//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Love is in Bloom (revised) 
// Story: This is War 
// by The Avenger 
//------------------------------//

Ponyville, the capital of Friendship, ruled over by Princess Twilight Sparkle and her husband, Prince Flash Sentry. The town had gotten a lot bigger since the day the former Unicorn had come to this place, but that’s what happens when years pass by. Now, all of Twilight’s friends, including herself, have grown and had children of their own, letting the next generation take over and build upon the lessons they’ve learned and shared with others.

One such child of the Elements of Harmony was out on this beautiful spring day. Her name was Stella Nova, a Unicorn mare. Her coat was a light shade of gray, with a navy-blue mane, with two stripes that were a sky-blue color and the other purple. Her violet eyes held within them great knowledge, as well as a strong will, her cutie mark was that of stars and a supernova. She was the daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Flash Sentry.

She was on her way home from the Hayburger, her favorite restaurant. Despite trying to stay fit, she just can’t resist going there every once in a while. She was traveling through the market when she spotted a Unicorn stallion up ahead. His coat was light-red, with a darker shade of red for his mane and tail, which were styled as dreadlocks. His eyes are green and his cutie mark was that of a strawberry-mascarpone sandwich with a strawberry. This stallion’s name was Strawberry Marscarpone Sandwich, better known as either Marz-Bar or Dreads among friends. He’s the eldest son of two of Equestria’s greatest party planners, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich.

His saddle bags were filled with groceries, such as cinnamon and apples. There was even a bag of cream as well. Her best guess on what he was planning to do with them was probably make some of his special pastries. Smiling, Stella called out. “Hey, Marz-Bar!” said stallion immediately turned around.

“Stella! Hi.”

“What are you doing?” Stella asked as she trotted up to her friend.

“I’m getting some ingredients for the pastries I’m making for the Summer Sun Celebration,” the light-red Unicorn stallion answered. “I’m just about to look for some ricotta for a new cannoli recipe.”

“That sounds good,” said Stella. “Well, I better get home. See ya,” Stella then turn around and made her way towards the castle.

“Stella, wait!” Marz called out.

“Yes, Dreads?” She asked as she turned around… only to see Marz’s face change completely. Just a second ago he was as cool as a cucumber. Now he looked… nervous.

“So, the Summer Sun Celebration is in a few days. I was wondering… w-want to enjoy the event together?” He finally said. AH! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! She’ll never understand! Stella smiled. Oh, that beautiful smile.

“You mean like a date?”

Marz’s face turned a bright crimson. “Y-y-y-y-e-e-s-s.” Marz was starting to sweat a little.

“Sure, I would love to.”

Marz’s mind went blank. She said yes? She said yes?!

“I’ll see you Monday then,” Stella then went home.

It wasn’t until about 5 minutes later when a really big smile spread across Marz’s faces “YAHOO!” He began to scream and dancing around like some madpony. How his grocery bags stayed with him and hadn’t spilled a thing was beyond anyone. Some ponies stopped to look but quickly went about their business. They knew all too well by now that it's best not to question the antics of that family.





Tartarus, a place where only the worst of the worst are sent. Black walls and pillars of thick granite, with prison cells made of rusty yet exceedingly durable iron. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the afterworld where beings of evil go after death. It is instead a prison for those who have done terrible things.

Being in the base of a dormant volcano, Tartarus was well fortified on its own, except for that one time when Cerberus temporally left its post and gave some of the prisoners a chance to escape. Though the three-headed guard dog did return to its post, thanks to the then Unicorn mare Twilight Sparkle, Tirek, along with several monsters, had escaped and eluded capture for many months.

When he did rear his ugly head again, he was stealing the magic of first Unicorns, and then Pegasi and Earth Ponies. Eventually, he had somehow stolen the magic of the Princesses, but the Elements of Harmony had unlocked an unimaginable power: the Rainbow Power, which aided them in imprisoning the powerful demon back in Tartarus and returning the magic he had stolen.

And he loathed the one mistake he made ever since; he let that purple Alicorn’s friends go. Had he not done that, he would still be the god he rightfully is. During the time since then, the other monsters that managed to escaped were recaptured, and the guards that patrolled the prison had quadrupled. Celestia and Luna didn’t want the same mistake to happen twice.

He glared down upon the guards. There were now 50 guards for each prisoner now. It seemed a bit overkill, but if one were to look at the rap sheet of just a few of these prisoners they can understand why so many now stood watch. Tirek was one of the few sane and, as some would put it, ‘intelligent’ prisoners. Most of the others were mindless brutes and abominations. There were a few dragons as well, all of them being imprisoned for either devouring entire villages or stealing every valuable they could get their claws on.

Tirek then glared towards the entrance, where Cerberus stood watch. That three-headed, overgrown mutt just sat there, unblinking. One head constantly staring at the iron door, one constantly stared at the prisoners, and the last did either one or the other.

Clank!

What was that? That was a question everyone who could actually think thought of as they turned towards the iron door. Cerberus got up and growled, suggesting something hostile was on the other side.

Many of the Unicorn guards gathered behind the three-headed beast, lances ready. The gates to the prison suddenly buckled. It looked like something just simply punched the door. A second bang and buckled area of the gate confirmed that. Something, or someone, was breaking the door down.

An explosion then rang out, temporarily making him for blind and deaf. He did manage to hear what sounded like screaming, but he couldn’t tell if it was from the guards or whatever broke into Tartarus. After a few seconds, Tirek’s eyesight returned. Though the apparent battle was over, he couldn’t see much because of all the smoke. But he did see something startling. Cerberus was running… away from the gates, carrying a guard on its back.

What could cause Cerberus to run away with its tail between its legs? As his eyesight and hearing gradually returned, Tirek looked on intently as the smoke began to clear. He could see a faint silhouette of a large, bipedal being with red eyes and glowing dark green lines across its body standing about 100 feet away from his cell. But it soon disappeared.

“Ah, Lord Tirek. How the mighty of fallen,” a distorted female voice called out from the smoke. Soon a second, far smaller silhouette came into view. It was walking up the path to his cell. There was a resemblance to an Alicorn, but it seemed a bit thinner, and there were holes in the mane.

Tirek scoffed, now knowing who, as insane as it sounds, broke into Tartarus. “How droll. Why are you here, Changeling Queen?” He hissed as the Queen came out of the smoke. She was wearing some kind of suit. It was white with a hint of green, though it didn’t cover her head. “Come to gloat?”

“Not quit. I am here to make an offer,” said Chrysalis. One of her soldiers flew up to her, giving her a poster. “Despite our obvious differences, we do have one thing in common, Tirek: Both of our plans have been thwarted by this mare!” Chrysalis showed the demon the poster. It had Princess Twilight on it.

“I know what it feels like to be foiled by that mare. With your cunning and the power that my kind now has, we can defeat her and take Equestria. You can have the magic, while me and my Changelings will have the ponies love. So, what do you say?” The growing smile on Tirek’s face was all the answer she needed.





Stella finally arrived home, the Castle of Friendship. The tree shaped castle was located just on the East side of the town. Its crystal-like entrance was always opened, and as such, there were always two guards dutifully standing on each side of the gate. She nodded to the Guards as they greeted her when she entered and made her way down the corridor, filled with several stained glass windows depicting some of Princess Twilight’s memories that she had alongside her friends. She knew the stories behind these pieces, like the time Mrs. Dash pulled off her very first Sonic Rainboom that bonded them all without them knowing it, or the time when Mrs. Fluttershy befriended Discord and effectively made him change for the better. There was also one from when her mother ascended to an Alicorn. There was even a portrait of their family.

She ignored the rest for the moment, instead focusing on their trip. Stella continued down the corridor to her mother’s throne room. Mom was usually in there to either discuss and organize upcoming events or when that map called her and the others. Of course, she was most likely planning the events for the Summer Sun Celebration.

But she wanted to tell her that she’ll be going on her first date soon, so she’ll probably understand why she interrupted. Arriving at the doors to the room, she could hear her mother talking to her friends. Even Princess Sunset and Mrs. Glimmer are here. Of course they are. Deciding not to interrupt, Stella just sat next to the door and watch.

“So, Darling, you’re saying that some giant artifacts were discovered in ice near the Crystal Empire?” Mrs. Rarity asked her mother.

“Oh, yes! Two objects of interest,” said Mom. “They were discovered by accident about 7 months ago. One is already heading for Canterlot, where it’ll be properly studied.”

“And we’re going to help!” Princess Sunset beamed.

“What do you suppose we’ll find?” Asked Mrs. Glimmer.

“I don’t really know, and that’s what makes it so exciting!” Mom said with the enthusiasm of a 12-year-old. Even after all these years, she still has her moments. “Just one of these objects could hold so many secrets and just as many answers! This could prove to be the find of the millennium! It’s incredible! Just think of all the things we could learn from them! They may be the remains of some sort of ancient, precursor race! Or-!”

“Or it could be aliens!” Mrs. Pinkie Pie suddenly threw in, her eyes wide. She hadn’t changed much over the years either. “What if there are big, slimy, ugly monsters in those ice blocks just waiting to eat our brains and turn us into their zombified servants!?”

“I think you’d be pretty much safe from that, Pinkie,” Mrs. Rainbow Dash scoffed with a joking grin. Stella giggled a little. Though she studied the stars, she has never seen anything that remotely looked like an alien. Then again, she wasn’t sure she would see an alien even if it was right in front of her.

“Aliens,” Mom said snidely, making no effort to hide her rolling eyes. “Yeah, right. There’s no such thing as aliens, Pinkie.”

“How do you know for sure?” Pinkie replied, eyeing the purple Alicorn suspiciously. “That sounds an awful lot like something an alien would say! You might be an alien in disguise!”

Stella just stared at the pink mare, as did Mom. Mom then sighed. “Pinkie, I’m not an alien. There is no such thing as aliens. And there never have been or will be.” With that said, Mom’s friends all left to prepare for the various tasks they’ll be doing for the Summer Sun Celebration.

Once they left Stella walked in. “Oh, Stella! I didn’t see you. How long have you been there?”

“About 10 minutes now,” Stella answered. “I didn’t want to interrupt, considering how important your meetings with them can be.”

“That’s all right. How was your lunch?”

“It was great. They added clover leaves to the milkshakes now. They’re really good. Oh! And on my way home… uh.”

“Yes?”

“I ran into Marz at the market and he, uh…” Stella, for some reason, just can’t seem to say it. “He… asked me to be his date for the Summer Sun Celebration and I said yes.”

“What was that? I couldn't hear.”

“He asked me to be his date for the Summer Sun Celebration and I said yes.”

“Could you speak up a little?”

Oh, for the love of Celestia! “He asked me to be his date for the Summer Sun Celebration and I said yes!” Stella yelled, and then immediately covered her mouth in shame and embarrassment. “Do you… approve?”

Twilight, though taken aback by her daughter's sudden outburst, soon grew a big smile of joy. “Of course I approve! Your Aunt Cadance rubbed off on me a while back. Who you choose to love is your business, Stella. Heck, you could’ve fallen for a mare and as long as you’re happy I would be too. Are you excited?” She asked.

“Yeah, I am a little excited,” Stella replied, her face slowly turning a shade of red. “But please, don’t tell Dad. He’s still trying to accept the fact that Flare is seeing Phoenix. Speaking of Flare, where is she?”

“She went out on a ‘hot date’ with Phoenix. They’re in Cloudsdale at a Wonderbolt race,” Twilight answered. “Also, would you rather wait until the celebration to tell your father about your date?”

“Uh… N-no.”

“Then tell him yourself. He’ll be home in a few hours. So in the meantime,” Twilight got a strange look in her eye. “You want any advice for your first date?”





It was just another usual day on the family rock farm. Maud Pie, the older sister to Pinkie Pie, was out exploring some land the family just bought. There might be some special new rocks here. Perhaps some bloodstones. Maybe turquoise. As she looked around, something caught Maud’s eye; an amazingly large gem near the river.

Trotting to it, Maud soon sees a geode the size of a house sticking out of the ground. “That recent rainstorm must’ve exposed it,” she said to herself. She began to examine the amazing find…

…When the gems began to glow a light green. It was captivating. Dazzling. Maud couldn't take her eyes off it. Her eyes soon begin glowing a light green as well. Then, just as suddenly as the glow appeared, it’s gone.

“I should… take this to… Canterlot… for the celebration,” Maud said in an almost robotic-like fashion.





“Oh, why can’t I get that out of my head?” Stella asked herself as she trotted around her room. It had been a couple of hours since her mother gave her some ‘advice’, and it was… embarrassing to say the least. “Why in the whole, wide world did Mom think it was a good idea to go with an itinerary for her first date with Dad?! She should’ve known better. And then there was that box of-” Stella shivered in disgust, hoping that her cousins won’t do something similar for her date.

She was beginning to lose herself. Should she go to the library and look for a book about first dates? Knowing her mom she probably has at least 20. But before Stella could do so, she was brought out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. “Stelly? It's me, can I come in?”

Stella’s anxiety went to a whole new level. He’s home already?! “Sure dad.“ She said and immediately began to compose herself. The door opened to let in her father, Flash Sentry. Okay, you can do this. Just stall enough to come up with a good way to say it.

“How was your day?” asked Flash Sentry.

“It was pretty good.”

“Is there anything else?”

“Not much.” Really, Stella? He’s bound to suspect something now.

“Are you okay sweetie?”

“I'm fine dad…”

“You seem upset about something.”

“I'm not-”

“Is it a colt?”

“WHAT?! How did you even find out about…!?” Stella nearly shouted, a blush now adorning her face, only to see her father holding back his laughter.

“I'm sorry, I just enjoy seeing you get riled up like that. You look so cute!” He chuckled before ruffling his daughter’s hair. “Just like your mother.”

“Not funny, Dad!” Stella groaned as she pushed his hoof away.

“But it is a colt, right?” He asked.

Sighing, Stella decided she should just say it. “Marz. I was walking home from the Hayburger when I ran into him at the market. We talked for a bit and then he… asked me out.”

“Oh, really? You and Pinkie Pie’s oldest son are going out? When?”

“During the Summer Sun Celebration,” Stella answered. Now she was worried about Marz. Granted, she was sure her father wasn’t the ‘overprotective type’, but then again he was still getting his head around Flare’s relationship. Looking up, she was surprised to see that he was smiling.

“Honestly, I’m surprised he hadn't asked you out earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out,” he said. “Anyway, just remember; just enjoy each other’s compony, and at the end of your date, only give him a peck on the cheek. You don’t want to do what your mother did during our first date,” at that Flash left the room.

“Noted,” deciding she needs some coffee, Stella decided to head to the kitchen to get a mug. She’s gonna need it.





At the Sandwich-Pie household, Peachy was updating her shipping chart with the words ‘Step 1 Complete’ over Marz and Stella. As she finishes, a knocking comes from her door. “Who is it?”

“It’s the pizza pony,” an all too familiar voice answered.

Peachy giggled. “You can come in Marz,” at that, her older brother opened the door and walked in. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Uh, yeah. As you know, I asked Stella out earlier and she said yes.”

“Aaannnd?”

“And since I’ve never been on a date before and you’re an item with Enigma, I was wondering if you… could give me some advice for the date?” Oh, I have a bad feeling about this.

“Hmmmm…… Well, the first thing you should do is, obviously, freshen up a bit. Maybe brush your mane.”

“You know that’s next to impossible for me,” said Mars as he looked over his dreadlocks.

“And make her some chocolate. Stella will love that.”

“All right, but couldn’t I just buy her some cho-”

“And be sure to wear cologne. And not just any old cologne. It must be something that’ll make Stella go head-over-hooves for you. I’m sure Lightning or one of the other guys will have something like that. I’ll ask one of them to loan you a bottle.”

Marz was starting to blush a bit. I knew this was a bad idea. “Peachy I just wanted advice for the date, not how to become a supermodel!”

But Peachy was either ignoring him or just didn’t hear him. “Oh, and make sure you give her roses. Lots of roses. You’ll get some points for that.”

“Okay, Peachy, I think I get the-”

“And be sure to ask for the second date before you screw up the first one.”

“Peachy!”





Celestia sighed to herself. She needed to perform her duty and lower the sun soon, but the seemingly endless piles of paperwork were keeping her from doing that. Approving of a new orphanage in Fillydelphia, permitting the constructing of a bridge over Ghastly Gorge and allowing some Gargoyles to immigrate to Manehattan, just to name a few. Equestria’s Knights surely won’t like this. It’s bad enough about the unjust rumors surrounding them, but the fact that they do object to my tolerance of the other races only strengthens those rumors. There was also one about building a museum in Ponyville to honor the exploits of Princess Twilight and her friends.

Surely Rainbow Dash and Rarity will be delighted at that prospect.

She giggled at the thought as she approves the request.

Celestia looked at the final scroll. It was from King Thorax of the Changeling Hive. Opening it, she found some troubling news. Changelings have been disappearing? Is Chrysalis behind this, or is someone else involved? Celestia would have to investigate this soon.

Even after Thorax came to power, many ponies still felt uneasy about the Changelings. Even after all this time, prejudice remained from both races.

Though Celestia wasn’t too concerned about that right now. She was confident that the ponies will grow out of it eventually. She gave off a sigh of relief as one of her assistances took the paperwork away. At least tomorrow she can take it easy and have a bit. All she had to do was raise the sun and give a small speech.

“Excuse me,” a new voice spoke up. A guard had just arrived. “Forgive my interruption, Your Highness, but I have news.”

“Yes?”

“One of the recent discoveries have just arrived at Canterlot Station. Several guards are already moving it to the school now. Also, we have a gift from a ‘Pie Family Rock Farm’; a giant geode. What do you intend to do with it, Your Highness?”

“Hmm… have the best rock carvers in Equestria bought here. They’ll carve it into whatever the public decides. And thank you, for informing me,” Celestia replied. “You’re dismissed,” The guard saluted and then left the throne room.





The geode was placed in the castle garden. Here it was well out of sight for anyone who wanted to see the carved rock when the work will begin. But, for some odd reason, it was completely quiet. Not even the birds were singing. The only creature here was Princess Celestia’s pet Phoenix; Philomena. She was looking at one of the exposed gems in the geode. Or, more specifically, her exaggerated reflection. She was making all kinds of mischievous faces, laughing at her own reflection upon seeing it.

But soon the pet Phoenix got bored and decided to go back into the castle. But a split second after she left, a shadow appeared on the gem, accompanied by a hissing sound. Both of which came from inside the geode.