“Okay, here we go…”
Sweetie Belle began to approach the accursed house, in which her beloved Spike resided. Facing away from the setting sun, the tree cast a large shadow, as if it were looming over the nervous filly.
She took a huge gulp and walked forward. Her hooves trembled as she tried to butter herself up.
“Okay… Excuse me, Spike? Can we talk?” she practiced. “No, too petty. Spike, we need to talk! NOW! …No, that’s too direct. Ohh… Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all,” she moaned. “What good has talking to anypony about my problems ever done—”
But she lost her train of thought as her eye caught something to the left. There was something peculiar sticking to the library signboard. Sweetie Belle went over to it, a puzzled look on her face. Her eyes widened as she examined the objects.
These are… the roses I was going to give him. Like, three months ago! Until I… threw them down and stomped on them, because…
The stiff, brown, and rotten stems were all that remained of the once beautiful flowers.
Because I made a mistake. I went through his things without asking, and I found things I shouldn’t have. And I thought he was in love with Rarity. I didn’t understand. Instead of just asking somepony for help… I tried to find the answers myself. And it only led to me becoming really sad…
Inspecting further, Sweetie peeled off several transparent and severely weathered pieces of bouquet wrap off the old wood.
She plopped her flank onto the cold grass and just sat there for a couple of minutes, clutching the bouquet remnants close to her heart. A tear escaped from her glossy eyes and dripped onto a petal. The last blue petal, just barely retaining its hue against the wilted stem of its plant.
The young filly sniffled up, laid the pieces of flower and wrap back down on the ground, and turned towards the house once more.
I won’t make that same mistake again.
Sweetie Belle looked more determined than ever now as she proceeded to march towards her lover’s dwelling.
“Watch out, Spike. Here I come.”
“Whoooooee! Look ‘t this, Rainbow!” Applejack hollered. “Only half a mile more to that there nature reserve! Twilight said that’s where we’d be findin’ that last gemstone! Let’s get a move on!”
“Yeah… let’s.”
Rainbow Dash had her head hung low as she trailed behind Applejack, not even flying anymore. Just walking. AJ was still full of energy ahead of her, unsuspecting of the troubles that lay at home. The troubles that Rainbow still couldn’t bear to reveal.
“What am I going to do?” Rainbow lamented. “I can’t let her go home and find out about Caramel for herself. It’d all happen so fast, her heart would be crushed even more than if I just told her now…”
But I… I just can’t! I’ve tried and tried, but I can never bring myself to do it! But… if I don’t, I won’t be able to call myself Applejack’s friend anymore.
“That does it then,” she said aloud. “I really do have to tell her. It’s all up to me. You can do it, Rainbow Dash. You’re strong! You’re brave!”
She gulped, and took a deep sigh.
“You’re loyal.”
“Okay, Pinkie. Are you ready?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Once we step over this line… we’ll be past the natural borders of Equestria. Into unknown land. It could be dangerous.”
“It could be fun!”
“Yeah… of course. Alright. On the count of three, okay?”
“Okie dokie loki!”
“One… two… three!”
They closed their eyes as they jumped over the white line, marked with a giant sign that read “THIS POINT BEYOND THE EQUESTRIAN BORDERS – UNKNOWN TERRITORY”.
“Okay… It looks like it’s just the two of us now, Pinkie, heading into uncharted land.”
“We can make it if we try!” Pinkie piped.
Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie had had a long journey. With three gemstones rustling about in their bags, they were coming up on their final location.
“Gee, Pinkie, you sound really excited.”
“Well, of course, Twilight! After all, the more time we get to spend together alone, the closer we’ll come to fulfilling that prophecy!” Pinkie cried, jumping up in the air with absolute glee.
Twilight lowered an eyebrow. “Prophecy? What prophecy are you talking abou—”
Just then, Pinkie jumped out in front of her.
“Oh, come on, silly little Twily…” she said softly, as she pulled Twilight’s head close to hers. “You know…”
“Um, Pinkie?” Twilight’s cheeks began to flush a deep red. “…W-what are you doing?”
Twilight desperately pulled herself away from Pinkie’s advances, which caused her saddlebag to tumble off her bag. The books inside all fell to the ground.
“Ohhhh. Help me pick these up, Pinkie.”
“…Sure thing,” said Pinkie.
Pinkie picked up the books and tossed them back into Twilight’s bag as Twilight stacked whatever books she could pick up in her hoof.
Finally, Pinkie picked up the last book. It was the nameless purple-spined book she had first noticed Twilight carry while in Trotlanta.
“Twilight, what is this book?” Pinkie asked. “You’ve been carrying this book around since we left Ponyville, and it doesn’t even have a name.” She began to open it up. “What’s insi—”
“IT’S NOTHING!” Twilight quickly sped over and slammed the book shut in Pinkie’s face. She then tossed it right into her saddlebag and began hastily fastening the bag back onto her back. “It’s just a romance novel that Rarity lent out to me! You know, ponies kissing and finding love and smoochy-smoochy, with chocolates and stuff… You know. Not really your thing, right?”
She finished prepping and kept walking, now at a faster pace, as she buried her head into her map.
“Come on!” she urged in a shaky voice. “Those forbidden cliffs should be around here somewhere!”
Pinkie hesitated. She stood in that spot, watching Twilight. Her face sunk.
I don’t get it! Why isn’t this working? It’s been almost a week since we’ve started traveling, and I’ve been trying everything over the past few days! I’ve saved her adorable little butt from creepy stallions and ghostly ghouls, and I’ve been dropping her the most subtle hints… Why hasn’t she given me anything back?
Her eyes grew wide, as she quickly started to work up a sweat and chatter her teeth.
What if… what if she doesn’t have anything to give back!? She’s been so calm, so impossibly calm! She couldn’t! My love for her, it might be… unrequited… whatever that means.
“Pinkie!” Twilight called from afar. “Are you coming?”
Pinkie shook her head and adopted a fierce expression.
“Don’t say that, Pinkie Pie,” she scolded herself. “Now’s not the time to give up. You love Twilight Sparkle, and you can win her over. And maybe even save Equestria from Discord’s unhappy unlove as a bonus! You can do this. You just need to stay focused, and… smile, smile, smile.”
“PINKIE!”
“Coming, my Twily!”
The wind still blew hard over the Pharos Mountains, as two mares made their way through the snowy path. Fluttershy pulled up the pink and red scarf up her neck, burying her muzzle into it. Rarity meanwhile, had only her own purple mane to huddle up against.
“Thanks again for the scarf, Rarity,” said Fluttershy.
“Doooon’t mention it, darling,” responded an extremely chilly Rarity. “It was the least I could do for my pumpkin.”
“How much longer until we’re out of this snowstorm?”
“This path should branch off soon,” Rarity replied. “I… I think can sense the last gemstone nearby. That must mean we’re almost out and near the last stop. Once we can stop, I’ll take out the map and see where our final destination is again.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s just be careful,” she cautioned. “This tends to be the particular spot to expect an avalanche. So try not to make any noise.”
“Okay.”
Fluttershy glanced back. She could still make out the side of the mountain where the cave was… a little. Her mind went back to thinking about that family of bears.
They were so happy together. The two proud parents and their little cub… And they said I make a really good foster parent.
…I might not get another chance to ask her before we get to Trotzamore.
“Rarity, c-can I ask you something?” she stammered. “Something really important?”
“What is it, darling?”
“Well, you see… Um, I was just wondering… Would you, that is to say, do you ever maybe want a ki—WHOOOOAAA!”
Before she could say anything else, Fluttershy found herself stumbling over a rock and rolling into the snow with a loud yelp… followed by a loud rumbling.
“Oh, no…” Rarity whispered.
A few mounds of snow fell off the side of the mountain as the rumbling eventually subsided.
Fluttershy and Rarity both gave a refreshing phew. …But that just started it up again, as a huge wave of snow started careening down the mountainside.
“AVALANCHE!” they both cried.
The two of them screamed as they tried to outrun the massive snowfall. But they weren’t fast enough, and were left helplessly swept up in the snow as they slid right off of the cliff, falling into the depths bellow.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Foolish ponies.
The final gemstones are all mine. I’ve taken all the measures to ensure you won’t get them, and then some!
Try all you want, but you’ll never make it to Trotzamore. The odds are absolutely staggering! Gah-ha-ha-ha!
DISCORD!
Alright, alright, I’m here. Now what’s the problem?
Do you remember that night, my teacher?
Of course I do. It was a cool, calm night in Canterlot. Some… one thousand years ago at this point, a little more than that. One thousand and eighty-two years, I should think.
I was very bored of life in the castle. So every night, after raising the moon high in the skies, I would put on a cloak and stroll around the city, watching my citizens sleep. Very few were ever out doing anything else…
Except on that one night. As I approached the fountain in the town square… that’s when I first heard.
“You do not know what you speak! I can too perform it!”
“You cannot. ‘Tis folly for a filly such as yourself, my father would probably say.”
Two small children, one a filly, the other a colt. You were standing atop the fountain, talking to… Who was he, again?
Why, young Will, of course.
Oh, yes.
“You just watch me, Will.”
The sight that I saw next was spectacular. You concentrated and concentrated, and then… a small flare burst from your horn.
It almost hit Will, I remember.
“Hey!”
Until finally…
The lantern was struck.
“You need to be more careful, you could’ve right burned my head clean off! So, is that it? You just lit a lantern? That doesn't seem so magical.”
“A very impressive lighting, I should think.”
“What?” You asked. “Who are you? My friend is right, it wasn't that impressive.”
And it wasn’t until you took your hood off, that I finally knew who you were, in a moment that would change my life forever.
“Princess Luna! Forgive me for my disrespect, your majesty!”
“You are very well spoken, little one. And I do maintain that was a spectacular feat you just made. You seem to have a knack with your magic. Tell me young one, what is your name?”
And then you told me. In that one moment that would change my life forever…
“Lilac, ma’am. Lilac Candescence.”