//------------------------------//
// Chapter 51: Rainbow Power 
// Story: Secrets of the Everfree 
// by PaisleyPerson 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 51
Rainbow Power


“Well... what about Princess Essence? Do you think she could help?” Still waiting and trapped in our bubbles, we had plenty of time to try and conjure up escape plans.
“Probably. She is an extremely powerful destral princess. Unless Tirek’s already gotten to her, too?” We all looked at Discord for confirmation. He dismissively waved a paw.
“No, no, I don’t think he even knows about her yet. She never came up in conversation, anyway.”
“Why should we trust anything he says?” Rainbow groaned. “He already sold us out. For all we know, he could be spying for Tirek right now! What if that ‘betrayal’ thing was all an act?”
“Rainbow Dash, I don’t approve of what he’s done either, but I think he’s telling the truth this time,” Fluttershy quietly sighed. 
“Okay, back to Princess Essence. How do we contact her?”
“WE CAN’T!” eight irritated voices shouted back.
“There has to be some way to warn her!”
“I think the ground shaking under Tirek’s weight will be enough,” Rainbow jibed. 
“We are kinda right on her doorstep,” Applejack pointed out. “She’ll probably catch on herself.”
“Let’s hope,” I sighed, folding my hooves and leaning against the bubble.
“We’ll get out of this,” Torchwood assured beside me. I smiled and rolled over to face him. I pressed my hoof to the barrier. 
“Together,” I agreed. He reached out to touch my hoof, but was inhibited by the bubble.
“Whoa!” 
“Hey!” I flipped back around to see a bright light welling up in the middle of all our bubbles.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Tele-” Discord didn’t get a chance to finish before we were instantly whisked away.  “-port.” 
Unlike most teleports I’d undergone, we seemed to exist in some sort of white void for a moment before flickering back into existence above Tirek. Twilight was also down below, facing off with the centaur. We appeared to have interrupted their showdown, for she looked almost as tired and beat up as the surrounding terrain.
“Their release for all the alicorn magic in Equestria,” Tirek demanded. Now I understood what he needed us for. We were nothing but bargaining chips in his eyes. “What’s it going to be?”
“Don’t do it, Twilight!”
“You can’t!”
“We’re alright, sugar cube!”
“Don’t worry about us!”
“Charcoal.” My voice came out as a croak. Though I realized it was completely unreasonable for her to give Tirek the one thing that could make him unstoppable, There was an innocent child- my child!- at stake here. “Charcoal!” I cried again, more loudly this time. He had stopped crying, and was curiously looking down at the world from this new perspective. It would have been adorable under different circumstances.
“We aren’t worth it,” Fluttershy quietly wept.
“Oh, but you are, Fluttershy,” Discord quietly spoke. “You’re the pony that taught me friendship is magic. I had magic and friendship... and now I don’t have either.”
“ENOUGH! I want an answer, and I want it NOW!” We all held our breath as Twilight considered the offer. Meanwhile, I prayed for a miracle, if just to save my son. After an eternity, Twilight finally spoke.
“I will give you my magic in exchange for my friends,” she boldly proclaimed. The rest of us gasped in shock, astonishment, and in my case, relief.
“As you wish,” Tirek triumphantly chuckled. With a snap of his fingers, our bubbles dropped to the ground and popped. Luckily, my bubble popped just before Charcoal’s, giving me just enough time to leap out and catch him. Torchwood also rushed over, and embraced the two of us. The baby gurgled happily upon finally seeing his father again. When we looked around to make sure everyone else was alright, it was noted that Discord had not yet been released. He kept his back turned and refused to look at any of us, hunched over in his tiny bubble.
“ALL of my friends,” Twilight demanded again.
“After the way he has betrayed you, you still call him a friend?” Tirek exclaimed. 
“RELEASE HIM!”
“If that’s what you want...” With one last snap, Discord was brought crashing back to the ground.
“Thank you, Twilight,” Discord humbly said. Then he turned back to Fluttershy. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.” I sighed. Even Fluttershy had forgiven him... or at least I thought she had. I gave Charcoal over to Torchwood and marched over to the draconequus. He seemed to know that he was about to endure my wrath, put presented no opposition. I lifted a wing and roughly cuffed him behind the ear. He took the blow without so much as a whimper, accepting it as just punishment for his crimes. What he wasn’t expecting was for me to pick him up and practically drape him over my shoulder in a hug. 
“Don’t you ever do that again,” I lovingly scolded. It took a moment before he returned the hug. 
“I won’t.” 
“Your turn,” Tirek greedily growled, targeting Twilight with his magic. The power was ripped right from her horn
“Yah....aaah....aaaAAAaaah!” the princess quietly whimpered, trying not to complain too much in order to hold up her end of the deal.
“Twi,” I tearfully shuddered. Torchwood’s wing curled around me once more, and I took refuge in his presence. At last, the blank-flanked Twilight toppled, tiredly blinking dull, lifeless gray eyes. 
“REAH.... RAAAAAAAAAH!” Tirek bellowed, springing to twice, no, thrice his previous size upon acquiring the most powerful magic in Equestria. Tirek was no longer concerned with us, and we were now free to check up on our friend.
“Twilight,” Spike gently helped up his friend. “What were you thinking?!”
“Tirek tricked me into thinking he could offer me something more valuable than friendship,” Discord remorsefully admitted. “But there is nothing worth more. I see that now. He lied when he said this medallion was a sign of his gratitude and loyalty, but when I say that it’s a sign of our true friendship, I am telling the truth.” Discord carefully, even ceremoniously lifted the medallion back over his head, and draped it around Twilight’s neck.
“Ya think that might be the last one we need?” Applejack wondered.
“Last what?” Torch whispered. I giggled. 
“Fill you in later.”
“We have to get to the chest,” Twilight directed. She took the lead, and the rest of the group charged after her. 
“You should get Charcoal to a safe place,” I advised.
“And what about you? Are you just going to run off into danger again?”
“I don’t have a choice. Equestria is depending on this.”
“We’re a family. We’ll get through this together,” Torchwood took my hoof. “And after this is all put behind us, we’ll go back for Blaze and be whole again. Alright?”
“I don’t want Char anywhere near that Tirek,” I insisted.
“Don’t worry. We’ll hang back and show Charcoal what a brave, tough, monster-fighting-pro his mama is. Right, pal?”
“Ma MA!” he clapped. I giggled, and pressed my nose to his. 
“Okay. But be safe.” I took off at top speed to catch up, and Torchwood kept us in sight but had to keep a slower pace for Charcoal’s sake.
I ended up taking the lead through the Everfree simply because I knew it so well. I vaguely noticed how unnaturally quiet the place seemed. Princess Essence’s doing or Tirek’s? Either way, it unsettled me. And speaking of the destral princess, where was she?
Though I had taken the lead, we all entered the Tree of Harmony’s hidden gorge about the same time. Unfortunately for us, this almost caused a pile-up when I had to make a sudden stop. The destral princess, mane still flowing and radiating with power, stood at the base of the steps.
“Princess?”
“Hello, Princess Twilight and friends. It is good to see you again.”
“Princess Essence!” Twilight pushed her way to the front of the pack to formally greet her fellow princess. “You’re alright!”
“Thestrals were ‘extinct’ by the time Lord Tirek and his brother first attempted to steal Equestrian magic,” Essence explained. “I do not believe he knows I exist. I have managed to remain hidden here under the safety of the tree.”
“Thank goodness he hasn’t gotten to you, too. He’s already taken all the alicorn magic in Equestria. Who knows what he would do with destral magic too!”
“Indeed.”
“Is destral magic as strong as alicorn magic?” Rarity asked. 
“Can you defeat Tirek?” Dash added.
“No, no,” Essence sadly shook her head. “Even I cannot match the equivalent power of four alicorns.”
“But you’re connected to the Tree of Harmony! That’s the most powerful known magic!”
“Is it?” Essence lifted an eyebrow. She gracefully turned, and regally walked with us to the chest. “I am connected to the Tree, yes, but the Tree is also connected to the Elements, which are connected to you. We all share it’s power.”
“So what you’re sayin’ is that we all gotta work together to defeat this guy?”
“In a way, I suppose you could say that, Applejack,” the princess mused. “You must all work together to defeat Lord Tirek.”
“It’s up to us?” Pinkie exclaimed. “Gee, no pressure or anything!”
“The Tree of Harmony does possess powerful magic,” Essence laughed, “but I can only tap into a small portion of this power. Only you can unleash enough power to stop Tirek once and for all.”
“With the magic of friendship!” Twilight’s eyes widened. 
“Exactly,” Essence beamed. The ground trembled above us as Tirek continued rampaging. We all nervously looked up as the walls began to crumble, Essence included. “Hurry, now. There is no time to lose.” 
“What about you?” We watched in stunned horror as Princess Essence rushed out the way we’d just come in. 
“I cannot unleash the power of friendship myself, but I can use the Tree’s power to buy you some time. Come, Jasper, with me!” As I’d seen her do once before, her wooden armor disassembled to become a fearsome timberwolf. It snarled in defiance and charged after her, willing to do anything for its master.
We hurried to the chest as Essence had instructed, Torchwood, Charcoal, Discord and Spike, as promised, keeping their distance. Twilight held Discord’s amulet up to the chest, where, like the rest of our trinkets, was accepted and transformed into a gleaming golden key. Twilight proudly looked it over before the battle above caused her to regain focus.
“Together! I think we have to do this together,” she proclaimed. With affirmative nods from all around, we all stepped up, gripped our keys, and simultaneously turned them. The chest began to hum and glow, and finally fired off a pale rainbow... almost. As a stickler for color, I noticed with some confusion (and mostly irritation) that the colors were off. This wasn’t a genuine spectrum! Purple, blue, -GRAY AND WHITE?!- yellow, orange, and pink all made up this imposter rainbow. How was gray or white even possible? Granted, upon closer examination the gray did appear to have a tint of blue to it, but it was still too dull to be included in a rainbow. These were neutral colors, really considered not a color at all by some. As an artistic pony, I’d sometimes been teased about having a gray coat as a filly...
My coat color.
Rarity’s coat color.
Fluttershy’s coat color. 
Applejack’s coat color.
Pinkie Pie’s coat color.
Rainbow’s coat color.
Twilight’s coat color.
They each made up a stripe of the rainbow shooting from our chest. Don’t tell me that’s coincidence.
The ‘rainbow’ arched over to the tree, striking right in the center of the Element of Magic at the heart of the tree. From there, the power seemed to flow right through the branches, interconnecting to all of our minor elements. In turn, the power from our elements shot out as beams of light to each of us. I felt new power being restored to my body, and welcomed the invigorating energy. 
Wait, too much energy!
My body became so full of the current that it was being overtaken. I became the energy! Reduced to a pulsing orb of glowing light, we all felt ourselves being sucked into another one of those mysterious voids, not unlike the one Essence had used to switch us back to our rightful bodies or Tirek’s odd teleportation method. Even magical bubbles surrounded us againn. Only, instead of the fear and confusion inflicted by Tirek, we all felt safe, reassuring vibes, perhaps from the Tree itself. Surrounded in a blue-ish gray orb, I let the magic run its course, reworking me, transforming me. When I opened my eyes again, my friends and I had all rematerialized into solid forms, but looking completely different than before. Everypony else had streaks of new color in their hair, often the twisted-rainbow color scheme but not always. Feathered wings had been decorated with new layers of color, accessories had been upgraded, and our hooves were decorated with the most interesting markings. Even our cutie marks had been enhanced; three-part cutie marks had been consolidated to one large mark and accented by tiny symbols. 
I was no exception. Though I had no feathers, white, fiery patterns adorned the edges of my wing membrane and my hooves, though the flames were outlined with a blue glow (I again noticed fire rather than paint). My mane had not only grown longer, but was now streaked with large stripes of white and accented with smaller strips of orange to add a pop of color. My white hair ties had been upgraded to silvery-blue ribbons with extra-long, free-flowing tail ends. Even my beloved beret gifted to me by Rarity had been enhanced; it lost not only the plaid pattern but the worn, fuzzy texture altogether, replaced by a silky, new-looking royal violet hat. Though my cutie mark hadn’t really changed much, give for a few extra paint platters and a glowing blue backdrop.
Meanwhile, Twilight had gained sparkling, star-spangled hooves ever so faintly dipped in pink, and a few extra twinkling lights in her cutie mark. Her wings were striped with bold layers of pink and purple, and seemed to have increased slightly in size. Her mane was long and flowing, striped yellow, pink and purple.
Rainbow Dash’s mane and tail both were wild and free, blown back like some sort of gigantic rainbow lightning bolt. Indeed, multicolored bolts lined her dark blue tinged hooves, cutie mark, and even the corners of her eyes. Her wings were now layered with the entire spectrum of colors, red at the interior and gradually making its way to purple.
Rarity’s mane grew as well, but had also gained three additional layers of curls. Four were now stacked atop one another draping down her neck, and the big one arching over her eyes had merely increased in size, now with pink, blue, and yellow stripes running down the middle. Blue, purple and yellow gems bedazzled her ankles with one by her eye as well.
Applejack’s blond hair gained red and pink stripes, had filled out a bit, and was now tied with shiny green ribbons. An apple button decorated her favorite stetson, which also looked to be in better condition. Her hooves were red-tipped and speckled with apples.
Fluttershy  looked more beautiful and graceful than ever, with a full flowing mane of pink, purple, bold teal, light blue, and orange. She was positively covered in butterflies, all over her legs and flanks. Her hooves were just barely edged in pink, as were her wings, though an interior layer of feathers was outlined in teal.
Lastly, wild Pinkie Pie’s mane had exploded into a pink, blue, orange and yellow mess, partially contained by a new hair clip. It resembled a blue ribbon with a yellow star in the middle. Her hooves were tinged yellow, which made pink and blue balloons stand out a little better. 
The magic was still keeping us airborne, but now that the transformation had been completed and unlocked our full power, we finally rose into the sky. The energy pulsed around us like unbreakable protective shielding. Tirek sure wanted to put this to the test, however. Upon spotting this new opponent, he immediately lost interest in blank-flanked Essence, who was mourning her shattered timberwolf, and concentrated his fire on us. It didn’t even put a dent to our shield.
“How is this possible? You have no magic!” he angrily, perhaps even nervously cried.
“You’re wrong, Tirek! I may have given you my alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all!” Twilight began to harness our full power, unleashing it one beam at a time. The seven threads latched onto Tirek, and finally drew taught to recreate a replica of the ‘rainbow.’ By the way he grunted and growled and even began to shrink, I could only assume he was getting a taste of his own medicine. At last, the power imprisoned him in a cell not unlike the one we had been caged in, and banished him back to his rightful place in Tartarus.
The girls and I all exchanged mutual grins of success, pride and sheer joy. We were somehow tied into the Tree’s magic both physically and mentally, and it was like I could feel what the Tree planned to do next. In order to restore harmony and power, it would emit a pulse strong enough to send us all across Equestria so we could return Tirek’s stolen magic to their rightful owners. As I would know best how to restore thestral abilities, my work would be focused around the Everfree. 
The pulse was quickly building enough energy to send us off. But first, I beamed down to my husband, who foolishly smiled back. I waved him up. 
“Come on!”
“Me? I-I don’t think I’m supposed to-”
“Oh, come on! The Tree won’t mind!” I swooped down to grab his hoof just before the pulse sent us off. 
“Whoa!” As soon as the pulse washed over him, Torchwood’s cutie mark returned, and he was able to sail along through the sky beside me. Charcoal straddled his neck, and laughed hysterically as the wind fluffed his mane. We first whizzed past Essence, who proudly beamed on as the magic repaired Jasper. 
I was supposed to be restoring peace and harmony, and I did feel the Tree’s power flowing through my body, but I was too preoccupied with my husband to really notice. We soared, childishly spinning and frolicking through the sky, playing with Charcoal and giving him his first taste of flight. He loved it. It felt so good to have Torchwood back, nothing else mattered.
But all good things must come to an end, and the Tree eventually summoned us back, landing us all right back where we started. Everyone exchanged nods of satisfaction over a job well done. Yet, the magic had not yet completely run its course. The unlocked chest rumbled and shook, emitting one last ‘rainbow’ that burst through the roof and carried the chest with it.
“Where’s it going?”
“Well, come on, y’all! Let’s get on after it!” Applejack was rearing to go, but it was a magical teleport that caught us up to the relocated chest rather than our own hooves or wings. Finally having successfully completed our mission, harnessing the tree’s power was no longer required, and in a shimmer of energy, our transformations were lifted. I was regular old Acrylic again.
The teleport had landed us in front of an enormous castle on the edge of Ponyville no one remembered seeing before. The architecture was very closely based on that of a tree, with massive, twisting roots and branches supporting the rooms. The trunk almost appeared crystalline, with a giant spire that resembled Twilight’s cutie mark proudly standing in the back.
“Sweet Celestia! Are you all seeing what I’m seeing?” Rarity exclaimed. 
“But... whose is it?” Twilight wondered. 
“I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight.” Princess Celestia appeared behind us, accompanied by Luna, Cadance, Essence, Jasper, Spike, and even Discord.
“Wowie zowie! A castle all to yourself?!” Pinkie burst. “THIS IS SO EXCITING!”
“I’m sure you are as eager as we are to see the interior,” Luna prompted, taking a few steps forward.
“Indeed,” Essence concurred, donning Jasper as armor once more before proceeding.
“O-of course,” Twilight agreed, still getting over the fact that she now had a castle to herself. Torchwood and I both chuckled before following after them, still walking hoof-in-hoof.
“You’ve been wondering what you are meant to do as a Princess,” Celestia began as we wandered the huge and mysterious halls. “Do you know now?”
“As princess, I believe I have the power to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria. That is the role I am meant to have in our world! The role I choose to have! But I didn't defeat Tirek on my own- it took all of us to unlock the chest!” Twilight gratefully teleported back to the center of us, and we pressed close in a group hug.
“Then it is unlikely you are meant to take on this task alone.” 
“Wowee!” Pinkie gasped. Celestia opened the doors to what couldn’t have been anything but the main throne room. Seven regal-looking chairs ringed the center of the breathtaking chamber. The best part was, we all had our own throne, marked by the cutie mark embellished upon it. There was a small, unmarked seat beside Twilight’s, most likely reserved for Spike. The one with my symbol above it was actually two seats conjoined, designed to seat myself as well as my husband. We all giddily trotted in to try them out for size.
“You are now Twilight Sparkle, the princess of friendship. But what is the princess of friendship without her friends?” Twilight spotted Discord still lingering outside, and dragged him over with her levitation spell. He grinned, and embraced us all.
“Wait a minute, where's my throne?”
“I don't think you're quite there yet,” Fluttershy gently, almost jokingly reminded. He took the comment lightly and chuckled along with her.
“Yes, well, I suppose not.”
“See? We told ya everything’d turn out alright,” Rainbow smugly knocked my shoulder. Torchwood leaned closer in agreement. 
“We’re not quite finished, yet,” I gently nudged him off. He caught on immediately.
“Blaze.”
“Finally!” Spike threw his claws up. I giggled. 
“Hey, Twilight? Would you mind tagging along for this one?”
“Me?”
“Just in case we need another transformation spell. I kind of promised to shred a certain dragon if he got too rough with the boys again.” 
“Bran?” Torchwood’s eyes widened.
“He cuffed Garble a little too harshly for my taste.” Torchwood’s expression darkened to a fierceness even I’d never seen before. Twilight nervously giggled.
“By the looks of things, it looks like you’ve got everything under control.”





“So? Wanna go to the Lava Geysers?” Clump boredly suggested.
“Nah. We went there yesterday.” Fizzle tossed yet another pebble out into open space.
“Well, what do you want to do?” Garble huffed.
“Yeah, I don’t hear you coming up with any ideas,” Vex agreed.
“There’s a cool spot up on Foal Mountain we could check out,” Gilda suggested.
“Too far,” Blaze complained. The lot were lounging around the same spot I’d found them last time, bored out of their minds.
“Want to come home?” I landed lightly in their midst, Torchwood gliding easily beside me. Blaze’s face lit up.
“YOU’RE BACK!” He practically tackled Torchwood, and it was all he could do not to topple. Thankfully, I carried Charcoal, and was able to watch from a safe distance. Tears of joy streamed down Blaze’s cheeks. 
“That’s right, I’m back, Blaze. For good, this time.” I didn’t notice Garble had walked up behind me until I received a sharp cuff to the ear. 
“Ow! What the-”
“That’s for splitting up in the first place.” He sternly crossed his arms. I readjusted Charcoal and rubbed my head. 
“Well... fair enough, I guess.” Then he threw his arms around my neck. 
“And... that’s for keeping your promise. Thanks.” I happily tucked him under my free wing. 
“I have to look out for my boys, don’t I?”
“What do you say, Blaze? Will you come back home with us now?” Blaze looked up to Torchwood, then back to me. 
“No more fighting?”
“No more fighting,” I vowed. 
“Cross my heart and hope to fly...”
“Stick a cupcake in my eye,” we both finished together. Blaze’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
“Good enough for me!”
“Well, it was good having you, Rookie,” Clump clapped a claw on the younger dragon’s shoulder. 
“But I guess it wasn’t the place for you after all,” Pierce finished. 
“Yeah. Thanks, guys. And girl,” Blaze hurriedly added. Gilda laughed. 
“See ya ‘round, squirt,” she playfully bumped him. 
“You take care of those three, alright?” I realized Garble was talking to Charcoal. The baby shifted to dragon form for him without having to be told, and Garble touched their fists to seal the deal.
“Garble? Boys? Where are you? Oh, it’s you again. Didn’t I tell you to scram?” Bran’s huge form lumbered over to the boys’ hideout. Torchwood whipped around to the dragon who had allegedly struck his adopted son.
“Bran,” he viciously growled.
“Another one?” the orange beast exasperatedly sighed. “One was enough. Get out of here, and stop pestering my boys. This is no place for ponies.”
“They might be yours by blood, but if you ever mistreat my boys again, I’ll make sure you never underestimate the power of us ponies ever again.”
“Your boys? As I recall, they both came back and chose me over you,” Bran amusedly sneered.
“I’m going back to Ponyville, Uncle Bran,” Blaze declared, fluttering up onto my back. “That’s where I belong.” 
“What?” Bran looked genuinely taken aback. His expression gradually darkened. “Ungrateful brat! I care for you. I look out for you. I provide for you here!”
“And I appreciated it, but they look out for me there. They have been for two years, actually.”
“And you, Garble? Are you going to live with the ponies, too?”
“My place is with the flock,” Garble narrowed his eyes. “But Acrylic and Torchwood’ve sure been better parents than you. I’m proud to call them family.”
“How dare you associate our family name with them? You bring dishonor to us!”
“If that’s considered dishonorable to dragons, then maybe I’d rather be a pony!” he shot back.
“INSOLENCE!” Bran bellowed in frustration, rising up on two legs to display his frightening full height. He looked like me might crash back down on us, whether intentionally or accidentally. Either way, we all scattered. The teens nervously shifted behind me, but Torchwood fearlessly stepped out in front. Bran’s eyes burned with hatred, and locked onto him. 
“I’ll just be a minute,” he promised. 
“Don’t look, Charcoal.” I covered the baby’s eyes with my wing. 
“Let’s see if your bite really is as big as your bark,” Bran seethed.
“Let’s.” A ring of flame exploded around Torchwood, growing as large as he could possibly make it until it overtook even Bran’s size. A fire that large couldn’t be that hot or dangerous, but it sure put on a good show. Bran watched the growing pyre with increasing uncertainty. Torchwood formed the flame to the shape of a roiling, flaming dragon head. It reared, and as soon as the real thing would have hit the ground, Torchwood sent a shockwave through the earth that unbalanced Bran. 
“GRAH!” He caught himself at the last minute, and came back with a tail lash. “Enough show!” Torchwood ducked the tail easily, as it had been coming in too high to begin with, and spun around Bran. Directing his fire in far more concentrated, heated amounts, he began roasting the dragon. As the creatures were fire proof, it wouldn’t really cause lasting damage. But that wasn’t to say it didn’t sting. 
Bran howled in anguish, and flailed desperately as he searched for his victim. But Torchwood kept him confused with a blinding mask of fire, which made things very hard. Yellow flame spewed from Bran’s maw, and finally found its target. But Torchwood folded his wings into a protective shield, neatly somersaulting through the air and effectively blocking the fire. 
The two went around like this for a while, the rest of us just watching in both wonder, amazement and in some cases, amusement. Bran was getting absolutely creamed! At last, Torchwood had had enough. He ended the scuffle by swooping in directly to Bran’s chest, and landing a powerful kick that sent him sprawling across the ground. 
“Oooh!” we all winced. Torchwood came gliding nonchalantly back as though nothing had ever happened. 
“So? Ready to head home?”
“You bet!” Blaze slid from my back and primed his own wings. 
“Uh... you said something about Foal Mountain?” Pierce looked to Gilda.
“It’s this way,” she turned to head the opposite way from us.
“Headed to the Foal Mountains?” Torchwood casually asked.
“Nothin’ better to do,” Vex shrugged.
“Maybe we’ll join you one of these days,” he suggested.
“Uh...” Gilda looked a little uncomfortable.
“We will?” I inquired, just as surprised.
“You know all that time I spent out? Well, I was looking into something. It was supposed to be a surprise until I found something conclusive...”
“You mean until you found the hippogryphs?”
“You-?!”
“I found your map,” I chuckled. “You left it on the table.”
“Oh.”
“Wait, hippogryphs? Why so interested in hippogryphs? I mean, they don’t actually exist,” Gilda suddenly seemed very interested in our conversation. 
“Oh, it’s just a hobby of ours. Tracking down where mythical creatures are allegedly said to live. Makes for a fun vacation, anyway,” I giggled, remembering our honeymoon. 
“Hippogryphs were supposedly spotted somewhere in the Foal Mountains,” Torchwood further explained. “As well as a ton of other places. I’ve still got to narrow down where the most reliable evidence has been spotted.
“You guys are so weird,” Soot laughed. “They’re not real!”
“’Course not, Soot,” I winked. “It’s just for fun. Anyway, see you around.” I nudged Garble goodbye. I’d already spread my wings before remembering one last thing. “Oh, and Gilda? Thanks again for that ruby you gave me. It turned out to be one of the seven magical keys we needed to stop a power-hungry centaur!”
“Wait, what did I miss?!” Blaze exclaimed. 
“Uh... you’re welcome... I guess...” she confusedly stuttered. 
“You coming, Acrylic?” Torchwood impatiently called. 
“Gotta go. See you!”
“...Bye...”





By the time we got back, the new castle was swarming with visitors intrigued by its mysterious appearance. 
“You’re back!”
“Sure took long enough,” Applejack playfully chided. 
“BLAZE!” Spike tackled his friend headlong. 
“Hello to you too,” he groaned from beneath the purple dragon. 
“What was that all about? Leaving without even saying goodbye?”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I didn’t completely think things through,” Blaze bashfully scratched the back of his head.
“Well, no matter. You’re back now. For good, right?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“We did it! We got the family back together!” Pinkie Triumphantly declared. 
“How wonderful,” Discord materialized in back of us, and I felt a weight lifted from my back. The missing mass was Charcoal, who was currently being cradled by the Lord of Chaos. “You all are just so adorable together. It’d be a shame for you to split up.”
“Never again,” Torchwood definitively declared. 
“There! That’s the Torchwood I know!” Satisfied, Discord folded his arms, levitating the baby this time instead of dropping him. “As far as you go...” he examined Charcoal one last time. “I guess I’ll put up with him.”
“Deecore,” Charcoal booped Discord’s nose, and the draconequus’ expression softened. 
“Look out for that one, won’t you? And bring him to visit more often! I think I might come to like him yet.”
“Will do.”
Everyone joyfully watched as he handed Charcoal back. Our relationships had all been repaired, the evil had been vanquished, and at last, all was right with the world. And Twilight was going to let the whole world know.


...

“Each one of us has something special
“That makes us different, that makes us rare.”

...

“We have a light that shines within us,
“That we were always meant to share.”

...

“And when we come together-
“Combine the light that shines within,
“There is nothing we can't do,
“There is no battle we can't win

...

“When we come together.
“There'll be a star to guide the way.
“It's inside us every day.
“See it now! See it now!”

...

“Let the rainbow remind you
“That together we will always shine.”
“Let the rainbow remind you
“That forever this will be our time.”

...

“Let the rainbow remind you,
“That together we will always shine.”

...


---End Part One---