Discovering Friendship

by Saro0fdemonz


S2EP19

"I'm sorry, what?" Vinyl asked, staring at Shining Armor.

"A rematch. One on one," he repeated, keeping his eyes on Spike. The Dragonkin let out a sigh, he and Vinyl still hidden in their armor.

"We'll make it an official match then. Captain to Captain. No gimmicks or tricks like in our last fight. I will face you man to man," Spike swore, the air thickening around them.

"Was that...?"

"A Contract, yes. One that binds my every word until you've agreed to the terms," Spike answered.

"Terms?"

"You must face me with all that you have with intent to kill, holding back will only lead to severe injury on your part. I do not say this as a boast of my own power, I say this out of experience. You are not the first captain to request this duel and you won't be the last. I've put many out of commission," Spike explained.

Shining Armor gulped but gave a nod.

"Your Lieutenant and mine shall vouch for the battle and watch over the fight. At their agreed word, the fight will stop and no sooner,"

"Sounds reasonable,"

"In the Event of my defeat, I will step down as the Captain Commander,"

"Wait, what?!"

"I agree, the fuck boss?!" Vinyl yelled.

"My position is one I obtained when I pursued this same challenge. I refused to back down and many times I was put back in my place. I've been around for a long time Shining Armor. Why would I fight a chance at retirement? Of course, I won't be simply handing over my position,"

"I..."

"These are my terms Captain. Should you lose, you will suffer no consequences, other than your men seeing you fail. You can walk away and never speak of this again. I'll answer what questions you have that I can," Spike offered.

"I...I accept your terms,"


"It was rough, like...Everything was heavy and it was almost like the life was being sucked out of me," Scootaloo recounted with a shudder. Sweetie Belle pouted at that.

"Not like that Belle. Its different than being bitten,"

"M-Maybe I should stop biting..."

"And do what? Become the first vegetarian vampire?" Scootaloo joked.

"Actually, there are many vampires who sate themselves with blood substitutes," Nyx stated, entering the clubhouse alongside Applebloom.

"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked excitedly.

"Yea, though...Um...It's a long and difficult process to have your body adjust from fresh blood to anything else and there's a chance you'd just make yourself sick..." Nyx chuckled nervously.

"Oh..."

"'Sides, Scoot's don't seem to mind ya bitin' her none," Applebloom teased, wagging her eyebrow.

"A-Applebloom!" Sweetie Belle whined, smacking her with a pillow, the Gaian toppling backwards.

"Uh...Shoulda warned ya she just had a snack," Scootaloo chuckled. Applebloom gave a thumbs up and sat up, pulling the pillow off her face.

"At least she hit me with a pillow," she shrugged, her bandages coming loose. Her friends stared for a moment.

"Uh, AB, you uh..." Scootaloo pointed. Applebloom's eyes shifted and she chuckled nervously, snapping her fingers, the bandages wrapping themselves around her head again.

"Sorry, better?" she asked.

"D-Does it...Does it hurt?" Nyx stammered.

"Pfft, nowhere near as much as it first did. Pinkie Pie says it'll work itself over if ah jus' let it be. Dunno how long though. It's happened t' her too but we're different..." Applebloom sighed, placing a hand over the bandage.

Scootaloo scoffed, her hair standing on end as mana swirled around her. The Skyborn stuck out her tongue, making weird faces until Applebloom started to giggle.

"Ha! Gotcha! Look AB, you an Nyx might be the weirdest of the bunch, but we're pretty weird too and I refuse to be outweirded, that's my thing ya know," Scootaloo grinned.

She's a good friend...

Nyx blinked as Scythe's words echoed in her mind, letting a smile touch her lips. She scooted over to her friend, throwing her arms around her.

"Uh..."

"Just hug me back," Nyx grumbled. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and returned the hug.

"Alright, I guess its okay,"


"You want to what?" Nyx repeated.

"Midnight, if you would show yourself," Luna asked. One of her guards appeared from within Fluttershy's shadow, giving a bow.

"Shadow Merging...How's that supposed to help me?"

"Ah, so that is a memory you've kept. Then you should understand that a Binding Seal can be made from such a thing, one that..."

"That can revert me! B-But its more theory than practice," Nyx countered.

"Yes, it would be but a theory, except we possess something most others do not," Luna smirked, placing a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"In our presence are Scions of Discord! The Greatest God of Chaos there ever was. Normal laws of magic need not apply,"

"We do not mean to assume, but would you three assist us in this?" Luna asked.

"Three?" Pinkie asked, holding up two fingers.

"Me and Shy-Shy are the only...oh," Pinkie realized, glancing over at Applebloom.

"S-She can't!" Fluttershy stammered.

"She's just a kid," Nyx argued.

"Art thou not 'just a kid'?" Luna demanded.

"Its her choice," Pinkie spoke up, sitting beside Applebloom. She gave her hand a squeeze, the Gaian gasping and sitting upright.

"What?! Where?!" she yelled, crying out and covering her eye as Chaos swirled around it. Pinkie tugged her hand away, revealing the sclera had turned pitch black, the iris bright yellow and swirling in on itself slowly. Pinkie held her hand over the eye, Applebloom slowly calming down.

"A-Ah'm s-sorry," she sobbed, quickly pulled into a hug. Pinkie whispered soothing words to her, pulling away and cupping her cheeks.

"I know it hurts...but we need your help...You're the only one who can help us to help Nyx..."

"It's gonna hurt, ain't it?" Applebloom sniffed.

"A lot a lot..." Pinkie confirmed

"Well, w-what are we waitin' fer?" she scoffed, standing and holding a hand over her eye.

"A-Applebloom, you shouldn't..."

"Ya'll shouldn't have run off without us, a lot o' people did a lot o' things they shouldn't. Now ah'm gonna do th' right thing an ah don't care 'bout anythin' else. Ah made a promise and an Apple never goes back on their word! Gah!" she crouched over as Chaos sparked around her body

She shuddered as Fluttershy placed a hand on her shoulder, Pinkie grabbing the other.

"We can make it a bit easier on you, but not for long..." Fluttershy murmured. Applebloom nodded.

"J-Jus' tell me what ah gotta do,"

"Applebloom..." Nyx felt tears sting her eyes.


"We apologize, but we thought you suffered enough," Luna sighed as they floated in the Dreamscape.

"Is Applebloom going to be okay?"

"She will recover. The Gaian's bodies were never meant to handle Mana, let alone Chaos. She pushed herself far beyond her limit's for thine sake and that power is bursting forth, demanding control and freedom. The other Scions can keep it in check and as long as she does not overexert her power, it can be quelled," Luna answered with a small smile.

"This ritual won't overexert her?"

"It holds many risks to her, thus why the Scion's fear allowing it,"

"T-Then we shouldn't do this!"

"Do you have such little faith in your friend? Surely you wouldn't want her to fight for naught?" Luna seemed to taunt her.

"She shouldn't have to suffer for me!" Nyx yelled. Luna scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Then you know nothing of loved ones. When someone cares so deeply they will do everything in their power to save you. We believe in that child and we believe in you,"

"Even if I decide to kill Celestia?" Nyx spat.

"On the off chance you decide to continue with this duel, we doubt you've the heart to strike her down. Even at our most powerful and with the most rage we've ever felt, we could not end her," Luna said with a smile.

Nyx let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

"I just wish things could go back to normal..."

"Eh, whats normal anyway?" Scythe chuckled as he formed in front of her. Nyx gasped, drawing a pair of daggers. Scythe held up his hands, showing sigil's glowing across his skin.

"Woah there kid,"

"It seems the Scion's work is complete," Luna smiled.

"Yea, bit weird bein' severed like this," Scythe murmured, turning slowly in the abyss to get a good look at himself.

"S-So Applebloom is okay?" Nyx stammered. Scythe grinned, flashing his sharp teeth.

"Ah, the littlest Scion. I guess she's alive if that's what you wanna know," he shrugged. Nyx let out a sigh of relief.

"There are other things to worry about child. Scythe in this state cannot be maintained as the Seal for too long,"

"Then..."

"Basically kid, you keep me here too long and we start to burn each other out. I'd say a week would be good. Lemme stretch my legs, you get to stretch yours and then we go back to this little party,"

"So every week you get to just run free?" Nyx growled.

"I doubt it," he held up his hand, showing off the glowing markings once more.

"Pretty sure I can't even leave your side. So get used to having me as a roommate kid,"


Present Day.

"Like this?" Scootaloo asked, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as mana swirled around her slowly. The rubiks cube in front of her jiggled slightly, the Skyborn letting out a huff and wincing at the crash behind her.

Rainbow groaned as she sat up, having been unceremoniously dropped.

"Yea, pillows were a good idea..." Rainbow mumbled.

"S-Sorry,"

"Eh, don't be Squirt. If I didn't expect to fall I wouldn't have volunteered. You've got some pretty decent control, lifting a lot of stuff at once, including a full grown person, is pretty hard," Rainbow comforted her.

"Can I try again? I think I've got it this time,"

Rainbow smiled, ruffling her hair.

"Sure thing Squirt, let me just get comfy first," Rainbow winked, crossing her legs and letting out a sigh.

"Alright, lets do this,"

Scootaloo nodded, turning her back to Rainbow again. Her mana swirled around her, surrounding the older Skyborn first and lifting her a foot off the ground gently. Next the couch was lifted as well as a bookshelf. Scootaloo let out a slow breath as she opened her eyes, turning her attention to the cube again.

Sticking her tongue out, she reached for the cube again, slowly turning one of the sides.

"Okay...Um..."

"Remember the centers, righty alg," Rainbow offered. Scootaloo chuckled and continued, flicking the cube back and forth, her hands tightly clenching her knees while the objects in her hold swirled around her.

Twilight took a seat in front of her, unable to keep herself from giggling as a 'drive-by' Rainbow Dash kissed her cheek.

"How does it feel? All around you?" Twilight asked softly, holding out a cup of juice. Scootaloo slowly reached a hand out, accepting the juice, her eyes glued to the cube.

"It's weird...A lot different than it was before. Before I just kinda let it fill me up and let it explode, but now its like...Its...weird...Like...Like my heart beating..." Scootaloo scoffed.

"I must sound so stupid..."

"Not at all Squirt. That's actually pretty cool to hear. Magic is a big part of who we are. It's a big part of you, even before getting these sweet powers," Rainbow grinned, now floating upside down.

"So, it's supposed to be like this? All warm and tingly?" She asked, the cube still flicking back and forth.

Rainbow and Twilight nodded.

"Mana is a sort of Life Force, so it's no surprise its 'Warm and tingly'," Twilight pointed out, lightly tapping the cube with her finger. Scootaloo shuddered and stared.

"I...I felt that! I-It was like you poked me!" she gasped.

"When you extend yourself like this, you truly become one with the mana around you. The more you experience this, the more you'll adjust until you can perform tasks like this without even focusing," Twilight said with a smile. Scootaloo slowly set everything down, being careful to twist Rainbow right-side up this time.

She snatched the cube out of the air as her mana faded, grinning as she held out the solved puzzle.

"Show me"


Luna shook her head as Nexus glared at her. Looking to her left sat a much calmer Nexus, sipping a cup of tea while chains rattled around his wrists.

"We must say, your spellcraft is most impressive. We can see why our sister holds you in such high regard," Luna complimented, ignoring the snarling Nexus chained down on her right.

"That means a lot coming from a Princess. Still, I failed in properly containing the Nightmare Anomaly. It still has full motor control and at least partial access to my mind. It can't use my magic to the fullest with the Seals in place or access the well of spells I have tucked away.

Though we both know Nightmare has it's own spells and means of survival. How goes the testing and removal?" Nexus asked calmly, not even looking at the other Nexus.

"We've been assured Celestia's best are at work, but we've added a few of our own to the task. We also have the Bearers preparing a Cleansing," Luna smiled and accepted a cup of tea.

"YOU CANNOT HOLD US HERE!" the other Nexus snarled.

"What you say is true. We cannot hold you here, thus we shall place you somewhere you can be held, but that is a conversation for another time. I am sorry that I must be away so soon,"

"Not at all Princess. It's nice to have some civil company. Good luck out there," Nexus gave a gentle salute as Luna faded away.


Nyx let out a sigh, double checking her answers and twirling her pencil between her fingers.

"Seriously Nyx, you're too much of a nerd to check that again," Scootaloo scoffed.

"It helps me relax," Nyx shrugged, rolling onto her back on the carpet and glancing over at her friend. Three little spheres floated around the Skyborn while she stared at the next problem.

"You're control is getting better," Nyx remarked. Scootaloo grinned at that, letting her pencil float as well.

"Mom says I'm a quick learner," she chuckled, snatching her pencil out of the air.

"Now if only science was as easy as magic..." she sighed.

"Magic's complicated too I mean...I'm literally magic," Nyx pointed out as she sat up, pointing a finger at herself.

"And technically science too I guess...They aren't really too different when you think about it," Nyx thought aloud

"Yea that helps me with this a whole lot," Scootaloo scoffed

"Have you tried going over it with Twilight?" Nyx suggested. Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"I'm already bugging her with a lot, ya know? I don't wanna push it..."

"Push it? What do you mean?" Nyx questioned.

"She's done more than enough for me, I don't wanna make her mad by asking for more!" Scootaloo blurted out. Nyx couldn't help but giggle a little, throwing up her hand to swat away the Skyborn's pillow.

"I guess I can understand that, but we both know she'd be happy to help, eager even," Nyx pointed out. She closed her eyes and slipped off her glasses, slowly opening them as she looked at Scootaloo.

"Or did you forget?" she asked sadly. Scootaloo scoffed.

"You aren't really Nightmare Moon though...I mean, I SAW the real Nightmare Moon. She...She was so angry and hurt..." the Skyborn started to shake, the spheres around her falling to the ground.

"Scootaloo...?"

"It was like she'd been robbed of everything and then tossed aside! No one even listened to her! She was alone!" Scootaloo began to cry, gasping as Nyx hugged her.

"Scootaloo, how do you know all of that?" Nyx asked as she held her. The Skyborn blinked, her vision blurred by tears as she clung to her friend.

"I-I don't know...I just...Felt it..."


"Hm..." Pinkie grumbled as she stared into Applebloom's eyes. Applejack stood nearby, a nervous wreck.

"S-So? How is she?" Applejack wondered, struggling to hold back the panic in her voice.

"Hmmm...Cakes, creams, put em in a box," Pinkie said suddenly

"Cookies, pies, make lots and lots?" Applebloom answered in turn. Pinkie nodded as she stood.

"Well, there's good news and weird news," Pinkie offered, turning to Applejack.

"But not any bad news? So she's okay?"

"Wellll...The good news is she's perfectly healthy and she'll recover just fine,"

"Oh thank goodness..." Applejack finally relaxed.

"The weird news is, I never taught her that ditty...She shouldn't know it..." Pinkie mumbled

"But ah've always known that...Ah think..." Applebloom blinked and frowned.

"M-Maybe she heard ya sing it before? Ya'll do tend t' drift off into yer own little world an sing Pinks," Applejack offered.

"Yea, but never that one. I keep all my songs on a tight schedule I'll have you know and that one is a very special song. It's a Pie Family Code," Pinkie stated, holding up a finger.

"My Grandma Eris came up with it, we all know it cause she knew it," Pinkie smiled a little.

"Ah don't follow..."

"Applebloom managed to properly manifest the chaos inside her, much larger than mine when I was her age an pretty decently close to what I have now. She stood toe to toe against Luna's meanie guard. She knows my secret song!"

"Ah'm confused too," Applebloom admitted. Pinkie sighed and shook her head. She placed her hand on top of Applebloom's head, letting the Chaos spark around her. Instantly a matching spark danced around Applebloom.

"Deep down, we're sisters. We're family. A family of Chaotician's. We share more than that. At the peak of our Ascension, our minds connect," Pinkie explained slowly.

"Ascension?"

"Geez, this much serious Pinkie makes me look totally out of character..." Pinkie griped under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Pinkie winked, stepping over to Applejack and whispering.

"She'll pick up on it eventually since we're Linked now, but she's starting to step into her role as a Goddess of Chaos. A whole lot faster than I did, probably cause she's directly related to Discord and I'm just far down the line. I gotta go talk to Fluttershy about it more though...But no panicking! It's not a bad thing, just a weird thing"

Applejack nodded while Applebloom stared in silence. Her eye remained unchanged, haunted by yellow and black.

"What'll happen when she becomes one of those?"

"Well, nothing. I mean, if I hadn't said anything, would you have known I was a Goddess of Chaos?" Pinkie pointed out. Applejack stared for a moment.

"Wait, yer a Goddess?!" Applejack demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Only by technical standards...Anyway, I gotta get going! Applebloom!" Pinkie spun, watching her student stiffen and stand upright.

"I'm really proud of you," Pinkie giggled before vanishing with a little pop.

"Ah promise not t' do that..." Applebloom mumbled. Applejack sighed and pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

"Ya'll ain't gotta promise me nothin...Ah jus' wanna make sure yer safe an happy..."

"Ah...T-Thanks...Mom..."