//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: More Bonding // Story: Fight For Love // by AestheticStory_Cathe //------------------------------// The sun is up and it’s time for the citizens of Equestria to get up. Applejack got up and was about to get out of bed when she just realized that she was in the castle’s medical center. “What the- How’d ah end up here?” She thought to herself. She started scrolling through her memories of what happened last night to try and remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was talking with Rarity... Applejack heard a muffled scream that came from Rarity’s room and decided to check out on what happened, “Rarity? What’s got you so happy? Something amazing happened?” Rarity smirked, “You can say that.” She chuckled, “Let me guess, you got hooked up or something?” “Well, sort of like that... Fancy Pants just got out of his relationship with Fleur De Lis,” She explained, “And he’s asked me to come to a party at his place tomorrow.” “Hmm... I don’t know, you said that Fancy Pants just got out of his relationship. Seems a bit too fast of him to go ask you out right there and then...” Applejack looked at Rarity’s pleading eyes and added, “But then again, if it makes you happy and you do want to go-“ “I do! Yes, I really do want to go!” Rarity pleaded, “Please, Applejack. Fancy Pants’ the most eligible bachelor in all of Canterlot right now. This might be my only chance to get him to be my coltfriend-” “Alright! Alright! I get it!” She cut Rarity off by pushing her off of herself, “Ya don’t have to start with all that.” She then yawned, “You go do what you think is right, but right now,” Applejack cut herself off as she yawned again, “Let’s go hit the hay, and tomorrow you can go to his party. Spike and I can handle things while yer gone. Night, Rare.” Rarity yawned as well, “Okay. Goodnight, Applejack...” She grabbed her sleep mask, placed it over her eyes, snuggled into her bed, and she was out in a blink of an eye. Applejack chuckled as she closed the door and started walking down the hallway. She kept walking and the further she walked, the darker it got. It started getting so dark to the point where it left shivers down your spine. Applejack felt a presence behind her and she looked back but saw nothing, so she kept moving. Her room was just a few more rooms down. But as soon as she looked back to the front, she felt something behind her again. She looked behind her but again, there was no one behind her, nor were there any footsteps. She kept walking but she picked up the pace. She was very close to her bedroom, just five more doors when she heard a whisper in her ear, “Applejack...” She looked around in confusion and fright, but there wasn’t anypony or any creature, for that matter, there. Whatever was in the halls with her kept on whispering in her ear, “Applejack... Applejack...” “Show yerself! Whoever ya are...” Applejack got into a fighting stance in case something pounced. But nothing did, it was just whispers. She was about to keep walking when a black flash in her eyes stopped her. The darkness slowly slipped away but when she tried to take a step, she felt woozy all of a sudden. She forced herself to keep up and get into her room, but she eventually gave out and let the darkness consume her. She fell to the ground with a thud. She heard footsteps coming towards her, she couldn’t see who it was though. She wanted to just get up and run away, but she couldn’t muster up the strength to do so. She heard muffled sounds but she couldn’t tell who or what the creature was saying. She felt herself being carried before she passed out. “AJ, you’re finally awake.” A new voice spoke up, getting her out of the very unpleasant memory that had happened last night. She looked beside her and saw Spike sitting in a chair beside her. “What? Spike? Why am I in here? What happened?” She asked in anxiety. Spike chuckled, “Whoa, take it easy, AJ. I just heard a thud outside of my room and saw you lying on the ground. I was practically screaming your name to see if you would wake up. And when you didn’t, I just took you to the medical center.” AJ was holding the blanket over her in slight embarrassment, “O-Oh, that was mighty kind of ya to help me, but I’m f-fine now. I need to get going- Oh, ah...” She started sitting up, but a wave of pain made her put her hooves to her temples as she held her head in pain. Spike got up from his chair and helped her lay down on her back again. “You need to take it easy for the rest of the day. Nurse Redheart said that you have a migraine headache. I’ll be handling all the duties for the morning since Rarity’s gonna be going to a party at Fancy’s.” Spike explained. Being the stubborn pony she is, Applejack refused to let a headache stop her from doing her work, “Uh-uh, absolutely not. Ah’m not gonna let a silly little headache stop me from doing Twilight’s duties.” Spike’s expression turned serious, “Applejack, this is serious. You don’t just have a ‘silly little’ headache. You have a major headache. You can’t work in this condition,” He explained in concern as Applejack just pouted at him, “Just rest and you’ll feel better tomorrow.” Applejack looked at him and started glaring. He glared back at her. Even though Spike doesn’t have The Stare like Fluttershy, he still had an advantage because of AJ’s condition. They kept glaring at each other without blinking until Applejack’s headache worked its magic which caused her head to start throbbing. She broke focus and started massaging her head with her hooves. And once the pain died down a little bit, she looked back at Spike, who had a smug look on his face. She sighed and gave into his commands, “Fine. Ah’ll sit out for today.” As she slumped onto the bed with her hooves crossed. Spike smiled which made her sit up and she quickly added, “But that don’t mean Ah’m happy.” He smirked, “I know you won’t happy, but at least tomorrow you’re going to be just fine. If you rest that is.” He was reaching for the door handle, but got an idea and looked back towards AJ, “Unless, of course, you want to stay in bed for longer than you have to.” Applejack scoffed as she waved her hoof at him, “Don’t try using reverse psychology with me. You’re better than that, Spike.” The sick country mare sunk into the bed as Spike opened the door only for Rarity to rush inside, almost running over the grown dragon. “Applejack, darling. However did you get yourself sick? I was just talking with you last night! And Spike told me he found you at 10 p.m and you left my room at 9.50! It means you got sick right after you left my room!” Rarity stressed. “Ah’m fine, Rares. Just a minor headache...” She trailed off when she saw the look Spike was giving her, “Okay. A major headache, but ah’ll recover by tomorrow. You just go on to the party.” Rarity looked at her, “Why would I go to the party when you’re sick?” “The nurses in the castle are gonna take care of me, you just go on to that Fancy Pants’ party. Like you said, this is your one chance.” AJ said. She whispered the last sentence so that only Rarity could hear it. She still looked uncertain, “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to make you feel like I don’t care. And I don’t want to make Spikey-Wikey feel like I don’t care either...” Applejack slightly flinched when Rarity used the pet name she gave Spike, “It’s gonna be fine. Spike and I are going to be fine. Go on to yer lover’s party before yer late.” Rarity lightly blushed when Applejack called Fancy Pants her lover, “If you insist, then I’ll go,” She sighed as she went out of the door, waving, “Well, get well soon, Applejack! Goodbye, Spike!” She ran through the halls to get to her room to get ready. “Good to see you, Photo Finish. The models are just at the back.” Fancy greeted the photographer. “Ah, thank you for the invite. I had been looking forward to this photoshoot for a month now. It will be called ‘The Rarest and Fanciest’.” Photo Finish gestured, “And good to see you too, Fancy Pants.” Rarity was just around the corner of Fancy Pants’ Manor when she heard Photo Finish say ‘The Rarest and Fanciest’. It sounded so much like a combination of her Fancy’s name and her name. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She primmed her mane and started trotting towards the entrance. As soon as Fancy saw Rarity coming, he looked very happy, “Rarity! So glad you could make it.” Fancy offered his hoof and she took it as they both entered. “I’m glad as well. I almost couldn’t make it because my friend got sick...” Rarity said. “Oh? Was your friend alright with you going?” He asked, “I wouldn’t want your friend to feel like he or she wasn’t important to you all because I invited you here.” “O-Oh, yes. She was alright with me going.” She explained, “I was concerned a well at first. But then again, it was just a headache, she’ll be alright.” She finished and their eyes locked together. They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them saying anything. After a few more seconds of silence, Fancy broke it by saying, “I say, which friend of yours was the one who got sick, my dear?” “Oh, her name’s Applejack.” “Was she the country girl? She was the most interesting one of your friends when you introduced me to them.” Rarity chuckled, “Well, she may be a hoofful most of the time, but she is a very Interesting friend indeed.” She agreed. “Say we enjoy the party and push aside other thoughts for now?” “Mhm. Of course.” Fancy looked at her, “Rarity, would you like to model some of the dresses for Photo Finish after this? She was really looking forward to doing it when I said that you are going to be here.” “Why of course. It wouldn’t hurt to just model a few dresses.” “Jolly good.” They both enjoyed the party together and Rarity couldn’t help but feel an attraction to Fancy. Not that she was denying it, she would be the luckiest pony in all of Equestria to be able to get together with the most important pony in all of Canterlot. “Alright Wonderbolts, that’s it for today! Everyone hit the showers and we’ll meet up at the Mess Hall for Lunch!” Spitfire dismissed all of the Wonderbolts after their morning practice, “Crash!” She yelled and Dash flinched as she heard her name being called, “I need to speak to you.” Rainbow saluted with her wing, “Yes, ma’am!” Everyone started heading inside except for Dash and Spitfire. Soarin was curious and he decided to hide behind a cloud to hear what Spitfire wanted to talk to Rainbow Dash about. “Dash, you probably want to know why I called you,” She asked, earning a nod from the rainbow maned pegasus, “I wanted to know why you looked so distracted at practice today. It isn’t normal for you to be distracted, you’re normally always so focused when flying.” Rainbow sighed, “Sorry, Spitfire. Just some things going on in my head.” Spitfire lifted a brow, but shrugged it off, “Okay, but don’t let whatever is in your head distract you too much in practice next time. I also have an announcement for later at the Mess Hall, forgot to mention it,” She said, “Let’s hit the showers, Crash. Don’t wanna be late.” Spitfire started walking, but Dash didn’t. So Spitfire added, “Or I can let you clear up your mind. Well, I’ll see you later, Crash.” “Yeah,” Rainbow chuckled weakly, “See you later.” She sighed and let her hind legs give out once she reached the bleachers. She sat down and started thinking about some things. Soarin, who was still behind the cloud decided to step out, “Hey, Crash.” Rainbow looked at him and mustered up the best smile she could, “Hey, Clipper. What are you doing here? Didn’t you go back inside?” “Well, not really,” He admitted, “I was eavesdropping on your conversation with Spitfire.” Dash looked at him, unamused but sighed nonetheless, “If I was feeling like my usual self today, I would’ve totally punched the lights out of you for listening in on me and Spitfire... But since I’m not-” She sighed and regained her cool to not break down in front of him, “I’m fine. Let’s just go hit the showers already.” She said with a slightly annoyed tone. She was about to get up but Soarin held her down, “No.” “What do you mean ‘no’?” She asked while looking at him, confused. “I heard you saying to yourself that you wish you had something to do like your friends did the other day,” He confessed and her eyes went wide, “And I just thought that you could use the company since your friends are busy.” She just stared at him, but she felt herself heating up for some weird reason, “Well, uh- Thanks, I guess...” Her mood changed to a much brighter one than before, “I don’t have anything on my schedule until next week, so I guess I could hang with you after we finish practice.” She smiled. Soarin also felt himself heating up, “Now that’s the Rainbow Dash I know.” She gave out a slightly girly giggle which made Soarin’s blush darker than before, “Race ya to the locker rooms!” “You’re on!” He accepted before they both took off with lightning speed. Pinkie laughed really hard after Cheese made a joke about Boneless two, “Hahahaha! Oh, Cheese. That was hilarious!” She continued to laugh. Cheese laughed along, “It was just another way of me saying ‘thank you’ to you for helping me get my laugh back.” “But that was such a long time ago, 10 months to be exact,” Pinkie clarified, “Why’d you thank me again after such a long time?” “As I said before, it’s because if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be here right now.” He reminded, but no matter how many times he says it, it always warms up both the party planners’ heart. “Aw, Cheese. I was just doing what my heart was telling me,” Pinkie started blushing, “I was born to be a party pony! And so are you!” She hugged him. “I know. But you were the one who helped me realize that making other ponies smile fills our hearts with sunshine.” He winked as he used her phrase. Pinkie giggled, “You love using my phrases, don’t cha?” “I can’t help it. They really make my day.” Pinkie smiled at his words, “But they’re never as good as the real thing.” She raised a brow with a hopeful look on her adorable pink face, “And what is the real thing?” “Boneless two.” He joked. “What?!” “Just kidding. It’s you!” Cheese said. Pinkie and Cheese both laughed, “Cheese, you’re such a crack up. But it’s very sweet of you to think so.” The pink party pony smiled sweetly. “I don’t just think so. I know so.” He added which made Pinkie’s smile grow even wider, “Now, why don’t we go out and get some smiles out of other ponies?” “That sounds super! Let’s go!” And they ran off to find other ponies who needed some cheering up. And after an hour or two, they just finished cheering up another pony. Cheese saw another gloomy pony sitting underneath a tree and decided to take look. But right after Cheese left to go look, Pinkie heard her name being called out, “Pinkie... Pinkie...” “Huh?” Pinkie let out a confused voice, “Who’s there?” She closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them, the whole world turned into a ghost town, “What’s happening? What’s going on?” She asked again as her ears fell, “Cheese? Where are you?” She started moving backwards but her back hit a tree, “If this is a prank, it’s not funny...” She trailed off. She looked left and right, then she heard the voice again, “Pinkie... Pinkie Pie...” Pinkie started whimpering and the voice came again, “Pinkamena Diane Pie...” That did it for her, Pinkie got up from her sitting position and she started running. She ran and ran and ran, not looking where she was going. But she didn’t care as long as she could get away from whatever was making those noises. “Somepony! Anypony! HELP ME!” Pinkie shouted as she ran through the whole village. She looked back and saw nothing chasing her. She was about to come to a stop, but before she could stop or look back to the front, her head hit a giant wooden sign and she fell to the hard, cold stone floor. But before her eyes fully closed into unconsciousness, a flash of darkness slipped into her eyes and made her feel even weaker than she already was. She was stirring on the ground helplessly. She eventually closed her eyes because of the headache she was getting. Another reason she was closing her eyes was because she couldn’t find the strength to open them. But even through her spinning head, she could hear a voice calling out to her. Not like the ones that were whispering into her ears creepily, but this voice was filled with worry. Pinkie felt herself being picked up before she finally passed out. “This picnic you set for us today is wonderful, Fluttershy.” Discord complimented as he took a cucumber sandwich and ate the whole thing in one bite. He used his claw, paw, and tail to grab three more sandwiches and added, “However did you manage to do all this in just a few hours, my dear?” Fluttershy was flattered and she let out a small giggle. She grabbed a cookie and said, “Why thank you, Discord. It was really fun setting this all up. I had a bit of help from my animals though, so I can’t take all the credit for this.” She said as she took a small bite out of her cookie and placed it on her plate. Discord waved his paw after eating the sandwich and stated, “Oh, please. Don’t be so modest, my dear. You were the one who planned this picnic, not your animals. Your animals just did what you told them to do, which was helping you set this up, but you were the one who bought the food, drinks, and all these other things.” He dipped his sandwich in sauce and ate it whole, “So I think it’s safe to say that you can take most of the credit here, dear Fluttershy.” He winked which made the shy pegasus blush. She shook off her blush by looking away for a couple of seconds. While looking away she saw the beauty of the grassland in front of her eyes, she looked back to Discord and said, “Well, in that case, thank you again, Discord.” She sighed and looked towards the grasslands again before saying, “It’s so beautiful...” After saying that, she lied down on the picnic blanket and closed her eyes. Discord was confused by what she meant was beautiful and he decided to ask, “What’s so beautiful? I don’t see what you mean, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy opened her eyes again and looked at him. Then she looked at the grassland again and said, “That grassland,” She pointed at the grassland’s natural beauty, “Is what I was talking about. The natural beauty to it is always just fascinating to see.” She sighed in pleasure and closed her eyes again. Discord stared off into the greenery scene in front of him and then he looked to the beautiful pegasi beside him. Then he looked back to the grassland. He kept staring and he saw a few bunnies, butterflies, and some other animals before turning his attention to the half-slumbering mare beside him. He sighed and then smiled before he whispered, “It’s quite a sight, but it will never be as majestic and angelic as you, Fluttershy.” He looked down to see Fluttershy still sleeping which ensured him that she didn’t hear any of that. He sighed in relief, but in sadness as well because a part of him wanted her to know about his true feelings towards her. He was holding himself back. He just wanted to take her in his arms and hug her and never let go in a million years. Just the sight of her sleeping peacefully was killing him to scoop her up and take her back home. But he held his composure and looked back at the grasslands. Unknown to the chaotic being was that Fluttershy was experiencing something not so peaceful in her nap... Fluttershy giggled as a bunny approached her, “Why hello there, little bunny.” The bunny snuggled into her mane and began sniffing before its eyes widened slightly and it started running in the other direction. The other creatures that were around followed its pursuit. Fluttershy cocked a brow before she slowly only saw darkness. The darkness in her eyes slowly, but surely slipped away before she could hear voices calling her, “Fluttershy... Fluttershy...” The timid pegasus looked around in fright. She started running in the direction that the animals ran towards but her eyelids started feeling really heavy. Her whole body went numb and she fell to the ground in pain. Immobilized, tired, and scared, she could only close her eyes. Her head started to spin and she blacked out. She felt herself being carried and that’s when she found the strength to open her eyes the slightest bit and she saw the picnic she set up right before a blinding light blinded her eyes to close. And she was out again. “Dash! Wake up!” “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Wake up!” “Rainbow! Wake up! This isn’t funny!” Rainbow stirred in her dreamless sleep and her eyes fluttered opened much to the relief of Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot. Rainbow started sitting up, but one head pain caused her to collapse right back to her bed. “Rainbow Dash! You’re awake!” A familiar white-maned pegasus with a lisp hugged her, “Oh, we were getting so worried.” Rainbow’s head stopped spinning and she chuckled, “Thank you? I guess for worrying but... I’m not exactly sure what actually happened to me... Anypony care to explain to me?” Spitfire, who was right beside the door, pushed Soarin to the bed and she cleared her throat and pointed her head towards the rainbow maned pegasus, “Ahem...” Soarin sighed and simply said, “You fainted.” Those two words were enough to make her eyes shrink in shock as she screamed, “What?!” Her face was showing a very shocked expression, as if all the wonderbolts grew a second head, “T-That can’t be possible. I never faint, it just c-can’t be right.” Rainbow Dash started hyperventilating and that is when Spitfire decided to step up, “Rainbow Dash, calm down.” Soarin came up behind Rainbow Dash and began stroking her back affectionately. Spitfire continued, “Everyone faints every now and then for different reasons. You can’t force yourself to always be tough.” She stopped to take a breath and continued again, “Even the toughest of ponies-“ “Or creatures!” Fleetfoot added which made her earn a stern glare from Spitfire. Spitfire rolled her eyes and continued after being cut off, “Even the toughest of ponies or creatures,” She turned to look at Fleet and focused her gaze back at Dash, “Has a breaking point, Dash.” She suddenly added, “Even me.” Which made Rainbow Dash gawk in shock. Dash shook out of the revelation and asked, “Really? You? You’re pulling my leg.” “Believe it or not, it’s true.” Soarin spoke up, “I’ve seen it because I’ve been with Spitfire since the very beginning. I would love to tell you ‘bout it but I don’t think Spitfire will allow me.” “Say one word about it and I might demote you from co-captain to Squad E.” Spitfire said in a very dangerous tone. Soarin gulped and stuttered out, “A-Aye-aye, C-Captain. I w-won’t say a w-word...” “Good. I’m gonna take my leave. If you want to stay and talk with Crash, I’m not gonna stop you, Clipper.” She turned around and left the room to take her leave, “Let’s go, Fleet.” “See ya, Clipper and Crash!” After the two Wonderbolts left, Soarin turned his head to face Dash and he said, “Don’t try and lie to me, Dash. I know you know that you fainted when we were racing to the locker rooms.” Rainbow’s pupils shrunk and she stuttered, “I-I don’t k-know w-what you’re t-talking about.” She looked to the side to avoid making eye contact with him. Soarin grabbed her face and turned it to force her to look at him, “Rainbow Dash, I know you’re lying to me. Just tell me the truth. What happened? What made you faint?” He waited for a reply but all Rainbow was doing was stare at him. Rainbow couldn’t find any words to reply. She was lost in a trance. The way he held her face with concern. It was firm, but it didn’t hurt her. His face was filled with concern and... Compassion? She hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t blinking until her eyes started burning. She blinked a few times and apologized, “I’m sorry.” She sighed, “I’ll tell you about what had happened, but you have to promise not to laugh and not to tell anyone. Pinkie promise!” “Cross my heart and hope to fly,” He paused, “Though I can already fly.” He continued, “Stick a cupcake in my eye.” He gestured as he motioned Rainbow to explain. She sighed, “I admit, it was pretty scary. Now I know it was all in my head, but it felt so real. A voice kept whispering in my ear very creepily...” “Rainbow Dash... Rainbow Dash...” The voice whispered. One second she was racing with Soarin, the next second the whole Wonderbolts HQ turns into an abandoned version of the HQ. Everyone knows Dash as the toughest mare in Equestria, but this scared her to pieces. “Whoever is whispering creepily in my ears, come out and fight me! I’m not afraid of you!” She raised up to her hind legs and got into a battle stance, “Don’t be such a baby! Come out and fight me, wimpy!” A whoosh behind her back made her fall back on all fours and she started backing up until she hit a wall. “Rainbow Dash...” The voice kept whispering again and again. Not saying anything else, “Rainbow Dash... Rainbow Dash...” She kept still, trying to keep up her tough act. But a flash of black in her eyes made her lightly gasp. She felt woozy and fell to the ground with a thump. “And that’s what happened. I don’t even know how it happened...” Rainbow said with confused eyes, “What about from your perspective? What happened while all that was happening in my mind?” “Well, for starters, you weren’t yelling or anything and the HQ wasn’t abandoned. You were just...” He trailed off, trying to find the right words for it. “I was just what?” Rainbow asked impatiently. “You were just standing completely still, that was until you fell to the ground with no explanation...” He finished, making Rainbow confused. She was about to say something until he asked, “How are you feeling now?” “Oh, I’m alright...? I guess? The headache died down.” “Alright. That’s good. I’ll leave you to rest now.” He reached for the door and added, “Bye, Dash.” Rainbow saluted, “See ya, Clipper.” And the door closed, leaving Rainbow to sleep. Twilight sighed, “Well, that went swell.” She said sarcastically, “We couldn’t even find anything that could’ve been causing whatever is happening to the Crystal Heart...” She paused, “It has nothing o do with Sombra, it has nothing to do with being an old crystal, since it’s a relic that’s been here for more than a millennia, and it has nothing to do with any dark magic that we know about...” She groaned in frustration, “What do we do now?” She asked as she, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor left the meeting room. Twilight was also holding a scroll that had some spells written on it, but they couldn’t figure out what to do with them. Cadence sighed as well, “I guess we can’t really do anything for the Crystal Heart in the time being.” She looked down after finishing her sentence. Shining Armor was also disappointed that they couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but he smiled as he remembered the exciting news that he and Cadence had for Twilight. He whispered something into Cadence’s ear and she perked up and nodded. “Twilight?” Shining Armor spoke up. He got a ‘hmm’ in response to his word. “Remember the exciting news me and Shining Armor had for you?” Cadence asked. Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound of ‘exciting news’, “Yes? What about it?” “Follow me.” Cadence simply said. She led them down the hall. And after a few more minutes of walking in silence, Cadence nudged Twilight to open the door, and when she did... “Surprise!” Flurry Heart yelled once the door opened. Flurry stepped aside to show Twilight the room that was decorated with new baby stuff and a baby cake, much like the one that was made for when Cadence and Shining surprised Twilight about having Flurry. “We’re having another baby!” The couple said. Twilight gasped as she stood still at the door and Cadence and Shining went inside beside Flurry. She shook out of her trance and a large smile appeared on her face, “I’m gonna be an aunt for another little one?” She asked. Shining Armor and Cadence nodded and Twilight jumped into their embrace, “This is the best news ever! I know I’ve said this before when you surprised me at Ponyville, but I’m still very happy and excited for the both of you!” Shining Armor and Cadence laughed at Twilight’s reaction, “We expected you to be excited, but we didn’t expect you to be this excited since we already have Flurry.” Cadence giggled. “It’s just that you pulled this off at the most perfect time possible. I can put all those worries aside for now, I can worry about it later. Right now I’m just,” She stopped for a moment to squeal in excitement, “Very happy for the both of you guys...” She trailed off. A spark appeared in her eyes and she suddenly said, “Wait a minute, that’s it!” Cadence and Shining Armor backed up from the hug, they looked at each other in confusion before Shining asked, “What’s it?” Twilight smiled at them as she held up the scroll, “I think I might know how to fix the Crystal Heart. Come with me.” They started walking but Twilight saw that Flurry didn’t follow, “You too, Flurry.” Flurry gasped in excitement, “Really?” She asked hopefully. “Yes, come on, sweetie.” Twilight giggled as the filly raced towards them. Twilight led them to the Crystal Heart and said, “Cadence, you think you can do this spell?” She showed Cadence a spell which made Cadence cock a brow. “Yes but... it’s a love spell, Twilight. I don’t think this has anything to do with the heart...” Cadence said. “Alone by itself, it may not have anything to do with the heart... But with this spell,” She pointed towards another spell, “I think it can make a difference.” “So you want me to do these two spells together?” She asked. “Oh, no. I want somepony else to do this spell...” Twilight explained. “I can do it.” Shining stepped up. Twilight looked at him, “Oh, I don’t think it’ll work if you do this spell...” “I think it will...” Shining spat back. Twilight sighed, “Fine. If you want to try doing it with Cadence, then go ahead, but I’m telling you it won’t work.” Twilight handed him the scroll and he scoffed, “Ha! This is such a simple spell. This’ll be easy.” “That’s what he thinks.” Twilight muttered under her breath. “Okay, I got the spell. So now what do we do, Twily?” He asked. “Each of you stand on one side of the heart and just use the spell on the heart. It’s that simple.” Twilight clarified. Cadence and Shining took their places and got their magic ready. Cadence opened her wings and did the first beam of magic into the heart. Flurry watched in awe from behind and she asked, “What am I suppose to do, Auntie Twily?” Twilight walked towards her niece and whispered, “The spell your dad is doing, is what you were supposed to do.” “Huh?” She asked in hope and slight fear. “That’s why your dad said the spell was simple.” Her aunt winked. She smiled but then asked, “But if it’s simple, won’t my dad succeed in doing it?” “No, because it’s meant for two specific ponies to do.” Twilight pointed at Cadence and then she used her wing to point at Flurry. Flurry raised a brow in confusion, but then she got the message, “Ohh... Okay.” She winked back. “Here.” Twilight handed the scroll to Flurry for her to read. Twilight giggled and the alicorn went back to watching the couple try to do the spell. Cadence’s beam of magic was finished and Shining Armor started his streak of magic. A blinding light took over everyones’ eyes before it started dying down. After the spell was done, Shining opened his eyes to see the Crystal Heart... looking the same. “The spell didn’t work?” He asked. Cadence rolled her eyes, “I guess you should’ve listened to Twilight, dear. She does know more about this subject than you do, no offense.” She giggled. Shining sighed and said, “Fine. Who is supposed to do this spell, Twily?” “Flurry Heart-” “What?!” Flurry’s parents cried out. “I didn’t finish my sentence.” Twilight stated, “I was going to say that the spell is simple so that Flurry won’t exhaust herself.” Cadence and Shining Armor looked at each other in worry, “Are you sure about this, Twilight?” “Yes. I’m positively sure about this.” She said, “Now, get in position.” Cadence walked back to her original position while Flurry flew down to her position excitedly. Twilight held the scroll in front of Flurry and asked, “You got this, Flurry?” Flurry read the scroll one more time and nodded, “Yes!” Twilight looked at Cadence and nodded. Cadence looked back at Flurry, who looked excited, so she nodded back to Twilight with a smile. She took a deep breath, opened her wing, and she shot the beam towards the heart. Twilight gave a nod to her niece. Flurry nodded back, she took a deep breath and she shot a blinding light of a beam towards the Crystal Heart. Twilight and Shining moved back as the stronger blinding light took over their eyes once more. Cadence and Flurry’s eyes glowed white as they were slightly lifted up to the air. A burst of magic exploded and it illuminated the whole Crystal Empire. The light died down and Flurry and Cadence were brought back down to the ground. Every faces that were near looked towards the Crystal Heart. It was wrapped in a bright light before the light disappeared, showing the Crystal Heart back to its original, beautiful crystal. “It worked.” Twilight murmured. Cadence and Shining walked towards Flurry, “I guess it’s safe to say that Flurry owns the Magic of Light now.” Cadence chuckled. Flurry smiled and hugged her parents with Twilight joining in on the group hug. Flash watched the scene behind a pillar and smiled before going back into the palace. Something that Twilight didn’t know, was that once the Crystal Heart returned to its original state, the migraines that her friends had just disappeared. Another thing is that whatever was giving her friends these headaches, was about to target her and Rarity, but without the power of the Crystal Heart, it doesn’t have enough strength to do so. So it decided to retreat.