Rise of Equestria: The War Begins

by Israel Yabuki

Farewell, Freedom Village

Author's Note:

Well, I hope this ending was good enough. I'm going to wait a while until I start the 2nd story for my Rise of Equestria series. But I just want to thank you all for all of your support and enjoying my stories, so thank you and brony on!

"Alright then guys, before we leave for Ponyville, I suggest that we all pack up our stuff and say our farewells to our friends and families. They deserve to know that much." Eternal implied. "Same goes for you Heat Blitz, if you're coming with me we'll have to tell Crimson and Flaming we're leaving."

"I know bro." Heat Blitz replied, putting on a sad smile. "I'm really going to miss the bundle of joy. She was always a little ray of sunshine to us."

"I know, but this is something we have to do in order to grow. Plus, every once in a while, we can always come back and visit whenever we're not so busy saving Equestria. Now come on. Like father always says, it's never a good idea to keep the ladies waiting for long."

"What does that make me, chopped liver?!" Rarity asks, feeling offended.

"Only if said pony brings up the subject." Eternal replies with a bored, straight face.

"OOH, burn! I'm liking his style already! I can tell that we are gonna get along just fine with you guys around." Rainbow Dash says, patting Eternal's back hard.

"Hmph! Well I never!" Rarity scoffed. She turned away from Rainbow Dash with her eyes closed, with her snout pointing up into the sky. Pinkie Pie confronted Rarity with her usual happy attitude.

"Aww, cheer up Rarity. At least you still got Spike worshiping the ground you walk on, even though he's been crushing on you ever since he was just a baby dragon. It's too bad that he was put under hypnosis by the Song of Dragons against his own will." Pinkie explains quickly. Rarity stares at Pinkie with her "not helping" look, instantly making Pinkie feel like she's said enough.

"Anyways, I'd better get going. Come along Rain Drop. Mom and dad are probably still worried sick about you, and are wondering where you are," Tidal says to his little sister.

"Coming," Rain replies. She follows Tidal Wave and stays close to his side, yet she feels uncomfortable with Melodia being so close as well. She's wide awake but she still has her forelegs wrapped around Tidal's neck and won't let go of him. Rain feels a hint of jealousy running through her mind since she would always latch onto Tidal's neck every time she was tired and wanted him to carry her to her room if she ever stayed up late, reading her favorite books.

As she was taking that short trip down memory lane, she feels Tidal place his hoof on her shoulder. She stops, and looks at her big brother. "We're home now sis," he says. He points over to the two-story building a few feet in front of them. Just as they approach the front door of their house, the door opens up and shows a male and female earth pony.

The mare has the same light blue fur as Tidal Wave, with a mane and tail like Rain Drop's fur. The stallion has a black mane and tail like Tidal Wave, yet like Rain's mane and tail, the stallion has aqua blue fur. The parents greet them looking surprised and worried.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Rain Drop shouts, running to her parents. They kneel down and hug Rain Drop, holding her safely in their hooves.

"Rain, we were worried sick about you what happened?!" Rain's mom asks.

"I don't know, I was just reading a book, and next thing I know, I end up on top up of some mountain by this strange pony who looked like a dragon. I was crying and screaming for somepony to help me and then she goes scratches me before she threw me off the mountain," Rain explains.

"She's telling the truth mother," Tidal says. "If you don't believe me then this lady on my back is living proof."

His parents looked in shock and disgust when Melodia lifted up her head and waved at them.

"Salutations." she said, plainly.

"How dare you do this to our daughter! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Tidal's dad asks.

"Father, allow me to explain," Tidal says.

"No absolutely not, the last thing we need to hear right now is your excuses! It's bad enough that our little Rain Drop was hurt, including you!" Tidal's mom says as she walks up to her son and hugs him. "I just can't stand the fact that you fought this monster and got your little sister involved in this!"

"I know, mother. I was scared for her, too. But you have to listen to me. I'm not going to be around in the Freedom Village for very long." Tidal replied. His mom and dad looked at him with confusion. "You see, my friends and I have already done everything for this village. But if we stay here, we might not get to explore and learn what's beyond the village and valley all put together."

"Absolutely not! You'll be doing no such thing until you've--" his father said before he cut him off.

"Until I've what, follow in your greedy hoofsteps? Sorry, but I'm not like you, father. I don't care about money or having the power to control others. I prefer to walk my own path and start off fresh. I'm not your little colt anymore and this is something that I have to do. Plus, I can't just abandon Melodia after everything she went through thousands of years ago." Tidal explains.

"Stop trying to butter me up, you sweet talker!" Melodia chuckled, pinching Tidal's cheek.

"Ouch! Watch the claws!"

"Oh, stop being such a foal."

"B...But Tidal Wave, are you sure about leaving? What about your sister?" his mother asked.

"Mommy! Daddy! Stop that! Yes, I may be a little young, but that doesn't mean you should treat me like a foal and use me as some pawn to make big brother stay here! If you really love my big brother, you'll stop being so greedy and start acting like a family for once! Now stop arguing with each other and make up like a real mommy and daddy does with their children!" Rain Drop intervened.

Their parents were taken by surprise by their daughter's words. Even Tidal and Melodia were caught off guard by how she told off her parents. Tidal turned back to face his parents and they turned to face him with the look of, to Tidal's surprise, guilt and anxiety. His father approached him first.

"Listen, Tidal Wave. I know I wasn't always the best father, and I know I hurt you. But the thing is, I just wanted us to stay together and prevent the family from falling apart." his dad said.

"Father, moving out of the house is a big step in every mare and stallion's life so they can learn to continue onward for their own sake, as well as to make their loved ones proud. I love you, father, but I can't stand having to put up these constant arguements between you, me and mother. Throughout my whole life, all I wanted from you guys was your love and support and these five simple words: I'm proud of you, son. Please, let's stop this meaningless family feud and make up for all our past mistakes." Tidal explains.

"Look, it's not any of my business to interfere with family affairs, but you two should be ashamed of using your son as a meal ticket to stay in power next to whoever leads this village. Parents are suppose to be kind and loving to their children, even in the darkest of times. I know, because that's what my father would always do when I was just a little filly long ago. There was even that last act of courage where he gave up his life just so I could live another day, and it really scarred me since then." Melodia explains. "You should be grateful for all the accomplishments Tidal Wave has done for the both of you over the years."

Melodia's words seemed to have really gotten to Tidal's mom and dad. Their eyes were filled with regret as they looked at Tidal Wave again.

"Is that really all you wanted from us? Just our love and support?" his mom asked. Tidal nodded with a nervous smile, hoping to get his wish. His mother sniffed. "If it means that you'll be happy, then I'll be happy to say "I'm proud of you, son." she wrapped her arms around his, sobbing quietly. She and Tidal's dad savored their son's final few moments in the Freedom Village.

"I'm sorry for not being the father you wanted me to be, Tidal Wave. If there's anything else you want us to do, then go ahead and tell us and we'll try to make it happen." his dad said.

"Just make sure that Rain Drop lives a cheerful life. A life that I couldn't even begin to imagine. That's all I want the two of you to do." Tidal replied. His parents pulled away from the hug and nodded and backed away, allowing Rain Drop to give her big brother a hug.

"Don't forget about me, okay?" Rain asked.

"I could never forget about you, Rain." Tidal replies warmly.

"I love you, big brother."

"I love you, too, little sis."

Tidal nuzzled his little sister and headed inside his house to start packing up his saddle bags, getting ready for the big move with all his friends, including his brand new close friend, Melodia.

---

As Hurricane Breeze was coming up to his house, Fluttershy followed him close behind. She had never met his family before and wanted to meet them first hoof. Hurricane had no problems with her tagging along with him, but the same couldn't be said for his sisters.

When they finally reached the front door of his house, he reached out to open the door, but it opened up, revealing his loving mom, Her fur was silver colored like Hurricane's mane and her mane was minty green like her son's fur, but her eyes were golden yellow.

"Oh, Hurricane. Welcome home. Is this a friend of yours?" his mom asks.

"Yes ma'am. My name's Fluttershy. Who are you?" Fluttershy asks.

"I am Sunny Breeze. If it wasn't obvious, I'm Hurricane's mother. It's nice to meet you." Sunny and Fluttershy walked up to each other and shook hooves with each other. "You know, I don't think we've ever met before, are you new here to the Freedom Village?"

"Well, yes. Hurriane and I became really good friends. I met him in the zoo. The poor stallion's been working so hard all by himself to care for the zoo animals." Fluttershy explains.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Hurricane asks.

"Sure, sweetie, anything." Sunny replies.

"I want you to look after the animals at the zoo."

"The zoo? What for?"

"If you haven't found out yet, I'm leaving the Freedom Village. A dangerous threat was unleashed a short while ago and now it's escaped into the outside world. There's no telling where it'll attack, so I've got to go with my friends to put a stop to it." Hurricane explains.

"What?! Hurricane, you can't go out into the world, it's dangerous!"

"That's why I'm packing up all my necessary equiptment before I leave soon. Of course, I can't ask you to take on the task alone, so can you make sure my sisters know about this?"

"Oh, we can hear you, and you can just forget it you little twerp!" said another female voice. Fluttershy gasped and looked over Sunny to see two looked just like Hurricane Breeze with their matching silver manes and tails and their minty green fur coats, but their eyes were golden yellow like their mom's.

"Angel Wings, listen, I can't have mom doing all the work. You only saw me working at the zoo and no pony else because I put more time and love into nurturing all those animals."

"And that concerns me, why, Hurricane? There's absolutely no way we're going to work at that stinky zoo caring for those smelly animals anymore! If you ask me, you should just save us all the trouble, close it all down and take those disgusting creatures to another zoo." Angel says, turning away.

"That's just plain rude of you to say that!" Fluttershy intervenes.

"And just who are you suppose to be, his marefriend?" asked his other sister.

"My name is Fluttershy, and just who are you to disrespect your own little brother?" Fluttershy asks, feeling her anger starting to build up.

"I am Summer Breeze. And what we're talking about doesn't concern you, so back off." she replies. Her attention returns to Hurricane Breeze, "Now, if you want to keep that zoo, that's fine, but working at a filthy zoo isn't the type of work for two mares like us."

"Honestly, little brothers can be such a pain. How grandmother ever dealt with you, we'll never know, you might as well save us the trouble and--" Angel wings before she gets cut off.

"Stop...right...THERE!!!" Fluttershy intervenes.

Angel and Summer looked at Fluttershy, but then became struck with fear when she unleashed "The Stare" on the two mares and approached them slowly.

"Whoa, c-chill, sister!" Angel said nervously.

"Don't "chill, sister" me! Hurricane Breeze is your little brother! Ganging up on him and insulting him in front of his face is an insult to older sisters everywhere! And I should know, because I too am an older sister to my little brother back at my home. He may have had a rocky start in wanting to start his own career, but I wanted him to always keep trying and never give up. A good sister always shows her love and support to her little brothers and/or sisters, but you two are just too self-absorbed in your own easy life that you hardly ever see the pain your little brother's been feeling ever since his beloved grandmother passed away!" Fluttershy said, crossed.

"I have to agree with Fluttershy, you two should be ashamed of yourselves! And I think it's about time you two started helping out around the house! Your brother has done a lot for our family and I've just about had enough of your stuck up attitudes! Now apologize to Hurricane Breeze AT ONCE!" Sunny Breeze ordered, shouting that last part at her daughters.

Summer Breeze and Angel Wings flinched and took a step back together. They just looked at Hurricane with the feeling of digust, which then turned into guilt. They approached Hurricane Breeze and leaned down a bit to his eye level and actually saw and felt the pain their little brother had buried deep inside his heart, but they never gave him the chances to let him confess because they made him feel powerless.

"H-Hurricane?" Angel Wings asks. "I... w-we're sorry."

"Why?" Hurricane said, hiding his eyes in his mane. His body began to quiver. "Why did you always have to belittle every little thing I ever did just because I wasn't born as your third sister?"

"It was a terrible mistake, we admit it, but the truth was... we had a little trouble with trusting you as our little brother ever since daddy went missing. I guess we thought that he had something against you and we sort of went along with it, but you never did anything bad. We didn't want to admit we were wrong, and I guess our pride got in the way from seeing how much we've hurt you." Angel says.

"So in other words, we just wanted to say we're sorry for everything we've done. It wasn't right for us to go against you and we want to make it up to you. If you want us to help mom run the zoo when you leave, then that's what we'll do if means you'll be happy." Summer adds.

"Y...You really mean it?" Hurricane asks.

"Yes. And we want you to know one more thing." Angel says. She and Summer wrapped their hooves around Hurricane and pulled him in gently into a warm hug. "We love you, Hurricane. And we always will."

"No matter what you do or how you choose to live your life. From now on, you'll always have our love and support and we promise to take good care of the animals here." Summer added.

Hurricane smiled warmly and hugged his sisters back. "Angel Wings, Summer Breeze, thank you both so much, you don't know how much this means to me." he said. After a few seconds of hugging, he let go of his sisters and walked inside with Fluttershy close behind. "Well, I'd better get to packing. Oh, and I'll make a list for you girls, so you'll know what you need to do when caring for all the animals."

"Alright." his sisters and mom replied.

"I'm glad you were able to work things out with your sisters. I bet you feel better now that you're not going to be fighting with them anymore." Fluttershy asks.

"If you hadn't tagged along, they'd probably still have these "trusting issues" with me. So, I mostly have you to thank for all of this, Fluttershy." Hurricane replies.

"Aww, you're welcome. What are friends for?"

Hurricane smiled and nodded and walked into his room while Fluttershy waited for him outside his bedroom door as he started packing his things, getting himself ready to leave.

---

Ground Breaker was heading back to his home to break the news to his dad. Applejack tagged along with Ground Breaker just so she could keep him company.

"Ya know, Ah don't think Ah've ever seen yer dad before. What's he like?" AJ asked.

"Best dad anypony could ask for. We've had our ups and downs when it came to life on the farm, but he's always taken very good care of me since I was just a foal." Ground says. "He's the only family I've got since I was never able to meet my mom. I don't know where she is or why she left, but, in all honesty, I'm just glad my dad had done everything to raise me right."

"Ah getcha, and look how good ya turned out. Ah'll bet yer dad is gonna be surprised to hear about how yer movin' out and goin' on a new adventure."

"No kidding."

Ground and Applejack had a few good laughs soon afterwards. A few minutes later, Ground Breaker and Applejack reach the house and Ground opened up the door. In doing so, he caught the scent of something tasty in the kitchen and he licked his lips in hunger. His dad then walks into the living room. His fur was a solid brown color, though a bit darker than that. His mane and tail were all black and his eyes were dark green, the same exact color as Ground Breaker's eyes.

"Well, now. Nice to see that you're still in one piece. A lot of crazy stuff went on out there and I was worried that you might have gotten hurt. But, at least now I know you're okay." he said.

"Thanks, dad. Here, I want you to meet my friend." Ground Breaker said. He took a step to the side and showed Applejack to his dad.

"Howdy, partner. Name's Applejack. Ground Breaker's told me lotsa good thing 'boutcha." AJ says.

"It's nice to meet you, Applejack. I'm Earth Shaker. I always knew he'd find somepony special." he said. Ground Breaker facehooved himself in embarrassment.

"Dad! She's just my friend! You know I'm old-fashioned when it comes to relationships." Ground replied.

"I know, I know. I'm just playing with you. So what exactly brings you by? I can already tell you're not here to retire for the day or just to grab a bite to eat. So what's on your mind?" Earth Shaker asked.

"The thing is, dad, I've got to get my saddle bags packed up. I'm planning on heading over to this place called Ponyville, meaning me and my friends are leaving the Freedom Village."

"Oh? What's the occasion?"

"Remember how everything in the village went all nutsy-coo-coo?"

"Yes?"

"Well, that was from this evil entity who awakened from her slumber and brought out an even stronger evil and now that stronger evil entity is out there somewhere, waiting to strike."

"Yer son ain't lyin' sir. Ah saw the evil creature with mah own eyes, too." AJ added. For a little while, Earth Shaker had said nothing and only stood eye to eye with his son. Earth Shaker wasn't comfortable about Ground wanting to move out of the village with whatever evil creature was out there. But at the same time, he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop his son from making his own choices.

Earth Shaker let out a sigh and approached Ground Breaker, putting his hoof on his son's shoulder. "Just remember that even though I don't want you to get hurt, I want you to know that as your father, I have to know when to let my own son go so he can grow and learn."

"Dad, are you saying...?" Ground asked.

"Yes. If you want to go out into the world, then I won't stop you. After all, it'll save me a bundle on my food stocks now that you're moving out." Earth Shaker chuckled, giving his son a playful hit on the shoulders. Ground Breaker laughed it out like it was a joke. "Either way, I'm proud of you, my son." he said. He pulled in Ground Breaker and hugged him and his son hugged back.

Applejack took her stretson hat and placed it over her chest watching as Ground as his father were saying their goodbyes to each other. Seeing a bond like this made her think about her parents. Once Earth Shaker was done and let his son go, Ground Breaker walked to his room and began packing his things.

---

Spark Burst had flown over the village, heading back to his house with his friend, Rainbow Dash. During the whole flight there, she wouldn't stop rambling on about the things she wanted to "teach" Spark about when they get back to Ponyville.

"Tell me, Spark. You're a fast flyer, and a great fighter, right?" Rainbow asked.

"Umm... yes? Why do you ask?" Spark asked.

"I'm just sayin', not a lot of pegasi can fly fast and kick flank at the same time! Unless you're somepony gifted and talented like myself, then it's no surprise."

"Rainbow Dash, modesty is a virtue. Those who boast about self-greatness will eventually lose face. And for the record, I wasn't gifted when I became the way I am now."

"Aww, come on, Sparkster. You should feel proud about your own greatness."

"Bragging isn't my style. It'll only serve to cloud all the hard work I've endured to get this far."

"Well, aren't you a riot at parties." Rainbow crossed her hooves, bored with his attitude. "At least mostly everypony over at the Wonderbolts Academy doesn't take the fun out."

"What's the Wonderbolts Academy?"

"Well, since you've been living out here, I might as well tell you. The Wonderbolts Academy is just the most awesome of awesome places where only the top-notch pegasi become the best flyers and serve to protect the citizens of Ponyville. I can even put in a good word about you with a pretty awesome friend of mine who's captain of the Wondebolts, if you want."

"Umm... hmm... I'm not sure, but I'll take it into consideration."

"Sweet! So where's your home?"

Spark Burst scouted the village from above and spotted a two-story buildings with a pond on the backyard, and a smirk appeared on his face. "Follow me." he said. He and Rainbow flew down towards the house and landed at the front porch. "Hold on for just a moment." he told Rainbow. He opened up the door and right in front of his eyes stood a pegasus mare. She had a long, blonde mane, same color as Spark Burst's blonde, spikey hair and had minty green eyes just like Spark's eyes but looked more brighter than her son's. Her fur coat, however, was white.

"Whoa, are you Spark's mom?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes. My name is Lightning Storm. And who might you be?" she asked.

"I'm Rainbow Dash, I'm Spark's buddy." she replies.

"Long story short, she started chasing me all over the village while I was working." Spark added. Lightning Storm chuckled and looked at Rainbow Dash, who started blushing a bit.

"Heheh, I'm a little competitive. Sorry about that." Rainbow replied.

"That's alright. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I did train Spark Burst." Lightning said.

"Yeah, he told me about that. I've got a lot of respect for you for that!"

"Thank you, Ms. Dash."

"Hey, no problem"

"Well, if we're all done with these trips down memory lane, I've gotta pack my saddle bags. The others won't wait for me for very long. Not while that threat is still on the loose." Spark says. He flew up to the second floor and approached the door to his room. But then, he took a side step, moving away from the door as his mom flew up and stood in between her son's room and Spark.

"I'm well aware of the situation, Spark. But I can't allow you to go out on your own. It's too dangerous. You're the only family I have left after my husband passed away." Lightning said in a low tone.

"I know. It may be dangerous out there, but this is something I have to do." Spark replied.

"The answer is no!"

"I'm old enough to make my own choices. And I'm not going to be alone on my journey. My friends will be tagging along with me on the trip."

"Spark, I can't take that risk. You're much too precious for me to lose!"

Never before had Rainbow Dash seen or heard of a mother being so protective of her own son to the point where she would be refusing to let him leave, even if he wasn't traveling alone. She knew that she wasn't in a position to interfere with these family arguements, but she wanted to do something to help convince Lightning Storm to let her son go on his trip.

"Look, Lightning" Rainbow said, flying up to the 2nd floor. "It's none of my business to meddle in your family arguement, but what's the point of training your own son into a combat genius if you're not going to let him walk his own path, it just doesn't seem right. The whole point about teaching your kid all that self-defense excercise was to help him grow and learn to be an independant stallion. I know that you don't feel comfortable with it, but that's just part of how life works Lightning."

In the midst of the arguement, Lightning stopped and felt shocked at what Rainbow said. It was true that Lightning didn't want to let her son go. He had grown into a strong, and wise fighter than his own father despite his young age, but she still couldn't bare the thought of losing her own son.

She knew she had to make the right choice, even if it wasn't the easiest choice a parent could make. She looked down with her mane drooping over her face. "Spark." she said. "If this is what you want, then I won't stop you, but just know that no matter what, if you ever need me, I'll always be right here." Lightning looked up with a tearful smile, "You've made me so proud of how much you've grown."

Spark Burst smiled back and approached his mom, hugging her. "And I'm proud to call you my mother, thank you so much for everything that you've for me. I love you, mom." he said.

"I love you, too, Spark." Lightning whimpered. She hugged him back and sobbed in his shoulder. Spark Burst unfolded one of his wings and wrapped it around her. Lightning sobbed even louder in Spark's shoulder, wrapping her hooves around him tightly. Rainbow Dash could tell that they needed some time alone and flew back down to the first floor and waited.

For a little while, Spark held his mother in a warm hug and then finally let go. She moved out of the way to his room and allowed him to pack his saddle bags.

---

Twilight and Sunset went with the three brothers, Blue Blaze, Eternal Flames and Heat Blitz back to their house, wanting to keep them company when they say their good-byes to their family, minus the oldest brother, who has a village to look after. All the while, Twilight was still a bit worried about how Spike had fallen prey to the sound of the Song of Dragons. She only hoped that no matter the danger, they would do all that they could to bring back Spike safe and sound.

Sunset could feel the sadness inside Twilight's heart and couldn't blame her. Spike was like an adorable little brother to her and to see him get caught overtaken by that song was heartbreaking. Even if she wanted to at least ease Twilight's pain, the fact still stands that Spike was missing.

Finally reaching the house, the four friends walked inside. Twilight and Sunset walked into the living room and waited for the boys to take care of business. Twilight was still looking sad and she wasn't going getting any better, so Sunset sat closer to Twilight and placed a hoof on one of Twilight's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Twilight. I know it'll take some time, but we'll bring Spike back." Sunset says.

"Didn't you see the way he... looked at me?" Twilight asks with tears in her eyes. "That wasn't the same Spike I hatched from and egg when I was a filly!" Twilight couldn't keep the tears in any longer and buried her face in her hooves, along with the addition of her wings. Sunset couldn't do much to ease her pain except hug Twilight and rock her gently back and forth.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the three brothers met up in Blue Blaze's bedroom with his wife and daughter. Flaming Sapphire wasn't sure why they needed to meet up, so she asked her dad.

"Daddy? What's going on? Did something bad happen?" Flaming asked.

"Why don't we let your uncles explain it, sweetie? It's very important." Blue Blaze implied.

"Oh, okay."

"I'm sure you know this already since you told me earlier, Blue Blaze, but I need to make this clear to Crimson and you, my little niece." Eternal says. Flaming and Crimson nodded. Eternal took a deep breath and said, "I've decided to move out of the village and travel to Ponyville. There's nothing left for me to learn here, so I hope you both understand this.

"What? You're leaving? But will I ever see you again?" Flaming asked, feeling sad.

"Of course, sweetie. You should know that good-byes aren't really forever." Eternal replied.

"Same goes for me. I'm going with Eternal and his friends. I don't think there's anything left for me to do in the village, so I might as well pack up and head out." Heat Blitz says.

"What? Are you sure about this?" Crimson asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, I just watched one of my friends fall into a trance in front of my very eyes and now he's out there under the control of an evil entity."

"Which is why my friends and I are going to get him back. But right now, I think Twilight needs all the comfort she can get now that her #1 assistant is gone at the moment." Eternal implies.

"You're right about that, bro. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll do what I can."

"Wait! Uncle Heat and Eternal!" Flaming exclaimed. She got both of her uncles' attentions. She ran up to them with her cute little hooves and hugged Heat Blitz first, sniffling. Heat Blitz hugged his niece back for a while until he had her face him.

"Don't forget about us, okay?" Heat Blitz asks. Flaming nodded and turned her attention to her uncle Eternal Flames and walked up to him.

"We won't forget about you." Eternal added. Flaming smiled tearfully and hugged Eternal. He hugged her back and gave her a peck on the forehead.

"I love you, uncle Eternal and Heat." Flaming says.

"We love you, too, kiddo. Listen to your mom and dad and remember to be good, okay?" Heat says.

"I will."

"Come on, bro. We've got some packing to do. Get your saddle bags ready." Eternal says.

"Right!"

"Good luck, boys. And thanks for everything." Crimson Ruby says. Eternal and Heat nodded and walked out of the bedroom and headed to their own rooms and started packing their things.

---

At the ice cream joint, Pinkie Pie was pigging out on yet another large bowl of ice cream. Shadow Force, however, went in the back and chatted with his boss. He explained everything about what had happened earlier and the next thing that really shocked him.

"Look, boss. I just want to say that I'm grateful for everything you've done. You gave me a pretty neat job and I've had nothing but good memories here. But, because of the situation that went on earlier with that crazed evil maniac, I have to resign from my job and move out with my friends." Shadow says.

"You what? Well, gee, I didn't think you'd leave so sudden. But, are you sure you're making the right choice, I mean, you've made a lot of customers happy here as well as made them feel welcome. If you left, the locals would miss ya very much. But if this is what you have to do, then I won't stop you." his boss said.

"Thanks, boss."

"You're welcome. But could I ask you one thing?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Shadow waited for his boss to respond and he ended up pointing at a certain pink pony who had her face buried deep in an ice cream sundae. "Who's gonna pay for her bill?" he asks.

"HAH! You seem to forget that I have a habit of saving my bits. This time, it's on me."

"Cool, thanks, Shadow. But, I don't think I'll have enough ice cream left in the freezer for the others if she's munching on any more bowls."

"Alright, I'll try to talk to her. In the meantime, you know where I hid my life savings." Shadow leaped over the counter and walked over to the ever-hungry Pinkie Pie, still making her munching sounds as she devours her sundae and Shadow tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Pinkster."

"YIPE!" Pinkie shrieked. She leaped up and started bouncing off the walls. Shadow quirked an eyebrow at how she even does what she does. Pinkie lands back on her chair with her eyes shrunk. "Oh, hi there, Shadow, what'd you need, is there something wrong? OOH! Do you think you can hit me another tasty ice cream sundae, OOH, and with extra sprinkles, too!"

"Uhh, that's not a good idea. Listen, I think it's best that you lay off on going crazy with all the ice cream, there's only so much stocked in the freezer and everypony else needs to enjoy their fair share, so I think you've had enough for one day."

"Aww, but I wanted extra sprinkles."

"You can get extra sprinkles back in Ponyville. But for me, when I get there, I'm gonna find myself a brand new job and start off fresh."

"Well, I could always put in a good word for you at Sugar Cube Corner. They're loaded with all kinds of tasty pastries and I'm sure Mr and Mrs. Cake'll love having you around"

"Uhh... no thanks. But don't get me wrong, I do have a sweet tooth, but I want to try something else. I feel like if I end up working at another sweets joint, I'll end up on a sugar crazed rampage like you did with your ice cream and I'll get out of shape, ya know?"

"Oh, okay."

"Look, no need to trouble yourself, Pinkie. I can look for a job on my own. Now, come on, the others are probably waiting for us at the entrance by now."

"Gee, aren't you in a hurry to leave. So much in a way where you just can't pay the bill." Pinkie retorts playfully, while she was walking out the ice cream joint with Shadow.

"Wrong, the boss and I have two seperate safes stored away and I told him he could use the bits from mine to pay the bill and luckily, he knows the combination. " Shadow says.

Moments later, Shadow and Pinkie Pie made it back to the entrance to the village where Celestia, Blaze Burn and Rarity were waiting patiently. The others arrived shortly afterwards. Once everypony was gathered, Celestia addressed them all and had them gathered together.

"Alright everypony, listen up. Our job here is done, but that doesn't mean we should celebrate. We've lost Spike and it's our duty to bring him back! However, because of her ability to use the Song of Dragons, we must be cautious with how we pursue her." Celestia says.

"Then, how are we suppose to stop her if she's got a whole dragon army by her side?" Rainbow asks.

"I've already thought of a way to handle the situation. Twilight, Sunset." said Celestia.

"Yes, princess?" Sunset asked.

"I need you two to check every square inch of the library in your castle on any information regarding Zoor while I check the the archives in my castle with my sister. Blaze Burn, you should tag along with me. I know it's going to be difficult to leave your hometown, but we're going to need all the help we can get if we ever stand a chance against Zoor and save Spike."

"Very well, then. But how are we going to head back? There's only two carriages and 17 of us. It'll be next to impossible to fit everypony in the carriages." Blaze Burn says.

"Not to worry, my magic can expand the interiors while the outside looks the same."

"Hmm, not bad. Guess I should start hitting the books more often."

"Aww man, don't tell me he's gonna become an egghead!" Rainbow says, annoyed and disgusted.

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?" Twilight asks, giving Rainbow Dash a slight glare.

"Uh, heh, nothing Twilight." Rainbow replied, chuckling nervously.

"Don't start arguing now! The sooner we get out of here, the better!" Eternal says. He didn't even wait for a response, he just immediately walked over to one of the carriages, but got blocked by the Royal Guards as they stepped in his way. "Wait, what the?"

"Only the princess and her escorts can enter!" the guards said.

"It's alright, gentlestallions. That young stallion and his friends are traveling with us back to Ponyville. Please, allow him to enter the carriage." Celestia says. The guards moved out of Eternal's way and allowed him to pass on through. Celestia lit up her horn and expanded the interior of the carriages while the exteriors still remained the same as they were. Eternal climbed into one of the carriages with his friends one by one, including his mother and father.

Twilight and her friends all climbed into the other empty carriage. Once everyone was all set and ready, Celestia called out to the guards.

"Alright, let's not waste any time! Take us back to Ponyville immediately!" she commanded.

"Yes, your highness!" The guards shouted. The guards pulled the carriages away from the Freedom Village and ventured down the path towards Ponyville. As the entire group traveled further and further away, Eternal Flames looked out the window in the direction of his hometown.

"Farewell, Freedom Village." he said. He brought his head back in the carriage and leaned back, staring off into space now that his journey in the Freedom Village was done and a new journey was about to begin over in the town of Ponyville, and it wasn't going to be a pleasant one.

Comments

[HaloKnight999]

This is the good story worth looking into, and the ending ends with farewells and resolving local problems. good work

[Israel Yabuki]

9627182
thank you