As Twilight and her friends continue to venturing back to Ponyville, an awkward silence fills the carriage and not even Twilight and Sunset are in the mood to read any of the books they brought.
Rainbow Dash was still upset about Zoor taking Spike away from them. She promises herself that when she gets back to Ponyville, the first thing she'll do is some extra training over at the Wonderbolts Academy in order to become stronger and take Spike back and give Zoor a payback beatdown.
Applejack has no other plans, other than to start her daily chores at Sweet Apple Acres. Even now, Applejack isn't really looking forward to heading home without Spike. She can already tell that the other girls feel the same thing. Watching Spike being controlled like that was like watching their little brother being manipulated and taken away against his own will. One way or another, AJ and the others vow to bring Spike back and bring down Zoor once and for all.
Rarity, however, feels the most affected by the whole incident. She hopes that wherever Spike is, he's safe for now and that Zoor wasn't doing anything else to hurt him. Rarity has always been well aware that Spike has had his eye on her since he was a baby dragon. She never allowed him to advance for personal reasons but right now she only wants to make it up to him by saving him from Zoor's clutches.
Fluttershy also can't get Spike out of her mind. She can't recall the many times he has been there for her and her friends when they needed him the most. From small things like helping look after the animals to big time missions like the Gauntlet of Fire and saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra. Now it's Spike who needs everypony's help and Fluttershy wasn't going to rest until he's brought back home.
Pinkie Pie began to drift off in her own mind. She did not feel the urge to smile or cheer up her friends. Even if she wanted to it'll only make things worse. She can feel her poofy pink mane start to deflate and who could actually blame her? Spike is under the control of an evil pony and it was going to take a real group effort to bring him back and take Zoor down at the same time.
Twilight however was the most effected by the whole incident. She has known Spike ever since the day he hatched from an egg when she was a filly. He was the whole reason why Princess Celestia took Twilight under her wing and helped her become the mare she is today. Twilight loved Spike as her own little brother ever since she raised him into the teenage dragon he is now. Now that he's been brainwashed, she will never give up on Spike and make sure that he's reunited with his friends again.
Sunset can just tell that Twilight's feeling tense and just let her be. Sunset barely knew much about Spike, other than how he was and always will be one of the kindest and most loyal dragons she has ever come across and to see him being controlled like that was a real heartbreaker.
The tension inside the carriage was getting worse once Rainbow began ranting.
"Ugh, can't this carriage move any faster?" she asks, "How are we suppose to bring Spike back if we're moving at 3 to 5 miles per hour?"
"You have to be patient, Rainbow Dash," Sunset says, "And plues how are you going to match up against Zoor if she's got powerful magic and possibly a strong dragon army by her side? You have to think rationally or else you'll just get hurt."
"On top of that we don't know where to start looking," Twilight adds, "However there is still a chance we might be able to find out more about Zoor. There should be a book about her or even her master Starswirl the Bearded in the library."
"Well Ah hope y'all know where to look," Applejack says. "It's gonna take a miracle to find the right in that big fancy library o' yours, Twi."
Twilight nods. She's fully aware of the many books she has in her library. But with Sunset to help her out, it'll be a slightly easier task for her to accomplish. An even bigger plus is the princesses helping out by digging up some info about Zoor in the Canterlot archieves at the castle.
Meanwhile in the other carriage, things weren't so quiet with Melodia snoring loudly on Tidal's shoulder and most of the boys tried plugging their ears. Celestia began giggling at the sight.
"Aww, I think Tidal has foundd himself somepony special," Celestia says.
"Whether I like it or not she's stuck with me," Tidal Wave shrugs.
"I think attached is a more accurate assumption," Spark Burst says.
"You can put it however you want but believe it or not I think I can get use to this," Tidal says, "Besides I could never leave Melodia's side even if I tried." Tidal Wave began to stroke Melodia's mane and she started purring and swishing her tail.
"If she's suppose to be part dragon then how come she acts more like a cat?" Hurricane Breeze asks.
"Relax I'm sure that it's normal for a mare to purr when they're being pet like that. Call it a hunch but something tells me that Blaze Burn use to do that to Princess Celestia when they had barely gotten married 20+ years ago, am I right?" Shadow Force asks.
Celestia and Blaze Burn stat blushing and look away with smiles on their faces. Shadow Force laughs.
"Oh come on now Shadow," Ground Breaker says, "You know it's rude to embarrass royalty."
"There's no need to stick up for us but we do appreciate it, Ground," Celestia replies.
"Hey mom," Heat Blitz says.
"What is it, my son?" Celestia asks.
"What's Ponyville like? Is it anything like the village?"
"All I can say is that Ponyville has had its fair share of non-stop dangers in the past up 'till now. But thanks to Twilight and her friends the whole town is peaceful. I can guarantee Ponyville will make you feel at home just as much as the village has, my son."
"Wow! I can't wait to see it! What about you bro?" Heat Blitz asks his brother. But Eternal Flames didn't answer back and looks like he's lost in thought. "Eternal did you hear me?" Heat asks again. His brother doesn't respond to him again. Then for some strange reason, Eternal begins glaring down at the floor of the carriage and places his hoof under his chin. "Oh no I've seen that look before." Heat says, nervously.
"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" Celestia asks.
"Eternal acted like this once before," Blaze Burn says, "He was only 14 when he started acting like this. He stayed locked up in his room plotting some kind of "revenge plan" because of these kids who went and made Heat Blitz cry because they insulted and assaulted him for being a pacifist."
"What?! How dare they! If I had been there to stop them--" Celestia says.
"It wouldn't matter now. Eternal already put an end to the problem, but in a way where he ended up landing those bullies in the hospital. I was frightened by how much of a loose cannon he became that I ended up giving him a scolding or two, as well as straightened things out with the bullies' parents. As of today, no pony has ever insulted Heat Blitz or tried to hurt him anymore."
"That's good to hear. I know I've been away for so long, but I just wish I could've been there to stop all the foolishness for my boys' sake."
"I know, dear. But the past is the past. Right now, the sooner we drop off Twilight and her friends at Ponyville, the sooner we can get to Canterlot."
"Uhh, I hate to butt into your conversation you two, but there's a slight problem," Shadow says, "Where exactly are we going to stay until it's time to find Spike? We don't even have the budget to find our own place to live in and it's going to take even longer to find decent jobs."
"Shadow makes a good point, your highness," Tidal says.
"There's no need to worry, Tidal Wave," Celestia says, "I'm already planning ahead and making arrangements for you boys to stay at my castle temporarily."
"Really?" Hurricane Breeze asks, "Are you sure it's alright for us to stay at your castle?"
"Of course. There's nothing wrong with offering a little hospitality to my sons and their friends."
"Cool! Thanks, princess," Shadow says.
"You're very welcome," Celestia replies. Now that she has that situation under control, she turns her attention to Eternal Flames who still keeps glaring at nothing. She isn't afraid of her son's intimidating look in his eye, she's actually afraid of what might happen if he acts too rashly. If Eternal is still a loose cannon, she'll have to keep him under constant watch when she gets home.
Eternal's glare gazes at the floor of the carriage as a way of stradegizing what he should plan. He knows it's too risky to fight Zoor head-on considering how powerful she is. Even if he wants to fight her alone, there's still a chance that she's already assembled a dragon army. If that's the case, Equestria might already be in danger and the only option he feels is necessary is to do a little researching himself.
With that last thought, his glare disappears. His eyes lock onto his mother who keeps looking at him. He doesn't know why she is looking at him, so he let her be and he closed his eyes so he can rest.
Later that night, as the carriages both stay still and everypony is sound asleep, Twilight starts to have a nightmare about her friend, Spike. In her nightmare, she sees Spike as a rampaging dragon just like how he once became back in Ponyville 5 years ago. Right now in her nightmare, most of her friends are badly hurt except for her and Rarity but Spike isn't holding anything back.
"Spike! Please don't do this! You can't let her control you like this!" Twilight shouts. Her words only seemed to anger Spike even further and he let out a furocious roar. It became so deafening that it started to make her and Rarity cover their ears. "You can't let her win, Spike! You're stronger than this! You could even be more stronger than Zoor if you just listen to me!"
But no matter how many times she tries, Spike kept roaring and breathing fire everywhere. Right now, she thinks that Spike might never return to her. Spike's roaring soon stops and he slowly approaches Twilight and his "former" crush, Rarity and looked down upon them with his predatorial eyes.
"Spike..... WAAAAAAAAAANT!!!!!" he roars.
The horrific sound of Spike's only two words causes Twilight to wake up in the middle of the night. She gasps and starts panting and felt sweat dripping down her body. She looks around to see Sunset and the others resting comfortablly and snoring lightly. Twilight can already feel her heart racing and breaking at the same time and layed back down, turning away from everypony.
Her face grew wet from the tears in her eyes. She still feels guilty about losing Spike like that, but there was nothing she could do back at the village. She buries her face in her forehooves and cries softly so she doesn't wake her friends up until she cries herself back to sleep.
Rarity on the other hoof, her dream is slightly different. In her dreams, she's watching visions of her the past events she had with Spike. Most of it was all just having Spike dig up jewels for her work, using his tail as a pin cushion, and one memory that really broke her heart: The day when she was "given" the fire ruby by her little dragon friend and in return was given a peck on the cheek.
The memory in question makes Rarity cry to this day. Spike has always been there for her, even when the task got a little too difficult for him.
"Oh, Spike! I'm so sorry," she says quietly to herself. But just as she is about to break down in tears, she feels a familiar claw touch her shoulder. She gasps and looks up to see the young teenage dragon Spike, looking down at her with his kind and caring smile. His mouth starts to move, but no words come out and yet Rarity automatically picks up on what he's trying to say to her.
It's almost like he's saying "Don't cry, Rarity. I promise you that I'll come back. I can't imagine how worried you all feel about me, but don't lose hope. I'll always be with you."
Rarity's lips start to form a short smile on her face and she nods. Spike leans down and wraps his claws around Rarity and she wraps her hooves around him. She knows this is all a dream, but the Spike she's hugging right now feels too real to not want to hug. Her body starts shaking as she sobs quietly. Pretty soon, the whole dream world around her starts to slowly disappear in a blinding white light.
She wakes up and notices the light from Celestia's sun shining through the carriage window hitting her face and she groans as she sits back up and yawns. She looks down on the floor, pondering about the dream she recently just had last night. It felt so real yet it was all an illusion. But real or not, she feels like it's a sign that's telling her that there is still hope in bringing Spike back.
Later on at around 1:00 in the afternoon, Twilight and her friends finally reach Ponyville. Twilight and Sunset still remember what the princess ordered them to do back in the village. Without skipping a beat, Twilight and Sunset teleported back to the castle and began their research on Zoor and/or Starswirl. Rarity walks back to the Carousel Boutique, but does not open up the shop.
Rainbow Dash flies off to find out if Spitfire needs her to train for anything. Fluttershy flies back to her cottage to continue caring for the animals who are sick and/or hungry. Pinkie Pie surprisingly walks back to Sugar Cube Corner instead of hopping like she usually does. Applejack walks back to Sweet Apple Acres to get a head start on her chores and wait for the "go ahead" to go and find Spike.
However, the boys only exit out of one of the carriages to move to the now empty one the girls sat in to have a little more room to move. Now Princess Celestia sits in a carriage with her husband Blaze Burn and her two sons Heat Blitz and the loose cannon, Eternal Flames. She gives the order to the guards to take off to Canterlot and set their coarse back to the richest city.
The trip doesn't take long and everypony steps out of the carriages in time for Celestia to teleport the carriages back to where they belong and she gives the guards the rest of the week off. Princess Celestia looks at everypony with a smile and signals them to follow her. They did so without question.
Walking closer to the castle, the boys mouths gaped open.
"Talk about a fancy life to live! The place is enormous!" Tidal says. He kept his excitement under control.
"Almost anypony would give anything to live in this castle. Almost anypony," Melodia says.
Ground Breaker let out a whistle. "It's like living in a giant's house," he says.
"If this is where the princess lives, consider me officially dumbfounded," Spark Burst says.
"It's just so beautiful," Hurricane Breeze says.
"Heh. I don't know if I can get use to this place. It's big, but I feel like an ant in this place," Shadow Force says, "You sure you live here by yourself, princess?"
"No I actually live here with my little sister Princess Luna," Celestia says, "We also have the royal guards patrolling and guarding certain parts of the castle. You're all welcome as my guests here but keep in mind that there are a few areas in my castle that are off-limits."
"Meh, I guess I can respect that," Melodia says without a care in the world.
"That includes you Melodia," Celestia says. Melodia still has that same uncaring look on her face. "Now follow me everypony and I'll show you all to the guest rooms."
Celestia climbs up the stairs and everypony else follows her close behind. All the while, Eternal keeps his head low as his eyes scan the inside of the castle. Melodia quirks an eyebrow at the young prince and walks next time, deciding to have a little fun.
"What's the matter your highness, does this big castle make you feel small and weak?" Melodia asks, trying to trigger the young prince.
"Do not call me "your highness" I have an actual name and I don't want to be overlooked," Eternal tries to make his point across by giving Melodia a slight glare.
She gasps, "I had no idea! Who knew that an actual prince had a name!" she replies, but she's not in the least bit surprised and keeps milking it, "So what is your name, "your highness?"
"Melodia, I allowed Tidal Wave to spare you from my wrath but if you push me any further, I'm not going to hesitate to go berserk on you!" he warns. Melodia stuck her tongue out, smiling.
"Puh-lease, I'm way stronger than you. You actually think you can take me down all by yourself? I was only holding back my strength when you and your friend tackled me down the mountain. You seem to forget that I'm the daughter of the very first dragon lord." she retorts while nudging his shoulder. Eternal feels like he's about to blow his top off and flip out on her. This starts to even annoy Melodia and says, "Look, I know your friend was taken and all but moping and complaining about it isn't going to do anypony good. So stop acting like a bratty little colt and just think it through rationally or you'll end up biting the dust and who are who'll be to blame for that?"
Eternal flinches from Melodia's words and backs off on his threat. He turns away from her and sighs. "Your words can really cut deep, you know that?"
"Not as deep as the scars that Queen Galaxia inflicted on me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a stallion that needs me so take it easy "your highness," Melodia gives Eternal a small slap on the back of his head almost knocking him off his hooves. He regains his balance and composure and watches her climb back on Tidal Wave's back and Eternal can see the look of annoyance in Tidal Wave's eyes.
"How he puts up with her I'll never know," Eternal says to himself.
He gets so side-tracked by his thoughts on Melodia's randomness that he bumps into his mom's leg and he shakes his head to straighten his vision. Celestia turns to face him.
"You okay my son?" she asks.
"I'm fine." he replies.
"Well if you're done being lost in thought, you'll be happy to hear that we've arrived at your guest rooms," Celestia points to the last four doors on the right hoof side of the hallway. "Now while I sort things out in my chambers, I'll want you to and your friends to make yourselves at home. After we've gotten everything settled for you and your friends, my husband and I will bring along Luna to check the archieves."
"Princess Celestia, when you say "get things settled" does that mean finding us a home in Ponyville?" Shadow asks, "If that's what you mean, then I say I'm in!"
Celestia giggles, "Of course Shadow. Now go on inside and make yourselves at home."
"Thank you princess Celestia," the boys and Melodia say.
"Thanks, mom!" Heat Blitz says
"Thank you for the hospitality, mother," Eternal says. Eternal and Heat Blitz walk into the same room together and were about to close the door until,
"Hey hold up! Need an third roomate?" Shadow asks.
"Of course Shadow. Come on in," Heat Blitz says. Eternal just nods and tilts his head towards the room and steps aside, allowing Shadow to enter. Shadow Smiles and walks inside the guest room with the two royal brothers before they finally close the door. Right after that, the other boys and Melodia all head into their rooms and close the doors behind them.
Now with that out of the way, princess Celestia escorts Blaze Burn with her to the archieves and finally begin their search on any info that might lead to anything about Zoor.
Meanwhile back in Ponyville, a familiar fashionista spent most of her time locked up in her room, staring out her window and watch all the happy ponies go about their daily lives. But for Rarity, there's nothing for her to be happy about and nothing could stop the pain inside her heart. Not even a dozen tubs of ice cream can help cure her in this predicament.
She turns and looks at the drawer next to her bed. She lights up her horn and opens up the top drawer and takes out the very same fire ruby necklace she still keeps even after the years went by. Her eyes begin to tear up and she holds the necklace close to her chest, crying.
"I promise I won't lose hope, Spikey!" she says. She still feels choked up about it.