The Halcyon Days

by Ivo

Episode 3 - For Heart, Soul and Friendship

“Check!” she announced with a devilish grin. There is NO WAY to win this anymore, my dear friend! It needed dozens of plays, but this time, this one time, the winner finally is Twilight! TWILIGHT! MUAHAHAHAHA!
Those, at least, were the thoughts of the princess´ prized student…

The face of her eternal rival at all theoretical subjects kept blank. If the white colt at the table´s other side would´ve heard her thoughts, he may had laughed out loud.
He only held his chin with his fore hoof and mused about his next move.

The two friends sat in one of the school´s lounges with their soft red couches and the dark wooden tables and cabinets, a chess board in front of them. It was lunch time at the moment and like always since autumn had begun and the days had gotten rainy, the duo feud with each other at a chess match.
It was the favorite game of Twilight and Bleach and they played it nearly every day.
And now, after uncountable games, it really looked like the purple filly was winning the first time against the black-maned stallion and his white army!
Twilight had used her rook to check Bleach´s king. And he couldn´t move him, because her knights blocked his retreat.

After what felt like an eternity, the white colt finally took his left knight and placed it protective in front of his king.
“Hmmm…” Twilight murmured. That was surprising and she raised an eyebrow. She had thought he would use his bishop to protect his king. But maybe, she could…she took her own bishop and placed it in a way that he threatened Bleach´s queen and he had to move her back, to not lose her.
He only chuckled.
And that was the worst omen she could get!
He took his own rook and took her left rook, which was protected by her bishop before. “Check!” he announced slightly grinning.
“Grrr!” Twilight growled. She only could withdraw her king to the last line to safe him, because his queen blocked the third line.

About his next move, Bleach hadn´t to think long. He instantly took his queen and placed it in the last line, two squares away from Twilight´s king.
“Checkmate!” he cheered.
“DAMNED!” Twilight cursed. “And I was so close! I already got the match all sewn up! Damned, damned, DAMNED! Is there even only one possibility to beat you?”
“You only use strategies from your books, Twi! That´s your fault! They are way too predictable and it´s way too easy to see through them.” he explained. Twilight only sulked, crossing her forelegs and grimaced, snorting offended. Bleach only chuckled about her behavior. He couldn´t help, but she always looked so cute when she acted like this!
“Anyway, I´m always improvising and my strategies are always guided by the ones of my opponent. Chess is more than simple mathematics, you know?”
“Tse!” she hissed. “Egghead!”
“That´s rich, coming from you…” he hit back.
Twilight already wanted to hit back, too, until a voice interrupted her.

“Hey guys!” Silverleaf greeted them and trotted over to them wide-smiling. They turned around to face her.
“Hi Silv!” both greeted back their new friend.

Well, new really wasn´t the right word anymore. Since the bully-incident, it was one and a half month now! Since that, the trio became close friends with each other.
And even better: Silverleaf hadn´t any problems with the bullies anymore. Granted, they sometimes still tried to spite her with words, but she simply ignored it. Since Twilight and Bleach were her friends, she got way more self-confidence!

The silver filly rolled her eyes when she saw the chess board. “Oh, don´t tell me you are playing this stupid game again!”
“Chess isn´t a stupid game!” Twilight meant. “It´s a game of observation, concentration, strategy and intelligence, primary of intelligence!”
“Well, now that you mention that…I think I found what´s lacking you and why you´re always losing…” Bleach quipped sassy smirking. He ducked in his seat and the book, Twilight had thrown, missed him and landed on the ground behind him with a low thump. He looked after it before he turned back wide-grinning.
“Mi-hiss-HUMPF”
The second tome hit his face and overturned him in his armchair.

“Ough…” he groaned.
“Ouch…” Silverleaf commented dry. “…your own fault…”
Twilight only smirked satisfied with her revenge, watching Bleach rising back to his hooves.
“Owie…now I have a booboo…” he complained spurious tearfully. He though had to grin and held his head with his foreleg. “’The Academic Study of Amniomorphic Spells’…” he read aloud frowning, levitating the weighty tome in front of him. “…where the hay did you got that from?”
“From the library? You know I´m researching about Starswirl the Bearded for our history-homework.”
“Heavy reading matter…” he simply commented…

“Aaaaaaanyway…” Silverleaf interposed and caught her friends´ attention. “I wanted to ask you, Twi, if you are interested in a small trip to the Central City Center this afternoon for some window shopping! Our Bleachie-Weachie shouldn´t have time today, right?”
“’Bleachie-Weachie? Okay…I´ll just ignore that and only say: Right! Today´s Tuesday. You´re right, I have no time this afternoon…”
“And again, you won´t tell us, where you´re going, right?”
“Yep!” he grinned. Twilight only moaned annoyed. Every week the same! “Hey, don´t worry! I´ll tell you one day…”
And with these words, he put away the chess game back on the cabinet to the other games for the students to spent their time with and left the lounge, heading back for his class.

“A shopping trip…” Twilight smirked and rubbed her hooves. “…good distraction, Silv…”
“Distraction? Why distraction?” the green-maned filly asked confused. “I was serious! Why do you want to spy behind him? He sure has his reasons to keep it secretly!”
Blankly, the princess´ student looked at her friend. “Do you really believe him, he would tell us one day? He always says that! And we´re still in the dark!”
“Why you don´t trust him? What´s a friendship built on distrust?”
“Oh, come on, Silv! I sure trust him, but…aren´t you curious, too? I mean: Every Tuesday, Bleach simply leaves us alone and doesn´t tell us anything! If it´s really that secretly, he should have enough trust to share it with us, don´t you think so? I mean: Who is the distrusting one? He or I? For real friends, there are no secrets!”
Silverleaf didn´t argue. She knew, she wouldn´t change Twilight´s mind when she´s determined like that.

“Okay…” she finally sighed resigning. “What´s your plan?...”

A door audible shot close.

“Hi mommy! Hi daddy!” a foal greeted her parents in the kitchen with the sky-blue cupboards and white marbled floor. They greeted back and heard her child trotting into her chamber.
Another closing door.
After three minutes of silence the door opened again and the foal trotted past the kitchen back to the entrance room.
“Bye mommy! Bye daddy!”
Now, they frowned.

“Hey, young lady!” a male voice called and stopped the filly in her way outside in the threshold. She sighed and turned around for her father, who left the kitchen to face his daughter with a curious look.
“What is it, daddy?” she asked impatiently.
“Can you please tell me and your mother, where you think you´re going this early?” the light blue stallion asked.
“Um…outside?” she hit back perky.
“And what are you going to do outside?” her mother questioned curious, leaving the kitchen too and joining them. “Isn´t Tuesday today? I thought, your special somepony hasn´t time on Tuesdays.”

“UUUUUGHH…” Not this again! “He is NOT my special somepony! Why everypony says this?” the purple filly asked annoyed.
“Well, you can´t deny that you´re spending very much time together!” the mare with the purple-white-striped mane argued cheeky.
“He is my best friend! And nothing more!”
“Your father once was my best friend, too.” Her smile grew wide and she nuzzled her husband. “And now, we are married and have two beautiful children! Right?”
“Right.” Twilight´s father agreed and locked his lips with his wife´s.
“Eeeeewww…” was the purple filly´s reaction and made a disgusted face. “Okay, I´m outta here! And anyway: That doesn´t mean anything!” she hit back defiantly.

She already wanted to turn around and go, but her mother held her back.
“Wait, my little sweetie! Won´t you, at least, please tell us, where you´re going?”
“To the Central City Center with Silverleaf.” was the short answer.
“And you want to go there without eating something?” her father asked tempting. “We thought you would like to stay and to take coffee with us. We bought a delicious chocolate cake at the city, baked at that famous bakery, what was its name…” He mused playful, leaned over to his daughter and whispered in his tempting voice:
“…Sugar Cube Corner?”
Twilight perked her ears.
Her father leaned back, cocking an eyebrow. “Sure you don´t want to stay for one or two pieces of that delicious cake?”

Twilight only sighed, turned around, rolled her eyes and smiled with gleeful anticipation…

“Focsh tho mhoushe, focsh tho mhoushe, chome hin pleashe!”
“What the hay took you that long? He had already left his home fifteen minutes ago! And why have I to be the mouse and…are you munching?”

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, swallowing the last bit of the chocolate cake, levitating a small walkie-talkie in front of her. The original plan had been that she and Silverleaf would´ve met behind a bush opposite to Bleach´s cottage. But her parents had changed that plan…
So, she was now aimlessly searching the busy roads of Canterlot for her friends.

“I was caught up in a discussion with my parents.” she finally explained her friend on the other walkie-talkie.
“And I am the fox because it was my plan to take advantage of your parents´ appointments and to let you shadow him after school´s out. And you are the mouse, because you are the sneaking one!” she explained. “And you´re grey…” she added joking.
“Thank you…by the way: I am silver, not grey! There´s a big difference!” she answered sore and stubborn. “Anyway…and the munching?”
“My parents bought cake and convinced me to stay for a piece.”
“I hope you´ve at least one piece for me, for that reason alone that I had to lurk for ten minutes in that bush between thorns and thistles! You should see my coat! I am a mess! And you know I am normally not the most conceited pony!”
“Of course!” Twilight placated her friend. “My parents gave me two pieces for us, one for you and one for me. You can have both, if you want…”
“Thank you…” Silverleaf answered lukewarm.

“Where are you at the moment?” Twilight questioned into her walkie-talkie when she reached the next crossroads.
“Umm…wait a moment…” some clip-clopping sounds. “In fact, I am right behind you!” she replied and the purple filly felt simultaneous a hoof slap on her back. She frowned and turned back.
“BOO!”
She yelped surprised, but a grey hoof was instantly stuck in her muzzle. “Hush! Or do you want him to hear us?” Silverleaf explained and pointed to the other side of the street. There, between the other passing ponies, Twilight occasionally saw the white coat and the black mane of Bleach.
“I didn´t pursue him till here unnoticed, only to be caught now because of an alleged fox who couldn´t hold back a noise! You´re not a very sly fox…” she smirked.
Twilight only rolled her eyes and removed her friend´s hoof out of her muzzle, looking her over. The silver filly was covered with leaves and brier wood, her coat was blowzed and her usual grass-green mane with the white streak ruffled. Her silver leaf-formed hair barrette hung slack between two streaks.
Twilight couldn´t help but giggle and couldn´t stifle a bold comment:
“Ou, you finally decided to tailor your look to your name?”
“Twilight…” she replied sinister. “You are living very dead dangerous…”
She though had to giggle when she looked down herself. “Okay, you´re right. I really am a mess!”

“Anyway…do you know where he´s going to?” the scholar came back to topic.
“First the cake!”
“UUUUGH…okay…” She levitated a small box out of her saddlebag and gave it her friend. The silver filly instantly opened the box and levitated out one piece of the cake and took a big bite.
“Okay…now: Do you know where he wants to go?”
…
…
…
“WOW, dath chake tashtsh reeeeaally goooood!”
“SILVERLEAF!”
The silver filly swallowed, savoring every bit of the sweet chocolate-flavor and licked her lips.
“Mmmmmh…Oh! Uhm…no. I don´t know where he´s going. I followed him to his home after school. There, he was for about a quarter and then, he left and headed straight forward for…well, that´s what I don´t know yet.” she reported.
“Then let´s figure that out! Come on! We´re losing him!” Twilight urged and together, they continued pursuing the white colt…

After only a few more crossroads the two fillies knew, what Bleach was heading for: the school pile. But why? Maybe he´s a secret student of Celestia and is practicing here with her! Twilight thought. That´d explain why he could keep up with me at magic so easily…
Suddenly, lost in her thought, she was stopped by the grey filly in front of her and pulled into a shrubbery next to them. For a short moment, Twilight´s world was hued in green and rustling sounds.
“He has stopped…”Silverleaf analyzed whispering. Finally, the purple filly managed to get a good view of the scene in front of her and perked her ears.

She was very curious for what was coming and what was Bleach here for…

Bleach had stopped on a meadow near the school building. He was waiting and watched his surroundings.
It was a sunny day and a softly blowing breeze wafted through the grass and his coat. Colorful flowers bowed in the wind. A low rustling came from the trees around, which bore red and yellow leaves. It was peaceful…
…too peaceful!
He perked his ears, closing his eyes. There was something behind him! A very low rustling and a low but heavy thump! He opened his eyes again and suddenly noticed a saddlebag leaning against a near tree.
Bleach smirked…
…and suddenly ducked down.

Only one second later, the tip of a dagger cut the air where his head had been before. One single black hair sailed slowly to the ground.
“Nice try…” he commented and twisted rapidly, positioned himself behind his enemy and bucked him. The momentum of his failed attack and the kick added and made him tumble a few steps forward. Bleach instantly rose to his hind hooves and loosed one of his magical pulses at his enemy, but he blocked it with his own magic.
“Way to predictable!” the deep male voice annotated and instantly, Bleach was hit by a wave of magic he wasn´t prepared for. He flew backwards and landed groaning on the soft grass.
Expecting not another attack, he reluctant rose to his hooves and faced his ‘enemy’.

“But otherwise, you´re getting better.” his father, the white stallion with the short blue mane praised him. “Nevertheless you´re still way too stormy and ignoring your defense! A magical shield would´ve protected you from my attack! And moreover, you could´ve seen my attack if you wouldn´t have forgotten what…?” he asked in a teacher´s voice.
“Changing my vision?” Bleach sighed and his father nodded.
“Exactly! Okay, after we clarified that: Let´s waste no time and come to our today´s lesson, which will be…?”
“Observation and sensory acuity?” Bleach guessed and the white stallion nodded again.
“Affirmative! Being a good fighter doesn´t only comprise knowing good patterns of attacking and defending. You also need patience and sensitivity for your surroundings and your enemy! You have to know, when you are in danger and when it´s safe! And you too have to learn, when it´s time to attack and when you should keep yourself in defense! And forget this stupid ‘offense is the best defense’-proverb! Got that?”

Bleach listened keen-eared to his father´s words and nodded.
“Alright! Then let´s come to our first practice to warm up. Effectively it´s the same thing we already did: You´ll stand alone blindfolded and I´ll attack you from anywhere. Listen very well to your surrounding! Every single noise, every scent, they all give you hints from where I´m attacking. You´ll not know, when or from which side I´m attacking, so keep keen-eared, okay?”
“Okay!” the colt answered determined.
“Then let´s get started! But first…” His horn began to glow and out of his saddlebag near the tree he levitated a blindfold and two belts with totally four wooden daggers, one belt for him and one for Bleach. Both put their belts on. The colt snorted about the wooden blades.
“After you found me: running battle, okay?”
“Why can´t we use real daggers?” he complained
“Safety.” his father simply replied. “I know you and you know yourself. I´ll only pretend, that you do something you´ll regret later.”
“Okay…” he sighed and his father trotted off. Similar to that, he put on the blindfold and his world went black.

But that only sharpened his other senses.
He took a deep calm breath and collected himself. He registered the scent of the roses around him, mixed with a waft of violets. That was a little bit strange, because he knew there weren´t growing any violets on the meadow. Though, the mix smelled very good and he took a few more deep breaths to savor the fragrance composition.
He also noticed the wind stroking through his coat and the bowing grass and flowers tickling his hooves. Maybe the breeze carried the scent of the violets to him.
He heard a harmonious melody, created by the susurration of the leaves and the grass. Some blackbirds sang a peaceful song in perfect harmony.
But suddenly, something made them lose their rhythm!
And then, there was a faint, nearly inaudible dissonance in the grass´ rustling!
And a very low thump!

Bleach only smirked. His father once had been better at sneaking. Or he maybe was just going easy on him for their warm-up.
Anyway, he waited until the dissonance´s source was right behind him and blinked under his blindfold. This time, his father wouldn´t surprise him with his magic! He waited for the perfect moment and then, with one flowing movement, he removed the blindfold with his magic, drew his daggers and twisted around…

…and was instantly dazzled with light!

His eyes burned, his pupils narrowed; it was like he was looking directly into the sun after being for hours in a dark cellar!
He screamed with pain and surprise, shaded his eyes with his hooves and fell on his back, the two daggers dropped to the ground.
“Surprise!” two female voices announced.
The white colt only whined and groaned, waiting for the stinging pain´s abatement. Reluctant, he rose back to his hooves, still squinting, a colorful point dancing in the middle of his gaze.

The two fillies in front of him only frowned about his behavior.
“Are you all right?” Twilight asked concerned.
“What the hay are you two doing here!” he shouted obviously upset. “Did you spy on me?”
“Well…”
“It was all Twi´s idea!” Silverleaf tattled pointing at the purple filly. “She wanted to spy on you to explore what you´re doing on Tuesdays!”
“Thank you for defending me Silv…” Twilight commented with irony.
“If I´m a mouse, I´m a rat!”
The purple filly only rolled her eyes.

“Anyway…So you train here with your dad every Tuesday. But…why? And…” she frowned. “…had your eyes been purple a few moments ago?”
“Err…Uh…I…I, uh…” he stuttered struck.
Her eyes went wide with sudden realization and she gasped. “You…You are one of them, right?” she asked excited.
“Uhm…”
“Oh my GOSH! You are one of them!” she shouted with glee and bounced. “Ohmyohmyohmy, this is SOOOOO awesome!” she squeaked.
Bleach only sighed resigning and the silver filly only frowned.
“Uhm…Could you please explain to me, what´s so awesome?”
“Ooooh, don´t tell me you don´t know them, Silverleaf! Where are you coming from? From under a rock? Don´t say you don´t know the Auraknights! The coolest, bravest, most powerful, most famous, most handsome, most incredible, most awesome…”
“I got it Twi…”
“…simply greatest warriors and personal lifeguards of princess Celestia!”

There was a short silence, ignoring the girlish squeaks of the bouncing purple filly. She settled down a little bit when she saw the less cheery faces of her friends and stopped bouncing.
“And…what makes these ‘Auraknights’ so special after all?” the still messy filly quizzed.
“Oh, didn´t you hear me? They-“
“I think it´s better to let me explain it…” Bleach cut in, sat down and took a deep breath.
“Auraknights…as Twi said, they are an old line of guardians and since centuries the personal lifeguards of our princess. Originally, the Auraknights were founded by four brothers during the Nightmare Moon-incident about 1000 years ago. They had been normal soldiers, until Celestia found out about their special gift and introduced them into her personal service.
This gift of nature is what they simply called ‘Auravision’. It´s a special color spectrum we can use to see magical sources, energies and their aura. Nopony ever knew where this freak of nature came from. It´s a mystery.
Anyway, the possibility to see this color spectrum caused the possibility to use these magical auras and energies and to form new spells with them. My magical pulse and shield, you already saw before, were only two common possibilities to form this kind of magic.”
“And why did you react so strange, when you saw us?” Twilight asked curious.
“That´s simple to explain: Every time I change my view into this spectrum, my eyes become purple as some kind of side effect. As you already noticed, I was in that spectrum when I saw you.
Well, imagine every magical energy and aura glows in a different color and intensity, conditional to its strength. And your magical stock is simply tremendous! It was like looking into a shining sun and burned my eyes! That´s why I acted the way I did.”
“Really? Wow! I didn´t know that, sorry…”
“No need to excuse.”

“Sounds like it must be really cool being an Auraknight, isn´t it!” Silverleaf meant after a while, laying down on the grass and trying to remove some brier wood out of her coat.
Bleach just looked at her blank. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I´m not an Auraknight yet.”
“No?” Twilight asked puzzled. “But you have this special Auravision, so you have to be one, don´t you?”
He chuckled in response. “It´s way more complicated as you think! Yes, I have this special gift, but that doesn´t mean I´m a real Auraknight!”
“Then why are you training here with your father?”
“Because of preparing myself for my ‘entry exam’. Being an Auraknight isn´t only a title, it´s a life task. A destiny! I have to fight against one of the best young Royal Guards-trainee and if I earn my cutie-mark during this battle, I´ll become trainee of my father. But if there´s no cutie-mark on my flank after the battle, I´ll never again get the chance to become an Auraknight!
And that´s why I´m really nervous! Princess Celestia and the high generals and the captain of the Royal Guard will be there! And my father, of course, too! What if I disappoint him? What if there is no cutie-mark on my flank after the fight´s end? He would banish me to the other world´s end!”

Silverleaf and Twilight glanced at each other and looked at her slightly shivering friend.
“So that´s why you won´t tell us all the time…” the princess´ student concluded ashamed. “You wanted to keep your pressure to perform as low as possible and now, you also won´t to disappoint us, right?” And that´s also why he understood my situation that good when we met first…he was in the same situation! she added silently.
He only nodded, looking to the ground.

“No crying over split milk…” somepony behind them sighed.

Bleach´s father had watched the situation the whole time from the distance. Bleach and his friends turned around to face the voice´s owner, who was trotting over to them.
“You shouldn´t rack your brain because of the stupid worry to may disappoint somepony! Your mother and I, we both love you just as you are and we will always love you, regardless if you´re becoming an Auraknight or not! We´ll always be proud of you, whether you´re becoming an Auraknight or a show-dancer. Always remember that, okay?” he asked and nuzzled his son encouraging and comforting.
“And your friends will see it just the same way, right?”
“Right!” both nodded beaming and Twilight added: “”We already liked you when we didn´t know anything about your fate and we´ll still like you, if you´re not becoming an Auraknight!”
“Thank you…just…thank you!” he said wide-smiling, a small tear streming down his cheek.
“Dawww…Group hug!” Silverleaf announced and instantly hugged her friends.

The white stallion only smiled, turned around and trotted of, picking up his saddlebag.
“Hey, where are you going? My lesson isn´t over yet!”
“I´ll release you for today.” he replied over his shoulder. "Go playing with your friends and clear your head. And don´t forget to be back till dinner, okay?”

Cheering about these words, the trio galloped off laughing…

“Che-heck!”
“Grrr…”
“Wanna give up?”
“Never! Let´s see…”

Two more rounds…

“CHECKMATE! Yesyesyesyesyeeeees! I did it!” the purple filly cheered bouncing, announcing her victory throughout the school.
“Congratulations, Twi…” Bleach congratulated her, laughing at her bouncing around the table.

“Hey guys!” Silverleaf greeted her friends when she entered the lounge and frowned, pointing at the springing purple filly. “What´s up with her?”
“She won the first time at chess…”
“I didn´t only win, I destructed you!” she cheered.
The white colt only chuckled. “If you think so…”
“Does that mean you´ll finally stop playing that stupid game?” the silver filly asked hopefully.
“Maybe…We´ll see.” Twilight replied, stopping bouncing.

“Anyway, now that we are complete: I have to show you something!” she announced and turned around to levitate a small book out of her saddlebag, which rested next to the table with the chess board.
Silverleaf frowned. “A book?” she asked curious. “What´s so special about it?”
“It is a short summary of the Royal Guard´s history! My brother once gave it to me, you know?”
“Aha…And what´s so special now?” the silver filly urged her to go on. Bleach only listened to Twilight keen-eared and interested.
“Well, it also has a part about the history of the Auraknights. I already forgot that I had it! And yesterday, I searched it after I was back at home and read it. Well, at least the ‘Auraknight-part’. And whilst reading, I found that!”

With these words she opened the book and showed a page with four pictures to her friends.
The first showed four ponies, stretching one of their fore hooves and meeting them in the middle like they would shake hooves with each other.
The second showed the four ponies, lowering their hooves to the floor and bowing their heads. Beneath the picture, there was a small text:
From the ground…
The third picture showed the ponies raising their still connected hooves over their heads and followed them with their gaze.
…our souls fly high!
The last picture showed them on their hind legs, leaning against each other with their backs and their hooves still connected high in the air.
Together they´ll reach the sky! the text beneath the picture announced.

Silverleaf´s eyes widened. “Is this…”
“Yes it is! A closet hoofshake! The closet hoofshake of the four brothers, which founded the Auraknight-line!”
“And you think we could use it as our secret hoofshake?” Bleach asked excited.
Twilight beamed and nodded. “Exactly! What do you think?”
“I think it´s great! Way better than the last one Silv suggested! Way less complicated, without these countless twists and turns!”
“Tse!” was her response. “Only because you can´t distinguish between a twist and a turn!” She snorted. “But anyway…this looks interesting. Let´s try it!”
“Yay!” cheered Twilight.

“Okay…” she then started to explain and laid the book on the ground. “We have to make it exactly like the ponies in the pictures. Though, we are only three, but that´s not important. Did you read the words beneath the pictures? We have to say them during doing the respective part of the hoofshake, okay?”
“Got it!” both answered nodding.
“Good! Just one last thing: Auraknights are some kind of knights, right? I mean, that´s why they are called Auraknights, don´t they? And knights are always fighting for something. So…before we stretch our hooves, we have to announce what we are fighting for, okay?” the purple filly explained and her friends just nodded.
“Okay! Let´s try it!”

They positioned themselves and mused about what they were fighting for. Silverleaf was the first who got an idea and stretched her right fore hoof.
“For our steady beating hearts and the love within them!” she announced beaming.
Bleach cooked an eyebrow. He really hadn´t expected such profound words from her. Shortly after that, he also stretched his hoof, meeting Silverleafs and announced:
“For our undying souls!”
Twilight hadn´t to think very long after that. Wide-smiling, she stretched her hoof too, connecting it with the ones of her friends and announced:
“For our everlasting friendship!”
They looked at each other and nodded. Yes, those were good choices!

And so, they imitated the ponies on the pictures, chorusing:
“From the ground
our souls fly high!
Together they´ll reach the sky!”

And with a final high-hoof, their closet hoofshake was decided and pronounced…