When Applejack finished bucking the last tree and Spike caught the apples in a bucket, they headed over to the farmhouse, where an elderly mare was rocking in her chair.
"Where do you want these, ma'am?" Applejack asked.
"Just set them inside the barn." she pointed over to the red barn.
Once AJ and Spike finished the job, they went back to her. Spike asked, "By the way, what's your name?"
"Granny Smith, young feller. And I can't thank you enough for what you two youngsters did for my grandson there."
"Aw, don't mention it." said AJ, "Is it just you and Big Mac?"
"Sure is, but if I had a granddaughter like you, why I would never have to worry about Applebucking season ever again."
"I wish there was more we could do."
"You've done enough as it is. Here," She went back into the house for one second and came back wearing a Stetson hat, "For everything that you've done today." she handed over the hat over to Applejack.
"Why, thank you… but I couldn't accept this…"
"Oh…" Granny scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous! It's the least we could do!"
Spike took the hat and put it on her head. He pondered, "You know… you actually look better with it on."
Her cheeks went pink, "You… you really think so?"
"I really do…" they found themselves staring at each other.
"Aw… young love…" sighed an elderly voice.
That brought them back to reality and both quickly said to her, "Oh, we're not-"
"That is-"
Granny said, "Oh, I get it." she winked.
They sighed in defeat, then AJ quickly changed the subject, "Well, thanks again for the hat and we were happy to help out. If you ever see us in Pony-Ville again, please let us know if you need anything."
"We'll do that."
Big Mac came over by then and said, "Eeyup."
They waved goodbye and set back on the road leading into town.
Pinkie and Cheese moved slowly to the middle of town as their bellies were huge and they had chocolate-covered faces. They were soon met up by Rarity and Fancy.
"Goodness! What happen to you two?" Rarity asked.
Pinkie groaned, "Too much… chocolate…" she fell to the ground.
"Couldn't… resist…" Cheese fell down as well.
"Ha!" Discord, still in his pony form, came up with Fluttershy, "Serves you right, eating all that creamy richness of a substance…"
That almost caused the couple to throw up.
"Discord?" Rarity looked on in confusion while Fancy had to wipe his monocle to make sure he was seeing things right, "Is that you?"
"Of course it's me! Why? You like the new me?" he struck a pose.
"It's… certainly… a new you…" she slightly blushed, not wanting to admit he was rather dashing now.
"But he was funnier-looking with his old self!" complained Pinkie.
"Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy scolded.
But Discord merely chuckled, "Not to worry, my darling. I know what Pinkie was really getting at. I tend to be more funny by looking funny." He turned to Pinkie, "Don't worry. Once we're out of town, I'll turn back to what I was."
"Aww…" they heard a whine and every pony looked in Rarity's direction with puzzlement.
"I mean," she composed herself and said, "it's getting late. Where are the others?"
"Hmm, now that you mention it," said Fancy, "that's a good question."
Suddenly, Discord's ears picked up whinny-snoring above them. He looked up to see a single cloud and thought, I wonder… He turned to his beloved, "Fluttershy, love, do me a favor by going up there." He pointed up to the cloud.
"But why?"
"Just trust me."
"Okay…" she flapped her wings and saw Soarin' and Rainbow sleeping side by side.
"What's up there?!" Cheese bellowed below her.
"It's Rainbow and Soarin'," she came down, "they're sleeping."
"Together?" Rarity questioned.
"You should see them they're so cute, cuddling…"
Pinkie giggled.
Discord suggested with a sly grin, "Then perhaps it's time we wake them up… Pinkie, Cheese, want to help me out with this?"
By then, their sugar high kicked in and leaped up saying together, "You bet!"
"Excellent!" He was about to use his horn until a soft voice said.
"Um, you will be gentle, right?"
He held her chin, "But of course, my sweet… It'll be… more or less just a wake-up call…" Then, he recast the spell to levitate himself and the party ponies as they surrounded the pair. Then with a flash, Pinkie had a drum, Cheese a whistle, and Discord a cowbell. "On the count of three… one… two…"
"Three!" they yelled and began playing their noisemakers, startling the pegasi awake.
"What the…?!" they both screamed.
The trio laughed hysterically; even the ponies below them laughed.
RD ranted with her face going red, "Pinkie Pie! Cheese! Discord! You ruined our nap!"
"And I was having the most awesome dream, too! Dash and I were this close to-" but was the rest was muffled by her hoof.
"Like they need to know that…"
"So up and at em, lazies!" Pinkie pointed, "We've got to get going!"
"Indeed," said Rarity when the others came down, "But we can't go anywhere without Twilight and Flash and Applejack and Spikey. Now where are they?"
"Hold your horses, we're here!" AJ showed up with Spike.
"Ooh! Applejack! You look different!" Pinkie bounced around her sister, "Did you get a haircut?"
"Heh, no…"
"Got your hooves shiny?!"
"Eh, no…"
"Ooh! Then it must be…"
"She's got a hat!" they all ended up saying.
"Oh, yeah… That's it! Nice hat…" she patted it.
"Oh, Pinkie…" AJ shook her head and turned back to the group, "Hey, where's Twilight?"
"And Flash?" said Spike.
"That's what we would like to know…" said Rainbow.
Suddenly, there was heavy panting as a purple unicorn and an orange pegasus ran to them.
Twilight said between breaths, "Sorry… we're… late! The library took a lot more time reshelving than I thought!"
"Wait, wait, wait…" Rainbow said, "While the rest of us were going around town, you spent the afternoon in a library?! Can we say 'egg-head' much, little sis?"
Twilight grumbled before responding, "You know I hate that nick-name… but anyway, the library was in a terrible state. I had to do something!"
"She's right. It was a real mess. If Twilight hadn't stepped in when she did, who knows how long it would have stayed that way." said Flash.
"Say, Flash, I almost forgot, but where did you save that zebra?"
"Not here, per se. It was…" he pointed to the Everfree Forest, "there…"
"Can you show me?"
"Me, too!" Pinkie popped up to his face.
"I… don't know… It could get dangerous… The last time I was there, I had to save Zecora from a Timberwolf!"
"Timberwolf?!" Fluttershy gulped in fear.
"Oh," Discord scoffed, "please. I'll be the scariest thing you'll find in there, and if a Timberwolf does show up, I'll simply snap my fingers and viola! No more Timberwolves!"
"Well…" Flash pondered while Twilight stared at him. It was hard thinking straight when a beautiful mare was looking right at him. He sighed, "Fine… but stay close to me."
"Right." she agreed.
"And that goes for all of you."
The others nodded.
When walking through the endless evergreen, the mares and colts hung close to each other. Spike was clinging to AJ's side, Cheese and Pinkie had their hooves around each other, and Discord was back to his original form staying close to Fluttershy by having his tail wrapped around her for comfort.
Flash stopped at the clearing, "Here it is. This is where Zecora was facing the wolf before I took over to stop it."
"Great, we've seen it! Now we go back!" Spike nervously chuckled.
AJ chuckled, "Okay, sugar cube, if it makes you feel better." she turned to go back, but suddenly, as if a chilly wind passed her, she shivered, "Hoo, did you all feel that?"
The girls nodded while the boys were confused.
"I didn't feel anything." said Spike.
"Ooh, it was a weird tingly feeling!" Pinkie mentioned.
"That was strange…" Rarity pronounced.
"It was so creepy!" whimpered Fluttershy.
Rainbow said, "Gotta admit, that was eerie…"
"It felt like it was coming from over there…" Twilight pointed in a direction that made the forest look darker and scary.
"You're not thinking of going in there, are you?" Flash questioned in concern.
The chilly wind picked up again and once again, the girls felt it, but the guys couldn't feel anything.
"Did you feel that now?" she asked him.
"Feel what?" Discord shrugged his shoulders.
"How could you not feel that?!" Rarity declared with her sisters' agreeing with her.
The other colts shrugged their shoulders, more perplexed by the girls' statement than ever.
"We have to find out where that's coming from…" Twilight galloped down the dark path and Flash galloped after her. Pretty soon, the other mares did the same with the guys following them.
In a secret room of the library in the castle ruins, the once unicorn king of Canterlot had to live in exile due to his curse. He spent most of his days in the library finding ways for the curse to be lifted so he could return home to his wife and daughters. How he hated so much that he had to miss out on the most important days with them or to watch his daughters grow into young mares. After years of searching, he was starting to lose hope that he would never be able to face them again. Then, a sudden chill touched him.
"Wait… what was that?" he moved out of the room and went to a nearby window that showed the rope bridge leading to the forest. In the distance, he could see a group of ponies coming towards the ruins. Once they came into view, he was shocked to see six mares that resembled his daughters!
Suddenly, he realized that they were his daughters. Even if it was a curse, he had super vision to see closer and noticed their cutie marks. He was overjoyed to see how beautiful they all grew, just like their mother. But then he worried that they shouldn't be here, not when there were dangers in the forest and the fact they could find him. Knowing how dangerous his cursed powers were, he had to keep away from them and to not hurt them. He kept his head down and thanks to the drafty walls, he was able to hear them.
"Whoa…" Twilight stopped at the bridge and stared up at the castle ruins.
"Yeah…" Rainbow gawked.
"But, but how is this possible?" Rarity questioned, "A castle in the middle of nowhere?"
"It must be very old…" said Fluttershy.
"But why would it bring us here?" inquired Twilight, and then she looked closer to the ruins and noticed something, "Hey… wait a minute… Girls, look from this angle…"
They did, but couldn't see what Twilight was seeing.
"So?" pointed Rainbow, "Looks like an old castle to me."
"But doesn't it look familiar?"
They shook their heads until Flash came up and said, "I think you're right… it does look like something I've just seen…"
Discord snapped his fingers in realization, "By Jove, you are correct, sir!"
"I see it! I see it!" Cheese jumped up and down.
"Oh, my gosh…" Spike said under his breath.
"Can some pony please tell me what is going on?!" Rarity demanded.
"It's the castle from the underground kingdom!" Twilight motioned.
The girls gasped in awareness.
Rainbow stammered, "But… how…?"
"I don't know, but I want to get closer to find out." Twilight started to set hoof on the bridge until Flash stopped her.
"Don't you find this suspicious?"
"And that is why I want to investigate further to figure out this mystery."
Sombra started filling with anxiety. He could not let Twilight or any of his girls come any nearer if they found him… Who knew what might happen… In his mind he quickly devised a plan. It's going to take all the light magic I have left within me, but it's important… He shut his eyes in concentration on all good things and feeling the need to protect his girls, he cast the spell.
Twilight set hoof on the suspension bridge, but once she did, she felt dizzy and started wobbling. Then she fell.
"Twilight!" Flash took hold of her.
Rainbow then started feeling like she was woozy, "Hey does any pony see… the castle moving?" Then, she started falling from the air.
"Dash!" Soarin' sped in to catch her.
Then one by one, the girls fell.
"Pinkie!" Cheese caught her.
"Fluttershy!" Discord cradled her in his arms, "No-no-no!"
"Rarity!" Fancy caught her before she fell over.
"Applejack!" Spike gasped as the tough princess fell last and grabbed her holding on tight, tears filling his eyes, "Discord! Get us out of here!"
"You got that right!" he snapped and they were all gone from Sombra's sight. The unicorn gave a sigh from both relief and heartbreak.
When they made it back to the princesses' room, they had laid them in their own beds, hoping for the best that the sisters would wake up soon. Luckily, they did in mere seconds.
Discord wrapped his arms around the eldest princess in happiness, "Oh, thank goodness!"
Fluttershy spoke, "What… what happen?"
"That's what we would like to know." said Spike.
"I… I don't know…" said Twilight, "I just remembering going towards the castle and the next thing I knew, I blacked out."
"I can totally see you guys blacking out," pointed Rainbow, "but how could I black out?! I'm no damsel in distress!"
"Well, me neither!" retorted AJ.
"And I resent that remark, Rainbow Dash!" yelled Rarity, "Just because I am a lady doesn't mean I'm a damsel in distress!"
"Well, you are a drama queen. It's only natural." RD responded.
"Enough, you guys!" Twilight came between them, "We'll worry about that later. Right now, we should figure out why that castle was a near copy of the castle that we've been going to every night in the last three days!"
"Sure you don't want to rest first?" questioned Flash, "Before getting to the bottom of this?"
"I can't rest, not when there's something strange going here…" she started going out of the room when a voice said.
"There you are!" Luna rushed to her.
"Aunt Luna? What is it?"
She lowered her head, "You'd best go to the throne room… Your mother is worried sick about all of you, and I'm afraid there's something she would like to discuss…"
The princesses all look at each other in bewilderment.
"You best come, too." she said to the guys, who in turn also gave puzzled expressions.
Once they made it to the doors of the room, she told the girls, "Go in." She saw the girls walk in with the boys starting to follow, but she stopped them, "Wait here." She went in with her nieces. Discord conjured up a huge empty glass to the closed door for all of them to overhear.
"Mother?" Twilight said.
Celestia turned from her grief and gave out a cry of joy, "Girls? Oh, thank heavens!" She ran up to them and gave each a precious hug and kiss on the forehead. Suddenly, her expression soured and she demanded, "Where have you been?!"
"Um…" Twilight rubbed her hoof, "About that… we were… we were…"
"You were what?"
The girls had cringed faces, not sure how to answer.
"You were what?!" she repeated, "Girls, tell me!"
Pinkie gulped, blurting out, "We were in Pony-Ville!" She quickly covered her mouth and hid behind Rainbow who glared at her.
"Pony-Ville? Pony-Ville?! Girls, do you realize how dangerous that could have been?!"
"But Mother, that place was simply divine!" protested Rarity.
"Yeah, nothin' happened there!" proclaimed Applejack.
Pinkie babbled on, "Yeah, it wasn't until we went into the Everfree Forest that we found a scary-looking castle and fainted at the sight of it!"
"PINKIE!" her sisters screamed at her.
"Oopsie…" she shrunk down.
"Everfree Forest? Castle?! Fainting?! No!"
"It-it was just a one-time deal!" Twilight quickly pointed out.
"Girls! This is serious! You could have been hurt or lost! And this is why you have to stay in the castle under my protection!"
"But we're not fillies anymore!" shouted Rainbow.
"But you are princesses! It is your duty to stay within the castle walls!"
"And what if we don't want to be princesses anymore?!" hollered Applejack.
"That… is… not… your… choice…"
"Of course it is our choice!" cried Rarity, "Like it is our choice to marry whoever we want!"
"About that… Luna, could you explain to the girls about the kingdom that lives underneath their bedroom."
Luna faced them with a solemn face, "I created that kingdom…"
"What?" Twilight inquired.
"I created the kingdom so you live in the last moments of spending time with each other before all of you had to get married to a prince. It was never intended that you brought others with you…"
"You… you know about?" Fluttershy was almost afraid to ask.
"Yes… for I had been watching you since the first night you went down there. It was a dream kingdom for your most inner thoughts."
"Then… you must know something about that castle in the Everfree Forest!" pointed Twilight.
"That castle is not your concern." Celestia motioned, "Your concern is getting married and living up to your royal title."
Twilight pondered on this until her eyes slit and said out a firm, "No."
Celestia's eyes widened, "What…?" She was surprised that this was coming from Twilight, the daughter that never questioned her authority up till now.
"No." she repeated, "This is not right, and you know it! How can we marry strangers when we already have loves that care about us and we care about them?!"
The sisters did random agreements, siding with her on that fact.
Outside, the boys were feeling touched by that statement, but then frowned when they heard Celestia.
"This is for your own good! I'm trying to protect you!"
"From what?!" Rainbow demanded.
"You cannot possibly understand…" she turned away from them to make sure they didn't see the tears glistening in her eyes.
"What wouldn't we understand?!" Rarity pleaded.
"Mother, if you would just tell us, we'll find some way to make this work!" suggested Twilight.
That did it, Celestia turned back to them with glowing eyes and her color was a blazing orange as she rose into the air using the royal Canterlot voice, "It cannot work! Nothing ever will! This is the only way! You wear the crowns upon your heads as it is your right and royal duty! You are to marry and that is that! Nothing will ever change that!" Her eyes stopped glowing as she saw the look in her daughters' eyes, which were etched with fear and despair.
Fluttershy was the first to break down as she ran towards the door, followed by her sisters, all who had tears running down their faces. The guys moved away from the door as it burst open with the girls running down the hall back to upstairs. They were about to go after them until the queen said.
"Gentlemen, a word, if you please…"
The colts and Spike gave worried glances, but Discord was scowling and crossing his arms as he floated to her, "Now look, here, Tia, you may have control over these guys, but I am my own being."
She scowled in return, "I'm more concerned for my daughter, Discord… Are you just using her to get to the throne or are you using her for something else…?"
"Oh, puh-leez! If I wanted Equestria, I would have done that by now! Why, would I stoop so low as to marry just a princess even if it's the princess you didn't choose as your heir. Now that would have be more of my game plan there if I was cruel enough to do that! No, because of the love from your daughter. Fluttershy has made me a better creature than before, which is why I am furious that you would do something like this to her!"
"I had no choice!"
"There's always a choice!"
"Discord!" Luna came between them, "Leave her alone!"
"You stay out of this, Lulu! This is just as much your fault as it is hers!"
As the powerful beings quarreled, the princesses were up in the bedroom crying their eyes out. As they wept, a black figure with glowing green eyes moved in the shadows of the room and casted a spell to have a green glowing orb appear in the middle of space. The girls stopped crying and slowly lifted their heads, each having a strange look on their face as if they were being mesmerized by the orb. The orb beckoned them to follow it and they slowly rose from their beds.
Spike was upset as he watched Discord fight with the queen and Princess Luna. The colts could only look on while being nervous. They were secretly hoping that Discord would win from them and the girls. Spike suddenly felt something was wrong. He couldn't put a claw on it, but something was up.
"Does any pony feel something's not right?"
Unexpectedly, Cheese's cheesy sense was acting up, "Wow-wee!" he vibrated, "T-That's-a-a-new-one!"
"Now that you mention it…" Soarin' scratched his head, "Something's bugging me. I can't place it…"
Flash looked around the room, using the instincts that he was taught to use in training. He said, "Something… is wrong here…"
"I say, that is strange…" Fancy said, "It feels like we're missing something…"
Discord was still in his heated battle of words when his body twitched uncontrollably. When it stopped, his face went white, literally.
Celestia's own face was paler if possible, recognizing his magical imbalance twitch, "Discord, what is-"
He raised his paw at her as he concentrated on where the imbalance was coming from. He whispered, "No…" He then shouted out in fright, "Fluttershy!" he levitated on out of there.
Spike said, "But… that means…"
The boys gave a look of dread and rushed out right behind the spirit. They all burst through the door calling each of the princesses' names, but when taking a good look around, it was… too late…