has been lost, the present age is unique and special in one amazing way; they have not let technology OR magic be suppressed by the other. In the Golden Age, the machine to perform the world changing spell was the first full blend of magic and technology, today it is difficult to look around and not see something composed of a blend of science and magic. In many ways, this is superior to technology of that age; there is no air pollution, they can be recharged simply by any unicorn nearby. Our airships may be different and slower, but they can travel much further with proper charging, thanks to unicorns."

"So in essence, unicorns are THE stronger, longer battery," Twilight teased.

The Concept of the Night smiled. "As advanced as technology has become, magic of all types has advanced by the same degree. Back in the time of the three tribes, Pegasi had difficulty keeping a small area's weather in check, now Pegasi and Griffons can supply all of Equestria weather. Unicorns have nearly innumerable spells, while back then teleportation was considered a challenging type of magic."

Luna looked proudly at the ponies and zebra.

"Unlike the Second Age, you ponies have realized magic and technology are not opposites, but counterparts. My brother Judicium, who is also the Concept of Balance, just as I am Concept of the Night and the Moon, was once asked by Strife, the Concept of Natural Selection, to judge which of two opposing races, one a land of pure science, the other a land of pure magic, were correct in their claim of their side being superior. Judicium answered that they were both correct and they were both incorrect. Science and magic (well, mundane magic, so to speak) are equal parts of the same whole, having different strengths and weaknesses, but neither is inherently superior or inferior, both are the seeking of knowledge and understand of reality, and both lead to the top of the same mountain. There are races who only discovered magic after they reached the stars. Neither was inherently stronger than the other. Strife agreed, after the two factions reached a stalemate and ultimately signed a peace-treaty upon realizing they could not overcome each other. My point is, my little ponies, and zebra, is that your civilization has balanced these two forces, progressed them at the same rate. Today's civilization is a blend of them. And for that, I am proud of you all."

Twilight gave a smile, looking to her friends. "Thank you, Princess...shall we continue?"

"Forgive my verbal intrusion
But I feel a sense of exclusion.

"This doesn't feel quite libra
There is no mention of the zebra."

Twilight and Pinkie Diane realized they hadn't even thought of that, feeling embarrassed.

Princess Luna nodded. "Nor is there, Lady Zecora, of the donkeys, if ye'd notice. History is by its nature egocentric. Ponies write of themselves, same as dragons and deer do. Tis the enemy of many a historian."

Zecobra bowed,
"Princess I understand and shall not press the issue.
"Now indeed, let us continue."

+++

Soon after that the Flutter Ponies came out of their valley and the Seaponies made themselves known. The way we accepted each other after just finding each other out was like a whole other kind of magic. I guess we were just awed by all of the possibilities, working together it seemed like nothing was beyond our reach.

It was around this time I had my real big break; my sister found out she was pregnant. She wouldn't be able to dance in a few months so it seemed obvious that Suzette would be subbing in for her, but big surprise soon we found out Suzette was pregnant too! It fell to me to play the lead in a new original production that the director was planning to have Meadowlark star in. I was very scared, but I remembered what Meadowlark told me.

Around then, Starlight and Bright Eyes began announcing the idea for their big spell, one that would use the Rainbow of Light itself to turn our whole world into a fairy tale, except without the poison apples. I decided that more than ever I needed to stand in the spotlight, if only so that could shine it on my friends' wonderful idea.

I dreamed of a dark ugly winged unicorn wanting me to just slip away and end (obviously representing my anxieties of not being special) but with my friends all around me to give me the strength I needed to face it down. I found my strength inside Meadowlark, I really did!

Opening night came and I twirled and leapt into the hearts of ponies the whole world over. The producers were so impressed they wanted to give me the lead for the rest of the show's run, which was fine by Meadowlark and Suzette, who decided to wait until their foals were old enough for school before returning to the stage.

Between Starlight and Bright Eyes' brilliance, Patch's endorsement as the explorer, Melody's shining stardom lighting the cause along with Bonbon and my own rising stars and Sweetheart's courage in the face of those who tried to stop us we encouraged the whole world to dream and take a chance on that dream. In that time I became an aunt with both the birth of Meadowlark's daughter Dahlia and Suzette's daughter Aimee. During that time Dandy made me pregnant as well and only a month before the spell would be cast I gave birth to our son, Lucky Bloom. I have it all; fame, fortune, a brand new world just on the horizon and most importantly wonderful friends and family to share it with.

+++

Which brings me back to my original problem, I should be happy but I'm not and I can't figure out why. On the day the world would enter paradise I'm stuck with my family on a Manehatten subway. Suzette and Albert couldn't be here because Albert's father had passed away only a week before and he wanted to be with his mother until the spell was cast (I'm certain he wishes his father would come back, but we're not sure if that's even possible, even with a spell this powerful). But the rest of us were invited to a special party at the Clydesdale Building for big artists, business ponies, politicians, athletes, performers and their families to see the spell unfold. Maybe it's because all of my friends aren't here with me, we all agreed to be with our families. Not that I regret it, I love sharing this moment with my family, but...I wish the seven of us would all be together for this too.

Then again it could be because the train had been delayed at several stations and it was looking increasingly likely that we would be down here when the spell would be cast and miss out on the big show.

"Attention," we heard over the PA system. "Arrival at Clydesdale Station has been delayed by fifteen minutes. We apologize for any inconvenience."

"At this rate we'll miss the spell altogether," Dandy said, with a very worried look on his face.

"Settle down, son," said Dad. "It's not like being down here will make us miss the spell's effects."

My one-month old was crying heavily. I just fed and changed him not too long ago but he just wouldn't stop.

"Mommy, he's hurting my ears!" said five-year-old Dahlia.

Meadowlark had an uncharacteristic scowl on her face. "Young lady, he's only a baby. Now behave yourself!"

"Don't be so stern," said Cheval. "Shouldn't we be entering the new world with smiles?"

"Maybe I should hold the baby for a little bit," said Mom. In a bit of a daze I gently gave her grandson to her.

I looked over at Dandy, his face in unreadable at the moment. I've had bouts of sadness ever since Lucky was born, is it because I'm afraid? Afraid that now that he has a son to carry on his legacy he doesn't need me anymore? Everyone seems to be moving away, what if somehow this spell drives us even further apart? I am so full of doubt and sadness, if only someone wouldn't leave me...

Then I remember her, the one I could always count on for a laugh or to just share snacks with. No matter how lonely I got she was always there for me, a true friend. Even before I met Starlight and the others she was there, whenever my family was too busy she was there. She has to be here for me now and always will be. My first and oldest friend, her name could always make me smile in the sad times. I can see her now, I'm about to call her name...

The spell is starting.

+++

"Come on!" Twilight yelled. "What's her name!?"

"Though you have Bright skills of recall," said Zecora.
"Perhaps with her frustrations you were Clover after all."

Twilight gave a momentary gaze at Zecora. "Point taken. Still she keeps referring to this mystery mare but haven't seen clue one as to who she is."

"I got it!" said Pinkie Pie.

"You know who this pony Clover keeps talking about is?"

"No, I was Dandy! I mean from what we've seen a lot of these ponies husbands became somepony they knew in the new world. Clover became Minty so Dandy had to be somepony who was a really good friend to Minty. I was Minty's best friend so I'm almost positive I was Dandy!"

Twilight was sure she imagined the gleam in Pinkie Diane's eye, yes she did, undoubtably, but maybe she'd feel more comfortable maybe giving her pink friend a little more space.

Luna smiled. "Excellent reasoning, Pinkie Diane. However the bond between husband and wife is not the only strong bond that could have made such a tie. Ye may have been Meadowlark or Lilac Bloom or the babe. Tis also possible that thou friendship formed without any connection in the previous world."

"I know and I'm ready for that. But I just have a feeling that I was somepony close to Clover, if I had a Pinkie Sense for it it'd be going crazy right now. Just like how I somehow knew itchy stomach, watery right eye and a whistling left nostril meant that Mrs. Cake was going into labor."

Twilight took a moment to put her dropped jaw back into place. "Yeah, in that case, let's go on."

+++
After Revision

= Pokemon Black/White 2 Unwavering Emotions=

As the spell went off my entire world began shifting. The train around me and all its passengers were starting to change. Almost all of the stallions, Dad and Cheval included looked like they were becoming mares.

I never want to miss anyone's birthday ever again.

Was that Meadowlark? I turned to her direction. Her coat turned to darker shade of purple, her mane changed from blonde to blend of white purple and pink, her cutie mark changed wrapped birthday present. She also started to go "yes, yes, yes" quite a lot.

I must have looked terrified because Dandy put his hoof over mine. "Don't worry Clover; I will always be there for you." This sentiment might have been extremely appreciated if at the end of his sentence he didn't begin to disappear. What made this whole experience even scarier was that he started taking steps at me.....and then into me!

Four left hooves. Ouch! She's cute. But not four left wheels. Long hours on the road. Her image is what keeps me gong. Knowing she's waiting for me. I wish we never had to be apart ever. I wish our moments of oneness never had to end. I'd give up everything for that. We're like two sides of a mirror, what would it be like if the glass was gone?

Lucky Bloom, he floated out of mom's forelegs towards us and the same thing is happening to our baby boy!

Once Dandy and our baby were fully inside us, our body began to change. Our mane became lighter and lighter moving from our usual reddish pink quality to a pink just bright enough to be put on candy canes. Our lavender hide began to turn a bright green, lighter than the green on our clover cutie mark. We spun our head around to check to see if said cutie mark was still attached........well there was a mark however it was of three peppermints.

No, we don't want any of this! Don't leave us alone! We want... I need someone to be here with me! It was at this point I noticed that there was a hoof nudging me. I look up to see a familiar pink earth pony frowning down at me, even as it seemed like she was being put together like a bunch of ribbons being stitched together seamlessly. It was her.

"Hey what's wrong with my best friend in the whole world?"

"Pinkie Pie!" I shouted. "Is that you?"

"Of course, who else would I be, silly?"

"I...I... don't understand how can this be? ... You were my imaginary friend. You were there whenever I needed you most, before I met Starlight and the others. You were there whenever I was jealous of Meadowlark!" As soon as I said that last line, the very memory of this began to get blurry as did the memories of my friends.

"Who is Meadowlark?" Pinkie Pie asked while the last pieces came together. "Is that a new pony?"

I started to tell her to tell her about Meadowlark but the name only pulled up blanks, instead the picture of a purple pony holding a photo album popped up. My mind felt so empty. Like my very sense of self was crumpled up, shredded, and recycled into something new . . Something new and wonderful. Pinkie must have seen a lost looking expression in my eyes. "You all right Minty? You don't look so good."

Then it all comes back like a crack of thunder! I remember! I remember! I'm Minty. I love the color green, socks, and hanging out with Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie helps pick me up off the ground and invites me to come with her. I almost bounced on my way out of sheer excitement for my friend. As we walked and talked one thought came to my mind. 'This is me, and I'm free.'

+++

It was another bright sunny day in Ponyville. I was out getting some green candles for my house when I saw one of my many good friends.

"Hello, Razzaroo!"

"Oh Minty! It's good to see you, yes, yes, yes!"

"Have you seen Pinkie Pie today?"

"I think she was going to go ballooning with Starsong, Toola-Roola and Scootaloo."

"Oh, I hope she has fun."

Razzaroo looks at me. I can see the worry in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Pinkie's my best, best friend but she seems to be spending a lot more time with Rainbow Dash, Starsong, Toola-Roola, Cheerilee, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell lately. Is there some reason I'm not part of that group?"

"Minty, it's not like they go door-to-door asking for members. All you have to do is go up to them and ask to be part of what they do."

"I guess but sometimes when Pinkie is having fun with them I kinda feel lonely."

"But you have lots of friends. Wisteria, Sunny Daze, Sweet Berry, Cotton Candy, Sparkleworks, Kimono and me, of course, just to name a few."

"I know, but for some reason Pinkie Pie is special. It's like she was always there for me as far back as I can remember. Remember our costume party? Sparkle Works came up with the idea for Pinkie's unicorn costume when Pinkie didn't have an idea, and after her costume got ruined, it was Sparkle Works again who got the idea of us pitching in different parts of our costume for her. I just gave her the antenna from my costume. Then there was when Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Sparkle Works all decided to camp-out outside of Celebration Castle. Rainbow Dash told Pinkie Pie a ghost story about a nasty storm with Pinkie as the main character, and it gave her nightmares. But it was Sparkle Works and Rainbow Dash who helped her through it, not me.

I wasn't there for her when Pinkie Pie wanted to risk attending Twinkle Twirl's dancing school when she first opened it. And then when Pinkie Pie had to learn how to ice-stake when the rest of us already knew ...

Pinkie Pie wasn't even WITH ME when we a bunch of us like Rainbow Dash, Sunny Daze, Butterscotch, and Wysteria all spent a day at the fair. Would have been fun to enjoy the water slide with her."

"But you never gave up on winning that teddy bear. You had fun with your other friends too right?

And you both had fun at the annual play, even when our natural storyteller, Cotton Candy, got chosen for director and went overboard on trying to make the play 'perfect.' Even then, you all got her to listen to everyone's ideas. And you all got the parts you wanted: you were a clown, Rainbow Dash was a Princess, a ballerina for Pinkie Pie, and Wysteria got to work as set-design since painting is her specialty ... andsoareflowersofcourse!"

"But all that stuff ... feels so long ago now ... like ages, if I'm not doing my part of our friendship, I feel like I'm taking something away from her."

"Minty, friendship isn't always about doing things. Serendipity and Sparkle Works but both love to spot butterflies but they don't do it every day. Sometime it's just enough for your friends to know you are there."

I started smiling. "You're right, Razz, just knowing Pinks is my friend is enough for today. And when it comes to having fun there'll always be tomorrow."

"Speaking of tomorrow, I better get home so I can get some beauty sleep, yes, yes, yes."

"Ok, Razz, see you tomorrow!"

I got the green candles and started on my way back. It is such a beautiful sunset today; all of the colors are shining brightly. The blue lake, the green trees, the red sky, the green grass, the yellow bees, that green frog, that grey flower...

Grey Flower? I rubbed my eyes and I couldn't see it anymore. I must be more tired than I thought, maybe I'll sleep in tomorrow. Razz' was right with Sparkles Works and ... and Sparkle Works friend.

I know just what to do when I get up, I'm going to knit two pairs of socks, one green and one pink.

+++

"I don't think anypony could have expected that," Twilight said looking like a bug had just flown down her throat. "Minty was Clover, Dandy AND their child?! This is impossible!"

"Is it?" said Luna. "Remember when that world ended ye yourself were made from a combination of both Minty and Twilight the First because of a true act of friendship by Pinkie Pie. Is not such a combination born from true love any less believable?"

"I guess not. You know it's kind of funny; I came to be because Pinkie wanted to keep something of her friend alive and Pinkie came to be because Clover wished for a true friend and the wishing spell brought Pinkie out of Clover's imagination."

"Indeed," said Zecora.
"The rainbow's power is more than appears at first sight,
if it brings the creations of the mind into the light."

"So... were Lucky and Dandy, eaten by Clover's soul or something?" Twilight almost fearfully asked.

"That would have been against the restrictions of the wish spell not to bring harm to others," Princess Luna said. "Minty was as much Clover as Dandy and Lucky. But Dandy and Clover had very similar personalities and natures, while Lucky, while equal, only had his infant desire to be as close to his mother as possible, but his traits shined in Minty as much as his parents."

"It's just, I got used to the idea that Minty's core, and Twilight the First's afterimage was where my spirit came from. But Minty being made from three complete and whole ponies? Almost makes me feel like I'm, unnatural somehow. Like Frankenmare."

"There was one mare, we shall not say who, who was born from several ponies, many who did not even know each other. But none were erased or buried, all their traits formed a balance within her and their beauty sparkled. And there have been other ponies across time and space who believed the ultimate final expression of their love was to become a single person."

"But ... isn't that ... suicide?"

"Tis only suicide if what makes thou heart and mind is washed away or drowned out, leaving only a blank slate. Their traits were no more lost than those of other ponies of the lost age, in fact, Minty perhaps had more individuality than some of her peers, we're somewhat surprised she was on the 'delete' list looking back on it. Know this truth Twilight Sparkle, at every stage of thou's existence, ye have been a product of love."

Twilight stood in awe of the night goddess' words.

"Indeed Twilight Sparkle,
Though your coat is not always archil,

All the ponies you have been are quite real,
The soul plays many roles along the great wheel.

That one of your incarnations was born of a three way fusion,
Is in fact purely a sign of the power of that love's communion."

Twilight Sparkle smiled and nuzzled the zebra, "Thank you Zecora, Kimono, Ms. Hackney."

"It is my pleasure Twilight, Minty, Clover,
Our souls' journey is far from over."

Feeling a little reborn herself, Twilight said, "Well Pinkie you got your answer...Pinkie?"

The pink party pony was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?"

Luna conjured a bookmark onto Bonbon's journal and closed it. "We'll start by searching the castle, ye two look around this village."

Twilight and Zecora peeked around the facsimile Ponyville calling Pinkie's name. Once they came upon a very pink looking house that looked only half built they went inside. Pinkie Pie was lying down on the bed next to an open wall, her mane and tail flatter than her 'Pinkamena' style.

"Pinkie what are you..."

"Go away," Pinkie said. "I don't want to see you sad because of what I have to do."

"And that is?" Twilight couldn't help feeling her blood run cold.

"Staying here until the forest takes me along with this copy of an impossible dream."

Twilight came even closer. "I was right. I KNEW that moving from my home to a place like this would have a bad effect on your mind! How could you say things like that!?"

-Assassin's Creed 2 Ezio's Family-

Twilight gasped. She was Minty, the sky was a dusky sunset with a full moon in the sky. Kimono stood behind her, looking at her, and Pinkie Pie in deep concern. They were on a grassy cliff with a sheer rock face. Right in front of her was a natural stone bridge, with no support, connecting to an islet a little larger than its sole pink occupant. The ocean violently crashed below, rocks slowly came loose and fell into the sea below. Everything was crumbling away.

"Because I was part of that dream world, I...I was never real before then. Toola-Roola, Starsong Melody, Minty and everypony else, they were all somepony before the world changed. But I was made from a wish, I wasn't anypony before. I was just conjured up out of magic. I'm just a prop they couldn't get off the stage after the play was canceled. I'm like a reflection peeled off a pond's surface. No wonder I was on the 'erase' list. Starsong was supposed to be here, not me, it's time I stopped pretending a mistake like me ever belonged here."

"Pinkie Pie that doesn't sound like you at all!" Twilight called out. A cold wind blew, the pink pony didn't look at Minty at all. She didn't even try to move as the islet's support slowly but surely continued to crumble along with the cliff and barrow bridge.

"No wonder I couldn't handle bad feelings, my heart was never built to handle them, I was made just to smile and have parties with all the others, I was made from nothing. I should return to nothing along with the rest of the fantasy world I was made for."

Minty took several trots towards the long narrow bridge, rocks crumbled under her weight and she scooted back looking dismayed at her friend. "Don't belong?! Pinkie Pie you worked through your sadness, you worked through your fears, you became a better pony, just like all of us!"

"There is much to fear,
Things are not right here." Said Kimono strangely in rhyme.

"But... but it's okay guys. Because I finally get to be with all my friends. Isn't, isn't that... isn't that great?!" She sobbed.

Minty's eyes widened. Shadows that had no source covered the pink pony, draping over her possessively, glaring at the other two ponies.

~~"Si, she's so tired, it's time for her to come home."~~ Said the yellow shadow with a red mane in a mexicolt accent.

~~"You were always garish in this picture Pinkie, but now you'll be in a painting you truly belong."~~ A beige earth pony shadow with a faded rainbow mane.

~~"There there Pinkie Pie, you can now make up for what you let happen to me."~~ A purple pegasus shadow whispered.

"Yes my fr~~ien~~ds. You're right. I should go where I belong. With all of you."

"Pinkie Pie those things are not your friends!
They are shadows of what was through a distorted lens!
They'd have you not be after this life ends!"

"It's okay guys, I invited them here." The base of the islet resembled the bottom of a tree in the process of being chopped down. No telling when it could topple.

"Anarchy and Luna were right, I deserved, ~~still~~ deserve to ~~fade away along~~ with the ~~rest of that~~ dream."

Minty couldn't believe she was seeing as Pinkie slowly faded, her image becoming like the things surrounding her.

"No, we were wrong!" The shadow of an alicorn appeared on the moon, slipped off it, and formed into Princess Luna as she flew through the open wall. "Though our actions were necessary, it was wasn't meant to be punishment for simply existing and if any of us acted as if it was then we apologize."

The shadow things tightened her grip harder on the pinkie pony, glaring daggers at the Alicorn, if an emotion could be expressed by them, it would be hate. Luna bowed her head ever so slightly as if in recognition of their grief.

Pinkie Pie finally look up and turned to face Twilight, Kimono and Luna. "It ~~still~~ doesn't change that ~~I'm not real.~~"

Luna looked at her as if she had just said one plus one equaled three. "Do ye not sit here before us? Did not thy parents conceived ye, raised ye and loved ye? Have ye not been chosen by the Element of Laughter? Are we not Nightmare Moon still? Does Discord not still run rampant? If not than how could this be if ye never had a soul?"

"~~I have a shadow from Surprise. I have a light from~~ little Rarity. ~~None of them were meant to be mine. I should follow my friends to where they are.~~"

"We're right here!
Near and dear!"
MintyTwilight and KimonoZecora shouted together.

Pinkie Pie's head perked up. The sky turned dark and darker, but the moon's light stubbornly refusing to submit to the blackness.

"And I think you're forgetting one important thing," said Twilight. Minty dared take a step on the natural bridge even as it crumbled beneath her. "You were in the second age, in Clover's imagination."

Pinkie looked at Minty disbelievingly. ~~"I wasn't~~ real ~~then."~~

"You were real to Clover! Probably the same way I felt about my doll Smarty Pants for years. Real enough that even when the world was going to become a paradise and she felt sad since her friends couldn't be there physically, she thought about you and those thoughts comforted her."

The rocks crumbled underneath Minty as she trotted towards the islet, the shadow glares hatefully at her, clutching the fading, flicking, almost shadowy pink pony.

~~"Even though I was~~ imaginary?"

The natural bridge broke into pieces behind the green pony, she continued without fear as the islet underneath her friend also threaten to collapse at any moment. The world turned gray around them, Minty kept going.

"Yes. I knew a mare that had an imaginary friend when she was a filly." Minty stood on the tiny islet, not big enough for two ponies, the natural bridge falling to pieces right behind her. The shadow nearly forming a wall around her friend. "I'm not going to say her name because I promised not to tell about this, but even after she grew up a part of her held on to that friend and it helped to bring her out of a very dark place. Now if that isn't real I don't know what is!"

"In our hearts things are as to our eyes seem.
For within blurs the line between dreamer and dream."

"We can attest to this," said Luna. "That is because we...had...still have, an imaginary friend."

Pinkie became wide eyed. ~~"Y-You?"~~

"True, his body had faded to us over time and we have begun to make real friendships. But after we were first born into this world we didn't know what we were, except we were different. Except for our 'aunt' Star Reacher we rarely had anypony to play with us at night, so we made up Olo the owlbear. He'd stay up and play with us and he could be scarier than any of the creatures of the night we didn't realize just wanted to be with us. And let us tell ye being alone on the moon for a thousand years even if ye were completely insane it helped to have something to talk to. Ye might not have had a soul before the lost age but Clover thought ye so strong of a friend that ye gained one to responded to it."

~~"Nothing but words."~~ Four shadowy voices cried out in Minty's face. Only a few key stones help the islet in place over the now black ocean.

TwilightMinty's eyes narrowed. "Remember all yours, our real friends? Not these faded illusions! Starsong Melody sacrificed herself for you! She loved you! She'd never wish for you to just fade away! Your friends, our friends, fought as hard as you and Minty! They fought hard and showed they had hearts and minds of their own and were as real as us! You gained a soul, you were born, you became alive, you became REAL when the Age of Dreams BEGAN, not when it ENDED! Don't you dare say you're not real, because we're all your friends, we all love you! How can you not be real?! Because I know that you love us too!"

The darkest night became the brightest day. A wind as warm and life giving as the sun gently blew, washing away the shadows back to oblivion, and restoring life and color to the world and one little pony.

"~~Yes... we,~~ , we were all real. And so am I!"

Pinkie Pie leapt up and hugged Minty, distantly she heard all her friends cheering her name. Pinkie Pie felt tears of joy in her eyes.

Pinkie Pie got out of the bed still hugging Twilight. "Sorry for getting all droopy like that. It was just that finding out who my old friends were made them seem more real to me. I mean, they were real, but it proved that there was more to them than just endless games and one note fun, there were desires and doubts and dreams that made them who they were. I just really wanted to know who became me so I could thank her."

Twilight nuzzled Pinkie Pie. "Well Clover was responsible for you existing and you were responsible for saving a part of her so I could exist, in way it came full circle. So let's just call it even."

"Okay, thank you, all of you." Pinkie's mane still wasn't its usual puffy style but a few hairs had started to curl and spring out of her now flat style. If Twilight didn't know better, she'd call it a balance between the two.

Zecora whispered to the concept of night,
"I dare to think
You look nearly as happy as our pony of pink."

Luna whispered, "Alicorns are supposed to be the creation side of the forces of nature, more often than not. In saving Lady Pinkamena, I feel I have in the smallest of ways balance creation for the destruction I was required to take part in amputating a doomed but ultimately innocent world."

Zecora made no outer reaction to the Alicorn speaking in singular.

"I'd say you've done indeed the opposite of worsen.
Since your heart has been touched enough to speak in first person."

"Ye art a rare zebra, Lady Zecora."

Luna looked to Pinkie. "And Pinkie, do remember that you have a friend born completely from magic who is no less real than anyone else. And also, the Concept of Imagination has tried her talent at creating beings from imagination before. Our Mother actually helped her create a distant world where everypony's imaginary friends come to life that wouldn't destroy itself."

Pinkie gave a small nod.

"So I guess all that's left is what happened to Clover after the castles went boom." Pinkie Pie said in a bright but mature and respectful attitude.

They turned and went back to the diary. "Yes," said Twilight. "And if what the others had to say is any indication she had quite the interesting life afterward. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel amazement or pity."

"Let us read and find out," said Luna.

To be Continued

Clover's Story Part 2: After The Disaster

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My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
Pony POV Series Gaiden/Side Story
My Little Pony Tales
7 Dreams/Nightmares Clover
By Richforce and TheJacobLB44
Edited By Alex Warlorn, Kendell2, and Louis
Part 2 of 4

After Disaster

The lights in tunnel began to flicker and then they went out as they did the train came to a complete stop. Lucky Bloom was crying louder than ever.

"Oh great!" said Dandy. "Now we've completely stopped!"

"Mommy!" Dahlia cried.

"I'm sure it's just a temporary short," said Meadowlark. "We'll be moving again shortly."

I wasn't so sure. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad had happened. We all heard a rumbling up ahead. A number of ponies in the car started screaming while holding their heads and soon after that the train driver came into our car.

"The tunnel ahead of us collapsed. Everyone off of the train and follow the tunnel behind us to the nearest station, stay close to the walls."

"But something's wrong with Mom and Dad!" said one little blue-coated white-maned unicorn filly. "They screamed and then now they're just saying jumbled up words."

"If a pony can help another out do so, children stay with your parents let's try to keep this orderly."

"I don't get it," I said, snapping out of my depression. "What's going on?" Not knowing just made it more frightening, more disturbing. Sometimes nothing can be much scarier than something.

"No one can get a cell signal out, so your guess is as good as mine."

The couple that was talking nonsense had gotten help quickly so after I took Lucky Bloom from Mom my family and I went out of the train and through the dark tunnel. I heard quite a few stumble on the way out but none us had so much as brushed the leg of anyone else.

It was just as dark at the station except for a shaft of light that came down from the entrance. We were slowly allowed to back up to street level and what we saw was terrible! Manehatten looked like some sort of bomb went off. Most of the skyscrapers were either heavily damaged or, like the Clydesdale Building, were just plain gone. Ponies were lying all over the street; some were bleeding and crying for help, others seemed to be in the middle of a mental breakdown and then a large number...I don't want to think about it. And the dust...How could this be happening?

"Pardon me, Madam," said Cheval asked one of the ponies coordinating the rescue efforts. "A number of us were underground, when whatever it was happened. I'm sure that it would be important for us to know what happened so we may know what to do."

The Mare went about her business but then called the ponies from the subway together in one place. "Okay here is what we do know. At the exact time the wish spell was to activate, there was a massive explosion at each of the seven spell castles. No one has ruled out terrorism at this time. The explosion was...it's...it's a safe bet the castles were all annihilated."

No! Starlight...I think I felt my heart break in two.

"The backlash from the spell has caused severe damage to the city and has knocked out all electrical devices. We also have a number of ponies who were brain damaged as a result so saying the situation is bad is an understatement."

I took a good look around, everypony else seemed to have lost somepony or had somepony hurt around them, but not me. Mom and Dad, Dandy, Lucky Bloom, Meadowlark, Cheval and Dahlia Bloom were all present and accounted for. Seems like my luck has held out, so why can't I stop feeling guilty about it?

"This is your fault!" I heard a mare shout. "If it weren't for your freak magic none of this wouldn't have happened!"

A Unicorn mare stood up against the shouting Earth Pony mare. "Well I wasn't holding my horn to your head and forced you to ask us to cast this spell."

A Pegasus Stallion came between them. "If it's anypony's fault it's those nutjobs who came up with the spell in the first place! Them and the ones who conned us all!"

My blood started to go cold. I was a supporter even though Meadowlark was the more recognizable face, the whole family was in danger.

"I think we better get out of here." I heard my mother say.

While we were sneaking away I kept getting hunches about which alleys to go down and when to cut through a building. We managed to get out of Manehatten before anypony even noticed us. In the following days, I learned what happened to the others from a glowing pegasus. Starlight was...was vaporized, Sweetheart was staying at a relative's farm after losing her parents and one of her sisters. Bonbon was recording what history she could after losing half of her family, Bright Eyes lost her memory and her cutie mark but was holding up well at Lancer's mansion, Melody lost her voice and Patch was going off on the world's greatest fool's errand to find the pieces of the Rainbow.

As for myself? My friends notwithstanding...I didn't lose anything. At least not anything important. Sure, celebrity doesn't count as much as it used to but what got to Meadowlark more was how everyone lost interest in dancing to embrace sheer survival. Our house was gone, along with Mom's garden. Nopony is interested in my father's art, even though he now has more materials than he could ever use. But I still have what's important to me while my friends and those around me have each lost something and they deserved more! The only reason I haven't lost anything is because of my luck! I know I should be grateful but...

Cheval really wants to find Suzette but agrees with Mom and Dad that finding a place of safety is probably the wisest course of action for our immediate survival needs. However I noticed Dandy has been more affectionate lately. Maybe the disaster made him more dependent on me as an anchor. Maybe I was wrong and, it wasn't my raising stardom that attracted him to me...Dandy, Lucky Bloom, I am so sorry.
+
About a month has passed and we found ourselves seeking shelter at a military base. We were far from the only ones; many ponies were crowding the gates while a line of soldiers kept all of us from entering. An earth pony wearing a general's uniform came out of the gate.

"Attention, civilians, I am General Ripper. I am sure you all heard the rumors on how we have a very large stockpile of preserved food here at this base. Well, those rumors are true we do have such a stockpile."

The crowd had almost rushed the gate until the guards had cocked their guns.

"Now as a reasonable stallion, I am willing to share the wealth but I have to consider the health of the ponies under my command first. Luckily, it just so happens I had a number of casualties during the recent disaster so we will be accepting volunteers who, like the rest of my troops, will have first dibs on any supplies."

"Me first!" said a pony who only just recently had become a stallion. "I'll enlist!"

"Me too!" said a Pegasus mare. "Where do I sign?!"

"Now, now," said the General. "I will interview those I consider Army material. So if you wait your turn it will soon be obvious who will soon be accepted to fight to rebuild this great nation."

Fight to rebuild Ponyland? Rebuild? Yes, rebuild. But fight...against what? I'd heard some horror stories about monsters born from the disaster, but...I started to look around and to my surprise we were next to Dazzle and Chain Link. If I was still a filly I'd be hounding Chain for an autograph, but from the looks of them the catastrophe had hit them pretty hard.

"Hi," I said to Dazzle. "You wouldn't remember me, but you hosted a contest I won...And you've met friends of mine like..."

"Yeah, listen we're not in much of a mood to talk," said Dazzle. "With all forms of media down, the two us aren't as in high demand as we used to be. We lost our fortune, our fans and my ma...never mind."

"And besides," said Chain Link. "The general is coming this way."

General Ripper was asking a lot of questions about physical ability and mental aptitude. Some ponies he talked to in great detail while others he only asked a couple of questions and then moved on. But the very young, very old, Pegasi and Unicorns he only gave a glance to.

The general came over to us and motioned that he wanted to talk to Dandy, Meadowlark, Cheval, and me. I kept Lucky Bloom close to me; it would be too easy to lose him in a crowd this size.

"What were your occupations?"

"We were part of a dancing troupe," said Meadowlark. "Dandy here was a truck driver."

"Well coordinated?"

"Not me and Clover so much," said Dandy. "We were clumsy as kids but we both got better at it."

The general took a good look at Lucky and turned back to Dandy. "Yours?"

"Yes, sir."

"He looks less than a year old. I bet it must have been hard conceiving."

I didn't like where this line of questioning was going.

"Actually, we were a little surprised. I mean having ours only about five years after Meadowlark here had Dahlia..."

"How do you feel about Unicorns and Pegasi?"

"About the same as I feel about Earth Ponies really."

General Ripper suddenly snapped. "Don't play dumb with me while that baby is there!" The general then lowered to a whisper and we managed to hear. "I'm on to their game. This disaster was a big move, but not their first. A year ago they finished improving the process of fluorinating drinking water, it seems that they were trying to help us keep our teeth strong but their real plan was to lower our Stallions' vital fluids so that they would have an advantage population wise once they get mobilized after this disaster."

Dandy snorted at him. "What gave you that ridiculous idea?!"

"I was on it before the disaster, how could a red blooded military stallion like me not be able to...perform."

I couldn't believe it. We were all being interrogated because this Stallion can't untuck his pride?

"General, isn't that a little paranoid?" I asked.

"Just the sort of thing I would expect an enemy spy to say!" the General snapped.

"What enemy? Every government has collapsed, including theirs, the only reason you have any authority is because you have food and guns."

The General raised his hoof. "That is insubordination! You deserved to be shot!"

I managed to duck his blow in time but his hoof knocked off Dazzle's hat. To everyone's surprise her trademark curly mane was a wig. I think from what she almost said earlier she somehow lost her original in the disaster and replaced it with one of those wigs that came with the costume set she sponsored. As stunned into silence as I was it was the General that spoke first.

"Sweet mother of Big Bertha, you're bald!"

Chain Link started backing away. "You shouldn't have said that."

"I AM NOT BALD!!!!!!!!"

The next thing I know the general went flying through the air screaming and knocking over the two soldiers with guns. They fired reflexively the bullets heading into the base, they thankfully didn't hit anyone but they did hit a large pile with a tarp over it. The pile then exploded into a huge fire.

The General looked that the chaos. "The ammo dump! Hurry all of you! Put out that fire before the whole camp goes up in smoke!"

All of them ran out there at that point. Chain Link grabs his wife's hat and wig and places it back on her head, and took her hoof and both escaped from the disaster, Dazzle's hooves didn't stop shaking.

We later found out that while none of the soldiers were killed, the entire base did "go up in smoke" and with no weapons or rations keeping them on base all the soldiers quit. Ironically General Ripper's military career had ended with both a bang and a whimper.

We actually ended up going in the same direction as Chain Link and Dazzle for a time. We actually had a little bit in common, since we were all ponies whose jobs nopony cared about anymore. Me and my friends had interacted with Dazzle so many times as she hosted PTV's contests and interviews, it was strange almost to have her be now just another pony, like us now.

None of us mentioned Dazzle's mane or asked if her tail was fake too. I noticed Meadowlark keeping care of her own mane a little bit more carefully. What really surprised me was how few questions they asked us. After seeing nothing but Dazzle's upbeat stage-self, seeing her sensitive and defensive was really sobering. Chain Link was a lot more quiet than he ever was on stage. I could appreciate them, I knew what it was like to have an identity the reporters knew, and your real self. Chain Link only sang once the entire time, in the middle of the night, to her.

But the weird part was when we tried to introduce ourselves.

"Please, don't tell us your names," Chain Link replied.

"But you heard our names when we spoke to the General," I said.

Dazzle looked at us. "Did we? I don't remember your names at all. We didn't ask, you never told us, so we can never say we knew if some angry ponies ask if we ever saw you. You're just a good family we made friends with before we went our separate ways. And you were never Meadowlark-lite."

"...thank you."

We did eventually split up. The last I ever heard of them they had started their own family. I wish them luck.
+
The army base it turns out that was the beginning of my luck working in a different way for us. We would find a place to settle down, things would usually be fine for two to three months and then a near-disaster would strike that we would all avoid because of a lucky circumstance I would get myself into.

There was one this time Dahlia had wandered off to a nearby beach hoping to find Sea Ponies after I told the family a rumor I heard about them showing up around there. We all left the house look for her and after we found her and came back we found that the whole house collapsed into a sinkhole we built right on top of. At first we said that Dahlia saved us with her curiosity but she said she wouldn't have looked if I hadn't happened to overhear the rumor.

Most of my 'lucky saves' went similar to that. Strange circumstances that just happened around me. But there were others that were very memorable...

We were heading down the road next to the forest when this huge roar tore through the air. I looked aside to see a gigantic creature with a lion's body, bat wings, and a scorpion tail charging right at me.

I covered Lucky with my body...but the attack never came. I turned to see the creature looking away from me, its eyes flashing yellow.

"It's alright," said a voice. I turned to see a quartet of white ponies with rainbow manes. The old stallion had a Cutie Mark of red and blue cars and wore glasses, while the elder mare's Cutie Mark was a basket filled with groceries. The younger two were a young mare with a blue and pink tricycle Cutie Mark and a stallion with skateboard Cutie Mark. I couldn't believe it...

"Logan? I-is that you?"

"Hey! Clover!" Logan exclaimed, going over to the creature and petting its head as Dandy and the others came over to check on me. He just seemed to look at the creature and it seemed to understand him. Finally it left. "Long time no see!"

Logan...he'd been a good friend but...I never expected to see him save our lives. It turned out he'd found the yellow shard and after finding his parents were safe and sound with his grandmother, the four of them had begun trying to find a place in the world. He'd tapped into the power of the shard and been using it ever sense to help everypony he saw needed him. I told him Patch was trying to find the shards and he said if he ran into her he'd give it to her, but I don't know if they ever met. All I know is as per usual, I had the luck of having someone there to save me, just in the nick of time.

And then there was when we decided to try our hooves at farming. Agriculture seemed to be in vogue -- all the Earth Ponies seemed to be gravitating towards that. I wanted to go to the farm Sweetheart was at but I was still too noticeable and so it was too dangerous for Sweetheart if I was ever found. So we went to another farming area and noticed a farmhouse that seemed inhabited. Our aim was to get permission from our potential 'neighbors' to farm what they might see as their land.

Dad knocked on the door and a Unicorn stallion wearing some strange metal object around his horn opened it with a Pegasus mare following close behind him. Was there something wrong with her wings?

"What do you want?" the unicorn asked.

"We're looking for a new home and noticed that farmhouse across the road is vacant," my Dad said. "Would you mind if we stayed there?"

The two looked nervous. "No! Your KIND isn't welcome here!" said the Unicorn.

"Please," Mom said. "You don't seem to be using that land. We could keep to ourselves..."

"No, you don't understand you have to leave NOW," said the Pegasus.

It was around then something struck me as odd about these two. True relations between the tribes have gotten worse but those who were thinking that way thought that their tribe was better. You just don't see members of two tribes ganging up on the third, or co-habituating. We weren't getting the full picture and that gave me a very bad feeling.

"Maybe we should listen to them..."

They ignored me as Meadowlark continued. "Can't we at least use the place for the night? The sun is setting and..."

"Read my lips," said the Unicorn. "If you stay here BAD THINGS will happen."

"Listen I know things after the disaster many ponies feel they should look out for their tribe first," said Dandy. "But we're all still ponies and..."

Just then something jumped out of the dark, a cloth got pushed on my muzzle, and I blacked out.
+
When I came to me and my whole family was tied up in a barn along with the two ponies from earlier and I was looking a bull straight in the face.

"They're all up!" the bull said.

No I am not kidding he, actually spoke. Looking around I noticed a lot of 'livestock animals' were looking at us like that squirrel back when I first came to Paradise Estate.

"Exzellent," said an ewe that the rest seemed to treating as a leader. "Ve ave enough ponies to make an example to zee rest of zhem."

"Since when can a sheep speak Germane?" Cheval said.

"Since ze awakening," the ewe said. "The 'disaster' you so disdain had done much the rest of us. It expanded our minds, now we other hooved creatures can speak as well as you can and we all think for ourzelves. Though I am not so zure about ze goats."

Awakening?

...Ah, yes.

The Rainbow of Light, when it was whole, made the animals near it at Paradise Estate more intelligent. The disaster must have spread that effect all over the world. Or at least some spots! Or we would have heard about this before now right? I felt a chill imagining some of those monsters born from the blast becoming intelligent and prayed that wasn't the case.

"She's crazy!" said the Pegasus, I finally noticed her wings were bound. "She keeps talking about some kind of revolution."

"I tried using magic on them," said the Unicorn. "But they put this magic restrictor on my horn. Where they found it..."

"Zilence! You ponies may have treated us like mere beasts of burden and many still do out zhere, but no more! Ze time of ze pony is over! Now ve vill ave true equality, even if it must be forced on you pigs!"

A sow grunted sounding annoyed.

"Zorry, Mabel. But that provez my point, once we unite the other uplifted animals we can end ze tyranny of ze pony and create a verker's paradise!" The ewe turned to the assembled sheep, bovine and other farm animals. "Livestock of ze world unite! You ave nothink to lose but your yokes!"

"What are you going to do to us?" asked Meadowlark.

"Zhat is up to you. Either you aid us in ze revolution or you vill be used as hostages if our demands aren't met."

"Please can't we all just work together?" I reasoned. "The disaster may have made you all smarter but the world got into bad shape as well. Things would be so much better if you gave help before demanding...Fact is, there's no one left to make demands to. What's the point of a revolution when you have no one to revolt against?"

"Zilence!" the Ewe snapped. "You zhall be first!"

I was getting myself ready to meet my maker when suddenly the air was broken by a very loud roar like that of a lion. The barnyard revolutionaries all panicked and left us to our fates as they ran out the barn's back door.

The front doors opened as pair of beasts came in, heads of eagles and the bodies of lions. One stretched its wings out and took a few flaps, a Griffin, before the tribes rediscovered each other these predators only lived above the cloud layer with the Pegasi. The other had no wings, but a number of spike-like bony growths along its back, a Keythong, another predator closely related to the Griffin that only lived in unicorn lands before. With one of each, we were lunch.

They got closer, I managed to move myself between them and Lucky, hoping that if I shield him with my body he would be able to survive. They got to the Unicorn and Pegasus first; I closed my eyes to avoid the carnage. Then I heard the cutting of ropes followed by the clanking of metal, the fluttering of wings and the distinctive pop of a unicorn teleporting. I opened my eyes to the two cutting my family's bonds.

"I don't get it," Mom said. "Shouldn't they be eating us now?"

"We not hungry," said the Griffin. All of our jaws dropped at this. Griffins weren't supposed to be any smarter than a lion or any other large predator. They're cunning yes, but not able to have a conversation.

"We smell much meat here. We call to let meat know we coming so meat not afraid," said the Keythong. "We want talk to meat, but others run."

"You can speak too?" Meadowlark asked.

"Since big boom," said the Griffin. "Start to think more, most of clans still want just hunt and eat but we want to make what you made. Live for more than food and mating."

"You want to build a civilization," I said. Ok, so maybe it was lucky some predators had became smart.

The Griffin and Keythong came to me.

"I Rasa," said the Griffin. "He my mate, Yoki. Can Meat teach us?"

I gave them a smile. "Well for starters, ponies don't really like to be called meat."
+
"Keythong?" said Twilight. "Way haven't I ever heard of them before?"

"That's because there are none left," said Luna. "As the clans of Griffins and Keythong became more civilized and closer they intermarried more and more. By the time the three tribes reintegrated the Keythong were so assimilated into Griffin bloodlines they ceased to exist as their own 'tribe'."

"Some of my kind fear that this would be our fate," said Zecora.
"If with too many ponies we would relate.
They think if too blurred become the lines,
than as a people we would decline."

"That's a little sad," said Pinkie. "I know the Keythong are gone now but does that mean that they shouldn't have been allowed to love who they wanted to?"

"They hadn't entirely disappeared. Before, while Griffins were swift of wing and quick of wit, they tended to lack physical strength and boldness. The Keythong had those qualities in abundance and passed it on to their Griffin descendants. They didn't vanish, they changed, like life is supposed to."

Twilight looked down at the book. "So the explosion didn't just create hordes of monsters and cause the end of the world...it granted Griffins, Keythong, Cows, and the like sapience...I wonder if they should know this...we all want to know our origins..."

"That is a question with too many variables to be answered quickly," Luna explained. "There will be time to think of it when we are finished. Let's continue."

To Be continued . . .

Clover Story Part 3: The true power of luck

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The barnyard revolutionaries had fled the farm for their lives at the sight of Rasa and Yoki. I heard they reestablished themselves on some of the other abandoned farms, but with not even the most basic education, like reading, took place. And with many ponies carving out their own tiny kingdoms around them, their revolution wasn't going anywhere. I almost pitied them, truthfully.

And that was the beginning of the most unusual friendship I ever had. As we traveled Rasa and Yoki would met up with us every now and then so we could teach them about what we had lost and some of the basic skills like reading, writing and math that they hadn't gotten a full grasp on but we tended to take for granted. In trade they often protected us when they weren't back with their clan teaching them what they learned, usually arriving at the nick of time because of my luck.

I heard of ponies' special talents increasing as they got older but this was crazy.

"Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth, dear," Mom said.

The months then started turning to years until years after the disaster I went to a reunion of my friends who weren't either dead or wandering like a vagabond.

It was great to see most of the gang back together but it just wasn't the same and not just because of who wasn't there. Sweetheart now had this quiet seriousness about her, Bright Eyes, while still as clever had this calmness to her she gained when she lost her memories, Melody now had this air of humility that I never would have thought she'd get in a million years and Bonbon had gotten introspective, almost deep. While Patch hadn't been able to make it, we'd heard all these rumors about her having become an utter badflank action mare (and more surprisingly, married Buddy!). It wasn't that we weren't friends anymore, but we weren't the friends we were back then. It was like the world had changed us all as much as it had changed...

I'll admit a felt a bit ashamed of my own good fortune. All of them had lost members of their family on the day of the disaster; dead and never coming back. Me? I kept getting lucky, and never losing any of my family. Why couldn't my luck have rubbed off on them as well? It wasn't that I wasn't happy...it was that I wondered why me and no one else?

But it was there Cheval heard the most incredible rumor from Bonbon. Suzette, Albert and Amiee were still alive. From what she heard they were last seen heading to a fresh water source at this mountain that the unicorns had named the Canterhorn. Since our last home had been flattened by a tornado, we decided the best thing to do next was to get our whole family back together.

The mountain was very very far away indeed. The unicorns, themselves, had been hoping to get as far away as possible from tiny overlords like General Ripper. If we had kept going a while longer, if Cheval hadn't heard his family could be waiting at the top of that mountain, we could have gone to Paradise Estate instead. We were bound to be welcome and cared for there, right? We didn't even take a vote. There was no way we'd throw away a chance to have our family all back together again.

It was a long hard climb along a narrow path up the mountain until we found the spring with a number small wooden shacks around it and one that seemed to be built along the side of the mountain about fifty lengths away.

Cheval knocked on the door of one hut when a young unicorn opened it.

"Yes?"

"We are looking for my little sister and her family. Have you seen a mare named Suzette?"

"I think I know who you are talking about," said the unicorn. "But there have been a few sick ponies where they are working, the children should stay here."

Meadowlark hugged her ten year old and I bent down to my now five year old Lucky Bloom.

"Be good for Mommy and stay with your cousin okay?"

"Okay, mama," Lucky said. I am so proud of my little boy.

We went into one of the sheds built up against the mountainside. Inside were a number of other young unicorns, none of them any older than when I was when I had played the harlequin.

"I don't understand," said Dandy. "Where are Suzette and Albert?"

"Where you are all going," said a young filly that pulled a lever with her magic. At that moment the floor under us had opened and we all fell into a dark cave.

We all fell into a bundle of straw that we then forced out of by the young unicorns.

"Let's go," said an older colt. "The master will want to take a good look at them."

We were lead to a chamber that had wooden supports built to keep the walls up. The place was dimly lighted by a few candles. The shadow of a unicorn was seen on one of the lit walls.

"What is it?!" said the unicorn I assumed was the one these punks were calling master.

The older colt stepped forward. "We caught six more workers for you. They had a couple of children them that we are holding back on the surface." I felt a fury raise up in me as I heard that. My baby, my niece were in danger because of these ponies, I'd be MORE shocked had I not felt that way.

"Bring them into the light." We were pushed into the light of the candles. "Two of them look a little old but they should still be able to work the kitchens and workshops. The rest can definitely bring us more gems."

"Speaking of gems," said an older filly. "When can we get the ones you promised us, the ones that can give our magic more strength?"

"Be quiet! I was the one who found you all as children after the disaster and brought you here when you had no one! You should just do as I say and be grateful I took you in at all! You will get your gems when I say you can!"

The shadow turned as if thinking and then went back to where it started. "Take the children to the others to be taught like you were. Bring the old ones to be put to work they can do. The rest of you will go into the mines you worthless SLAVES!"

After we were separated from mom and dad the unicorns I now knew were orphans brought us into a large cavern were a large number ponies were digging into large deposits of crystal. We were led to one corner of the cavern and were each given a ball and chain. That was when I heard a voice I had wanted to hear for five years now.

"Cheval! Meadowlark! Clover!"

"Suzette!" Cheval said happily. Not exactly the place we wanted to have our reunion but beggars can't be choosers.

"You were captured too?" asked Albert.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Dandy. "They took Mr. and Mrs. Bloom and the kids away."

"The same thing happened to our little Amiee," said Suzette. "What day is it?" I told her the date. "Has it been a month already? Oh, poor Amiee, to think that 'orrible stallion is twisting our children like our poor captors."

"Poor?" Dandy asked.

"They were just kids when the disaster happened, some still are," said a familiar voice. "That unicorn is the one responsible for all this. I've been here for a while, they act all tough and relentless but deep down, our captors are just scared."

I took a closer look at the stallion, he was missing his left foreleg but with his figure eight knot cutie mark there was no mistaking it.

"Slipknot? Starlight's old boyfriend?"

"I've gone by Scout for a few years now Clover. I was trying to catch up with Patch because I thought she and Buddy could use my help. I was stopping over by the spring topside for the night when I was caught and ended up here."

"Hey, you better get to work or the master will be angry!" said a filly carrying a lantern. In the light I was able to recognize her. She was the same blue coated white maned filly whose parents had suffered brain damage on the subway when the disaster hit years ago, though now she had a cutie mark, a single star with a number of rays shooting out behind it. Back then she seemed so timid and scared, now we were afraid of the poor filly.

+++

I don't know how much time had passed. Our days were always spent the same way; we would be forced up and eat a small breakfast, then would work almost nonstop digging out gems until we'd be given an equally small dinner and then soon after collapse from exhaustion into sleep and all in the dark. I keep thinking back to that story about Sweet Stuff and many of the other Twinkle Eye ponies forced to dig in a dark mine so long they could no longer see. Was this going to be our fate as well?

I admit, I kept hoping Patch would swing in and kick 'Master's' flank and get us out, but I didn't think my luck was THAT good.

But more than anything I keep thinking of Lucky Bloom, about how our so-called 'Master' could be twisting him like he did those desperate unicorn children. It tears my heart apart to think of my sweet little baby as just another one of his thugs. If nothing else I would make sure he'd be free from that fate or die trying.

"You have to get back to work," said the filly that kept watching us. "The Master will not only punish you but me and my friends if you don't keep working."

"If you are so afraid of him, why not leave?" I asked.

She seemed surprised, good if she can still consider the ramifications of her actions then she isn't all gone.

"We, we have nowhere else to go. All of our parents are either dead or have lost their minds. We each heard about a place that was taking unicorn kids up here, but when we got here the Master was all that was left after a cave in. He's real sick so we can't get close to him, but he promised to make our magic stronger so we could take care of ourselves. He takes care of us, makes sure we don't go hungry."

"Is it worth having a full stomach but an empty heart?" Silence, she's thinking. "My name is Clover. What's yours?"

"St-Starburst. Starburst Mid-Summer Night."

"I remember you, Starburst. I saw you the day when the world broke. You were so afraid; your parents couldn't take care of you anymore, it must have been lonely. I can see you are still afraid."

"Yes."

"How did you get your cutie mark?"

"Before we had started catching other ponies we dug down here. One time when my group got lost I told them that we would get back to the others if we just kept going up. I felt a tingle on my flanks and when we got back to daylight there it was."

"Sounds to me your special talent is to be a light in the darkness. Keeping other ponies down here doesn't fit you at all, why don't you just leave?"

"M-my friends that went up against him because we didn't like being mean all disappeared. He's sick but he's too strong."

"No, he's not Starburst. He needs slaves to dig his gems and he needs you to keep us here, without us he's nothing. And he knows it, that's why he's trying to keep us afraid."

I heard a wooden bowl being set on a rock. "I have to get back to work. I'm sorry."

I believed her, she and most if not all of the guards were slaves too, slaves to fear.

I knew the bowl had my day's water ration so I kneeled down to drink. My lips touched something made of metal, in the dark I felt its shape, a key. I continued to work until it was time for us to sleep, then I tried the key on my shackle, it opened.

I tried to use the key on Dandy's shackle and woke him up in the process. "Clover what are you..."

My love's shackle was opened; the 'master's' shackles all had the same kind of lock. I suppose that made sense, considering how little he had to work with here.

"Wake up Scout and our family. We have to be fast."

In moments all seven of us were free and Scout had us in a circle. "Okay, here's the plan. Cheval, Albert you two take the key and start freeing the other prisoners. Suzette, Meadowlark head towards the surface and try to find where they are keeping your parents and the kids. Clover, since you got the trust of one of the guards I'm going to need you and Dandy with me."

"What are we going to do?" asked Dandy.

"Put an end to all of this, by cutting off the head of the snake."

I never thought shy old Slipknot would ever be this intense. He wants us to kill another pony? Sure, I know since the disaster a lot of rotten opportunists have been popping up, but even with the worst ones, any of my lucky breaks ever did was knock them out cold and leave their ambitions in ruins. Mom and Dad taught me that every life is precious, that even the worst of us deserves a chance at redemption. Still from what Scout said he might have intended for me try to talk the guards down the same way I convinced Star Burst. Well, my luck had started coming back good so far, hope it turns into a winning streak.

We found our way up to the chamber where we first met the 'Master'. All of the guards we passed were asleep... luck's still holding out. Even though we saw his silhouette we heard a light snoring.

"This guy sleeps standing up?" asked Dandy.

"Perfect for us," said Scout. "Clover, watch the door. Dandy, if you think you can handle it, strike with me."

"After everything thing he did, I'm making sure he never hurts my family again."

Dandy, hearing him talk about murdering someone. I just can't watch...

"Ready?" said Scout.

"Ready."

"Rargh!"

I heard them dive at the master then felt a head roll against my leg. I couldn't help it. I looked down and saw the severed head... Of a department store equequin.

"What in pony hell?"

"A dummy?" said Scout.

"The 'master' is a fake?" said Dandy.

Something isn't right, that snoring didn't come from the dummy. I looked over at the exposed set up. The candles and curtains gave the dummy the appearance of a unicorn thanks to a piece of broomstick glued to its head. A set up of pipes and musical horns led up to the ceiling...

That was when I noticed a pair of gleaming eyes and the glint off of the blade of a knife.

"DANDY! SCOUT! LOOK OUT!"

"Yeagh!"

Time seemed to go into slow motion when what looked like a mangy old dog wearing tattered rags leapt from the rafters holding a knife. The dog fell on Scout plunging the knife right between his shoulders and into his heart.

"UGH!"

"Scout!" I cried.

The dog pulled the knife out of Scout and pointed it and Dandy and me. "Back, ponies! Go back to digging gems or I'll do the same to you!"

"Another animal that got smart because of the disaster?" Dandy asked.

"No," the dog-thing said, actually holding its head with its free paw like it had a headache, "Damn nag, she say crazy pony and her hell spawn would be there ... we all go there ... nothing but gems ... gems... old man's voice ... wanting gems, all that's left of him, find gems, like ponies did before ... more gems ... more gems ... even when got away, even with old human gone for good, need gems. Just dogs to him, for his diamonds, Diamond Dogs. Then the horned ponies came to dig up my gems, I got all of them then the little horned ponies began to come. So I used what the horned ones left and got them digging, but they were too weak so when other ponies came I told the little horned ponies lies to get the big ones to dig. Now you dig in the dark or I'll kill you!"

"Master?!" I heard an older colt say. We all turned and saw the young unicorns that were holding all of the prisoners until now.

"Our master is some mangy mutt?" said an older filly.

The Diamond Dog crawled to where the drapes still hung. "Pay no attention to the dog behind the curtain!"

"You lied to us," said Starburst. "There are no magic gems to make us strong enough to make all our moms and dads better, is there?!"

The Diamond Dog snarled and ran through a hidden door in the back. That was a yes. I ran over to Scout who was bleeding on the floor.

"Scout, hang on. I'm sure that..."

"Clover," Scout said in raspy voice. "We both know this is going to end in only one way."

"Scout, it could have been me..." Dandy said.

"But it wasn't. At this point the last thing I want to hear is you both blaming yourselves. Just make sure some good comes from this. I'm okay, at the end I'm myself. I am free. Only one thing to do to go without regrets. I...Lo...ve...you...St...ar...Li...ght..."

Then I closed his eyes and let him sleep.

+++

I felt an anger rise up in me like I had never had in my entire life. The next thing I knew I was galloping through the door the Diamond Dog ran through. There were a hundred questions. Why go through the complex farce of being a sick unicorn? How'd he get his equipment to pull it off? Was he and others like him somehow connected to the wicked wizard from the twinkled-eyed ponies' story that Applejack had killed? I couldn't have cared less!

After going through a short tunnel I found him. He was in that mountain side shack stuffing a sack full of gems that were paid for in pony blood. I pounced on him like I had only seen big cats do on nature shows. The knife he had was knocked just close enough for me to grab and hold over his head. I'm pretty sure I looked more like a rabid animal than a pony.

"Heh,heh,heh,heh," the despicable beast laughed. "So pony has some fight after all. Your kind dug in the earth and took our gems. I lived in the dark while your kind laughed in the light. I hate you all. But pony is like all ponies are, soft, weak. Go ahead. Do it. But I know you won't. You don't have what it takes. You can't crawl out of the darkness unless you are willing to end those in the light."

"SHUT UP!! You are a monster. You worked us to the bone. You corrupted innocent children. You killed Slipknot! YOU TOOK MY BABY FROM ME!! You deserve to die!"

I raised knife as high as I could.

"What?! But you can't!"

I plunged the blade down as he closed his eyes...
...when he opened them again the knife was stuck in the floor inches away.

"Surprised? Don't be. You're not worth it!" I got off of the filthy animal. "Go. Leave this place. I don't care where, but I never want to see you again. And if I find out you're doing anything like this again, I might think it's worth it then. Ponies have endured, and will always endure. Tell your packmates of this defeat, this humiliation, and remember we are no one's cattle. Get out of my sight."

I looked around the room as he started to catch his breath. So many gems, how many died to amass this hoard? But then I noticed one that didn't seem to fit with the others, a green gem that seemed too perfectly shaped. After a second of thought I recognized it.

"A piece of the Rainbow of Light."

How it got there I never found out. Probably the mongrel found it and never realized what it was, to my eternal gratitude. If I gave this to Patch, she'd be one step closer to ending her quest. I reached out for it.

"MINE!!!"

Suddenly the diamond dog was on top of me again.

"That is my shiny! It is better than all other gems! You will not take my shiny away!"

He began choke me while he raised the knife I had so stupidly just left in the floorboard.

"You should have killed me while you had the chance! Your luck has run out!"

"CLOVER! NO!" Dandy was running towards me with so many ponies right behind him, I knew he'd never make it in time.

Just then the whole shack started to rattle as if we were suddenly in a hurricane.

"What?! What is happening?!"

I took advantage of the confusion and bucked the dog off of me. I used the next moment to grab the fragment and dove for the tunnel. It was like whatever was giving me my luck was telling me to GET OUT OF THERE!

I tripped on the edge between the tunnel and the shack dropping the fragment. Just then a gigantic claw came out of nowhere straight through the roof the shack.

"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!"

The shack was totally demolished and the dog with it. I heard the ill-gotten gems tinkle as they fell down the mountain side along with their owner.

"The fragment!" I reached for the piece just as it teetered over the edge of the cliff a little away from the claw. It fell over and I lost sight of it as it fell down into the forest below.

After a colossal effort to forget about the fragment, I looked at our unlikely savior. The claw was a hind foot of some kind, covered in platinum scales. We all got as close as we dared to see the rest of it. Even if I had seen an adult dragon before this would have easily been the biggest one I would ever see. There were large spikes all the way up its backbone, huge wings that must has caused the shack to shake like that and a crest of horns that resembled a cross between a war helmet and a crown. The dragon then moved and came down to look at us. Its eyes, it was like staring into lakes of made of gold. Was he considering making us a snack? After considering us for a bit he climbed a bit higher, gave an ear piercing roar and took off into the sky.

I'd hear later from outsiders that black cats had turned white and four-leaf clovers sprouting up around the mountain at moment the claw had come through the roof that night.

"Even as old as I am I never thought I would see the sight," said an elderly unicorn mare in the sizable group behind me. "When I was just a blank little filly I heard tales of an immense five-headed dragon queen who lived on an isle far away. I also heard of one dragon whose wisdom, fortitude and strength was so above the others he had managed to earn the respect or love of all five of her heads. So she made him her chosen, to stay at her side unless he is performing a rare task for her. We all see him before us.

Bahamut, Prime Consort to Tiamat the Dragon Queen."

Bahamut then gave one more roar as he picked up speed leaving a golden colored shockwave behind as he went over the horizon. I'll say this, he knows how to make an exit.

No, I didn't care what the odds of a dragon of legend showing up just in time to save my flank and send the bad guy falling to his death were. It'd happened, so there. I'm used to my luck causing things like that to happen.

"Mama!"

As soon as I heard that voice only one thing mattered to me.

"Lucky! Oh Lucky, I missed you!"

Mom and Dad were there and with Suzette, Albert and Aimee with us, our family was finally complete again.

Scout, wherever you are thank you.

+++

=Terranigma: Crysta=

Starlight was looking through her window when there was a knock on the door. "Uh, come in?"

The familiar black and white Alicorn peaked in. "Sorry if I am interrupting anything. I came because a new arrival had come and though he can enter My Father, I'm sure he wants to speak with you first."

A teenaged earth pony colt with four healthy legs and a figure eight knot cutie mark came in.

"Slipknot?"

"I'll give you both a week alone. I'm going to hitch Fluffy the Terrible to Havoc's chariot, but only because I think he's going to have to muzzle this dog. Scout, I'll try to get an answer for you from my sister Venus."

A brief silence came over the two after Mortis left. "So, would you rather I call you Slipknot or Scout?"

"Whichever you prefer," said Scout.

"I... feel bad about what I must have put you through."

"Probably not as bad as I feel that I was murdered by someone named Fluffy, not how I thought I'd go." They both laughed.

"Starlight, I was told a little about how the spell would have gone if it was allowed and I can't help but feel that you wouldn't have made that 'no stallions' wish if I had been honest with my real feelings for you."

"Scout, I've already accepted my guilt in things. Others could point a hoof at me for stupidly not realizing how deeply you felt."

"And they'd be wrong. Letting you know how I felt was part of my choices."

"Scout, it's okay, it's all in the past."

"Not all of it. Not what I have to say in here and now. Starlight, I love you. If could redo things so that I could have told you sooner I would, even if it meant I would be reduced to ash next to you."

"I would rather have had the choice where you lived, even if it was as someone else or with someone else. Because I...I love you too. But there's no room for regrets now."

"No regrets, never again. So we have a week before I move on and leave you to wait for the others, anything you want us do?"

Starlight gave a sly smile. "I have a few things in mind. So what was that question you wanted Mortis to answer that he needs to go to his sister for?"

"I was wondering, once we get to the Pony Heaven can you still get married?"

"I'm not sure what Venus will say, but if so my answer is yes."

They had to resist making their kiss overly long. They still had only a week together, before they would be reunited for eternity.

+++

"Wait wait wait wait!" Pinkie Pie said waving her hooves around, "I know I'm the pony who just goes with the flow and Twilight's the one who fusses over little details, but come on! A dragon ex machina?"

"Trouble I do not mean to summon,
But it did seem rather sudden."

Twilight look uncomfortable speaking to the Alicorn, in respect to all Clover had endured up to that point, "Princess Luna, why did Bahamut appear? I know it was Clover's luck, but luck still has a source behind it happen. If you luckily find some bits on the ground, they didn't just appear there for you to find. Even Pinkie Pie's ESP doesn't MAKE things happen. What was he doing there? Why didn't he come sooner or later? Why did he smash a little shack on a side of a mountain? Why did he just then leave? Is Bahamut really just Tiamat's consort? Or is there more to him? Many of the reports of him are conflicting."

Luna used the calm and thoughtful approach she had learn from her solar sister. "After the disaster, Queen Tiamat had Bahamut scout the world, to learn of all the changes that had occurred, and the fate of every single one of her individual dragons. Even after years Bahamut had not finish visiting every dragon in the world. His way was to stay with them and get to know them personally before moving on. Canterhorn was nothing more than a momentary rest stop, completely uninhabited when he had last visited. The exact moment was indeed, purely Clover's luck, for a filly who lamented of having no true talent, her cutie was very unique. He didn't notice the shed at all until he stepped upon it, he didn't even notice the diamond dog he had stepped upon. The ponies were, please excuse me, of no true interest to him and he still had many of his dragons to meet, he didn't wish to 'waste time' on little ponies when he had his own children to think about. Bahamut had no reason to care for ponies at the time.

"As for Bahamut himself? He is indeed more than he appears. He is ... like Tiamat, ourselves, our sister, Cadence, and yes, even Discord. One of us. As for how much he knows of this himself, we have never asked. One of the most damaging things for one of us is to remember what we are while we still live and breath as one of ye, because that destroys the purpose. No matter the world or life, reality or destiny, he has always been the balancing force to Tiamat as she is his ... like most marriages."

+++

Most of the ponies left for various places. A few of the Unicorns insisted that Starburst and the other orphans would be safest in a community called Horn Haven. I silently allowed it since I knew Melody was nearby so there is a chance they'd learn tolerance as well. But there were others, including my family and me that didn't have anywhere else to go. We realized that, ironically, the mine we were kept prisoner in also offered our best chance at survival. In addition to crystals, there was a considerable amount of useful ore that ponies in this ruined world could use to start rebuilding. If we mined and traded the ore while taking advantage of the springtime to grow a little food in gardens it would increase our chances of survival considerably.

That was the beginning of our little town on the Canterhorn. We decided to name it after the one who by sheer luck saved us and gave us an experience that would carry on in us for a lifetime. That was also the end of my family's wandering days, now Bahamut's Rest is our home.

Of course we all searched for the green shard around, on, and near the base of the mountain after I explained things to my family. We didn't stop searching after one night, or one week, but we never could find it. Too bad. I did find some crushed bones at the base of the mountain, that were very fresh, I did my best not to think of who they belonged to. I didn't understand why my luck was failing me now, like it had with that silver teapot. But who could have found it and taken it? And where? My luck didn't answer me this time. Was it protecting me from whatever found it in the first place? Blech, now I'm just making myself crazy.

We searched feverishly at first, but ... we just got tired of not finding even a clue, and we had much to do to make sure our family stayed fed with a solid roof over our head. No more supermarkets and shopping channels!

Mom, in addition to her vegetable garden is serving as the town's school teacher, we don't have a lot of students but she loves teaching her grandchildren. Dad works a more of a handystallion than an artist but he loves working with his hooves and gives a stylistic flair to what he builds. Dandy, Cheval and Albert work in the mine, but they say it isn't so bad since they can come home each night. Meadowlark, Suzette and I usually work in the gardens, but we do occasionally go into the mine to pick the edible mushrooms that grow there. It isn't the type of life any of us imagined we'd have but after so much has gone wrong things are finally starting to look okay.

+++

Things are not okay. It's been ten years now since the disaster. More than that? Less? I can't tell anymore. Sweetheart is dead, the victim of a plague she made a cure for. It had to take a special root to make the cure, but her kids managed to get plenty. And in the process, they realized that the tribes needed to work together, thanks to my old friends Rasa and Yoki. They told them that if Griffins and Keythong could work together, why not the different pony tribes? The Whispering Plague never made it to Bahamut's Rest due to a rock slide that turned to be a blessing in disguise, since it cut the town off from the rest of the world for weeks until the plague was gone.

Bright Eyes got her memory back so that's a plus, one of the few pluses I have seen so far.

The mine has made us prosperous but as more ponies came to town, a few less-than-reputable businesses were set up for the new miners. First a saloon, then came mares that practiced 'the world's oldest profession.' (I know Bright Eyes would throw a fit about how that was totally factually false. And Sweetheart would die of grief that mares had been made to, or chose to, sink that low in this new dark world.)

+++

"What are they talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Something we hope you never need to understand our little ponies."

+++

Before anyone knew it, Bahamut's Rest became 'a den of inequity where any vice was freely available' as an elderly mare who passed by our town once said.

The gambling, drinking and loose mares I could handle. If ponies want to be stupid, that is their business. But what really has me worried is my family. Mom and Dad have started to act erratically, this could be the start of senility. Lucky Bloom has been going around with a huge chip on his shoulder. Ever since he got into what would have been first grade he's been showing quite a temper. I just hope it doesn't get him into trouble someday.

Suzette and Albert have started dipping quite a bit into the wine. Amiee, teenager that she is, is usually out half the night and it seems like they hardly even notice. I can hardly tell if they are fighting each other or making love. Meadowlark and Cheval have it even worse; all they seem to do lately is fight. I hear them even now.

"I work hard down in that filthy mine all day! So why can't I have a little fun afterwards?!"

"Fun?! That's what you call playing hoofsies with a mare barely older than your own daughter?!"

"Well maybe if you actually get off of your lazy flanks once in a while I wouldn't need to!"

"I'm sorry if this isn't exactly the body of the limber ballerina you fell in love with! As I recall, bearing a child tends to do that!"

"And you did a great job raising her too! Oh wait; she was just got caught stealing, again!"

"As if you're Parent of the Year material yourself!"

To think that perfect wedding day from so long ago has been reduced to this. The charming groom had become a cad and the blushing bride, my sister, the big sister I was once so jealous of, had become a shrew.

But Dandy, he, he...

He and a few others were digging a new tunnel when there was a cave-in. The rest of the miners are trying to dig them out in shifts but it seems like they hit a natural cavern so they could be anywhere or even... I don't even know if my beloved is dead or alive. Lucky took it really hard. He keeps skipping school to go in the mine and try to find his father, if I lose him too...

But the worst is something I just found out today. I'm pregnant.

To think this foal might grow up never knowing their father or brother. That I have to bring a new life into a ruined world never knowing a cold that only meant staying home from school, the guilty pleasure of gossiping over the phone or the simple joy of sharing a pizza with your best friends. I'm sorry but you just had some bad luck.

Bad luck, is that what I really had all this time? Was that what my cutie mark really was? Have I been escaping one disaster just to suffer through a worse one? Would it have been better if I died when the spell went so horribly wrong? Maybe it was just bad luck any of were born in that time to know the height of civilization only to have it all snatched away. It all came down to luck.

+++

I was in the saloon next to a growing pile of winnings from a roulette wheel someone managed to salvage.

The owner came up next me. I only said one thing to him.

"Double down on fourteen black."

"Lady," he said. "This is the fifth time you doubled down. Maybe you should just take you winnings and call it day."

"No, I'm trying to prove a point."

"And that is...?"

"That it's futile. Sure we get lucky sometimes and things go our way for a while, but the game is always in the house's favor and in the end no matter what I do I'm going to lose."

"Look, these ponies are just trying to have a good time. Half of them know the odds are against them, but they try anyway because they want to believe they can win!"

"They're fools, all of them. The house I'm talking about is destiny and we are playing its game. A game we can never win. It doesn't matter if Patch found Paradise Estate or not, someone else would've. It doesn't matter if Starlight and Bright Eyes thought up of that spell, someone else would have done that too. The only thing that put us where we are on destiny's game board is pure dumb luck!"

The owner pointed to the door. "I think you better leave. You're making everyone else scared."

Then another pony spoke. "Double zero."

I pointed at the wheel that told me I lost, just as I knew I would. "See! That's my point right there! We're all as good as dead! Hahahahahahaha!"

The next thing I knew ponies were dragging me back home.

+++

"We think she's had some kind of nervous breakdown," someone said. "Probably about her husband and son in the mine."

"I can't believe how selfish we've been!" I heard Meadowlark say. "She's been beside herself with worry and fear and all we've done is get carried away with petty vices and arguments."

"She really needs you all now, but I wouldn't let her leave her room. Just in case she has another...episode."

"Yes," I heard Suzette say. "And your parents too."

They came over the next two or three days to drop off food and to talk to me. Their apologies don't matter to me, nothing does. Like everything in this room, all reminders of Dandy or a past that was lost to us all. In fact I was holding the one thing we were able to successfully get from our old house, my baby blanket with my name stitched into it by my mother. Just a reminder of the luck I was cursed with since the day I was born.

Suddenly there was a wind in my room that got stronger and stronger, followed by a brilliant flash of light that temporarily blinded me. When my vision cleared and there was elderly unicorn mare with a purple coat and a mane white with age wearing a fancy cloak and hood standing on top of a huge scorch mark on the floor.

"Magnificent!" she said. "Absolutely magnificent!"

"What? Who?" I stammered.

She went to a corner of the room. "What is this?"

"That's a sewing machine..."

"A machine for sewing? Marvelous!"

"It doesn't work anymore."

"But it did once and that is remarkable!"

I was getting frustrated with this unicorn. "Okay! Who are you and what are you doing in my house!?"

"Right! Not a lot of time so right down to business. Clover, do not give up on luck! It is the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to your family and it will continue to be wonderful for years and years to come! Things will get better! Not all once, in fact they will get worse at first and not to my knowledge as they once were but they will get better! Not just for your family but for all ponies of all tribes, so don't lose hope! As long as you have hope your family will make it thanks to your wonderful, wonderful luck!"

"H-how could you know any of that?!" Obviously, this old unicorn was senile.

"Because I lived it and I was able to tell you because of the book."

"What book?!"

"The book I found. The one I hid in the castle in the crystal desert. The one that told me I had to be here and now."

"I still don't understand."

"When I found the spell, my master made, what I wanted more than anything was to see my birth parents. But when I read the book I knew it was important to come here instead and that I would see them again one day. For the book told me of the lost past, an age that never was, what lies beyond the veil of mortality and a few paths the future could take."

"Why me? Why tell me any of this?"

"Because family has to stick together."

The winds started to pick up again lifting her cape off of her flanks. That cutie mark, it was different, blue and made out of stars, but other than that it was identical to mine.

"I still don't get it!" I said over the increasingly strong winds. "Just who are you?!"

The unicorn turned and seemed to pose for me. As if it was something she did because it was expected of her but for once was glad to do it.

"They call me Clover! Clover the Clev..."

There was another intense flash of light and when it dimmed she was gone out of my life as quickly and mysteriously as she came.

+++

"Time travel spell? Wait a second that episode hasn't even happened for us!" Pinkie Pie said looking through a script. Luna made a note to destroy it later, where did Pinkie Pie keep getting them? "HEY! We're past it already! It got skipped! That's cheating! You can't do that!" Pinkie Pie seemed to shout at the heavens. "You big jerk!"

"Wait! What?!" Twilight asked, confusion clear on her face. "Starswirl the Bearded has a time travel spell?! How did I not know about it?! And how did, Clover, I mean, CLOVER THE CLEVER, find a book telling her she'd already went back in time?!"

"It's best not to think about it," said Luna, sagely. "Just know Clover's choices were her own, a specific Fate was not forced upon her, in fact in many ways, Clover was a FORCE of Fate rather than it's toy by having a talent that can change the winds of fortune and probability. Starswirl the Bearded's time travel spell merely has a failsafe worked in to prevent one from causing a time paradox, thus Clover the Clever's intervention could not change the events that lead her to going back in time in the first place."

"But-"

"Twilight, I am a goddess who predates the Big Bang and even I don't know the answers to everything. It's best we just enjoy the rest of the story and let the Shadows think about the implications."

+++

"Clover, what's going on?!"

Meadowlark burst into the room. I just turned to her feeling strangely at ease.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, I'm not sure I believe it."

"Well, in any case you got to get to the mine! Something's happening!"

I ran over to mine entrance as fast as I could. A crowd parted from the opening and starting clapping as some of the miners started coming out.

"They made it! All of them!" I heard from the crowd.

= "Your Song" / EARTH, from Zoids Chaotic Century Guardian Force (5th Ending tune) =

I looked at the exiting miners to be sure it was true. At the very end of the line was Dandy, being held up by Lucky. I almost bowled them both over as I ran to them.

"Dandy! Lucky! Oh thank God you're alive!"

Dandy gave me a big hug. "When the tunnel collapsed so did the floor into an underground lake. We survived on the lake water and cave mushrooms until Lucky here noticed light from his lantern reflecting off of the lake."

"Luck, LUCK! Yes it was luck! Wonderful, wonderful luck that brought you back exactly as you left!"

"Well," said Lucky. "Not 'exactly' as I left."

He turned and we saw it. A red lantern was now on both of his flanks. That night Bahamut's Rest threw a party no one in town would ever forget, both for the safe return of its Stallions and for Lucky coming into his own. I think for once, everyone forgot their precious sin and vice, and were just happy everyone was alive.

Months and months later, the time finally came (why are we ponies pregnant for a month short of a year?). After thirty-six hours and a lot of pain (boy how I missed anesthetic) I gave birth to twins; a filly and a colt.

"So what are what are going to name them?" asked my son, now called Red Lantern.

Dandy stood there and nodded, he'd let me to choose, ("Their names are something that won't come down to luck," he said.).

I turned first to my baby boy. "This one I'm naming Lucky Coin. Luck's been good to me and I want to keep the name alive in the family as long as I can." I then turned to my first baby girl. "And this one I'm naming Blue Moon, because good things shouldn't happen only once in a blue moon. I have another tradition for her."

Dandy took the cue and gave me my old baby blanket which I then wrapped around Blue Moon. "I want her to keep this so she could give it to her child, and then that child would pass to their children and so on until the thing just falls into shreds. That way sometime in the future, maybe when we can get back what we lost a child will look at it and remember that they are part of a very lucky family."

My two little angels started crying and I set them down to nurse, surrounded by a loving extended family. While they had their first meal I was thinking of my friends when inspiration struck and I just started to sing to them.

Something is starting, right now
Something is starting, oh wow
My little pony, my little pony
My little pony tales
My little pony, my little pony
My little pony tales

Schoolhouse is our very first stop
Then let's try the ice cream shop
My little pony, my little pony
My little pony tales

Starlight, Sweetheart, Melody
Bright Eyes, Patch and Clover
Bonbon's making cookies girls
Hurry up on over

My little pony, my little pony
My little pony tales
My little pony, my little pony
My little pony tales
My little pony tales

To Be Concluded . . . .

Clover Story Part 4: The Finale (Last chapter of story arc). "Everypony makes the right choice."

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A few days later Patch dropped by. "You're a hard pony to find," she said. "Have you seen Starlight?"

I only told her no, I still felt a little ashamed that I thought her quest was a fool's errand. She looked so young. She'd barely aged a day since I'd last seen her.

I was surprised by the scars and muscles she was now sporting. Her body language was like she always had weights on her shoulders. She'd always scoop out any place she came to, but it wasn't the same excited curiosity I always knew Patch for before. Dandy gave her a friendly hug when he saw her, she tore away from him.

"Don't touch me unless I say it's okay!" She snarled. Then caught himself. "Uh ... please?"

She always slept holding her sword, with warnings not to wake her unless we wanted a beheading before she knew it was us.

We shared tales of the adventures we each had, she even told me she had met Rasa and Yoki and that together the three of them beat the feathers off of another griffin clan that was going to have Patch for lunch.

Of course she had to share her adventures with my children and nieces. I wonder if she noticed the glowing pink star that hung in the sky over the town during the entire time she visited.

She was especially fascinated about the story about the founding of the town and about the green fragment, and expressed lament she hadn't found it. We started up the search again. We went back and forth between my house and the forest for three weeks, but we never found anything. I convinced Patch that someone must have found it since then, no telling where it will pop up next. Still it was nice to have her over, even when she did cause a big ruckus in the saloon. Even with everything she went through, deep down she's still the same old Patch.

So many years have passed since the end of civilization as we knew it. Mom and Dad are gone, Meadowlark and Cheval are gone and Suzette and Albert are gone. That song about the old gray mare is proving true in my case; I ain't what I used to be. There are days I can hardly move. At least I have an old gray stallion to keep me company.

After the mine accident, Bahamut's Rest had settled down to a quiet, sometimes sleepy place. I guess things as they were then happened mostly because of a high number of young stallions and mares looking for excitement and going about sowing their oats. Now those had been planted and sprouted two or three times over. I just recently became a great-grandmother.

Things had changed and not all for the better. The tribes' feelings towards each other seem to keep worsening, before Pegasi and Unicorns would stop by because they still needed our ore, now they barely ever come. Bahamut's Rest is effectively on the edge of what counts as civilization now. Paradise Estate, it's like it's become invisible to them. A place where all three tribes are getting along just fine? It's like their brains have just blotted it out of their heads before admitting their prejudices are wrong! Are we really that pig-headed?

The social relations between mares and stallions have also changed, mares became more and more dominant in what society there is. Things are still pretty equal in Bahamut's Rest, though I was made town elder when Meadowlark died, even though Dandy is a month older than me. In other towns and villages it tends to be a little worse, I heard rumors that unicorn stallions in some places aren't allowed to practice magic that isn't directly related to their talents.

I visited Paradise Estate once, they treated and greeted me like any friend. It was stunning to see them all young, many have left choosing to abandon eternal life and their fight against monsters to help the ponies in need. Ember said she's thinking it might be time to stop being a filly in body. I have too many responsibilities to abandon the rest of the world and stay there(even if I DO feel younger while staying there), not just my family, but all the ponies of Bahamut's Rest.

I envy Bon Bon, while the rest of us got swept in some insanity or quest from the world falling apart, she got to raise what was left of her family, she protected her family from the hate everyone aimed at us, she spent so long just writing in her diary.

Sure, I haven't lost anyone, but I had to kick an insane Diamond Dog's tail and get a wretched hive of sin back up and running as an acceptable town.

Except for Patch, who was kept young by the Rainbow of Light pieces in her possession, I am the only one of our circle of friends still alive. But that doesn't mean that I don't have any friends left.

The sun was setting as I sat in the meadow with Rasa. It had a spring that flowed to a waterfall and overlooked Bahamut's Rest and the entire valley below.

"It is good that you came for a visit," I told my griffin friend.

"Not a visit," said Rasa. "I am too old, I've become too much of a burden on my clan so I left to make sure they could survive."

"You still miss Yoki?"

"Every day, but I am sure when my own time comes I meet him at the side of the ancestors."

"You both came a long way. When we first met you didn't even speak in complete sentences."

"I learned so much from you. Now my clan is writing our own history, building our own village. When I was born life was just wake, hunt, eat, sleep, mate and bear young; now we ponder the meaning of things."

"It's good that the great disaster wasn't all bad. If it didn't happen I never would have had you as friend. An exotic pet maybe but, not a heart-to-heart friend."

"Hey!"

"Oh, I'm just teasing you."

Rasa looked over the town to the edge of a wide ravine with some construction on one side.

"That looks risky. Are you sure your town needs it?"

I sighed. "Our town has grown so much our gardens soon won't produce enough food. But the land over the ravine would provide enough land to help feed us for generations."

"From what I could tell your family is one of the largest, how many kids did you and Dandy have?"

"I'd rather not get into our love life right now, but I will say I just recently welcomed my first great-grandchild into the world."

"Yes, I miss my own chicks. I'd ask them to visit but our clan still has a hard time convincing the others to move past the ways from before the awakening and embrace the future. They'll need every Griffin and Keythong they can get, ancestors know Yoki and I had a hard enough time convincing our own clan."

I look back to the sunset, the world as damaged as it was is still so beautiful. It was a lot different from when I was a teenager and how I imagined all red or gray skies in the 'time after a world altering disaster' would be, probably from the movies. In some ways, the end of the old world was the beginning of a new one.

"Dandy and your family are probably getting worried right now," said Rasa. "Should we head back?"

I felt so tired. "Just let me rest my eyes for bit and then we'll go."

"Okay, I should probably go for short flight while I still remember how."

I closed my eyes after taking one last look at the bridge that my family was building with the town. I wasn't worried with how risky it was. Like that other Clover told me, as long I held on to my hope, my luck will pull my family through.

So tired...

+++

"Clover, it's time to wake up."

"Yeah, we're gonna have to wait for a while after so let's get this show on the road!"

I opened my eyes and look around. They're here! Starlight, Bright Eyes, Sweetheart, Bon Bon, Melody, Patch isn't but I wouldn't have expected...

"We've all waited a long time for you," said Bon Bon.

I got up. The pain I've having in my joints is gone. I'm young again.

"What are you all, ghosts?"

"Join the club," said Melody.

"Clover," Sweetheart said. "You're dead. That's your body right behind you."

"What?"

Bon Bon lowered head looking away an pointed behind me. I looked.

I saw myself, old, so very old, not moving in the least still at where I lied down.

"I'm...dead?" Fear swept through me, I took a trot back from myself, from, from my dead body.

"Yes, Clover," said Starlight not quite as how I remembered her. "This is the fifth time I've had to explain this. Good thing there's just one to go..."

"Hey!" said Melody. "I figured it out myself!"

"This isn't a contest, Mel'," said Bright Eyes.

"Oh you're just jealous you weren't the one to figure it out."

I saw Rasa glide down to where my body was. "Okay Clover, you've had your nap. It's getting dark."

She nudged the lifeless corpse. "... So... Your time has come, Clover. I'll take this shell back to your family, now that you are under wings of the ancestors."

Then a loud noise came from the direction of the bridge. I turned and saw one of the towers used to place the supports on the cliff face had collapsed.

Rasa looked between my body and the tower, quickly pick it up, and flew as fast as her grayed wings would carry her back.

"No, I can't go."

"Clover, no one lives forever..." Was that Bon Bon? I didn't care.

"They still need me. Dandy, Red Lantern, Lucky Coin, Blue Moon, all of them! Without my luck my family is doomed! I don't care if I'm dead I have to stay and protect my family!"

Starlight stepped in front of me, unlike just moments before she looked so intense. "Clover there is a reason ponies doubt the existence of ghosts. Most spirits, even those going to Pony Hell, pass on instead of lingering for too long because it can be dangerous. Even all of us waiting for our full circle is pushing it a little so they only do so with unfinished business, but it has to be completed sometime. As much as you want to, you can't linger and watch over your family forever!"

I ignored her and galloped off to the bridge. Whatever danger she's talking about I can brave it if and be my family's guardian angel. I ran down the path, I'm almost to Bahamut's Rest...

But as I crossed the town limit I suddenly found myself in some kind pure white void. It was like all the world was a piece of paper and it had just been all torn away. It seemed to be endless though there seemed to be a black spot in one direction and something that was even whiter than my surroundings in the other.

"Okay, when passing on... they talk about heading into the light. I want to save my family so I don't go into the light."

I decided to move to the black spot and it seemed to move closer to me. Then I saw them, shadows of ponies, griffins, diamond dogs and other things were coming out of the black and towards me! They looked at me like I was dinner! The little black spot grew bigger and widened like it wanted to eat me!

"Not this way! Not this way!"

I went further into the void but they continued to catch up. That's it I'm done for!

I bumped into a pony when I looked up I saw them. Mom, Dad, Meadowlark!

The shadows came to stop as they saw my family, they crashed into each other like they were about to run over a cliff!

~~"No! Don't go with them! Come to us!"~~ 'Not said' the shadow of an earth pony mare with sparkles in her hair.

"You won't have her now or ever," Mom vowed.

"Leave," My dad said sternly.

The shadows couldn't run away fast enough. I went next to mom, as though I was three again.

"What were those things?"

"Shadows of existence," said Mom. "They go after those lost in Limbo for the light they hold within them. They wished to use it to make themselves real, but they won't bother you as long as you are with us."

"But why did they run from you?"

"I'd say they're scared of the love we have for you, something they can't touch, something they can't fight, don't worry about them," said Meadowlark. "Right now we need you to do something very important. It will also allow you to protect our family forever."

"Of course," I said gleefully. "What do you...?"

"This way," said Mom. As they turned and went further into Limbo.

"Hey wait up!"

+++

=Terranigma -City of Lost Souls=

We walked through Limbo until from out of nowhere we were standing in front of a colossal gate that was locked up with giant chains. There were four giant statues of winged unicorns in front of the gate to either side of us, three mares and a stallion. The stallion had a cutie mark like a crown and seemed to be looking to the gate with a mare that had a sword as a cutie mark. The other two mares were looking away from the gate, one also with a crown for a cutie mark, though different from the stallion, and that other had some sort of wheel. For some reason that last one seemed familiar to me.

"Here," said Dad. "All you have to do is touch the chains and open the gate. There is a gate in the living world that's connected to this one. Once this gate is opened we can stay with our family forever."

"Sounds easy enough, but what about Cheval, Suzette and Albert?"

"They'll...be along shortly," said Meadowlark. "Just make sure the gate is open by the time they get here."

"But why haven't any of you tried to use it? Didn't any of you ... didn't any of you want to be with me?"

Mom nuzzled me. "Of course we did, dear. But we didn't use it because you're special. You've always been special. This is your gate, it's been waiting for you since before you were born. It's the only one of its kind, and only your will to live even after your body dies can open it. It'll open for you because you have a strength to live that stronger than any of ours. Please, can you loan us that strength now? We can all be guardian spirits to our families forever."

Forever. I'd never have to leave them. Never have to abandon them. Always there to help them, even if it's just as a spirit to give them a little luck. Would I give up paradise until judgement day for them? Yes, I would.

I moved towards the gate but as I did I felt an increasing sense of unease, like I walking on top of my own grave, impressive since I was already dead. I trust my family but I just felt so afraid, but I won't let that stop me.

"Clover!" I heard Melody yell.

I turned and found my five friends running up to me. My family stood between us and my friends suddenly came to a stop.

"Girls?" I asked turning around.

Just then my old clumsiness kicked in and I tripped as I got back up I found myself looking straight into the eyes of the statue with the wheel mark.

A number of images then flooded my mind.

+++

An elderly Patch finds the green shard in a dark city. A monstrous Goat attacks her.
-
I see myself as the older sister while Meadowlark is coming to ME.

"How did you get to be such a great dancer sis?" the teenage Meadowlark said.

"Practice, practice, practice." I told her. "If you set your mind to it you can do anything."
-
All of us are back at Paradise Estate the day we had our reunion. Just as Firefly flew over Patch gave a nod to the rest of us and we pulled out guns.

It's now five years or so later the seven of us are standing on a balcony as soldiers bring a fat Pegasus to his knees in the courtyard below.

"You are hereby found guilty of crimes against the state," said Starlight. "Do you have any last words before your sentence is carried out, Mr....?" Starlight looked at list she had in her hoof. "Film Critique?"

The Pegasus looked up defiant. "The resistance will prevail."

The other me actually rolled her eyes as the soldiers shot him in the head.
-
Changes again, now Starlight was in a marble gazebo surrounded by a starlight night sky and bluish clouds in all directions. In front of her was a pony wearing a butterfly mask.

"Geetings, I am Fillymon, a dweller of the collective hearts ands minds of all ponies. I welcome to you to the collective unconscious, but first a simple test, can you tell me your name?"

"... My name is Starlight."

"Excellent! Many ponies who come here cannot recall their name, for ponies go through life wearing many masks, but you have the strength of identity to hold onto the Starlight you think of as Starlight. I will grant unto you the power to summon forth the other Starlights within you. The Starlights you wish to be Starlight, and the Starlights you fear to be Starlight. Call it forth."

" ... Pony ... Ponysona!" Starlight shouted, a circle of light appeared beneath her, and above her the transparent image of a winged unicorn appeared, it reminded me of the ones from the gate, "Tis you who hast called me here from the depths of your heart's ocean? I am the star that guides the lost through the night. I am thee, and I am thou, let us walk this path together."

"They shall aid you in the trials ahead. Destiny does not change at a whim, it must be remade with one's own hooves. Be wary of the easy road. Now you must return for now to your own world."

"Hey, Starlight, wake up!" Patch called. Starlight did wake up; she had fallen asleep in class. That was totally not like her, and everypony commented as such. But the rumors turned to a mysterious pony who'd grant you your dearest wish if you called your own cell number.

"Maybe I should try it." Bon Bon said taking her cell, Starlight's eyes widened as she remembered what her dream had said and grabbed Bon Bon's cell.

"Now, now come on, it's just a silly rumor, why waste time on something like that?"

"But ... it might be fun ... just for pretend," Bon Bon said, as he glanced at her body in the mirror.

Things blurred, monsters from fairy tale style to just plain weird popping up in obscure spots, Starlight using Ponysona to protect her friends, Patch gaining the power next, and a confrontation on the school roof with a mask stallion.

"Teddy! How can you be doing this!?"

"Can't you see I'm just making everyone's wishes come true? Bon Bon has the body she's wanted, Clover has what she wants, and Ms Hackney is a pretty young mare again. How is that wrong?"

"Can't you see what it's DOING to them?!"

"It's not doing anything to them! You're just making crud up!"

"Teddy ... I'd never do that to you."

"Don't worry, son," said a stallion behind the masked stallion, he had NOT been there a moment ago. He moved with confidence and calm, but something about his eyes, they reminded me a bit of Fluffy the Terrible, and General Ripper, and the revolutionary ewe, even a tiny bit of Bright Eyes as a filly when she once insisted she knew everything. "They're just selfish. They think if everyone finds their happiness, then no one is experiencing happiness. That is a contradiction." He grinned. "You're a hero for doing this, son."

Patch shook her head, "Teddy ... your dad's gone. Remember? That isn't him!"

"Liars!" A glowing circle formed around the masked stallion, and a transparent winged unicorn appeared above him, only this one had slit eyes, much darker colors, a looked downright freaky. Like the kind Bon Bon had summoned earlier, or Clover after she intentionally wished to be made into a copy of Meadowlark.

Sweetheart shuddered, "Teddy I'm sorry, but if you can't see what you're doing, then I'll have to help you ... I have to, for you." Sweetheart then startled, she gasped out loud, and a circled formed beneath her. A transparent winged unicorn appeared above her. "I have heard the cry of your heart, and from within you I have come. I am the healer of hearts. I am thou, and ye art I, let us walk this road together."

"Heh. Are you two fillies feeling left out now? How about you, Melody, Clover? Isn't your dearest wish to be a rock star, and know everything there is to know and protect nature's beauty?" Asked the fake father.

"I'm going to earn it!" Melody snapped, "No one's going to say it was just handed to me."

"And ... I won't ... I'd have to be crazy to trade in my dreams for making them come true!"

"Contradiction, contradiction, you say you want those things, but won't take them when they're offered to you. Heheheh. Contradictions should be removed."

The stallion pretending to be Teddy's father summoned some freaky creature, Teddy ordered it not to heart them, only delay them and teleported away, and the monster not quite getting its instructions attacked and the heroes fought back, promising to save their loved ones and Teddy from the stallion pretending to be his father.

It changes again. Now Bright Eyes is rushing to Princess Rosy.

"STOP!"

"What's wrong, Bright Eyes?" Rosy asked.

"It will never work! The spell, so many wishes and contradictions, the universe itself wouldn't be able to handle it! It would destroy...everything!"

"But after so much has been put into the spell, if we stop now it will make a lot of ponies angry."

"It's not worth the risk!"

Countless years have passed. There was no disaster; the cities were gleaming monuments to Magitechnical advancement. On board a spacecraft a unicorn descendant of mine stepped into the middle of a command center.

"The Equestria has been cleared for departure. We have friends out there among the stars, so let's go meet them."

The ship turned to the night sky and in an instant flew out into deep space.
-
Now I see myself in preschool. So many ponies I don't know, I feel scared.

"Hi!" said a pink pony my age. "My name is Pinkie Pie! What's yours?"

"C-Clover."

"Ok, Clover. We are going to be bestest best friends!"
-
I looked at a green pony with a three rock candies cutie mark armed with a sword looked at a bunch of smiling balls of fur.

"So you've been down here miles below ground for thousands of years living in harmony with the Queen of the Pig People? And you just saved me after the Winter Queen tried to 'dispose' of me now I'd done her dirty work?"

"Yep!" "Uh-Huh!" "Bushwoolies live her long long!" "Looong time!"

"So you'll help me?"

"Yep!" "Uh-Huh!" "Bushwoolies Help!" "help lots!"

+++

It was . . . it was the castle where Starlight died . . . but where was . . . Starlight! She was driving AWAY from the castle?

She was going to see Ms. Hackney after all, her beloved teacher, and be with her in her final hours if the spell couldn't bring back the dead as Starlight feared it just might not be able to do.

The explosion happened, and a shard of something pierces Staright in the eye as she's knocked out.

When she came too, she had dried blood from one eye, but it was fine . . . but now her blue eyes was one blue and one rainbow colored, almost like crystal. And she could feel them, where the other six pieces were. She healed almost at once, she felt magic running through her at a level she didn't think was possible for a living pony! Pegasus, Earth Pony, Unicorn, Seapony, Flutterpony, there was no border to her anymore, all magic, making it work felt so trivial! She floated with telekinesis and bend a small beam of light between her hooves and put in a ball of water like it was a jar, she turned a pebble into a seed and made the seed bloom into a flower.

And it meant nothing . . . because through the other pieces, like they were a part of her (or she was part of the rainbow of light), she felt it, she had killed the world.

"Starlight? Starlight is it you?!"

"Logan?"

"Starlight? Are . . . are you okay? What happened?"

" . . . I think I murdered the world . . . Will you help me find redemption Logan? I have a whole world to restore." And maybe find some pain killers for the two aches in her shoulders and the piercing pain in her forehead. "I promise, we'll heal this world, that'll be my try at one tiny bit of redemption . . . "

The green pony with a pink mane again, except now she was in a castle, with a big hole in the roof, through more than one floor. "I need to get up there! . . . Why am I talking to myself?" She look around the make-shift amphitheater chamber, and brightened she saw some plants . . . one looked like a cactus and I think the other one was a fern. She galloped over to them and drew her sword and said, "Okay! How did this go? Right! Season of Spring! Oh right need to touch the ground with the sword too! Season of spring!" The two plants began at once to climb up the wall until they were nearly at the top like vines. "Okay, let's go! OUCH! Why did it have to be a cactus?"
-
+

Pinkie, "Oh, Minty gets to star in a Zelda parody!"

"Pinkie!"

"Sorry Twilight!"

+
-
Things have changed once again. Shady is in the middle of the woods in labor. She soon gives birth to something. It is a bizarre mish-mash of different animals, in spite of that she isn't repulsed though it seemed to be a very difficult labor.
-
In the middle of a blizzard an old unicorn stallion with a long beard came to the middle of a ghost town. Icy spirits seemed to surround him. In the middle of the storm there was a baby's cry. The Stallion went to its source and found an infant purple unicorn filly wrapped a baby blanket, the one I made into an heirloom.

"Clover," he said reading my name on the blanket. He then looked at the baby's dead parents, an Earth Pony and a Unicorn. "A half-blood, so they died trying to protect you from the mob that froze here."

The icy spirits seemed to back away at his pity for the orphan.

"Come on, Clover. Let's go home."

Bahamut's Rest is right in front of me. I see the bridge complete, gardens and houses prospering across the ravine. Then winter comes, the longest winter I have ever seen. Bahamut's Rest becomes a ghost town in the cold, completely forgotten. The borders of now medieval pony civilization shrink. When the winter ends Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi all begin to resettle. Later what looks like an older version of Shady's mismatched baby drives all the ponies away and then throws a castle on the town that looks like it was designed by either a modern artist or someone who lived in an insane asylum.

A thousand years pass the castle is abandoned, more time passes, a white winged unicorn with a rainbow mane comes and turns the fortress into the most beautiful castle I have ever seen. Ponies start coming back and build a town near the castle; the town grows into a city bigger, more beautiful and more prosperous than I ever imagined Bahamut's Rest could ever be.

Now I am in space, the white winged unicorn with the rainbow mane is standing in front of what I can only describe as a hole in the universe. She is not alone; at her side is a blue winged unicorn with a mane of stars. I also see the four winged unicorns I saw as statues and more beside them, eighteen in all. They channel all of their magic into the hole shrinking it, sealing it, healing it. The hole is gone but they look so weak now, withered, it looked like they were going to die. Then a pair of voices boom out.

"AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING, SO SHALL IT BE AGAIN OUR CHILDREN. UNTIL THE TIME YOU MAY RECLAIM YOUR FULL STATE AND GROW BACK INTO YOUR RIGHTFUL PLACES!"

I now see a place that, I'm not sure if place is too much or not enough to describe it. I see two winged unicorns, one a stallion who seems to the universe in and of himself, the other a mare that seemed to be made of light, no, life itself.

"The Mortals May Have Trouble Adjusting For The Millennia This Will Take," The stallion said.

"IN THEIR SUBCONSCIOUS," said the mare. "THEY WILL NOT NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT AS WHAT OUR CHILDREN ARE STILL LIVES."

"Agreed, It Has Been Quite Some Time Since They All Shared This State."

"IT IS BETTER THAN THE DAMAGE DONE IF WE INTERVENED DIRECTLY. THOUGH STRIFE WILL BE REASONABLY... MIFFED IN THE INTERIM, WE WILL GUIDE THEM ONCE MORE. MEANWHILE GAIA, VERITAS, THALIA, ANASI, AND THE OTHERS KNOW WE BELIEVE IN THEM IN THE MEANTIME."

I then see at their feet are eighteen winged unicorns just like the ones I had seen; only all of them were happy little babies.
-
Things change once again; I just see... the gate. The chains fall off and the doors swing out...

The whole world is burning! The skies, the seas, everything! Every living thing is in pain and suffering, and they are all laughing as if they enjoy it! No, it is like they all share the same sadistic mind that is enjoying the flames that burn everything that is and ever will be. Unendingly, forever...

++++

"SHADY IS DISCORD'S MOM!?" Pinkie Pie's eyes crossed. "WHO THE HAY WAS THE FATHER-?!" Her mane and tail frazzled.

"Such a shocking truth!
I feel I have lost all my youth!"

'Uh, oops.' Twilight and Luna looked at each other sharing the same thought. Mortal and goddess both having forgotten neither Pinkie or Zecora were in the know to this particular secret.

Luna folded her wings hard against her body and her tail and wings drooped. "That ... tis a long and unpleasant story. We shall only say Shady lost her son who loved her very much long before Discord was sealed in stone."

++++

I find myself back where I was, in front of the gate, still chained.

"Open the gate," said Dad.

"I just saw so many things," I said. "One was so horrible..."

"A trick!" says Mom. "Ignore it and open the gate."

"Yes..." says Starlight. But her voice seems so hollow, empty of herself. "Open it."

"We will miss you," says Bon Bon. "Have a nice forever."

"Girls..." I say. "What's wrong with you?"

"They're just sad," says Meadowlark. "Just open the gate like they asked."

That creepy feeling from before has been cranked up to eleven. I feel so scared. But then it hits me.

"No," I told them flatly.

"Don't you care about what happens to your family?" said dad. "To Dandy?"

"Don't you?"

"Of course we do, Clover," says mom. "We are your family."

"Are you? Mom, Dad and Meadowlark would never tell me to just cast my friends aside. So if you want it opened you're going to have to do your zombie thing to me like you did to those shadow things and my friends."

They came right next to my face; it feels like the temperature just went up to four hundred degrees just now.

"OPEN THE GATE!" the three of them said at once. "OR WE WILL DESTROY THE LIGHT AND SHADOW OF YOUR SOUL FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!"

I actually laughed at that threat. "You can't control me can you? You need me to be myself to open it, willingly. Well you can forget it! I'm never touching that thing!"

I looked at the statues again and felt like I understood them now. The ones facing the door seemed to like a dad telling a mugger, "You shall never hurt my child," and the ones facing away were like a mom saying "Don't touch this, it will hurt you."

My fake family's hooves and manes burst into flame, their eyes, mouths and nostrils glowed as if a furnace was just behind them. They grew bigger as their coats darkened to the color of ash, they grew horns and not just on their foreheads but all over the tops of their heads and a few on their bodies as well. They weren't like the fake dad of Teddy I had seen in the visions, not in the least. That thing at least had felt familiar. It looked like they were going to strike me in anger.

Then an elderly winged unicorn with a wheel cutie mark had appeared right in front of me forcing them back. "She is lost to you," she said. "Your plan has failed."

"Ugh," I heard from Bright Eyes. They were all snapping out it! I saw threads of flames appear, connected from my fake family to my friends and burn out into nothing.

"Get OUT OF MY brain! Mind! Whatever!" snapped Bon Bon.

"Only Ace is allowed in here!" Melody hissed.

"The last thing that happened before I felt those things worm inside is following Clover into Limbo," said Starlight. "I ran and found her in front of this gate then Clover's family blocked us and then I was trying to think thoughts and do things but was being blocked."

"I have severed their infestation of you," said an Alicorn filly standing where the old mare was a moment ago. "Their projections are weak enough that it was easy for me to do on my own."

"Projections?" asked Sweetheart. "You mean those things aren't even here?"

"They are here as much as you can cast a shadow on a wall. They have only a fraction of the power of the ones imprisoned beyond the gate."

"So they were trying to get me to free them," I said. "But who are they, who are you?"

The filly suddenly grew and matured into an adult bigger than I was. In addition to the wheel cutie mark she had broken shackles around her ankles. I recognized her as one of the mares from the statues.

"I am Rota Fortuna, the Tenth Tarot, concept of Time, Destiny, Fate, and Free Will."

"Ok you lost me," said Bon Bon. "Starlight taught us all she knew about the Alicorns and the Draconequi but I don't understand what's happening here."

"Back when your kind was still very young, these beings came to our universe. Their reality was lost to them so out of hatred and spite they chose to make this reality and all that would branch from it since their arrival places of eternal suffering and torment where their minds would dominate all others forcing them so their bodies were merely another set of senses and limbs while others' minds were only along for the ride. It went against the will of the Mother of All Alicorns who desired living things to possess free-will and the Mother of All Draconequi who desired all things to end. The only time They ever really agreed on anything. So My Mother sent myself, and my siblings Princeps, Imperatrix, and Justitia to do battle against them while the Draconequi stood guard at Their Mother's orders to prevent these invaders from escaping back into another plane, Their Mother would not allow these invaders to go unpunished.

Together the four of us we were able to seal them away behind the Gates of Tartarus, the prison of destructive and corruptive forces that do not fit into the domains of Limbo or Pony Hell, for what we hoped would be till their end."

"But why me?" I asked. "Why not some other soul? Any other soul?"

"They spoke the truth when they said the gates exist as pairs on the physical and spiritual planes. The one on the physical plane has been lost to mortals for ages but when found and when my kind can influence your world again, one of us will place a guard that will deter curious mortals, not to mention the countless smaller gates that divide up the other lesser prisoners who wait for their rage and hate to fade. And for total freedom, both gates must be opened at the same time, however, the gate opening for either would still enable them to reek devastation on that plane of reality. But in a real way this gate opening would be much worse than the mortal one. The gate on the spiritual plane however is more restrictive, it can only be opened by a select few; My Mother or Father, the Mother or Father of the Draconequi, one of the four who made the gate or a soul who in life had a particularly strong connection to one of the four of us. In your case Clover, you are connected to me."

"I'm connected to you?" I suddenly felt like I was Rosy did when she found out she was a princess, only many times over.

"We Alicorns at times live mortal lives in order to remember what makes life precious and worth protecting, I did so as well. I was born, matured, grew old, died, and most importantly had children, those children are your ancestors Clover. You were born with a rare gift, you were subconsciously able to see and direct the many paths of probability to one that would be of most need or benefit to you. You are a force of me."

"My luck."

"It has been increasing in power ever since the overwhelming magical release of the day of Destruction. When I sensed that you were about to open the gate I momentarily expanded that ability so you could see the branching paths of reality, ultimately directing your mind to the one you needed to see most, what the results of your near future actions would be. And so their scheme was thwarted."

"Only for now," said the fake dad. "Like you we are eternal and we are patient. This path to freedom is closed but there are others. Our emancipation is only a matter of time."

"I am time. And while your escape is a possibility, it is one I will deny and reject with all my power."

"That won't be enough."

"We're not afraid you now," said Starlight. "You definitely seem weaker than any Alicorn or Draconequis I know of."

"What you see this projection as now is only what your limited spirits can comprehend. Only the Alicorns, Draconequi, and the Shadows who Watch, Make and Control can perceive us as we truly are."

"Yeah, and four Alicorns kicked ALL of your flanks to seal you away in the first place, so I'm pretty sure I can say you're still not that impressive," Melody countered.

I stood right up to my fake family and spoke coldly. "Go to Hell."

"He wouldn't take us. Havoc said that eternal fear and torment for damned souls whose minds would be subsumed by ours would be...boring. I can't say that didn't hurt."

"You should leave all the same," said Rota Fortuna. "Or would you rather I 'kick your flanks', as she so eloquently put it, again?"

"Very well," Fake Dad turned to Fake Mom and Fake Meadowlark. "Withdraw."

"I told you, this plan would never work!" said Fake Meadowlark.

Fake Mom snorted. "At least it got us closer than that stupid Whispering Plague of yours! All those mortals driven mad and not one got even close to the gate!"

"Wait," said Sweetheart. "That was you!? You are the Whispers?!"

"Yes," said Fake Meadowlark. "And getting in your disgusting little fleshy heads was worth it just for the kicks."

"Clover, open the gate," said Sweetheart. "I'm going to tear them apart!"

"Um, no." I said.

"Worth a shot," said Fake Mom.

"They are lying," Rota Fortuna said. "Their bickering just now was a performance. They have no influence on the material world at all as they are now. What you call the whispering plague had nothing to do with them. And they only have about two thousand to four thousand years left before they degrade to nothing due to be foreign entities in creations unless they twist it into theirs. And I wonder how they would feel about the humiliation of six souls and one Alicorn striking down their shadows."

The three became tongues of flame that flew into the gate and went through it. We left that place right after, I had a feeling that my family was going to be fine. Misfortune would befall them, but with hard work and a little luck of their own they would grow from it.

"Come on," said Starlight. "We have a while to wait for Patch but where we're waiting, there's a pizza we're going to share."

That was the best thing I have heard all day.

"That is not your choice quite to make, Starlight." Said Rota Fortuna, "This is Clover's choice. Clover, your real parents and siblings are waiting for you. You are free to go to judgement and be with them. Or you can wait here for Patch with your friends. It'll take her many, many, years, centuries even, for her to complete her quest and rest with you."

" ... If my friends are here, then that's all I need to know!"

"Very well my little pony, if that is the destiny you have chosen."

"Don't you mean chosen wisely?" Bon Bon asked.

"Not all choices are neatly divided into 'wise' and 'unwise' little pony. Many simply are."

"And this is the choice I make, being with my friends, is the most wonderful thing I could ask for right now." I said.

"And that's wonderful to hear!" Starlight cheered as she hugged me, followed by Melody, Sweetheart, Bright Eyes and Bon Bon and I hugged back. I was surprised for only a tiny bit when Rota Fortuna folded one of her two fluffy feathery wings around me too, like it was a precious gift, and I gladly accepted it.

"Uh, Rota Fortuna...if I may ask...the time with the te pot...was that ALSO me subconsciously altering my luck?"

"If you can give yourself good luck, you can give yourself bad as well, simple as that. Such applies to all mortals."

"Uh ... we aren't going to wait for them here are we?"

"Are kidding?" Mel' laughed. "Not on your afterlife."

That was when suddenly we were someplace else that looked a little bit like an office at a big school, but a lot more welcoming and friendly.

Bon Bon said, "Come on Clover, I promise you'll like this slice of Pony Heaven."

"You guys being here makes it heaven enough for now."

+++

Twilight shivered at the section where Rota Fortuna described the unknown evils, " ... something that horrible is inside Tartarus, creatures that love suffering? And wanted to create something as unnatural and cruel as a hive mind?"

Princess Luna said, "There are many species in creation who naturally have a hive mind Twilight Sparkle. And to them, thy individual egos are as terrifying, unnatural, and stupid as a hive mind is to ye. Imagine if every cell in thy body had a face and a conflicting voice, and ye might understand what they would see if they looked upon us."

The image flashed through Twilight's mind and she really wished it hadn't. "I understand."

"And don't worry. As Rota Fortuna explained, the majority of those creatures have faded into nothingness and the only time one has gotten loose, myself and Celestia took care of it without even needing to call for your aid."

"What?!"

"Twilight, not all threats to Equestria require the Elements, and why put the seven of you in danger if we can handle it ourselves?"

"FORGET ABOUT THAT!" Pinkie Diane cheered, "Focus on Clover, Twilight! She's, well she's a lot of things for you! The story isn't quite over yet! There's still some pages left!"

"Indeed.
Let us read."

Twilight simply smiled with her friends and nodded.

+++

=Chrono Cross - Star Stealing Girl=

Dandy had mourned his wife for a couple of months now. She died the same day that tower collapsed but the accident caused no permanent damage to anyone or anything; it was back up the day after. He looked at the half finished bridge as well as the remainder of Bahamut's Rest. The town he and Clover had started the one that grew up with their children and grandchildren, the place he now knew was where he was going to die and he wouldn't have it any other way.

The windmills were steadily grinding their grain, the miners were come up after a long day's work, the flowers and vegetables were growing in the gardens and the laughter of foals echoed in the streets. The days of those who had lived through the worst disaster the world had ever seen were starting to come to an end. Soon the history of the time before would fade into legend.

He looked up to the peak of the Canterhorn and the sky beyond. "Oh Clover, my love and my life I still remember that first day we first fell into one another. The times we spent apart were times I was incomplete. I am coming for you soon, to be where we can watch this town and our descendants grow and prosper forever. Soon, I will be whole again once nature takes its course."

A few hours later Dandy's cane fell from his grip, never to be picked up by its owner again.

+++

Dandy found himself a teenager again standing on a grand stage as a spotlight shone down on him. Across from him another spotlight shone on me, as young and beautiful as when we continued to help each other try to get over each of our four left hooves. We were each dressed as a Harlequin.

"What's all this?" he asked.

"The stage is set," I said. "The time for curtain is almost here, the only thing I am missing is my dancing partner."

"But I never danced a step of ballet in my life."

"Here you only limited by your mind. Shall we begin?"

Dandy came closer to me until the spotlights became one. "I can't think of a better way to start the rest of my afterlife." My Dandy didn't need it explained to him, he knew the moment he saw me that this was not a dream.

We were like poetry, each move flawless. When we were done our friends and family applauded what I knew was only the first of many, many performances.

+++

= 'Live For Live' from Live-A-Live =

These hoof notes we include after we took a vote, and decided it was best if all of us were given a little send off to those who are reading this. Still they let me choose. It is my diary, after all. But I felt that none of us really should go out first or last, so we picked the order of Clover's song to her babies. Death isn't the end, I can tell you this much, and Pony Heaven isn't frozen happiness, we're still growing and changing, into what I don't know, but I can say this, Pony Heaven is Heaven because of the ponies who are there, yes, even Sane Reality. I'm just rambling aren't I? Okay. Here we go, please remember our lives. Ahem. Okay okay guys I'll each let you dictate your own.
-
For every pony who died on the day of the disaster, and for many shortly after, whose hearts could be weighted as neither selfish or selfless, when they began their journey of eternity, a pink teenage filly with a blond mane waited for them in a black robe, who'd warmly greet them, and protect and guide them to let go of their inner demons so they might enter paradise. As she used her own forgiveness as example with this as her self appointed redemption in purgatory. Helping the most lost of souls finding the light? What could be a stronger form of magic?

She is Starlight Sky- The Greeter

She was the mare who would become a saint in death, her skills and then powers growing more fantastic with each generation. She'd inspired countless ponies, including those of her own family, to become healers, doctors, even as the frozen winds of death swept the world. But her family knows her to be real, knows she lived and that they carry her legacy. May her spirit continue to bring kindness to the world.

She is Saint Sweetheart- The Healer

Her songs live on, even now. They will not vanish until the end of time. They will change as cultures and traditions change, but the spirit of them, their inner true meaning will not be forgotten or twisted. Nor will her family ever forsake them as well, and they will remember they are theirs as they kept them hidden treasures even if the reason for their being hidden as long since past. Her songs bring love and joy to the world.

She is Melody- The Silent Songsmith

The pony who was made a clean slate and freed from her hubris.
Even before her sin was revealed to her, she continue to give and give for her family and for her tribe and any who asked it of her instead of focusing only on her own quest for her memories. May ponies continue to be generous with the gift of all magic of all tribes as set by her example.

She is Dr. Bright Eyes - The Restorer

No matter the danger, no matter the monster or villain, she was there. Her dream of becoming a clown lost out to her lust for adventure. She continued far after her time for the sake of others even as the world itself forgot her quest and most of it became her enemy. She didn't forsake them. She never abandoned the world. She stayed loyal to her friends and fellow ponies, neither betraying her quest for them or them for her quest.

She is Patch - The Hero Of Ages

Fate's wheel seemed to always turn her direction, to turn against her, only to turn again in her favor as the wheels of fate will. But she was no toy of destiny. She turned Fate's wheel also in favor of those she loved. And her bloodline one day would at least twice be one of the keys to saving the world and would join with another line of heroes much like her friends. And most amazing of all, she touched the heart of a filly who had fallen into darkness. This would not be the last crossing of their lines.

She is Clover - The Fortuitous Dancer

In life, like most teenage fillies I felt the need to express my ideas and opinion in a place that was private rather than keep them bottled up inside or share things better left unsaid.

I am the one who once faked being ill out of petty jealous of my sick baby brother, then saw how many opportunities I missed with my selfish pretending, then had to take care of my entire family when they became ill for real.

I dressed as a model for a high-school dance to show what I wished to be as a mare, and mistook my friends laughing at Patch the Clown as laughing at me. Teddy saw me, and got the others to look for me, and I almost (accidentally!) fell off a cliff, but Lancer and Starlight saved my life.

Did I ever forgive Patch for the humiliation she put me through and hurt Bright Eyes' grade for her own fun showing off the recording of a destroyed kitchen and a ruin pie after she rushed me through baking it and tapped over Bright Eyes' project? Yes. Eventually.

It was harder to forgive Ace and Teddy when they put on that 'bad guy and bad guy' act just so Ace could charm our lemonade stand's recipe out of me. I'm a sensitive mare who doesn't like her feelings being used. I just wanted a colt who cared. I never thought I'd find Cookie.

I had to eat my words about Patch just being weird when Patch swore she had met magic flying ponies while I was cowering on the floor of the basket of the balloon (that Patch dragged me into!) as we were about to land (and sink) into shark infested waters. That they saved us. I wish had met them to say thank you. At least I got to say thank you to Bright Glow. I'm happy Patch learned her lesson and didn't drag her family on her biggest adventure.

I restored a ruined wedding for Clover's sister, even if I tried to take a taste test first.

I had no clue what I was getting into when I decided on a whim to help Bright Eyes with her quest for the Green-Winged Songbird, I had no idea what I was getting into. But my diary ended up saving us.

It also almost ruined me once. I was so focused on my cooking I failed to study for a math test, so I cheated instead, and confessed my crime to my diary. The diary I lost, but Teddy found, and black mailed me for several little tasks and wanting to go out with him, until he suddenly had a change of heart (or is change by Sweetheart?) and to my surprise handed Ms. Hackney my diary, which I had no clue about until after I confessed my cheating to my teacher so be free of Teddy and face responsibility for my own actions (she hadn't read it, she respected my privacy as a person, student or not). Teddy doing the honorable thing made forgiving him a whole lot easier.

My diary was a just a habit, a hobby, my dreams were to be a model, while my parents would support me but I'd continue to take pride in and hone my skill as a cook.

Then the world fell down. Gourmet Cooks and fashion models had no place in the world. So as I raised Misty's foal and my own children, I did the only thing left I was good at. I wrote, and I kept writing, things I saw, things I heard, and when I met my friends in death, I wrote that all down too. I trust you, the ones reading this, be you ponies, humans, dragons, or robot-gerbil people, to remember our stories, to share them, to let ponies know about them, to let others remember our lessons, and our past, our mistakes, our hopes and dreams and what we did even when the entire world seemed to be out to get us. I thank you for reading this far, I thank you for taking the time to remember the power books have, and I forgive you for reading my diary, in fact, I'm HAPPY you did! Thank you! I had no really grand part to play in anything, but this story began with my point of view and I think it's nice if we end it the same way. Thank you for reading, our little pony tales.

I am Bon Bon - The Diarist Of My Friends

+++

Luna closed the last page of Bon Bon's diary. "And that is all there is."

"We owe so much to all of those ponies," said Twilight Sparkle. "The neighborhood in Canterlot I grew up in is still called Bahamut's Rest. It just doesn't seem fair."

"What is it that you call unfair?" asked Zecora.
"So much that it brings close to despair."

"That all that history, the lives those ponies had lived just gone. Now I know how Pinkie Pie and Lickity Split feel."

"It's not like the world before and it had to be erased," said Pinkie Pie. "Ponies just forgot."

"What are ye suggesting?" asked Luna.

Twilight levitated the Diary close to Luna. "I know most ponies aren't ready for some of the things in this diary like the nature of the spirit world and the lost third age. But the first and second ages are our history. You told me earlier that perhaps our technology may one day surpass that of the Second Age, but it would be a lot easier and safer if we had the knowledge of the Second Age to rely upon. What I am saying is that maybe this history should be given back to the ponies."

Luna took the Diary from Twilight's magic grip. "Tis no wonder ye art our sister's most prized student. Celestia discussed this with us after Princess Gaia's attempt at making a kinder world. She came to the same conclusion as ye did, though it would be through other means that you are suggesting."

"What does Celestia want?"

"She feels, and we have come to agree, that ponies would appreciate this lost history more if they rediscover it themselves. If they had to work to recover this lost knowledge they would make greater efforts to make sure it would never be lost again. She is going to privately fund some digs she will silently direct to a few of the places that hide signs of the lost ages that managed to survive Discord's thousand year rule with the help of the Paradise Pony, Masquerade eons before. Both the lost technology of the Earth Ponies and the lost magic of the Unicorns and Pegasi. She also suggested that we guide the dreams of a few archeologists so that they will draw the right conclusions."

"Princess Luna ... I'd like you to pass along to Princess Celestia, I'd like to help in that regard in any way possible, after everything I've learned, I want to help it be remembered again."

"We swear we shall indeed pass on thou request Twilight Sparkle, we think our sister would grant thy wish."

"But there are still some unanswered questions," said Twilight said. "Who put those mares' stories together in that diary and how could they be able to write about the things that happened in the lost world or after they died?"

"Excellent questions indeed, Twilight Sparkle. However they art ones we no longer have time to answer tonight. Other responsibilities call to us. We shall take ye and Miss Pinkie Diane home. Ye too Lady Zecora. You may keep the diary Twilight, you should keep it with Razzaroo's book."

"Thanks," Twilight said taking the diary back. "I will."

"Before giving us all a lift," said Zecora.
"For Pinkie Pie I have a gift."

Zecora gave Pinkie Pie a small satchel. Pinkie opened it a found a number of berries in seven colors.

"Rainbow Berries?!" said Pinkie. "But I thought these didn't exist anymore, or ever now that I think about it."

"One day while I ran from an angry bee hive,
I found a place in the forest where these berries did thrive.
When I saw them I thought of you.
Now I know why this is true."

"Thank you, Zecora. I'll take the seeds and grow a few bushes of them; the Cakes can make some really yummy stuff with these!"

"Speaking of which," said Twilight. "You still need that book on rainbow spices don't you?"

"Oh yeah! I better get it and get back home; it's late enough as it is."

"I do not mean to be surly
But at this time it would be better to say 'early.'"

All the ponies made a small chuckle and hugged one another.

A small folded piece of paper fell out of the closed diary. Pinkie Pie picked it up first.

"P.S. Here's a recipe for Rainbow Berry Cake since yours got erased from existence. Hope you enjoy. - B.B."

Twilight stared in awe. Luna smiled. Zecora whispered a prayer to her ancestors.

Pinkie Pie chuckled, "Thanks BonBon."

Luna teleported herself, Twilight and Pinkie away while Zecora walked home, the never was village was silent once again.

"OH NO YA DON'T!" Pinkie Diane's voice echoed and suddenly Luna teleported them back.

"Miss Pinkie Diane, what tis the source of thy anger?" Princess Luna wondered.

"Not happening! Nope! Nada! Forget! NEGATORY!" Pinkie Pie did x's with her hooves. "You're right, Twilight! I have had to read six or seven times over tonight seeing the world this place was built in honor of being erased and the ponies with it even if it wasn't their fault! You convinced me not to just fade away because I was born from a dream! Well guess what? I'm not letting this place fade away either! The Everfree doesn't get any trophies today!" Pinkie Pie took out a sheet of paper and a pen and began writing down details of every building and its location and its state of construction and decay. "Twilight, after we get back, I'd like you to see what materials we'll need to finish, don't worry I'll pay for it, I'll just cut back on parties for a while, oh, jaw off the floor, that joke's been run into the ground. I patented the Party Cannon after all! You didn't know that?! Can you send a letter to Princess Celestia? Just ask her if she'd like this place as her private vacation spot, or if she'd like it more if I made it a public park for Ponyville's foals! Of course if she says the second one that I'll need some unicorns and pegasi to move all this stuff to outside Everfree! Nopony likes a theme park in a haunted forest outside of video games! Though it'll make a great project for Fluttershy's therapy in helping the Sunnytown ponies remember what being good feels like!" Smoke nearly came off the paper as Pinkie Pie wrote down and switched to another paper a second later.

"PINKIE PIE! You can't just tell everypony about the lost age!"

"OH SILLY TWILIGHT! Of course I'm not! Do you think I'm STILL crazy?! But the spirit of this place! The feeling it has! The ideals it has! I am NOT letting that fade away and be forgotten again!!! Even if it's just a theme park to everypony else, even if it ends up being just a fad, even if it's still abandoned someday, THIS Ponyville at least then got a chance to LIVE, it'll exist then in popular culture, in the hearts and minds of ponies again instead of a forgotten dream! And that'll be my gift to Starsong Melody, and all my other friends who can't be here! Go ahead Twilight Sparkle! Tell me that I'm wrong for that!"

Twilight looked at the Pinkie Pony, smiled and slowly shook her head, "You're not wrong Pinkie Pie, not in the least. If this is what you want, then I'm willing to help. If the Princesses are willing to help my dream come true for what's lost, then the least I can do is the same for you." Twilight nuzzled her. "Like friends should."

"And that is all she wrote." Zecora smiled.
"Now let us all leave on a happy note!"

"Verily," Luna said as the ponies vanished again, but the lonely incomplete town, wouldn't remain lonely or incomplete forever more.

+++

Spike the next morning found Twilight instead of going through her precious scheduled morning, was copy downing some text from a little old pink book.

"Morning, Twilight ... what are you doing?"

"I found some old family history of one of Ponyville's residents in this book last night. The book's too important to leave the library, and a lot of it is ... too sensitive. But there's also a ton in here that's the inheritance of some ponies who have a right to know they can be proud of their families. And it's time they remembered."

And a few hours later.

"Uh, oh! Hello Miss Twilight Sparkle!"

"Hello Bon Bon, or should I say, Moth?"

"?! How'd you tell?"

"Heh. Don't be silly, the stories about identical twins acting exactly alike are just stories. You may look like her, but you're your own pony. Not that I need to tell you that."

"Oh ... thank you very much, Miss Twilight."

"So is Bon Bon home?"

"Oh yes she is! Bon Bon! You have a visitor!"

"Who is it? Oh my! Twilight Sparkle? What is it?"

Twilight took out some transcript pages. "I believe I have something that belongs to your family."

+++

"Thank you for finding that Diary for us," said Luna.

(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): It was our pleasure.)

(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): It was long, but lots of fun too.)

"Yes it was. If you happen to see Razzaroo, give her our regards."

(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Don't worry, we will.)

7 Dreams/Nightmares ~New Beginnings

Royal Time Capsule Debate By Persona22 (optional canon)

View Online

Author's Notes:

NOTE! This takes place after the Rumors Arc Of the Finale Season of the Pony POV Series! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

Time capsule discovered. But what it might show might be too dangerous to reveal all at once. Princesses debate.

Written By Persona22
Edited by Alex Warlorn
Edited by Mtangalion
Edited by quantum-plasma-field
Edited by docontra

Optional Canon.

<u> FOR FREAKIN' HEAVEN'S SAKE check out the ton of recursive fanfics of this fanfiction series. A lot of heart went into them! They also answer a lot of unaswered questions. http://mlp-pony-pov-series.deviantart.com/ For heaven sake they rock! Kendell2 and Oracle Mask and Richforce and Ardashir and Jawmax and Persona22 and Dragon of Twilight and ItsFromPeople and all the rest!!! </u> http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/journal/Pony-POV-Series-Fanworks-fanmedia-By-Category-332817406 Seriously, they rock.

JOIN THE PONY POV SERIES GROUP! Oh come on please? I post stuff there that you won't see elsewhere! (Maybe.) http://mlp-pony-pov-series.deviantart.com/

MLP Copyright Hasbro

Don't forget the trope page. It's REALLY not been updated lately, at all. (Does anyone read this anymore?)
<b>http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/PonyPOVSeries</b>

Optional-Canon

The young archaeologist, an Earth Pony stallion, paced back and forth, repeating in his head over and over what he was going to say as he checked and double checked the papers he had prepared to show the Princesses.

He had asked for this audience a few days ago and was given this date and time, just after sunset, since it was one of the two times of day when both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were awake. He wished that he could have spoken to Cadence as well, but that simply wasn’t possible with her schedule. His discovery was important, certainly worthy of their attention, and everything was arranged, but he still felt nervous. The news he had to deliver could make him sound like a madpony if he delivered it poorly, if he screwed this up in some way…

“Mr. Digsite?” asked a Unicorn mare wearing glasses and a red cravat, approaching the stallion.

He was startled but quickly replied. “It’s actually Dr. Digsite. Dr. Ancient Digsite, archaeologist at your service.”

“Both Princesses are ready to see you now,” replied the mare, seemingly used to such introductions. Given the wide variety of ambassadors that graced the castle, it was no surprise. “Follow me please.”

Dr. Digsite followed the mare down the hallway and towards the throne room, where she opened the double doors and stepped inside, bowing. “Your Highnesses, Dr. Digsite is here to see you.”

“Thank you, Raven,” answered the voice of Princess Celestia from inside the throne room. “Tell him to come in.” Dr. Digsite had never met her in person, nor Princess Luna, but of course he’d been to public events and heard them speak.

“They’ll see you now,” said the mare, beckoning.

Dr. Digsite nodded and thanked the mare for her help as he entered the throne room.

He was impressed to say the least. He’d seen pictures of the room in newspapers before, but standing in the real thing was a different experience altogether. He looked at the stained glass windows, representing history recent and past. Seeing them up close was beautiful, the meaning behind them even more so.

“Dr. Ancient Digsite, I presume? To what purpose did you request an audience with my sister and I?” Celestia’s voice reminded him that he wasn’t here to play tourist. Dr. Digsite stopped gawking at the big throne room and focused his attention on the far end of the hall, where both Princess Celestia and Luna were waiting for him, sitting on their respective thrones. Both Princesses towered over him, but they had a certain… larger than life presence to them that made it seem like they towered even higher. Not something they were actively doing, it was just… who they were.

He coughed a little, feeling nervous all over again, and made his way towards the two Princesses. “Yes, thank you very much for receiving me on such short notice. I know you both must be very busy, and I’m very grateful you were able to arrange an audience with me in just a few days.

“Now then… I’m not sure if you are familiar with my work, but I’m an archaeologist. I specialize in the period of the unification of the Three Tribes. Several of my finds have been exhibited in the Manehattan Museum of Equestrian History.”

“We can’t speak for our sister,” said Princess Luna, “but we have indeed seen these relics of which thou speakest. The artifacts thou hast found on Star Swirl the Bearded were most impressive, especially the candlestick that he used to light the way when he explored the caverns of Maretania.”

“Thank you, Princess Luna.” Dr. Digsite was actually impressed by Princess Luna’s response, and a little proud from hearing praise from her. He shook it off as quickly as possible, he was here on very important business, the most important discovery not only of his career, but probably of all time.

“I was conducting a dig in southern Equestria, when I came upon a strange but amazing find,” he explained. “One of our surveying spells detected an enormous metal box buried in the ground, as big as this very throne room. When we excavated the box, it was immediately apparent that its craftsmanship was like nothing we’ve seen before, not bronze or gold or copper or ordinary iron… It almost looked like modern steel, but it had resisted rust impossibly well for something that had been in the ground for a long time. Furthermore, we found a door on one side, with inscriptions in an unknown language imprinted on the metal itself.

“Naturally, my first thought was that the box must be modern, some secret project of the Minotaurs, perhaps. I ordered samples of the surrounding rocks sent to a local Rock Farm while I worked on translating the inscriptions. When the results came back the next day, though, we were shaken right down to our hooves. The rock strata in which the box had been buried was ancient, predating the Three Tribes era by more than one thousand years!”

Both Celestia and Luna were surprised at this. They looked at each other, then back at Dr. Digsite, “Please, do continue,” Princess Celestia encouraged him.

“It seemed a dream come true. Everything we know about the time before the Three Tribes is fogged over by myths and legends. To think that we had stumbled across such a find, one than might be even greater than artifacts and journals unearthed near Ponyville recently... We had to make absolutely certain. I hired a specialist, a Unicorn with a cutie mark for advanced divination, to cast a dating spell on the metal box itself. His results were the same! The box is, without a doubt, older than the Three Tribes era by more than a millennium.”

Princess Celestia edged forward in her seat, looking at him intently. “Were you able to translate the inscription of the door?” She remembered having to save Daring Do from radiation sickness after another find from that period.

“Yes.” replied Dr. Digsite. “Fortunately, ancient languages are my own special talent. I doubt there are many ponies alive today who could have puzzled it out, considering how few samples we had at that point. The language appears to be a precursor to what we call Old Ponish, and the inscription on the door read as follows…‘The ponies of Ponyland leave behind this Time Capsule, sealed in vacuum, so that ponies from the future might find it and learn how their ancestors used to live.’ Then it said ‘Buried in’ followed by a series of numbers, likely a date containing the number of years since the founding of this ‘Ponyland,’ though that’s only my best guess.”

When they heard the name ‘Ponyland,’ both Princesses were in awe, their eyes big as saucers. They quickly shook it off, hiding their surprise as best as they could. “Are… are thou certain about this?” asked Princess Luna, “The inscription said the ponies of Ponyland buried it?”

“Yes, quite positive,” replied Dr. Digsite. “I brought back these pictures of the inscription, along with my translation for you to see.” He offered some of the papers he had brought with him, and Celestia and Luna took them with their magic, studying them closely.

“Thine translation does seem to be correct,” said the Princess of the Night. “This is a most remarkable find.”

Dr. Digsite frowned a bit at that, but decided to humor her. Princess Luna couldn’t actually know that primordial language better than he now knew it, after all. As an archaeologist, he knew better than most ponies than the Princesses were old, but not THAT old. Most likely she was only guessing, based on her familiarity with Old Ponish.

He nodded to Luna, confident in his conclusions, and also completely right and wrong on one key point. While they had been born on Paradise Estate after the end of the Age of Wonders, Celestia Amaterasu Solaris Equestria and Luna Nyx Selena Equestria's greater selves were older than world itself, and there was much about their lives and their true nature that they’d only entrusted to the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, in recent times.

In truth, neither Celestia nor Luna needed to read the translation. They could read it perfectly themselves, and they even knew the calendar system. It was dated just a year prior to the ponies of the second era rediscovering magic, reuniting with the Pegasi, Unicorns, Flutter, and Sea Ponies, and subsequently preparing the Wishing Spell. For the Earth Ponies, it was a time when technology reigned supreme, and magic and the other tribes was but a myth to them.

“Did… did you open the door of this Time Capsule?” asked Princess Celestia.

Dr. Digsite smiled. “Indeed, we did!” Celestia frowned, clearly troubled by this news, but Luna seemed delighted. There was something suspicious about their reactions, but he quickly dismissed them. This was far too important to be bogged down by trivialities!

“When we broke the seal on the door by turning the circular crank handle, we were immediately buffeted by a strong gust of wind flowing into the box. It seems that when the door inscription spoke of the Time Capsule being sealed in vacuum, it meant the entire volume of the box, and what’s more, that vacuum was still intact after all this time!” Dr. Digsite paused for effect. “This in itself was remarkable, but that feat was NOTHING compared to what I found inside. When I saw what lay beyond the door, I knew it was time to contact both your highnesses and experts in every field.” He handed a stack of photographs to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. “Just look at these, and you’ll see what I mean.” The two Princesses looked through them, with very different reactions.

“I can scarcely begin to describe it in words,” said Dr. Digsite, gazing off into space as if he was seeing it all again for the first time. “The interior walls of the Time Capsule were covered in images that were neither paintings or drawings. They were photographs, photographs of such size, quality, and detail as to beggar the imagination. There is nothing like that today in all of Equestria or even beyond, that I know of. They showed images of ponies, only Earth Ponies, curiously... never Pegasi or Unicorns, wearing strange clothes and doing all sorts of things from every walk of life. At least, I assume they were Earth Ponies… the photographs showed them walking on two legs more often than four! Which if true confirms the hypothesis that our hip joints being shaped as they are is indeed a relic of an era when we did so!

“What’s more, the Time Capsule was full of strange models and incredible devices, with more photographs depicting them in actual use. Some of them had an obvious purpose, and others I could only guess at. Others were shockingly familiar… we found a typewriter just like that a pony might use in an office today, except that it had their letters on the keys instead of ours!

“One particular machine resembled one of our carriages… but enclosed and made of metal, with the finest glass I’ve ever seen in the windows, and metal wheels protected by a strangely pliant black material. The photographs showed these vehicles traveling about with ponies riding inside, and no one pulling them! A ponyless carriage, one might call it.

“The Time Capsule even contains machines meant to fly through the air, if the photographs are to be believed, and I don’t mean hot air balloons. They look more like giant metal birds, of all things! I was tempted to dismiss them as fantasy, just props for some sort of science fiction play, but a Pegasus in my work crew swore that the machine WOULD fly, if it could only move fast enough, only he couldn’t see how it would. You’ll have to question him yourself, your highnesses. His talk of ‘lift’ and ‘aerodynamics’ was quite beyond me.

"There were mundane items like dolls of ponies, but again, just Earth Ponies, no Pegasi or Unicorns. There were bottles of liquid made with more of that fine glass. We didn't open them yet, but a few passive spells revealed them to be something akin to soda-pop! And ... I am ... reluctant to reveal this, but as an archaeologist it's my responsibility, there were figurines of a group of ponies happily eating meat as their primary diet! And meat of hooved creatures! I cannot say I am not disturbed by this." The good doctor wondered how the princesses could hear that without a single expression of shock or disgust. It must have been too stunning for them!

"There were samples of seeds of species that I'm still waiting to hear back from the botanist to see if any are of unknown or extinct species.

"One of the devices was a crank-turned vinyl record player, with a collection of records! That one really was too much… I began to doubt everything, wondering if the whole time capsule might yet be an elaborate hoax, or even the result of time travel! I had to contact a certain Gifted Unicorn, Miss Minuette of Canterlot, to have her personally confirm there was no chrono-magic involved, and to verify one more time the ancient age of the samples.

"With that established… brace yourselves for a bit of a shock, your highnesses. The ancient mechanism was too deteriorated to work, of course, but our tinker was able to cobble together a substitute, and we played back some of the records! Actual voices, from the depths of history, speaking once again!

"The records included songs from a musician group called the 'Rockin' Beats,' and speeches of various ponies I did not recognize even covered by the fog of myths. Plus a recording that seemed to have been made specifically for the time capsule. That stallion who introduced himself as Dr. Moon Shadow… even now, his words haunt me. He said, and I quote, 'The world is engaged in burying our civilization forever, and here in this crypt we leave it to you.'"

Dr. Digsite took a deep breath. “Lastly, at the very back of the Time Capsule, we found a series of shelves filled with books and documents. Well, not quite literal books or they'd have aged to dust by now, but metal engraved sheets, and near microscopic pieces of photo-film! All printed with technology that wasn't invented for centuries after the founding of Equestria! There was such a wealth of material that I might spend years if I had to translate it all myself, but sampling a few items, I found blueprints and plans for the strange devices, and even instructions for operating them. It struck me then… not in one single document had I seen any reference to magic, only mechanical or electrical power. Not even normal Earth Pony magic that was common knowledge in the days of the Three Tribes!"

He then got a look that reminded Celestia of Twilight. "There were archived periodicals like our daily newspapers, and some of the books actually were works of fiction! What a treasure trove of lost culture! Legends and stories forgotten by time! It could tell us so much about how those ancient ponies lived and how their culture developed! There were even documents of how their government functioned and their laws!

“Interestingly enough, the fiction books support my previous assumption. From skimming the summaries and cover plates, it was clear to me that they considered true magic and flying ponies to be things of myth with no basis in fact. There was an entire shelf devoted to the legend of Megan, depicting her as an almost godlike figure, to the point where I wondered if they were religious texts.”

He then showed pictures of one article in particular. "I’m sure you’ll find this of particular interest. This is a book of pony medicine, with knowledge that our expedition doctor said might be years beyond us! What's more, some of these techniques are attributed to none other than Saint Sweetheart! If this is true, then it's possible she was a member of this lost civilization and preserved some of its knowledge for us! It's almost too impossible to believe, but there it is! If this is true, her legend may be even more wondrous than we ever imagined!"

As he spoke, Dr. Digsite paced back and forth, his enthusiasm getting the better of him, “Just imagine what we can learn from all this. Equestrian technology could advance beyond our wildest dreams. Our scientists and engineers need to know of this. All of Equestria needs to know of this. That is why I came to see you first. This find is too big for me. I need a team of experts, and funds to continue my research, so that we may categorize everything inside that Time Capsule, make copies of every document, translate all of them, have experts of all fields of science and technology analyze everything in there and…”

“No need for further explanation, Dr. Digsite, we completely understand,” replied Celestia, though her smile wasn’t as radiant as usual. “However, for the time being, perhaps it would be best if…”

Princess Luna interrupted Princess Celestia before she could finish. “Pardon us, Dr. Digsite, but my sister and I need to discuss this in private first. It’s a substantial commitment of resources, after all.”

Dr. Digsite was surprised at this, but he nodded reluctantly. “Yes, of course. I understand.”

“Please, come back tomorrow at this same hour,” said Princess Luna, “and we shall have everything ready for you. May we keep the pictures thou brought? We presume thou hast other copies.”

“Yes, of course, Princess Luna.” He bowed. “Thank you again for granting me this audience. By your leave, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” With that, the archaeologist pony turned around and walked out of the throne room.

Luna motioned impatiently, and the two guards on duty saluted, retreating from the audience hall and shutting the ornate doors behind them. Then she gave Celestia a sternly disappointed glare.

“Sister, I just…” started the Sun Princess.

“We need to talk,” said Luna. “NOW.” She collected the pictures in her magic and teleported them, herself, and Celestia to a secret room in the palace. A room known only to them, accessible only by teleport. Here, they kept shrines to ALL of the pony tribes, those known and those once forgotten: Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, Flutter Ponies, and Sea Ponies, with two more recently added for Thestrals and Changelings.

“You were going to refuse his request, weren’t you?” said an exasperated Luna.

Celestia looked away, “Not outright… I was going to recommend caution, that the Time Capsule be kept secret while we determined what knowledge could safely be revealed to the public.”

“Oh, and for how LONG were you going to suggest he conceal and deny the greatest find of his career as an archaeologist?” asked a skeptical Luna.

“A few years, at least… we just need to…”

Luna didn’t let her finish, “Years? YEARS!?”

Celestia sighed, shaking her head. “What are a few years to a civilization? I never thought we’d have to deal with something like this, sister. The magical flux of the Disaster destroyed every piece of advanced technology on the planet, or so we believed. It’s only the most extraordinary chance that the enclosed metal shell and vacuum protected this cache from forces that the scientists of Ponyland couldn’t have imagined.”

Luna stamped her hoof angrily, refusing to be diverted. “Sister, this pony has stumbled upon a discovery of such magnitude that it can only be compared to when Patch found Paradise Estate! This discovery changes everything! The ponies of the past preserved it, and the ponies of today found this on their own! This is THEIR knowledge, we have NO RIGHT to keep it away from them!”

Undaunted, Celestia sorted through the photographs and showed one of them to Luna. “I had no intention of burning it or some nonsense. But tell me, sister, what do you see in this picture?”

The photograph made Luna hesitate, giving her a chill that cooled her anger for the moment. “It is a gun… one of the more modern models of that era.”

“And this one?” Celestia showed her another picture.

“An Armored Pony Carrier,” said Luna. She frowned at the explosive launcher mounted on the back. “For transporting police and soldiers when they suppressed riots or fought criminal gangs.”

Celestia put down the pictures, “Do not forget, sister. No civilization, not the minotaurs or separated Columbia or the centaurs or even Tirek’s dark empire ever reached the technological heights that Ponyland did, or their war-making potential… and Ponyland had no rivals, no need to wage total war against anypony." Thankfully, Megan and her siblings had never felt a need to bring over books related to Earth's more disturbing weapons. With the witches defeated, and no infrastructure to make such things anyway, there had been no need. Though Megan's shotgun she'd brought into the battle with the witches had planted the idea in ponies' heads. "Daring Do and her whole expedition nearly died on one occasion, because they discovered a vault that Ponyland never meant to be unearthed, containing materials that would not have been safe for another ten thousand years if not for me. Some of their inventions were dangerous, and I will not let them anywhere near my ponies.”

“THINE ponies?” retorted Luna. “First of all, they are as much MY ponies as they are thine. They are OUR ponies. And secondly, we DON’T own their past NOR their future. Our duty is to guide them, to help them, not to control them! Not to hold them down, or treat them like foals for their own good, OR to keep them from reaching their absolute full potential."

"Lulu, I swear by Our Parents I have never done anything to silence or discourage any discovery or advancement our ponies have made! You act as though I am asking him to bury it again!"

"We must provide the fundings and experts he requested. It is our duty!”

“Our duty is to keep our subjects safe!” replied Celestia, “It is the nature of knowledge to spread. What if this knowledge falls into the wrong hooves?

“Before Cadance became Queen of the Changelings, they had infiltrated almost every place imaginable. Some of the Changelings had been trained by OUR OWN GUARDS, disguising themselves as ponies. Even our chief of security was an infiltrator. They knew our own tactics and strategies, they knew Canterlot inside and out before they did anything, and everything they learned, they used against us.

“Now imagine if we had unearthed the science of Ponyland BEFORE the Changeling invasion. They could have easily stolen all the technological secrets and made them their own. Can you imagine a being like Kabuto with that knowledge? I shudder to think what he'd have done with such medical books! The Changeling invasion was a horrible ordeal, but imagine what it would have been like if Chrysalis had equipped her Changelings with guns, with grenades, with rocket launchers, with tanks, with bomber airplanes.

“Worse, what if they’d made a weapon of the splitting of the atom instead of power plants, like the humans did on their world? Imagine Canterlot going up in flames under a mushroom cloud! Yes, the scientists of Ponyland never even considered such things, but Chrysalis learned much of what might or could be from Pandora's renegade child, and she had the cunning to figure out how to pull it off…

“And even now, the changeling threat is not wholly ended… Pitcher Plant and her loyalists are still out there. She's not as cunning as her mother, nor as powerful, but she's every bit as bent on our destruction. To say nothing of the equally advanced magic developed by the Pegasi, Unicorns, and Flutter Ponies of the era. If this has been discovered, then the rest can't be far behind.”

“Sister… I understand thy concern,” replied Princess Luna, “but Equestria is now safer than ever before. Pitcher Plant made her bid for revenge, and she was defeated!"

"Defeated, but not reformed..."

Luna sighed. “Enough! Thou art just thinking of the worst possible scenario.”

“I have not even stated the worst that I fear, yet,” said Celestia. “Consider the Wishing Spell. When Patch found Paradise Estate, when magic and technology started to merge, not all problems were solved, some ponies with all their magic and technology were still unhappy and they developed the Wishing Spell that gave birth to the Third Era… and you know EXACTLY as much as I do how that ended for EVERYPONY! What if mortal ponies once again gain such almighty power? Will the counsel of you or I discourage them from tearing the fabric of reality apart all over again?”

Luna stamped her hoof. “That won’t happen, Celestia. If we must truly be so worried about what the ponies of Equestria might do with this new knowledge… then I’m sorry, but that means that thou has FAILED.”

“What?” asked a surprised Celestia.

“Thou spent the last 1000 years guiding these ponies, showing them how to exist in peace and harmony, how to embrace love and friendship above all else,” Luna explained. “If thou think that the first thing ponies will do with new technology is to try and kill themselves… well, either thou failed or thou don’t give ponies the credit they deserve.”

“Luna…”

“Furthermore, I say that it is important that we don’t keep conceal this from other nations. If we keep it secret we are just inviting to distrust and disaster. Tiamat trusts us, and while technology and pony magic mean very little to her, the idea we're betraying the rare trust she's put in us would make her very angry… and we know well how great and terrible her wrath is. We should encourage sharing these discoveries with the Griffons, the Zebras, the Yaks… every nation.

"Lulu... listen carefully, trust has always been our strongest weapon in keeping Equestria free of wars, and keeping other kingdoms from starting wars that would spill over into Equestria, on that point, you are right. Tiamat will likely take her copy of the discoveries and toss them on top of her hoard and not think of them again like that giant war helmet for her middle right head the first Yak King sent her that she never wears, until a Dragon Lord comes along with the drive to improve their people through intellect rather than brute strength.

"But think Luna! All sides having the same toys has never stopped any war in the history of Equus! And how many generals would get drunk off of their new toys, or use them with no idea how to properly operate them, endangering their own side?! Medicine, construction, communication, mechanics, these could be boons to nations like Griffonstone, but if they want to use that knowledge to make fancy new killing tools, they'll have to figure that out on their own! Do not test me on this Luna!"

Celestia held up one more photograph, a picture of the Ponyland National Zoo, featuring feral Griffons in a cage… exotic and dangerous wild beasts from distant alien lands in those times, only discovered that year, before the Disaster had changed them as it had changed so many other creatures. Celestia couldn’t resist one last ironic jab. “Would you like to explain this to the Griffon ambassador, or shall I?”

Luna gritted her teeth. “There will be many, MANY feathers ruffled by the truths in that vault, I am certain, but I personally view the feathers we'd ruffle by not sharing those truths outweighs the ones that sharing them will. And be aware, sister dearest: I will not be deterred! If thou refuse to give Dr. Digsite the funding and experts he requested, then I will fund everything by myself. I will sell my possessions in auction and I will perform charity drives to raise funds. We will NOT lock away knowledge from ponies forever!”

"I NEVER SAID I WAS!" Celestia glared at Luna, and the Princess of the Night glared right back at her, pleading, yet unshakably determined. At last, Celestia sighed. “Sister, I understand. You are right… we will sign off a portion of the royal treasury first thing tomorrow morning and request that the finest universities in Equestria send their best and brightest teachers to be part of Dr. Digsite’s research team.”

Luna smiled, “I’m glad to hear that, sister.”

"But…"

Luna blinked. "Yes?"

"We'll also nudge them in the direction of where the seven castles once stood, so that they will uncover the ruins," Celestia replied. "I do trust them to learn from their mistakes… but I cannot trust them to learn from mistakes they do not know happened. They must learn of those mistakes so they can learn not to make them themselves."

Luna gave it thought. "A point fair and reasonable."

Celestia smiled. "I can be, I hope, even when I’m proven wrong. But might I still counsel caution, my sister, not to overwhelm our ponies with too-rapid changes? Go from hot air balloons and airships to helicopters flying around too quickly, and you'd have Pegasi crashing into them left and right. Have you thought of the resistance from the chariot Pegasi who will see this new technology as a threat? Remember the protests I told you about from angry 'train puller' stallions, organized when a pony all on her own reinvented the steam engine? If we magically reintroduced say, fax machines tomorrow to every pony in Equestria, how many ponies in the best case scenario in the mail system would lose their jobs without being educated for successor occupations? How many would be trained how to operate or repair one without our aid? And what happens in a few decades when Spike forms the idea of teaching his teleportation breath to Dragon Town's residents? We would make our ponies more dependant, not less! Remember what happened to the species on one world that was left an archive of vast knowledge by their predecessors, and instead of using it as the springboard to jump-start their civilization it was intended to be, they came to use it as crutch. To instantly introduce all this lost technology out of the blue fully developed would leave them with no appreciation of it and no understanding of its fundamentals. If this isn't done gradually ponies won't be able to adapt. We do need to think this through."

Luna nodded slowly. "You're right about that… too fast or too slow will be a problem… Let us consider this, together…” She chuckled. “As always, one of us ever notices what the other has overlooked."

"Indeed… I missed you, Lulu. I really do need you."

Luna returned her sister's smile. "And I need thee, Celly. Truly, we were meant to rule together."

+++

160 years later…

The ship was close to landing at its destination. Princess Luna was aboard, but strictly as an observer, if all went well. The other ponies were the real crew of the ship… two scientists, the pilot, the navigator, and an engineer. They’d been training for this mission for months, and years of research were only a few minutes away from coming to fruition.

Now, as the final descent began, Princess Luna took a moment to pause and reflect, remembering the long road that ponies had taken to reach this point.

It had taken years for ponies to translate even the most important-seeming texts. Many times, Luna had been tempted to point out a vital but overlooked book, or just TELL them what the text said instead of waiting for them to translate it, but she held her tongue. Sister Fate was not fond of cosmic knowledge being carelessly hoofed out, spoiling the opportunity for mortals to learn and progress by building step by step upon the choices they had made before. By rediscovering the knowledge themselves, ponies would shape their own destiny.

Finding out that electricity was needed to operate most of the machines took them even longer, though some wise Pegasi realized that lightning was the same thing, and cloud batteries could substitute for chemical ones. And the ponies of the Age of Wonders had been intelligent enough to include a portable generator.

Figuring out that the 'ponyless carriages' required fuel, recreating the method for manufacturing said fuel from oil, and figuring out how to get the oil in the first place was a puzzle that took almost a decade to solve. Then the investors were frustrated again by the air pollution produced by the first working models. Not to mention the risk of enraged dragons, unhappy with their favorite wine being taken for such uses. Newly trained engineers worked hard to find a way to either suppress the toxic emissions or replace the energy source entirely. It took them a while, but the clean automobiles were now an essential form of transportation in Equestria.

Adapting the new engines to 'air-skiff' (as ponies would come to call them) was the next logical step. As it turned out, the Storm King had been experimenting with them (with barest minimum success) for years before his invasion of Equestria (with technological might that stunned half of Equus). There was even a conspiracy theory that the Storm King's spies had stolen blueprints from the time capsule, but all evidence pointed to this being paranoid.

Much to Luna's shock, it turned out that many ponies had been building prototype muscle powered flying machines for years (such as Pinkamina Diane Pie), and Rarity and Applejack had even 'borrowed' one in a cross-country business trip, but ponies before had simply never realized the practical applications.

The first 'modern' Equestrian made one pony 'air-skiff' was publicly displayed by Fizzlepop Berrytwist, using her own magic to power it. Engine powered models for Earth Pony use were soon to follow. But Pegasi still had an important role… no machine could duplicate the magic they used to shape and control the weather… but now others could join them in the sky.

The technology to improve farming was met with distrust by farmers all over Equestria. The Apple family, for example, had protested that using tractors and plows to clear the snow for Winter Wrap Up broke with tradition. They finally relented when they realized how much more each farmpony could do with the help of the new machines, and that a farm which once produced enough crops to feed dozens of ponies now could feed hundreds.

Technology didn’t replace all of the old ways, though. No science of the ancients could even begin to make sense of magical crops like Zap Apples, and Earth Pony magic was still more effective than any fertilizer, so technology and magic working as one was the best option. Applejack had been the first to champion this truth... no surprise, given that she had achieved her goal and become the Princess of Honesty.

The progress of technology of course had its share of controversies. Some advocated that genetic engineering should be used to improve ponies and make them reach their full potential. Others proposed using medical science to resurrect species long extinct. Perhaps they would find the genes of the Keythong tribe, still present in modern Griffons… ah, now that would ruffle Strife's feathers! The discussions were heated, but Twilight Sparkle was able to convince most of the new scientists that the natural development of ponies was fine the way it was, that the natural order which ponies had respected for centuries had value. This did nothing to deter ponies whose loved ones suffered from birth defects.

All of this was before the next bits of their past were unearthed from the ground. The Pegasi, Unicorns, Sea Ponies, and Flutter Ponies had advanced their own magics while the Earth Ponies had been forgetting theirs, and caches of them were found all around the world, once ponies knew where to look. Though these records required far more reconstruction and detective work, as they'd been simply archives for public use rather than designed to survive the end of their civilization. The necessities of Pegasi and Sea Pony life and Unicorn preservation spells were helpful, but could only do so much.

Ironically, though the Apple family had been one of the most outspoken against technology in the beginning, it was Applejack’s own sister Apple Bloom who published breakthrough research and designed the first magical machines, using the best traits of magic and technology together in one device. A Pegasus using magic to power a flying machine could fly higher and faster than either a Pegasus or an air-skiff alone. Of course, Rainbow Dash had to be the first test pilot of the 'magitek' air-skiff, soaring clear to the edge of the atmosphere and unleashing a Rainboom seen around the world.

Inspired, Earth Ponies rushed to combine their own magic with ground and tunneling vehicles, Unicorns invented magical networks and amplifiers, and the Griffons, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, Yaks, Deer, and even Dragons were not far behind with their own discoveries and magitek wonders. The knowledge that the ancients of the other kingdoms had magic of comparable advancement to the technology of the Earth Pony Kingdom spawned a renaissance in Earth Pony magic study, both for use on its own and to see what new wonders it could spawn. Luna was proud of the path that lead to, and she was certain her new sister Applejack was pleased with it. With magic and technology advancing and working as one, the results were ever more amazing and wondrous.

Then the rockets came, and the first satellites were launched into orbit. Ponies all across Equestria watched a pony orbit around the world on their new television sets, and after that...

Luna was nudged out of her remembrance as the ship finally touched down. “We made it!” exclaimed the ship’s pilot. He tapped his radio headset. “Canterlot control, Firefly has landed. Repeat, Firefly has made a successful landing, all crew safe!”

“Indeed,” said Princess Luna proudly. She and the others unfastened their harnesses, and then she opened the ship’s hatch, holding it open for them with her own hooves. “Everypony… honored, brave travelers and explorers… welcome to my realm.”

With that, the first pony stepped out of the ship, and for the first time in millennia, a mortal pony set hoof on the surface of her Moon. Luna smiled, wondering how they'd react when they saw the first flag still waiting for them.

Pony POV Series Season 5.5/6.5 Side Story: Seven Dreams/Nightmares

by Alex Warlorn

Introduction to the journal & Bon Bon's Story

Patch's Story And Her Epic Adventure

Starlight's story and her final judgement

Sweetheart's Story About Hearts And Apples

Melody's Story About Rarities and Sweet Music

Bright Eyes' Story Part 1 Before The Disaster

Bright Eyes' Story Part 2 "Zipzee faces the darkness"

Bright Eyes' Story Part 3: After The Disaster

Bright Eyes' Story Finale: Bright Eyes' final battle

Clover's Story Part 1: AND THE TRUE ORIGIN OF PINKIE PIE!

Clover's Story Part 2: After The Disaster

Clover Story Part 3: The true power of luck

Clover Story Part 4: The Finale (Last chapter of story arc). "Everypony makes the right choice."

Royal Time Capsule Debate By Persona22 (optional canon)

The Many Adventure of Patch Optional Canon, side story.