//------------------------------//
// The Return of Harmony: Aftermath (Part Two) 
// Story: The Champion of Harmony 
// by Voxum 
//------------------------------//

He slept fretfully that night. The thoughts and worries refused to leave him the entire night, ensuring that any sleep he did manage to get was fitful and short.

He still couldn't believe it. Couldn't fathom the thought that the Elements of Harmony would do such a thing.

But it made too much sense.

Was this life his?

Or was it built to trick him?

Despite going to bed at a reasonable time, he'd only managed a measly hour of sleep when the sun finally rose.

Emerald growled and, in a fit of exhausted anger, grabbed his pillow and threw it, as hard as he could manage, at the door when someone finally came by and knocked.

The pillow hit the door with a surprisingly hard *THUMP*, causing whoever was on the other side to yelp and scamper off.

He almost felt bad. Almost.

Letting out a sigh that resembled a growl more than anything, he slid out of bed, not even bothering to remake it, but, before he could do anything else, another knock resounded off his door, and, now that he wasn't primed with a weapon, he was forced to actually answer it this time around.

The grumpy stallion wrenched open the door, but was unable to form any sort of greeting, half-assed or not, due to the purple streak that barreled into his chest.

-closerclosersharppiercingpainagony-

"Agh!"

He stumbled back slightly as Sparky collided with his chest, and felt her hooves wrap around him almost frantically. He could hear her ragged breathing, which was slowly calming down, as she desperately clung to him, her ear directly against his chest, like she was searching for his heartbeat.

His anger died for a moment at the thought. Not that he was too surprised. Given what happened, he supposed it wouldn't be too surprising for her to be so... concerned.

Yet... the hollowness remained. Like yesterday, the hug should've caused his heart to beat faster, to warm his face, and to dry his throat. But there was nothing, nothing but a cold empty hole where the warmth would've been.

And the longer she held onto him, the more pronounced that hollowness became. And with it, his anger started spiking once more. It burned and bubbled within, rising into his throat with every passing second, chasing away the cold. Eventually, he couldn't contain it.

"Get. Off."

She didn't seem to hear him for a moment, but his words reached her after a few seconds, and she nearly jumped away from him, looking embarrassed. His neck twitched slightly.

Was she really?

"S-sorry!" she stammered, "I-I was just-just worried!" she admitted, fidgeting slightly, "I-I was looking for you yesterday and I-!"

"Just.... shut up, Sparky," he growled, though it ended up as a sigh towards the end. Her mouth slammed shut with an audible click, cowed.

"S-sorry," she murmured, "I... I just came to tell you that the celebration is starting in an hour, and we need to meet at the near the barracks before it starts," she said. Emerald nodded,

"... Fine. I'll be there in a minute.... go on without me," he requested, though it was phrased closer to a demand. Sparky nodded, timidly, and walked off, looking oddly worried.

Or was that fake as well?

He shook his head, and banished the thought, before making his way into the connected bathroom for his morning routine.

He needed some semblance of normalcy before everything went to shit.


-----


He stared at the doors that led outside for a lot longer than he'd meant to.

Just on the other side of this door, and through a small section of the Gardens, were the girls. The other Bearers. The ones whose lives could have very well not have been their own, instead made by the Elements just to bring them all together.

He could feel the dread welling up inside him once again. Cold, freezing, yet burningly acidic in its texture.

How was he going to tell them?

...

Did he even need to?

He let the thought linger for longer than he should have, but ultimately dismissed it. He couldn't not tell them. Even if it, miraculously, turned out to be false, he couldn't just keep it to himself.

It would fester and grow, and, eventually, he'd go mad if he did.

He hoped, prayed even, that the girls would somehow be able to convince, to assure him, that everything that had happened had been well and truly their own decisions. If everything just turned to be one huge coincidence, then...

He was afraid to find out.

At some point, he managed to find the courage to press through those doors, but the journey through the Gardens to the barracks still lay ahead of him, and, for once in his life, he cursed the distance.

Every step he took felt like another step towards the executioner's axe. Every inch closer only further sealed his fate. He felt his throat begin to dry. Soon, his courage left him, and, just as he was about to give in and rush back to the castle, they came into sight.

The girls were all there, sitting in the middle of the field together, not a guard in sight. They were happily chatting with each other, completely unaware of the invisible strings held by a, hopefully nonexistent, puppeteer.

For a moment, he stood on the very outskirts of the field, standing alone on the only path connecting the area. For a moment, they didn't see him, and he contemplated leaving.

But Pinkie soon spotted him, her eyes easily picking him out amongst the green surrounding them.

"Emerald!" she cheered, waving her hoof in the air erratically, "Come on! We saved you a spot!" she called, happily patting the ground between her and Sparky with the other hoof. Her shout got the others to look up and at him, each one of them sporting a smile at the sight of him.

Normally such a sight would've prompted him to smile in return, but now all he felt was an uncomfortable twist in his stomach.

Were those smiles their own?

He shook his head with a grimace, and made his way over to them, but stopped a few feet away and sat down, ignoring Pinkie's pleading eyes.

"Well, looks like somebody got up on the wrong side'o the bed this mornin'!" Applejack noted with a grin,

"Whatever is the matter, Emerald?" Rarity asked, frowning slightly, "Did you perhaps have a nightmare? I certainly did the night after that dreadful ordeal!" she admitted, before shivering, "Ugh... all those awful boulders..."

-agasppainsilence-

His neck twitched.

"I... suppose you could say that..." he admitted, "I came to an... interesting realization, yesterday..." he began slowly,

"What the hay does that mean?" Rainbow deadpanned, "Is it one of those things that Twilight freaks out over?"

"Hey!"

"... No..." he said hesitantly,

"Well don't leave us in suspense!" Pinkie said, almost eagerly. Emerald stared at them for a moment, before sighing.

Fuck taking this slow.

"I think the Elements of Harmony have been influencing us," he said, getting right to the heart of the matter.

His words brought an immediate silence to the area, but it was broken fairly quickly when the girls all started laughing.

"Bahaha-What?! That's crazy!" Rainbow shouted in between bouts of laughter,

"I gotta say, ya had me goin' fer a second!" Applejack added, snickering, "I really thought somethin' was wrong!"

"Don't be silly, Emerald!" Pinkie cheered, "That's my job!"

Emerald growled lowly at them, but stopped fairly quickly. Honestly, this was about the reaction he expected. It was a farfetched idea at first thought. Still, that didn't mean he enjoyed being laughed at.

"I am not kidding," he snarled, causing the laughter to die down quickly. Rarity sighed,

"Emerald, darling, the Elements would never do that. Whatever would make you think they would do something so dreadful?" she asked gently, smiling at him as though he was a scared foal.

"Rarity's right," Sparky spoke up confidently, "The Elements of Harmony are powerful magical artifacts used to protect Equestria! They wouldn't-couldn't do that!" she defended. Emerald scowled,

"Really?" he asked, "Then could you tell me... why exactly did you befriend these five mares, Twilight?"

Sparky blinked at the question, obviously not expecting it.

"W-well... when I first met them during the Summer Sun Celebration, I didn't think much of them," she admitted, a tad sheepishly when the others looked at her, "But-" she continued, "-I saw how wonderful each of them were when we went into the Everfree. They were willing to go into such a dangerous place with me, knowing how bad the Forest was, and with Nightmare Moon on the loose. I saw how nice Fluttershy was, saw how... cheerful Pinkie was, how trustworthy Applejack was, how generous Rarity was, and just how loyal Rainbow was, despite us all only really meeting each other a few hours ago," she revealed.

The girls were all smiling at her now, and, before they could go in for the hug Emerald knew they were about to have, he cut in.

"Alright, but what made them so different from your first friends?" he demanded. Sparky blinked, and stammered slightly, looking surprised,

"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked, looking confused,

"You were completely and utterly disconnected from the friends you had in Canterlot! Friends who went out of their way to invite you to every gathering they had just to spend more time with you!" he began heatedly, "You were so absorbed in your studies that you disregarded their existence! If it wasn't for Spike, I doubt you'd even remember their names!" he snarled, "So what. Is. Different? What was it about the mares you knew for less than a day that had you completely toss aside the life you had before, the life that dismissed friendship entirely with five mares you'd known since you were a filly?!"

Sparky's eyes were wide by the end of his little rant, and, from the looks of it, she was completely speechless as well.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Rarity's mouth open, but it closed as a strangely thoughtful expression took over her face, and she turned to look at Sparky.

"W-well," Sparky finally found her voice, "I-I... I don't really know," she admitted, swallowing heavily, "I just felt... I just felt... connected with them, with you... I-I just..."

"Yes!" he hissed, "A connection! Like the Rainboom that gave us our cutie marks!" he pointed out, "The Rainboom that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of creatures saw, that directly led to us seven getting our cutie marks at roughly the same time! The Rainboom that we'd have never gotten our marks without! Isn't it strange?! How us seven individuals not only got our cutie marks at the same time but we all ended up in the same place almost twenty years later, without any communication between us, whatsoever?! A place where you all just so happened to need and find the Elements of Harmony just before you used them! A place that I ended up, only a few months before Discord escaped and a Seventh Element was found just as we needed it?!"

-nothingdarknessblacknessavoicewhispering-

"Hey, I chose to go to Ponyville to visit Fluttershy!" Rainbow snapped, "Nothing made me! And the Elements sure as fuck had nothing to do with it!" she added, almost smugly,

"Right," he said sarcastically, "Tell me, Fluttershy-" she started slightly as he addressed her, "-what made you choose to move to Ponyville, specifically?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Fluttershy at once, and the timid mare found herself in the spotlight.

"W-well... u-umm... I couldn't decide where to go..." she began quietly, "s-so my Mom and I got out a map and... she had me close my eyes and pick a spot," she admitted, "P-Ponyville was where my hoof landed..."

"How lucky that you'd randomly picked the one place you'd find not one, not two, but six distinct friends who all just so happened to all be Elements Bearers, just like you," he turned back to Rainbow Dash, "a place you just so happened to visit one day, randomly, yes?" he asked.

Rainbow's earlier smug grin had faded, but she nodded.

"And, tell me, if you just randomly visited, what was it that made you stay?"

Rainbow swallowed at this, fidgeting nervously,

"W-well... the Weather Team was short a member and... there weren't a lot of pegasi in town back then, so they asked me to help out and... gave me a job when I turned out to be pretty good at it," she admitted.

"A job that would keep you in this town for long enough to find five interesting friends. A job that just so happened to be absolutely perfect for you. So perfect that you never once thought of moving, right?"

Rainbow nodded, looking as though she'd just sucked on a particularly sour lemon.

Emerald turned to the others, whom were all looking nervous.

"How about you, Pinkie?" he asked quietly, "Why did you choose to come live in Ponyville?"

Pinkie swallowed, her mane deflating slightly,

"Well, the ponies here just looked so... grumpy! An-and when I cheering everybody up, they were super happy!" she began, "A-and... and the Cakes saw that I was new in town and just a filly, so they offered to let me stay the night as a thank you... when I got up the next morning I saw they were making stuff and I was curious," she said, almost sadly, "Mr. Cake asked if I wanted a cookie and... I'd never had a cookie before. It was really good!" she added, smiling slightly, but it faded after a moment, "I asked him how he made it, and he said I could help him and Mrs. Cake make some more if I wanted. I thought it was super fun, and I wanted to keep baking stuff," she added, rubbing her front hooves together, as if she was nervous, "they said I could keeping helping them if I wanted and... I never left," she finished.

"Was Ponyville the first town you visited?" Emerald asked, and then continued when Pinkie nodded, "And why was that?"

Pinkie shuffled, and he could see how her cheeks went even pinker than usual,

"W-well... my family knows where a lot of the quarries in Equestria are, since we run a rock farm and stuff," she began, "They thought the Ponyville Quarry was still running and said I should go there since I'd probably find work so I could take care of myself."

"And instead of that, you found a small town that needed you, as well as a job that you loved. Two things that would guarantee that you'd stay," he noted, before turning to Applejack, "And you have a family run farm that you and your siblings are going to inherit one day," he said. He nearly turned to Rarity, but Applejack spoke up,

"I left," she said firmly, though he could see how shaken she was, "I... I left," she repeated, obviously a bit distracted.

"And you came right back when the Rainboom led you here, exactly where you needed to be," he countered, "exactly where the Elements were," he added, and finally turned to Rarity.

"... I was born in Ponyville," she said before he could speak, "I lived here with my family for my entire life, until I was old enough to take care of myself. I turned our home into a place of business, and I've never needed to leave, since..." she swallowed, "since everything I've ever needed could either be ordered or found in the abandoned quarry," she took a shuddering breath, "... and I just so happened to have developed a spell to lead me to the gems I needed when I earned my cutie mark," she added.

Emerald nodded, and turned back to the whole group.

"... And when I had just about given up, I happened to get my first taste of freedom in the form of a giant, flying rainbow. And when I got out, I dedicated myself to working off whatever debt I'd felt to the Princess, which eventually ended up with me coming here, a few months before I awakened the, completely unknown up to that point, Seventh Element. In that town, I met several mares I normally wouldn't have interacted with beyond the minimum necessary. At least I wouldn't have, if I hadn't, for some reason, found myself enjoying the presence of one of them-" he glanced at Pinkie, "-related to one of them-" he glanced at Fluttershy, "-found one less annoying than anticipated-" Rainbow this time, "-found myself interacting with two of them beyond what I would've normally-" Applejack and Rarity, "-or found myself falling for the sixth one, seemingly out of nowhere," he finished, gazing directly into the eyes of one Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight gasped, and a few of the other mares even smiled, but it all died when he continued.

"Another thing is all those events around town. Both the ones that happened before and after I came to town. Scim and Scam, the hospital, the Best Young Fliers Competition, the Running of the Leaves, Trixie's show, the ticket scandal-" the girls blushed at this one, "-the dress scandal-" more embarrassed flushing, "-all of that and everything that came after and maybe even leading up to this moment right now-" he took a heavy breath in through his nose, before letting it out, "... all of that... all of it seemed to slowly bring us all closer together. The little things you can argue as being natural, but some of it just doesn't make sense. Little moments that seemed oddly out of character suddenly turning into somewhat big issues that we all had to move past, and ended up growing closer as a result?" he shook his head, "No matter how I look at it... it all points back to the Elements."

He went silent after that, and refused to meet the others' collective gaze. Even so, he could tell that they were behaving in almost the exact same way, choosing to look anywhere but here.

Eventually, the silence broke.

"I-I... I can't believe it," Applejack said, "That's... that ain't..."

"I know," Sparky said, looking lost, "... it's... hard to imagine but... if everything was because of the Elements... then...?"

"Are we really even friends?" Fluttershy asked, her usually quiet voice coming out like thunder in the awkward silence. Rainbow Dash snarled,

"That's such bullshit!" she snapped, "Faust! After everything that's happened, you're all just telling me it was fake?!" she growled, standing up and beginning to stomp around, "You're all saying that everything I've-that we've ever done was fucking fake?!"

"Calm down, Rain-" Rarity tried to say,

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down!" Rainbow snarled, cutting Rarity off, "There's no fucking way my life isn't mine! I've worked my ass off for what I've got! You can't just fucking tell me that my life isn't mine! We're friends, Faustdammit! After everything that we've been through, even if the Elements had something to with it, that was all real! We're real friends! C'mon guys!"

Despite Rainbow's heated words, none of the others stood up and agreed. Instead-

"But what if we're not?" Pinkie asked, her mane laying completely flat by this point. Rainbow sputtered,

"Wha-Pinkie! What are-what are you saying?!" Rainbow demanded, "Of course we're friends!" she said, looking around at the others, "R-right?!"

Before anyone could reply, the familiar voice of Fine Print suddenly spoke up,

"Ah, there you all are!" she called, startling the group into looking at the smiling mare, "The Princess says it's almost time to start. Are you all ready?"

The seven of them looked at each other, clearly having forgotten what was happening today.

Emerald's throat felt swollen. He... he couldn't speak. Couldn't bring himself to.

How... how the fuck were they supposed to go out now?

Despite his thoughts, and clearly against her better judgement, Sparky nodded,

"Y-yes... we're ready."

"Great!" Fine Print said cheerfully, "Follow me, then!"

The seven of them spared each other a glance as Fine Print spun around and trotted off. For a moment, they did nothing. Eventually, Sparky rose and followed after the mare.

A minute passed, before Applejack followed suit, soon followed by Rarity, Pinkie, then Fluttershy.

He and Rainbow were soon the only two left in the area. He could feel the mare's gaze burning a hole through his skull, but he didn't dare meet her gaze. After a few minutes, Rainbow huffed and trotted off.

Emerald waited for a moment, and did the same.





Celestia couldn't help but smile, very discreetly poking her head through the stage's curtains

It was such a wonderful sight to see. All these ponies patiently waiting, the absolute sea of bodies eagerly anticipating the celebration to come. She felt the familiar shiver up her spine that came with the knowledge that, in less than ten minutes, she'd be out on stage, addressing all of them.

And, perhaps more excitingly, her sister would be there, right beside her!

Exactly where she belonged.

Celestia sighed at the thought, and retracted her head. Her sister's absence had hurt her more than she'd predicted, though that wasn't much of a surprise. You never knew what you had until it was gone, after all. No amount of 'guessing' or 'predicting' could've prepared her for the truth.

She shook her head.

Oh would you look at her! Thinking about the past like that when she could, instead, be living in the present and looking forward to the future! A future that did have her only remaining family with her.

Despite her intentions, the thought of family sparked something within her.

She supposed they could go visit home for a week or two. But, then again, she didn't didn't know how much their old town had changed in the one and a quarter millennia since they left. The town could very well be a city by now!

Then again, probably not. Alicorn fertility rates weren't exactly high. It had been quite the surprise for her parents when they'd discovered her mother was pregnant with Luna nearly forty years after she'd been born.

As she'd still been a child at that time-Alicorns had always had a different perception of time than Equestrian ponies. It was only natural-she had, of course, been absolutely delighted to have a baby sister.

Unfortunately she and Luna had been polar opposites growing up those first couple hundred years.

She had been mischievous and always got in trouble.

Luna had been a stickler for rules and was often the reason she got in trouble.

Luna was simply the kind of foal who grew up faster than the ones around her. In contrast, Celestia had acted like a child long into her teenage years-that is, 150 to 450 years old, give or take a few decades-and had only really started maturing after her 540th birthday, which was roughly 50 years before they both left home and 150 before they encountered Discord, who was in his 224th year of tyranny over Equestria. It had taken a little over 70 years for them to imprison him in stone with the Elements, but, even after all of that, she had been lacking in maturity.

So when, roughly two hundred years of ruling Equestria after that, her sister had turned against her, she had not been wise or mature enough to see what had been happening. Elements or no.

Although, a small part of her latched on to, it proved that Luna hadn't been quite as mature as Celestia had always thought she was.

Granted her sister had only become an adult a few hundred years ago at the time. So her slight immaturity was perfectly understandable.

Now, 1,000 years later, and the tables seem to have turned. Now Celestia was the mature one, and Luna was the one playing catch-up, if only somewhat. Likely a result of having been possessed for all those years and therefore unable to grow mentally.

She felt a little guilty over the slight joy the thought of finally being able to play the part as Luna's big sister-Luna had more than often been the one scolding her when they were young. And hadn't that been a blow to her teenage pride?-but she was only mortal.

Although...


-yet who is it that sits on the throne?!


She was still making mistakes. Discord's magic might have brought Nightmare Moon back for a few terrifying hours, but, in the end, it was still Luna's mind and Luna's body.


-you haven't accepted me back!


In truth, she'd wanted to avoid overburdening her still recovering sister. Slowly placing her old duties back upon her shoulders had seemed the smartest decision to help her adjust back to the world she'd missed out on. She supposed... she had misjudged her sister, once again.

She'd have to talk with Luna about returning the rest of her old responsibilities, and she'd definitely have a second throne made within the week, if not the day. She deserved nothing less.

With all that in mind, she wondered how their parents would react to seeing them again.

Hmm, knowing them they'd just get on her case about not having a foal yet.

She was only 1,817! She was still young!

Though the thought had crossed her mind more often than she'd like to admit. Being a mother would be nice. It was... part of the reason she'd been so eager to take on students over the years. The other being severe loneliness without Luna around.

To see them grow right in front of her, with the knowledge that she had helped them do so? Even if none of them had been hers, she'd still taken pride in each and every one of them.

As she was thinking, her eyes slid over to a large tarp-covered mound to her right.

It was certainly quite large, standing a head taller than herself, and just as wide as a pony.

It was, of course, Emerald's statue/late birthday gift.

Emerald had more than passed any expectations she'd had of him during their first encounter. Such a scared, worried little colt. She'd been stunned when she saw what he ended up becoming!

But she'd also been quite happy. After all, the colt she'd taught to read and write, the colt who had looked up to her for so long had finally become something great! How could she not be proud of him?

... Admittedly, she'd wondered if all the time she'd spent with Emerald was what it was like to have a son.

After all, it was one thing to teach foals about magic, but it was another entirely to teach them to read and write. Especially when the latter also sought her approval for things, came to her with any problems regarding life, and was generally there when she needed him to be.

Of course... she'd never say that to him. Or anyone else for that matter.

Though, the thoughts brought back memories of... him. He'd been much the same as Emerald, astonishingly so in fact. There were times, rare as they were, that Celestia couldn't help but overlap his image onto Emerald's.

Thankfully, Emerald was going in a direction that Sombre never had.

"I've brought the Bearers as you requested, Your Highness!" Fine Print's voice snapped her from her stray thoughts, and brought her back to where her head actually needed to be.

She blinked and looked over at the prim and proper mare, who was smiling at her with her clipboard clutched to her chest.

"Oh, thank you for bringing them here, Miss Print," she thanked, though a glance behind the mare did not reveal the ones she was looking for, "Hmm... are they waiting on the other side, perhaps?" she asked. Fine Print blinked at her, and turned around, finding the area behind her completely empty.

This did not seem to be what she was expecting, as she immediately turned red, sputtered what might've been an apology-she couldn't tell-and darted out the back door. The walls muffled the sound, but she was sure she could make out some slight yelling, before the door opened once more and the seven ponies and lone thestral strolled in.

She went to greet them, but froze when she took in their appearance.

None of them were looking at each other. They were all stiff and looked like they wanted to be anywhere but right there. A few of them, notably Pinkie and Fluttershy, even had the beginnings of tears in their eyes. However, what stood out to her the most, was Emerald.

He looked... haunted. And a tad guilty.

What in the world had happened to them?


-----


Try as she might, Mother had been unable to get so much as a word out of the lot of them. Not even Sparky had said so much as a word to her!

That, of course, only made him feel worse. Clearly, informing the others of this thoughts-which unfortunately turned out to be more true than he feared-had been the correct course of action, but the fallout had been much worse than he predicted.

He'd made Pinkie question their friendship. Out of all the ponies here, he'd thought she'd be the only one to push past that, but, much to his surprise, that had been Rainbow Dash.

He could see her now, from the corner of his eye. She, like the others, wasn't paying any attention whatsoever to Mother's speech. Even as she spoke of their achievements against Discord-namely breaking free of his control before valiantly standing up to him-Rainbow didn't stop scowling.

In a way, he was flattered that she'd been the only one to deny his theories regardless. She was the only one of the seven, and he meant the only one, who flat out refused to believe their lives were fake.

But they were.

Their choices had not been theirs.

Their desires were not their own.

Their feelings were planted.

They were mere puppets, bred and groomed to defeat Discord, or die trying.

He Knew That Best, After All.

He supposed that was to be expected of the one who bore the Element of Loyalty. After all, loyalty to one's self was just as important as loyalty to others, if not more so.

Despite his thoughts, Emerald had been paying attention to Mother's speech, if only because he knew, as the most recent Element and the Champion, that he would be called upon, either to make a speech of his own-he hoped not, as Mother hadn't said anything about giving a fucking speech-or simply for introductory purposes. For the most part, it was simply filler. Minor propaganda about friendship being stronger than evil, how they needed to unite in the wake of Discord's defeat, they were the saviors of Equestria, blah blah blah.

And there it was. His name, his status as Champion, his tenure as such, his accomplishments as such-there were quite a lot of gasps, both in the crowd and around him-as well as his species, and relation to the Elements of Harmony as the Seventh Element.

Oh, there was the statue too. Simple marble. He was standing tall, holding his spear-he needed a new one he reminded himself-perpendicular to himself. He supposed it was flattering, in a way.

At least it was kept simple. He would've killed someone-himself, most likely-if it were anything complicated or overly grandiose.

Ah, he was being dismissed. Good. He could hardly stand being up there, stared at by all those ponies. They had been astonishingly calm when they learned that he was a thestral, but he was sure something would come of it when it sunk in.

He should be worried about that, really, but in light of a distinctly more important fact, it was sadly ignored.

Eventually the speech ended, and Emerald was sure more than one pony out there sighed in relief. Mother's speeches often tended to be long and filled with pointless pleasantries, but, then again, that might just be his thoughts.

Of course, once the curtains closed and the stage ponies began packing the thing up-that was going to take awhile-Mother addressed them, thanked them personally for all their help, and told them to please enjoy the celebrations, before the seven of them immediately split apart.

She knew something was wrong-how could she not?-and Emerald honestly contemplated telling her. He dismissed the thought immediately after, however.

He'd done enough damage telling the ones it affected after all. Who knows what would happen if Mother found out?

No, it was best that they... that they tackled this by themselves.

But... was there even a point?

The realization meant the end, after all.

The cold, bloody end.

-pain-

-agony-

-silence-


-

-


Applejack huffed to herself, and very calmly pretended she wasn't upset.

The crushed cup in her hoof, however, made that impossible.

She sighed, and tossed the useless thing away, before leaving the buffet table behind her. She was going to flip the thing if she didn't. It was just about the only thing she could do. Her mind was way too occupied to think of doing anything at this... stupid party.

She cursed this damned day. It was such a nice one too! She crawled outta bed all happy, met up with her friends, who were all just as happy and then, outta left field, Emerald came along and ruined it!

She felt the anger in her chest rise and begin to boil, but it fell flat after a few lingering moments.

She couldn't be mad at him. Not with the how badly the news seem to affect him when he told them. And she couldn't blame him either. The thought that her entire life was worthless was not something that anybody could just brush right off like it was nothing. For what he'd gone through, to learn that something made it happen to him was... harrowing, no doubt.

A sad sigh escaped the farmpony as she leaned against the wall of a building she didn't recognize, letting herself fall flat onto her flank. It wasn't fair. Was everything fake?

Granny Smith. Big Mac. Applebloom.

Ma. Pa.

Her entire family.

Were they even supposed to be her family in the first place? Or was that just something the Elements did to make sure she'd stay in Ponyville?

What if her parents weren't meant to have a foal between Big Mac and Applebloom? What if they were meant to have one, but it was supposed to be somebody else? Did that mean that she took the poor thing's place? Did that mean that she'd-she'd killed some defenseless little foal just so she could use the Elements in the future?

Applejack swallowed bitterly. The thought alone was enough to make her sick.

And what about her friends?

Heh, her 'friends'.

What would her life be like if the Elements hadn't existed? Would she be somewhere else right now? Would she have actual friends who actually cared for her? Hay, maybe her life would be worse!

She scoffed. Like that was possible. What could possibly be worse than learning that your entire life was nothing more than a lie made by a bunch of stupid fucking rocks?!

Her hoof lashed out in anger, punting a nearby pebble through the air, completely disregarding wherever the thing would end up.

"Ow!"

Her ears perked up at the outburst and, for a moment, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She hadn't meant to hurt anybody.

The thought, however, sparked another surge of anger within her.

Yeah, she felt guilty. Or was that the Element's fault? Were her emotions even hers or were they just made by the Elements to make her think she was like this?

Thinking about that only made it worse.

She used to be an unrepentant liar when she was a filly. She learned the value of honesty after that one incident with the Zap Apple Jam. But that had been fake too, hadn't it? The value of Honesty? As if! That was nothing more than the Elements just-just-just grooming her to think like that so she could use the Element of Honesty!

"Well now, you sure look pissed off," a familiar booming voice interrupted her thoughts. Applejack blinked, and looked up as a shadow suddenly covered her, finding the source of the shade to be a grinning minotaur.

"Iron Will?" she asked, only receiving a loud laugh in response,

"Yep! That's me! Iron Will's the name, and don't you wear it out!" he boomed, flexing his arms impressively. Applejack scoffed,

"Howdy Will, it's... good ta see ya again, I guess," she muttered dully.

"You guess?" Will asked, smirking down at her, "Well now, and here I thought we'd become friends, Aj! Ah, I guess not," he said sarcastically, shrugging his shoulders exaggeratedly, "What's wrong, then?" he asked, plopping down on the ground next to her, his weight causing her to bounce off the ground slightly, before he leaned back.

"Ain't nothing wrong, Will," she lied, ignoring the way her stomach twisted. It was just her Element's doing.

"Mhm," he frowned at her, "an' that pebble you kicked at me was just for fun?" he asked. She winced at that,

"Sorry..." she muttered. Will chuckled,

"Tell ya what. If you tell me what's botherin' you, I'll forgive ya. Deal?" She frowned, and eyed him for a minute, before eventually giving in.

Who knows, maybe talking about it would help?

Doubtful, but she'd try.

"Ya know 'bout the Elements'o Harmony, right?" she asked for clarification, and continued when he nodded, "Well... turns out they've been controllin' mah life. Mah friends' lives too. They made everythin' happen, an' I..." she swallowed, feeling her eyes grow hot, "I-it's fake, nothin's-nothin's real! It's j-just some-s-some lie they were tellin' us ta get us to werk tagether!" she snapped, ignoring the way the tears ran down her face, leaving hot, wet streaks as they fell. Iron Will was silent, but he was nodding along,

"... Yeah," he began suddenly, "that, uh... that's definitely pretty rough to think about," he said. Applejack scoffed,

"Ya think?" she muttered petulantly. Iron Will sighed,

"Yeah, I do. But... how'd ya come up with all that?" he asked. Applejack shrugged,

"Emerald went an' figured all that out, all by 'imself," she revealed, causing Iron Will to frown,

"Huh... that doesn't sound like him," he muttered, before shaking his head, "Anyhow, does that really matter?" he asked. Applejack sputtered and whipped her head around to look at him,

"Wh-whaddya mean 'does that really matter?'?!" she snapped, "O'course it does!" Iron Will shrugged,

"How so?" he asked, almost like he was challenging her. Applejack huffed, staring at him in outrage,

"Mah life was fake! I wasn't in control of what I wanted ta do!" she hissed, jumping to her hooves, which put her at eye level with him,

"And neither was I," he suddenly countered, bringing her up short. She made a confused sound, and shook her head,

"Ya don't-"

"I do get it," he cut her off sharply, his voice taking on a dark tone, one that promised pain if she continued that train of thought, "Do you think I wanted to be calfnapped by some mad scientist and experimented on?" he asked severely. Applejack swallowed, and looked away, ashamed at having forgotten,

"... No," she whispered, falling back onto her flank, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"I was not in control of my life," Iron Will continued, as if he'd never heard her, looking off into thin air, his eyes stormy, "I was captured and stuck in a cage for the first half of my life. I hated living back then. I wanted nothing more than to be done with life," he revealed, though he didn't see the way Applejack's eyes widened at him, "but... then things got better," he added, his tone going soft, "I found a new family, we got away from all... that, and now I get to travel across Equestria, helping ponies and getting money to really kick off my dream," he finished. She blinked,

"Yer... dream?" she asked. Iron Will nodded, a bright smile lighting up his face,

"I love exploring. I love going out into the world and seeing everything this place has to see!" he said, and looked at her, "One of these days, I want to buy myself an airship and start up a touring business. That way I can show everyone else in the world what I've seen and help them learn more about this wonderful world we find ourselves living in!" he gushed, his eyes lighting up, even as he pumped his fist excitedly.

"That... sounds nice, Will," she complimented. It really did. Seeing the world wasn't a bad thing. Heck, she'd done the same thing as a filly, after all! Gone right off to Manehatten to see her Aunt and Uncle Orange.

The warm thought quickly soured when recalled how it ended.

The Elements had brought her back.

"Thing is-" Iron suddenly continued, breaking her from her darkening thoughts, "I never would've learned how much I liked exploring-never would've dreamed of the seeing the world-if that chapter of my life hadn't happened," he said, then looked her right in the eye, "That's why I don't see how it matters whether you had 'control' or not. Even if you didn't, it doesn't change the fact that this 'control' helped you find things you love doing, creatures you love being with, and places you love being in. Your life might've been manufactured to use the Elements, but the life you needed was one filled with great friends, great family members, and a great deal of happiness. Maybe you would have loved a different life, maybe you would've hated a different life-" he added, almost as an afterthought, "-but that's a case of what-ifs and, well... if wishes were bits and all that."

Applejack was struck silent.

He... but...

She bit her lip, and turned away.

That... that made... too much sense.

She did love her family. She did love her friends.

But... but what if that was just the Elements?!

But what if it wasn't?

Maybe... just maybe... this was her? After all, she was pretty happy with her life. Great family, steady lifestyle, wonderful friends...

Were they putting too much stock in Emerald's fears?

No... no everything fit together too well for it to be wrong. The Elements definitely influenced their lives. But... was that... was that bad? After all... she loved her life. If she hadn't been in Ponyville, she wouldn't have her family or her friends. Thing is, she even had proof that life outside Ponyville wasn't so great, not for her at least. She was downright miserable over at her Aunt and Uncle's. She loved them, but they didn't exactly live a life she liked. If she had decided to stay back there, instead of coming home...

Except... that wasn't possible, after all...

The Elements brought her home.

They brought her back to her family.

They brought her back to the place she'd meet all her wonderful friends.

She loved her life. Without a doubt. So... if living the life she loved meant living a life the Elements had made for her... a life that made her happy...

Then, what was the problem?

If she was happy, then didn't that mean the Elements had done her a favour?

Applejack scoffed suddenly, startling Iron Will, who had jumped at the unexpected sound.

"Yer right," she said simply, staring off into the space in front of her, "yer... yer darn right!" she repeated. Iron Will chuckled,

"'Course I am!" he boasted, "Helpin' ponies be assertive ain't the only I'm good for!" Applejack laughed and jumped to her hooves, a bright smile on her face,

"An' yer doin' a real bang up job, too!" she praised, looking around wildly, "I... I gotta talk ta the others! Thanks fer all the help Iron Will, but the rest is up ta me!" she chirped, before bolting off.

Iron Will watched the farm mare run off, smirking after her.

"Hehe... still got it."


-

-


Pinkie slumped over her chair, not even caring about the thirty-two empty plates beneath her, all of which were painstakingly licked clean only moments prior.

Pinkie was sad. There was no denying that. And there was also no denying how much she didn't like being sad.

But what else was she supposed to feel? She'd just learned the friendship equivalent of nobody liking her parties anymore!

She'd learned that her friends weren't really her friends, and that all of her parties-even the super special ones!-hadn't been done because she wanted to, but because some silly rocks made her do them!

Did that mean she wasn't really happy? Were all her silly jokes and funny faces fake too?

Did she even like parties? Or cakes? Or pies? Or cupcakes? Or brownies? Or-or anything?!

She sighed, idly reaching for yet another of the delicious-but not very happy looking-cupcakes, when a familiar talon caught her hoof in a surprisingly gentle grip.

"Miss Pinkie," the familiar voice of Gustave le Grande said, even as he eyed each of the plates stacked neatly beneath her, "You've been sitting, or leaning, rather, there for the past hour, doing nothing but eating. While I'd like to take that as a compliment towards my cooking, I somehow doubt that is the reason. Would you care to explain?"

Pinkie pouted slightly at up at the older griffon-wait how old was he?-but sighed a moment later.

"Nothing," she mumbled, sinking back into her chair. Gustave sighed,

"As admittedly cute as this is, I'm afraid I won't be taking that as an answer. Now, you can either tell me the truth, or I drag you back to the kitchen and stuff you into the freezer until you talk. I'm going to find out either way. Your choice." Pinkie frowned at him, but she really didn't want to go in the freezer.

So she told him.

She'd only gotten a few-dozen-sentences out when he suddenly grabbed her muzzle, forcibly holding her mouth shut, whilst pinching the top of his beak with his other talon.

"So... let me get this straight. You think the Elements of Harmony are manipulating your lives, and you're worried that everything you've ever done was nothing but a lie they created to ensure you'd use the Elements. Is that right?" he asked. Pinkie nodded enthusiastically, which caused him to let go of her,

"Yep!"

He sighed, 

"And... you say Emerald came up with this theory?" another nod, "Hmm... to be frank, I don't see how he could have possibly come up with something like that. It's too... out there, but... yes... I can certainly see how something like that can be... terrifying. To understand that you lived a life you disliked not through your own fault, but because you were forc-"

"I like my life!" Pinkie supplied cheerfully, cutting him off. Gustave blinked, and regarded her with a weary eye,

"Ah... of course you do," he muttered, only for his face to twist in confusion, "Then... what is the issue? If you enjoy the life you have, then what does it matter if it was built through manipulation or forces out of your control?" he asked. Pinkie blinked, and tilted her head, which caused the griffon to sigh.

"What I mean is..." he trailed off and sighed once more, "Fine, why don't I give you an example? My life, for instance, was controlled largely by things outside of myself. I was taken from my home when I was but a chick, and kept in, what amounted to, a perverted hospital where I, and all those close to me, were subjected to numerous horrific experiments that killed most of us, traumatized the rest, and utterly broke one of us-Misty Rose, the poor dear," he interrupted himself, holding a claw to his chest, before continuing, "but even so, it eventually got me where I am today, doing what I enjoy. Cooking for royalty!" he chirped, smirking, "With my present in mind, why should my past matter?" he asked, leveling a stare at her, "If you have a good life, then why does how you got to it matter? Why does it matter if something else brought you here, as long as you enjoy where you've ended up and where you're going?"

Pinkie blinked at him, utterly stunned.

All for a few seconds before she smiled and began clapping.

"Wow! That was a really good speech!" she gushed, causing Gustave to chuckle,

"Thank you, Miss Pinkie," he said, his smirk turning smug, "I've been told I'm rather captivating more than once," he boasted, holding a claw to his chest once again, while turning his beak up at her.

"You're right!"

"Well, of course I-"

"I really like my life!" Pinkie continued, unaware of Gustave's continued boasting, "So what if the Elements helped me? That just means they wanted to make me happy!" she chirped, and, with both that thought in mind, as well as the bright smile on her face, Pinkie happily bounced right out of her chair, standing tall, "I gotta go talk to my friends! Thanks Mr. Chef!" she cheered, before rushing to the side and jumping out the nearest window.

Gustave just stood there, staring at the space Pinkie had just occupied, before turning to the now open window.

"... Something tells me that's normal for that mare."


-

-


A choked sob slipped from her lips, but Fluttershy wasn't in the mindset to care.

The second she'd been able to, she'd slipped away from her fr-from them. She hadn't paid attention to where she was going-hadn't cared-and only stopped when she'd finally tripped and fell, too exhausted to even try getting back up.

So there she lay, breathing rapid and shallow as tears fell freely, soaking the ground beneath her.

What was she supposed to do?! H-her friends were the only ponies she really had! They ha-had accepted her and her shyness without an-any issues! Sh-she'd always had a hard time mak-making friends, barely ever able to get even a w-word out!

But now? Now she found out that not even they had accepted her! It had been the Elements!

Part of her wondered why she was being like this. After all, everything Discord had said hadn't bothered her at all, so why would this?

But it was different, her mind told her every time she tried telling it otherwise, after all, you didn't know his words would ever be true. Back then, you thought they were really your friends. Now you know differently.

The thought kept spiraling back in and out of her head, sending her right back into the depression she'd fallen into.

She thought they were her friends!

She thought wrong.

"Hey, what's wrong cuz?" the familiar voice of Spitfire said, followed by the sound of a landing pegasus. Despite the fact that she'd come from nowhere, Fluttershy hadn't been startled by Spitfire's sudden appearance. She sniffed,

"N-nothing..." she murmured, turning her head away. She heard Spitfire sigh, and felt the mare lay right next to her.

"Nothin's wrong, huh?" she asked, "Ya know... if I hadn't just been out on a nice, relaxing flight away from the party, a flight on which I happened to spot the most recent addition to my family crying in the middle of the Canterlot Gardens, completely hidden away from everyone involved... I might have considered believing you," Spitfire deadpanned, "But I was, so spill it."

Fluttershy fidgeted, before giving her a timid nod.

"O-okay... I-it's just... we f-found out that the E-Elements of Harmony were... m-manipulating our feelings and-"

"Woah, that's a hefty thought," Spitfire said, cutting her off, before turning pensive, "... Say, which one of you came up with that idea?"

"E-Emerald?" Fluttershy admitted, hesitantly. Why did she want to know?

"Ah," she breathed, frowning, "that does sound like something he could make up, but... if he actually thinks that..." she trailed off, before shrugged, "If Em came up with it, then he probably went the extra mile and figured that if they were manipulating your feelings, then they probably manipulated your thoughts and lives, yeah?" she asked. Fluttershy blinked, and nodded,

"Y-yes...?" Spitfire scoffed,

"Figures he'd come up with something like that," she sighed, and hung her head slightly, "Alright, so what about that is making you... well, like this?" she asked lamely, pointing to the soaked ground beneath her. Fluttershy sniffed, and followed her hoof.

She stared down at the damp grass under her, and flushed slightly. She scrambled into a sitting position and began wiping away the tears, inwardly scolding herself. This was so embarrassing!

As Fluttershy managed her tears, though not quite succeeding in ridding herself of the sadness that brought it on, she explained.

"W-well, it's just... if that was all f-fake, then... that means that the girls and Emerald aren't... really my friends. P-plus... I-I don't know if you know this, but... I've always been kinda shy," she said. Spitfire stared at her, eyes half-lidded,

"You don't say?"

Fluttershy nodded, not catching the sarcasm,

"Y-yes! I've always had problems t-talking to other p-ponies. I-I've done everything I could to get b-better, but... it n-never really works," she admitted. Spitfire hummed,

"Well, you seem to be doing pretty okay right now," she noted, brow raising, "Sure, you talk a bit slowly and you stutter every now and again, but I've met ponies our age who could barely get a word out, let alone a full conversation like we're having. You sure you're talking about yourself, cuz?" Fluttershy nodded,

"I-I'm sure!" she insisted, and fidgeted, "I-I don't mind talking to you, s-since your f-family and-"

"But wouldn't the Elements have had a part in that?" Spitfire asked suddenly, raising her brow once again, "After all, if they've been manipulating your entire life like that, wouldn't it mean that they made sure you'd be related to Emerald and, by extension, me?" she asked. Fluttershy froze, her blood turning to ice.

Sh-she hadn't thought of it like that. B-but that made sense. W-were the Elements responsible for her Mom and Dusty not working out? W-was that why she never knew anything about thestrals until Emerald came along? So that they could b-bond over it?

Just as she was about to start hyperventilating, Spitfire spoke once more.

"Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of nonsense," she said, completely breaking Fluttershy's train of thought.

"Wh-what?" she managed to squeak, not at all understanding. Spitfire scoffed,

"Listen cuz, so what if the Elements are actually doin' all that crap?" she asked, "I mean, it sounds pretty damn similar to all that 'fate' stuff you'd read about in trashy romance novels, and, believe me, I hear enough about it from Surprise that I don't need to hear it from you. No offense, but I've never actually believed in it. Could it be real? I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders, "but, hay, if it does, cool. I don't care. I'm exactly where I want to be in my life, so if I have to thank fate or the Elements-or what the fuck ever-fine! Thanks!" she shouted, almost sarcastically, "I like my life, and I can't imagine it any other way!" she added, throwing her hooves out, before fixing Fluttershy with a stare, "What about you, cuz, can you imagine having a different life? Cause I can't."

Fluttershy went silent.

... Did she want a different life?

A life where she'd never been shy. A life where she'd had a lot of friends. One where she also had a large, unbroken family.

...

...

Was it selfish of her to say no?

Was it selfish of her to say that she preferred the life she had right now? Even though said life had her Mom go through a hard time raising her until she'd met her Step-Dad?

Was it strange to say that she preferred the life that resulted in her being bullied in her foalhood thanks to her shyness? The same bullying that ended up introducing her to her best friend, who was more like a sister to her now, and led to her one day discovering how much she loved animals?

She loved this life. This life that had given and taken so much from her. The life that, right now, she was putting on hold because she was scared that someone-thing-else had tricked her into having?

She couldn't possibly imagine living in a world so vastly different from the one she did right now.

She nodded to herself, resolute.

"I can't," she said firmly, breaking the stretched silence she'd lapsed into, "This is how I want to live my life, and there's no other way I can imagine living it!" Spitfire laughed,

"Haha! I knew it! So what are you gonna do?" she asked eagerly. Fluttershy huffed,

"I'm going to go talk to my friends and tell them how silly all of this is!" she snapped, trotting off, her steps perfectly confident.

"You go, girl!" Spitfire cheered, watching her cousin stomp off into the night.

A few moments passed, before she groaned.

"'You go, girl!'? Dammit, I never should've tried reading Surprise's books. Now I've got their lines and shit stuck in my head."


-

-


Rainbow Dash growled, and downed another glass of water, before slamming it onto the bar counter. She'd wanted something alcoholic, initially, but figured that would be a bad idea partway through ordering it.

Her friends were being idiots.

The Elements; controlling them? Bullshit!

But... she did have to admit. It was pretty sketchy when she thought about it. How they all ended up in the right place, at the right time. How they all got along so well when, by all rights, they really shouldn't. Not as well, at least.

But hey, that was life! It was full of crazy coincidences that you couldn't explain!

Like, how did pegasi figure out they could control the freaking weather? By getting lucky and hitting a cloud!

She thought.

She was pretty sure.

...

Okay, it had been a really long time since she was in school, and she was never a grades kinda mare. That was Twilight's shtick, not hers.

Still, there was a bunch of shit that ponies couldn't explain in their daily life! Like, why were they called apples? Why not grapes, or strawberries-Applejack would kill her for that one-or-er... gazzlfrackles, or something stupid like that?

Or Pinkie's Pinkie Sense!

Seriously. Life was just this crazy thing that ponies tended to just ride along with. Roll with the punches, you know? Why should she freak out over something she couldn't explain?

Again, that was Twilight's shtick, not hers.

Her friends were all just being paranoid idiots. But, even so, she couldn't really blame them. It was a pretty scary thought, and that was coming from Rainbow 'Fearless' Dash!

But to actually think that crap? It was like putting a handicap on her entire life. Everything she'd ever worked for, poof! Her effort was invalid. Talent, given to her. Problems, not even worth mentioning.

Still, just because they were being stupid, didn't mean they were idiots. Er, like, idiot idiots, not... not like this. Uhh...

Point is, they'd snap out of it, eventually!

Her friends were smart like that. Even when they were being idiots. Er, the good kind. Wait, no...


-

-


Rarity gave a gentle smile to the stallion she was speaking with, making sure to nod at appropriate times, laughed slightly at any joke he made, and tried to appear interested in whatever it was he was saying even though she'd stopped listening after the initial 'Hey, you look nice, wanna come back to my place?' one-liner he'd tried to discretely begin with, before she gracefully dismissed herself.

In truth, she was oh-so-desperately trying to keep her mind off of... that, but, like the Gala, this party was quickly turning out to be less than she'd anticipated. In more ways than one.

Perhaps it was her lowered mood, but the ponies around her, all truly high class with only a small mix of the slightly less fortunate hiding within, seemed... too much.

Were their noses always turned so high? Were their attitudes always so grating?

She was no fool. Rarity had always known how the upper class acted. It was an unfortunate part of gaining wealth. One's outlook on life often went from 'barely surviving' to 'living the high life' and with it came the idea of how awful the life 'beneath' them was.

But it wasn't the majority of the high class she admired. It was always the minority.

Those like Fancy Pants, or even Sapphire Shores!

The famous, wealthy ponies who, rather than squander away in their falsely gold-encrusted lives, took what they had and tried to make everyone else's lives better.

They were the ones she admired and hoped to be one day.

But, unfortunately, all those thoughts were far from where she was now.

It was ghastly to think about. That her entire life was just one big cover-up. An ugly lie to cover an uglier truth.

She'd thought the Elements of Harmony a force for good. A true, marvelous work of art fashioned into a set of exquisite gemstones. Now they only felt like make-up. Something pretty to cover a foul underside.

Not at all how it should be used, but how it tended to turn out.

Rarity worked her way through the crowd with all the experience she'd mustered worming her way through the controlled chaos of her workroom, until she'd found herself in the auditorium, where the loud, booming sounds of Sapphire's singing echoed outside.

Despite relaxing a tad when the familiar, peppy music washed over her, it did little to quiet her thoughts.

To think. All her joys, all her sorrows. All those small luxuries and all those grand nightmares were nothing more than an elaborate play set up behind the scenes while they all played the star roles without their knowledge.

Well, the play has come to an end, and the finale did not leave her wanting more.

What were they supposed to do now? Their lives up to this point were worthless!

It was a conundrum that Rarity faced for all of fifteen minutes, before a familiar voice broke her thoughts.

"My-my-my! What in the world has got that pretty face'o yours all screwed up, Rarity?" Sapphire chirped, appearing in her vision suddenly. Rarity let out a decidedly unlady-like yelp, and jumped back, holding a hoof to her chest,

"Sapphire!" she snapped, patting her chest in hopes of calming her heart, "What in the world are you doing, scaring ponies like that?!"

Sapphire smiled, and shrugged,

"Sorry! Guess ponies don't really expect little old me to be qui-et!" she sang, before nodding, "Not that I can blame them, of course!" Rarity continued glaring at the mare, but eventually relented when a confused thought crossed her mind,

"Not that I mean to be rude, but shouldn't you be up on stage right now?" she asked. Sapphire regarded her strangely, brow raising,

".... Oh my, what in the world has got you so confused?" she asked, smirking, "I've been on break for the past ten mi-nu-tes!"

Rarity blinked, and glanced up to the stage, only to find it completely empty, and all the lights turned off. No one in the crowd was paying the stage any mind, implying that, yes, it had been quite some time since the show went on hiatus.

"Oh... goodness," she murmured. Was she truly so lost in thought?

This whole Element business must be muddling with her thoughts more than she'd anticipated.

"Well?" Sapphire asked, a tad impatiently, "Aren't you gonna tell me?" Rarity blinked, before clearing her throat,

"Well, yes, I am having a few... personal difficulties, Sapphire. However, and I don't mean any offense-" she assured quickly, "-but, why would I tell them to you? I understand that you're not someone who will simply go about spouting others's secrets, but we hardly know each other," she pointed out. Sapphire hummed, and nodded,

"You got a point, sugar," she conceded, and seemingly let the issue drop.

Rarity was quickly disavowed of that notion when a cruel smirk graced Sapphire's lips.

On a completely unrelated note, she could now understand how she and Emerald were related.

"Let's make a deal, then. If you don't tell me what the problem is, then I'll go looking for a new designer. How-does-that-sound?" she sang, the smirk growing wider. Rarity stiffened, horror overcoming her.

A new designer? That couldn't happen!

If word got out that Sapphire Shores dropped her, then her entire business would surely go down the drain! Ponies would rescind any placed order, and she'd have clients knocking down her door for refunds she couldn't give!

After all, if The Pony of Pop saw fit to drop her as a designer, then surely that meant that there was something horribly wrong with all of her outfits?!

She couldn't let that happen.

It would be the worst. Possible. Thing!

It took her a few moments, but suddenly her horror died off, replaced by a surge of anger, which was quickly replaced by amusement, then embarrassment, then gratitude.

She truly wished to help her, didn't she?

Armed with that thought in mind, Rarity cleared her throat,

"Well... I suppose you've forced my hoof," she sighed dramatically, "very well, I'll tell you."

She cleared her throat, and began.

"When I was a filly, I do recall learning about the Elements of Harmony. How they were forces for true good, and that the Princess, the pony who practically personified the concept of 'good', had used them to protect Equestria from Nightmare Moon. I grew up hearing about the Nightmare, and how it was one of the greatest evils to ever appear in Equestria. Then, one day, during the Summer Sun Celebration, my friends and I met the Nightmare, and found the Elements. Then, to my surprise, we ended up using the Elements to save Princess Luna from the Nightmare she had become," she began, and smiled at Sapphire, "Can you believe it? Us, six, little ponies. We weren't anything special, by any means, or so I had thought until that point. I was happy with my life. Five wonderful friends, and a good business life ahead of me."

"Then Emerald appeared, and my life hardly even changed. Were it not for his surprisingly good relationship with Pinkie, and his own meddling, why, I doubt I ever would have met him of my own accord," she admitted, almost fondly, "Time passed and I learned what a delightful stallion Emerald was, even behind his secrets and overly grumpy facade. As time continued, I realized that I had not five wonderful friends, but six spectacular ones!" she gushed, before her smile abruptly fell, "I... I have never, not once, questioned my fortune. After all, it comes by so rarely, one can only appreciate its presence. But now?" she asked, swallowing heavily, "Now... now I've learned that my life was nothing more than-than-... than some foul little play!" she snarled, stamping her hoof against the ground, ignoring how Sapphire approached and wrapped a hoof around her shoulders, and further ignoring the way they began shaking, "I-I've worked day in and day out, never once forgetting how much I loved my life! My friends were everything I could for, my family was always supportive of my endeavors, everything in my life was exactly how I wanted it to be! To learn that I was only fortunate because-because of some meddling done by those-those-those stupid fucking rocks!" she snarled.

She was huffing a tad after that, but it fell away as she deflated,

"Why... why me? Why not someone less fortunate than myself?" she asked, though she wasn't sure whom it was directed at, "What was it that determined that I was more important than the lives of everyone the Elements affected?"

Sapphire was silent for a moment, before speaking,

"What's got you thinkin' like that?"

"... Emerald figured all that out, and was kind enough to tell us," she said. Sapphire's lips curled down,

"Did he now? Strange, he usually wouldn't... Well, I don't know what to tell ya, Rarity," she admitted, "That's definitely a problem," she sighed, and trailed off for a moment, then continued, "I guess... the only real piece of advice I can give ya is... is that it's still your life. Make it into whateva you want," Sapphire said with a shrug, "Use it to help out the other ponies in the world, or just live your life, and wash your hooves of whatever problems that come along because of the Elements. It's not like it's your fault."

Rarity shook her head,

"While I appreciate the words, I am not so sure I could do something like that, Sapphire."

"And why not?" she asked, a tad aggravated, "You've only got the one life, you know? There's no take-backs! You've only got one shot, and you'd better not miss whatever chances some up in life!" she gushed, "It's what I did, and I couldn't be happier! Even after everything that happened to me and the others, I still had a life ahead of me, and I intend to live it to my fullest! So why shouldn't you do the same?" she asked. Rarity shook her head,

"I couldn't!" she insisted, "Not with the knowledge that someone else could have truly benefit-"

"Rarity," Sapphire cut her off harshly, "Be. Selfish. I know you're the Element of Generosity, but you can't go tossing aside your life just because got dealt a better hand than most," she deadpanned, "besides," she added, almost as an afterthought, "coming from someone who started from nothing, it's insulting. The fact is that you're insinuating that they need that good fortune to live a nice life," she pointed out, "You shouldn't go around complaining about having too good of a life, you know? That's just not done. Not in good taste, at least."

Rarity blinked, before the words registered in her stunned mind,

"Wha-no! I never intended for my words to come out like that-!"

"Well, they did," Sapphire snapped, scowling at her, "The Elements of Harmony decided that you're important enough that you get to have a nice life. That you get to work a job you love, with friends and family that you love not far away," she said, gesturing with a hoof, "Yeah, you're pretty lucky, fortunate, whatever. Good for you. But instead of complaining over what other ponies could have, why don't you try being grateful for what you already have," she suggested, though it came out as more of an order, before sighing, "And if that didn't help, then think about it like this. If you're worried about the Elements making your life better, then make your life even better through your own ability. That way you've worked for a good life just like everyone else. How about that?"

Rarity pursed her lips together, thinking hard on what Sapphire had said.

She... wasn't wrong. She was complaining about all the things that the Elements might have helped her with in life. But, at the same time, that was as much the Elements helping as it was her own ability. An ability she worked hard for, even if she'd been given a little boost.

She shouldn't be so focused on what other ponies didn't have that the Elements could've given them, because, at the end of the day, the Elements had chosen her. She needed to simply look at her own life, and make it hers. Make it hers in such a way that she'd never have to worry about the Elements giving her more than what she earned.

It took a few minutes for her thoughts to settle, but she eventually nodded.

"Of course... you're quite right, Sapphire," she began, gently slipping free of the mare's hooves, "I... I have to talk to my friends," she determined, and spared the famous mare a bright smile, "Thank you for your help, but I must be going!"

And with that, she was off.

Sapphire sighed, and gently stretched her back,

"Wow... I am not good at those kind of speeches..." she muttered, before her eyes locked onto a nearby clock, "Oh! Break is almost over..."


-

-


How could the sky look so nice, when she felt so awful?

Even while the sun set, painting the sky in various shades of red and orange, it always looked beautiful, no matter what troubles affected the world every single day.

Twilight couldn't help but think it a tad unfair. Why couldn't the sky ever look so awful when the world felt as such?

She sighed, and hung her head over the railing, peering down into the vast streets below. She couldn't handle being around so many celebrating ponies, not right now, and had escaped at the first opportunity. And now, here she was, sitting at the top of the astronomy tower, alone.

She'd had fond memories of this tower. Of late nights spent watching the stars and the occasional planet, cataloguing their positions in relation to the time of year and comparing them to astrology books written hundreds of years ago. It had been a fun past-time, even if it had resulted in more than a few broken pairs of glasses from how dark it got, coupled with a few hundred scoldings about her staying up past curfew.

And yet, now those wonderful memories were tainted with the idea that they had been manufactured for her, designed to shape her life and personality into the kind of pony who'd discover an ancient prophecy foretelling the return of a dark evil, rightfully bring it up to the highest power in the land, get sent to a small town, venture into the dangerous Everfree Forest just to recover some ancient artifacts, somehow make friends with five mares she'd never met, and save the world from some megalomaniac of a mare who wanted to kill off every living thing on the planet by making sure the sun never rose again, because she thought that no one appreciated the night sky she made.

If only that was the end of it.

Emerald had been right.

Twinkleshine, Lemon... Hearts? Minuette, Moon Dancer, and....

Lyra.

She could only just remember their names, and, apart from that, she could only recall how annoying she thought they had been back in Canterlot. Always asking her to come to parties with them, always asking her to join when they went out. Every single time they'd ever wanted to do something, they had always invited her and, back then, she'd been infuriated!

But now? Now she was desperately jumping to accept whenever one of her 'friends' invited her to come along with... whatever it was they were doing.

Looking back now, it was disgusting to think that she used to act that way, but... knowing what the Elements must've done, she couldn't help but wonder...

Was that how she was supposed to act? Or was it how she was acting now?

It hurt her head to think about. To question the validity of her entire life. To wonder whether she was who she was because she had chosen to be this way, or because she'd been groomed this way.

She sighed once more, and glared down at the ponies enjoying the party.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this," a somewhat familiar voice snarked from behind her. Twilight started, flailing her hooves to find purchase on the railing, before she whirled around, finding Peppermint(?) standing in the doorway.

"Wh-what are you doing up here?" she asked, blinking at him. He frowned,

"I could ask you the same thing," he said immediately, before blinking, "Uh... sorry, reflex. I was just scouting the castle for the future." She blinked.

Scouting?

She opened her mouth to question that, but he beat her to the punch,

"Your turn. What are you up here for?" he asked. She fidgeted, and turned away from him, her previous thoughts lost,

"N-no reason. Just... came to enjoy the view," she lied, though she didn't think he'd buy it for even a second. He was much too similar to Emerald for that to not be the case.

As expected, he only hummed to himself, before approaching her. She did her best to not react to his approach, but found herself lost for words when he started poking her side.

After about a solid thirty seconds, she smacked his hoof away, glaring at him.

Peppermint(?) smirked,

"So, how ya feelin'?" he asked suddenly, his eyes focused on something on her chest. She frowned and followed his gaze, but found nothing,

"Umm... okay?" she said, eyebrow raising at the strange question. Peppermint(?) nodded,

"I suppose it wore off on you," he said cryptically, turning away from her, "Em probably has a few days until he's back to normal, then," he added, almost as an afterthought, "Then again, I've never seen someone get drained completely. It might take a few months, for all I know... damn, what were they thinking taking that much?" Twilight frowned,

"What are y-"

"Why are you sad?" Peppermint(?) asked, cutting her off entirely, "Yesterday you were pretty... not happy, but you sure as shit weren't all doom and gloom like you are now," he noted, "Which means something big happened... and that Em didn't mention it," he said, adding that last part under his breath.

Twilight stuttered, having more difficulty than she'd like to admit following what he was saying. On any other day, she'd be able to follow whatever conversation he was trying to have with her. But having her head spun around so much over the past few days had left her feeling mentally fatigued, regardless of how much rest she got.

"I-I-well, I was-" she stammered, "I-it's just..." she sighed, and shook her head, "I was just... Emerald mentioned something about the Elements of Harmony that... messed with all of us," she said vaguely.

Emerald's brother or not, he didn't need to hear about her problems. She was having enough difficulties with her 'friends' that she didn't need to drag anybody else into-

"I'm guessing it has something to do with Em thinking the Elements are manipulating your lives, yeah?" he asked, bringing her thoughts to a screeching halt.

"Wh-what?" she asked, blinking at him, stunned, "How-who-who told you?!" she asked, jaw hanging open. Peppermint(?) shrugged,

"No one. I just figured it out now. You said he mentioned something about the Elements that affected the seven of you, and he said he was thinking about the Facility yesterday. Those two things don't really belong in the same sentence under a positive light, so I took a guess. I'm not sure what he's playing at, but your reaction tells me I'm right, right?"

"W-well, y-yes, but-"

"Alright, so tell me what's wrong," he cut her off once more, smirking at the glare she was sending him,

"Why do you care?" she demanded. He'd been nothing but rude and unhelpful ever since she met him, Emerald's brother or not. So why in the world would he want to know what was wrong with her?

Peppermint(?) shrugged,

"Believe me, or don't, but it's in my best interest to help you two."

Twilight frowned. Best interest? What in the world could that possibly mean?

"So, you gonna tell me, or do I have to guess? And, believe me, my guesses get pretty vulgar," he warned, causing her to wince. Twilight sighed,

"Alright," she muttered, "it's... I used to have some friends here in Canterlot," she began, "friends that I wanted nothing to do with, whatsoever. I always thought that studying and learning more about the world around me was more important than friendship could ever hope to be, and, for the most part, I stuck with that way of thinking. But then one day-" she sighed, looking back over the railing, "I found a book that mentioned a prophecy about Nightmare Moon. 'On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal.'" she recited, biting her lip, "I... I grew up hearing that old pony's tale, but I never heard anything about a prophecy before, so I took it up to Princess Celestia, hoping she could tell me something. But then she sent me down to Ponyville to check up on the preparations for that year's Summer Sun Celebration. There were some... mishaps," she said delicately, "but, eventually, Nightmare Moon escaped and me and the girls freed Princess Luna from her control. I... I... I made friends with them," she said, her tone taking on a breathy quality, "I-... I became friends with five mares I knew for only a day, when I ignored the friends I'd had since magic kindergarten, and I just... I-" she bit her lip, and looked away, even as she shrunk in on herself, "... I don't want to be like that, but... do I even have a choice?"

She wanted to be a good friend, a good pony, a good individual, but... with the Elements pulling the strings, could she ever hope to be the kind of pony she wanted to be?

Out of everything, that was what scared her the most. That, at any time, she could completely turn her back on everything she thought she knew-like she did with her old friends-without any regard whatsoever to the life she'd held before.

"Then don't be," Peppermint(?) said, completely breaking her from her thoughts,

"What?" she asked, turning to look at him, her eyes wide. He shrugged, again,

"If you don't want to be like that, then don't. Coming from something like me, if you don't want to be one way, then be another way," he said simply, as if that was all there was to it. Twilight shook her head,

"I-it's not that simple-"

"Sure it is," he said, cutting her off again, "Who gives a fuck if the Elements did whatever. It's your fucking life. Make it yours, and kick anyone who tries to make you do otherwise in the crotch. I mean... look at me!" he said, gesturing to himself while giving her an almost arrogant smirk, "I'm Peppermint right now, but tomorrow I could be anybody I wanted to be, and no one could tell me otherwise. But even then, I might still be Thorax, but since when did the world get to tell me who I could and couldn't be?" he asked.

Twilight stared at him for a moment.

"... I have no idea what you're talking about."

Peppermint(?) deflated and stared at her, his expression deadpan. After about a minute, he sighed, and straightened himself,

"Look, what I'm trying to say is that you can be who you want. Today, I might be nice, but tomorrow I could be a total asshole. Today, I might be a knight in shining armour, but tomorrow I might be the one stabbing you in the back," he said, that smirk back in place, "No one has any say in who you are, but you. Who cares if the Elements laid out a track for you to follow. As far as I'm concerned, a track is just a path to take, but we all know that trains can fly off the rails at any time. Why can't you?"

Twilight, again, only stared at him.

What-what-what kind of logic was that?!

You can be whoever you want to be, so be who you want to be.

That was-that was-that was insane!

But it made sense, in a strange, twisted sort of way. The Elements made her one way, but nobody ever said she couldn't make herself into another.

She could, using his words 'be nice today, but tomorrow she could be a total asshole. Today, she might be a knight in shining armour, but tomorrow she might be the one stabbing someone in the back.'

...

What a strange way of putting it, by the way. Of all the ways to try comforting her, why did he choose-

Twilight shook her head.

She shouldn't be focusing on that! She should be focusing on being who she wanted to be! She should-she should-!

She should go talk to her friends!

Nodding to herself, Twilight turned to Peppermint(?),

"Thanks, Peppermint! I have to go talk to my friends!" she chirped, before standing and rushing out the door and down the stairs.

Peppermint(?) watched after her, before chuckling to himself.

"Hehe, all according to plan."


-

-


He wasn't angry.

He wasn't furious.

But holy fuck did he want to kill something right now.

He never had been very good with situations like this. Anger and fury were easier for him to deal with than sorrow or sadness. Perhaps it wasn't a good way to react, but it was one he knew how to direct.

Unfortunately, this was one of those rare times where he refused to direct his anger, letting it fester within him.

After all...

It proved that he was still somehow in control of himself.

As far as he was aware, the Elements had dictated every aspect of his life. His personality, his experiences, his likes and dislikes, everything.

-paindarknessspearchestagony-

So, by going against something he would normally do...

Was that proof of him fighting against the strings that held him up?

Or...

Was it just a trail of bait, leading him on a path he thought he chose?

In the end, it didn't matter what he said or did, because everything came back to that one, simple question.

Was this life real?

Or...

Was this life fake?

He Didn't Know The Answer.

He growled, feeling his neck twitch.

He hated this. Hated the feeling of not being sure. Hated the idea of being pulled along on some leash by forces so far beyond him, that he couldn't see them until they let him.

Because there was no doubt in his mind. The Elements were letting this happen. Letting them question their lives, letting them fear the truth.

And somehow, he knew-he just knew-that the girls would all come to terms with this, and the bond holding them all together would grow ever stronger.

And yet...

Why had his feelings for Sparky faded like that?

Of all the ways to provide evidence for the Elements' interference, why was that the way they'd done it?

He shook his head.

It didn't matter how it had come up. The fact was that it would've come up no matter what.

He was... too different to have truly fit in with the girls under natural circumstances. This was inevitable. The understanding that something had to have brought them together was as predetermined as death.

-nothingavoicewhisperingpainagonysilence-

it was... better to have figured it out now, rather than later.

Still...

He glanced up into the darkened sky above him, the faint light of the sun providing only the slightest tint on the otherwise black sky.

He'd been sitting out here for most of the day, completely avoiding the still ongoing celebration.

He was hiding out near the Barracks in the same place he'd told the others earlier today. It was where everything had fallen apart, and, maybe, it would be where he could put this thoughts back together.

-movementpullingagaspsilence-

"Emerald?"

Or, perhaps, not.

He twitched at the voice, not because of its familiarity, but because it happened to be a voice he hadn't been expecting to hear. He spun around, coming face to face with a pair of dim blue eyes.

"Starlight?" he asked.

The mare in question gave him a timid laugh, coupled with an equally sheepish smile. Even the small wave she gave him did nothing to detract from the amount of nervous energy the mare was giving off.

Now that he was getting a look at her, she was very clearly not taking care of herself. Her eyes, once a unique shade of persian blue, were now dim and had dark bags underneath them, as if she hadn't slept in weeks. Her pale, grayish pink coat was visibly unkempt, sticking out in random places, and her deep purple mane and tail were devoid of their curly nature, falling completely down, with large clumps of hair visibly sticking out. Even the familiar stripes of bright aquamarine and bright purple were frayed, mixing in heavily with the other colours. Not even her cutie mark, a four pointed purple star over a white star, both emitting a blueish mist, looked any better cared for than the rest of her.

A few moments passed, before a particularly foul scent hit his nose as well.

Tying the image of an unsanitary hobo together was the pair of saddlebags resting on her back, both of which looked half-full.

All thoughts of the Elements vanished as he focused on his sister's appearance.

"Starlight, what the fuck happened to you?!" he demanded nasally, having pinched his nose shut, but only received a nervous laugh from her,

"N-nothing! I, uh, I just had a nasty fall!"

"Down a fucking mountain range into a pile of sewage, sure!"

"W-well!" Starlight stammered, "I-I'm not lying! I just had a fall and... didn't get to clean up!.... for several months," she admitted. Emerald blinked,

"Are you-... are you homeless?" he asked, dropping his hoof, and doing his best to ignore the stench out of politeness.

"What? No!" Starlight denied far too quickly, "I'm a traveler! Like, uh, like Trixie!"

"Trixie has a cart to sleep in, what do you have?" he asked. Starlight fidgeted,

"The ground..."

"That's what I thought," he growled, before shaking his head with a huff, "I thought you went home after we got out?"

"W-well... I tried," Starlight began, digging her hoof into the ground, "but... but everything was so... so different," she murmured, "It was like Sire's Hollow was a completely different place. Besides-" she added in a sadder tone, "-it's not like I had a lot of good memories of home in the first place," she admitted with a sigh.

"So you decided to travel?" he asked, brow raised. Starlight nodded, slightly more excitedly,

"Yeah! At first it was hard, but it was fun! Seeing all those new places, and meeting all those new ponies!" she began with a smile, which fell slightly, "Though, after some time it got... boring. Hard... Draining. It got harder... and harder to move on from place to place and, eventually, I just started hanging around in Manehatten's streets," she said, beginning to fidget under the stare Emerald was giving her, "I-it wasn't bad, I mean... sure there were more than a few times I had to move when someone got a little too hoovsey, and I always tried avoiding any place I knew had frequent drug use, but it wasn't all bad!" she chirped, "I mean, I managed to land a nice little job working a food cart!"

"And?" Emerald asked, causing Starlight to deflate,

"And... got fired when someone else applied. I-I didn't stop there!" she tried adding in a cheerful tone, "I mean-I managed to get a bunch of jobs and made some money to keep me going!"

"And?"

"And... then I had to leave and tried to sneak onto an airship and got caught," she admitted, her face turning red, "Luckily-er-not-I mean-I-!" she shook her head, "That's when I got told about the whole 'Discord' thing and got brought here!" she finished rapidly.

Emerald chewed his lip and nodded,

"Hmm.... Starlight?" he asked, she gulped,

"Y-yeah?"

"Why didn't you ask someone for help?"

"Wha-?"

"You had, hmmm, maybe, thirty family members who would've helped you if you asked," he snarled calmly, having to fight a smirk when she began cowering, "Why didn't you ask for help?!" he snapped.

"Because I didn't want to bother anyone!" she shouted in return,

"You could never be a bother to me, dammit!" he snapped, frowning at the way Starlight recoiled and shrunk in on herself. They were silent for a minute, before she spoke,

"... I... I... I couldn't?" she asked softly. Emerald sighed, and gently hit her over the head,

"Of course not, you idiot," he said, when a thought crossed his mind, "Is... is this why you were avoiding everyone yesterday?" he asked. Starlight sighed, rubbing the spot he'd hit,

"Well... that was part of the reason," she said, her cheeks turning red, "The rest was... well... I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but, I don't exactly smell like a basket of roses right now..." she trailed off when Emerald started chuckling,

"Oh yeah, I noticed," he snarked, giving her a fanged grin, before it fell, "What brought you out to the Gardens and not, you know, into a shower?" he asked. Starlight narrowed her eyes at him, before chuckling,

"Funny," she snarked, her hoof dropping back to her side, "I actually ran into those friends of yours," she said, then tilted her head, as if in thought, "well, actually, they ran into me. Specifically the pink and purple ones. Twinkle and... Pansy?"

"Twilight and Pinkie," he corrected automatically,

"Yeah that. Apparently the six of them were looking for you, and are waiting at the castle," she said, then frowned, "They seemed... happy, but... sad? I think," she explained, and shook her head, "I don't know how to describe it, but... evidently they thought I'd know where to find you. I ran, they chased me. Ran into me, and asked if I knew where you were. I didn't, obviously-" she added, "-but... well, I guess I found you," she finished lamely, "Thought you ought to know."

Emerald hummed agreeably,

"Yeah... thanks for letting me know, Glim," he said, smirking at the scowl on her face,

"I hate it when you call me that."

"That's why I call you Glim, Glim."

"Dammit, Em."


-

-


Twilight was happy.

No, not happy. Ecstatic.

No, not even ecstatic.

She was completely, utterly, elated!

They were friends! They were all friends! Even if the Elements were responsible for bringing them together, they were not the things that tied them together!

She knew that now, and her friends would as well!

She'd immediately gone hunting for them following her revelation, only to find five of them already together.

"Ha! I told you guys that whole 'Element' thing was a load of crap!" Rainbow boasted, puffing out her chest with a smug grin. Applejack groaned, but there was a bright smile on her face regardless,

"You sure did, Rainbow. You sure did."

"Girls!" Twilight called, running up to them and, without pausing for breath, immediately grabbed the five of them into a group hug, "I"m so sorry for ever thinking our friendship wasn't real!" she cried, eagerly nuzzling the cheeks of her dearest friends. Pinkie laughed, eagerly reciprocating,

"It's okay, Twilight!" she chirped, giving the unicorn a happy, but no-less bone crushing, hug in return, "We were all having silly thoughts!"

"Not me!" Rainbow corrected, smirking at them.

"Indeed," Rarity added, gently breaking away from the hug, "It pains me to think that, for even a few moments, I had truly believed our friendships false, and our lives not our own. Even if they were wonderful, I could not stand the idea that I had not been the one to craft it," she admitted, holding a hoof to her heart, "But I understand now that my life is mine from today onward," she said, resolutely, "and I shall make the best of it! Make no mistake about that!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered, "I was super sad when I thought that I could only make friends cuz those silly old Elements made me! But now I know that it doesn't matter!" she chirped, looking surprisingly serious despite her cheerful tone, "Even if the Elements made you all into my friends, that just means that you're still my bestest friends! Plus, it means I get to make tons more!"

"Eeyup!" Applejack cut in, bringing Pinkie into a one-legged hug, "Even if the Elements got us here, it's up ta us ta decide where we're goin' from 'ere on out! I know we mighta had some help 'long the way, but that's jus' fine!"

"Mhmm!" Fluttershy quietly interjected, "I love my life! I love all my friends, both animals and ponies!" she chirped, smiling softly, shaking her head, "I-I don't want to give all that up just because the Elements of Harmony helped me! I-I couldn't imagine living a different life!" she stammered.

There was a round of 'Aww's from them, and the shy mare was enveloped in, yet another, group hug,

"And I realized that I can be whoever I want to be, regardless of who I really am," Twilight said in lieu of the silence, hugging her friends closer, "I might've been an awful friend in the past, but that's no reason I can't be the best friend I can possibly be to all of you now and in the future!"

Four of her friends cheered in response, while the fifth one scoffed,

"Duh!" Rainbow Dash said, "That's what I was saying earlier!" she repeated, "We're friends, we always have been! Why the fuck would that change now?" she asked, earning a punch to the side, "Ow!"

"We get it, sugarcube," Applejack said, before grabbing the mare and pulling her into the hug,

"Hey!"

The six of them hugged for a moment longer, before Pinkie, unexpectedly, broke free,

"Wait! What about Emerald?" she asked, "We gotta tell him!"

"Of course!" Rarity agreed, nodding firmly, "Out of all of us, he's had the longest to dwell on this horrible topic. I can not imagine how hard it must be for him."

"Well then, what're we waitin' fer?" Applejack asked, almost impatiently, "Any'o ya'll know where he might be? I was out in town near the shops and I didn't spot 'im." Fluttershy shook her head,

"I was hiding in the Gardens," she admitted sheepishly, "a-and I didn't see him."

"I was in the kitchen and he wasn't there!"

"I spent some time in the castle before heading to the auditorium. I'm afraid I saw no sign of him anywhere."

"I was, uh... ah screw it, I was at a bar," Rainbow admitted, earning a disapproving look from Rarity, "What?!" she shouted, throwing up her hooves, "I didn't drink! I wanted to, since you were all out being stupid, but I chose not to!" she defended, before scoffing, crossing her hooves, "Whatever, I didn't see him." Twilight sighed,

"And I was up in the astronomy tower. I didn't see him going up or down, and there was no way I'd have been able to spot Pinkie, let along someone with a mane and coat as dark as his from up there."

The six of them frowned, and sighed, before a voice startled them all,

"Looking for Em?" a familiar voice asked, prompting Twilight to turn, coming face to face with none other than Trixie,

"Trixie?" she asked. The showmare smirked,

"The one and only!" she said, gesturing out with her hooves, chuckling, "Anyways, you lot are looking for Emerald?" she asked again,

"Yep!" Pinkie chirped, tilting her head, "Do you know where he is?" Trixie hummed, putting a hoof to her chin,

"Weeeellll..... he could be hiding over at the grave, but if he's really hiding from you lot, then he's probably not in the mood to see the others right now as well..." she muttered. Twilight blinked.

Grave?

"He might've left Canterlot altogether, though," Trixie added, smirking slightly at the distressed looks on the faces of the others, "buuuut he wouldn't do that. He knows the rest of us would hunt him down if he missed the meeting later tonight," she added, having to hide a chuckle at their relieved sighs, before she shrugged, "Sorry girls, but I have no idea where Em is. He knows Canterlot better than me. He might be hiding in the old catacombs for all I know," she admitted, before a familiar flash of purple caught her eye, "Oh! Why don't you try asking her?" she suggested, pointing at the haggard unicorn mare, who froze in place the second she was indicated, "Starlight's our sister, and she was always a lot closer to Em than I was, so she might be able to take a guess," she said, smirking.

Twilight followed Trixie's gaze, her own eyes landing on the sight of a very unkempt looking mare. She wasn't looking at her, but Twilight could practically feel Rarity's face twist in disgust, the germaphobe's hooves even took a step back at the sight of this... Starlight.

Despite her own reluctance-which Twilight internally apologized to the mare for-she approached.

Or tried to, at least, since the mare immediately bolted in the opposite direction the second she'd taken a step forward.

"Wha-hey!" she called, taking off after her without a second thought, her friends right behind her.

The chase was... astonishingly difficult. The mare, Starlight, managed to duck and weave through the crowd almost as if it wasn't even there, leaving only Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Fluttershy-when she took flight-to be able to actively follow her.

Unfortunately, the mare in question was surprisingly adept at magic, having been able to, not only, teleport away, but to cast a dizzying spell at Rainbow when she was caught at the end of an alleyway. Not only that, but she managed to cast freezing charms along the ground while simultaneously throwing various blinding spells over her shoulder at Rainbow, all while disabling the few times that Twilight had shot a Bolt spell at her, and safely catching and depositing the-even fewer-things that Rarity had deigned to throw.

Nearly five minutes of constant running later and Twilight, as well as Rarity and Fluttershy, were breathing heavily and one of them was complaining about the sweat ruining her mane.

It wasn't until one of them had the idea to split up and try to corner her and catch her before she could teleport again that they actually managed to do just that.

Embarrassingly, it wasn't that the plan had gone well. In fact, the plan had almost failed entirely. It was only Twilight's growing fatigue, and Pinkie's overly energetic running that caused them to stumble and slam into Starlight, effectively pinning her to the ground long enough for them to question her.

"Alright you, where's Emerald?!" Rainbow immediately began the interrogation, landing right next to them. Starlight, who had been struggling to toss her and Pinkie off, froze and gave Rainbow a stunned look,

"What?" she asked, her voice proving to be astonishingly smooth, completely contrasting her appearance.

And smell.

"Where's Emerald?!" Rainbow asked again. Starlight just blinked at her, before her horn finally ignited, and she and Pinkie were gently tossed aside. Starlight stood up, brushing off the accrued dirt,

"Emerald?" she asked again, regarding the six of them critically, "Tall, green, slight attitude, sometimes gives weird nicknames?"

""Yeah!"" Pinkie and Rainbow said together. Starlight frowned,

"What do you want with Em?" she asked,

"Why in the world did you run?" Rarity asked instead, causing Starlight to grimace,

"You... aren't the first group to start randomly chasing me. It was mostly reflex," she admitted, before shaking her head, "What do you want with Em?" she repeated hastily.

"W-well-" Twilight began, a tad uncertain, "we're friends of his. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and I'm Twilight-" she provided quickly, in case they'd been mentioned, "but... there's been an... issue."

"That's one way of putting it."

""Rainbow!""

"What?"

"Anyways-" Twilight continued, undeterred, "we need to talk to him," she implored, "We're... we're worried about how he's feeling," she added.

Starlight frowned at her, and glanced at the other mares. Her eyes were calculating, sizing them up, as if she were seeking even the slightest sign of dishonesty.

Eventually she seemed to find what she was looking for-or found nothing, given the disappointed way she sighed-and spoke,

"Look, I'd like to help, but I..." she trailed off, and sighed again, "I haven't even worked up the nerve to talk to him myself. I can't... I can't stand thinking of what he'll say to me, not after how I pretty much cut off contact with everyone. I don't know where he is-" she admitted, "but... if I find and talk to him, I'll let him know you're looking for him. Okay?" she asked.

Twilight, and the others, stared at her for a moment, before she eventually nodded, a small smile working its way onto her face,

"Okay, we'll be waiting back at the castle. Good luck," Twilight said. Starlight nodded,

"Right, uh... you too?" she replied uncertainly, already beginning to walk off.

With that objective completed, Twilight turned to her friends,

"Okay... what now?" Rainbow asked before she could speak,

"Well, I guess we head back ta the castle, right Twilight?" Applejack said,

"Right!"

And with that, the six of them wormed their way back through the crowd and alleyways they'd run through, more than once commenting on how Starlight managed to evade them.

"Did you see the way she jumped over that cart?!"

"I'm surprised she was able to cast a teleportation spell on the spot like she did. I only managed it once when I was panicking."

"I don't mean to be rude, but, did you see her mane?! Somebody could use a good shower!"

Soon enough the castle doors came into sight, and with it, a whole host of nerves suddenly running down Twilight's spine.

She bit her lip, and found her hooves beginning to drag across the ground as a churning suddenly appeared in her stomach. Her heartbeat was picking up as well, and she could practically feel her thoughts running wild.

How was Emerald doing?

How would he react to them?

Was he okay?

"Twilight, dear, are you alright?" Rarity's voice caused the lavender mare to jump, her head snapping up to her friend,

"What?!" she asked, a little too loudly judging by how Rainbow started snickering. Twilight pouted slightly, and looked around. They had stopped not far from the castle's doors, though, despite that, the area was astonishingly empty. Given the party going on, Twilight would've expected all of Canterlot to be stuffed full.

Then again, it was Canterlot, not Ponyville.

Rarity sighed,

"Twilight, you haven't said anything for the past five minutes," she said, eyeing Twilight worriedly, "whatever is on your mind?"

"I-is it about Emerald?" Fluttershy asked, tapping her hooves together. Twilight nodded,

"Yeah... sorry girls. I'm just... I'm wondering how he's reacting to all this."

"We all are, Twilight," Applejack said, giving the unicorn a gentle pat on the back, "Honestly, I think we're all stumped on this. But we're jus' gonna hafta ask 'im when we see 'im."

"Or we could do that now," Rainbow suddenly interrupted, looking behind them. Twilight stared at her for a moment, before realization dawned, and she spun around.

And there he was. The familiar green thestral was there, walking slowly towards them, his eyes aimed towards the ground.

Twilight licked her suddenly dry lips, her heartbeat picking up once again. It was one thing to imagine confronting the stallion, but to actually do it, considering everything that had happened today?


-or found myself falling for the sixth one, seemingly out of nowhere.


Oh wow, oh-oh-she-she couldn't do this!

Just as she was about to turn tail and run away, Emerald arrived in front of her, coming to a dead stop.

For some reason, Twilight's mind focused on where he'd stopped. He was still a bit away from them, nearly five feet away. It wasn't a close approach, but it was by no means a distant one either. Despite this, there was still a noticeable gap between him and them.

Distantly, she realized that there was something significant about that sentence.

Her brow furrowed.

Was he still having trouble?

"Emerald?" she called, her previous nerves forgotten, for now, "Are you alright?" His eyes suddenly locked onto her own, practically tearing away from the ground in one quick motion. She found herself paralyzed under his gaze for a moment, before she managed to relax when he spoke,

"I'm... fine enough, I suppose."

"Then why the hay are you way over there?!" Rainbow asked,

"Yeah!" Pinkie agreed, smiling brightly, "C'mon! We can't have a group hug from all the way over here!" Emerald's neck twitched,

"I'm sure the six of you can hug just fine without me," he said dully, brow raising. Twilight frowned. Something about the way he'd said that... unsettled her.

"Emerald," she said, his attention immediately latching onto her. She took a deep breath, before continuing, "The Elements don't matter," she managed to say.

"Twilight's right!" Rarity added eagerly, "Our lives are our own, Emerald."

"I can't possibly imagine living a d-different one!" Fluttershy chirped, surprisingly loudly for her,

"That's right! Even if the Elements got us here, it's up ta us ta find where we're goin'!"

"We're still friends!" Pinkie stated, pumping her hoof into the air, "Elements or not, us not being friends is, like, totally impossible!" Rainbow shrugged,

"I stand by what I said earlier," she said lamely, crossing her hooves with a smug grin on her face. Twilight shook her head, but made sure to smile at Emerald, who looked... contemplative.

"We can be whoever we want to be, Emerald," she said, walking towards the taller stallion-had he always been this much taller than her?-before sticking out her hoof for him to take, "The seven of us will always be together! The Elements brought the six of us together, and then finally brought you to us! It doesn't matter what happened back then or what happens in the future, because we'll always be friends!"

Emerald's eyes widened at her proclamation, and his eyes fell, landing firmly onto her outstretched hoof.

"... 'always be friends', huh?" he muttered, his own hoof slowly reaching out towards hers.

Twilight's smile widened as their hooves grew closer, and even Emerald's expression firmed up after a moment.

Then he slapped her hoof away.

The girls gasped at that, while Twilight remained frozen, taken by surprise at the action, her eyes focused on Emerald's,

"We are not friends, Twilight Sparkle," he snarled, his more dangerous features exaggerated by the scowl on his face, before turning away from them, "I refuse to allow my life to dictated by a bunch of fucking rocks! I will not allow anything to control me, ever again!" he snarled, before relaxing, even as his neck twitched once more. He spared a glance back at her, "Neither should you," he added, walking off.

Twilight was left, staring slack-jawed at him, only broken from her thoughts by the vicious sounding *CRACK* that split the air as he took to the skies.

"Wha-hey! Get back here!" Rainbow shouted, nearly taking off after him, if Applejack hadn't caught her tail and brought her back to the ground, "Oof!"

"Hold it there, Rainbow!" Applejack snapped, though her gaze was locked onto Emerald's disappearing form. Rainbow growled from the ground, ripping her tail out of Applejack's grip as she got back up,

"'Hold it!'?! What the fuck are you talking about?! Didn't you hear him?! Who the fuck does he think he is?!" she yelled, pointing her hoof at the distant green speck.

"While I disagree with her language, I do agree with Rainbow Dash's thoughts," Rarity said, frowning, "That was no way to act, even regarding the recent circumstances. It was rude and uncalled for!"

"B-but... didn't you say...?"

Pinkie shook her head,

"He's just... confused," she explained, before nodding, "Yeah! He's just a little confused is all!" she continued, "We're his friends, so it's up to us to make him not confused!"

"An' how are we s'pposed ta do that?" Applejack asked, waving a hoof to where Emerald used to be, "Who knows where he mighta flown off ta!" Twilight finally turned back to her friends, sighing,

"Applejack's right," she muttered, silencing the group, she ran a hoof over her face, "but I... I don't..." she sighed, and let her sentence trail off.

"Wh-what if he's not in Canterlot anymore?" Fluttershy asked timidly, looking around worriedly. Pinkie shook her head, a serious look on her face,

"No way! Emerald wouldn't just leave us like that! He might be a little loco in the coco right now, but we're still his best friends!" she said, her cheeks puffing up as she narrowed her eyes, "He's totally still in Canterlot! He's just gone off to his super secret hide-y hole!" Rainbow scoffed,

"Cool!" she said sarcastically, throwing her hooves out to the side, "Now we just have to find this 'hide-y hole' in the middle of a huge city, at night, against someone who probably knows this place like the back of his wing, and has night vision! Great! Shouldn't be too hard!" she added, smiling a large, fake, smile, which caused Pinkie to deflate.

"Rainbow's right, again," Applejack said, tiredly rubbing her face, "It's late, an' none'o us know that colt well 'nough ta guess where's 'e's hidin'. We could be lookin' all night fer all we know." Pinkie stammered,

"Th-then we just have to find somebody who does know him well enough!" she said, only to receive the shaking of several heads,

"An' where are they?" Applejack asked, glancing up into the sky, where the sun had just finished setting, "Trixie said somethin' 'bout a meetin' later tonight, an' it can't get much later 'til everybody starts turnin' in fer the night," she added, and sighed, "We don't know where this meetin' is or how long it's s'pposed ta last. An' that's assumin' they do know where he ran off ta. They could be jus' as stumped as we are."

They were silent at that. It was true, after all. At the end of the day, there was only so much they knew about Emerald and his family, and, on top of that, they had only known him for so many months now. Twilight had an extra seven months to spend with the girls, and even then she didn't know all that much about them, so there was no telling just how little Emerald knew of them in return.

They remained silent for a good five minutes, before Fluttershy suddenly spoke up,

"W-well... what bout the Princess?" she asked, looking around at them, "Sh-she's known him longer than we have," she pointed out softly.

"What?!" Twilight gasped, "W-we can't go to the Princess!" she argued, "She's-she's busy!"

"Busy doing what?" Rainbow asked, eyes narrowed, "What that hay does she have to do during a party?"

"W-well-" Twilight stammered, "sh-she has to organize guards patrols so that they don't interfere with the celebration, she has to talk to the ponies who come to introduce themselves to her, she has to keep the party from getting out of hoof-!" she was interrupted by an orange hoof pressing against her lips,

"We get it, sugarcube," Applejack deadpanned, "the Princess is mighty busy tanight."

"Oh, am I?"

Twilight and the others all gasped at once, turning to face the approaching alicorn.

Princess Celestia calmly regarded the six kneeling ponies before her, noting that Emerald was nowhere to be seen, her only visible eye crinkling as she smiled down at them,

"Now girls, you should know that there's no need to bow to me," she reminded them, gently gesturing for them to stand, "I think we're good enough friends that that isn't necessary," she added thoughtfully, smiling at the way Twilight sputtered,

"O-of course Your Highness, b-but-"

"No buts, Twilight," she held out a hoof to silence her student, and lowered it not a moment later, "Now, what makes you think I'd be too busy for... whatever it was you thought of asking me?" she asked, peering at them curiously, but not unkindly. The girls all looked at each other, before Applejack spoke, placing her hat back onto her head from where it had rested against her heart,

"Well, ya see, Yer Highness, Twilight told us how ya hafta keep an eye on all the festivities goin' on tanight," she explained. Celestia nodded, smiling,

"Well that would normally be true," she began, her smile fading a tad, "but, given recent events, I thought it would be best to hoof off some of Luna's old responsibilities to her, as she's very clearly ready for them. For example, now that the sun is set, this party is now hers to take care of," she informed, her smile falling the rest of the way, "I am... ashamed to admit that I hadn't considered her feelings very thoroughly when she returned, and, until now, I've been putting off giving her the rest of her old duties. For that, at least, I have to thank Discord," she added, a bit distastefully, then gave a shake of her head, "Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

Again, the six of them glanced at each other, before Twilight sighed, and spoke,

"W-well, Your Highness, we recently had a... realization about the Elements," she said, beginning to fidget at the intense look the Princess suddenly gave her, "Er, well... a-actually, Emerald figured out that... that the Elements..." she trailed off, biting her lip. Rainbow sighed,

"Emerald came up with this stupid idea that the Elements have been controlling our lives. I tried to tell everybody they were being stupid, but nooooo!" she snapped, ignoring the way Rarity slapped her side,

"Rainbow, hush!"

Twilight took a shaky breath, and nodded,

"Y-yeah... Rainbow's... not wrong. H-he told us about how the Elements have been manipulating us so that we'd all be friends, and... it-it hit us all pretty hard, but..."

"We realized that was pretty dumb!" Pinkie interjected when Twilight fell silent, "It's stupid, cuz, of course we're friends! Even if the Elements did tell us what to do, us not being friends is crazy!"

"That's an... interesting idea," Princess Celestia said, individually meeting the eyes of the girls before her, "And you say... Emerald came up with this idea?" she asked, earning six nods, "Hmm... I see. Well, girls, rest assured that the Elements are not responsible," she added simply.

Six pairs of eyes blinked in confusion, each meeting each other, before directing themselves back on to the solar princess.

"Wh-what do you mean, Princess?" Fluttershy asked,

"Y-yeah," Applejack added, "I thought..."

Princess Celestia chuckled, and smiled softly at them,

"Oh girls, that's silly. While the Elements themselves, and what they do, are mostly shrouded in mystery, what is known is that they can't do anything without an active Bearer," she explained. The girls stared at her for a moment, before Twilight's eyes widened,

"B-but.. then, that means..." she began, looking horrified. Princess Celestia nodded,

"That's right, my student," she said fondly, "the Elements have not, nor have they ever, had that kind of influence on your lives. Perhaps-" she added suddenly, causing their attention to focus back onto her, "-they have had a slight influence on your feelings regarding each other once you all successfully used them the first time, but only to the extent that you chose to remain in Ponyville and strengthen your bonds naturally."

"B-but, Princess Celestia, y-you said that when you and Princess Luna were connected to the Elements, that they had a really strong effect," Twilight pointed out, "s-so, why wouldn't they...?" She nodded,

"That is an excellent question, Twilight, and I'm glad to say that I've developed a theory," she said, bringing a hoof to her cheek in thought, "Though, I'd like you to know I only recently came up with this theory, and only did so during my... altercation with Nightmare Moon during Discord's escape," she admitted, then, steeling herself with a breath, she began, "I believe the Elements had that particular reaction with myself and Luna, because of Discord's influence on her."

""""""What?""""""

Princess Celestia chuckled at their stupefied response,

"Exactly my thoughts!" she said, and sighed, "But, I came to the horrifying realization that Discord was responsible for Nightmare Moon's initial appearance one thousand years ago. I believe that after we defeated him, a touch of his magic lingered and he directed it into influencing Luna's mind, as, at the time, we had both been weakened by our first proper use of the Elements. I'm... not sure what made him choose Luna, assuming he actually made a choice rather than picking one of us at random," she admitted, "but seeing him turn Luna into the Nightmare once more was enough to convince me of his interference. Although-" she added, sadly, "that does not abolish me of my mistakes back then. His influence or not, Luna was being shunned by our subjects, and it was my fault for not noticing her plight. For that reason, I believe the Elements were trying to bring his influence on her mind to light by bringing the two of us closer in mind. Unfortunately for them, and us, I was far, far too blind to see beyond myself," she admitted, holding a hoof to her chest.

Twilight swallowed at the story.

That was... that was awful.

But... it also made sense.

Was it possible? Had Emerald been wrong?

"But-but there were too many coincidences!" she blurted without thought, "The-the Elements have to be responsible for bringing us together. The-the rainboom, us all coming to Ponyville just in time, us being friends!" she was running her hooves through her mane at this point, causing strands to stick out in every direction, "The chances of all that actually happening are so astronomically low, that they might as well be impossible!" she shouted, her hooves flying out, a manic look in her eyes.

Princess Celestia only smiled, and shook her head,

"Twilight," she began calmly, "by that logic, then shouldn't everything be impossible?" she asked. Twilight blinked, turning her stunned gaze onto her teacher,

"What?" she asked hopelessly, staring, uncomprehendingly, at the princess.

"Think about it like this, Twilight," she began slowly, "Let's go back in time for a moment. Let's say that something happened, and the rainboom that you saw when you were young never happened. Thus, you never received your cutie mark. What do you think would have happened to you?" she asked. Twilight blinked, placing her hoof against her chin,

"W-well... I would never have gotten into your school for gifted unicorns," she began, "so I probably would've gone to a public school in Canterlot, and-"

"How do you know that?" Princess Celestia asked, cutting her off,

"Wha-?"

"What makes you so sure that you would have attended a public school in Canterlot?" she asked again, being a little more clear. Twilight's mouth was open, but no sound was coming out. Eventually, she spoke,

"W-well, I lived in Canterlot at the time, so-"

"Your parents might've decided to move out, however, bringing you with them," she pointed out, "You were a very dedicated student, Twilight, and having failed the entrance exam to the only school you wanted to attend would have devastated you. It's possible that you would have been too despondent to attend public school, at least in Canterlot. At the time, your brother was just entering the guard, and had a place to stay at the Barracks, so it isn't out of the question that your parents would move away. That is, of course, assuming they didn't simply teach you at home themselves, or chose to hire a tutor."

"I... I guess that's true..." she admitted, nodding, "That's possible." Princess Celestia nodded,

"Indeed, it is possible, however, it would require a specific series of events to occur that, when compared to everything else that could happen, would appear so unlikely, that it might as well be impossible," she said, smiling.

"Uhh... mind saying that in plain Equish, Your Highness?" Rainbow asked, earning a glare from Twilight. Princess Celestia chuckled, and nodded,

"Of course. What I'm saying, is that with so many unknown things that happen every single day, it is, well and truly, impossible to guess what might happen in our lives and, looking back on our lives as they are, the things that did happen, when compared to the things that didn't, make our lives look oddly scripted, even though they aren't," she explained, and, when some of the girls still looked a bit confused, she placed a hoof against her chin, looking up in thought, "Hmm... it's like pulling a card with the number 'ten' on it from a bag filled with one hundred cards. The chances of you getting the ten were one in one hundred, but, so where the chances of you pulling a five, a forty, and even an eighty. If you kept pulling numbers, putting them back in as you go, what are the chances you'd pull the numbers one to one hundred in the right order?

"Uhh... really low?" Pinkie supplied, earning an amused nod,

"That's right! But, no matter how low those chances, it can still happen, and it will, eventually, happen. Looking back on it, it might seem impossible, but it happened regardless of those low odds," she said, then frowned, "I'm sorry, am I making any sense?" she asked, unsure.

"So... basically we just got crazy lucky?" Rainbow asked, rubbing the back of her head, "Like... insanely lucky? Like 'you have to be cheating' lucky?" Princess Celestia nodded,

"Yes."

"Huh."

Princess Celestia chuckled,

"'Huh' indeed," she said, then turned to Twilight, looking a tad sheepish, "Oh my, I seem to have gotten a bit carried away there, girls. Twilight, you were saying?"

Twilight blinked, and her eyes widened,

"Oh! Um... well..." she shook her head, "I was saying that we all thought our lives were being manipulated but... I... guess not?" she supplied, glancing up at the amused expression on her teacher, "A-anyways-" she stopped suddenly, and gasped, "th-then Emerald... he-he doesn't know..."

"Emerald?" she asked, her brow raising. Twilight swallowed, and nodded frantically,

"Y-yes!" she sputtered, "It's Emerald! He-he thinks that our lives are fake, that-that they're being manipulated! He was really scared and-well, we-we-we-"

"We came to terms with, what we thought, was the truth," Rarity interrupted when Twilight stopped being able to speak properly, "and when we finally ran into Emerald, he, well... He was less than receptive to the idea."

"Yeah!" Rainbow snapped angrily, scowling, "He slapped Twilight's hoof away, spouted something about not wanting to be controlled, then just up and flew away!"

Princess Celestia frowned, her brow furrowing,

"Did he now?" she asked, glancing away from them in thought, "... Yes, that does sound like something he'd do, given the circumstances."

"It does?" Applejack asked, the Princess nodded,

"Oh yes. Emerald suffers from a severe case of cleithrophobia, the fear of being trapped. Although... it is a bit of a stretch in this situation," she muttered, "Hmm.... I wonder..."

"We need to find him," Twilight said firmly, nodding along with the others, "That's... that's why we were thinking of asking you, Princess. None of us know him very well, but... well..."

"You've known him way longer than we have," Rainbow supplied for her,

"Indeed," Rarity continued, "We hoped you might have some idea where we could find the poor colt, Your Highness."

"Hmm..." the Princess hummed, seemingly turning the idea over in her head, "Well, there are quite a few different places he could be hiding... what way did he fly off in?" she asked,

"Towards the front gate," Rainbow said simply. Princess Celestia nodded,

"That narrows it down quite a bit."

"Couldn't he 'ave jus' turned right back 'round?" Applejack asked, brow furrowed. Princess Celestia nodded,

"Oh, absolutely, but I doubt it. No, he truly wants to avoid anyone and everyone right now, if what you're all saying is true. For that, he only has one hiding place he could go to. The one spot in all of Canterlot that no one but himself and I know about."

"But... wouldn't he know that you're aware of such a place?" Rarity asked, earning a nod,

"Considering that I am the one who showed it to him, yes. However I doubt he thinks the six of you would have willingly come to me in order to find such information," she said, glancing at Twilight, who suddenly looked sheepish, "He was right of course, wasn't he, Twilight?"

"Then what're we waitin' fer?!" Applejack announced, "Let's get goin'!"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, girls," Princess Celestia shot her down, "I doubt he'll be wanting to see the six of you any time soon." Applejack deflated, while Rainbow scowled,

"Then what the hay are we supposed to do?!" she demanded angrily, only for Twilight to forcibly zip her mouth shut, smiling sheepishly at the Princess,

"Hehe-ignore her, Your Highness!" Twilight laughed nervously, "She's just a little stressed at the moment!"

"She is right, though, Twilight," Rarity said, though she was smirking a little at Twilight's spell, "We can't simply wait for him to show himself."

"And you won't," Princess Celestia interjected, "I'll talk to him." Twilight sputtered,

"B-but Your Highness! You-well-there's no need to trouble yourself!" she insisted, her spell dropping as she focused elsewhere, waving her hooves around, "W-we'll figure something out, so don't worry!"

The Princess only shook her head, smiling fondly,

"I won't be troubled at all, Twilight," she said, easing her student's worries, before her eyes trailed off and locked onto the direction Emerald had disappeared in, "Besides... I was hoping to speak with him, regardless," she admitted, and turned back to them, "You should all head to bed. It's getting late and, after the day you've all had, I'm sure you all need your rest. Don't worry, he'll be in good hooves with me," she promised sincerely, holding a hoof to her heart.

She shared a glance with the others, before nodding at the Princess.

"O-of course, Your Highness," she said, licking her suddenly dry lips, "I-.... good luck."





Emerald clenched his teeth, and nearly sighed.

Mother had found him.

After his altercation with the girls, Emerald had migrated to a stretch of outcropping rock, jutting from the side of the mountain Canterlot rested on. The spot was low to the mountain's base, and far beyond the sight of the train and any patrols.

Despite its low position, it still held a truly majestic view of the surrounding greenery, allowing one peer over the sea of green that spanned in nearly all directions.

No earth pony would take the time to climb around and down the mountain to arrive at the spot, few unicorns were capable of teleporting, let alone teleporting such a distance horizontally and vertically, and likely would never take a direct path like the earth ponies, and pegasi rarely ever had a reason to fly so low when the city was so high.

It was the perfect spot for a princess to collect herself after an absurdly stressful day, without having to worry about being found. Mother had thought Emerald would appreciate the same isolated tranquility, given the nature of his work and unique personality.

Before today, he had only ever come down here on his own initiative twice.

"I had a feeling I'd find you hiding out here," she spoke, announcing her arrival before gently touching down a few feet behind him. He clicked his tongue,

"I'm... guessing the girls sent you after me, then?" he asked, not turning to face her. He felt the vibrations of her head as she nodded,

"Something like that, yes. So... will you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm sure the girls filled you in on everything."

"Maybe," she replied vaguely, "but, even if they did, I'd still like to hear your perspective on all this."

He tried to his the way he tensed at the question, his body instinctively coiling up in preparation of the fight or the flight. Even so...

"'My perspective'? 'My perspective'?!" he snarled, before whirling around to face her, an almost manic gleam in his eye, "From my perspective thing seem pretty fucking clear! Those Faustdamn, motherfucking Elements of Harmony, have been forcefully manipulating our-my life! They're the cause of everything! The foalnappings, the Facility, Him, everything!" he shouted, breathing heavily, "They brought me to you, so that you could send me down into that backwater little town where I met them! I never would have met them if it wasn't for the Elements, because I am not one of them, and I never will be!" he growled, breathing heavily.

They stared at each other for a minute, Emerald's chest heaving, and the only sound between them being his ragged breathing.

Eventually, he turned back around, and spoke,

"I... I am Emerald Skies, and no one and nothing will ever tell me to be something else."

Mother stared for a moment, licking her lips, before nodded.

"Yes... you are Emerald Skies," she said, gently approaching him, until she stood by his side, "but... do you know what I see when I look at Emerald Skies, right now?" she asked.

A nervous swallow,

"... What?" he asked.

"I see a young colt who's gone through too much in his short life. A colt who has finally been overwhelmed by everything that has happened, and is trying to push it all away," she murmured, gently settling a hoof on his head.

He growled and shook her off,

"'Overwhelmed'? Me? As if," he scoffed, scowl still in place. Mother shook her head,

"Things just seem to keep piling up on everyone lately, and that can often make it difficult to focus on one's self. In those cases, one can count on friends to be there and help you deal with the problems that lie within. Of course, that becomes almost impossible if you never tell them," she said, staring at him with her lone eye, "It's quite surprising how far a simple 'How are you feeling?' can go in helping others through their issues. So, with that in mind... How are you feeling, Emerald?" she asked, "You've been through more than most these past few days, after all... you're the one who died."

Fear.

-darknesswhisperingpaingagony-

"I can't imagine how that must feel," she continued idly, her eyes very carefully locked onto him, as if she was measuring him.

"I-I-I'm fine," he stammered against his will, "S-something like th-th-that isn't going to st-s-stop me."

"Death isn't something that anyone is meant to come back from, Emerald," she said firmly, her frown only becoming more pronounced at the way he shivered.

"I-It was just a s-setback, is all!" he insisted, his previously angry demeanor fading into a frightened cheerful, "I-it's not like it... it affected me, or anything! I-I'm perfectly fine!"

"You believe tricking yourself into believing a lie about the Elements to be 'perfectly fine'?" she asked. He froze suddenly, and stiffly turned to face her,

"T-trick myself? A l-l-lie?" he asked, before shaking his head as he tried, and failed, to twist his expression into something angry, "I-I wasn't lying about a-anything! The Elements-!"

"Are incapable of affecting your life in the way you described, and I get the feeling that you know that."


After all, the Elements of Harmony can only affect their Bearers, me, and those infected by my magic, a fact I was sad to learn after Celestia  banished Luna to the moon.


He shook his head, his breathing picking up once more.

"N-no. No! I-it's the Elements! It-it has to be-!"

"You've grown attached to them, haven't you?"


Alright, Sparky... I guess we can be friends.


He swallowed thickly.

"S-so what if I have?"

"You're afraid of that connection, aren't you?"

-agaspsilence-

He growled, and curled up, holding his head in his hooves, trying in vain to block out the words she was spewing.

"You're afraid of how strong that connection is, but, you're more afraid of it ending, is that right?"

He curled up further.

"In that moment, just as the spear pierced your heart-"-painagony-"-in that moment you felt your connection with the girls disappear, didn't you?"-darkcoldtherewasnothingnothingnothing-"And then, you came back, and the connection was restored. But, you knew what it was like to feel it break, and you never wanted to feel that again."

Silence.

"Am I right?"

".... Y-yes...." he breathed, the words rushing out despite his attempts to keep them in, "I-I, i-i-it just-it hurt so much, and I-I couldn't-I-I didn't want-!" he swallowed, slowly beginning to hyperventilate, "I was-I-I was scared, I didn't-I refused-!"

"Shh, shh," Mother gently soothed, placing a comforting hoof against his back, which, astonishingly, helped him calm his breathing, "it's alright... everything is fine, now," she cooed, as if he were a young foal.

At this point in time, he didn't care.

"I-I..." he swallowed, and took a deep breath, "I.... I don't want to lose them like that. I-I... I guess so-some part of me thought if we all gave up, then it... it wouldn't hurt as bad," he admitted, staring at the frogs of his now shaking hooves, "I-I've..." he gave a weak chuckle, "I-I've really gone and... messed things up, haven't I?"

Mother shook her head,

"No, but I'm sure you'll have to explain yourself to them. After apologizing, of course." He nodded,

"Yeah... definitely," he muttered, his hoof trailing over his uninjured chest.

"... How are you feeling, Emerald?" Mother suddenly asked. He grunted, but smiled and answered regardless.

"Like I just came back to life."





It was a brand new day, and he was sure he made for an interesting sight already, all things considered.

The girls hadn't said anything for a grand total of five minutes now, but, in retrospect, perhaps bowing low and giving them the apology wasn't what they had expected?

Considering the stupid stunt he'd tried to pull, he'd be demanding more than just that were he in their position.

Still, it took a rather shameful amount of his will to not sneak a glance up at the six girls' faces. Given the way Mother chuckled in the background, they were rather humorous.

"E-Emerald, wh-what are you doing?!" Sparky finally managed to say, a chorused of confused grunts echoing after her.

"I'm apologizing, what does it look like?" he asked rhetorically, glancing up to deadpan at her, before looking back down, "I... I did a stupid thing, coming up with that lie, but... I just... I couldn't stand the idea of one day feeling that... that pain again. The pain of losing all of you at once..." he shook his head, "No, no excuses," he muttered to himself, before bowing, somehow, lower, "I-I'm.... I'm sorry!"

Fuck this is embarrassing....

A set of hoofsteps approached him-it was obviously Sparky-and a pair of purple hooves quickly wrapped around his neck.

He had very nearly returned the hug when a second and third pair of hooves, pink and yellow this time, joined in. Orange and white soon followed after.

"Yeah... I'm good on group hugs for the next few days," Rainbow muttered, though she did reach in and gave him a pat on the back.

The six of them stayed in their embrace for, perhaps, five minutes, until they all broke apart. Emerald sniffed slightly, and idly scratched a spot under his eye-coincidentally wiping away a tear in the process-chuckling slightly.

"I'm... surprised you're all so willing to forgive me, and so easily as well," he admitted, eyeing them curiously, and a tad suspiciously.

"Why?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head, "We're friends, duh! Friends forgive each other for their silly mistakes!"

"Mhmm!"

"Don't you know this already, Emerald?" Applejack asked, smirking, "Seemed like ya knew 'xactly what ta do when we first met ya, an' now ya don't seem quite too sure!" she teased. Emerald chuckled,

"I suppose I've never really got so... involved in this kind of thing before," he said, "I'm out of my... element, so to speak."

"Well, you've got plenty of time to figure it out!" Sparky chirped, "It's like I said earlier, we'll always be friends, Emerald," she promised resolutely, "no matter what stupid things we do, as long as we're together, then I think we'll be just fine!"

He chuckled, again.

"If you say so, Sparky."

They all laughed at that, and Emerald couldn't help the small smile on his face.

Yes... this was the connection he hoped to keep. Letting something like it... break would be too painful. He'd just have to make sure it stayed nice and strong, and, as far as he could tell, the only way to do that was to be a better friend to these mares who had so foolishly accepted him.

He smiled, and glanced up to the sunny sky.

Yes, things were looking much brighter than they had before...

But, there were some things that needed to change. If he was going to be living his life alongside these girls, then he needed to be ready to live that kind of life, instead of waiting to be sent back out like he, mostly, had been up until now.

After all... he doubted Mother would be sending him away from Ponyville any time soon, if ever. Not after all... this.


-----


"I'm glad you finally took me up on my offer, Emerald," Mother teased lightly, her horn was alight, and a pair of familiar saddlebags were held aloft right beside her head, "I was wondering when you'd finally see sense," she added.

Emerald rolled his eyes, and gently took back his bags

"Very funny, M-Your Highness," he snapped lightly, "But you know as well as I do that I wasn't... in the right state of mind," he muttered distastefully. Mother nodded,

"True," she agreed, "though I really shouldn't have allowed you to carry around your... considerable wealth in those bags of yours. I can't tell you how relieved I am now that you've agreed to store it in the castle treasury. It makes it much easier to pay you, as well," she said, adding that last part almost as an afterthought, "Speaking of being paid, after what happened with Discord, I believe that gives me enough of a reason to up your pay," she slipped in, "2,000 bits instead of the previous 500 should suffice, no?"

He twitched.

He'd finally gotten his money somewhere safer than on his person-the dumbest idea he'd ever had, by the way-and Mother was already trying to give him more.

There was a reason he'd been perfectly okay with the low payment of 500 bits when he'd first come to Ponyville! He hardly ever really used money for anything.

Though... considering the things he's planning, more money would be more than welcome.

"Oh, and, before I forget," Mother added, just as her horn flashed, revealing a single, thin looking card. It was completely white on one side, with a golden sun, and a very dark blue, with a silver moon, on the other, "that card will let you withdraw your bits from any bank in Equestria. It's for your use only," she warned, "so please... don't lose it."

He scoffed, slipping the card into his bags,

"As if I would lose something that important." Mother only shook her head, fondly,

"You should be going. The train back to Ponyville might very well leave without you," she teased, ignoring his growl. Though, her brow raised slightly when his growling abruptly stopped.

"Yeah, I do have to hurry," he muttered, before nodding, "Alright, I'll be heading out," he added, his wings spreading. Mother barely had any time to react to him taking off, and even less time to react to the fact that he'd darted out the nearest window. Unfortunately he'd lost sight of her by then, so seeing her, no doubt humorous, reaction wasn't possible.

Oh well, he could imagine it well enough.

Alright, first things first.

He shot over the Gardens and landed in the Center of the Maze, and was delightfully greeted by thirty-one cheerful voices, the combined shout causing him to wince, though he remained smiling.

"Hey all," he greeted in return.

"Well now, it's 'bout time you showed yourself!" Auntie Amber's aged cackle reached his ears, as the elderly mare walked over to him, a disapproving look in her eye, "You didn't show up last night!" she added with a frown. He chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head,

"I know. Sorry about that, everyone," he said, glancing around,

"You'd better be!" Hot Streak shouted, pouting, earning a laugh from a few of the others,

"What caused you to miss us?" Scented asked, earning a slight jab from his wife, "What? I'm just asking!"

"He fainted yesterday," Dusk Wing snapped, "I'm not surprised he ended up forgetting."

"It's not that, there were just some... personal issues I had to deal with. But, I'm fine now," he added quickly, seeing the various looks on everyone's faces, before he shook his head, "Anyways, I came by to apologize and say 'see you later'. I'm heading back down to Ponyville in a bit."

"Well, it's a good thing you decided to stop by," Trixie said, smirking haughtily, "We were just about to get a picture taken." He blinked,

"A... picture?" he asked, before his eyes widened, "That's... perfect, actually."

"Of course it is!" Auntie Amber burst, her bright eyes gleaming, "It's been so long since we last saw each other, it'd be a shame to let such an occasion to go to waste!"

"I take it we'll be starting now?" an unfamiliar voice asked from behind, and Emerald turned, finding a slightly older stallion with a tripod.

"That's right!" Auntie Amber agreed, before turning and snapping, "Alright, the lot of you get into position!" she turned to him, "You too, young colt!"

He smirked, and saluted,

"Yes ma'am!"

He quickly scooted over to the others, and tried to take a non-obstructive position, only for the others to push and shove him towards the center of the group. Despite his protests, he soon found himself surrounded by the likes of Trixie, Gustave, Spitfire, Sapphire, Iron Will, and Thorax.

A moment later, and Starlight was forced to the front as well, and Wisp was, delicately, placed onto his back.

With Iron Will towering above and behind them, as well as Trixie and Spitfire to his immediate right and left, along with Gustave and Sapphire on Trixie's other side, and Thorax and Starlight on Spitfire's, the nine of them made up the middle of the photo, with him and Wisp sitting at the direct center.

He scoffed,

"You enjoy yourself, Wisp?" he asked quietly while the photographer set up him camera,

"Mhmm!" she chirped "Big Sis Luna asked me to help her make a special night sky for the celebration yesterday!" she said excitedly. Emerald frowned, feeling a tad guilty he hadn't noticed,

"That-"

"Alright!" the photographer shouted, "On the count of three, everypony say 'cheese'!"

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"""""""""Cheese!"""""""""


-----


He stared down at the freshly developed photo in his hooves, a small smile on his face.

But, unfortunately, he didn't have much time to focus on it, when a jolt of purple near the Center of the Maze's exit caught his eye.

"And just where do you think you're going?" he called, beginning to advance towards her.

Starlight yelped in surprise and spun back around to face him.

"Uh... out?" she said, obviously not understanding, "I mean... I'll probably have to head back to Manehatten for a bit, but... I'll see if I can't steal some bits and get a train ride to somewhere else," she admitted with a shrug, "Why?"

He only shook his head, and gently shoved passed her,

"Come on, the train back to Ponyville is leaving in a bit."

He made it all of ten steps, before pausing, and glancing back. He found Starlight just staring at him,

"Wh... what are you talking about?" she asked, visibly swallowing. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and smirked,

"You really think I'm going to let you back onto the road, Star?" he asked, before shaking his head, "Oh no, you're coming to Ponyville with me, and you're going to live with me and Wisp, you know?"

Her eyes widened, and she started sputtering, various half-choked words trying, and failing, to mean anything. Eventually she managed to say-

"B-but I couldn't! Th-that would be way too much to ask!"

"You're not asking," he retorted, and gave her a wicked smirk, "besides, you don't have a choice. You're coming with me of your own volition, or I'm knocking you out and flying you to Ponyville myself," he admitted. Her jaw hung open, and a choked laugh escaped her throat, a single hoof cradling the side of her head,

"Y-you're serious, aren't you?" she asked, but shook her head before he could answer, "Who am I kidding, of course you're serious," she swallowed, "... A-are you sure?"

"Starlight~" he sang, "Keep questioning me and I'll just knock you out anyways!~"

That got her to quiet down. He chuckled slightly, and resumed walking.

"Come on, Star. Save me the trouble of having to drag you there, and just follow me."

It took a moment, but she started following a bright smile on her face.





The trip back home was... not quite awkward, but Starlight's smell didn't exactly make conversation easily. The eight of them, as Wisp was traveling with them of course, avoided talking to try and keep from inhaling her scent. Though Emerald had the added worry of his motion sickness to deal with, but he doubted anyone, except Sparky, was aware of the real reason he had curled up and refused to move the whole ride.

"Ah, home sweet home!" Pinkie cheered, bouncing excitedly off the train once it had stopped,

"Eeyup! An' everythin's back ta normal ta boot!" Applejack added, looking around fondly.

They weren't wrong. Ponyville, and the surrounding area, had completely reverted back to normal after the wave of rainbow fire had cleansed it all of Discord's magic.

That wasn't to say that the town was in perfect condition, however. From here he could see faint traces of damage done to the ground where places had been ripped up, a few broken windows, and some battered roofing dotted the area. Yet the townsfolk were walking around as though nothing had happened five days ago.

Well, not exactly.

Ponies soon began to stop and stare at the nine of them, all whispering excitedly and pointing. None of them seemed to care for his undisguised form, though he wasn't sure they noticed through whatever star-struck film they were peering through at the moment.

It didn't matter to him. He had a pony to show a house to.

"Come on, you two," he muttered, catching Starlight's and Wisp's attention. The latter gasped,

"Oh yeah!" she chirped, before looking up at Starlight, "We gotta show you your new house!" she said, taking off after Emerald.

Starlight swallowed at that,

"Y-yeah... I guess you do," she muttered timidly, following shortly after them.

The walk to the house was surprisingly long, though Emerald had a feeling it was just his steadily growing nerves.

Would Starlight like the house? Given how long she'd been living on the streets, he'd doubt she'd actually dislike the house, but...

Well... she's family, and has had a hard time. If it comes to it, he didn't mind buying a house for her. Or having one built either.

Soon enough, hi-their house came into sight, and, judging by the sharp intake of breath behind him, she liked what she saw. They came to a stop in front of the door and, with a flick of his wings, he drew a simply bronze key from his bag, and tossed it at her.

"I seem to have lost my key. I'll have to have a new one made," he said, smirking, "Mind opening the door for us, Glim?" Starlight swallowed, staring at the key in her hooves, before nodding. She approached the door and, after fumbling for about a minute, she managed to insert the key, and turn it.

The door creaked open, slowly, revealing the admittedly dull interior of the house.

He and Wisp filtered inside, leaving Starlight to hungrily take in her new residence.

"It's not much," Emerald said, smirking, "but it'll be enough once we finally decorate." Wisp gasped,

"We're decorating?!" she asked, causing Emerald to chuckle,

"That's right!" he said, gently setting his bags onto the floor, "But first, we need to show Glim her new room," he said, jerking his head, "C'mon you two."

"My... my own room?" Starlight asked, swallowing and chuckled, "My... my own room!" she repeated, giddily following after him.

The trip up the stairs was quick, but before they reached Starlight's new door, he forced them to pause,

"Actually..." he began, turning to Starlight, "you're taking a shower first, Glim," he said, tapping a second door, "I doubt you want your first experience in your new room to be sullied by your smell," he added cheekily.

Starlight was much too excited at the prospect of taking a shower to notice his use of her nickname, eagerly pushing open the door.

She gasped at the sight of the pristine bathtub and shower-head, and practically marveled at the clean sink, where a glass sat, a pair of toothbrushes-green and blue-sitting within.

She stared at them for a moment, nearly causing Emerald to add 'toothbrush' to his growing shopping list, when a weak levitation spell had a dark purple toothbrush floating out of her bag and into the cup with them.

Almost a half hour later and Starlight finally made her way out of the shower, now freshly washed, dried, and cleaner than she had been for the past six years.

She marveled at the feeling of her soft, silky smooth coat, and at the way her mane, now freshly styled into a pair of curls, one wrapping around her neck, and the other falling to the side of her horn, simply felt clean.

"You ready?" Emerald asked, taking in the sight of his actually clean sister. Starlight swallowed, her eyes darting to the only closed door in the hall, before she nodded,

"Not at all, but let's do it now before I lose my nerve," she admitted.

He chuckled and swept passed her, taking a stop by her door, followed soon after by an equally excited Wisp.

"Alright, Starlight. Welcome to your new room," he said, giving the knob a twist and pushing the door open.

Starlight stepped into the room, admiring the bare white walls, dresser, and night stand.

But, of course, her eyes were almost instantly glued to the lone bed. With a simple, dark wooden frame, and clean white sheets, it wasn't the fanciest bed in the world.

Judging by the way her eyes immediately began to water, as well as the hoof that shot to her mouth, Starlight obviously that it was the greatest thing in Equestria regardless.

"So... d'you like it?" Emerald asked, just in case.

Starlight gasped, and turned to face him, her brilliant eyes glossy with shedding tears,

"I love it!"

He smiled. There was only one thing left to say, now.

"Welcome home, Starlight."