• Published 28th May 2016
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Hùndùn - LoZLttP13



A powerful young Sorceress, her faithful apprentice, and her five new friends are tasked with preventing the return of the all-powerful God of Chaos.

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II-I. The Autumn Winds

BOOK TWO


Scootaloo was shaken awake by her father. "Get up, Sweetie," Stephen Magnet said to her with a warm smile. "It's time to get ready for your first day back in school!"

Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes, then yawned and stretched before she sat up. Stephen winked at her as he said, "Get changed and brush your hair, and I'll cook you some hot cereal. Deal?"

Scootaloo grinned; hot cereal was her favorite breakfast. "Alright! Thanks, Dad!" she said.

Stephen lightly chuckled, kissed Scootaloo's forehead, then made his way back out of her room before striding into the kitchen.

Scootaloo threw off her blankets, then turned and got up out of her bed. When her father had gone to sleep the previous night, Scootaloo had had an intense masturbating session and then had gotten into her softest pajamas in order to make her own slumber as deep and restful as it possibly could. She was glad she did; Scootaloo was well-rested and energized, and she felt completely prepared and excited for her first day of third grade.

Scootaloo absolutely adored her Summer vacations, no doubt. However, she looked forward to school beginning almost as much as she looked forward to it ending; she loved learning, she loved her teacher Ms. Cheerilee, and she loved being able to see and play with the Crusaders and all of their other friends on a regular basis (many of the other kids would frequently leave Avalon on vacations with their families over the summer, so she usually didn't see them during that time). Maybe it was because her school environment had been far more hostile and toxic in Asgard, but Scootaloo now enormously looked forward to lunch and recess as highlights of her schooldays; where in Asgard she had been bullied and shunned during break hours, she was now able to talk to her friends over a meal lovingly prepared by her father before playing games in the playground with them, and as a result such times were now filled with exilleration, fun, and laughter.

Scootaloo stood up, stretched with some strained groans, flapped her wings a few times, then gazed at the signed poster of a smirking Rainbow Dash on the wall at the head of her bed. She gazed at this poster whenever she needed inspiration, motivation, or determination; not only was Rainbow Dash her biggest dream, she was also her biggest idol and the greatest personification of everything Scootaloo aspired to be.

Rainbow Dash was beautiful, talented, athletic, and strong. She could probably get any girl she wanted, and no feat seemed to be out of her reach. Rainbow's determination was so staggeringly enormous that Scootaloo almost believed she could move mountains and tame storms. Rainbow seemed to be able to do the impossible; for Scootaloo, a girl who might never fly but still desired to with all of her heart, this made Rainbow seem like a Goddess in her eyes.

Still: Scootaloo had never seen Rainbow Dash show interest in other girls. For this reason, Scootaloo resigned herself to loving Rainbow Dash in secret, and to pursue her only in her fantasies and dreams. In the meantime, Scootaloo watched vigilantly for any sign of mutual attraction or sexual curiosity in her attractive female friends; although her ultimate ideal was to have Rainbow as her lover, Scootaloo was growing desperate in her desire to satisfy her own carnal cravings, and she would be contented even if her partner in doing so were some other girl. This was why Scootaloo was especially excited for today; from what she'd read, third grade was the period that most sexual awakenings began in, and so perhaps she'd finally be able to sate her intense sexual frustration this year.

On the other hand, Scootaloo thought as she pulled her jeans on and zipped them up, kids in third grade usually went little further than explorational sexual play. Hell, most of her peers hadn't even begun masturbating yet. All of the other girls in her grade were probably still so innocent that they would be too frightened to, say, sixty-nine with her, scissor with her, or penetrate her with a strap-on. Scootaloo didn't just want to play "doctor" or dare her friends to skinny dip with her; she wanted to have sex. Moaning, sweaty, naughty, orgasmic sex. As Scootaloo pulled off her pajama top and replaced it with her favorite bright orange basketball jersey, she let out a small groan as she realized that she'd still be fighting a difficult uphill battle to get sex, even if she was more likely to be able to now.

Scootaloo began to wonder if there was anyone at all she could think of who would be willing to do such a thing with her. However, as she was brushing her teeth, she realized: Spike would likely be willing to.

Despite the fact that Spike wasn't a girl, even Scootaloo could see why he had caught the eye of the other Crusaders, Diamond Tiara, and even perhaps Rarity (according to Sweetie Belle). Especially for a boy, Spike was very cute and very pretty; he was the closest thing that Scootaloo could think of to what Sweetie called a "bishonen", a word that Sweetie had told her was used in the otaku community to describe a boy whose sheer attractiveness transcends sexual orientation. He was also extremely sweet, kind, and attentive, all of which made him an amazing friend. Scootaloo grinned at her mirror reflection as she brushed her teeth; she knew that Spike was every bit as horny as she was, and she found that imagining herself in a sexual encounter with him held a surprising appeal that other boys didn't have.

The more Scootaloo thought about it, the more she liked the idea; she found Spike almost as attractive as her female friends, and she could easily see that he was attracted to her, too. Spike was also highly intelligent, so he could almost certainly make arrangements so that he could regularly meet with her in secret and prevent either of their caretakers from finding out about it. In addition, because Scootaloo had no romantic feelings towards Spike but was still one of his best friends, she could use their encounters to focus entirely on experimentation and practicing her tecniques so as to have more confidence in her skills as a lover when she persued other partners. Likewise, Spike could take the same opportunity to better his chances of obtaining the objects of his own desire, such as Twilight and Rarity.

However, Scootaloo then remembered a fact that was critically damaging to this idea: Spike was straight. Though Scootaloo felt no romantic feelings toward Spike, and was certain that she never would, she had no guarantee that Spike wouldn't develop romantic feelings toward her as a result of a sexual relationship between them. Groaning with great disappointment, Scootaloo mentally discarded the idea as she quietly muttered, "Damn it. Maybe if Spike were gay too, this could work...."

Scootaloo then sighed, shrugged, and set her hairbrush down on the sink before walking into her kitchen.

Not only had Stephen prepared hot cereal for Scootaloo and had sprinkled it with cinnamon, brown sugar, and maple syrup (her favorite toppings), he had also given her a bowl of fresh halved strawberries and a glass of orange juice that he had squeezed and mixed himself. Scootaloo thanked Stephen before enthusiastically digging into it.

While she was eating her hot cereal and Stephen was eating some apricot jam toast, Scootaloo asked her father, "Hey, Dad, do you think you could walk with me to school today?"

Stephen raised a brow in puzzlement. "Didn't we agree that you were old enough to start walking to school by yourself?" he said.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, but I want you to come today to see me off."

Stephen smiled. "Ah, alright. So you aren't afraid your dorky dad is going to embarrass you by giving you a big hug and kiss in front of all your friends?"

"I don't give a fuck what the other kids think," Scootaloo replied. "If they make fun of me for it, I'll just remind 'em that their parents do it, too."

Stephen's smile brightened. "Ah, I see," he said. "Well, in that case, I would love to take you to school today, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo grinned. "Thanks, Dad," she said.

Once she had finished eating her breakfast and washing and putting away her dishes, Scootaloo picked up her father's watering can from beside the front door and went outside to water their garden, which was one of her daily chores. Once she was done, Scootaloo pulled on her backpack and tied on her sneakers.

Stephen gave Scootaloo a bright orange hooded sweater, which she pulled on while Stephen put on his own black leather jacket. Scootaloo then pulled her schoolbag onto her back, then she and Stephen exited their house and began making their way to Avalon Elementary School.

All mortal children went to school together when they were between the ages of approximately five to eleven years old. Except for private schools catered to individual races (such as the Olympus Magic Academy), there was no racial segragation in elementary educational environments by the direct decree of Princess Celestia. Secondary education was only mandatory for Elves, as Celestia desired that they all learn how to control and safely handle their magical abilities; as such, every eleven-year-old Elf was required to study Magic for four years under an older mentor, and then become mentors themselves after completing their apprenticeships. For Angel and Human children, secondary education was voluntary and often more informal; they would usually become an apprentice to a craftsman to learn their trade, unless their desired profession required specialized training, in which case they would attend an institution of higher learning or become an apprentice to a highly experienced member of said profession who was officially certified in the name of Celestia to be qualified to act as their tutor. Pinkie was currently studying baking under the Cakes, Twilight was studying under Celestia to be the Royal Court Magician of Camelot, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had only completed an elementary education (as they needed no extra training for their chosen professions), and Rarity and Fluttershy had already completed their respective apprenticeships and received certification for their chosen careers. Thus, Twilight and her five closest female friends had either already completed their education or were in the middle of completing their secondary studies. In this way, Celestia had been able to successfully design an educational system that catered to the needs of every individual without segregating them racially in public environments.

Before all of this, however, most mortal children were taught the basic life skills that would be of common usefulness to all of them, regardless of their race or the profession they eventually chose, in a single unsegregated school environment. Such skills that were taught in elementary school included training in basic literacy, mathematics, science, art, and Magic theory (the fundamentals of Magic were universally considered to be useful for everyone to know, not just for Elves, as a basic understanding of Magic was required for understanding and interacting with the everyday world). Every class of children was given a single teacher, who was responsible for educating them throughout the entirety of their elementary school careers.

Once Scootaloo and Stephen arrived at the large, red, brick schoolhouse of Avalon Elementary, which was capped with a bell tower and surrounded by colorful playground equipment and picnic tables, Scootaloo hugged and kissed her father goodbye before meeting up with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, who then accompanied her to the same classroom that they had always had: Room Forty-Two, the classroom of Ms. Cheerilee.

Upon the Cutie Mark Crusaders' entrance into the familiar, vanilla-scented, colorfully-decorated classroom, Ms. Cheerilee looked up at them and smiled brightly. "Good morning, Apple Bloom! Good morning, Sweetie Belle! Good morning, Scootaloo!"

"Good morning, Ms. Cheerilee!" the Crusaders answered in unison.

Ms. Cheerilee was a pretty young Human woman with light green eyes; thick, bright pink hair with a pale pink stripe down its center; and a Mark of three cheerfully smiling daisies on each of her thighs. She was deeply tanned and very fit, demonstrating her willingness to participate in her students' play, indoors or out. Her voice was high and filled with constant energy and enthusiasm, which aided in her impressive ability to motivate her students. Scootaloo, the other Crusaders, and the rest of their classmates were Cheerilee's first class, but all of her students' parents were astonished at what a great teacher she was despite her inexperience.

A pretty, nice, intelligent, skilled teacher. Cheerilee was a common subject of Scootaloo's fantasies, and one of the biggest reasons she intensely disliked statutory rape laws and laws forbidding intimate teacher/student relations, along with Rainbow Dash. Maybe it was because she had a "rebellious" streak, but Scootaloo had a big teacher/student kink. Scootaloo thought to herself as she sat down and set her backpack down on the floor at her side, If I'm not able to get a girlfriend this year, at least I'll have Ms. Cheerilee's legs to stare at. I also get to see her nice set of tits whenever her shirt's drenched with sweat. Scootaloo looked up; she was in the central seat of the front row of desks, between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom and directly in front of Cheerilee. Scootaloo stared straight ahead at the crotch of Cheerilee's denim short shorts, mentally adding to herself, I hope she wears a miniskirt sometime....

"How was your vacation, girls?" Cheerilee said to them once all three were seated.

"It was great," Sweetie said, beaming. "We got two awesome new friends!"

"Really? Who are they?" asked Cheerilee.

"Our new librarian Twilight, and her apprentice Spike!" Sweetie replied.

"Ahh," Ms. Cheerily said. "Twilight Sparkle, right? Isn't she apprenticed under Princess Celestia?"

"Yep," Sweetie replied.

"I'm actually pretty amazed," said Ms. Cheerilee. "We actually have a member of the Royal Court living in Avalon!"

"She isn't in the Royal Court yet," Sweetie pointed out.

Cheerilee chuckled. "Yes, you're right, Sweetie," she said.

"Oh- Ah almost forgot!" Apple Bloom cried. She reached down to her backpack, unzipped it, then pulled out a juicy red apple. "Here ya go, Ms. Cheerilee!" Apple Bloom said, tossing the apple to her.

Cheerilee expertly caught it, then said, "Thank you so much, Apple Bloom! You don't have to bring me apples every day, though-"

"It's the least Ah could do," Apple Bloom replied with a shrug. "Ah mean, you don't let anyone bully me when they're in your sight...."

Cheerilee's smile faded slightly. "Yes," she said. "I only wish that I could stop it entirely."

"You're doin' all you can," Apple Bloom said, smiling gratefully. "Ah can't tell you how much it means to me. Thanks."

Cheerilee nodded and softly smiled back. "You're most certainly welcome," she said before taking a bite from the apple.

Within only a few minutes, the rest of their classmates began filing in and getting seated, as well. They all began excitedly chatting together in the minutes before the first bell; they exchanged stories of their vacations, traded marbles and comic books and other such small belongings, and generally just caught up with each other.

The two other children the Crusaders were talking to were Peppermint Twist and Rumble Lane, who were some of their closest friends aside from each other. Twist was a pale, freckle-cheeked Human girl with curly red hair, prominent buckteeth, braces, bright pink eyes, and a Mark consisting of two crossed candy canes on each of her thighs. Her Talent, which she had discovered only the previous year, was candy-making, and so she was planning on asking the Cakes for an apprenticeship at the Sugar Shack once she graduated from Cheerilee's class. She talked to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about her summer vacation, which she had spent visiting her grandparents in Arcadia with her family. While she was describing how she had gotten a bad rash from some poison ivy, Scootaloo turned and leaned on the back of her chair to talk to Rumble, who sat directly behind her.

Rumble Lane was a small and rather delicately-constructed Angel boy who was originally from Asgard, just like Scootaloo was. He was skinny and pasty, with long dark gray hair that was always slicked back and large, fawn-like violet eyes. He was wearing baggy, frayed faded jeans; a loose, dirtied gray t-shirt; and beaten gray sneakers with soles that were beginning to peel off. His background of poverty wasn't the only thing he had in common with Scootaloo, either; his silver-gray wings were about as proportionally small as Scootaloo's, and his shoulders were also blank. In addition, Rumble was also an orphan; his parents had died in a forest fire caused by a lightning strike, and so he was spending what remained of his childhood under the care of his older brother, Thunderlane. Rumble and his brother had moved into Avalon to reduce their living costs, and had since been living extremely frugally. Rumble always quickly assured anyone who expressed concern about him that he and his brother never went hungry, but that they otherwise largely had to make do with what they had.

Scootaloo had swiftly become close friends with Rumble when she first came to Avalon; she had discovered that he was similarly athletic and had a similar thirst for excitement and adrenaline, and that he shared her dream of becoming a professional skater. Before Spike had come to Avalon, Scootaloo's primary skating buddy had been Rumble; they had forged their powerful bond in the heat of an intense friendly rivalry in which they were constantly trying to outdo each other in the elaborateness and skill in their aerial stunts, as well as in casual matches of various sports. When they weren't competing, the two of them would often spray-paint graffiti on the sides of old buildings and boulders.

The most significant difference between Rumble and Scootaloo was that, though Rumble's wings were small like Scootaloo's, he had no trouble in being able to fly. He had mastered it later than his peers and was a slower flier than most other Angels, true, but flying was as natural to him as running. Like most Angels.

In addition, though Rumble didn't yet have his Mark, he didn't seem to be bothered by it nearly as much as Scootaloo was by her lack of one. As far as Scootaloo could tell, this was because of the fact that he could rest being fairly certain of the fact that he could count on eventually getting one, and so he was in no real hurry to get it. Rumble was generally content to just let life go where it may and enjoy the life he had in the moment. For this reason, Scootaloo deeply admired him, though her own pride prevented her from confessing this to him.

Once Scootaloo had turned to Rumble, she lifted up her hand and gave him a fist-bump, saying, "What's up, my man?"

"Not much," Rumble replied, shrugging.

"How was your visit to your cousin?" Scootaloo said.

Rumble shrugged. "Same as it's always been, I guess," he said. "We went to Soarin's country club with him. We played tennis and golf and basketball. We got to watch a few rock bands."

"Sounds awesome," Scootaloo replied.

"It was pretty cool," Rumble replied casually.

Scootaloo grinned. "Wanna hear about my Summer?" she said, leaning forward expectantly.

Rumble shrugged. "Yeah, sure," he said.

"Did you hear about the new librarian we've got?" Scootaloo said.

Rumble shook his head. "I haven't."

"Well," Scootaloo continued, "she's an Elf named Twilight Sparkle. She's a duchess from Olympus."

"That's cool," Rumble said, nodding.

"She's also studying under Princess Celestia to become Camelot's Royal Court Magician!"

Rumble's eyes widened and he leaned forward slightly. "She's apprenticed to Princess Celestia?" he said surprisedly.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yep," she replied, grinning.

Rumble leaned back, resting his hands behind his head as he wore an impressed expression. "Wow," he said.

"She also has an apprentice named Spike," Scootaloo continued. "I really think you should meet him; he's really cool, and he's got some sick moves on a halfpipe!"

Rumble softly smiled. "Yeah," he said. "We should hit the ramps with him sometime."

Overhearing their conversation, Sweetie gasped. "Hey- Scootaloo!" she cried. "If you want Rumble to meet Spike, you should invite him to the party tonight!"

Scootaloo gasped, as well. "Oh my gosh, you're right, Sweetie!" she cried.

Rumble raised a brow in puzzlement. "What party?" he said confusedly.

Scootaloo excitedly turned back to him as she explained, "Our friend Pinkie Pie is throwing us a party at the Sugar Shack to celebrate our first day of school! She told us that we could each bring a guest, but I haven't thought of asking anyone until now! Would you like to go to it, Rumble?"

Rumble smiled. "Yeah! That sounds great!" he cried.

"Ooh! What about me?" Twist interjected. She asked with a distinct lisp, "Can I come to the party with you guys, too? I wanna see how they make their cool candies!"

"Of course," Apple Bloom replied, beaming cheerfully. "Ya'll can be my guest, Twist!"

Twist squealed with excitement and embraced Apple Bloom. "Thank you so much, Bloom!" she cried.

"Any time," Apple Bloom replied, laughing.

The morning bell then rang, to which Cheerilee clapped her hands together and said, "Good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Ms. Cheerilee," her students chorused back.

"I hope you've all had a wonderful Summer Vacation!" Cheerilee said as she picked up her roll book. "Let's quickly call the roll then, shall we? Apple Bloom?"

"Here!" Apple Bloom cried, raising her hand.

Once Cheerilee had called the role, she picked up a stack of blank spiral-bound notebooks and placed one on each of her students' desks. As she did so, she said, "Here are your new journals for the year. We're just going to jump right in; please write a page about your summer vacation, what you did, and how you enjoyed it!"

The children all opened their notebooks, pulled their quills and inkwells out of their bags, and began performing Ms. Cheerilee's first assignment. Once they had finished their journal entries, Cheerilee began reviewing some of the kanji and math they had learned the previous year.

The Crusaders had returned to their comfortable studying rhythm and had just finished a kanji review pretest when the lunch bell rang, to which Cheerilee excused them all to begin their break.

The children all retrieved their lunches from their bags and went outside, where they sat at the picnic tables to eat. They were joined by Rumble and Twist, who they resumed the conversation they had begun when they arrived at school with. However, there was one more child from outside their class that also joined them: a tiny Human first-grader boy named Pipsqueak, who sat beside Rumble and said cheerfully with a thick Athenian accent, "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Pip," Sweetie replied with a friendly smile.

Pipsqueak was an Athenian boy with messy dark brown hair and chocolate-brown eyes. He was small, even for a first grader, but he made up for what he lacked in size with a massive amount of energy and curiosity. He had large, brown, circular birthmarks spotted all over his torso and arms, as well as one around his left eye. His classmates often picked on him for his birthmarks; however, none of the bullying came from the Crusaders, Rumble, or Twist. After all, they had been the subjects of bullying for physical deformities when they weren't bullied for their lack of Marks, as well.

Pipsqueak had come to know the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rumble, and Twist through Sweetie Belle, who he in turn knew through Sweetie's older sister Rarity. Rarity was a close friend to Pipsqueak's father, David Baker, who had been introduced to her by her mentor Grand Finale, who had been David's classmate and best friend in elementary school. David Baker was a brilliant and renowned Human Athenian theoretical physisist (who specialized in the study of time) who had moved with Pipsqueak to Avalon after the death of Tesseract, who was David's wife and Pip's mother. Tesseract had been Rarity's classmate and one of her best friends in elementary school, and like David she was a brilliant and famed scientist; specifically, a Doctor of Experimental Physics. Tesseract had been killed in a sudden and catastrophic lab accident, leaving David a single father with one source of income. As a result, David and Pip had moved to Avalon, where David now worked at home on his theories and mailed them to Athens University to continue his career of writing for their scientific journal.

Since coming to Avalon, David had met, courted, and subsequently married Rose Luck, who he and Pip loved dearly, and she in turn loved them just as deeply. Pip had expressed to the Crusaders that he was extremely happy that Rose had become his stepmother, as he had been worried that she would be cruel and mean like many stepmothers in fairy tales; however, though Pipsqueak still missed his mother and didn't think of Rose as a replacement for her, he found Rose to be just as caring and amazing as a mother in her own right.

Like his parents Dr. Baker and Dr. Tesseract, Pipsqueak was surpassingly brilliant. He could already read and write quite fluently, and he was already studying math at a fourth grade level. For this reason, Pipsqueak found it difficult to be able to socialize with his own classmates, as he far surpassed most of them in his intellectual abilities. For this reason, his closest friends were his third grade seniors; the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rumble, and Twist.

"Howdy, Pip!" Apple Bloom said cheerfully after Pipsqueak was seated. "What are ya'll up to?"

"I'm just gettin' my special textbooks from Mr. Tart!" Pipsqueak replied.

"How was your vacation, Pip?" said Sweetie Belle.

Pipsqueak grinned at her. "It was really fun!" he said. "My mum and dad took me to Atlantis, and we stayed at a beach resort there! We swam and saw some dolphins and some rays, and we got some beginner surfing lessons, and we got to watch some fire dancers, and-"

"Hold yer horses there, Pip!" Apple Bloom interrupted him with a small laugh. "Slow down, or you're gonna be so out o' breath you're gonna pass out!"

"That does sound like a lot of fun, though...." Scootaloo said with a soft smile. "The sunsets, the ocean, the sodas and food and surfing...." Not to mention all the hot girls, she mentally added to herself.

Upon Scootaloo speaking to him, Pipsqueak's cheeks turned a bright red and he nervously looked away from her. "Y-yeah," he muttered. After a moment of silence, Pipsqueak added, "I also... I also got you somethin' while I was there, Scootaloo...."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Really? What is it?" she said.

Swallowing, Pip reached into his bag and pulled out a large seashell. When he offered it to Scootaloo, she gasped; it was blue, with purple tinges and a dusting of gold.

"Oh, Celestia," Scootaloo said softly as she gently took the shell in her own hands. "This is beautiful, Pip!"

Pip looked down at the floor as he embarrassedly smiled. "I'm glad you like it...." he said quietly.

"Thank you so much, Pip!" Scootaloo said while beaming gratefully at him.

Pip's blush intensified as he replied, "You're welcome, Scoot...."

Sweetie frowned. "So Scootaloo's the only one you got anything for?" she said irritably.

Pip's eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot..." he said as he reached back into his bag. He pulled out several more items, saying, "I got presents for the rest of you, too!"

Pip's friends all thanked him, and each received their own unique gift; Sweetie was given a nice pair of fashionable lavender-colored sunglasses, Apple Bloom received a flute carved from crystal coral, Twist received a bracelet of glass beads, and Rumble received a hand bound sketchbook. Once all of the gifts he'd brought were distributed, Pip added, "I've got one more thing for you guys..." as he reached into his bag one more time. When he pulled his hands back out, he produced six wrapped candy bars as he smilingly cried, "I also got you all sea salted caramel-filled chocolate bars!"

Pip's friends cheered, then each took one of the candy bars as they graciously thanked him once again for the gifts. Sweetie then said to him after she had taken a bite from her chocolate, "You know, Pip, our friend Pinkie Pie is throwing a party to celebrate the beginning of the school year tonight, and we Crusaders are all allowed to bring a guest to it. We've already invited Rumble and Twist; would you like to come, too?"

Pipsqueak gasped. "Really? You mean it?" he said.

"Yep," the Crusaders said together.

Pip squealed excitedly. "Yes! Yes, I would love to come!" he cried.

Once they had consumed the chocolate bars and stored Pip's gifts in their bags, the Crusaders and their friends began playing on the playground. Pipsqueak alternated between swinging across the monkey bars and riding down the slides while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sat in the swings, talking as the swung back and forth beside each other. In the meantime, Scootaloo batted at a tetherball with Rumble before they moved on to playing handball against one of the school walls.

Once the bell rang and signaled that their recess hour was over, the children all began filing back into the schoolhouse. However, as Scootaloo was strolling in, Sweetie Belle grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "Hey, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo turned to Sweetie. "What is it?" she said.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Sweetie asked.

Scootaloo shrugged. "Alright," she replied.

Sweetie pulled Scootaloo to the side, away from the other kids crowding through the doors, and whispered to her, "So... you know that Pip has a huge crush on you, right?"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, duh," she said.

"And you're gay," Sweetie continued.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yep. What's your point?" she replied, raising a brow in puzzlement.

"Don't you think you should tell Pip he doesn't have a chance with you?" Sweetie said, a concerned look in her eyes. "I mean, you don't wanna get his hopes up, right?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "No, but I think it'll be fine," she said casually. "Pip'll probably get over me in a few months."

Sweetie nodded uncertainly. "Alright...." she muttered.

After Sweetie and Scootaloo returned to the classroom, Cheerilee began reviewing the last few scientific lessons she had taught last year. The end bell then rang, and Cheerilee said, "Thanks for coming, and it's wonderful to see you all again! I'll see you all tomorrow! Have a wonderful afternoon!"

As the students filed out, they cried to their teacher in reply, "Bye, Ms. Cheerilee!"

Once they were all in the school's front yard, Pip said to the Crusaders, "I'll go ask my mum and dad if I can come to the party."

"Me too," Twist added.

Rumble nodded. "And I should probably tell my brother," he said quietly.

Sweetie nodded. "Alright," she said. "So go tell your families where we're gonna be, then let's regroup at the Sugar Shack. The party's at five; I'll see you guys then!"

The Crusaders and their friends all bid each other farewell, then they went their separate ways back to each of their homes.


That evening, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were already at the Sugar Shack and talking to Pinkie, Spike, and all their other friends when Twist and Pipsqueak entered. There was a record player playing dance music in one of the shop's corners, and there were balloons and streamers all around. Upon the entrance of Twist and Pipsqueak, Pinkie immediately looked up at them. "Oh! Hi, guys!" she cried with an enormous smile.

"Hello," Pipsqueak and Twist replied with small waves.

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said to Pipsqueak. "What's your name?"

"I'm Pip, Miss Pinkie," Pip replied with a polite bow.

Pinkie giggled. "What a gentleman!" she said. She then held up two large bowls, one filled with cake balls and one filled with ice cream balls, and said, "Would you two like any cake or some ice cream?"

"Oh, yes, please!" Twist immediately cried, running forward to grab a handful of each.

As Twist and Pip had each gotten plates of Pinkie's ball sweets, Pinkie nodded to Twilight and Spike, saying, "These are my new friends Twilight Sparkle and Spike!"

Pip's eyes widened. "Wait- you're Spike?" he said surprisedly.

Spike nodded. "Yep," he said. "I'm older than I look."

Pip blinked. "Alright, then...." he muttered.

Pinkie clapped her hands together. "Let's play some games now!" she cried.

A few minutes into their first round of Twenty Questions, the doorbell was rung again as Rumble pushed the door open and entered. Pinkie immediately cried to him as the others turned to look at him, "Oh! You must be Rumble Lane, right?"

"Yep," Rumble answered with a soft smile.

Scootaloo approached Rumble as the others continued their game. "It's good to have you here," she said with a friendly smile.

Rumble nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for inviting me," he said.

Once they began walking back to the others, however, Rumble's eyes fell upon Spike, who was busy selecting a glass soda bottle from a metal tub of ice. At that instant, Rumble immediately froze, and a blush began to creep into his face.

Noticing that Rumble had stopped following her, Scootaloo turned back to him and said, "Rumble?"

"Who- who's that?" Rumble said, his eyes still fixed on Spike.

Scootaloo followed Rumble's gaze, then grinned. "Oh! That's Spike, the guy I was telling you about earlier!" she said.

An anxious expression formed on Rumble's face. "Th-that's Spike?!" he stuttered.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah! C'mon, I'll introduce you to him!" she said, jerking her head in Spike's direction.

Rumble fearfully backed away, saying, "N-no, that's alright... um.... You don't have to do that, Scoot...."

Scootaloo blinked confusedly. "Why are you so nervous?" she said.

"I... I don't know," Rumble said, embarrassedly looking away.

Scootaloo gazed at Rumble for a moment, then suddenly realized something: Rumble was blushing. Intensely.

With a mischievous smile and wickedly narrowed eyes, Scootaloo took a hold of one of Rumble's wrists and said, "Come on; I really think you should talk to him."

Rumble's eyes widened with shock. "What?!" he said. "W-wait!" he protested as Scootaloo pulled him towards Spike.

Once Scootaloo and Rumble were standing before Spike, Spike turned to them and said cheerfully, "Oh, hey, Scootaloo!"

"Hey, Spike," Scootaloo replied. She released Rumble's wrist and placed her hand on his back as she said, "This is Rumble, my other skating buddy!"

Spike's grin widened. "Nice to meet you, Rumble!" he said. "I'm Spike!"

Rumble's cheeks blazed a deep crimson as he quietly replied, "H...hi...."

Spike blinked as he gazed confusedly at Rumble. "Hey, what's up, dude?" he said concernedly.

Rumble was silent. In response, Scootaloo draped her arm around Rumble's shoulders and said, "You should see Rumble skate! His skills are wicked!"

"Really? That's awesome!" Spike said.

"He's also the best artist in town," Scootaloo added. "In fact, you're already familiar with his work."

"Really? Like what?" Spike said curiously.

"Like that paining of that dragon in the skate park you like so much," Scootaloo replied.

Spike's eyes widened. "That was you?" he said to Rumble.

Rumble made a small nod as he tremblingly replied, "Y-yes...."

Spike grinned elatedly. "Dude, that thing rocks!" he said.

Stunned, Rumble looked back at Spike. "R-really?" he said.

"Yeah!" Spike cried. "Your stuff is all around town, right?"

"Y-yeah...." Rumble replied as his blush began building again.

"Your paintings are incredible!" Spike said, playfully punching Rumble in the shoulder. "They're so good that nobody paints over them!"

"R-really?" Rumble said, more stunned still.

"Mm-hmm," Spike replied with a cheerful nod.

Rumble looked back down. "I always thought nobody painted over them 'cause it would be too much work and money-"

"Not at all!" Spike said. "People talk about how great they are all the time! Nobody wants to get rid of them!"

Rumble gazed into Spike's eyes again, then swallowed and nodded. "Th...thanks...." he said, smiling as he shyly looked away again.

Meanwhile, the rest of their friends had just finished a round of riddles. Twilight looked up at the clock and saw that it was about nine. "It's getting pretty late," she said, turning to Spike. "We should be heading home. We've got a lot to do tomorrow."

Spike nodded at Twilight, then turned back to Rumble. "It's awesome to meet you, Rumble," he said.

Rumble nodded. "Yeah. It was n-nice to meet you too," he said softly.

"We should all hang out and skate sometime," Scootaloo added, smirking.

Rumble nodded. "Yeah. I... I'd like that...." he said.

"I can't wait to hang out some more," Spike said. "You seem really cool, Rumble." Spike then winked playfully and concluded, "Well, see you guys later!"

"Bye!" Scootaloo called back as Spike exited the Sugar Shack with Twilight.

"I think we should go home, too," Rarity said. "After all, it is a school night."

"That's right," Applejack said. "Ya'll need to get up early for class, Bloom! Let's be on our way."

"Alright," Pinkie said a little disappointedly. She then grinned, however, as she said, "Thanks for coming, everyone! I had a great time!"

The others agreed, then they all bid farewell to each other and began exiting to return to their homes, as well. However, before they left, Sweetie said to Scootaloo, "Hey, why are you smiling so much?"

Scootaloo smirked at Sweetie. "I think Rumble has a crush on someone!" she sang.

Sweetie blinked. "Really?" she said. "On who?"

"Spike," Scootaloo replied.

Sweetie's eyes widened, then she gasped elatedly. "Really?!" she cried.

Scootaloo's brow furrowed in confusion. "Uh... I think so...." she said uncertainly.

Sweetie squealed with excitement, then cried, "Oh, yes! They would be so cute together!"

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "R-really?" she said surprisedly. "You're not upset at all?"

Sweetie gave a puzzled look to Scootaloo. "Uh... no. Why would I be?"

Scootaloo replied, "I mean, I thought that since you also have a crush on Spike...."

Sweetie flinched and paled as she held her hands up to her mouth in fright. "W-what?!" she cried distressedly. "What are you-?!"

"It's pretty obvious, Sweetie," Scootaloo said flatly. "Don't worry; I won't tell anyone."

Blushing, Sweetie lowered her hands and replied, "Al... alright...."

"Anyway," Scootaloo said, her smirk returning, "Rumble is just smitten by Spike. So why aren't you bothered by it?"

Sweetie grinned. "Well, I don't imagine that Spike is ever going to feel the same way," she said. "But it's still a nice idea to think about."

Scootaloo smirked. "Alright. I can totally get that," she replied.


After Twilight and Spike had returned to the Golden Oak Library, Twilight turned on the lights as she sleepily said to Spike, "Would you mind if I take a bath first?"

"Go right ahead," Spike replied, yawning. "I'll just read until you're done."

Twilight beamed. "Thanks, Spike," she said.

However, as Twilight was going upstairs and Spike went towards a shelf to select a book, his eye was caught by their letterbox, which held a letter bearing the Royal Seal of Princess Celestia.

"Twilight!" Spike called back to his mentor as he picked up the envelope. "It's a letter from the Princess."

Confused, Twilight came back down the stairs and took the envelope from Spike. Upon seeing that the seal was in blood-red wax, Twilight's eyes widened as she gasped fearfully and swiftly pulled it open. A blood-red seal indicated emergency, and that the letter should be read as urgently as possible.

Once Twilight shook the folded parchment out of the envelope and opened it, she read what was written by Celestia's hand out loud:

"Twilight,

Come to Olympus with Spike IMMEDIATELY. We must speak as soon as possible.

Celestia"

"What's going on?" Spike said, gazing at Twilight fearfully.

"I don't know," Twilight said. She folded her letter and slid it into her pocket as she said, "We need to go, though. Come on, Spike."

Without another word, Twilight and Spike sprinted out of the library and ran to Avalon Station, where they purchased tickets for a two-way trip to Olympus and boarded the first train there.

Once Twilight and Spike had settled into a booth, the train had begun moving, and a few minutes had passed, Spike said anxiously to Twilight, "What do you think happened?"

Twilight shook her head. "I have no idea," she said. "I just hope everyone's okay."

Spike nodded, then gazed out the window at the inky black landscape rushing by them under the brightly starry night sky.

Twilight and Spike's worry kept them awake for a few hours, but eventually exhaustion overcame them and they fell asleep, leaning against each other.

They were abruptly woken up again when the train pulled into Olympus Station and the conductors walked down the halls, shouting, "All off for Olympus! All off for Olympus!"

Upon waking, Spike and Twilight immediately ran off the train, out of the station, and up the streets of stone stairs to Camelot Castle.

Twilight and Spike were quite out of breath once they reached the front gates to the castle's central structure, and so they panted and caught their breath as the guards at the door pulled it open to allow them inside.

Once they were in the long, columned throne room, Twilight and Spike saw that Celestia and Luna were still in pajamas as they sat on their thrones (Luna had had one installed for herself beside Celestia's when she first arrived) and that they were speaking to Hymnal Warren, the elderly Human Royal Spymaster to Celestia.

Twilight and Spike stepped towards the Princesses; as they did, they heard the hunched, bespectacled, wrinkled Royal Spymaster (who was dressed in a full three-piece suit despite the fact that it was about two o'clock in the morning) say, "... find information about who did this or where he is anywhere. I assure you, Your Highnesses, my informants are doing absolutely everything they can-"

However, Celestia interrupted Warren when she saw Twilight and Spike approaching. "Ah, hello, Twilight. Hello, Spike," she said with a polite smile. She then looked down at Warren and said to him, "We can continue this later. I must speak to these two alone."

Warren bowed. "As you wish, Your Majesty," he said deferentially. As he turned around to exit the throne room, he exchanged a nod of acknowledgement with Twilight and Spike. As Warren shut the hall's entrance, Twilight and Spike closed the rest of the distance to the Princesses.

When they were standing immediately before the Goddesses, the young Elves each fell to one knee and bowed. "You've summoned me, Your Highness?" Twilight said.

"Rise," Celestia said.

Once Twilight and Spike were standing again, Twilight said fearfully, "What's going on, Princess? What do you need to tell us?"

Celestia replied with a weary voice, "I'm very sorry I interrupted your night. However, this was a direly urgent situation, and I had to speak to you immediately. In addition, I couldn't risk discussing this over a letter, should our messages be intercepted."

Twilight held her hands to her mouth. "What do you mean?" she said worriedly.

"We've received a letter from our brother Horus that bears very troubling news," Luna said gravely. "It required the immediate attention of the both of us."

Before Twilight could ask another question, Celestia held up a letter bearing the Royal Seal of Asgard: a shield emblazoned with a hawk. "Horus has just received a visit from one of our other brothers. The Sixth Seal has been broken."

Spike gaped at Celestia as Twilight gasped, her eyes wide with terror and her hands clamped over her mouth. "Y-you mean...?" she tremblingly whispered.

Celestia nodded. With a dire frown, she said, "Yes, Twilight. I'm afraid it's true; the God of Storms, Prince Scorpan, has returned."