//------------------------------// // Arc 5: The Meaning of Loyalty // Story: The Seven Tribes // by Scootaloo-009 //------------------------------// The Seven Tribes by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1 My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc. Arc 5: Traitor Chapter 13 The yellow earth pony awoke to a world of pain. A world she was used to waking up to by now. Just as she had nearly every day before, she grabbed a pill off the table beside her bed, and sent it down her throat with some water. Then she waited for the painkiller to take effect. Once she felt well enough to move, she got out of bed and headed to the hospital cafeteria. She would have to wait for her friends to pick her up before she left anyway. Might as well eat first. She lazily dragged over a tray and shuffled down the line, picking things that wouldn't bother her. Her insides were still pretty tender. When she sat down at a table, she realized she had forgotten a fork, so she simply reached out with a hoof and tried to magic one over. It didn't go well, she knocked over the fork container, and the fork that did respond to her call hit her in the face. "Ah really need tah get better at that," Apple Bloom groaned, rubbing her face. "That or wear a catcher's glove on mah nose." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The white unicorn was roused from her slumber by the smell of breakfast. After making her bed, she trotted down to find her older sister quite happily cooking. "Good morning, Rarity," she greeted. "Good morning, Sweetie Belle," Rarity replied, focusing on cooking properly. "You know, I really must thank you and your friends. Since this whole friendship flanks thing took off, the Boutique has been flooded with business. Alterations mostly, but they still pay bits. I might be able to hire an assistant if this keeps up." “Does that mean you're going to get them too?"  Sweetie Belle asked. "Oh no, I still think they look ridiculous," Rarity answered. "Besides, how could I when I have five friends. I don't have that many flanks, and I couldn't possibly pick between them." "I guess that makes sense. Is breakfast almost ready? I have to go meet Scoots so we can pick Apple Bloom up at the hospital." "She's leaving already?" Rarity said, surprised. "No, but the doctors are letting her go to school with us so she doesn't get held back a year," Sweetie Belle replied. "So Sweetie, have you thought about having a cute-ceañera? It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?" Rarity asked. "Not until the crusaders are done. We couldn't have one without Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Scootaloo walked into the kitchen to find it strangely empty. "Rainbow Dash must be out still," she thought. “Probably in a tavern with Applejack again.” Bored, she fed Tank then she fixed herself some toast to eat. She noticed a note sitting on the counter. It was the same one that had been there yesterday. ”Scoots-         I’m leaving early to meet Twilight with the others when she gets home today. I’ll see you later tonight. Don’t forget you have a check up tomorrow. -Rainbow Dash” Right. That. She’d forgotten she had an appointment after school. Fun, fun, fun. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “Good morning, everypony!” Pinkie Pie greeted coming downstairs. It had been a while since she had been home, so she had spent the night in the guest bedroom. Her parents were already gathered around the table eating. “Good morning, Pinkamena,” her mother replied. “We have oatmeal for breakfast.” “Oh goodie!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “You should try it the way the buffalo make it. It's really good. Actually I'm not even sure if it was oatmeal.” “You met buffalo?” asked her mother. “Yup!” Pinkie answered while walking over. Suddenly she stopped. Her back leg twitched, then her eyes fluttered, then her back itched. “Uh oh.” She said, her pupils shrinking. “Pinkie sense?” her father asked. “Yeah. That combo means a friend is coming to visit!” Pinkie informed them, "all my friends know." At once her father rose. “Alright ladies, we knew this might happen one day. Good thing we're ready,” he said. “Honey, to the cellar. Pinkamena, let's go get ready to meet your friend.” “Got it,” Pinkie replied. The pair went upstairs. Her father unlocked a door. Inside was a collection of various weapons. They each grabbed one and returned to the lower floor. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Good morning, class," Ms. Sunweed said as the foals filed in. Apple Bloom was right on time today. "Today's lesson will be on magic," she instructed as the class sat down. "Boring," Silver Spoon groaned. "Now, what do you know about magic?" Ms. Sunweed asked the class. "It's a form of energy that reacts to the actions and influence of certain creatures. Magic is either created inside a being or found as background energy in the world around us," Spike said, bored. "All pony tribes except the old earth ponies had access to magic in some form." "Very good, Spike," Ms. Sunweed praised. "Now who can tell me where magic comes from?" "No pony knows where latent magic comes from, only that it seems to be everywhere in varying concentrations, and doesn't seem to have an end," Spike rattled off. This was stuff Twilight had told him years ago. "Thank you, but I was referring to pony magic." "A unicorn's horn," Diamond Tiara said, rolling her eyes. "Nnnope," Apple Bloom corrected. "Magic is created in an organ inside a unicorn. All ponies have one but it doesn't work in some tribes." “Yeah, the horn is just the focus for the magic. A unicorn without a horn can still do magic, but it's much weaker and tends to misfire, like all the time," Spike added. "I remember when Twilight broke off just the tip. She couldn't do anything right until it grew back." He shuddered, remembering that horrible month. "It seems you know a lot about this," Ms. Sunweed commented. "You tend to learn a thing or two living with Twilight," Spike replied with a shrug. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “Pinkie we know you're in there! Come on out!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the farm house. The door opened and out stepped the familiar pink pony followed by an old brown earth - no terra - pony. Pinkie was carrying the net cannon she had used on Rainbow Dash the day before. “Wow, you guys look so funny all mixed together like that,” Pinkie said giggling at their appearance. Her companion coughed. “Oh, girls, this is my daddy. Daddy this is must be.... Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, I think.” “Get off my farm, alicorn,” the older terra pony ordered them, staring them right in the eye without blinking once. “We ain't a real alicorn,” Applejack replied. “I said get off my farm,” Mr. Pie repeated staring at them. “We flew all the way from Ponyville. We're not leaving without Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash countered. “You heard daddy, girls,” Pinkie said simply pointing the metal cylinder at them. “Just leave. Forget all about me.” “You really think a net will work on us?” Twilight retorted. Pinkie replied by pointing the barrel away from them and pulling the lever. Out of the end flew a metal egg. The egg arced through the air until it hit the ground. The instant it did so it exploded into a cloud of shrapnel. When they looked back Pinkie had loaded another round and pointed it back at them. “If the next thing you do doesn't involve leaving, we fire,” Mr. Pie threatened. He pulled out a similar weapon then pointed it towards the mixed together girls. “Please,” Twilight said rolling her eyes. She easily grabbed the weapons with her magic and pulled them from the ponies' hooves. “Damn magic,” Mr. Pie swore. “Come on Pinkie. I don't want to have to get rough,” Rainbow Dash shouted. Pinkie looked at her father then back at her former friends. “If I surrender, will you leave my family alone?” she asked. “Yes,” Twilight replied. “Then I give up,” Pinkie said. “Pinkamena, you don't have to do this,” her father said. “I do have to,” Pinkie replied. “Alright, take me away.” Twilight's horn glowed red with magic. The glow then encircled Pinkie's hooves for a moment before solidifying into a set of metal shackles. With a deft movement she was lifted via magic and deposited on their alicornian back. “Bye, daddy!” Pinkie said glumly as Rainbow Dash launched them into the sky. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "So who can give me some examples of magic?" Ms. Sunweed asked. "Uh, this!" Snails said, trying to charge is horn for a light spell. He smiled when it finally worked. "Okay anypony else?" "Cloudwalking," Scootaloo stated.  "This," Sweetie Belle said, starting a song but she stopped as the lights began appearing. "Anyone else?" Ms Sunweed prompted, looking at Spike. "Not all dragons have magic. Those that do, well it's different from pony magic," Spike said simply. "Mostly just fire." "Like sendin' letters real quick?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yeah. That's messenger dragon magic," Spike explained. "I don't really know that much; I only spent a few weeks learning the basics while Princess Celestia was tutoring Twilight." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - They had been flying in stony silence for a while before Pinkie Pie broke the quiet. “So, what am I supposed to call you now?” she asked. “What do yah mean?” Applejack asked. “Well your names don't make any sense, cause there are three of you,” Pinkie replied. “I know, how about Rainjack Sparkle! Or Applelight Dash! Or Twijack Dash! Or I know, Appledash Sparkle! Ooo, that sounds like a dump shipping triangle, but who cares?” “This isn't going to be a long term thing,” Twilight told her. "We're getting apart as soon as we get back to Ponyville." “So... where are we going?” “Canterlot castle,” Twilight responded bluntly. “I shouldn't be surprised,” Pinkie replied. “You had to know we would catch you. Why did you run?” Twilight asked her. “I don't know. I was scared. I mean, we haven't exactly met the nicest terra ponies,” Pinkie told her. “I thought you would never want to see me again if you knew.” “What I don't get is, if you are one of them, why didn't you go to one of their hide outs?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Oh, I don't have a clue where those are,” Pinkie told them, rolling her eyes, “my family defected from the rest of those mean ponies, years ago, just after I was born. I'd never even met one what wasn't family until we met that professor in the Everfree Forest. I may be a terra pony but I'm not with them.” “When yah ran we assumed the worst,” Applejack said. "Ah suppose that's mah fault sayin' they should kill all them terra ponies," Applejack added quietly. "Ah'm awful sorry, Sugarcube. Ah didn't mean it. Ah was lettin' mah anger talk and not mah head." "How could we not think you were on their side?" Twilight added. “I'm sorry. I didn't want to know what you would think of me if you knew. I thought about telling you after the first time we met another terra pony, but then we met that second one and I was like, no way can I tell them now!” Pinkie rambled. “Say, are you lost?" "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "You're going the wrong direction. Canterlot is way far north," Pinkie said. "Rainbow Dash, I thought you knew the way!" Twilight snapped. "We're going the right way," Rainbow Dash replied. "We're going back to Ponyville." "What!" Twilight exclaimed. "She's our friend, Twilight. She hasn't done anything wrong," Rainbow Dash replied. "Even if she had, she's our friend and she deserved a chance to explain herself." "Princess Celestia ordered us to-" Twilight began, but Rainbow Dash talked over her. "We were ordered to search for enemy agents, and we didn't find any." "That's... true..." Twilight admitted. "This still feels like a one way ticket to the moon." "Then we'll go as friends," Rainbow Dash replied. “You girls are the best!” Pinkie said, hugging them. Then she giggled. "Or girl." “Wait, weren't you chained up?” Twilight asked. “Girls, for future reference don't put a terra pony on your back. Ever,” Pinkie told them, while holding the shackles in front of their nose. It looked like something had melted through them. “I mean I'm your friend, but if I wasn't I could really hurt you from here.” “Pinkie, we're probably the strongest pony in the world besides the Princesses. What could you possibly do?” Twilight asked. She still needed to learn to trust the pink pony's words. “For starters, I could do this,” Pinkie replied. She put her hoof on a spot on their back right before the point where their wings erupted from their sides. She applied some pressure, and at once their wings snapped to their sides, and they began falling out of the air. She pulled back and their wings snapped open again. “If I wasn't your friend I would have hit harder, then broken your horn. I would have then jumped off, and floated to safety with my flying squirrel suit. Even if you were a real alicorn, you would have been too injured in the fall to follow me.” To prove this, she flapped her front legs showing she could produce a membrane seemingly out of nowhere connecting her body and hooves. “Um, wow.” Applejack said nervously. “But you guys are my friends so I wouldn't do that,” Pinkie assured them, but it didn't work very well. “Since you guys got magic and wings and brawn we had to go with brains. Daddy taught me a whole bunch of ways to fight other ponies, since we don’t have any of the natural advantages you guys have.” “Anything else you can tell us?” Twilight asked. “Not really. I was a foal when we left. From what my daddy told me and my sisters, when Discord showed up, we sealed ourselves inside these underground bunkers called sanctuaries. They are undetectable by magic and the doors were hidden. The doors were made to not be able open for two thousand years. They opened several decades ago. We've been living on the farm ever since we left, which daddy said was shortly after I was born. Sorry I don't know more.” “That's still something.” Twilight said. “Do you know how many sanctuaries there are or how many ponies are in them?” “No idea. I'm sure somepony knows or knew.” Pinkie replied. “Probably a few of them and there are probably thousands of ponies, since we would need to keep the population going.” “So you've been locked away for all them years,” Applejack said amazed. “Yup!” "I'm still confused. How come the other two ponies didn't recognize you as one of them?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I have no idea. They probably thought I was just an earth pony," Pinkie replied. “I recognized the mare right away, remember?” “You know, I didn't get a clear scan when you ran away like that,” Twilight told her. “What's the point now? We already know she's a terra pony,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Yeah, but I thought I sensed something. I couldn't tell what it was but I want to try again.” “Well you can go ahead. I'm not running any more,” Pinkie told her. Twilight performed the spell. “Okay it is what I thought it was,” Twilight said shocked. “Pinkie, you are definitely a terra pony but...”     “What is it Twi'?” Applejack asked. “Pinkie, something inside you is generating magic.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A gray pony walked up to the palace gates slowly. This was probably the last place he ever wanted to be, but he had no choice. Princess Luna’s guards were probably still watching him from the air, but he didn’t dare look to be sure. He held his breath as he approached the guards, one unicorn, and one pegasus outside.         “Halt,” the pegasus commanded.         “State your name and business,” the unicorn said.         “Uh.. Gearbox,” the pony answered, “the princess called me here to see my inventions.”         “Okay, but we’ll need to scan you before you can enter,” the unicorn said, charging his horn.         “You know what,” Gearbox said, backing up, “I think my appointment was for tomorrow.” “Nonsense. Come with me,” a regal voice behind him said. He knew who it must be when he saw the two guards bow. “Come, Gearbox, I wish to see you in my private meeting room,” Princess Luna said, striding into the palace.         “Princess,” the pegasus guard said, “Princess Celestia wants us to check every pony that enters.”         “And I’m saying you don’t have to check my guests,” Princess Luna replied.         “Of course,” the pegasus guard said, returning to his post. “Come along, I don’t have much time before I must rest,” Princess Luna said, walking into the palace, with Gearbox following nervously. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "So as you learned, everypony has something inside them that can make magic, but it is only active in unicorns," Ms Sunweed summarized as class began drawing to a close. "That's not true. Pegasi have some magic. That's what lets us walk on clouds," Scootaloo blurted out. "Yes, but they can't use it consciously." Ms. Sunweed replied. "Only unicorns can." "Well other ponies would be able to if they were making magic," Apple Bloom stated. "I'm sorry but that's not true," Ms. Sunweed responded. "Uh, yeah it is," Scootaloo said defiantly. To prove this, she got her magic aura up. Apple Bloom did the same, holding up a hoof. "We can both do magic." Apple Bloom said simply. "But we ain't unicorns." "Don't be silly. Pretending is fun but you can't do magic." Ms. Sunweed said. She was too far away to clearly see the glow! But her jaw dropped when she saw a spare piece of chalk glow green the fly to Apple Bloom. Her aim was a bit off, so Sweetie Belle caught it with her magic. "See?" Apple Bloom asked. “Wow, you three are bigger freaks then I thought," Diamond Tiara said snidely. "You jelly?" Scootaloo replied with a smirk. "What could be the downside to this?" Apple Bloom asked, pulling the earth pony antagonist's tiara in front of her eyes. "So is this what Twilight meant when she said the mark III had side effects," Spike muttered out loud. "Hmm... I hope the merger memory works right," Spike said to himself. "What?" Sweetie Belle asked, not hearing what he said. "Nothing," Spike said quickly. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "I say, gather round and get yourselves a fresh mug of cider!" a tall olive pony called. "Fresh squeezed from the Winding River Farm!" a nearly identical pony added. One by one the centaurs filed up and bought a mug. Three pony visitors in one day. What a nice surprise for their village. "One mug please." "Here you go, madam," the first pony said. He paused briefly as he hoofed over the drink. "Say brother, did you expect to see any kin this far from home?" "I'd say not, Flim," the brother replied. "Say brother, are my eyes deceiving me, or do you see what I see?" "I see it, Flam, but I don't believe it," Flim answered. "Something the matter, colts?" the blue mare before them asked snidely. "Did I get cider on my cape?" They both shook their heads. "It's the wings, isn't it?" They both nodded. Of course it was. How could she go anywhere without all eyes going from her forehead to her back. Not that she minded the attention, but she wanted it more on what she was doing, not what she was. "Say are-" "They're real. Long and weird story you probably wouldn't believe anyway." "So, what is a fine pony like yourself doing so far from home?" Flam asked. "I'm a wanted mare back home," Trixie said, putting on her best evil face. "I assaulted Princess Celestia, and attacked her precious student, Twilight Sparkle." "How would you like another mug on the house?" Flim asked nervously. She levitated the mug over, and he refilled it with a fake smile. “Twilight... Where have I heard that name before. Does it ring any bells, brother?" Flam asked. "She's a purple unicorn. Powerful. Lives in Ponyville," Trixie said, trying to see where this was going. "Didn't we get kicked out of a Ponyville?" Flam asked. "I believe so Flam," Flim replied. "Well if you see her, you didn't see me," Trixie growled. "She'll take me back to be executed for sure." "She's no friend of ours," Flim stated. "It seems she gets on the bad side of a lot of honest hard working ponies," Flam said. "Yes, she does," Trixie said quietly. "Good day, gentlecolts. To our continued avoidance of that accursed unicorn," she said, finishing the cider. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Scootaloo walked into the clinic with a bored expression on her face. Going to the doctors was something everypony did. Didn’t want to arouse suspicions by acting out of place, now would we? She did her best to ignore the ponies in the waiting room and strode up to the counter like Rainbow Dash had done. “Can I help you?” the secretary asked. “I, uh, have an appointment for today.” “What’s your name, sweetie?” “Scootaloo.” “Okay, you’re all set. Have a seat and he’ll call you in shortly.” The secretary went back to whatever it was she was doing. From her motions, Scootaloo suspected she was playing cards, but she didn’t say anything. Instead she took one of the medical flyers and sought out a seat that didn’t have anypony sitting near it. As she folded the paper, she discreetly looked at the other ponies present. Snips was there, as well as some other foals she didn’t know by name. When she was done gazing about, she turned back to her work. After giving it a light toss, she used her magic to keep the paper airplane flying around the room. She smiled. If felt good, and she even thought she was doing better than she had before. She even made it do a loopty loop, though it was an accident. The whole time she did her best to sit nonchalantly watching, trying to make it seem like she was just another observer. The unicorns in the room looked at each other, trying to work out who was doing it, but they all shook their heads. Snips glanced her way and she gave a snide smile, but then refocused on her magic. One by one the other foals were called in. More came in, but Scootaloo patiently waited. By the time her name was finally called, she’d managed to make the airplane do another loopty loop, this time on purpose. All it took was a burst of air to get it going, then another to make it flip up, though it was rather awkwardly executed. The airplane’s nose was now one big crumpled mess, but aerodynamics didn’t matter when magic kept it flying. But now it was her turn, so she let the plane go on its doomed way, and followed Dr. Forceps to one of the actual rooms. “That was quite the show you put on,” he said while closing the door. “Just about everypony who came in here said something about it.” “Well Rainbow Dash did say I should practice my magic,” Scootaloo replied, getting on the table. “Still, you must have been doing that for over an hour, or did you take a few breaks?” As before, he came over with a needle and drew blood. This time he didn’t give her a verbal alert, but she barely registered it. “I didn’t feel like stopping.” “Fascinating,” Dr Forceps said. He hoofed the sample to a pony waiting outside then came back over. “You must either have more magic than I thought, or you recover it at a phenomenal pace. Tell me, what is the longest time you’ve kept a spell going?” “Well,” Scootaloo said, trying to hold still. He has something in her ear and she didn’t want to jar it. “Rainbow Dash and I flew to Shattered beak. I used my wind to push a cloud there. I’m not sure how far it is, but it’s a couple hours each way.” “And no pausing? Open, please.” Scootaloo opened her mouth on command and he shone a light inside. “Done anything big? Any spells that made you run out?” Scootaloo waited until he was done before replying. “Well... yeah. Twice over the summer I completely ran out. The first time I made a big gust of air to lift a hot air balloon with me and my friends. Then...” “Yes?” he asked, wrapping a cloth band around her foreleg. It began inflating, crushing the limb. “I... Twilight said I did something I shouldn’t have.” “Combat magic?” he asked. He seemed satisfied and removed the band. “On the scale, please.” Scootaloo did as she was asked but stayed quiet while he gauged her height and weight. “Do you want to talk about it?” “You know Rainbow Dash got bit by a shark, right?” “I was aware, yes.” “I chased off the sharks attacking them using a spell that gave them cuts all over.” “I hadn’t heard that detail. Back on the table please.” “I didn’t feel like the magic I had was enough, so I kept pushing it, trying to get more... If you were a unicorn, you’d probably know what it feels like.” “Probably. Deep breaths,” he said, pressing a cold metal disk to her chest. A tube ran from it to two other ends he placed in his ears. Dr. Forceps dropped the pen he was holding. “That isn’t something I’d like to hear.” “I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said, feeling ashamed. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. I, or someone else should have warned you about the dangers of magic overuse. It’s me who should be sorry.” “I would have done it anyway,” Scootaloo said. “They would have died otherwise.” “So, ready to test your wingpower?” he asked, trying to change the subject. Scootaloo nodded and he pulled out the miniature windmill and placed it on the floor. Scootaloo got her wings buzzing, and immediately noticed something. She hadn’t really tried for a while, so she hadn’t noticed, but she was actually off the ground! Mostly. Her wing beats were actually strong enough to counter gravity, despite a few feathers flying out as she did so, another reminder she was at the tail end of her molt. Her back hooves dragged on the floor as she moved past the windmill. Flying like this was easy, just like riding a scooter, only her hooves dragged on the ground instead of the wheels. She strained her muscles, but couldn’t get completely clear of the floor. Tired, she stopped buzzing her wings and sat on the floor. “0.3 Wingpower. A 200% improvement!” Dr. Forceps declared with clearly fake enthusiasm. Next she went over to the magic meter and once again the metal cup was placed on her outstretched feathers. “2.1. It should be lower considering you were using it constantly for a while, but its not,” he said. “Too bad this thing can’t really measure how fast your body recovers it directly, though I’d suspect its rather high.” “And that’s good, right?” “Yes. Most unicorns have a decent recovery rate, being able to recover most of their magic within one to two hours. I’d bet your recovery time is far less than an hour.” “Can’t you measure it?” “Yes, but in a roundabout way. It only measures how much is in your body at that time. If a foal has expended it all, we can measure how fast they recover it by how long it takes to reach its limit.” “So I just have to waste a lot of magic? That sounds easy enough,” she said, getting her wings glowing. “Let’s use it constructively,” Dr. Forceps said quickly. He placed the wingpower windmill in front of her, then grabbed his papers to hold them down. Scootaloo nodded and focused on it, getting up the fastest wind she could, trying to put as much magic into it as she could to waste it all. “I don’t think I can go any faster,” she said after a minute. “You’ve improved. 9.2 wingpower,” he said over the wind. She kept the breeze going, buffeting the wall now. It took a further couple minutes but she felt her magic finally give out. The wind died down to nothing. “Okay, I think I’m out,” she said. “Right, I’ll hook you up to be sure,” he said. He placed the cone back on. “You’re at 0.1. Try wasting it.” Scootaloo nodded and made another quick burst of air. “Perfect, 0.0. I’ll go get your blood work. You give me a holler if it reaches 2.1 before I get back.” He left the room, leaving Scootaloo alone with the machine. She sat and watched the numbers tick by slowly. It had reached 0.6 before he returned. “I’m back,” he announced pointlessly as he entered. “Is Rainbow Dash not with you today?” “I think she’s hanging out with her friends. Twilight’s been in Canterlot for the past couple weeks. I haven’t seen her since yesterday. “She does tend to get caught up in things. How are we doing?” “It’s 0.7 now.” “Remarkable. According to my watch... it’s been just over ten minutes since I left, that means...” he scribbled on a scrap of paper. “You recover all your magic in about thirty minutes. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a unicorn with anything near this limit to generation rate. Maybe it’s because you’re a pegasus.” “Look, I barely know anything about magic. What does that mean?” “What it means, you kind of already know. Advanced spells are beyond your capability because you simply don’t have the magic reserves to do them, but you can cast weaker spells almost indefinitely. You could have probably kept that paper airplane flying for days, am I right?” “I’d need to sleep,” Scootaloo replied. “But you get my point. So, would you like to hear how you are doing after six months?” “The suspense is killing me,” Scootaloo said, she made some gagging noises and clutched at her chest. “You are doing remarkably well. So well in fact, I think I can take you off the vitamins. You’ve grown two inches, and gained fifteen pounds. I’m very happy with how well you are doing.” “It’s all thanks to a proper diet,” Scootaloo said, smiling. “Maybe I should advise all my smaller patients to do that,” Dr. Forceps said jokingly. Scootaloo giggled. “I don’t think their parents would approve.”         “Their loss.”         “So I’m in the clear?”         “Not exactly,” he said. “You’re still far behind. These improvements do make me feel optimistic about your future, namely you may not be totally clipped as I feared. Just stick to what you’re doing and I’ll see you again in six more months.”         “Okay. Bye,” Scootaloo said, leaving.         “And do be careful with your magic. Maybe ask one of the unicorns in the town to teach you.”         “Maybe someday when I need it.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Princess Luna and Gearbox sat in the meeting room. It was a rather small room with only two chairs and a table that had been folded against the wall. “So, I hear you have a magic amplification device,” Princess Luna said. “Yes,” Gearbox said, pulling it out of his saddle. It was a metal cone with a box at the smaller end and a strap that secured it to a pony’s head. “And how well does it work?” “Well, I’ve only tested it on two unicorns,” Gearbox replied, “and it’s not made to fit somepony of your size.” “Yes, but how well does it work?” “Of the two tests, it averaged about a 30% increase in magic output,” Gearbox answered. “It’s only a prototype.” “Still, that has much promise. What a marvelous invention for an earth pony. But you’re not one, are you.” All at once Gearbox reacted. He pulled the firehoof out of his bag and aimed it at the Princess, who immediately pulled it from his hoof with her magic. It clattered to the floor several yards from where he sat. “Now that you got that out of your system, let’s talk.” Gearbox eyed the firehoof, contemplating if he could reach in before she could get some magic in. She seemed to read his mind and in a flash of light, the weapon vanished. “You have little to fear. Whatever war there was between our tribes is over as far as I am concerned.” “So why bring me here?” Gearbox asked. “I am very interested in your magic amplifier,” Princess Luna said simply. “That’s it?” “There are a few other projects we could use the help of a terra pony on.” “And if I build stuff for you, you don’t go after me?” “If you build them, you get paid. I told you, the war is over,” Princess Luna said. “It has been over since my parents died and I see no reason to continue it now, two thousand years later.” “I find that hard to believe given the security.” “My sister is a bit paranoid. After all she is older and remembers more than I. You will be working for me, and you will be safe, even if you refuse to work with me.” “And I don’t have to tell you anything?” Gearbox asked. “Not if you don’t want to.” “So what are these projects?” Gearbox asked. “My sister has been working on a very interesting project and I think your skills would be helpful in finishing it.” “What about the guards? They’ll check me eventually.” “Here,” Princess Luna said. She pulled out a small black medallion with a white crescent on it. “I’ll instruct the guards to ignore anypony wearing one of these. You will be allowed to go anywhere in Canterlot and beyond, except our private rooms. What do you say?” Gearbox signed. “Let me look at it and I’ll see what I can do.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “Fluttershy come quickly!” The cream pegasus awoke to the call. It was the middle of the night but Rarity was knocking on her door. Frightened, she rushed through her house to find out what was the matter. “What's wrong?” she asked, embarrassed she wasn't wearing a robe. “They're back!” Rarity announced. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "You!" the blue alicorn shouted. He charged out onto the balcony and faced the draconequus. "Me," the draconequus sneered. "You should have stayed stone, Discord!" King Mithra shouted, charging a spell. "Please, those weak spells don't work on me anymore," Discord said, sounding bored. King Mithra fired the spell at him, but Discord reflected it with a wave of his talon. The deflected spell hit the alicorn who stood still as his body began making crackling noises, an expression of silent fear on his face. Curious, Discord walked over. "Don't tell me you tried to petrify me after I told you it was pointless," Discord said. His question was answered as the blue alicorn turned off white and became stiff. "Well then, I guess I can't play with you anymore," Discord grumbled. He lifted the stone alicorn to the edge of the balcony. "Now die like Empathy did." "Father!" shouted a voice. Discord turned and saw a distressed red alicorn looking at him. Discord sneered again. "Long-" he reached out and grabbed the statue, "live-" he bent his arms and leaned in, "the new-" he pushed forward, "king-" the statued King Mithra tipped over the edge and plummeted to the ground below. "Father!" the red alicorn cried, racing to the edge, not caring for his safety. He leaned over the balcony in time to see the stone figure shatter on the stone street below, the figure that had been so proud and regal minutes before, now lay in a million fragments. At once, the red alicorn’s mane lifted itself and began billowing in a breeze, but the air was still. "Congratulations, your highness," Discord mocked, patting the foal on the shoulder. "Get back, Prince Sol!" ordered a large alicorn from behind them. "Is that any way to address your king?" Discord said, smirking at the six alicorns, all in cloaks, who now crowded the doorway. "You'll pay for your crimes," one of them shouted. "And how will you do that? Your petrification spells won't work on me any longer." "Now!" one of the alicorns declared. He stepped forward and tugged off his cloak, revealing a gold necklace with a purple sword shaped gem. The other five did so as well, revealing five more necklaces, each with its own gem. "What? How did you? You are not fit to have those!" Discord roared. "Elements of Peace, Power." "Elements of Peace, Honor." "Elements of Peace, Giving." "Elements of Peace, Truth." "Elements of Peace, Happiness." “Elements of Peace, Gentleness." "Isn't that cute. You named them," Discord spat. The six necklaces glowed brightly as each pony called out in turn. They rose up into the air as the air around them filled with energy. "Time for a retreat..." Discord whined. He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened and it was too late. A blast of energy shot forth from the six alicorns and hit him, returning him once more to his stone form. "It's over," the bearer of honor said. “Look," the bearer of gentleness said, pointing. In a flash the statue of Discord vanished. "Delayed spell. Smart," the bearer of power grunted. "Come on, Prince. The ponies need to see you are unharmed," the bearer of truth said to the small red alicorn. The alicorn stayed at the balcony, looking down. “Call the guards. I want every inch of our lands searched, as well as any lands we can get away with. I want him found and brought here,” the new king ordered. “Prince, there are more pressing matters,” the bearer of happiness said. King Sol whipped around with an angry expression. “He just killed fifty ponies, including my father. He will pay for his crimes. If we cannot slay him, then we will seal him away in a vault here. He will not terrorize my kingdom any longer.” The six just looked at him. “I am the king now. Do it.” The six looked at each other. “You go do as he says. I’ll stay here and look after him,” the bearer of giving said to the others. They nodded and galloped out of the room. The remaining one turned to the young alicorn. “Revenge will not bring you peace of mind.” “No, but making sure this can never happen again will. Your companion was right. I do need to show I am okay. I shall do that now,” King Sol said, walking past the other pony. He didn’t look to see if he was followed or not. He didn’t care. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “Spike, open the door!” Rarity shouted, pounding on the door to the library. “Hey, girls!” Pinkie Pie said as she opened the door for them. “Pinkie?” they cried in unison. “Twilight, Dashie, and AJ are downstairs getting separated,” she explained as they entered the library. “I thought they were going to bring you to Canterlot or something,” Fluttershy said. “I thought so to!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “But here I am!” “So are you-” Rarity began. “Yeah, I'm a terra pony,” Pinkie said, looking sad for a moment. "I know you must hate me for not telling you." “No we don't,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “You're not just a terra pony, you're Pinkie Pie; you're our friend.” “I love you girls,” She said, hugging them. Just then, the basement door opened and three ponies walked into the room. “You weren't kidding, Twilight, that worked perfectly,” Rainbow Dash praised. “Yeah, Ah feel just like mah old self!” Applejack agreed. "I feel almost disappointed. After seeing what Scoots can do, I'm almost jealous," Rainbow Dash commented. “Oh hi, Rarity and Fluttershy,” Twilight said greeting the newcomers. "Sure, I could disable the merger memory, and maybe you'll end up with magic too. Or you could end up without wings." "On second thought, I'm good," Rainbow Dash said sheepishly. “So are you going to examine me now?” Pinkie asked. "Before we go, Ah think Rainbow Dash has something she wants tah share," Applejack said. The pegasus shot her a look. "Fine. I'm an orphan. Happy?" Rainbow Dash said, grumbling. "Oh you poor thing. I can't imagine how that must feel," Fluttershy said, at once hugging Rainbow Dash, but the blue pegasus pushed her away. “This is partly why I didn't tell you. When I tell somepony, they either make fun of me or baby me. I don't need either. I'm just fine," Rainbow Dash explained. "But growing up all alone can't be good for you," Rarity said actually concerned. "I didn't say when I was made an orphan," Rainbow Dash grunted. "You said you were one," Twilight remembered. "That's what I would call growing up alone." "I wasn't alone. I had Gilda. I had her family," Rainbow Dash countered. "You don't call Spike alone because he has us." "But they're griffons," Fluttershy said. "How could a bunch like Gilda compare to a real, pony family?" "So what?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "There are thousands of orphaned ponies just rotting in orphanages all over Equestria! All over the world! Do you know how many orphanages griffons have? None. Zero. Why? Because they don't need them. Stray griffons are always taken in by a new clan. Only exiles are on their own and that's because they did something to deserve it. Most don't even know what orphan means because the concept is so impossible to them. "They took me in not because they felt sorry for me, or because I begged, I didn't, but because family is so important to their culture, even a non-biological family. They were nicer to me then the ponies at school were! They actually care about orphaned creatures! They may be carnivores. They may eat other living things, but compared to how heartless some ponies can be, they're practically saints. "I'm glad I was raised by the Qnaks. They taught me right, something the school was never going to do. I lived at the flight school before they took me in by the way. Griffons aren't all mean. Gilda is a bit of a bully, I'll admit that. But she's just one. If you're going to judge all griffons by the actions of one then judge me too because I'm one of them," Rainbow Dash finished and held up her foreleg revealing her clan mark. "I'm proud to be a Qnak." "If being an orphan is so bad. why don't you do something about it? Start a protest or something?" Twilight suggested. "I am doing something," Rainbow Dash replied. I adopted one. "I'm going to become a Wonderbolt. That way, I can put the issue right in the face of Equestria. It'll be hard to pick on orphans when one is a national hero. Maybe I can even get ponies to be friendlier with griffons. The only reason there are so few ponies in griffon clans is they don't try to join. It's not that hard." “Let's get you into the laboratory,” Twilight said heading back downstairs after a long silence. “What's going on?” Fluttershy asked. “Twilight says Pinkie has some magic in her,” Applejack explained. “I thought only unicorns had magic,” Rarity said. “Yeah, but all ponies except terra ponies have a mana gland,” Twilight reminded them. “Wow, Twilight, you did a great job with this thing!” Pinkie Pie said when she saw the Pony Blender. “Thanks. I really improved on the design in the book.” “I thought you just used the one in the Everfree Forest,” Pinkie told her. “Actually it kind of is. I had to dismantle most of the other one to make this one. These aren't exactly common parts,” Twilight told her. “I'm still having trouble making it smaller. Maybe you could help me sometime.” “Sure,” Pinkie smiled. "I'm not exactly a mechanic, but I'll do what I can." “Alright if you'll step in there I can begin the full diagnostic,” Twilight said opening a door leading to a gray chamber. Pinkie entered and laid down on the table. Twilight shut the door and hit a series of buttons on the side of the chamber. Lights flashed inside several times in quick succession. Then Twilight opened the door. “That's it. This should narrow down how exactly your body is generating magic.” “This thing is totally deus ex machina,” Pinkie said as she exited. “Spike?” Twilight called. The dragon hurried over. She was happy to see he had removed the earmuffs this time. “Take a letter.” “Sure thing!” He said. He toddled off to get a quill and scroll. “Let's see,” Twilight said, turning to a screen. She studied a series of images while her friends simply stood about. This was Twilight's thing. “I think I've got something.” she said finally, turning to the group. “I'm not sure what it is exactly but Pinkie, there seems to be a metallic, neurological implant inside your cranial cavity that is the source of the magic.” "I have no idea what you just said," Pinkie replied with a big smile. "It means: there's something in your head making magic," Twilight summarized. “I've never done any magic,” Pinkie said confused. "Nothing at all." “There's no way to get a better look without surgery,” Twilight told her. “It's not worth the risk. Still, I've never seen a machine that can generate magic so I can't explain it.” “Ready!” Spike announced as he entered the basement. All eyes were on Pinkie Pie however. “Thank you Spike.” Twilight said. “What do I write?” Dear Princess Celestia             I am happy to report that Ponyville is 100% free of enemy agents. I did learn that the terra ponies were in underground places they call sanctuaries where they sealed themselves for 2000 years. They have been free for decades now. They are not all united against Equestria. Also the first test run of the Pony Blender Mark V was a perfect success but the problems I have discussed with you before still persist.                                                     Your Faithful Student                                                     Twilight Sparkle “Can I finish the letter?” Pinkie asked. Spike handed the quill and scroll over. P.S.: Today I learned you should always trust your friends and tell them things even if you are afraid of how they will react. And if they are your friends, they will always accept you for who you are, regardless of where you came from.                                                     Pinkie Pie “Sent!” Spike announced as the wisp of smoke vanished from sight. "So what do we do now?" Rarity asked. "Well, Princess Celestia is probably asleep right now. We'll have to wait until morning to get a reply," Twilight replied. "No I mean what do we do." "What if she comes for Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked. "Then we'll stop her," Rainbow Dash replied. "We have the elements of harmony." "It won't come to that. I'm sure of it," Twilight interrupted. *burp* A scroll flew out of Spikes mouth, and Twilight grabbed it with her magic. "Already? Celestia should be asleep." "That wasn't from her," Spike said. "How can yah tell? Looks like a regular letter tah me." Applejack asked. "Messenger dragon thing. When she sends a letter it feels a certain way. This felt different. It's was sent from a different dragon. I've only ever gotten letters from her until now." "What does it say?" Pinkie asked nervously. "It's from Princess Luna," Twilight stated, then read the letter. "Dear Twilight Sparkle,             We received the letter you sent to my sister and we are on our way to speak with you face to face. We shall be there shortly. Please do not send another letter to Celestia until I arrive.                                                         -Luna" "Why would she not want me to send a letter to Celestia?" Twilight wondered out loud. “I don't like the sound of this," Rarity commented. "Should we get the elements?" Applejack asked. "No, I think we'll be okay," Twilight said. Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the front door. "That was fast," Rainbow Dash said at the sound. Cautiously the seven walked upstairs. Twilight opened the door to find the Princess of the Night standing there. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle and friends. May I come in?" Princess Luna asked. "Of course," Twilight replied. She backed up and Luna entered, closing the door with her magic. "Did you receive our message?" "Just a few seconds ago," Spike replied. "Good." "Luna, why did you read my letter?" Twilight asked. She'd never had some pony other then Celestia read her mail as far as she knew. Even if it wasn't private, it was still personal. "We- I am sorry for intruding on your private correspondence, but I have been screening her mail for some time. For her own good," Luna explained. "Celestia is very paranoid when it comes to matters involving the terra ponies. We- I am not. I have taken it upon myself to direct messages on this subject to myself. She is likely to... overreact." "So why couldn't you say that in the letter?" Fluttershy asked. "I have more to say. I have been looking for a way to put an end to this conflict and thanks to your letter, I may have found a way to deal with the problem without involving Celestia. If she got wind of one of these, 'sanctuaries', she would no doubt send in the guards and slaughter all inside. I would rather there not be hundreds of ponies dead for simply being of the wrong tribe. That is why I'm assembling a team of ponies to secure them without royal involvement." "Count me out. I'm not getting involved with another bunch of ruffians," Rarity declared. "I'd rather not hurt anypony either," Fluttershy added. "And we got the harvest comin' up. Ah can't be gone on some mission," Applejack said shaking her head. "I still need your cooperation. You cannot tell Celestia about this. It is for your own safety as well as many innocent ponies safety," Luna said. "We won't," Twilight vowed. "I know I won't," Pinkie Pie said smiling. "You're a terra pony aren't you?" Luna asked examining her closer. "How did you know there was one here?" Twilight asked.  "The way your letter was written pointed to you finding one and the postscript kind of gave it away," Luna explained. "So what do you need us to do?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Nothing at the moment. I'm still assembling a team. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, you both are on it if you agree to participate." "Of course," Twilight said. "Sure," Rainbow Dash agreed. “What about me?" Pinkie asked. "What if Princess Celestia finds out?" "I will handle her. Do not worry," Luna replied. "I will contact you again when the team is ready. Good Night." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~     That point where Pinkie touched is a vulnerable nerve cluster, that controls the wings of a pegasus or alicorn. Intense pressure can hinder the nerves for an extended period and a bad enough injury to that spot can cause permanent damage including loss of flight for life. If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works: My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009. Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling. Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines. Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.