//------------------------------// // Joined by Magic and Laughter // Story: Story for a sick pony // by Alchemystudent //------------------------------// Chapter 3:                       At 11:00 A.M. the rays of the bright and beautiful sun hit Rainbow Dash’s sleeping body, its warmth helping to wake her up. Stretching one of her legs, she let out a big yawn and opened her eyes slowly, “MMM, just what time is it,” turning her head, she looked at the clock, “11:00? Oh that, that is just way too early. Why am I even up at this time of day… oh wait,” looking around the room, she started to notice several differences from her normal room. She looked up and down, left and right, trying her best to remember the events of the previous night. Her answer came when she heard the soft breathing of an small orange filly next to her, the legs still assuming their death grip on the cyan pegasus’ leg, “Oh that’s right, I remember now.”                     Smiling softly to herself, Rainbow Dash noticed that the grip was loose enough now for her to slip her cyan hoof away from the grip of the little filly. Getting off from the bed, she fixed up the covers around the orange Pegasus and ran a hoof through her purple mane to kiss her on the forehead, “I’ll be back in a bit, Squirt. The ever-so-awesome Rainbow Dash just needs to head home for a bit to pick up some grub,” Walking to the window, she opened the it slightly to get ready to fly when a smell caught her nose, “Mmmmm, is that pancakes I smell,” turning around, Dash walked quickly out the door and down the stairs.                     Down the stairs in the kitchen, Sunny Day was feverishly working at making breakfast for her young daughter upstairs. The orange earth pony began to stir the mix slowly while getting the chocolate flavoring from within the cupboard as she heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the stairs. Turning her head, she looked at Rainbow Dash as she reached the bottom step, “Good morning, Rainbow Dash. I trust you slept well.”                     The cyan Pegasus chuckled a little as she looked to the side, “Yeah, I really did. Hope you didn’t mind me crashing in your daughter’s room.”                     “Oh I don’t mind at all,” the orange mare said, “Truth is, I came up sometime last night to check up on Scootaloo and saw you both sleeping together. The scene was just so adorable that I just couldn’t bring myself to ruin it.” “I don’t do adorable,” Dash thought to herself as she watched Sunny pour some of the light brown batter onto the grill, “ Hey, mind if I help? I don’t normally cook, but I can at least make some decent eggs sunny side up.”                     “That would be wonderful, thank you,” Sunny said as she flipped some of the pancakes on the grill.                     A few minutes passed by quickly as the two continued to work at making breakfast,  getting some orange juice and some soda to also accompany the meal. As she sat the food onto the plates to cool, Sunny smiled, “Rainbow, thank you so much.”                     “Hey, cooking ya breakfast was the least I could for you,” Dash said, grabbing a plate of pancakes for herself to eat.                     “No, I mean doing this for Scootaloo. The reading, training her to fly,  being her big sister, all of it,” She smiled as she went to prepare some soup for Scootaloo, “ You don’t realize what it means for her to have somepony like you to help care for her like you have been doing. She has always been a little jealous of the other girls for having big sisters that she could be close to, and giving her a little sister,” a sad look came across her face as she placed a hoof to her belly, “was out of the question.  Quick Arrow and I were lucky enough to get Scootaloo into our lives, there was no way we could risk another foal. I could also never train her like you have and with her father out in the field watching the Princesses... well you could could probably guess just how much practice she has had in flight training.”                     The cyan Pegasus nodded as she finished up her plate, “I can imagine. A royal guard is a full time job so he probably hasn’t seen her much,” she said, looking over at a picture of a white Pegasus with a purple mane holding a baby Scootaloo above his head.                     Sunny walked over to the framed photograph, smiling at the memories of her husband, “Which is why, before she met you and befriended those crusader friends of hers, she had always been feeling down when she came home from school.  Then, when you came into her life, things started to change. She’s been perking up, getting a little better in school, trying to fly a little more, and so many other things. You gave her something that I couldn’t… thank you.”                     The rainbow-haired Pegasus smiled confidently, remembering how much she had changed when her mentor took her under her wing and became her own big sister, “It’s nothing. I just wanted to lend a helping hoof to a great kid,” Dash flicked a blue ear to some sounds upstairs, “Sounds like she’s awake.  I’ll go and take her soup up to her, then I can read to her some more,” picking up a small bowl, Dash walked up the stairs to Scootaloo’s room, who was looking up happily at Dash.                     Her smile then frowned a little when she saw the contents of the breakfast, “… Tomato soup. Yay,” she said with a bit of sarcasm.                     “Yeah I know, but the doc says you have to eat light,” Dash said comfortingly                     “Don’t get me wrong, mom makes great soup…its just that I smelled her pancakes and I really wanted some,” Scoot then frowned a little.                     “Well then, I guess you should,” Dash held up the soup a little, “look inside.”                     Scootaloo peered inside and saw that there were some tiny bits of chocolate pancakes within the soup, “OH THANK YOU DASH! You’re the best,” a big smile on her face, she happily took the bowl from the cyan mare and began to eat.                     “Now then,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling out the book, “you sit and eat, and I’ll read. Now where was I?”                     “They had just fallen asleep after Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had just gotten their really cool gifts,” Scootaloo said, some soup residue on her lips.                     “Hey, I thought you were asleep by that point,” Dash asked, looking at her.                     “Well, I was, I just fell asleep when the they were. I don’t remember cuddling your foreleg, honest.”                     Arching an eyebrow, Dash could only retort, “Un huh. Anyway and with that…”   _____________________                       And with that, they fell asleep through the night.                       The next morning saw AJ awakening with the sunrise, taking in the beautiful warm glow of the morning. Walking around the top of the hill that she and her friends had rested upon, she started to take a look at her surroundings. She looked off in the distance to see the small town that they had just left and then to the right to look at the continuing woods that laid ahead of their travels.  Sighing, she began to think about how hard the task ahead of her and her friends were. It would be hard enough to find an unicorn that had escaped from the emperor’s clutches who was alive; but she also had to make sure that she would know how to use the tracker spell as well. Shaking her head, the orange mare knew that she and her friends would succeed, no matter what. Turning around, the blonde maned pony walked slowly over to the sleeping group and bellowed, “HEY Y’ALL WAKE UP!!”                     “Oh, goodness. Is there something wrong, did we get attacked while we slept,” Fluttershy asked, getting up from under Rainbow Dash’s wing.                     “Darling, can’t it wait? It’s much much too early for us to be getting up and I need some beauty sleep,” Rarity asked, shaking her mane free of cobwebs and wiping her eyes. Behind her, Sweetie Belle blew her flute sleepily in agreement.                     AJ tilted her head to the side in annoyance, “Look y’all, we probably have a long way to go before we find any mages around this here jungle and Ah am determined to cover as much ground as possible before the day is done, so get a move on!”                     Rarity groaned a little as she laid down her bag of generosity for Sweetie Belle to reach in and grab several apples that they had bought with the last of their money.  The little white unicorn almost squealed with glee as she kept pulling out apple after apple from the magical bag. Once they had one for everypony, they began to spread it out for all, “Hey, somepony want to wake up the sleepy head over there,” AJ asked, nudging her head to the sleeping Rainbow dash.                     “Here, let me try,” Rarity said as she tried to tickle the cyan Pegasus’ nose with a blade of grass, “Hmmm, she is not a very light sleeper is she?”                     “Try yelling in her ear, that’ll do it,” AJ said, munching on an apple.                     Rarity gasped at the idea, “AJ, I am a lady and we ladies do not scream in other ponies ears.”                     “I know what to do,” Fluttershy said as she walked softly to the sleeping Pegasus and leaned in close to her ear, “Rainbow, there is some cider here with your name on it. All brewed for you.”                     “Cider? Why in tarnation would somepony just wake up-“                     Dash opened her magenta eyes quickly and then took to the sky, flying around in circles, “Cider? Did somepony say cider, where is it? Who is brewing it? Oh…funny.”                     “She has a cider addiction,” Fluttershy whispered beneath her breath to the three mares, who nodded in acknowledgement.                     Flying down to grab an apple from the ground, Dash then flew up to rest on a cloud and began to eat, “So, what’s the plan AJ?”                     “Ah was thinking about heading north through the woods, maybe we’ll find something like a mage down that way,” AJ said, finishing up her apple.                     “Why not south? Capital City is that way and there might be some unicorn mages still left there.”                     “Yeah, and there might be a few guards still looking for two pegasi who ran off in there.”                     “Eh, it’ll be no problem,” Dash said doing a mid-air back-flip before landing, “With me here, we’ll be able to handle anything.”                     “Yeah, and then what will we do when we get surrounded by a whole bunch of soldiers and mages who are all still loyal to the emperor and want us dead? Ah am trying to think stratigerically-“                     “Not a real word,” Rarity commented as she looked to the side, noticing the smoke.                     “Never mind. The point is, we can’t just go into the capital city and make the big announcement that we are here to beat the tar out of the emperor and free the queens.”                     “Why not? It’ll get us to the big bad sooner rather than later,” Dash said, a smirk on her face.                     “At the same time, getting the entire guard, mages, and air force on our tails,” AJ said, walking up to Dash.                     “Point?” Dash asked.                     “The point is-“ Before she could continue, AJ was interrupted by Rarity.                     “Excuse me, Darlings. As much as I would love,” she sarcastically said, “to hear your lovely arguing. I was thinking that, perhaps we could check out that small fire in the woods.  It might be a campfire or a house that a unicorn mage lives in and they might know of some exiles from the emperor that might know of the tracking spell.”                     AJ walked to where Rarity pointed and looked over the hill, seeing the small fire. Shrugging, she added, “Well, it might be worth a look, come on,” she then began to walk down the hill, followed by the others.                     In a few short minutes they neared the sight of the fire, coming from a small cabin in a clearing. Standing in front of the house was a violet unicorn mare with a starburst cutie mark. Her horn was glowing as she began to fire spell after spell at an unseen target, “ No,” she fired again, “no,” again, “NO,” and again, “NO!”                     “Who’s she shootin at,” AJ asked walking closer to see a pink pony standing in front of the unicorn.                     “Com (hiccup) Com (hiccup) Come on Twily, try again. You (hiccup) you (hiccup) can do (hiccup, hiccup, hiccup) it,” the pink mare said, bouncing with every hiccup she made, “That last spell turned me into a cupcake and I love those.”                     “Then you tried to eat yourself!” Twilight yelled as she lowered her head in defeat, “I’ll never get this right.”                     “Hey! Maybe they can help,” Pinkie said, looking at the mares behind Twilight.                     “They? They who,” Twilight then turned around to see AJ and the others. Gasping, she leapt back and charged up her horn, “ Who are you?”                     “Whoa there sugarcube, we ain’t here to fight,” AJ said, holding up her hooves in defense, “We just came down here to see who owned this house and who was performing those spells.”                     “Oh, sorry about that, I have been on edge lately. With trying to keep hidden from the emperor and trying to help my frie-“ Twilight was then knocked aside by a pink blur. Shaking her head, the violet unicorn walked to a stump where a book lay.                     “HI! ThenameisPinkiePietheJest (hiccup) and that, over there, is my best friend, TWILIGHT SPARKLE,” Pinkie then jumped back, unleashing a banner above the unicorn’s head.                     “Hello,” the lavender mare said, not looking up from her book.                     “Howdy, the name’s AJ and these are my friends,” AJ then pointed her hoof to each member of her party, “ Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.”                     “Please to meet you,” Rarity said walking in front while Fluttershy waved a hello behind her.                     “Wait…Twilight Sparkle? The Sun Queen’s personal egghead,” Rainbow dash asked, flying up next to Twilight to get a better look.                     Sighing, Twilight lifted the book with her magic and closed it, “The correct term is ‘apprentice’ in the magical arts. And yes, I am the same,” the lavender unicorn then put the book in a nearby saddle.                     “The correct term is egghead! Every time I asked you to hang out back at the castle with me and Flutters you would ignore me!”                     “That’s because I had more important things on my mind than ‘hanging out’,” the lavender unicorn air-quoted as she went to the door of her house to close it.                     “Like what?”                     “ Studying and reading,” Twilight said.                     “Yeah, that’s real exciting,” Dash said, rolling her magenta eyes.                     “How did I figure as much,”  Twilight thought to herself.                     AJ took a few steps towards Twilight, “Hey, wait. You lived in the castle and were this ‘Sun Queen’s’ personal apprentice?”                     “YEPPPERS,” Pinkie jumped in, “She could create (hiccup) huge (hiccup) explosions that go boom and BANG (hiccup) and fireballs that could go fooosh!”                     The unicorn blushed a little, “Well, maybe not all that.”                     “Then you might be able to help us.  We’re looking for a court mage that knows a good trackin’ spell that can help us find the castle,” AJ said.                     “I do know of a spell,” The purple mare said, turning to the group behind her, “But I can’t help you.”                     “WHY NOT!?”                     “Because of Pinkie,” Twilight said, looking to the hiccupping pink mare, “She had accidentally picked up a book that had a defensive spell on it that causes the victim to start hiccupping repeatedly after inhaling the blue dust. I have been trying to find a cure for a week now, but every healing spell I used doesn’t work.”                     “Oh, is there anything we can do,” Fluttershy asked, walking to Pinkie and looking her over.                     “Well, if I had an apothecary I could start trying potions or I could head to a temple a days walk from here that I have heard has a  plant that can cure it,” Twilight said as she turned towards the woods.                     “ Well then, Ah guess we’ll just have to help ya then,” AJ said, walking up next to the purple mare and putting a hoof onto her shoulder.                     The unicorn’s eyes popped out in surprise, “What? No, you can’t, I can’t ask you guys to risk this for me. We… hardly know one another.”                     “Look, the way Ah see it, you need help to save your friend over there. We need to get a tracking spell in order find the emperor and save this country. And probably your teacher as well,” AJ looked at Twilight as she then turned to the forest, “We all have a reason for going in there and getting that potion thing, and the best way to get what we all want is to work together, right?”                     “But, the thing is-“ Twilight was about to continue but was quickly interrupted by Pinkie.                     “OH COME ON TWILIGHT! Let them come with us, it isn’t like you were planning on a potentially dangerous and deadly mission to who knows where(hiccup, hiccup) what is lurking in the darkness to turn you into a purple pony pate pancake alone… were you?”                     Twilight looked from one pony to the next, seeing that they were ready and willing to help in anyway possible. She sighed, realizing that it would be impossible to argue with them, “You guys are right, it would be easier if we did this together,” she then raised her head and nodded, “All right, we’ll get the potion and then I’ll lead you to where we can find the tracking spell,” she then turned around and began to walk away.                     “AH HA! See, I told you that you could be more friendly if you tried,” Pinkie said excitedly, “Come on Sweetie, how ab (hiccup) out I (hiccup) try and teach you to be a Pegasus,” the pink earth mare then picked the white filly up by the mouth and put her onto her back. Taking flight, Rainbow Dash flew ahead of the group and landed to walk alongside Twilight, AJ began to walk behind the two, and Fluttershy took up the back with Rarity. _________________                     The journey through the woods was relatively quiet and peaceful, with the only sounds to be heard was Pinkie’s fast chattering to Sweetie, Fluttershy and Rainbow’s wingbeats, and Rarity’s singing. I’ll be the talk of the town The girl on the go Yeah, I’m the type of pony, everypony should know.                     Up front, Twilight kept an eye on the map that would lead them on to the old temple with the cure for her friend. AJ walked next to Twilight, watching her study the map intensely, “So, how did you get such a high position as being the queen’s personal apprentice-“ “Egghead,” Dash said, flying above them.                     “Anyway?”                     Twilight smiled a little at the fond memories of her teacher as she rolled up the map, “Me and my brother were orphans living alone in the capital. Our parents died a long time ago in a tragic fire accident,” Twilight turned her head down at the memory, “ and since then he had been watching over me like a guardian. That’s even how he got his cutie mark, when he protected me from a few gang members with his shield spell. One day, we found out that the princess was holding openings for her school of magic and she had one available that very night. I was quickly accepted and was told to perform for them in an entrance exam. It was-” Twilight shook a little, “Scary. The princess herself was there watching the entire test and my brother was in the back, rooting for me. I knew I had to succeed no matter what, but nothing happened.  I tried and tried, but for a while it seemed that I couldn’t give them what they wanted. Then, there was some sort of explosion that had happened behind me that gave my magic a jumpstart. I unleashed a huge torrent of raw magical energy throughout the entire room that might have killed everypony if it wasn’t for the queen helping me while my brother contained the outburst. The queen saw just how powerful I could become if I was trained right, and just how much I could learn if I had the right the training. Shining agreed to let me go, but only if he came with me to watch over me. Interestingly enough, there was some openings in the guards for unicorn mages with his unique talents. So, from then on,  we lived in the palace. Him, being trained by the guards and me, as the royal apprentice under the sun queen; although, I think I may have had another duty in keeping the moon queen company.”                     “We lived happily…until the day of the coup. We were all shocked by how sudden it all was, the queens barely had time to bring up a defense against him when he attacked. When I had saw what was happening, I tried to stay my ground and protect the queen but…but my,” tears came to Twilight’s eyes as she began to think about the day she lost everything, “Brother decided to do what he did best, protect me.  He wrapped me up in a protection spell and sent me far away from the castle when the memory spell activated. I had to stand there and watch as my mother, brother, and some of the only ponies that mattered to me-vanished without a trace in one single moment. I have been wandering the countryside,  trying to find a way to save them ever since.”                     “And Pinkie,” Dash asked, nudging her shoulder to the Pink mare behind them, hiccupping all the way, “ how did you get to traveling with the hiccupping maniac?”                     “When I had got sent away and found out just how alone I was and how the odds were against me, I felt down. I mean…really down,” Twilight said, lowering her head.                     “Oh no. Sugarcube you can't mean that you were thinking... ” AJ said putting her hoof to her barrel.                     “Everything was against me, my only family were all gone, and I had no one. It was starting to sound like a good option to me,” Twilight said with a sad scowl, “but then Pinkie, the court’s royal jester and party giver, found me. I had only a passing knowledge of her and was ready to tell her to buzz off and leave me alone. Then… she gave me a big hug and told me that it’ll be okay, as long as we’re both smiling. Because, that meant we were still able to do anything we can think of. She then entertained me with a fun story and we ate a cupcake together. We have been ‘acquaintances’ ever since, because she gave me hope and saved my life.”                     “You mean, friend.”                     “I don’t have friends, I have acquaintances, associates, or assistants. Not friends,” Twilight said as she walked a little further ahead than the others.                       A few hours passed by and the seven ponies had decided to rest for the night. Sitting around the soft light of the campfire, they told stories of their lives and ghost stories amongst each other. The began telling each other stories and sang some songs to help pass their time away. Soon, the night wore on and they began to fall asleep around the fire, while Twilight sat a distance away from the rest. She busied herself with reading the map and gazing at the stars as the others began to softly sleep. In time, AJ awoke to hear Twilight saying something to the sky at a small cliff, “Dear… no, no that won’t work. Dearest mother… no. I can't say that,” Twilight took a deep breath and then sat down, “ Dearest Queen Celestia,                     It has been a week since I have last talked to you, and I apologize for it. I have been busy trying to save my…friend,”                     AJ opened her eyes at that word, and decided to listen a little more.                     “From this horrible affliction that had hit her as of late. I have tried every spell I know and nothing seems to work. So I have decided to take a little trip to find the potion that’ll cure her along with some other ponies. I know that  one of them is one of the top commanders of the air force and brash and you may not recognize the others… but I am willing to trust them.                     “What are you doing over here,” AJ asked as she walked over to the sitting Twilight, taking a seat next to the violet unicorn and looking at the skies.                     “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just writing a letter to the queen,” Twilight turned her head to look at the orange mare’s green eyes, “I know, its sounds a little weird to talk to a queen who might not even be alive but…it’s a tradition,” taking a deep breath, she looked to the stars, “A few days after I had begun my apprenticeship, Celestia asked me to start writing to her about my life every week. She told me that she wanted to hear about my life, because to her, everyday I was alive was one of the best days of her life. A little light for her and her family she used to call me,” Twilight wiped a little tear from her eye with her hoof, “Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? Writing like this.”                     The orange mare shook her head, smiling, “Not at all sugarcube. After maw and paw died Ah would sometimes spend whole nights just telling them everything that had happened to me that day.  Ah guess Ah just thought that they were up there in the stars, watching me and my siblings. Trying to make sure that we were both doing fine,” AJ sighed, “Ah haven’t done it much lately, feel kinda bad about that.”                              “Hey, sometimes I would do the same thing,” Dash said, flying in next to Twilight and AJ, “Guess I just needed a way to feel like my dad was nearby..”                     Fluttershy walked softly to the three mares and sat down, “Mom, bless her wherever she is, used to tell me that: our loved ones never were really gone. They are always watching you, in some-”  she let out a small giggle as the wind blew by her mane, beneath her ear, “-special way.”                     “Do you think, that our family is there too,” Rarity asked, taking another spot with her party, Sweetie Belle in tow, nuzzling up to her big sister as they sat.                     “Of course silly, all of our families are probably up there right now, holding the biggest and bestest party ever,”  Pinkie said, hiccupping a little as she sat down with her friends, “and you know what they are saying right now, ‘GO TEAM! You can do it! GO (hiccup, hiccup) and go save Equestria. GO, WIN FIGHT!”                     The girls heard Pinkie’s cheers mixed with  hiccups and began to laugh a little. Twilight smiled as she watched them laugh with her, before turning her head to the sky, “You know what. I think everyone needs an update about today. Who’s with me,” the girls smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.                     Dear maw, paw, mom, dad, Celestia.                     You wouldn’t believe what was going on this week. I had found…                     Their letter took them through the night, until they had all fallen asleep in a small pile together.   ___________________                     It is said that, in this land, the trees listen to the world around them and will keep the secrets of man close to them. Sometimes, they will speak these secrets to any who would take the time to listen and are kind to the forest. It is also said, that the rangers and druids used to be able to hear the trees without having to ask for permission, but this is unconfirmed as rangers aren’t always willing to dispense secrets and druids are a dying breed. The point of the matter is, trees can hear the world about them and will give what they hear to ponies if they ask, both for good and for bad. For a tree knows neither evil nor good, just those who are kind to the forest or not. The emperor knew of this and had enlisted rangers across forest lands to hear about those who would hide in the woods or those who would try and betray him. One such ranger had heard from the trees about the late night conversation between the girls and relayed that message across the land and to the castle. There a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail and decked out  in golden armor, listened to the report and requested that an earth pony servant take the message to the emperor.                     Inside his royal bedroom, the emperor stood in front of the window and pushing back a curtain to look at the rising sun across his land. A smile came across his face as he thought how good it was that he let the queens live, so at least he could have the sun and moon in full operation. He turned to the sound of his door opening as the earth pony messenger came in with the letter  in mouth, “thir, methhge thor y.”                     Slowly did the emperor walk towards the messenger, his cloven hooves striking the ground, “What did I tell you about carrying objects  with your mouth, you unclean heathen,” he then backhanded the messenger and stepped further into the light. The satyr’s horns shone brightly in the morning light as he stepped to the messenger, “Now, you will use the letter opener and then read it to me. I do not wish to touch something that is covered in saliva,” the emperor then walked to the table to pour himself some wine.                     “I’m sorry sir, my apologies sir. I didn’t think- “ the messenger said as he began to open the letter with a nearby blade.”                     “You’re right, you don’t think. earth ponies aren’t supposed to think!”                     “Yes sir,” the messenger said as he looked over the letter, “It appears that the apprentice to the queen, Twilight Sparkle, has been found traveling in the woods towards the Griffon temple ruins.”                     “Griffons, another disgusting four legged race. I should subjugate them next,”  he chuckled to himself as he drank slowly from his cup, “Ah, so we finally found the prodigal daughter.”                     “Yes, sir,” said Poor Service as he continued to read, “ she was seen traveling with former flight cmmdr. Rainbow Danger Dash and prvt. Fluttershy Posey.”                     “I thought the mages told me that those two were destroyed. At the very least,” he turned his head to look out the window, “the yellow one would be no real threat.”                     “Also traveling with her, is Miss Belle and her little sister.”                     “Oh, the fair unicorn is still alive is she. In a way, I am glad that the pegasi soldiers failed in their job to murder the entire family. It will be quite interesting to take in the young mare for my own,” he licked his lips slowly.                     “Then we have also reports of her other traveling companions, the former jester Pinkamena Diane Pie,”                     “Should’ve killed her the day  she threw a pie in my face.”                     “and an as of yet unnamed earth pony mare that was said to come from one of the farmlands that was subject to the magical experiment you tried a month ago.”                     “Hmmmm, it doesn’t matter who this pony is; she will die along with the other members of her pathetic kind,” reaching over the small table, the red satyr picked up a small flute and tapped his fingers along the metal instrument, “ Now, care to tell me WHY you have come here alone and did not bring along my pegasi air squadron so I can give them orders?”                     “W-well, sir, I didn’t think,” Service said, backing away slowly in utter fear.                     “That is right, you don’t think. Much like the rest of your four legged brethren, you are only good to serve other, more powerful species. The main difference is,” the emperor said, looking up at the earth pony with a deadly stare, “that, unlike the pegasi and unicorns, you have no real purpose. You are only good for lifting, carrying, and farming the land. I would have you all dead by dawn by extermination squads if we did not need the food that only you can provide,” staring down at the reflection in the metal flute he thought, “A problem I will soon rectify. You lack the magic of unicorns, the skill of pegasi, and any true strength. In short, you are nothing more than useless beast of burden that tend to filthy up items with your mouths. Now, go and begone from my sight you worthless creature.”                     Poor service was about to ask about the pegasi guards, but watched as the three of them flew into the room at the sound of the emperor’s flute, “Y-yes, lord Iron Hand.”                     Watching his messenger leave, he looked to the pegasi, “Ah, the pegasi, your race is next on the power I want. The princess’ apprentice has been found,  along with your former commander and friend. I want you to bring her, Rarity Belle and her sister to me, while killing the earth ponies and the pegasi. Bring me the wings of the pegasi as proof if you must, but incinerate the corpses of the Earth ponies. I do not want them to dirty my graveyards with their presence.”                     The pegasi silently nodded and flew off through the window. Iron walked slowly to a picture next to his bed, a sad smile across his face as he looked at the picture of him and his mom and dad.  He could remember how his village had feared him because of his ideals, of how he wanted to rebel against the ponies because he believed those with hands and to stand on their own two feet to be the superior species, “Two feet good, four feet bad,” he said his creed to himself as he looked out at the land that he was determined to demonstrate that creed to.                     The pegasi air squadron flew off towards the east, where the temple lay. A cruel smile came to their lips as they imagined the pain that they would soon deliver to their quarry.  In a few short minutes, they had arrived at their destination, taking the time to glide to some outcroppings that hung on the sides of the ruins and hid there within the shadows. Crouching silently, they did not have to wait long for their prey to start rustling through the bushes. Sneering, they jumped from the stone outcroppings and leapt at their prey with a swift attack. ___________                     “And here we are, everypony,” Twilight said as she rolled up the map, “Hippogriff Ruins. Now we need to be careful,” she continued as they walked closer towards the big doors, “The hippogriffs have been known to be very secretive and are always trying to keep their world hidden. So we have no idea what we’ll find in there, on the other hand, they were also great believers in solving the impossible which is why the potion must be in there.”                     AJ walked up to the giant stone doors, ancient writings and designs sprawled across the massive frame, “ Hey Rainbow, bet ya you can’t knock down this door. I mean you are a Pegasus after all and they are mighty fragile,” a smirk came across her face as she said this.                     “Oh, you are on,” Dash exclaimed as she and her friend turned around and bucked the doors with all of their might.                     “Take this door for instance,” Twilight said, pointing a violet hoof to the giant stone doors, “There is probably a huge defensive barrier around it. A type of spell that is hundreds of ages old and armed with a powerful code that we are going to spend a,” A large slam is heard as the doors burst open wide with AJ and Dash’s kick, “few…minutes…slamming…years…worth of…history…open,” the lavender unicorn stood there for a few moments, dumbstruck and her mouth wide open.                     “You (hiccup, hiccup) coming in or not silly,” Pinkie said as she skipped into the ruins followed by Rarity and Sweetie, who walked over to her and waved a white hoof in front of her face. Turning her head, Sweetie looked to Rarity with a sad look in her eyes.                     “Don’t worry darling,” Rarity rubbed her sister’s mane affectionately, “She is just shocked, she’ll be with us in a few minutes,” turning around she followed the pink mare into the castle.                     Elsewhere, the three Pegasus guards were busy beating the tar out of 7 brightly colored bears with symbols on their chests, “Hey guys,” Windsheer said looking to his two armored companions, “I think we’re beating the wrong group of brightly colored protagonists.                     “Your point being,” Wind Whistler said with a sneer as she held her hoof to a purple one’s throat.                     “None at all, right Silent Wind?”                     A large black Pegasus mare nodded in sadistic glee as she punched an orange bear and a pink bear.                     “You should care, OH GOD MY LEGS,” said a purple bear as she laid bleeding next to a white bear, a smaller white bear, and a blue bear. ----------------------------------------------------------------                     As the seven mares walked slowly through the temple, their noses were hit with the soft smell of roses while their eyes were hit with the full brunt of the darkness within the temple; while looking around, Twilight was able to find a gem that could light up a series of gems alongside the cavern.  Their way fully lit, they walked on through the stone temple, listening to the silence that permeated the air of the temple. Treading lightly through the echoing stone hallways, the mares moved through several dimly lit corridors and looked at the widening walkways until they came across a large chasm. Looking to the left and the right, they could not see any way across, “I can’t teleport that far with all of you guys,” Twilight said, looking ahead at the distance, “And I don’t think our two flyers can carry us all.”                     “I’m sorry, but I can't,” Fluttershy said, head lowering a little.                     “Ah might have an idea, look,” AJ said as she walked a little bit toward the space, “ there’s a very loose pillar over there. Ah can use mah lasso to pull that thing down,”                     “And I can grab it with my magic to lower it and keep it stable. That’s brilliant AJ!”                     “Thank ya kindly,” AJ said as she brought out her lasso and twirled it above her head before throwing it at the stone column and pull it hard. Tugging at it a little, she made it fall down and towards the pit as Twilight’s horn glowed with a bright glow. Wrapping the falling pillar in a similar glow, Twilight began to move the pillar slowly to lay across the pit in a stable position.  Smiling at her good work, Twilight got onto the pillar and walked across it, followed by AJ and the others.  Once on the other side of the pit, the 7 ponies walked further and further into the temple, the walls covered with small indents that might have held gems and writings on the walls that demonstrated the history of the hippogiffs and their studies into the fields of healing magic, “Hey, Twilight. What is with all of (hiccup, hiccup) all (hiccup) of these funny writings,” Pinkie asked.                     “They’re showing off just what the hippogriffs liked to do the best, try and solve impossible cures,” Twilight said as she and the others walked into a large circular room, “Since their births are a near impossible event anyway, they always wanted to show how anything can be possible under the right circumstances.”                     “So, they would also like to make their temples IMPOSSIBLE TO FIGURE OUT,” Dash said as she flew around the room, looking around the room and its many hallways, “Just where are we supposed to go to next?”                     “OOOOOH! I (hiccup) have an idea,” Pinkie said excitedly, “Let’s figure out by a game of eenie miney mo!”                     “Pinkie, if we picked the wrong one, then we could die due to a trap,” Twilight said, noticing that Fluttershy was busy talking to a small family of mice.                     “You’re right…that would be (hiccup) bad,” Pinkie’s eyes opened wide, “How about, we throw a rock down the hall, then if we hear a giant crush then we know not to go down that way.”                     Twilight facehoofed at Pinkie’s solution as Fluttershy came over to Twilight and spoke, “Twilight, if you don’t mind, I may have found a clue,” she then pointed her yellow hoof at the little mouse, “Mrs. Brisby and her family said that they heard the hippogriffs put a hidden gem in the right hallway.”                     “You speak to mice?” Twilight asked, then her eyes widened, “You’re druid? Oh this is so fascinating, I have never seen nor met a real druid before, you have to tell me everything about nature magic,” she said, getting up close to Fluttershy’s face with a big grin on her face.                     “A hidden gem? Well, this looks like a job for some finesse,” Rarity said as she walked forward and made her magic glow a deep blue, causing the room to glow a soft blue before dimming down once again and a bright blue light shown in the rightmost hallway, “There, the gem was hidden just above that doorway,” the white unicorn smiled as she turned to the others who looked on with awe.                     “Rarity, Ah didn’t know you could do that,” AJ said, a little shocked at the spell.                     “Darling, I am more than just fashion and glamour. I also have a great eye for beauty and finding something precious in the more drab things and bring it out. It’s…a special talent of mine,” Rarity said as she put a hoof to her chest, Sweetie Belle nodded happily in agreement.                     Further and further down the dark hallway did the mares travel, until soon the lights of the light gems began to fade away. Within time, pitch blackness began to cover their entire bodies and prevented them from being able to see much of anything. Even the unicorns’ basic light spells were being swallowed up by the infernal darkness. It wasn’t long after that, did the 7 mares began to bump into each other, walking into walls, and walking backwards a little bit. They continued their struggle in the darkness when they heard, “Hey, everypony (hiccup, hiccup) STOP,” Pinkie yelled as she stood next to Rainbow Dash, “Girls, I want you to keep on talking and I’ll find you.”                     “Sugarcube, what do ya mean ‘find us’, Ah can barely see a dang thing,” AJ said,                     “There, Dashie,” Pinkie said, pointing Rainbow in the right direction. Nodding briefly, the blue Pegasus flew in the direction that the pink pony pointed.                     “Oh, I get it,” Twilight said as Rainbow dash flew her way and picked her up and brought her to Pinkie.                     “Pinkie will hear our voices and use Rainbow to fly to us and pick us up wherever we are,” Rarity said as she heard a little flute play to lure Dash to Sweetie’s location. In time, all of the ponies were rounded up and brought to the end of the hallway where a bright light shone behind the pink haired pony. A big smile on her face, she quickly gave the group a big hug and led the group on their way through the rest of the walkway.                     Soon their journey ended with them coming to a large circular room with three plants on three pedestals. On each pedestal was a crossbones with a skull or a flower, except one which just had a crossbones. Walking up closely to each pedestal, Twilight began to examine them, “Oh this is just perfect, which one is the right one?” Dash asked, flying away a bit and throwing her hooves in the air as she grumbled some mild obscenities.                     “Hmmm, the hippogriffs would want us to know that we could trust in them when handing out the potion. Yet, they would also know that there would be ponies who want to abuse their gifts. So how can they produce a warning to their enemies and yet create a sign of trust? I GOT IT,”  Twilight thought to herself as her eyes shot up with realization, “It’s this one,” she then grabbed the flower with her magic and put it into her bag, “Now we just have to walk the way back.”                     “Why (hiccup) Why (hiccup) not just use the back (hiccup) door,” Pinkie Pie asked walking up to the violet unicorn.                     “Back door? What…” Twilight began before turning her head to see a back door that was just right behind the large circular platform, “Huh, how could I have missed that?”                     “Because you didn’t read the sign, silly,” Pinkie said, skipping to the back door, followed by the other mares who could only look on in disbelief.                     Once outside in the fresh air and on the green grass, Twilight began to quickly mix the flower in with a few other ingredients to form the potion, “Are you sure this is gonna work, sugarcube,” AJ asked, looking at the light green concoction.                     “Yes, I have looked over the recipe several times and I know for certain that this is the right flower,” Twilight said as she finished making it.                     “How can you be so sure,” Dash asked.                     “Don’t worry, I trus (hiccup) Twily completely,” Pinkie responded as she took the bowl in her pink hooves and began to drink.                     “And how can you be so sure that this is the right flower,” Dash asked, looking at Twilight.                     “Because, you might want to step to the side,” Twilight said as she and the others moved to the right of Pinkie as she let loose a burp of green flame past them, “Of the sign underneath the flower.”                     “Ya mean the crossbones sugar?”                     “In one language, yes, the crossbones in an X would mean death to our enemies. However, the hippogriffs wanted to also say ‘we’re your friends, just don’t abuse our trust,’ so,” Twilight smiled as she took the bowl away from Pinkie with her magic, “they put down the X underneath the flower, which in one language that would mean death; however in another tongue that X is something special. It is the mark of friendship.”                     Pinkie Pie gasped and smiled as she saw that her hiccups were gone, “THEY’RE GONE THEY’RE REALLY GONE!!!!! OH I am just so excited, I am just so glad for this, You know what we need? A-” Pinkie then grabbed the six ponies in a big hug, “PARTY!!!! Come on, I know of this great small clearing just up ahead,” She then took off in a pink blur towards the small clearing.                     Chuckling, Twilight followed Pinkie as the others walked with her, “So, Twilight,” Rarity asked, walking next to Twilight, “How did you cure the hiccups.”                     “Oh, you don’t cure hiccups Rarity. The potion only sent those hiccups away to somewhere else.”                     “Where,” Rarity asked.                     “I don’t know,” Twilight said as they walked. ________________                     “Hey, did anypony else see that weird green flame,” Wind Whistler said looking up from the beaten body of the bear.                     “Nope, not at all. What about you, Silent Wind,” the other Pegasus said as he finished off an apple.                     The big black Pegasus shook her head, when she began hiccupping,                     Wind Whistler looked worried, “Silent are (hiccup) ok?”                     “Wind Whistler, what (hiccup) was that?”                     “I (hiccup) (hiccup) have no idea.”   ___________________                     “And that was the first and last time my mom took me swimming,” Pinkie said, finishing her story and leaving the group laughing.                     “That was a funny story Pinkie,” Twilight got to her hooves, and then looked at the ponies in front of her, “Well, I guess this is where we say our goodbyes. Here is the location of the tracking spell and the city that I heard it was in.”                     “Goodbye? What do you mean sugarcube,” Aj asked, her head looking on questionly.                     “Well, you did your part of the bargain,” Twilight said, handing over the piece of paper with her magic, “and now I am doing mine. I figured you won’t need me anymore.”                     “What are you talking about? Of course we still need you, Twilight,” Dash said, landing next to Twilight and looked at her smiling.                     “Y…you do?” Twilight asked, looking shocked.                     “It’s not so much that we need you here darling, we want you here,” Rarity said, walking up to the purple unicorn.                     “We worked so well together and it would be very lonely without you there, helping us,” Fluttershy said, smiling softly.                     “You can’t just say that our friendship together ends just because we did ya favor sugarcube. Friends tend to stay around for a bit longer than that,” AJ said, a smile on her face as she put a hoof onto Twilight’s shoulder.                     “Friends, but we…”                     “Sure, we just met…but give it time and I can bet we will be great friends,” Pinkie said, Sweetie Belle nodding in agreement,” Besides…you don’t really want to be all alone in saving the queens do you?”                     Twilight said nothing as she looked from pony to pony and smiled, “No, I wouldn’t. All right, I am coming with you guys.” A smile formed on her lips as suddenly a bright light shone from the heavens and a mare draped in a white robe appeared before the group. The mare’s robe covered everything but her gender and age.                     “Hello my dear ponies. I am the witch who rewards Laughter and Magic. I have come bearing gifts for two of you,” The witch said, a smile on her face.                     “A witch,” Twilight asked, curious by the voice of the witch and the small traces of the coat that she could see under the cloak. As she tried to look closely under the robe, the witch would turn her head away.                     “For you, Pinkamena Diane Pie, I grant you this,” with a wave of her hoof, a small necklace appeared on Pinkie’s neck, “I grant you the light of laughter for your ability to bring joy and light to the ponies darkest moments. The more you feel the bright laughter of your friends nearby, the brighter the light will glow. And as for you Twilight Sparkle,” with another wave of her hoof, a medallion appeared around Twilight’s neck, “I grant you the medallion of magic, in honor of your constant ability  in and study of magic.”                     “What does it do,” Twilight asked, looking at the back of the medallion.                     “That is unknown as of yet, but a clue to the true power of the medallion lies on the back.”                     Twilight read the back of the medallion carefully, “When the six lights are united as one, a miracle will happen. What miracle,” she asked as the witch disappeared.                     “Nice try sugarcube, but those witches have a tendacy to leave before they explain anything,” Aj said as she walked back to the campfire where the other began to sleep.                     “I see,” Twilight said, looking at the spot where the witch was, trying to figure out who she was, “We better get some sleep. The city is a few miles away and I want to get to that tracking spell before the library closes,” Twilight said as she took her position with her new friends at the campfire and settled down for a good night’s sleep.