//------------------------------// // 0̸͕̱̻͈͎̝̯̳͕̻̦̮́̿̋͂̉̎͒͐͌́-̸̨̜̯̞͉̫͍͙̺̮͇͓̓̍͠�̸̢̹͎̣͈͇͈̮̠̦̤̖̿͋:̷̨̛̛̝̟̰͙̟̗̫̭̖̦̈́̑̏̈̓̓̃̈́̌͆̂͒͠ ̷̧̟̺͖͈̜̇́̏̑̉͑͆́̈́͝q̷̨̧̥͇̤͔͔͊̊̈́̿̅̆́̄̕͘ͅĺ̸̢̬͍͙̲͍̺̘̃ɐ̷̢̢̛̲͓͇̙̞̤̟͂̈͆̇̐̑͗̎̌̇͌̄̐̚u̴̡̯̼̒͌̈̇́́́́͝ʞ̵̢̣̙͉͑͒̉̋̌͒̄̕͠ ̸̢̳͓͖͚̠̘̘̺͔̼̣̖̦̓͌̈́́͆̏̂̈͛̕͝S̶̱̤͛̉̿̊̽͌̈́͂̍͒͒̚ʇ̶̹̌̏̾ó̵͇̜͔̪͎̃͛̉͘ɹ̸̐͠ // Story: Harry is a Little Ho(a)rse at Hogwarts // by Teraunce //------------------------------// Ɔ̵̡̨̬̖͍͍̜̬̻̎̌̈́͋̂̾̒͒͜ɥ̸̧̼̼̮͓̜͙̗͖̰̘͚̞̼̀͛̓͋̎̍ɐ̷̩̖̤̗͕̏͂̊d̶̪̯͉͓̮͛̋͘ʇ̵̮̲̲̂͗̔͂̅͐͊ǝ̵̭͍͎̦̣̻̳͉͙̲̜̮͍́ͅɹ̵̢̨͎̟͍̣̤̺̜͙̙̳̆̇́̌͋̔ ̷̭̩̬͚͇̺̣̭̠̥̯̣̃͗̎̑̿̋̿͜͜0̸͕̱̻͈͎̝̯̳͕̻̦̮́̿̋͂̉̎͒͐͌́-̸̨̜̯̞͉̫͍͙̺̮͇͓̓̍͠�̸̢̹͎̣͈͇͈̮̠̦̤̖̿͋:̷̨̛̛̝̟̰͙̟̗̫̭̖̦̈́̑̏̈̓̓̃̈́̌͆̂͒͠ ̷̧̟̺͖͈̜̇́̏̑̉͑͆́̈́͝q̷̨̧̥͇̤͔͔͊̊̈́̿̅̆́̄̕͘ͅĺ̸̢̬͍͙̲͍̺̘̃ɐ̷̢̢̛̲͓͇̙̞̤̟͂̈͆̇̐̑͗̎̌̇͌̄̐̚u̴̡̯̼̒͌̈̇́́́́͝ʞ̵̢̣̙͉͑͒̉̋̌͒̄̕͠ ̸̢̳͓͖͚̠̘̘̺͔̼̣̖̦̓͌̈́́͆̏̂̈͛̕͝S̶̱̤͛̉̿̊̽͌̈́͂̍͒͒̚ʇ̶̹̌̏̾ó̵͇̜͔̪͎̃͛̉͘ɹ̸̪̝̯͉͙̹̪̐͊͠ʎ̸̮̠͈̹̗̎̓́ (Time: Morning, May 2nd, 997 CE Location: CMC Clubhouse Interviewees: Half-Light Dawn, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Lightning Sunrise. Interviewers/Counselors: Half-Light Noon and Half-Light Dusk Subject: ư̵̪̗̟͇͚̫̈ʍ̸̡̠͚̹̲͎̯͉͚͇̖͖͈̐̎͋̀̐͐̇̑̌͠ǒ̸̡̗̼̬̬͖̩̗̭̺̔̔̍͋͌̐̚͝┴̸̙͓̰̉̄ʎ̶̧͇̳͎̖̮͚́͝u̴̡͉̭͚̮̚ù̸̧̝͙̪̣͎̗̣̩̞̈́̽́͋̊͆͗̀͝n̴̟̰̓͆͆̎́͆̓Ṡ̴̨̞̟̼͔̜̑͜ ̸̧̛͕̩̠̘̱͇̙̈́͆̀̉u̴̡͚͔̹̞͓̳͈͓̜̖͖̘̥̐̄̑̓̊̅̒̚͝ͅᴉ̶̱͔͈̆̍͜ ̵̡͍͎̮̫͖̣͆̔̐͋ͅ,̵̨̡͔̬͒̍̉̐̋̽̈́̑̍͒̈͊̓͘͜,̸̡̪̫̝̤̗̰̻̼̠̞͂͗ǝ̶̡͊́͆̈́͋̎̎̀́̊̍̚̕ɹ̶̹̹̱̦̩͑̀̐̓͐̂͆̕ͅn̷̹̐̑̓̂̿̓̀̚ʇ̴̺̭̟̿͒̾̾̉̔̿u̶̳̒̌̄̇̆̈́͋́̇ǝ̴̳͕͓̥̑̐̒̂̾́̔̌̒̈́̈́̓͋̕͠ʌ̸̛̟͉̰̰̣̺̠̗͆̐̀̂̑͆͗́̀͘͘̚p̵̨̧̨̘̱͕̣̠̜̥̜̩̥̜͐̈́̂̏͗̈͋̕̚͜͝∀̸̢͖̱̝̣͖̩́̍̈́̍͆ͅ Warning: Text Corruption Present.) Dawn and the CMC awaken in the CMC’s clubhouse to someone knocking on a door. A worried elderly voice asks from the other side, “Dawn are you there? You vanished yesterday, scaring both Noon and I.” Dawn hurriedly scrambles out of her sleeping bag from the cuddle pile and rushes over, opening the door and diving to hug her sister Noon while tearing up in relief. “I-I’m glad y-you’re here s-sis.” Noon barely manages to catch Dawn and stands up bipedally to both hug Dawn and run her hoof through Dawn’s hair. “Woah! What has an awesome filly like you so upset, Dawn?” Dusk’s horn lights up briefly as she teleports inside the clubhouse and sits down. “Indeed, what could scare you so bad you five are huddled up in a pile shivering with nightmares.” Noon transfers Dawn to her own back before falling back to all fours and crawling into the clubhouse. “We’re willing to listen if it will help you squirts out, and given some of the things we’ve heard you’ve tried, it must have been really terrifying. Come here, squirts.” She then sits down by a wall, transfers Dawn into her lap, and motions for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to join Dawn almost in her lap. As the pair scramble to take the invitation with one on either side of Dawn, Dusk sits down with a creak next to Noon and makes the same invitation to Sweetie Belle and Lightning Sunrise, who quickly take it. Noon holds Dawn in her arms while her wings each hug and push Scootaloo and Apple Bloom into Dawn and herself. Dusk, meanwhile, just wraps an arm each around an undisguised Lightning Sunrise and Sweetie Belle. Noon’s horn then lights up and pulls out some paper and quill. “I hope you don’t mind me recording this. Hopefully, you’ll be able to laugh at this in the future.” They all shiver in the adults’ grasp at that. “I-I doubt that…, b-but if it s-stops anyone else f-from g-going there…, w-we’ll re-relive that n-nightmare.” Scootaloo puts a brave face on as she starts the tale, “We were on our way to Zecora’s in the late afternoon with Applejack leading us to her to learn the properties of plants that bloom at Dusk….” (Yesterday, ~4 PM, Clearing on Road to Zecora’s Hut) “It’s odd there’s a tree fallen across the road here.” Applejack kicks the tree blocking the crossroads exit in the Everfree Trail leading to Zecora’s one last time. “You four stay here while I see if I can find where the other end of Zecora’s path reconnects to the Everfree trail.” The CMC all agree, leading Applejack to reluctantly go down the further path on the road merchants very reluctantly use. Their staying lasts all of a minute until Scootaloo spots an ancient crossroads marker in a beam of sunlight let in by the falling of a tree. Scootaloo wanders over to the map and looks over it before beckoning the rest over. “Come on over, you three! I wonder what treasures this map will lead us to?” (Dawn shivers here and pulls out a copy of the map she made. “I made a copy while they talked and I hid. The red marks are stuff I fixed.”) Sweetie Belle looks at the map, turns to look where the road to Everfree City is, and spotting its remains, turns to Lightning. “Have you ever heard of Everfree City?” Lightning puts a hoof under his chin and thinks. “No, I can’t say I have, but this map looks ancient, and there’s no mention of Ponyville.” Apple Bloom points down a different, almost covered road. “What about S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉? I just saw a white filly with red mane go down that path leading towards the White Tail Woods?” Lightning’s wings light up as he assembles some nearby branches to form a big arrow pointing towards S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉. “It can’t hurt to check the place out. Who knows what we’ll find, but someone must be living there for a filly to be present.” He then leads the way down the path with an unseen Dawn following along behind. It isn’t a terribly long walk down the narrow path before they exit from a break in the trees to stand before the town’s main gate. Lightning spots a sign by the main entrance and goes to walk over when Dawn exits the tree break, running into him and causing them both to land on a ruby. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom move to help Lightning and Dawn up, respectively. Spotting the bow in Dawn’s hair, Apple Bloom accosts Dawn. “Who are you, why were you following us, and why do you have a similar bow to mine?” Dawn stumbles as she gets up but smoothly answers, “I’m Half-Light Dawn, and my family just moved into Ponyville.” She then pointedly shows her blank flank. “My family and I tend to be a bit shy, so I had hoped to ask if I could join your little club at Zecora’s.” She then shrugs as she finishes, “the bow is a gift from a friend of my mother before we moved here.” Apple Bloom frowns a little at those answers as she absently picks up the ruby, but Sweetie Belle approaches her and gives a hug. “Well, you’ve got some courage to come out here just to join the club. All in favor of letter her join raise your hoof?” Sweetie Belle, Lightning Sunrise, and Scootaloo all eagerly raise their hooves while Apple Bloom reluctantly does. Receiving that vote, Lightning reaches over and pats Dawn on the shoulder. “Welcome to the club. Now let’s see what the population of this S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ is?” They all move over to the sign by the gate and read the town’s motto: Sweetie Belle looks at her blank flank before sighing in relief. “Well, it’s a good thing none of us have our Cutie Marks yet. Lightning or Dawn, have you ever heard of years being numbered    with ‘EE?’” Lightning moves to enter the town, with the rest following. “I haven’t, but I suppose we can take a look around.” However, they stop dead in their tracks when they spot a very tall pole in the village center with long streamers hanging off of it. A nearby grey pony with a black mane approaches them. “Welcome to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ fillies and colts. You’re just in time for the maypole festival and feast.” Scootaloo recovers first from that news. “Who are you? And what’s a maypole festival?” The strange grey stallion just offers them a bow before gesturing grandly. “I’m Grey Hoof, master of festivities. We’re celebrating the spring planting and the announcement of new couples. Now I insist you spend the night. Don’t need you getting lost on your way back to Everfree City, Dodge City, or Canterlot Town.” The CMC all agree with nods to his request before Lightning leads them away to stand beside a building. “Weird! It’s like they are trapped over a century in the past.” Dawn nods to what he says. “Let’s try and find another way out of here.” She looks around and, spotting a glum-looking burnt orange stallion with a blue mane blocking a doorway close by, walks over. “Does the town have another exit?” She bounces for a few seconds before realizing she isn’t going to get a reply. “Seems like you’re having a bad enough day you don’t care? What can we do to make it better?” She then stares at him with her best puppy dog eyes while the others walk over and do the same. It doesn’t take very long for him to finally sigh and point at a light grey pony with an orange mane. “I lost my engagement gift for Starlet over there. It was a bright red shiny rock I last saw outside town.” Apple Bloom pulls the ruby out of her bags and asks, “Is this it, mister…?” “Roneo, and that is it.” The stallion joyfully picks it up out of her hooves. “As thanks, I’ll tell you there may be another exit out that away, but it’s a pretty tight passage if it still exists. The key is inside this building, however.” The CMC all notice his lack of Cutie Mark as well, but don’t bring it up for now as they watch him stand up and walk over to greet his significant other. Entering the building, they realize it is a warehouse with some loose wooden boxes blocking the pathway. Working together, they manage to make their way through to find a well handle and a sorrowful ranting dark-grey pony with dark red hair in relatively short order. Spotting them, she glares at them as she continues. “...it is not right that this should happen again and again. YOU FIVE! Take the crank and find the key in the well! Not right, not right….” Hurriedly, Lightning grabs the crank and stuffs it in his saddlebags before they make a hasty retreat and exit the warehouse. Having not seen the village well so far, they head deeper into the town. Along the way, they pass by a brown stallion. Scootaloo stops and asks him, “Hey, mister. What’s with the grey and red pony crying in the house Roneo was lounging in the doorway of?” The rest stop to listen to his answer. “The name’s Gladstone. Poor Mitta there is very sad her sister drowned in the town well a few months ago trying to get the key to the gatehouse on the other exit out of town. She’s convinced herself that another foal will drown doing the same thing.” Apple Bloom frowns at that and asks something they’ve all been thinking, “Mister Gladstone, Ah noticed no one here has a Cutie Mark?” Gladstone looks up at the evening sun before slowly walking off. “I’ve never heard of one of those. Now, I’ve got to get ready for the feast.” They all frown at that but soon spot a well as they walk deeper into the town. However, it already has a crank, so it must not be the one the CMC needs, so they continue deeper in and all decide to stop by a green pony. Lightning decides to be their spokesperson this time. “Hey, miss…?” The green pony turns to face them with a slightly annoyed smile on her face. “Three Leaf.” Lightning cautiously continues. “Miss Three Leaf, how come I haven’t heard of S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ before today?” Three Leaf shrugs and smiles proudly. “We’re pretty self-sufficient. Since our founding, we haven’t had to really ask Everfree City or Dodge City for help.” The mention of Everfree City causes them all to look at her slightly weirdly, but Lightning asks, “Are there any other wells in the town?” Three Leaf, in response, just points deeper into town. “There’s one by the abandoned gatehouse. It’s where Ruby drowned. Now, you don’t follow her path, please.” They all nod, slightly freaked out but trying not to show it, the CMC wish Three Leaf a quick goodbye.  The CMC then heads deeper into the town and out into its outskirts just as dusk falls. Lightning is the first to stop. “There’s something very wrong here.” Apple Bloom nods her head. “It feels like they weren’t giving us the whole truth about Mitta and Ruby.” Sweetie Belle turns to Dawn. “I’m sorry your first adventure with the Cutie Mark Crusaders had to be like this.” Dawn just smiles back sadly. “It’s ok, you four. Sometimes the beginning adventure isn’t a happy one.” Scootaloo spots something and points deeper in the woods. “I just saw your filly go deeper in!” Scrambling, they rush after the filly and spot her just as she enters the house. They approach the door and try it but find it to be locked. Scootaloo then frustratedly huffs. “I hope the well has that key. I don’t want to admit it, but this place is freaking me out.” The rest nod their agreement and quickly find the well. It doesn’t take too long for them to attach the crank and raise the bucket. Dawn grabs the key and approaches the door. “I hope there’s an exit through here. I’ll take whatever punishment my family wants to give me.” She then unlocks the door to sounds of agreement from the others as they all pile in. Splitting up, they search the building for an exit while Sweetie Belle dances, trying to keep her hooves off the floorboards as much as possible. “I hope Rarity never fi-” Whatever she was next going to say was cut off by the sound of Apple Bloom shrieking and sobbing. Everyone’s heads whip around just in time to watch her back away from the lit fireplace, going bipedal to get away faster before hitting a wall and slumping down into a sitting position where she sobs and points at what she saw. The rest, freaked out by her actions, approach the fireplace only to watch a hidden flaming skeleton of a filly stand up and make tortured sounds of agony. She then starts coming towards them, at which point they rush out, Lightning pulling Apple Bloom along using fright-boosted adrenaline. They stop in the darkened clearing outside the house, panting. Dawn, looking a little green, is the first to catch her breath and manage to avoid vomiting. “What monsters could turn such a happy beginning into a sad ending like that!?” On the other hoof, Sweetie Belle isn’t so lucky and throws up her lunch on the ground while shivering. Scootaloo, meanwhile, shivers and swallows hard. “That was so not awesome and painful to witness.” Apple Bloom finally manages to stop gibbering. “She w-wasn’t m-much older t-than us a-and I-I saw h-her Cutie M-Mark.” Lightning, meanwhile, just sits rocking with his head between his hooves while his disguise flickers. “S-So much pain. S-So much hate. S-So much anger at o-one who f-found j-joy in her C-Cutie M-Mark.” Sweetie Belle finally manages to stop throwing up and looks back at the house, which is still lit up by the fireplace. “W-We need to l-leave. D-do you w-we s-search the h-house, or t-try to sneak p-past G-Grey H-Hoof?” The rest look at the house as a scream of tortured pain leaves it, causing them all to scramble away back down the path while trees fall behind them. Dawn stops right before they reenter the town proper. “I-I think that answers that question.” Lightning peers into S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ and shudders as he puts a hoof to his forehead. “I t-think I know w-why we’ve never h-heard of S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ before! S-so much h-hate and g-grief and m-misery. L-Look.” The others look into the town as well and see how it went from a sunny if odd but whole village to a blackened town composed of rotting decaying ruins. Apple Bloom gulps at the sight. “I-I think w-we know now w-why Grey H-Hoof wanted us t-to stay for s-supper. W-we are s-supper!” Scootaloo shudders before standing up straight. “We go through there as fast as possible without stopping for anything. Are you able to move Lightning?” Lightning shudders but nods as he stands strong if a little shakily. “I can, but let’s not stay here for long. This place drains me.” The rest gather themselves before nodding to signal they are ready to begin as well. Scootaloo puts herself in front with the others following through the maze of ruins that was S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉. Shortly through it, however, G̶̩̝͋r̶̫͔͐e̴̱̐̈ŷ̵̹͙ ̴̘̈́͐H̶̗̙̉o̴͔̣̕o̴̤̎f̶̫͊ͅ'̷̟̱͌̓s̸̻̒͆ voice hauntingly echoes out of the trees, “There was no other way! She was going to spoil the party!” Running away from the voice and near where they met her earlier, T̷̳͑̎h̵̥̳̒͝ŕ̵̗ẽ̴̢̼e̴̥̜͆͋ ̴̘̳̓L̸̟̦̅̕ê̵͙͋a̸̬̽f̵͕͍̊ rises up from the ground, a red-eyed decaying black skeleton of her former self. She doesn’t chase the CMC as they slip past. “The Curse befell her this evening many years ago! She had the mark! She had to go!” Fleeing from her the way they knew went to the entrance, G̶̪̜͒͒l̷̻͇̕ä̶̛̹̙́ḑ̵̠͋̽S̶͚͐t̷̖̐o̴̤̦͐n̶̢̺̎ḙ̶̝̑͝'̷̬̲̎ş̶͎̓͠ decaying skeleton rises from the ground where he had been earlier and starts walking towards them. Quickly thinking on their feet, they spot an alternate path blocked by a fallen boulder. Together they manage in their fear to shove it away. “Please… Stay with us! We will ensure the curse never befalls you!” Running away from a skeleton that looks an awful lot like G̶̩̝͋r̶̫͔͐e̴̱̐̈ŷ̵̹͙ ̴̘̈́͐H̶̗̙̉o̴͔̣̕o̴̤̎f̶̫͊ͅ, they soon enter the ruined decaying festival square at the front of the town. Halfway to the exit, they realize a tree has fallen across it. They look back to spot Ŕ̶̭ơ̸̢̗n̶̼̔̐e̴̟̓̽o̷͚͉͂̏'̴̦̃̒s̸̱̳͝ decaying skeleton rise from the ground leading S̶͙͌ṱ̴̛̎a̵̲͕͘r̷̢͂͝l̷̠̲̉e̴̮̘̓ṫ̶̻͐ and G̶̩̝͋r̶̫͔͐e̴̱̐̈ŷ̵̹͙ ̴̘̈́͐H̶̗̙̉o̴͔̣̕o̴̤̎f̶̫͊ͅ. “All we want is friendship! The others won’t like it if you leave!” They run towards the exit, knowing they are trapped, when Mitta’s blackened body rises from the ground and bucks the tree, causing it to splinter open enough for them to crawl through to relative safety. “Even in undeath, they are Fools! Run you Five for your life! I will do what I should have done for Ruby and protect you! Follow her if she appears!” They rush past her when a flash of light near the end of her speech draws their attention back to Mitta, whose dark grey flank now supports a shield with a ruby on it. Dawn walks up and very carefully pats Mitta on her healthier-looking back with a wince. “Looks like your Happy Ending isn’t gone forever. Congrats on finding your Special Talent.” Mitta smiles slightly at that as she motions to the hole in the tree once more. “Thank you, but my place remains with them until they see the error of their ways.” Nodding back, the five crawl through quickly, one by one. Once all five are on the other side, the filly whose translucent body the CMC have been seeing rises from the ground. “I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you all. My name’s Ruby, and I wanted to explore the one day a year I can. Thank you for helping Mitta find her own talent. It has made me realize my own is finding things like I found Roneo’s gift so many years ago.” Lightning pats Ruby’s back with a shiver. “At least some good came from this terrifying night.” The others nod in agreement as Ruby walks over to the ruined road. “I think I can use it to find you all a way out of here alive.” The others follow her as Lightning and Sweetie Belle light up their horns, leading to a terrifying game of dodge the cursed skeletons. Finally, they spot the crossroads and all move to step out when they realize Ruby isn’t following them. Looking back, they see her shake her head. “I’m sorry new friends, but my place lies here with Mitta helping them pass on. I’ll visit you here next year if you want.” The CMC all glance at one another before Lightning lights his horn up, pulls a spare CMC cape from his saddlebags, and drapes it over Ruby’s ghostly back. Scootaloo, at the same time, places one on Dawn’s back before they surround Ruby in a group hug. Sweetie Belle pulls a polaroid camera out of her bags, uses her magic to aim it at all of them, and with a shout of “cheese,” captures six pictures of them smiling. Apple Bloom takes one of the six and hands it to Ruby. “We’d love that, honorary member of the CMC.” They then disengage from her and wave as she fades back into the trees before they themselves exit out into the clearing to find a worried Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack looking about the clearing for them. They’re well into the clearing before Rainbow spots them and zooms over. “Where have you been, Squirt!? You’ve had us worried!? And who’s your new friend!?” Scootaloo moves to point to where the road to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ was only to realize there’s a solid wall of trees. Lamely she recovers and instead points to the path to Everfree City as Applejack and Rarity approach. “We went that way thinking we saw another way.” Dawn meanwhile curtsies gracefully towards them. “I’m Half-Light Dawn and my family just moved here recently. I’d heard about their adventures and followed them but they caught me and inducted me.” Lightning steps up to Applejack shivering. “We’re very sorry for disobeying you Applejack but can we please spend the night at our clubhouse since we didn’t get to visit Zecora’s?” The three adults look at each other for a few seconds before Applejack answers, “You can tonight but after that you are confined to the town for the next month. You scared us a lot.” The CMC all nod and the group as a whole head back to Ponyville. Lightning finishes up, “after that we headed back here and you can figure out the rest.” He then gives them the biggest puppy eyes he can with the others joining in. “Please don’t tell our families about S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉ or we’ll never be allowed to leave our homes again.” Noon and Dusk look at each other before Noon speaks up, “We won’t tell on you squirts but we can’t promise Dawn will be able to play with you very often.” Dusk picks the thread up Noon dropped down. “It sounds like you gave some ponies hopes for a happy journey and ending as well.” After some more cuddling, Noon and Dusk leave with Dawn trailing behind. Once out of earshot, Dusk turns on Dawn. “Why did you let them see you, and why did you stay with them?” Dawn shudders and frowns as she looks up at Dusk. “I couldn’t. Once I got close to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉, I was stuck to this plane, and that place was able to affect me!” Noon ruffles Dawn’s mane as she smiles down at her. “At least you didn’t change too much, so we are still safe. You may even have been destined to go to S̴̪̈́̋u̷̼͛̋n̸͍̗̈́̚n̶̡̜͗ÿ̴̩̮́t̶̰͎́̕ọ̸̢̎̈w̷̞̘̆̇n̴̖͍̉.” Dusk just sighs at her younger sisters. “Well, this is a fun position you put us in, but what’s done is done. Let’s go home, you two.”