"Ooh boy! Today I have something wonderful in store!!! It will be shorter than the past two episodes, but it's packed with quality content!!!" Sweetie announced, "We're going to go through something very juicy! We're going to learn not just Grastaea, but a mythological world that shares the same name with our nation! Heck, we're going to pull some very interesting tidbits and similarities with these two worlds! Then, we're going to show you some scenic walks of the nearby lake! And finally, we'll end this with yet another ten new heroes to introduce! And remember, if you really want, just comment down below if you want to take a look at the art gallery I talked about last ep! Now with that, let's begin!"

"Nice work girls! And guys!" The actors, which were everyone who had appeared in Sweetie's project so far with the addition of Hinata as a human, high-fived each other and cheered.

"Thanks a lot for helping, Mum and Dad," Flash thanked, "It's nice to get some better help to film things. It's hard to film something like this on the phone."

"I'm due for air and a walk after being cooped up in the office." Mr Sentry nodded stoically.

"My job hasn't blown up either, and I would do anything to spend time with my son and his friends!!!" Mrs Sentry gave her heartwarming close-eyed smile.

"So this is the Halidom." Mr Sentry looked around, "I can't put my finger on it, but there is something here that convinces me it isn't just a cheap imitation for a theme park. It feels like a real castle, one that isn't turned into a historical site."

"Say..." Mrs Sentry tugged on Mr Sentry, "I thought I heard there be dragons here! Like the one we saw yesterday, flying in the sky?"

"Midgardsomr is off setting up the scene for our second video." Ms M informed, "Sadly, he won't be able to be seen on camera. But you may see him with your own eyes!"

"You know, seeing adults getting all buddy-buddy like this makes me think they're trying to relive their joyful teenage life." Rainbow Dash joked,

"Oh trust me, Mrs Sentry's teenage life isn't what I'd call 'joyful'." Scootaloo joined in,

"So!" Sweetie Belle sat in one of many tables in the Halidom's Dining Hall, "Here I have two knowledgeable people of our two respective worlds."

"Alrighty!" Ms M turned to Sunset, "So, I HEARD about Equestria's mythology. A world where ponies and magic romp instead of humans, and plenty of extraordinary creatures not seen in our world!"

"Indeed," Sunset nodded, "And what's even more interesting is that these beings share names and even similar features with actual beings of Grastaea! I mean, there's the Cerberus, Roc, Manticore and Chimera..."

"Yes!" Ms M pulls out a folder of drawings and paintings, "Most of the beings in your mythology are considered unique, but for Grastaea, they are categorised as a species of either two things. A Dragon, or a Fiend."

"I know about the Dragons in Grastaea. They govern nature, are worshipped as deities, and just powerful beings that are immortal, though not invincible. Now, I'd like to learn more about fiends. What are they?"

"Fiends are terrible creatures from another world." Ms M shuddered, "They target humans and dragons, and would destroy any place that house life, from small villages to castles if they have the power to."

"The Manticore and Chimera from Grastaea are each a unique type of fiend classified as Therion. Each of them has five variations following the five elements of Grastaea."

"Interesting... " Sunset pulled out two photos of a Manticore and Chimera in the Pony World, "Like this?"

"Aww, that's colourful and cute... although they may look vicious, they don't look as intimidating compared to here!"

"Well, there could be a reason behind it. Both the Chimera and the Manticore are capable of communication. While the Chimera is known to be a predator to ponies, the three beings that make them up tend to squabble a lot from the information. As for the manticore, they don't tend to stick in herds as ponies do, but there have been two stories of two named manticores where they were on good terms with the ponies. One built a castle for two royal sisters as a favour for restoring his home, and another where a pegasus confronted him with kindness when he was enraged, and it helped calm him down and be friendly when he showed her the source of his rage."

"That's sweet!!!" Ms M blushed, "If only Grastaea's Manticores were like them, it would be a much safer place! What are their names, by the way?"

"The one who built the castle is called Melvin, and the other is called Manny Roar,"

"Very... intriguing names... almost too similar to ours?" Ms M raised an eyebrow,

"Then I'll show you my Manticore and Chimera! Their flame variants to be specific," Ms M presents her pictures like she was dealing cards, so Sweetie Belle, Sunset and Mrs Sentry (with the camera) could see.

"Oh, dear..." Sunset winced, "I can see why they may be a threat. Their lack of pupils, excessive fur and marks, and fierce gazes make them look like intimidating apex predators, and they're quite massive too!"

"You got that right, darling. When enraged, the Chimera is capable of increasing in size and strength. We call that phenomenon Overgrowth."

"Though the manticore looks identical to ours, it seems the Chimera lacks the goat head! It only has the parts and heads of the lion and the snake. Although I can note the two goat-like horns protruding from the lion's mane."

"Now let's look at some benevolent dragons, shall we? Roc and Cerberus. What do you know about them?"

"Cerberus is a three-headed hound and the gatekeeper of Tartarus. Tartarus is like the underworld or hell of their world. That being said, if anyone gives him a belly rub, he can get tamed pretty easily."

"Quaint! That's exactly like my Cerberus! Except that she's a dragon, and belly rubs aren't her thing."

"Yeah... about your Cerberus, I don't think she's neither dog nor dragon. She just looks like a red-haired human with dog ears, very minimal clothing, and white fluffy dogs for hands.

"No no no!" Ms M halted, "Keep it rolling, I have to refute her inane remarks!" And presents a picture of the Grastaean Cerberus. "And what's wrong with that? She's still a dragon!"

"I-I'm sure there's some perfectly good reason!!!" Mrs Sentry stammered, "We're aren't living in their world, so we may never know! If Cerberus was around, I'm sure if I ask her, she'll explain why she identifies herself as a dragon!"

"Now this looks like the Roc from pony mythology!" Sunset compared the Roc with her own, "Despite it being called a dragon, what is their behaviour? Over in the Pony world, they're big predatory birds that prey upon ponies and are drawn to the scent of dragons!"

"Your Rocs can eat Dragons!? Wow! Perhaps the Pony world isn't so safe after all!"

"Only when they're hungry. If not, they are calm birds that can understand but not speak the language of ponies. Still not a good idea to cross one though."

"Well, our Roc isn't one to feast on humans. In fact, one of the stories of the Roc denotes her as a Mercenary Dragon, lending her services."

"And her rates are very generous... as long as you shared her dreams and wishes of her late human partner."

"Oh..." Sunset, Sweetie and Mrs Sentry felt a warm feeling in their bodies and tears up.

"Dragons and Humans really do share a very close bond for a long time. For the ponies and their dragons, it's just starting to build." Sunset explained,

"Well, what do you know? These are really nice tidbits!" Sweetie concluded, "And that's it for this segment, can we give thanks to-"

One of the doors burst right open, letting in a bunch giggling teenage students: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Flash Sentry, and Big McIntosh. A rather irritated Adagio Dazzle was trailing behind them,

"You need to get this on tape!!!" Pinkie giggled, "We've done some similar research, and found yet another similar name to both the worlds: The Siren!"

"And that's why-" Adagio grunted, "I'm trying to demand them to tell me what they had discovered, and why they're giggling like idiots!"

"Hmm..." Adagio stopped, "Let me guess... is it a really strong and nasty fiend?"

"And guess what? We managed to find a picture of what the Grastaean Siren looks like!" Rainbow laughed and presents a small picture directly to the camera,

"Aww, man! I can just imagine Adagio in that!!! She would be ridiculous and yet better at the same time!" Pinkie laughed,

"Argh! Can you please explain!? What are you talking about behind my back!?" Adagio bellowed,

"Alright folks," Flash laughed, "Jig's up. Let's show her already, and get ready to hightail it out of here."

"Here you go 'Dagio," Big Mac pries the photo out of Rainbow and hands it to the Siren. "This is yer Grastaean counterpart,"

The moment Adagio lays her eyes onto the Siren in the picture, her entire body froze and it felt like her eyes were going to explode,

"Quick! Let's take a picture, then photoshop it with Adagio's colour and face! That way you'll be so much more attractive than you were back then!" Pinkie suggested,

"Grrr... RAAAAHHH!!!" Adagio bellowed with her head to the sky. The green pactstone began to glow and stir until it unleashed a great pillar of wind masked covered Adagio as she slowly grows and morphs her body. When the wind pillar dispersed, Adagio had transformed into her true Siren form,

"THIS IS WHAT I LOOK LIKE!!!" Adagio snapped at Mrs Sentry and the camera, "Not some human with dragon features!!!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it, RUN!!!" Pinkie laughed, leading the escape through the door they came from.

"Adagio? Your inner, childish Amane is showing!" Flash laughed as he exits the hall.

"Shut up nerd! And Amane is NOT a kid! She's 24 years old and a woman grown, dammit!!!" Adagio flew after them,

"Okay... that was out of the ordinary. But once this is over, I need to take another look at that siren!" Sweetie demanded,

"I'll leave the editing to you, Sweetie." Mrs Sentry responded, after stopping the recording. "Now, are we ready for a swim?"

"Cannonbomb!" Pinkie screamed while in midair, just before she hit the water. The resulting wave of water swept over Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack as they laughed and clapped at their friend's explosive performance. Close by, Rainbow and Sunset cheered for a three-way game of chicken fight; Pitched between Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom, who were riding on Rarity, Flash Sentry, and Big McIntosh respectively.

The next thing she knew, the young girl was shoved from her sister's shoulders and into the clear drink. A pesky little gang-up followed with laughter,

"Truce over. It's you and me now!" Scootaloo turned to Applebloom. Applebloom gave a dark smile,

"It's okay Sweetie..." Rarity stood up, "Why don't we go and keep your audience company?"

She pointed to the dry bank, where Adagio, Cleo, Ms M, and Mr and Mrs Sentry sat observing the teens.

"Right!" Sweetie swam over, "Well? Isn't this wonderful??? Myriage Lake, one of Grastaea's largest lakes, and current home of the Waterwyrm."

Mrs Sentry slowly moved the camera to film the long stretch of the lake. Making sure to include the village of Woodhaven on the other side of the lake, as well as the Waterwyrm's cradle. To be honest, even Mrs Sentry was taken aback by the beauty of the lake.

"Clear waters as far as the eye can see!" Sweetie continued, "Mostly thanks to the Waterwyrm who lives here, keeping the waters clean with pure water mana! Do you think she could help clean up some of our waters too? It'd help all life!!!"

"Aww! You're no fun!" Sweetie moped and responded with throwing a wave of water towards the teacher. Ms M swiftly dodges it but did not expect the man sitting behind her. Everyone stopped playing and turned their attention to the scene.

Mr Sentry stood up, all drenched over. He turned to the young girl with a vengeful stare. Sweetie was completely petrified,

"If you really wanted to play with others, you should have asked them instead of forcibly including them, young lady." Mr Sentry scolded, "It is rude..."

"Yes, dad?" Flash swam over. Mr Sentry stripped down to his swimming attire (which is just a pair of swimming briefs). Revealing a lean and slim chest, with a little bulge on his tummy.

"Euch!" All the CHS students and Adagio exclaimed, and Ms M and Cleo stifled a laugh. Mrs Sentry on the other hand? She burst out laughing,

"Sorry girls!" Mrs Sentry laughed, "But my dear husband isn't as ripped as you think!"

"Because of her reckless actions, your girlfriend and I will be going into a chicken duel in the river. You are to be her mount. Understand?" Mr Sentry briefed,

"If you say so," Mr Sentry answered unflinchingly, "But your actions to Flash when he was hospitalized tells me otherwise,"

"Sorry about that, Sweetie," Flash sighed, "Dad's a rather eccentric guy when it comes to scolding people in different situations. That being said, he won't take no for an answer,"

"Get ready you two!" Mrs Sentry passed the filming camera to Cleo and stripped down to her swimming attire; a decent two-piece swimsuit with ruffles.

"WHAT!?!?" Everyone exclaimed again. It wasn't the choice of swimwear that they were shocked about, but the body of the mother herself. Her arms, legs and core packed a little tone and muscle, compared to her husband.

"Mum's not a gym person. She does, however, practice Tai Chi every day." Flash calmly answered, "So uh... do you still want to do this? I can vouch not to do this, and they'll stop."

"The only thing I'm weirded about is your dad wanting to participate in a game of Chicken after I splashed him on accident."

"Keep this between you and me," Flash whispered as his parents jump into the river, "But despite dad's strait-laced and silently religious attitude, deep down he wants to have fun too."

"Oh! Well in that case, how can I say no?" Sweetie smiled, "You'd better hold on to me!"

"I won't lose to my old man!" Flash nodded and ducked into the water. Resting her legs around his head, he stood up, lifting Sweetie along with it. Mrs Sentry did the same, hoisting Mr Sentry up.

"You know..." Cleo frowned at the two chicken fighters, surrounded by the cheering students, "I think I should stop recording this thing,"

"Phew!" Sweetie laughed in relief, "Now that we all had fun, and cleaned ourselves up, it's time for our last segment of the video! Summoning the essence of the adventurers of New Alberia!!! I wonder what we're going to get?"

"Throughout our exploration of Grastaea, we managed to acquire the right amount to summon ten heroes once again!" Sweetie explained,

"Alright, here goes nothing!!!" Flash nodded and walked up the stairs with Rarity and a few curious girls following him. That's when Sweetie gave the cue to stop filming. As they waited, a loud kerfuffle was heard from above. Immediately, Cleo and the parents went up to see what was going on, while Adagio and Big Mac stayed behind with Sweetie. It was impossible to film on that island.

"The summoning circle in the sky!" Twilight explained, "It just turned... colourful! Like a rainbow!"

"It means," Cleo walked down with a warm smile, "This summoning session has yielded the essence of a very powerful adventurer."

"Check it out!" Ms M winked as she introduced the rest of the girls, the parents, and finally Flash, carrying a tray of 5 silver pactstones, a bowl of eldwater, a blue orb, a gold orb, and to the shock of the three, a glittering rainbow orb.

"Sadly, two of them are duplicates, which had turned into eldwater." Flash reported, "As for the other three, I have felt their aura, and know exactly who they are."

"Mrs Sentry?" Sweetie gestured. The mom flashed a thumbs up and started recording again,

"Everyone? We have a very special pull! Today you will experience a very powerful hero that joined the ranks of New Alberia! We only have three new entries, so we'll start from blue, to gold, and then to our powerful rainbow essence! Lead the way Flash!"

"???" Mr and Mrs Sentry noticed their son's behaviour. This isn't usual behaviour for summoning a legendary adventurer.

"O-Our first adventurer is Philia, The Love Seeker!" Flash announced, entering the mentioned adventurer's room, "A bowgirl attuned to the element of wind, Philia goes wherever fate takes her, believing in the destiny that she will find a soul mate that she would never be apart, no matter the distance."

"Ooh!" Mrs Sentry looked through the adventurer's possessions, "Sounds like someone is itching to get married! Look at all the information about weddings, clothes and, parties!"

"All these accessories she acquired are symbols of romance," Mr Sentry assessed, "And yet her clothes denote her as a traveller, rather than a city girl."

"Hey," Fluttershy noticed, "Isn't that... the prince?" She fished out a picture of Euden with a heart shape drawn on top of his head.

"Ooh!" Pinkie squealed, "Philia thinks the Prince is her soul mate! That's sweet!"

"Say, Ms M," Rarity remembered, "You said you love the Prince, but it seems like not only Estelle, but even she loves the prince too. Weren't you worried about all this competition?"

"My Darling was the type of person who really didn't show any sort of interest in romance... in fact, he's trying to avoid it! Especially her, he was pretty much on his guard." Ms M answered,

"A couple of girls have the hots for my darling, I can't blame him. I'm not so worried about Philia though, she's WAY out of his league."

"Well, as long as she allied herself with the Prince," Flash hastily placed Philia's essence on her desk, "She's an ally to us! Now, let's keep moving shall we?"

"Our hero in gold goes by the name of Patia, the Spirited Swallow!" Flash introduced, "This Shadow Lancer is the Vice-Captain of the White Sparrow Corps, a group of knights in service to New Alberia! She is a nimble and agile fighter, but her speciality is charging into the fray! Like of like some people we know!"

"Ooh! She's got plenty of patrol logs and notes, and yet... she's quite perceptive of the area she patrolled in. What's this about a street vendor being unable to refurbish his store." Twilight read, "So when a thief was running away, Patia purposely tackled this store so that when her captain had to apologise and recompensate for the damages, the shopkeeper turned out to be pretty happy that he wouldn't have to pay for renovation costs!"

"Wow! I wouldn't even think that far! She's playing some four-dimensional chess there!" Rainbow admired, "Man, she is pretty awesome for a knight!"

"Oh? And she's some got some cookbooks too," Sunset noted, "She does cooking on the side?"

"Actually," Cleo coughed, "It was to save the Sparrows from certain doom. You see, their captain's cooking is nutritious, at the cost of... edibility."

"Doting sister!?" Applebloom shuddered, "That's the last title Ah would give to a strong adventurer!"

"I'll explain. Like Philia, she is a bowgirl of the wind." Flash continued, "And if there's one thing that is the core of her amazing housework and battle prowess, it's caring for her brother! Their parents passed away when they were little, so she had to take care of him. She's grown to be a bit too attached as she did so, but once the two of them came to the Halidom, the people helped her come to terms that her little brother has to grow up independently, as well as help find something for herself. Painting for example,"

"This portrait painting is quite excellent," Mr Sentry looked at a framed painting hanging on the wall, "I assume that must be her brother."

"Lowen is his name, and he's also an adventurer too. But we can talk about him once we get his essence." Flash answered,

"Hey sis, Louise is a nice gal and all but... I hope you kinda don't become like her in the future," Applebloom remarked,

"Very funny Applebloom, Ah'm in no essence similar to her at all!" Applejack snaps, retaliating with a noogie.

"Well everyone, I think that was a great recording session!" Sweetie announced in the Halidom kitchen, "You guys all did great!"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered, raising their mugs of warm, sweet Honey Tea to the air.

"Sorry that I didn't say anything at all," Hinata apologised, "I couldn't think of anything to add to the situation, and I had to stay behind in the Halidom to clean..."

"Phew! That lake party was a doozy!!!" Flash chuckled, "You had fun, did you dad?"

"I never knew your dad would just go down from one simple nudge..." Adagio blinked, "And he had all that dominating energy..."

"Oh yeah! I'm going to the toilet. Be back soon!" Flash laughed and dashed out of the kitchen.

"... By the way," Mr Sentry turned around, "Did you ever notice Flash's behaviour when he was carrying and doing those summoning introductions?"

"I sorta did," Sweetie added, "But I had to maintain a good face for the camera."

"Bet he was peppy about Louise and all, you did say he was very excited about the adventurers of New Alberia." Hinata guessed,

Flash stomped across the hallways and entered a very familiar room. He wasn't heading for the toilet at all.

"Alright, buddy." Flash slammed the door shut, turned on the room's lights, and approached the blue orb, "You've got a lot of talking to do..."

"Glad you can come to terms with that, Philia. I've told Ms Cleo and Ms M SO many times now that I am not the prince."

"Ever since I touched your essence." Flash explained, "But all the others couldn't. Not even Ms Cleo or Ms M. You've always been crying 'My Prince! Where are you, my Prince? Cleo! Mym! Where am I? Where are you taking me!? Where's the Prince? Where's Melody and Cibella!?!?' That's what you've been yelling all the time until we dropped you in your room and left. It irritated me to no end."

"Well what would you do if you're helpless!? Perhaps you know what's happening to me!?!? I feel so weird. My arms and body feel like I'm in some vast space, yet my eyes can only see what's around me! This is my room and all, but I can't move around!"

"No... no no no... nononononoNO!!! This... This must be a mistake!!! I should be with my Prince! My soulmate before I die! How could this happen to me!?" She shrieked,

"Philia, if it makes you feel any better... the Prince has passed away too, as did everyone else. Only the Dragons are alive since they're immortal. Ms Cleo is also alive too. A thousand years have passed, according to Cleo and the dragons."

"No... we all died? This can't be real... no!" The voice cried, "I mean... if it really is a thousand years I understand. I wouldn't live that long but..."

"Well... that's the thing... I don't recall dying... and somehow, I could remember all the times I've spent with my prince, as well as everyone else in the Halidom... there has to be a mistake."

"Well look at the bright side. You're still alive in the spirit. Literally." Flash answered, "You see, I'm not talking to an exact body of you, it's more like your entire conscience and heart has been stuffed into this tiny changeable orb that Ms Cleo called an essence."

"I don't think you would." Flash nodded, "These essences are composed of everything about a particular individual. You wouldn't have seen them in your time, because you and the others wouldn't need any assistance from departed heroes when you're a part of your nation's strength. These essences allow someone to take on the strength and appearance of a particular adventurer. Take us for example: If I use your essence, I would turn into you; hair, body size, and all. The only thing that doesn't change from me are colours of my hair, eyes and body."

"Ugh... that's... not a nice mental image if you ask me... but at least that explains why I can't move around."

"My name is Flash Sentry," Flash greeted, "And I am a student of Canterlot High School. Ms Cleo I call out of human decency and formality, and she saved me from fiends. As for Ms M... she's my history teacher, and that's how I knew her until she revealed she was one of the Greatwyrms a few weeks ago."

"You and me both..." Flash chuckled, "You know, you're pretty nice to chat with, not so obsessed with the Prince all the time. Then again, I'm not sure you can do that when both of you are dead."

"Hey..." Flash got an idea and got off the bed, "You said that you can't move around, but what if I do this?"

"I am," Flash nodded, "I am carrying your essence. You said you can't move right?"

"I can't leave someone in your condition alone. Being unable to move anywhere with no one to talk to. Might as well see how the world changed for yourself, and to have someone to talk it through with you. Well, the only person to talk to."

"Really? Thanks! That's very sweet of you! No wonder I found you similar to the prince, you've got the kind demeanour as him!" Philia thanked,

"Well, now that I mention it... while I couldn't remember exactly how I died... I remember how I suddenly woke up and became this... I just felt as if the Prince had taken me by the hand, that was enough to make me wake up..."

"Interesting..." Flash held the essence in his hands, "Must be because I touched your essence..."

Flash opened the door, turned off the lights, and departed the Love Seeker's room, remembering to shut the door on his way out.

Sweetie's Little Steps of a Secret Life: Part 3

The End?

Next Chapter for Volume 2: Riding the river of history

Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time

by Tythen

Sweetie's Little Steps of a Secret Life: Part 3